Motorsport eNews Issue 66 - August 4-11, 2008

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Issue No. 066 4 –11 August 2008

THE CLOCK is TICKing

Homebush looks good as September deadline looms

, S W E N GOOD S W E N D BA Indy 300 confirmed for 2008, but ...

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. 066 | 05 - 11 Aug 2008

news 4 (Home)bush Series

Deadline looms on SYD race 6 Good news, bad news 2008 is go, 2009 is ...

9 Rating Rubber Teams to test new tyre 11 It’s a new car!

Garry’s gets a newby 12 Devil and Fellows Bad luck for Ambrose 15 Hynes means Biz Marc and the gang are here

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 Branagan race 24 Triple Great 30 Owen not Slowen 34 Baxter’s Back!

38 Backflippery 42 Kiyo-to agreement

Jonathon Webb Speaking American Tander wins three-way Another FV8 win for Steve Ute action from Winton Edwards wins in Poconno Brands and Bikes

trade 46 Classifieds

welcome Ingall’s got an important engagement at home ... very important!

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

Homebush: 2009 Date Government appoints committee: we’ll know by September

V8 SUPERCARS ANOTHER step towards a V8 Supercar race at Homebush has been taken by the New South Wales government – but the deadline for a decision about a 2009 event may be only weeks away.

Premier Morris Iemma confirmed last week that his government was behind the concept of the race and appointed a committee to evaluate the proposition and execution of the event. But V8 Supercars Australia CEO Wayne Cattach

said at the weekend that details as to exactly what the committee would report on, and when, was not clear.

“We have not seen the terms of reference of that committee,” he said.

“We are aware of the people who are being proposed to be appointed to it.

But at this stage, we cannot comment too much. We don’t have too much information.”

The government committee does not have representation from V8SA and Cattach said that the latest that a 2009

event could be given the green light was “probably September.”

“It has to report fairly summarily because we are in the processes of getting our calendar finalised for next year and that process includes submission to the FIA,” he said.

“But there will be additional charges that will apply, in nominating an event after the calendar has been submitted. So we would, probably, submit a similar date at another venue.”

While Cattach would not say what that

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

news

Imminent

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

that Singapore’s position in the international tourism arena has lost ground to the Middle East – where motorsport, including Bahrain’s V8 round – is growing at a rapid rate.

The Singapore bid revolves around a new, purpose-built track close to the Changi Airport.

The 20ha seafront facility is expected to include a track between 2.8 and 3.5km, which would host three international events a year.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

John Morris/ Mpix

venue would be, he did confirm that there was a “fallback position”; “I am not at liberty to tell you what that is but, at a point that it may be appropriate, we may have to resort to Plan B.” Already, the government and V8SA have agreed on a cost ‘cap’ that, should there be an increase in the costs of hosting the event, would see V8SA bear the increased costs. V8 Supercars Events would promote the round, which would include a major concert and entertainment element.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane and Events boss Shane Howard missed the Winton round of the series because of commitments in Asia.

The pair flew to Singapore on Sunday for the latest discussions about hosting a round of the series on the island nation from 2010. This follows the recent visit to the Sandown round by a delegation from the city state.

Recent reports suggest

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... and Singapore could be next

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

Indy: 2008 OK but will there be

sutton-images.com

V8s committed to October 2009 calendar complete: Qld government rules out V8-only weekend V8 SUPERCARS INDYCAR has confirmed its race at the Gold Coast this October – but there is doubt that the series will run on the streets of Surfers Paradise next year.

V8 Supercars has finalised its 2009 dates and, as first reported in eNews, has locked in the weekend of 22-25 October with the event organisers. But IndyCar’s 2009 season will end on October 11 at Homestead-Miami and, while the IRL has left the door open, there is no room to move on the V8 side.

“There is no flexibility at all,” V8 Supercars Australia CEO Wayne Cattach confirmed on the weekend.

“In fact, our calendar is too complicated for us to find another space in another part of the year.”

IRL has suggested that potential dates could be one week either side of the September 19 Motegi round, but holding a race in September appears impossible, given that month includes not only host

broadcaster Seven’s commitments to AFL football but the proposed SE Queenslandbased World Rally event.

Furthermore, the Queensland government has ruled out a V8s-only weekend on the circuit that has hosted Champ Cars since 1991. The state’s Sports Minister Judy Spence told the ABC that its preference was its now-traditional openwheeler and V8 weekend.

“We’re not going to be putting on an event just as a V8 car race, I can give you a guarantee that there will be a formula race of some sort,” she said.

“We’re still hoping that the IRL is going to love the event this year and we’re going to negotiate with them for a suitable time for a race next year.”

Cattach has proposed that V8SA assists the organisers in finding a replacement category, should be necessary.

“Clearly, we are there to help. We have always contended that we could do a Clipsal-type event there – a stand-alone V8 Supercar race – but if that was not

acceptable to the Queensland government, then quite obviously, we could assist them in securing and international event to come to the venue.”

He also expressed surprise at last week’s IRL announcement.

“After having submitted the date to them [the event promoters], they accepted the date, and all of a sudden, it is complicated by a loose end with the IRL. So we are a little perplexed as to how this whole thing has blown up.”

Cattach confirmed that V8SA’s contract with Indy organisers included the option of negotiating a new deal, should IndyCar not appear at the race. Its current deal also includes V8 Supercars Television broadcasting both the V8s and IndyCars.

V8 Supercars’ calendar has now been submitted to the Seven Network. Its executives are expected to begin dialogue with other involved parties, including the AFL, based on those dates as soon as is practical, taking into account its commitment to the Beijing Olympics.

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e a 2009? A1GP: We will fit in A1GP

INDYCAR

SHOULD there be no resolution to the IndyCar date issue, A1GP would be happy to run an event on the Gold Coast.

If an opportunity to host an early round of the 2009/10 World Cup of Motorsport was available, A1 CEO (Asian Region) David Clare said that they would look very

“We have terrestial television agreements in place throughout Asia, and I believe that IndyCar only goes out on ESPN. IndyCar does not have the same level of interest, and even its Honda funding comes from the USA, and not from Japan. It is really an Americanbased series that has a couple of international events, “I am sure that, with the cultural mix you have there, an A1GP event would be a better fit.”

– PHIL BRANAGAN

sutton-images.com A1GP

IT was close, but the Indy 300 has been confirmed.

Just a couple weeks before construction is scheduled to begin, the sanctioning agreement was signed for the October 23-26 race ws signed.

As we reported in eNews last week, up to 26 drivers, including the two Australians Ryan Briscoe and Will Power, are expected to race on the 14-turn track, in a nonchampionship race.

“We are pleased to announce that the IndyCar Series will hold its first event in Australia this October to celebrate the completion of a successful first season of unified open-wheel racing,” said Terry Angstadt, IRL’s President, Commercial Division.

“The Gold Coast Indy 300 has been labelled the race with the hottest cars, the hottest parties, and the hottest beaches, hosting 96 hours of non-stop excitement on and off the racetrack.”

– MARY MENDEZ

seriously at taking the series to Queensland.

“Of course we would want to be involved,” affirmed Clare.

“It is a great venue. But I am not sure what the situation is.

“As far as I am aware, that [October] is the traditional date. As far as we are concerned, the timing would be okay, and there has been some discussion in the past. If the opportunity was there, we would be happy to look at it.”

Clare, left, said that his belief was that the series would have a much bigger audience reach in Asia than the Americanbased series.

John Morris/Mpix

Webb: Silly Season key Holden eyes Jono Webb for 2009 V8 Championship Series

Dirk Klynsmith

Licence grab is on V8 SUPERCARS

“Kilometres over the year and the opportunity to learn in any one season is very limited. This is the reason why I want to make the move to the main series.

The Queensland-based driver says that he wants to have a deal secured by October.

“If it’s not done by then, you start to miss out on some opportunities and you start picking up the dregs, rather than moving forward.”

Webb raced in Carerra Cup for two years before making his Fujitsu V8 Supercar debut with Stone Brothers Racing in 2007, finishing fourth. He currently runs in fourth place in this year’s series.

– GRANT ROWLEY For more with Jono Webb, click to five minutes on page 20.

Pither

Team Kiwi miss Friday V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCAR teams have been informed that the licence acquired at the start of the season by Walden Motorsport is for sale.

This news means that, potentially, there could be 30 cars on the grid in 2009.

But that may not necessarily happen. PWR Racing not a certainty to enter a car next season, having shown minimal desire to continue in the championship, despite their better than average results this year. Also, should Team Kiwi Racing run out of steam, that licence may also be available.

