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MICK DOOHAN LIFE AND TIMES OF A REAL RACER

ADELAIDE’S BACK! CHANGE OF SA GOVERNMENT REBOOTS THE GREAT STREET RACE!

FERRARI POWER

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ADELAIDE ALIVE

SA GOVERNMENT CHANGE GETS SUPERCARS BACK ON TRACK

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By Paul Gover and Dan McCarthy TWO YEARS of Covid misery has ended with news that the Adelaide 500 will return to the Supercars championship in December.

After a long series of hits, setbacks and losses, the win by Peter Malinauskas in the South Australian state election last weekend was the best possible news at the start of the 2022 season.

His appointment as the state’s new Premier has sparked a flat-out rush to get the classic Adelaide street race back on track for December 1-4 and widespread celebrations throughout the motorsport world.

“That event is coming back,” Malinauskas confirmed in his first public appearance as Premier.

“It brings our city alive in a way that economically is needed now more than ever.”

The ousting of former Premier Steven Marshall means his policy, which killed the Adelaide 500 in favour of more ‘artistic’ events, will quickly be reversed.

It will also mean the reformation of the SA Motorsport Board and the return of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

But there is some bad news, as the injection of Adelaide into Supercars season 2022 almost certainly means the loss of Newcastle.

Teams were told at Sydney Motorsport Park to expect a cancellation of the street race

in Newcastle this year, following a decision not to go ahead with its planned running as the first round of the ’22 season because of uncertainties over track construction and a potential Covid hit on the attendance.

There are many questions hovering around the Adelaide event, from the infrastructure needed, to complaints in the city about traffic disruption.

But the new CEO of Supercars, Shane Howard, cannot disguise his happiness.

“Congratulations to Peter Malinauskas and his team in winning the election,” he says.

“We now look forward to working together to deliver the Adelaide 500 on the streets of Adelaide in December in what will be a spectacular season finale.

“I don’t want to get into any detail. There is a lot of work that’s got to happen now.”

Malinauskas, who flew to Supercars headquarters in Sydney as soon as Premier Marshall cancelled the Adelaide 500 – and signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to bring it back from the dead – is also working on the new partnership.

“I look forward to working with Shane Howard and Supercars to bring back the Adelaide 500 in December,” he says.

“We are excited about bringing back this major event to the streets of Adelaide and making it bigger and better than ever.”

One of the first Supercars insiders to welcome the Malinauskas win was Nick Percat, who grew up in Adelaide and also won the Adelaide 500.

“Everyone fought so hard to get this race back. It’s a massive win for Supercars and all the support categories,” Percat says.

“I definitely think we should be celebrating as a sport. I think it will take a little bit for it to sink in.”

“I think we didn’t realise how big the race was until it was gone. And now it’s coming back,” says Percat.

“It’s huge for motorsport in South Australia to have a return of the event that myself and so many other drivers dreamed about racing.

I had my first race there in Formula Ford in 2005, I won there in Super2, got pole position in Cup Car and Super2, and then won in the main game. I’m very, very happy.”

Another happy Adelaide local is Mike Drewer, who has been involved with the city’s street race since the Formula One era in the 1980s and recently met with Malinauskas.

He confirms the intention to re-establish the SA Motorsport Board, which was dissolved by the Marshall government, as well as positive moves on the infrastructure needed for the race.

“South Australia took an enormous hit when we lost the GP. Then he (Marshall) shot us in the foot.”

Drewer is a supporter of this year’s race date, December 1-4, and its position as the final race of the season.

“It worked well having Formula One as the last round. I reckon it’s going to be great. And there is a chance of a title decider,” he says.

In addition to the Supercars carnival, organisers of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in the Victoria Park precinct, have already confirmed a return of their event.

It is now scheduled for November 23-27 and will include the Shannons Adelaide Rally, which was the largest of its kind in the world in 2021.

The focus at the Festival is F1 cars from the Adelaide era, but there are also vehicle displays, a parade through the city on Friday evening, and a new High Beam activation with live music acts and the Sundown Showdown with on-track action and a gathering of high-performance vehicles.

“We’re delighted to have the chance to bring the Adelaide Motorsport Festival back for South Australians,” says Event Director Tim Possingham.

“Adelaide has an unmatched pedigree in motorsport and we’re excited about celebrating that once again in the heart of the city. AMF was a fast-growing event that had gathered international attention and a strong local following and we’ll be building on that in the coming years, starting this November.”

UP COMING RACE EVENT CALENDAR Brought to you by www.speedflow.com.au SUPERCARS RD 2 TASMANIA MARCH 25-27 • FORMULA 1 RD 2 SAUDI ARABIA MARCH 26-28 • NASCAR RD 6 COTA MARCH 28 • MOTOGP RD 3 ARGENTINA APRIL 2-4 • NASCAR RD 7 RICHMOND APRIL 4

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NO TITLE TILT WORRIES FOR MOSTERT

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SERIES LEADER IS TAKING THE SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP ONE RACE AT A TIME

By Paul Gover, News Editor RACE WINS are all that count for Chaz Mostert as he leads the Supercars series across Bass Straight to Symmons Plains.

Mostert has the title leader’s orange number on his WAU Commodore, and is fresh from a Bathurst victory and a win at Sydney Motorsport Park, but those results mean nothing to him.

Even his first win with WAU last year at Symmons Plains is deeply into the rear-view mirror.

Instead, he is focussed on only one thing.

“I just think about wins. I don’t think about the championship,” Mostert tells Auto Action.

“The points will be what the points will be.”

Mostert’s low-key approach to the championship is even reflected in his hair colour, which has lost the bright green ’teal’ of his sponsor Optus in favour of a more ‘ordinary’ blonde.

“My hair needs a break from colour. It’s going to fall out if I don’t give it a rest. It’s back to standard,” Mostert jokes.

But there is no break from the championship pressure, or the expectation for a driver and WAU crew who have jumped into the leading battle pack for season 2022.

“Overall, I’m pretty excited to go back there,” he begins.

“Obviously we won a race there last year. And not just any race. It was the first one with the new combination at Walkinshaw Andretti United.”

Like anyone looking to win in Supercars, Mostert has his focus – especially at the drag strip called Symmons Plains – on qualifying.

“The car was pretty speedy there. But it’s a track that really rewards good qualifying and that’s something we’ve struggled with a bit. Hopefully we’ve made some improvements.

“The guy out front has a clear advantage. Qualifying rewards the guy who starts on pole and gets clean air.

“Our tyres, or our cars, are very sensitive to front-tyre temperature. The guy who gets the coolest tyres is the one out in front.

“Having the super-soft Dunlop also throws another spanner into the mix …”

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But Mostert also knows that qualifying has been the weakness of the WAU package, despite the efforts of himself and his ace engineer Adam Debore.

“We’ve still got issues with qualifying. I think we need to get in the race through qualifying.

“With race pace we’re pretty plausible. But we need to make improvement if we’re going to challenge, week-in and weekout, for wins.”

Looking at his recent form, and despite the win last year in Tasmania, Mostert is reluctant to make any predictions.

“Bathurst is hard to read into. And SMP is such a hard track, which requires something different. It’s fast and flowing, but the grip is so low.

“Going to Tassie, everyone has the same mindset. I don’t think there will be anyone with a straight-line advantage. I won’t know what we’ve got.”

Even so, he is looking forward to finally getting back on the campaign trail after the pandemic restrictions.

“It feels like we haven’t been there forever. We’ve done lots of races, but it’s all been at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“Going to Tassie will be cool, and to have the new coloured number on the car as championship leader will be cool.”

Even so, Mostert has his eye on Shane van Gisbergen as the benchmark in Supercars and the winner of the other race on the opening weekend of season 2022.

“Look what Shane did to everyone last year. The days of cruising through the championship and running fifth or something, back in the days of Rick Kelly, are gone. You don’t win the title that way. It just doesn’t happen in this era.”

And his final prediction for Symmons Plains?

“I don’t expect to come out of there leading the championship,” Mostert says simply.

KOSTECKI REPORTS GEN3 COMFORT PROGRESSION BRODIE KOSTECKI became the first driver to cut laps in Supercars’ Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro since it has undergone ergonomic changes, and the driver reported very positive feedback.

For several weeks, both the Gen3 Camaro and Ford Mustang prototypes were out of action as drivers expressed a lot of discomfort behind the wheel, so Supercars elected to temporarily halt testing of the prototypes.

Kostecki happily reported from Queensland Raceway that, from his point of view, the ergonomic changes have been successful, making it a lot more comfortable to drive over the duration of the test day.

“A few of us struggled with a few ergonomic things within the car last time we were out here,” the Erebus Motorsport driver said during the test.

“It’s great that the guys and girls at Supercars have worked hard to make sure that we’re nice and comfortable when we drive so we can be on full attack mode while we’re out there.

“I’ve only done a few laps so far, but it’s been a lot better on the inside that’s for sure.

“It seems that all the problems have been solved for me so far, I’m pretty happy inside the car, (but) I’ll never say no to laps, that’s for sure.”

As well as the ergonomics, it was the first time that the sequential gearbox ran in the Camaro, something that Kostecki was pleased to have back.

“I definitely like that the stick shift is back in there and puts more into the driver’s hand,” Kostecki admitted. “It’s great to have it back,

Image: Horsburgh/Supercars and I’m glad to see that Supercars really listened to the direction of the fans as well.

“A few of us call it the ‘oh shit’ handle when we’re going for a bit of a pass. I was a bit lost the last time I was driving the Camaro, so it’s great that I’ve got something to grab onto while I’m driving around,” he laughed.

Kostecki explained that there were several other changes on and within the Gen3 Camaro since it went into brief hibernation for some updates.

“There’s been a few other changes as well within the engine, the driveability and just having the stick shift in there as well throws

LOCAL FLAVOUR FOR BATHURST 12 HOUR

PLANS FOR PRO CLASS TO RETURN IN ‘23

By Josh Nevett THE RETURN of the Bathurst 12 Hour after its cancellation in 2021 will not quite mark a resumption of normal service, as the field is set to be made up of predominantly local drivers this year.

The Mount Panorama enduro usually attracts some of the biggest names in GT racing from across the globe, entries coming from Europe, Asia and the United States.

That will not be the case this year though, as a scheduling clash and ongoing COVID concerns have ruled out several international players.

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours will host a round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup over the same May 13-15 dates as the Bathurst 12 Hour, creating a headache for teams.

Covid-19 is also still said to be a factor, despite Australia’s open stance to border restrictions at this stage of the pandemic.

Speaking with Auto Action during the GT World Challenge Australia season opener at Phillip Island, Founder and CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group, Stephane Ratel explained the situation.

“With the international prestige of the Bathurst 12 Hour, this year we know it can’t run normally,” Ratel said.

“It clashes with one of our European races, which is very successful this year, and we have a very strong field in the European leg.

“There will be some international teams for

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a few spanners in the works, it’s been really good so far,” he said.

The Camaro will be seen publicly for the first time since the Bathurst 1000 this weekend in Tasmania where it will sport a new Chevrolet Racing livery.

Dan McCarthy

Image: Ross Gibb Photography sure, or at least international drivers coming to join the Australian teams, but I can’t tell you exactly who they are right now.

“The event should be restored as a very key event for top international teams, drivers and manufacturer involvement as soon as possible.”

German Audi driver Christopher Mies, who has competed in the Bathurst 12 Hour and won the Australian GT Championship, is one of the drivers impacted by the scheduling clash.

Speaking after his win alongside Yassir Shahin at Phillip Island, the 32-year-old was yet unsure whether he would make it over.

“I don’t know yet to be honest, because on the same weekend, we have a GT sprint in France,” Mies said.

“Obviously my wish, my goal is to be at the 12 Hour but nothing is confirmed.

“It’s a lot easier to travel over now in terms of COVID – basically you guys went from being

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super strict to nothing at all anymore.

“The only thing stopping drivers could be the racing season in Europe, which clashes with this event.”

Stephen Grove confirmed to AA that his Grove Racing team will welcome an overseas driver for the 2022 enduro, locking in Brit Ben Barker for his seventh start.

A four-time Bathurst 12 Hour class winner, Barker has spent the past six years in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Elsewhere foreign stars will be scarce though, Grove expecting many of Australia’s touring car racers to step up to the plate.

“Ben Barker will come over and drive with us again. We get along really well with him – he has been with the team for years,” Grove said.

“I don’t think any Porsche factory drivers will be coming. It will be a mostly local field, quite a few Supercar drivers.”

With Dan McCarthy

INTENTIONS ARE for the Bathurst 12 Hour Pro class to return in 2023, as changes have been made for the top class to be Pro Am in this year’s edition of the race.

The Pro class was dropped due to Image: LAT continual quarantine requirements and global freight challenges that were holding back international entrants.

In May, each entry has to run at least one ‘amateur’ driver in the race – for example Triple Eight Race Engineering is fielding a Mercedes AMG GT3 for ‘professionals’ Shane van Gisbergen, Broc Feeney and ‘Am’ driver Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

In previous years, the Supercars Championship front-runners have run all Pro entries most recently Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and GT ace Maximilian Gotz.

The Bathurst 12 Hour is run by the SRO Motorsport Group and its founder and president Stephane Ratel (pictured above) told Auto Action that it intends to see the Bathurst 12 Hour fought amongst all Pro teams.

“I believe it should be,” Ratel said to AA. “If we want to attract more manufacturer presence, but we will need to see who’s committed to it, to completely confirm that, but the idea would be to do that.”

In years gone by, the Bathurst 12 Hour has been the traditional series opener for the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Although he admits that this year’s event won’t quite be the same, he is very confident of a more normal event going ahead in 2023.

“But we hope to restore the series to its traditional calendar fully in 2023 and starting with the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour, with full of manufacturers support and a grid of great quality,” he said. Dan McCarthy

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ALBERT PARK LOOKING GOOD NEW ERA IN FORMULA ONE POINTS TO A REAL RACE IN MELBOURNE

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE BOSS of the Australian Grand Prix is predicting a Formula One belter in 2022.

The Ferrari 1-2 in Bahrain points to a bumper attendance, with the Tifosi heading to Albert Park, as race day is already a sellout and the four-day attendance is heading for the best total since the heady days when Michael Schumacher was the big drawcard for the AGP. “It’s looking like an exceptional start to the season,” says the CEO of the AGP, Andrew Westacott.

“There are some really good stories. Haas getting more points from one race than they have for the past few years, and Zhou Guanyu getting points in his first race with Alfa Romeo.

“Even for Daniel Ricciardo, if he is going to struggle at the moment, it’s good that we have two red cars at the front.”

Westacott says more than 1000 people are on-site at Albert Park, finalising preparations with only a fortnight until lights-out in Australia.

“It will be a cracker. I love newness and I love freshness. This year has it all,” Westacott says.

“We’ve got a three-year whammy here. We haven’t hosted Formula One on-track for over 1100 days. No-one has experienced a Sunday of F1 since 2019.”

Westacott reports near-record pre-sales and believes 2022 could be the second-best overall attendance since the record of 401,000 was set at the first Melbourne GP in 1996.

“Not since the halcyon days with Michael Schumacher, and the newness of the event first coming to Melbourne, have we seen such a high level of popularity and interest,” he says.

“We could get 400,000. Depending on the Thursday attendance, with optimal conditions and a strong Ferrari presence, it could be one of the top two or three attendances. The biggest three numbers were 401,000, 372,000 and 370,000.

Images: MNotorsport Images “The big years were 1996, 2001, 2002 and 2005. Apart from the first year, all of those were probably the Schumacher years.”

But Westacott believes it is important not to get too focussed on the attendance.

“We could have probably sold 150,000 tickets for Sunday, but we can’t be greedy.

We have to make sure everything works.

And that people have a great experience,” he says.

“It’s much better having 115,000 to 125,000 every day, because you get a level playing field.”

Westacott says the Covid break in the AGP

record has allowed a range of improvements and updates, from track revisions to promote more passing to new corporate areas on the high-speed run down the far side of the lake in Albert Park.

“Everywhere you look, there is something new at the circuit. It really does promise to be very spectacular. We have a new facility at the old chicane called Slipstream.

“We’ve got a massively increased build across the three big pieces of infrastructure, including grandstands and even big screens.

We’ve had to stretch the build out a b it

NO JUSTIFICATION FOR MASI SACKING THE SACKING of Michael Masi as Race Director in Formula One has been thrown into more doubt by the official FIA investigation into the controversial finish of last year’s world championship.

Masi was dumped by the new head of the FIA, Mohammed ben Sulayem, before full details of the investigation were made public.

Masi is rarely named anywhere in the full document and F1 insiders believe he was not even interviewed during the probe.

The official FIA summary re-visits the extraordinary pressure on Masi in Race Control and his huge workload and responsibilities.

“It was also considered that the decisions regarding the Safety Car at the end of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix likely took into account previous discussions that made clear the Formula 1 Stakeholders (FIA, Formula 1, Teams and Drivers) preference to end races under green flag racing conditions, rather than behind a safety car, when safe to do so,” it says.

“In combination with the objective to

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finish under green flag racing conditions applied throughout the 2021 season, the report finds that the Race Director was acting in good faith and to the best of his knowledge given the difficult circumstances, particularly acknowledging the significant time constraints for decisions to be made and the immense pressure being applied by the teams,” it says.

“The role of the Race Director is by nature demanding and high-pressured. However, a recurrent theme in the detailed analysis and clarification exercise was a concern that the number of roles and responsibilities of the race director that have accumulated over the years might be adding additional pressure to the role.”

There is no clear picture yet of Masi’s future plans, although he is unlikely to be continuing at the FIA despite promises of a new job offer.

He is more likely to negotiate a settlement package and return to Australia to rebuild his confidence and professional reputation.

Digging into the detail of the report reveals Masi’s huge workload, which is

Image: Motorsport Images beingsplitamong more than six people during 2022.

“From 1997 to 2019, the role of race director was held by Charlie Whiting. Following Mr Whiting’s death in March 2019, Michael Masi was appointed as the new race director. Mr Masi had previously held the role of deputy race director for F1, F2 and F3 from 2018.

Mr Masi also took over Mr Whiting’s roles of safety delegate and (from 2021) single-seater sporting director.

“Suggestions made by the F1 Commission, and those interviewed, included that some of the race director’s responsibilities should be divided and assigned to other persons to reduce the workload of the race director and

because the reduced workforces across Australia mean we don’t have the peak workforces. It’s been slightly number of weeks.

“But we’ve overcome that and it will be ready on the day.”

Away from Formula One, Westacott believes the packed program through the four-day meeting will also deliver the right entertainment for fans.

“As well as seeing the Supercars every day, we’ve got S5000 and a new fleet of Carrera Cup cars out for the first time.”

allow them to focus on their key functions, including managing and controlling the race.”

The investigation also reports on the extraordinary radio communications between the pitlane and Race Control on 2021.

“Much of the debate centred around the purpose and appropriateness of those communications and whether in-race communications between the F1 teams and the race director should be broadcasted or even permitted at all.

“The consensus of those involved in the detailed analysis and clarification exercise was that the respective communications to the race director by the Red Bull Racing and Mercedes team principals during the final laps of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP had a negative impact on the smooth running of the final laps because they were distracting when the race director needed to focus on making difficult and time-pressured decisions.

“It was found that these communications were neither necessary nor helpful to the smooth running of the race. Rather, the consensus was that they add pressure to the race director at a critical time . . . and might seek to influence (whether directly or indirectly, or intentionally or unintentionally) the decisions made by the Race Director.”

Paul Gover

BROADCAST BOSS BEAMING TO THE WORLD

SUPERLICENCE RULE CHANGE ON THE WAY MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has confirmed it is in the process of making a subtle change to the Superlicence points system, which will have a big effect on the allocation of Superlicences going forward.

Currently, to hold a Superlicence, drivers must satisfy the following criteria: Hold a minimum of an FIA International Grade C licence; be a minimum of 17 years of age; and accumulate a minimum of 13 points under either the FIA or Motorsport Australia Superlicence points system during the 5 years prior to the application.

However, a clause added some 15 months ago insists that they also must have done one of the following: Finish in the top six of the final classification of the previous year’s Supercars Australia Super2 Series, have competed in a minimum of three rounds of the Supercars Championship within the last five years or have competed in a minimum of six rounds of the Supercars Super2 Series within the last three years.

Motorsport Australia is now making changes to delete the additional clause, essentially meaning that if you are over 17 years of age and have accumulated the 13 points then you are entitled to a Superlicence without any Super2 experience.

Motorsport Australia Chief Executive Officer Eugene Arocca confirmed the news.

“My understanding is that our team has been working on a draft to exclude that qualification as a specific part of the Superlicence requirements.

“That will be a qualification that may be required by Supercars for their own drivers to get involved at that level.”

So while MA has stepped back from the ‘Super2’ compulsion, it will require similar co-operation from Supercars – hopefully forthcoming – to fully free up the Superlicence acquisitiopn process.

Dan McCarthy

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SUPERLICENCE CHANGE TO HELP NATIONAL MOTOR RACING

THIS SUPERLICENCE change is potentially good news for high level categories such as the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and the S5000 Drivers’ Championship, as they can be used as a pathway to a MA Superlicence without the compulsion of racing in Supercars second-tier Super2 Series.

This means the likes of S5000 drivers Joey Mawson or Nathan Herne should now be able to get a Superlicence without dispensation, (although it is possible Supercars might choose to require its own ‘qualifying clause’).

Australia Racing Group co-owner and Supercars Championship Board member Barry Rogers felt it was a very positive decision.

“I really think this licensing matter will help because we talk to a lot of young drivers, and of course they talk to Supercars teams and they all get told you’ve got to drive a Super2 car,” Rogers told Auto Action.

“I watched Formula Ford yesterday (at Phillip Island) providing really, really high quality racing.

“Those guys will be able to dream that they can get to Supercars without having to spend half a million dollars or more in

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Super2. I think that’s a good move, a really, really good move by Motorsport Australia to let these young kids go on a pathway that they choose.”

S5000 founder and category development manager Chris Lambden is very hopeful this potential licence rule chance will boost grid numbers.

“With the Superlicence rules hopefully relaxed a bit, as they should be, that helps us,” he told Auto Action.

“There are a number of categories in racing, that if you’re running up front and you’re doing well, you’ve got what it takes, frankly.

“As it has stood, you had to do Super2.

There’s no problem with Super2 being a pathway category but not the pathway.

“We’ve had young guys who wanted to do S5000 whose sponsors pushed them towards Super2 bcause they had to if they were dreaming of a Supercars career.

“If this change is verified, someone might pop up now with a co-drive at Bathurst for Joey Mawson and he’d be able to do it – and he’d probably quite good ...” Dan McCarthy

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NATHAN PRENDERGAST is giving up Supercars for a new challenge in the FIM World Supercross Championship and a broadcast battle on the world stage.

He is taking a pivotal position in an all-new promotional team formed by the former firebrand of Supercars, Tony Cochrane, through his company SX Global.

Prendergast will set up and run the broadcast side of the new championship, which begins relatively late this year but is expected to grow rapidly in 2023 and beyond.

His departure from Supercars Television is the first major shock following the ownership change to the RACE consortium, although Prendergast says it did not influence or trigger his move.

“I’ve had an urge for a long time to do something globally,” Prendergast tells Auto Action.

“So I’m going to the FIM World Supercross Championship with TC and the boys. It’s a global venture.

“It’s very rare that you can take on a global opportunity and stayed based in Australia. This allows me to do that.

“It appeals to the ‘jazz hands’ side of me. And Tony is a pretty influential and exciting entrepreneur that I’ve know since the early days of Supercars.”

Prendergast has served 18 years on the touring car broadcast, rising from the ranks to control the reigns – and cameras and budgeting and all the rest – with a team of around 50 people.

His life in motorsport began in drag racing and he has also returned to those roots this year by helping to promote and broadcast the Australian Top Fuel championship.

The new move, he says, is a big challenge with a big payback.

“When you’re being courted for a role, especially something global, you’re usually inheriting someone else’s dream. In this case, they are empowering my dream to see what the broadcast will look like. That is very rare.”

But it’s not new for Prendergast, who has done twowheeled motorsport in the past.

“I’ve done five years of the Supercross Open. I have a clear understanding of what we’re walking into and I think we can make some good things.”

His last race with Supercars will be Darwin in June, thanks to a shortened World Supercross calendar for 2022.

“Initially it will be only five or six rounds towards the end of the year. The focus will be on the US,” he says.

“I’ll go back on the tools and actually direct this first season. I think that’s the smartest move, and the best way to tell the story.”

But things will expand rapidly, and he shares Cochrane’s vision for the future.

“The appeal is that it is an incredible stadium action sport. It’s almost made for television.

“It’s got huge global appeal. There are 338 stadiums around the world that are capable of running it. It’s probably more niche in Australia than anywhere else.

“It’s basically an extreme sport that you race. It’s fairly high risk. And because of the nature of stadium-based presentation, I can be heavily involved.”

Prendergast also sees MX moving rapidly out of its heartland in the USA. “Traditionally, what has been considered a world championship was really winning the American AMA championship.

“Now we’re talking Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Paris, LA. As good as the AMA series is, it is primarily still a motocross product.

“In time it will be a true annual calendar of events that will have the world’s best riders competing all over the world. And I’m in on the ground floor.” Paul Gover

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IN TASMANIA, the second round of the Supercars Championship, the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prototype will roll out with a brand-new livery. The Camaro will certainly look the part, taking on a black and gold Chevrolet paint scheme that will stand out around the 2.4km Symmons Plains Raceway. It is now less than 12 months until the Gen3 Camaro and Ford Mustang will make their race debut in 2023. DM

DEAN FIORE will partner Bryce Fullwood in the 2022 edition of the Bathurst 1000, the pair locked in to steer the #14 Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore at Mount Panorama. Fiore co-drove for BJR in 2021 alongside Todd Hazlewood to finish 8th and has scored a total of four top 10 Bathurst finishes since 2016. The 38-year-old competed full-time in the Supercars Championship between 2009-2013 but has appeared sporadically since despite suiting up for Bathurst every year. JN

JORDAN BOYS and Dale Wood have been named as two of Brad Jones Racing’s co-drivers for the Bathurst 1000. Wood was always expected to link back up with the Albury-based, having signed a two-year deal with them last year. However, it has now been confirmed that he will team up with the teams lead driver in Andre Heimgartner in the #8 R&J Batteries Commodore. RV

BLANCHARD FEELS PITSTOPS WILL TAKE TIME TIM BLANCHARD, team principal of the Blanchard Racing Team is confident that the outfit’s pitstops will be better come the second round of the Supercars Championship this weekend at Symmons Plains.

It is a new era for the Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) – in just its second year it has moved from Tickord to Herrod built engines, while an expansion of team cars elsewhere has seen them move down the pit lane to their own pit boom.

This means that for the first time, BRT is required to get the entirety of the pitstop crew sorted, something that cost them time in Round 1.

At Sydney Motorsport Park, the BRT crew lost time in the pitstops – it could have been a lot worse had the team not been putting fuel in at the time.

In Tasmania, a sprint round, fuel is not required and means that if the crew is slow with tyres, it will cost its driver Tim Slade time on track.

Blanchard is not too concerned; he understands the pitstops will take time to get perfect as such a new team on the grid.

“We’re in our second year,” Blanchard said to Auto Action. “That’s the first time we’ve had to do our own pitstops.

“There’s quite a few procedural things and training things; most of our guys have not done pitstops before, or have minimal experience in pitstops and all of the equipment’s brand new so. it’s kind of frustrating, but it was probably inevitable and we’re building in our second year – this is a new thing we’ve had to take on, and it’ll take a little bit of time to get on top of.”

Blanchard is confident the slow stops were more down to the equipment than

Image: Motorsport Images anything else, and is therefore confident of some steps forward in that department.

“There’s a solution to it; we’re working through the solutions,” he said. “Hopefully we can get on top of it pretty quickly.”

“There’s no quick fix to it, so it is probably a level of concern going to Tassie, but I’m confident it will have improved from SMP. “We haven’t been able to do sufficiently training like other teams, but it’s something we’re working on – it’s just when things go wrong, and you’ve got an inexperienced crew with minimal training.

“We probably didn’t react to the way we would have liked, as quickly or correctly to the issue when it went wrong.”

Despite being the smallest team in terms of staff members, Blanchard would like to wait and find the right people to join the team rather than rush into incorrect choices.

“We’re still probably one or two heads short of what we need,” he admitted. “We’re still very much the leanest team in terms of staff and resources in pit lane.

“Obviously that’s always going be the case with one car but if you look at it per car, we are still well and truly the leanest team in terms of resources.

“We’re actively hunting and searching for to fill those roles but this is a performance environment so and it’s a high-pressure environment.

“We need to find the right cultural fit and skill set for the team not just fill the space.

“It’s important to make sure that we fill that role with that skill set and that that attitude towards racing to make sure we keep moving the team forward.”

Dan McCarthy

PASSPORT TIME FOR GROVES OVERSEAS CLASSICS ARE THE TARGET FOR THE FATHER-AND-SON RACERS

BRAD JONES Racing has joined the flood relief effort to help NSW farmers with much needed feed for livestock.

Following the devastating widespread flood emergency, particularly in the northern parts of the state, the Alburybased Supercars squad teamed up with Adaptalift to help provide feed to the farmers of the region. Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert is donating the earnings from his personal merchandise sales this month. Erebus Motorsport also raised nearly $50,000 for flood relief. RV

PARK-AND-View tickets are available for the Supercars Championship round at Symmons Plains this weekend.

Fans are welcome to watch the action from the comfort of their cars, bringing food and drink along to enjoy the Tasmanian SuperSprint shielded from the elements. For Trackside ticket holders, purchasing a Park and View Upgrade means a front row seat to the Turn 4 hairpin. JN

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SUPERCARS TEAM owners Stephen and Brenton Grove are shifting their personal racing focus for season 2022.

As the pair work to improve the competitiveness of their Penrite Mustangs and the results of David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth, their own racing will slide into the background.

Brenton is cutting back entirely on Australian racing while Stephen focusses on Carrera Cup, although the pair will pool their resources for some GT3 long-distance action.

“He’s done. He’s chosen business over racing,” Stephen tells Auto Action of his son’s reduced racing commitment.

“GT racing is for fun, father and son.”

He is upscaling his involvement in the new-look Carrera Cup, with the challenge of an all-new car for the coming season.

Image: Daniel Kalisz

But the overall emphasis is on their high-tech Porsche 911 GT3 R, which was built by Porsche for customer racing in major sports car contests.

Together they have a string of classic GT endurance events in their sights, focussing on the Spa 24-Hour.

They have already run at the

Dubai 24-Hour in the Middle East, where they drove their Porsche R to sixth place with Anton De Pasquale and Porsche factory racer Sven Muller. They were the best-placed Porsche in the event, which the Groves had done in the past and which Stephen regards as a hoot with non-stop action because of the giant field.

The next big target is the Bathurst 12-Hour at home, followed by raids on Europe.

“The R gets sent straight to German and gets rebuilt for the Spa 24-Hour,” says Grove.

The drivers follow for a twoday test, flying out after the Supercars weekend at Darwin.

Spa itself is still in the planning, with no decisions on the two additions to the driving line-up.

“We’ll get another Pro. We’re not sure who it will be just yet,” says Grove.

But the plan will require compromise for both father and son.

“It clashes with The Bend, so I’ll miss a Carrera Cup round.”

As yet, the rest of the year is a fluid situation, but the father-and-son racers clearly have the cash and class to make an impact if they decide to increase their Porsche R program.

Paul Gover

HOLDSWORTH: GROVE RACING NOT FIGHTING FOR PODIUMS SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP veteran Lee Holdsworth has declared that his new team Grove Racing is not at the level to contend for wins or podiums after a disappointing first round at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Holdsworth and his teammate David Reynolds sit 20th and 16th in the standings, respectively, despite scoring two top 10 race finishes at the Eastern Creek circuit.

As he prepares for the second round in Tasmania, Holdsworth made it clear that the team was measured in its expectations for the season.

“I’m realistic about my chances and probably the team’s as well,” Holdsworth said.

“We’ve got a big, big hill to climb this year, we have realised that we’re not in a position at the moment to be fighting for race wins or probably not even podiums.

“So we’re building and we’ve got to be patient, but at the same time I’m not here to be a runner-up so I want it to happen sooner rather than later.”

The dose of perspective does not mean that the Victorian squad is pessimistic though, Holdsworth explaining that this is the beginning of a journey for the recently rebranded team.

“We’re feeling pretty positive about where it’s all heading this year,” Holdsworth said.

“I think every round we just want to keep on improving.

“The first round didn’t go so great for us – we had some problems with strategy but we showed a lot of promise as well.

“I think by mid-season, we should be expecting some pretty good results.”

Kelly Grove Racing became Grove Racing for the 2022 season, the Grove’s buying out

Image: Motorsport Images the remaining Kelly stake in the team.

Holdsworth also took the seat of Andre Heimgartner who switched to Brad Jones Racing, completing a period of transition.

“New ownership means new culture coming

in and that’s not something that happens overnight,” Holdsworth concluded.

“We’ll just keep chipping away and making improvements every round.

“Then hopefully we become a team that’s

running up the front fighting for wins.”

The second round of the Supercars Championship will take place at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston from March 26-27. Josh Nevett

EREBUS BUILDING ON 2021 MOMENTUM EREBUS MOTORSPORT Supercar driver Will Brown believes that the team has picked up where it left off from last year at the start of the 2022 Supercars Championship, setting him up for a strong round in Tasmania.

Brown sits seventh in the standings after finishing in the top 10 twice at Sydney Motorsport Park, while his teammate Brodie Kostecki is fourth with a podium to his name.

