Castrol EDGE Australia eNewsletter - Season Review PART 2 by Castrol EDGE

VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 1

it’s our best oil yet... www.castroledge.com.au

9th JANUARY 2013

A Castrol-backed World Rally wrap-up Sticking with a rich tradition in rallying the Castrol brand once again dominated the timesheets on the international scene with many Castrol-backed teams enjoying success in 2012. In the World Rally Championship (WRC) top results were spearheaded by the Castrolbacked Ford World Rally Team run by British firm, M-Sport. Lead driver JariMatti Latvala and co-driver Mikka Antilla brought home the silverware for Ford’s factory outfit on two occasions on Rally Sweden and Wales Rally GB while up and coming star Mads Østberg won his first ever WRC event, Rally Portugal, in his Castrol-backed Ford Fiesta WRC.

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Despite another successful year in rallying with both Latvala and teammate Petter Solberg finishing the year third and fifth respectively, Ford of Europe’s involvement at the highest level of the sport has come to an end after 16 remarkable seasons in the WRC. The company said it made the decision as part of a review of its European business in the current difficult economic environment. However, the country of Qatar has stepped up with support for three M-Sport Fiesta WRC entries in 2013. The Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team has been brokered by Middle East

Rally legend and Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah who will contest a sevenround programme scheduled around his other motor sport commitments that will include him chasing his ninth Middle East Rally title. Confirmed for a full 13event schedule is Østberg who scored a top-five finish on each of the 11 rounds he contested in 2012, including his victory in Portugal. The Norwegian secured fourth place overall in the drivers’ championship – just 5 points adrift of Latvala. The exit of Ford from the WRC left Latvala and Solberg without seats.

Solberg has since retired, putting to rest one of the greatest careers in international rallying. Solberg was the 2003 World Rally Champion with an astonishing 188 rally starts, 13 wins and 52 podium victories to his name. Still at 28 years of age, Latvala was swiftly picked up by the all new Castrol-backed Volkswagen Motorsport team who will debut in 2013 with the all new Polo WRC. Latvala will be joined in a second WRC by Frenchman Sebastien Ogier who, this year, absolutely dominated the S2000 class driving a Volkswagen Motorsport-run Skoda Fabia. The Fabia was used to keep Ogier’s skills sharp

and test parts for the Polo WRC ahead of the 2013 season. On the topic of Castrol-backed Skoda’s, it was a win-a-thon in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) Series with the manufacturer picking up a clean sweep of both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships. Not only that but it was a one-twothree in the drivers’ championship with Andreas Mikkelsen taking his second consecutive IRC crown with Jan Kopecký in second followed by Finn Juho Hänninen in third.

WRC - FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS : Drivers pos

driver

pts

Sebastien Loeb

270

Mikko Hirvonen

213

Jari-Matti Latvala

154

Mads Ostberg

149

Petter Solberg

124

WRC - FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS : Teams pos

driver

pts

Citroen WRT

453

Ford WRT

309

M-Sport Ford WRT

170

Adapta WRT

Citroen Junion WRT

IRC - FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS : DRIVERS

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pos

driver

pts

Andreas Mikkelsen

136

Jan Kopecký

101

Juho Hänninen

Giandomenico Basso

Sepp Wiegand

Neff closes out NHRA season in third Mike Neff, driver and crew chief of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, had an uphill battle for the 2012 NHRA Funny Car championship that came to an end when Ron Capps and Jack Beckman won their first round match-ups at the 48th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals. Neff will finish the season third in the Full Throttle point standings, an improvement over his 2011 fifth place finish. “I am really proud of our season. We finished third in one of the toughest Funny Car seasons ever. I want to congratulate Jack Beckman and Ron Capps. We fought down to the last day and they came out on top,” said Neff. “My guys have been great all season and I couldn’t be prouder of the car they gave me every race. In the past three seasons we have won more rounds and more races than anybody else. This Countdown is tricky. You have to get hot at the right time. The win in Reading helped us get in the game and we had a long shot to win it today. I want to thank Castrol and all our sponsors for all their support.”

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Top Rookie of the Year contender Courtney Force closed-out the 2012 season today with a strong finish in both the Auto Club NHRA Finals and in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series points standings. Force took out the likes of Matt Hagan, Tim Wilkerson and Ron Capps en route to a runnerup finish against two-time Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon. John Force and the Destination Force Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang came out on the losing end in the first round against fellow Countdown competitor Jeff Arend. Force’s Ford Mustang hazed the slicks as Arend pulled away from him sending Force into the off-season as the No. 9 driver in the Full Throttle point standings. When the 15-time champion was asked to evaluate his rookie driver’s performance he was pleased with her first season. As a team owner every year the goal is to win the championship and to have a driver in the hunt on the last day is key to achieving that goal. When Force looked at the accomplishment of driver and tuner Mike Neff he was equally pleased with how his season turned out even though it did not culminate with a Full Throttle championship.

