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ALL CHANGE FOR GEN3 MUSTANG THIS IS THE POSSIBLE NEW RACE FACE OF THE UPCOMING GEN3 CONTENDER FROM FORD.

Com Gen Image: Tim Pattinson – tpracedesign.com.au/Testing: MTR Images

By Paul Gover, News Editor IT’S THE new nose of a fully-fresh Mustang that will become the Supercars spearhead for the blue oval brand in 2023 and beyond.

A full body swap is planned ahead of the race debut of the new Mustang next season to match the look of the upcoming seventh-generation road-going ’Stang.

And while the changes to the road car version could well be quite subtle in overall terms, any changes to the aero effect means, regardless, the existing Mustang Gen3 test car will pass into Supercars history without ever racing.

No one is commenting on what effect these changes will make to the the aero performance and thus the Gen3 parity position, but it would seem that some adjustments will need to be made – and pretty soon-if the cars are to roll out in 2023 with an even aerodynamic performance balance.

Ford and Supercars are keeping the lid clamped tight on any details of the new Mustang or the plan for its use in Supercars competition, but pictures of the newcomer have just leaked from the USA.

They show a much more aggressive frontal treatment that’s likely to mean a complete re-think, and a new round of aero parity testing, for the bodywork on the Gen3 racer.

The rest of the car is expected to be just as fresh, although no-one is saying anything yet.

“Ford does not comment on future model programs,” is the only response from Ford Australia to a request for news from Auto Action.

There is silence from Supercars after an identical request.

The arrival of the seventh-generation Mustang in Supercars was first raised by Auto Action last December, at the official unveiling of the Gen3 contender at Bathurst alongside the Chevrolet Camaro racer.

At the time, a new Mustang was an open secret but there were no details on the technical changes or the timing for its introduction.

Two of the most senior members of Ford’s global management team attended the event at Mount Panorama, with transplanted Aussie Trevor Worthington – who was vice-president of global

product development operations and vehicle programs at the time – joined by Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports.

Neither would say anything about the future Mustang.

Not a word. Just polite smiles.

Since then, behind the scenes, work on the next Mustang has continued as normal in the USA. The car is now into its final development phase, which explains fuzzy shots of a production-ready Mustang and pictures of the new car in full body camouflage.

The seventh-generation Mustang is likely to be unveiled within months and is expected to go on sale, as a 2023 model, in the final quarter of this year.

That points to local deliveries of the new Mustang around the middle of 2023, although it could be later.

In any case, the introduction of the Gen3 racers in Supercars is perfect timing for a body swap on the blue oval side of the touring car divide.

It could also help to explain the delay in the switch, which was originally set for 2022 before the arrival of Covid and the change of ownership at Supercars.

Injecting a new Mustang into Supercars will give added impetus to the Gen3 renewal and revival, as well as continuing the relevance of racing for Ford Australia.

In the USA, it’s also expected to refresh the Ford presence in NASCAR racing, even if the Gen-7 Mustang is coming too late for this year’s wholesale switch to Next Gen racers, which pick up everything from new bodywork to centre-lock alloy wheels and a Supercars-style transaxle gearbox.

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WILD WILDCARDS

CRAIG LOWNDES WILL LEAD THE WILDCARD CHARGE INTO MOUNT PANORAMA IN OCTOBER FOR WHAT COULD BE HIS LAST FRONT-LINE START IN THE GREAT RACE.

By Paul Gover, News Editor AS MANY as four previous Bathurst 1000 winners could be Wildcard starters with three teams cleared to run an extra car for the 2022 Bathurst 1000.

Triple Eight, DJR and Erebus are all planning to expand their squads for The Great Race this year.

Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway have just been confirmed for a Boost Mobile start at Erebus, reviving the Wildcard plan that would have originally put the Kiwi couple into last year’s Bathurst blast against Russell Ingall and Broc Feeney.

Lowndes (above) could be partnered by one of T8’s Super2 runners, Cameron Hill or Declan Fraser, although rumours are also swirling around concerning a comeback for Alex Premat.

The transplanted Frenchman, who lost his place at Tickford to Covid last year, is also a potential runner at DJR as the Shell Mustang squad works on a triumphant return for its former team leader Scott McLaughlin.

The three-time champion was also a potential starter for Bathurst back in 2021, before his success in IndyCar racing and Covid travel restrictions killed the plan.

If everything works as it looks, race winners Lowndes (7), Murphy (4), McLaughlin and Premat (1 each) would add incredible interest to the event.

But the only firm plan, for now, is the Erebus entry with Boost backing for Kiwi’s Murphy and Stanaway.

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“It’s been a while since I’ve driven one of these things. But the idea was always to give Richie another shot at Supercars,” Murphy tells Auto Action from New Zealand.

“Murph is a legend. It will be huge for the Kiwis. It will give them something to smile about,” Erebus team boss, Barry Ryan, tells Auto Action.

“I worked with Murph in the K-Mart Commodore days and engineered him for two years at Kelly Racing. We’re good mates. We’ve done some cool stuff together.

“We will be targeting pole again,” Ryan laughs, recalling the ‘Lap of the Gods’ in 2003.

He, too, believes Bathurst could bring redemption for Stanaway after he retreated to New Zealand after his troubled time in the ‘main game’ of Supercars.

“It’s good for Richie to show what people might have missed. It’s an opportunity for him. He might have retired too early.”

The Triple Eight plan could see it farewelling Lowndes, whose most-recent win was in 2015 when he and Steven Richards also ran outside the main-game garage with backing from Autobarn. He is having a quieter year in 2022 after plans for a second season of Carrera Cup racing dissolved without the necessary sponsorship.

Jamie Whincup holds the key, both as team principal and as a likely long-distance co-driver for Broc Feeney, but is refusing to commit despite logging laps recently. He

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drove a T8 Commodore at Albert Park in the Ultimate Speed Comparison at the AGP meeting, took passengers at the team’s ride day after the Supercars meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park, and has also steered the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro during testing.

“It’s too early to make any decision,” he tells Auto Action.

Lowndes was also contacted for comment but is making no comment.

Things are even less clear at DJR, although it’s highly unlikely that McLaughlin – if he returns – would partner either of its main game drivers.

Last year’s long-distance co-drivers, Tony D’Alberto and Alex Davison, have been regulars in the Shell garage this season and are expected to renew their partnerships with Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison.

While details for the Wildcard entries for

Bathurst are still to be confirmed, Erebus and Tickford Racing are firm on their extra sprint race entries.

“Jordan Boys is going to do Winton and The Bend with us,” says Barry Ryan.

“It’s something we worked on with Boost last year. We committed to them and they want to go ahead. We’re preparing the car and Image Racing will run it.

“It’s actually our newest chassis. It’s the car that Will (Brown) crashed at Bathurst at the start of last year.”

Tickford will run a fifth Mustang for Zak Best at Darwin in June and The Bend in July.

“I’m pumped to be joining the Supercars grid as a wildcard later this year. Obviously the goal will be to just do the best I can, so I’m training hard and preparing in the best way I can to make sure I’m ready to go,” says Best.

Caption: After a Covid cancellation in 2021, Boost’s Murph/Stanaway wildcard is ready to go this year.

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SUPERCARS CALENDAR UPDATES ON SCHEDULE

By Paul Gover, News Editor

SUPERCARS IS expecting to deliver its revival races at Pukekohe and Adelaide as planned, despite a series of major hurdles for season 2022.

A huge rise in freight costs is the drama for New Zealand while the challenge for the Adelaide 500 is getting the track built in time.

Pukekohe is still set for September while the born-again Adelaide 500 will close the season from December 1-4.

The $1 million bill to air-freight the Supercars circus across the Tasman to Auckland has more than doubled as a result of Covid transport troubles, creating a massive challenge for Supercars and the event organisers in New Zealand.

There have even been rumours that the New Zealand event would be dropped, again, from the Supercars schedule this year after two years lost to the pandemic.

In South Australia, the change of government has renewed the state’s commitment to Supercars under the new Premier, Peter Malinauskas, but created a range of challenges from a new motorsport infrastructure to the track hardware.

But there is no sign of panic at Supercars, as the new CEO Shane Howard translates his event experience over two decades into a series of contingency plans to counter the risks.

Negotiations are underway to reduce, and split, the projected costs of the New Zealand event.

“Planning continues for Supercars’ return to one of our favourite events on the calendar, the ITM Auckland SuperSprint,” a Supercars spokesperson tells Auto Action.

A return to Pukekohe in 2022 is very much still on track. Images: Motorsport Images “We are currently working jointly with Auckland Unlimited on securing the best freight options available.”

In the past that could have meant a switch to cheaper sea freight, but that’s impossible with the tight calendar for 2022.

Looking to the future, the high cost of transport could accelerate work on creating a New Zealander double-header so that costs could be split between two events.

In Adelaide, announcements are expected soon to confirm the details of the $15 million plan to revive one of Supercar’s long-term marquee events.

That will include everything from a new board that will oversee motorsports events for the state government to sourcing of the track infrastructure.

It had been feared that much of the circuit equipment had been sold, but Supercars insiders tell Auto Action that much of it survives and can be brought back as missing components are replaced.

“There will be challenges but we are capable of meeting those challenges,” Premier Malinauskas said after his election win.

“We have big ambitions to ensure that

this festival is at the epicentre of motor sport globally once a year in December.

We know that motor sport attracts a lot of people to our state.”

Supercars is not ready to reveal any detailed planning for the Adelaide street race, but is bullish about the event.

“Supercars and the South Australian Government continue work on December’s highly anticipated Adelaide 500,” says the spokesperson.

“Exciting announcements are set to be made in coming weeks for the 2022 event.”

SAMB ANNOUNCES KEY APPOINTMENT THE SA Motorsport Board tasked with reviving the Adelaide 500 has named its new Chief Executive, experienced motorsport administrator Mark Warren.

After being elected to power in March, new South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas stuck to his promise and has revived the South Australian Motorsport Board – and now the Chief Executive has been named.

Warren, along with the SAMB that he is a part of, is responsible for the return of the Supercars Championship Hall of Fame event, the Adelaide 500. The event has been pencilled in as the final race of the season from December 1-4.

Warren was previously Chief Executive of the original South Australian Motorsport Board from 2010 to 2016.

After the demise of the SAMB, he was appointed as the inaugural general manager of The Bend Motorsport Park and was involved in the completion and launch of the multi-million-dollar motorsport facility built by Sam Shahin in Tailem Bend, an hour southeast of Adelaide.

After several years away he now returns to the re-formed board and will deliver its vision alongside the already appointed Board Chair, Andrew Daniels.

Warren is determined to bring back the Adelaide 500 better than ever before.

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“I’ve been drawn back to the role because of my passion for the Adelaide 500 and a vision to make it into something even bigger than it has been in its past,” Warren says.

“I think the experience I bring and the major event know-how we have in South Australia will ensure we will stage an outstanding season finale over the four days in December.”

Premier Malinauskas reiterated that this latest move to get Warren on board, proves his desire to make South Australia the Motorsport capital of the nation.

“I look forward to working with Mark and the South Australian Motorsport Board to ensure our State once again becomes a leader in staging major motorsport events,” Malinauskas said.

“The return of the Adelaide 500 will give a vital boost to CBD hotels, cafes, restaurants, bars and the city economy more broadly.”

The legendary event was axed by the Liberal Government in 2020 and its revival was made an election promise by Malinauskas and the Labor government.

Andrew Daniels, SAMB Chair, says that Warren will be a valuable asset to the board.

“Mark has a rare combination of marketing and engineering expertise that has made him one of Australia’s most respected motorsport administrators, so we’re absolutely delighted that we’ve been able to lure him back to the role,” Andrews explained.

“Adelaide has a national and global reputation for major event excellence, and we know how to rise to a challenge.”

Supercars CEO Shane Howard has also expressed his excitement and commitment to see the event return: “The Adelaide 500 has always been a stand-out on the Supercars calendar and we’re absolutely thrilled that we will be finishing the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship around the streets of Adelaide,” Howard said.

“We’re delighted to congratulate Mark on his new role, and we will do whatever is necessary to support him and ensure we return the Adelaide event to its very best.”

The Adelaide 500 will be held from December 1-4 and conclude the Supercars Championship for the very first time.

Aside from Supercars, Warren has also been tasked to oversee the return of other major events like the World Solar Challenge in 2023.

Dan McCarthy

GO TIME FOR PIASTRI

By Paul Gover and Luis Vasconcelos

OSCAR PIASTRI could be racing at Williams or Haas, next year, with McLaren as an outside bet.

He is contracted to Alpine but, with Fernando Alonso racing impressively despite his veteran status and Esteban Ocon on a long-term deal, the young Aussie is increasingly likely to be placed on ‘loan’ to another F1 team.

Williams and Haas are the obvious choices, and would appreciate a cash injection from Alpine, but Daniel Ricciardo’s ongoing dramas at McLaren means there is growing talk about one Aussie replacing the other other.

Regardless of what happens for 2023, Alpine is committed to Piastri and believes a season or two with a tail-ender team will not affect his long-term potential as a world champion.

It’s a common practice in Formula One – where George Russell was blooded at Williams before his promotion for MercedesAMG. Ocon, too, was contracted to Mercedes during his early time at Renault.

In Piastri’s case, the deadline for a race place is coming up fast.

Alpine must confirm its plans for the highlyrated youngster by the end of June and the leader of his management team, Mark Webber, is already deeply into negotiations.

If Alpine does not get him a race place for season 2023 he will be free to move to another team.

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So the search has begun for a suitable short-term slot, mostly likely on a twoyear deal, while Alpine accelerates Piastri’s development this year with F1 testing, lots of simulator work, and – sometime after the middle of the season – Friday practice runs.

The two teams that seem happy to take Piastri for just two seasons and then risk letting him go back to Alpine, once Alonso finally retires, are Williams and Haas.

Williams is tremendously happy with the deal it did with Red Bull to place Alex Albon with the team this year. The Thai with the British upbringing has picked up where George Russell left off and is clearly leading the team.

Nicholas Latifi, on the other hand, has been struggling much more than in his first two seasons in Formula One, running way off Albon’s pace and crashing with alarming regularity.

The team principal at Williams, Jost Capito, believes his struggle is more than just Latifi’s troubles with the latest ’22 specification F1 cars and tracks back to the crash that triggered the controversial end to last year’s world title showdown.

“It’s a consequence of what happened after last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when he was subjected to a lot of online abuse, including some very disturbing death threats. This is a head game; he needs to feel comfortable and confident, so we’re doing everything we can to put him back in the right mindset,” says Capito.

Even if the Canadian is linked to the team owners, as his mother’s family is believed

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to be part of the group of investors behind Dorilton Capital, Capito believes it’s in the team’s best interests to have a strong driving pairing and a Piastri-Albon line-up would certainly be one of the most exciting in the grid.

Haas boss Gunther Steiner seems open to a Piastri injection, even though Mick Schumacher came to the Americanowned team thanks to his links to Ferrari.

Schumacher’s limitations are showing as comeback king Kevin Magnussen stars for the squad and putting Piastri in the second car alongside the Dane could be very beneficial to the team’s championship position.

Ferrari is set for the short-term future, with the renewal of Carlos Sainz’s deal alongside Charles Leclerc, but there is still no lack of nostalgic Schumacher fans in Maranello who would love to see Michael’s son drive for the Scuderia.

At Alpine, Ocon’s contract runs to the end of 2024.

Alonso’s deal ends this year but the management of the French team seems unwilling to let the two-time world champion go, as it values his speed, experience, racecraft and, also, his tremendous marketing value.

Only an amazing run of bad luck has prevented Alonso from scoring a lot more points than the meagre two he has in his account, but the data gathered by the team shows he’s as competitive as he ever was, leading Laurent Rossi and the rest of the management structure to be very keen to keep him on for another one or two seasons.

The Spaniard, himself, is clear: “I don’t want to think about stopping, because I feel I’m still better than the others and, until someone comes along and starts doing things I can no longer do with the car, there’s no reason to leave,” Alonso says.

PIASTRI TESTS AT COTA PIASTRI HAS completed his latest test with the Alpine F1 team, this time cutting laps of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas.

Piastri’s latest test took place over two days, with the reigning Formula 2 champion jumping behind the wheel of the 2021 Alpine A521 in which Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon raced to a podium and a race victory respectively last year.

Prior to the two-day test, Piastri had never driven any car on the flowing American circuit and thoroughly enjoyed the experience around the 20-turn racetrack.

“Two days of testing here in Austin, my first time to the track and yeah what a roller coaster it is, awesome track and some mileage in the A521, so last year’s car for Alpine,” he said at the conclusion of the test.

He was very thankful for the opportunity that Alpine presented him: “What an awesome experience to come out to the US,” he said. “Not very often you get to go to the testing so big thanks to Alpine. Learnt a hell of a lot, as usual.” Dan McCarthy

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SUPER2 SERIES leader Zak Best will make his solo Supercars Championship debut in June, driving a fifth Tickford Racing Ford Mustang as a wildcard entry. Best will make his wildcard debut at the Darwin Triple Crown on the June 17-19 weekend, with a second appearance coming at The Bend SuperSprint from July 30-31. The announcement follows his Supercars debut in the 2021 Bathurst 1000, in which he finished 15th alongside Jack Le Brocq. JN

BROC FEENEY had the chance to acquaint himself with the venue for the most recent Supercars Championship round early, by turning laps in a Radical Cup Australia entry at Wanneroo Raceway. The Triple Eight Race Engineering rookie completed laps in an Arise Racing-prepared Radical SR3 on the Monday before the Perth SuperNight, learning the 2.42km Wanneroo circuit in an unfamiliar machine. JN

Image: Ross Gibb Photography

KIWI TEENAGER Louis Sharp is primed for his F4 British Championship debut, despite missing the opening round due to being underage. The 14-year-old was forced to watch from the sidelines at Donington Park as he waits for his 15th birthday. However he will be of age to make his debut at Brands Hatch this month. Sharp earned his seat in the UK by winning five of his first 11 Formula Ford races, after claiming multiple karting titles in New Zealand. JN

AUSSIE CO-DRIVER Rhianon Gelsomino has finished second for Subaru in the American Rally Association’s latest event, the Olympus Rally, alongside famed driver Travis Pastrana. The pair now sit second in the series, with six events still to run in the nine-event championship, behind their Subaru USA teammates – and Olympus winners – Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams. PG

SUPERCARS HAS announced that on Saturday night of the Townsville 500 legendary hip hop group Hilltop Hoods will headline the concert line-up on July 9. The Townsville Street Circuit at Reid Park has not featured a concert since 2019 but is expected to be filled with music-loving fans on Saturday for the Hilltop Hoods concert. The Hilltop Hoods have won ten ARIA Awards and six of their albums have peaked at number one. DM

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PYE: HE MADE A STATEMENT IN WHAT was an action-packed weekend one controversial and sizeable incident occurred between Scott Pye and Jack Le Brocq.

It was a crash that divided the paddock and saw a furious Pye pull no punches in his comments after the incedent.

In the opening lap of the second race Pye covered Le Brocq out of the final turn, however the Matt Stone Racing driver had overlap and did not back out of the throttle.

The result was that Pye spun backwards and crashed heavily into the concrete wall, ruling him out for the remainder of the weekend.

While the stewards deemed it a racing incident, the two drivers had very strong opinions as to who was at fault.

Pye admitted he under-estimated the run that Le Brocq got out of the final turn, but was livid that the MSR driver kept his foot on the throttle and did not hold back on his assessment of Le Brocq.

“He knew what he was doing, he made it very clear that he was making a statement by putting me in the wall and that was that he’s not going to be muscled out of position,” Pye said post-race.

“The first touch is always what we look for as a driver and then after, and that it was like, ‘oh shit okay, there’s an overlap.’

“But unfortunately, he decided I was meeting that concrete wall and he turned left,

that was the biggest thing, him hooking left – he apologised as well to the team so he’s taken ownership of it.

“But he’s kind of put himself in a situation now where his statement is probably going to put him in trouble one day.

“I just feel for Charlie (Team 18 owner). It’s cost the team a lot of money and I feel for the crew, the hours everyone has to put into it now.

“There’s responsibility on both parts but making it very clear that he made the choice to put me in the fence.

I’m sure everyone knows how I feel about that, because there’s a lot of people here that have to work late nights now because someone like Jack Le Brocq.

“There’s a reason he’s funding it himself.”

Le Brocq was very disappointed to see the damaged Team 18 machine, but said that if he backed out of the throttle then, he’d be doing it for the rest of his career “It’s unfortunate,” Le Brocq said. “You never want to see a crashed car.

“We had overlap; he kept on coming across.

“Some will say I probably should have lifted and probably would have saved a car, but then how many times are you gonna keep doing that ... he knows he’s going to get away with it.

“It’s a tough one, I don’t know what to say, it’s just one of those awkward incidents.”

Dan McCarthy

PYE’S CAR TO GO ON WAU JIG SCHWERKOLT REVEALED that the car would have to go on a jig, and by the end of Sunday’s final race had secured a deal with Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Before the next round at Winton Motor Raceway in just a fortnight from now, Pye’s machine will be put on the WAU jig to get it back in shape and ready to get back on track once more.

Schwerkolt explained that the extent of the damage was not as bad as first thought.

“When you first see it of course there’s so much stuff all broken and such a mess but look it’s not too bad, it’s hit all on the left rear there and it’s squashed everything up,” he said.

“Thankfully the biggest thing is the whole hoop and the whole roll cage is all fine, it’s just got one bar that goes up to the tower, that we’ll be able to repair.

“The Walkinshaw boys are going to help us out – they’ve got a jig and so it’ll go on there.

“It’s only couple of k’s down the road.

We’ll get the car on the jig Thursday and it’s probably a week to get it all stripped completely and back on again. So, we’ll go racing again in Winton. DM

TARGA TASMANIA FUTURE UNDER CLOUD FOLLOWING THE fourth Targa Tasmania fatality in the past two years, the event’s future has come under a cloud with Targa Australia CEO Mark Perry unable to guarantee its continuation after the most recent incident last week.

This year marked the 30th anniversary for Targa Tasmania, but it was marred by the tragic passing of experienced competitor Tony Seymour after an incident on the Mount Roland stage driving a Lotus Exige.

His co-driver and wife Sandra received nonlife-threatening injuries in the collision.

Seymour’s passing comes after Motorsport Australia formed a tribunal where 23 recommendations were made in reaction to three deaths on last year’s event and were acted upon for this year’s event.

These recommendations included, but weren’t limited to making stages slower by decreasing the length of long straights and allowing drivers longer breaks between stages in order to avoid any possible fatigue.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport and Commercial Operations Michael Smith emphasised the running of the event to be at the highest level of safety.

“I think everyone is aware there was an investigatory tribunal that was undertaken after last year’s event,” Smith said.

“There were 23 recommendations that were handed down, a lot of work went into making sure that this event was not only complying with those recommendations, but was as safe as possible.”

WANNEROO HIGHLIGHTS WAU DEFICIENCIES

Perry reiterated a thorough investigation will be undertaken to decipher how the incident occurred, but revealed the event’s running in years to come will be up for conjecture.

“It definitely rattles the cage,” Perry said. “I can only be honest to say, there’s no doubt it brings it (the future) into doubt ... we won’t shy away from that.

“We need to work through it, because what we don’t know is what happened.

I would say if it was unrelated to the car, or the safety or his training or any of that, then that will change the conversation dramatically.

“Until we know all that we won’t speculate on the future or what the event looks like, we have to just gather our thoughts.

“The Rally Safe device for us will be key to get all the data out of the car – all that will be analysed.

“You can ask us all day what the future looks like, but we actually have no idea. What it looks like beyond here, we’re months away from determining that.”

Smith stated Targa Tasmania still has a future, but the questions remain on what it’s format will be going forward, with suggestions

the event compete under strictly touring conditions just like the remaining days of this year’s Targa Tasmania following the incident.

“That’s certainly part of the thinking,” he said. “I certainly think there’s a future for Targa Tasmania, – we’ll work with Mark at Targa Australia, his team and all the other stakeholders to see what Targa Tasmania might look like in the future.”

“We took steps together with Mark (Perry Targa CEO) and his team to ensure that those in the open competition had a level of experience that we were both comfortable with. It was also one of the recommendations from the tribunal.”

Perry expressed the loss of Seymour has been deeply felt throughout the whole Targa community.

“Tony was a much-loved member of our Targa family and we are just crushed by what has happened,” Perry said.

“We are all just devastated by this tragedy and all of our thoughts are with Tony’s wife Sandra and his extended family and friends.”

Auto Action sends its most heartfelt condolences to Seymour’s friends and family.

Dan McCarthy

IT’S BACK to the drawing board for Walkinshaw Andretti United in the Supercars Championship, after a disastrous round at Wanneroo Raceway.

The duo of Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat could not have had worse results in the Perth SuperNight, unable to crack the top 10 in any session, while rival teams prospered at the unique circuit.

Mostert finished the races in 22nd, 12th and 19th as Percat was 21st, 18th and 15th, leaving both way off the pace in the championship standings come the end of the round.

The former, who has led the way for WAU so far, is now 342 points in arrears of leader Shane van Gisbergen, despite winning two races at Albert Park.

Speaking throughout the weekend, Mostert was unsure of the reason for his drop off in performance but promised that the team did everything possible to restore speed in the WAU Holden Commodore’s.

“For whatever reason the track this weekend is really highlighting quite a big issue for us,” Mostert conceded.

“It was a bit of a handful this weekend that’s for sure.

There wasn’t a nut or bolt we didn’t touch on the #25.”

Percat was particularly shocked by his qualifying pace, which left him starting at the very back of the field in each of the three encounters.

“I’m not really sure what to say,” Percat said on the Saturday.

“It’s hard, it’s bad, that’s legit for both of us. It doesn’t feel like I should be last.

“The lap time comes up on the dash and go alright, that’s us.”

The mood was similar after Sunday, as WAU’s attempts to overhaul the cars ultimately produced little.

Engineer Adam Deborre explained that the usual solutions had failed, and he was forced to get creative.

“Our usual tools haven’t been working,” Deborre said.

“We’re having to come up with different ways of trying to achieve the same objective.

“You always stick close to your history and we spent the majority of yesterday trying to work around our base, now we’re probably I’d say 5% away, which is exploring new grounds.

“If we if we can’t be winning, we need to learn.”

WAU now sit sixth in the Teams’ Championship, while Mostert and Percat are fifth and 16th in the Drivers’ standings, respectively. Josh Nevett

WHY DID IT BECOME A NON-COMPETITIVE EVENT? AFTER THE fatal accident Targa Tasmania was downgraded to a non-competitive event, but why was this when the event continued as normal after three fatalities in 2021?

“Unlike last year, this has happened so early in the event,” Perry said.

“That’s a different set of circumstances to last year – we were able to go straight into post event analysis after last year – this

year is just so different.”

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport and Commercial Operations Michael Smith said that the details were not clear enough to continue as planned.

“Details are very sketchy to be honest,” Smith said. “We’ll work very closely with them (the police) on the circumstances of the incident, it’s really just too early to tell what’s happened at the moment.”

Perry admitted cancelling the event in its entirety was considered.

“We definitely considered that,” he said.

“But in fairness to everybody on the tour who are just having a driving holiday, they should be able to still drive around, we detuned it a little bit back to the posted speed limit,” he concluded.

“They had every right to continue their holiday and we all agreed on that.” DM Motorsport Images

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THE SCHEDULE for the Shannons Nationals and SpeedSeries round at Sydney Motorsport Park has been revealed and contains multiple races under lights on Saturday night. The event takes place from May 27-29 and both Friday and Saturday’s proceedings will run long into the night, with action on track both days well after 7pm AEST. The action-packed schedule at SMP features eight national categories including the TCR Australia Series, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, the everpopular Touring Car Masters and Trans Am Series. DM

DAVISON DROUGHTBREAKER SHROUDED IN CONTROVERSY

Image: Ross Gibb Photography

SUNENERGY1 RACING will be on the Bathurst 12 Hour grid in 2022, fielding a current-specification Mercedes AMG GT3 which will be driven by multiple international steerers. The Kenny Habul-owned team will attack the May 13-15 race with support from Triple Eight Race Engineering, looking to go one better than its runners-up result from 2018. Habul has asssembled Martin Konrad, Luca Stolz and Jules Gounon to join him behind the wheel. JN

M MOTORSPORT and Vantage Racing will unleash a KTM X-BOW GT2 on Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 12 Hour this May, the first of its kind to race at The Mountain.

The 600hp X-BOW GT2 will be driven by David Crampton, Trent Harrison, Glenn Wood and his brother, Porsche Carrera Cup racer Dale in the invitational class, pitted up against several MARC Cars Australia entries. JN

THE ONE-make Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series has been added to the Bathurst 12 Hour support card.

The event is less than a month away, set to take place from May 13-15 and will be the first of two rounds that the Toyotas will race at The Mountain this year. Races 4, 5 and 6 of the 2022 series are scheduled during the 12 Hour and inaugural Australia Toyota 86 Racing Series winner Will Brown will race as a guest-driver. DM

THE MOTORSPORT Australia 2022 Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships Round 3 is scheduled for Phillip Island from May 14-15 with an expected entry in excess of 220 cars. The round will feature all the usual categories including Circuit Excels, Formula Ford and Formula Ford 1600, Formula Vee, Historic Touring Cars, HQ Holdens, Improved Production Cars, MG and Invited British Sports Cars, Porsche 944 Challenge, Saloon Cars, Sports Cars and Sports Sedans. JN

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AFTER OVER five years of close calls, Will Davison finally broke his win drought dating back to 2016 in the Supercars Championship, although the victory came in controversial circumstances.

The Shell V-Power Racing driver went head-to-head with Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters in Race 11, the pair battling hard after the latter took the lead early.

Pitting on lap 24 the #17 Ford Mustang made up significant ground on Water’s Monster machine which pitted one lap later, bringing the two together for a tussle on Waters’ out lap.

The battle reached its climax at the final corner, where Davison attempted to dive down the inside.

The pair made contact mid corner before Waters ran wide across the kerb and track boundaries, re entering in the lead of the race.

That led to a radio protest from Davison and, shortly after, a 5s penalty was handed to Waters for an ‘unsafe re-entry’.

Waters went on to spend all 46 laps at the front, crossing the line first 1.409s clear at Wanneroo Raceway – however it meant little as Davison was pronounced victor.

The penalised driver was livid with the decision.

“First of all, I wouldn’t have been out there if I didn’t get doored, but I’m all for hard racing, I love that part of it,” Waters said.

“I have been racing for years, everyone has been doing that and no one has ever got a penalty for it, I’m the first one.”

Likewise, Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards did not mince in his words in assessing the call.

“It’s bullshit. Clearly Will [Davison] drove him off the track,” he said.

“We’re always going to have a difference of opinion, but there’s two sides to that. He should not have got a five-second penalty, it’s bullshit.”

As expected, Davison had a completely different take on the incident.

“It was black and white,” he began.

“Back in the day we all used to do that, if someone passes you just get off the brakes and run the extra speed in and know you could run around the back of the kerb which isn’t classified as the racetrack.

“It was good racing though. I saw, when he cleared the brake and sort-of turned in with big speed, I knew what he was trying to do, and you would try, but the rule was pretty clear here a few years ago.

“It was weird. You don’t you don’t want to cross the line in second spot, but I feel like I put a good aggressive move on and deserved the position.” Josh Nevett

TICKFORD IMPROVING BUT STILL A LONG WAY OFF AFTER ROUNDING out a solid weekend for Tickford Racing in Perth with a podium in the final encounter, James Courtney gave a blunt assessment of where his team sits in the Supercars pecking order.

It’s been a slow start to 2022 for Tickford, with the team notching up just one podium before heading across the Nullabor.

However, Wanneroo Raceway produced a top three result for both Courtney and Cameron Waters, suggesting the team has made gains.

Jake Kostecki was also considerably faster, running amongst the top 10 before copping a shunt from his cousin Brodie Kostecki in Race 12.

Courtney confirmed that the team was heading in the right direction.

“As a team, I think we’re lifting, trying to get that consistency and I think we are achieving that,” he said.

“We were fast at the Grand Prix but had things go wrong; we should have had a podium one of the days and obviously that didn’t happen, but it’s good to get the podium here.

“It was good that we were there legitimately on speed and strategy.

“We have made an improvement in car speed all around. All three cars were in the top 10 for each qualifying and had really good results. Jake had a cracking day apart

Image: Motorsport Images from that last one where his cousin took him out.

“That’s confidence boosting for us as a team, there’s good morale in the team at the moment.”

However, there’s still a long way to go for Tickford to challenge the series frontrunners.

The squad sits third in the Teams’ Championship, behind Triple Eight Race Engineering and Shell V-Power Racing, and Courtney admitted that the margin to those two teams was significant.

“We’re still nowhere near what these guys are able to achieve,” Courtney conceded.

“I wouldn’t say we’re catching them. Their

speed, consistency and ability to come back if they have a bad session is something that we as a group need to work on. We still have a lot of little things that we need to tidy up not only with us functioning as a team, but also with the car, with the car build, the way the car is prepped.

“At the moment we have to be the best of the rest and keep chipping away – hopefully we can get to challenge these guys on more of a regular basis.”

Waters sits as the highest ranked after the Perth round in fourth position, while Courtney has moved into the top 10.

Thomas Randle and Jake Kostecki are 21st and 24th, respectively. Josh Nevett

HOLDEN CELEBRATES 600 RACE VICTORIES SHANE VAN Gisbergen’s first win in the Supercars Championship at Wanneroo Raceway was a special one for all involved, as it marked the 600th for Holden as a manufacturer.

Holden is the first brand to achieve the milestone in Australia, with the first win coming back in 1969 when Norm Beechey drove a Holden HK Monaro GTS327 to victory at Surfers Paradise Motor Racing Circuit.

Extending his championship lead with a triumph under lights on Saturday night, van Gisbergen further wrote his name into the history books as the man to take win 600.

Speaking post-race, the Triple Eight Race Engineering steering was proud

to represent Holden in its last year of Supercars competition.

“Although Holden won’t be around next year it’s cool to have it (the milestone) for General Motors and for us to represent Holden is still pretty cool,” van Gisbergen said.

In Holden headquarters, Holden and Chevrolet Racing Australia and New Zealand General Manager Chris Payne expressed his pride in the achievements of the Holden brand.

“Holden Motorsport has a long and proud heritage in Australasia, dating back to the late 1960’s,” Payne said.

“The win this evening by Shane van Gisbergen gives Holden Motorsport

the honour of being the first brand to achieve 600 race wins, which in itself is a remarkable accomplishment.

“This momentous achievement is a nod to the fans, sponsors, teams and drivers who have helped make it all possible over more than 50-years of racing.”

