Motorsport eNews Issue 160 - June 22-28, 2010

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Issue No. 160 June 22-28 2010

UNLUCKY! How Marcos Ambrose lost the unloseable race at Sonoma

PLUS Will this be Paul Dumbrell’s last season in V8 Supercars? www.mnews.com.au

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Issue No. 160 | June 22 - 28 2010

news 4

So Close. So, So Close But so far away for Ambrose 7 Dumbrell to make a call PD considers career options 8 Looking slick, kids ...

Tyre options for FFord 14 Chaz Monstert FForder chasing energy $$$ 18 Tatnell: I Can Win! Champ back for WSS

chat 22 Five Minutes With ...

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comment 24 Branagan: Tyre Talk Slade: Life at the front

race 26 V8 Supercars 36 Formula Ford 38 V8 Utes 40 Touring Car Masters 42 IndyCar 44 NASCAR

trade 54 Classifieds

MARCOS HAS THE RACE WON, WHEN ...

DISASTER STRIKES! M NASCAR

ARCOS Ambrose has seen an almost-certain first NASCAR Sprint Cup win slip through his fingers after a great drive at Infineon Raceway, early Monday morning Australian time.

The Aussie dominated the race at the California road course, and was leading by 2s when the race’s seventh and final caution period came with seven laps to go. Stellar work from his pit crew during his final stop with 25 laps to run kept him in front of his only real threat Jimmie Johnson.

The four-time Champion had already been told by crew chief Chad Knaus to settle for second, as his rear tyres were well past their best, and it looked as though the race would finish that way.

Until …

Ambrose was instructed by his team to save fuel, and so did the usual trick of cutting the engine when going downhill and re-firing the engine on the climbs.

Unfortunately the plan backfired when Ambrose stalled the car on the uphill sector, stopping momentarily

and losing the lead to Johnson.

NASCAR rules state that cars must maintain speed under the caution flag and Ambrose clearly came to a stop on the track, allowing the cars of Johnson, Robby Gordon, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne by.

Although Ambrose quickly restarted and pulled forward to take his prior position, NASCAR officials re-placed him behind Kahne to leave the Tasmanian seventh on the final restart, with just five laps to run ...

Ambrose put the pressure on at that final green flag, but it was to no avail as he clearly spun Jeff Burton and a very aggressive Jeff Gordon slipped by.

He was able pass Greg Biffle who was on older tyres with three laps to run, but sixth (where he qualified) was all a disappointed Ambrose could muster.

“I was told to [cut the engine off ],” explained a frustrated Ambrose.

“I tried to crank it on the left-hand bend (Turn 1) and it just didn’t refire. My bad luck ... I just feel really disappointed. I may not like the call, but it is what it is and I should have had the motor cranked up and it never would have never been an issue. I kept

rolling, but it’s a judgment call.

“I know the rules. I didn’t stop, the car kept rolling. It’s just uphill about 40 degrees and it is what it is. It’s a terrible way to finish.

“I’m going to go home to my wife and kids and give them a hug and ‘go and get them’ next week.”

A similar issue affected Biffle at Kansas Speedway a few years back, but on that day NASCAR deemed the following cars sped up to pass Biffle under caution so Biffle was give his position back.

If it makes him feel any better, while Ambrose could have once been classed as a ‘road course ringer’., the ‘ringers’ that were in the Infineon field fared worse.

Boris Said was the first of those home in eighth, Jan Magnussen 12th, the much-publicised Mattias Ekstrom in the Red Bull Toyota 21st after starting 38th, PJ Jones was 41st and Max Papis 43rd.

Ekstrom ran strongly and inside the top five at times, but a blatant punt from Brad Keselowski late in the race saw him spin and finish back in the pack.

– MARTIN D CLARK

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WHAT’S THE DIFF? LOTS ...

V8 SUPERCARS

V8 SUPERCARS has conducted more testing of different components as part of its Car of The Future program.

In Friday’s first practice session at Hidden Valley, TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes, and Stone Brothers’ Shane van Gisbergen tested a Salisbury differential, in place of the cars’ usual spool ‘diff’.

In the same session, Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander, GRM’s Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso and FPR’s Paul Dumbrell tested a Detroit Locker differential.

The drivers were permitted to do so because the top 14 drivers in the series are usually ‘seeded’ out of taking park during the session.

But the changes to the cars were not universally popular, or even considered a positive change: “It was definitely different,” Holdsworth explained.

“There was not as much stability under brakes, particularly in the rear. It was a little better mid-corner, and not as good under drive.”

However, Holdsworth did point out that the team did not make many changes to the cars to accommodate the change.

“Maybe it is a matter of

tuning the car, so that it works better as a package. That would need us to do a test day, maybe, and would not be something you would do here for a one-hour session. But, on the basis of what we actually did, I would say we didn’t see any positives.”

Dumbrell agreed; “Interesting, to say the least,” he commented.

“We were not able to anticipate what that diff would actually do. There appears to be one or two people in pitlane who are pushing that agenda [to use a Locker diff ].

I don’t why that is happening, when we are all trying to save money.”

BOSS WANTS SOFTS V8 SUPERCARS MORE races featuring Dunlop’s Sprint tyre may come, if V8 Supercars Australia CEO Martin Whitaker has a say.

The category manager’s new head said in Darwin that the success of the tyre has lead to widespread approval and that there will be a lot of support for more ‘Sprint’ events in the future.

“I don’t think that it will be just me,” said the Englishman, “I think that there are a lot of people who want to

see that. A lot of the teams, a lot of the drivers, the spectators and, I am sure, the TV audience as well. It’s nice to have something like that where, hopefully, everybody is in agreement.”

James Courtney’s four-race winning streak set on the tyre came to an end in Darwin, but the introduction of a single set of the tyres in Sunday’s race of the Sky City Triple Crown was deemed a success. However, the Dunlop Control tyre will be the sole type in use for the next races in Townsville, the last V8 Supercar round prior to the mid-season break.

V8 Supercars Australia spokesman Cole Hitchcock said that the test was “purely a trial to look at those components, and to get some feedback from the teams.

“There is no intention to bring those things in for the Gold Coast, or for any other event, at this stage. It is very early to say whether anything will result from it.”

More testing of the items is expected to be conducted in Townsville. For the record, Lowndes was the fastest of the ‘hybrid’ cars, registering the sixth fastest time of the session, 0.5s behind Jason Bright, who topped the session sheets.

DAVO IN 3D V8 SUPERCARS

V8 SUPERCARS Television tested 3D TV for the first time at Hidden Valley.

Will Davison’s new Holden Racing Team Commodore VE ran with a 3D camera mounted in the front of the car all weekend, and gathered pictures for analysis later.

While no broadcasting was attempted in Darwin because of a ‘lag’ in transmitting images from the camera, testing will continue in Townsville, with an attempt to do a live test.

To our knowledge, 3D transmitting has not been conducted in any other form of motorsport broadcasting, though the recent State of Orgin Rugby League matches have been transmitted in 3D. motorsport news

news

DUMBRELL DECISION SOON V8 SUPERCARS

PAUL Dumbrell will make a decision about his future in the next two months, but he may step down from racing V8 Supercars at the end of the year.

Dumbrell, who is in his first year of a three-year with Rod Nash’s BottleO Racing team, has recently taken on the role as Chief Executive Officer of Automotive Brands, the company established by his father (and former racer and V8 Supercar team co-owner) Garry Dumbrell. The retail chain has more than 200 outlets operating under the Autobarn and Autopro banners,

and Dumbrell Sr relinquished the role recently because of ill-health.

Paul Dumbrell met with Nash and FPR management two weeks ago and underlined his commitment to the team through to year’s end, but past that, he may yet decide to step aside to concentrate on his business responsibilities.

“I will have a clearer picture by the end of the [mid-season] break,” he said in Darwin at the weekend.

“I think that by Phillip Island, I will have a clearer understanding of my new role, and the demands that will place on me.

In that eight weeks, we will all have a better picture.”

As part of his new role, Dumbrell has recently expanded the staff in the Melbourne-based company. That includes recruiting a Marketing Manager who started with the company last week, and a new Chief Operating Officer.

Dumbrell said that it was not a matter of deciding whether to go with his heart, and stay in racing, or to rule with his head.

“I have been here [in V8 Supercar racing] nine years. In that time, I have had a great crack at it, and last year with WR (Walkinshaw Racing) and here at FPR, have been great years. But this [Automotive Brands] is my long-term future, not just for me but for my family. I want to deliver on that, and sorting that out will be a priority.”

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FFord may go to slicks for 2011 FORMULA FORD

THERE could be a Middle Eastern driver in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in the next two years.

Fahad Al Musalam, winner of the Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship, was due to take part in a three-day test with Paul Morris Motorsport but instead the Bahraini driver, who raced the Team Kiwi Commodore in Bahrain in 2008, has donated the test to another driver.

His countryman Raed Raffii

A celebration of Australia’s Muscle Car heritage and a tribute to the drivers that raced

will acclimatise himself to a right-hand-drive car over 30 laps at Norwell in a Level 2 Superschool car, before moving on to a guest driver spot at an official test day.

On the third day, he will drive a PMM Commodore at Queensland Raceway.

“I feel it is important to give other local drivers this opportunity too,” said Al Musalam, who tested with GRM last year, “and this is why I would like to give the test session to Raed Raffii. I am very happy to give him this

opportunity and he will learn a lot from it.”

V8 Supercars Australia CEO Martin Whitaker, formerly the CEO of the Bahrain International Circuit, says he is looking forward to having a Middle East driver race in Australia full-time.

“We are hoping that he is going to be able to get the investment to come and do a full season of Fujitsu next year,” he said.

Raffii, 21, below, finished fourth in the Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship.

sutton-images.com

SLICK tyres may be used in Formula Ford racing from next season.

The category’s tyre tender period has closed and the tenderers include submissions for slick and wet tyres. A selection is due to be made in the next few months. eNews believes that Avon Tyres, Dunlop and Michelin have all submitted tenders for the contract, with the former intending to use rubber similar to that in use in the British Championship. Michelin does not have a Formula Ford supply deal at present, and is expected to submit tyres similar to those in use in Formula Renault and Formula BMW. The formula last ran on slicks in the early 1980s, and since that time, has raced on ‘allweather’ tyres.

V8 SUPERCARS

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So, you thought that Cam McConville was retired?

You don’t know

Dirk Klynsmith

JAX

V8 SUPERCARS CAMERON McConville has left the door open to a return to fulltime racing.

McConville elected to stand down as a fulltime Supercar driver at the end of 2009. Ahead of his run with Toll HRT in the enduros, McConville won the Fujitsu Series round at Winton last month, and will race in the series again at Townsville.

In an interview in the July edition of Motorsport News, McConville says the

Winton round whet his appetite again, and that he will weigh up a possible return to fulltime racing over the remainder of the year.

“I do have itchy feet, I do want to do something next year, [but] whether it’s at fulltime level again, we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.

“If I went back at Fujitsu level, and it’s taking me out of the business every week, I’ve got to look at if it’s worth it. Whereas if I was in the Main Game, deriving an

income and promoting the business, there might be some benefit there.

“I’ve got to sit back and in the next six months and look at what’s important, I suppose, as part of the bigger picture.

Rather than the heart just saying you want to race again, make sure the brain makes the right decision.

The July edition of Motorsport News, with the full McConville interview, is out tomorrow, Wednesday June 23.

– MITCHELL ADAM

The Bloodbath continues at Brad Jones Racing V8 SUPERCARS KIM Jones is the latest BJR member to suffer an injury.

