Motorsport eNews Issue 141 - February 9-15, 2010

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Issue No. 141 February 9-15 2010

GOLD COAST

INTY!

V8 Supercars’ controversial Surfers rescue plan ...

SHOCK Another V8 round gone!

PLUS! FULL WINTON V8 TEST COVERAGE

Editorial Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au Executive Editor: Phil Branagan editor@mnews.com.au National Editor: Mitchell Adam mitchell@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) Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Ken Ferguson, John Bosher, Luke Nieuwhof National: Lachlan Mansell, Mark Jones, Aaron Shaw.

Issue No. 141 | 9-15 Feb 2010

news 4 International Rescue The GC goes global. But ...

8 Johnson re-signs New deal for JBR star 11 All eyes on Michael ... but Alonso tops F1 test 12 18 again. And again Bowe’s new/old look 14 Acuracer?

Courtney and ALMS?

chat 22 5 minutes with ... opinion 24 Adam 25 Dumbrell

race 26 Winton V8 testing 32 Babbling Brooke

Steve Johnson The Gold Coast Pro Am A challenge for V8 owners Hot Rock in clock shock Tatnell rules the West

trade 40 Classifieds

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, Paris Charles, Neil Hammond, Joel Strickland, Ash Budd, Mike Patrick (UK)

A friendly fan sent us this image of Russell Ingall’s new Triple Eight-built Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore, which he will test at QR on Tuesday.

Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Copyright: Material published in Motorsport eNews is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

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

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

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

SCOOP!

Follow Motorsport eNews on Twitter! Breaking news and opinion From the Publisher

Onwards and upwards

Chris Lambden Publisher

David Brabham leads the list of names for V8’s Carnivale – but there are many uncertainties V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

TUESDAY February 9, 2010, is a red-letter day in the history of Motorsport News – formal confirmation will come later this morning that Motorsport News will now come under the wing of Chevron Publishing.

Chevron, as many of you will know, is a longtime, highly-respected motorsport publisher (Motor Racing Australia, Muscle Car, motor racing DVDs, event programmes etc etc), which, two years ago, was itself acquired by Sydney-based nextmedia, an innovative and fast-growing specialist publishing company – which now operates over 30 magazines.

It was 16 years ago, 1993 in fact, when Motorsport News was first launched, as a fortnightly tabloid newspaper, which later evolved into a ‘magazine’ format publication in 2000.

The most recent ‘big-step’ came in 2007 with the launch of the publication you are currently reading – a world-first – Motorsport eNews.

Publishing in the 21st century is an industry in which size doesn’t necessarily matter … but it sure helps. Hence our new alliance with Chevron Publishing.

What will it mean? Good news all round.

For Motorsport eNews subscribers, very little changes. We remain at our Melbourne base, with the same group of respected journalists on the case – although we will now have access to the experienced personnel and resources at Chevron.

Readers of our monthly print publication Motorsport News are in for a bonus! Motorsport News and Motor Racing Australia will combine to produce a refreshed, bigger, brighter, better Motorsport News magazine – starting with the very next issue, which publishes in around three weeks from now.

My personal thanks to everyone who has played their part in the 16+ years to date during which Motorsport News has operated as an independent, if small, publishing house. We have been innovators and have, I believe, contributed something of worth to the exciting and at-times bizarre industry we are a part of.

Under the umbrella of nextmedia/Chevron Publishing, that will continue – and Motorsport News will go from strength to strength.

The race is on to sign Internationals

which has for a long time stated a preference to include an international THE race is on among V8 Supercar aspect of the event in its makeup. With team owners to secure the services the absence of any International openof International drivers for the Gold wheel category – a role previously Coast Supercarnivale in October. filled by CART, Champ Car, Indycar and, V8 Supercars last week announced so it was planned, A1GP, the inclusion a new formula for its Surfers race of drivers from overseas does appear weekend, requiring teams to accept a to, in some way, fulfil that component. ‘name’ international co-driver for each What is less clear is, how the drivers of the weekend’s 300km races. already named – David Brabham, Scott Further clarification of the event’s Pruett, Christian Fittipaldi, Alex Tagliani regulations was released by V8 and Mark Blundell – were selected, Supercars Australia on Monday – as how subsequent drivers will be chosen with Bathurst, tewams cannot pair or approved, and which other drivers their regular drivers, so just one of will be recruited by the two-car teams the two pilots in each two-car team – which will need to fill a fourth seat for will have to accept an inexperienced, the mini-enduros. albeit international, co-driver ...

The event will also be shortened Teams will have until March 19 to from four days to three, and nominate a driver for the event, and to entertainment, including live concerts have that driver approved by V8SA. at Broadwater Park for “nightly In order to familiarise themselves entertainment featuring Australian with a V8 Supercar, drivers will and International artists”, will be be allowed to test at Queensland included in the ticket price – which will Raceway on Wednesday October 20, itself be decreased from 2009 levels. and a 30-minute practice session for The event will also be a component the Internationals will be held on the of the inaugural V8 Grand Slam. Any Friday of race weekend. driver who wins the Clipsal 500, The recruitment of the International Bathurst 1000, the Supercarnivale and drivers, and whatever potential the Sydney Telstra 500 in the same coverage for the event that they may year could win “up to $2.5 million in bring, is believed to be to satisfy the prize money”. wishes of the Queensland government, – PHIL BRANAGAN

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n from you, our readers. CLICK HERE – or search for motorsportenews

John Morris

You might get a Busy signal V8 SUPERCARS MAX Wilson’s phone might have been a tad busy in the next few days – if only he did not have a date clash.

The Brazilian, a former Champ Car and V8 Supercar driver of some note, would appear to be well-placed to meet whatever criteria are being applied to the selection of International drivers for the ‘Supercarnivale’.

But his involvement in the Brazilian Stock Car Series means that will be racing at Porto Alegre, not Surfers.

So International drivers are being sought for the event, on the proviso that they meet whatever criteria has been applied to the five drivers already named.

David Brabham’s credentials are already well-known; in fact, we believe that the Le Mans winner will soon be named as Alex Davison’s co-driver at Stone Brothers Racing for the endurance races. The other

four drivers named to date appear to be ... how to put this, medium-profile.

One potential source of driver talent is the DTM. The Gold Coast event falls between the penultimate round at the Hockenheimring and the finale in, for the first time, Shanghai, China. Potentially, that could put DTM drivers on the list. With at least one V8 Supercar team having links with Audi, Mattias Ekstom, anybody?

Another source could be the World Touring Car Championship, which has its own penultimate race the week after the Gold Coast event at Okayama, Japan. With drivers of the ilk of Andy Priaulx and Yvan Muller having V8 experience, it may well be that a real-live World champion might race on the Queensland streets.

If international profile is a must-have, perhaps not one but two Patricks might get an invitation. Danica is a one-woman headline and, given his recent form in GT

cars, actor Patrick Dempsey looks no worse a bet than some of the drivers named so far – and he is far better known!

We would like to see the name ‘Patrick’ on the list, somehow, a more realistic chance might be two Bs; ‘Boris’ and ‘Brack’.

The October 22-24 weekend is going to be a particularly busy one in the motor racing world, and what does look massive is the likely competition for international viewers’ interest. Formula 1 cars are due to line up for the 17th Grand Prix of the year, the inaugural Korean GP at Yeongam, at 4pm Queensland time.

Later that night, the World Superbikes race in the penultimate round of their series at Imola in Italy, at approximately the same time as the final stage of Spain’s World Rally event starts. Later still, Martinsville will host the sixth of the 10 rounds in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. – PHIL BRANAGAN

STOP PRESS BOMBSHELL – WA V8 ROUND OFF!

As Motorsport eNews prepared to publish (Monday evening) a bombshell press release dropped into our InBox. Queensland Raceway might be back on – but Barbagallo is now off! For first details, see page 8 ...

Power: Start me up!

IndyCar star raises his hand for International V8 Supercar drive V8 SUPERCARS

sutton-images.com

WHILE drivers from the four corners of the free world may be heading to Queensland for the Gold Coast event, one of the International drivers may, in fact, be heading home.

Fresh from his latest test with Penske Racing, Will Power is ready to take on the best V8 Supercar drivers on the streets of Surfers in October. The IndyCar star said that he would be ready to go, providing he gets clearance from his team’s management: “”It would be fun if you had a bunch of internationals to race against,” the Toowoomba-born driver said. “[But] it would be hard to race against the regulars. I know what the guys would be thinking; the V8 Supercar drivers would probably prefer not to be racing for points.

“I would have to sign off with my guys at Penske, but I do not think that would be a big deal.”

Power was a forced to be reckoned with on the streets since he first appeared at the track in a Formula Ford in 2000. The following year he raced in the Honda Young Guns event, followed by wins in Formula 3 (2002) and pole positions in both Champ Car and IndyCar events at the circuit.

