Motorsport News Issue 414 - December 2011

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FORMULA UN INDIA: WHY IT WORKED

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V8 STAR EXPLAINS HIS SWITCH TO SBR 1

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THIS MONTH’S FEATURES Unusual Suspects

The Grid

k. ^ Depending on context, being a Wanted Man can be a good thing and a bad thing. For Lee Holdsworth,it was a good thing - he's landed a plum drive at SBR for 2012.

ROLUNG STONE Lee Holdsworth has been the key ofthe V8 Supercar silly season this year. He opened up to MNews about why he chose the Stone Brothers.

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'S3 He has one heck of a surname, and Marcel Stawiczny is one heck of a photographer. For this issue, he went all the way to Austria to shoot the stunning Red Bull Ring, nee A1 Ring, in Spielberg.

r Patrick Long is a professional racecar driver, and his brother is also a professional sports star - but you'd be unlikely to guess which sport Head to page 32 to find out

Without even racing at the Indian Grand Prix, Karun Chandhok was one of the stars of the show. That's why we got him to talk on FI's first outing in New Delhi, and what it means for the country and the sport.

It wasn't that long ago that few knew who Patrick Long was. Now, he’s considered a V8 Supercar gun.

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It's been a tough road at Williams for Aussie engineer Sam Michael. He reflected on his time at Grove, and his future with McLaren.

Formula Ts eastern expansion hasn't got a 100 percent strike rate, but it seems India might just work.

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NATIONAL FEATURES

NEWS

Editorial Executive Editor Phil Branagan editor@mnem.com.au Assistant Editor Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au Special Projects Editor Steve Normoyle snormoyle@chevron.com.au National Editor Mitchell Adam mitchell@mnews.com.au

The Grid 1

Editorial Enquiries

357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC,3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC,3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au

With a Formula Ford title and Bathurstdebut to his name, Cameron Waters has had a big year. MNewsspeaks to the young gun aboutit

Contributing Writers

Mark Glendenning, Bruce Moxon, Mat Coch, Geoff Rounds, Lachlan Mansell, David Greenhaigh, Paul Carruthers

Photography

Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, John Morris, Andrew Hall,James Smith, Geoff Grade, Phil Williams, Peter Bury, Rob Lang Cover Design; Chris Currie

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Germany vs. France vs. Japan vs. Italy Ho,it's not a super war. It's the resurgent sportscar racing scene

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Does this track Ring a bell?

Advertising NationalSales Manager Luke Finn lfinn@chevron.com.au P 02 9901 6100

MNews checks in at Austria's rebuilt A1-Ring 74

Chairman, Chevron: Ray Berghouse Circulation Director: Carole Jones

Tony Ricciardello added another Sports Sedan title to his resume in 2011

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For Loveil or Money After two years on the sidelines. Matt Lovell returned to Saloon Cars in 2011... and won!

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Commodore Commander

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Ross McGregor has been a mainstay and key behind-the-scenes player in Commodore Cup

REGULARS

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The Front Row

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Motor Mouth with Phil Branagan

Chief Executive Officer, David Gardiner Commercial Director, Bruce Duncan

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On The Limiter with Chris Lambden

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Bits & Pieces

18

Winding Back

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Box Seat

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Model Behaviour

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Trade

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Classifieds

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The Final Word with Paul Cruickshank

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Item #18416

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

The cars were set to race, with the starter flag lifted to its highest pointJones’ Lola took offseconds before the flag had dropped.

Knowing his mistake Jones pressed hard to try and limit the damage from his inevitable I min stop-go penalty. With Jones seemingly out of contention the race was between Brown in his Lola, Peter Gethin in a Chevron and John Goss in a Matich.

Jones charged from the back of the field, on his way setting the fastest lap of 66.4s. He was able to catch up to Goss who sat in 3rd place but his climb through the field was halted when he ran out oflaps. Jones finished forth only 2s behind Goss, Brown won the race with Gethin finishing 15s behind in 2nd.

m For more details contact Classic Carlectables on Freecall 1800 088 564 The race cockpit dash features detailed instrumentation with chrome trim.

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THE FRONT ROW since we last met FORMULA 1 Something strange happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; Sebastian Vettel didn't win.

In fact, he didn't even finish. After taking a recordequalling 14th pole position of the season,Vettel stormed off the line - but he only made it toTurn 2, where he had a race-ending tyre failure.

Vettel's demise opened the door for Lewis Hamilton to cruise to an easy win ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, who battled a KERS problem throughout the race. MarkWebber was fourth.

while Daniel Ricciardo was racing Timo Glock for a spot in the late teens before he had an alternator failure with just a handful of laps left to run.

Vettel had no such problems a fortnight earlier in India, storming to victory at the inaugural Indian GP. Button held on to Vettel, but never realistically looked as if he would challenge for the win.

Behind the top two, Alonso and Webber fought it out for the final podium spot, with Alonso grabbing the advantage during the last round of stops and holding off the Aussie by just over a second.

WORLD RALLY CHAMPS Sebastien Loeb is now an eight-time World Rally Champion,after a bizarre final round in Wales recently.

Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen went into Rally GB separated by just a few points, and early on Day 1 it was shaping up to be a ripper fight, with Hirvonen leading Loeb. But a seemingly harmless spin damaged the radiator on Hirvonen's Ford Fiesta, ending his rally and his title hopes.

While Hirvonen's retirement handed Loeb the title, the Frenchman didn't make the end of the rally either. He was involved in a road crash on a transport stage later in the rally, retiring on the spot. It is believed the other car was driven by a friend of Spaniard Dani Sordo, who was once Loeb's team-mate at Citroen.

By that point. Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala had charged into the lead, and he held on to win from Mads Ostberg and Henning Solberg.

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eNews of the Month FORMULA 1 VS TONY SOPRANO Formula 1 is heading to New York - sort of.

From 2013 onwards,a Formula 1 Grand Prix will be held in the shadow of New York's Manhattan Island, however the race itself will be just across the Hudson River - and state border - in Port Imperial, New Jersey.The race is set to be the second event in the United States, with Texas expected to hold a race from 2012 onwards.

V8 SUPERCARS Tasmania left the 2011 V8 Supercar Championship is a two-horse race. Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were,to that point,the last two drivers with a mathematical chance of taking the title.

But it is Whincup with the edge following races on the Gold Coast and at Symmons Plains in Tasmania. Out of the three races across those two meetings, Whincup took three wins(one on the Gold Coast and two in Tassie).

Even better for Whincup was that Lowndes struggled on the Gold Coast. On the Saturday, while Whincup and Sebastien Bourdais were busy winning, Lowndes'#888 Commodore spent most of the race in the garage with an electrical problem.

The result was a 150-point swing in the points.The next day, Whincup and Bourdais finished second to Mark Winterbottom and Richard Lyons, while Lowndes and Andy Priaulx were in the wilderness again,finishing 20th after being stacked during a Safety Car pit-stop.

In Tasmania, Whincup romped away to two wins, while Lowndes could only manage a second on Saturday and a fifth on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ford Performance Racing seems to have put its soft tyre woes to bed.The team looked very racey in Tasmania, finishing Sunday's race with a 2-3-4 behind Whincup,Will Davison leading home Winterbottom and Paul Dumbrell.

The New Jersey event will be run on a 5.1 kilometre street circuit right on the banks of the Hudson.The event will be known as the Grand Prix of America, with the Texan event already locking in the United States Grand Prix title.

HOLDSWORTH/SBR CONFIRMED Lee Holdsworth has officially been confirmed as a Stone Brothers Racing driver for 2012.

The team has announced that Holdsworth will replace Alex Davison in the IRWIN-backed car next season.

"The V8 Supercar Championship Series is the most competitive of its type in the world, and you have to keep chasing what you think will give you an advantage over the opposition,"said team boss Ross Stone.

"The opportunity to sign Lee was presented to us, and Jimmy[Stone] and I thought he would be a great asset in 2012 and then into 2013, with the introduction of the Car of Future."

DAVO, J, TESTS AN INDYCAR James Davison has tested for IndyCarteam Andretti Autosport- and is hopeful of a drive next season.

The young Australian spent a day in one of the team's 2011-spec Dallara-Hondas at Palm Beach,an experience that he hopes may lead to an IndyCar gig in 2012.

"I didn't find the performance overwhelming at all," he said.

"Physically, it wasn't too bad. 1 have not driven for six months and I knew the first part of the day was going to be a challenge - by the end of the day I left like I was back in the groove of driving on the limit."

POLO WRC BREAKS COVER IN GERMANY

MOTOGP Casey Stoner finished his championship-winning season off in fitting style - with a win in Valencia.

The Honda rider was on pole by a mile in Spain, but in the race he faced some stiff opposition from American Ben Spies, in fact, Stoner pipped Spies at the finish line by just 0.015s. Andrea Dovizioso was third.

Meanwhile, Michele Pirro took an emotional Moto2 win for Gresini,just a fortnight after the team's MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli was killed in Malaysia.

www.mnews.com.au

Volkswagen has officially begun testing its Polo WRC car.

The German carmaker will enter the World Rally Championship in 2013,and recently gave its prototype Polo R WRC its first proper shakedown.The car was driven by both two-time World Rally Champ Carlos Sainz and VW board member Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, with the Polo completing more than 100 kilometres of running through the Veldenz vineyards in Germany.

"The car is still in its early stage but already feels good," said Sainz."It's very important to get to know the first real car as early as possible.

Motorsport eNewsavailable 8pm Mondays. www.mnews.com.au

9

.|PHIL

BRANAGAN

pass are words that either say or mean, 'Motor Racing is corporate invite or series Dangerous'. People may argue “ the merits of whether the far distant sidelines there wording is absolutely accurate HE start of November have been comments about but there is little argument also ended October. that racing is not safe. Steps motorsport that have hurt Thank goodness. have been taken, by many many, and in the name of what, My younger son I do not know. people working hard,and was unwell for a day in latespending much money over a I have a problem with that.

October,and the day I stayed long period of time,to make home with him ended four The opinionistas who make these comments do the lives, motorsport less injurious than weeks without a day off. And the careers of those we have it once was. But, by its very H know I had it easy compared lost no service at all. I can see n definition, motor racing is not to some in motor racing, safe. no honour in making yourself particularly those with cars I have seen terrible things look taller by standing on the ^:to mend after Bathurst or the shoulders of dead racers. in this sport. I watched as flag Gceoo. marshal David Crouter was If you will allow me,I have . N.ovember also ended a bad, struck by a car and killed at had this thorn in ririy paw bad^rnonth for the sport.The Winton. I was at Albert Park for a while now.l-have read deaths of Dan wi:)eldon and headlines like'DEATH RACE' when Graham Beveridge was : Marco Silrioncelli took from and'DEATH ALLEY'in recent hit by an errant wheel,and lost ^ us two men oftowering talent his life. I have seen drivers not timies, no doubt published in and flashing personalities,and a bid to do what tabloid news come back to their garages rnfen who were sons, brothers, and watched as shocked, outlets design headlines to do f fnends and in^the case of disbelieving men and women T evoke an emotional response.

EWlfdldon,a husba.Q(ji%nd a pack up their pit gear,either My problem jvjth that is in this ^ather?BB:^will be missed, by wondering if the worst had sport, death is not a headline pmany^edple. n happened to their driver,or or a punchline - it is real. ^^helr deaths also brought, knowing that it had. ; gjnfortunately,the opportunity People lose fathers and sons, In two decades of working : for some uninformed husbands and partners. in the sport, i have recognised When you come into a race :xcommenttb make it into that it is not a great place meeting,somewhere on your n the public arena. From the to be if feeling like the general admission ticket. |fsidelinessfor some,the MOTOR MOUTH

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smartest person in the room is important to you.

Clever people are even now investigating what happened in these tragic events,and documenting what might be done better to avoid such things recurring in the future.

As certain as teams and drivers work their hardest to go faster, a parallel process continues to make it less of a threat to everyone's safety - drivers, spectators, officials.

So,if I can be indulgentgodspeed Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli. My sincere condolences go out to their families and friends,their teams and fans.To all those folk working on making the sport better and safer; all power to you.

And to those who seek attention in a field about which they may know little, or nothing; you have a right to your opinions,of course.

But for right now,if you don't mind, please do Dan and Marco the honour of keeping them to yourself.To many, many people,their careers, their lives mean way more than just another headline.

/ can see no honour in making yourselflook taller by standing on the shoulders ofdead racers 10

motorsport news

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ON THE LIMITER

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PONSORS come and go in motorsport (or sport in general for that matter)- it's a commercial fact of life.

Whether it is event sponsorship,team sponsorship, or even individual personal sponsorship,there does generally come a time when maximum value has been had; when the various benefits of association with the particular sport or individual have been maximised, exploited, and the law of diminishing returns means that to go on Is hard to justify in either a business, or even emotional, sense.

There have been some notable exceptions, sponsorships which defy the norm and seem to go on for ever - Ford's sponsorship of the Geelong AFL team for example, which has apparently been in force for over 100 years!That has much to do with the community in which Ford operates as anything else, but there are other long-term associations : that continue on successfully across decades.

In motorsport terms, Marlboro's programme with firstly McLaren,then Ferrari, worked brilliantly for over

20 years. Indeed,thanks to a slightly controversial arrangement, whereby Philip Morris'buys'the Ferrari livery and'on-sells'it to other companies, it remains involved today, albeit in an increasingly subliminal fashion.

In IndyCar/CART, Chip Ganassi's relationship with Target has continued for over 20 years.

How companies use their sponsorships is an increasingly complex process. Gone, mostly, are the days when money changed hands,a sticker was applied to a racecar, and all parties hoped for some 'exposure', via either print or, increasingly importantly, television.These days, people with marketing degrees oversee the program and, in as much as it can be measured,the benefits are quantified.That philosophy reaches its peak with major events, where State governments are involved, and such things as 'community benefit'involving tourism revenues and the like are used to justify the use of taxpayer monies in a sponsorship mode.

Sponsorship has always involved a philosophy whereby, in order to maximize the return, a smart company should back

up it's direct sponsorship spend with additional supporting marketing on a dollar for dollar basis - ie for every dollar invested directly Into a sporting team,for example,allow a further dollar to let the world know about it. These days, with the relatively high cost of some sponsorships,that 1:1 ratio has probably slipped a bit, but the theory remains.

Some companies do this better than others;some fall short; and, yes, there are still sponsorships out there that exist primarily thanks to the sporting whims and interests of the CEO! I mention all this because in the past couple of weeks Fujitsu (or specifically Fujitsu General, which I'm sure you know sells air-conditioning systems) has announced that, after six years in the role, it won't be renewing its sponsorship of the V8 Supercar development series, the Fujitsu series.(The company is of course retaining its highprofile involvement with Garry Rogers Motorsport.)

While that's a shame and can be understood on the basis of that law of diminishing returns, it's an opportunity to pat a company on the back which, in my view, has made its sponsorship programs work, and provides a solid blueprint for others.

It took a while. Remember

the somewhat complex deal whereby Fujitsu sponsored Jason Bright's debutant V8 Supercar team, while the man himself went and drove for FPR? The company was, in my view, remarkably loyal.

More recently, it has hit the V8 jackpot with its association with GRM, but along the way put its name to the Development series, has backed a young driver in that series and, most recently, has put its name to a young talent program,the Fujitsu 'Cool'Driver Program, involving karting and Formula Ford.

At the same time,the company has been active in the media - part of that dollar-fordollar theory - ensuring that the link is made between all of this activity,TubbyTaylor, and just what Fujitsu General is about air-conditioning. While there are still occasionally 'brands' involved in motorsport of which I have no idea what they actually do,the same can't be said for Fujitsu.

I'm not privy to the company's internal data, but I would suggest its motorsport sponsorship programs have been very effective.

No doubt V8 Supercars will attract a suitable replacement sponsor for its development series. Whoever it turns out to be doesn't have to look too far to see how to utilise it to best effect.

12 motorsport news

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SPEEDTV.COM.au H speed tv AUSTRALIA fe@SPEEDTVAUS

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it Lane What some of our readers think of Russell Ingall heading to Walkinshaw Racing for 2012

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The future of V8 Supercars isn't in it's past, but with young drivers like Fabian Coulthard taking it forward.