“Mike Neff did a great job driving and tuning. He gave us a shot at the title here in Pomona. Robert Hight’s car with Jimmy Prock tuning dominated the first

part of the season. I got a win at the opening race of the season in Pomona and I won the $100,000 at the Traxxas Shootout,” said Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history. “I was still in the game and we all made the Countdown. We will salute Beckman at the end of the season and right now we are looking at where we are going for next year. I am really excited about it because the morale is good. We never gave up the fight and fought until the very end.”

FUNNY CAR STANDINGS – 2012 NHRA

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pos

driver

pts

Jack Beckman

2610

Ron Capps

2608

Mike Neff

2497

Cruz Pedregon

2429

Courtney Force

2393

Johnny Gray

2357

Robert Hight

2302

Tim Wilkerson

2293

John Force

2281

10.

Jeff Arend

2267

Castrol-backed Bautista secures fifth in 2012 MotoGP Championship The 2012 MotoGP World Championship could not have ended any better for Castrol-backed Team San Carlo Honda Gresini, with Michele Pirro taking a career best fifth place to finish the season with a CRT ‘victory’ whilst Alvaro Bautista took fourth to secure fifth place overall in the final championship standings. Bautista narrowly missed out on a podium finish at Phillip Island to departing champion

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Casey Stoner after conceding third position with just two laps remaining, but fourth place was enough for him to secure his objective before the start of the race and for the team to finish their 2012 campaign on a high. “The season is over now and I am happy with where we have finished and with the progress we have made

over the course of the season,” said Bautista. “Thanks to the team, Fausto Gresini and all the sponsors who have supported us. Now we start looking towards 2013 and I am happy to be with the same team and all the guys who have worked so hard this year. We have a good base to work from and improve next year.”

In 2013 Go and Fun Green Energy will be the Team Honda Gresini’s main sponsor in the MotoGP and Moto3 categories for the next three seasons. The ’100% natural power’ energy drink will provide the necessary fuel for the team’s on-track endeavours and the philosophy of a company such as Go and Fun Green Energy fits perfectly with that of Honda Gresini, as they chase continued success at the top level of motorcycle racing whilst also developing new talent. 2012 MotoGP Championship Table pos

rider

pts

Jorge LORENZO

350

Dani PEDROSA

332

Casey STONER

254

Andrea DOVIZIOSO

218

Alvaro BAUTISTA

178

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Rea rides to fift Mr consistent, Jonathan Rea topped off another great year for the Castrolbacked Honda World Superbike Team finishing the season fifth overall. Rea finished with an impressive two wins, two poles and four podium finishes. The last race of the season in France saw Italian Max Biaggi take the championship spoils, finishing in fifth position and taking the series victory by half a point over Brit Tom Sykes. Despite Magny-Cours being the last event of the 2012 season, the Honda World Superbike Team still has work to do before the start of the 2013 season.

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“I’m really happy to be part of this championship and congratulations to Max on a great job,” said Rea. “At the end of a long season I want to thank the team for their continued hard work. On certain days we’ve struggled but, on others we’ve capitalised on the strengths of the bike through the great work ethic we have as a team.” The team’s 2013 all-British rider lineup of Leon Haslam and Jonathan Rea spent the final testing opportunity of the year with new chassis components and a completely revised electronics

th in World Superbikes package for the CBR1000RR Fireblade racing machines. Rea, who won two World Superbike races during the 2012 season, concentrated on the new electronics package, starting at a relatively slow pace before he and his crew began to fine-tune the system. Haslam, meanwhile, continued to familiarise himself with the CBR for the first time in three years, making a variety of set-up changes before he and Rea took part in a race simulation at the end of the day, when Haslam set his fastest time.

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“At the test I was only doing installation laps with the new electronics so didn’t get a chance to really push with it,” said Rea. “But the initial impressions are good, with a better feel in the fuel mapping and throttle control. I’ve got a new data engineer in Ronnie Schagen, who I worked with in World Supersport, and we’re working well together, which I’m happy about, too. We tried quite a lot of other things on the bike, changing the balance and so on, and when we put a bit of grip into the bike it feels pretty good. But I’m definitely looking forward to testing here again in January

when we should have the full engine and electronics package.”

2012 SBK Championship Table pos

rider

pts

Biaggi

358

Sykes

357.5

Melandri

328.5

Checa

287.5

Rea

278.5

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STRENGTH TO PERFORM

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Castrol-backed Chris Holder is World Speedway Champion In 2012 Chris Holder has become Australia’s fifth World Speedway Champion after a thrilling final round of the World Speedway Grand Prix in Poland. Although he suffered an engine failure in the final, Holder wasn’t reliant on the decider to be awarded the F.I.M. Gold Medal. In controversial circumstances, Holder and fellow Championship aspirant, Nicki Pedersen came together in the semi-final. Both were allowed back into the race, but not before the emotion nearly boiled over on track and between the crew in the pits. Outgoing Australian star, Jason Crump showed pure class in guiding Holder through the situation, whilst Crump was out of action, Holder made his way into the final as the World Champion elect. Crump’s World Championship