The pair shone at the back end of last year, both picking up podiums as Brown took a win at SMP in his #9 Holden Commodore.

Heading into Round 2 of this campaign at Symmons Plains, Brown is confident that he will be back on the steps sooner rather than later.

“Our momentum is very much the same as the end of last year,” Brown told Auto Action.

“Brodie (Kostecki) got a podium at Sydney and I believe we should have too if we got our strategy a little bit better.

“So hopefully the cars are good again and we can get back up the front. The momentum is there and we’re pumped to get racing.”

Symmons Plains will host a trio of sprint races from March 26-27, a venue where Brown showed strong pace last season.

He scored two top 10 finishes despite starting the campaign slowly elsewhere, managing fifth in the second race of that weekend.

“I enjoyed Tassie last year. We had good results there last year,” Brown said.

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Image: Motorsport Images Located outside of Launceston, Symmons Plains is renowned for being a short, congested track with little margin for error.

Brown will be looking to qualify well, as it will be difficult for him to make up ground in the races as he did in Sydney.

In Race 2 at Eastern Creek, Brown was a talking point, moving up 15 spots from P23 to eighth.

Chaz Mostert is currently the man to catch, 93 points clear of Brown and 30 ahead of Kostecki.

Josh Nevett

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TCR MONKEY OFF THE BACK FOR BROWN DESPITE KNOWING he had the pace, TCR Australia Series returnee Will Brown needed a podium to prove it and that’s exactly what he got at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday.

After winning the series in 2019, Brown was experiencing an indifferent start to his return campaign this year until he snagged second place in the final race of Round 2.

The result means a lot to the Melbourne

Performance Centre Audi steerer, who was starting to doubt that he would be rewarded for strong pace on track.

“I thought someone didn’t want me to race TCR for a bit there,” Brown told Auto Action.

“Saturday was disappointing, but it was good today to be back on the podium in second. We had really good pace and to start 19th and work our way forward to nearly the front was fantastic.

“I definitely thought I was a chance to win, I just overheated the front tyres and then I was sort-of done.

“We missed out on the lap in Quali 2 which left us starting 10th, then I got beaten and bashed in the first one so I think second is where we should be. It’s good to get back up there.”

When Brown suited up for the first round at Symmons Plains Raceway it had been over two years since he had raced TCR competitively.

There are plenty of new faces on the grid in 2022 compared to back then, but Brown believes the series still has the same feel as the one he conquered.

“It doesn’t feel much different to be honest,” Brown said.

“I think teams have progressed and drivers have progressed since 2019.

“But ultimately, it feels like the same category and same cars.”

Josh Nevett

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THE 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour will start earlier than ever, a 5:15am start time set for the endurance event at Mount Panorama. As well as running earlier in the day, the event will take place in May for the first time on May 15. The race finish is set for 5:13pm plus one racing lap for the leader. The early race start will produce more night-time racing in 2022, considering this year represents the first time the race will be held outside of Daylight Savings. JN

DYLAN O’KEEFFE will compete full-time in two national categories this season, adding the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship to his commitments alongside the TCR Australia Series. The 24-year-old joins Sydneybased GWR Australia squad aboard the RAM Motorsport entry in Carrera Cup, returning to the premier one-make series for the first time since 2018. O’Keeffe competed in Carrera Cup from 2016-2018, scoring race and round victories on his way to finishing third in 2018. JN

SUPERCAR RACER Tim Slade will re-join Car Mods Australia for a second tilt at the Bathurst 6 Hour. Slade has competed in both Supercars and the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship this year, is set to take part in the return of the World Time Attack Challenge and will then travel to Bathurst for the 6 Hour. Bradley Carr will partner Slade in the Car Mods Australia BMW M3, after the pair finished fourth in the event last year. JN

THE MOTORSPORT Australia Rally Championship (ARC) and Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) will both receive extended free-to-air coverage on 7mate and 7plus in 2022, including highlights packages and dedicated programs. The ARC and AORC kick off from this Friday March 18, with highlights to be screened on 7mate throughout the 2022 Rally and Off-Road seasons. The EROAD Power Stage will also be screened on 7plus on the Sunday of each rally, including crowning the winner in the coverage. JN

SUPER2 SERIES driver and now race winner Jaylyn Robotham will contest the 2022 Bathurst 6 Hour in a BPRO entered Toyota 86. Robotham, 19, will race alongside experienced heads Brett Parrish and Mitch Wooler over the Easter long weekend, riding a wave of confidence from his maiden victory in Super2 at Sydney Motorsport Park. The challenge of a Toyota 86 at Mount Panorama won’t phase Robotham, who has previously run at the front in the Australian Toyota 86 Racing Series. JN

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COULTHARD ONE ROUND AT A TIME

FABIAN COULTHARD will continue to take it one round at a time, expressing his desire to push on in the TCR Australia Series.

When asked after taking his maiden victory in the hot-hatch series at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit if he is committing to the series full-time, Coulthard hopes that winning will increase those chances.

“Hopefully winning races excites our partners, Stan Sport and everyone on the car,” he said to Auto Action.

“I’d love to be able to do more rounds but its round by round at this stage.”

“Credit to the guys at Wall Racing. I’m pumped for Stan Sport, they’ve put a huge investment in this team and me to perform and it’s a nice way to repay them.”

After a challenging debut in Tasmania, 13time Supercars race winner Coulthard returned in the Wall racing Honda Civic at Phillip Island.

Coulthard was up the pointy end all weekend

long, finishing fourth in Race 1 he went on to win the final two races of the weekend and as a result Coulthard has shot up to fourth in the series standings.

Since the round at Phillip Island concluded the New Zealander has confirmed that he will back for Round 3 at Bathurst as a support category to the Bathurst 6 Hour race.

Coulthard was complimentary of the quality of field in TCR Australia.

“They’ve been good, they race pretty hard and sometimes fair,” Coulthard said.

“We’ve had a good run and to be able to win in any category you’re doing a good job. I’m just happy to get the monkey off the back.”

Hondas traditionally have struggled at Bathurst, however so far in 2022 the Civic’s have been the biggest improvers in the offseason.

Last year at Phillip Island the Hondas suffered multiple tyre failures, however was not the case

Images:

this time around, which may have been helped by the debut of the new Michelin compound.

“The tyres seem to be ok, the guys who were here last year said they would blow in four or five laps and they’ve done 16 here,” he said.

“We’re still understanding it and trying to maximise it but without a test day you can’t really stretch it too far to see where those boundaries are, but you’d have to say the tyre is better.”

Coulthard explained post-race that he has quickly learnt in TCR Australia the first few laps of the race are vital.

“That’s the nature of this beast, you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines at the start,” he said.

“We had a good opening few laps, to get to third or fourth by the end of the first lap which gave me a good position to battle the front guys while my tyres were good.”

Dan McCarthy

FULL S5000 GRID FOR AGP THE THIRD round of the Australian Grand Prix S5000 Australian Drivers Championship has, understandably, attracted a full grid of the V8-powered championship cars.

All 17 cars currently in existence will line up for three races in S5000’s regular championship format at Albert Park, on April 7-10.

Heading the list is the current group of four champioship leaders – UCS Racing’s Tim Macrow, Form700/ALABAR’s Joey Mawson, Versa Motorsport’s young star Cooper Webster, and PI pace-setter Valvoline GRM’s James Golding – all within three points at the top of the table after last weekends PI round two – along with the rest of the Round 2 grid.

Flying in from his Florida base will be USbased Aussie, former Indy 500 contender and NASCAR racer James Davison, who will drive a Pilatus Team BRM entry – having been one of the disappointed entrants when S5000 was due to go racing at the 2020 AGP (pictured).

“That was so disappointing back then … so it’s great that the opportunity has arisen to line up again, at Australia’s most prestigious international event – and in such a great category of race car,” Davison said this week.

While GRM’s young trio from TCR/Trans Am – Ben Bargwanna, Nathan Herne, and Aaron Cameron – will rejoin the series, there are a number of new faces.

Adelaide youngster Seb Amadio, who has tested S5000 a number of times, makes his debut in a GRM-run car, while top Formula Ford contender Conor Summers – who has also tested recently – will debut in a car run by long-time Formula Ford importer/team operator Greg Woodrow.

British-born, Adelaide-based Sports/GT racer Lee Stibbs joins Team 88 alongside regular young racer Blake Purdie, while recent Super2 racer Matt Chahda, who tested with GRM a while back, will debut, with the car in the care of his own Matt Chahda Racing team.

“It’s great to see a full line-up of cars for such

a prestigious round of the championship,” said S5000’s Chris Lambden.

“As we finally emerge from Covid restrictions, it’s what we’ve been waiting for. I guess it’s not hard to see why several of the young debutants targetted their first race appearance at the Grand Prix – who wouldn’t!

“Everyone on the grid has run test days and achieved the sort of standard and approach required to drive a 560hp V8-powered race car.

“Two years after we had to pack up and go home on Friday morning, it will just be great to see these cars in action on the recently modified GP circuit.

KING PURSUING WTCR DRIVE AFTER FINISHING as runner-up in the TCR Australia Series in 2021 Luke King was a surprise absentee on the grid this year, however told Auto Action that he is putting plans in place to race in WTCR later in the year.

WTCR is the world series of TCR competition and contains some of the very best touring car drivers in the world at some of the most iconic circuits.

King admitted he did intend to race in TCR Australia again this season however due to the late finish last year was unable to secure enough sponsors for Round 1 and did not want to rush into any late deals.

“The late finish to 2021 and the early start was really difficult for us trying to get sponsors approved in time,” King said to Auto Action. “That was a challenge for us.”

“I’d love to do a last-minute deal but they don’t end up going well very often.

“I’m trying to line things up so we have a good deal for either the second half of this year or we do some really good one off events, WTCR is your hot scoop.

“If all went well I’d like to say we’d have done the Bathurst 12 Hour, a WTCR round and helped some people up and down pitlane here (in TCR Australia).

King knew after missing the first round that it would be better to look elsewhere and aim high.

“After we fought with Chaz for the championship last year we really needed to come back and fight for it again,” King felt.

“If we couldn’t do that, you need to compete at a higher level and the pathway for TCR is Europe and the world series and that is where we want to be at.

“The Spanish round looks quite good, at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, but any of the European based rounds are great.

“We have some based Asian sponsors continuing from 2021, so the Macau Grand Prix is definitely on the bucket list, there are some pretty cool events I’d like to be in and those are the ones we are targeting.”

To date only one Australian has raced in WTCR. Garry Rogers Motorsport driver Dylan O’Keeffe raced a Vukovic Motorsport prepared Renault Megane and was competitive all weekend long.

“The Renault as we all know is probably not the best package, he was knocking on the door of the top 10, so I think we could go and do the same thing,” King firmly believes.

“The calibre of the category is quite high in Australia.

That’s a good yardstick for us, it shows we could go and do WTCR as well.” Dan McCarthy

HARRI JONES LOOKING FOR CO-DRIVE MCELREA RACING Porsche Carrera Cup driver Harri Jones recently had his first drive of a modern Supercar and has his eyes on a Supercars co-drive this year.

The former Porsche Sprint Challenge driver and Carrera Cup front-runner Jones was invited down to Sydney Motorsport Park the day after the opening round of the Supercars Championship season to cut laps in PremiAir Racing’s ZB Commodores.

The drives came as part of the ride day and saw Jones jump behind the wheel of both Chris Pither and Garry Jacobson’s machines.

Despite being a Porsche racer, Jones made it no secret that he would like to co-drive at the Bathurst 1000 this year.

“Whether I do a stint in Europe or not I really want to end up in Supercars at some point in my career, to have a co-drive this year would be amazing,” he said to Auto Action.

“Even if I do go to Europe I’d love to come back every year for a co-drive as well.”

Even though he has tested with PremiAir Racing

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he is under no illusions about walking straight in and getting the gig.

“There’s a lot of hurdles to jump over to get a codrive,” he expressed. “Getting a Superlicence is one of those hurdles.”

It is a good shoe into the Supercars paddock for Jones, he explained to AA that as well as being a lot of fun it was useful for both parties.

Firstly it got Jones to grips with a Gen2 Supercar, but also as a new team, it was a third voice giving feedback about setup.

“Hopefully there is more to come in the future,” Jones said. “It was really good to give my feedback on how they feel.

“It’s a pretty unique position to be able to drive both cars from one team, even in sopping wet conditions they were a lot of fun. It was certainly a privilege, for me to get the chance to hop in the car so early was a privilege.

“It was an awesome day down at Sydney. It was my first time driving the ZB Commodore and I got to drive both cars, I can’t thank the team enough for the opportunity.” Dan McCarthy

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SATURDAY TICKETS for the 2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix are set to sell out shortly.

To avoid disappointment, fans wanting to attend on this day are recommended to purchase their tickets without delay. It will be the first time in the event’s history that both Saturday and Sunday general admission tickets will be exhausted due to significant demand. It comes after the last two Australian Grand Prixs have been cancelled due to COVID-19. DM

NASCAR AND Hendrick Motorsports are hoping to bring a modified Next Gen stock car to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the race’s centennial celebration in 2023. The project — which also includes collaborative efforts from IMSA, Chevrolet and Goodyear — preparing a Camaro ZL1 from the NASCAR Cup Series for the iconic endurance race.

Once approved by race organisers, the proposed entry will fill an extra starting berth that showcases innovative vehicles outside of the race’s traditional classes.

JNPIERRE-LOUIS Loubet will return from injury to drive M-Sport Ford’s Puma Rally1 for the first time at the South Belgian Rally. The 25-year-old Frenchman will be a course car at that event as he prepares for seven FIA World Rally Championship outings with the British squad. Loubet is set to debut for the team at the Croatia Rally from April 2124. Loubet has been out of action after suffering a broken hip in a traffic accident in Paris in October last year. JN

ADELAIDE MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL DATE LOCKED IN WITHIN MINUTES of South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas being swept into power, the Adelaide Motorsport Festival was confirmed as being back in November 2022.

Under the previous government and political party funding was cut and the event eventually canned and has not run since 2018.

However, it has been confirmed that the incredibly popular event has been scheduled to return this November, bringing Formula One cars back to the streets of Adelaide.

Now under the Labor government the streets of South Australia are set for a welcome the return of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival from November 24-27 just a week prior to the Adelaide 500.

The festival includes the Shannons Adelaide Rally, which was the largest event of its kind in the world in 2021.

“We’re delighted to have the chance to bring the Adelaide Motorsport Festival back for

South Australians,” says Event Director Tim Possingham.

“Adelaide has an unmatched pedigree in motorsport and we’re excited about celebrating that once again in the heart of the city.

“AMF was a fast-growing event that had gathered international attention and a strong local following and we’ll be building on that in the coming years, starting this November.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from the community and we’re already hard at work to bring them something special.”

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival features action on the parklands section of the street circuit and has a real focus on Formula One cars of the Adelaide era.

As well as this it contains historic and modern race categories and unique demonstration events.

The event is very open, giving crowds close

access to all the cars and drivers, static car and motorcycle displays, kids’ activities and VIP hospitality zones, all adding to the festive feel.

One popular element that will return is the Peak Hour of Power, a parade of rare and desirable vehicles including F1 cars that drive through the Friday evening city traffic and culminate in the Gouger Street Party, and is one of several free community events associated with the festival.

Notably two new night events have been added to the event. The High Beam brings top live music acts to the stage to close out the event on the Sunday night, while the track lights up on the Saturday night for the Sundown Throwdown, featuring on-track action and a gathering of modified vehicles and hot rods, with street food and DJs providing a party atmosphere.

Dan McCarthy

BATHURST 12 HOUR KEY TO AUS GT SUCCESS

RALLY NEW Zealand organisers have welcomed the opening of international borders allowing overseas fans to attend the FIA World Rally Championship in the country later this year. The 11th round of the series will be based in and around Auckland from September 29-October 2. “With the news that the border will be open, we can’t wait to welcome motorsport fans from around the world to Auckland,” said Rally New Zealand CEO Michael Goldstein. JN

GTE PRO is in doubt for the Le Mans 24 Hours and FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, as it will be forced to attract a minimum of four cars from two manufacturers. In 2022, Ferrari and Porsche are battling out the class with the Corvette Racing entry, however the former two brands are considering opting out next season. “We need at least two brands, and a minimum of four cars from the two brands,” confirmed Fillon. JN

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SRO MOTORSPORTS Group founder and president Stephane Ratel believes that the strength of the Bathurst 12 Hour is key to the success of Australia’s national GT scene.

The SRO Motorsport Group is an international sporting organisation which runs GT races around the world, including the Intercontinental GT Challenge (of which the Bathurst 12 Hour is a part), GT World Challenge Europe, Asia, America and a co-owner of GT World Challenge Australia.

The SRO Motorsports Group was founded in 1995 and since then has gone on to dominate the GT landscape with a successful championship of almost every continent.

In more recent times Ratel has seen that running local the continental GT categories alongside the Intercontinental GT Challenge has resulted in an increase in numbers locally “The moment we started to run – especially at Indianapolis – the success really came where we made it a round of the Fanatac GT World Challenge America,” Ratel recalled to Auto Action.

“Indy is the now is a round of the American series, as well as the

Intercontinental GT Challenge, and Australia now will be the same, so that should be contributing to the success of it.”

He believes that the Bathurst 12 Hour is key to a healthy local GT World Challenge Series.

“The first wave of GT cars in Australia really came from the growing success of the Bathurst 12 Hour,” Ratel recalled to Auto Action.

“We want to restore that and with the professionalism of the team here, the level of TV production of coverage of everything, I think we have all the ingredients to make it a success.

“GT3 continues globally to be a huge

success and it shows no sign of fading away with all the manufacturers producing new cars.”

Ratel even admitted to AA that more manufacturers are knocking on the door wanting to compete in GT3, although they don’t quite fit the bill.

“Even some manufacturers want to join, which is another problem because some of them have cars that I would not completely consider GT cars and that’s one of the problem we have,” he said.

“But I think the GT3 platform still has a bright future and continues to be incredibly strong, so this strength can definitely be portrayed in Australia.” Dan McCarthy

SUPERCAR STEERERS DRAWN TO GT RACING THERE WERE no less than four Supercar drivers on the grid for the first round of GT World Challenge Australia at Phillip Island, and all of them had different motivations for being there.

Chaz Mostert, Shane van Gisbergen, David Reynolds and Tony D’Alberto all took to the grid for the season opener, just one week out from Supercars Championship commitments for the former three.

Driving his Coin Spot Audi R8 LMS Evo to a victory in the first one-hour race of the weekend, Mostert explained that the GT machinery helped him to hone his driving skills and set him up for opportunities overseas.

“You have to try new things to stay fresh. I like to drive something different to make sure I’m not just single-sided on how a car has to be driven,” Mostert told Auto Action.

“This is a bit of a reality check. To get the best from a GT car keeps you thinking and guessing.

“It’s also a favour to a few different people. I didn’t have anything planned. It was a late call-up.

“If you look in a couple of years’ time, I love the GT stuff overseas. You need to keep your head involved. It keeps you on the same page. There are still some tracks and races overseas that I would like to tick off.”

Reynolds, who is driving for Grove Racing this year in Supercars, will take on the full Australian GT calendar this year after striking a deal with Tony Bates.

His motivations for taking on the commitment are several and include the atmosphere of the national GT paddock.

“I really enjoyed it, it was a pretty cruisy weekend and it’s just fun, enjoyable racing with great cars,” Reynolds said.

“In GT racing there’s no egos, you can even walk in any anyone’s garage and sit down and have a chat for half an hour; in Supercar land you can’t really do that. It feels weird – no-one hates each other – it’s a nice feeling.

“I’m doing the whole championship, Tony Bates has been a sponsor and mate of mine for a long time. He had Chaz but

this year Chaz didn’t want to do the whole championship so he chose me.”

Reynolds and Bates finished third for the weekend at Phillip Island behind Christopher Mies/Yassir Shahin and Mostert/ Liam Talbot.

Similarly to Mostert, Reynolds could also see the benefits to his driving and as a result his Supercar endeavours.

“To be racing anything is good,” he explained.

“Even if it’s a shopping trolley, I think you can always learn, and your brain is constantly going at a fast pace.

“If you drive something faster than a Supercar and then get into the Supercar it feels slower. It makes it easier to think in the car.”

“I’ve just got to learn the GT cars a little bit more.”

D’Alberto is not a full-time Supercar driver, racing full-time in

the TCR Australia Series.

For the 36-year-old, GT racing was more about maximising precious seat time to improve his preparation for the biggest race on the calendar, the Bathurst 1000.

“I think any racing helps me to prepare for the Bathurst 1000 because we don’t get a lot of seat time in the car,” D’Alberto said.

“Hopefully this year, though, we get a bit more time in it with ride days and test days.

“Anytime you get to drive a GT car is pretty special. I’ve known Adrian Dietz for a long time, he asked if I wanted to do this weekend and I thought why not. It’s busy (with TCR), but I’d rather be doing this than be on the couch.”

Supercars will hit the track again this weekend for the Tasmania Supersprint from March 26-27. Josh Nevett

NETFLIX TURNS F1 INTO A SOAP OPERA THE FOURTH SEASON OF DRIVE TO SURVIVE PROVIDES LESS FOR REAL FANS BUT IS STILL POPULAR

By Paul Gover, News Editor ANOTHER YEAR brings another season of Drive to Survive.

The Netflix documentary has done more for the following of Formula One than anything in living memory, even if Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher created their own special sort of football-style hooligan support in Britain and Germany during their heydays.

This time around, true fans of Formula One are likely to be disappointed.

Less of the drivers have allowed access by the Netflix crews, there is more post-production work to massage the story lines, and there is a strong emphasis on creating rivalries to inject controversy into the series.

The pictures are still brilliant, the sound quality is awesome and there are plenty of “Did they really say that?” moments thanks to dozens of snooping cameras and microphones at every race.

But the overall focus and quality of the production has suffered for the fourth season, as the producers have clearly focussed on satisfying the viewers who might otherwise be watching Married at First Sight or The Bachelorette.

And the swearing . . . is obviously left in the series because it works for the lowest common denominator.

Red Bull racer Sergio Perez has already delivered his verdict, doubting he will be involved in Season 5.

“They’ve probably gone too far in this last season. To be totally honest I haven’t’ finished it.

“I really thought that they had the best season in Formula One and I feel like they probably missed out a bit in the story and the way they presented it.

“They tried to create too much drama, which the season already had.”

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To get a better view of Drive To Survive, Auto Action went to an expert panel for their reaction.

Here’s what they have to say: NATHAN PRENDERGAST – Head of Supercars Television “It’s not a motorsport product, it’s a reality program. So some parts are over-done. The swearing, to me, is a natural part of life.

“It’s the benchmark when it comes to this sort of product. It works its butt off and appeals to the broader band of Formula One followers. The series has amazing production values.

“I’m pretty surprised at how candid some of the moments are, and Formula One Management has allowed them to be very open about everything.

SHANE HOWARD – CEO of Supercars “I thought the whole series was absolutely brilliant. What it has done for Formula One is incredible. It’s the reach, the appeal that it’s got to a much wider demographic.

“It brings out the excitement, the intensity, the team rivalry of F1. And it’s very well shot.

“I cannot believe that Netflix has some incredible access, even behind the scenes.

“Liberty Media has done an incredible job of lifting the profile of F1. We would love to do the same with Supercars.

“It just really emphasises the power of Formula One. It is the number one motorsport product in the world and it’s great for people to see what makes it tick.”

SCOTT PYE – Supercars racer and owner of a video production company “The production is amazing. One thing for me to take from it for my business is that the timeline doesn’t need to be perfect. You’ve got to remember your audience.

“I learned a lot about what’s important and what’s not. What is most important is the visceral experience you get through the

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screen. All the things that get you hooked on motorsport, the noise and colour and racing and excitement, come through in one 30-minute experience.

“I really enjoyed it. At the end of the day, I feel the way it was produced was to service the people are not avid fans.

“They made it look like Lewis and Mercedes dominated the season. It was overlooked that Max dominated the year. Lewis is an A-lister and they made it look like he should have won.

ROLAND DANE – Supercars mover and shaker “I wouldn’t watch it again. It needs to be reinvented, I’m sure.

“Series I and 2 were good, but Series 3 and 4 are too contrived for me.

“I think drivers and team principals are not actors and the only episode I really enjoyed was the one with Yuki Tsunoda. That was very funny.

“The rest of it has lost its spontaneity. It looks like I’m not the only person that feels that way.”

CHRIS LAMBDEN – Journalist, single-seater racer and the ‘father’ of S5000 “It really is reality TV on wheels. A shame for

us ‘real ‘followers, but it probably achieves its ‘new audience’ aims.

“While the first couple of these episodes aimed-at-the-wider-public, rather than the regular fan, series were quite interesting and refreshing, the latest is . . . a bit disappointing.

“Perhaps the fact that less than half the grid ‘co-operates’ with the year-long ‘fly-on-the-wall’ filming doesn’t help – you just don’t see Kimi, or any of Alfa Romeo; no Aston Martin; no AlphaTauri; and no Max Verstappen, although the Red Bull Team – mainly Christian Horner, excessively – does appear.

“Everyone says “F***!” a lot. Toto Wolff says ‘f***’; Christian says ‘f***’; most of the drivers say ‘f***’ ... Everyone says it. Guenther Steiner (Haas team boss) says ‘f***’ a lot!

“I’m not interested in Toto’s wife telling us how wonderful Toto is. Same, probably more so, for Horner. I’m not interested in he and his ex-girlband wife riding horses down a country lane near his expansive mansion or playing with the kids in the (overwhelmingly large) back yard, or the dog. Or her going on about how wonderful he is.”

www.autoaction.com.au I 13

LATEST NEWS

QUIET ON WAKEFIELD NOISE FOR NOW IT COULD be a couple of months before the Wakefield Park Raceway will know the outcome of New South Wales Land and Environment Court’s decision on the Benalla Auto Club-owned circuit and its hearing over noise limits.

The court appeal was lodged by Wakefield Park against noise restrictions applied to the development consent by Goulburn

Mulwaree Council and was heard on March 8, 9 and 10. Council applied the conditions on the Development Application in response to submissions from circuit neighbours with noise breaches being an issue.

The hearing started at Goulburn Courthouse on March 8 where some nearby residents aired their noise complaints, and some challenged the

raceway’s noise methodology used in the development application to upgrade infrastructure and expand its range of offerings.

The circuit’s owner, Benalla Auto Group, argued that a maximum 50 race days at 95 decibels in 2022 and 125 days at 85 decibels will render it unviable.

The number of race days at these levels

would reduce over three years.

The hearing continued in Sydney on Wednesday and Thursday at the LEC. Wakefield Park’s and Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s noise experts gave evidence in court. Commissioner Tim Horton reserved judgement with the findings not expected to be handed down for another three months. Garry O’Brien

SPEEDWAY AUSTRALIA UNDERTAKES CHANGES AFTER ACCC INVESTIGATION SPEEDWAY AUSTRALIA has found itself in hot water after an ACCC investigation concluded that it had wrongly restricted the VSC Sprintcar class from competing at Speedway Australia-affiliated tracks in Victoria.

The ACCC investigation reported that Speedway Australia-affiliated track operators had been prevented from running the VSC Sprintcar class since 2018, due to an agreement between Speedway Australia and the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia (SCCA).

The VSC Sprintcar class, administered

by Victorian governing body the Victorian Speedway Council (VSC), is the only sprintcar class operating in Victoria which is not under the control of the SCCA. It is also a cheaper class to run for tracks than SCCAaffiliated sprintcar classes.

Part of the strategy to restrict the VSC Sprintcars involved removing the class from Speedway Australia’s public liability insurance policy, which was also altered to limit the classes which could race at affiliated tracks throughout the racing season.

Speedway Australia also stopped issuing licences to VSC Sprintcar drivers who were not affiliated with an SCCA member club and refused to issue tracks with meeting permits for events that included the VSC Sprintcar class.

14 I www.autoaction.com.au

The VSC Sprintcar class was extremely restricted in its running as a result.

After acknowledging the ACCC’s concerns and cooperating with the ACCC during its investigation, Speedway Australia has legally committed to addressing the issues and ensuring tracks can host classes that are not approved by the governing body.

Speedway Australia has made the move to amend the terms of its public liability insurance policy to reflect that.

However, tracks will need to source their own public liability insurance for events including classes not approved by Speedway Australia.

As well as committing to restore access to previously restricted classes, Speedway Australia has agreed to attend training focusing on the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act. “The reports we received suggested that Speedway Australia’s agreement with SCCA, and its conduct giving effect to that agreement, limited the options available for tracks to host events with racing divisions and classes of their choosing, which would also reduce the variety of racing that could be offered to spectators,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

“The ACCC was concerned that these actions have had the purpose, effect Image: may MTR Images

or likely effect of substantially lessening competition.

“Speedway tracks in Victoria will now have greater choice of which classes and divisions of Sprintcar they can host.

“This enforceable undertaking given by Speedway Australia should enable speedway spectators to watch some forms of Sprintcar racing at their local track they weren’t previously able to watch, and to benefit from the variety and innovation in racing offered by competing Sprintcar organisers.”

Speedway Australia’s decision to restrict the VSC Sprintcar class in 2018 was part of

its agreement with the SCCA dating back to 2000 which recognised the SCCA as the sole governing authority for sprintcar racing in Australia.

The Victorian Sprintcar Association has recently managed the cancellation of VSC Sprintcar events, reporting that the cancellations were due to circumstances outside of their control.

The VSC Sprintcar state title will be decided at Redline Raceway on March 26.

Auto Action approached Speedway Australia for comment, which they were unable to provide. Josh Nevett

WORLD TIME ATTACK CHALLENGE TO HOST KADITCHA SPORTSCAR AN ICONIC Australian race car is set to appear on track as part of the 2022 World Time Attack Challenge event, the Kaditcha K582 ready to wow fans at Sydney Motorsport Park from April 1-2.

The Romano WE84, also known as the Kaditcha K582, ‘Kaditcha’ or ‘Bapmobile’ after owner and driver Bap Romano, is remembered by many as one of the most iconic, fastest, and popular Australian race cars.

With its many names the Kaditcha K582 was one of the first closed-top Sports Cars built to Group A specifications seen in Australia, as opposed to the opencockpit Can-Am style of car seen in the class, leading many to falsely believe it was built for Group C. Bap Romano drove the car to considerable success, winning four of the five Australian Sports Car Championship rounds in 1984. Along the way he scored pole position for every round and set the fastest race lap in every race he contested.

The unique machine houses a 4-litre Cosworth DFV V8 engine and weighs around 800kg.

Barry Lock is the man behind the Kaditcha’s return to Sydney Motorsport Park.

Ex-McLaren engineer Lock was the founder of the Kaditcha vehicle manufacturer, responsible for creating the K582.

As well as having history with the car, Lock has designed several cars for successful WTAC entries, most notably the Hammerhead, Rob Nguyen’s ‘Mighty Mouse’ CRX and most recently, Charles Warland’s Dream Project S15 Silvia.

As such, it made sense for WTAC to host the Kaditcha K582 on track in its return year.

The name Kaditcha is derived from the Aboriginal-Australian word, particularly of the Arrernte people of Central Australia, which refers to a ‘magic man’ or shaman.

World Time Attack Challenge will return to SMP from April 1-2 after a two-year hiatus, featuring a strong talent

pool of local competitors.

The international event, featuring the best time attack teams from across the globe, was cancelled in 2020 and postponed in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but has been given the green light in 2022.

The main competitors for the top prize this time around will be Supercars Championship driver and two-time victor Tim Slade in the ‘Hammerhead’ S13, Barton Mawer in a Porsche 968 and TCR Australia Series driver Brad Shiels in the Tilton Racing Mitsubishi Evo. Josh Nevett

VALE VIC ELFORD

By Paul Gover, News Editor LEGENDARY SPORTS car racer Vic Elford has died, aged 86, at his home in Florida, USA. Elford was one of the stand-outs of the 1960s and 1970s, starring as both a race and rally driver, often in Porsches.

He was also one of the starring drivers in ‘Le Mans’, the landmark movie produced by Hollywood superstar Steve McQueen.

Elford, known as ‘Quick Vic’, never won at Le Mans or scored a podium in Formula One. But he was fast and versatile, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and Rolex 24 at Daytona on back-to-back weeks in 1967, as well as racing in Can-Am sports cars and NASCAR. His heroism was recognised with a French bravery award in 1972 for stopping to help another driver from a burning car at Le Mans.

Elford was an epic smoker and his death came after a long fight against cancer.

His life and achievements are recorded in two books he wrote, Reflections on a Golden Era in Motorsport and The Porsche High Performance Driving Handbook.

Auto Action sends its condolences to Vic Elford’s friends and family.

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www.autoaction.com.au I 15

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LATEST NEWS

VAN GISBERGEN TO MAKE LE MANS DEBUT REIGNING SUPERCARS champion Shane van Gisbergen is scheduled to make his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut this year – after his last attempt was thwarted.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering steerer had originally been set to race in the 2020 edition of the iconic endurance classic.

However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 in New South Wales and Victoria meant that van Gisbergen was forced to postpone those plans.

This year, the New Zealander is on the provisional official entry list as part of the Riley Motorsports Ferrari 488 GTE Evo entry in the highly competitive LMGTE Pro class.

Van Gisbergen will be joined by former factory Ferrari GT driver Sam Bird and endurance ace Felipe Fraga who won the LMP3 clas in the Daytona 24 Hours in January.

June will be a busy month for van Gisbergen – he will need to return to Australia immediately after the Le Mans 24 Hours as Supercars’ Darwin Triple Crown round takes place the following weekend.

