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FIRING UP THE FEEN-MACHINE THE GEN-Z KID HAS THE BIGGEST BOOTS TO FILL

By Paul Gover, News Editor CRAIG LOWNDES is the only driver to have hit Supercars with as much impact as Broc Feeney.

The Queensland teenager has earned a golden ticket straight into the most-coveted seat in the championship series as the replacement for the GOAT, Jamie Whincup.

Even so, he is reacting like any other 19-yearold as he wheels into action for his first main game test at Queensland Raceway.

“The first couple of laps, driving down the straight and seeing Feeney on the windscreen and the #88 on the door, was pretty special,” Feeney tells Auto Action.

“It’s the little things. Like the watch on the strap of my driving gloves. I’ve been seeing that stuff for so many years and now I’ve got it.”

He was even wearing Whincup’s old underwear – complete with stains from its last use by the touring car legend – for his opening laps.

“I’ve even got the boss’s cool suit. I better not damage it.

“Yup. That’s him,” Feeney laughs as he points to a couple of brown water marks.

The comparison between Feeney and Lowndes works at a number of levels.

Both joined the Supercars series as highlytouted youngsters, and Lowndes was even called ’The Kid’ by the teak-tough racers he joined in team red.

Both dropped straight into the factory Holden team, even if Red Bull Ampol Racing has given up the old Holden Racing Team tag.

Each had a legendary team leader, Lowndes joining Peter Brock and Feeney sliding in alongside reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen.

Both were also mentored by titans of the pitlane, Lowndes by chess master John Crennan and Feeney by power broker Roland Dane.

“It’s a big day for him. His first day as a professional race driver,” says Dane as he watches the Feen-machine go in action.

It’s also the first day when Feeney’s father Paul, a former Superbike racer and successful Gold Coast businessman, has not had to open his wallet to smooth the path for his son. Although the youngster is still waiting for the Chevy Silverado that comes as part of his salary package . . .

No-one is expecting Feeney to match

Image: Mark Horsburgh Lowndes’ championship victory in his rookie season, but he has the advantage of starting at 19 against 21 for Lowndes and he arrives as the reigning Super2 champion.

But he will arrive at the season opener at Sydney Motorsport Park without a previous Supercars victory at the track, despite his starring role in Super2 last year.

“We’re going to find out at Sydney. There is no hiding,” says the Feen-machine.

“I didn’t win there in Super2. But I got second last year and a pole in the wet.”

Then the kid returns.

“But I’m a multiple Hyundai Excel race winner and lap record holder. A two-time Excel enduro winner!” he laughs.

“I had a good run there in the Excel. And it’s very relevant, as well . . .”

His job at Queensland Raceway, where he is sharing the Triple Eight pit with van Gisbergen for the first time, is serious and seriously emotional.

“It was a pretty cool day. One I won’t forget,” he begins.

“I wouldn’t say I had massive emotion, but it’s becoming a bit more real to me. It’s still hard to believe the situation I’m in and how fortunate I am.

“The main thing was to get comfortable in the car. I brought my seat from Super2 with me. We mucked around with the seat a lot, instead of guessing between now and Sydney.

We ended up happy and I’m comfy in the car.”

He’s also brought his Super2 engineer, Martin Short, a key move in a year when T8 will have the most significant staffing changes in its history, topped by the retirement of Dane and Whincup’s move from the driving seat to the team principal’s seat.

“It’s great to have him, because it’s a key piece of continuity. We ‘get’ each other and we know how the other one works. We’ve also got Jeromy Moore as head engineer.

“It’s cool that a lot of guys are being promoted. I’m in my rookie year and there are other guys who have been promoted. But it’s not just a flip of the coin – these guys have earned their place.

“So it’s not only in the driving, but in the engineering department as well.”

There are no lap times from QR to benchmark him against van Gisbergen, or even his real rivals at Dick Johnson Racing, but Feeney is happy with the day’s running.

“It’s another test day and another car for me to drive. But there were still plenty of

things to get used to,” he says.

“We were trying to learn things with the changes we did. It’s to learn from these changes so we can use them when we go racing.”

How did he think he went against SvG? “We were both trying a lot of different stuff, but I could see a few areas to work on to get closer to him. It’s hard to know how much I need because we were so different on set-ups.

“But I’ve got someone to learn off and he’s the fastest guy out there. I’m happy coming out of day one.”

He’s also happy, but not cocky, as he faces up to his debut at SMP. “I’m confident going into Sydney. It’s a track I know well. When I first roll out and see the other cars around me is when it gets real.

“I’m not going to let these guys push me around because I’m a rookie. I tried to show that a little bit at Bathurst last year.

“They are going to try, because I’m the new kid on the block and I’m in the best seat in the house. There a lot of guys who have been there for quite a few years and maybe thought they deserved the drive I’ve got.

“I don’t really care what they think. I’m here to do my job.”

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NEW LOOK, LINE-UP AT

By Josh Nevett THERE HAS been plenty of change at Matt Stone Racing over the summer, but if you ask either of its new drivers, the team is one big happy family already with ambitions to move up the grid.

Both Todd Hazelwood and Jack Le Brocq join the Queensland-based squad ahead of the 2022 season, crossing over from Brad Jones Racing and Tickford respectively.

The engineering department has also been given a revamp, an expanded line-up will see five full-time engineers at MSR this year, with new faces among the ranks.

Hazelwood has a unique perspective on the evolution of the team, given he spent seven years at MSR, winning the Super2 Series title with them in 2017 before moving up to Supercars with the team as part of a one-car operation.

Despite a new direction and significant turnover of personnel, MSR feels just like home for the 26-year-old.

“It’s been amazing to step back into the team, it feels like home,” Hazelwood told Auto Action “A hell of a lot has changed – the expansion to two cars and stepping the whole programme up in a real professional manner.

“There’s still some familiar faces; some of my closest mates are still here but I also see quite a significant cultural change.

“There’s a lot of back slapping, everyone’s getting along really well ... it’s a family vibe and environment. That is something that doesn’t just come naturally.”

Hazelwood finished 26th and 18th in his first two seasons driving a top-tier Supercar with MSR but he believes MSR is

now best placed to move up the garages line-up in pitlane.

“The team has stepped up in leaps and bounds, which puts us in a really good position to progress this year,” Hazelwood said.

“Top 10 is the aim for me – I’m pushing to make that a reality.

“I’m always pushing to try and get more out of myself – I’m hoping to help put us in a position where we’re spraying some champagne and holding trophies up across the year.

“It’s exciting times and I’m excited to see what we can achieve this year.”

Le Brocq will also make his MSR debut at the Sydney Motorsport Park season opener in March, after two-year stints at Tekno Autosports and Tickford.

After a breakthrough race win in 2020,

the Melbournian couldn’t kick on in 2021, moving to MSR this year in pursuit of a fresh start and an uptick in results.

“I think MSR have got some pretty good equipment,” Le Brocq observed.

“Consistently around the top 10 would be a pretty good year for us.

“The team has gelled really well and did a great job at the Queensland Raceway test day.”

The new look 2022 driver pairing have taken different journeys since entering the main game, but back in 2017 they were Super2 rivals as Hazelwood beat Le Brocq to the title.

There is no risk of a renewed battle according to Hazelwood though.

“Working with Jack has been good. We have a

FABIAN IN AT WAU AND WANTS MORE

By Dan McCarthy HOT OFF the back of his TCR Australia debut, Fabian Coulthard has signed as a co-driver with Bathurst 1000 winning team Walkinshaw Andretti United.

After not being retained at PremiAir Racing after a change of ownership, former DJR Team Penske driver has secured one of the top co-drives along with WAU stalwart Warren Luff.

Luff is a two-time Bathurst 1000 runner-up and has raced with the team since 2014 – he was an obvious man to re-sign.

Which of the WAU full-time drivers Coulthard and Luff will be paired with remains to be seen and will be decided closer to the Bathurst 1000.

“It’s great to be joining Walkinshaw Andretti United for 2022 – the team is on the move and I’m really excited to see what we can do together at Bathurst this year,” Coulthard said.

“When I found out in January that I wasn’t going to be driving in a full-time capacity in 2022, my focus then changed to aligning myself with what I think is the best opportunity to win at Bathurst, and that was here.” “ There’s a few familiar faces from when I was here in 2010 and 2011, so it will be great to work with those guys again, as well as Chaz, Nick and Luffy.”

Coulthard Is not done with the TCR Australia Series either. The New Zealander wants to return for Round 2

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at Phillip Island after a difficult initiation in Tasmania.

The 13-time Supercars Championship race winner made his debut in the hot hatch series at fortnight ago at the historic Symmons Plains Raceway.

He qualified in 13th position, and the weekend would prove to be unlucky for the former Bathurst 1000 runner-up.

In Race 1 he finished 11th, but was ruled out of overall contention when his Wall Racing Honda Civic Type R went into limp home mode in both of the final two encounters.

Nevertheless, Coulthard is determined to race at Round 2 and have a crack at a track where the Honda has traditionally performed stronger.

“I’d like to return, it’s definitely unfinished business,” Coulthard said to Auto Action after Sunday’s race concluded.

“I’d like to go to a track where the Honda’s been strong. Tony (D’Alberto his teammate) did a good job there last year, so it’d be nice to see the back of Tasmania and get to Phillip Island.”

As the weekend progressed Coulthard was getting more comfortable with front-wheel drive TCR machine He recalled Sunday’s events and reiterated his intention to return to the category.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I appreciate the support from Stan Sport and Wall Racing, it’s been a lot of fun.

“Obviously not the results we would have liked hampered with ‘limp’ mode. I got to eighth in Race 2 and then on the last lap it went into limp mode and we finished 14th – it did the same thing when it came back in the final race.

MSR Image: Riccardo Benvenuti

fair level of respect for each other,” he said.

“We had very similar upbringings, having to essentially work our backsides off to get into Supercars.

“We came here to work together and use the advantage of having two teammates that are willing to use each other as a benefit rather than as your biggest rival.”

While expectations and excitement are brimming at the rejuvenated MSR, the men set to do the business on track are still conscious of the bigger picture – the arrival of Gen3 regulations in 2023.

“It’s a big building year as well, for us to build those relationships with the engineers, mechanics and crew,” Le Brocq concluded.

“We’re building for Gen3 so we hit the ground running at the start of next year.”

TCR “Disappointing to finish the weekend the way we did, but we’ll live and we’ll learn, and we’ll try to find the problem.

Hopefully you’ll see me at Phillip Island.”

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THE DYNAMIC DUO PERCAT AND MOSTERT AGAINST THE SUPERCARS WORLD

By Paul Gover, News Editor THERE WAS a time when Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert hated each other.

Through their days in Formula Ford and the Supercars’ development series they were deadly rivals, and both are happy to admit it.

Now, as Percat moves to join Mostert at Walkinshaw Andretti United, they have a common goal and a common enemy for the first time.

“The goal is to finish 1-2. We can work out the order once we’re doing that,” laughs Mostert.

“I just hope the cars are fast enough, and then it comes down to who can put the pieces together,” replies Percat.

The WAU warriors are one of the toughest combinations in the pitlane for season 2022, perhaps even the toughest of all.

Both are Bathurst 1000 winners, both are sprint race winners, they are young and fast – and each has a sense of humour.

“It’s crazy that we’re now team mates. It’s quite cool,” says Percat.

“It’s funny now that we’re hanging out.

We actually have a lot in common. It’s been fun so far.”

Both can recall their earlier rivalry, as they battled for opposing teams and opposing car brands that put an edge on their personal push for success.

“We both know we were enemies at one point, through Formula Ford and then Super2. Each team had a perception of what the other one was doing,”says Percat.

“We’ve got history from Formula Ford, through the Dev series to Supercars. But we are a lot older than we were,” says Mostert.

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“I think Nick towelled me up twice. He won the year I before I did in Formula Ford. The first year in DVS we were all in with a shot and it came down to the wire.

He certainly had the upper hand over me in the development categories.

“When I first heard Nick was a possibility I thought ‘Here we go’ because we’d had the run-ins. But once I thought about it, and looked at what he was able to do, I realised he was the guy who can take us to the next level.”

But now, the past is forgotten and the dynamic duo are looking to the future.

“I’ve always wanted to pair-up with someone of the calibre of Chaz. For me it’s very exciting,” says Percat.

“I’m really excited to have him in the team, because I know he’s going to push me hard. And I’ll push him hard.

“Me and Nick have had pretty good respect for each other in the last few years,” says Mostert.

“I’m pretty positive about it. We are both a lot older than we were. I have a lot of respect for Nick’s ability, and what he’s done at BJR for the last couple of years.”

It’s also a homecoming for Percat, who began his time in Supercars with the Holden Racing Team that has morphed into WAU. “We’re even in the same workshop at the moment. Bruce Stewart is still there, and the Walkinshaw family, and a lot of the key guys.”

But there is a big change and it’s important to Percat.

“The culture is opposite to where it was the last time. It’s refreshing to go in there and feel that everyone has respect for each other. And they want to enjoy it as well,” he says.

“I wouldn’t have come if the culture was the way it used to be. It’s a credit to Bruce and Chaz.”

Mostert knows what Percat means.

“The culture of the team is really good.

I think it’s a lot different to what it was.

The team had drivers going against each other a fair bit,” he says.

“It comes down to the leadership of the team, and what they allow. I’m very happy with the leadership team at Walkinshaw.

We all put the team first.

“It’s quite a good family. I think Nick already feels that. It’s probably like Christmas for him.”

But a happy team is no good if it’s not a fast team, so both drivers intend to be pushing hard for success.

“Hopefully we push each other along and get the team back to some good results. All I want to do is win championships and win races,” says Percat.

“If I wanted to continue and be in the sixth-to-tenth zone I would have stayed where I was. I just hope the cars are fast enough to do the job, and then it comes down to who puts the pieces together.

“I expect Chaz to be extremely fast. The way he describes the car sounds similar to what I would want. Fingers crossed that it is similar enough to have the same direction.

“I think we’re both just as excited, even to see each other’s data. It will be interested to see how we cut it up.”

“I’m excited to lean on him. I’m excited to dig into his data. If will make us both faster,” says Mostert.

“Honestly, if we can make the cars go fast then fast cars win races and I’ll be happy. If he’s out there towelling me up then I’m not driving fast enough.”

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CHANGE AT BRT

TIM SLADE and the Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) return for their second season in the Supercars Championship, a season that will be quite different for the one-car Ford Mustang outfit.

Last year, as Tickford Racing was forced to downscale to a three-car team, they took on customer operation BRT to share a boom, something that was beneficial for both parties involved.

However, as the Victorian factory Ford outfit is upscaling back to four cars in 2022, BRT has been forced to move down the end of the pitlane and use its own pit boom.

The other significant change is the motor. Despite remaining with a Tickfordbuilt Mustang, BRT team principal Tim Blanchard has announced that they will run Herrod Performance engines instead as it looks ahead to the Gen3 Super cars era.

“After our foundation year, BRT is now in a fantastic position to start building on what we established and apply what we have learnt moving forward,” said Blanchard.

“Last year was about setting the standards and looking for consistency, and I think we found that after our first few events, finishing with 14 top-10 results from the last 20 races. Now it is about how we fine-tune what we do to continue to improve.

“We have not sat still over the off-season; there has been a huge progress phase in designing our own pit boom, changing to Herrod Performance Engines and several other development items we have been working on.

“Partnering with Herrod Performance Engines is exciting – we believe they share a similar approach to BRT. “With the Gen3 program moving along in the background, we see starting this relationship now as an important change to be on the front foot for 2023.

“Rob Herrod and Ryan Storey, through Dick Johnson Racing, have been extremely supportive and helpful in making this all happen, which we are very thankful for.”

Slade spoke to AUTO ACTION about what needs to improve second time around for the relatively inexperienced team.

Last year the team showed an extreme strength in tyre life, either pitting early and going long to the end or running long and pitting late – Slade explained that this was to actually overcome a weakness.

“Our pit stops aren’t the fastest, so it was more so just kind of a bit of damage limitation, just stopp early or late, two tyres and then you’ve got the rest of the race to make it up,” Slade said to AA. “But then we could also make the most of the good tyre life – but in saying that the strategy would have probably been a little

BRT’s TIM Slade contested the opening round of S5000 at Symmons Plains Raceway – but after finishing a strong third in the opening race, his weekend took somethingn of a downward turn.

He collided with teammate Joey Mawson in Race 2 and then, when running third in the Feature Race, suffered a driveshaft failure.

Auto Action asked Slade if the results of the weekend would have a bearing on whether he would return: “No, not really,” Slade replied. “It just depends on if the opportunity is there at other rounds, and if it is, if I can fit it in and if I want to do it, basically.

“It just depends if the opportunity is there, first and foremost.” DM bit different if we qualified higher.

“Qualifying is definitely something that we need to work on a on a little bit more.

“I’d say more often than not, our race pace has been pretty good but there’s still a bit of outright pace needed as well to be able to win races.”

Slade spoke about being down at the other end of the lane – both the positives and negatives.

“Obviously it’s always better to be closer to the front (of the lane) especially with shorter sessions,” he said.

“It’s good being by ourselves though, there’s no chance we’ll ever have to stack.

“From an expense point of view, having to fly a couple of extra people around to every race this year and obviously the cost of extra equipment, makes a difference.

“I think the guys that we’ll start the year with are not all Melbourne based.

“Ideally, we’d like them to be Melbourne based so they can actually come into the workshop and train during the week.

“It’s still going to be tough being a new team, with the lack of experience with some people when you’re up against the established teams that have had that same pitstop crew doing pitstops year after year.”

Dan McCarthy

FEENEY PROVIDES THE X FACTOR BROC’S DAD DOING A DEAL FOR PREMIAIR RACING

By Paul Gover, News Editor “I got out of motorcycles in 2014 and keep Husqvarna THE NEWEST team in Supercars is setting up on the Gold parts until 2016. I did some stuff with importing go-karts Coast with surprising guidance – from Paul Feeney. and kart tyres,” says Feeney.

PremiAir Racing has recruited the senior Feeney, father of He quickly identified a suitable 800 square-metre factory main game rookie Broc, to lay the foundations for the former site at the suburb of Gaven on the northern Gold Coast Team Sydney. which already had motoring connections through the local Peter Xiberras – Peter-X – decided to move his born-again Frizelle Sunshine Automotive, one of the larger new-car squad north to be closer to Triple Eight Race Engineering, which outlets in the region. will provide the engineering back-up for the team’s first year.

“We wanted somewhere on the Gold Coast, mainly to Feeney has been close to T8 for years, partly because of attract staff,” says Feeney.

Broc but also because Feeney Snr helped T8 boss Roland Dane establish the company’s new manufacturing headquarters in Brisbane. The greenfield factory is on the same street as the race base in Banyo, but required a completely different approach and local contacts for the many engineering machines and a separate workforce.

When Peter-X decided on the move, he went first to Feeney.

“I’m just helping to set up the workshop. I won’t be involved in the race at all,” says Feeney. “It came about because I already had the connection with Triple Eight.”

The retired Superbike racer and Gold Coast businessman, who was once the Australian importer for Aprilia, has deep connections in south-east Queensland that have made things easier.

Image: MTR Images

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“We looked all the options and found this site. Originally it was a food stop, a distribution centre.

“Then it was a detailing shop for Frizelles. So it has work bays and a bunch of the other stuff you need.

“But it’s going to be set up from scratch for the race team.”

Feeney says he has an open-ended deal with Peter-X, much as he did with Dane for the Triple Eight project.

“It will be a couple of months. However long it takes.”

He could have elevated the arrangement by taking on the role as Team Manager for PremiAir Racing, but rejected an approach from Peter-X. “I don’t have the right skill set. That’s not what I want to be doing this year. I want to go at watch Broc and look after his sponsors,” Feeney says.

GEN3 GEARBOX CHANGE DELAYS TESTING

SUPERCARS HAS announced that the manual sequential gear change mechanism used in the current Gen2 Supercars would be installed this week into the Gen3 machines.

Both the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang prototypes built for testing will be fitted with the item after Supercars voted to keep with the current gearbox rather than switch to paddleshift gearchange.

However, the timing of the installation has meant that the planned on-track testing of the Gen3 Supercars scheduled for Winton Raceway did not go ahead.

Triple Eight Race Engineering and Shell V-Power Racing did not have enough time to install the mechanism and make down to country Victoria circuit in time. It would have marked the first time that the Gen3 machines would have tested

outside of Queensland.

Supercars Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess expressed that it is better not to rush the installation ahead of the next stage of testing.

“It’s in the best interest of the overall program to take the prototypes off track and make changes to the manual gear change mechanism and respective ergonomics at this time,”

PREMIAIR KICKS SPONSOR GOAL

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE NEWEST team in Supercars has a simple goal for its first weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“I want us to look like a race team, not a rabble,” says Peter Xiberras, who has created PremiAir Racing from the ashes of the former Team Sydney.

The new outfit is racing to be ready for the start of the Supercars season in Sydney but Peter-X believes he has ticked as many boxes as possible to allow Garry Jacobson and Chris Pither to hit the track running.

He has hired Dan Ensor, formerly at Triple Eight Racing Engineering, as team manager and paid for a complete wheels-up rebuild of the team’s two ZB Commodores.

But push him for a prediction, or an on-track target, and he’s not ready to commit.

“No, I can’t. I’d love to, but I just can’t,” Xiberras says.

He knows a lot about racing as a Top

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Fuel driver and team owner in drag racing, as well as years as a Supercars sponsor, and says PremiAir Racing is still in its very early stages. He even asked for a one-week postponement of the team’s test day at Queensland Raceway to provide some extra wiggle room.

But unveiling the team’s two cars, one in Coca-Cola colours and the other with Subway down the side, he is ready to talk.

“We’re still recruiting. We’ve got six or eight people onboard but we’re looking for more,” says Peter-X. “We’re getting a lot of help. Some of the other Supercars teams have been very generous in helping us out.”

Pither and Jacobson have also been flat-out and are looking forward to the challenges of 2022.

“We’re going out there with the aim to win. If you don’t aim to win then why are you racing? I’m not there just to make up the numbers,” says Pither.

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“I believe we’re being given all the tools we need to be successful. It’s going to take time, but we’re aiming high.”

Jacobson is less ambitious, but just as committed.

“It was can sit in the top 12 for the first part of the year that would be a

good result,” he says.

“For me, it’s a process to get the results. Last year we probably concentrated too much on one-lap pace. I believe I’ve got the potential to qualify regularly in the Top 10.

“Then the intensity goes up. It’s important not to get rattled.”

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STOP / GO

EREBUS MOTORSPORT has locked in an unchanged driver co-driver line-up for this year’s Bathurst 1000.

Both Jack Perkins and David Russell will return to the Boost-backed squad, pairing up again with Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki. The Kostecki-Russell combination achieved both driver’s maiden Bathurst podiums last October. It came on the pair’s first attempt together, though marked Russell’s 12th crack at the Great Race. RV

THE PARTNERSHIP between Walkinshaw Andretti United and Mobil 1 will extend into a fourth decade, passing the 30-year mark thanks to a new multiyear deal. Mobil 1, , will continue as a co-naming rights partner for the #2 and #25 cars this year and beyond. WAU and Mobil 1 first joined forces in 1994, when the latter supported Holden Racing Team and its drivers Peter Brock and Tomas Mezera. JN

ZAK BEST will compete for Tickford Racing in the Bathurst 1000 for the second straight year. Teamed up with Jack Le Brocq for his 1000 debut, Best finished on the lead lap in 15th position. After getting a late call up to make his Bathurst 1000 debut last year when Alex Premat could not make the trip, Best is excited to make his return in 2022 – with who remains to be seen. DM

SUPERCARS HAS updated its Vehicle Specification Document (VSD), making changes to account for the unavailability of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) panels for Super2 cars heading into the 2022 season.

Supply shortages are rampant due to COVID, so Supercars has made the updates to allow for more composite panels previously used in the Supercars Championship to be used in the second-tier competition. JN

YOUNG RACER Kai Allen will race an ex-Jamie Whincup Triple Eight-built VE Commodore for Erebus Motorsport in the Super3 Series this year. The 16-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the Melbourne-based team, committing to graduate into the Super2 Series next year. Allen finished third on his debut in the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series in Townsville last July and took a further podium to close out his racing year. Prior to that he was a two-time Australian Karting Champion. JN

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ADELAIDE GIVEN PROVISIONAL 2022 DATE SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S opposition leader Peter Malinauskas has officially confirmed that if he is elected into power in next months state election, the Adelaide 500 will return in December this year!

With only a couple of weeks until the state election, both Liberal and Labor Governments are fighting to win votes, with Motorsport being one of the main election topics.

On Saturday February 12, current premier Steven Marshall visited The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

He, along with The Bend director and creator Sam Shahin inspected the site of the Drag racing project at the facility, and announced that he would chip in $2.5 million for the project.

It has been reported that the drag racing facility will be able to accommodate 10,000 people, create 200 full-time jobs and is estimated to generate $13 million dollars a year.

However, this announcement was trumped the following day when South Australian Labor leader Malinauskas

announced that, if he was elected, the Adelaide 500 would return at the end of the year, taking place from December 1-4.

“When Steven Marshall axed the Adelaide 500, I pledged Labor would bring it back if elected. Today’s announcement shows that pledge will be delivered this year” he said.

“If Labor wins next month’s State Election, we will see Supercars returning to the streets of Adelaide before the end of the year.

“The return of the Adelaide 500 would deliver a much-needed boost to CBD hotels, cafes, restaurants, bars and the city economy more broadly. The return of the Adelaide 500 is a key plank of my plan for the future of major events in South Australia.”

Supercars CEO Shane Howard agreed that the Adelaide 500 has been an essential part of the Supercars calendar.

“We have made no secret that we would love to be back racing on the streets of Adelaide,” said Howard.

“The Adelaide 500 has played such an important part in making Supercars what it is today, and we are excited about

bringing the event back for our fans.”

It has been stated that, in 2019, the Adelaide 500 injected $45.9 million into SA’s economy, supported 435 full-time jobs and attracted 15,200 interstate and overseas visitors.

South Australian born Supercars driver Tim Slade expressed his delight not only for South Australians but petrolheads around the nation.

“It’s the best event on the calendar and it would just be really sad not to ever see it again,” Slade told Auto Action.

“It was a perfect way, previously, to start the year ... nothing can really replace it – it’d be awesome to see it come back.

“Either end of the year would still be pretty cool.

“Nothing really replaces the feelings that you have during that Adelaide 500 week, there’s just so much to the event.

“I really feel as though Adelaide and the state really embraces it, and gets behind it. You’ll never get that same thing in Melbourne or Sydney or anywhere else.”

Dan McCarthy

THE GLOVES ARE OFF

PRESSURE OFF HOLDSWORTH LEE HOLDSWORTH is determined to enjoy the ride ahead of his return to the full-time Supercars Championship grid with Grove Racing.

Off the back of a Bathurst 1000 triumph alongside Chaz Mostert, Holdsworth has taken the opportunity to reignite his main game career at the Victorian squad alongside David Reynolds.

The 39-year-old veteran is enjoying life at Grove Racing so far.

“It’s been good, there’s some huge changes going on in there at the moment,” Holdsworth told Auto Action.

“The Groves are heavily investing in the place and there has been a culture shift for everyone involved, including myself – it’s all really positive.

“Everyone is enthusiastic, motivated and looking forward to the year.”

Having signed a one-year deal as a driver

in the twilight of his career, the Victorian is looking to treat this season slightly differently to years gone by, prioritising fun.

“I go into this year with a different mindset, to enjoy it more than I have in the past,” a philosophical Holdsworth said.

“I think I’ll have a much more relaxed approach, having something outside of motorsport to go to when my time comes to an end.

“Having a season off is a bit of an eye opener on how good you’ve got it when you’re in.

“The aim is to enjoy this year and just have some fun with it. We want to get some results along the way and hopefully push the team forward.

“I’m not sure where we’re at for next year but I’ll take it one race at a time.”

Since joining the Groves, Holdsworth has taken time to build relationships with his new crew members and, importantly, on-track teammate Reynolds.

The pair will be old-timers on a grid injected with youth over summer, Broc Feeney joining the grid in place of seven-time champion Jamie Whincup.

Holdsworth is looking forward to working with his 36-year-old senior partner as they take on the next generation of challengers, as well as reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen.

