Motorsport eNews Issue 213 - July 12-18, 2011

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Issue No. 213 July 12 - 18 2011

COMMISION JOB TO TAKE SKAIFE OUT OF 2012 BATHURST 1000

WHO IS THE MAN MOST LIKELY TO PARTNER LOWNDES? MAYBE IT’S ...

BEATTIE TALKS ABOUT SETTING UP TEXAS

WEBBER WAGES WAR ON TEAM ORDERS

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It’s been a while, but Daniel Ricciardo made it two Aussies in an F1 GP at Silverstone. He finished 19th on debut, but that hardly matters. Onya, Dan.

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Issue No. 213 | July 12 – 18 2011

news 5

Enforcer up in the air SCAR future unclear; #888?

6 Back to the Future Adelaide could open 2012 8 Charlie’s Angles Schwerkolt looks at options 13 Ordering Take Away Webber races to end of GP! 14 Nuclear Power Will pays out on Dario, Tag

chat 24 Five Minutes With ...

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comment 28 Branagan: Teams and ‘teams’ 27 AVL: Red Bull, no Bull

race 28 Townsville V8 Supercars 38 Townsville Fujitsu V8s 42 Carrera Cup 50 British Formula 1 GP 54 Toronto IndyCar 58 Kentucky NASCAR

trade 66 Classifieds

T8 EXPANSION PLANS GAINING MOMENTUM V8 SUPERCARS A FOUR-car Triple Eight team next year continues to be a possibility, with talks continuing between team owner Roland Dane and Paul Morris.

Dane said in Townsville at the weekend that he and the owner of PMM, which runs two T8-built Commodore customer cars, will continue. Should the talks lead to a combining of the teams, the likely model would be that Morris continues to own his Racing Entitlements Contracts,

with T8 providing the sporting and commercial sides of the deal.

“We have talked a little bit, and we will some more,” said Dane.

“We have got to the stage where there is time to talk about this.”

Much of what comes next may depend on the future of PMM’s own sponsorship prospects.

As reported in this month’s Motorsport News, Russell Ingall deal with the team is up at the end of the season, as are the arrangements with Super Cheap Autos and Holden.

So the T8-PMM deal come

together, those matters would likely be the domain of Dane.

“I have always looked after the commercial aspects and, if something happens, that will not change,” he said. “There are sponsors around who are keen on the category and who are not involved. The category has taken huge steps in the last five years and people want to become involved.”

Rumours continue to connect Lee Holdsworth with the team, the current GMR driver confirming only that he would “be racing” in 2012 …

SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE SCA? V8 SUPERCARS THE future of SuperCheap Autos in V8 Supercar racing is up in the air, with the national automotive products retailer looking at its options for 2012 and beyond.

With confirmation that Roland Dane and Paul Morris are discussing the possibility of a four-car team, SuperCheap is believed to be in discussion with a number of parties concerning 2012, and what it may be able to achieve in the future.

There appear to be a number of options. One may be that if the current T8-PMM negotiations do not lead to a combined team, to that PMM carries on, as it is now, next season. So SCA staying put

could be one opportunity.

Among the other teams, though, there are limited opportunities. SCA and Castrol have very strong ties for as long as they have been in the sport, and any team that has an existing deal with a rival oil company would appear to be out of the running. The oil companies involved with the sport currently are Mobil (HRT, Bundy); Caltex (TeamVodafone); Valvoline (GRM); Fuchs (SBR and Jones); Shell (JBR); and Gulf Western (LDR). Of course, relationships change, and some of those deals may be coming to an end.

Castrol has current deals with FPR, Kelly Racing and Centaur, leaving Tekno (Webb) and Triple F (Fiore) as oil-less teams. motorsport news

NEWS

RUSSELL INGALL IN THE BOX SEAT TO PARTNER LOWNDES IN 2012?

I

V8 SUPERCARS

S Russell Ingall the man to replace Mark Skaife at TeamVodafone?

That is one intriguing question that emerged at Townsville on the weekend.

While Mark Skaife is not inclined to say that this year’s Bathurst 1000 will be his last as a driver, he has been named as ‘Chairman-elect’ to the new V8 Supercars Commission, to assume full responsibility after this year’s race with TeamVodafone.

With a two-year tenure, and at 44, it would appear the chances of him returning to an active driving role in the event he has

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won six times are remote, at best.

In the meantime, Ingall is looking at his options for 2012. With the possibility of his current team, Paul Morris Motorsport, being combined into a four-car Triple Eight Holden team, Ingall is not ruling out that could be his future – in spite of him not looking for an endurance-only role just yet.

“That is not something that is on the radar,” he said in Townsville.

“I am working 100 percent on getting another drive next year with SuperCheap, Castrol and, preferably, Holden involved.

But if it came to that, and this doesn’t happen, you would want to be with a

team that is capable of winning the race.

You would not want to go backwards.”

TeamVodafone boss Roland Dane was very non-committal, saying only he was worried about matching driver sizes.

“Skaifey is committed to the commission for the next two years, so we are going to need someone to be with Craig [Lowndes],” said Dane on Sunday.

“He might not fit in. Size is important with the drivers. We might be looking for someone the same size as Skaife …”

[According to V8 Supercars’ media guides, Ingall is 172cm tall, Skaife 180cm and Lowndes 182cm].

LAMBDEN NAMED TO V8 COMMISSION V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

CHRIS Lambden is the surprise nominee for the new V8 Supercars Commission.

The founding publisher of both Motorsport News and Motorsport eNews was on Sunday named as the independent member of the Commission, which will guide the sporting aspects of the category.

The Commission sat in Townsville for the first time last Thursday, prior to the cars taking to the track.

The other members of the Commission are Mark Skaife (Chairman), team principals Tim Edwards, Ross Stone and Brad Jones (who also sits on the V8 Supercars board), V8 Supercars CEO Martin Whitaker and COO (and V8 Supercars Events boss) Shane Howard.

Skaife is expected to serve in a limited role until he clears his slate of his endurance race commitments with TeamVodafone. In the meantime, Edwards will act as Chairman.

Lambden has extensive experience in the sport.

Apart from his role in the founding of this magazine and MN and other roles in the media, he is a former touring car team owner and driver, and raced karts and Superkarts with considerable success before he moved to Australia in the mid-1980s.

In early 2010, MN and eNews was acquired by Chevron Publishing, and since that time, Lambden has filled a transitional role within the company.

For more on Lambden, see 5 Minutes, page 24.

ABU DHABI MAY GIVE WAY TO CLIPSAL 500

V8s look to Adelaide: Yas Marina cuts staff V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS will race in Abu Dhabi next season, in spite of recent cutbacks at the Yas Marina circuit.

V8 Supercars Chairman Tony Cochrane said in Townsville at the weekend that the 2012 could open in Adelaide rather than in the Middle East. A few hours later at the British GP at Silverstone, rumours suggested that the track’s recent layoffs could mean that the only international category that the glamorous circuit would host next season would be Formula 1.

But, according to V8 Supercars spokesman Cole Hitchcock, the 60 layoffs in staff at the track does not mean that the 2012 V8 Supercar event, the last in the current agreement between the track and the category, will not go ahead.

“That is not an accurate statement,” said V8 Supercars spokesman Cole Hitchcock, who added that V8 Supercars would “definitely” race at the circuit

in 2012, the last year in the current agreement between V8 Supercar and the circuit.

In the meantime, the circuit does have its traditional lateseason F1 date allocated on the provisional 2012 calendar, with 11 November as the date of next year’s event.

Cochrane said last weekend that he was looking at an expanded 18-event season, opening in Australia.

“If it was a perfect world, I would be working very hard on opening in Adelaide and move Abu Dhabi,” said Cochrane.

“We are working, talking, we have a great working relationship with the guys at Yas Marina, we have a great working relationship with lots of people in the Middle East. So we will just see where that all comes out.”

Cochrane also said that there was a time frame for expanding the schedule and that it could hit 18 events as soon as 2013.

“Our sport is very much focused and very much

dedicated to moving to 18 events by 2014, at the absolute worst-case scenario. We are very much focused on trying to get there by 2013. That is not to say that if we only get to 17 by 2013 that we will be disappointed.

We really want to make it very clear to everybody that this championship is expanding.

“2013 is critical, from a number of points of view. It is the first year of our media rights [deal] and it is also the first year of Car of the Future.”

The expanded season will lead to most events being spaced two weeks apart, with exceptions for the long-haul treks to Darwin and Perth.

“Our plan is that by 2014 we will have 18 events in 40 weeks,” said Cochrane, “the key being that we will basically pop up on television every two weeks.”

Should the 18-event plan come to fruition for 2013, that would place the seasonopening round on the weekend of 1-3 March. A calendar is expected in October. motorsport news

NEWS

Blame Tasmania V8 SUPERCARS TONY Cochrane has delivered a broadside to the Tasmanian government ahead of what appears to be the final V8 Supercar round in the state.

In responding to recent comments from Premier Laura Giddings that V8 Supercars was “sabre rattling” over the loss of the event, Cochrane has returned fire and laid responsibility for the decision at the feet of the government.

“Tasmania is not of V8 Supercars’ doing, in any way, shape or form,” he said.

“The Tasmanian government can take full, complete and total responsibility. We were asked, back in November of last year, by the then-Premier to do a three-year deal.

We did. Then, in February of this year, we were approached to cut that deal back to a one-year deal, just for this year, which we reluctantly agreed to, because they told us they had huge financial troubles in the fair state of Tasmania.

“Subsequent to that, of course, they then came out and announced that they had

500cc of Thanks to Schwantz, Beattie

done a new AFL deal in Hobart, at $600,000 per round. We rightfully, I think, believed that that’s where our money had gone.

“So when the Premier says that V8s are sable rattling, we have done nothing but comply with exactly what they wanted. They wanted a three-year deal; they have it. They want to change that to a one-year deal; we agreed, reluctantly, and changed it to a one-year deal. That is what we have at the moment.”

AFL club North Melbourne will play six home games at Bellrive Oval over the next three years, with the government backing the deal through state-owned TT Lines.

Hawthorn plays four of its home games each season in Launceston.

Cochrane questioned the value that the new AFL deal would bring to the state.

“If I can put a hypothetical question,” he said, “one AFL game brings 40 people – sorry, two sides, 80 people – to Tasmania for one night, for $600,000. What is 450 people and 280 tonnes of freight coming down for four or five days worth?

“I am bitterly disappointed for our fan base down there.”

Dirk Klynsmith

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V8 SUPERCARS TWO motorcycle Grand Prix racing legends, Kevin Schwantz and Daryl Beattie, were instrumental in starting the conversation that led to V8 Supercars’ deal to race in Texas for five years.

Beattie was visiting his old friend and former team-mate in the USA when he learned that he was involved with the consortium behind the development of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin – where Beattie used to live when he raced for Suzuki.

“I had been out to dinner with some of [Hermann] Tilke’s design team when they were about to turn the first dirt,” Beattie told eNews.

“Kevin has been friends with Tavo [Hellmund, COTA’s founding partner] for years, since we raced together. They said that the wanted to contact V8 Supercars and talk about having a race and asked, did I have [Tony] Cochrane’s number? It was that easy.”

Cochrane praised Beattie’s role in starting the conversation, and is clearly fired up about taking the series to the USA. “If you had have told be five years ago, I don’t think anybody who knows me would say Tony Cochrane is not an optimist, that we would definitely be racing one day, as part of the championship, in the United States of America, I would have suggested to you that that is so far overshot, it is not funny,” he said.

One thing that is not yet clear is the month in which the race will be held.

“We have a preference, and that is all it is at the moment, so don’t go booking tickets, for late-April/early May,” said a cautious Cochrane.

SCHWERKOLT SITTING TIGHT V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

CHARLIE Schwerkolt’s Racing Entitlement Contract is likely to remain in the hands of Dick Johnson Racing for 2012.

Schwerkolt’s REC is currently leased to DJR, a deal that was struck in the wake of Schwerkolt and Johnson’s messy split as team owners at the end of 2010. The lease is a two-year deal, meaning that, despite paddock murmurings to the contrary, Schwerkolt’s REC is unlikely to be available before 2013.

But beyond that, Schwerkolt is looking to re-join the sport as a team owner. When the DJR lease is over, Schwerkolt will be unable to lease his REC out again under V8 Supercar rules, which leaves just two options – selling the REC, or returning to V8 Supercar racing as a team owner, either independently, or as a satellite team similar to the deal that Rod Nash has with Ford Performance Racing.

According to Schwerkolt, selling is not an option.

“Absolutely, I want to return to the sport,” Schwerkolt told eNews.

“I’m getting my ducks in a row and working out the best way to go about doing that. It’s good to be seen at these races.”

While Schwerkolt’s REC remaining with DJR in 2012 is the likely option, eNews understands that it could hinge on Jim Beam renewing its sponsorship with the team.

The current Jim Beam deal is up at the end of this season, with

an option for next. Should that option not be taken, Schwerkolt may be entitled to move his REC elsewhere as soon as 2012.

Schwerkolt declined to comment on the Jim Beam sponsorship situation.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Percat’s Fujitsu Series entry and Walkinshaw Racing’s main game Commodores, Coates Hire is an equipment supplier to the eight V8 Supercar Eventspromoted race meetings.

“Coates Hire is a fantastic Australian company and incredible partner for our sport as our events portfolio expands,” V8 Supercars CEO Shane Howard said.

“Some of the biggest V8

Supercar events in this country would simply not happen without the great people from Coates Hire ensuring they have essential portable buildings, lighting, toilets, generators and the like.

“Coates Hire has a significant component of its business in south-east Queensland which is why an event such as the Coates Hire Ipswich 300 is a nice fit for their brand.”