Australian’s will be well represented on the Le Mans 24 Hours grid. Former IndyCar star Ryan Briscoe leads the local contingent as part of the Glickenhaus

FERRARI SHOWCASES NEXT GT3 RACER THE FIRST sketches of Ferrari’s new 296 GT3 machine, set to debut in 2023, have been revealed.

The GT3 car will be based on its 296 GTB road car which is yet to hit the showrooms. However, Ferrari has revealed that work is well underway on the real thing.

The 296 GT3 machine will replace the existing 488 GT3 and the DTM EVO configuration – both have had great success around the world.

Since the Ferrari 488 made its debut in GT competition, it has reportedly taken 429 race wins from 770 starts, making it the most successful race car in the legendary Italian brand’s history.

The 296 GT3 is currently being assembled at the Oreca di Signes plants and will see the machine fitted with a 6-cylinder engine, in compliance with technical regulations – it will not be equipped with the electric unit.

The road car is equipped with a plug-in hybrid, and is expected to go on sale later this year.

While the 296 GT3 will look like the road car, it will be far away in terms of performance and aerodynamics and is certainly a task for Ferrari Competizioni GT designers and engineers to conform with the GT3 regulations.

Ferrari believes that the design of the 296 GT3 machine has still preserved the link to the road going car despite the aerodynamic and the characteristic elements of the racing version.

The 296 GT3 was inspired by legendary cars such as the Ferrari 250 LM which won the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans (Ferrari’s last overall victory in this race) and also enjoyed great success among the private teams.

Over the last decade, Ferrari has only competed in the GT class of endurance racing; however that changes in 2023 when it is scheduled to return to the toptier Hypercar class.

As well as this, Ferrari has stated that the new GT3 machine will begin development on the track in the coming months in view of its race debut, scheduled for 2023. Dan McCarthy

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Racing line-up in the top tier Hypercar class.

James Allen returns to LMP2 with Algarve Pro Racing. The team no longer has any association with Russian outfit G-Drive Racing by taking full ownership.

Last year Allen finished third in class and will be looking to at least repeat the feat in 2022.

Porsche factory driver Matt Campbell returns with Proton Competition in LMGTE Am, the class which he won on debut in 2016.

Over the ditch, Van Gisbergen is one of a number of Kiwi’s listed to compete at Le

Image: Motorsport Images Mans, joining the likes of former Formula 1 driver Brendon Hartley who will fight for outright honours with Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Fellow New Zealander Nick Cassidy will race for the factory Ferrari team AF Corse in LMGTE Pro. Unfortunately, in recent weeks, Peugeot has announced it will not field its Hypercar at Le Mans and instead will debut later in the year.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place on June 11-12, with coverage to be streamed exclusively live on Stan Sport.

Dan McCarthy

KEN DOUGLAS DOING THE AUDI LE MANS DEAL A GLOBAL PROGRAM FOR THE VETERAN AUSTRALIAN TACTICIAN

By Paul Gover, News Editor AN UNLIKELY Aussie is playing a key role in the return of Audi to Le Mans in 2023 with an all-new Hypercar.

Expert tactician Ken Douglas has Image: Motorsport Images been recruited as part of the grand plan at Audi after a series of successes with the Ambrose and Russell Ingall.

German carmaker’s satellite GT3 team, WRT “I’ve been involved with Audi Sport Customer out of Belgium.

Racing for their GT3 program for three or four WRT is tackling this year’s World Endurance years. Races like Spa and Nurburgring,” he says.

Championship ahead of the full-scale Hypercar “My last GT3 race was at Kyalami in South attack and Douglas has already been busy at Africa. It was the first race this year but Sebring in the USA, where the team ran third technically the end of last year. We won the and second in LMP2 at the Prologue to the Manufacturers’ championship. So, mission 1000-mile race. accomplished.”

He flew directly to Sebring from Sydney He’s also been a regular in the bunker at Motorsport Park, where he was part of the Triple Eight Race Engineering for long-distance makeshift crew for PremiAir Racing.

Supercars, including Bathurst.

“I’m involved with race strategy. When to yell “I work as a contractor for Triple Eight. Again, at the drivers, that sort of thing,” Douglas tells assisting with strategy. Coffee, small buns, that Auto Action. sort of thing,” Douglas jokes.

“I’m heading first to Sebring. Then it’s the full “The new program is part of Audi’s Hypercar WEC season. project. The plan is that they have an alliance “ I’ll also be doing three events with PremiAir, with WRT, the Belgian team, and they were now, Symmons Plains and the AGP. After that, running LMP2 last year and won the class at the Audi schedule comes crashing down on top Le Mans. of it all.”

“They are now trying to get all the systems But Douglas will also be home for the and learnings ready so they can roll straight into Bathurst 12-Hour, where WRT has run Hypercar next year.” successfully in the past with its R8 GT3.

He is looking forward to the new challenge, “I’ll definitely be at the 12-Hour. It’s not and the gypsy life as an engineer for hire, and optional.” admits he would hate to be sitting at home in As a former racer, running at the front in retirement in Queensland. production car events in the 1990s and also “It’s the sort of work I would do, even if I racing a Falcon at the Bathurst 1000 for 10th wasn’t getting paid. They are good people and place with Allan Moffat, Douglas has a wide doing good work,” Douglas says. range of experience.

“It’s a challenge. It’s the three-dimensional Now 64 and living on the Gold Coast, he chess of it. I keep learning and try to do it a little also worked as an engineer in the earlier days bit better each time. of MoTec and was technical director at Stone “And, besides, I’m not very good at lawn Brothers Racing during the heydays of Marcos bowls.”

IT’S BACK!

MULTIPLE FORMULA FORD MANUFACTURERS NOW LIKELY

FORMULA FORD is now likely to remain as a multiple manufacturer category after Motorsport Australia AA’S COLUMNIST OUTLINES THE took noteLONG-TIME of competitor feedback.

Motorsport Australia Director ADDED BENEFITS OF ADELAIDE’S RETURN. 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 “We’ve taken the time to speak to the same,” he said to AA. every single one of those people or “I know one of our preliminary email every single one of those people. recommendations was to look at a “I guess as a consequence of that single manufacturer path,” he said. we’ve come around to the view that “Whilst the (Formula Ford) working perhaps a multi-manufacturer concept group hasn’t formed a view, one way is the way to go.”

Image: Motorsport Images or another on that, I think we’re coming Smith feels that if they can get the around to the view that, potentially a rules right, then a multi-manufacturer ADELAIDE ALIVE! The slogan multi-manufacturer format would be series will continue to work for the first ever street race event a better path to go, because that’s successfully. around the city’s parklands, the consistent with what Formula Ford has “In order to do that (a multi-brand 1985 Australian Grand Prix, perfectly always been in this country. category) you have to get the rules sums up the 500’s impending return.

“We had the stakeholder forum, we right, we know that, it’s a lot simpler For the second time, Adelaide’s then had the survey, and then we to craft a set of rules when you’re only much-loved temporary circuit is invited people to make submissions. have one homologated manufacturer.

with Luke West

REVVED UP

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 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 Motorsport Festival to why it is essentialAdelaide that Formula Ford with the new ones as sort ofARG a mixed LAST WEEKEND’S complete with some of the F1 remains as closereturn, as possible to its grid and that would happen a SpeedSeries round at for Phillip machines that lit up the city’s streets roots. period, broadly speaking, be air.

Island was a breath I’d of fresh between 1985 and 1995.

After theit’d debacle of lasttomonth’s “Formula 4 didn’t work here,” he anticipating that be three five Another reason Supercars will Symmonslike Plains round, when admitted. “It’s clear, people are very years, something that. relieved that Adelaide returns is behind the Safety Caron the passionate aboutbeFormula Ford Racing “I guesslaps ultimately, it depends that it helps with its efforts to create “Our thinking is have it as an take up ofout-numbered any new car.‘green’ DM racing

back from the dead. Thank heavens. competitive tension for a slot on laps due to some questionable The bloke who axed the super the calendar for permanent circuits. driving standards and successful event in 2020, now It takes a slot away from full-time antiquated recovery methods, former South Australian premier venues, thereby driving up sanction Penguin Central was the scene Steven Marshall, ultimately impaled as we enter the Camaro versus lowAdelaide’s return to similarly good fees, one of its vital revenue streams. of some very entertaining of the illustrious names that won in the ONE OF the country’s longest serving himself on another sharp weapon roof Mustang era. effect.

This is a key reason Supercars racing with relatively few category. category administrators Margaret Hardy when he was rejected at the polls V8 Supercar’s extraordinary can trumpet to other state is so eager for some international interruptions.

Hardy assisted all of theseIt drivers on passed away from cancer on Thursday last weekend. It’s going a step too growth from niche sport to governments that South Australia events. Not only can it potentially It proved that TCR, S5000 their route to Australia’s top-level.

August 19. far to suggest all politicians are, mainstream player sprung from saw the error in its ways in axing its make good coin from overseas and TransAm competitors can She was liked by all who knew her Hardy was involved in motor racing erm, a subhuman breed, as there Adelaide’s annual streetfight. The race. That the Adelaide 500’s return promoters by looking abroad, as it race for sheep stations without in the industry which is why the motor for decades and was known for her might actually be one or two with success of early events laid the proves the worth of such economic did in the past, but it increases the biffing each other off. Also, cars sport community is sad to hear of her dedication to Formula Ford. honourable intentions. However, it’s platform for every other street stimulators. That goes for possible jostling from local circuits for dates. didn’t seem to become stuck passing.

Hardy joined the Light Car Club as been my experience they pretend race that followed. The Clipsal new street races and for extending It’s not necessarily good for local in Phillip Island’ s traps like they During her time in the category, the office manager and began working to serve the people, but merely 500 was the rock upon which contracts of current events. fans who want to see Supercars did in Tasmania.

I’m not sure she was named a Life Member of the with the Australian Formula Ford serve themselves. Let’s hope new Tony Cochrane’s mob built their At some point in the near future, race on their local track, of course. why most drivers could extricate Formula Ford Association. championship 1978, doing paperwork SA premier Peter Malinauskas church for V8 worshippers.

Supercars will re-negotiate new With five active street circuit events undamaged cars from the Island Formula Ford Association for the category throughout the ‘80s. delivers on his promise to reinstate When that foundation stone was contracts with the NSW and (now including Adelaide) plus a race circuit’ s bunkers, but it improved Early in the following year she became representative Phil Marinon said the event. jackhammered by Steven Marshall, Queensland governments for the in New Zealand, by my reckoning the viewing spectacle. she remained very connected to the the administrator of the category and Assuming that he does, this is a it didn’t bode well for the future of continuation of the Newcastle, Supercars can accommodate as Finally, watching coverage category. was tasked with organising national hugely significant moment in the Aussie street races generally and Surfers Paradise and Townsville many as eight permanent Australian of Sebring’s World Endurance 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. opener I saw category’s history.

Supercars specifically. events. I’m thinking Newcastle circuits on its calendar from a pool rather than looking for accolades. send theirChampionship condolences. for Formula Ford Association and also She has dealt with many of Australia’s something I’d never witnessed Supercars’ new owners, Racing Cochrane always gave a might be the most vulnerable. But of 10. Supercars will always want the AFFM including category manager “Margaret was very dedicated to Outside of Formula Ford, Margaret motor sport stars over the years and before – a race red-flagged due Australia Consolidated Enterprises of politicians from at least now Supercars has extra putting their hands up also took on roles such as the race for the national competition,” he told all things Formulamore Fordvenues and has was well-known as a hardworking steady and stream to an approaching electrical Ltd, are breathing a massive sigh of interstate the VIP treatment bargaining tools. than available slots so it can keep secretary for Sandown Raceway.

Auto Action. recently assisted the association in passionate worker. storm. Florida state laws prevent relief right now. For just as the 500’s trackside in Adelaide, enabling I’m hoping Adelaide retains its the upper hand over promoters.

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 motorsport events taking place demise was a mighty psychological AVESCO to replicate it elsewhere, slot as season-finale beyond this Adelaide’s return is also good for Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2019 support the competitors has been very of Formula Ford in Australia and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig during storms for fear of officials blow to the category in the same year with varying degrees of success year, to duplicate the old Formula team and category sponsors and, in and went into Stage 4 in May. strongly acknowledged on social media disappointingly will not get to see the Lowndes, reigning 1000 victor, Will being struck by lightning. Fair that fan-favourite brand Holden bit – Canberra, Hamilton, Townsville, 1 event’s wonderful end-of-season a few years, increasing the value of Auto Action sends its condolences to final result.”

Davison, David Reynolds, Chaz Mostert and is undisputed. enough, too. And just when I the dust, its return provides powerful Homebush and Newcastle. atmosphere. The 500’s return also rights. her friends and family. DM “Margaret was a very private person Many AustralianTV racing legends past and Anton de Pasquale are just some thought I’d seen everything… symbolism for the category’s future, Now RACE will be able to use enables the historic vehicle-based Long live Adelaide!

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MINISTER STRONG ON AGP STAYING IN MELBOURNE AT ALBERT Park yesterday, the Victorian Tourism Minister for Tourism Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula was asked about the future of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and made it apparent that he expects it to stay in Melbourne.

Victoria has the contract to host the Australian Grand Prix until 2025, however reports last year said that Sydney and New South Wales intended to make a bid for the race.

Pakula reiterated that the race is in Melbourne until 2025 and expressed his confidence that it will remain in Victoria beyond that, when he was

asked if there was any update on an F1 contract.

“Not that I can update you on,” he said in a press conference attended by Auto Action. “We don’t tend to conduct our negotiations in the public domain.

“Both myself and the AGPC (Australian Grand Prix Corporation) have been speaking very productively with Formula 1 management, and I will have more to say, when I have more to say about it.

“But I would be unsurprised that any jurisdiction would want this race.

“But it is a Melbourne institution, it’s here at the moment until 2025 and I

expect it will be here for much longer than that.”

The closest that Sydney has got to hosting a Formula 1 race was when Mark Webber drove his Williams across the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.

New South Wales have always stated intentions to host the Australian Grand Prix, but to date only Adelaide and Melbourne have held official Formula 1 World Championship races.

Pakula explained how important the race is for tourism and the economy in Victoria.

“Historically it’s very strong,” he said.

“I like to often repeat this statistic that we are the only city on the planet with both a Tennis Grand Slam and the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“It (Melbourne) is a pretty exciting place to be, there are motor racing fans all over the country, they can see Supercars in lots of places, but they can only see Formula 1 here in Melbourne.”

The Australian Grand Prix is now only a couple of weeks away, set to take place from April 7-10 and will be the first time it has gone ahead since the global pandemic.

Dan McCarthy

BIGGEST ATTENDANCE ON THE CARDS FOR AUS GP IN WHAT is tipped to be one of, if not the biggest aggregate attendance that the Australian Grand Prix has ever had, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation has announced that Saturday general admission tickets have sold out.

It is the first time ever that both the Saturday and Sunday park pass (general admission) ticket allocations have been exhausted since Melbourne started hosting the Grand Prix in 1996.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Westacott believes the event will get close and could even break the record attendance of 401,000, set the first year in 1996.

“We expect that we’re going to have the biggest or one of the biggest aggregate crowds in the history of the event, we won’t surpass the opening round numbers in 1996 of 154,000 on Sunday,” he said in a press conference attended by AUTO ACTION.

“But we expect to have about the second or third highest attendance on a Sunday, possibly the highest attendance ever on a Saturday on a Friday and maybe that also moves into Thursday, as well as we move closer to the event.”

In recent years the Albert Park circuit contained 12 grandstands, however it will boast 17 when the Formula 1 cars return to Melbourne in just over two weeks’ time.

Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula explained that the 2022 event will be something special.

“The new stands give you a sense of the interest in and demand for tickets at the Australian Grand Prix,” he said.

“This year and after the incredible 2021 season, it’s little wonder that the AGPC and the Australian Grand Prix is being very, very keenly sought after and there’s a great deal of fan excitement about the race, which is only a couple of weeks away now.

“This is a major global event, Albert Park and all of Melbourne will be absolutely buzzing between the eighth and the 10th of April.”

Westacott agreed, saying that many other things have been added to make the 2022 edition the best yet, after two COVID-19 enforced cancelations the last two years.

“In addition to those additional grandstands,” Westacott said. “We’re putting new hospitality facilities to coincide with the locations that we’ve modified on this wonderful circuit, we’ve got up to 41 Superscreens to enhance the viewing for the new fans coming along.”

With tickets exhausted for Saturday and Sunday of this year’s Grand Prix, Friday is still a good viewing opportunity with two hours of F1 action across two practice sessions.

Not only are general admission tickets still available on Friday, but grandstand tickets which cost a maximum of $91.

Dan McCarthy

THE REASON FOR AGP CROWD CAP AUSTRALIAN GRAND Prix CEO Andrew Westacott has spoken about the reasons behind the event having a crowd cap this year, as the event would have undoubtedly been set for record numbers this year.

Both Sunday and now Saturday tickets to the Australian Grand Prix have already sold out, the first time this has happened since the race moved to Victoria in 1996.

However, the event may not break the record attendance figure of 401,000 as it is capping the crowd this year, but why?

Westacott has said that is down to a shortage of labour, and in a bid to make it the best experience for everyone at the venue, they don’t want to spread the staff too thinly, hence the capping of crowd numbers.

“Let me cover off labour and the build in two perspectives,” Westacott said in a press conference attended by Auto Action.

“One from an increase in the scope of grandstands, and an increase in scope of hospitality facilities has meant that we’ve actually spread the workforce out over a larger amount of time, or brought in more suppliers in the case of grandstands. We’ve gone from two suppliers to three suppliers to cater for the demand.

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“When it comes to hospitality, one of the things in recent discussions with our three hospitality providers is that we’re okay at the moment.

“But as the numbers are going up, normally we’d have the recruitment of the workforce completed by now 16 to 20 days out.

“But what we’re finding now is the recruitment is going to go all the way up to the event.

“Now we’re confident that those numbers are going to be there, but if there is any desire or interest to work at the Australian Grand Prix we’ll making sure that people have that opportunity because we want to make sure.

That’s why we’re capping the attendance at the 125-130,000 level. The experiences we’ve got are

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going to be first class.”

Westacott highlights that there are many great new areas to watch the action in 2022 with the addition of five new grandstands.

“The best example of that are hospitality facilities, a grandstand or fantastic new general admission viewing hubs with about 41 Super screens around the venue,” he said.

“We want to make sure the services are to the world class standards expected of Formula 1 and expected by every Melbournian.”

Dan McCarthy

ADELAIDE 500 IS BACK AND PERCAT LEADS THE CELEBRATION

ADELAIDE NATIVE Nick Percat has started the celebrations for the return of the Adelaide 500 following the runaway win by the Labor Party in the South Australian election.

Stephen Marshall was comprehensively ousted from the Premier’s office by Peter Malinauskas, who promised to return the Adelaide 500 if he won the state election.

Everyone in Supercars is now waiting for details of Malinauskas’ plan to restore the Adelaide 500 as the grand final of this year’s Supercars championship series, from December 1-4.

Percat, who is a past winner of the Adelaide 500 and has raced the classic street course in the main game of Supercars since 2014, was hugely happy to hear the result of the election.

“Everyone fought so hard to get this race back. It’s a massive win for Supercars and all the support categories,” Percat tells Auto Action.

“I definitely think we should be celebrating as a sport. I think it will take a little bit for it to sink in.”

It only took a couple of hours for Malinauskas to establish an unbeatable lead in the election count, and eliminate the pre-poll predictions of a hung parliament or a narrow win for the outgoing Premier.

“I think old mate will be licking his wounds,” Percat jokes.

Bringing the Adelaide 500 back from the dead was one of the high-profile election promises by Malinauskas, who reacted quickly when Marshall axed the event in late 2020.

He made a mercy flight to Sydney to sign a Memoradum of Understanding with the then-CEO of Supercars, Sean Seamer, promising a return of the Hall of Fame event.

In addition to the Adelaide 500, he also committed to putting the Adelaide Motorsport Festival back on the calendar.

“I think we didn’t realise how big the race was until it was gone. And now it’s coming back,” says Percat.

“It’s huge for motorsport in South Australia to have a return of the event that myself and so many other drivers dreamed about racing. I had my first race there in Formula Ford in 2005, I won there in Super2, got pole position in a Cup Car and Super2, and then won in the main game.

“I’m very, very happy.” Paul Gover

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REYNOLDS: QUALIFYING THE KEY IN TASSIE V8’S BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR 12 HOUR IN A cynical attempt to grow the grid, V8 Touring Cars will be eligible to enter this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour as part of the invitational class in the once around the clock Australian GT endurance race.

The old Supercars that are allowed to enter the GT race, must be preCar of the Future machines, Holden Commodores (up to VEII) and Ford Falcons (FG).

The former Supercars must have a V8 Touring Car logbook to be eligible to join the invitational cars.

Supercars will join MARC Cars Australia and ‘GTC’ Sports Cars, from one-make categories including the Ferrari Challenge, Lamborghini Trofeo Supercup and Audi R8 Cup that are also allowed to race in the 2022 edition of the Bathurst 12 Hour.

The addition of the pre-Car of the Future Supercars to the eligibility list gives Super3 competitors the chance to race their machines in an endurance race at Bathurst.

Normally Super3 competitors would not be eligible to race at the 6.213km circuit in anything other than the traditional Super2/3 round as a support category at the Bathurst 1000.

The addition of the cars to the Bathurst 12 Hour comes with the support of V8 Touring Cars’ Category Managers, the Australian Racing Group which owns the category, and Supercars.

Notably nearly a decade ago wellknown Touring Car privateer Mal Rose pairing up with Aaron Tebb and Adam Wallis raced an ex-Garry Rogers Motorsport VZ Commodore to 12th place outright and the Invitational category win in the 2013 12-hour.

Rose had competed internationally, including at the Nurburgring 24 Hour and Sepang 12 Hour, and had long harboured an ambition to compete in the 12-Hour with the machine.

After qualifying in 23rd the car was fast and reliable all day and assisted the trio of drivers to victory in the Invitational class that weekend.

Currently, youngsters Kai Allen and Bradley Vaughan are tied at the top of the Super3 Series after the opening round held at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Dan McCarthy

Image: Motorsport Images A POSITIVE David Reynolds is looking forward to hitting the track at Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend, citing qualifying as the key to a successful weekend in the Supercars Championship.

The Grove Racing driver produced a mixed bag at Sydney Motorsport Park, finishing 24th and ninth in each of the two races.

Indeed, it was an up and down weekend for the team as a whole after a transitional off-season which saw the team change its name and announce a completely revamped driver line up.

Heading into Round 2 in Tasmania, the Supercars veteran is hoping to make an early statement by producing strong one-lap pace.

“I tend to really like that track, when you’ve got good horsepower, that makes

it easier,” Reynolds told Auto Action.

“If you don’t, you tend to sit in the backseat the whole race weekend. If you can make your car turn, get your front tyres to temperature, you qualify pretty well there which is important.

“It’s hustle and bustle circuit racing.

Turn 4 can be difficult depending where you qualify, if you’re at the front you miss a lot of the drama.

“If you qualify back you tend to be turned around and bashed into due to no fault of your own. It’s just such a slow corner going from top gear to first gear.”

Speaking on the new look Grove Racing team last week, Reynolds’ teammate Lee Holdsworth suggested that this year would be more of a development year for the Victorian based squad rather than one in which it pushes for podiums.

While Reynolds agreed with that sentiment, he made it clear that his eyes are firmly set on climbing the grid when he is on track.

“Every time you go out on the track you’ve got to have the objective of winning to get the most out of the car,” Reynolds said.

“Sometimes the most out of the car might be ninth or seventh but you maximise what you’ve got.”

“I’m feeling very positive about the year ahead.

“There is a heap of stuff to work on in our team and the car. We’ll be doing that until we rise to the top I suppose.”

Grove Racing sit eighth in the Teams’ Championship with one round in the book.

The Tasmania SuperSprint will take place from March 26-27 at Symmons Plains Raceway. Josh Nevett

FRUSTRATED BUCHAN RUES PHILLIP ISLAND SETBACK HMO CUSTOMER Racing driver Josh Buchan has identified an unsuccessful qualifying strategy as the catalyst for a nightmare TCR Australia Series round which saw him drop from the lead to 11th in the standings.

Buchan did not grace the top 10 all weekend, running in the rear half of the field after ending up 17th in qualifying with a 1m 37.592s lap on Saturday.

From there he was chasing his tail, failing to finish in Race 1 before coming home 19th and 14th in the final two encounters.

The woes were not limited to his Hyundai i30N TCR machine – all three HMO Hyundai’s struggled to make an impact at the Island circuit.

Rookie Bailey Sweeny was 11th in the round standings, while Nathan Morcom ended up 13th and Buchan ranked 20th, above only Michael Clemente who missed the final race.

“Not one of the better days in sport, that’s for sure,” Buchan told Auto Action.

“Look, we did it to ourselves. We tried to outsmart ourselves a little bit in qualifying.

“In hindsight, it’s the better thing to do but if you don’t qualify well in this category, it shows, so we were down the back early and just stayed there.

“We all did the same thing. If it paid off, we would have looked like legends. I think that was the idea but hey, that’s car racing. Some days you’re the hero and some days you’re not.”

Particularly frustrating for Buchan was the fact that the Hyundai’s were running strong and were at a track that has traditionally suited them.

“There was really nothing wrong with the car, it was fast, practice, it was good.

We tested before the event, it was good. It was good in Race 3,” Buchan said.

“PI is one of our stronger tracks and that’s what’s so frustrating, we missed it.

“It’s just hard to get through such a tight field when there’s a 0.1s difference in cars.

“If we were at the front of the field, then I’ve got no doubt we would have stayed there. If you start from the back it’s hard to claw your way with our balance in the car not being such a straight line car.

“If we reset and did this weekend

tomorrow, I’m sure it’d be very different.”

The TCR Australia Series heads to Mount Panorama next for the Bathurst 6 Hour event in mid-April, before remaining in New South Wales for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships round at Sydney Motorsport Park at the end of May. Buchan knows the next round at bathurst will be a challenge, but is keen to put the woes of Phillip Island behind him, but is excited to get back on track.

“Bathurst not so much, but Eastern Creek we know we can go well there so I’m eagerly anticipating getting to another round,” Buchan said.

“Definitely looking forward to moving on to the next one.” Josh Nevett

Image: ARG/Daniel Kalisz

70 CARS FOR BATHURST 6 HOUR THE BIGGEST ever endurance race grid is set to line up for this year’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, over the Easter long weekend.

A 70-car entry list for the production car race at Mount Panorama has been unveiled, with the grid comprised of cars representing 15 different brands, 34 different models and featuring more than 160 drivers.

Should more than 64 cars start the race on Easter Sunday, it will become the biggest ever field to tackle an endurance race at Mount Panorama.

The field is comprised of cars in eight classes, separated by performance levels and vehicle affordability with the field including $130,000+ BMWs in the outright category, through to $20,000 Suzuki Swift Sports in Class E. The field is not only the largest, but also the most competitive field assembled in Bathurst 6-hour history.

It includes the last three outright winning combinations in the race, including defending champions Rob Rubis, Shane Smollen and Shane van Gisbergen in their BMW M4.

Van Gisbergen is also the defending Supercars Champion and one of only two people in history to claim the 6-Hour, 12-hour and Bathurst 1000 treble.

2019 winners Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey will be joined by Supercars star and former Bathurst 1000 winner Will Davison in a bid to add another Mount Panorama title, while the 2018 winners Grant and Iain Sherrin will also return.

The all-star grid also includes notables like Tim Slade, Will Brown, Tony D’Alberto, David Russell, Bathurst legend John Bowe and the racing

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return of Marcos Ambrose – who will drive a Ford Mustang with George Miedecke.

BMWs dominate the outright class (X – Extreme Performance) however the addition of several new cars could see the German marque – currently unbeaten in the 6 Hour – challenged this year.

Several brand-new and upgraded Ford Mustangs are entered, while Lexus will enter the fray in the top category via the Bathurst debut of the V8-powered RC-F. A BMW M2 entered by reigning Porsche Carrera Cup champion Cameron Hill will also look to shake up the internal BMW battle, too.

The six hour is Mount Panorama’s most accessible endurance race and a host of

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combinations from across the motorsport spectrum have entered the race as a result.

There’s also a notable family theme spread across the field, with 11 of the 70 entries comprised either entirely or in part of related family members.

Several combinations where a father will pair with his son – or sons – including former Bathurst 1000 podium finisher Steven Ellery with sons Tristan and Dalton, and Touring Car privateer Wayne Russell with sons Drew and Aaren.

The entry list also includes teams where driving duties will be shared by cousins and multiple entries where brothers will join forces.

1987 Bathurst 1000 winner Peter McLeod is

entered alongside his grandson, Benjamin, in a HSV Astra in Class C, while his other two grandsons – Nick and Cameron – will share a Ford Mustang with Supercars driver and team owner, Tim Blanchard.

The Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour will be the culmination of a massive Easter long weekend of racing at Mount Panorama.

The program includes the third round of the 2022 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, the Turtle Wax Trans Am Series, MRF Pulsar Racing Series, NSW Historic Touring Cars and HQ Holdens.

The event will be broadcast live, ad-break free and on demand on Stan Sports on April 16-17.

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MARQUEZ DOUBLE VISION RETURNS FACTORY HONDA rider Marc Marquez has been ruled out of action for an undetermined amount of time following a new episode of diplopia (double vision).

Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marquez was forced to miss the Indonesian Grand Prix after a spectacular high-side at Turn 7 in Sunday morning warm-up saw him dealt a concussion and several minor traumas.

After the track examination, he was transferred to the hospital in Mataram, the capital of the island of Lombok, where he underwent more medical examinations, as well as a CT scan in which major injuries were ruled out.

But, as a precaution, the MotoGP medical team together with the Repsol Honda Team jointly decided that Marquez would not take part in the Indonesian Grand Prix.

It was expected that Marquez would return for the Argentine Grand Prix, however upon returning to his home country of Spain, he began to suffer from vision issues putting this in doubt.

On Monday, he had an emergency visit to the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona with his trusted ophthalmologist, Dr. Sanchez Dalmau, who confirmed a relapse in the diplopia (double vision) that the rider suffered last November.

The damaged nerve in his eye caused diplopia and ruled him out of the final two races last year, and is a real blow to Marquez’s title hopes.

Last night, the Spanish rider visited his medical team, led by Dr. Samuel Antuna, at the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid, where Marquez underwent a general medical check-up to evaluate all the bruises caused by the crash and a brain MRI. This reconfirmed he did not suffer any other injuries.

Doctor Dalmau confirmed the return of double vision for Marquez, stating that he will undergo another check-up next week.

“The neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Marquez on Monday after the head injury that occurred at the Indonesian Grand Prix, shows a new episode of diplopia caused by a recurrence of paralysis of the fourth right nerve,” he said.

“There is less involvement than the one that occurred in the injury in November 2021.

“After this examination, it was initially decided to follow a conservative treatment with periodic medical tests.

“Next week, Marc Marquez will undergo a new check-up to evaluate the evolution of the injury and to predict the estimated recovery period to return to competition.”

Dan McCarthy

Image: Motorsport Images

PIARC TO CELEBRATE 70 YEARS IN STYLE THE PHILLIP Island Auto Racing Club (PIARC) will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a jampacked weekend of motorsport at its spiritual home, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

The two-day closed event follows a busy month of action at the circuit that has seen the Phillip Island Classic and Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships held with great success.

On Saturday March 26, the official anniversary date, the club will host grass roots motorsports with Supersprints, a Round of the Victorian Motorkhana Championship, a Hill Climb and Scratch Races for Superkarts.

Sunday will feature open wheelers in the form of Formula 5000s and Formula Open (Libre) and Sedan racing with 2 Litre Sport Sedans, and PIARC’s Combined Sedan Category encouraging cars out of the shed and on to the track.

Off track festivities will include a members Show and Shine for Club Permit Plated vehicles and Cars of Special Interest with on track parade laps of the circuit plus a get together of PIARC members and drivers from the 50s to present day.

“This event is a showcase of what the club

has offered and archived over 70 years and to be able to have the support of the circuit to display what the club is all about is fantastic and rings true to our club mantra of providing “access to motorsport”,” PIARC Club President Nick Scarcella said.

The club’s involvement spans building the circuit and maintaining it from 1952 to 1956, racing from 1956 to 1962, 1967 to 1978 and 1990 to the present day.

PIARC has encompassed grands prix commencing at Calder in 1980 and

Formula 1 from 1985 to 2022 in addition to all other forms of Club, State, National and International motorsport.

A total of 889 members have been part of the PIARC journey over the 70 years.

Josh Nevett

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OPINION

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DOES SUPERCARS CARE ABOUT TASSIE?

BARRY OLIVER, LONG-TIME VOICE OF SUPERCARS, AIN’T HAPPY

By Barry Oliver WITH ROUND two of the Supercars championship at Symmons Plains this weekend, race fans intending to go to the meeting need to be aware of what Supercars will be delivering as entertainment.

By arrangement with Motorsport Tasmania, who are the owners of both Symmons Plains and Baskerville, Supercars are the promoters and organisers of this meeting and are therefore responsible for the entire program, including the support categories.

For the Supercars there will be two 30-minute practice sessions and qualifying on Saturday followed by one 44-lap (100 kilometre) race with further qualifying sessions on Sunday before two more 44-lap races.

Each race will include one compulsory pit stop to change wheels/tyres but there will be no refuelling.

Contrast that (a total of 300 racing kilometres) to the 600 kilometres of racing for round one at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The support program includes races for Aussie Race Cars and the first appearance at Symmons Plains of the V8-powered Super Utes.

This will be the third time in a row that Supercars has included the Aussie Race Cars on the program and. while they do provide close racing, the category – with all due respect – is hardly one of the most popular with fans.