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One thing this deal will do is give us a very clear indication of where Russell is in his career. Can he still mix it?

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This is more about a stable future for Supercheap rather than boosting Russell's career.

GarthTander What's HE doing there?!

Don’t forget to tweet us your thoughts @motorsportnews!

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1

In which year did Lee Holdsworth first race a V8 Supercar? And with which team was it?

2

Holdsworth has raced in two categories other than V8 Supercars at national level. Name them.

3

Who did Patrick Long punt out of the lead in a NASCAR Nationwide race at Infineon Raceway last year??

4

With which team did Sam Michael kick-start his Formula 1 career?

5

And with which team will he work for in 2012?

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motorsport news

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MY FAVOURITE RACE ALLAN SIMONSEN - SILVERSTONE FIA GTS,2006

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HIS is a tough call; I've got a lot of favourite races!

There is one in particular that I do remember. It was 2006, at Silverstone, and it was the first-ever round of the European FiA GTS Championship, it was the new era of GTS cars, and no-one realiy knew what GTS was going to be ali about.

As it was,51 brand new GTS cars turned up for that race, and everyone was like'wow, how big is this going to be?' it's a ProAm championship, and i raced with my usuai team-mate Hector Lester in a Ferrari 4S0. i qualified second for the race, and then Hector started the race for us. It was a one-hour race, but he got pushed off atTurn 4 early on and ended up in the gravel. Because Silverstone is such a iong track, and the marshais are so

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fast, they actually got him out before the Safety Car he had caused caught him up!

So he managed to catch up to his own Safety Car, and take up last place in that 51-carfield.

He pitted after 2S minutes in 44th piace, and i took over for the iast 37 minutes. As soon as i took over, it started drizzling, and we were ali on slicks in light rain. It just suited me perfectly, and suited our car perfectly - so I managed to win the race, i passed the last car on the start/finish straight to be the first ever winner of an FiA GT3 race. Even though it wasn't a major championship, it was pretty speciai. It was something that meant a lot to me and it was probably the most fun I've had in a car.

Allan SImonsen spoke to Phil Branagan

k

It’s part of our sport.

It’s a terrible thing, but unfortunately in our sport we’ve had a lot of days like these. They suck, but that’s the way it is.

Michael Andretti takes a realistic view of Dan Wheldon’s fatal IndyCar crash

www.mnews.com,au

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peforeRed Bulls couldsoarlike eagles.

WefeWerelffew hurdles to beovercome.

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OWADAYS,one expects to see Red Bulls dominating Grands Prix.

Sebastian Vettel and,to a lesser extent, Mark Webber have been the form men in Grand Prix racing, particularly over the last two seasons. Adrian Newey's cars have been the class of the field, Renault's V8s have more than matched the rival motors from Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari and the cream has risen to the top.

And that is what is supposed to happen in motor racing.

But that was not always the case. In fact, the first Red Bull was a bit of a... dog. Well,'dog'is perhaps not the most accurate description. Maybe the RBI was a bit of a dog-bull hybrid.

The year was 2005. At the end of the preceding season, there had been no Red Bull Racing in Formula 1. It was Jaguar Racing

that ended the 2004 season, with a future surrounded by doubt.

The plan to brand what had been Stewart Grand Prix'Jaguar'had turned out to be an expensive disaster for Ford, which was looking for options for what to do with Jaguar Cars. But before it got to that point, it needed a new owner for the racing team.

In stepped Red Bull's co owner Dietrich Mateschitch.

Not content with 'just'being a sponsor in FI, he secured the team's future and the following year, when the teams assembled at Albert Park for the seasoner opener,there were two Red Bull RBls on the grid.

They looked like Jagsbecause largely, that is what they were.The designers who penned the Jaguar R5, Mark Smith and Rob Taylor, were the same; it had a Cosworth VI0 engine (though it was different

!

18 motorsport news

Webber was starting from grid 3; behind him was the first of the Red Bulls, David Coulthard's.

At the start - and this is hardly surprising now - Webber was not well away and DC dived past at the first corner, emerging in fourth position.

And that was the story of the race. Another change made for the 2005 season was the tyre changes during races were prohibited. You could put fuel in whenever you liked, but the rubber had to run the distance so the rules were, in effect, the to the previous year's version); reverse of what they are today. the car ran on Michelin tyres.

So, with tyre conservation There was a lot of Jag DNA in the utmost in the drivers' minds, first Red Bull. everyone was being careful not Which was a part of its, er, to flat-spot a tyre. Again it was a charm.The Australian Grand rule so hair-brained that it was Prix flattered to deceive; at the thrown out as soon as it could time,the grid was decided on realistically be discontinued. aggregate qualifying times, so So, Webber stayed close, but when Giancarlo Fisichella got was unable to get past DC.The the best of the weather in a wet veteran held the Williams at bay Saturday session, he planted his for the whole race and so, Red Renault on pole.The system was Bull scored a fourth place on debut. confusing and unfair, and was abandoned shortiy thereafter.

"I followed that thing the whole Had the revised system been in race,"said Webber."! was thinking place, Mark Webber would have 'That car is going to stop, it is going taken pole for Williams, and RBR's to stop; but it didn't. But actually I debut in its own name would am happy for the guys down there at Red Bull because I know the shit have likely turned out much differently. they have been through."

Red Bull gives you... palm trees: When Red Bull's first bespoke Grand Prix car was rolled out at the start ofthe 2005season it looked fairly conventional.

David Coulthard took the first corner of the season off Mark Webber,left, and held the Aussie offfor fourth at Albert Park.

The Scotshared the driving duties with both Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi, bottom, in a rather unconventional arrangement.

www.mnews.com.au

Webber was, of course, referring to the uncertainty that Jaguar Racing had been through in'04. His equanimity was, perhaps, noted in RBR's corridors...

Anyway,so far as results were concerned, that was the highlight of the season for RBR. For the next 18 races, the Bulls struggled, particularly as the team employed the somewhat odd strategy of having Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi share the team's second entry. Klein did three races, then Liuzzi four.

The Austrian slotted in for the rest of the season, leaving Liuzzi (and probably, everyone else) confused. Coincidentally, six years later, both drivers showed up to drive FPR Falcons in the GC600, neither looking especially impressive.

DC managed another fourth, in Germany, and by the time the points were totted up at the end result of the season, RBR was seventh in the Constructors'title - exactly matching the position that Jaguar had scored the year before.The following year, RBR also managed to finished seventh in the Constructors with its RB2,so on the face of it, not much had been made in the way of progress.

But the most important occurrence happened off the track, in November '05, Red Buil Racing announced that Adrian Newey(whom had been close to joining Jaguar five years earlier) wouid join the team.

The first thing the design guru wanted was a Renault engine deal; problem was, RBR had an ongoing deal to race with Ferrari motors. A deal was done; the Ferrari deal went to Toro Rosso (a relationship that continues to this day), Newey got his Renaults and set about changing the direction of motor racing, again.

Coulthard scored Red Bull Racing's first podium at Monaco in 2006 but the second, which Webber nailed at the Nurburgring a year later, was perhaps more telling. Down the pitlane at Toro Rosso on the same weekend,a dispute between driver Scott Speed and team management saw a parting of the ways with the American.

In his place, STR recruited Vettel to the team for the rest of the season. At that stage, the wunderkind had one GP start, with BMW, under his rather narrow belt. In 2008 he won at Monza, before he moved to Red Bull.

And the rest is history.

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FEW weeks ago, my significant other announced that she wanted to see the Senna documentary. She's not remotely interested in motorsport, but had heard enough other people who are not remotely interested in motorsport say good things about it to decide that it was worth checking out for herself.

So we watched it. She made most of the right noises at most of the right bits, and occasionally asked questions about some of the racing-specific stuff that she wasn't up to pace with, but when the story reached its

sad coda at Imola,she asked me something that had me stumped;"Why did they restart the race?"

Up to that point I'd been performing the role of motorsports-guy-in-residence with aplomb, batting away questions about the design of Formula 1 cars, the technical rules, and the sport's history as if it was the first round of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'.

But for this one, I couldn't even have phoned a friend, because most of them would have come up with the same unsatisfactory answer that I did. Why did they restart the race? Because that's how it has always been.

Mercifully, the sport's ongoing efforts to improve safety have meant that Formula 1 has not been faced with that situation since, but I was reminded of the conversation in the aftermath of the IndyCar race at Las Vegas.

The series has been the target of widespread criticism in the weeks since Dan Wheldon's crash,some of it borne out of spite rather than legitimate concern,and much of it misinformed. A full understanding of the circumstances that|ed to Wheldon's accident won't be possible until IndyCar's investigation is complete.

The last thing I want to do is join the chorus of pointless static by espousing my own views on what could have been done to change the outcome of that crash,or better yet, prevent it from happening in the first place. But I will say that in a decade of motorsport Journalism, I've stood a couple of feet from wildly-sliding rally cars in forests. I've stood on the edge of the low wall on the outside of the Swimming Pool complex at Monaco, where there are no barriers and the cars miss you by Just a few inches,and neither were as scary as being down at the fence at Turn 1 at Texas Motor Speedway with an IndyCar

motorsport news

MARK

IGLENDENNING

an attempt to restart hammering past. It makes you the race looked like the wonder how every accident last thing that anyone isn't catastrophic, and in wanted. doing so, drives home how much work on safety has I hope we're never faced with the need to fast, especially in top-level already been done.

It's a matter of some make the same call in an FI motorsport,and b)you're not really aware of it even though irony that despite all the race again, but it's interesting to wonder now whether the it's happening around you.If accusations that the series put you don't believe me,go and 'showbusiness'ahead of safety, 1994 San Marino Grand Prix find a picture of the McLaren would have gone ahead had the one thing IndyCar CEO MP4/22,anF1 car from just four Senna's accident happened in Randy Bernard got absolutely the present day.The year 1994 seasons ago. Don't those viking right was the decision not to restart the race. Since time horn things sticking outfrom still seems relatively modern below the airbox look... dated? immemorial the prevailing I tend to measure the passing wisdom has been that"the It's my suspicion that the of time through music,and recently-retired generation of it doesn't seem that long ago show must go on", but it's hard indyCars will seem similarly that Soundgarden released to imagine that a half-hearted race with about 15 cars would 'Superunknown'. That period - possibly even recklessly quaint before too long. Even certainly didn't feel like the have been more respectful to before the Wheldon crash, dark ages when we were in Wheldon's memory than the the middle of it. there were things about those five formation laps that the cars that obviously needed But you only need to watch field completed once the full addressing.Their propensity footage from back then - or, gravity of the situation was clear. to catch fire is something that if you have the opportunity, hasn't been raised in the past inspect an FI car from the Judging from the standing couple of weeks, but hopefully mid-1990s at close quarters ovation in the grandstands, this will be addressed on the (ideally while it's not moving) it appeared to strike a chord new Dallara DWl 2.They also with the fans,too. It's hard to to be starkly reminded seemed to lose their wheels that a) progress happens tell from a YouTube clip, but

too easily in an accident.

The FIA has offered to step in and advise the series on safety measures,and figures from within FI have said that communication has begun to and fro across the Atlantic so that both championships can share information about safety and learn from each other. But why wasn't this being done beforehand?

Communication is now free and instant; research is slow and expensive.

Surely having open channels about this sort of stuff can only be of benefit to everybody,and it's staggering to think that it might have taken a crash like the one in Las Vegas for everyone to realise that you don't have to rely solely upon what's going on in your own backyard.

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LEE HOLDSWORTH SPENT A FAIR BIT OF 8011 SORTING THROUGH WHICH VB SUPERdi^ TEAM HE WOULD MOVE TO NEXT SEksoffS TOLD PHIL BRANACAN WHY HE IS LEAViSr ORM AND WHY THE STONE BROTHERS wSTB THREE-TEAM BATTLE FOR HIS SIGNATURE*

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OTORSPORT NEWS:Was there any thought at any time that you might be at Garry Rogers Motorsport for your entire career?

LEE HOLDSWORTH: At the start, I always thought that I could win a championship there. I had a lot to learn when I got there and I was building up to the team's speed.

There were certain things that I thought would help the team, year-in, year-out. Garry did some of those things, which did help, but I knew it would take a little bit more to win the championship than what we were doing.

It got to a point, probably, in the fourth or fifth year,that I realised that unless I made a big change, I was not going to win a championship.The first four years, I was thinking,"We can make this happen".

Is this a little bit like running away from home? You have been with GRM for your whole V8 Supercar career.

Yes, I suppose it is.

I was saying to someone not that long ago that going to Garry, and actually telling him that I was not going to be with him next year, I felt like I was breaking up a marriage!

He gave me my shot and he has been very

supportive. I have become very close with him and a lot of the guys in the team.

To walk away from it now, it's hard, and I am sure that I am going to miss it. We have a lot of fun but now is the time for me.This is the time in my career that I need to step up and to get into a team that has won championships.They know how to do it; they have proven that they know how to do it. It is time for me to compete for championships.

You have won races at GRM and you have been on podiums,as recently as Surfers. Is that where the team is? Is that the limit of GRM at the moment? Winning races but not championships?

Yeah, I suppose so.

We pushed really hard and the guys in the team have worked as hard as anyone, but we don't have the budget,obviously.

Fujitsu coming on board was a huge thing for our team. We took another step forward when we got them. Also, getting Richard Hollway and Pierre Orsi, who came back from overseas,from Red Bull, they are very smart guys and for Garry to take them on was a big move.That should

help the team take another step forward, but we need something more significant than that to allow the team to compete for championships.The team needs more money and development;that is probably where the team lacks.

To get a podium feels like a win,and I think that everyone in the team should feel pretty proud when we get podiums.They are few and far between and everything has to go right for us to get those results. We have had a few of them in the past.

There is no doubt that GRM has reliable cars.They are fast but not fast enough.

Timing-wise, was the Car of the Future in your mind when you made the decision?

Teams will, if you like, run split programs in 2012, racing the current cars and building their 2013 cars.

Yes, that was a huge part of my decision.

It came down to three teams for me...

Would you care to name the other two?

Well, FPR was widely talked about.

Basically, in the end, it came down to FPR...

Walkinshaw and SBR. 1 had to look at who had the best infrastructure in place to build

the Car of the Future and who was, probably, the smartest in getting that done.

But next year, I want to get results as well.

So I looked at where the teams are positioned at the moment,the performance of each team. It looks,to me,like SBR are on the move forward,and that they have a bright future, in terms of the Car of the Future. I think that Ross and Jimmy are very smart guys,and put together a very good car.

Was Queensland a lure? You are from Queensland and you have been living down here in the southern climes,for some years now.

To be honest, no.

1 wanted to keep that well out of the decision-making process. Obviously, I come from Queensland; at least, 1 grew up in Queensland and my family are up there. But I also have family down here.That did not make my decision one little bit. But after having signed the deal with Stones, it is a bonus to go back up north, back in the sunshine and back near Mum and Dad,and my brother.

I love Melbourne as well. It was not going to be a drama, either way.

In the past,some people who have jumped the'brand divide'have talked about how it is to go from the Commodore characteristics to those of the Falcon. Is all that going to be negated,to a certain extent? Most of your driving for the Stones will be in a new-generation car.

That was a factor. It will be a factor until we get to the Car of the Future but I am hoping that I will get on top of the car before then!

As it seems to be,the Fords probably gain up to mid-corner; they seem to have a bit more front aero so they get to the apex a fraction quicker.Then the Holden gains from the apex out of the corner, with power-down.

I think that they way I drive, my driving style, will suit the characteristics of the Ford.

I like to gain my time mid-corner, and the way that we have developed the GRM car, it is good under brakes and quick into a corner.

So I am hoping that the change from a GRM car to an SBR car will not be huge,in terms of driving technique.

A change like this is a hurdle to get over but if I am any good, I will get over it pretty quickly. iim^

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What have you seen in the Stones'cars, particularly since you knew that you were going to be driving one next year?

In terms of the car itself?

Yes. I suppose I have raced against Gizzy (Shane van Gisbergen) a fair bit. Seeing the car, on a soft tyre, he can actually slide the car and get away with it - and they have very good tyre lifel For me, when I slide the car, that is pretty much the end of my tyres!

