Motorsport eNews Issue 43 - February 26-March 3, 2008

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Issue No. 043 26 February - 3 March 2008

TRASH TALK W8 HINot!Lap

a V the GP. at age 10 See P

leading v8 drivers slam each other in off-tracK war or words

DOUBlE J

Ambrose new CUp Whincup’s deal Clayton’s Clipsal Woes Winning Weekend lead to Changes

Editorial Editor: Grant Rowley grant@mnews.com.au Deputy Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au Staff Journalist: Bill Riddell bill@mnews.com.au Executive Editor: Phil Branagan editor@mnews.com.au

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

Issue No. 043 | 26 Febuary – 3 March 2008

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Contributing Writers F1: Will Buxton, Mark Glendenning, Adam Cooper, Paolo Filisetti Europe: Quentin Spurring, David Addison US: Martin D. Clark, Phil Morris Speedway: Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton, Tony Millard (UK) Rally: Ryan Lahiff Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Ken Ferguson, John Bosher National: Mark Wicks, Mark Jones, Aaron Shaw, Daniel Powell

Photographers Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/Mpix, AF1 Images, James Smith, Peter Bury, Neil Blackbourn, Chris Carter, Coopers Photography, Geoff Gracie, Ash Budd, Paris Charles, Neil Hammond, Joel Strickland, Mike Patrick (UK) Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Copyright: Material published in Motorsport eNews is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Motorsport eNews does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted.

Opinions expressed in Motorsport eNews are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.

International photos supplied by Sutton Images, www.sutton-images.com – click here to check out their exclusive poster deals

news 4 V8 Drivers

6 Clayton review 8 28 on the grid ...

11 CCWS/IRL 13 Not so Super Aguri?

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 Lambden 45 Rear of Grid

Sledging and Standards Drama with uprights Where’s Walden?

The merger is go Teams days are numbered Shane van Gisbergen The Standard Reply Williams honour winners

race 24 Jamie does the J-O-B Whincup’s Clipsal double 30 Refugees rebound 34 Crashes and clashes 40 Jani does it again

Owen’s Fujitsu double Adelaide Support Races Wickens first for Canada

trade 43 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome Question: How many people tipped Cameron McConville to be a podium placed driver at Clipsal?

Answer: Who cares! He did it and he liked it!

!

K L A T H S A TR

V8 Stars go the Sledge V8 SUPERCARS

EXPECT fireworks at Eastern Creek in a fortnight, with the carnage on the streets of Adelaide last weekend sparking a war of words between V8 Supercar’s leading drivers.

The Race 2 clash between Craig Lowndes and James Courtney has caused the most trash-talk, with Courtney attributing the crash to Lowndes “feeling the pressure” from Jamie Whincup.

“As we came out of the hairpin he was a little bit in front of me, but we were still side-by-side,” said Courtney.

“He just turned into me and gave me no room. I think Craig’s really feeling the pressure with Jamie beating him, and it’s showing in his driving.

“What did he think, [that] I was just going to disappear or something? I don’t know if he thinks he is superior to me, or what.”

Lowndes was quick to admit that he didn’t leave enough room, but said he though JC would back out of the side-byside contest because he had a problem.

“I don’t need to get into a war of words,” said Lowndes.

“There’s a lot of talk whether he had a deflating tyre or not. I heard they were going to bring him in the next couple of laps, and if that’s the case I don’t know why he would want to race.

“He was definitely struggling, and my feeling right now is that he should have

backed out of it.”

Courtney confirmed to eNews that he didn’t have a problem and had no intention of coming into the pits or letting Lowndes past.

But Courtney himself wasn’t exempt from the sledging. Garth Tander was unimpressed with the SBR driver throughout the second race, and voiced that opinion afterwards.

“The way Courtney was going I was not surprised to see him in a huge shunt at the end,” said GT. “He was out of control all race. Someone obviously forgot to tell him it was 78 laps, not seven or eight …”

Also caught up in the crash was Mark Winterbottom. It was the second altercation between Winterbottom and Lowndes, with Lowndes having muscled his way past at the hairpin several laps earlier.

“He pushed me out of the way and then he pushed Holdsworth out of the way and then pushed Courtney out of the way, so it was third time lucky,” Frosty said.

“He ended up in the wall and that was where he deserved to be given the way he was driving. It’s just a shame I ended up with him.

“Craig is one of the most aggressive drivers in the field. He has got this cheesy grin on his face but he always gets away with it. He is the smiling assassin” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

And you can quote me!

“I think Craig’s really feeling the pressure with Jamie beating him” – JAMES COURTNEY on Lowndes

“He was definitely struggling, and my feeling is that he should have backed out of it” – CRAIG LOWNDES on Courtney

“He has his cheesy grin on his face but he always gets away with it.

He is the smiling assassin” – MARK WINTERBOTTOM on Lowndes

“Someone obviously forgot to tell him it was 78 laps, not seven or eight ...”

– GARTH TANDER on Courtney

news

Mezera unrepentant New V8 Supercar driving observer stands firm V8 SUPERCARS

Round 1, fight!

Lowndes and Courtney start the fight at turn 10, above, but it was over before turn 11 could upon them, below sequence.

NEWLY-APPOINTED V8 Driving Standards Observer Tomas Mezera has responded to criticisms that drivers were unclear about the ‘boundaries’ going into last weekend’s Clipsal 500.

FPR’s Mark Winterbottom was one who expressed a view after Sunday’s race, albeit after being the innocent victim in the Lowndes/Courtney incident: “What can I say? The guys set a precedent in yesterday’s race about what driving standards are deemed legal and if they are trying to create better racing, and they deem this as better racing, then I don’t know how long people will do it because the bills will be too high.”

On Monday, Mezera told eNews that: “It was very clear. We discussed a few things, there were some parameters laid down – especially regarding Turn 8 – and no-one had any questions at the end of it.

“In my view, the over-riding consideration is common

sense – the less ‘rules’ the better.

“Adelaide is a hard track to overtake on; you have to allow drivers to have a little bit of a go – that doesn’t mean hitting other cars up the rear and moving them aside. If, however, there’s a gap, a car slips into the gap and even has to ‘make it a little wider’, no car goes off, then for me that’s hard racing.”

The latter was how Mezera saw Saturday’s late-race move by Jamie Whincup on Winterbottom: “Exactly – didn’t even have a second look at it. In my view, Winterbottom was taken a bit by surprise, had left a small gap and Whincup put his car in there. One party didn’t like that outcome, so next thing there’s chat up and down pit lane … and pit lane is FULL of experts!”

The Lowndes/Courtney shunt was, according to Mezera, a case of “shared blame – more on Lowndes’ side than Courtney’s – but either could have avoided it.”

More – see Opinion, page 20

Dirk Klynsmith

Guilty or innocent? Winterbottom was the victim in Race 2, but he wasn’t the only one with battle scars after a bruising weekend.

Changes to factory Holdens

V8 SUPERCARS ADELAIDE’S disastrous Clipsal 500 will prompt changes in front suspension spec on the Holden Racing Team and HSV Dealer Team Commodores.

Following a number of component failures prompted by contact with other cars, HRT team manager Rob Crawford has confirmed that the Walkinshaw Performance-engineered cars will be beefed-up for coming V8 Supercar rounds.

But he dismissed suggestions that the team’s new cars were under-engineered, while what some perceived as ‘older’ WPbuilt cars (like Cameron McConville’s WOW

Dirk Klynsmith

HRT and HSVDT to get “beefed up” suspension for Eastern Creek and beyond car, which finished third in the 500) were tougher.

“We have not changed components, they are still the same as we ran 12 months ago,” said Crawford.

“But there probably needs to be a redesign of some parts and I am confident that we can have that process done by Eastern Creek.”

The two BJR cars are the ones run by HRT last season, McConville’s car the 005 chassis debuted by Mark Skaife at Eastern Creek last season. Skaife and team-mate Garth Tander both race newer-spec WP chassis, while the HSV cars of Rick Kelly and Paul Dumbrell are the ones the team

raced in 2007.

But the suspension-related failures are surprising. In the past, HRT cars have been notable for their durability in battle, which the team treated as a priority, even if it meant slightly compromising speed.

In many events, a red car would carry on racing after a big hit, like in the 2003 Sandown 500, when Skaife clashed with the Team Dynamik car of Jason Richards, or the 2001 Adelaide 500, when Skaife and Craig Lowndes clanged together.

In both cases, Skaife carried on to win the race while the ‘other’ car retired with terminal damage.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

news

Peter Bury

Bright’s engine solution

Driver/owner wants cheaper, six-litre engines introduced to V8 Supercars ... and fast V8 SUPERCARS JASON Bright has called for sweeping technical changes to be made to V8 Supercars to reduce costs.

The Britek Motorsport owner/driver has called to end the current 5-litre format in favour of a new, more modern and bigger engine, to save money in the teams’ engine programs. He has also called for an independent overview of the class’s engine regulations.

Bright says that the current 5-litre engines, which have a different capacity to both Ford and Holden’s road cars (5.4litre and 5.7-litre respectively) are no longer relevant in the category.

“We are spending money in places where it is not

necessary to do so,” he said.

