Motorsport eNews Issue 207 - May 31-June 6, 2011

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Issue No. 207 May 31 - June 06 2011

V8 BOUND

SPORTSCAR ACE AND BTCC YOUNG GUN SET FOR V8 SUPERCAR DEBUT – AND IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE GOLD COAST. DETAILS INSIDE BIG CHANGES AT HRT

VETTEL TOO GOOD IN MONACO

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This special DVD presentation features almost two and a half hours of highlights from the 2010 Australian Muscle Car Masters at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway, which played host to a special ‘50 Years of Touring Car Racing’ celebration.

Relive some of the best racing action from the nation’s premier annual muscle car event, featuring hundreds of cars competing in a variety of classes representing five decades of Australian touring car history. These include the Touring Car Masters (presented by Autobarn), Group N (1959-1972), Group C (1973-1984) and Group A (1985-1992) categories.

Also featured are some extra special events staged to mark this historic occasion, including the 50th Anniversary Handicap Race that combined cars from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, plus a revival of the ‘best of three’ match races between Ford, Holden and Chrysler that were so popular with race fans in the early 1970s.

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Plus there’s lot of interviews with famous drivers from the past, Master Blast and Heritage Hot Lap track demonstrations, Ultimate Race Replicas and much more. Bonus material features colourful ‘Featured Muscle Marques’ road car track parades and some great in-car camera footage from a variety of competing race cars. This DVD is sure to delight muscle car fans of all ages!

Tickets now available for 2011 Australian Muscle Car Masters!

For more info visit www.eastern-creek-raceway.com

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Editorial Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen Executive Editor: Phil Branagan National Editor: Mitchell Adam Publisher: Chris Lambden

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Contributing Writers US: Martin D. Clark, Mary Mendez National: Lachlan Mansell, Mark Jones, Callum Branagan Speedway: Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Paris Charles Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Ken Ferguson, John Bosher, Luke Nieuwhof

Photographers Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, John Morris/Mpix, AF1 Images, James Smith, Peter Bury, Geoff Gracie, Joel Strickland, Phil Williams, Rob Lang

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Issue No. 207 | May 31 - June 06 2011

news 4

From BTCC to TV to V8s So who is Andrew Jordan?

6 Is HRT at crisis point?

CEO gone, manager follows 8 Who’s the Tag Team?

Alex T signs on with Kellys 13 Rise and Shine Webber wants early pace 18 Barcode Bandit What’s that on McLeod’s car?

chat 26 Five Minutes With ...

Jason Bright Chief Executive Officer, David Gardiner Commercial Director, Bruce Duncan Motorsport eNews is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd ACN: 128 805 970, Level 5, 55 Chandos St, St Leonards NSW 2065 © 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this e-magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher.. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication. All material submitted is at the owner’s risk and, while every care will be taken nextmedia does not accept liability for loss or damage.

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comment 28 Branagan: Timing 29 Adam: Fortunes

race 30 Monaco Grand Prix 34 Indy 500 38 Manchamps 42 Australian GT 46 Winton Historics 48 NASCAR

trade 48 Classifieds 3

JORDAN TO TAKE PART IN V8 REALITY SHOW BTCC driver offered spot in ‘Supercar Showdown’ V8 SUPERCARS

T

HE list of drivers that will participate in V8 Supercars’ new reality TV series is taking shape – and drivers will come from far and wide for a chance to race a V8 Supercar at Bathurst.

British Touring Car Championship pilot Andrew Jordan is the first British driver to take up the challenge, while Amber Anderson will add a female touch. Motorsport eNews sources report that the 10 contestants in Supercar Showdown will be three internationals and seven Australian drivers, with Anderson one of three females joining four men in the contest.

Jordan, 22, drives for Team Eurotech in the BTCC. The son of wellknown British GT racer Mike Jordan, the Pirtek-sponsored driver races the #77 Vauxhall Vectra in the series, in which he debuted in 2009. He has scored three career wins, and with five podiums in the last six BTCC races, currently lies fourth in the points.

But there does appear to be a slight glitch in the scheduling that will see Jordan miss one day’s shooting for the 11-part series because he will be in transit from a BTCC event.

Anderson, originally from Nar Nar Goon in Victoria, is the driver of the V8 Supercar Safety Car, holds a law degree and is a qualified pilot. She has extensive experience in various categories, and made her V8 Supercar debut at Sandown last November in the Fujitsu Series, driving a Paul Morris Motorsport Commodore VZ. She also tested a Kelly Racing Commodore at Winton in late March, so driving a car from the same stable will not be foreign to her.

4

motorsport news

NEWS

ICH LIEB(E) DICH German Porsche star set to join A Davo on the Gold Coast V8 SUPERCARS

M

OST V8 Supercar drivers will have a first-time teammate on the Gold Coast this October. But not Alex Davison. eNews understands the Stone Brothers Racing driver will be joined by German Marc Lieb, a long-time Porsche factory sportscar driver, at the Armor All Gold Coast 600. While Lieb, 29, is a relative unknown

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in Australia, he has long links with Davison.

The pair became close friends while racing in German Carrera Cup in 2001, during Davison’s first European foray. When Davison returned to Europe in 2008, he shared a Porsche GT3 RSR with Lieb for Team Felbermayr-Proton in the Le Mans Series, finishing second in the GT2 class.

Lieb’s background in GT-spec Porsches is similar to that of American Patrick Long, who was

the surprise packet international at Surfers Paradise last year, impressing with Garry Rogers Motorsport before being picked up by HRT for 2011.

Davison is currently seventh in the V8 Supercar Championship in his IRWIN Falcon. As previously reported, Helio Castroneves will return to the Gold Coast with SBR alongside Tim Slade, while a partner for Shane van Gisbergen is yet to be finalised.

– MITCHELL ADAM

5

The bell tolls at Holden Racing Team

Wilson, Crawford depart after management shakeup a V8 SUPERCARS WALKINSHAW Racing has undergone sweeping changes, with two of organisation’s senior management leaving in the last three days.

WR Managing Director Craig Wilson left the team last Friday and Holden Racing Team manager Rob Crawford has also departed.

The news of Wilson’s exit was announced on Friday in a statement issued on behalf of Martine Walkinshaw, Tom’s widow.

“Craig has resigned his position as Managing Director of 6

Walkinshaw Racing in order to spend more time with his family,” the statement read.

“We all know the commitment required at this level of racing, and Craig has decided that he requires time to pursue other priorities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Craig for his years of service, his support to the Walkinshaw family and wish him the best in the next phase of his life.”

Wilson, who joined Tom Walkinshaw’s local business in 2005, was a long-time member of the Walkinshaw management team. He had more than two decades experience in a number

of TWR’s branches, including the Volvo Super Touring team and the Arrows Formula 1 team.

The news that Crawford had also left was not announced by the team, and Crawford gave Motorsport eNews a firm “no comment’ when contacted on Monday.

Walkinshaw Racing has supplied a number of teams with technology over the last six years. It runs the Holden Racing Team and Bundaberg Racing entries in the V8 Supercar Championship as well as a Fujitsu entry for Coates Hire Racing. It also supplies chassis to Brad Jones Racing and engines

Number 1: James Courtney’s title defence has not got off to the start he would have hoped for, with one win in the first 11 races of the season.

to Garry Rogers Motorsport.

WR Director Ivan Krizman will assume the role of acting Managing Director of Walkinshaw Racing for the remainder of the season.

Since HRT appeared in what was then the Australian Touring Car Championship (for Group A) in 1988, it has won six Drivers’ titles and six Bathurst 1000s. motorsport news

NEWS

COMMENT

www.mnews.com.au

Two races, not three for QR V8s V8 SUPERCARS DON’T hold your breath waiting for a third race at the Queensland Raceway round of the V8 Supercar Championship.

Reports that there will be three races at the round are wide of the mark, accrding to V8 Supercars, which will conduct the event through V8 Supercars Events.

“Whatever the format is, it won’t be three races,” V8 Supercars spokesman Cole Hitchcock said on Monday.

“At this point, consider it

Phil Williams

at Clayton

I AM going to stick my neck out and suggest that you will read the words ‘Holden’, ‘Racing’, ‘Team’ and ‘Crisis’ somewhere in the next 72 hours.

That is to be expected in our world of tabloid journalism.

Racing teams are not unlike football teams, in so much that changing management mid-season is far from an ideal course of action. These changes are not made lightly and are often done for reasons other than those to be shared with the media.

The facts are; 11 races down in the Championship and HRT has won two of them. They are fourth in the Teams’ Championship, a slim nine points out of third. By those standards, things are hardly grim at HRT. But the fact is, as we are reminded each time we walk past their garage, HRT is Holden’s official factory team and more is expected. One would think that James Courtney and his management expected more when they signed on the dotted line for 2011.

Changes happen in racing teams.

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport has already changed its TM this year and there could be more changes to come through the year.

If this is the course of normal business, we will see differences some time in the near future. If this is a crisis, we will some evidence of that too. But for right now, ‘crisis’ appears much too big a word to attach to what has just happened. Motor racing is a fluid business. Darwin is coming up and it will be interesting to see what happens next ...

– PHIL BRANAGAN

to be exactly as it is in the media guide; the traditional format, with a shorter race [on Saturday] and a longer race on Sunday.”

It has been planned that the City of Ipswich 300 would be a twilight meeting, with races under lights, and that may have prompted some investigation of an alternative format. But the even will go ahead as a threeday daylight meeting, leaving the Barbagallo event as the only planned three-race V8 Supercar weekend.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

7

IT’S OFFICIAL

TAG SIGNS ON FOR GOLD COAST 600 V8 SUPERCARS ALEX Tagliani is the first driver to be officially confirmed for the Gold Coast 600.

The Canadian will return to the Kelly Racing stable for the second year in a row, after he drove a KR Commodore with Jason Bargwanna in 2010. Which of the Kelly’s drivers he will partner in ’11 is yet to be confirmed, meaning he could end up in either of the Jack Daniel’s cars, or with Greg Murphy or David Reynolds.

“It’s fantastic to be returning to the Gold Coast event for the 11th time this October,” said Tagliani.

“It’s a very special event to me for so many reasons. It’s the home race for my wife Bronte, and I’ve been to Australia so often now that I like to think of myself as an honourary Aussie.

“The Gold Coast track is one of the most

beautiful circuits in the world, running right next to the beach and between the high rise buildings. I met my wife there, I’ve had a few big crashes, I’ve stood on the podium twice and I was taken out by Russell Ingall last year. So I’ve really done everything except win it, so that’s the goal for this year.”

“It’s fantastic to have Tags joining our team again on the Gold Coast this October,” added Todd Kelly.