“I’ve known Dave for a long time, and we’ve always gotten on really well,” Holdsworth says.

“Having two experienced guys will help this year with the development of the cars and where they’re at, as well as the direction of the team.”

“There’s a few new names on the grid but you say that most years – it’s going to be a super challenging and competitive year.

“There’s plenty of drivers that can win races.

Dave and I are out there to be among those drivers this year.” Josh Nevett

SUPER2 SET FOR SYDNEY BLAST-OFF THE SUPER2 Series silly season is in full swing, with driver line ups and livery reveals taking place left right and centre as the season opener approaches.

Already a TCR Australia Series race winner in 2022, Jay Hansen will join Super2 as a new member of the Erebus Academy.

The young gun will drive under the Image Racing banner in the second tier of Supercars, taking on two full series this year.

Reigning SuperUtes champion Ryal Harris is also a newcomer to Super2, signing up for a full program with Matt Stone Racing after two one-off appearances in the series in 2014 and 2016.

Harris will race alongside Aaron Seton, who returns for his second year with the team as part of an expanded Super2 line-up for MSR this year.

Several frontrunners have recommitted to Super2 for the upcoming season – Zak Best, Angelo Mouzouris and Tyler Everingham headlining the returnees.

Best has signed to remain with Tickford Racing in Super2 after impressing with the team in 2021 - he finished runner-up to

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Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Broc Feeney, recording a win, a pole position and multiple other podium finishes.

After a disappointing year as number two Triple Eight driver to Feeney, Angelo Mouzouris will be looking to make a mark with new squad MW Motorsport.

The 20-year-old will be joined by Tyler Everingham at MW Motorsport, who has extended his deal with the team.

In livery land, the covers have come off the Triple Eight Race Engineering Super2

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entries of Declan Fraser and Cameron Hill.

The front running Supercars squad features an all-new driver and engineering line-up for its second-tier season development squad in 2022.

Fraser will run #777 on his Commodore, while Hill will run #111 in his debut Super2 season after claiming the Porsche Carrera Cup title in 2021.

The 2022 Dunlop Super2 Series will kick off on March 4 at the Sydney SuperNight.

Josh Nevett

A SERIES of very fast laps at the first official test of 2022 has set the scene for another torrid season of Supercars racing.

Shane van Gisbergen was quickest at Queensland Raceway, reportedly dipping below 1 minute 7 seconds on a track which was made quicker by resurfacing at Turn 4 and grippy Michelin rubber laid down by Carrera Cup cars that were also testing.

Anton De Pasquale lapped at a similar pace, as six main game cars ended the Supercars holiday season, Matt Stone Racing joining Triple Eight and Dick Johnson Racing, with the new PremiAir squad set to follow in the sunshine state later this week after a special dispensation from Supercars.

Victorian teams are testing at Winton Raceway as this edition of Auto Action goes to press.

Van Gisbergen was clearly quick, but also focussed on the season opener at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“I tried some stuff to develop an Eastern Creek car, it’s the kind of track that really shows up where you’re lacking,” he says.

“Driving around here today the thing was hooked up, it’s really good, but we need to find some gains for tracks like Eastern Creek.”

“That’s what we were trying to do today.”

“The track was fast,” De Pasquale tells Auto Action, without revealing his exact lap time.

“The track was in good condition and we had a productive day,” says Ben Croke, who heads the Shell Mustang squad.

But lap times at QR were not the key focus for the test.

All three teams were aiming instead to roll up with a fast car at Sydney Motorsport Park for the season opener.

Without going into any detail, they admitted their baseline set-up for the test was the same as the one used at the end of last year.

“We were focussing on SMP. The track was in good condition and we had a productive day,” says Croke.

“We’re not racing here. The lap time is not important.”

“We’re not worried about racing them (T8 and DJR) on a test day,” says Matt Stone.

“We seem to be going OK. I’m just settling in,” says Jack Le Brocq, having his first hit-out with the Stone squad.

“I’m enjoying things and getting my confidence. I’m adapting my driving style.

It’s a learning process. The car has a very different feel to what I drove last year.”

But the end of the off-season still provided smiles for the drivers.

“The first time you drive down back straight and go full throttle it always gives you a bit of shock how fast these cars are,” says van Gisbergen. Paul Gover

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STOP / GO

TWO-TIME Supercars champion and NASCAR race winner Marcos Ambrose will return to racing in the Bathurst 6 Hour, making a one-off start in the endurance event this Easter. Ambrose will join experienced GT and touring car racer George Miedecke for the April 15-17 event, the pair driving a brand-new Ford Mustang GT prepared by Garry Rogers Motorsport.

Ambrose has insisted that he has no plans for future races beyond the Easter long weekend. JN

TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering has confirmed that it will enter a Mercedes AMG GT3 in the Bathurst 12 Hour in May. This year the front-running Supercars squad will enter into the Pro-Am class, however will still be competing for outright honours. The team will field reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen and newly promoted Supercars driver Broc Feeney as the pro drivers, while Triple Eight GT regular Prince Jefri Ibrahim makes up the Am part of the line-up. DM

RISING PORSCHE driver Harri Jones has announced Hastings Deering as his Naming Rights Partner for 2022, as he looks to top the standings this season. Jones unveiled his new livery to mark the occasion, a silver, black and yellow design that is set to stand out on track.

The 22-year-old finished third in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship in 2021, with a win to his name at Mount Panorama in the season finale. JN

THE TCR Australia Series grid will expand for the next round at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Michael Clemente confirming he will return to the series. The 20-year-old has teamed up with world renowned British DJ and motorsport enthusiast Carl Cox, who will support Clemente for the 2022 season through his Carl Cox Motorsport brand. A predominately white livery featuring clean black, red and orange lines has been revealed for Clemente’s Honda Civic Type R TCR. JN

THE MOTORSPORT Australia Rally Championship will implement the ‘Power Stage’ in competition again in 2022, following its successful introduction last year. The format was used at both the National Capital Rally and Rally Queensland in 2021 and is a staple of the World Rally Championship. Power stages are a shorter, quickfire shootout at the end of an event which offer bonus points for the winner of that specific rally stage. JN

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MCLAUGHLIN DREAMS BIG FOR THE NEW YEAR HIGH HOPES IN SUPERCARS AND INDYCAR RACING

By Paul Gover, News Editor A RACE win in the ’states and a return ‘home’ for Bathurst are both on the cards for Scott McLaughlin this year.

As the Supercars graduate moves into his second year of IndyCar racing in the USA, the transplanted Kiwi is pumped on all fronts.

He confirms that Bathurst is on his personal radar, despite some serious threats to any plan for Mount Panorama comeback, and believes he could win for the first time as he continues his single-seater education at Team Penske.

For now, he’s also ruling out any ambition to become a father with his American wife, Karly.

“I guess a good goal for me is that I’d love to qualify in the Top 10 in every race. I have no doubt my race results will get better if I can qualify better,” says McLaughlin, ahead of the IndyCar season start at St. Petersburg.

“I think it’s just building on what I learned.

Having a year under my belt now, I feel really comfortable. I think we can start pushing for some awesome results.”

But, for Supercars fans, is the prospect of a Bathurst comeback that’s most exciting.

McLaughlin had been hopeful of a return last year, particularly when the Mount Panorama classic moved back to December, but that idea was killed by his commitments - testing, planning and personal appearances - at Team Penske. The Covid situation also didn’t help.

This time Image: MTRaround, Images with Covid more under

control and the IndyCar season ending before Bathurst, McLaughlin talks openly about his hopes for Bathurst.

“I’ll be there if I can and at the moment it’s looking really, really good,” says McLaughlin.

But there are hurdles - including the clash between Ford and Chevrolet.

“I’m a chevy driver now so I’ve got to get a few dispensations there,” he admits.

Ford Australia granted McLaughlin a dispensation when he first wanted to test a Chevrolet-engined IndyCar for Team Penske, but as he becomes more important in the American system there is every chance the bowtie-brand - which will be racing its Camaro in Australia from 2023 and is already testing under the Team Chevrolet banner - could block a return to Dick Johnson Racing.

“At the end of the day, if I can do it, I will do it, and I’ve got a chance to do it with DJR. I mean, so far, so good,” says McLaughlin.

But Team Penske is famously protective of the drivers in Roger Penske’s ‘family’, so that could also mean more roadblocks.

“It seems we can get over there straight after my season. The dates line up and everything works out good,” he says.

“So pending everything is open in my calendar in terms of testing, all that sort of stuff, which obviously comes first here, like I’ve said all the time, I’m always going to put [IndyCar first] here.”

Things are much more straightforward on the IndyCar front, where McLaughlin clearly

wants to win races this seaon.

“I am very confident … that I can race with anyone up the front. But it’s a matter of getting there,” he says.

“If things go right. I still think there are certain races last year I could have won as well.

“I feel like I can compete with these guys.

And I feel like I can be right there with them on pace.

“That’s my goal this year. Putting a full weekend together and getting it right from the get-go.

“That’s what I’ve got to work on. If I can be consistently in the Top 10… for the whole season.

“I guess you could say I’m trying to finish Top 10 in every race. And see from there.”

He has a new engineer for the season as Team Penske drops back to a more manageable three-car operation - with Josef Newgarden and Will Power - after the departure of Simon Pagenaud.

But his preparation for 2022 includes everything from a big new motorhome to the arrival of his parents from New Zealand to spend at least three months in his corner.

“I don’t feel like a rookie. I feel very comfortable where I’m at. I’ve got my feet on the ground,” McLaughlin says.

“I know what I want from the car. I’m happy to slip under the radar. Be a bit of an underdog. And snap when it counts.”

“I’ve just got to keep working and believing in myself and believing in my team.

AGP SET FOR BIGGEST CROWD IN 20 YEARS FANS ARE set to flock to the 2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in huge numbers, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation predicting the biggest crowd figures in two decades.

Organisers have been forced to continue building pop up grandstands as ticket releases sell out in rapid time, prompting the use of new locations for seating areas to meet demand.

The inaugural championship grand prix at Albert Park in 1996 produced the all-time venue attendance record, with approximately 150,000 packing out the lakeside location on that Sunday.

The largest crowd since the turn of the millennium was recorded in 2004, 360,885 people making their way through the gates over the course of the event with 121,500 of those attending the Sunday race.

Speaking at the announcement of the grand prix support categories, Westacott said the AGPC were preparing for a crowd upwards of 120,000 people on race day this time around.

“We’re going to build a venue here for April 7-10 that is going to be able to cater for 120,000 to 140,000 people,” Westacott said in a press conference attended by Auto Action.

“I doubt we’re going to get the record crowd because there were 150,000 people here in 1996, the first Melbourne Grand Prix.

“We’re going to get a better indication of what the final attendance is going to look like over the course the next two or three weeks.

“I will say that we will probably get the strongest crowds in two decades. We really do have strong ticket sales.”

“It does promise one of the biggest crowds that we’ve seen in Melbourne for a live sporting event in many a year.”

Melbourne last hosted Formula 1 in 2019, the 2020 and 2021 events cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sunday generally draws around 100,000 people, but Westacott said his team were raring to meet the challenge of inflated numbers.

“There’s nerves, there’s excitement, there’s anticipation and there’s probably a little bit of fear as well from everyone in the Australian

Grand Prix Corporation,” Westacott said.

“What we’re doing is we’re building three years of missed Formula 1 grands prix into one big event in 2022.

“This signifies Melbourne opening up which is vitally necessary for the economy and Victoria.

“There’s a massive number of tickets available for general admission. They range from children under 14 being free, $46 for a

Friday ticket and around $100 for a ticket on the big day.”

The Australian Grand Prix weekend will run from April 7-10, the headline Formula 1 action supported by the Supercars Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship and S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.

In a change to the schedule, the Australian Grand Prix will start earlier in 2022, at 3pm local time. Josh Nevett

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RENAULTS WILL BE REPAIRED DURING THE Race Tasmania weekend, several Garry Rogers Motorsport TCR cars were involved in significant accidents which has left the team with a lot of work to get the cars repaired for the second round at Phillip Island in three weeks’ time.

Firstly, Kody Garland crashed his Renault Megane TCR car on the approach to the Turn 4 hairpin in practice (above), the significance of the impact ruling him out of the weekend.

On Sunday both James Moffat and Dylan O’Keeffe were involved in separate accidents at the final turn, with Moff’s Megane requiring significant repairs.

Team Principal Barry Rogers highlighted that the Meganes, although badly damaged, would be back on track in less than a month.

“They are not a write off, thankfully,” he told Auto Action. “One of the strengths of GRM is our fabrication department and they’re certainly hard at it at the moment.”

“The cars got unloaded here on Monday after Race Tasmania and since then the grinder has been out and the damaged sections have been removed. They’re certainly well into the process of being repaired, they will be ready for Phillip Island.”

Garland’s car suffered significant front damage, while Moff’s was significant at the tail of the car.

BRAKING TROUBLES

Although improved, brakes are still an issue with the TCR Peugeots.

“Kody’s is really replacing the body work from the A-pillar forward,” Rogers said.

“Then ancillary type things – you know, the damper sensors and gearbox damage where the drive shaft has gone into it. As much as you say the word cosmetic, it’s very, very severe cosmetic, but not structural.

“The whole rear of Moff’s car is done ... it’s pretty much a cut and shut, cut the old back off it and shut a new back on,; new roof skin as well.

“The back of those cars they are made to impact from a road car sense, so they all collapse the way they do I suppose. The bar work again is alright in that car, –thank the tyre wall for that one.”

Rogers expressed his frustration at the racing quality on the weekend, not due to his damaged cars, but because the fans had to sit back and watch so many laps under Safety Car conditions.

“If you want my honest thoughts, the driving quality – probably particularly TCR and TransAm, you know – there’s some driving that you’d like to not see repeated again, put it that way,” he said.

I feel for the fans. I know they like to see a bit of biff and barge but they don’t go to see a Safety Car drive around and around and around ... they go to pay and watch motor racing!

Dan McCarthy

IT WAS not just the Renaults that encountered problems at Symmons Plains. GRM’s Peugeots were hampered all weekend long with braking issues.

Not to the same degree as it was in 2020 when Jason Bargwanna suffered a brake failure, however Rogers admitted the brake package is a weakness in the Peugeots.

“The design of the brake ducts on the Peugeot certainly keep your brakes up the temp on the tracks where your brakes may cool off a little bit,” he revealed to <i>AA<i> “The design of the ducts on them is probably more suitable to circuits that aren’t as hard braking as Symmons and we saw that last year with Bargwanna of course.

“We’ve made a switch since then with brake compounds which certainly has improved the situation, but are the brakes absolutely ideal for them? No, they’re not.

“There’s only so much you can do, but the boys manage it well.”

Jordan Cox notably won the inverted grid race and backed it up with a third in the final encounter to sit fourth in the standings. DM

SOUTAR THE GIANT KILLER ZAC SOUTAR is a TCR Australia winner after prevailing in the third and final race at Symmons Plains in Tasmania.

Soutar took the victory when Josh Buchan in his Hyundai i30N received a post-race penalty for a restart infringement, weaving and warming up his tyres after the Safety Car lights went out.

Nevertheless, no one could deny the victory for Soutar was a legitimate one – he was one of the fastest men all weekend and was a deserved TCR Australia race winner.

What makes the win more impressive is that it is the first in TCR Australia competition for a single car privateer team operation, something that puts Soutar straight into the history books.

“It’s pretty cool when you put it like that,” he said to Auto Action. “It’s really cool to be the first privateer team to win a TCR Australia Series race.

“I didn’t really think it would come so soon

in the season. I was hoping we’d get there later in the season.

“The coolest part is that it wasn’t a reverse grid race or anything like that – it was genuine. Not that a reverse grid race isn’t genuine. But it’s better to do it in the race where everyone’s where they should be!

“As a privateer team, we work pretty hard, we sacrifice all of our weekends; basically, all of our free time is put into going racing and to get a win is just fantastic.”

Since racing full-time in the TCR Australia Series, Soutar has competed in a Honda Civic and during the off-season Team Soutar Motorsport formed an alliance with fellow Honda outfit Wall Racing.

He expressed that the closer partnership had been beneficial during the weekend and is looking forward to seeing it continue for the remainder of the year.

“It’s definitely been beneficial,” he said.

“I’ve worked with my fantastic engineer

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

Brett Francis, but basically what we’ve done is taken things that Brett did with the car and taken what Wall Racing’s done and combined the two and come up with something pretty cool.

“The alliance has been great so far and I really look forward to continuing that into the season; to have the experience of Wall Racing to bounce off is priceless, so looking forwrad to the rest of the year working with those guys.”

In 2021 the Hondas struggled at most tracks, particularly Symmons Plains Raceway, however with some upgrades and some setup gains Soutar was up the pointy end all weekend and expects to be fighting up the front a lot more often.

“Coming into this weekend, after last year, I thought that we’d had no hope at all,” Soutar admitted.

“I honestly thought we’d struggle to get the top 10 but it was nice to see that

the upgrades that the Honda has and our progression with the setup has come into play this weekend.

“I think the Honda is a fantastic car – everything about it is really well built – it’s

easy to pull an engine out, put it back in ... it’s just user friendly. A fast chassis, there’s no doubt, and I think we should be in the window a lot more often.”

Dan McCarthy

BJR UNVEILS 2022 COLOURS BRAD JONES Racing has unveiled the liveries set to adorn the cars of Andre Heimgartner, Bryce Fullwood, Macauley Jones and Jack Smith to start the 2022 Supercars Championship season, with a mix of new and familiar looks.

Andre Heimgartner has inherited the car previously driven by Nick Percat for this campaign, with its recognisable R & J Batteries design.

Fullwood will stand out in the bright pink and blue colours of Middy’s in the 2022 Supercars Championship opener, continuing a 10-year long partnership between himself and the electrical wholesaler. The newly recruited Brad Jones Racing driver will drive the #14 car this season after making the switch from Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Team Owner Brad Jones revealed that a second regular season livery for Fullwood would be unveiled soon.

BJR has also revealed Jones’ new livery, designed with the colours of naming rights partner Automotive Superstore front of mind.

Automotive Superstore’s yellow and black colour scheme will feature on the #96 car

for the opening two rounds of the season, with Tools.com taking centre stage on the bonnet.

The new partnership and fresh look comes as Jones prepares for his fourth fulltime season in the main game and second officially under the BJR banner.

Smith’s SCT Logistics Supercar has received a makeover of its own, featuring a fresh design for this year.

The BJR #4 Commodore has gained touches of black and red to the familiar white design to create a sharper, more aggressive look for the new season.

Josh Nevett

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BROWN TO FIGHT BACK AT PI HONDA’S GAINS

HONDA-SUPPORTED TCR Australia driver Tony D’Alberto has spoken about why the Honda Civic Type R machine was so much quicker at Symmons Plains this year compared to last, suggesting that there are multiple factors.

The former full-time Supercars Championship driver has been a stalwart of the TCR Australia Series since the inaugural event at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2019.

He was a title contender in 2019, however after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 season cancellation D’Alberto had a season to forget last year scoring just one podium.

Last year, at Symmons Plains, the Hondas struggled majorly. D’Alberto was the only Civic driver to finish inside the top 10, ninth in Race 2.

“Without a doubt last year was very disappointing to come to the first round and be so far off the pace,” he expressed to Auto Action.

“The Hondas aren’t traditionally strong in a straight line – they make it up in other areas, and this style circuit probably doesn’t suit that.

“At least we’re in the mix – we’re not getting absolutely murdered in a straight line like we were last year.”

The Wall Racing driver felt that the aero improvements have certainly helped the Honda, however he puts a lot of the success at Symmons Plains simply down to the off-season Balance of Performance (BOP) change.

“There have been some updates which have helped the package,” he said.

“But just putting all the politics aside, it is about the BOP. Last year the BOP wasn’t correct and I think everyone will put their hand up and say that there was a discrepancy there, and it wasn’t where it should be.

“Everyone’s worked really hard to make sure this year we’ve rolled out with the correct BOP to give that parityy across the field.

“Yes, there’s always going to be little anomalies and cars and that might be a little quicker than others – that’ll get ironed out over the year. We saw that in the first season and doesn’t mean we effectively dropped a round like we did last year.”

D’Alberto went into detail about the package that was introduced late last year and how it is helping.

“There was an upgrade to the front bumper, also the support of the rear wing, and some air intake as well,” he outlined.

“Just a couple of things to tidy the car up; just a few bits that were a little bit weak on this car, so it should be a little bit more streamlined, which potentially is helping a bit in a straight line.” Dan McCarthy

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FORMER TCR Series winner Will Brown returned to the TCR Australia Series at Symmons Plains for the first time since winning the inaugural season, and felt like a win should have been on the cards.

Brown returned with the reigning TCR Australia teams champions Melbourne Performance Centre, racing the very same car that fellow Supercars racer Chaz Mostert won the title in last year.

It was not the start to the season that Brown would have been after – he finished seventh in the opening race and then improved to finish fourth in Race 2.

However, an opening lap incident in the third race saw him stuck in the gravel and down a lap – he would be classified in 13th position.

Brown was adamant that the car had more pace than he was able to show, and believes he had the pace to challenge for the win in the final race.

“I think we got on top of it by those last two races,” Brown told Auto Action “In that second race I felt like I had good pace; started eighth and got up as high as third and I was really happy with it.

“In Race 1, I was just sitting there like a duck and got passed; Race 2, I was just coming through so I’m quite happy with how we had the car at the end of the weekend.

“I thought we could have won that last race if we got off the line and had a good run, but yeah ... it is what it is.”

Brown reckons he wanted the car a little different to how the Audi is generally set up and was the reason why he did not hit the ground running; as well as his poor starts.

“I think just the way I wanted the car was different to how they might have had the car previously. I think we got that a lot more in Races 2 and 3,” he said.

“Terrible starts, shit starts ... it was just process. I’ve just got to sort out how to do it correctly.

“MPC is a very professional team.

“They’re doing a great job, they’ve run the last three years in the Audis, they know what they’re doing with them.

“So it’s been an easy step to jump into their car and have a go.”

Brown expects to come out firing in Round 2 at Phillip Island, a track which was very strong for Audi drivers last year.

“We’ll roll out really strong at Phillip Island knowing where we want to go (with setup),” he continued.

“It’s not that many points to the front.

“I’m sure we’ll have a strong outing at Phillip Island and start clawing back the points, it’s a long championship.”

Dan McCarthy

MACROW’S TWO CAR AGP PLAN S5000 CHAMPIONSHIP leader Tim Macrow has put a more distinct timeline on his team expansion after winning the opening round at Symmons Plains.

The multiple-time Gold Star winner is a stalwart of S5000, competing in every round since the category’s first non-championship round in 2019.

Macrow was even involved before then, acting as the S5000 test driver for many years, however in the next couple of months will expand to at least two cars.

He intends to run two cars at Phillip Island in just three weeks’ time, however is adamant that he will have at least two for the Australian Grand Prix.

“I hope so, it’s looking pretty positive for Phillip Island,” Macrow told Auto Action. “Definitely for the Grand Prix.

“It’d be nice to have a second car on the grid for the category and for myself and the team by Phillip Island, so that’s looking pretty good.

“The next couple of weeks, we’ll figure out if that is definitely going to be happening.”

As previously reported the Victorian open-wheel veteran feels that he is

still lacking early in the weekend as a single car outfit.

“I still need to probably do a little bit better in quali which is a bit of a running theme ... just probably just too old,” he laughs. “I think as a single car outfit it’s a little bit more difficult.

“It’d be really nice to have a good teammate to bounce off and then you can fast track things a little bit more.

“I don’t want to make any excuses, but I need to pull my finger out a little bit in quali, because it just makes it harder for us.”

Macrow found a couple of setup tweaks on the Saturday night at Race Tasmania that improved the car substantially and he is confident that what he found will be beneficial at other tracks.

“We’d been struggling with brakes probably through Friday, and into quali and we’ve learned a bit of a lesson there and it’s changed the car a lot,” he said.

“We’re still moving forward with the car, we’re still learning, I’m hoping we can roll out of Phillip Island straight off the bat, we were good there last year and I really like that track and I go well there all the time, so I’m really looking forward to getting there.” Dan McCarthy

WEBSTER – MUCH MORE TO COME YOUNGSTER COOPER Webster finished second in the S5000 Championship Feature Race at Symmons Plains with his new team Versa Motorsport and is confident that more will come.

Late last year, Webster created Versa Motorsport and completed a sole round of the S5000 Tasman Series at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Electing not to run at Bathurst the team’s focus was to come out the box firing in Tasmania and they did so.

Webster and Versa Motorsport took it to the likes of Bathurst 1000 winning team Garry Rogers Motorsport and multipletime Gold Star winning outfit, Team BRM, sitting second in the standings after Round 1.

“I think it’s really amazing that we are doing as good as we are at the minute,” Webster told Auto Action. “But there’s still loads and loads of improvements and hopefully our results can show it and we can grow to a two-car team and really challenge GRM and BRM in this category.”’

The Victorian said the expansion may not be too far away, with the team recently ordering a bigger transporter capable of taking more than one machine.

“We’ve got a transporter on the way for the middle of this season and that will enable us to carry up to three cars to each race meeting,” he revealed to AA. “It gives us opportunities to grow our

team and hopefully it will grow when we can show our results on the track.

“That’s what we’re really focusing on now; just getting prepared to possibly grow the team and just focus on the hard work to get the car faster and hopefully finish up on the grid.

“I wouldn’t say we are a front running

contender all the time right now, but there’s still room and time on the table,” he said.

“Jimmy (James Golding) had an off and Joey Mawson had one in the race before, so there were some of those drivers that weren’t up there that should have been on speed.

“We still need to find a bit more because they do have an edge on us in qualifying, where we were still a little bit off, but it’s a lot closer than we ever have been, to be able to capitalise when other people make mistakes, this is what this championship is about.”

Dan McCarthy

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www.autoaction.com.au I 15

LATEST NEWS

LATEST NEWS

FABULOUS PHILLIP ISLAND HISTORICS

The VHRR has a huge entry of 440 cars for its Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport being held from Thursday 10 - Sunday 13 March.

“The major event is the five-lap Peter Brock Trophy race for GTR-XU1s,” Victorian Historic Racing Register Club President Ian Tate told Auto Action.

“It’s 50 years since Brockie and the XU1 won at Bathurst; we want to recognise and celebrate the achievement and of course a sensational car. Mick Webb will be doing a parade lap in Brockie’s ’73 XU1, leading the

field of 10 cars before the race.”

The balance of the grids is big to huge.

There are 28 ‘5-litre Touring Cars’ of great variety; Mustang, Torana A9X, Nissan Bluebird, Falcon XD, Larry and Jack Perkins in Commodore VF/VY, Francois Habib in his Super 3 Commodore VZ, Brad Till’s Tickford Falcon AU and many more.

Groups C and A are well represented, with 32 cars encompassing Corollas, M3 and 635CSI BMWs, Sierra RS500, Jaguar XJS, Commodores and XD Falcons.

If that isn’t enough for Touring Car fans

there are 39 over 2-litre Historic Tourers; 15 Mustang/Falcons, five Camaros, four Mazda rotaries, 10 Torana/Monaros, and 34 under 2-litre cars including seven Cooper S, 15 Cortina/Escort, several Alfas and Holden ‘Greys’, a couple of Volvos and a Jag Mk1.

Sportscar buffs will thrill to the sight of two turbo-charged Porsche 956/962 Le Mans prototypes and three 3-litre Pro-sports; John Bowe is racing a March 73S, while Steve Webb’s Elfin 360 Repco V8 will also be quick.

There are six Sports 2000s and two rumbling McLaren Can-Am V8s.

GEELONG REVIVAL SET FOR NEXT EDITION THE GEELONG Revival Motoring Festival is back in 2022 with 300 classic and exotic machines set to take part in the sprint competition, from March 4-6.

Entrants will battle it out for quarter-mile sprint supremacy down Ritchie Boulevard on the Geelong waterfront as part of a festival that has history back to 1956.

The 2022 Geelong Revival will host 600 vehicles all up – a raft of unique non-competing cars will be on display at the festival.

Classic boats and vintage aircraft will also be on display in an all-encompassing celebration of engineering.

A vintage ‘lifestyle zone’ will feature live music, trade stalls, food and entertainment, as well as the annual Vintage Caravan Display and National Vintage Fashion Awards.