Image: Motorsport Images

Similarly, the revamped Utes have hardly set the world on fire since their introduction and the fan appeal would be at the bottom of the entertainment graph.

To fill out the program, once again a local category has been included with four races for Tassie Tin Tops which includes a mix of Sports GT, Sports Sedan and Improved Production cars.

In effect, the Tin Tops are included to propup the meeting when, really, Supercars should be dumping either the Aussie Race Cars or the Utes and providing two additional national categories that have far greater appeal.

The support categories will be on track on the Friday, but no spectators will be permitted – so effectively it’s a two-day meeting.

Quite frankly, this is a pathetic and abysmal line up and clearly Supercars are shortchanging Tasmanian fans and the state for the third time in-a-row since 2019. (There was no event in 2020) Motorsport Tasmania provides the prepared circuit and infrastructure plus local officials and various other services for a contracted fee leaving Supercars to promote and organise the meeting.

Supercars, in effect, takes over the circuit.

From a financial perspective, Supercars is in the box seat as they gain all gate takings, all income from corporate hospitality, the fees paid by on-site vendors providing food, coffee, merchandise, etc, and significant event naming

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rights sponsorship plus television rights.

And here’s the clincher.

The Tasmanian Government will hand over $1.6 million of taxpayer funds to Supercars for the right to have them race in the state.

Supercars will no doubt trot out the old argument of the high cost to cross the water, conveniently ignoring the freight-equalisation scheme and the cost to teams to go to other rounds such as Perth and Darwin.

How much would it cost for the seven Victorian-based teams to haul 17 Supercars in B-Doubles to Darwin or the four Queenslandbased teams to haul eight Supercars to Perth?

And, by the way Perth, will get three national categories to support the Supercars, plus a large field of the Radical Sports Cars, half of which are coming from the East Coast.

Supercars will also argue that Tasmania gains valuable exposure as a destination but that is almost impossible to quantify.

As for the number of visitors who will set foot in Tasmania for the meeting, or for a holiday at some later stage ... again it’s debatable.

Putting aside those last two points, the real issue is the total lack of respect for the Tasmanian fans who have every right to feel they are being treated with contempt.

It also raises the question as to how the State Government and Events Tasmania have allowed this disgraceful situation to continue.

It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened, but clearly nothing has been done and quite

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frankly somebody needs a kick up the bum.

To their credit, successive governments have poured millions of dollars into upgrading the circuit, often to meet the demands of Supercars who are now enjoying substantial financial rewards, but snubbing their noses at the fans.

It’s time the new Supercars hierarchy put their feet back on the ground and listened to the fans instead of adopting an attitude that smacks of sheer arrogance.

It’s also time Supercars had a reality check and recognised they are not the only show in town. Few people love the sport more than me, but enough is enough ...

This opinion piece was first published in the Launceston Advertiser

Image: Aaron Wishart

PG GOT TO DRIVE THE SCODA FABIA R5. READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

THE MOTORSPORT MAGICIAN NOT CONTENT WITH SUPERCARS, SHANE VAN GISBERGEN IS GOING TO RALLY. REMEMBER THE kiddies’ song ‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise’?

Well, I do, I did, and I was.

Surprised, that is.

I remember the song; I went down to the woods, and I was surprised

by Shane van Gisbergen.

Everyone in Supercars knows what he can do in a high-powered V8-engined touring car, but everything changes as he drives onto a slimy gravel track in a forest on the outskirts of Canberra.

I’m standing, watching, and waiting to see what happens as SvG gets to know the Skoda Fabia R5 he will drive in the first round of the Australian Rally Championship.

First time around on a special course in Kowen Forest, he is roadcar slow. He ambles away from the starting line and drives around the first right-hander, in contrast to the rally regulars who fire into action and hurl their cars into a giant slide.

But, within an hour, SvG shows what he can do.

Standing and watching again, this time on the outside of a doubleright combination, with light drizzle

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE falling, he rockets into view, hurls a wall of mud in my direction, and goes foot-down to the finish line.

It is clear that SvG is now a bona fide rally driver.

At the end of the day, there is more proof from the stopwatch.

Van Gisbergen has topped the times at the pre-season media day, bettering even the factory Gazoo Racing Toyota Yaris rocket ships of Harry and Lewis Bates.

He’s only made the mark by a few tenths, and he had the advantage of running last on a road that was getting quicker all the time, but the stopwatch does not lie.

Neither does van Gisbergen, as he answers questions following the test.

So, was there anything he brought from Supercars to Rally, or could

take from Rally back to Supercars?

“No.” What was his view of the day?

“I didn’t really have any expectations. I eased into in the morning and built up my confidence. By the end of the day I was feeling comfortable and I was pushing myself and the car a lot more.”

The deal for the Rally of Canberra is happening thanks to Red Bull, which is no surprise, but also because of a chat between rally action man Adrian Coppin and Jessica Dane from Triple Eight Race Engineering. Coppin is doing all he can to boost the profile of rallying, and also powering some circuit stuff for Motorsport Australia, while Dane knew that SvG was keen to rally after watching his father in action

in New Zealand and also driving a gravel rallysprint before Covid.

The key to the deal is Race Torque, a factory-supported squad out of Western Australia which has operated throughout the Asia-Pacific region with Skoda R5 cars. Lindsay Heegan, one of the company’s chiefs, is in Canberra to oversee the test and will return for the real thing.

“I was super impressed with the car. It’s so refined and the team at Race Torque do an awesome job preparing it,” says van Gisbergen.

His co-driver for Canberra is Glen Weston, a rally veteran with three national championships and the calm and methodical approach needed to guide the Supercars star.

Together, the pair used the test day to learn pace-noting so SvG can be prepared for the treacherous gravel roads in the Canberra forests and to extract maximum speed through every kilometre.

Van Gisbergen admits that “getting used to the pace notes” is the single biggest challenge.

“It’s definitely something I have to get used to, but Glen is awesome

and has so much experience, so I’m learning a lot from him.”

There is a lot more learning to be done, but van Gisbergen is clearly happy.

“Loved it,” he says.

But he stops short of predictions for the rally itself, even though some insiders predict he will finish on the podium in Canberra if he runs trouble-free and can avoid a mistake on roads which have claimed many high-profile victims, right back to rally legend Ari Vatanen in the Castrol Rally in 1980.

“I’m excited but also a bit nervous.

I’ve only done one rally before and I’ve heard how difficult Canberra can be. But going in with no expectations or goals, I just want to have fun,” he says.

There is already talk about a fullscale effort in the Australian Rally Championship, and perhaps even a guest appearance at Rally New Zealand, which returns to the world championship in September.

“Let’s see how Canberra goes.

I’d love to do more but don’t want to take away from Supercars stuff,” says van Gisbergen.

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NEWS EXTRA

TELEVISION CHIEF IS A ONE OFF NO FORMAL TRAINING HAS NOT STOPPED SUPERCARS BROADCAST BOSS

By Paul Gover NEIL CROMPTON describes Nathan Prendergast as a unicorn.

It’s not because he is extinct, even if he is leaving the top job at Supercars Television in June, but because of his unique talent.

It also helps that he has withering commitment, boundless energy, and a collection of friends and colleagues who are more like a herd on a migration.

And he also likes to DJ . . .

AFTER a400 Prendergast, 46-year-old Sydneysider with teenaged children, has been involved in motorsport since his childhood thanks to his father. Kevin Prendergast ran Ravenswood raceway in Western Australia.

When Eastern Creek Raceway was being built, he was head-hunted in 1991 and that brought young Nathan into the world of toplevel motorsport and, eventually, broadcasting as well.

“I was into motorsport before television.

I lived at the racetrack. I basically had an eduction in motorsport,” Prendergast tells Auto Action.

“This is now my 18th year with Supercars Television, either as a contractor or in a fulltime role. In that time I’ve only missed three race meetings. I’ve been one of the most dedicated and diligent dudes.”

His start on the small screen came through commentating in the 1990s, when Winfield was pouring cash into all forms of motorsport including drag racing.

“I was commentating at every major event and I got to meet a couple of the TV people at Channel 9. I asked John Leahy (producer) what I would have to do to get into television.

“He had a job at the Horizon Learning Channel at Optus. In my spare time I was editing drag racing clips. Then I went to AVE to commentate on Speedweek.”

Typically, he was handed a giant challenge and learned to think – and act – on his feet.

Expecting to be a junior on a Superbike telecast from Lakeside, he was instantly installed as editor and was cutting footage of Troy Bayliss and Marty Craggill in action.

“I did 480 episodes of Speedweek then started my own business, called Ignition Products, and was working with Murray Lomax. It was pretty awesome.”

Lomax was a real heavyweight in sports television and installed Prendergast as producer for the Super2 and Carrera Cup content on the Trackside show, as he also worked under Scott Young.

“By 2009 I was directing and 2018 I took over as head of Supercars Television. Within two years of the Channel 7 deal I was the main Supercars director.”

There have been plenty of speed bumps along the way, including one failed venture

20 I www.autoaction.com.au

that cost him his house and forced him to re-focus and re-direct his energies, but he has always maintained his key focus.

“Motorsport is the core of what I do,” he says.

This year, with RACE taking over the ownership of Supercars, he’s been busier than ever. But he relishes the challenges, and the enjoyment of working with a talented team.

“Television people are essentially gypsies, like me,” he begins.

“At the moment there are 10 people full-time at Supercars. At our smallest race meeting, which would be Western Australia because of the camera count, we still have about 80 people on-site. Obviously Bathurst is the largest, when we approach 300.

“One of the things I’m most proud about is maintaining the family atmosphere at Supercars TV. Ian O’Brien, a senior cameraman, has done 46 years. There is this core of people who are the best at what they do. People love to work on Supercars and get it done.

So, what’s the big challenge at Supercars Television for a race like Bathurst?

“You are responsible for the pressure of delivering the largest number of eyeballs at the largest race of the year.”

Still, thing are always changing and TV is all about technology and innovation.

“I pride myself on having a fairly strong technical background, having to be cameraman, editor, producer, and director.

Being a director, you really need to know it all.

“I’m very technically strong. And no-one can pull the wool over your eyes. It also allows me to stay at the forefront of what’s coming and, within budget, get it into the broadcast.

“I’m always looking at innovation. Drones have been a hot topic for a long time, but the next thing is (high-speed) racing drones.

“We are always pushing the boundaries and looking for new things to do. Last year we walked the entire track, looking for ways to make the cars look better and faster. We added two new camera points.

“We are now going to more cameras in more cars, more cameras in more spots. Like the cools tuff on the sides of cars, under cars, and . This stuff is continuing to develop.”

But there is always the big picture.

“With a race like Bathurst, viewers feel comfortable watching it and knowing where they are on the track. Things have to be treated with care.”

Looking back at his 18 years, Prendergast singles out three highlights: “The 2014 Bathurst race. The longest race in history with the track breaking up. With the amount that happened in that race, and that we captured it really well, was an incredible feat from a technical standpoint. When it started to go off its brand in the last 15 laps, I

said ‘Give me every source’ (that meant 160 Top Fuel drag racing is up there and we’re cameras in total). I remember how satisfied I broadcasting the final night. was. There are times as a director when you “I’ll produce and direct that myself. But the know you got it right. selfish reason is that Darwin is my favourite “My last race as a full-time director, in 2017 race of the year and it’s a pretty cool way to at Newcastle for the title decider: McLaughlin go out.” had a few pitlane penalties, the famous crash Once his stint at Supercars Television is with Lowndes. That was a pretty satisfying done, and before he switches his focus and way to finish. energy to the new challenge of the World “The night race at Sydney in 2018: Working Supercross Championship, he hopes to get with the venue and events team to put on some ‘me’ time to escape. that event with temporary towers and pyro, But it won’t be a total disconnect, as he what is now standard presentation. That was plans to renew his passion for four-wheel very much my baby. It was my lighting plan, driving – he drove 20,000 kilometres through my concept and I felt really proud to display the Covid road train with Supercars – with a it that way.” trip to far-north Queensland.

He’s also proud, and happy, of his “I’ll be at Townsville. I plan to sit and watch. I relationship with the drivers, who are don’t know if it will work, but I’m going to try. effectively the actors on his stage.

I’m going to give it a try . . .”

“They have all been very good to me over the years. They are all pretty respectful and nice to me,” he jokes.

“I certainly get on very well with James Courtney. My first year of directing was his championship year. I also get on pretty well with David Reynolds. He is a little bit mental, like I am.”

Coming to the end of such a full-on and pressured job, other people might ease out of the hot seat, or wind down and disconnect from the tough stuff, but that’s not Prendergast.

“My final time in the office will be the end of May, but I’ll be returning in June for Jess Yates and Ma rk Skaife have been Darwin because it’s the first pa Prendergast’s Supe rcars line-up for se rt of time for a Supercars simulcast veral years. (Motorsport Images) with Channel 7. And the

WHAT A CRACKING SEASON START!

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FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell

Images: Motorsport Images IF LAST Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix is anything to go by, Formula One is in for a cracking season, with all the ingredients to keep the fans glued to their screens right until the last lap of the final race of the year – and without the need to make up plots and faking excitement where there isn’t any, à la Netflix specials ...

The real action in Sakhir was tremendously interesting. If we saw that many close battles throughout the field in the first round, we can expect a lot more at other circuits, including the renovated Albert Park track, to where the World Championship will be heading in just two weeks from now.

I’m not one to be overly pleased with early signs, but this Bahrain Grand Prix had it all: first, we had two teams very closely matched in Ferrari and Red Bull, with the Scuderia actually having the upper hand when Charles Leclerc managed to put everything together, both in qualifying and the race.

Then, we had the magnificent battle between Monegasque Leclerc and World Champion Max Verstappen, swapping place back and forth on no less than three occasions, the Ferrari man always managing to outsmart the Dutchman, who repeatedly fell for the trap of getting into the lead just before the DRS detection line on the way to Turn 1, making

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER himself vulnerable on the straight down to Turn 4.

Third, we’ve seen Mercedes really on the back foot for the first time in the Hybrid era, with Lewis Hamilton consistently off the ultimate pace by half a second per lap, a huge gap even the mighty German team will find it hard to recover quickly.

But the prospect of seeing them close that gap to make it a six-car battle at the front of the field is mouth-watering for a hardcore Formula One fan like me.

Still on the subject of Mercedes, Bahrain showed that George Russell will have a hard time against Hamilton, dampening the hype of the British media, who was already seeing him as a king toppler – a feeling that extended to a couple of senior members of his team, I must say … as he was comprehensively beaten by the veteran Englishman.

But there was more, of course, with Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas – the Finn marvelously backed by rookie Guanuy Zhou – showing that last year’s slowest teams, Haas and Alfa Romeo, are

now at the front of the midfield and punching way above their weight. Whether they can keep up in the development race against much bigger teams, is another exciting topic I can really look forward to watching.

Fifth – yes, I kept counting…

– McLaren and Aston Martin’s disasters in Bahrain were shocking to see, especially for the respective team members, but given how well-funded and full of talented people both teams are, it’s just a matter of time before they find the root cause of their issues, fix them, and join the battle for best of the rest, as the midfield battle was really close and any tenth of a second a team may find will bring a gain of several positions on the grid.

Then, of course, we had the Red Bull double retirement, officially due to fuel system issues but, if good sources in the Paddock are to be trusted, more likely to have come from MGU-K failures that may cost grid penalties later in the season, if those two units cannot be fixed. In fact, reliability is a serious issue for all teams

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE?

Formula 1 Race 2 from Saudi Arabia; Supercars action from Tasmania; full Bathurst 6 Hour event program; Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix preview, and plenty more news and features AutoActionMagazine

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bar Ferrari in this early part of the season, so we can expect some late race twists when cars will stop – something we weren’t really used to seeing in the last few years – adding extra spice to the races.

I could go on and on, because this first race really boosted my excitement for the season, but I’d just like to end up on another, the seventh, positive note: there were no track limits controversies, no orders to give positions back, no penalties for any driver repeatedly getting all four wheels off the track, as the drivers understood the new, stricter guidelines they were given

by Niels Wittich, the Race Director on duty in Bahrain. The white line is the track limit – and will be at all tracks, regardless of its kerbs and run-off areas – and you have to keep at least one wheel inside that line to avoid having your time deleted. The fact that this is the rule for the season, gives the drivers a clear guideline of what they can and cannot do and they were all happy to know this is where they’ll stand all the way up to Abu Dhabi.

Although I suspect Jeddah will provide us with a different kind of entertainment, I’m confident that from the Australian Grand Prix onwards this season will continue to deliver on its promise and, frankly, I cannot wait for more exciting Grand Prix racing throughout 2022.

PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Daniel Kalsz, Mark Horsburgh, Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyde, Richard Hathaway, MTR Images, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, autopics.com.au INTERNATIONAL Motorsport Images ADVERTISING MANAGER Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

STOP / GO

FORMULA 1 has announced a long-term deal with the legendary Enzo e Dino Ferrari International Circuit in Imola, which will host a Grand Prix until 2025. Imola was reintroduced to the calendar in 2020 as a ‘one off’ race as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many F1 rounds worldwide. It returned again in 2021 as a substitute and has now secured a permanent spot back on the Formula 1 calendar until 2025. DM

F1’S ABU DHABI RACE FIASCO...

REPORT REVEALED

SAUBER HAS announced its academy line-up for 2022, announcing Theo Pourchaire and Roberto Faria as its young guns. Pourchaire joined the Sauber Academy in 2019 and has since become Formula 2’s youngest-ever polesitter and race winner. The 18-year-old Frenchman is widely tipped as an F2 title contender this year. Brazilian Faria took nine podiums and a win in the 2021 British F3 Championship. He will compete in the 2022 GB3 Championship for Carlin. JN

SEVEN-TIME Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is in the process of changing his name to include his mother’s surname. Hamilton’s mother, Carmen Larbalestier, and father, Anthony Hamilton, separated when Lewis was a child, but Larbalestier has been ever present throughout his career, attending his knighting ceremony and numerous Formula 1 races. Hamilton’s current full name, Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, will shortly be officially altered to incorporate the Larbalestier name. JN

MERCEDES-AMG rolled out its new emergency vehicles for the 2022 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, including a Safety Car that does away with the traditional roofmounted lightbar. The 2022 Safety Car is the MercedesAMG GT Black Series, replacing 2021’s Mercedes-AMG GT R, modified for special use on F1 circuits around the globe. In place of a roof-mounted lightbar, the new Safety Car is fitted with light signalling in the windscreen and rear-facing lights in the rear spoiler. JN

F1 BROADCAST duo David Croft and Martin Brundle will host an ‘Ask Crofty’ live show in Melbourne in the lead up to the return of the Australian Grand Prix. The show will take place on April 5 at the Plenary theatre – tickets are on sale now. Croft and Brundle will talk about their time in broadcasting, discuss current issues in F1 and provide behind-the-scenes insights during their time on stage. JN

22 I www.autoaction.com.au

Image: Motorsport Images THE FIA has finally published the full report of the enquiry into how the Race Director handled the decisive moments of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, admitting there were “human errors” in the way procedures were implemented, but defending Michael Masi who, it says, was “acting in good faith” and was loaded with unacceptable pressures from the teams, while having to work with a Sporting Regulations that was open to “different interpretations”.

Many in Formula One, including the sport’s CEO Stefano Domenicali and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, had suggested the FIA should publish the entire report, while Max Verstappen, believed that wasn’t necessary.

In the same way the FIA communicated that Michael Masi was no longer Race Director during the launch of the Ferrari F1-75, the report was published 50 minutes before the start of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, to minimise its exposure, as the moment the cars started running, the focus moved to the qualifying results …

In brief, though, the FIA findings started off with admitting that “it was apparent from the analysis that there could be different interpretations of Article 48.12 and Article 48.13 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, and that this likely contributed to the applied procedure”, as the words “all cars” and “any cars” were used for the same effect but have

different interpretations. Further, it pointed out that the decision to let the drivers race on the last lap, “likely took into account previous discussions that made clear the Formula 1 Stakeholders’ preference to end races under green flag racing conditions, rather than behind a Safety Car, when safe to do so”, but insisted that, “the Race Director was acting in good faith and to the best of his knowledge, given the difficult circumstances, particularly acknowledging the significant time constraints for decisions to be made and the immense pressure being applied by the teams.”

It was then pointed out that, “the results of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIA Formula One World Championship are valid, final and cannot now be changed.

In accordance with the rules, Mercedes made a protest to the stewards after the race, seeking to change the race classification. The stewards dismissed the protest and Mercedes then had an opportunity to appeal that decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal, but did not do so. There are no other available mechanisms in the rules for amending the race classification.”

Several changes were announced, including, “the process of identifying lapped cars has up until now been a manual one and human error lead to the fact that not all cars were allowed to un-lap themselves.

Due to the fact that manual interventions generally carry a higher risk of human error, software has been developed that will, from now on, automate the communication of the list of cars that must un-lap themselves.

In addition, the 2022 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations have been recently updated to clarify that “all” and not “any” cars must be permitted to un-lap themselves.”

The report then issued a number of recommendations regarding the new structure of Race Direction in Formula One, with the rotating Race Directors having much more human and technological support than Charlie Whiting or Michael Masi ever had, along with detailed information of how the Remote Race Control will operate from now on – the most impressive part of it is that, in the FIA Headquarters in Geneva, the RRC will have access to 140 video and audio sources to help passing its findings to the Stewards of the Meeting.

Earlier it had been revealed that Lewis Hamilton offered to make a donation of 50,000 Euros to the FIA, “to support the education of a student from a disadvantaged background” after a meeting with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem where they discussed the Brit’s absence from the 2021 FIA Gala and prize giving ceremony. So no further action was taken against the Mercedes driver.

QATAR IN AS RUSSIA IS OUT THE MIDDLE EAST GETS ANOTHER RACE

Image: Motorsport Images

MERCEDES MIRRORS ARE WINNERS NO PENALTY FOR CONTROVERSIAL AERO VIEW THE INNOVATIVE mirrors fitted to the latest Mercedes-AMG W13 have survived questions to the FIA over their legality.

Several teams, led by Red Bull and Ferrari, questioned the legality of the W13’s mirror support, particularly as there are four small deflectors mounted on each that have no contact with the mirror’s structure. But an analysis by Formula One’s Technical Advisory Committee, where all teams are represented as well as the FIA, analysed the regulations in detail and found there was no grounds to force the German team to remove the new mirror supports.

Rival teams say the new F1 regulations, which were written by Formula One’s technical group and the FIA Technical Delegate as part of the change to the cars for season 2022 and beyond, had left a grey area available for teams to explore and that allowed Mercedes to design and develop the parts that were first seen during pre-season testing

in Bahrain.

Although the matter seems to be officially closed, Ferrari is still unhappy with the way Mercedes has explored this grey area as, in Maranello, they still vividly remember that in the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix the cars driven

by Sebastian Vettel and Raikkonen sported mirrors that were supported by the halo structure.

Those mirrors were fully within the letter of the regulations, but declared illegal after the Barcelona race for breaching the spirit of the regulations, as they were “being primarily used for aerodynamic purposes.”

So Ferrari had to remove them before the following race.

“The FIA has always said, in a very clear way, that the mirror’s support must only have a structural function, to support the mirrors, and any aerodynamic influence it may have should be merely incidental,” says Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto.

“ As that has been the principal underlined by the FIA in the past, I believe it should remain the same now and in the future as there is no reason to change the conceptual idea.”

Going into more detail, the Italian engineer adds: “regarding the mirror’s support, in the past the FIA sent the teams Technical Directives based on that principle and some teams had to adapt their cars to those Technical Directives. I firmly believe some of the solutions we’ve seen this year have more than an incidental effect on the aerodynamics of the cars, they are clearly there to generate an aerodynamic effect, and that’s why I continue to believe there are contrary to what the FIA has established and imposed in the past.”

According to Italian sources, Ferrari is determined to avoid this issue going away and is preparing a new document where it asks further clarification of the rules regarding mirror’s support. So, this saga may not be over yet and could spill deeper into the season.

F1 WORLD UNHAPPY WITH NETFLIX DRIVERS LEAVING DRIVE TO SURVIVE FAKE RIVALRIES and distorted facts in the latest series of ‘Drive to Survive’ have rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way in the world of Formula One. Netflix’s full access to the grand prix teams over the last four years has clearly increased the popularity of the sport with a younger generation of fans, particularly in the United States, but some drivers and teams are annoyed by the result in Series 4.

Picking comments from unrelated moments to create a particular storyline and to pretend there are some rivalries that are simply not true and to distort some facts, especially when there are no real battles on track and they are fake, has lots of people unhappy.

World Champion Max Verstappen declined to be included in ‘Drive to Survive 4’ that was released ahead of the 2022 season and won’t be part of it again this year.

Alpine has its own partnership with Amazon and is creating its own documentary, so Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon also don’t really feature in the Netflix documentaries, and this is a trend that will only grow this year.

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Lewis Hamilton will be working on his own documentary, hoping to win his eighth Formula One World Championship to release it after the last race.

Valtteri Bottas, who now does a regular podcast in Finnish, is considering doing his own documentary about his first season with Alfa Romeo, and the likes of Toto Wolff, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz have made it clear that they’re not happy with the way Netflix portrays some characters and situations.

“It’s not nice to have the camera straight on your face in certain moments – there’s a sort of invasion of privacy I find uncomfortable, for sure, but Netflix has made the sport’s popularity grow a lot and if they can steer a bit away from creating stories that have nothing to do with the truth, then we’ll all be happy to continue cooperating with them,” says the Mercedes-AMG team principal.

Norris, who featured favourably in the last series, says he feels “uncomfortable by the way they portray my relationship with Daniel Ricciardo

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Image: Motorsport Images and they really make him look bad in some occasions.

“They use footage from one race and superimpose comments we made during other grand prix to create a narrative that is not true, but they think is more sensationalist ... so I’m not sure that’s good for the image of the sport, the drivers and the teams.”

With drivers and teams coming to the conclusion there’s good money to be made by making their own documentaries, Netflix will need to tone down the sensationalistic tone in their specials if they want the contract with Formula One, that expires at the end of his year, to be renewed.

The sport’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali,

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has already warned the American company.

“If it’s becoming just a different way to speak about F1 without adding, or giving to the F1 platform any added value, then maybe I think it’s better to renegotiate and see with Netflix and with the other partners what could be a possibility to do something different in the future,” he says.

“But I’ll be talking to the drivers not willing to take part in this year’s special and make sure Netflix addresses their concerns, because the US is a huge market, with different needs, and we should make an effort to give them a product they like, but without changing the nature of our sport.”

THE RUSSIAN invasion of Ukraine has gifted a grand prix to Qatar.

The Arab country will host its second Formula One race on September 25 as the promoter of the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi had his contract terminated by Formula One because of close links to Vladimir Putin.

Grand prix teams have already been advised of the change but it will not be official under the contract with the promoter of the Losail circuit is signed and the promoter’s fee is paid.

Qatar has already joined the Formula One circus, hosting a race in November last year as part of the Covid calendar shuffle, and has a new 10-year deal that will see it in the world championship until 2032.

But Qatar skipped a place this year because the only available date, again in late November, would clash with the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup that brings the giant soccer championship to the country.

However, with Formula One breaking all ties with Russia, the Qataris are happy to host the second consecutive Grand Prix in Losail in September, two months before the start of the World Cup, giving continuity to their project of being a permanent feature in the sport.

While the Qatari’s initial plan was to pay a smaller fee to host the Formula One race this year – they offered half of the US$100 million (A$135 million) they paid last year – things have now changed and Stefano Domenicali, the sport’s CEO, has offered to extend the deal done last year to 12 years provided Qatar also pays $100 million to host a race this year.

That, in effect, will give Formula One US$45 million (A$61 million) more than if the race had remained in Russia, as the Sochi promoter’s fee is believed to be US$55 million (A$75 million).

As money is no problem for the Qatari government, the basic fee has been agreed but until the legal teams from both sides finalise the contract, no official announcement will be made.

The 2022 Qatar Grand Prix is also set to be the last to be held at the Losail Circuit, as the government is aware the facilities are not up to modern Formula One standards.

So a new street circuit is being built north of Doha, the country’s capital, close to The Pearl area, the goal being to outdo the Jeddah circuit that was used for the Saudi GP first time last year.

Circuit design guru Herman Tilke and his team are already devising the layout of the new street track that looks set to host its first Formula One race in November of 2023 and keep it at least until the end of 2033.

Image: Motorsport Images

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DOOHAN IT AGAIN MICK DOOHAN HAS ALREADY BEEN TO THE TOP OF WORLD MOTORSPORT AND NOW HE IS LIVING IT FOR A SECOND TIME WITH HIS SON JACK

By Paul Gover MICK DOOHAN has only driven a Formula One car once – and it did not go well.

Now, he is hoping things will go much better for his son Jack, who will get his first taste of F1 this year as a member of the Alpine Academy.

Test laps are part of Doohan Jnr’s development program for 2022 as he races for the FIA Formula 2 championship and looks to follow fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri on the fast track to grand prix racing.

But what about Mighty Mick and his drive time in F1?

“Ron Dennis used to offer me a McLaren drive all the time, but I was never really interested,” Doohan begins.

But his drive came instead at a promotional day way back in 1998 when shared cigarette sponsorship under the Rothmans and Winfield brands meant Doohan and world rally champion Tommi Makinen were dropped into a Williams F1 car at Barcelona, with Jacques Villeneuve scheduled to ride Doohan’s 500cc grand prix bike.

“That test was only because I had won

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the world championship, Villeneuve had won the world championship, and Tommi Makinen had won the world championship with rallying. Initially, Villeneuve was going to ride the bike, but Williams stopped that happening,” he says.

“I knew it was just more for publicity at the time. I was never going to be a car racer.

To be totally honest, I wasn’t interested in pushing the car. I did half-an-hour in the car and about three hours in a press conference.”

And what happened?

“I spun on the out-lap! Tommi did that too – he made it a corner further than me,” Doohan laughs.

“I gave it a boot full of throttle and the thing lit up quicker than I knew. Every other car I had driven was pretty doughy, but not that one. It was a rookie error, but I was a rookie.

“I tapped the inside wall. That wasn’t a pleasant call when I got on the radio.”

These days, F1 is barely even a distant memory for Doohan.

His life is built around a highly-successful investment company and the career of his son.

How successful?

He has a house in Monaco, a beach house on the southern Gold Coast and has just knocked-back a $20 million offer for his ‘compound’ – with multiple houses, a helicopter shed, boat ramp and private gokart track – near the coast on the northern end of the Gold Coast.

“I finished bikes in 1999 and we

finished the build here in 2004. I’d been looking for some land near the water for a long long time. I found this in 1995 and I decided to turn this into a bit of a family compound.

“But I’m hardly ever here now. I love it out here, but if somebody loves it more than I do then they can have it.”

It’s the same compound where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stayed while they were filming a movie in Queensland, well before their split.

“They are really nice people. Honestly,” says Doohan.

“I met Pitt at a MotoGP race many years prior to that, with Matt LeBlanc. He and I were friendly, and still are if we bump into each other. But we haven’t stayed in touch because there was no real reason.”

Above left and right: Mick’s only laps in an F1 car was part of a sponsor promotion and it didn’t create a burning desire to race cars ... Left: Mick and a young Jack with close mate Mark Webber – whose advice has probably played its part in Jacks ascension to F2. Above: Driving a Merc in an AGP Speed Comparison promotion. Below: Jack has switched to the same Alpine junior programme as Oscar Piastri as he takes on a full F2 season. Images: Motorsport Images.

So Doohan clearly knows some famous people. Influential people, too. Some are royals, others are billionaires, and their connections are usually through business.

“They just happen over the years. I was meeting people through the sporting days.

A lot more people wanted to know me than I wanted to know them.

“But I always welcomed meeting new people and I’ve remained friendly with a lot of people and remained in contact with them.

“That’s one of the aspects you can talk about from sport. The sport is such a short period of your life so, understanding that at some time you need to be moving on, opening some of those doors while competing might help later in life.

“It can help if you do have a good ‘black book’ so you can makes some calls and make life easier for yourself. I would say that 99 per cent of the contacts I made are all friends of mine. More than business contacts.”

Schumacher was different. He and Doohan lived close together in Monaco and, since both were at the top of their form of motorsport but not direct rivals, they became friends.

“I’d say he was a close friend. He was a neighbour of mine in ’94, when he was with Benetton. We were living right beside each other in Monaco.

“We started training together and it became a friendship. We had common interests. We weren’t in each other’s pockets all the time, but we had a good relationship. Right up to his accident, to be honest.”

Doohan has also maintained his ties to several other retired racers.

“David Coulthard and Mark Webber; we all sort of get along. I spend a bit of time with them and have done for a lot of years. A lot of the car racers are bike fans, so I got to know them.

“Last year we went on a motorcycle ride.

We did one through Wales, on BMWs, which I couldn’t recommend to anyone. It was an enjoyable few days, but not riding BMW road bikes.”

But Michael

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There are also some bike racing buddies, including Paul – father of Broc – Feeney from Doohan’s time on Superbikes in Austraia.

“On the bike side of things, because it was so competitive, it’s the old-school guys like Feeney and Michael Dowson and others that are probably more friendly than the guys I competed against at world championship level.

“With the car guys, we would have a competitive spirit when we were out training.

We could have a laugh and wind each other up but it didn’t transcend to the racetrack.”

Now 57, Doohan says he very rarely rides and why would he, with an Mercedes-AMG GTR Black Series in the garage?

“I never really was someone to ride on the street. It was always about racing for me.

“The enjoyment is completely different when you go for a cruise in the mountains. I just don’t do it any longer.