“Everyone here at Kelly Racing was wrapped to see him get pole for the Indy 500 in qualifying last weekend. All the boys on the crew really got along with him well last year. He’s a fantastic bloke and we really enjoyed his company.

“He’s a driver who really becomes a part of your team very easily, and that makes him a perfect driver to have onboard for the Armor All Gold Coast 600.”

KLIEN V8 SUPERCARS FORD Performance Racing has locked in its three international drivers for October’s Gold Coast 600.

As previously rumoured, Will Power and Mika Salo will drive the two lead FPR cars, while Christian Klien will suit up in Bottle-O green in the #55 Rod Nash Racing entry. The lineup was confirmed by eNews sources at Winton recently, however the team offered a firm “no comment” when quizzed on the matter.

While Power and Salo were both on the Gold Coast last year (with FPR and Walkinshaw Racing respectively, this will be Klien’s first drive of a V8

BRIGHT: HARD TYRE NO PROBLEM V8 SUPERCARS

JASON Bright holds no fears that his wining streak will come to an end on Dunlop’s Control tyre.

The V8 Supercar grid will return to Dunlop’s more durable tyre at Hidden Valley next month but the form that has allowed the Team BOC driver to win two of the last four drivers, on Sprint tyres, “In Perth, we were second-quickest on the Friday on the hard tyre, between the two Triple Eight cars,” Bright told eNews.

“Karl [Reindler] was good on that tyre and Bargs [Jason Bargwanna] was fast. I moved up quite well in that race, so I am not concerned with the hard tyre in Darwin. Our balance is where we are strong.”

Brighty has also revealed that Noonan Race Engineering, the team’s engine partner, is working on a package that is expected to improve engine performance on tracks that feature cooler temperatures.

“Our engines in the cold weather, we still need to improve that a little bit. We were not strong with engines at the [Winton] weekend, and we can see where we need to improve. There is a plan and I am sure that will come. We are working with the guys at Noonan Racing and they are keen to get on top of that.”

In the meantime, the team faces the prospect of the next three events taking place in the Northern Territory and Queensland.

For more with Bright, see 5 Minutes, page 26 8

motorsport news

NEWS

N IN AT FPR Supercar. The Austrian has a solid background in openwheeler racing, rising through the ranks of Formula BMW and Formula 3 to eventually race in Formula 1, first with Jaguar and then with Red Bull Racing. Klien was replaced by Mark Webber at RBR in 2007, not returning to an F1 race seat until last season, when he replaced Sakon Yamamoto for three races at the Hispania Racing Team. He has also raced in the last three Le Mans 24 Hour races with Peugeot, and will drive for Aston Martin in this year’s classic.

Klien’s only link to Touring Cars is recent speculation that he is in talks with BMW about its DTM program for next season.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

www.mnews.com.au

9

NEWS

TRAFFIC SIDELINES AUSSIE AUDI AUSSIES OVERSEAS CRAIG Lowndes’ classification to contest the Nurburgring 24 Hour in the future is still up in the air, after his trip to Germany with Warren Luff and Audi.

As a potential Nurburgring 24 Hour rookie, Lowndes is required to compete in a lower-level race at the circuit to receive the necessary driver credentials. To do that, Lowndes and Luff (already classified) headed to Germany to contest a VLN round on the Nordschleife over the weekend.

The pair were making

impressive progress, with Luff setting the 10th-fastest time in qualifying, before Lowndes had a brush with a slower car which ended their weekend.

As eNews went live, it was unknown whether Lowndes would receive the 24 Hour classification.

“It’s very, very disappointing,” Lowndes admitted.

“Warren had done a fantastic job in his qualifying run, putting us 10th, and I was out there on my second qualifying lap looking to consolidate that. The closing speeds are incredible and unfortunately the guy in the Golf obviously

didn’t see me, and turned down into the corner as I swept by. He just tagged me at the rear, and that turned me into the fence.

“With the VLN format you qualifying in the morning and race in the afternoon, and there just wasn’t enough time the front of the chassis was damaged, the radiator and the front bodywork. It would all be fixable overnight but not in the time available.”

Despite the setback, Lowndes was upbeat about the adventure, and is looking to continue the relationship with Audi and possibly contest next

year’s 24 Hour.

“I feel really bad for the Audi guys, they’d shown a lot of faith in us to do the event, and although they’re okay about it and are still talking about doing the Nurburgring 24 Hours next year, everyone’s obviously very disappointed,” he said.

“The big challenge is the closing speeds on the slower cars the difference can be 150kmh!

“We’re in full-on GT3 cars and there’s guys out there in near standard Focus and Golfs, you’ve got to be so careful.

Unfortunately that’s what brought me undone in the end.”

us with the finished race cars when they get to New Zealand later in the year.

“There are so many similarities to a V8 Supercar, but the V8SuperTourer is lighter. It’s got plenty of power; the chassis is great; it looks great and sounds great. The whole project is very exciting. There’s a little work to do, but the racecar is a nice, simple, solid package. Everyone who has driven the car today is

smiling – they just love it.”

Murphy says wants to be one of the 16 drivers on the grid for the first round of the new series in February.

“It’s my intention to be on the starting grid in a VE Holden V8SuperTourer,” said Murphy, who added that his commitments would be subject to date clashes with his V8Supercars commitments in Australia.

MURPH BACK IN A SUPERTOURER! NZ SUPERTOURERS GREG Murphy has completed his first test in one of the new V8SuperTourers – and he likes what he sees.

The four-time Bathurst winner suited up at Hampton Downs outside Auckland last Friday and quickly came to grips with the 7-litre V8powered Holden Commodore.

In wet conditions, he 10

completed a number of laps of the new track before handing the car over to countrymen Andy Booth, Kayne Scott and Paul Manuell.

“This was my first drive in the new car and it’s great!” the Pepsi-sponsored Kiwi smiled after his drive. “We’re definitely on the right track having a prototype for testing and we’re also on the right track with where this prototype will take

motorsport news

LEWIS FAILS PR 1 FORMULA 1 LEWIS Hamilton is in hot water over both his aggressive driving during the Monaco Grand Prix, and a “joke” that he directed towards the stewards during a post-race TV interview.

Hamilton was given a drivethrough penalty for his part in Felipe Massa’s retirement from the Grand Prix, and after the race he exploded after finding out that he is also being investigated for late-race contact with Pastor Maldonado.

“Out of six races, I’ve been to the stewards five times,” he told the BBC. “It’s a joke. It’s an absolute frickin’ joke.

“Maybe it’s because I’m black.

That’s what Ali G says. I don’t know.”

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh was left to put out the fires started by Hamilton’s comments.

“Lewis had a frustrating

sutton-images.com

WEBBER: EARLY PA FORMULA 1

For full F1/ MotoGP/W RC coverage/news, CLICK HERE to get to GPWeek magazine 12

www.gpweek.com

MARK Webber says that early race pace is the key to turning around his 2011 season.

Once again in Monaco, Webber found himself unable to match the speed of the leaders in the early part of the race. However, his pace vastly improved as the race wore on, with Webber setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.

“I certainly felt better with the car as the race went on,” Webber said.

“We’ve got to work on my pace during the first part of the Grand Prix, when we’re carrying a lot of fuel. It wasn’t a problem

last year, but I need to modify how I drive the car during the early laps because the tyres are very different in 2011.”

While fourth wasn’t an ideal result for Webber, he was happy to recover after a horrendous communication bungle at the first pit-stop, which cost him almost 15 seconds.

“At Monaco you don’t get away scot-free with a pit-stop like that,” added Webber.

“There was a communication problem in the pits, with the result that the guys weren’t ready for me and I rejoined the race in 15th place. I knew that I was in for a difficult afternoon after that, but I kept my head. motorsport news

NEWS

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afternoon,” he said.

“I guess the reality is that, if you start anywhere other than at the front of the grid here in Monte Carlo, you’re always going to run the risk of getting involved in incidents – especially if, like Lewis, you’re a forceful driver who never, ever, gives up.

“But that’s Lewis. That’s why he’s such a fantastic driver – and that’s why watching him race is so thrilling. So, yes, he’s disappointed, because he’s been seriously quick all weekend here, but that’s Monte Carlo; that’s racing; that’s life.

“Immediately after the race he was very down, and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G. However, I’m pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation.”

PEREZ SAFE, BUT ACE IS KEY REMAINS IN HOSPITAL There’s always the high chance of a Safety Car around here; you’ve just got to make sure you’re not involved in it.”

Webber was particularly impressed with his late-race move on Kamui Kobayashi, which occurred soon after the race was re-started with six laps to go.

“Sitting on the grid, waiting for the re-start was a bizarre feeling. I had one objective – to pass Kobayashi. I pulled off a good move into the chicane because the track was very dirty off-line and he’s a brave young driver. You have to get your stuff together to win a battle against him.” www.mnews.com.au

FORMULA 1 SAUBER driver Sergio Perez remains in hospital in Monaco, following his massive qualifying crash on Saturday.

Perez lost control of his car on the exit of the tunnel, after making it through to the third segment of qualifying. He hit the wall hard, heavily damaging his Sauber before being rushed to Hospital Princesse Grace. While he escaped serious injury, Perez has been diagnosed with concussion and a bruised thigh, and he remains in hospital to undergo further scans today (Monday).

“Of course we are very relieved that Sergio wasn’t seriously injured,” said team boss Peter

Sauber in the wake of the crash.

“Up to the accident he was doing very well in qualifying, and also better than expected as he had outperformed all his direct competitors.”

“First and foremost we are obviously relieved with the reports that Sergio is okay,” added Sauber’s technical director James Key. “It’s always very worrying for a team when you see an accident of that magnitude, so it’s good to hear that he is fundamentally okay. We are looking into what happened. There is no indication at the moment from the data we have seen that there was a problem with the car. But we have to talk to Sergio to investigate further what happened.”

13

Panther won’t

INDYCAR PANTHER Racing will not lodge any protest or appeal over the results of the 2011 Indianapolis 500.

The race ended in dramatic fashion, with JR Hildebrand seemingly headed to an emotional victory on the final lap. But the 23-year-old rookie crashed while lapping a slower car on the final corner of the race, and as his Dallara-Honda scraped along the pitwall, Dan Wheldon sped by to take his second 500 win.

In doing so, many believed that the Briton technically passed the leader under a yellow flag. While Hildebrand’s car was severely damaged, it was still in the race and finished, classified in second place. But close examination of the video of the race indicated that the track was still green when Wheldon’s Bryan Herta Autosport entry passed Hildebrand to take the lead.

“Panther Racing has not, nor 14

will it, protest the finish of the Indianapolis 500,” the team’s Twitter account reported.

