Castrol EDGE Australia Newsletter - Volume 2 Issue 9

VOLUME 2 - ISSUE 9

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

13th JUNE 2012

McIntyre wins

inaugural NZ

Sprint Series title

MotoGP and World Superbike news

Hamilton breaks into Castrol EDGE Rankings Top-3

Wallabies win against Wales

Castrol-backed V8 S heading to Hidden Va Round six of the International V8 Supercars Championship heads to Darwin this weekend and for Castrolbacked teams the event has always served as profitable stomping grounds.

Castrol-backed Ford Performance Racing drivers Mark ‘Frosty Winterbottom and Will Davison have been the form drivers this season and will be looking to add to their current winning streak of seven in the 2012 season. The top-end event is a special one for Winterbottom with the Orrcon Steel FPR Ford scoring a win there in 2010 and grabbing pole position in the last two years consecutively.

“Darwin is quite a special place for me and hopefully this year it’s just as special and we can win a race, enjoy the weather and have a bit of fun,” commented Winterbottom.

The race sees teams obliged to use

a combination of both soft and hard compound Dunlop tyres in both races which is sure to mix up proceedings in the hot Northern Territory conditions.

Davison also heads to the track full of confidence with six race wins to his name so far this season as he leads the Championship heading into the weekend.

“We’re just enjoying getting these great results at the moment so as long a we keep pushing hard, keep focusing on what we need to do and improve on our weaknesses we’ll be strong this weekend,” commented Davison. “By the end of last year at Darwin the car was amazing so now I hopefully hit the ground running.”

Castrol-backed Kelly Racing heads up north full of confidence with some strong results from both Rick and Todd Kelly this year in the Jack Daniel’s

Commodores. Rick Kelly also won last year’s race on Saturday and will be looking to duplicate this performance up north in 2012. With Greg Murphy out for three months with a back injury the team have confirmed David Russel as his replacement for this weekend’s race. Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall also heads to the event with confidence and the added boost that last season, Darwin was the scene of his best performance for the year. All the action from Hidden Valley Raceway kicks off this Friday morning at 10.25am local time as teams hit the track for Practice 1.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE Times subject to amendment, please check local guides: Saturday, June 16: 2.00pm – 5.30pm - Qualifying, TT & Race 12 - (Sydney, Brisbane) Channel 7 2.00pm – 5.30pm - Qualifying, TT & Race 12 - (Melbourne) 7Mate Sunday, June 17: 2.00pm – 5.30pm - Qualifying, TT & Race 13 - (Sydney, Brisbane) Channel 7 2.00pm – 5.30pm - Qualifying, TT & Race 13 - (Melbourne) 7Mate SKYCITY Triple Crown DETAILS: Circuit: Hidden Valley Raceway Location: Hidden Valley (outside Darwin), NT Circuit Length: 2.9km Race Format: Friday – 4 x 30 minute practice sessions Saturday –1 x 20 minute qualifying, 1 X Top 10 Shootout, 1 x 42 laps race Sunday – 1 x 20 minute qualifying, 1 x 69 laps race

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Supercar teams alley

Tyres: Combination hard/soft compound Dunlops 2011 Saturday Pole Position: Mark Winterbottom 2011 Saturday Race Winner: Rick Kelly 2011 Sunday Pole Position: Mark Winterbottom 2011 Sunday Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen

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2012 V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 11 OF 29 RACES 1.

Will Davison

1216

2.

Jamie Whincup

1206

3.

Mark Winterbottom

1187

4.

Craig Lowndes

977

5.

Shane van Gisbergen

953

6.

Lee Holdsworth

932

7.

Tim Slade

879

8.

Garth Tander

816

9.

Fabian Coulthard

766

10.

Rick Kelly

673

McIntyre wins ina NZ V8 Supertoure Series title

Castrol-backed John McIntyre overcame poor handling in the third race of the Mike Pero 250 to do just enough to win V8 SuperTourers Sprint Series title – by just two points from fellow Castrol-backed driver Jonny Reid. Reid started way down the grid after his retirement in the second race.

A gearbox change on his Herald Drivenbacked International Motorsport Ford Falcon V8ST was completed in time for

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him to take the start, and he fought his way up to fourth, while McIntyre could only manage eighth.

Castrol-backed Supercheap Auto-driver Scott McLaughlin took a clean sweep of pole positions, wins and fastest laps over the Mike Pero 250 weekend at Hampton Downs. The result was in stark contrast to the opening three rounds of the series after McLaughlin and the

augural ers Sprint

Round 4 Top Five 1.

