Castrol Edge Australian Motorsport News Issue 1

VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 1

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TO FLIES IN

C R W I N I M

REA GRABS MORE POINTS PLUS CASTROL HITS TARGA WITH LEGACY HERO FORMULA FORD PROTECTED BY CASTROL EDGE

11th MAY 2011

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FORD MARCHES ON IN ITALY AS MINI RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS RESULTS - RALLY OF SARDINIA

The Castrol-backed Abu Dhabi Ford World Rally team continued its strong WRC pace at the Rally of Sardinia over the weekend, whilst MINI made it’s long awaited return to the Championship.

Mikko Hirvonen suffered a punctured right front during Friday’s running dropping 50 seconds.

Jari-Matti Latvala dropped out of contention after a pacenote error on Friday, however re-joined under SupeRally rules on Saturday and won an astonishing five of six stages. Overall the Ford pair won 11 of the Rally’s 18 stages - and if not for the bad luck would have gone onto claim victory and retain the lead in the Manufacturer’s Championship.

For MINI the weekend was about gathering as much data as possible and pleasingly, Dani Sordo was able to bring his car home in sixth placing.

The other car of Kris Meeke was retired following a water leak on Saturday.

The team attempted to fix the problem, but elected to retire the car, taking into consideration a throttle issue that hampered Meeke’s first day of competition on Friday.

Sordo was pleased with the outing, commenting the car felt strong and the chassis was good, giving the team an exceptional platform for further development.

The MINI WRC Program is being led by Prodrive - the same company behind Ford Performance Racing - one of Castrol’s leading V8 Supercar teams in Australia.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

S Loeb / D Elena M Hirvonen / J Lehtinen P Solberg / C Patterson S Ogier / J Ingrassia M Osterberg / J Andersson D Sordo / C Del Berrio O Tanak / K Sikk J Hanninen / M Markkula J-M Latvala / M Anttila

WRC CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 S Loeb 2 M Hirvonen 3 S Ogier 4 J-M Latvala 5 P Solberg WRC MANUFACTURERS POINTS 1 Citroen 2 Ford 3 M-Sport 4 Petter Solberg 5 Ice 1 Racing 6 Munchis Ford 7 Team Abu Dhabi 8 FERM Power Tools 9 Monster 10 BRAZIL

100 93 81 68 46 167 150 61 37 26 24 19 10 6 1

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MONZA POINTS FOR JOHNNY Castrol Honda World Superbike Team rider Jonathan Rea endured a tough weekend at Monza, finishing sixth in race one and crashing out of the second. The Ulsterman suffered from a lack of top speed on the long straights of the famous Italian circuit, while grip problems for team-mate Ruben Xaus left him 15th and 12th.

Rea said of his accident in race two: “I’ll have to see the footage to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside, which forced me up and into the guy on the outside.”

Meanwhile, Castrol-backed BMW Motorrad rider Leon Haslam raced to his second podium finish of the season with third place in race one. He said: “Max [Biaggi] and I held each other up slightly, which saw Eugene [Laverty, double race winner] get away at the front, but on the whole I was happy with the race and the bike.”

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1. CARLOS CHECA - 145 | 2. MARCO MELANDRI - 118 | 3. MAX BIAGGI - 117 4. JONATHAN REA - 89 | 5. EUGENE LAVERTY - 85 | 15. RUBEN XAUS - 31

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CASTROL TAKES TO TARGA WITH AUSSIE HERO If you think the name Damien Thomlinson seems a little familiar - then you’re probably right.

The former Australian Army Private was featured in a Ray Martin 60 Minutes program last year in a story that veteran journalist Martin places in his top three of all time.

Thomlinson was serving in the Army in Afghanistan when he lost his legs after a firefight his troop was engaged in. He was in his late 20s.

Damien joined forces with Legacy Assist to take on this year’s Targa Tasmania - however the challenges the team overcame in competing in the event - whilst not as monumental as those faced by Thomlinson on a daily basis - ensured finishing the rally was a mammoth effort.

When driver - Sergeant Matt Cardinaels - had his nominated co-driver withdraw the week prior to the event, Damien - with no navigational experience - was drafted into the passenger’s seat.

Upon arrival in Tasmania, Team Legacy Assist’s car refused to go. Taking the engine out and sending the crew back to the engine shop in Melbourne, the 240Z completed the entire rally faultlessly - seeing Cardinaels and Thomlinson finish 40th out of 100 starters.