There is another reason for focusing on the issue. In the 2010 race, Alex Lloyd lost third place after vision showed he passed Marco Andretti when yellows appeared for the Mike Conway/Ryan Hunter-Reay crash.

There is also the matter that Wheldon drove for Panther for two years – and finished second for the team in the 2009 and ‘10 500s. But when the team replaced him, with Hildebrand, there was legal action between the parties.

Ironically, Wheldon’s future is not clear. His team owner (and former team-mate) Herta’s fulltime program is in Indy Lights and the 500 was a one-off for the team. On the other hand, the result means that should the team have a mind to, an assault on IndyCar’s US$5m bonus for the end-of-season race at Las Vegas is not necessarily fanciful – well, not any more than winning the Indy 500 at the last corner ...

Penske and Hendri INDYCAR INDYCAR’S 2012 engine landscape is looking a little clearer – but there are some surprises yet in store.

American Honda has signed Chip Ganassi Racing to a multiyear agreement as its “anchor” team to help develop and race its new 2.2-litre turbocharged V6 engine.

Honda’s engine is designed

by Honda Performance Development located in Santa Clarita, California (north of Los Angeles) and scheduled to start testing in August. Honda has supplied an engine in North American open wheel racing since 1994 and served as the sole engine supplier for IndyCar since 2006.

“We are thrilled to be able to announce this deal,” said Ganassi.

“We have had a lot of success

over the years with Honda as a partner and we felt strongly that keeping that continuity was important. We look for continued success with such an motorsport news

NEWS

KIMI DOES NATIONWIDE – BUT WILL HE MOVE? NASCAR DOUBT surrounds the future of the brief relationship between Kimi Raikkonen and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Reports at Charlotte suggest that the Finn severed the deal with KBM after finishing 15th in the Truck Series race last week and 27th (following a 22nd qualifying effort) in the Nationwide race on Saturday, both at

Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But there appears to be a difference between statements made at the track and now appears that comments made about non-payments of Raikkonen’s commitment refer in fact to costs of future races.

Raikkonen told the press that the payments, rumoured to be US$200,000, for two races with KBM were made, and KBM General Manager Rick Ren confirmed this.

Raikkonen tested a Robby Gordon Motorsports Sprint Cup Dodge at Virginia International Raceway last week however, he went off-course causing major front end damage and was done for the day.

If a deal is forthcoming Raikkonen is expected to enter one of NASCAR’s two road course events, at Sonoma Sprint Cup race on June 26.

– MARTIN D CLARK

KYLE IN A BIG HURRY ...

NASCAR

Martin D Clark

ick: Partners in Indycars?

Spot the name: Power’s Hendrick decals, inset, may be a preview of things to come. Yep, there are only three wheels on the Penske Dallara ...

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of Ilmor, the company designing and building the GM powerplant.

Chevy verified they have hit all their deadlines and will be ready to test in August.

Martin D Clark

integral partner.”

Chevy announced their involvement last November using Team Penske as its anchor since Roger Penske is co-owner

To add to the intrigue, Will Power and Ryan Briscoe ran Hendrick Motorsport signage on their cars at Indianapolis. Rick Hendrick is a major Chevy dealer but there is also speculation that the NASCAR team owner could diversify into Indycar in the near future.

Lotus, using John Judd to design and build their engines, has been asked by INDYCAR to name their anchor team, which would likely be KV Racing Technology- Lotus.

However, their reluctance has some members of the paddock questioning whether they will actually compete.

– MARY MENDEZ

WE knew that Kyle Busch was a fast driver, but ...

The Joe Gibbs Racing star has been charged with reckless driving and speeding after being caught doing 128mph (206kmh) in a 45 mph zone near his home in Mooresville, North Carolina. The road is a curvy twolane residential road and has had residents there expressing anger to news outlets.

Busch and wife Samantha were in a yellow Lexus LFA Supercar, like below, on loan from Toyota when he was caught by a local sheriff. He will face court on July 20.

“It should be driven with caution,” said Busch of the LFA. “Obviously, I didn’t have caution and I had a lack in judgment and there’s probably a reason why on TV commercials and such they always show at the bottom, professional driver, closed course. Mine was not that. Again, I apologise sincerely to all those affected and that all I can do is try to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that I make sure that lack of judgment doesn’t overcome me.”

– MARTIN D CLARK

15

Dirk Klynsmith

HAC AUSTRALIAN GT

IT WAS a controversial but also welcome addition to the modest field as Peter Hackett’s new Mercedes SLS GT3 finally made its race debut at Eastern Creek in the third round of the VodkaO Australian GT Championship.

While Australian GT rules don’t allow models less than two years old, the brand new Merc (chassis no. 34, completed on April 8) was granted a concession on the basis that the SLS GT3 didn’t exist in 2009, and that there are no other Mercedes running in the series.

Series administrator Rachel Wagg said that when the rules are revised next year to bring the Championship more directly in line with European GT3, any 2011 model GT3 car will be allowed to compete. This is 12 months earlier than the current rule.

As far as Hackett is concerned, there was never any point of conjecture.

“The regulations are simple,” he said.

“There is a list of homologated vehicles. If you have a car that’s FIA homologated, you can apply to have it allowed, and then if it’s accepted it will be ballasted back to the equivalent of the ’09 cars.”

Following an application to be added to the vehicle eligibility list, as reported in last week’s eNews, the benchmarking process was done by Allan Simonsen before the meeting began (Simonsen drove a number of other leading cars as part of the parity process), and with an intake restriction and ride height adjustment, the Merc was cleared to run.

Hackett steered the glittering chrome-coloured machine to a pair of podium results, although only after it was sent to the rear of the grid for Saturday’s race when it came in 6kg under weight.

Hackett said that was due to a higher fuel consumption rate than they’d expected. Hackett and his Erebus Racing outfit have big plans for the GT3 Merc, the only one of its type racing outside of Europe at

CONTROVERSY AS GT BENCHES BENCHMA AUSTRALIAN GT AUSTRALIAN GT’s ‘benchmark qualifying time’ parity tool has been shelved after a controversial afternoon at Eastern Creek on Saturday.

The opening race of the weekend in the VodkaO series was threatened by a driver boycott over the system. Three drivers – Kevin Weeks, Greg Crick and David Wall – recorded a laptime faster than 16

the 1:32.0 benchmark time in qualifying, which would have incurred a weight penalty for the remainder of the weekend.

Following resurfacing at the circuit earlier this year, a number of drivers had earlier asked for the benchmark time to be lowered, but it remained at a 1:32.0. But when the benchmark was abandoned after qualifying, drivers revolted and the race was delayed, only starting after peace talks and an agreement from Crick, Wall and Weeks to start from the rear of the grid. motorsport news

NEWS

Dirk Klynsmith

GRANT SEES RED AUSTRALIAN GT DEAN Grant was pretty annoyed to cop a 30-second post-race penalty for jumping the start in the Sunday race at Eastern Creek’s round of the Australian GT Championship.

But Klark Quinn was even more annoyed to have been given a drive-through penalty – and, what’s more, for exactly the same offence as that committed by Grant.

But what really annoyed both was the fact neither believed they had done anything wrong. In what may be a first for rolling starts in Australia, third-row starters Quinn and Grant were penalised because they failed to leave a one-row space in front of them (to account for the ‘vacant’ second row ahead of them) when they took the start.

That row ahead them should have contained Kevin Weeks’ Lamborghini (a non-starter) and Mark Eddy’s Audi, which spun off on the warm-up lap. Quinn and Grant simply moved up to fill the space.

For Grant, it meant fourth instead of a second place that had been hard won on the final lap when he passed Hackett’s Mercedes. He was eight seconds clear of Quinn, who might otherwise have been on the podium.

Aside from the anomaly of a different penalty for the same ‘offence’, shouldn’t then everyone who started behind Grant and Quinn be penalised for likewise starting one row closer to the front than they should have been?

– STEVE NORMOYLE

CKETT IN. the moment.

“We’re hoping to lease two cars later this year,” he said. “Our plan is to be the go-to team for Mercedes in this part of the world.”

The team has already established strong links with HWA, the racing division of AMG, and Hackett is already looking towards next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour and possibly providing the local hardware and support for an assault from one of the European customer Mercedes teams.

VIP Petfoods entrant Tony Quinn welcomed the SLS despite himself being the owner of a GT3R Porsche, which is ineligible as a 2010 model.

“This is the right decision,” he said.

“He’s already missed two rounds, so it’s not as though he’s going to win the series. This will also dispel the myth that new GT3 cars are any faster than what we run.”

– STEVE NORMOYLE

ARK “They [race officials] were asked three times at the Drivers’ Briefing would they be changing the benchmark time,” Tony Quinn said.

“Three times they said they wouldn’t. Then they did.”

GT organisers say the system won’t be used again.

“We had planned on scrapping the benchmark time at the start of the year but the regulations were issued too close to the Clipsal 500 weekend to change it,” GT Director Rachael Wagg said.

– STEVE NORMOYLE www.mnews.com.au

CAMS TO INVESTIGATE ADELAIDE HILLS TARMAC RALLY ACCIDENT CAMS CAMS has commenced an investigation following a serious incident during the weekend’s Adelaide Hills Tarmac Rally.

In wet conditions on Saturday, Milan Filo and Jason Rowley’s Porsche 911 ran wide after a slight crest and slammed into a tree.

Emergency services were quickly on the scene to stabilise the pair and cut remove them from the car. Filo and Rowley were airlifted to Adelaide’s Flinders Medical Centre, where they remain in a critical condition.

17

NEWS

NATIONALS FOUR-PLAY AT EC SHANNONS NATS

“It’s been a funny one, a lot of people think it’s terrific and some others think it’s a bit inconvenient. We just want people to work with us this time around and we’ll just have a blockbuster.”

Sports Sedans, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Formula Ford, Formula 3, V8 Touring Cars, Commodore Cup, Saloon Cars, the Radical Australia Cup, Swift Sport Series and Superkarts will all appear at the July 14-17 event.

As previously reported by eNews, a second Shannons Nationals round is likely to be held at Eastern Creek in 2012, as part of a nine-round calendar.

– MITCHELL ADAM

James Smith

THE fourth round of the 2011 Shannons Nationals at Eastern Creek just got even bigger.

With a Nationals-record 10 categories taking part in their only Sydney round of the year, the event is already the biggest the series has put on, but it’ll now also be the longest – with on-track action starting a day earlier, on Thursday July 14. As part of the expanded, four-day program, starting racing on Friday afternoon is a possibility.

“It’s the first time that it’s happened, and I don’t know it’ll ever happen again,”

Shannons Nationals Director Rob Curkpatrick said of the four-day event.