Heading into the Perth SuperNight weekend, recent history suggested that Holden may struggle to clinch its 600th win at Wanneroo, as the manufacturer had not won there since 2016.

It took the supreme form of van Gisbergen to break that hoodoo, the Kiwi taking his first Supercars win at the Perth circuit in the process.

Triple Eight Race Engineering Team

Principal Jamie Whincup was thrilled to be a part of Holden’s decorated history.

“It’s a fantastic achievement and we’re excited to have played a part in this incredible milestone,” Whincup said.

“We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Holden Motorsport for over a decade and look forward to being a part of many more future successes with GM. The achievement comes just in time, as Commodore’s will make way for the allnew Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Supercar in 2023.

“It’s fitting to achieve this milestone in the final season of Holden Motorsport in the Championship,” Payne said. Josh Nevett

“Hopefully it’s a good show to watch. When you’re following, it’s cool seeing all the sparks come out of the brakes and then into the corner you can see discs glowing, some at the front and some at the rear so you can see

what kind of bias people run.

“It’s quite interesting to watch that but maybe I overthink it ...”

Waters, who spends his summers driving Sprintcars under lights, was in his element on Saturday night and hopes to see more SuperNight events on the Supercars calendar in the future.

“I’ve got no issues with the lighting,” Waters said.

“It’s cool to be racing under lights. I do a lot of it with Speedway and I think we should do more of it.

“It was probably a little bit darker in spots compared to SMP, but it is what it is at the end of the day and you just drive to what you can see.

“There are a few times where off line you can’t see marbles as well but you drive through it and you get pickup and you realize what you’ve done so you don’t do it next lap.”

Waters finished third behind van Gisbergen and Anton De Pasquale in Race 10, equalling his best finish of the 2022 season.

Josh Nevett

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR RACES UNDER LIGHTS THE FEEDBACK from drivers on the nighttime racing experience at Wanneroo Raceway this time around was mostly positive, with Cameron Waters encouraging the Supercars Championship to schedule more races under lights.

The Perth SuperNight is the second event so far to feature racing after dark following the Sydney SuperNight season opener, both providing a unique spectacle for the fans.

Questions over the adequacy of Wanneroo’s artificial lighting were present pre-event, but race winner Shane van Gisbergen expressed the view that the venue had met the challenge of hosting a night event.

“It’s much better than 2019,” van Gisbergen said.

“They’ve done a really good job here.

“It’s pretty difficult in some spots, I’d

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INDYCAR HAS made several alterations for the qualifying format for the Indianapolis 500, bringing the procedure closer to the one used for road course races. The first day of qualifying will establish positions 13-33 on the grid. Day 2 will see drivers battle to progress to a ‘Top 12’, before the field is cut further to a ‘Fast Six’. Both rounds of qualifying on the Sunday will be run in a shootout format, deciding the first four rows for the 106th running of the Indy 500. JN

EIGHT-TIME World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier will return to renew his rivalry with Sebastien Loeb at Rally de Portugal in May. The two legends of WRC battled it out in the Monte Carlo season opener, however the pair did not appear in the subsequent two events in Sweden and Croatia. Both will be part of the field in Portugal though, as Ogier will replace Esapekka Lappi in a Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Yaris for the first gravel round of the season. JN

JOSEF NEWGARDEN set the standard in Indy 500 testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while Kiwi Scott McLaughlin was fifth fastest. The 2022 standings leader and two-time champion managed a 229.519mph (369.375km/h) average best lap in his #2 Team Penske Chevrolet on the second day of running. Takuma Sato was not far off Newgarden’s pace, second fastest at 229.427mph (369.227km/h) in the #51 Honda, while Tony Kanaan completed the top three in the #1 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. JN

XD SPONSORLESS STEVE JOHNSON’S Touring Car Masters season hangs in the balance of sponsors after Full Throttle pulled the pin prior to the commencement of his opening round.

Johnson competed in the opening round but told Auto Action he will be forced to sit on the sidelines if a sponsor is not found in time for the next round.

“I’m not going to do it to the demise of my own financial situation,” he said to AA “If it’s not funded by the sponsorship that I can generate from it, then I’m not going to do it, it’s as simple as that, no matter how much I’d love to do it.

“My business doesn’t make enough profit to be able to fund a race car as such, either.

“It’s a disappointing decision; I wouldn’t say it’s a hard decision, it’s very simple for me.”

The Tru-Blu liveried XD Falcon which resembles his father Dick’s 1981 Bathurst

1000 winning machine has proved a real crowd favourite.

However, as a father himself, Steve Johnson has expressed the view that the prime focus is very much on his son Jett’s career who is competing in the National Trans Am Series this year.

“Obviously Jett’s career is just starting and it’s moving at a rate of knots forward, so we need to put as much support behind him as we can,” Johnson said.

“At that moment my main focus was to try to make sure that we could secure sponsorship for Jett and keep him on track. We’ve been able to do that, although it’s very tight financially between now and the end of the year.

“I’m still looking for some more sponsors to come on board Jett’s career path to keep that going, now we’ve got some okay momentum with that.”

Johnson says that he entered the first round of TCM sponsorless in the hope that it might grab the attention of other sponsors to come onboard.

Now Jett has a season sponsor lined up, his attentions are turning back to the TCM XD Falcon.

“Unfortunately, it all happened quite late,” Johnson said. “It didn’t give us any time to try to look at replacing them as naming rights sponsors.

“I’m gonna try to start looking for replacement sponsor for the XD now, which is obviously not that easy.

“If we don’t get somebody on board between now and the next round, then I won’t be taking part from Round 2 onwards, until we do get financial backing to be able to bring it back out on track.”

Dan McCarthy

PAKENHAM CIRCUIT NOT DEAD YET TEAM PENSKE has revealed yet another livery for Kiwi IndyCar Series driver Scott McLaughlin’s #3 Chevrolet, taking the covers off a red and white design which will debut in July. The latest design is the product of a renewed partnership with EnerSys and its high-performance battery brand, Odyssey battery. As such, McLaughlin’s new artwork features the colours and branding of Odyssey prominently. Fans will get their first look at the #3 ODYSSEY Chevrolet at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 3. JN

PARETTA AUTOSPORT has announced that it will run a partial IndyCar Series campaign this year, putting Simona De Silvestro behind the wheel of a Chevrolet provided by Ed Carpenter Racing. The #16 Kiwi Co.-backed Paretta Autosport machine will enter a minimum of three rounds at Road America, Mid-Ohio and Nashville, with Team Owner Beth Paretta eyeing off further rounds later in 2022. . JN

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PLANS FOR an FIA Grade 2 circuit in Melbourne’s southeast are not dead yet, with Cardinia Shire Council confirming they are still committed to the project.

The proposal for a track in Pakenham, just over 50km from Melbourne, suffered a significant setback last year when circuit developers Podium 1 pulled out of the undertaking, withdrawing their $200 million funding.

Since then, the Cardinia Motorsports Education and Recreation Park project has sat in limbo, with the council attempting to secure funding to kickstart the process.

While a backer has not yet emerged,

Cardinia Shire Mayor Councillor Jeff Springfield confirmed that a procurement process would take place in the middle of this year.

“Cardinia Shire Council remains committed to facilitating the development of the Cardinia Motorsports Education and Recreation Park,” Springfield told Auto Action.

“Council is currently finalising the documentation and is planning to undertake a procurement process mid-year to determine the level of interest for new investment in the project, and guide and inform the future Council decisions.

“We know how excited the Cardinia Shire

and broader motorsport community is for this project to get up and running in Melbourne’s southeast.

“The land is unique and has the necessary planning permissions, so we’ll be commencing a procurement process soon to get this project revving for motorsport fans right around the state.”

This latest update comes as the future of motorsport in Victoria enters an uncertain period.

Sandown Raceway is set to be redeveloped as a residential suburb, while there have been rumours of the construction of a new circuit north of Melbourne.

“The procurement process will determine the viability of the project amongst the broader environment of development and closures of other motorsport venues across the nation,” Springfield responded to the current state of play.

The proposed 3.6km Pakenham circuit will have the ability to host categories from karting through to the Supercars Championship and accommodate 60,000 spectators.

A site has already been selected for the circuit, located at the former home of the Koo Wee Rup Motorcycle Club and Pakenham Auto Club. Josh Nevett

RACING TOGETHER SET TO EXPAND

RATEL BACKS ARG’S SPEEDSERIES PROGRAM THE AUSTRALIAN Racing Group’s newly formed SpeedSeries package of events has received the tick of approval from co-promoter of the GT World Challenge Australia, and SRO Motorsports Group Founder and CEO Stephane Ratel.

The creator of the still popular GT3 regulations, Ratel recently experienced his first GT World Challenge Australia round at Phillip Island back in March and was impressed by the array of categories featured on the bill.

The SpeedSeries runs predominantly alongside the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships encompassing TCR Australia, S5000, Touring Car Masters and National Trans Am, plus the Bathurst 6 Hour and International events.

Ratel believes the GT World Challenge Australia is well placed on the SpeedSeries bill as a headline act and believes it is not a necessity to run a round as part of the Supercars support program.

“I like this package,” Ratel told Auto Action.

“When we acquired World Challenge in America, it was running prominently at IndyCar events and it was really treated as a support race.

“Our decision was to essentially move away

and create our own events where the driver becomes the centre of attention and where you are more at the centre of the schedule that you have.

“That helps you grow I believe, and that’s why I was happy to join this co-promotion.”

Ratel highlighted similarities between ARG’s SpeedSeries and the Super Racing weekend events held across Europe during the mid2000s where the FIA GT Championship and European Touring Car Championship (latter World Touring Car Championship) shared the bill.

“The format of what we have here, it reminds me of a program we had big success in the early 2000s in Europe with something called the Super Racing weekend, which was under the umbrella of Eurosport,” he recalled.

“The Eurosport Super Racing weekend was very similar to this; we had touring cars, GT and single seater with Renault. And with S5000, TCR and GTs it’s a kind of Super Racing weekend.

“I think that has potential of attraction for the fans and for broadcasters.

“I think it’s going to work.”

For more from Ratel, read the full News Extra story on page 18-19. Dan McCarthy.

THE RACING Together Indigenous motorsport program is set to expand after a successful first year, according to co-founder Garry Connelly.

Connelly, who is an FIA representative for Australia, has overseen the project which began as an Open Day at Norwell Motorplex and has now progressed to a fully-fledged motorsport operation.

The inaugural Racing Together team competed in the Queensland Hyundai Excel Racing Series in 2021, with 10 young Indigenous people taking on various roles.

In 2022 the Brisbane-based squad will roll out a second car, and Connelly revealed that the program will also expand to a second team in Townsville.

“We’re hoping to roll out in Townsville this year,” Connelly told Auto Action.

“We’re going to do an open day in Townsville and we’re also doing an open day on the third weekend of May at Norwell to recruit some additional members to the team in Brisbane as well.

“The goal will be to have an Indigenous team competing in an Excel series in Townsville and probably to bring them down to Brisbane to compete.

“We’re also on track to have the second Norwell car competing in the second half of this year.”

Ultimately, Connelly expressed that he would like Racing Together to be a truly national initiative. However, that’s not possible just yet despite strong sponsor backing so far.

“We’d like to expand it

nationally,” Connelly said.

“It’ll take a lot of money and a lot of resources, a lot of people involved to do that.

“We’ve had a lot of interests around Australia, but we just don’t have the resources at the moment to expand nationally.”

Outside of the Racing Together Excel outfit, the program has created apprenticeship opportunities for three Indigenous youngsters to join Supercars Championship teams.

The creation of jobs in the motorsport industry for Indigenous people is one of Racing Together’s most central objectives, according to Connelly.

“In one year, we’ve got three of our Indigenous kids full time jobs in motorsport and the automotive industry,” Connelly said.

“We think that’s a start but just a small drop compared to what we need to do.

“We’d like to try and encourage every Supercar team to at least consider putting on an indigenous person in their team as an apprentice over the next 12 months.”

Racing Together will hit the track at Hidden Valley Raceway during the Darwin Triple Crown as part of Indigenous round, running a Hyundai Excel in support program races in June. Josh Nevett

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BATHURST 6 HOUR:

NO NEED FOR PARITY DEBATE MARC CARS Australia founder and renowned car builder Ryan McLeod believes that calls for parity in the Bathurst 6 Hour are missing the mark.

At the wheel of a newly prepared BMW M2 Competition, Cameron Hill and Tom Sargent took the outright win in a thrilling edition of the endurance production car race this year, beating out fancied BMW M3 and M4 rivals.

In a race that has been dominated by the M3 and M4 BMW variants over the last few years, the superior performance of the M2 has caused some to fear an ‘arms race’ in which all the top teams purchase the newer, smaller and lighter model.

One of the solutions posed has been to cap the performance of the M2, however McLeod insists that such an intervention would be against the spirit of the race.

“I don’t think it’s right to start a parity debate – cars are eligible based on a formula that’s applied equally to all the manufacturers,” McLeod told Auto Action.

“The classes are divided up as such. If your intention is to go there and try and win the race, start with the Eligibility List, get the right car, do the right modifications to it.

“The integrity of the rules and the intention of the rules needs to be protected because I think this is the last great frontier of noncookie-cutter type car racing.”

There has been a rolling balance of power in Australian production car racing for decades now, with BMW taking up the mantle as the leading marque in recent years.

BMW machines have won every 6 Hour so far, but before them when the Bathurst 12 Hour was a production car race (prior to 2011),

cars such as the Mitsubishi Evo had stints as the go-to weapon.

McLeod is not bothered that the M2 may become the next ‘must-have’ car for a few reasons, the first being that all teams knew the model was an option heading into the event.

“Part of the tactics of the race is to pick the most suitable car,” McLeod said.

Another reason for McLeod’s take on the debate stems from his involvement in the event.

McLeod built Ford Mustangs racing in the A2 class at the 6 Hour.

One was piloted by his sons Nick and Cameron alongside Aaron Cameron who finished second in class, but McLeod also built the class winning Mustang raced by Tony Quinn and Grant Denyer.

Those cars were not in contention for outright honours, which that does not bother the passionate family racer, who feels more focus should be placed on class results rather than the first car to cross the finish line.

“People keep escalating their efforts to win and that’s normal, but you need the class structure to be solid,” he explained.

“I think that’s the nature of the race and that’s what it needs to make sure it retains.

This is a race for the people.

“Each class needs to have its own set of trophies, its own level of importance; it needs to be represented in the TV coverage.

However, I do think it’s a bit rich that you take your Suzuki Swift to go and race at Bathurst and you pay the same entry fee as they do in the primary class.”

Josh Nevett

DRIVERS WANT S5000 RETURN SEVERAL DRIVERS who competed at the Australian Grand Prix in the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship have expressed interest in a return.

The Australian Grand Prix saw a record 16 S5000s take to the track and included a quartet of S5000 rookies – a good sign for the growth of the series.

One of these rookies was Formula Ford driver Conor Somers. Somers finished all three races and scored the most points of the four rookies.

For him it was a very big learning curve, one he greatly enjoyed – and he says he would love to return at some point in the near future.

“I’d definitely love to continue in the category,” Somers told Auto Action. “It’s such a great category, I loved it, but we’ll just have to wait and see what we end up doing.

“Obviously Formula Ford is the main focus at the moment, but I’d definitely not say no to more S5000 rounds that’s for sure!”

AA asked Somers whether he would compete in the S5000 Tasman Series which commences late in the year when many

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championships are wrapping up around the nation.

“More miles in cars would definitely not hurt,” he said. “Being behind the wheel of anything is good.

“It probably puts you a step above the rest of the competition when you come into the start of the next Formula Ford season if you’ve already had that racing under your belt during the offseason, so 100%.”

With just a handful of people working on the car that weekend Somers exceeded his expectations.

“We definitely pushed a bit higher up than what we thought we were going to do,” he said.

“I was pleased to be the lead rookie, I’d only driven the car twice (prior) which was probably the least running out of the whole category.”

Somers even claimed the inverted grid pole position after qualifying in 12th position, although the race did not go as planned, turned around on the opening lap.

Zane Goddard entered the series on a tworound deal with Team BRM commencing at

Image: Kalisz/ARG Phillip Island and concluding at the AGP. The Tickford Racing co-driver enjoyed the experience and would also like to return later in the year.

“I’m not 100% sure (if I’ll return) to be honest.

It mainly comes down to budget,” Goddard said to AA. “We’ll wait and see; obviously we’ll keep talking to Mark Rundle from BRM. I enjoyed racing in those two rounds; it helps keep me sharp for the second half of this year.

“If I could do more that would be great, but we’ll just wait and see and play it by ear.”

James Davison made his S5000 race debut after appearing in the truncated 2020 AGP weekend. The six-time Indy 500 starter had a weekend to forget and sounds less likely to return.

“I really have a lot of time for the Roger’s family and Chris Lambden, and everyone involved in creating and promoting this great formula,” he said to AA. “As ever, it all depends on forthcoming sponsors. It’s no secret my prime career and life is over in America. We’ll see. Never say never.”

Dan McCarthy

AUSTRALIAN TCR RIGHTS EXTENDED UNTIL 2028 THE FUTURE of the TCR Australia Series has been secured, with Motorsport Australia and World Sporting Consulting Ltd (WSC) agreeing to a five-year extension of the TCR rights in Australia.

TCR rights were already held in Australia until the end of 2023, so the announcement of this extension means that the category will stay down under until at least the end of 2028.

WSC owns the global rights to both TCR and ETCR, categories which have had worldwide success.

Motorsport Australia is the current rights holder for TCR in Australia, while the Australian Racing Group (ARG) holds a separate Commercial Rights Agreement with Motorsport Australia to run and promote the category.

WSC Ltd CEO Marcello Lotti was proud to confirm the extension of the rights with Motorsport Australia.

“It’s with great pleasure that we have extended the agreement with Motorsport Australia for a further five years. Ever since it started back in 2019, TCR Australia has showed its great potential, and the series has not stopped growing since then,” Lotti said.

“Now TCR Australia has become one of the most competitive TCR series around the globe and one of the most attractive for Australian teams and fans alike.

“We are confident that the category will benefit from this five-year extension to grow even further in the coming seasons.”

Image: Kalisz/ARG The Australian TCR series was launched in 2019, with Will Brown taking the inaugural title in a Hyundai i30 N TCR. Seven rounds are scheduled for the 2022 season, with cars from seven manufacturers gracing the grid.

ARG CEO Matt Braid expressed pride in what his team had managed to achieve so far with the TCR Australia Series, despite the cancellation of the whole 2020 season due to Covid-19.

“It has been fantastic for Australian Racing Group to partner with Motorsport Australia and WSC in the launch and development of TCR competition in Australia,” Braid said.

“Despite the COVID challenges of the last two years, TCR Australia has grown to become a highly competitive and exciting category that appeals to local motorsport fans and the global TCR fanbase thanks to the support and professionalism of the teams, drivers and our commercial partners.

“TCR Australia’s on-track entertainment is second-to-none with big name drivers and young up and coming stars driving marketrelevant race cars around the best tracks in the country, and we look forward working with Eugene and Marcello and their respective teams at Motorsport Australia and WSC to continue the fantastic growth of the Series.” Josh Nevett

TOYOTA EXTENDS COMMITMENT TO 86 SERIES THE TOYOTA Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series will continue for at least another four years, with Toyota committing to the national development category until 2026.

The current Toyota 86 machine will serve as the platform for the race car until 2024, when the next generation car (due in Australia as a road car later this year) will freshen up the grid.

In addition to the injection of a new car, Toyota will introduce its ‘scholarship series’ from 2023, giving less experienced young drivers access to one-make Toyota 86 races at up to five state-level racing events run by Motorsport Australia in south-east Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Drivers who show talent in the scholarship program will be invited to an evaluation day where they can compete for the chance to steer the invited drivers GR86 in a round of the main series the following year.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo expressed his pride in the achievements of the TGRA 86 Series so far and was confident that the newly announced changes would see the category grow into the future.

“As we have seen over the past six years, the TGRA 86 Series has proven immensely

popular with aspiring race drivers and those with a passion for motorsport and we have seen many of our alumni go on to drive at the highest levels, such as Broc Feeney and Will Brown, who are both driving for Supercars teams this year,” Naidoo said.

“At the same time, we have grown a legion of fans that delight at the close wheel to wheel action that plays out on some of Australia’s most iconic race circuits.

“With the all-new, more powerful and more agile GR86 set to make its racing debut in the 2024 series, we expect the excitement to be further dialled up, giving drivers and motorsport fans plenty of thrilling racing action for years to come.”

The TGRA 86 Series has supported the Supercars Championship over recent years, giving up and coming racers access to a national audience.

With one round already in the books in 2022, the TGRA 86 Series is set to take on Mount Panorama as part of the support program for the Bathurst 12 Hour from May 13-15.

Following that, the TGRA 86 Series heads to Townsville (QLD), Sandown in Melbourne and then back to Bathurst for the final round of the 2022 season. Josh Nevett

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LATEST NEWS

SVG IMPRESSED LAMBORGHINI TEASES NEW GT3 UPGRADE LEGENDARY ITALIAN manufacturer Lamborghini is the latest brand to signal its intention to upgrade its current GT3 machine for 2023.

Lamborghini posted a teaser image online of its Huracan Evo2, but only revealing a portion of the car.

When Lamborghini posted the shot online a short and sharp caption was attached: “Our story began on April 2015 with our first GT3 win in Monza. The STOry continues…”

The capitalised STO was not a typo; it is understood to be a reference to the highperformance track day model of the Huracan, named the STO. It has already been revealed that the new Evo2 model will be significantly different to the model currently raced nationally by Wall Racing and AMAC Motorsport.

Despite these differences, all parts can be transferred to the existing model, a real benefit to small customer teams around the world.

The updated configuration of the Huracan GT3 is set to debut in the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of January and, from then, the Evo2 will be eligible for four seasons until the end of 2026.

A reveal date of the new Huracan is yet to be announced.

In the last edition of Auto Action we showed off Ferrari’s brand new 296 GT3 which replaces the existing and incredibly successful 488.

The 296 GT3 in a camouflaged livery, cut laps of Ferrari’s famous Fiorano test track ahead of its debut next year.

GT3 is entering an exciting new era with Ferrari changing to the 296; BMW is undertaking its first season with the M4 GT3; and in recent months both Ford and Chevrolet have announced their participation in GT3 competition.

Many of the manufacturers already involved have initiated update packages.

Dan McCarthy

BY THE PRINCE’S DEDICATION

REIGNING SUPERCARS champion Shane van Gisbergen is optimistic of a good result at the Bathurst 12 Hour this year, teaming up with Broc Feeney and Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

Van Gisbergen, a former 12 Hour winner, is excited to get back to Bathurst and to see what they can do.

On a normal week, van Gisbergen shares a garage with Feeney. However he also shares a Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes AMG, in which he contests GT World Challenge Australia, alongside the Prince.

Prince Jefri Ibrahim is a member of the Johor Royal Family of Malaysia and has raced a GT car for Triple Eight for a number of years.

Van Gisbergen has been impressed by the dedication and hard work the Prince puts into his motor racing and sounds confident it will pay off.

“I’m excited for Prince Jefri,” van Gisbergen said after winning on Sunday in Perth.

“He’s been working really hard the last few years; the effort he puts in with his training.

“This is his first endurance race – he did some testing in Sepang last week.

“It’s going to be a pretty proud moment to see him race in such a big race, so stoked to be a co-driver of his and see how we get on.”

This year the Bathurst 12 Hour is unique, with the outright race victory being fought amongst Pro-Am teams.

May is the latest that the Bathurst 12 Hour has taken place in the event’s history, which means more night-time running, SVG admits he has already got Feeney to take that stint.

“It starts early, Broc’s got young eyes so he’s in for the start, which will be good,” van Gisbergen laughed. “I’ve done everything I can to get out of getting up early.

“It should be awesome, I love that race.

“Middle of the year will be interesting. The Bathurst 6 hour was pretty fogged out until nine o’clock so pray that there is no fog for the 12 hour.

For the full Bathurst 12 Hour preview, turn to page 34-35. Dan McCarthy

MASSIVE STEP FOR NEW FE CAR FORMULA E has revealed its Gen3 machine which will debut next year – and it is a far cry from the Gen2 car in terms of looks and, notably, performance.

The new machine was unveiled in the lead up to the Monaco E Prix by Formula E and the Fedration Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

The car has been designed to be the pinnacle of high performance, efficiency and sustainability.

Aside from the radical new look, the all-electric series will make a massive leap in terms of speed.

The Gen3 car’s top speed will rise from 280kp/h to over 322km/h.

Importantly the cars will produce 350kW at the rear wheels, compared to 250kW currently; the new front powertrain itself creates 250kW, totalling 600kW in total, well over double the power of the existing car.

Not only will they pack a lot more punch but the size and weight of the machines have been reduced also.

The cars are more efficient, Formula E claiming the Gen3 machines will be the most efficient open-wheel racing cars in history.

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It is expected that more than 40% of the energy used within the race will be produced by regenerative braking.

Seven of the world’s automotive manufacturers have already signed up to race the new Gen3 in Season 9 of championship with pre-season testing set to commence this winter.

The manufacturers are DS Automobiles (Citroen), Jaguar, Mahindra, NIO, Nissan, Porsche and, entering for the first time, Maserati.

“The Gen3 represents the ambitious third age of Formula E and the FIA Formula E World Championship,” said Formula E founder and chairman Alejandro Agag.

“With every generation of race car we push the boundaries of possibility in EV technology further and the Gen3 is our most ambitious project to date.

“The eyes of the world are on the Principality for the Monaco E-Prix and we are proud to reveal a car that been two years in the making in the historic home of motorsport.

“My thanks go to the great team behind it at Formula E and the FIA – the future of all-electric racing is bright.”

The car has been designed to be as ‘sustainable’ as possible. For example, the Gen3 batteries consist of

sustainably-sourced minerals, while battery cells will be reused and recycled at end of life.

Natural rubber and recycled fibres will make up 26% of new Gen3 tyres and all tyres will be fully recycled after racing.

The carbon footprint of the Gen3 has been measured from the design phase to inform all reduction measures taken to reduce environmental impact, while all unavoidable emissions will be offset as part of Formula E’s net zero carbon commitment. Dan McCarthy

DUCATI WANTS TO KEEP MILLER DESPITE INCREASING speculation, leading Australian MotoGP rider Jack Miller has denied rumours he is in conversations with rival team LCR Honda for next year.

It has been a difficult start to the season for Miller with the factory Ducati team and its new Desmosedici GP22 after scoring just a sole podium at the Circuit of The Americas, leaving him 11th in the standings.

Team boss Davide Tardozzi has signalled the Italian manufacturer’s intention to retain the three-time MotoGP race winner for 2023.

“We don’t want to lose Jack,” stated Tardozzi. “We will see what happens over the next few weeks. I’m happy that other teams are interested in Jack because it means we have a good rider. But, for us at Ducati, everything is on the way to keeping him.”

Pit-lane rumour however suggests two riders are in-line to fill the second seat at Ducati alongside Italian Francesco Bagnaia – and Miller isn’t one.

Rising star Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini are rumoured to be the lead contenders, Martin has taken two pole positions this year, while on an olderspecification Ducati, Bastianini has taken two victories.

Although Tardozzi revealed Ducati’s desire to retain Miller, it is not guaranteed to be within the factory squad.

One of Ducati’s satellite programs

Image: Motorsport Images fielded by Gresini Racing, Mooney VR46 Racing Team or Pramac Racing may provide a home for Miller in 2023, but it’s for this reason, talk of discussion regarding a move to LCR Honda is based.

Conversations within the MotoGP paddock in Portugal were rife suggesting Miller and LCR Honda team boss Lucio

Cecchinello had entered negotiations for the Aussie to return to the squad he made his debut with in 2015 – however these were denied.

“There’s been no talks with LCR whatsoever,” Miller stated after crashing out of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

“We haven’t discussed a move with

anyone. We’re just starting to now, with the silly season in full swing.

“We’ll take our time and weigh up our options. But, for sure, I know Ducati, I’ve been here a while, and I know how things work here. I have a good home here in Ducati. It’ll take a bit to persuade me to go elsewhere.” Dan McCarthy

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For further information visit www.VSRS.com.au AutoActionMagazine

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NEWS EXTRA

RATEL THE GT MAN STEPHANE RATEL IS A BUSY MAN, RUNNING GT3 COMPETITIONS AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING THE INTERCONTINENTAL GT CHALLENGE, AS WELL AS BEING THE CO-PROMOTER OF GT WORLD CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA. DAN McCARTHY SPOKE TO HIM ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HIS AUSTRALIAN INTERESTS. Images: Motorsport Images, ARG

By Dan McCarthy STEPHANE RATEL has an increasing stake in Australian motorsport.

Ratel was the founder and remains president of the SRO Motorsports Group, which most notably runs the GT World Challenge Europe Series and Intercontinental GT Challenge, which is highlighted by the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Ratel has visited Australia on a number of occasions, mostly to watch the Intercontinental opener, the Bathurst 12 Hour, but has not been back to Australia for a number of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, SRO became co-promoters of the Australian GT Series (renamed GT World Challenge Australia) alongside the Australian Racing Group and therefore Ratel has a lot of interest in the country down under.

He is pleased to see the championship heading back in the right direction after several difficult years; he is confident of further growth with the success of the Bathurst 12 Hour.

“It’s true that the last time I visited the championship, when I was invited by Tony Quinn, I was really surprised by the quality of the grid at the time,” Ratel said to Auto Action.

“There was about 26 GT3 cars – it was looking very, very strong. But after that, surprisingly, a lot of teams became unhappy.

I don’t know why, but it went through a rough time.

“I’m definitely glad it’s back on track and I think, the international prestige of the Bathurst 12 Hour should be helping GT racing as a whole in Australia.

“The first wave of GT cars really came from the growing success of the Bathurst 12 Hour, so we want to restore that.

“With the level of TV production and

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coverage (on Stan Sport), 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.

“Even some manufacturer wanting 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 problems we have.

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

Without doubt, the Supercars Championship is the big fish of Australian Motorsport; however, when asked by AA if not being on the Supercars support bill is an issue, he said not.

“I like this package. When we acquired World Challenge in America, it was running prominently with IndyCar and it was really treated as a support race,” he The Spa 24 Hours is a round of the European GT World Challenge series.

recalled.

“Our decision was to essentially move away and to create our own events where the driver becomes the centre of attention and where you are more at the centre of the schedule, that helps you grow.

“That’s why I was happy to join this co-promotion, because I think that the format of what we are here reminds me of something very successful in Europe called the Super Racing weekend in the 2000s, which was under the umbrella of Eurosport.

“The Eurosport Super Racing weekend was very similar to this; we had touring cars, GT and single seater with Renault – and so with S5000, TCR and GTs it’s a kind of Super Racing weekend.

“I think that has potential of attraction for the fans and for broadcasters and I think it’s gonna work.”

Ratel admits that one difference between the European GT World Challenge Series and the other categories around the

world including Australia, is the number of professional drivers, but he is confident this may change in time.

“The biggest difference I would say between the European part and the rest (of the world) is gentleman drivers,” he said. “If you look at our World Challenge in Europe, it’s got a lot of young drivers that come straight from single seaters that want to become factory drivers.

“That’s something we haven’t seen here yet. Will it evolve in that way?

It could. I still believe that if you want to do well in Supercars, you need a big powerful rear wheel drive car – Supercars are more GT3 cars than Touring Cars.

“I think it (GTWC Australia) will be a category that starts attracting more young drivers wanting to prove themselves and making a career out of it.

I don’t know if it will come overnight, but it’s a phenomenon we’ve seen in Europe, it’s an evolution we could see, but it’s too early to say.”

With a series in Europe, America, Asia and now Australia, AA questioned the potential for a race across the Tasman in New Zealand and, while he did not rule it out, Ratel confessed it was not at the forefront of plans at this point in time and spoke about a former plan that SRO had.

“At the moment, the problem we have with everything overseas is that the cost of logistics has absolutely exploded – the cost of container transport and air freight is skyrocketing,” Ratel explained.

“Today it’s more reasonable to concentrate on your market and if the cost of logistics comes back to a more normal level, which we expect to happen at some point, then it will be easier to consider venturing abroad.

“One of our old ideas is to say ‘oh, it would be great to join the Asian Series and the Australian Series, maybe one race

“ ”

the international prestige of the Bathurst 12 Hour should be helping GT racing as a whole in Australia Top: Stephane Ratel in conversation with the Groves – regular international GT competitors.

Above: GTs line up at Phillip Island.

Bottom: Ratel and ARG CEO Matt Braid – SRO and ARG co-promote GT World Challenge Australia.

in Asia, one race here,’ but for all of these, we need logistical costs to come back to some kind of normality.”

This year the Bathurst 12 Hour will run as a Pro-Am event as many international teams and drivers are either unable or are still unwilling to make the trip down under due to the later calendar date and also the clash with a GT World Challenge Europe round at Magny Cours.

Ratel himself admits that this year’s event is not going to be the usual GT race

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that that we have been accustomed to seeing, but expects the event to return to normal next year.

“The idea is to go back to five rounds, we hope to restore IGTC to its traditional calendar fully in 2023 and, starting with the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour, full of manufacturer support and a grid of great quality,” he said.

“In 2020 we had nine manufacturers officially entered and an absolutely fantastic competition – let’s hope it’s all

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going to come back to normal. I really believe in the long-term success of Intercontinental GT.” Could GT World Challenge ever expand beyond five rounds?

“No, no, the idea was always five continents, five events ... maybe one day if we had the possibility in South America, but we would need to have five, six, seven or eight manufacturers supporting it to be able to extend it further. For the moment, five is enough.”

Ratel believes that running the GT World Challenge Australia Series as a round of the championship within the Bathurst 12 Hour will boost numbers within the national series.

“We tried to run Laguna Seca

independently, and the success really came when we went to Indianapolis and we made it a round, like SpaFrancorchamps, which is a round of GT World Challenge Europe,” he explained.

“Indy is the now is a round of the American series, as well as IGTC, and now Australia will be the same, so that should be contributing to the success of it.”

As previously reported by AA, Ratel intends the outright Bathurst 12 Hour to again be fought out as a professional race in 2023.

“I believe it should be if we want to attract more manufacturer presence, but we will need to see who’s committed to it to completely confirm that, but yes, the idea would be to do that,” he concluded.

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LATEST NEWS Image: Motorsport Images

WAU FORD MOVE EXPECTED THE MOTORSPORT industry is buzzing with speculation that legendary Holden Supercars squad Walkinshaw Andretti United is set for a switch to Ford Mustangs for 2023 with the move to the new Gen3 regulations.