Obviously I did a workshop tour when I was looking at these things and the Stones have a very good workshop operation up there.They are very organised and they have a huge engine shop.They have a huge infrastructure all up - it is something that I was a bit overwhelmed by. At GRM there is a huge facility but the infrastructure is not as huge as it is at SBR. With the SBR cars, everything is just so... neat. It just seems so perfect when you sit in the car. That is what impressed me so much.GRM puts together a very good car, a very strong car. But there are just so many little particulars that SBR have addressed that I have not seen before.

You are in an unusual position.

I have pointed this out in the magazine a few times, but it is unusual that a driver says,"I am doing this next year"and continues with the team he is with. Does that make life a little awkward for you - finishing the season with GRM,knowing that you are off to Stones next year?

One thing that I am proud of myself for, this year, is that I have not let all the media and all the hype about next year get to me.

None of that has affected my driving. It has affected a lot of drivers in the past.

To get the result we got up at the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago proved that. It was nice to get another podium before the end of the year, and I would like to see a few more come my way.

But there is no awkwardness between myself and Garry, or the rest of the team. While I am with this team, I am 100 percent committed to getting the best results possible.That is just the way I operate; I want the best results for myself as well. I want to start next year trying to move forward from where I am now; I don't want to drop the bundle.

So, what for next year, realistically? If we characterise The Giz as

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27

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the team leader,Tim [Slade] has not been far behind. Are you looking to be on the same performance level as Shane straight away?

I think that I have to be fairly realistic about that. In a new car, in a new team, I am going to have to feel my way in. It is the unknown, I guess; I don't know where I will pick it up next year, in the sense that it may take a different driving style, a totally different driving style. I am hoping not!

I think that I shouldn't be too far off the pace.That is what I am hoping, anyway. A top five would be nice; a top three would be even better. You need to be realistic about it; I can't go out next year,thinking that I am going to win the championship.

Gizzy is doing a very good Job up there; so is Tim.They have had some great performances this year. Van Giz is third in the championship; the only two cars ahead of him attheTriple Eight cars. He is obviously doing a very good job for the team and he will be a very good benchmark for me.

III!

A few drivers have mentioned,since Surfers, that having a new set of eyes come into their teams,obviously with professional backgrounds, has been a big boost. Did you pick anything up from your

co-driver [Ed:Simon Pagenaud]?

Simon was great fun to work with, and very professional.

I got asked this after the Sunday race; did I learn anything from Simon? The one thing that I probably picked up was his braking ability. Rather, the actual braking curve on the data. He is a left-foot braker,so there are no little troughs or dips in his braking pressures. It was just so spot-on the whole way through.

So is that something you want to try now?

I don't think that I am going to be doing any left-foot braking. In the end, we were the quicker drivers. I think mostly the main drivers were the quicker drivers. He still had a lot to do to get up to our speed,as well.

But that was one thing that really impressed me.That,and their professionalism.

Do you see that opportunities may arise from the co-drivers going back to their teams and saying,"these were the drivers who were good"?

I hope so! At this stage of my career, I want to concentrate 100 percent on the V8s, and winning the championship. But further down the track, if we could achieve it, I would like to do some stuff overseas.

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I think that it could open doors for our series'drivers. A lot of people talk about our series being one of the strongest in the world, but they have to witness it for themselves.These international guys are from the top levels of motorsport around the world, and for them to come in and say how difficult it is, how competitive it is, really proves that it is one of the most competitive categories in the world. I think it shows that we could mix it with the best in the world in any category.

Where is your'inner mongrel'? You are fairly calm,as racing drivers go,in my experience. Does it come out from time to time?

Definitely! I am sure that there are a few drivers who would say otherwise!

I have had my run-ins with a few drivers.

Davo [Ed: Will Davison] and I got in a bit of a tussle in Abu Dhabi,and I hate it when someone blames me for something they did.

That probably fires me up the most.

Being targeted on the track unnecessarily, and continuous pushing by someone; that sends me over the edge. Often, it doesn't end well for them.

I would say that I am a fairly III! calculated driver. I will take risks

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but they are calculated risks. I don't just throw the car in there because there is a gap, I will actually think about it. I am a big thinker in the car and I can stay calm in the car, unless there is something to be gained by pushing someone out of the way - and at the moment,a lot of the time you push someone out of the way, you get a penalty. So it is a calculated risk. You can't afford brain-fade. If you do it deliberately, it comes back to bite you.

But back to your question; I have a hunger to win. Outside the car, I am just myself. I get on with the fans, i get on with most of the drivers. I don't see anything to be gained by having enemies off the track because it is only going to hinder you on the track. When I get on the track, i want to win as much as anyone else - probably

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even more! It kills me to lose, or come second, at anything.

Is it going to be strange not working with Michael Caruso next year? You guys have as close a relationship as any team-mates do, up and down pitlane. When you rock up at Clipsal next year, is it going to be strange that he is not there in the garage next to you?

Yeah, it probably is.

We always help each other out, on or off the track. We are very much rivals on and off the track but we will do whatever we can to help each other. We share data, we share feedback, we don't have anything to hide.

The relationship works well.

When you are not winning, you need to work together to get the team to the point where you are winning. Once you are in contention for a championship,then you can play it the other way;"I am not telling him what I am doing in that corner, where I am a tenth quicker!" But until you get to that point, I don't feel that there is any point to holding all that back. We are trying to bring the team forward and we have been doing that together.

We have become really good friends in the five years that he has been there. I didn't know him from a bar of soap before that, but we sort of clicked as soon as he got there. We play golf together, we play

squash together and we have become really good friends.

It will be strange. We joke around a fair bit, we bounce off each other a bit, even with the media.

It has been a bit of a nurturing role, hasn't it? You had not been with the team that long when Michael arrived, but you were the senior driver, and you have maintained that over the last five years.

At the start, yeah. But it did not take him long. After the first year, going into the second year he made a huge step. I did the same after my first year. He got to the stage where he was really starting to push me. We finished 10th and 11th in the championship in 2009, 1 think, and he was coming on strong. I always like to have someone pushing me.

He would out-qualify me one day, I would out-qualify him the next. It helped up get the most out of the cars by getting the most out of ourselves.

So that relationship is going to change.

Not with Michael; the relationship you have with your new team-mates is going to be different, isn't it?

I would hope that it will be similar.

Shane is a lot further up in the championship than I am,and he is probably at the point where he might want to hold

stufffrom me if, for instance, we were third and fourth in the championship.

He doesn't really have that threat at the moment. It is going to be interesting to see how that dynamic works. You have to throw Tim into that as well.

I hope so. I hope that I can be a threat and push him along. I am sure that he wants me to push him,and I am sure that is what the team wants -for us to push each other, as well as Tim. We should work quite well together. I am sure that the team are not going to hold back data from me, or anything. We are a team and they will do what they can to get both drivers, and the cars, up to speed. I suppose that at SBR,there are things I can learn from him and probably things he can learn form me.

He has a pretty good hand]e on the cars at the moment and I have more experience that he does.

Have you spoken to Shane about next year?

A little bit. I gave him a call early on in the piece when I was trying to decide between : the two teams, and he gave me a pretty good rundown on the place, what the environment is like. He was very positive.

There are worse things than having a team-mate who actually wants you there.

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3^

Patrick When Garry Rogers signed Patrick Long on for the 2010 Gold Coast 600, it was a name few recognised. Fast forward just over 12 months, and Long has changed the way V8 Supercar teams look for international drivers.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN spoke to the sportscar star the game by changing the kind of driver Ryan Briscoe, James Courtney - and r ^HEIt'sPatrick Long Effect.

I would nick their mags and read up that teams went looking for. You could a term we invented right here at MN HQ,after last year's Gold Coast 600. In basic terms, the Patrick Long Effect is the way that one unknown driver came and raced a V8 Supercar, and turned an event on its head.

When the first GC600 list was announced last year, there was one name that stood out - and not for the right reasons. In among the likes of Jacques Villeneuve and Helio Castroneves,the name Patrick Long didn't seem to fit in.

Even to the most hardcore of Australian motor racing fans. Long was a relative unknown.

And it wasn't just the public who didn't see how Long was supposed to fit in.

When Garry Rogers told V8 Supercars Australia that he planned to sign Long for the race, V8SA didn't approve,and declined to pay for any hotels, airfares or driver fees. Long wasn't the sort of driver that V8SA wanted on the list. They wanted ex-Fl drivers and IndyCar stars, the type of names that would bring people through the gates.That wasn't Long,so they refused to play ball.

But Rogers stuck to his guns, and forked out the cash to get Long on board.

The rest is history. Long was one of the absolute stand-outs in 2010, and was promptly signed by Walkinshaw Racing for 2011. He returned not only as one of theV8SA-funded drivers, but he brought a heap of his sportcar buddies from around the world with him.

Quite ironically, Patrick Long changed ,mnews.com.au

even be pessimistic and say that by being so damn fast. Long turned the event 180degrees away from where V8SA wanted it to go.

And that, in 300 words or less, is how the Patrick Long Effect works.

"By no way was I offended last year by being dubbed'Patrick Who?"'says Long after his second Gold Coast visit.

"If anything, it motivated me,and it took a little bit of the limelight away.The international drivers were brought in to boost up this event and sell tickets, and I realised why I didn't have the support [of V8 Supercars Australia]. Because, really, I'm not going to sell any tickets to anyone who isn't a sportscar or Porsche nut.

"And [V8SA] has been great since last year. All I had to do was prove my worth on the track, and they've never held anything against me or tried to be right.

I was invited back this year as one of the drivers, so I get to stay in the nice hotel and have my flight paid for."

Lets rewind a little bit. If very few people had heard of Patrick Long before last year's GC600, how on earth did he even end up with a GRM deal? The answer is expat Aussie TV commentator Leigh Diffey, who now covers sportscar racing in the US. "He was my first port of call; I called Leigh and I said 'I've wanted to be in V8 Supercars my whole career, going back to the days when I lived in Europe with a bunch of Aussies - Will Davison,

on V8s, because I always thought it was such a pure form of motorsport and so competitive'. I told Leigh all of this, because I knew he had a lot of connections here [in Australia], and Leigh and I have worked together since I was in Formula Ford. It was Leigh who got me in with Garry.

"It really helped being with GRM, because Garry is the sort of guy who has traditionally given the unknown a go and he's not done it to stand out, he's done it because he has a different way of looking at things."

That different way of looking at things couldn't have worked out better for Garry. He looked like a genius signing Long, with the Californian blowing most of the big names away. A year later and a lot of other teams took GRM's lead, with sportcar and GT aces such as Qliver Gavin, Jorg Bergmeister (Long's American Le Mans Series team-mate), Marc Lieb and Richard Westbrook all scoring a trip down under to race at the Gold Coast 600.

"Since last year, I've had drivers come up to me and say'thanks to you, I've had a phone call, and it's completely shocking that someone has called me about racing a V8'. It's nice to be recognised, but I feel like I couldn't carry half of that credit.The individual drivers deserve the credit for why they got that phone call. But it's cool to me mentioned along the way."

As the Patrick Long Effect would predict, the Gavins, Westbrooks 33

I

“The international drivers were brought in to boost up this ev I realised why I didn’t have the support [of V8 Supercars Ausi I’m not going to sell any tickets to anyone who isn’t a sportsc 1 _ 1

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nil and Bergmeisters were some of the stars of the 2011 GC 600.

What is it about the sportscar and GT drivers than make them so suitable to driving a V8 Supercar?

"Look, a lot of sportscar guys like Ollie Gavin and Mika Salo, these guys have been involved up to Formula 1,"adds Long.

"The bottom line is that there aren't enough seats in Formula 1 for everyone, so for the Gold Coast it comes down to getting top level drivers in the car, no matter what their background is. It's about getting some of the best around the world, to go up against the best in Australia.

"I think what it's done is its shed light on GT drivers, and given them some of the credit they might not otherwise get.

But at the same time, it's given the Aussie stars the credit they deserve around the world.These guys are impressive, and that's the feeling I'm getting from home.

Freaking hell, it's a competitive series, and these guys are good!

"As well as we've been able to do as internationals, we're still way behind the regular drivers - and everyone can see that. But that we can hold our own and provide the same experience that these guys might have with their normal endurance co-drivers, that's all we can shoot for, and I think we're all doing a reasonable job with that."

A reasonable job is, for some of the drivers, an understatement. As I've already hinted towards. Long's performance has been beyond reasonable ever since he first jumped into a V8 Supercar. But while he might have made the jump from a rear-engine Porsche to a quite unique Commodore look easy, he's the first to admit that his first session back in 2010 was anything but a walk in the park.

"I felt pretty comfortable right away with the fundamentals, but

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Spanky Who?

F

1

AMOUS families in sport aren't uncommon.

In local terms,there are the likes of the Selwoods in the AFL,the Waughs in cricket,the Johns'in Rugby League and the Davisons(and Kellys) in V8 Supercars.

But, in California,the Long brothers are different. Both Patrick and Kevin Long are professional sportsman, but they aren't both racecar drivers. Kevin'Spanky'Long is a professional skateboarder and musician,operating in the alternative world of the Hollywood underground.The two Long brothers are both very good at what they do, but what they each do is totally different to the other.

"That we've ended up in such different worlds sort of signifies how our parents brought us up, which was to be our own person and chase our own dreams,"says Patrick Long.

"They never told us no,as long as we were in school and getting good grades.

"I don't know the next thing about a skateboard,and my brother doesn't even have a road car license,so it's been good;as we've gone into our late 20s, we've really connected at a family level, rather than over our jobs or whatever.

"We live in different worlds.The way the commercial side of motor racing is compared to the type of skating that he is in is so different. He's not in the Tony Hawk S&ne,it's more ofthe underground scene. It's just as lucrative, but it appeals to a completely different demographic.

"It's fun, being so different to Kevin. He lives in Hollywood, which is a nocturnal lifestyle, and I'm up at six every morning. We laugh at each other, and that makes us really tight."

-ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN

ispanky Long’s Facebook page I

^iii going quick straight away didn't come easy," Long says.

"The braking was the toughest part for me,and learning the Gold Coast circuit wasn't easy either. A lot of the IndyCar guys knew the circuit, so that part wasn't as difficult for them.The Bourdaises and the Briscoes, they knew the way around,so they had half the learning curve done.

"I was used to the weight and the power of the V8, because i had done a bit of NASCAR Nationwide,so I had jumped out of the paddle shift and traction control that you have in GT cars. So I felt like I had a little bit of help there."

While Long found something familiar in the cars, he was slightly overwhelmed by the enormity of the event - particularly given that he comes from the relatively lowkey world of sportscar racing.

"When I got on the plane last year I was handed a newspaper and there was a full spread on Bathurst. When I looked at the in flight entertainment system on V Australia, I could watch all of the races on demand.

When I landed here and went to the first liquor store I could find to get a bottle of water, it was full ofV8 Supercar stuff. I couldn't believe how alive V8 Supercar racing was in Australia.

"As a sportscar driver, I one day hope we can have a following at that level."

So by know we've learnt that Long is a sportscar driver, but what exactly does he do? Well, he has the honour of being a factory Porsche driver, which has him driving Porsches in series around the world.

His list of teams is currently headed by Flying Lizard Motorsports, the team for which he races in the ALMS,and the Le Mans 24 Hours. He is a three-time ALMS GT2 Drivers Champion (2005,2009 and 2010), and a two-time class winner at Le Mans. Long also won the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona and has three Petit Le Mans wins to his name. His diverse career has taken him all of the world, everywhere from British Formula Ford, German Carrera Cup,and the NASCAR Nationwide Series in the US. He was even Ryan Briscoe's team-mate at Penske in 2008, when they ran in the LMP2 class in the ALMS. Now, he's settled into the sweet life of being a factory Porsche driver. And he absolutely loves it.

"In a way, it's a bit understated," he says.

"Sportscar racing doesn't earn the front pages of any motorsport magazines around the world, but it has some tremendously talented drivers and teams. It's a great balance between professionalism, and relaxed racing.

"My job is one of, i believe, eight or nine Porsche factory drivers in the world, and I'm the only one from North America. So there's a big flag for me to fly for Porsche, particularly in the my country, which

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is their Number 2 market, having recently been replaced as Number 1

by China.

So I would say that 60 percent of my job is behind the wheel, and the other 40 percent is new car launches, and auto shows, and working the Porsche Club of America which is the largest driving club in the world.