While he had not raced a V8 Supercar at the circuit, he does have some experience in the category, having driven in the endurance races with Larkham Motorsport in 2002.

QUEENSLAND AUDITOR BLASTS A1GP FIASCO A1 GRAND PRIX

THE Queensland Police Service may be called on to investigate whether fraud was involved in the activities that led to the cancellation of last October’s A1GP event on the Gold Coast.

The report, which was conducted by Auditor-General Glenn Poole, was tabled in the state’s Legislative Assembly last week and paints a damning portrait of

the standards by which the preparations for the event were conducted.

The report said, in part, that; The due diligence processes for the preparation of the agreement with A1GP World Cup of Motorsport (Australia) Pty Ltd were inadequate; Some of those due diligence issues impacted on the ability of the GCMEC to address subsequent issues; Contractural arrangements did not include formal

commitments from all entities involved with control of the A1GP category; An active risk monitoring program was not developed or implemented in response to the known financial and contract concerns Lack of clarity about the roles and responsibilities of various parties involved in the event.

The reported also criticised the fact that the initial payment made to A1 Grand

Prix was made 14 days earlier than required by the contract, but one day after the advice of liquidation of A1GP Operations Ltd had been received. That amount, US$1,837,500, was the only amount paid. The GCMEC is currently pursuing the recovery of the amount.

The report also criticises GCMEC Chairman Terry Mackenroth who, it said, failed to properly document verbal updates between himself and the Minister for Sport.

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SUPERCARNIVALE – THE REACTION Garry Rogers “Personally, I think Tony [Cochrane] has had some great ideas, and managed properly this could be another one. But my major concern is the effect this could have on determining the championship. We can’t have some form of result just because someone has been punted out of a race. NASCAR wouldn’t produce some wildcard in to their championship.

“I have no problem with the concept of promoting the series, but we don’t want it affecting the championship.

“You can’t make the decision as to who will share with an international driver. It’s a V8 Supercar Championship, and at the start of the

KELLY RACING

Todd Kelly

Peter Bury

“We won’t decide [who gets the international driver] until the last minute.

It depends on how good the driver is, and who is in front out of Rick and I at that point … and we won’t know that until the time. We’ve already agreed to that as a deal.

“I think it’s a good thing, getting the international drivers over. The field has to double in size for our two enduros, and there aren’t enough development series drivers to fill all the spots We had Ben Collins last year for the enduros, and

FPR

Tim Edwards

he did a really good job in the car, so it’s good for the sport to get some big names over to drive our cars. I think they’ll find it quite interesting.

“The cost issue will be in accident damage. As a sport, we need to be doing things like this to keep it alive. If you look around the world, no one does anything like this. So it’s awesome, and if someone sticks it in, well that will just be part of it.

The costs don’t outweigh the benefits.

“I’m not sure how it will be worked out what is an eligible driver, and I don’t know if Ben [Collins] will fit into that. It will be a drama if he doesn’t. We’ve been talking to a few other guys anyway about the enduros, we have been since the end of last year.”

flexibility. We also have another question; which one of our regular enduro drivers do we put in the other car? I’ll have all those guys chasing me about that.

“Absolutely, we’ll be looking for our own international now that we have that option. But Imight find someone who I think it suitable, and it might get knocked back by Tony [Cochrane] and the other people on the sort of ‘review’ panel that are making the decision. You know, I spent 17 years in Europe, so I know a lot of Europeans, but they might never have heard of them ...

(I ask TE for his wishlist) “Absolutely not! I’m not giving anyone else a heads up on who I’m chasing!”

Dirk Klynsmith

“As we get more details to plan, the more we’ll start planning. There’s no doubt it will be an absolute challenge to all of us, and a lot will depend on which driver you get.

“Obviously one of our drivers will end up more compromised than the other one, because he’ll end up with a co-driver he’s not familiar with.

(I ask TE how he’ll make that decision) Pass … championship order, maybe. Rod [Nash] will get his international, so Paul [Dumbrell] will have to share his car, so only the two car teams have

Peter Bury

GRM

year you sign on with your two drivers. If this were a non-championship round perhaps it would be okay, but as it sits, while I think it’s a good promotional tool, it needs to be managed properly.

“My second real issue is costs. When we set our budgets for this year, we didn’t allow for something like this, and it could cost an enormous amount of money. If we have to go testing at Queensland Raceway, well that costs.

You can’t half-run a car; you have to take all of your staff and do it properly.

“I’m not against anything that promotes the business, but I wouldn’t want to see our championship decided on an ad hoc basis.

“I haven’t thought about [a driver] at all, because until it is managed in a way that won’t affect the championship, as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t exist.”

QR in, WA out!

V8 SUPERCARS

Peter Bury

Steve signs on V8 SUPERCARS STEVEN Johnson is looking forward to racing in an expanded three-car DJR squad this season, after signing a multi-year contract last month.

Johnson will have his deal confirmed by DJR at Queensland Raceway tomorrow after several months of negotiations. He and James Courtney will have a partner in their Jim Beam cars, with series

rookie Jono Webb stepping up this season – and that fits well with Johnson.

“I think Jono has some pretty good mentors around him; Dad, myself and James,” said Johnson yesterday. “And a lot of guys in the team have a lot of experience and they have been there for a while. So we are surrounding ourselves with the right people and I am sure that we can achieve what we have in the last couple of years, and build on that.”

QUEENSLAND Raceway’s rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series are back on, but the V8s will not race in Perth this year.

V8 Supercars Australia announced late Monday that the Barbagallo event, which was listed as a To Be Confirmed event when the calendar was announced last October, was off.

“We are extremely disappointed for all of our fans in WA,” Acting V8SA CEO Shane Howard said.

“As a group we have worked overtime in trying to get this third world facility re-vamped so that both the Paddock and the pit lane meet basic OH&S legislation.

“Despite a reduced sanction fee of around 25 per cent of the actual cost for us to race in Perth, committing to a long-term five-year deal and offering the services of Mark Skaife and our engineers to design the new circuit at our

Blues brothers V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

JAMES Moffat, Luke Youlden and Dean Canto are Ford Performance Racing’s endurance men.

As first revealed by Motorsport eNews after Homebush’s 2009 season finale, Moffat will make his main game debut with the Blue Oval’s factory squad, while 2010 will be Youlden and Canto’s third year with the team.

“Joining the Ford factory team, FPR and Prodrive, is an unbelievable opportunity for me,” Moffat, who will race an FPR-run Falcon in the Fujitsu Series, said.

“It’s everything you work towards ... to join one of the best, most professional teams in the country, operating at the highest level, and already the support they’ve given me is tremendous.

“My primary aim in 2010 is to win the Development Series and to be competitive at Phillip Island and Bathurst, then I can focus on taking the final step to the V8 Supercar series after that.”

All three turned laps in FPR’s FG Falcons at yesterday’s Winton’s test, with pairings in the two FPR entries and Rod Nash Racing’s entry to be confirmed at a later date.

– MITCHELL ADAM

cost, we still get a lip service response.

“The situation is best summed up by a recent seven page letter and subsequent letters that have received just a one paragraph response at best. Our WA fans will at least have the extensive free-to-view live coverage on the 7 Network.

“Hopefully this opens the door for other regions of Western Australia to approach us with a view to bringing one of the world’s greatest Touring Car Championships to a new destination in the future.”

With the support of the local council, the V8 Supercars Events-managed Ipswich 300 will be held at QR, as originally planned, on April 30-May 2.

“We were able to sort through the issues from an interim perspective but there is a lot of hard work ahead to bring the facility to modern day standards,” said Howard.

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Dhabi delays V8 SUPERCARS

Know the road V8 SUPERCARS

STEVEN Richards ran in cognito at Monday’s test day at Winton – but he will carry new colours this season. eNews understands that the Ford Performance Racing entry will carry Dunlop warpaint when it hits the track in Abu Dhabi,

Dirk Klynsmith

THE opening two rounds of the 2010 V8 Supercar season will be broadcast on delay.

Between 2006 and 2008, Bahrain’s round had been broadcast as live into Australia late on Friday and Saturday evenings, and packaged together for a replay on Sunday afternoon. However the late-night telecasts have been scrapped for this year’s Middle East double-header.

V8 Supercars has announced times for Abu Dhabi’s season opener, with the Friday action to be shown on Saturday afternoon from 12:30pm4:30pm and Saturday’s racing scheduled for 1:30pm-4:30pm on Sunday.

the first time that the tyre giant has featured as a title sponsor on a V8 Supercar.

Dunlop already has a strong presence in the sport. Apart from being the control tyre supplier of both the V8 Supercar Championship Series and Fijitsu V8 Series, the company is the sponsor of the Dunlop Townsville 400 in July.