With Ford Performance confirming a big announcement on Friday morning, indications are that Ford will announce the WAU move to Ford and will run the new Gen3 Mustang.

Speculation has been circulating for some time that a current Holden team could be making the change to Ford in coming months and it appears as though

that the team to change will be WAU. Walkinshaw has been associated heavily with Holden racing as the sole factory Holden Racing Team for three decades, however it will change allegiance to Ford at the end of the year.

The move comes as the Supercars Championship transitions into the Gen3 era, which will see all current race cars become redundant and therefore if a move was to be made, this would be the time to do it.

As a side note to this, Grove Racing has made the move to have its Ford engines prepared by Walkinshaw

Performance. While this may be delivering Walkinshaw some experience with a Ford engine, the new Gen3 engine program will see a completely new power plant architecture, with a change to the Coyote engine and apparent sole control engine supplier.

Currently two manufacturers have committed to the Gen3 era, Ford with the Mustang and Chevrolet with the Camaro.

Unlike many of the current Holden teams, Walkinshaw Andretti United has never publicly committed to move across to the Chevrolet brand and run the Camaro.

As reported by Auto Action last year, WAU was in serious discussions with Jaguar, however the COVID-19 pandemic saw the deal fall through despite the two parties previously winning the Bathurst 1000 together in 1985.

Holden and Walkinshaw Performance, then as the Holden Racing Team have an even more rich history together winning six V8 Supercar Championships and seven Bathurst 1000s.

Auto Action attempted to make contact with the team, but they did not respond.

Dan McCarthy

MOSTERT AND HOLDSWORTH ENTER 12 HOUR

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REIGNING BATHURST 1000 winners Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth have both confirmed entries in this month’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

Both Mostert and Holdsworth will race for the Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia team, however unlike in the Bathurst 1000 they will be in different machines.

This morning the Melbourne-based team confirmed the drivers for three of their six Audi R8 GT3 machines entered in Australia’s International Enduro. It is hoped that each car in the team will be an outright contender.

Mostert will be the ‘pro’ driver in the CoinSpot sponsored Audi alongside experienced GT regulars Liam Talbot and Fraser Ross.

Mostert shared an Audi with Talbot to win the opening race of the GT World Challenge Australia season at Phillip Island, while Ross cut valuable laps at the Australian Grand Prix giving rides for corporate guests.

All three have had success in the 12-Hour.

Talbot won the Am class in 2017 driving a Porsche 911 GT3R, finishing fourth outright in the process.

Ross won the Silver category in the most recent edition aboard a McLaren 720s, while Mostert is a former Allan Simonsen Pole Position award winner in 2018.

Mostert’s full-time Supercars engineer, Adam DeBorre, will run the trio at Bathurst.

“It’s exciting and I feel like it’s our best shot at winning the event this year,” said Ross.

“Chaz and Liam had a great round at Phillip Island in the new-specification car, and I got some laps at Albert Park so we’re very confident with the package.

“It’s the best possible team to go to the Mountain with. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to get to the track given we have a real opportunity to challenge for a Bathurst 12 Hour victory.

“The Audi team are the best around and drawing Chaz and Adam to the team is proof of that.”

The #9 Audi will be driven by an experienced trio, Holdsworth, Dean Fiore and Porsche Carrera Cup driver Marc Cini.

Cini is a veteran with nine 12-Hour starts – his best finish fifth outright – Fiore and Holdsworth have made five and seven starts, respectively.

An experienced quartet will jump behind the

wheel of the Supabarn Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia Audi.

Bathurst 1000 podium finisher David Russell, James and Theo Koundouris and Triple Australian Drivers’ Champion Paul Stokell.

The Supabarn Supermarkets car will compete for ‘Am’ class honours, while the others will be in the outright ‘Pro-Am’ class this year.

All three Audi R8s have been upgraded to 2022 ‘evo’ specification.

The remaining three combinations from the Audi Sport team will be announced later this week.

“The first half of our 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour squad is fantastic,” said Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia team principal Troy Russell.

“The shift to the Pro-Am regulations this year gives opportunities to people who might not have the chance in ‘usual’ years and they have all grabbed it.

“Each car has a really strong group of drivers, both from the ‘Am’ component and to the Professional drivers who have joined in.

These are three strong, very balanced cars all of whom can compete for a strong result.”

The 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour weekend takes place from May 13-15. Dan McCarthy

PORSCHE AND AUDI TO ENTER F1 FROM 2026

Long time Holden fans will be sick with the news of the probable defection of the former Holden factory team swapping to the long time GM rival, Ford.

VOLKSWAGEN CHIEF Herbert Diess has officially confirmed that both Audi and Porsche will enter Formula 1 in 2026.

Volkswagen is now confident based on the rise in Formula 1s popularity globally that it can enter the sport and make a profit.

It will enter its premium brands Audi and Porsche as Formula 1 engine manufacturers when the new power unit regulations are set to debut in 2026.

“As Markus Duesman (Audi chairman) always tells me, you usually make up one second per season on a mediumsized racetrack simply by optimising details,” Diess said.

“But you can’t catch up on that when you join a new team: you need five or 10 years to be among the front runners. In other words, you can only get onboard if you have a major rule change.

“That’s coming now, and it will also come in the direction of 2026, when the

engines will be electrified to a much greater extent, including with synthetic fuels. That means you need a new engine development and you need three or four years to develop a new engine.

“That means you can decide now to do Formula 1 – or then probably not again for 10 years. And our two premium brands think that’s the right thing to do, and are prioritising it.”

The question is what teams will Porsche and Audi link up with, which has been speculated on for several months.

Diess explained that Porsches Formula 1 entry is a little further down the line than Audis.

It is expected that Porsche will link up with Red Bull Racing, the Milton Keynes based team which has its own power unit division after Honda pulled the pin at the end of last season.

Audi’s future is less clear, it was

reported that the squad was close to a deal with McLaren. The latest reports are that this has fallen through.

Porsche has a history in Formula 1 entering as a manufacturer in 1957, it won the 1962 French Grand Prix at Reims in the hands of American Dan Gurney in an 804 that day.

The Stuttgart concern then focused very successfully on sportscar racing until 1983 when McLaren approached them to build a turbo-charged 1.5-litre GP engine. The resultant TAG-Porsche V6 won 25 races, two manufacturers’ championships and three drivers’ titles.

Less successful was a later 1991 program with Footwork when they built a 3.5-litre V12 but the partnership ended after six races.

Since Formula 1 began in 1950 Audi has not entered the sport, however Audi is a direct descendant of Auto Union, a manufacturer which dominated grand prix racing pre-war. Dan McCarthy

GOING FORD IS THE GOING THING

ON THE back of speculation that Walkinshaw Andretti United could be swapping brands for their Supercar program, Walkinshaw Performance, the company behind HSV and conversion of the GM-SV range of Silverados and VW Amaroks, is likely to be confirmed as the official performance tuning and upgrade facilitator for the new Ford Raptor range.

Speculation is swirling that an announcement to be made this Friday by Ford Performance will confirm the new partnership.

WP will take delivery of the standard Raptor vehicles and will fit a range of performance enhancements and upgrades for the popular Ford model.

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BROWN AND PERKINS JOIN BATHURST 12 HOUR FIELD FULL-TIME SUPERCAR steerer Will Brown and his Bathurst 1000 co-driver Jack Perkins will race a Mercedes AMG GT3 alongside Mark Griffith in the upcoming Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Daimler Trucks Australia trio will fight for outright Pro-Am honours, renewing partnerships that span several years.

Griffith has been a strong supporter of both Brown and Perkins throughout their careers, and the latter pair also have on track experience with Griffith who is suiting up for his eighth 12 Hour start.

Last time the event was held, back in 2020, Griffith managed a podium finish in the GT4 class. He has also run in GT3 machinery, finishing 13th in 2019 alongside Yelmer Buurman and Christina Nielson.

“This is going to be great fun with two guys I’ve known for a long time,” Griffith said.

“Jack raced the Ginetta’s with me back in the day, and Will has driven just about everything from the slowest car to the fastest.

“To get them both in the Mercedes will be great fun.

“I’ve been a bit of a helper of both those guys and supported them with bits and pieces over the years, but they’ve helped me too.

“This is a chance to repay what they’ve done

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with me and give them a crack at the 12-Hour in a good car.”

Brown brings plenty of valuable experience to the table as well, having started the 12-Hour with MARC Cars Australia in 2017 and 2018.

Indeed, he won the the Invitational Class with Keith Kassulke and Rod Salmon in 2018.

“It’s great to be joining Griffo and Jack for the Bathurst 12 Hour. I’ve always wanted to do that race in an outright car,” Brown said.

“I’ve done the 12-hour in the MARC Cars and had a great time in them. As you progress and get more experience you want to do it in the fastest cars and that’s the Mercedes-AMG GT3. I’m pumped.

“It’s great to do it with Jack too. The more laps we get together the better and it’s lots of fun driving together. Griffo supported Jack’s career as well as mine, so it just fits perfectly.”

For Perkins, the 2022 race with be his first attempt in a GT3 specification car.

“I’m really excited to get back to Bathurst and the 12-Hour. I did the race when it was a Production Car race but I’ve been keen to get there in a GT3 car,” Perkins said.

“When Griffo rang and asked if I was interested, It was an easy decision.

“We’ve raced together for a long time, in a

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Ginetta in 2013 and in the Highlands 101 in his AMG GT3 in 2016. He’s a great bloke and I can’t wait go and get stuck in there with he and Will next week.

“Driving with Will again is great. We had a great time racing together last October and the more seat time we share can only help for October this year with Erebus, so that’s

another positive.

“If we concentrate on doing a good job and getting our head around the car early and focus on finishing the race, I think we can have a really enjoyable weekend and get a strong result.”

The Bathurst 12 Hour will take place from May 13-15. Josh Nevett

LATEST NEWS

TRIPLE EIGHT TO ENTER TWO MERCS IN GTWC ASIA AUSTRALIAN NICK Foster has been signed by Triple Eight to race alongside Prince Jefri Ibrahim in 2022 GT World Challenge Asia.

The former Australian Carrera Cup Series winner will join Ibrahim for the full GTWC Asia campaign in the Triple Eight JMR prepared Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Previously the Malaysian royal Jefri Ibrahim signed to do one round at the Sepang International Circuit, however this has been upscaled to a full-season operation alongside Foster.

As such, Triple Eight JMR’s involvement now features two Mercedes-AMG GT3s at all six events.

Its other car will be shared between Jazeman Jaafar and another member of the Johor Royal Family, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim (Jefri’s brother).

For Foster it will be his first GT World

Challenge Asia start since 2018 where he finished second in the GT3 standings with HubAuto and Ferrari.

The 30-year-old Aussie has already raced a Mercedes-AMG GT3 both in Europe and at the Bathurst 12 Hour with Triple Eight when he shared the #777 machine with Anton de Pasquale and brothers Sam and Yasser Shahin in 2020.

More recently Foster finished third in the 2020 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 class.

He also claimed pole position for the 2018 Suzuka 10 Hours before scoring an outright Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli victory at the California 8 Hours a year later.

“I’m fortunate for the opportunity to return to Asia with Prince Jefri and do so with a world-class outfit in Triple Eight,” said Foster.

“Racing in Asia brings back great

memories from 2018 when I teamed up with my good mates Jono Lester and Tim Slade, and came so close to winning the title.

“This time around I’m pleased to be surrounded by great people once again in my driving partner Prince Jefri and of course the Triple Eight JMR crew.

“I have a bit of experience with Triple Eight and AMG, and know how good the combination is!

“Having Jazeman and Prince Abu Bakar on the other side of the garage with the expanded line-up means we can collectively push each other forward in our quest for race wins and the title.”

His co-driver Prince Jefri, who contested the series with Shane van Gisbergen and Jaafar in 2019, is also excited to return for a full season.

“I haven’t raced in Sepang for two years, since my debut in 2019, so I’m really excited

to be racing there again,” Jefri said.

“A lot has changed since then; the team has grown, we’re running two cars for our home race so I’m looking forward to it, and it’s going to be really special for us. I hope that we can get a great result for the home crowd.

“I’ll be teaming up with Nick Foster who I met through Shane van Gisbergen in 2019 when he worked closely with the Triple Eight Race Engineering during the Bathurst 12 Hour.

“It’s great to team up with Nick. He is a very experienced driver, especially in this region and at Sepang. There’s a lot to learn from him and his experience here, so we’re really hoping we can come to Sepang with a strong package between the two cars.”

Sepang hosts the opening round of this year’s championship on May 20-22. Dan McCarthy

INGRAM GETS FAST START IN BTCC HYBRID ERA THE BRITISH Touring Car Championship brought in its new hybrid era with a bang, three drivers splitting the race wins at Donington Park as Tom Ingram emerged the standings leader.

Ingram wrote his name into the history books by winning the first race featuring hybrid machines, before Gordon Shedden and Jake Hill also opened their accounts in the subsequent encounters.

Race 1 launched the season with action aplenty, as West Surrey Racing teammates Hill and Colin Turkington went door-to-door several times in their BMW 330e M Sport cars.

Neither of them would maintain the ascendency though, as Ingram stormed past both to take the lead and clinch victory in his Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance.

Team BMW’s Turkington was second while Hill crossed the line third.

However, a failed post-race ride height check would see the latter bumped off the podium, replaced by three-time

champion Shedden who was one of the fastest on track in his Honda Civic Type R. Things got even better for Shedden in Race 2, which he won narrowly from Ingram.

The pair engaged in a battle of strategy, saving their hybrid power until the latter stages of the race.

Shedden made his move for the lead on lap 10, successfully sneaking through before triumphing by 0.197s.

Rookie George Gamble scored an impressive podium finish on his first day in BTCC competition.

Hill fought back from a tough result in Race 1 to score a lights-to-flag victory in Race 3, ending the weekend on a positive note.

Starting from reverse grid pole, Hill was quick off the line

and built a gap which was 2.148s at the finish line.

In the process of winning the final affair Hill set new qualifying and race lap records around the 3.187km circuit, proving the pace of the new hybrid package.

Sutton was second in the #1 Ford Focus, comfortably leading a tight tussle for the final podium position which was won by Josh Cook in a Honda. Josh Nevett

BOYS TO KICK OFF SUPERCARS WILDCARD AT WINTON SUPER2 SERIES frontrunner Jordan Boys will join the Supercars Championship grid at Winton later this month, making his solo debut with Image Racing and the Erebus Academy.

Winton will form part of a two-round wildcard for Boys, who will also be entered at Tailem Bend in July.

Erebus will supply Boys with a current-spec Holden Commodore.

The 24-year-old has made a name for himself in the second tier Super2 Series with the Erebus-affiliated Image Racing, collecting three wins, three podiums and two pole positions in a VF Holden over four seasons.

“My goal has always been to race in the main-game and I am backing myself at the highest level to prove that I am capable,” Boys said.

“I don’t feel I have been able to deliver what I believe I can and I need to do this to take that next step towards a fulltime main game drive.

“It’s a brutal sport and every driver wants a seat, but with the right team and car I believe we will be competitive at Winton and I can prove that I can mix it with the best.

“It’s really exciting to do the wildcard alongside Image and Erebus given that I have been associated with them for so long.

Image Racing’s Terry Wyhoon was also of the belief that Boys’ talent has yet to be fully realised.

“Image Racing, alongside the Erebus Academy, is designed to provide the best possible opportunity for young drivers with talent to break into the super-competitive Supercars series.

“Jordan has campaigned very successfully over the past few years at Super2 levels and has had some success as a co-driver.

“Following some serious discussion

with Jordan and Barry Ryan we all agreed that his talent has not really been put on show in a format that represents his exceptional driving ability.

“Hence a decision was made earlier this season that he would focus all his energy on a two-round wildcard campaign and show what he is truly capable of and I think he will surprise quite a few.”

Boys has previously tested an Erebus ZB Commodore at Winton in 2019, and will again turn laps at the Victorian circuit on May 10 ahead of his first solo appearance.

“Jordan is a strong steerer and has done a really good job anytime he has been in one of our cars,” Erebus CEO Barry Ryan said.

“We have supported him at Image Racing for a number of years now and are pleased that we are able to provide Jordan with the opportunity to make his solo debut.

“This is the next step in his racing career and I don’t doubt that he will make the most of the opportunity and we will do anything to help him progress.”

The Winton SuperSprint will take place from May 21-22

SHANNONS BACKING TASSIE RALLY WITH INTEREST growing for rallying in Australia on the back of Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning debut second place in round 1 of the Australian rally Championship, Motorsport Australia has announced that Shannons Insurance will take on naming rights sponsorship for this year’s Rally Launceston round of the ARC. To be known as the Shannons Rally Launceston, Tasmania’s north will play host to a welcome gravel rally return in June, with the event last on the national calendar in 2019.

Entries for this round of the RSEA Safety

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Motorsport Australia Rally Championship will open on Friday.

National Manager Business Development at Shannons, Simon Jreige said that Shannons was excited to be supporting the Apple Isle’s national rally return.

“We know Tasmanians love their motorsport and we are proud to be backing the iconic Shannons Rally Launceston event as part of the Australian Rally Championship,” Jreige said.

“In previous years, this event has been very popular with spectators, both locally and those who travel to Launceston for the

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event and we look forward to being part of a jam-packed weekend of rally action.”

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca thanked Shannons for its continued support.

“Shannons and Motorsport Australia share a special partnership across many different forms of motorsport and we are pleased to be able to see that relationship now extend to the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship,” Arocca said.

“The Shannons Rally Launceston event will be one not to miss, with some of

the country’s best gravel roads to host Australia’s best rally drivers.

“The ARC is enjoying strong momentum this year, with solid entry lists and strong competition across the field. We can’t wait to head to Tasmania for this event in June, which is certainly well supported by the Launceston community.”

The 2022 Shannons Rally Launceston will be held on 25-26 June.

The action will be broadcast as part of the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship national coverage on both 7mate and 7plus. Josh Nevett

…YOU GOING TO WINTON? FEATURE CATEGORIES

Carrera Cup • National Sports Sedans • Formula Ford Aussie Racing Cars • V8 Super Utes Tickets online at wintonraceway.com.au

THE FUTURE OF TARGA AA’S LONG-TIME COLUMNIST PONDERS TARGA’S FUTURE

Image:

Image:Targa Tasmania

I COULDN’T believe my eyes as I watched live coverage of Rally Croatia’s concluding stage, two Sunday evenings back. The World Rally Championship’s most recent round, the first tarmac event of the 2022 season, showcased the amazing, new-for-’22 machines darting around tight and twisty rural roads, through villages and past farmhouses. It made for a great spectacle, so it was little surprise that it drew a sizeable spectator turnout.

What grabbed my attention, though, was just where those punters were placed – seemingly where cars would end up if they fired off the road. In Australia and other countries, spectator areas are not placed on the outside of corners upon exit...

In my opinion, this was a disaster waiting to happen. Thankfully, it did not. Yet, when viewed alongside real world events in the region, life appears cheap in Eastern Europe.

Here in Australia, of course, the opposite is true. I know that life is heavily valued. As it should be. Life is for living and it’s what you want to make it.

A few days after Rally Croatia, a driver lost his life during the 30th running of the Targa Tasmania.

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REVVED UP As has been widely reported, it was the fourth fatality in two years, after three racers were killed in two accidents in 2021.

It’s a significant blow given that last year’s crashes prompted a thorough investigation by Motorsport Australia and an investigatory tribunal that developed 23 recommendations, all of which were to be implemented by Targa organisers this year. (BTW, this thoroughly professional report is worth finding online and reading.)

For context, the latest loss was Targa Tasmania’s sixth fatality since the event’s inception in 1992. On one hand, there have been massive advances in safety equipment technology over the last 30 years. On the other, cars are significantly more powerful and faster.

The latest tragedy leaves us all pondering the event’s future. For motorsport enthusiasts, there’s no

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question: it should proceed in its traditional form. Competitors make the choice to compete. It’s their life to risk, after all.

As motorsport enthusiasts, we view tarmac rallies as being little different to other known dangerous pursuits: hang-gliding; rockclimbing; surfing where sharks have previously attacked.

It’s a personal choice whether one indulges in a pleasure-filled adrenalin-charged activity. As long as the public is not at risk, then keep on keeping on, right?

And yet, it is not as easy as all that. Firstly, Targa Tasmania is dependent on Government assistance. The politicians, who sign off on funding and who cut through red tape to help make it happen, will now have little stomach defending the event from those questioning its existence.

Many non-motorsport enthusiasts have an issue with public roads being used as racetracks. It’s a bad

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look, they say. There is something about racing cars on public roads that really gets on people’s goat.

Many in the community cannot distinguish between competitors in a controlled environment and hooning. They believe events like Targa – and motor racing on street circuits – encourage irresponsible driving, particularly from young drivers in high-powered cars. When tragedy strikes, this perception is difficult to argue against on the grounds of tourism benefits and the stimulation of the island state’s economy.

Then there’s the question of the strain serious accidents place on emergency personnel and volunteer officials. It all has to be factored into the equation, along with the findings of the investigation into the latest crash.

The expert tribunal that reported on the 2021 incidents, highlighted a cultural shift within the event, with increased numbers of wealthy enthusiasts with a preference for modern sports cars and a desire to post competitive times. Gone are the days of publicity-seeking manufacturers entering cars driven by motoring celebrities.

A local ABC reporter summed up the latest tragedy with

an historical perspective: “In essence, the rallying event is drifting away from what it was originally designed to be – competitive, but with a focus on showcasing Tasmania and a wide array of cars, spanning various eras.”

Targa’s future will ultimately come down to whether there’s an appetite politically in Tasmania for it to continue in its current form, headlined by its competitive event component.

I suspect not. I hope I’m wrong.

Then it’s a question whether there is the appetite from entrants for a purely touring-style event, perhaps with some watered-down competitive stages at Tasmania’s racetracks? In reality, the latter is probably closer to the event’s original purpose for the bulk of the inaugural field. But is such an event even viable for organisers if insurance premiums skyrocket off the back of what’s happened in 2021 and 2022. There’s a lot of factors in play here, real or perceived.

I hope a competitive component remains because Targa Tasmania is arguably motorsport in its purest form. Racers should be able to race. And in Tassie they do so without endangering others.

www.autoaction.com.au I 21

IMOLA

IS MORE THAN JUST A RACE

Image: Motorsport Images

IT’S BEEN 40 years since my first grand prix.

It made a huge impact and I’ve been a Formula One fan, to varying degrees, since then.

Imola has changed a lot in the years from 1982, but barely at all for someone who remembers the emotions of the event much more than the exact shape of the circuit or the location of the safety barriers.

Feisty Max Verstappen also puts me in mind of my grand prix hero, Gilles Villeneuve.

No-one knew the brilliant Canadian had less than a week to live as we arrived for the San Marino Grand Prix, which was as chaotic as any race in my memory.

It was run for just 14 cars at the height of a battle for control of Formula One and the final result, when Didier Pironi ignored team orders from Ferrari to lead Villeneuve to the flag (above), was a travesty.

Even now, I have a scale model of Villeneuve’s car on my desk and there are two pictures, one painted by the brilliant Greg McNeill, on the wall in my study.

I’ve been blessed in so many ways since my first Grand Prix, with experiences and memories to last

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE several lifetimes.

But as I tuned to the television coverage of this year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the memories of that special experience in 1982 came flooding back to me.

It was a wonderful weekend, as a group of young and enthusiastic Australian motoring journalists joined the wildly enthusiastic crowd for the ‘other’ Italian GP. The real one was run at Monza, as it is now, and I have other great stories from the temple of speed – including hot laps in Volvo station wagons – from later visits to the parkland circuit in Milan.

No-one really knew what to expect as we arrived at Imola.

We were travelling as guests of Alfa Romeo Australia, and it was my first overseas trip as a working journalist.

I passed out on my first night in Italy, but not through drinking or carousing. The trip took many, many hours back then and, like a foolish

rookie, I tried to stay awake for most of it.

I learned the hard way about jet lag …

By the time we arrived at the Imola circuit we were primed for another special event after the press preview of a new Alfasud, a tour of Rome, and some brilliant interviews and insights from Alfa’s management crew.

At one point, our host – the Australian CEO, Ruggiero Rotondo – called us all to order during a riotous lunch in Perugia.

“Boys, if we don’t stop lunch . . . we will be late for dinner,” he announced.

Yes, those were very different times.

We thrashed little Alfasuds around a test track at the factory, then watched the cars being loaded onto trucks. They were headed straight to their new owners in France.

We saw the CEO of Alfa leaving

his headquarters at Arese for an urgent appointment, with his driver applying a touch of opposite lock as he slid the boss’s Alfetta through the main square.

There was a dinner where I sat alongside a fish tank. As the night passed I wondered why the number of fish kept falling - until I spotted a small alligator that was sharing their tank.

One of our group, Nick Munting of the long-lost motorsport magazine Chequered Flag, lost his wallet and there was a quick whip-around among the hacks to re-stock his coffers.

As he began to blubber his gratitude, he was silenced by the chief wit in the group – Wayne Webster of the Daily Telegraph.

“Imagine what we would have raised for someone we liked,” he jibed.

Everyone laughed, Munting’s embarrassment was gone, and we moved on. As always.

At Imola, there was a delay as we tried to organise press credentials.

In 2022, any walk-up arrivals at a grand prix – even a large foreign press contingent – would be laughed away.

As the PR boss, Enrico Zanarini,

went to work, we were each issued a pass with full pitlane access.

One of our number even managed to commandeer a press scooter to zip around the circuit – then towed a couple of promotional girls on roller skates around the track.

The field for the race was, being honest, pretty miserable.

This was the height of the fight between Bernie Ecclestone and his F1 teams against the governing body of motorsport, then called FISA, and its autocratic and bombastic chief, Jean-Marie Balestre.

Bernie’s boys boycotted the race and we were left with just 14 starters, led by two cars from Ferrari and a pair of Renaults. It was the early days of turbocharged F1 and there was every chance there would be plenty of retirements.

So Ferrari hatched a plan to ‘race’ at the front, putting on a show for the rabid fans who – like 2022 – were celebrating with cheering and chanting and flares and all.

It seemed like a great race and we never really knew about the politics or Villeneuve’s rage after being robbed of the win.

Today, as I think back to Imola in 1982, there are only good memories.

SVEN BURCHARTZ LIVES MOTORSPORTS LAWYER AND PARTNER

Know your position.

• Teams • Series owners • Manufacturers

sburchartz@kkilawyers.com.au

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

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www.autoaction.com.au I 23

INTERNATIONAL

STOP / GO

AARON LOVE could not quite replicate his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia form from Albert Park in his first French Carrera Cup appearance, finishing sixth in the opening race of the season before copping a disqualification for a ride height infringement in the second. As a result, he sits 11th in the standings after the first round as a series rookie, driving for Martinet by Almeras. JN

FORMER W Series racer Caitlin Wood was back on track in the Nurburgring Langstrecken Series (NLS) in April, finishing fifth in class (P88 overall) in the third round.

Sharing the Adrenalin Motorsport Team Alzner BMW with co-drivers Moritz Oehme and Steinberg, Wood gained positions during her stint as the second driver to secure a solid finish. Wood’s future in the series is unconfirmed, as she works towards a berth in the Nurburgring 24 Hours. JN

Image: Motorsport Images

POURCHAIRE TAKES TOP SPOT AUSSIE FORMULA 2 drivers Jack Doohan and Calan Williams were unable to make an impact at Imola as Theo Pourchaire (above) banked his second Feature Race win of the 2022 season, surging from seventh on the grid to triumph in Italy.

The Frenchman made up ground through a superior strategy, showing pace early on Supersoft tyres before avoiding chaos in the closing laps to cross the line first behind the Safety Car. Enzo Fittipaldi likewise made a mockery of his starting position, jumping from 15th to take second place in a career best effort.

Ralph Boschung rounded out the podium

for Charouz Racing System, his first of the season.

It was clear from early on that Imola would be a race for the taking, as Roy Nissany charged from sixth to the lead by Turn 2.

Doohan would not be among the frontrunners though, as he collided with Dennis Hauger, resulting in the retirement of both young guns – and a Safety Car. Almost immediately after the resumption of racing, polesitter Juri Vips crashed at Turn 6, prompting a second Safety Car. As the race progressed, it appeared as if Nissany might take victory; however he was eliminated from contention when he lost

control of his DAMS machine and hit the wall exiting the final corner.

That left Pourchaire in command, with clear track ahead of him.

Behind, Fittipaldi managed to move ahead of both Boschung and Logan Sargeant into second place.

Shortly after, Liam Lawson became another casualty with a crash on lap 32, forcing another Safety Car which would lead the field to the line.

Clement Novalak snatched fourth behind the podium getters, ahead of Ayumu Iwasa.

Australian Trident steerer Williams was 16th. Josh Nevett

SMITH ON THE STEPS JAXON EVANS was unfortunately a late withdrawal from the third round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken Series (NLS) series, after both Falken Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 entries were withdrawn. Evans had already completed qualifying in the SP9 class with the squad and was set to take on the race however a tyre shortage saw he and his teammates withdrawn from the event. The tyre shortage has been attributed to ‘supply bottleneck’. JN

Image: Motorsport Images

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS NOAH LISLE had a difficult debut in the British F4 Championship season opener at Donington Park. The teenager, who graduated from racing karts in Australia to pursue the overseas dream this year, had a best finish of 10th over the three races which leaves him in 13th in the standings out of 15 entrants. The next round at Brands Hatch will take place from May 14-15. JN

JOEL KELSO scored his first top 10 finish in the Moto3 World Championship at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. Riding with the CIP Green Power KTM team, Kelso has been steadily improving in his rookie season, and sits 16th in the standings before the race in Spain. Sergio Garcia and Dennis Foggia are currently the series frontrunners. JN

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

HUGH BARTER has kicked off his dual F4 campaigns in style, recording victories in both the French and Spanish competitions.

Barter travelled to Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro for the first round of French F4 and left as the standings leader, winning two of the three encounters.

The results earned the second year F4 competitor a 25-point gap to second placed Frenchman Pierre-Alexandre Provost.

“It was quite a successful weekend, with two poles and two victories,” Barter said.

“Also, a seventh place finish from a reverse grid which, in my opinion, is very notable considering how difficult it is to overtake at this track.

“This is the best way I could have started off the year.”

The next round will be held at Pau Ville circuit from May 6-8, which will mark Barter’s first outing at a street circuit.

Barter’s hectic schedule then took him to Algarve International Circuit in Portugal, where he continued his strong form with a race victory in the season opener.

Starting from third, the youngster was too strong for the rest of the field, making it a memorable start to his 2022 campaign.

“First win of the F4 Spanish Championship, definitely not an easy win,” Barter said.

“The car felt amazing, thanks Campos Racing.”

TOMMY SMITH and Marcos Flack had mixed fortunes in the first round of the 2022 GB3 Championship season at Oulton Park, with the former scoring a podium finish in Race 3.

Driving as teammates, for Douglas Motorsport, the pair were considerably off the pace early in the weekend before Smith came home with a wet sail, securing a podium in the last of three races to sit 11th in the standings.

“It’s great to finish on a positive,” Smith said.

“The pace was better in the final race when you’re out of the traffic and can drive at your speed.

“Qualifying could have gone better as we had a

few issues and struggled because of that, but a great result to end the weekend.

“I’m really glad to get the podium and good points, because Oulton’s a tricky old track.”

Flack is 17th after the first round, despite a top 10 finish in Race 1. He finished 14th and 19th in the subsequent encounters, giving him plenty of work to do in the upcoming rounds.

“An up and down weekend for me,” Flack said.

“I learned through the weekend, but I feel that I need to learn more.

“It’s definitely a bit of a character-building weekend but we’ll be sorted and come out fighting a lot harder next time out.” JN

Image: Motorsport Images

PUBLISHER

Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams DEPUTY EDITOR NEWS EDITOR

Dan McCarthy

Paul Gover

STAFF JOURNALIST ART DIRECTOR

Josh Nevett Neville Wilkinson

PRODUCTION

Caroline Garde

NATIONAL EDITOR

Garry O’Brien

HISTORICS EDITOR

Mark Bisset

SPEEDWAY REPORTER ONLINE EDITOR

Paris Charles

Rhys Vandersyde

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Garry O’Brien, Geoffrey Harris, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn.

Image: Motorsport Images

CAN FERRARI DRIVERS MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IMOLA’S MISTAKES? FERRARI DIDN’T have the fastest or most efficient car in Imola, but the F1-75 was certainly good enough to hand the Scuderia a lot more than the meagre eight points the Maranello-based team collected in front of its adoring tifosi.

With the second-fastest car in the field, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made costly mistakes at different parts of the weekend that compromised their final results, and questions on their maturity to handle very intense pressure on home ground have to be asked.

The most obvious mistake was Leclerc’s spin at Variante Alta with 10 laps to go, while still trying to get close enough to Sérgio Pérez to be able to get past him with DRS assistance, at the start of the following lap. By then it was already quite clear that, on used tyres, noone was able to make passes into the Tamburello chicane. Leclerc had been within DRS range on the previous two laps, with no success, so his chances of making a move against a car with higher top speed were remote.

More to the point, the Monegasque had arrived in Imola with a very healthy gap in the

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER championship to both Red Bull drivers – 41 points for Pérez, 46 for Verstappen – and had only lost one point to the Dutchman in the Sprint Race. P3 on Sunday would still keep him 35 points clear of the World Champion in the standings, but Leclerc pushed too hard. And he was very lucky to get away with virtually no damage on his F1-75 and, after a quick stop for a new nosecone and tyres, recovered to sixth place, seeing his advantage to Verstappen cut down to 27 points.

Being brutally honest, as usual, Leclerc quickly owned up to his mistake, explained that he was still hoping to get a chance to pass Pérez, but admitted third was the best he could achieve at the team’s home circuit. More to the point, Leclerc vowed “the mistake won’t happen again” and, looking at his track record, we have good reasons to believe it won’t.

Although he’s quite young, the Ferrari driver has a very mature head, a vast experience of winning championships and hardly ever makes the same mistake twice.

Throwing away a safe third place and 15 valuable points so early in the season may have been a real blessing in disguise for the personable Leclerc and if he’s known for being tremendously hard and critical of himself, he’s also made a name for himself for being able to re-set immediately after things don’t go his way and get going again like if nothing bad had happened.

On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Sainz made his second consecutive mistake, after spinning out of the Australian Grand Prix very early in the race. Spinning and crashing out of the last corner at the end of Q2 in Imola was a mistake he shouldn’t have made,

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE?

Full event coverage and news from the Bathurst 12 Hour, Formula 1 round 5 - Miami Grand Prix, Indy 500 preview and feature. All the latest Supercars news, plus massive national and state level racing, rallying, off road, hill climb and speedway coverage.