“We’ve had the Swifts, Radicals and Formula Ford come along, and they all needed a round at Eastern Creek. We were originally going to have some slots when we were running the Australian Six Hour, but that was cancelled, so we took away that date and it’s left us short of track-time at Eastern Creek.

“It’ll probably start around 10am on Thursday, as a private practice day with some passenger rides, then Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be the official practice, qualifying and racing.

MCLEOD ENTERS THE MATRIX PRODUCTION CARS

18

James Smith

WHAT’S that black and white square on Ryan McLeod’s Astra?

It’s a QR (Quick Response) Code, a new 3D barcode being used ever-increasingly around the world, namely advertising and retail. Each unique QR Code can be scanned with a QRreading application on a smart phone, which then directs the scanee to a specific web page.

McLeod threw a QR code on the Astra he shared at Phillip Island’s 6 Hour Production Car race with Jason Bright “It’s a new thing that we’re toying with, and we’ve done it with the p.mu racing brake pads brand that we do,” McLeod said.

“Some retailers are starting to use it in store, where instead of writing down the name and number of an item or taking a tag, you just scan the barcode.

And some real estate people are using it, but I think it’s a first for motorsport sponsorship.

“We’ve put it on the car and whenever people see the car, whether it’s in a magazine, or even if they freeze frame it on their TV or whatever, and take a photo of the barcode, it takes them to the specific sponsor or race team’s website or whatever.

“We’ve created a hidden website you can only access via that barcode, it takes you there and you win some free Racer Industries product. You put

your name and details in there and it takes you through to the rest of the site.”

Meanwhile, McLeod is close to locking in a program for his other, more-modified Astra, which is used for longdistance international races.

McLeod last raced the car in the Dubai 24 Hour in January with Jake Camilleri, Scott Nicholas and Brett Holdsworth, finishing 26th outright from 84 competitors, and further

offshore events are on the radar, including races at Silverstone and Barcelona.

“We’re toying with it at the moment, we’re trying to finalise it this week,” he said.

“That car’s undergoing some improvements at the moment.

Hopefully it’ll be eligible for an invitational class at the Bathurst 12 Hour next year as well, there’s a bit of racing planned for it.”

– MITCHELL ADAM motorsport news

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This fabulous annual hard-cover book is a collector’s prized possession, and a great gift idea.

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Previous Editions of The Great Race still available:

NEWS

HAS COMMODORE, WILL TRAVEL AUSSIES OVERSEAS MAL Rose and his ex-V8 Supercar will return to this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hour, as part of a three-event European program.

International enduro regular, Rose raced his GRM-built Commodore at the famed Nordschleife 2009, but left it at home last year, instead driving with a European Subaru outfit.

The car and spares are already en-route to Europe, where it will contest the Spa 12 Hour on June 19-17 with Rose and Peter Leemhuis behind the wheel.

A week later, it will be in Germany, where the pair will be joined by Damien Flack in the Donut King-backed Commodore. In September, it will also tackle the Barcelona 24 Hour.

“The car is very different from all the local cars in Germany, Belgium and Spain, so we have a great support following,”

Rose said of the Commodore.

“We are fully prepared with two engines, two sequential gearboxes and every panel and parts should something go wrong.

“With over 220 cars entered at Nurburgring this year, we

aim to finish in the top 20.

The Belgium 12 Hour is part of the Belgium Touring Car Championship with about 80 cars so a top 10 is possible. The inaugural Barcelona 24 Hour will only have 70 cars so again a top-10 would be great.

“This type of racing is very enjoyable, because you can spend over eight hours behind the wheel and race on the world’s best circuits with many other enthusiast race drivers all trying to win the Class Trophy.”

THE WRIGHT STUFF KARTING AUSTRALIA has another karter headed overseas, with Aidan Wright earning himself a spot in the 2011 CIK-FIA Under 18 World Karting Championship.

The Cairns karter will race a Zanardi chassis in the three rounds, which are held at Ortona in Italy, Essay and France and Bahrain. The series kicks off on July 8.

It will be the first time Australia has had a representative in a CIK-FIA recognised World Karting Championship in 10 years.

“I’m really excited to be competing in the championship, I see it as a very big opportunity to get noticed both here in Australia 20

and other parts of the world,” said Wright.

“It will be the first time that I’ve competed overseas and my goal will be to finish inside the top 10.”

“When we re-launched the CIK Stars of Karting Series at the start of last year the aim has always been to be able to provide a strong grounding here in Australia so that our drivers can make the next step in overseas competition,” said Craig Denton, Australia’s CIK delegate.

“I believe the experience Aidan has gained over the past 18 months in the CIK-style of racing here in Australia will ensure he is well prepared for his campaign in the World Under 18s Championship.” motorsport news

*See www.mymagazines.com.au for the latest offer.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MOTORSPORT N

D

ANIEL Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel weren’t the only winners to come out of Sunday night’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Thanks to the Motorsport News Monaco GP Party, there were lots of winners. There were guys and girls who won door prizes (signed Renault F1 gear, thank you very much), guys and girls who won items in the silent auction, there was even a lucky individual who won a Motorsport eNews subscription!

The Mark Webber Challenge Foundation was a winner as well, with our auction fetching $2000, that will go to the good causes that Mark supports.

We here at MNews were winners as well. Personally, I’ve never been involved in organizing an event like this, but it was hugely rewarding. We had a great turnout, a great night, watched a great race, and made some money for charity.

Win, win, win.

I’d like firstly thank all of our sponsors of the night – Renault, Pure Poker, Laser Plumbing and Electrical, Nokia, Ferrari, Kumho and The Arcadia Hotel. Thanks to them, we were able to put on what was a great night.

Secondly, I’d like to thank all of the readers that came along and had fun with us. And if you didn’t make it, put it in your diary for 2012 ... now!

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN 22

motorsport news

NEWS

NEWS MONACO GP PARTY

www.mnews.com.au

PHOTOS BY PETER BURY

23

SANTO SORTS MAC DRAG RACING NHRA driver Cory McClenathan has been added as a last minute entry for Top Fuel at the Castrol Edge Winternationals in just over a week.

McClenathan will be driving for NSW team owner Santo Rapisarda, who is fielding two cars for the event, the other driven by Terry Sainty, who has been driving for Rapisarda this season in both Australia and the USA. With 34 NHRA wins from 71 finals appearances to his credit, McClenathan was approached with the opportunity by Rapisarda at a recent NHRA round and it was an invitation he was quick to accept.

McClenathan finished third in the NHRA Top Fuel Championship in 2010 but was controversially dropped by the team he raced for.

The Brownsburg, Indiana native has competed in Australia before, in 2007 at Sydney Dragway.

“I’m very excited to be heading back to Australia and to be racing with Santo Rapisarda,” McClenathan said.

“The Castrol Edge Winternationals is an event that everyone in America knows about and it’s one that a lot of guys would love to head down under for. In most cases, the schedules just don’t line up.

“Fortunately – or unfortunately – whichever way you look at it – I’m available this year and can come down to race for Santo. When he asked me I was very quick to accept.

“Santo is a racer at heart and lives and breathes Top Fuel – I’m sure he has nitro pulsing through his veins.

“It will be a change for me to come and race a full quarter mile again. In America, the NHRA switched to 1000 feet racing a few years ago. I hope that I don’t shut off early!”

Willowbank Raceway holds sentimentality for the Rapisarda team – Santo’s son, Louie lost his life in a testing crash 21 years ago this July – and it’s the memory of Louie that drives the Rapisarda team’s activities both in the ANDRA Pro Series and the NHRA Full Throttle Series.

“Cory Mac is without doubt one of the world’s best Top Fuel racers and to have him in one of the Rapisarda Racing machines is amazing for me,” Rapisarda said.

“Cory is a true professional and his results speak for themselves. I had the idea of bringing him to Australia when I saw him at Topeka.

He had to think for about 10 seconds before he accepted the offer to come and race one of my cars.

“To win the Winternationals with Cory on board would be just phenomenal for our team. Willowbank means so much to us and this event means so much to us.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

24

motorsport news

NEWS

REHAYEM RECOVERING

ON THE MEND AFTER MONSTER NITRO CHAMPS CRASH

John Morris / Mpix

ROCKY Rehayem experienced the most-dramatic moment of the Nitro Champs in Sydney a few weeks ago, when he crashed his Mazda 6 at 300kmh.

Fortunately, Rehayem was awake for the whole ride – in the Super Compact final against Po Tung, closest to camera – and had the presence of mind to deploy the onboard extinguisher, which controlled a fire that flared up after the initial impact. The

damage assessment on Rocky was bruised ribs, a fracture to the L2 vertebrae in his back, lacerations in his groin and a stretched nerve in his left eye.

Rehayem should make a full recovery and is determined to get back on track. The team have been quick to strip down the car and a full assessment of the damage, and the data will be analysed once Rehayem is back on board, but it looks like the car will be repaired with the front of the chassis being replaced.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Jon Van Daal

DRAG RACING

ASHELFORD MAKING NORWAVES DRAG RACING

AUSTRALIAN competing abroad have mostly been on four wheels in the drag racing world, but making a step overseas for the two-wheeled brigade has been Western Australian ANDRA Pro Series Top Bike rider Mark Ashelford.

He competed in Norway recently, at Gardermoen Raceway on his nitro Harley. The event was abandoned early due to rain but Ashelford did qualify second with a 6.95s run. Results were thus based on qualifying so the team left with second overall as their result.

“The bike ran very strong and

the people in the stands loved it,” Ashelford said.

“We didn’t need to go out again, so come Sunday we were ready to race but the weather was not that good and with a few showers coming in throughout the morning, racing was on hold.”

The team is well prepared for their tour around Europe.

“We have decked out a 1969 Scania bus to travel around in with the bike in the back, a workshop and four bunks to sleep in,” Ashelford said.

“We have a couple of weeks off now before we race in Sweden so we are going to finish the bus off and get ready for that.”

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: 2011 Castrol EDGE Winternationals Willowbank Raceway, June 9-12 ANDRA Pro Series on TV: Friday June 3, Top Bike & Pro Bike, Nitro Champs www.mnews.com.au

25

FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

JASON BRIGHT

Two wins in four V8 Supercar races have put Team BOC’s Jason Bright firmly in the spotlight. But he told PHIL BRANAGAN that there is a lot more speed – and maybe wins – to come from Brad and Kim Jones’ Commodores MOTORSPORT NEWS: What has happened at BJR? There has been an outbreak of victories.

JASON BRIGHT: [Laughs] I think it is just getting to the point now that we have enough of our ducks in a row that the results are coming. It’s that, more than anything.

In the past, we had pretty good race pace but we did not have that good a pace in qualifying. Our starts were not that great, our pitstops were ... pretty good, but not the best in pitlane. Now, we are improving in all different areas.