A HIRE POWER V8 SUPERCARS

COATES Hire has signed on as the naming rights sponsor for Queensland Raceway’s V8 Supercar event at the end of August.

To be known as the Coates Hire Ipswich 300, it’s an extension of the hire equipment firm’s local motorsport involvement. In addition to supporting Nick

V8SA IN A RUSH V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS has engaged an international sports marketing company to assist in its global sponsorship dealings.

Rush Sports Marketing & Investment, based in London and Hong Kong, is to represent V8 Supercars in international sponsorship relations. Former Williams F1 man Tom Potter is CEO of the company, which counts Marussia Virgin as one of its clients.

V8 Supercars also confirmed that James Erskine, the CEO of former category stakeholder SEL, will continue to be an advisor to V8 Supercars in the upcoming negotiation of the V8 Supercars media rights. motorsport news

NEWS

FULL SURFERS LIST COMING SOON V8 SUPERCARS

THE full list of internationals for this year’s Armor All Gold Coast 600 will be announced by the end of the month.

For the 21st anniversary of racing on the streets of Surfers Paradise, eight of the 28 drivers have been confirmed by event organisers so far, ahead of a formal launch on July 28.

The latest named internationals, Australian IndyCar stars Will Power and Ryan Briscoe will line up with Ford Performance Racing and the Toll Holden Racing Team again, as they did in 2010. Power will partner Mark Winterbottom, while whether his Penske team-mate Briscoe joins James Courtney or Garth Tander is yet to be finalised.

“I am really looking forward to working with Frosty again and knuckling down and getting the job done,” Power said.

“Ford Performance Racing has one of the fastest cars out there this season, I’m excited to see how it performs for me. I have to thank Roger Penske and Team Penske for allowing Ryan and I to do this event again this year.”

American Boris Said was also confirmed last week at Paul Morris Motorsport – with whom he contested the 2008 enduros – as Steve Owen’s partner. Alex Tagliani (Kelly Racing), Andy Priaulx (TeamVodafone), Marc Lieb (Stone Brothers Racing), and Dirk Muller and Joey Hand (both Jim Beam Racing) are the other currently confirmed drivers.

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NEWS

THOMPSON: FIRST THINGS FIRST FUJITSU SERIES

ANDREW Thompson is focussed on this year’s endurance races, not returning to the main game full-time, despite increasingly strong rumours that Triple Eight Race Engineering and Paul Morris Motorsport will join forces in 2012.

As the runaway Fujitsu Series leader for Triple Eight Race Engineering, and Jamie Whincup’s endurance race co-driver,

Thompson could potentially be in line to take one of the T8/PMM seats in 2012.

But after a shocking year in the main game with Walkinshaw Racing in 2010, Thompson is adamant that he isn’t even thinking about how or when he might return to the main game.

“I still think there is a lot to be shown,” said Thompson in Townsville.

“We’ve had some good speed and we’ve had some good results, but I think we’ve

still got a lot to prove; a lot to finish the year off with.

“In regards to main game, and getting back to the main game, I’m not really too focussed on that at the moment. I’m just enjoying what I’m doing, and looking forward to Phillip Island and Bathurst, and trying to do the best job I can there for Jamie. I’m just enjoying my year and having some fun.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

KRE engine on Saturday night. “[KRE boss] Kenny Mac notified Frank Adamson, not Frank Lowndes,” said Dane.

“It was a procedural issue. It is not against the rules to change engines, but you need permission.

“We asked the wrong Frank.”

Thompson still managed to win the round, adding a fifth place in the race to his Saturday win. But Dane was critical

of Nick Percat, who finished sixth in his Coates Hire entry, the two Commodores making contact over the final laps of the race “I was happy to see him [Thompson] race through the field cleanly until he got to Percat,” he said.

“It’s ended up with $1500 worth of damage. He is clearly talented but badly managed.”

DANE: LET ME BE FRANK FUJITSU SERIES

ROLAND Dane has pointed to a communication error as the cause of Andrew Thompson’s rear-of-grid penalty for Sunday’s Fujitsu V8 Supercar race at Townsville.

Thompson’s Monster Energy-backed Triple Eight Commodore started at the back of the grid, after the crew changed its

Dirk Klynsmith

10

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RICCIARDO HAPPY TO MAKE THE FORMULA 1 DANIEL Ricciardo says making the finish of the British Grand Prix was his sole objective heading into the race, his first as a full-time Grand Prix driver.

Driving for the minnow Hispania Racing Team outfit, and having never set in the car before a seat fitting last Wednesday, Ricciardo conceded that anything beyond making the finish was unrealistic. And, having been quicker than his vastly more experienced team-mate Tonio Liuzzi in two of the three practice sessions, he said he was happy with how the weekend went.

“I feel quite good to finish and see the checkered flag,” he said.

“It was nice to get the laps, which I think was the most important thing for me today for experience. Understanding the tyres, the pit stops and the strategy, it’s really very complex and something I’ve never really done before, so in this respect I think it was a step forward.

“I was quite a bit off the other competitors, but I think that, as I learn, I will get a bit closer. I also need to try and manage the blue flags a bit better, it’s not easy.

“At the end, looking at it now, I’m quite pleased with the result. Wednesday was a big introduction to Formula 1, meeting the team and making the seat, it was never going to be easy or perfect but to finish the race is a good result for us.

“My expectations for the next race are to learn and move forward, to be a bit closer to Tonio in qualifying and to try and close the gap in the race, I think that is a good target for now.”

Ricciardo finished the race in 19th place, last of the runners.

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motorsport news

NEWS

MARK WEBBER: I IGNORED THE TEAM FORMULA 1

MARK Webber has admitted that he purposely ignored pleas from Red Bull Racing to not race Sebastian Vettel at the end of Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

With both Red Bull drivers struggling for grip at the end of the race, Webber made big in-roads on Vettel, and ultimately challenged him for second place. All the while, RBR were on the radio, asking Webber to maintain the gap to Vettel.

After the race, Webber was happy to admit that he had no interest in playing the team orders game.

“The team radioed me about four times, asking that I maintain the gap to Seb,” he said.

“I am not fine with it. No. That’s the answer to that. If Fernando [Alonso] retires on the last lap we are battling for the victory so I was fine until the end.

“Of course I ignored the team, as I want to try and get another place. Seb was doing his best and I was doing my best. I don’t want to crash with anyone, but that was it.

“I tried to do my best with the amount of conversation I had; one-way conversation, obviously, as I wasn’t talking too much back.

There was a lot of traffic coming to me, but I was still trying to do my best to pass the guy in front.”

Meanwhile, Vettel defended the team’s decision, and promised that had the situation been reversed, he would have played ball with the team orders.

“I finished second, I think,” said Vettel.

“As I said earlier, Mark tried to pass me; I could stay ahead. Clearly you could see he was quicker

FINISH

at that stage. If I wasn’t racing, I would just wave him past.

“Sure, the last thing you want is to do something bad for the team. If it would be the other way round, there’s no point – of course, I would like to overtake Mark at that stage but there’s no point trying to do something stupid, especially from a team point of view, so I don’t see why there is a big fuss really.”

Unsurprisingly, Horner also defended his decision, telling AUTOSPORT that he too was surprised with Webber’s actions in the closing stages of the race.

“At the end of the day the team is the biggest thing, and no individual is bigger than the team,” said Horner.

“I can understand Mark’s frustration in that, but had it been the other way around it would have been exactly the same.

“It happened a couple of years ago in Turkey when exactly the same thing happened with Sebastian, so it makes no sense from a team point of view to risk both of your cars. It was obvious that neither was going to concede.

And, as we saw with [Felipe] Massa and [Lewis] Hamilton at the last corner, who very nearly made contact, it made no sense from a team point of view to allow them to continue to fight over those last couple of laps.

“Mark obviously chose to ignore that and didn’t make the pass in any event, but that is the team’s position.”

Horner added that Webber’s defiance will be taken up by the time.

“It is something that he and I will talk about in private.”

OFF-THROTTLE FLOW BAN LIFTED FORMULA 1

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BLOWN diffusers are set to be re-legalised for the remainder of the season, after a turbulent weekend at Silverstone.

In an attempt to stamp out any aerodynamic advantage, teams were asked to cut off-throttle exhaust flow down to 10 percent for the British Grand Prix. But the Renault powered teams were given a concession to up the limit to 50 percent, on the grounds of reliability. The concession angered the Mercedes-powered teams, and even caused a public row between Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner and McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh during Thursday’s official press conference.

The result of the reaction was that Renault was forced back to the 10 percent before qualifying, a disadvantage that didn’t stop them locking out the front row of the grid.

In order to try and control the situation, on Sunday morning the FIA offered teams a proposal that would allow them to revert to pre-Silverstone configurations from the German Grand Prix onwards. And despite initial reluctance from Ferrari and Sauber, it would appear the offer has now been accepted by all teams.

Even if off-throttle exhaust flow is re-permitted, the ban on teams changing mapping setting between qualifying and the race is likely to remain in place.

13

IZOD INDYCAR media

‘Dirty’ Dario cops Power overload INDYCAR A BITTER war of words has broken out between Dario Franchitti and Will Power following the crash-fest that was Honda Toronto Indy race.

After the race, an enraged Power accused Franchitti of making a ‘dirty move’ on him.

The Australian was referring to the lap 56 clash with his title rival, which saw Power nudged into a spin that dropped him to 16th place.

“We went into the corner and I

gave him room and then he just drove into me,” Power said.

“I understood he was going to get penalised but then there was no call. I just don’t understand that. After that we were just trying to get the best result possible before [Alex Tagliani] hit me from behind.

“I’m not surprised he [Franchitti] didn’t get a penalty; he never gets a penalty. It was such a dirty move ... I’m really disappointed in Dario, I always race him clean, he always races dirty. The guy that mouths off

IZOD INDYCAR media

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and whinges about everyone, he’s the one who’s dirty.”

For his part, Franchitti accepted ‘50 percent’ of the blame.

“On the restart,” Franchitti explained, “I got a good run down the back straight and I was on Will’s gearbox, and I actually just happened to just lift a little bit to avoid running into the back of him, and he pulled out and I went down the inside, and I started to brake.

“I thought, ‘Well, this is as late as I possibly can go in here’ and Will went a bit deeper. I thought, ‘fair play’.

“The result of that was that he missed the apex of the corner and he ran wide. So I was, I think, in more control of my car, so I went down the inside there and got about third of the way alongside.

“As I had done before that day and as I did a lot subsequently both on the inside and outside, we started to run round the corner side by side.

“Will started to crowd me there, and unfortunately at that point as he was crowding, the wall comes out, and so I couldn’t go any further to the right.

“So I was trying to get out of it, and I couldn’t and I’d say that was my part in the accident. I think Will has equal blame in that in the fact that he came

down across like I wasn’t there.

“I don’t like to race like that.

I don’t like to have contact, especially with the guy you’re racing, as closely as Will and I race together.”

Indycar’s panel of officials, which included Al Unser Jr, ruled it a racing incident.

“Between Franchitti and Power, there was never a penalised issue to either driver,” Unser said. “Franchitti was underneath Will, and there was no penalty assessed to him based on what we saw.”

Ultimately it was contact from Alex Tagliani that put paid to Power’s race – for which Power described the Canadian as a ‘wanker’.

“Pretty typical of him,” Power raged, “Tagliani’s just a wanker, he’s always been a wanker. We were just trying to get the best result possible before Tag hit me from behind. It’s very tough to have two DNFs in a row. All I can say is we’ll keep working hard and hopefully come back strong at Edmonton.”

The events of Toronto have changed the complexion of the championship, which all of a sudden appears to be slipping from the Australian’s reach.

With 10 of the 18 races to go, Franchitti’s 55-point lead over Power represents more than one race win. motorsport news

NEWS

Kentucky crowd chaos NASCAR

Indy Bricktacular

NASCAR media

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NASCAR media

It was a full house at Kentucky Speedway as more than 100,000 fans jammed the revamped 2.4km oval for the Quaker State 400, the first ever Sprint Cup event held at the venue.

In fact, there was an estimated several thousand who were simply unable to make it into the packed venue – and that included one of the drivers.

Denny Hamlin found himself sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic along with thousands of race fans heading for Kentucky Speedway.

While stationary in the gridlock, Hamlin tweeted to explain his plight to the world.

“Bad news is I’m prolly not going to make the drivers meeting in 3 hours because I’m in this traffic with everyone else,” Hamlin posted on his Twitter account at around 2:30 pm.

“Good news, I’m starting in the back anyway.”

A rear-grid start is the penalty for missing the drivers’ briefing, but the Toyota driver had already been banished to the back after having changed an engine during practice.

For the record, he did make it in time for the drivers’ briefing.

Elsewhere, NASCAR officials formed their good news/ bad news assessment of the attendance overflow.

“While NASCAR was thrilled by the incredible response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Kentucky,“ NASCAR Chairman Brian France said in a statement.

“We also are extremely disappointed by the traffic problems and inconveniences endured by fans who wanted to be part of our races at Kentucky Speedway.

“NASCAR will be in close communications with Kentucky Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc. to see that they work to resolve the issues.

This situation cannot happen again.”

NASCAR In a major break with tradition, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the GRAND-AM Road Racing cars will join the NASCAR Sprint Cup circus at Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400 on July 28-29.

Billed as the ‘Super Weekend at the Brickyard’, Indy’s NASCAR meeting will for the first time in the speedway’s history feature racing on both the 4.0km oval and the 4.1km road course, which previously hosted the US F1 Grand Prix and a version of which hosts MotoGP. Both NASCAR series will run on the oval; the GRAND-AM

cars will use the road course.