Motoring enthusiasts can also visit the trade expo zone, featuring displays, sales and unique demonstrations.

The Geelong Revival Motoring Festival revives the spirit of the original Geelong sprints, which began over 60 years ago.

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There is no shortage of fast single-seaters either, with 23 Group Q & Rs including two F1, Indycars, and F5000/Can-Am, three Formula Holdens and 9 Formula Pacifics. Group M has 30 cars entered; Elfin, Brabham, Lotus, Chevron and others will provides great 1960s flavour.

Not to forget the two biggest grids – 60 Group S sportscars and 58 Formula Fords. FF inevitably provides a ‘racing-for-sheep-stations’ contests. The grid is international too – Chris Davison has four Europeans in his cars.

Don’t miss it, the Island on a sunny day is impossible to beat. Mark Bisset

VALE: BRIAN NIGHTINGALE

The Geelong Sprints were founded by Murray Rainey, a prominent identity in the Geelong automotive industry and former F3 Champion.

Rainey modelled the original Geelong Sprints on the famous Brighton UK Speed Trials, utilising a section of Geelong waterfront.

The event had a brief nine-year hiatus but was revived in 2012 with an emphasis on the past history of vintage motor sport.

Over the years, competitors have included a long list of national and international motor racing identities.

They include Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Stirling Moss, Lex Davison, Tony Gaze, Bob Jane, Bib Stillwell, Norm Beechey, Doug Whiteford, Jim McKeown, John Harvey, Darcy Russell, Dick Johnson, Win Percy, Jim Richards, Glenn Seton, Craig Lowndes, Mika Hakkinen, Johnny Herbert, Pedro Lamy, Stan Jones and his son Alan.

Alan, the 1980 F1 World Champion, reportedly launched his motor racing career at the 1964 event.

Josh Nevett

BATHURST LOST a favourite son with the passing of Brian Nightingale in the early hours of Wednesday February 16 at the age of 72.

In his younger years he was a top pedal cyclist before being bitten by the four-wheel racing bug.

Known to all and sundry as ‘Nighto’, he was a past president of the Bathurst Light Car Club, a motorsport official and competitor where he competed in rallycross, rallies and circuit racing.

He raced in three Bathurst 1000s where he finished 31st in 1980 and 24th the following year in a Ford Escort RS2000 he shared with Tony Mulvihill.

The pair teamed up in 1984 in a Mazda RX7 where Nighto was famously remembered on TV highlight reels for slamming the car’s door when he beached it in the Hell Corner sand trap. They ultimately finished 18th.

Nighto went onto commentate on local radio station 2BS and write columns for the Western Advocate newspaper. In 2015 he became one of the 200 Bathurst Living Legends.

An accident around five years ago rendered him incapacitated and he resided in care. He was admired and respected by all in motorsport and is survived by his son Terry and granddaughter Angel. Garry O’Brien

MULTIPLE FORMULA FORD MANUFACTURERS NOW LIKELY FORMULA FORD is now likely to remain as a multiple manufacturer category after Motorsport Australia took note of competitor feedback.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport and Commercial Operations Michael Smith opened up to Auto Action about the current state of play in the incredibly popular Australian Formula Ford category.

Smith explained that the original idea Formula Ford now appears to be substantially less likely after listening to competitors views.

“We’re really wanting the DNA to stay the same,” he said to AA. “I know one of our preliminary recommendations was to look at a single manufacturer path,” he said.

“Whilst the (Formula Ford) working group hasn’t formed a view, one way or another on that, I think we’re coming around to the view that, potentially a multi-manufacturer format would be a betterLONG-TIME path to go, because that’s AA’S consistent with what Formula Ford has COLUMNIST LUKE always been in this country.

WEST WANTS “We had the stakeholder forum, we ACTION A LACK then had theON survey, and then we invited people to make OF RACING AT submissions.

“We’ve taken the time to speak to every single one of those people or email every single one of those people.

“I guess as a consequence of that we’ve come around to the view that perhaps a multi-manufacturer concept is the way to go.”

Smith feels that if they can get the rules right, then a multi-manufacturer series will continue to work successfully.

“In order to do that (a multi-brand category) you have to get the rules right, we know that, it’s a lot simpler to craft a set of rules when you’re only have one homologated manufacturer.

evolution of Formula Ford Racing, as distinct from trying to introduce something that’s entirely new that we know with our Formula 4 experience hasn’t worked.”

Smith also admitted that the plan for a 2023 introduction along with the reintroduction of championship status is looking ambitious.

“If I’m being really honest, I think 2023 introduction might be a bit ambitious at this point,” Smith felt.

“But we haven’t formed a fixed view on that, the Formula Ford Association “But ultimately, if we’re, wanting to of course, will be key to all of this as achieve or carry on the philosophy of well.

Formula Ford Racing we need to be “What I will say is our current thinking able to do it in a multi-manufacturer is to run Formula Ford, the current Image: Daniel Kalisz environment.” cars as a national series next year, and Smith believes the reason that then at a point in time, whether that’s Formula 4 did not work in Australia 2023 or 2024, we will introduce a new was because it did not appeal to the car as a championship.

Australian motor sport scene, this is “We’d run existing cars in parallel why it is essential that Formula Ford with the new ones as sort of a mixed I care so much all of a s first event either. remains as closewhy as possible to its grid andStan thatSport’ would happen for a sudden? Well, like many others, I This is not a situation that is going roots. period, broadly speaking, I’d be was a paying trackside punter at to sort itself out. Action is needed.

“Formula 4 didn’t work here,” he anticipating that it’d be three to five ARG’s Sydney Motorsport Park In fairness, it’s not just ARG’s admitted. “It’s clear, people are very years, something like that. last May; ditto at Bathurst problem. It permeates across all passionate aboutround Formula Ford Racing “I guess ultimately, it depends on the December. Then I paid to view “Our thinking isinhave it as an take up circuit of anyracing newthese car. days.

DM Admittedly,

GROWTH STUNTED BY POOR DRIVING? with Luke West

REVVED UP

proceedings from Tassie via Stan Supercars’ higher driving standards Sport. I’ve got no complaints about and better resourced meetings help MAKE NO mistake, the Australian Stan Sport’s first-up coverage minimise Safety Car laps in the Racing Group is facing a crisis. as it was very professional, but I premier class, but elsewhere dud Race Tasmania was another event and affordable relative to other should be some form of winch barely got to see any racing for my races are rife. of the illustrious names that won in the ONE OF the country’s longest serving where precious little racing actually motorsport. system at the old ‘Brambles Hairpin’ investment of time and money.

I’d like to see Motorsport Australia category. category administrators Margaret Hardy took place for its premier categories, There is huge potential for growth, to drag cars out of harm’s way under And that’s the crux of the matter. take the lead and help find solutions.

Hardy assisted all of these drivers on passed away from cancer on Thursday TCR and S5000. Sprints for its but it’s currently being stunted local yellows without calling for a full Now that fans are being charged MA, like many governing bodies and their route to Australia’s top-level.

August 19. hot hatch and V8 openwheeler by, primarily, very ordinary driving course yellow. to view ARG’s offerings, we member organisations these days, She was liked by all who knew her Hardy was involved in motor racing classes – plus races for the growing standards across its categories.

I can’t believe SpeedSeries’ head need to get our money’s worth. is very good at jumping on ‘woke’ in the industry which is why the motor for decades and was known for her Trans-Am ranks – were plagued by For every impressive newcomer honchos would be comfortable with Stan Sport’s coverage is a game bandwagons that do little to further sport community is sad to hear of her dedication to Formula Ford. countless Safety Car periods. This making a name for themselves, the current situation whereby so changer. No longer are clipped motorsport. Maybe some resources passing.

Hardy joined the Light Car Club as resulted in most races finishing well there’s another driver seemingly out many races finish under Safety Car races and countless Safety Car should be diverted from such During her time in the category, the office manager and began working short of the scheduled distance, of their depth in terms of race-craft. and don’t go the full race distance. laps acceptable. ARG is now three programs to help solve woes. she was named a Life Member of the with the Australian Formula Ford often under Safety Car conditions, The experienced hands must be I ponder how many potential seasons into its endeavours and it’s I was very impressed with Formula Ford Association. championship 1978, doing paperwork thanks to strict time-certain wondering what they signed up for. competitors are being turned time it extracted the digit and found Motorsport Australia’s swift response Formula Ford Association for the category throughout the ‘80s. regulations in place.

Compounding the poor driver off the various ARG categories. solutions. It’s no longer acceptable to the triple fatalities at last year’s representative Phil Marinon said Early in the following year she became The lack of racing laps is frustrating standards are antiquated car I wonder how many would-be to turn a blind eye to the failings of Targa Tasmania. It quickly swung she remained very connected to the the administrator of the category and for competitors, trackside spectators recovery methods. I understand that S5000 competitors were put off this their show. into action and organised an category. was tasked with organising national and TV viewers alike. It has got to the dedicated volunteer crews are wonderful category after witnessing No one has been more positive investigatory tribunal that thoroughly and was always focused on the result and present took to social media to “Margaret was a tireless Administrator series events, a role she held until 2013. the point where I can’t remember doing their best to clear the circuit the pathetic driving on show at about what ARG has been trying to examined the two accidents. Later rather than looking for accolades. send their condolences. for Formula Ford Association and also She has dealt with many of Australia’s a TCR or S5000 race that went the and gravel traps, but it’s seemingly Bathurst last December? Is the achieve, but I’ve had enough. If the the year its teams of experts the AFFM including category manager “Margaret was very dedicated to Outsideinof Formula Ford, Margaret motor sport stars over the years and full distance [ED: to be fair, S5000 taking longer than ever to get races current low car count – just nine at Phillip Island round in March follows presented a thoroughly professional also took on roles such as the race for the national competition,” he told all things Formula Ford and has was well-known as a hardworking and behaved itself in Tas, with two fullback underway these days. the season-opener – a reflection script, I’ll find something with workable findings and secretaryreport for Sandown Raceway.

Auto Action. recently assisted the thesame association in passionate worker. distance races! ...]. It’s been a problem Recovery is not a new of newcomer reluctance to join the else to do with my time and monthly recommendations.

Hardy was diagnosed with “Her attention to detail and ability to the production of a book on 50 years In her time as category manager for ARG since its instigation in 2019. problem, but it’s one motorsport field? Who would spend a small subscription fee. God knows there Admittedly, ARG’s Safety Car woes Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2019 support the competitors has been very of Formula Ford in Australia and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig It’s such a shame as the ARG administrators have refused to fortune on running a car only to be are plenty of alternative options. pale into insignificance compared and went into Stage 4 in May. strongly acknowledged on social media disappointingly will not get to see the Lowndes, reigning 1000 victor, Will categories, now collectively adequately address over the last taken out by someone pulling an I can’t imagine Nine to events at Targa Tasmania, but I Auto Action sends its condolences to and is undisputed. final result.”

Davison, David Reynolds, Chaz Mostert marketed under the SpeedSeries two decades. It’s time to take it amateur-hour manoeuvre?

Entertainment’s bigwigs being would like to see a similar response her friends and family. DM “Margaret was a very private person Many Australian racing legends past and Anton de Pasquale are just some brand, are entertaining, relevant seriously. In the very least, there Now, you might be wondering happy with the yellow flag-fest on to solving the growing crisis.

MAJOR EVENTS...

VALE: MARGARET HARDY – FORMULA FORD’S GUIDING HAND

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NEWS EXTRA

THE INVISIBLE MAN AN UNLIKELY AUSSIE HAS A KEY ROLE AT THE TOP OF GLOBAL MOTORSPORT

By Paul Gover THE SACKING of Michael Masi as the Race Director in Formula One has turned the spotlight on the Australian involvement at the top of global motorsport.

But very few people know that another Australian, Garry Connelly, was also a key player in last year’s F1 finale in Abu Dhabi as one of the FIA Stewards.

Connelly is actually the most influential man in Australian motorsport, and a true

18 I www.autoaction.com.au

power player at the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, yet is almost completely unknown.

Like a swan, he looks graceful, calm and elegant – but only because you never see the powerful paddling happening beneath the surface.

Connelly can be spotted at many top-level motorsport events around the world, but only if you know where to look.

When Oscar Piastri won his Formula 2 title, Connelly was there in the background.

He can also be spotted in Geneva and Paris, where the real work on global motorsport happens in the halls of power at the FIA. And if you look very, very carefully, he can also be found in the Stewards room at many Formula One races.

Connelly was a Steward at a string of F1 events last year, culminating in Abu Dhabi, not that he is likely to talk about the big secrets in the FIA or the political manoeuvring that led to Masi’s ousting from grand prix Race Control.

Instead, he finds some time in an overcrowded schedule for a rewind on his career with Auto Action, before he hits the airport for another trip to the FIA headquarters in Geneva.

That’s what you do when you’re a member of the World Motorsport Council, a deputypresident of the FIA Institute, a director of the Global Institute for Motor Sport Safety, and Australia’s official representative at the FIA. “If you love the sport, being an FIA official is just another way of being involved in motorsport,” Connelly tells Auto Action.

“If motorsport is your passion, it’s a pretty good gig. You do get to meet some very, very interesting people. And, despite all the friction

and animosity and tension, at the end of the day most people get along pretty damn well.

“I’m so grateful to be given the opportunity to do this role. It’s a huge honour. A massive responsibility.”

Not that “given” is remotely the right word for a man who has created his own opportunities in life and motorsport without relying on a free kick from a mentor.

He comes from a motorsport family and proudly shows pictures of his grandfather, who raced motorcycles at the Maroubra speedway, won the French GP, and was second on the Isle of Man. Connelly began by driving in club rallying in NSW in the 1960s, became a highly-rated co-driver through the halcyon days of the Southern Cross Rally, brought the World Rally Championship to Australia in the 1980s, and then advanced up the levels of the FIA to sit just below the very top echelon now headed

by Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

When CAMS needed a high-powered investigation into the three deaths at last year’s Targa Tasmania, Connelly was tapped to head it. He was also instrumental in creating the indigenous motorsport program, Racing

Above: How it started ...Connelly the rally driver. Left: who’s the hanger-on chatting with Garry Connelly at the FIA prizegiving? Below: The first outcome from the indigenous Racing Together programme saw a Hyundai Excel entry. Bottom: With 1980 F1 World Champion Alan Jones at the late 2019 opening of Motorsport Australia’s new premises in Melbourne.

Far left: Garry Connelly seen here with Derek Warwick, is one of a group of permanent F1 Stewards, and has had a hand in several of the ‘big’ decisions involving Messrs Hamilton and Verstappen ...

Images: Motorsport Images and Ian Smith

Together, that began last year.

Connelly’s work life began as a mathematics teacher and he also has the whip-smart intellect that would have made him a top-class lawyer.

He is also one half of the most successful power couple in the business of motorsport, as his wife Monique – married 36 years – has been working alongside him from the start and was a pivotal player in the original WRC plan for Perth. It also helps that she is a native French speaker.

Connelly has only served as a CAMS official once, when he was the NSW state manager, before he moved to Queensland and set up a financial services company. He also dabbled in side projects and hit the jackpot with a string of fast-turnaround photo labs.

“We sold out in 1986 at the peak of the market and it set me up for life. It became the foundation for Rabbit Photo,” Connelly recalls.

“So I work because I want to, not because I have to.”

He is coming up fast on 75 years old, but looks at least a decade younger and runs rings around people who are even younger – and often much, much younger.

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It’s all about doing the work, completing the research, joining the dots and – in the case of his F1 work as a Steward – knowing the rulebook inside-out and upside-down. As well as the wider implications through all of sport, not just racing, and the potential implications for F1.

“I find it hard work, because I worry and care about things,” he says.

“The dossier for the October meeting of the World Council was 600 pages, and there was another 400 pages of associated material. I’m probably one of people that that read the whole thing. And I will challenge the administration if it’s not right.

“You’ve got to have attention to detail.

It could be, for example, the truck racing regulations.

“At the FIA, there are some people who get to be on commissions or the World Council and they are there just because their country gets a slot. Some of them have been on the World Council for 15 years and never said a word.

“I see myself having two roles. One is to represent the interests of Australia, but not in way that is detrimental to the rest of motorsport. At the FIA. most people push their own country’s barrows.

“I look at what is the right thing to do for the sport. Because of that you tend to be noticed and have some ability to influence things.”

In the case of Connelly, that even extended to clearing single-use plastics out of all FIA offices, giving each staff member a reusable water bottle instead.

The globe-trotting and an inside line at grands prix sounds glamorous, but Connelly admits it costs him money to be a pivotal player in the FIA. “It costs you money. It costs money to be a Steward. There are expenses that you cannot claim back,” he says.

“But some people play golf and they might pay $10,000 or $20,000 a year to belong to a club. If you want to compete in motorsport it can be six or seven-figure sums. What’s the difference?”

The difference for Connelly is that he has always been a winner.

He was a winning driver, a winning codriver and he hit the jackpot with the hugely successful plan to bring the World Rally Championship to Australia.

As a spin-off, he was asked to be a WRC Steward and was then upgraded to the World Touring Car Championship.

“In 2007 Max Mosley asked me to do some F1 events. Then, when Jean Todt became president, he asked me to be one of the four permanent Stewards in F1. This year there

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are 23 races so we will each do roughly six events.”

There are some perks and some amazing people.

“To me there are favourite circuits, then there are favourite events for atmosphere.

My favourite circuits are definitely Spa and Suzuka. For atmosphere, it’s Singapore, Melbourne, Japan and COTA in the USA. “I love going to Monza. But Monza is like Monaco, it’s always very stressful.

“Probably the most stressful event was Saudi last year. It was so busy. We had so many incidents that I only got to see about a lapand-half of the race. Then we had the hearing afterwards with Lewis and Max . . .

Connelly has often seen the drivers at their worst but it does not colour his view.

“In any hearing there is going to be one party that will be upset with you. And probably both.

It doesn’t stop you admiring them as people.

“People are a bit surprised when I say this, but in the last seven or eight years the current crop of F1 drovers are the most intelligent,

polite people you could want to meet. They are all amazing, talented people. And the skill sets they have to drive those cars these days, and do all the other stuff ... they are just amazing athletes.”

He is now passing his knowledge and his approach to the next generation of FIA officers, including a giant global gathering of Stewards.

“One of the things I’m going to be talking about is the responsibility. It’s a tough gig at times. You’ve got to have a lot of resilience, high ethics, honesty, and great communication skills.”

Those things are all pivotal to Connelly’s work, and his success, and a future with the FIA that still stretches over the horizon.

So ask him for the key to his success and Connelly’s answer is bluntly Aussie and surprisingly open.

“I think my success in anything, motorsport or financial Services, is being able to copy the best of what other people are doing. And to steal ideas from other people.”

www.autoaction.com.au I 19

LATEST NEWS

TARGETED IMPROVEMENTS FOR WATERS TITLE TILT TICKFORD RACING driver Cameron Waters is confident of fighting for the title if he and the team can improve on the fast-flowing circuits such as Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP).

The Western Sydney venue is home to the opening round of the 2022 Supercars Championship after the event on the streets of Newcastle was postponed due to COVID-19.

A total of four rounds were held at the venue late last year with Waters scoring just one podium finish across the events.

That podium came in the final of the 11 completed races showing that the team was on the right track.

At the final pre-season test at Winton Motor Raceway Waters was focussed on learning things that would be beneficial for the SMP round.

“One of the issues is SMP, we haven’t gone that good there in the past and we’ve just got to learn a little bit more about the car and what it needs at kind of those styles of circuits” Waters said.

“Today is just about understanding our

car and fixing the issues that we’ve got “For us we’ve just got to fix the tracks that we are weak at and today is all about that.”

Waters expressed that fifth in the standings was disappointing last year, however is confident of fighting back and fighting for the Supercars crown this year.

“I guess last year we got a few poles, won a few races, but fifth in the championship was probably a bit of a letdown to be honest,” he admitted.

“I think throughout last year we were

FRESH DESIGN FOR SMITH IN 2022 JACK SMITH’S SCT Logistics Supercars will feature a fresh design for the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship.

The Brad Jones Racing prepared #4 Commodore has added touches of black and red to the familiar white design to create a sharper, more aggressive look for the new season.

Smith is hoping to emulate that himself as he heads into his third full time season in the main series.

“Heading into a new season it’s a great chance to double down on what we want to achieve this year and I have some very clear goals in mind as to where we’d like to be running,” said Smith.

“We have a really tight knit operation

within BJR and having the consistent support of our great group of sponsors and of course the fans is what drives us. We’re all hoping to be able to get in some good, quality racing this season.

“We’ve all been working really hard in the off-season and we’re looking forward to converting that preparation into some consistent results.”

The SCT Logistics Commodore made its track debut along with the rest of the Victorian Supercars teams at Winton Motor Raceway.

Rhys Vandersyde

quicker than Shane (van Gisbergen) and Chaz (Mostert) at points and they were quicker than us at other tracks.

Like I said earlier, I think we’ve just got to fix those deficits, the tracks that we are weak at and I think if we can do that, then we can put a whole year together and go for a championship.”

The two-time Bathurst 1000 runner-up expressed that the car felt comfortable and he feels match fit after racing speedway for much of the off-season.

“The car feels really good,” he said.

PREMIAIR TESTING CUT SHORT BY WILD WEATHER

“Obviously the boys have prepped it in the offseason, no issues mechanically so it’s been a good break for it.

“Haven’t really had an offseason, every weekend I’ve been in the Sprintcar so I feel really sharp, I feel like I’ve slotted straight into a Supercar and I don’t feel rusty at all. So, the off season has been really good for me.”

Tickford were not the only team to test at Winton, all the other Victorian Supercars Championship squads and drivers were in attendance. Dan McCarthy

PREMIAIR RACING had its first testing day cut short after torrential rain forced drivers Garry Jacobson and Chris Pither off the track at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday.

Queensland experienced intense rainfall over the course of the test day, creating sub-optimal driving conditions.

To prevent the session from being counted as an official test by Supercars, PremiAir opted to complete a shakedown within its two-hour driving window instead of a full program.

Despite the disruption to team preparations ahead of its maiden campaign, steerer Pither deemed the day successful.

“We arrived this morning and it was raining cats and dogs, I didn’t even think we were going to get the cars out of the truck to be honest,” Pither told <i>Auto Action<i>.

“We committed to it because we just wanted to give the cars a good shake down and do a systems check, to know that everything’s operating correctly before we arrive in Sydney.

“At the end of the day, we achieved what we needed to achieve. The car was great, which gives me a lot of confidence.”

Pither’s new teammate Jacobson agreed

that the shortened session may be a blessing in disguise for PremiAir, the team forced to build from the ground up in quick time to grace the grid in 2022.

“I don’t think it would be fair to hit the team with a whole test day at the moment,” Jacobson said.

“The expectation was to shake the car down.

“We’re not really ready yet to do such a big test day a week before the race because we’ve been working so hard on getting the cars ready for the livery launch, making sure that all the go-fast bits are ready to go.

“I think wearing the equipment out wouldn’t have been the right idea.

“I’d like to have a healthier tyre bank for testing in the middle of the year when we have knowledge about where we’re weak compared to our competitors with this new package.”

The Supercars Championship season opener is set for Sydney Motorsport Park from March 4-6.

With that in mind, Pither admitted that the lost laps at QR today would be a detriment to his preparation.

“There’s no substitute for doing laps, you never stop learning and you never stop improving so for us it’s going to be

a challenge, no doubt about it,” Pither said.

“I only did three races last year so I haven’t done a lot of driving.

“It would have been nicer to do more, especially compared to the other teams.

I’m confident we’re going to continue to improve and move forward as we get going.”

Everyone at PremiAir has been hard at work since the team was given the green light.

PremiAir Racing recently unveiled the liveries that will adorn Chris Pither and Garry Jacobson’s cars for the Supercars Championship season opener.

As part of a launch day at Cbus Super Stadium, PremiAir took the covers off its new-look Subway and Coca-Cola machines and confirmed that it would call the Gold Coast home after securing a workshop in Arundel.

PremiAir has also confirmed its team manager and race engineers for its maiden Supercars Championship season.

Dan Ensor will take the reins as Team Manager, while Ken Douglas will pair with Pither as his race engineer for at least the first round of the season.

Jacobson will retain Tim Newton as his engineer for the full 2022 campaign.

Josh Nevett

DJR KEEP IT CONSISTENT IN 2022 CONSISTENCY IS the theme for DJR heading into 2022, one that is reflected in the livery of the team’s Ford Mustangs of Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison.

Heading into the new season, the team will continue to use its iconic Shell V-Power colours and design, one that has already been voted a fan favourite after being awarded the Best Presented Team in 2021.

The continuity isn’t just with the look of the cars, but behind the scenes as well, something that the DJR co-owner Dr Ryan Story believes brings added confidence ahead of this year’s championship.

“We’re excited to not only launch our 2022 Repco Supercars Championship season but also get back on the road to see our long-term and new partners, as well as our incredible supporters across Australia and New Zealand,” said Story.

“In 2021, Anton and Will were fantastic for the Shell V-Power Racing Team, with their strong results on track throughout the year. The

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consistency and stability within team during the summer break instils great confidence that they will continue to perform at the top of their game throughout the entire 2022 season.”

DJR co-owner and Australian Motorsport and Supercars Hall of Famer Dick Johnson AM is also excited to watch the team and its star drivers contend for both the Drivers and Teams Championship in 2022.

“Anton and Will were exceptional in their first season with the team and I’m eager to see them back on track this year doing what they do best,” said Johnson.

In his second year with the team, De Pasquale is optimistic about the 2022 Championship.

“I’ve been with the team for a full season now and having the same crew behind me this year means I can continue to build on the momentum we had at the end of last year and continue to deliver results for the team, our partners and fans.” said De Pasquale.

Davison is delighted to be heading into this season with the same performance staff as last

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season.

“Having continuity with the same crew supporting me from last season builds a great base for season 2022.” said Davison.

“Finishing fourth in the Driver’s Championship last year has made me hungrier to finish higher

again in 2022.”

Having already completed their testing program, DJR’s Shell backed Ford Mustangs will be on-track for Round 1 of the Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park from March 4-6.

Rhys Vandersyde

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ALPINE ADD PINK IN 2022 THE ALPINE F1 Team officially unveiled their new car, A522, as well as a new look for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

With the addition of new title partner BWT this, Alpine’s traditional blue design will have pink added for the majority of the season.

However for the opening two races of the season the design will be flipped with the pink to be the predominant colour to celebrate the new partnership.

The reveal of the BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Formula 1 car was led by Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, CEO Renault Group, Luca de Meo, as well as newly appointed Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer.

“It’s with great pleasure that we launch our A522 to the world today, marking the next chapter in Alpine’s Formula 1 journey.” said Rossi.

“We are proud racers and have poured the essence of Alpine’s racing heritage and passion into this new generation of car.”

“We have a clear plan and vision in place at Alpine and we have some of the best people in the business to help drive us forward and realise our ambitions. Our team is stronger now and, we hope, future-proof.”

“Our driver line-up is the perfect recipe to help deliver the results we want to achieve on track.”

“In 2022, we want to show constant progress with comprehensive developments across all sites to ensure we are contenders for the title in the future. We are going in the right direction and we want to carry on our climb to the summit.”

Drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were also on hand to reveal the A522 to the world.

“I’m very excited, of course, to not only see the A522 for the first time but to drive it for the first time this week.” said Ocon.

“It’s always a privilege to drive a new Formula 1 car for the first time as you know all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes at both factories in Enstone and Viry from all of the many talented people working in the different departments there.

“That feeling and responsibility is truly unique and very special. I feel prepared, I feel ready physically, so let’s hit the track and see what we’ve got in our hands this year!”

Alonso echoed his teammates sentiments.

“It’s good to be back and I’ve been working hard to be ready for the new season.” said Alonso.

“The build-up has been a long time coming after the rule change was delayed due to the pandemic. The car looks fantastic with the new regulations in place and I like the new livery.”

“We have a new engine and we’re confident we had a good development in place for this new generation of car.”

“We won’t know where everyone stands until Bahrain, but we’re excited to take the car for its first spin in testing this week. I hope the new regulations have worked and we get more exciting wheel to wheel racing this year.”

