Motorsport eNews Issue 65 - July 29-August 4, 2008

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Issue No. 065 29 July – 4 August 2008

PENSKE CONFIRMS GOLD COAST INDY ASSAULT

BRISCOE VERSUS

POWER AUSSIE CHAMPIONS! FINALLY!

WEBBER & BAYLISS TO REPRESENT OZ IN ROC

Editorial Editor: Grant Rowley grant@mnews.com.au Deputy Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au Staff Journalist: Phillip Mahoney philm@mnews.com.au Executive Editor: Phil Branagan editor@mnews.com.au

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

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MD / Publisher

Chris Lambden publisher@mnews.com.au

Contributing Writers F1: Will Buxton, Mark Glendenning, 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.

Issue No. 065 | 29 - 04 Aug 2008

news 4 Briscoe and Power 6 V8 CEO 8 The road to F1 ...

10 Marcos’s debut ...

12 Threatning 14 More Boxers

chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Branagan race 22 Evans Land 26 NASCAR 30 IndyCar 34 State wrap 36 F3 Euro Series

Indy 300 winner?

Announcement at Winton Ricciardo stars in F3 Euro Stars at the Brickyard Conflict from Edmunton Big grid for GT3 Cup Andrew Jones For the fans ...

ARC in SA Tyre dramas at Indy The Dixon show continues NSW and Victoria Ricciardo impresses

trade 40 Classifieds

welcome Everyone loves Winton’s eNews Esses, even TD ...

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

Briscoe versus P With the big IndyCar teams confirming they will make the trek down under, the Gold Coast Indy 300 is set to be an all-Aussie fight. MARY MENDEZ, PHIL BRANAGAN and ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN report INDYCAR

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THE 2008 Indy 300 is shaping up as an all-Australian fight between Will Power and Ryan Briscoe.

Doubts that Briscoe would miss the race have been quelled, with Penske Racing President Tim Cindric confirming on the weekend in Edmonton that ““we are definitely planning on going to Australia to race at the Indy.”

There had been doubts that the powerhouse team would skip the non-championship race in mid-October.

In the current edition of Motorsport News, Briscoe said that he was looking forward to racing at the event for the second time.

“It’s great to race there, and I know so the circuit, so that’s going to help a lot,” he said.

“Street courses are always tough, and Surfers is one of the toughest I’ve ever driven on. Penske has won races around that track so they’ve got some good knowledge and information about how to make a car go fast around there, and my car is good wherever we go, so its going to be good going down there with a big chance of winning.

“Will Power hasn’t won there?

He’s going to be the one to beat, to tell you the truth. He’s really quick, knows his way around

that place, and he has a very fast car on the street courses this year. So it’s going to be tough going head-to-head with Will.

“It should be good,” Power agreed.

“Penske is right on the money, and we have been getting stronger, particularly on road courses. I am sure that this is going to be something that the fans have been looking forward to.”

Both drivers have won this season, Briscoe taking the chequers at Milwaukee and MidOhio, and Power a dominant win on the streets of Long Beach. At Saturday’s race at Edmonton, Briscoe starred in qualifying and started from pole, while Power had to satisfy himself with the race’s fastest lap after a suspension breakage.

“I need to approach it a little differently to how I have in previous years,” said Power.

“I need to be a little more relaxed. I have been in a position to win it in the last couple of years but we haven’t pulled it off.

If we can concentrate and get the strategy and pitstops right, there is a big chance that things will work out.

And for Briscoe, a fight with his countryman for the win would be, “perfect, although there are no points for pole, so let’s go for an Aussie one-two finish, how about that?

FOR FORMULA 1, MOTOGP AND WRC NEWS, OPINION AND ANALYSIS CLICK HERE TO

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Power

Australia, are you ready to ROC?

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RACE OF CHAMPIONS

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AUSTRALIA will be represented in the Race of Champions event for the first time this year.

Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber and former World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss are set to be represent the green and gold at the ROC, to be held at Wembley in December.

The end of season Race of Champions stadium race utilises identical race equipment and track, giving drivers a unique opportunity to prove themselves against other drivers, based on talent alone.

In the past, most of the contesting drivers have come from Formula 1, World Rally and Touring Cars.

Webber and Bayliss can expect tough competition, with entries to come from Michael Schumacher and Sebastien Vettel (Germany) and Jensen Button and Andy Priaulx (Great Britain).

The first incarnation of the ROC was held in Paris 1988 where the top World Rally drivers competed in identical cars. Nowadays, many

different styles of cars are used to determine the champion.

Past winners of the fun (yet highly competitive) event are dominated by rally stars, although in recent times, circuit racers have come to the fore. Last year, DTM driver Mattias Ekstrom won the race, while other champions include Sebastien Loeb, Michael Schumacher, Heikki Kovalainen, Marcus Gronholm and Colin McRae. – GRANT ROWLEY

O ACCESS THE WORLD’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL ‘VIRTUAL’ MOTORSPORT MAGAZINE ...

“No change” V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

ANY notion that Vodafone may change its direction in motor racing sponsorships has been put down by TeamVodafone boss Roland Dane.

Arun Surin, the Indian-born CEO for the past five years, is about to stand aside from the role and will succeeded by for Deputy Chief Executive Vittorio Colao.

“There are no problems at this end,” said Dane on Monday.

“We have a current deal until the end of the 2009 season

and there is a three-year option to take us past that. We are very happy with the way things are.”

Vodafone is undergoing some difficulties in European markets, with a revenue drop in Spain compared to the same time in 2007. It also announced a $2.1bn stock buyback on the London Stock Exchange.

Surin, 53, was said to be personally key in a number of the company sporting sponsorships, including the deal that saw the substantial McLaren branding in 2007.

New CEO to be confirmed at Winton V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS Australia is expected to confirm Cameron Levick as its new Chief Executive Officer at Winton this weekend.

After an extensive recruitment effort, the current Queensland and Northern Territory General Manager for Vodafone is expected to be the successor to Wayne Cattach, who is retiring at the end of the season.

Despite having no direct experience within the motorsport business, sources in the communications industry have told eNews that his recruitment would be “a real coup” for the category.

Levick, 38, has significant experience in the corporate sector, having previously worked for Diageo, the multi-national beverage group with brands such as Johnny Walker scotch and Bundaberg Rum. Levick would become the category manager’s third CEO after Cattach and Garry Craft, who became CEO of what was then known as AVESCO.

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Changes on, and in the box V8 SUPERCARS

Winton Motor Raceway Saturday 2 August 11:30am – 3:00pm (Perth) 1:30pm – 5:00pm (Sydney, Brisbane) 2:00pm – 5:30pm (Melbourne, Adelaide) Sunday 3 August 11:30am – 1:00pm and 4:00pm – 5:30pm (Sydney, Brisbane) 12:00pm – 1:30pm and 4:30pm – 6:00pm (Adelaide) 12:00pm – 3:00pm (Melbourne, Perth)

Peter Bury

CHANNEL 7’s commentary team and broadcast times will have a one-round re-jig for this weekend’s eighth round at Winton Motor Raceway.