The team co-owner appeared

at Hidden Valley with a lemonsized bump on his leg, after a collision with a metal beam in the team’s Albury workshop.

By the end of the weekend, he

was feeling better, but there may be more to come.

“Nothing broken,” said Jones, “but I think that there’s a chance that I have chipped a bone.”

With injuries to Jason Richards (broken nose) and his dad Dave (severed finger and broken wrist), it’s hoped that the plague is over, for now.

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Renault hints at expansion

as Red Bull looks to Merc FORMULA 1

T

here could be as many as eight Renault-powered cars on next year’s Formula 1 grid.

However, the only current Renault customer, Red Bull Racing, might not be among them.

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner is thought to be considering a switch from Renault to Mercedes, the decision being dependent on whether or not the FIA gives Renault the green light to increase its engine’s power to match that of Mercedes-Benz.

However, Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug said it was unlikely that the German manufacturer would change from its current arrangement, which is to supply McLaren and Force India in addition to its factory team.

“We have probably KERS next year so we

need to look at our capacities,” Haug told Autosport. “It definitely would be very difficult for us to supply a fourth team – but no final decision is taken yet.

“We have cut the workforce on our engines, and we also need to prepare in a while for 2013 when there will be no rules.

So probably the best decision is to stick with three teams.

“That is not the final decision taken, but probably we will stay as we are.”

It might indeed be difficult for Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines if rumours of a severance deal between McLaren and Mercedes are true.

It is thought that as a condition of their separation at the end of last year, McLaren would have veto rights on any new team being supplied Mercedes engines.

Meanwhile there is speculation that Williams will be making the shift from

Cosworth to Renault. French magazine Auto Hebdo reports that a deal for Renault to supply Williams next year is ‘almost done’.

Williams, which joined the three new teams this year in opting for Cosworth power in the wake of Toyota’s withdrawal, enjoys a long association with Renault that dates back to the turbo era of the 1980s. Williams’ 1992 world championship win with Nigel Mansell was the first for a Renault-powered car.

Lotus, it is also rumoured, is looking to follow suit and shift from Cosworth to Renault.

Should Renault expand to four teams it will become the dominant engine supplier in a numeric sense.

At the moment, Renault supplies only two teams, while Ferrari and Mercedes each supply three, and Cosworth four.

Lehto hurt in boat accident FORMULA 1

F

m sutton-images.co

10

ormer Formula 1 driver JJ Lehto has been injured in a boating accident that claimed the life of one the Finn’s friends.

The accident is believed to have occurred in the early hours of the morning off Finnish coast as the

boat in which Lehto and his companion were travelling collided with a bridge. Both were thrown out on impact.

Lehto swum to shore and raised the alarm, but his friend’s body was found a few hours later by police.

Lehto was taken to hospital in a astable condition, suffering head and rib injuries.

For full F1/ MotoGP/ WRC coverage/ news, CLICK HERE to get to GPWeek magazine www.gpweek.com motorsport news

Prost F1 return T

he Prost name has returned to Formula 1, with Nicolas Prost completing laps of the Magny-Cours circuit in a Renault R29 last weekend.

His four-time world championship winning father, Alain Prost, was on hand for the occasion, which was not an official test but rather the Renault F1 roadshow fan day event.

It is a fantastic car obviously,” Nicolas

Prost said. “The acceleration of the car is just incredible and everything works so smooth.”

Prost, the 2008 Euroseries 3000 winner, has most recently been competing in sports car racing – where he’s faced other famous names, such as the Mansell brothers, Leo and Greg, sons of Alain Prost’s old ‘80s sparring partner Nigel Mansell.

sutton-images.co m

FORMULA 1

We already have the Senna name back in F1, along with Rosberg – and Piquet was there a year ago, as was Nakajima. Perhaps in a few years it’ll be like an ‘80s retro revival in F1 – Prost, Senna, Mansell, Piquet, Rosberg ...

Degrading spectacle

no tyre grain in Spain FORMULA 1

T

he extreme tyre degradation that turned the Canadian Grand Prix into such an exciting and unpredictable affair isn’t likely to be repeated in this weekend’s European Grand Prix, says Bridgestone’s director of motorsport tyre development, Hirohide Hamashima.

While Bridgestone will be offering the same medium and super soft compounds at Spain as it did in Canada, the tyre manufacturer believes the Valencia track, also a street circuit, will be a completely

different proposition in terms of the tyre performance.

“The layout and track surface is more aggressive to the tyres than in Montreal so we do not expect the same challenge for teams to get maximum performance from the medium and super soft compounds as in Canada,” Hamashima said.

“This year’s European Grand Prix takes place in June, as opposed to the late August date of the first two Grands Prix in Valencia, but we don’t believe the

date change will present us with radically different weather.”

At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve the tyre problems occurred because of lowerthan-expected race-day temperatures and an ultra-smooth track surface that made it difficult to generate heat into the tyres.

It did not help, either, that this was the first time the track had been used in two years.

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11

Tears for Mears

NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Red Bulls dumps Casey, drafts in Sorenson for New Hampshire – but no word on Watkins Glen

Toyota Motorsports

CASEY Mears has parted ways with Red Bull Racing, with immediate effect.

Reed Sorenson will take over as driver of the #83 Toyota New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week, and for the foreseeable future, with the exception of the Watkins Glen road race in August.

Mears drove in four Sprint Cup races for RBR as a stand-in driver for Brian Vickers, who is suffering from blood clots and is unfit to race. His best finish came at Dover with a 22nd position, but in the last of his four starts, he committed the cardinal sin of spinning out team-mate Scott Speed.

“Our unique situation [with Vickers] has afforded us the opportunity to try some different things, and we’re continuing to do that with Reed,” Jay Frye, Red Bull’s general manager, said in a statement.

Mears, 32, raced with Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team for four years before moving to Hendrick Motorsports for two seasons, winning his only Sprint Cup race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in 2007. He raced for Richard Childress Racing in 2009.

Mattias Ekstrom drove the car in his Sprint Cup debut at Infineon, fininshing 22nd.

The Swede is unavailable for Watkins Glen and several drivers are under consideration for the seat, including Rick Kelly.

SMOKE AND BORIS GET IT ON NASCAR SPRINT CUP UGLINESS broke out following the Infineon round of the Sprint Cup Series, with Tony Stewart and Boris Said not leaving the track the best of friends.

After the pair finished ninth and eighth, respectively, on the 12

road course formerly known as Sears Point, Stewart’s Chevy made contact with Said’s Ford after the race, prompting Said’s crew chief, Frank Stoddard, to pay a visit to the Stewart Haas garage. There, he allegedly called the owner/driver of the red #14 “A fat f---“.

The ruckus came after the

two drivers fought tooth and nail and, according to Smoke’s crew chief, Darian Grubb, his boss was only doing what drivers do in Sprint Cup racing.

“They’re racing us one race,” Grubb told SB Nation.

“Road-course ringers. [Said] came in and knocked Tony out of the way, so Tony got him the

next lap. That’s road-course racing. They don’t race every week. They don’t understand the game.”

Of course, the next time the two men will face each other on a track will be at NASCAR’s second road race, at Watkins Glen.

Could be entertaining ... motorsport news

news

Simona says, I’m OK

RHR is a Child of the Corn

INDYCARS

sutton-images.com

INDYCARS RYAN Hunter-Reay reunited with his sponsor from the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the Ethanol Council, for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 event.

Driving for Andretti Autosport, Hunter-Reay initially had funding for the first seven events from IZOD, the IndyCar Series title sponsor, and team owner Michael Andretti has stated he wanted to keep Hunter-Reay in his fourth entry.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be representing Ethanol USA in the IZOD IndyCar Series again for a race that’s fueled by ethanol made in the United States,” explained Hunter-Reay.

“Everyone talks about cleaner, greener energy, but this is one industry that has been consistently delivering on its promise.”

Ironically, Hunter-Reay was the only non-Penske, nonGanassi driver to win a 2010 race until Tony Kanaan’s Iowa

win, and is seventh in the point standings, just 49 points behind current leader Will Power with nine races remaining.

Although Adam Carroll had his Andretti Autosport test at Watkins Glen last week washed out by heavy rain, the Irishman could be in a team entry for at least one of the next five road courses. It’s unknown if the 2008/09 A1GP champion’s seat will be the fourth or fifth Andretti Autosport entry.

– MARY MENDEZ

SWISS driver Simona De Silvestro has taken her fiery crash at Texas Motor Speedway in stride despite the very slow response by the IndyCar series Safety Team (over 30 seconds) to put out the blazing fire.

Blisters from second-degree burns on her right palm have fully healed.

“The Safety Team puts the highest priority on driver safety,” explained Mike Yates, Track Safety Manager for the Indy Racing League, who rushed in to pull De Silvestro from her burning car while the other safety workers fumbled with hoses and extinguishers.

“Prior to every race, the Safety Team tests all hoses to ensure they’re working. At Texas, there was an error in the re-packing of the hose after the test, which caused it to malfunction. We are modifying hoses on all the trucks beginning this weekend in Iowa to prevent this from happening again.”

– MARY MENDEZ

IndyCar decision delay

Chassis choice in board’s hands – and could Cosworth return?

INDYCARS THERE may be a delay in the June ending announcement of the selected chassis for 2012.

The IndyCar Series announced basic engine rules switching to a turbocharged engine with a maximum displacement of 2.4-litres and six cylinders. But the chassis decision, which may not be restricted to only one of the five contenders (Dallara, Lola, Swift, Delta Wing, and BAT), is still in the seven member board’s hands.”

“We have some contractual issues that may delay our announcement of the 2012 chassis,” said Randy Bernard, CEO of the www.mnews.com.au

Indy Racing League.

“We have some interest from other engine manufacturers (currently Honda is sole supplier) and we want to help them grow their brand using our series as a platform.”

End of June was the initial decision date given so that manufacturers and constructors would have 18 months lead time before the beginning of the 2012 season. Honda is not happy with the delay in chassis selection, having initially told the Series they needed two years’ advance notice.

But one familiar manufacturer that might compete, still owned by Kevin

Kalkhoven and Jerry Forsythe, is Cosworth.

“We would love to be putting our Cosworth engines into the IZOD IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series,” Mark Gallagher, Cosworth’s General Manager, told the Toronto Sun. “But we already have the facilities and the manufacturing capabilities in our U.S. plants to make this happen.”

Cosworth was Champ Car’s sole engine supplier between 2003-07, and survived its three-year exile from Formula 1 by ... clever means. All is explained in the July edition of Motorsport News, on-sale in all good newsagents this Wednesday.

– MARY MENDEZ 13

Jay Motorsport eyes two FUJITSU SERIES

Dirk Klynsmith

JAY Motorsport has set its sights on running two cars at the final three rounds of the Fujitsu Series.

The South Australian outfit were close to signing a sponsor to run Jay Verdnik in their ex-Team Dynamic VZ at Townsville next month as a second car alongside Nick Percat. Sponsorship didn’t eventuate, though, but they’re aiming to have the

Commodore in action for the end-of-season run, starting at Bathurst in October.

“We had a pretty hot sponsor who we thought was going to come through, so we could put Jay in the car, but that fell over this morning (Monday),” team manager Keith Rennie said.

“We’ve got a couple of guys lined up for Bathurst, Sandown and Homebush, who’d be new to the category.”

Rennie indicated the team

is also aiming to purchase a VE Commodore.

“It’s on the cards, we want to buy a VE and run our Walkinshaw VZ with it, but it

depends on signing a driver.