“When I’m in Europe I probably ride more around town than I do anywhere else. I hop on my little Honda 125 and buzz down to the shops.”

Which brings us around to business.

So, what exactly does Mick Doohan do in his day-to-day life?

“I’m an investor. I started investing prior to finishing

my competition years. So I would say I’ve been doing it for the best part of 24 or 25 years.

“I don’t know whether it’s a thrill as such, but I enjoy investment. Depending on the class of what we’re doing, it’s all the facets that make it work and get the end result we’re looking for.

“I’m certainly a conservative investor as opposed to venture capitalist. I have a good team of people around me to give me the right advice to help with the right investments.”

So, was he tempted by the sale of Supercars last year?

“No. We looked at it, and we set out the parameters on what would be good for us to own the business, but it went for more. That’s just part of business.”

So Doohan is good at facts and figures?

“Numbers is about the only thing I’m good at. I did OK racing bikes but crashed a bit.

“Numbers and memory is what I’ve got.”

It’s a good foundation, but there is also an incredible work commitment.

“I don’t really see what I do as work, which sounds weird or like bullshit. But that’s not the case.

“I really never stop, to be honest. I never differentiate working or not working. I get bored very quickly.

“For me, doing something I feel comfortable.

Clearly it feels like work if it involves litigation or staffing problems, but that’s part and parcel of the whole game.

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“From the time I wake up I’m checking the phone and emails. And I’m in the office, but I try to get back to the house before 6pm.”

Doohan has three offices, one at the compound, one for his aviation business at Gold Coast Airport and a third in Brisbane.

And that’s not worrying about Monaco.

But he has divested of his personal jet and helicopter, which were once part of his business armoury.

“The last year I had the helicopter I used it for 15 hours in 12 months. So it didn’t make any sense. And for the past two years I haven’t really been in the country, as I base myself in Europe to follow Jack and that’s been good for business.

“Likewise with the fixed-wing aircraft. It was really just part of the business. So we’d use it for the company. In the end, I didn’t really need it any longer.”

Doohan’s aviation company is Global Jet International and he is also a sales agent, new and used, for a company called Jetcraft.

“It’s arguable the largest trader of corporate aircraft. We did 107 aircraft last year, with about 10 or 11 aircraft into Australia and New Zealand in calendar year 2021. Some of which were new; ultra-long-range aircraft were the majority of them.”

In the longer term, he is looking to grow and improve all his business interests.

“I don’t have set targets each year. In the aviation business we set targets to try and push anyone along, to try and help motivate people, and we aim for them – but some years it’s not possible to achieve those goals.

“Every year you move the gauge to be a little bit more. It’s like in motorsport, where you have do push yourself a little bit more because you don’t know what your competitors are doing.”

It’s time to change tack, and talk about Jack Doohan and Mick’s part in his car racing career.

“Schumacher had organised a couple of gokarts for Alexis (his daughter) and Jack from when they were young. He (Jack) was more interested in the Peewee 50 bike initially, but then he hurt himself at one point,” he begins.

“So karting became more of an interest, and his mates were driving karts, so it went that

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Above: PR-ing at the AGP with Vic Minister for Sport and Major events and an array of champions – Messrs Coulthard, Stewart, and Ricciardo.

Left: While Mick is prepared to help Jack to a degree financially, it’s nothing compared with the ‘my dad bought the team’ duo of Stroll Snr and Jnr. Below: Runner-up in the F3 title has provided the springboard to F2 for Jack Images: Motorsport Images.

way. He will still ride a dirt bike every now and than, but he enjoys the cars. Surfing and football were more his things and he played rugby union.”

The rush through karting and the junior levels of car racing was about establishing Jack’s talent, and polishing it with lots of testing and racing.

“Number one, if he didn’t have the talent he wouldn’t be there. He wants to be world champion, but that’s a tall task for anyone.

“I’m back him, certainly, because he’s my son and he wants to do it. But he’s clearly shown he can drive. Any team he’s been with, when it’s a capable team, he’s proven he can run at the front and win races.

“Do I believe he’s capable of running with the best? Yes, I do. But, equally, it’s about dealing with the highs and lows of the sport.”

Doohan Jnr was a winner in FIA Formula 3 last year, finishing runner-up in the series, and

It’s in the genes. Doohan Jnr with F3 silverware (above); Doohan Snr, multiple World MotoGP Champion, #1, Repsol Honda .

(Motorsport Images)

is ready for a full FIA Formula 2 campaign this year as well as testing and development through the Alpine Academy.

His father sees his role, apart from his considerable financial commitment, as backing the youngster.

“There are times when I need to be a micro-manager because he cannot manage

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himself. He’s just turned 19 and I’m essentially managing the kid, but Jack is running around organising most things by himself. The Alpine Academy also have programs and infrastructure in place for him.

“Gone are the days when I’m inside his helmet saying ‘You should do this and should do that’. But I’m still his father and I’m going to give him advice and answer his calls.”

The conversation switches now to the cost of backing a youngster, either in car racing or MotoGP. Doohan admits he is wealthy, but his net worth is tiny compared to the billionaires backing people like Lando Norris and Nikita Mazepin and Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi.

“Everything now is about how much money you bring. Even in the Moto3 junior championship, which is basic single-cylinder Honda engines, it’s 150,000 Euros for a season,” says Doohan.

The numbers are more like $500,000 for a season of Indy Lights in the USA, and more than a $1 million at the top level of FIA F2.

When it comes to Jack, Doohan is spending, but not on the scale of Laurence Stroll or others.

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“If he was there to make up the numbers, or circulate ... I don’t have the money to give him the backing to do that. It’s about putting in the effort and achieving his goals.

“Other people can also see the boy has talent. That helps alleviate some of the financial pain that it takes to get to the top in this day and age.

“When you’ve got junior academies chasing him, that speaks volumes. That said, he has to deliver. Nothing is for nothing.

“He’s had great support from Red Bull in the past., We’ve changed him to Alpine this year so he’s got some good support there.

And he’s with the world’s third-biggest car manufacturer.”

Apart from his son, Doohan has also helped some other youngsters over the years.

“A little bit of support here and there, and with motorcycling, opening some doors and giving them the right advice. But with Jack it’s almost a full-time business.”

Apart from the business, Doohan says he gets a buzz from the actual racing.

“I’m happier with watching him winning a race and doing well than I was when I was doing it,” he begins.

“Its completely different between myself and

what he’s doing. You don’t think about it when you’re riding and competing. You don’t sit around and reflect on it.

“When you’re sharing in the emotion it’s a good feeling.”

An interview with Doohan can never avoid the inevitable questions about his mangled legs, the lifelong legacy of pushing to the very limit on the way to his five MotoGP world titles.

“Pain? None. I’m pretty good. My ankle still doesn’t move, but pain-wise I’m fine.”

But was it worth the price to get his world titles in MotoGP? “I don’t even put that into any of the equation. I think with sport, let alone riding bikes – maybe not golf or snooker, but in any sort of physical sport or motor racing – you know you can hurt yourself. So when you do injure yourself there are no ‘Woe is me’ moments. It’s about the best and quickest way to go forward. I never go ‘Oh, gee, I wish ...’

“I raced bikes because I enjoyed racing bikes. And I wanted to win.

“Any day you’re riding on the edge all the time you’re going to crash. And when I crashed I did it properly.”

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BIGGER,

FASTER AND BETTER

THAN EVER THE LATEST generation in a long line of Porsche Cup cars has finally landed Downunder, greeted with excitement after impressing teams and fans alike internationally in 2021.

As usual, the full title of the German marque’s new customer racing machine is quite a mouthful – it is dubbed the Porsche 992 911 GT3 Cup – but there is ample substance behind all the letters and numbers.

The new GT3 Cup car is the first to be built on the 992 platform, the successor to the 991.2.

It had its competitive debut last year in Carrera Cups Asia, Benelux, Germany, France, and North America for the first time, as well as the popular Porsche Supercup.

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia has regained its status as a national championship for the coming season and all 32 Australian cars shipped to Australia have been sold.

As a result, the largest field of any generation of car in the premier one-make series’ 17-year Australian history will take to the track at the Albert Park season opener.

Spectators won’t just have their eyes on the sixth generation of Porsche racer used in Australia at the lakeside circuit; plenty of attention will also be paid to the steerers behind the wheel.

Carrera Cup has consistently served as a development pathway for aspiring drivers to climb the motorsport ladder, both locally and overseas.

Household names such as David Reynolds, Fabian Coulthard and Nick Percat have all progressed from the series to a Supercars berth, while more recently Matt Campbell and Jaxon Evans have forged international careers as specialist Porsche drivers.

The new spec machines produced lap times up to 2s quicker at most European circuits last year, and early testing suggests the same will be the case in our competition this campaign.

Testing as part of the technical handover at Sydney Motorsport

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Park in January saw 2017 champion David Wall beat the previous Carrera Cup lap record by over 1.8s, his 1m 28.740s effort comfortably eclipsing Michael Almond’s 1m 30.562s from 2018.

How has Porsche made such significant leaps within its own narrow framework, you ask?

Attention to detail and a holistic attitude to development has gone a long way, according to Porsche Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup Product Sales Manager Christoph Werner.

“The goal was to make every little detail better,” Werner told Auto Action from Germany.

“Not to make it way more complicated, but to improve it in every single area.”

The first aspect of the car where that philosophy has been applied is the engine.

Porsche’s famed flat-six formula is alive and well here, but the slightly tweaked 4.0-litre unit produces 375kW, a jump of 18kW over the predecessor.

Torque is slightly down at 470Nm, the engine recalibrated to produce more oomph at the top of the rev range. The new unit produces max power at 8400rpm, up from the previous 7500 rpm, before reaching redline at 8750rpm. Such an engine profile means that although the previous car may have the goods down low, the 992 will pull continue to pull where the 991.2 ran out of puff.

The most important decision made in the process of developing the 992 Cup Car engine was to steer clear of forced induction. In the age of

A RECORD FIELD OF TALENTED STEERERS ARE SET TO TAKE ON THE PORSCHE CARRERA CUP AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR, DEBUTING THE NEW GENERATION 992 GT3 CUP CAR AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX. AHEAD OF ITS FIRST COMPETITIVE OUTING ON TRACK, JOSH NEVETT UNPACKS PORSCHE’S FRESH OFFERING.

The all-new steering wheel is one of the highlights of the comprehensive upgrades

electrification and turbocharging it seems almost inevitable that many of the series’ we adore will abandon tradition in favour of sustainability, but Porsche is determined to rage against the dying of the light with its new racer.

“The key decision was that we would like to stick to a normally aspirated engine because, from an emotional point of view, both myself and our customers want a pure racing car,” Werner explained.

That’s not to say that Porsche isn’t embracing the new

era of climate change driven technology advancement – it recently took a 1-2 finish at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the electric Formula E series and released its ‘Mission R’ electric concept race car back in September.

Porsche’s trademark horizontally opposed flat-six

Images: Mick Reynolds-MTR Images

remains naturally aspirated for the 992 Cup Car, Porsche electing to focus its attention on sustainable fuels as a means of meeting modern demands. The new GT3 Cup can run on synthetic fuels, significantly reducing CO2 emissions in race conditions.

The result is a balance between social responsibility and brand authenticity, leaving Porsche’s reputation sitting pretty.

“Synthetic fuels are one of our future elements because we won’t get rid of all the combustion engines we have in the market,” Werner said.

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“It’s one big and important step to tackle the topic of sustainability.”

As well as giving teams a car that performs better on track on track and is true to the spirit of Stuttgart, Porsche has prioritised its customers by reducing running costs on the 992.

As with its immediate predecessor, the engine only needs a maintenance check after 100 hours of track time. The previous 3.8-litre power plant required inspection after just 40.

Identical to the road car, the Cup variant has a 102mm bore and 81.5mm stroke and similar to the 991.2 track-going machine the water-cooled 992 runs with four valves per cylinder.

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Perhaps the clearest upgrade to the engine is in the oiling system. The system has been shifted downwards, allowing more room for an upsized oil pump.

Three different exhaust systems are available on the 992 Cup car – depending on the racing series, noise regulations and racetrack. Carrera Cup Australia will mostly utilise the Nr 1 open ‘Supercup’ system, while the quieter Nr 2 system with a centre rear muffler will be fitted for the round at Sandown Raceway.

Changes may be subtle in the engine

department, but they are far more obvious on the exterior of the vehicle.

The body of the 992 Cup represents an achievement in both weight saving and aerodynamics, designed to slingshot the car around circuits faster than ever.

Porsche has given the new generation a 911 turbo-specification body design for the first time ever, resulting in a car that is 28mm wider at the rear.

A broadened front axle and flared fenders at the front also contribute to a 1920mm width at the front axle.

As such, the incoming car has far more presence on the track, which has been welcomed by customers who complained that the 991 Cup car looked more road car than racer.

Despite being bigger, the shell of the 992 Cup is lighter thanks to a greater proportion of aluminium in the shell. The body of the 991.2 Cup car consisted of 70% steel and 30% aluminium but the ratio in the 992 Cup car has been flipped.

That change in body composition has presented challenges to the engineering team though, as the shell still needed to be capable of withstanding the rigours of motorsport.

“It may sound good because it’s lighter, but it’s really not because we needed to reinforce the structures to

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FAST FACTS PORSCHE 992 911 GT3 CUP CAR Engine: 4.0 litre naturally aspirated, horizontally opposed, six-cylinder, rear-mounted, watercooled, four valves per cylinder, direct fuel injection, dry sump lubrication, Bosch MS 6.6 engine control unit, Nr 1 open ‘Supercup’ exhaust system.

Power: 375kW Torque: 470Nm Transmission: Six-speed electric sequential gearbox, electric servo-motor operated shift barrel actuator (paddle shift), three-plate sintered metal racing clutch.

be able to take motorsport forces,” Werner explained.

In actuality, the weight savings achieved by an aluminium based shell have been cancelled out by the requirement to add extra struts to the steel safety cell. The 992 Cup car weighs 1260kg, 60kg more than its predecessor.

Safety is indeed paramount when it comes to the development of the 992 Cup – its removeable rescue hatch, safety nets (centre and driver’s side) and a reinforced integrated welded roll cage are all in accordance with the latest FIA safety regulations.

In not skimping on safety, Porsche’s boffins have strived to achieve more deliberate weight savings elsewhere, most apparent in the use of plastic and carbon fibre to shave mass wherever possible.

Both materials have been utilised in tandem for the doors and rear lid. The glass windows of the road car have been swapped out for hard coated polycarbonate items.

Aerodynamics was also a priority for the Porsche engineering team in their mission to produce a car with well-balanced handling characteristics to match the increased firepower.

New innovations can be seen from the front of the 992 Cup car right to the rear, starting with a larger front splitter that flexes upwards to generate downforce.

Downforce is also created by a pair of ducts towards the front of the bonnet, while radiator ducts on either side of the front bumper feed into the wheel well, releasing air pressure from the front end of the car.

Large rear fender vents act in a similar fashion to those at the front, releasing air from the wheel well out the back of the car.

The back end of the car is dominated by two key aerodynamic features – the diffuser and rear wing.

The diffuser is most visible near the twin central exhaust tips but extends right under the car towards the engine to manage airflow.

A new design has been employed for the larger carbon fibre reinforced plastic wing, a ‘swan neck’ structure taking the place of the traditionally mounted item.

By removing the supports attached to the bottom of the wing, Porsche has maximised airflow to the top of the wing which is otherwise obstructed.

The new design does not just provide more downforce, it is also more adjustable with 11 different positions available.

All the changes sum to improved aerodynamic efficiency, uprated tyres also ensuring that the 992 Cup is a more capable handler.

The 992 Cup sports Michelin N3 (front) and N3R (rear) tyres, which are lighter and wider providing more grip and improved cornering performance.

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Brakes: F: Six-piston aluminium monobloc racing calipers with “anti-knock-back” springs.

R: Four-piston aluminium monobloc racing calipers with “anti-knockback” springs.

Ventilated 380 mm x 32 mm steel brake discs front and rear with brake wear indicator, quick exchange pad concept, rotary brake balance controller on Rubber Switch Panel (RSP).

Suspension: F: Double wishbone front suspension, adjustable ride-height, camber and toe.

R: Multi-Link with solid mounted sub frame rear suspension, ride-height adjustment, camber and toe.

Non-adjustable dampers, fixed shock absorbers with motorsport-specific valves.

Body: Aluminium and steel composite shell, weld-in roll cage, removable roof section, enlarged arches, adjustable rear wing with ‘swan neck’ mounting, carbon-reinforced plastic doors and rear lid, polycarbonate windows and rear screen.

Weight/Dimensions:

Weight: 1260kg Length: 4,585mm Width: 1,920mm Wheelbase: 2,459mm

At the front, Michelin’s rubber measures 30/65-18 (up from 27/65-18), at the rear 31/7118.

“We always have been struggling with a smaller front tyre and now that’s sorted,” Werner admitted.

“Overall, the car handling is much better. It’s more precise and more predictable to drive.”

The difference in handling is clear especially in fast corners according to Carrera Cup Australia steerer Christian Pancione, who has tested the new car at multiple circuits in

preparation for the 2022 season.

“All the brake markers that were the absolute limit for the old cars are the starting point in the new car,” Pancione told Auto Action.

“You’re able to brake 15, 20 metres later and carry an extra 15, 20km/h into the corner.

“Turn 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park where the minimum speed in the old car was about 200km/h, now the minimum speed in the new cars is more like 220km/h.”

Pancione will drive for Andy McElrea’s team,

McElrea Racing, this year as part of a six-car line up.

The team founder and boss has already observed that the new cars are a whole different beast from an aerodynamic perspective.

“They are very different to drive; these are a proper aero car now, like a GT car,” McElrea explained.

“Earlier 997 and early 991 cars you needed to generate mechanical grip to get the most out of them, but these cars are aero cars.

The rear of the car sees some of the biggest changes including a completly new rear wing and more effective rear diffuser. While at the front of the car more venting is obvious in the bonnet.

“They will have a lot more grip in highspeed corners and it’s taking some of the drivers time to get used to having the confidence in the high speed stuff.

“A great example was at the SMP shakedown where two of the quickest guys were David Wall and Luke Youlden, who have both got experience in GT cars.”

The GT car comparisons extend to the cockpit of the 992 GT3 Cup, where attention to detail has transformed the driving experience.

“The cockpit of the car is so much different compared to the last one. It’s got more GT vibes inside; it feels more like a real race car,” Pancione confirmed.

Greeting the driver as they slide into the improved height adjustable bucket seat is a new flat-top multifunctional carbonfibre reinforced plastic steering wheel and illuminated push buttons, which have been rearranged following customer feedback.

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Ergonomics are a priority in all Porsche race cars, the steering column is adjustable to meet driver needs.

A completely revised, larger 10.3-inch colour display with illuminated controls has been fitted to optimise data readouts. The screen displays engine revs, water and oil temperatures, gearing and error messages, as well as information on baseline settings.

Of the updates, Pancione was most fond of the new steering wheel design.

“It’s more of a GT looking steering wheel with a lot more buttons and it’s quite grippy.

When driving around the track that helps with confidence,” he said.

“I find the interior more comfortable. Once I did my seat mould and everything it was really comfy.”

Shift paddles on the wheel are used to pull gears in the 992 Cup, just like the previous generation.

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The transmission itself is a 6-speed electric sequential unit, featuring a three-plate sintered metal racing clutch and incorporating a safety strategy for missed shifts.

The shift barrel actuator is now operated by an electric servo-motor, replacing the previous pneumatic unit.

As a result, the new 2.5kg lighter system provides increased shift performance and faster gear changes as well as reduced shift complexity.

Durability has also been vastly improved – the gearbox in the 992 needs only needs a ‘minor inspection’ when the 991 unit would require a rebuild, after 60 racing hours. The rebuild life is doubled on the new unit, while rebuild costs are down 40%, sweetening the deal further.

Another area where Porsche has pushed to differentiate the 992 Cup, and improve lap times, is in its suspension setup.

The new Cup car has a completely redesigned front axle concept, a double wishbone setup with Uniball bearings lifted from the Porsche 911 RSR replacing the old MacPherson strut arrangement.

Such a system prevents the shock absorbers and dampers from being exposed to lateral forces, only axial forces going through the components.

The non-adjustable shock absorbers have also benefited from Porsche’s catalogue of motorsport products, inheriting the valve technology used on the Porsche 919 Hybrid and 911 RSR. As would be expected of parts engineered for racing, the double wishbone setup gives drivers more control and improved responsiveness in turn-in over the previous generation.

At the rear, the multi-link suspension of the production model is basically unchanged.

Ride-height, camber and toe are all adjustable, giving teams power over the handling dynamics of their car.

Fully electro-mechanical power steering has been introduced into the 911 GT3 Cup for the first time, rendering the hydraulic pump and associated hydraulic lines of the previous generation redundant.

Stopping power on the 992 Cup is provided by a pair of Brembo branded six-piston brake calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear, with ‘anti-knock-back’ piston springs and new ‘quick exchange’ pads.

Ventilated 380 mm x 32 mm steel brake discs are fitted at each corner with brake wear indicators, while drivers can adjust brake balance using a rotary knob switch on the outside right of the Rubber Switch Panel (RSP).

Indeed, the 992 Cup has proven itself as a worthy iteration of the Cup model already, receiving high praise for its performance and reliability from customers across the globe.

The GT3 Cup is an integral entry point into the Porsche Motorsport ladder, providing aspiring drivers, experienced talent and gentleman racers access to state-of-the-art machinery and established series’.

As anticipation builds towards an Australian debut, McElrea could not be happier with his new toys.

“They certainly met our expectations in terms of how beautifully built they are and somehow Porsche always seem to raise the bar the same amount every time they bring out a new model,” he concluded.

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Formula 1 Round 01 Bahrain GP

Leclerc got the jump and was never seriously challenged.

F1 WAS BETTER ON ALL COUNTS!

IF PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP TESTING WAS INCLONCLUSIVE REGARDING WHO WAS FASTEST, THE FIRST GP FOR 2022 PROVIDED A CLEAR GUIDE ... AND IT’S NOT MERCEDES OR RED BULL! Report: Luis Vasconcelos Images: Motorsport Images FERRARI GOT a bit lucky with Max Verstappen’s late retirement helping get Carlos Sainz up to second place, but let there be no doubt: the F1-75 was the fastest car in all sorts of conditions in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc was always in control of the race, even when he had to fight back and repass the Dutchman into Turn 4 on three occasions and the Scuderia was the strongest on all accounts: in qualifying, in race pace, in tyre degradation and in reliability – in reality, apart from Sainz’s troubles to get a good balance, everything else was perfect for the Scuderia in this first race of the season.

Ferrari had the luxury of splitting its drivers’ tyre strategies. As with Verstappen, they were the only podium contenders with one new set of Soft tyres available for the race. Leclerc started on the new set, keeping a used Soft set for the final stint, while Sainz was put on a used Soft for the start, to have the new set available for late in the race – so, effectively, the Italians had Red Bull covered from a strategic point of view, as Pérez didn’t have any new Soft tyres available after a more challenging qualifying.

Having lost out at the start, Verstappen and Red Bull had to go for the undercut to try and get ahead of Leclerc, as the Ferrari driver quickly built

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up a gap of 3.7s in just 13 laps. The gamble nearly paid off, as the power of the undercut on the Soft tyre was huge in Sakhir and in the next three laps the Dutchman dived inside the Ferrari into Turn 1, only to be passed back into Turn 4.

The Monegasque, however, was playing it cool: “I knew Max was going to go for it and I didn’t want to destroy my tyres, so I even braked early into Turn 1, to let him ahead before the DRS detection point, so I was the one with DRS after Turn 3 and could twice pass him back. Once it was close to stay inside track limits in Turn 4

but after I did it the third time, I managed to pull away again.”

Frustrated, Verstappen had actually locked the right front tyre on his last attempt, so the gap soon started to grow again and, by lap 30, it was over four seconds, too late for the undercut on the Medium tyres for Verstappen, but leaving the door clearly open to switch to a three-stop strategy.

Ferrari responded. Leclerc even went easy on his out lap to make them last until the end of the race, allowing Verstappen to get within 1.8s, but then started to pull away and was

already 4.8s in the lead when Red Bull threw the dice a final time, pitting both cars on the same lap, Verstappen losing P2 to Sainz, and Perez dropping behind Hamilton, into fifth place.

The Dutchman had 10 seconds to make up in just 14 laps; the Mexican a six seconds to the Mercedes driver; so their tasks weren’t easy, on used Soft tyres. However, Gasly’s retirement led to a Safety Car period that re-opened all battles.

Leclerc, Sainz and Hamilton also pitted, the last two dropping behind the Red Bull they were battling, so it was all to play for.

Verstappen, though, knew he was in trouble:

While second-best to his experienced teammate, Zhu Guanyou scored a point on his F1 debut. Alfa Romeo was impressive!

George Russell recovered from a qualifying mistake to finish fourth.

It’s been a while ... a Ferrari 1-2, while (above right) Red Bull’s double retirement was about the only really great news for Lewis Hamilton ...

“The steering was strange – not really locked but moving in a strange way, not a smooth one and that’s why on the re-start I couldn’t turn into the last corner, so I couldn’t challenge Charles.”

Soon his troubles got much bigger, as he started losing power and eventually retired, as did Sérgio Pérez at the start of the last lap when his own PU stopped, putting him into a spin in Turn 1.

Christian Horner explained that, “it looks suspiciously like the failures are related to each other. It looks like potentially an issue within the fuel system. It came totally out of the blue. It’s something we haven’t seen previously.”

Some, in the paddock, believed the blue cars retired with MGU-K issues and, with Perez’s coming instantly, it may even be damaged beyond repair, which will be a low for the Mexican’s hopes.

For Leclerc, “this was a great reward for the hard work the team has been doing the last two years and I could really control the pace. I couldn’t believe when the SC came out ... I just told myself, ‘calm down Charles, you’ve got the pace’ but I really didn’t need that so late in the race.”

Having struggled to match his team mate’s pace all weekend, Sainz admitted that, “this may seem strange but it was possibly my most difficult weekend as a Ferrari driver”, before adding, “this is a dream come true for the team, after the last two tough seasons. I’m so happy with this one-two and with my second place when I’m still far from making the most out of the car, so there’s more to come.”

Mercedes did leave Sakhir with 27 points in the pocket but was way off its traditional pace (see breakout, right) but the great surprises of this opening round were Haas and Alfa Romeo.

Kevin Magnussen had a sensational Formula One comeback, running comfortably inside the top 10. An hydraulic issue limited the VF-22 in qualifying but the Dane was still good enough for

QUALIFYING RACE 01 Pos Driver 1 Charles Leclerc 2 Max Verstappen 3 Carlos Sainz Jr. 4 Sergio Perez 5 Lewis Hamilton 6 Valtteri Bottas 7 Kevin Magnussen 8 Fernando Alonso 9 George Russell 10 Pierre Gasly 11 Esteban Ocon 12 Mick Schumacher 13 Lando Norris 14 Alex Albon 15 Zhou Guanyu 16 Yuki Tsunoda 17 Nico Hulkenberg 18 Daniel Ricciardo 19 Lance Stroll 20 Nicholas Latifi

RESULTS RACE 01 57 LAPS BAHRAIN Time 1’30.558 1’30.681 1’30.687 1’30.921 1’31.238 1’31.560 1’31.808 1’32.195 1’32.216 1’32.338 1’31.782 1’31.998 1’32.008 1’32.664 1’33.543 1’32.750 1’32.777 1’32.945 1’33.032 1’33.634

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 dnf dnf dnf

Drivers Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton George Russell Kevin Magnussen Valtteri Bottas Esteban Ocon Yuki Tsunoda Fernando Alonso Zhou Guanyu Mick Schumacher Lance Stroll Alex Albon Daniel Ricciardo Lando Norris Nicholas Latifi Nico Hulkenberg Sergio Perez Max Verstappen Pierre Gasly

P7 and then had a rocket of a start, moving three places up until small mistakes allowed Pérez and Hamilton through. Fifth place was an amazing result for the team, the second best in its history and had Schumacher not being punted off by Ocon in the opening lap, Gene Haas may have had two cars in the points.

Bottas was the star of qualifying, in spite of sitting out FP1 due to an electronic issue, but both Zhou and he had terrible starts and dropped many positions. The Finn recovered steadily to finish in sixth place, while the young Chinese made history with a gritty drive to the field to score a point in his first ever Grand Prix.

Alpine and AlphaTauri also got points on board, the French team looking like it’s still in

Biggest upset? McLaren’s duo racing each other for 14th place ...

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Make Ferrari Ferrari Mercedes Mercedes Haas Alfa Romeo Alpine AlphaTauri Alpine Alfa Romeo Haas Aston Martin Williams McLaren McLaren Williams Aston Martin Red Bull Red Bull AlphaTauri

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 01 Margin 57 5.598 9.675 11.211 14.754 16.119 19.423 20.386 22.390 23.064 32.574 45.873 53.932 54.975 56.335 1’01.795 1’03.829 1 Lap 3 Laps 13 Laps

– s1 s2 s5 s2 – s4 s8 t1 s5 s1 s7 s1 s4 t2 s4 – t14 t17 t10

Pos Driver 11 Charles Leclerc 2 Carlos Sainz Jr. 3 Lewis Hamilton 4 George Russell 5 Kevin Magnussen 6 Valtteri Bottas 7 Esteban Ocon 8 Yuki Tsunoda 9 Fernando Alonso 10 Zhou Guanyu 11 Mick Schumacher 12 Lance Stroll 13 Alex Albon 14 Daniel Ricciardo 15 Lando Norris 16 Nicholas Latifi 17 Nico Hulkenberg dnf Sergio Perez dnf Max Verstappen dnf Pierre Gasly

Points 26 18 15 12 19 8 6 4 2 1

the same position as throughout 2021 – a solid midfielder – but Alonso suffered so much with tyre degradation that he was the first to commit to a three-stop strategy and ended up ninth, two places behind Ocon, who recovered well from his 5s penalty for the contact with Schumacher.

Gasly was set to fight Bottas in the final stages but retired with a suspected PU issue, so it was Tsunoda who scored for the Italian team, with his eighth place.

Aston Martin and, especially, McLaren, had disastrous weekends, the green cars both out in Q1 with stand-in Hulkenberg being faster than Lance Stroll, while Norris still saved the day on Saturday with P13 on the grid – but both Daniel Ricciardo and he were massively off the pace in the race, the Australian just beating his team mate for … 14th place.

No wonder the Australian driver was pretty downcast at the end of the race: “There’s a lot to try and understand. It’s just first race distance I’ve done this year and trying all compounds in the race. We’re obviously lacking some pace, but I don’t think it’s necessarily just one area – I think we lack just a little bit of downforce and that’s really the key.

“I don’t think the car actually feels like it’s massively out of balance, I think we’re just lacking overall grip, so I will say there’s positives to take from that, but it’s if we just find the numbers – that will translate into a decent car.

For now we just don’t have the same numbers as the front teams.”.

LUCKY PODIUM DOESN’T HIDE MERCEDES’ WOES MERCEDES WAS not a match for Ferrari or even Red Bull in Bahrain and Lewis Hamilton wasn’t hiding that: “We simply didn’t have the pace for them, as simple as that.” A good start helped the seven-times World Champion get past Pérez into P4 and even briefly chase Sainz, but soon, “my tyres just dropped massively, I had no pace and had to pit early.”

He then found out how little grip the Hard tyres offered, going off twice on the out lap and dropping behind rookie Zhou – so it was clear the strategy had failed and he reverted to Medium tyres for the next stint. By then, Hamilton was in a race of his own, with Russell a good 15s behind, having recovered from the mistakes that put him down to P9 on the grid.

The Red Bull’s double retirement put Hamilton on the podium and Russell into P4, with the veteran saying, “it’s a good thing Red Bull and Ferrari will be taking points away from each other until we get on top of our issues and start fighting with them. Three teams fighting for wins is going to be mega.”

Seeing Mercedes so much off the pace is something that has never happened in the Hybrid era and the team is at a loss to explain it. The radically new aerodynamic package brought to the Bahrain test doesn’t work as expected and at Mercedes they are not sure if the concept is simply wrong – something they doubt, as they believe in their methodology – or if there’s air leakage from the underfloor of the car, depriving the W13 from crucial downforce.

It’s also likely Mercedes is being forced to run the cars a bit higher than Ferrari and Red Bull, to control excessive bouncing on the straights – that being another source of loss of downforce.

With Jeddah’s track being less bumpy than Bahrain’s, the W13 will run with a lower ride height and that will offer the German team important clues to find what is wrong with the aerodynamic package of their car. LV

Guenther couldn’t believ how his life has improved since Mazepin left and Magnussen arrived!

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Images: Motorsport Images

POURCHAIRE LAUNCHES TITLE CHARGE Report: Josh Nevett FORMULA 2 Championship title favourite Theo Pourchaire (pictured above and below) recovered from a Sprint Race retirement to leave Bahrain International Circuit at the top of the standings, while Aussie Jack Doohan could not capitalise on a full-time debut pole position.

ART Grand Prix driver Pourchaire crossed the line just under 1s ahead of Kiwi Liam Lawson, who sits second in the championship after a consistent opening weekend.

Aussie fans would have been encouraged

by Doohan’s start to the campaign – the Formula 3 graduate clinched pole position for his first full-time race in Formula 2.

The Virtuosi Racing rookie set a 1m 40.542s while most other drivers were swapping tyres in the pits, besting Pourchaire and Hitech Grand Prix driver Juri Vips.

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In the Sprint Race, Richard Verschoor (pictured above right) claimed Trident’s first race win in Formula 2.

