Auto Action #1847

LEWIS HAMILTON – I WANT TO LEAVE ON A HIGH

AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT

BATHURST BULLIES! SVG AND TANDER DELIVER

MASSI BATHU VE COVER RST A EDITIO GE N

HOLDEN’S LAST BATHURST

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VICTORIAN RACETRACK REVIVAL ISSUE #1847 October 20 to November 2, 2022 $9.95 INC GST www.autoaction.com.au ISSN 2204-9924

• CALDER PARK RENAISSANCE PLAN • $300 MILLION PLAN FOR AVALON

AND THERE IS STILL SANDOWN! • PLUS: WAKEFIELD PARK SET FOR NSW DEBATE

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MOTORSPORT IS ON THE VICTORIAN ELECTION AGENDA, WITH $300M PLANNED FOR AN AVALON MOTOR RACING FACILITY, AS MELBOURNE SUDDENLY FACES RACETRACK RICHES! MOTORSPORT WILL play a role in Victoria’s November State election.

Auto Action can exclusively reveal that the Victorian Government has committed $1.692 million in the 2022-23 Budget towards the design and planning for a new “Home of Victorian Motorsport” and it is believed that a study is pointing towards the development of a $300 million venue at Avalon, close to the Avalon Airport, with a long term lease to Motorsport Australia.

“The new Home of Victorian Motorsport will strengthen the state’s ability to host major events and support industry development activities,” a statement from the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos said.

Motorsport Australia was approached for comment but had not responded by the

time we closed for print.

AA’s sources believe the announcement of the development will form part of the government’s election promises and expects an announcement from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews before the 26 November election.

Earlier this year, the return of the Adelaide 500 was a key element of new SA Premier Peter Malinauskas’ election campaign, which swept him to power.

The Victorian Shadow Minister for Sport, Cindy McLeish, says motorsport is important to Victoria, and the Opposition is developing its motorsport and driver training plans.

“We have heard rumours of Labor’s plans for a $300m facility on privately held land in Avalon,” she said.

“We want to work with the motorsport

community to ensure we have the right solution and not just another monument.

“We believe other options need to be explored first, especially when it comes to driver training.”

Recent news regarding renovations and upgrades at Calder Park (see p6-7) and the recent results of the Melbourne Racing Club election, which may throw a lifeline to Sandown, have muddied the waters a little going forward.

As reported in this issue, Rodney and Kim Jane are investing back into Calder Park to return the historic venue back to national-level status as a car racing circuit and upgrade its drag racing and driver training facilities.

At the same time, according to our sources, the new MRC board is likely to be 5-4 in favour of retaining Sandown (Auto Action #1845). Any sale of Sandown

requires a vote by the members of the Melbourne Racing Club, and it would require a significant investment to improve safety standards and motor racing facilities at the six-decade-old race track.

The Dandenong Council also opposes the previously revealed plans for the area’s residential redevelopment.

In previous years, numerous plans have been floated for motor racing circuits in Victoria, including a new track at Pakenham, but all have fallen over.

The Bend Motorsport Park is Australia’s newest full-scale motor racing facility and was privately funded to the tune of $150m and opened in January 2018.

All of a sudden, it seems that Melbourne may well have a glut of (motorsport circuit) riches!

Andrew Clarke

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FORD’S EARLY WIN WITH GEN3 MUSTANG WHILE IT was a time of reflection for Holden fans at Bathurst, Ford fans were getting a better glimpse of their future with the full reveal of the Seventh Generation Mustang for the Gen3 era. The new Mustang skin was applied to the Gen3 prototype for the Mountain reveal, making this the first public physical reveal of the new car anywhere in the world.

The stunning new racer features the new Mustang’s revised front and rear ends, although yet to undergo VCAT testing and receive its final homologation.

A revised structure for Ford Performance has been created in Australia with Ben Nightingale, Brendan McGinniskin and Justin Cappichiano supporting the Mustang racing program in Supercars and other classes in Australia.

Ford had originally planned to run the Mustang that has been testing on the track for more than a year, but the delays in the Gen3 program meant it pushed the new racers into the Seventh Generation Mustang window. The fact that the first of the six new racing Mustangs to hit the track for testing is our Gen3 Supercar shows its importance to the global program.

Ford Performance Motorsports Global Director Mark Rushbrook said Bathurst provided the perfect backdrop to reveal the new racer to the world.

“It is fantastic to be able to show, for the very first time globally, the seventhgeneration Mustang in racing form,” he said via video link at the Bathurst launch. “The reveal of the Mustang Supercar is the first of many, with Mustang to race in GT3, GT4, NASCAR and NHRA competition globally.

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“Mustang has been an iconic brand on and off the track for 58 years, and its legend will continue around the world. We always say Mustang was born to race, and that is more true today than ever. The Mustang GT Supercar is ready to race in 2023.”

Ford Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Andrew Birkic echoed those thoughts.

“We’re very proud to be showing the world our new Mustang Supercar, and what better place to do it than at the Great Race here at Mount Panorama,” Birkic said at the Thursday launch.

“It’s a special moment to uncover this car in front of passionate Ford fans alongside all of our Supercars drivers. It’s very fitting that Dick (Johnson) will take the car for its first laps this afternoon. He’s a legend of the sport and an incredible ambassador for Ford.

“This car looks sensational. It’s loud, it’s fast, and we can’t wait to see it hit the track.”

Dick Johnson Racing’s homologation team had only a few days to prepare the car for Bathurst. The panels were fabricated in Melbourne and sent to Queensland, and any missing parts – such as the grille – were 3D printed.

But it was not a sure thing to hit the track at Mount Panorama, with Ford Performance engineering team’s Brendan McGinniskin revealing some big hours from DJR helped it get to the finish line.

“The DJR guys have worked flat-out since pretty much post-Sandown,” he said.

“There were a lot of one-off parts that have been manufactured in pretty tight timeframes, and all the suppliers have

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delivered to make this a reality.

“It was tight, but it has been delivered.”

While the turnaround to get the car ready for Bathurst was tight, McGinniskin was a lot more confident that Ford Performance and the teams will be ready for Newcastle.

“The reality is, it has to be, so the teams will do what they do, which means it will mean a lot of long nights and long hours to deliver the full grid next year for both sides.

It is not just the Mustang that is going to be tight on time, but in general, the teams will deliver because if they don’t, they don’t have a product to deliver on track.

“Every team has a chassis now, there are several Mustang panels on the car that are already fixed, and everything we see is in production now,” Ford Performance motorsport manager Ben Nightingale said.

“Teams will be taking the panels in the next four weeks with the ability to build their cars through the offseason, so they are ready for Newcastle next year.”

At the reveal, it became clear how the new Ford Performance engineering team will offer support to the teams racing in blue in 2023.

McGinniskin will be the ‘interface’ between the Supercars teams and Ford Performance and will be present at most Supercars events, while Justin Cappichiano will offer support from a corporate perspective and help access the manufacturers’ resources.

The new Seventh Generation Ford GT Mustang will make its debut alongside the new Gen 3 Chevrolet Camaro at next year’s season-opening Newcastle 500 on March 10-12. Andrew Clarke

HOWLING COYOTE WHILE WE have spent time ogling the new Mustang and Camaro racers, there has been plenty of change under the skin – and not just to the chassis. Ford and GM will both run new engines for 2023, GM running a 5.7-litre single camshaft engine with two valves per cylinder engine and Ford a 5.4-litre quad cam with four valves per cylinder version of the Coyote engine that features in the Mustang GT road car.

Herrod Performance is now working with Ford Performance on Ford’s engine program, and Rob Herrod (above) says the program is proceeding well.

Herrod Performance will build and supply all the Ford engines. KRE Race Engines is handling all the GM engines and development.

Herrod is working to match several metrics on the engine to ensure parity, including power, fuel usage, weight, centre of gravity (COG) and moment of inertia (MOI). Supercars is also keen to extend the time between rebuilds so as to reduce the cost of each team’s engine program.

“We’ve done roughly 5,200 kilometres of durability testing,” Herrod said of the development program.

“We had a small valve-train issue, which we’ve resolved, and we’ve found that we need to change some terminals and stuff on some of the VCT area.

“We’ve actually run out of dyno cell time, so we’re going to have the whole month of December for more work. It’s a full-on AVL dyno, changing gears with a full transaxle; everything’s there. It’s like a complete car, without the car.”

So far, only one engine has been used for the development work, but a new one will be built by Herrod’s team and sent to the States for 10,000km of testing in December.

“All the right testing is being done, and everything is running to plan. There’s also been no deterioration and no horsepower lost.

“But we can’t really compare that to a current engine because we’ve never tested one of them like this. We’ll get 5,000 kays between rebuilds, without a doubt.”

He said they had six engines on the go at the moment and would have the full complement ready for pre-season testing with spares.

Supercars Gen3 team revealed to Auto Action recently that the tunability of the Ford engine is a key to getting parity of engines in the sport and that the Ford will be tuned to match the Chev.

Bruce Williams

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CALDER PARK REVIVAL TAKING SHAPE AA EXCLUSIVE

“THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT” SINCE THE 1960s, CALDER PARK RACEWAY, IS ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL WITH PLANS TO REVITALISE THE VENUE FOR CIRCUIT RACING AND DRAG RACING AS WELL AS TO ESTABLISH THE VENUE AS THE CENTRE OF ROAD SAFETY AND DRIVER TRAINING FOR VICTORIA. CALDER PARK’S Rodney and Kim Jane have spoken exclusively to Auto Action about their plans to revive the circuit on the north-western outskirts of Melbourne for national and state-level racing, drag racing and driver training.

The historic venue has focused, for the past decade, on drag racing, street drags, drifting and other events. Plans AA has seen should see the circuit back up and running in the next few weeks, with activity scaling up during 2023.

The first phase of the return to general usage is ‘legal off street’ drag racing which follows a full resurfacing of the drag strip which began during the pandemic.

Calder Park has been working closely with ANDRA, and these events will start in the next few weeks.

Auto Action can also confirm that officials from Motorsport Australia completed an initial track inspection with the plans to have the National Circuit re-licensed and returned to a Category B licence, which could see State and National level competition return.

“Yes, in the short-term, we are looking at returning the venue to a place where we can offer the facility for use as a testing and lowkey race venue that’s only 25 minutes from

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the Melbourne CBD,” Rodney confirmed.

“I was reluctant to publicly talk about what we are doing with Calder, but the rumour mill is going, so I thought it was better that I tell people what we are planning rather than allow the gossip to grow.

“It’s early days, but we are committed to returning the venue to a place that people will want to come and use. We will work in a timely manner, but this is a massive project that we are funding ourselves. We are not in a hurry, and it is going to be a slow and methodical process, but we are committed to making it happen “The plan is to bring Calder Park Raceway back to becoming a fully licenced circuit again, and as part of that process, we recently had a Motorsport Australia track inspection.

“David Stewart came out several weeks ago and spent several hours completing a primary track inspection to have the venue re-licensed for the national circuit to run events which require a Category B Licence.

“As yet, we have not received any advice or the report. However, we were already aware of some of the things that we needed to upgrade. – such as the gravel traps and run-off areas, which are the first lines of protection.

“In the short term, we are considering minor modifications to the track, which will allow us to host specific events while we work towards reinstating the full circuit.

When asked about the speculation buzzing in the industry that Jane was seeking government support, he flatly refuted the suggestion.

“Calder Park has been built with our family’s money. To date, we have not asked for or received any other money I know of, besides sponsorship. Our plans do not rely on getting financial support from the government, but being privately funded means it will take time.

“We would love government support in the form of recognition of the venue for what it is, the original Home of Motorsport in Australia, albeit a home in need of some love and hard work. Also one that is an amazing venue for driver training, not only for the public, but also for government services such as police, fire and ambulance training, with close proximity to Melbourne.

“The venue is also a great outdoor venue with unlimited opportunities to cater to events from motorsport, driver training, concerts, markets and large outdoor events with amazing road access and all-weather

parking that can cater to crowds of over 80,000 people.”

Jane says they have recently spent $1m resurfacing the drag strip – this is the first major upgrade – all the profit from the track for the next little while will go back into the venue and its funding.

They are also thinking big and will work through any issues that have been raised.

“We are thinking into the future with a view to staging much bigger events, having grown up watching Bob run many events that were outside the normal way of thinking.

“Kim and I would love to ultimately work towards bring large outdoor events and international motorsport events back to the venue that pioneered them. The venue has made a massive contribution to the Victorian economy over many decades and supported the local business community.

“We recently hosted a delegation from the Victorian Sport and Recreation with MA’s Eugene Arocca. We don’t know where this will lead, but we wanted them to see the venue and understand our commitment to it.”

Kim Jane, former NASCAR champion and the son of Bob Jane’s brother Bill is also

BOOST BACK BEFORE IT HAS GONE?

Kim and Rodney Jane

CALDER PARK TODAY 1) Three road racing circuits A) Short Circuit @ 1.6km B) Long Circuit @ 2.28km C) Combined circuit @ 4.216km 2) The Thunderdome oval track @ 1.8km 3) A 4x4 off-road track for driver training 4) More than 60 acres of all-weather parking with a further up to another 100 acres of general parking, 5) Motorcycle training complex, 6) Permanent Garages 7) Corporate facilities 8) Concert amphitheatre that can cater for crowds in excess of 80,000 people.

CALDER PARK’S FUTURE 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 7 8) 9 10 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14)

Implement track safety infrastructure Implementation of track safety lights Dedicated stand-alone drag strip Resurface road circuit New pit lane for road circuit Develop longer international road circuit New garages for road circuit with corporate hospitality upstairs 260-acre industrial and technology park development Dedicated driver training, education and eevelopment area Dedicated drifting circuit Car skid pan Truck skid pan Dedicated karting track Sprint car track Remote control car track

Image: Motorsport Images

a big part of the business. Kim is working behind the scenes to help facilitate the reenergising of the venue.

“We have completely resurfaced the drag strip, and our focus is to run ‘Legal Off Street’ drag events which do not require the use of traction/track preparation compounds.

“In the later years of circuit racing at the venue, using these compounds had been an issue when it rained. It is probably our greatest challenge at the moment, and we need to build the drag strip so it is not integrated with the road circuit as part of our longer term plan.

“We have recently engaged Rowan Harman – he understands the place and appreciates that it’s a timely process.

Generally, the venue is very sound, but we are in a mode of tidying it up and refurbishing infrastructure,” Kim Jane said.

“Calder Park has continued to hold events such as drag racing, drifting and sprint events, as well as driver training, motorcycle training and off-road vehicle testing and training. Our focus moving forward will be to build on this base, since word has spread we have had increasing enquiry from people who want to use the track as soon as they can.

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“Let’s face it, we are only 25km from the Melbourne CBD and less than 15 minutes from Melbourne Airport – it’s a venue that can hold big outdoor events, so it’s a special location that deserves to be made available for use.

“Things have changed a lot out here in recent years. As well as the freeway, we now also have an electric train service at the back fence, and Calder Park Drive will soon become a six-lane link road.

“Kim and I grew up working at the venue and racing here,” Rodney says.

“My first job was selling programs at the Australian Grand Prix when I was nine years old.

“I emptied rubbish bins at events through my school years and managed the venue before working in the tyre business.

“We look forward to seeing the venue flourish again, and any support we can get will be greatly appreciated.”

Under the management of Bob Jane, Calder Park hosted the Australian Grand Prix from 1980 to 1984 and played a significant role in attracting Formula One to Australia. Calder Park was also a regular venue for touring car racing from

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the 1960s into the start of the Supercar era. It also hosted national and statelevel racing through that era.

It held a round of the World Touring Car Championship in 1987 on the German-designed long circuit that combined the road circuit and Thunderdome into one 4.26km track.

It was the towering banks of the Thunderdome that many considered Bob Jane’s greatest achievement, and his dream to bring NASCAR to Australia was fulfilled for many years.

The Superspeedway was the first track outside North America to host NASCAR. The locally developed AUSCAR category, Bill Jane’s idea, was critical to the success of Calder Park, and it regularly fielded full fields during its summer series.

Calder Park is also a significant venue for Drag Racing in Australia, and Bob introduced the Australian Drag Racing Nationals based on similar events run in the USA. Calder Park also hosted massive entertainment events, such as the Guns’N’Roses concert in 1993, which saw more than 80,000 people in attendance.

Bruce Williams

PETER ADDERTON’S Boost Mobile has thrown its weight behind Richie Stanaway, with the straight-shooting telco boss saying he wants to buy the dormant 26th Teams Racing Charter so he can race Stanaway in 2023.

It is not clear if Supercars will support that purchase amid resistance from some team owners, despite Adderton saying he didn’t want to dilute any of the payments to current teams.

Posting on Facebook in the days after Bathurst, Adderton said: “Only 26 charters will ever be allowed.

There are 25 on foot at the moment and whether the 26th is issued is up to Supercars’ owners. Roland Dane@ supercarschampionship, you sell me the 26th REC and I will not take the payments on offer for 2 years so teams won’t lose revenues. I will commit to running @richiestanaway for 2023 if he wants the drive. Do it for the fans – if not we have little choice but to sit out 2023 as we said. The support and feedback from fans has been overwhelming since Wildcard – we will do it for the Fans ... balls in your court.” [sic] The post has had more than 500 comments and 3900 likes and prompted a follow-up post from the oft-outspoken sponsor.

“It’s simple if all the @supercars championship teams say YES then we are good to go – or are some afraid I know @ryanwalkinshaw doesn’t want the competition now his Special Engines are no longer available! Anyway I will let you all know who says Yes and who says No ...

We are close now, let’s see if the teams care about growing the sport or protecting therir kingdoms ....”

As we closed for press, it was not clear if Adderton could muster the numbers among the existing teams to allow for the acquisition of the 26th TRC. Andrew Clarke

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HOLDEN HAS TAKEN ITS FINAL VICTORY AT

THE MOUNTAIN Image: Mark Horsburgh/Edge Photographics

ALL EYES were on Holden as the Lion saluted The Great Race for one last time and Triple Eight Race Engineering gave those who bleed red something to savour forever.

In the record books it appears as yet another win for car #97 in 2022, guiding Holden to a 36th and final Bathurst victory, but the Mountain threw

everything at the powerhouse team.

Chaos, penalties, incidents, Safety Cars, old rivals and rain all threatened to derail Triple Eight Race Engineering’s campaign, but the squad found a way to overcome every challenge with sheer speed and smarts.

While Shane van Gisbergen and

Garth Tander will be the names etched in Bathurst history as the victors, the team had many more reasons to smile.

Jamie Whincup and Broc Feeney thought their race was over inside the first of 1000km and eventually salvaged a strong result, while the #888 wildcard of Craig Lowndes and Declan Fraser

completed the set to have all three cars inside the top eight.

Drivers van Gisbergen and Tander, plus managing director Whincup all played massive roles in the success and Auto Action’s THOMAS MILES spoke with the key protagonists in the pits and the press conference to reflect on their win for the ages.

TRIPLE EIGHT RACES TO ANOTHER WIN WITH A NEW BOSS TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering has established itself as the modern-day Supercars powerhouse and the 2022 Bathurst 1000 was the perfect case study.

In the team’s first Great Race since its leadership change where Roland Dane handed over the keys to Jamie Whincup, the Mountain threw penalties, spins and rain at the squad, and it still emerged on top.

Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander’s second win in three starts as a combination puts Triple Eight Race Engineering in rare air, joining the Holden Dealer Team with the most Great Race victories ever with nine.

Not only did car #97 secure the team’s record equalling Bathurst win, the sister Red Bull car and the #888 Supercheap Auto wildcard of Craig Lowndes and Declan Fraser ensured all three cars finished in the top eight.

Despite putting the helmet on and driving car #88 alongside Broc Feeney, Whincup admitted the nerves watching the closing stages as team principal and managing director exceeded those he felt as a driver.

“It was different, but just as rewarding,” said the seven-time champion to AUTO ACTION in the paddock.

“I had never been so nervous during those last 10 laps watching Shane go

around because you never know until that car crosses the line.

“At the start of the weekend I was just hoping we came home with three straight cars in those gruelling conditions, so to have all three cars in the top eight, I could not be happier.

“It is a true reflection of the hard work, dedication and personal sacrifices of all 55 people in this crew.”

Before Whincup had swapped the driver’s cap for the team principal one, he was worried his race would not even complete the first of 1000km.

Car #88 was at the centre of the first lap incident halfway up Mountain Straight, doing some synchronised spinning with Jack Perkins in front of the pack.

Whincup was in the driver’s seat when the chaos was unfolding and was astounded to discover he and Feeney fought back into the top three before their eventual P5 finish.

“I thought my day was going to be done 500m from the start,” he said.

“I was in this pack of cars and the car hit the water and kicked sideways, so while I was trying gather myself up, car #9 spun in front of me, and ended up with me going into a high-speed spin. How I did not hit the wall I do not know.

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“I then knew I was going to come back onto the track and remember saying to myself ‘I cannot believe my day is done’.

“Somehow everyone missed me and we got a second chance and then four laps later I got out of jail again at The Chase.

“I said to my engineer ‘how the hell did we get to P3’ and I do not really know, but it was a combination of a lot of things from pitting at the right time and passing a few cars.”

Despite the race being Holden’s last ever Bathurst 1000, Whincup said the brand’s most recent factory team remained focused on the job at hand instead of getting caught up in the emotion of the weekend.

However, he said one day the 2022 Bathurst 1000 will go down as one of the best chapters in the ever-expanding novel of Triple Eight Race Engineering success stories.

“Now we are just here racing as a team, but in 10 years time we will be saying ‘remember Bathurst 2022?’ they were the (glory) days when Holden was done and we won The Great Race,” he said.

“We have made history and a memorable life moment here that we will not appreciate and understand until a fair bit down the track.” TM

Image: ROSS GIBB

SVG REFLECTS ON SPECIAL DAY AT THE MOUNTAIN THE 2022 SUPERCARS Championship season has almost gone perfectly to plan for Shane van Gisbergen and it would not get any sweeter than Sunday October 9, when he won the biggest race of all, with Garth Tander.

Van Gisbergen and Tander scored their second Great Race win in three years after fending off Chaz Mostert in a thrilling duel at the finish between the current and former factory Holden teams in the brand’s final lap around The Mountain.

Reflecting on the latest triumph where van Gisbergen won by just over a second in a thrilling 16-lap sprint to the finish, the victor said 2022 feels even more special than the COVIDimpacted 2020, having celebrated with a full crowd full of Holden fans and flags.

“It was a big day and to compare it to 2020 it is another farewell to Holden, but this week I learnt a lot of just how much the brand means to people,” he said.

“It is a privilege to add to the tally of Holden wins ... it is hard to put into words.”

The closing stages of the 2022 Great Race had many similarities to 2020 where van Gisbergen also had to fend off a rival on his tail at the end.

To win his first Bathurst crown he had to keep a charging Cam Waters behind; fast forward two years and he was in the same position, but this time Mostert was breathing down his neck.

While the Walkinshaw Andretti United pilot was pushing hard, Van Gisbergen had a response for everything, and he said he felt more comfortable in the deciding run to the flag having harnessed the experience of two years ago.

“I did not have three stints of pressure, so 2020 was tougher mentally for a longer period of time,” he said.

“I knew once Chaz got past Brodie which he did, that was when the pressure was going to come.

“I kept myself pretty fresh and pushed for five or six laps, and when I gapped him I felt comfortable.

“It was not easy, but I felt like I had him covered.”

The 2022 Supercars Championship season as a whole has been all about van Gisbergen.

The Great Race win was his 19th of the year, which has knocked off Scott McLaughlin’s record of 18 wins in the 2019 season.

McLaughlin broke Craig Lowndes’ high-water mark of 16 wins set back in 1996, but the former DJR driver’s record only stood for three years as his Holden rival destroyed all comers in 2022.

Car #97 has been first at all-but one round this year, winning 63.3% of races including clean sweeps at Tasmania, Townsville and The Bend.

He has appeared on the podium in 25 of the 30 races and with four races still to go, van Gisbergen can easily become the first driver ever in Supercars/ATCC history to win 20 races in a single season.

Reflecting on the dominant record, the current Bathurst and series champion had a cheeky dig at his fellow countryman’s effort.

“I might upset some people, but it is a pretty special thing to do without all the calls of parity,” van Gisbergen said.

“It makes me feel as a team we have done such a good job. We are not the best in qualifying, but we seem to execute the races. “(Engineer) Andrew (Edwards) has been fantastic and when we are under pressure, the way he tunes the car up means we are in a pretty special place at the moment.” TM

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Image: MARK HORSBURGH/EDGE PHOTOGRAPHICS

TANDER JOINS HOLDEN GREATS GARTH TANDER arrived at Mount Panorama with a much revered reputation, but he left it as one of Holden’s all-time greats after guiding the General to another Great Race triumph.

In his 25th Bathurst start, the one-make driver saved one of his best drives for Holden’s final lap around the Mountain, helping Shane van Gisbergen to an emotional win.

The result was Tander’s fifth Bathurst 1000 win, which makes him equal fourth in terms of accumulated wins alongside Steven Richards.

But when it comes to triumphs for Holden, Tander is in even more exclusive company.

His fifth win for the brand saw him surpass the likes of Mark Skaife, Jim Richards, Craig Lowndes, Greg Murphy with four to sit only behind legends Peter Brock (nine) and Larry Perkins (six).

Tander will forever be on the Holden Bathurst podium alongside Brock and Perkins and in the aftermath of being

crowned King of the Mountain yet again, Tander admitted it was quite overwhelming.

“I have never really been emotional after the race, but that was really emotional,” he said.

“The realisation that five is a pretty serious number, but I won’t realise that until much later.”

Before joining Triple Eight Race Engineering fresh from full-time retirement, Tander had won for Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2000 and Holden Racing Team in 09 and 11.

Two years ago he won his first as a co-driver alongside van Gisbergen, and in 2022 the 2007 Supercars Champion looked like he had lost none of his magic.

Tander was on the money straightaway, setting the fastest lap of the weekend on Thursday, while his Sunday stint proved decisive.

The veteran put in a huge 76 laps on race day and had enough pace to not only overcome a five-second time penalty, but

drive 17 seconds clear of his nearest rival David Russell, laying the foundations for the eventual win.

Tander revealed a concern of being the weak link in car #97, spurred him on to push even harder in 2022 and he believes he contributed much more to this year’s success than 2020.

“I knew the car, Shane and the team were going to be exceptional, and I was determined not to be the weakest link, so I worked really hard in the lead up,” he said.

“I was pretty satisfied with being up to speed early, being able to open a gap and give the team flexibility with strategy in that middle stint.

“To be able to contribute in a small way was pretty satisfying.”

When asked whether Tander will come back next year and drive a first Bathurst 1000 without a Holden badge he simply replied “I will work that out later.”

But even if the 45-year-old does hang up the helmet, he has forged a legacy as a Mountain legend. TM

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XIBERAS SAYS HE WON’T RUSH PREMIAIR’S 2023 DRIVER DECISION TEKNO AUTOSPORTS was on its knees when drag racer Peter Xiberas (right) bought the team at the end of 2021 and rebranded it PremiAir Racing. Slowly during 2022, he has been moulding the team into being ‘his’ team, and he spoke candidly with Auto Action after his first Bathurst 1000, about Bathurst and the team’s future.

In the week after Bathurst, the team confirmed it was parting company with foundation driver Chris Pither (below right) and is now looking to lockdown a new driver to join James Golding for 2023.

“We’re talking to a lot of people,” He said.

“There’s obviously a lot of options out there for us, but young James Golding is an impressive kid. Very impressive. I honestly believe we have not seen the best of James Golding, and I’d love to be a part of seeing that. I can see him just getting better and better and better, and it’s a really exciting prospect.

“There are a few different ways to look at it. Do you get an older guy and more experienced drivers? So you have the old bull and the young bull type thing. Or do you go for a young guy you can blood, and he’s with you for the next 10 years? That’s the hard one.

“We’ve got a few more races to think about it. There are a lot of drivers and not many seats left. It’s not like I’ve got to hurry up and make a decision because I’m going to run out of options. There are some good options, and we want to think about how we structure the team and where we want to go next year.”

Tim Slade is being touted as the frontrunner for the seat after leaving Blanchard Racing Team, but Triple Eight-supported Declan Fraser and Cameron Hill are in the frame, as is Dylan O’Keeffe, who drove well for the team at Bathurst.

For Xiberas, 2022 has been a learning experience, as he expected. A leading top fuel drag racer, Xiberas is using some of that

experience combined with his business nous to frame the team and its future.

At the Great Race, Xiberas got his two cars to the finish line and had the Golding and O’Keeffe car running as high as fifth before

some issues with the front splitter took them out of the running for a potential shock podium. The Subway car ended up in 12th and on the lead lap.

The team’s other car, for Pither and Hill, lost eight laps with power steering issues while fighting for a spot in the Top 10 and made the chequered flag as the second-last classified runner.

“It’s a lot more nerve-wracking than being a spectator, I’ll give you that much,” Xiberas said.

“Sometimes you dream big, and you think, what if and all the rest “I think to have two cars finish is an achievement in itself. We had a few problems with power steering and a front splitter, which probably set us back a little bit. I think Jimmy was definitely on for a top 10 finish, though.”

Rather than make wholesale changes when he bought the team, he has been stepping carefully before ringing the changes. The first high-profile change was the departure of Garry Jacobson as the driver of car #31, which opened the door for Golding and has been a catalyst for the team’s improved performance in the second half of the season.

“A hundred per cent I feel like we deserve to be here. We should be here. We’ve earned our stripes, or half a stripe at least. This was always going to be a learning year, and I think we’re coming home with a wet sail.

“I’m really excited about next year. I think we are going to be a lot more competitive.”

Xiberas confirmed PremiAir would run Triple Eight Race Engineering-built Gen3 Camaros next year. Andrew Clarke

PREMIAIR YOUNG GUNS GIVE THE BOSS PLENTY TO THINK ABOUT YOUNG PREMIAIR racers James Golding (26) and Dylan O’Keeffe (24) gave their boss plenty to think about after an impressive run at Bathurst. The young duo were running a legitimate fifth in the race just before half distance when a problem with the front splitter ruined their day.

After impressing since his mid-season recruitment, Golding (right) has been confirmed for the squad next year, but O’Keeffe is currently not committed for 2023 and would be on team owner Peter Xiberas’s radar should he not go with Tim Slade for car #22 as expected. Regardless of the full-time drive, he is keen to return to PremiAir next season.

“I’m happy partnering with Jimmy; it’s good,” he said. “From my point of view, it’s been exciting because we locked the deal away a little while ago, but seeing the team go from strength to strength – especially since Jimmy joined – and getting top 10s and being consistent is why it all really came together for Bathurst.

“It’s why I was so keen to make a good weekend of it.

Straight away, when it rolled out of the truck and got P2 in that first session, it was like, ‘right, we’re going to be competitive’, and we were the whole way through.

“Our plan was to be there in the mix for the end of the race, but unfortunately, we weren’t due to the issue halfway through. But before that, we were in it and, yeah, it was enjoyable.”

Golding has scored a couple of top 10 finishes this season and is now a regular in the top half of the field,

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which is a great step forward for the team and the driver. Finishing 12th at Bathurst was a good return, but it could have been so much more.

“Overall a very promising weekend,” Golding said.

“We showed pace, wet, dry and otherwise. So super

proud of the whole team. You know, we didn’t give up the whole time. We had that front bar failure which ultimately cost us at the end of the day.

“But all in all, there was no other foot put wrong, so to speak. It was disappointing in the end, but we’re still

happy with our performance.

“This team’s on the way up, and we’ve just got to keep working hard. We can’t think it’s just going to fall into our laps with luck, because it won’t. We need to keep working hard as we have been, and that’s what’s making the difference.

“You need to get every piece of the puzzle right, but we’re still a new team at the end of the day.

We’re already performing above probably where we should be, but once we start performing at that level, we just aim higher. That’s all you can do.”

Both Golding and O’Keeffe are products of Garry Rogers Motorsport. Golding lost his main game seat with GRM when the series veteran team walked away from the category at the end of 2019.

He has continued to race with the team in the interim, running in the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, where he has finished second and third in his two seasons.

O’Keeffe has been running with GRM in the TCR class and sits seventh in the 2022 series with three podiums in a Peugeot. He was the driver Rogers turned to first when Richie Stanaway was stood down from the team for disciplinary reasons. He was an endurance driver with Tekno last year and stayed with the team when it became PremiAir for this season.

Prior to joining PremiAir, Golding was an endurance driver for Team 18 and was – and still is – competing in the Australian Drivers Championship for GRM. BW

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MASI MAKES COMEBACK ‘Murph’ and Boost boss Peter Adderton.

Image: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED FOR MURPHY

BY PAUL GOVER

GREG MURPHY ticked the boxes for his Supercars comeback race in the Bathurst 1000.

Pre-race, the four-time winner identified just two targets for his Wildcard ride alongside mercurial Richie Stanaway in the third Boost Mobile-backed Holden Commodore in the great race.

The first objective for Murphy at Mount Panorama in 2022 was to give Stanaway a shot at redemption in Supercars.

“He didn’t get a proper shot. He deserves it,” Murphy told Auto Action.

Stanaway came to Supercars fresh from plenty of success in Europe, but never delivered on his obvious talent and was dumped by Garry Rogers Motorsport before completing the 2019 season.

He then walked away from racing, until Boost boss Peter Adderton – a Stanaway fan, like Murphy – decided to go all-in with a Bathurst Wildcard.

Murphy’s second objective was to get through the race weekend with his reputation intact.

“I didn’t come here to be fastest.

But you want to be somewhere that isn’t shit,” Murphy said.

There was testing before Bathurst and he was relatively happy, but admitted returning to Mount Panorama was a much bigger challenge.

“At first I was driving it like a 2014 car – I had to learn what it needed,” he said.

So there were targets, but neither one involved a finishing place, not even following Stanaway’s lightning wet-track pace early in the weekend and his stunning fifth-fastest lap in qualifying.

So 11th at the final flag was just a bonus.

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“I’m doing this to help Richie,” Murphy said.

He also revealed some of the background to the Wildcard run.

“When it fell apart for Richie in 2019 I saw what it was and saw the anguish and pain that Richie went through,” he said.

“He wasn’t treated with the respect he deserved from what he’d achieved in the sport. He’s Richie, he’s got his own personality, but he knows what a fast car is.

“He knows how to drive. He knows how to hustle. When you look at him here in the frickin’ rain … you don’t get back in a car after three years, and a car you’ve never driven in the wet, and do that.”

So the link to the story is obvious.

“Peter (Adderton) wasn’t done with trying to give him a chance and support him.

“What sparked Peter was when Triple Eight announced (Russell) Ingall and (Broc) Feeney last year as a Wildcard. Peter is a marketer – I mean, his success is based on doing things that attract attention – and he was a bit pissed off that they had done something that was a great idea and achieved something that we had set out to achieve.

“He sort-of stole their idea and went about announcing the idea.

And that’s what it was – an idea.

“I’m sure he saw it as more of a certainty before he’d actually clarified or checked with myself or Richie!”

Murphy is just over 50, still looks fit and sharp and runs occasional historic race meetings for fun.

After the opening laps at Bathurst in the Boost-mobile car, despite nasty track conditions, he was happy.

“I didn’t come here thinking I was going to be running around inside the Top 10, searching for tenths and all that. I just didn’t want to be so

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far off the pace that it makes you irrelevant.

