POWER PLAY OZAIGP star for gold coastindy fHE NEWS BEHIND fHE NEWS
No. 320 12-25 October 2005 Australia $5.95 NZ $7.50 inci G5T
Allan Moffat Russell Ingall Chris Atkinson
news
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12-25 Icttkar 2005
WWW.m news«co m „a ri
news and opinion 4
Murph vs Marcos II And they haven't even arrived at Indy yet ... Power Games There’ll be a Champ Car at Indy with Will's name on it
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10 FI’s New(est) Rules Here comes another set of regs 11 Dropping the BAR From 2006, it’s pure Honda 25 Motor Mouth Moffat’s view of the Mountain 26 Box Seat Why motorsport journos are underpaid 90 Talk Converter Unsurprisingly, you lot have a bit to say about Bathurst
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BOSCH
featnres 28 Five Minutes With Russell Ingall Suddenly, The Enforcer is leading the series 30 Five Minutes With Chris Atkinson How to score a WRC podium in your first year
race coverage
32 MASSIVE BATHURST 1000 COVERAGE 34 So what did you do last Sunday? Words from the guys on the podium 36 We’re back at the Mountain! Chill out, it’s only practice 44 Saved By The Weather Only an overnight downpour stopped Craig Lowndes from pinching Murphy’s qualifying lap record 46 Hitmen Ford’s big guns misfire when it counts most, and HRT swoops in for the kill 56 1000km,161 Laps and 5 Key Moments How the Great Race was won and lost 58 Japan Maketh the Man Part 1 Kimi wins one of the great Grands Prix of the I. i III modern era
inOtOfSIlOn
BigHIJpST JAPAN
Fll/S Best GP for years?
Maketh the Man Part 2 Atko gets his first WRC
podium. Who cares who won?
regulars Photos: Cover: Marshall Cass Contents: Peter Bury, John Morris/Mpix & sutton-images.com
74 Speedway
76
23 Stateside 72 Rallying National Scene 83 Drag Racing 78
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We Agree te Disagi
Ambrose and Murphy were not that Mendly before Bathurst so, not much has changed... by CHRIS LAMBDEN NEITHER driver involved in the initial collision which brought on a 13-car shunt at Bathurst on Sunday is to be penalised. Both Greg Murphy and Marcos Ambrose were interviewed by V8 Supercar IPO Peter Wollerman, who also looked at in-car footage from three cars (the two combatants, plus Bargwanna's Orrcon Falcon) plus Channel 10 track footage. Wollerman "recognised that it is a difficult part of the track to overtake on" and, after consulting with Driving Standards Observer Colin Bond and looking at observer reports, determined that it was not likely to be clearly established that there had been a breach of the rules by either driver. ^ Accordingly, no further action was ; taken on the incident and the investigation was closed and a statement issued at 7.45pm Sunday. Unsurprisingly, neither driver was stepping back from his interpretation of the incident 24 hours later. "After Murph messed up the previous corner, I got alongside and past on the way up the hill," Marcos explained.
"1 turned across in a wide arc, not to the apex. I gave him a car and a half's width,I gave him racing room, and he chose not to take it. "You can't just drive into somebody under those circumstances - even though they'll claim that, following the ruling in Perth (where Marcos and Mark Skaife collided at Turn 1), you have to be completely past before you can turn across..." Murph, unsurprisingly,saw it differently; "Yes,I stuffed up the previous comer,and yes he was ahead of me, but he just carc'ed across aggressively, towards the apex, as if 1 wasn't there. I was. Our fate was sealed. I couldn't back out!" On one thing, the two agree - the Stewards have made their decision and everyone has to move on. Bearing in mind the decision reached in Perth, and the subsequent one following another Ambrose/Skaife collision (this time into a corner - Turn 3, Eastern Creek) where the cars were accelerating, and now tills, where the cars are in transition from acceleration to braking, could tlie rules of combat just be getting too complex?
Too Complex to Call?