With Matthew White bound for the network’s Olympics coverage in Beijing, Sunrise sport’s presenter Mark Beretta will take over as the main anchor alongside Neil Crompton.

Filling Beretta’s regular role in the pits will be former driver-turned Carrera Cup driving standards man Mark Larkham.

The broadcast times have also been shuffled in certain states to accommodate certain AFL fixtures.

Sunday’s coverage in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide will be split, allowing for Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs AFL match.

– GRANT ROWLEY

V8 SUPERCAR Round 7

Dirk Klynsmith

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Ricciardo makes stunning F3 debut AUSSIES OVERSEAS

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DANIEL Ricciardo had his first outing in a Formula 3 car last weekend … but it certainly won’t be his last.

The young West Aussie had never sat in a Formula 3 car before the latest round of the Euro Series at the Nurburgring, but, quite amazingly, ran inside the top eight in qualifying and finished sixth in the first race. He might have been even closer to the front in the second race after lining up fifth, but stalled at the start and had to recover to 15th.

“I was really, really pleased with how it all went,” he told eNews.

“And with really limited seat-time before the event I think it was great to be in that top eight in qualifying and then get that top six in the race.”

According to Ricciardo, the deal to run for SG Formula (the same team for which he drives in both the West European Cup and the Eurocup for Formula Renault 2.0 cars) came about within a week of the event.

“It was after the last Formula Renault race in Budapest. I hadn’t heard anything, but I thought there might have been a possibility that I would do the Masters, and then about a week ago Red Bull and the team asked me if I’d also do Nurburgring, so it was a really late thing.”

And thanks to the rushed nature of the decision, Ricciardo doesn’t mind

admitting he was a touch nervous heading into the race.

“I honestly was,” he said.

“I knew it would be difficult because I’ve always looked up to the F3 Euro Series – I’ve always thought it was the best junior category in the world. I knew that hopping into one of the races having never driven the car before wouldn’t be easy, but I just had to take the same approach as the Renault. It also made it easier to have a few of the guys from the Renault team coming across to the F3 team.”

Ricciardo will now run the F3 Masters at Zolder in a couple of weeks, and says he has plans to race in the series fulltime next season.

“I definitely enjoyed it, and I’d like to do the full championship next year.

We’ll see how the rest of the season goes, hopefully it will go the way it started, and Red Bull will see it as the way to go.”

The bigger question is whether or not Red Bull will have the barely 19-yearold in a Formula 1 car before the year is out. Rumours of that nature have emerged from Europe recently, but Ricciardo says there is nothing in the pipeline – yet.

“I honestly haven’t heard anything. I’ll keep anxiously hoping!”

Ricciardo is currently leading both the West European Cup and the Eurocup.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Kiss to rock Winton FUJITSU V8s

James Smith

V8 UTES regular Nandi Kiss will make his Fujitsu V8 Supercar debut at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend.

Kiss will drive the second Jay Motorsport’s Commodore VZ – the car that Jay Verdnik campaigned last year.

After a test at Mallala recently, Kiss told eNews that getting used to the slick tyres and brakes were his biggest hurdle.

“I’ve always done production car stuff, so to race a car on slicks was difference,” he said. “And the brakes are a big change as well. Getting that feel on when they are going to lock up.

“From my point of view,

Winton is the easiest track [to make my debut.]

It’s not really high speed, based on other places that are a bit faster, but it gives us a chance to see what it’s like out there.

“I drove the car at a test day and I couldn’t believe how fast they rev. They want another gear! In the Ute, you have a chance to look around, but these are very busy cars.

You are constantly busy.

“And the good thing is that we’re piggy-backing of Jay. I can sit down and look at Jay’s data and look where I will be able to improve. That will help

me get up to speed.”

It’s the first time that Jay Motorsports will run two cars on a race weekend. Kiss’s car will feature support from his current V8 Ute sponsors JFPA, Veolia Environmental Services and Protec Paint.

He says that he’d like to do more V8 Supercar competition, but only if his sponsors can find value in it.

“I’ve got an option to do more, but it comes down to budget.

“My sponsors are pretty happy with the Utes and they get good value about it, but if they want to step it up, we’ll think about it.”

With Kiss on Fujitsu Series duties this weekend, Charlie Kovacs Junior will take over the wheel of the V8 Ute. – GRANT ROWLEY

Ambrose Fires at the Br NASCAR MARCOS Ambrose could hardly wipe the smile off his face after making a strong oval racing debut in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup. Ambrose finished 22nd, and on the lead lap, of the 160-lap race at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his first race in JTG’s #47 Ford Fusion.

Like all 43 drivers in the race, he was frustrated by the tyre problems that prompted officials to, effectively, regularly stop the race and allow the teams to change their tyres.

“It was just awesome,” said the Tasmanian.

“It was just a battle out there. We fought hard and we learned a lot and I got a lot of experience. I’ve run the Brickyard and I feel like we’ve really achieved something this weekend.”

“It’s just a real shame about the tyre thing. I think NASCAR did a great job of keeping us safe out there. I think it was the best of a bad situation the way they chose to run that race. We raced good. You’ve got to race hard and you’ve got to look after your tyres, too.”

The real triump came in qualifying. Ambrose managed only two practice laps before undisclosed mechanical problems ruled his car out for the day, and he faced his qualifying lap ‘cold’.

“This is fairly spectacular considering the trouble we had yesterday,” said Ambrose after setting his time.

“We did a whole two laps yesterday and didn’t know what to do with the car. I feel like we climbed Mount Everest after yesterday’s effort.

“I’ve never been so anxious and nervous and apprehensive

in all my life. Two laps on the race track here at the Brickyard, which is so famous and so intimidating as well, I just had to suck all that up and let her rip.

“We gained 1.1 seconds from the two laps I did yesterday to make the show, so I’m just happy for these guys. It’s a big weekend for us to make this race. It gets us off on the right footing and we’re showing them we can do it.”

Ambrose was one of six rookies to make the race and was in good company. Former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr, AJ Allmendinger, Patrick Carpentier, Michael McDowell and Regan Smith also made their first starts in the event.

Ironically, one of the men who failed to make the race was Bill Elliott, who drove the Wood Bros #21 Ford Ambrose raced at Infineon last month.

Debbie meets Marcos: Ambrose had an impressive oval racing debut, his first with JTG Racing, at the Brickyard 400.

We Race. You Nobble. We Win NASCAR

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of hard work and achievement by all of our race teams – Braun Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Germain Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing – working in conjunction with TRD U.S.A.” JGR’s win breaks the record set by RCR in the 2007 Busch Series. Toyota’s other win this season came from Braun Racing at Lowe’s with, ironically, Busch driving.