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for he was already second quickest.

He had improved his previous lap time by quite a margin in the first two sectors of the lap and was at no risk whatsoever of dropping out of the top 10 that would make it to Q3 – especially as the track was getting a bit more slippery.

In his defence, Sainz insisted he was not pushing – and there’s no reason to doubt him – but that costly mistake put him 10th on the grid for the Sprint Race and, even if he recovered to fourth by the end of the 21 laps, he could have easily been in the fight with Verstappen and Leclerc for the win, putting himself further up the grid for Sunday’s race and, therefore, in a better position to avoid first corner incidents.

Like Leclerc, the Spaniard is quite mature for his age and doesn’t let one bad result affect his confidence. But two bad results in a row can take a toll on anyone, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts in Miami, where everyone will start the weekend from zero in terms of track knowledge, for the season is getting to a point where Sainz’s title chase can easily be broken by another bad result. And that, for sure, is pressure.

FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell 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

STOP / GO

– LUIS VASCONCELOS Images: Motorsport Images

THE FERRARI Formula 1 team has announced that it has extended its contract with Carlos Sainz by a further two years through until at least the end of the 2024 season.

Last year, his debut season with Ferrari, Sainz had a brilliant season, clinching four podiums and outscoring his teammate, Charles Leclerc. It was expected that Sainz and Ferrari would extend their deal, and in the days leading up to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix it was confirmed. DM

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is keen to put the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix behind him after leaving Imola with damage to his McLaren machine and a dent in his season prospects. “Obviously not the way I wanted Sunday to go. A painful one and obviously not the way I want to affect someone else’s race,” Ricciardo reflected. “Lap 1 incidents are the worst, especially when you keep going. It was a painful 60 laps, [I’ll] just try and move on for Miami.” JN

IT WAS not all bad news at McLaren, as Lando Norris clinched the team’s first podium of the season at Imola.

Team Princial Andreas Seidl therefore left Italy in good spirits. “P3 for Lando today comes as the result of hard work and a well-managed strategy,” Seidl said. “The performance we saw this weekend on a different track and in a variety of conditions confirms the potential of the MCL36 that we have been unlocking race by race.” JN

AFTER A disastrous home round in Italy, Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto believes that certain tracks will favour his team, while others will favour Red Bull. “Some races may go wrong, but I think we still have a competitive package,” Binotto said. “Certainly, [Red Bull] are strong, and we know that they are developing the cars, but two weeks ago we were in Australia with the best car. It will be race by race.” DM

VALTTERI BOTTAS was impressed by the upgrades that were put on his Alfa Romeo in Imola and revelled in the battle against the man who replaced him at the Mercedes Formula 1 team in the closing laps. When asked if he enjoyed having the pace to battle against Mercedes, the team for which he raced last year, he replied: “Yes – really enjoying it. It’s really good fun.

The upgrades we had this weekend definitely made the car even stronger, so it’s a good feeling.” DM

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RENAULT CEO REVEALS “TALKS WITH ANDRETTI” RENAULT HAS finally confirmed it is holding talks with Andretti Global to become the American team’s engine supplier in Formula One, should Michael Andretti’s plans get the FIA’s approval.

The former IndyCar Champion and 1993 McLaren driver has been trying to convince the Federation to give his team an entry to the 2024 Formula One World Championship for quite a few months, without much success, as some of the existing 10 teams seem unwilling to accept a new team in Grand Prix racing, for fear it will take a portion of their prize money in the future.

Presenting a solid technical project is fundamental to getting the FIA to approve your entry, and realising Mercedes and Ferrari would be unwilling to stretch their resources to supply another team, Michael Andretti has turned to the Renault Group, with apparent success, judging by the words of the company’s CEO, Luca di Meo, to a French publication, in Imola.

Admitting, “I’m not the one who manages those things”, di Meo revealed, “there have been some discussions, I believe, and it’s very interesting, because there’s a great

project behind it, there’s competent people involved and they have the resources required, so it could be good for Formula One in general.”

The Italian manager went on to remind everyone that, “at one stage we were selling our engines to Red Bull and McLaren, but that’s no longer the case now, so, if one is looking at the current situation, we are clearly searching for someone to partner up with, but I’m not a fan of the so-called B-teams.” For di Meo, “Formula One deserves to have 10 teams that do their job from A to Z by themselves – if in football the Spanish League had Barcelona A, B and C, Real Madrid A, B and C because then, you wouldn’t have a strong Atletico Madrid, if you see what I mean – it would be strange.”

The personable manager also made it clear that he’s quite happy with the growth Formula One is experiencing under Stefano Domenicali’s leadership bit is not too sure limiting the entries to just 10 teams is the way to go: “You know me, I say what I think and I can only imagine that if the system works like that is because it benefits someone… I see Formula One is growing very clearly, anyone can see

the job Domenicali is doing and I think they’re clearly on the path to grow the sport even more and that’s why we’ve seen some decisions taken by sponsors and car manufacturers, like the Volkswagen Group, that show Formula One is the category they all want to be in – it’s the pinnacle of motor racing and the best place to showcase your products and your brands.”

In conclusion, di Meo warned the sport against allowing big budgets to be back in Formula One: “It’s great to get the biggest car manufacturers in Formula One, believing in the sport, but the economic equation remains the key because budgets have to remain reasonable.

“If suddenly there would be a big boom in the costs associated with competing in Formula One, we couldn’t manage it and it would be bad for the sport. Going that way would be very shorth sighted, a very short term strategy, so we need to find the right balance between attracting more manufacturers while keeping the costs of competing low – that’s what I believe Formula One should do.”

DRIVERS UNHAPPY WITH “LONG FRIDAY SCHEDULE” THE NEW weekend format Formula One has introduced at the start of this year isn’t helping the drivers to get a bit more time off between races, according to several leading members of the GPDA. At Imola, four-times World Champion Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly all voiced their concern about the impact the new schedule has had on their workload, particularly on Fridays.

At the end of last year, the teams, in agreement with Formula One and the FIA, decided to reduce the availability of their drivers to three days per weekend, removing the traditional Thursday’s press conferences, both the one organised by the Federation, as preview for the rest of the weekend, and the sessions organised by most of the teams as well.

But the plan hasn’t really worked for the drivers and the media. Moving the official FIA press conferences for Friday morning has made those conferences useless for most media outlets, including the TV broadcasters who cannot go live so early in the morning with two hours of interviews, and has forced the drivers to arrive on track more than four hours before the start of FP1. With the practice sessions always moved back by a couple of hours, drivers are now arriving on the circuit around 8.30 AM and staying on for close to 12 hours, as after FP2 they have to go through their engineering meetings, as usual – so it’s fair to say no one is really happy with the new format.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz voiced the driver’s concern, explaining that, “as we’re doing more and more races, it would be better to have shorter weekends. We’re speaking actively with the FIA to give them as much feedback as possible and find a better solution. When the new scheduled was introduced, we didn’t expect Thursday and Friday to become even longer days, with media, marketing and other activities taking a lot of our time, so this is something that has to be improved.”

After the GPDA had a meeting with FIA officials on Friday, director Sebastian Vettel said, “we’re not going to make public comments about the discussions but, yes, we are talking to the FIA and Formula One to try and find a better solution for the schedule.”

Later that day, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly concurred that, “for us nothing has changed on Thursday, even if we don’t have to do the FIA interviews, but we’re still spending the whole afternoon in the circuit, doing the track walk, participating in many engineering meetings, doing marketing activities and, also, some interviews for small groups and TV’s, so the schedule hasn’t really changed.

“And then, on Friday, it’s way too busy for us.

Before, we had to get to the track two hours before FP1, have breakfast, do the engineering meetings and then prepare ourselves mentally to drive the car. Now we’re at the track four hours before the start of FP1, for a very early start with a lot of time of media activities, followed by engineering meetings, marketing activities and a shorter time to prepare ourselves for FP1. And then, with FP2 ending so late, we’re here until nighttime, so that’s not a good schedule and we would like to see it changed.”

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HAMILTON ADMITS “I’M OUT OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP!” SEVEN TIMES World Champion Lewis Hamilton threw in the towel at the end of a dreadful weekend in Imola, stating that, “I am out of the championship, for sure; there’s no question about that.”

The Mercedes driver endured the least competitive weekend of his long Formula One career, qualifying only 13th on Friday and dropping one position, to P14, during the Sprint Race on Saturday. In the main race, on Sunday, the man who broke all Formula One records was right behind Lance Stroll after the first lap, in 12th place, but after being

blocked by Ocon in the pits, dropped to 14th place, behind Albon and Gasly, spending the rest of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 14th place, as he was unable to move up the order, being in a real DRS-train.

A very stern looking Hamilton was not up to giving long answers to the media at the end of what was his worst Grand Prix ever, saying that, “I didn’t really find it frustrating, I just wasn’t moving forwards.”

Asked if he had any issue with his W13, having spent more than 40 laps glued to Gasly’s AlphaTauri without being able

to pass him, the English driver was quite evasive, saying that, “I don’t really know, I just wasn’t fast enough to overtake him.”

Nevertheless, without mentioning them, Hamilton insisted that, “I’ve definitely had lower moments” but went on to admit that the first four races of the season, have “been difficult. But I don’t really know what to say.

It definitely isn’t easy. We all feel it as a team. at least George got some points for the team, my apologies to everyone that I wasn’t able to do the same.”

Although he remained downcast and monosyllabic, the former World Champion showed he still trusts Mercedes: “Everyone’s feeling it, and everyone’s just head dow,n trying their best, there’s no-one that’s giving up, everyone is trying to move forward as fast as they can.”

As for his own motivation to keep fighting, with a car that is nowhere near Red Bull and Ferrari’s speed, Hamilton vowed to “still keep working hard and try and somehow pull it back together somehow.”

Even the prospect of going to Miami, for the first Grand Prix in a city he really enjoys, didn’t seem to enthuse the Mercedes driver.

“I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to it at the moment, but I’m sure in the week I’ll get to a positive frame of mind, will be at the factory to see what we can improve before going there.”

With Toto Wolff apologising to Hamilton at the end of the race, it’s clear the team understands the problem lays with the W13 and not with the driver’s motivation.

On the team radio, as soon as Hamilton crossed the line, the Austrian told his driver, “I’m sorry for what you have had to drive today, I know this is undrivable and not what we deserve to score the result. We move from there, but this was a terrible race.”

WHY THE FIA PUT THE BRAKES ON MORE SPRINT RACES STEFANO DOMENICALI and the 10 Team Principals who met in London on Tuesday got a bit of a shock when a vote aimed at increasing to six events the number of Grand Prix including Sprint Races was blocked by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The Formula One CEO was completely taken by surprise by the Emirati’s stance and left the Formula One Commission completely bewildered and unsure of what route to take to make his plan go ahead already for 2023.

Having met with all Team Principals in Imola, during last weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and secured their favorable vote to the proposal he was preparing for Tuesday’s meeting, Domenicali arrived in London completely sure he’d get the Formula One Commission to approve his plan to extend to six the number of Sprint race events for next year and was already in an advanced phase of negotiating with the promoters whose Grand Prix would host these modified events, with the view of charging them a couple more million Euros in fees, given they would be assured of attracting bigger crowds on Friday, for qualifying, and on Saturday, for the Sprint Race.

What the Italian failed to factor in was that there’s a new leadership at the FIA and that Mohammed Ben Sulayem has a keen interest in running all areas of motor racing, while his predecessor, Jean Todt,

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essentially left the running of Formula One to his faithful friends Stefano Domenicali and Ross Brawn, who both worked so successfully under his leadership at Ferrari for one decade, and never objected to any of their plans. After all, his only goal seemed to be to get a position in the United Nations Organisation, in the road safety campaign, something he succeeded partially in a few years ago.

Ben Sulayem, though, has his own agenda, his own ideas and came into the FIA presidency with no baggage, no previous commercial links with anybody and comes from such a wealthy background that he’s immune to any kind of pressure. The former WRC and Rally-Raid driver may, also, have seen this Formula One Commission meeting as the perfect opportunity to lay the ground for the rest of his term, showing Formula One and the teams that they cannot do whatever they want and that they will need his approval to vote important rule changes in the future.

But the wording of the final statement from the FIA after the meeting shows Ben Sulayem also wants Formula One to pay the federation a lot more money than it’s been receiving since Max Mosley accepted a dreadfully poor 100-years deal to effectively sell the sports’ commercial rights to his friend Bernie Ecclestone, back at the end of last century.

The FIA stated that, “while supporting the principle of an increased number of Sprint events, the FIA is still evaluating the impact of this proposal on its trackside operations and personnel and will provide its feedback to the Commission.”

The message is clear, Sprint Races put a tremendous strain on everyone working on the ground – drivers included – and the FIA is likely to need to send more people to those six Grand Prix with extended schedules, to make sure all the work continues to be done efficiently, so unless Formula One is prepared to cough up a few more million Euros per year to pay to the FIA, the federation will block Image: any change regarding theMotorsport number ofImages Sprint Races to be held in the future.

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Images: Motorsport Images/Holden Motorsport/ Jack Martin – ARG/AA Archves/Benson Collection

THE GYPSY WITH OILY FINGERS

By Paul Gover HE IS a Le Mans and Bathurst winner, as well as a NASCAR champion and a series winner in the World Rally Championship.

Yet few people in Australia may have heard of Rob Benson.

He’s never pulled on a helmet, never wanted to race, but has been incredibly successful for more than 40 years, often in the hotbed of Supercars racing but also at some of the world’s most iconic races and tracks.

He is an engine whisperer. And a motorsport gypsy who has flown the world to answer new challenges.

Today, Benson is almost invisible as he lives a quiet life in the TCR Australia pitlane as the spearhead of the HMO Customer Racing team that fields three cars in this year’s championship.

“I can say, truly, that’ I’ve had a fairly good life. It’s been fun. Especially in the early days,” Benson tells Auto Action.

He might be on the slide side of 60 but shows no sign of slowing down. Or giving up.

“What’s in the future? “I’ve asked myself that

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Above: The spectacular 1990 Bathurst winner.

Left: The HRT core – legendary engineer Wally Storey, Rob Benson and the great Win Percy. The ingredients were good ...

quite a lot,” he says, without giving an answer.

But the future was clear through his early days, which began in a small town in New Zealand, as he translated an accelerated apprenticeship as a motor mechanic into a life as a world-class engine builder.

When Allan Grice and Win Percy won at Bathurst in their VL Commodore they were racing with Benson power.

Jeff Gordon won a NASCAR title with Benson power and the factory Hyundai team won the manufacturers’ prize in the World Rally Championship was powered by Benson.

The long-time engine whisperer has been based in Australia for much of his motorsport life, starting as a foundation member of the Holden Racing Team and moving through times with Brad Jones and Wayne Gardner.

It also includes time in the UK, Germany and the USA. Right now he is waiting for his fiancé Diana to arrive from Europe after a long Covid curfew.

Benson’s life has been an oddball mix but the common thread through his engine work is his commitment to success.

“If you use the basic scientific analysis, and work from there, it’s same as it was 100 years ago,” he begins.

“But to get 100 per cent you need to get to the

The Benson resume is pretty wide-ranging ...

He was thrown in at the deep end with TWR and started on the Rover 3500 V8’s. Winning his first title with Jean-Louis Schlesser in the French Championship, then the European Championship; Tom Walkinshaw’s successful Jaguar sports car team; Hyundai’s WRC squad, and the iconic HRT team – here with Peter Brock at the wheel.

next level. And that’s what made the difference with me. I’m willing to take a chance.

“You need to push. There are maybe things that I see that other people don’t see. A lot of people stay in their safe zone.”

His safe zone could have been New Zealand, but he quickly jumped to Australia “The day I finished my apprenticeship I was in Melbourne. When I was doing my apprenticeship I was involved in rallying. So you’d work days doing the apprenticeship, then work all night on people’s cars.

“I went to England in 1977. The only two places you could get into professional motorsport were England and America and my grandparents were from England, so I could stay there.

“I was living on baked beans for ages. I ran

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out of money so went to the north-east of England and worked in an open-cut coal site.”

He kept an eye on the motorsport magazines and eventually applied to a company called Oselli to work as an engine builder.

“I had been building twin-cam Fords, and crossflows, and BDAs, so I had quite a lot of experience. It was professional engine building, but in a clubbie environment.”

His life changed forever with a chance encounter – in a pub, of course – with the engine shop manager at TWR. “I went there and it was heaven. It had an engine dyno. It was proper place. I would have paid to work there.

“I had done some work in New Zealand on Hamilton jet boats; a lot of V8s at a British Leyland dealership; and they threw me in at the deep end to do the Rover 3500 program in the French touring car championship.

“It was a sink-or-swim situation. There were four or five engines, in a million pieces. I put an engine on the dyno and it survived.”

It did well enough that TWR eventually claimed the French championship, as Tom Walkinshaw recognised Benson’s ability and put him on everything up to its V12 Jaguar engines for Le Mans in the 1980s.

“Tom always treated us very well. We’d be

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working late at 9pm and he would come down from his office with a pot of coffee and fill us all up. I ended up building a lot of his engines,” says Benson.

“Tom was hard on the car but a great driver. I thought he was a very good driver. He is one of my favourites.”

It’s an interesting topic, as Benson could see literally – into the work of the drivers.

“Who do I rate? None of the superstars over in Europe. They were a bunch of prima donnas.

“Apart from Jean-Louis Schlesser. He was just a good guy. And he could drive.”

Benson holds an obvious affection for Win Percy, since the pair were Walkinshaw’s transplants into Melbourne in the earliest days of HRT. Before that he worked with Reeves Callaway, famous for super-fast Chevrolet Corvette road cars, on an Aston Martin program in Group C sports cars.

Which leads to an interesting story.

“The biggest number I’ve ever seen on a dyno was the engine for the Sledgehammer ‘Vette. It had 1150 horsepower, from memory,” he begins.

“I actually drove that car on the I-95 interstate at more than 200 miles-an-hour (320kmh). I stopped looking when it went past 200.”

“I went to Callaway as an engine builder, but Reeves want me to become the chief of his engine development program. I did that for about two years. And I didn’t have a work visa for America, so it became a bit patchy …”

A chance meeting with Walkinshaw led to a meeting at his home, a manor house, with Percy.

“They sat me down and told me about the HRT program. When Win and I started here in 1990 we had an empty workshop, no crew and a pile of bits.

“We won Bathurst in 1990 because we put all our effort into it. I don’t know how we won, but we did. It was a lot of hard work, sweat and tears.”

Benson carries the story through the switch from Holden to Chevrolet power, the arrives of Craig Lowndes and Brock, ongoing development and testing and racing.

“Then I took on the Wayne Gardner program.

I started my own business called Race Engine Developments. I did a lot of engines for a lot of people under that umbrella, including some for Brad Jones.

“I think I had 12 cars at Bathurst in one year. It was a third of the field with my engines in them.

I had just about all the privateers.

“It wasn’t making me rich, that’s for sure. But

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Shakedown for the first HRT VN ‘Group A’ Commodore. at Calder Park. From left: Benson, Storey and (white shirt) AA’s Paul Gover – in his formative media days an Calder Park manager of the day Steve Bettes...

Right: A HRT PR stunt, ‘A demon engine’, one of the last Holden engines for HRT...

I was quite happy to do that. And I was doing boat engines and speedway engines.”

It also opened the door for a return to the USA. “In that period I developed intake manifolds and stuff for the Gardner engines. I decided to see if I could sell the manifold in America, so we went to the PRI show.

Within weeks he had been picked up by Rick Hendrick to work on another prototype sports car program, which eventually led to NASCAR. “I flew in to Hendricks and spent a week with them. In the end they asked me to come and work for them, instead of just supplying parts.

My consulting business was going well, but I had no crystal ball and I didn’t know how long that would last. They took care of a 10-year work permit. Ron Harrop built the first inlet manifold for me.”

But when Hendrick’s NASCAR program got into trouble, he found himself in the world of Cup cars and superstar driver Jeff Gordon as the sports car work was shut down.

“I thought I was going home. But I went to the Cup program and it was a good tick on the salary.”

When his mother developed cancer he returned to Australia to be closer to New Zealand, but he was not finished with the ’States. A plane crash disaster took him to America for a funeral and a connection with Dale Earnhardt International.

“I went for one week. I always wanted to go back to America. But then I was in charge of engine development and I had maybe 140 guys working for me. But I ended up being more of a babysitter than an engine man. I was the manager. The real work was being done after everyone else went home.”

Life changed when he miss-timed his application for the vital Green Card needed for long-term work in the USA, and again he came back to Australia.

“It was all getting on top of me. So I decided to come back to Australia and start again.”

This time around, after time with Ford Performance Racing, he hooked up with Les Small and Paul Morris, working on the

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SuperCheap Commodores with Russell Ingall.

The next step was the creation of Benson Race Engines in Melbourne, before a left-field life change in Europe.

“I had given my name to one of those head-hunter people and forgotten about it. Then I got a call from a Frenchman, living in Germany, trying to speak English.

“Anyway, it was Hyundai Motorsport. They were wanting someone to run their engine program in the World Rally Championship.

“So I flew over there. I liked the facility and the people. But it was the technology that lured me there.

It was turbocharging and I could see that would be the future.

“It was a five-year deal to start their engine shop and make it into an in-house operation.”

It was new, but one thing was familiar.

“I started from nothing. Just a room. It was HRT all over again.”

Benson’s engine work helped Hyundai to win a pair of WRC manufacturers’ championships but then he met successful Australian businessman Barry Morcom, who came to Germany to get started in the new TCR Australia championship.

He bought cars and parts and got Benson as well.

“I was nearing the end of my contract and I put a deal together with Barry. It was an interesting time at the start of TCR here in Australia, Bruce Williams and Alan Heaphy were also talking to Hyundai about TCR. “Barry put his money where his mouth was and told me ‘When you want to get out, there is a job for you’.”

“I stayed for another couple of years but, even though they wanted to renew, I was in that

cruise mode where you’re not achieving anything.”

So Benson packed again, convinced his girlfriend Diana it was a good idea, and moved to Sydney and TCR. He is still waiting for his girlfriend, thanks to the Covid lock-out on overseas arrivals, but is happy and enjoying his Hyundai work with TCR. “At the moment I’m the chief engineer here and I’m doing chassis. That’s quite satisfying but there is not a lot of scope for adjustments.

“I’m also engineering Josh Buchan and he is really, really good. I think he could go a long way.

“It’s good work, and Barry is a really, really good guy. But I don’t know whether to stay until I retire. As you get older …”

It’s the gypsy speaking again, as Benson is always looking for the ’next’ thing. The next engine; the next challenge.

“When I start a project I piece it all together.

When it’s an engine, I need to hold the parts in my hand.

“A lot of it is logic. You’ve got to sit down and think logically, but you’ve also got to look further ahead than what’s currently being used.

“In the early days it was a bit of a stab in the dark, trying a new camshaft or whatever. You know what makes an engine go. Now it’s much more scientific.”

But he can also look back with a smile on his massive achievements.

“If you pin all the series things that I’ve won, it’s a huge long list. Le Mans, NASCAR, the WRC, Bathurst.

“They all have their good and bad points. But probably my favourite was Bathurst when we won in 1990. We worked so hard that year.

“It was so unexpected. It was against the Ford Sierras, and against Godzilla (Nissan GT-R). And

we had a fight to the death with Dick Johnson. It was a very satisfying win for us.

“And for me. I built that engine from the ground up with all the knowledge I had at that time. I think that was a pretty satisfying event for me.”

There was also the NASCAR success with Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports.

“There is a signed picture of me with Jeff and Rick. Those sorts of things never leave you.

And I have a watch for winning the WRC with Hyundai that will never come out of the box.

“Winning Le Mans was good, too. We won it twice with the V12. And it’s great because you’re part of a team.

But Benson is also a loner, a thinker, and a restless motorsports gypsy.

“I’ve done most things because I’ve wanted to learn. A lot of these jobs I’ve gone for less money, because I wanted to learn.

“That could have been Jaguar V12s or Rover V8s, or the Ford and Chevy engines in Supercars. Or turbocharging and billet engines in the WRC with Hyundai.

“It looks like I’ve roamed around the world and spent five minutes here and there. But it’s been around 40 years.

“In reality, I’ve gone and made a difference and that’s the real satisfaction for me.

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Top and above: Right now you’ll find Rob Benson in the HMO pit at TCR races, overseeing, among others, the up-and-coming Josh Buchan (Images: Jack Martin – ARG).

Top right: More success for Benson’s engine development programs, Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/ Scott Pruett, win the class in the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001.

Above right: Benson took on the Wayne Gardner program and started to develop intake manifolds for Chevy race engines etc.

In charge of engine development at Dale Earnhardt International.

Right and below: The crowning achievement?

Building engines for Rick Hendrick (right) and multiple NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon ...

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G I L L E S V I L L E N E

GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN IT’S BEEN 40 YEARS SINCE ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR AND CHARISMATIC DRIVERS IN THE HISTORY OF FORMULA ONE TOOK ONE RISK TOO MANY . . .

DAN McCARTHY LOOKS BACK ON THE FLAMBOYANT RACER’S SHORT BUT SPECTACULAR CAREER AND EXPLAINS WHY HE IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS Images: Motorsport Images GILLES VILLENEUVE only won six grand prix races, with just two pole positions, but is a legend among Ferrari fans.

His all-in commitment, flat-out bravery and incredible car control means his spirit lives on – even for fans who never saw him race.

“I think Gilles was the perfect racing driver,” said Niki Lauda, the triple champion who raced against Villeneuve and also starred at Ferrari.

“He had the best talent of all of us and, whatever car you put him in, he would have been quick.”

“As a driver, he was the best, no question. The best and fastest in the world. I liked Gilles very much.”

But when he stepped over the edge during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at the miserable Zolder circuit, still raging after being robbed of victory at Imola by his team-mate Didier Pironi, time was up for Villeneuve.

In his youth Villeneuve would steer anything from a Ford Mustang to a snowmobile and did so successfully, winning the 1974 World Championship Snowmobile Derby – one of the reasons he had no fear on a racetrack.

Despite the promise, Villeneuve’s career appeared to stall due to lack of funding, but after beating James Hunt – and several otherc stars – in a non-championship Canadian Formula Atlantic race in 1976, Hunt returned to the UK and pushed McLaren to give him an F1 opportunity.

The following year, 1977, Villeneuve made his debut in the British GP driving an older spec third McLaren and outqualified teammate Jochen Mass. Villeneuve went on to finish the race in 11th (having run as high as fourth) after pitting for two laps – the tempersature gauge was faulty ....

Despite hinting at a five-race contract with the team, McLaren team manager Teddy Mayerdidn’t follow through: “it was looking as though he might be a bit expensive.”

It looked as if Villeneuve’s F1 career had stalled

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“ ”

He had the best talent of all of us and, whatever car you put him in, he would have been quick.

– however a few months later he found himself seated in front of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari.

“I heard about his spectacular career in snowmobiles; I also head glowing accounts of his courage,” Ferrari said.

“When they presented me to this tiny Canadian, this miniscule bundle of nerves, I saw instantly in him the physique of the great Nuvolari (pre-F1 grand prix legend). I said to myself let’s give him a try.”

For Villeneuve, this was already a dream come true.

“If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing; my second to be in Formula 1; my third to drive for Ferrari,” he said.

In his first full-time season with the team, he was soundly out-performed by Carlos Reutemann, but did win his first F1 race.

Importantly for his career, it was the maiden Canadian Grand Prix – which made him an instant hero within his own country.

The following year (1979) Villeneuve was joined by new teammate Jody Scheckter; the two good mates fought for the title all season long.

Although Villeneuve scored the same number of wins and more podiums, the consistency of Scheckter got him over the line – but there are many who remember Villeneuve fondly.

“Ferrari dominated in 1979 and, while Jody

Above: US Grand Prix West Coast - Long Beach1980 ... head cocked, right foot down, flying ...

Below: Perhaps the most celebrated F1 duel ever – Villeneuve versus Arnoux – 1979 French Grand Prix, Dijon.

Scheckter pipped his French-Canadian teammate to the title, the memories that stay with me are of Villeneuve,” legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker said.

In the months following Villeneuve’s death, Scheckter too spoke incredibly fondly about his former teammate.

“Gilles was always wanting to prove [himself], always wanting to be the fastest. He would never say ‘I’ll go slowly this lap in practice’, it was always the maximum,” Scheckter said.

“If Gilles was to come back and relive his life, I think he would do exactly the same.

“He was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing but, more importantly for me, is

that he was the most genuine person I have ever known.”

Four-time F1 champion Alain Prost also recalled the desire that the Ferrari driver had for any position.

“Me and my competitors battle for pole position since it’s really important; but with Gilles you would see a battle for every place – 10th place in the race, pole position, everything – he’d make a battle for everything really,” Prost said after his good friend’s passing.

This was most evident in the 1979 French Grand Prix when Villeneuve famously fought against Rene Arnoux for second position in the closing laps.

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The Villeneuve way – foot down, tail out. Gilles had an enormous fan following ...

Villeneuve and Scheckter (right) has a very strong and friendly relationship despite being competitive Ferrari team-mates.

Below: That famous never-say-die occasion at Zandvoort – Villeneuve heads for the pits as his Ferrari slowly disintegrates ...

The pair exchanged places on multiple occasions, dive bombing each other and clashing wheels in one of the most exciting Formula 1 battles in history.

Villeneuve could very well have won the championship that year – however this attacking flat-out approach did not always pay dividends.

He spun out of the lead of the Dutch Grand Prix that same year, driving over the limit.

He managed to recover the car, but as he attempted to catch up to Aussie Alan Jones, a rear tyre punctured and he fired off the track again at Tarzan corner.

Undaunted, he decided to drive the car (nearly

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a full lap) back to the pits but, travelling rather too fast, the Ferrari’s left rear dragging on the ground, the suspension eventually gave way – one of F1’s unforgettable images.

When he eventually stopped at the Ferrari pit, Villeneuve was reportedly a touch unhappy that the car couldn’t be fixed for him to continue! ...

“As soon as he stepped into his Ferrari he attacked; he attacked not only his competitors but himself; he pushed himself in the car,” Prost recalled.

Despite his clear raw speed, Villeneuve only scored two pole positions,– mainly due to the fact that Ferrari were working through a moderately uncompetitive period.

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However, this was often compensated for by one of Gilles’ talents – he always made phenomenal starts.

“He made the fastest start of anybody here,” Prost continued. “I always thought he must know a trick, because over a season he had quicker starts – no-one could compare.”

One of Gilles’ best ever defensive driving displays was at Jarama in 1981, notably holding back four cars, all quicker, for much of the race.

His wet weather skill was legendary ...

Schecker retired at the end of 1980 with Ferrari hiring the services of fast Frenchman Didier Pironi.

“By the time I joined Ferrari the whole team

was so devoted to him (Villeneuve). I knew that he wasn’t just a tough driver; he was more than that,” Pironi recalled. “I may have been number 2, but he treated me like an equal all the way.”

In 1981 the pair got along very well and were mates – until the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix.

Running 1-2, Ferrari ordered its drivers to slow down. Leader Villeneuve believed that meant holding position: but Pironi apparently believed they were still free to race.

On the final lap, Villeneuve was thus horrified to find Pironi blasting by to take a controversial win.

Villeneuve felt betrayed. Livid with what happened, he vowed: “I’ll never speak to Pironi again in my life.”

Sadly, this turned out to be the case.

In qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, just a couple of weeks later, on May 8, Villeneuve died.

Fuelled with anger from the race at Imola, and a tenth behind his team-mate as qualifying neared its end, Villeneuve emerged with just minutes remaining for a last attempt.

The Ferrari came across a slowing Jochen Mass. Villeneuve did not lift and moved right – just as the German did the same to make way.

The Ferrari drove up the back of Mass’ car, catapulting into the air, the force throwing the Canadian (still strapped to his seat), out of the flying wreckage and into the catch fencing.Gilles succumbed to a fatal fracture of the neck.

The normally reserved Enzo Ferrari was heartbroken by the accident.

“He left us because of something incomprehensible. His fatality has deprived us of a great champion, one that I love very, very much. People used to say that one day he’d quit Ferrari (because of the Imola incident),” he said.

“But I never believed it because Gilles and I had formed such an affection for each other – we were like father and son.”

Villeneuve is proof that statistics alone do not determine greatness,; heroic drives, personality and memorable performances is also what makes a true legend – –and Gilles Villeneuve was certainly one of those.

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Images: Motorsport Images and Ross Gibb Photography

A UNIQUE 12 HOUR

AFTER A YEAR’S HIATUS, THE BATHURST 12 HOUR RETURNS IN 2022 BUT WITH SEVERAL KEY DIFFERENCES. DAN MCCARTHY DETAILS THE CHANGES, IN WHAT WILL BE A UNIQUE EDITION OF AUSTRALIA’S GREAT GT ENDURO NOT SINCE the global pandemic broke free has the Bathurst 12 Hour taken place, as the once-around-the-clock race was forced to be cancelled in 2021 – however it returns next week.

The race returns, with a later starting date, new regulations and new rules in what is set to be a very different looking Bathurst 12 Hour.

This year the Bathurst 12 Hour takes place in May the latest start in the event’s long history.

This is mainly due to international concerns with Australian quarantine regulations – pushing it back has enabled international drivers, teams and personnel to enter the country without quarantining.

It was hoped that the new date would alleviate pressure on international competitors and freight operators, and while it does this, it may not solve another issue.

A large majority of the regular international contingency will enter the third round of GT World Challenge Europe at Magny-Cours in France – just a week before Bathurst.

Because of this, a number of regulation changes have been made to attract drivers and teams both nationally and internationally.

The most notable change is that the outright win will be contested as a Pro-Am race.

In previous years, teams could field all-pro driver line-ups – in 2017 for example Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Ferrari GT

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ace Toni Vilander won; most recently Jules Gounon, Jordan Pepper and Maxime Soulet took out the 12 Hour in 2020.

For 2022, entries must contain at least one FIA bronze ranked driver in each car competing for outright honours.

For example, Triple Eight Race Engineering is fielding a Mercedes AMG with its Supercars drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney, and with bronze driver Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

Another example: Team BRM is running an Audi R8 for former Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Champion Joey Mawson and bronze driver Mark Rosser.

Aussie Kenny Habul is entering a fourdriver team in the 12 Hour – he is the Bronze alongside reigning race winner Gounon, Luca Stolz and Martin Konrad.

Due to the change from an outright Pro race to Pro Am, the weekend qualifying and practice formats has been altered to aid the ‘amateur’ drivers.

There are additional practice sessions for Ams, as well as an additional night practice session.