It's a huge community of Porsche people who have owned Porsches for 30 years and have only even owned,for instance, a 911.

That's a great part of the job, because as an ambassador you get to meet a lot of interesting, successful people. But what it , really comes down to is being in a racecar every week. I rarely go a week without being in a racecar, and that's really helped me raise my game.

The American Le Mans Series, the type of car we're running would be quicker around the Gold Coast circuit than a V8 Supercar. It's got big tyres, and reasonable aero. Visually it looks a lot like a road car, but underneath, with all of the technology,they are pure racing cars.

It's a cool job. It's hard for me to look anywhere else and say'oh, my life would be much better if I was there'. I've been with Porsche for 10 years at the end of this year. and they've given me the chance to go from a starving student to having a profession.

That's pretty cool.

'The other perk of working for Porsche is that it's not a jealous-lover company.They see the value in Marc, Jorg and myself coming down and racing - even if it's for another manufacturer. As long as we're not busy, and we're not competing against Porsche, they've been cool.They've let me race in Nationwide, drive Sprintcars, and now,race in V8 Supercars.

'As a racer, you want that freedom. My alliance is with Porsche,they've set me up. but if I can do other things too, well, all the better.' nil

38

motorsport news

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A MOTORSPORT NEWS EXCLUSIVE

SAM MICHAEL WILLIAMS AND BEYOND Aussie engineer Sam Michael has witnessed the downfall of the once mighty Williams FI team. He opened up to MATT COCH about the good times, the bad times, and his future with McLaren

I

T'S been a long time between drinks at Williams FI. The last time one of its drivers tasted champagne as a Grand Prix winner was Juan Pablo Montoya in Brazil, and that was way back in 2005. Sure, there's been a smattering of podiums since then, and once or twice the team has looked like it could snare an unlikely win, but on the whole,there's been very little to get excited about.

Things came to a head at the beginning of 2011 when the once great team experienced its worst start to a season on record, with double retirements in the first two races followed by a string of disappointing results. For five agonising races the team toiled, before being rewarded with a ninth place finish, courtesy of Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello in

Monaco. It was hardly a result to write home about, and rumours of a shakeup at Grove soon followed.

"Me resigning six months ago is taking responsibility for that," confesses the team's former technical director Sam Michael.

The Australian had been the outfit's technical boss since taking over from famed engineer Patrick Head in 2004.

Having worked closely with Frank Williams, Head was the design mastermind behind much of the team's early success, developing the car in which Alan Jones was crowned champion in 1980. He was still at the helm when Jacques Villeneuve won the team's seventh, and to date last, driver's title in 1997.

However, by 2004 Head had grown tired of the rigours of travel and demands of the

role, preferring to step back and allow someone with more energy to take control of the teams technical direction. It opened the door for a then 33year-old Michael.

Michael started his Formula 1 career with Lotus in 1993 after graduating from Formula Holden in Australia, where he engineered a young Mark Larkham. Working as a data engineer, he slaved away until Lotus closed its doors at the end of 1994, prompting him to join the Jordan team. His first task was to establish the outfit's research and development department, before progressing to the role of race engineer for the team's second car. He was engineering Half Schumacher when the German finished second to team-mate Damon Hill at the 1998 Belgian nil Grand Prix. It may not 41

ort news

nil

have been victory for his driver, but it was a victory for the team, and Jordan's first in Grand Prix racing.

It gave Michael his first taste of Formula 1 success.

Greater things were to follow in 1999. Engineering Fleinz-Harald Frentzen, the duo raced their way to third in the championship, with two wins along the way. But the team gradually fell off the pace, and by 2001 Michael elected to follow Ralf Schumacher to Williams. In 2004, he was named as Flead's successor.

Since then,the team's fortunes have followed a downward trend.

While in 2004 the team was realistically targeting race wins, in 2011 it's been a struggle just to score points.

"There's lots of different reasons why we haven't been successful for the last few years," Michael concedes.

"A pivotal turning point was definitely 2005 when BMW and [Flewlett Packard] left.

That caused the start of lots of different engine changes it got to the point where we were changing engine every 18 months. It's very distracting and difficult to build a team when you're doing that."

Michael's theory is not wrong, but does over simplify matters.

Like the engine makes BMW, Cosworth and Toyota, drivers have also come and gone, and it's no secret the team is.not flush with funds in the same way as Ferrari, Red Bull or McLaren.There is no golden bullet that explains the teams decline, though it's not stopped suggestions Michael himself was the problem, with some corners of the media suggesting he simply took on too much of the burden.

What that argument fails to acknowledge, however, is that while Michael was the technical leader of the team, he was not a one-man show. But, he did have ultimate responsibility.

When it was clear the team's performances weren't up to par, Michael had no hesitation in accepting the blame.

"When you start a job you accept all the pluses and minuses that come with that job,' he explains.

"There's no point taking

'T

iM».

something and then saying that it didn't work out because I wasn't allowed to do this, and I wasn't allowed to do that. If you accept your job,then you do it. It's the same way you accept your job. If you don't like it then leave, and do something else."

Flis resignation was tendered in March this year, and by the end of September it was stumps for his 11 -year career with the team. When the chequered flag fell at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix, it signalled not only the end of the race, but also Michael's reign as Williams' technical director.

His departure is only one of a number of changes in key technical roles at the team, and while it may go some way to redress Williams'declining fortunes, it doesn't appear, from the outside at least, to be addressing the core problems.

To a degree, Michael agrees.

"There's not been anything added to the structure that we already had," he admits.

"If you compare the strength and depth at the top of the company,a lot of the people who've come in have just replaced [those who've left]."

After 11 years with the team, Michael's final race was an anticlimax. Eleventh and 13th places for Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado was hardly a sparkling result, which left Michael frustrated and deflated.

Perhaps the mixture of emotions was a realisation that, while his career with the team which dominated the sport in the 1990s had come to an end, he now had a chance to go surfing and catch up with old friends Down Linder.

The pressure was off; he could now relax.

It may have ended differently than Michael had hoped, but his time with Williams did open the door for some memorable moments. For one so focussed on results and success, the endearing memory of his tenure is surprisingly not one of the race wins,though he holds them in high regard. Winning in Monaco with Juan-Pablo Montoya is a stand-out, but for Michael, his favourite is a little more obscure.

"We had some good times when we won Grands Prix, but I think we've 111^

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nil

had some good moments even when we weren't winning," he says.

"2009 stood out for me as a car that we did a really good job on. We came up with the double diffuser by ourselves, and there were various areas on the car that were different to others. It was a solid little car.

It didn't score very well in the constructors championship, but it should have done a lot better than what it did.

they're going next.

"I haven't done either of those and I think things like that are important, not Just for your own career and reputation, but for your own personal pride.

"I have a lot of respect for the people at Williams. Not just Adam (Parr) and Frank and Patrick, but all the people who work throughout the company.

I know all the people from the composite laminators to the aerodynamicists to people who build the models.They've all got jobs and families and I want to make sure they've got the best thing going forward."

Flis loyalty, even on the eve of his departure, was reciprocated by the team, who still felt able to trust him with the running of its race team up to the moment his Williams career ended.

"In Singapore I was the only lead senior management person

"[Another thing] I am proud of is the last six months. I'm proud of the fact I've finished properly because not very many people do it. Most people either get sacked and get marched off the site the next day, or they hand their notice in and they say'I'm not doing that any more' because they want to create trouble so they can get out and start their contract wherever

from Williams representing the team," he says.

"I'm proud of that, I'm proud of the fact I've finished properly.

"One thing that's been nice about leaving Williams is I've been flooded with people who work with Williams saying it's been great. Most of the time when you're a boss it's pretty hard, because you don't have friendships in my position - it's difficult to have friendships in the team because you have a professional distance you've got to keep. I have probably more friendships with people that were ex-Jordan once I left the company.You sort of worked with them and know them, and I'm sure that'll happen at Wiliams as well.

"Because you've got to give people bollockings and tell them what to do you're unlikely to... it's just a little bit strange

to go down the pub and have a beer with a few people from work. We do do that, but there's always a professional distance because I've got to discipline people and tell them what to do."

There is little room for sentiment in Formula 1, and Michael's time with Williams is now just a distant memory.

His focus is already set on his new role as sporting director at McLaren.

"McLaren came to me and said 'we're a strong team with good understanding, but we haven't won a constructors championship since'98', which is only one year later than when Williams last won one, and they want to address that."

The role will see Michael in charge of the team's racing activities, including managing its drivers and dealing nil with the FIA.

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In Singapore I was the only lead senior management person from Williams representing the team. I'm proud of that^ I'm proud of the fact n I've finished properly.

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It's an interesting job.

It's probably something that would have happened naturally anyway, but McLaren's the only team I would try and do that with because of the way they're structured. They're a very, let's say academic,type of team.

Joining that structure was very attractive."

A change in role, however, doesn't mean the days of long hours at the factory are finished. Michael admits that, even though some have suggested it's part of the reason for his demise at Williams, his workaholic nature will still likely get the better of him.

"If anything,some of that side of things I could view as a weakness of my own. I wouldn't do that going forward. It was a significant factor in going to McLaren and doing the job with McLaren rather than accepting another technical director job, continuing doing what I've really been doing for the last seven years at Williams. ^Ill

46

"I didn't want to do it like that. I wanted to do things properly and McLaren gave me the opportunity to do that.

Effectively, as part of the senior technical management, you've got four people instead of one, and I think that was much more attractive to me going forward because I didn't want to repeat what happened at Williams not for me or any company.

"I'll still work solid hours, because that's what I do, it's in my character, but I'll achieve a lot more because there's other people being technical director, there's other people being engineering director and director of engineering.

You've got all these titles, but that's what they do,so it means you don't have the pressure of doing all those things in one. Once you're involved in the organisational side and operational side of the company you're helping them in lots of different places."

One of those areas which has

shown need for management this season has been the drivers.

Having been the subject of the stewards'attentions more times in 2011 than any other driver, and since parting company with his father/manager, Lewis Hamilton seems to have fallen in to the rock and roll lifestyle.

On-track performances have suffered as the Englishman looks a shadow of the man who burst on to the scene in 2007.

"He's not going to need me to manage him so much. All [Lewis] will want from me is to know what we're doing to make things go better.That's going to develop as we get a relationship with him. He's clearly a very talented bloke. He's lightning quick, and he'll harness that and he has done before when he won the world championship."

Starting a new job is a nerve wracking experience. Building relationships and understanding the dynamic within McLaren will be tasks he'll be expected to grasp quickly, with his

performance measured on the back of the team's success. It may be a daunting prospect to many, but not Michael. Instead, he's excited by the new challenge,the new opportunities and perhaps the chance to win that elusive World Championship.

"That's what you've got to stay focussed on.To be honest, I was still focussed on that at Williams, even though it's completely unrealistic there at the moment.

That's still my target, and that's how I want to contribute."

Whether or not it will be his last berth in Formula 1 is unclear, Michael admitting that one day he'd like to return to Australia.

But it won't be V8 Supercars.

Once Michael is done with McLaren, it's quite likely he'll retire to the quiet life back home.

For now, however, he'll settle in to his new role at McLaren, as he looks to help the team topple the Red Bull domination and win the team's first constructors title in 14 years. motorsport news

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20 years ol the VN Commodore

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 I highlights of the ‘91 Bathurst 1000. Some special moments to keep a eye out for when wafching, ! Brock‘s return to Holden, Mark Skaite’s very first I touring car championship win, some of Australia s j greatest race tracks gone but not forgotten and some j of the best in-car camera footage you wiil ever see. ! We hope you enjoy.

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 AusMn Touring Car Races vol ID

Classic Australian Touring Car Races Vol 10 revisits two classic races at Sandown; one 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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by area.The size of the Indian middle class is estimated at 300 million, and growing,fast. While furrowed brows in the 'first world', America and Europe, wonder how on earth they are going to lever their fractured economies back onto what has been seen as the right path, the sheer economic power of India forges ahead.

Formula 1 has not been slow to embrace the new world. Races in the Middle East and into Asia are now well-established, and it appears that the epicentre of the sport is heading eastwards. While Germany grapples with a two-circuit model for its GP that appears doomed,and races in France and Italy have gone by the board in recent times (see breakout) there appears to be a great appetite for FI east of what has been considered the sport's heartland.

Enter, the BIG.The track is part of the portfolio of the Jaypee Group, which counts IT infrastructure, cement, hydro and thermal power and construction in its business plan. Among the things Jaypee builds are expressways, power stations, dams and, virtually, entire towns. And now,and Flstandard racetrack.

The track is in Greater Noida, which is 40km south-east of New Delhi and 20km south-east of Noida, which is short for the NewOkhIa Industrial Development Area.The region is a planned city - in much the same way as Canberra is a planned city, but the business of Noida is not government, but commerce. So, roads are wide and straight, cables for power and communications are underground and factory, residential and shopping areas are planned from the get-go.

A Metro train service is being developed;so is a major cricket ground that will rival the MCG in capacity and facilities.

To get some insights into the success of the inaugural race, and the reasons behind the success, we spoke to two men who should motorsport news

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know. One is Karun Chandhok, who as a 'Friday'driverforTeam Lotus in India, had the honour of driving the first lap of the Buddh circuit in anger. Chandhok is a man steeped in the history of the sport; apart from being a successful driver in his own right, his father Vicky Chandhok is the president of India's ASN, the FMSCI. His grandfather raced and rallied in the 1950s; in Australian terms, the Chandhoks are not unlike the Davisons.

The second man we spoke to was Sudarshan Banerjee. Based in Ahmedabad, he is the Agency Head at Ignite Mudra, and after a career in marketing and advertising, is well-placed to observe the movements in the business within and around India's Formula 1 GP. Apart from that, Banerjee is a fan of the sport, and sees a big future in his homeland.

"I think that it was a complete success," says Chandhok.

"I have spoken to Charlie Whiting, I spoke to Bernie Ecclestone at the circuit, and he was delighted. On raceday, he was absolutely over the moon with the way that it had gone.

"India is different. It is different to China, it is different to Turkey and Bahrain, because we already have a fan base. Although we are going to a new market, in terms of having a race, it is a country where there is already a huge Formula 1 fan base, and there are a large number of people who watch the races, or even go to other countries to watch the races, i am glad to have been proved right to see so many people show up.

"I have been to both Shanghai and Istanbul and Just don't get the buzz in the city, i don't know whether it is a cultural thing, or people Just don't follow for the sport. In India, every newspaper, every magazine, in every city we went to, there were massive billboards, show car runs... at the airports and wherever you went, there was a huge buzz around Formula 1. www.mnews.com.au

Big Player: Karun Chandhok, far left, was a star of the Indian GP-andhe didn't even race. Sudarshan Banerjee rates the commercial viability of the event, left, although there was the odd unwanted spectator at the circuit, above.

"As soon as the city grips the race, you get the fever. I think that Melbourne is a fantastic example of that. The whole city comes to life. The same with Montreal; you see the whole city buzzing with FI people.

For whatever reason, Istanbul never took to FI, and Shanghai ... it's quite disgraceful. Last year, the hotel we were staying in had three or four teams - us, Toro Rosso, some others.

When I was checking out on the Monday, the guy at reception asked me,'Oh, are you and your guys a part of some group?'!

Fie had no idea that he had four Formula 1 teams staying in his hotel for the last week!"

Banerjee has similar enthusiasm for the race.

"I think that there was a lot of business around the race," he says. "Given the fact that , the Formula 1 is a relatively new sport in the country, that is important. In that context, given that we had 120,000 people at the venue, that is phenomenal. It is not yet a massive sport in this country.

"I can only see it getting bigger from here, absolutely. It can go a couple of ways; the crowd at the BIG could get a little smaller, at first, because the novelty of having Formula 1 here in India for the first time could wear off. Of the people that would there, more than 100,000, 1 would suggest that only about 30 percent of them actually follow the sport. They are the ones who would know which are the cars, and who, for instance, Jarno Trulli is. You could see at the circuit that there were people who were there for the novelty value. They were there because it was the first Indian Grand Prix, and it was something that they have never seen before.

"Now, I am sure that they would have gone back home and told people what they saw, even to the people who were waiting outside because they did not have tickets.