“We have a huge list of common parts, like aero, tyres and gearboxes. But when it comes to engines, there is a big difference. We need to throw half a million dollars into our engine shop to step it up. The alternative is to do an engine deal with Stones [Brothers Engines], FPR or DJR. That costs as much as $800,000 and you do not even own the engines.”

Bright says that the current engines, which require a large degree of modification prior to assembly, cost his team about $100,000 per unit. He suggests that that amount could be cut by half and service intervals on a bigger but more economical engine doubled.

“We need to go to a 6-litre engine that is not stressed

as much. That should be on the radar, if the teams are serious about cost cutting, regardless of whether we have transparency rules. It has been talked about but, at any given time, there is always going to be one team that thinks it has an engine advantage. So, they don’t want to talk about it.”

Currently, teams are free to source their own technical components but are subject to the transparency rules, which require them to list the components used in their motors and advise other teams of their specifications.

But Bright stopped short of suggesting that V8 Supercars follows the NASCAR path where a common supplier, in Ford’s case Roush Yates, supplies all Ford teams with motors.

“I am not suggesting that anyone closes their [engine] shops, I don’t want anyone to be out of work. But it would be better to have a shop assemble engines from a list of control components.

“We need someone independent, a technicallyqualified person, to look at it, making sure that the best interests of the teams are at heart. We need to take advantage of economies of scale; everyone knows that it is far better to make 300 of an item than 30.

“We should continue to be about making sure that the spectacle of V8 Supercar racing is the same, and that the fans continue to get a good show. But we can do it at a lower cost.”

– PHIL BRANAGAN

10 times 2 equals Island fixtures V8 SUPERCARS

John Morris/Mpix

PHILLIP Island looks set to host V8 Supercars Australia’s 500km endurance race for the next decade.

V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane said in Adelaide at the weekend that he expected to soon conclude a deal with the owners of the track, the Fox Group, that would see the Grand Prix

circuit continue to be the home of the traditional September event on a longterm basis.

The 2008 race, the L&H 500, will also feature a new format, with two Saturday races, each race driven by a different driver, and the combined results of those two races will determine the grid for the main race on Saturday. The allocation of points for the races looks

likely to be allocated on a two-thirds/ one-third, with the final formula to be announced in the next month.

With each car being raced separately by its driver and co-driver, there is the potential for the format to see the end of cross-entering, the practice where all four of a team’s endurance drivers to be entered in both its cars.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

BRIEFLY... n V8 Supercars raced at Clipsal with an improved Alcon rotor. The new design features an increase in the number of vanes from 48 to 72 and so far seems to be doing the job. n The Khumo Australian

Formula 3 Championship has come up with an interesting way of attracting competitors – anyone who commits to the full season gets their entry fees back in full. n The 10th Anniversary of the Clipsal 500 wasn’t the only occasion to be celebrated last weekend.

Russell Ingall turned 44 on Sunday. Sadly it was the only thing for The Enforcer to celebrate, dismal on track performances were highlighted after Ingall tagged the wall exiting turn 8 and broke the Watts link in Sunday’s warm-up.

The team were unable to get the car ready for the final race.

Enough is Enough ...

V8 grids to drop down to 28 ... and that doesn’t include the Walden licence V8 SUPERCARS TWENTY-EIGHT is the magic number for V8 Supercars.

V8 Supercars Australia confirmed last weekend that its policy was to reduce the number of cars in the series to 28, but that all would be on the same ‘level’ licence.

“There are few championships in the world, apart from NASCAR, that have more than 28 cars,” said V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane.

“We will now fall in line with our contracts and supply 28 cars. As licences come up for sale, we will buy them back.”

This mirrors the recent

actions of V8SA and TEGA, which saw the Level 2 licences formerly owned by Jack Daniel’s Racing and Britek Motorsport ‘bought back’ and effectively retired.

Cochrane said he wanted to “make sure all out franchises are strong business centres” but that he did not foresee any further reduction in numbers.

“The number is set at 28 and I think that contract is set for 25 years,” he said.

“Franchises are worth a lot of money these days. What we want to avoid is someone buying a franchise to deal it. I think that this will strengthen our position.”

While 28 cars appeared at the season-opening Clipsal 500 at the weekend, 30 licences remain ‘active’, with the Ford Rising Stars entry of Michael Patrizi being granted an exemption to skip the event. The other licence is that of Brian Walden, who now appears to be facing punitive action for not appearing at the event (see separate story) With the board not having met since Walden’s no-show Cochrane would not comment in detail, but said, “I would assume that he [Walden] would have to comply with the rules. We do not give anyone a free kick.”

n Three-time World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx will foster the next generation of racing drivers, launching ‘Andy Priaulx Performance Management’.

Dirk Klynsmith

n In last week’s issue of Motorsport eNews (and in Motorsport News) Yokohama placed an advertisement with the headline “The Bathurst 12 Hour, won on Yokohama ADVAN tyres again!”

Following this placement, new information suggests the first and second place competitors started the race on another brand of product, but both cars finished on Yokohama ADVAN tyres. We apologise for any mis-information due to our placement.

– Yokohama Tyres (Australia)

... but where was Walden?

V8 SUPERCARS

WALDEN Motorsport will accept a $150,000 fine for not entering a car at the Clipsal 500 last weekend.

The Sydney-based team failed to secure a suitable car for the race, after an alleged deal with WPS Racing fell through.

All of the WPS Racing assets have since been purchased by Racer Industries, who is going liquidate all of the hardware.

To avoid another substantial penalty, Walden Motorsport is aiming to secure an appropriate car or team to fulfil its Team’s Licence Agreement requirements for Eastern Creek and beyond.

news

The V8s are going Green!

V8 SUPERCARS

Single board still on the cards V8 SUPERCARS Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS single board remains a priority, with the effective end of the Touring Car Entrants’ Group TEGA slated for next month.

The V8 Supercars Australia board met last Wednesday to settle some of the ongoing matters that will see TEGA and minority stakeholder SEL share a single board.

Part of the restructure will be the end of the Teams’ Licence Agreement, which will be replaced by a new document, the Racing Entitlements Contract.

“Right at the moment, the

combined boards are finishing off all the legal paperwork, which is extensive,” explained V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane.

“There are many changes to the REC document there are a number of new contracts being formulated. We expect that those contracts will be with the teams by Eastern Creek.”

As a result of the ongoing process, the Clipsal 500 meeting was conducted under the auspices of the TLA.

What is E85?

E85 is a combination of conventional gasoline (three parts) mixed with 17 parts bio-ethanol Bio-ethanol is made from crops, while the similar methanol is made from wood IndyCars run on 100 percent ethanol, while Champ Cars and Alcohol drag racers run on 100 percent methanol Neither Holden nor Ford sells an E85-capable car in Australia. Only Saab sells a car that uses E85, with a specialised version of the 9-5 Shane Beikoff has been a spokesman for Queensland’s +e campaign, and ran +e signage on his Falcon in last year’s Fujitsu Series.

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS will race on an expanded ethanol-petrol blend from next year.

At the first board meeting ever held in Adelaide last Wednesday, V8 Supercars Australia approved a paper on the subject, and a subcommittee to be headed by Larry Perkins and Ross Stone will report back to the board on the introduction of E85 in time for the start of the 2009 season. V8 Supercars already use a five percent blend of ethanol.

V8 Supercar Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane described the move as “a natural extension of V8 Racing Green,” the category’s environment program that ws introduced last year and which saw V8 Supercar racing become carbon-neutral.

“The ethanol industry is really starting to ramp up in this country,” said Cochrane.

“We don’t leave a big carbon footprint, we are right down

the bottom of the list. But what we do have a big responsibility with is that we can use our power with young kids to spread the gospel. We think that the more things we do for the sport to be environmentally aware, and relate that to our schools program, the more responsible we are.

“The ethanol message is a good story. The government is very keen to see ethanol gain a foothold and we clearly are going to be seen as a community leader.”

A new, major facility for the production of bio-ethanol from grain is nearing completion in Dalby, Queensland and the increased use of the renewable fuel has support at both state and government level.

V8SA’s statement stated that it would seen government support, Cochrane saying, “We are in talks with the government at the moment and, while those continue, there is no comment.”

Out of Retirement V8 SUPERCARS TEAM Vodafone and Stone Brothers Racing are taking the same tacks as they prepare from the next round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Eastern Creek.

Following the Sunday Race 2 crash that saw James Courtney and Craig Lowndes emerge from two badlybent Falcons, Triple 8 Race Engineering is preparing to repair the ‘12A’ chassis (numbered to avoid the unlucky 13) that the former champion drove in the race.

But while the repairs are being affected, Lowndes will be reunited with the team’s older and semi-retired chassis 10, which won the Bathurst 1000 in 2006 and

last year’s Sandown 500.

Jamie Whincup raced the car before he got a new chassis late last season. Lowndes will race the car in Sydney and Melbourne and the team will make a decision about Hamilton, where he may race a new chassis, after that.

Courtney looks set to race Stone Brothers Racing’s older chassis, which Russell Ingall drove as the #9 Caltex car last season.

