Castrol EDGE Australia eNewsletter - Vol 3, Issue 4

VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 4

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

6th MARCH 2013

V8 PREDICTOR: Event 1 results The opening event of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship has been run and won, and while most people will consider Craig Lowndes the leader of the title, there’s another competitor who has taken an early lead. Top honours in the opening round of the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor has gone to ‘GR8’ with a whopping 62 points and 54 percent prediction accuracy.

‘GR8’ wins an awesome merchandise pack including Castrol Racing and Speedcafe t-shirts, hoodies, retro caps, bar runners, The Annual season review book and plenty more goodies. Its never too late to sign-up for the V8 Predictor with great round-by-round prizes on offer as well as the major prize. CLICK HERE to see how you fared in the Clipsal 500, or register and play for awesome event prizes.

Castrol EDGE’s four experts for the inaugural Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor –

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Russell Ingall (V8 Supercars champion), Oliver Gavin (2012 American Le Mans Series GT Champion), James O’Connor (Wallabies rugby superstar) and the Speedcafe.com team – saw a dead heat between the Speedcafe.com team and O’Connor, both on 35 points with a 30 percent prediction accuracy. Ingall, who picked up five points for predicting himself one place off his actual result, was the next best placed expert with 27 points. Gavin had a less impressive round with the Englishman scoring 19 points for the Clipsal 500 round.

Using the same software as the popular ‘Grand Prix Predictor’ that international website Autosport.com uses for its Formula 1 tipping competition, V8 Supercars can now put their knowledge to the test with the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor in 2013. The major prize for the ultimate winner is a trip for two to the 2014 Clipsal 500 – including a hot lap of the track.

Russell Ingall’s expert tips for Round 1

from Clipsal 500 Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor - Leaderboard Pos

Team

Points

1

GR8

62

2

Muppet Racing Team

57

3

Miracle Workers

55

4

GDR

54

5

StickerWizard3

52

=

NIVEK

52

7

CAMO

50

=

Pearson Racing

50

=

Michmichelly

50

=

Wattsy

50

=

Ford Power

50

=

Hot Stuff

50

=

TeamAwesome

50

14

Team Erebus

47

=

???????

47

=

legs11

47

=

TEAM VALVE BOUNCE

47

=

ShannyAnne's Team

47

=

katiec

47

=

TeamTabasco

47

Expert Leaderboard

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Pos

Team

Points

1

James O’Connor

35

=

Speedcafe.com Team

35

3

Russell Ingall

27

4

Oliver Gavin

19

Round 1 Wrap - V8 Supercars Cham Race 1 The Castrol-backed Ford Performance Racing crew kicked off 2013 in fine form with Will Davison finishing second in the opening V8 Supercars race. From seventh on the grid Davison played a different strategy to race winner Craig Lowndes with a longer opening stint, which resulted in a speedy finish up the pointy end of the field.

The next best placed Castrol-backed car was that of Russell ‘The Enforcer’ Ingall in the Supercheap Auto Commodore with the veteran racer putting on a display to secure a top10 finish. The 250km race threw out everything at drivers with several crews enduring both physical and mechanical issues throughout the day. One of which was FPR’s second Falcon of Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom who, after grabing the holshot from the start, found

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himself unable to get out of first second gear on the opening lap of the race.

The all new Castrol-backed Nissan Motorsport team finally had the opportunity to debut the Altima V8 Supercar. It was a mixed day for the team with the highlight being Rick Kelly’s impressive 11th place result from 19th on the grid. The result wasn’t as fortunate for his brother Todd who endured engine issues in the sister Jack Daniel’s Nissan and was forced to retire from the race.

Race 2 Round 1 of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship is complete with Castrolbacked Supercheap Auto driver Russell Ingall the pick of the Castrol Racing bunch for Race 2. ‘The Enforcer’ drove superbly from ninth on the grid to secure fourth place as he continues to show pace in his final, fulltime year

in the V8 Supercars Championship.

The race victory went to Shane van Gisbergen followed by Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes in third.

Castrol-backed Pepsi Max Crew FPR were also in the mix with Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom bouncing back from yesterday’s gearbox failure to finish fifth and claw back some well needed championship points. Team-mate Will Davison was never too far behind for the entire 78-lap race and finished one spot back in sixth overall. His high placing means Davison now sits third overall in the V8 Supercars Championship standings. It was a gallant effort with both cars losing time in pitstops with wheel nut malfunctions on the new 18 inch Car of the Future rim.

For the Castrol-backed Nissan Motorsport team it was a mixed day with two finishes and two DNFs for

mpionship - Clipsal 500 Adelaide

RESULTS: Rally Sweden

the second race of the season. James Moffat was the pick of the crop finishing in 13th with Rick Kelly bringing his Altima V8 Supercar home just one place back in 14th. For Moffat’s Norton 360 Racing teammate Michael Caruso, things didn’t go to plan when a failed cool suite, coupled with a gearbox issue, forced him out of the race at its midway point.