NASCAR Media

TOYOTA has reacted to NASCAR’s decision to cut the performance of its Nationwide-spec engines in the best possible fashion, with a win at O’Reilly Raceway Park outside Indianapolis on Saturday night.

Just days after the governing body introduced tapered restrictors of 1-1/8 inches for Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford engines but 1-inch on Toyotas, Kyle Busch won a record-equaling 14th victory for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch cheekily thanked the opposition teams for “the complaining they did because they gave me some traction control” but TRD’s President and General Manager, Lee White, was much less conciliatory after getting the news.

“We’re extremely disappointed in

NASCAR’s decision,” he said in a statement.

“In our opinion, there is no technical justification to penalise the Toyota engine utilised in the Nationwide Series.

Toyota always has, and will continue to, abide by all NASCAR-mandated engine specifications and the Nationwide engine was built strictly to NASCAR specifications.

“The success of the Toyota Camry this year in the Nationwide Series is the result

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Once a Year ...

Open tyre test to sort Brickyard issues NASCAR NASCAR is likely to hold an open tyre test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to prevent a recurrance of what happened in the Allstate 400 on Sunday.

NASCAR’s vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said post-race that it was likely that the test would be held.

This year, Goodyear conducted a test but only three teams showed up.

Ironically, the tyre company determined that the tyre used at that test was not sufficiently sturdy and went for a more conservative option for the 400.

A number of drivers were openly critical of NASCAR and Goodyear over the stopstart race, which ran almost four hours.

Smoke + AJ = 28 NASCAR NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

TONY Stewart will wear one of American motor racing’s most iconic numbers when his own Stewart Haas Racing hits the Sprint Cup Series in 2009.

Stewart unveiled his two main sponsors and the numbers #14 and #4 in Indianapolis last week. The current Joe Gibbs Racing driver picked the number in tribute to open-wheeler legend AJ Foyt.

“We looked at what car numbers were available and once we decided internally what numbers we wanted to look at, Eddie [Jarvis] went to NASCAR and worked through that process with them,” said ‘Smoke’.

“But we got our first choice in the No. 4 and the No. 14. So it wasn’t a situation where we didn’t get the numbers we wanted.”

As first reported in eNews, Stewart’s sponsor group will be headlined by Office Depot, current sponsor of the #99 Roush Fenway Ford of Carl Edwards, and long-time Stewart supporter Old Spice.

Stewart will ‘inherit’ the owners’ points won this season

by CNC Haas’s #70, while the #4 will get points from the #66.

Negotiations continue regarding the second driver, with Ryan Newman favoured to drive the other SHR Chevrolet.

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INDYCAR THERE were some harsh words said at Edmonton – some of them between team-mates.

The Penske and Target Chip Ganassi crews swapped opinions after the former accused the latter of placing one of Dan Wheldon’s tyres

too far into pitlane, to slow down Helio Castroneves, who was battling Scott Dixon for the win, as he left his pit box.

“When I left my pit on the final stop, I had to get my car sideways to drive around the tyre,” said Castroneves.

“It was not in the same place as Wheldon’s earlier stop.”

But that was nothing

compared to the council of war that erupted at Andretti Green.

The team’s four drivers were gagged and put behind closed doors after what can only be described as a race from hell. Suffering radio problems, Danica Patrick refused to allow Tony Kanaan, who started from the back

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Harsh Words in Canada

after an engine change, to get by.

Then on lap 78, in an illfated attempt to overtake, Marco Andretti hit Patrick’s left rear, flattening her tyre and damaging his front wing.

Team-mate Hideki Mutoh was already a non-finisher after he found the wall on lap 27.

– MARY MENDEZ

A cloud over the Atlantic sutton-images.com

ATLANTIC The future of the Atlantic support series, owned by both Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, is under a cloud.

The Indy Racing League had planned to sanction the series as part of the open wheel merger but that fell through this spring. The IndyCars already have the Firestone Indy Lights series as its support series with 16 races,

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split between ovals and road courses.

Apparently, the Atlantic package, a 300hp engine in a more nimble and lighter weight Swift chassis would have quicker lap times than the Light’s Dallara chassis powered by their 420hp engines. IMSA agreed to sanction the Atlantic series but word is the series is currently up for sale.

“It has been tremendously challenging this season but

we are persevering,” said Vicki O’Connor, the driving force behind the series for 24 years.

“We have tremendous competition with our young drivers and we are going to do our best to move forward next season.”

The Atlantics have a number of support races at ALMS events but there isn’t the direct path for advancement in open wheel running with sportscars like there was from Atlantics to

Champ Cars. And, as a victim of the merger, the series currently has no TV package, although sponsors signed on prior to the merger announcement in late February.

For a young driver with a budget trying to move up the ladder, the Lights series looks a lot more attractive, hoping to advance to the top rung in open wheel racing, now IndyCars.

– MARY MENDEZ

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INDYCAR PAUL Tracy is looking for a full-time IndyCar ride after finishing a staggering fourth at Edmonton.

The Canadian hero, who was allowed a 15-minute ‘familiarisation’ practice session because he had never driven his Dallara before, qualified 16th in a Vision Racing car, tended by Walker Racing’s crew.

Things looked worse when his radio packed up at the start of the race, meaning that his crew could not make

changes to the car during Tracy’s pitstops.

“I just got off the couch a week ago,” said Tracy.

“These drivers have been racing all year.

I’ve got a point to prove because I should be racing in this series. Some people told me not to do this, that it would just make me look bad.”

He also had extra incentive to do well …

“I learned this weekend that guys who were on my crew from last year were making bets that I wouldn’t crack the top 20. They felt I was the problem at Forsythe.

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Tracy still looking

But I knew with good equipment I could do well. I’m very grateful to Tony [George], Derrick, and the whole team for giving me such a great effort.”

But as strong as the 39-year-old was in the race, his racing future remains clouded.

“I’m not ready to retire. I want to do a few more years of racing and try to help this series grow, especially in Canada. I hope the door is wide open for me and Derrick [Walker] to move forward and do something long-term.”

– MARY MENDEZ

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Marshall Cass

Fitzy to make Island start Veteran Porsche driver gets rules changed so he can compete in GT3 Cup Challenge GT3 CUP

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get the best out of the car, I’m happy to do that.

“The category organisers have seen me as being a potential mentor to the guys who are starting off on a less serious basis who may want to go to Carrera Cup.” The new category has also picked up a new presenting partner, picking up support from Porsche Insurance.

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Porsche Insurance will be on the Shannons Nationals program, with other class including the Australian GT Championship, Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship, Commodore Cup, Supaloc Saloon Cars, Shannons V8 Touring Cars and the Australian Superkart NonGearbox National Titles.

The Island event will be held on August 9-10.