“On Thursday I checked that box.

It’s been session-by-session, dayby-day.”

Murphy said it was the same with Stanaway, and the pair’s expectations.

“He knows he’s good. But it’s been three years. There were question marks,” he said.

“You’ve just got to prove things to yourself. And knock those things out of the park.”

On race morning, Murphy looked more nervous than any rookie at the prospect of doing his first Supercars start in a generation on a treacherous track. It didn’t help that Craig Lowndes, operating in his own Wildcard on the way to eighth with Declan Fraser under the guidance of Roland Dane, was winding him up.

But it all worked, it went well, and both Murphy and Stanaway proved what they needed to prove.

Adderton is even talking seriously about finding a way to inject the youngster back into Supercars.

He knows there is a spare entry, even if Supercars is reluctant to sell it to him …

As for Murphy, he has no doubt about Stanaway.

“Richie has proved he’s still a star. He still has the star potential,” Murphy said.

“You don’t climb into a Supercar again, after three years, and stick it in the Shootout as a Wildcard. Does it need to be put into context? No ... it speaks for itself.”

And what about Murphy?

“Me getting back in, I proved to myself that I’m not shit.

“I’m not going to be back at the front, but I’m not an embarrassment.”

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FORMER FORMULA 1 race director Michael Masi returned to the Supercars paddock during the 2022 Bathurst 1000. Last month Masi was confirmed as the new independent chair of the Supercars Commission, replacing Neil Crompton. It was the first time Masi has been seen in the Supercars paddock since the 2019 Adelaide 500 before he served three seasons as F1 race director. He was previously the Supercars deputy race director and spent Thursday morning up and down the Bathurst 1000 pit lane.

BROWN PICKS BATHURST OVER JAPAN

ONE OF the biggest names in world motorsport was soaking up the Supercars action in Bathurst. Instead of being on track at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix as McLaren Formula 1 team boss, Zak Brown was watching The Great Race at Mount Panorama. Brown is also a co-owner of Walkinshaw Andretti United alongside Ryan Walkinshaw and Michael Andretti.

Brown hoped to see WAU win the Bathurst 1000 in person for the first time, but fell just one second short, while his F1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished 10th and 11th respectively in Japan.

NOT HIS BEST WORK

TICKFORD AND Zak Best did not have a weekend to remember at Bathurst, and it started with an unusual fine. Tickford and Best were both fined after a golf buggy was caught driving at “excessive speed” during a track walk. The stewards report read “an unregistered golf buggy was observed to being driven at an excessive speed and the occupants were not wearing any restraint device.” A fine of $3000 was imposed on Tickford and Best, with $2000 suspended until the end of the year.

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SUPERCHEAP AUTO SUPPORTS FRASER FOR MAIN GAME DRIVE

Image: MARK HORSBURGH/EDGE PHOTOGRAPHICS

TRIPLE EIGHT young gun Declan Fraser is looking to turn his eighth-place finish at Bathurst into something more significant for 2023. And he will do so with the support of Supercheap Auto.

Talking to Justin Murray, Sponsorship Manager for Supercheap Auto post a successful Bathurst 1000 ‘Wildcard’ performance, he was very positive and backed Fraser to step up to a full-time drive.

“Our wildcard program has always had the objective of bringing a young driver into the team, as we saw last year with Broc and now again in 2022 with Declan,” he said.

“Declan did a super job for us at Bathurst with Craig Lowndes. The on-track result was fantastic, and Declan equally impressed everyone off-track with his work ethic, fan interaction, training and media commitments.

“The whole Wildcard program buildup over five months was immense, and

Declan handled it extremely well.

“He is part of the Supercheap Auto family, and we will continue to support Declan in his efforts for a main game drive,” confirmed Murray.

PremiAir Racing, Matt Stone Racing and Brad Jones Racing are all yet to announce a finalised driver line-up for 2023, meaning there are still doors open for Fraser to take the next step.

He hopes his performance at Bathurst provides a bit more impetus for that to happen, especially after being paired with Supercars legend Craig Lowndes, from whom he learnt a heap.

“We came away with the history-making P8, the highest-ever wildcard finisher at Bathurst,” he said after the Great Race. “It’s a special moment for me and Triple Eight and Craig.

“The triple stint he did at the end was awesome. We had pretty good pace at the end; we made a little bit of a change which brought us back into the mix. We fell out of

the window halfway through the race, but at the end of the day, it’s all hindsight stuff.

“To finish eighth on my debut, with Craig and everyone in the team, it’s a pretty special moment.”

But whether it helps him get a drive for 2023 or not is up in the air. When asked about his plans for next season, he simply replied, “you tell me – I don’t know”.

“There’s probably a couple of teams with some spots available. Hopefully, this weekend I put on a good enough show for them, and they can see what we can offer. I can’t thank Triple Eight enough for allowing me to showcase what I can do and for trusting in me. Who knows what the future may hold, whether I stick with Triple Eight or whatever.

“I have taken every opportunity with both hands so far. They’ve given me an opportunity to be involved in the team this year. They’re the best team up and down pit lane, so if they’re going to allow me to be there, I’ll make sure I make the most

BATHURST’S MODERN BEHEMOTH THE RECORDS Keep tumbling for Craig Lowndes four years on from his retirement from a full-time Supercars gig.

On the confirmation of his 29th start in the Great Race, Lowndes became the first driver to notch 300 ATCC/Supercars round starts, which would fittingly come at The Mountain.

The seven-time Bathurst winner (equal second with Jim Richards) is one green flag away from equalling Bob Holdens 30 Bathurst starts, which will make him third of all-time. He holds the record for most podiums (14), and most race completions in a row (17, 2002-2019). And if the brilliant Garth Tander doesn’t start next year, he will also equal him for the third most Supercar Race starts (569).

As night fell over the garages of the 2022 Bathurst 1000, AUTO ACTION had a word with Lowndes who was crossing the pits after talking with another group of doting fans.

“It’s always great to be here, especially as a driver because it’s such a special place with a great history and tradition, every single time is more special than the last in a way,” Lowndes said.

“To be able to bring up the 300 here, that’s the most special part of holding that record. And to be able to come back again next year for another go is very pleasing, so hopefully we can come back and have another really strong showing.”

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T8 marked the occasion with a unique collage Image: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY Lowndes shared the car with a driver who is most likely to become a regular Supercars name in the categories new generation, who along with his rookie appearance, also got to head the field briefly in what may become a familiar sight in the years to come.

The two-time series champion related his observations on sharing the #888 Make It Super Commodore with Declan Fraser, and how things evolved for them on the track.

of it. I’m not an employee or anything like that; I’m just there to learn as much as possible from the people around the team and their knowledge.”

Like fellow wildcard drivers Richie Stanaway with Boost, Fraser looks to have impressed his sponsor for Bathurst in Supercheap, and he is hoping to continue that relationship.

“I would love to continue the partnership with Justin (Murray) and everyone at Supercheap. It’s been a fantastic week, and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity to come out here and showcase what we could do. Hopefully, we can move up next year and show what we can do in the main game.

Fraser currently leads the Dunlop Super2 Series by 75 points over Zak Best, with only two races at the Valo Adelaide 500 meeting remaining. He needs a fourth and third-place finish or better in the two races to secure his maiden title.

Bruce Williams

“Declan did a great job, he really took it under his wing with everything that was going on. The step up between Super2 and the main-game is quite big, especially because of all the stuff that goes on off the track, the corporate lists and the signing sessions and everything else.

“I feel that he was a little blown away with that side of it at the start of the week, just with what we do and all the running around.

But once we put that helmet on him, he was more-or-less faultless for a first-timer.

“Getting to know the car around The Mountain is a big aspect of it, and we sort of struggled with it pace wise. But in the end, we both really didn’t do anything wrong, and that enabled us to have a good strong finish.

“The thing that really hindered us was that we had to carry a bit more rear wing to get the balance across the top of the Mountain, more so than others. That lost us the straight line speed over the weekend.

“That was the part that hurt us overall, and if we could’ve settled the car down a little better and run a bit less rear wing, we probably would have been a lot closer or thereabouts.”

There’s always the chance that Lowndes could do anything on The Mountain, and his return next under the current Triple Eight contract, will again be a major fan-drawcard for Australia’s greatest racing spectacle.

You’d be hard pressed to see another driver that takes in fan-admiration to the extent and patience that ‘The Kid’ does.

Oh … and managed yet another Bathurst 1000 record this year. Since its formal 2009 inception, their P8 is the highest ever finish for a wildcard.

TW Neal

TICKFORD AND EREBUS IN WAR OF WORDS OVER CUTTING CLASH

By THOMAS MILES Tickford Racing and Erebus Motorsport have entered a war of words following a clash at The Cutting between cars #6 and #99.

Tickford’s main man Cam Waters stood on the Bathurst podium for third straight year, but was left to wonder what could have been after another missed shot at The Mountain.

The big moment that defined car #6’s day involved the car being driven

by Erebus rival Brodie Kostecki on lap 46, which sent the Monster Mustang spiralling down the order from the effective lead to 21st.

Despite coming from behind to beat the #99 Erebus Commodore on track, both Waters and co-driver James Moffat (top right) did not hide their anger about the clash, especially after teammate Jake Kostecki received a 15-second penalty for spinning Boost Mobile wildcard Greg Murphy when the roles were reversed.

“He (Brodie) tried to pass at a place you do not usually pass at and we lost 15 spots,” Waters said.

“I was not sure why Jake got a penalty when he was up alongside Murph on the kerb and could not go anywhere else.”

“It was all going okay for us until Brodie just drove like a dickhead at The Cutting,” Moffat said.

“We were on the back foot for the rest

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of the day, so credit to the team for not giving up and Cam drove the wheels off it to get it back on the podium.”

Despite the Monster Mustang fighting back to score P3, Tickford had little to celebrate after cars #55 and #5 were wiped out within the first four laps, and #56 struggled to P17 and team principal Tim Edwards said it was one of the toughest days he has ever experienced.

“This place can really bruise you,” he said.

“It was obviously a very rough start, three-fourths of our cars were either out of the race or out of contention by Lap 5.

“We’re not happy with the referee today.

We got turned around and it cost us the race with Cam and Moff.

“The fact that we turned what could have been a disaster into a podium is something we can be proud of, but we’re only interested in the top step at Bathurst “To be honest, I haven’t had many races that were worse than today for us.”

Crucially, Kostecki (right) was not awarded a penalty by the stewards, but this only fuelled Tickford’s frustrations.

Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan went into bat for his driver, claiming Moffat’s actions caused the incident instead.

“Brodie was left a gap at the Cutting,” Ryan said to Supercars.com.

“As James Moffat does in everything he drives, he had tunnel vision or is just

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Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES stupid and turned in on Brodie – ask anyone he races.

“For James and Tim to label Brodie a dickhead and imbecile publicly when it was clear Brodie made a racing move on an amateur driver is completely unfair.

“The incident was also cleared by the stewards.

“If Tickford want to blame someone for losing their shot at a Bathurst win, they need to look at their own co-driver and his actions.

“Brodie and Dave drove the wheels off the 99 car and chose their fights like professional drivers do.”

Cars #6 and #99 found themselves racing side by side once again later in the race after the final restart, but this

time it remained clean with Waters passing Kostecki at Griffin’s Bend to steal the podium position.

Fans will be looking forward to how the Tickford v Erebus rivalry evolves when Supercars returns to the Gold Coast on October 28-30.

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BUMPER BATHURST 6 HOUR GRID THE 2023 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour is set to once again be Australia’s largest endurance race, with demand outstripping supply in entries for the second consecutive year.

A total of 75 entires have been received at AA press time, five more than the grid capacity of the Mount Panorama circuit.

With the largest Bathurst 6 Hour grid to date at 64 cars, next year’s edition looks primed to set a new high watermark.

Tickets, camping and Hospitality options for the 2023 event, to be held between 7-9 April, will go on sale soon.

TOYOYA TURNS TO THE FUTURE TOYOTA HAS unveiled its future by taking the wraps off the new GR86 racecar that will make its on track debut in the 2024 Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series.

The new car is based on the GR86 and has been developed and built by Neal Bates Motorsport and is now available for competitors to order with a turnkey package priced at $89,990.

Toyota’s new GR86 racer marks the brand’s longterm commitment to the category, which will continue until at least the end of 2026.

AUSSIE TEAM READY TO TAKE ON AMERICA AUSTRALIAN-BASED team McElrea Racing will race against the big boys next year when it launches its inaugural Porsche Carrera Cup North America campaign.

McElrea Racing fields five cars in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia series and after winning 12 national titles is ready to expand its horizons.

The squad will continue to race in Australia, but has established a base in North Carolina and will field a multi-car team in the North American series looking to create an alternative to the European Porsche pathway.

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BOYS GETS S5000 BOOST AFTER IMPRESSIVE BATHURST BOOST MOBILE and Garry Rogers Motorsport will join forces again to support Jordan Boys in the opening round of the 2022 Tasman S5000 Series.

Boys will team up with this year’s Trans Am champion in Nathan Herne at team GRM, starting at the opening round at the Gold Coast 500.

It is a big boost for Boys in particular, last racing in an S5000 at Hidden Valley in a one-off appearance for Versa Motorsport, where he scored a podium finish in the third race.

Boys will join the S5000 field fresh from competing in the 2022 Bathurst 1000 as a co-driver in the Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore with Macauley Jones. While trouble followed the #96 throughout the weekend, Boys showed enough pace and composure to impress across a number of sessions.

Brad Jones told Auto Action about what the Supercars future may hold for the talented 24-year-old.

“I think he’s more than capable of being in the main-game, but it’s a hard gig to get,” Jones said. “He’s been chipping away at it, and I’d like to think that he could do another couple of wildcards for us, because he really did a great job.

“I’ve known Jordan since he was a little tacker, and he’s clearly a talented driver, but finding a spot in one of these cars isn’t easy, so it’s about doing as much as we can to help him in the long run.

“It’s positive with him being part of the Erebus academy – they work pretty hard for their guys to give them as much opportunity as they can, and it was great to see him get a couple of wildcard drives with Terry Wyhoon and Erebus this year, and I would like to think we’ll see him get some more.

“Both Macauley and Jordan did an excellent job and were doing really well. Jordan got elbowed off at The Chase and then they had a bit of a brake issue with locking up in the rears, but once we got the calipers sorted those two did an exceptional job to come from a lap down to finish 13th.”

About his up and coming S5000 appearance, Boys is confident of getting a result on the Gold Coast street circuit.

“The cars are extremely fast and while they’re not as technical as some other categories they still look extremely cool,” he said.

“I really feel like I can go out there and win, I have street circuit experience and experience in the car so it’s a great combination.

“I’ve sort of been annoying Barry (Rogers) for a while now trying to get another drive in the category so I have to give a massive thanks to Barry, Garry and the whole GRM team, plus Boost who are going to have a massive presence at the event.” TW Neal

BENTLEY WAITS ON MOTORSPORT BRITISH LUXURY brand Bentley has adopted a wait and see approach to its future motorsport involvement.

Bentley axed its Bathurst-winning GT3 factory program after the 2020 season and now only provides limited support to some privateer Continental GT runners.

It has announced the transition of its entire model line-up to battery electric powertrains by 2030, with the first EV road car on-sale in 2026.

Bentley motorsport chief Paul Dickinson told Auto Action the brand was in a wait and see mode as electrified racing developed.

“While motorsport is in our DNA it is currently not in our plans,” Dickinson said.

Extreme E might be another option for Bentley given the Bentayga SUV is now its biggest selling model. But Dickinson wouldn’t be drawn on that topic, preferring to generalise.

“Throughout history motorsport is a massive part of the Bentley brand DNA,” he said. “We are always looking at potential but we haven’t got anything we can talk about at the moment.”

Motorsport now sits in a division of VW-owned Bentley alongside its Mulliner bespoke division, which personalises customer cars and develops short run multi-million dollar exotics and classics.

“I think the simple answer on motorsport is we currently have no working programs and Mulliner and motorsport have joined together and our current focus is on Mulliner,” explained Dickinson.

“Our focus is on the Mulliner side growing the

Bentley stepped back from its GT3 program at the end of 2020. classic and coachbuilding side and the bespoke.

“If we were to go back into motorsport it would have to be something that’s true to the future focus of Bentley on sustainability and where we are going.”

Bentley has developed an electric Continental GT racer for testing with British motorsport engineer Ray Mallock Ltd and is reported to be a member of the working group developing the 2023 FIA eGT series.

But Dickinson confirmed Bentley would not be contesting the series next year.

“We won’t be entering any races in 2023 in eGT.” He also indicated little interest in Formula E world championship, where luxury brands Porsche, Jaguar and Maserati have entries in 2022-2023 when the Gen3 car debuts.

“It would be a stretch to see how that would be

aligned to our brand values,” Dickinson admitted.

What does align with Bentley’s values unarguably is endurance racing and the Le Mans 24-hour in particular. It won five times between 1924 and 1930 and then returned to win in 2003 in the modern prototype era.

The world endurance championship and Le Mans introduced the Hypercar class in 2021 and LMDH commences in 2023. Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac BMW, Lamborghini and Alpine are all planning to enter.

Previously, Bentley has also expressed interest in a new hydrogen fuel cell class being touted for the classic in 2025.

“If Bentley were to go back to motorsport it would only ever be in something that was at the pinnacle and that was aligned to our brand values,” Dickinson responded when asked about Le Mans. Bruce Newton

BATHURST MAYOR HAILS RETURN OF THE FANS

Bathurst Mayor Robert Taylor shares the stage with WAU duo Mostert and Holdsworth.

THE MAYOR of Bathurst, Robert Taylor, has lauded the welcome return of race fans to the town, which despite the torrential rain made the trek from all over the country to motorsport’s most fabled mountain.

For the first time since 2019, the storied ‘Bathurst camper’ was able to come back

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in droves, with the Mayor telling Auto Action that he applauds the fans.

“The fans are just a hardy bunch, and I congratulate the way they attended the event, never complained and came largely prepared…especially those up on top.” Taylor said.

“There was obviously the

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disappointment of the top-10 shootout, but overall it was hugely successful, in terms of both the four days, the Sunday, and for businesses in town.

“To be back to full strength after three years just goes to show the resilience of the fans and how they were missing that interaction. At the driver signing in town on Wednesday we had some rain but fans didn’t budge – they just wanted to be close to their favourite drivers; the kids absolutely loved it too.

“There was also a more family focused approach this year, which I thought was a good initiative from Supercars.

We had all the merchandising in the Harris Park area, and for the first time a section for kids, which I think is fabulous.

The event’s not just for the die-hards anymore, but a place where families can now partake in the experience.”

Like many places, the economy of the region took a huge hit, and the Mayor welcomed the return of fans as a welcomed economic boon for the town.

“It’s an influx of at least 26 million dollars to the local region. I was in Sydney for a joint organisation of the regional Mayors, and places like Orange and Cowra, they all had massive

overflow. It’s not just Bathurst – it benefits the whole central west region.

Bathurst alone lost around $20 million per year without the event.

A few issues that plagued this year’s event included the closing of the main car parks for non 4WDs, and the standing water on the track which raised questions around the track’s drainage.

“That main parking land belongs to the university so we can’t really do much with it – they just allow us to use it. But the ones directly around the track we can look at putting some asphalt down – but we’ve had an unprecedented amount of rain don’t forget.

“There was no burst water main as was suggested. There was a lot of water coming from the driveway of one of the properties which fed down to the Mountain Straight because the dam on their property was overflowed.

“We’ve got full-time workers getting the track ready for the Bathurst International, and drainage is something that we’re definitely looking at. We’ll be sitting down with Supercars to address those issues, and between the two bodies, we’ll rectify it to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Tim W Neal

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AUSSIES AMONG WORLD’S BEST IN A motorsport first, the WSC Group has launched a new driver rankings concept and two Australians feature inside the top 15 in the TCR world.

The 2022 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series title protagonists Tony D’Alberto and Jordan Cox are mixing it with the best in the globe, ranked 10th and 15th respectively.

The rankings are based on results since January 2021 and series are divided into five categories with TCR Australia classified as a “national” category.

The system has been used to rank the best TCR drivers in the world and the inaugural number one TCR Italy and Europe star Franco Girolami.

CAR #99 RAISE 10 GRAND IN GREAT RACE EREBUS MOTORSPORT’s Brodie Kostecki and David Russell have raised $10,000 to Charity Feel the Magic, as part of an incentive from the Geoff Booth Foundation.

The Foundation pledged $10,000 if car #99 made the Top Ten Shootout, which it did, qualifying ninth for the 2022 Great Race.

The Geoff Booth Foundation celebrates the lives of its founders Geoff Booth and Annie Tan, who passed away due to cancer, while Feel the Magic provide early intervention grief education programs for children aged 7 to 17 who have experienced the loss of a parent, guardian or sibling.

CROWDS FLOCK BACK TO GREAT RACE THE FIRST Bathurst 1000 without restrictions in a post COVID-19 world has been hailed as a big success.

Supercars thanked its fans, with 195,578 braving some of the worst conditions ever faced at Mount Panorama, while TV figures also improved dramatically.

It was the biggest crowd since COVID-19, being only 6000 short of the 2019 figure.

The average Foxtel audience was up 9% on 2021, while Seven’s coverage averaged 1.36 million total viewers national and 38% more people watched the podium ceremony than last year.

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TODD’S ‘GUT WRENCHING’ FINISH TO FINAL BATHURST AT MSR

by THOMAS MILES EMERGING SUPERCARS star Todd Hazelwood hit the headlines prior to the Bathurst 1000 announcing his move from Matt Stone Racing to Blanchard Racing Team for 2023.

Although it is the third switch in his five-year career, it will be an emotional one as Hazelwood departs the team, which helped achieve his ambition.

Hazelwood won the 2017 Super 2 Series driving a MSR Holden Commodore and also spent his first two years at the top level with the family-owned team.

These connections meant the 27-year-old was desperate to give the team a strong result in their final Great Race together, and why he had a “gut wrenching” feeling when hopes for an impressive top-10 result were gone after meeting the Griffins Bend wall.

“It was a tough day at the office and we did well to survive as long as we did because we had a front end issue from lap three where the front mounting system failed on us,” Hazelwood told Auto Action.

“I was in a rhythm, driving to a number, but both front wheels just locked up out of nowhere and I was just a passenger.

“It is gut wrenching considering the day we had, knowing we had everything going against us and we almost got through to the other side with a decent finish.

“I just feel for the team because they busted their guts all weekend, so it would have been nice, but it was not meant to be.”

While there are still two big events left in 2022, including Hazelwood’s home race in Adelaide, the man with 155 race starts is already excited about the future.

He will be jumping from a team that has struggled to progress outside of the top 15 to one that has regularly been in the mix for a top-10 result.

Much like the early days at MSR, Hazelwood will be leading a one-car Ford team at BRT, which has similar personnel to when he last appeared in CoolDrive colours as a co-driver alongside Tim Blanchard for Brad Jones Racing in 2017.

He sees the move as a big opportunity to take the next step in his short career.

“There is no question that my stint in Supercars has been tough, but what does not kill you makes you stronger and I will keep fighting,” Hazelwood said.

“The team is in a unique position being a single car Gen 3 team and it is a great opportunity for me to start fresh with a clean slate.

“They are family orientated which I love and are also a professional and well organised outfit. I did a brief stint with the team with the Brad Jones alliance back in 2017 and it is ironic how the worlds have combined once again.

“I think the best thing about next year is that I can invest all of my time being a driver, so I seeing what I can get out of myself is an exciting prospect.”

Despite leaving MSR for the second time in three years, Hazelwood said his relationship with Stone remains very strong and he hopes both parties enjoy lots of success in the future.

“Everything has been very amicable between Matt and I,” he said.

“We are still very good mates away from the race track and that was a key component as to why there was flexibility.

“We had a chat and both understand what we needed to do, so there were not any issues.

“It is not a case of leaving on bad terms, I wish Matt and the team all the best and I am sure they will do good things in the future.”

BATHURST 1000 WINNER INSPECTS NEW ADELAIDE 500 DECK SHANE VAN Gisbergen has visited the newly resurfaced track that will host the Supercars return to Adelaide, with the state’s treasurer also announcing free travel for ticket holders.

With more than 70% of the track so far finished, from the braking zone at Turn 9 through to the entry of Turn 7, the new surface is expected to produce the fastest lap times in the event’s history.

The two-time Bathurst 1000 winner was on hand last week to be shown around the track with South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mulligan (above) as he announced the free travel for fans.

“We have had some past experiences at this track but it will be completely different now, there are no bumps and hopefully more grip,” said the 2022 series leader.

“It is a completely new surface, it looks beautiful and we can’t wait to race here in a couple of months.”

Van Gisbergen said that he was looking forward to the Supercars/Holden finale, with it being a welcome return to an old street circuit driver favourite.

“It will be a different feeling being the Championship finale, the drivers will be more race fit, but the biggest thing for us is seeing the enthusiasm in town already, seeing how much the people of Adelaide have missed the race and how excited they are for it to return.

“This was one of my favourite races of the year and to be back here again is going to be great. We haven’t done many street circuits in recent years and we can come race here again with the people and see so many fans around on the street.”

The event returns to SA on the back of a state labour government – run by the Hon Peter Malinauskas – that has pushed the agenda of Motorsport into the public eye.

Mullighan expressed to fans that they wanted to make it as affordable as possible for everyone to attend the event.

“We want to make it as easy and affordable to attend as possible, we’ve already dialled back ticket prices 10 years, and providing free public transport is another great incentive,” the Treasurer said.

“The event shuttle service will make it even more convenient for fans to get around and take in all the action of the best touring car race in the world.”

All VALO Adelaide 500 ticket holders can travel for free on any Adelaide Metro bus, train or tram from first to last service, by showing a valid VALO Adelaide 500 ticket for that day to catch a free ride. Those aged under 12 years that receive free entry to the track will not need to present a ticket when boarding.

The VALO Adelaide 500 will take place on December 1-4.

Tickets for the Supercars Championship season finale are now on sale via Ticketek.

FORMULA 5000s THUNDER AT ROSE CITY TRIBUTE THE ROSE City 10,000 tribute race for Formula 5000 cars has been completed, in memorable fashion, at Winton Raceway.

The main event, sponsored by Auto Action, was a 12-lap affair featuring some pristine classic V8 powered open wheel racers, with 13 cars eventually making the grid for Sunday’s race, with all participating cars ranging from between 1969 and 1977.

Many of the cars on the grid have major histories, but the appearance of the Elfin MR8 Chev that 1976 Formula 1 world champion James Hunt drove to victory at Winton 44 years ago, completed the event.

Chas Talbot – the only driver in the field to have actually raced in the 1978 Rose City 10,000 – also took part, taking to the track in a similar Lola T332 to that raced then.

It was the biggest field of Australian domiciled Formula 5000 cars that the category had seen for many years.

Saturday and Sunday featured a pair of sprint races, which were taken out by one of the pre-event favourite’s in Tom Tweedie, with Tim Berryman playing second fiddle to Tweedie in those morning showings.

On Sunday, It was the sprint race winner in Tweedie who would take the early lead in the Chevron B24/28 to be in control for the first half of the race, until gearbox issues forced his early retirement.

His misfortune allowed Berryman in his beautifully prepared ex-Alan Jones/Theodore Racing Lola T332 Chev to take the lead.

Berryman (right) had been pushing hard and had been shadowing Tweedie until the sixth lap, and once he assumed the lead, took control proceedings for a resounding win. Paul Zazryn (above) was Berryman’s closest challenger, also in a Lola T332, doing enough to take out second place.

Regular TCR Australia front-runner Josh Buchan was piloting the ex John GossAustralian Grand Prix winning MatichRepco Holden, making a good start and charging through the field to be running as high as P3. He was on the tail of the leading pair, but brake issues hampered

Images: PETER ELLENBOGEN his efforts, and he failed to make the chequered flag.

The battle for third was an engrossing encounter, with Dean Camm in his Chevron B24 filling the podium spot with a last lap overtake. Camm overtook David Crabtree in a March 73a for P3 after initially starting at the rear of the field.

Talbot couldn’t match his effort of P5 in 1978, with plenty of backfiring coming from the historic T332.

Paul Zazryn took out the ‘Spirit of the meeting award’ which was awarded

by AA Publisher Bruce Williams, while Geoff Walters driving in a Lola T330 was awarded the Hoosier prize. TW Neal

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ADDERTON FORMALISES SUPERCARS TRC APPLICATION AND WANTS TO BE

ON THE GRID FOR 2023 PETER ADDERTON BELIEVES HIS PARTICIPATION IN SUPERCARS - NOT JUST AS A SPONSOR BUT RUNNING HIS OWN TEAM - WOULD BE A MAJOR ‘BOOST’ FOR THE CATEGORY.

FOLLOWING THE successful ‘Wild Card’ program at the 2022 Bathurst 1000, with the Kiwi pairing of Richie Stanaway and Greg Murphy, Peter Adderton went public across social media in his demand for Supercars to make available to him the dormant 26th Team Racing Charter (TRC), or what was formerly known as a REC or a Racing Entitlements Contract.

He has also been rebuilding bridges with RACE (ownership group of Supercars) management, and should he get the go ahead to race with his own team in Supercars, it will more than likely be aligned with a bigger team. Adderton has also confirmed that a Boost Mobile backed team would run Chevrolet Camaro’s and that Greg Murphy would lead the team.

Adderton’s social media post calling Supercars out regarding their reluctance to hand over the 26th TRC went viral and garnered thousands of positive responses and many dozens of comments. With most of the fans agreeing with Adderton’s position and many calling for Supercars to give the sometimes-outspoken Adderton the opportunity to go racing…

The often outspoken Adderton spoke to AUTO ACTION’S publisher Bruce Williams, Adderton outlined his plans and talks about what he thinks might happen.

Well, it’s official, after all the posturing, Peter Adderton has formalised the process and has put in writing to Supercars on Monday a request to purchase the dormant Team Racing Charter.

He says, though, that he feels like he is being blocked by the other teams who have, it is believed, had a clause inserted in the sale agreement to RACE blocking the activation of that TRC before 2025.

Talking to AUTO ACTION, Adderton outlined his plans and talks about what he thinks might happen.

“I made an official approach to Supercars to acquire the TRC. Absolutely,” he said on Tuesday. “I sent them a letter yesterday.

“I got an email back saying, “We got your application; we’ve got your letter.” I believe

discussions are going on, and there is a board meeting this week where I believe it will be tabled.

“We’ve made it very clear that we’re not interested in the charter money; the teams will not need to take any dilution by allowing us to get the TRC. I’ve made that clear to everybody, so that shouldn’t be a hurdle.

“I think some teams out there are afraid of competition. They like it the way that it is. They like to know who will come first, second, and third and who will be happy in the top 10 or the top 15.

“However, I think the status quo has been that way for so long, bringing in a new team owner, someone like me who’s determined to improve the sport and our team. I think it scares some people.”

Contractual arrangements with the teams lock the dormant TRC as part of the deal for RACE to buy their shares in the sport from them last year. The agreement locks the dormancy of the 26th TRC until 2025, and it is this agreement he is hoping the teams will agree to break.

It also is believed the TRC must be offered to existing teams before it is offered to an ‘outsider’ like Adderton. Although what conditions are placed on its purchase is unclear, Adderton is willing to pay handsomely for the TRC. He remains hopeful of reaching a suitable agreement because it won’t alter their participation revenue. As such, he has already started planning how to build and run the team in a short time. Adderton was a co-owner of Brad Jones Audi team in the 1990s, so he isn’t foreign to what is required. This is where his association with Greg Murphy began, with ‘Murph’ as a driver in that team.

In 2019 he backed Garry Rogers Motorsport, which had Stanaway as its driver, and the two Kiwis will form an integral part of what he wants to build. He wants Stanaway as his driver and Murphy as his Team Principal. He also thinks the timing is perfect for bringing a new team into the sport.

“I think considering we’re moving into Gen3, our chances are a lot better because nobody’s raced these cars. Everything has changed, and not many people are going to know too much about the car. I think that gives us a good chance to be able to really come up the speed with everybody else.

“Of course, you’ll have the traditional DJR Shell and Triple Eight cars at the front of the grid because they’re basically building them, but I think short of that, it allows us to do something new and unique. So, I think the timing is perfect.

“We’re not going to undertake it if we don’t believe that we can get the right people around Richie and the right people to build that team. We’re confident we can do that, and hopefully, time will tell.

“I think there’s a lot of disgruntled Holden fans and Chev fans based on Walkinshaw moving to Ford.

“And I’m not sure that Erebus even carries the Holden logo or the Chevrolet logo, I think they’ve got the E on the front of the car. So, I think they’re the only team out there that’s factory Holden is Triple EightRed Bull Racing.

“I think with Roland leaving, that’s lost a little bit of its novelty too, and I think there is a real opportunity to align with the fans and give the new Chevrolet fans a team to cheer for. I think that would probably be the logical step for us.

“We will attach ourselves ideally to a bigger team. I’m not going to say which team that is, but it would be more of a satellite operation and to work together at the start. We see ourselves purchasing a car from an existing team manufacturing the new Gen3 race cars.”

Mid-last year, Boost Mobile and Supercars had a barney that resulted in Adderton declaring that Boost Mobile was out of Supercars in 2023, cancelling its sponsorship of the Series, the Gold Coast 500 and Erebus Motorsport.

Some of that may change, but Erebus won’t, as that team is in negotiations with several potential partners including both Caltex and Coca-Cola for next season.

“We’re done with Erebus, and I do believe that they have secured another sponsor. I told Barry and Betty that we were in a state of flux, trying to decide what we wanted to do and whether Boost was staying in the sport.

“But if Boost did stay in the sport, there were certain criteria that we needed to ensure, and that is coming together. Barry and Betty, rightly, needed to make their decisions based on their team. I wish them all the best with whatever sponsors they’ve got. But, no, we’re not going back to Erebus.

Adderton was embroiled in a very public feud with Supercars owners following his comments around the AUTO ACTION story that outlined the ‘rejected’ purchase of Supercars to FANTECH back in late July.

The issue was further agitated by a subsequent social media ‘stumble’ with regards to a post at a rival Optus store activation.

He didn’t hold back with his criticism of the new Supercars ownership group-RACE. However, in recent months Adderton has accepted an olive branch from the boss of RACE-Barclay Nettlefold, and believes that going forward the relationship is well on the mend.

“I’ve got a lot more respect and time for both Barclay (Nettlefold, Chairman of RACE) and Shane (Howard, CEO of Supercars), although I’ve never really had a problem with Shane.

“I’ve had more issues with the new ownership than with the management. The management of Supercars does a good job.

“Barclay has apologised for what happened at that [Optus] store, and he sees what my point was and understands where I was. You got to give people credit-where-credit’s due.

He’s starting to listen, and whether he takes the advice doesn’t matter; the fact that he’s willing to listen is a massive step.

“I would say that the relationship between Barclay and me is now one of mutual respect and that he’s trying to improve things. He was thrown into the deep end, and I was highly critical of him.

“Let’s make no mistake about that; I’m not going to shy away from that. I think he floundered a little bit, but I think he’s come out swimming now.

“He’s now starting to understand the politics of the sport. I think he’s getting a better handle on the value players and those who aren’t. He’s quickly working out who adds value and who doesn’t. We’re going to see a different Barclay approach as a chairman of the RACE.” He hinted that the altered approach has changed the way he views his sponsorship of the sport, and that Boost Mobile may yet continue with its sponsorship of the sport and the Gold Coast event.