We’ve got a marketing person now, who’s out there looking for sponsors,” he said.

– MITCHELL ADAM

THREE FOR TMR @ 6 HOUR PRODUCTION CARS

18 race and present trophies at its completion.

“I’m very humbled to be asked by the event organisers of the Australian Six Hour to act as Grand Marshall, and I’m very much looking forward to the event,” Bond said.

“Back when I won Bathurst in 1969, it was a great battle between true production cars, the cars on the track were those you could buy off the showroom floor.

“Over the years, the cars became more and more modified, but it’s great that production car racing is still going strong.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

Rob Lang

TEAM Mitsubishi Ralliart will run three cars in next month’s inaugural Australian Six Hour.

Stuart Kostera and Warren Luff will share the Evo X Lancer Kostera is currently racing in the Australian Manufacturers Championship, Inky Tulloch will drive his with a to-bedetermined co-driver, while Glyn Crimp and Matthew Cherry will share the third at Eastern Creek.

“Everything’s looking pretty good,” TMR boss Alan Heaphy told eNews.

“We’ve been up there doing some testing, Glyn had never

driven there before. Inky hasn’t been there yet, so we’re going to try and go a day up there for him before the event.

“Six hours at Eastern Creek is a lot different to six hours at Bathurst, there’ll be some different challenges, but we should be able to get all three cars up there.”

Another Lancer entry will come from Jim Pollicina, who will share his Evo XIII Anthony Loscialpo and Gerry Murphy.

Meanwhile, Colin Bond will act as Grand Marshall for the event. The former Australian Touring Car Champion and Australian Rally Champion will give the order to start the July

12 to One BATHURST 12 HOUR ONE HD has added to its motor racing portfolio, with a deal to broadcast the 2011 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.

With Seven Network having hosted the coverage in recent 14

years, ONE HD will now take over, with a three-hour highlights package to be aired shortly after the event has taken place.

“As one of the greatest motor racing tracks in the world, Bathurst is always special to

watch and we are delighted to be broadcasting the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour,” said Network Ten’s David White.

“We are looking forward to showing this incredibly tough race for the drivers, the cars and the teams and hope that

viewers enjoy every second of it.”

ONE HD also broadcasts Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR, Australian drag racing and selected rounds of the Australian GT Championship, which joins the 2011 12 Hour. motorsport news

news Dirk Klynsmith

Chas Monstert?

FORMULA FORD CHAZ Mostert is working towards a sponsorship deal with energy drink brand Monster, as he closes in on the 2010 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

Mostert ran Monster signage on the side of his Synergy-run Spectrum in Darwin on Sunday, where he claimed the round win and extended his lead in the points.

“We’re in the process of

talking to Monster, and we’ll continue to do so this week,” Mostert told eNews.

“Hopefully we can have something sorted soon. We’re looking at some support, but what I’d really like to get out of a deal is some guidance

from [Monster’s sponsorship manager] Dave Ellis. My goal is to get into V8 Supercars, and he is involved with a few drivers at that level, so it could be really helpful for me and my career.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Reynolds to make FV8 cameo FUJITSU SERIES DAVID Reynolds will join fellow Walkinshaw Racing enduro driver Cameron McConville on the grid in the Fujitsu Series at Townsville next month.

To get extra miles ahead of the enduros, Walkinshaw Racing will run the Bundy Red VE used by Fabian Coulthard until Darwin. Reynolds finished fourth in the 2008 Fujitsu Series.

Meanwhile, Winton round winner McConville tested the Eggleston Motorsport VE at

Winton yesterday, sharing seat time with another Walkinshaw endurance driver, Craig Baird.

V8SA received 28 entries for the event including returnee Colin Sieders, a second car for Jay Motorsport, see separate story, and a third entry for Greg Murphy Racing.

“We’ve got an entry in, but we haven’t filled it at this point in time,” GMR’s Kevin Murphy told eNews.

“We’ve got a number of people we’re talking to, but nobody’s done a deal.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

Chevron has all your motorsport needs covered including classic race packages, Bathurst highlights as well as in-depth documentaries. See our website today for the full range of DVD’s available.

www.mnews.com.au

15

Phil Williams

Woo-Too MINI CHALLENGE THE Hertz MINI Challenge delivered by Pizza Capers will have their first father-son team in the next round of the series.

Chris Wootton will be joined

SALOON CARS

race,” Category Manager Les Morrall said.

“Everything seems to have settled down this year, we’ve got new people coming in all the time and lots of new inquiries.”

Saloon Cars will be joined at Winton by the third-annual Commodore Cup Endurance Challenge, with 21 cars doing battle for the Ashley Cooper Memorial Trophy in a pair of 45-minute races.

The Shannons V8 Touring Car Series, Dallas Crane HQ Challenge and Production Sports Cars complete the program.

opportunity that we’re going to run with and be the first father and son team in the series.

“As you get a bit further in life, you get a bit more time to do these sorts of things. I haven’t been in a racecar competitively for 22 years. I’ve got my licence

again and I’m looking forward to doing some laps.

“I think Chris is excited, and I’m excited about it.”

In his rookie season in the class, Chris Wootton is ninth in the MINI Challenge points.

– MITCHELL ADAM

STRONGER SALOONS James Smith

SALOON Cars will head to Winton this weekend for the third round of their national series in a muchstronger position than the corresponding round last year.

Competitor numbers were hit at several rounds in 2009, with seven cars at Winton amid now-resolved political issues, while 27 cars are expected to race this weekend.

“Last year was a bit of a disaster, with the financial crisis, lots of people couldn’t afford to travel interstate to

in the series by his father Ken on the grid in Townsville in a second car for the family. “[Running together] is something we’ve toyed with before, but it wasn’t exactly planned,” Ken told eNews.

“MINI has given us a great

VALE: AUB REVELL 1919 - 2010 AUB Revell, the first President of the Formula Vee Association of NSW, died on the morning of Saturday the 19th of June aged 91.

Aub was instrumental in bringing Formula Vee into existence in the mid 1960’s, 16

and in starting the Formula Vee Association of New South Wales.

He also went on to build the Revell Formula Vees with the help of his great friend, John Grant.

In recent years, Aub

operated businesses in Thailand, returning in 2005 to attend the 40th Anniversary of Formula Vee National Titles at Oran Park in November 2005, where he was made Patron of the Historic Formula Vee Association of Australia.

He finally settled back in Australia in 2008, and since then, he had been making regular contact with many of his old Formula Vee friends.

Motorsport eNews extends our thoughts to all of Aub’s friends and family at this time. motorsport news

news AUSTRALIAN GT THE VodkaO Australian GT Championship will throw open the gates for its standalone round at Phillip Island for a good cause.

Australian GT will promote the July 9-11 event, and aim to raise money for the Phillip Island Ambulance Service. An admission fee won’t be charged,

with entry by a gold coin donation to the group.

“GT is thrilled to be able to help the PI Ambulance,” Australian GT Director Rachael Wagg said.

“The main reason GT has chosen to support this service is because the Phillip Island hospital has closed down, and this service is basically the mobile hospital for the whole

area, with the closest hospital being Wonthaggi.

“It is now even more of a vital service that the area cannot be without and needs as much funding as possible.

We hope all GT fans will come along to catch the thrilling GT action, get a closer look at these amazing machines while supporting a very worthy cause.”

GT will hold a pair of one-

hour races on the Sunday, joined over the weekend by the Aussie Racing Cars.

Meanwhile, the final round of the 2010 championship will be held at Sandown’s V8 Supercar round, rather than the originally-scheduled Homebush, following a reshuffling of support categories with the demise of the Barbagallo Supercar round.

See GT for free!

John Morris / Mpix

HQ RACING

www.mnews.com.au

HQS HEAD TO WINTON TO HONOUR DALLAS

Rob Lang

THE HQ Racing community will pay tribute to Dallas Crane this weekend, after the longtime competitor succumbed to cancer last week.

This weekend’s Shannons Nationals round at Winton will feature four HQ races in a round of the Victorian State Series, which had been branded the Dallas Crane HQ Challenge as a sign of support.

Following his passing last Wednesday, tributes are currently being planned, with his family set to travel from Tasmania to attend the event.

A number of competitors from New South Wales and South

Australia will join the locals in a 30-car field.

“We were hoping Dallas would be alive to see it, but unfortunately he has passed away, so it will be more of a memorial,” HQ Racing’s Keven Stoopman said.

“Dallas was pretty-much loved out there, he’s been running in the class since day one, and taken his turns running the series on the committee.

“Details are still to be finalised, but the plan is that his car will be there and hopefully at some stage we’ll get a chance to do a couple of laps behind it with our lights on.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

17

WSS gets dates ...

SPEEDWAY THE fixture for the 2010-11 World Series Sprintcars (WSS) is locked in and officially released, with the popular championship starting in Queensland and concluding in Western Australia.

It will be the 22nd season of WSS, and will be contested over 16 rounds, with the series returning to Tasmania after The Apple Isle wasn’t included in last year’s calendar.

The WSS circus starts at Brisbane International Speedway on November 20, before heading north to Charlton Speedway, Toowoomba the following weekend.

The Sprintcars, their transporters and crews are then loaded on a boat and head to Tasmania for Rounds 3 and 4 on December 4 and 11 at Hobart and Latrobe.

Racing then returns to the mainland for Round 5 at

... and drivers SPEEDWAY BROOKE Tatnell will return to Australia to defend his World Series Sprintcars title, once again with the Bunburybased Krikke Motorsports.

Tatnell will have to face up to Australia’s leading Sprintcar drivers, as well as some of America’s best, as he aims to win his ninth WSS crown, having won previously in 1994/95, 1995/96, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2005/06, 2007/08,

2008/09, 2009/10.

Tatnell told eNews that he is looking forward to getting back Down Under after his current American racing campaign, to begin his quest for another WSS championship.

“It’ll be great to get back and race again for Shane and Ryan Krikke, and the whole team,” Tatnell said.

“It will again be tough and I can’t wait for the next World Series championship to

Speedway City, Adelaide and this also kicks off the first of five nights of Speedweek on December 26, before winding its way across South Australia and into Victoria where the racing concludes seven days later at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool on January 1, 2011.

From there it is north and back to Brisbane, for the annual two-night Australian Open on January 7 and 8, then bound for South

begin and all the big races in Australia.”

The strong support Robbie Farr receives from East Coast Pipelines is sure to have him challenging Tatnell in many of the rounds, as he will again try and grab his first WSS championship. In his familiar Valvoline V5 Maxim will be the hugely popular Max Dumesny of Sydney.

He will be aiming to equal Tatnell’s eight wins in WSS, and is the only driver to still be competing in this national championship since its inception in 1987/88.

Australia for more action at Murray Bridge Speedway on January 14 and then into Adelaide for Round 12 on January 15.

Leaving South Australia, the WSS tournament heads to Western Australia, and the first of the three nights of the Western Swing is at Kalgoorlie on February 9, then south to Bunbury for two nights of racing on February 11 and 12.

The fast Manjimup Speedway hosts the penultimate round before heading to Perth for the WSS final on Feb 18 and 19.

– GEOFF ROUNDS

Other Aussies having a tilt at WSS are Trevor Green, David Murcott, Bryan Mann, Ryan Farrell, Steven Lines, Danny Reidy and newly-crowned Australian Sprintcar Champion James McFadden.

The Americans will be back with regular WSS racer Jason Johnson again set to team up with Queensland car owner Allan Haynes. Johnson’s fellow countryman, Tyler Walker, is one of the best on the World of Outlaws tour, and he joins the series for the first time with the Titan Racing Team.