Heidfeld’s new role: #3 in a 2-car team FORMULA 1

sutton-images.com

NICK Heidfeld has a Formula 1 seat – but it is as a test driver only.

The German veteran, who has raced in 167 GPs with Prost, Sauber, Jordan, Williams and BMW.Sauber, will be Mercedes GP’s reserve and test driver.

Ironically, while the German has not been a test driver since 1999, Pedro de la Rosa heads the other way after seven years as a test driver with Mercedes’ former team, McLaren.

Somebody is very much mistaken about Murray

On the Virge of something

FORMULA 1

sutton-images.com

10

Virgin Racing

MURRAY Walker has not ‘kicked the bucket’, and reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated.

The internet site wikipedia. com last week reported that the veteran English commentary great had died, when someone posted the following on its website; “Walker died in his sleep of natuaral [sic] causes at his home on 25th January 2010.”

Walker, 86, promptly contacted a number of friends to advise that he is not, in fact, deceased. Wikipedia, which is a free, collaboratively-built encyclopaedia that can be edited by anyone with access to the internet, changed the page after several complaints were registered.

FORMULA 1 VIRGIN Racing will create history when it tests its new VR-01 this week at Jerez.

The team shook down its new Cosworthpowered car at Silverstone last week and will face the opposition team when it heads to Spain for the second three-day test of the winter.

The historic part of the program is that the VR-01 has been designed and built without any part of the car being physically tested in a windtunnel. The car, which has been developed

by Wirth Research, has had all its aerodynamic characteristics tested by computers, with specialist Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software replicating the actions of a full-size or scale windtunnel.

“It is unsurprising that there is a great deal of scepticism about our all-CFD approach,” said Nick Wirth.

“But we are competing in a sport that is undergoing significant change having come face to face with today’s harsh economic realities. Under resource restriction, convention will become too costly and necessity really will be the mother of invention. I have absolute belief in the digital design process and the opportunity to put the all-CFD approach to the test at the highest level – to demonstrate that this could be the way for the future of F1 – is very, very exciting.”

Drivers Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi are both expected to drive the new red-on-black car at Jerez.

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sutton-images.com

Fernando gives the locals something to smile about FORMULA 1 FERNANDO Alonso is going fast in pre-season testing – but how fast, and how it compares to everyone else driving at the test, is a matter of some conjecture.

The Spaniard clearly is enjoying his honeymoon period with the Scuderia, after setting the best time of the recent three-day test at Valencia in Spain. On the final day of the test, a crowd estimated at 30,000 showed up to spur on their local hero in red for the first time.

Alonso lapped the 4km circuit in 1m11.47s, eclipsing the time set by team-mate Felipe Massa earlier in the week. To make the local celebrations even louder, Alonso led a Spanish 1-2, with

Pedro de la Rosa, also Ferrari are seeing a good result on powered in the BMW-in-name- the track.” only Sauber, second fastest.

Michael Schumacher And that is where the heralded his return to GP troubles come in. The new racing by clocking the third2010 regulations, which forbid fastest time of the test in his refuelling during a race, mean first run in Mercedes-Benz. He that the cars can carry as was consistently quicker than much as 170kgs of fuel, and team-mate Nico Rosberg, who the potentially vast difference cause was not helped by from in weight between cars may friendly advice from Rubens be disguising the actual Barrichello. The former teampace of the cars to a much mate to Schumacher advised greater extent than possible in the youngster to move on, previous pre-seasons. lest he suffer the number two “We see that we are fast but status Rubens himself enjoyed we don't know how much for all six of his Ferrari years. we are fast compared to Team boss Ross Brawn the others,” Ferrari Technical admitted on the final day of director Aldo Costa reported the test that his team had on the team’s official website. “work to do” after the cars were “The good thing is that ... all “off the pace”. the calculations and all the McLaren has mixed results, evaluations during the design Lewis Hamilton showing and production of the new car some speed while Jenson

Button lost track time while his McLaren was tailored to fit him. Team The rest of the teams present concentrated on making sure their new cars were reliable. Williams looked good, its Cosworth-engined FW32 showing solid reliability and promising speed, which the team explained was not due to light fuel loads.

Robert Kubica suffered set-up problems in the new Renault, though it was generally reliable while Toro Rosso suffered dramas, electrical issues stranding the first car built by the team, rather than obtained from Red Bull Technology.

Testing reconvenes at Jerez on Wednesday, with Red Bull, Force India and Virgin Racing expected to join the fray.

11

TC MASTERS JOHN Bowe will wind back the clock and race with his familiar number 18 next season.

JB has secured the use of the number for this year’s Touring Car Masters. He will race the exDrew Marget Ford Mustang in the series, starting in Adelaide next month.

SS Media

JB winds back the clock Bowe started using #18 when he raced for Dick Johnson Racing in 1988, and carried the number for a decade except in 1995, when he wore #1 at the non-title points at Sandown, Bathurst and Adelaide.

“I ran the number 18 for 11 years and I had some really good memories from that period,” he said.

“My time with Dick and DJR was an important part of my racing life which I hold very dear. There is a lot of nostalgia tied up with the Touring Car Masters series, and this idea

just seemed to make sense.

Having the 18 back on my door feels right. I guess it’s like being back in a Ford this year – it’s what people remember me for.”

Cold, hard McCashney FUJITSU SERIES

Dirk Klynsmith

GMR TAGS in FUJITSU SERIES

12

Dirk Klynsmith

GREG Murphy Racing will expand its operations in 2010, preparing race cars for TAG Motorsport alongside its own vehicles.

Geoff Emery’s Fujitsu Series V8 Supercar and Tony Bates’ Commodore Cup Car have been transported to GMR’s new facility to be prepared for the 2010 season.

“We’re still going to be known as TAG Motorsport, but we will be a client of Greg Murphy Racing and they will prepare our cars for us,” Emery said.

“They have a lot of resources and setup knowledge, particularly for preparing V8 Supercars, which should make us a lot more competitive. Towards the end of last year, I was

running in the top-five in the Fujitsu Series, and this decision means I should be able to maintain that kind of form this season.”

Emery, a five-time Commodore Cup Champ, is expected to team up with Bates in the category’s Endurance Challenge at Winton and will also take on the role of race engineer for Bates’s Commodore Cup campaign, other than a single clash between the two calenders.

Meanwhile, GMR is still in negotiations with drivers to fill its own VE Commodores in the 2010 Fujitsu Series and has been involved in discussions with other teams about supplying engines, utilising facilities from their ex-Tasman Motorsport HQ. – LACHLAN MANSELL

BEN McCashney is switching brands in the Fujitsu Series.

The 21-year-old made his V8 debut last year, stepping up from Aussie Racing Cars to contest a handful of rounds in an Image Racing BF Falcon.

For the 2010 season, McCashney’s family outfit has purchased an ex-Paul Morris

Motorsport Commodore VZ – Daisy – to run from their Kyneton base in central Victoria.

The team has taken delivery of the car and aims to test at Winton before Clipsal 500’s season opener. Playstation will continue to back McCashney, with the team currently in negotiations with other sponsors.

– MITCHELL ADAM

Free Ridelaide!

FREE public transport will be available to fans during this year’s Clipsal 500 Adelaide event.

Entry tickets will allow the public access to unlimited bus, train and tram trips from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 March. Last year, a claimed crowd of 270,000-plus attended the four-day event, with 20 percent of spectators using public transport.

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V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

DAVID Reynolds has given brand new team Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport the thumbs up, after a brief test for the team at Winton yesterday.

Reynolds, who is contracted to Walkinshaw Racing, tested the WR-built Commodore to give the team – and its rookie driver Daniel Gaunt – some direction at the first test.

“I’m pretty sure once they’ll be okay,” he said. “What they need to do know is work out exactly how to make the car work, get Daniel up to speed, and work on gelling as a team. Those are your key ingredients.

“Hopefully they go well. I only did 10 laps, and I wasn’t on the best set of tyres, but the car felt really good. I’ve tried to give them some good ideas and direction.”

In other Reynolds news,

DR: Man about pitlane the former Bundy Red Racing driver is rumoured to be in line to partner Will Davison in a Holden Racing Team Commodore at Phillip

Island and Bathurst this year.

Reynolds tested Davison’s car with a seat insert recently, and is already a confirmed driver in Walkinshaw Racing’s 2010

enduro team.

Reynolds declined to comment when questioned by eNews at Winton yesterday.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Sportscar change SPORTSCARS

Courtney in line for Highcroft seat in ALMS ALMS

JAMES Courtney may spread his wings back onto the international stage with an American Le Mans Series appearance later this year. eNews believes that the Jim Beam Racing star is under consideration to join Highcroft Racing for the Petite Le Mans race at Road Atlanta. We have been told that the former Formula 1 test driver could join the Connecticut-based team, which includes David Brabham and Marino RACE

SUPERSPRINT

Franchitti, for the race, which runs for 10 hours or 1000 miles.