“We continue in the dialogue. We continue the discussion. I don’t have a problem with the sport of Supercars and I love the fans. I just didn’t like the way it was being run. From

OZ PROTOTYPES TO MAKE THE MOUNTAIN

what I’m seeing now, they’re willing to listen and try to improve things. As long as they continue down that path, I think we’re in a positive space.

Adderton’s style has often put some of the more conservative operators in pitlane on the offensive at times, but he says it is his nature to say it as he sees it.

“The Australia I grew up in and the Australia that I left when I went to the US, was a bunch of straight-talking people. One of the things that Americans loved about Australians is there was no bullshit when it came to us. I think that has changed a lot in the sporting bodies inside Australia, and Supercars is no different.

“Everyone says to me they like the way I go about it because it is a “fresh approach”, but it shouldn’t be a fresh approach. I encourage everybody to have an opinion, and I don’t care whether they agree with me or not.

As long as you have an opinion and you’re willing to stand for that opinion, then that’s what it is.

“I think the fans have probably been sitting back, saying, “Finally, somebody’s coming out, just saying it as it is.”

“Not everybody agrees with what I say, and sometimes I don’t even agree with myself when I have said something. I think we’ve got the fans on our side, and I love it. I’ve got fans who are fans of Red Bull and Shell. They were coming up to me at Bathurst and down at the Motor GP saying, “We really hope you get a TRC.” “Our team will be dedicated to the fans.

There will be nobody in pitlane that will treat the fans better than we will if we get a TRC and have the chance to be part of the show.

No one.”

FOOTNOTE AUTO ACTION can confirm that the board of RACE has meetings this week and there is no doubt they will have some discussion around Adderton’s application.

How they can get a deal across the line when most of the teams don’t want to give up a share of the income stream remains to be seen. But if we look at the sport as an entertainment package-as it is often promoted - who could deny Adderton and a Boost supported Supercar team the chance to take part in the premier racing category?

He doesn’t even own a team, and yet he keeps many of us entertained and waiting for his next statement… How much fun could it be with him owing a team!

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THE AUSTRALIAN Prototype Series will add to the growing global appeal of next month’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst International on November 11-13.

The Bathurst hit-out will be a non-points running event for the series, but will importantly provide a mountain debut for the bespoke sportscars.

A grid of more than 30 is expected to contest the inaugural event, with up to seven manufacturers to represent six countries of origin.

UK-based manufacturers Wolf and Juno lead the entry, with Australian-based West, US-sourced Stohr, the Italian Wolf, and the eye-catching Praga from the Czech Republic, which will be driven by Australian DTM trophy competitor Ricky Capo.

The series has been a regular on the bill for the Shannons National rounds over the last six seasons, with the Aussie version of the prototype series catering for a wide variety of open or closed top sportscars built to CN and 2A Prototypes, 2C Supersports, Radical SR8, 6SR and SR3 models.

The Australian Prototype Series also encompasses three classes; P1 (Prototype for CN, Radical SR10 and SR8), P2 (Sports Racer for 6SR and motorcycle engine vehicles) and P3 (Radical SR3), which will all be showcased at the Mountain.

Adam Brooke, the CEO of the Australian Prototype series, is thrilled to see the series take on the circuit.

“It’s a diverse field of cars featuring everything from normally aspirated to turbo-charged units and motorcycle

engines,” said Brook.

“We have the full range of two cylinder power to four, six and eight cylinder engines. There are open and closed cockpit cars, all with different aero packages, so it should make for quite exciting racing.”

The legendary circuit has hosted Radicals before, but this mix of manufacturers which has a distinct international flavour - is sure to capture the eyes, as these light and agile sportscars look to set some serious lap times around Mount Panorama.

“The Radicals will be part of the Bathurst Sportscar Challenge, and they have raced there in the past. We’ve looked at what they have done and have really set the temperature for what we expect,” Brooke continued.

“We are expecting our leading competitors to be around the 2m05s to 2m07s mark. And around Bathurst, that’s honking.

“At most tracks we go to, we are comparable to a GT3 lap time. Bathurst is a different beast, but I have no doubt that we are going to see some really cool racing.

“We’ve had interest from all over Australia and overseas. These are an extremely popular style of race cars all around the world.

“Everyone knows about Bathurst. They know how special the track is and they don’t want to pass up the opportunity to

race one of these great cars around one of the best race tracks in the world.”

Ken Collier, the event manager of the Bathurst International, added his thoughts on the unique category addition.

“Adding the ‘Bathurst Sportscar Challenge’ to the bill adds to the international flavour and variety of the inaugural event,” said Collier.

“The Supercheap Auto Bathurst International features a line up of categories which cater to a wide variety of fans and competitors alike, providing another opportunity for many to either attend or race at the Mountain.

“Watching these sportscars across the top of the Mountain will be an exciting prospect and we’re looking forward to them joining us at Bathurst.”

Headlining the bill is the season finale for Supercheap Auto TCR Australia, a threehour event for Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, the marquee Turtle Wax Trans Am 100, Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge and the concluding event for the Australian Production Cars brought to you by LIQUI MOLY.

RISING STAR TO REPRESENT TEAM AUSTRALIA

THE STAR of Aussie Young gun Costa Toparis continues to rise, selected as the final member of Team Australia for the FIA Motorsport Games on October 28-30.

Toparis will compete in the Formula 4 for Australia, just weeks after being signed with Carlin Motorsport in the UK to compete in next year’s open-wheel GB3 series.

Carlin Motorsport is a veritable breeding ground of global talent, having seen drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris through its system.

The 15 year-old Karting prodigy has grown in stature over the last few years, having been selected as a Ferrari Academy world finalist in 2021, with the pandemic’s border restrictions forcing him to withdraw from selection. Despite the lost opportunity, Toparis used the time to train with AGI Sport, going through a rigorous testing program in an F4.

His inclusion in Team Australia sees him surrounded with some of Australia’s greatest talent, such as Porsche Factory star Matt Campbell, TCR young gun Aaron Cameron, and Stephen and Brenton Grove of Grove Racing.

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Toparis’ name will become more familiar to Australian racing fans as he will compete in the Formula 4 UAE Championship, an opener to the F1’s season closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The young Goulburn product spoke with great maturity for someone of his age, in recognising the possible career defining spring-board he’s been presented with.

“I feel privileged and excited to race at the FIA Motorsport Games. The excitement around the event and the enthusiasm from all the countries is incredible. I especially would like to thank my sponsor Rodin Cars for believing in my potential and creating these opportunities for me.” Toparis said.

“The amount of effort and work put into the FIA Motorsport Games is great and I can’t wait to hit the track and start racing against some of the best in the world.

“I feel flattered and proud to have been selected by Motorsport Australia to represent Australia at such a high-profile event, I am sure I will prove myself on the world stage.

“Going into the event, I am feeling confident that I can perform when needed and that we will be at the pointy end all weekend - I believe we have a great chance of being successful throughout the Games.

“I have no doubt the FIA Motorsport Games will help my career and will be a great experience both on and off track. I am sure it will advance my career no matter the result and help provide a clear path of the next steps for my motorsport journey.

“I think the thing I am most excited about is to learn the new car, its one-

time appearance will provide great parity between cars, and it will provide a level playing field with the best in the world.

“Racing all the other countries will be exciting to say the least and will be great competitive racing in the Formula 4 discipline.”

Eugene Arocca, the CEO of Motorsport Australia, says that the undeniable talent of Toparis is a great addition to an already strong national team.

“Congratulations to Costa, who will proudly represent Team Australia. We are thrilled to have such a fantastic young ambassador for the sport entered in the Games,” Arocca said.

“The fact that there is already a great deal of interest in Costa confirms that he is a very special talent capable of anything. Hopefully he is able to bring home a medal.

“With Costa’s appointment as our official Formula 4 driver, the Team Australia line up has been finalised and I look forward to the team’s success in France.”

TEAM AUSTRALIA SQUAD Formula 4 - Costa Toparis GT - Stephen Grove (Team Captain) and Brenton Grove GT Sprint - Matt Campbell Esports - Philippa Boquida Karting Sprint Snr - Aiva Anagnostiadis Karting Sprint Jnr - Peter Bouzinelos Touring Car (TCR) - Aaron Cameron The 2022 FIA Motorsport Games will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard in France on October 28-30.

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BATHURST 12 HOUR SET TO GO BACK TO ITS BEST THE BEST GT3 teams and drivers are expected to return to the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour next year as the race rebounds from COVID restrictions.

The race reverted to a Pro-Am format in 2022 to account for the effects of the pandemic, but next year will revert back to the fully professional outright class, with teams featuring all-pro line ups to be welcomed back for the first time since 2020.

The field will be split across three classes, while the Top 10 Shootout will also make a comeback for the race held between February 3-5 2023.

NEW WETS TO IMPROVE GEN3 HANDLING DUNLOP AUSTRALIA has developed and tested a new and improved wet tyre to be used for the Supercars 2023 championship season with the Gen3 Ford and Chevrolet cars.

The tyre’s are now in production in Japan with the first batch said to be arriving in Australia ahead of the Newcastle 500 on March 10-13 next year.

The design is said to be capable of dispersing impressive quantities of water for effective use in heavy wet weather conditions, and will feature white lettering on its sidewall for both the Dunlop and SP Sport maxx brands.

The current 2022 wets will be allocated for use in the Super2 and Super3 rounds for its 2023 season.

The tyre compound was first used on the Gen3 prototype that was seen in the wet-conditions at the Sandown SuperSprint, and also at

last week’s Bathurst 1000.

“Our rigorous testing and development program has resulted in a brand new rubber compound which delivers reduced lap times due to improved grip levels compared with the 2022 wet tyre,” said Tony Kiernan, Dunlop’s brand manager.

“We are gratified that Supercar drivers in rigorous test conditions immediately expressed increased confidence in the handling and braking performance of the new Dunlop Wet Control tyre.

“The softer rubber employed will deliver slightly increased wear rates which we are confident will add yet another element to Supercar Team strategy decisions on wet race days.

Supercars CEO Shane Howard has said that the new compound tyres will enhance the racing in

adverse conditions.

“This is a great outcome for drivers and particularly the fans who want to see racing in any condition,” Howard said.

“It will provide drivers with more control under wet conditions which in turn will provide a greater spectacle for fans.

“Following testing we’re very pleased with the outcomes of the new compound that will be used on the new wet tyre. The softer compound has been designed to handle wet conditions much better than the current tyre on the Gen3 Camaro and Mustang, given the reduced downforce the new cars will create.

“Both Dunlop and Supercars believe this new wet tyre will add to the racing spectacle in harsh/wet conditions with the new cars.”

Image: MARK HORSBURGH-MOTORSPORT IMAGES

COURTNEY NEEDS NEW CHASSIS JAMES COURTNEY’S chassis received such a battering at The Chase he will be racing in a different car on the Gold Coast.

Courtney’s co-driver Zane Goddard went off at The Chase, and struggled to regain control in the mud before receiving big front and rear impact from cars #8 and #26 when rejoining.

The damage sustained was so significant, the Bathurst chassis will be parked for repairs, while the Snowy River Caravans livery will be seen on the chassis Tom Randle piloted in the massive starting line crash at The Bend last July.

DARWIN TRIPLE CROWN BACK TO ITS BEST THE MERLIN Darwin Triple Crown entered a new era in 2022 being the first offical Indigenous Round of the Supercars Championship, and independent research confirmed this year was one of the best ever.

The 2022 trip to the Top End was the 25th in Supercars history, but first as an Indigenous Round, culminating as a huge success.

A total of 40,448 people attended the event across the three days of action, with almost half of them interstate visitors, creating a significant economic boost for the Territory, generating $28.4 million, of which more than 75% was new money.

GROVE RACING REBUILD ON TRACK FOR GOLD COAST

GROVE RACING is in a race against time to get David Reynolds’ #26 Penrite Ford GT Mustang ready for the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.

Reynolds did not get to drive a single racing lap in the 2022 Bathurst 1000 after his co-driver Matt Campbell was caught up in the three-car incident at The Chase, which also involved Zane Goddard and Dale Wood.

The incident took all three cars out instantly with the Grove Racing Ford sustaining heavy front and rear damage.

On the Thursday following the 2022 Bathurst 1000, the team decided to press on with the rebuild, leaving just 14 days to get the car back in one piece ahead of the championship’s return to Surfers Paradise instead of reverting to a spare.

Five long days in, and the cars race engineer Alistair McVean has revealed that the rebuild is on track with the chassis back in the workshop and slowly starting to be pieced back together.

“We have got the chassis back into the workshop now, we got it off the jig on Thursday night after a couple of big nights,” he said on the Penrite Racing Instagram page.

“We got the job done in terms of fabrication and took it into the Kelly Racing paint shop on Friday to give it a coat of paint to get it looking in tip-top shape again.

“Now we are back in the workshop starting to put it all back together.”

The Grove Racing setup still has a “close relationship” with former owner and driver Todd Kelly, which ensured

the latter’s fabrication shop could be utilised to repair the car.

This use of resources was critical with quarter panels, exhaust system, front splitter, bonnet, radiator and the entire rear end needed to be taken off the damaged car and replaced, while it also received an extra coat of paint in the paint shop.

McVean said the team has just begun the process of rebuilding the car with the rear wing the first box to tick off the checklist.

“The boys are jigging the rear wing position, getting that in the right spot and that starts the whole process and we can build the bodywork from there,” he said.

“At the front of the car the boys are fitting up the radiator, support panel and crash beam making sure it is all in the right spot.

“We will eventually start putting the suspension, drive train and fuel tank back in to get it to the point where it is on the deck and ready to go.”

With the rebuild starting to take shape, Grove Racing will continue to push hard to have the car ready by October 28-30 when the Supercars hit the streets of Surfers Paradise.

BJR CONFIDENT AHEAD OF REBUILD

DESPITE A tight three-week turnaround between events, Brad Jones Racing is confident it can get Andre Heimgartner’s Holden ZB Commodore ready for the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 after its bruising Bathurst 1000 shunt.

Heimgartner’s co-driver Dale Wood was reduced to tears after he was caught up in the three-car smash at The Chase on lap 5 which finished their day.

Car #8 sustained heavy damage to the driver’s side after the front-right section swiped the rejoining Zane Goddard, taking both cars, plus Matt Campbell out instantly.

While James Courtney will be switching chassis’ ahead of the return to the Surfers Paradise streets, there is still hope for BJR. BJR team principal Brad Jones spoke to Auto Action and said the chassis should be ready for the Gold Coast after an initial inspection upon return to its Albury base from Bathurst.

“We have got the car, stripped it all back and got a lot of the broken stuff off it,” he said.

“It is down in the manufacturing department and the guys have jumped on it straight away to straighten up the chassis, cut a number of bars out and replace them around the front and back of the car.

“Hopefully it will come off the jig (last Friday) and then (this) week it will go back into the race shop when we will start

GOLDING SET TO REVEAL NEW LOOK AT SUNDAY SESH

piecing it together. “(It is) mostly chassis and suspension (damage)…fairly extensive, but as there is no doubt we will get it all sorted out and ready to go in Queensland later next week.”

The team has already been forced to change chassis for car #8 earlier this year after Heimgartner’s heavy start line crash with another Tickford driver in Tom Randle, during round 8 at The Bend Motorsport Park.

But with chassis #007 living up to its name and surviving its latest scuffle at

Mount Panorama, Jones is confident it will live to fight another day at the unforgiving streets of Surfers Paradise.

“It was chassis 007 which was our spare car and rolled it back out and has worked perfectly well,” he said.

“The chassis is not twisted and sits on the jig properly.

“We will replace the bars that we have to, so we are pretty comfortable it will all be sorted out.”

The 2022 Gold Coast 500 will be held on October 28-30, leaving BJR a fortnight to ensure the chassis lives twice.

CAMERON KEEN TO IMPRESS AT GLOBAL EVENT RISING STAR Aaron Cameron is hoping to take the world by storm when he represents Australia at the FIA Motorsport Games next week.

Already in Europe ahead of the event, Cameron is part of an expanded Team Australia effort which will race a Team Clairet Sport Peugeot 308 TCR against a stacked international field at the home of the French Grand Prix, Paul Ricard.

Cameron believes a strong performance against some of the top TCR drivers in the world can highlight the talent assembled in Supercheap Auto TCR Australia to the best in the business.

“I think it could open some opportunities up and it is something we did look at when we got into TCR,” he said.

“TCR is a world platform that you can go anywhere in the world, they’re all the same cars, so you just need to learn the track and be on it.

“Hopefully it does open up opportunities so we can do some more international races in the future.

“We’re an underrated series and when drivers have come out here before we’ve been competitive with them. At that stage when they came out, they knew the cars a lot more than us as we were in our first year.

“Now, we’re a few years down the track we have a good handle on the cars and when internationals do come out in the future like Teddy is at Bathurst, we can challenge them for the win.”

Although eager to impress, Cameron

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knows the challenge will be stiff from a packed field with many holding prior knowledge of the Paul Ricard circuit.

Some of the international stars include Belgium’s Gilles Magnus, Chris Smiley from England, and veteran Dutch driver Tom Coronel.

Cameron believes it will be a tall order to fight at the front, but said that his ambition is to show Team Australia can compete against the best.

“Competition-wise, it will be tough as there are a couple of race winners in both WTCR and TCR Europe I will be competing against,” he said.

“But I’m aiming to take it up to them to demonstrate the Aussies can do it, which will hopefully open it up for other guys in TCR Australia to go over to Europe and be successful.”

After finishing second in last year’s championship, Cameron has had an up and down season and currently sits 11th in the 2022 standings with one round to go.

But the #18 Team Valvoline GRM Peugeot driver has still enjoyed plenty of highs scoring duel wins at Bathurst, plus being victorious in the opening race of the previous round at Sandown.

For Cameron, representing Australia in the FIA Motorsport Games was not an

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opportunity to miss, with preparation starting as soon as it was announced.

“When we get over to Paul Ricard, we want to hit the ground running and give ourselves the best opportunity,” he said.

“I’ve been using the simulator at Melbourne Performance Centre to learn Paul Ricard, which gives me an idea of where it goes left and right in addition to braking markers. We compared it to some onboard footage that we have and it all relates pretty well.

“The Clairets have been awesome so far.

Obviously, they run a pretty professional Peugeot outfit in France, so I can’t wait to jump in the 308 TCR and race in something familiar to me. With the onboard footage and data, it’s been really helpful.”

Cameron’s campaign begins with the FIA Motorsport Games opening ceremony at Marseille on Wednesday, October 26 before the on track action takes place from Friday to Sunday.

JAMES GOLDING will get the Gold Coast party started by revealing his fresh new look PremiAir Racing Holden Commodore at a special event this Sunday.

The team and Golding will join forces with its naming partner Subway to unveil an exciting new livery for the #31 Supercar on Surfers Paradise Beach at the “Subway Sunday Sesh”.

The special livery will celebrate PremiAir Racing’s first home round and is inspired by Gold Coast’s attractions.

Golding will not only take the covers off his new-look Supercar as a driver, but he will actually take centre stage as a professional DJ to spin the decks for fans and beachgoers at the special event.

The #31 driver has impressed many with how he has performed behind the wheel since stepping in at PremiAir Racing midway through the season, and now he is looking forward to the chance to show off his skills behind the turntable.

“I cannot wait for the Subway Sunday Sesh – what a great way to unveil the exciting new look for the #31 Subway PremiAir Racing Supercar ahead of the Gold Coast 500,” Golding said.

“Not everyone knows this about me, but I am also a DJ and being behind the decks is a real happy place for me.

“So to be able to combine that with this livery unveil and help Subway create a fun event on the beach for the fans is really great.

“I can’t wait to see all the fans in Surfers Paradise on Sunday for what will be a great afternoon, one week before the streets of Surfers Paradise come alive with the sounds of the Gold Coast 500.”

It will be the third livery the #31 Subway car will carry in the 2022 Supercars Championship.

For nine of the 10 rounds it has carried its familiar white look, while a striking green “Making Tracks” livery was driven by Garry Jacobson in the Indigenous Round in Darwin.

PremiAir Racing showcased a retro CocaCola car for Chris Pither and Cameron Hill at the recent Bathurst 1000, paying tribute to Wayne Gardner’s and Neil Crompton’s 1995 challenger.

This popular look will remain on car #22 for the streets of Surfers Paradise in what will be Pither’s penultimate round with the team after it was recently confirmed the Kiwi will leave at the end of the season.

This Sunday Golding will entertain with his DJ set from 12.30pm to 1.30pm before handing the stage over to an acoustic duo that will be playing well-known covers.

The beach set-up will include shaded spaces for fans to relax in comfy bean bags and deck chairs under large beach umbrellas, complete with prize giveaways, beach games and more.

These activities will follow the livery unveil at 12.00pm on the promenade under the Surfers Paradise sign.

The new look PremiAir Racing Subway Holden ZB Commodore will next be on-track at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 28-30.

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LAMBORGHINI CONFIRMED FOR THE BEND AND BATHURST INTERNATIONAL THE STUNNING Wall Racing-prepared Lamborghini Huracan GT3 will add an Italian flavour to the next two events of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS at The Bend Motorsport Park, and Supercheap Auto Bathurst International.

The distinctive red and white Lamborghini will be driven byAdrian Deitz, who will share the driving duties with current Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series leader Tony D’Alberto at The Bend Motorsport Park next week.

Deitz and D’Alberto will reunite for the twin 60-minute races at The Bend, forming the penultimate round of the sprint component, which ends on the streets of Adelaide in December.

Deitz is yet to lock in a co-driver for the inaugural Supercheap Auto Bathurst International event, which will be a threehour single race.

D’Alberto is the number one choice to team up for the three-hour endurance race, however the former Supercars star’s focus will be on the Honda Australia-supported driver’s TCR efforts at its final round, where he hopes to turn a 56-point advantage into a championship.

With more points on offer at the final round, D’Alberto is weighing up whether to add the Lamborghini drive to his schedule.

Deitz declared the final call to contest Bathurst will be D’Alberto’s, but is excited to have the endurance ace in his corner at The Bend.

“Tony is locked away for The Bend, which is terrific,” said Deitz.

“He is very race ready. He has just come off the back of the Bathurst 1000 where he did another great job, especially in those first few laps where he had every condition thrown at him.

“For me, it’s great to get back in the car.

We haven’t run the Lamborghini since the 12 Hour.

“It is at Wall Racing getting a birthday now, which I’m really using as a tune up for the Bathurst International in November.

“I’ve said to Tony that there’s no pressure for him to drive at Bathurst. I understand the TCR Australia Series should be his focus. It’s important for him to win that. I don’t want to be the source of any distraction.

“He is a sensible guy and he will make the right choice for him.”

If D’Alberto elects not to contest the GT event, Deitz has a number of options on the table, but he might not need to look much further than the boss of the team that prepares his Lamborghini – David Wall.

Wall is a Bathurst expert and drove the Lamborghini at the 12 Hour with Dietz, D’Alberto and Grant Denyer, while he also has 10 Great Race starts next to his name.

The Supercheap Auto Bathurst International will be held on November 11-13.

PORSCHE SPRINTS PAST GRID RECORD

TW NEAL A RECORD 25 car lineup will roll out at the Bend AutoFest for the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge this weekend for the final round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship.

The second half of the season sees both the Pro and Morris Pro-Am championship still there for the taking, with the Bathurst International and the Phillip Island Island Magic rounds to come after this weekend’s running at The Bend.

Thomas Sargent and Ryan Wood are battling it out for the Pro title in what is coming down to a two horse race, with the pair separated by just nine points. Courtney

Prince sits a further 126 points behind Wood, ahead of McElrea Racing’s Aaron Shields and Lachlan Bloxsom.

In the Pro-Am class, The Bend Motorsport Park owner Sam Shahin, holds a narrow five point lead over Brett Boulton. Shahin holds the home field advantage over Boulton, having sealed the 2019 title the last time the series took to the SA circuit.

In the Class B category, current leaders Jacob Li and Gerard Murphy will miss this weekend’s running, meaning Nathan Sticklen, Lachlan Harburg, and Bradley Carr have a strong opportunity for wins.

South Australian local Pan Boyaci will make his national and series debut for Class B at

The Bend, having had plenty of experience in a 911 GT3 in local State Racing.

Round 4 of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series is just one of a number of headline acts fans can enjoy at The Bend AutoFest, which includes The Bend Classic and the Adelaide Hills Rally – a round of the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC).

Following two practice sessions and a qualifying on Friday, both Saturday’s races and Sunday’s will be streamed live on 7plus together with the final sprint race on Sunday morning. Highlights of all three races will also be broadcast on 7mate in the weeks following the event

TRANS AM BATHURST INTERNATIONAL FIELD HIT BY WA INVASION

THE EXPERIENCED Brett Niall and Sprintcar competitor Jason Pryde will lead a West Australian invasion on the Mountain at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International next month.

The pair will contest the Turtle Wax Trans Am 100, featuring three races, with the final being the all-important 100km race – the longest single Trans Am race of the year.

Niall has lots of Mountain experience including numerous times as a class contender in the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

He has also been a stalwart of Saloon Car racing in Western Australia, but recently made the switch to local Trans Am competition in a Ford Mustang.

The New Zealand-born Pryde has been a Sprint Car frontrunner in the west, but

swapped clay for tarmac earlier this year and will make his Bathurst debut in a Chevrolet Camaro after tasting the Mountain as a spectator, watching the recent Great Race.

For Pryde, it’s a matter of ticking a bucket list item, and he is excited for the challenge on the legendary circuit.

“For me it’s definitely a bucket list thing to race at Bathurst, especially in a Trans Am. It’s going to be pretty cool,” he said.

“Racing a V8 around the Bathurst is what people dream to do and it’s not something we probably thought we’d be able to do, but to roll in there will be awesome.

“My dad’s coming over from New Zealand, so it will be pretty awesome to be there together and we’ve got some good people behind us.”

With Pryde only recently swapping a sprintcar for a Trans Am, he said he will be turning to Niall’s experience at The Mountain when they take on the Turtle Wax Trans Am 100.

“Brett has been there before, so we’ll try to lean on him for his experience,” he said.

“I think just understanding the track is the biggest challenge. What’s clear from everything I’ve watched from there, no rookie goes and dominates, the people that go the best are generally the ones with the most experience around there, so for me personally it’s going to be about getting the most laps done as we can across the weekend.

“I really enjoy driving the Trans Am. They’re a lot different to what we’re used to, but they’re a heap of fun and taking on the Mountain will be a whole new level again.

“We’re starting to get our heads around it, we’ve had both dry and wet running, which was good to have.

“We feel quite comfortable, so I think it’s time to try a new one and there’s no better place than Bathurst.”

The West Aussie duo will race alongside the regular entries of reigning Turtle Wax Trans Am Series winner Nathan Herne, Garry Rogers Motorsport team-mates Owen Kelly and Lochie Dalton, plus front-runners Ben Grice, Nic Carroll, Brett Holdsworth and Orange-based Cody Burcher, headlining a stacked entry list that will be announced soon.

Tickets are available now for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International which will be held from November 12-13.

HEARTBREAK FOR MILLER IN CLASSIC LAST LAP THRILLER

THOMAS MILES JACK MILLER’S 2022 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix ended in heartbreaking fashion, as Alex Rins scored a classic win in a last-lap thriller that could have a huge say on the direction of the world championship.

The Australian gun was putting on a show, rising from eighth to third inside the first five laps, but he did not see the chequered flag after being taken out by Alex Marquez, ironically at Miller Corner.

Despite Miller’s race only lasting nine laps, the big crowd could not take their eyes off the action as a stunning fight for the lead played out, while Fabio Quartararo lost his championship lead due to a costly crash at Southern Loop.

Marc Márquez, Alex Rins and Francesco Bagnaia shared the lead across a stunning second half of the race and the latter looked set for a championship-changing win when he started the last lap in front.

But Rins made a bold move in the final tour of Southern Loop and he managed to hold off the valiant Marc Márquez and Bagnaia, who all celebrated their feel-good podiums with a simultaneous shoey.

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The race delivered action from start to finish as just 5.940s covered the top 10, which is the second smallest margin in Premier Class history.

Australia’s Remy Gardner got to as high as 13th before finishing in P15.

With the sun shining on more than 40,000 people, Phillip Island produced the perfect stage for MotoGP to make a three-year return to Australia and an unforgettable race played out.

Pole getter Jorge Martin enjoyed a flying start and established a lead he did not relinquish until lap 14, while Bagnaia got bogged down, but managed to recover to third.

It did not take long for Miller to impress, as he made three moves in as many laps at MG in a charge to the front from P8.

He tried to make it four in a row, challenging Ducati teammate Bagania for third, but could not quite pull it off.

After being on the attack for the first seven laps, Miller was forced to start defending and could not stop Rins from flying past as the Suzuki rider launched his ultimately successful counterattack.

The Australian dropped from the podium positions to seventh by lap 9 when his home race came to a sudden conclusion.

Miller headed into the corner named in his honour minding his own business, before being wiped out by an out of control Alex Marquez.

The younger Marquez lost control in the braking area and carried straight into the rear end of the Australian, who was

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heartbroken to be taken out on home turf.

“I was doing everything I could and the bike felt mega, but then I got slammed in the rear. It came out of nowhere and there was nothing I could do,” said Miller on the broadcast.

“I feel like I have been run over by a motorbike and devastated to finish the home Grand Prix like this after three years not being here.”

Another high-profile rider who experienced misfortune was Yamaha’s Quartararo.

The Frenchman nicknamed “El Diablo” came into the race with a two-point championship lead, which is now evaporated.

Quartararo’s tough day started with a costly mistake running off at Miller Corner which dropped him from P6 to P22 on lap 4.

But worse was to come when the Yamaha star lost the front end at Southern Loop and crashed out on lap 11 to make it three point-less returns in the last four races.

Despite his arch rival Quartararo crashing out, Bagnaia did not hold back in his pursuit for victory.

Martin had led the first half of the race, but dropped to fifth within a couple of corners, leaving the Marc Márquez, Bagnia and the charging Rins to fight for the win.

The trio shuffled up and down the order with multiple daring high-speed moves, but Bagnaia managed to hold onto the lead heading into the final lap.

But less than a tenth of a second covered the entire top three as they crossed the line and the Ducati rider could not stop Rins and Marc Márquez from diving down the inside at Southern Loop.

With a championship lead to protect, Bagnaia held onto third ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini, leaving #42 and #93 to duel for the win.

Marc Márquez was all over Rins in the final third of the lap, but had to settle for second in his 100th career MotoGP podium.

It allowed Rins to enjoy his first victory in more than two years and give Suzuki a sweet win in its third to last race before leaving the sport at the end of the year.

While the crowd was dejected for Miller and Suzuki was ecstatic for Rins, the big storyline was Bagnaia running away with a 14-point championship lead, having been 91 behind Quartararo just eight rounds ago in Germany.

After an Australian Grand Prix to remember, the championship heads to Malaysia where Bagnaia and Quartararo will resume their championship fight next weekend before the season finale at Valencia.

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MARK WEBBER INDUCTED INTO THE

SPORT AUSTRALIA HALL OF FAME MARK WEBBER IS one of nine Australian sporting icons to be inducted this year, unanimously voted in by the Hall of Fame’s panel for his many years at the top level of international motorsport.

The Sport Australia Hall of Fame considers many factors when selecting athletes for the prestigious club, with each inductee having excelled in their chosen sport and done so with dignity, integrity, courage, modesty, pride and ambition.

Spending more than a decade at the pinnacle of international motor racing, the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Webber claimed a total of nine wins throughout his 215 starts, 33 further podiums and 13 pole positions.

In 2015 driving for the Porsche Factory Team Webber won the acclaimed FIA World Endurance Championship alongside German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley.

Motorsport Australia President Andrew Fraser congratulated Webber on behalf of the sport.

“Being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame is an incredible achievement and further highlights Mark’s stellar career at the highest level of motorsport around the world,” Fraser said.

“What Mark achieved in putting Australian drivers back on the map in Formula 1 cannot be underestimated, as

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well as the longevity for which he had such a prosperous career.

“Of course, there were a couple of other Australians who made it to Formula 1 in between Webber and Alan Jones, however Mark’s long-standing tenure during the height of his career and his nine Grand Prix wins make him one of this country’s most successful drivers in the sport.

“Add his FIA World Endurance Championship title and his work off the track to the fold, Mark is undoubtedly a deserving recipient of this prestigious honour.

“On behalf of everyone at Motorsport Australia, and I am sure many in the Australian motorsport industry, a big congratulations to Mark for this outstanding achievement.”

Having raced with a number of teams throughout his 12-season stint in Formula 1, the New South Welshman spent a large portion of his career with Red Bull Racing, where he came third on the outright standings on three occasions.

Debuting in 2002 for KL Minardi Asiatech, Webber’s first race proved quite successful with a P5 at the Australian Grand Prix – remarkably his debut performance would be his best result for the next three seasons.

Making the move to BMW Williams at the end of 2004, it didn’t take Webber

long to pick up his first F1 podium for his new team – a third place on the biggest stage of all, the Monaco Grand Prix.

Again, it would be another lengthy wait before he got his next podium, which came with his new team, Red Bull, in 2007.

Webber reached a new level in 2009 with his first two Formula 1 wins, in Germany and Brazil, and another four podiums, ending the season in fourth place.

Arguably his best season in F1 came in the following year, where he claimed four wins and a further six podiums but fell just short of the World Championship title by 14 points.

In 2011, he claimed just one win, however his consistency saw him finish third again after picking up a further nine podiums and finishing all but one race in the top five.

Webber had just two more seasons in Formula 1 and during that time, he picked up a further two wins and 10 podiums before leaving the Championship with another third place at the end of 2013.

The Australian then joined the Porsche Factory Team to contest the highly acclaimed FIA World Endurance Championship alongside German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley, a move that would bring Webber more success over the next three years.

Three podiums in 2014 marked a solid start for the trio, however their big moment came in 2015 when they won the FIA World Endurance Championship title courtesy of four consecutive victories and a further two podiums.

Since his retirement in 2016, Webber remains a Porsche Ambassador and Red Bull Athlete, works as a F1 Pundit for British TV outlet Channel 4 and co-founded highly-esteemed talent management company, Jam Sports Management, who looks after future F1 driver Oscar Piastri.

He was also inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2018.

Webber is the fifth motorsport representative to be inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, joining Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE, Alan Jones MBE, Peter Brock AM and Allan Moffat OBE. Webber was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Catherine Cox, Brad Fittler, Tanya Harding, Cara Honeychurch, Chris Judd, Karrie Webb, George Bedbrook and Adrian Hurley.

All nine inductees will be honoured in a television special, ‘Sport Australia Hall of Fame – Heroes and Legends’ on Thursday 8 December on the Seven Network.

Auto Action congratulates Mark Webber for all his magnificent motorsport achievements. AA

Poster Design Terragrafix 0419 874 299 ~ Image courtesy Chris Carter

VALIANT FANS HELPED GET PEOPLE POWER TILLEY’S PACER OVER TAKES THE LINETHE

OPINION

FIGHT UP FOR WAKEFIELD PARK

THE SAVE Wakefield Park Group have organised an e-petition to try and get the matter heard before the NSW legislative Assembly.