GRAND-AM runs on the Friday, whereupon the venue reverts to the oval set-up for the Nationwide race on Saturday and the Sprint Cup on Sunday.

“The Super Weekend at the Brickyard will offer non-stop excitement for every auto racing fan with the addition of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and GRAND-AM Road Racing,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer.

“This will be an unforgettable event and the start of a great new racing tradition at the Speedway.”

15

Dirk Klynsmith

PERKINS WANTS LICENCE REVIEW FUJITSU SERIES JACK Perkins has slammed Australia’s competition licensing laws after tripping over an inexperienced driver during Fujitsu Series practice at Townsville last weekend.

Perkins was ruled out of all Friday’s running after he was spun into the wall by Lindsay Yellard. The impact severely damaged Perkin’s Sonic-run BF Falcon, and put a big whole in

his budget for the remainder of 2011.

According to Perkins, the crash should make the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport review the ease with which an inexperienced driver can find his way onto a V8 Supercar grid.

“It was the first or second lap [of practice], I was coming up behind a backmarker who was in the middle of the road and driving quite slow,” said Perkins.

“I passed him at the last corner, then I got a nice wack in the right rear and went sideways, which wasn’t an issue until we went onto the [wet] grass, and accelerated into the fence at 130 kays.

“It did a lot of damage [to the] left-front suspension, broke the sump and the engine, the diff housing, watts linkage, shocks, all sorts of stuff that’s going to cost me a bit of money at the end of the month!

“It’s just a shame. The guy didn’t even qualify for the event, and it really questions CAMS’ licensing requirements, because you can do three or four state races in Formula Vee, then buy a V8 Supercar and your in Townsville as a V8 Supercar driver. To me it doesn’t stack up.”

Perkins managed to recover from the crash to finish the round third.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

DOUGLAS WEIGHS UP 2012 OPTIONS FUJITSU SERIES

16

Dirk Klynsmith

TAZ Douglas will continue to race in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in 2012, despite the fact that his VZ Commodore will be ineligible for the series after the end of this season.

For 2012, all Commodores in the Fujitsu Series will have the be VE models, meaning that Douglas and his family-run Fastaz Racing team will need to make changes to continue racing.

But Douglas has committed to persist, meaning he will have to either join forces with a bigger team, or purchase a new car.

“We’re currently sussing things out,” Douglas told eNews.

“I’m sitting on the fence at the moment. We might move to a bigger team like Sonic, or we might continue to run our own thing. It will largely depend on

how much a new car will cost, and how our work load is at home.

“We’ll definitely be doing something, but right now I

don’t know which way we’ll go.”

Douglas finished 18th at Townsville in his ageing exPerkins Engineering car.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

NEWS

John Morris / Mpix

DOLLARS SORTED, NOW FOR TITLE CARRERA CUP FINANCIAL security could be the key to Daniel Gaunt winning the 2011 Australian Carrera Cup title.

Shortly before the Townsville round Gaunt inked a deal with Money Choice, aligning him

with Matt Coleman. Before the deal, Gaunt and Coleman were already running with Melbourne Performance Centre, meaning that technically, little has changed in Gaunt’s program.

However, instead of running on a round-by-round

budget, Gaunt is now free to concentrate on taking the title, not looking for money.

“Having Money Choice on board, it’s just great to have that security,” Gaunt told eNews.

“It really does make a difference to your driving.

“It’s hard to measure that,

but it does. Motor racing is such a psychological game, so to know that I’m locked in for the year does a lot for the confidence.”

Gaunt comfortably won all three Carrera Cup races in Townsville.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

BARKER HEADING HOME CARRERA CUP

AUSTRALIAN Carrera Cup frontrunner Ben Barker will return to race in his native England next month.

The reigning Australian Formula 3 Champion has finalised a deal that will see him race in the Carrera Cup GB series round at Snetterton on

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the weekend of August 6-7, with a second outing at Knockhill in Scotland yet to be confirmed, but likely to go ahead.

Barker will then return to Australia for the next Carrera Cup round at Phillip Island in September.

“Carrera Cup is very competitive here, especially amongst the top six guys, and

I’m expecting a pretty similar level of competition in the UK,” he said.

“The cars are the same, so that won’t be a drama, I’ll just need to get my head around the track.

I’ve raced at Snetterton before, back in British Formula Ford, but that was before they extended the track, so it’s basically like starting again.

“Really, this is all about trying to get my name out in Europe, and try and get into the Porsche scene over there.”

Barker hasn’t raced in England since 2009, when he raced in British Formula Ford, his first year of car racing. He has raced in Australia since the start of 2010.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

17

NEWS

TRS CONDENSES FOR 2012 NEW ZEALAND

NEXT Year’s International Toyota Racing Series will be its most compact yet, with all five rounds to be held on consecutive weekends.

In recent years, the series has attracted young drivers to New Zealand for valuable racing miles in January and February, before the start of the European racing seasons.

The 2012 calendar will make that even more practical,

kicking off on January 12-15 and wrapping up on February 9-12. Including testing, participating drivers are set to be in a car for 20 of those 32 days.

“In 2011 we had nine overseas drivers competing in New Zealand and after discussions with some of our teams it was felt that driver number would increase if we could offer a more condensed calendar,” Toyota Racing Series Manager Barrie Thomlinson said.

2012 International Toyota Racing Series 1. Spirit of a Nation Cup, Teretonga Park, January 12-15 2. Timaru Herald Trophy, Tamaru Raceway, January 19-22 3. Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy, Taupo Motorsport Park, Jan 26-29 4. New Zealand Motor Cup, Hampton Downs, February 2-5 5. New Zealand Grand Prix, Manfield, February 9-12 “This concentrated schedule is a first for TRS and comes in response to requests from European drivers and teams who are looking for racing away from the Northern hemisphere winter months.

“This format also assists in containing the budgets for our local drivers. Just as drivers did in the days of the Tasman Series, a short sharp season with plenty of testing and racing should fill the grid well.”

from one to three cars.

“In Ben we have a fully qualified driver coach driving for us, so we could offer a lot to an ‘Elite’ driver who is looking to enjoy their racing and have a strong team-mate who can help them improve their driving as well.

“The resources aren’t a problem and for us it would make a lot of sense commercially so it’s something we’re seriously looking into.”

Meanwhile, Rundle confirmed the team would return to the Toyota Racing Series this summer and could run as many as three cars.

The team entered the series last summer with young New Zealand driver Alastair Wooten behind the wheel, and the team

expects to be back in a bigger way when the 2012 series begins in January, see separate story.

“We’re not far away from locking the full program in,” he said.

“They have condensed the international component down to five races in as many weeks so for us it makes a lot of sense to go over and race during the Aussie off-season.

“We’re close to have one driver confirmed (Ed: expected to be Wooten) and are in discussions with some of our F3 and Formula Ford squad about heading over. We’re also talking with TRS organisers about securing one of the internationals they bring over which would complete an ideal program.”

BRM WANTS MORE James Smith

CARRERA CUP JUST six months after expanding into ‘tin-tops’ for the first time, Team BRM are already targeting further expansion.

Team Manager Mark Rundle confirmed to eNews that the team is working on not only expanding its Carrera Cup program next season, but also increasing their international profile in the Toyota Racing Series this summer.

With Ben Barker impressing in his and the team’s debut Porsche season, Rundle said he was looking at ways to grow their Carrera Cup team next year.

“Even though we are only three rounds in this weekend it’s been 18

a very strong start,” he said.

“We’re not far away from breaking through for that first win and when Ben gets the first he usually goes on it with it.

From our perspective, we’d love to expand to a two or three car program next year if we can.

“We’ve begun to chat with car owners about securing a second car and if we can continue to show how quick our cars are then we can start looking at drivers. (Sponsor) Total has been really pleased with the exposure they are getting and the series offers a lot of value for the money you spend.”

Rundle also confirmed the team would like to add an Elite Class driver to their ranks, potentially expanding the team

motorsport news

A celebration of Australasian Muscle Car heritage and a tribute to drivers who raced them FATHERS DAY SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2011 Eastern Creek Raceway - Sydney - Australia AMC’s annual Father’s Day celebration of Australia’s unique muscle car heritage returns to Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway.

Join us in 2011 as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase III and the Charger R/T E38, and 25 years of the VN Commodore Group A

Don’t miss out on the AMC Legends Dinner with Allan Moffat, Jim and Steven Richards, plus by popular demand Allan Grice SATURDAY 3 SEPTEMBER

For travel packages check out

www.travelaire.com.au

WHAT’S ON IN 2011

So get to the Creek for...

- The Sports Sedan Spectacular

New for 2 011

- Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn - Groups N, C and A Historics Touring Cars - Master Blasts - Best of the Best - Heritage Hot Laps - Ulimate Race Replicas

For all ticket bookings, Legends Dinner reservations, trackside hospitality bookings and event info, check out

www.musclecarmasters.com.au

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19

MILES HELPS OUT, GETS HELP FUJITSU SERIES

Dirk Klynsmith

A GOOD deed has paid off for Fujitsu Series squad Miles Racing in the chase for sponsorship.

For Round 2 of the series at Barbagallo Raceway in May, the team auctioned off bonnet space on Chaz Mostert and Ash Walsh’s Falcons to benefit the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth.

Victorian business La Taverna Piazza won the bidding, with $10,000 raised. Now, they’ve decided to back the team for the rest of the 2011 season.

Since their formation during the 2010 season, the Queensland squad has also supported the Premier’s Queensland Flood Appeal and Brisbane Children Hospital.

“When you look around the V8 paddock

we’re a very privileged group,” team boss Wayne Miles said.

“I think it’s our duty to try and give something back to the community because there are people out there doing it pretty

tough. These activities also have a positive effect on us as well – for one it helps give our team and drivers a true understanding of the opportunity they have in front of them and keeps them grounded.”

MORE POWER FOR SYNERGY FORMULA FORD

John Morris / Mpix

SAM Power is set to complete his partial schedule in the Australian Formula Ford Championship at the very end of the year.

The South Australian is likely to do three rounds of the 2011 season with Synergy Motorsport, ahead of an anticipated full program in 2012. Power, pictured, made his national debut in the season opener at the Clipsal 500, his home event, with the final two rounds – at Surfers Paradise in October and

Symmons Plains in November – his other probable hitouts.

“It’ll probably be Indy and maybe Tasmania,” Synergy boss Justin Cotter told eNews.

“He’ll do something later on in the year, at the circuits where he can’t get on and test.

Then, hopefully, provided the budget’s in place, the plan is to the national series next year.”

Synergy, the 2008 and 2010 title-winning team, currently field Liam Sager, Shae Davies and Mathew Hart as fulltime drivers.

– MITCHELL ADAM

UNITING TO HELP LEIGH GOOD CAUSES A NUMBER of motorsport’s leading names are banding together to help out a mate, Leigh Adams.

The 10 times Australian speedway

champion was injured in a bad fall in training for the Finke off-road race, and faces a lot rehabilitation process. In the meantime, WIlliamsF1’s Sam Michael and a number of others, including Mark Webber, have put together a list of items to be

auctioned to help the Adams family. It includes signed Formula 1 car parts (from Williams and Red Bull), factory tours, VIP race day passes for F1, WTCC and DTM including hospitality, driver experience days, and so on.

Williams has put a piece on their website with a link to Leigh Adams Racing press release about the auction, click here to view it.

20

motorsport news

NEWS

FIELDS SET FOR NATIONALS’ BIGGEST WEEKEND SHANNONS NATS

James Smith

OVER 200 entrants will take part in this weekend’s mammoth, four-day Shannons Nationals round at Eastern Creek.

With on-track action starting on Thursday, the event is easily the biggest in Nationals’ history, with 10 classes on the program and 212 entries lodged. Leading the way, the 52 drivers will contest the opening round of the Australian Superkart Championship, while Darren Hossack will be on double duty with his Superkart duties and another hitout in his Audi in the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series, which has attracted 23 entries.

A trio of former Australian Formula 3 Champions are set to race as co-drivers in the fourth round of the Radical Australia Cup. In a pair of 50-minute races, Tim Macrow (2007 champ) will join Peter Opie, James Winslow (2008) will partner Edward Singleton and Ben Barker (2010) will line up with Neil Muston. Winslow will also contest the third round of the 2011 Formula 3 season in his full-time drive with R-Tek Motorsport.

Matt Kingsley is likely to miss this

weekend’s round of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge. After being caught up in an incident with Jon Trende at Mallala, Kingsley’s 996 CupCar was written off. A replacement 996 shell was sourced from Trende, but it’s unlikely to be ready in time for the ’09 champ to race. Meanwhile, Aaron Zerefos is set to make his debut in the series aboard a 996.

“I will be there, but I don’t think I’ll be driving,” Kingsley told eNews.

“We literally got the shell back on Friday and we’ve been working on it all weekend.

The car’s got to leave tomorrow (Tuesday) and we haven’t even got an engine or gearbox in it at the moment. It’s probably about a five percent chance at the moment – unfortunately there just aren’t enough hours in the day!”

The Australian Formula Ford Championship will make its debut on the Shannons Nationals card, with the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series, Commodore Cup, Saloon Cars and the Australian Swift Sport Series rounding out the Eastern Creek program.

– MITCHELL ADAM

PENNISI’S JOINS V8TC RANKS V8 TOURING CARS

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David Apostol

SALOON Car driver Paul Pennisi will make his debut in the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series at Eastern Creek this weekend.

Pennisi has purchased a Paul Morris Motorsport-built VY Commodore to step into the growing series for ex-Supercars.