“It’s sitting in the corner of the shop, with a cover on it,” Courtney said on Sunday evening. “The boys won’t have any problems and we will be OK for Sydney.”

Both teams are expected to have their primary cars back in business prior to the Hamilton round of the championship on April 18-20.

MULA 1

news

Split Decision sutton-images.com

At last, US open-wheelers are united – and two Aussies for Indy 500 – INDYCAR CCWS A DOUBLE-header race weekend on opposite sides of the Pacific is a likely start to a unified US IndyCar Series. sutton-images.com

the best open-wheel drivers in the United States in one series and it’s going to be a really tough and exciting file,” he said.

Team Australia co-owner Craig Gore also applauded the news.

“Not only will we get to see a couple of young Australians of the calibre of Will Power and Ryan Briscoe going head to head on the streets of Surfers Paradise, we also get the chance to win the Indy 500.”

Perrira and an ‘Aussie flavour’ set for 2008 – CCWS INDYCAR WHILE the exact makeup of the new IRL/Champ Car joint venture is yet to be revealed, teams are currently working towards the split first round concept between Motegi and Long Beach.

Co-owner of Champ Car team Conquest Racing Anthony Blumberg told eNews that they are preparing to run a Panoz at Long Beach, and will have the first of two Dallara IR2s ready for the second round of the series.

“We have one [Dallara]

chassis, and we’ll have a second one soon,” said Blumberg.

“As I understand it at this point they will run the Champ Cars at Long Beach and the IRL cars at Motegi, and then they will unify at the round after that.

“So we will go to Long Island, and then we’ll pick up the series from Round 2.”

“The unification is fantastic.

We’ve signed Franck Perrira to drive already, and we’ve got a contract out on another driver that we’d very much like to get hold of. And if we get hold of him, it will have an Australian flavour. That’s all I can say at this point.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

sutton-images.com

Details of the single series, which effectively see the demise of the Champ Car World Series, are expected to be announced in Indianapolis this week, prior to the IRL’s Spring Training at Homestead in Florida.

IRL boss Tony George, inset, told The Indianapolis Star that final details of the ‘merger’, which follows separate meetings with CCWS coowners Gerry Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven last week, were still be hammered out.

“We want to have as positive a press conference as possible when we do have one,” he said.

“We don’t want to have questions without answers.”

One possible solution to the date clash between the IndyCar event at Motegi in Japan and the Long Beach GP is to have both races count for the IRL series, but to have Panoz Champ Cars race one more time in California.

Champ Car star Will Power is a happy man.

“Having one series will put all

Conquest prepared for twice the Action

Conquestadors: Conquest ran a single entry last season and will step up a gear in 2008.

Guess Who? FORMULA 1

SEVEN-time world champion Michael Schumacher will return to the seat of a Ferrari today [Monday] at the final pre-season test in Barcelona.

sutton-images.com

He will join World Champion Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel of the Ferrari F2008 today, handing over to Felipe Massa for the remainder of the test.

Following last week’s wet weather, all the teams will be hoping for a clear run as the three-day test is their last opportunity to conduct any testing before their cars are shipped here for the AGP on March 16.

Despite the poor weather, last week’s test went even

further towards showing how strong the Williams FW30 is threatening to be, as Kazuki Nakajima topped the final day of the test after taking over Nico Rosberg’s car after lunch. Although the team continues to downplay expectations, the general feeling is that Williams may be re-establishing themselves as a truly competitive outfit.

Meanwhile Renault, which will also be aiming for a return to former glory, is rumoured to have been heavily ‘sandbagging’ in testing so far. Don’t take our word for it though; it was Ferrari’s Marc Gene who made the claim.

But while Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet’s times

draw ever closer to each other, the duo and their team are keeping their build-up to 2008 incredibly quiet, with Alonso claiming the team is not ready to fight for podiums yet.

Rumours that the team has a revolutionary Wconfiguration rear wing ready for Albert Park however have been dismissed by team sources this week. The rumours said the team did not want to give its rivals an opportunity to steal the concept before Melbourne, and a team spokesman told Spanish daily Marca that any such development would need to be track tested before it was used at a race.

– WILL BUXTON

Jacques drags in an Old Mate NASCAR

JACQUES Villeneuve’s NASCAR carrer was dealt a major blow before it had barely began, dumped by Bill Davis Racing after crashing his Toyota Camry and failing to qualify for the Daytona 500.

sutton-images.com

But Villeneuve, right, who is very keen on taking part in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on the Montreal Circuit bearing his father’s name, has vowed to return to NASCAR. He has enlisted Aussie Barry Green to help him find backers for a full season of Nationwide or Sprint Cup. Barry, with brother Kim (who joined with Michael Andretti to form Andretti Green), guided Vileneuve to victory for his Team Kool

Green in the CART Championship and the Indy 500 in 1995.

The alignment with Green comes after Jacques recent separation from former manager Craig Pollock, who has opted to focus on family and business in Europe.

Green, speaking at Newton’s, Villeneuve’s restaurant in Montreal, commented that he believed Jacques was capable of being a race winner in Sprint Cup and that are Canadian companies willing to back him.

Villenuve will campaign for Peugeot at the Le Mans 24 Hours race in June in a bid to add the great race to his impressive resume.

news

FORMULA 1 THE Super Aguri F1 Team has endured one of the toughest weeks of its short life over the past seven days as Team Principal Aguri Suzuki met with Honda executives and a number of potential investors with the aim of ensuring the survival of his team.

While the team’s financial stability has been under question for some time, its no-show at last week’s group test in Barcelona, where it had originally been due to launch, was a clear sign that the team was struggling more than had initially been thought.

A team statement apologised to members of the media who were due to attend the test, and stated simply that the team’s running had been cancelled due to “circumstances beyond our

control.”

Later that week, at Honda’s Annual Motorsport Conference, Super Aguri’s name was conspicuous by its absence on the list of teams that were to be supported or supplied by the engine manufacturer in 2008, and when rumours started to filter through that Aguri Suzuki had flown out to Japan to meet with Honda executives over the future of his team, the true gravity of the situation became clear.

The team itself cannot currently comment on the ongoing negotiations regarding its future, but it is believed that the discussions have now centred around two strong bids from potential investors, which are being

discussed by Honda. With the SAF1 team thought to be in considerable debt to its engine partner, it would seem logical that the ultimate decision over the strongest financial package to ensure SAF1’s future should rest with Honda itself.

The Indian Spice investment is not thought to be one of the remaining bids as the necessity of fielding Narain Karthikeyan as part of the deal hit an early stumbling block with Honda executives who will be keen to use 2008’s Customer Car legality to their advantage as they yearn to discover all they can about the new RA108.

Super Aguri is unlikely to be in Barcelona this week for the forthcoming test session. With that in mind, any successful bid will be for a team which will arrive in Melbourne with but

a few days of testing under its belt.

Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the new investors would wish to keep the team’s current management structure in place, or even Aguri’s 2007 drivers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson. While such fundamental changes to the team this close to the start of the season could prove hugely disruptive, they might nevertheless be unavoidable if the team is to continue to race.

Not for the first time, it seems Super Aguri will need to muster all of its much-admired and well-loved fighting spirit if it is to contest the forthcoming Formula One season.

– WILL BUXTON

sutton-images.com

AGURI FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL

BRIEFLY... n Mark Winterbottom is not going to be an Aston Martin driver any time soon. Prodrive and Aston boss David Richards said at Adelaide that he had no intention of recruiting Frosty for his assault on the GT class at Le Mans. n There is a correction to the story in the last edition of eNews about the common chassis between Champ Car and Super League. The bottom section of the chassis tub is common between the cars, but they have different top sections when they are made by Elan Technologies in Georgia. Other parts of the cars are similar, but the tubs themselves are not interchangeable. Apologies for the error. n Matthew White Racing welcomed Fuch Lubricants as a sponsor to his Fujitsu V8 Series team for the 2008 season. The two-car team had an impressive first round, with the team’s new recruit Grant Denyer finishing fourth overall, while White himself had a trailing arm break in Race 2, keeping him out of a top five. result.

Wilson: Booked ... and so for Sept/Oct ... is Pither

CONFIRMATION of Brad Jones Racing’s sponsorship deal with WOW Sight and Sound (as first reported in last week’s eNews) has sparked speculation that Max Wilson will be one of the team’s endurance drivers.

The Brazilian is out of a full-time drive after the collapse of WPS Racing several weeks ago – however thanks to his ties to the Queensland-based company, Wilson is likely to be in a BJR VE Commodore at Phillip Island and Bathurst this year.

But the inclusion of Wilson hardly cements the Albury team’s endurance line-up. While he will be tied to the WOW car, #14’s regular driver Cameron McConville may still be free to jump in the BOC car with Andrew Jones.

The second question involves Brad Jones and whether he will want to race. Jones didn’t race in last year’s enduros due to fitness concerns, but drove one of the team’s new Commodores at the recent official test at Winton and has reportedly started training again …

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

KIWI Chris Pither was a noteworthy fixture in the TKR garage at last weekend’s Clipsal 500, and is now being considered as a potential endurance race partner for regular driver Kayne Scott.

According to team boss David John, Pither will be considered when it comes to choosing a second driver for Phillip Island and Bathurst.

