Motorsport eNews Issue 233 - November 29-December 5, 2011

THE WORLD OF MOTORSPORT DIRECTLY TO YOUR DESKTOP

Issue No. 233 November 29 - December 05 2011

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Y L L A FIN WIN L A T I V S TAKE T PLUS R E B B E MARK WIL. FULL REPOR IN BRAZIEW INSIDE INTERV

LINDBOM ON HIS GP3 CHANCE

WHINCUP: I WON’T RELAX

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Brock’s best ever race

ndoubtedly the ‘72 Bathurst, that supposed to be used. You was his best race. Because could tell him he knew exactly what to do, and he that with all the testing we’d would do it. In done, ’72 at Bathurst, Brock just with this new driving technique and went way off that we’d into the distance. evolved for the new tyres, which only We were utterly and convincin he was doing because the gly in others didn’t control for the whole bloody understand it, he was at race. Brock least five percent got a minute penalty, wrongly. faster on any circuit than When they he’d been before. refuelled the car, he goes to take off Because of that, unless there and was an one of the guys says ‘the accident or something like cap’s not on that, he knew properly’. So I tell them he was going to win. to stop the car, and take the cap off and The race was turning point put in on again. in his life.

That was not contravening He went from nobody to the regulations.

King of the The official didn’t see us Mountain. It was lucky for stop the car and us that year that assumed we’d started the car before Ford made a few mistakes the – they didn’t fix refuelling was done. We were wrongly their brakes, and they didn’t understand penalised. what a huge difference the new wheels and Moffat got three penalties tyres would make to our – Moffat car – and they started the car before they’d still used their old suspensio finished n. refuelling, no ifs or buts Brock knew exactly what about that. had to be done We knew – I had a man down at his to win. I said, ‘don’t bother pit trying to pass watching it all.

Moffat, just sit behind him and worry him.

The other very outstandin Make it so he’s looking g drive was in more at you in the the A9X, when he broke the lap record mirror than on the road ahead, on and he’ll the last lap, while six laps make a mistake. That’s what in front. That is happened. really rubbing their noses The wet that year was an in the dirt. It’s advantage for also taking a big risk! us because of the tyres we had and the way If it had been me running the car was set up. We used the team, I soft tyres the wouldn’t have been happy whole race, and our hand-cut about him tyres were running that risk. But it’s far superior to anyone else’s. an ego thing and But as a team manager you can’t could use all that new technolog Brock control it; you y as it was just have to put up with it. I would have said, ‘Peter, you understan d that you took a bloody big risk doing that.

If you’d have pranged that car on the last lap, that would have really given you a lot of aggro!’

The other extremely good drive was his win in the Repco Round Australia Trial.

Because rallying really wasn’t his scene, but he adapted to it and excelled himself.

52

53

Brock and the Beast

engine compartment 5000 engine, and the XU-1 rally car we was square tube emember this – the that went around that ent, was not ‘stuffed’, ed as a roll cage supplem used to make it of built cars steel reinforc inch steel already of my competition picking up on 3/8 as some say. None engine we made the XU-1 plus floor for the rear shell, into were faulty: when was reinforced with dash centre and centre and gearbox mount Sports Sedan, the to cut a out had cut It shell. mount were extra plating in body floor and gearbox a the Repco Formul make the space for

R

the project. seat and roll cage with four-wheel disc Peter helped in the down Monaro diff cs car was tailor made of HQ front hub/dis – seat belt – as the brakes adapted out explaining how to an exercise for future to suit him. Don was and stock parts – as it was all strange had 14x7 Dragway and run engine as four-disc system. It used the T10 start It only finished it at tyres. we e to Peter, and how wheels and Fireston clutch. Panel beater where it ran as car Sandown circuit – gearbox and a Repco at Suspension it all in – Ian Splatt first time and all brakes. for “Dicko” and I put lower Koni shockers and unit – lighter settings, spring rates, Dragway did the diff as I thought they front and a cross tyre pressures were springs were put in and God” theory! compartment, with should be – by “guess brace in old engine I told Peter to be It ran the normal We fired it up and the battery in the rear. pump to suit and brave, and to come very cautious, not XU-1 tank fuel lines To everyone’s dry sump tank in the in if anything felt wrong. fuel injection – the but well, stopped fair, Don Halpin (Repco) surprise it handled spare wheel well – line. up engine as it was did it go in a straight helped fit and connect in d involve they were a Repco lease and 59

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motorsport news

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@motorsportenews @mnewsupdates Issue No. 233 | 29 Nov - 05 Dec 2011

news 4

Whincup’s Sydney plan No taking it easy for J-Dub ...

8 Like a boss Caruso ready to take control 10 Ogier: Man of the Volks Frenchman joins VW for ‘13 12 Lewis and Felipe – BFFs Drivers make up after GP 18 EC Enduro On again, off again, on ...

chat 22 Five Minutes With ...

Mark Webber

comment 24 Adam: Sandown Format #1 25 AVL: Sandown Format #2

race 26 Formula 1 30 Karting 32 World Series Sprintcars

trade 58 Classifieds 3

WHINCUP REFUSES TO RELAX AHEAD OF SHOWDOWN

Jamie might be odds on for the title, but he’s not counting his chickens until the job’s done ...

V8 SUPERCARS

A

POOR performance during Saturday’s race at Sandown is keeping Jamie Whincup on edge heading into this weekend’s V8 Supercar finale, despite the TeamVodafone driver taking a healthy points lead to Sydney.

Whincup needs to finish just fourth in this Saturday’s opening race at Homebush to seal the title, even if his lone title rival Craig Lowndes wins the race. But while the task seems relatively straightforward, Whincup is not taking anything for granted, particularly after struggling for pace in the rain at Sandown just over a week ago.

“I was reasonably relaxed before Saturday’s race [at Sandown], which goes to show how things can change,” said Whincup.

“That was one of the worst experiences of my life, to be honest. The aquaplaning and the spray; when its that bad, you can at least see a couple of white lines on the side of the track, or the grandstand or something, but even all of that was starting to disappear. I was having some big moments, and I didn’t know which way was straight.

“That highlighted to me that there is still a long way to go. We need to stay focussed right to the end.

“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s not over yet. We had a rest [after Sandown], because it was a long two weeks; back-to-back is hard work, living out of a suitcase. We’ll come out firing in Sydney. No TeamVodafone car has got on the podium in Sydney, so if we can do that, we’ll be very, very happy.”

While Whincup is staying on edge, he does admit that three wins from the last four races has put him in the

box seat for title glory.

“I think the last two weeks were pivotal in the championship, Tassie and Sandown. We were strong in Tassie, and strong [at Sandown]. I think [Sandown] won the championship last year, with James Courtney, so it was an important race.”

Now, his focus is on Homebush, and he admits that he is trying to keep his preparation as normal as possible.

“Similar to what I do all year,” he said.

“We get used to preparing the cars and preparing ourselves for a weekend. As I said in Tassie, the Sydney weekend is a huge one for our key sponsor Vodafone, so we have to balance that out. We had a quick car there last year; I led the race until the rain fell out of the sky and we all shunted, so we’ve got quick cars, we just need to complete the job.

“I’ll prepare, and we’ll be good to go. I’ll make sure that I get enough points.”

Meanwhile, TeamVodafone boss Roland Dane is refusing to talk about the championship, despite Whincup and Lowndes being the only two drivers left in the title fight. Instead, his focus is on a ‘Fones car finally winning a race in Sydney.

“I’m quite relaxed,” Dane said.

“Frankly, what I’d like to see more than anything else now is to have a Vodafone victory at the Telstra 500.

“As Jamie said earlier, we haven’t even been on the podium in Sydney, and that’s a big gap for us. It’s a hard race, a lot can happen, but I’d like to feel that we could win. Twice would be great, but even once would be a great way to end the year for us. We don’t want to see HRT or FPR sneaking in to get a victory.”

www.revolutio 4

motorsport news

NEWS

WEBBER BREAKS THROUGH FOR IMPORTANT WIN FORMULA

M

Andrew Hall

ARK Webber believes that Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix would have been his highlight of the season even if Sebastian Vettel’s progress hadn’t been hampered by a gearbox problem.

Webber won his first race of the year at the season finale at Interlagos, after hauling down runaway leader Sebastian Vettel on Lap 29 after the German was slowed by a gearbox problem. Vettel managed to hold on to finish a distant second. It was only the third time all season that Webber has been classified ahead of his team-mate.

But according to Webber, Brazil would have been a genuine highlight of his 2011 even if he had finished second to Vettel.

“Even if the win didn’t come today, I think there were some positive signs in the last three or four events,” he said.

“To be honest, the team knows there’s been some races where it’s been a reasonable pace for me, considering some of the things that have been going on, whether that’s damage to the car or bits and bobs here and there. That’s not an excuse, it’s just what happened.

