Motorsport eNews Issue 232 - November 22-28, 2011

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Issue No. 232 November 22 - 28 2011

TROUBLE IN TEXAS BUT ANOTHER AMERICAN CIRCUIT PUTS ITS HAND UP FOR V8 SUPERCARS. FULL DETAILS ON WHERE AND WHY INSIDE!

WHINCUP CLOSES IN ON 2011 TITLE

EXCLUSIVE: ALEX DAVO’S BACK-UP PLAN www.mnews.com.au

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The battle for pole position for the 1977 Australian Grand Prix at Oran Park was held over three qualifying sessions, with the top 8 places separated by only 2 seconds. Pole position would be set by Warwick Brown in a Lola T430 with the time of 65.7s.

The cars were set to race, with the starter ¾EK PMJXIH XS MXW LMKLIWX TSMRX .SRIW´ 0SPE XSSO SJJ WIGSRHW FIJSVI XLI ¾EK LEH HVSTTIH /RS[MRK LMW QMWXEOI .SRIW TVIWWIH LEVH XS XV] and limit the damage from his inevitable 1min WXST KS TIREPX] ;MXL .SRIW WIIQMRKP] SYX SJ contention the race was between Brown in LMW 0SPE 4IXIV +IXLMR MR E 'LIZVSR ERH .SLR Goss in a Matich. .SRIW GLEVKIH JVSQ XLI FEGO SJ XLI ½IPH SR his way setting the fastest lap of 66.4s. He was able to catch up to Goss who sat in 3rd TPEGI FYX LMW GPMQF XLVSYKL XLI ½IPH [EW LEPXIH [LIR LI VER SYX SJ PETW .SRIW ½RMWLIH forth only 2s behind Goss, Brown won the VEGI [MXL +IXLMR ½RMWLMRK W FILMRH MR RH

Available 4th Quarter 2011

With the engine cover removed the fine craftsmanship of the V8 can be appreciated.

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The race cockpit dash features detailed instrumentation with chrome trim.

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Issue No. 232 | 22-28 Nov 2011

news 4

Seca Megadrive?

Laguna flags V8 interest 6 KR squared Reindler close to locking in ‘12 8 Heading home Miedecke eyes FV8s 12 Everything’s bigger in Texas ... ... even dramas for F1 venues 17 “It’s so 2006” FV8 Reverse Grids under fire

chat 22 Five Minutes With ...

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comment 24 Branagan: Hooray for NASCAR 25 van Leeuwen: Taking the Mikk

race 26 V8 Supercars 36 Fujitsu Series 40 Touring Car Masters 42 V8 Utes 44 Australian GT 46 Goldenstate Titles 50 NASCAR

trade 58 Classifieds 3

LAGUNA SECA INTERESTED IN V8 TEXAS BAILOUT V8 SUPERCARS

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AGUNA Seca has emerged as a potential new hub for V8 Supercar racing in the USA if the planned race at Austin in Texas does not go ahead.

The Circuit of the Americas is facing very tough times, with question marks over the future of Tavo Hellmund, the man who forged the Formula 1 alliance with Bernie Ecclestone, throwing extreme doubt on the plan for V8 Supercars to go to America in 2013.

But Laguna Seca says it was interested in an Australian

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connection before the Texas deal, and is still keen.

“When we started catching wind that the V8 Supercars wanted to come to the US it was all hands on deck to find the right contacts. I think we were just too late, and Austin came on,” said Barry Toepke, vice-president of communications and historic racing at Laguna Seca.

“We are always welcome and open to new series coming into the US.” He is planning a trip to Australia before the end of the year and is keen to meet with V8 Supercar officials on the Gold Coast.

“We would be open to discuss

what the budget would be, sanction fees and so on, and we’d take a look at the budget line and see what we could work out.”

Laguna Seca is one of America’s oldest tracks and, with a genuine road racing heritage, hosts a range of top-class championships up to MotoGP. There are also two major historic meetings each year including the Porsche Rennsport gathering.

Toepke says there is growing interest in V8 Supercar racing in the USA off the back of the expanded coverage on SPEED Television.

“It’s exciting. It’s great racing,” he added.

Meanwhile, V8 Supercars Australia has been unusually quiet on the Austin matter, with Tony Cochrane toeing the “no comment” line.

“V8 Supercars will not comment on the contractual issues between Circuit of the Americas and Formula One Management,” he told SPEED.com.

“This is a private, commercial matter between those parties that does not involve V8 Supercars.”

– PAUL WARD/STAFF

For more on the Circuit of the Americas debacle, turn to Formula 1 news on Page 14.

motorsport news

NEWS

TWO MINUTES WITH BARRY TOEPKE

BY PAUL WARD

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Is Laguna Seca interested in hosting a V8 Supercar race in the USA? BARRY TOEPKE: We are always welcome and open to new series coming into the US. We obviously have an historic track, that’s 57 years old, and I think the track would be fitting for that type of series.

Has there been any contact between Laguna management and V8 Supercars in Australia?

There was an initial contact but that was right when Austin was going online and I don’t think we ever made the official contact.

What is the situation, as you know it, with Austin?

From what I’m hearing right now, it doesn’t look real good for the facility.

With Tavo pulling out and the contract that Bernie has with Full Throttle Productions, I would assume it’s null and void right now and a new contract is trying to be negotiated with the Circuit of the Americas.

It’s anyone’s guess, but it doesn’t look good for a Formula 1 race coming in right away.

What championships are currently hosted at your track?

We have the Grand Am Rolex sports car series, we have [the American Le Mans Series], we also do have MotoGP as one of our largest events, and a historic racing program.

What sort of crowds do you draw?

For MotoGP we had 136,000 people over a three-day period, and our second-largest event is the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reuion, the

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Dirk Klynsmith

What is the appeal at Laguna?

I think we are a very technically demanding track, and it provides the drivers, sponsors and participants with a real treat to go through that facility.

historic racing in August, and we just did a little over 50,000 for that.

V8 Supercars like to deal with governments because they have sizeable budgets. Do you think you could afford the category?

We would be open to discuss what the budget would be, sanction fees and so on, and we’d take a look at the budget line and see what we could work out.

V8 Superars has close ties with SPEED TV in the USA. Does Laguna Seca have any sort of association?

We work very closely with SPEED TV. SPEED covers MotoGP with us.

We have a separate agreement with them for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and we just had the Porsche Rennsport festival in October and SPEED covered that as well.

What do you think of V8 Supercar racing?

It’s exiting. It’s great racing. I’ve seen a little bit of it.

When we started catching wind that the V8 Supercars wanted to come to the US it was all hands on deck to find the right contacts. I think we were just too late, and Austin came on.

IS McLAUGHLIN GARRY’S MAN FOR 2012?

V8 SUPERCARS COULD the driver to fill Garry Rogers Motorsport’s vacant V8 Supercar seat have been right under everybody’s noses?

That was the question being asked at Sandown when Scott McLaughlin’s name emerged as the latest to be linked to the seat in the #33 Commodore, which will be vacated

by Lee Holdsworth after the Sydney 500. The NZ teenager, currently fourth in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, shares his sponsor support with GRM and while the current plans are that he will race another season in the FV8s in 2012, his manager Chris Jewell did not rule out graduating to the Main Game.

“We are talking to Garry but I wanted to talk about long-distance race potential,” he said.

“It’s a long-shot. We would take it if it’s there, but I don’t think it’s there.”

While the 18-year-old races a Stone Brothers FG, and even works at SBR during the week, Jewell is keen to emphasise that does not mean that he is tied to SBR for any endurance races.

“I am not doing my job if we do not talk to others,” he said. “I think he has plenty of options for next year.”

McLaughlin has Sydney FV8 events to look forward to, as well as a start to the NZ V8 SuperTourers Series before resuming whichever V8 Supercar Series he will be in for 2012.

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V8 SUPERCARS

TAZ Douglas has emerged as a likely candidate to drive for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2012.

Recent paddock talk has linked the Fujitsu Series competitor with the ride currently occupied by Warren Luff. The 26-year-old races an aging VZ Commodore in the second-tier series as a privateer, and has worked with LDM at

John Morris/Mpix

DOUGLAS SET FOR MAIN GAME

race meetings during the second half of the 2011 season.

While Douglas declined to comment, eNews understands he is the leading contender to race for the Victorian squad next year. LDM is expected to secure new hardware over the off-season, likely to be the Triple Eight-built VE Commodore currently raced by Russell Ingall at Paul Morris Motorsports, as previously reported.

– MITCHELL ADAM

REINDLER CLOSE TO KELLY RACING V8 SUPERCARS KARL Reindler is hopeful of having his 2012 deal with Kelly Racing sorted as soon as this week.

While Reindler was unable to officially name Kelly Racing as the team he is talking to for next season, he is considered the heavy favourite to replace David Reynolds in the #16 Commodore for 2012.

While there is currently no deal in place, Reindler is hoping that will change this week.

“Next week is the timeline,” he confirmed to eNews. “Next week I’d like to be sorted.”

Whatever happens with the Kelly Racing deal, Reindler has confirmed that he definitely won’t be at Brad Jones Racing next season, having raced the #21 Fair 6

Dinkum Sheds Commodore for the past two seasons.

“I’m really happy with BJR; they’ve been great,” he added.

“The crew is fantastic and the cars have been strong at times.

I’ve learnt a heap the last couple of years, but I feel like a change of scenery might give me a fresh slate. Me moving to Melbourne is all part of this grand scheme of taking it to the next level.

“I feel like I’ve earned my place in the category. We’ve had some good results, although we’ve been a little inconsistent with the cars. But there’s been some strong showings, like Perth and Queensland Raceway this year, and Bathurst last year.

“When the car is strong, I feel like I can drive it well. I’m feeling confident, feeling good.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

NEWS

DAVO-DAVO AT FPR? V8 SUPERCARS

FORD Performance Racing could double its efforts in the endurance races next season with a DavisonDavison combination.

Solid sources are reporting that Alex Davison, who ends his tenure as a full-time driver with Stone Brothers Racing after the races at Homebush next month, is a wanted man by FPR for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 next year. It is possible that he could partner his younger brother Will in the Trading Post-sponsored FPR Falcon FG.

We also believe that any such agreement that could already be in place between FPR and Alex Davison would be set aside, should he secure a full-time seat next season with another team.

Team principal Tim Edwards was non-committal when asked for comment by eNews.

“We have a number of options that could be taken for next year,” he said.

“It is fair to say that we take our endurance pairings seriously, and we will do that again next season.”

When asked about Davison, Edwards commented only that there were “a number of options”.

Dirk Klynsmith

Andrew Hall

G DEAL

COULTHARD CONFIRMED AT BJR, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR WILSON? V8 SUPERCARS

Peter Bury

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FABIAN Coulthard will join Brad Jones Racing in 2012 – but the major backer of the Coulthard/ BJR entry is still up in the air.

With Russell Ingall being confirmed in Coulthard’s seat at Walkinshaw Racing for next season, Coulthard has been shifted to the Albury-based outfit, where he will drive alongside Jason Bright. The third seat is currently still vacant, with Karl Reindler set to depart (see separate story). It is also unclear whether Coultard will drive the #21 or #14 entry.

“What’s happened over the last few months [at Walkinshaw Racing] has been purely a

commercial process and it’s nice to be able to move on; I’m happy to still be racing,” said Coulthard.

“The deal’s only been signed a couple of days. It’s been a whirlwind process but now I can start thinking about the future. I’ve got a lot of unfinished business. I want to win races and, teaming up with Brighty, I think we’ll make a pretty strong combination and bounce ideas off each other.

“It’s going to be good at BJR; my relationship with those guys goes back many years to when I bought my Formula Ford from the Jones family and I’m really looking forward to getting up to Albury and meeting all the mechanics and engineers.”

But the good news for Coulthard has the potential to be bad news for Tony D’Alberto.

Coulthard and Wilson Security have a history together, and Wilson has been close to deals with BJR in the past. With the D’Alberto/Wilson deal up at the end of this season, it could open the door for Coulthard to drive a Wilson Security Racing car at BJR next year.

Wilson Security boss John McMellan confirmed that he had no set plans for 2012 as of yet.

“No, not at this option,” McMellan told eNews.

“We had a one-year deal [with Tony D’Alberto Racing], which we’re currently reviewing.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN 7

JANE ‘HAS AT IT’ NASCAR came to the Fujitsu Series on Sunday afternoon.

In shades of Kyle Busch’s payback move on Ron Hornaday in the Nationwide Series earlier this month, there was some good old-fashioned payback at the conclusion of the third and final race of the weekend.

After clashing – in and out of their cars – at Townsville’s FV8

John Morris / Mpix

FUJITSU SERIES

round in July, Paul Morris and Rodney Jane were in the thick of it again.

Morris made a move down the inside of Jane for sixth at Dandenong Road on the final lap, and made it through after

light contact. Jane, though, was forced wide and lost a further two places.