“We haven’t done a deal but I’ll look at him, for sure,” he said.

“This weekend was more about Chris being able to have a look at some data and learn from it.”

John also confirmed that the team won’t use the extra practice time at Eastern Creek to test any young drivers, instead using the laps to help Scott acclimatise to the team’s ex-Triple 8 Falcon BF. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Loadsman’s big plans Winning team looks to secure Owen for 2008, and add more cars ...

V8 SUPERCARS SCOTT Loadsman’s Tint-A-Car Racing team has big plans.

Loadsman’s team won its first V8 Supercar race at last weekend’s Clipsal 500 thanks to Steve Owen, and now he is planning to continue expanding.

The first development will be the addition of a second car, with a recently purchased

ex-Paul Morris Motorsport VZ Commodore, currently being prepared for Loadsman himself to step into. It is expected to be online by the third round at Sandown.

“Really our first job in this plan is to stitch up Steve Owen,” Loadsman told eNews.

“We want to keep him for the rest of the year, and then I will get back in a car and try and learn a bit off him. Then,

maybe we’ll look at running another car with another driver like Steve.”

Loadsman will also continue to run in the Australian Touring Car Challenge on the AMRS bill.

“I’d like to go forwards,” he added.

“The sponsors will be happy with the performance this weekend and there’s no reason why we can’t get into Level 1.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Crashes make for sombre 500 FUJITSU V8s

LAST weekend’s Clipsal 500 was marred by both the fatality of Fujitsu V8 Supercar driver Ashley Cooper and the serious injury of V8 Ute driver Matt Kinglsey.

Cooper, 27, left the road at the infamous Turn 8 during the second Fujitsu Series race, making heavy contact with the walls on both sides of the circuit.

He was treated by medical crews at the scene, including an emergency tracheotomy, and then transported to Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The first announcement confirmed he suffered sever head trauma including swelling of the brain, and also had severe internal injuries.

He later died at the hospital late with his parents, wife and two children by his bedside.

The cause of the accident is not yet

known, with CAMS and V8 Supercars Australia set to launch a full enquiry into the crash (see separate story).

Kingsley’s crash happened at the start of the final Utes race on Sunday morning, and was the result of contact with Craig Dontas at Turn 1. Kingsley’s driver’s side door was

hit by Jack Elsgood in the melee.

He too was transported to Royal Adelaide, however it soon became clear that he had not sustained any lasting injuries. It is expected that he will make a full recovery.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Should Turn 8 Ashley Cooper be changed?

Vale:

THE death of Ashley Cooper at the Clipsal 500 has shocked the Australian Motorsport community.

The Clipsal meeting was Cooper’s fourth in the Fujitsu Series, after he debuted with Sydney Star Racing at Winton last season. But it was the first for both his recently purchased ex-Paul Morris Motorsport VZ Commodore, and his newly formed family team, Ashley Cooper Motorsport.

Before V8 Supercars, Cooper raced HQs, Saloon Cars, Commodore Cup and V8 Utes, and was rookie of the year for the Utes in 2006.

Originally from Syndey, he lived in Ulladulla, and is survived by his wife Casey and their two children.

To Cooper’s family and friends, Motorsport eNews extends its sincerest condolences.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

FUJITSU V8s WHETHER last weekend’s fatal crash at the Clipsal 500 will affect the layout of the Adelaide street track is not yet known, according to race officials.

The safety of the infamous Turn 8 was immediately called into question following Ashley Cooper’s fatal crash in the second Fujitsu Series race. However neither Wayne Cattach or CAMS President Colin Osborne would be drawn on the subject.

“It’s far too early for us to speculate as to the cause of the accident,” said Osborne at the press conference called on Saturday afternoon.

“If there are lessons to be learnt, they will impact future events. [But] the circuit is built to comply with FIA requirements.”

Cattach agreed that any speculation that the corner will change is premature.

“This unfortunate incident will initiate a

full enquiry as a matter of course,” he said following Saturday’s crash.

“As Colin said, [the circuit] meets the design requirements, so at this stage it meets the parameters it’s supposed to meet.”

But Fujitsu Series driver David Reynolds believes the track needs re-profiling in order to be safer.

“It’s a great track but there are parts that definitely need revising,” he told eNews.

“Some bits have excellent run-off but some bits don’t, and it just so happens that the fastest part of the circuit has a wall right there. It’s a hazard, and they say it meets safety requirements but there isn’t much safety going on there.

“I’m all for fast corners and I think they are an important part of motorsport. But fast corners need some margin for error, because when things like this happens it looks really bad for the sport.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Windus, Ford still together

Joel Strickland

AUSTRALIAN RALLYING FORMER Ford factory rally driver Darren Windus is planning on continuing to run a Super 2000-spec Ford Fiesta in the Australian Rally Championship.

Windus is currently working on a deal that will see him purchase one of the factory Fiestas.

The deal was originally dependant on the final homologation of the Fiestas,

however with that hurdle clear, it is down to organising finances.

“It looks a lot like we’ll be back in an S2000,” Windus told eNews.

“I’ll be in Melbourne on Friday to have a meeting with Britek and hopefully we’ll sort it out then. We know now that the car can be ready on time and that the homologation is sorted, so it’s really all about dollars and cents.”

If the deal falls over, Windus still has the

option of running a Group N-spec Subaru, and will run one in a round of the Victorian Rally Championship this weekend as preparation.

“That’s just in case,” he added.

“But the Group N car is nowhere near as much fun to drive as the Super 2000. You really have to abuse the S2000 car to make it fast, and that’s how I’ve always driven, so it really suits me.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Pedder to get his Asia-Pacific chance AUSTRALIAN RALLY

Joel Strickland

SCOTT Pedder will make a return to full-time competition in 2008, contesting the entire AsiaPacific Rally Championship with Perth-based team Race Torque Engineering.

The former factory Mitsubishi driver and his navigator Glen Weston will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer for the experienced team, which took outright Asia-Pacific honours in both 2003 and 2005.

This is a comeback of sorts for Pedder and Weston, who spent most of 2007 on

the sidelines following the withdrawal of the factory Mitsubishi team, and had just one outing, a short campaign at Rally New Zealand.

“This is incredibly exciting for both Glen and I,” he said.

“The Rally New Zealand experience last year, while it obviously didn’t go quite according to plan, reconfirmed our passion for competition and really since that event we have been trying our hardest to put a program together.

“The deal with Race Torque and MRF enables us to continue to compete at one of the highest levels in the sport, in a series with great diversity

and appeal and against some strong opposition.

“To also be back in a Mitsubishi, a brand that I have had experience with now for over 10 years, is tremendous,

and possibly an advantage for us – one that hopefully we can exploit against the new Subaru.”

The series kicks off in New Caledonia early April.

5 Minutes with ...

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN Rookie one day, top five racer the next. But just another day for The Giz

At what point during that second race did you think ‘wow, I’m going to get a great result out of this?’

It was at one of the restarts.

I was sitting about 10th or 11th and I had heaps of speed on board. I’d been catching [Steve] Johnson even before the Safety Car came out and I knew we were on for a good result then.

And then the front-runners went and had a big bingle, which happens in this game, and we came out looking great.

But surely it wasn’t all about luck. You had to keep your nose clean around a challenging circuit …

Yeah that’s right. And the car was really good too, which helps a lot. We had a few hits and bumps, and the car was

Dirk Klynsmith

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Just a handful of races into your V8 Supercar career and you’ve just finished fifth at the Clipsal 500. How does that sit with you?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: (Laughs) Well I reckon it’s pretty awesome!

Sure everyone was falling off the road in front of us, but we stayed smooth and consistent and got the result at the end.

And we were pretty quick too, and if it wasn’t for the bad first half of the race you have to wonder what might have been.

But I’m still really happy with that and it’s an awesome result. It’s also a great way to finish the weekend!

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

WE HAD A FEW HITS AND BUMPs, and the car was a bit bent in the steering, but, you know, it happens SHANE VAN GISBERGEN was pretty happy after clipsal

Where was the car fast?

Under brakes was where it was fast. It was really strong under brakes which made the car really good to drive. That helped a lot. It made me very comfortable, and very happy (laughs).

disappointed not to be in the Top 10. But you were only just outside the 10. I guess a weekend where that’s the worst thing that happens is called a success …

Yeah absolutely! And the Race 2 result makes up for qualifying anyway, because it’s a great result, and it keeps the team really happy …

When I spoke to you after qualifying you were

Speaking of the team, do you feel this is kind of a real

a bit bent in the steering, but, you know, it happens.

return to form for Stone Brothers Racing. I mean James [Courtney] was fast all weekend, and here you are now inside the top five in the championship ...

Yeah both the cars were really fast all weekend. James was quick although unlucky, and I couldn’t be happier with my pace.

So we know what we need to do now and I think we’ll be right.

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

Letters

Have your say, email us at mail@mnews.com.au. Keep letters to the point.

Bright side of life A 3pm Start? XXXX Girls Dancing to Black Betty?

And the best one – in-car microphones allowing us to hear the best drivers in the country asking their teams to ask the officials to have the car in front move over so they can pass?

On the bright side, the

season can only get better from here.