Will that lead to them coming next year?"

Both men agree on the importance of

engaging sponsors - and keeping them happy.

"V(/hat was important to see the reaction of the sponsors on race day," says Chandhok.

"Mercedes-Benz, Red Bull, Air Asia, whatever sponsor, they all know that India is a big market.

"Just turn on the news; it is quite clear that Europe is still struggling.That is not going to recover any time soon. Neither is America.

Look at the world; Brazil, Russia, China and india are the four powerful markets today.

They are going to be playing a part in the next decade, at least. At least six of the FI teams had some form of Indian sponsorship money - even if they were Just one-off deals.

It was nice to see that the naming rights sponsor of the race was Airtel - that is our multinational. That showed the power of the Indian economic side."

Says Banerjee;"! think that the sponsors were right behind the event, even this year.

It was a very good roll-out this year; the event was sponsored by Airtel, and that is one of the big sponsors of sport anyway. I can see that there will be other brands that are wanting to get onto that bandwagon next year." [it is worth point out here: Airtel is not a brand well-known in Australia. But the Indian-based and majority owned telco is a major player in not only its home market, but 20 countries - 17 in Africa. It is already a global brand and, therefore, appears a good fit with FI.] Banerjee offers a cautious word on whether the event by itself will appeal to sponsors; "I am not sure, unless you have a thorough engagement plan, built around the event.

For instance, Airtel had something with the grid girls.There was a little contest where the grid girls were chosen and people voted for the girls that they 1..^ 57

I

most wanted to be on the grid for the race.There was also the Metallica concert for the people,though there were problems around that. It was a good idea but that did not happen.

"It was about the two-to-three hour entertainment to the track for raceday. For some people, it was about four-to-five hours.

It is all about engaging the people when they are at the track."

Both'men agree that the race's long-term success will be boosted by having an Indian driver on the grid.

"There needs to be a plan that will allow an Indian driver to come up and get into Formula l,"says Banerjee."When more and more people come in and it becomes more mature, it is then that people might be willing to look at other forms of motorsport like NASCAR, maybe."

Chandhok puts it in even stronger terms; "I think that will be a huge factor. Australia is a bit different; you had Jack Brabham, you had Alan Jones,so Mark [Webber] has footsteps to follow in. But look at Germany before Michael [Schumacher]; look at Spain ' before Fernando [Alonso].

"I went back to India and Narain [Karthikeyan] and I were flat-out; we never had a second to breathe. I worked out that in the week before the race I did 92 interviews and they were individual one-on-ones.That is a /of of interviews! I would be amazed if Mark Webber does that many in Australia.

"It was really nice that the Indian media got behind the race - that was really important.

The newspapers,the news channels, radio, they all got behind the race.They had special news shows - special editions of newspapers and magazines. As long as the media is pushing it, the public is reading about it and getting excited, and then the sponsors get behind it. But before the media can write about something, we have to give them something to write about. I think that it is important for Narain and me,or someone else, to be on the grid.

"At the moment,the tricky part is that beyond Narain and myself, there is not a clear succession line. A few kinds have gone up and down from Formula 3 and Formula 2, but none of them have come and been successful in Europe, which is what you have to do if you want to be a Grand Prix driver.

Narain won in F3- so did I. He won in A1 GP, I 52

set in the damp, but Mahindra is re-upping in won in GP2.We will see. In the future,there the new Moto3 class next season and,given may be a lineup." its recent split from long-time partner Honda, One of the keys to the initial success of the it is not beyond reason that India's biggest event could be its geography, according to motorcycle maker. Hero, may go racing one Banerjee; day in the near future.

"I know many fans who have been to the "We have the brain power,"says Chandhok, Singapore Grand Prix,"he says."They are 'we have the financial power and we have the really fans of the sport - but they were engineering capability. What we completely not expecting the sport to turn up in their lack is experience and the breadth of backyard! knowledge.That is not going to happen "There were things that need to be looked overnight." at, like the one stray dog!"

So, what is the most popular team in the There could also be an audience for other sport? If you answered'Force India', you got it categories of motorsport - and you can bet wrong. According to Banerjee, it is the same that the management of V8 Supercars,and in India as it is all over the world; Ferrari first. the six other categories from around the daylight second. world who have their eyes on an event at "The people who follow Force India follow the BIC are hoping that it is them that gets the team - it is not all about whether they the first invitation. But Chandhok offers a follow the drivers.They would like to be able cautious word of advice. to follow, in Formula 1, Karun Chandhok; "Would we get a crowd for V8 Supercars they would follow whichever team he drove like we would for FI ? Of course not," he says for.' bluntly.

That explanation is understandable "Would we get a crowd for V8 Supercars when he talks about sports other than the like you do for the Clipsal 500? Probably not. country's national obsession, cricket; But could we put on a good event, one that "You have to understand that one of theV8 Supercar grid enjoys, and still have an the most popular sports in India is the event that makes India build its motorsport English Premier League.There are reports culture? That culture is built, not in one week of Manchester United fans fighting in a year, but by having events all around the the streets with Arsenal fans!The people year. Even if you have a small crowd,those who follow the sport do it for the thrill of people will go off and say that they had a following the sport. I don't think those great time. I think that it is still a good thing. people are the ones who will follow Force "I enjoy watching V8 Supercars. I watch as India." many races as possible, and I think it's great Man U and Arsenal fans, who have racing. It's funny; I actually watched the probably never even set foot in England first one-third of the [FI] race with Martin much less attended a game,facing off in the Whitaker. We talked about V8 Supercars streets of Chennai? It really is a small world. coming to India. We could make it happen.

As this is still a racing magazine, we need "My father and 1 advise them [the circuit] to give the last word to a driver. Chandhok about what events they might have in the future. We will see." is massively impressed with his homeland's new jewel in the motorsport crown.

Banerjee offers another view on what "It is such a great a circuit," he enthuses. needs to change; "There is a crowd who are interested in "That is the best part - they have done exactly the opposite of Abu Dhabi.The most motorsport - but you need to understand important thing to a driver is that they built that the biggest form of the sport here is in a great circuit.The second-most important rallying," he says."That is what appeals to thing is that they built nice hospitality to go the fans, there is JKTyre and MRF and other teams." with it! The facilities in Abu Dhabi are top drawer,the best in the world. Extraordinary.

There is no doubt that India is an emerging But, as a drivers'track? You are never going power in the sport.Two weeks after the first to find anyone who comes back and says,'Oh GP, at Valencia, Danny Webb started the lastyes, we really enjoyed driving on the track'! ever 125cc GP motorcycle race from pole You go do it because it is there." position - on a Mahindra. Okay,the time was motorsport news

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Twenty years ago,the world was a much different place. So was the world of Formula 1. A look at the calendars of, respectively, 1992 and 2012 makes a fascinating comparison.

There are common factors between the 16-race schedule of 1992 and the 20 races

/

that, as this is written, are planned for 2012.There are races on both lists for, in '92 order, Brazil, Spain (one), Italy (two, including San Marino/lmola), Monaco, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Flungary, Belgium,Japan and Australia, which ended the '92 season, as opposed to opening warfare next March. Gone are five events; Imola, South Africa, Mexico, France and Portugal.

For 2012, we add; Malaysia, China, Bahrain, a second race in Spain (at Valencia, rather optimistically, six weeks after the race at Barcelona), Singapore, Korea (though there are doubts the race may continue), India, Abu Dhabi and Austin,Texas. Already there are new events set to join the schedule in 2013, in Russia and at the Port Imperial street circuit in New Jersey, and one pencilled in for '14, at Sochi in Russia.

As you can see, FI is moving east.The success of the Singapore race, and the potential success of India, suggest that both races will have a long future. China's event will not face any political opposition; nor, one would think, will the Russian race. Korea's race atYeongam is contacted to 2016 but with the promoter making plaintive noises about costs prior to this year's race (which was Year 2), one would wonder whether the race will move to another, more spectator-friendly (ie, closer to Seoul) venue.

Bahrain? Who knows what the political situation will be. Flaving been postponed this year, one can see it disappearing off the list completely.To be honest, motor racing in the Gulf has never been a big crowd puller and does not appear to have the potential to be so. If it goes, so be it.

So what happens next? An obvious hole in FI's current world map is Africa. South Africa is the most likely location for a return to the continent, but in spite of its resources-led economy,the low value of its currency does not much help the quest to return, particularly if it faces genuine commercial opposition from Asia.

The plain truth is, under the stewardship of Bernie Ecclestone, FI has always followed the money trail. At the moment, most that is pointing to sport to the east. As each year goes by, GP racing is becoming less of a European series and more global - which is exactly what the World Championship is supposed to be in the first place. www.mnews.com.au

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HERE are great campaigns, during which armies march into battle with hopes and heads held high.There are strategic withdrawals, where the objective has been secured,and the victor vacates the field. And there are heavy defeats, where technology, resources or brainpower are found to be lacking in the face of the foe.

The ebb and flow of great campaigns has certainly been a far more distinctive characteristic of sportscar racing than it has,for instance, with FI. The Bentleys came and wentfrom Le Mans in just a few short years,creating the best"size of legend to size of effort" ratio in the history of the sport.

Jaguar made the'50s their own. Ferrari reasserted itself with six straight wins

www.mnews.com.au

in the early to mid'60s, before finally being brought down by probably the mostfascinating project in the history of the race:the elite Sportscar specialist was defeated by the humble mass manufacturer. Ford.

When Porsche finally became serious about outright success in 1968,they became the backbone of the category for several decades. But still the others came and went: Matra, with its proud hat trick of wins in the early 1970s; Renault; a remarkable effort by Mazda;the return (and disastrous defeat) of Mercedes; a brief but successful sortie by BMW;and then the Audi years, before Peugeot arrived to take the fight to the men from Ingolstadt.

For the most part,the timing of these

great campaigns -the advances and retreats by the famous automotive houses - was dictated by marketing, not engineering,requirements.So much so, that on at least one occasion in Le Mans history(1975,after new fuel economy rules were introduced in response to the 1973 oil crisis)some of the manufacturers actively avoided the technical challenge inherent in the new rules.

Conversely,there have been occasions when the engineering challenge was central to a manufacturer's aims;think for instance of Mazda's efforts with its rotary engines,culminating in a marvellous Le Mans victory in 1991. And there is no doubt that this 1s the situation in which the prototype section of Sportscar racing finds itself today, iiii^

55

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For a manufacturer looking to display your technical skills, Spo because it just gives you more chance to showcasemew technoloj At Le Mans this year, I asked Team Joest's team manager and part-owner Ralf Juttner about sportscar regulations, compared to FI. "For a manufacturer looking to display your technical skills, Sportscar is better because it just gives you more chance to showcase new technologies and that kind of stuff," he replied,"whereas Formula 1 is so strictly ruled that you have to accept that if you go to Formula 1, it's the show effect, but not directly related technology transfer between racing and street cars".

It is a great credit to Le Mans organisers, the Automobile Club D'Ouest(ACO)that they realised this point so early. In the face of environmental and other underestimated threats to motor racing, they worked to make their regulations more relevant, at a time when even the most charitable of critics would have to concede that FI has struggled badly with working out what it is trying to achieve on the technical front.

Sportscars really started to set themselves apart from other categories when they allowed - or encouraged - the introduction of diesels. Sure, there had been occasional diesels racing at places like Indianapolis 56

' -^iii

and even Le Mans itself decades earlier, but Audi's first diesel attack in 2006 was a fullon professional attempt to make a go of the engine at the head of the field, not a backyard amateur amusing himself, as many of the earlier attempts had been. It is now easy to forget how much uncertainty there was about the suitability of the technology, easily forgotten when Audi made it work so well.

The process has continued to evolve.The Audis are using much less fuel, and are much more efficient, than they were when they converted to diesels just five years ago, and new challenges now lie ahead. And crucially, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many other boardrooms are adopting exactly the same analysis that Herr Juttner expounds.

Peugeot joined the diesel fray only a year after Audi, while the petrol flag was still being flown by Lola, Honda (Acura), Pescarolo, Aston Martin and a few others.

And now Toyota, which struggled to gain much traction with its FI program, is to join those ranks.The Japanese giant has supplied engines to the Rebellion Lolas this year, in what was clearly a toe in the water exercise.

But few people expected Toyota to plunge their whole body into the water as soon as 2012, when they will be running their own LMP1 chassis in selected races, including Le Mans.

The most significant aspect ofToyota's announcement is the timing.There are new regulations coming in 2014,the details of which are not yet known, but which are speculated to comprise a total energy allowance for the race, leaving the teams to work out how best to use it.

That means that 2014 will require a major investment in an engine and, possibly, chassis program;so much so that the most successful Le Mans manufacturer of all, Porsche, has timed its comeback to LMPl for that year, and not before. So the fact that Toyota is returning in 2012 can only mean that the company is going into prototypes in a fairly major way, knowing that their new car that is now nearing completion will be only good for two seasons. It has all the hallmarks of a long-term plan; it has often been said that a Le Mans programme takes three years to bear fruit, so it appears that Toyota is getting some miles up nil before everything changes in 2014. motorsport news

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t remains to be seen which other marques will be motivated to follow Toyota into the category, and even if they make that decision, whether they are committed enough to do so before 2014.

Bentley is now on record as saying they are returning to racing, considering all options from LMP1 down,although it stretches credulity to think that three different brands from the Volkswagen group would be racing each other for outright success at the Sarthe.

It is thought that Volkswagen have allowed Audi and Porsche to compete after 2014 only on the basis that they use different technologies, so it is hard to see where Bentley would fit into that philosophy.

Jaguar are said to be in. Honda appear to be out, for now, after their sudden withdrawal in 2011 due to complications from the tsunami - but then again, how is it that a new Acura LMPl has been produced after the withdrawal? It is widely thought that Honda (another FI refugee, of course) will commit to an LMPl program in the nearish future, which may also prompt Nissan to step up a grade from its present role as a successful engine supplier in LMP2.

One of the additional benefits of all these factory programs is that the parity or equivalence argument should soon be finalised.

There have been long-running complaints by people like Henri Pescarolo and David Richards that the ACO has gone too far in its concessions to the diesels, while Audi and Peugeot have stated repeatedly in reply that a well-funded and engineered petrolengined squad would extract far more from the configuration than the incumbents have managed.

There has of course been a good deal of nil

bluff and bluster in this debate (reminiscent of the tedious homologation arguments in the final years of Group C touring car racing in Australia) though logic tends to support the position of the two factory teams.

But that balance will soon change. With Toyota, Honda and Porsche all opting for petrol or petrol-hybrid engines,there are now some far heavier hitters in the petrol camp than there were before.The 2012 regulations remove more power from the diesels, and restrict them to a much smaller tank.This has predictably led to some squawking from Audi that the new rules are trying to match old vehicles and engines with cutting-edge developments. It sounds hollow already, and will be completely pointless when the new breed of petrol engines come online.

There may feasibly be some uneven competition in the meantime, but in the medium term the presence of high-calibre outfits on both the diesel and petrol sides should entail that an appropriate equivalence formula between apples and pears is nutted out.

Elsewhere in the field, the bizarre, rocket shaped Deltawing is also commanding a lot of attention with its emphasis on lightweight technology. As at the front, technical improvisation is the key; so much so, the car will be running outside the general classification, like the RoverBRM turbines did in the 1960s. At Bathurst, I asked David Brabham (who is likely to be one of the drivers) how he would feel about running outside the classification in such a famous race as Le Mans, but he was enthusiastic about the idea, embracing the new technology and what the car is trying to achieve.

Leaving aside the technical regulations, the creation of a World Endurance Championship in 2012 is another excellent idea, which some people suggest has given added impetus to the flourishing manufacturer interest. The WEC is a partnership between the ACO and FIA, but Ralf Juttner makes it pretty clear that the ACO has retained control; otherwise, they would not have got the FIA involved in their classic race at all. The WEC moniker should be a huge benefit for the category.

S

o if the cast for 2012 contains faces both old and new,and the whole production has a new title, what can we expect from the plot?

Well, much will depend on the rules, because as mentioned earlier, there is certainly the intriguing possibility of a regulatory mis-match of different technologies. It does happen from time to time; as recently as 2005,the ACO gifted the Pescarolos about a five second per lap speed advantage over the Audis, which the Pescarolo team managed to fritter away with a very undisciplined approach to the race.

