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No.356 7-20 March 2007 Australia $6.50 NZ $8.00 inc GST »■

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25 Motor Mouth

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26 Box Seat .■w

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Always look ofuthe Britek Side

82 Talk Converter X

Ownership Shmownership

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30 Five f^inutes with Rick Keliy V

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66 BrOg Racing 6Si iNationaTSeene

suiUghiniages.cofh Contents: mynsmMh, Phil Wttliams, sutt6h'images.com, John Morris, Marshall Cass

76 Race Shop/Industr.y Flews r/" 79 Classifieds

What can happen? DESPITE calls for sanctions

against HRT for its ownership

probiem, there appears to

l3e nothing thatTEGA can do

in the way of taking punitive

TEGA says: Own up! Holden Racing Team ownership wrangle continues

action against the team. TEGA's actions and

responsibilities are governed by the TLA and while Motorsport News has never had access to the confidential document, one team owner

● ●●

was willing to straighten out

a few myths surrounding the

THE clock continues to run, with no resolution yet

ongoing controversy - on

to the Holden Racing Team ownership issue. The factory team left Adelaide last Sunday with one of its drivers,Todd Kelly, leading the V8 Supercar

the condition that he remain anonymous.

"TheTLA is primarily a

Championship Series but no announcement from

either the team or theTouring Car Entrants Group that the issue of its ownership has been settled. TEGA has given the team until March 12 to, in its own

commercial document," he said, "and there are no

words,"resolve its outstanding control and ownership

issues to TEGA's satisfaction".

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Should HRT not do that, it is possible thatTEGA may terminate the team's two Level 1 licences (its permits to race in the series) and that the team would

Performance boss Tom Walkinshaw on the weekend

- regardless of the fact that as a supplier to the team,

of theVSSCS in Perth on March 23-25.

Walkinshaw has not official standing with TEGA.

Two weeks ago, the other Clayton-based team (Toll HSV Dealer Team) was cleared to compete when owner John Kelly was able to satisfy TEGA that it

"He requested the meeting,"O'Rielly said,"and Iam always happy to meet with people."

But despite meetings in that have stretched into

last weekend's Clipsal 500 round, there is yet to be a resolution to the situation and now other team

owners have weighed into the matter (see separate story). Mark Skaife, who TEGA recognises as the owner,

would not comment on the ownership issue, other than via a prepared statement: "I have no comment on any of this as we are

working on the resolutions as required by TEGA," said Skaife. "The Holden Racing Team is in Adelaide to race

competitively this weekend and that is our sole focus." On Monday TEGA Chairman Kelvin O'Reilly said that there was "no changes to report" in the matter, despite the fact that he met with Walkinshaw 4

TEGA can only issue a licence to compete in the series and

be forced to miss, at the very least, the second round

met the requirements laid out in theTeams Licence Agreement.

provisions in there for any kind of punishment should a team step outside the guidelines.

In a statement,TEGA included a pointed reminder

that"lt requires that teams are independently owned. It prohibits a situation where there is cross ownership or control of more than one team. The benefits of

ownership are personal to the legal and beneficial owner of the TLA and a controlling interest cannot

be transferred to any other entity without approval ofTEGA.

"Those persons who are granted a licence to compete must be of good character, and undertake to compete fairly and professionally and have the appropriate knowledge and qualifications to discharge the responsibility of a team owner in the best interests oftheVS Supercar Championship Series."

then terminate that licence, if

and when it sees fit to do so.

Any talk of fines, suspension or any other actions are complete rubbish and being spread around by people who have

no understanding of what is going on."

If that is correct, the only

acuon open to TEGA, should

the matter not be settled

March 12 deadline, would be

to terminate HRT's licences,

by Skaife Sports

Should that happen, the

company {or another entity,

should it come to that) would have to apply to TEGA to buy

the licences again and be

Clearly, theTEGA board has run out of patience and is applying pressure to the paries involved to resolve

vetted by the TEGA board.

the matter before it does.

