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No. 424 October 2012
Australia $8.50 NZ $9.99 inc GST
SERGIO PEREZ:
THE FORMULA 1 STAR NO ONE SAW COMING
LEE HOLDSWORTH: www.mnews.com.au
THE HARD SLOG AT FORD FOR THE FORMER HOLDEN STAR
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Editorial Group Editor Steve Normoyle 5r\ormoyle@chevron.com.au At Large Phil Branagan
Editorial Enquiries
THIS MONTH’S FEATURES
The Grid
Chevron Publishing Level 6,207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065 Locked Bag 5555,St Leonards, NSW 1590 admin@mnews.coni.au
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Contributing Writers
Mark Glendenning, Andrew van Leeuwen, Ray Bell, Edward Krause, Chris Lambden, Geoff Rounds, David Greenhaigh, Bruce Moxon
Photography
Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, John Morris, Andrew Hall,James Smith, Geoff Grade,Phil Williams, Peter Bury, Michael Vettas, Ken Ferguson, Daniel Beard Paul Carruthers, Rob Lang
Art Director Chris Currie
BATHURST PREVIEW
Advertising Advertising Director Chris West cwest@chevron.com.au P02 9901 6376 M 0416 125 252 National Sales Manager Luke Finn lfinn@chevron.com.au P02 9901 6368 M 0423 665 384
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You reckon you know what's going to happen at Bathurst this year after a season that's featured only four different winners? Phil Branagan has had a cold hard look at the contenders and thinks there Is potential for an upset.
Chairman,Chevron; Ray Berghouse Circulation Director: Carole Jones Subscriptions: www.mnews.com.au
chevron ^y^PUBIJSHING GROUP a division of nextmedia Pty Ltd.
Lee Holdsworth left GRM and Holden tojoin SBR'Ond Ford ' _ to enhance his championship^ prospects. There hasn't been much sign ofthat happening thus far this year,so how has it been for Lee in his new sumomds?
Level 6,207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065 Locked Bag 5555,St Leonards, NSW 1590 Chief Executive Officer, David Gardiner Commercial Director, Bruce Duncan
lotorsport News is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd ACN: 128 805 70, Level 6.207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065 © 2012. .11 rights reserved. Motorsport News is printed by CaxtonWeb, istributed by Network Distribution. No part of this magazine may e reproduced,in whole or in part, without the prior permission of le publisher. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any ability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in le publication. All material submitted is at the owner's risk and, /hiie every care will be taken nextmedia does not accept liability 3rloss or damage, rivacy Policy /e value the integrity of your personal information. If you 'rovide personal information through your participation in any ompetitions, surveys or offers featured in this issue of Motorsport iews, this will be used to provide the produas or services that you ave requested and to improve the content of our magazines.Your etails may be provided to third parties who assist us in this lurpose. In the event of organisations providing prizes or offers 0 our readers, we may pass your details on to them.From time to ime, we may use the information you provide us to inform you f other products,services and events our company has to offer, i/e may also give your information to other organisations which lay use it to inform you about their products, services and events, intess you tell us not to do so. You are welcome to access the iformation that we hold about you by getting in touch with our irivacy officer, who can be contacted at nextmedia. Locked Bag 555, St Leonards, NSW 1590.
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MID YEAR MARK Phil Branagan's exclusive mid-season chat with Mark Webber.
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THIS MONTH’S FEATURES 4-
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: With the range Ofdifferem i approaches the manufactuters \ : have adopted for their Le \ Mans hybrid-prototypes, it : could be that we're on the \ verge ofan exciting new-era as .V ; the spott develops thisfrontier i I automotive technology, ■]
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SURGING PEREZ
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From grid-filling pay driver to podium winner and potential future Ferrari driver, Sergio Perez has been a revelation in Formula 1.
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vGRAND LARSON Like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart nearly a generation ago, Kyle Larson is a kid we'll be seeing on our speedways next year as the talented young American takes the tour down under. And speaking of Stewart, he says Larson is going to be a star.
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David Greenhalgh's understanding of technology is so rudimentary that for years he believed a MacPherson Strut was some kind of Scottish highland dance. This makes him the ideal man to explain the hybrid systems used at Le Mans - because ifGreenhaIgh can understand it, the rest of us will.
EIGHT IS NOT ENOUGH
Eighth, that is - which is an understandable lament when you've won four consecutive ANDRA Pro Stock championships, as has Aaron Tremayne. IT
REGULARS
Edward Krause has been writing for us here at Chevron for years, but this is his first appearance in MN. Fie tracked down Lee Holdsworth for a chat about what's not been so far the kind of first Ford season he was expecting.