The replacement engine was up to 50 horsepower down on similar cars in the Targa Tasmania rally and the team is working to up-spec the engine before the next event it competes.

Thomlinson brought a great deal of media interest and has now been confirmed as a permanent fixture within Team Legacy Assist.

To watch the inspirational story of Damien Thomlinson, filed by Ray Martin on 60 Minutes, Click Here

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CASTROL EDGE COVERING THE FORMULA FORD FIELD

Castrol EDGE has re-affirmed its grass roots support of Australian motorsport by announcing an arrangement with the Australian Formula Ford Championship and its ambassador, Steven Richards.

The arrangement with the Australian Formula Ford Championship gives all competitors access to Castrol EDGE products.

“Formula Ford is very important in the development of young drivers,” Richards said. “It’s been widely acknowledged as the logical step from karting into higher levels of motorsport. In fact 95 % of the V8 Supercar Drivers cut their teeth in Formula Ford. Castrol is a company that has always had motorsport at the core of its DNA and this partnership continues that into another generation.”

Rod Barrett - Formula Ford Chairman of the Board - welcomed the partnership.

“Ford has had a long association with Castrol products globally and its fantastic they are joining Formula Ford Australia in supporting the next wave of Australian racing heroes,” Barrett said. “Castrol EDGE and Ford are technical partners in various activities, whether it’s the World Rally Championship, John Force Racing in the NHRA or locally with V8 Supercars – Ford’s engines are protected by Castrol EDGE.” Castrol Lubricants Australia’s Manager of Sponsorship and PR, Sue Dilger – feels the partnership brings to life Castrol’s commitment to safety and sustainable motoring, along with continuing its support for the grassroots of Australian motorsport.

“Castrol’s focus globally is on sustainable motoring in a safe environment and we hope that by associating with activities such as the CIK Stars of Karting Series and theAustralian Formula Ford Championship we can prove to young people both in and outside racing that you can enjoy motoring, but be safe at the same time.”

MACKENZIE’S MURRAY BRIDGE Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Billy Mackenzie and Dean Ferris dominated the 4th round of the Australian Motocross Championship at Murray Bridge, SA on Sunday 8 May winning all four of the 450 motos.

Three weeks of sitting on the couch nursing a cracked shoulder and fractured ribs was not the perfect preparation for Billy Mackenzie heading into the 4th round at Murray Bridge. It didn’t appear to have any negative affect on his performance though. With the pain gone and the majority of movement returned, Mackenzie came out firing in SA. Even without 100% fitness and desired bike time under his belt, Mackenzie threw down a blisteringly fast lap time straight up with nobody coming within 1.3 seconds for the remainder of the session.

Mackenzie was in a class of his own at Murray Bridge.

Mackenzie’s 1-1-3-1 results were more than good enough for the overall for the day and moves him to 3rd in the Championship, only 17 points behind the series leader, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Dean Ferris.

A happy Billy Mackenzie says, “It’s just great to win again. The bike worked so well, it was awesome! I felt comfortable all day and I felt fit. I was a little depressed after the last couple of rounds but clawing back so many points today has really given me new motivation. I’m having fun again and can’t wait for Toowoomba!”

Dean Ferris overcame a tough first moto to claw back enough points to take 2nd for the round and reclaim the series leading Red Plate, the second time he has held it this year. Ferris faced an uphill battle in the opening moto finding himself in last place after stalling his bike on the start gate. Ferris clawed his way back magnificently to take 10th. Ferris then took 2nd in the next race, sitting on the back tyre of team-mate Mackenzie for the entirety before hole-shotting and winning the third moto. Another 2nd in the final moto, again biting at the Michelin rubber on the back wheel of team mate Mackenzie’s KX450F was good enough for 2nd overall for the round and 1st in the Championship.

Lites rider Phil Nicoletti was unable to capitalise on four weeks of positive and successful bike set-up and training with an aggressive stomach virus rocking his weekend. A heavy crash on the first turn of the opening moto didn’t help his cause either. Very ill, Nicoletti did well to even line up for his four motos managing 16-5-10-19 for 13th overall for the round.

The team heads back to Toowoomba, QLD for a home round in front of loyal family, friends and fans on Sunday 22 May.

UPCOMING RACES 13/15

MotoGP Le Mans France

13/15

20/22

V8 Supercars Winton Queensland

Nationals 20/22 MX Toowoomba

NHRA Summit Southern Nationals, Atlanta

Queensland

20/22

Formula 1 Catalunya Spain

10/13

Winternats Willowbank Queensland

JUNE