Unhappy with the move, Jane repassed those cars after the chequered flag and spun Morris at Turn 1. Pitcrews and television

cameras followed both drivers as they got out of their cars, but there was no repeat of the Townsville pitlane confrontation.

Stewards will investigate the incident at Homebush in a fortnight.

racing. It’s definitely not that I didn’t like oval racing, but I realised that I miss road racing and want to get back to it. V8 Supercars is the place to be for that type of racing.

“It’s the only real professional

series in the world at the moment, in that Touring Car, circuit racing sort of thing. It’s where you’ve got to be and if you want to be there, you’ve got to do the Development Series.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

MIEDECKE EYES V8 DEV FUJITSU SERIES GEORGE Miedecke is aiming to return to Australian competition in the V8 Supercar Development Series in 2012.

After time in Production Cars and V8 Utes, Miedecke headed to America at the start of 2010, looking to build a career and, ultimately, crack into NASCAR. The son of former Touring Car driver Andrew, Miedecke linked with Marcos Ambrose and raced for the dual V8 Supercar Champion’s Late Model team, Marcos Ambrose Motorsport in 2011.

Despite a successful season in which he finished second and was the top rookie in the UARA Stars Series, Miedecke has turned his focus back to Australia and is looking to put together a Development Series program for 2012.

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“We’re back from the States, so Plan A is the Development Series, obviously,” the 25-year-old said.

“I’m shopping around, trying to figure out what’s out there.

I’ve got a lot of good people helping me out, which is good, Marcos has been sweet and still is amazing, he’s really pushing my wagon over here.

“Now it’s about trying to make sure you’re aligned with the right people, in the right car, so you can show what you’re capable of. Equipment means everything and if we can get into some good equipment, I think we can have a good year.”

Miedecke says he enjoyed his American adventure, but is now looking to forge a V8 Supercar career.

“Going to the States was always a try and see,” he said.

“I do enjoy what they call road course racing more than oval

motorsport news

NEWS

V8 SUPERCARS ROD Nash Racing has extended its partnership with Bottle-O for another three years.

Team owner Rod Nash announced at Sandown that the current deal, which run until the end of next season, will be followed by a three-year deal that will see his Ford run in the green colours of the liquor retailer until 2015.

Justin Collins

IT’S A DEAL-O

“This is about the Car of the Future,” Nash explained.

“Sponsorship traditionally runs down to the wire. For us to be able to plan from here, four years in advance, is a great position to be in.”

Nash said that he expects to agree a deal with Ford Performance Racing to parallel the sponsorship deal. The deal means that the RNR-Bottle-O partnership will have run for a decade by the time the 2015 season ends.

WALL LOOKING FOR DOOR V8 SUPERCARS DAVID Wall has joined the V8 Supercar Silly Season, as another driver looking for a Main Game berth.

The two-time Australian GT Champion is in his first year of the Fujitsu Series, and currently sits 13th in the standings with Tony D’Alberto Racing, after missing the Townsville round due to injury. Since 2009, he has also contested the V8 Supercar endurance races, including pairing up with Karl Reindler for Brad Jones Racing in 2010 and 2011.

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As the race for 2012 Main Game seats heats up, Wall is exploring opportunities to step up.

One possible outcome could see the 28-year-old join BJR on a full-time basis in a second Wilson Security Racing entry.

Fabian Coulthard’s entry could potentially be backed by Wilson Security, see separate story, and Wall has also been backed by the firm in recent years.

“We’re definitely trying to make our way to the next step,” Wall said of his Main Game ambition.

“You get limited miles in the Development

Series, and you’ve got limited tyres, which is the biggest thing.

“You need to learn the tyre, especially in these cars. If you can make it happen – if someone can give you a go, which is the biggest thing – in the Main Game you effectively get twice the running with twice the amount of tyres and obviously you get to use softs and it’s the whole next level from here.

“I’d love to be there. If it happens, fantastic, if it doesn’t, we’ll try and do something that will help us get there in the following year.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

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NEWS

HONDA UPS THE ARC ANTE WITH TWO JAZZES ARC

HONDA is the first manufacturer to embrace the Australian Rally Championship’s looming two-wheeldrive technical platform.

The Japanese marque has run a 2WD Civic for Eli Evans for the last two seasons, but has announced they’ll step up to run two cars from the 2012 season. The Civic will be replaced by Honda’s Jazz,

with Evans and Glen Weston to be joined by a to-be-confirmed second pairing.

The cars will be designed and built to G2 specifications, fitted with a two-litre, 183kW Mugen-tuned engine.

“We are excited about the next year of rallying. Racing is in Honda’s DNA,” Honda Australia spokesperson, Lindsay Smalley, said.

“These rally cars are modified with the best engineering from Australia and

Europe. Fitted with Mugen engines, these may well be the fastest Jazz in the world!

“Honda is proud to continue its support of Australian rallying and we hope next season will be even better than the last. As our founder Mr. Honda said, if Honda does not race, there is no Honda.”

Announced in April and launched in August, the Bosch Australian Rally Championship will move to an all-new, two-wheel-drive format in 2013.

HIRVONEN MAKES SHOCK CITROEN SWITCH V8 SUPERCARS

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FORD’s World Rally Championship star Mikko Hirvonen has made a shock defection to Citroen for the 2012 season.

Just days after Hirvonen lost the fight for the 2011 WRC title to Citroen and Sebastien Loeb, it was announced that the Flying Finn will switch from Ford’s factory team to Citroen’s factory team for next season, with Frenchman Sebastien Ogier making way for Hirvonen. His co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen will follow Hirvonen across the divide.

“Seeing Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia leave strikes a particular emotional chord in the whole team,” said Olivier Quesnel.

“Citroen Racing trained them, first of all in the [Junior World Rally Championship], and then in the Citroen Junior Team and the Citroen Total World Rally Team.

“They had a very good season with five victories and third place in the drivers

World Championship, and they made a productive contribution to the conquest of the manufacturers title alongside Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena.

“Now, we’re very happy to welcome Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen. They’ve been our toughest rivals over the last four seasons and we’re really looking forward to our future collaboration. Mikko is a talented driver and his consistency will be a big help in our fight to retain the manufacturers title.”

Ogier’s departure comes two years before his current Citroen contract was supposed to end, and on the back of a season of tension between he and Loeb as they fought it out for the World Championship. It is highly expected that Ford will soon announce that Ogier and Ingrassia will join Jari-Matti Latvala in the factory team for 2012, although another option could be Volkswagen, which will kick off its WRC program in 2013. motorsport news

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HELLMUND OPENS UP OVER COTA STRIFE FORMULA 1

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FULL Throttle Productions boss Tavo Hellmund has opened up to the media about the confusion surrounding the United States Grand Prix.

Between FTP having its contract with Formula cancelled due to missing payments, and construction work stopping at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, it seems less and less likely that the USGP will take place in 2012, as originally planned. With the situation still very unclear, Hellmund addressed the media very late last week.

“We don’t have a contract. The reason is as a project, we have failed many times over to fulfil our financial obligations to Formula 1.

It literally is that simple,” Hellmund said.

“One of the reasons was that we were way behind on construction. The race date was always going to be combined with Montreal.

[Bernie Ecclestone] understood we had some challenges and moved the date. At the end of the day, the dates moved. We had a window with the major events trust fund, probably two to three weeks.

“I don’t know that it soured. Everyone has their own idea of the way something should

go. You have to know how to get along and work the best you can. I think, even though the press has been bad in the last week, there’s a lot of hope. Track is halfway built.

“If Bernie and FOM get their money, [the race can go ahead]. It’s that simple.”

With Hellmund’s future within the project now subject to a question mark, and the project now even further behind both financially and in terms of construction, COTA

President Steve Sexton has suggested that the race should be moved to 2013.

“We have been excited for and working towards a 2012 USGP race and now understand that Mr Ecclestone is interested in moving the Austin race to 2013,” he said.

“We know the US market is important to the teams and their sponsors and 2013 certainly allows time for the Circuit of the Americas to be ready.”

VERGNE CUT ABOVE THE REST FORMULA 1

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JEAN-Eric Vergne was the clear pace-setter across the three days of last week’s Formula 1 young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

The Frenchman, 21, was well ahead of the rest of the field in the Red Bull Racer, topping the sheets by 0.9s on Day 1, 0.09s on Day 2, and then a whopping two-seconds on the third and final day.

“It was a fantastic three days for me,” Vergne told the Red Bull website.

“I’m really happy to have had the experience with Red Bull Racing. It was an opportunity for me to learn as much as possible, and driving in the best F1 car of the season made it just an incredible experience.”

Sam Bird was the second fastest for Mercedes on the final day in Abu Dhabi, after spending much of the test evaluating the team’s 2012 exhaust configuration. Ferrari young gun Jules Bianchi was the only other driver to get close to Vergne’s times throughout the test. motorsport news

NEWS

PETROV APOLOGISES TO RENAULT FOR TV OUTBURST FORMULA 1

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VITALY Petrov has been forced to apologise for an extraordinary outburst directed at the Renault team following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Petrov, who is currently the only driver contracted at Enstone for 2012, heavily criticised the team on Russian television following the last race.

“Unfortunately I cannot say anything bad about the team, it says so in my contract,” Petrov told RUSSIA2.

“But many things have already been written about [it] in the media. People say the team criticised the drivers. But excuse me; read my interviews, I haven’t criticised the team despite what we have lost so many times. How much have we missed at pit-stops? With strategy?

“We have lost positions in about 10 races or even more. Even without a fast car we could have gained good points, we could have finished with points if we had had a good strategy.

“But I couldn’t say in interviews that we lost it with the pit-stops, and I cannot talk

about that now either. But I can’t keep silent any more – it is over. I can’t keep everything inside any more.”

With the Renault team understandably upset at the outburst, Petrov immediately apologised, sending an email to all of the staff at Enstone admitting his comments were “expressed in an inappropriate manner”.

It seems the apology has been accepted, with team boss Eric Boullier confirming that the matter was considered over on the Renault website.

“The interview was made minutes after Vitaly jumped out of the car last Sunday,” said Boullier.

“The race was tough, he was upset not to have scored points, he was exhausted.

Drivers are not robots, they’re human beings. Also, like every driver, Vitaly is a competitor. Had he been on the podium in Abu Dhabi, he would have complained about not winning the race.

“We take this incident as exactly this – an incident. Vitaly has apologised to the team and sent an email to all the staff at Enstone.

As far as we are concerned, the matter is closed.”

PIC LINKED TO VIRGIN FOR 2012 FORMULA 1

never higher than 12th, was on the bottom of the sheets two out of the three days, and was out-paced by Formula Renault 3.5 Champ Robert Wickens in the same car on the final day.

Pic, from Montélimar, finished fourth in this year’s GP2 Series, winning two races along the way.

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CHARLES Pic is set to race for Marussia Virgin in Formula 1 next season alongside German Timo Glock.

French sports newspaper L’Equipe reported last week that the 21-year-old has agreed to terms with the Virgin-

backed outfit, and that he will replace Belgian driver Jerome d’Ambrosio for the 2012 F1 season.

There have been no confirmations from Pic or the team, but Pic did spend three days testing for Virgin Racing during the young driver test in Abu Dhabi last week. He was

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13

STEWART HAAS DUMPS CREW CHIEF AFTER WIN NASCAR

NASCAR Media

DARIAN Grubb could have a new job as soon as this week, after splitting with Stewart Haas Racing immediately after Tony Stewart won the final race of the NASCAR season at Homestead, and with it, the 2011 Sprint Cup title.

Grubb confirmed the split immediately after the race, Stewart winning his fifth Chase event in 10 races to tie on points with Carl Edwards.

Sitting somewhat awkwardly next to his driver at the post-race press conference, Grubb confirmed the split.

“I’m not really sure what’s going to happen now,” Grubb said. “I was told early on in the Chase before Charlotte I wasn’t going to be here next year.

“We’ll just see this coming week how things change ... [The relationship] was a little tough and strained but honestly it probably made the guys rally around a little bit more just because we felt like we were a team to beat. We wanted to prove that and we just did it.”

Stewart initially deflected questions about the split with a humorous, “I know what his

status is the rest of the night – and I’m going to get him drunk” but addressed further questions in team owner doubletalk.

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow,” he said.

“There’s a lot of things in the offseason and a lot of decisions that have to be made and we wanted to get through this championship battle first.

“We’ll sit down as a group this week and figure out the direction of our program. The good thing right now is we’re sitting up here as champions, and I don’t think any of us are really too concerned about anything other than having fun tonight and enjoying the accomplishment.”

Grubb, 36, came to prominence when he stepped in as temporary crew chief for Jimmie Johnson when Chad Knaus was suspended in early 2006. Grubb guided Johnson to win the Daytona 500, and after another win at Las Vegas, was promoted to crew chief for Casey Mears. He joined SHR from Hendrick Motorsports in 2009, working with Stewart on the team’s #14 Chevy.