THE Murphy/Ambrose collision at Bathurst on Sunday suggests that the increasingly complex interpretations of racing 'etiquette'- especially, it seems, going into corners - is close to getting beyond even the most experienced and talented of our V8 racers. Although there was clearly some overlap between the two cars involved on Sunday, the discussion (or thought process) now involves sufficient parameters that both drivers are convinced they were correct. Was it under brakes - certainly not acceleration - or was it in transit between the two? Or what? And what about 'racing room'? No wonder MNews’ guest observer at Bathurst, former winner John Goss (see page 54) was left hankering for the old days when the onus was simply on a passing car to complete the pass safely, "and people just didn't run into each other like they do today." Now life in general isn't that simple any more, but you see his point. Under the circumstances; the IPO made the only possible decision. And at the end of the day, both drivers were out of the Bathurst 1000. Maybe less regulation and a bit of 'self-policing'is the answer after all ... - Opinion by CHRIS LAMBDEN 4
Okay then - Who AS the race-defining significance of Sunday's'Balaclava incident'began to sink in on Monday, questions were being asked as to where the initial impetus for the scrutiny of the Pirtek Falcon came from - and the
suggestion is that it came from an opposing team. Wliile all parties concede that 'rules is rules', there is bemusement that the enforcement of balaclavawearing should become such an issue in the midst of the Bathurst 1000- the biggest V8 race of the year - and hit a single car vying for the lead of the race. And,MNews can reveal, the original impetus did not come from race stewards. "The original query came from an AVESGO official in pit lane," Chief Steward Steve Chopping told us on Monday. "Now,we didn't know who it was that alerted him,but once the allegation had been made, we had no option but to act. "The in-car TV images were inconclusive,so we stationed an observer down at the team's pit and he was no more than a metre or so away when Luff removed his helmet. There was no balaclava." A drive-through was the deemed penalty for Luff's infringement while - after a comical radio interrogation team boss Ross Stone called Ambrose
in to put one on before Stewards intervened and did the same anyway. Penalties for safety equipment infringements start at a $2000 fine, but the Stewards chose to implement a
Stop-Go. Why?
"The general process is one of 'fixing' the fault - ie a window safety net out of place usually draws a pit stop to fix it," confirmed TEGAGEO Kelvin O'Reilly on Monday,"so under that regime, a Stop-Go penalty is less than the time it would take to pit and fix the problem - as Ambrose did himself a few laps later." Ghopping concurred:"We don't allow teams to 'buy' their way out of a safety issue. The penalty is all about rectification." So why would this team - and others who seemingly went undetected take such a risk at such a big event, and on such a cold day? It is a fact that at Adelaide 18 months ago, the requirement for drivers to wear full fireproof underwear as well as the regulation 3layer suit was a hot topic. Dri\'ers were being roasted inside a steaming hot V8. In the end, practicality led to an 'understanding' betw'een drivers and officials that, as long as everyone was sensible, it wouldn't be policed vigorously from there on. Is that the gentleman's agreement that Ambrose referred to post-race on
motorsport news
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■ee, then?
James-San '/ P^iFrrE§< BOSCH tparti mugt
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STONE Brothers Racing is racing the clock to have Marcos
Ambrose's Falcon ready for next week's V8 Supercar round at the Gold Coast Indy. SBR co-owner Jim Stone said that at first look, the damage to the car was not sufficient to prompt the team to prepare the team's new but as-yet unraced Falcon BA in its 'home' event. On Monday afternoon, Ross Stone was confident the car could be refettled in time: "It'll be no problem," he said. "The car is about to arrive at the
y
ilew the Whistle? Sunday? Did it apply to balaclavas Marcos is sure that it does.