The petition has the backing of the state’s Shadow Minister for Sport, Julia Finn, who will present it to the assembly upon the collection of 20,000 signatures.

As AA closed for print, the e-petition had already gathered the required 20,000 signatures in a matter of a week, with the date to sign for NSW residents closing on October 28.

Auto Action spoke with the Shadow Minister, who shared her views on the park’s embattled position.

“I met with the group (Save Wakefield Park Group) a few months ago, and I also met with the local council, finding both groups to be highly constructive,” Finn said.

“They’re both keen to find a solution, which unfortunately hasn’t been found to-date, as it’s received very little help from the state government, which is really disappointing. They’re in a position to find a viable alternative that is circumstances, but the grid was reverted after leaving their own jobs, I couldn’t even AS THE rain dumped down on the respectful of the Court’s decision (NSW to the dry practice session times in a begin to count the hours that we all put in Sandown race track on the Saturday of the Land and Environmental court) that can controversial decision. over the nine weeks. To experience that Shannons National round, AUTO ACTION somehow find a way for Wakefield Park The delighted reaction from the crowd level of support was something else – I was on-hand in the Touring car Masters tent to operate. reflected their appreciation for it being there couldn’t believe it. behind the pit lane.

“You’d think that a track that is tucked at all, with its fans also having played a part Surrounded by mechanics and onlookers, “I got a big help from Gear-Exchange from away in a rural area would be suitable for in its return.

Cameron Tilley stood behind his rebuilt Smithfield in Sydney also. It’s people like that an activity that generates a lot of noise.

“The fan support was massive, I set up Valiant in his blue racing suit with a smile as that keep us all going really. And Anglomoil “Now I came to this from the perspective a Go-fund-me page which rounded up a wide as his Pacer’s bonnet. has also helped me for years, and they’ve of someone who lived very close to the Bruce Robertson (Benalla reasonable contribution, which got me about The normally reserved driver had reason given me great support throughout.”

Auto Club) and Shadow Parramatta Speedway for decades, which a quarter of the way there, ” Tilley told AUTO to be satisfied after taking a podium in the “I couldn’t have done it without them and Minister for Sport, NSW, was quite noisy, but its managers ran it ACTION. Trophy race when he blasted off the line everyone else. People just kept coming out Julia Finn. very well so its impact on neighbours was down the outside of the pit straight, putting of nowhere just saying they could help. No “Whether I raced it again or not, it had minimal. him in first position by the second turn. matter how big or small the contribution, It to be fixed – I couldn’t handle seeing it “So when I look at Wakefield Park, I’m Time is now of the essence for the park, “There are options outside of the He also qualified in P1 in trying helped me to keep on pushing.” TN like that. People were helping every day convinced that there are effective ways to with only two sitting parliament weeks petition for its owners (Benalla Auto Club), mitigate things. Now there’s goodwill on remaining at the close of this week, and there is the capacity to look at the but if the petition reaches its signature Motorsports act, but Wakefield park is behalf of the council and the park to find specifically not included in that. So there’s a solution, but there has to be the support goal soon – as it looks likely to do – the Shadow Minister has hope. options, but not a big range of them. of the government, and that just hasn’t competition in 2003 before he returned to competition MULTIPLE AUSTRALIAN Off Road Champion Les Siviour “There’s a good chance the government “Governments are scared to touch been forthcoming. briefly in 2005, and again in 2010 with daughter Katie, also passed away on September 8 after a short battle with won’t oppose it – they’d be game not to the court decisions because of the “I went out there months ago in the at Griffith. He kept involved, with support to son-in-law cancer. He began racing in 1983 at Waikerie in his wife’s vote in its favour, but you never know. flow on effect for development. But this hope to generate some media and kick Shannon Rentsch and his father Ian in their bids to win the shopping car. He subsequently campaigned Nissan Patrols government seems negligent to explore the government into action, but the sports But the Goulburn seat is a marginal seat Australian Championship. AUTO ACTION extends its deepest for 19 years and won the Production 4WD Championship (3%) so it should be a big consideration the options that do exist. They need to minister (Alister Henskens) has shown no condolences to his wife Jan, daughters Bobbie and Katie, 16 times, and the Australian Off Road Championship in economically speaking. help; the local economy is suffering, interest whatsoever.” and to the extended family and friends. GO 1985. The Griffith-based rice farmer retired from fulltime

VALE – LES SIVIOUR

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Motorsport is suffering, and there should be a solution. But if they don’t start looking, they won’t find it.”

Stephen Whyte, General Manager of Operations for the Benalla Auto Club, told Auto Action that whilst they are exploring their own options, they wholly support the petition.

“Although it’s independent of our approach (the BAC), we were definitely made aware of the petition, and as a private entity, we absolutely support it,” said Whyte.

“This is the ratepayers of NSW having their say, and it adds another important dimension to the cause, because it’s the power of the people. It’s the voters showing how important that facility is to their community, and how important it is to motorsport in general in NSW.” JOHN BOWE brought up his 300th Aside from the petition gathering its Touring Car Masters start at Sandown own momentum, the club itself has been Raceway on Sunday dung the Shannons working feverishly behind the scenes to Motorsport Australia Championship. get itself heard at the necessary levels.

The Bathurst legend is a four-time “So we’ve been working through political winner of the fan favourite category, contacts, and going through the state bringing up the milestone at a track government and shadow ministry, and where he also cantured tour Sandown we’ve been doing that all along,” Whyte bts Bowe’s TCM career started in 2008, continued. driving in Camaro before jumping into a “We’ve been seeking guidance through Ford Mustang Trans Am affectionately all the necessary departments, from the known as “Sally.” office of sport, the planning minister, the In 2015, Bowe shifted over to the sports minister, the deputy premiers office, Bendigo Retro Muscle cars Torana, the premiers office, and also liaising with built by Gary O’Brien, in which he nas local council and council members for competed in 147 races. Bowe’s 300th directive about what’s possible and what start almost delivered a fairy tale the future could hold for Wakefield Park. finish, where the left mirror of Adam “There’s been many and varied Bressington’s #95 Camaro loomed large pathways, but we haven’t stopped since with the #18 Torana into the final straight. the unfortunate closure. And as a private The final margin of 0.024s was the entity and a non-for-profit organisation, closest finish in TCM history, with Bowe we’ve had to follow the government losing by a foot and a half’s length – or pathway. the Camaro’s bonnet. Bowe had the “We’re amazed by the support so far, championship lead leading into the everything we’ve set out to do has been round, but the rival Torana of Ryan backed by the people of NSW. The Hansford takes a nine point lead heading greatest fear here is that it gets forgotten, into Bathurst on November 11-13. and this petition helps to ensure that it Having won the Bathurst 1000 twice, stays in the eye of the wider public, and there’s a fair chance Bowe’s victorious importantly, in the view of Parliament.” knowledge of The Mountain may have Timothy W Neal him in good stead ... TN

BOWE BREAKS THE 300 TCM BARRIER

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OPINION

Image: MARK HORSBURGH/EDGE PHOTOGRAPHICS

DEBATE NOT HATE Bathurst 1000 2022 Commentary Transcript Skaife “So this is Goddard down the inside, he’s locked the wheel trying to get by Greg Murphy, now he’s straight on to it. He’s into it and he’s emerged back on, out of control, with nowhere for them to go. That is a massive shunt, and seriously, you can’t re-join out of control” Crompton “Yeah that’s dead set ordinary. So, big lockup here from Goddard. This is the James Courtney Car, the Snowy River Caravans entry, he drives off the road, he picks up the throttle to try and scramble back on, but look how wet and muddy it is, now he can’t steer, so he steers straight into the side of Heimgartner (sic), and straight into Matt Campbell.”

EVERYONE HAS their opinions about racing incidents, penalties and who is at fault etc. That is not what this is about and I have already stated my personal views quite clearly on my social media channels about the Goddard/ Bathurst incident.

What we are talking about here is the backlash received by Zane Goddard following the incident at the Bathurst 1000 and the damage it has potentially done to this future star of the sport.

I get it. Sport is about passion and I’m all for debate. Unless you have the positive and the negative you don’t really have a sport – this

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with Russell Ingall

that has gone off at The Chase.

Broc Feeney was out of control, skied it through the mud, rejoined as slowly as possible and was completely safe when he rejoined.

Very well done”

MY OPINION is what it’s all about. But what I don’t condone is the derogatory slander and some of the hateful comments I have been reading since Bathurst.

And it all goes back to where people are forming their opinions from. In my personal opinion, a large percentage would have to be derived from people within the industry and comments such as those above that fuelled the barrage of abuse that Zane copped following this year’s Bathurst race.

The average race fan takes the view of the commentators as ‘experts’ to form their opinions, even if after-the-fact these views are proven incorrect or even biased.

So, ask yourselves, should opinions be voiced in an instant without facts, i.e. seeing data, talking to the drivers involved, considering the conditions etc, – isn’t that the job of Craig Baird, the IPO? Motorsport is not just a TV audience now, it has a massive worldwide social media audience and in this day and age, we are all well aware of the negativity and trolling on social media. That is why, in sports, experts who have opinions need to be very careful

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about how they commentate on incidents like this. To “pull the trigger” immediately without knowing the full facts can be very damaging to the individual. And any organisation in sport has to take responsibility for how they react so as not to fuel an already aggravated situation just for a headline and click-bait.

In my personal opinion, from what I have seen so far, there has been nothing from Supercars to de-escalate the situation and the very fact that some of these people aren’t actively on social media astonishes me. They appear to be blind to the consequences of their comments or indeed know the opinions of those they are influencing.

In vast contrast to the commentary above, when Broc Feeney left the track in the same spot on Lap 49 of the race, the commentary was as follows: Skaife “Broc Feeney has been off the road .... Broc Feeney skis it through the mud. Now everybody has been caught there. Very very well done Broc Feeney. Excellent Driving ... No contact. That was the best bit of driving so far of anyone

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Sure, Broc managed to rejoin without the same consequences, but I personally believe this was more a result of the off-track conditions being much better later in the race and that there wasn’t a train of cars nose-to-tail like earlier – so in reality it wasn’t like-for-like.

In my opinion, the commentary here was a bit over the top.

In my career I have personally experienced a lot of hate and negativity. Even pre-social media!

Think back to the 2003 Eastern Creek incident. For me, that created a lot of issues. There were people behind the scenes trying to get my licence cancelled, have sponsors to pull out of the team; I had death threats, my family copped abuse, it was heavy. This was my livelihood we are talking about.

I can’t even imagine how it would be if that happened in today’s social media environment. I am thick skinned – I’m from a public school background; I did things tough so I can handle it. But with these young kids like Zane, it’s a different story and to see this sort of hate and abuse still going on, if not getting worse, calls for time to take action.

Social media abuse and bullying can have major consequences for

the person on the receiving end and, talking to Zane this past week, he is struggling with it all. And that is why I am speaking out. Sure Zane made an error that had dire consequences, but we have all been there.

Over the weekend, even some of the best and most experienced drivers made mistakes, but the social media hate that Zane has received has not only affected him on a personal and emotional level, it has the possibility of impacting on his future opportunities, which I personally believe is unfair. Let’s hope that this can be turned around and used as a reminder that we are all human, and something good comes of it.

On a final note, to those of you who chose to smash up Zane online, or indeed have done the same to others in the past, have a good think about it. Zane has an impressive national and international racing record but is also still a human being. He was clearly devastated by what happened and immediately went and apologised to the other teams and drivers involved.

Great to see the likes of Chaz Mostert, Will Brown and others getting online and supporting him publicly.

But what if this was your son, brother or husband. Or if you are a parent, what example are you showing to your own children? By all means have an opinion, keep up the debate, but be respectful!

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LATEST NEWS

RED BULL’S BUDGET CAP BREACH SET TO MAKE PRECEDENT RED BULL was found in breach of the Budget Cap Regulations by the FIA’s forensic account department and is now set to hear what penalty it will be imposed by the panel of experts the Federation has set up to decide on these new cases.

Aston Martin was also found in breach of the Financial Regulations, but in Lawrence Stroll’s team’s case it was a procedural issue that led to the Certificate of Compliance not being handed out.

Based on the precedent created when Williams was a couple of days late with the submission of their accounts at the end of March, Aston Martin is set to receive a financial penalty, as no competitive advantage was gained by their procedural mistake, and the amount is certain to be equal or above the USD25.000 Williams paid in June for their own mistake.

But all eyes are on Red Bull’s penalty, because there’s a strong belief in the paddock that sporting and technical sanctions will be imposed, to discourage all teams to going

down the same route in the future.

After weeks of protesting his team’s innocence and even threatening to take legal action against Toto Wolff and Mattia Binotto for “defamation”, Christian Horner now defends that the overspend his team did was due to handing free lunches to its more than one thousand factory-based staff, an allegation other Team Principals have privately rubbished, as free meals for the staff are common practice all around the field!

Almost no-one believes the FIA will impose a points’ deduction on last year’s championships, as taking away any points from Max Verstappen would change the outcome of the Drivers’ Championship and doing that 11 months after the last race of what already was a controversial season would have a very negative impact for Formula One. Deducting points from Red Bull would achieve nothing, as the Austrian team finished only second last year in the Constructors Championship and dropping down the order would have no impact at all

for them, as only being champion matters for the top teams.

A fine, big as it may be, will also have no serious impact or be a deterrent for future instances, as the bigger Formula One teams are now highly profitable, so even a USD100 million fine would be considered worth it – if the extra money spent would go into the development of the car – for any other top team in the future.

There’s a general consensus that Red Bull’s penalty should have an impact on their future competitiveness, as the extra money spent in 2021 had an impact on the development of this year’s chassis and that advantage will be carried for future seasons. Therefore, a cut in their budget cap for the next couple of seasons, together with a more severe limitation of their wind tunnel hours and CFD capacity, is considered by many as the most correct way to deal with Red Bull’s breach of the Financial Regulations.

However, as no one knows exactly by how much the Milton Keynes-based team

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

overspent - their infraction falls into a very wide window of expenditure that can go from one cent to 7,25 million USD! - the expectation is that the number will be made public at the same time as the penalty for everyone to be able to make their own judgement of the justice applied.

There is no exact time frame for the judging panel to make a decision, as Red Bull will be arguing their case as strongly as possible, with experts from Delloite working on behalf of the FIA to explain exactly how the Austrian team breached the budget cap.

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BATHURST TAKEAWAYS AA’S COLUMNIST WANTS MAIN DRIVERS TO START...

AND NOT JUST FOR SAFETY REASONS CO-DRIVERS starting the Bathurst 1000 is just plain dumb.

It’s been an unnecessary and risky strategy for years. The sport has been asking for trouble. The bruising first few laps of the 2022 Great Race proved it.

I reckon it should be mandatory for main drivers to start the race – and not just for safety reasons.

My rationale goes way beyond minimising the chances of early race exits and expensive racecar rebuilds due to strapping rusty or inexperienced part-timers into the cockpit to perform the most difficult task of the year.

My logic for banning co-drivers from starting concerns ‘the show’ and ‘the optics’ during the sport’s most anticipated moment on its biggest stage. Simply, what must once-a-year viewers think as they tune in for the start and see many guns sitting on the bench? Casual followers must be utterly confused by a grid full of no-names being called by Neil Crompton.

Has anyone within Supercars considered the idiocy of their stars

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with Luke West

REVVED UP not actually performing during the sport’s highest-profile moment?

The category is struggling for star power as it is, yet teams call up the understudies and keep the lead actors in the dressing room.

What’s more, I reckon it makes for a better race if the regular drivers don’t triple stint at the end of the race. It’s better if the co-drivers – the biggest variable when it comes to a car’s lap times – go deeper into the race and then some regular drivers have some catching up to do.

This was not the only thought swirling around my mind as I watched Bathurst 2022. I can’t consume Supercars these days without thinking Shane van Gisbergen’s considerable talents are being wasted here.

There’s suddenly much more cross-pollination between racing categories globally – a very good thing – and I’d love to see him have a full-time crack in a top line international series. As a multiple

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Bathurst winner and Supercars champ what’s he got to prove here? He’s still young enough to give something else a shot. True, the fact he’s built like an All-Black backrower and may struggle to fit in, say, an IndyCar, which may restrict opportunities. But has there been a time in ATCC history when a driver stood, erm, head and shoulders above of the rest of field for skill?

Another takeaway from October 6-9 is Garth Tander’s status and standing as a five-time Bathurst winner. Let that sink in. GT has been at the top of the tree domestically for 25 years now. And it’s 20 years since he spearheaded GRM’s Bathurst 24-hour winning driver line-up in the yellow Monaro.

Maybe it’s just me, but GT finally seemed to enter the motorsporting public’s consciousness this year and not just because he carried the load on breakfast television when ‘Chuck Chuck-up’ was otherwise occupied.

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Spare a thought for Cam Waters. In any other era, Waters would be a Bathurst winner by now, if you consider he’s driven faultlessly on maximum attack with race-winning pace for three consecutive 1000s now. It’s netted him a trio of podiums, but alas not a well-deserved victory. Nor can I remember his Monster crew making a mistake at Bathurst over this period. Their thorough professionalism really should have been rewarded with the ultimate prize. Yes, I know James Moffat got turned around by Brodie Kostecki, but it’s a tough old game when you do everything right and still fall short for three consecutive years.

It’s a pity there’s no official rookie of the year award these days. If there was, Matt Payne, sixth with Lee Holdsworth, would have romped it in. Not only was this Payne’s first Bathurst, it was his first main game start fullstop!

Not bad for a lad who turned 20 a week before the race. Bring back the ROTY award, I say. It’s a good way to help a young driver build his profile and CV. Surely a youthorientated brand would sponsor it.

Speaking of youth brands, the Boost Mobile wildcard provided two of the most compelling storylines of the weekend via

Richie ‘I’ll show these bastards’ Stanaway and Greg ‘I don’t want to trash my reputation’ Murphy.

For this and other reasons I was disappointed the wet didn’t hang around longer on Sunday. Am I alone in thinking that?

The wildcards overall added to proceedings considerably, including the presence of a team from outside the main game in Matt Chahda Motorsport, which netted a solid 18th. MCM’s entry was a reminder of the 1000’s much-missed privateer days.

That said, independents didn’t make the privateer pilgrimage to the Mount with spectacularly wrapped B-Double transporters bearing blue chip sponsorship.

Caltex’s return and the popularity of its sponsorship manager was the talk of the paddock and pressroom.

Overall, there was a noticeable buzz around Mt Panorama in the lead up days – a sense of anticipation and a discernable positive vibe. Maybe it was the prospect of a wet race. Or perhaps a sense of the dawning of new era. The impressive TV audiences back it up. Now Supercars needs to convert a slab of those once-ayear viewers into season-long fans.

Easier said than done, I know.

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INTERNATIONAL

AUSSIES

STOP / GO

YOUNG BATTLES AT MAGNY COURS Melbourne Formula 3 driver Dylan Young battled from P8 at the Ultimate Cup series in Magny Cours, France. In three races, Young registered a DNF, P10 and P8 in the #11 Graff Racing F3 car. An oil slick forced him out of Race 1, a broken wing made life tough in Race 2 while gaining 7 spots from the rear, and he fought back from P13 in Race 3. “I can’t hide the fact I’m disappointed as I’m always striving for more, especially after last year’s strong season.

There’s always positives to take, I was up against it,” Young said.

HEARTBREAK FOR LOVE AT NURBURGRING Jordan Love headed to the Nurburgring last weekend but didn’t get a chance behind the wheel. Just one week after completing the GT World Challenge Europe in Spain, Love went to Germany to compete in the Nurburgring Endurance Series’ 54. He shared the cockpit of the #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Haupt team owner, Hubert Haupt, for the four-hour race. Their day finished early after Haupt sustained severe damage in the opening laps, forcing the team to retire early. He returns to the enduro series at the Nurburgring on October 22.

AUSSIE TEENAGER Costa Toparis has been signed up

by UK-based motorsport team Carlin as he continues his journey up the racing ladder. The 15-year-old from Goulbourn, New South Wales was crowned KA2 Australian Karting Champion this year and, after testing in an F4 with Carlin, has been offered a spot with the premier team. Carlin has outlined a busy upcoming schedule for Toparis which includes an intensive testing program, the FIA Motorsport Games in France (representing Motorsport Australia) and the F4 support race at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. In 2023, Toparis will compete in the UAE F4 series before taking on GB3. JN

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

FUTURE OZ RALLY STAR TAKES FIA REGIONALS TAYLOR GILL has won the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final in India, competing against 40 drivers to take out the three day competition.

The FIA Rally Star is designed as a global talent fostering programme, with the regional final cut down to 13 drivers after two days of competition and testing, which then features one final day of testing in the Pirelli equipped TN5 Cross Cars.

In winning the prestigious competition, Gill will now represent the Asia Pacific region next season in the international leg of the Rally Star Training Season, featuring six competitors and six rallies in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3 car (WRC3 spec).

The six world finalists will be competing for four contracts, which then give access into the FIA Junior WRC Championship, the first step into the top level of the WRC categories.

In addition to the FIA training contract, Gill will also receive physical and intellectual assessment, along with driver coaching and testing; all in preparation to provide him the skills required to compete for a career in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

The 18 year-old New South Welshman described winning the programme as “pretty cool,” and gives an insight into the pressurised environment amongst the spate of young talent.

“Obviously everyone goes for it, but you don’t expect to get it, so I’m over the moon,” Said Gill.

“For sure, there was a lot of pressure, especially to go out and do another run today (Wednesday), I couldn’t make any mistakes, that’s what I tried to do, so I’m super happy.”

Gill made the final cut from the field of 40 where he was given training by WRC front runner Thierry Neuville.

Featuring a mixture of gravel and asphalt surfaces, the 3.5 km course, Gill proved one of the fastest to win over the five-judge jury, with four other Australians also competing on the final day.

He now joins the other three qualifiers, Romet Jurgenson from Estonia, Abdullah Al Tawqi of Oman, and South African Max Smart as regional winners, with the north and South American finals to be decided early next year.

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca, also praised Gill for his triumph, highlighting the immense field of young talent coming out of the country.

“On behalf of everyone at Motorsport Australia, we congratulate Taylor for winning this challenging program, which comes with an amazing opportunity to climb the rally development pathway,” Arocca said.

“We also wish to acknowledge and thank the five other Australians who did a fantastic job in being selected for the program and their performances in India – four of which joined Taylor in the final.

“To have Taylor and his fellow Aussies do well in this competition, in addition to the six Australians making it to the top six at last month’s Ferrari Driver Academy, highlights the positive development opportunities our future stars are able to access here in Australia.”

Gill will next contest the Adelaide Hills Rally in the penultimate ARC round on October 2123, where he sits 11th after three outings.

QUINN GETS NZ TOYOTA SERIES CALL-UP NATIONAL FORMULA Ford driver Ryder Quinn has been confirmed as a starter for New Zealand’s five round Toyota Racing Series (TRS) in 2023.

The son of GT driver Klark Quinn, and grandson of racer and motorsport magnate Tony Quinn, Ryder will contest in his first championship in an FIA junior single seater against an international field of drivers.

Quinn has been competing in Formula Ford and Aussie Racing Cars the last few seasons, with this season proving a consistent one in the national Formula Ford, running fifth in a very talented field and tightly packed leaderboard.

He’ll drive a Toyota FT20 open wheeler for the highly touted M2 Competition squad, with it being the first international-filled running of the high class competition since 2020, due to COVID. The young gun is looking forward to the experience, a competition that has seen some exceptional talent go through its ranks.

“The season is jam-packed with five rounds, all back to back weekends. It demands the very best out of a driver,” Quinn described.

“The category is renowned worldwide for its tough competition. I am excited to see where I stand against the international drivers, coming up against some of the fastest young drivers in the world.

“As a race car driver, you always strive to win and constantly improve, but I do understand that I am lacking experience in Formula Cars with Aero and slicks.

“My goal’s for this season are to gain as much experience in the car as possible, develop and improve my skills, and hopefully achieve a couple of top 10 results early on,

then fight for the podiums and win towards the end.”

Drivers such as Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam lawson have all used this series as stepping stone on their career paths, and more recently Bathurst 1000 debutant Matt Payne, who triumphed over Shane van Gisbergen, Andre Heimgartner and Greg Murphy in an all-NZ running.

“I am also very honoured and proud to be racing at Highlands Motorsport Park, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and Taupo Motorsport Park,” Quinn concluded.

M2 team principal, Mark Pilcher, added that “I have been working with the Quinn family for many years in racing and I am very happy to welcome Ryder on board to what is an exciting M2 Competition line-up.”

Details regarding the 67th New Zealand Grand Prix – which remains the centrepiece of the championship, and one of only two non-F1 Grand Prix events recognised by the FIA, are also set to be released soon.

The competition also boasts one of the best percentage records for drivers that have made it into Formula 1.

Current F1 drivers to have raced in the series include the aforementioned Norris and Tsunoda, as well as Lance Stroll, Guanyu Zhou and Nicolas Latifi.

2023 TOYOTA RACING SERIES 13-15 JANUARY 2023.................. Highlands Motorsport Park 20-22 JANUARY 2023......................Teretonga Park Raceway 27-29 JANUARY 2023........... Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon 3-5 FEBRUARY 2023............. Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park 10-12 FEBRUARY 2023..................................Taupo International Motorsport Park

BRING BACK THE SANDOWN 500 - NOW! THERE IS AN EASY SOLUTION TO THE CHAOS AND CARNAGE THAT MARRED THE EARLY LAPS OF THIS YEAR’S BATHURST 1000. IT’S CALLED THE SANDOWN 500.

THE TRADITIONAL curtain-raiser to the Great Race was always more than just a second city-based enduro to satisfy touring car fans in Melbourne.

It was a way – the right way – to get everyone prepared and set for Bathurst. The cars, too, needed a proper hit-out before the days of bulletproof $500,000 Supercars.

It was a fully-immersive rehearsal that covered all the bases and did it the right way.

Full-time drivers would get into the groove for long stints against mis-matched newcomers, rookies could learn their cars and the craft required for competition at the top end of Australian motorsport, crews could learn the pitstop drills with less pressure, and even driver changes could be practised in the heat of battle.

Sandown is also an easy track.

It’s a place where newbies and rusty co-drivers could get up to speed relatively easily and relatively quickly, without the pressure for a first-lap pass that has created its own type of carnage in Supercars – and Dunlop Series – sprint races in recent years.

Then, with Sandown done, everyone would head to Bathurst feeling they were properly prepared.

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE This all came back to me on the grid at Bathurst this year, as I introduced my 13-year-old son Eli to some of the drivers.

Greg Murphy admitted he had never been so nervous before the start.

Warren ‘Wazza’ Luff, a vastly experienced lucky charm for so many drivers over the past decade, said the same.

They were worried because they did not know what to expect.

Murphy had never done a full race start in a current-generation Supercar. He was copping a huge barrage of taunting from Craig Lowndes, who always copes.

Luff was worried about the number of kids in the field who didn’t have the remotest idea of what to expect from a track with standing water and sodden edges.

Their fears were quickly proven to be right.

But the relative lack of action from race control, where I believe Craig Baird is now brilliant at his job and has the right understanding of what happens on the track, proved that ... shit happens.

It happed far too much at Bathurst this year and, even though some casual race fans would have loved the crash action, it was bad news all round.

Some young drivers looked shellshocked after their mistakes, there were some badly broken cars – the final repair bill could easily run over $500,000 – and now everyone will be thinking about what to do to prevent a repeat run in 2023.

Bring back Sandown …

It’s been a while, okay a long while, but I have a bit of experience in all this.

In 1997, as a mediocre production car racer who had a few media connections, I was offered a co-

Image: DIRK KLYNSMITH-MOTORSPORT IMAGES

drive for the Sandown and Bathurst double. By Bruce Williams, our publisher and leader today, as it turns out.

Of course, I jumped at the chance.

And I hit the gym, made some money-making calls, and took a look at the Holden Commodore I was down to drive.

When we got to Sandown, a track I knew well, I had my first hit-out during the Thursday media call. It all seemed to be going pretty well.

The build-up continued through practice and the lead-up to the Sandown 500, and I never felt (completely) out of my depth, although I will never forget the look on Glenn Seton’s face when I sat next to him at the Drivers’ Briefing – and he realised I was racing against him.

Then it rained on race day and there was carnage. I was hit by Peter Brock as he lapped me in the HRT Commodore and I ran off at Turn 2 because I didn’t pump the pedal enough after a pad change and locked the rear brakes.

But we got through it. And it was amazing, as a rookie, to be racing against the guns and learning

how to keep out of their way while running to our plan.

In the end it was a good day. I was comfortable in the car and felt ready for Bathurst.

Then the reality ….

On my first practice lap at Mount Panorama, over Skyline and down into The Esses, Larry Perkins caught me like I was standing still.

As I moved over, he flicked me The Finger.

I can still remember his reaction when I went to apologise: “You were driving like it was your first lap at Bathurst,” he barked.

When I said it had been my first lap, he gave me some coaching.

Which I needed.

Now, today’s young racers are far far better prepared for Bathurst than the ‘old days’, but the principle is the same.

Heading to the Bathurst 1000 is like diving off the three-metre platform at the Olympics. There is no margin for error, even if you are young and fit and talented and aiming for a fulltime career in Supercars.

Surely it would be better to have a few dives off the one-metre springboard?

That’s Sandown. Or it was. And it should be again.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER

Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams STAFF JOURNALIST Timothy W. Neal STAFF JOURNALIST Thomas Miles NEWS EDITOR Andrew Clarke FEATURES WRITER Paul Gover PRODUCTION/SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Caroline Garde SENIOR DESIGNER Neville Wilkinson NATIONAL EDITOR Garry O’Brien HISTORICS EDITOR Mark Bisset SPEEDWAY REPORTER Paris Charles ONLINE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Andrew Clarke, Josh Nevett, Dan McCarthy, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Garry O’Brien, Geoffrey Harris, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn.

FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Mark Horsburgh-Edge Photography, Ross Gibb Photography, Daniel Kalisz, Mick Oliver-MTR Images, Rebecca Hind, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Richard Hathaway, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, autopics.com.au INTERNATIONAL

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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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Oakleigh Victoria 3166 LAST ISSUE (#1846) long-time track and ABC TV and radio commentator Will Hagon gave us his views on the format and promo campaign for the Bathurst 1000. This issue he’s back with thoughts on how he saw - on TV the latest ‘Great Race’.

BEST OF BATHURST IS FOX COVERAGE THE FOUR days of the Bathurst 1000 grabbed me more than any Supercars event for a long while.

But it wasn’t the racing so much as the television coverage. It was outstanding, better than most of what you’d see from many of the top events in many countries.

However, eight ‘safety car’ periods, holding cars behind a sponsored car with flashing lights for 21 tedious laps – 13 per cent of the race distance but closer to a quarter of the race time - didn’t do much for my enjoyment of the event’s main aim: the contest between drivers and their cars.

They’re equal, so brands are rarely mentioned.

The equality between the cars, heightened by Supercar rules which force everyone on to the same strategy of pit stops, refuelling, tyre and brake changes, isn’t my idea of great motor racing.

But the television coverage of a superbly-presented event was some compensation.

There was negligible passing in what really is the race, the last 40 laps with the lead drivers going as hard as they can. Not spell-binding racing, despite the artificially close finish. All of which had been preceded with many hours of what Supercars’ television division served up to Fox (which I watched, rather than free-to-air Seven).

An enormous amount of thought and pre-planning, from the Hino Hub with Mark Larkham, to some of their stories, presentations and interviews was exceptional.

The Mostert recap on his 2021 win was excellent, as was that of

Dick Johnson, covering his long commitment to racing Fords. The Heritage Revival category was great, a reminder of what had been – an enormous range of cars open to a wider range of entrants and competitors. It was way ahead of the small SuperUtes, Super2 and Super3 fields.

I don’t know whether it’s costcutting or lack of people to do it, but giving spectators the television commentary is wrong. Public address (PA) and television chat are different, so this is an insult to folk who attend Bathurst. It says you might as well stay home and watch it on telly.

Curiously, it highlights that some in Supercars don’t fully understand motorsport. It is a business but it has to be based on the irrational love and passion of all who commit to it. Treating it as just a business doesn’t win loyal friends.

Will Hagon Bellbird, NSW Publisher’s note: Thanks Will.

Your perspectives are greatly appreciated.

ON A WINNER, BUT NOT AT THE MOUNTAIN FANTASTIC, WELL done, Auto Action. Issue #1845 was right up there with your best.

Luke West finally exposed a well-known ‘secret’ – that IndyCar leaves ho-hum, boring Formula 1 in its dust. I’ve switched over to the excitement of IndyCar since the debacle of the controversial last race in F1 last season. Luke’s columns are always entertaining.

Changing tack now, eight mates made the pilgrimage to Bathurst.

We arrived early Saturday, put up our not-so-weatherproof plastic tarps and tents, and settled in for the duration.

The weather is really bad when you see the ducks wearing raincoats, but we were having fun.

In the afternoon the excitement was building on the hill all around us as the Top 10 Shootout approached.

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Then the officials, in their wisdom, cancelled the shootout because there was water over the circuit.

By all the moans and howls of the spectators around us, I think there will be a lot of people not coming back next year.

Apparently the cancellation of the Shootout prevented the drivers from being a great danger to themselves. The officials, in their wisdom, obviously know that the drivers don’t have the brains or skill to be in control driving in the wet.

So it was done purely for driver safety! Well, that concern for safety may have been justified after all, as it went out the window on race day.

I don’t think the spectators have seen such unnecessary carnage from so-called professional racing drivers in their life.

Greg Murphy stated on TV that he was totally unimpressed with the stupid and dangerous way the majority of drivers behaved right from the first lap.

Makes one wonder why all the caution to cancel the Shootout out of fear for the drivers’ safety.

The drivers made a mockery of that supposed safety aspect on race day. Too many were striving for superstardom in their desire for the holy grail – a Bathurst win.

Their dreams far outweighed their driving abilities.

Why didn’t the officials inform drivers that there would be flag marshals (with caution flags) stationed at the first corner and where dangerous water was flowing on to the circuit, and that drivers would not be allowed to overtake under caution flags until clear of those areas. Then, as the day progressed, the flag marshals could react to the changing track conditions. Probably a better option than destroying cars at the start of a very long race.

Anyway, our group of Bathurst fanatics have decided never to attend the big race again.

To most fans that camp on the mountain in rain, wind and mud, the highlight is the Top 10 Shootout.

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Why should we go to the trouble of attending (and paying entry fees) only to be treated with disregard by officials?

We’ve made a plan for next year’s race – stay home, watch the start for about an hour, then watch the last hour. That way we won’t have to put up with so much of the saturation TV advertising.

And ... we’ll all save a load of money. It’s a win-win situation.

Phillip Hilzinger Bombala, NSW

STANDARDS ARE RED RAG TO A BULL SO RED Bull F1 are caught out cheating last year. Does that mean that the world title is given to the rightful winner of the championship?

No wonder I have lost interest in F1. I’m starting to lose interest in Supercars as well with the driving standards of a couple of the drivers - one Red Bull driver in particular.

It looks like Red Bull can’t win with normal driving, so it’s a case of cheat or shove. Why can’t a good driver pass without shoving the other car off the road?