Because of the race’s duration, teams usually draft in third drivers to join their regular drivers.

Dario Franchitti has joined his brother on occasion, but as the Petit event clashes with the IndyCar finale in Florida, he is unavailable.

Courtney and is a long-time friend of Marino Franchitti, and attended his wedding late last year, and he has no manufacturer sponsorship that might clash with Highcroft’s Acura backing.

TARMAC RALLY & TRACK DAYS

JAMES Davison is focussing on an Indy 500 drive for 2010 – but may also race in America’s GrandAm Series.

The Aussie has close ties to Tony George’s Vision Racing outfit, which recently folded.

But Davison is far from out of options, citing a one-off Indy 500 drive as his likeliest option for the season.

“With Vision shutting down, my best option is a one-off at the 500,” he told eNews.

“I’ve spoken to my sponsor (clothing giant William Rast), and he is very interested. In the last couple of years he has helped out Townsend Bell and Ryan Hunter-Reay at the 500, and they both have drives for this year already, so there is an opening for me. I should know more in a week or so.”

The 2009 Indy Lights runnerup is also in the frame for a GrandAm drive, Davison revealing that George is in talks with NASCAR chief Jim France about an entry in the prototype series.

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e for Davison III? “If Vision going to Grand Am eventuates, I’ll be a part of it,” he confirmed.

“Tony has always been supportive of me, and I’ve had a successful relationship with Vision. Ultimately, I scored their first pole position and race win as an organisation, so I’m part of their future plans.”

Davison will continue to be based in the US for 2010, despite eyeing a V8 Supercar ride with Lucas Dumbrell Racing at the enduros (see separate story).

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

The Pugs vs the Rings LE MANS 24 HOUR FOUR Peugeots will face three works Audis at Le Mans this year – but David Brabham will not defend his title with the French team.

The Aussie has been named in Highcroft Racing’s ARX.01, the car in which he won the American LMP1 title last season. The Acura-engined car, which was designed by Wirth Research, will run in the LMP2 class, and Brabham will share the car with Marino Franchitti.

Peugeot has named one driver to each of its cars – Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Minassian and Sebastian Bourdais – while Olivier Panis is the only driver named in Team Oreca’s 908

HDi. All entries also have two TBAs entered.

Tom Kristensen and Andre Lotterer are named in Joest’s two Audi R15 TDis, while Mike Rockenfeller has the chance to score a rare Daytona/Le Mans double in Audi Sport North America’s entry.

Aston Martin Racing will be represented by two of its V12-powered Lolas, Darren Turner and Harold Primat the only drivers named.

BMW Motorsport has entered two M3s in the GT2 category, with Jörg Muller and Andy Priaulx named as lead drivers. Among the opposition will be a Jaguar XKRS driven by Gold Coast V8 Supercars invitee Scott Pruett, Paul Gentilozzi and Marc Goosens.

He’s back. With the kids

LE MANS 24 HOUR MANSELLS will be thick on the ground at Le Mans in June.

Nigel Mansell and his sons Greg and Leo will line up together in the classic, the former World champion joining his offspring in a

Ginetta-Zytek – which will carry number 5. And yep, it’s red ...

“We’re under no illusions about the chances of winning Le Mans at the first attempt but we will be competitive in 2010 and a lot can happen in a 24 hour race,” said Mansell Sr at the launch of his team.

“The 2010 entry is just the beginning; we’re here for the long haul and we have our sights firmly set on making Beechdean Mansell Motorsport one of the leading teams in international endurance racing and winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in the

near future.”

The Mansell lads will not be the only son-of-a-World Champion in the race. Nicolas Prost, son of French legend Alain Prost, will join Swiss Neel Jani and another driver in Rebellion Racing’s Lola in the race.

15

Rule Britannia BORN IN T INDYCARS BRITAIN has taken over IndyCar – or, at least, one of its teams.

Dreyer and Reinbold Racing has signed British drivers Justin Wilson and Mike Conway. Last season Wilson was the only driver to break through the Penske-Ganassi stranglehold with a maiden victory for Dale Coyne Racing at Watkins Glen. Conway earned a 2009 podium at the final road course at Infineon, finishing nine races of 17 in his rookie season.

“I’m very excited to join Dreyer & Reinbold Racing,” said Wilson, 32.

“It just felt like the right thing for

me to do at this point in my career.

DRR has put a lot of work in over the winter and will be very competitive.

My aim is to win the championship.

I know it may seem steep, but I feel that we have a very good chance.”

DRR is running both drivers for the full 2010 IZOD IndyCar season with Dad’s Root Beer and Roll Coater sponsors returning. Z-Line Designs moves over from Dale Coyne Racing with Wilson. The team still could run a third car if the right situation develops having split seat time between Milka Duno and Tomas Scheckter last season.

– MARY MENDEZ

sutton-images.com

Bullrings to Ovals INDYCARS AS expected, Randy Bernard is IndyCar’s new Chief Executive Officer.

Bernard, 43, has served as CEO of Professional Bull Riding for the past 15 years during which time he built up the PRB from US$300,000 to $26million in sponsorship. The American expanded PRB from just eight to 400 events, which currently include international venues in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and

16

Mexico. Under his leadership, both attendance and the TV audience has increased significantly.

“Randy is the right person at the right time to head the Indy Racing League,” Jeff Belskus, CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway stated.

“He brings a superb sports marketing and promotion background, proven CEO skills, energy and enthusiasm at a time when the IZOD IndyCar Series is positioned for growth.”

– MARY MENDEZ

INDYCARS THE battle for the future of IndyCars is heating up, with new designs breaking cover.

Dallara, the sole current constructor, Lola Cars, Swift Engineering and the soon to be unveiled Delta Wing program headed by Ganassi’s designer Ben Bowlby have all submitted concepts for consideration for the 2012 season and beyond.

The challenge for the chosen constructor will be to meet the league’s safety standards while producing a car that allows exciting on-track competition (passing without sensitivity to turbulence). The new chassis must be cost effective and significantly less than the current maximum price of US $309,000. To further reduce costs to the teams, the IRL requires the chassis be American made, preferably built in Indianapolis.

To maintain performance, the chassis must be lighter in weight using a smaller engine for 2012 and have a modern look with larger signage space for sponsors.

“Two years ago the league engaged both the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena (California) and College for Creative Studies in Detroit in conceptual exercises about the next generation race car,” said Brian Barnhart, the IRL’s President of Competition and Racing Operations.

“For the last year we have engaged in ongoing conversations with four chassis makers on two different design tracks, one an evolution and the other radically different. Now we are receiving concepts and will make a decision soon.”

Italian constructor Dallara has submitted three new chassis designs to the IRL, all of which are lighter in weight, have more downforce with less drag, and a reduction in price by 55 percent (US $150,000 range). Should Dallara be chosen, it plans to locate a manufacturing facility in Speedway, Indiana, adjacent to Indianapolis.

– MARY MENDEZ

news

THE USA Dallara show off its IndyCar ideas

At Last ...

NASCAR

Brave new world: Dallara’s IndyCar design concepts show some innovative thinking to meet the challenge of producing a fast and entertaining car at a lower cost. The current Dallara IndyCar has been in use since 2003.

AT long, long last, Danica Patrick has raced a Stock Car – and she did pretty well.

Patrick qualified her JR Motorsports Chev in the 12th position and finished a creditable sixth after an eventful stock car debut.

Patrick’s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. summed up her effort best; “She went through a lot tonight. We put four tyres on, we took fuel, spun out, we went to the rear we came back through it. You name it, we did it.”

Patrick started the 80-lap race glued to the yellow line at the bottom of the track and before she started to get loose and once out of the draft dropped back to 14th – from where she was slammed into the frontstretch grass by none other than F1 reject Nelson Piquet Jr, making his own but overshadowed stock car debut.

But, like a pro – and unlike some other IndyCar-turnedStock Car drivers – Patrick did a fantastic job of keeping the car off the wall and after pitting several times to pull away the right front fender restarted at the rear of the pack in 24th position.

Within five laps she had forged

back into the top five with some impressive moves. After some door slamming with motocross legend Ricky Carmichael in sight of the checkers she brought her Chev home sixth with a plateful of experience and a decision to be announced on Monday as to whether she will drive in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

“We were just kind of hanging out at the beginning through all the yellows (cautions) the car them seemed like it was sliding around a lot more,” she said after the race.