McLaughlin

720 points

2.

Booth

567 points

3.

Murphy

463 points

4.

McIntyre

403 points

5.

Heimgartner

393 points

Championship Overall after four rounds (plus Sprint Championship final positions) 1.

John McIntyre

2021 points

MPC team had endured persistent engine problems. At the last round at Manfeild, the problem was so bad that the team withdrew both of its entries.

The result means that McIntyre has completed the opening four ‘sprint’ rounds of the series on 2021 points, just two clear of Jonny Reid.

2.

Jonny Reid

2019

3.

Greg Murphy

1742

4.

Andy Booth

1651

5.

Kayne Scott

1498

The title was almost Reid’s, as McIntyre fought off the advances of Paul Manuell over the last lap.

McIntyre, driving his Blackwoods Paykel Ford Falcon, finished just 0.2s ahead of the M3 Racing driver.

The category now heads into its winter break before the final three rounds of the series are contested in a twodriver ‘endurance race’ format, the first of which will be held at Taupo on September 1-2.

6.

Ant Pedersen

1468

7.

Scott McLaughlin

1375

8.

Andy Knight

1277

9.

Craig Baird

1259

10.

Steve Richards

1226

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Castrol-backed San Ca Honda Gresini close in Podium finishes Castrol-backed Team San Carlo Honda Gresini were smiling again following their disappointment in Le Mans two weeks ago after an excellent sixth place for Alvaro Bautista in the latest round of the MotoGP. Bautista was just four seconds off the podium while teammate Michele Pirro finished second in the CRT battle – a mere 0.7 seconds behind the winner – in Barcelona. Alvaro built on the confidence he has found in recent weeks to ride with conviction and determination after a bad start whilst Michele is finally reaping the fruit of months of hard work that promises much for the future Alvaro Bautista (6th) “It is a shame that I didn’t get a perfect start. It’s bad enough being on the fourth row, but I managed to lose positions from there and had a tough battle to recover, especially with Valentino. The most pleasing thing about the fight with Rossi was that I passed him in the same place he passed Lorenzo for the win in 2009.

Unfortunately the guys at the front had

got too far ahead and by the time I was lapping at the same pace as them the tyres were dropping off and I couldn’t catch them. Next time we have to try hard to get a better position on the grid and make a better start, but for now I am satisfied.”

2012 Championship Standings 1.

Jorge LORENZO – Yamaha

115

2.

Casey STONER – Honda

95

3.

Dani PEDROSA – Honda

85

4.

Andrea DOVIZIOSO – Yamaha

60

5.

Cal CRUTCHLOW – Yamaha

56

6.

Valentino ROSSI – Ducati

51

7.

Alvaro BAUTISTA – Honda

45

8.

Stefan BRADL – Honda

43

9.

Nicky HAYDEN – Ducati

40

10.

Hector BARBERA – Ducati

31

Castrol-backed rider Rea back on the podium in Misano Castrol-backed Honda rider Jonathan Rea returned to the podium in the second of the seventh-round FIM

World Superbike championship races at Misano in Italy, finishing second after taking fifth place in the opener. Both races were won by Italian Max Biaggi.

The 4.226km Misano circuit was the venue for Rea’s debut World Superbike victory in 2009, and today’s podium – the 27th for the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland – is his third in as many rounds, moving him into second place in the championship.

In significantly cooler temperatures than those he experienced during practice and qualifying, race one began well for Rea. Starting from second on the grid, he led from the opening lap until rear tyre issues dropped him from first place to fifth in just five laps. However, track temperatures increased by almost 20 degrees between races, allowing Rea’s Honda World Superbike Team to use the first choice rear tyre for race two.

He was shadowed for most of the race by fellow British rider, Leon Haslam, but Rea rode a controlled race to take 20 points at the flag. His team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama finished just outside the points with 16th place in race one after experiencing similar tyre issues, but the 30-year-old Japanese rider bounced back to a points finish with 12th in race two.

Jonathan Rea – 5th and 2nd “The first race was quite strange and I was comfortable at the front in the first part, but then the tyre went off so quickly and dramatically and it was all I could do to bring it home in fifth. I had to ride a perfect race in the second outing because

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arlo n on from about lap nine I had Haslam on my board and that went on for the whole race. Now summer has arrived, I’m happy that our bike is working on the softer ‘A’ tyre and my guys are working calmly in the box. To get back on the podium at a circuit where we struggled so much before is good. I’m looking forward to going to Aragon now – it’s exciting, because it’s going to be a new circuit for me and I always enjoy that challenge.”