The car started its life in 2002 as a VX (nicknamed ‘BAM BAM’ by PMM), before being sold to the Smith Trucks Racing Team, for whom it was used by a number of drivers in the Fujitsu Series, including Lee Holdsworth.

While the car has been idle in recent years, it received attention from renowned engineer Les Small ahead of Pennisi’s debut. The Victorian was due to test the car at Calder Park today, Monday.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I started racing,” Pennisi said.

“I’d been on the lookout for a car for a while, and I knew that Robert Smith had a car for sale with a strong motorsport heritage, so when the chance arose, I grabbed it. It really only needed a new fuel bladder and

the V8 Touring Car ECU, and Les [Morrall, V8TC founder] has given it the all clear.

“I’m really excited, and I think based on the performance of other former Saloon Car competitors like Tony Evangelou

and the Garioch boys, I should do okay. If I managed to finish in the Top 10 at Eastern Creek on debut, I’d be very happy.”

Pennisi is one of 19 entries for the third round of the 2011 V8TC season.

21

NEWS

THE WRIGHT STUFF IN ITALY KARTING

AUSSIE racer Aidan Wright has made a solid start to his CIK-FIA Under 18 World Karting Championship campaign, recording an impressive 12th place at the opening round held at the Ortona circuit in Italy on the weekend.

Battling against 83 drivers from 28 countries, the Cairns teenager qualified 31st fastest before recording a fifth, ninth and seventh in his three heat races.

Starting from 15th, the 16-year-old made the most of his opportunities during the opening pre-final to finish in 12th, however, in the second reverse grid pre-final things didn’t go quite as planned. After lining up 19th, the Queenslander was on a charge early before suffering a carburetor issue mid-race, dropping him to 29th place at the chequered flag.

“I came here with the aim of finishing inside the Top 10, so to finish only two places outside of that in a field of 83 drivers

is a pretty good feeling,” said Wright.

“With the engines, tyres and fuel all being tightly controlled it made for some very close racing. If someone tried to make a hairy move into a corner it could really cost them, you had to make the most of every opportunity that came your way.

“To have a finish like this in the opening round has given me a lot of confidence for my next race in Australia in a couple of weeks time at Newcastle, and also the next round of this championship in France next month.”

EC AND NEWCASTLE ANTON AND LUKE DOUBLE UP IN NT SWAP SoK DATES KARTING

THE venue for the final two rounds of the CIK Stars of Karting Series presented

by Castrol EDGE have been swapped.

Ongoing delays with the resurfacing of the Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway has forced series organisers to move the Eastern Creek round (July 30/31) to Newcastle, swapping for the season finale.

“Unfortunately significant delays in the resurfacing of the Eastern Creek venue due to the inclement Sydney weather and 22

other unforeseen circumstances have forced us into make the swap of venues,” said International Karting Committee Chairman Craig Denton.

“We’ve worked closely with the management of the Eastern Creek venue along with the North Shore Kart Club Executive over the past month, after there was a lengthy delay in the resurfacing due to inclement weather, to monitor the situation. However, despite the best efforts of everyone involved the venue won’t be ready in time for the upcoming round.”

KARTING

IT was a case of two titles in two weekends for Anton de Pasquale and Luke Marquis at the Northern Territory State Championships in Darwin on the weekend.

Fresh from victory in the Queensland Championships the weekend prior, de Pasquale proved superior in the Junior National Heavy category to claim the win over South Australian Todd Hazelwood.

Hazelwood reversed the order when the pair went head to head in the Junior Clubman category to claim the prestigious ‘blue plate’ awarded to the winner.

In the Junior National Light category it was South Australian Luke Marquis who claimed his second state championship in as many weeks – the 15 year-old having won Junior Clubman in Queensland.

Marquis was challenged early in the final by Victorian Thomas Randle, Jake Klein and Damon Strongman before showing superior speed to claim the victory. motorsport news

RUSSELL INGALL OPEN AND HONEST ON HIS RACING FUTURE

WITH UNCERTAINTY OVER HIS FUTURE IN V8 SUPERCAR RACING, ‘THE ENFORCER’ OPENS UP TO MOTORSPORT NEWS ABOUT RETIREMENT, WHAT HE WOULD CHANGE IF HE HAD HIS TIME OVER, AND WHAT HE PLANS TO DO WHEN HIS FULLTIME CAREER COMES TO AN END

No. 409 July 201 1

PLUS, WE GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INDY 500 WITH DARIO FRANCHITTI AND BRYAN HERTA, SPEAK ONE-ON-ONE WITH JAMES MOFFAT, CHAT EXCLUSIVELY WITH F1 DRIVER HEIKKI KOVALAINEN, TAKE A DETAILED LOOK AT VOLKSWAGEN’S WRC PLANS AND GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE NEW MERCEDES SLS AMG GT3

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Australia $7.9

5 NZ $8.50 inc

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23

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ON SALE NOW

Five Minutes with ...

CHRIS LAMBDEN The former publisher of this very magazine, and Motorsport News,is the Independent member on the new V8 Supercar Commission. By PHIL BRANAGAN MOTORSPORT NEWS: So, I turn my back for five minutes and look what happens! I guess that the first thing that we need to talk about, is what HAS happened.

CHRIS LAMBDEN: What has happened is largely a coincidence of timing.

(I seem to recall that the last time, I interviewed you, and it was for a job!)

In light of what you have just said, most people reading this would know you from your role as the founding publisher of both Motorsport News and Motorsport eNews. What other experience do you bring to the role?

That is true. That is how I am best known.

Way back before I started the magazine, I ran a touring car team – back before the V8 Supercars era. People might remember the Beaurepaires privateer team. So I have been down that path; dealing with sponsors, all that kind of thing.

Before I did that, I raced quite a bit in Europe and did sit on a British RAC Motorsports committee for a while.

People may recall that Motorsport News also used to co-host the Motorsport Awards Dinner, once upon a time. That was something of a promotional thing. So I guess you could say that I have a reasonably widely-based motorsport background.

You and I have been in a media role, together, for a long time now. We look at V8 Supercars from ‘the outside’, as it were, 24

Chevron Library

That is going back about 16 years.

As some people know, the ownership of the magazines transferred to Nextmedia/ Chevron a little over 12 months ago. I have done my year’s handover contract and, apart from a little bit of casual ‘production’ help-out around the place, I thought, what am I going to do now?

Then, the Commission thing came up. I had a conversation with Ross Stone, and then one thing led to another and they offered me this role. Importantly, and vitally, they did want a totally independent person on the Commission. They seem to think that I fit the bill.

and we say, ‘It looks like A’. Now you are getting a look at things from ‘the inside’.

Does it still ‘look like A’? Is it what we think it is?

Yes, pretty much. At the end of the day, it is much as I’d expected..

The Commission has been formed to look after the ‘sporting’ side of V8 Supercars, and allow the V8 Board to concentrate on the business side of things.. You have to accept the fact that any professional sport that is doing any good in the marketplace is a business. So this is a business, and that is probably what has changed the most since I ran a team.

Having the Commission there to look after the sporting side is a good thing. I am only in day two of the job, but I would have to say that things that we might perhaps have looked upon as being fairly straightforward, some of the issues, are a little more complex than they appear. You have to get it right, and to do that to the satisfaction to a whole lot of team owners up and down the pitlane.

So, the business side is different to the sporting. So this is about the technical side, events, regulations, etc, including V8 Supercars Events.

Yes, technical stuff – especially Car of the Future at the moment – driver behaviour, race formats and all that stuff. It is what is involved in the ‘racing’ side of racing.

There are a couple of other former drivers on the commission who have links with

current teams. You do not. Does that mean that you get to do some miles in the new car?

You mean the Car of the Future? [Laughs] I had not even thought about that. I don’t think that they would dare entrust that to someone who has been out of that part of the sport for as long as I have – even though I have been doing a little bit of driving of late for fun. They need to have a current professional in that role.

Okay then. Have you come up with a list of priorities yet?

Not really. As I have said, this is Day 2 and I have to say, things at present are dominated by the Car of the Future. That is the most crucial thing for the future of the sport. Again, that is a little bit more complex than it might seem from the outside. They are really trying to cover all the bases, to make sure that the finished product is what it is meant to be.

You know that it is going to be a few dollars more than it was meant to be; that’s life. But I think that one important thing is that the teams have to believe that they are all starting from square one, with an even playing field.

One of the most important things that V8 Supercars does every year is to hand out a media award. Is that going to now be the job of the Commission?

I think that I would have to stand down from that process, on the principal of being independent! ... motorsport news

CHAT

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

25

TWO VIEWS ON THE ORDER

Dirk Klynsmith

T

HEY are Tricky Things.

I am talking about, of course, team orders. I am thinking about team orders because of the hoo-haa at Phil Branagan – Silverstone, in which Mark Webber, Executive Editor basically, admitted that he was ignoring team orders and going At which point are team-mates not teamfor the position his team-mate mates? If I was Rosenberg, I would be considering Sebastian Vettel was occupying on the last lap writing a John Deere letter to ask for a more level – second. playing field.

I am thinking this, not long after flying back Next, IndyCars. In Toronto, Will Power copped from Townsville, under a sky that, in spite of weeks a spin, with some help from Dario Franchitti, and of what seemed to be confident predictions from is now a long way behind the Ganassi driver in the Federal Opposition Leader, did not fall on our the points. Will is clearly unhappy (see our news heads yesterday. pages) and for good reason. The heat will be on In FNQ, I watched Tim Slade serve a drivethe Penske team to make up for lost ground, and through penalty for tagging Shane van Gisbergen here I have a problem. Power seems to be afflicted into a spin on Saturday. It seemed clear enough, more than just occasionally by pitlane SNAFUs, so until I mentally wound back 12 months and surely it is time for Roger Penske to marshal his thought of the Steve Johnson/James Courtney troops behind the Toowoomban and give him the clash at the same track. At that time, no driveA-Team? Ryan Briscoe’s crew looks to be top-line, throughs were issued, because of the fact that it and while I realise that The Captain oversees them, was an ‘in-house’ matter and, as such, Jim Beam not switching might give Dario just the edge he Racing had already been penalised by the incident needs for a third title. itself. The officials involved in the call, DSO Tomas And, as for Webber … my mind wanders back Mezera and Chief Steward Steve Chopping, were to Turkey last year. He was leading and a 1-2 in the same roles in Townsville. finish was in the bag, but nobody from Red Bull It is hard to say that the distinction here – that bothered telling Vettel then not to race it out to Slade technically drives for James Rosenberg the flag. The day that happens, the team can rant and that The Giz for Ross and Jimmy Stone – is and rave about the good of the team for all it’s clear enough to warrant a different view. In worth. But, so long as the team orders appear spite of three different naming rights sponsors, to be heading in one direction only, a few tight the drivers share data and engineering input, finishes will be fine by me – even if it means that and even eat together in the team’s facility. So there is the odd bit of Red Bull bouncing down the considering them to not be team-mates, when straight from time to time.

Johnson and Courtney were, is a fine, fine line.

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OPINION

I

MAY be about to make myself quite unpopular here, because I’m going to agree with Sebastian Vettel.

Now, before you close your internet browser with disgust, allow me to explain myself. I understand the negative reaction from the Australian public over Mark Webber being told to not pass Vettel at Silverstone last night, I really do. Let’s face it, he’s our guy, and it’s a beautiful thing that Aussie F1 fans support Mark so passionately. And I place myself in that bracket, because I absolutely love seeing Mark win races. He’s a great driver, an even better bloke, and he’s an Aussie.

But when I watch a Formula 1 race, I do so with two hats on.

One is my fan hat, which has a picture of Webber on it. The other, my work hat, which reads ‘don’t forget to be objective’ on it. For you guys reading at home, there’s nothing wrong with only having the Webber hat. For journalists, we need the balance. motorsport news

COMMENT

R OF LIFE IN MOTORSPORT

sutton-images.com

OPINION Andrew van Leeuwen – eNews Editor That’s what I’m trying to provide here.

So what exactly do I agree with Vettel about? Simple, really; one of the tiny lines at the end of his press conference answer when he said “I don’t see why there is a big fuss, really”. Neither do I Seb. In the wake of the German Grand Prix last year, team orders have been allowed in F1, so Red Bull Racing were entitled to make the decision that they did. And, to be brutally honest, I would have made exactly the same decision faced with Christian Horner’s predicament.

Why would RBR risk that points haul by allowing them to race and having the almost inevitable crash? Fernando www.mnews.com.au

Alonso isn’t even third in the points, so he’s no direct threat to Webber. Vettel is clearly ahead of the game inside the team at the moment, so you can’t blame Horner et al for backing him over Webber, and, most importantly, at the point at which the team decided to hold station, Vettel was ahead. It was the fairest decision.

So Seb’s right, where’s the big deal? If anything, the big deal wasn’t in the delivery of the team orders, but Webber’s defiance. And that was just great. Again, I’m not being anti-Webber here, so seeing him ignore the team orders was fantastic – because it creates theatre and drama and all of those things that seem

to go missing in motorsport sometimes.

Having floated my theory around eNews HQ, one incident keeps coming up – Turkey 2010.

If RBR are so into playing the game like a team, why wasn’t Vettel told to hold station behind Mark in Istanbul a little over 12 months ago? (see Branagan’s op across the page) There are two answers to this question. The first is that at the time of the ’10 Turkish Grand Prix, team orders were still technically illegal. If Horner had fired up the radio and blatantly told Vettel to hang back, it would have earnt the team a visit to the World Motor Sport Council, and a hefty fine. Now, that’s not the case.