I still think that we are seven out of 10 in a couple of areas. We could qualify a lot better. When we start to get those bits right, it is going to make it hell of a lot easier.

Some drivers have made comments that they feel a slight difference between the Sprint tyre this year and last year’s. Do you follow that line?

I wouldn’t say that I have noticed that.

Our car has always been pretty good 26

Rob Lang

Has there been one key that has allowed these ducks to get into a row, or is it a whole bunch of little ducklings?

I think that the thing that has come on the strongest for us in the last couple of rounds, that has been producing the wins, is the race pace. We had some good pace in Abu Dhabi, I think that we were podium material in both races there. In Adelaide, at the Grand Prix and at Hamilton, we had some problems. JR [Jason Richards] probably showed the potential of the car at the Grand Prix. Then we went to Perth and the car was right on the pace.

So, all year, we have been capable of getting podiums. In the races, we definitely merged race pace and tyre life, and that has been there for the last couple of race meetings. If we can improve the qualifying to the same level, which I am sure we can, that makes things a lot easier for what we do on Sunday.

I grabbed him and said, ‘Mate, you are coming up on the top step with me’. I am looking forward to hopefully doing the same at the enduros.

on the Sprint tyre. It was strong at Winton last year but we were a bit unlucky – we had the same clutch problem there that we had had in Perth. It went on the line and I got away last, but we worked our way through and I was actually looking good for a podium at the point where my engine let go.

But I have not noticed anything different with the soft tyre. I think that it is a harder tyre to manage over a race or over a weekend. It is also a case that, how hard you lean on them in qualifying can determine how they feel at the end of a race. It’s a bit like it is in Formula 1 at present. I think our car is doing that very well at the moment, and we have a good understanding of the balance of the car, it really looks after the tyres.

It must have been a great moment to be sharing the podium at Winton with Jason Richards.

Absolutely. It obviously took a bit of his energy because he was probably the first guy from BJR who made it over to the podium. It was great to see him there, and

The game changes a little with the tyres next time out in Darwin. Are you confident?

I am still confident. In Perth, we were second-quickest on the Friday on the hard tyre, between the two Triple Eight cars, but on Saturday we had a bit of a hiccup in qualifying – but that was actually a good hiccup because it gave us a pretty good direction. That is how we qualified quite badly, compared to where we expected to be.

Karl [Reindler] was good on that tyre and Bargs [Jason Bargwanna] was fast.

I moved up quite well in that race, so I am not concerned with the hard tyre in Darwin. Our balance is where we are strong.

You must have set some kind of record in V8 Supercar terms. You have now won with five different teams.

I might have!

Well; Stone Brothers, HRT, PWR, FPR and now the Joneses. That makes five.

And a second with Britek – and second at Bathurst with DJR. I enjoy watching a team evolve and turn into a race-winning team.

We still have more to come, compared to everyone out there. There are a couple of areas where we can make some considerable gains. Our engines in the cold weather, we still need to improve that a little bit. We were not strong with engines at the [Winton] weekend, and we can see where we need to improve. There is a plan and I am sure that will come. We are working with the guys at Noonan Racing and they are keen to get on top of that.

I am confident that there are some big chunks, and some more successes to come. motorsport news

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

27

TAG TIME OPINION Phil Branagan – Executive Editor

T

28

Rob Lang

IMING is not quite everything in motor racing but it is not quite nothing either.

A couple of things in the last week have underlined how the relationship works between the media and the public relations people in the sport. And before I get to that, let me say that what might appear to be me fussing around is actually me slightly frustrated at not getting more and better coverage for the sport.

Like, last Friday. Just after 4:30pm, it was announced that Craig Wilson was leaving his role with Walkinshaw Racing. No reasons were given for the news, which is fair enough, and since the release was signed by Martine Walkinshaw (Tom’s widow), there were probably some time zones to be considered in releasing the news.

I asked someone with extensive experience in the PR business for a possible reason for announcing something like that on Friday afternoon – immediately before the start of the footy rounds, and prior to a massive weekend of Monaco 500/Indianapolis 500/ Charlotte NASCAR. “You do it [then] so nobody will notice,” he said bluntly.

That does few favours for the media, and we can cop that. But the Holden Racing Team has a lot of fans and, just maybe, they deserve something a little better. If an AFL or NRL team parted ways with its coach, and the news went out at that time, you can bet that the football media would be out for blood.

On another tack, you might have noticed that there are fewer announcements about the international drivers who will be heading here for the Gold Coast 600 than for the same event last year. V8 Supercars and its the teams are playing their cards close to their chests and news has been hard to come by, though we are getting our share, particularly this issue.

But, it seems to me that what opportunities there have been have been wasted. Just after 6pm EST on Sunday, the Gold Coast 600 announced that Alex Tagliani would rejoin Kelly Racing for the event.

It’s a good news story; Tag is a great driver, full of media savvy and married to an Aussie, so there is plenty of hometown bang in the story.

The release was headlined, INDY 500 POLESITTER ALEX TAGLIANI TO RETURN TO ARMOR ALL GOLD COAST 600 WITH KELLY RACING. Here is the thing; Tag stuck it on pole SEVEN DAYS before the release went out and the race itself – still lauded by many as the biggest in the world – was due to start only a few hours after the news was issued. The Monday news cycle would start with the winner of the race; whether that was Tag or not (as it turned out), pole was old news by then. JR Hildebrand’s crash and Dan Wheldon’s win sent that news way off page 1. Not to mention Monaco, Dani Ricciardo and a host of other racing news.

Motorsport eNews reports these kinds of stories anyway. The timing of these particular releases was not any great disadvantage for us, so I am not whining because we were hurt by it.

But if teams and promoters want more motor racing news in the newspapers, maybe a look at timing is not a bad idea. motorsport news

COMMENT

T

HE last week has offered some reminders that motorsport really is a funny game. Not ‘ha ha’ funny, more like ‘peculiar’ funny, where strange and interesting events are never far away.

These words were all originally going to be about Bruno Junqueira and his love / (mostly) hate relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It started well, he finished fifth there on debut in the 2001 Indy 500, took pole the following year and fifth again in his third start, 2004.

Then, it all went downhill. In 2005, he broke his back in the race and finished 20th in his next start in 2008. In 2009, he qualified Conquest Racing’s second car after doing a handful of laps on Bump Day, but his team-mate Alex Tagliani missed the cut in the team’s lead – sponsored – car. So Bruno was asked to give up his spot. Tag repaid the favour in 2010, giving Bruno a drive in his new team’s second car.

For 2011, he picked up an Indy deal with AJ Foyt, but it went south last week. While Bruno qualified comfortably in 19th, former powerhouse Andretti Autosport had a shocker, with Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti scraping in on Bump Day, and Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mike Conway missing the cut.

With commercial requirements to be met, Andretti Autosport went to Foyt and did a deal for Hunter-Reay to replace Junqueira in Foyt’s second car. For the second time in three years, Bruno Junqueira had qualified a car but didn’t get to race ... www.mnews.com.au

Honda Racing

FORTUNES AND OPINION Mitchell Adam – National Editor

The race itself brought more madness. If you told J.R. Hildebrand he’d finish second as a rookie, he’d have probably taken it. He did finish second, but in the circumstances nightmares are made of ...

The young American had the race won, but slid wide at the final corner, tagged the wall and limped home with three wheels on his Dallara as Dan Wheldon scooped to pick up his second Indy 500 win.

But full credit to J.R., rather than hide under some coats and hope everything would work out, he got on Twitter and thanked his team and those who’d been in touch for their support.

That night, American time, Dale Earnhardt Jr had the Charlotte race shot to pieces, but ran out of fuel exiting the final corner and fell to seventh. Two of America’s biggest races had been turned on their heads at the very final corner within the space of a couple of hours.

Some people believe in karma, fate and things happening for a reason, so maybe all of that plays a role. Maybe it’s the rapture. But whatever you put it down to, there’s no denying that some strange stuff happens in this sport.

29

FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 6 – MONACO, MONTE CARLO

30

motorsport news

RACE

ANOTHER BOX CHECKED If anyone needed proof that 2011 is Sebastian Vettel’s year, then the Monaco Grand Prix was it

sutton-images.com

www.mnews.com.au

31

S

EBASTIAN Vettel is fast running out of things to win in Formula 1, after taking out a stunning victory on the streets of Monaco.

Despite starting from pole, and streaking into the distance in the early stages of the race, Vettel needed some luck to take his fifth win of the season – and it was all down to a miscommunication with pit wall. When Vettel arrived into the pits on Lap 16 for his first stop, the team had the wrong tyres waiting in the pit box, making it a sluggish stop and handing the lead to Jenson Button.

Vettel reclaimed track position by not making a second stop when the Safety Car appeared to retrieve Felipe Massa’s crashed Ferrari, but it came at a price, and that price was a 56-lap stint on the Super Soft Pirellis.

It essentially put him on a one-stop strategy, and with a handful of laps to go, Button and Fernando Alonso were coming fast, on much fresher rubber.

And then, the chaos started. Vitaly Petrov, Jaime Alguersuari, Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil all got involved in a monster wreck, forcing the red flag to be waved. That meant the cars were stopped on the front straight, and tyres could be changed – a saviour of a moment for Vettel. When the race was re-started he had new Super Softs on, and scrambled away from Alonso and Button to take his first win in Monaco.

32

“At some stage I was P2 with 15 seconds behind Jenson, and the victory seemed far away,” said Vettel.

“But I have said it is a crazy place. The roulette spun a lot last night and it kept on spinning during this race. Crazy. I am really, really happy. Fantastic result and [an] extreme honour to put my name down on the list of previous winners here, so a perfect day I guess.”

Meanwhile, Alonso was equally happy to finish second, his best result of 2011.

“We start fourth and it is the best result of the year for us,” he said.

“We were third in Turkey and now second here, so definitely a good weekend for us.

We were quick on Thursday and quick in qualifying and now in the race.”

And if he’d been close enough to Vettel in the closing laps.

“There is nothing to lose for me. I am not leading the championship so I will try to win the race and if we crash we crash ...”

Button wound up third, ahead of Mark Webber, who pulled off a stunning move on Kamui Kobayashi with two laps to go to nab fourth after being caught up in the Vettel pitstop shenanigans.

Kobayashi still finished fifth, his best result in F1, while Hamilton was sixth after a day in the wars. The Top 10 was rounded out by Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Sebastien Buemi. motorsport news

RACE

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Smiles for Miles: Seb Vettel was a happy boy on Sunday night, left, while Sergio Perez was a sore boy, after his monster qualifying crash, above. Fernando Alonso was sublime, below, while Lewis Hamilton seemed to hit everything except the Safety Car – including Pastor Maldonado, bottom.