– GEOFF ROUNDS

John Morris / Mpix

18

motorsport news

www.mnews.com.au

19

Title #15 for Phillips DRAG RACING GARY Phillips is regarded as one of Australia’s mostsuccessful drag racers and his recent season has done nothing to hurt that reputation, as he wrapped up his 14th Top Alcohol Championship at the Castrol EDGE Winternationals last weekend.

With his Top Doorslammer title, Phillips has secured a total

of 15 championships.

The Queensland driver’s Lucas Oils Funny Car proved one of the fastest runners this season as the sole Top Alcohol car to exceed 260mph, and all he had to do at the Castrol Edge Winternationals to claim the championship was stage the car in qualifying.

“The competition has been challenging for every one of those 15 championships but as I’m getting older, the

competition is getting tougher, so every year it gets harder to win,” he said, “The challenge of going faster is still our biggest motivation, but I’ll never get tired of racing at 260 miles per hour, let me tell you.”

The Top Doorslammer has been in the wilderness for a while, struggling to get into the regular five-second passes needed to compete with the top three or four cars. A crash

experienced early in the season allowed Phillips to make some changes to the Studebaker, which have got it back on the right track.

“The crash may have been a blessing in disguise as it gave us an opportunity to make some significant adjustments to the rear end, which judging by the 5.99s (at the Winternationals), we’ve got something right,” he said.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

with a win in the third round of eliminations.

Her hopes of a Winternationals win were dashed in the final round,

however, when she red-lighted, the event win going to her opponent, Toowoomba’s Athol Jacobsen.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

DRAG RACING KELLY Corbett finally translated her success in years of Junior Dragster racing through to a Modified championship this season, also winning the coveted John Storm Memorial trophy.

The highly-sought trophy is awarded by ANDRA to the driver with the highest points tally across all sportsman categories at the conclusion of each season.

“To win the ultimate prize in drag racing really is a dream come true for me,” Corbett said.

“The success at the Winternationals this year was the culmination of everything I have ever dreamed of in my racing career.”

Corbett was the first person to win a Junior Dragster championship, earning the title in 1998.

This season she travelled all over the country to rounds in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia with her Nsane Racing Team.

Corbett was always destined for a successful career in drag racing, with her father Steve Bettes having a long time involvement with the sport and her brother Scott a successful driver in his own right.

“I am very pleased to have the support of my family and friends to help me get to where I am today,” she said.

Corbett went into the event leading the series points and secured her championship

Luke Nieuwhof

CORBETT STORMS TO CROWN

ANDRA Pro Series news is proudly presented by:

20

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Top Fuel showdown a win-win for Auto One DRAG RACING

AUSTRALIA’S new Top Fuel Champion is Perth’s Martin Stamatis, who claimed the title last weekend at Willowbank Raceway.

It was the perfect script; in the very last race of the 2009/2010 ANDRA Pro Series, Stamatis was up against his team-mate and three-time champ Phil Read. It was a winner-take-all final, with the just a handful of points separating the two Auto One sponsored dragsters in the Top Fuel title fight.

Stamatis, the consummate professional, had not only led the Top Fuel Championship

DRAG RACING THE two ‘championships within a championship’ were decided at the Winternationals, with two WA racers taking home the big dollar cheques.

Martin Stamatis took the Shannons Tri State Top Fuel Shootout, with his defeat of Phil Read in the final earning him enough points.

“We knew that Philcould run competitively in the final and when my Billview dragster went up in flames at half track I thought at that point it was all over,” said Stamatis, right with Shannons’ Paul Gates.

heading into the last round but had performed faultlessly right through the Winternationals event. It was his title for the taking and he didn’t disappoint.

He was dominant in the final, blitzing the quarter mile in 4.72s over Read. In addition to clinching the title, Stamatis also claimed top qualifier, top speed and lowest elapsed time (ET) for the event – just to show it was no fluke.

Auto One’s CEO Peter Henry was on hand to be one of the first people to congratulate the likeable businessman from Perth “Martin showed just how cool under pressure he is. It was an adrenalin-charged final and “All I could do was keep on the throttle and hope for the best.

When I saw the win-light at the finish line, it was a massive sense of relief.

“To win the Shannons Shootout and the Top Fuel Championship is amazing, just amazing! A huge thank you to Shannons for all their support of Top Fuel and ANDRA Pro Series drag racing,” John Zappia meantime won the Karcher Shootout to earn a $20,000 payday. With naming rights sponsorship becoming vacant on the car next season, it will be a valuable boost for the Zappia team.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

ANDRA Pro Series on

Martin did exactly what he needed to do. It was a great win for him and Jim Read Racing,” said Henry.

“Of course we had mixed feelings when it was Phil against Martin in the final. With Auto One having the naming rights sponsorship of Phil’s dragster, it was always going to be hard to pick a favourite but we are absolutely delighted for Martin in winning his maiden title.”

Auto One has a solid footprint in Western Australia with 27 of their 70 national stores based in the west, and according to Peter Henry, this is something that makes Stamatis’ achievement even more

rewarding.

“Auto One is a major backer of the ANDRA Pro Series. Our relationship and investment extends past the two Top Fuel racecars but as Major Associate sponsors of the series, we feel very strongly about promoting the sport of drag racing across the country.

“With Auto One’s strong presence in WA and now with the Top Fuel Champ coming from Perth, we will use the next 12 months making sure we continue to lift the profile of Martin and ANDRA Pro Series in the west. This is one way we can reward his and Jim Read Racing’s great efforts this season,” Henry concluded.

Cash delirium

Tuesday June 22, 4:30pm Pro FX & Pro Bike, Nitro Champs

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: Fuchs Australian Nationals, Sydney Raceway, September 10-12 www.mnews.com.au

21

Five Minutes with ...

MARTIN WHITAKER V8 Supercars Australia’s new CEO is settling into the job and found time at Darwin to air a few thoughts on the position of the championship and his new challenge Have you found some areas that you have been able to sink your teeth into?

I think as much as anything else, this is like anyone who walks into a job, into fundamentally, an organisation that is as successful as this one is. You would be very unwise to come in with preconceived ideas about what you can do, and what you can’t do.

I would like to think that there are certain things that I can bring to the party. I think we are already starting to do [that] internally. I think that we have a great team of people, that is one thing for certain. It is a vibrant team of people in the V8 Supercars [Australia] office.

Really, I think that this is just a great opportunity to do things that will, ultimately, improve the show. Clearly, we have a lot more events that we are now running. Next year, we are running nine events, so that is a pretty tall order for anyone. There arte changes and finetuning, in terms of what we need to do to make that more efficient, to ensure that we are running good events, better events.

But from an organisational standpoint, it is still very much having a look at where we are, and how we can move forward and how we can improve.

You say nine events – that is an increase.

We have now taken on Hamilton, the running of that event. That in itself is a tall order for us. It is a great venue, it is a street circuit and that, clearly, gives us other logistical opportunities.

But then there is the fact that it is in New Zealand, so we are building a new team, which we have already done. I think that we have five full-time people on the case already, and that is really just making sure that we are maximising the

opportunities with that race.

I am installing a bit more, if you like, ‘V8 Supercar DNA’ into the event.

Entertainment is, clearly, the name of the game, and we just have to make sure that we are putting on a really good show down there, to get spectators voting with their feet and to see them come to the event.

Martin, do you have concerns about the mid-winter break? The four-week break that we have just had, which was not planned, has produced a bit of a ‘dead’ time for the sport.

Yes. I think that it is always worrying when you lose that momentum. I think that we got some fantastic momentum after the races at Ipswich and Winton. That was really great racing. Personally, I am great fan of Darwin, and I think that they do a great job.

But, yes and no, at the same time. We will be working with the teams to look at how best we can address breaks in the season. It is important that not only the teams get a break but everyone else gets a break, to recharge their batteries, to focus on what is going to be an extremely busy end to the year. I think it will be a fantastic second-half of the season.

But I think we are looking at working, very much in harmony, with the teams, just to make sure that we get it right.

Do you get to assess the impact of the break this year before you do the calendar for 2011?

As you know, calendars are always difficult things to do anyway. We need to get an idea in our mind, in terms of exactly what we want to do, in terms of a calendar. But it is really just a question of, we have a bit of work to do to get what we want, there

is increasing international interest in V8 Supercars and we would be very unwise not to properly address that.

That is what we are doing, but at the same time, we also need to be sure that we are satisfying the heartland of V8 Supercars. The heartland of the sport, clearly and obviously, is in Australia. So we have made it very sure that we are racing in every state, as well as in the Northern Territory, and I think that we are pretty close to achieving that. We have conversations going on, as you know, with Perth, and I think that we can get that settled, that will be to everyone’s advantage. The government and ourselves will both be in good shape.

Is Perth likely for next year?

I would certainly hope so. As I have said, I am very hopeful. We are clear on the desire of the West Australian government to get V8 Supercars back into that part of the world, and clearly we would love to be there. It is important, not only for the spectators but also for the teams and their sponsors that we are back in all four corners of the country.

At Barbagallo?

That is obviously a consideration but, as I said, it is a work in progress, one hopefully reaching a conclusion.

If racing is all about entertainment, do you want to see any more races with soft tyres?

I think that they have done a great job.

We need to make sure that we do an internal review of that, at Board level, and there is no doubt about the fact that the two races at Ipswich and Winton demonstrated very clearly that the racing was fantastic.

THE HEARLAND OF THE SPORT, OBVIOUSLY, IS IN AUSTRALIA WHITAKER’S VIEW IS REASSURINGLY LOCAL 22

motorsport news

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

23

Dirk Klynsmith

WHY TYRES GET TIRED

J

ASON Richards looked perplexed when I saw him after Saturday’s Top 10 Shoot-Out at Hidden Valley.

He was in hero-to-zero mode, having fallen from fastest in the qualifying session to 10th and last in the single-car run. What was wrong, I asked?

“Dunno,” he said, eyes glued to a computer screen. “No changes to the car, but no grip. Tyres?”

In the Saturday race, he zoomed through the top 10 to a more representative race result of fourth.

“I wish I could tell you that I am a genius,” beamed his race engineer, Wally Storey. “Truth is, I have no idea what is going on.”

Tyres? Maybe. But that in itself is a complex issue. Tyres are affected by heat, so consider for a moment that some V8 Supercar teams store their tyre banks in Melbourne, and some in SE Queensland. Which place is hotter?

Between late-March and November, almost certainly, SEQ. But for the other three months, probably, Melbourne.

24

So, does that means that a team’s tyre allocation is going to be more changed by temperatures for the Queensland teams, and potentially make their tyre bank rubber less like ‘green’ tyres than it would for the Victorian teams? And if so, will that be more critical in races during the winter, or will it be felt in places like Darwin and Townsville?

Then, consider this. These tyres are made in Japan. So, if they are manufactured in February, it’s cold, and then they are shipped south for a few weeks, to Melbourne, where it is hot.

If the tyres are made in May or June, the effect is the opposite. So the tyres are going to be, for a relatively long period, inside a metal container, the temperature of which is going up or down, depending on the season. Also don’t forget, the first tyres used this season by V8 Supercars were shipped not to Melbourne but to Abu Dhabi.

In the early days of V8 Supercars, when teams made huge gains just by building a new car or a new engine, such things were probably

Opinion

Phil Branagan – Executive Editor

not considered important. But, as Alex Davison pointed out after his brilliant run on Sunday, tiny changes are being made to cars now, and the difference between him looking like a baboon on Saturday and starting from pole on Sunday were that a few of those tiny changes worked at the same time, and the result was a huge leap up the timesheets.