Andy Meadows via email Building Blocks The events at the Clipsal 500 indicate that the concept of acceptable track behaviour requires further thought.

As I see it, problems arise

especially on the tight tracks with drivers blocking. In a parity formula, blocking should be very harshly dealt with as in many ways it is unfair.

Ban the blockers, and allow driver skill to shine through superior cornering and braking technique.

Robert Mills North Ryde NSW

Cold and lonely Lovely to hear that Formula 1 will be broadcast live on Channel 10’s High Definition channel ...

But what happens for those of us who don’t have access to such an animal? Are we left out in the cold?

Bernard McMinn Mawson, ACT

opinion

Mirror, mirror on the wall ...

John Morris/Mpix

AIRLINE pilots earn quite good money.

It’s not really for their day-to-day operations – a lot of that is done by autopilot these days.

No, airline pilots earn their cash when something goes wrong, when an engine fails, or there’s some other drama. At that point, all on board rely on the decisionmaking of that one man, under pressure, to be right.

In many ways, our elite V8 Supercar drivers are the same. They are highly paid – some very highly paid, when compared with airline pilots – and they are supposed to earn their money by making good decisions under pressure, and in a split second.

It’s disappointing then (but entirely predictable), that a number of the drivers involved in on-track incidents at the weekend should be looking around for someone else to blame – such as other drivers, or new Driving Standards Observer Tomas Mezera – when, if they were honest, they might have a bit of a look in the mirror.

When Mezera wrote of his forthcoming role (eNews #39, January 29) he commented that: “I’m sure it won’t be that simple, and everyone – including me – can make a mistake, but the over-riding guiding factor will be common sense.

“The biggest cause of accidents, in my view, is ego – and there is a little bit of that

opinion Chris Lambden mNews Publisher going around in motorsport!”

Nailed it. Tomas comes from the school that expects drivers to use their brains; to leave their egos at home; to make those split-second decisions correctly.

The Stewards, acting on Tomas’ recommendation, took no post-race action on the Lowndes/Courtney shunt, for which they and he may cop some flak.

But why should they? You could argue for days over a few centimetres either way; B-pillars and so on. And both had already paid a significant price anyway.

The fact is that Lowndes could have given Courtney room. He didn’t. Courtney might have backed out of it. He didn’t.

Ambrose/Murphy/Bathurst all over again – on a track hemmed in by concrete. Two bad decisions from highly-paid drivers.

Result? Two badly-damaged cars; zero points. My guess is that both may well have a fairly tense debrief with their team owners this week, who may well query the decision-making process undertaken, and ask why they face expensive rebuilds as a result.

Decision-making under pressure is what racing drivers are paid to do and, faced with a pile of wreckage as evidence, both fell short in Adelaide at crunch time.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK The Biggest Loser?

I noted from your article in the latest eNews that ‘Formula 1 fans are THE BIGGEST WINNERS’ regarding Channel 10’s ‘takeover’ of Formula 1, NASCAR Nationwide Series and featured MotoGP events.

I wonder if you have really done your research on this?

As noted in one of the letters

in that issue, this currently only seems to apply to the major capital cities, and not the remainder of the Australian continent. I got up at 0400 on Sunday 17 Feb to watch Marcos Ambrose compete in the Nationwide Series opener at Daytona

The unlucky individual in this case was Mark Winterbottom, the innocent victim of the Lowndes/Courtney fracas. He, quite reasonably, had words to say about the duo. His outburst on Lowndes, in particular (see news pages), was revealing and reflected a view put to me late last year by another top driver that “if he (Lowndes) keeps up that ‘push-to-pass’ routine there’s going to be a big shunt.

He’s pissing off a lot of drivers.” Prophetic?

On the other hand, Frosty also felt harddone-by in terms of the Race 1 pass by race winner Jamie Whincup but, as Mezera points out, it was a completely different scenario – a door left ajar, a car filling the gap, having to make the gap a little bigger, no-one ‘taken out’.

While no-one is advocating an ontrack tit-for-tat free-for-all, Mezera’s approach will clearly be different from his predecessor. He expects intelligent input from the drivers and I believe that’s a reasonable ask. He also wants racing drivers to race, to entertain, to have a go.

As an observer, that sounds good to me.

If I was a bill-paying team owner, it might raise an eyebrow – but this was Clipsal after all and it’s always a bit tough on the sheetmetal. The furore will die down … but I for one hope that Mezera retains the support of the organisation. He’s employed as an expert and is never going to please everyone, but so far I like the way he’s thinking.

only to be greeted with the HD Demo Loop, because Southern Cross 10 HD did not broadcast the race.

I live in the Newcastle region but this is also the case for other regions outside of the main metro areas, including Canberra (our capital city, in case no one noticed).

I have tried to contact Channel 10, but have got nowhere so far (it seems they do not welcome input about

programming), and I have sent an e-mail to Southern Cross – still waiting on an answer.

I currently can’t watch Ambrose. Will I lose the F1 and the MotoGP? Incidentally, I subscribed to Foxtel at the start of 2007 so I could watch Ambrose in the then Busch Series, so perhaps I’m a candidate for the Biggest Loser!

Paul Ward Newcastle, NSW

Horspwr Clothing is giving away a t-shirt each week for the most creative letter. Send yours to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 1 – CLIPSAL 500

A Whin Whin Situ

In the 10th Adelaide 500, Jamie Whincup was flawless; pole position and two wins. Behind him, there were plenty of stories. PHIL BRANAGAN reports

Dirk Klynsmith

uation

race

J

AMIE Whincup has a quiet few days coming up.

While many others will be working day and night to prepare for the second round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Eastern Creek in 10 days’ time, Whincup has plenty of time to catch his breath after a flawless performance that saw him grab his second Adelaide 500 win in two years.

The Vodafone driver was the class of the field, and left the City of Churches with a perfect score.

“It was an amazing weekend, one of those you dream of

when you are a kid” said the slightly incredulous Whincup later.

“The tweaks we made all worked.”

It was an all-Ford Saturday podium, with a miffed Mark Winterbottom (whom Jamie nudged out of the lead with a handful of laps left) and Craig Lowndes, as usual overcoming a low starting spot (and a deflating rear) to come through, smiling.

But Whincup apart, Sunday was much different. There was carnage on a huge scale and much criticism of drivers by drivers afterwards (see news pages).

Holdens filled the podium spots, but not in the way many predicted (see breakout).

And there were some starring performances. After a steady and already impressive Saturday, Shane Van Gisbergen starred on the day of rest, taking his SP Tools Ford to fifth at the flag and keeping his head while, frankly, some greyer models lost theirs. He was surrounded by a couple of Kellys – Todd in front, Rick behind – and Greg Murphy somehow recovered from battle damage earlier in the race to salvage some points from a weekend that looked to be heading south.

Of the established drivers, Garth Tander led the long faces from Clayton, with none of the red or … er, orangeish cars able to survive a hit.

Mark Skaife was never a factor, but you can never write off the dream team, even after a nightmare.

Any notions that Russell Ingall would reward his patient Holden fans with a result ended in the Turn 8 wall in Sunday warm-up, while there were flashes of form from the Jim Beams and Glenfords, Fabian Coulthards taking car #111 places that few might have imagined it would go.

race

Marshall Cass

Start of a new season: James Courtney led the field away, but it would be a different story at the end of Sunday’s race.

V8 Supercar | Round 1 ADELAIDE PARKLANDS

Marshall Cass

New and old: Jamie Whincup’s two race wins, above, has given him a handy series lead. Todd Kelly and his new team, Jack Daniel’s Racing, below, gelled at first touch.

Dirk Klynsmith

Pos# Driver

Team/Car

Q

r1 r2

1 88 Jamie Whincup 2 33 Lee Holdsworth 3 15 Rick Kelly 4 17 Steven Johnson 5 7 Todd Kelly 6 9 Shane Van Gisbergen 7 51 Greg Murphy 8 6 Steven Richards 9 3 Jason Richards 10 2 Mark Skaife 11 5 Mark Winterbottom 12 14 Cameron McConville 13 888 Craig Lowndes 14 111 Fabian Coulthard 15 12 Andrew Jones 16 26 Marcus Marshall 17 021 Kayne Scott 18 18 Will Davison 19 1 Garth Tander 20 25 Jason Bright 21 34 Michael Caruso 22 39 Russell Ingall 23 67 Paul Morris 24 4 James Courtney 25 55 Tony D’Alberto 26 50 Andrew Thompson 27 11 Shane Price 28 16 Paul Dumbrell

TeamVodafone Falcon BF Valvoline Cummins Commodore VE HSV Dealer Team Commodore VE Jim Beam Falcon BF Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE SP Tools Falcon BF Tasman Motorsport Commodore VE Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF Tasman Motorsport Commodore VE Toll HRT Commodore VE Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF Team WOW Commodore VE TeamVodafone Falcon BF Glenfords Falcon BF Team BOC Commodore VE Irwin Falcon VE Team Kiwi Racing Falcon BF Jim Beam Falcon BF Toll HRT Commodore VE Fujitsu Falcon BF Valvoline Cummins Commodore VE Supercheap Auto Commodore VE Supercheap Auto Commodore VE Jeld-Wen Falcon BF Rod Nash Racing Commodore VE PWR Racing Commodore VE Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE Autobarn Racing Commodore VE

1 1 1 7 4 2 12 8 6 8 6 9 11 15 4 13 12 5 20 10 7 9 5 9 15 13 8 14 9 17 3 2DNF 19 DNF 3 6 3DNF 16 11 18 21 18 12 28 19 13 27 22 14 5 7DNF 4 23 19 17 DNF 10 22 DNF 11 18 14DNF 26 DNF 16 2 16DNF 24 17DNF 25 20DNF 23 21DNF 10 DNFDNF

Points: Whincup 300, Holdsworth 258, R Kelly 192, Johnson 186, T Kelly 180, Van Gisbergen 180, Murphy 174, S Richards 171, J Richards 156, Skaife 138, Winterbottom 138, McConville 129, Lowndes 129, Coulthard 123, Jones 120, Marshall 114, Scott 102, Davison 96, Tander 84, Bright 78, Caruso 72, Ingall 63, Morris 57, Courtney 57, D’Alberto 54, Thompson 45, Price 42, Dumbrell 0.