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swansong didn’t go to plan, scoring just five points in the event. There could have been no better handing over of the baton from Crump to Holder than the youngster winning the World Championship. Overall, the Australian – who celebrated his 25th birthday during that week – walked away from the event with 15 points. He is World Champion by a mere eight points. The World Championship is an exclamation mark on a meteoric rise to stardom for the South-Western Sydney racer. Amazingly, 2012 was just his third season in the Grand Prix and his international career – which started with the Isle of Wight in the British Premier League – is still very much growing. The

four time Australian Champion is the club captain at the Poole Pirates in the UK – who have held his contract since the beginning, rides for Piraterna in Sweden and for the Unibax Torun team in the Polish League. The entire Holder family have and continue to dedicate their lives to the sport and Chris’ result will ensure a long celebration by the extremely passionate clan. Holder is well known as having an easy-going attitude and being a boy that just likes riding his bike. Just riding his bike for the Appin born racer has now seen him receive the highest prize of all. World Champion.

Title hat-trick for Castrol-backed BMW DTM Castrol EDGE-backed Bruno Spengler stormed to victory at the DTM season finale at Hockenheim to snatch the DTM drivers’ title from rival Gary Paffett. Spengler started the race in third place behind Paffett, but a fantastic start meant he powered past his rival and soon led the race. Paffett piled on the pressure and cut Spengler’s lead to just 1.1 seconds. But Spengler had the mental strength to keep him at bay and claim the 2012 DTM drivers’ crown to cap an incredibly successful DTM return for BMW where they also won the manufacturers’ and teams’ titles. It’s difficult to find a racing category that BMW hasn’t excelled in during its illustrious history – be it Formula 1, touring cars, DTM or sportscar

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2012 DTM Championship Table pos

driver

pts

Bruno Spengler

149

Gary Paffett

145

Jamie Green

121

Mike Rockenfeller

Edoardo Mortara

Castrol-EDGE backed Audi clinches WEC title Castrol-EDGE backed Audi drivers André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler secured a thirdplace podium finish at the Shanghai International Circuit to secure the first-ever FIA World Endurance Championship. The trio secured the drivers’ championship ahead of their team-mates Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen, who finished second in both the race and the standings. The result marked the end of a successful season for Audi, in which the squad won the prestigious Le Mans 24-hour event for the eleventh time.

endurance racing at events such as the Le Mans 24 Hours and Nürburgring 24 Hours. In 2012, BMW experienced a dream comeback to the DTM winning all three titles: Bruno Spengler, DTM Driver Champion, BMW Team Schnitzer, DTM Team Champions and BMW, DTM Manufacturers’ Champion. “The long and close working relationship we have had over the years while using Castrol high-performance lubricants has seen us celebrate together on many occasion,” said Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director. “Now we have achieved another title, which is amazing, and I want to personally thank the team and our technical partners Castrol for all their hard work.” “2012 has been an amazing year for everyone involved and we’re already looking forward to working together again next season and coming back even stronger.”

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Vettel extends Rankings domination after third straight crown Sebastian Vettel extended his domination of the Castrol EDGE Rankings after dragging his battered Red Bull to a third straight Formula 1 world championship crown in a wild Brazil finale. The German has now held the No.1 spot for 140 consecutive weeks. His Brazilian performance guarantees his reign will continue far longer however - until Malaysia, the

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second round of 2013, at the very least. That certainty is in part because his nearest challenger, nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, will contest only selected rounds next year. It also owes to the fact that even as the German struggled to match the dominance of his 2011 title campaign, he was still able to finish comfortably

clear of his nearest F1 rivals. Fernando Alonso, third overall and second in the F1 standings, ended the year more than 3,000 points – roughly 14 per cent – down on Vettel’s total. There is at least reason for the rest of the pack to be optimistic though. For a start, Vettel’s gap at the end of last season was far greater – totalling almost 10,000 points. Then there is the form of Lewis

Hamilton, who finished right on Alonso’s tail despite costly technical retirements from the lead of both the Singapore and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. Without those, Hamilton may have had a legitimate hope of finally ending Vettel’s unbroken stint at the head of the Rankings. The Briton could suffer in 2013 however following his decision to join Mercedes. The team’s highest-ranked driver this year was Nico Robserg, who ended up 21st. Rosberg had moved ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa early in the season, as a strong opening – including a breakthrough win in China – combined with a slump for the Brazilian. The formbook reversed over the second half of the year, and in the final race Massa finally moved back ahead, jumping two spots to 20th. There were also changes just down the road, as Nico Hulkenberg’s spell leading in Brazil helped him jump ahead of a host of midfield rivals. The German gained seven spots in total, moving to 38th. In the process he vaulted Sergio Perez (39), team-mate Paul di Resta (40), Kamui Kobayashi (41), Romain Grosjean (43) and Pastor Maldonado (45). Michael Schumacher almost got himself in the mix in his final grand prix. A four-place rise promoted him into 47th, still some way short of his all-time best of 24th but enough to ensure he bows out of the sport on a relative high. 2012 Castrol EDGE Rankings pos

driver