Noel Molloy Geelong, Victoria

HEY KNOCKERS, LAY OFF YOUNG JONES THE BJR team seems to be a magnet for crashes, bad luck and unwanted events. How dare the knockers slag young Macca Jones. Look at the things thrown at him. Shane Van Gisbergen “expected” to be let by, then blamed Macca. Other older drivers have hit Macca before.

“Pecking order”? His car has even lost all brakes going into a corner.

Father and son keep going.

If they are both open-minded and sit back and look at these crashes Macca will be one very seasoned Supercar race driver.

Eric Schloss Bribie Island, Queensland

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There was plenty of chatter on Auto Action’s socials during Bathurst about the magnificence and mayhem on The Mountain.

TERRIFIC TANDER

Ben Murphy Garth would still probably win the championship in that #97 car and team.

Matthew Irvine He’s a bloody legend. Him and Steve Richards are hugely under-rated.

Tony Nicastri Not a Holden fan, but Garth is a brilliant partner at Bathurst.

Sabrina McDonald He was so quick. Got a lead out to 13 seconds.

Many more years left of co-driving in him.

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TOP 10 SHOOTOUT

‘PRIVATEER’ WILDCARD

Fletcher Galbraith Council will need to fix this (drainage) for the future.

NEW MUSTANG

Lois Czechura (The deluge) wouldn’t have stopped Brocky!

HOLDEN FAREWELL

Tony Elkins This is the third goodbye to Holden they have won.

Will they actually go now?

Colin Penrose That ‘Last Lap’ send off has been happening for years now. Talk about flogging a dead horse.

Simon Williamson (Matt) Chadha chugged along, finishing on the lead lap with a 99% straight car. And 10 cars behind him and Jay (Robotham)!

Glenn Smith Finally a Mustang that looks like a Mustang.

I imagine that they will still ensure that it is hampered by parity though.

Steve Thømas Great to see Ford USA so heavily backing it.

Supercars Australia will have a tough time if they think they can favour one manufacturer next year.

Image: Motorsport Images

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A DECISION THAT WILL DEFINE F1’S FUTURE FRANKLY, I’D much rather dedicate this space to write about Max Verstappen’s stunning season, his newfound maturity that, combined with the high level of aggression he always displayed – but is now under control, has made him nearly unbeatable this year.

After all, we’re talking about a 25-years old driver who has already won two World Championships and is clearly not going to stop there. So regardless of what people think of how he won last year’s championship, his track manners or anything they might dislike about his personality, there’s no dispute we’re seeing one of the greatest talents of all time evolve into a formidable winning machine.

Alas, while Formula One should be celebrating Verstappen’s success, it is, in fact, bracing for a decision that will define its immediate future. More precisely, it will decide if the Budget Cap

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F1 INSIDER regulations that were introduced for the 2021 Formula One World Championship are to be taken as seriously and policed as vigorously as the Technical and Sporting Regulations, or if they’ve failed at the first hurdle and are dead before they had a chance to serve their purpose.

Of course, no one except the FIA officials involved in the analysis of the team’s expenses and Red Bull’s top management knows exactly by how much the forensic accountants that combed through all the team’s 2021 expenses found the Austrian squad to have been over the limit of expenditure. All we know is that Red Bull overspent on the

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145 million US dollars budget cap by less than five per cent, but that can range from one dollar to 7.25 million ... that’s too wide a window to allow anyone without knowledge of the exact amount to have a firm view on what the penalty should be.

And while the numbers may never be made public (the FIA has a history of doing private deals with teams, the latest being with Ferrari, at the start of 2020, at the end of an investigation about the Power Unit settings the Scuderia used until the first day of practice for the 2019 US Grand Prix) it’s reasonable to believe we’re not talking of a comparatively

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insignificant sum of US$100200k.

As everyone else has stated since stories of Red Bull’s overspending came out, the penalties have to fit the crime and if the crime brought performance advantages – every dollar spent on developing a car is supposed to bring a lap time benefit – then Red Bull’s performance has to take a hit.

A huge fine, even McLaren’s record breaking 100 million dollars’ fine, will have little effect on the offending team. After all, McLaren paid that amount to the FIA at the end of 2007 and one year later was celebrating Lewis Hamilton’s first title, wasn’t it?

These days, especially in a year where Formula One will enjoy new record profits, the top teams will be highly profitable, so going for just a fine won’t affect Red Bull at all. That’s why most Team Principals I talked to in Singapore and Suzuka, believe that lowering the team’s Budget Cap for

2023, reducing the amount of wind tunnel hours and the CFD capacity in comparison with the rest of the field, will eventually nullify the advantage they got last year, tand hat was carried through to this year’s chassis – designed and developed in the year Red Bull spent more than the others – and will also carry on for next year, because you can’t unlearn what you’ve learned before.

Regardless of what decision the FIA comes to, it’s dead certain the Federation will be criticised – some believing it too lenient, others that it was too harsh. All I can hope for, is that whatever penalty is applied, it demonstrates that the Financial Regulations do work, and the penalties applied fit the infraction. Anything other than that and we might as well forget these new regulations exist, for breaching them will become normal procedure for all teams. And that would spell their death.

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FORMULA 1 NEWS - LUIS VASCONCELOS

RICCIARDO CONFIRMS “I WON’T BE ON THE GRID IN 2023” DANIEL RICCIARDO will not be racing in Formula One next year – the Australian driver confirmed it on Saturday in Suzuka, during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, but has vowed to “return in 2024”, as he sees Formula One as unfinished business and doesn’t want to end this chapter of his racing career on a low note.

On a day where Pierre Gasly was confirmed as Fernando Alonso’s replacement at Alpine and Nyck de Vries as the driver who will take over from the Frenchman at AlphaTauri, Ricciardo’s comments after qualifying suggested he had quickly been told by Alpine that his services would not be required, but still harbored hopes of a return to AlphaTauri, possibly as a way to reestablish his links with Red Bull and make a return to the Austrian’s main team in the future.

Asked about the effect of the two announcements on his future, Ricciardo admitted that, “the Gasly news I was aware of. I knew they were talking for a while and I knew they were very interested in Pierre, so I would say I was prepared for that and got no surprise today. We were trying to navigate our way round that and figure out what was next, but I think the reality now is I won’t be on the grid in 2023.”

The immediate consequence of that is that now the McLaren driver is looking for a two-year plan as he tries to find a way into the grid for the following year, as he explained: “I think, for us, it’s now just trying to set-up for 2024

– I think there could be some better opportunities then, so that’s really what all this confirms and now where our sights are set.”

It’s not clear what seats Ricciardo believes will be free for him in 2024, as Red Bull, Ferrari, Alpine and McLaren have their 2023 drivers confirmed for the following year as well and it’s not likely Mercedes would pick him as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement in the unlikely scenario the seven-times World Champion would decide to hang his helmet up at the end of next year.

Asked about his action plan, Ricciardo insisted that, “certainly the plan is still to be involved in F1, and this is kind-of just hitting pause for a little bit. That’s the way I see it, as far as my F1 career goes.

The full intention is to be back in 2024.”

And on the subject of turning to other categories in 2023 to keep his racing instincts sharp, he added: “For sure it could open up opportunities to maybe do some of that stuff, but if I feel it’s going to deviate away from my target, so I would still say it’s not really where I’m looking.

“As cool as it sounds to compete in something else, the truth is mentally I’m not there yet. I’m still so engaged in this, and I think a bit of time off, or out of a seat, will probably do me good, so I would probably use that as opposed to trying to jump in something else and stay busy in a different category. So, I would still say pretty convincingly it wouldn’t happen anywhere else.”

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RED BULL HOPES FOR MORE FROM HONDA’S EXPANDED DEAL RED BULL and Honda have agreed on a new commercial deal that saw the HRC logos on the RB18 and the AlphaTauri AT03 at Suzuka, as Christian Horner and Helmut Marko continue to push very hard to convince the Board of Directors of the Japanese manufacturer to make a U-turn on its decision to completely leave Formula One at the end of 2026 and focus on the full electrification of its road cars – the road the Board pointed to, already, in October of 2020.

In reality, the new deal doesn’t involve much more than a change of branding, as Honda can see the obvious benefits of being associated with conquering both the Drivers and the Constructor’s title, something that was basically an inevitability when there were still five races to go before the end of the season.

Right from the start of this new push from Red Bull – when it became clear Porsche would only

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join the Austrian team if it would get control of the team, something Horner and Marko were determined

to avoid, as their jobs would be at risk - the motorsport division from Honda has been giving the Austrian company as much support as possible, as it’s easy to understand this branch of the company is very keen to remain in motor racing’s top tier.

Convincing the Board of Directors to go against what it decided two years ago, though, will take a lot of persuasion and with the deadline to register as a manufacturer from 2026 coming last weekend, time is running out for Marko, Horner and his allies within Honda, to get the approval they need to keep Honda in Formula One as a manufacturer beyond the end of the 2025 Formula one World Championship.

As for Porsche, in spite of recent statements to the contrary, it’s hard to see the company really enter Formula One in 2026, as it lacks the technological independence to build a competitive F1 Power Unit from scratch.

FIA HAS WORK TO DO OVER JAPAN MESS! ON THE day the much-awaited announcement regarding the certificates the teams for complying with the Budget Cap regulations in 2021 finally arrived, the FIA was reeling from the confusion created by the on-track procedures and the Sporting Regulations, in the aftermath of a chaotic Japanese Grand Prix.

The first big issue of the Grand Prix was the presence of marshals and a recovery vehicle on track, at the scene of Carlos Sainz’s accident, while the rest of the field was trying to catch the Safety Car, before the race was red flagged. Most drivers saw the tractor on the edge of the track, as they were going slowly enough behind the Safety Car to get a glimpse of it, but those that had been delayed in multiple lap one incidents were still going as fast as the rules allowed them, with Pierre Gasly having a close and terrifying near miss with the tractor.

The Frenchman’s reaction said it all about the fright he had experienced – and at the end of the race the FIA issued the following statement, regarding the procedures that were put in place following Sainz’s crash: “While it is normal practice to recover cars under Safety Car and Red Flag conditions,

due to the particular circumstances and also taking into account feedback from of a number of drivers, the FIA has launched a thorough review of the events involving the deployment of recovery vehicles during the Japanese Grand Prix.

“This is part of the common practice of debrief and analysis of all race incidents to ensure continual improvements of processes and procedures.”

As if that was not enough, when the race was stopped for the three-hours mark from the official start had been reached, everybody assumed 75% of the points were going to be awarded, for the Grand Prix had just passed the halfway mark but had not reached the three quarters distance – 41 laps around Suzuka – for full points to be handed to the top 10 finishers.

That’s why Max Verstappen and Red Bull didn’t celebrate effusively at the end of a race he won in dominant style, until the FIA officials realised the new rules regarding the points in shortened races had been badly written and, therefore, full points were to be attributed, which sealed Verstappen’s second title.

Shortly after last year’s Belgian Grand

Prix’s fiasco, the Formula One Commission agreed on a new points’ system for shortened races and it was agreed no points would be handed in races where no more than two laps had been raced without the Safety Car on track, and different systems were applied for raced ending before 25%, 50% and 75% of the intended race distance.

However, when the rules were written, what was put to paper was that, “if a race is suspended in accordance with under Article 57, and cannot be resumed, points for each title will be awarded in accordance with the following criteria”, before specifying how many points are awarded in all the four situations mentioned above.

Missing, crucially, was the mention that those would also be the points to be awarded in races that had reached the time limit with the cars running normally – as was the case on Sunday in Suzuka – as there are no provisions for such cases in the

new Sporting Regulations!

That’s why the Race Director and the Stewards of the Meeting had to interpret the rules and conclude the partial systems’ point didn’t apply to the Japanese Grand Prix results and, thus, full points had to be awarded.

It’s a gross oversight by those who were still writing the regulations last year but have long departed the FIA, with a quick change to the Sporting Regulations being expected as quickly as possible – but unfortunately not before the start of next season – because under the current text’s interpretation, in the extreme, full points may be awarded if a race ends normally on time after just three laps if that’s when the time limit is reached - which would be a complete travesty of a result ...

EXPECTED DRIVER DEALS CONFIRMED IN SUZUKA PIERRE GASLY (pictured) was officially confirmed as Fernando Alonso’s replacement at Alpine, minutes before AlphaTauri announced Nyck de Vries will be replacing the Frenchman from the start of next year too.

The two deals had been in the making for almost one month and only the final details of the negotiations between Gasly and the French team delayed things a bit, as de Vries’s contract with AlphaTauri had already been signed, but couldn’t be announced, when the teams arrived in Singapore at the end of September.

From the moment the team realised Oscar Piastri wouldn’t be racing for them in 2023, the priority was, as Otmar Szafnauer explained, “to get someone quick, experienced but also young”. And, clearly, “Pierre ticks all those boxes, so as we narrowed our choices, he was always up there”, the American explained.

The critical part of the deal was not getting Red Bull’s agreement to release Gasly, especially when Helmut Marko decided de Vries was the man to replace him from next year, but the fact Ocon and Gasly hadn’t exchanged a word in almost 10 years, since their parents famously clashed while they were still in karting. The fact that Gasly really wanted to get out of Red Bull’s area of influence

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helped, so eventually the two Frenchman agreed to work together, did their first, brief, photoshoot in Suzuka and when Gasly’s lawyers agreed all details with Alpine, the deal was ready to be announced.

Now there are only two race seats available for 2023, one at Haas, one at Williams, but Daniel Ricciardo is not interested in getting any of them (read separate story).

With Nico Hulkenberg seemingly very motivated to return to Formula One, Haas is likely to hire him, even if Ferrari is pushing for the American team to put either Antonio Giovinazzi or rookie Robert Shwartzman alongside Magnussen.

But Gene Haas had is not a fan of the Italian and being an American citizen would probably be reluctant to put a Russian driver in one of his cars, even if Shwartzman now races with an Israeli license. Ferrari, though, is very keen to keep one of its younger drivers in the seat next to Magnussen’s and if there is no way Gunther Steiner will reconsider and keep Mick Schumacher for a third season, then Mattia Binotto will be putting pressure on his friend to either give a first Formula One chance to

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Shwartzman or hand a Grand Prix lifeline to Giovinazzi.

As for Williams, the decision will only be taken after the F2 finale in Abu Dhabi, and if Logan Sargeant gets a Super License the seat is his. If not, Antonio Giovinazzi seems to be the hot favorite to share driving duties with Alex Albon next year, although Mick Schumacher is also knocking at Jost Capito’s door. While the German is clearly on his way out of the Ferrari Driver Academy if he parts ways with Haas, Giovinazzi would like to stay connected to the Scuderia, as he has an eye on Ferrari’s Hypercar program and needs to keep his links with the Italian company to have a chance in the WEC when his days in Formula One come to an end.

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“

WINNING THE EIGHTH TITLE

IS NOT AN OBSESSION” SIR LEWIS HAMILTON IS AN ICON OF THE SPORT. NO ANOTHER DRIVER HAS HIS RACE WIN AND CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD – HE IS CONSIDERED BY MANY THE GREATEST F1 DRIVER OF ALL TIME. AUTO ACTION’S LUIS VASCONCELOS SAT DOWN WITH THE SEVEN-TIME WORLD CHAMPION AND DISCUSSED HIS PASSION. FOR THE first time in his Formula One career, Sir Lewis Hamilton is at risk of finishing a season without a single victory. Not only that, the seven-time World Champion is currently sixth in the Drivers’ classification and if he doesn’t improve that until the end of the year, it will be the first time in his 16 Formula One seasons that Hamilton hasn’t finished the championship in the top five.

Obviously unhappy with the lack of speed and consistency of his car, Hamilton takes a philosophic approach to the way his season is going and prefers to focus his energy on the things he can change.

In a famous speech while accepting an award, Niki Lauda dedicated it to those who didn’t win, saying, “I learned a lot more when I lost than when I won”. This year you’re yet to win a race, for the first time since you got to Formula One, so do you agree with him that you’re learned more in this difficult season than in the many years you were winning the championship?

Definitively, yes. But I’ve lost more than I won throughout my career, which is normal for everyone. You make more mistakes than what you get in poles, so I understand what Niki meant by that. But

also, all the people that are competing, we have so much in common – all the mechanics, all the engineers – we’re all passionate, we’re all driving towards a common goal in each and every team.

Everyone is trying their hardest and only one person, one team, can be the winner. I guess that’s what Niki was trying to acknowledge; those people that also had done an amazing job, up to an amazing level, even though they didn’t get to the number one spot.

Have you learned more this year than in the previous seasons?

No. every year is a big learning year. I think that every year is just different, and you learn something new every year. I wouldn’t say I have learned more this year than what I learned in any other year.

I think it has been a great year in terms of growth, in and out of the car, with Foundation 44 and other projects, the steps that we’ve taken, how I’m using my life, how I’m spending my time and energy, the experienced and creating moments with family members, family and friends.

I think I’m a better teammate than I’ve ever been, so there’s been a huge amount of growing.

When did you realise this car was not working as expected?

The first time I drove the car! It was in Barcelona.

How could you feel that immediately from the first impression?

Because I’ve just been racing for a long time, I’ve driven so many cars and you know pretty much straightaway if it’s in the window that is going to give you confidence. And in that first test, when I was trying to put it in some places that I know how to unlock performance, I couldn’t do it. So, I knew it was going to be a tough road ahead.

Also, I knew, given we are now in a cost cap era, how long it takes to develop things. In life we always want things now, but to make a floor can take us weeks and crazy man-hours. And it’s even more complex this year, so I knew it was going to be tough, with those limitations, with wind tunnel limitations, and development as well. I didn’t think it was going to be impossible – I just knew that it was going to be tough. But, of course, none of us knows how hard it is going to be until you go through it. Then you see that all the things you are facing, weekend in, weekend out, with each upgrade that we are bringing,

Everyone is trying their hardest and only one person, one team, can be the winner. I guess that’s what Niki was trying to acknowledge; those people that also had done an amazing job ...

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always hoping “this is going to get us back into the fight” and then realising you’re still a long way off or it just doesn’t work. I would say that, if anything, this year we’ve became more and more resilient than ever before and becoming more persistent than ever before.

Do you believe you’ll still win a race this year?

I do. You have to believe in it until it’s not possible, until you run out of opportunities, and we’ve still got four opportunities. I have to believe there’s still a chance.

We’ve never had a driver with more than 300 Grand Prix starts winning a race …

Well, there’s never been a driver like me before, so …

Once you realized the car was not doing what you had been expecting, what was the prevalent feeling? Disbelief, frustration, even anger?

No, it wasn’t frustration. I remembered back in 2009, when I was in my third year with McLaren and I sat down with the engineers. They told me, ‘hey, we’ve already reached our targets, we’re smooth sailing. We’ve already hit our target and we’re doing really, really well’ and thinking, “have we set our target too low?” Then I remembered the first test and how horrible that car was, and looking back at that experience and how long it took us – seven months, or six months, it was – to finally get the upgrade we needed. But back then we had more wind tunnel to use, more money to spend and a lot of testing too, but eventually

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Lewis knew the first time he drove the 2022 Mercedes that the team was in trouble – and in the early races, he was shaded by his new team-mate George Russell. The pair now seem evenly matched and Hamilton believes a win could be just around the corner.

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we got our win. I think when we started this year, in the meeting I felt something similar, but I didn’t know whether I was right or wrong. And then we got in the car … and, actually, you’re hoping that everything they’ve said is how it’s going to be, but when we got in the car, we were faced with something we hadn’t expected or seen it coming.

So, it was not anger but, at some stage, I had to think, “God, with this car I’m not going to be able to fight for the championship” and that was tough, given that our goal together was to rebound and fight, get back into the fight and give it everything again – not only because that’s our drive but also because it’s inspiring for other people.

Not being in the position to be able to do that, there are still different ways you can be inspirational.

Does the bitter feeling from last year still linger?

No, looking forward.

But did you need some weeks to overcome the disappointment, because you were silent for quite a while?

It’s only normal, when you experience something that is so difficult. It takes time to overcome and even when you overcome it, it still needs work, but I would say I’m in the best place I’ve already been. Overall, in my personal life, the business, the relationships, in terms of family, in terms of work, my desire is still strong in terms of what I’m going to do.

What’s your relationship with Max like? Not just about Abu Dhabi, by do

you speak regularly?

I don’t talk to anybody regularly, not even my Mum! ut you talk about Abu Dhabi to him?

I don’t talk to anybody regularly, not even my Mum, so that’s it … but there’s no problem between us. Maybe he’s younger and he has it – I don’t know, but I won’t assume it – I cannot answer for him.

He did everything he had to do last year – why would I have a problem with that? He delivered as he had to.

This year he’s delivered weekend in, weekend out and no one can take that away from him. It’s never easy, no matter how good your car is, it’s never easy to arrive at each weekend and perform at the level that he’s been performing at. They’ve done an Interacting ... above left, with personal trainer and assistant, kiwi Angela Cullen; congratulating the 2022 champion (top), and (above) a lighter media moment with 2022 team-mate George Russell.

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“I’M HUNGRY FOR CHANGE!” HAMILTON’S INTERESTS are way more varied than the typical racing driver’s and he dedicates quite a bit of his time to his other projects, something that he can do because he says, “I sleep five or six hours per night, so I get a lot of time in a day.”

The Mercedes driver goes on to explain that “I have a lot of people that work for me, I employ a lot of people. I try to get the best out of every single one of them, so they can be the best they can for their lives and their families. I am part of a team and a part of enabling the team to operate. There’s two thousand people in our team – I’m part of them, they’re winning, getting bonuses and I’m proud of them.”

His passion for the subject shows that his non-racing activities are more than just a hobby: “I’m hungry for change, whether it’s in business or in schools.

“I’m hungry because there’s still over 100 million kids that don’t have access to education; I’m hungry to make that change; I’m hungry to succeed with the team I’m growing with, but I’m not hungry to acquire anything – I’ve done that and bought the t-shirt. I’ve bought more things than what I’ll ever need – I’m hungry to create memories and utilise the time that I have with the people that I love, because I think that’s the only thing we take with us.

When we’re on our deathbed, the only thing that we can take with us is the memories. You can’t take any of the any other crap we may fancy, whatever it may be – house, bank account – none of that stuff truly matters.

What matters is the relationships and the stuff you do with your loved ones. Whether it’s your son, whether it’s your parents, whether it’s your brothers and sisters, your best friends, that’s another part I’m focused on maximising.”

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Despite the design and porpoising issues, the Mercs took third and fourth in Melbourne ...

The 2021 squad included long serving ‘wingman’ Valtteri Bottas, here (below) with Lewis and team boss Toto Wolffe

“ ”

I’ve got the support from home now.

So, I want to have one more crack at it.

Leave on a high ...

amazing job as a team, but we don’t need to talk about it. People like to talk about it as if there is something between us but if there is, he’s a lot younger and maybe there’s something in there, but for me it’s a fabrication. I have respect for him.

Do you miss being able to fight with him with equal weapons?

I don’t miss fighting with him, I just miss being able to fight in front. It doesn’t matter who you’re fighting with. Every single driver here – well, not every single driver but many drivers here – given the same platform will do a great, great job. It’s just unfortunate that not everybody here has that, because it’s like this. It would be great if we all had a championshipwinning car and then you could see the difference between the drivers.

If everybody had Max’s car performance, for sure you’d see the difference between the drivers. But that’s not the name of the game – everyone is doing their best job with the hand they’ve been dealt, with the package they’ve got.

You’ve already mentioned your business interests. Alonso, Vettel and you are the three veterans in the paddock,

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Fernando is all about Formula One, Sebastian has lost interest and is fully focused on his campaign for sustainability, but you are in the middle, committed to Formula One but with many other interests outside the sport.

Do you feel closer to one of them in terms of where you are in your career and your life?

Neither. My life is different to theirs – every single one of us is different. I hear from certain individuals that you only live and breathe for one thing, for racing.

It’s racing – simulator, online games, watching racing, only racing, racing, racing – but I don’t think that’s healthy to anyone, no matter in what area you’re in, to do just one thing.

I think we, as human beings, have a responsibility to expand our minds, to learn as much as we can and have as many experiences as we can, and see as much as we can, there’s so much that’s incredible.

For me, I’m fully focused on health, in mental wellbeing, first and foremost, then I’m focused on family and then I’m focused on racing, which is my

life. Then I’m focused on business and entrepreneurship, starting companies, uplifting talented, creative people, for instance, not only in motorsports, but in education, in fashion, and I can do all those things and still be the best I can be in racing. People that say you cannot do more than one thing, they’ve locked themselves, they’ve limited themselves ...

I just don’t have that mentality.

You’re not getting it this year but how much of a goal is wining the World Championship for the eighth time, something no Formula One driver has ever achieved?

It’s not that I necessarily want it, it’s I’m working towards that – that’s part of the reason I’m still racing, of course. I still feel that I’m fit, I still feel I can drive, I’m massively competitive, that’s not changed, so that’s what I’m chasing.

If it doesn’t happen ... Every single championship I’ve won, I’ve always thought that I have to be massively grateful for the ones I’ve had, not bitter about what you don’t have. So, I’m not thinking here ‘oh, I don’t have the eighth title’. If I finish on seven titles, I finish on seven titles and that’s amazing – it’s way better than what most people have ever had! So, it’s not something that bothers me or that I’m constantly thinking about.

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SPEEDWAY

COOL HAND LUKE

PREVAILS IN BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE THE MURRAY Machining and Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway played host to the annual and iconic Bill Wigzell ‘Battle of the Bridge’ for Sprintcars and with 17 competitors locked and loaded for the feature the race proved a cracking twohorse race with Luke Dillon and Ryan Jones sharing the front row.

At the drop of the green, Jones led around the top side, followed closely by Dillon and the charging field down the back chute for the opening lap. With just two laps in the books Dan Putty was the first retirement, rolling to the infield while the race remained green.

With five laps down the leaders picked off the first of the slower traffic. Dillon would bide his time as the duo negotiated their way through the back markers and, with 10 laps done, he would briefly take control only for Jones to fire back as the yellow lights blazed for the spun car of Lisa Walker.

Jones led the restart and clear track allowed him some breathing space. Dillon was soon hot on his hammer and looking for the fast way past. Further back, Matt Egel proved best of the movers and shakers, challenging for fourth after starting from ninth. Walker soon retired with 16 laps remaining. In quick succession, both Egel and Dillon would brush the wall as they continued to search for speed. Egel would retire with right side damage while the race remained heated.

Dillon closed through traffic as Jones found himself hampered by a grouping of slower traffic, resulting in an uncharacteristic mistake, spinning a complete 360, allowing Dillon to take command of the race with just five laps remaining. Joel Heinrich pushed strongly, advancing to third momentarily before clipping another car and spinning to cause a stoppage – Chad Ely collected Heinrich bringing on the red lights as the chequered flag fell for Dillion. The final was declared with Dillion the only competitor to negotiate the 30-lap journey. Jones and Scott Enderl would share the minor placings followed by Steven Caruso, Max Vidau, Brendan Gueri,

Luke Dillon (S81) and Ryan Jones (S63) battle wheel to wheel for the lead.

SWEET START

FOR MATT PASCOE

Image: RAY RITTER

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles Ben Morris and Terry Kelly rounding out the top 10. A lap down were Ricky Maiolo, Jason Bolitho, Robert Heard and the New South Welshman in Ashton Mineeff, the final car running. The Ely and Heinrich entries were sent to the rear for bringing on the stoppage.

Dillon started the night well as the only driver to break into the 11 second bracket during time trials before claiming a heat, with Walker, Caruso and Enderl taking one apiece.

BRUMFIELD BOUNCES BACK!

THE STREET Stocks also thrilled with some wild laps. Darren Brumfield led flag-to-flag to take a well-deserved win

in the 20-lap final over previous winner Carey Weston. Weston was relegated two spots by the Stewards post-race.

Nigel Reichstein advanced to second after a solid battle with Keith Moore and Drew Flatman, the latter retiring with just four laps remaining. Ryan Buchanan and Thomas Garner rounded out the top half dozen of 13 to take the green flag.

PFEILER FAMILY FIRST!

FEMALE RACER Renee Pfeiler showed the boys the fastest way home, taking a flag-to-flag victory in the 15-lap V6 Sprints final. Second was her brother John Pfeiler Jr and Whyalla’s Jordan Grillet rounded out the podium. Kym Simon, Nathan Johns and Archie Fabien would complete the first half dozen placings.

TREWIN’S WINS!

NATE TREWIN made the most of his front row start to claim victory in the Wingless Sprints over former Speedcar competitor Darryl Knuckey. Troy Frisby, Sam Martin, Tyson Newton and Dale Gesell completed the first six home in the 20-lap final.

GEERING GRABS ROUND 1 AT AVALON C&H Trucking. While the racing provided great entertainment, the feature event would be marred by a spectacular crash, sending second generation racer Harley Bishop into a series of violent flips and into the Turn 2 catchfence on the sixth lap of the final ,which curtailed the opening night of the season.

Bishop was the form driver, winning both qualifying heats and looked extremely racy in the Photo by: DAVID ZANNON / GRUMPY & SONS PHOTOGRAPHY first half of the A-Main before his unfortunate race accident. He had VICTORIA’S AVALON Raceway has fired lined up on Pole Position, however into action for the new season, featuring New South Welshman, Matt Geering the opening round of the Dutton One slingshoted his way around the topside to Southern Speedcar Tour presented by lead Bishop – where he would stay until

Harley Bishop (72) and Matt Geering in Speedcar action before Bishop’s serious crash.

36 I www.autoaction.com.au

Image: DECLAN BROWNSEY

the untimely incident.

In addition to the victory, he would also take home the Lucas Oil Australia Quick Time Award. Justin McMinn and Nick Parker were locked in a strong battle and completed the podium. Glen Shaw, Joseph Lostitch, Daniel Timberlake and Scott Thomson rounded out the finishers.

Matthew Brown and Dillon Ghent did not start the featured event.

Bishop was taken to Geelong Hospital – at time of writing it is reported that he is in good spirits as he waits for further results.

The remainder of the evening’s program was cancelled due to substantial damage to the catchfence – the repairs would have taken the race meeting beyond the strict curfew adhered to by management.

BUNDABERG’S AUTOBARN Carina Speedway played host to the opening round of the McCosker Super Sedan Series with eleven competitors all keen to kick start their series campaign in the best way possible, the night proved to be a thrilling affair.

Matt Pascoe (above) claimed Pole Position and alongside him for the incident-plagued 20-lap final would sit Trent Wilson. Pascoe got the jump at the green closely followed

by Wilson and the hounding field only for the yellow lights to blaze, resetting the field for a second restart. Again, Pascoe led, however Mitchell Gee would pounce, moving into second, relegating Wilson to third as they peeled off the opening laps. Soon the lights would go yellow again, bringing the field back together for another restart after the spin of Matt Hefford, quickly followed by Bob McCosker.

Two successive restarts would allow Wilson and Hayden Brims into the equation as they jumped Gee for the minors. Brims would make his way to second but his run of fortune would turn south on the 17th lap as he rolled to a halt with mechanical difficulties. The next restart would see Zac Brims spin on the first corner only to reset the field again. Pascoe would clear out, opening handy real estate over the chasers until Gee made an error, getting out of shape and taking Dempsie Pails along with him.

As the field began to reset, the rain began to fall heavily and the race was declared with 20-laps run. Pascoe was awarded victory over Wilson and Justin Randall on the podium. Ty Pascoe, Hefford, Z. Brims, Pails and Gee was the last classified finisher while H. Brims, Brendan Doyle and McCosker would classify as retirees.

Wilson and M. Pascoe would claim two heats a piece while singles went to Gee and Z. Brims.

A large field of 15 Street Stocks provided a thrilling feature race that came down to the wire with a close battle between race victor Ken Carroll and the hard charging Brandon Hough. Joining them on the podium were Zak Cooney and Peter Thompson fourth.

Jessica Dakin-Masters would bring on a red light stoppage with an engine fire.

Jesse Martin advanced from fourth to claim an exciting Production Sedans final over Gary Harris Jnr and Josh Jarius made the most of the caution periods to fight his way from the back of the field to round out the podium. Neil Keldoulis led the first half of the race before falling back to fourth. The top four would provide a thrilling battle over the course of the journey.

Turning back the hands of time were the Nostalgia Sedans, Frank Packer, Dennis Booth, Ross Oliver and Stephen Foster making up the top four.

The Formula 500 final proved a race of attrition with only two competitors making the distance. Wayne Bennett would take the points over Andrew Owen. Paul Swindells and Trevor Lewis would both retire.

MAROSKE MARCHES TO VICTORY LANE A QUALITY field of 39 Sprintcars returned to the Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway for round 2 of the Clay-Per-View Ultimate Sprintcar Championship presented by Queensland Speedway Spares.

After the running the time trial brackets Luke Oldfield would prove the quickest of the field with a stella 11.898 while Ben Atkinson Jnr, Lachlan McHugh and Cody Maroske (right) claimed the qualifying heat wins, giving the latter two the all-important front row with Atkinson and Oldfield tucked in right behind as the top 20 cars formed up for what would prove to be an incidentpacked 30-lap final.

The yellows were instantly thrown as the leaders hit Turn 2 as Jack Bell’s entry rolled to halt prior to even reaching the starting line. At the restart McHugh would lead the hungry pack, however things would soon come to a halt as the yellows were ablaze on just the second lap for Taylor Prosser, who spun coming out of Turn 2 while holding down fifth placing, sending him to the rear of the field for the Indian file restart.

McHugh again pounced with clear track ahead, but sadly that would not be the case further back in the field as Ryan Newton’s entry hiked the front wheels down the front straight, tangling with Jy Corbet, bringing on the red light stoppage. Tarhlea Apelt would also join the duo on the infield with a long brake pedal.

Without another full lap down, Atkinson Jr was the next to signal the reds as he rolled after Brock Hallett placed a slide job down the inside to take position. The field again fired into action and, just as the race settled into a rhythm, Lachlan Caunt spun to halt after slight contact from the race leader as he went a lap down.

McHugh would again lead the field away at the recommencement – thankfully a succession of laps would be strung together, allowing the competitors to find their grooves and before too long the challenge of lapped cars came into play for the leaders. McHugh would need a second

Images: MATTHEW PAUL bite of the cherry to pick off a duo of cars in front while big winners in the challenge would be Maroske and Hallett, each finding a way past Oldfield who was cautious as he negotiated the traffic.

At half race distance, Maroske began his assault on McHugh who was wheeling a wounded car with a dropped front wing.

With eight laps remaining Maroske would power to the front and two laps later Hallett would move to second. With just two laps remaining, Hallett clipped the front of Jayden Peacock, ending both their runs for the night.

From that point, Maroske set sail to claim his first win of the season. Joining him in the podium celebrations would be McHugh and Oldfield. Michael Saller and Randy Morgan were next, followed by the fast finishing New South Welshman Sam Walsh who had stormed his way into the top half dozen after taking the B Main honours. Anthony Lambert, Nicholas Whell, Karl Hoffmans and Brodie Boss would round out the finishers.

PRONGER STRONGER!

NATHAN PRONGER would prove the best of the 10 competitors to contest the Petzyo

Development Series for Sprintcars, clean sweeping the evening. From the get-go, Pronger proved the car to beat, stopping the clocks with a creditable 13.080 in the time trials before going on to claim the heat race and a flag-to-flag victory in the final over Jared Desmares, Libby Ellis, Ron Hendrickson, Harry Dixon, Noah Ball, Carlo Moiola, Adrian Josefski and Brad Keiler who spun at the halfway point. Nicholas O’Keefe did not start the final.