Australian Oscar Piastri has already been confirmed the team’s official Reserve Driver for 2022 after graduating from the Alpine Academy last year. Rhys Vandersyde

ALBERT PARK A NEW CHALLENGE FOR DRIVERS CHANGES TO the layout and surface at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit will present new challenges for drivers, according to Supercars Championship returnee Lee Holdsworth and S5000 frontrunner James Golding.

The circuit has undergone a significant redesign with seven corners modified to increase the pace of the track, quickening it by a claimed 5s per lap, while the whole track has been freshly resurfaced.

Both Supercars and S5000 will return to Melbourne as part of the support card for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix, joined by Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship.

While many drivers will boast the advantage of having lapped the lakeside circuit in the past, its redevelopment will prove a leveller according to Grove Racing signing Holdsworth.

“There’s a different layout to the track, it’ll be completely different from a tyre degradation

point of view,” Holdsworth told Auto Action at the AGP support categories announcement.

“This race is always super hard on tyres, you had one lap in qualifying to get your lap and then the next lap was half a second off. I don’t think it’ll be like that anymore.

“That fast section out of the back, I can see some carnage. I think we’ll be approaching turn 11 and 12 a lot quicker than before.

“I think it’ll also promote some bigger braking zones, which always promotes passing.

“It’s a track that really rewards a good car with a good balance. We don’t have much track time here, it’s always a massive challenge to get the car sorted.”

Golding qualified on pole the last time that S5000 V8 open wheelers visited Albert Park in 2020, an achievement that ultimately went to waste when the rest of the event was called off.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old will take

confidence from that performance heading into this year’s event, whilst maintaining perspective.

“Obviously, it was great to get pole and unfortunately we couldn’t go ahead with the rest of the weekend,” Golding said.

“But it’s great to have confidence heading into this race.

“Taking into consideration the changes to the track, I won’t be focusing too much on us being good at Albert Park last time.

“We’ve got to work just as hard as what we did then and make sure we have good start to the weekend.

“It’s going to be phenomenal around this big circuit, especially with the changes I think it’s probably going to be right up there with Bathurst.”

Racing will return to the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit from April 7-10 for the Australian Grand Prix.

Josh Nevett

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FOURTH COULD BE CRUCIAL FOR MAWSON

REIGNING AUSTRALIAN Drivers’ Champion Joey Mawson crossed the line fourth in the S5000 Feature Race, severely limiting the damage after he just made it onto the grid, he feels it is a race that may well prove to be pivotal come the end of the season.

On the opening lap of Race 2 at Symmons Plains Raceway, Mawson suffered left rear suspension damage after a collision with Team BRM teammate and Supercars Championship driver Tim Slade.

The mega rush was caused because the damaged open-wheeler was not delivered back to the garage until the following TCR Australia race had concluded.

By the time it was returned the South Australian squad had around 30 minutes to fit new suspension and any other damage that was caused in the incident.

With moments left, it appeared as Mawson would have to start from the pit lane at best, however the team worked a miracle.

Not only did Mawson get onto the grid but he actually

finished ahead of some of his title rivals in a bruised machine, including James Golding who made a mistake on lap 1 and fell to the back of the pack.

“That race was just about collecting points and limiting the damage with the championship,” Mawson said to <i>Auto Action.<i> “My arch rival Jimmy (James Golding,) I’m not sure what happened to him, but I managed to finish in front of him.

“Obviously for me in the championship it was a good recovery and come the end of the season who knows this might be the race that wins us the championship.”

The former GP3 Series podium finisher was incredibly grateful to the job the team did in such a small timeframe to get him out for the Feature.

“Just to start the race was a massive achievement.

Considering all the factors that came in,” he said.

“I have to say a massive thank you to the Team BRM boys for getting the car ready in time.

“At the end of the day this (championship) is a

marathon, not a sprint.

“Obviously, after the setback we had (in Race 2) we started the marathon a little bit behind, but nevertheless, we collected points and recovered the weekend with that main race result.”

Due to the hasty repairs the team did not expect the car to handle brilliantly, as a result they elected to fit Mawson with two older tyres and save the new ones for another round.

“We opted not to use an extra two new tyres particularly because of the damaged car it would have been a bit of a waste,” he and Team BRM felt.

“Obviously I was a bit at a disadvantage with the tyres, the car obviously didn’t feel great. But at the end of the day the main thing was I got on the grid and could start from my grid position and collect points.”

Mawson bagged a total of 71 points over the round and sits fifth in the standings, without the points in the Feature he would be eighth. Dan McCarthy

BEST TRIBUTE TO TICKFORD HERITAGE TICKFORD RACING driver Zak Best is paying special tribute to the team’s history with his livery for this year’s Super2 Series.

The design for the No. 78 Ford Falcon FGX features the Falcon insignia on its rear quarter panels, paying tribute to what is expected to be the last Falcon Tickford Racing will compete with.

For Best, the new look is a boost of motivation as he looks to improve on his impressive 2021 Super2 campaign, where he raced to runner-up in the series in his debut year with Tickford Racing.

“I’m really looking forward to the new Super2 season, and am very excited to debut our new look on the No. 78 Falcon,” said Best.

“We had a good first season together in 2021 to come second in the championship, so obviously we want to go one better, and it’ll be

cool to chase those goals with the special livery on the car.

“The Falcon is an iconic part of Supercars history and has a lot of history with Tickford, so to drive the team’s last Falcon is pretty special, and of course we want to finish it’s run on top, so we’ll be working hard to go out and have a great year.”

Established in 2002 as Ford Performance Racing, Tickford Racing competed with Ford Falcons from 2003-2018, taking its two thrilling Bathurst 1000 victories and the 2015 drivers’ championship with the icon Australian vehicle.

Best’s 2022 racer features the Falcon artwork that was carried by the team’s cars in 2013, the year Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards claimed the team’s first triumph at Mount Panorama.

Tickford Racing CEO and Team Principal

Tim Edwards commented on the Falcon’s new look, as the team prepares for its swan song with the name that has been synonymous with Australian motorsport for over half a century.

“Our heritage as a team is tied to the Ford Falcon,” Edwards said.

“We raced Falcons for 16 seasons in the main game, starting with an AU and two BAs at the start of 2003 all the way through to the FG X’s last run in 2018, we won a lot of races with the

Falcon so this is a fitting way to send off the last one we’ll race.

“It’s a nice tribute to the car that has given us and our fans many great memories, and no doubt we’ll look to create more of them this year with Zak.” The Dunlop Super2 Series begins its 2022 season next weekend at the Sydney SuperNight, March 4-6 at Sydney Motorsport Park. Rhys Vandersyde

TRIPLE EIGHT RETURNS TO GT WORLD CHALLENGE ASIA TRIPLE EIGHT has announced that it will return to GT World Challenge Asia Series which returns for the first time since its COVID-19 enforced shut down.

This year Prince Jefri Ibrahim’s brother Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim will team up with Jazeman Jaafar in the #888 Mercedes-AMG to contest the full campaign.

In 2019 the Johor Royal Prince Jefri Ibrahim teamed up with Jaafar or reigning Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen throughout the season.

However due to commitments in the GT World Challenge Australia series Prince Jefri is only able to attend the opening round in his home country of Malaysia.

As a result his brother Prince Abu Bakar, makes his series and GT3 debut alongside countryman Jaafar.

“I’m really looking forward to my debut race in the GT3 in Sepang,” said the prince. “I had my first race and first win there back in 2019

alongside my brother Jefri. We have a lot of memories there together and with the team.

“Racing with Jazeman for my debut season will be a great opportunity to absorb all the experience he has gained throughout his racing career.

“I’m very blessed and proud to be racing under the Triple Eight Race Engineering and JMR banner for the first time!

“It’s going to be a huge learning curve for me but I’m looking forward to the challenge, and having the experience of my team-mate Jazeman and also the racing team will be a strong advantage. I’m really pumped for this and can’t wait for the season to start.”

Jaafar is also pleased to be returning with Triple Eight and is looking forward to seeing what can be achieved this year.

“I am truly delighted and excited to be back with a team I call ‘home’,” said Jaafar.

“Triple Eight and JMR have grown enormously since their collaboration first

began in 2019 and have been one of the most competitive teams on the grid.

“We want to push to collect strong results and podiums in the championship, as well as gather good preparation for Prince Abu Bakar for his debut season in Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS. “I would like to thank the team – both JMR and Triple Eight – for giving me the opportunity to come back and race with them.”

Since the conclusion of the 2019 season a GT World Challenge Asia Series race has not been held, however since then Triple Eight has continued to race domestically with the Mercedes and team principal Andrew Simpson is confident this will be beneficial.

“After a brilliant year in 2019, Triple Eight and JMR are really excited to be back racing in Asia,” he said.

“It was a shame not to be able to keep that momentum going after such a successful debut, including a class win in South Korea,

2022 GT WORLD CHALLENGE CALENDAR May 20-22

Sepang International Circuit 2x 60min races

July 15-17

Suzuka International Circuit 2x 60min races (inc. Japan Cup)

July 22-24

Fuji International Speedway 2x 60min races (inc. Japan Cup)

August 19-21

Sportsland Sugo 2x 60min races (inc. Japan Cup)

September 23-25

Okayama International Circuit 2x 60min races (inc. Japan Cup)

October 21-23

Mandalika International Circuit 2x 60min races

what with the Covid-19 travel restrictions, but we’ve learnt a lot since then.

“We had a lot of fun last year in the inaugural season of GT World Challenge Australia with Prince Jefri and learnt an awful lot that we’ll be able to bring to Asia.”

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN TEAM TO JOIN TRANS AM SERIES TEAM BOLEY Racing will make its debut in the Turtle Wax Trans Am Series at Phillip Island after the easing of border restrictions.

The Western Australian-based team planned to contest the opening round at AWC Race Tasmania in its ex-Dream Racing Australia Chevrolet Camaro, but it was unable to make the trip due to the imposed border restrictions.

Now with these eased, driver Brock Boley will make his debut at one of Australia’s premier circuits.

“Yeah, it’s all go now,” said Boley. “After watching Tassie, we are pretty keen.

“I have actually raced at Phillip Island before so it will be good to make my debut in the series on a track I already know.”

Father Brad will also support the entry after just falling short of entering a two-car team into the series after purchasing a second Trans Am recently, albeit hopes are not dashed on expansion in the future.

“We were considering running two cars nationally this season, but we couldn’t grab a major sponsor so we decided just to run the one car with Brock driving it this season,” Brad explained.

“It would be great to partner with a WA business to fly the flag over on the East in the future but we will just see what happens.”

Team Boley Racing will have an alignment with leading Trans Am Series operation Dream Racing Australia at its Melbourne base where not only will the Western Australian team’s entry and transporter will be stored, but technical

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support will be provided.

“Craig Scutella has been a great help to us every step of the way,” Brad stated. “We are hoping Dream Racing Australia can help us fast track our development in the category, but we will be ready and raring to go when the flag drops at Phillip

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Island.”

The next round of the National Trans Am Series will be at Phillip Island on March 18-20 forming part of the opening event for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships.

Rhys Vandersyde

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ESPARGARO TOPS MOTOGP TESTING POL ESPARGARO finished MotoGP World Championship pre-season testing as the pick of the field, topping both the final day timesheets and combined standings in Indonesia.

The Spanish Repsol Honda (right) rider clocked a 1m 31.060s around Mandalika Circuit, the quickest time of the three days, to pip reigning champion Fabio Quartararo by 0.014s.

“I’ve never been so fast,” Espargaro said.

Mirroring Espargaro, most riders achieved their personal best times on the final day, while seven of the 24 recorded theirs on Day 2.

Luca Marini may not have graced the top 10 on Day 3 but his winning time on the second day was enough to earn a top three combined placing.

Pol’s brother Aleix was third fastest on the third day of running and fourth overall, recording a 1m 31.385s on his Aprilia machine.

Franco Morbidelli headed Francesco Bagnaia as 21 riders down to Gresini Racing rider Fabio Di Giannantonio were split by just 0.8s.

Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales were seventh and eighth, on Suzuki and Aprilia bikes respectively.

Six-time champion Marc Marquez was successful in his comeback from injury, sneaking into the top 10 of the combined standings with a 1m 31.481s on Day 2.

Frenchman Johann Zarco also made the cut, clocking a 1m 31.488s on Day 3.

The Aussie runners were unable to establish any real momentum over the duration of the test – Jack Miller outperformed series rookie Remy Gardner to finish 18th.

Image: Motorsport Images Miller (pictured top right) completed 234 laps in Indonesia and although his individual lap times were nothing to write home about, the experienced Ducati rider was content with the three-day program.

“To summarise the test, it’s been a lot of work, a lot of fun, I’ve enjoyed the workload,

but now it’s time to go racing, which is the real fun part,” Miller said.

Gardner was 23rd, as he continues to battle a lingering wrist injury.

The 23-year-old suffered a fractured wrist during a motocross accident last month and it has been slow rode to recovery. Gardner

involved himself in the test but admitted he was close to missing the final day due to the pain of riding.

Despite the ongoing management of his injury, Gardner will be ready for the MotoGP opener in Qatar from March 4-6.

Josh Nevett

NEW PORSCHE DEAL FOR EVANS RISING INTERNATIONAL racer Jaxon Evans has been welcomed into the factory stable at Porsche, signing a multi-year deal that will see him compete across the globe for the German marque.

The 2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion finished runner-up in Porsche Supercup last year, after winning the French Carrera Cup competition in 2020.

Evans, who hails from New Zealand, was excited to secure a spot in Porsche’s programs going forward.

“I’m really proud to re-join the Porsche family for 2022 and beyond. I feel like I have developed further as a person and driver – both on and off the track – since my time with them as a Porsche Junior,” Evans said.

“I’m super pumped to see what we can achieve together moving forward. Porsche does a great job of aligning all the right components to provide their customer teams and drivers with the best chance of winning.

I hope together we can continue this winning way.

“I’m feeling confident about the season ahead as we have some great programs lined up, and I’ll compete alongside some very talented teammates, so good results shouldn’t be too far away.”

Evans will take on the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2022, driving the Porsche 911 RSR.

20 I www.autoaction.com.au

He will supplement that with selected races of the NLS Nurburgring Endurance Series, racing in the Porsche GT3R. Evans’ journey began in a 911 Cup Car at Queensland Raceway with McElrea Racing at the age of 17. Since then, he has progressed strongly, earning the long-term deal announced today.

“I worked my way up from the bottom in Australia, starting out in the Porsche Sprint Challenge (formerly GT3 Cup Challenge) before going on to win the Carrera Cup Australia Championship in 2018,” Evans said.

“From there, I had the opportunity to access a motorsport career in Europe by winning the Porsche Motorsport Junior Shootout and being selected as one of two Porsche Juniors.

“That led me to the Porsche Junior Program, where I had the opportunity to work with some of the best GT drivers in the world, attend physical training camps, and receive media training and on-site driver coaching.

“Now I am a professional driver with them, racing in Europe. It’s been a great journey so far, and I’m excited to see what the future brings working with Porsche.”

The 2022 WEC season kicks off with the 1000 Miles of Sebring, which will be held from March 16-18. Josh Nevett

Image: Motorsport Images

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE AA’s proud pundit rejoices in the return of the Tasman Cup and defends F1 ENTHUSIASTS OF a certain age have longed for the return of the Tasman Cup championship.

In our youth, it was the pinnacle. A summer series in New Zealand and Australia that was virtually a southern Formula 1 title.

From 1964-69, the Tasman Cup saw F1 stars race here for a crown second only to the world championship, which back then was decided over as few as eight Grands Prix.

Image: Mark Horsburgh/Supercars Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Bruce Look at the line-up for the Warwick Farm Tasman Series round in 1968 – front row Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Chris Amon; second row Piers Courage, Denny Hulme; third row Frank Gardner ...

McLaren, Denny Hulme, Graham Hill, Chris Amon, Piers Courage and Jochen Rindt were just some of the crown. But fun in the sun was the main in Jan/Feb, just not cojoined under the recent Hungarian Grand Prix. It had big names who spent January and appeal. the Tasman Cup banner – although, everything: drama, suspense, fierce February Down Under.

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SIT DOWN AND SUFFER with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE

Camaro and Mustang, is comfort.

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the negatives, but they don’t want

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road testing the car.

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switching the wheel, by adding

testing for Gen3 next year.

www.autoaction.com.au 21 AutoActionI 21

Image: Motorsport Images

PORSCHE PERFECTION PORSCHE TOOK a historic maiden victory in the third Formula E round, at the weekend, Pascal Wehrlein (pictured) and Andre Lotterer completing a manufacturer 1-2 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

It was a comfortable run to the line for the pair, who established a significant gap on the field heading into the final minutes of a clean race in Mexico City.

Starting from pole position, Wehrlein held his lead early before relinquishing it to Saudi Arabian star Edoardo Mortara mid-race.

The German would not be denied, however, retaking front spot with 12 minutes remaining before his teammate Lotterer joined him at the head of the field.

A considerable energy advantage allowed the Porsches to coast to victory, untroubled by the battling bunch behind them.

“I’ve come close to winning twice in Mexico

in the past, so I’m delighted that it worked this time,” Wehrlein said.

“The team had a great plan, although at first I wasn’t entirely sure it would work. After last season, we were under pressure, of course.

“We never lost hope, we knew we had a good package and that if everything came together perfectly in one weekend, we would win.

“I hope this victory gives the team new confidence. If we can carry this momentum to the next races, then hopefully things will be a little easier for us from now on.”

What had been an uneventful affair transformed into a mad scramble for the final podium place, the top 10 spots shuffling considerably over the closing laps – DS, Envision, Mercedes-EQ, Jaguar, ROKit Venturi and Mahindra runners all trading places.

Jean-Eric Vergne emerged on the steps

for DS Techeetah, followed by his teammate Antonio Felix da Costa.

Mortara, who looked odds on for a podium place, fell back late on to finish fifth, retaining his advantage in the overall standings ahead of Round 4.

Nyck De Vries benefited from the late race drama to come home sixth after it looked like he may struggle to make the top 10.

Robin Frijns led the Envision squad, finishing seventh despite sitting in the podium places with just a few minutes on the clock.

Nissan e.dams pair Sebastien Buemi and Maximillian Gunther were eighth and ninth, while Jake Dennis snuck in to the top 10.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Lucas Di Grassi were close behind, followed by Nick Cassidy and Oliver Turvey.

Sam Bird was running amongst the top five but was dismayed when the leading

Porsches crossed the line with next to no time remaining, ensuring a further two laps, which left himself, Mitch Evans and Oliver Rowland in deep trouble with no energy remaining.

As such, Bird finished 15th, ahead of Rowland and Oliver Askew.

Dan Ticktum’s tough start to life in Formula E continued, the Brit finishing 18th.

Evans was 19th and Sergio Sette Camara was 20th.

Both ex-Formula 1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi and Alexander Sims failed to finish, the latter grinding to a halt just three minutes into the race.

Wehrlein’s triumph has moved him up to third in the standings, behind Mortara and De Vries with three rounds completed.

Josh Nevett Points: Mortara 43, de Vries 38, Wehrlein 30, Lotterer 30, Vandoorne 28

KRISTOFFERSSON WINS WITH NEW TEAMMATE Report: Dan McCarthy EXTREME E Season 2 started with a bang in Saudi Arabia, with reigning champion Johan Kristoffersson and his new teammate Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky taking a superb victory.

Four-time World Rallycross champion Kristoffersson prevailed, coming from over eight seconds behind on the final lap of the final to take the win.

Kristoffersson’s former teammate Australian Molly Taylor moved to Jenson Button’s JBXE team and had a challenging weekend.

Taylor and her teammate Kevin Hanson failed to qualify for one of the semi finals, and instead were one of four cars fighting for a spot in the final in the aptly titled Crazy Race.

Hanson led the opening lap before handing over to Taylor, however her lead was being eaten into by rallycross driver Tanner Foust and Dakar legend Nasser Al-Attiyah.

The duo quickly honed in on Taylor, and, with the use of his Hyperdrive, Foust cruised by up the inside as they entered the final few corners.

Trying to keep up and repass, the Aussie ran wide and allowed Al-Attiyah to take the second place.

That was the way it remained, Foust qualifying for the final for McLaren ahead of Al-Attiyah and Taylor who both missed out.

In the final, however, Foust clouted the back of AhlinKottulinsky and went somersaulting end-over-end, ending

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what had been a successful day for McLaren to that point.

At the end of lap 1 Carlos Sainz led Sebastien Loeb and Ahlin-Kottulinsky – however the red flag was thrown to clean up the Foust wreckage.

After a lengthy delay the race restarted with the gaps as they were at the conclusion of lap 1.

Laia Sanz took over from Sainz and Cristina Gutierrez, who were tasked with keeping Kristoffersson at bay.

Kristoffersson was a man on a mission, and with only a handful of turns to go he used Hyperdrive to overtake Gutierrez and at the penultimate turn made it through on Sanz.

The Swede swung it up the inside, ran wide, wider than anyone all weekend but kept his boot in, and came out of the turn ahead and held on to the finish.

“It was a bit tricky, the track rutted up quite deep, and neither me nor Mikaela have a lot of experience in the desert,” Kristoffersson said post-race.

“But we worked hard and the team has done a fantastic job with analysing the course and analysing the other drivers. We worked to adapt and it was a good weekend.”

Image: Motorsport Images

Herbie Blash (left), former right-hand man to the late Charlie Whiting (right) has been drafted to ‘advise’ the new F1 Race Direction double-act.

Image: Motorsport Images.

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FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell

TAKE ONE STEP FORWARD, ANOTHER INTO THE UNKNOWN IT’S HARD to believe in coincidences when you’re dealing with very experienced and well-oiled institutions.

So the FIA’s decision to send out president Mohammed Bin Sulayem’s statement regarding the sacking of Michael Masi from his role as Formula One Race Director, at exactly the same time as the Grand Prix world had all eyes on the launch of the new Ferrari F1-75, is much more likely to have been timed with Swiss precision – as one can expect from an organization now largely based in Geneva ...

The goal, of course, was to get as little coverage as possible and, therefore, avoid as much in-depth analysis of the FIA’s decision, its implications and consequences for the future of the sport. But these days it’s hard to get past public scrutiny when everyone is so active on social media, so the only thing the timing of Bin Sulayem’s announcement achieved, was to infuriate the most hardcore ‘tifosi’, who saw the move as an attempt to take away from Ferrari what should have been its day.

I had anticipated a couple of weeks ago that a remote Race Direction would be set up during the Grands Prix and that was quickly announced by the Emirati.

From my side, I can only see positives in this restructure of the Formula One Race Direction. The same way the ten teams have

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER their remote garages working in the factories during practice, qualifying and the races, the FIA will now have a lot more people seeing what’s happening all around the circuits, at all times, so every single action will be reviewed almost instantly; should it be necessary, reported to the on-site Race Director and, if he deems it suitable for punishment, passed on to the Stewards’ hands.

Given Formula One has more TV cameras available – around the circuit, on the cars, on drivers’ helmets, in the pits and so on – than any other sport, it’s only logical to use that tremendous array of technology to help the race officials make quick and accurate decisions with all the visual aids that will be at their disposal. So, in my book, this is a very good step forward for Formula One, as it brings more certainty, more accuracy and speed to the official’s decisions – and that has to be a good thing.

As for limiting or even removing all radio communications between the pit wall and the Race Director, I’m all for it too, because

officials have more knowledge of the regulations than anyone else in the paddock and, being independent, are in a much better position to make judgements than anyone employed by the teams.

On the other hand, the decision to have a rotating system of Race Directors, with WEC stalwart Eduardo de Freitas and experienced DTM man Niels Wittich alternating in that role, is one that I find difficult to understand and am nervously worried that it will backfire very quickly.

The one thing drivers had been complaining about Stewards’ decisions – and, therefore, of Michael Masi’s influence on them – was the lack of consistency throughout the season. Just to give you an example, moves that led to penalties in Austria, were not penalised in Brazil, even though they had been identical and that, justifiably, unsettled the drivers, making them unsure of how to race each other.

There is no question both Freitas and Wittich have enough knowledge and experience to perform well in

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE?

Latest news; Supercars SMP news and coverage; Formula 1 season preview; Mel’s Excel-ent Adventure Diary; MotoGP Qatar; Road & Track; Carrera Cup Car – Under The Skin; plus much more AutoActionMagazine

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their new role, but they are different individuals, have different views on what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s acceptable and what’s over the line, and so it’s very unlikely they’ll make exactly the same decisions when faced with similar situations. That’s just human nature – we’re all individuals and have our own set of beliefs, our own way of doing things. Therefore, it would be just short of a miracle if they wouldn’t be making different decisions in similar circumstances and that’s the last thing Formula One needs now – inconsistency in the application of the same set of rules.

I know, I know, Herbie Blash will be there at all races, as their advisor and recently I wrote how important he was for Charlie Whiting to do the sterling job he did for more than 20 years. But all Blash will be able to do is to point out what the other Race Director has done in similar circumstances, as an indication for the man that will be controlling a race, not to impose anything on him. After all, he’s just an advisor and the man making the decisions is the Race Director and, therefore, the one ultimately with the power to make those decisions.

That’s why I’m not convinced the FIA has taken two steps in the right direction with the decisions announced last Thursday but rather one step in the right direction and another one into the unknown…

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

MASI SACKED IN F1 RACE DIRECTION SHAKE-UP Images: Motorsport Images

MICHAEL MASI has lost his position as Formula One Race Director, the FIA has announced, in a short statement made by new president Mohammed Bin Sulayem.

The Australian will be replaced by WEC’s Race Director Eduardo Freitas and his DTM counterpart Niels Wittich, who will rotate in the role during the 2022 Formula One World Championship, with 73-years old Herbie Blash making a return to Grand Prix racing (senior advisor) as their assistant.

Bin Sulayem recognised that Masi, “accomplished a very challenging job for three years as Formula One race director following Charlie Whiting” and revealed “he’ll be offered a new position within the FIA”, without revealing in which capacity he plans to keep the Australian official in the Federation.

As part of the new structure of the Race Direction, Bin Sulayem revealed that, “to assist the race director in the decision-making process, a Virtual Race Control Room will be created. Like the Video Assistance Referee (VAR) in football, it will be positioned in one of the FIA Offices as a back-up, outside the circuit. In real-time connection with the FIA F1 race director, it will help to apply the sporting regulations using the most modern technological tools.”

Furthermore, the former rally and rallyraid driver revealed that, “direct radio communications during the race, currently broadcast live by all TVs, will be removed in order to protect the race director from any pressure and allow him to take decisions peacefully. It will still be possible to ask questions to the race director, according to a well-defined and non-intrusive process.”

Finally, to make the rules clearer than

they are now, Sulayem explained that, “the unlapping procedures behind Safety Car will be reassessed by the F1 Sporting Advisory Committee and presented to the next F1 Commission prior to the start of the season.”

For Masi, three intense years come to an inglorious end, having been thrown in at the deep end when Charlie Whiting died suddenly in Melbourne as the 2019 championship was about to start, before having to deal with tremendously challenging circumstances during the last two seasons, when the pandemic threw enormous difficulties in Formula One’s way. Masi lacked support within the FIA, covering several roles without any serious back-up.

It was the events of Abu Dhabi that precipitated Masi’s exit from the position of Race Director – it was seen as untenable for the FIA to keep him in that role, when some of the key players in the field had lost confidence in his ability to run the Grand Prix fairly and impartially. But the top teams also have themselves to blame for the backlash that hit Formula One as soon as the chequered flag dropped in Abu Dhabi, for it was their unacceptable pressure that led to the hasty decisionmaking that, effectively, has cost the Australian his job with the FIA.

ALPINE’S REVAMP COMPLETED WITH SZAFNAEUR’S ARRIVAL IT WAS one of the worst-kept secrets in the paddock, but now Otmar Szafnaeur’s move to Alpine has been made official as the last step of the massive management revamp the company’s CEO has made over the last few months.

Having quickly moved former Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul out of the way, almost as soon as he arrived at Alpine, Laurent Rossi has proceeded to dismantle the small committee that for years made all the decisions inside the team.

Engine leader Rémi Taffin was the second one to go, followed soon after

by Communications Director Louis Bordes and then, at the end of the 2021 season, both Marcin Budkowski, who was the de facto Team Principal and Alain Prost, who had the role of non-executive director and advisor, were let go by Rossi.