The team’s situation is somewhat muddled with the imminent arrival of Danica Patrick, who will run a limited Cup program in a third SHR car next season.

Lotus names its Indycar teams for 2012 INDYCARS INDYCAR’S 2012 grid is looking a little clearer, with three teams committing to race with Lotus motors next season.

HVM Racing, Indy 500 winners Bryan Herta Autosport and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will race with the V6 turbos, which are expected to start track testing in January.

“These partnerships with Bryan Herta Autosport, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 14

and HVM Racing mean a great deal to Lotus Motorsport and mark the start of a new chapter for Lotus in the IZOD IndyCar Series,” said Miodrag Kotur, Group Lotus’ Director of Motorsports Operations.

“These three teams have immediately become part of the Lotus legend and have joined us in our journey as one of the most innovative and successful sports and racing car brands in the world.”

Chevrolet has already

confirmed deals with Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, KV Racing Technology and Panther Racing, and Honda has agreed to supply Chip Ganassi Racing, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

Newman/Haas Racing, Sarah Fisher Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Dragon Racing, Dale Coyne Racing, Conquest Racing and Davey Hamilton Racing are yet to announce engine deals for next season. motorsport news

NEWS

EVERYONE knows Daytona Prototype sportscars are pretty ugly. Well, not any more.

Last week, Chevrolet unwrapped its new Corvette, which is to race in the 50th anniversary of the Grand-Am Racing Series. The car has been developed jointly

by Chevrolet, Corvette Designers, Pratt &

Miller, Riley, Coyote, Dallara and Grand-Am. The car tested with Antonio Garcia and Oliver Gavin sharing the driving, and ran a total of 66 laps over four sessions at Daytona International Speedway.

“Basically, they were trouble-free development laps to learn about the car,” said Jim Lutz, GRAND-AM Road Racing

GM Racing

Chevy unveils its Car of The Future

Program Manager for GM Racing. “Nothing unusual happened.”

“Everybody thinks it is the best-looking car,” Lutz added.

The final driving lineup is still TBA, with Garcia and Gavin expected to be joined by at least two other drivers.

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15

FIVE OUT OF SIX AIN’T BAD BATHURST 12 HOUR AUDI will sport a largely unchanged line-up when it returns to defend its Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour title in February.

As revealed by eNews, the German marque will return to the Mountain with a two-car program to be run as a joint effort between Team Phoenix Racing – replacing Team Joest – and local outfit Melbourne Performance Centre. As with this year’s race, in which Audi grabbed a 1-2 finish,

there’ll be a ‘local’ R8 LMS and an ‘international’ car.

The Australian team will again consist of Craig Lowndes, Warren Luff and Mark Eddy, while 2011 winners Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young return in the international car. German driver Christer Jöns will join them in the place of Marc Basseng.

The factory Audis will be joined on the grid by a third R8 from Anglo-American outfit United Autosports, which is yet to announce drivers.

HUGLIN GRABS KOX, SEARLE BATHURST 12 HOUR PETER Kox and Luke Searle will complete the driver line-up in Ted Huglin’s Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 at next year’s Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.

The pair join Huglin and the previouslyannounced Cameron McConville in the Consolidated Chemicals Racing entry for Huglin’s 12 Hour debut, and all four drivers spent time in the car at the recent Drive Bathurst event.

A former British Touring Car driver, Kox, 47, is a sportscar regular and a current works-supported driver for Reiter Engineering, the architects of Lamborghini’s GT programs. Searle has had a varied career, most notably in the Australian Super Touring era, but has been largely sidelined of late.

“It’s a well-known race track around the world and

one you must do as a driver,” Kox said of Bathurst.

“There was a chance a few years ago that I could have driven there with Aston Martin and Prodrive, but it did not happen so I am delighted to get it done. The connection has come through Reiter Engineering who has been talking with this team for some time.

“The team is good. It’s a small team but we have gelled really well and have had no issues. I worked on setup as much as I could with my limited knowledge of the circuit and the car is good. I think we should have a shot at winning the race next year.

“We had a similar arrangement where I came in and helped a team at the Malaysia 12 Hour race and we had great success there (Ed: the team won) so we hope to be able to do something similar – it would be very nice to win Bathurst!”

HOME OR AWAY? AUSSIES OVERSEAS? FOLLOWING a trip to America last month, Marcus Zukanovic is weighing up whether to have a crack at American racing full-time or continue in the Fujitsu Series next year.

After the Bathurst round of the Fujitsu Series, Zukanovic headed to the US for a 10-day trip.

During that time, he contested a round of the UARA Stars Late Model Series alongside fellow Aussie George Miedecke and tested an ARCA Stock Car at Radford, Virginia.

“To qualify 16th in a 26-car field and finish 13th with no damage on the car was pretty cool, I was very happy with it,” Zukanovic said of his UARA start.

“I learnt a lot and I feel like if I kept going with it, we’d learn a lot more and get up the times a bit more, I reckon. The test in the ARCA car was pretty exciting stuff, too. The guys were very happy.

16

“They were two different cars; the Late Model is light with a little bit less horsepower and brakes, and the big ARCA car with big horsepower, a bit more brake and a bit more grip and things like that.”

From here, Zukanovic will weigh up his options for 2012, between continuing his racing in America or contesting another season of the Fujitsu Series.

Zukanovic currently races a Paul Morris Motorsportsbuilt VE Commodore, leased from James Rosenberg for the 2011 season.

“We’ve got the option to buy it or probably the option to lease it again, but I’m not sure yet. We’ll see what happens,” Zukanovic said of the VE. “I think everything went well in America, now it’s just a matter of summing up options, looking at a few things and seeing what happens next year. See where we go; over there, or continue with Fujitsu here.”

– MITCHELL ADAM motorsport news

NEWS

Dirk Klynsmith

PERKINS: DITCH FV8 REVERSE GRID RACES FUJITSU SERIES

Phil Williams

JACK Perkins has slammed the ongoing use of Reverse Grid races in the Fujitsu Series.

Having been used briefly on the Main Game, most recently in 2006, Reverse Grids feature in rounds with a three-race format – three of seven in 2011. The Top 10 finishers from Race 1 are reversed on the Race 2 grid, with half points on offer.

At Sandown, it was in the spotlight again following an opening lap incident. Six of the Top 10 finishers from Lap 1 were caught up in an incident after David Russell ran wide at Turn 2 and rejoined the circuit.

Among the drivers caught up, Jack Perkins

started the race 10th – effectively mid-pack in the 23-car field – instead of on pole. A delayed Perkins eventually finished 11th, the result and damage to his ex-Triple Eight Falcon carried into the final hurting his chances of winning the round.

“The reverse grid, it’s a waste of time,” Perkins said.

“It’s so 2006. The Main Series guys worked out it was a dud then, yet the Fujitsu Series keep persisting with it, and it’s just dumb.

“We’ve probably done 30 or 40 grand worth of damage. I only just realised in [the last race] that race then that the diff housing’s bent ... and Roland [Dane] charges 30 grand for them. I don’t know how I’m going to find that between now and Christmas.”

WALSH, MILES SPLIT FUJITSU SERIES

Dirk Klynsmith

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ASH Walsh is on the lookout for a new Fujitsu Series home for 2012.

The Queenslander contested the first five rounds of this year’s series with Miles Racing alongside Chaz Mostert, and while Mostert defected to Ford Performance Racing for Sandown and Homebush, it was anticipated Walsh would remain with the squad. However, on the eve of the Melbourne

event, Walsh and Miles Racing parted company.

The 23-year-old attended the race meeting as he seeks a new drive in the series.

“That’s why I’m here, I’m here to meet with some different people and see where I’m going to fit in next year,” Walsh said.

“Obviously I want to be in a better situation than I have been this year where I can concentrate on doing the best job I can.”

– MITCHELL ADAM 17

NEWS

BRENDO AND JACK GO BACK TO SCHOOL AUSSIES OVERSEAS AUSTRALIANS Brendan Reeves and Jack LeBrocq have been selected among 18 drivers in the 2012 FIA Institute’s Young Driver Excellence Academy.

Reeves, pictured, who contested the WRC Academy Series this year, and LeBrocq, who will graduate from Australian Formula Ford to British Formula Ford next year, were among the 30 nominees for the program in 2012, but impressed in a four-day shootout

in Austria to secure a berth.

Over the next 12 months, both drivers will take part in a fully-funded training program overseen by former Grand Prix driver Alex Wurz and former WRC Champion co-driver Robert Reid. The first course will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, next month, and courses will include in-car work such as technical skills and external aspects like phycology, nutrition, media skills and career management.

“Over the course of the four days we have

been looking at every area of driving skill,” Wurz said.

“We have broken this down into its composite parts, such as steering input, braking input, throttle input, and into combining all of this behind the wheel.

Overall, these guys have demonstrated a lot of talent.

“They are also all very coachable and they have a good understanding of what we are after. I’m really looking forward to a good cooperation with the new Academy drivers.”

JOHNSON OUT OF UTES TO GO GLOBAL? V8 UTES GRANT Johnson’s days in the Auto One V8 Utes Series look to be numbered, the defending series champion having still not found stable major sponsorship.

The West Aussie has put his stake in the series on the market, however, it might not be the last of ‘Grunta’ the racecar driver, with the possibility of endurance racing overseas arising.

18

“The car’s for sale, the shareholding’s for sale,” explained Johnson. “We’re hoping to get to the end of the year, but if someone wants it, they can get it straight off the track.”

The 2007 and 2010 V8 Utes champion has been investigating other categories, and while Fujitsu Series drive is highly unlikely, in spite of a recent successful test with Paul Morris Motorsports, the West Australian could be keeping the helmet on and heading offshore.

“[It’s] just brief talks,” said the former Sepang 12 Hour class winner.

“I know a few people over in the States and Canada, friends that have been over there, and they’re pretty keen for me to go over there and do a drive. We’ll see what happens.

“If the Ute thing doesn’t sort itself out, which I don’t think it will, I’ll save the money and go over and do a drive or two over in Europe and see if that comes off.”

– DANIEL HERRERO motorsport news

LEE HOLDSWORTH:

MY CHAMPIONSHIP PLAN

YOUNG GUN TELLS MOTORSPORT NEWS EXACTLY WHY HE’S SWITCHING SIDES TO JOIN SBR IN 2012 PLUS: PATRICK LONG ON HOW HE CHANGED THE GOLD COAST 600, SAM MICHAEL OPENS UP ABOUT HIS PAST AT WILLIAMS AND HIS FUTURE AT MCLAREN, INSIDE FORMULA 1’S FIRST VISIT TO INDIA, CAMERON WATERS TALKS BATHURST AND FORMULA FORD, A LOOK AT THE WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP, EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS OF THE RED BULL RING IN AUSTRIA, TONY RICCIARDELLO’S ALFA ROMEO MONSTER, AND KARTING WORLD CHAMPION NYCK DE VRIES

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19

SUZUKI DROPS MOTOGP, WSBK MOTOGP

WSBK JOHN Hopkins has a ride for 2012 – and as expected, it is in the Superbike World Championship.

The Californian will rejoin Crescent Suzuki, for which he raced in this year’s British Superbike Championship, joining Leon Camier on two Suzuki GSX-Rs. The bikes will have support from long-time Suzuki tuning partner Yoshimura, who will develop the engines in the absence of the Suzuki factory.

“I am really happy to be joining up with the Crescent guys again,” 20

Suzuki Racing

HOPPER TO WSBK

said Hopper, “we had a great year in British Superbike and I’m sure we can continue that in WSB. I wanted to get back into world championship racing and this is a natural progression from last year, the difference this time is that I will be going to tracks that I already know and have some reference from so that should make some things a bit easier.”

Hopkins is recovering from surgery after a fall at Brno, where he was a MotoGP wildcard. In his one-off appearance at the Silverstone WSBK round, he put up Suzuki’s best showing of the season after qualifying on pole position.

Bradl set for LCR MOTOGP GERMANY’S rising star Stefan Bradl will race in MotoGP next season, for the LCR Team.

LCR boss Lucio Cecchinello confirmed last week that the 21-year-old from Augsburg will ride a 1000cc Honda RC213V next season after the Moto2 World Champion tested for Honda last week at Valencia.

“After the test in Valencia

we were very impressed by his potential and his determination,” said Cecchinello. “Stefan is young and fast and he just clinched the Moto2 World Title so we believe we can grow together with the Team in the next two years. He already knew the technical staff and today I am happy to give him our warmest welcome in the LCR Team!”

CRT MotoGPs for Gresini and West!

MOTOGP GRESINI’S second entry in MotoGP next season will be a CRT bike.

The Italian team has announced that it will race an FTR chassis with a Honda CBR1000RR four-cylinder motor. A rider is yet to be named.

“We are absolutely delighted to start up a partnership with Team San Carlo Honda Gresini and to join them on a new adventure in MotoGP,” said FTR Moto CEO Steve Bones.

“Team Gresini have shown over the years that they are technically competent, as their numerous successes

prove, and we are sure that will continue alongside FTR on this new adventure.