Results :: Monaco Grand Prix

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Pos

Driver

Team

Qual

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNS

Sebastian Vettel Fernando Alonso Jenson Button Mark Webber Kamui Kobayashi Lewis Hamilton Adrian Sutil Nick Heidfeld Rubens Barrichello Sebastien Buemi Nico Rosberg Paul di Resta Jarno Trulli Heikki Kovalainen Jerome D’Ambrosio Tonio Liuzzi Narain Karthikeyan Pastor Maldonado Vitaly Petrov Jaime Alguersuari Felipe Massa Michael Schumacher Timo Glock Sergio Perez

Red Bull-Renault Ferrari McLaren-Mercedes Red Bull-Renault Sauber-Ferrari McLaren-Mercedes Force India-Mercedes Renault Williams-Cosworth Toro Rosso-Ferrari Mercedes Force India-Mercedes Lotus-Renault Lotus-Renault Virgin-Cosworth HRT-Cosworth HRT-Cosworth Williams-Cosworth Renault Toro Rosso-Ferrari Ferrari Mercedes Virgin-Cosworth Sauber-Ferrari

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

Top 10 Points: Vettel 143, Hamilton 85, Webber 79, Button 76, Alonso 69, Heidfeld 29, Rosberg 26, Massa 24, Petrov 21, Kobayashi 19.

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IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 5 – INDIANAPOLIS 500, INDIANAPOLIS, IN

No Trivial Pur Dan Wheldon chased JR Hildebrand to the last lap of the 100th anniversary Indy 500 – and wrote his name into the race’s history books, and JR’s into sport’s Hall of Infamy

IZOD INDYCAR Media

HONDA RACING Media

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IZOD INDYCAR Media

Who got JR? Victory at Indy was there for the taking for JR Hildebrand just one turn from the end of the 500 miles, bottom.

Instead, Dan Wheldon scored a surprise win, right, above.

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T was all looking just like an American fairytale.

In the 100th anniversary running of the Indianapolis 500, an unfancied team, Panther Racing, was leading the best in the business a merry dance.

When a yellow flag flew with 36 laps remaining, leader Dario Franchitti pitted and so did others, including JR Hildebrand.

Clearly, the veteran Scot was banking that he could what others could not; make a DallaraHonda go further, and faster, on a tank of ethanol. What hope would a few part-timers and a rookie have?

But here’s the thing; Hildebrand did what Dario didn’t. With a lap to run, Franchitti surrendered and nosed the Target car into the pitlane, leaving the young American to take the lead and speed towards a certain, and certainly, dramatic win.

Then, literally within reach of the chequered flag, the fairytale turned nightmare. Charlie Kimball was low and on the line, and in lapping him, Hildebrand drifted high, then into the grey, then into the Turn 4 wall. The car bounced along the track on its two remaining wheels and Dan Wheldon swept past to take an unlikely win.

“I caught him in the wrong piece of track,” a stoic Hildebrand said. “I got up in the marbles and that was it.”

Wheldon, who won his first 500 six years ago, paid tribute to his team.

“I just felt a lot of relief. It’s an incredible feeling,” Wheldon said.

“I never gave up.”

The race looked to 35

IZOD INDYCAR Media

IZOD INDYCAR Media

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RACE

IZOD INDYCAR Media

IZOD INDYCAR Media

be at the mercy of the Ganassi team. Polesitter Alex Tagliani sat behind the leaders early and led a total of 20 laps but never challenged in the second half of the race, allowing Franchitti and team-mate Scott Dixon to dominate the middle segments of a race run in hot weather. Then the final round of stops happened, allowing the fuel-savers to feature.

Ironically, Wheldon is not running a full season for Bryan Herta’s small team. Even more ironically, the Brit looked to have a seat at Panther until he lost that – to Hildebrand.

Wheldon only led only one lap; in fact, he led only the final halfmile of the race, but it was the lap that mattered.

Hildebrand will have to be content with what might have been and second place, and possibly a prominent place in the sporting trivia lexicon.

Graham Rahal took third for Ganassi’s ‘second’ team, while Tony Kanaan was fourth, just reward for KV Racing. Dixon was sixth, Franchitti 12th.

While the Ganassi team suffered from rolling the dice and losing, the other powerhouse team, Penske, never looked to have any dice to roll. Will Power’s winning hopes lasted only until the first round of pitstops, losing a left-rear wheel as he rejoined the track.

On three wheels, he limped around the track, took on more rubber and resumed, but 14th was the best he could manage.

In the other Penske cars, Ryan Briscoe got tangled in a crash with Townsend Bell and Helio Castroneves never much moved up from his mid-pack starting slot, finishing 17th.

“I’m just frustrated,” Hildebrand said. “It’s not because we came in here with the expectation

of winning and we didn’t. I felt like I just made a mistake and it cost our boys. I guess that’s why rookies don’t win the Indianapolis 500 a whole lot and we’ll be back next year, I guess.”

JR is right. In 2006, Marco Andretti went into the race as a rookie, and on the last lap, lost the race to a rampant Sam Hornish Jr. Andretti has not won the 500 since, nor has he looked like winning. Hildebrand will be hoping that, in many ways, history never repeats for him at The Brickyard as the race enters its second century.

Indianapolis file: Scott Dixon heads Oriol Servia and Alex Tagliani, main. Stealth Bomber, below left, was part of the Memorial Day celebrations, but there were no celebrations for EJ Viso, centre left. Ryan Briscoe heads Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick, above.

Results :: 95th Indianapolis 500

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Pos #

Driver

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Dan Wheldon JR Hildebrand [R] Graham Rahal Tony Kanaan Scott Dixon Oriol Ser via Ber trand Baguette Tomas Scheckter Marco Andretti Danica Patrick

98 4 38 82 9 2 30 07 26 7

Nationality GB USA USA Br NZ Esp Bel RSA USA USA

Team

Time

Qual

Br yan Her ta Autospor t Panther Racing Ganassi KV Lotus Ganassi Newman Haas Rahal Letterman SH Racing Andretti Autospor t Andretti Autospor t

2h56m11.7267s +2.1086s +5.5949s +7.4870s +9.5434s +9.5435s +23.9631s +24.3299s +25.7411s +26.4483s

6 12 29 22 2 3 14 21 27 25

Winner ’s Average Speed: 170.265mph Fastest lap: Dario Franchitti (Ganassi) on lap 169, 224.667mph 37

AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION CAR ENDURANCE C’SHIP ROUND 1, PHILLIP ISLAND, VICTORIA

COMBINE AND

CONQUER

RIVALS IN THE 2010 AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP, STUART KOSTERA AND INKY TULLOCH TEAMED UP TO WIN THE FIRST OF TWO LONG DISTANCE RACES IN THE 2011 SEASON AT PHILLIP ISLAND. BUT IT WASN’T QUITE THAT SIMPLE, CALLUM BRANAGAN REPORTS

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Richard Craill

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James Smith

L

EADING up to the opening round of the Australian Production Car Endurance Championship at Phillip Island, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart was very confident of dominating their brethren.

And by the end of the six-hour endurance event, the confidence was proven to be well-founded, as they won by a lap, but it was the challenges that TMR and the entire field faced all weekend that made the headlines.

Through practice and qualifying, the Evo X of Stuart Kostera and Ian Tulloch never looked threatened on the time sheets, taking a commanding pole. Then at 11:13 on Sunday morning, they sprinted off the line to immediately continue their strong form.

Unusual for long-distance Production Car racing, however, were many Safety Car interventions, which threw pretty much the entire field’s strategies into chaos. Then, a misunderstanding getting back on track from their third pitstop saw Kostera leave pitlane whilst it was closed, serving a drivethrough penalty as a result and elevating weekend dark horses Jake Camilleri and Scott Nicholas into the lead. A spirited drive,

however, saw Kostera take back the lead from the Camilleri Mazda 3, remaining at the top until race’s end.

At no point during the weekend did the TMR Evo look off the pace, lapping consistently faster than the rest for six hours to easily lap the entire field.

The biggest challenge to their dominance came from Class C winners Camilleri and Nicholas. The pair were tipped to potentially leave with a surprise win, but their Mazda couldn’t quite match the Lancer over six hours. Only falling off the lead lap with 10 minutes remaining as they nursed a potential frontend issue, they finished second.

Another Class C car featured prominently in the outright results, with Ryan McLeod and Jason Bright grabbing fourth outright in McLeod’s Astra.

In an Evo IX Lancer, Jim Pollicina, Steve Cramp and Dean Kelland drove a consistent race to stay out of trouble and cross the line third overall, and second in Class A for Extreme performance cars. The sole Subaru in Class A, Cam Wilson and Peter Burnitt were looking good, before Burnitt had a lose entering the front straight, which spat him into the pitwall.

Winning Class B for High

Performance cars was the BMW 335i of Morcoms Nathan and Barry along with Garry Holt.

Despite tyre issues with the car late in the race that prompted an unscheduled stop, the BMW easily defended its position after the Peter O’Donnell/John Bowe 335i struck wheel hub failure.

Taking out the Class D honours was the father son combination of Phil and Declan Kirkham driving their Ford Fiesta XR4. A late-race mechanical gremlin, however, almost cost them the lead, as they were parked in the garage for 10 minutes trying to repair broken wheel studs, allowing rivals Lauren Gray (Corolla) and Matt McGill (Celica) to close the gap considerably.

Luckily for the Kirkhams, the Fiesta was repaired and sent back out, keeping a two-minute gap over McGill and Geoff Brundson, and third-placed Gray with Jake Williams.

The Pedder’s Suspension Proton Satria of Grant Phillips and Daryl Martin managed to hold off Maddison Gray and Ash Quiddington in a Toyota Echo for the Class E silverware, while Beric Lynton and Tom Pickett enjoyed an enthralling Mini Cup battle with Mathew Mackelden and Brendan Cook to win the Invitational class. motorsport news

RACE

Richard Craill

Jake Camilleri and Scott Nicholas, above, were the TMR Evo’s closest challenger, finishing second, while the Astra of Jason Bright and Ryan McLeod, left, also punched above its weight to finish fourth outright.

Barry and Nathan Morcom and Garry Holt were the best of the rearwheel drives, below left.

The Subaru WRX STi of Cam Wilson and Peter Burnitt was in the mix, until Burnitt shortened the car after a lose coming onto the front straight, below.