– GRANT ROWLEY

John Morris/Mpix

AN impressive entry of over 20 Porsches have entered the second round of the new Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge at Phillip Island in two weeks time.

Peter Fitzgerald will make a return to the driver’s seat for the round after he retired from Carrera Cup competition at the end of 2006.

But Fitzgerald has been keeping race fit, competing in selected local events, as well as the Nurburgring 24 Hour.

“Everyone said I’d retired, but I’d only retired from Carrera Cup!” he said.

“Since then I’ve done Phillip Island Magic, Nurburgring 24 Hour, and I’ve been looking for a place to run my ride car.

“With this new series, I saw as the opportunity to have the occasional run myself and generate a bit of business. I

think it’s a great idea.”

Fitzgerald’s entry at Phillip Island next weekend has also required a small change in the category’s supplementary regulations. According to the rules, ‘seeded’ drivers are not allowed to compete, but a small change will permit Fitzgerald’s entry.

“When I first read the regulations of this series, it was restricted so that seeded drivers can’t race,” he said.

“I’m 95 in the shade and I have a nine year old car so I think that’s enough of a handicap!”

The wily veteran has also agreed to help up and coming Porsche drivers to help them advance to Carrera Cup competition, if they so wish.

“My door is always open to help the guys make the next step to Carrera Cup,” he said.

“If I can offer advice, how to

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Clearance Success!

GOING, GOING, GONE! LAST weekend’s ‘Clearance Sale’ of the WPS Racing V8 Supercar team has been deemed a success, with most of the defunct team’s hardware and consumables being sold.

According to the sale’s host Ryan McLeod, about 700 people turned up to peruse and purchase.

“It went very well,” he said.

“There were 300 people there before at 8.30am and 700 in total.”

“There are still Supercar parts left, but most of the consumables

went. We sold two pallets of brake rotors, pads, driving suits, wheels, clutches, merchandise, display banners. Heaps of stuff.”

McLeod said that the three V8 Supercar chassis still remain, although one of them is spoken for.

The www.v8clearancesale.com website will be updated soon, listing all remaining parts.

But what was the weirdest thing that was sold? Someone purchased Jason Bargwanna’s custom seat insert. How good’s that!

Most gone, but plenty more up for grabs! A huge crowd turned out for the WPS Racing Clearance Sale.

Brock’s Foundation launches new DVD BROCK DVD THE Peter Brock Foundation will celebrate the 1978 Bathurst victory of Holden Dealer Team’s A9X Torana at this Supercheap Auto 1000 with a new DVD. Along with the DVD will be special merchandise and a themed corporate room table for 10 -- auctioned on the

Foundation’s website for the legend’s fans.

The ‘Brock Revisited’ DVD features collector cards and a freshly restored original film with behind the scenes commentary from long time rival Allan Moffat in league with HDT’s John Harvey and John Sheppard.

It also includes a candid examination of the actual race-winning Torana.

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Giving a hand to the disabled KARTING HAND-controlled go karts will be seen in competition soon.

Recently at Bolivar Raceway, the Southern Go-kart Club’s new hand controlled karts were tested by a group of physically disabled drivers.

The special karts are available for purchase and have been passed for use by the Australian Karting Association.

Designed for use by drivers who have minimal use of their lower body and legs, the hand-controlled karts are believed to be the first karts in Australia to use an FIA approved steering wheel and throttle mechanism.

Dale Elliott, who suffered a spinal injury during a motorcycle accident six years ago, was one of four drivers to put the 100cc karts through their paces at the SA circuit.

“All day long I’m pushing wheels, this

Speedway’s night of nights SPEEDWAY AUSTRALIAN Speedway held its night of nights last Saturday night in Sydney with nine legends of the sport honoured.

The Hall of Fame dinner allowed bike riders to be inducted for the first time in history.

One of the highlights from this year’s inductee dinner was John Sidney, a renowned Speedway and V8

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Supercar engine builder. Sidney also formed a legendary partnership with Max Dumesny driving the OTR House car, which had huge success on home soil but is also well known for being the first Australian team to win on American soil.

Other Hall of Fame inductees included Arthur Wilkinson, Bill Wigzell, Jeff Freeman, Lionell Van Pragg, John Sherwood, Dick Briton, Jack Young and Mike Raymond.

time the wheels were pushing me around – it was awesome,” said Elliott.

“Prior to my accident I’d had a go on a dirt track at Morgan and also had a spin on the hire karts, so to be able to get back behind the wheel was a great feeling.

“An opportunity like this is a great way of building confidence for wheelchair bound people and also an opportunity for younger physically disabled people to learn car control skills at an early age.”

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5 Minutes with ...

ANDREW JONES

It’s a case of ‘Happy 50th’ for new dad Jones at Winton this weekend

GRANT ROWLEY

MOTORSPORT NEWS: It’s your 50th V8 Supercar round this weekend …

ANDREW JONES: Is it? I didn’t even realise! I’m glad your statisticians are working better than ours!

Geez, 50 rounds. Have I been around that long?

You have, and I bet you would have liked to have made a bigger mark on the championship by now?

After being the Fujitsu Series champion, I had a massive ambition to move into the Main Series, and I thought things would have progressed faster along the way.

My first season at Garry’s (ED: GRM) I took with both hands. But history shows that my time there was not good for me and it was not good for them.

Really, with the use of hindsight, I would have never done it, because it had a longer lasting affect than I even realised. It wasn’t until mid-last year that I’ve been able to get my confidence back. I can’t say how bad a year it was.

In the next year at Tasman, I really enjoyed that year. Kevin Murphy was very good to me and helped me bounce back and get some confidence, but there were times there where things weren’t great either.

This year, with the cars we’ve got, we’ve had quite good speed – better than what the history books are showing.

We’ve made a few wrong calls, I’ve made some mistakes and other people on the track have made mistakes that has cost us.

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We’ve had quite good speed – better than what the history books are showing andrew jones But it hasn’t been a horrible season. Your team-mate Cameron McConville has been on the podium and you’ve had a couple of top 10s …

No, definitely not. It’s just that it’s the ambition and drive that I’ve got to always go better.

I don’t think I’m being harsh on myself. I’m always one to say that the glass is half-full, but I feel that we’re being caught up in other people’s mistakes, and you can’t do much about it.

Ipswich was the perfect example. I got a whack from (Greg) Murph on lap one of Race 1 and you end up starting lap two 8s behind the field … and that was after we qualified 16th there. In Race 2, I collected Jason Bright when I was pushed from behind.

There are some things that are happening that aren’t in our control.

I just need to ride the storm.

Winton this weekend is a nice place to try and do just that. Home track advantage, and you nearly won there last year. Could you spring a surprise?

Always. The last three rounds have been pretty pivotal for me. I’ve gone in thinking ‘this is the round that my luck will change and things will click.’

At Winton last year, we had a very good strategy, it was wet and we’ve always had good speed in the rain, regardless of what car I’ve been in. The cards fell our way a bit there.