Point of difference #2 is that in the moments leading up to Turkey 2010, Turkey 2010 hadn’t happened yet (thanks Captain Obvious). What I mean by that is the actions from Silverstone reflected that the team learnt a lot from what happened in

Turkey, and are very, very keen not to let it happen again.

If RBR had called play on last night and the two had crashed, you can imagine the comments; ‘here we go again. Red Bull can’t control its drivers. It’s just like Turkey all over again’. To avoid that, the team tried to take control of the situation – control of its drivers. It just didn’t quite work, because Webber did all but actually give pit wall the bird during one of his trips past.

I’ve written before that team orders should be allowed in Formula 1. It’s a team sport. If you check back to the eNews post-German GP ’10, you’ll find an op piece not dissimilar to this one.

So, to me, last night was just part of the sport. And if Webber had been ahead and Vettel had been all over the back of him in the closing laps, in damp conditions, I bet no one watching on ONE HD would have minded hearing “maintain the gap”.

27

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACES 14/15 – TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND

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motorsport news

RACE

MILITARY PRECISION The eights were visibly down in the mouth after losing Saturday’s race to the Holden Racing Team. So, on Sunday, they dusted themselves off and took back control. PHIL BRANAGAN reports

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

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RACE 14: THE QUEENSLAN

F

ROM time to time, you scratch your head in this business and try to figure out what just happened.

Saturday was one of those days. A while after Garth Tander took the chequered flag, I asked Dunlop Motorsport’s Kev Fitzsimons how could it be that a driver could set his fastest lap time on the Control tyre, while almost every other driver in the field did theirs on the softer, more fragile and, usually, faster Sprint.

“Who did that?” he asked.

“Tander,” said I. “He did his fastest lap on lap 23, on Controls.”

Kev looked puzzled. I remain puzzled.

Part of the explanation was, clearly, that Tander was right on his game. A lot of it is down to the work put into the Holden Racing Team cars over the last few weeks – which included a fairly long drive to and from Darwin and one not much shorted to and from Townsville.

The car was a jet. On lap 21, he pitted, earlier than most, strapped on a set of 30

Controls and lit the afterburners. On lap 23, he did a 1m13.67s lap, his fastest, and only 0.4s slower than his shoot-out lap. In a heartbeat, he took the lead, opened a gap of 4s (in five laps), saw it halved by Jamie Whincup when they pitted together and then rebuilt it again.

“The first couple of laps out of the pits, I couldn’t believe how fast it was,” said Tander.

“I think this is every bit as important as our Bathurst win in 2009. The gain that we have made at the front of the car is the biggest gain I have had since I have been at Walkinshaw Racing.”

Which takes us back to 2005. That is a big call.

HRT is not back; pretending it is premature, and as silly as completely writing the team off after Darwin. But it has been an impressive bounce-back, involving some of the same people involved in the turnaround at the HSV Dealer Team, also in 2005.

Tander’s praise was well-placed.

Whincup was second, and looked about

as happy as he usually is when he comes second, which is not at all. Post-race, TeamVodafone lodged a protest over Tander running over a marker in the pit entry, but no action was taken.

“There used to be a rule where you had to be to the right of the ‘floppy’,” said team boss Roland Dane. “The wording has changed. He was on the line and you can do that. Garth didn’t touch it deliberately. We screwed up on strategy. It was self-inflicted.”

Will Davison and Craig Lowndes turned on David Segal’s worst nightmare (his manages both drivers) but all but coming to contact in the final laps. Davo was out of grip; Lowndes had plenty but not track position.

Over the last two laps, they duelled, but the Ford driver hung on for his second podium since he joined Ford Performance Racing.

“I am not losing this podium,” Will said to describe his thoughts at the time.

“I am just gonna drive like an a-hole!”

On the other side of the ledger were James Courtney, who managed to make motorsport news

RACE

John Morris/Mpix

Battle Royale: Craig Lowndes and Will Davison took the fight to third right down to the last corner of the race, above. David Reynolds put in a mega first stint, which became ever mroe mega when it was made apparent his coolsuit wasn’t working, below. Mark Winterbottom made it four pole positions in a row on Saturday, but kept his zero conversion rate intact, bottom.

Dirk Klynsmith

ND REDS

Dirk Klynsmith

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Dirk Klynsmith

contact, again, with another car, that of David Reynolds. It was described by HRT Operations Manager Mike Henry as a racing incident, which is probably a fair call.

Courtney has not covered himself in glory this season, and while he was back in the pack, this one did not look like his fault.

Reynolds impressed (see breakout) and so did Shane van Gisbergen. A 2011 race winner finishing 11th is often not a result worthy of comment, but after being turned around on lap 1, The Giz kept his head and got a result, in a car that was not looking completely happy on a bad weekend for the Stones cars. Broken axles afflicted the other two SBRs, and Tim Slade copped a drive-through for tapping Giz into the spin, somewhat mystifying anyone who saw the friendly fire Jim Beam incident at the same track a year ago.

The other meritorious drive came from Lee Holdsworth, whose new lap record underlined the fact that he car was better in race trim than it was in qualifying.

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Dirk Klynsmith

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RACE 15: SPRINT CAR RACING

O

N paper, the allocation of eight Sprint tyres for a two-race weekend implies the straight-forward use of four in each of the two races. But good race teams look beyond that. On Sunday at Townsville, TeamVodafone went even further ...

The Eights are notoriously good in their use and management of the softer rubber and it shone through again. Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes both got meaningful use out of Sprint tyres that saw life on Saturday, and that was really the difference come Sunday; the camouflage Commodores enjoying two, not one, Sprint stints.

Their two different strategies played out at different ends of the day. Lowndes split his four fresh and four used Sprints, with two of Saturday’s Sprints on the front and two freshies on the rear to start and finish the race. From pole, he lost out to Mark Winterbottom, but reclaimed the lead at the end of the first lap, going on to build an 11 second lead before pitting on Lap 22.

Whincup, meanwhile, threw his four Saturday Sprints back on for the opening stint, and despite a couple of hairy moments into Turn 2 in the opening laps, managed to get 16 laps out of them before pitting for hards. Making a shorter pitstop earlier gave him gave him track position and by the time Lowndes had rejoined after pitting, Whincup was just five seconds in arrears.

The first Safety Car period of the weekend didn’t come until Lap 44 of the second race, for debris on the circuit. The whole field pitted for (mostly new) Sprints and the playing field had been levelled. Whincup had to queue behind Lowndes and restarted behind Winterbottom on Lap 47 of 72, but he made short work of it, moving up to second, before cutting into Lowndes’ buffer and taking the lead on Lap 52. With four new Sprint tyres as opposed to Lowndes’ two, Whincup had the upper hand, and despite some pressure from his team-mate, went on to take his 48th career race win to extend his championship lead.

Lowndes faded in the final laps, eventually

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finishing five seconds behind Lowndes, with Winterbottom a further seven seconds back for Ford Performance Racing’s second podium in as many days. The factory Fords are making progress on the Sprint Tyres, but aren’t quite there just yet. After his third on Saturday, Will Davison had a tough finish to the weekend, dropping from inside the Top 10 to eventually finish 18th after copping a hit from Jason Bright at the final corner on the Lap 47 restart.

After various problems on Saturday, five drivers – James Courtney, Jason Bargwanna, Karl Reindler, Alex Davison and Tim Slade – started Sunday with, essentially, a second fresh set of Sprints in their bank. Davison ended the day as the best of them, taking full advantage to finish fourth after starting 22nd.

In the middle stint of the race, Slade led the way of those making progress as four of the five, Courtney the exception (using his extra set in the first stint to move from 12th to second), used their second set of Sprints to move up the order.

Slade set a string of fastest laps and was up to fifth by the restart. But, a lap after Bright got Will Davison, Courtney sailed past Alex Davison and into the rear of Slade’s Falcon, turning him around. Having dropped to 22nd, Slade put in an impressive comeback over the remaining 24 laps, finishing a strong seventh.

Courtney would eventually finish 19th after serving a drive-through, and has dropped to 19th in the points as his horror title defence continues, while Tander couldn’t match Saturday’s heroics. He was third at the restart behind Lowndes and Winterbottom without ever looking like a threat, but a broken rightrear shock mount ended his challenge shortly thereafter.

In another mature drive, Shane van Gisbergen grabbed fifth. He qualified 11th, and had to queue behind team-mate Alex Davison at the final round of pitstops, rejoining 19th. He completed his charge with a move on Lee Holdsworth with four laps remaining, while Paul Dumbrell also made progress, finishing 10th after mechanical problems in qualifying saw him start at the rear of the grid.

33

WINNERS HOLDEN RACING TEAM: The fact of the matter is that there was nothing flukey about that win on Saturday.

Tander was sublimely quick, and that’s a good sign. They’re good at QR, but, can they do the same at Phillip Island?

DAVID REYNOLDS: Yes he was one of only two drivers on the soft tyres, but that first stint from DR on Saturday was mega!

RACE 14 CRASHERS: Not finishing a race is generally bad news ... unless it earns you an extra set of sprint tyres for Sunday.

TEAMVODAFONE: Firstly, the ‘cammo’ livery was simply an awesome idea.

Secondly, on Sunday’s form, how good are these guys?

BURGO’S CATCH PHRASE THE media learnt two things about Adrian Burgess at the Friday press conference in Townsville. One, he is a fan of mixing the sprint and control tyres during a race, and two, he has a wicked sense of humour.

The TeamVodafone team manager was quizzed as to his thoughts on using both the soft and hard tyres during a single race, as has been the case in the last four races across the Darwin and Townsville rounds. A fair question, really, given that Jamie Whincup probably would have romped his way to victory on Sunday in Darwin had it not been for a late Safety Car bringing his strategy undone. After all, when you have more car speed than anyone else in the field, why would you want external factors like split compounds complicating matters?

But Burgess agreed that for the sake of

entertaining racing, the concept works.

“I’m definitely a fan,” said Burgess.

“You win some, you lose some. We believe that we left Darwin with the two quickest cars, [but] the points didn’t reflect that. It depends on when the Safety Cars come during the race, and unless you’re Flavio, you don’t know when they’re going to come.

“You have to take the rough with the smooth, and it didn’t go Jamie’s way [in Darwin]. It will go in our favour another time in the year, we’ll make sure we’re doing the right job at that time.”

Did you spot the joke? Burgess’ mention of Flavio Briatore was a delightful little tip of the hat to Renault’s ‘Crashgate’ saga from the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, where the flamboyant Italian allegedly ordered Nelson Piquet Jr to crash and spark a Safety Car, allowing Fernando Alonso to take an unlikely win.

TEAM MANAGERS: The winning team boss will now attend post-race press conferences. Ripper idea from those at V8 HQ.

LOSERS

MARK WINTERBOTTOM: Four poles in a row is great.

No wins from those four poles is less great. In fact, it’s not great at all.

JAMES COURTNEY: Like Lewis Hamilton in Canada, Courtney had to watch his team-mate win from the sidelines in Townsville. Then, he just crashed into Tim Slade on Sunday. Just a terrible weekend for the Champ.

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Dirk Klynsmith

SIGNWRITERS: For the eight billionth time, ‘Davison’ only has one ‘d’ in it. Yes I’m talking to you, driver’s parade cars.

RACE 14: NOT FAST, NOT FURIOUS THERE were no Safety Cars in Race 14 on Saturday. Just as well.

Y’see, the race was tagged for a finish at 1715, plus a lap. In other words, if the race looked like running past a quarter past the hour, the flag would have been shown earlier than that scheduled 72 laps.

The race ended at 17:09:47, according to the official timing monitors. There was 5m13s of time

left, which would be about enough time for two laps behind the Safety Car. Any yellow flag would have seen the race declared early.

At a rapid 1h31m22s, the race went by pretty quickly, which could explain why the potentially sticky matter might have caught officials on the hop. Except for the fact that last year, Saturday’s race had no Safety Cars either – and ran 6s faster than it did this time around. motorsport news

RACE Dirk Klynsmith

REYNOLDS REACHES BOILING POINT THE first 24 laps of Race 14 was a wild ride for David Reynolds.

As one of only two drivers electing to start on soft tyres, Reynolds found himself streaking through the field and into a huge lead. From the outside, it looked like a heck of a drive – and what we didn’t know at the time is that Reynolds was boiling away inside the cockpit.

Almost as soon as the race got underway, an alternator failure on the Kelly Racing Commodore caused Reynolds’ coolsuit to fail. So, in mid-20s ambient temperature, he was not only without cold water pulsing under his suit, but having to deal with the water in the system actually heating up.

“The suit failed early, in the first lap or so,”

he told eNews after the race.

“When that happens, you just starting heating up, and heating up, and heating up some more. It’s the worst feeling in the world. My body temperature would have been over 40 degrees. I just wanted to stop. I was all over the place.”

And Reynolds did stop. Shortly after his first scheduled pit-stop, he returned to pitlane so the Kelly Racing crew could try to fix the alternator. It didn’t seem to work, and he was quickly out of the car and into quick recovery mode. He eventually returned to the track, but any chance of a Top 10 result was long, long gone.

The funny this is that, while he was being slow cooked by his driving suit, Reynolds

was driving amazingly fast. The decision to start on soft tyres allowed him to lead a race for the first time this season. And with 20-odd laps in the lead, as part of a very impressive 24-lap stint in the soft tyre, Reynolds easily racked up the longest stint of laps led in his short V8 Supercar career.

“It’s easy to do when you’re on better tyres than everyone,” he added.

“The thing is, when you’re out on your own, it’s much easier to look after the tyres.