Race rubber remains the single most critical element in determining who wins and who doesn’t. Indeed, the use of Sprint tyres is starting to look crucial for the future of the category.

The time when V8 Supercars might need to consider a single, controlled storage facility for all tyres, used or otherwise, might not be that far away.

There’s a lot of changes coming in V8 Supercars in the next two years, and this might just have to be one of them. motorsport news

comment

HARD WORK PAYS OFF

E

VERYONE says that when you race at the front for the first time, you’ll notice how much cleaner the racing is, and how much smarter the driving is.

That is true – there are championships on the line up the front, so drivers are using their heads a bit more. But it’s quite intense, too.

In that first race at Hidden Valley, I was behind James Courtney, and I had Craig Lowndes right behind me. They just don’t make any mistakes, so it’s intense the whole time. You have to ignore the names on the windows and treat them as just cars, otherwise it could be very intimidating to have guys like Lowndes right behind you.

There’s no one thing that changed over the weekend in Darwin. It’s a whole group of things that have come together, and it’s been a long time coming, not an overnight thing. For starters, I’m building confidence within myself, and the team environment is helping that. It’s the perfect environment for me to be in, and I couldn’t be happier with this team I knew the start of the year would be a bit difficult. I had a new car to learn, and

Personal

Tim Slade – V8 Supercar driver

trying to get your head around a new car on street circuits is very, very difficult. The Middle East was good, but I knew that when we got back to Australia it would slow down a bit.

Then we went to Queensland Raceway and Winton, which are the tracks I’ve done the most laps around, and Queensland was almost a great round for us. I would have been 11th or 12th there if it wasn’t for an engine drama. But I was confident about the speed.

And then Winton was a great result. I was the best of the Stone Brothers Racing cars in qualifying on Saturday, and then the race on Sunday, so we were chipping away.

The most important thing has been the relationship between my engineer, Wes McDougall, and I. We are really

understanding each other know, and we are learning about the car and learning what I need out of the car. We’ve developed a great relationship since the start of the year, and it showed last weekend, because the car was in the window right from the first practice session. We only made small adjustments from there on in.

Sunday could have been a little better, but I got mucked up in qualifying by a slower car. I wasn’t too worried, because the other SBR cars were fast, and our qualifying position wasn’t a true representation of where we were.

I was a bit slow in the first stint, but then we had good pace, and I raced just like I did at Winton – by looking after the soft tyre at the start. I did my best lap on the softs on my first flyer, and then did it again five or six laps later.

Now we have to keep it going. I’d love to go into the mid-season break with a great result from Townsville. For now, I’m really happy for Wilson Security and all the guys at Stone Brothers, and I’m even happier for James Rosenberg – it’s nice to repay him for the faith that he’s shown in me.

Rob Lang

www.mnews.com.au

25

V8 SUPERCARS RACES 13-14, DARWIN

A WIN-WHIN SITUAT

The last couple of rounds haven’t been kind to Jamie Whincup or Mark Winterbottom.

But in Darwin, Frosty proved he is still a winner, and J-Dub proved he is still the man to beat for the 2010 title. PHIL BRANAGAN reports

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motorsport news

race

TION

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

27

T

HINGS could have gone better for Mark Winterbottom on Saturday.

He could have won Tattslotto, or picked the result of the Socceroos v Ghana World Cup game. But no; when the sun set over the Northern Territory, all he had was a pole position, an allthe-way win and 150 points towards, perhaps, a winter and spring run on the 2010 title.

The narrow winning margin over Jamie Whincup, less than 1s, does not reflect the domination of Winterbottom and Ford Performance Racing. It was total.

“The nerves were there a little bit, which was a nice thing,” he said after the race.

“It’s an awesome day.”

The win, Frosty’s first since his epic weekend on the Gold Coast last October, came after a number of changes to the Orrcon Steel Falcon. Winterbottom says that the car, new this season, has about “70 percent” of the parts that his engineer 28

Campbell Little wants to see on the car.

“We had a test day with some ‘Little’ parts, and when we need a change, Campbell tweaks it and off we go. This is the first long run we have have with this set-up. It was wheelspinning in third [gear] out of the hairpin, but you never complain about a winning car.”

Whincup had no problems other than a dash glitch in his new Triple Eight-built Commodore, and his comments on tyre performance, pretty much, matched those of Winterbottom.

“All in all, our race was very strong,” he said.

“We were racing for the win, we were pushing hard for the win but tomorrow is another day.”

Third was Shane van Gisbergen but, with all respect due to the man on the podium for the fifth time this year, he was not the star of the Stone’s Show. That man was three spots back, Tim Slade motoring

like a demon through all the Practice sessions, Qualifying and the Shoot-Out. Impressive as that was, he topped it in the race, racing with the likes of points leader James Courtney, while Craig Lowndes was clamped to the rear wing of the Wilson Security Falcon. Slade did not blink and this day may well be remembered as his coming-out party, a year after that process started, somewhat controversially, with a barbecue at this very track ...

Jason Richards, who qualified fastest before dropping to 10th in the Shoot-Out, rode a brilliant strategy to fourth ahead of Courtney, Slade and Lowndes, while Paul Dumbrell and Todd Kelly rounded out the top 10.

The Holden Racing Team had an only less-shocking shocker than Winton, Garth Tander dropping five spots with an off, long after Will Davison’s nightmare year continued with gear selection problems in the new VE. motorsport news

race

Race 13

Dirk Klynsmith John Morris/Mpix

Dirk Klynsmith

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Ford’s Rising Stars: Tim Slade found himself battling with the likes of Craig Lowndes in Race 13, above, while Shane van Gisbergen went on a magnificent charge to finish third, left.

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O

N Sunday, everyone did what they were supposed to do.

Well, almost. It started with Alex Davison taking pole position [see breakout] and ended with Jamie Whincup holding off Mark Winterbottom for the win. But it was how it unfolded that told the story of the race.

Along with a bunch of other frontrunners, Whincup (and Davison) started on Sprint tyres, and made their gains early. Others, like Winterbottom, save their fast tyres for late in the race. It was a risky strategy for both ‘sides’; if a Safety Car intervened, it could have been a decisive development.

None did; and the race played out.

But really, it was a bit of a procession. With 15 of the 69 laps remaining, Whincup was 20s ahead of fourth-placed Winterbottom, and almost 28s ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, who was the other ‘fast’ guy on 30

Sprints (in ninth). Five laps later, with 10 to go, the gaps were 13s (with Frosty now second) and 21s.

And that was the ballgame.

The Sprints did what they were supposed to do, providing speed over the Dunlop Control tyres for a few laps before they evened out, then fell away.

Winterbottom never got closer than 4s; he ran not out of laps, but out of tyre speed.

“It was massively rewarding,” said Whincup after an exhausting race.

“The feeling I got, knowing we went out there and battled for 69 laps all on different strategies, it just came down to which team did the best job and could be on the limit the longest.

“As far as the race goes I had a massive battle with Todd [Kelly] at the start. That was good and we gave each other racing room and I enjoyed that. Alex Davison bolted but late in the stint my tyres were running a little bit better than everyone else. We

have just burnt the midnight oil trying to find ways to improve the car on the soft tyre. It’s very encouraging. We also had our backs up against the wall with tyres in general this weekend.”

Winterbottom concurred.

“You don’t know if I was going to catch Jamie or not until they came on the radio but I was trying to add it up in my head 18 laps I’m a second a lap quicker but I’m not the smartest and I couldn’t work that out (laughs) … I thought I would come close. I saw a few of the mechanics over the wall fist pumping and I thought this is going to be close. We probably went out two laps too long and we came up two laps too short and that’s the way it goes.”

Van Gisbergen lamented his starting position.

“In qualifying, I just can’t seem to make the tyres work. I started from 10th and there was a few guys behind me on soft tyres coming through. The whole team has been awesome this

weekend. All three cars have been, although not consistently, inside the top 10. We just need to get that consistency from track to track. We are happy with two podiums it’s a great way to bounce back.”

So, there was something of a symmetry on the podium, Whincup/Winterbottom/van Gisbergen. James Courtney was fourth, a great result on a weekend when the Beam Ford was not at its sharpest and one that minimises the points loss to Whincup. Craig Lowndes put a dramatic pitstop drama that cost him about 5s behind him with fifth ahead of Tim Slade, who sixth showed sneaky speed and came about as a result of a ‘reverse’ strategy that saw him run the final 20 laps on his Sprints. This weekend, with the exception of Winterbottom’s ‘one-off’ missile (it alone has the first batch of Campbell Little’s latest tweaks at this stage), the Stone Brothers Racing FGs looked to motorsport news

race

Race 14

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

Get a room: Whinners gave ‘Georgia’, his new VE Commodore, a little cuddle after race 14, above. Shane van Gisbergen was on the podium again on Sunday, left, while his team-mate Alex Davison led the very early stages of the race, below.

Dirk Klynsmith

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Dirk Klynsmith

be the best of the Broadmeadows products.

Jason Richards bound his way forward to seventh at the flag from Todd Kelly, whose car appeared to be stubbornly fast and, at least, a match for the HRT cars, this weekend at least. Sibling Rick was not that far behind, while Steven Richard salvaged something from a tough season with 10th. That is the kind of result that usually looks good only in heroic media releases; for this team, and for a driver who had truly dazzled at the Valley in past years, it is still a C, maybe a C-plus result, when Bs are the minimum required for anyone with ambitions to be real Contender.

The results look like setting up a fascinating second half of the season, one interrupted by a planned break which, hopefully, will be less of a dead zone for the sport than that just-completed unplanned one was. Courtney still leads on points, Whincup is still fast and in this form, Winterbottom is threatening.

Roll on FNQ.

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Dirk Klynsmith

WINNERS FORD PERFORMANCE RACING: We know that Frosty is fast.

FPR delivered him a fast car, without shooting off any more toes.

JAMIE WHINCUP: On Saturday, he made a point of his speed on Control tyres, and Courtney’s on Sprints. The war between the two is on the track, off it and in the press conferences.

JAMES COURTNEY: Not podium results, but enough points to hold JDub at bay, for now. Townsville beckons.

ALEX DAVISON: Fast. He’s does not seem sure why, but we are ready to see more.

TIM SLADE: This is getting to be a regular appearance.

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Two races, two podiums.

LOSERS HOLDEN RACING TEAM:A disaster? Not quite. Some good signs, but there is a long way to go.

FUJITSU RACING: Not where we expected Caruso and Holdsworth to be, considering what we saw a year ago.

PAUL MORRIS MOTORSPORT: Ditto, but add, ‘Yikes’.

JASON BRIGHT: In a WR Commodore, from this driver, with Phil Keed on the other end of the phone, we expect much, much more.

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NICE GUYS DON’T HAVE TO FINISH LAST FOR once, we do not have to refer to Alex Davison as a nice guy.

Not that he isn’t. He is. Real nice. It’s just a relief to see that on this day, at this track, he shone, and drove the wheels off a fast Irwin Ford. Why? We wish we could say, and so does he.

“It was more of a surprise than a confidence boost,” said Davison, who maiden pole position was two dazzling dozen spots better than his Saturday effort.

“The car was just a bit … nicer. It didn’t feel that good, and I did not think that I would stay on pole. But I did.

“I can’t explain why I made this jump.

You don’t make big jumps any more – you make little changes and if they all work, you make gains. You get them right and

you make a lot of places.

“I didn’t wake up a different driver today, and I hope that we have turned a corner as a team.”