I reckon we should be amongs it this weekend. We should be in the top half of the field.

And you’ve recently become a first-time dad.

Congratulations. Do you subscribe to the ‘there goes

two tenths’ theory?

I don’t! That was mentioned to me at Queensland. If it was that easy to lose two-tenths, you’d do things to find them …

So how is Mum and Baby Jones Jr? They are going very well.

Michelle has done a heroic job throughout Koby’s birth.

I’ve said this a few times, it amazes me how one-sided the whole birth deal is.

Obviously it takes a mum and a dad to make it happen, I’m not delivering new news there, but this is my first and I’ve been there along for the ride. The dad’s just there, Mum’s doing all the work and she comes out of the birth absolutely knackered! And then we go home and the work starts again …

But everything is going very well. Michelle is feeling good and Koby’s a little gem.

chat

19

When the fans come fir

Letters

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

Grippier Tyres?

The suggestion to have grippier tyres (and more aero) to facilitate passing would actually have the reverse effect.

If tyres were grippier, braking distances would be reduced due to better grip and, as corner speed would be increased, braking zone distance would be further reduced as you wouldn’t have to slow down as much to make the corner. More aero would

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make it harder to closely follow a car through the corner.

A push-to-pass button allowing higher revs would allow more overtaking. The idea of softer option tyres (with compulsory tyre change and both types to be used) would also shake up the passing mix.

Geoff Howat via email Retirement Challenge I would like someone to

change the history book so Mark Skaife will finally retire.

I feel if we gave Skaife another few round wins, at least five more starts than John Bowe and the unreachable 10 Bathurst’s then he would have nothing left to prove.

Either that or start another new V8 series and call it the V8 ‘retirement challenge’ for old drivers and old cars.

It could work well, Bowe, Seton and Brad Jones could

all make a comeback and give some of the young blokes trying to get into the main game a chance to have a go.

There are not enough chances for the young guys to get into this series and these older guys are just holding up seats for real hot shots. Come on guys fairs fair you have had your shot it’s time to give someone else a try.

Ben Randall via email

opinion

opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor

rst

CARL Edwards looked a tired man at the end of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Like the other 42 drivers in the race at Indianapolis, he had had a hard day.

Goodyear’s tyre problems, prompted by what seemed to be high wear on the new Car of Tomorrow, prompted officials to, in effect, stop the race every few laps, get the tyres changed and continue.

“It was a long day,” said the man with the all-American chin.

“Personally, to the fans, we did our best; I know they didn’t want to see a race like this. At least we got to run at the end.

It’s got to get better.”

The bit he left out was that, had the final stint run its course, he would have won.

His Ford was way better than Jimmie Johnson’s Chev on used rubber but, in a sevenlap sprint to the flag, Edwards lost out.

But no whining about finishing second; the race had to get done because, in NASCAR, it’s the fans who

come first.

Turn back the clock three years and the geography was the same but things were much different. At the 2005 US Grand Prix, Michelin was in trouble. Its tyres were failing and nobody could guarantee the safety of the drivers. Compromises were suggested but all were shot down in flames by the parties involved. In the end, all the Michelin cars pulled off on the formation lap; long after most of the public had walked out, the two Ferraris led home four other cars in a farcical race.

Because in Formula 1, it’s the teams that came first.

“The fact is that mature adults were not able to put on a show for everybody,” summed up David Coulthard.

“It’s a very sad day for racing.”

It was. Michelin paid a heavy price, in millions of dollars in free tickets to the ’06 race. In all likelihood, Goodyear faces some tough questioning

by NASCAR officials. But, by putting the fans first, the race got done.

In 2009, there will be 250,000 spectators at the Brickyard 400 but no F1 Grand Prix at the sport’s most iconic venue. Gee, what a shock.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Other options Given the later starting time for the F1 circus at next year’s Australian F1 GP, the door is wide open for V8SCA to showcase their strongest suit – endurance racing.

Red v Blue is a bit of a sham and certainly won’t encourage a third manufacturer, so a different format is needed. Sprint races have never worked for the V8s at Albert Park, so a fourhour non-championship enduro on the Sunday is a possible solution.

Championship drivers would each be required to drive their own car, partnered up with a second driver. The weekend would play out as such: Thursday – Practice (Both Drivers) – Times dictate start positions for Q1.

Friday – Qualifying 1 (20 lap Sprint Race) – Driver 2 Saturday – Qualifying 2 (25 lap Sprint Race) – Driver 1 Sunday – 4 hour Endurance Race (Both Drivers) An 11.00am start would give the F1s

plenty of time to clean up the track prior to their race. A temporary pit complex could be set up alongside the Ross Gregory oval, with the entire V8 community transplanted to this underutilised area, giving them easy access to Gate 10.

The additional set-up costs could be offset by placing an 8000 seat dedicated V8 Supercars stand on the inside of the circuit, opposite the V8 pits.

Matt Treacy via email

Send your creative letters to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 21

AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4 – RALLY SA

He’s Baaack!

Simon Evans is back in the running for the Australian Rally Championship.

RYAN LAHIFF reports from South Australia 22

race

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M

IXED mid-winter weather and a raft of new stages in the South Australian hills presented a challenge for drivers at the fourth round of the Australian Rally Championship.

After dominating the opening half of the year, Toyota’s Neal Bates was forced down the order in the final standings, playing second fiddle to recovering reigning Champion Simon Evans who took the win.

Yet it was the exploits of younger Evans brother Eli that captured the attention of the crowds who braved the torrid winter conditions. The Subaru privateer backed up his maiden heat victory at the last round in Queensland with a second on Sunday.

It proved a mixed weekend for the Toyota team, the ever-improving Super 2000 specification Corolla adept on the technical stages but losing out on the high-speed

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shire roads in the Adelaide hills. Both Evans and Bates reported that the car reached its rev limiter far too easily.

During Saturday’s stages, Simon Evans played it safe, setting a consistent pace and edging further and further ahead with each stage completed.

“We drove smart rather than hard,” he said.

“There was a bit of inconsistency on the roads from one stage to the next so it was a matter of adapting to the conditions.”

Bates was the only driver within reach of Evans, but he too was unable to challenge, ending the opening day over 40 seconds adrift, just ahead of Eli in third.

Spencer Lowndes, Glen Raymond and Justin Dowel filled fourth through sixth after a dramatic early exits for both Michael Guest (crash) and Darren Windus (engine).

Passing showers throughout Sunday’s stages added a fresh challenge, with the

fastest roads of the weekend now slick with mud. Bates pushed hard early but was rounded in by mid morning by a recovering Simon Evans, who had made overnight brake changes and was initially struggling for a feeling to his liking.

On the third and final stage of the weekend – the longest test of the rally – Eli Evans utilised the gearing and top speed of his Subaru to its utmost. And when Evans and Bates came unstuck on a clay-lined hairpin, Eli took the lead and hung on to a 10 second advantage over the final two stages to take his second career heat win.