“It could have been from all the bumping, but I couldn’t hang on (down low) and went up the track a little and I got shuffled back. I tried like heck to get back in and once I did I tried to take a run down the inside, but a guy came down over the front of me (Piquet) and I just held to the yellow line and I took myself out.

“I was pretty excited to go from last to back to the top five again.

Then I jumped up high and ran side by side with people, it was a lot of fun!”

If anyone cares, ARCA Remax Series veteran Bobby Gerhart ran away with a record sixth Daytona 200.

– MARTIN D CLARK

17

McCoy back to GPs

Two Aussies in MotoGP, again, as veteran signs for RB MOTOGP

Kawasaki rider John Hopkins on its unique bike this year. But Hopper is believed to have returned to the USA to ride an M4 Suzuki in the struggling AMA Superbike Series.

McCoy, 37, last raced in MotoGP in 2006. He won three races in 2000, including the opening race of the season.

Yamaha Racing

GARRY McCoy is back in MotoGP, and will race for RB Corse this season.

The former 500cc GP winner, who split with Triumph’s World Supersport team last month, will ride RB’s three-cylinder bike, which features an an

engine originally developed for BMW. He has signed a twoyear deal with the Italian-based team.

RB features some impressive names, including former Ferrari Formula 1 engineer Mauro Forghieri. It most recently raced in World Superbikes, and was to have former Suzuki and

Rossi is Bigger than Texas

Yamaha Racing

MOTOGP VALENTINO Rossi has edged out Casey Stoner to set fastest time in the first MotoGP test of the season.

The last two MotoGP titleists were the class of the field at Sepang, where the last day was interrupted by rain. The first day of the three were reserved

18

for the team’s test riders only.

Rossi’s Yamaha was almost 0.4s faster than the Aussie’s Ducati, Stoner complaining of brake chatter on his new Ducati GP10 on Day 2.

Spaniards Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa were next ahead of Ben Spies, the Texan wasting much of the opening day after suffering severe jetlag before

getting to grips with his new bike and Bridgestone tyres.

But with so much test time either lost by the rain, or affected by it, positives were hard to find.

“At the next test we will have a few more new things but we're already happy because we're fast and strong,” said Rossi. “There is room to

improve of course; Sepang is always a good track for the Yamaha so we will have to wait until Qatar to get a better understanding of our level, but we have made a great start.”

The teams will return to Sepang at the end of the month for the second of three pre-season tests.

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A hard-earned feed BATHURST 12 HOUR THE final field for this weekend’s Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour seems set, with a number of outright and class contenders locking in their line-ups.

In Class A, Australian GT driver Max Twigg will join Tony and Klark Quinn in their Evo IX Lancer, a seat occupied in recent years by Grant Denyer.

Fellow Mitsubishi outfit ProDuct Motorsport appears to have decided on their groupings, with team owner Bob Pearson no longer crossentered on each car.

Pearson will join Jason Bargwanna and Steve Glenney in the #33 entry, while Glenn Seton, Neil Crompton and Mark King will race #34.

Flying the Subaru flag in the class, Wilson Brothers Racing has enlisted Kurt Wimmer to line-up alongside Lee Castle and David Wood in their WRX STi. Wimmer drove the team’s V8 Ute entry in the second half of 2008 and 2009.

“I’m quietly confident we can give the Mitsubishis a run for their money,” WBR team owner Cameron Wilson said.

“We have put a massive amount of time and effort into

the car since we purchased it for the 2007 Bathurst 12 Hour, and we have probably reached the absolute limit of development with it.”

Replacing their renowned Toyota Celicas, Bathurst will be Osborne Motorsport’s first outing running a Mazda 3 MPS. The squad has built a pair of Mazdas for Class C, with Colin Osborne, Rick Bates and Terry Bosnjak in one and Stuart Jones, Hadrian Morrall and John Roecken in the other.

Among a group of three V8 Utes, Benn Dunn, Andrew Fisher and Brad Patton will make the competition debut

for Ford’s FG Ute, which has been prepared by Seiders Racing.

Meanwhile, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart has unveiled the livery, above, for the Evo X of Rod Salmon, Damien White and Inky Tulloch. Pedigree Petfoods steps in as the naming rights sponsor as the team aims for three-straight wins.

A total of 45 cars are on the official entry list across eight classes. Practice kicks off on Friday ahead of Sunday’s race, which will be streamed live through the event’s website, www.bathurst12hour.com.au.

– MITCHELL ADAM

Double the action GT3 CUP CHALLENGE

Dirk Klynsmith

20

REIGNING Champ Matt Kingsley and Terry Knight will join forces for this year’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Mission Foods.

While the series has seen an influx of the newer 997generation GT3 Cup Cars, the pair will stick with their 996s, in the newly-expanded Action Tyres / Porsche Centre Gold Coast outfit.

Kingsley and Knight will be part of a 34-car field in the GT3 Cup Challenge season opener.

In other 12 Hour support category news, the Saloon Car season kicks off with 49 entries after an up and down 2009, and 56 HQs will hit the track. The Improved Production and Group N Touring Car fields feature 45 and 23 cars respectively.

Meanwhile, Superkarts will have their maiden run at Mount Panorama. Six karts will turn laps for 10 minutes on Friday afternoon to assess the feasibility of Superkarts racing at the Mountain.

– MITCHELL ADAM

news

George jets off AUSSIES OVERSEAS deal with his new team

Dirk Klynsmith

GEORGE Miedecke will fly out of Australia today, Tuesday, as he kicks off the Ameriacan chapter of his career.

As previously reported in eNews, the Port Macquarie racer will cross the Atlantic and step into Late Model Stock Car racing, part of NASCAR’s feeder program. Miedecke will start in Late Model’s Crate Motor Series, and expects to conclude negotiations and sign a

and bounds we could upon arriving in the USA. add a couple of bigger The former V8 Ute races later in the year. driver, who won the “It’s a two year plan.

2009 season finale at I’ve never driven on an Homebush, will be asphalt oval before, so based in North Carolina, it’s about making sure I Charlotte, the hub of the get to grips with it and NASCAR community. going from there.”

“It should be Meanwhile, Miedecke’s interesting,” he told V8 Ute will continue to eNews. race in the 2010 series.

“When I land in America, “We’ve got a few I’ll go and see the team people interested in and hopefully sign a deal. leasing the car and “At the moment, I’m franchise, which would planning on doing about be our preference,” he 20 races in the first year, said. if I’m coming on in leaps – MITCHELL ADAM Dirk Klynsmith

NATIONAL

CHRIS Reindler is planning a comeback to national competition in 2010.

Reindler, younger brother of Brad Jones Racing’s new signing Karl, spent last year racing in the West Aussie Saloon Car series, along with a one-off outing at the MINI Challenge round at Barbagallo Raceway in November.

Now, he is on the hunt for a ride in a national series, and recently tested a Porsche with Greg Murphy Racing at Winton, with the view of competing in the GT3 Cup Challenge.

But while Reindler admitted that he loved the Porsche, he has flagged MINI Challenge as

James Smith

Choices for Chris

the most likely option for 2010.

“I’d love to go national again this year, so now all I’ve got to do is find the budget,” he told eNews.

“It’s tough out there, and as a family we’ve been very focused on getting things sorted for Karl. Now he’s locked away, I can focus on myself.

“MINI Challenge is the most affordable option, and I’d get to race on a good variety of circuits, so that’s the best option. I absolutely loved the Porsche when I tested it, but the budget is probably a bit steep.”

Reindler’s MINI program in Perth last year was with GMR. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Big BMW break AUSSIES OVERSEAS TWO Australians will be part of Formula BMW Pacific’s junior scholarship program in 2010.

Queenslander Jesse Dixon (17) and West Aussie Jordan Oon (19) have both been granted scholarships in the Asian based series for this year, following in the footsteps of Formula 1 hopeful Daniel Ricciardo, who was part of the program back in 2006. Japanese young gun Kotaro Sakurai will also be part of the program.

Dixon spent 2009 racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, above, while Oon raced in the Victorian state FFord series, in a

Duratec-powered Spectrum.

“I feel quietly confident going into the season,” Oon said.

“Not only has preseason testing been quite satisfactory, but I’m in the best physical condition of my life. Last year was quiet in terms of racing, so I have been able to hit the gym, get on my bike, and so I head into this season fully prepared for the physical requirements of racing. “ The series kicks off in April at the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, and will also have rounds at the Singaporean and Korean F1 races later this year, as well as the Macau Grand Prix.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

21

5 Minutes with ...

STEVE JOHNSON

It happened late, but Stevie J has a multi-year deal in his pocket and is looking for PHIL BRANAGAN better results in his Jim Beam Falcon MOTORSPORT NEWS: It is relatively late in the preseason, so you must be relieved to have a multi-year deal in your hands now.