There have been a few teams in the paddock who have expressed their desire to increase the amount of cars in their stable – including Tony D’Alberto Racing (which currently competes under the Rod Nash Racing franchise) and Ford Performance Racing.

JONATHON Webb is shaping as one of the key players in the V8 Supercar silly season.

The 24-year-old has made no secret of his desire to advance into the main series, having spent the past two season in the Fujitsu Series with Stone Brothers Racing.

While no deals are in place at this stage, MNews believes that a ride with a Holdenaligned team is his most likely destination.

Webb said that most of the reason why he wants to advance to the Championship Series is due to the lack of testing and track time in the FV8 Series.

“The biggest thing is the lack of track miles in the Development Series,” he said.

“You just don’t do enough kilometres. The main series guys do between 600-700km per race weekend.

TEAM Kiwi Racing’s past 18 months have been tumultuous, to say the least, and the tough times continued at Winton Motor Raceway last weekend.

Three team members left the team prior to arriving at Winton and the car arrived at the track with minimal preparation. It meant that the car did not compete in

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Stickier Dunlop tyre test V8 Supercars order soft compound tyre test at Queensland Raceway V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

A SOFTER compound tyre will be tested by two V8 Supercar teams with the aim of spicing up next year’s racing.

Dick Johnson Racing and Paul Morris Motorsport will test Dunlop’s softer D11 compound next Monday at Queensland Raceway to see if a stickier tyre could improve the racing.

In an MNews survey conducted at the Ipswich round two weeks ago (Issue #064), the majority of the team members said that grippier tyres would be the way to improve the show.

Dunlop’s operations manager Kevin Fitzsimons said that the test is a V8 Supercar initiative.

“They want to try the tyre to see if it will make the cars easier to pass,” he said.

If a softer option tyre is adopted, it would be used next year in at least two rounds,

likely at tracks such as Winton, Barbagallo, Symmons Plains and Queensland Raceway.

How the tyre is used is yet to be decided, and that would depend on what race formats are implemented. However, MNews understands that the option tyre that V8 Supercar wants to adopt is something that will be significantly quicker than the regular tyre, but have a rapid performance decrease – and the cars may have to finish the race on the soft tyre!

Autobarn Racing’s Paul Dumbrell told eNews that conducting the test is a positive for the sport.

“We need something to spice up the racing,” Dumbrell said.

“If you throw in the element of variation in the tyres, it will promote tyre stops where strategy is involved. I think that has to help improve the show.

“It would add a new challenge.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

subs

y practice and battle through weekend Friday’s practice session.

Extra crew were sourced and assistance from Paul Cruickshank’s Glenfords Racing got them through the weekend.

Chris Pither, who drove the TKR Falcon at Eastern Creek earlier this year, was given the Winton racing duties after Kayne Scott elected to sit out the race and give Pither some pre-endurance race laps.

“I was definitely thrown in

the deep end!” Pither said.

“It was all very last minute and I did all I could out there.

We struggled for a bit of speed, but it was good to be out there and get some laps.”

Pither was originally slated to compete in the V8 Utes Series at Winton. He qualified in 10th place in his VE Ute, but elected to concentrate on his TKR drive over the weekend.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

Categories ‘safe’ after company collapses CUP CAR / MINI THE running of Carrera Cup and MINI Challenge championships may not be greatly affected by the collapse of the company which held the category management rights for both.

Sherrin Motorsport, whose subsidiary Motorsport Event Management ran the Carrera Cup via Cup Car Pty Ltd, and the Mini Challenge series, was placed in liquidation last week.

Under the category management contracts, the

rights revert to CAMS under these circumstances and the governing body is already in talks with interested parties concerning the categories’ futures.

For its part, Porsche Cars Australia has moved quickly to support its category, announcing its intention to put a revised management structure in place to see out 2008, while negotiations with potential category managers for 2009 take place.

Porsche also threw its support

behind the three full-time staff at Cup Car – including CEO Theo Psaros.

“Theo and his team have done a great job in what lately have been difficult circumstances,” Porsche Cars Australia MD Michael Winkler said on Thursday.

As eNews ‘went to press’ BMW Australia was still considering its position.

First public signs that all was not well at Sherrin Motorsport came some weeks back with an announcement that the

company was seeking to sell its management rights in both categories. eNews understands that the asking price was considered to be over market price – but not dissimilar to the dollars paid by the company to acquire the rights.

It is considered likely that arrangements for the balance of 2008 could include Psaros and his team – either way, both categories can be expected to be on the grid, as scheduled, supporting the V8s at Phillip Island on September 13-14.

... while Spherix comes to the rescue V8 UTE category manager Spherix has emerged as the leading contender to take over the running of the MINI Challenge following the collapse of Sherrin Motorsport.

Spherix was rumoured to have been interested in the category when Sherrin announced it was for sale in June, and, with a proven track record with both the Utes and the Bathurst 12-Hour, is in the box seat to expand its category management portfolio.

“We had an initial phone call some weeks ago, but that’s as far as it has gone,” said Spherix’s Craig Denyer.

“We’ve had no formal discussions yet, but we’re certainly interested in helping the series keep going if there is an opportunity to do so.”

While Sherrin Motorsport is no more, ‘Sherrin’ entries in both Carrera Cup and Mini

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Challenge may survive.

It would appear as though the cars owned

by Sherrin Hire (not the race team itself ) will be unaffected by developments, while those owned by Sherrin Motorsport may well be purchasable from the liquidators. That would keep the likes of David Russell, Nathan Geier and Paul and Todd Fiore in their respective categories.

But there are still plenty of question marks around as to who might actually prepare and run the cars.

Paul Fiore, who along with brother Todd was racing a Mini under the Sherrin banner,

is unsure what will happen next.

“We haven’t heard anything from Sherrin yet,” he told eNews.

“We’re looking at a few things now to see what we can do to be on the grid for the rest of the season.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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GRM’s new toy breaks cover Holdsworth and Caruso to pair in new GRM Commodore at Phillip Island and Bathurst V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

GARRY Rogers Motorsport has shaken down its new VE Commodore at Winton Raceway today (Monday) and will debut it at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island.

The car (GRM 010) is GRM’s first new car since Queensland Raceway last year.

According to Holdsworth, the new Valvoline car incorporates new and old ideas.

“We’ve made just a few minor changes,” he said.

“Bringing out a new chassis is good because it’s stiffer and responds better to changes.

“We didn’t want to change it too much,

but there are areas that we want to improve on.”

The team reported no major dramas during the car’s shakedown, although at one stage, Holdsworth was trapped in the car when the driver’s door wouldn’t open!

The new VE will be powered by a latestgeneration Walkinshaw Performance engine. Holdsworth’s team-mate Michael Caruso will remain in his current GRM car for the rest of the season.

But Caruso is highly likely to drive the new Valvoline machine in the next round.

Expect to see Holdsworth and Caruso team up in the #33 car for the Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races.

– GRANT ROWLEY

New machine: Holdsworth, below, and Caruso, above, will have a new car at PI.

John Morris/Mpix

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NASCAR a NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Ford Racing

RAIN ROBS AMBROSE NASCAR NATIONWIDE

TWICE, Marcos Ambrose has raced in Montreal’s Nationwide race. And twice, he has been robbed of a victory.

A year after Robby Gordon knocked him out of an almost certain win, rain washed away victory as he was caught speeding on the pit exit road. NASCAR issued a drive-through penalty, and Ambrose dropped from an 8s lead at one point to third, some 49 seconds in arrears.

“We’ve dominated this race twice now in two years and not closed the deal,” Ambrose remarked.

“I’m bitterly disappointed and I feel a little robbed. We dominated today’s race, it doesn’t feel too good.”

In his absence from Victory Lane, local hero Ron Fellows took his fourth NASCAR race win in conditions so bad, Ambrose could not see

to identify where the pitlane speed restrictions ended.

“If I did speed in pitlane, I just couldn’t see a thing. I cleared the end of pitlane so when I saw the flashing lights at the end of pitlane I just went. I think there was 20 feet difference [from where he thought pit road ended].”

The race was a first for NASCAR, as never before has any of its major series raced in the rain. Under yellow, teams were instructed to pit their cars and fit wet tyres and wiper blades.

Goodyear has had a stock of wet weather tyres ready for use for six years (Ambrose commented pre-race that they were so old they had turned purple!) but, a week after the Indianapolis tyre debacle, they held up well.

While Goodyear was ready for the weather, much of the media was not. Prior to the race, Ambrose was asked by the media if he had any experience racing in the rain …

– MARTIN D CLARK

THE tyre debacle that turned last week’s Brickyard 400 Sprint Cup race into a farce will not happen again.

NASCAR apologised last week over the tyre issues that ruined what is their second most prestigious race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and promised the fiasco would not be repeated.