“Amazing!” was his response on the finish line.

“We pushed hard yesterday and had to settle for third (behind Simon and Neal).

Today, things went out way and to take another heat win is an awesome feeling.”

Despite finishing third overall for the

race

Phil Williams

Brothers in arms: Eli and Simon, above, each took a heat win at Rally SA. It was Eli’s second heat win in successive meetings, left. Below, Spencer Lowndes finished fourth for the round and the best of the privateers.

Phil Williams

Joel Strickland

Phil Williams

weekend current championship leader Bates was upbeat about his result.

“We took a great haul of points this weekend as well which consolidates our position in the championship, so although we lost a little ground this afternoon when we spun, we will leave South Australia pretty happy,” he said.

Simon Evans remains in touch in the title race after climbing back to familiar territory on the top step of the podium. With two events to run, he remains optimistic to reclaim his title.

“Today’s result is great and another step to rectifying the tough start we have had to this season,” commented Evans.

Spencer Lowndes clung onto fourth ahead of Justin Dowel’s Mitsubishi and local Brett Kipling.

The Championship heads to Burnie on the first weekend in October for the inaugural Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge, the first time the current crop of ARC competitors will have tasted their rally machinery at high-speed on asphalt.

Neal on wheels: Neal Bates, above, maintained his handy championship lead.

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 20 – BRICKYARD 400, INDIANAPOLIS

26

SO

O MANY RESTARTS, JUST ONE FINISH Once again, Indianapolis Motor Speedway proved to be a place where tyres go to die. This time, though, there was a race run – and Jimmie Johnson won it

NASCAR Media

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Yee Har: Jimmie Johnson, left, fought out the win with Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards, above, and took the lead in the final round of stops, below. Tyres were a talking point all weekend, and NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton and Goodyear Director of Race Tire Sales Greg Stucker had a tough weekend ...

J

IMMIE Johnson could not have a much better weekend than winning his second Brickyard 400 from pole position but tyres, not drivers, were the story of the weekend at Indianapolis.

A problem with tyre wear affected Goodyear’s tyres during the first trip to the Speedway by NASCAR’s new car. That prompted race officials to throw a number of ‘competition cautions’ during the 160lap race, which stretched out to almost four hours as a result.

Quite a few drivers had their day ruined by tyre woes and the actions of the officials played a part in deciding the winner. Superior pitwork from the Hendrick team put Johnson’s Chevrolet in the lead with seven laps to run and Carl Edwards could not find away past the blue #48. Had the race run longer, he probably

28

would have; the Roush Fenway Ford was the fastest car in the field on worn tyres but Edwards didn’t get the chance to play his ace on the way to the chequered flags.

“We made a great stop at the end, and had a great car,” said Johnson, who also won at the Speedway in 2006.

“Hendrick Motorsports is coming back.

We're getting there.”

Edwards was apologetic after the race: “It was a long day. Personally, to the fans, we did our best; I know they didn’t want to see a race like this. At least we got to run at the end. It’s got to get better.”

Edwards was one of several drivers to have tyre setbacks during the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya all dropped back with rubber problems at some stage during the race, Kenseth suffering the

worst. On lap 47, a rear tyre exploded on his Roush Fenway Fusion, firing him straight into the wall and spraying the track with debris.

Marcos Ambrose made a great fist of his maiden Sprint Cup start on an oval. The Aussie finished 22nd after qualifying 24th, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“We raced good,” said the second Aussie in the race after Geoff Brabham in 1994.

“You’ve got to race hard and you've got to look after your tyres, too. It was just a battle out there. We fought hard and we learned a lot and I got a lot of experience.

“I’ve run the Brickyard and I feel like we’ve really achieved something this weekend.”

Points: Busch 3004, Earnhardt 2751, Burton 2733, Johnson 2689, Edwards 2684, Gordon 2539, Biffle 2460, Hamlin 2453, Kahne 2441, Stewart 2399 [Ambrose 134, 54th].

We don’t need no Stinkin’ Horses!

NASCAR cut Toyota’s power ‘advantage’ but is was business as usual for Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs NATIONWIDE

NASCAR Media

ALL season, and after all 13 of its Nationwide victories, Joe Gibbs Racing staff have said that it did not have a horsepower advantage.

And all season, its opposition have said that they do.

Five days after NASCAR mandated technical changes that cost the Toyotas an estimated 15 horsepower compared to their opposition, all Kyle Busch did was rack up JGR win number 14 by leading 197 of 200 laps at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

“I feel like those 15 horsepower cost me the pole,” Busch said through what can only be described as a smirk.

“I really want to thank all my competitors out there for the complaining they did because they gave me some traction control. That was nice.”

Poleman Colin Braun took a career-best second and Mike

Bliss came through to third, after spinning on what he suspected was oil on lap 22.

But, with all respect to serial winners Busch and JGR, the man of the race was Carl Edwards. He supplied the oil Bliss found from a loose oil cooler fitting and lost three laps and six minutes getting it fixed. The #60 Roush Fenwway car raced two of the laps back, a Lucky Dog supplied the other and, astonishingly, Edwards finished 11th. He said post-race that with another 100 laps, he might have won.

With Busch’s speed, that looks optimistic.

Marcos Ambrose found doing double duty much easier this time around and finished in 12th place after starting from 37th.

Points: Bowyer 3216, Keselowski 3043, Edwards 3036, Reutimann 2926, Ragan 2885, Bliss 2838, Busch 2828, Wallace 2621, Stremme 2587, Keller 2534

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INDYCAR ROUND 13 – EDMONTON

Best in the West

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Scott Dixon foiled Helio Castroneves and Team Penske – again – with a clever drive in Edmonton to extend his

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O

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as strong when running in my wake.”

While Dixon took his fifth win of the season, Castroneves limited the points toll with his sixth second placing of the year. He is now 65 points behind Dixon in the championship battle, with only four races remaining.

Third was a great result for Justin Wilson, who started the race with the advantage of having won the 2006 Edmonton Champ Car race.

In fact, in three starts on the airport circuit in Canada’s west, he has never finished lower than fourth.

Paul Tracy was fourth [see breakout] ahead of an intense battle between Oriol Servia and Ryan Briscoe, who both finished the race with battle scars. Marco Andretti exited the pits right in front of thirdplaced Dan Wheldon and the Ganassi driver hammered

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NE of these days, Helio Castroneves will win an IndyCar race. But it didn’t happen at Edmonton.

Almost inevitably, Scott Dixon won, and the key to the victory was fuel strategy. After saving fuel early, a quicker pit stop under yellow allowed him to take the lead late in the race.

Just when it looked like Helio was about to challenge for the lead, the Penske Dallara locked its fronts and ran wide at Turn 1, and Dixon scooted away to a 6s win.