When you’re racing someone, you have to think about getting a good exit and all of those things, and they just aren’t an issue when you’re leading like that. It was like taking candy from a baby.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

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THE ‘FONE

Dirk Klynsmith

IS TOWNSVILLE SLOWING DOWN? RAIN, hail and shine can take a toll on any road surface. So can 28 V8 Supercars.

Case in point; Reid Park and its environs. For the third year, the drivers took to the Townsville streets and there is some evidence that the surface is getting slower. Hot summers and wild weather will do that.

Here is a comparison of the times set in the Saturday qualifying sessions (excluding the shootout) in each year;

2009 2010 2011

James Courtney 1:12.4747s Craig Lowndes 1:13.0511s Jamie Whincup 1:12.9282s

On the face of that news, the track is getting slower. But, if we combine into the equation the fastest times set in the corresponding Fujitsu V8 qualifiers, 36

the waters are a bit muddier.

2009 2010 2011

James Moffat Steve Owen A Thompson

1:14.3095s 1:13.8267s 1:13.3603s

It is probably relevant to mention here that Thommo’s Monster Commodore is, almost certainly, the best car ever to appear in the series.

In the same period, the Main Game cars have ‘lost’ half a second but the Fujitsus have picked one up.

The moral of the story is that this is a tricky comparison to make. The track is getting a bit bumpier, but the cars are getting faster. The next trick will be maintaining the performance in the new Car of the Future; if the Fujitsu cars run faster than the Main Gamers in 2013, there are going to be a few furrowed brows in pitlane.

THERE was a decidedly military look to matters in Townsville.

Nothing much unusual there. The 3rd Brigade of the Australian Army calls Townsville home, meaning about 3800 servicemen and women are based at Lavarack Barracks. Also, last week there was the influx of 900 sailors from the USS Germantown docking in the port, though that would have been 3000 had the USS Essex had arrived, as originally planned, before it was deployed back to Japan.

But there was a lot more camouflage than that on the track. TeamVodafone showed up in army hues on its cars and crew, and the fans lapped up the items in the merchandising alley.

“We made 500 male T-shirts, 360 ladies’ singlets, 500 baseball caps, 300 ladies’ caps and 160 pairs of pants and shorts,”said team marketing man, Peter Jamieson. “The pit crew shirts were a custom order of only 60 units for the team.”

“Interestingly the ladies gear sold out first.”

Women in Uniform, eh? Very Living in the ’70s …

Results :: Race 14 – Townsvi Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

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

2 88 6 888 95 33 15 49 8 39 9 55 17 7 61 34 18 3 11 12 19 21 14 16 47 4 30 1

Garth Tander Jamie Whincup Will Davison Craig Lowndes Mark Winterbottom Lee Holdsworth Rick Kelly Steve Owen Jason Bright Russell Ingall Shane van Gisbergen Paul Dumbrell Steven Johnson Todd Kelly Fabian Coulthard Michael Caruso James Moffat Tony D’Alberto Greg Murphy Dean Fiore Jonathon Webb Karl Reindler Jason Bargwanna David Reynolds Tim Slade Alex Davison Warren Luff James Courtney

Toll Holden Racin TeamVodafone Co Trading Post FPR F TeamVodafone Co Orrcon Steel FPR F Fujitsu Racing GR Jack Daniel’s Raci VIP Petfoods Com Team BOC Comm Supercheap Auto SP Tools Racing Fa The Bottle-O Raci Jim Beam Racing Jack Daniel’s Raci Bundaberg Racing Fujitsu Racing GR Jim Beam Racing Wilson Security Ra Pepsi Max Crew C R and T Pumps Fa Mother Energy Ra Fair Dinkum Shed Jana Living Racin Stratco Racing Co Lucky 7 Racing Fa Irwin Racing Falco Gulf Western Oil R Toll Holden Racin

motorsport news

RACE

ES TRY TO BLEND IN Dirk Klynsmith

Top 10 Points: Whincup 1683, Lowndes 1497, van Gisbergen 1317, R Kelly 1244, Winterbottom 1201, W Davison 1200, Tander 1190, Johnson 1165, A Davison 1110, Bright 1043.

ille, Queensland

ng Team Commodore ommodore Falcon ommodore Falcon RM Commodore ing Commodore mmodore modore Racing Commodore alcon ing Falcon Falcon ing Commodore g Commodore RM Commodore Falcon acing Falcon Commodore alcon acing Falcon ds Commodore ng Commodore ommodore alcon on Racing Commodore ng Team Commodore www.mnews.com.au

Results :: Race 15 – Townsville, Queensland

Qual

Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

Qual

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

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

88 888 95 4 9 33 47 61 39 55 14 17 15 49 18 34 7 6 1 11 30 8 16 21 3 2 12 19

Jamie Whincup Craig Lowndes Mark Winterbottom Alex Davison Shane van Gisbergen Lee Holdsworth Tim Slade Fabian Coulthard Russell Ingall Paul Dumbrell Jason Bargwanna Steven Johnson Rick Kelly Steve Owen James Moffat Michael Caruso Todd Kelly Will Davison James Courtney Greg Murphy Warren Luff Jason Bright David Reynolds Karl Reindler Tony D’Alberto Garth Tander Dean Fiore Jonathon Webb

TeamVodafone Commodore VE2 TeamVodafone Commodore VE2 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon FG Irwin Racing Falcon FG SP Tools Racing Falcon FG Fujitsu Racing GRM Commodore VE2 Lucky 7 Racing Falcon FG Bundaberg Racing Commodore VE2 Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VE2 The Bottle-O Racing Team Falcon FG Jana Living Racing Commodore VE2 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE2 VIP Petfoods Commodore VE2 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG Fujitsu Racing GRM Commodore VE2 Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE2 Trading Post FPR Falcon FG Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE2 Pepsi Max Crew Commodore VE2 Gulf Western Oil Racing Commodore VE2 Team Boc Commodore VE2 Stratco Racing Commodore VE2 Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Commodore VE2 Wilson Security Racing Falcon FG Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE2 R and T Pumps Falcon FG Mother Energy Racing Team Falcon FG

8 1 2 22 11 7 14 17 15 28 13 16 9 19 10 24 20 5 12 18 26 6 3 23 27 4 25 21 37

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 3 – TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND

THE GREEN MACHINE ROLLS ON ANDREW THOMPSON BAGGED ANOTHER ROUND WIN AND EXTENDED HIS FUJITSU SERIES POINTS LEAD IN TOWNSVILLE, BUT IT WASN’T QUITE THAT SIMPLE, ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN REPORTS

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RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

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Dirk Klynsmith

N

OTHING could stop Andrew Thompson racking up another Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series win in Townsville; not even starting from the back of the grid.

For the most part, Thompson’s Saturday was a straightforward affair. He qualified fastest by a lazy 0.6s, and was never challenged during the race. Although, between the usual Lap 1 carnage and Todd Fiore hitting the wall on Lap 7, there was total of five racing laps, so Thompson didn’t have to do much to maintain the lead.

But on Saturday night things got a bit interesting. Needing a new engine in the Monster Commodore, the team set about getting the job done. The trouble was, the right officials weren’t notified about the engine change, and 15 minutes before Sunday morning’s race Thompson was told he’d be starting off the back of the grid, not 10th as he otherwise would have been in the inverted Top 10 heat.

No worries. Thompson stormed through the impressively large field, finishing sixth.

That kept him the lead on points, which meant pole for Race 3. And despite having to pick off a fast-starting David Russell on Lap 2, Thompson made winning another

round look way too easy. “[The weekend] didn’t go perfectly, because we should have started 10th and won Race 2,” he said after the third race.

“We made a mistake and paid the penalty.

Shit happens. It’s a half-points race, so we just got on with the race.

“Overall for the weekend, we can’t complain.”

David Russell ended up second for the weekend, happily conceding that he didn’t have the pace to match Thompson. Still, a second, a fourth and a third were enough to keep Russell within striking distance of Thomspon points-wise ... just.

The same went for Jack Perkins, who was third for the weekend. While Perkins conceded that he too was playing a different game to Thompson, he did refer to being happy with a “class” win (i.e., the first of the teams not aligned directly with a main game team).

Perkins podium place (capped off with second in the final race) was made even more impressive by the fact that he never completed a flying lap during either of Friday’s practice sessions, after being hit by backmarker Lindsay Yelland.

Behind Perkins it was Nick Percat, the

Walkinshaw Racing driver seemingly just a half step behind the Top 3 all weekend.

Still, in ageing equipment, he did manage to nab a race podium in the first heat, finishing third.

Behind Percat it was Paul Morris and impressive Kiwi Daniel Jileson.

The other man to win a race in Townsville was Tim Blanchard. The Kelly Racing enduro driver started on the front row for Race 2 due to his Race 1 finishing position, and did enough to keep a hard charging David Russell at bay in the dying stages of the race. He finished seventh for the round, ahead of Cameron McConville, Rodney Jane and Chaz Mostert.

While there was not really any thrilling on-track battles, Morris and Jane gave everyone a good bit of biff in a post-Race 2 pit-lane shouting match. The incident was sparked when, surprise surprise, Morris ran into the back of Jane, spinning him around.

Morris received a drive-through for his clearly clumsy actions, before Jane took the matter up in pit-lane.

Points: Thompson 791, Perkins 677, David Russell 675, McLaughlin 636, Blanchard 571, Percat 556, Chaz Mostert 525, Jane 486, Robert Cregan 390 motorsport news

RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

David Russell, above, was second for the weekend ahead of Jack Perkins, right. In the championship, their positions are reversed.

Marcus Zukanovic, below, was strong early, finishing fourth in Race 1, but mechanical problems ended his run in the final.

Dirk Klynsmith

A number of enduro drivers made FV8 cameos. Among them, Dale Wood (subbing for David Wall at Wilson Security Racing), got into Ash Walsh in Race 1, bottom.

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PORSCHE CARRERA CUP AUSTRALIA ROUND 3 – TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND

CHOICE, BR

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AFTER PICKING UP A MAJOR SPONSOR, DANIEL GAUNT PICKED UP HIS MAIDEN CARRERA CUP AUSTRALIA WINS IN TOWNSVILLE. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN WATCHED HIM ENTER VICTORY LANE

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ANIEL Gaunt is a man who knows how to impress a new sponsor.

Just days after securing his Carrera Cup future with a sponsorship deal with Money Choice, Gaunt went on a winning spree in Townsville, claiming three comfortable race wins on his way to taking round honours.

And that’s pretty much it. It was that straightforward. Once Gaunt had jumped fellow Kiwi Jonny Reid off the start line in Race 1, and caught and passed pole-sitter Michael Patrizi (a task that took just over a lap to complete), Gaunt never let go of the lead. He drove sublimely, actually gapping a field that, in qualifying, had a Top 6 covered by 0.3s.

“The weekend went perfectly,” said Gaunt.

“We had only just picked up Money Choice as a sponsor and scored three race wins, so it rewards them for taking a punt on me.

“You always think it’s possible to go out and win all three races. I know when things are going my way I’m one of the drivers to beat, as are the top half-a-dozen guys.

“My goal hasn’t changed since Perth; try to win some races, get back in the hunt for the championship and, with a couple of rounds to go, reassess it all again. I’ll just try to keep winning races.”

Behind him, Reid was the next best thing. He

took a trio of second places, having easily passed Patrizi in the first race, and done the same to Craig Baird in the second race. Yes, he was a fair way behind Gaunt in the scheme of the weekend, but beating the likes of Baird and Steve Richards is never an easy task.

In terms of wheel-to-wheel racing, the best battle amongst the front-runners came in the final race, where Baird and Patrizi went at it for much of the race. The squabble was over third place, and in the end it went to Patrizi, who also took third for the round.

Baird and Ben Barker rounded out the Top 5, ahead of Richards. It was a case of what might have been for the FPR enduro driver, who was turned around at the start of Race 2, having to fight his way back through the whole field.

The other hard luck story from the weekend was Mark Noske. Having been brought in as a last-minute replacement for Jason Richards in the Bid4Jase car, Noske qualified seventh, a credible result given he hasn’t raced anything since the V8 enduros last year. But in Race 1 he found out exactly how fickle Porsches can be, lightly tagging the back of another car and displacing one of the front radiators. He finished 12th and ninth in Races 2 and 3.

Points: Reid 443, Baird 434, Gaunt 401, Richards 397, Patrizi 332, Barker 309

Making it a good weekend for the Kiwis, Jonny Reid, above right, was second for the weekend to move into the lead of the series.

Michael Patrizi, right, scored his first Porsche pole position.

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AUSTRALIAN GT CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 – TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND

A KLARKY PERFORMA

EVEN WITH A MECHANICAL DRAMA, KLARK QUINN DID ENOUGH TO ADD AN WIN TO HIS 2011 OZ GT TALLY AND EXTEND HIS POINTS LEAD. RICHARD CRA

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HE VodkaO Australian GT Championship may be under new management, but the old hands were doing the winning when the series contested their fourth round in Townsville at the weekend.

Klark Quinn won the round by just one point after taking pole position and a commanding Race 1 victory – a win that wasn’t without it’s dramas.

After taking an early lead, Quinn’s paddle-shift system failed aboard his Mosler MT900 GT3, forcing the Queenslander to use the mechanical-shift

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system to get through the first of two 30-minute races.

After leading by as much as five seconds mid-race, Quinn was chased down by the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Peter Hackett in the closing laps, with the stunning new car coming to within a second on the final lap.

A solid third-placed finish in the second race on Sunday saw Quinn do just enough to win the round – his second of the four contested to date – and extend his championship lead to 23 points over Audi driver Mark Eddy.

“I was pretty nervous in the closing laps of race one on Saturday,” Quinn said.

“I could see the Mercedes closing in pretty quickly but thankfully the car held together.