STEVE JOHNSON: It is a big thing to have a deal signed and in place. It is a relief, I guess, in a way but it is something that you have to do.

I would have liked it to have been done a bit earlier but beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.

Is this a sign that these things take longer these days, that this is a more complicated business?

No, I don’t think so. I think that circumstances just made it a little more difficult. I wanted to do things the right way, and generally, I have tried to do things that way. It can be very hard when your family is involved in the business. It is a hard situation for me; I am trying to do the right thing.

I did not get Dad involved at all – I wanted to do this off my own bat with [DJR co-owner] Charlie [Schwerkolt]. We agreed upon what we wanted to do and it was done.

At the end of the day, we are happy with the outcome.

Is your role in the team changing? You have a lot of experience now in V8 Supercars and there is a rookie coming in, in Jono Webb.

I think so. James [Courtney] has a fair bit of experience now as well, and with Jono coming in, he knows what he has to do. But knowing what you have to do and actually following through

22

I LEARNED THINGS WHEN WILL DAVISON CAME INTO THE TEAM. I REPEATED THAT WHEN JAMES COURTNEY CAME HERE. THERE IS NO REASON WHY JONO CAN’T ADD TO THAT JOHNSON WELCOMES WEBB TO A 3-CAR DJR TEAM

with turning that into doing what you have to do are two different things.

I think Jono has some pretty good mentors around him; Dad, myself and James. And a lot of guys in the team have a lot of experience and they have been there for a while. So we are surrounding ourselves with the right people and I am sure that we can achieve what we have in the last couple of years, and build on that.

Is a new driver also a plus for you? You get a new perspective, from someone with some V8 Supercar experience – but to him, this generation of cars, on new track, may be a revelation for him.

It is going to be good to work with him, for sure, and there is no reason to think that we are not going to learn something off him as well. I learned things when Will [Davison] came into the team; I repeated that when James came here.

There is no reason why Jono can’t add to that.

He can show a different perspective to … I am not going to say that I am an old bloke, but I might be a middleaged late bloomer! Jono is a young fella on the up and hopefully, he can take the good things out of what we

are doing and we can take the good things out of what he is doing. If that happens, all three of us can be better drivers for it.

what he wants out of me, what we want to achieve off the track and everybody on the team knows the same thing.

Middle-aged? You are a fair bit younger than Michael Schumacher ...

That’s right!

You were top six in the championship last year. Is that your minimum target for 2010?

Absolutely. Sixth was the backside of the target last year, to be honest. I wanted to be top five – we had that going into Homebush but we obviously had dramas at the back end of our cars there. Mark Winterbottom just pipped us at the post.

I did adjust my aims. We were looking at top three and we did not have a great Bathurst. The rest of the year was not too bad, but, this year, we are aiming for race wins.

With the cars that we have, and the 12 months we have under our belts with them, I can’t see why we can’t.

There is a lot of change in pitlane this season but DJR looks very stable. A lot of teams have multiple changes but you have the same car, the same race engineer and many of the same people around you.

Potential advantage?

Certainly. I had a change of race engineer last year – Mark Fenning, but we call him Rowdy. When George Commins left (he is over doing Formula 3 now), Rowdy came on board on my car. He is a quiet achiever, an extremely hard worker and it has taken us a little while to get a good working relationship.

It took a while to understand him – he is a quiet and reserved person and you can’t read what he is thinking, or what he wants to do. He used to work with the lead mechanic on my car, Chris, at WPS. We are starting to gel – we have a way to go yet but we are starting to understand each other. Mark has told me

Finally, a hypothetical question. If you could choose any driver for Surfers next year, if you have to have an international competitor, who do you pick?

Marcos Ambrose wouldn’t be a bad bet! From history, [Ayrton] Senna. But having said that, Sir Jack [Brabham] achieved a fair bit as well, didn’t he?

chat

23

Opinion Mitchell Adam – eNews National Editor

Marshall Cass

The Masters? No, a Pro-Am AS it stands, Races 19 and 20 of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series on the Gold Coast, next October, best resemble a kind of ‘Pro-Am’, which could well screw someone’s V8 championship season.

International drivers, with little or no V8 Supercar experience will be thrown into the deep end during one of the closing events of the championship.

Oh, and did I mention it’ll be on a street circuit?

I’m not discounting the pedigree or expertise of the ring-ins, but the common theme with international drivers coming out here to drive V8 Supercars has been that they’ve found it a challenge. Some have managed to get the hang of it, but many have not.

So we’re going to have some two-tier racing, on a shortened circuit with fewer

24

overtaking opportunities. In one camp, there’ll be Whincup, Tander, Davison and friends racing for the championship.

In the other, there’ll be drivers in their first ever V8 Supercar race, desperately trying to get their head around this strange Super V8 and keeping someone else’s car out of a concrete wall, while watching their mirrors.

What could possibly go wrong?

But it actually gets even better.

V8 Supercars sent out a secondary statement on Monday, which answered some questions but makes the rules look more akin to a club meeting’s Butchers Picnic; the ‘Primary Driver’ rule for the endurance races will apply.

Imagine if Jamie and Craig, or Garth and Will leave Bathurst tied for the lead of the championship. Then they go to Surfers, where one will have the luxury

of racing with their co-driver from Phillip Island and Bathurst, the other will be handicapped with some blow-in ‘star’, possibly with a grand total of one V8 Supercar test day under their belt.

Honestly, how can something like that be part of the ‘world’s best touring car championship’? It’s hard to imagine any other self-respecting series entertaining the idea of having such a farcical round in their championship.

Someone’s championship is going to be shafted through no fault of their own.

We’ve been told to sit tight and not worry our pretty little heads until more information is released in March and April.

Hopefully that will include an announcement that common sense has prevailed and it’ll be a nonchampionship weekend ...

opinion

Opinion Lucas Dumbrell – principal, LDR

Dirk Klynsmith

IN my opinion, the V8 Supercarnivale is a great concept ... but, as a one-car team owner, it has its complications.

For example, if one of these guys shunts my car, I have a real problem – for several reasons. First of all there is time.

My crew consists of six guys, so there is the additional preparation time for an endurance-style round, and if a car gets badly damaged, or even just rips off a corner, we might struggle to make it to Symmons Plains.

Then there is the money. A bad crash could really derail our season. I know they’ve shortened the track, which is a good start, but there are good, experienced, full-time V8 Supercar

drivers that struggle to get their head around Surfers Paradise, so how can you expect someone with two days testing to do it?

I’d prefer it was more elective. If a team wants to run an international driver, fine, but I’d choose to run my enduro

co-driver – someone who is up to speed having just done two long races in the car. That makes much more sense to me.

I don’t want to shut it down completely, because I can see that the idea could be a good one. I just want to know more about what’s going on.

25

V8 SUPERCARS PRE-SEASON TESTING, WINTON

Dirk Klynsmith

26

race

Special delivery

Jason Bargwanna wasted no time settling in at Kelly Racing, topping Monday’s Winton’s pre-season test.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports from the garages JASON Bargwanna made a perfect start to his career as a Kelly Racing team, going fastest at the first official V8 Supercar test of the year at Winton Raceway.

Bargwanna strapped on a used set of ‘Sprint’ tyres right at the end of the day’s running to do a lightening fast 1:22.7234s, more than 0.2s faster than Marcus Marshall’s lap record from 2009.

“We had a very specific program for the day, and at no time was it about looking

at lap times,” Bargwanna said.

“It was all about getting me comfortable in the car, and used to make changes.

Towards the end we took a bit from what the Jack Daniel’s guys were doing, and had a go at the ‘Five o’clock Shootout’. At the end of the day, they don’t give trophies for test days. We’ve still got a lot of work to do to get through these races and be competitive all the time, not just on a Monday at Winton.

“The tyres were good.

Obviously they were a used

set of soft tyres, similar to what Rick [Kelly] had, and it went well.

“The car works well. We’ve focused on understanding the front of the car, and what we have to do to make it work.

That’s a step up from last year, and there’s no way we could have done a time like that last year. Who knows? Hopefully it will turn into a competitive package for the whole season.

Day 1’s gone alright, so we’ll see how the rest of them go.

It’s a long way to go until Homebush.”

27

Best of the regular tyre runners was Paul Dumbrell, who was hugely impressive on debut for the all-new Ford Performance Racing/Rod Nash Racing alliance, with the fastest time in the morning session, and fifth fastest in the afternoon.

It was Dumbrell’s first proper outing in a Ford, first with the team, and it didn’t surprise FPR boss Tim

28

Edwards the tiniest bit.

“Why not? He’s a professional driver, so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be fast,” said Edwards.