“I can’t say enough how sorry we are and it’s our responsibility being NASCAR that we don’t go through this situation again,” commented vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.

“The race didn’t come off like we had hoped, the fans didn’t get what they exactly wanted and we’ll do everything in our power – it won’t happen again, I can tell you that much.

It hurts us whenever we have a weekend like we had, there’s nothing worse than coming away from a race and knowing the result was ... it wasn’t even close. It wasn’t even in the 25th percentile of what we’re capable of doing and what we do week-in and week-out.”

The tyres brought to the race by Goodyear were the same ones that were tested in a closed tyre test for three invited teams at the Brickyard in April. One of those teams told Motorsport eNews that

Hello, Smoke! Hello, Newman!

NASCAR SPRINT CUP RYAN Newman’s move to Stewart Haas Racing looks more likely following Joe Gibbs’s advice that his team will not expand next season.

While the owner of Toyota’s dominant team maintains

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he still would like to run four cars in the Sprint Cup, he has practically ruled out that happening in 2009.

“You wouldn’t say never, but it doesn’t look right now that it will happen for us next year,” Gibbs told The Associated Press.

“I think we want to be real

cautious, we always have been, we’ve gone slow and I think everything has to be in place,” he said.

“I’d say right now everything is not in place. You’ve got to have the right driver, the right sponsor and I’d say we’re pretty close to not being able to do

that in time for next year.”

Team co-owner JD Gibbs admitted that there had been talks with Newman but his father’s statement appear to cement Joey Logano as the driver of the #20 Home Depot car, which Tony Stewart will vacate at the end of the season.

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acts on Goodyear drama

Scott Speed, gimme what I need NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Ford Racing

the tyres would only last about five laps during that test, but Goodyear engineers thought the issue would disappear during race conditions.

The tyres produced a thin powder that caused a fire on Robby Gordon’s Dodge during practice, when the substance literally caked to the headers.

Many teams were expecting the rubber powder to clog fuel lines after entering the fuel

filler during the race.

NASCAR officials had a conference call with Goodyear last week and a tyre test is planned later this year after a race where the longest green flag run was a whopping 13 laps, and caution flags took up a third of the race.

A combination of the new, heavier car with a track that was resurfaced and ground two years ago, and a right side

tyre that was used last year on the lighter ‘old style’ cars is probably to blame.

But those tyres were not an issue last year and track president Tony George is adamant the track surface is not the problem. So Goodyear and NASCAR have to get it right, maybe with a tyre engineer on staff to help Goodyear make the right choice.

– MARTIN D CLARK

SCOTT Speed looks set to make his Sprint Cup debut in the coming year.

The last American driver to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix has successfully run some ARCA and Truck Series events this season, and last week tested for the Red Bull Racing Sprint Cup team for the first time.

RBR looks unlikely to run a third entry alongside Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger, so just how the team intends to slot Speed into the mix is a TBA …

– MARTIN D CLARK

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V8 SUPERCARS THERE were a number of driver changes in Friday’s 30 minute V8 Supercar co-driver session.

Fujitsu V8 Series front-runner David Reynolds took the reins of Garth Tander’s #1 Holden Racing Team Commodore VE. Reynolds, who will drive with Paul Dumbrell in the HSV Dealer Team at Phillip Island

and Bathurst, was subbing for Craig Baird while he was competing at the Spa 24 Hour.

V8 Utes series leader Layton Crambrook had his first drive of a V8 Supercar in some time, spending the session in Lee Holdsworth’s GRM Commodore, see story below.

Los Angeles resident Matt Halliday came to Australia especially to take advantage of the practice in Marcus

Marshall’s Irwin Tools Falcon, while in the second Fujitsu Falcon, Jason Bright’s enduro team-mate Adam Macrow sat on the sidelines. Bright used the session to get acquitted to the sequential gearbox, which he used for the first time.

Other drivers to get more main game V8 miles were Johnny McIntyre (Glenfords), Dean Canto and Luke Youlden (FPR), Paul Weel (PWR), Glenn

Dirk Klynsmith

Co-drivers changing places

Seton (HRT), Brad Jones (Team Wow), Nathan Pretty and Jack Perkins (JDR), Grant Denyer (FRSR), Mark Noske (Sprint Gas), Steve Owen and Warren Luff (DJR) and Jason Bargwanna (RNR).

The next round of the V8 championship is the first of the ‘Season of Endurance’ at Phillip Island for the L&H 500 (September 12-14).

– GRANT ROWLEY

Crambrook runs GRM at Winton V8 SUPERCARS

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signals a possible move towards the V8s in the future.

“We might look at doing something next year, possibly the Fujitsu series, but as this point we’re not sure which direction we are going to head in. It depends on a lot of things at this stage.”

– PHILLIP MAHONEY

Dirk Klynsmith

WITH Gary Rogers Motorsport still yet to confirm its endurance driver line-up ahead of Phillip Island and Bathurst, Winton allowed the perfect opportunity for the team to try out drivers.

Fujitsu V8 Supercar driver Tim Slade is the favourite for the drive, however at Winton, Yokahama V8 Ute driver Layton Crambrook was given an opportunity in the co-driver half-hour practice session on Friday.

Crambrook, who last drove a V8 Supercar at the Sepang 12 Hour in 2007, was happy to have the opportunity to drive a Main Series car.

“It’s really good,” said Crambrook.

“It makes every bit of work and every bit

of effort in the Utes worthwhile.

“To be honest, I was just really happy that I was lucky enough to get given a go.”

The V8 Utes Championship leader was given a run in Lee Holdsworth’s car, which ran at the pointy end of the field all weekend.

“It worked well driving Lee’s car,” said Crambrook. “We’re about the same size so there was really no adjustment needed to put me in the car so that made it really easy for the team.

“Unfortunately it was a wet session so it was hard to guage how quick the car really was.

“The team just wanted me to have a bit of a run and keep it on the black top.”

Crambrook remains reserved about his chances of an enduro drive, but the test

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International Flavour THE internationals have arrived.

Matt Neal, Fabrizio Giovinardi and Marc Hines have touched down in Australia and will test for their respective V8 Supercar teams at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday.

Neal, a former British Touring Car champion, will drive for Paul Morris Motorsport, having driven with them in 2000 and 2001.

Giovinardi and Hines are slated to tackle the endurance races with TeamVodafone, keeping the team’s recent tradition of employing overseas enduro drivers.

While Giovinardi didn’t arrive until today (Monday), Neal and Hynes were at Winton taking in the action.

“It’s just exciting to be here,” Hynes told eNews.

“It helps with the situation I am in; coming in not knowing anything

about the car or the team or the championship. I’ve got a lot to learn.

“In practice I went out and watched all the corners to study what the drivers are doing, and there is quite a big difference in what they are doing.

So I tried to pick out the style of the quick ones.

“Jamie and Craig are really helpful, really open, and have been telling me whatever I need to know, and equally the engineers have all the time in the world for me. So I’ve been looking on track, watching the on-board footage, and trying to learn as much as I can before my one day test before Phillip Island!

“I went to Phillip Island when I got here the other day, and it looks like a great circuit. It’s my sort of circuit – fast and flowing with some technical bits. But on Wednesday I’ll find out what I’ve let myself in for.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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V8 SUPERCARS

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AMSF to include Rally in 2009 RALLYING THE Australian Motorsport Foundation (AMSF) has announced that rallying is to be included to the 2009 AMSF International Rising Star program.

The aim of the program is to manage and develop Australian drivers who are competing internationally in various racing series’.

“We intend to build on the

success of 2008 and make the program better for next year’s participants,” said AMSF General Manager Quentin Crombie.

“Some of those key enhancements include the allocation of suitable mentors to the drivers and early selection of the squad to allow for driver/team contracts to be executed in a timelier manner.

“We are also pleased to be

able to offer one of up to four spots to a promising young rally driver who is looking to launch their international career.”

The changes will look towards developing alliances with racing teams in Europe and other locations internationally. It will also provide access to leading sports psychologists, physiologists, driver coaches, mentors and other support

services around the world.

This year’s AMSF International Rising Stars include John Martin (British Formula 3 Championship), Ash Walsh (Formula Renault), Tim Blanchard (British Formula Ford) and James Davison, who is racing in the Indy Lights Series in America.

Applications for the 2009 AMSF International Rising Star Program are now open until August 29.

15

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Healthy fields for Shannons‘ Island SHANNONS NATIONALS THE sixth round of the Shannons Nationals this weekend at Phillip Island will see over 145 entries.

The field includes strong 20-plus grids for Formula 3, Australian GT, GT3 Cup Challenge, Commodore Cup and Saloon Cars.