Championship points after seven of 14 rounds: 1

Biaggi

210.5

2

Rea

172

3

Sykes

164.5

4

Melandri

155.5

5

Checa

150.5

6

Haslam

123

Aussie Parkes fifth in Misano with Castrol-Honda TUESDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2012 Castrol-backed Honda rider Broc Parkes finished fifth in the sixth round World Supersport race at Misano in Italy as Turkish rider, Kenan Sofuoglu, took victory, closely followed by Honda rider, Jules Cluzel.

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Starting from the front row, Parkes was forced wide at Misano’s turn one, which dropped him down to thirteenth on the first lap. As the Australian rider battled his way back towards the front, two riders crashed in front of him, forcing him wide. In spite of being unable to challenge for a podium position, Parkes continued to battle, taking fifth place from South African, Sheridan Morais on the final lap.

Broc Parkes – P5 I think it was one of the Kawasaki’s that

pushed me off the track at turn one, which wasn’t the best start for me. I had to get back into a rhythm and then, when I’d settled down a bit, two riders crashed in front of me and forced me wide again.

I felt pretty comfortable on the bike and didn’t have any big issues but I had to work hard to get back to the guys in front.

A podium was what we’d all hoped for, but after that it was out of reach. We’ve got a test at Assen in the week, though, and a few things to try, so we’ll come back strong at Aragon, which is a track I really like.

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Castrol EDGE-backed Team RMG driver Tomczyk on the podium BMW continued its successful DTM comeback as reigning champion Martin Tomczyk clinched second place in Austria after an intense, race-long battle for the lead. Tomczyk fought hard to challenge for victory, while defending his own position expertly. The Castrol EDGE-backed Team RMG driver secured BMW’s fourth podium finish of the season and charged to fifth place in the drivers’ standings. Over 48,000 fans turned up to rock the grandstands at the challenging Red Bull Ring.

This was BMW’s fourth podium finish of the season, while BMW Team RMG made its debut on the podium.

Tomczyk’s team-mate Joey Hand, at the wheel of the SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM, finished ninth to score his first DTM points. Augusto Farfus (Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM) also added another point to his tally, ending the race in tenth. In contrast, the remaining

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BMW Motorsport drivers leave Austria empty-handed. Both Andy Priaulx (Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) and Dirk Werner (E-POSTBRIEF BMW M3 DTM) were involved in incidents shortly after the start of the race, and had to give up early on in the proceedings. Bruno Spengler (BMW Bank M3 DTM) was also hit by a rival on the first lap, resulting in damage to the front of his car. The BMW Team Schnitzer driver was initially able to continue. However, numerous attacks by other drivers meant he was ultimately forced to retire during his second pit stop, while running 11th.

Tomczyk’s second place sees him climb to fifth in the drivers’ standings on 36 points. Spengler remains on 43 points in fourth. Farfus (16), Priaulx (8) and Hand (2) follow in positions nine, 11 and 16. Over the course of the race weekend, 48,500 spectators followed the action in Spielberg.

Castrol-backed Chris Holder in contention for FIM Speedway Grand Prix Championship after Danish round Castrol backed Sydney-sider Chris Holder now occupies the highest placing he’s ever held in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Championship at this stage, sitting in fourth after again making the top eight point scorers at the Parken Stadium in Denmark. Holder is not out of Championship calculations – being a mere 14 points from new World Championship leader, Greg Hancock.

Fellow Aussie Jason Crump sits just

two points from the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Championship lead after taking his first Grand Prix victory in over two years, beating home Fredrik Lindgren and defending World Champion, Hancock. Another rider to strike form was Britain’s great white hope, Chris Harris who finished fourth in the Final after a lacklustre start to 2012. In a trend that seems common in a hallmark year for world motorsport, the Grand Prix Series is arguably the tightest it ever has been,

with no dominant player or players yet emerging.

The Danish event was marred by a serious crash in the opening race between home town hero, Kenneth Bjerre, whose wretched season continues and Jaroslaw Hampel.