“It’s not as if he’s jumped into a car that’s never turned a wheel before … these FG Falcons have got a lot of development, because they are just an evolution of the BF. The biggest thing has been working through seating position and ergonomics. It’s

a racecar and he’s a racing driver, so it’s no surprise that he’s going so quick.

“We’re happy with how Paul has integrated into the team.

He’s a really nice bloke, and he fits in perfectly.”

FPR took a unique approach to the test, using all of its enduro co-drivers, and going as far as purposely running its cars out of fuel to test the new 80 litre tanks.

“It’s the first time we’ve run

with the 80 litre tanks, so we wanted to make sure they picked all the fuel up. We did it with both cars; tracking them on the screen and trying to pick the point at the track where the car will stop.

We’ve been close.”

Steven Richards, running blank doors on his FPR Falcon, said the day was a success, despite not being right at the top of the times in either session.

“The best thing you can come away with from today is a car that has no issues, and a car that you’re comfortable with,” he told eNews.

“We’ve run through our regular programs for today, and we’ve done a bit of tuning. But if you want to tune your car for these exact conditions, you can and you’ll be fast, but today is more about getting ready

for the season. It’s not about an ultimate set-up for right here, right now.

Richards added that the heat was a handy feature of the test.

“The heat is handy because it takes a day of shocking your body to get into it.

Most of the drivers were staying in the cars while changes were being made today, just to get used to the heat”

Dirk Klynsmith

Two minutes with ...

Paul Dumbrell MOTORSPORT NEWS: First day out in a Ford and you’re going quick. Must feel pretty good!

PAUL DUMBRELL: At this point I’m still trying to get my head around the team and the car and how everything operates, but so far so good.

Does it feel much different to the Commodores that you’re so used to driving?

Yeah – it’s 180 degrees different, especially compared to the Walkinshaw Racing cars that I’ve been racing for the last couple of years. How [WR] achieve the speed is completely different. It’s a similar lap-time, but achieved completely differently.

What’s so different?

The FPR car has so much front grip, so you can carry so much speed into the apex, and work out the rest later. In a WR car you have to stop it and then turn it, because their strength is drive. It’s a different engineering philosophy.

Dirk Klynsmith

Does the FPR car suit you better?

Yeah. I’ve worked really hard for the last two years to change my natural habit, and stop the car more. I love to flow the car, but I couldn’t do that with a WR car. So this goes back closer to what I’m used to, and I have to re-learn my old habits.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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#14 Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing

#8 Jason Richards Brad Jones Racing

Peter Bury

Cool Change at GRM

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new team – although it’s not.

Everyone is really looking forward to the proper start of the season now.”

Holdsworth, who last week married long-time partner Alana in Queensland, was also working with a new engineer at Winton, Richard Hollaway.

“Right from the first session, it felt like I’ve been working with Richard for years,” he added.

“It’s just good to be back. All I’ve been able to think about for the last week is getting back in the car. The car feels good, and we’re not too far off where we want to be.”

- ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Superkarl KARL Reindler was officially unveiled as a Brad Jones Racing driver at Winton yesterday, completing his very first laps in a Holden Commodore.

Reindler’s Walkinshaw Racing-built VE Commodore was rolled out in its 2010 colours, a striking green livery promoting the car’s major sponsor, Fair Dinkum Sheds.

Reindler shared driving duties with Andy Jones, while settling into his new team.

“So far, so good,” he told eNews. “I’m enjoying driving this car. We haven’t done any set-up, because it’s been three or four months since I’ve driven a V8 Supercar. I just need to get used to it again.

“Plus, the engine feels different, the power delivery feels different, and the vision is even different from the cockpit.

“We’ve just spent the day working through our tyres, which are [Michael] Patrizi’s from last year, and we’ve given Andy Jones a run to see what he thinks.”

Reindler added that he felt at home with the Albury squad.

“I’ve spent the last four days in Albury, getting to know the team. We don’t have that long until the first race now, so I’m spending as much time getting to know the team as I can. Everyone seems to mesh really well, and there’s a nice attitude in the workshop. “[And] Brad has been working on [a sponsor] for a while, so it’s nice to have Fair Dinkum on board. It’ll be a good year.

The management is excited about this big move. And the car looks great; there isn’t as many green cars this year, so it should stand out.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

LEE Holdsworth feels like he’s with a brand new racing team, following yesterday’s test at Winton.

Garry Rogers Motorsport revealed its brand new ‘Fujitsu Racing’ livery during the official Victorian test, with both Holdsworth and Michael Caruso running in the fresh colours. The change comes after years of GRM cars featuring Valvoline as its title sponsor.

“It’s given us all a bit of a lift,” said Holdsworth.

“We’ve got a new livery that everyone is talking about, and we’re wearing different race suits and team shirts, so it kind of feels like a whole

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

This season’s new looks

#5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing

#3 Tony D’Alberto Centaur Racnig

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

Kelly Racing’s Men in Black TODD Kelly debuted his new Holden Commodore at Winton yesterday, complete with new-for-2010 side intrusion bar work.

Kelly’s nasty crash at Barbagallo Raceway last year sparked a category-wide investigation into the side intrusion regulations for V8 Supercar. As of Phillip Island this year, every car will need extra gusseting around the driver’s side door, with Kelly Racing electing to use the new set-up right from the start of the season.

“It makes no difference to the drivability at all; it’s just good when you open the

door to see a bit of meat there,” he told eNews.

“I’d never really noticed it before, after getting in and out of cars for 12 years, but you don’t think about stuff like that until you have a crash. Now when you look at how it was, it looks crazy.

All of our cars have been modified now.”

As for the new car, pictured, Kelly said it felt like an evolution of the team’s 2009 racers.

“The car feels beautiful. The boys put the finishing touches on it last night, and it feels just like getting into the old car. It is perfect.”

Meanwhile, Dale Wood was back behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar, completing testing duties aboard Kelly Racing’s #16 car.

The team is yet to confirm its fourth driver for the 2010 season, and Wood is in the frame, having started last season as the regular driver in the #16 car. But as he told eNews at Winton, his testing role was hardly an official confirmation of his plans – although he also failed to deny he would be the team’s fourth driver.

“The car needed to be shaken down, because it’s had a birthday over Christmas,” he told eNews.

“I’m purely driving it to make sure it is okay for whoever races it next week in Abu Dhabi. I can’t say much more about it.

“I’ll be honest, I’d love to back. I’ll make no secret about that. But a driver needs to be a complete package with a sponsor these days, because it has to be a good business decision for the team.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS GRAND FINAL, PERTH MOTORPLEX

Number 8

Brooke Tatnell wrapped up a record eighth World Series Sprintcars title in the West.

WADE AUNGER was there

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race

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Wade Aunger

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IAN Madsen was a surprise winner of the final two nights of the 2009/2010 Performance Wholesale World Series Sprintcars Series at the Perth Motorplex, while Brooke Tatnell claimed a record eighth WSS crown.

Between Ian and older brother Kerry, the Madsen brothers claimed all three nights of WSS’ Western Australian main events. Ian pedalled the #32 Garry Millerowned entry, left, to victories in both the 20 lap preliminary feature on Friday and the 30 lap WSS finale on Saturday at the Motorplex.

“I can’t believe this,” the Sydneysider grinned broadly.

“To come here and win out of the box like this with a new team and no experience at this track is a dream. I still can’t believe it.”

Asked what miracle setup he’d put in the car for Madsen to claim back-to-back victories, Perth crew chief and former racer Brett Sartori replied “nothing. This is the same set up we use for Garry [Miller] each time out. I guess Ian just drove it differently.”

Madsen started the WSS finale alongside Vortex Shootout winner Robbie Farr and it was the now Perthdomiciled Farr who led until the 21st lap when the #32 pulled off a daring slide job in Turn 3 to take the lead.

“I asked Robbie about it [the pass] just now and he was OK,” Ian said on the dais.

“I know it was close but I never intended to make contact and I was glad we didn’t.”

Farr in return was complimentary.

“Ian’s a good racer, full credit to him for taking the win. I’m disappointed I got caught up with the lapped car and Ian took advantage, that’s all there is to it,” he said.

Ryan Farrell came home in third, narrowly missing a chance to finish third overall in the series if he’d managed to score the main event win.

His third in the A-Main though, earned him fourth overall.

His team-mate and car owner didn’t get off so lightly, though.

Luch Monte was holding down 12th on Lap 5 when an aggressive slide job from David Priolo from the bottom of Turn 3 ended in a sickening impact and all but destroyed both cars.

A very sore Monte emerged with a limp and a significant degree of anger.

“There was no way he (Priolo) could have made that move. It was foolish and it’s wrecked my racecar.”

Priolo’s explanation from the scene at the time was apologetic.

“I don’t race like that,” he said.