Todd Kelly in the Jack Daniel’s Racing Altima fell victim to a pileup caused when Jason Bright spun the sister Altima of Rick on the final bend of lap 69. This saw everyone on the anchors

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with Todd hitting the rear of Garth Tander’s Commodore so hard his entire bonnet folded up in front of the windscreen as well as causing major front end damage.

For the first time in the event’s history the Clipsal 500 SOLD OUT with the maximum 95,000 spectators walking through the gates to watch today’s V8 Supercars action. Round two of the V8 Supercars Championship takes crews to Melbourne for the non-championship (points excluded) Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Pos

Driver

Points

1

Craig Lowndes

279

2

Jamie Whincup

267

3

Will Davison

240

4

Russell Ingall

198

5

James Courtney

192

6

Scott McLaughlin

186

7

Jonathon Webb

168

8

Tony D’Alberto

159

9

Shane Van Gisbergen

150

10

Scott Pye

138

11

Rick Kelly

135

12

James Moffat

129

13

Alexandre Premat

120

14

David Wall

114

15

Mark Winterbottom

111

16

Dean Fiore

111

17

Tim Blanchard

111

18

Lee Holdsworth

108

19

Garth Tander

96

20

Alex Davison

84

21

Tim Slade

60

22

Fabian Coulthard

48

23

David Reynolds

45

24

Jason Bright

39

25

Michael Caruso

36

26

Maro Engel

33

27

Jonny Reid

0

28

Todd Kelly

0

Sellout on final day of Clipsal 500

The ‘sold out’ signs were placed at the entrance gates of the 2013 Clipsal 500 Adelaide today shortly after Race 2 of the V8 Supercars Championship had commenced. With an attendance of 95,000 in the venue well before tonight’s concert featuring super groups Kiss and Motley Crue, South Australian Motor Sport Board Chief Executive Mark Warren said he had “to hang out the full house sign”.

‘It’s not something an event organiser ever really wants to do, but it does demonstrate just how successful the event has been. It’s the fifteenth year of

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V8 Supercars on our circuit and it’s the first time we have ever had a full house, and as far as I recall it’s the first time this has ever occurred at a domestic motor sport event.”

Today’s figure of 95,000 is the largest Sunday attendance in the event’s history.

The total attendance at this year’s event is 286,500. Mr Warren said that the new V8 Supercar of the future with Nissan and AMG Mercedes Benz joining Holden and Ford in the Championship, attractions such as gymkhana master Ken Block, and a concert line-up

featuring the Hilltop Hoods, Ian Moss and The Angels, and Kiss and Motley Crue had made it an outstanding event.

“The fans have voted and voted hard with their attendance at this year’s event, by turning up in such vast numbers.

The Clipsal 500 Adelaide is Australia’s showcase favourite motor sport carnival”

2013 Clipsal 500 Official Crowd Figures Thursday 43,000 Friday 67,600 Saturday 80,200 Sunday 95,000 Total: 286,500

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Runner-up result f Bray at Westernati Castrol EDGE-backed Victor Bray has enjoyed a finals appearance as three generations of the Bray family took to the Perth Motorplex over the weekend for the Westernationals event. Victor faced long-time friend and series leader Peter Kapiris in the final of round three of ANDRA’s Top Doorslammer championship, after earlier qualifying third fastest and driving around local hero John Zappia in the semi-final.

“The qualifying and race conditions for the majority of the day were very tight, and while we endured tyre shake for the first time in 12 months during the first qualifier we were able to get things sorted for our second pass, coming so close to another ‘five second’ pass with a 6.002 second result,” said Victor Bray. “After racing against Russ Pavey – who had qualified

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for his first ever ANDRA championship quarter-mile Top Doorslammer event – and Zappia; it was time to face Kapiris in the final. We had suffered some engine damage in the semi-final, so it was all hands on deck readying the car for the final hit-out. However while we were working frantically the track conditions improved, when we hit the track we didn’t have the set-up tuned to what it could handle and Kapiris went on to run the quickest pass of the weekend on his way to a well-deserved win.”

For Victor’s son Ben it was a shorter day at the office on Sunday, with a thrown blower belt seeing him put out of the first round while in the lead against Zappia after a nail-biting finish to qualifying the day before.