Opposites Attack Peter Bury

Looking good in Red? FROM THE COUCH Grant Rowley

Dirk DirkKlynsmith Klynsmith

MAKING pre-season predictions on who will be the champion is fraught with danger, but I’m a sucker for it. Saying ‘I told you so’ is one of the most childish and rewarding statements you can ever make!

My tip for 08 was Garth Tander. Surely, a safe bet. But while I was giving the lounge room its post-race tidy-up, I realised that GT hasn’t gone well in red.

From his four race starts with HRT (Sandown 06, Bathurst 06 and last weekend’s two races), he has not made it to the finish line – all due to mechanical failure.

And if you use Clipsal as a form guide, The General won’t be able to afford anymore breakages on Car #1. Besides Lee Holdsworth, a surprising Cameron McConville and the consistent Rick Kelly, Tander looks like the only Holden capable of running with Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup and a horde of other fast Falcons.

Tander has given Whincup and some other quick contenders a big head start to this year’s championship – but don’t write him off yet. The war has only just began ...

KEN McConville is an enthusiastic race fan, but he is sometimes forced to share his son with another ‘dad’.

Cameron and Wally Storey built a relationship at the old Lansvale team (which is now, sort of, Tasman), so it is little surprise that Story and McConville Jr clicked back into action in Adelaide, now both in BJR colours.

On the other hand, Lee Holdsworth has had to start all over again. The man who assisted him in his breakout year, James Small, has emigrated north to SCAR and Anthony Petherbridge is now learning how to engineer the #33 GRM VE. Somehow, the opposite ends of the spectrum met in Adelaide. Few would have expected those two to be the class of the Holden pack, particularly when McConville started Sunday’s race behind everyone else – everyone – after a bad Saturday. But that is what happened.

“I told the guys to leave it for

the second race,” Holdsworth admitted, so pleased was he with the speed of the car from Race 1.

“I didn’t know where the media centre was,” said an emotional McConville. “If I am in the media centre, I normally have a media pass on.”

There is much to come.

McConville was only too pleased to point out that his car won at the Creek in 2007 (in the hands of Mark Skaife) while Holdsworth countered with news that, while his engines are better than before, GRM’s new and shiny Walkinshaw Performance motors are yet to arrive in Dandenong. Part hold-ups mean that Lee and team-mate Michael Caruso will be talking about their horsepower upgrades, rather than using them, for some time yet.

In the meantime, the two very underrated drivers appear to have yet more points to deliver their satisfied sponsors … and new and old ‘relatives’.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

From the Stewards Room The officials were kept pretty busy during the first V8 Supercar round for 2008 at Adelaide. Here is a review of the penalties handed out over the two races Race 1 Pit Lane Penalty: Paul Morris Car #67 for a driving infringement on Andrew Thompson Car #50.

James Courtney: breach of the Code of Driving Conduct (contact with Greg Murphy Car #51 on Lap 52). The Stewards reversed the finishing order for Car #4 and Car #51.

James Courtney: breach of the Code of Driving Conduct (driving infringement on Todd Kelly Car #7 at Turn 5 Lap 74); PLP time of 22 seconds added to the Leg 1 Car #4.

No breach of rules established: Paul Dumbrell Car #16 and Rick Kelly Car #15 at Turn 11; Jamie Whincup Car #88 and Mark Winterbottom Car #5 at Turn 9.

Race 2 Pit Lane Penalties were imposed as follows by the Stewards: Paul Dumbrell (breach of Refueling Regulations), plus $5,000 Fine; Garth Tander (driving infringement on Car # 17); Steven Johnson for overlapping on Safety Car restart.

Paul Morris: reprimand

(contact with Safety Car in pit lane).

Greg Murphy: suspended $5000 fine (bad language on TV!) No breach of Rules was established: Contact between Car #4 James Courtney and Car #51 Greg Murphy; Contact between Car #9 Shane Van Gisbergen and Car #12 Andrew Jones; Contact between Car #9 Shane Van Gisbergen and Car #14 Cameron McConville; Contact between Car #4 James Courtney and Car #888 Craig Lowndes (Turn 10).

race

Losers rather than Whinners will grab the headlines ANALYSIS

John Morris/Mpix

WELL … while it’s hats off to Jamie Whincup and a number of exceptional performances from individuals and teams who grabbed top spots on Sunday, all the talk is again going to be about driving standards – what is acceptable and what is not.

With a pre-season drivers’ chat on Thursday not really setting clear guidelines, the potential for some of what happened on Saturday and Sunday was clear.

I feel a bit sorry for Tomas Mezera, the new Driving Standards Observer, being dropped into the middle of this cauldron. I hope he gets the back-up and support he needs from the rest of the V8SA group, but clearly there needs to be a stricter and crystal clear definition of what is and isn’t acceptable.

For me, the defining factor

Neil Crompton Commentator was far too many wrecked and damaged cars being towed or wheeled away on Sunday night. Yes, a street circuit does accentuate damage, but for me too much of it was as the result of borderline decision-making by some drivers.

For me, there was too much push and shove, and some of it came from the obvious uncertainty among drivers about where the limit is – and under those circumstances, they’re going to try it on …

I don’t think it’s sufficient to say that each incident will be treated on its merits. There has to be a clear set of definitions to apply.

Given that the category spends so much time and

effort on cost-control initiatives, particularly positive news it’s incongruous to see such an attached – Lee Holdsworth unnecessary huge repair bill starting where he left off in coming out of one race meeting. ’07; Cam McConville delivering Where there are losers, there for BJR’s new backers; Todd are beneficiaries and there Kelly, an experienced drive for were some good news stories LP; and Shane van Gisbergen behind Whincup – indeed ... speed and maturity from the rest of the top five all had someone so young.

John Morris/Mpix Dirk Klynsmith

Seconds from impact: Dumbrell and R Kelly just before doing the ‘team-mate tango’ in Race 1.

HSVDT: Friendly Fire IT is always rare when that two HSV Dealer Team Commodores crash into each other.

No, cancel that; it never is. Happens all the time; Rick Kelly and Garth Tander clanged into each other in Bahrain in November and, four months later in Adelaide, Paul

Dumbrell and Kelly performed the team’s party trick in the first race at Adelaide.

This time, the pair were battling for sixth place when they got together. Dumbrell ended up in the pits while, somehow, Rick ended up losing only one position.

In the Middle East, then-TM

Rob Crawford ushered his drivers behind closed doors to a chat. This time, one of the men involved was the team’s endurance driver and coach, Paul Radisich. When asked what was said, The Rat’s reply was, “not … much.”

Dumbrell was a little more forthcoming.

“It was unfortunate,” said PD. “I got him two laps earlier at [Turn] 8, he got me back at nine and we were side-by-side.

I clipped the wall on the inside and the rest is history.”

Early days in the new arrangements at Clayton, and there is a long way to go this season. But, not a great start.

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 1 - ADELAIDE

Refugees Revolt Steve Owen lead an uprising of main game refugees claiming two from two, ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

race

Dirk Klynsmith

S

TEVE Owen finally became a V8 Supercar race winner last weekend, taking out both Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series races at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

In a one-off appearance for Tint-A-Car Racing, the main series refugee decimated the field, winning both races at a canter from Jack Perkins and Dale Wood.

But it may not have been so easy. Fellow main game refugee Dean Canto was the weekend’s early pace-setter, putting his Howard Racing Falcon on pole and taking an early lead in the first race. But

fuel pressure problems ended his Race 1 prematurely, and ruled him out of contention for the series’ opening round.

From there Owen’s job was as simple as driving away from the field, a job made easier by the complete lack of Safety Car periods in the first race.

Ironically, it was a Safety Car period that made Owen’s Race 2 win just as easy. Having sprinted in the early laps, Owen was at the front of the field when Ashley Cooper had a massive shunt at Turn 8. The race went under Safety Car, and was eventually redflagged, eight laps from the

scheduled finish.

“This is the next best thing [to being in the main series],” said Owen.

“I was reluctant to do this because I had sort of lost my motivation, but it was good to be out there.”