For more, see Motor Mouth, page 25 motorsport news

NEWS

Team owners call for action Gore and Rogers demand TEGA take action and issue punishment to Holden's factory kingpin TWO prominent V8 Supercar

team owners have spoken out on TEGA's ongoing investigations into the ownership of the Holden Racing Team. Craig Gore has joined Garry Rogers in calling for action to be taken against the team

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sooner rather than later as TEGA ....

:■

investigates the relationship

between Mark Skaife and

Walkinshaw Performance.

Craig Gore: Astounded a resolution has taken so long.

fine ambassador or the sport,"

both TEGA and V8SA/AVESCO,

company, he has a conflict of

compared HRT and Toll/HSV to a single team. "I find that totally wrong they have not been punished," Rogers told Melbourne's

he said.

"But as a director of the

interests and clearly, with his

fiduciary duties, he should step down."

The Queensland businessman also criticised TEGA over the

length of time that the matter

Herald-Sun.

was taking.

"In the Teams Licence

Agreement there are a list of things you can or can't do. If

"The passage of time is disappointing. Ithink that it

you go outside those, you

is a whole lot easier to prove

addressed the media and asked

commit a material breach. And

why the HRT matter was taking so long. "Considering the things Ihad to do when Igot my licences and the scrutiny Iwas put under

there are some pretty severe punishments for breaching

ownership of something. Did he buy it? Does he own it? Ican prove that Iown this truck. Ican prove that iown this team this

one four-car team, it would

afternoon." Gore said that he wanted to

by the board - and Mark was part of it - Iam astounded that

have been OK, but they didn't,"

see penalties applied to the

Rogers continued. "They said

team.

we have not been able to clear

they were separate teams. Last

"The first one is that they are

this up very, very quickly. "I am not saying that he is

year they accepted they were grouped. They've got away with breaking the rules for two years."

asked to leave the series.That is obvious. Their licences should

Last week in Adelaide, Gore

guilty. "It is not hard to prove the contractual ownership of an

Garry Rogers: Wants HRT punished.

everybody." Rogers, until recently a long-time board member of

those.

"If they had owned up to being

Gore said he wanted to see

Skaife step down from his role

be revoked and penalties [applied of] up to $250,000 plus costs. We all need to play by the rules. Iam the only independent privateer in this series and

asset. Who owns the truck? Who

as a member of both boards but

owns the shirts? Who owns the

stopped short of seeking HRT's

cars? It is not that complicated. The reason that it is becoming

immediately exclusion from the

if Ihave to play by the rules,

category.

everyone should."

so complicated is what concerns

"Mark is a great driver and a

-PHILBRANAGAN

Bezzyls second SBR chance? DAVID Besnard is in line to drive for Stone Brothers

another chance.

Racing in the V8 Supercar endurance races this year. The former V8 Supercar regular is in contention to link up with his former team, having spent the past season racing in New Zealand with considerable success. After a

An announcement regarding SBR's endurance pairings is expected to come in the next few months. A possible Sandown and Bathurst line-up for the Stone Brothers team would see Besnard partner James Courtney in the Jeld-Wen Falcon, while Russell Ingall would be paired with his regular ring-in Luke Youlden.

couple of wayward V8 seasons withi WPS Racing, Besnard's renewed approach and fornj ipjliyZ'ihe sits.fourth in. the charnpionshipj'tmay seejRgss and^nn Stone give him

Besnard was drafted into the Stone Brothers team back in

v;.

2000, contesting two Development Series races. He drove with Tony Longhurst at Bathurst that year and came within iSine laps of taking an unlikely victory (until Longhurst

’'n'

grashed the car).

. Besnard stayed with.SBR in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, 'wlthi his ibest result coming at the Queensland 500 in 2002 ’/Vu'iwleni 'he won the race with Simon Wills.

yV' ijfii.MOS, he was drove the third Ford Performance Racing Paifeotiiy before two uninspiring seasons at WPS Racing.

The'likeable Queenslander decided to regroup in 2007 by leaving Australia's racing scene to drive in the New

lea'iand'feuping Car Championship. The plan has worked, with Besnard securing race wins, round victories and now, a

likely endurance drive with his old V8 Supercar team... -GRANT ROWLEY