“Despite our tyre shake issues our first qualifying pass of 6.051 seconds was good enough to see us in the field in seventh spot, but even so it was a very nervous final session – I wasn’t able to improve on my time due to the car knocking the centre timing markers, and with three cars to run I wasn’t sure if I was going to be in or out,” said Ben. “Thankfully I was in the field, and set to face the reigning champion in the first round - despite him having the better start I was able to get in front of him but unfortunately just before the 1000 foot market while ahead the car threw a blower belt, meaning I was out of the race.While the weekend might not have gone to plan for us there are promising signs for continuing improvements ahead and that is good news.”

for Castrol-backed ionals Victor and Ben were joined on track by Ben’s nephew and Victor’s grandson Josh McClennan in Junior Dragster, with the 16 year old youngster qualifying 14th before making it to the second round of racing in the highly subscribed bracket. At the conclusion of the

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weekend’s Top Doorslammer racing, Peter Kapiris leads the championship points with Victor in second and Ben in fourth on the ladder. Team Bray Racing will now head back to Queensland, with Ben readying to take part in three events over three weekends aboard

his Nissan Ultima, starting with the APSA Pro Street Shootout (23 March) and Santo’s Cranes Super 3 Extreme Drag Race (29-30 March) events at Willowbank Raceway, before he heads to Sydney Dragway for the Jamboree on April 6.

WRC Rally Mexico - Cast Castrol-backed crews are headed from one extreme to the other next weekend when the FIA World Rally Championship moves from the snow of Sweden to the equatorial heat of Rally Mexico. Flying the flag for the Castrol EDGE-backed Volkswagen team is Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), and Rally Sweden winners Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (F/F).

Ogier currently leads the 2013 WRC standings over 9-times world champion Sebastien Loeb as Volkswagen Motorsport look to make their mark on the sport from inception. The contrast to the opening rounds of the season could not be more different, and with a new Rally Mexico victor guaranteed.

Castrol-backed Qatar M-Sport team drivers Mads Østberg, Evgeny Novikov, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Thierry Neuville will each be hoping that it’s their name which will become immortalised in the event’s history books.

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“With [Sébastien] Loeb not competing in Mexico we’re in a good position in the championship – we just need to ensure that we stay in touch with [Sébastien] Ogier,” said Østberg. “He’s been very strong on the first two rounds and I think we can expect the same from him next week. But I’m ready for the fight and looking forward to the rally. “ Reaching altitudes of up to 2,700 metres above sea level, the special stages in Mexico are the highest the teams will face all season – a true challenge for both driver and technology. However, for thousands of rally fans, this is the biggest fiesta of the season.

“The first three rallies of the season are all a bit special. After the iconic and unpredictable ‘Monte’, and the extreme cold of Sweden, we now face soaring temperatures at over 2,000 metres above sea level,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “The thin air and

temperatures of above 30 degrees have a real impact – on both driver and co-driver, as well as the technology.”

Keen to promote the fact that chocolate originated in the country over 3000 years ago, organisers have included a new special stage this year – the sweetly named ‘El Chocolate.’

trol Racing Preview WRC championship points:

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Pos

Driver

Points

1

Sébastien Ogier

46

2

Sébastien Loeb

43

3

Mads Østberg

24

4

Daniel Sordo

15

5

Jari-Matti Latvala

14

6

Mikko Hirvonen

12

7

Martin Prokop

12

8

Thierry Neuville

10

8

Bryan Bouffier

10

10

Juho Hänninen

8

11

Sepp Wiegand

4

12

Henning Solberg

4

13

Olivier Burri

2

13

Evgeny Novikov

2

15

Michal Kosciuszko

1

16

Yazeed Al-Rajhi

1

Chris Sandrone surprises at Stars of Karting opener Reigning Pro Gearbox (KZ2) Champion Chris Hays (Gold Coast, QLD) started his title defense in a winning fashion with victory at the opening round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series presented by Castrol EDGE in Ipswich, Queensland. Hays took the round win following a spirited battle with 2011 World Cup Champion Joey Hanssen, who was making his debut in the series after moving to Australia last month to work for Lenzo Kart Australia.

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The pair, who set the pace all throughout the preliminary races, were locked nose to tail for much of the 25 lap affair, Hanssen – a Dutchman – threw everything in his extensive international arsenal to get past Hays, however the Energy Corse Australia driver was just too good.

“The pressure this weekend in having Joey in the field just stepped everything up a notch,” admitted Hays. “The racing was tough from the very first practice session. We had to be on the limit to hold Joey out.”

Exprit Racing Australia’s Chris Sandrone upstaged his more fancied rivals during qualifying day at Round One of the Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting Series in Ipswich, Queensland on Saturday. After qualifying second fastest in the Top Five Shootout, Sandrone won his opening heat race in the Pro Junior (KFJ) category before backing this performance up with a pair of second places throughout the day.