Hampel dislocated his ankle in the incident and took no further part in the event, it has dropped him to the ‘bubble spot’ – eighth in the Championship.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TOP 10):

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1

Greg Hancock

75

2

Jason Crump

73

3

Nicki Pedersen

65

4

Chris Holder

61

5

Tomasz Gollob

52

6

Fredrik Lindgren

52

7

Emil Sayfutdinov

48

8

Jaroslaw Hampel

46

9

Andreas Jonsson

38

10

Antonio Lindback

34

Darren Morgan crowned Top Fuel ANDRA Pro Series Champion Castrol-backed Darren Morgan has become a three-time Top Fuel ANDRA Pro Series Champion at the Fuchs Winternationals after a tense day at Willowbank Raceway where Morgan had to rely on results of others going his way.

The most arduous of the day’s results was in Top Fuel. With several competitors pulling the pin, the original round one monster matchup between Championship leader, Damien Harris and Darren Morgan was scrapped, with Morgan facing off against Phil Lamattina and Harris settling in alongside Andrew Cowin. Both Championship aspirants were eliminated in the first round. With

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the points scored thus far in the meeting, Morgan had to sweat on his fastest speed of the weekend being maintained from Saturday and hope that Andrew Cowin was unable to win the Final.

John Zappia was crowned Champion for the fifth successive year in Top Doorslammer as Andrew Sutton took his first ever ANDRA Pro Series Top Doorslammer win. Coming up against the outgoing Robin Judd in the final, Judd was denied the fairytale with a mechanical issue. Shane Tucker took his second win of the Pro Stock season and narrowly missed out on taking the Championship from Michael Ali as well.

Ali advanced further in the competition than Dennis Whiting and therefore took the Championship victory.

Hamilton becomes seventh winner and breaks into Castrol EDGE Rankings top three

Lewis Hamilton became the seventh winner in as many Formula 1 grands prix this year, and captured the championship points lead, after taking his first victory of 2012 with a late charge in Canada. The result also carried the Briton into third in the Castrol EDGE Rankings, jumping team-mate Jenson Button and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Alonso also fell victim to Hamilton during the race. The Spaniard had elected to stop just once and led in the latter stages, with Hamilton having taken the gamble to stop for a second time. On fresher rubber however the 2008 world champion charged back to pass the onestopping Spaniard and win the Canadian Grand Prix for the third time in his career.

Struggling on worn rubber, Alonso faded dramatically in the final laps and eventually came home fifth, compounding his loss in the Rankings.

Lotus’s Romain Grosjean and Sauber’s Sergio Perez took the second podiums of their careers in second and third.

Poleman Sebastian Vettel meanwhile finished fourth, having pitted late on when he and his Red Bull squad realised a one-stop gamble would not work. The

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German had preserved his lead away from the start and initially edged away from the field in a manner reminiscent of his many 2011 triumphs. He was jumped by both Hamilton and Alonso during the first round of stops however, before being caught out by attempting to stick to a one-stop strategy. There were no such concerns for Hamilton, whose second stop provided the platform for a late charge. Such was the disparity between his and Alonso’s tyres, he was able to dismiss the Spaniard without drama and secure a victory, which had a marked impact on the Rankings.

Hamilton jumped two places from fifth to third as a result of his win, his best position since the end of 2011.

His movement also brings to an end a relatively stable period in the Rankings.

In contrast to the opening months of 2012, in which the top five remained constant, there have now been six changes to the top order in the last two grands prix. Alonso, who started off the trend by jumping from fifth to third after Monaco, now drops one place to fourth.

Jenson Button meanwhile slides to fifth following an abject display in Canada,

after which he admitted he had no ‘clue what to do at the moment’ in order to rectify his poor pace.

While third, fourth and fifth has therefore changed hands several times recently, the top Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber remains the same. Both drivers did lose points however, bringing them ever closer to the chasing pack.

Webber, for example, sits less than 1,000 points clear of Hamilton. He will also defend a far higher points total in the forthcoming grand prix at Valencia, raising the prospect of Red Bull’s stranglehold on the Rankings top two finally being broken. Behind the lead quintet, Grosjean and Perez’s podiums produced massive Rankings gains. Perez in particular soared, the result of missing last year’s Monaco race as a result of his heavy crash. With no points to therefore defend, third-place translated into a massive Rankings boon, propelling the Mexican 14 places to an all-time high of 37th. Grosjean also profited, jumping nine spots to 55th and moving ahead of Barcelona race winner Pastor Maldonado (up one place to 57th) in the process.