The Bathurst 12 Hour usually takes place in February with the first half an hour in total darkness – however, as the event has been pushed back to May, a lot more than 30 minutes will take place at night.

It is estimated that around 90 minutes of night time racing will take place, with the race starting at 5:15am and sunrise

scheduled for 6:46am that morning.

91 minutes of night-time action would comfortably break the record of dark running.

The race finish, is set for one lap after 17:13pm local time, five minutes after the expected sunset.

The additional Friday night practice session follows three day-time practice sessions, two of which are for Bronze drivers only.

Two one-hour long sessions will complete practice on Saturday morning and will be open to all drivers.

The qualifying format has received a big shakeup for 2022, with bronze ranked drivers now playing a pivotal role on where their car starts Sunday’s encounter.

Bronze-ranked drivers have the first 25

minutes to set the fastest time they can, before the Professional drivers step behind the wheel for the second and final 25-minute session.

Positions from 11th through to the back will be determined by an aggregate time between the fastest Pro and fastest Am drivers in each car, while the traditional Top-10 shootout will then determine the first five rows.

Despite the lower than normal entry numbers Mercedes, Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi and KTM are all represented on the grid.

Defending champions Bentley will not be at The Mountain, the manufacturer pulling out of global GT racing during the pandemic.

The 2022 edition of the race also acts as the second round of GT World Challenge Australia Series, which commenced at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

12 HOUR SESSION TIMES FRIDAY, 13 MAY 10:00 – 10:30 – Practice 1 (Bronze only) 10:40 – 11:10 – Practice 2 15:20 – 16:00 – Practice 3 (Bronze only) 17:05 – 17:45 – Practice 4 SATURDAY, 14 MAY 8:05 – 9:05 – Practice 5 9:55 – 10:55 – Practice 6 13:20 – 13:45 – Qualifying 1 (All classes, Bronze drivers only) 13:55 – 14:20 – Qualifying 2 (All classes, Pro only) 16:10 – 16:55 – Top 10 Shootout SUNDAY, 15 MAY 05:15 – 17:15 – 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour COVERAGE SATURDAY Fox Sports and Kayo SUNDAY Fox Sports, Kayo and Network Seven Regular contenders include van Gisbergen and Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz, as well as Stephen and Brenton Grove.

While a large majority of teams are made up of Australians, three highly competitive international teams are entered.

These are Mercedes-AMG outfit GruppeM Racing, Abu Dhabi outfit GPX Racing and regular Bathurst 12 Hour front-runners, Hong Kong’s Craft-Bamboo Racing.

Outside of Pro-Am class, there is the Am class, in which cars contain solely amateurs.

Marcel Zalloua, Sergio Pires and Duvashen Padayachee have entered this class in their Valmont Racing Mercedes.

Brothers Dale and Glen Wood will race a KTM X-Bow GT2 Concept alongside David Crampton and Trent Harrison in the I–GTX/ invitational class.

This year pre-Car of the Future (2013) V8 Supercars are eligible to take part in the 12 Hour.

Machines currently competing in the Super3 Series will be eligible to join MARC Cars Australia and ‘GTC’ Sports Cars, from one-make categories including the Ferrari Challenge, Lamborghini Trofeo Supercup and Audi R8 Cup. As it is a Supercars promoted event, a good support bill is lined up, including the ever-popular pocket rocket Aussie Racing Cars, the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series and Combined Sedans.

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Top: With the race now starting three months later than normal, Bathurst 12 Hour teams will spend increased time in darker conditions ...

Above: Kenny Habulb (#75) is back, with a four-driver team.

Below left: Triple Eight is back, its two regular Supercar drivers sharing with Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

Bottom: The Melbourne Performance Centre Audis will be competitive as always.

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BAILEY

SWEENY

ROOKIE REVELATION BAILEY SWEENY HAS BEEN ONE OF THE STANDOUTS OF THE 2022 TCR AUSTRALIA SERIES SO FAR, SHOWING FEARLESS CONFIDENCE BEHIND THE WHEEL TO MIX IT WITH THE BEST. HE SPOKE TO JOSH NEVETT ABOUT HIS BREAKOUT CAMPAIGN AND WHAT’S TO COME.

Sweeny’s circuit racing career started in the Toyota 86 series.

THE SAYING goes that actions speak louder than words, and the softly spoken Bailey Sweeny has certainly proved that during his debut TCR Australia Series campaign so far.

Sweeny was one of several young drivers who impressed at the Symmons Plains season opener, guiding his HMO Customer Racing Hyundai i30 N to a podium finish, before making headlines with a maiden victory at Mount Panorama.

The 2022 TCR grid features quality names such as Will Brown, Aaron Cameron and Fabian Coulthard, but there was no match for the 19-year-old who sliced and diced his way through the talented field, passing

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multiple more senior steerers to win by an outrageous 11.4s.

Sweeny was understandably surprised to grace the top step so early in his career.

“Definitely not what I was expecting,” Sweeny told Auto Action.

“I was hoping for a few top 10s, not podiums and wins.

“It was a big moment when I got back and caught how excited the crew were as well – that was awesome.”

The win was a perfect storm of car performance, driver progression and track experience, demonstrating what is possible for young drivers looking to make it big on

the national motorsport scene.

“It’s a track I’d been to before; I got up to speed and then put it together towards the end of the weekend,” Sweeny explained.

“I was actually expecting some of the Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM) cars to have more pace than us, but it turns out we had a bit of pace.

“It was there all weekend. I was actually blown away by the pace, to be honest.

“I’ve come a long way as a driver over the few rounds, but the car just wasn’t really there at Phillip Island.

“To finally have the car underneath me and be confident with the track ... everything came together.”

Sweeny is 11th in the standings after three rounds, 73 points adrift of current leader Tony D’Alberto, but could have been a lot higher up if not for a DNF at Symmons Plains.

Running in the top 10 on the final lap of the Feature Race, Sweeny’s HMO Hyundai found the gravel, dashing the prospect of a solid points haul.

However, with a wave of fresh confidence from Bathurst behind him, Sweeny is now

“ ”

daring to dream, recalibrating his aims from targeting midfield finishes to joining to the title race.

“Being double points in the last race at Symmons, it was definitely a disappointing result getting a DNF,” Sweeny reflected.

“But my expectations have definitely changed from the start of the year and, if luck goes our way, we’ll be going for the title.”

Sweeny entered the tintop scene in national Toyota 86 racing last year, after a hugely successful stint in karts.

The category has proven to be his bridge from junior motorsport to the big time – however it wasn’t an easy initiation.

“We had issues with the car; it was a very disrupted season,” Sweeny said.

“We turned up to the first two rounds and didn’t get a lap.

“We got the car fixed halfway through Townsville, and we drove from the back of the grid to ninth.

“Then we had a double podium in Sydney, it was a rocky start but towards the end we got it figured out and achieved some good results.”

The car is very easy to drive and the team has been mega. They have helped me out wherever they can and been nothing but helpful.

Bathurst, left/above: Sweeny raced away to an impressive Race 2 win, and second in the Sunday finale – then joined a group of hopefuls at the wheel of the Erebus Merc at Winton.

Below: As is the norm, it all started in karting.

The fruitful weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park prompted HMO Customer Racing to reach out to Sweeny, inviting him to an evaluation day which could not have gone any better.

“I was just planning on doing the 86 series and maybe an odd round of TCR in 2022,” Sweeny recalled.

“Then we got invited by HMO to do their evaluation day after the podiums in Sydney.

In my second session I think I was quicker than Nathan (Morcom). That was a bit of a shock for sure.

“They ended up wanting us to do the full season.

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“We were already committed to the 86 series but decided to take on TCR as well.”

“The car is very easy to drive and the team has been mega. They have helped me out wherever they can and been nothing but helpful.”

This year is certainly a busy one for the Batemans Bay local, who has also kicked off his Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series campaign as part of a dual program with TCR. The first round at Sydney Motorsport Park in March brought a solid points haul, leaving Sweeny fourth in the standings as he looks to impress across multiple platforms.

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It is a significant increase in commitment for Sweeny – however the potential for development and growth outweighs any drawbacks in his eyes.

“When I realised how easy it would be to transition, that’s when we decided to do both,” Sweeney says with confidence.

“They’re at the opposite end of the spectrum, front-wheel-drive compared to rear-wheel-drive ... everything’s different, but it’s been pretty easy to be honest.”

“I’ve been in Toyota 86s for two years but only done four rounds so I want to get the most out of it that I can.

It’s still a racing series

which will help me as a driver to progress.”

It’s only fair that Sweeny is riding a wave of confidence right now – his rise to this point has been swift.

So swift that he would be forgiven for looking to the future; one that he hopes includes racing a Supercar.

As a member of the Erebus Academy the rising star was given an opportunity to do just that at a testing day in April, trialling the Mercedes-powered Erebus Holden Commodore with coaching from Erebus codriver Jack Perkins.

The experience was an unforgettable one that reinforced his desire to reach the main game.

“It was an awesome experience, nothing like what I’ve done before,” Sweeny enthused.

“It gave me some variety – it was mega.

“Supercars would be a great outcome but I’m enjoying my time in TCR. “Will (Brown) has been helping me at the Erebus Academy, I look up to him because he has gone down the same pathway.”

While he has lofty ambitions, Sweeny is just grateful to be living out the dream that very few aspiring drivers ever reach.

“A career in any form of motorsport would be nice, whether that’s TCR Australia, TCR overseas or Supercars,” he qualified.

“TCR is the main focus for now and then trying to get to the next step from there.”

What that next step is remains to be seen, but for now Bailey Sweeny is certainly one to watch.

www.autoaction.com.au I 37

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SPEEDWAY NEWS JAMIE VEAL’S GOOD FRIDAY THIRTY-FIVE competitors fronted for the opening round of the Sprintcar Easter Trail at Lara’s Avalon Raceway. Jamie Veal, qualified on Pole Position and alongside was New South Wales surprise packet Troy Little, returning to the wheelhouse after a several year hiatus.

At the drop of the green it would be Little slingshottingt around the topside to the front, leading Veal, Andrew Hughes, Bobby Daly and Kale Quinlan in fifth. With four laps down, Little picked off the first of the back markers in Jake Smith.

At one-third race distance, Veal struck, sliding underneath Little in Turn 1 to take the lead. From that point forward, Veal would drive a textbook race, slowing the pace slightly to avoid passing the slower cars while keeping Little in check as they raced to finish in a nonstop 30-lap affair. Daly would join the podium with a well deserved third outright.

Hughes and Quinlan were next, followed

by Tim Hutchins, Brett Milburn, John Vogels, Jack Lee, Will Carol, Tate Frost, Dennis Jones, Marcus Dumesny, Glen Sutherland, Grant Anderson, Daniel Pestka, and Matthew Reed, with Michael Tancredi rounding out the field.

Corey McCullagh was an early retiree and was joined on the infield by Smith after going a lap down.

The four heat wins were shared, with two Northern Territorians in Carroll and Quinlan and the Tasmanians of Hutchins and Frost each claiming singles. The B Main went to Sutherland and Jamie Heyen the C Main.

Veal For Two Thirty teams squared up for night two at Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway. While some Victorian’s stayed home, the trail picked up a handful of South Aussies to bolster the numbers.

Again, Little would find himself outside front row with David Murcott sitting on pole.

Little got the jump, forging his way to the front followed by Murcott and Tim Hutchins; behind them a great dice was developing between Jamie Veal and Marcus Dumesny and it would remain that way until Hutchins spun as he attempted to challenge for second.

Restart; red lights quickly followed green as Robert Paton and Domain Ramsay

Photo: Ray Ritter.

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles crashed out. Again, it would be Little to lead them away, with Murcott and Veal, who had stormed his way forward. The red lights would blaze for the second time as Bobby Daly bounced through a rut, tagging the wall and flipped out of contention while holding down sixth.

Little made the most of his clear track advantage and opened a handy gap from Murcott, Veal and Co at the resumption.

Dumesny would hustle his way past Veal for third. Over the next few laps the top four

would fight over real-estate nose-to-tail as Little tried to negotiate his way past back marker Michael Tancredi. The leading quartet made their way past and Veal slipped back into third as Murcott began his challenge for the lead on lap 18. Veal would soon close, making it a tightly contested race at the pointy end.

With just six laps remaining, Murcott made the most of the topside and pounced to the lead, only to retire to the infield on the following lap. Little regained control but Veal was on a charge and powered around the top of Little coming out of Turn 4. Veal (pictured above) led the remaining five laps to win by a comfortable margin while Little worked hard to fend off the hard charging Dumensy who rounded out the podium in third.

Jake Smith was fourth, ahead of Daniel Pestka, Matthew Reed, and Dennis Jones.

Hutchins had fought his way back to ninth, Glen Sutherland, Scott Enderl and Adam King tapered off the dozen to go the distance. In addition to Murcott, Daly, Ramsay and Paton,

B Main winner Stephen Spark would be the other retiree.

Little, Dumesny, Murcott, Jamie Heyen, Reed and Spark would claim the heat race wins.

Rain Ruins Easter Finale Entering the third and final night of competition, all eyes were on the duo of Jamie Veal and Troy Little who had slugged it out over the previous two rounds.

Sadly, the Easter Sprintcar Trail came to a premature end as persistent rain fell over the Sungold Stadium, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool forcing management to abandon the event.

Having claimed both previous nights, Veal would be recipient of the $5000 overall series bonus, ahead of Little. Tim Hutchins finishing third, with Marcus Dumesny and Bobby Daly in fifth. Grant Anderson, Dennis Jones and Daniel Pestka were next while Glen Sutherland, Matthew Reed and Jacob Smith were tied on equal points for ninth.

HORTON HONOURED AS VSC CHAMPION AGAINST A field of 24 other competitors Steven Horton (right) racked up his maiden Sprintcar feature race victory and the 2022 VSC Sprintcar state title all in one swoop at Ballarat’s Redline Raceway. The LS powered Sprintcar class has been growing in strength and the racing displayed over the heats and 30-lap final was evidence of how competitive the class has become.

Sam Wren set the early pace, while polesitter Justin Barton dropped back to third before getting caught up in a crash with second-placed Alistair Bastian, ending both of their runs as the duo retired to the infield.

Wren would continue to lead until Shane Stevens snatched his position around the halfway mark, only to retire with a flat right rear tyre, handing Horton the lead at two-

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thirds race distance.

From that point Horton would hold position to claim victory. Joining Horton on the podium was Wren and the fast finishing Adam Greenwood who, at one point, was running deep in 11th. Fourth was Nigel Laity, followed by the hard charging Dayn Bentvelzen who started back in 21st position. Dillon Siely, Mitch Sutej, David Mckay, Roddy Dennison, Kyle Mayson, Michael Evan and Jack Van Breman all finished on the lead lap while further back was Andrew Neilsen, David Dennison and Brett Maxwell, the final finisher in the incident plagued event.

Wren, Dennis Jones, Barton Horton, Shaun Lyness and Peter Laity shared the heat race wins.

Photo: Dean Miller

CARRINGTON COLLECTS BALSHAW MEMORIAL

Photo: Gavin Skene

NSW TITLES TRIPLE TREAT THE NEW South Wales Sprintcar Championship was run as a two-night extravaganza at the Eastern Creek Speedway and against 52 fellow competitors, the defending Australian Sprintcar Champion Jamie Veal claimed his first NSW crown in scintillating style.

Veal took the preliminary feature on the opening night before barnstorming the second night’s 35-lap main event, adding yet another prestige accolade to his impressive CV. Second home was Marcus Dumesny and Brock Hallet rounded out the podium with a well-deserved third. Veal started alongside pole sitter Robbie Farr, who charged early before falling back to third and retiring. Veal

would lead the remaining 33 laps. Tate Frost and Daniel Pestka rounding off the top five.

Ian Madsen, Jessie Attard, Jordyn Brazier, Grant Anderson and Grant Tunks completed the 10 and one lap down was Randy Morgan, followed to the line by Zac Pacchiarotta, Luke Stirton and Brendan Scorgie rounding out the 14 of 20 to travel the distance.

Against 24 other chargers Michael Stewart successfully defended his NSW Speedcar Championship. Australian Champion Matt Smith and Stewart (#51) provided a thrilling opening stanza as the duo traded blows, culminating in seven lead changes over the first 10 revolutions (pictured above).

From this point, Stewart would consolidate the lead and drive to back-to-back crowns.

Matthew Jackson produced a late pass for second, relegating Smith to the third step of the dais. Nathan Smee, Rusty Whittaker, Troy Ware, Scotty Farmer and Dean Meadows all finished on the 25th and lead lap while one lap adrift was DJ Raw, Justin Watt, Alan Day, Monique Matherson and Jamie Hall.

Also on the line was the New South Wales Compact Speedcars Championship. After 20 laps it would be reigning Australian Champion Justin Paull who would bag the title, leading every lap of the journey. Ben Fairfax and Warren Lawler rounded off the podium. Greg Farrugia, Joe Lostitch, Daniel Brown, Rhys Birkett, Kyle Sharpe, Vince Sainsbury, Matt Wark and Gordon Callaghan completing the field. Paris Charles

DEMOLITION DERBY – CAR CRUNCHING FUN! THE RACING purists cringe whenever these two words are spoken – however the fans flock in their droves to see the weekend warriors crash and bash each other’s cars to pieces for a good old fashioned knock’em down n’ drag’em out Demolition Derby.

Murray Machining & Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway played host to the 2022 U-Pull-It Demolition Derby World Record Attempt. Last year the event almost made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as it came agonisingly close, with a total of 123 cars, falling just three cars short of the breaking the current record of 125, set at the 2019 Festival de la Galette de Sarrasin in Québec, Canada.

For this year’s attempt, a total of 98 cars assembled in the pits, two failed to make it out of the gate, making it a field of 96. One of those competitors was Auto Action’s National Speedway Editor Paris Charles aboard the #5 Load 28 Crane Hire entry with AA on board to support the challenge.

Some competitors went to great lengths to present their chariots in the best way possible; the top six best presented were given the honour to roll out of the gate first, filling the first three rows of the grid. AA’s NASCAR inspired #5 entry was chosen as one of the top six and

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Alive! Paris Charles in the Auto Action supported entry amongst the carnage. Photo: Ray Ritter rolled out on the third row for the start amongst the Ecto-1 Ghost Busters, Thomas the Tank Engine, Violent Crumble, Spiderman and Red Back Spider entries while, at the other end of the deal, some cars looked like they had been pulled straight from a wrecking yard and multi coloured spray cars inspired many designs.

At the drop of the green the cars began to circulate on a heavily drenched track as they slipped and slid into each other; cars began spinning and crashing around the circuit as they raced in the traditional anti-clockwise direction. As the track started to grip up, the cars got faster and the hits became harder, terminating many cars around the track.

During this time there were a few red light periods for fires. With just 20 cars remaining, the #5 was still going

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strong until copping a severe blow from the Bat Mobile, taking out the right front drive line, ending its run in roughly 17th or 18th position.

With around 12 cars remaining, the field was grouped onto the front straight for a traditional Demolition Derby where hits come thick and fast from all directions. In the end it came down to a three-way dance where the last three slugged it out to the end. Veteran competitor James Garner would finish third, runner up was Nathan Brackstone and taking the win was former South Australian Street Stock Champion Steven Gartner – claiming the $5000 winner’s purse and double up as the most damaged, adding an extra $500 to his prize packet.

Grahem Reynolds would also take home $500 for his Ecto-1 Ghost Busters effort for Best Presented car.

A FESTIVE crowd gathered on Easter Sunday for the running of the Balshaw Memorial for Modified Sedans at the Daylesford Speedway.

Going into an eventful final, Brett Carrington lined up on the fifth row after a challenging run through the heats. On pole was Luke Humphrey, alongside Coby Kakoschke, with Reece Kakoschke and Wade Justice sharing the second row.

At the green, Humphrey led the charge as they hustled through Turn 1. C. Kakoschke would slingshot around the outside to lead down the back chute. Daniel Carter spun in Turn 2 – thankfully everybody went by without incident, but as he gathered it up to chase the field a few laps later he would spin again before retiring to the infield.

While things looked promising at the front for C. Kakoschke, Jayden Kakoschke became the second retirement. Coby continued to lead but was pressed hard by Humphrey. By half race distance the field was well strung out as C. Karkosche led and Carrington battled hard to make his way forward.

Steven Warlond was the next to retire as Humphrey mounted a challenge for the lead as the front runners negotiated lapped traffic.

Persistence would soon pay dividends as Humphrey claimed the lead, dividing into Turn 3, C. Kakoschke relegated to second as his namesake Reece expired, causing the first caution period of the fast-paced race.

Humphrey led the field away with C. Kakoschke and Carrington in striking distance. Carrington moved to second, while Humphrey blazed out front – until Humphrey retired with just three laps remaining, with a blown front left tyre. In the green, white and chequered run to the line, Carrington (pictured below) claimed an untroubled win over Coby Kakoschke. Ryan Daly and Daniel Kris would round out the podium placings.

Tim Hutchinson continued his dominance in the Standard Saloons, racking up another feature win over teenager Rhys Meakins making his debut in the senior class; Joel McInnes, Bailey Sinclair and Austin Chivers completing the top five.

Chris Hay came out ahead of Ash Fox, Glen McCoubrie, Des Robinson and Anthony Bull in the Street Stocks.

Katie Meyer continued her winning ways with victory in the Daylesford Ladies. Richelle Jenner was second and rookie Charmain Bryans third. Lizzi Huckel and Chloe Graham rounded out the first five.

Bailey Kakoschke claimed the Junior Sedan feature over Blaize Majok-Edwards, Sebastian Hardie, Ben Carrington and Chelsey Kakoschke completing the top five. PC

Photo: Paris Charles

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NATIONALS WRAP Image: Angryman

TWO TASSIE ROUNDS IN A MONTH IT HAS been a relatively quick turnaround for the first two rounds of the Tasmanian Off Road Series with the most recent second round at Symmons Plains on April 2.

After the prologue and four 12-lap heats of the 3km dirt course, John Walker (Sportslite Payne/Nissan – pictured) was first outright.

Second spot went to Clint Broomhall (SXS Turbo Polaris) ahead of Walker’s class rival

Andrew Cliffard (Rivmaster/Toyota).

Heat 1 started with Broomhall in front after he won the prologue. He set the pace and was followed by Giffard and James Castle in his LS-powered Thorn Built Truggy Pro Buggy placed third until a fuel pressure issue temporarily sidelined him. That elevated John Walker to third. Josh Marshall (Southern Cross/Toyota 4AG Super 1650) was close

behind and ahead of the similarly mounted Sharon Sulzberger.

In Heats 2 and 3 the order remained the same until a flat tyre put Giffard down a lap.

With just over a lap to go in Heat 4, race leader Broomhall ran out of fuel. Even though they dropped a lap, Broomhall and Cliffard still made the podium as Walker was the only one to go the whole distance. Marshall finished

fourth with Sulzberger fifth and Castle sixth.

Four weeks earlier, Broomhall had a faultless run to win the first round at Cambridge Park on March 5. The event was of a similar number of sectors and laps and totalled 150kms. Second went to Marshall with Karli Humphries while Phil and Jake Sulzberger were third in their Super1650 machines.

Garry O’Brien Image: Angryman

HEINZEL’S RETURN AN ENDURING ONE

GREAT DAY OUT FOR MEGINLEY THE SEA Lake Off Road Club-run Darren’s Day Out Short Course was won by Dean Meginley (above). It was the third round of the Victoria Off Road Club Shield, on April 10, and the Class 10 Tatum/Honda driver won the 10-lap 150km event by 19.7s.

Second place went to class rival Travis Conrad (Southern Cross/ Honda) with Travis Conrad (Class 1 Southern Cross/Honda) third over 2mins further behind.

The event comprised of three sections with the first over one lap. Plant was the fastest ahead of Chris Martin in his Unlimited class Buggy, Conrad and Meginley. Section 2 comprised four laps; Plant was fastest on the first two before Meginley took the next and Plant nabbed the fourth. Martin was second on the first before he dropped out.

The third section was a further five laps, where Plant continued at the head over the first two before he was third on lap three behind Codey Elliot (Class 6 Can-Am). Plant was slow on lap four and five which were taken out by Meginley.

Fourth place went to Tim Lloyd (Unlimited Lloyd Mark/Nissan SR20 turbo), ahead of Darren Mott (Class 4 Bennett Truck Rodeo/ Chev LS1), Ken Holt (Class 10 Raptor/Lexus V6), Elliot, Brant Knight (Class 10 Sabre/Suzuki), and Andrew Cameron (Class 5 Mitsubishi Triton/Chev).

Tenth was Rhett Standen (Class 2 Hunter Rivmasta/Toyota) and followed by the Class 8 and 7 winners, Dean Bennett (Nissan Patrol V8) and Darren Gill (Nissan Patrol TB42). Garry O’Brien

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AFTER A two-year hiatus, Alex Heinzel dusted off his ProLite Southern Cross/Nissan V6 and together with Lincoln Sheedy, won the Alice Springs Off Road Racing Club’s Simpson Enduro at Mt Ooraminna on April 2-3.

The duo (pictured) topped the prologue and finished the 400km enduro in just over four and half hours. Second place 8mins 11.8s in arrears were Harry Weckert and Caitlin Stephens in the team’s first outing in their new ProLite SS Racetech/Nissan.

A further 8mins away in third place were David Bird and Mark Nietschke (Bennett Trophy

Truck/Chev) despite the loss of their bonnet.

Luke Pankhurst and Corey Muller (ProLite Aceco/ Toyota) the only other crew to complete the eight lap journey. The latter pair were headed for a potential podium spot until they ran out of fuel.

Fifth and one lap down were Peter and Michelle Baulch (ProLite Rivmaster/Toyota).

Mark Booth had Donna Wright and Tammy Walden in to share the navigator’s seat of the Trophy Truck Ext 4WD and completed six laps for sixth. On the same lap were Ken Callanan and Nev Chalmers whose Nissan-powered Super1650 also completed six laps.

Walden also navigated some laps in the Tanya Webb/Julia Antonelli Super1650, and they came ninth behind Jordan Lawson and Taylan McDowell in their first outing in their Production 4WD Mitsubishi Triton V6.

Teegan Mowles and Clayton Agnew were the first retiree after a rollover in their Razorback on lap two, followed out a lap later by Shane Greening and Cody Hodgins in their overheated Autocraft Magnum/Toyota. On the fourth lap Tim Button and Anthony Dupreez had the Toyota engine blow in their Hunter Rivmasta.

Garry O’Brien

Image: ASORRC

FIRST WIN AT VENUE CHANGE THE LATE change of venue from Dalby to Federal worked for Christian Rich (right) as he led the Short Course off road event, round two of the ARB Mickey Thompson Tyres Queensland Off Road Championship on April 9-10, from start to finish.

In his Class 6 Can-Am, Rich covered the 11 laps of the 15km course of the Gympie Auto Sports Club-run event for his first outright win. Second, third and fourth went to Brice Derrick (Class 6s), and Class 6 rivals Zac Marsh and James Mogford for a Can-Am whitewash.

On a wet day one morning, 66 crews started, and Rich dominated with a 39s lead by day’s end. Josh Wiedman (Class 11 Can-Am) was second whilst Marsh held third, just 5s behind.

Derrick was fourth, with past event winner Clayton Chapman (Unlimited class Razorback/Toyota turbo) fifth in front of Mogford, Kye Camilleri (Can-Am), Stuart Chapman (Unlimited Chenowth Millennium 2/Mitsubishi turbo), Matt Reed (Can-Am) and Justin Rider (Can-Am).

Despite an overnight downpour, the final day had clear skies. While Rich continued on his winning way, Derrick charged from fourth to second, as Wiedman retired with a broken king pin. Camilleri lost ground with a shattered wheel bearing.

Eighth went to Aaron Nicoll (Can-Am) with Luke Brandon (Class 6s Polaris) next as he made up seven places. Aaron Phillis (Can-Am) was tenth as Steven Orr debuted a new Jimco for 11th and the Class 10 victory. Class 1 went to Darren Angel

Image: GASC (Kadco/Nissan), and Darren Orr (Hunter Rivmaster/Suzuki) picked up Class 2, ahead of his wife Nicci in the same car, after Russell Hartnett (Razorback/Honda) dropped out.

Dan McKenzie debuted of his new LS2-

powered homebuilt Trophy Truck for Class 4 victory. It was a successful debut for Matt Gardiner (Can-Am) with victory in Class 66.

In Mitsubishi Pajeros, Cam Speirs took out Class 7 over Amber Topfer, as did Anthony Dalton (Nissan Patrol 4.2lt) over Ross

Challacombe (Mitsubishi Triton) for Class 8.

The Future Champions class was won

by Lincoln Taylor over Toby Musico who won the last two heats to finish 15s in arrears with Porscha Taylor third.

Garry O’Brien

NEITHER FLOOD NOR RAIN STOPPED TIGHE HAVING NEGOTIATED the floods, Queenslander Dean Tighe (right) won the opening round of the NSW Hillclimb Championship at Huntley Hill on April 10.

After a very damp practice day, it was fine for the official times. The Empire Wrath/ Supercharged Hayabusa driver produced the FTD for a 21s dead with his fourth and final run on the Wollongong Sporting Car Club’s 658m climb at Avondale.

It was supposed to be round three in the title state chase after the double-header at Mt Panorama in early March. But that event, where Tighe scored two FTDs, was reduced to club status because of the floods, particularly in the north of the state and Queensland where many competitors travel from.

The second best time at Huntley of 23.36s went to Matt Brown in his Road Registered Non-Logbooked AWD Audi RS4, also on his last attempt. In third place of the 37 entries was Peter Brown (Club Sports over 1.6lt Mulsane).

Best of the tin tops was Warren Bell (Time

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Image: WSCC Attack 2WD), fourth outright and 0.13s ahead of David Isaacs (Late Model Improved Production 4WD Mitsubishi EVO). The Wayne Penrose Sports Sedan VW Beetle was sixth and eighth overall in the hands of the

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owner and Ben Ford. They were split by Riley MacQueen (Holden Commodore) who set a new Late Model IP over 2.0lt class record.

Ninth spot went to Frank Fagnoli (RR Non-Logbooked AWD Subaru WRX)

ahead of Jason Perkins in his Lotus Evora, another of the RR Non-Logbooked entries.

The fastest lady was Allison Monkhouse at the wheel of a Sports Sedan Commodore.

Garry O’Brien

www.autoaction.com.au I 43

NATIONALS WRAP

RANDO WINS WINVALE, MCRAE UNLUCKY

Image: CMR Photographic

IT WAS in the latter stages of the Novus Glass Winvale Park Stages that Craig Rando and Scott Beckwith (above) hit the lead and went on to win.

They won the first round of the Dunlop Tyres West Australian Rally Championship on April 3 by 38.9s in their Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Second place was taken by Ben Searcy and Daymon Nicoli (Mitsubishi EVO 9) 14.2s in front of Jack Flanagan and

Murray Hynes (Impreza).

Held over 10 stages with 37 crews competing out of Bakers Hill, the event was led by Max McRae and Mac Kierans at the end of six stages with a handy 30s advantage. But toward the end of the next they had a failure with the centre differential, lost all drive and had to retire.

McRae won the first stage over Rando who hit back to reverse the result on Stage

2. From there McRae won Stages 3, 4 and 5 ahead of Rando, and the sixth ahead of Searcy. Rando won the next three before Flanagan beat him in the last.

Rookie Daniel Gonzalez, together with Calab Ash, finished fourth at the helm of John O’Dowd’s championship winning Skoda Fabia R5. Gonzalez had a handy margin on David Thomas and Mandy Lister (WRX).

Seventh place went to Glenn Alcorn and Jonathan Charlesson in their Ford Escort RS which was the first of the 2WDs. They were 1min 30.7s ahead of class rivals Simon Gratton and Richard Harris (Honda Civic) who were 10th behind Graham Iddles and Stephen Wade, and Tim Bayer and Jonathan White in a pair of Subarus.

Garry O’Brien

Image: Angryman

ATR FINALLY BACK WITH BAW BAW NEVER WORSE than fourth on any stage, consistency was the vital ingredient for Mark Cates and Bernie Webb (above) in their victory at the Mt Baw Baw Sprint on April 9-10.

They took their new Modern RWD class Porsche GT2 RS to a 1min 21.8s win over late flyers Jason and Fiona Wright (Super Rally Nissan Skyline R35 GT-R) who won the last three stages. Over 6mins away were Danny Traverso and Jason Page in their Early Modern AWD Mitsubishi EVO 9.

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Organisers of the Australian Tarmac Rally finally had cars hit the bitumen after 14 cancelled or postponed events. The Sprint took place on the 32.3km road from Porcupine Creek to the summit of Mt Baw Baw, with 17 stages for a total of 260kms.

Traverso won the first three stages and two more later to lead at the end of the first heat from Nathan Reeves and Bec Sheldrick (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) and Cates. With thirds on three stages, Oscar Matthews and Tristan Catford (EVO 6)

tailed the front runners in second place at lunch time before broken gears sidelined them.

Wright finished the day fourth ahead of Allan and Kerry Hines (EVO X), Greg Bass/Peter Cooke (Toyota Yaris GR), Jim Callahan/Hugh Feggans (EVO 6), Peter Gluskie/Samantha Winter (BMW 325e), David and Jackie Thirlwall (BMW 1 Series), and Ryan Verner/Tim Williams (Renault Megane).

Wright won the second heat with four

stage wins, over Cates, Hines, Callahan, Bass, Thirlwall, Gluskie, and Steve Spada/ Doug Fernie (EVO 8). Traverso was ninth after being delayed with two punctures.

Reeves was out with gearbox dramas, and only fourth gear.

Overall Hines was fourth and won Modern AWD. Next was Rally Challenge winner Callahan, Bass, Thirlwall, Gluskie, Spada and tenth placed Mark Clair and Ray Farrell (Classic Modified Porsche Carrera RSR). Garry O’Brien

Image: ASORRC

NSW RALLY

RILEY RULES OBERON TEENAGED RILEY Walters, with experience co-driver Andrew Crowley, (pictured) drove his Subaru Impreza WRX to a popular win at the Midstate Freight Oberon Stage on April 23.

The second round of the NSW Rally Championship attracted a good entry, despite a short turnaround from the opener in Canberra.

Consisting of five stages, run twice, the rally ran south of Oberon, in the Black Springs area. Tim Wilkins and Jim Gleeson took the opening stage from Walters by 2.1s, with Peter Dimmock and Leigh Peirce (Toyota Yaris AP4) third, then Sean McAloon and Muiranne Hayes (2WD Ford Escort). The first stage saw the demise of the Neal Bates/Coral Taylor Toyota Celica with a clutch failure.