Of the view that the engine department needs a clear leader, as does the chassis side of the operations, Rossi has called back to the sport veteran Bruno Famin, who was part of the very successful Sports Cars program Peugeot ran a decade and a half ago, before overseeing the team’s wins in the Rally Dakar.

After that, he followed Jean Todt, another former Peugeot Sports boss, to the FIA and now returns to an active role, ironically leading Peugeot’s main rival’s engine department.

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As for Szafnauer, his role will be exactly the same he held in Force India and Racing Point before Lawrence Stroll decided to take a hands-on approach to owning the team now renamed Aston Martin, leading the team at the factory and representing it in all the meetings with the FIA and the FOM, The veteran American has already shown he can be tremendously valuable for the team as he secured BWT as title sponsor and should be able to convince other former sponsors of Aston Martin to join him in his new team. Szafnauer will also be the man leading the team at the races, but in terms of official representation of the French squad with the sporting and commercial authorities, he’ll have to defer to Rossi, who wants to keep a tight grip on his team.

Rossi’s sweeping plan didn’t end there as, in a final move, Davide Brivio has been removed from his role as Director of Racing, with his responsibilities being mainly taken by Szafnaeur, the former MotoGP man remaining with Alpine in the newly created role of Director of Racing Expansion Projects – the Italian effectively becoming the leader of the Alpine Racing Academy, an appointment that leaves Mia Sharizman’s position in doubt, the Malaysian having achieved great success for that young drivers’ program, culminating in back-to-back titles for Oscar Piastri in Formula 3 and Formula 2 in the last two seasons.

HAMILTON: “I’LL BE THE BEST LEWIS YOU’VE EVER SEEN!” DURING THE launch of the new Mercedes W13, Lewis Hamilton has vowed to be at his best level ever right from the start of the season.

Putting to rest any rumors he had considered retiring after being denied an eighth Drivers’ Championship in Abu Dhabi, the British driver looked and sounded on fine form when he faced the media after the new Silver Arrows was displayed.

Asked if he’d ever considered quitting Formula One after the last race of 2021, Hamilton admitted he had sort-of fallen out of love for Formula One in the aftermath of that Grand Prix: “Honestly, I haven’t. Of course, I think at the end of a season about the future, and the question is whether you’re willing to commit the time, the effort it takes to be a world champion. Of course, this one was compounded by a significant factor, and I think, ultimately, a sport I’ve loved my whole life, there was a moment where I kind-of, lost a little bit of faith within the system, but I was generally a very determined person and I’d like to think to myself … while moments like this might define others’ career, I refuse to let this define mine, so I focused on being the best I can be and coming back stronger.”

Hamilton has put the events of Abu Dhabi behind him and was encouraged by the changes announced the day before by FIA president Mohammed Bin Sulayem: “Whilst we can’t change the past, and nothing will ever really be able to change the way I felt at the time and how I feel about the situation, it’s good to see the FIA are taking steps to make improvements. I think accountability is key and we have to use this moment to make sure this never

happens to anyone else in this sport ever again. Even with everything said by the FIA, we have to make sure we keep a close eye and make sure we are seeing those changes and rules are applied fairly and accurately and consistently.”

The Mercedes driver then went on to explain how he overcame the disappointment from 2021 and how strong he feels going into this new season: “Over the years, I’ve learned how to be efficient with my time, with my recovery, with training, with the building back up of the body and your mind. I feel great. I feel fit. I always feel like through this sort of experiences you can turn those emotions into strength and into power, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m putting that into my training. I’m putting that into the work I have with the men and women in this team. If you think that what you saw at the end of last year was my best, wait until you see this year.”

In conclusion, Hamilton admitted only time will restore his faith in Formula One, vowing, again, to be at his best right from the start of the season: “I’d probably put faith and trust alongside each other. Trust, obviously, can be lost in the blink of an eye, but to earn trust is something that’s built over a long, long period of time. This first announcement from the FIA is perhaps the first step of that, but it doesn’t necessarily change everything just yet. We have to see actual action and I think it will take a bit of time.

I’m not really focused necessarily on that area, at the moment, I’m just putting absolutely every ounce of my energy and time into making sure that I’m the best you’ve ever seen.”

BAHRAIN, SINGAPORE AND AUSTIN GET LONG-TERM CONTRACTS … VEGAS TO COME STEFANO DOMENICALI’S vision for the future of Formula One is becoming clear, as the Italian has recently signed three contracts that extend existing Grand Prix deals for quite a long period of time.

Just last week, both the Circuit of the Americas and the Bahrain Grand Prix had their contracts extended, Austin securing its race for another five years, while Bahrain has now guaranteed Formula One will continue to race in Sakhir until the end of 2036!

Only Hungary, which signed a contract extension until the end of 2037 last August, has a longer deal in place than Bahrain, but Singapore has also extended its existing contract by seven years, guaranteeing the spectacular night race on the streets of the Marina Bay area will be part of the World Championship at least until 2028!

By signing longer-term deals than there have been in the sport for quite a while – Bahrain since 2004, Singapore since 2008 and Austin from 2012 – Domenicali is giving the race promoters the necessary stability to allow them to invest on improvements to their track, very much like Melbourne is doing with the Albert Park track and the Hungarian authorities will do with the

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Hungaroring, as major changes will be introduced on the Eastern European circuit in the next couple of years.

What is also clear is that the Italian is determined to keep increasing the number of Grands Prix per season, in spite of warnings from the teams that the current schedule featuring 23 races is the limit for their staff and, they suspect, for the fans as well.

Keeping Austin in the calendar is a clear sign the United States will soon host three Grands Prix per season, as Miami will get its first race next May and a deal to race in the streets of Las Vegas is imminent, the first Grand Prix in ‘Sin City’ likely to be held already in 2023.

With Qatar and China regaining their places in the calendar next year too, the Arab country taking a break this year to focus on organising the FIFA World Cup in December and China hoping to reopen for foreigners at the end of the current pandemic, the number of races will keep piling up, making profits for Formula One soar, even at the risk of losing valuable staff due to burnout and also giving the sport overexposure than may drive some of the fans away.

After all, more is not necessarily better…

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When F1 last raced in Las Vegas – 1981, and defending world champion Alan Jones heads Gilles Villeneuve, Carlos Reutemann, Alain Prost (Renault, left), Nelson Piquet and an array of names including Mario Andretti (Alfa Romeo #22). The circuit was laid out in a car park ...

Images: Motorsport Images

www.autoaction.com.au I 25

FORMULA 1 - THE LATEST NEWS FERRARI Ferrari revealed the F1-75 in a fresh shade of factory red to bring in a new era of Formula 1. The Italian team will mount its attack on Red Bull and Mercedes with a new power unit, Team Principal Mattia Binotto stating that the new mechanicals have achieved the performance boost he has been searching for. On the engine front, Ferrari has retained the turbine/ compressor turbo setup as a point of difference.

F1

THE NEXT GENERATION THE FORMULA 1 world is rocking as teams reveal their brand-new machines for the 2022 season. The introduction of fresh technical regulations has seen teams get creative with their engineering to achieve peak performance, while dazzling liveries have captured the hearts of fans worldwide.

The hype extends to the Auto Action office – Ferrari’s offering is easily our favourite so far, and why wouldn’t it be? The Italians have produced a work of art, swooping lines and uniquely vented sidepods draped in a new but quintessentially Ferrari shade of red.

Elsewhere, it is refreshing to see variation

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across the field when it comes to bodywork and aerodynamics. Haas was the first team to introduce its car to the masses, revealing digital renders of a design with teardropshaped sidepods and a highly cambered front wing. Aston Martin went in a different direction, showing off long, slatted sidepods and a four-pronged front wing as the first team to make a physical reveal. Just about every team has lifted the veil now, but you will have to wait until the next issue to see what Alfa Romeo has come up with. Read on to get acquainted with the latest and greatest in F1. Josh Nevett

FOR ALL THE LATEST FORMULA 1 NEWS

ASTON MARTIN Aston Martin revealed its AMR22 Formula 1 car at a special event at the global headquarters of Aston Martin Lagonda in Gaydon, UK. The new challenger appeared menacing, its bodywork characterised by width all the way down the car.

There is significant undercut in the sidepods and the concept of a ‘double floor’ has been implemented. In terms of artwork, the car to be driven by Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel was launched in the team’s now-familiar green tones, with lime green replacing the pink highlights of last year.

WILLIAMS The Grove-based squad has traded white and yellow paint from last year for the predominantly shades of blue design with red highlights on the FW44. In addition to the new colours, there are noticeable changes to the aerodynamic package, including over-wheel winglets, wheel covers and rolled tip rear wings. The brains trust at Williams has elected to focus the FW44’s cooling systems to the front of the sidepod, while maintaining a slim design.

MCLAREN Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris will drive the MCL36 in the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. The new car features a raft of design changes, most notably in the suspension department. McLaren has ignored the convention of push-rod front/pull-rod rear suspension in favour of a pull-rod front and push-rod rear set up. The less mechanically minded punters will get their kicks from the bold new gulf-style livery, artwork that will be shared across McLaren’s racing programs in IndyCar and Extreme E.

MERCEDES Mercedes has reverted to its traditional silver on the W13, which is a complete redesign from top to bottom – bar the steering wheel. Breaking cover late in the sequence of unveilings, the Mercedes sports thin sidepods that are shifted further back compared to the competition, leaving room for a wide channel of outer floor. On appearances it also seems that the heavily revised power unit is mounted further back than on other 2022 cars.

SCUDERIA ALPHATAURI The Red Bull junior squad used a 3D CGI render to showcase the AT03 that will be driven by Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda this year. AlphaTauri’s boffins have managed to produce an incredibly compact cooling system by the looks of the digitised AT03, while the front end represents a point of difference in that the nose tip extends past the entirety of the front wing. While just a render, the actual car made its first official F1 appearance at the Barcelona test after AA went to print.

RED BULL With the goal of maintaining an air of secrecy around its 2022 design Red Bull opted to launch a generic showpiece to kick off its campaign. The RB18 was launched at the team’s Technology Campus in Milton Keynes, the event streamed online by fans around the globe. At what was essentially a livery reveal, Team Principal Christian Horner admitted that little could be read into the presented iteration of Red Bull’s creation: “I think by the time we get to the first race, the car’s not going to look very much like this,” he said.

HAAS Getting the jump on the rest of the teams, Haas was the first to reveal its new car for the 2022 season. The VF-22 was unveiled in digital renders in Haas’ now familiar white, blue and red livery, the bodywork shaped to accommodate a Ferrari-supplied power unit and gearbox. The front wing is heavily cambered, each of the four elements rising up the nose before falling away at the endplates.

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2022 Supercars Preview

GISBERGEN IS THE FAVOURITE FOR 2022 THE DEFENDING SUPERCARS CHAMPION IS ODDS-ON TO DO IT AGAIN THIS YEAR, SAYS GARTH TANDER

Despite a myriad of changes at Triple Eight, SvG remains GT’s pick.

GT talks to Paul Gover.

THE BIGGEST threat to Shane van Gisbergen in this year’s Repco Supercars Championship comes from inside his own garage.

And, not, it’s not Broc Feeney.

Instead, it’s the massive changes inside the organisation at Triple Eight Race Engineering that could make the decisive difference.

With zero changes at Dick Johnson Racing’s crew, which should mount the strongest threat to the defending champions – both drivers and teams – in season 2022, there is every chance of a torrid and competitive season as Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison lead the Ford fighters.

Erebus has two potential winners in Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, Cam Waters will be tough again for Tickford, and both Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat are capable of regular wins.

But it’s impossible to go past SvG. The great white of Supercars tore through the pack last year and it will take a special shark repellent to stop him doing it again.

Not that it cannot be done …

“I don’t think you can sit down, right now, and say that X, or Y, or even Z, is an outright favourite,” says Garth Tander, the former champion who sits closest to van Gisbergen as his Bathurst co-driver at Red Bull Ampol Racing.

It’s easy to say that GT is biased, or political, but he also has a pivotal place in the Supercars television team and he has worked hard to maintain his independence when he’s not wearing a helmet. It’s even copped him a few whacks in the pitlane from SvG . . .

“The obvious answer is that Shane would be the favourite,” says Tander.

“But there has been a fair bit of change at the T8 organisation. Obviously we’ve seen RD

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(Roland Dane) depart, Jamie (Whincup) has a new position, there are engineering changes and Broc (Feeney) is coming in.

“It’s going to take a little while for all that to bed down. And that puts a question mark against Shane.”

But it’s only a little question mark, not a giant exclamation mark, like some of his rivals.

Those include David Reynolds at Grove Racing, under full Grove family ownership – and leadership, but without David Cauchi for now – and with higher expectations as Lee Holdsworth joins the Mustang crew. Reynolds was AWOL for the final part of the 2021 season and needs to get back on track, and fast, to salvage something from the coming season and the rest of his career.

The final year of the current technical regulations should ensure the cars are close at every track, depending more on individual set-ups and driver preferences than anything special from the final fighters in the last Fordversus-Holden contest.

Which brings Tander to DJR and the Shell Mustangs of Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale.

“Next up, you’d have to say. And Davo will

have a challenge with Anton this year,” is his judgement.

“I think that car requires a very particular driving technique. Everyone expected it would

be easy to put a fast driver in that car and keep on winning the way Scott McLaughlin did, but it’s not that easy.”

“To be honest, they weren’t that special at Bathurst. And their consistency, from track to track, is a question mark.

“And I’d probably say the same for Cam Waters. The consistency wasn’t there.”

The Tickford team were totally lost throughout the four races at Sydney Motorsport Park, although they were less troubled at Bathurst and Waters still managed third in the series, the best Ford result.

Looking at Bathurst, as the most recent form guide, Tander cannot go past Chaz Mostert.

“They had ridiculous speed at Bathurst.

Unbeatable speed,” he says.

“But can they do that at every track? That’s their problem.”

So he is settling on T8, DJR, Tickford and WAU as the potential contenders for season honours.

“They are probably the four that you would single out. But they all – all – have question marks. I don’t think we’ll get the answers for a while.”

But what about the drivers?

Does he rate Feeney? Can Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown join the regular roster of winners? And does Will Davison have enough fuel in his tank?

“For first time in a long time I think there are are four or five guys that start the championship with a good chance,” says Tander.

After a Sydney race win and a sensational Bathurst 1000 qualifying result, Will Brown is a serious dark horse.

“Brown will be fast. And you can’t use the rookie thing any more. He was quick at Bathurst and he has had a win.

“Someone like that can put their hand up and will come from the pack. But who it will be, I don’t know.”

So, can it, will it, be Percat? After all, he was Tander’s protege during his early time at the Holden Racing Team – including a Bathurst win together – and he is returning to the reds under the new Walkinshaw Andretti United tag.

“There is another dynamic there,” says Tander.

“There is another rooster already in that hen house.

He’s referring to Chaz Mostert, who is well entrenched, with Adam Debore as his sidekick and engineering brain, and with a last-start Bathurst win to claim their place.

So every answer is raising another question – or two.

“There are lots of changes this year,” is Tander’s broader answer.

“There are a lot of questions that won’t be answered one race in. Or three races in, or even six races in. I don’t think it will be settled for a while.”

Even so, he is leaning towards van Gisbergen and warns that he could explode into action with a similar ferocity that forced his rivals to surrender last year’s title before less than a third of the season. But, again, there is a question mark around his new engineer He will be handled by Andrew Edwards, who is coming to Triple Eight from Brad Jones Racing as the replacement for title winner David Cauchi.

“This is an all-new relationship. That will directly affect his performance. Cauchi knew Shane, knew his personality, knew what to expect,” says Tander.

“Shane could come out like he did last year and demoralise everyone. But the questions around him need to be answered in the first three or four weekends to get a clearer picture of the year.”

FOR ALL THE LATEST SUPERCAR NEWS & UPDATES SCAN HERE

Who will be the toughest challenger in 2022 – the Shell duo (left); Bathurst winner Mostert (far left) or Cam Waters (above)? And how will new boy Feeney (above left) fit in at T8?

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2022 Supercars Preview

THE HEIR APPARENT ANTON DE PASQUALE IS AIMING TO BE FORD’S NEXT SUPERCARS CHAMPION Images: Motorsport Images

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By PAUL GOVER THE NUMBER one contender for the heavyweight crown of Australian motorsport is chilled.

It’s obvious that Anton De Pasquale is the driver most likely to fight Shane van Gisbergen for this year’s Repco Supercars Championship, and perhaps write another chapter into the long history of Ford-versusHolden rivalry in touring car racing, but he is calm, relaxed and quietly confident as he prepares for the battle.

Chilled is the word that works.

“It doesn’t matter what I feel. I don’t really feel too much,” De Pasquale reveals to Auto Action.

“I never look at the opposition. I just do my job. Everyone starts fresh every year, including us.

“Obviously Shane’s got to be the favourite, there’s no argument on that. But we’d like to give him a run for the whole year.”

De Pasquale was only sixth in last year’s Supercars standings, and only third of the Ford fighters behind Cam Waters and his team mate Will Davison, but he knows the reasons.

“Everyone knows what it takes to win a championship. It’s the most amount of points – with the least amount of low scoring events,” he says.

“We probably should have been second.

Maybe those seven DNFs, including Bathurst, didn’t help.

“Life would have been easier without a couple of those. It matters, but it doesn’t matter.”

He admits that he made mistakes in season 2021, including the crash at the Bathurst season-opener that crippled his Supercars campaign almost before it started, but there were also mechanical failures and a mishap in a pinball first-turn crash at Darwin that was not his fault.

“A couple were my mistakes and a few things were down to reliability. We had a larger number of DNFs than anyone else. Delete them and we’re already in a different position.

“The general speed is ok. We can make that better, and I think we will. We just need to maximise everything on every weekend.”

De Pasquale came to the reigning champions after a total clear-out at Shell V-Power Racing. Scott McLaughlin had graduated to IndyCar in the ’States and Fabian Coulthard moved on, as Will Davison and De Pasquale landed in the DJR Mustangs.

Some of the pressure on the youngster was eased when Davison got the coveted and traditional #17 for his ’stang, although the clearest sign of the team’s faith in De Pasquale’s future was the appointment of Ludo Lacroix – a genuine legend – as his race engineer.

For season 2022, everything is much the same and that’s good news for the new king of cool.

“It’s the second year for me at the team, so we’ve got continuity. You know what to expect, who you’re working with,” he says.

From Formula Renault (leading, at SpaFrancorchamps, right), to a first win for DJR at The Bend (right), or battling it out with Shane van Gisbergen at Townsville (bottom), Anton de Pasquale’s mantra has been the same: “You race everyone the same and you want to beat everyone ...”

“Naturally, the toolbox is a bit larger than what it was 12 months ago. But it’s still going to be super-hard. We have to hit the ground running and be super consistent.

“Obviously we need speed, but also consistency and reliability.”

If he can hit those targets, De Pasquale’s fifth year in Supercars should be a good one.

He did his early learning at Erebus Motorsport, after a failed bid for single-seater stardom in Europe, but it’s easy to forget that the 26-year-old is still a relative newbie in Supercars. He has just over 100 race starts, compared to more than 400 for both Davison and van Gisbergen.

“This will be my fifth year in Supercars. But that is still a fair bit less than the competitors.

“With time and experience you do get better.

I’m aware I can improve, get more out of the car and more out of me.”

But one thing has not, and will not, change.

“I go out there, from my first race to what will be my last race, to try and win every single one.”

So, what has he done to improve for the coming campaign? You constantly try to improve yourself.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. I’m not planning to re-invent myself.

“From where I was 12 months ago to where I am now, I’ve been slowly massaging around things. You just build and build and build.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time at the workshop. I always enjoy that, hanging out with the crew. We’re testing and getting prepared for that. We’ll use that to see if we can get a good base.”

The improvement is unlikely to be reflected in the opening weekend at Sydney

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Motorsport Park, where he was the pacesetter through the four weekends despite van Gisbergen sweeping to the championship.

“Probably not so much for Sydney. It’s races like Tassie and Sandown, where we can improve. We will just build a toolbox.”

What exactly does that mean, to someone who is not a Supercars driver or engineer?

“We’re not re-inventing things. I think it’s hard to dive into a set-up sheet. We’re not far from where the car was fast before.”

And then an insight, and one that’s been

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proven many times in all forms of motorsport, from karts to Formula One. “People make speed. The relationships in the team are getting better every day. Even as last year went on we were able to change a weekend that started bad into something better.

“I guess that relationship is key to success in the championship. Not just the engineer, but the whole team. It is a team sport.

“At Bathurst in December we were struggling for speed, but in qualifying we

were on the front row. We were able to find something that worked better.”

So, how does De Pasquale see the first challenge at Sydney Motorsport Park? After all, Mark Winterbottom crunched the numbers and found that AdP was quickest in 29 of the 34 individual sessions that put the punch into the back end of last year’s championship.

“The theory of motorsport doesn’t always give you that. It’s always changing.

“We saw that at SMP. Four weekends at the same track but each week it was changing.”

He has also been changing, and adapting, through his time at DJR. “It’s knowing the car more. You ultimately know what you need to go faster, but knowing what to do to get there makes a difference. I have 12 months of that now, not zero.

“There is obviously some kind of emotion. I don’t know what it is. There’s probably a word for it, but I don’t know it.

“It’s the emotion of wanting to perform well, and win. There is a timing sheet and you want to perform. It’s just natural.

“Where I am now, and the guys I’m with, I never wake up and not want to do it. I love every moment. I think, obviously, having a good group of people around you is a good working environment and it motivates you to work better.”

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“ ”

“It never feels like a job. I’ve done plenty of days on the family farm and that feels like a job, so I can differentiate between the two.”

Not surprisingly, he says it took time to adjust and adapt to the Mustang after driving a Commodore with Erebus.

“Different manufacturer; different philosophy.

Pretty much everything was different. You just drive and feel the strengths of the car and try to maximise it.”

What De Pasquale says next is typical of a driver who uses raw talent, not application or education, to get to the front.

“I’d like to think I could jump in any car at any time and put it on the limit. Rag it. It’s what we’re paid to do.

“And it’s not just what we’re paid to do, it’s what we love. It’s the best part of it.

“It never feels like a job. I’ve done plenty of days on the family farm and that feels like a job, so I can differentiate between the two.”

As a reminder, what is it like on the family’s vegetable farm at Werribee South in Victoria?

“It hurts. It’s cold. It’s hard work. The racecar is hot sometimes, but that’s alright.”

The hard work in Supercars takes all forms, from a one-lap shootout to long days of public appearances and media interviews, but De Pasquale has also had to learn and adapt to life with Ludo Lacroix.

The fanatical Frenchman has been a king maker in touring cars for decades, in Britain and France before he landed in Australia,

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mostly recently as the pitlane powerhouse for three-time champion Scott McLaughlin.

How does De Pasquale find him, as his race engineer and tactician?

“Yeah, good. We get on really well. We haven’t had any dramas,” he says.

“It’s not just limited to him. I don’t think there’s anyone at the team I don’t get along with.

“There is a lot of passion to go well, and get better and improve. It’s not always to win, but to share and maximise or efforts.

“Ludo has done it a million times. Whatever situation we’re in, he’s been there a lot of times. The bit we had to learn was building the trust both ways.

“We’ve got the trust now where I can come in and say ’it needs to go this’ way and, even if it doesn’t

make a lot of sense, he knows which way to go.

“He’s got something he believes in and I trust him that it will work. A lot of the time I don’t need to know. And I think we’ll still get better with that.”

But what about personally, outside the bubble in the garage?

“He’s obviously a unique character, but it all makes sense. We’ve both trying to achieve the same thing every day.

“Away from racing we’re always talking pushbikes. If I need to make my bike faster I ask him what to buy.”

For De Pasquale, life away from racing is a big break from the pressure of Supercars.

“The normal routine is to get up early. The Gold Coast is a friendly place for that. I do a

bit of bike riding, sport, whatever is going on.

Karting, gaming. There is no plan to it.

“I get out to Norwell whenever I can. We’re always doing stuff. There is always something going on.

“I enjoy helping people. I like seeing people going well, like Nash Morris and Brodie. They are like my step-brothers.

“I enjoy that side of it. I’ve been very fortunate to have people give to me, in terms of knowledge. I think you owe it to the sport to pass that on to people who deserve it.”

His own knowledge comes from time in Supercars, but also as a champion karter and from his single-seater time in Europe.

“It was just giving it a crack to see what happens. I did Renault 2-litre for one year, some Formula 2 and Formula 3.

“It’s quite hard to make a break. You can’t expect to get into a sport like F1. It’s a hard reality.”

That meant a return to Australia and a focus on Supercars, happily with talent spotter Paul

Left: The relationship with seasoned engineer Ludo Lacroix has been and will continue to be a key factor in achieving success.

Right: De Pasquale, in the Erebus car, battles with the 2019 Penske/DJR car that he “wouldn’t mind having ...”

Morris pushing his case, but it was never easy.

“What’s fair in this world? It is what it is.

“It wasn’t a tough decision to make. It was a more a tough decision to swallow. But that’s what had to happen. That’s reality.

“It was always the theory to have a go and see what happens. If you make a list of the things that are unfair in the world you get a long list.

“I’m pretty happy with where I am. If you can take that from any point in your motorsport career, you take it.”

Right now, that means a Shell Mustang and a title fight with van Gisbergen. But Anton is still a racer’s racer, so looking for opportunities beyond Supercars.

He recently raced to sixth in the Dubai 24Hour race, sharing a Porsche with Stephen and Brenton Grove.

“Now that Covid is less of a problem I’m going to be trying to do a bit more racing.

“Anything that pops up that is cool to do.

Not as a priority, but as a side thing.

“I’ll do the six-hour at Bathurst at Easter in a BMW. If I could race every weekend, and it worked, I’d do it. I’d much prefer to be doing it that watching it on Foxtel.”

But the big focus now is the 2022 Supercars championship, where De Pasquale is not just look at his likely rival in the #97.

“There is no Shane factor. You race everyone the same and you want to beat everyone,” he says.

“We look at ourselves. You’ve got to do what you can do to maximise your day and see where you end up.

“Obviously there are people you expect to be at the front. If you focus on a couple of people you can lose focus.

“Speed is obviously the ultimate in our game. It’s a handy thing to have.

“For most of last year year Shane was the fastest guy. That naturally makes him the hardest guy to race.”

The other comparison that surfaced through 2021 was the one with Scott McLaughlin, the driver who put DJR back on top of Supercars.

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For a time it seemed that De Pasquale was not happy to be described as ’the new Scott’, or to have his record compared with his predecessor. But no.

“I don’t think I got annoyed. You are your own identity and want to be that.

“But if I stand back, to be compared to Scott or however it’s worked out, it’s a humbling thing. It’s a good thing to be compared to him and I take no offence.

“But everyone is their own person. You don’t wake up every day and want to be someone else. Any time you’re being compared to someone who has done good things is good.

“I never gave any thought to it.

“It is cool . . .”

Then his cheeky humour, usually bubbling just below the surface, breaks out.

“I wouldn’t mind having the 2019 car,” he smiles.

But comparisons bring De Pasquale to his personal heroes.

“I guess when you I’ve never really fully full blown idolised anyone. But when I started racing karts and then cars, I generally just looked at who was winning and doing well.

“At that time it was Jamie Whincup. I wished I could do that.

“I wanted to be the best in the sport. And in our sport it was Jamie.

“Which doesn’t really work when you’re racing the bloke.”

As he prepares to go again at Sydney Motorsport Park, De Pasquale says he has a simple plan.

“Ideally I’ll be the fastest guy and race away from the front. I’m just trying to get to the chequered flag as fast as possible,” he says.

“I’ve never been one to over-think that stuff. I’m out there to win every race.

Make it someone else’s problem.”

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TAKING THEIR PLACES FOR ANOTHER YEAR ALL CHANGE AND SOME THE SAME FOR SUPERCARS 2022

After finding himself without a fulltime drive for 2021, Lee Holdsworth took a Bathurst win with Chaz Mostert at WAU and his form delivered him a full-time gig at Grove Racing for ‘22.

Jake Kostecki (below) has moved across to Tickford and car 56 with Tradie support.

Story by Dan McCarthy and Paul Gover.

Images by Motorsport Images and Mark Horsburgh.

FABIAN COULTHARD is out and Lee Holdsworth is (back) in.

That’s the most obvious change to the starting grid for the 2022 season in Supercars.