Aside from Canto, Perkins was the only driver able to match Owen’s times throughout the weekend. But any chance of mounting a Race 2 attack was essentially lost when Wood beat him to Turn 1 at the start, delaying the former Jack Daniel’s driver sufficiently to let Owen get away.

Wood’s weekend was just

as straightforward. He was fourth in the first race behind Tim Slade, and promoted a spot in the second when Slade found the wall on the first lap.

Behind the leaders there were stunning debuts for both Michael Trimble and Karl Reindler. Trimble was fifth for the weekend in the Marty Brant-prepped Commodore, a result that was highlighted with fourth in Race 2. Reindler had actually led Trimble at the start of Race 2, but lost several spots when Matthew White spun inside him on the third lap. Still, eighth was a solid result on debut for the

race

James Smith

Owen and the Developers: Owen Kelly, left, dominated the round with two wins after Dean Canto, above, suffered fuel supply dramas after leading Race 1. Dale Wood, below, and Jack Perkins, bottom, now trail Kelly in the championship after some solid finishes.

Marshall Cass

John Morris/Mpix

Howard squad.

David Reynolds was a prerace favourite who didn’t have a great outing. Having qualified just 18th thanks to the intermittent weather, Reynolds spun on the first lap of the first race, and finished just 17th.

He recovered to ninth in the second outing, and may have been higher had the race not been shortened.

Dirk Klynsmith

Points: Owen 300, Perkins 276, Wood 249, Grant Denyer 222, Michael Trimble 216, Karl Reindler 186, Brett Hobson 180, Marcus Zukanovic 156, David Reynolds 138, Mark McNally 132.

CARRERA CUP ROUND 1 – ADELAIDE

Experience leads ... just Craig Baird is the Carrera Cup leader after the first round at Adelaide, but a fasinating season looks set to unfold. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

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RAIG Baird may have won the opening round of the 2008 Carrera Cup at last weekend’s Clipsal 500, but he didn’t exactly have everything his own way.

The 2006 champ was one of three winners from the three races, but thanks to consistency took away the round honours.

Baird was the hot tip for pole position, but, like most of the Carrera Cup paddock, he was surprised by a couple of Sonic Motorsport’s youngsters. First it was Dean Fiore who raised eyebrows, going under the practice record with a 1:23.35s for provision pole position. But with just moments remaining in the session Bryce Washington grabbed pole by a tenth with a last gasp effort. Baird, meanwhile, was third.

Washington took himself out of contention in the opener with a jump start and subsequent penalty, leaving Fiore and Baird to control the race. Baird actually crossed the

line first after passing Fiore at the second last corner of the race, but was penalised 1s post-race for passing under yellows, meaning Fiore was the official winner.

There were no such controversies in the second race, with Baird winning the start and winning the race. Making life even better for Baird was David Russell, who snuck past Fiore on Lap 4 and held on for second place.

Race 3 was a similar story, except it was Russell who won the start and the race. He did so despite intense pressure from Baird, and while the Kiwi couldn’t stop Russell taking his maiden win, he still won the round with a close second place.

“I threw everything I had at [Russell] in that last race and put him under as much pressure as I could so he did a fantastic job for the win,” Baird conceded afterwards.

“I said only yesterday that it was only a matter of time until David stepped up and

got a race win, I just wish it wasn’t today. I wanted that last race win for sure, but he was difficult to get past because he drove a good race.

“I had a very good car throughout the weekend so qualifying [in third] wasn’t the car’s fault; I just made a couple of mistakes.”

The weekend was relatively carnage free for the Porsches, with the most exciting bingle coming at the start of the second when Rodney Forbes and James Kondouris clashed at Turn 1, taking out young Kiwi debutant Jono Lester.

James Moffat was the best-placed rookie of the weekend, finishing sixth in the exDavid Reynolds car. His team-mate Rodney Jane had a good weekend as well, taking out the first round of the Pilatus Challenge.

Points: Baird 168, Russell 162, Fiore 150, Wall 126, Caratti 93, Moffat 93, Washington 75, Jane 66, Mawer 63, Forbes 42.

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Phil Williams Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

Good start, but could have been better: Bryce Washington, above, delivered exceptional pre-race pace.

BOOM! David Russell, above, scored his first Carrera Cup race win and looks like he’ll be a threat to Baird and Co this year.

James Smith

FORMULA 3 ROUND 2 – ADELAIDE

Parklands parking lot

Two races, two winners, multiple crashes and a new championship leader. Australian Formula 3 was hard-fought on the Clipsal streets. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

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EIL McFadyen is the new leader of the Kumho Australian Formula 3 Championship following the second round at last weekend’s Clipsal 500.

The former Australian Formula Ford champion and Gold Star winner set up his weekend by dominating the opening race.

Having qualified on pole, McFadyen simply drove away from the field, his only pressure coming from 2006 F3 champ Ben Clucas, who was back for Team BRM. But while Race 1 was the only outing from which McFadyen took maximum points from, it was Race 2 that set up his championship lead. While he could do nothing about the outright pace of race winner Clucas, McFadyen still had luck on his side. A mid-race restart saw Earl Bamber climb a kerb and spin, taking out first round

winner Nathan Caratti and pre-season favourite Leanne Tander.

McFadyen cruised to second behind Clucas and walked away with the Gold Star lead.

“We hit the track fast and had a great weekend,” he said afterwards.

“Hopefully, we can keep that momentum throughout the season. At the start of the weekend, we had a great car, but BRM came back to us. We haven’t done enough testing to know which way to go yet.”

Clucas was second for the weekend from Race 2 pole-sitter James Winslow, while Stuart Kostera and Matt Sofi were elevated to fourth and fifth, thanks to the Race 2 crash between Bamber, Caratti and Tander.

But the big Race 2 clash wasn’t the only carnage of the day. Chris Reindler did a complete rollover in his National Class car

after tangling with Sam Reid on the second lap. He was unhurt in the incident, however it took him out of contention for the class win, that honour instead going to Chris Gilmour.

With four years having passed (and a new generation of cars recently arrived) since Formula 3’s last visit, the lap record was always going to tumble during the weekend. And Bamber was the lucky winner of a brand new outright lap record, scorching around the Adelaide streets in just 1:18.60s on his way to third place in Race 1.

Points: Gold Star: McFadyen 46, Winslow 37, Clucas 36, Caratti 29, Bamber 23.

National: Farrell 50, Gilmour 48, Schulz 41, Radisich 34, Crozier 18.

Trophy: Mill 60, Tate 45, Wakeman 35.

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Dirk Klynsmith

Crash Adelaide: Chris Reindler had this moment at turn three, left, before rolling his Dallara at the turn nine hairpin in Race 2.

Marshall Cass

Pay for parking: Leanne Tander , Earl Bamber and Nathan Caratti joined each other in the junkyard after their Race 2 stoush.

Dirk Klynsmith

Marshall Cass

Johnson leads Crambrook V8 UTES Holden driver and defending series champion Grant Johnson has picked up where he finished last season by winning the opening round of the series at the Clipsal 500 last weekend.

Johnson, pictured below right, proved consistent in the new VE Holden Ute and stayed clear of any incident in an action packed weekend of racing.

“I’m really happy with the new VE, but we don’t have consistency yet for the race distance,” said Johnson after its debut.

“I’m looking forward to getting on top of the car [in the coming rounds],” said Johnson.

“But it will be a big learning curve.”

Race 1 got underway amidst semi-wet conditions and Johnson got the jump from pole, however a heaving downpour on lap 2 ensured a wet race and excitement aplenty. A crash on lap 4 brought out the Safety Car leaving one lap to run. Johnson proved superior in the wet conditions to take the win comfortably from Matt Kingsley in an older-model Holden VU. Race 2s reverse grid start

saw Gary McDonald lead from the outset and take a convincing win in dry but cool conditions. As ever, the reverse grid format saw many of the faster drivers charge through the field including Race 1 winner Johnson who finished 11th after starting right at the back. Coopers Ford driver Jack Elsegood also made the most of the carnage caused by the reverse grid and guided his way through to seventh place.

Combined Race 1 and 2 results made up the grid for Race 3, which saw Johnson gain the lead from the front of the grid. In a hectic first lap Layton

Crambrook took the lead from Johnson as a slight lockup saw him drop some positions into turn 9. However the race was red flagged prematurely after multi car crash in the Senna Chicane involving Craig Dontas, Kingsley, both pictured, Elsegood and Colin Corkery, saw Kingsley, Dontas and Corkery taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

– PHILLIP MAHONEY Points: Johnson 61, Crambrook 59, George Miedecke 57, MacDonald 57, Dontas 57, Kingsley 55, Ryal Harris 52, Kim Jane 51, Elsegood 51, Charlie Kovacs 51.

Dirk Klynsmith

John Morris/Mpix

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Allan does it again GT CHAMPIONSHIP

Marshall Cass Marshall Cass

Coopers Ferrari driver Allan Simonsen has continued his good form in Round 2 of the Australian GT Championship by taking a hat-trick of wins on the streets of Adelaide.

A less than expected field showed up in Adelaide, however many of the main players were still out in force.