In the F3 ranks, in-form driver Mat Sofi has switched teams.

Having driven his Mugen

Honda-powered Dallara F307 for Ralt Australia, he has switched to Astuti Motorsport for the remainder of the season.

Sofi, who has finished on the podium in two of the last three races, will be run out of Astuti’s camp alongside the teams existing program in both the outright and National classes of the championship.

Also on the program this weekend at the island circuit

is the third round of the Shannons V8 Touring Car Series.

While the category continues to find its feet., former Touring Car Challenge competitor Darren Formosa joins the V8TC fold to contest his home round, the third in the series’ inaugural year.

Peter McNiven will bring another Holden to the grid with his VT Commodore, while Terry Wyhoon’s Fujitsu Series outfit Image Racing will field

two cars.

Lee Moran will drive an ex-DJR EL Falcon while Mark Shepphard will get behind the wheel of one of the team’s exSBR AU Falcons.

Chris Smerdon currently leads the series in his Stone Brothers Racing-built AU.

John Morris/Mpix

Rose and Co. heads back to Sepang SEPANG 12 HOUR MAL Rose Racing is heading to the Merdeka Millenium Sepang 12 Hour in Malaysia at the end of August with a three car team.

Rose, Peter Leemhuis and Tony Alford will in the ex-GRM VY Commodore that the trip raced at the Nurburgring 24 Hour, while the team is also taking across two Mitsubishi Mivec RS Cup cars. One of those cares will be raced by a team of Western Ausralian Saloon Car drivers Malcolm Niall, Brett Niall and Clint Harvey. The other Mitsubishi entry are still to be finalised.

The VY Holden Commodore will race in Class O for

16

outright cars, taking on the likes of Porsche 997s, Aston Martins and a selection of Lamborghinis, Lotus and Proton Sportscars.

The Mitsubishi Cup cars will run in Class C for 1600cc FWD cars against the Hondas,

Proton Wira and the Toyotas.

After just one test day last week , the cars were freighted over to Malaysia in a custom built 40’ container with all the necessary spares.

The Holden has a fresh 630hp Chev (recently up-speced by

Garry Rogers Motorsport) with a sequential Holinger gearbox & running 18” Michelins.

Last year, the Commodore team was running in a creditable fifth outright until engine problems forced a retirement.

17

i30 set for Targa West TARGA WEST THIS year’s QUIT Targa West rally will have a significantly ‘green’ flavour to it, with the first diesel-powered entry in the event’s four-year history.

Razvan Vlad will run a turbo diesel-powered Hyundai i30 CRDi in the Modern Challenge class this year, combining his two passions – rallying, and the environment.

“I work for a company than does environmental

monitoring, so I’ve always had this idea,” he told eNews, “because in 10 or 15 years we will all be competing in cars like this. I’ve always been involved in motorsport, so this combines those two things. I’m just lucky that Hyundai Australia thought it was a good idea!”

Hyundai Australia was so impressed with the idea that they have thrown significant support behind the regular gravel rally competitor. Vlad will receive a car, remittance for

the entry fees, and service crew from the Korean manufacturer and its WA dealers, making it a proper factory entry.

“We chose this car as soon as it was named ‘Green Car of the year’ [in last years CARSguide awards], because it is quick enough that you won’t make a fool of yourself. It will basically be a standard car, with all Hyundai components. The idea is that people will realise that you don’t need an expensive, powerful car to have fun. If

you drive it properly, a less powerful car can be just as much fun.”

Also on the entry list is an Aston Martin vantage, which will be driven by last year’s Modern Challenge winner Rob Darrington. There is also talk that Targa West will see the Australian competition debut of the Mitsubishi Evo X, although the entry is yet to be confirmed.

The event kicks off on September 4 in Perth.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

PCR Calender announced SPEEDWAY

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The 2008/9 PCR Summer is set to finish on May 2 making the Parramatta track one

of the most used tracks in Australia.

– GREG BOSCATO

Geoff Gracie

THE Parramatta City Raceway has just released its 2008/9 summer season race program with the gates opening next month on September 13 with a practice night before the rescheduled 2008 NSW Sprintcar Title the following week September 20th.

Two weeks later the also rescheduled Australian 2008 title will feature in a single night program. After a week break, Sprintcars return on October 18 for round two in the TPCR

Sprintcar Track Championship.

Highlights of the summer include the two WSS rounds November 15th (Round 2) and the WSS Grand Final weekend on January 16-17. The Sprintcar International season commences on Boxing night December 26th which again includes the $50,000 to win set for January 2-3. February 28th and the 2009 NSW Sprintcar title is scheduled while the PCR Sprintcar Track Championship concludes its 17 round shoot out on Saturday night March 28.

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Zukanovic considers options SPEEDWAY THE future of Marcus Zukanovic might not be in V8 Supercars, with the development series driver unsure of his 2009 plans.

Zukanovic tested a Camping World East Series car at Irwindale Speedway in the US earlier this year, and is still in the frame for a race in the

official NASCAR feeder series before the year out. His future plans now depend on that, and getting a budget for next season.

“At the moment there is nothing locked in,” Zukanovic told eNews.

“All I know is right now we don’t have a budget for next year, so it depends a lot on that.

I’d really like to go and race in

America and it is something I will try and do this year.”

But while some paddock chatter had Zukanovic leaving the Fujitsu Series to race in America full time, he confirmed that there was still every chance he would be in a V8 next season.

“There’s still a big chance. I still own the car, and I’d really like to get on top of this

Supercar thing. We’re still a little way off, but I want to be a contender. I know the car is up to it, and I’m sure I can be up to it as well.”

Zukanovic will be back in action this weekend at Phillip Island, stepping back to Commodore Cup before taking a break before the next FV8 round at Bathurst.

- ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Double Duties for Brad AUSSIE RACING CARS

Supercar driver to give the category a go following Russell Ingall’s appearance earlier this year – raising the question as to when we will next see him giving it another go.

“It all depends, if Paul (Morris) wants me to drive it again I’ll certainly have another rip at it but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Just for the record, Jones finished 19th, 16th, ninth and 22nd from the four races.

– PHILLIP MAHONEY

John Morris/ Mpix

BRAD Jones experienced all the joys of doing double duties at Winton last weekend when he stepped into Aussie Racing Car for a last minute run.

The former V8 Supercar driver turned team boss jumped at the opportunity to have a run in the category after hearing a drive was available for the weekend. But it certainly wasn’t easy.

Jones only stepped in the car for the first time for qualifying after Steve Owen decided not to run the car, having driven it is practice. Instead deciding to focus on his Fujitsu duties over the weekend, giving Jones his first drive in the pint-sized category.

“It was great fun,” said Jones.

“It was one of those things. I would have liked to jump in and have done some practice but I jumped in it straight in qualifying, which was a little tough.

“But I have to say really enjoyable their great little cars and I thought it was just terrific.

“It’s like anything,” said Jones, “It’s never quite as easy as what they look.

“They’re great little drivers car, but very different to what I’m used too. You pick the throttle up early and you drive it and slide it, where as a V8 Supercar you are always waiting to accelerate off the corner.

So it’s almost the exact opposite to what you need to do in a V8 Supercar.

“But I’d recommend it to anyone. I think it’s a great little category just lots and lots of fun to drive.”

Jones became the latest ex/current V8

19

5 Minutes with ...

JONATHON WEBB

Expect to see SBR’s Fujitsu Series driver in the Main Series next year ...

You’ve said many times in the past that the V8 Supercar Championship Series is where you want to be, and that 2009 is the year to make the step up. Is that still the case?

Yes. I did four years in the Porsches and a couple of years now of Development Series to get me prepared for V8s.

We probably haven’t had bad results, a bit up and down as everyone does, but we’ve been progressing forward as part of my driving.

Obviously I’m getting on now in age (ED: Webb is 24 years old!), it’s a young man’s sport and I want to get in there nice and early.

The biggest thing is the lack of track miles in the Development Series. You just don’t do enough kilometres.

The main series guys do between 600-700km per race weekend.

Kilometres over the year and the opportunity to learn in any one season is very limited.

This is the reason why I want to make the move to the main series.

I’ve been talking to Ford and Holden Motorsport and sussing out where there’s a hole and where we might fit in. There’s nothing secure at the moment, but I’ll just start at the top and work my way down.

The key is to try and get a good car, but we should be able to get a good base, it doesn’t matter what way we go. It’s a matter of finding a team with a strong main driver so I can tap in and learn from him.

So your preference is to be

20

GRANT ROWLEY

It’s a young man’s sport and i want to get in there nice and early JONO Webb is pushing for a main series drive in 2009 the number two in a team to have someone to chase?