Walters took the second stage from Wilkins, and the lead, by just 0.2s. Josh

and Matt Redhead were third (Mitsubishi EVO) on stage and McAloon had moved to third overall. Walters took the third stage, as Wilkins retired with electrical trouble. Walters now led Redhead by 28s, with Tony Sullens and Kayleigh Newell (Peugeot 208 AP4) next. Also emerging into the top group was Glenn Brinkman and Dale Moscatt (Ford Escort Cosworth).

Stage 4 went to Walters, from Redhead and Sullens and those three were running in the top places overall. Stage 5 was the last of the first heat and went to Walters from Redhead, as Sullens crashed and limped out of the stage to retire. Also out early after a crash was the Tom Dermody/ Eoin Moynihan Escort RS2000.

Third now were Connor Ferguson and Domhnall McCarthy (WRX).

Jamie Neale and Tommi Flegl (WRX) took Stage 6 from Dimmock and Walters who struck back on the next stage, from Redhead, Neale and McAloon.

Walters also took Stage 8 from Dimmock and Neale, extending his lead

to over a minute.

Walters took the last two stages, extending his lead to 1m 44s over Redhead, Dimmock, Neale and McAloon, who was also first 2WD and first in the East Coast Classic Series. First 4WD Classic was Brinkman.

Story & Images: Bruce Moxon

TARGA MARRED BY TRAGEDY Report: Dan McCarthy THE 30TH edition of the Targa Tasmania was completed as a non-competitive event following the fatal crash of Tony Seymour who crashed his Lotus Exige on Day 2 of the tarmac rally.

The event continued for the remainder of the week, but competitors drove the stages to the speed limits that are placed on the public roads for the other 364 days of the year.

The decision was made to stop competitive action as Motorsport Australia and Targa knew little about the accident (see Targa Tasmania story in the news for full details).

Record competitors had entered Targa Tasmania and, despite the fatal crash on Day 2 and the remaining stages being run at a leisurely pace, many felt it only right to continue on in Seymour’s honour and for the local Tasmanian fans.

Obviously, there was no winner crowned with only a day of competitive stages held.

At the end of that day defending champions Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey (below) in their Dodge Viper led the way.

Their rivals, seven-time winners Jason and John White, struck oil and hit a kerb, forcing them to limp through the stage to finish down in 43rd, almost 3 minutes 20 seconds from the lead.

Sydney’s Jeff Morton and Daymon Nicoli who won Targa High Country in February, were equal second with Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler in their Nissan GT-R. The next day, after the tragic passing of Seymour, an experienced Targa driver, the decision was made to stop all competitive action.

Auto Action sends its deepest condolences to the friends and family of Tony Seymour during this time.

Image: Angryman

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NATIONALS WRAP

BIKE TRIP FOR AUSSIE RACING CARS FOR THE third round in a row, Tom Hayman was the overall winner in the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Series. The third round was held at Wakefield Park on April 23-24 as a support to the Australian Superbikes Championship.

Hayman’s form has been undeniable in his Mustang-bodied racer (leading, right), and he dished up more of the same with three wins from four starts. Second went to Josh Anderson (Mustang) while the rookie, albeit Wakefield experienced, Lachlan Ward (Camaro) was third.

Hayman led the first race from start to finish while Ward, Kody Garland (Mustang), Anderson and his teammate Reece Chapman vied for second. Anderson had it early before Garland took over but, in the end, Ward was the runner-up. Behind Garland, Anderson and Chapman, it was Ryan Reynolds (Mustang), Anthony Di Mauro (Camaro), Leigh Bowler (Camaro) and Nick Lichtenberger (Altima).

Joel Henrich (Cruze) pulled up at turn two on lap eight with a dead water pump, and Cody Brewczynski (Mustang) pitted on lap seven with no second gear and was out for the weekend.

Ward pressed Hayman for the entire 12 laps of Race 2 and missed out on a win by 0.08s.

Garland held off Anderson, Chapman and Ryan Reynolds (Mustang) as Heinrich started last and finished 15th.

The top 10 finishers were reversed for Race 3 where Garland started eighth threaded his

Image: Darin Mandy way to the lead by mid-distance. Hayman was second from Anderson, Chapman and Ward. Sixth was Heinrich ahead of De Mauro, Courtney Prince (Mustang), Reynolds and 15-year-old Rylan Gray (Camaro).

In the double-points race, Hayman led from the outset for a comfortable victory.

Behind him there were several positional changes in the battle for second which ultimately went the way of Anderson over Ward, Chapman, Heinrich and Garland.

They were followed by Gray, Reynolds, Di Mauro and Prince.

Garry O’Brien

NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien

NEW SERIES IN LIEU OF AMRS WITH THE Australian Motor Racing Series late decision to pull the pin on Round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park on April 23-24 and run a Thunder Sports event the same weekend at Winton, the South Australian Motor Sport Series was born with the support of Pheonix Lining Services.

TA2 MUSCLE CARS THE STAR attraction didn’t disappoint. Championship leader Nash Morris was a no show as he prepared for the following weekend’s Dunlop Super 2 round in Perth. It was a three-way battle for top honours between Queenslanders John McLaughlin and Jett Johnson with New South Welshman Josh Haynes (pictured) also in the frame.

McLaughlin (Mustang) won the first two races where Johnson (Mustang) and Haynes (Camaro) made him work very hard for his victories. For the next two races it was Haynes and Johnson that made the running. Haynes snatched the race three win on the very last lap.

Johnson didn’t let history repeat itself in the 12-lap final where he led from start to finish. He created a gap which Haynes was unable to close. Second was good enough to give Haynes the round win.

McLaughlin amassed enough points for third ahead of Johnson.

Local driver Dean Lindstrom (Mustang) made his TA2 debut and took out the Masters category and finished seventh overall.

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FORMULA 3 & INVITED THE HEALTHY field was dominated

by Trent Grubel (Dallara F312) who made it look easy with three wins from three outings. He topped the points for the weekend and catapulted himself into the championship lead.

Noah Sands (Dallara F308/11) did enough to secure second outright and kept his championship hopes alive. Mitch Nielson (F308/11) had

a bit of a scare with the gearbox needing some attention after the qualifying session, but it was all go for race one and the rest of the weekend went without drama on his way to third overall.

South Aussies ruled the roost in the National class with Roman Krummins (Dallara 307) robbed of victory by a DNF in Race 2 which handed the win to Gerrit Ruff (Dallara 305). Bo Jensen (Dallara

Image: David Batchelor

305) had a weekend to forget towed home on the end of a rope in two of the three races. Chris Slusarski (Toyota Race Series Tatuus FT50) came home comfortably on top in the Invited open wheelers and even embarrassed a number of the Formula 3 runners.

MARC CARS AUSTRALIA/SA GT CHALLENGE IT WAS all Geoff Taunton (MARC II V8) although Ben Schoots (SIN R1) managed to get in front a couple of times over the two days. Taunton took the Class A win without a fight while Lachlan Gardner (MARC Mazda V8) had to work a bit harder for his Class B win fending off Darren Currie (MARC Mazda) and Axle Donaldson (MARC Focus V8).

Schoots topped the GT points in every race. Brett Gallagher (Porsche 991) was out early in the second race on Sunday and Race 1 winner Mark Rosser (Audi R8) did not finishing either of the one hour races. Vince Muriti (Mercedes GT3) was even less fortunate, crashing on Friday, and did not even get a race start. David Batchelor

Image: Thunder Sports

THUNDERDAYS FOR CONDON

Image: Danny Bourke

THE TRUCKS ARE BACK IT WAS ONE DAY SHY OF A YEAR THAT THE BIG RIGS WERE RACING AT WAKEFIELD PARK BEFORE THEY WERE BACK FOR ROUND ONE OF THE 2022 TRUCK RACING NATIONAL SERIES ON APRIL 9-10.

STEVE ZAMMIT started this season just as he did last year when he won the round and hopes this time around he can snare a seventh title.

Despite it being the Grand Prix weekend plus state circuit racing championships elsewhere in NSW, the Trucks and support categories were popular among fans.

TRUCKS RACING DESPITE JUST one race victory, Zammit (Kenworth 401) had consistency on his side to be the overall victor ahead of Shannon Smith (Kenworth T900). Debutant Chris Noonan in the revitalised Scania T123 that his father Mark raced was third.

Smith started off in fine form and, even though it was wet, he qualified fastest. He took out the first race ahead of Zammit and Barry Butwell who was sorting out the change from twin turbo to a single in his Mack Superliner.

Race 2 was gridded off the result of the first race. It was Sunday’s opener on a much dryer

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track, and it also went to Smith with Zammit and Butwell again chasing him home.

The next race was a reverse grid of the second race result where Zammit won when he captured the lead off Noonan at the final corner. Third went to Marcus Prillwitz (Superliner) from Smith.

The race had to be restarted after Mark Schutz had contact from fellow Isuzu pilot Mitchell Prillwitz at Turn 1.

Race 4 was the longer feature race, gridded on the reverse of qualifying. Marcus Prillwitz won ahead of Zammit, Robbie Fern (Volvo White), Smith, Noonan and Butwell. Lachlan Fern (Isuzu) retired with engine dramas, Frank Amoroso (Kenworth W900) also out with a gearbox, and Schutz with a blown intercooler line.

There was just the one teams’ event result. The first was stopped twice, firstly for an incident at the start and then when the Zammit Kenworth was jammed in two gears. The second went to Lachlan Fern in the White from Harvey Dale (T900) and Noonan.

LEGEND CARS NOT ONLY did Shane Tate notch his first win in the category, but he won all four races. He accounted for rookie Jordan Shalala and Scott Morgan who was penalised 30s which promoted former Aussie Racing Cars front runner Mark Duckworth to third.

Duckworth was second in race two, clear of Josh Hourigan,

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Morgan, Shalala and Stephen Hourigan. The third outing was a reverse grid where 0.8s separated the four battling for second. That went to Morgan from Duckworth, Hardy Martin and Stephen Hourigan. Shalala had engine dramas and Josh Hourigan had the tailshaft break. Morgan was second in the last over Martin, Duckworth and Ryan Pring.

MAZDA MX5S THE THREE races took place on the first day and were all won

by Todd Herring. In each he was way in front of Curran Brennan who in turn, had pace on his nearest rivals. Third place in Race 1 went to Stuart McFadyen as Tim Herring passed Ben Oldfield midway through to secure fourth.

Brennan’s margin in the second outing was closer. Herring was second on lap one before McFadyen passed him. But by the end Oldfield relegated both.

Oldfield jumped Brennan at the start of the third. Brennan soon went past and drew away with McFadyen next ahead of Herring.

BMW E35S THREE RESULTS went the way of fastest qualifier Rob Boaden, the first comfortably but the others less so. Marcus Rumler was second in the opening wet race ahead of David Bailey, Shaun Penwarden, Adam Hughes and Aaron Lloyd. Penwarden was a close in the ensuing encounters where Lloyd and then Paul Stanbrook, a latecomer, scored close thirds. Garry O’Brien

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AFTER THE AMRS pulled out of The Bend meeting and the categories were managed by the South Australian circuit operators, the Benalla Auto Club put on Thunderdays at Winton for its Thunder Sports category on April 23-24.

Whilst there were other activities such as passenger rides, the single category had practice, qualifying and a shootout before four races. Overall honours went to Travis Condon (above) in his 5.7 litre Toyota Corolla) over Ford Falcon AU pilot Cameron McKee and David Buntin (Lotus Elise) – the latter in his return to racing after a serious accident last November.

Jeremy Davidson (Mazda RX7) won the first race ahead of Condon and Merrick Malouf (6.0lt Ford Falcon Ute) but didn’t start race two due to a blown diff on the warm-up lap. Brent Edwards (Falcon BA) was fourth until the bell housing broke and his weekend was done.

Race 2 went to Condon over Malouf and McKee, and Condon also won the third. Malouf was a close second and just in front of McKee when he spun at Turn 9. He resumed only to have the right rear wheel come off at Turn 6 on the last lap. In the last outing it was Josh Dowell (Falcon) who won ahead of McKee and Buntin. Garry O’Brien

PIRATES TAKE RADELAIDE WITH 512 LAPS completed, the Black Pearl Pirates (above) won the Radelaide 14 Hour enduro at Mallala Motorsport Park on Marck 26-27.

Despite some fuel surge dramas in the later stages, their Subaru Impreza completed 512 laps, the most of anyone, and also took out the ME-2 class which they won ahead of Apollo 13 and Old Men Racing.

The ME-1 class was won by Track Attack in their Ford Falcon EB over Triple R Racing and Drought Racing. In ME-3 it was Crash Test Dummies in a Nissan Pulsar from Scotchers Hyundies and Dutch Courage Racing. CTD were fortunate to make it to the end, circulating without an exhaust manifold or second and fifth gears.

It was the third Motor Events Racing event this year and was open to cars that had to be under $5K in the Redbook.

As in the earlier races, each had four drivers or more and raced in a social, no pressure atmosphere. On-track contact, dangerous driving, spins etc were dealt with penalties like team challenges, sin bins or bribes.

The award for the biggest Rare Cancers Australia fund-raiser over the weekend was from Kermit Racing who amassed over $3k and took the organisers to in excess of $50k total raised.

Ironically the team were an early casualty with a stripped diff in their Falcon after just 15 laps. Garry O’Brien

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NATIONALS WRAP

Images: MTR Images

QRDC LONG WAIT OVER IT BECAME a long wait for the first QR Drivers Championship meeting on April 9 after the intended first round was a washout. Therefore the one day/ nighter QRDC second round was eagerly anticipated, with six categories racing.

REPLICA TOURERS ALTHOUGH HOLDEN drivers won each of the three races staged on three different layouts, it was Brandon Madden in his Ford Falcon AU who topped the points.

The first race was on the Sprint Circuit where Stephen Coe (Commodore VE) won comfortably from Rex Scoles (VE), Lindsay Kearns (Ford Mustang) and Madden.

Onto the Clubman circuit for Race 2 and Coe was again well out in front. Leo Meiers (VE) was second with Madden next ahead of Tom Arndt (BMW 330CI), Brian Smallwood (Toyota 86) and Tony Rowe (Mazda RX7). With no Coe in the last on the National course, Meiers cleared out.

Madden was second ahead of Rowe, Jordan Walker (VE) and Smallwood.

QLD TOURING CARS BACK FROM a two-year break, Chris Sharples (Holden Monaro – pictured top) picked up where he left off and took the overall victory. He had some intense dices with Chris Brown (Holden Commodore) who finished second overall while third went to Stuart Walker (Commodore VE).

Brown led the first race before an early miscue which left Matt Haak (VZ) in front until Lee Gravolin (Monaro) went ahead of the last lap. Haak led Race 2 until he dropped out, and left Sharples to edge out Brown by 0.002s. Peter Bray (Commodore) was next ahead of Walker and Gary Lange (BMW E46).

Brown turned the tables in Races 3 and 4 as did Walker on Bray while Robert Bellinger (BMW E46 M3) was fifth in both. Class B honours went to David Yanko (Commodore) over Ben Malpass (E36 Coupe) while Sam Allen (BMW) topped Class C over Hudson James (Commodore).

EXCEL CUP JARROD HUGHES dominated the

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opening round where he qualified fastest and won all four races comfortably ahead of 34 rivals. Second place was a different matter and at the end of the meeting it went to Jack Wood over Ben Gomersall and Bradi Owens.

Ryan Gray was the runner-up in first race where 0.6s covered him and the eventual top place getters. Wood was second in the next two, narrowly over Gomersall and Owen respectively before Ryan O’Sullivan beat them in the last after a DNF in Race 2, and seventh in Race 3.

AUSTRALIAN TRANS-AM FORD MUSTANG driver Anthony Tenkate won all the races and finished the meeting ahead of Alwyn Bishop (Plymouth Duster) and Ian Palmer (Plymouth AAR Cuda). Behind the 6.0 litre cars, Ron Prefontaine (Mustang), Simon Trapp (Mustang) and Len Balme (Mercury Cougar) were the best of the 5.0 litres.

Russell Wright (Mustang) was a close second in Race 1 and was chasing Tenkate in the second on a wet track when Tenkate spun, and Wright had nowhere to go but into the green Ford.

Tenkate was able to continue the meeting, but Wright suffered too much damage. Prefontaine was fourth overall ahead of Dan Fleming (Mustang) and Peter Schulte (AMC Javelin).

QR SPORTS & SEDANS THE NATIONAL and Clubman circuits were used, and it made no difference to Lachlan Gardner who won all four races in his MARC Cars Mazda V8. Grant Draney (Chev Monte Carlo) was second in the first two races ahead of Steven Marek (Nissan Skyline GTR) before the latter reversed those positions in the next two outings.

Brett Mitchell (OzTruck Maloo) was fourth four times while fifth was shared around between Coleby Cowham (Ford Mustang) in the first, then James Campbell (Mini Cooper), Ken Samway (Mazda MX5) and Matt Feldman (Mitsubishi EVO 5).

Tenkate leads Bishop and Palmer in a close Trans-Am contest.

HQ HOLDENS IT WAS tough going for Brandon Madden to score three race wins, which was sufficient for him to take the overall honours ahead of Scott Andriske and Jake Madden. There was only a tenth in Brandon Madden’s first win, where he beat Andriske, and only slightly more in the second over Joe Andriske.

The third was slightly more comfortable at 0.7s, this time over Scott Andriske.

Then in the last Jake Madden was able to pip Scott Andriske and Ben Simpson while Brandon Madden was fourth.

Simpson finished fourth for the meeting ahead of Joe Andriske.

2L COUPES THERE WAS tight competition in the all-Toyota 86 field with three different winners. However Hayden Hume won two of the four races after he qualified fastest by 0.06s from Rossi Johnson. Hume took the overall first round result over Ryan Casha and Jack Westbury who each had a race win. Johnson finished fourth, with a best result of third in the last, ahead of Ryan Hadden and rookie Zoe Woods.

SUPERKARTS THE WIN in the last race gave Steve Cloake overall victory in his 250cc Stockman after a third and a second.

Russell Jamieson (250 PVP) lapped the field in Race 1 and comfortably won the

second on a slightly wet track. But he was an early retirement from the last when the front cylinder wouldn’t clear, which left Cloake dicing with Kane Otway (250 Anderson) who eventually retired when a seat bracket broke.

Third overall was Peter Nuske (125 Rotax Light Peter Woodgate Racing) ahead of Nick Marshall (125 TAG Heavy Arrow). Otway finish fifth overall due to a fourth and third in the earlier races.

Andrew Cain (Arrow) challenged Marshall for class honours and was seventh overall. In 85cc Gearbox, Lindsey Jamieson (Goldkart) was beaten by less than a tenth in Race 2 by his nephew Chryss (Goldkart) but had a better finish result overall. Garry O’Brien

Brandon Maddon took three wins in HQs

BIKES Bagnaia’s lead over Quartararo was never more than a few tenths, while (far left) Aleix Espargaro’s late move on Millar netted a podium.

Images: Motorsport Images

IMPECCABLE PECCO Report: Dan McCarthy FRANCESCO BAGNAIA was unflappable in Jerez, undeterred by constant pressure from Fabio Quartararo, to take his first MotoGP win of the season and get his 2022 title challenge back on track.

While Bagnaia took the win, his Aussie teammate Jack Miller was pushed back from third to fifth in the closing stages of the race, coming off third-best in a dog-fight against Spaniards Aleix Espargaro and Marc Marquez.

All weekend long Ducati’s Bagnaia and reigning MotoGP champion Quartararo were the class of the field. The pair took off in the early laps, and the intensity was high with neither making a single error.

Quartararo’s pressure was relentless, within 1s for much of the race. The Yamaha rider was never close enough to make a move (despite honing in on the closing laps), and that was due to the incredible consistency of Bagnaia.

Espargaro and Marquez’s fight began on the opening lap when they sat behind both Miller and Takaaki Nakagami.

Marquez was aggressive on the opening lap into the final turn, forcing his way past Nakagami to claim fourth. The Japanese

rider was off line and this also allowed Espargaro through.

After only a couple of laps, the leading pair had taken off into the distance and continued to increase the margin throughout the race.

Miller’s attention turned to the Spainard’s behind as the fight for third commenced.

Up front, in the closing laps, Quartararo trimmed the lead down to under 0.4s but it was not enough. Bagnaia held on by just 0.285s at the line.

Quartararo finished second to extend his championship lead from Aprilia’s Espargaro, who was 10.5s further back.

Aleix Espargaro took his third podium of the season, nipping by both Marquez and Miller in one move. Up the inside of Miller he also got by Marquez who made a miraculous save after almost losing the Honda..

From there, Espargaro put his head down and powered away. Behind, the Miller and Marquez scrap continued.

The battle for fourth went down to the final lap with the factory Honda man risking it all, diving up the inside of Miller at Turn 8 in spectacular style – he made it stick and held on to fourth.

Miller was fifth ahead of Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir who drifted into late contention for a podium, but couldn’t find a move on the men in front.

Nakagami eventually crossed the line in seventh, 4s clear of former championship leader Enea Bastianini, rookie Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Brad Binder.

Joint championship leader coming into the round Alex Rins’ had a shocker, after qualifying in 14th, the Team Suzuki man made a trip through the gravel after he lost the front end and finished outside the points in 19th.

The other Aussie, Remy Gardner, was just behind, in 20th.

Both Pramac Racing riders crashed, Jorge Martin on lap 1 and Johann Zarco a few laps later.

STANDINGS 1 Quartararo 89 2 Espargaro 82 3 Bastianini 69 4 Rins 69 5 Bagnaia 56 6 Mir 56 7 Zarco 51 8 Binder 48 9 Marquez 44 10 Oliveira 43

FABIO IS BACK ONE WEEK earlier, at Portimao, very few would have predicted a Fabio Quartararo victory, let alone a dominant display.

The reigning World Champion had only scored one top five finish leading into the round but, as many of his title rivals finished down the field, he leapt into the lead of the championship.

It was a mixed day for the Aussies. Jack Miller crashed out of a fight for the podium, while Remy Gardner scored his best result to date in 14th.

With six laps to go, Miller was challenging Joan Mir for third. On the brakes into Turn 1, Miller’s front-end let go, the Queenslander fell, taking out an innocent Mir with him.

Quartararo cruised across the line 5.4s clear of fellow Frenchman Zarco who held off Aleix Espargaro in the closing stages.

Alex Rins was arguably the rider of the day, coming home in fourth position after starting outside of the top 20.

Home hero, Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira clinched a top five finish ahead of brothers Marc and Alex Marquez.

CLASH OF THE TITANS Report: Dan McCarthy DESPITE JONATHAN Rea winning two of the three World Superbike races in Assen, the round will be remembered for the crash between he and reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu.

In the opening round of the season, Alvaro Bautista returned to Ducati on a mission, taking two of the three race wins.

However Round 2 saw the three protagonists step the level up another notch in the Netherlands and come to blows in the final encounter.

Nothing could separate the top three in the opening race of the weekend in what was a WSBK classic (pictured).

Rea led for much of the race, occasionally swapping top spot with both Bautista and Razgatlioglu.

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Rea made his final decisive move for the lead on Lap 16 at Turn 1 on Razgatlioglu.

On the same lap, Bautista made his move on Razgatlioglu for second place. As the 21-lap race reached its conclusion, Bautista closed in on Rea, looking to make a racewinning move at the final chicane, but could not get by. Rea held on for the win.

Andrea Locatelli finished in fourth ahead of former MotoGP rider Iker Lecuona.

The Superpole Race saw Rea take victory, his 100th with Kawasaki, after pinching second on the final lap of the race at Turn 8.

From fifth on the grid, Bautista fought his way to the front, but could not hold on to the lead. The Spaniard was even demoted to third behind Razgatlioglu for exceeding track limits on the final lap.

Once again, Locatelli and factory Honda

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rider Lecuona rounded out the top five.

In Race 2, the inevitable finally occurred – a crash Image: Motorsport Images between the title contenders. causing both to crash and retire from the Razgatlioglu made a good start from race. second on the grid and moved into the lead This allowed Bautista to cruise to his of the race early on. third win of the season ahead of Locatelli The trio swapped places throughout the and Lecuona who scored his first WSBK opening laps, however it was clear that podium.

Yamaha rider Razgatlioglu was trying to STANDINGS break away.

1 Bautista 109 In doing so the Turkish rider ran wide 2 Rea 91 at Turn 1 on Lap 6 but remained on track.

3 Razgatlioglu 64 Rea came through Turn 1 shortly after and 4 Locatelli 55 the pair collided on the exit of the corner, 5 Lecuona 50

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WRC ROUND 3 - CROATIA RALLY

CROATIAN CLASSIC

Images: Red Bull Content Pool

REPORT: Josh Nevett YOUNG FINN Kalle Rovanpera (pictured, top and above) held off a fast-finishing Ott Tanak to win Rally Croatia, extending his championship lead after a huge scare on the final day.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver was fastest out of the gate, accumulating a near 90s lead on the opening day.

However, a hard charging Tanak reeled in Rovanpera on Day 2, whose Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 sustained a puncture as heavy rain and thick fog made for incredibly difficult driving conditions.

Tanak gained nearly 55s in just one stage in his Hyundai i20 N before Rovanpera stemmed the tide, the lead narrowing to just 19s regardless.

Entering the final day with a mountain to climb, Tanak continued to whittle away

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at Rovanpera’s lead until he stole the ascendency in the penultimate stage.

In a thrilling climax, it was Rovanpera who ultimately emerged on top, wrestling back top spot in the Power Stage and winning his second straight WRC round.

“This feels like the best win for me so far,” Rovanpera said. “It was such a tough weekend, the conditions were incredibly difficult and I think everyone had some issues or moments at some point.

“It looked like it was going to be too difficult for us to win with the way that the weather turned out. We lost a lot of time in the rain and we didn’t think the tyre choice would be too good for the final stage either with how much mud there was.

“But we just decided to go for it and push hard and the time was great.

“There will be some more difficult rallies to come opening the road on gravel which

will be a new experience for me, but for now I’m happy of course: The pace is really good and everything is going well.”

With back-to-back wins in the bag, Rovanpera’s championship tally now sits at 76 points with Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville in second, who was third in Croatia 2m 16.7s behind Tanak.

The Belgian took the final podium position, making the most of an exceedingly challenging weekend in which he faced several obstacles.

On Friday, Neuville received a 1m penalty for speeding, which relegated him from second to fourth, before a second 10s penalty was dealt to him on the second morning for leaving late.

Irishman Craig Breen was fourth in his Ford Puma after a close battle with Neuville, in which he held an advantage heading into the final day before falling just short.

Despite missing out on a podium position in Croatia, Breen is still third in the standings with a three-point buffer.

Ott Tanak (Hyundai) almost, but not quite, ran down leader Rovanpera.

Elfyn Evans came home fifth for Toyota.

Takamoto Katsuta was well back in sixth, ahead of WRC2 runner Yohan Rossel.

Swedish youngster Oliver Solberg was fifth before crashing out of the rally in his i20 N, his car catching fire in the aftermath.

Esapekka Lappi was classified way down the order after retiring with damaged suspension on the opening day. He returned and made good pace but could not make up the lost ground.

All three big name manufacturers are represented at the top of the Drivers’ Standings, while Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT holds a 42-point advantage in the Manufacturers’ Championship.

Just four points separate Hyundai and M-Sport Ford.

STANDINGS AFTER 3 ROUNDS 1​ Rovanpera​ 76 2​ Neuville ​47 3 ​Breen​ 30​ 4​ Loeb​ 27​ 5​ Tanak ​27

INDYCAR

Images: Motorsport Images

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS REPORT: Josh Nevett PATO O’WARD (above) took his first victory of the IndyCar Series season at the Grand Prix of Alabama, marking a return to form after contract talks marred the start of his campaign.

The #5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet driver beat Alex Palou and Rinus Veekay to the line at Barber Motorsports Park, propelling himself up to fifth in the series standings after four rounds.

“It sucks to be at war within your own team, right?” O’Ward said.

“I’m glad there have been very positive talks for the future.

“I wanted to do it for these guys, for Arrow, for McLaren SP, Team Chevy. I was tired of being 10th and 11th and fifth, so I said, ‘Let’s get a win under our belts so we can claw our way back into the championship fight.”

Starting from the front row, O’Ward trailed polesitter Veekay in the early stages, patiently biding his time as Kiwi Scott McLaughlin sat third.

Drivers across the field opted for different strategies, some planning for two stops while others elected to push their soft compound tyres with a threestop plan.

One of those who elected for a twostop strategy was championship leader Josef Newgarden, who lost positions early before pulling into the pits on lap 12.

Meanwhile, teammates Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta engaged in a tussle, the latter emerging on top after some tense moments.

One of the key moments came on lap 32, when rookie Callum Ilott spun his #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet into the gravel at Turn 9. The incident brought about a caution and a swathe of drivers

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went into the pits, cancelling out the three-stop strategy.

Veekay emerged from pitlane in the lead of the race, O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou and Alexander Rossi in hot pursuit as the race resumed on lap 35.

It was the Dutch driver who showed the most pace though, extending the gap to over 2s by lap 60.

At that point Veekay, O’Ward and McLaughlin all took to the pits for the last time, all taking primary tyres, although for the latter in the #3 Team Penske Chevrolet it was used rubber.

The order remained unchanged exiting pit lane, however O’Ward sensed his opportunity and passed Veekay around the outside of Turn 5 on the out lap.

Once in the lead, O’Ward was never in danger. “(Team president Taylor Kiel) told me we were fighting for the win,” O’Ward said.

“We almost got him in the pit stops. I said, ‘Man, this is the chance.’ It was so tough to follow because it’s such a fast and flowing circuit. I knew if I had the opportunity, it would have been right then and there. I knew if we got into clean air, we could kind of control the thing.

“Once we did that, it was cruise to Victory Lane.”

However, the same could not be said for Veekay behind him.

A flawless pit process from Palou saw him emerge ahead of Veekay after stopping on lap 64, the Spaniard pushing to challenge the leader by lap 73.

O’Ward managed his tyres best and was comfortable in victory, finishing 0.98s ahead of Palou while Veekay was third.

“The No. 5 (O’Ward) was really fast today,” Palou said.

“We’re happy with the #10 American

Legion Honda, the car was super-fast this weekend and another podium, so we were fighting until the end.

“We couldn’t make it today, but we’ll try to win at the next one.”

Will Power, Scott Dixon and McLaughlin made it a trans-Tasman affair in positions four through to six.

Grosjean, Graham Rahal, Rossi and Herta rounded out the top 10.

After finishing 14th, Newgarden is no longer the standings leader, Palou now topping the points ahead of McLaughlin and Newgarden.

O’Ward climbed from ninth to fifth in the standings with his first victory since last June.

IndyCar now heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which will first host the GMR Grand Prix on May 14 on the 14-turn IMS road course.

The 106th Indianapolis 500 will run on May 29 on the historic oval.

O’Ward started from the front row, alongside Rinus Vekay.

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INTERNATIONAL

EXPERIENCE PAYS

Images: Motorsport Images

SUPER SPRINTERS RAFFAELE MARCIELLO and Timur Boguslavskiy (above) shot to the top of the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup standings with an emphatic Race 2 win at Brands Hatch.

The #89 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG squad put together a dominant race performance after finishing third in the first race, leading all the way home from pole position.

The weekend kicked off with a shock result in Race 1, as Silver Cup racers Ulysse De Pauw and Pierre Alexandre Jean defied their categorisation to win in the #53 Ferrari.

Putting together a lights-to-flag

performance, the AF Corse duo became just the fourth Silver Cup crew to score overall victory.

Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor came home second in the #32 Team WRT Audi R8, while the #89 MercedesAMG Akkodis ASP crew of Marciello and Boguslavskiy completed the podium.

In Race 2, Marciello pulled away to a 10s margin in his opening 30-minute stint, before Boguslavskiy sealed the win, the team’s first Sprint Cup win since the final round of the 2020 season.

Weerts and Vanthoor held on to

second position in the #32 Audi R8, holding off a fast-finishing Jules Gounon who completed the overall podium in the #88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG he shares with Jim Pla. Jean and De Pauw were again the best of the Silver Cup entries in fifth overall, sweeping the class.

In Pro-Am, Patryk Krupinski and Christian Klien secured round honours with a class win in Race 2. The #111 JP Motorsport McLaren team ran in the top 10 overall during the first stint of the second encounter, and also impressed in Race 1 by coming home second in class. Josh Nevett

EXPERIENCED DUO Lucas Auer and Nico Muller split the wins in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) season opener at Algarve International Circuit in Portugal.

Auer became the first race winner of 2022 in his WINWARD Mercedes-AMG, capitalising on a Safety Car restart to hit the lead and take victory.

German Luca Stolz was second in the HRT Mercedes-AMG, while Italian Mirko Bortolotti in the GRT Lamborghini after looking the likely winner early.

Bortolotti was in the lead when a Safety Car was called for his teammate Rolf Ineichen. With the field bunched up, Bortolotti was unable to find any power on the restart, falling behind the new leaders.

Kelvin van der Linde was the bestplaced Audi driver in fourth.

Bortolotti’s pain would be short lived, as another third-place finish in Race 2 earned him the standings lead after one round.

The Italian stood on the steps with Felipe Fraga and race winner Muller, who led from lights-to-flag to take his 11th victory in DTM in the Rosberg Audi.

“I am just very happy, we have worked so hard for this,” Muller said.

“We know how tough this championship is this year, so it makes us even happier to achieve this victory.”

Red Bull AF Corse Ferrari driver Fraga was runner-up, and scored an extra point for clocking the fastest lap.

All six brands were represented in the top seven, as German duo Marco Wittman and Maximillian Gotz just missed out on podium finishes in BMW and MercedesAMG machinery.

It was a slow start to Gotz’s campaign as defending champion, given that he failed to score points in Race 1.

Kelvin van der Linde and Laurens Vanthoor were sixth and seventh, the latter ensuring that Porsche had a car inside the top 10. Josh Nevett

VANDOORNE VICTORIOUS STOFFEL VANDOORNE is the new leader of the Formula E World Championship after his first triumph of the season in the Monaco E-Prix.

The Mercedes-EQ driver benefited from a midrace Safety Car period which created a strategy dilemma for many, surging to become the sixth winner of the season ahead of polesitter Mitch Evans on the streets of Monte Carlo.

DS TECHEETAH steerer Jean-Eric Vergne completed the podium, as the three championship frontrunners solidified their status.

Vandoorne started from fourth, moving through the field to hit the lead when thenleader Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche Formula E Team) retired due to technical issues on lap 16.

He then survived two Safety Car restarts to win with pace in hand, beating out Evans after a race long battle.

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Vergne was third, clinching a well-deserved podium after spending the duration of the encounter battling those around him. The Frenchman now has three podiums this season and is the only driver to score points in every race.