“We definitely went into a fuel-saving mode during the middle stages of the race, and that, combined with a fantastic pitstop from my guys, was the difference today,” said the flying Kiwi.

“Helio was very, very quick when he was running out front.

But the Target guys nailed that pitstop and got me out front, and Helio wasn’t quite

the Andretti Green Racing car.

Servia clattered into the back of Wheldon, damaging the steering and a front wing, and was forced to struggle over the last nine laps but still managed to hold out Briscoe.

It was a bad Saturday for Andretti, who also clanged into team-mate Danica Patrick, while Hideki Mutoh added AGR’s misery when he punched

his car into the tyres between Turns 13 and 14.

Will Power had a tough weekend, suffering early suspension damage. The KV Racing pilot chugged around to finish 22nd, 19 laps down.

After six races in race weekends, the IndyCar Series now takes a one-week break before resuming at Kentucky Speedway on August 9.

INDYCAR | REXALL INDY 200, EDMONTON

IndyCar Media

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Edmonton Oilers: Scott Dixon beat Helio Castroneves but still got a hug from the Brazilian on the podium, above. Justin Wilson, below left, got on the podium for NHL.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 22

9 3 02 22 5 6 10 17 11 14 8

Scott Dixon NZ Helio Castroneves Br Justin Wilson GB Paul Tracy Can Oriol Servia Br Ryan Briscoe Aus Dan Wheldon GB Ryan Hunter-Reay USA Tony Kanaan Bra Darren Manning GB Will Power Aus

Fastest lap: Power on lap 76, 1:02.023s (184.286kmh)

INDYCAR | DRIVER’S points Dixon 505, Castroneves 440, Kanaan 390, Wheldon 387, Briscoe 324, Patrick 294, Mutoh 286, Servia 280, Hunter-Reay and Andretti 276 [Power 257, 11th].

Vision Racing-owned Dallara-Honda.

But Saturday was way better. After being eighth-fastest in the warmup, Tracy picked his way through the pack, stayed out of trouble and finished a very impressive fourth. Timing was everything; Tracy only got alongside the limping Oriol Servia right on the line.

“This feels just like a win for us,” said the burly and radio-less Canadian hero.

“Just a week ago, I was hanging out with

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O, Canada!

A FEW years ago, if Paul Tracy said he was happy with fourth place in a race – in Canada – you would have asked him for a blood sample.

But at 39, and with no full-time ride on offer, that is just what PT said at Edmonton.

In his first open-wheel race since Long Beach in April, Tracy sent his fans home worried on Friday night after qualifying a lowly 15th – after a grand total of 15 minutes testing in the Walker Racing-run,

Target Ganassi 91 laps Team Penske +5.923s Newman Haas Lanigan +13.400s Vision+Walker Racing +28.426s KV Racing +28.713s Team Penske +38.881ss Target Ganassi +41.828s Rahal Letterman +42.129s Andretti Green +43.073s AJ Foyt Enterprises +43.336s KV Racing 72 laps

nothing to do and really, not sure if I still had a career. What Derek [Walker] and his team have been able to accomplish in only seven days is simply amazing. And I think I showed that I still know what to do behind the wheel, as well. Hopefully we can build on this and turn it into a long-term deal for the future.”

It may be some time before we get to see Tracy in action again. But on the evidence of Edmonton, it will be worth the wait.

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Mixed Results at Sandown

Round 3 of the Victorian State Championships saw plenty of action with some predictable, and unpredictable results

Chris Carter

VIC STATE ROUND 3 of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships held at Sandown Raceway conjured plenty of mixed results and last lap controversy in Formula Ford.

Andrew Beams won Race 2 convincingly while Race 1 winner Luke Ellery hit Ben Small on the final corner and went through to take a narrow victory over Jordan Skinner

34

despite evident damage to his front nose cone.

Results may change pending an investigation into the incident between Ellery and Small.

Ben Schoots dominated the Improved Production field in his rotary powered Mazda RX7 by winning all four races. Main rival Steven Lloyd collided heavily with the wall in Race 2 ending his weekend.

Robert Lange, pictured above, won three of the four Porsche

944 races with championship rival Paul Stephenson winning Race 1.

Ross Lilley, Nick O’Halloran and Ted Huglin won a race apiece in Sportscars amongst some close racing in the trying conditions while John Wood dominated the HQ field despite some mechanical set-backs.

Daniel Reinhardt won three of the four Formula Vee races, including a last to first effort in the final while George Panagiotidis won Race 3

despite stalling at the start.

Simon Tabinor, Corey Ludeman and Tim Rowse shared the Saloon Car spoils with Ludeman winning two, although he could have made it three in the final but was handed a 1.5s penalty, dropping him to second.

In Historic Touring Cars Michael Hibbert won two of the three races with Jervis Ward returning to the winners list with victory in Race 1.

– AARON SHAW

race

Winning ways continue at OP

John Morris/ Mpix

NSW STATE SCOTT Bargwanna has taken victory in the Cue Production Sports endurance race in Round 4 of the NSW State Championships on the weekend.

Bargwanna, the cousin of 2000 Bathurst winner Jason, shared a Lotus Elise with Australian GT Championship regular Peter Lucas to take the win.

Bargwanna and Lucas battled with the similar Lotus of Tim and David Mackie in the race’s early stages, before the Mackie entry failed, handing second place to the Ferrari 360 of Neil McFadyen and Nick Kelly.

Rick Shaw and Andrew Bollom rounded out the podium in their Mazda RX7.

Ryan Simpson’s stellar Formula Ford season continued; he took another hattrick of race wins ahead of Tom Tweedie.

Bob Brewer won the first two races in the Combined Touring Car class, before experiencing problems in the final and handing Jim Pollicina the win.

The HQ Holdens produced close racing as usual, with Troy Green taking the opening race, Peter Green Jnr winning the second race, and former national champ Kieran Pilkington sealing victory in the final.

Justin Keys won two races in the

Improved Production Over 2-Litre category, with series leader Ryan Brown finishing a lowly seventh in Race 1 before recovering to second in Race 2. Geoff Fear won Race 3 in his R32 Skyline GTR. Jacky Yick and Ryan Jagger shared the Improved Production Under 2Litre victories, while Bob Jowett, the series leader entering the round, had a nightmare weekend, failing to finish any of the races.

Scott Butler won the Sports Sedan round and Gavyn Croft won all the Saloon Car races.

– LACHLAN MANSELL

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Staying out of trouble WTCC

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BRANDS Hatch was a happy hunting ground for Jorg Muller, with the German taking his first WTCC victory of the season.

Muller stayed out of trouble, having started fifth on the grid, as the front-runners all experienced difficulties.

Rob Huff looked to have the race stitched up until a late race puncture effectively handed the victory to Muller.

“I got lucky not to get involved with the accident in the first corner, as I went up the inside and then I was second,” said Muller.