Jehan Daruvala and Liam Lawson also made it onto the podium in the first outing of the season for Prema Racing and Carlin, respectively.

Ralph Boschung put in an admirable push for the podium but could not make it stick, finishing fourth ahead of reverse polesitter Felipe Drugovich.

Carlin’s Logan Sargeant and Hitech Grand Prix’s Juri Vips were sixth and seventh.

Ayumu Iwasa was one of the best performers in the season opener as the final driver in the points, driving from last to eighth.

F3 champion Dennis Hauger was ninth.

Doohan snuck into the top 10 in the sprint race, just missing out on points, while fellow countryman and F2 rookie Calan Williams finished 15th in his Trident machine.

The Bahrain sprint had its fair share of drama, headlined by championship fancy Pourchaire retiring his machine from fifth.

The Safety Car was in action early, Marcus Armstrong nudged into a spin

by Jake Hughes, who received a 10s penalty for the incident.

Hughes suffered further when Clement Novalak assisted him into the gravel, the

latter copping a 10s penalty of his own.

Aside from those interruptions, the victory was relatively straightforward for Verschoor.

It was a second win in the category for the 21-year-old and a breakthrough first for his team.

“I am really, really happy to win the race today,” the Dutchman said post-race.

“The team has worked very hard to achieve this. They were really motivated before the season and so was I.” Pourchaire redeemed himself in the Feature Race, holding off the field after a final Safety Car restart to score maximum points.

Lawson and Vips completed the podium, both recovering from lower positions throughout the race.

Starting from the front row, Pourchaire was overtaken by Vips who got a fast start, shooting into the lead.

The first Safety Car of the afternoon arrived three laps in after Vesti was spun to a stop on track.

Vips was dogged by a slow pit stop soon after, which handed P1 back to Doohan briefly.

Doohan encountered trouble of his own though, a tangle with Pourchaire in pitlane sending him back to the pits for a new front wing. Somehow Pourchaire’s car was unharmed, allowing him to take the lead with Lawson slotting in behind.

A determined Vips managed to surge from 12th to P3, taking the final podium spot

ahead of Campos Racing’s Boschung.

A five-car battle for 10th produced the second Safety Car of the day as Fittipaldi tagged the rear of Sprint Race winner Verschoor, sending his car into a spin.

Pourchaire, Lawson and Vips all kept their places at the restart to make up the top three. Behind Boschung, Hitech’s Armstrong made a hard charge of his own, jumping from 13th to fifth ahead of MP Motorsport’s Drugovich and Carlin’s Sargeant.

Nissany and Hughes kept their cars on the straight and narrow to eighth and ninth, respectively.

Doohan recovered from his setbacks to take the final points position, climbing back up to 10th from last place.

Two significant retirements occurred as a result of pitlane activity.

With a possible podium finish in sight, Williams lost his front left tyre during an attempt at a quick pit stop.

When the safety car was called Trident called Williams in to fit a saved set of softs, which would have given him a pace advantage over the field.

Williams was released from the pits without the front left being fixed properly, though, ending his challenge on F2 debut.

Hauger suffered the same fate, ending a tough weekend for him.

Points: Pourchaire 25, Lawson 24, Vips 18, Boschung 17, Drugovich 12

Images: Red Bull Content Pool/Motorsport Images

MOTOGP ROUND 2 - MANDALIKA

OLIVEIRA MASTERS THE RAIN Report: Dan McCarthy THE FIRST Indonesian Grand Prix in 25 years took place in very wet conditions, and it was Portuguese KTM rider Miguel Oliveira (above and right) that dealt with the rain-soaked track best to take his fourth win in the premier class.

It was a bizarre race lead up, with the race being delayed for over an hour because of heavy rain showers and the race run to a shorter 20 lap distance than originally planned.

Many of the contenders in the first round finished well down the order in the second race of the 2022 series.

Reigning champion Fabio Quartararo, however, rebounded from his Qatar woes to come home second in Indonesia.

Although he started from pole, the flying Frenchman was delighted with p2 as he has regularly struggled in those conditions in the premier class.

As the lights went out Oliveira made a blinding start from seventh on the grid, immediately jiumping into second around Turn 1.

He remained on the tail of pole-sitter Quartararo throughout the rest of the lap until the Yamaha rider ran slightly wide at the final turn and allowed him through.

Oliveira was soon followed by Australian Jack Miller on his factory Ducati who overtook him at the start of lap 2.

Miller had started from p6 and on the same lap snatched the lead from Oliveira, showing his natural pace in the wet conditions.

He quickly established a lead over Oliveira and the chasing pack – Quartararo, Johann Zarco, and the two Suzukis of Alex Rins and Joan Mir Both Rins and Mir soon got the better of Quartararo, but now sat 2.4s behind the leading duo of Miller and Oliveira.

Despite Miller initially establishing a lead, Oliveira caught and passed him at Turn 12 on lap 6; however the Aussie managed to

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stay on his tail for several laps.

Several riders had monster slides exiting the final turn including title contenders Pol Espargaro and Franseco Bagnaia, who were both buried in the pack.

Another title contende,r Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), having just got the better of Franco Morbidelli for P7, caught one of the puddles at Turn 1, and unlike Ducati counterpart Bagnaia, there was no saving a crash.

The 2021 Rookie of the Year was down, out – two DNFs in the first two races not exactly what he wanted.

At this stage Oliveira had stretched his lead to 1.6s, Miller was second, Rins third, Zarco fourth, and Quartararo fifth with 12 laps to go.

At half race distance Pramac Ducati rider Zarco was the quickest rider on track, and soon after pulled off a quality pass on Rins at Turn 12 for a spot on the podium.

Miller’s pace had faded; he was now also in touching distance while, out-front, Oliveira was a further 3.5s down the road.

Before Zarco could catch Miller, a resurgent Quartararo had found some great rhythm and was back into P3 with five laps to go.

Quartararo was now the fastest rider on track and was back up to second by lap 16.

Zarco, eventually, followed the Yamaha man through to get the better of Miller.

On lap 17 Quartararo took a second out of race leader Oliveira, the margin now just 3s – could he catch the Portugese man?

The answer was no. Oliveira responded to the attack, raised his pace, and did more than enough to take his fourth MotoGP victory.

Quartararo was elated despite finishing second and Zarco ended his long podium drought after starting 2021 strongly.

Aussie Miller is always strong in the wet and therefore was disappointed with

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fourth, holding off Rins and Mir, who had started from well down, in 18th position.

Factory Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli finished a very lonely P7 despite his three-place grid penalty.

Behind him was the battle of the race with half a dozen bikes scrapping for eighth and changing position at almost every turn.

In the end, Oliveira’s factory KTM teammate prevailed. Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was next from Darryn Binder who scored his first points in the premier class.

Round 1 winner Enea Bastianini ran in eighth late on, but was shuffled back down to 11th on the final lap of the race, just ahead of Pol Espargaro. All five riders were separated by just 1.1s at the line.

Behind them came Alex Marquez, Luca Marini and Bagnaia who slipped to a disappointing P15, picking up the final point.

Maverick Vinales, Raul Fernandez, Fabio di Giannantonio, Takaaki Nakagami, Marco Bezzecchi and the second Aussie, Remy Gardner, rounded out the field.

Gardner struggled to see for much of the race, in what was the first time he had

ever ridden a MotoGP bike in the wet.

Andrea Dovizioso was the only other non-finisher alongside Martin – the Italian encountered a technical issue with his Yamaha YZR-M1.

Marc Marquez was not allowed to start the race, picking up a concussion after a frightening high side in the warm-up ruled him out.

Standings: Bastianini 30, Binder 28, Quartararo 27, Oliveira 25, Zarco 24, P Espargaro 20, A Espargaro 20, Rins 20, Mir 20, Morbidelli 14

Aussie Jack Miller (43) was only able to hold off a charging Quartararo briefly.

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INTERNATIONAL

NEWGARDEN STEALS TEXAS THRILLER

After McLaughlin had led most of the way, losing (albeit to a team-mate) by this much was frustrating for the young Kiwi ... Images: Motorsport Images

Report: Josh Nevett IT WAS a case of late-race heartache for Scott McLaughlin at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday as he finished runner-up to teammate Josef Newgarden in the second round of the IndyCar Series after leading most of the race.

The Kiwi Team Penske driver was crippled by backmarker traffic as Newgarden surged his #2 Team Penske Chevrolet around the outside at Turn 4 on the final lap, crossing the finish line just 0.067s ahead of McLaughlin in the first oval race of the season.

Newgarden led just three of the 248 laps, while a dominant McLaughlin led 186 around the high-banked, 1.5-mile oval after starting on the front row alongside Felix Rosenqvist.

“Unbelievable,” Newgarden said.

“I think Scott led 95 percent of the laps.

I hate doing that to a teammate, but I was going for it, just like he was.

“Man, I was loose; I was driving the thing sideways off (Turns) 3 and 4. I was trying to get a win.

“I was livid in the car because we had all this traffic and it wasn’t helping me, and then right when I needed it to help me, it helped me. Literally last corner, last lap, the traffic helped me out.”

“I’m just so pleased for everybody.”

McLaughlin, on the other hand, was shattered despite achieving a result which keeps him at the top of the IndyCar standings after two rounds.

“Second is a great day, but unfortunately, we made a little lapse and at the end of the day lost,” the three-time Supercar champion said on reflection.

“Once he (Newgarden) got on the outside there, I couldn’t come up above the line. I was stuck. I thought about going outside on Malukas there, but I was worried I would push up into the grey and into the fence.

You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

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“If you’re going to lose to anyone, your teammate is the guy you want to lose it to. At the end of the day, we’re there, and I learned a lot in the race that going to help us going in May to the Speedway.

“I’m gutted. It still hurts. It’s how it is. But I’m pretty proud of how we’re running.”

McLaughlin grabbed the lead on lap 206 as rookie Callum Ilott pitted in his #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.

From seventh, Newgarden made consistent gains to reach second, pulling within 0.462s of McLaughlin with 25 laps to go.

McLaughlin widened that gap to 0.914s with five laps remaining as both drivers negotiated traffic on the packed oval.

Held up by Ilott and David Malukas ahead, the popular New Zealand export became a sitting duck for Newgarden, who made the crucial final pass at an opportune moment.

Newgarden moved up half a lane between Turns 3 and 4 and pulled outside of and even with McLaughlin exiting Turn 4.

A slingshot style exit from the final corner gave Newgarden ample momentum to win the drag race to the finish line.

Marcus Ericsson finished third in the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 1.354s behind Newgarden. It was Ericsson’s career-best finish on an oval.

Will Power finished fourth in the #12 Team Penske Chevrolet, as Penske drivers occupied three of the top four spots in the race. Team Penske has won both races this season, series points leader McLaughlin triumphing in the St. Petersburg season opener.

Six-time series champion and five-time Texas winner Scott Dixon finished fifth in the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson achieved a career-best finish, placing sixth in his first oval race after starting 18th in the #48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Josef Newgarden shares the bucks with team owner Roger Penske.

McLaughlin leads, in what came incredibly close to a first oval win ...

Johnson raced on road and street courses only in 2021, achieving a best result of 17th.

Reigning champion Alex Palou was seventh, losing ground on McLaughlin after he finished runner-up in St. Petersburg.

Simon Pagenaud was eighth in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda.

Santino Ferrucci and Rinus Veekay

rounded out the top 10 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing, respectively.

Several drivers failed to make the distance, headlined by polesitter Rosenqvist, Helio Castroneves and Romain Grosjean.

POINTS: McLaughlin 97, Power 69, Palou 67, Newgarden 65, Ericsson 58

TOYOTAS BEATEN

Images: Motorsport Images Report: Dan McCarthy ALPINE REIGNED supreme in a red flag interrupted Sebring 1000 Mile race, dominating the event from pole position in the first round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship.

The race was first red flagged at the halfway stage when the reigning champion’s car, the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car, flipped onto its roof in a spectacular looking incident.

Jose Maria Lopez had earlier made contact with the LMGTE Am Dempsey Proton Porsche with Julien Andlauer behind the wheel. Maria Lopez’s car sustained damage but was able to continue – however the nose section drooped down, the Argentine was unable to steer and hit a tyre barrier at high-speed. It flung the car into the air, rolling over before it came to rest on its roof.

The race was red-flagged as the barrier was repaired, delaying the race for 30 minutes.

The sister #8 Toyota was leading at the time of the red flag. However, when the race resumed, the Toyota was unable to match the Alpine.

The lead was out to nearly 90s seconds leading into the closing hour. However, soon after, the race was red flagged once again due to an electrical storm in the area.

The race was set to go back to green with a 36-minute sprint to the finish, but with more thunderstorms detected the race was declared with 14 minutes still on the clock.

The Alpine driven by Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere (pictured above) impressively scored Alpine’s first WEC win in the Hypercar class, driving an LMP1 machine.

Toyota’s sole remaining car, driven by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and rookie Ryo Hirakawa, finished in second.

Australian Ryan Briscoe and his teammates Olivier Pla and Romain Dumas rounded out the top three, finishing a lap down in the sole Glickenhaus entry.

LMGTE Pro contained a great battle between Porsche and Corvette, in the end it was the American brand that prevailed on home turf, Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy edging out the Porsche pair of Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz.

Ferrari drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and

James Calado made it three manufacturers on the podium.

Paul di Resta, Oliver Jarvis and Josh Pierson took the honours in the highly competitive LMP2 class, while Aston Martin scored a 1-2 finish in LMGTE, Am Paul Dalla Lana, David Pittard and Nicki Thiim prevailing.

Round 2 of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Belgium can be viewed live on Stan Sport on May 7.

DEMOLITION DERBY Report: Josh Nevett WILLIAM BYRON kept himself out of harm’s way to win the fifth round of the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as 28 of the 37 cars on track were involved in collisions.

The #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver became the fifth different winner in as many races this season, after a sub optimal start to his season.

The victory did not come easily – Byron had to avoid several multi-car smashes and withstand the pressure of drafting cars for the final 10 laps of the race, after taking the lead from Bubba Wallace on lap 316 of 325.

He did so with aplomb, crossing the finish line 0.109s ahead of Christopher Bell and 0.145s ahead of Ross Chastain.

Bell, however, was penalised for passing below the boundary line on the final lap and was demoted to 23rd, the last position on the lead lap.

Subsequently, Chastain inherited his second straight runner-up finish.

Before the fateful final sprint, Atlanta produced 46 lead changes among 20 drivers – both track records.

Byron’s triumph was the third of his Cup Series career, his first of the season and his first at Atlanta.

“Honestly, the last few laps there ... trying to manage the gap to Bubba and trying to not get too far out front,” Byron said.

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“Thanks to this whole team. They’ve done a great job this year.

“Lots of changes with the Next Gen car. The Chevrolet was awesome there. Worked hard overnight. Had a pretty rough practice and worked hard on it and got it handling well.”

It could not be said that a lot of the other cars were handling well by the end, as many ended up destroyed.

Byron managed to avoid the chaos, but Chastain blew a right rear tyre on his #1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet before

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slamming it into the outside wall at Turn 2 while in the race lead near the end of Stage 1.

Kurt Busch was the top ranked Toyota, finishing third despite being involved in an accident on lap 145.

Daniel Suarez was fourth, giving Trackhouse Racing two cars in the top five.

Corey LaJoie came home fifth, scoring the first top five of his Cup career.

Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.

DRAMA IN SEBRING 12 HOUR

Report: Dan McCarthy THERE WAS a dramatic conclusion to the Sebring 12 Hours, Round 2 of the IMSA Sportscar Championship, when New Zealander Earl Bamber lost the lead not once but twice, yet still managed to bring the #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R home in first place.

Bamber was forced to overcome two incidents and a penalty in the closing stages to win the 70th Sebring classic alongside teammates Alex Lynn and Neel Jani.

In the end, the trio prevailed by a margin of just 6.47s after 12 hours of racing.

With 75 minutes remaining, Bamber replaced Lynn at the wheel, and emerged with over a 30s lead over the #5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac of Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook and Loic Duval.

On the out lap, Bamber collided with an LMP3 machine and was handed a pit lane penalty for the collision and as a result dropped behind Westbrook.

He recovered quickly to retake the lead before he again collided with a back marker and fell to second once more. It took him just 15 minutes to re-catch and make the final race-winning pass.

The top three finishers were all Cadillacs, and all finished within 14.616s as Pipo Derani brought the #31 machine co-driven with Mike Conway and Tristan Nunez home in third.

There were several Australians in the field, including Cameron Shields racing for United States Performance Tech Motorsports in the LMP3 class alongside Rasmus Lindh and Daniel Goldburg.

The trio finished in third, eight laps off the class winning trio of Joao Barbosa, Malthe Jakobsen and Lance Willsey.

The other Australian in the class did not encounter the same luck – sadly for Josh Burdon, racing for Andretti Autosport, his race came to an end after just one lap.

In GTD Pro Aussie Matt Campbell, alongside Mathieu Jaminet and Felipe Nasr finished fifth in their Porsche – the trio came home only 1 lap behind the class winner.

GTD Pro was won by Corvette on its home turf in America thanks to Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg who won the class by a tiny 4s.

The sole Aussie in the GTD class Scott Andrews joined regular Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 drivers Richard Heistand and Frankie Montecalvo and finished seventh in class.

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Rd. 02 Phillip Island Images: ARG/Kalisz

FABULOUS TCR ACTION

FABIAN COULTHARD DISPLAYED HIS EXPERIENCE AND CLASS IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE TCR AUSTRALIA SERIES, WINNING TWO RACES TO DEMAND AN EXTENDED STINT FROM BACKERS STAN SPORT. Report: Josh Nevett SUPERCAR veteran Fabian Coulthard stole the show on Sunday by winning both races, after Jay Hanson claimed his second victory of the season in Race 1.

Hanson would not feature at the top of the round point score though, as he further established an ‘all or nothing’ reputation in Race 3.

It was Garry Rogers Motorsport teammates Dylan O’Keeffe and Jordan Cox who showed the power of consistency, leaving Phillip Island as round runners-up.

Hanson started promisingly, claiming pole position in Qualifying 2 after Q1 pacesetter Coulthard had an off-track excursion which ended the session early.

Just moments before the red flag was produced ,Hanson set a 1m 35.813s lap as Coulthard sat beached in the #24 Stan Sport Honda Civic Type R in the seventh minute of Q2.

Officials ruled out restarting the session, confirming Hanson’s position at the front of the grid.

Michael Caruso also got onto the front row in his Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce, 0.395s off the pace.

In Race 1, Hanson recovered from losing the lead off the start to take a comfortable victory.

The Melbourne Performance Centre Audi driver breezed by Caruso coming onto pit straight at the end of the first lap and from there continued to extend the margin, crossing the line 1.7s to the good.

Cox came from fifth on the grid to finish second in his Peugeot machine, while

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O’Keeffe rounded out the podium.

The race contained several incidents, the most notable of which occurred on lap 3 when Liam McAdam and Caruso collided fighting for second position into Honda hairpin.

Caruso dragged himself out of the gravel to resume, while a penalised McAdam continued without damage.

Round 1 leader Josh Buchan was dealt a blow early, forced to retire after a collision of his own.

A pair of Honda Civics just missed out on the podium – recently signed Walkinshaw Andretti United co-driver Coulthard in fourth ahead of Tasmania race winner Zac Soutar.

A third Peugeot driven by Aaron Cameron was sixth.

Tony D’Alberto managed to bring his car home in seventh ahead of Lachlan Mineeff in his privately run Volkswagen Golf.

On his return to the TCR Australia Series Michael Clemente also finished inside the top 10.

Ben Bargwanna won the inverted pole position by clinching 10th place, leaving Bailey Sweeny an unlucky 11th although he was still the best of the HMO Customer Racing Hyundai drivers.

Former Supercars driver James Moffat finished the race in 12th ahead of Iain McDougall, Brad Shiels, Kody Garland and Caruso.

Former TCR Australia Series winner Will Brown finished the race having been forced into the lane with damaged steering after contact with Morcom.

Tony D got it together for fourth in the final race.

McAdam and Buchan were not classified as finishers.

Fabian Coulthard took a comfortable victory in the second race, climbing from seventh on the grid to clinch the win.

The Stan Sport backed Honda Civic Type R driver beat Bargwanna to the line by just 0.5s, D’Alberto earning a spot on the podium in his Wall Racing Honda.

Bargwanna and Clemente led off the front row, controlling proceedings early as Coulthard began to make moves.

He weaved and worked his way up to second, bodying Bargwanna in the process, before passing Clemente on lap 3.

Clemente had more than that to worry about – he was given a 5s penalty for starting too far forward in his grid box.

His issues compounded when he also slowed on lap 6 due to a fan belt issue, a cruel

way to end a race that started with so much promise.

Rising talent Cameron experienced his dose of bad luck on lap 4, a turbo issue sending him into the pits and out of the race. The amount of smoke billowing from the exhaust of his Peugoet in pitlane said it all.

Out in front, Coulthard coasted after a fast start before carefully managing his shrinking lead at the end of the race.

The margin fluctuated between 1-2s, as the drivers played a game of cat and mouse to finish.

“Ben Bargwanna was going alright but I was managing what I had – there was no point driving off into the distance. We kept the gap at 1.2s, that was enough,” Coulthard told Auto Action.

“Credit to the guys at Wall Racing. I’m pumped for Stan Sport, they’ve put a huge

Far Left: TCR new boy, but Supercars regular, Fabian Coulthard, took the points from the weekend after a pair of strong wins – here heading Bargwanna, O’Keefe and D’Alberto.

Left: Coulthard held off Will Brown for the Race 3 win.

Below left: GRM pair Dylan O’Keefe and Jordan Cox earned podium spots in the opening race, going on to snare second and thrird in the overall points score for the weekend.

Below right: Hey Stan, you da man! With backing from the host brtoadcaster, Fabian C has made an impact on TCR. Bottom: After a Race 1 win and a Race 3 ‘off’ Jay Hanson is fifth in the championship standings.

investment in this team and me to perform and it’s a nice way to repay them.”

Peugeot duo Cox and O’Keeffe finished just behind the podium-getters in fourth and fifth.

Audi drivers Hanson and Will Brown were sixth and seventh, the latter gaining 11 places.

Caruso, Morcom and Royal Purple Racing Hyundai i30N driver Brad Shiels rounded out the top 10.

Coulthard took his second victory in Race

3, holding off a hard charging Brown in the closing laps.

Back running at the front, Brown pushed desperately for the win but could not make it past the defences of Coulthard.

The Stan driver survived a scare at Turn 1, himself, Cox and Hanson going three wide, sending the latter two off course.

Coulthard would not be pressured as hard after that, completing a successful round.

For Brown, it was the best result of the season to date for the 2019 series winner.

“I thought someone didn’t want me to race TCR for a bit there,” Brown told Auto Action.

“Saturday was disappointing, but it was good today to be back on the podium in second on Sunday. We had really good pace and to start 19th and work our way forward to nearly the front was fantastic.

“I definitely thought I was a chance to win, I

just overheated the front tyres and then I was sort-of done.

“It was a little bit annoying not being on the podium for a bit there, but also knowing that we had the pace.

“We missed out on the lap in Quali 2 which left us starting 10th, then I got beaten and bashed in the first race so I think second is where we deserve to be. It’s good to get back up there.”

Bargwanna was the beneficiary of the Turn 1 tussle and moved up from sixth to second position.

The Peugeot driver lost out to Brown late on but managed to hold his teammate O’Keeffe at bay to round out the podium.

D’Alberto and Cox snagged fourth and fifth.

Caruso, Soutar, Sweeny and Cameron rounded out the top 10.

The race was interrupted twice, once for Brayden Willmington who hit the wall on lap 3 and then for Kody Garland who lost his rightrear wheel on the run to the final turn, which saw him spin off the circuit at high speed.

Buchan registered his best result of the weekend in finishing 14th, still a long way off the form that saw him leave Tasmania as the top ranked driver in the category.

After testing his luck at the first turn of the race, Hanson then came together with Cox on pit-straight, puncturing his right rear tyre.

He was still classified on the lead lap in 18th place, which could not be said for Clemente who did not start the final race due to a blown head gasket.

The TCR Australia Series will return from April 15-17 at Mount Panorama as part of the Bathurst 6 Hour event.

POINTS: D’Alberto 224, Cox 222, Soutar 201, Coulthard 198, Hanson 188

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Rd. 02 Phillip Island

MAWSON FIGHTS BACK Report: Dan McCarthy DESPITE NOT having the fastest car all weekend, Joey Mawson won the round after taking victory in the vital S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship Feature Race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

The reigning champion showed his talent in the second round of the series, and now sits just a solitary point behind Tim Macrow at the head of the Championship.

It was a tale of two for much of the weekend with Mawson and James Golding a step above the rest, although Mawson had to fight hard to keep within touching distance of Golding for most of it.

Golding took pole position by a comfortable 0.43s from Mawson and, as a result, took the maximum 10 points.

Mawson and Golding were closely matched early; however, with two minutes remaining Golding improved and went 0.4s clear of his title rival.

Versa Motorsport’s Cooper Webster continued his strong showing from the opening round and qualified in third ahead of New Zealander Kaleb Ngatoa and twotime Gold Star winner Macrow.

Zane Goddard qualified in sixth on debut, less than 0.02s slower than Macrow. Blake Purdie, Shae Davies and Adam Garwood rounded out the field.

In the opening race of the weekend Golding was in control; a great start saw him lead into the first turn and from there he quickly established a lengthy lead outfront.

It was Webster from the third row who made the best start but he was unable to move forward despite a look at Mawson into Turn 1.

By the end of lap 1 Golding had bolted, leading Mawson by over 1s.

The only real movers on lap 1 were Mawson’s two Team BRM teammates, both Goddard and Ngatoa fell to seventh and eighth respectively.

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By the end of lap 4 Golding had got the margin out to 2.75s and stabilised it at this margin for much of the race.

On lap 11 of 16, Mawson set his fastest lap so far and began to nibble into Golding’s lead but, in the end, ran out of laps.

Golding held on by a margin of 1.4s, while Mawson had pace to burn late on, setting his fastest lap of the race on the final lap.

Behind Golding and 4.2s after Mawson came Webster. The Victorian finished 9s clear of Macrow who had eased back to conserve his tyres.

Purdie rounded out the top five, from former Supercars driver Davies and Garwood.

Kiwi Kaleb Ngatoa finished the race in eighth after a couple of off-track excursions, including a tour of the grass at the final turn which spectacularly sprung the front of the car into the air.

Goddard rounded out the field in ninth after he too had a lengthy tour of the gravel at Turn 2.

In the top seven inverted grid race the gloves came off, as the fastest drivers would have to make their way from towards the back of the field.

It was an even jump on the front row for Purdie and Goddard, but from third on the grid Macrow made a blinding start and overtook both the front row starters into Turn 1.

Undeterred, polesitter Purdie fought back just a couple of corners later. Into the Honda hairpin the T88 Racing driver dived up the inside of the experienced Macrow and made it stick to retake the lead.

It was this bravery that would catch him out on lap 2 – the South Australian ran in too hot into Turn 2 and spun across the track and onto the grass on the outside of Turn 2. He joined the race albeit at the back of the field.

On the opening lap Webster overtook Goddard at Turn 4 and Mawson followed

him through at the very next turn.

After Purdie’s spin, Macrow led Webster, Mawson, Goddard while Race 1 winner Golding actually lost a position on the opening lap.

From here, though, Golding had no intentions of staying back in the pack, frequently setting fastest sectors of the race.

As the race neared the halfway stage, Webster set the fastest lap and edged closer to leader Macrow, while rookie Goddard sat on the tail of his much more experienced teammate Mawson.

On lap 6 Purdie’s race went from bad to worse, picking up a front-right puncture which forced him to retire from the race.

The top five drivers were split by just 2.6s at the end of lap 7 and remained like this for the entirety of the race.

Macrow made a slight mistake on lap 9, running wide at Honda hairpin.

It was on this lap that Webster set the fastest lap of the race and the lead margin shrunk to just 0.4s.

From this point however Macrow drove faultlessly and went on to take the win by 1s.

A rocket start was enough for Macrow to take Race 2 from Webster.

Ex Super2 racer Shae Davies acquitted himself well on his S5000 debut with Versa Racing..

Images: ARG/Daniel Kalisz Above: Joey Mawson’s Form700/ALABAR car heads hotshot youngster Cooper Webster who carried new support from Mobil1.

Top right: Winners/grinners etc! The superb Race 3 win was enough to get Mawson within one point of the championship lead.

Above right: Blast-off for the Race 2 (partial grid reverse) race; Purdie and Goddard made up the front row, but from grid 3, Macrow led into Turn 1.

Below: Golding leads Mawson and the pack into Turn 4. The rubble on the inside approach to the corner was to get worse, and catch Purdie out in Race 3.

Late on, both the Team BRM cars came on strong with Mawson putting pressure on Webster but to no avail.

The Versa Motorsport driver held onto second position, finishing 0.6s ahead of Mawson and Goddard.

Golding recovered to finish the race in fifth just 0.5s behind Goddard, while Davies, Ngatoa and Garwood rounded out the pack.

Track position proved key in the Feature Race, with the grid set up with combined

points from qualifying and the two earlier races. Therefore, it was Golding on pole alongside Mawson once again.

Golding visibly made the better of the two starts and led on the approach to Turn 1, however Mawson sent his Team BRM machine around the outside of the Garry Rogers Motorsport driver at Turn 1 and came out in front in an incredibly brave move.

As the field tightened up into Turn 4, Purdie clipped the back of Goddard – the

contact broke Purdie’s suspension and sent him sliding into the innocent Davies.

Both cars came to rest in the gravel trap, but out of the race with heavy damage. It required a lengthy Safety Car period (the only one of the weekend) to clean up the mess.

Under Safety Car, Mawson led Golding, Webster, Macrow, Goddard, Garwood and Ngatoa.

On the restart, Mawson lfound Golding right in the tow and was forced to defend left and right trying to hold the GRM car at bay.

Lap after lap Mawson, was forced to defend at Honda hairpin which allowed Webster to remain in touching distance should one of the drivers run wide.

Further back, Garwood and Ngatoa were locked in a great duel – Ngatoa briefly took sixth at Turn 1 on lap six before the Tasmanian fought back.

Up front with only three laps remaining Mawson began to pull out a slight advantage, but a lock up on the final lap into Turn 4 put him back under pressure.

Mawson held on and took the win by a slender 0.15s margin ahead of Golding and, in doing so, took the round honours.

Webster was unable to keep up with the leading pair late on – nevertheless he comfortably held on to finish on the podium for the third time in three races.

Macrow finished the Feature Race in fourth place, enough for him to retain the series lead by a single point.

Goddard concluded the weekend with a fifth-place finish ahead of Ngatoa and Garwood.

Ngatoa eventually prevailed, after a late race spin for Garwood at Southern Loop.

The championship table is incredibly tight with the top four drivers separated by just three points.

STANDINGS: Macrow 184, Mawson 183, Webster 181, Golding 181, Ngatoa 104, Fife 80, Purdie 71, Garwood 65, Goddard 57, Slade 42

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PHILLIP ISLAND - TRANS AM

ALL ACTION TRANS AM

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Images: ARG/Daniel Kalisz Report: Dan McCarthy THE NATIONAL Trans Am Series put on a show at Phillip Island with three epic races all won by Garry Rogers Motorsport Mustangs – but in the end it was the experienced Owen Kelly (pictured above) who prevailed.

Kelly won two of the three races across the weekend and the one he didn’t win he was second – a good way to claw back some points in the second round.

Reigning series winner Nathan Herne crossed the line first in two of the races, however a penalty cost him dearly over the weekend.

The first Trans Am race of the weekend was a thriller with Kelly eventually being given the top spot.

Ben Grice took pole position from Kelly, Kyle Gurton, Nic Carroll, Herne, Lochie Dalton and Tim Brook.

At the start of the race, Herne made a flying start straight by Carroll and Gurton and into third on the run into Turn 1.

He was a man on a mission; attempting a move on his Garry Rogers Motorsport teammate at Honda hairpin on lap 2, the pair made contact. As a result, Kelly ran wide and fell behind both Herne and Carroll.

Pole sitter Grice shot into the distance at this point as Carroll and Herne scrapped physically on track for second place.

Carroll eventually made his way past, pulling off a move around the outside at the Hayshed – however his race was about to take a turn.

Shortly after taking second the Dodge Challenger driver became stuck in third gear. He was a sitting duck out of the slower turns and also the end of the straights and as a result plummeted down the field.

Grice appeared to have victory in the bag, however his car developed an engine issue – it had dropped a cylinder.

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This issue was compounded when Dalton Ellery got his car stuck in the gravel trap at Turn 2, which meant Grice was the walking wounded when the race restarted with a one lap sprint to the finish.

Despite making a great restart it was to no avail; Herne breezed by out of Turn 2 to take the lead into Stoner corner and was immediately followed by both Kelly and Brook.

That was the way it remained, Herne crossing the line first from Kelly who just held off Brook, Grice and Kyle Gurton.

Post-race there was a twist, Herne was penalised for the collision with his teammate Kelly at Honda hairpin. This saw him drop to fourth in the results, behind Kelly who inherited the win, Brook and Grice.

Carroll did finish the race, but last of the drivers on the lead lap, in 24th position.

Race 2 started with a spectacular save from Grice. The son of Bathurst 1000 winner Allan half spun onto the grass after contact with Herne on the run to Turn 2. Almost out of control Grice got the car slowed down, lit up the rears and slid back onto the track, losing just two places.

The race contained an intense three-car scrap for the victory between Kelly, Herne and Brook.

Brook was the quick man early – he sat in second, albeit unable to find a way past Kelly.

In the closing laps Herne caught the fighting pair and quickly made his way past Brook.

