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Australia $5.95 NZ $7.50 incl GST No. 289 August 4-17 2004

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news

Issue 289

4 — 17 August 2004

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42 McWinton Cam the Mac came back to where it all started to take his maiden V8 Supercar win - and Rick learns a lesson about the last lap 58 Film at 11 A Hockenhelm Schumi-fest as Michael jumps for the 11th time IllOtOiSPOfI ^ CA nni

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Lowndes to leave Ford Performance Racing andjoin Betta Electrical for V5 by PHIL BRANAGAN

THE biggest move of the V8 Supercar Silly Season has been decided - Craig Lowndes is going to Triple 8. The 30-year-old three-time cliampion will leave Ford Performance Racing at the end of the season and move to the Betta Electrical-backed Ford team to partner Max Wilson next season. The deal, which was signed late last week,is expected to be confirmed by Ford and the teams involved today (Wednesday). No details of the deal were available at the time MNews went to press but we believe that Lowndes's deal is for two years at least- the same length of time for which he remains contracted to Ford. The move will mean that Lowndes will race for his fourth Ford team in

five years, after joining Gibson Motorsport in 2001. The following year, that team transformed into 00 Motorsport under the direction of Bob Forbes, and Lowndes left at the end of the 2002 season to join FPR. MNews also understands that there were discussions between Lowndes and his management and FPR's David Flint and Prodrive managing director Nick Fry following the Winton round of the V8SCS last month. One of Fry's main tasks during his brief visit to Australia was to try and secure Lowmdes's signature on a new contract for 2005-06 (see interview, page 38-41) but his quest was unsuccessful. The main matter now to be settled wiU be who will replace Lowndes at FPR. While the team has not been commenting on the matter, we believe that Alain Menu is still the most likely contender. The two-time British Touring Car champion, who tested

with FPR at Winton last month, will share the second entry with Adam Macrow at Sandown and Bathurst and, while he had some difficulties adapting to the Falcon,is highlyregarded by the team. While a double change of driver line-up is not considered ideal, there is no certainty that Glerm Seton will remain with the team. When contacted by MNews,the h\'o-time champion, who is out of contract at the end of the year, was not able to comment on his status vdth the team for next season but his recent

performances in the #5 car have shown that Seton is competitive in the series. In a maiden run in a new car at Winton,Seton went from the back of the grid to 10th in the race and currently stands 12th in the V8SCS points table. Lowndes's move to Triple 8 is one that is certain to attract attention on both sides of the fence. Few drivers have genuinely feared Lowndes in his two years at FPR. He has only a single (and fortuitous) win at Phillip Island last year and podiums at Eastern Creek ('03 and '04) and Oran Park ('03) to show for more than 18 months

of ton.

But while T8's results this season have not been brilliant-Radisich is 11th in the championship and Wilson 24th - the prospect of Lowmdes teaming with engineer Campbell Little, who joined the team from Stone Brothers Racing at the end of last season,is one that offers enormous potential. Tliat was,in aU probability, one of the enticements to lure Lowndes to the Queensland-based team. There is also the matter of a retainer from the team,on top of the reported $700,000 retainer Lowndes gets from Ford. While Lowndes seems an expensive proposition,the likely increase in revenue from

At last, a Queensland team: Lowndes will move to the more local Triple 8 team after four years commuting to and from teams based in Melbourne. 4

merchandising sales alone mean that, even if the numbers are high, they are managable in the current climate. All this is likely to leave Ford fans happy - and be a real test for FPR. Without Lowndes,and potentially without Seton, estabUshing the team as a contender next year looks to be another cliallenge to add to a long list of challenges already faced by Ford's factory team...

Jllmate

STEVEN Richards may lose his points from the Winton round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series two weeks ago. Following post-race scrutineering of his Castrol Commodore VY, the V8SCS stewards have requested that Team Perkins Motorsport attend an inquiry at the next round of the series at Oran Park on Friday 13 August. The car failed to pass inspection over the forward (chassis) mounts of its rear suspension. oiororsport news

NEWS

its Man

Back in black

The Blue Bl

Lowndes's reetttts with Fo

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n Brock for the Olympics I As you read this, Peter Brock is packing his bags for a month-long trip to Athens with the Australian Olympic team. But don't start setting the VCR in the hope of seeing Brocky hurl a few javelins or jump on a horse for some equestrian action. Brock will reprise the Athlete Liason role that he filled in Sydney in 2000. He will be available to all of Australia's Olympians to draw upon his own experience and offer advice and support in areas such as motivation and dealing with pressure.

2001 Gibson Motorsport 3 podiums (Phillip Island, Oran Park, Sandown) 11th overall

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2002 00 Motorsport 0 podiums 7th overall

2003 Ford Performance Racing 1 win (Phillip Island) 3 podiums (Eastern Creek, Oran Park, Bathurst) 5th overall | 2004 Ford Performance Racing 0 wins, 1 podium (Eastern Creek) 27th overall (to date)

Richo Out?

8 SO

mMm go over suspension irregularity

TEGA's V8 Supercar Category Technical Director reported that the car was not in compliance with V8 Supercar Rules C2.2.2 and C3.1.1 at the conclusion of the race. The rule relates to the mounting of the rear suspension. Previously, there has been a 20mm allowance in any direction from the homologated mounting position but this changed at the start of the 2004 season as part of Project Blueprint. Now, the allowance is permitted only in a vertical line, as opposed to 4 August 2004

forward or aft of the homologated point, or laterally. While Perkins could not be contacted for comment, it is believed this was the case in this example. The matter places the team in a potentially difficult situation. Opposition teams have been quick to point out that Larry Perkins has been quite outspoken this season about technical infringements that have seen cars fail scrutineering but their drivers keep their points, like in the recent Marcos

Ambrose example at the Queensland 300. Should the stewards find the charge proved, Perkins is likely to suggest that a similar punishment be applied in this case, although there is considerable debate as to whether the infringement was 'performance-enhancing'. Should Richo lose his points from Winton, he would fall from second in the series (five points behind Jason Bright) to fourth, behind Rick Kelly and Ambrose. - PHIL BRANAGAN

TEGA will announce soon that Dunlop has won the contract to supply control tyres for the V8 Supercar Championship Series and Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series. We hear that the deal will be for three years and that, initially, the specification for the tyres will be similar to those currently in use. However, we hear that either size or specification may change during the length of the deal, depending on changes proposed as part of TEGA's cost-containment policy.

n Craig Lowndes's race engineer Des Conway was the first to feel the pinch of Prodrive Managing Director Nick Fry's flying visit to the embattled FPR outfit at Winton two weeks ago. Conway was relieved of his post early on Saturday morning and immediately returned to Melbourne, where he has been re-deployed in a workshop-based position. Engineering duties on the #6 Falcon will now be handled by FPR Technical Director John Russell. n Australian Formula 3 team BRM has signed Indonesian driver Ananda Mikola to join the team for the next two rounds of the Asian F3 Championship. : The 24-year-old will drive for the team at the Goldenport circuit in Beijing this month, and then again at Sentul in Indonesia in October. Mikola has previously driven in Italian F3 and the Dallara Nissan World Series, as well as a stint with top International F3000 team Astromega, and won five rounds of the 2001 Central European F3 championship for the Prost team. n You know how it is. You are in Moscow for Borscht Week and you want to keep up with the latest V8 Supercar round. Weep in the beets no longer, pilgrims; Australia's leading Internet services provider BigPond has announced its broadband website v8supercars.bigpond.com is now accessible to BigPond Broadband customers from anywhere in the world. All you need is an account, a broadband connection and a username and password. And somewhere to put the borscht. 5