did bring the alleged infringement to the AVESCO official's notice? Was it a
The more sinister question, and it's one that Marcos was happy to pose again when he spoke with MNews on Monday, is why SBR's lead car was singled out, in the midst of the Bathurst 1000, for scrutiny. "If you examine footage throughout practice, qualifying, other races, you'll find plenty of guys who choose not to wear a balaclava at
rival team or teams? Has it really come to that? And really, why, given this was the biggest V8 race of the year, would not a $2000 post-race fine have been appropriate? The best summation of the entire
times," he told us. "Why us? And why then?" Indeed. A couple of questions remain: who
sorry saga came from a petrol-head MNews business contact who, like an average 1.3 million Aussies, sat rivetted to the box on Sunday: "Mate, it's a parking attendant mind-set, isn't it ?" Couldn't agree more, mate. -CHRIS LAMBDEN
workshop now and the boys, will n | be straight into it. It looked spectacular, but we don't think the damage is too great." However, Stone said that having the race on 'home' turf near its Yatala HQ was not a particular time advantage for the two-time Champion team. "We have to have the cars in [at the Indy track] by Tuesday," he said. "It will be a busy time." The team has a particular ^ affection for the Pirtek BA. Ambrose has driven the car in every race since the start of the 2003 season, even when he shared with Russell Ingall in the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 that year. , Ross Stone said recently that he intended to retire and keep the car at the end of the current season. The team is expected to field a new Falcon BF at the season opening Clipsal 500 next March. -PHIL BRANAGAN
Me tp your
RUSSELL Ingall may have left Bathurst without his much-wanted third 1000 title but he did leave with something else - the championship lead.
The Bathurst classic marked the point in the series at which a driver's worst score is dropped. After that process is completed. Ingall leads team mate and defending Champion Marcos Ambrose by a mere two points. "It is good to lead the Championship, but it is not a good way to do it," said Ingall after the race. "I would rather do it by sitting up there on the podium, which we should have been." Despite the fact that he is the man to chase. Ingall heads to one of his best track. Indy, with no change in attitude. 12 0clolier2005
"There is a lot of pressure on now. It is a true fight. It would be nice to have a lead of 100 points to cruise the last three rounds but that it not going to happen! "It is going to be an interesting few races." For more, see 5 Minutes with Russell Ingall, pages 28-29
Points: Ingall 1488, Ambrose 1486, T. Kelly 1412, S. Richards 1367. Lowndes 1339, Skaife 1334, Bright 1206, Tander 1198, Seton 1141, McConville 1137, R. Kelly 1116, Johnson 1108, Whincup 1067, Bowe 1055, Radisich 1022, Murphy 1008, Ellery 1000, Ja. Richards 971, Morris 839, B. Jones 831, Baird 804, Besnard 752, A. Jones 733, Weel 720, Bargwanna 713, Wilson 663, Ritter 649, M. White 523, Winterbottom 490, Tratt 459, Owen 434, A. Davison 431, Wills 403.
THE Bathurst rumour mill reheated the idea that the Holden Racing Team would run a third car n 2006 for James Courtney. However, even before the rookie tasted the wail at Reid Park, MNews sources suggest that a Japanese Super GT deal is only days away. We believe that manager Alan Gow will soon be speaking with the Toyota brass - but we keep hearing another manufacturer's name mentioned as well. ■ Hot tip of the week: V8 Supercars will continue to be at the Australian Grand Prix beyond the end of their current contract to 2006. But we also hear that the AGP round could become a round of the championship and that the Fords and Holdens will have their own pit lane. The site is around the back of the track, behind the support paddock. Stay tuned. ■ AVESCO is no mdrel No, the end of the world as we know it is not nigh. Instead, the Australian corporate overseer ASIC has posted the news that the Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company has notified its intention to change its name. We believe that from the start of '06, the organisation will be known simply as 'V8 Supercars'. ■ The Bathurst crowd was down this year, due largely to the inclement weather. A four-day total of 166,000 braved the chill, about 6000 down on last year. No reco'd Sorry. ■ Also down was the number of incidents on the mountain, AVESCO Events boss Shane Howard praising the fans for their exemplary behaviour. ■ Ford Performance Racing is a happy team that play together - and travel together. So it comes as no surprise that the lads from Broady will be flying to the Lexmark Indy together and in style. The Frappers will journey in one of OzJet's first flights, all Business Class and with that man Stoddy along for the ride. ■ The Best Western development at Mount Panorama has its first guest. Peter Brock unveiled the plans for the new 5-star complex last week and has signed up to be the resort's first apartmentee. In fact, the building site currently features a stand in the exact spot where Casa del Brock offers a crystal clear view of... the pits. ■ Jacques Villeneuve was stung with a 25 second penalty after race stewards judged that he was to blame for the crash that put Juan Pablo Montoya out of the race on the opening lap of the Japanese GP. The penalty drops the Canadian from 11th to 12th on the results.
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