Will Toyota get a dream welcome from the 2012 rules? Only time will tell.

Apart from that point, every indication is that it should be another great contest. Audi It all comes back to Le Mans: In the 1970s, Porsche's 917s carried Gulf's colours at Le Mans. Four decades later, the famed blue and orange hues were the providence ofthe factory Aston Martins.

Toyota is planning an assault nextseason; its previous efforts, including the late-90s GTOne,right, have been unsuccessful.

There is certainly the intriguing possibility of a regulatory mis-match of different technologies

motorsport news

has been comprehensively outgunned by Peugeot everywhere in 2011 - except Le Mans, where the lone surviving R18 narrowly held off all four Peugeots. But the two marques have a habit of creating fascinating contests over a 24 hour distance: think especially of the thrilling duel in 2008, when the slower Audi had just enough speed in the rain to defeat Peugeot, or this year's gripping, incessant duel over the entire duration.

From the spectacle point of view, Sportscars continue to have another great advantage over other categories: diversity.

As so many formulae have marched determinedly down the road of uniformity.

designers of prototypes still manage to produce cars that look substantially different from each other - and of course not even remotely like the GT cars with which they share the track.

And the very presence of those GT cars leads to a compelling sight seldom seen elsewhere: high-speed traffic management, which is the absolute key to getting consistently good lap times out of a prototype. It's like Bathurst in the old days only much, much faster.

The contest in GT this year has also been enthralling, with works teams from Ferrari, Porsche, BMW,Chevrolet, Lotus and Aston Martin. Porsche have for the most part had a

fairly frustrating year against the fleet of new Ferrari 458s, while Corvette was too good for everyone else at Le Mans.

While the competition has been intense in the Professional section of the GT category, this year also saw a good innovation with the creation of an Amateur class, aimed at the gentleman drivers - wealthy team owners like Florst Felbemayr and Seth Neiman, who like to have a run in their cars.

I asked Audi's Mike Rockenfeller at Le Mans for his opinion of the gentleman drivers which turned out to be quite a prophetic question,since on the Saturday night he suffered a massively destructive accident after Rob Kaufman moved over on him on the fastest part of the track. Rockenfeller commented that it was a bit of pain dealing with the gentleman drivers - then quickly added,"But I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Hindery".

American businessman Leo Flindery, who is now back in the news as part of the ; consortium behind the New Jersey FI GP, ^ gave the young Rockenfeller his Le Mans debut in 2004, and the next year the two of them shared with Marc Lieb to win the GT2 class, with Hindery limiting himself to just a very short stint.

Yes, gentleman drivers have always been an integral, appealing and beneficial part of sports car racing.

Rockenfeller's enthusiasm for Le Mans is infectious. He speaks of the spectacle, the speed,the drama of the night,the contrast in the cars and drivers, the fact that an already excellent product will only get better as more manufacturers come in:"if people came to see it for themselves,they would understand".

He's right.

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THE SECOND ROW national racing since we last met

CARRERA CUP Craig Baird moved a step closer to becoming the first three-time Carrera Cup Champion in Australia, winning all three races on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

Baird was unstoppable, snatching pole position at the very end of qualifying and winning each race to score his first round win of 2011 since the Albert Park season opener,and extend his points lead. With one round left, at Homebush, Baird holds a 51-point advantage over Daniel Gaunt, who was second for the weekend ahead of Steven Richards.

The most controversial aspect of the weekend came from McElrea Racing pair Jonny Reid and Michael Patrizi, who clashed several times in Race 2- Patrizi ultimately ended up in the wall atTurn 13 with a puncture and his Porsche mounted by Reid's.

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Justin Dowel and Matt Lee have claimed the Bosch Australian Rally Championship in dramatic circumstances.

In their only ARC start of 2011,Simon and Sue Evans won Rally Victoria, but all eyes were on the title.fight between Ryan Smart and John Allen, and the Dowel/Lee combination. With three stages to go. Smart was second to Evans with Dowel third, which looked set to be enough for Smart.

However,cruelly. Smart's front-right wheel lost drive and he dropped six minutes to finish ninth.

Dowel swept through to finish second to the Evanses, enough to secure his maiden ARC title.

66

Brendan Reeves and Molly Taylor finished fifth and 11 th respectively in the maiden WRC Adademy Series. Reeves started the year with a string of fourths, but had a tough second half.

Taylor's best result came at the Rally GB season finale,fifth.

George Miedecke claimed second and Rookie of the Year Honours in the UARA Stars Series.

After finishing their British Formula Ford campaigns, Nick McBride and Geoff Uhrhane were seventh and 13th in the Formula Renault Finals.

motorsport news

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FORMULA FORD

FORMULA 3

He may not have added to his round win tally in the final two events of the year, but Cameron Waters is the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Champion.

Waters didn't win a race on the Gold Coast and even failed to finish Race 2, but did enough to secure the crown with a round to go.Jack LeBrocq won two of the three races and the round, while Liam Sager scored his maiden race victory.

In the season finale at Symmons Plains, Nick Foster signed offfrom Formula Ford with a round win. Foster won two of the three races, and while Sonic team-mate Waters won the other, he crashed out of the final.

Daniel Erickson was second for the weekend, LeBrocq second for the year.

Having come agonisingly close in 2004, Chris Giimour finally has an Australian Formula 3 Championship to his name.

The season ended with back-to-back rounds at Phillip Island and Symmons Plains, as Giimour and 2008 Champ James Winslow fought it out for the title.

At Phillip Island, Winslow ate into Gilmour's points buffer with wins in the two sprint races, before Giimour fought back to win the feature, with Winslow third.

Across Bass Strait, Gilmour's weekend worked in reverse. He won the opener, and was able to settle for fifth in the remaining races to seal the title. Winslow won Race 2 and crossed the finish line first in Race 3, but was later penalised for rolling at the start, handing Tim Macrow the win.

V8 SUPPORTS

SHANNONS NATIONALS

With his first round win since May,John Bowe moved back into the lead of the Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn on the streets of the Gold Coast.

Bowe won the round ahead of Jim Richards, while former points leader Andrew Miedecke could only manage eighth after suffering a broken axle in Race 1.

After scoring his maiden round victory at Bathurst, Ryal Harris claimed a rare clean sweep in the AutoOne V8 Ute Racing Series.

Harris was in fine touch, winning the round to close the points gap to series leader Chris Pither, who finished second.

Paul Kemal won the penultimate Aussie Racing Car round at Symmons Plains as Tyler Owen moved into the series lead.

His title rival Jeff Bobik may have won the round, but fourth in Phillip island's season finale was enough for Roger Lago, pictured, to seal back-to-back Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge titles.

Commodore Cup driver Adam Beechey also joined the dual titlists'club after winning the round ahead of Matt Hayes, who was second for the season.

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In the KumhoV8 Touring Car Series,Terry Wyhoon wrapped up his maiden title with a clean sweep of race wins, as Scott Loadsman struck mechanical trouble in the final.

Darren Hossack won all three Kerrick Sports Sedan races, but Tony Ricciardello had already wrapped up the title. It was a similar situation for newly-crowned Saloon Car Champ Matt Lovell, finishing sixth as Andrew Nowland won the round.

Phillip island victor Warren Mcliveen won the Superkarts title.

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V. AMERON Waters has had a big year. weekend on debut for the five-time titlists, There's really no other way to describe finishing second to runaway champion Chaz it. Since March, he's become Australia's Mostert on the streets of Surfers Paradise. He i« youngest-ever Formula Ford Champion, showed plenty of pace over the remaining two ' won a Reality TV Show, made his debut in V rp,q!a^ ^beit without luck, to wrap.;up'sixth in! X # Australian motorsport's biggest race and the championship and thq^Spokie of the Year'^^V ● honours. stolen trivia stats from Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell.

Having signalled his intentibnSJ th'e titl^ was In reality, the Formula Ford side of things didn't the obvious goal for. 201 i., "I wanted to win a few races and stuff' which I surprise too many. After a prolific karting career.

Waters contested a single year of Formula Vee in did, but I had in the back of my mind froth start to 2009 and made one Victorian State Formula Ford finish that I wanted; to win the champiohship,'(hesaid. start. As a 15-year-old, he stepped it up in 2010, initially in a’family-run, older-model Mygale to I Just had to pace myseif and finish as many^ tackle the State and National Championships. races as I could." ; ^ J: Throughout the opening National rounds.

The year started well, winning the opening^: Waters made progress, scoring points in two of race on the streets of Adelaide, before crashing the opening four events.The fourth round, at out of Race 2. He narrowly missed a round win Hidden Valley, was a breakthrough. While Waters at Winton, which meant Waters had t6*wait until ' failed to earn a point in thoraces, he qualified a Round 3 at Eastern Creek to secure his maiden , ^ round win. Since then, he's won at Queensiaril ● strong sixth.

At Townsville, he qualified sixth again, and went Raceway and Phillip Island; missing out narrowly at Sandown in the middle. on with it in the races, grabbing his first major "There were a few awesome rounds," he recalled. points haul with a seventh, fourth and fifth.

"In '09, 1 think I did one meeting in Formula Ford, "Generally, everywhere I went the car was that was Just a lead-up to 2010, and I went into awesome and I was pretty quick and up the front.

2010 doing State and National and i learnt a hell I put it on pole in five of the rounds, so there was of a lot from that," Waters explains. only two rounds where I didn't.

"At Townsville, I was still in my own car, run by "If I had to pick a race; Queensland Raceway, my family. That was probably the first meeting when I won by eight seconds, that was pretty awesome." that we were up at the front, the front two to four.

After that, i think Ryan Simpson gave it up and I: A year after his Sonic debut. Waters was back got his car for the remaining three rounds and I on the Gold Coast, looking to wrap up the title.

And even after a mixed weekend, which included was fortunate enough to drive with Mick Ritter from Sonic for the rest of the year." a touch with team-mate Garry Jacobson Hi Following his Sonic shift. Waters had a standout in the opener and a crash in Race 2, fifth 69

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place in theitfciiiid and final race was enough for Waters to become the youngest-everAustraliai?,Formula Ford Champion.

It was a little weird, I thought I probably would've finished Race i.j2 and wrap it up then, but it wasn't to be," he admitted after sealing the title. t'In winning the championship. Waters joins a prestigious list of drivers to have won the title for Sonic. Like Will Davison, Whincup, David Reynolds,Tim Blanchard and Nick Percat before him.Waters is quick to pay credit to the team,and the man at the helm, Ritter.

"It's beeTi gpod;''he says. l ^"Mick's taught ms»hP.w,to drive thejrara fair bit, and those sorts of Ihjngs. He's^probably got the most out'of'mi.^“ :'i(nhey're pt^bably the best team in the Formula Ford paddock at the momerit; and arguably one of the best in the world, I'd say, It was awesome to be able to race with them.The cars are so quick and they know how to get the most out of their drivers."

NDER normal circumstances, winning the Formula Ford jr^-^'iyi.Championship would be the biggest thing to happen to a young driver in any given year. But that probably wasn't the case

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for Waters, who made his V8 Supercar debut in the Bathurst 1000 in October - becoming the first driver to do both in the same year since Jamie Whincup in 2002.

What would he have said to someone who suggested that at the start of the year?

I would've told them they were dreaming/'Waters says.

"I really wouldn't have known what to say. It was a dream come true. Every kid wants to race at Bathurst, so it was pretty awesome."

Waters earned a spot on the grid through a reality TV program.

Shannons Supercar Showdown, which aired on 7mate. Organised by and run through Kelly Racing, a seat alongside Grant Denyer In a fifth Kelly Commodore was dangled in front of 10 aspirants.

Waters made his way through the various challenges and eventually defeated British Touring Car Driver Andrew Jordan in the final - a shootout in a V8 Supercar at Winton - to win the series.

The program was aired over 11 weeks, between late July and the Sunday before Bathurst, but was, like most reality programs,filmed in advance,in a three-week block in and around Melbourne.

Contestants received confirmation of their spot in May,and the show was filmed between the Hidden Valley and Townsville V8 Supercar rounds in late June and early July. Fortunately for Waters

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motorsport news

I and the other Formula Ford contestants,that fell neatly in a twomonth break in the Formula Ford calendar. lijust tried to concentrate on one or the other throughout that period)"Waters said of maintaining balance between his Formula Ford title bid and, ultimately, racing at Bathurst.

"I kind of got my Formula Ford out of the way,did the show,some more Formula Ford, did Bathurst and then got back into Formula Ford for the rest of the year. I had to concentrate on my Formula Ford and then the V8s, obviously, and try not to get sidetracked" Then, Waters had to play the waiting game. For the best part of three months, he knew he'd won the show, but had to wait to not only-enjoy his prize but talk about it with family, friends, classmates and anyone else who asked along the way.

It didn't really sink in for probably the first seven weeks, but then li started to realise 'shit, this is actually going to happen^" he admits.

"Everyone was coming uf)to me,saying'did'you;wihf Did'you;^? win?'^!just said 'I don't knowy couldn't say anyttfih^fha|Aas;V ^ long 11 weeks, bd^lt'^a'llisopt of paid offatthe end;ii|wa|[a preg good surprise."

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It also meant his additional training for Bathurst h^dito goV underground. Faced with much higher demaiSdssthan1^iSj20 minute Formula Ford races. Waters rampedtup histr&'ihingLregifn^ but had to be coy about it. l - ●It.I would've liked the show to finish maybe a week or two; befofeij Bathurst, mainly just so I could train a bit better and'stuff," hesaidr® : "I already do a fair bit of training for Formula Ford, l-'m at the gy^'-^ probably three or four times a week, and I'm always going out fdr^^ runs and bike rides. So when I knew that ! won the shoWyHjljusJ; hja’d>/T to ramp it up again.

III I was just doing as much as | could, was pretty much at

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Ill the gym-nqe^vgverv day. People were asking why i was --d^tfs^goingjpBFfSr extra runs and stuff,*^d*("heidto relate it back h‘^fottheilbrmula Ford" ■ i^ith the final of the show airing on the Sunday before Bathurst, \ there was little time to bask in glory - Waters was straight off to The Mountain. On Monday and Tuesday, Waters drove from his family's .' home in Mildura t© Bathurst. But this wasn't your average driver roadtripping to a race meeting.

On his L-Plates, Waters was accompanied by his father in the passenger seat, and had to stick to an BOkmh speed limit. Upon arrival, he was in the deep end, attracting plenty of attention from media arid fans/as the event's youngest-ever driver at i| 7 years, two ! p>^driths and six days oid, displacing Paul Dumbrell by a week. , ’ ’"\t was a pretty big build-up to It; and when I finally got there it was r● CJ a ptetty big shook as well," he recailed.

Before getting to Bathurst, Waters' mileage-in a V8 Supercar was limited. He'd taken part in two test days at Winton in what became the #77 entry he Shared with Denyer. One of those formed the final two episodes of the show and the other was a full test, while Waters also got some mileage during a separate Kelly Racing test in Greg Murphy's Commodore, when Murphy's co-driver Allan Simonsen was unable to attend. Across those outings, his longest run in the car was 14 iaps, all in the dry, on reiatively quiet days at a relatively straightforward - compared to Bathurst - Winton.

It was wet for Waters' Mount Panorama initiation. But he still acquitted himself well, keeping out of trouble and bringing his laptimes down throughout practice, before Denyer qualified the car 29th. *■

72

"I was pretty excited," he said of sitting in the car before his first laps, "i was a little bit nervous as well, it was raining and i don't think we had the best of wet tyres, so I just bad to go out there, keep it off the walls and Just circulate, which is what i did. it was pretty hairy."

After Denyer completed the #77's first stint. Waters hopped aboard on Lap 25. Having somehow managed to avoid hitting a wall at McPhillamy Park in a practice spin on Friday, Waters found one on Lap 29 at Forest's Elbow. It put the car many laps down and while running at the end, they weren't classified as finishers. Still, Waters was able to get back out there and end his massive week with some Bathurst experience, "i think 1 handled it pretty well, I would've liked to have done a bit better, though," he admits, "i drove the car a lot better in the race after i crashed, which wasn't the ideai place to get quicker, but hopefuiiy next year, if it happens again, the show or even me going to Bathurst, i'il be able to take a lot from it and hopefully improve my driving a fair bit as well."