On the final lap, approaching lapped traffic at Siberia, Kelly was baulked and allowed Herne to get a run on the way out towards Hayshed. Herne thought better of the move, but this left him vulnerable to Brook and, at the final turn, the former Toyota 86 Racing

Race 2, and Ben Grice deals with some grass oversteer ... only losingbtwo spots ...

Below: Nathan Herne heads Nic Carrol, the latter ultimately hit by gearbox gremlins.:

Above:

Series driver snatched second position.

The final race saw a great battle between Kelly and Herne early on; however, once Herne made his way up the inside at Lukey Heights he romped home to take a commanding 5s win.

Behind him, Kelly once again held off an attack from Brook to win the round overall, while youngster Cody Burcher rounded out the top three, and Dalton and Brett Holdsworth rounded out the top five finishers.

Brook had been running third but suffered

a mechanical issue on the final lap, slowing him to a crawl. He did finish the race, but in a disappointing 10th.

Carroll shot up from outside the top 10 and was fighting for a podium position when an unseen back marker forced him to spin out at Turn 1 – he finished just behind Brook in 11th.

STANDINGS: Herne 356, Brook 349, Kelly 322, Gurton 322, Dalton 322, Holdsworth 313, Thornburrow 285, Ellery 276, McCorkindale 271, Pappas 269

CLASH OF THUNDER

Close? Yup! Tamasi, Caruso, and Heimgartner ... Calibra, Audi, Aston Martin. Cool ...

Below: Podium (l to r): Woodman, Caruso, Tamasi.

Bottom: Solid Sports Sedan championship field blasts off.

Report: Josh Nevett JORDAN CARUSO emerged on top of the after a hectic Sunday schedule of National Sports Sedans racing at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

The cancellation of Saturday’s race saw Sunday become a Sports Sedans spectacular, three races taking place over a matter of just hours.

Caruso won two of those in his Audi A4, just pipping Steve Tamasi who won the other encounter in his Holden Calibra.

The pair made P1 and P2 their own, sharing them across the three races.

Tamasi took out the opening race of the season after a tight battle with title rival Caruso.

The latter started off pole, but Tamasi found himself in the lead mid -ace after a high-speed pass on the main straight.

The lead changed hands between Tamasi and Caruso throughout the race

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but ultimately it was perennial frontrunner Tamasi who came out on top, crossing the line 0.976s to the good.

Andre Heimgartner’s Duggan Family Racing Aston Martin came home just under 10s behind the dominant Holden Calibra and Audi A4 of Tamasi and Caruso.

The Brad Jones Racing Supercar driver had plenty of clear air throughout the encounter, running his own race to earn a podium spot.

Shane Woodman’s BMW M3 GTR won a competitive mid pack battle to finish fourth, 4s ahead of the Holden Monaro of Michael Robinson.

Newcomer Daniel Crompton was fifth in his Ford Mustang, narrowly edging out Andrew Brown and his Chevrolet Camaro by 0.08s in a thrilling finish.

Lloyd Godfrey was one of several drivers to not reach the finish, limping into the pits late in the race in his Honda Integra.

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Caruso hit back hard in Race 2, taking the win by less than 1s.

The Audi driver took the lead off polesitter Tamasi from the get-go and did not give it up from then on.

It was shaping up as a promising weekend for Heimgartner after he secured a podium finish in Race 1 in his Aston Martin, but it all came crashing down when he ground to a halt at the end of Race 2.

Running third in that race, he would fail to finish and did not return to start Race 3.

Woodman benefited from Heimgartner’s downfall to secure a spot on the podium.

Crompton was fourth, leading a pair of Chevrolet Camaro’s driven by Shane Bradford and Brown.

The Holden Commodore’s of Scott Cameron and Allen Nash followed in seventh and eighth, Rick Newman and Kevin Stoopman rounding out the top 10 in a Ford Falcon and Mitsubishi Evo, respectively.

In the 10-lap Feature Race, Caruso and Tamasi went toe-to-toe again, the former coming out on top to win the round.

The standouts gapped the field yet again, leading by 6s after just one lap.

In the end they crossed the line over 45s ahead of Woodman, who finished third again after a tough battle with Bradford, Robinson and Crompton.

Those three drivers followed Woodman in the final placings, finishing fourth through sixth.

Anthony Cox finished seventh after making a stylish move on Newman coming out of Siberia, putting all of his Saab’s horsepower to use.

Brown had mechanical issues with his white Chevrolet Camaro but still managed to bring it home in eighth.

Newman and Nash brought their homegrown machines home inside the top 10.

Cameron was the only casualty of the final encounter, failing to finish.

The National Sports Sedans series is set to shine as a Supercars Championship support twice this year as part of a fiveround 2022 calendar.

Despite having only completed one national round over the last two seasons due to COVID, Sports Sedans are locked in to run on the Supercars bill at both Winton in country Victoria and The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

POINTS: Caruso 133, Tamasi 128, Woodman 115, Crompton 96, Bradford 89

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PHILLIP ISLAND - NATIONALS

HONOURS EVEN IN GT THRILLER

Image: ARG/Kalisz Report: Josh Nevett A CLOSELY fought opening round of GT World Challenge Australia produced joint winners, Chaz Mostert and Liam Talbot splitting the race victories with Christopher Mies and Yassir Shahin at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Mostert and Talbot took victory in the first race of the weekend, withstanding the charge of their Audi R8 LMS Evo rivals.

Talbot started in the car and quickly made his way past GT Trophy polesitter Brett Hobson, maintaining the lead until the compulsory pitstop sequence opened.

Mostert took over, spending his stint defending from hard charging Bathurst 12 Hour winner Mies.

Doubt started to creep in as the lead

narrowed to 2s due to traffic on track but once that cleared Mostert extended the final gap to 6.26s.

Mies crossed the line in second making it an Audi R8 1-2 finish.

Supercar rivals Shane van Gisbergen and David Reynolds duked it out behind, the former defending his position to earn a place on the podium.

A 5s penalty proved costly for Reynolds, who copped the punishment after his codriver Tony Bates overlapped on the safety car restart. The pair finished just 0.12s back in fourth when they could easily have been on the podium.

Supercars team owners Stephen and Brenton Grove rounded out the top five in their Porsche.

Brad Schumacher finished the race in sixth winning the GT Trophy class while Paul Stokell prevailed in the GT Am class.

On debut in GT World Challenge Australia, Sam Brabham and his teammate Spiros Poulakis won the GT4 class in their Mercedes.

Mies and Shahin (pictured above) took out the second one-hour race, levelling the round standings with Mostert and Talbot.

The latter pair came home second in their Audi R8 LMS Evo, 2s in arrears.

Reynolds and Bates were third as Audi’s locked out the podium, running a lonely race towards the end.

Mies set up the win with a flying start, surging into the lead past van Gisbergen and Mostert from the second row.

The German GT star sustained damage to

his right rear while looking to thread his way through the back markers, but Shahin made up lost ground in his stint to overtake Bates with 10 minutes to run.

Behind the Audi frontrunners was the Porsche of Stephen and Brenton Grove, while van Gisbergen and Ibrahim settled for fifth.

In Am class, Stoupas led the field in his Audi ahead of Michael Sheargold and Garth Waldren in their Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Schumacher was the best of the GT Trophy entrants as Audi swept the three classes in which it had cars entered.

Sam Brabham and Spiros Poulakis swept the GT4 class in a Mercedes AMG. POINTS: Mies/Shahin 43, Mostert/Talbot 43, Bates/Reynolds 27, Ibrahim/van Gisbergen 25, Grove/Grove 22

CLEAN SWEEP FOR ASTUTI Report: Dan McCarthy VALENTINO ASTUTI (pictured) won all three races in the second round of the national Formula Ford Series at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit – however things were far from easy.

In each race there was a gaggle of cars that Astuti constantly had to fight against in some real old-school slipstream racing at The Island.

Prior to Race 1 of the series, Astuti had never won a national series stage, but couldn’t stop winning by the end of the weekend.

In Race 1 he beat home James Piszcyk by a miniscule 0.17s, while Winston Smith rounded out the podium places as he beat Jordyn Sinni and Conor Somers.

Astuti, Piszcyk and Cody Donald fought early, however Donald dropped to the second group containing several cars.

At this stage Round 1 winner Sinni was buried in the pack, but remained focused and methodically made his way forward. He made it to third, but could not catch the leaders.

On the final lap Donald spun out of contention, while Smith pipped Sinni to third.

Each race was clean, ran under green and was exciting to watch. Race 2 featured a fourcar battle containing Astuti, Smith, Sinni and Piszcyk.

Image:Ross Gibb Photography

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This became a six-car scrap when third generation racers, Cameron McLeod and Jude Bargwanna joined the scene.

Astuti found himself in the lead with a couple of laps to go as Smith, Bargwanna and McLeod all fought for second in the closing laps. This allowed Astuti to break away and go on to take his maiden win.

Bargwanna and Smith collided at Turn 1 on the final lap taking them both out of contention.

Piszcyk came home in P2 ahead of Smith, Sinni and Somers.

Astuti swept the round by winning the final race of the weekend by the smallest of margins.

The top two runners, Astuti and Piszcyk, came onto the pit straight side-by-side, crossing the line, from the naked eye, together, – the real margin 0.004s, Astuti taking the victory in a thrilling eight lap encounter.

For most of the race there were half a dozen drivers vying for the top spot; however as the race drew to a close it became a two-car tussle.

Sinni was in the battle behind for much of the race however at the halfway stage broke clear and joined the fight for the lead.

He made great progress in the closing laps and ended up as best of the rest in third, Sinni edged out Cody Donald by just 0.05s, with Cameron McLeod rounded out the top five.

Perini (81) and Paddon (31) share the front row ... Image: Ross Gibb Photography

PERINI PERFECTION Report: Josh Nevett CHRIS PERINI dominated proceedings in the first round of Radical Cup Australia, taking two victories across the threerace weekend at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Perini won both of the first two encounters, narrowly taking the sprint opener before claiming a comfortable 18s win in the 50-minute enduro.

The First Focus entry of Peter Paddon and Peter Carr was not far behind in second, pushing Perini in the sprint before finishing a lonely second in the enduro.

Elliott Schutte rounded out the podium in Race 1, while Adam Lisle and Jordan Oon earned a spot on the steps in the endurance encounter, 4s off Paddon/Carr.

Race 3 saw a change in the status quo, Oon triumphing in the #35 Arise Racing

entry that he shared with Lisle across the weekend.

Schutte and Perini rounded out the podium in the final race.

Oon’s last race win placed him level with Carr for the round, while Perini took a 21-point advantage.

Outside of the standout three entries, Nick Kelly and Schutte performed well to rank fourth and fifth for the round.

The Industrie Clothing entry of Kelly achieved the top five result through consistency – despite not scoring a podium Kelly did not finish lower than seventh in the three races.

On the other hand, Schutte made up for a DNF in the enduro with a podium.

Sydney Motorsport Park will host the next round of Radical Cup Australia from May 27-29.

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Bag-em-up Aldo De Paoli! Pole, four wins and the crowd favourite was a great weekend’s work in the Group N Chev Camaro (John Lemm).

MAGIC PHILLIP ISLAND Report: Dan McCarthy, Mark Bisset Images: John Lemm, Revved Photography, Ian Smith WITH CLEAR skies and the blue-green waters of Bass Straight glittering in four days of sun, the Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport was a corker for competitors and spectators alike.

“We lost a few cars to the floods and Covid but still had 265 for Thursday practice and about 400 entries in all. We haven’t got final numbers, but Saturday was a biggie – we reckon we were at about 2018 crowd numbers,” VHRR President Ian Tate told Auto Action.

The event attracted many legends including Larry Perkins, 1970 Australian Touring Car Champion ‘Stormin Norm’ Beechey, multiple Gold Star winner Alf Costanzo and sportscar/ hillclimb ace/patron Alan Hamilton.

The ‘5-Litre Touring Car’ events had plenty of variety including an ex-John Goss McLeod Ford XA Falcon GT hardtop, ex-Brock Mobil VN Commodore, Tickford AU Falcon and Mark Winterbottom’s 2007 Falcon Supercar.

The replica Coke-red Allan Moffat Mustang Trans-Am elicited plenty of smiles as did Perkins at the wheel of a Walkinshaw HRT VF Commodore raced by his son Jack, and James Courtney in 2013.

While Larry had a ball in Jack’s old car, Jack jumped into the Perkins Engineering Castrol VY Commodore in which his dad made his final 2003 Bathurst 1000 start.

Driving an ex-Colin Bond 1992 Ford Sierra RS500, 2016 Bathurst winner Jonathon Webb cleaned up in Group A/C Touring car events which included a TWR Jaguar XJS, Benson and Hedges BMW M3, GIO Nissan Skyline GTR R32 and a Nissan Bluebird.

Similarly dominant was Tom Tweedie aboard one of Australia’s most iconic sportscars, the ex-Garrie Cooper Elfin MS7 Repco-Holden. The bulk of the field comprised quick S2000s but the belle of the ball was Russ Kempnich’ Le Mans Porsche 956.

If you could tear yourself away from the oncircuit action, there were interesting stands and hundreds of classic cars formally on display and in the carpark.

Group S provided a great 40-45 car spectacle with honours up front split between Alex Webster’s Porsche 911 Carrera and Terry

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Lawlor’s Shelby 350GT Mustang.

Mixing Groups J/K/L and Formula Vee worked ... “but next time we will make the gap between the two starts 40 seconds not 20,” quipped Ian Tate. The Reid Brothers RepcoHolden Grey mid-engined 1959 Faux Pas diced with Graeme Raper’s ferociously driven 1948 George Reed Special (flathead Ford V8) in absorbing battles of different eras of technology. Formula Vee honours went to old hand Max Bonney, Elfin NG (three wins) and Law Student Chris Jackson, Avanti (one win).

Sydneysider, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis brought down his pair of crowd-pleasing Ferrari 156/85 turbo F1 cars and predictably won the Group Q/R races, but Vin Holland gave him a serious run for his money in his sonorous ex-works Ralt RT21 Honda V8 F3000 machine. David Hardman drove the wheels off the Hardman JH1 Ford BDA his dad Jim built, while ex-Reynard Designer Malcolm Oastler was quick in his recently acquired, first Ralt into the country, the exScuderia Veloce/Larry Perkins/John Smith RT1 Ford BDA. Formula Ford is the Racing-for-Sheep stations historic category – the huge 52-car grid almost stretched to Cowes’s outskirts and didn’t disappoint.

The entry list was perhaps Historic FF’s best, containing two former national champions in Tim Blanchard (2007) and Bruce Connolly (1983) and a swag of Driver to Europe or

National Round winners; Richard Davison, Grant Walker, Lyndon Arnel, Geoff Walters and Andrew Reid. In that field of depth Jon Miles’ two wins were meritorious.

Craig Allan won the all Torana XU1 Peter Brock Trophy. Nick Bennett was the Sir Jack Brabham Driver of the Meeting for wins in his Elfin 600B twin-cam and strong performances in his (1971) Elfin 600B Formula Ford, while third-generation racer, William Sala, bagged the Don Kinsey Encouragement Award racing a Malmark Elfin FV. In many ways the star of the show was West Australian Group N Chev Camaro racer Aldo De Paoli who lit up the crowds all weekend with superb demonstrations of magnificent

drifts on the Island’s quickest corners, winning four of his five races despite frying his tyres!

It was a magic weekend indeed, the Island was as good as it gets…

RESULTS

Groups M&O, Sports Racing & Invited Cars Race 1: Nicholas Bennett (Elfin TC-W 600B), Andrew Robson (Brabham BT30), Laurie Bennett (Elfin TC - R 60) Race 2: N Bennett, Robson, L Bennett Race 3: N Bennett, Robson, Paul Faulkner (Brabham BT-29) Race 4: Robson, L Bennett, Faulkner Race 5: N Bennett, Robson, L Bennett

Guido Belgiorno Nettis’ F1 Ferrari 156-85 turbo took pole and won all of its races with Vince Holland’s F3000 Ralt RT21 Honda hurrying him up big-time on Friday/Saturday. (John Lemm).

Above: Adrian Brady’s magic 300bhp Group 5 BMW 320i exits Siberia, 2-litre M12-7 F2 powered. (Revved Photography).

Left: Tim Blanchard, Jon Miles and Richard Davison, Van Diemens by three, into MG. 52-car Formula Ford grids almost stretched to Cowes’ outskirts! (Revved Photography) Below Left: A great mix of cars at Honda hairpin including Alfa Romeos, Porsches, MGs and even a Corvette (Ian Smith) Below: Bathurst winner Jonathon Webb’s Ford Sierra RS500 swept the boards in Group A/C by some margin, Anthony Alford’s R32 Nissan Nissan Skyline GTR follows. (John Lemm)

Historic Touring Cars over 2 Litre & Invited Race 1: Michael Miceli (Ford Mustang), Marc Tessari (Holden HQ Monaro), Aldo De Paoli (Chevrolet Camaro) Race 2: De Paoli, Miceli, Jason Humble (Mazda RX2 Coupe) Race 3: De Paoli, Miceli, Peter McNiven (Mazda RX2 Coupe) Race 4: De Paoli, Miceli, Tessari Race 5: De Paoli, Humble, Craig Allen (Holden Torana) Q&R Racing, F5000, F1 & Indy Cars & Invited Race 1: Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (Ferrari 156/85), Vincent Holland (Ralt RT21), David Hardman (Hardman JH-1)

Race 2: Belgiorno-Nettis, Holland, Hardman Race 3: Belgiorno-Nettis, Grant Doulman (Shrike NB89H), Hardman Race 4: Belgiorno-Nettis, Hardman, Ian Buddery (March 86C) Group A & C Touring Cars Race 1: Jonathon Webb (Ford Sierra), Bryan Sala (Ford Sierra), Chris Stillwell (Ford Sierra) Race 2: Webb, Sala, Anthony Alford (Nissan GTR R32 Skyline) Race 3: Webb, Alford, Stillwell Race 4: Webb, Alford, Adrian Allisey (Holden Commodore)

Russ Kempnich’ ex-Schuppan Trust Racing Porsche 956 ahead of two scrapping S2000s (Ian Smith)

Historic Touring Cars under 2 Litre & Invited Race 1: Adriano Dimauro (Alfa Romeo GTV), Robert van Stokrom (BMW 2002), David Brown (Datsun 1600) Race 2: Dimauro, Spencer Rice (Alfa Romeo 2000), David Noakes (Ford Escort RS1) Race 3: Rice, Dimauro, van Stokrom Race 4: Rice, Dimauro, van Stokrom Race 5: Rice, Dimauro, van Stokrom Group S & Invited Cars Race 1: Alexander Webster (Porsche 911), Terry Lawlor (Shelby GT350), Ray Narkiewicz (Chevrolet Corvette) Race 2: Webster, Lawlor, Narkiewicz Race 3: Lawlor, Webster, Narkiewicz Race 4: Webster, Narkiewicz, Douglas Barbour (Porsche 911) Q & R Sports Race 1: Thomas Tweedie (Elfin MS7), Duncan Mackellar (Porsche 962), Daniel Nolan (Nola Chev) Race 2: Tweedie, Mackellar, Jamie Larner (Ralt RT2) Race 3: Tweedie, Mackellar, Andrew Kluver (Lola T332 NF-1) Race 4: Tweedie, Larner, Laurie Bennett (McLaren M1B)

5 Litre Touring Cars Race 1: Jack Perkins (Holden Commodore VF), Bradley Neill (Holden Commodore VF), Larry Perkins (Holden Commodore VY) Race 2: J Perkins, Bradley Neill (Holden Commodore VF), Philip Grant (Porsche 996) Race 3: Neill, J Perkins, Grant Race 4: Neill, Harri Jones (Ford Falcon BA), J Perkins Race 5: Neill, J Perkins, Francois Habib (Holden Commodore VZ) Formula Ford Race 1: Nick McBride (Swift DB1), Tim Blanchard (Van Diemen RF88), Richard Tarling (Reynard FF89) Race 2: Blanchard, Tarling, McBride Race 3: Jonathan Miles (Van Diemen RF89), Blanchard, Tarling Race 4A: Gislain Genecand (Reynard FF84), Steven Willing (Elwyn 003), Nicholas Bennett (Elfin FF 600B) Race 4B: Miles, Blanchard, Tarling Groups J, K, Lb & Invited Cars Race 1: Graeme Raper (George Reed), David Reid (Faux Pas), Flavio Puccinelli (Cooper T53) Race 2: Reid, Raper, Puccinelli Race 3: Reid, Puccinelli, Raper Race 4: Reid, Raper, Puccinelli Race 5: Reid, Raper, Puccinelli

Larry and Jack Perkins got to drive their own machines, and each others, during the weekend (Revved Photography)

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NATIONALS WRAP STATE CHAMP START AT MALLALA THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN Motor Racing Championships were off to a good start with an action-packed one-day twilight meeting at Mallala, on March 12.

CIRCUIT EXCELS A PACKED grid required the running of two fields, but it was no surprise that Asher Johnston showed the way. He dominated his heat races and took the feature win comfortably under lights.

Jayden Wanzek was next best and claimed two wins on his way to the final.

Ethan Fitzgerald snared third spot and was a heat winner as a bonus. Victorian Joel Johnson had battled hard with the front runners in the heats and came home fourth in the final.

After having clutch issues early in the day, Riley Matheson was a very happy winner of the consolation final.

Images: David Batchelor Tony Bobridge took two wins each with John Hill a long way back in third. The start of race two was delayed while Allan Smith’s car was rescued after losing a wheel on the form-up lap.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION A CLEAN went Andy Sarandis (Mitsubishi EVO 8) with Scott Cook (Nissan S13) and Michael Reimann (Mazda 808) the best of the rest although Victorian Robert Braune (BMW E30) made them work for it. Christopher White (Mazda 323) was the top under 2.0 litre finisher.

FORMUAL VEES AMONG THE 1600s Adam Newton (Sabre 02) showed the way. Daniel Westcott (Jacer F2K5) showed some pace to lead a few laps during the day, but had to settle for second when it counted.

Matthew Bialek (Stinger 03) picked up third.

Robert Surnam (Stag) was on top in 1200s followed by Andrew Mutch (Caracal CA 96) and Selwyn Duce (Elfin Crusader).

Nathan Clifton (Septre) rolled at the southern hairpin in race two while Kaylan Hill (Elfin Crusader) had a much less eventful 1600 debut.

SPORTS & RACING CARS THERE WASN’T much to separate Chris Sluzarski (Tatus FT50) and Bo Jensen (Dallara F304) in Formula Libre, and Australian Sports Cars with Tim Cook (Wolf Thunder) a close third.

SALOON CARS A REGULAR in a Holden Commodore, Shaun Jamieson (pictured above) was at the helm of a Ford Falcon AU, and

continued his domination. James Jaeschke (Commodore VY) hung on for second after Scott Dornan (VY) failed to start the last race. Jayden Jamieson (Commodore VT) picked up third. In VTs David Lines and Peter Holmes both showed some pace over the day but were plagued with problems.

HQ HOLDENS GLUED TOGETHER all day, Lee Smith and

SPORTS CARS/SPORTS SEDANS MARK ROSSER (Audi R8 LMS – pictured above) outlasted the opposition to take the Sports Car win. Ian Wilson (TVR Tuscan) looked set for victory, but the car was back on the trailer after two races. Paul Mitolo (Ferrari 458) could only make third for the day after a DNF in race three. Ryan Smith (Nissan Skyline R34) was the top Sports Sedan after Greg Hewson’s Mini Clubman made an early exit.

HISTORICS THE NUMBERS were down with Andrew Ford (Birrana 274) on top from daughter Melissa (Mallock U2) and Keith Williamson (Farrell Clubman) who rounded out the podium. David Batchelor

HYPED UP FOR WINTON DEBUT THE VICTORIAN Motor Racing Championship kicked off at Winton on March 12-13 with the debut of a new category and supported by some regulars.

HYPER RACERS SEVEN OF the lightweight 390kg Hayabusapowered Hyper Racer X1s (pictured right) that deliver GT-type lap times, took in the first of four rounds with Ian Branson the overall winner.

Second overall was Luke Klayer who was the fastest qualifier and won the first race before car designer Dean Crook beat him in the second. Branson was third and then came to the fore with wins in the next two outings.

In Race 3 Branson won ahead of Crooke and Brad Bond before Klaver and Crooke were second and third in the last. Klaver was third for the round ahead of Jon Crooke, Bond, Hardy Kuhn and Stuart Richards, VIC V8S THREE WINS and a second gave Brian Finn (Holden Commodore VS) round two honours.

It started with earning pole by 0.1ss over Greg Lynch (Commodore VT). After seeing off

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Race 2 with Tate third from Morgan, Chilby and Ryan Pring. Brett Francis retired with a carby issue.

The Hourigans were 0.4s apart at the end of Race 3 which was a reverse grid start and Josh set a new lap record in the process. Tate finished clear of Morgan and Chilby. In the fourth it was again a one-two close result and the same placing behind. Tate was second in the last ahead of Morgan and Pring while Josh Hourigan was a race casualty with a dislodged ignition wire.

his rival, Finn won Race 1 comfortably. Allan Argento (Ford Falcon XE) won the tussle for third over Craig Eddy (Commodore VH) and David Ratcliffe (Commodore) but copped a 10s penalty that pushed him to fourth.

Brief contact with Finn put Lynch down the order in Race 2 and he was further delayed with a spin and finished seventh. In the meantime Finn was well ahead as Argento took second ahead of Ratcliffe and Arthur Van Orsouw (Commodore). Lynch fought back to second in Race 3 ahead of Argento, Ratcliffe

and Van Orsouw. Then Lynch won the last by half a second over Lynch with the same three filling the next spots.

LEGENDS AT THE second circuit outing of the year, Brendon Hourigan clean swept with five wins from as many starts and took overall honours ahead of Shane Tate and Josh Hourigan. He won the first ahead of Scott Morgan, Shane Tate, Stephen Chilby and Josh Hourigan.

The latter pushed through to second in

SUPER TT A WIN in the reverse grid race was the catalyst for Damien Hunter to take his Renault Clio to first outright as well as victory in under 2.0 litre.

In that race he beat Mark Granger (Ford Falcon AU) and Paul Cornell (Subaru Impreza WRX).

Afterwards Hunter was third behind Trev Drummond (Mitsubishi EVO) and Granger before a long dice with Drummond in the last where he ultimately finished a close second.

Andrew Goldman (WRX) finish third which gave him the over 2.0 litre honours for the weekend.

Garry O’Brien

OLDIES AND NEWBIES STAR NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien THE OPENING round of the Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championships at Pepsi Max Baskerville Raceway on March 5-6 featured some of the usual suspects, but also saw a few rising stars coming into the fray.

SPORTS GT IT WAS fruitful weekend for Rye Dunsmuir (BMW 320i) with a victory in Sports GTA, more through consistency than outright speed. After a fourth in the opening heat, he followed up with a third, two seconds and a win in the double points final.

After a season off, Scott Smith (Porsche GT3) looked like making the perfect comeback by winning all four heats, but it came to a sudden halt in the final when he crashed heavily in the esses on the third lap, substantially damaging his car and redflagging the race.

David Bingley (Porsche GT3) led away at the re-start and was able to hold Dunsmuir off for the entire journey, but he was penalised 10s for a jump start, relegating him to second and giving Dunsmuir the race win and enough points to take the round.

Back in the field, David Walker (Datsun 122 Ute) was just as consistent in Sports GTB to start his title defence on the right note, from Ben Lockley (Holden Torana). Lockley showed some pace in the earlier races before Walker started to exert his influence from the third heat onwards. In Sports GTC Williams (Datsun 240Z) was never seriously challenged and won all four heats and the final.

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Brad Sherriff (above) dominated Sports Sedans; while (below) Rye Dunsmuir’s BMW harrasses the GT3 Porsche of David Bingley. Images: Angryman FORMULA VEES A BREAKOUT win in a small but competitive field came the way of Jeremy Dyer (Elfin Crusader), whose worst result of the weekend was a second place. He took a narrow four-point round victory over Wade McLean (Elliott).

Dyer showed marked improvement from last season and started on the right note with a win in heat one. He proved it was no fluke with victories in heats three and four as well.

The racing was intense, with McLean the winner of the fifth heat by only 0.07s. After a season off, Richard Gray (Jabiru) was back in the mix mostly with Adam Prewer (Elfin) also at the pointy end, with consistent running in the top four to also show improvement from last season.

achieve the outright lap record, he did set a new mark for resident Tasmanians, but showed enough pace to suggest the outright mark could go by the end of the season. The racing was secondary as he won every race and the round ahead of Kim Barwick (Holden Commodore) and Lance Jones (Holden Torana Hatchback).

SPORTS SEDANS NOT CONTENT to set lap records last season in Sports GTA, more horsepower and a set of slick tyres saw Brad Sherriff (Nissan R32 Skyline) chase the Sports Sedan record this time. While he didn’t

HYUNDAI EXCELS THE CATEGORY delivered the best racing of the weekend with five different winners.

Josh Webster emerged on top with victory in the final. Charlie Parker, Will Twining, Jackson Shaw, and Jeremy Bennett scored

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HQ HOLDENS DESPITE THE absence of Phil Ashlin, there was still plenty of quality in the field at Baskerville, with Otis Cordwell and Andrew Toth battling it out with little between them.

Cordwell won the first two heats and Toth took the next two. The latter also won the double-points final and the round. Third went to Neville Rattray ahead of Andrew Bird.

victories as well. Tim Shaw was also in the mix for much of the meeting too with a new lap record in the fourth heat, despite finishing second behind Parker.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION ONE DRIVER who definitely picked up where he left off last year was Jared House (Holden Torana A9X) who clean swept the weekend.

He was never seriously challenged throughout to win from his cousin Jason House (BMW E30). Doubling up from Sports GTA, Rye Dunsmuir (BMW 329i) saved his best to last to finish second in the final, but still third for the round ahead of Anthony McKenzie (Ford Escort) and David Waldon (Rover).

HISTORIC TOURING CARS IT WAS a dominate season start for Scott Cordwell (Holden Torana XU-1) with wins in every heat and the final. HQ Holden racer Phil Ashlin (XU-1) was far from disgraced in his category debut with second for the weekend.

Phil Shepherd was third overall in his Holden EH. Martin Agatyn

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NATIONALS WRAP

FORD HOLDS ON IN SUPERKARTS OPENER

TWO-TIME British SuperKart GP victor Jordie Ford (# 20 pictured right) kicked off his Australian Superkart Championship campaign in style, taking three race wins in the top 250cc International class at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Ford was dominant throughout the Australian Superkart Classic meeting, taking pole and claiming the win in three races on the trot.

A detached plug lead saw Ford fall to third in the final encounter, but that result was enough to give him the round win over Gary Pegoraro who was victorious in the final race by 0.1s.

Four-time national champion Ilya Harpas was third after a challenging weekend of mechanical woes.

There were just three entries in the 250cc Nationals with David Salter victorious.

The 125cc NGB Heavy and Lights ran together, Sanuja ‘Sunny’ Perera topping the latter class with a perfect haul of four wins as three of the races were decided by half a kart-length.

South Australian Antoni Ormsby crossed the line second in each Lights race.

In the 125cc NGB Heavy, another rapid local Pat Ross took the day with a 100% success rate. Col McIntyre and Brandon Stillwell rounded out the podium.

Nick Shembri won the 125cc Open class. Two wins from four races was enough despite a cracked exhaust in Race 1 and radiator hose clamp issues in the final race.

Stepney-Marsh and McIntyre were the next best in class.

In the Stock Honda class, James Gorman carded a perfect weekend with Jeff Duckworth second and Tom Roe third.

Overall, the first round of the 2022 season was a success – one of the best subscribed Superkart meetings in recent years with almost 80 entries, prompting The Bend management to agree to host the Superkarts in 2023.

The second round of the Australian SuperKart Championship will be held at Phillip Island in August. Josh Nevett

Supporting The Zucoins Australian Superkart Classic at The Bend Motorsport Park on March 12-13 were SA Tin Tops and Miniature Race Cars.

SA TIN TOPS Victorian Brent Edwards (Falcon XR6) showed the way only relinquishing the top spot for two laps all weekend to Brendan O’Connor (Falcon AU) in Race 3.

Ironically O’Connor only scored points in two races and didn’t feature in the overall result. Second spot fell to Wayne Williams (Falcon FG Ute) and Cooper Cappellari (Holden Commodore VY) stood on the bottom step of the podium.

MINIATURE RACE CARS RUN ON the West plus circuit, successful karter David Brewer (Future Racer) was the man to beat after he topped qualifying and won three heats to head the points. Craig White (Future Racer) from the ACT took it right up to Brewer all weekend and won the final race

Brent Edwards shows the way in SA Tin Tops (Image: David Batchelor). for second overall.

Jack Boyd (Aussie Racing Car) overcame some fuel problems in practise to race to third overall.

TIGHE TURNS UP AND WINS

FLOODS COULD not prevent Queenslander Dean Tighe (pictured) from setting the fastest times in each of the two hillclimbs held at Mt Panorama on March 5-6.

It was supposed to be the first two rounds of the NSW Hillclimb Championships, held through successive days on the Esses and Mountain Straight courses. However, due to the week of deluge in NSW and Queensland, the Bathurst Light Car Club downgraded the status to a pair of Multi Club events and still drew around 60 entries.

In his supercharged Hayabusa-powered Wrath Empire Formula Libre, Tighe set his fastest time of 21.99s on his fourth attempt through the 750m Esses climb. He backed

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Image: Bathurst LCC up with a 41.68s run on the longer 1.7km Mountain Straight track to take the second day honours as well.

