VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 6
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15th JUNE 2011
D E P M U T S WINTERNATIONALS
CASTROL EDGE
BY
RAIN
CASTROL EDGE WINS LE MANS!
PLUS
V8s HEAD TO DARWIN WORLD FIRST AT THE WINTERS
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SHOCKS BEFORE RAIN HITS After two thrilling days of drag racing action, rain caused the postponement of the remaining two days of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend Castrol EDGE Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway. Organisers made the decision on Sunday morning to cease the weekend’s competition due to heavy rain overnight Saturday and an unfavourable forecast for the Ipswich area for the following two days. “It’s very regrettable that we’ve had to postpone the final two days of competition, but with the forecast we had at hand, there was little point waiting around to see if the rain would clear,” said Willowbank Raceway Managing Director, Steve Bettes. The first two days of competition were shaping up to be the most competitive Winternationals in history. All Sportsman classes were seeing competitors having to run under their index to make the field, whilst in ANDRA Pro Series competition, things couldn’t have been tighter. The rain however was not enough to prevent Darren Morgan from claiming the ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel Title in his Castrol powered AEG Powertools/Hungry Jacks Mildura dragster after completing round one of qualifying. The Castrol EDGE Winternationals will resume at Willowbank Raceway, July 15 – 17, picking up with round three of qualifying for the ANDRA Pro Series and continuing through to final round eliminations.
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WORLD FIRST
AT THE WINTERS A World First Top Fuel simulator was unveiled at the Castrol EDGE Winternationals. Developed by Darren Morgan Racing in conjunction with Hyper Stimulator – it is a full-blown Top Fuel dragster that can be used by the team should there be any issues with the primary racecar. Aside from giving drag racing fans a seat of their pants experience, it can be taken around Australia to promote Top Fuel. From a corporate perspective, it can be taken to an event or place of business - giving the attendees the full nitro experience, before taking the wheel
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MORGAN: CHAMPION Castrol EDGE backed Darren Morgan wrapped up his second Australian Top Fuel Championship at the Castrol EDGE Winternationals, the first as an owner driver. Morgan’s win was made all the more stunning by the fact his crew chief – Ben Patterson – at age 21 became the youngest crew chief anywhere in the world to have won a Top Fuel Championship. Although Morgan only had to complete one qualifier to wrap the Title up, he was keen to run down the quarter mile as hard as possible. That first (and as it turns out, only) run was certainly hard – the AEG Powertools, Hungry Jacks Mildura machine went into tyre shake after the launch and shook many of the brackets holding the car together loose. “It’s a pretty cool deal, isn’t it,” Morgan said once his Title became official. “There’s been a lot of hard work from all my crew, they all travel with us, they are all volunteers and deserve this. Ben is probably not just the youngest crew chief in the world, he’s probably the hardest working as well. “He does University at Swinburne University during the week in Melbourne and then comes up to Mildura to work with us on weekends, it’s a massive commitment. “It hasn’t been an easy season, but there were several key areas that we had to focus on this year and we’ve done that and walked away with the Championship. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
TOP FUEL CHAMPION
Darren Morgan Takes the Top Fuel Championship at the Castrol Edge Winternationals
NOONAN STUNS AT WINTERS Jamie Noonan is a name well known in V8 Supercar circles – as an engine builder he has won two Championships with Marcos Ambrose and more recently has tasted success with Jason Bright and Team BOC. Now, he’s turned his own hand to racing. Despite being the son of 1997 Castrol EDGE Winternationals Top Alcohol Champion, John Noonan – Jamie hasn’t raced any form of competition before last weekend’s Winters Warm-Up where he did his licensing runs. He promptly went out and set the fastest time of the massive Top Alcohol field at the Winternationals in qualifying one – a time that wasn’t bested in the second session. Noonan’s company, Noonan Race Engineering has pioneered a billeted cylinder head that has been approved for NHRA competition. One of his XE1 heads won the 2010 American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Championship and is leading the 2011 edition. It is a unique and fantastic story that a rookie in every sense of the word can come out at in one of Australian motorsport’s biggest events and be faster than many seasoned operators.
Jamie Noonan lays down some rubber at The Castrol Edge Winternationals
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CASTROL EDGE WINS LE MANS Castrol EDGE has taken a stunning against the odds Le Mans victory with the factory Audi team. The Audi team of Bernoit Trelyer, Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler fought off Peugeot to win by 13.854 seconds after 355 laps. With Audi were able to bounce back after two of their three cars suffered monumental accidents in the first third of the race. Alan McNish crashed in the first hour in lap 14 with a spectacular barrier collision that launched the car into the air before landing upside down. Mike Rockenfeller also weathered an extreme crash in the 11th hour leaving Audi competing with only one car. McNish and Rockenfeller bolth escaped uninjured from their respective accidents thanks to the research and work that has gone into their Audi machines. "The safety standards at Audi are simply incredible and have saved my life," said Mike Rockenfeller. "I’ve never had such an accident before in my career and hope I’ll never have such an experience again." Allan McNish commented in a similar vain: "I want to thank the Audi designers for having developed a car that you can climb out of unharmed after such severe accidents." Audi battled with Peugeot who was a constant presence throughout the competition and lead the field to the fourth closest finish in the Le Mans 79 race history. Just a few seconds separated the top running cars late in the event, ensuring that everyone watching the race was on the edge of their seats.