Of course, the fairytale ended, as they do, but it came in the race. After looking absolutely comfortable at the pointy end – “I got a bad start, but Jamie’s must have been a disaster” – it all stopped when an ECU problem struck.

“It stopped once, and then went again,” Alex explained, “long enough to mean I didn’t have to walk back to pitlane. No mechanical problems all year and we were on top of things today, and it broke down.

Nice guy, Alex Davison. We are just glad that this week, that is not the headline.

– PHIL BRANAGAN motorsport news

race

TONY AND CARL: TWO PEAS IN A POD THE media does not often report on the V8 Supercar performances of Tony Ricciardello. Less frequent still are reports paralleling his speed with that of Carl Edwards.

The multiple Sports Sedan champion has been a regular fixture this season towards the anchor end of the qualifying sheets, and in Darwin, his Kelly Racing Commodore was one spot from the bottom

on Saturday. But that is not necessarily reflection on the West Aussie’s speed.

Here’s the point. On Saturday, Ricciardello was 1.044s from polesitter Mark Winterbottom – and while Frosty was driving a 2010spec (and updated, at that), factory-backed Ford, Ricciardello was in an, er, ‘experienced’ Kelly Racing VE. For the record, Rick Kelly was only seven spots (and 0.49s)

FROM THE COUCH with MITCHELL ADAM WE’RE a pretty detached bunch, us media types, so I don’t exactly lose sleep based on V8 Supercar results.

Whether it’s Whincup or Winterbottom, Tander or a panda on top of the podium, it’s all pretty much the same for us; we just write about what happened without any real, emotional attachment.

But there has been one thing I’ve been pleased to see this year. It’s the emergence of the next crop of drivers in the series.

Jonathon Webb is putting together an www.mnews.com.au

ahead of him.

On the other side of the Pacific, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup was making one of its two annual stops at a road course, at Infineon Raceway (Sears Points to old folks like me).

Armed with the best Ford Fusion that Roush Fenway could supply him, Edwards qualified 19th, 1.051s behind polesitter Kasey Kahne, and further from pole than was the Stratco Commodore.

impressive rookie season, and we’ve had breakout performances from guys like Tony D’Alberto, Dean Fiore and, in the last couple of rounds, Tim Slade.

Regardless of your junior class credentials, coming into the Main Game is a tough transition and it takes time to come up to speed. The field is so close, that you can slog away for a whole weekend, get a bunch of ‘good drive, mate’ pats on the back from your team, yet end up in the relative obscurity of 18th.

In the last month, though, Slade has

There are no questions regarding Edwards’s status in NASCAR of which we are aware; heck, he won the Nationwide race on the weekend. While some might choose to criticise Ricciardello, he is actually doing a pretty good job in a championship that, on the evidence of this last weekend anyway, looks more competitive than the Sprint Cup. – PHIL BRANAGAN

been attracting plenty of attention. He was the best of the SBR qualifiers on Saturday at Winton and then raced well to seventh on Sunday.

He stepped it up another level at Hidden Valley. Not content with just making his first shootout, Slade bunged it third on the grid for Saturday and held his own against Courtney and Lowndes to finish sixth, backing it up with another sixth on Sunday.

These sorts of weekends are paying off nicely on the points table for the youngsters, too. Webb is 13th, D’Alberto 15th and Slade 16th. Behind them? Just some dudes called Jason Bright, Will Davison, Todd Kelly and Steven Richards.

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Dirk Klynsmith

Results :: Race 13 – Hidden Valley, Darwin

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Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

Qual

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

5 1 9 8 18 47 888 55 7 2 39 14 3 15 4 51 34 17 11 12 10 33 24 19 16 30 21 6 22

Mark Winterbottom Jamie Whincup Shane Van Gisbergen Jason Richards James Courtney Tim Slade Craig Lowndes Paul Dumbrell Todd Kelly Garth Tander Russell Ingall Jason Bright Tony D’Alberto Rick Kelly Alex Davison Greg Murphy Michael Caruso Steven Johnson Jason Bargwanna Dean Fiore Andrew Thompson Lee Holdsworth Fabian Coulthard Jonathon Webb Tony Ricciardello Daniel Gaunt Karl Reindler Steven Richards Will Davison

FPR/Orrcon Steel Falcon FG TeamVodafone Commodore VE SBR/SP Tools Falcon FG BJR/Team BOC Commodore VE DJR/Jim Beam Falcon FG SBR/Wilson Security Falcon FG TeamVodafone Commodore VE FPR/The Bottle-O Falcon FG Kelly/Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE PMM/Supercheap Auto Commodore VE BJR/Trading Post Commodore VE Centaur Racing Commodore VE Kelly/Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE SBR/Irwin Racing Falcon FG PMM/Castrol Edge Commodore VE GRM/Fujitsu Racing Commodore VE DJR/Jim Beam Falcon FG Kelly/Rock Racing Commodore VE Triple F Racing Falcon FG Bundaberg Red Commodore VE GRM/Fujitsu Racing Commodore VE Bundaberg Red Commodore VE Dick Johnson Racing Falcon FG Kelly/Stratco Racing Commodore VE LDR/Gulf Western Oil Commodore VE BJR/Fair Dinkum Sheds Commodore VE FPR/Dunlop Super Dealer Falcon FG Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE

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

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Dirk Klynsmith

Top 10 Points: Courtney 1698, Whincup 1641, Lowndes 1452, van Gisbergen 1412,

Winterbottom 1344, Tander 1242, R Kelly 1226, Holdsworth 1218, Caruso 1139, Johnson 1040.

Results :: Race 14 – Hidden Valley, Darwin

Dirk Klynsmith

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Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

Qual

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

1 5 9 18 888 47 8 7 15 6 22 33 19 24 34 17 3 51 2 14 11 12 55 10 39 21 16 30 4

Jamie Whincup Mark Winterbottom Shane Van Gisbergen James Courtney Craig Lowndes Tim Slade Jason Richards Todd Kelly Rick Kelly Steven Richards Will Davison Lee Holdsworth Jonathon Webb Fabian Coulthard Michael Caruso Steven Johnson Tony D’Alberto Greg Murphy Garth Tander Jason Bright Jason Bargwanna Dean Fiore Paul Dumbrell Andrew Thompson Russell Ingall Karl Reindler Tony Ricciardello Daniel Gaunt Alex Davison

Vodafone Commodore VE FPR/Orrcon Steel Falcon FG SBR/SP Tools Falcon FG DJR/Jim Beam Falcon FG Vodafone Commodore VE SBR/Wilson Security Falcon FG BJR/BOC Commodore VE Kelly/Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE Kelly/Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE FPR Dunlop Super Dealer Falcon FG Toll Holden Racing Commodore VE GRM/Fujitsu Commodore VE Dick Johnson Racing Falcon FG Bundaberg Red Commodore VE GRM/Fujitsu Commodore VE DJR/Jim Beam Falcon FG Centaur Racing Commodore VE PMM/Castrol Edge Commodore VE Toll Holden Racing Commodore VE BJR/Trading Post Commodore VE Kelly/Rock Racing Commodore VE Triple F Racing Falcon FG FPR/The Bottle-O Falcon FG Bundaberg Red Commodore VE PMM/Supercheap Auto Commodore VE BJR/Fair Dinkum Sheds Commodore VE Kelly/Stratco Racing Commodore VE LDR/Gulf Western Oil Commodore VE SBR/Irwin Racing Falcon FG

2 3 10 5 7 14 21 4 6 22 11 8 15 17 25 9 16 20 12 13 24 19 18 26 23 27 29 29 1 35

FORMULA FORD ROUND 4, HIDDEN VALLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

Mostert on top in Top End OF the contenders lining up to stake a claim to this year’s Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship, Spectrumdriving Chaz Mostert now sits firmly above the rest.

The 17-year-old Victorian driver took two wins from three starts in a dramatic weekend of racing at Hidden Valley, a weekend that featured four-wide racing and a dramatic crash in the final race that saw Synergy driver Nathan Morcom hospitalised his Spectrum chassis was tipped upside-down at Turn 5.

Mostert qualified fourth in Darwin after leaving a run on new rubber to the very last minute of the sole qualifying session – but it was his startling run to the lead in Race 1 that set tongues 36

wagging in the Formula Ford paddock.

In a typical Formula Ford slipstreaming battle, Mostert moved to third early in the 12-lap affair, but a four-wide battle for the lead at the start of fourth lap was perhaps the highlight of the entire round.

Leader Ryan Simpson came under fire from Mostert, Geoff Uhrhane and Nick Foster, with Uhrhane going from third to first in the space of one corner, Mostert and Foster scrambling to hold their ground.

One lap later, Mostert powered past the Sonic driver to take the lead and win the dramatic race after pulling away from the pack in the last few laps.

Mostert went on to win Race 2 and even survived a moment in the third – where

he eventually finished fifth after slipping wide on oil – to win the round.

“It’s great to break the (Team) Sonic stranglehold here at Darwin,” an ecstatic Mostert said.

“Our main aim is points this season, but if we have the opportunity and the speed to take a win then we’re going to take it – and this weekend we had the speed.

“It was slightly disappointing to make an error in the oil in the final race, but that’s racing.”

Simpson beat his teammate Uhrhane to second overall by one point with his victory in Race 3 delivering on the promise shown when he scored pole position on Saturday. Consistency netted Foster fourth, whilst Ash Walsh raced his way into second in

the final race, and fifth overall.

Close racing aside, the most dramatic moment came in the final race as Morcom was sent skywards after the Synergy driver and Ben Jurczak’s Borland Racing Spectrum collided on the second lap.

After landing upside-down, Morcom was extracted from the car and taken to hospital for precautionary checks but was released on Sunday night.

Mostert now takes an extended 14-point lead as the championship reaches its halfway point, Foster settling into second with a bigger gap back to the closely-grouped Uhrhane in third, Walsh and Simpson.

Points: Mostert 149, Foster 135, Uhrhane 119, Walsh 118, Simpson 111 – RICHARD CRAILL motorsport news

race

Dirk Klynsmith John Morris / Mpix

Ryan Simpson, above, picked up the Race 3 win and second for the weekend, while CAMS Rising Star Liam Sager had a tough weekend, including this Turn 1 incident, below. But it was nothing on Nathan Morcom’s accident, below.

www.mnews.com.au

37

V8 UTES ROUND 3, HIDDEN VALLEY

Johnson grabs double, extends Utes lead in Darwin

IT seems like Grant Johnson thrives on challenges.

Battling a lack of sponsorship and as such a round-by-round proposition in this year’s Yokohama V8 Ute series, the lanky West Aussie driver also seems to enjoy having to work hard for his wins as well.

Whatever the struggle, Johnson was in his usual, nearunstoppable best at Hidden Valley, as he won two of the three races, took pole position, took the round overall and set a new lap record – as if just for kicks.

38

Oh – he also extended his already formidable lead in the Ute series as it moves to its halfway point on Townsville’s street circuit in two weeks time.

Johnson took the lead at the start of Race 1 and led a breakaway battle with Ford pilot Jack Elsegood, as the pair drove away from the field at lap-record pace. They finished in that order, with Chris Pither fighting to third place ahead of Kim Jane and Andrew Fisher.

In his 100th Ute race, Scott Jennings gained four places to finish inside the top 10.

Things became more difficult from there. The Race 2 grid lottery determined that the top 18 positions would be reversed for Race 2 – held over a gruelling 14 laps on Sunday morning. In an affair that featured all of the regular crash, bash and carnage of the V8 Ute series, Johnson battled his way from 18th to fifth during the race, whilst a thrilling battle for the lead was staged further up the order.