The following week. Waters went for, and obtained, his P-Plates. it's been a big year. And next year may be even bigger. Waters wiil complete his finai year of schooi, and is looking to combine it with a Fujitsu Series program. There's an obvious link with Keliy Racing, which has the capacity to run a car, while Sonic already has an existing FV8 program. As MNews went to print. Waters was due to Jump back aboard the Kelly Racing #77 in the penultimate Fujitsu Series round at Sandown.

"There'll be a few talks with [Keily RacingJ and a few talks with Sonic as well.There are a few good programs," he said.

"Hopefully I can get into the series next year."

motorsport news

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ERY rarely in modem* professional motorsport are cars and drivers closely linked for an extended period oftime.

Young drivers progress through junior categories quickly,, NASCAR drivers cycle through about a thousand chassis a year, V8 Supercar drivers tend to get a^new car every months or so,and while Sebastien Vettel and'Kinky Kylie'- as be named Red Bull's RB7.-' get on famously, he'll have a hew toy in'201:2.

With Sports Sedans,though,things can be different. Regulations are stable and open,giving teams plenty offreedom to continually develop and update their car, rather than having to replace it with something newer.

And that's something the Ricciardello family have done exceptionally well.Their Alfa Romeo GTV is the easily best example of what can be done,with the necessary resources, initiative and enthusiasm. Built in 1992,it has now won eight National Sports Sedan titles.

The Ricclardellos-already hada history in the,fpRp}.ula, with Basil having raced a car built in the early 1980s, butfew could have predicted the impact the second Alfa would enjoy. Brian Smith took it to the title in 1994, but a crash on the Gold Coast in 1996 would end his stint in it.

Around the same time, Basil's son Tony had moved from BMX racing to go-karts and into Formula Ford. At Barbagallo Raceway in late 1996, he was given a drive of the Alfa for the first time.

The power/the speed and the way everything happened so fast, it. was just amazing," he recalls.

"We were on the Qoo^dyears back then and I still remember accelerating up the badcof tfte hill at Wannef^^and the thing was in fourth gear and fifth gear and still wheel-spinning! It got my attention pretty quickly.

'Obviously it was an incredible feeling that not many people get to experience.

From there, it became Ricciardello's racecar. He raced in and won the 1997 WA Sports Sedan title, before stepping up to the Australian Championship, as it was then, in 1998.

Brian was retiring from racing the Alfa and I drove the car at the end of '96 and seemed to get stuck into it pretty well," he explains.

"I'd been cleaning the car, polishing rims and that sort of stuff from when I was a kid, really young, and always said to Brian that one day I was going to kick him out of it and drive it!

It was amazing that it actually happened... it was an amazing feeling to drive the car back then."

Ricciardello won his first and the car's second national title in 1998.

He followed it up with championship wins In 1999,2001,2002,2005 and 2007, along with narrow, second-place finishes in 2000,2008 and 2009.

All the while, the Alfa has been a constant development project, receiving plenty of birthdays. Other than the shell, everything has been tinkered with over the years, with Ricciardello himself the driving force.

Tm a mechanic by trade and we run a small workshop in Perth and that's one of my babies now," he says of the car.

I've built most of the stuff in the car with the help of Jamie Gard and a few other different people over the years - building motors. gearboxes, designing suspension and everything that goes with it is a pretty big passion of mine. But I also get the other side of things. racing it and getting the enjoyment out of that.

When Brian was driving it, even when I started driving it, say www.mnews.com.au

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atf^stern Creek,It was d&inglt:34s,|^think.This year, Darren [Hossack]and i were racing ii;i the:1’:29s.That's a pretty big - jurrip from the performance side ofthings; it's really been an evolution of everything.

"The tyres have.probably improved,there's more horsepower,and with the new bits,th^’dar's probably^IJQiikilos heavier thari it was back ' then, but everything works so much better rrow.",Wfc-Tir-.Over the years,the car has been involved in some major battles with the likes of Kerry Baily and Darren Hossack,the latter more recently in an Audi built in 2007.

But the Alfa is still getting the Job done,and Ricciardellb scored his seventh and the car's eighth title in 2011-. Overits 19 years,the car has amassed an ever-growing record unlikely to ever be matched.A t-r s very strong c,ase>could even be made to consider it Australia's mostl successful racec^r.

"We do think about thesuccess the car's had sometimes,and you T could probably saviit«'s»the most-^successf^l car^in the country, with the amount oftitles it's won,"Ricciardello muses.

'Sometimes people say'it's not like VBSuperGars'or'there's not 30 cars within a second or two', but when myself and Darren are racing,or Kerry Baily back in the day,and a few other cars,the speed that we're doing compared to a Ibt of other categories is quite fast.

"We've always had competition,we've always beaten them when we've won the title. Sometimes we do sit back and think'shit, we've done a really good job'. And even this year, we've had a'fOO percent finish rate,so we take a lot of pride-from how we do things."

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Last year was something of an anomaly In Ricdardello's life; he didn't drive the Alfa at all. On the eve ofthe V8 Supercar season opener in Abu Dhabi,he sealed a deal to drive Kelly Racing's fourth Commodore throughout the 2010 season.

But it ended up being a hard slog,as earlier occupants ofthe car had also endured Ricciardello ended the season 26th in the standings, with a best result of 17th,in the final race ofthe year at Homebush.

"It's a difficult question," he says after a pause,when asked how he looks back on the season.

"It was fantastic to get the opportunity to run in the V8s, but then sometimes you think'well, unless you're in the top five cars, you're not going to be able to win'. When you're struggling all year,it gets frustrating pretty quickly and you start questioning a lot of things.You question your own talent, what you're doing during the year and try to change it.

"But in the end, we had a tough run and once we got back into the Alfa and I started enjoying motor racing again, you prove to yourself that you can drive a car quite well.We started enjoying our racing,the family goes away each weekend,so it's enjoyabie all-round."

For the Ricciardello clan, motorsport and family are.closely linked.

What started as Basil racing and building turned into Tony's racing and the whole family-including Tony and wife Carla's 18-month-old son Orlando-go to each round ofthe Kerrick Series.

"Dad comes away with us still, my Mum still comes away, my wife and my*little boy come away and we've got some close friends who help us on the car.We go away and enjoy the weekend,"Ricciardello says.

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"Getting to drive the car and be successful in it is the end result.

You can't forget where your roots are.The grassroots are enjoying motorsport and if it becomes too serious to the point where you start questioning a lot ofthings in life, you just need to remember why you're doing it."

Change is on the horizon,though. Excited by the prospect of building and developing a brand-new challenger,the Ricciardellos are looking to replace the Alfa with a new Sports Sedan,possibly a Ferrari or Lamborghini-bodied machine. It's something they're keen to do at some Stage, but Ricciardello says there's no rush.

"We definitely want to do something,"he says.

"There are a lot of new cars coming out next year,like Kerry Baily's Aston Martin,and some new Trans Ams coming over from America, and obviously a 20-year-old car is still beating a lot ofthe newer cars that are being built and that's a good feeling as well.

"Whether we need to build a new car or not is another question, but it's something that as mechanics and engineers we want to do.

If we can get hold ofthe car we want to race with, we'll probably look at building a new car. But it's very difficult to get,say,a Ferrari or Lamborghini bodyshell to even start looking at the concept of building a Sports Sedan.

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i WEk CARlRBeTT YIq U 1C K LY "We have been looking for quite a while,at different avenues how we can do it. You sort of go through stages after a couple of months when you don't hear anything back, you try another avenue and you get that hunger for it again.Then it dries up and you start again.

"Once we get a body that we want to race with* we'li look at building a new car pretty quickly."

In turn^ that means the future ofthe Alfa is uncertain.It's become a member ofthe^amjly,and is therefore unlikely to be left,to rust away or sold to the first persBfftd walk in off the street and offer a coupleof dollars. In years to come,it could even get'^eond lease of life as a Historic Sports Sedan.Current Group U regulations caterfor pre-1986 Sports Sedans, but with the Alfa set to turn 20 next year, progressioR'of the Historic cut-off could make it eligible Indue time.''Maybe we can start racing it in Histories soon!"Ricciardellojokes. .'4 "It's something that it would be hard to move on, but we'll look at -’ that when it comes a time when we need to put it aside.There are a:lot of developmentsin the car but we've kept all of the old bits,so if we ever needed to put the original parts back in, we could do that as well.

"Maybe once it becomes a historic and it's old enough,the value might go up. But we're not going to keep it because it's going to be worth money,it's been part ofthe family for 20 years."

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WAS FAR FROm RUSTY IH HIS RETURH TO SALOOH CAR^ RACIHG m 20H.’ i\

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T is pretty rare for a racing driver to spend two years out of a car, return to racing and win a national series in their comeback season. However, Matt Lovell achieved this exact feat, winning the 20T1 Australian Saloon \ j Car Series after spending 2009 and 2010 on the J sidelines.

Before his two year sabbatical, Lovell was something of a veteran of Saloon Car racing, competing in the series through the EA Falcon / I VN Commodore era,through to the current AU Falcon /VT Commodore phase of the category.

"It was a very affordable sport back in the EA ' days," Lovell reflected.

"Harry Bargwanna made a comment when we went to an ECU that was mappable,that it had I become chequebook racing, and he was right.

But now it has gone back to control a lot more things, and also the category is being a lot more heavily scrutinised now,and charges are being laid where appropriate, which is good, because j there were a lot of people doing whatever the hell they wanted to do."

Lovell built a new AU Falcon for the 2011 season, and despite taking only six weeks to complete the project, it proved to be competitive straight away.

"A mate of mine and I built it, and we've put our best foot forward," Lovell said.

"We haven't always been the quickest, but we've always been around the money,and it proves that with reliability, consistency and a bit of j ! j

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speed, you can pull it off."

Lovell highlighted some of the improvements to his current AU Falcon compared to his previous car, which he sold to Victorian competitor Dave Heath in 2009.

"It's pretty much chalk and cheese," he explained.

"The old AU didn't really want to behave, but it was a series one development. With this one, we've changed a bit of the cage design and the Milton motor has a bit more horsepower with the development as well.

"I've dumped 11 kilos this year, so there could be a bit in that as well, in helping me balance the car out a bit better."

Lovell explained that his two-year absence from the category was due to the category itself.

"I had an issue with the way the category was

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being run at the time," he said. ^ "I believe the category management listened to all the members,and made some instrumental changes to the regulations. Instead of six new tyres per event, it became restricted to four new tyres per event,and two previously marked.

"That took a lot of the cost out of it because we'reitalking mechanics and,)j|ople who've got a business who can afford to spend a little bit of money on racing. If you get someone who turns up who has 100 grand and he Just chucks tyres at the car all weekend,then of course he's quicker.

Then you go home feeling bad about-yourself because you don't have 100 grand to throw at it.

"It's proved,especially with the numbers this year,that-the formula has gone back to an affordable motorsport,that people can justjump iq, go for a drive and not cost them a house at the end of the weekend."

Parity has long been a tallying point in any motorsport category that involves more than one different type of manufacturer, and Lovell i believes the Falcon has an advantage over the Commodore in terms of reliability.

"The Falcon is reliable, the Commodores are fast but they're unreliable," he said.

A number of Lovell's former Saloon Car rivals have stepped up to the V8 Touring Car Series, inciuding Bruce Heinrich, Shawn Jamieson and Paul Pennisi. While Lovell would love to have a run in the series, he is hesitant because of the increased costs.

"I'm not going to sacrifice my family, my property and my investments for a racecar," he said. "i told Jamo and Bruce that they can go and get stuffed, which is driven out ofjealousy more than anything else! But I can afford this, I can run this and it's relatively cheap.

"I may be back to defend the title, i don't know, but I'll definitely go to Bathurst. I haven't nailed Bathurst - although I've nailed the wall at Bathurst!- but a lot of people have,so I want to go back to Bathurst and win there, and do whatever I can to make it happen.

"I'm very passionate about my family. Ford and South Australia,so if we can combine the three things, go racing and aiso win, it's a killer result for all of us."

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McGregor has also been one of the key players behind the scenes, heading up the Commodore Cup Group, which has managed the category since 2008. If motorsport success was measured by enjoyment, dedication and service to the sport, very few drivers would come even close to Ross McGregor.

"Andrew Mclnnes talked me into running a VH, which is what really got me into this category," McGregor recalls of his introduction to the series.

"We did half a season in 2003, and since then we've done every season.

McGregor entered Commodore Cup at a defining period in the category's history, a time when the older VH Commodores were nearing their use-by date and an updated vehicle was on the cards. McGregor and his

0 some,success in motorsport is about winning.To others, it is about making a living. And for many more. it is about enjoyment.

Ross McGregor has raced in Commodore Cup since 2003, and the 55-year-old will be the first to admit he isn't the youngest, fastest, fittest or most successful driver. He has never qualified on pole position, never won a championship and, up until the final round of the 2010 Commodore Cup season, he had never won a race.

However, he turns up at every Commodore Cup event with a car that is among the most professionally presented in the paddock, and a transporter that wouldn't look out of place at a V8 Supercar meeting - in fact, the transporter previously belonged to a V8 Supercar team.

team were one of the first to compete in a VS Commodore Cup car, introduced in 2004.

'We might have been second to have a VS,' McGregor says.

"I think Axent Racing had the first-ever VS, and we built a VS out of a VH fairly soon after that."

In his first few seasons in Commodore Cup, McGregor rarely troubled the front-runners but over the last few years, McGregor has prided himself on consistency, running solidly in the top 5 in most events and scoring the occasional podium finish en route to fourth place overall in the 2008, 2009 and 2011 series.

McGregor's breakthrough race win came at Sandown last year, and was followed up with an overall round victory in a twindriver event at Bathurst in April, where

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he was joined by Fujitsu V8 Supercar competitor Drew Russell.

Sandown was a reverse-grid operation and I was lucky enough to hold them out on the line by getting a nice break from the start," McGregor says. "Winning my first- ever race was very exciting for myself and the team.

"Bathurst was really down to Drew's driving. He did two great stints in the car and I played the backup driver there. Drew's an extraordinarily talented young guy and my car's as good as anybody's in the field; and he got it to the front. To win an event at Bathurst was extremely gratifying."

The Commodore Cup series is rapidly approaching a crucial phase. With many competitors looking at other racing options, the need to attract new competitors is

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CUP - ON AND OFF TRACK FOR MANY YEARS. LACHLAN MANSELL SPOKE TO HIM critical if the category is to survive into the future. McGregor is honest in his appraisal of the category's current position.

"We did try to upgrade the cars to VE, because we were getting a lot of people saying they would like a later-model car, but the category isn't embracing that. So i would suggest they would be staying at VSs fora period of time and after this year, it's just about paying your way.

"Less cars means more money [for each car], so it will just be more expensive to run if the numbers drop off, or they'll have to gain a sponsor, but sponsorship is a very difficult thing to get with the amount of people out there.

"Commodore Cup has been propped up by people within the category that have a passion for the category that have been

paying to keep the series going and I think a few of those people will be moving on, if not this year then next year, so our next 12 months and probably three years in the category will be a difficult time," McGregor admits. ; McGregor himself is looking beyond ' Commodore Cup for his racing future, aiming for a move into a Porsche in 2013.

"I intend to go to Porsche GTS Cup Challenge," he says.

"I'd like to try another category where I'm not so involved in the running of the category and I just turn up and enjoy my racing in a car that's purpose-built. I'd probably be hoping to buy a car during the course of next year and maybe run a round or two and then perhaps do a full season the year after."

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He nHght he Jist a teenagep, bDt Dutch haptieg eeasatisa M tie Ifpiep has two CK-FU Wapiti Champianships aati a capeep-laag McLapea caatpact ta his aaaie. Hepe is the stapv at his latest Wapiti Chaaipiaashh) — : HERE is a sense of inevitability about Nyck de Vries'career.

Atjust 16 years of age,the fact that he will soon be a Formula 1 driver is, well, pretty much Just that - a fact. Complementing his extraordinary talent is a career-long deal with McLarenMercedes, very much like the support Lewis Hamilton had as a karter. In fact, de Vries is even managed by Lewis'father, Anthony Hamilton.