The Front Row Motor Mouth with Phil Branagan
The Scoop with Steve Normoyle On The Limiter with Chris Lambden Box Seat United States of Origin Model Behaviour
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Trade Classifieds My Favourite Race Parting Shot
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IMM There are a few enigmas in Formula I at the momentPastor Maldonado, for one. But Sergio Perez is an interesting case, because the conventional wisdom was that, as a pay driver, he would only be making up the numbers and helping keep Sauber on the grid. Instead, he's been on the podium three times this year.
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THE FRONT ROW since we last met V8 SUPERCARS One point was all that separated first from second place in the V8 Supercars Championship as they headed to IVIelbourne for the Sandown 500. The unprecedented dominance of two teams, FPR and TeamVodafone,continued at Sydney Motor Sport Park with Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup scoring on consecutive days. It wasn't all plain sailing for Whincup, who suffered a variety of dramas in Saturday's race in which he wound up a paltry 23rd. In his absence, FPR Ford twins Mark Winterbottom and Will Power filled the minor places behind Lowndes. It was Lowndes'third win in a row, but there would not be a fourth as Whincup took control on Sunday. Lowndes recovered from a pit mishap to deny Winterbottom second - a result which kept team-mate Whincup's points lead intact. Fourth place for Garth Tander on Saturday was a welcome return to form of sorts after a disastrous run at Queensland Raceway, but once again it was Russell Ingall who was best performed of the Walkinshaw Racing stable, the veteran following Tander home on Saturday before scoring a fourth place on Sunday. With Davison and Lowndes each trailing the near-lockedtogether Whincup and Winterbottom by more than 100 points, Sandown loomed as a crucial event in the championship battle.
INDYCAR Will Power went into the final round of the IZOD Indycar Series at Fontana in the box seat to finally win the series. Only Ryan HunterReay remains in a position to deny the Australian, with HunterReay pegging Power's lead back to 17 points following his victory in the penultimate round on the streets of Baltimore. It was the American's first win since his three-race winning spree that ended in Toronto in July. The best Power could manage was sixth place, which came off the back of a second place result in the previous round at Sonoma. Team-mate Ryan Briscoe was second in both races, in a late-season flourish that saw him in a position to oust Simon Pagenaud from fifth place in the points. Briscoe is said to be departing Penske at the end of the year, possibly to be replaced by Flunter-Reay. Penske's courting of the team's current main rival has provided a fascinating subplot to the season finale and one which some observers say is aimed at destabilising Flunter-Reay.
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GP3
Mitch Evans won the GPS Series after a dramatic final round at Monza.The New Zealander went into the final round leading the series, but retirement in the first race left Evans vulnerable in the final race of the series. His only championship rival, German Daniel Abt, needed no less than a win to clinch the title. Evans was a rear-grid starter on account of his race one DNF, but then he suffered a puncture after a clash with Aaro Vainio. Meanwhile Abt had assumed the lead, and looked on course for the win until Tio Ellinas found a way by on the second last lap. With Evans limping home in 20th, Ellinas'win was enough to hand the Kiwi the title. As series winner Evans picks up $400,000 from Pirelli, but which is conditional on him graduating to GP2 in 2013.
QUICK QUIZ 1. Sergio Perez scored an impressive second place in the Itaiian Grand Prix at Monza. How many other times has he been on the podium this year? 2. Lee Holdsworth joined SBR this year with high hopes but heading into Sandown he was yet to post his first win as a Ford driver. What has been his best race result so far this year?
FORMULA 1 In a compelling season of constantly changing fortunes, Lewis Hamilton reenergised his championship changes in spectacular fashion with a dominant victory in the Italian Grand Prix. The win came just one week after Hamilton's Spa disaster in which he was bundled out of the race at the first corner, and has for the moment quietened growing speculation that Hamilton was seeking to leave McLaren at the end of the season. Hamilton's main threat came from unexpected quarters - the Sauber of Sergio Perez, who started 12th but finished second, comfortably ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. It was Perez's third podium result for the season. For Red Bull it was a race to forget, with both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber failing to finish. Also retiring with a mechanical issue was the previous week's Spa winner, Jenson Button. No scores forVettel, Webber and Button went a long way to negating the disaster that Spa had been for the likes of Hamilton and Alonso. With seven grands prix remaining,the Spaniard left Monza with 179 points, 37 clear of Hamilton, who was Just one point clear respectively of Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel. Webber's early exit dropped him to fifth, on 132.
3. When the now-traditional Ford/Holden Bathurst rivalry began, there was a third outright contending manufacturer in production car racing. What was it? 4. Audi used hybrid turbo diesei technology to win the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hour. How much extra power does Audi’s hybrid system generate? 5. What was on the wali of Mark Webber’s Queanbeyan bedroom when he was a teenage kart racer?
QUIZ ANSWERS ON PAGE 98
DRIVER TRAINING By Doc Pearson DKK - Docs Kart Kraft Tel 04 0956 5483, Fax 03 9844 2894 www.dkk.coni.au
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