Richo’s Safety Tip #5 - Motorcycle Safety

Creating one of the greatest hazards on our roads is the misunderstanding between motorists and motorcyclists. It’s an age old conundrum, however both four wheel and two wheel road users can co-exist with understanding and being alert.

From a rider’s point of view – it’s important that you can be seen at all times, particularly on the highways or on windy roads. I recommend leaving your headlights on at all times, that way people can see you, particularly if you are going around blind corners – drivers have a better chance of seeing your lights through trees.

Take a wide entrance to curves – the wider you can be the better – avoiding the ‘head-on zone’ – or the centre-line is the best course of action. It’s a natural thing, particularly in a car, to hug the centre line, so being close to the centre line on a motorcycle will increase your chances of being knocked off your machine.

In most states, if you ride a motorcycle, you are required to have a blood alcohol level of 0.00 per cent. It goes without saying you shouldn’t hit the road on your bike without the correct safety gear and a helmet that meets the current Australian standard.

From a driver’s perspective – be alert and aware of motorcyclists on the road. Bikes can be difficult to see. I always try and keep an eye out for bike riders, especially when on a twisty road, as this is where many accidents happen.

Another place to be careful is when you open your car door if parking parallel to the road. Be careful of not only motorcyclists, but bicyclists. Check your mirrors before opening the door and exiting your vehicle.

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u R E G D E l o r t s a C e h T

Qantas Wallabies go 1-0 up in The Castrol EDGE Wales Tour

carry on a night highlighted why both sides are the current reigning champions of their respective hemispheres. After a tight first half that saw the Qantas Wallabies run in the opening try and lead 10-3 at half time the game broke open in the second half with three tries shared by between the teams.

The Qantas Wallabies and Wales have put on a show at Suncorp Stadium for the more than 42,700 fans who turned out for the opening Test of the Castrol EDGE Wales Tour. In near perfect conditions both sides threw the ball around and weren’t afraid to run and

The Qantas Wallabies were first to cross the chalk in the 42nd minute through man-of-the-match, Will Genia after he dummied through the Welsh defensive line and after Berrick Barnes converted the Australian’s led 17-3. The Welsh hit back just minutes later through the boot

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of Leigh Halfpenny who knocked over his second penalty goal for the night to reduce the deficit to just 11-points.

Qantas Wallabies flyhalf, Berrick Barnes extended the Australian’s lead in the 51st minute after he knocked over a drop goal attempt.

The Welsh cut the deficit just two minutes later by a further three points, again thanks to a Leigh Halfpenny penalty goal before Welsh winger, Alex Cuthbert crossed for the first try to Wales in the 58th minute. When Halfpenny kicked truly to convert Cuthberts effort the deficit was just four points.

Eight minutes later Wales crept within a point of the Qantas Wallabies after Halfpenny kicked his fourth penalty goal of the night. The Qantas Wallabies

ugby Report

mustered an attacking play following the subsequent kick off and after a number of solid phases Pat McCabe crossed in the 67th minute. After Barnes converted the Qantas Wallabies had stretched out to an eight point lead with just over 10minutes remaining.

The Welsh tried valiantly to break the Qantas Wallabies line, however some solid defensive work saw the Australian’s hold on to secure the opening Test of the Castrol EDGE Wales Tour.

FULL TIME: CASTROL EDGE RUGBY INTERNATIONAL QANTAS WALLABIES v SCOTLAND More than 20,000 people have braved icy, wet and gale force conditions at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle to watch a hard fought contest dominated by strong defence.

The majority of the opening half was

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played inside the Qantas Wallabies 22 however a solid defensive effort saw the Australian’s keep Scotland to just two penalty goals at half time. With a penalty goal of their own in the 35th minute the Qantas Wallabies went into the half time break down 3-6 with the knowledge they would be running with the wind in the second half.

The Qantas Wallabies levelled proceedings three minutes into the second half through Mike Harris’ second penalty goal of the match. The remainder of the second half was played inside Scotland’s half, however the Qantas Wallabies were unable to take advantage of a number opportunities close to the Scottish line.

With just minutes to go Scotland entered the Qantas Wallabies half for the first time and after a scrum collapse after the siren Scotland were awarded a penalty less than 30 meters out almost directly in-front. Scottish flyhalf, Greg Laidlaw, held his composure to slot his third penalty goal of the game and deliver Scotland an historic victory.

THE

POWER BEHIND THE

PACK BEHIND THE

PACK!