“Luch is a friend of mine and I accept 100% responsibility for the crash. I made a mistake and I ran in there too hard. I had no way of stopping when I crossed the slick line.”

The only other red light stoppage of the A-Main was after the chequered-flag when

Jason Johnson crashed the #47 Haynes Labour Hire Maxim after it broke a front axle in Turn 2.

Fourth across the line was Ian Madsen’s proud big brother, Kerry, ahead of new WSS Champion Tatnell, Steven Lines, Danny Reidy, Bryan Mann, Peter Lack, Jamie Maiolo, Kris Coyle, David Ellement, James McFadden and Carl Dowling.

Tatnell clinched his eighth WSS crown (and the fourth for Krikke Motorsport) by qualifying for the 30 lap A-Main – something his arch rival Max Dumesny was not able to do despite bolting a new Maxim overnight to source more car speed on the Kwinana high banks.

“So many people contribute to us winning this World Series crown,” smiled an obviously thrilled Tatnell. “This is a great team and we’re a family. It’s my pleasure to drive this car. I’m thrilled for everyone at Krikke Motorsport that we can win eight WSS Championships.”

Earlier in the week, Kerry Madsen staved off the advances of West Aussie Ryan Farrell to claim the dusty thirteenth round of Performance Wholesale World Series Sprintcars on Wednesday night.

Kerry took the Kendrick Racing 92.9 car to victory over Farrell and the fast-finishing David Murcott, followed

by Tatnell, Farr, Dumesny, McFadden, Danny Smith and Lines.

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP BUD SHOOTOUT, DAYTONA, FL

FULLY SICK

Kevin Harvick is always strong at Daytona – even if he has to crawl into

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T

HERE was something new for almost everyone in the Bud Shootout but, for Kevin Harvick, the race was a triumph.

The Childress driver took the lead for the final time on lap 74 and survived a greenwhite-chequer finish to take the season-opening non-points race for the second time.

“I needed to go at the end, and I thought I could get by one of the guys (Greg Biffle) on old tyres, and I did,” said Harvick, referring to his pass for the win.

“And we had our best restart at the end, which carried our momentum into turn 1. When I got to the backstretch, I got a good push, and that was all I needed.”

In his first race in Richard Petty’s Budweiser Ford, Kasey Kahne zoomed through the pack – he drew 19th in the lottery to decide starting positions – and held out Jamie McMurray’s Chevrolet for second. That was one spot worse than McMurray scored a year ago, when he raced a Ford.

As many expected, there were plenty of torn-up cars at the end of the race, eight of the 24 invited drivers ended their races in crashes. In the most notable shunt, on the final lap, Jeff Gordon hooked up with Greg Biffle, who had gambled with staying out while most of the field pitted on lap 71 for fresh Goodyears. It didn’t work; Biffle had a tyre go flat, Gordon

hammered him and let slip the dogs of war.

The other driver who fell foul of the melee was Carl Edwards.

After the Ford man drew pole for the race, he dominated the opening half of the race until is Roush Fenway car slowed for unspecified reasons. Edwards returned when the car was healthy and, despite the result, has sent out a warning for next weekend’s 500.

So has Harvick. He has won the Daytona 500 before, and this week, he won in a car in which he had not driven for a single lap, after crawling out of his sick bed with the flu. Healthy, he could have a lot to say about who wins what in the opening round of the Sprint Cup.

Ford Racing

Ford Racing

Shell Game: Harick stood on a Childress Chevy in Victory Lane, again, after winning the 75-lap Bud Shootout, left. Kurt Busch was one of the drivers to prompt a yellow when he lost his Penske Dodge, above.

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sportpromedia.com

Pither up at Downs NZ V8 UTES

NASCAR Media

Simply Markellous NASCAR ANYBODY hoping that Hendrick Motorsports will suffer from a title hangover in 2010 might be gravely disappointed, following qualifying for this weekend’s Daytona 500.

Chevrolet’s powerhouse team swept the front row for the season-opening race, with Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr running 1-2 in the single-car session on

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Saturday. Martin became the oldest winner of the pole for the 500 with a speed of 191.188mph over Earnhardt’s 190.913mph.

This give the team-mates the only two guaranteed starting positions. All other starting positions are determined by the finishing order of two 150 mile qualifying races held on Thursday. The top 35 in series points from last season are also locked into the race

while Bill Elliott, Scott Speed and Joe Nemechek all who finished outside the top 35, in 2009 posted speeds that will assure they start Sunday’s race.

Fellow Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon posted speeds good enough for sixth and 10th respectively, while Marcos Ambrose posted a respectable 189.757mph lap good enough for 14th among the 54 drivers that posted speeds.

– MARTIN D CLARK

CHRIS Pither’s winning streak in the 2009/2010 NZ V8 Ute Series has been extended, following a narrow round win in Round 3 at Hampton Downs.

Pither and points rival Caine Lobb each scored a pair of wins and two second-place finishes from four races at the new facility. However, by taking a 15-second win in the final race, it was Pither who claimed the round win on a countback.

His weekend had been far from trouble-free, though, having been given a 60second penalty for a Race 3 incident. The penalty was later over-turned, reinstating the Falcon driver to second place.

The tied result sees Pither maintain a 40-point lead over Holden driver Lobb in the standings.

race

Mitch and Sten shine THREE wins to three different drivers in Round 3 of the Toyota Racing Series, which visited the new Hampton Downs circuit for the first time last weekend.

Giles Motorsport continued their dominance of the series, with Mitch Evans the big winner as he took the lead of the series from Estonian teammate Sten Pentus, who won the New Zealand Motor Cup. Evans, inset, scored a comfortable victory from pole in Race 1, leading home Brazilian Lucas Foresti by four seconds, followed by Earl Bamber, who benefited from a clash between Richie Stanaway and Pentus. While the pair recovered to finish fourth and

fifth, respectively, Evans’ win saw him take the points lead from Pentus.

Victory in the Reverse Grid Race 2 was Andrew Waite’s maiden TRS win. After finishing sixth in Race 1, Waite started from pole and made the most of the opportunity, leading home Bamber and Evans, who set the circuit’s outright lap record along the way. A little further back, Stanaway and Pentus clashed again, with Stanaway finishing sixth – just ahead of evergreen racer Kenny Smith – and Pentus 11th after pitting for a new nose.

Fortunately for Pentus, the afternoon’s 20-lap feature race for the NZ Motor Cup was much better. He grabbed the lead at the start and, like Evans and Waite before him, forged

Bruce Jenkins

TOYOTA SERIES

away to victory.

“Getting off the line cleanly with not too much wheelspin and then into the first corner was so important. I was able to go around Mitch [Evans] there and then could drive the race my way,” he said.

Instead, it was Evans who struck trouble. The 15-year-old was running second before

Lock it in, Phil SPRINTCARS

PHIL Lock was faultless in winning his first Victorian 360 Sprintcar Championship at his home track, Simpson Speedway last Saturday night.

Lock was never challenged leading the 30-lap final after starting from position two and won from Bill Fraser and Rick

Barrand both of Terang.

A jubilant Lock was not only pleased to win his first Sprintcar title but to continue his good form that he and the team has been having this season.

“It’s just awesome,” Lock said.

“To win here at my home track in front of family and friends is great to do.”

While Lock looked to win with ease he did admit being uneasy with his car for most of the night, until some advice from neighbor and former SRA champions John Vogels and Mal Rankin.

“I was pretty stressed all night, and I’m not sure what it really was with the car,” Lock said.

a misfire saw him drop to eventually finish fifth. It was enough, though, to leave Hampton Downs with a 25point advantage at the top of the standings over Pentus and Bamber.

Stanaway completed his weekend with second in the final race, ahead of Foresti and Bamber.

“Both Johnny and Mal just told me to get in and race the car and drive like any other race ... it certainly helped me, for sure.”

While Lock led comfortably throughout the race the action was on behind with Fraser resisting challenges from, Stephen Bell and Gavin Taylor.

Over the closing laps Bell stuck the nose of his machine up the inside of Barrand as he challenged for third spot, but without any luck as Lock won.

– GEOFF ROUNDS

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rear of grid

t o p S d d O

Video games do pay!

ARE you sick of your wife, girlfriend or mother telling you that video games are a waste of time? You know, that you could be doing something useful, like taking the rubbish out?

Well, Melbourne student Daniel Holland sure showed them. Thanks to his skills on

Playstation 3 game Gran Turismo, Holland will head to Silverstone later this month with a chance at becoming a fully-fledged, real-world race driver.

Holland won the inaugural Australian leg of Nissan GT Academy and advances to the world finals, where he’ll go up against

other winners from around the world in a series of challenges over five days. If he’s successful there, Holland will win a full season in the European GT4 Cup driving a Nissan 370Z. He could even get some tips from his new mate, Seto!

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