A great start from Simonsen, pictured top right, in Race 1 allowed him to lead from the rolling start with Darcy Russell and Ross Lilley in his Lamborghini close behind.

John Kaias’s charge through the field ended with a spin in turn 1 that saw him beached in the gravel.

A good drive from Scott Bargwanna pictured bottom right, left him in second place after a late pass on Russell.

Simonsen once again gained the jump from pole in a slightly shortened race Race 2 due to time constraints. After strong performances in Race 1 Bargwanna and Simonsen fought for the early race lead until some strong laps from the Victorian enabled him to build a solid gap. An unfortunate spin for Russell left the Dodge Viper in the wall and out of contention early in the race.

Race 3 saw the Lotus of Bargwanna challenge strongly for the lead early until Simonsen took control and built a comfortable buffer, which included a new lap record.

Simonsen’s dominance of the weekend gave him the round win ahead of an impressive Bargwanna with Mark Eddy in third.

– PHILLIP MAHONEY

Mason Masters Adelaide BIANTE MASTERS

James Smith

Steve Mason has continued where he left off last season with a consistent weekend in Round 1 of the 2008 Biante Touring Car Masters.

Mason, pictured, stamped his authority over an all-star field that included John Bowe, Jim Richards and Glenn Seton.

The first of four scheduled races for the weekend witnessed a tight battle for the lead between Bowe in his Camaro, and Gavin Bullas in his Mustang. However, continued pressure from Mason and Brad Tilley eventually forced a mistake from Bullas in turn 4. Jim Richards’ day was over almost before it begun with engine trouble forcing him to retire.

A late charge from Mason saw him take second from Bullas in Race 2, as Seton guided his underpowered Escort through the field to forth after a slow start.

Meanwhile Bowe continued his strong form from Race 1 to take the win.

After an incident in the preceding Fujistu

race saw the cancellation on Race 3, Race 4 got underway and Mason gained the jump from Bullas and Seton. After a jumpstart Bowe received a black flag, which effectively ruined his weekend.

After his first win on the streets of Adelaide, Mason took the round win from

Bullas and Bowe.

– PHILLIP MAHONEY Points: Mason 106, Bullas 101, Bowe 95, Drew Marget 84, Jeremy Mantello 76, Tony Hunter 69, Garry Treloar 67, Trevor Talbot 66, Mark Forgie 58, Brad Tilley 56.

Jani battles bug to extend lead A1 GP NEEL Jani has bolstered Switzerland’s series lead after claiming a crash-filled Feature, while Team Canada’s Robert Wickens converted the nation’s maiden pole position into its first race win.

Jani not only kept his nose clean in the Feature race but also battled a stomach bug and dehydration, which also saw Australia’s John Martin hospitalised prior to the Sprint.

Team France’s Loic Duval benefited from a spinning Wickens and some slick pit-stops to finish second in the Feature, with Filipe Albuquerque third on debut for Team Portugal after working his way up

from ninth.

“I got two litres of fluids by drip and that was a little bit better afterwards,” said Jani.

“But still the cramps and everything was still going on, so the race was really tough and in the end I really had problems to concentrate.”

“I really felt how dehydrated I was and the concentration was really getting tough in the end so I was happy with all the safety cars.”

18-year-old Wickens survived a clash with Team NZ’s Jonny Reid and late pressure from Team GB and Jani after a race-restart.

Brazill’s Bruno Junqueira crashed on lap nine after damaging bodywork over the kerbs. The race was ended early after Jer-

one Bleekemolen was put out of the race

by Germanys Michael Ammermuller, losing fifth place. Ammermuller was later disqualified from the race promoting Martin to sixth place, and 14th in the Feature.

“I knew that we had a very good chance at winning the race because we were quick in qualifying and we had a really solid race car through practice so I was basically going into the start with my whole goal just to make it into the first corner, and that was slightly hairy,” said Wickens.

Points: Switzerland 118, France 108, New Zealand 98, South Africa 83, Germany 77, Great Britain 70, Netherlands 69, Canada 52, Ireland 50, China 43, (14th Australia 20).

Swiss rule the streets: Neel Jani, above, claimed the Feature and Canadas Robert Wiskens, left, the Sprint, while slick stops helped Team France. John Martin, right, lead the main pack on the streets of Durban.

Ewan Cameron

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Bayliss and Nieto win at Losail WORLD SUPERBIKE

THERE were times when the opening round of the World Superbike Championship at Losail looked like a Ducati benefit.

Troy Bayliss slipped past Max Biaggi on the last lap to take the opening race, and the 1098Rs were running 1-23 in Race 2, with Ruben Xaus taking the battle to his older rivals. But then, Fonsi Nieto converted his promising testing speed to the race and

sped by to take Race 2 for Suzuki.

“It’s nice for me, I haven’t won for four years and I’m really happy,” said Nieto. The season promises much. Troy Corser took his 41st pole position and he and team-mate Noriyuki Haga were right in the Race 1 fight, the Aussie taking third and Nori flying over the bars.

But tyre problems dropped both back into the pack after leading early in Race 2.

While the Yams flew, the team that they beat to the

2007 Manufacturers’ crown, Honda, struggled. The largelyuntested 2008 bikes were far from perfect and Carlos Checa got the only decent result, with sixth in Race 1.

Series points: Bayliss 38, Biaggi 36, Nieto 34, Xaus 33, Corser 25, Neukirchner 19, D Checa 15.

BROC Parkes was gifted a last lap Supersport win.

Fabien Foret had the race in

hand when his Yamaha R6 ran dry with the flag in sight. Joan Lascorz (Honda) shot past but, out of the final corner, Parkes third at the time, pictured, who used the slipstream to lead across the line by 0.048s.

Andrew Pitt and Jonathon Rea crashed their Ten Kate Hondas on the opening lap, while Garry McCoy ran as high as fourth on his Triumph before his engine lost power.

yamaha-racing.com

Dixon equals Schu NHRA Ducati Corse

Perovich denied SPEEDWAY

Points: Loudoun 3301, Perovich 3277, Tunks 3204, Maher 3188, James Thompson 3107.

David Ostaszweski

Sprintcars were back at Parramatta City Raceway and points leader Ian Loudon stormed through to spoil Marty Perovich chance at his first A Main victory of the summer, with Roddy BellBowen picking up a superb third position.

Perovich lead from the front row with Adrian Maher, he and Loudoun traded positions after several restarts due to rookie Jimmy Matchett flipping over and a spectacular Grant Tunks crash.

Loudon blasted by Perovich and BellBowen snatched third from Maher with the line in

sight. Rounding out the top six was James Thomson and Kelly Linigen.

BellBowen set quick time in qualifying from Ben Atkinson (NT) and Maher while heat wins went to Craig Brady, Dave Lambert, Scott Darley and Grant Tunks.

Young Matt Thomas had a car destroying crash into the front straight wall wrecking his #45 Maxim and was lucky to escape after a hole was punched into the base of his seat.

– GREG BOSCATO

Larry Dixon, Jack Beckman, and Vieri Gaines took wins during the NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona last Saturday.

Dixon, pictured, used his quickest pass of the meet at 4.53s at 327mph in the final round to defeat David Grubnic, who shook the tyres.

Dixon collected his 42nd career win, tying with Tony Schumacher for second-place in Top Fuel victories and moving within one point of Schumacher's series lead.

Beckman, suffering from flu-like symptoms all weekend, recorded a winning 4.86s/320mph in the final round to defeat Pomona Funny Car winner, Robert Hight. Beckman's Valvoline/ MTS Dodge Charger had earlier defeated Mike Neff, Gary Scelzi, and Jim Head.

Pro Stock winner Gaines, took a starting line advantage over Jason Line in the final to take his first national event win since Dallas 2001, as his 6.70s/205mph was enough to defeat Line, who shook the tyres and broke. i – DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

rear of grid

sutton-images.com

sutton-image s.com

Williams honours drivers Williams ran a new testing livery featuring the names of their previous drivers and incorporating messages to the team from some of their Grand Prix winners.

The new strip was unveild during testing at Barcelona, with the FW30 driven by Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg.

As well as the names of all drivers on the cars nosecone, thre was also messages from the teams former champions.

The messages spread across the two cars included: Alan Jones (“I was the first”), Keke Rosberg (“Thanks for 4 great years”), Damon Hill (“Thanks Frank”), Nigel Mansell's (“Fabulous 28 wins, Red

Odd Spot

Five”), Alain Prost (“Many thanks to all the team – I was proud to win my last World Championship with you.”).

The new testing scheme follows several earlier ones, the most recent thanking the team’s employees and listing them in a similar manner on the nosecone of the Williams machines.

Murph to race jet ski While other V8 drivers are taking it easy this weekend between Clipsal and Eastern Creek, Greg Murphy will be raiding Tasman's wet tyre bank and hitting the water to take part in a celebrity Jet Ski race.

The celebrity event will also feature some Carlton AFL players as well as several media personalities (possibly one of MNews’s own).

It will be part of the 2008 Seadoo Australian National Flat Water Titles, which will feature top jet-skiers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world, battling it out in nine classes. The titles will be held at Caribbean Gardens and Markets in Scoresby, Melbourne, this Sunday.