“The growing interest in the new MotoGP CRT category is exciting for all of us and we can’t wait to get on track as soon as possible to start developing the bike and breaking new technical boundaries.”

Another man in the CRT category will be Aussie Ant West. The 30-year will race for Speed Master, after having spent two seasons in Moto2 with MZ. West raced in the premier for the first time 10 years ago, and was in MotoGP in 2007 and ’08 with Kawasaki. motorsport news

Honda Pro Images

SUZUKI has officially withdrawn from MotoGP and World Superbikes – but it could return in the future.

In a statement, the Suzuki Motor Corporation cited “the prolonged recession in developed countries, a historical appreciation of Japanese Yen and repeated natural disasters.”

The statement also said that the company “will now focus on developing a competitive new racing machine for that [MotoGP] class.”

On the Superbike side, Alstare team owner Francis Batta has confirmed that his team will not race in the series after Suzuki told him it would not support teams in the series.

“I regret to say this, but no [I will

not continue with Suzuki],” he told CycleNews.com.

“Mr Nakai, the head of the racing department, has now definitely confirmed Suzuki wishes to cease all factory involvement in Superbike racing at world level.”

Troy Corser won the 2005 WSBK title with Alstare, which also finished second in 2010 with Leon Haslam. Last year, Alstare ran one entry, with Michel Fabrizio finished 12th overall.

Suzuki has had a rough time in the premier class since Kenny Roberts Jr lifted the 500cc title in 2000. Since that title, Suzuki scored only one win, in France in 2007, when Chris Vermeulen won in the wet. The last time a GSV-R was on the podium was when Loris Capirossi finished third at Brno in 2008.

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21

FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

TONY STEWART Smoke’s 2011 season may have started with controversy in Sydney but it ended in Victory Lane at Homestead with a third Sprint Cup title. After the race, he explained how he won it QUESTION: Tony Stewart has joined us. Tony is now the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. And Tony, a lot of adjectives describe what you did over the Chase. One I keep hearing is “clutch.” Just talk about a clutch performance by you over the last 10 races.

TONY STEWART: I would have lost every bet in the world if people would have said, “hey, when you got in the Chase, that we were going to win a race or we were going to win five races and win this thing”; I would have bet against us. And I learned a big lesson with our organisation and, you know, how strong a program we have and people-wise. I mean, everybody has good cars and good equipment, but you know, I’m sure [crew chief ] Darian’s [Grubb] mentioned it; it’s the people you have that make the difference.

When I said at Chicago that we didn’t belong in this Chase and taking a space that somebody else that was doing a better job could have done, there were two things that could have happened with our group of guys. They could have hung our head and said, “our guy doesn’t believe in us”, or they could have done, which is exactly what they did, and that’s never give up, and they dug their heels in. They fought like the Bad News Bears.

We were the team that nobody really thought had a shot at the beginning, and you know, the longer this went, we battled adversity at Dover and Texas and we just kept fighting, this whole group up here. I mean, Darian has done an unbelievable job in this Chase. Just to go and be in the situations we’ve been in, and tonight, for example, to go in and have to fix a damaged race car twice, go to the back and come back to the front,

and then to make the call that he made at the end there, my; I need to take a nap right now. (Laughter) My nerves are absolutely shot. Because when he said save fuel, but run his pace, I’m like, I’m running hard to run his pace.

So he pits about two laps later, and I’m like, “we can’t”. We are having the discussion, I can’t run that pace and save fuel. So it’s like, “you’ve got to tell me which one is more important right now.”

I’m definitely one that can’t hear in one ear out the other and he said something and I’m like, “all right, got to go”. And then he [Carl Edwards] pits and I go into fuel conservation mode, and it’s really, really hard to watch guys just come barrelling past you and to stay disciplined enough to just stick to the plan.

You know, I didn’t question what the plan was or why the plan was. I just stuck to what he told me, and you know, the lap that he called us in, he called us in going into Turn 1, and when I came off Turn 2, the fuel pressure dropped, the motor laid down a little bit but was still running. When I got to Turn 3, I shut it off, coasted around to Turn 4, kicked the switch, kicked the clutch. Drove down pit road. We hit the spot and he’s like “keep it revving, keep it running”; and I’m staring at a fuel pressure gauge that’s not building. It’s sitting at two pounds.

And we dropped the jack, leave, get 50 foot from the last time line and it dies. I mean, it’s dead. It’s out. And I’m like, we just lost this thing, and we roll about a hundred feed and it takes off and the needle goes up and we are fourth at that point, and Carl has to come back in, and it’s like, wow, that is the call of the race, the call of the Chase, and it gave me the opportunity to do what I love doing best,

letting it all hang out and putting it all on the line with the restart.

And that was the one, probably hairy moment of anything that I did all day where I felt like, “oohh, maybe I just lost this”, and got loose underneath the #18 [Kyle Busch] and the #2 [Brad Keselowski], and it was a three-wide drag race down to Three, and the way this thing drove all day, it was really good side-bite. I knew I could bury it down in the corner. I just didn’t know if I was going to make the front and stick out the back ... and we drive back out with the lead; and at that point you just sit there and go, “this is all you can ask for is where we are at right now and whatever happens, it happens.”

The funny part was listening to Darian actually get nervous at that point. The hard part is done at that point. We are where we need to be. He’s like, “Okay, I’m not going giving you lap times any more, I’m giving you intervals.”

You could tell the way he said that, it made me laugh in the car, and that relaxed me more than anything over the last 30 laps. He’s just reading intervals off every lap, and we are just running hard enough to -- it wasn’t like we were saving much. But we saved just enough that if we had a green-and-white checkered, we would have saved our tires enough to do a good job at the end. But getting in lap traffic, he was able to gain a little bit and we were able to fight through some of those guys and pull back out.

So just you never are more excited to see a white flag waving in your life. You at least take the white and know that if the caution comes out, it’s over, and you only have to make it one more lap. I would love to know what my lap time was the last lap. I don’t think we gave up much. It just was an awesome ending.

We are fourth at that point, and Carl [Edwards] has to come back in, and it’s like, wow, that is the call of the race, the call of the Chase 22

motorsport news

CHAT

NASCAR Media

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23

AT LAST, WE GET SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT THANK goodness for NASCAR. This season has been a long one for anyone waiting for a grandstand finish to a championship. Sebastian Vettel tucked away the Formula 1 Drivers’ title in, oh, April (okay, it was later than that, but you get my drift).

Same with Casey Stoner and MotoGP; the combination of the Aussie, Honda’s speed and some banged-up Spaniards saw the decision sorted out, pretty much, mid-season.

Ditto for V8 Supercars; yep, both titles are technically still up for grabs but the reality is that the Eights have been the class of both fields and Jamie Whincup and Andrew Thompson both deserve to win the titles.

Indycar ended in a very sad and sorry event in Las Vegas, leaving what could have been a title showdown between Dario Franchitti and Will Power unfulfilled.

Dario is a great champ, but everyone just wants to get past that terrible day.

What was interesting about the Sprint Cup final was watching what some folk were talking about on Twitter.

It seems that one of the channels carrying the race in the UK ran out of time (with the two red flags for rain delaying things) and moved onto something else – celebrity knitting, possibly. Here in Oz, we got to watch it all, live, on ONE HD – which thankfully, seems to have its priorities in order.

Then, when the rain came, there were inevitable comments tweeted that in Indycar, the officials would have just thrown the green and let the boys sort it out. Some of the comments came from some very recognisable names. What happens on Twitter stays on Twitter.

Things just have a way of working out in NASCARland. It was just amazing that the finish between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards played out like that. I am not suggesting that anyone pulled strings, but what are the odds, in a 36-race series that featured 17 different winners, that two guys would end up 1-2 in the last

OPINION Phil Branagan –

Executive Editor race of the year, tie on points and have it decided by a tie-breaker?

[Actually, while I am wondering; has anyone else noticed that since his transgression in the Trucks race, Kyle Busch has become the Invisible Man? The #18 has rarely been seen; I have seen little coverage of him and what I have seen has been well off the lead, for a driver who is normally so competitive. It’s almost as if someone took the air out of, not so much his tyres, then certainly, his sails. His reversal in form has me ... puzzled.]

To add to the fun, Australia is one of the two countries in the world that get to watch one of our own take on the Americans in their own backyard. In his first season in Richard Petty’s team, Marcos Ambrose did himself proud, winning his first race and finishing 19th in the points. That’s two spots ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, who was winless this season. Take that, Colombia!

NASCAR can be like American football; it might look like a difficult-to-fathom mass of noise, colour and movement, but it is actually an operatic series of dramas and comedy, played out on an almost weekly basis, in wide-screen, high definition. It is far from perfect, but year-in, year-out, delivers great entertainment for those of us who love it.

Stewart is a unique, old-style racer; Edwards, the prototype 21st century driver who appeals to sponsors, the fans and the media. The contrast between the two has never been more apparent and this season, and never has it been more needed.

Roll on 2012.

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COMMENT

MIKKSTERIOUS THE 2012 World Rally Championship just got interesting.

I’ll admit to being a little surprised when I received the announcement from Citroen Sport that Mikko Hirvonen will swap sides next season.

For starters, consider that the WRC has, for the last few years at least, been a lot like V8 Supercars in that it’s been a two-horse race between Blue and Red. The big difference is that in world rallying, Red stands for Citroen, not Holden. And, since Marcus Gronholm retired at the end of the 2007 season, Hirvonen has been the leader of the Blue side. To again put it into V8 Supercar terms, it would be a lot like Mark Winterbottom joining Triple Eight.

That Sebastien Ogier is leaving Citroen is no surprise. Yes, he did sign a long-term contract with the French carmaker just last year, but there is little doubt his speed throughout the 2011 season gave Sebastien Loeb a fright. The tension between the two has been visible throughout the year, and let’s not forget that Ogier is not only fast, but he’s also French. Any patriotic card Loeb could have played against a Briton or a Spaniard who was making a play to be Top Dog wasn’t going to work with Ogier, and even by the Australian round back in September Ogier was talking about other options. It was reasonably clear that Loeb was doing all he could to go back to being the lone Flying Frenchman under the Citroen marquee, and doing it very well.

What I find surprising is that Citroen chose Loeb. Sure, he’s an eight-time World Champion, and that deserves a heft level of respect. But Loeb has also made it fairly clear that the 2012 season will be his last, a theory well supported

by Citroen’s signing of Hirvonen. If Mikko hasn’t been able to beat Loeb with the full might of Ford behind him, he’s even more unlikely to do

OPINION Andrew van Leeuwen – eNews Editor it as Number 2 at Citroen – something which I’m sure he knows as well as I do. What it seems is that Hirvonen is resigned to spending the 2012 season learning all about the DS3 WRC while letting Loeb march on to a fairytale ninth World Championship. Then, when Loeb takes his trophies and heads off sportscar racing, Hirvonen will be in the perfect position to win the 2013 WRC title.

So, for the sake of this argument, let’s pretend that Ogier has already signed for Ford, as he’s widely tipped to do (unless the VW dollars prove too juicy). Let’s also assume that Ford will continue its WRC program into 2012 and beyond, something that is yet to be confirmed. By 2013, Hirvonen will be 33, and Loeb will be retired.

Over at Ford, Jari-Matti Latvala will be just 28 and Ogier will be 29. VW is already testing a whole heap of youngsters for its debut WRC season, and MINI has the ever-improving Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke on its books. By choosing Loeb over Ogier, by signing Hirvonen, Citroen may be in danger of losing touch with the driver’s market.

The one thing that the Hirvonen switch will do is show, exactly, where the teams and drivers are at. If Hirvonen goes out and beats Loeb in the same equipment, it will be a bad look for Ford. If Ogier goes out and beats Loeb (and Hirvonen) in the Fiesta, it will be a bad look for Hirvonen.

It’s only on rare occasions when making comparisons in motorsport is that cut and dry. That’s why 2012 is going to be so darned interesting.

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

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25

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACES 25/26 – SANDOWN, VICTORIA

ONE HAND ON THE T

It was a weekend of dominant performances at Sandown, with Rick Kelly’s stunning win on S >OPUJ\W»Z SPNO[Z [V ÅHN LMMVY[ VU :\UKH` ¶ ^OPJO OHZ W\[ OPT ^P[OPU H OHUKM\S VM WVPU[Z VM [O ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

26

motorsport news

RACE

TITLE

Saturday and Jamie OL [P[SL

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

27

RACE 25: PEERLESS PERFORM

W

HEN Rick Kelly’s career is done and dusted, there’s every chance that he’ll look back at Saturday’s Sandown win as one of his absolute finest.

In difficult conditions, Kelly was a cut above the rest. He took pole position in comfortable fashion, and then romped his way to a devastating win, barely putting a foot wrong as he splished and splashed his way through the 37 laps.