But promising youngster Zane Goddard is also out, Tickford Racing is moving back to four cars, and there are lots of sponsor shifts and crew changes.

The biggest of the squad swaps is the defection of championship winning engineer David Cauchi from the Red Bull Ampol squad to Grove Racing, but he’s not the only one …

And he has to serve a long period of Formula One-style ‘gardening leave’ before he can direct the action on the Penrite Mustangs of David Reynolds and Holdsworth.

Back at Triple Eight, Martin Short gets his big boy shoes as the race engineer for newbie Broc Feeney, as Andrew Edwards arrives from Brad Jones Racing to engineer SvG in his bid for a third series crown.

The key move in the overall championship picture, is Nick Percat’s upgrade to Walkinshaw Andretti United as a potential race winner. Percat has done well at Brad Jones Racing but could become a superstar at the squad where he started in Supercars – when it was still the Holden Racing Team.

His first challenge will be to get onto even terms, or better, with his WAU team leader and last year’s Bathurst winner, Chaz Mostert.

Then there is PremiAir Racing, which is just hoping to get off the back of the grid following too many years of disappointment as Tekno and then Team Sydney. Garry Jacobson has survived, while Chris Pither is back, in what was Coulthard’s car, for a final crack at Supercars with a booster shot of Coke cash.

Holdsworth is in the second Penrite Mustang at Grove Racing, as Andre Heimgartner looks to re-boot his career at Brad Jones Racing with Bryce Fullwood as the other new arrival.

Dick Johnson Racing goes into the season with continuity, thanks to an unchanged driver line-up with veteran Will Davison and the rising star Anton De Pasquale as well as the same technical team under Ben Croke.

De Pasquale proved last year that DJR is heading in the right direction once again, as the 26-year-old Victorian scored five race wins over the four Sydney Motorsport Park rounds. The seven-time race winner also scored the most poles last year, but he and the team need to overcome last year’s mechanical blips this season.

Davison failed to score a victory in 2021, but returns determined to win races, something he must do to be a true title contender.

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At Tickford Racing, there have been some chassis switches but Cam Waters will still be the pace-setter. He was best of the Mustang runners last year and has huge speed, but must limit the damage on the bad days to be a title contender this year.

James Courtney is getting old (er) and was only 11th last year, so needs more than his single podium from season 2021.

Thomas Randle finally gets his big shot at the main game after winning the Super2 series in 2020 and warmed up last year with some Wildcard starts, with a best of eighth at The Bend in South Australia. Randle has raced a Mustang at a number of tracks so he is not a total rookie, and arrives with high hopes.

The fourth Ford is filled by Jake Kostecki, as he moves from Matt Stone Racing to carry the #56.

There is bold new sponsorship at Walkinshaw Andretti United and plenty of confidence after the team’s Bathurst 1000 win, as well as the arrival of Nick Percat to join Chaz Mostert.

Percat has been signed to line up the alongside Mostert and assist the WAU to challenge for the Teams’ Championship.

Percat’s departure sees a swap with Bryce Fullwood to Brad Jones Racing, alongside his former housemate Andre Heimgartner – who was a surprise departure from Kelly Grove Racing.

Both drivers will be looking to move BJR further up the grid along with Macauley Jones

.and Jack Smith, who both remain at the Albury team.

The newly re-named Grove Racing team sees David Reynolds return along with fellow Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth, an experienced duo for the new team.

Although Holdsworth has said that he wants to enjoy being back on the grid fulltime, he is a racer and will be wanting a lot more.

Both driver also know that Matthew Payne, the young Kiwi being groomed by Stephen and Brenton Grove, is on the sidelines - but only for now - and keep to upgrade to the main game.

Erebus Motorsport fields an unchanged

Nick Percat

There have been a few changes at Triple Eight, not least of which is the arrival of Brock Feeney who takes over from Jamie Whincup in the 88 car.

Kiwi Chris Pither makes his return to full-time racing with PremiAir Racing in the now familar Coke colours.

Things are pretty settled at Team 18.

Same drivers, in Winterbottom and Pye; however there are some changes to key team members.

Andre Heimgartner has a new home at BJR and takes over the R&J Batteries number 8 car.

driver and engineering line-up, with Will Brown joined by Tom Moore and Brodie Kostecki to be engineered by George Cummins.

Like Erebus, Team 18 also has an

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unchanged line-up, with former champion Mark Winterbottom and two-time Bathurst 1000 runner-up Scott Pye forming an experienced squad.

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Former Holden Racing Team engineer Richard Hollway becomes Pye’s engineer this year, while Manuel Sanchez continues alongside ‘Frosty.’

Both drivers started the season strongly last year and, after a mid-season slump last year, will be looking for qualifying consistency this year.

It’s all change for Matt Stone Racing, which has two of the best looking cars on the grid.

Todd Hazelwood returns after spending two years at BJR to renew a special connection with the team that took him to a Super2 championship.

Hazelwood described it as a return home – and in the last two years the team has become more competitive.

Hazelwood will be expecting to score top 15s and even top 10s this year, as will his new teammate Jack le Brocq, who joins from Tickford.

Team Sydney is no more, bought out by Peter Xiberras and renamed PremiAir Racing.

Peter-X has kept Garry Jacobson while bringing back popular Kiwi Chris Pither, while recruiting heavily on the technical side.

Coulthard, meantime, is almost certain to join Chaz Mostert as his Bathurst 1000 codriver while also dabbling in the TCR Australia Series.

Right at the tail of the pitlane, because it’s a one-car operation, is Blanchard Racing with Tim Slade.

Last year BRT shared its pit boom with Tickford Racing but believes it will be sharper in the pits with its own crew and potentially able to exploit its place because there will be no double stacking on stops.

After finishing 12th last season, Slade is now aiming for a Top 10 result at the end of the year.

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TWENTY-TWO FOR 2022

AHEAD OF THE NEW SUPERCARS SEASON, HERE ARE THE OBVIOUS TALKING POINTS – AND A FEW LEFT-FIELD THINGS TO CONSIDER Story by Paul Gover.

Images by Motorsport images and Mark Horsburgh.

1. Who will win Race 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park?

Everyone is hitting the re-set button for the resumption of racing, looking for the early advantage in the new championship campaign. Based on the four-race sweep at the back end of 2021, Triple Eight and Dick Johnson Racing will be the form teams, with Erebus Racing nipping at their heels.

But Chaz Mostert whipped everyone at Bathurst as he and his ace engineer Adam Debore unlocked the potential in the WAU Commodore. So look to Anton De Pasquale to set the pace, with any number of others in the mix.

2. Why is the champion not racing as #1?

Shane van Gisbergen loves #97, his long-term racing number, just as Valentino Rossi is #46, Lewis Hamilton is #44 and Dick Johnson and Peter Brock will always be #17 and #05. But why not a return to a prominent Number 1 on the side of the champion’s car? It used to be a badge of honour and a sign of success.

Supercars identifies the championship leader with a different number colour through the season, but is it time to get back to the basics?

3. What does RACE mean?

The first sign of the new ownership at Supercars is the entertainment package for the season start at Sydney Motorsport Park, topped by a high-profile DJ show, but including night racing and fireworks. There are promises – like Formula One under Liberty Media – of casting a wider net for new Supercars followers, but no firm detail yet. It’s going to be an evolving story through 2022.

RACE has a giant advantage with complete ownership of The Show, having the teams as performers and not meddling part owners, and has already proven its commitment with a big spend to buy the series.

36 I www.autoaction.com.au

Will a third Gen-3 car brand emerge this year?

4. Will there be more rubbing in the racing?

Old-school race director Tim Schenken has been sent into retirement so there will be a new regime in Race Control. The Schenken approach was always to mirror Formula One, but this could be the ideal time for an entertainment-focussed approach that’s more like NASCAR – or the WWE? 5. The view from the booth?

There are no significant changes to the broadcast crew this year, although there are rumours that Riana Crehan – about to star in the latest series of SAS Australia on Seven – will be back. Marcos Ambrose, who was missing from telecasts at the back end of last year, should also return at some point as the Covid situation settles. The real focus will be on Garth Tander, as this could be his final year as a Bathurst co-driver and he is doing more of the heavy lifting on the television team.

6. Which intra-team rivalry will be best?

There are plenty of potential tussles inside the Supercars crew, without worrying about inter-team conflicts. Shane van Gisbergen should easily trump Broc Feeney, Will Davison will need something special to threaten Anton De Pasquale, and Cam Waters should have no trouble with James

Courtney. There is plenty of potential for a ruckus between Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, something Barry Ryan will need to manage, but the real focus will be on Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat as they become the best of frenemies at WAU. 7. Will Adelaide really return?

All the right pieces are in place for a return of the Adelaide 500, perhaps as soon as the final race of season 2022, except one. It will take a change of government in South Australia to turn the plan into a reality and, despite the Opposition’s strong support from motorsport followers, it will take more than Supercars fans to tip the balance of power. Fingers crossed . . .

8. Is it hello and goodbye for Holdsworth?

A win at Bathurst catapulted Lee Holdsworth back into the main game after he was moved aside at Tickford Racing to clear space for the Boost-backed James Courtney. He clearly has the credentials for a solid season at Grove Racing but the real threat to his future beyond 2022 is young Kiwi, Matt Payne, who is getting the final polishing for a Supercars seat in 2023. Only a series of mistakes at the back end of last year prevented Payne graduating this year.

Will Davison 9. What will we see in the Gen3 Mustang?

The all-new Ford Mustang has joined the Chevrolet Camaro for high-profile Gen3 testing but the car of today will not be the car of tomorrow. Ford is into the final countdown to the unveiling of the next road-going Mustang in the USA, with a public preview around the middle of this year. It’s that car, not the blue beastie on track at the moment, that will carry the blue oval colours for season 2023 in Supercars.

10. Which cars look best?

The liveries at the top end of pitlane are familiar and predictable, with only minor tweaking of sponsor logs. But there are some innovative efforts and, right now, Matt Stone Racing looks to have done the best job for 2022. The team owner admits he was looking

at gloss black but was convinced to go with the eventual grey base, complete with a touch of metallic to provide some sparkle.

11. When will Brodie win?

This one is not an ‘if’, only a ‘when’. The ‘other’ youngster at Erebus has skill and speed and smarts, and is the driver who is most like Shane van Gisbergen as an over-all package.

He knows what it takes to be a success in Supercars, and he has it all, so he only needs some time for the final finishing.

11. What about Davo?

Life in the shadow of Anton De Pasquale was no fun for Will Davison last year, and neither was the beating he took – mentally as much as physically – from SvG. On his day he still has brilliant speed and sublime talent, but this could be his last year at the pointy end of Supercars. He could easily re-invent himself, and play the team game to support De Pasquale, but it’s still a developing story.

12. Could Masi return?

Michael Masi was originally planning to take over from Tim Schenken at the Race Director at Supercars. But that was before his promotion to the top job in Race Control at Formula One. Not to mention the FIA decision to sacrifice the brilliant Aussie to satisfy the whiners in the grand prix pitlane over last year’s controversy in Abu Dhabi. Motorsport Australia says it would be happy to have him back and so would the heavy hitters in Supercars. But the FIA has promised him another job . . .

13. What is Cauchi’s start date?

Triple Eight is famously tough on any of its staff who decide to switch Supercars teams – such as Adrian Burgess or Campbell Little.

So, although he is about to start as Technical Director at Grove Racing, David Cauchi could be months away from taking his new place in the pitlane as he navigates the ‘gardening leave’ element of his contract.

14. Will the season run Covid free?

After two years of massive disruption, which put teams on the road for endless months in 2020 and forced the four-race season finish at Sydney Motorsport Park, no-one is betting on a clear run through 2022. The planned opener on the streets of Newcastle

has already fallen to Covid uncertainty, with Perth looking shaky and no certainty around Pukekohe. It’s little wonder, then, that Tony Quinn is racing through his planned improvements at Queensland Raceway including all-new garages that could welcome the Supercars circus before the year is out.

15. Will baby Broc make a podium?

Broc Feeney is arriving with big hopes and high expectations, but can Triple Eight’s young upstart hit the podium in 2022? It won’t be early, as everyone will be looking to give him a welcome present, but he has plenty of speed and talent – and the same car as SvG. Feeney is also extremely mature for a 19-year-old and has been given a perfect preparation by his father Paul and retiring T8 supremo Roland Dane.

16. Who will be the wildcard winner?

Someone, at some time, will win a race against the odds. It happens every year, most recently when Chaz Mostert – driving a WAU Commodore that was lacklustre at best through four weekends at Sydney Motorsport Park – romped away with last year’s Bathurst 1000. It could be youngster Thomas Randle, if everything falls his way, but picking this winner is probably toughest of all.

17. Will the GOAT continue to win?

Jamie Whincup stands alone in Supercars records, but now he is a team principal and not a driver. He’s always had the singleminded focus for success, but now he is leading a team that is in massive transition in a totally foreign role. And he’s also a new, and first-time, father. J-Dub will definitely do the work, and the homework, but he is unproven as a pitlane leader and it’s a battlefield that’s as tough as any in motorsport.

David Cauchi – currently his garden is looking very tidy ...

19. Ford versus Holden?

The red lion is long gone from showrooms but the Commodore continued to win last year, with the ZB hybrid showing great pace at Bathurst against the latest - and more showroom-like - Mustang. In the last year before Gen3 changes everything, either brand could get on top but Holden still has the weight of numbers in 2022.

20. Will there be another manufacturer?

There are ongoing rumours about a third manufacturer for the start of Gen3 racing.

Some people say Chrysler, others hope it’s BMW, and WAU got all the way to the boardroom with a pitch to Jaguar.

And then there is Toyota, despite more than a decade of denials, and its Supra coupe. The best hope is that one of the teams will go alone, with backing from Supercars for funding and licensing, to bring something new and different. Perhaps a job for RACE?

21. Will Scott McLaughlin return for Bathurst?

Unlikely. Scotty Mac clearly still loves the idea of Bathurst, and the challenge of Mount Panorama, but Team Penske found road blocks last December and things will only get tougher if he achieves his goal of becoming a regular Top 10 contender in IndyCar through 2022. And don’t forget that he is now a Chevrolet driver and ambassador, which will make things even more difficult for Dick Johnson Racing to put him back in a Ford.

22. What is coming for season 2023?

Gen3 is obvious and a no-brainer. If RACE delivers its dream then Supercars should be better on most fronts. But, with so many uncertainties and unanswered questions for 2022, projecting forward by another year becomes even tougher. Will it be Anton De Pasquale looking to defend his first Supercars crown or Shane van Gisbergen going for a triple? Whatever happens, it promises to be exciting and intriguing.

18. Will four cars work for Tickford?

Cam Waters was the first of the Ford fighters in the championship last year, but the Monster man is still missing the special sauce – Mostert had it at Bathurst – to become a serious title contender. Four cars makes business sense, and Tickford mostly operates – like Brad Jones Racing – as a pair of two-car teams, but it’s hard to see things changing this year.

Could Thomas Randle spring a surprise win?

When Supercars last went to Pukekohe, Triple Eight’s new team boss was at the wheel and showing the way ...

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INDYCAR 2022 SEASON PREVIEW

Images: Motorsport Images

PALOU AIMING FOR A SPANISH DOUBLE

ALEX PALOU HAS THE TARGET ON HIS BACK, AND SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN IS AIMING FOR A WIN, AS INDYCAR RETURNS. DAN MCCARTHY REPORTS COLTON HERTA and Simon Pagenaud topped the times as IndyCar racing previewed the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg with a two-day test at Sebring.

Herta ran quickest for Andretti Autosport on the first day as Pagenaud celebrated his move from Team Penske to Meyer Shank, where he will race alongside evergreen Helio Castroneves through the 2022 season, with the top time on the second day.

But Alex Palou is the defending champion and the one to beat, while Scott McLaughlin hopes for a breakthrough first win in his second single-seater season after graduating from Supercars.

Palou took last year’s title in just his second year of IndyCar racing and the quietly-spoken Spaniard is now hoping to become the first driver to win back-to-back titles since Dario Franchitti in 2011.

Palou took three wins last year, however the key to his success was his relentless consistency despite the speed of drivers including Herta through the first half of the year and now four-time winner Castroneves at the Indianapolis 500.

He is taking a very different approach to his title defence, in the face of relentless opposition from the old guard and the youngsters now flooding into IndyCar. “We’ve been working as if last year we lost it and I think we’ll be ready to try and fight again,” says Palou.

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Having served his apprenticeship, Scott McLaughlin is looking to win in 2022.

“We’ll have a lot of competition this year. We have new drivers in different teams. We have new drivers from other places. It’s going to be challenging.”

Apart from Romain Grosjean, who was a stand-out in his first IndyCar season after losing his spot in Formula One, the IndyCar grid is also looking more popular for members of the F1 development squads.

FIA Formula 2 race winner Christian

Lundgaard is a full-time rookie this year, after qualifying an impressive fourth at the second IndyGP on debut, and another former F2 driver, Callum Ilott, makes his full-time debut with the single-car Juncos Hollinger Racing.

McLaughlin, who continues in a downsized three-car line-up at Team Penske alongside Josef Newgarden and Aussie Will Power, believes he now has the experience to

become a regular in the Top 10 and a potential race winner.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I can consistently be there,” says McLaughlin.

“I still think there were certain races last year that I could have won. That’s what IndyCar is like.

“I feel very confident if I get put in a position, or I put myself in a position, that I can race with anyone up the front. It’s a matter of

CALENDAR THE EARLIEST start to an IndyCar season since 2000 sees St. Petersburg running in February.

The first oval race in Texas moves forward to the second race of the season on March 20.

Long Beach returns to its traditional date in April, now that the pandemic is relatively under control in the ‘States, and IndyCar will also return to Toronto after the Canadian race was a victim of Covid-19 for the past two years.

After a year off the schedule, the Iowa Speedway is back with a double-header and the season will again conclude at the legendary Laguna Seca in northern California.

But 2022 will be the final race at the historic Belle Isle circuit in Detroit, with the race moving to Motown’s downtown streets from 2023.

ROUND

DATE

TRACK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

February 27 March 20 April 10 May 1 May 14 May 29 June 5 June 12 July 3 July 17 July 23 July 24 July 30 August 7 August 20 September 4 September 11

St. Petersburg Texas Motor Speedway Long Beach Streets of Long Beach Barber Motorsports Park Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Indianapolis 500 Belle Isle Street Circuit Road America Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Toronto Exhibition Place Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Nashville Street Circuit World Wide Technology Raceway Portland International Raceway Laguna Seca

Josef Newgarden heads the three-car Penske attack.

Colton Herta (left, with Andretti team-mate Rossi) has topped early testing.

Defending champion Alex Palou

Pato O’Ward and McLaren are expected to be outright title challengers in 2022.

getting up there. That’s the tough part.

“If anything comes my way I’ll take it for sure.”

The IndyCar field also has plenty of veterans with big credentials, led by six-time series winner Scott Dixon. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished fourth last year and history shows that the Kiwi responds well after a difficult season and can never be ruled out.

Last year was a coming of age for Marcus Ericsson, as he took more wins than Dixon.

However, he failed to finish in the top five on his difficult days and the Swede must improve these if he wants to fight for a title.

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Then there is NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson, who has decided he will race the ovals in 2022 – including Indy – to become a full-time series contender.

Team Penske has downsized from four cars back to its regular three in 2022, with a staff shuffle that gives McLaughlin a new engineer in Ben Bretzman.

“We’re looking good, the team is feeling good, and we’ll see what we’ve got come St. Pete,” McLaughlin said after the Sebring test.

“I feel I feel really comfortable where I’m at and what I’ve learned and I really think we can start pushing some pretty awesome results.”

“But the biggest thing for me is overcoming qualifying. I’ve said that a number of times. I feel like my race pace is decent, especially on the road courses. It’s just a matter of making it

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all happen when it counts in qualifying to get me a good spot for Sunday.”

For Will Power, 2021 was a relative disappointment and he was outside the top five in the championship for the first time since 2009.

Still, he did manage to continue as a winner in every IndyCar season and is planning to rebound in 2022.

“We had quite a few tracks we struggled at last year, so we’ve got plenty of stuff to look at. We’ll do our homework and try and understand why we struggled ... yeah, do what we do best,” Power says.

It was Newgarden who led Team Penske last year and finished number two in the season, but his performance was patchy and out of character for the Nashville driver.

He is undoubtably a contender for his third crown in 2022.

Arrow McLaren emerged as a team of contenders last year and 22-year-old Pato O’Ward emerged as the biggest threat to 24-year-old Palou.

O’Ward faded late in the title race, scoring just one podium finish in the back half of the season, so needs to bounce out of the gate strongly in 2022.

While Palou is a calculated and measured driver, O’Ward is a natural raw talent who drives flat-out all of the time. At times this approach costs the Mexican – however he has raw speed and on his day is unstoppable.

McLaren will be hoping for more from his teammate Felix Rosenqvist. After taking a win in 2020 he was disappointing last year, finishing only 21st with just two Top 10 results.

Andretti Autosport has made a couple of changes to its driver line-up in the off season, although the two lead Americans – Herta and Alexander Rossi – stay the same.

Rossi is a former Indy 500 winner who will be looking to break his two-year victory drought and fight for a title once again. At the age of 30 he should be in his prime.

Herta was the only driver to win back-toback races last season; however four non-

finishes and four results outside the Top 10 cost him dearly.

Eliminate Herta’s errors and he becomes another contender.

Veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay is gone from Andretti Autosport, replaced – not surprisingly – by Grosjean after his starring first season.

Even better news for the team, driver and fans, is that the Frenchman has decided to contest a full season, including ovals.

The Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport machine has a new Canadian behind the wheel, as James Hinchcliffe has been replaced by rookie Devlin DeFrancesco.

Meyer Shank Racing is expanding to two full-time cars in 2022, with Castroneves back full-time after his brilliant efforts in ’21 at the expense of Brit, Jack Harvey, and with Pagenaud joining him.

Harvey moves to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing alongside veteran Graham Rahal, with Ericsson also on the roster and one to watch.

Rinus Veekay and Conor Daly return with the rising Ed Carpenter Racing team. Last year Veekay shone early, even taking at win in the first IndyGP; however in the back half of the season he failed to score a top 10.

The ever-aggressive Takuma Sato moves from RLLR, where he was effectively replaced

by Lundgaard, to a blossoming team in Dale Coyne Racing. On his day, Sato the two-time Indy 500 winner, is one of the best drivers on the grid, and on their day Dale Coyne Racing is capable of taking race wins.

With Sato you never know what you are going to get.

The #18 machine sees Ed Jones replaced by Indy Lights runner-up, rookie David Malukas.

Former IndyCar star Sebastian Bourdais is out of AJ Foyt’s team, where the youth focus sees Dalton Kellett alongside Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood.

Female racer Tatiana Calderon will also race on street and road courses for Foyt, rounding out the impressive IndyCar field.

All the IndyCar Series races will be broadcast live and exclusive on Stan Sport.

www.autoaction.com.au I 39

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NEW GENERATION WINS DAYTONA 500 Images: Motorsport Images

Report: Dan McCarthy

‘Son of Tim’ (Cindric) celebrates a ‘rookie’ Daytona 500 win (above). It was this tight over the final laps.

42 I www.autoaction.com.au

ON HIS full-time debut, Team Penske driver Austin Cindric won the 2022 edition of the Daytona 500, prevailing where many more experienced drivers faltered.

Cindric stepped up from the second-tier Xfinity series into the main game like a duck to water. He was at the pointy end of the field throughout the race and, while former winners and ex-champions fell out of the race, 23-year-old Cindric stayed out of trouble.

A crash in the closing laps forced the race into two laps of overtime to determine the winner of the Daytona 500 and Cindric found himself at the head of the pack ahead of teammate Ryan Blaney.

The two worked together on the penultimate lap with Blaney bump drafting Cindric along – however in the closing seconds of the race the teammates got the elbows out and nearly allowed Bubba Wallace to snatch the win.

Cindric could not believe that he had taken his first ever Cup Series win, particularly at the Daytona 500.

“Oh, my God – do you know what makes this (victory) even better? A packed house,” he exulted after climbing from his car.

“A packed house at the Daytona 500. Oh, my God, I’ve got so many people to thank.

First and foremost, Roger Penske. Happy Birthday!

“Everyone has worked so hard on this Next Gen car and through the whole process. I am so excited. This makes up for losing a championship in the last race I was in (2021 Xfinity Series season finale

at Phoenix Raceway).

“I’m surrounded by great people, that’s all there is to it. I know there’s going to be highs and lows, being a rookie.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity and excited to climb the mountain ahead of us on the No. 2 team.

“We’re in the Playoffs – that’s one box checked. My gosh, what an awesome group of fans; what an awesome race car. I’m just really thankful.”

Just metres from the finish, Cindric blocked teammate Ryan Blaney on the outside out of Turn 4, and the pair made contact, which resulted in Blaney clouting the outside wall.

While that happened, Wallace moved to the inside, coming up just half a car length short at the finish line.

“I thought our Toyota teammates did good work until they got picked off 1, 2, 3 throughout the race, so we just had to survive,” said Wallace.

“Great Speedweek, though. We’ll come home second. I’m going to be pissed off about this one for a while. I was happy with the first second place we got a couple years ago. (But) this one sucks when you’re that close ... but all-in-all, happy for our team, happy for our partners, and on to California.”

Behind Wallace, Chase Briscoe was being pushed on the high line in the final two laps and he came home in third ahead of the damaged Blaney and Aric Almirola.

Incredibly, after being involved in a multi-car crash in the opening stage, Kyle Busch got his battered and bruised Toyota Camry across the line in sixth ahead of 2021 Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell,

It was this close. Above right: Cindric (2) squeezes team-mate Blaney to the outside wall and almost lets Watson (23) through – but hung on (above) by half a car length.

Images: Motorsport Images

who again lifted his game for the big race.

David Ragan finished eighth, ahead of Brad Keselowski who was in the thick of the action throughout, while former champion Chase Elliott recovered from a late race spin to round out the top 10.

There were several caution periods in the final stage – the two-lap shootout was set up due to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashing after contact from Brad Keselowski on the exit of Turn 4.

In the same incident, Chris Buescher received significant damage after he hit Stenhouse. Wallace was also lucky to continue after copping a substantial whack in the door from the spinning Stenhouse.

The multi-car accident prior to that, 10 laps from home, involved the reigning champion Kyle Larson, again at Turn 4, Larson tapping the rear of veteran Kevin Harvick. The contact unsettled the Stewart Haas Ford driver and sent him spinning into

the side of Noah Gragson in the tri-oval.

Gragson then came across the track into the outside retaining wall, collecting both Larson and Harvick. Other drivers involved were Erik Jones and rookie Todd Gilliland, this was the incident in which Elliott spun out while avoiding the crash ahead.

With a quarter of the 200-lap race remaining Tyler Reddick spun and collected several of the championship’s leading contenders.

Martin Truex Jr, who won the first two stages, was involved, while Kurt Busch and Joey Logano were wiped out of contention.

Reddick retired from the race while the other drivers involved were able to remain in the contest.

The biggest incident of the race came in the closing stages of the opening stage when Brad Keselowski attempted to bump draft Harrison Burton at the exit of Turn 2.

The unsettled Burton was unable to retain control and spun in front of almost the entire field. He made contact with William Byron, sending the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet heavily into the inside retaining wall.

Burton’s machine rolled twice before landing back on two wheels; Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell were also sent spinning.

NASCAR veteran and three-time Daytona 500 winner Hamlin received significant damage on his #11 Toyota, taking his car to the garage for repairs. It was however in

It wouldn’t be Daytona without the huge multi-car pile-ups ... which took out several big names (below). vain, and so for the first time in his career, he failed to greet the chequered flag in the Daytona 500.

Other drivers involved include Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain. Bowman came home 24th, while Chastain retired from the race.

Former champion Truex Jr, with his Australian engineer James Small, won both stages. The first ended under caution, while he edged out Logano at the line for the Stage 2 victory.

He collected a pair of playoff points to begin the 2022 season and still managed to finish in 13th position.