Robin Frijns scored fourth and the points for Fastest Lap, while Antonio Felix da Costa made it two DS TECHEETAHs in the top five.

It was a mixed outing for ROKiT Venturi Racing – Lucas di Grassi was sixth, however Edoardo Mortara was forced to retire after looking like for a points finish.

Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing), Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams), Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) and reigning champion Nyck de Vries rounded out the top 10.

As a result of Vandoorne’s victory, MercedesEQ sits 15 points ahead of DS TECHEETAH in the Teams’ standings. Josh Nevett

STANDINGS 1​ Vandoorne ​81 2 ​Vergne​​ 75​ 3​ Evans​ 72 4​ Frijns ​71 5​ Mortara​ 49

ONE LAP WONDER

REPORT: Josh Nevett ROSS CHASTAIN led only one lap at Talladega Superspeedway, but that was enough to crown him victor in the latest NASCAR Cup Series race.

The #1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driver sat back in the pack before electing to pounce on the last lap, surging down the inside of Erik Jones and Kyle Larson to win by just 0.105s (insert image above).

It was the 29-year-old’s second career triumph, after he opened his account at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas on March 27.

This one was earned through strategy rather than outright pace.

“Holy cow, we didn’t do anything!’ Chastain yelled on his team radio “We just stayed down there.’’

“I’m always the one going to the top too early and making the mistake and there at the end, with eight (laps) to go I was like ‘I’m not going up there again’, I did that a couple times today,” Chastain said.

“I was like, I’ll just drive the bottom, I’m not going to lose the race for us. They just kept going up and moving out of the way.”

Jones and Larson were left to rue what could have been, both forfeiting their opportunity to win by battling the other on the final lap.

In the end neither made the podium, as Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon crossed the line in second and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch completed the podium.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Larson was fourth, his first top-five finish in a

Superspeedway race a consolation for the late race blemish.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was fifth followed by Jones, his Petty GMS Motorsports team denied its first win since 2014.

“Just the last lap ... it’s typical here,” Jones said.

“I’ve been close here so many times in this race and the fall race.”

“I wish I’d stayed in the bottom but I didn’t realise they were coming with that much speed.”

Chase Elliot finished seventh, while Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 10.

In keeping with the spirit of Talladega, the lead changed 41 times in the 2022 race.

William Byron led a race-best 38 of the 188 laps for Hendrick Motorsports but finished 15th.

Several drivers failed to finish, including Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Ty Dillon and Harrison Burton, after a multi-car crash on a Stage 2 restart. Logano’s contact with the wall started the chain of events.

Elliott’s top 10 result was good enough for him to extend the championship lead over 11th place finisher Ryan Blaney (Team Penske).

As Auto Action went to print, the race at Dover International Speedway was suspended due to rain, set to resume on Monday local time.

CAMPBELL ON TOP IN GTD PRO

RICKY TAYLOR and Filipe Albuquerque took a narrow victory in the IMSA Sports Car Championship round at Laguna Seca for the second consecutive year, seeing off

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intense pressure from rivals.

The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX05 Daytona Prototype international (DPi) pair crossed the line 1.080s ahead of Tom

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Blomqvist in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, who at one point held the lead and was a constant thorn in the side of the eventual winners.

Taylor raced to a 10s lead early in a remarkable triple stint, before a caution period saw his advantage wiped out. After conceding the lead briefly, the #10 Acura got back in front with just over an hour remaining and held on thereafter.

Tristan Nunez and Pipo Derani completed the podium in the #31 Action Express Racing Cadillac.

In GTD PRO, Aussie Matt Campbell scored a comfortable victory in a lights-to-flag performance alongside Mathieu Jaminet.

The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911

GT3R car (pictured) crossed the line 31.896s clear of any rival, as Campbell commanded the final hour of the two-hour and 40-minute encounter. As a result, the #9 Pfaff squad sits atop the class standings.

In the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, 25-year-old Swiss driver Louis Deletraz and John Farano claimed class honours in the #8 Tower Motorsport ORECA, pulling away to a 23.211s final margin in the second half of the race.

The #18 Era Motorsport ORECA driven

by Dwight Merriman and Ryan Dalziel was second.

Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen topped the GTD class in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Josh Nevett

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Formula 1 Round 04 Emila Romagna GP

Verstappen leads as Riciardo and Sainz are seconds away from their collison, which ended the Ferraris’ race.

MAX’S PERFECT WEEKEND WRECKS TIFOSI’S HOPES

By LUIS VASCONCELOS Images Motorsport Images “WE DIDN’T make any mistakes this weekend”, Max Verstappen repeated countless times at the end of the Emilia Romagna and Made in Italy Grand Prix – and the Dutchman certainly had a point. With Ferrari let down by drivers’ mistakes, the Austrian team finally made the most out of the new aerodynamic package that they failed to understand in Melbourne – pushing them back into Mercedes’ territory – but the lap time gains don’t explain how the team got its first onetwo finishing since Ricciardo and Verstappen achieved an identical result back in the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.

By doing a perfect job from the start to the finish of the Imola weekend, Red Bull certainly put the pressure on Ferrari and the pressure worked.

Even in the Sprint Race, where a poor start dropped Verstappen behind Leclerc, the Dutchman did a better job than his rival, keeping his tyres alive for the final five laps of the short race, while Leclerc went off like every lap was qualifying. The pass for the lead, with three laps to go, proved Verstappen’s point, with the Ferrari driver admitting, “I pushed too much in the early laps and paid the price at the end.”

With 34 points on offer this weekend – 25 for the Sunday’s race, eight for the Sprint Race, plus one for the fastest lap – Verstappen grabbed the lot and cut his deficit to Leclerc in the championship to 27, having arrived in Imola 46 points behind, so no surprise he was beaming at the end of the race: “ It’s always tough to achieve something like that, but already yesterday and the day before we were we were on it and I think it was looking like a strong weekend. Today, you

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never know with the weather how competitive you’re going to be, but I think as a team we did everything well and I think this one-two is very deserved.”

Having lost at the start to Leclerc on Saturday, Verstappen made the most of being on a slightly drier side on the track for the start of the main race had a great getaway, with team mate Sérgio Pérez, also starting on the left side of the grid, slotting in behind, to put Red Bull in control of the race.

For Verstappen, “the start was very important, but also afterwards, judging the conditions and when to swap to the slick tyres. On the out lap with the slick tyres, it was crucial not to make mistakes because in the lead you have to always dictate the pace and it’s always a bit more difficult initially, but everything was well managed.”

The Dutchman was initially reluctant to pit for slicks when other started coming into the pits, later explaining that, “I had already said before the start of the race I didn’t want to be the first to swap for slicks and I’d rather wait one lap too many than

to come in one lap too early. Fortunately, Daniel pitted early and came out ahead of me, I was catching him initially, but then he started to pull away and that’s when I told the team it was a good time to stop. And it was – Checo and Charles had pitted the lap before, I had a good gap, so there was no need to rush things through and, again, it was the perfect moment.”

The Mexican’s stern defense of his second position was, eventually, what led to Leclerc losing his cool and making a costly mistake and, while he was happy to back Verstappen up, Pérez was still a bit disappointed he couldn’t fight for the win: “Winning, definitely that’s the target, but today is a great day for the team and we just have to keep working.”

But it was Team Principal Christian Horner who best summed up the way the team had operated in Imola: “We attacked the weekend from the word go and both drivers have been unbelievable. Both Max and Checo have driven brilliantly this weekend and that one-two finish is all credit

Hamilton had a shocker, finishing 13th – his young team-mate fourth ...

to the team – for the brilliant pitstops and strategy today, but also back in the factory in Milton Keynes, ... the hard effort and work and picking ourselves up after the disappointment of Australia, to come back with a result like that here at Imola was one of our best ever results.”

MAX’S COOL HEAD HELPS HIM TO SPRINT VICTORY With a great lap in wet-to-dry conditions putting him on pole by a staggering 0,789s, Verstappen lost the lead to Leclerc at the start but quickly opted to save his right front tyre as much as possible, while the Ferrari driver went like a dingbat, opening a big gap after the Safety Car returned to the pits, having been out since the opening lap due to a clash between Gasly and Zhou.

But by lap 12, Leclerc had shot his tyres, fell into the Red Bull driver’s DRS distance and couldn’t do anything about him when Verstappen took the lead with three laps to go.

Behind them, Pérez quickly recovered from a bad qualifying to end up in third, less than

PRESSURE GETS TO LECLERC ON HOME GROUND Leclerc’s late-race mistake cost seven points – he was lucky; it could have been a lot worse ...

QUALIFYING RACE 04

QUALIFYING SPRINT RACE 21 LAPS

RESULTS RACE 04 63 LAPS IMOLA

Pos Driver

Time

Pos Drivers

Make

Make

Laps

1

Max Verstappen

1’27.999

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull RB18

21 30’39.567

–

2

Charles Leclerc

1’28.778

2

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari F1-75

21 30’42.542

–

2

Max Verstappen

Red Bull RB18

63

–

1

Charles Leclerc

Sergio Perez

Red Bull RB18

63

16.527 s1

2

Max Verstappen

3

Lando Norris

1’29.131

3

Sergio Perez

Red Bull RB18

21 30’44.288 s4

59

3

Lando Norris

McLaren MCL36

63

34.834 s2

3

Sergio Perez

54

4

Kevin Magnussen

1’29.164

4

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari F1-75

21

5

Fernando Alonso

1’29.202

5

Lando Norris

McLaren MCL36

21

30’57.145 s6

4

George Russell

Mercedes W13

63

42.506 s6

4

George Russell

49

31’04.128 t-2

5

Valtteri Bottas

Alfa Romeo C42

63

43.181 s2

5

Carlos Sainz

38

6

Daniel Ricciardo

1’29.742

6

Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren MCL36

21

7

Sergio Perez

1’29.808

7

Valtteri Bottas

Alfa Romeo C42

31’07.307

–

6

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari F1-75

63

56.072 t-4

6

Lando Norris

35

21 31’07.700 s1

7

Yuki Tsunoda

AlphaTauri AT03

63

1’01.110 s5

7

Lewis Hamilton

8

Valtteri Bottas

1’30.439

8

Kevin Magnussen

Haas VF-22

21

28

31’10.279 t-4

8

Sebastian Vettel

Aston Martin AMR22 63

1’10.892 s5

8

Valtteri Bottas

9

Sebastian Vettel

1’31.062

9

Fernando Alonso

Alpine A522

21

24

31’11.845 t-4

9

Kevin Magnussen Haas VF-22

63

1’15.260 t-1

9

Esteban Ocon

20

10 Carlos Sainz

No Time

10 Mick Schumacher

Haas VF-22

21 31’13.340 s2

10 Lance Stroll,

Aston Martin AMR22 62

1 Lap t-5

10 Kevin Magnussen

15

11

George Russell

1’20.757

11

Mercedes W13

21

31’15.851

12

Mick Schumacher

1’20.916

12 Yuki Tsunoda

AlphaTauri AT03

21

31’17.865 s4

11

12 Pierre Gasly

Williams

62

1 Lap t–7

11

AlphaTauri AT03

62

1 Lap s5

12 Yuki Tsunoda

10

13

Lewis Hamilton

1’21.138

13 Sebastian Vettel

Aston Martin AMR22

21

31’19.744 t-4

14

Zhou Guanyu

1’21.434

14 Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes W13

21

31’21.026 t-1

13 Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes W13

62

1 Lap s1

13 Pierre Gasly

6

14 Esteban Ocon

Alpine A522

62

1 Lap s2

14 Sebastian Vettel

15

Lance Stroll

1’28.119

15 Lance Stroll

Aston Martin AMR22

21 31’22.477

4

–

15 Zhou Guanyu

Alfa Romeo C42

62

1 Lap s5

15 Fernando Alonso

2

16 Yuki Tsunoda

1’20.474

16 Esteban Ocon

17

Pierre Gasly

1’20.732

17 Pierre Gasly

Alpine A522

21 31’23.084 s3

16 Nicholas Latifi

Williams FW44

62

1 Lap s3

16 Zhou Guanyu

1

AlphaTauri AT03

21 31’23.361

17 Mick Schumacher Haas VF-22

62

1 Lap t-7

17 Alex Albon

18

Nicholas Latifi

1’21.971

1

18 Alex Albon

Williams FW44

21 31’28.438 s2

18 Daniel Ricciardo

62

1 Lap t-12

18 Lance Stroll

19 Esteban Ocon

1

1’22.338

19 Nicholas Latifi

Williams FW44

21 31’31.584 t-1

19 Fernando Alonso Alpine A522

6

57 Laps t-10

20 Alex Albon

No Time

20 Zhou Guanyu

Alfa Romeo C42

0 DNF (crash) t-6

20 Carlos Sainz

0

DNF t-16

George Russell

2s behind Leclerc, while Sainz did a sterling job to recover to 4th, after starting from only 10th on the grid.

Norris and Ricciardo had a quiet run to 5th and 6th , respectively, their only concern was Bottas’ fast pace at the end, the Finn doing a great job considering he was driving a car that had been finished a couple of hours before, after sitting out FP2 while the chassis damaged by fire in qualifying was being replaced. Kevin Magnussen scored the final point in the Sprint race, paying the price for Haas’ decision to start on Medium tyres, a conservative approach that didn’t pay off, but the Dane’s greatest achievement of the weekend was setting the fourth quickest time in qualifying.

Mercedes, you’re asking? They were nowhere near the points. The car’s lack of downforce made it very uncompetitive

Laps

Time

Pos Drivers

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 04

–

–

Alex Albon

McLaren MCL36 Ferrari F1-75

in qualifying and none of the drivers progressed in the Sprint Race, Russell finishing in the P11 he started from, Hamilton dropping one place at the start to end Saturday in 14th position.

NORRIS SHINES AGAIN FOR MCLAREN Third in qualifying, in conditions where he always strives, Lando Norris knew it was just a matter of time before Pérez and Sainz, who had underperformed on Friday, would get past him during the 21 laps of the Sprint Race, so he accepted P5 at the end, hoping for more of the same on Sunday.

But when team mate Daniel Ricciardo punted Carloz Sainz off the track shortly after the start, P4 was Norris’ for the taking and he quickly pulled a good gap over the very fast starting George Russell. Then, when Leclerc spun at Variante Alta, 10 laps from the end, in

Ricciardo went to Ferrari’s paddock HQ to apologise for taking out Sainz (above), Left: It was Red Bull’s day, with Norris notching his first podium and fourth top-five for McLaren.

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Margin 1:32’07.986

Pos Driver

Daniel Ricciardo

Points 86

11

19 Mick Schumacher 20 Nico Hulkenberg

a vain attempt to try and get ahead of Pérez, the young British driver moved up to third, celebrating his first podium of the season.

For George Russell the start and avoiding the first corner incident was the key to moving from 11th on the grid to 6th place by the end of the first lap. Passing Magnuseen, who didn’t have the car to fight in drying conditions, wasn’t too hard and the Mercedes’ driver only concern was keeping his W13’s slick front tyres alive on a harsh track, after the team failed to adjust the front win flap when he pitted to get rid of the Intermediate tyres everyone had to take for the start.

Russell’s strategy worked, as he managed to keep Valtteri Bottas at bay in the final seven laps, the Finn recovering from being an innocent victim of the Ricciardo-Sainz incident and, also, losing 10 seconds during the pit stop as the right front wheel didn’t come off due to a cross tread nut. Still, he scored 10 precious point for Alfa Romeo, in an important weekend for the team, in front of their fans and Stelantis’ CEO Carlos Tavares.

With Leclerc recovering to sixth after his unforced error, Yuki Tsunoda gave AlphaTauri something to celebrate in a race held 14 kms away from its factory with a great drive to seventh. With Vettel in eighth and Stroll tenth, Aston Martin scored its first points of the season, while Magnussen still managed to rescue another two points on a track where, in dry conditions, his Haas was not competitive.

MISTAKES BY both drivers – Sainz in Q2, Leclerc in the main race – showed that the two Ferrari youngsters still have to mature to lead with the pressure of driving a winning red car in front of the Tifosi. The Spaniard recovered well in the Sprint Race only to be taken out by Ricciardo at the start of Sunday’s race, but the championship leader’s mistake on lap 53 of the Grand Prix came too late for the Monegasque to recover, so he ended the race in sixth place, losing seven points, as third place was completely in the bag when he lost the F1-75 at Variante Alta in a desperate attempt to try and put himself in a position to attack Pérez at the start of the following lap.

The Monegasque, honest as ever blamed himself for the mistake and vowed never to repeat it again: “It is a big shame. I believe that the spin should not have happened today. P3 was the best I could do, we didn’t have the pace for much more and I was too greedy and I paid the price for it, so I lost seven potential points compared to my third place I was before. It is a shame, it’s seven points that are valuable at the end of the championship, for sure ... this shouldn’t happen again. It’s a big mistake, but the consequences could have been much bigger. It’s only seven points today but it could be more the next time, so I need to be careful for that.”

Scoring just eight points in front of the home crowd after a strong start of the season, Team Principal Mattia Binotto was not a happy man at the end of the race: “We are a bit unhappy with today’s result, but I think we need to keep the heads up; that’s part of racing. Some races may go wrong, as it has been today, but I think we’ve got still a competitive package, and I think we need to keep the smile on and look forward to the next races.”

The Italian downplayed the fact Red Bull believed the upgrades introduced in the RB18 had made the difference, though: “Certainly they are strong, and we know that they are developing the cars. But two weeks ago we were in Australia, we saw we’ve got the best car, and today is the opposite. I think it will be race-by-race that it can be the balance may change a bit. We know that developing will be a key element of the season, no doubt, we know that Red Bull will be very strong, they are coming back. We will review the race of today and move forward.”

With the first big upgrade for the F1-75 coming for the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari stays on plan until then, taking the car to Miami more or less in the same configuration seen since Bahrain, a policy that has paid off – but is not bullet proof when it’s the drivers that make small, but costly mistakes. LV Fourth in qualifying was huge for Haas ...

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SUPERCAR PERTH SUPPORTS Image:

Image: Ross Gibb Photography

LOCALS HEAD CUP ROUND

EVERYONE’S A WINNER BEN WALSH (above) took round honours in the V8 SuperUte Series as four different drivers registered victories at Wanneroo Raceway.

Walsh, Aaron Borg, George Gutierrez and David Sieders all stood atop the podium steps, giving three separate manufacturers wins in an even and closely fought weekend of action.

Sieders kicked proceedings in style with a win in his Mitsubishi Triton.

The Sieders Racing Team driver took the lead from the start and held it thereafter, finishing 1.4s clear of Aaron Borg in a Holden Colorado.

Polesitter Craig Woods completed the podium in a Toyota Hilux.

Gutierrez gave up several positions after stalling at the start line, falling to ninth

before recovering to fifth.

His fortunes would improve in the second encounter though, taking a victory by 6.2s over Borg and Rohan Barry.

Craig Dontas started from reverse grid pole and led for two laps before Gutierrez made his move at Turn 6.

Chaos ensued almost immediately, Dontas spinning on the exit of the corner before contact with Sieders took both drivers out of the race.

Outside the podium places, Woods was undoubtedly the hard luck story, suffering a puncture mid race before finishing last of the classified runners.

Borg took his first win of the season in Race 3, finishing 2.5s clear of Walsh.

The latter made some nice moves to earn a podium place, joined by Barry who

was a further 8.7s off the pace.

Chris Formosa, Josh Hunter and Sieders failed to finish, the former stranded in the sand trap at the last corner.

It appeared that Borg had taken consecutive victories in the final encounter, however a post-race 5s penalty relegated him to sixth behind Walsh who became the fourth winner of the weekend.

Borg was penalised for taking advantage of a collision, dropping down the order.

Woods inherited second after charging through the field, completing his rise with overtakes on Barry and Harry Gray at the end of the encounter, which finished behind a Safety Car. Barry completed the podium.

Josh Nevett

AT ROUND two of the Radical Cup Australia seris, in its first venture to Wanneroo, West Australians dominated the races with Elliott Schutte and Bryce Moore (pictured above) each race winners. They both had thirds also but the round points went to Schutte who had been the fastest qualifier while third overall was Madeline Stewart.

The first of two 45-minute races went to Schutte. In a single-handed effort he led at the outset, lost out to Sam Dicker after nine laps, regathered the front running after the compulsory pitstops and led from there to the end.

Jordan Oon and Adam Lisle shared second place ahead of Moore. In his first circuit race 16-year-old Caleb Sumich was next, ahead of Jay Wong who took over from Dicker in a slower pitstop. Stewart was sixth ahead of Peter Carr who took over from Peter Paddon. They finished ahead of Travis Sharpe/Joe Bergic, and Andrew Eldridge.

Best of interstaters was Chris Perini who was the series leader going into the round.

He was sixth when he had a second stop to attend to a battery charge issue. Fortunately for him the Safety Car emerged as Brad Russell was caught in the sand at Turn 6.

Perini slowed with the electrical issue in final stages but held 10th ahead of Fiorenza.

The second race grid was from everyone’s second best qualifying time. Schutte led at the start, while Lisle charged to third before he tagged second placed Sumich and spun him. Moore was right behind Schutte when they executed their pitstops, and returned to the racetrack ahead.

Fiorenza, who was third, split them when he re-joined, and negated a 6.0s disadvantage to 2.8s by the end. Behind Schutte, fourth place went to Stewart while Perini topped the tight battle for fifth with a repass on both Sumich and Paddon. Russell was eighth in front of Wong/Dicker and Eldridge.

Garry O’Brien

HOLDEN DRIVERS TOP HISTORICS THERE WERE four Historic Touring Cars races scheduled at the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight at Wanneroo but only two produced results. John Bondi took out the first in his Holden Monaro HQ and Greg Barr the second aboard his Holden Torana XU-1.

The opening race went just two laps with the chequered flag waved under Safety Car conditions. Second fastest qualifier Peter Pisconeri had an electrical drama that stopped his Ford Mustang at Turn 6 on the out lap. Then Graeme Woolhouse (Mustang) stalled at the delayed start which brought out the Safety Car and finished off the time-certain event.

The second race was gridded on qualifying. Pisconeri beat pole sitter Clinton Raynor (Chev Camaro) away.

Raynor pitted at the end of lap one as

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Pisconeri led until he had a spin in the esses on lap three which put Barr into the lead.

The latter had the front running until he was overtaken by Bondi into Turn 7 on lap six. Behind them John Bondi’s Brian (Monaro) was just in front of Pisconeri who passed Stuart Young (XU-1) on the last lap.

Don Behets manhandled the big Ford Galaxie to sixth ahead of Cono Onofaro (Morris Cooper S), Simon Northey (Mustang), Dan Forster (Cooper S) and Ian Mewett (Ford Falcon Rallye Sprint).

In Race 3, Barr was the winner. He held on by less than a second ahead of Rayner. The Camaro driver charged through to take second off lap one leader, and then second placed John Bondi.

Fourth spot went to Pisconeri ahead

of Brian Bondi who got the better of Young with three of the eight laps to go. Then followed Ray Hepburn (Mustang) and Onofaro, Behets and

10th placed Forster. The proposed handicap finale didn’t happen due to time constraints.

Garry O’Brien

Greg Barr (LJ Torana GTR XU-1) heads the Camaro of Clint Rayner. Image: Ross Gibb Photography

SUPERCARS

A win and a second snared top points for the weekend for Payne (#10), although Tyler Everingham (#27) ran him close with a third, then a win (above) on Sunday.

Images: Ross Gibb Photography

PAYNE TRAIN ROLLS ON KIWI MATTHEW Payne displayed his Supercars Championship credentials at Wanneroo Raceway, triumphing in the second round of the Super2 Series to go top of the standings.

The Grove Racing steerer posted a win in Race 1 before backing it up with another podium finish in the second encounter to pip Tyler Everingham for round honours, as first round victor Zak Best had a weekend to forget.

Payne started from pole in Race 1 alongside Jaylyn Robotham and the pair went side by side into Turn 1.

It was the former who emerged clear in front, before Matt McLean and Cameron Hill swamped Robotham at the end of the first lap.

McLean moved into second and Hill third as Robotham plummeted down the order, running in seventh by lap 4.

Things only got worse for the Erebus Academy driver, who was dealt a 15s

penalty for nudging Aaron Seton into a spin on the third lap.

One of the defining moments of the race came on lap 6, when series leader Best was unable to avoid a collision with the lapped Super3 Series car driven by Steven Page.

Best’s Ford Falcon was sent hurtling into the wall, ending his race and activating a Safety Car period.

“Page should stick to caravans because he clearly can’t race a car,” Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards said in the garage.

Once racing resumed, the hits kept coming.

Jay Hanson suffered rear end damage at Turn 7, dropping down the order before retiring from the race, before Nash Morris came to a halt in the sand trap after contact with Super3 driver Brad Vaughan, who was given a 15s penalty for the incident.

KING KAI KAI ALLEN dominated the running in the Super3 Series, mixing it with his Super2 superiors on the way to a round win.

The Eggleston Motorsport young gun was 13th overall in Race 1, as well as being the best of the Super3 field in his Holden Commodore.

A trio of Commodore’s followed him home, piloted by Blake Fardell, Garry Hills and Jim Pollicina.

The Falcons of Jason Gomersall, Chris Smerdon and Tony Auddino were fifth, sixth and seventh, while Garry Hills was a withdraFrawal after qualifying due to

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engine issues.

In Race 2, Allen reigned supreme again, finishing 2s clear of Brad Vaughan.

Vaughan was way back in Race 1 due to a 15s penalty for a collision with Super2 driver Nash Morris; however he overcame an issue at the start line in the second encounter to earn a podium position.

He was joined by Fardell, who completed the race podium and finished up runnerup for the round.

Garry Hills came in fourth and snuck onto the round podium ahead of Jim Pollicina. Josh Nevett

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Payne managed to avoid the chaos behind him to secure the win in a heated affair, while Hill and Everingham completed the podium.

McLean and Angelo Mouzouris were fourth and fifth, ahead of Declan Fraser and Thomas Maxwell.

Cameron Crick, Zane Morse and Ryal Harris rounded out the top 10, while Robotham was classified 14th.

After charging through the field in Race 1, it was Everingham who took victory in Race 2.

The Matt White Motorsport Nissan Altima driver led from Turn 1 through to a time certain finish, negotiating a couple of Safety Car restarts to stand atop the podium steps.

With the race reduced to 22 laps Everingham had to defend grimly who Payne who pursued consecutive victories, but did so with calm competence.

Fraser finished third over 3s behind the

two frontrunners, while his teammate Hill was fourth in the second Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden Commodore VF. There was a scary moment at the start as the front end of Nash Morris’ Ford Falcon was launched into the air after he attempted to squeeze through a gap between Vaughan and Harris which closed on him.

Morris was forced to retire, while the latter two were able to continue.

Robotham atoned for his disastrous first race to finish fifth, ahead of Morse.

Best also had a better outing in seventh, while Mouzouris, McLean and Seton completed the top 10. Josh Nevett STANDINGS AFTER 2 ROUNDS 1 Payne 546 2 Fraser 462 3 Everingham 450 4 Hill 432 5 Robotham 426

STANDINGS AFTER 2 ROUNDS 1 Allen 588 2 Fardell 516 3 Vaughan 516 4 Pollicina 453 5 Hills 447

Allen (#26) gives the Super2 entry of Ryal Harris a hurry-up ...f

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 4 Wanneroo Raceway

Images: Motorsport Images & Ross Gibb Photography

THE WILD, WILD WEST THREE EXCITING UNPREDICTABLE AND CONTROVERSIAL RACES TOOK PLACE AT WANNEROO RACEWAY IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, SHANE VAN GISBERGEN TOOK TWO WINS, WHILE WILL DAVISON SCORED HIS FIRST WIN SINCE 2016.

Report: Dan McCarthy Images: Motorsport Images/Ross Gibb Photography THE LAST Supercars Championship round in Western Australia was back in 2019 prior to the pandemic – however the racing in 2022 made it well worth the wait.

All three races were full of drama and action due to the short and compact 3.2km Wanneroo Raceway layout which is famous for destroying tyres.

However, what took teams by surprise was how well the tyres lasted, which created some alternate and varying strategies over the three 110km encounters.

Many records were broken over the weekend, and while Shane van Gisbergen won two of the three races, Ford and Will Davison finally ended their respective win droughts.

QUALIFYING RACE 10 – SOME CONTENDERS BURIED ANTON DE Pasquale continued Dick Johnson Racing’s streak of pole positions for the opening encounter under lights in Perth.

Tickford Racing driver Cameron Waters was 0.108s off the pace and joined his fellow Mustang driver on the front row.

Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen was fastest in Sector 1, but was unable to match the Mustangs at the end. He qualified third, a nice position after just sneaking into Q3.

Local lad Brodie Kostecki was just 0.009s slower than SVG, to start from fourth.

David Reynolds kept up his great qualifying form in fifth ahead of James Courtney, Andre

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Heimgartner, Broc Feeney, Thomas Randle and Will Brown.

In Q2, SVG was top after the first run and was the only driver who elected not to go back out – it nearly bit him hard; he snuck through by just 0.014s.

Todd Hazelwood qualified in 11th, ahead of the surprise Q2 elimination Will Davison. Davison attempted to make it through on old tyres, however a lock up into Turn 1 cost him dearly.

Tim Slade was next ahead of Jack le Brocq.

Scott Pye was only 0.219s slower than the fastest man in Q2. Andre Heimgartner, however found himself 15th alongside his Team 18 teammate Mark Winterbottom.

Garry Jacobson, Jake Kostecki, Macauley Jones and Chris Pither, Jack Smith and Bryce Fullwood were next.

The big shock from Qualifying 1 was the Walkinshaw Andretti United duo, who were both eliminated from Q1 on outright pace.

Chaz Mostert qualified in 23rd position, while Nick Percat was a further 0.2s slower

Brodie Kostecki took a pair of top 10 finishes before a ‘family-related’ incident in Race 3.

and would line up on the back of the grid in 25th. Mostert’s Bathurst 1000-winning teammate Lee Holdsworth split the pair, in 24th position.

RACE 10 – HOLDEN’S 600th WIN SHANE VAN GISBERGEN took an emphatic victory in Perth under lights, incredibly his first at Wanneroo and the 600th for Holden as a manufacturer in the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars Championship.

The New Zealander sat third in the opening stint, but when his rivals ahead pitted early, fighting each other off, van Gisbergen stayed on track.

Off the start it was an even jump between De Pasquale and Waters. The latter tried a move up the inside midway around Turn 1 and nearly left himself vulnerable to van Gisbergen behind.

At the end of lap one, it was very much as they were: De Pasquale, Waters, van Gisbergen, B Kostecki and Reynolds.

At the end of lap four De Pasquale had pulled

a 1s gap over Waters, while a patient van Gisbergen was biding his time a further 1s back.

By lap nine the battle for fourth was on, Reynolds hounding the back of Kostecki, although the pair had slipped to well over 2s behind van Gisbergen.

At the end of lap 13 Reynolds pulled the trigger, first of the leaders to pit for new tyres.

By lap 14 Waters had caught De Pasquale and was pressuring the young Victorian for the lead.

Lap after lap, Waters sat on his tail, but was unable to find a way by, He closed to under 0.3s on the 17th lap, and that was when he elected to pit, his Tickford crew opting to change rear tyres.

The following lap, De Pasquale pitted; his team changed the left-side tyres with an incredibly fast stop enabling him to re-join ahead as the effective race leader.

By lap 23 Waters was back on the DJR driver and looking for a way by; on the following lap into the Bowl Waters had a look.

He was up the inside but forced to use

WAU had a shocker, Mostert and Percat mysteriously barely able to qualify ahead of the back row.

Left: De Pasquale and Waters dispute Turn 1, but SVG is looming large behind ...

Right: Scott Pye’s weekend comes to an abrupt and expensive end.

Right below: Two left-hand tyres after a late stop proved the smart strategy for SVG. Bottom: Lap 1 contact between Holdsworth and Randle sidelined the former, while (right) Thomas didn’t look too impressed.

the kerb on the inside which scuppered his momentum up the hill.

At the end of lap 28 Kostecki finally pitted and was predicted to come out just behind Reynolds – however the team were unable to extract the left-rear wheel for a long period.

On lap 32, SVG finally pitted from the lead, rejoining directly behind Waters and 2.2s off De Pasquale. It did not take long for SVG to make a move; exiting Turn 6 the Triple Eight driver swung up the inside of Waters to take second.

SVG was biting chunks out of De Pasquale’s race lead. By lap 42 of 46, he had arrived.

De Pasquale was forced to defend into Turn 7, the Holden driver tapping De Pasquale, who held firm exiting the turn.

Into Turn 1 the Aussie bowled it just a car width wide of the apex and, before he knew it, SVG had filled the gap and taken the lead.

Van Gisbergen went on to take the win by 2.3s from De Pasquale and Waters a further 5s behind.

Reynolds continued his great run of form with the Grove Racing outfit, scoring his sixth top five finish in the last seven races.

Broc Feeney had never raced at Wanneroo leading into the weekend and finished the race in an impressive fifth, from Davison, Courtney, Kostecki, Hazelwood and Heimgartner.

Mostert and Percat both made very little progress in the race – Percat came home in 21st, just 0.4s ahead of his teammate.

Holdsworth started the race in between the WAU pair in 24th and, despite a poor start, the reigning Bathurst 1000 winner surged through the field to finish the race in 11th.

QUALIFYING RACE 11 & 12 – DAVISON AND SVG SPLIT POLES TWO DRAMATIC 12-minute qualifying sessions occurred early on Sunday morning, with SVG baulked in the opening session.

Both van Gisbergen and his teammate Feeney were held up by former champion Winterbottom into the final turn on their fast laps.

As a result, van Gisbergen qualified in 11th and Feeney 12th. Winterbottom was handed a three-place grid penalty and started the race from the back of the grid.

Further up the order, Davison took pole by 0.035s from fellow Ford Mustang driver Waters.

Waters’ Tickford Racing teammate Jake Kostecki earned his career best qualifying position in third, only 0.09s away from pole position.

His cousin Brodie Kostecki qualified alongside him, ahead of Anton De Pasquale.

Brown set his time early and ended the session in sixth ahead of Hazelwood, Reynolds, Courtney and Heimgartner.

IN RACE 12 qualifying, the Triple Eight cars went out earlier to avoid the traffic and it paid dividends.

Van Gisbergen set the fastest time of the weekend to take pole for Race 12 by 0.05s from Davison and De Pasquale.

Van Gisbergen was faster than the two DJR cars in sector 1 and neither could claw back the remainder of the time in the final few corners.

Reynolds was fourth ahead of Feeney, Waters, Brown, Courtney, Jake Kostecki and Heimgartner.