Definitely. I’m probably not a strong enough driver to be a number one, unless I linked up with one of the bottom teams who don’t have a really strong driver.

What about running your own team? There are licences available. Could that be an option?

Not really. The cost to do something like that goes through the roof. You’d have to buy a car, you’ve got to have spare engines, you need a truck and a workshop.

The initial set-up costs are unbelievable. You need a $3-4 millions to set it up.

I’ve been speaking to a few of the smaller teams about

who could expand, so we’ll see what happens.

You raced in the endurance races last year, so you know what level the main series plays at. Where would you expect to run to start with?

Initially, I wasn’t really sure, but this year has given me some indication of where I might be.

With Tony D’Alberto, Andrew Thompson and Michael Caruso all moving up from the Fujitsu Series, they are all guys who I could mix it quite well with last year. I’ve come along way since then, so I think I could run around the 20th mark.

That would be an ideal spot.

I should be able to have a reasonable run.

When would you like to have

a deal sorted for next year?

Probably, ideally, by Bathurst.

If it’s not done by then, you start to miss out on some opportunities and you start picking up the dregs, rather than moving forward.

And how would you rate your performances over the past two years in V8 Supercars?

I’m getting better and improving, but certainly not as high as I would have liked.

We’ve struggled at Winton this weekend. In fact, all three of the team’s cars haven’t been terrific.

I guess I ‘d give my progress a seven out of 10, but in terms of the results, I’d give myself a four or five out of 10.

There’s plenty of room for improvement left yet …

chat

21

Dirk Klynsmith

Letters

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

Dudded Again Once again Marcos Ambrose was literally robbed of victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Having followed his progress closely since he made his way stateside to race NASCAR, it was obvious he was in with a shot at the win in Montreal.

But all his pace and effort was to no avail.

Ambrose was by far the quickest man in Canada, but

22

luck just wasn’t on his side.

Last year he was taken out of the running, and then this year in torrential conditions he cops a penalty when he couldn’t even see where he was going.

Rotten luck.

The fact of the matter is Marcos will win in NASCAR very soon, who knows, it could even come as soon as this weekend at Watkins Glen in Sprint Cup.

We can only hope.

Keep up the good work.

John Robinson via email Winton Why run Winton in the middle of winter?

Don’t get me wrong, what a great event it was. I always love heading up to Winton each and every year. It seems to be one of the few races left that is a true ‘punters’ race

which is nice.

But really, the middle of winter.

It was freezing all weekend, with the only saving grace being the fire i was standing next to.

Please don’t get rid of the race, we need more events like this one. But wouldn’t it be better to run it closer to summer so it’s not so cold.

Geoff Gordon via email

opinion

A transplants

(with complications) opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor I LIKE America. And Americans. But sometimes, they are so … American.

I think that the changes of us getting a round of the 2009 IndyCar Series are negligible.

As we report in the news pages, IndyCar’s 2009 calendar has no Surfers date on it but Brian Barnhart, IRL’s President, Competition and Operations, is optimistic that there might be a slot.

“We are in active conversations regarding ’09,” he said in a statement.

“We are keeping a couple of slots open. We’re hopeful Australia will be included.

Combining it with the Japan race would be a good fit.”

That means he would like to ‘twin’ our race one weekend either side of Motegi which, it can be assumed, is locked to its September 19 date.

The weekend before that is a problem; that is either the weekend of the Phillip Island 500 or perilously close to it and, having a combined Indy/ V8 weekend, starting on the Thursday after Australia’s WRC round – which will be in the same neighbourhood – is also a pretty big ask.

The weekend after is … well, worse. The AFL Grand Final may not be big news in Indianapolis but it is here and, even if Channel 10 is broadcasting next year’s big game and not Seven (which does Supercars). To translate that into American, absolutely nothing happens in the USA on Superbowl Sunday and I doubt that the IRL will schedule a race for Sunday, February 1, particularly near Tampa, Florida. Same deal here, Brian.

IndyCar’s stakeholders, including the teams, want their series to end on home soil and having a late-October round in the USA presents some

problems. Likewise, as we are seeing now, a post end-ofseries, non-points IndyCar race here is not quite a universal priority with the teams.

And those facts ignore the fact that V8 Supercars Australia already has a deal for 22-25 October, has locked the date to its calendar and sent that off to Seven to work with. The FIA is involved with approving the dates and there are consequences, and knockon effects, from making changes now, even if you could.

In future years, maybe there will be a solution to this apparent impasse; perhaps, the race could be in the autumn, as it once was in the past. If there is going to be a solution to the 2009 problem, someone is going to have to put in a best-on-ground performance. But for right now, if you want to see Briscoe and Power fighting it out on the streets of Surfers, I’d be booking sooner rather than

eLETTER OF THE WEEK ‘P’ Plates Why does it seem that everyone wants the seasoned veterans of Australian touring car racing to retire so badly.

There are constant comments on TV and letters in magazines calling for these ‘old’ blokes to move on.

Who wants to watch a bunch of pimple faced kids come and go

every couple of years?

I don’t recall so much fuss when Peter Brock, Dick Johnson and Larry Perkins were at the latter years of their careers.

These legends were allowed to go out on their own terms, and I think Skaifey, Ingall and others have still got plenty too offer to their fans.

Are Lowndes, Murphy and Richards next?

Who are we supposed to cheer for if we don’t know who the drivers are?

Please leave some room in the sport for what could only be the very next group of legends.

Aaron Kemp via email

Send your creative letters to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 23

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 8 – WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

The Three Amigos Only the order of race wins could split Garth Tander, Jamie Whincup and Will Davison at the end of a chilly Winton Motor Raceway.

PHIL BRANAGAN braved the conditions

24

race

Peter Bury

25

V8 SUPERCARS THERE are, in the course of any important motor racing series, what are referred to in the washout as “championship moments”.

They were thick on the ground as the teams left Winton Motor Raceway on Sunday night. Mark Winterbottom had one in Race 1 when a tyre went down; he had another in Race 3 when he ran off the road. Both of those events occurred while he was leading and sandwiched an astonishing Race 2 drive to second – from the back of the grid.

So, if Frosty didn’t win, who did? Garth Tander had a championship moment of his own in Race 1, ending the race with a broken steering rack and a rear antiroll bar stuck on full hard. He finished third in the first two races but when he leapt to the lead through the pit cycle, a Race 3 win tied him on points with Jamie Whincup and Will Davison, and their identical results left GT to take the round

26

on account of his Race 3 result.

It was the first time that a three-way tie has happened in the championship, but Tander wasn’t confused in the least.

“I stood on the top step of the podium,” he grinned.

“I am sitting in the middle here [at the press conference]. I will take it.”

All three of the tied drivers struggled with tyres in the final race, having spent most of their grip capital in the first two races. Whincup in particular expressed difficulty getting to grips with the new Dunlop control tyre while Davison tended towards the notion that, as his car has gained speed through the season, it has done so at the cost of tyre life.

There were unhappy stories as well. A Race 2 crash, prompted by side-to-side contact between Jason and Steven Richards, fired the former into the wall and accounted for Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife. The Enforcer made it back out for the final race but the other two Commodores were done for the weekend.

The incident took away what was a good weekend for the Sprint Gases, Richards flying just under the radar to fourth in the opening race. On the other hand, team-mate Greg Murphy had a nightmare in the other Tasman car.

James Courtney crashed to earth – literally – after his QR win, losing a wheel in the pitlane while Craig Lowndes continues to struggle in qualifying (he missed out on making the final 10) but shows great race speed. No wondering who will do the Saturday driving at Phillip Island and Bathurst, then.

Along with the round win, Tander gets to enjoy at least six weeks in the championship lead.

Team members will be spread far and wide over the winter ‘break’ for the Olympics, and there will be a lot to play for in the first endurance race at Phillip Island in September.

“Five hundred kays, on this tyre, that is going to be an interesting one,” says Tander.

race

Marshall Cass

Equal winners: Will Davison, Garth Tander and Jamie Whincup all won a race each and finished the round on 272 points each – the first time that has happened in Australian Touring Car Championship history.

V8 Supercar | ROUND 8, WINTON, VIC Pos#

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Tough times: Mark Skaife hit the old pit wall when he was avoiding the Race 2 incident, above, while Stone Brothers Racing had a pit stop glitch on James Courtney’s car, below.

