VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 18
it’s our best oil yet... www.castroledge.com.au
18th SEPTEMBER 2013
TEAM EDGE RACE REPORT: V8 Supercars - Sandown 500 Castrol-backed Ford Pepsi Max Crew has claimed a podium finish at the opening event of the V8 Supercars Endurance Cup with Will Davison and Steve Owen nursing home their battle-scared Falcon to third after 161 laps at Sandown.The pole-sitters were in the hunt early before fighting back through the field after they had to queue in the pits under the first safety car. “Finishing third is the best we could’ve done given we were lucky to make it to the end so today was far from a disaster,” said Davison. “Steve [Owen] fought back
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well after he was put back in the pack after our first pit stop. We banged the front end up a bit and for some reason that cost us a bit of straight line speed so with such a wounded car I am relieved to be on the podium. We are only trailing second by one point and I love racing at Bathurst so well now turn focus to the big one.” Thanks to the strength and technical alliance with Castrol the pair overcame rising transmission oil temperatures and a drop in power, due to front-end damage, to claim a spot on the rostrum. Castrol-
backed Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall and co-driver Ryan Briscoe had a superb race to finish the 500 in ninth. Todd Kelly and David Russell finished 11th at the Wilson Security Sandown 500 for the Castrol-backed Nissan Motorsport outfit. The #15 Jack Daniel’s Nissan of Rick Kelly/Karl Reindler finished 16th with the #36 of Michael Caruso/Daniel Gaunt heading home 20th after an electrical problem before the race started forced them to start from pit lane. “That’s as good as we’re ever going to get today, it almost feels like a win,”
2013 V8 Supercar Standings
Todd Kelly said. “We didn’t make any mistakes, Perry my engineer did an awesome job to keep us on the lead lap and the car was great, so for the amount of speed we were lacking up the straight and the amount of agro we were copping from cars behind, I think to finish 11th is an awesome result. When we get a little bit more straight line speed under our belt the cars are going to be extremely good.” The next event of the V8 Supercars Championship will be held at the world famous Mount Panorama circuit for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on October 10-13.
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Pos
Driver
Points
1
Jamie Whincup
2147
2
Craig Lowndes
2051
3
Will Davison
2050
4
Mark Winterbottom
1981
5
James Courtney
1909
6
Fabian Coulthard
1901
7
Shane Van Gisbergen
1770
8
Jason Bright
1715
9
Garth Tander
1680
10
Scott McLaughlin
1498
11
Jonathon Webb
1389
12
David Reynolds
1330
13
Rick Kelly
1215
14
James Moffat
1209
15
Alex Davison
1200
16
Tony D’Alberto
1087
17
Alexandre Premat
1055
18
Chaz Mostert
1018
19
Russell Ingall
1000
20
Dean Fiore
922
21
Tim Slade
905
22
Michael Caruso
899
23
David Wall
881
24
Lee Holdsworth
875
25
Todd Kelly
833
26
Tim Blanchard
703
27
Scott Pye
649
28
Maro Engel
636
V8 PREDICTOR: JEB and RBR reign supreme at Sandown 500 Red Bull Racing’s Jamie Whincup and Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor JEB Racing were the two most successful competitors last weekend as the opening stint of the Pirtek Endurance Cup took place at Sandown Raceway. In the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor standings Acc-sell-or-ators has knocked DaveTE50 off the leaders perch at the top of the overall standings. Tafs’R’Us sits third outright with Peckstar and SKBR both nipping at the heals of a podim spot, just one point behind in the overall standings. The weekly prize winner for Round 9 of the V8 Supercar Championship at Sandown, JEB Racing, scored a respectable 67 points for the round with a prediction accuracy of 58%. This sees JEB Racing win an awesome retro
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Expert Leaderboard Rank
Team Name
Points
1
Speedcafe.com Team
303
2
Oliver Gavin
302
3
James O’Connor
289
4
Russell Ingall
146
Global leaderboard
pack thanks to Castrol EDGE. Among the Experts the Oliver Gavin took out the round amassing 39 points with Speedcafe.com Team a close second with 34. The battle at the top is now a close fight between the 2012 American Le Mans Series GT Champion Gavin and the Speedcafe.com Team with just one points separating the two and Speedcafe holding the lead. Not far behind is Wallabies superstar James O’Connor, with Russell Ingall (V8 Supercars champion) backing up the
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field after an unfruitful round. With the silly season fast approaching, it’s not too late to join in on the action. There are still four events left in the V8 Supercar Championship series with plenty of awesome prizes on offer including Castrol merchandise packs and the fantastic major prize of the ultimate Castrol EDGE V8 experience which is a trip for two to the 2014 Clipsal 500 – including a hot lap of the track.