Kelly’s performance was such that in the 12 laps between the first and second Safety Car periods, he built a lead of more than 10 seconds. Each time there was a restart, and there were plenty, he’d pull more

28

than a second in the first lap. If it hadn’t been for the frequent caution periods, Kelly would have won by well over half a minute. It was just one of those days where everything clicked.

“I’m thrilled, to be honest,” he said after the race.

“The Jack Daniel’s Commodores were outstanding in the wet, untouchable. We’ll make a few improvements to them in the dry, so that we can hopefully, one day, get them the same.”

Behind him it was James Courtney, his first podium since he won Race 2 in Abu Dhabi back in February. It was a case of staying out of trouble for JC, and while he was never in the same league as Kelly, that he was able to bounce back from what’s

been a horror 2011 season made him a happy boy.

“I’m just stoked,” he said. “The car went well today; I was just driving off the rain light in front of me.”

While most of the drivers were resigned post race that Kelly was unbeatable, the one bloke who though otherwise was his brother, Todd Kelly. The elder Kelly bounced back from a broken damper in qualifying, which left him 14th on the grid, to grab third from Will Davison on the last lap of the race. According to Todd, had he started closer to the front, he would have taken the fight right up to his brother.

“A few more laps and it would have been interesting,” he said

post-race.

At the front of the field it was all about the Kellys, but just a little further back the focus was on the battle for the championship – and what a battle it turned out to be.

After qualifying, it looked like it was going to be all but over

by Saturday evening. Jamie Whincup qualified second, while Craig Lowndes struggled with tyre pressures and qualified on the back row of the grid. It should have been easy going for Whincup.

But it didn’t work out that way. After making six spots in the first five laps, Lowndes caught a heck of a break. Debris on the circuit caused a Lap 8 Safety Car, which was called just motorsport news

RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

Say it, don’t spray it: Lowndes had to battle his way from one end of the grid to the other in the spray, top, while Courtney survived the odd moment, above, to score his first podium since February. Bargwanna was less fortunate, hitting the wall hard at Dandenong Road, below.

John Morris/Mpix

as Lowndes was approaching pit-lane. He dive-bombed into the pits to make his only stop for the day, while Whincup and co at the front had to circulate for another lap. That bit of luck rocketed Lowndes up to 15th at the re-start, right with the front group.

From there, Lowndes kept surging his way through the field, looking particularly strong on the many re-starts.

For Whincup, it was the exact opposite, with tyre temperature looking hard to come by after Safety Car periods. On Lap 26, Lowndes drove past his teammate on a re-start, with car #888 eventually finishing sixth, and Whincup dropping to 13th, a remarkable turn of events.

Dirk Klynsmith

MANCE

29

RACE 26

T

Dirk Klynsmith

30

HE thing about Jamie Whincup is that he doesn’t stay down for long.

Sandown was a perfect example. On Saturday, he struggled in the wet conditions, turning a front row start into a mid-field finish through a pure lack of speed.

But on Sunday, Whincup was back to his perfect best. Under a mostly blue skies, Whincup stormed to pole and was the effective leader throughout the entire race. He wasn’t quite able to shake Mark Winterbottom, but Whincup’s performance was so measured that the result never looked in doubt. After Saturday’s woes, Whincup left Sandown on Sunday afternoon with one hand on the title.

“It was just fantastic today,” he said.

“The soft tyres are a good thing when the temperatures a but cooler like today. I had better tyres at the end, and a good car.”

Winterbottom might not have won the race, but second place, one spot ahead of his teammate Will Davison, was more proof that Ford Performance Racing has found the answer to the soft tyre question that dogged the first half of the year.

Frosty even looked half a chance to take it to Whincup during parts of the race. In the first stint, he was able to run within about a second of #88, and the pair were so close during the first round of stops that they actually made light contact in pit-lane. But as the race shook out, it was clear that Winterbottom would have to settle for second.

“It was another good day,” said Winterbottom.

“We tried our best. We’re not far off; we’ve made massive inroads on our car speed.”

Davison’s third place came about thanks to a combination of genuine car speed and a slightly odd strategy. The motorsport news

RACE

6: WHINCUP FIGHTS BACK

Dirk Klynsmith

Pitbulls: Winterbottom went close to passing Whincup during the first round of stops, above. There was a different FPR v T8 battle behind them, with Davison holding off Lowndes, below. Futher back in the field, there was the usual action at Turn 1, bottom.

James Smith

Trading Post entry didn’t make its first stop until Lap 23, seven laps later than Whincup and Winterbottom. It proved to be a smooth move, although some balance issues in the second stint meant that his second stop was only a lap later than the leaders. Still, the podium was a good result, particularly after Davison lost third on the final corner of Saturday’s race.

“All things considered, P3 is great,” he said.

“Our march forward on soft tyres is evident, [but] we still have a bit of work to do.”

Craig Lowndes went the opposite way with strategy, opting for clear air with an early first stop on Lap 11. Initally, it work, Lowndes ending up second behind Whincup. But with a longer fuel fill required on the second stop, Lowndes found himself back behind the two FPRs when it all shook out.

Behind him it was Garth Tander, who put in a typically bullish drive to bring home another swag of points on a day where the Toll Holden Racing Team looked that little bit off the pace.

Shane van Gisbergen survived an extra pit-stop to make a balance change to finish an impressive sixth, with Tim Slade, Lee Holdsworth, Rick Kelly and Steve Owen rounding out the Top 10 for the day.

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

31

WINNERS JAMIE WHINCUP: To bounce back from Saturday’s poor performance like that was impressive.

Whincup really does deserve the points lead he has.

CRAIG LOWNDES: Triple Eight book-ended the field at the start of Race 25, yet Lowndes out-scored Whincup.

It was a masterful drive.

JAMES COURTNEY: The best JC has looked all season. Even on Sunday he was much closer to Tander’s pace than he has been for a lot of the year.

LOSERS JASON BARGWANNA: Yes, he was hit by James Moffat in Race 25, but Bargs still spent too much time off the road at Sandown.

JAMIE WHINCUP: J-Dub makes both lists because on Saturday, he drove like he’d been taking wet weather tips from Thommo.

JAMES MOFFAT: Not his finest weekend.

Tangled with Bargs in Race 25, threw it off in Race 26.

STEVE JOHNSON: Copped the worst of Russell Ingall hitting Alex Davison during Sunday’s race.

ALEX DAVISON: For the second time this year, Alex qualified dead last in the wet.

32

COULD FIORE HAVE MADE IT? HERE’S the scenario.

You are Dean Fiore. You are leading Saturday’s V8 Supercar race. It’s raining, and almost every other driver in the field has already pitted for fuel, in a race for which you started in 21st position.

Rick Kelly goes by; in this weather, in this form, Seb Vettel would have his hands full beating Ricko today.

You drop down the field, and it is apparent that there are going to be some Safety Car lap in the diabolical conditions.

Do you go for it? Do you risk not making a fuel stop in the murky conditions, and ‘stealing’ a good result?

“We thought about it!” Fiore admitted during a pre-qualifying warmup session on his exercise bike.

“We discussed it after qualifying and decided against it. But, if you had a million more Safety

Car laps, maybe.”

There’s the rub. After Fiore did make his stop, there were two SCs, in rapid succession. In total, 10 of the 37 laps were ‘yellow’.

Fiore reported that the fuel burn on a dry Sandown track is about 1.9 litres. In the wet, it drops only 300ml, before of the track’s straights.

Under yellow, it is less clear, but the fuel consumption drops by as much as 50 percent.

In the terrible conditions, drivers started pitting on lap 6. Everyone made the last 31 laps, comfortably, on fuel. Fiore might have just made it …

In any event, the race his race went pearshaped when he got a tap from Paul Dumbrell, the latter copping a 25-point penalty in the process. Otherwise, an 11th or 12th was on offer.

Ifs, buts, maybes.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

DRY AND HIGH ONE side effect of Saturday’s torrential rain will be felt for a while.

With everyone on wets for qualifying and the 37-lap race, there were quite a few sets of unused Sprint Dunlop tyres left over for testing.

That is, usually, unusual – but this year, not so much, according to FPR’s Tim Edwards.

“We have quite a few,” said Edwards.

“But, we had quite a few left over when New

John Morris/Mpix

RICK KELLY: As mentioned in the Race 25 report, Saturday saw Ricko at his absolute finest. A genuine career highlight in very difficult conditions.

Zealand was wet, so we had a fair tyre bank early on. It’s the same for everybody, but it’s great.”

Most of the frontrunners were in the same boat but for Shane van Gisbergen, his extra tyre stop meant that he has one set less than everyone else. In the giant scheme of things; no huge deal.

– PHIL BRANAGAN motorsport news

RACE

FROM FIRST TO WORST?

Dirk Klynsmith

JAMES Courtney is fighting a very different points battle than he was 12 months ago.

Last year, Courtney went into Homebush leading the championship. This year, he’ll head there looking to score enough points to not be the worst defending champion in V8 Supercar history.

To do so, he needs to finish eighth. After Sandown, Courtney is 12th, having scored his first podium since Abu Dhabi during Saturday’s race. He is 180 points away from eighth place, with two races to go, but less than 90 points will make him the first defending champion to not make the Top 10.

“If I can get to 10th I’ll be happy,” he said after Sandown. “That’s a stat I don’t really want to break – but I’ve been doing the best job I can to do it this year!

“It’s been a long time since February, so I was starting to think it [wouldn’t] come this year. But the last few rounds the speed has been good, ever since Bathurst really. We’ve just had really dodgy luck in Safety Cars, and things happening, which have hindered our performance and the end result.”

For the record, Russell Ingall’s 2006 effort of eighth is the worst of the V8 Supercar era. In 1997, Lowndes didn’t score, but he also didn’t race as he was in Europe, so it doesn’t really count.

In Australian Touring Car Championship terms, Bob Jane only did two rounds in 1973 as defending champ, Allan Moffat finished ninth in 1984, and Robbie Francevic didn’t race in 1987.

JONES DOES THE FAMILY THING ANDREW Jones is nothing if not a member of the clan.

When Jason Bright’s rib injury showed no signs of improving in time for him to race at Sandown, his co-driver stepped into the breach. In doing so, he became the fourth driver to race car #8 in four races, after Bright, his Gold Coast co-driver Stéphane Sarrazin and Cameron McConville, who subbed a week ago at Symmons Plains.

It was not quite Jones’s first time on Sprint tyres.

“I did three laps on them last year!” he enthused, a year after he was called in to sub for Jason Richards.

“You never have bad thoughts when you get a call to tell you that you will be racing. It was a bit of déjà vu, really.”

In the circumstances, Jones did a solid job. In Saturday’s wet qualifying session, he was 22nd – not brilliant, but ahead of his team-mates Karl Reindler (25th) and Jason Bargwanna (26th).

In the race, he was 19th, again ahead of his team-mates, but rued that he could have been higher.

On Sunday, he qualified 25th, with Reindler 11th and Bargs 26th. But his best sectors combined would have been good for 16th.

“From there, I would have been looking for a top 10, maybe,” he said.

The race was tough, with his coolsuit stopping “about lap five, I think” and heating him for the rest of the race. Jones may not be a full-timer these days but, if Bright’s ribs are not good to go for Sydney, there is a capable backup waiting in the wings.

– PHIL BRANAGAN www.mnews.com.au

Dirk Klynsmith

33

Results :: Race 25 – Sandown, 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 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF

15 1 7 6 9 888 5 2 61 49 19 55 88 39 47 4 33 16 8 21 34 30 17 18 12 14 11 3

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

Jack Daniel’s R Toll Holden Ra Jack Daniel’s R Trading Post FP SP Tools Racing TeamVodafone Orrcon Steel FP Toll Holden Ra Bundaberg Ra VIP Petfoods C Mother Energy The Bottle-O R TeamVodafone Supercheap Au Lucky 7 Racing Irwin Racing Fa Fujitsu Racing Stratco Racing Team BOC Com Fair Dinkum Sh Fujitsu Racing Gulf Western O Jim Beam Raci Jim Beam Raci Triple F Racing Jana Living Ra Pepsi Max Crew Wilson Securit

Dirk Klynsmith

PRE-ORD

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This is the original Bathurst annual hard-cover book, the definitive publication on Australia’s Great Race.

The story of this always-epic and often heartbreaking event is presented in 256 pages, illustrated by some 400 images shot by some of Australia’s best motorsport photographers. The book also boasts a comprehensive statistical analysis covering all facets of the race – there’s even a full race history record for each competing car. This fabulous annual hard-cover book is a collector’s prized possession, and a great gift idea.

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34

motorsport news

RACE

Top 10 Points: Whincup 3033, Lowndes 2845, Winterbottom 2449, van Gisbergen 2414, Tander 2388, W Davison 2345, R Kelly 2211, Holdsworth 1857, A Davison 1781, Coulthard 1767.