Driver

1 1 Garth Tander 2 88 Jamie Whincup 3 18 Will Davison 4 15 Rick Kelly 5 888 Craig Lowndes 6 33 Lee Holdsworth 7 7 Todd Kelly 8 16 Paul Dumbrell 9 25 Jason Bright 10 5 Mark Winterbottom 11 4 James Courtney 12 67 Paul Morris 13 39 Russell Ingall 14 17 Steven Johnson 15 111 Fabian Coulthard 16 9 Shane Van Gisbergen 17 55 Tony D’Alberto 18 11 Shane Price 19 6 Steven Richards 20 12 Andrew Jones 21 34 Michael Caruso 22 14 Cameron McConville 23 3 Jason Richards 24 26 Marcus Marshall 25 50 Andrew Thompson 26 51 Greg Murphy 27 021 Chris Pither 28 777 Michael Patrizi 29 2 Mark Skaife

Team/Car

Q R1

R2 R3

Toll HRT Commodore VE Team Vodafone Falcon BF Jim Beam Racing Falcon BF HSV Dealer Team Commodore VE Team Vodafone Falcon BF Valvoline Commodore VE Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE Autobarn Commodore VE Fujitsu Racing Falcon BF Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF Jeld-Wen Motorsport Falcon BF Supercheap Auto Commodore VE Supercheap Auto Commodore VE Jim Beam Racing Falcon BF Glenfords Racing Falcon BF SP Tools Racing Falcon BF Rod Nash Racing Commodore VE Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF Team BOC Commodore VE Valvoline Commodore VE Team WOW Commodore VE Sprint Gas Racing Commodore VE IRWIN Racing Falcon BF PWR Commodore VE Sprint Gas Racing Commodore VE Team Kiwi Racing Falcon BF Ausdrill Ford Rising Stars Falcon BF Toll HRT Commodore VE

4 2 3 8 14 5 11 13 20 1 17 21 15 23 16 24 26 9 6 18 7 22 10 27 19 25 29 28 12

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

3 1 2 11 12 6 7 16 20 21 10 14 8 18 19 15 24 22 5 29 9 23 4 26 17 27 28 25 13

Peter Bury

Points: Tander 1844, Winterbottom 1832, Whincup 1758, R Kelly 1506, Davison 1426, Richards 1383, Lowndes 1365, Courtney 1343, Holdsworth 1200, Ingall 1189, T Kelly 1116, Coulthard 1049, Van Gisbergen 1048, Johnson 1032, Skaife 972, McConville 969, J Richards 850, Murphy 848, Dumbrell 844, Jones 780, Caruso 758, Morris 709, Bright 700, D’Alberto 620, Price 612, Marshall 542, Marshall 542, Thompson 467, Patrizi 384, Scott 362, Pither 130.

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IN a family publication, we can’t report what Mark Winterbottom said exactly after the end of Race 3.

Suffice to say, he was frank and honest.

“I locked up and went off,” he admitted.

Frosty is that kind of guy; not a lot of Hollywood but not a lot of hype either.

The FPR ace was feared by everyone

else before the weekend – the speed he showed over the weekend has done little or nothing to diminish that.

While FPR may have hogged some of the sympathy on Sunday night, none is needed at GRM. Lee Holdsworth twice bounced back from setbacks to end the weekend sixth overall, while 21st

John Morris/Mpix

Disaster, triumph and back disguises what was a sound result for Michael Caruso. Only two teams put both their cars in the top 10 in qualifying – FPR and Garry Rogers’s lads. There are still some tweaks to come for the Valvoline cars, which are starting to look like endurance threats.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

Talking heads

Dirk Klynsmith

28

WITH the world about to tune in to the technical wizardry of the Olympics, it is good to see that things were ‘normal’ for the Winton telecast.

And that is not to denigrate it, not at all. With Matty White already Beijing-side, Seven shuffled its talking heads, with Mark Beretta stepping into the host’s chair and Mark Larkham joining in, with a pitlane assignment. Larko brought some fascinating insights to the task and looked pretty comfortable with a microphone, though we are less convinced about the California Poppy in the ‘do.

With Mark Skaife not able to start Race 3, once again we had the treat of him leaping into the commentary box. And once again, he was terrific; he uses plain language to explain complex situations and at no time did he sound forced doing

FROM THE COUCH

Chris Lambden

it and was not shy in describing James Courtney’s drive through penalty (after he had already had his race ruined by the wheel coming off ) as “ridiculous”.

He is a natural, much more so than his mate Nathan Buckley is in Seven’s AFL coverage, and don’t get me started on Ricky Olerenshaw.

When the decision is made, Skaifey will make a first-class commentator. In fact, we reckon that he could cross sports and cover more than just cars going around racetracks, should he choose to do so. He might want to sort some unfinished business in the cockpit first, though …

race

Championship on and over I

It’s game on for V8s, game over for FV8s and damn cold in Benalla F you look at the two V8 Supercar Series, the championship situation couldn’t be anymore different.

In the main show, it’s a case of ‘championship on.’

Mark Winterbottom’s up and down weekend at Winton has thrown the series open again.

Garth Tander is back in front thanks to his round win, and Jamie Whincup is right in the hunt (despite a zero points finish at Hamilton earlier in the season).

I’m willing to bet that this year’s champion is going to come from one of these three aces (but if you look at my footy tipping form this year, you might not want to rush to

COMMENT

Grant Rowley Editor eNews

your closest TAB too quickly!).

Winton may have marked the half-way point of the series, but Tander, Winterbottom and Whincup are the class of 2008 (so far …)

While it appears to be a three-horse race in Championship Series, rivals of Steve Owen in the Fujitsu Series may as well put down their hats – it’s almost ‘championship over.’

I don’t want to jinx Owen in any way, but he has been far too consistent (and far

too fast) for the rest of the pack. Dean Canto, David Reynolds and Jack Perkins are the only ones who have really challenged the Tint-aCar Commodore for speed, but even then, no one has been as consistent as ‘Super Steve.’

With two rounds to run, Owen is going to have to fall off The Mountain and forget how to get to Oran Park to lose this one.

S

pending the weekend up at Winton was a breath of fresh air.

Nope, I’m not saying that every round should be at Winton – I’m saying that holding a race meeting at Winton in early August was

damn cold! Every time you inhaled the fresh Winton O2, you knew you were alive (even if, at times, you didn’t want to be).

Please V8 Supercars, please Winton Motor Raceway, hold your meeting at Winton at the front or back half of the year.

It’s too cold!

I love going to Winton. I love spending the weekend in Benalla. It’s a fun town with four pubs and friendly, funlovin’ fans.

But the race is only even going to attract the ‘pure race fans.’ So, why not look after them and hold the meeting when the weather would attract even more of the diehards?

Petyer Bury

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FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 5 – WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

Extending the lead It doesn’t matter what happens, Steve Owen seems to always finish at the front.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

30

race

Dirk Klynsmith

31

FUJITSU V8s SOMETIMES, a plan comes together. And sometimes, things work out better than you even planned.

That was the case for Steve Owen at the fifth round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series round at Winton last weekend.

Heading into the weekend with a handy points gap over David Reynolds and Dean Canto, Owen didn’t really need to win the round, and drove like a man happy to consolidate. But remarkably, he still came away with the biggest trophy.

Owen only looked truly in control in two of the four official sessions. The first was qualifying, where he grabbed pole off Canto after the chequer had been hung.

The second time was in the reverse top 10 Race 2, where, with a slightly better starting spot thanks to being beaten by Canto in Race 1, Owen charged through to win.

The final race, like the first, was all about Canto. The Falcon driver scorched off the line and into the lead. And like in Race 1, Owen was more than happy to sit behind. That was, of course, until the field arrived at Turn 1 late in the race to find a massive oil slick on the racing line. All of

32

the top half a dozen drivers went off, the one exception being Owen, who stayed on track, took control of the race, and wrapped up his third round of the season.

“We discovered that someone in pit lane had no engine oil because it was all on the track,” said Owen.

“I stayed on the track when a couple of people fell off. I was happy to be in second because we were going to win the round anyway, but it is always nice to win.”

The news got worse for Canto. In the confusion he busted a roll bar, meaning that while the other front-runners carried on basically where they started, he dropped to seventh for the race, and off the podium for the round.

Jack Perkins ended up second overall, but despite Canto’s misfortune, it couldn’t be called a lucky result. Perkins was fast all weekend, qualifying third from the bottom 50 percent, and matching Owen and Canto for pace all weekend. He had even been closing in on Owen in the final race before the oil debacle.

Third for the round was Reynolds, the quiet achiever scoring his third podium from the five rounds and keeping his 100 percent finishing record alive. His cause was helped by a couple of retirements

throughout the weekend, and Reynolds even went as far as to joke that he “owed Jack [Perkins] a lot for knocking a few blokes off.”