“Sometimes, my pace on Sundays has definitely been better than it was at the start of the year, so there were some indications to get more positive.

“Today was a good Grand Prix for me, the pace was good, all that sort of stuff.”

Webber is also not convinced that he wouldn’t have been able to overhaul Vettel even without the gearbox problem, despite Vettel jumping out to a healthy lead in the early stages of the race.

“Obviously if Seb … we’re not sure how it would have turned out, but maybe I wouldn’t have finished too far behind, maybe a little bit ahead. Who knows how it would have worked out, if he made a mistake or whatever, or if I made a mistake?

“We can’t judge what would have happened in the rest of today’s Brazilian Grand Prix, but it’s not a bad thing to finish the year like this.

“One of the most important things is that I’ve started to feel the car a little bit better, in terms of direction and working better with the guys and what we need to do, which happened a while ago; not just at this race, but starting to get a bit more of an understanding, which, together, has actually helped both of us again, because we’ve got the most out of the car and that’s been a success for the team as well.

“Yeah, [I’m] happy for the win mate, that’s for sure.”

For more with Mark Webber, see Five Minutes With on page 22.

onracegear.com.au www.mnews.com.au

5

NO LUFF, GULF WESTERN AT LDM IN 2012 But Taz won’t drive in Sydney V8 SUPERCARS WARREN Luff and Gulf Western Oil have both confirmed that they will not be part of Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2012.

Luff announced early last week that he will be leaving LDM at the end of the season, following increased media speculation that Taz Douglas will step into that seat for 2012. eNews has since learned that Dumbrell has been weighing up putting Douglas in the car for this weekend’s Telstra 500 at Homebush, although that outcome is now unlikely.

But despite what may or may not happen in Sydney, Luff will definitely not be part of the team next season.

“This year has not lived up to our expectations, we wish LDM all the best for the future and we know they will be a main player in the future,” Luff said.

“The team is still going through a lot changes including team managers and engineering staff, it’s really hard to get any

continuity at this level when things change so many times in a season.”

Just days after Luff’s announcement, Gulf Western issued a statement confirming that they will not be continuing their sponsorship of the team in 2012.

However, despite Luff and Gulf Western pulling out, Dumbrell is positive about the future of his team.

“Firstly, I would like to thank Gulf Western Oil for its support for LDM in its first two seasons, and Warren for his efforts since he came on board at the end of 2010,” Dumbrell said.

“I was extremely proud of what we achieved in our first year, but the truth is that this season we never got off the ground like we should have.

“I am committed to V8 Supercars for the long term and there are clear goals set out in LDM’s initial five year plan which as a team we are steadfast on achieving.”

WEBB CLOSE ON TEKNOCRA V8 SUPERCARS JONATHON Webb says his V8 Supercar outfit’s expected expansion remains a work in progress.

Tekno Autosport looks set to come out of the current V8 silly season as one of the big movers, with paddock talk tipping growth from a single car to two in 2012. The team has been linked to using one of the current Paul Morris Motorsports RECs and the acquisition of two of PMM’s current Triple Eightbuilt VE Commodores.

Should that unfold, Webb’s

Falcon and associated stock is set to head to another growing outfit – Dick Johnson Racing.

With Dean Fiore already set take his REC to DJR and join incumbents Steven Johnson and James Moffat, the team is likely to expand to four cars with the second of the PMM RECs and Webb’s Falcon for Steve Owen.

Andrew Thompson, David Russell and Warren Luff have been linked to the expected second seat at Tekno. Webb remained tight-lipped when contacted by eNews on Monday.

“We’re working on everything, trying to make it all happen,”

LINDBOM: ALL OR NOTHING IN GP3 TESTING GP3 KRISTIAN Lindbom is taking an “all or nothing” approach to his GP3 test in Spain later this week.

The former Australian Formula Ford and Australia Formula 3 driver will fly to Spain tonight (Monday), and will spend Thursday and Friday testing for Tech 1 at Jerez.

According to Lindbom, this is his big European chance.

6

“I wanted to go over for the first two days of testing,” Lindbom told eNews.

“I was looking for sponsors, but nothing really happened. This is the last test, so if I didn’t make it happen now, it wouldn’t happen at all. It’s all or nothing at this point.”

Lindbom came close to inking a test deal with title-winning team ART, but couldn’t get the money together in time.

“I looked at ART, but they only had one spot, for one of the days,” he added.

“By the time I called them to lock it in, they’d filled the spot. So I called Tech 1 and they have been amazing.”

While Lindbom is eyeing a career overseas, he does have a back-up plan in Australia – the development series.

“I want to race GP3, but if I don’t go any good, I’ll come back,” he said.

“I have been working towards a DVS program, so we’ll go down that road instead.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN motorsport news

NEWS

Dirk Klynsmith

Webb he said.

“We still don’t have anything confirmed as yet, so we don’t really have any real comment to make on anything.”

Webb said his team was content to continue as a onecar Falcon outfit in 2012 if a deal didn’t eventuate.

“It’s not a thing of urgency for us,” he said.

“It’s something we wanted to do in 2013 anyway. If we can get a deal done earlier, it happens – if not we’re quite happy to keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll wait and see.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

V8 SUPERCARS THE Saturday format for next year’s Sandown 500 will be a whole lot simpler than the one used at Phillip Island in recent years.

A pair of sprint races will still be used to determine the grid for Sunday’s 500km Bathurst precursor, and every driver will still get a race to themselves. But who takes part in those races will now be defined.

There will now be one qualifying session – open to either driver of a car – which will determine the grid for the first sprint. Co-drivers will tackle that race, setting the grid for the second sprint race for regular drivers. The results of that race will then set the grid for the ‘500.

The old format saw a mixture of drivers in the two races, and a compulsory pitstop to be made in either race, with combined results then setting the grid.

Pitstops have been abolished for 2012.

RNR HINTS AT REYNOLDS V8 SUPERCARS ROD Nash Racing is remaining bullish that it hasn’t signed a driver for 2012, despite offering the best indication yet that David Reynolds will drive for the squad next season.

Nash told assembled media at Sandown that there will be no announcement until January 1, a solid hint that the driver will be Reynolds. As previously reported, Reynolds’ availability has been disputed by Kelly Racing, meaning that any deal with RNR would have to be kept secret until the new year, when his current KR deal officially ends.

But while the January 1 date points to a Reynolds deal, Nash

Justin Collins

ES IN ACY

Format changes for 500’s return to Sandown

refused to confirm that there were any arrangements in place with a driver.

“No one is driving the car [next year] at the moment,” he said.

“The seat is vacant. That’s where it remains. Tim [Edwards] and I will have to get more serious about it December.”

Nash did, however, confirm that he had conversations with some of the internationals that were here for the recent Gold Coast 600, but that he felt it was “a little bit early” to bring an overseas driver in for a full-time seat.

“We did have a look at the internationals that were here for the Gold Coast 600, we had specific conversations with overseas drivers.”

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7

Justin Collins

CARUSO: I’LL LEAD THE WAY V8 SUPERCARS MICHAEL Caruso is ready to take on the team leader role at Garry Rogers Motorsport next season.

Caruso will be the senior driver in the squad next year, with current team leader Lee Holdsworth on his way to Stone Brothers Racing. And according to Caruso, it’s a role he’s looking forward to sinking

his teeth in to.

“Look, I am ready to make the step,” he told eNews.

“I’ve been [at GRM] four years now, heading into my fifth. I feel like I’m ready. It’s going to be good to have that leadership responsibility.”

Caruso added that the best way to prepare for a big 2012 is to finish the season off strongly in Homebush.

“We’ve had a competitive car since Phillip Island, we’ve been running inside the Top 10 since then,” he said.

“That’s a good confidence booster before next year, where we’ll definitely be aiming for Top 10 in the championship.

“I just want to finish of this season as well as I can, so I can prepare myself as well as possible for next year.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

FORG IN THE ROAD FUJITSU SERIES FORMER Stone Brothers Racing engineer Paul Forgie will return to work in the V8 Supercar fraternity this weekend, joining Fujitsu Series squad Greg Murphy Racing.

Forgie, who engineered Marcos Ambrose to his 2003 and 2004 titles, parted company with Stone Brothers 8

Racing mid-year, having most recently worked with Shane van Gisbergen.

With a view to possibly working with the team in 2012, Forgie will join GMR at Homebush’s season finale, engineering the Commodore of Kiwi rookie Nick Cassidy.

“Paul will be working to get to know the team this weekend, with the possibility of a future role with Greg Murphy Racing in

2012,” GMR boss Kevin Murphy said.

“Paul was quite keen to come and join us and work outside the main game, so the Fujitsu Series suits his plan pretty well.