Victoria

Racing Commodore VE2 acing Team Commodore VE2 Racing Commodore VE2 PR Falcon FG g Falcon FG e Commodore VE2 PR Falcon FG acing Team Commodore VE2 acing Commodore VE2 Commodore VE2 y Racing Team Falcon FG Racing Team Falcon FG e Commodore VE2 uto Racing Commodore VE2 g Falcon FG alcon FG GRM Commodore VE2 g Commodore VE2 mmodore VE2 heds Racing Commodore VE2 GRM Commodore VE2 Oil Racing Commodore VE2 ing Falcon FG ing Falcon FG g Falcon FG acing Commodore VE2 w Commodore VE2 y Racing Falcon FG

Results :: Race 26 – Sandown, Victoria Qual

Pos

#

Driver

Team/Car

Qual

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

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 5 6 888 2 9 47 33 15 49 1 61 16 14 4 19 21 3 12 7 11 34 39 30 18 8 17 55

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

TeamVodafone Commodore VE2 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon FG Trading Post FPR Falcon FG TeamVodafone Commodore VE2 Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE2 SP Tools Racing Falcon FG Lucky 7 Racing Falcon FG Fujitsu Racing GRM Commodore VE2 Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE2 VIP Petfoods Commodore VE2 Holden Racing Team Commodore VE2 Bundaberg Racing Commodore VE2 Stratco Racing Commodore VE2 Jana Living Racing Commodore VE2 Irwin Racing Falcon FG Mother Energy Racing Team Falcon FG Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Commodore VE2 Wilson Security Racing Falcon FG Triple F Racing Falcon FG Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE2 Pepsi Max Crew Commodore VE2 Fujitsu Racing GRM Commodore VE2 Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VE2 Gulf Western Oil Racing Commodore VE2 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG Team BOC Commodore VE2 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG The Bottle-O Racing Team Falcon

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

2011 AMC Masters DVD

More than two hours of highlights from the 2011 Australian Muscle Car Masters at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway. Held every Fathers day as a celebration to Australian Motorsport.

Relive some of the greatest moments from the nation’s premier annual muscle car event.

Bonus material features colourful track parades and great in-car camera footage.

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35

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 6 - SANDOWN, VICTORIA

NEARLY THERE

IT PROBABLY WASN’T HIS MOST DOMINANT PERFORMANCE, BUT ANDREW THOMPSON G DONE AT SANDOWN TO EDGE CLOSER TO THE 2011 FUJITSU SERIES TITLE, MITCHELL ADA 36

motorsport news

RACE

www.mnews.com.au

Dirk Klynsmith

GOT THE JOB AM REPORTS

37

I

T’S rare that a driver can have an off on the opening racing lap of the weekend but still go on to win it. But Sandown’s penultimate round of the Fujitsu Series wasn’t exactly straightforward.

Andrew Thompson won his fifth-straight round, and you wouldn’t necessarily say he was fortunate to do so – it was more that others were unfortunate to not win it. The runaway championship leader qualified fourth but ran wide at the bottom of Dandenong Road on Lap 1 of the opening race. He dropped to eighth and eventually finished sixth, while Jack Perkins scored his first race win of the year ahead of new FPR recruit Chaz Mostert, with Nick Percat third.

The weekend changed on the opening lap of Race 2. With the Top 10 inverted, David Russell ran wide at Turn 2, skipped across the grass and into the path of David Wall on the run between Turns 3 and 4. It blocked one side of the track and ended the weekend of David Wall, the races of Scott McLaughlin and Percat, and delayed Perkins and Mostert.

Starting fourth, meanwhile, Thompson was ahead of the carnage.

He made his way into second, passed early leader Tim Blanchard and went on to win the race. Perkins got back up to 11th, a position Mostert had earlier held before debutant Nick Cassidy had a half-spin while Mostert was trying to get past. Mostert eventually finish 15th.

The net result gave Perkins pole for the final, ahead of Thompson and Mostert. Thompson got the jump and led from start to finish, resisting some late advances from Mostert, with Perkins third, handing Thompson the round win. With 300 points up for grabs at Homebush in a fortnight, the Triple Eight driver is now 233 clear at the top of the table.

“Nothing changes between now and Homebush, we’re going there 100 percent trying to win the weekend,” Thompson said.

“It’ll be the same mindset as we’ve had for every other round. We’ll go there to win and if we don’t win, we’re not happy. We were pretty disappointed after Race 1 when I made a mistake on the first lap.”

Perkins finished second for the weekend in his older-model BF Falcon, but the Race 2 incident and damage subsequently carried into Race 3 hurt his chances of taking his maiden round win of 2011.

“It was disappointing that we didn’t get to show our true pace in the last race,” Perkins said.

“I only just realised in that race then that the diff housing’s bent, so I was driving it down the straight like a NASCAR, because the back was stuffed.

“We only had so much time [between races], I was on the tools as well, trying to get the bodywork stuff done and the front suspension; we didn’t have enough people there to really check the rear end and replace it, because we don’t have a spare. It was one of those deals, unfortunately.”

Finishing third for the weekend, Mostert was probably the story of the weekend. Switching from Miles Racing to Ford Performance Racing’s reborn FV8 program, the 2010 Australian Formula Ford Champion impressed. He grabbed his maiden pole at the very end of a wet qualifying and didn’t put a foot wrong in the races.

“I was only expecting maybe a Top 10 in qualifying and hopefully to be around the top five all weekend I would’ve been really happy,” he said.

“The car was on fire all weekend, the FPR guys gave me a really good car and I couldn’t really ask for a much better weekend.”

David Russell finished fourth for the weekend ahead of McLaughlin, who passed Russell for fourth on the final lap of Race 3 in his first weekend in an FG Falcon. Blanchard’s weekend finished on a downer in the final, collected by Nick Percat, who overshot the run to Turn 1 after a Safety Car restart. It ended Percat’s weekend, while Blanchard limped home in 18th to be seventh for the weekend behind Geoff Emery.

Formula Ford Champion Cameron Waters made his Fujitsu Series debut with Kelly Racing. The 17-year-old was 15th and raced well to seventh in Race 2, before a broken steering arm ended his run in the final. Young New Zealander Cassidy made progress in each race to be 10th in Race 3 with Greg Murphy Racing.

The weekend ended with a bang. The pair having already clashed in Townsville mid-year, Paul Morris forced his way past Rodney Jane at Turn 13 on the final lap. Seemingly unhappy with the move, Jane got into the back of Morris’ Commodore at Turn 1 on the cooldown lap.

Peter Bury

38

motorsport news

RACE

James Smith

Jack Perkins led home Chaz Mostert in Race 1, below left, before the pair were among those caught up in Lap 1 carnage in Race 2, above.

Results :: Round 6, SANDOWN Pos 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

# 80 999 56 28 93 48 27 777 71 10 26 67 86 45 59 222 75 58 77 92 51 83 24 73 25

Driver Andrew Thompson Jack Perkins Chaz Mostert David Russell Scott McLaughlin Geoff Emery Tim Blanchard Rodney Jane Marcus Zukanovic Luke Youlden Tom Tweedie Paul Morris Robert Cregan Nick Cassidy Aaren Russell Nick Percat Aaron McGill Drew Russell Cameron Waters Taz Douglas Daniel Jilesen David Wall Tony Bates Brett Stewart Paul Freestone

Top 10 Points: www.mnews.com.au

Team/Car Qual Triple Eight Race Engineering Commodore VE 4 Bob Jane T Marts/Supercheap Falcon BF 2 Ford Performance Racing Falcon FG 1 Team Jayco Falcon BF 3 Fujitsu Falcon FG 11 AC Delco/Simworx/NDD Commodore VE 13 Team Jayco Falcon BF 7 Bob Jane T-Marts Falcon FG 17 Action Racing Commodore VE 8 Simpro Software/Master Elect. Falcon BF EXC Team Tom Supporters Club Falcon BF 19 Sargent Security Racing 6 Mad Croc Energy Falcon BF 12 Drill Pro Services/Fuchs/ACS Commodore VE 20 CEG Rentals/Go Karts Go Falcon BF 21 Coates Hire Racing Commodore VE 5 SOLO Racing Falcon BF 18 Carrington Equip/Go Karts Go Falcon BF 15 Shannons-Linde Racing Commodore VE EXC Fastaz Motorsport Commodore VZ 9 R&J Batteries/EarthEx/KingGee Commodore VE 14 Wilson Security Racing Commodore VE 10 Sportsalive.com / AFS Commodore VE 16 Formula Tech/Interquip Racing Commodore VE 22 Freestones Roadhaven Falcon BF 23

R1 6 1 2 4 5 10 7 13 17 11 14 DNF 18 20 16 3 19 12 15 DNF DNS 8 9 21 DNS

R2 1 11 15 16 DNF 5 2 8 6 4 9 3 10 13 12 DNF 19 DNF 7 14 18 DNF DNF 17 DNS

R3 1 3 2 5 4 7 18 9 8 16 12 6 11 10 15 DNF 17 19 DNF 14 13 DNS DNF DNS DNS

Thompson 1617, David Russell 1384, Perkins 1340, McLaughlin 1263, Blanchard 1112, Mostert 1013, Percat 956, Morris 873, Jane 820, Jilesen 744 39

TOURING CAR MASTERS ROUND 7 - SANDOWN, VICTORIA

JB,YOU’VE DONE IT J OHN Bowe showed the Autobarn Touring Car Masters field just why he is a legend of Australian motorsport at Sandown, taking two wins from three starts en-route to the weekend silverware ahead of his main rival, Jim Richards.

It was exactly the weekend Bowe was striving for in order to extend his championship lead over rivals Andrew Miedecke and Richards. But after a troubled weekend for Miedecke, the championship will come down to a final round showdown between Bowe and Richards at the Sydney Telstra 500.

Qualifying was held in sodden conditions in which the Chevrolet Camaro of Miedecke took the early spoils over Bowe by almost a second. Richards meanwhile had plenty of trouble in the rain, struggling in his Falcon Sprint to put his car 11th place for the race.

Taking an easy win in the opening race was the Mustang of Bowe, as the experienced Tasmanian decimated his fellow competitors in the blinding rain.

Race 2, however, was a different affair for the championship leader, as a reverse grid start saw Bowe involved in a minor incident with the Mustang of Chris Stillwell. Although carrying slight damage to the front of his Mustang, Bowe still climbed his way to second place, with Richards winning the race.

Richards’ lead in the weekend, however, was to be short-lived. In Race 3, Bowe led the way from the front row on wearing tyres to take his second win for the weekend, and the round honours with it.

Bowe put the round win down to a great car set-up, with his

40

Mustang looking in a whole other class compared to his fellow TCM runners.

“We suffered the rev penalties again but the tall diff ratio we had in anticipation of that helped, and we had some different gears, so we came with a really good car again,” said Bowe of his weekend.

“In credit to Dick Savy and his team, the car didn’t miss a beat, worked really well and has become even more consistent – it’s good fun.”

With 180 points on offer in the final round in Sydney, Richards sits 50 behind Bowe in the chase for the 2011 honours, although the pair will also need to drop their worst round in accordance with the series regulations. Richards backed up his epic win in Race 2 with second places in the other two races, predictably handing him second in the weekend standings.

Miedecke was favourable championship contender leading into the Sandown round, but after a dismal start and a trip into the gravel trap in Race 3, he could only yield an 18th in the final race. Although still in title contention, the Port Macquarie driver will have to work hard on the streets of Sydney.

Taking home the Class B honours was Gary O’Brien in his Holden HQ GTS. Class A, meanwhile, was headed by the Porsche 911 RS of Greg Keene who managed to overcome an incident in Race 2 which saw him retire to finish a solid 13th outright in the final race.

Points: Bowe 1443, Richards 1393, Miedecke 1332, Keith Kassulke 929, Brad Tilley 914, Eddie Abelnica 779 motorsport news

RACE

James Smith

John Morris / Mpix

AGAIN

Andrew Miedecke, above, took pole, but his weekend went downhill from there. It leaves Jim Richards, below, as John Bowe’s main title challenger with one round to go.

JOHN BOWE CEMENTED HIS TOURING CAR MASTERS POINTS LEAD WITH A SANDOWN ROUND WIN. CALLUM BRANAGAN WAS THERE

Justin Collins

www.mnews.com.au

41

V8 UTE RACING SERIES ROUND 7 - SANDOWN, VICTORIA

OVERHEAD CAM

CAMERON MCCONVILLE JOINED THE V8 UTES WINNERS LIST WITH A CLASSY PERFORMANCE AT SANDOWN, CALLUM BRANAGAN REPORTS

C

AMERON McConville hadn’t won a race of the Auto One V8 Ute Series before heading to Sandown. But after Round 7 of the 2011 season, he had two race wins, and with it, a maiden round win.

Wet weather greeted the drivers on Saturday, making the going extremely difficult for the Ute runners as the Melbourne circuit began to resemble a swimming pool.

Nevertheless, after a hard-fought qualifying session, David Sieders had managed to out muscle McConville, taking pole position for the wet opening race.