BROWN GOES TO TOWN!

SIXTEEN HARD-charging Speedcars launched into the 20-lap final for Round 2 of the GSA Advance Machining Ultimate Speedcar Series. Sharing the front row were Michael Kendall and Kaidon Brown. Kendall would pounce to lead (top right), but by the halfway point would encounter heavy traffic allowing Brown to swoop through and take command of the race and, from that point, express his way to Victory Lane.

Rusty Whittaker relegated Kendall to the final step on the podium followed by Cody O’Connell, Scott Farmer and Dylan Menz, who was the quickest in time trials and held down second in the early goings.

Troy Ware and Matt Geering all finished on the lead lap, while one lap in arrears were Harry Stewart, Brad Dawson, Darren Vine, Tim Devine, DJ Raw, Barry Gibbes and Scott Doyle. Tom Clauss was the only non-finisher. Farmer and Brown shared the qualifying heats.

SUPPORTS

MATT O’NEILL came from the second row to claim the 12-lap final in the Paul Messer Memorial for Compact Speedcars. Richard Treanor and Shaun Robinson shared in the celebrations.

Round 1 of the Crete4u Formula 500 Series saw Boyd Chaffey and Kinser Claridge the first two cars to greet the finish line but post-race drama would see the duo disqualified, handing victory to Brady Argles over Tomas Partington and Cohen Archer.

In the Junior 500s there were no issues for Kobi Wright, Charlie Bowen and Daisy Smith.

Matt Gordon led the dozen laps of the Legend cars final (above) closely followed home by Adam Fisher and Aaron Brunner who came from P11 to round off the podium.

IT’S MCTIME FOR SAM MCAULEY! WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S Narrogin Speedway has dusted off the covers to start the 2022 / 23 season in fine style with a wide variety of classes taking to the track and, during the day, resetting not one but three new lap records along the way, which included the 20-lap Modified Sedan feature as Sam McAuley (right) wrote his name into the record books with a stout 6.20.519 for the journey over a dozen other competitors.

McAuley and Jason Batchelor shared the front row and at the drop of the green, the second row of Laurie Dowsett and Luke Fraser kept the lead duo on their toes while, further back, Anthony King, Jamie Higgs, Branden Fraser and Paul Stevens jostled for the minor placings, before B. Fraser retired from the event.

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As McAuley started to stretch out his lead over the rest of the field, King now starting to buy into the battle for the podium places along with Batchelor, Dowsett and Luke Fraser.

McAuley pushed hard and would go on to claim first place winner’s cheque, while Batchelor led the remaining freight train of cars across the line, narrowly defeating Dowsett, L. Fraser, King, Michael Clark, Higgs, Stevens and Brett Mills in the run to the line.

Coming full circle, McAuley bookended his run beautifully by claiming the opening heat race and Top Six Shootout, single qualifying heats also going to B. Fraser, King and Dowsett and Batchelor a pair.

Barry Rose ran flag to flag in the

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Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY Production Sedan feature and reset a new 10-lap heat race record with a 3.18.698.

Joining the podium celebrations was Glen Smith and Richard Hicks. The other record to fall went to Bill Beck in the Senior 125s, taking the final and a new heat record, stopping the clocks at 3.20.923 over the 10 lap journey. Darren Cartwright and Taylor Harris rounded out the top three in the final.

Glen Carstairs proved the best of the

Formula 500s. Sharing the podium was Chris Dymock and Rhys Cumming.

The Super Mods race was won by Rob Grumwald, the top three including Darren Aylmore and Braeden Aylmore. James Berry came from third to win the Junior 125s final over Jaeger Berry and Sophie Leonard for the podium. The New Star Junior Sedans final podium consisted of Lucus Stevens over Mackenzie Silver and Adam Reynolds.

www.autoaction.com.au I 37

NATIONALS WRAP WOOLHOUSE SCORES YOUNG MEMORIAL THE ANNUAL Trevor Roy Young Memorial race for Historic Touring cars was part of the Coalfields 500 at the Collie Motorplex on October 1-2 and was won by Graeme Woolhouse. The Veteran Sport Car Club of WA meeting also feature Formula Classic and Excel Cup, plus Regularity events.

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

ALL FIVE races were won by Woolhouse (right) in his Group Nb Ford Mustang. Paul Stubber (Chev Camaro) was the fastest qualifier and took the lead from the start of the opening race. He was followed by Woolhouse and Stuart Young (Holden Torana XU-1).

On the second lap, Stubber slower with issues related to a new fuel system that would plague him over the weekend.

Woolhouse took over the lead and won from Young and Simon Northey (Mustang).

They were followed by Mini Cooper S pilots by Dan Forster, Mitch Evans, Blake Watson and Cono Onofaro.

In the next two races, Woolhouse won from Young and Forster. A non-starter in the first outing, John Bondi (Holden Monaro HQ) was a fast finishing fourth in race two ahead of Northey, Watson and Onofaro. Stubber returned to race three, progressed to third before the return of his earlier issue. Northey was fourth in front of Evans and Bondi.

Race 4 was again taken by Woolhouse with Young second. Northey came home third from Bondi and Forster. The feature race was started as a part handicap, part reverse grid. The race was stopped when Stubber was stranded on the line.

At the restart Ken Waller (Volvo 142S) led, followed by Michael Kosieradzki (BMW 2002) and Michael Gallagher (Jaguar Mk2) who was subsequently passed by Garry Edwards (BMW. Shortly after the Volvo was out and it was a BMW one-two. Bondi moved to third briefly before relegated by Woolhouse, and they later passed Kosieradzki and Edwards while Young was fifth ahead of Laurie Lapsley (Jaguar).

Ford who produced the overall best result.

Dan Gate (Ralt RT4) led race one until the last lap where he slowed and surrendered the lead to Hamlett. Simon Alderson (Van Diemen RF88 FF2000) held second until he retired and that allowed Ricky Virago (Ralt RT5) the runner up spot.

In the second race Gate led and opened a gap. Mid-race he slowed and eventually retired, and Hamlett took his second win from Lance Carwardine (Jane Brabham) and Virago. Gate returned to the winners’ circle in Races 3 and 4. Hamlett was second in Race 3 before third place Alderson passed him in the last.

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Craig Thompson (Van Diemen RF82 in Free Formula.

TWO RACE wins set up Brett Sherriff to take round seven honours ahead of Dean

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Hill and Jack Clohessy. In Race 1, Sherriff led the way from Hill and Jake Passaris with another group in pursuit.

Sherriff withstood the pressure as Passaris relegated Hill to third.

Clohessy managed to get to fourth ahead of Jackson Callo and Harrison Douglas.

Passaris was best away in Race 2, ahead of Hill and Sherriff, both of whom were able to relegate the early leader four laps in. Clohessy also got past on the next lap and finished third behind Hill and Sherriff.

The latter was faultless off the start of the last and led throughout. Clohessy passed third placed Passaris on lap three and then nabbed second off Hill on the last circuit.

REGULARITY

THE FIRST group winners were David Blainey (Porsche 911) in heat one and subsequently Gary Cutler (911S), Brent Johnson (Triumph TR7) and Cutlet again. Jamie Scott (Ford Escort Mk2), Graeme Adamson (Capri), and (twice) Arran Birmingham (Escort Mk1) were the second group winners.

Group 3 for the older Groups J, K, L & M cars, Randle Beavis (1958 Wolseley 1500) took out the first, second and last heats, with Len Kidd (1969 MGB) the other winner.

In the modern Group Four, Rod Vanoosten (Ford Falcon XR8), Ramon Panizza (Escort) Adam Ewing (Toyota 86) and Garry Utterson (Holden Torana) were the winners. Mick Oliver

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HUDSON TAKES IP NATIONALS LOCALS STATE racers, on a circuit they know well, took the top three outright and Over 2.0 litre places at the 2022 Midas Improved Production Nationals, supported by Yokohama, at Morgan Park on October 1-2.

Zak Hudson became the third Queenslander to take the title at the 30th running of the annual event. The return of the Nationals, after a two-year hiatus due to Covid, drew 50 competitors from around Australia to the Warwick circuit for the third time.

Hudson won the 18-lap final by 8s.

Although from northern NSW, Queensland IP state champion Jason Clements (BMW M3) was second with David Waldon (Mazda RX3) a further 7s adrift.

NSW State champion Trevan Spiteri (Mitsubishi EVO 6) bounded off from pole position to lead as TCR Australia star Jordan Cox (Suzuki Swift Turbo) was slower away and lost second place to Hudson in the run to the first corner.

Hudson soon moved into the lead, and Cox took second before contact with Spiteri at Turn 3 under the bridge. Both continued before Cox stopped out of Turn 12 with a broken ball joint from wall contact and, later, Spiteri was also out with exhaust and gearbox issues.

Kyle Organ-Moore (Holden Commodore) finished 0.9s behind Waldon in fourth spot and took the O3L laurels, with a similar gap to Ashley Isarasena (RX7). Sixth place Dan Vereker (RX7) was narrowly in front of fellow Victorian Paul Cruse (Nissan S13). There was a gap to Bruce Cook (Ford Escort)

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with NSW’s Will Harris (Mazda RX8) and IP veteran and Tasmanian Leigh Forrest (Toyota Celica Turbo) rounding out the top ten.

Jason Grimmond was in fourth spot when the Commodore had a fuel pressure issue and he pitted to avoid engine damage. Justin Wade (Ford Falcon EB) improved to eighth before a throttle linkage failure sidelined him.

Others that went into retirement were Paine with fuel pressure issues, South Australian Scott Cook (Nissan Silvia S13), Simon O’Dell-Fontana (RX7), David Rogers (Falcon BA), David Worrell (Commodore) and Bruce Worgan (Commodore).

In the separate U2L title finale, Kurt Macready (Nissan Silvia) won over Matt Dwyer (Toyota Corolla) and Khan Noack (Honda Civic). Ryan Gorton (Nissan 200SX) had built up an 8s lead in 14 laps when both throttle return springs broke.

Fourth place went to Justin McClintock (Honda Civic) ahead of Peter Cusato (Ford Escort) and Brad Harris (Swift) who collected the U1.6L honours.

It was clear from the outset, that competition between Hudson and Jordan Cox would be close. Hudson eclipsed Cox in qualifying before the latter won the Top Ten Shootout. The field was then split for six eight-lap heats – the top four qualifiers at the top of each group. Fifth fastest went into Group 1, sixth to Group 2 and so on.

Hudson and Cox went head to head in the first heat where the Mazda driver had the lead until he slotted into a wrong gear and Cox dashed past. On the last lap at Turn 12, the Suzuki broke the gear selector cable and Hudson took the win.

Cox held onto second while it was close for third as Organ-Moore held on ahead of Waldon and Paul Cruse. Behind them 0.23s covered O’Dell-Fontana, Gorton and Macready.

The third and fourth groups faced off next where Spiteri was a clear-cut winner from Clements. A similar distance behind

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them were Grimmond, just in front of Scott Cook, Isarasena and Brock Paine (RX7).

Wade was next, barely ahead of Noack.

After racing in dry conditions on Saturday, Sunday started with wet weather. It suited Spiteri enormously and his 4WD EVO had too much traction for Cox. Cruse was third while Gorton showed that an under U2L car would be competitive in the conditions by his third place. He finished in front of a close tussle between Dwyer and Paine.

Heat 4 was won by Clements where he beat Hudson by 8.9s. Grimmond was third just in front of the 2.0lt pilots Macready and Mathew Harris (Honda Civic), Ian Statham (Mitsubishi Magna), Matt Birks (Toyota Corolla) and Waldon.

Above: Hudson (65) leads Cox and Spiteri.

Below: Spiteri leads the field away.

Middle: Jason Clements was runner-up.

Lower: Kurt Macready took out the U2L finale.

Opposite: David Waldon (Mazda RX3) – third in the main race.

Images: TRAPNELL CREATIONS

Spiteri took his third win in Heat 5, just on 3s over Hudson as Scott Cook held out Paine. Then followed Macready and Noack. A return to a dry track helped Cox to a 1.5s sixth heat win over Clements.

Gorton was third, clear of Grimmond, Cook and Isarasena.

Garry O’Brien

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NATIONALS WRAP S

GARRY’ NATIONAL

EVENT

CALENDAR WA SPORTING CAR CLUB NIGHT TIME CHALLENGE, Wanneroo WA – Oct 21 TEST & TUNE, WINTON RACEWAY VIC – Oct 21 MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP RD06, Kalgoorlie WA – Oct 20-23 GRASS ROOTS RACING SERIES RD05, Lakeside Park QLD – Oct 20-21 SHANNON’S MA CHAMPIONSHIPS RD07, GT World Challenge Rd06, The Bend SA – Oct 21-23 SHANNON’S MA CHAMPIONSHIPS RD07, Radical Cup Rd04, The Bend SA – Oct 21-23 SHANNON’S MA CHAMPIONSHIPS RD07, Production Cars Rd04, The Bend SA – Oct 21-23 SHANNON’S MA CHAMPIONSHIPS RD07, Porsche Sprint Challenge Rd05, The Bend SA – Oct 21-23 AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP RD06, Adelaide Hills Rally SA – Oct 21-23 MONARO STAGES RALLY, Bombala NSW – Oct 22 MG CAR CLUB MOTORKHANA DIRT MK6, Ringwood Park NSW – Oct 22

Images: NEIL HAMMOND

ZAMMIT’S RECORD EQUALISER

RALLYCROSS RD04 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP, Raleigh International Raceway NSW – Oct 30

VICTORY AT the third and final round of the National Super Truck Series gave Steve Zammit (above) his sixth championship and it equated to equalling the efforts of Rodney Crick as the most won.

A wet Winton Motor Raceway greeted the third round of the Victorian Motor Racing Championships where the crowdpulling big rigs were the feature category on a program that juggled races between both short and long track configurations.

Wheeling the SRZ Racing Kenworth which has chalked up nine titles, including Teams’ victories, Zammit won the weekend ahead of Mark Noonan (Scania) and Robbie Fern (Volvo White) Zammit won the first race ahead of Shannon Smith and Frank Amoroso in Kenworths, Noonan and Fern. Barry Butwell (Mack Superliner) was stranded off at Turn 2 after an unsuccessful challenge for the lead. The second race was also won by Zammit as Butwell proved his pace was genuine by his second place ahead of Smith, Fern and Noonan.

Butwell won the third race which started as a reverse grid of the Race 2 result. But he was penalised for passing under yellows and place third behind Fern and Noonan. Zammit was fourth while Smith could not progress after an off at Turn 2. The reverse start qualifying for Race 4 saw Butwell a clear winner. It was a close contest for second where Noonan held on ahead of Zammit, Smith and Fern.

SUPERKARTS RACES & MULTI CLUB REGULARITY, Mallala Motorsport Park SA – Oct 30

LEGEND CARS AUSTRALIA

BULLRUSH RALLY, Queensland Raceway QLD – Oct 22 ROLL RACING BRISBANE #10, Queensland Raceway QLD – Oct 22 CENTRAL COAST CAR CLUB BITUMEN MOTORKHANA/ KHANACROSS, Benaraby QLD – Oct 22-23 TOWNSVILLE CITY AUTOSPORTS CLUB KHANACROSS RD04 TCAC QLD – Oct 22-23 ARB QLD STATE OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP RD08, Jimna QLD – Oct 22-23 ARB AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP RD04, Millicent SA – Oct 22-23 STATE CIRCUIT RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS RD05, Baskerville TAS – Oct 22-23 IPSWICH WEST MORETON AUTO CLUB OPEN SPRINT RD05, Willowbank QLD – Oct 23 MARQUE SPORTS CAR ASSOCIATION SUPERSPRINT RD05, Mallala Motorsport Park – Oct 23 WALKERVILLE ALL CARS CLUB KHANACROSS, Walky Park SA – Oct 23 MARQUE SPORTS CAR ASSOCIATION SUPERSPRINT, Sandow – Oct 23 BOOST MOBILE GOLD COAST 500, Supercars Races 32 33, Surfers Paradise QLD – Oct 28-30 BOOST MOBILE GOLD COAST 500, S5000 Tasman Series Rd01, Surfers Paradise QLD – Oct 28-30 BOOST MOBILE GOLD COAST 500, V8 SuperUtes Rd06, Surfers Paradise QLD – Oct 28-30 BOOST MOBILE GOLD COAST 500, Porsche Carrera Cup Rd07, Surfers Paradise QLD – Oct 28-30 STATE HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP, Collingrove SA – Oct 28-30 TEST & TUNE, WINTON RACEWAY VIC – Oct 28 STATE RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP RD06, Collie WA – Oct 29 GRASS ROOTS RACING SERIES RD05, Lakeside Park QLD – Oct 29 STATE MOTOR RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS RD06, Sydney Motorsport Park NSW – Oct 29-30 AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP RD07, Sydney Motorsport Park NSW – Oct 29-30 NSW-QLD SPRINT CHALLENGE & SHORT CIRCUIT TOURING CAR SERIES, Carnell Raceway QLD – 29-30

SOUTH EASTERN AUTOMOBILE CLUB MOTORKHANA RD05, Mt Gambier Saleyards SA – Oct 30 MINI CAR CLUB HILLCLIMB & SUPERSPRINT, Baskerville TAS – Oct 30

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IN THE sixth round, Lachlan Ward was the overall winner ahead of Jordan Shalala and Scott Morgan. While Ward had

the most points, it was Shalala who took three wins. He won both Saturday races ahead of Ward while Brendon Hourigan and Shane Tate had a third each.

The reverse grid third race went to Josh Hourigan over Shalal and Ward who took out the fourth encounter from Morgan and Ben Goodridge. Shalala finished a lowly 12th before he struck back to take the last with Ward and Morgan behind.

MINIATURE RACING CARS WITH WINS in the first two races, Damon Woods (Aussie Racing Car Falcon) was the overall winner by one point over Dan Price (Mini Muscle Car Monaro) who won Races 3 and 4. Woods followed up with a pair of seconds while Price was second initially and then third behind Brad Lemon (Aussie Racing Car Commodore). With the addition of three fourths, Lemon was third in the end ahead of Cooper Brown with three thirds and a DNF.

TWO LITRE SPORT SEDANS NOT ONLY did Craig Lindsell (Mini Cooper S JCW) win the round but also secured the championship. He won three of the four races and was only beaten in Race 3 by Steve Howard (Toyota Corolla). Howard was second in two others but

tenth in Race 2 after a spin and slow recovery.

Eddie Metz (Datsun 1600) finished third overall with two thirds and two fourths, and ahead of Josh Craig (Nissan Pulsar). Linda Devlin (JCW) DNF’d race one, had her other car brought in to finish second in Race 2 before engine issues finished off her weekend.

APRA NISSANS ALTHOUGH BEATEN to the flag on three of the four races, Jamie Craig was the weekend winner over his brother Josh Craig with Brock Stinson third overall in Australian Pulsar Racing Association category. Stinson won Races 1 and 3, Jamie Craig the second and Josh the last.

Dan Smith scored two thirds and a fourth, but a ninth in Race 3 didn’t help his result.

VICTORIAN SUPER TT THE FOURTH round started with Andrew Goldman (Subaru Impreza WRX) the winner of the first two races. He followed up with a pair of seconds to finish top of the points. Rob Boaden (BMW E36) finished second overall with a second and three thirds. Trev Drummond (Mitsubishi EVO 9 – pictured, above right) qualified fastest, missed Race 1, stormed to second in the next and won the last two to place third for the round.

VICTORIAN EXCEL SERIES - TROPHY WITH A strong finish and two race wins, Brad Vereker (leading, above left) took the overall honours ahead of Hugo Simpson and Harry Tomkins. The latter won the first race where he beat Simpson and Cadel Ambrose, and the second over Simpson and Vereker. Simpson was second in Race 3 over Brad James who followed with another third behind Preston Breust after a clutch failure DNF’d him out of Race 1.

VICTORIAN EXCEL SERIES – MASTERS WITH HIS round five win, the fourth for the year, Glenn Mackenzie secure the series win. He won the first race ahead of Larry Merifield and Mark Pesavento and then was second to Merifield and Travis Jones respectively. Jones won the last race as well where he beat Karl Neilson and Wayne Milburn Jnr, Antonio Venier, Mackenzie and Merifield.

FORMULA RACE SERIES HYPER RACER X1s competed over four races where Dean Crooke won the first two, Hamish Leighton the third before Luke Klaver took out the last. Crooke’s subsequent third and second put him at the top of the weekend’s points.

Garry O’Brien

TWO CHAMPS AND BIG CRASH AT AMRS TITLES WERE clinched in Formula 3 and Saloon Cars at round five of the Australian Motor Racing Series while it was a dramatic weekend for TA2 at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 1-2.

TA2 MUSCLE CARS

ZACH LOSCIALPO became a first round winner when he won round five.

The Camaro took the honours ahead of Michael Coulter (Mustang) and Lee Stibbs (Camaro).

It was dramatic weekend for many.

Series leader Jett Johnson (Mustang) crashed in qualifying, Race 3 was declared a non-event due to a multi car pile-up, and Josh Haynes (Camaro) who was set to take the round, clashed with Johnson in the final race and didn’t finish.

The fastest qualifier was Brad Gartner (Mustang) but an oil leak impeded his shootout and the rest of the weekend.

Hayes was over a second faster than anyone in one-lap session and proceeded to lead all the way for a Race 1 victory.

Loscialpo was second while Coulter passed Stibbs on the last lap to secure third. Mark Crutcher (Mustang) trailed the duo in front of the Camaros piloted by Graham Cheney and Nick Lange, and the Challengers in the hands of Peter Robinson and Hayden Jackson. Johnson’s race was short-lived, off at Turn 1 when a belt pulley broke, and he lost power steering.

Haynes was unchallenged in Race 2, while Coulter passed Loscialpo midway through to finish second. From the back of the grid Johnson charged through to take fifth behind Stibbs and ahead of Cheney, Nick Bates (Mustang), Crutcher and a tonsilitis afflicted Aaron Tebb (Camaro).

Race 3 was declared a non-event after a spectacular first-lap incident at Turn 2. The incident was triggered by contact between Dean Lindstrom (Mustang), Crutcher and Tebb who was spun around and pointed the wrong way at Turn 2. He was collected

by Hayden Jackson, Anthony Tenkate, Mick Rowell and Paul Hadley in a concertina collision.

Haynes led the final race while Johnson worked his way to second. With better tyres the latter closed in and passed Haynes whose attempt to repass resulted in contact at Turn 8. Both spun and Johnson recovered, still in front and won. Haynes was stranded and registered a DNF. Loscialpo and Coulter were second and third ahead of Crutcher, Stibbs, Bates and the Camaros driven by Nick Lang, John Holinger and Cheney.

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA 3

GILMOUR RACING’S Noah Sands secured the championship with three wins at round five. The Dallara F308/11 driver had to overcome a spin in Race 1 to win before he backed up to win the following two outings.

Ryan Astley (99 Motorsport F308/11) took over the first race lead for a period, then R-Tek’s Mitch Neilson (F308/11) had a stint at the front before Sands regained the lead through to the end. In a see-saw battle between the four, Trent Grubel (Gilmour

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Crowded House in TA2, as Loscialpo and Haynes head the pack. Right: William Newell had a mixed day in Legends. Below: Grant Johnson dominated the Saloon Car Nationals ...

Images: RICCARDO BENVENUTI

NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien Racing F307) came out ahead of Neilson and Astley.

In the second race, Astley made a brilliant start to lead into Turn 1 before Sands, who was third, went around the outside at Turn 2 to grab the lead. Sands pulled a gap until the Safety Car was deployed for Ben Taylor who was stopped between Turns 4 and 5.

From the restart, Sands continued to lead as Grubel chased him to the line ahead of Neilson, Astley, Brown and Krumins.

After an engine change, Taylor’s fortunes didn’t improve as he stopped on the outlap with another engine drama. After a short delay, Sands rounded up Neilson at Turn 2 and was never headed. Behind the latter, Grubel was chased by Brown who caught and passed him on the final lap after the two had slight contact. Astley was next ahead of Krumins.

SALOON CAR NATIONALS

IT WAS a poor roll-up for the annual event where Grant Johnson dominated in his Holden Commodore VT. He won three of the four lead-up races and then took out the feature to secure his third title. The only hiccup in the dominant performance was a fuel relay fault that forced him to start Race 2 from pitlane. He finished second behind Brandon Madden (Ford Falcon AU).

Madden had a poor start in the final and for most of the race trailed Scott Dornan (Commodore VY). On the final lap he snared second out of Turn 8 when Dornan missed a gear. Chris Kneafsey (AU) finished fourth ahead of Rick Gill (AU) who had a troubled weekend. Michael Koberstein (Commodore VN) won Pro-Am for the older models.

LEGEND CARS

IT WAS a dominant performance from

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Nind, (leading) and Mitchell dominated the Thunder Sports / Stock Car races.

Lachlan Ward with four easy wins, but it wasn’t enough for him to take the round as he was a non-starter for the last race with a driveshaft issue. Overall honours at the non-title round went to Scott Melville ahead of Ryan Pring and Shane Tate who is the 2022 Champion.

Brendon Hourigan started well with a pair of seconds and a third in some intense racing before a DNF in Race 4 ended his weekend. William Newell qualified second, failed to start the first race, DNF the second, finished runner up in the next two and won the last.

THUNDER SPORTS/STOCK CARS

RACE WINS were divided between Scott Nind (Ford Mustang) and Brett Mitchell (OzTruck Maloo) as they took it in turns to take out the four races. Mitchell won the first race but only after Brendon Hourigan (OzTruck Silverado) passed him and subsequently DNF’d. Hind was second as Danny Burgess and fastest qualifier Stephen Chilby followed in their Silverados.

Nind had the jump in Race 2 and won from Mitchell, Chilby, Burgess and Gary Stevens (Mazda RX7/Chev). The latter was able to charge through to the lead of Race 3 but was forced to pit as the fire extinguisher went off. Mitchell won from Nind, Burgess, Chilby and Aaron Hills (Chev Monte Carlo). Nind nailed the last ahead of Mitchell while Stevens was able to come through for third ahead of Burgess and Chilby.

X3 EXCELS

TEN LAPS from the end, Matt MosseRobinson and Dion Scott grabbed the lead and went on to win the 90min event. On his own, Connor Cooper finished second and ahead of son and father Tony Gardiner and Calvin Gardiner. Monique Sciberras led at the start and was among the leaders until problems with safety net at the compulsory stop put her and father Brian out of a winning chance. Fourth place went to Shannon Williams who won the preliminary sprint. Garry O’Brien

www.autoaction.com.au I 41

NATIONALS WRAP FINAL ROUND TO MORROW

Image: TRAPNELL CREATIONS

INTERSTATERS EXCEL AT NATIONALS VICTORIANS TOOK the silverware at the 2022 Hyundai X3 Series Nationals, held at Morgan Park on October 1-2, with Ethan Grigg-Gault (leading, above) the outright winner and Brad Vereker the Masters victor.

Fifty-six entrants from various states qualified, with Ryan Casha the fastest ahead of Grigg-Gault, Bradi Owen, Jarrod Hughes, Alice Buckley, Brock Giblin, Cooper Barnes, George Wood, Connor Roberts and Rylan Gray in 10th. The field was then divided into four groups with two groups in each heat.

After the six heats Owen topped the points with two wins (over Cooper Barnes and

William Seal) and a second to Casha. The latter had a heat second to Grigg-Gault and seventh to the heat taken out by Vereker who had steadily worked through from outside the top 10 in qualifying.

For the Nationals race, over 25 laps, Owen was off pole with Grigg-Gault alongside and Casha and Vereker on row two. Behind them were Ryan O’Sullivan, Seal, Giblin, Jack Wood, Barnes and Simpson in an 11-spot improvement over qualifying.

Owen led from the outset with Grigg-Gault in second until he was passed by Casha at mid distance. Giblin has worked his way up

the order and briefly relegated Grigg-Gault to fourth. On lap 21, Owen was off into a tyre wall after contact with Casha. Grigg-Gault seized the lead and held off Casha to win by 0.2s.

Giblin was third with 1.8s on Seal and another half second to Roberts, Treigh Maschott, Gray, Simpson, Hughes and O’Sullivan. Vereker dropped to 14th and took the Masters (for over 35s) ahead of Dale Carpenter and Sam Taylor. There was an early safety car called when Lincoln Taylor was embroiled in an incident which caught out Sean Beggs. Garry O’Brien

WITHOUT THE points leader, Dave Morrow (pictured) and his Krygger Suzuki had a clear path to take out round seven of the NSW Hillclimb Championship at Fairbain Park on October 1-2.

Despite no Dean Tighe, who had already wrapped up the title, the up to 1.3lt class winner was in a spirited contest with Zac Le Lievre in his Westfield Megabusa which was in the Multiclub non-championship class.

Morrow posted a best time of 41.34s on the third of five runs and before two quick attempts by Le Lievre at the end left him 0.23s adrift. Another 0.33s away in third was Peter Brown in his 2C Supersports Pro Sport Mulsanne.

The Australian Capital Territory, near Canberra airport, welcomed 50 competitors where seven new class records were set on the 950m Q-shaped course.

Tin Top honours went to fourth overall Matt Brown (Road Registered non-logbook AWD Audi RS4). Then followed Greg Jones (Sports GSL Clubman) who knock 0.31s out of the 2A Open Closed Sports over 1.6lt class record.

Sixth placed Jason Perkins (Lotus Exige 410 Sport) took over a second out of the Road Registered nonlogbook O2.5lt previous best to beat class rival and seventh overall Michael Fraser (Chev Corvette). Jeff Nichols (Westfield SE Clubman) was eight, ahead of Paul Stringfellow (VW Golf R) and Harry Katsanevas (Ford Focus RS). Garry O’Brien Image: NHC

WUILLEMIN WINS AT WILLOWBANK

Image: JOHN LEMM

NITSCHKE NABS HILLCLIMB FRED NITSCHKE, in his Daimler V8-powered Kurtis Kraft Midget, won the Barossa Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb on October 2. The event celebrated the 100th birthday of the Austin 7, many of the model on display or competing.

In magnificent weather conditions, Nitschke’s best time of 36.91s came in the fourth of the five runs, 1.5s ahead of Dale Harte (Jaguar Kougar Roadster), in turn 0.26s in front of both Chris Frost (Hartwig Fargo Special – pictured)) and Derek Foster (Cooper Mk6). Greg Snape in his legendary Eldred Norman Zephyr Special, nicknamed by many the “Norholfordor”, finished fifth.

Foster took the Air-Cooled category from fellow Cooper drivers Grant Cowie and Brian Simpson. In Come and Run, Snape finished ahead of Graham Boulter in the Peter Brock tribute A30 with Toby Wilson (A30-powered Austin 7) third.

Rob Harcourt (1927 Lancia Meadows) came out on

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top in Group J, well clear of Geoff Redin and Phillip Hallo in Austin 7s. Frost was best of Group K ahead of Gerard Miller with Peter Wilson, both in Hartwig Plymouth Specials.

Invited Post War saw Nitschke, who had an “off” in the esses on his final run, ahead of Bill Bentley (Nadger Clubman) and Daniel Jeffries (Elfin Streamliner). Bentley was also racing his own Streamliner and took fifth behind Ian Motley (Austin 7). Harte won Special Interest Vehicle from Peter Stanley (Austin Healey Sprite) and Ray Lewis (Simpson Holden).

Gerard Miller’s Plymouth Special was awarded Best Presented Vehicle, but the owner generously re-presented it to the car that he believed was more worthy – Philip Stafford’s polished alloy MG Y special.

Trophies were presented SA Governor Frances Adamson AC, the Sporting Car Club’s patron. John Lemm

THE AUSTRALIAN Motorkhana Championship at Willowbank on October 2 went to Aaron Wuillemin (Honda Special – pictured) after a day made difficult by rain. He headed his sister-in-law Corinne East-Johnston ’s Honda Special. Third went to Reece McIntosh in his production Audi S1.

Few specials had wet weather tyres, no doubt assisting McIntosh’s result, although he’s been regarded as a very fast driver for some years.

East-Johnston took fastest times on the first two tests, before a penalty

for a flag hit in the third put her on the back foot.

She took another three fastest times but the 5s penalty plus a horror run on the Reverse Spiro, put her out of contention, and dropped about 10s to Wuillemin.

Wuillemin finished fast, as the surface dried out with three of the last four tests. He was 8.6s ahead at the end. East-Johnston was first placed of the FWD specials. Fourth was Daniel Wuillemin, sharing the Honda with brother Aaron. Next was West Australian Jim Newell, from Philip Eas.

Class wins went to Brett Davidson (MX5) in B, from Dave Wright (Mazda 121) and Stewart Bell (MX5).

Class C winner was veteran Brian Shanahan (Nissan Pulsar), from Travis Roberts (Nissan 370Z) and John Driver (Toyota 86). Richard Marken was the only starter in Class D in his Peugeot 405. Reece McIntosh won the 4WD class, from Bob Bowers and Jeff Salmon, both in Subarus.

East-Johnston was first Female driver, from her sister Lauren EastWuillemin and Corinne’s daughter Cobey. In Juniors, it was Simon Caplet (Paris Special) from Declan Webb (Pulsar) and Lacey East-Wuillemin. There were no Class A cars entered – not one Mini; for the first time anyone can remember this iconic brand was absent.

Image: CH IMAGES Bruce Moxon

SAFARI RALLY WIN BREAKS RANDO-BECKWITH DROUGHT THE PRECEEDING two rounds resulted in non-finishes, but Craig Rando and Scott Beckwith (right) put that behind them to take out the Wheels on Yirrigan Safari Rally, round five the West Australian Rally Championship on October 1.

The 57th annual running of the rally, held in the Chidlow area attracted 36 crews to contest nine stages over 113kms of challenging roads.

It was their consistency in their Subaru GD STi that earned them victory as they won just two stages but placed either second or third in all the others. They finished 2mins 19.6s ahead of Gary Whittle and Ryan Doe (Subaru Impreza) with a further 4mins to Tim Hiles and Morgan Ward (Subaru Legacy RS).

After the first stage went to Rando, Daniel Gonzalez and Caleb Ash (Skoda Fabia) won the second and took the lead before the third stage win by Ben Searcy and Daymon Nicoli (Mitsubishi EVO 9) put them in front.

Gonzalez’s challenge faltered with a 28th.

Searcy won the fourth stage before a fuel issue resulted in a DNF on Stage 5 which Rando won. He continued to lead with Dave Thomas and Mandy Lister (WRX) second.

Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney (EVO 9) who had steadily worked up the order, were second on the stage and then won the sixth stage. They went second outright as Thomas retired with mechanical dramas.

Back on pace was Gonzalez who took out

Image: CMR PHOTOGRAPHIC the next two stages ahead of Rando and Rullo respectively before the power stage went to Searcy. Rullo’s event finished with electrical gremlins after they were as close as 14s to the lead.

As some of the front runners had issues,

SECOND TITLE AFTER MANNUM WIN WITH VICTORY in the Move Yourself Mannum Super Sprint 250, Carl Haby and Wayne Tabe (Element Prodigy/Toyota twin turbo Pro Buggy – pictured) took their second SA Off Road Club Series on October 1-3.