His experience will be a tremendous asset for the team, and a great benefit to any young driver who we would be bringing through in the future, so we’re going to build a relationship with him and see how it all goes.” motorsport news

NEWS

Motorsport Stocktake Sale Pattern

Sale Price Save

Size

R800 185/60 R15 (soft, medium) $150 $59 R800 195/65 R15 (hard)

$150 $70

R800 195/70 R15 (medium)

$165 $55

R800 205/65 R15 (hard)

$150 $81

R900 195/70 R15 (medium)

$165 $55

S700 225/640 R18 (medium)

$275 $92

TW01 180/580 R15 (soft)

$121 $121

TW02 210/645 R17 (super soft)

$130 $130

TW02 210/645 R18 (soft)

$130 $130

V700 185/60 R14 (medium)

$138 $69

V700 195/55 R14 (medium)

$145 $73

V70A 205/40Z R17 (soft, medium) $293 $146

JASON Bright rates himself a “95 percent” chance to make it to the grid for this weekend’s V8 Supercar Championshipending races at Homebush.

The Team BOC driver is still recovering from the rib injury that has forced him to miss the last three races, at Symmons Plains and Sandown. That and associated muscle problems prompted the team to put Cameron McConville and Andrew Jones in the #8 Commodore in the last two race weekends.

“It’s still a bit tender but it is a lot better than it was at Sandown,” Bright told eNews

ONE LAST NEW LOOK V8 SUPERCARS THE Pepsi Max Crew will unveil its final livery for the 2012 season later this week, ahead of the Telstra 500 in Sydney.

Greg Murphy will run the livery in the two 250km races around the Olympic precinct in Homebush. It will be the fifth graffitiinspired livery that car #11 has displayed this season.

“For our first season in the V8 Supercars, we’re really happy with how the Pepsi Max www.mnews.com.au

Crew has performed – both on and off the track,” said Adam Burling, brand manager at PepsiCo. “Constantly changing our liveries has been a great initiative – it’s polarised opinion across V8 fans, which is exactly what we were going for.

“We’re unveiling our final livery for the season this Thursday, and we think it’s perhaps the most intricate design yet, and quite different from what you have seen so far this season.”

$225 $75

V70A 225/40Z R18 (hard)

$255 $128

V70A 225/45 R16 (hard)

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V70A 225/50Z R15 (medium)

$256 $85

V70A 235/40Z R17 (soft)

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V70A 245/45Z R16 (medium)

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V70A 315/35Z R17 (medium)

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V710 245/40 R17 (medium)

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WHEELMAN SET TO RETURN on Monday.

“The muscles around the ribs were the bigger problem than the ribs themselves. I hope that it will be right by the time I am in Sydney and will be able to drive onto the track without feeling a thing.”

Bright suffered the injury at Phillip Island and the stop/start nature of Symmons Plains aggravated it to the point where he could not drive.

Jones, who is entered in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar races in Sydney, is on standby to substitute, again, if needed. If he does get the call, BJR will still field an FV8 entry, with a number of drivers in contention to be called up.

V70A 205/50Z R15 (soft)

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9

Spike’s BF3 BRITISH F3

Ogier quits Citroen, 2012 in a Skoda but then ...

VW GETS ITS OWN SEB WRC VOLKSWAGEN has pulled off a major World Rally Championship coup, signing rapid Frenchman Sebastien Ogier.

Ogier, who will be replaced at Citroen by Mikko Hirvonen in 2012, is the first driver to be officially signed by VW. He will spend next year developing the Polo R WRC, before debuting the car in the 2013 World Rally Championship. He won’t be completely on the sidelines next season, however, with VW confirming that Ogier will compete at every WRC round in a Super 2000-spec Skoda Fabia.

“Volkswagen is the number one in Europe and will soon be number one in the world,” said Ogier on his arrival in Hanover.

“I’m sure that they’re going to compete with the goal of clinching the WRC title. And I’m happy to be part of this from the outset.”

“We are proud that such a successful and quick duo as Sebastian Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia have decided to join Volkswagen,” added VW’s motorsport boss Kris Nissen.

“The aim of putting a competitive Polo R WRC on the road for them as quickly as possible will additionally drive our team. We look forward to working with them and are hoping for many victories and titles in the future.”

The news comes as somewhat of a shock, with Ogier believed to have been headed to M-Sport to be part of Ford’s program, in a direct swap with Hirvonen. Ford is yet to officially commit to the World Rally Championship beyond 2011.

FOSTER’S LARGER CARRERA CUP NICK Foster will make his tintop debut this weekend at Homebush, in the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup. Having confirmed the 2011 season of Formula Ford would be his last, Foster is on the lookout for a new category for 2012, and his Porsche one-off could lead to a fulltime program in the series next year. Foster, who was third in the Formula Ford Championship, will drive Carrera Cup’s Guest Car with backing from Fujitsu.

Sonic Motor Racing Services, Foster’s Formula Ford outfit, will run the car, returning to the series they won with David Reynolds in 2007. The 19-yearold tested the car at Winton last Friday.

10

“To get this opportunity is great and I have to thank Fujitsu for continuing to back me and the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup for helping me put this deal together,” Foster said.

“It's a bit of a reward for the hard work we've put into making this happen. This has been on the go since about July so it's been very hard work and a long time in the making but it's finally all come together and I've got a lot of people to thank for that.

“This is a massive opportunity for me and this does become an option for 2012. But at this point in time it's more of a reconnaissance mission, just to see what direction we want to head in next year.

“Everything next year is still up in the air but it’s nice to put

something together before the end of this year to try and put a step forward towards something that could be a great option for next year. It's a great championship and it's one of the options I'm aiming for in 2012.”

SPIKE Goddard will step up to British Formula 3 in 2012.

After finishing second in the NSW and Victorian Formula Ford Championships in 2010, Goddard headed to the UK in 2011 and tackled the British Formula Ford Championship, finishing 10th with Jamun Racing. Next year, he’ll switch to wings and slicks, inking a deal with T-Sport to run in the National Class for older-model cars.

The 19-year-old has already completed several tests with TSport, including a two-day test at Snetterton last week.

“Throughout 2011 I’ve worked with the T-Sport engineers on the simulator at Base Performance, learning all the tracks I was unfamiliar with in Europe,” Goddard said.

“This was such an enjoyable experience that it made me want to work with them in the future so it was an easy decision to make when the time came to make plans for 2012.”

“I’ve chosen to race in the National Class so that I can build up my knowledge in preparation for a move to the International Class in 2013. I’m under no illusions and know that it will be a tough year but I will be out to win in National Class.”

motorsport news

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11

sutton-images.com

LEWIS AND FELIPE MAKE UP FORMULA 1

racing him again next year.”

“I think that I was pleased today to see Lewis Hamilton coming here today and hugging Felipe, because at the end of the day that is what it is all about,” Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali said.

“It was a good gesture and I am happy it is pretty cleared up.

I am very pleased for that.”

sutton-images.com

THE feud between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa appears to be over.

The pair caught up after the Brazilian Grand Prix to make amends for the tense battle that has plagued both their seasons, with Hamilton showing up at

Massa’s motorhome to put the situation to rest.

“It’s been a long hard year for all the drivers, and I hope they all have a good winter,” said Hamilton.

“It was good to have a nice chat with Felipe after the race. I have great respect for him and I’m already looking forward to

RENAULT DRIVER DECISION CLOSE FORMULA 1 RENAULT is days away from finalising its 2012 drive line-up, according to team boss Eric Boullier.

While it is now clear that Robert Kubica will not be ready for the start of the 2012 F1 season, the team’s line-up beyond that remains a mystery.

Vitaly Petrov is locked in, but his team-mate is yet to be determined.

The options appear to range from Bruno Senna, who has been fast this season since replacing Nick Heidfeld, to Renault protégé Romain Grosjean, to more experience drivers such as Adrian Sutil and Kimi Raikkonen. Rubens Barrichello’s name has even been linked with the Enstone-based squad.

In Brazil, Boullier told media that the decision was close.

“We have discussed at length the different

scenarios, and we have had time because with Robert, we were expecting and waiting for news, and now it is in the hands of the board,” said Boullier.

“There is a different strategy with different drivers. It should just be a question of days – either this week or next week maximum.”

Boullier did confirm that veterans Raikkonen and Barrichello were under consideration.

“Kimi is a possible scenario, yes, if you want. But the list is long, and there are even some drivers under contract, who have some clauses to get out of their contracts. So the list is quite long.

“It is true that [Barrichello] came to me, and we had a couple of emails exchanged because he showed interest as he does not know what Williams is doing. But I told him he was not at the top of the list so he should not have much expectation.”

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NEWS

VIRGIN PICK PIC FORMULA 1

CHARLES Pic will race for Virgin Racing next season, it has been confirmed.

Since driving for the team at last week’s Abu Dhabi young driver test, the Frenchman has been linked to a 2012 drive. Now, it has been confirmed that Jerome d’Ambrosio will be moved aside to make way for Pic, who will race alongside Timo Glock.