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Like Hamilton, de Vries'karting career has been blessed. Having started racing n karts in Strijen, in the southern part of the Netherlands, back in 2000, deVries' rise through the European,and then international, karting ranks has been rapid.

In 2008, he won both the German and World Series Karting KF3 titles. He took both titles again in 2009,as well as adding the European CIK-FIA KF3 title to the list. In 2010, he stepped up to KF2, and promptly won the CIK-FIA World Championship.This year, it was on to KF1 - and another World Championship was won.

There are a few factors that make the most recent win special. Firstly, it was a hard-fought title win, which came down to November's final round at Suzuka in Japan.

Secondly, it was de Vries'last meeting as a karter, with open-wheeler racing set to become his sole focus from 2012 onwards.

In other words, it was one that de Vries really wanted to win.

"The first qualifying session did not go as positively as I thought,so I had to be satisfied with the 14th-best time,"de Vries reflects.

"But I was not overly worried, because Suzuka is a circuit where you can pass easily.

I made a good start in Final 1 and was able to get up to fifth."

A third place in Final 2 put de Vries on the front foot for the remaining two finals on the Sunday,and second in qualifying all but sealed the deal. When he managed to hold on to second place in Final 3,the title was his - but he didn't stop there. An emphatic win in Final 4, his final start in a kart, was the fitting end to what has been an impressive karting career.

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"There was a lot of overtaking, it was really fun. At the end of the race, I was very fast and managed to make the difference.

"I was extremely happy to conclude[my karting career] with a victory, but most of all it was a great relief to become World KF1 Champion this season, a year after my first world title in KF2."

Winning the last race of 2011 book-ended an almost perfect season for deVries. Back in June, he made the most awesome of starts to his KF1 career, winning all four races at the first round of the World Championship in Wackersdorf, Germany. Having raced in Germany a lot, knowing the circuit was an advantage; but still, it was an impressive debut in a new class.

"I have always felt very much at ease on this winding layout, where curves leave very little respite," he said at the time.

"I was here in 2008 and 2009 for the German KF3 Championship and each time I set the pole position and won both finals."

Next up was Zuera in Spain, but while de Vries was the fastest guy going - a fact proven by two pole positions from two qualifying sessions, and four fastest laps from four races - he only took one race

win away from the weekend, with engine problems and crashes getting in the way.

In Belgium there were more dramas, namely a reed petal issue in the first qualifying session. It meant he was left with a back-row starting spot, which he turned into a fourth and a second.The next day, he started Final 3from pole position, only to run wide early in the race and have to fight his way from the back to third place. In Final 4, it finally clicked and another win came his way.

Then there was the penultimate round in Sarno, Italy. Saturday was perfect, with de Vries qualifying fastest and taking two wins, the second by a whopping five seconds. But an engine problem on Sunday left the door open for the thrilling Suzuka finale against Alexander Albon, with sixth place the best he could manage in Final 4.

But,as history shows, it didn't matter. De Vries left Japan with his second CIK-FIA World Championship.

That's the story on de Vries'final year in karts. Now,a brand new chapter is ready to start, with his car racing progression to kick start in 2012.

Stay tuned...

GOD'S CLASSIC CLASSICS

IN WARRNAMBOOL THEY CALL GARRY RUSH 'GODMNHONOUR1DF HIS SEVEN WINS IN THE REGION'S GRAND ANNUAL SPRINTCAR CLASSIC.

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'We knew both cars were strong and I knew they'd be quick, but it was long bloody odds that we'd finish the way we did, in first and second," Rush said.

McCubbin's second placing was all the more meritorious because he raced for the last 15 laps with a flat front tyre. nil

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Rush's affinity with the Classic and the Victorian seaside city of Warrnambool had him say at his testimonial "if you want to meet real Australians, then come to Victoria, if you want to meet real Victorians, then go to Warrnambool."

It's an amazing quote - but not something that the local council ever picked up on - and Rush still vouches for it.

"It's been great to me the people in this part of the world," Rush said.

It sure has been, a good place and great event to Rush in his many trips from his Sydney home.

He has dominated the Classic, so much so he holds the record for the most number of wins and the history books show the name Garry Rush first on seven occasions between 1976 and 1990. During that period, Rush also placed no less than nine other times, which included runner-up seven times.

At Premier Speedway where the Classic is held every January, was a podium that Rush knew well and while Max Dumesny was always the'local'favourite, it was Rush that those same'locals'called God. During two decades of racing in the

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Classic, Rush was the most popular driver to pull into the pits on Classic weekend, and that reputation was enhanced in 1990 when possibly the most famous finish gripped every person there.

Dumesny had the 35-lap race In the bag but Rush, with his hard compound Goodyear, waited and was patient as he sat in third chasing second-placed George Tatnell. Rush's tyres started to come in and he quickly picked offTatnell with just 10 laps remaining.

In no time. Rush, sporting his famous Castrol colours, had caught Dumesny in his Valvoline machine and with one lap remaining Rush was on the tail tank of the leader. As the pair raced flat-out into the last two turns, the wily Rush pulled alongside the low-running Dumesny and in a massive, high-line, history making move roared past to win the drag race to the finish line by a hair.

The move left the packed Warrnambool venue dumbfounded,and it still does. It's a move that is etched in Classic history and the memory of everyone there that night, in a race that was one of the greatest in the history of Australian Sprintcar racing.

That includes this writer. 1 remember

looking around Premier Speedway that night and seeing every person stand as one and applaud and cheer both drivers.

"Going into that race, Max was the guy to beat," Rush recalled.

"He led for lap after lap until I sat the car high on the final couple of laps and hoped that the line I wanted was there."

Yes the line, and it was bloody high, nearly scraping the famous Warrnambool wall, but it was there for Rush to win, and he did. Victory was sweet for Rush,for Dumesny a cruel loss, but in the end another chapter of this most-famous of Sprintcar events was filled.

Rush has always complimented Dumesny for the way he drove in this race and it's always one he remembers fondly.

"It was a great race and I do regard it as the best Classic win, it rates high as one of my best all-time wins," Rush said.

It's not just the Classic that Rush made his own for many years but also the Australian Sprintcar Championship. He's won 10 of those and had 18 podium finishes between 1966 and 1998, something that will certainly not forgotten when the 50th running of the national championships are held early next year in Adelaide. motorsport news

HE LED FOR LAP AFTER LAP UNTIL I SAT ^ THE CAR HIGH ON THE FINAL COUPLE OF LAPS AND HOPED THAT THE LINE I WANTED WAS THERE RUSH,ABOVE WITH DUMSNEY,ON THEIR 1990 BATTLE Position Vacant - SALESPERSON

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MODEL BEHAVIOUR

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were Christmas,already? Traid so. To help find thatperfectgiftfor the racing person in your home,BRUCE MOXON has a quick look at what's new in the modelcar market IG model news this month is bad news.

You see, there have been some troubles affecting Biante's supply line; one of the factories in China that makes the models recently went bankrupt and all the moulds and tools for making models might have been lost.

Latest information is that they've been confiscated by creditors in China.

To tool up for a 1 /18 car costs in the order of half a million dollars, so there's a big hold-up in supply for the time being.

They've been forced to cancel lots of really great upcoming models.

So we'll all need to be patient for this year's Biante model cars.

88

It's not all doom and gloom at Biante, however. Making it into production before the troubles was Biante's stunning 1969 XW Falcon GT-HO Phase I. There are a few GT-HOs available at the moment. Last month we revealed Classic Carlectables'new Bruce McPhee Bathurst GT-HO Phase II from 1970.The Biante Phase I is the road car version, however, finished in Diamond White.

The Phase I, II and III HOs are the ultimate Aussie muscle cars (sorry Holden fans, but they just are) and if you're not massively cashed-up, the model is the best way to have a piece of history of your own.

Like everything else from Biante, the XW is beautifully

detailed and finished.

Considering that the production volumes are fairly low, it's hard to know how they do it for the price.

Biante's 1978 ATCC-winning Torana A9X is also set for release as scheduled,this model having been put together just before all the drama unfolded. As with other large-scale models from Biante, the Peter Brock Torana is highly detailed, very accurate and has a good,solid feel to it.

With the 308 Holden V8 topped with Weber carbies,the

mm 1

HO HO HO: This Falcon GT-HO Phase I from Biante would surely be welcome in any Christmas stocking, above, right. motorsport news

extractors, full interior detail and stuff like the dry-sump system in the back, theTorana will no doubt fly out of the shops.

Some of us like cars that just don't sit there looking nice.

For those people, slot cars are often a good way of having both a collectible and a toy.

Scalextric's 2011 range includes a few of those awesome Audi R8 GTS cars, McLaren and Mercedes FI cars and another LH Torana - the 1974 Brock/ Sampson Bathurst car. Like the Brock car mentioned above,the slot car is missing the cigarette sponsorship signs, about which we've said volumes before.

The Scalextric Torana will surely be welcome news to slot car enthusiasts. In Sydney there's a group of slot car devotees who run their own championships at specially built slot car tracks at each others' homes.They even have separate categories, including histories - last month they held a special event only for DTM slot cars, so no doubt these guys will be jumping at the chance to run some real Aussie touring cars on their tracks.

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production delays mean that they're .only just going to be available now. The Bathurst 1992 cars, first and third placed. will be available, but with big blank areas down the sides. But your local model retailer might be able to help with the missing decals, or you can check Ebay.

There's also a GIO Sandown 1992 winner, the Mark Gibbs/ Rohan Onslow GT-R and the 1991 Bathurst third-place carthe same car, actually. All these

90

Nissans are from a new mould, too - so the quality will be state-of-the-art.

Classic Carlectables will be releasing its 1/18 2011 V8 Supercars in the near future, too.

Just in time for the fat man (no. not me) to stuff some in your Christmas stocking. nil Classic Commodore: Classic Carlectables has just released a model of the 05 HDT Commodore from the '83 Bathurst WOO, above, below.

motorsport news

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Featuring all the usual detail we've come to expect,the current crop of V8s are a colourful lot, although I'm of the opinion that some designers want a good kicking over some cars - no names, no pack drill.

But the cars do look great the interior details are fantastic, the wheels can be positioned, the boots have the dry-break systems,the dry sump,there's a cabin full of pipes and ducting and there's a very detailed V8 under the bonnet.

Bathurst 1983 is remembered for Peter Brock winning in John Harvey's car.'Cheat'cried the uninitiated, not realising that jumping into the second car was normal practice at that time; indeed. Brock would have done it in 1981 as well, but Harves was already out n of the race. Anyway,the 05 ^ Commodore that year was one of the best-looking ever, I reckon, with the black Momo wheels and rather stark, minimalist red and white.

As ever, the interior, engine and boot are as detailed as can be. Except there's no big hole in the block. And there's yet another set of stickers to buy, just to get up the nose of the various Health Departments that are convinced they can rewrite history. ^..1

Brock buster: This was the 05 Commodore that suffered engine failure in '83 at Bathurst,leaving Peter Brock and Larry Perkins to transfer across to the sister HOT car ofJohn Harvey and Phil Brock.

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This DVD revisits two classic races at Sandown; one 25 years ago and 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 DealerTeam 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 late-night 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.

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Two decades ago, the VN Commodore SS was the last word in high performance Holdens. Sadly, It never received the kudos it deserved over its short competition life. The second place the VN scored at Bathurst in 1991 is hardly remembered today, but it was against much tougher odds than that faced by the HRTVL 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.

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THE FINAL WORD

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N past Final Words, we have regularly covered the great teams, the fast drivers and the young guns, but we haven't really covered the other end of the scale.

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport would be in that spot at present and it's worth having a quick analysis to see what it's like to be LDM currently.

It's easy to fire cheap shots at the tail enders, and make judgment based on results.To be fair to Lucas, the guy has got immense courage and strength just to have a team in the championship. Lucas has had the benefit of some family funding to get his new business off the ground and plenty of advice from inside the family.

Flis father Gary was a team owner and big brother Paul has been in the championship for 11 years in good teams.

The most difficult and frustrating thing is that no matter how hard Lucas and his team work for the next few

I'.-.

years, they will not move that far up the grid.The improvements and increments will be small and painful, but that is the level that this championship operates at. Even the Gold Coast Suns played in the AFL's reserve grade for a year before they took the step into the main league.

For a small team, a relationship with one of the top teams is not just important; it's a lifeline to make your team sink or swim.Today it's not viable for an LDM-type team to manufacture its own components in-house, so a good supply of the latest parts and developments provide the team with the right ingredients to take to the race meetings and slog it out with the big boys.

One thing you get when you are struggling down the back is plenty of free advice. Everyone who has ever been involved in the sport is quick to tell you that"you shoulda donethis"or 'you should try that". I am sure

Lucas has had plenty of people offering their opinion on how he is going to get his car in the Top 10.

It keeps coming back to the chicken and egg theory. LDM must attract good commercial support; then they can purchase the best chassis/ engine combination available; this will attract the best people from down the pit lane to come and join the team (along with a large salary package to boot); then the best drivers will start to see that the team has a future and Join the party. Once all these things are in place which is no mean feat in itself, and will absorb a huge amount of energy and resource, can you go racing at the level Lucas would desire.

What makes Lucas different from all the other team owners is his physical disability. Just getting to the races is a major operation and something that everyone else just takes for granted.There is so much more for their small team to consider and work out logistically. As time goes by this will be become easier, but to have this extra load on the small team

M am sure sometimes Lucas just wants to Jump out of his W chairMnd fix or address something himseif

and its owner is a major burden that they could well do without.

I am sure that sometimes Lucas must get frustrated beyond belief as he sees things happening in his team that he just wants to jump out of his chair and fix or address something himself. It's a natural reaction, especially for a small business owner.

The big decision Lucas faces in the short term is where he gets his chassis/engine supply, bearing in mind the Car of the Future program is almost upon us. There may be some attraction to change, because if a new manufacturer was to join the championship, a single-car team may be an attractive add on to one of the larger teams that are manufacturing as well as racing.

I am sure Lucas will make his team succeed in the future, but there is much work to do and many racing kilometres to complete. But he should always remember and draw strength that another guy with a similar condition has been able to survive and compete at the highest level of our industry, one Frank Williams.

QUICK QUIZ

Answers

7. Lee Holdsworth first raced a V8 Supercar in 2004, in the Fujitsu Series. He drove for Smiths Trucks Racing.

2. Other than V8 Supercars, Holdsworth has raced Commodore Cup and Formula Ford at national

3. Patrick Long punted Joey Logano out of the lead at Infineon last year.

4. Sam Michael started in FI 1993.

5. Michael will work for McLaren next season.

Next Issue of Motorsport News on sale DECEMBER 21 98

motorsport news

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More Powerful in Every way 5^r image^rp^ssbr ^^ass Lens ^ILow Light Performance B^ium 127°, Namow 90° FOV in rW720p Video ^to Every 0.5 Sec ^FlDotos Per Second Burst ^SBMode 120 fps WVGA,60 fps 960p, 30 fps 1080p Video

l Full 170° and mediunn 127° FOV Photos ‘ l 3.5mnn External Stereo Microphone Input l Simple Language-based User Interface l Live Streaming Videos and Photos to the Web l Compatible with WiFi BacPac™ and WiFi Remote™ - Long Range Remote Control of up to 50 GoPro Camera per WiFi Remote - WiFi Video/Photos Preview. Playback and Control via GoPro App

02 9679 8644 info@vsport.com.au www.vsport.com.au/gopro

Dealer Enquiries Welcome

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There is nothing better than the roar of a powerful engine. VAREX performance mufflers by Xforce Exhaust deliver their signature free flow growl as well as stock like exhaust volume all in one package. With the press of a button, VAREX performance mufflers put you in control of your exhaust volume using a sophisticated butterfly valve mechanism to redirect the exhaust gas flow while maintaining maximum performance. Our VAREX muffler systems are manufactured using premium quality materials and in a range of finishes to suit your individual taste and requirements.Our universal VAREX mufflers can be custom-fitted to most of the cars,and our bolt-on exhaust systems are specifically engineered for each make and model. Our system ensures maximum performance through our dedication to R & D and the use of the latest in dynamometer technology.

Available in your local retail outlets. Trade enquiries welcome

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P. 02 9793 7338 E. mail@xforce.com.au www.xforce.com.au