“Robert (Huff ) pushed very hard and I could not keep up with his pace, I was worried about the tyres and so tried to save them a little bit. I am sorry for him, but thanks to his problems I won.”

The weekend’s second race Alain Menu made up for his disappointment in the first race by winning in style.

Yvan Muller still leads the championship despite a lackluster weekend at Brands Hatch, while Muller’s maiden victory moves him up to fifth.

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Ricciardo stars in F3 Debut F3 EURO SERIES

NICO Hulkenberg has continued his charge in the F3 Euro Series by taking victory in the first race at the Nurburgring.

Hulkenberg led home his team-mate Jules Bianchi to take his third victory of the season.

“I am really happy with this result, nobody could stop me today,” said Hulkenberg.

“It is always nice when you feel all the pressure flowing away when you cross the finish line.

“Once again, the good qualifying, in which I was second, was the basis for this success.”

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, inset, put on a masterful display in his first-ever F3 race by finishing sixth in the weekend’s first race continuing on from his Formula Renault success.

Following his win in Race 1,

DTM

BERND Schneider has navigated his way through the latest round of the DTM Championship in a chaotic rain-affected race at the Nurburgring.

The win hands Schneider his first victory for the season after gambling with tyres mid-way through the race to lead home Paul di Resta.

“A great race with a good ending for me,” said Schneider.

“Thanks to my engineer who decided to let me start with slicks, although I actually wanted to have rain tyres on.

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The Gambler

Hulkenberg started from eighth in Race 2 and charged to come through to fourth position to close within one point of championship leader Edoardo Mortara, who failed to score any points all weekend.

Jon Lancaster took his maiden F3 victory in Race 2 while Ricciardo, who started from fourth following his Race 1 result, stalled at the start but still came through to finish 15th to cap an impressive debut.

“My car was really great and two perfect pit stops of my mechanics allowed me to make up at least two places. Thanks guys, tonight, one round is on me.”

The rain came down heavily with only a handful of laps to run and Schneider’s gamble to stay on slicks paid off, holding of a hardcharging di Resta in the closing stages.

Jamie Green was another to stay out on slicks and only lost second place in the final two laps as di Resta charged through.

Reigning DTM Champion Marcus Ekstrom finished down in sixth and now lies third in the championship, while Ralf Schumacher scored his first DTM point by finishing in eighth position.

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Giovonardi consolidates l BTCC THE latest round of the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park has served up three different winners in three races.

Colin Turkington, Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden shared the wins over the weekend amidst some tricky racing.

Plato’s victory in the first race diminished Fabrizio Giovonardi’s championship lead slightly, but Race 2 saw his car start to blow black smoke and he had to pit, while Giovanardi made the most of the situation to come home in second.

Plato’s luck didn’t get any better in the last race as he was held back as he tried to make head-way through the field eventually ending up in ninth.

In an unlucky weekend for Plato, his championship challenge hit a major bump as Giovanardi continues to build his points lead with a string of consistent finishes.

Schumacher continues NHRA run NHRA

TONY Schumacher, Robert Hight and Dave Connolly were victorious at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals as the western swing came to a conclusion at Infineon Raceway, near Sonoma, California.

Schumacher swept the three-event west coast tour for the second time in his career, stopping Hillary Will in the Top

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Fuel final. Schumacher used a 3.88/307 in the final to dispose of Will, who clocked a 3.98/306 in the Ken Black/Kalitta Motorsports dragster. The U.S. Army dragster advanced into the final by dispatching Doug Kalitta, Rod Fuller and Steve Torrence in the early rounds. He now holds a 396 point lead in the NHRA POWERade standings.

Hight and his Auto Club of Southern California Mustang

stopped fellow Californian Gary Densham in the Funny Car final, 4.16/296 to 4.22/289.

Hight, winless since the season opener at Pomona, stopped Del Worsham, and both Cruz and Tony Pedregon to reach the final. The win enabled him to jump back into second.

After missing the season’s first five events, Connolly has jumped into the top 10 with his Sonoma victory. In the final,

Connolly stopped Jeg Coughlin in a great side-by-side race, with both drivers clocking 6.62/207 passes, with Connolly’s better, 0.012 to 0.022 reaction time spelling the difference.

Matt Guidera raced to his second win of the year in Pro Stock Motorcycle and defeated Andrew Hines to take the win, stopping Hines on a holeshot, 7.05/185 to 7.02/187.

– DAVID OSTAZEWSKI

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One in Six

lead

FRENAULT UK

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ADAM Christodoulou has taken his first victory in six races at Oulton Park last weekend.

The championship leader extended his lead with the victory over second place finisher Dean Stoneman.

“I managed to get away well at the start and I was delighted to take the lead at the first corner,” said Christodoulou.

“Last year we struggled with the car a bit at Oulton Park but it was spot on this time around. Dean pushed me hard early on but made a couple of mistakes and it was just a case of keeping it on the black stuff.”

Christodoulou took the lead off the start and was never headed in a dominant display in what was Round 15 of the Championship.

Australian Josh Scott, pictured right, struggled in qualifying ending up

near the back of the field, but drove well in both races to keep out of trouble and come home in 10th and ninth for the two races.

David Ostazewski

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rear of grid

Yep, that’s a GT with the SS

GM Media

WE just love it when a plan comes together. And one came together last week.

GM has been working on the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro for some time and, ever since we saw the car in Transformers, we have been waiting for the real thing to break cover. Especially interesting was the part where

much of the development of the new model was done in Australia.

So, when last week’s unveil of the car was coordinated between the GM’s Tech Center in Warren, Michigan and its West Coast Advanced Design Studio in Hollywood, California. And just for fun, Port

Odd Spot

Melbourne held its own unveil at the same time.

Naturally, there were a number of Camaro owners there and one of those is V8 Supercar Champ Garth Tander.

His 1969 model SS features a stock 350cu in smallblock with a four-speed gearbox, and is still in LHD trim – with its

Pucker Up

original four drum brakes.

“I don’t do many hard stops, if any at all,” said the enthusiastic owner, who picked up the car about three years ago.

There are no current plans to produce the modern car in right-hand-drive. But when there are, we will be asking for a quick steer ...

NASCAR Media

ONCE upon a time, there was only one race every year at Indianapolis Motorsport Speedway.

Of course, that all changed in 1994 and since then, the Brickyard 400 has featured some of the best drivers in the world, duking it out in Stock Cars.

Every year, the winner gets to kiss the famed yard of bricks that marks the finish line on the main straight.

We don’t usually abide by running images of the tops of people’s heads (for some reason, Branagan seems to get upset about that) but since it’s The Brickyard, we made an exception this week.

Left to right, the bonces belong to Chad Knaus (crew chief on the #48 Lowe’s Chevy), Jimmie Johnson, his wife Chandra and team owner Rick Hendrick.

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