“I’m very happy to be making the step up to Formula 1 with Marussia Virgin Racing,” said Pic. “As a driver you always feel you are ready for the next opportunity but in Abu Dhabi last week it was a tough test. The team gave me some fantastic opportunities to learn new things, but I also knew that I had to impress them and show them I was ready to do a good job.

“I was pleased with my performance, and obviously the team were too, so [it is] a very good start, but this is just the beginning, and I know that a lot of hard work is ahead of me to reward this chance.”

Team boss John Booth thanked d’Ambrosio for his efforts in 2011.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jerome D’Ambrosio for his hard work and important contribution to our team over the past 12 months or more,” said Booth.

“He has an exciting future to look forward to I’m sure and we wish him every success.”

In other driver news, Hispania Racing Team has signed Pedro de la Rosa for 2012. The Spaniard’s signing casts fresh doubt over Tonio Liuzzi’s future at the Spanish squad, despite the Italian having a long-term deal.

RUBENS: I’LL BE RACING IN F1 NEXT SEASON FORMULA 1

sutton-images.com

RUBENS Barrichello is not giving up on a race seat for 2012.

Despite Williams F1 seemingly shopping around for a replacement, the veteran, who debuted back in 1993, is remaining bullish on his chances of racing next season.

“I want to thank the team for all their hard work this year,” said Barrichello.

“We have had a tough season but we’ve pushed together.

“There’s been a lot of talk over the weekend, but I believe I will be back again next season.”

Williams is believed to be talking to the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, although that option appears to be diminishing, as well as young Finn Valtteri Bottas.

Barrichello has also been in contact with Renault (see separate story).

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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13

JIM RATHMA 500 WINNER, INDIANAPOLIS 500

NASCAR Media

ONE of America’s great racers, Jim Rathman, died last Wednesday.

Rathman, the winner of the 1960 Indianapolis 500, died nine days after suffering a seizure at his Florida home. He was 83.

After finishing second at the Brickyard in 1952, 1957 and 1959, he battled ‘59 winner Rodger Ward for the 1960 race, which featured 29 lead

BUSCH FINED FOR OUTBURST NASCAR KURT Busch has been fined US$50,000

by NASCAR for swearing at ESPN pitlane commentator Dr Jerry Punch, off-air, at Homestead.

After being forced out of the final race of the season early by a transmission problem, Busch was clearly not in the mood to speak to the media.

While Punch waited for the producer of the

broadcast to throw to him, the Penske driver spoke out and, according to a NASCAR press release, used an “inappropriate hand gesture”. Punch called off the interview and carried on with reporting the race.

Busch, who had a confrontation with a member of the media earlier in the season, apologised for his actions, and his sponsors Shell and Penzzoil commented that they were “disappointed” by his actions.

VETERANS BACK IN OLD 55 NASCAR

NASCAR Media

MICHAEL Waltrip Racing’s #00 will not be seen in NASCAR next season.

MWR has announced that its Aaron’s Toyota, which will be shared by Michael Waltrip

and Mark Martin, will carry #55.

Martin will race the car in 25 Sprint Cup events, while Waltrip will drive in restrictor plate events, and in his home state of Kentucky. Other driver/sponsor combinations will race the car in the remaining events.

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motorsport news

NEWS

AN, 1960 INDY , DIES AT 83 changes, 14 of which were between Rathman and Ward, below. It was only when Ward spotted a change of colour in his front-right tyre (indicating that part of it was worn through to the cords) that he backed off.

Rathman, who led 100 of the 200 laps, won at a then-record average speed of 138.767mph.

Rathman, bottom, is survived by wife Kay, two sons and two stepsons, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

MotoGP Media

ASPAR GETS RANDY MOTOGP

MotoGP Media

Indycar Media Indycar Media

THE growth of the CRT bikes on the 2012 MotoGP grid continues, with Team Aspar confirming its riders last week.

The Spanish team has signed Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro to race its bikes, which will be based around a modified Aprilia RSV-4 engine.

Chassis details remain TBA. “I am very happy to return to the Aspar Team, having already raced with them in 2005 during my 250cc career,” said de Puniet, above.

“I have very fond memories of that time and now we are taking on a new challenge together in the shape of CRT. I know that this is a very competitive team and they will be fighting to have the best material available. We have already tested and gathered a lot of good feedback. CRT is the future of MotoGP and even though we have a lot of work ahead of us it will be enjoyable.”

The Frenchman tested an Aprilia-engined bike

last week at Jerez, lapping the circuit 1s quicker than did Colin Edwards on the Forward Racing Suter-BMW – though the American went quicker, to top the three-day test, later.

The interesting part is that the Texan’s time was 0.4s clear of Scott Redding, above, and Bradley Smith on their Moto2 machine, indicating that there is plenty of development to come from the CRT teams.

2011 AMC Masters DVD

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Dirk Klynsmith

MORE V8 SLOTS FOR F3 FORMULA 3 THE Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship will have its biggest ever presence on the V8 Supercar support card in 2012.

After appearing at two V8 Supercar rounds in 2008 and 2009 and three in 2011, the championship will hold four rounds at V8 Supercar events in 2012. Accounting for the bulk of the seven round schedule, previously announced appearances at

the Clipsal 500 and Hidden Valley will be joined by the V8 Supercar rounds at Symmons Plains and Queensland Raceway.

Formula 3’s debut at Mount Panorama during the Bathurst Motor Festival is the fifth event currently confirmed, with two rounds on the Shannons Nationals bill to be added.

“Our 2012 Calendar is perhaps the strongest ever assembled for Australian Formula 3 and certainly the largest presence on the

V8 Supercar program the category has ever had, by far,” F3 Management’s Ian Richards said.

“Based on feedback from drivers interested, it was critical for us as a category to have an expanded V8 Supercar presence.

“Even the potential of more V8 rounds this year had increased competitor interest and discussion, and with today’s conformation of that we believe more drivers will now seriously consider

Australian Formula 3.

“We now have that with a first-class calendar with big events and perhaps triple the audience we raced in front of this year.”

2012 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship 1. Clipsal 500, March 1-4 2. Symmons Plains, Mar 30-Apr 1 3. Bathurst, April 4-6 4. Hidden Valley, June 15-17 5. Queensland Raceway, Aug 3-5 * Two to be added

GT DOES NATIONALS Justin Collins

AUSTRALIAN GT AUSTRALIAN GT organisers have announced a sevenround 2012 calendar.

As expected, the schedule contains a mix of V8 Supercar and Shannons Nationals rounds, and the series has dropped its standalone events.

The season will kick off at the Clipsal 500 and the final two rounds will be held at the Gold Coast 600 and Sydney 500 V8 16

Supercar meetings.

In Adelaide, drivers will contest a 60-minute race and a 30-minute race, while Surfers and Sydney will hold a pair of 40-minute races.

In the middle, Australian GT will make four appearances on the Shannons Nationals bill, at two at Phillip Island and one each at Winton and Eastern Creek. These events will feature two, one-hour races with optional co-drivers, and

count towards the CAMS Tourist Trophy.

A non-championship round in New Zealand remains a possibility, as previously reported.

“We are extremely excited about the 2012 season,” category administrator Craig Nayda said.

“The calendar delivers what the competitors have been asking for in longer race formats, while also featuring

on three of the marquee V8 Supercar events.”

2012 Australian GT Championship 1. Clipsal 500, March 1-4 2. Phillip Island, May 25-27* 3. Winton, June 22-24* 4. Eastern Creek, July 13-15* 5. Phillip Island, Sept 21-23* 6. Gold Coast 600, October 19-21 7. Sydney 500, Nov 30-Dec 2 * Shannons Nationals rounds motorsport news

NEWS

Dirk Klynsmith

THREE-PRONGED TILT FROM THREE-POINTED STAR BATHURST 12 HOUR LOOK for a three-car MercedesBenz attack on February’s Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.

Plans are advanced for Peter Hackett’s Erebus Racing to join forces with German squad Black Falcon, a customer AMG SLS team in European GT3 competition. Hackett has just returned from the 2011 SLS Customer Sports Christmas Party in Germany, where Erebus Racing received an award for the best-presented car and team.

Following the trip, and time spent with Black Falcon, Hackett

said plans for a three-car joint venture were coming together.

“We (Ed: Erebus Racing) should be confirming our entry later on this week,” Hackett told eNews.

“Black Falcon are definitely bringing a couple of cars and we’ll run as Erebus Racing, but there’ll hopefully be three of us camping and working together.

They told me they have entered – or are entering – and we will pool our resources to become a big, happy family.”

The exercise would be similar to Audi’s campaigns, in which Melbourne Performance Centre linked with Team Joest in 2011

and will work with Phoenix Racing in 2012.

“We’ll try to help them with a bit of the logistics on the ground here in terms of catering, hospitality, pit walling, ordering the gas bottles and all of those sorts of things that are just too hard for them to do from over there,” Hackett said.