Rank
Team Name
Points
1
Acc-sell-or-ators
366
2
DaveTE50
364
3
Tafs’R’Us
362
4
Peckstar
361
5
SKBR
361
6
Kiwichik racing
359
7
Foxmotorsport
358
8
pommie v8s
357
9
hammer head eagle eye thrust
352
10
Clearly No Way
351
11
Raid Photography
349
12
Rockit
349
13
nickellen.24
348
14
paradice
348
15
BlueOvalRulz
347
16
Squigz
347
17
Dark Knight Racing
347
18
RHFF46
346
19
beachsidebear
346
20
WFD Motorsport
345
Castrol EDGE-backed VW wins WRC Rally Australia Castrol EDGE-backed Volkswagen Motorsport driver Sebastien Ogier produced one of his finest performances to completely dominate the Coates Hire Rally Australia at Coffs Harbour. But in a classic case of how the best laid plans come unstuck, Ogier has fallen one solitary point short of securing the World Rally Championship with three events remaining. Surrounded by towering gum trees symbolic of the Australian bush, Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia destroyed their rivals to win the event. As the vagaries of rallying bubbled to the surface Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen) suffered a puncture on the final power stage which enabled Castrol-backed M-Sport driver Thierry Neuville to inherit second position. That drama-filled positional change means the WRC will almost now be certainly decided in France next month.
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Neuville completed a tidy rally, finishing 1:32.1s behind Ogier with Hirvonen slipping to third overall at the finish of the 22 stages. Ogier accumulated 19 special stage wins with Volkswagen also extending its lead over Citroen in the battle for manufacturer’s honours. VW moved now moved to 299 points over Citroen’s 251 as they close on becoming the new benchmark in world rallying. “I was very happy to win this rally but we have fallen just short of confirming the title but it was out of my hands,” Ogier said. “It was a great weekend for Volkswagen and we have scored some valuable manufacturer points. I know the WRC title is so close and it’s mine but we now have to wait until France,” the Frenchman said. I must say that it was a bit frustrating not to win the title. In the last stages I was a bit more nervous and thinking a bit more of the title.”