Sandrone (Sydney, NSW), who started on pole position in today’s opening

final before an opening lap skirmish dropped him back, was presented with the BlackBerry Powerful Award for the round. The two State Championship support events saw Pacific Kartsport driver Adam Mercer (Brisbane, QLD) win the Dunlop TaG Light category while Toowoomba’s Brendan Nelson won Dunlop TaG Heavy. Birel Kartsport Australia’s Jaxon Evans (Gold Coast, QLD) and Chris Farkas (Brisbane, QLD) filled the podium in the Light category.

CRG Austrlia’s Jason Hryniuk (Syndey, NSW) and William Yarwood (Cornubia, QLD) filled the minor positions in the Heavy category. In the Rookies category, Oscar Piastri made the trip from Melbourne a successful one by taking the win ahead of local drivers Harrison Hoey and Ryan Suhle. PCR driver Kyle Henry-Smith won TaG Restricted Light ahead of female racer Donnelle Woldon, David Johnstone was took good in the TaG Heavy category.

The next round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series will be held at South Australia’s Bolivar Raceway on April 27/18.

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Castrol-backed Pata Honda secures solid points at WSBK opener Castrol-backed Pata Honda riders Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam have left Phillip Island with a solid points haul following the opening round of the 2013 World Superbike championship.

Irishman Eugene Laverty turned the tables Race 1 winner and his Aprilia factory team-mate Sylvain Guintoli to win the second World Superbike race at Phillip Island’s on Sunday afternoon.

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In race one, Haslam had a good start from the third row of the grid and was battling for a podium finish for 18 laps before tyre problems dropped him back to seventh at the flag. After a slower start to race two, the 29-year-old British rider got caught in a first lap melĂŠe at turn 10 when two other riders crashed. He dropped back several places, losing touch with the leading group and eventually finishing 10th.

“We had some issues that we couldn’t overcome in race one and I ended up heading backwards,” said Haslam. “It felt like I had the pace to challenge for a rostrum but I was held back in a couple of areas. There are a lot of ‘if’s and ‘but’s, and we’ve got a lot of work to do in this next month to try to resolve a few issues.”

In warm and dry conditions, the new Pata Honda duo fought tyre degradation and electronics issues around the

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4.445km Phillip Island circuit to bring their CBR1000RR Fireblades home for four points finishes. Jonathan Rea finished eighth in both 22-lap outings, the second being his 100th World Superbike race start. The 26-yearold from Northern Ireland scored a total of 16 points, despite issues with electronics and tyres and leaves Phillip Island tied for sixth place in the overall SBK points standings.

“It’s been a strange weekend, and it’s frustrating for us all to look at the classifications and see where we are because I don’t feel that it’s a true reflection of where we deserve to be,” said Rea. “We made some positive steps with the bike between race one and two, and we’ve got a three-day test at Aragon, which we really need.

Two finishes is always the aim for the first race, but we leave here still with work to do.”

Castrol-backed Ford Inna Motorsport debut Fiesta The Castrol-backed Ford Innate Motorsport rally team kicked of their 2013 Australian Rally Championship (ARC) campaign in style at the National Capital Rally in Canberra.

Renault’s Scott Pedder may have piped him to an opening Heat victory, but it was Honda’s Eli Evans who had the last laugh, claiming outright victory at the National Capital Rally.

The team’s hired gun, Welshman Elfyn Evans is undoubtedly the fastest Ford Fiesta R2 pilot in the world, but his challenge came to an abrupt end 10 km into SS2, when he slid a fraction wide clipping a large rock and the Coates Hire/Rally Australia Fiesta ended up well of the road. The damage couldn’t be repaired and Elfyn watched from the service park for the rest of the weekend.

The team’s regular driver, Adrian Coppin worked hard to come to grips with his car in his first outing in the new Fiesta R2.

However, despite calling Canberra home, the forests surrounding the National Capital were not kind to the local team over the weekend in round 1 of the ARC.

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At the end of the event’s stages the Ford Innate Motorsport Fiesta R2 finished 7th in Heat 2 and won the 1600 Cup for the event. But the result almost didn’t happen as another close encounter with a rock in the 2nd last stage had broken a bracket under the car.

Thankfully, a problem didn’t occur on the stages but the driveshaft pulled out

several times on the way back to the finish.

“It has been a tough weekend, what with loosing Elfyn so early on, and my affinity with the geology but we pushed on and scored points for Ford as well as winning the 1600 Cup, so all in all I am pretty happy” Coppin concluded.

ate as in ARC

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The team will be working flat out over the next few days to restore the Coates Hire Fiesta to its former glory so it can take part at the Top Gear Festival next weekend. The team’s next event will be the Quit Forest Rally to be held on the infamous ball bearing stages around Busselton in Western Australia from 5-7 April.