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41

AUSTRALIAN GT CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3, EASTERN CREEK, NSW

BENCHMARK PERFORMERS THE BENCHMARK GT LAP TIME-CAUSED A MINI-REVOLT ON SATURDAY, BUT BY THE END OF THE WEEKEND A DIFFERENT KIND OF BENCHMARK HAD BEEN LAID DOWN, AS DEFENDING CHAMP DAVID WALL MADE A CAMEO APPEARANCE AT THE CREEK. STEVE NORMOYLE WAS THERE 42

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Dirk Klynsmith

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T

HE big talking point going into the third round of the VodkaO Australian GT Championship was whether or not Peter Hackett’s Mercedes SLS GT3 would be allowed to race.

The brand new chrome-coloured Merc got the green light after Allan Simonsen ran some parity lap comparisons on Friday, and it went on to net a third and a second place finish in what was a fairly unobtrusive race debut.

Instead, the controversy was reserved for the driver boycott of the start of the Saturday one-hour race.

Drivers were up in arms over a post-qualifying change to the benchmark lap time of 1m32.0s – which had been eclipsed by the fastest three qualifiers: Greg Crick’s Viper, David Wall’s Porsche and Kevin Weeks’ Lamborghini.

The decision to change the benchmark after qualifying meant that Crick, Wall and Weeks could race without incurring the weight penalty that normally applies in such circumstances.

The benchmark time itself was the centre of controversy going into the weekend, with several entrants requesting it be lowered on account of the track resurfacing that had made the circuit faster than when the GT cars last appeared at the Creek.

With the drivers refusing to race, the start had to be postponed.

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The impasse was resolved when the top three agreed to start from the rear of the grid.

Ultimately it mattered little, as far as the result was concerned, as Crick made his way through the 15-car field to score the win, two seconds clear of fellow rear-gridder Wall.

“After all that drama [before the start],” the MOPAR Dodge Viper driver said, “I ended up having the most fun I’ve had in ages passing so many cars!”

For Wall, it was a solid return to the championship in what was a cameo appearance for the now-Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver.

Quinn had led the way early on, until the Aston Martin suffered a recurrence of the diff dramas that plagued it in the previous round at Winton.

Sunday’s race came under a cloud of a different kind as a light shower made it a semi-wet track for the start.

In the slippery conditions it was Crick versus Wall, and daylight third, with the Viper driver getting ahead on Lap 10, only to then suffer a cracked front splitter. Crick would fade to an eventual seventh.

From there Wall was an easy winner in what was a processional affair, although the battle for second became willing towards the end as Daniel Gaunt, sharing Dean Grant’s Porsche, hunted down Hackett. motorsport news

RACE

John Morris / Mpix Dirk Klynsmith

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Greg Crick, top, took out Saturday’s race, which was the first for Peter Hackett’s new Mercedes SLS GT3, above.

Klark Quinn, below, had a quiet weekend but continues to lead the standings.

John Morris / Mpix

He passed the Merc on the last lap, only to cop a post-race 30-second penalty for jumping the start. That elevated Daniel Flack to third.

Klark Quinn was fifth, which coupled with a seventh place on Saturday saw the VIP Petfoods Mosler driver retain the Championship lead.

Wall was happy to take an easy win, with the greasy conditions being his only challenge after Crick’s front splitter broke.

“I was hoping it would rain,” he said. “I really enjoyed the conditions, sliding around. The track was changing at each corner so you had to look ahead all the time, but I’ve done a few laps here in the wet.”

In the other categories at Eastern Creek’s Sports Car Carnival, Neale Muston took out the Production Sports 1 Hour race in his 997 Cup Car, ahead of Simon Hogg and Geoff Morgan in a Lotus Elise. The Lamborghini Gallardo of Ted Huglin and Allan Simonsen was an early retiree after setting the pace for much of the weekend.

Adam Proctor (Sports / Racing Cars), David Raddatz (Mazda MX5), Stuart Shirvington (PRB) and Stephen Borness (Group S), all took clean sweep in their respective categories, while Alfio Musumeci won the Alfa Romeo Trophy Race after Doug Selwood and Daniel Gatto claimed the earlier races.

Australian GT Points: K Quinn 314, Eddy, 305, Crick 299, Grant 294, Samadi 230

45

35TH WINTON HISTORICS WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

History Repeats at Winton

Justin Collins Rob Lang

46

THE Winton Historics weekend is going from strength to strength, and the 2001 event was no exception.

The weather was kind and the racing entertaining when cars and bikes came from all over Australia to race at the Benalla Auto Club’s track.

Andrew Reid was the man to beat in Formula Ford, the Melbourne driver taking three wins in his Van Diemen (31). His namesake Mal Reid was also on the podium, taking his 1955 Prad Mk 3 (51) to third in Group Lb – behind David Reid!

If you are old enough to remember the giant-killing performances of Holden’s Torana XU-1 in the early ’70s it did the old ticker a world of good to see Gary Edwards take it up to the V8s in Group Ns. motorsport news

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Rob Lang

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Justin Collins

And just to prove there is more than one way to win, week after his team won in V8 Supercars Kim Jones returned to the team’s home track to put his March Formula Atlantic on the podium in Group Q & R.

47

NASCAR ROUND 12 - CHARLOTTE, NC

Black Nig NASCAR Media

Martin Clark

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motorsport news

RACE

ght in Charlotte For the second time in one day, what looked like a certain win disappeared on the final corner of a major race. MARTIN D CLARK reports on a heartbreaking day for the Earnhardt Nation

Martin Clark

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HOW could you top the dramatic finish of the Indianapolis 500?

Well, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte almost did.

The spor t ’s biggest name, Dale Earnhardt Jr, zoomed away from the pack at the final restar t and, in a green-white - chequer finish, looked to have his long win-free streak done and dusted.

But in the final bend, his #88 Chevy couched, then slowed. Junior was out of gas and, seemingly from nowhere, Kevin Har vick pounced to take his third win of the season.

“I hate this place,” he beamed after the race. “ This a great race track and facility, but for me it ’s been a struggle, it ’s that one race track that

frustrates the hell out of me that I can’t fix it. “ When I star ted the race I said, ‘ Well it ’s been two weeks here and we haven’t fixed it.’ [Crew chief ] Gil [Mar tin] said ‘we’ve got four more hours to work on it and we’re going to fix you right up.’ Maybe I just need a better attitude here now.”

When Jimmie Johnson blew his engine with three laps to run an over time finish was guaranteed.

Having painstak ingly stretched his fuel to get Fuel’s Gold: When Dale Earnhardt Jr ran out of fuel on the last corner of the last lap in Charlotte, Kevin Harvick was there to do what Dan Wheldon had done in the Indy 500 a few hours earlier.

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into the lead Greg Biffle was the first to pit for fuel leaving Kasey Kahne leading Earnhardt Jr on the final restar t.

However, Kahne ran dr y of fuel entering turn one, almost stack ing up the field, while Junior pulled clear tak ing the white flag in front of Har vick – who was also saving fuel.

Then Junior slowed exiting turn four, giving the lead to Har vick – who also won Mar tinsville in March tak ing the win late from non other than Earnhardt. “ We all want to see Junior win,” said Har vick ’s team owner Richard Childress, “but not at our expense.

When he does I’ll be the first one there to congratulate him, because I’m an Earnhardt fan. But I pull for my guys first.”

David Ragan was the

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first of a dominant fleet of Roush Fenway Fords home in second, followed by Joey Logano, Kur t Busch, A J Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose. For Ambrose sixth was bittersweet as he led three times for a total of 18 laps, fighting Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon for the top spot through a bevy of cautions in the races mid section.

Ambrose’s Richard Petty Motorspor ts used savvy pit strategy to get to the front and it paid dividends until a suspect flat tyre saw him pit off sequence in the closing laps and he would lose a lap.

However the Tasmanian gained a lap back under caution when Kyle Busch spun for the second time and jumped from 13th to sixth in the final two laps in the fracas when Kahne

slowed.

Although Ragan and Biffle ran strong in their Ford, Edwards and Kenseth who both dominated earlier failed to have the handling pack age at the end to finish 16th and 14th respectively. Jeff Gordon also spent time up front but pitted for gas late to finish 20th.

Earnhardt would coasted home seventh and Kahne was 22nd in his fast running but thirsty Red Bull Toyota.

Memorable Memorial: Jimmie Johnson’s Chevy was decked out in Stars and Stripes Memorial Day livery, centre. Brad Brad Keselowski and AJ Allemndinger lead the field, main. Marcos Ambrose, here on the outside of Matt Kenseth, had another strong run on an oval track, finishing sixth.

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RACE

Results :: Coca-Cola 600, Concord NC

FORD Media

Pos. No. 1 29 2 6 3 20 4 22 5 43 6 9 7 88 8 78 9 00 10 11

Driver Kevin Harvick David Ragan Joey Logano Kurt Busch A.J. Allmendinger Marcos Ambrose Dale Earnhardt Jr Regan Smith David Reutimann Denny Hamlin

Make Chevy Ford Toyota Dodge Ford Ford Chevy Chevy Toyota Toyota

Team Childress Roush Fenway Joe Gibbs Penske Petty Petty Hendrick Furniture Row Waltrip Joe Gibbs

Sponsor Budweiser UPS Home Depot Shell/Pennzoil US Air Force Dewalt National Guard Furniture Row Aaron’s FedEx

Qual.

28 8 23 26 2 24 25 20 7 4

Top 10 Points: Edwards 445, Harvick 409, Johnson 408, Earnhardt 402, Ky Busch 392, Ku Busch 377, Kenseth 374, Bowyer 365, Stewart 356, Newman 353, Ambrose 320 (17th).

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NEED TO JOIN A CAR CLUB TO GET YOUR CAMS LICENSE? No matter what car you drive, Formula Ford Association membership is a cost effective way to get you on track.

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CONRAD STRAIGHT

James Smith

Hughes made it across on the last step of the podium.

Race 2 really didn’t go the way of Miles and Berryman, as Miles spun on the warm-up lap. Racing from the rear of the grid, he was able to claw his way back to the top, only for his race to end prematurely with mechanical gremlins five minutes before the pit window opened.

Singleton improved on his Race 1 efforts to a well deserved win, followed by Steve Shelly in second and the Peter Opie/ Barton Mawer SR3 in third.

Also on the support card was the Cleminger International Freight Formula Vee Series where an intriguing battle between the

Sabre 02s of Ryan Simpson and Daniel Reynolds took place.

The Sabre 02s of Reynolds and Simpson took it in turns to win at Phillip Island, with the two racers displaying the best tactical driving late in the races to draft their way to easy wins. Reynolds took out Races 1 and 3, while Simpson did the same in Race 2 and 4.

Ash Quiddington had a busy weekend doing double duties in both the Production Cars and the Vees, continuing to impress his new JRD outfit. Matt Stubbs meanwhile waved the flag for the Beacham crew giving his rivals a real headache.