Ogier has now accumulated six wins this season which equals his countryman Sebastien Loeb’s effort of 2004 which started his astonishing run of nine straight WRC titles. Hirvonen’s puncture which has delayed Ogier’s championship celebrations, came unexpectedly as the Finn outlined that he had a clean run through the final stage. “I really don’t know how it happened because I was in the middle of the road through the whole stage,” Hirvonen explained. As much as the rally was a dream for Ogier, it became a dire rally for Irishman Kris Meeke who restarted after rolling on day two before he completely destroyed the Citroen’s rear suspension in the final stage and unable to make it back to service. Local driver Nathan Quinn finished eighth overall in a highly
Castrol Australia guests of Volkswagen had a fantastic weekend at the WRC Coates Hire Rally Australia along with other international Castrol EDGE guests! admirable effort in the Motorsport Italiaprepared Mini. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari finished 10th overall and has recalimed the lead in the WRC2 standings in the Seashore-backed Ford. 2013 WRC standings Pos
Driver
Points
1
Sébastien Ogier
212
2
Thierry Neuville
129
3
Jari-Matti Latvala
110
4
Mikko Hirvonen
103
5
Daniel Sordo
96
6
Mads Østberg
77
7
Sébastien Loeb
68
8
Martin Prokop
49
9
Evgeny Novikov
47
10
Andreas Mikkelsen
34
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Castrol EDGE BMW wins in Oschersleben Augusto Farfus is back on the top step of the podium after driving his Castrol EDGE BMW in a flawless race at Oschersleben to win the eighth race of the 2013 DTM season. The 30-yearold laid the foundations for his victory at the start, when he got away cleanly from second on the grid to pass Jamie Green (Audi) and take the lead by the time he reached the first corner. It was the 57th win for BMW Motorsport in the DTM and the 49th for the BMW M3. Farfus celebrated his third victory in the popular touring car series, and his second of the season. In the Drivers’ Championship, Farfus moves up to second on 91 points after his third podium in a row. He is now
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the only driver still with a mathematical chance of catching championship leader Rockenfeller (124). BMW was able to retain its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship with 276 points, ahead of Audi (267) and Mercedes-Benz (237). It was an eventful race for the remaining BMW drivers, and particularly reigning champion Bruno Spengler. The BMW Team Schnitzer driver made an outstanding start from sixth on the grid, immediately making up three places. Over the course of the race, however, he was unable to match the pace of the leaders in his BMW Bank M3 DTM and was forced to retire 11 laps from the end following a collision with Robert Wickens (Mercedes).
2013 DTM Standings Pos
Driver
Points
1
Mike Rockenfeller
124
2
Augusto Farfus Jr.
91
3
Christian Vietoris
71
4
Robert Wickens
70
5
Bruno Spengler
67
6
Gary Paffett
65
7
Mattias Ekström
44
8
Marco Wittmann
39
9
Jamie Green
35
10
Dirk Werner
26
Martin Tomczyk made a jump start from eighth on the grid, resulting in a drive-
through penalty that saw the BMW Team RMG driver drop well back down the field. Tomczyk, at the wheel of the BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM, eventually retired from the race shortly before the end with technical problems. Marco Wittmann (Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM), Dirk Werner (SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM), Timo Glock (DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM), Joey Hand (BMW M3 DTM) and Andy Priaulx (Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) also missed out on the points, coming home 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 19th respectively. Hand did set the fastest lap of the race, clocking a time of 1:21.255 minutes on lap 14.
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Castrol Honda wins WTCC race in Sonoma Castrol Honda driver Gabriele Tarquini took a resounding victory in Race 2 of the WTCC event at Sonoma to record his 19th career win and secure the FIA World Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship for Honda. Honda Civics came home in first, third and fifth place in Race 2 to highlight the competitive pedigree of the Civic in the first season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship competition. Norbert Michelisz battled hard to secure third place, setting fastest lap during his endeavours to reach second whilst Tiago Monteiro capped a superb weekend with a fighting fifth place having started 8th on the grid. Tarquini accelerated past the pole position man soon after the start and steadily pulled away from the field to take victory with a 2.4 second advantage. “My start was like a masterpiece to get ahead of the rear wheel drive car
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and once ahead I just kept the pace to maintain the gap in front,” he said. “It is a great victory for me and the team and a very special win for Honda,” said the experienced Italian as he mounted the victory podium. Gabriele has moved to second place in the Drivers’ Championship points table with six races left in the series. For Tiago Monteiro Sonoma has proved a very happy weekend with strong showings every time on track. “I have had some bad luck days this season but when you come to this great circuit and get these results it makes everyone happy,” said Monteiro. “Now we move to Suzuka where I started with the Civic last year right at the start of our development program so it will be
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great to see how far we have moved forward.”
2013 WTCC Standings Pos
Driver
Points
Also enjoying a champagne bath on the podium was Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project leader for WTCC development from Honda R & D.