At the commencement of the Race 1, McConville sprinted away from the front row in his Bundaberg-backed Commodore Ute, leaving his rivals far behind in his spray. Moreover, as the rain continued to batter the Ute field, McConville began to lower the fastest lap benchmark he set early in the race, eventually taking a classy race win for his troubles.

Drawing number 14 in the lottery to decide the reverse grid order for Race 2, McConville had a quiet, but trouble free-race in the dry.

Starting from the seventh row, he managed to gain eight spots to finish sixth, handing him pole position for the finale.

From pole, it was a breeze for the racing stalwart, as he cruised to an easy Race 3 win. Post race, McConville was elated to deliver his team the performance they yearned for.

“I’m excited for the Bundy boys,” McConville told eNews.

“It’s only a small team, we only have three guys working on the Ute, they work hard and the win has always eluded us.

“It’s been a battle, it’s not an easy car to get your head around, and

42

I think while we have been in the top six, or top eight, it’s taken a while for us to get to outright pace. The momentum has come right at the end of the year, but it’s nice to finally crack it for a win.”

The only real challenge to his dominant finale performance was a fast-finishing Kris Walton, who would eventually finish two seconds behind McConville. Grant Johnson and Kim Jane completed the round podium, while New Zealander Chris Pither extended his championship lead over Ryal Harris. Despite lacking the overall pace of his rivals in the wet, and a couple of incidents with fellow competitors, Pither found the dry Races 2 and 3 a lot more comfortable on his way to falling just short of a weekend podium position behind Jane.

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the weekend was the Falcon Ute of Walton, who on debut took a commanding win in Race 2, and a great second place in Race 3. Despite only taking part in 20laps of testing at Queensland Raceway prior to the Sandown round, the former Saloon Car driver looked more than at home in the Ute series in a one-off start.

Monster Energy-backed Nathan Pretty had a weekend he would rather forget after an engine change following Qualifying put him out of contention for Race 1. Still, he more than made up for his ill luck with a 12th in Race 3, and 17th for the weekend.

Ryan Hansford, meanwhile, had a stellar final race to claim the SS Inductions Hard Charger award, racing from 31st on the grid to 11th position.

Points: Pither 838, Harris 792, Sieders 783, Johnson 776, Pretty 730, McConville 690

motorsport news

RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

Kris Walton, above battling with Grant Johnson, impressed in his V8 Ute debut.

Chris Pither, right, didn’t finish on the weekend podium, but he did do enough to extend his points lead with one round to go.

John Morris / Mpix Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

43

AUSTRALIAN GT CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 7 - SANDOWN, VICTORIA

Justin Collins

CRICK WINS, EDDY STEADIES

G

REG Crick ran rampant in the VodkaO Australian GT season finale, but even a mixed weekend couldn’t stop Mark Eddy taking the 2011 title.

As he sought a second Australian GT title, Eddy headed to the Melbourne circuit with 46 points up his sleeve over Klark Quinn, and he started the weekend strongly, qualifying third to Quinn’s fourth. But then his weekend took a strange turn, Eddy spinning on the formation lap for Race 1.

Sent to the rear of grid, the 2008 Champ recovered to finish eighth, and while Quinn scored a pair of third-place finishes, sixth in Race 2 was enough for Eddy’s Audi to secure the title.

“To be quite frank I was surprised when she just went from underneath me,” Eddy said of his pre-Race 1 spin.

“After spinning on the out lap yesterday, I just needed to take a step back, take a deep breath and bring my Audi R8 home in one piece.

“This has by far been my best year in racing after finishing second at the Bathurst 12 Hour with Audi and now to bring 44

MARK ED TITLE DES OWNED T

them a Championship is just awesome and I can’t thank my team Melbourne Performance Centre, and my sponsor Penfold Audi Sport enough for their dedication.”

While Crick’s Viper wasn’t exactly struggling for speed, his cause in the opener was aided by another strange occurrence. Instead of forming up on the grid alongside Crick, pole-sitter Peter Hackett embarked on a second warm-up lap. He joined Eddy at the rear of the grid and while he made impressive inroads to get up to second, Crick was long gone, winning the 25-minute race by 25 seconds.

“Erebus Racing is a new team, and it can take time to get all the elements right, but unfortunately we had a communication break down and I was instructed to begin a second warm up lap, which was clearly not the right thing to do,” Hackett said of the Race 1 mix-up.

There was no repeat of the drama in Race 2, and although Crick again led all the way, he had more company, with Hackett’s Mercedes only 1.3s behind at the end of 24 laps.

The round win was Crick’s second of the season and if not for a motorsport news

RACE

Dirk Klynsmith

Greg Crick, left, won both races ahead of Peter Hackett, right.

After spinning on the Race 1 formation lap, eighth and sixth from the two races was enough for Mark Eddy, above, to secure a second title.

Nick O’Halloran was fourth for the weekend in Maranello Motorsport’s Lamborghini Gallardo LP600, below right.

www.mnews.com.au

Peter Bury

zero-points round at Bathurst last month, he may well have figured in the title fight.

“What a great way to end what has been a tough year for the category,” said Crick.

“This result has given the team plenty of motivation heading into next year, and with a great calendar, new cars, and some new drivers, I reckon the GT Championship is going to go off in 2012.”

Hackett was second for the weekend, ahead of Quinn. Returning to the category in his Mosler, Dean Grant was fourth in the opener, ahead of Nick O’Halloran, giving Lamborghini’s LP600 its Australian racing debut. Grant failed to finish Race 2, with Tony Quinn grabbing fourth, ahead of O’Halloran, who capped a consistent weekend with another fifth.

Local Dean Koutsoumidis won the GT Challenge Class for the weekend, while fellow Porsche GT3 997 Cup driver Peter Boylan wrapped up the class title for 2011, ahead of Tim Poulton.

Points: Eddy 761, Quinn 725, Crick 662, Hackett 570, Ash Samadi 511, Ian Palmer 489

Peter Bury

DDY WRAPPED UP THE 2011 AUSTRALIAN GT ESPITE A TRYING WEEKEND, WHILE GREG CRICK THE SEASON FINALE, MITCHELL ADAM REPORTS

45

2011/12 ANDRA PRO SERIES GOLDENSTATE TITLES, PERTH MOTORPLEX

KAPIRIS ON TOP OUT 46

motorsport news

RACE Luke Nieuwhof

WEST www.mnews.com.au

WHEN THE ANDRA PRO SERIES HEADED WEST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2011/12, PETER KAPIRIS GOT THE JOB DONE IN TOP DOORSLAMMER. LUKE NIEUWHOF WAS THERE 47

P

ETER Kapiris boosted his points lead in the ANDRA Pro Series with a win in Round 2 of the Top Doorslammer championship at Perth Motorplex.

The victory made it two from two for the Victorian driver, who has found the pace needed in his Dodge Saratoga-bodied car. Kapiris was unstoppable from the beginning of the event as he claimed top qualifying honours with a 5.84s pass in the third session. It did come after a small controversy, however, as the team’s first session 5.88s was disqualified due to the parachute pins being left in during the burnout, which is now a safety infringement.

Robin Judd and John Zappia, above, followed with 5.86s and 5.92s runs respectively. It was heartbreak for the Northern Territory’s Andrew Sutton, however, who managed a personal best 6.06s in his Corvette, which would have placed him fourth, but later in qualifying beached the car in the sand trap leaving him unable to make the call for race day.

Eliminations opened with Judd taking on Murray O’Connor in an all-Western Australian match up. Judd belted out a 5.86s to move into the semis with a 6.15s from O’Connor unable to catch the Aeroflow Studebaker. Zappia’s Pro Comp Monaro needed a pedal on its way to a 6.02s, but it was enough to see out New South Welshman Maurice Fabietti in the Holden Trade Club Monaro.

Marty Dack’s Auto One Falcon scored its first-ever round win, with a 6.07s taking down Daniel Gregorini’s Camaro, while Kapiris was clean with a 5.88s eliminating Pino Priolo, who moved into the field by virtue of Sutton’s withdrawal.

Kapiris dodged a bullet in the semi finals with a lacklustre 6.27s only just surviving a hard-charging 6.39s from Dack, with both 48

drivers on and off the throttle. Judd and Zappia similarly struggled on the cooling racetrack, with a 5.98s from reigning champion Zappia just seeing out a 6.15s by Judd. However, for Zappia, it was an expensive win, with telltale smoke in the braking area seeing the team needing to replace the motor.

After only just making the call for the final, Zappia eventually was able to fire for the race against Kapiris. Kapiris scored the reaction time advantage on the line and never looked back, running low ET for the event with a 5.81s, as Zappia had a spectacular explosion from underneath the bonnet shortly after launching.

ANDRA Pro Series Top Alcohol was also in its second round of the championship in Perth, with Rob Pilkington, above right, taking his first ever Pro Series win against Adam Marchant, right. Like Kapiris, Pilkington came from top qualifying spot to win, although his came from more dramatic circumstances.

Gary Phillips in the Lucas Oil Funny Car had just completed a 5.46s pass, the quickest ever recorded in Top Alcohol, when he had a parachute failure and went deep into the sand trap.

Phillips was kept in hospital for observation during the night but did not have any serious injuries.

This elevated Pilkington’s personal best 5.55s run to the top of the standings, followed by a 5.63s from Wayne Newby, a 5.65s from Marchant and a 5.68s from Rick Gauci.

Unlike Kapiris’ fairly consistent run through eliminations, Pilkington’s was bizarre. After a first round solo he then took on Debbie O’Rourke, who rolled the staging beams, before a final against Marchant, who lost power after pedalling due to tyre shake.

Newby is now leading the points following two semi-final finishes in a row. motorsport news

RACE

All pics: Luke Nieuwhof

49

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NASCAR ROUND 36 – HOMESTEAD, FL

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RACE

E K O M S ON THE WATER

After two stoppages for rain, the final laps of the season was a straight race IL[^LLU [OL [^V [P[SL JVU[LUKLYZ ¶ HUK ;VU` :[L^HY[ Y\SLK H[ /VTLZ[LHK

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NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

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Stewart strikes trouble, twice, and has to come back through the field.

The race is stopped by rain twice and comes down to a final restart. Stewart wins that and hold off Edwards for 40 laps, the Ford man only able to watch the Office Depot signage – his former sponsor – get smaller as Stewart takes the race win and the title.

“We got it?” said Stewart as he crossed the line.

“We got it,” replied crew chief Darian Grubb. “We got the tiebreaker, baby!”

It was almost as though it has all been arranged. Stewart won five races, all in the Chase, Edwards one. The man in the black overalls broke away

NASCAR Media

HO on earth writes NASCAR’s scripts?

Two opposites, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, head to Homestead in title contention, after having scored exactly the same points in the first nine races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Edwards, the clean, inch-perfect all-American, with a personal trainer and a backflip to please a gymnastics coach, every sponsor’s dream, in a Ford. Stewart, unshaven, a Burger King-backed driver who looks like he eats there, in a Chevy. Whoever finishes in front of the other wins the trophy.

In the race, Edwards starts from pole, Stewart in the pack. They quickly gravitate to the front but

51

NASCAR Media NASCAR Media

52

from interviews, leapt over the fence to shake Stewart’s hand and promise they could do it all again next year.

“It’s been a tough summer and a tough fall for us,” said Stewart, standing in the rain in Victory Lane. “We said all week; if we win the race, it won’t matter what he did. There’s one thing I learned; there’s no quit here. The guys did an awesome race.”

After a week in which barbs were thrown between the two camps, Stewart admitted it was all a part of the game.

“He’s a great competitor and a great guy. It shows what a classy guy he is; he was the first guy to come over and congratulate me.”

Typically, Edwards was gracious in defeat, but it must have hurt. Races before the Chase started, he admitted that Roush Fenway Racing was working on a program to win the title and it came up one lousy position in one race short.

“This night is about Tony Stewart. They [SHR] rose to the

occasion. Him and Darien did a good job with their strategy. I told my wife, if we don’t win this thing, I am going to be the best loser in NASCAR history and that is what I am going to try to do.”

And, for the last 40 laps, following the Chevy, one second back?

“I could see what Tony was doing. That was good, but this is what we got.”

There were other drivers in the race, as if anyone cared. Martin Truex Jr and Clint Bowyer gave Michael Waltrip a good start to the off-season with third and sixth, respectively, split by Matt Kenseth (who was a factor most of the race, and who sportingly got out of the way of the title contenders at one point) and Jeff Gordon. Kasey Kahne ended the season with a warning to anyone who fancies beating him in a Hendrick Chevy next season with seventh, ahead of Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton.

It was a tough race for Marcos

motorsport news

RACE Ambrose. He was running just inside the top 20 when the engine in his Richard Petty Ford soured. The Richard Petty team initially diagnosed a spark plug problem but it turned out to be worse, giving the Aussie his first DNF of the season.

So, a great season ends, and NASCAR got what it needed – someone other than Jimmie Johnson raising the Sprint Cup. Smoke may not be everyone’s idea of the perfect corporate 21st century driver, but he has turned an also-ran team into a title winner in three years – and it is hard to argue that a threetime Champion is not one of the sport’s greats.