It just doesn’t like the manual shift mode so I had to nurse it to the line to get the win, but it was good we held on.”

Hackett was second overall, just a point behind in a weekend that showed the continuing development of the stunning yet heavily restricted gull-winged Mercedes.

After qualifying a solid third, Hackett dropped back to fourth

place in the early running of Race 1 before picking off Eddy and Kevin Weeks to move to second within the first 10 laps.

In Race 2, he started better but was involved in a heady dice with Weeks and Quinn, and whilst Weeks was eventually able to get through, the Merc had enough for Quinn’s Mosler and secured another second.

Kevin Weeks was one of the fastest cars of the weekend and erupted into the Race 2 lead from sixth on the grid after receiving a Race 1 penalty for jumping the rolling start.

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Peter Hackett was second in his Mercedes-Benz, above, while Kevin Weeks, below, bounced back from a Race 1 penalty to take out Race 2.

NOTHER ROUND AILL WAS THERE

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the Lamborghini driver, who swept to a commanding victory in the second 30-minute race and left with a new lap record to boot.

“The car has been really quick all weekend, so to be able to start from sixth, then finish in first place with an eight second margin was the best way to pay back the team after my drive through,” Weeks said.

Peter Boylan (Porsche) won the GT Challenge class after a pair of consistent performances.

Points: Klark Quinn 421, Eddy 399, Greg Crick 397, Dean Grant 382, Ash Samadi 324

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AUSTRALIAN V8 UTE RACING SERIES ROUND 3 – TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND

PITHER BREAKS THROUGH

A STUNNING PERFORMANCE IN THE REVERSE GRID RACE SET UP CHRIS PITHER’S FIRST ROUND WIN OF THE 2011 V8 UTE SEASON, RICHARD CRAILL REPORTS

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ERY quickly, the sometimes controversial, yet always entertaining, ‘random’ reverse-grid race is becoming critical to piecing together an Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series –protected by Armor All title tilt – just ask Chris

Pither.

But perhaps don’t ask Ryal Harris. Whilst Pither used the race to his advantage and swiftly moved from 13th on the reversed top18 car grid to score the win, Harris rued the carnage it sometimes creates as he was left fuming after being forced out of the race following early contact, denting his hopes for a maiden Ute round win.

After finishing sixth in Race 1, it took just 11 dramatic laps for Pither to charge to first and – when he won the third and final race as well – into the lead of the championship after four rounds.

Following Harris’ comfortable victory in Race 1, Race 2 provided everything that the Utes are famous for as the field took to the circuit and each other. Pither was masterful. He charged to sixth on the opening lap and was third by Lap 3 where he set about chasing down the dicing Craig Dontas (Thirsty Camel Holden) and local racer Graham Edwards, who were fighting for the lead. Dontas held on for as long as he could, but was unable to withstand Pither’s onslaught and the similar Holden slipped past with four to go.

As such, Pither has now had a third, a second and a first from the first four rounds of the season, and now steps to the top of the championship standings at the series’ halfway point.

“I’m pretty rapt after a disappointing result in Darwin,” the Kiwi

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beamed.

“The team put in a big effort and bounced back as good as we could with the two race wins and the round victory.

“I think we’ve made some steady improvements in the set-up which is pretty exciting.”

Race 1 winner Harris was not so fortunate, however, forced out of the second race and scathing after it about the driving standards of some of his rivals. He finished eighth for the weekend but was furious after the dramas of Race 2.

The always fast and consistent defending champion, Grant Johnson, was second but one of the bigger smiles of the weekend was left for Bundy Racing driver Cameron McConville, who logged his best result of the season by finishing second in the final race and third for the round.

The cream really did rise to the crop at Townsville, with Nathan Pretty fourth overall, Dontas fifth and wildcard driver Dean Canto finishing sixth. Rhys McNally was impressive and finished seventh, running right at the front in the second race and finishing on the podium.

Harris was the first of the Fords home in a weekend that was dominated by Holdens, filling the first seven positions in the overall round results. A tough weekend also saw title contender David Sieders lose ground in the championship, slipping from first to fourth in the standings.

Points: Pither 497, Johnson 493, Harris 468, Sieders 460, Pretty 430, Jane 405, Jack Elsegood 402, Dontas 398

motorsport news

RACE Ryal Harris, left, won the opening race but his fortunes took a turn for the worse in the Reverse Grid Race 2.

Cameron McConville, below left, grabbed his first V8 Ute podium, while David Sieders, below, had a tough weekend, dropping from first to fourth in the standings.

John Morris / Mpix John Morris / Mpix

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FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 9 – SILVERSTONE, GREAT BRITAIN

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At the start of this season Ferrari looked more like a limping horse than the sport’s biggest name. But at Silverstone, they were

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Red Rooster Tails: Vettel won the start but already, Alonso was looking racey, left.

There were battles troughout the race, with Button and Massa going at it, below left, and the Red Bulls defying team orders late in the race, below right. Alonso started the day by giving a 60-year-old Ferrari 375 some, opposite. Dan Ricciardo made sure that Aussies had ‘em surrounded when he qualified last in the Hispania, far right. He made it to the finish in his first GP start in 19th. Webber shook down the thunder, below, to take pole.

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S if it needed to be said, the successes in the career of Fernando Alonso places him in exalted company.

Sunday’s win in the British Grand Prix was his second at Silverstone but his 27th overall ties him on the wins list with Jackie Stewart. Better yet, the win came in a flawless performance, the Ferrari man grabbing the opportunity to put on over Red Bull Racing and McLaren to score the Scuderia’s first win in what was looking like a bad year for the team. It also came on the 60th anniversary of the team’s maiden GP win.

Red Bull was not on its game in Britain. Mark Webber edged out Sebastian Vettel for pole, and the German led the early laps, run in damp conditions. But both had slow pitstops – Vettel in particular losing time when a rattle gun had a problem – and Alonso swept by to take the lead. From there, he was imperious, spearing away to a gap of almost 20s by the chequered flag, a margin flattered by the fact that the Bulls lost time getting past the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

“I only realised I could win when I came back out on track after the final pit stop,” he said. “Clearly the problem at Vettel’s stop helped, as did the fact that, for a long time, Hamilton kept the two Red Bulls behind him, but I have to say that in the dry we were very strong.”

But the talking point after the race was the battle between the Red Bulls. Webber’s car appeared better at the end of stints, and despite “four or five” pieces of advice from the pit wall to hold position, threw almost everything into the final laps of the race.

Likeiwse, Hamilton held out Felipe Massa for fourth, but only just. Hamilton had been saving fuel from the middle of the race, and his brakes faded, forcing him to cede to the Bulls and allowing Felipe Massa to close. Over the final lap they fought, the silver car barely getting the edge as Massa ran wide on the final corner.

Jenson Button looked like he could threaten in the slippery conditions, but a pitstop cost him dear. A wheel changer dropped a wheel nut and as he reached for the spare, the lollipop man released the car. At pit exit, the wheel came adrift and JB had no choice but to stop and climb out.

Behind the scrappers came Nico Rosberg and Sergio Perez, who looks better by the race, and a disappointing Nick Heidfeld.

After showing much speed at the beginning of the season, the Renaults appear to be falling behind the opposition, at just the time when Ferrari are moving ahead to challenge over the second half of the season.

The race was also notable for the fact that a second Aussie joined Webber on the grid. Daniel Ricciardo did well, besting Hispania team-mate Tonio Liuzzi in practice but, constrained to just a single run in Q1 by a shower, he started last. The youngster kept his head in the tough conditions, finishing three laps behind the leaders and last, in 19th.

“I was quite a bit off the other competitors but I think that, as I learn, I will get a bit closer,” he said. I also need to try and manage the blue flags a bit better, it’s not easy.

“My expectations for the next race are to learn and move forward, to be a bit closer to Tonio in qualifying and to try and close the gap in the race, I think that is a good target for now.”

A good race and a huge crowd overshadowed the ridiculous toing and froing during the weekend, as the teams and the rulemakers fought over the blown diffuser rule. In the end, Formula 1 overcame its own political weaknesses – but gentlemen, far better would it be to sort these things out away from the glare of the public.

Results :: British Grand Prix Pos

Driver

Team

Qual

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 R R R R R

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

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

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

Top 10 Points: Vettel 204, Webber 124, Alonso 112, Hamilton/

Button 109, Massa 52, Rosberg 40, Heidfeld 34, Petrov 31, Schumacher 28.

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IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 10 – TORONTO, CAN

Dou

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uble Trouble in Toronto The one thing the Toronto Indycar race showed was that double file restarts don’t work on street circuits. It also showed that Will Power is in danger of losing touch with Dario Franchitti in the title fight after the second retirement in as many races for the Australian.

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oronto’s Indycar street race is known for its incidents and multiple caution periods. But the 2011 event took things to a new level, culminating in a controversial clash which accounted for Will Power and prompted the Australian to refer to Alex Tagliani as a ‘wanker’.

The early laps had been relatively stress-free, but it was quickly apparent that on the street circuit the double-file restart system was a recipe for double trouble.

Off pole, Power led in the early running until Dario Franchitti took over after the first pitstops.

Then on lap 56, Franchitti nudged Power into a spin as the

Target Ganassi driver attempted to overtake the Australian.

“We went into the corner and I gave him room and then he just drove into me,” Power said.

“I understood he was going to get penalised but then there was no call. I just don’t understand that.”

Franchitti later said he’d cop 50 percent blame for the incident with his main title rival.

“Will started to crowd me there, and unfortunately at that point as he was crowding, the wall comes out, and so I couldn’t go any further to the right.

On Target: Dario Franchitti got the job done in Toronto, although not without as fair amount of controversy, left.

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“So I was trying to get out of it, and I couldn’t and I’d say that was my part in the accident. I think Will has equal blame in that in the fact that he came down across like I wasn’t there.”

Franchitti was able to continue, unscathed and unsanctioned, to lead a Ganassi one-two, with Scott Dixon claiming second place.

“It was a tough day, with restart after restart after restart,” Dixon said.

“It looked like Power’s tyres were going off there at the end.

When he spun and the yellow came out, it put Dario into the lead and all we had to do was drive clean to the end.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay was third, vaulting up the order after making his final stop just before the last caution period.

“It was a crazy race,” HunterReay said. “That’s Toronto. I had wing damage, driving around out there at 170mph, and I never even knew it.”

Fourth was previous round

winner Marco Andretti, who was lucky to emerge without damage from a late-race clash with Oriol Servia that also took out Justin Wilson, James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball and Mike Conway.

Vitor Meira was fifth for Foyt Racing, ahead of Sebastian Bourdais and Ryan Briscoe. The latter had been delayed by a series of incidents: an early clash with Tony Kanaan (which put Kanaan out), followed by a puncture, and then later he was punted by Conway.

From near last on the grid, JR Hildebrand came through to claim eighth spot, followed by EJ Viso and Simona de Silvestro.

Out of luck was Graham Rahal on a day when strategy was something of a lottery. Finding himself out of sequence after suffering a flat tyre early in the race, Rahal was on an economy drive to the flag that might have yielded a podium result had he not been punted by HunterReay just five laps from home.

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Street racers: It might have a reputation as a crash-fest, but the streets of Toronto make for a fantastic road circuit, above. Will Power leads off the start, left. Graham Rahal was out of luck, dropping from a potential podium position to 13th after a late-race clash, above left.

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IZOD INDYCAR Media

Results :: Honda Indy Toronto, Toronto CAN

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Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Driver Dario Franchitti Scott Dixon Ryan Hunter-Reay Marco Andretti Vitor Meira Sebastien Bourdais Ryan Briscoe JR Hildebrand EJ Viso Simona de Silvestro

No. 10 9 28 26 14 19 6 4 59 78

Team Target Ganassi Target Ganassi Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport AJ Foyt Enterprises Dale Coyne Racing Team Penske Panther Racing KV Racing-Lotus HVM Racing

Nationality GB NZ USA USA BRA FR AUS USA VEN SUI

Time/ gap 85 laps + 0.7345s + 6.0144s + 7.5671s + 9.0117s + 9.3114s + 9.8735s + 14.1750s + 14.7843s + 15.7603s

Qual.

3 2 8 20 14 7 10 22 18 17

Top 10 Points: Dario Franchitti 353, Will Power 298, Scott Dixon 270, Oriol Servià 234, Tony Kanaan 221, Ryan Briscoe 219, Marco Andretti 216, Graham Rahal 208, JR Hildebrand 193, Alex Tagliani 173.

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NASCAR ROUND 18 – KENTUCKY, KY

Kentucky Kyle In the town where they make the Toyota Camrys, it was fitting that a Camry won what was Kentucky Speedway’s inaugural Sprint Cup race – and Kyle Busch was only too happy to perform the honours

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YLE Busch never looked like losing in Kentucky. Having got himself nicely primed with a win in the Camping World Truck Series on the brand new venue, the Toyota driver took pole for the Sprint Cup pole and proceeded to lead for nearly half of the 400 mile distance.

An early challenge came from his own brother, but ultimately Kurt Busch faded out to finish in the bottom of the top 10.

“It feels awesome to be able to come out here and run the way we did, to unload the way we did off the hauler,” Kyle said.

“Didn’t have many adjustments to make, just 58

fine-tuned on it through the weekend. It was definitely a special event here this weekend.

It was awesome to be able to bring it home in front of all the Toyota folks that we have here as well, too. The Camrys are built right here in Kentucky.

It’s a special night for us to put Camrys in Victory Lane, and David Reutimann finishing second.”