Gary MacDonald had held a convincing early lead, but true to his nickname – ‘The Assassin’ – Kim Jane hunted

down and targeted the leader before executing a bold pass at Turn 1 on the final lap to take the lead and the race win.

Starting on pole for the finale, Johnson skipped away out in front and won convincingly, Elsegood hanging onto second from a late-charging Jane, who ended the weekend superbly and with plenty of pace in his Holden.

Race 3 was marred by a spectacular rollover from Queenslander Peter Burnitt, when his Falcon was tipped on its head after Turn 1, Lap 1 motorsport news

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Jack Elsegood, above, was second to the dominant Johnson.

Peter Burnitt’s weekend ended with this rollover in Race 3, below.

John Morris / Mpix

Dirk Klynsmith John Morris / Mpix

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John Morris / Mpix

contact with fellow Ford driver Jason Gommersall.

Fighting for position, Burnitt tipped Gommersal into a spin at Turn 1 before riding over the rear wheel of the Falcon – now facing the wrong direction – and into the pack. The contact sent Burnitt rolling through 360 degrees but he managed to drive his car further away from the circuit before officially retiring, unhurt.

Points: Johnson 331, Elsegood 314, Fisher 310, MacDonald 273, Sieders 270 – RICHARD CRAILL

39

TOURING CAR MASTERS ROUND 3, HIDDEN VALLEY Dirk Klynsmith

Jungle Jim

HIDDEN Valley Raceway has rewarded Jim Richards with his first clean-sweep of a Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn series round, the Falcon Sprint driver dominating a combative weekend in the Darwin heat.

With his lighter, more nimble and tyre-friendly Ford showing up some of the more powerful and heavier metal around him, Richards qualified second before beating pole-sitter John Bowe away from the line to gain a lead that he would never lose.

Starting the second race from eighth – thanks to an inversion of the Race 1 top eight finishers – Richards charged through the field enroute to an amazing win in an action packed race.

He was fifth by the end of Lap 1, fourth by the third lap and was inside the top three the next time around before settling into a race-long dice with leader Tony Edwards and Gavin Bullas’ rapid Mustang.

When Edwards ran wide at Turn 1 – whilst attempting to re-take the lead - not far from home, Richards moved to second before launching a successful last-lap attack on Bullas to take the lead and perhaps the most spectacular win of his TCM career.

Race 3 was a comparatively easy affair, Richards holding off an early challenge from Brad Tilley before pulling away to lock away his first clean sweep of a Touring Car Masters round in nearly two-and-a-half years 40

of racing.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend,” the clearly pleased round winner and new series leader said.

“Some would think that our car would struggle here and be unbeatable at Winton, because it has less power and less torque but the opposite has been true. Our car has always been great here and it was again this weekend. It was very competitive and a great fight all weekend.”

Pole sitter Bowe’s weekend went backwards after his strong qualifying result, scoring race results of second and third before a substantial mechanical failure deposited a majority of the oil from his Ford Mustang over Hidden Valley’s turns in Race 3.

Bullas’ second overall marked his best round of the year to date, in a weekend highlighted by a massive dice for second place in Race 3 with fellow Ford pilot Brad Tilley.

With the track covered in oil, Bullas and Tilley slid around fighting for second place on the last lap of the weekend with the Mustang driver getting in front half way through the final lap.

Tony Edwards finished fourth overall ahead of Andrew Miedecke and Leanne Tander’s Falcon. Cameron Tilley won Group Two in his Valliant Pacer whilst Tony Karanfilovski won Group Three in his Alfa Romeo.

Points: Richards 426, Bullas 422, Bowe 417, Tilley 323, Tander – RICHARD CRAILL motorsport news

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Gavin Bullas, above, was second to Jim Richards for the weekend, while John Bowe suffered an engine failure in the final, below.

Bob Middleton finally got to debut his 1970 Camaro, bottom.

James Smith James Smith

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41

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 8 – IOWA, IA

IZOD Indycar Media

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motorsport news

race

Kanaan cracks Iowa Corn T

It had been a fair while since his last victory, but with some help from his team-mates Tony Kannan cracked it in the Iowa cornfield belt.

ony Kanaan scored his first win in almost exactly two years with an impressive drive in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway.

Kanaan had to firstly overcome a poor qualifying, the Andretti Autosport driver starting a lowly 15th, and then towards the end of the race had to dispense with

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dia Honda Racing Me

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leader Helio Castroneves.

Castroneves had looked in control, but with 10 laps to go Kanaan made his way round the Penske driver to deliver the Andretti team its first win since Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Long Beach win in April.

“I have thank my team-mates,” Kanaan smiled afterwards. “Marco (Andretti) and

Tony Kan-aan: A long time since his last victory, but in Iowa Tony Kanaan showed he hadn’t forgotten how to get it done.

43

Ryan (Hunter-Reay) came over after qualifying. I was very disappointed. I made a mistake during qualifying and I was pretty down.

“They talked to me for 45 minutes and cheered me up. Marco gave me a little bit of his setup and Ryan actually helped me with the setup, putting it together for today. It was a great job as a team and it feels good.”

For a while it didn’t look set to be a good result for the Andretti team, with Hunter-Reay’s car clipping Kanaan’s left front in the pit lane during their stops. Both Andretti drivers escaped damage, although Kanaan was delayed as a result.

While luck was on the Brazilian’s side, others were less fortunate.

Dario Franchitti led many laps and was looking set for a result when the Ganassi driver’s gearbox failed not far from the end.

Will Power had taken pole and led the early on but the Australian soon fell back with handling problems on

the short 0.875-mile tri-oval. Marco Andretti replaced him as leader, but he too would drop down the order with similar issues.

Formula 1 refugee Takuma Sato had his best Indy outing so far, running in or close to the top six for most of the race.

Near the end he passed Hunter-Reay and then Scott Dixon to move to third, but his challenge ended when he slid into the wall while lapping Alex Lloyd.

In Sato’s absence, third place went to KV Racing’s EJ Viso, Venezuelan overjoyed to score first career podium result.

On a less than fruitful day for Team Penske, Ryan Bricoe had a quiet run into fourth place, ahead of team-mate Power, while Scott Dixon’s sixth place came after an eventful day. Early on he found himself battle hard for the lead with team-mate Franchitti, and later was lucky to survive a pitlane traffic jam that saw him clash with Kanaan and Castroneves, the latter briefly becoming airborne.

Power on: Will Power led them from pole but the Penske driver struggled with poor handling, below. There was some fraught action in the pits at Iowa, right.

Marco Andretti (26) battled hard at the front with Helio Castroneves in the early running, centre. Andretti Autosport drivers worked together at Iowa, below centre. Andretti team’s Ryan Hunter-Reay, below right, while EJ Viso, far centre, was overjoyed with his career-best third.

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motorsport news

race

Results :: IOWA CORN 250, IOWA, IA Pos.

Honda Racing Media Honda Racing Media

Driver

Tony Kanaan Helio Castroneves EJ Viso Ryan Briscoe Will Power Scott Dixon Vitor Meira Ryan Hunter-Reay Graham Rahal Danica Patrick

Team

Andretti Penske KV Racing Penske Penske Ganassi Foyt Andretti Dreyer & Reinbold Andretti

Qual.

15 4 19 8 1 2 13 12 17 9

Top 10 Points: Power 274, Dixon 263, Franchitti 260, Castroneves 251,

Briscoe 240, Kanaan 229, Hunter-Reay 225, Wilson 191, Andretti 184, Wheldon 183.

Honda Racing Media

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

45

NASCAR Round 16 - INFINeoN, CA

Pass the

Kleenex

Marcos Ambrose snatched defeat from the jaws of certain victory in a heartbreaking race in California. Predictably, Jimmie Johnson was the man to benefit from the Aussie’s misfortune

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motorsport news

race

I

NASCAR Media

T was so close. SOOOOO close when Marcos Ambrose put himself in position to take his first win as a Sprint Cup driver and become only the fourth foreign-born driver to taste victory in NASCAR’s premier category*.

Sure, he had slipped up in qualifying, jamming his foot between the brake pedal and accelerator on his Q lap and lining up sixth. But the almost effortless speed he showed in practice marked Ambrose as the man to beat, and Infineon as the place he would open his winning account.

And then, he was asked to save fuel under what would be the final yellow flag of the race.

The Kleenex Toyota slowed,

then stopped, and by the time he got going again, six cars, led by Jimmie Johnson, had gone by. Under NASCAR rules, he was forced to take the final restart from seventh. At the end of the race, Ambrose was a heartbreaking sixth.

“We went so close today, we almost crossed that bridge,” he said.

“Under the last caution, the team told me to save fuel, but unfortunately the car stalled and wouldn’t crank over.

“We showed everyone out there today that we could win, we had the measure of Jimmie Johnson, it’s just a terrible way to finish.

“It is what it is, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we’ll go away

and come back stronger next time.”

Johnson looked slightly shocked to be in Victory Lane.

“Normally, guys shut the car off downhill, coasting to save fuel,” said the Champion after his first win on a road course.

“I just didn’t think at first that he had shut the car off up the hill; that is the last place that you would probably do it.

“It’s the last type of mistake I would expect to see. To see the mistake happen as it did, it was totally off the wall. I don’t think that I have ever seen that eliminate a guy from winning a race.”

His crew chief, Chad Knaus, not a man to pour praise on others for the sake of it, put it

Heartbreak: Marcos Ambrose appeared to have it won at Infineon Raceway with only a handful of laps to run, left. Instead it was Jimmy Johnson who stole the victory, inset.

TOYOTA Media

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TOYOTA Media

This ain’t Europe, boy: DTM star Mattias Ekstrom made his NASCAR debut at Sonoma subbing for Brian Vickers. The Finn kept out of trouble to finish 21 st , top left, unlike some of the NASCAR regulars, left.

NASCAR Media

like this: “I hate it for those guys. They clearly had the best racecar today on the short run. I think once the laps wound down, I think that we were gaining on those guys, slowly. They did a good job, they really did.”

With that heartbreak, the rest of the results seem less important than they might be otherwise, but Robby Gordon was second, ahead of Kevin Harvick and polesitter Kasey Kahne, again shining on a track probably more foreign to a driver raised in Sprintcars than an oval might be. Jeff Gordon was fifth ahead of Ambrose, who had Greg Biffle, road course ringer Boris Said and Tony Stewart (Said and

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Smoke swapped some harsh words after the race) and former winner Juan Pablo Montoya behind him.

Jan Magnussen was best of the Sprint Cup debutants in 12th, while Mattias Ekstrom ran as high as fifth during the race before bringing home the Red Bull Toyota 21st. *The only drivers born outside of the United States to win a NASCAR Cup race of any title (Grand National, Winston, Nextel, Sprint) in NASCAR history are; Mario Andretti (born Italy, naturalised American citizen) in the Daytona 500 in 1967; Earl Ross (Canada) at Martinsville in 1974; and Montoya (Colombia) at Infineon in 2007.

motorsport news

race

Results :: TOYOTA/ SAVE MART 350, INFINEON, CA Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. 48 7 29 9 24 47 16 26 14 42

Driver Jimmie Johnson Robby Gordon Kevin Harvick Kasey Kahne Jeff Gordon Marcos Ambrose Greg Biffle Boris Said Tony Stewart Juan Pablo Montoya

Make Chevy Toyota Chevy Dodge Chevy Toyota Ford Ford Chevy Chevy

Team Hendrick Gordon Childress Petty Hendrick JTG Daugherty Roush Fenway Latitude 43 Stewart Haas Earnhardt Ganassi

Sponsor Qual.