1
Yvan Muller
343
2
Gabriele Tarquini
199
3
Michel Nykjaer
180
4
James Nash
160
“This has been a perfect weekend for us. The engine mapping that we worked out in free practice has been great for all three cars during the whole weekend in qualifying and the races. The drivers and the team have done a perfect job. These good results will thrill the many Japanese race fans who will attend the next WTCC event at Suzuka on 22 September even more so that an additional Honda Civic WTCC will be driven in that event by Takuya Izawa.”
5
Tom Chilton
160
6
Robert Huff
143
7
Pepe Oriola
127
8
Norbert Michelisz
126
9
Tom Coronel
114
10
Tiago Monteiro
102
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Castrol-backed Team GO&FUN Honda seventh in Misano Castrol-backed Team GO&FUN Honda rider Alvaro Bautista had a lonely ride to seventh at his team’s home MotoGP round in Spain. Although he recorded the fifth fastest lap of the race, Bautista struggled throughout getting his bike to turn into corners, a problem he hadn’t come across in practice. “We expected a different result because we were competitive during practice and in the warm-up this morning but during the race I was struggling to get the bike turning into the corners, which is strange because we didn’t touch the setting,” said Bautista. “Our pace was slower than practice and that’s not normal so it’s important we understand why this happened to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s a shame because we had the potential today to fight for fifth or even fourth place. “This is racing and now we have to put the result behind us and concentrate on the next race in Spain. I am disappointed for the team because it’s their home race. We were on the podium here last year and I would have loved to give them another great result.”
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Bautista’s Australian teammate Bryan Staring had a luckless race, his machine struck by gremlins that caused him to pull out with only a few laps to go. “I had a good feeling with the bike today and I was happy with how the race was going but suddenly the bike gave up and we had to pull out,” said Staring. “I am disappointed because I at least would have liked to complete full distance in the team’s home race but these things can happen and we have to keep looking forward. The engineers will have a look at the bike now and try to work out what went wrong.”
2013 MotoGP Standings Pos
Rider
Points
1
Marc Márquez
253
2
Jorge Lorenzo
219
3
Daniel Pedrosa
219
4
Valentino Rossi
169
5
Cal Crutchlow
146
6
Stefan Bradl
124
7
Alvaro Bautista
112
8
Andrea Dovizioso
104
9
Nicky Hayden
95
10
Bradley Smith
71
Castrol-backed Skoda continues to dominate the ERC scene in 2013 Castrol-backed Skoda pair Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler remain on course for the 2013 FIA European Rally Championship title after picking up their seventh consecutive podium finish in Poland. In some of the worst possible conditions on a course made muddy after heavy rainfall, the Czech duo drove to a magnificent third place in the ŠKODA Fabia S 2000 during the seventieth Rally Poland. “With one eye on the ERC title race and difficult conditions throughout, our first priority in the Rally Poland was to secure valuable points in the overall standings,” said Michal Hrabánek, the director of ŠKODA Motorsport. “This was achieved magnificently thanks to the disciplined driving of Kopecký and Dresler as well as a professional job on behalf of the whole team.”
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Starting in fourth position after the first day of rallying, on Sunday Kopecký worked hard to try to move himself up a place in his first start in the longstanding Rally Poland since 2004. Even though the ŠKODA duo, with one eye on the overall ERC standings, didn’t go
flat out over the demanding courses of the Masurian Lake District around Mikołajki, there was one stage win for the spectators to enjoy, of whom there were 200, 000 over the course of the weekend’s action.
“There was mud and water everywhere, as well as deep ruts. The risk for tire damage was enormous, but we made it through without making any mistakes,” Kopecký commented. This was enough for a podium finish after five victories and one secondplace-finish in the previous round of the ERC season. 2013 ERC Championship Standings Pos
Driver
Points
1
Jan KOPECKY (CZE)
248
2
Bryan BOUFFIER (FRA)
129
3
Craig BREEN (IRL)
121
4
Francois DELECOUR (FRA)
75
5
Kajetan KAJETANOWICZ (POL)
50
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