“We’ll help them out a little bit and we’ll learn from them along the way. Black Falcon’s obviously one of the most successful Mercedes-Benz teams of all time and for them to be working closely with us is a big honour.”

Hackett reported the driver

line-up for his entry is coming together, although his 2012 Australian GT team-mate James Brock is currently unlikely to be part of it.

“He’s welcome to it, but at this stage James is focusing on the GT Championship starting the week after,” Hackett said.

“We’ll get our entry in first and a lot of the guys we’re talking to are still heavily focused on Homebush and things like that.

We’re a long way down the track; we’ve got two drivers but the third we’re still working on.

If it’s not a local, we’ll look at bringing an international in.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

TCM, UTES ANNOUNCE CALENDARS TOURING CAR MASTERS THE Touring Car Masters will make two appearances on the Shannons Nationals bill in 2012.

An eight-round calendar has been released and, as previously reported, the TCM will return to the Nationals bill for the first time since a oneoff round at Oran Park in 2008.

Of the balance of the program, five rounds will be held at V8 Supercar events, and the TCM will again feature at Eastern Creek’s Muscle Car Masters on Father’s Day. Sandown will host www.mnews.com.au

two rounds during the sixth season of the TCM. The 2011 TCM wraps up at Homebush this weekend, with Glenn Seton and Gavin Bullas returning.

2012 Touring Car Masters 1. Clipsal 500, March 1-4 2. Phillip Island, May 25-27* 3. Hidden Valley, June 15-17 4. Queensland Raceway, Aug 3-5 5. Eastern Creek, September 1-2 6. Sandown 500, Sept 14-16 7. Bathurst 1000, October 4-7 8. Sandown, November 23-25* * Shannons Nationals rounds

V8 UTES V8 UTES will return to Symmons Plains and Winton in 2012.

An eight-round calendar for the Auto One-backed series has been announced, with the series to race exclusively on the V8 Supercar program. The series will again kick off at the Clipsal 500, which will include the 300th V8 Ute race.

“We are really happy with our calendar,” Bill West from category managers SPHERIX said.

“It takes us back to a few

places we haven’t been to in a while like Tasmania and Winton Raceway, where we have a fairly large fan base. The Utes put on a great show in 2011 and will continue to do so in 2012.”

2012 Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series 1. Clipsal 500, March 1-4 2. Symmons Plains, Mar 30-Apr 1 3. Barbagallo Raceway, May 4-6 4. Hidden Valley, June 15-17 5. Winton, August 14-16 6. Bathurst, October 4-7 7. Gold Coast 600, October 19-21 8. Sydney 500, Nov 30 – Dec 2 17

NEWS Richard Craill

8-2-6+6 PRODUCTION CARS THE final round of the Australian Manufacturers Championship went from an eight-hour race, to a six-hour race to no race – but now it’s back on.

The December 11 race was originally planned as an 8 Hour, but was reduced to six hours on the basis that the venue’s

new North Circuit was to be used. Late last Friday afternoon (25 November), the Australian Racing Drivers Club – Eastern Creek operators – issued a statement saying they had cancelled the race due to a “lack of entries”, with 13 having been received at the time.

“It’s unfortunate but we can’t proceed with such a small field,’’ CEO Glenn

Matthews said in the statement.

However, following meetings between the ARDC and category manager Aaron McGill, the Eastern Creek 6 Hour is back on, with 22 entrants as of Monday morning.

“She’s happening,” McGill told eNews.

“It just needed a few things ironed out over the weekend.”

– MITCHELL ADAM

ENERGY AND EXPERIENCE NZV8 SUPER TOURERS CAMERON McConville and Scott McLaughlin will team up in a two-car tilt on the maiden New Zealand V8 SuperTourers season.

The duo will drive Commodores prepared

by Melbourne Performance Centre, with Supercheap Auto signing on as major backers last week. The category’s control chassis builder, Paul Ceprnich will be McConville’s race engineer.

“The SuperTourer Series is shaping up as a really competitive program and the depth of talent in the field looks to be excellent,” 18

McConville said.

“I don’t know all of the circuits but I’m sure my MPC team will be amongst the best team there is and for that reason I feel confident of putting on a very competitive showing.

“The cars look great and from what I’ve heard they are quick and well-balanced. I’m really looking forward to giving it a red hot go and I’m delighted to be part of the twocar Supercheap Auto team with young Scott.”

McLaughlin contested last year’s NZV8 Series with backing from Supercheap.

“I cant wait to get back over there, and having scored a win on home soil (Taupo)

last year I am looking to be up in the top five from the word go,” the 18-year-old said.

“My driving has improved significantly this year and we have proven that we can mix it at the front in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

Im so excited about this new form of V8 racing and the New Zealand fans are going to love the cars.

“To have Supercheap Auto on board again is just fantastic as we enjoyed some really good events in last years NZV8 Series and I really want to repay them for having the faith in this new venture.”

The series kicks off at Hampton Downs on February 17-19 2012. 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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DRAG RACING DRAG Racing faces a possible split in the sport, after three major tracks announced last week they were seeking their own changes in the sport, regardless of the Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA).

In a joint communiqué, the general managers of Perth Motorplex (Kevin Prendergast), Sydney Dragway (Tony Beuk) and Willowbank (Steve Bettes) informed ANDRA that they sought changes relating to the updating of vehicle eligibility and competitor insurance.

Upcoming major events will continue to be held under

ANDRA sanction but with new insurance provisions in place, while the three tracks will conduct minor meetings without ANDRA sanctions.

“Every week we have been turning away amateur racers in some of the best engineered road cars and bikes, because the existing rules are completely antiquated and do not reflect or acknowledge the huge steps forward manufacturers have made in engineering, nor the safety standards of our facilities,” said Bettes.

“For example, a top-of-the-line HSV GTS Commodore, Subaru WRX or turbo six cylinder Falcon with just a few minor tweaks in technology is capable of

running well into the mid to low 11 second zone and it doesn’t take too much more to get them into the 10 second zone. A completely standard, new highpowered motorcycle will run 10 second times off the showroom floor.”

Beuk added that the tracks have lobbied for more than five years, without success.

“We no longer want to see potential drag racers turned away from out facilities due to out-of-date rules,” he said, “to see the same people only days later competing in other motorsports like drifting, rally sprints or time attack-style events, or taking their drag racing to the street and having accidents.”

FF PLANS STRONG 2012 FORMULA FORD THE silly season for the 2012 Formula Ford grid is alive and well, as leading teams begin to lock in their drivers for next year’s national championship.

After winning this year’s championship, Sonic Motor Racing Services is looking at a number of potential candidates to run in 2012. But whilst remaining cautious on who is on the list of potential drivers, team principal Michael Ritter hinted that Garry Jacobson could continue with the outfit for a tilt at next year’s title.

“We have quite a few guys ready to run with us,” Ritter told eNews.

“But we are definitely working at Garry, yes. And it would certainly be quite a good thing if it did happen. Garry has had quite a good year with us this year, and would unquestionably be a 20

championship favourite next year.”

Meanwhile, after taking out the CAMS Victorian Formula Ford championship at Phillip Island on the weekend, Sam Power is set to step up from state level competition, to continue with his Synergy Motorsport team at the national level.

South Australian based Power will be joining both Liam Sager and Matthew Hart who will be continuing for another season with the Sydney based team.

Following a testing 2011, Borland Racing Developments is yet to confirm any drivers for a national level campaign in 2012, but they will be fielding ten young drivers in their inaugural Island Formula driver development program at Phillip Island this Wednesday, a program designed to foster young driving talent in many aspects of motor sport.

– CALLUM BRANAGAN

Luke Nieuwhof

TRACKS UNITE TO TAKE ACTION

V8 UTES: IT’S MACROW TIME V8 UTES FORMER Fujitsu Series Champion Adam Macrow will be the Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series’ wildcard at Homebush this weekend.

Macrow will drive the wildcard Holden Ute in his first race meeting since 2008.

The Victorian was a regular V8 Supercar endurance driver between 2000 and 2008, and won the Fujitsu Series in 2006.

He recently tested with FV8 squad Greg Murphy Racing and is looking to return to the series in 2012.

First, though, he’s got a Ute to race.

“There will be a lot of firsts for me this weekend,” Macrow said.

“It’s my first time racing a car at a track so to speak since 2008, I’ve raced go karts the last few years however this will be my first time competitively for a while, my first time in a Ute and my first time racing in Sydney.

“At the end of day I’ll just go out and learn the track and keep off the walls and whatever happens happens.

I’m looking forward to driving the Ute and would like to thank Auto One for the great opportunity.” motorsport news

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The VN Commodore SS is a highly significant model in the history of high performance Holdens.