There were some hard luck stories beyond Canto. Dale Wood was on for a good result after qualifying fourth, but was the biggest loser in a clash with Perkins at the start of Race 1, backing his A&I Helicopters entry into the wall before Turn 1.

Karl Reindler almost had his first win in a V8 in Race 2, but dropped to fifth after a rather forceful move by Steve Owen left him with bent steering, and frustrated at the championship leader.

And finally, Michael Trimble lost any chance of another solid rookie result when he missed his braking marker on the run to Turn 1 at the start of Race 2, beaching his Commodore.

With a long break to the next round at Bathurst, the Owen’s contenders have plenty to consider. Such as the 268 point gap between he and second-placed Reynolds, and the fact that there are just two rounds to go …

Points: Owen 1348, Reynolds 1080, Canto 1054, Webb 1008, Reindler 882, Perkins 880, Wood 843, Trimble 834, Denyer 816, Slade 779.

F S

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Murphy’s Law: The GMR Commodores of Sam Walter, above, and Dale Wood, below, had different weekends. Dean Canto’s championship hopes took a dirty twist.

Peter Bury

Neil Hammond

John Morris/Mpix

Fire starter: Michael Trimble was the start king at Winton, making up spots on each of the three starts. However, his Race 2 effort saw him take off Tim Slade, above. Below, David Reynolds finished on the podium for the third time this season.

James Smith

33

YOKOHAMA V8 UTES CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5 – WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

Chucky’s Playground

Gary Baxter put some bad luck behind him to take a well deserved round win at Winton R

S

OUTH Australian Gary Baxter has made his way back to the top of the Yokahama V8 Utes podium in the latest round of the series at Winton Motor Raceway.

Baxter set up his weekend with a strong qualifying position and subsequently won Race 1 in convincing fashion. Having done plenty of miles around the Winton circuit, Baxter was happy to wrap up the round at his “home track”.

“It was good, the car felt really good,” said Baxter following his win in Race 3.

“We’ve been fast at the last two rounds as well but just ran out of luck.

“Being from Adelaide, this was one of our home circuits and I’ve been racing here for

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19 years, so I know the place pretty well. It’s my favourite track I was hoping to do well.”

Baxter had a great weekend, qualifying on pole and delivering a first race win.

But he maintains the consistent view across the paddock that the key to a good weekend is all about salvaging points in the reverse grid race and not getting tangled with slower cars.

“Trying to make up a few spots in the reverse grid race without being too silly is definitely the key to a good weekend,” Baxter said.

“We got through 10 people without a scratch in Race 2, so that was great for us and set us up for pole position in Race 3.”

Championship leader Layton Crambrook

consolidated his position in the standings with a string of handy results to grab second for the round. An incident in the second race pushed him further back that he would have liked but salvaging points for the championship in a difficult weekend due to sickness was a good result.

“There was no need to pressure and overtake Gary [Baxter] in that race,” said Crambrook, “it was all a matter of getting championship points. So second, with Kim [Jane] finishing ninth [in Race 3], is perfect for our championship.”

New Zealander Colin Corkery finished third for the round after setting up his weekend with victory in the reverse grid race.

race

James Smith

Championship year: Layton Crambrook, above, battled sickness all weekend at Winton but still came away with second overall, while one of his main championship rivals, Kim Jane, below, struggled slightly finishing off the podium.

Dirk Klynsmith

Raceway. By PHILLIP MAHONEY With a 10-week break until the next round at Bathurst Baxter hopes he continue his recent good pace when the Utes descend on Mount Panorama.

“Bathurst is obviously a lot different to Winton but I think we can take the confidence from this round and use that when we get to the Mountain,” said Baxter.

“Our car’s great and we won’t be changing anything on it before then so we’ll just see how we go.”

James Smith

Points: Crambrook 532, Jane 494, Grant Johnson 468, Baxter 422, Corkery 389, Ryal Harris 386, Jack Elsegood 380, George Miedecke 377, Stephen Robinson 366, Craig Dontas 346.

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A new Playstation Game

Ben McCashney made it look easy at Winton with all four race wins on home turf.

PHILLIP MAHONEY was there

John Morris/ Mpix

AUSSIE RACING CARS BEN McCashney made the most of some home track knowledge by taking a clean sweep in Round 4 of the Aussie Racing Cars at Winton Raceway last weekend.

The Playstation Falcon driver led from the front all weekend, securing pole position and four hard-fought race wins, to take comfortable round win.

“To come back after a poor last round with a DNS is really great,” said McCashney.

“We really used our home track advantage this weekend to grab four race wins and the pole position.

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“We gained a small advantage this weekend from it being our home track, but everything adds up and the car set-up all helps, which is where most of our advantage came from this weekend.”

As ever, the Aussie Racing Cars provided plenty of passing all the way down the field, with numerous spins and offs.

Paul Kemal, Richie Rapa and Adam Gowans all continued their good form this season and ran near the front all weekend but lacked the consistency of McCashney.

“We definitely had a little bit more speed than everyone else this weekend,” McCashney said,

“and I think it forced those guys to push too hard and make some small mistakes which went our way and left us out front.”

Both Kemal and Rapa made small mistakes in Race 3 with Kemal running on to the grass in turn 5, while Rapa earned a 32 second penalty for spinning Kyle Clems out of third place.

Kemal was able to recover and fight his way back to take second for the round, but Rapa struggled, ending Race 4 out of contention.

Gowans’ consistent run handed him third and, although he lacked the outright speed, his ability

to stay out of trouble was rewarded.

Also having a run in an Aussie Racing Car for the first time at Winton was Brad Jones, who stepped into a vacant Supercheap Commodore after practice to record a best place finish of ninth.

The next round of the Aussie Racing Cars is now a few months away on the Gold Coast for the Indy 300.

– PHILLIP MAHONEY Points: Kemal 199, David Lawrence 188, Gowans 187, Clems 176, Nick Lowe 173, McCashney 172, Peter Carr 171, Nick Simmons 170, Rapa 170, Sheridan Phillips 169.

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James Smith

Battle of the Masters BIANTE TOURING CAR MASTERS

WINTON Raceway offered up a stark contrast to Hidden Valley last time out for the Biante Touring Car Masters, but it was the same familiar names at the front.

Gavin Bullas pulled through to lead home John Bowe and Jim Richards for round honours over three closely fought races.

Bullas looked to have the pace over the field in all three races but a touch with Brad Tilley late in Race 1 forced a late fight back and a salvaged third place.

From that point on, it was all Bullas as the Ford Boss Mustang driver won the next to races in commanding fashion. Although the racing was extremely close, Bullas never really looked threatened out front as Bowe and Richards scrapped with Tilley for the remaining places.

After taking the win in Race 1, Bowe was forced to follow Bullas home to take a well-deserved second place, but he didn’t have it all his own way.

Bowe was shadowed all weekend by Richards in his Ford Sprint and a recovering Tilley, who made up spots all weekend after spinning into the gravel in the last corner of Race 1.

All his hard worked paid off and he was rewarded with a second place in the final race for the weekend.

Richards was quick as usual in his Sprint and made the most of the car’s superior handling to stay in the hunt.

An untimely off in the final race forced him to fight his way back to the front-runners but it was enough to salvage his place on the podium.

The next round for the Biante Touring Car Masters will be on September 7 at Eastern Creek for the Muscle Car Masters.

James Smith

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 21 – PENNSYLVANIA 500 400, POCONO

Carl Edwards maintained his status as Ford’s only Sprint Cup racewinner this season – by that much!

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ECRET AGENT #99!

Ford Racing Media

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NASCAR Media

Point standings; Kyle Busch 3062, Earnhardt Jr. 2883, Edwards 2874, Johnson 2859, Burton 2833.

Ford Racing Media

WEEK ago, Carl Edwards turned around what had been a bit of a dry spell by winning the Nationwide event at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

A new chassis setup on the Roush Fenway Racing Ford – which Edwards had but none of his teammates have yet to use – paid dividends when Edwards took his fourth win of the year at Pocono on Sunday.

“We were pretty close on gas,” said Edwards, who is the only Ford driver to win this year and moved up two positions to third in points.

“This could be a wild, wild Chase, there’s some really fast cars right now.”

Tony Stewart came home second followed by polesitter and early race leader Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan.

Compared with the previous day’s Nationwide Series race, this event was a snoozer, with the exception of a possible rain-shortened race and a nailbiting finish. Like all the lead cars, Edwards was close on fuel but he and his team managed to do what others could not. Johnson ran dry crossing the line, while Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr were among others that coasted to the chequers.

Rain prompted a 45-minute red flag period on lap 131 of the 200 lap race, and at that point, leaders Edwards and Johnson and 21 other drivers pitted.