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THE HEAT IS ON! ROUND 6 - HIDDEN VALLEY The V8 Supercars hit the track at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway for the SKYCITY Triple Crown this weekend and it represents crunch time for several of the leading contenders. Despite the name, the event features two V8 Supercar races – a shorter Saturday race and a longer race on Sunday. It’s a very similar format to that employed at Winton some three weeks ago. The key difference is tyres. Hard tyres will be used for the majority of the weekend, with teams being given access to one set of softs for Sunday’s race. This adds a real wildcard element to proceedings and when teams elect to pit their drivers and at what stage of the race they use the soft tyres always creates a fascinating scenario. Two additional elements will add to the Darwin spectacle this year. Firstly, there’s the heat, which changes the outlook on the race for all competitors, both in a physical sense and from a strategy perspective. There hasn’t been a ‘hot’ race since the Gold Coast in October last year. The other issue is the ash cloud that has hit the southern parts of Australia. Melbourne based V8 Supercar teams are currently scrambling for contingency plans should their planes be grounded – the race to Darwin could be nearly as interesting as the race in Darwin! The Castrol-backed teams are all looking for some excellent results this weekend after a couple of challenging rounds. Leading the Castrol runners in the V8 Supercars points table currently is Rick Kelly. He is sitting in sixth placing and looking for consistent form after a strong start to the season. Will Davison in the Trading Post FPR Falcon sits eighth and is looking to exorcise the factory Ford team’s demons from Winton. Mark Winterbottom is the only other driver supported by Castrol in the top 10, sitting in 10th at the moment. A great deal of work has been completed by the FPR team in recent weeks and this weekend is critical to their Championship moving forward. Russell Ingall – in the Castrol supported Supercheap Auto car has had a difficult run in 2011, including a crash at Winton that caused more major damage for the Paul Morris Motorsport team – already reeling from a number of major incidents in 2011. At the head of the Championship, TeamVodafone continues to march ahead, whilst Jason Bright continues to be the one to surprise the pack, having taken race wins at the two previous events. All the action from Hidden Valley this weekend will be on the Seven Network and 7mate – check local guides for telecast details.
Russell Ingall is looking for a good run – hopefully starting in Darwin
TV TIMES: Saturday - 3pm-5:30pm on the Seven Network nationally, Sunday 12:30pm-5pm on 7mate.
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REA BREAKS ARM IN ITALY
Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea suffered fractures to his right arm and left collarbone during the warmup for round six of the World Superbike Championship in Italy last weekend. Rea was pushing his bike in the Sunday warm-up after suffering issues in Saturday’s qualifying that saw him record only 11th quickest time. His 230kph crash at the Misano track will see Rea unable to compete in round seven in Spain next weekend, however he is aiming for a full recovery for the Brno round in a month’s time. “We’ll have to miss Aragon next week, unfortunately, but Brno is a month off and the doctors tell me that the break in my arm would normally keep someone off work for three weeks,” Rea said. “I’ll try to come back for Brno at 100%, as it’s a circuit that suits me and the bike. I got my first world championship win there and we went 1-2 last year.” Rea’s Castrol Honda team-mate Ruben Xaus completed the two round six races in 11th and eight place on his Honda Fireblade. “I’m going to take this better feeling and rhythm to Aragon next week and try to keep this progress going…But what’s more important is that Johnny gets better soon,” said Xaus.
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CASTROL EDGE STARS RACING THIS WEEKEND The CIK Stars of Karting Series, presented by Castrol EDGE fires back into life this weekend at Melbourne’s Todd Road Circuit. The elite karting series is the pinnacle for Australian karting and this weekend’s event will be the third round of the Series. The growth of the Castrol EDGE supported Stars of Karting Series has been quite rapid – this weekend representing the biggest entry across all classes since its return last year. The CIK Stars of Karting Series, presented by Castrol EDGE is the pinnacle of kart racing in Australia and this partnership, coupled with Castrol EDGE’s partnership with the Australian Formula Ford Championship and into V8 Supercars affirms Castrol’s commitment to grassroots motorsport competition. Spectators can watch the action for free at the Port Melbourne Karting Complex from 9am Saturday with Qualifying and heat races and from 9am Sunday for the finals. The event will also host several supporting categories over the weekend, the Yamaha Challenge, Clubman and Junior National and the rookie category – TaG Restricted. More information can be found at www.starsofkarting.com.au
GREAT PERFORMANCE
DEMANDS STRENGTH. No matter the challenge in-front of you, it takes strength to perform at your best. That’s why we seek out the toughest environments to test Castrol EDGE, so you know you can drive the way you want whenever you want. Castrol EDGE. Strength to perform. Freedom to drive.