Sadly, it never received the kudos it deserved over its short competition life, now 20 years ago. The second place the VN scored at Bathurst in 1991 is hardly remembered today, but it was against much tougher opposition than that faced by the HRT VL model Commodore that won in 1990. But the VN was significant for other reasons: it is the last true high performance homologation special ever made by Holden, the last true production-based Holden racer before the advent of V8 Supercars. This DVD recalls this short but critical piece of Holden motorsport history. Featuring highlights of the ‘91 and ‘92 Australian Touring Car Championship (these highlight packages were never released in Australia) plus highlights of the ‘91 Bathurst 1000. Some special moments to keep a eye out for when watching, Brock’s return to Holden, Mark Skaife’s very first touring car championship win, some of Australia’s greatest race tracks gone but not forgotten and some of the best in-car camera footage you will ever see.

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2011 Australian Muscle Car Masters

This special DVD presentation features over one and a half hours of highlights from the 2011 Australian Muscle Car Masters at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway, Sunday 4th September.

Relive some of the best action from Australia’s premier annual muscle car event, which this year featured the 40th year of the Falcon GT-HO Phase III and the Valiant Charger, and 20 years of the VN Commodore Group A – three of the most legendary Australian production performance cars ever made.

Featured cars and drivers include Jim Richards, Charlie O’Brien, Dick Johnson’s 1981 Falcon XD and Peter Brock’s 1987 Bathurst Commodore – and a lot more.

In addition to the legendary men and machines off the track, this event is a feast of on-track action, with the Master Blast and Heritage Hot Laps sessions, races for Touring Car Masters, Group A&C and Group Nb and Nc Historic Touring Cars – the best Touring Car action from the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s.

This DVD is a must-have for any motor sport enthusiast and muscle car fan.

Classic Austrlain Touring Car Races vol 10

Classic Australian Touring Car Races Vol 10 revisits two classic races at Sandown; one 25 years ago, the other 20 years ago. This is history that can never be repeated: a dominant Nissan 1-2 in the 1986 Sandown Castrol 500, a strong showing from Allan Grice in his Chickadee Commodore, as well as the Holden Dealer Team with Peter Brock and Allan Moffat.

Next we look at the all-conquering Nissan GT-R ‘Godzilla’ going the distance in the Drink/Drive Sandown 500 of 1991. This highlights race package was screened on ABC television latenight and sees the all-wheel-drive twin-turbo Nissan come home for its first endurance race win. As for the Holden teams, there was little joy to be extracted from Sandown, and Peter Brock had a day that he would prefer to forget. Then we go further back into time to take in two 10-lap screamers at Warwick Farm from 1968 and 1970, both in wonderful black and white.

Once again see all the cars, all the stars and all the action on Classic Australian Touring Cars.

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FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

MARK WEBBER It took until the last race of 2011 but Webber scored his seventh Grand Prix win in Brazil. Here is what the Aussie said after his second win at Interlagos QUESTION: Well done, Mark. Is there a little bit of relief there, to have won?

MARK WEBBER: There is, yeah. Just the feeling is nice. Obviously in motorsport you take them as they come.

It was actually brewing into a reasonable little battle with Seb and I. The pace wasn’t too bad at the end of my stints. I’m not exactly sure when he started to have a few little issues, but obviously I can only control what I’m doing, so I kept pushing and then really it was down to then covering off whatever Fernando might be able to do, and that obviously turned out to be possible and then we spread the race out, then obviously made sure we loaded the tyres correctly to get to the flag.

Yes, with 10 laps to go, I started to think ‘OK, it’s nice to finish the year with a win, nice to finish with the car feeling good underneath you, nice to have my second victory here in Brazil – it’s always been a nice little track for me, a little classic.’

It’s been a pretty good year but not like 2010 obviously, so all the guys on my car, Gav [RBR performance engineer Gavin Ward] and Ciaron [Pilbeam, car #2’s race engineer] in particular, have worked their nuts off all year so it’s been good, and I’m happy to get the win today.

What was the team saying to you about Sebastian’s problems?

It came pretty quickly. I thought he was either in tyre trouble way earlier than he should be or no KERS or something was going on, because one thing Seb doesn’t do is forget how to drive from one lap to the other.

When I started to take a pretty big chunk out of him per lap, I thought something might have been going down and then Ciaron informed me that he had a gearbox problem and I think I could smell it a little bit when I got close, and there was also a little bit of fluid. Normally, that’s a nice feeling ...

OK, it was mixed obviously for me, because there was the chance to get the win but I know how hard the guys worked on Seb’s gearbox last night because it wasn’t completely smooth.

They got it together but it turned out, obviously, in the end that something’s let them down. I thought that with that far to go in the race he obviously would not finish but the car still got home and that’s it.

Red Bull Racing

And you were talking about those last 10 laps; certainly the last three were all fastest laps of the race.

Yeah, it was getting a bit frustrating because I kept pinching the front a little bit into Turn 8. On the last lap I got it a little bit better otherwise I was probably going to bail a bit earlier, but I kept pushing pretty hard. Yeah, that’s what it’s about, isn’t it, pushing yourself and backing yourself and having a crack. I was only racing myself at that point so it was a nice little feeling, as I say, to have the car

working well underneath me.

As I said, this winter a close family friend of ours has been in very, very ill health, so I dedicate this win to him.

Mark, your season started off with momentum, quite bumpy; things smoothed out, pace got better. How much will this win kick-start the momentum for next year and give you a flying start?

Well, even if the win didn’t come today, I think there were some positive signs in the last three or four events.

To be honest, the team knows there’s been some races where it’s been a reasonable pace for me, considering some of the things that have been going on, whether that’s damage to the car or bits and bobs here and there. That’s not an excuse, it’s just what happened.

Sometimes my pace on Sundays has definitely been better than it was at the start of the year so there were some indications to get more positive.

Today was a good Grand Prix for me: the pace was good, all that sort of stuff.

Obviously if Seb ... we’re not sure how it would have turned out but maybe I wouldn’t have finished too far behind, maybe a little bit ahead. Who knows how it would have worked out if he made a mistake or whatever, or if I made a mistake? We can’t judge what would have happened in the rest of today’s Brazilian Grand Prix but it’s not a bad thing to finish the year like this.

One of the most important things is that I’ve started to feel the car a little bit better, in terms of direction and working better with the guys and what we need to do, which happened a while ago, not just at this race but starting to get a bit more of an understanding, which, together, has actually helped both of us again, because we’ve got the most out of the car and that’s been a success for the team as well.

Yeah, happy for the win mate, that’s for sure.

I’m not exactly sure when he started to have a few little issues, but obviously I can only control what I’m doing 22

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SHOULD CO-DRIVERS QUAL

I

QUITE like the changes V8 Supercars and the Commission have made to the format for next year’s Sandown 500.

On the whole, the Saturday sprint races have worked well at Phillip Island since 2008. Rather than a standard qualifying session, each driver has had a qualifying session and race to themselves, with the combined results setting the grid for the ‘500.

It’s given co-drivers a chance to qualify and race the cars – and push their credentials, think Steve Owen at Phillip Island in 2010 – and with the mix of drivers and co-drivers across the two races, it’s been fascinating.

The main point of conjecture was the mandatory pitstop, to be taken in either of the two races. That added another element of strategy, but I’m probably in favour of having a pitstop in each race or no pitstops at all.

Next year, at Sandown, the pitstops will be gone. Each driver will still get a race and the results will still determine the Sunday grid – but it’s been tweaked. There’ll be one qualifying session to set the grid for a ‘co-driver’ race, which will set the grid for the ‘driver’ race, which sets the grid for the ‘500. No pitstops, no accumulating points, no mess.

It’s a good move. However, I think it could be made even more interesting. As it stands, qualifying will be a free-for-all, which means we’ll see the regular 28 drivers out there. But why not let (read: make) the co-drivers qualify the cars?

Teams already invest plenty of trust, time, energy and – let’s face it, money – in their co-drivers, so why not give make their role a little bigger? It’s not like they’d be setting the ultimate grid for the 500, anyway, and the ‘drivers’ will still do the bulk of the heavy lifting in the race.

It’d give the co-drivers another chance to impress, and teams with gun co-drivers will further reap the rewards. It would also give the co-drivers a crack at qualifying the car on green tyres. For, say, a kid coming up through the Fujitsu Series, the experience of doing that 24

OPINION Mitchell Adam – National Editor in a Main Game environment (albeit only against other co-drivers) would be worth its weight in gold.

At the end of the day, if teams trust a co-driver to do 60-odd laps at Bathurst in the race, surely they’d back them to do a 20-minute qualifying session at Sandown.

The other benefit would come for those of us watching it unfold.

I’m not saying sessions with the fulltime drivers are boring, but it’s always interesting when you have a different batch of drivers to observe.

For me, the co-driver sessions at the ‘500 and Bathurst are among the most fascinating sessions of the year. Even more so the International driver sessions on the Gold Coast, watching how they attack it and seeing, ultimately, who gets the job done and who doesn’t.