Notably, 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve finished the race. After starting last, he stayed out of the mayhem and finished in 22nd place.

www.autoaction.com.au I 43

Rd. 01 Symmons Plains

GIANT KILLERS TAKE TCR OPENER

RACE TASMANIA WAS ONE FOR THE UNDERDOGS IN THE TCR AUSTRALIA SERIES, JOSH BUCHAN AND PRIVATEER ZAC SOUTAR OUTPERFORMING THE BIG NAMES TO SIT ATOP THE STANDINGS. HMO CUSTOMER Racing’s Josh Buchan was a picture of consistency at Symmons Plains Raceway, establishing an early points advantage in the series despite not winning an individual race.

Soutar, on the other hand, took second position with an emotional victory in Race 3.

On Saturday, Jay Hanson became the 16th different race winner and the youngest victor in the category’s history.

It was a faultless performance from the 18-year-old who took the lead from pole sitter Nathan Morcom at Turn 1 and continued to build the margin over the duration of the race.

“To bring home my first ever race win in TCR is pretty exciting and to be the youngest ever driver in TCR Australia to win a race is really, really cool,” Hanson told Auto Action.

“I got the lead, managed to get the gap to two seconds and then just kept building the gap. I showed overall car speed from the start to the end and honestly just dominated the whole race.

“I’d like to shout out the team – MPC have worked late hours trying to get this car up and going well. We were stressing at one stage if we were even going to get it or not, and to have it on the top step of the podium in its first race is absolutely awesome.”

Relishing in the performance of his new specification Audi RS3 LMS TCR, Hanson took the win by over 5s from the pair of HMO Customer Racing Hyundai’s driven by Buchan and pole-sitting teammate Morcom.

The latter did not end up on the podium without challenge, as Renault Megane driver James Moffat launched an aggressive but ultimately unsuccessful attack in the closing stages of the race.

Despite the impediment of an arm injury that has not fully healed, Aaron Cameron made his way up from ninth on the grid to round out the top five in his Peugeot 308.

Behind him Soutar was the best finishing Honda in sixth, beating current Supercars

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Championship driver and former TCR Australia series winner Will Brown.

Soutar also held off Honda brand mate Tony D’Alberto and Dylan O’Keefe.

An enthralling battle ensued for the final top 10 position between between Brad Shiels and former Supercars drivers Fabian Coulthard and Michael Caruso.

Coulthard snatched 10th position away from Shiels on lap 14, but a mistake seconds later at the hairpin allowed Shiels back through who sealed the position.

Caruso started at the back of the grid after a power steering issue in qualifying, making his way through the field quickly and catching both Shiels and Coulthard – however he ran out of laps, finishing behind the pair in 12th.

Jordan Cox, who finished third in the 2021 standings, could only manage 16th.

Sunday brought about a change of fortunes for Cox, who won a shortened second race from rookie Bailey Sweeny and veteran D’Alberto.

Cox and Cameron started off the front row and the two GRM Peugeot drivers clashed early, bumping and bouncing off each other.

Dylan O’Keefe’s weekend ended badly in Race 3. Jordan Cox (right), here leading out of the hairpin, took a Race 2 win and stayed in touch with the series points leaders.

Cameron had to pull into pit lane as a result, with a turbo issue, sending Sweeny up into second on lap 2.

Saturday race winner Hanson and Moffat tangled on lap 6, the former ambitiously pushing up the inside before sending Moffat smashing into the wall at the final corner.

Heavy damage was sustained by Moffat’s Renault, ruling him out of the race and rest of the weekend.

Hanson also sustained damage to his brand-new Audi, forcing him to retire.

Liam McAdam found the gravel shortly after the restart and Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR driver Lachlan Mineeff lost drive, sending the pair back in the field.

After a second Safety Car period, the race restarted for a short sprint in which Cox held his nerve to win.

Brown, Buchan and Soutar finished just

Left: Josh Buchan heads Souter (110) and Will Brown (999) into Turn 1.

Left Middle: Winners are grinners – youngest ever TCR Australia race winner Jay Hanson (left lower) and the extra-happy Team Soutar (right lower) after Zac (right, in the Spicers Honda) was the good news story of the weekend, having been declared winner of an actionpacked Race 3. outside the podium places, while O’Keefe and Shiels came behind them in seventh and eighth.

Caruso and Ben Bargwanna rounded out the top 10 in an Alfa Romeo and Peugeot, respectively.

Series newcomer Braydan Willmington and local debutant Eddie Maguire ran just outside the top 10 and ahead of Morcom.

Coulthard and McAdam were the final classified drivers.

It was Soutar who emerged victorious in the third and final race, claiming his maiden win against the odds.

The race appeared to be Buchan’s to lose and he crossed the line first, but a 5s penalty for weaving when the Safety Car lights went out dropped him down the order.

D’Alberto was second and Cox inherited a podium place.

There was drama from the beginning as Bargwanna suffered a rear brake issue on the warmup lap, forcing his retirement.

Big name recruit Brown then went into the gravel immediately after contact with Soutar, who got a far better start and tried to pass down the inside.

Subsequently the Safety Car was deployed until lap 4.

Shortly after the restart, O’Keefe slammed into the wall due to contact from Brad Shiels, in very similar fashion to Hanson and Moffat’s earlier crash.

A lengthy delay ensued, the race recommencing for a short sprint with Buchan and Soutar at the front.

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The rest of the contest passed without issue, but Buchan would be left to rue his infringement, which saw him fall to fourth in the results as Soutar celebrated.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend,” Soutar told Auto Action.

“Coming into this weekend, after last year, I thought that we had no hope at all, I honestly thought we’d struggle to get the top 10.

“I had no idea that Josh had a penalty, I only got told after the race so it’s a shame for Josh.

“But it was nice to see that the upgrades that the Honda has and our progression with

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the setup has come into play this weekend and given us some good speed and it was great to cap off the weekend with the win.

“As a privateer team we work pretty hard, we sacrifice all of our free time to go racing and to get a win is just fantastic, not just for myself, my dad, Brett Francis my engineer, and for all my team.”

Despite his involvement in the incident with O’Keefe, Shiels finished fifth ahead of Morcom and Hanson.

Caruso, Cameron and McAdam also closed out the weekend with a top 10 finish,

while Willmington ran 11th for the second straight race.

Lachlan Mineeff led Brown and Coulthard, who will both be looking to improve after losing out to less experienced opposition.

Maguire’s car required a tow due to a mechanical problem, taking him out of the race while Sweeny went into the gravel on the final lap denying him a top 10 finish.

Josh Nevett POINTS: Buchan 118, Soutar 116, D’Alberto 114, Cox 106, Morcom 99

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Rd. 01 Symmons Plains

WISE HEADS PREVAIL

THE OPENING round of the 2022 S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship at Symmons Plains was incident-filled, on Sunday in particular, but in the end cool heads prevailed with two-time Gold Star champion Tim Macrow winning the feature race and round.

The multiple Australian Formula 3 Championship winner started the weekend slowly but built on it throughout and now leads the series after the conclusion of Round 1 in Tasmania.

As always at the tiny 2.4km Symmons Plains Raceway, qualifying was incredibly tight – however it was clear early it was going to be reigning champion Joey Mawson or former Supercars full-timer James Golding who would start from pole position.

The pair both improved lap after lap and both had stints at the top of the timesheets, but in the end it was Golding who prevailed by just 0.06s.

Current Supercars driver and S5000 debutant Tim Slade and Versa Motorsport driver Cooper Webster also exchanged positions on the second row with Slade coming out on top, 0.22s from pole and just 0.07s faster than youngster Webster.

Behind them, Macrow rounded out the top five ahead of the 88 Racing cars driven

by Blake Purdie and former Super2 Series driver Josh Fife. Kiwi Kaleb Ngatoa and former Touring Car Masters driver Adam Garwood rounded out the small in numbers, high in quality, nine car field.

The opening race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon and was quite a processional affair, acting very much as the calm before the storm.

When the lights went out at the start of the race it was Mawson who made the better start and led into Turn 1, and with a good exit from Turn 2 immediately pulled clear.

Behind, Webster had made a blinding start from the second row and moved ahead of Slade into Turn 2.

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Experience and a cool head saw Tim Macrow take the main race and weekend points win while (right) debutant Josh Fife impressed, winning the reversegrid second race for Team 88..

Down at the Turn 4 hairpin for the first time, the field bunched up together with Webster notably forced to defend from Slade.

With the defensive line into the turn, Webster compromised his exit and allowed Slade to get a good run out, around Turn 5 and take third position into Turn 6.

This meant at the end of lap one, Mawson led from, Golding, Slade, Webster and Macrow.

It became apparent in the early laps that Golding had a pace advantage over Mawson – he stayed within 0.5s of the race leader lap after lap. On lap 9 into Turn 6 Golding had a little look but was not close enough.

However as the second half of the race commenced ,Mawson’s car got better and he began to chip out a tiny margin – but it was not until lap 19 of 25 that Mawson extended the margin to over a second.

Form700/Alabar team driver Mawson went on to finish the intense affair 1.25s ahead of Golding, Slade came home third on debut from Webster, Macrow, Purdie, Fife, Garwood and Ngatoa.

Impressively during the race, every single driver broke the existing lap record set last year.

Race 2 was the inverted 75% grid race from qualifying and meant that it was an 88 Racing 1-2 on the front row of the grid.

It was the more experienced Purdie from grid 2 who made the better start and led into the opening sequence of turns, from Fife.

Webster also got a better start than Macrow and looked to take the place around the outside at Turn 2, however a small lock up from Fife forced Webster to check up and allow Macrow to hold onto third.

The first major championship-altering moment occurred when Slade collided with his Team BRM teammate and Race 1 winner Mawson at Turn 2.

Halfway around the lap, the fight for the lead was on. Fife got a great run out of Turn 4 and had nosed ahead on the back straight when the Safety Car was called.

Mawson suffered suspension damage in the Turn 2 accident and could not get moving,.

Worse still for Team BRM, Slade was forced

into the pits for a new front wing.

On the lap 5 restart, Fife led from Purdie, Macrow, Webster and Golding.

A well-executed pass at the Turn 4 hairpin saw Macrow take second place and he was followed through by Webster – however, at Turn 6, Purdie braked later and reclaimed third.

Just a few corners later, the battle would come to a premature end. Trying to replicate Macrow’s move at the hairpin, Webster tagged Purdie and spun the South Australian around. Purdie could not get the car refired and it resulted in the deployment of another Safety Car. Webster was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident.

At this point Fife led Macrow, Webster Golding, Garwood, Ngatoa and Slade.

The race restarted on lap 13 with Fife somehow crossing the line with a significant lead over Macrow and, despite the gap diminishing in the final laps, he held on to take the win, in just his second S5000 race.

Macrow was still chasing and finished just 0.65s behind, with Golding rounding out the podium from Ngatoa.

Left: At a venue which punishes mistakes, Tim Macrow kept his cool and took the points.

Right: The new Versa Motorsport team, with youngster Cooper Webster, foreshadowed great things to come ...

Below right: Fast, but a single error in the finale cost James Golding in the re-liveried Valvoline GRM car, valuable points.

Images: Daniel Kalisz Photographer Despite serving his drive-through, Webster inherited fifth as Slade was slapped with a 30s-time penalty for the collision with his teammate on the opening lap.

In the closing laps, Garwood came to a halt due to a driveshaft failure.

It was a chaotic race and meant that the grid for Race 3 was muddled, with combined points setting the order for the feature.

Golding started from pole ahead of Macrow, Slade, Webster, Fife and Mawson – although with a short turnaround would the reigning champ make it onto the grid?

Temperatures were rising in the Team BRM garage as Mawson’s damaged machine did not return on the back of the truck following the conclusion of the S5000 race. In fact, it was not until the end of the following TCR Australia race that the car was returned, leaving the team less than 35 minutes to repair the car and get it back on track for the Feature Race.

It was tight turnaround – could they repair the car in time?

Yes they could ... Team BRM performed a miracle. The car was not perfect but Mawson would start from sixth.

As had been the case in the first two races it was the man on grid two who made the better start, Macrow taking the lead from Golding into Turn 1.

On the run down to Turn 4 Golding ran slightly to the right of Macrow and under brakes ran over cement dust placed on the ground after a crash in prior Trans Am race.

The GRM teamster locked up and had to take evasive action not to hit Macrow, and just managed to avoid the sand-trap – but he was now at the back of the field.

Once again, Webster had got Slade off the line and, after Golding’s mistake, found himself in p2.

Impressively Webster did not let Macrow out of his sights and remained within

touching distance of the experienced Victorian should he make a mistake.

Further back, Golding had passed Ngatoa and caught Purdie and Garwood.

On lap 16 at the hairpin Purdie ran slightly wide and allowed home state hero Garwood through. Golding also got Purdie down at Turn 6. Golding repeated the move on Garwood two laps later.

Garwood remained on the tail of his teammate briefly, but in the dirty air of Golding, made an error, locked up, and got beached in the Turn 4 gravel.

Fortunately, he race continued under double yellow at the hairpin, without a Safety Car, as there were only a handful of laps remaining.

It looked as if all positions had been decided, however there was one more twist in the tail – Slade came to a stop on the exit of Turn 4 (axle breakage) with one hand nearly on that third-place trophy.

Despite the pressure, Macrow held on to take the win by less than 0.8s from Webster, while Race 2 winner Fife inherited third from the stranded Slade.

Mawson stayed out of trouble in the final race and limped his bruised machine to the finish line in fourth ahead of Golding, Purdie and Ngatoa.

As a result of all of this Macrow also earned the round win and thus the championship

lead from Webster and rookie Fife.

Dan McCarthy STANDINGS: Macrow 104, Webster 91, Fife 80, Golding 79, Mawson 71, Ngatoa 51, Purdie 47, Slade 42, Garwood 16

Defending champion Joey Mawson got the Form700/Alabar car off the line best in Race 1, heading Golding and the equally fast-starting Webster into Turn 2.

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RACE TASMANIA - TRANS AM

BROOK BEGINS WITH A BANG

Above: Brook heads Herne and a congested Trans Am pack, and (right) ended up taking the points lead. Images: ARG/Kalisz/Angryman TWO FAMILIAR faces proved themselves as the men to beat in the 2022 National Trans Am Series, Tim Brook and Nathan Herne topping the standings after the first round at Symmons Plains Raceway.

Brook, who made it onto the series podium last year, took two deserved race victories in Tasmania to sit pretty in first place, while reigning champion Herne also scored a win in Race 2 to be right on his heels.

Wall Racing Ford Mustang driver Brook won the opening race from second on the grid, taking the lead of the race at Turn 1 from pole sitter Kyle Gurton before holding on to the finish line.

It was not plain sailing for Brook who had to hold the field at bay on two restarts and withstand an attack from the rapidly improving Gurton.

The race was interrupted by three Safety Cars.

The first was required to recover former Super2 driver and Trans Am rookie Jon McCorkindale who was beached in the gravel at Turn 6, while the second was for a grass fire at the same corner caused by Craig Scutella’s off-track excursion.

Indeed, the Safety Car would finish the race after Tim Shaw was tapped by Nash Morris on the exit of Turn 2 and spun into the Armco.

Herne produced a strong performance to round out the podium in his Valvoline Garry Rogers Motorsport Mustang.

Ben Grice and former V8 ute driver Elliott Barbour rounded out the top five.

Cody Burcher, Brett Holdsworth, Lochie Dalton, Dalton Ellery and Jett Johnson completed the 10.

Owen Kelly made an unscheduled stop under Safety Car and fell to the back of the field, recovering to finish in 12th, while Nic Carroll broke down when well inside the top 10 with a handful of laps remaining.

Herne took maximum points in the first

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race on Sunday, winning a shortened Race 2. The GRM talent leapfrogged polesitter Brook on the first lap and held his lead until a chaotic sixth lap forced a Safety Car period which brought the encounter to a premature end.

Ultimately it was an incident between Chris Sutton and Craig Scutella that would bring an end to the race.

As cars slowed to abide by yellow flag caution conditions at the hairpin, Sutton was too late on the brakes, rear-ending Scutella into the wall.

The Safety Car was activated to aid the clean-up of carnage, but the decision was made to produce the chequered flag after 12 laps.

Gurton and Grice earned podium finishes – the former went door-to-door with race leader Herne but was unable to complete the move.

Brook fell to fourth despite his ideal grid position and rookie Cody Burcher finished fifth.

Holdsworth was sixth while Dalton continued his impressive first appearance by coming home seventh.

Kelly, Ellery and Johnson rounded out the top 10.

Barbour looked likely for a top 10 finish until he overshot the first corner from fifth, joined by Jackson Rice shortly after. Both dropped to the back of the field as a result.

The yellow flags were also required when series newcomer Nash Morris took his turn to find the gravel, beaching his Supercheap Auto machine.

The final race of the weekend was ultimately a fizzer, Brook claiming a second victory as the Safety Car crossed the finish line first.

Brook won from fellow contender Herne and rookie Dalton, who recorded his first series podium.

There was very little green flag racing to complete the first Trans Am round, more

Defending champion Herne is a close second in the series after a chaotic Safety Car-punctuated Trans Am weekend.

chaos forcing the Safety Car to lead the field early.

Grice, Barbour, Burcher and Shaun Richardson were all caught up in the fracas, ruining their chances.

After the restart Brook and Herne pulled away before Michael Rowell smashed the front of his #15 Ford Mustang on lap 10 down pit straight.

The damage caused to his car prompted the second Safety Car, which dictated the rest of the race.

Ellery and youngster Johnson finished fourth and fifth.

Holdsworth was the quickest Camaro

driver again, in sixth, while Gurton continued his consistency over the first round with a seventh-place finish.

Edan Thornburrow, Nash Morris and Hugh McAlister all cracked the top 10 for the first round in the final race of the weekend, salvaging an otherwise disappointing start to the season for each.

Carroll’s luckless return to racing continued on Sunday afternoon – he was unable to cross the line due to a left rear tyre puncture on his Dodge Challenger.

Josh Nevett Points: Brook 192, Herne 190, Gurton 180, Dalton 169, Holdsworth 166

WEBSTER EXCELS AT SYMMONS

Image: Matthew Bissett FORMER TASMANIAN Hyundai Excel champion Josh Webster (pictured) was back to his best on the support program for Race Tasmania at Symmons Plains on February 12 and 13.

Missing most of last year’s Tasmanian championship due to competing interstate, Webster was keen to get back on familiar ground, with a much anticipated battle with newly crowned Tasmanian champion Charlie Parker.

The battle looked set to live up to expectations, with Parker qualifying fastest,

but only 0.26 secs quicker than Webster.

The opening race of the weekend saw Webster setting a new lap record on the second lap, but just four laps later, it all came unstuck horribly for Parker, who was tangled up in an incident in the Bucky Motors Hairpin, which saw his Excel badly damaged and on its roof, The race was declared and Parker awarded the win, but it was little consolation – with his weekend over virtually before it had started.

With Parker out for the weekend, Webster

was hardly challenged over the remaining four races, winning all four by a comfortable margin.

Jeremy Bennett showed plenty of speed and got to within one and a half seconds of Webster in Race Two, but the former Tasmanian champion appeared to have his measure.

Will Twining had a solid weekend, but wasn’t on the same pace as Webster and to a lesser extend Bennett, finishing the weekend with a sixth, two thirds and two fourths.

The progress of Jackson Shaw, who was involved in the Parker incident and missed the second race, and Victorian visitor Adam Bywater, who blew an engine in Race 1 and borrowed one to start Race 3 on the Sunday, proved entertaining as they each tried to work their through the field in Sunday’s three races.

After both missing Race 2 on Saturday, they each managed to score a podium (third) to show a glimpse of what they could have produced in different better circumstances. Martin Agatyn

O(TIS), WHAT AN (HQ) FEELING ...

FORMER TASMANIAN HQ Holden champion Otis Cordwell Anthony Viney hanging on for third. was back to his best on the support program for Race In Race 3,, Bird wore him like a glove, eventually forcing the Tasmania at Symmons Plains on February12 and 13. error on the last lap to take the win.

Although the field was missing regular front runners Cordwell was able to recover to finish second, almost four in reigning Tasmanian champion Phil Ashlin and former seconds behind, with Neville Rattray third after a mistake from champion Andrew Toth, Cordwell and former multiple Andrew Bennett on lap seven cost him a podium. champion Andrew Bird kept each other busy during the The fourth race was another reverse grid affair, but it weekend and the crowd entertained into the bargain. mattered little to Cordwell and Bird, with Cordwell hitting the Looking purely at the timesheets, you’d be forgiven for lead on lap four, with Bird to second half a lap later. thinking Cordwell dominated the meeting, but that was far Andrew Bennett made amends for his earlier faux pas and from the case.

Admittedly Cordwell and Bird were able to open early gaps on the rest of the field in most races, but once they started scrapping for the lead they came back to the pack and it wasn’t uncommon to see a five car train at the pointy end on more than one occasion.

The opening race set the scene for a classic HQ weekend with Cordwell leading early from Bird, who took the lead on lap six of 10, followed by several laps of dicing and swapping, before a photo-finish, with Cordwell getting the nod by just twohundredths of a second.

The second race was a reverse grid 10-lapper, with Cordwell elbowing his way into the lead by lap six, followed by Bird into second on the next lap.

The aforementioned swapping and dicing was on again for the next few laps before Cordwell edged away to win by three-tenths of a second, with front-marker and rookie Cordwell (71) runs a tight line inside Bird (34) at Turn 2. Image: Insyde Media

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kept within striking distance of Cordwell and Bird for all but the last lap and a half in a much improved performance for his first podium for the meeting.

The final outing for the weekend saw Cordwell lead from start to finish while Bird had his hands full holding off Bennett for the first three laps before exiting the track at the Buckby Motors Hairpin on lap three.

Bennett went on to snag his second podium for the weekend, from Joe Rattray, with Bird recovering to fifth, behind Anthony Viney. Martin Agatyn

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AMRS ROUND 1 - SMP

AMRS LIGHTS UP SUPER GT WIN STRATEGY AND luck were the key to Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter (pictured, above) in their victory in the Super GT 4 Hour, the feature event of the first Australian Motor Racing Series round at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 19.

They took their Lamborghini Huracan to a 1min win under lights over Matt Stoupas and Yassin Shahin in their very recently upgraded Audi R8 LMS EVO 2. One lap behind were David Crampton and Trent Harrison who turned in a stunning drive in the Trophy class KTM X-Bow GT2.

Despite a 30s penalty they held third by 7.3s over Michael Sheargold and Garth Waldon (Mercedes AMG). After a crash in practice with their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Indiran and Duvashen Padayachee borrowed a Porsche from Sheargold and came home fifth.

They were not the only casualties on Friday, as the MARC II of Geoff Taunton/Chris Pither had an engine failure and the Richard Gartner/Hadrian Morral Lamborghini REX skidded into the wall near pit entry.

The winners seized the opportunity to make their first of three mandatory pitstops when John Goodacre put the MARC V8 Mazda he was sharing with Jake Camilleri into the Turn 4 tyres. The Safety Car appeared just as the pit window opened.

Whilst the Huracan was in for its next stop, the Marcel Zallous/Sergio Pires Audi speared off at Turn 1 which brought out the second Safety Car. The latter pair rebounded to finish sixth ahead of the Porsches of Eric Constantinidis/Jacque Jargo and Matt McLellan/Drew Hall/David Wall.

The pre-race favourites and pole sitters were Vince Muriti and Luke Youlden in their AMG. The team pitted twice in in seemingly regulation style but neither stop was to the obligatory pit duration of 5mins plus transit time. A front suspension issue put them out shortly after.

TA2 MUSCLE CARS OVER FOUR races Nash Morris (pictured above right) was never headed while Jett Johnson recorded a quartet of seconds, and Michael Coulter made it a Mustang whitewash with third overall.

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In Race 1 Josh Haynes (Camaro) was second initially ahead of Dylan Thomas (Mustang). Haynes’s race ended on the second lap when the tailshaft broke after which Johnson hounded Thomas before he found a way past. Chris Pappas (Mustang) was next ahead of Zach Loscialpo (Camaro) and Russell Wright (Mustang) who started 22nd.

Thomas and Pappas came together at Turn 1 on the second race’s first lap and the ensuing check-ups saw several cars damaged, including Mark Crutcher (Mustang) who was tagged by Anthony Tenkate (Mustang) and Haynes who started last.

Wright jumped to second after the Safety Car but was too impetuous and was later penalised. In the meantime Johnson grabbed second off Wright who was relegated to 10th.

That elevated Loscialpo to third ahead of Coulter, Graham Cheney (Camaro) and Chris Formosa (Challenger).

Loscialpo jumped Johnson in race three, but only for a lap, and took third ahead of Coulter, Pappas, Thomas, Murray Kent (Camaro) and Chris Sutton who was on the comeback after a broken tie rod in Race 1. The race finished under a Safety Car for Wright who was off at Turn 3.

In Race 4, Loscialpo was ahead of Johnson and again only briefly. He was embroiled in a three-way scrap with Coulter and Thomas before a spin. Later, Haynes joined the dice and ultimately finished fourth behind Coulter and ahead of Thomas and Sutton.

KUMHO V8 CLASSICS FRESH FROM Toyota 86s and in his first taste of an ex-Supercar on slicks, Brad Vaughan piloted the Anderson Motorsport exFPR Ford Falcon FG to three wins. In another ex-FPR FG, Ray Hislop was second in each with Jim Pollicina third in the former Triple 8 Holden Commodore VE. Vaughan led throughout race one for a comfortable victory. Pollicina was challenged

by Hislop for many laps before he made a successful move. Fourth went to Jarred Danaher (FG) well ahead of Stuart Inwood (Falcon AU).

Pollicina won the first lap charge in Race

Image: John Morris

Image: AJ Green 2 and headed Vaughan and Hislop with Danaher fourth until an excursion at Turn 2 saw Inwood and Jason Foley (Falcon BF) get ahead. Pollicina continued to lead until he pinched a brake at Turn 8 where Vaughan grabbed the lead. After a Safety Car to retrieve the stranded Dereck Hocking VE, Hislop was able to nail Pollicina for second while Danaher retrieved fourth.

Vaughan led throughout the last. Hislop ran wide at Turn 1 and slipped from second to fifth before he came back to head Pollicina, Danaher, Foley and Inwood.

FORMULA 3 FORMULA FORD graduate Noah Sands won two of the three races and leads the championship. Overall, the Gilmour Racing Dallara F308/11 pilot finished ahead of Trent Grubel (Tim Macrow Racing Dallara F312) and Mitchell Neilson (F308/11).

The latter pressured Race 1 leader Sands, and glimpsed the lead at one stage before he became loose at Turn 11 and dropped behind Grubel who finished second. Ben Taylor (F308/11) was a close fourth ahead of R-Tek’s Andrew Roberts (F307) who stalled at the start.

Grubel led from start to finish in Race 2 and won ahead of Neilson, Max De Meyrick (F307) who had retired from Race 1 with a paddleshift issue. Sands had started poorly and finished fourth.

In the last, with Turn 1 under a local yellow due to track break-up, Sands pulled audacious passes on Neilson and then Grubel to take the win. Neilson had a moment and finished fourth behind De Meyrick.

THUNDER SPORTS IN HIS Chev Monte Carlo, Georg Kulig took the outright honours over Stephen Chilby

(OzTruck) and Cameron Mckee (Ford Falcon AU). Chilby won the first race ahead of Kulig with Danny Burgess (OzTruck) third. Kulig led the second race until contact with Chilby spun him. Chilby pitted with a loose bonnet which allow Brett Mitchell (OzTruck) to win ahead of Burgess while Kulig recovered for third.

Kulig was able to improve further to win the third when he passed Chilby late in the race.

Chilby had a lengthy duel with Mitchell earlier where he lost the lead briefly. Mitchell spun at Turn 8 but retained third ahead of McKee and Travis Condon (V8 Corolla). Kulig easily won a short last race although third across the line.

Chilby was first in front of Mitchell before both were penalised 30s. Chilby was given second ahead of Mckee and Mitchell.

STOCK CARS & INVITED OZTRUCKS FINISHED first, second and third overall in the three races as several Thunder Sports competitors performed double duties. Chilby topped the points over Mitchell and Robert Marchese.

James Burge was the fastest qualifier, but his OzTruck suffered a blown clutch and was out. That left Chilby the all-the-way first race winner ahead of Mitchell. Kulig was third across the line in his Chev Monte Carlo but was relegated by 30s for passing behind the Safety Car at a restart. Burgess picked up third ahead of Scott Nind (Ford Mustang) and a tight finish between Marchese and Corey Gurney (Pontiac Grand Prix).