Kevin Mackrell was the runner-up in his six litre Chev V8-powered 4WD Datsun 260Z. His Esses time of 25.52s was 0.15s under his own previous Tin Top benchmark. He was also second fastest on Sunday with a 44.49s effort.

Third and fourth on both courses were Peter Brown (Prosport Mulsanne Clubman Sports Car) and Matthew Brown (Audi RS4) on both courses. Wayne Penrose finished fifth on Saturday before Ben Ford had a brake calliper failure in the same VW Beetle Sports Sedan. Both had one run each on the more usual direction Mountain Straight

The best of the Miniature Muscle Cars drivers was Chad Cotton in a Falcon coupe as he came fifth overall. David Batchelor

course with Penrose placed 10th.

Day one’s top 10 was completed by Breton Byfield (Improved Production Subaru WRX Sports Wagon), Greg Jones (Locost Clubman), Andrew Fraser (Road Registered Chev Corvette), Riley MacQueen (Improved Production Holden Commodore) and Michael Argoon (Sports Sedan Commodore).

Sunday’s fifth spot went to Robert Kolimackovski (Road Registered Honda Integra) ahead of Argoon, MacQueen, Josh Redhead (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo5 Sports Sedan) and Kyle Curry (Road Registered Subaru Impreza WRX).

Junior honours twice went with Josh Hunter (Subaru Impreza RS) over Volkan Gunduz (Ford Focus ST170). Joanne Bell (Morris Mini) was the fastest lady on both climbs ahead of Alison Monkhouse (Commodore). Garry O’Brien

CROWDS FLOCK TO GEELONG REVIVAL SALLY-ANNE Hains clocked the fastest time in a rain-soaked edition of the Geelong Revival Motoring Festival sprints, running the quickest of over 250 entries.

Hains launched her twin turbo 2010 Porsche 911 to a 10.49s quarter mile on Saturday, narrowly pipping Nick De Jong by 0.08s for the quickest sprint of the event.

Porsche power also ruled on Sunday, Nick McBride achieving a 10.82s in his 2022 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ian Ruby achieved the best time on two wheels, setting a 10.91s on his 2015 BMW S1000R, while Josh King was next best on his 2001 Ducati Monster.

Despite miserable weather in the south of Victoria and the challenges of a COVID environment, car enthusiasts flocked to the return of the Geelong Revival Motoring Festival over the March 5-6 weekend.

Joining the 250 race entries were 1000 display vehicles, crowds enjoying an incident free running of the historic event.

“We’re so glad to be back, we’ve had a fantastic weekend of racing and an amazing showcase on the Geelong waterfront. We’d like to thank all our supporters and sponsors,” said Nicholas Heath, Event Director.

“If the stars align, we’ll be back in November in our regular spot on the calendar. We look forward to doing it all again later in the year”.

“There was so much to do and celebrate this year, it reached our expectations of

The weather may have been average, but the crowds flocked back to the Geelong Sprints.

being a huge weekend of classic racing and fun for the entire family.”

Beyond the quarter mile sprints and motor show, there was a vast array of attractions for all comers including the

motor expo, National Vintage Fashion Awards, food trucks, entertainment, and demonstrations.

Ford’s Next-Generation Ranger and NextGeneration Everest also made first ever

public appearances in Australia.

The Geelong Revival is set to return to its traditional slot on the calendar later this year, on the last weekend of November. Josh Nevett

NEARLY A TIE AFTER 24 HOURS MOTOR EVENTS RACING’S second event for 2022 brought about a phenomenal result with the first two cars across the Morgan Park finish line on the same lap after over 23 and half hours of racing.

Held on March 4-6, Captain Morgan’s Revenge as it was called, ran over 24 hours (including practice). BTF Motorsport (pictured) and Barn Find Racing completed 796 laps in a pair of six cylinder BMWs and were just 1min 8.5s apart.

The event had 34 entries and cars had to be under $5k on the Redbook price guide. Each had four drivers or more and the race was contested in a social, no pressure atmosphere at an affordable level. Inappropriate on-track behaviour such as contact, dangerous driving, spins etc were dealt with penalties like team challenges, sin bins or bribes. Further, organisers used the full circuit for two days and a shortened variant on the last.

Behind the BTF (E36), captained

by Steven Roper, and Barn Find (3 Series) led by Malcolm Douglas, DomDidIt with Dom

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Martens in charge, was third. The team’s BMW 325i completed 773 laps after it lost 10 laps whilst brake issues were rectified, and struggled with drivetrain issues to the finish.

The top three were in the ME1 class, based on factory engine power. Fourth spot went to the first of the ME2 entries, the Audi A4 of Russell Greaves’ 710 motorsport which ran the last eight hours with turbo damage.

With 770 laps done, 710 were six up on class rival Black Pearl Pirates (Subaru Impreza). Sixth went to Cosmo Motorsport (Mitsubishi Lancer) who won ME3 with 735 laps completed. Next five laps in arrears and second in ME3 was Sideways Intention Racing (Mitsubishi Mirage) which was eight laps ahead of ME2’s third placed Poor Again Racing (Ford Laser TX3).

Burning Rubber (BMW) and Full Focus Racing (Ford Focus) completed the top ten on 709 and 696 laps respectively. Behind Anteck Racing (BMW) 12th home were Ezy As Racing with a good fightback for third in ME3 after

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Image: MTR Images destroying a brake calliper on its Nissan Pulsar.

Never say die reflected the

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attitude of Mini Maniacs. The Mini blew an engine and the crew pulled a replacement out of a

spare car, fitted it in five hours and finished 25th with 408 laps logged.

GarryMaximum O’Brien Action Photography: Image:

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NATIONALS WRAP

RULLO’S BULL TAMES TARGA SPRINT FORMER SUPERCAR driver Alex Rullo defended his crown to win a second consecutive Targa Albany Sprint, prevailing in a tight battle with Steve Jones.

Rullo (pictured) clocked a 1m 25.33s on the 2.8km Middleton Beach course in his 2014 Lamborghini Gallardo to edge out 2021 Targa West winner Jones, who fell just 0.36s short in his 2010 Mitsubishi Evolution 10.

Rounding out the podium positions was Mark Cates in his new 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS with his fastest time a 1m 29.08s.

The results are determined by the best times set across five runs of the course, which starts from Middleton Beach and heads up the hill to the Anzac Centre on Mt Adelaide.

Rullo, who has raced in both the Supercars Championship

and TCR Australia Series, was thrilled to go back-to-back in his freshly prepared machine.

“We put a whole new computer in the car, and to be honest, we just tried to get the car here – we only got it going a few days ago,” Rullo said.

“The hill climb at Middleton Beach would have to be my favourite – I love the track, love the layout, it’s very fast, and we managed to snag a win which is great. I’m really happy.

“At the start of the day with the rain, we weren’t sure how many dry runs we’d get, and we knew Steve Jones would be extremely quick in his car.

“In the last run, I put it on the line; there was nothing left in the car – it was pretty cool to battle it out with Steve ... we both got our quickest times on that last run.”

Matt James-Wallace was fourth fastest overall (1m 29.67s) and took out the Quaranup Sprint in his 1993 Nissan R32 GTR, Jurgen Lunsmann was fifth in a 2019 Tesla Model 3P+ electric car (1m 29.74s).

All up, 100 classic and modern cars competed in the Targa Albany Sprint held from March 6-7.

Two events complemented the main Targa Albany Sprint – the Targa Quaranup Rallysprint (driver and co-driver and the course goes in both directions) and Quaranup Sprint (drivers only, one direction).

The Rallysprint was won by Troy Wilson and co-driver Gav Russell in a 2010 Mitsubishi Evo X with a time of 1m 15.92s.

James-Wallace bested the 2.55km Quaranup Sprint with a 1m 23.09s in his GTR. Josh Nevett

LUFFS BUST MITTA BROTHERS LUFF, Jamie and Brad dominated the Mitta Mountain Rally, the opening round of the Till Hino Victorian Rally Championship on March 5.

The duo (pictured) won four of the five stages contested in their Subaru Impreza WRX to win by 2mins 17s over Luke Sytema and Tracey Dewhurst (Ford Escort RS1800) while third went to Nathan Quinn and Alex Eadie (Mazda RX2).

Based an hour’s drive southeast of Albury/Wodonga in the Mitta Recreation Reserve, the one-day blind event was scheduled for six stages for a total of 146kms until the sixth stage was cancelled.

Held over two heats, the first was dry before wind and heavy rain set in the second.

The Luffs won each of the three stages that made up heat one for a handy 2min 8s lead. Brendan Reeves and Kate Catford (Datsun 1600) were second on the first

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stage before they DNF’d on the next with a damaged driveshaft. Quinn was third on the stage and followed up with a second fifth to be second overall.

Sytema was placed third in the heat after two fourths and an equal second with Adrian Stratford and Kain Manning (Impreza). Third on the first stage were Wayne Stewart and Lucas Zinsstag (WRX) before fifth on Stage 2 and retirement due to a broken cam pulley.

With a second a stage win, Sytema finished Heat 2 just 8s behind Luff, and was elevated to second overall. Peter and Chris Schey (Escort RS1600) finished the heat third ahead of Quinn and Stratford, and finished sixth overall behind Stratford and Warren Lee and David Lethlean (Mitsubishi EVO 9).

Completing the top 10 were Paul Lahiff/ Matt Kirby (Mitsubishi Lancer GSR), Brad Till/Mitch Garrad (WRX), Lochlan Reed/

Image: Wishart Media Brittany Draper (Ford Fiesta) and Danny Traverso/Steve Glenney (EVO 9).

The event was also the first round of the Victorian Club Rally Series in which Steven Porter and Tony Robinson scored a 2min

5s victory over James Leoncini and Mark Leoncini (Toyota Corolla), with 57s gap to third placed Joel Wald and Cathy Elliott (Datsun Stanza).

Garry O’Brien

PACE AND RELIABILITY REAPS PERENJORI FOR TREWHELLAS PRO BUGGY teams filled the first two places in the McPhee Freight & GTURBO Perenjori 360, round one of the West Australian Off Road Championship on March 5-6.

Victory went to Adam and Craig Trewhella in their Chev-powered Rimco 2000 (pictured), by 5mins 11.2s over the quad-cam Toyota V8-engined Chenoweth Milenium crewed by David Rowett and Derrick De Bruyn. Third place belonged to Jared Percival and Darryn Beckett in their SS Racetech/Toyota which was the first of the ProLites.

The event drew 42 entrants and was held 340km north of Perth. It consisted of three sections, the first on Saturday over one 72km lap of the course. Sunday

would see another two sections of two laps each for a total of 360km.

Harleigh Uren (Extreme 2WD Pro 2/ Chev) was the pacesetter. He won the prologue and section one where Rowett was second and Trewhella third. Percival held fourth spot ahead of class rivals Ryan Print and Brendan Baxter (DD Race Frame/Mitsubishi) and the SXS Turbo class Can Am Mavericks of Jayden and Justyn Grewar, Matt and Mintie Dec, and Malcolm Yeardley and Murray Kifer.

Uren was off to a strong start in the second section, but lost drive on the first lap, which put him out. Print was another retiree with a big crack in the fuel tank.

Rowett took over the lead briefly before Trewhella went ahead – however the section was won by father and son Shane and Zane Elphinstone (Pro Buggy Jimco/ Nissan turbo) after a slow first section.

Percival was third again while Mark Murray and Jim Ingham (Extreme 4WD Holden Colorado/Chev) were fourth,

and Jake Montgomery and Sharna Wormall (Can Am) was the best of SXS Turbos in fifth.

Elphinstone’s chances of a repeat on Section 3 stopped at the start line with a failed alternator. That left Trewhella a dominated section winner ahead of Murray who finished fourth overall.

Percival was third after the two laps, less than a second faster than Rowett while Grewar’s fifth ensured fifth overall over Montgomery and Yeardley.

The Extreme 2WD was won by Karl and Chloe Richardson (Baja/Nissan), and Performance 2WD went to Greg Pickersgill/Greg Finlay (Toyota Hilux/ Chev.

Garry O’Brien

Image: Brett Sandells

GRAHAM RISES TO RAINBOW WIN WITH HIS daughter Ella and Glenn Collis sharing the navigating duties, Steven Graham won the Rainbow Rises 240, the opening round of the Victorian Off Road Championship on March 12-13.

In their Superlite Alumicraft/Honda (pictured), they finished 21.6s ahead of Luke Erceg, singlehandedly in his ProLite ECE Honey Badger/Nissan with Brendan Payne and Lynda Miller (Pro Buggy Southern Cross/ Chev) third.

The 8.7km course was over five sections with a total of 28 laps. The first, over one lap, was won by Jason and Sam Richards (ProLite Chenowth Millennium/Nissan V6) over Graham and Mick Magher and Johnny O’Connor (Extreme 2WD TSCO Aussic Spec Trophy Truck/Dougans Chev).

Erceg who was fourth, won Section 2 over eight laps, ahead of Graham and Richards.

Across the six laps of section three, Graham was the winner by just 0.3s over Erceg. Peter and Dee Sibson (Ext 2WD Richard Bennett P1 TT/Chev) were third in front of Jake Freckleton and Toby Hederics (Pro Buggy Thorne Built Wasp/Chev).

For the Richards’ the event was over after they discovered an engine issue prior to starting. Section 4 was also over six laps where Graham was again able to beat Erceg.

Magher was third ahead of Sibson. Freckleton was competing in the Club Shield which took in just three sections.

Graham consolidated victory on the final

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Image: JS Motorsport section as Erceg soldiered on with damaged CV joints. Second over the section was Maher while Sibson was fourth.

Overall ProLites were fourth and fifth with Darren Marks/Gary Bahr (JT Lustrum/Nissan) and Neil Pendlebury/Ian McDonald (Jimco/ Nissan). Sixth and first in Sportsman were Dean Williams/Jon Huber (Southern Cross/ Daihatsu) ahead of the first of the SXS Turbos

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with Glenn Pike, Aidan Campagnolo and Natalie Pike (Can-Am Maverick).

After the early setback of losing a dry sump belt, Sibson finished 11th and first in Ext 4WD, just in front of Andrew and Jack Cameron (Mitsubishi Triton/Chev) the winners of Performance 2WD. Dan Wells had his Superlite Tatum Aussie Spec/Honda hit a dip and flip on the first lap

and he sustained a broken back – but is in good spirits and recovering. Ryan Oldfield and Neil Woollee (Outlaw/Toyota) won Super 1650.

Round 1 of the Victorian Club Shield was won by Freckleton/Hederics from the ProLite teams of Matt Burrows (MBR Jimco/AlloyTech V6) and Marks/Bahr.

Garry O’Brien

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SPEEDWAY NEWS AND THE WINNER IS ...

TWO YEARS and five days after the final chequered flag fell on Sydney’s Paramatta City Raceway, Australian Motorsports media icon Steve Raymond (OAM) was on hand to MC the opening ceremony of the Eastern Creek Speedway located in the Sydney Motorsport Precinct.

In front of a near full capacity attendance, the opening ceremony started with an inspiring version of the national anthem while six Sprintcars paraded, led by the reigning Australian Sprintcar Champion Jamie Veal. Behind Jamie were icons Robbie Farr and Max Dumensy while the third row consisted of Aaron Kelly, Brock Hallett and Jordyn Brazier, ensuring representation from each state present (Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and host state NSW) was represented. Following a series of speeches, the grand opening ribbon was jointly cut by co-promoter Kathy Kelly and Motor Sport Chaplain, the Reverend Garry Coleman.

Prior to the opening ceremony, the all-important Sprintcar qualifying session was run – with 58 cars in attendance. Ian Madsen set the quickest run against the clock with an 11. 743, but so tight was it at the top end of the timecard that the first 13 competitors timed in under the 12 second bracket.

Following on from his impressive time trial run, Madsen would claim Pole Position after claiming Dash One; sitting alongside him would be Dash Two victor Grant Anderson while Lachlan McHugh and Jamie Veal would share the second row.

As quick as the green light blazed the reds would follow as there was a major incident in Turn 2, with one competitor flipping in the mid pack. Grant Anderson was an early retirement while Sam Walsh, Brendan Scorgi and Jessie Attard were also early exits from the race.

For the complete restart, McHugh and Veal made up an all-new front row as Madsen went to the rear. At the drop of the green, Veal jumped to the lead with McHugh, Farr, Hallett and Marcus Dumensy all in hot pursuit. Max Johnston would be the next retiree, on the second lap, on what would soon play out as an incident packed and shortened race – 12 of the 24 cars would end their night early, parked on the infield.

From laps 11 to 15 there would be six retirees in Michael Saller, Kelly, Hallett, Jy Corbet, Karl Hoffmans and Troy Little.

Marcus Dumensy would be the final stoppage of the race, crashing out in spectacular style in Turn 1 on lap 17 of what was scheduled for a 35 lap journey. Sadly, the time curfew would curtail this event at only half race distance.

Despite the early ending, the race victory was celebrated by an emotional Veal (main image above)who was delighted to go into the history books as the maiden Sprintcar feature race winner after leading every lap at the new Easter Creek venue. Runner up McHugh was equally as gracious on the podium as was Farr in third. All drivers were in awe of the venue and the thousands of fans who had ventured from far and wide to be a part of this historic night.

Third generation racer Jordyn Brazier (pictured, middle) crossed the finish line

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Photos: Anthony Snedden

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles in fourth, followed by Matt Dumesny, Ian Madsen who had done well to slice his way through from the back of the field, Jackson Delamont, Daniel Cassidy, Warren Ferguson, and Luke Geering, while Ryan Newton and Ben Atkinson rounded out the dozen finishers.

The five Sprintcar heats were shared, with Atkinson, McHugh, Farr, Kelly and Veal claiming a single each. Queenslander Jy Corbett took out the Last Chance Showdown to qualify into the main race while Blake Skipper won the C-Main.

Although the Sprintcars were the main attraction for the opening event, they were well supported by with three other categories on the night. A strong field of Wingless Sprints were in attendance with a stout field of 28 competitors fronting for this historic night. With the National Title rained out the week prior at the Murray Machining and Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway, defending champion Kyle Mock had been set to start from pole position. Keen to prove his dominance in the class this week, he would go on to again claim pole and win the 20-lap feature event, with Bailey Goodwin and Jason Davis rounding out the podium with a late race pass to relegate Marshall Blyton to fourth.

Peter Styles, Andrew Smith, Mark Bylton and Mock each claimed a 10-lap heat race win.

Queensland’s Tyler Stralow successfully

Following a series of speeches, the grand opening ribbon was jointly cut by copromoter Kathy Kelly and Motor Sport Chaplain, the Reverend Garry Coleman.

defended his Lightning Sprint Gold Cup over 18 other combatants. Storming from seventh to second was the reigning backto-back National Champion AJ McTaggart, while Jordan Binskin had an adventurous journey, at one point leading early only to fall back as far as 12th before clawing his way back to third; pole sitter Scott Withers hung on for fourth.

The 8-lap qualifying heat wins went to Peter Styles, Binskin, Graham Lagerlow and Withers The V8 powered Super Sedans presented with an 18-car stacked field, with five

Queenslanders, a pair of South Australians, and single competitors from Victoria and Tasmania competitors all converging to take on the New South Welshman.

In the V8 powered Super Sedan section, Matt Pascoe claimed two of the three 8-lap heat wins while Callum Harper the third and final run to consolidate the allimportant front row for the feature race.

At the drop of the green, the lead duo embarked on a closely fought dogfight through lapped traffic as the pair traded positions twice over the course of the 16-lap journey.

Australian Champion Pascoe scored an impressive win against former national titleholder in Harper. On the podium Harper found himself as the meat in a ‘Pascoe Sandwich’ as Matt and Brad finished first and third respectively.

Queensland’s Barry Craft had a roller coaster journey, starting from 10th to advance forward to fifth, only to fall back to eleventh before rocketing his way to a well-deserved fourth placing. Andrew White, Kym Jury, Dion Bennett, Mick Nicola, Paul Blenkiron, Ty Pascoe, Daryl Moon, Mark Towers, Hayden Brims and Kurt Kranitis rounded out the finishers.

ALL STARS SHINING BRIGHTLY AS WE move towards the Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship,, to be staged at the Murray Bridge Speedway in South Australia, the section’s premier series has been extremely busy with five weeks in a row of competition – the Mainline Dynolog Dynamometers All Stars Series in full swing throughout Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

Warren Wins Horsham’s Blue Ribbon Raceway was the first stop and, with 22 cars in attendance, Brad Warren (pictured right) would claim a flag-to-flag victory, followed by Mark Caruso, the sentimental favourite Paul Solomon, who was honoured earlier in the night, being the second competitor locking in 100 series round starts.

Rounding out the finishers was Cameron Waters, Todd Hobson, David Donegan, Jordyn Charge, Todd Moule, Brendan Guerin, Phillip Lock, Jarman Dalitz, Jeremy Kupsch, Shaun Forrell, and Jarreth Argus.

Charles Hunter claimed the Quick Time Award and opening heat while Warren, Hayden Pitt and Steven Loader scooped the remainders.

Hunter Hammer’s Home Nyora’s Speedbowl played host to round six, where Charles Hunter claimed his maiden All Stars feature victory, while Todd Hobson and Brad Warren shared the podium. The feature race proved incident-packed and only half of the 18 cars would finish. Ryan Davis, Travis Millar, Cameron Waters, Phil Lock, Jeremy Kupsch and Jordan Abbott rounded out the field.

Paul Solomon, Jordan Abbott, Hunter, and Davis claimed the heats while Waters proved the quickest during qualifying.

Farrer Faster Brenten Farrer found the fastest way home

at Moama’s Heartland Raceway. Cameron Waters had his most competitive run to date chalking up a well-deserved runner up placing in addition to qualifying fastest in a field of twenty four and claiming the opening heat.

Rounding off the podium was Jordyn Charge.

Jessie Nicholas, Todd Hobson, Todd Moule, Paul Solomon, Charles Hunter, Chris Campbell and Brad Warren went unlapped.

Corey Sandow, Kane Newcombe, Eddie Lumbar, Zac Farrer, Brett Smith, Steven Loader and Jordan Abbott rounded out the finishers.

Moule, Solomon, Hobson, Nicholas and B. Farrer shared the heats and Chris Campbell the B Main.

Caruso’s Capitalise With 25 competitors on hand, the racing was fiercely contested at Mildura’s Timmis Speedway.

Local competitor Corey Sandow would make the most of his home track knowledge to head qualifying and the opening heat.

Steven Caruso doubled up in the heats to claim pole for the feature while Todd Moule, Todd Hobson and Hayden Pitt claimed one also. Chad Ely won the B Main.

Steven Caruso went on to claim the 30-lap final followed to the line by his brother Mark making it a Caruso whitewash – joining them would Todd Moule who notched up his maiden

podium celebration. Ely, Sandow, Brendan Guerin, Brad Warren, Lisa Walker, Phillip Lock, Stacey Galliford, Jeremy Kupsch and Steven Loader rounded out the dozen finishers.

Rain Runs Ruin Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway was to be the ninth round. Sadly, the region was heavily saturated with rainfall prior, forcing the club to cancel the event.

With only Mildura’s All Star Series Easter National round remaining on Good Friday, Brad Warren leads with 3550 points, Jordyn Charge 3533, Paul Solomon 3507, Charles Hunter 3470 and Brett Smith 3292 rounding out the top five.

KRIS COYLE CLAIMS ONE FOR THE BOYS IT IS fair to say that there is no more emotionally charged or heartfelt event on the national Speedway calendar than The Krikke Boys Shootout, an annually staged race that has run for 25 years to honour and celebrate the lives of Darry, Jason, and recently also Shane and Michael Krikke, a family that is steeped in Australian Sprintcar racing.

Twenty-three teams ventured to the Make Smoking History Bunbury Speedway for the final Krikke Boys Shootout to be staged at their family’s home track and as the chequered flag fell it would be Kris Coyle (pictured) who claimed the biggest win of his career to date in a feature race that proved gruelling on the rubber as tyres blew, and on others who crashed out of contention.

Pole went to Daniel Harding who had had a stellar night to that point, setting quickest time in qualifying with a 13.631 and claiming the A Dash. Alongside him was David Priolo, second quickest in qualifying with a 13.704 and B Dash victor.

At the green, Harding took command from the front but, as the race flowed, it would come down to the survival of the fittest as the field fell away. While the competitors did their best to hang tough over the journey, Coyle had carefully advanced his way from 10th to second and was in striking distance as Harding’s tyre ran out of rubber and exploded out of the final corner, heading to

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Image: Richard Hathaway the chequered flag – Coyle passed to take the win, relegating Harding to second, followed

by James Inglis, Andrew Priolo, Matthew Cross, Jack Williamson and Darren Mewett to round out those to travel the journey.

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Coyle’s emotions ran high, pocketing the $9,500 winner’s purse. Sadly for Harding, his sweet second turned sour after failing to make minimum weight on the scales. This would elevate Taylor Milling to second and Andrew

Priolo onto the podium in third. Rounding out the finishers were Matthew Cross, Jack Williamson and Darren Mewett.

Mitchell Wormall, James Inglis, Bradley Maiolo, Callum Williamson, Cameron Mckenzie, Dayne Kingshott, AJ Nash, Kaiden Manders, Jason Kendrick, Jason Pryde, Trevor Jolly, Jaydee Dack, David Priolo, Ryan Lancaster, Todd Davis and Jarrin Bielby failed to go the distance.

Kingshott, the sentimental favourite in the Krikke entry, claimed the opening heat win while Milling and Manders scooped the remaining two.

The Limited Sprintcars were well supported with a field of 20 competitors. Joel Ettridge advanced from fifth to take a thrilling win with a pass on the penultimate lap to claim the 20-lap feature over Tim King who led most of the journey. Glenn Dickinson held position for third followed by Craig Bottrell and pole sitter, Michael Keen in fifth.

The heats were shared between Keen, Bottrell, Tim King and Ettridge.

The Wingless Sprints also fronted with 20 cars. Chad Pittard captured the feature race victory followed by Jye Mckenzie, Daran Humfrey, Cody Nash and Tom Britton rounding off the top five.

The heats were divided among Humfrey, Brandon Sharpe, Tyson Bryden and Britton claiming one apiece.

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Images: Motorsport Images

Name:

International family crossword

Across

est your knowledge on Australian and New Zealand Motorsport families such as the Johnsons, Richards’ 4. Whatand was Dick and Steven Johnsons best Davisons Bathurst 1000 result together?

1

INTERNATIONAL FAMILY CROSSWORD Test your knowledge on Australian and New Zealand Motorsport families such as the Johnsons, Richards’ and Davisons

2

3

4

5

6 7

8

9

10

11

14

15

12

13

16 17

20

21

18

19

22 23

24 25 26

27

5. James Davison has raced in NASCAR and IndyCar – what is his relation to Will and Alex?

8. Which national series did Steven Richards win in 2014?

9. Peter and Phil finished the 1976 Bathurst 1000 in third, what is their relationship?

10. Steven Johnson’s best Bathurst 1000 finish was third with which third generation racer? (full name) 11. Will and Alex Davison’s best Bathurst 1000 finish together is?

15. The only Australian to win the F1 Championship on more than one occasion? (full name) 18. What was the name of Aaron Seton’s Grandfather? (first name) 20. Gregg Hansford won the Bathurst 1000 with Larry Perkins, but who did he win the Sandown 500 with? (surname) 22. Aaron Seton currently races for what team in Super2? (abbreviation) 25. Combined, how many times have the Richards family won the Bathurst 1000?

26. James Moffat, son of Allan won a Supercars Championship race for what manufacturer?

28. Andrew who won the final Australian NASCAR title in 2001? (surname) 29. Which Brabham drove for Bentley in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2003 and finished second? (first name)

Down

28

1. James Brock contested the V8 Utes Series in the noughties – what was his highest championship position?

29

2. Wayne Gardner’s son Remy races in what championship?

3. Alan Jones scored his first F1 win with what team?

6. Larry Perkins co-drove with the son of a rival when he made his final Bathurst 1000 appearance – who was the driver?

7. George Miedecke is currently leading which national series? (abbreviation) 12. Matthew Brabham currently leads the Indy Lights Series; what is his relation to Sir Jack?

13. Lex Davison started the Davison family dynasty – how many times did he win the Australian Grand Prix?

14. Who are the only brothers to win the Bathurst 1000 together? (surname) 16. Jack Perkins won a Supercars Championship race on the Gold Coast – who was the main driver? (surname) 17. Who are the only father and son duo to win the Australian Grand Prix? (surname) 19. Recently, Jack Doohan signed into which Formula 1 academy?

20. Allan Moffat won three of his four ATCC titles with Ford, and the other with which manufacturer?

21. Jack Doohan’s father Mick won how many straight premier class Motorcycle World Championships?

23. Will Davison and brother Alex have raced the Bathurst 1000 together on how many occasions?

24. Jim Richards and Steven teamed up in the 1000 on three occasions, what was their best finish?

27. The late Rodney Crick won how many Australian Truck championships?

Created using the Crossword Maker on TheTeachersCorner.net

1831 Crossword Answers: 1 down – one, 2 down – Chinese,Down 3 down – Florida, 4 down – ten, 5 down – Alonso, 6 across – three, 7 across – Vettel, 8 down – twenty, 9 across – one, 10 across – twenty-four, What was Dick and Steven best11Bathurst together?

James–Brock contested V8 Utes Series– inthird, the noughties, was 10 down – Johnsons twenty-three, down –1000 one,result 12 across – sixteen, 131. down two, 14 down –the Zhou, 15 down 16 across what – two, 17his down – Williams, 18 across – Saudi Arabia, 19 down – Alfa Romeo, James Davison has raced in NASCAR and IndyCar, what is his relation to position?

20 down – Fourteen, 21 down – Bahrain, 22 across – Abu Dhabi, 23 highest across –championship Albon, 24 down – ten, 25 across – Spain, 26 across – Alpine, 26 down – Alpine, 27 across – Ocon, 28 across – Perez.

ss

l and Alex?

Which national series did Steven Richards win in 2014?

Peter and Phil finished the 1976 Bathurst 1000 in third, what is their ation?

Steven Johnson’s best Bathurst 1000 finish was third with which thirdneration racer? (full name) Will and Alex Davison’s best Bathurst 1000 finish together is?

The only Australian to win the F1 Championship on more than one asion? (full name) What was the name of Aaron Seton’s Grandfather? (first name) Gregg Hansford won the Bathurst 1000 with Larry Perkins, but who did he the Sandown 500 with? (surname) Aaron Seton currently races for what team in Super2? (abbreviation) Combined, how many times have the Richards family won the Bathurst 00?

James Moffat, son of Allan won a Supercars Championship race for what nufacturer?

Andrew who won the final Australian NASCAR title in 2001? (surname) Which Brabham drove for Bentley in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2003 and shed second? (first name)

1972 – IT WAS a winning week for the versatile Holden Torana, at Winton Motor Raceway. Driving the new LJ series XU-1, the late Peter Brock beat home the ever-popular Norm Beechey, who was driving the ex-John French GTHO Falcon for the first time. Up north in the Blue Mountains, Colin Bond took victory on the Catlina Park Rallycross circuit, holding of a very young Larry Perkins.

2. Wayne Gardner’s son Remy races in what championship?

3. Alan Jones scored his first F1 win with what team?

6. Larry Perkins co-drove with the son of a rival when he made his final Bathurst 1000 appearance, who was the driver?

7. George Miedecke is currently leading which national series? (abbreviation) 12. Matthew Brabham currently leads the Indy Lights Series, what is his relation to Sir Jack?

13. Lex Davison started the Davison family dynasty, how many times did he win the Australian Grand Prix?

14. Who are the only brothers to win the Bathurst 1000 together? (surname) 16. Jack Perkins won a Supercars Championship race on the Gold Coast, who was the main driver? (surname) 17. Who are the only father and son duo to win the Australian Grand Prix? (surname) 19. Recently, Jack Doohan signed into which Formula 1 academy?

20. Allan Moffat won three of his four ATCC titles with Ford, and the other with which manufacturer?

21. Jack Doohan’s father Mick won how many straight premier class Motorcycle World Championships?

23. Will Davison and brother Alex have raced the Bathurst 1000 together on how many occasions?

24. Jim Richards and Steven teamed up in the 1000 on three occasions, what was their best finish?

27. The late Rodney Crick won how many Australian Truck championships?

1982 – IT was announced following a CAMS Stewards hearing that Peter Brock would be suspended from competition for three months for running an illegal inlet manifold on his Holden Dealer Team Commodore at Calder.

Before this occurred however Allan Moffat crossed the finish line first at Oran Park – however a jump start penalty of one-minute dropped him to eighth.

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 – SANDOWN PROMOTER Jon Davison was seriously looking into running NASCARs and AUSCARs at the venue instead of Touring Cars. This move came just days after the Australian Touring Car Championship round at the venue returned a loss for the third straight year. In Tasmania and Sandown, Ford Sierras dominated both weekends, from the Nissan GT-Rs something very rare in that era.

2002 – MARK SKAIFE and his legendary ‘Golden Child’ HRT Commodore took out the Adelaide 500 and threatened that there was a lot more to come from the category. After years of speculation it was confirmed that Team Brock was go. Brock would spearhead the operation formerly owned by Rod Nash – in fact Nash went into partnership with Brock and gun engineer Ron Harrop.

2012 – MARK WEBBER and Daniel Ricciardo fought back from adversity in the seasonopening Australian Grand Prix. After starting in fifth, Webber fell to ninth on lap 1 but kept his head down to finish in fourth position, his best result at his home grand prix. Toro Rosso’s Ricciardo suffered damage at Turn 1 and was forced to pit at the end of the lap – however he surged through the field to finish in ninth.

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