And that’s a big part of professional sport – we all want to be intrigued and entertained. Look at the interest in the selection of Australia’s team for the cricket test against New Zealand this week. Watching Patrick Cummins tackle test cricket for the first time against South Africa last week was really cool, and another three debutants will get their opportunity at the Gabba this week.

How will they go? We’ll have to wait and see. How would codrivers go if they were given the responsibility of qualifying at Sandown next year? I hope we get to find out. motorsport news

COMMENT

LIFY AT THE SANDOWN 500?

OPINION

Andrew van Leeuwen – eNews Editor

I

Dirk Klynsmith

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DON’T completely agree with my colleague’s thoughts across the page.

I do agree that the new Sandown 500 format is a good idea.

In fact, I think the new V8 Commission has absolutely nailed it. I don’t believe it needs any additional tweaking.

I didn’t mind the mandatory pit-stop that formed the L&H 500 grid at Phillip Island. I genuinely though it added an extra strategic element that was intriguing. But, in saying that, I don’t mind not having the pit-stop either. Maybe it will make the concept simpler for the general public to follow, which is never a bad thing.

What M.Adam and I disagree on is the initial qualifying session. He believes that the initial qualifying session should be restricted to the co-drivers, to give them an even bigger role to play.

M.Adam is dead right that the teams will all put their regular drivers in the car for that session. Why wouldn’t they? There will be no benefit for teams to put their co-drivers in the car for that session.

But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think there will be plenty of emphasis on the co-drivers, particularly those driving for the teams up the pointy end of the field. If we apply the model to the 2011 endurance field, we may have seen something along the lines of Andrew Thompson and Nick Percat on the front row of the grid, ready to fight it out over ‘X’ amount of laps. There would be no pitstops, and no stints from the regular drivers to blur the lines. It would be a genuine fight between two young blokes, right at the front of the field. To me, that would be fascinating to watch.

I think both of the formats could work, but my preference would be to run it exactly as is being proposed. The mix of going from main drivers, to co-drivers, to main drivers, to the Sandown 500 is the right way to go.

While M.Adam and I have a small disagreement over the minor details of the new 500 format, essentially we both agree that fundamentally it’s a really good idea. What I find especially heartening is that we’re seeing the V8 Commission, designed to focus on matters like this, working like a treat. Very good signs.

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FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 19 – INTERLAGOS, BRAZIL

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Nobody wants to spend a whole year in a race-winning car without winning races, but Mark Webber avoided the unwanted stat with victory in Brazil

I

T took until the last race of the season, but Mark Webber finally got off the mark for 2011 with a win at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Webber took his second win in three years at the Interlagos circuit in stunning form, leading home his team-mate, and World Champion, Sebastian Vettel by nearly 17 seconds, on a day where Red Bull Racing was on a different planet to the rest of the field.

But while Webber’s winning

margin was comfortable, the circumstances surrounding it were somewhat fortunate. With Vettel having taken a recordequally 15th pole position of the season, the German made one his typically dynamite starts, and had more than a couple of seconds up his sleeve ahead of Webber – who was oh-so-lucky not to drop a bunch of places at the start again – in the space of a couple of laps.

However, by the mid-stage of the first stint, Vettel was being

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informed by his crew that a mysterious gearbox problem would require short-shifting.

The slight, and temporary, drop in pace allowed Webber to sweep past effortlessly on Lap 29, and once in front, he never looked back.

“With 10 laps to go, I started to think ‘okay, it’s nice to finish the year with a win, nice to finish with the car feeling good underneath you, nice to have my second victory here in Brazil’. It’s always been a

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nice little track for me, a little classic,” Webber

said.

“It’s been a pretty good year but not like 2010 obviously, so all the guys on my car, have worked their nuts off all year so it’s been good, and I’m happy to get the win today.”

Vettel managed to finish second, and even post some fastest sectors and laps after dropping behind Webber.

“It was a real shame because I had a very good start and then a good feeling,” said Vettel.

“I was able to pull a gap straight away at the beginning of the race, but very early got the call that we have to manage a gearbox problem. And yeah, I had to turn down the engine, short-shift and it was just getting worse throughout the race so I ended up using higher gears pretty much everywhere.

“Nevertheless, Mark drove a

fantastic race – he deserved to win.”

Jenson Button was third, capping off a solid season which has seen him finish second in the World Championship. But he had to fight for it in Brazil, with a faststarting Fernando Alonso making a play for the final podium spot.

In the end, Button’s pace on the harder tyres at the end of the race was too much for Alonso, with the McLaren eventually breezing past.

Behind the top four, the scene was set for Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa to fight it out for fifth place. But a gearbox problem left Hamilton stranded mid-race, with Massa cruising his way to fifth.

Behind him Adrian Sutil was very impressive on his way to sixth, Nico Rosberg fought hard to take seventh, and Paul di Resta, Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov rounded out the Top 10.

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Country Mile: The Bulls were in a class of their own at Interlagos, above, leaving Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button to scrap it out for a distant third, below. At least they kept it clean, unlike Bruno Senna and Michael Schumacher, bottom.

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Results :: Brazilian Grand Prix Pos

Driver

Team

Qual

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

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

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

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

Top 10 Points: Vettel 392, Button 270, Webber 258, Alonso 257,

Hamilton 227, Massa 118, Rosberg 89, Schumacher 76, Sutil 42, Petrov 37.

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AUSTRALIA WINS NATIONS CUP IN T KARTING

A

USTRALIAN karting can hold it’s head high after the 11-driver squad representing our country took out the Nations Cup at the World Rotax MAX Challenge Final at the Al Ain Raceway in the United Arab Emirates last weekend.

The prestigious event saw a total of 265 drivers representing 59 countries, racing in just four categories – Junior Max, Senior Max, DD2 and DD2 Masters, all with equal equipment.

The Aussie team victory was led by three runner-up placings

by Sydneysider Joseph Mawson

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and Victorians Dave Sera and Jason Pringle, and backed up by several other strong performances.

Mawson’s second place behind 2009 winner Ukyo Sasahara from Japan was the second successive year that a young Australian has finished on the podium in the Junior Max category.

Pierce Lehane, who finished third last year, was running fourth during the early stages of the 18-lap World Final before being involved in an incident, eventually crossing the line 15th.

Michael Stewart was Australia’s other Junior

representative and after a great drive to make it through the last chance qualifier got up as high as sixth in the final before unfortunately running wide – crossing the line 24th.

Sera entered the weekend as one of the favourites for the Senior Max category – and he lived up to all expectations, the Monster Energy-backed driver starting from the outside front row for the final alongside 2008 winner Ben Cooper.

While Sera diced with fellow Aussie Tyler Greenbury and England’s Sean Babington it allowed Cooper to opening a commanding lead, which he was unable to bridge, having to

settle for second.

After being involved in several incidents, Greenbury crossed the line 19th but was later excluded for one of the incidents,w hile Victorian Josh de Maio was impressive on his way to sixth place, after starting 30th in the pre-final.

Pringle battled with 2007 Champion Pier-Luc Oullette and his fellow Canadian Nicholas Latifi in the DD2 final. Despite leading the way on several occasions, Pringle was unable to stop Oullette from taking his second title.

Damian Ward was impressive with his charge up to fourth in the final after starting back in

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FOTHERGILL AND STEIN LEAD THE WAY IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA KARTING

THE UAE P16 in the pre-final, while fellow Queenslander Brendan Nelson finished 17th.

Brent Coghlan left all of his bad luck in Heat 1, where he crashed out before the start/finish line, to put in a determined drive to fifth place in the DD2 Masters category.

Such was the closeness of the finish, Coghlan came within half a kart-length of the podium.

Unfortunately for James Macken, bad luck haunted him throughout the week, with his event ending after he crashed out of the Senior Max category in the Last Chance Qualifier on Friday.

– PAUL CARRUTHERS

THE South Australian Karting Championships were run and won at the Monarto Karting Complex on the weekend, the event doubling as the IAME Challenge Final, with Cian Fothergill and Daniel Stein taking the honors.

Fothergill, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday on Sunday, gave himself the perfect present, capping his year off with not only another blue plate, but also the win in the Leopard Light final.

“It’s great to win not only the SA State Championship, but also the Leopard Final,” said Fothergill.

“It’s a great way to round out the year, one that I’ve had some great success in and Monarto is a fantastic circuit and the Nationals here in 2013 will be ‘mad’, I can’t wait!”

Aidan Wright, who hails from Cairns, was able to secure a triumph of his own and a pretty substantial one at that, winning the prestigious Clubman Light category.

The Tony Kart pilot was the dominant driver in the class and in the end won the final over James Sera and Warren White.

Another driver who dominated was Daniel Stein, who won both the state title and the Leopard Heavy Challenge final, with a clean sweep from qualifying right through to the final with Lee Mitchener and Paul Pittam rounding out the top three.