The other 19 cars – headed by Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth – held position and stayed on track, gambling the rain would stay. But the showers passed and NASCAR restarted the race with 55 laps to run.

“We were really arguing,” said Edwards of the red flag delay in a decision where his crew chief elected to pit.

“It’s cool that we got to finish this thing, but I was nervous we’d made the wrong call.”

Points leader Kyle Busch ran out of gas with two laps to run and stalled on pit road. Had he restarted, he would have been assessed a drive through penalty for his team pushing him beyond the mandated three pit stalls.

NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

Straight into the Pool Room: Carl Edwards left Pennsylvania with a funky trophy, left, and the respect of Jimmie Johnson, above, who finished third. Tony Stewart, below left, who will take the Office Depot sponsorship next season, rode a brave fuel gamble to second.

JJ Yeley yacked it up with 24 star and noted racing Kiefer Sutherland, below, before the race.

The Montreal Canadiens NATIONWIDE

NASCAR Media

IT rains in Montreal – a lot. Sooner or later, it was going to rain during a NASCAR race there.

Precipitation decided Saturday’s Nationwide race. A dominant Marcos Ambrose looked to be the winner, no matter how wet it got. But a pitlane speeding infringement and a drivethrough penalty and dropped him to third. Just after that, the rain got heavier and a caution led to a red flag ending the race 26 laps early.

Canadian road race veteran Ron Fellows in a JR Motorsports Chevrolet, above, became the benefactor, taking his fourth Nationwide Series road course win, the previous three coming at Watkins Glen. Patrick Carpentier Canadian made it a Maple Leaf 1-2 ahead of Ambrose, Joey Logano and Ron Hornaday Jr. Road racers dominated. After topping practice, Ambrose started third and passed Max Papis on lap two. Then the rain came; for the first time in its history, NASCAR threw a three-minute caution for teams to fit wet tyres and wiper

blades. The field restarted, under yellow, in the same order as they pitted.

When the track went green on lap 13, Ambrose wasted no time in diving under poleman Scott Pruett to take the lead and despite a brief off into the grass, didn’t look back until the pivotal pit stop on lap 41. Had the race been restarted, even Fellows’s experience looked unlikely to hold back the Tasmanian, who lead 27 laps in the wet conditions and looked a sure bet to upset the hardy Canadian crowd hoping for a local win.

Despite the ‘hometown’ result, you could hardly criticise the decision to end the race early. While running under the fourth and final caution on lap 46, Nationwide debutant Jacques Villeneuve ran into the back of Alex Garcia and Logano also wrecked hard, demonstrating just how difficult conditions were.

– MARTIN D CLARK Points; Bowyer 3346, Edwards 3178, Keselowski 3164, Reutimann 3035, Ragan 3003 (12th Ambrose 2586).

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WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 10 – BRANDS HATCH

Brands Recognitio Ryuichi Kiyonari took his time to make an impact on World Superbikes.

And when he did, he doubled up at Brands Hatch

Ten out of Ten: Ryuichi Kiyonari was in a class of his own at Brands, taking two wins on the Ten Kate Honda. Troy Bayliss was the main opposition in Race 1, opposite right, while Noriyuki Haga, #41, led the chasers in Race 2.

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on

IT’S been a big week for Ryuichi Kiyonari.

The Honda star won the Suzuka 8Hour a week ago and took his first World Superbike double at Brands Hatch, scene of many of his British Superbike triumphs, on Sunday.

Kiyo stalked Troy Bayliss for 21 laps before he seized the initiative in a shower-delayed Race 1, while

Max Biaggi closed in for third, the trio split by no more than 0.2s at the flag. But Bayliss made a wrong tyre choice for Race 2 and struggled to 11th, one spot ahead of Biaggi, who came back after an early fall.

In the absence of a Ducati challenge, Kiyonari fought off the Yamahas of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser, though the Honda was just

too fast to be challenged this time.

“It wasn’t easy,” said the Japanese ace, twice a winner of the British title.

“I found it difficult to pass and I made a couple of mistakes. In Race 1, I was very nervous for the last few laps but in Race 2, I was able to keep a good pace right to the end.”

WSBK

RIDER’S points

Bayliss 334, Neukirchner 252, Corser 242, Checa 233, Haga 230, Nieto 183, Biaggi 166, Kiyonari 165.

Ducati Corse Yamaha Racing

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GLOBE TROTTER

Mike Patrick

WORLD Speedway Champion Nicki Pedersen from Denmark has extended his lead in this year’s World title race after winning the Czech GP in the Marketa Stadium.

Pedersen finished ahead of fellow Dane Hans Andersen and Aussie Jason Crump.

It means Pedersen now has a 15-point lead in the series ahead of Crump, who has not given up hope.

Leigh Adams again reached the semi-final but trailed in last behind the top two Danes and Sweden’s Andreas Jonnson.

After the meeting Crump said “It was OK but really I messed up in the semi and that surrendered choice of Gates to Nicki.

“I need to do something in the remaining meetings, I am riding pretty well and I am pleased with my gating but Nicki is even sharper from the start and that’s a problem.”

Points: Pedersen 102, Crump 87, Greg Hancock 77, Tomasz Gollob 74, Hans Andersen 64, (6th Adams 59).

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Maserati Dominates SPA 24-HOUR

MASERATI has taken a 1-2 finish at the latest round of the FIA GT Championship at the Spa 24 Hour Race last weekend.

The Maserati MC12 piloted by the Michael Bartels/Andrea Bertolini/Stephane Sarrazin/Eric van de Poele combination came home just ahead of their team-mates Miguel Ramos/Alexandre Negrao/Stephane Lemeret/Alessandro Pier Guidi.

“It was an incredible victory,” said Bertolini, “easy only if analyzed superficially because, up to the middle of the race, we fought against fast, aggressive adversaries.”

“I can’t tell you if this success is better than the one in 2006, all that matters is that my name is in this race’s honor’s list. I thank the team and Maserati for the opportunity I was given.

Allan Simonsen continued his good run in GT,1 coming home in third in an Aston Martin DBR9, just ahead of the remaining Masarati.

The Ferrari combination of Malucelli/Ruberti/Camathias/Rigon finished first in GT2 in fifth outright.

The Australian contingent of Shaun Juniper/Max Twigg/Craig Baird/Rodney Forbes finished in 19th outright and ninth in GT2.

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BRITISH F3 BRENDON Hartley led the charge for Carlin Motorsport at Spa last weekend in the latest round of the British Formula 3 Championship.

Hartley secured second place in Round 15 of the championship behind teammate Oliver Turvey and benefited in Round 16 after Turvey was left stranded on the grid to take the win.

Hartley was initially delayed at the start due to Turvey’s troubles and was forced to fight back from down in fifth position, eventually passing Sergio Perez on the last lap.

Championship leader Jaime Alguersuari had a consistent weekend, with a third in Race 1 and a fourth place in Race 2.

Australian’s Sam Abay and John Martin started the weekend well, with Abay

sutton-images.com

Carlin lead the charge at Spa

placing fourth in the first race with Martin right behind.

Race 2 was less than ideal for the Aussie charges, with Martin colliding with Walter Grubmuller at La Source, while Abay was forced to pit to fix a puncture after contact with Marcus Ericsson.

The contact came at an unfortunate time for Abay, who was looking down the barrel of a podium position having qualified third.

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rear of grid

Odd Spot WE just knew a V8 Supercar driver would come out and chase the pink dollar some day. We just didn’t expect it to be Jason Richards.

No, the Kiwi has not decided to bat for the other team. But there were some red faces at Sprint Gas Racing when the team’s racing clobber returned from the dry cleaners, post-Queensland Raceway.

Something red got in the mix and the white parts of the suits turned pink.

But being fine lads, and rather than throw a tanty, Richards and Greg Murphy are doing something constructive. Both Alpinestars suits are being auctioned on eBay and the proceeds will go to charity.

So, if you are after a great piece of memorabilia, want to support a good cause and don’t mind some pinkwork, have a look at www.ebay.com.au

A gold medal in fencing!

Photos by Ash Budd

Dirk Klynsmith

SOMETIMES, just when you could reach out and touch the chequered flag …

Jay Baxter was in that position at Round 4 of the All Stars Series at Puckapunyal on the weekend. The 14year-old from Camperdown, NSW, was 50 metres from the finish line when this happened.

Fortunately, after X-rays at Epping Hospital, Jay was cleared of serious injures. In fact, he is working hard on getting to the next race, in spite of some minor details like a destroyed kart and helmet. His mum reports that he is selling everything he owns on eBay to get to the next race so, if there is someone out there who reckons he deserves some support, we think that he would be a grateful recipient.

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