They reeled in early leaders Simon, Kyle and Lucy Tucker (Southern Cross Next Generation/ Nissan V6 ProLite) and led early in section two when the Tuckers’ engine wouldn’t make full revs. Nic Hicks and Christian MacIntosh (Element Prodigy/Toyota) finished second 5mins behind after a race-long battle and position changes with Dean Carter and Brad Jacob (Razorback/Chev Pro Buggy).

Tucker ultimately finished fourth and just in front of Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Southern Cross/ Chev). There was a gap to sixth-placed Dean Miller and John Cassise (Extreme 2WD Erceg MS/Chev V8) after they qualifyied in the bottom half of the field.

Nick and Alex Burt (Rush Truck/Chev) were next and looked likely for the Ext 2WD win but had a couple of slow laps in the very dusty and rugged conditions. Geoff Brennan and Brett Beaty (SXS Pro

Can-Am Maverick) made seventh, comfortably in front of Mick and Dave Heasman (Southern Cross/ Nissan). Kane Turner and Kara Footner (SXS Sport Yamaha YXR1000R) completed the top ten.

Chris and Colin Johnson (Custom/Mitsubishi) lost a wheel while Ben and Heath Fatchen (Can-Am Maverick) suffered broken rear suspension. David Hall and Corey Hayworth (Murphy/Nissan) broke their gearbox on Saturday while Adam Bierl and Nyree Burmingham (Jimco/Chev) didn’t make the Sunday start after brake problems.

Blake Ridley (RIDS Race Frame Joker/Honda Sportslite) had the gearbox let go. After they raced mostly with one wheel driving, Michael Shipton and Paul Chorlton (Performance 2WD Ford SBH Ranger/ Chev) had the diff finally expire. Both teams completed enough laps to be classified class winners.

Despite a troubled race, Haydn and Neil Vanstone (RIDS Race Frame Joker/VW) were also classified and took the Super 1650 win after Darren and Lewis Oliver (Tiny Built/Suzuki) broke early on Day 2. David Batchelor

Image: DAVID BATCHELOR

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Shane Smith and Wayne Richardson (WRX) finished fourth ahead of John Macara and Tim Jackson (EVO 7), and Kelly Thomas and Stephanie Esterbauer (WRX).

Seventh place Glenn Alcorn and Jonathan Charlesson (Mitsubishi Mirage)

won 2WD. Second 2WD home were Gary Mills and Mitch Gray (Ford Fiesta), the best on five stages but had two driveshaft failures and finished ninth behind Keith Hamilton and David Humphreys (Impreza). Garry O’Brien

ENDURO WRAPPED UP OFF ROAD TITLE CELEBRATING AFTER the Teagles Excavations ARB Pines Enduro 400, held on September 24-25, were Danny Brown and George Apted (right) who won the event, and Brent Martin and Andre De Simone with their second ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship title.

Brown and Apted (Unlimited class Alumi Craft/Nissan V6 twin turbo) won the 430km event by just under 2mins over Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings (Class 4 Ford F150 SVO V8). There was another 11mins 36s to third placed Martin and De Simone (Class 1 Jimco Aussie Spec/Nissan V6).

Andy Brown and Leigh Wells (Alumi Craft/Nissan V8) won the Prologue over one lap of the 6km short course before Tyler Owen and Oliver Stephens (Alumi Craft/ Chev LS2) won the first section over four laps of the same course.

Second at the end of the first day was Martin, ahead of Gartner, Andy Brown, Andrew and Fletcher Murdock (Element Prodigy/LS2), and Danny Brown. A pre-race favourite

Image: SHOW ‘N’ GO 2019 winners Aaron and Liz Haby, with Rowan Eggers, were early casualties when engine issues stopped their Element Prodigy/ Toyota V6 twin turbo.

The second section consisted of six laps of the 66km course.

Danny Brown won the section by 2mins 10s ahead of Gartner with Mowles third. Fourth was Andrew Mowles/Teagan Mowles/Lincoln Sheedy (Class 1 Razorback/BMW S65) which elevated them to fourth outright.

Fifth overall went to Steven Graham/Ella Graham/Tanner James (Alumi Craft/Honda K24) who took out Class 10. They finished in front of Dean Carter/ Brad Jacobs (Razorback/Chev), Brendan Payne/Linda Miller (Southern Cross/Chev) and James

Tyrrell (Jimco/Nissan) in a single handed effort. Aaron and Shane Heemskerk (Dune Buggy/Honda) completed the top ten.

The attrition rate was high and on the list of retirees were Andy Brown had a broken engine pulley, Owen has a rear hub failure, and Murdock who was third outright had a wheel depart company.

Other class winners included Jake and Tayla England and Ryan Poel (Class 2 Murco J-Arm/Suzuki Cultus), Andrew and Jack Cameron (Class 5 Mitsubishi Triton/Chev), Alex Handley and Jack Battye (Class 6 Can-Am), Darren and Damon Gill (Class 7 Nissan Patrol), Mick Baxter/Ian Edgell (Class 8 Patrol/Chev), and Matt Lavis/ Andrew Dance (Class 66 Yamaha YXZ1000R). Garry O’Brien

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NASCAR

VEGAS WIN SHOOTS LOGANO INTO ROUND OF FOUR

THE FIRST ROUND OF EIGHT HIT-OUT IN THE NASCAR PLAYOFF SERIES HAS SEEN JOEY LOGANO QUALIFY EARLY FOR THE ROUND OF FOUR, GIVING HIM A 30TH CAREER VICTORY. WITH TWO ‘Round of Eight’ races left, Joey Logano (above) edged out fellow postseason contender Ross Chastain by 0.817s, ahead of Kyle Busch, who is out of Playoff Contention.

“Let’s go get a championship, baby,’’ Logano yelled over his team radio at the chequered flag.

“Oh man, all you want to do is get to the Championship Four before the season starts and race for the championship.

“I don’t see why we can’t win it at this point – things are looking really good for us,” the 2018 champion continued.

“A lot of adversity we fought through in the last 50 laps or so. I thought we were going to win, then kinda fell out, got some tyres ... and racing Ross was fun. He did a good job air-blocking me and I was just trying to be patient but eventually, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go here’ ...”

Last week’s Charlotte winner, Christopher Bell, was taken out of the race on lap 94, getting clipped in a major incident between last year’s champion Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace.

Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace get physical after their on-track spat ...

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES Tensions then spilled over on the track with Wallace running at Larson, after Larson seemed to force Wallace into the Turn 4 wall.

Wallace then appeared to retaliate by turning into Larson, which led to all three cars getting wiped out, with Larson’s teammate Bell an unfortunate victim.

“You get shoved into the fence deliberately like he (Larson) did, trying to force me to lift … the steering was gone,’’ said Wallace. And when asked if he did it deliberately, replied, “he just

happened to be there.

“He was never going to lift … now we’re junk. Just a piss poor move on his execution. He knows what he did was wrong. He never cleared me and I just hate it for my team.’’

“I knew he was going to retaliate,’’ Larson said in reply, “he had reason to be mad but his race wasn’t over until he retaliated. It is what it is. Just aggression turned into frustration and he retaliated.

“I know he’s probably still upset but I’m sure with everything going on he’ll know he made a mistake in

the retaliation part and I’m sure he’ll think twice about it next time.

“I saw him walking over so I figured he’d do something. He had every right to be upset and I’d rather him do that (push him) than tear up our cars in a dangerous manner.’’

The DNF puts Bell in eighth place, 23 points off Denny Hamlin in fourth with two Rounds of Eight remaining.

Chase Elliot entered the race as the Round of Eight leader but couldn’t get going in the 267 lapper, finishing in P21, but still sits 20 points ahead of the cut-off line.

Logano took the lead with only three laps remaining, and, as Bell did in Charlotte the week before, was able to take Chastain with ease on fresher tyres, with his four-tyrestop strategy paying off late for the #22 Penske Mustang.

Logano’s teammate and fellow Playoff contender, Ryan Blaney, also found trouble with 40 laps remaining, spinning off at Turn 2 and into the inside wall. The incident meant Blaney would finish seven laps down in P28 to sit 11 points outside the cut-off in

IN A must-win race to qualify for a Round of Eight Playoff spot, Christopher Bell took out victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway a week before Vegas, eliminating reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson.

Bell did it on fresh tyres from a late pit stop on lap 105, to win the 112 lap race over Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, who were both eliminated in the round of 16.

“Man, you’ve just got to be there at the end of these things,” Bell said, who was 45 points below the Round of Eight cut going into the race.

“We were just there at the right time. We obviously weren’t in position to win (before taking tyres). We rolled the dice, gambled, and it paid off for us.”

The race ended in controversial fashion with drivers

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jostling for the tightly contested round of eight spots, with NASCAR officials choosing to penalise Cole Custer for slowing the pack in the final laps, allowing teammate Chase Briscoe to slip through.

The move ensured the Stewart-Haas driver could sneak into the final eight by two points to finish in P9 overall, blocking the path of Austin Dillon and Erik Jones through the backstretch chicane. Officials fined the #41 pilot and crew chief Michael Shiplett $100,000 dollars each (Under section 5.5 of the rule book, competitors are required to race at 100% of their ability, as to not artificially alter the finishing positions.)

Briscoe started outside the top 20 as late as lap 111,

but took advantage of a late spin from Austin Cindric, and then cashed in on his teammate’s slow-gate tactics.

Things had run smoothly for 103 laps of the race, with a 50-lap green flag run ending with a third race caution due to debris on the track.

Bell took full advantage of the caution, pitting for fresh tyres to re-enter into P12 by lap 107. A pile up then moved him in behind Tyler Reddick to compete for P2, and after passing him, another caution for debris from the earlier pile up allowed him to take Harvick for P1, who was a sitting duck on older tyres.

With points reset entering the Round of 8, Elliott held the top spot in the NASCAR Cup standings with a 20-point buffer over Joey Logano. TN

NASCAR Playoff Standings 1. Logano 4,084 2. Chastain 4,063 3. Elliot 4,062 4. Hamlin 4,051 ………………………..............

1. Byron 4,042 2. Briscoe 4,009 3. Blaney 4,040 4. Bell 4,028

Image: Motorsport Images

BELL RINGS LATE TO CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT

seventh.

Of the championship contenders, five found themselves in the race lead at various stages, and four finished within the top five.

Chase Briscoe, who was the controversial recipient of a top eight playoff berth via the slow-gate tactics of Stewart-Haas Racing, came in P4, in front of fellow contender Denny Hamlin, who started in P31 to storm into P5.

Hamlin holds that fourth cut-off spot by nine points over William Byron, who had a frustrating day to finish in P13.

The playoff’s resume in Florida at the Miami Speedway on October 23. TN

BATHURST 1000 SUPPORTS

SRT SWEEPS MOUNT THE SIEDERS Racing Team finish first and second at round five with Aaron Borg (right) first, ahead of David Sieders, and able to extend his points lead in the Haltech V8 SuperUte Series.

In the opening race Sieders (Mitsubishi Triton) seized the front running off pole sitter Borg (Holden Colorado) up the hill on the first lap and was never challenged from there to the end of the six laps.

Likewise, Borg was a comfortable second, aided by the battle that raged for third. Ultimately Craig Dontas (Triton) repelled the challengers put out by the Toyota Hilux steerers Ben Walsh and Craig Woods.

The second race had the grid top six reversed for half points. From the second row Dontas made the best lift-off and was almost immediately the leader. Woods and Walsh were second and third as polesitter George Gutierrez (Colorado) dropped to fifth behind Borg.

Dean Brooking (Hilux) also had a good start, however he had brief contact with Ellexandra Best (Triton) and right turned into the pit straight wall.

After a brief Safety Car, Woods and Walsh relegated Dontas and edged away. Walsh took the lead on

Conrod Straight before Woods did the same a couple of laps later and held on to win. Borg was third ahead of Sieders, Gutierrez and Dontas.

In the later race Sieders was the early leader until Borg passed him at Griffin Bend on lap three. Walsh was third through the first lap before a massive tank slapper out of Hell Corner on lap two cost him places.

Woods had third for the duration before a fivesecond start line penalty slotted him back to fourth behind Dontas. Rohan Barry (Hilux) finished sixth ahead of Walsh after Gutierrez retired with a fuel pump issue.

The fourth race, on a still damp track, started behind the Safety Car. It finished behind it as well. After one lap the race went green, and Borg led narrowly from Sieders and Dontas until the latter had a spin at Sulman Park and hit a wall.

Third place went to Walsh ahead of Woods, Gutierrez and Barry who survived a first lap spin at Murrays Corner. They were followed by Jaiden Maggs (Triton), David Casey (Isuzu D-MAX), Best and Richard Mork (Mazda BT-50).

Garry O’Brien

BATES WIN WET ROUND, GIBBONS TAKES TITLE AT THE fifth and final meeting of the season Zach Bates (pictured) cleaned up with three wins while Lachlan Gibbons finished fifth overall and became the series champion, The heavens opened as the first race started with Jobe Stewart able to wrestle the lead off pole sitter Ryan Casha. But at the Chase, Stewart was off. David Shultz copped a hit from behind, bounced off the wall and bunkered, and Craig Thornton had wall contact.

After the Safety Car, Ryan Wood passed Casha and he also went off at the Chase,

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as did Gibbons who had progressed from ninth to third. He managed to regather; however Sam Christison was too far into the sand. Bates passed Gilroy and held it together to win. Casha was third ahead of Campbell Logan, Harrison Gray, Bailey Sweeney and Gibbons.

It was also wet for Race 2 which was red flagged on the fourth lap when two cars spun at the Chase, one of which (Alex Hadden) ended up on its side against the other (Bradi Owen).

Beforehand, James Holdsworth and Luke Vanna clashed and hit the wall on

Mountain Straight. Ahead, the seven front runners ran wide at Turn 2 where Bates led Gilroy, and it enabled Gibbons to sneak to third . . . just before the Safety Car. With the resumption, Bates was able to hold off the challengers from Gilroy. When the reds came out, Gibbons was ahead of Logan, Sweeny, Lachlan Bloxsom, Casha, Jayden Hume and Stewart in 10th.

At the start of Race 3, Bates edged out Gilroy for the lead which he was able to extend before the race finished behind the Safety Car after five laps.

Gilroy held second just in front of Gibbons

and Logan with Sweeny and Bloxom next after the two ran side-by-side from Turn 2 to the top. Gibbons tried a move on Gilroy on Mountain Straight on lap four which didn’t quite work out and he dropped to fifth. Then Bloxom crashed at Forrest Elbow which made for an early conclusion.

Logan snuck into second before the caution while Gilroy finished fourth behind Sweeny. Then came Gibbons while Gray was sixth ahead of Hume, New Zealander Hugo Allan, Rossi Johnson and James Wilkins.

Garry O’Brien

ROUND

Image: TAMARA JADE MEDIA

Image: CRAIG KING

CARS STAR IN HERITAGE OF BATHURST

THEY MAY not have gone hell for leather, but the dicing in at times tricky conditions, made the Heritage Revival an entertaining support to the Bathurst 1000.

The inclusion of the cars that spanned the years from 1964 to 1985 reflected the history of the Bathurst Great Race, most of which took part in the main event or raced in a support category capacity. The earliest were Group N Historic Touring Cars and were complemented by Group S Production Sports Cars, and Group C and A Heritage Touring Cars.

There were many position changes in the first of three races which saw a Ford one-two-three finish. First was Terry Lawlor (Group C Ford Falcon XD) ahead of Greg Keam (Group A Ford Mustang) and Glenn Gerstel (Group C Falcon XE). Doug Barbour (Group S Porsche 911 Carrera) was next ahead of brothers Jack and Luke Harrison in their Group N Mustangs.

Then followed Mike Roddy (Group A Jaguar XJS), Stephen Axisa (Group C Holden Commodore), Stephen Axisa (Group C Commodore), Brian Henderson (Group C Nissan Bluebird) and Matt Clift (Group C Mazda RX7). Nathan Gordon (Group N Holden Monaro HQ) was with the leaders and led at one stage before he slipped back to 10th.

On the out-lap for Race 2, there was an oil slick across the top of the Mountain which caught out Rod Hatfield who spun his four-door Group C Torana at Forrest Elbow and was hit by Chris O’Connor in his Group C Toyota Corolla. The race started behind the Safety Car and concluded after one lap.

The third outing began behind the Safety Car and went green after two laps. It was another entertaining race, albeit only over three laps. There several lead changes among the front three where after a few position changes, Lawlor edged out Barbour with Keam not far behind them.

Luke and Jack Harrison ran in unison throughout for fourth and fifth while Axisa and Henderson both passed Gerstel on the last lap. The latter was just ahead of Gordon and Michael Cross (Group N Holden Torana XU-1). Mike Roddy was next in his damaged XJS after he had wall contact at Griffin Bend on the first race pace lap.

Garry O’Brien

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BATHURST 1000 SUPPORTS

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

WEATHER CLAIMS WEEKEND AS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE TIGHTENS Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES RACING LAPS may have been a rarity at a soggy Bathurst, but the results had some big implications on the Super 2 and 3 standings.

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Declan Fraser arrived at The Mountain with a handy 114-point buffer to Zak Best, but his advantage was trimmed back to 75 after the Tickford star (main image above) made some big inroads ahead of the season finale in Adelaide.

The field enjoyed a rare dry session to start the weekend and Thursday practice was headlined by Super 3 championship leader Kai Allen for all the wrong reasons.

Allen’s right-front wheel departed his Eggleston Motorsport Commodore at

Forrest’s Elbow, and went for a long journey down Conrod Straight – surpassing the distance record set by Marcos Ambrose’s well-behaved tyre at Canberra 21 years ago.

Hill and Matt McLean topped the two Dunlop Series practice sessions, but it was Best, who took pole position in bittersweet fashion.

The Tickford driver fired a 2:05.563 early in the session to beat Tyler Everingham and Cameron Hill, but his session was tainted by a crash exiting the Chase on his race set of tyres.

Allen (pictured, left) was back in the headlines, this time for the right reasons, smashing his Super 3 rivals to not only take class pole, but qualify 10th overall.

The heavens opened ahead of the first race of the weekend, which turned into a damp squib with not even three full laps of racing possible after it started and finished under Safety Car conditions.

When racing began, Best converted his pole to an early lead, but he quickly started feeling the pressure from Everingham, while series leader Fraser found himself in a fierce fight with Angelo

Mouzouris for fourth.

Mouzouris made a fine move on the outside of Murrays Corner, but his joy was short lived when he suddenly disappeared underneath the Griffin’s Bend tyre barrier.

The Safety Car returned and did not disappear as low cloud submerged the Mountain.

Allen’s commanding lead in the Super 3 field was never under threat, as title rival Brad Vaughan remained four places back in 15th.

Qualifying proved to be the only Saturday running for the Dunlop Series and Everingham went one better, taking Super 2 pole from Matt Payne and Best.

However, all eyes were on the Super 3 sheets where Allen scorched to a recordbreaking pole by the mammoth margin of 5.1 seconds.

The 17-year-old’s margin was the largest ever in Super 3/V8 Touring Cars history, while his ninth pole of 2022 also the set a new category benchmark for the most amount of poles in a single season.

To make it even sweeter, Allen’s title rival Vaughan did not post a time after a

heavy shunt at The Esses.

Torrential rain cancelled the second and final race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, which allowed Best to take his third round win of the season.

Only 75 points now split Fraser and Best in the Super 2 standings, while Payne third (132 points behind), Hill (165) and Everingham (175) are also in contention.

Allen extended his Super 3 lead over Vaughan to 66 points heading to the season finale at the VALO Adelaide 500 on December 1-4. Thomas Miles CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS SUPER 2 1.

Fraser 1083 2. Best 1008 3. Payne 951 4. Hill 918 5. Everingham 912 SUPER 3 1.

Allen 2. Vaughan 3. Pollicina 4. Fardell 5. Smerdon

1254 1188 984 939 813

LOVE CONTINUES HIS MOMENTUM AT THE MOUNTAIN THE WET weather could not stop Aaron Love (right) from storming to his sixth win in seven races in the penultimate round of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia season at Bathurst.

In pursuit of championship leader Harri Jones, Love was eager to keep on winning after some stellar rounds at Winton and Darwin, and got his weekend at Mount Panorama off to the perfect start.

Love set the quickest lap in one-make Porsche history at Mount Panorama to scorch to pole position with a time of 2:05.3535, which finally eclipsed the 2:06.2285 Jaxon Evans set in 2018.

Dylan O’Keeffe claimed second, Dale Wood edged out Jones for third, while Geoff Emery claimed the Pro-Am pole.

The opening race began behind the Safety Car after torrential rain lashed the Mount Panorama circuit on Friday afternoon.

Three laps later the field was unleashed and Love drove off into the distance.

He pulled clear by more than eight seconds until the Safety Car returned and reduced his strong advantage.

The interruption was caused by Marc Cini, who stopped at The Chase after a spin.

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As Love took control of the race, O’Keeffe clung onto second place until a last-minute move from the hardcharging Max Vidau.

Vidau started fifth, but made some quick moves to be fighting for the podium mid race.

After winning a tight battle between Dale Wood, Jones, David Russell and Simon Fallon, Vidau went ahead of O’Keeffe to steal second with three laps remaining.

O’Keeffe was able to cling on to a podium spot behind Love and Vidau, while Jones got home in fourth to pick up some valuable championship points after a tense drive.

There was a thrilling battle in the Pro-Am field, with Liam Talbot and Geoff Emery enjoying a racelong fight for the win, which was not decided until the final corner.

Talbot started third and passed Adrian Flack on the opening lap, before hunting down Emery mid race.

Emery did not stop applying the pressure until the end with the pair crossing the finish line nose to tail.

Saturday’s race was set to be the 400th in championship history, but it was cancelled due to torrential rain, while Sunday’s third race did start, but could not be completed in time with track repairs, Safety Cars and red flags getting in the way.

The truncated weekend means Jones enters the season finale on the Gold Coast with a 74-point lead to the charging Love, while five drivers are in contention in the Pro-Am standings led by Emery. Thomas Miles CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1.

Jones 731 2. Love 657 3. O’Keeffe 653 4. Wall 637 5. Russell 627

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 11 – BATHURST Thurs, Fri & Sat

A SOMETIMES WET AND WILD LEAD-UP TO THE GREAT RACE AFTER MONTHS OF TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS SURROUNDING CO-DRIVERS, WILDCARD TEST DAYS AND NAILBITING LAST-MINUTE REBUILDS, THE 60TH INSTALMENT OF THE GREAT RACE HAD ARRIVED. AUTO ACTION’S TIMOTHY W NEAL LOOKS AT THE BUILD-UP.

AMONG THE 28 teams were seven rookies and three ‘Wildcard’ entries, which included the all-rookie privateer effort of Matt Chahda Motorsport, a duo of comeback Kiwis, and a legend paired with a future star.

Teams were allocated 13 sets of Dunlop hard tyres, and a back-up allocation of wets – raised from five to six sets.

A deluge of rain prior to the event, coupled with a dim forecast ahead, had the crowd, teams and drivers all braced for what will be remembered as one of the most inconsistently inclement Bathursts in recent memory.

The three days leading into the 161-lap race provided spectators with six hours of action-filled practice sessions, one all-in qualifying session that would set the grid two days out from the race, and a cancelled Top-10 shootout.

THURSDAY – LET THE BATTLE BEGIN

A greasy track hosted the first practice session, taken out by Will Davison to give the team the ideal start leading up to DJR’s 1000th race, whilst the #100 Mustang would narrowly avoid disaster.

Will Davison was ‘on it’ from the start of Practice – qualified sixth in the rain ...

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

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Tander set a blistering practice lap time ... fastest of the weekend! Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

PremiAir’s James Golding would start an eye-catching weekend in P2, just 0.016s back from Davison, narrowly topping Andre Heimgartner and David Reynolds.

Shane Van Gisbergen made the early moves before the session was first red flagged, with Cam Waters becoming breached at Murray’s Corner.

The #97 held P1 into the 40-minute mark before Golding, Andre Heimgartner and David Reynolds went under the ‘two-fives’ to move into the top three.

The championship leader avoided a late scare after scraping the concrete at Reid Park, followed by De Pasquale avoiding the barriers with an insanely lucky kart-like spin through Forrest’s Elbow.

Davison then blitzed it late with a 02:04.396 on a new set of slicks, before Jake Kostecki ended the session with a trip into the sand trap at Hell Corner.

An all co-driver hit-out for Practice 2 saw Tander put in some searing laps, whilst Boost Wildcard driver Greg Murphy buried his ‘Lap of the Gods’ run with a Mountain PB. David Russell in the #99 Boost would raise

some attention with a P2, with he and Garth Tander going under Davison’s first practice flyer, as well as topping the practice times from 2021.

Recently crowned IMSA GTD Pro Champion Matt Campbell took his first laps after arriving in Oz on the Wednesday, just as the second session was red flagged early with Kurt Kostecki sending the #56 Tickford hard into the exit of The Chase.

Tander’s early 2:04.135 would prove the fastest lap of the weekend, as rookie Matt Payne put in some flyers with a 2:05.516, a gap of 1.380 off Tander nearing the halfway point.

Murphy then put in his fastest ever personal Bathurst lap with a 02:05.871, eclipsing his ‘Lap of the Gods’ by 0.987s, to place the #51 wildcard in a still distant P19, 2.136s off Tander.

Jordan Boys impressed with a 2:04.693 for P4 in the #96 BJR, over a late flying

An ugly clash with van Gisbergen badly damaged the Jones/Boys car.

Image: MARK HORSBURGH Campbell. before the session was bookended with another red flag with Warren Luff going off at the Chase.

FRIDAY – THE STARS DIDN’T ALIGN FOR SOME TEAMS

Davison topped another Practice session on a fast track for the third practice, with a 2:04.207 over Waters and Moffat in P2, in a session where teams had the first opportunity to practice fuel stops.

Van Gisbergen continued making some uncharacteristic errors to finish in P10 after going off at The Chase and constantly pulling out of laps. He could be heard lamenting problems with his braking set-up throughout the 60-minute session.

The #99 Erebus Commodore continued to show it was a threat, with Russell again topping his own team-mate to put the car into P3.

The #3 BRT Mustang with Slade and Blanchard would prove the sessions surprise packet in P4, with Slade pushing out a 2:04.818, in the only outing of the event – aside from Sunday’s warmup – that didn’t feature any flag interruption.

The rain eventually arrived for the fourth practice, with times off by almost 26s as van Gisbergen and his #88 stable teammates traded times for P1.

Feeney and Whincup would eventually take P2 with a 2:31.296, just over a second back, whilst Courtney and Goddard placed over Stanaway and Will Brown in the rebuilt #9.

The session featured a few main game

SATURDAY – MORE LAPS BUT NO SHOOT-OUT

Brilliant ... comeback kid Stanaway qualified the Boost wildcard car in fifth – which became grid four after SVG’s penalty ... Image: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY

drivers going off with plenty of damage, as Matt Stone’s Hazelwood sent it hard into the tyres at Griffins Bend, whilst Brown suffered damage at the death, at Reid Park.

Jones also found trouble in the Chase, with Lowndes and few others also going off at the hazardous turn with severe aquaplaning.

Several Teams had plenty of work ahead of them with the first Qualifying just hours away.

Fridays Q1 provisional top-10 spots, including spots 11-28, would ultimately set the grid for The Great Race, as the first serious stuff of the ’22 Bathurst 1000 got underway with the rain eased for the early part.

Plenty of incidents would shape the qualifying, notably van Gisbergen causing Jones to go off at the Skyline, which prompted an investigation from the stewards.

But after two-straight podiums at Bathurst, it was Waters who gave himself a fighting chance by grabbing pole with a 02:23.616.

Grove Racing’s Lee Holdsworth finished 0.212s behind to share the front row, with Mostert next to a rampaging Stanaway in the Boost Wildcard, despite van Gisbergen actually taking the time for provisional fourth.

The rain came hard for the final 10 minutes as teams scrambled for the top-10, with Stanaway taking his P5 with minutes to run, whilst the decision by Triple Eight to run its ‘co-driver’ rather than Feeney didn’t get a result, with Whincup finishing in P14.

Erebus took three spots inside the top 10 following Stanaway’s display, with Brodie Kostecki and Brown grabbing P9 and P10 respectively.

The incident with van Gisbergen came to pass on the final lap, with the #97 deeming, assuming Jones would let him pass. It caused major damage when he clipped the back of Jones’ Wet & Forget car, which had the BJR garage working into the very early hours of the following morning.

The stewards gave SVG what was judged a very light slap on the wrist for the serious incident, with a three-spot grid penalty putting the 2020 winner into P7 for Sunday.

And then Saturday’s Shootout was cancelled – the start order was set. Waters locked in P1 over Holdsworth, with Mostert and Stanaway filling out the front two rows.

Davison and Percat took P5 and P6, with van Gisbergen in P7 next to Courtney, followed by the two Erebus main gamers.

De Pasquale and Heimgartner missed the cut by a hundredth, followed by Golding, Whincup, Randle, and Lowndes in P16.

Slade would start at the very back, behind Le Brocq, the privateer wildcard of Chahda, and the BJR #4.

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Saturday was ultimately headlined by the news that the Top-10 Shootout would be canned due to heavy downpours, with the starting grid standing from Qualifying.

That morning, the co-drivers came out for the fifth practice session, which again had plenty of drivers going off in the wet, with Dale Wood taking advantage of the slower times with a 2:26.222.

Coulthard finished P2 in the WAU #25, with Boys again impressing with a P3 over Super2 leader Declan Fraser in the Lowndes #888 wildcard.

Carnage ensued throughout the session with three stoppages –

The Reynolds/Campbell car struggled, qualifying 18th. Image: MARK HORSBURGH

K.Kostecki providing the first ,nine minutes in, by coming unstuck at Griffin’s Bend, shortly followed by Whincup doing the same at the restart.

Rookie Aaron Seton was impressing in the top 10 before he entered the Esses too hot, burying the #35 Commodore deep into the tyres, before the session was finally called after Michael Caruso slid the #18 Winterbottom car into the oft-used sand pit at The Chase.

The sixth and final Practice had Mostert showing the consistent pace he’d display in the Great Race, with a dry line affording him a late 2:05.510 for P1 over the looming #97 pair by 0.103s, followed by Davison’s #17 Mustang.

In the closest session split for the weekend, the all-rookie #118 wildcard bookended the field by 2.672s, but importantly had remained one of the only cars to keep their noses clean as the privateers entered Sunday without a scratch.

The newly repaired #96 BJR again went into the wall, this time at McPhillamy Park, causing further nightmares for the overworked garage, this time at the hands of an error from Boys with just 20 seconds to run.

With that crash ending the session, the rain came hard to end all activity at the track, with questions raised over the circuits drainage as rivers of water flowed down the Mountain.

Cam Waters delivered the goods in Qualifying – taking what would be pole (after the Top Ten Shootout cancellation) by two-tenths.

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 11 – BATHURST

Images: MARK HORSBURGH-MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THE LION’S ASCENT TO FINAL BATHURST TRIUMPH SHANE VAN GISBERGEN AND GARTH TANDER HELD OFF ALL CHALLENGERS TO WIN HOLDEN’S FINAL BATHURST 1000 OUTING OVER AN EPICALLY TENSE AND MAYHEM-FILLED SIX HOURS AND 41 MINUTES ...

TIMOTHY W NEAL LOOKS AT HOW IT ALL PLAYED OUT DURING THE 2022 EDITION OF THE GREAT RACE. IT WAS the second time that the duo have claimed the Peter Brock Trophy, and the third time that a Holden chassis has won dual Bathurst 1000 races.

Peter Brock and Larry Perkins drove a HDT SS VH to win in 1982 and in 1983; Brock and Perkins took over the then #25 HDT car of John Harvey and Phil Brock to take the 1983 ‘Great Race’ win.

The second touring car/Supercar to take two wins was the HRT chassis ‘The Golden Child’ which delivered Mark Skaife and Tony Longhurst the win in 2001, and with Jim Richards in 2002.

The historic victory – the 34th from a Holden badged car – was van Gisbergen’s second triumph at The Mountain, whilst Tander can lay claim to a monstrous five Bathurst 1000s.

Defending champion Chaz Mostert, paired with Fabian Coulthard, threw everything at the #97 Red Bull for a podium second, as did Tickford driver Cam Waters who fought back to grab his third straight Bathurst podium.

The race will be remembered for its several historic milestones and its chaotic opening stanza, as the current V8 Supercars generation would grace Mount Panorama for the last time before the advent of Gen3.

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SUNDAY – RACE DAY BUILD UP

Ahead of DJR’s 1000th championship race, Will and Alex Davison gave the team its only minor joy of the day by topping the 20 minute warm-up timesheets.

Will Davison set a 02:22.459 at the death, with the skies clear but the track still wet

from the night’s constant downpour.

Final driver changes were more on the agenda than lap times, with the desired goal just three hours and 15 minutes away from go-time.

Lee Holdsworth and Matt Payne finished in P2, with Holdsworth set to start on the front

row for the Great Race, whilst James Golding and Dylan O’Keeffe took P3 ahead of O’Keefe taking the wheel on the seventh row.

Fortunately, no teams found any trouble, with only the #34 Commodore experiencing issues after Aaron Seton had struck trouble at the Esses on Saturday.

The Kostecki/Russell Boost/Erebus car was highly competitive all day, pushing hard, and only just missed a podium spot.

Mostert came oh-so-close to van Gisbergen’s rear bumper in the final stint, but just didn’t quite have the speed where it mattered, to challenge. Below: in his 300th Supercar race, and 29th Bathurst start, Lowndes paired with rookie Declan Fraser for a wildcard record eighth place finish.

THE ‘GREAT RACE’ BEGINS

The anticipation on track for the start of The Great Race was typically intense, with a huge crowd gathered on grid as an F-35A jet powered overhead.

The rain had stayed away, but there was standing water on the exit of Turn 1, and anything either side of the tarmac could be considered a racing hazard.

The field lined up led by a co-driver in James Moffat, with Lee Holdsworth in front of Greg

Murphy and Fabian Coulthard.

Holdsworth got the jump but up Mountain Straight all hell broke loose. Whincup lost traction in the standing water and spun, tagging Perkins in the #9, with Jaxon Evans also involved, plus some nose-to-tail contact further back in the field.

The #55 was also done for the day, with Zak Best going left to avoid tagging the spinning Boost Car, onto the grass and hitting the wall.

Coulthard and Warren Luff were in P2 and P3 early, with Greg Murphy and Moffat in behind, followed by Tander.

A lap 5 restart saw Perkins get the Lucky Dog before further carnage on lap 10, with an innocent Matt Campbell collected by the #5 Tickford Mustang driven by Zane Goddard, rejoining the track off the wet grass in The Chase – which also clipped the Heimgartner/ Wood car with all three cars done for the day, but all drivers deemed to be okay.

A lap 10 restart from the second Safety Car saw the same front six, followed by Russell, Murphy, A.Davison, Lowndes and Golding.

The rain came briefly on lap 13 with Lowndes and Ojeda having a push and shove, whilst Boys got run off by the #22 Coke Car, with Tim Slade moving into P9, and Matt Chahda steering the #118 into P14.

Lap 17 saw another Safety Car with J. Kostecki going off in The Chase – with plenty of lead drivers getting ready in the pits for their first big stints.

After the first round of stops and the crazy opening hour, Tony D’Alberto took control of the Bathurst 1000 field ahead of Matt Payne and Fabian Coulthard, while Brodie Kostecki and Cam Waters were the first of the main drivers at the restart on a drying track.