Mitchener also broke through for a win of his

own, taking out the Clubman Heavy class over Paul Pittam and Remo Luciani.

Leading the way in the Junior classes was Melbourne driver Thomas Randle, who broke through to claim his maiden State Championship ahead of Joseph Burton-Harris and local driver Luke Marquis in J MAX. “This is my maiden State Title and they say that you always remember your first one and this one will certainly stay will me for a long time,” said Randle.

“The Monarto is one that rewards consistency and I really enjoyed this place after coming second in last year’s event. Now I’m really looking forward to the Nationals being held here in 2013.”

After adding two titles to his name last week at the Tasmanian State Championships, Anton De Pasquale added another crown to his evergrowing resume, winning Junior National Heavy, narrowly missing out on the double, finishing runner-up to Todd Hazelwood in Junior Clubman.

Also doing the Tasmania–SA double was Midget driver Cooper Murray, while the remaining Junior class victories went to Thomas Prascevic (Rookies) and Bryce Fullwood (Junior National Light).

Scott Simpson regained a blue plate winning Clubman Super Heavy while Macauley Jones won Rotax Light, Kris Walton took out Rotax Heavy and Remo Luciani won Clubman Over 40s.

– PAUL CARRUTHERS

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SIMONSEN SETS NEW REC ISLAND MAGIC VICTORIAN state level motorsport finished with a bang on the weekend, as the annual Island Magic event was run and won in mixed weather conditions.

Following a steady start in the hands of Ted Huglin, Allan Simonsen climbed aboard the Consolidated Chemicals

Company Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 to dominate the CUE Victorian Tourist Trophy for Sports Cars, a one-hour enduro.

So fast was the familiar yellow Gallardo that Simonsen reset the tin-top lap record with a time of 1:31.2s flyer, almost twoseconds faster than the previous mark set by Steve Owen, eventually winning the race by 20 seconds.

The Victorian Duratec Formula Ford Championship ran its last race of 2012, and it was Garry Jacobson who decimated his rivals. But a consistent season saw Sam Power walk away with the CAMS championship, with Jake Fouracre clinching the club championship.

Michael Robinson was a very quick man all weekend at the Island, taking out the 50k Plate

for Sports Sedans.

Newly crowned National Formula Vee champion Daniel Reynolds made an appearance at the Island Magic event, fending off both Mitch Martin and Ash Quiddington to win the Mauri Fordham Trophy.

An epic weekend long battle with Rodney Raatjes saw John Wood come out on top in the HQs, while Chris Lewis Williams

CRASH DECIDES OPENING WORLD SERIES WORLD SERIES CONTROVERSY ignited at the opening round of the 2011/12 Hi Tec Oils World Series Sprintcars in Brisbane, with James McFadden eventually deemed the winner.

After delaying the meeting by a day due to rain on Saturday, racing was held Sunday night, and it was rated some of the best in 25 years of WSS history.

32

McFadden had to battle hard against American Jason Johnson and defending WSS champion Robbie Farr for line honours, with the trio swapping the lead on many occasions until a late-race incident overshadowed results. With four laps to go, Johnson squeezed past McFadden entering Turn 3, where they grabbed the lapped car of David Murcott, with both Murcott and Johnson ending up

upside down. “It wasn’t a smart move,” Johnson said.

“He came up on the infield to pass me and left me with nowhere to go. I ain’t happy.”

“I don’t think I touched him,” McFadden said.

“If I did I’m sorry but I honestly don’t think I caused that situation. We were racing hard, and we’re racing for a World Series Sprintcars main event win.

None of us hold back out there.”

It was the second consecutive main event win for 21-yearold McFadden at Archerfield Speedway, and his career first for WSS competition.

“It’s taken long enough hasn’t it,” McFadden added.

Robbie Farr was a strong second place in is Hi-Tec Oils #7 and happy about it.

“I was watching those two guys getting pretty serious up in front and for a second there I thought motorsport news

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CORD HOWLETT WRAPS UP FFORD TITLE IN WA overhauled a hard charge from Richard Howe to win the 944 Challenge honours.

Kane Vereker came through an impressive Improved Production field to win the Matthew Flinders Plate and Darren Collins had the Historic Touring Car field covered in his Camaro, winning the illusive weekend trophy.

– CALLUM BRANAGAN

they’d take each other out and I might drive by for the win. I wouldn’t want that, it was an awesome race, it’s a shame it had to end that way.”

Third home was David Muir in the P&M Motor Body Repairs #18 after a courageous run around the outside of celebrated WSS veterans Trevor Green and Max Dumesny to come from fifth to third in four laps.

– GEOFF ROUNDS www.mnews.com.au

MICHAEL Howlett has wrapped up the 2011 WA Formula Ford 1600 Championship – but his year didn’t end exactly as he would have liked it to.

Howlett went into last Sunday’s final round with one hand already on the trophy after an impressive season, and second places in the first two races were enough to make the title a done deal. But his year didn’t end on the best note, with an engine problem ruling him out of the final.

While the championship was done and dusted, National Championship regular Peter Major went on to take a clean-sweep of race wins across the weekend. Lewis Sutherland was second for the weekend, with former State Champion Jason Youd making a comeback to finish third.

Despite the race three problem with the Formula Ford, it was a good weekend for the Howlett family. Michael’s father Grant Howlett took out the round in HQ Holdens, winning two of the three races, the other going to Steve Raisin.

In Saloon Cars, Nathan Callaghan took two race wins to seal round honours in the AU/VT class ahead of Michael Sciorio. In the EA/VN class, Rodney Graieg took a clean sweep of wins on his way to winning the round.

Recently-crowned Australian Sports Sedan Champion Tony Ricciardello made a triumphant return to state racing, dominating the Sports Sedan class in his famous red Alfa Romeo. Brian Edhouse finished second in all three races, but was no match for the powerful Alfa. In the Street Cars class, Andrew Stevens won two races to Paul Kluck’s one.

Richard Bennett and Walter Epple fought it out for Sports Cars honours in a battle of the Porsches.

While Epple drew first blood, Bennett fought back in Races 2 and 3 to win the round. It was an all Porsche affair in the Marque Sports Car class as well, with Shane Attwell and Chris Wilson.

Michael Henderson was the clear pace-setter in Formula Classic, his Ralt RT4 proving too fast for the rest of the field. Dick Ward was second in all three races in his Chevron B29.

David Clifford

James Smith

S ROUND

WA STATE

FINDING NINO TAS STATE ONLY one Tasmanian Champion had been crowned at the start of the final Round of the Tasmanian Super Series at Symmons Plains yesterday – the other nine categories were too close to call.

Formula Vee 1600 driver Matt Holmes was uncontested for the crown heading into the final In other categories, competitors were holding nothing back to win their respective classes, and this was evident by the number of off-track excursions during qualifying, as well as Formula Vee’s Liam Caplice losing a front wheel in Race 1 and a huge fender bender at the hairpin during

Sports GT involving Matthew Grace, Dane Smith and Matthew Grima.

The biggest news was that Nino Bocchino took out the 2011 Formula Vee championship after 11 years of trying and regularly being the bridesmaid.

Qualifying in Pole and winning the first race, Bocchino could not be beaten.

The 2011 honor roll reads as follows: HQ – Phil Ashlin, Formula Vee 1600 – Matt Holmes, Sports GTA – Brad Sherriff, Sports GTB – Matthew Grace, Sports GTC – Lincoln Spurr, Sports Sedan – Eric Taylor, Improved Production – Darren Martin, Historic Touring Cars – Mick Cross and Historic Regularity – Randall Langdon.

– DAVID CLIFFORD 33

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rear of grid

Making Plans

Ed Overit

WITH the end of Movember in sight, all we can say is, there have been some serious transgressions against decent grooming.

No, Sebastian Vettel did not ‘stache up to raise money for a worthy cause during the month. In fact, Seb was celebrating his 15th pole position of the season, a new record.

His effort beats the one previous held by Nigel Mansell, who took 14 poles (from 16 races) in 1992. It took Seb 19 races to do it, but never mind.

It is probably also timely to point out what while the British F1 press wants to see an Englishman in a McLaren win, and we Aussie media prefer our Red Bull wins to come via Mark Webber, Vettel is not only a fairly handy steerer but a good bloke, with an excellent sense of humour. There are many F1 drivers we cannot imagine donning a funny prop to poke fun.

ON THIS DAY 28 NOVEMBER 1992

AFTER 322 Grands Prix, Rubens Barrichello may have made his last Formula 1 start in Brazil. But 19 years ago, after a season in Formula 3000 and with an F1 deal in place for 1993, he stepped back to Formula 3, to race around the streets of Macau. Prior to the race, and with a fair bit of haird on board, he took to the local transport to learn the track, with team-mate Jordi Gene.

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