–CALLUM BRANAGAN

PI SUPPORTS SUPPORTING the 6 Hour Production Car race, Tim Berryman and Jon Miles combination who took out the opening Radical Australia Cup race, while Edward Singleton won Race 2.

In two 50-minute endurance races at Phillip Island, strategy and changing weather presented a huge challenge for the grid.

But driving through the calamity was Miles, showing the rest that there really isn’t a substitute for speed by taking a commanding win in the opening race. Singleton, above, drove a smart race to finish second, Sue

PIC A WINNER GP2 THROUGH carnage and retirements in Race 1 of the GP2 Series at Monaco came Davide Valsecchi to take a commanding win.

Addax’s Charles Pic moreover continued his winning form from Spain to take out the second race at the Monaco Street Circuit.

Pole man Sam Bird stalled at the green light, allowing Valsecchi to pounce into the lead. From there the Italian found it easy to fend off his rivals, escaping to a win with a comfortable margin over Alvaro Parente in second, and Luca Filippi in third.

Race 2 was almost immediately decided at the start when Pic held off Arden’s

Josef Kral in a race to the first turn. From there, he ignored any challenge to settle into a comfortable race-winning grove, cruising home to a classy victory.

Kral, meanwhile, fell back into the clutches of Romain Grosjean towards the end of the race, but held onto his second, Grosjean in third.

–CALLUM BRANAGAN

AUSSIES OVERSEAS AUSTRALIAN Formula 1 hopeful Daniel Ricciardo has once again blown his Formula Renault 3.5 rivals away on the streets of Monaco, taking a dominant win in the 30-lap race on Sunday.

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DAN MAKES IT A MONACO DOUBLE Starting from the everimportant Monaco pole position, the Friday Torro Rosso runner looked to have a relatively easy race in his ISR prepared Dallara Renault. Carlin’s Robert Wickens was able to follow the West Australian for a brief period, but

MI DEBUTS

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fell out of touch at the end of the race, settling for second place ahead of New Zealander Brendan Hartley. This is Ricciardo’s second win in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 championship, lifting him into contention for the championship with fifth overall.

Hartley was fast, but made a bad start from the front row at Monaco, managing to snatch away the lap-record for bragging rights.

Two-time 2011 race winner Kevin Korjus had a slow race by his standards to struggle

down in the sixth position, while American Alexander Rossi finished his weekend watching from the sidelines.

Jean-Eric Vergne meanwhile retains his lead in the Formula Renault 3.5 standings.

–CALLUM BRANAGAN

NASCAR N’WIDE

Kimi Raikkonen made his first appearance in an NW car and underwhelmed. The Finn felt the heat, literally, in Kyle Busch’s Motorsport’s Toyota, driving to 27th after qualifying 22nd.

He also burned his feet on the car’s floor. Experienced NASCAR drivers wear foot pad inside their boots to insulate their feet but, it seems, nobody

remembered to mention this to the former World champion …

“The floor got really hot under the seat,” Raikkonen said. “I don’t know why the car was so hot inside.

“It was hurting on the heels, but I couldn’t really do anything—just tried to keep my foot off the floor and just hold them up.”

– MARTIN D CLARK

IF you were not a Roush Fenway driver, the Nationwide race at Charlotte seemed like a long night.

The Top Gear 300 – so named to promote the USA version of the iconic TV show – was an allRFR affair, with Matt Kenseth passing team-mate Carl Edwards in the closing laps.

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All Open at Lakeside QLD STATE

Mark Pryor

A wee bit frisky, eh: Greg Fahey must have got a fright when Wade Scott’s Spectrum got some air. Jason Smith was untouchable in the Superkarts Anniversary races, winning five times in his Anderson-FPR, below.

Mark Pryor

LAKESIDE’S continuing 50th anniversary celebrations played host to a large collection of open wheel racing cars, with vintage ranging from 1930 to 2011.

Formula Ford was marred with a series of incidents after collisions between Greg Fahey and Wade Scott, Tom Corbett and Hamish Redman and finally Brady McHugh all ran off the track coming onto the front straight, hitting the trackside barrier. Hayden Cooper came through the carnage to dominate the races, winning four out of a possible five, only to have an engine blow-up. Matt Campbell however had no such troubles, winning the final race.

The Austcoat Lakeside Superkart Anniversary was won

by Jason Smith (Anderson-FPE) taking all five wins, ahead of Russell Jamieson (StockmanHonda) and Vince Livaditis (PVP).

Meanwhile a lot of interest centred on the debut of Carlo Chermaz’s brand new chassis and yet to be named Superkart.

Anthony Basile (250 National), Drene Jamieson (125cc) and Jason Shaw (Rotax Max) won their respective classes.

The large combined grid of Formula Junior and Historic

Formula Ford saw the Fords win all the races. Kendall BarryCotter (PRS 82F) and Bill Norman (Lola T642) shared the wins with Barry-Cotter winning overall ahead of Formula Juniors’ Don Thallon (MRC 22) and Roger Ealand (Lotus 18).

Ben Gersekowski (Dallara F303) made it a clean sweep of the five Racing Car races over Roman Krumins (Dallara F304) and Barclay Holden (Van Diemen RF74). Jason Clements was initially fast until his new Ralt RT4 expired. Ross Trevor (Bee Cee Jabiru) won a thin Formula Vee division over Graeme Clark (Nimbus).

–MARK JONES

A Major achievement in the wild west WA STATE PETER Major has won the 37th running of the Street Car Torque Trophy, with a clean sweep of the Street Car races at Barbagallo Raceway on the weekend.

Major, in a Mazda RX-7, comfortably took home the round win and the Torque Trophy.

Mark Greenham was second for the round, but it was Andrew Stevens who followed Major home in the final race.

Following last round’s carnage there was only a small field of Formula Fords, and Michael Howlett used it to his advantage 54

to take three straightforward wins. Andrew Goldie and Ben-Lee D’Limi fought it out for second, with Goldie taking the runner-up spot in each race.

There was also a clean sweep of the Improved Production Car races, with Ashly Barnett winning three from three in his Nissan 200SX, ahead of the Commodore of Ashley Seisum. Joe Carrucan won the Under 2000cc class in his Escort.

V8 Supercar driver Karl Reindler made a racing return to the circuit where he recently escaped serious injury in a fiery start line crash, and he had no trouble getting back

on the pace, winning the Sports Car races in a KTEC-prepared Porsche Cup Car. Unlike the other classes, there was three winners from three races in Formula Vee. Ben Riley won the first, Jacob Parsons won the second, and then Cameron Edwards took out the final, winning the round in the process. In the 1200cc class, Bruce Welsh took out all three races.

And in Historic Touring Cars, Ron Moller was too good for the rest of the field, leading home Mark Jewell in the pre-1972 class, while Bill Meeke won the pre-1965 class. motorsport news

DRAMA IN THE HILLS ROAD RALLY SEVERAL big crashes at the Adelaide Hills Tarmac Rally have left one crew in hospital in a critical condition and three cars severely damaged after a dramatic weekend.

With 65 entries in three categories contesting 26 Special Stages, the three-day rally began with a prologue first stage at the Collingrove Hillclimb, before travelling to the central Adelaide Hills to complete the first day’s stages .

The final two days would traverse the southern Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula with stages based around Willunga.

At the completion of the opening day’s six stages, Matthew Sims driving a Nissan

GTR 35 held a 46-second lead over Tristan Catford driving a Mitsubishi Evo9, Matt Selly in his Subaru WRX was in third.

Day two saw the introduction of local crews for the opening round of the SA state championship which was claimed by Matt Selley after a close battle with James Rodda, Daniel Day and current SARC champion Russell Marker.

Overcast conditions loomed over Day 2, with the rain eventually arriving late to make the roads slippery, adding yet more adversity for the field.

While the top two remained constant, Catford slipped from the leader board after having mechanical issues.

Special Stage 26, Crows Nest 2, was cancelled after the Porsche 911 of Milan Filo/Jason Rowley ran wide at a slight crest, slamming into a tree.

A medical team was luckily on the scene within minutes and the drivers stabilised before being cut from the car.

Both were airlifted to hospital where they remain critical.

Sims and Selley held strong at the head of the times with Andrew Burnard filling third position at the end of the day.

With 10 stages on the final day, Sims led by 1min 49 seconds, needing only to maintain the status quo to keep Selley at bay to claim the win.

Catford’s woes continued on the final day and ended when his engine exploded and caught fire in the third stage of the day.

Burnard held onto the third spot with Rodda and Day rounding out the top five positions in a field of just 13 classified finishers.

–PHIL WILLIAMS

ELLERY IS CLOSE ... BUT NO CIGAR AUSSIES OVERSEAS LUKE Ellery has come agonisingly close to a breakout win in his first attempt on an oval in the USF2000 Championship on the weekend.

Having missed out on the pre-race testing weekend due to an extremely tight budget, Ellery immediately stamped his presence on the ‘Road to Indy’ runners by qualifying in fourth. Driving his Melbourne IT Solutions Van Diemen, Ellery briefly slipped back to sixth place, only to claw his way back up the top to lead current points leader, Petri Suvanto.

Unfortunately however, a spinning Rodin Younessi was www.mnews.com.au

un avoidable for the Melbourne based JDC pilot, crashing into Younessi and ending what was a brilliant effort.

Performing so well as the underdog, Ellery was disappointed to come so far to be so close to a win on his oval debut.

“I don’t know how I’m going to explain to everyone back home what happened,” said Ellery.

“We had the best car out there and I just got taken out. It’s just so disappointing.”

Ellery and Younessi escaped the accident without injury.

Ellery will be back in action on June 18 for Round 4 of the series at the Milwaukee Mile.

–CALLUM BRANAGAN. 55

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motorsport news

REAR OF GRID

t o p S Odd

The Soccerer’s Apprentices IT can be easy to overlook some of the good deeds done in motor racing.

Last week, f’rinstance, some of the big names in Grand Prix racing, past and present, go together and laced on the

footy boots in the annual Starteam charity football match in Monaco.

The list of drivers who took part was led

by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, and they were joined by some of

the greyhairs – but noticably, Michael Schumacher was not a started this time around.

Have a good look and see if you can spot some of the drivers ...

sutton-images.com

ON THIS DAY 30 MAY 1983 MUCH has been written about the mercurial Grand Prix career of Ayrton Senna, but some of the brilliant Brazilian’s great drives came before we made it to Formula 1. The year prior his GP debut, he dominated British Formula 3, winning a record nine successive races. His ninth came at Silverstone, below, the 23-year-old beating Martin Brundle by 11s. Two weeks later, Brundle struck back at the same circuit, winning the European round after Senna crashed while chasing him. By October, Senna was testing F1 cars and he would face Brundle again in GP racing the following season.

57

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sutton-images.com

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