Lowe’s 2 Monster Energy 16 Shell Pennzoil 4 Budweiser 1 DuPont 5 Kleenex 6 3M 9 Air National Guard 17 Old Spice 7 AMP Energy 14

Top 10 Points: Harvick 2334, Johnson 2194, Kyle Busch 2193, Hamlin 2183, Gordon 2142, Kurt Busch 2118, Kenseth 2092, Burton 2027, Biffle 2011, Stewart 1983.

NASCAR Media

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Kelly shines in NASCAR debut NASCAR NATIONWIDE OWEN Kelly has finished a strong fifth on debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

The Tasmanian, in his first hitout with Baker Curb Racing, was on the pace all weekend at Road America, the first of three roadcourses on the Nationwide schedule. He was in the Top 10 in each practice session and qualified ninth for

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the 50-lap race.

Having suffered a puncture with 20 laps remaining, Kelly dropped to 18th position, but charged back through the order to finish fifth.

“With 20 laps to go I cut a right front tyre and had to drive on the rim for almost an entire lap,” Kelly said.

“Driving back to the pits broke the front sway bar and the car handled like a

speedboat from then on. We put new tyres on it and made sure we pulled the guard out.

“I managed to come through the field and pick up a heap of spots. The car was a bit of a handful but I just had to get on with it. I’m really happy with that.

“We had a good car before the sway bar fell off and were right on the pace all weekend.

It made it difficult at the end

but all things considered it’s a great result and I couldn’t be happier.”

Carl Edwards won the race from pole, ahead of Ron Fellows, Brendan Gaughan and Brad Keselowski. Jacques Villeneuve qualified second, and was fighting Edwards for the win, before retiring with a broken alternator with a handful of laps remaining. He was classified 25th.

motorsport news

race

Hot Pye BRIT FORMULA FORD SCOTT Pye has bounced back from a horrid weekend at Zandvoort last time out to get his British Formula Ford Championship back on track.

The South Aussie dominated Rounds 9 and 10 of the season at Castle Combe.

Pye scored a pair of pole positions in his Jamun Racing Mygale, and scored his fifth win of the season in Race 9, despite a slow start and being among a handful of drivers to slip off the circuit on oil mid-race.

“Both [Daniel] Cammish and [Josh] Hill made the same mistake,” Pye said.

“There was oil down at Quarry and they went in too quick and locked up. I hung back and drove past.”

From pole in Race 10, Pye nailed the start and led home team-mate Hill to complete the double.

“It’s been the perfect weekend for me,” he surmised.

“Two poles yesterday and two race wins today, it’s great.

As for the championship, we’ll look at that towards the end of the season. What we are going to do for now is just to keep on winning races.”

Scott Malvern had a second and a third to maintain his points lead, with Pye 43 points in arrears in second.

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Magny happy returns in France FRENAULT 3.5 DANIEL Ricciardo has scored a pair of solid results in Round 5 of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series at MagnyCours to remain well in the title fight.

After struggling with traffic in qualifying, Ricciardo moved up to sixth in the opening race, which was won by points leader Mikhail Aleshin. Ricciardo,

though, took pole for Race 2, and led the rain-affected race early before being penalised for changing tyres after the pre-race cutoff. After serving his drivethrough, the West Australian fought back to take second, right on the gearbox of winner Nathanael Berthon.

“It was a special race, and not only because of the rain,” Ricciardo said.

“For the first few laps,

it wasn’t an advantage to arrive at the difficult sections first. Then I had that penalty, so I made my pitstop. After that, I saw P4 on my pit board. It was hard to believe. I profited from the mistakes of the other drivers.”

Aleshin was fourth in Race 2, and left the weekend with a nine-point advantage over Ricciardo in the standings with four rounds remaining.

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JORDI’S DEFECTIVE GENE WTCC

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COTTON’S ON! NSW STATE

DANIEL Cotton took outright honours in Round 3 of the NSW State Formula Ford Championship at Eastern Creek on the weekend, winning the first two races from the other Duratec-powered entry of Alan Price.

In the Kent engine class, Adam Leung and Richard Goddard shared the Race 1 and 2 victories before the third race was redflagged and declared a non-event due to a heavy shunt at Turn 1.

The Sports Sedans saw three different winners from three races, with Graham Smith taking out Race 1 before being upstaged by Chris Jackson in Race 2. In Race 3, Jackson collided heavily with Anthony Macready off the start line and Smith retired with a spectacular engine explosion, allowing Fred Axisa to take victory in his Commodore.

Greg King continued his HQ Holden

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JORDI Gene has been denied victory in the World Touring Car Championship’s round at Zolder, after a double-barreled rule infringement in Race 1.

Gene beat team-mate Gabriele Tarquini away from the start in the race, and lead the whole way, only to be first reprimanded for not being in order on the rolling start, and then disqualified when his SEAT didn’t pass post-race scrutneering.

As a result, Tarquini was given the win, while Andy Priaulx was too good in Race 2.

domination with another clean-sweep ahead of Jake Williams and Peter Green Snr, while Adam Proctor was similarly unstoppable in the Racing and Sports Car Series.

Ryan Brown won the first two Over 2 Litre Improved Production races before Dave Loftus came through to win Race 3, while David Crighton took out the first two races in the Under 2 Litre Improved Production class before struggling with gear selection problems in the final and dropping to fifth.

Geoff Fear capitalised to take the round win ahead of Graeme Cox and Leigh Burges, who collided controversially in Race 2.

Burges also filled in for his father Gerry in the Production Touring Cars and came away with the round win.

Other category winners were Warren McIlveen (Superkarts), Iain Pretty (Production Sports) and Daniel Reynolds (Formula Vee).

– LACHLAN MANSELL

ARTS AND CROFTS BTCC GORDON Sheddon and Andrew Jordan shared the wins at the latest round of the British Touring Car Championship at Croft on the weekend.

Having edged out Rob Collard by 0.03s in the first race, the Honda driver made it two from two in the second, leading home a team 1-2 from Matt Neal.

In the final reverse-grid race, Andrew Jordan broke through for his maiden BTCC win after making a quick break at the start of the race. Ford’s Tom Onslow-Cole was second, with BMW’s Steven Kane completing the podium.

motorsport news

race

LONG WAY TO THE TOP THREE drivers who came a very long way to race at the weekend have tasted vastly different fortunes at Hidden Valley, during a 45-car, fourrace combined Improved Production, Commodore Cup and HQ Holden event held with the V8 Supercars at the weekend.

West Aussie driver Matt Cherry took his Holden Monaro to two outright race wins, but event favourite Ray Hislop – all the way from Tasmania – was on fire early before withdrawing his Falcon

after unrepairable mechanical issues that became apparent on the first race of lap two.

Hislop won Race 1, but after his withdrawal Cherry – who had shown to be evenly matched with Hislop’s Falcon in qualifying – took out the weekend overall ahead of fellow sandgroper Kerry Wade and Adelaidian James Sutton.

Craig Kroonstuiver was the first of the local drivers, in fourth.

Former Saloon Car and V8 Ute regular Wade, driving an SS Commodore, won race two before Cherry took the advantage in the third and fourth races to give him the

James Smith

IMP. PRODUCTION

event overall.

SA driver Chris Brown was the best of the under twolitre brigade whilst Gary Pendlebury won his racewithin-a race battle over Gavin

MCNALLY MAKES A POINT(S) WA STATE JAKE McNally has won the latest round of the WA Formula Ford 1600 Series, taking 70 points from last Sunday’s 96FM Race Day at Barbagallo Raceway.

Having followed Ben-Lee D’Limi home in the first race, McNally was the beneficiary of a clash between the two in the second race, which saw D’Limi score zero points and McNally cruise to the win. He backed up the win with another in the third, winning the round from impressive Formula Ford newcomer Peter Major.

In the EA/VN Saloon Car class, Travis Sharpe was unstoppable, winning all three from Rick Gill and Mick Sciorio. Gill retaliated by winning all three races in the AU/VT class.

Rod Jenzen was lucky to escape with the

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HQ Holden round win, having been outpaced

by Chris Kneasfey all weekend. However, a disqualification in Race 2 for a weight infringement for Kneasfey handed Jenzen the points.

Ben Riley also had an element of luck in his Formula Vee round win. Having followed Cameron Edwards in the first two races, a cracked gearbox casing put Edwards out of the final, gifting Riley the round. In the 1200cc class, Bruce Welsh was unstoppable.

Former Targa West winner Steve Jones took all thee Sports Sedans wins in his RX7, while Laurie Whittome won the Street Car class, without winning any of the races. The wins went to Peter Screen, Tony Lucente, and Andrew Stevens.

In the two Sports Cars class, Michael Minshall and Rex Meechin took the honours.

Thompson and David Ling. In the NT-only Commodore Cup state series, Chris Langworthy led home Alan Langworthy and Bruce Panting.

– RICHARD CRAILL

CIK’S NEW STAR KARTING DAMIEN Radosevic has taken a remarkable win on home soil in the latest CIK Stars of Karting round at Eastern Creek.

The Sydneysider failed to post a lap in qualifying for the KF1 class, but stormed through the 25-lap final to take advantage of mechanical problems for Hayden McBride Cian Fothergill and steal the win.

In the KZ2 class, newcomer Kyle Ensbey took a surprising win, while Pierce Lehane dominated the KF3 class.

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motorsport news

rear of grid

BITE HIM, BEFORE HE BITES BACK t o p S d Od

Wendy Klynsmith

MOST people outgrow themed birthday cakes by the time they are six or seven.

But Craig Lowndes isn’t most people. He’s a kid at heart, who was more than happy to spend his 36th birthday doing what he loves – driving racing cars, and eating cakes shaped like crocodiles.

That’s right – the realistic creature you see before you is actually a birthday cake, put together by Rachael De Virgilio.

“This is the best cake I’ve ever had – it’s pretty impressive,” said Lowndes.

“My Mum, Aunty, Nat (Lowndes’ wife) and the kids are up here, so it’s kind of a family reunion. I always seem to have my birthday in Darwin, it’s a great place to do that, and this a great cake to celebrate it.”

Lowndsey was so impressed with the cake, that he cut out a huge chunk and sent it to the media bus for the journalists to enjoy. It was good news for executive editor Branagan, and proof that at 36 years of age, CL is still an all-round good guy.

SIMOOX TAKES CONTROL!

ROUND 2 is completed, and we have one heck of a FIFA World Cup Tipping Competition on our hands.

The second round has seen simoox take a commanding lead in the eNews Tipping Competition. A glorious run through the first section of games in Round 2 (six of the eight games correct) has seen simoox jump from six points to 15, two clear of Vincent Dumarski, who once again holds downs second place, thanks to being one of the few tipsters to use his head, not his heart, and tip the Australia v Ghana game to be a draw. Chewy leads a freight train of tippers on 12 points, which stretches all the way to 11th place and includes early leader Matt Morton in fifth. Michael Patrizi has become the new leading V8 Supercar driver in seventh, with Steve Richards tumbling from the equal lead to 31st place.

Andrew van Leeuwen remains the best of the eNews staffers, although a shocking end to Round 2 has seen him drop to 16th.

Round 3 starts Monday night at 9:30pm, so get your tips in! www.mnews.com.au

eNews WC Tipping Top 10 Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name simoox Vincent Dumarski Chewy Grant Rowley Matt Morton Torbz Michael Patrizi Trevor Campbell Kevin Gibson Mike Oliver

Margin 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3

Score 15 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

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