Some teams have some tough questions to answer for next season. There are a lot of changes being made, drivers looking for rides and teams looking for sponsors. The 2012 season opens at Daytona in February but to top 2011 is really going to take some doing.

Results :: Ford 400, HOMESTEAD, FL Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. 14 99 56 17 24 33 4 29 11 31

Driver Tony Stewart Carl Edwards Martin Truex Jr. Matt Kenseth Jeff Gordon Clint Bowyer Kasey Kahne Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Jeff Burton

Make Chevy Ford Toyota Ford Chevy Chevy Toyota Chevy Toyota Chevy

Team Stewart Haas Roush Fenway Waltrip Roush Fenway Hendrick Childress red Bull Childress Joe Gibbs Childress

Sponsor Office Depot/Mobil 1 Aflac NAPA Auto Parts Crown Royal Drive to End Hunger Cheerios Red Bull Budweiser FedEx Express Caterpillar

Qual.

15 1 2 6 7 17 3 21 10 31

Points: Stewart 2403, Edwards 2403, Harvick 2345, Kenseth 2330, Keselowski 2319, Johnson 2304,

Earnhardt 2290, Gordon 2287, Hamlin 2284, Newman 2284, Kurt Busch 2262, Kyle Busch 2246.

End of an era: Jimmie Johnson ended his fiveyear reign as champion with a bad race in Florida, including a spin. Stewart and Edwards ran up front most of the night. Martin Truex Jr showed speed, taking third in MWR’s Toyota.

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+605. 305,: (.(05 SPRINTCARS

Geoff Gracie

TWO wins from two starts has Steve Lines full of confidence for the busy World Series Sprintcars season beginning this weekend, after he won the fifth round of the Eureka Garages & Sheds Series.

Lines’ second consecutive win came after starting from pole at Borderline Speedway, Mount Gambier on Saturday night, winning from the hard-charging Tim Rankin and Glen Sutherland.

Lines had a tough time fending off Rankin in the first half of the race to get the win after series leader Jamie Veal challenged closely with youngster Tim Van Ginneken slammed into the wall ending his run. The restart saw Lines resume the lead from Veal, Rankin, Darren Mollenoyux,

Sutherland and John Vogels.

A spinning car caught out Veal and he was forced to stop his car to avoid impact and was sent to the rear of the field for a second push start leaving Rankin to chase Lines Veal and Lee were sent to the back of the field for a second push start leaving Rankin to sit to no avail.

With 30-laps complete Lines won and will be looking for his winning streak to continue in the opening round of WSS at Brisbane on Saturday night.

“We’ll definitely be looking to build on the (Classic) win and last season’s success this year, Said Lines.

“The car setup was great toward the end of the season, so we’ll be looking to capitalise on that and post consistent results.”

– GEOFF ROUNDS

A LITTLE HAPPY WITH HIS WIN SPRINTCARS IT’S been a long time between drinks but Sydney’s Troy Little took out a superb sprintcar A Main victory last Saturday night at the Tyrepower Sydney Speedway, defeating former track champions Ian Loudoun and Mitchell Dumesny.

Little, also a former TSS track champion, hasn’t been in the winners circle for a number of years. Coming out of P7 in the 30-

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lap A Main, Little quickly forged into second behind pole sitter Warren Ferguson, before taking control on Lap 8. Ferguson held onto second before gear problems caused his retirement.

“I’m never confident about the win until the end but we put the hard yards in during the week, changing things around going into an Eagle chassis.,” Little told eNews.

Another strong field of 38 cars were on hand at the TSS with Garry Brazier joining

the fray. But after finishing second in Heat 2, broken valve springs saw Brazier’s retirement.

Heat wins went to Atkinson, Roddy BellBowen, Ferguson, Clayton Hart, Daniel Goldini, Loudoun, Little and Green while after Jackson Delemont had flipped over the B Main was declared with Peter Gordon, Jeff Lawler Toby Bellbowen and Stuart Williams moving into the A Main pack.

– GREG BOSCATO

motorsport news

RRACE

WATERS JUST WINS THROUGH THE WATER ASBK QUALIFYING usually counts for nothing more than bragging rights, and a favourable position for the opening race of the weekend.

But for the final round of the QBE Insurance Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island on the weekend, it was enough to hand Josh Waters the round win.

The round honours were hard fought all weekend between the Suzuki of Waters, and Wayne Maxwell, with the pair taking a win and a second place a piece.

But with the grandstand finish at the completion of the weekend,

Waters’ solitary point for winning pole position in qualifying gave him the important edge over Maxwell in the finale.

Running in a world of his own in third was the 2011 champion, Glenn Allerton, crossing the line some 15-seconds behind the leading pair.

Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer’s woes in qualifying set the tone for the rest of his weekend, and was lucky to escape a scary high-side moment exiting Turn 4.

Kevin Curtain was the hero of the weekend to overcome some disappointing results to be crowned the 2011 Supersport champion by a narrow margin.

De Pasquale and Wyatt Double Up In Tasmania KARTING

Paul Carruthers

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YOUNG gun Anton De Pasquale has added another two blue plates to his ever growing resume, the Victorian racer was one of two driver to claim a double victory at the Tasmanian Sprint Kart Championships held at the Launceston Kart Club on the weekend with local Zane Wyatt also taking two titles.

De Pasquale jumped to an early lead while McHugh battled his way through the pack but in the end had to settle for second with Jake Klein in third.

De Pasquale’s other victory came in the Junior National Heavy class, the current National Champion continuing his stellar form in the class in 2011 to convincingly take out the final ahead of fellow Victorians Jake Klein and Gus Robbins in third.

Zane Wyatt was also in good form, his first victory coming in the Clubman Heavy class where he pulled off a sensational last corner pass on leader Mitchell Evans to greet the chequers first Wyatt’s second triumph came in the Senior National Heavy class.

After his misfortune in the Junior

Clubman class, Damon Strongman bounced back to claim a crown of his own in the Junior National Light category. Jakobovski held on for second with Nicky Richards claiming third.

It was a Victorian one-two in the Midgets class with Cooper Murray leading fastest qualifier Jordan Caruso across the line.

Defending titleholder Reece Sidebottom took out back-to-back Tasmanian titles by claiming the win in the Rookies class to retain his blue plate for another 12 months.

The Senior National Light final proved to be a two-kart battle as National Champion Nicholas Ellen was forced to fend off multiple challenges from Hobart’s Jay Baily throughout the 21-lap encounter.

After suffering from a deflating tyre in the pre-final, Ben Walter put in an impressive drive from the back of the grid to take out the final of TaG Light.

Local racer Nathan Zuj took advantage of pole in the final to take the win over Brody Appleby and Mason Thomas in Clubman Light.

Shane Wharton was the victor of Clubman Super Heavy.

– PAUL CARRUTHERS

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THE STAPLETON AT THE TOP CORNER

James Smith

A/C TOURING CARS SANDOWN Motor Raceway once again sang to the thunder of the Group A and C Touring Cars on the weekend, as the great cars of old competed in the Heritage support category at the Norton 360 Challenge.

The man at the head of the field in his Tom Walkinshaw Holden Commodore VL was Troy Stapleton, who simply had the bravery, and car speed to hold off his rivals to take two race wins from three starts.

Another one of the great Australian Walkinshaw touring cars present in the Heritage field was the Jaguar XJS of Mike Roddy, which wowed the packed grandstand as it screamed along the main straight.

Roddy, however, looked as though the Jaguar was a bit of a handful around the Melbourne circuit, running wide on a few occasions whilst attempting to pass the A9X Torana of Steve Perrott in second place.

Craig Neilson was on hand to steer the beautifully presented Nissan Skyline DR30 around Sandown, and did a great job of balancing speed without ending up in the Armco. The same however couldn’t be said for Rod Markland in his R32 GTR Skyline, making a mistake coming onto the main straight, and ending up in the outside tyre wall with light damage.

And running around consistently at the back of the field was the ex-Bob Holden Toyota Corolla Sprint of David Peterson, looking a treat as it revived the multi-class structure of historic Australian racing now missing from touring car racing.

MULLER WINS HIS THIRD WORLD TITLE ...

WTCC THE 2011 WTCC title came down to the wire at the final round in Macau, and despite his best efforts with two weekend wins, Rob Huff couldn’t prevent his Chevrolet teammate Yvan Muller from 56

taking the season silverware.

If Huff had any chance of overhauling his teammate at the final round, he needed Muller to finish fifth or lower and to win the race – something Huff achieved twice in a breeze despite Safety Car interruptions.

But with the French Muller coming

across the line in third position behind the privateer BMW of Tom Coronel, Muller retained his three-point advantage over Huff to take his third World Championship title in his illustrious Touring Car career.

Huff also took the honours in the opening race. motorsport news

RACE

A SHAW THING IN NSW NSW STATE MICHAEL Shaw sealed victory in the NSW Supersport championship by just half a second over the weekend.

The Radical driver, who’d been embroiled in a titanic points battle with Adam Proctor all season, ultimately won the championship by a single point thanks to fourth place in the final race of the season after Victorian Josh Hunt was first to the flag.

Finishing just ahead of former V8 Supercar driver Garth Walden was just enough to claim the title – had Shaw been behind Walden the championship would have been

Proctor’s.

Starting the weekend in fine form Proctor won the opening race, sealing the Australian Sports Racer title in the process but ultimately finishing runner up in the state championship by the narrowest of margins.

Elsewhere recently crowned Formula Vee National Title holder, Daniel Reynolds, won every race of the season to canter to his third successive championship. Peter Green Jnr meanwhile won the HQ title, despite the weekend being dominated by an irrepressible Chris Buckley.

Glenn Lynch was made to work hard

for victory in the Racing Cars category, sharing the top step with Ron Coath and Ros Brincat. Honours were also shared in Improved Production, Doug Moss and Roy Anderson winners in the Over 2-Litre class while Bob Jowett and Geoff Fear wrapped up the Under 2-Litre’s.

David Whitmore dominated in his Spectrum Formula Ford, mastering the tricky wet conditions on Sunday to cruise to three race wins for the weekend.

Similarly Sam Zavaglia was in a class of his own, dominating the round to take a clean sweep in the Superkarts.

– MAT COCH

JUNCADELLA TAMES MACAU MACAU GRAND PRIX DANIEL Juncadella has taken victory at the Macau F3 Grand Prix on the weekend, after incidents and Safety Cars choked the famous annual race.

Pole sitting Marco Wittmann managed to pull out a gap in the initial stages of the race, but that soon fell back to nil with the advent of the first of many Safety Cars.

This allowed Juncadella to close onto the back of Wittman at the restart, where he launched a huge attack for the lead along with Felipe Nasr and Yuhi Sekiguchi.

Juncadella came out of it on top, where he would remain until the completion of the race.

New Zealand F1 hopeful Mitch Evans returned to F3 racing for the Macau Grand Prix, but he retired from the race on Lap 4 after a horror weekend marred by mechanical issues.

Countryman Richie Stanaway also with a spectacular opening lap crash that saw him shoot up the rear of a stalled car on the grid.

Mark Pryor

57

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motorsport news

rear of grid THERE was some nice symmetry with the media rides at Sandown.

As is standard for a Melbourne round, the Geelong Cats AFL team put its 87-year relationship with Ford to good public relations use by getting some of the players out to Sandown for rides.

Down at Dick Johnson Racing, the two Stevie J’s got together. The Cat’s creative forward Steve Jonson went for a ride with DJR’s Number 1 driver of the same name.

At Wilson Security Racing, midfielder/forward Mitch Duncan was hanging around with the 2011 Premiership Cup – which was good news for Tony D’Alberto, who is a genuine Cats supporter.

The bad news for D’Alberto was that a cracked cross member meant he couldn’t take Duncan for a ride, as scheduled, with David Wall stepping in with his Fujitsu Series entry to take the young

Putting the Gee in ‘Geelong’

Cat for a burn around Sandown.

“It’s definitely cool,” Duncan told eNews.

“It’s really good that the club have let me come out, and it’s good that Wilson Security Racing and TD have had me here.

“It’s just interesting to experience a different professional sport. I have always known that motor racing is a physical sport, I know that it gets pretty hot in those cars. When I saw TD jump out of the car after practice, he

was dripping with sweat. That’s why I’ve always wanted to get into one of these cars and experience it for myself.

“I’ve never been to an event like this before, but I’ve watched V8 Supercars on TV before, particularly Bathurst.”

ON THIS DAY 21 NOVEMBER 1993

IT’S 18 years since a certain young German driver won the Macau Grand Prix – but that is not why we are featuring this today. Yep, Jörg Müller did win in Formula 3, piloting his Fiat-powered Dallara to the win for RSM Marko (yes, Dr Helmut Marko’s team). The special bit is that 13 years later, Müller won the Guia race for Touring Cars. In doing so, he became the only man to win at Macau in open-wheelers and sedans – and earned the congratulations of all.

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