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The WAU woes continued, Mostert and Percat both qualifying outside the top 20 for both races.

Race 11 – FORD’S FIRST A 13 -ace winning streak for Holden was broken as Davison took victory in a dramatic and controversial encounter in the wild west.

However, like Davison’s previous win, back in Bathurst in 2016, he did not cross the finish line in first ...

As the lights went out it was Waters who made the better start and he was able to pull over in front of Davison into Turn 1.

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Behind, Brodie Kostecki was also able to pass his cousin for third, while congestion in the midpack resulted in two incidents.

The first saw Holdsworth and Randle interlock wheels on the run up the hill, damaging both cars; however the big accident involved Pye and Le Brocq.

The Team 18 driver had attempted to cover his line and hold his position from Jack Le Brocq.

Le Brocq got overlap exiting the final turn; Pye went to block and, as a result, spun across Le Brocq’s nose before hitting the concrete wall hard.

The race was delayed for nearly an hour as Pye hit a gate which had to be welded shut before racing could continue.

When the race eventually resumed, Waters led Davison, B Kostecki, J Kostecki, Brown and De Pasquale.

On lap 8, Waters was trying to gap Davison early, while it appeared that J Kostecki was quicker than his cousin in the family fight for third.

By the end of lap 15, the lead margin was out to a notable 1.6s, while both Kosteckis and Brown sat line astern a second further back.

Van Gisbergen was making little progress,

www.autoaction.com.au I 59

Supercars RACE REPORT Round 4 Wanneroo Raceway

It was just ‘one of those weekends’ for Team Cooldrive, outside the top 10 both days ... the team asking Feeney to let his teammate by on lap 17.

Three laps later Brown was first of the leaders to pit, taking on left-side tyres – it paid off.

J Kostecki pitted a lap later to cover, however a slightly slow stop saw Brown take effectively fourth place.

The next lap it was B Kostecki’s turn to pit ahead of his good mate De Pasquale and Courtney.

Kostecki filed back in at the head of the pack while De Pasquale also jumped J Kostecki in the compulsory pit stop sequence.

At the end of lap 24, Davison pitted with a 1.7s deficit to Waters who pitted on the following lap.

Incredibly with a fast stop and great out lap Davison was right on the tail of the Tickford driver when he re-joined.

Still vulnerable on cold tyres Waters defended a Davison dive-bomb into Turn 7.

The pair made door-to-door contact around the turn and Waters ran wide and around the kerb on the outside of the track to keep momentum up and in doing so held position.

This was frowned upon by the stewards, who handed Waters a much-disputed 5s post-race penalty.

At the end of lap 29, using an alternate strategy, van Gisbergen took on three new tyres while Brad Jones Racing driver Heimgartner took on four.

Lap 30 saw an incredibly slow stop for Reynolds who as a result plummeted down the field.

The following lap, Feeney, like his teammate SVG, was fitted with three new tyres aimed at moving forward late on.

Sitting in fourth position and beginning to hound his teammate for a podium, Brown’s race came to a sudden halt on the run up the hill – his Erebus Commodore had no power.

As a result the Safety Car was called, and while this benefitted the likes of Heimgartner, SVG and Feeney who had pitted late, it was a further blow for a furious Waters.

The race restarted with seven laps to go and saw the men who took on more than two tyres surge forward in a frantic end to the race.

Although Waters crossed the line first, it was Davison who was awarded the race win by 2s from his teammate De Pasquale.

Heimgartner was seventh on the restart but made clean and decisive moves to finish third and claim his first podium with BJR. The five second penalty demoted Waters to fourth, while championship leader van Gisbergen moved up from 10th to fifth in the closing laps, limiting the damage in his title fight.

While one Erebus driver retired late on Kostecki has little to fight with and fell from third to sixth.

Courtney and Feeney both moved up a place late on when Jake Kostecki ran wide at Turn 1. J Kostecki finished in ninth ahead of Hazelwood.

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RACE 12 – SVG DOES IT AGAIN ALTHOUGH SVG started from pole, it was Davison who led into Turn 1.

It was actually Reynolds who made the best start, from fourth, swooping around the outside into second place.

This however did not last long, an unforced error at Turn 6 allowing SVG into the lead.

The race settled into a groove early on with Davison pulling out a small margin in the opening laps.

Reynolds could not keep up with the top two and, by the end of lap 9, was 4s behind SVG. The former Bathurst 1000 winner was however beginning to pull away from Brown and Courtney.

At the end of lap 12 Courtney elected to peel off early to gain track position early, and in clear air he was able to conserve his tyres.

James Courtney had his best weekend of the year – two sevenths and a second place.

SVG was on the attack, he closed in on Davison but could not find a way past, as a result he dropped back to cool his tyres once more.

On lap 24 SVG closed back up on Davison and elected to pit on the very next lap to undercut the DJR driver.

When Davison came in a lap later to cover, his crew performed another lightning stop, and he re-joined ahead of SVG and alongside effective leader Courtney.

On much warmer tyres on the run up the hill Courtney held firm and held position.

Lap 29 saw Davison come under threat once again from SVG; he defended into Turn 6 but allowed SVG to get the run into Turn 7.

Davison was not done. He harassed SVG for several laps, to no avail, and allowed Courtney to gap the pair by 1.7s.

After a quiet Saturday, Will Davison tweaked the car and ramped up the aggression – to good effect ...

Heimgartner showed promising pace in the BJR car, in among the stars in the dry.

Dave Reynolds continued Groves’ good run with a pair of top 10s, including fourth on Saturday.

With 10 laps remaining SVG was unaware that Courtney had completed his compulsory pit stop – once he was updated, he put the hammer down and quickly caught the Tickford team car.

As he did to Davison, SVG sailed by out of Turn 6 to take the lead, just seconds before the Safety Car was called for Jacobson, who had come to a stop at Turn 4.

Only two laps remained when the green flag was waved once more.

SVG set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour and earned himself an additional five bonus points along with the 100 for winning.

Courtney held both Davison and De Pasquale, on much fresher tyres, at bay to score his first podium of the season.

Brown pinched fifth from Reynolds on the final lap of the race with Waters just 0.25s further back.

There was a fierce battle for eighth place late on – Hazelwood stayed out of trouble and finished on top, ahead of Heimgartner and Slade.

Feeney was lucky to avoid a late race Kostecki crash in which cousins Brodie and Jake collided.

Brodie dived up the inside of Jake and hit the side of his cousin on the penultimate lap.

Jake got stuck in the gravel, while Brodie was able to continue, although he finished outside the top 20.

Feeney finished 11th, beating reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth to the line by 0.042s.

A disastrous round for Chaz Mostert concluded with a 19th place finish.

Elbows out at Turn 1 – Hazelwood (35) and Feeney (88) ...

QUALIFYING RACE 10 Pos Driver Time 1 Anton De Pasquale 0:53.5982*S 2 Cameron Waters 0:00.1082 3 Shane van Gisbergen 0:00.2364 4 Brodie Kostecki 0:00.2472 5 David Reynolds 0:00.4141 6 James Courtney 0:00.5652 7 Andre Heimgartner 0:00.6619 8 Broc Feeney 0:00.7365 9 Thomas Randle 0:00.7510 10 William Brown 0:00.8253 11 Todd Hazelwood 0:00.2627 12 Will Davison 0:00.2946 13 Tim Slade 0:00.3026 14 Jack Le Brocq 0:00.3073 15 Scott Pye 0:00.3182 16 Mark Winterbottom 0:00.4306 17 Garry Jacobson 0:00.5894 18 Jake Kostecki 0:00.6409 19 Macauley Jones 0:00.6423 20 Chris Pither 0:00.7303 21 Jack Smith 0:00.6147 22 Bryce Fullwood 0:00.6278 23 Chaz Mostert 0:00.6513 24 Lee Holdsworth 0:00.8189 25 Nick Percat 0:00.8373 QUALIFYING RACE 11

So the question remains: there were challengers ... but can anyone beat SVG over a weekend?

RESULTS RACE 10 46LAPS (110KMS) Pos Drivers 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 Anton De Pasquale 3 Cameron Waters 4 David Reynolds 5 Broc Feeney 6 Will Davison 7 James Courtney 8 Brodie Kostecki 9 Todd Hazelwood 10 Andre Heimgartner 11 Lee Holdsworth 12 Thomas Randle 13 Tim Slade 14 Mark Winterbottom 15 Macauley Jones 16 Jack Le Brocq 17 William Brown 18 Garry Jacobson 19 Scott Pye 20 Jake Kostecki 21 Nick Percat 22 Chaz Mostert 23 Jack Smith 24 Chris Pither NC Bryce Fullwood

Laps 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 32

Race time 42:58.7302 43:01.0379 43:06.0482 43:11.0842 43:12.7900 43:14.6984 43:20.4595 43:21.2971 43:21.6059 43:25.1140 43:28.4453 43:30.6176 43:30.9287 43:31.3756 43:32.2031 43:33.9162 43:35.0993 43:35.4000 43:35.8322 43:36.6999 43:39.5231 43:39.9190 43:41.1285 43:42.7695 30:16.7631

s2 t-1 t-1 s1 s3 s6 -t 1 t-4 s2 t-3 s13 t-3 – s2 s4 t-2 t-7 t-1 t-4 t-2 s4 s1 t-2 t-4 t-3

RESULTS RACE 11 46LAPS (110KMS)

Pos Driver Time 1 Will Davison 0:53.6293*S 2 Cameron Waters 0:00.0354 3 Jake Kostecki 0:00.0906 4 Brodie Kostecki 0:00.1239 5 Anton De Pasquale 0:00.1294 6 William Brown 0:00.1513 7 Todd Hazelwood 0:00.1610 8 David Reynolds 0:00.1629 9 James Courtney 0:00.2270 10 Andre Heimgartner 0:00.2362 11 Shane van Gisbergen 0:00.2389 12 Broc Feeney 0:00.3141 13 Chris Pither 0:00.3708 14 Garry Jacobson 0:00.3748 15 Jack Le Brocq 0:00.3925 16 Tim Slade 0:00.4184 17 Thomas Randle 0:00.4530 18 Bryce Fullwood 0:00.4742 19 Lee Holdsworth 0:00.4984 20 Scott Pye 0:00.5292 21 Chaz Mostert 0:00.5401 22 Mark Winterbottom 0:00.6248 23 Macauley Jones 0:00.7090 24 Jack Smith 0:00.7694 25 Nick Percat 0:01.0420

Pos Drivers 1 Will Davison 2 Anton De Pasquale 3 Andre Heimgartner 4 Cameron Waters 5 Shane van Gisbergen 6 Brodie Kostecki 7 James Courtney 8 Broc Feeney 9 Jake Kostecki 10 Todd Hazelwood 11 David Reynolds 12 Chaz Mostert 13 Tim Slade 14 Garry Jacobson 15 Chris Pither 16 Mark Winterbottom 17 Jack Le Brocq 18 Nick Percat 19 Macauley Jones 20 Thomas Randle 21 Lee Holdsworth NC Bryce Fullwood NC Jack Smith NC William Brown NC Scott Pye

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Laps 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 45 44 46 45 34 1

QUALIFYING RACE 12 Race time 01:41:34.0509 01:41:36.1493 01:41:36.5800 01:41:37.6418 01:41:38.3111 01:41:39.8375 01:41:40.7893 01:41:40.9855 01:41:41.4003 01:41:41.7498 01:41:42.0963 01:41:43.8912 01:41:45.1476 01:41:45.4831 01:41:45.5804 01:41:45.7425 01:41:46.5951 01:41:47.0443 01:41:47.2751 01:41:48.2913 01:41:51.3484 01:41:54.4173 01:40:50.5511 01:28:31.4549 1:03.0866

– s3 s7 t-2 s6 t-2 s2 s4 t-6 t-3 t-3 s9 s3 – t-1 s6 t-2 s7 s4 t-3 t-2 t-4 s1 t-18 t-5

Pos Driver 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 Will Davison 3 Anton De Pasquale 4 David Reynolds 5 Broc Feeney 6 Cameron Waters 7 William Brown 8 James Courtney 9 Jake Kostecki 10 Andre Heimgartner 11 Brodie Kostecki 12 Garry Jacobson 13 Chris Pither 14 Thomas Randle 15 Mark Winterbottom 16 Todd Hazelwood 17 Tim Slade 18 Lee Holdsworth 19 Scott Pye 20 Macauley Jones 21 Bryce Fullwood 22 Jack Le Brocq 23 Jack Smith 24 Chaz Mostert 25 Nick Percat

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Time 0:53.4632*S 0:00.0545 0:00.1057 0:00.1648 0:00.1866 0:00.1945 0:00.2088 0:00.2208 0:00.2832 0:00.2886 0:00.3170 0:00.3245 0:00.3559 0:00.3631 0:00.3733 0:00.4379 0:00.4546 0:00.4654 0:00.4823 0:00.5384 0:00.5705 0:00.5764 0:00.7370 0:00.7952 0:00.9862

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RESULTS RACE 12 46LAPS (110KMS) Pos Drivers 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 James Courtney 3 Will Davison 4 Anton De Pasquale 5 William Brown 6 David Reynolds 7 Cameron Waters 8 Todd Hazelwood 9 Andre Heimgartner 10 Tim Slade 11 Broc Feeney 12 Lee Holdsworth 13 Jack Le Brocq 14 Bryce Fullwood 15 Nick Percat 16 Macauley Jones 17 Chris Pither 18 Jack Smith 19 Chaz Mostert 20 Mark Winterbottom 21 Brodie Kostecki 22 Thomas Randle NC Jake Kostecki NC Garry Jacobson NC Scott Pye

Laps 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 45 44 39 DNS

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 04 Race time 46:06.4143 46:08.3273 46:08.6274 46:08.8903 46:10.6716 46:11.6517 46:11.9239 46:12.3862 46:12.8152 46:13.2482 46:14.0041 46:14.0462 46:14.4548 46:14.8237 46:15.6726 46:15.9111 46:16.3352 46:16.8049 46:16.8149 46:17.1766 47:15.2432 46:17.5786 44:19.0492 37:15.3934 –

– s6 t-1 t-1 s2 t-2 t-1 s8 s1 s7 t-6 s6 s9 s7 s10 s4 t-4 s5 s5 t-5 t-10 t-8 t-14 t-14

Pos Driver Points 1 Shane van Gisbergen 1087 2 Anton De Pasquale 923 3 Will Davison 876 4 Cameron Waters 751 5 Chaz Mostert 745 6 Broc Feeney 725 7 David Reynolds 709 8 Brodie Kostecki 709 9 Tim Slade 659 10 James Courtney 639 11 Todd Hazelwood 618 12 Mark Winterbottom 553 13 Andre Heimgartner 538 14 William Brown 532 15 Lee Holdsworth 530 16 Nick Percat 523 17 Macauley Jones 423 18 Scott Pye 411 19 Bryce Fullwood 382 20 Chris Pither 380 21 Thomas Randle 364 22 Garry Jacobson 357 23 Jack Le Brocq 354 24 Jake Kostecki 347 25 Jack Smith 344

www.autoaction.com.au I 61

Images: Motorsport Images

A

B

1835 CROSSWORD Test you general motorsport knowledge

Name:

Across

Down

5. At what track did Didier Pironi overtake Gilles Villeneuve for the lead on the final lap against team orders?

8. Lucas Di Grassi and who are the only two drivers to start every Formula E race? (surname) 10. W hat brand of bike does the VR46 team field for its riders?

11. W ho is the only other Belgian WRC rally winner aside from Thierry Neuville? (surname) 12. W ho won the 1982 Formula 1 World Championship with Williams? (full name) 15. W ho is Darryn Binder’s MotoGP teammate? (surname) 17. Who won the 100th race for Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (surname) 18. W ho won the first race for Ford in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (full name) 21. W ho famously drove from 17th on the grid to win Formula 1’s Detroit Grand Prix in 1982? (surname) 23. Who won the first race for Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (surname) 26. H ow many cars entered the F1 race in Imola 1982 due to the FISA v FOCA war?

27. Who is photographed in Image C above celebrating at Indianapolis in 1971? (surname) 28. Which brand has won the most WRC manufacturers titles with 11?

29. The 1982 F1 World Champion won how many races that year?

1. Only one driver won back-to-back races F1 races in 1982 – it was a Renault driver; who was it? (surname) 2. What is the most successful brand in the Bathurst 12 Hour GT era?

3. Which World Rally champion won the 1987 Dakar Rally? (surname) 4. Which driver has competed with the #1 in Formula 1 the most? (full name) 6. Who suffered a career ending crash in the 1982 F1 season when leading the championship with five races remaining? (surname) 7. I n what state did Holden take its first ATCC race win?

8. T he only rider to win on their 500cc and World Superbike debut? (surname) 9. W ho won the 100th race for Ford in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (full name) 13. W hat was Ryan Briscoe’s best championship result in IndyCar? 14. For what team did Nigel Mansell make his F1 debut?

16. W ho in Image A can be seen driving with one wheel in the air?

19. Ayrton Senna won the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix with what title sponsor?

20. What brand won the last Bathurst 12 Hour?

22. Image B: Larry Perkins jumping behind the wheel of a Falcon to test for parity – at what circuit?

24. W ho won his fourth and final Indy500 in 1987? (surname) 25. P ierre Dieudonne and who were the Bathurst 1000 winners before being disqualified? (surname)

1835 Crossword Test C you general motorsport knowledge 1 2

3

4 5 6

8

7

9

11

10

12 13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23 24

25 26

27

28

29

Created using the Crossword Maker on TheTeachersCor

1834 Crossword Answers: 1 across – Bill, 1 down – Binder, 2 down – one, 3 down – third, 4 down – Williams, 5 across – Hyundai, 6Down across – ten, 7 down – ninety-one, 8 down – seventeen, Across 9 down – Half brothers, 10 across – three, 11 across – Haas, 12 down – Spain, 13 Didier down –Pironi Hill, 14 down –Gilles WRC, Villeneuve 15 across –for Norway, 16 on across – Silverstone, downwon – three, 18 acrossraces – Corvette, 19 down 5. At what track did overtake the lead 1. Only one17driver back-to-back F1 races in 1982, it was final lap 23 against orders?

Renault driver, who was 28 it? across (surname) – one, 20 across – Nephew, 21 across – seventeen, 22 acrossthe – Brothers, downteam – Roberts, 24 down – Sweden, 25 across – seven, 26 down – Audi, 27 across – Daytona, – Uncle, 29 across – six 8. Lucas Di Grassi and who are the only two drivers to start every Formula E race? (surname) 10. What brand of bike does the VR46 team field for its riders?

11. Who is the only other Belgian WRC rally winner aside from Thierry Neuville? (surname) 12. Who won the 1982 Formula 1 World Championship with Williams? (full name) 15. Who is Darryn Binder’s MotoGP teammate? (surname) 17. Who won the 100th race for Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (surname) 18. Who won the first race for Ford in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (full name) 21. Who famously drove from 17th on the grid to win Formula 1’s Detroit Grand Prix in 1982? (surname) 23. Who won the first race for Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (surname) 26. How many cars entered the F1 race in Imola 1982 due to the FISAFOCA war?

27. Who is photographed in Shot C celebrating at Indianapolis in 1971? (surname) 28. Which brand has won the most WRC manufacturers titles with 11?

29. The 1982 F1 World Champion won how many races that year?

2. What is the most successful brand in the Bathurst 12 Hour GT er 3. Which World Rally champion won the 1987 Dakar Rally? (surnam 4. Which driver has competed with the #1 in Formula 1 the most? (f name) 6. Who suffered a career ending crash in the 1982 F1 season when the championship with five races remaining? (surname) 7. In what state did Holden take its first ATCC race win?

8. The only rider to win on their 500cc and World Superbike debut? (surname) 9. Who won the 100th race for Ford in the Australian Touring Car Championship? (full name) 13. What was Ryan Briscoe’s best championship result in IndyCar? 14. For what team did Nigel Mansell make his F1 debut?

16. Who in shot A can be seen driving with one wheel in the air?

19. Ayrton Senna won the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix with what title s 20. What brand won the last Bathurst 12 Hour?

22. Shot B, Larry Perkins jumping behind the wheel of a Falcon to te parity, at what circuit did this occur?

24. Who won his fourth and final Indy500 in 1987? (surname) 25. Pierre Dieudonne and who were the Bathurst 1000 winners befo being disqualified? (surname)

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1972: DRIVING A Holden Dealer Team prepared Holden XU-1 Torana, Barry Ferguson and George Shepheard took victory in the 400-mile ‘Forest Classic’ rally. Peter Brock returned to rallycross at Calder Park and took an impressive win in wet and wild conditions – he was only challenged by Auto Action contributor Bob Watson. Allan Moffat was also set for an open-wheel race at Calder.

1982: WHILE Dick Johnson and Allan Grice has success in rounds six and seven of the Australian Touring Car Championship, a return to the ATCC for Allan Moffat with Mazda was having its up and downs, a retirement at the Adelaide International Raceway was not what he had planned. Alan Hamilton’s Porsches for Alan Jones and Colin Bond were going through the finishing touches.

62 I www.autoaction.com.au

1992: IT APPEARED as through a decision had been made by CAMS, that in 1993 the Australian Touring Car Championship would run to Britain’s 2-Litre Touring Car rules underneath the top-tier 5-litre class. At Bathurst, Mazda won the 12 Hour with an RX-7 driven by Mark Gibbs, Charlie O’Brien and Garry Waldon. On the Thunderdome AA Publisher Bruce Williams took his maiden AUSCAR win.

2002: THE RED machines were dominating both nationally and around the globe – after three rounds Mark Skaife had collected double the points of his closest rival Greg Murphy. In Formula 1 Michael Schumacher was asserting his dominance also winning comfortably in Spain; he had now won four of the first five races. Auto Action also had an exclusive story on the Project Blueprint regulations.

2012: IN 2012 AA predicted which manufacturers would be on the 2016 Supercars Championship grid. AA expected Ford, Holden and Nissan as well as Hyundai as then Supercars CEO Tony Cochraine said talks were occurring with the Korean brand. Garry Rogers Motorsport was expected to sign with Chrysler, while rumours were circulating that Brad Jones Racing would race Audis.

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IN THE GARAGE

THE CRAZINESS of the Morgan three-wheeler lives on in the 21st century thanks to a complete overhaul of the British oddity.

Morgan has had a three-wheeler in its line-up for more than 100 years but the new one is a radical change with a three-cylinder Ford engine now powering the back wheel and a totally new bonded aluminium chassis.

Australia is on the list for the car now called the Super 3 but, as yet, there are no details on pricing and nothing on delivery times beyond tentative dates in 2023.

THERE IS good and very bad news from Subaru.

There will be no STI version of the new WRX which has just landed in Australia.

Instead, the Japanese grand has unveiled a concept car – the ERA – that hints at a future electric supercar.

Or perhaps something special for gamers, or even a Le Mans sports car attack.

THE JAGUAR D-Type that scored landmark wins at Le Mans in the 1950s has provided the inspiration for a new flying Cat Car. But don’t go looking for the Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo Roadster in a showroom, as it only exists – at least for now – in the virtual world.

It is Jaguar’s new hero car in the Gran Turismo driving game.

Although it’s inspired by the D-Type, and Jaguar has even modelled its new hero car hustling through the chicane at the Goodwood race circuit, it’s an allelectric single seater tweaked to run hard on the latest Generation 7 version of Gran Turismo.

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THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS AUDI

By PAUL GOVER “COME FOR a drive in the country. It’s going to be really enjoyable,” they say.

“What’s the car? Where are we going?,” I reply.

“Canberra to Cooma, then Tumut across to Wagga Wagga. It’s the new e-tron S,” they say.

Hmmm . . .

Driving those roads, and that distance, is not the first thing that comes to mind when I’m thinking about Australia’s newest upscale electric car.

But I park my doubts and jump into the e-tron S Sportback, list price $168,400, and roll out of Canberra airport on a beautiful autumn morning in a car that seems completely in tune with the day and the drive.

The car is the first battery-electric Audi to wear the company’s S badge, which promises performance in addition to luxury and comfort.

I’m in the curvier of the two cars – it’s an SUV but available in boxy for families or coupe for fun – and get a fully-loaded package that even includes rearview cameras instead of mirrors. I’m not a fan, but they are impressive.

The car itself feels heavy from the get-go, but smooth and responsive. Like every torque-rich electric car there is instant punch from the lights and overtaking.

Heading to Cooma, where it will get a fast-charge top-up to ensure no dramas at the end of the drive, the e-tron is everything I expect from a top-end Audi.

The cabin is sumptuous. The car is quiet and refined.

There is all sorts of safety tech. The sound system is brilliant.

With Audi handling the ‘range anxiety’ for me, and no worry about running the battery flat before a flatbed trip to a dealership, I can get on with enjoying the car.

And it is enjoyable, as it tracks confidently around corners, quickly dispatches slower cars, and punches out of uphill twisties in the Snowy Mountains.

Is it as much fun as a Porsche 911 or a Mazda MX-5 would be on the same roads? Nup. But is it a new-age GT car that will reward in other ways without threatening your license or giving you a long-distance headache? Yup.

It’s a good looking car that joins the e-tron range at a time when Audi Australia is also finalising the launch plans for the e-tron GT. We’ve already seen its brilliant styling at a static Aussie preview and it promises to have the same punch as the landmark – and lovely – Porsche Taycan.

For now, with 973 Newton-metres of torque and a commanding SUV driving position, the S-car is doing what it does best. Covering kilometres in comfort.

There is plenty of other stuff to talk about and praise, from 23-inch alloys and digital matrix headlamps to the car’s sports suspension and big brakes.

It’s also a quattro, but an e-quattro that uses multiple electric motors instead of the smart all-wheel drive differential package that did the job for (much) earlier Audi turbo hotrods.

I love its 4.5-second sprint to 100km/h, shift paddles that have been re-purposed for degrees of regenerative braking that save you touching the regular brake pedal, and charging options that promise less than an hour on a plug for an 80 per cent top-up.

The e-tron S is promised with more than 400 kilometres of range and there is never a worry during my Snowy Mountains tour.

It’s not for me, mostly because of the price, but it’s an impressive car and an impressive demonstration of the future of electric motoring with cars that might be quiet but can still be enjoyable to drive. R&T

FAST FACTS

AUDI E-TRON S Price: From $168,400 Engine: battery electric with twin motors Power: 264kW/973Nm Transmission: single-speed, all-wheel drive Position: top-end electric SUV We like: easy touring, confident range Not so much: heavy, expensive THE TICK: limited appeal Score: 8/10

ROAD & TRACK ONE VALHALLA OF A CAR

By PAUL GOVER THINGS HAVE been tough for Aston Martin in the F1 arena this year.

Its grand prix team has been struggling and Aston has also been kicked by some drivers for the performance of the Safety Car it provides on rotation with Mercedes-AMG. But no-one is complaining about its new hero car.

The Valhalla is an Aston Martin that is primed to go nose-to-nose with Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini.

It’s not a track car, despite its supercar looks and performance, but is aimed a cashed-up collectors with $1.8 million to splash on a shiny new toy.

The Valhalla joined Aston’s presence at the Australian Grand Prix, where it turned as many heads with its mid-engine layout – a major departure for a brand that’s know best for its front-engined muscle machines – as its stunning bodywork.

“This car is all about the driving. It’s not just a track toy, it’s the beginning of a journey linked to Formula One,” says Marek Reichman, the Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin.

The Valhalla, like its bigger sister the track-only V12engined Valkyrie, is part of a new push by Aston boss Lawrence Stroll.

He and a revitalised Aston crew, now being led by former AMG chief Tobias Moers, are out to win new friends.

For Reichman, that’s a clearance to take off on a new design push.

“You see it’s an Aston Martin, not just because it’s green and wearing a wing. It has the language of an Aston Martin,” Reichman says.

“Aston Martin is always about beauty. It’s about highlighting performance.

Aston is not discussing exact details about Valhalla sales in Australia, but it’s safe to assume less than 20 local owners who will start to get their cars from the early months of 2024.

“There will be some owners in Australia. It’s a couple of hands-full,” says Patrik Nilsson, director of operations for Aston Martin Asia-Pacific.

“Deliveries will start in Q3 in 2023. I think they will be landing here in Australia in the beginning of 2024.”

Nilsson also confirms the sort of new people being baited to the brand by the mid-engined contender.

“We would have probably 30 per cent conquest. A lot of the people looking at the car are new to the brand. They

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are coming from Italian brands,” he says.

The Valhalla is a limited-edition car, with only 999 copies, and Aston already has a sell-out success in the 707 version of its DBX – touted as the world’s most powerful SUV with 707 horsepower or 520 kiloWatts – as it pushes deeper into the top end of high-performance motoring.

It is also racing ahead with its next mid-engined model, the Vanquish, which will be a full-scale production car and takes the name of a traditional front-engined Aston model.

Technical details of the Valhalla hybrid are well known,

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with a four-litre Daimler V8 with twin turbos and two electric motors for a combined output of 699 kiloWatts and 1000 Newton-metres and good for a 2.5-second sprint to 100km/h.

But Reichman, in Australia for one of his regular visits to the AGP, is far more focussed on the design.

“Australia is a true car lover’s country. That’s really important when you’re a car designer,” he says.

“You can show beauty, but you can also show performance.” R&T

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ROAD & TRACK CORVETTE IS THE REAL DEAL

BY BRUCE NEWTON IMAGES AJ PEARSON PICS THERE’S A new Chevrolet V8 supercar that’s just lobbed in Australia that we should all be getting excited about.

And it’s not the Gen3 Camaro.

It’s the Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray that has recently commenced rolling out of GM Special Vehicle dealers and into the hands of a couple of hundred very lucky local owners.

It’s just a bit weird driving a car that looks like a Ferrari and sounds like a NASCAR. This is the car first promised for Australia – without actually being named – under the Holden umbrella back in 2015. That’s now so long ago that it pre-dates Walkinshaw Group’s brief and abortive attempt to remanufacture the Camaro road-car in righthand drive.

It also pre-dates the sad closure of the Holden brand.

So, while the racing teams get a facsimile Camaro for 2023, punters get the real Corvette and a cool deal in 2022.

After all, when was the last time anyone had a crack at an all-new and genuinely exotic mid-engined V8 supercar (of the road-going variety) that didn’t cost $350,000 – or more?

As far as presence goes, the Vette’s body ranks with just about any exotic you care to mention.

The Corvette Stingray Coupe we’re looking at is the higher 3LT trim, although there’s also the $15,000 cheaper 2LT, at $160,500 plus on-road costs.

Considering you get a sub-four second 0-100km/h sprint and the car can cross 400 metres in the 12s it’s something of a bargain.

Add some red-hot performance extras that come with the Z51 performance pack that’s standard down under and it looks even better.

Importantly, that straight-line shove is backed by laugh-out-loud dynamics and a styling package that mixes shark sleek with whale-mouth vents.

The arrival of the right-hand-drive factory Corvette comes after 70 years and seven generations of the American icon have passed, but Australia joins the club at an auspicious time because this is the first mid-engined, rather than traditional frontengined, example of the breed.

Why do it? Because the Corvette is all about performance times – drag strip and circuit laps - and better traction delivers better results.

The C8 has a 40:60 weigh balance with an aluminium box-section backbone chassis and composite inner and outer panels, all encasing a 369kW/637Nm naturallyaspirated 6.2-litre LT2 Chev small-block pushrod V8.

FAST FACTS

CHEVROLET C8 CORVETTE STINGRAY COUPE 3LT Price: From $160,500 Power: 369kW/637Nm Transmission: 8-speed DSG auto, rear-wheel drive Position: Yankee legend turns Italian supercar We like: Awesome performance for the price Not so much: Missing some fundamental safety gear THE TICK: Home run Score: 8.5/10

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That’s right. There’s no turbocharging or supercharging – although that is coming later – no overhead cams and only two valves for each cylinder. At least there is variable valve timing and here’s also tech in

the form of a dry sump.

Cylinder deactivation tries to keep fuel consumption, officially 13.5 litres/100km, under control and it will even run on 91 octane fuel.

FOR MORE INFO AND IMAGES OF THE FABULOUS NEW CORVETTE

If the engine is a link to Corvette’s past, it’s one of the few. There’s no manual transmission, only an eight-speed Tremec dual-clutch transaxle that is operated by long, sexy paddles behind the steering wheel.

The traditional transverse composite leaf spring has gone from the rear suspension, replaced by coils at each corner. Along with the, DCT they help explain why the C8 is both slightly heavier at 1527kg and has a higher centre of gravity than the old frontengined Corvette.

Not that you’d notice from the driver’s seat.

With no engine in the way – which was a big help in securing the right-hand drive business case – the cockpit has been moved forward a massive 419mm so you feel like you’re sitting right over the front axle.

That’s pivotal (pun intended) in making every corner, from an inner urban

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roundabout to a fast and flowing mountain road, simply joyful. The connection to the front of the car is so much more immediate, the sense of rotation much more intense and intimate. There’s little or no sense of body roll, certainly no inkling the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are taking on more than their fair share of responsibility when it comes to grip and load.

No matter how hard you boot the C8 off a corner, it feels like it can take it. In fact, the whole engine thing is the part of the package that takes the most adjustment.

It makes sense from a historic point-ofview, but pre-expectations of a car like this is of high revs, frequent gear changes and a screaming audio.

Instead, the LT2 is a grunter. While peak numbers chime in over 6000 revs, most power is made by 3600 and most torque by

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just 2000 revs.

So third and fourth gears are the best for a winding road, second is good for hairpins and first for launches only. I developed the habit of short-shifting from third to fourth out of a corner so I could drop back to third and gain some engine braking for the next turn. The alternative was revving hard up the straight and clamping the Brembo brakes for the turn.

Dropping to second simply produced an uncomfortable amount of revs.

Whatever your strategy, the LT2 gets you to your next braking point quicker than you think.

Considering all Corvette coupes come with a removable roof – the convertible is a mechanical folding hard-top – the C8’s sense of body strength is commendable.

Yet at the same time its adjustable MRC

(magnetorheological) dampers do a superb job of calming everything down for a comfy everyday ride, or stiffening he chassis for the extremes of a track day.

In fact, the Corvette is comfortable enough to drive to and from the track either side of your jollies. Not only does it ride better than you expect, it’s quiet enough to put a Porsche 911 to noisy shame and also easier to fit in and easier to enter and exit. It’s so relaxing, the only reason you wouldn’t commute in it is appalling rear three-quarter vision.

Ruminating on the suitability of Corvette as a commuter tells you what a complete and sweet package this is.

Sure, the Camaro will be the Supercar that gets all the attention in Australia once it hits the track, but Corvette owners will be the ones that always enjoy the drive. R&T

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