Reutimann hadn’t looked a contender early on, but vaulted forward in the late stages, the caution period caused by a tyre issue on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Chevy with 15 laps to Kentucky Derby: Kyle Busch was dominant in Kentucky, right. motorsport news

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go providing the Toyota driver with the perfect opportunity to make his final stop.

“It was hit or miss the first part of the race,” Reitimann said.

“We would make it better, then make it worse. Every time we put four tyres on, we couldn’t

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go anywhere, too tight.

“Either the track was changing or tightening up more or we weren’t changing enough, taking big enough swings on it.

“We unfortunately have a bit of a history of being fast when it doesn’t really matter. Tonight worked out where we were fast

at the end of the race, which is evidently what you got to do.”

Reutimann had the laterace pace to overhaul Jimmie Johnson in the two-lap dash to the flag, which came about after Clint Bowyer hit the wall with six laps to go.

Johnson had started alongside Kyle on the front row and ran strongly, but the Hendrick Chevy driver had to be content with third.

“That first run, I was in trouble,” Johnson said. “These tyres seemed to kind of wake up after they get a heat cycle. So the last restart, the car took off a lot better.

“I was able to hang with the 18 outside of turns one and two. Man, just cleared me going down the back. The outside lane had more momentum coming off of two and down

Sellout: The inaugural Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway attracted a sellout crowd, below right. Marcos Ambrose had a tough run into 20th, above. Second placed David Reitimann heads Juan Montoya, left. David Ragan was eighth, one of three Roush Fords in the top 10, below left.

the back.

“If I could have stayed inside of him, would have been one heck of a finish to the end. He cleared me and went on. Then I had my hands full with the 00. I think he probably was the best car at the end.

“If he would have cleared me sooner, I think he would have been up there with the 18 racing for the win.”

Marcos Ambrose had a challenging night, going down two laps early on after getting out of step with the front runners’ fuel strategy. With a car set up that wasn’t right, there was no coming back from there and the Australian had to be happy to finish 20th.

“At times it was a difficult night, but we hung in there and managed to get a result from the evening,” Ambrose said.

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Results :: Quaker State 400, Kentucky KY

MCS Media

Pos. No. 1 18 2 00 3 48 4 39 5 99 6 17 7 2 8 6 9 22 10 24 20 9

Driver Kyle Busch David Reutimann Jimmie Johnson Ryan Newman Carl Edwards Matt Kenseth Brad Keselowski David Ragan Kurt Busch Jeff Gordon Marcos Ambrose

Make Toyota Toyota Chevy Chevy Ford Ford Dodge Ford Dodge Chevy Ford

Team Joe Gibbs Waltrip Hendrick Stewart Haas Roush Fenway Roush Fenway Penske Roush Fenway Penske Hendrick Petty

Sponsor Qual.

M&M’s 1 Tums 17 Lowe’s 5 Tornados 18 Aflac 7 Crown Royal 13 Miller Lite 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” 8 Shell/Pennzoil 3 DuPont 14 Porter-Cable Power Tools 11

Top 10 Points: Ky Busch 624, Edwards 620, Harvick 614, Ku Busch 606, Johnson 605, Kenseth 602, Gordon 552, Earnhardt Jr. 548, Newman 538, Hamlin 530, Ambrose 459 (22nd).

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OUTSTANDING PIT DISPLAYS BY OCTANORM MANY OTHER DISPLAY OPTIONS AVAILABLE PLEASE CALL US TO DISCUSS REQUIREMENTS

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WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 7, BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC

Czech, Czech, 1-2 Marco Melandri taught Max Biaggi a lesson in Race 1 – and Max turned the tables in Race 2

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HE trouble with having two races in the Superbike World Championship, and a rider like Max Biaggi to beat – at Brno – is that what happens in Race 1 can come back to haunt you in Race 2.

Marco Melandri won the opening battle, but that did not help him much in Race 2. The Yamaha ace took over with three laps of that race to run, but the crafty old Roman used that to his advantage in Race 2.

“Let’s just say that race one taught me something,” Biaggi said cryptically after the race. “I would have liked to have been faster there in the last laps, but that’s not

always possible. So, along with my team, which did some excellent work, we decided to make a few changes to my RSV4. Just some small details that, in races like these, can make all the difference.”

Despite the front two swapping spots, the races had remarkably symmetry. Carlos Checa was third in both, losing 13 points of his lead in the process. Fourth, twice, was Michel Fabrizio ahead of Eugene Laverty, twice, and Ayrton Badavini, who starred on the BMW Italia bike. Leon Haslam was behind the Italian, twice, but separated from him by the other Leon, Camier, who crashed out of Race 2. The results read like a two-wheeled version of

Groundhog Day. The weekend was another bad one for Chris Vermeulen. He re injured his elbow in a practice fall and after struggling in Race 1, withdrew from Race 2.

Points: Checa 293, Biaggi 263, Melandri 240, Laverty 168, Haslam 137, Camier/Fabrizio 134, Badovini 106, Haga 99, Rea 94.

IT was a hard day for Broc Parkes in World Supersport. The Aussie crashed out of the lead group leaving Gino Rea, above, to score his maiden win on the Step Racing Honda from Fabien Foret.

Chaz Davies was third, stretching his lead over Parkes and Foret to 36 points.

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THE CROWN JULES GP2 JULES Bianchi finally broke through for his first win of the 2011 GP2 season on the weekend, after an enthralling battle with Christian Vietoris at Silverstone.

Meanwhile, Romain Grosjean proved too strong for his brethren on Sunday, with a dominant win in the Sprint Race over Dani Clos.

Saturday’s feature race began in tricky conditions, but it played beautifully into

Bianchi’s hands as he escaped his rivals on wet tyres. But as the track began to dry, the field pitted to ditch the wets in favour of dry tyres, with Bianchi electing to pit late.

When the Frenchman rejoined, Bianchi had his mirrors full of Vietoris, which set up a brilliant battle for the lead that would last the duration of the race. The pair swapped positions, but Bianchi ultimately held his own, crossing the line four-seconds ahead of his main

challenger.

Grosjean enjoyed his Sunday, as he made a very strong start from fifth place to third in the opening lap alone. Then, the championship leader overtook his main championship rival Giedo van der Garde on Lap 15, with the then race leader Clos making a mistake no more than two corners later.

Grosjean never looked back from there, eventually finding seven-seconds of clean air to Clos by the end of the race.

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The Gurney Cleans up the competition GRAND AM THE GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet Riley was once again on the top in the Rolex Grand Am Series after its drivers Alex Gurney and John Fogarty pounced upon a rare mistake from Scott Pruett to win in the late stages of the race at Laguna Seca.

Australian Daytona Prototype rookie James Davison meanwhile had a troubled weekend at the famed American circuit, finishing down the order in 24th overall.

At the front, Gurney made the ultimate

move on then race-leader Pruett during a frantic sequence of pit stops late in the race.

After Pruett overshot his pit box, Gurney jumped ahead, then as the final 28-laps wound down, Gurney managed to hold the Grand Am stalwart off. But only just, crossing the chequered by a meagre four-tenths of a second.

“We were struggling earlier this season, and this is a great culmination of our work,” said Gurney.

“Our car came in really good at the end of the race. I spent most of my race trying to chase down Scott. Then we had our stop

and they had their problem. I was really hooked up at the end of the race, and I had clear sailing at the end.”

Davison was impressing onlookers with his speed and endurance, until he flatspotted a tyre that eventually delaminated, causing significant damage to the front body work of his Riley. Davison, however, was happy with his efforts as he continues to learn the ropes of the American series.

In the GT class, meanwhile, the number 59 Brumos Porsche of Leh Keen and Andrew Davis took the honours in style ahead of the charging Mazdas on their home turf.

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UHRHANE CLOSE, BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO EURO CUP AUSSIES AUSTRALIANS Geoff Uhrhane and Nick McBride have enjoyed a great weekend in the Formula Ford Euro Cup at the famous Spa Francorchamps.

Uhrhane found his feet in Race 2 where he brilliantly won the race in rather strange circumstances, crossing the line backwards following a collision with main rival, Scott Malvern.

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win the race by five seconds.

Last year’s Australian Formula 3 runner-up, Evans meanwhile failed to turn a lap in Race 2, the young Kiwi retiring early with mechanical issues.

Race 1 saw Muller almost inherit pole position after most in front of him pitted for wet tyres moments before the race got underway. With his rivals in the pits, the race got underway, and Muller proceeded to pull out an 8.7s lead over Nick Yelloly. With a clear track ahead of him, Muller remained at the top, taking the GP3 silverware in style.

Evans could only manage 10th place, leaving him second in the championship, three points behind Alexander Sims.

begging.

McBride conversely finished his Race 3 on the final step of the podium, but was admittedly slightly disappointed not to get the elusive first win.

Malvern, however, was the star of the show, making it two wins from three starts at the Belgian circuit easily claiming the Spa Euro Cup. The next round of the Euro Cup will be at Belgium’s other famed track, Circuit Zolder.

Willamson Ardens Up

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MW Arden star Mitch Evans took a step away from the limelight at Silverstone on the weekend. Instead, his teammate Lewis Williamson took a commanding win at his home track, living up to his name as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner.

Moreover, Nico Muller found his feet on Saturday, with a classic win in strange circumstances.

Making a slow start from the front row of the grid, Williamson drove a solid race in his Dallara to claw his way back up the order, eventually taking the lead in what looked like a lesson of driving over Dean Smith. Williamson would

The two were separated by only half a second after a mid-race mistake from Uhrhane, but the carnage came after a passing attempt from Malvern heading into the Bus Stop. Drag racing to the line for the final time, the two tagged wheels, spearing Uhrhane around backwards across the line only 0.047s clear of Malvern.

Uhrhane also had a second in Race 1, but a race-ending mistake late in Race 3 let another podium position, and the Cup go

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NZ V8 Race Car

Honda CRX Track/ Hillclimb Car For sale is my 1988 Honda CRX Track/ Race Car. Obviously has some little dings and marks and has a few rough areas. Fantastic starter to get into motorsport for track days, supersprints or hillclimbs.

Room for potential, selling cause I have a new project and need the cash. Please email for questions.

0422 443 273 www.my105.com/3449

Saloon Car AU Saloon car AU, fresh engine, Pfitzner gearbox, Aims dash and sensors, huge amount of spares includes full set of spare panels and AU V8 super car body shell, spare wheels, rear diff disc to disc with calipers and many more parts. Changed class so must sell.

0407 483 192 www.my105.com/5175

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Pantec Race Truck

GT40 DRB

Currently used to transport VZ Mod Prod. Pan measures 5.3m long, 2.2m wide & 2m high. Includes 2x U/body t/boxes, 2.4kva genset, 2hp comp, bench grinder, vice, air hose real, 8000lb winch, fluoro lights & spotties, 12/240v power, hyd tailgate lifter & more. Seats 7, original 92000km 6cyl. Turbo diesel. 0409 729 198

New chassis fitted with full cage, front suspension, calipers, discs, Tillton pedals, steering column/ wheel, radiator, head and tail lights also comes with windows, body locks all in great condition. Car is designed for a 5.4L Boss engine.

Spent so far over $35,000.00, a steal at $27,500.00. 02 9620 8320 www.my105.com/5124

www.my105.com/5127

Fully prepared NZ V8 Lease, lease to own or purchase. Car is current spec, a race winning car from 2010/11. Crew can be supplied, will be a team mate to Bargwanna, include car set up and data sharing. 7 Rounds including the Hamilton 400.

Tailor the package to suit your needs. Price is a guide only. +64 2 7520 5402 www.my105.com/5001

VE Holden Commodore SS-V

The Perfect Nos Sprint Roller

Purpose built circuit racing/ track day race car, 6L Chevy 365 kw, T56 6 speed transmission, locked rear axle, full adjustable coil overs, V8 Supercar front rotors and calipers, 1 7/8" HM headers with dual 3" performance exhaust, 18" wheels, racing seat, 6 point harness, (custom trailer available).

0438 722 655

Car is a 2010 Eagle Chassis Up Rail, has a KSE box, Winters 4, 11 diff, new steel inboard rotor and Wilwood Caliper, 28 gallon fuel safe tank, car has all fresh powder coat and paint and some TI bolts, we can also make it a sprintcar roller. What ever you are after.... no time WASTERS!!! Some spares too.

0407 597 135

www.my105.com/5172

www.my105.com/5146

4 Car Race Trailer and P Mover 4 car custom built in 2007, 45ft Titan trailer with 8Kva Kubota genset and fully decked out lounge with 2400 slideout, full size fridge with leather lounges and lots of storage. 2000 model Freightliner Argosy only done 180,000 on new engine. 1300 653 075 www.my105.com/5156

motorsport news

ODD SPOT!

rear of grid

Nose First, Nose Best

Phil Williams

WHILE there was plenty going on in Townsville on the weekend, the Off-Roaders were having the time of their life in South Australia.

Men (and women) and machines took to the dirt in the Hi-Tech Oils Riverland 300, Round 2 of the South Australian Off Road Championship. Scott Schiller/ Leanne Walker gave their buggy some air during the Prologue, and went on to finish fifth outright and third in the Pro class. We are pretty confident that their buggy spent more time not riding on its nose during the event.

Aaron and Carl Haby dominated the event, taking a 1-2 finish in the Pro class.

ON THIS DAY 13 JULY 1980 IT was 31 years ago that Patrick Depailler drove in his last Grand Prix, at Brands Hatch. The Alfa driver was testing at Hockenheim

a few weeks later when his car flew off the road at the Ostkurve when the suspension failed. Depaillier, 35, suffered severe head injuries and died instantly. He raced in 95 GPs and took two wins, at Monaco in 1978 for Tyrrell and in Spain a year later, for Ligier.

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