Chilby repeated in Race 2, in which Burgess took second off Mitchell midway through.

Marchese was next ahead of Nind and Kulig.

The latter won the last easily and Mitchell just held off Marchese for second while Chilby came home fourth in front on Nind.

Garry O’Brien

THUNDERSTRUCK JEFF MORTON TOOK OUT THE 2022 EDITION OF TARGA HIGH COUNTRY IN DOMINANT FASHION, COASTING TO VICTORY IN HIS PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS ALONGSIDE CO-DRIVER DAYMON NICOLI

Images: Wishart Media

SYDNEYSIDER JEFF Morton (pictured, with co-driver Daymon Nicoli), who is a brain cancer survivor, led from the outset and built his margin right till the end, winning by 2m 24s from runner-up Angus Kennard (and co-driver Steve Glenney) in a 2015 Nissan GT-R. “We were here to enjoy this rally and we didn’t expect to be in the position we are in,” Morton said.

“It’s also valuable testing for us ahead of Targa Tasmania (April 26-May 1). There is no bigger test for a tyre than the Jamieson/ Eildon stages.

“I started at Targa High Country in 2016 and only got my racing licence 10 months before the event – we ended up doing TSD in my Lotus Elise and we ended up getting on the podium. I was hooked after that.

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“I had a third in High Country in 2018 behind Jason White and Matt Close in the Lotus Elise and I thought ‘I need to find a car that I could feel I could win in.’

“Going up Mt Buller on the last stage today, was just awesome as we felt really hooked up. To come over that line and have the amazing feeling of winning, I felt like I’m in a dream.”

Morton also won the MT Buller GT Outright category ahead of Kennard, with Tony Quinn and Kate Catford third in their 2018 Nissan GT-R. Third overall was the Early Modern 4 class 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X of Anthony Moss and Julie Hunter.

The event began in strong fashion for Morton and Nicoli, who raced out to a 38s after the opening day.

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The pair won all seven of Friday’s stages, declaring early that their car, known as ‘Red Thunder,’ was “built for these roads.”

Kennard and Glenney slotted into second, while the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R of Luke Anear and Andy Sarandis dropped out of third after encountering a mechanical problem close to the finish of the final stage.

Subsequently, Jason and Fiona Wright moved into third outright in their 2008 Nissan GT-R. Morton continued on his way to victory by completing the second day with an extended lead. He finished the day with a 1m 41s advantage over Kennard and Glenney, while Trevor Macleod and Ian Wheeler became the latest Nissan GT-R runners to join the front pack.

The procession continued into the final day, Morton and Nicoli running out victors.

In the Shannons Classic GT class, South Australians Roger Lomman and Anne Bainbridge were victorious in their 1972 Datsun 240Z after rivals Adam Kaplan and

Aleshia Penney (1988 Giocattolo Group B) broke a driveshaft on the final stage.

Melbourne pair Peter Gluskie and Samantha Winter topped Shannons Classic Handicap for the second consecutive year in their 1989 BMW 325.

Mark Griffith and Neill Woolley drove their 2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG A45 to a comfortable victory in Mansfield Shire GT Production.

Brisbane duo Paul and Claire Buccini led Early Modern 2 from start to finish in their 2008 BMW 135, while Anthony Moss and Julie Hunter won Early Modern 4 in their 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X. Matthew Gibbens and Timothy Jurd had to battle against stiff competition in GT Sports Trophy class, emerging victor in their 2020 Lotus Exige 410.

Stephen and Jack Gould took out the Thoroughbred Trophy in their 1985 BMW 323.

The next Targa event will be the 30th anniversary edition of Targa Tasmania, from April 26-May 1. Josh Nevett

Angus Kennard and Steve Glenney took out the runner-up spot ...

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NATIONALS WRAP

SPRINTS GET ONE-MAKE ACTION

Tom Shaw heads Justin Barnes in RX8 action.

Below: Tim Rowse shows the way in the Masters Excel category. Images: Phil Wisewould.

THREE RACE categories joined the Supersprint opener at Phillip Island on February 5-6 with the first rounds of RX8 Cup (at the circuit for the first time), Hyundai Excels in Trophy and Masters, as well as state Superkarts.

RX8 CUP FROM SECOND overall last year, Tom Shaw hopes to go one better in 2022 and he was off to the right start with victory in the first round. Shaw won all four races and took the points ahead of Matt Chick and Justin Barnes.

One of only few of the 21 to have driven PI previously, Shaw qualified fastest and won the first race although he was beaten off the start by Barnes. Shaw took the lead as they ended lap one and won by 4.0s.

Barnes had to ward off Jack Pennacchia, who was ultimately passed by Chick for third. Aiden Riley and Lachlan O’Hara followed, clear of Terry Lewis while Shannon McLaine’s weekend was over with a blown engine.

Barnes led Race 2 through the first lap before Shaw took over. Hiccups for Barnes cost him places to Chick and Pennacchia in successive laps and he finished fourth.

O’Hara was next ahead of Jackson Noakes and Tom Duncan.

Chick made the best Race 3 launch but dramas before Turn 1 relegated him to sixth. Shaw led at the end of lap one before Barnes grabbed the front running for the next three. Chick recovered to grab second while Barnes fell to fourth behind Noakes.

At the start of the final race Chick was again best and led for three laps before Shaw again asserted his weekend dominance. Barnes was able to displace Chick for second while Riley edged Noakes for fourth by 0.08s.

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NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien TROPHY EXCELS TWO RACE wins and a second gave Aaron Hindle the opening round of the HERA Championship ahead of Harry Tomkins who won the other race, and Hugo Simpson.

Hindle led the first race from the outset, ahead of Toby Waghorn and Ethan GriggGault both of whom had turns in the lead before Hindle was ahead at the end.

Tomkins put in a storming drive. He started at the rear and finished second while Simpson was third just in front of GriggGault, Waghorn and David Musgrave.

Tomkins continued his progress to lead the second outing and had several lead exchanges with Hindle before victory by 0.04s. In their wake Simpson held off Musgrave and Starr-Mckoy with Mason Kelly just behind the trio.

Race 3 saw Tomkins the first lap leader after which Hindle led for the remainder and took a narrow win, while Simpson maintained third throughout. Musgrave was fourth to past mid-distance, when Waghorn managed to get by.

MASTERS EXCELS VETERANS IN Tim Rowse and Jason Bargwanna duked it out for victory with honours going to the former with two races wins to one, as third place overall went to Larry Merifield.

Bargwanna took out the first race.

After he led the first lap and relented to Merifield on the second before he was back in front on the next circuit.

Rowse had a couple of lead turns before Bargwanna won ahead of Merifield and Rowse. Glenn Mackenzie stormed through from 12th early to be next in front of Joel Stafford and Boyd Simpson.

Rowse won the second after he trailed Bargwanna for the first two laps with Merifield third just ahead of Stafford. Boyd Simpson was on his own for fifth as Scott Appledore, Stuart Bruckner and Glenn Mackenzie who started from pitlane, followed.

It was a similar tale in the final, although Bargwanna did get another lap at the front before Rowse won. Merrifield picked up another third ahead of Mackenzie and Stafford. Antonio Venier came from outside the top ten to place sixth from Appledore and Simpson.

SUPERKARTS SIX CLASSES contested round one of the Victorian club championships, with Brad Tremain in his Woodgate Evo 2 125

Gearbox mount the outright winner of the four races.

Tremain led 22 laps and only in Race 1 was he headed. Jordie Ford blasted off to a big lead in his 250cc Anderson Maverick but after two laps was out for the weekend.

Colin McIntyre (Anderson) took over second until class rival Brad Stebbing (Anderson) pipped him on the last lap with Nick Schembri (125 Arrow) immediately behind.

The race for second in the next was also close as McIntyre edged Schembri and Gary Pegoraro (125 Arrow). The latter took the second place honours in Race 3 from McIntyre while, further back, Schembri headed Jack Wynack (125 Tony Kart).

Pegoraro was a clear second in the last for 125cc runner up while Wynack headed Schembri who was third.

Samuja Perera (Scorpian) came back from a Race 1 fourth to win the other three in the Non Gearbox Lights from Russ Occhipinti (Arrow). Martin Anderson (Scorpian) only had one NGB Heavy victory, but it was enough to get the points over Jeremy Crust (Arrow). In Stock Honda (Arrow) Jeff Duckworth had four wins.

SUMMER SUCCESS FOR ROBSON THE FINAL round of the Pheasant Wood Circuit Summer Series on February 6 was dominated by Tim Robson (pictured) in his Honda Civic. He topped qualifying and was the best of the category compliant cars in all three races which ensured he was the outright winner of the series.

The series, which caters for any four-cylinder, non-turbos cars, was joined by Michael Hazelton in his Mazda RX7, and he was the outright pacesetter, although only second in the grid decider for the first race.

While Hazelton sauntered away to clear win in the 15-lap opener, Robson led the Summer Series class

throughout. Stephen Doorey (Nissan Pulsar) was next clear of Pulsar drivers Gary Chick, Grant Bray, and Ian Green who were followed by Jack Riches (Subaru Impreza).

The second race was five laps longer, and Hazelton finished a lap ahead. Robson had a handy margin over Chick who grabbed third off Doorey on lap 14. Bray was fourth in the early laps before he ultimately placed fifth ahead of Riches.

After the start of the reverse grid 45-minute

Race 3, it was red flagged when Doorey was pushed wide at Turn 3 and hit the wall. After the restart it only took a little over a lap for Hazelton to go to the front, after which he put laps on the field.

Green was the leader at the end of lap one and was second for the next three. Robson took over from there to be clearly ahead of Bray in the end.

Matt Kiss (Impreza) finished fourth ahead of Green and Riches.

Garry O’Brien Image: Maximum Action Photography

ARUNDEL BEST IN WET AT A rain affected third round of the Whiteline Tarmac Rallysprint, Lance Arundel and Luke Job took their Subaru Impreza WRX to a win at Sydney Dragway on February 17.

A heavy thunderstorm delayed the event’s start with strong winds blew down barriers and rain lashed the venue. Once the skies cleared – at least temporarily, the very large field of 90 got under way. With construction of the Sydney Speedway finished, a longer

course was available.

Tim Blake and Peter Akers (WRX) took the first run from David Isaacs and Paul Pritchard (Mitsubishi EVO 9) and Arundel. The latter was best on the second run from Phil Heafey and Luke McFarlane (EVO 6) and Jack and John Hills (EVO 9). Heafey was able to run full wet rubber, while Arundel and Isaacs were on semi-slick rubber.

Run 3 went to Arundel, from Heafey, Blake, Hills and Josh Buchan and Lauren

Jack Monkhouse proved to be best of the 2WD entries. Image: Bruce Moxon.

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Thirkell (2WD Hyundai i30N). Other 2WD teams which set very fast times on this run were Jack Monkhouse and Andrew Crowley (Datsun 180B) and Brendan Reeves and Aaron Wishart (i30N).

Run 4 went to Heafey from Arundel and Buchan. The surface had dried slightly and times were on the improve, but another downpour moistened things up again and caused another delay. The event didn’t wrap up until after 11pm and

volunteers were still on-site at 2am.

Heafey had a transmission failure at the start of his last run. Arundel took the last run, from Isaacs and Monkhouse.

Times from each car’s best three runs counted, the end result was a win to Arundel by around 11.5s from Heafey and Blake. Best of the 2WDs was Monkhouse. First Junior crew were Andrew and Jamie Ericson in a welldriven Hyundai Excel.

Bruce Moxon

Image: Maximum Action Photography:

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SPEEDWAY NEWS

Matt Smith had to survive several early restarts and challenges to take the win. Top right: Desperately unlucky ... pole man Carson Macedo’s car failed to fire for the finale. Right below: Smith broke clear late in the race to cross the line unchallenged.

Images: Matthew Paul

SMITH STORMS TO NATIONAL SPEEDCAR CHAMPIONSHIP WHILE OTHERS fell around him, New South Welshman Matt Smith rose above 40 other competitors over two full nights of hard fought competition, featuring an American and New Zealand flavour. Smith added his name to a long and illustrious list of competitors as he crossed the finish line after 40 hard-fought laps at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway to claim the 80th running of the Australian Championship, presented by Speedcars Australia INC and the Queensland Speedcar Racing Association.

From the second the finalists rolled out, the drama began to unfold when the A1 Empire Machinery entry, piloted by the defending Australian Champion Carson Macedo refused to fire. Despite several attempts to rectify the mysterious mechanical issue by his hard working team, the Californian would have to watch from the infield as the 20 finalists rolled around to take the green.

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With the retirement of Macedo, newly crowned Queensland Champion Nathan Smee would inherit pole position alongside Rusty Whittaker, while Smith and Michael Kendall shared the second row. As the lights blazed green, Smee led the field away, while Smith quickly pounced to second, leaving Kendall and Whittaker to battle for third.

Sadly that’s where Whittaker’s run would end, as the pair touched coming out of Turn 2 on the second lap. Michael Stewart was left with nowhere to travel, also tagging the Kendall entry before spinning to a halt on the back chute. Both Whittaker and Stewart would take no further part.

Smee again led, while Smith showed his hand on the fifth lap, poking his nose in front.

The two would trade positions another three times on the single lap before Smee covered off to hold Smith at bay for another three laps. Smith had a second bite at the cherry

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles and, this time, the attempt proved successful as he forged his way to the front, opening a handy gap as the field began to space itself out. Smee knuckled in behind, fending off a charge from Kendall as the front runners settled into a rhythm – until Scott Falmer brought on the cautions by sliding into the Turn 2 wall. Farmer would resume from the back of the Indian file restart.

Smith, Smee and Kendall led the field away.

Travis Mills now threw his hat in the ring, making the most of the restart to pounce into third. Kaidon Brown also rounded up Kendall for fourth and then Mills for third as the yellows were back on, this time for Robbie Farr who was running eighth at the time of expiry.

Smith again led the field away – this time it would be with Smee and Brown occupying the top three and would stay that way until Smee tagged the Turn 2 wall which broke a steering component, leaving him to race down the back chute before smacking the Turn 3 wall and rolling the EMI N14 Eagle over and out of the event with just 12 laps to run.

The next restart would see the field space out evenly, with the majority of the field running the topside of the track until Farmer spun for the second time, bringing the field back together for the final stanza.

Photo 2: N70 Matt Smith over the finish line

THE A1 CROWN IS EAST COAST BOUND!

Smith again made the most of the open track ahead while, further back in traffic, Matt Jackson would soon join the list of retirees. Smith journeyed the N70 Precision Air Services entry towards victory, where Lane Brown and Mills would join the newly crowned champion in the celebrations.

Kendall hung on for fourth, followed by Troy Ware, Brock Dean, Dylan Menz, Brendan Palmer, Lachlan Paulger, Rob Stewart and Darren Dillon rounding out the finishers.

The 10-lap heat race wins were shared between Farr, M. Stewart, Lachy Paulger, Whittaker, Farmer, Kendall, Smith and Smee while the preliminary A Main was claimed by Michael Kendall. The final night heats were claimed by Bernard Clarke, Charlie Brown, M. Stewart, Smith, Menz, Macedo, Whittaker and Mills.

Macedo won the Gold Shootout to earn pole position, but his tilt would, as outlined, end as the car failed to fire while the cars lined up for the final. The South Australia 71 piloted by Ware won the last-chance B Main event.

Over the duration of the two night extravaganza, the Australian Speedcar

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Championship was well supported by a variety of seven different sections.

The well-travelled New South Welshman Jacob Jolley proved too strong in the 20-lap Wingless Sprints final with Jayden O’Toole and Michael Butcher sharing in the postrace spoils. Scott Phipps claimed the Stock Cars final over Kane Reinke and Scott Smith.

The Open A/Outlaw Sedans feature went to Les Eisenmenger while Keith Craft and Bob Ware placed for the minors. The reigning Australian Champion, Shane Munro was too strong in the Micro Sprints with Kaitlyn Field and John Lawson next.

Andrew Kimm proved the best amongst a small field of Lightning Sprints with Sean Iacono and Scott Genrich rounding the top three.

The Formula 500 feature provided plenty of thrills and spills as Tomas Partington went on to secure successive victories; Brodie Davis and Blake Matthews finished close behind.

Finally, Chay Corbet proved the best in the Formula 500 Junior ranks with Bailey Leeson and Charlie Bowen taking the final step on the podium.

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WITH THE ongoing Covid 19 restrictions and the uncertainty still surrounding the opening of Western Australian border to the rest of the nation, the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia (SCCA) after consultation with its state member clubs was left with no other option other than to tender out the running of the 59th Australian Sprintcar Championship from the Perth Motorplex. After the tender process, the event was awarded to Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway in Queensland.

Sadly, this is the second successive year running that the Perth Motorplex will miss the honour of hosting the prestigious national championship.

Despite their meticulous preparation in the lead-up to the event it would not have proven feasible to stick to the planned February time frame, or to push the date back to later in the season, due to the strict rules and uncertain time-frames laid out by the Western Australian government.

While the Motorplex management team were disappointed in the outcome, it was felt the decision to relocate the Australian Championship was in the best interests of both competitors and fans from all states and territories to have the greatest opportunity to participate in the event.

The newly scheduled event will be staged over two nights, with the preliminary heats and feature on Saturday April 30 and the last round of heats and the running of the alphabet finals climaxing with the A

Main event on Sunday May 1, with an emergency rain date set aside for Monday May 2. While not confirmed it is expected that the traditional Australian Sprintcar Championship dinner in conjunction with the popular Calcutta will be hosted earlier in the week.

As the relocation from west to east coast is in the infant stages of progressing, a naming rights sponsor has not yet been found – however the Archerfield management will actively try to secure one in lead up.

The nominations for the competitors will open in due process via the SCCA website.

The Australian championship has not run since the 2020 running of the event hosted by the Latrobe Speedway in Tasmania, won by Victorian Jamie Veal (who has since remained as the custodian of the A1 mantle as the event was Covid postponed last year). The last time the event was run at Brisbane’s Archerfield Raceway was in 2019 when local competitor Andrew Scheuerle added his name to the illustrious list scribed on the treasured golden trophy. Who will it be this time around?

Looking ahead, and all going well, the crown jewel in the Australian Speedway landscape is expected to return to Western Australia for the running of the 60th Australian Sprintcar Championship, hosted at the Perth Motorplex, in February 2023.

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SPEEDWAY NEWS

KENDRICK CLAIMS THE WA THE PERTH Motorplex fired into action with the running of the AAA Metal Recycling Pino Priolo Westernapolis – heading the show was the 2021-22 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series.

Going into the 30-lap feature event, series leader Jason Kendrick had been in stellar form, chalking up his seventh feature win from 12 meetings this season to extend his points lead to 38 points over Callum Williamson and Daniel Harding just a mere six points further back to round out the top trio.

At the drop of the green flag, Kendrick sling-shot his way around the outside to lead the field, although the red lights would soon be ablaze on just the second lap when Ryan Lancaster somersaulted heavily end-over-end down the back chute after touching wheels with the Mobil 1 W57 entry of Shaun Bradford exiting Turn 2. Lancaster’s W20 Camco Engineering entry was heavily damaged, having ripped a large chunk of clay out of the track which needed to be repaired before the recommencement of the race. Neither Lancaster nor Bradford would take further part and the luckless Jaydee Dack would also retire to the infield.

From the Indian file restart, Kendrick made the most of being the lead car and, with clear track ahead, was able to open a handy lead over Harding, AJ Nash and Co. By one-third race distance, Kendrick was masterfully negotiating the top side of the track, at times running just inches from the wall before catching the first of the back markers in Mitchell Wormall as the front runners sailed by without incident.

At half-race distance, Kendrick had opened a handy break from the rest. All eyes were on the battle for second, which began to tighten as Harding and Nash battled in close quarters. With 12 laps remaining, Nash dived under Harding in Turn 1 to command the second position and, with just 10 laps to run, the distance between lead trio was narrowing as the cars had ventured to the lower part of the track.

Over the next few laps, the top three evenly spaced themselves and, with just five laps remaining, Damon Kingshot had caught and slipped past Harding for third – who quickly fell back to sixth after Trent Pigdon and Callum Williamson sailed by deep in the journey.

Nash challenged the race leader in the closing stages but would have to settle for the runner-up position with Kendrick having him covered off as he greeted the chequered flag to claim the $5000 winner purse at the wheelhouse of the W11 Triple M entry.

Kingshot would join the lead duo on the podium giving the Krikke Motorsports team a pleasing result with third,

Jason Kendrick storms home to claim the Pino Priolo Westernapolis.

Images: Richard Hathaway.

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followed by Pigdon, Williamson and Harding rounding out the top half dozen. The Priolo brothers, David and Andrew, were next, followed by Bradley Maiolo and Trevor Jolly rounding off the top 10. Taylor Milling, James Inglis, Jason Pryde and Jack Williamson would all go the full 30-lap distance while one lap down was Mitchell Wormall.

Kendrick and Pigdon claimed the 8-lap heat races while Harding claimed the A Dash to secure Pole Position; the B Dash went to Kendrick. Milling secured the 6-lap Mid Track Madness Challenge and Nash was the fastest of the 19 competitors in qualifying, posting a time of 13.456 to take the Victory 1 Performance Quick Time award.

Brown Goes To Town Kodee Brown managed to keep a calm head while others fell around him in the incident plagued 30-lap Tony Giancola Late Models final.

While a full field of 20 competitors took the green flag, the competitors steadily fell away with multiple crashes, including a nasty incident when Graham Murray collided heavily with the spun car of Jay Cardy, with Warren Minshull the last car in on the second lap.

The feature continued to provide multiple racing incidents and restarts, marring the event. Brown would go on to win the 12th round of the Pro Dirt Series by a solid two second gap aboard the McCorry Brown Earthmoving 07 entry, with Brent Vosbergen and Warren Oldfield taking the final podium places. Michael Holmes, Jamie Oldfield, Veronica McCann and David Nylander were next, two laps down were Richard Wells and Glen Treloar.

Freddy Kinsella, Brown, Vosbergen and Paul Stubber each claimed a single victory from the 8-lap heat races.

Harding Hangs Tough The Johnny Fenton Speedcar feature was claimed by the ‘Super Sub’ Daniel Harding, who stepped into the W71 Daniel Golding entry, (Daniel was unable to attend due to his sister’s wedding). Harding was kept busy performing double duties on the night to claim the Speedcar feature and write his name in the record books as only the second competitor to claim a feature race win across five different sections at the Perth Motorplex.

Kodee Brown took the Late Model win.

Kaiden Manders challenged hard but would cross the line in the runner-up position with the hard-pressing Travis White rounding out the podium. Beau Doyle, Nicholas Rowe, Tyson Bryden and Cory Smith all finished on the 20th lap while one lap back was Gary Mann and Keenan Fleming.

Harding proved hard to beat, claiming two of the three heat races and Manders the remaining 7-lap affair.

Davies Dances To Victory Lane Despite several late-race stoppages Thomas Davies proved too strong over 15 other competitors as he raced to victory in the 15-lap Johnny Andersson Formula 500 Classic.

After a close finish, Matt Brown and Mark House shared the podium placings. Chris Dymock, Steven Ellement, Brendon Marshman, Todd Broadwood, Rhys Cumming, Bryan Sharpe, David Carstairs, Brendan Newmarch and Darren Wood rounded out the dozen to travel the journey.

Dymock and Thomas Davies shared the two heat race wins.

WESTERNAPOLIS

S77 Chris Evans and S28 Darryl Wright, former combatants on track, are now combining to sponsor the biggest 360 race of the year. Image: Paris Charles

AUSTRALIAN 360 SPRINTCAR CHAMPIONSHIP DESPITE THE unsettling effect of the Australian Open Sprintcar championship having to move states, all systems are go for the 17th running of the Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship.

Nominations are currently flowing in from around the nation – competitors will have until Sunday February 27 before nominations close.

The Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship will run as scheduled at the Murray Machining & Sheds Speedway, Murray Bridge, in South Australia over the weekend of Friday 25/Saturday 26 March. The event will be ‘dual’ presented

by Murray Machining & Sheds

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and Chris Evans Transport.

Both company owners – Darryl Wright and Chris Evans (as pictured) –are passionate supporters of this class, having both raced 360 Sprintcars in the inaugural years of the category after switching from the Open Sprintcar ranks.

In the lead-up to the most prestigious event of the 360 Sprintcar calendar, practice will be held on Thursday March 24 from 5 to 8pm, followed by a dinner and traditional Calcutta also at the track in the Ross Wright Function Centre.

The 2021 event was originally scheduled to run at the Murray Bridge venue but was

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postponed due to the ongoing Covid restrictions set at the time by the South Australian government.

Robbie Farr and Jamie Veal are the only two drivers to have won both the Open and 360 Championships. Ryan Jones is the most decorated driver in the division, having won four previous titles and, should he throw his hat in the ring, would be considered a strong chance to do so again at his home track.

Currently Brett Milburn is the caretaker of the crown having won the last national title event held in March 2020 at the Heytesbury Stockfeeds Simpson Speedway in Victoria.

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Across

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13. Without Whincup on the grid this year, who has the most race wins of anyone? (surname) 15. How old is Supercars full-time rookie Broc Feeney?

18. Who found himself without a drive after Peter Xiberras bought out Team Sydney? (surname) 20. Which popular ARG category will be a support race at Sydney Motorsport Park next month? (abbreviation) 21. Collectively how many Supercars Championships have been won by drivers on the grid?

22. How many Ford Mustangs will be on the grid?

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Images: Motorsport Images

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23. What number car will James Courtney drive in 2022?

24. Which team is the only single car outfit on the grid? (abbreviation) 26. Which New Zealander driver re-joins the championship? (surname) 27. Grove Racing hired the services of which driver to fill the second car alongside David Reynolds? (surname) 29. What city may host the Supercars Championship decider, depending on an election result?

1972 – FRANK MATICH launched himself into Tasman Series contention with victory at Warwick Farm, leaping to second in the standings. At the same event, the Holden Dealer Team’s new Holden XU-1 LJ Toranas suffered more teething problems – both Peter Brock and Colin Bond suffered tyre deflations, while ‘Stormin’ Norm Beechey announced a move to Ford for 1972.

6. What is the name of the new Supercars team which bought out Team Sydney?

7. How many races will be held at Albert Park this year?

9. Who will partner Will Brown at the Bathurst 1000 this year? (surname) 10. Who will drive the #55 Ford Mustang at Tickford? (surname) 11. At what track is the New Zealand round scheduled to be held?

12. How many cars will be on the grid this year?

14. What number car Broc Feeney going to race in this year?

16. Jake Kostecki joins Tickford Racing in 2022, what will be his cars title sponsor?

17. Will Davison will race for DJR in 2022, how many seasons has he raced for the team previously?

19. MSR will take on two different drivers, however one has raced for the team before, who is this? (surname) 25. What is the round number of the Australian Grand Prix weekend?

28. At what circuit will the Supercars Championship commence in 2022? (abbreviation)

1982 – DESPITE SPECULATION, it was announced that in 1982 former Formula 1 Champion Alan Jones would not race a Ford Falcon, and would instead join Ron Dickson’s team. The team would field two Chevy Camaro ZB8s, a 1980 model for Jones and the other for Dickson. Sandown Raceway was on the brink of death in 1982 due to safety standards and was forced to make improvements.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1992 – IN THE lead up to the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship it was announced that the legendary Holden V8 engine would be dropped in favour of Chevrolet’s motor ahead of the new regulations to be introduced in 1993. The Holden Racing Team planned to only contest three rounds in 1992, meaning that Peter Brock’s two-car outfit would be the only Holden squad to contest all rounds.

2002 – TWO-TIME AUSTRALIAN Touring Car Champion Glenn Seton announced his enduro driver for the 2002 endurance season – a young Owen Kelly. It was hoped that a new sponsor would see the one-car team return to its former glory years in the late 90s. Ferrari elected to remain with the 2001 Formula 1 machine for the start of the season amid speculation of ineligibility in its car.

2012 – AHEAD OF his fourth NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Marcos Ambrose claimed that he could win on ovals. The year before, the Tasmanian had broken through to win at Watkins Glen but was ready to throw away his ‘road racer’ tag and take a victory on an oval.

Speculation was mounting that Todd Kelly would hang up his boots at the end of 2012 to focus on the switch to Nissan Altimas in 2013.

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