Things didn’t go to plan early for Triple Eight as Jame Whincup made an error in the pit box, and the SVG/Tander car received a five

second time penalty for an unsafe release.

The race finally settled into a rhythm as Waters charged up to the top three swiftly passing B.Kostecki and Coulthard.

The number 100, 10 and 6 Mustangs led the pack, but Waters had the pace being the only man lapping in the 2:08s initially, and by lap 29 he galloped into the lead, passing D’Alberto at Hell Corner.

Temporary Erebus teammates Richie Stanaway and Will Brown had a door to door battle from Conrod Straight to Hell Corner with the wildcard prevailing, to get 19th.

After 12 straight laps of green flag running the hopes of the Davison brothers may have gone up in smoke, with Alex locking up at the Chase, going through the mud into the tyre wall – albeit sideways and with little apparent damage. The elder Davison managed to get the car moving away from the barrier in an attempt to return to the track, only to fall inches short, to bring out another Safety Car, before receiving the Lucky Dog after the forced pit entry.

That moment opened the door for the second window of pit stops with only Declan Fraser and Stanaway staying out.

Waters went into the effective lead ahead of B.Kostecki, whilst Mostert and van Gisbergen jumped into their cars with Payne dropping behind the three Holdens.

The fourth Safety Car inside 90 minutes

That’s one hell of a start! Holdsworth blitzed the getaway, heading Coulthard and Murphy out of the first corner. Then the drama started ...

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 11 – BATHURST

dropped De Pasquale from 7th to 23rd when racing resumed, after pitting to replacing a steering arm.

Waters’ pass on Stanaway for second sparked a big battle for third between the Boost Wildcard, Kostecki, Mostert and van Gisbergen. By lap 36 the #6 Mustang had regained the lead from Fraser by being the first to dip into the 2:07s.

After prevailing in the fight for P3, van Gisbergen started to show good pace into P2 following Fraser’s lap 41 pit.

Slade had taken the Cooldrive car from last to P13, but the work was undone when Blanchard was put into the wall following a clash with Nick Percat, bringing out a lap 42 Safety Car. Van Gisbergen stayed out on track to take the provisional lead, whilst Waters pitted for a switch with Moffat.

The lap 45 restart had SVG a pit stop down with a 0.9628 lead over the top five who were also due to pit.

Moffat was the effective leader but got turned around at the Cutting while disputing territory with B.Kostecki, who moved into the effective lead over De Pasquale – who had come from almost last place to be back in the hunt.

At this point, he top 20 was filled with 18 Holdens in their farewell to the Mountain ... Feeney went off the road, losing strong position, skiing it through the mud at the Chase to rejoin in P18, whilst Payne put his car into effective P5 following on from Holdsworth’s stint.

Van Gisbergen had a 12.681s split on B.Kostecki, as he started lapping near 2:06, but was complaining of a down-change issue in the steep third sector.

De Pasquale then moved up past Mostert to sit in effective P2, which stuck the #25 behind Fullwood who was still on only two stops.

Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 55 and took the 5 second penalty, executing the driver switch that would set up the race with Tander re-entering in P18, 52s back from B.Kostecki who’d taken the lead from Percat’s pit.

The BJR nightmare continued for the #96 after Macauley Jones went into the mud

Somehoe ... somehow ... the #17 Mustang was virtually undamaged after hitting the Chase tyre barrier sideways, and recovered into a potential strong top 10 finish, but a rare error from Will Davo ended the run.

before the pit entry, bringing out yet another yellow flag at the 58th lap, with most of the field taking the advantage to pit. This was a huge gain for the #97, regaining most of the ground lost under the green stop three laps earlier.

Jones got the Lucky Dog to sit at the back, while Tander slung into the lead over Russell, De Pasquale, Percat, Winterbottom and Everingham.

At the lap 60 restart, Murphy got a touch from J.Kostecki at Turn 2 and spun, but managed to rejoin, with the #56 receiving a 15s time penalty for his attempted dive.

As the sun shone on The Mountain, Tander led during a blistering stint to the halfway mark. The four-time Bathurst winner pumped out quick laps, going half a second quicker than the pack to pull away from Russell, who stayed in touch despite battling engine issues.

Tyler Everingham then hit the fence at McPhillamy going into the gravel and dropping from 7th to P22.

Will Davison had pressed hard to work the mud-caked #17 into top 10 after getting the earlier gift of the Lucky Dog, now sitting behind Coulthard and Lowndes.

Golding’s excellent work now took the PremiAir car into the top five – but shortly

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it ... Cam Waters (left) watches as co-driver Moffat escapes without damage from a Cutting dust-up; while James Courtney never got to jump into the #5 Mustang. after the car suffered a front splitter issue, pitting twice in as many laps, and losing valuable track position.

Percat sat in the top four but came unstuck on the run down to the Elbow, hitting the fence hard on both sides on lap 77. The incident didn’t require a Safety Car, but sparked a chain of pit stops, with drivers staying in their seats and many brake rotors being changed.

The front left brake change didn’t go to plan for De Pasquale, enduring a 67s pit, whilst the all-rookie #118 wildcard suffered a

similar fate. After sitting as high as P8 after an almost faultless drive, Chahda and Robotham had a stuck front-left brake calliper, which eventually needed to be smashed off with a sledge hammer, putting them back in P22, a lap behind.

Tander was now out front by eight seconds over Russell, with the Whincup, Moffat and Mostert pack some 23s in arrears.

Mostert however was lighting up the sectors, getting the fastest lap by four-tenths with a 2:06.740, charging past Moffat into fourth, who then switched with Waters on lap 95.

2021 winner and 2022 front row starter Holdsworth, with Matt Payne, took a strong sixth fro Grove – just out of the podium action.

A downchange glitch ended Percat’s challenge at Forrest’s Elbow (Image: EDGE PHOTOGRAPHY).

Pit action (right ) at 12.15pm – still a long, long way to go to the end – Tander and SVG lap up the podium celebrations (below).

After a clinical 76-lap day, Tander jumped out of car #97 with a 17s lead on Russell to give van Gisbergen the jump for the final third of the race.

Whincup also completed 76 laps, having recovered into a strong P4 position, pitting on lap 102 with Feeney taking the steer.

The Tander/SVG switch released Mostert, who was a pit stop down, with a 36s lead on van Gisbergen, while B.Kostecki was another 12s back in P3.

With Mostert pitting, van Gisbergen took the lead with a 12.498s buffer over B.Kostecki, with Mostert coming out in P4 over Waters and Holdsworth.

The top four were putting in PB times, with the #25 WAU the only car to go under the sevens with a 2:06.704 whilst also putting a great move on Feeney to go P3.

After Declan Fraser’s solid stint, Lowndes was sitting in P8, +1:04.746 from the #97 pace-setter.

Mostert now closed on the #99 Erebus car, gapping Feeney and Waters, with the #6 pitting on lap 118 for a pad change, putting him back out in P9, +1 minute 35 back.

With the race in something of a holding pattern, Hazelwood put his car hard into the wall at Turn 2 with a big lock up on lap 120.

Van Gisbergen pitted under the Safety Car for pads and callipers, with the days seventh Safety Car bringing the field nose-to-tail with 41 laps remaining. That saw Kostecki in P2, with Mostert and Feeney heading Waters, Holdsworth and W.Davison after 5 hours of racing.

Hazelwood got the Lucky Dog at the back of the field with little remaining of his front left A top 10 – ninth – was great reward for a consistent error-free day from Fullwood and Fiore in the Middy’s car.

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guard, with the race restarting on lap 123.

Mostert was pushing Kostecki but couldn’t get into P2 as the field stayed tight over the next few laps, with SVG holding a 0.582 margin.

Waters took P4 from Feeney after climbing back from P9, with the #88 also dropping behind Holdsworth into P6 after going wide from the relentless pressure of the #6 Mustang.

SVG built a 2.719s lead on Kostecki with Mostert under a second behind in P3 with Waters getting big in his mirror.

Kostecki was maxed out with Mostert and Waters chasing him, but had the pace through Turn 2 and Forrest’s Elbow – but with 200km and one pit stop to come, SVG had built a 3.410s lead.

Waters started to lose ground on P3 with 27 laps remaining after briefly being the fastest on track, dropping almost five seconds back on Mostert after going wide, pushing the life out of his tyres in the frantic chase.

Kostecki dug deep in fending off Mostert, as the chasing field was given hope of a Safety Car on lap 138 when Smith hit the wall at Reid Park, but the green flag stayed out as he limped the smoking Commodore into the pits on three tyres.

Mostert and Waters pitted before the final yellow flag of the day, giving the chasing pack one final hope of running down an untroubled looking van Gisbergen.

Will Davison’ day ended dramatically in the #17 DJR’s car, in the tyre wall at Griffin’s Bend – a rare cold-tyre error – bringing out the eighth Safety Car, which allowed van Gisbergen to fuel-up and remain in the lead.

Kostecki was not so lucky after his long fight – exiting the pits just behind Mostert, QUALIFYING RACE 30 Pos Driver 1 Cameron Waters 2 Lee Holdsworth 3 Chaz Mostert 4 Shane van Gisbergen 5 Richie Stanaway 6 Will Davison 7 Nick Percat 8 James Courtney 9 Brodie Kostecki 10 William Brown 11 Anton De Pasquale 12 Andre Heimgartner 13 James Golding 14 Jamie Whincup 15 Thomas Randle 16 Craig Lowndes 17 Jake Kostecki 18 David Reynolds 19 Todd Hazelwood 20 Scott Pye 21 Chris Pither 22 Macauley Jones 23 Mark Winterbottom 24 Bryce Fullwood 25 Jack Le Brocq 26 Matthew Chahda 27 Jack Smith 28 Tim Slade

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possibly losing P2 after having to avoid the slow-moving recovery vehicle in a key moment, which would be the centre of much discussion following the incident.

With a 16 lap sprint to the chequered flag, van Gisbergen now led over last year’s winner Mostert, Kostecki, Waters and Feeney at the restart. Waters made the first big move, moving Kostecki out the way instantly to put the Mustang into P3.

Despite Mostert and Waters pushing hard, it was the championship leader who delivered purple sector after purple sector to pull more than a second away with 11 laps left.

Just when van Gisbergen looked to be unchallenged, Mostert did as he had done all day, finding extra pace to squeeze the gap RESULTS RACE 30 161LAPS (1000KMS)

Time 2:23.6168 0:00.2128 0:00.2193 0:00.4497 0:00.7359 0:00.8055 0:00.9466 0:01.0287 0:01.1729 0:01.3836 0:01.3914 0:01.3962 0:01.3981 0:01.5106 0:01.5354 0:01.7356 0:01.8485 0:01.8556 0:02.4575 0:02.4596 0:02.7914 0:03.0407 0:03.3994 0:03.5201 0:03.9072 0:04.6269 0:04.7645 0:07.7017

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Pos Drivers 1 S. Van Gisbergen/G. Tander 2 C.Mostert/F.Coulthard 3 C.Waters/J.Moffat 4 B.Kostecki/D.Russell 5 B.Feeney/J.Whincup 6 L.Holdsworth/M.Payne 7 A.De Pasquale/T.D’Alberto 8 C.Lowndes/D.Fraser 9 B.Fullwood/D.Fiore 10 W. Brown/J. Perkins 11 R.Stanaway/G.Murphy 12 J.Golding/D.O’Keeffe 13 M.Jones/J.Boys 14 J.Le Brocq/A.Seton 15 M.Winterbottom/M.Caruso 16 S.Pye/T.Everingham 17 J.Kostecki/K.Kostecki 18 M.Chahda/J.Robotham 19 T.Slade/T.Blanchard 20 T.Hazelwood/J.Ojeda 21 C.Pither/C.Hill 22 N.Percat/W.Luff DNF W.Davison/A.Davison DNF J.Smith/J.Evans DNF J.Courtney/Z.Goddard DNF A.Heimgartner/D.Wood DNF D.Reynolds/M.Campbell DNF T.Randle/Z.Best

Laps 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 161 159 153 148 141 138 4 4 4 0

back to within a second.

With nine laps remaining, Mostert pushed the #25 to within an inch of its life, lapping to within eight one-hundredths of SVG, before going wide at Hell Corner on lap 153 whilst on the complete edge of the car’s limits.

Mostert kept pushing to the flag, but his mistake proved to be the moment where the race finally slipped away.

Van Gisbergen was too good, getting the job done for Triple Eight’s ninth Bathurst win, with the dominant pilot needing just 33 points at the Gold Coast 500 on October 30 to secure the 2022 Supercars drivers championship.

His record breaking 19th win of the season also eclipses Scott McLaughlin’s 18 of 2019.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 11

Race time 06:41:53.7221 06:41:54.8212 06:41:59.7096 06:42:03.8793 06:42:08.8074 06:42:09.5056 06:42:12.5331 06:42:13.4726 06:42:15.4451 06:42:16.3953 06:42:17.3849 06:42:17.5429 06:42:18.3870 06:42:26.2998 06:42:27.3748 06:42:28.0971 06:42:47.7683 06:43:52.0682 06:43:58.4299 06:43:17.8058 06:43:13.9244 06:43:05.6067 05:49:23.0148 05:44:06.2718 00:16:17.3534 00:16:19.0290 00:16:19.2228 No time

s7 s1 t-2 s5 s9 t-4 s4 s8 s15 t-7 s1 s9 s11 s8 s4 s8 s9 t-1 t-16 t-18 s3 t-17 t-14 t-9 t-13

Pos Driver 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 Cam Waters 3 Anton De Pasquale 4 Chaz Mostert 5 Will Davison 6 Broc Feeney 7 David Reynolds 8 Brodie Kostecki 9 Andre Heimgartner 10 Mark Winterbottom 11 Tim Slade 12 Lee Holdsworth 13 Will Brown 14 James Courtney 15 Nick Percat 16 Scott Pye 17 Todd Hazelwood 18 Bryce Fullwood 19 Macauley Jones 20 Jack Le Brocq 21 Jake Kostecki 22 Chris Pither 23 Thomas Randle 24 Jack Smith 25 James Golding

Points 3082 2515 2305 2280 2180 2074 1742 1725 1592 1549 1531 1512 1468 1421 1358 1326 1252 1224 1129 1063 1039 1011 973 862 582

– – s1 s1 t =1 – – s1 -1 s1 t-1 s2 t-2 – – – – – s1 s1 s1 t-3 – s1

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Images: MARK HORSBURGH-MOTORSPORT IMAGES AND SUPPLIED

COOL CALM AND COLLECTED THE SEVEN BATHURST 1000 ROOKIES DELIVERED NEAR FLAWLESS PERFORMANCES ACROSS ALL SESSIONS AND THE GREAT RACE IN MIXED AND SOMETIMES VERY TOUGH CONDITIONS – AUTO ACTION’S TIMOTHY W NEAL KEPT AN EYE ON THEM ACROSS THE WEEKEND. THE SEVEN rookies who took part in this year’s Great Race all had differing fortunes as they tackled the gruelling 161 lapper under the watchful eye of their respective garages and main game drivers.

Aside from the dual-rookie #118 privateer entry, the young newcomers were ‘singles’ and carried the weight of the Supercar teams over their allotted laps with great skill under intense pressure, with most of them pulling through largely unscathed.

Only one had the misfortune of not finishing, with two climbing into a co-driven top 10 finish, with only a few mishaps in the lead-up.

Despite one big crash in the fifth practice session, they kept their noses relatively clean where a lot of the main gamers couldn’t ...

MATTHEW PAYNE #10 – 6TH

PAYNE PROVED his wares over the four days alongside Grove Racing’s Lee Holdsworth, whose place he will take on the 2023 grid.

In the main race, Payne got his first stint during the lap 17 Safety Car, rejoining the field in P3, and climbed as high as P2. He held P3 until the 33rd lap Safety Car when he dropped into P7 following a pit stop.

His second stint held him in effective P6 which he held under pressure until lap 101 where he switched with Holdsworth.

“I tried to just simplify my role out there today to give Lee a shot at the end so I’m happy I was able to do that,” Payne said.

“Our car was down on speed on the straights, so it was tough to make any ground on the lead bunch.

“I’m happy to finish the race in P6 – I can’t wait to come back here next year.”

DECLAN FRASER #888 – 8TH THE SUPER2 Championship leader finished the highest of the three ‘Wild

Card’ starters, with Bathurst and Supercars legend Craig Lowndes helping guide car #888 into the top-10, making it the highest ever finish for a Bathurst wildcard entry.

His first stint came in the chaos of the lap 18 Safety Car and at one stage he enjoyed his first time in the lead of a Supercars field before Cam Waters got him on lap 37.

“I think I sat second or third for the whole first stint, and for me that was an awesome experience to be able to mix it with those guys and to be able to lead a supercars field.” Fraser said.

“Declan did a great job and took it under his wing with everything going on. The step up to Supercars is huge, and he was blown away a bit at the start of the week, but once he got his helmet on he did a fantastic job and did nothing wrong,” said Lowndes of his young co-driver.

AARON SETON #34 _ P14

THE THIRD generation Bathurst competitor took to the Great Race with Jack Le Brocq, and had a mixed bag of results in the

practice sessions, with a P9 in Practice 2, and a big crash which caused a red flag in Practice 5 through the Esses.

The #34 got shunted by car #4 from the back in the opening Mountain Straight mayhem, while mystery front right guard damage also occurred during Seton’s first stint, which he drove until giving the car back to Le Brocq on lap 52 in P18.

Seton helped put the car up 11 spots through the day, which considering the ongoing front splitter issues, was a great effort.

“I couldn’t think of a better person than Jack to share my first Bathurst with, it was a really special moment for the whole family who were here to watch on. This journey started from the age of seven at the kart track, so being here is pretty special,” Seton said of his opportunity.

MATT CHAHDA/JAYLYN ROBOTHAM #118 – P18

THE TWO privateer rookies managed to survive where others couldn’t from Thursday to Saturday, avoiding the grass and walls to get comfortable for their first main game assault as Bathurst 1000 privateers.

The two shared fairly even stints, with Chahda taking four and seeing it to the close where they passed Tim Slade and held their own against the main gamers, exceeding all expectations with a puttogether family team.

Chahda started in P26 and worked it into 18th, avoiding trouble before Robotham drove the car into P14 in a close

,

CAMERON HILL #22 – P21

Matt Payne was the bestperformed rookie – sharing sixth place with the experienced Lee Holdsworth. battle with Cam Hill, making some passes along the way.

He gave the car back to Chahda under the lap 58 Safety Car who was remarkably holding his own and running in the top 10, getting as high as P9.

A slight error running off in The Chase was the only mistake of the entire weekend. Then, at the lap 81 pit-stop for fuel, rotor and a driver change, misfortune struck with them in effective P11, with a jammed front left caliper putting them back into P22 after a top 10 finish looked more than possible.

HILL HELD his own through the practices, lapping the Mountain with a 2:05.741 in the first session and kept it out of trouble in the trying fifth practice.

His first Supercars stint saw him push up with momentum from a good clean start to sit as high as P12, within touching distance of the top 10. He unfortunately suffered a power steering leak which forced a pit stop on lap 56 where the car dropped back through the field.

“We finished the Bathurst 1000 in 21st, but that’s not the full story,” he said.

“When I handed the car over to Chris at the end of my second stint we were in 12th place and we were trucking along well. Chris was doing a great job but, unfortunately, a power steering problem caught up with us, forcing a pit stop.

“The race was probably crazier than what I was expecting. Certainly, watching that first stint, Chris having to dodge multiple incidents I had my heart in my mouth for all of it.

“I’ve taken so much away from a driving point of view – I really feel like when I come back and get to do the 1000 again, I know what I’m in for and I now know the level that I need to get to so that I can be competitive at this level and I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

JAXON EVANS #4 – NC

THE YOUNG endurance star got through the practice sessions unscathed, putting in a 2:06.820 in his first Supercar stint on The Mountain.

He started in the car in P27 and entered the storm early in the Mountain Straight chaos, making blind-sighted contact with Seton at the very back of the field which caused a rapid spate of three pit stops.

Despite a fourth stop by the 20th lap, Evans had somehow managed to get the car into P13 before giving the car to Jack Smith on lap 32. Evans had the car as high as P11 in his incredible second stint, before Smith ended their day in the wall at the top of the mountain in P13.

“What a week! Sunday’s race had everything thrown at it – unfortunately we had to retire the car while running pretty strong,” Evans said.

“Massive thanks to Jack Smith, and the BJR crew for having me along. Hopefully it’s not the last time.”

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ROOKIE RACERS LIVING A DREAM - FROM THE WRECKING YARD TO BATHURST FINISHERS

WITH TWO Mountain rookies and a team gathered together from a family workshop in Albury NSW, the #118 wildcard came to Bathurst not only with a global sponsor, in Caltex with Techron, but the attitude that it could upset the Supercars applecart … and it came close.

Racing with a spare WAU Commodore and two mechanics that came with the car, the whole team was otherwise family or members of the workshop with the experienced Wally Story lending a management hand, as they ran the whole show to the beat of their own drum, from testing, through to the Great Race.

Just as the team was dreaming of a top-10 finish, Chahda went slightly off at The Chase whilst sitting in a remarkable P10, losing only one spot before pitting – before they lost a huge amount of time trying to remove a jammed brake caliper which had to be dealt with via a large hammer.

Eventually leaving the pits in P22, almost two laps down, to then get back and gain another spot, a small ‘win’ like that from a privateer team is worth celebrating.

Father and team principal, Amin Chahda, was incredibly proud of the two drivers and the team, who faced some big Bathurst moments.

“If it wasn’t for the caliper, we’d should’ve been top 10 – we definitely had the pace to keep running there, so it would’ve happened ... we were there,” Chahda Snr said.

“It was an unbelievable job from the pit crew to the drivers; the crew were faultless. There was nothing we could’ve done about the jammed caliper, so going from almost two laps down to finish on the lead lap … we’re gonna celebrate like we won it tonight!

“As Matt keeps saying, we’ve just

come from a small wrecking yard to being finishers at Bathurst ... that’s pretty incredible.

“For our whole family this was a massive tick off the bucket list. We felt like we were very competitive, and we proved that. Where this leads to next year, we’re not sure yet.”

The younger Chahda was elated in the pits afterward and gave an insight into the closing laps and Jaylyn’s faultless performance.

“The engineers had given up on our position a bit with Tim Slade behind me, but I pulled a bunch of pace out of it and held him off. That data was showing that he was a lot faster at the time and that he was going to go past me. He wasn’t getting that spot,” Chahda commented as one his engineers walked through quipping that ‘he’d like to thank his engineer.’

“Working with Jaylyn was amazing – even though he’s so young, he didn’t make one mistake all weekend, nothing at all, which is crazy given the conditions and pressure.

“He even made overtakes on big name guys and did it cleanly, so we were all stoked with him.”

Robotham himself, a 19 year-old kid from Lancefield, Victoria and the son of two bakers, was elated to have completed a Bathurst 1000.

“It was cool. Our main goal was just to finish and then we were at the top 10 before the brake seized – so to then hold onto the lead lap was a good feeling,” Robotham said.

“I honestly had no idea how’d I’d go against them (main gamers), so to make some passes and keep the car in one piece was a great feeling.

I struggled with the down changing through my middle stint and locked up a bit, but I’m glad to have done my job well as co-driver.

“From Wednesday through to Sunday the team has had a really good feeling about it – it was a good atmosphere to do our first Bathurst in, considering what we’re up against here.

The Car was flawless really, the team was amazing in setting it up and dealing with the issues to help get us to the line.”

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 11 – BATHURST

97 25

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN/GARTH TANDER

Started seventh after three-spot grid penalty for a qualifying clash with #96. Held station early but changed strategy after copping a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit release on lap 17. By staying out during the third round of stops, Van Gisbergen built a lead. A well-timed Safety Car allowed Tander to hand it back over with a 17s advantage over Russell after an impressive 76-lap day. Van Gisbergen led the final 57 laps and had enough pace to hold off Mostert during the sprint to the flag.

2ND

2022 BATHURST 1000

CAR BY CAR AUTO ACTION’S GARRY O’BRIEN AND THOMAS MILES TALK YOU THROUGH HOW EACH CAR FARED IN THE 60TH RUNNING OF THE GREAT RACE AT MOUNT PANORAMA AND HOW EACH TEAM HANDLED THE MIXED CONDITIONS AND ON-TRACK DRAMA.

CHAZ MOSTERT/FABIAN COULTHARD Coulthard got a great start and settled into P2 before dropping behind the #6 and #99 primary drivers. Sat seventh at halfway mark, but Mostert’s electric pace in clear air brought them back. Stole second with the help of a recovery vehicle, tried to catch SVG at the death, but just did not quite have the legs.

6

3RD

CAM WATERS/JAMES MOFFAT Starting from pole position set by Waters, Moffat was sluggish off the line and dropped to fifth before Waters picked off rivals to lead after 29 laps. Moffat spun at the Cutting after contact with #99 (Kostecki) and dropped to 21st. Team changed strategy to help Waters make some moves and score a third straight Bathurst podium.

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99

4TH

10

6TH

BRODIE KOSTECKI/DAVID RUSSELL Russell started P9 and quickly made ground to enter the top five before Brodie jumped in on lap 17. Contact with Moffat when fighting for effective lead did not slow the momentum as Russell consolidated second spot. Lost P2 (claimed held up by a recovery vehicle) on pit exit before dropping to fourth in final stint.

LEE HOLDSWORTH/MATT PAYNE Lighting start gave Holdsworth a clear view leading the field up Mountain Straight and he protected the lead through the early running. Payne slipped to seventh against the primary drivers, while pit lane traffic dropped car #10 down to P10. Holdsworth fought back and pressed hard for a top five finish, but his triple stint was to no avail.

88

100

5TH

JAMIE WHINCUP/BROC FEENEY Whincup qualified but missed the Shootout. Was lucky to survive a first lap spin on Mountain Straight, dropping to 25th. Suffered a slow stop on lap 17 but climbed up to third by lap 82.

Feeney jumped in with 59 to go, but the youngster could not keep Waters behind, and came home fifth.

7TH

ANTON DE PASQUALE/TONY D’ALBERTO DJR’s only finisher in team’s 1000th race.

Got caught up in the first lap incident and had to replace a steering arm. D’Alberto stayed on the lead lap after two early stops, while De Pasquale pushed it deep into the top 10. Recorded a P7 finish despite carrying some wounds during the quiet final stages.

51

Images: MARK HORSBURGH - MOTORSPORT IMAGES

888

8TH

11TH

56

17TH

17

23RD

RICHIE STANAWAY/GREG MURPHY In his Bathurst comeback, Murphy held onto P4 in the opening laps before drifting outside of the top 10 by lap 12.

Battled radio issues and was sent a lap down after being spun by #56. Got the lap back with 19 to go as Stanaway chased down a top 10 position but fell a second short

KURT KOSTECKI/JAKE KOSTECKI

In avoiding the spinning #88 on the first lap, Jake Kostecki had wall contact on drivers’ right. Managed to get to the pits for a control arm replacement and subsequent further repairs. Bunkered at the Chase cost two laps; penalised 15s for contact on #51, two Lucky Dogs, 11 pitstops, and finished on the lead lap.

WILL DAVISON/ALEX DAVISON DNF – Alex Davison started from P5 but dropped to ninth after the first-lap skirmish. Then fell to P23 when he got bogged inches from the wall at the Chase. With the help of the Lucky Dog, Will climbed up to P6, but an out-lap error put #17 in the Griffin’s Bend wall with less than 20 to go.

31

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4

12TH

18TH

24TH

JAMES GOLDING/DYLAN O’KEEFFE Golding charged from P13 to P6 before the first stop, while O’Keeffe also managed to get the #31 as high as fifth. But repairs to a front bar issue on lap 75 forced Golding to fight for P12 after being a lap down.

What could have been! ...

MATT CHAHDA/JAYLYN ROBOTHAM The inexperienced wildcard impressed with a clean and composed drive.

Chahda started in the car and climbed as high as 14th after starting P26. Robotham also stayed straight with the biggest scare being a slow brake rotor change in the pits. Some wave-bys ensured the pair finished on the lead lap.

JACK SMITH/JAXON EVANS DNF – Three pitstops for Evans in the first eight laps to attend to damage from the concertina effect of the lap one incident where he went into #34. Despite another six stops, they were placed sixth at one stage but finally garaged after Smith had wall contact on top of the Mountain and limped back to the pits.

96

3

5

13TH

19TH

25TH

MACAULEY JONES/JORDAN BOYS From Jones’ 22nd starting position, Boys improved six spots before contact with #22 cost track position. Had brake issues, which ultimately put Jones into the pit entry sand trap and down a lap.

A pad and disc change rectified the issue and a wave-around put them back on the lead lap.

TIM SLADE/TIM BLANCHARD Starting from last, Slade did a mighty job, avoiding the carnage to rise up to P9 inside the first stint. But the good work was undone on lap 42 when Blanchard found the wall at Forrest’s Elbow after assistance from Percat. The damage forced car #3 to trail at the back for the remainder of the race.

JAMES COURTNEY/ZANE GODDARD DNF – Courtney qualified eighth with Goddard at the wheel at the start. Was ahead of the first lap incident. After the race resumed, he plunged under Murphy (#51) at the Chase, overshot and speared across the track past the corner exit and tagged Wood (#8) and was then hit by Campbell (#26).

34

35

8

14TH

20TH

26TH

DECLAN FRASER/CRAIG LOWNDES First of the wildcards, Lowndes started out of 16th where he qualified. Avoided the lap one drama on Mountain Straight.

Fraser took over the car early and led three laps. Team ran low wing to improve straight line speed, then increased wing for top of the mountain handling – but then suffered tyre deg.

JACK LE BROCQ/AARON SETON Despite taking some rear end damage amid the chaos on Mountain Straight, Le Brocq managed to climb up eight spots in the first stint. A front splitter failure required lots of attention through the day. Car #34 was as high as 11th in the closing stages before dropping back.

TODD HAZELWOOD/JAYDEN OJEDA Ojeda gained five spots after avoiding early trouble and entered the first round of stops in a promising 12th. But repairs to fix a flapping front splitter dropped the car back to P23. Hazelwood fought up to 11th until a lockup sent him into the Griffin’s Bend tyres. Eventually finished two laps down.

ANDRE HEIMGARTNER/DALE WOOD DNF – Wood started out of 12th after qualified by Heimgartner. Wood was the innocent first victim of the Chase smash.

Goddard speared across the track and tagged the Commodore and briefly put it on two wheels and caused big damage.

Wood emotional back in the garage and consoled by crew.

14

18

22

26

9TH

15TH

21ST

27TH

BRYCE FULLWOOD/DEAN FIORE Improved 15 positions during the race to finish in the top 10, the biggest gain of any in the race.

Fullwood qualified 24th and with Fiore driving, missed the melee on lap one to be 17th after one lap. Apart from one pitstop drama with the driver changeover, car ran faultlessly all day.

MARK WINTERBOTTOM/MICHAEL CARUSO

CHRIS PITHER/CAMERON HILL Despite the early chaos, Pither kept the Coca-Cola Commodore clean to jump five spots in the first stint.

Everything was going smoothly with Hill helping #22 to P15 with 20 laps to go, but power-steering issues resulted in the entry finishing eight laps down.

DAVID REYNOLDS/MATT CAMPBELL DNF – Showed good pace early in the weekend, but this did not translate into qualifying. Starting from P18, Campbell managed to sneak through the spinning cars on the first lap, only to be stopped in his tracks by a rejoining Goddard in a scary shunt leaving the Chase.

9

20

2

55

10TH

WILL BROWN/JACK PERKINS Perkins had flashbacks to 2006, turned around halfway up Mountain Straight at the start. Was able to limp back to the pits and regain the lost lap back at the second Safety Car. A strong stint by Brown got the #9 back in the mix and after 10 stops they salvaged a top 10 result.

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Winterbottom was in the wars early, running into the back of his teammate in the first-lap concertina on Mountain Straight. Just five laps later, ‘Frosty’ suffered some rear-end damage when he was turned by car #17. An issue changing brake rotors put #18 a lap down, but a wave-by helped gain P15.

16TH

SCOTT PYE/TYLER EVERINGHAM

Everingham was forced to jump on the brakes halfway up Mountain Straight and received some friendly fire, creating some rear-end damage and a broken anti-roll bar.

Crafty strategy pushed Pye up to second, but Everingham’s off at McPhilliamy Park lost ground. Pye eventually followed his teammate home with the help of a Lucky Dog.

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22ND

NICK PERCAT/WARREN LUFF It was a tale of what could have been for car #2. Luff utilised Percat’s seasonbest grid position of P7 to jump to P3 instantly. A small scare with #3 did not stop Percat from sitting pretty in the top four, but a big shunt at Forrest’s Elbow due to a ‘rejected’ gear change did.

28TH

THOMAS RANDLE/ZAK BEST DNF – Caught up in the Mountain Straight first lap incident. Randle qualified and Best started 15th. In his bid to avoid #9, he had contact with the spinning Commodore, was on the grass and slide into the concrete wall on drivers’ left. Repairable control arm damage but brought back on tilt tray and out of race.

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Formula 1 Round 17 Suzuka Circuit, Japanese GP

Leclerc shaded the start, but Verstappen would blow around the outside at Turn 1 (below) – with more grip on the outside line.

A DESERVED TITLE WITH UNNECESSARY CONFUSION AUTO ACTION’S FORMULA 1 CORRESPONDANT LUIS VASCONCELOS WAS ON HAND TO WITNESS ANOTHER DRAMA-FILLED, WET AND WILD JAPANESE GRAND PRIX Images MOTORSPORT IMAGES MAX VERSTAPPEN dominated a shortened Japanese Grand Prix and secured his second Formula One World Championship, in a day where unnecessary and dangerous decisions put the drivers’ life at risk, the inadequacy of the Full Wet tyres was exposed and a massive oversight in the way the Sporting Regulations were rewritten after last year’s Belgian Grand Prix fiasco meant no-one knew full points would be awarded for a race that barely went past half distance …

On track, though, there was never any doubts about the outcome of the Japanese Grand Prix after Verstappen masterfully overcame Leclerc at the original start by braking incredibly late into the first corner: “I had a terrible start but I was not surprised, because my starts from the pit lane and also for the formation lap had already been terrible. But I knew there’s more grip in the outside line going into the first corner, so even though Charles was a

bit in front of me I could go in faster and retake the lead.”

The increasing rain and the incidents that involved Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon made the race stoppage that came at the end of lap two inevitable – and then followed almost two hours of waiting.

For the Dutchman, all the Race Direction decisions were correct: “it was right to start the race and correct to stop it. Then they announced they were going to re-start it and I thought that was a mistake as visibility would be terrible.

“Fortunately, they realised that and suspended the procedure. When they eventually re-started the race, it was possible to race safety and, of course, being at the front, I had a clear view and it was, for sure, much harder for all the others.”

After a rolling start in which Leclerc got close but not close enough to challenge for the lead, Verstappen’s priority was to change to the Intermedia tyres: “I don’t want to take a dig at anyone, but I think we need better rain tyres. If you saw what we could Yet another F1 championship decided at Suzuka!

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do in the 1990s or the early 2000s with this amount of water on the track ... I’m very happy to have a few test days and try all different kinds of tyres, but we need better rain tyres, because I think the Extremes are just slow and they can’t really carry a lot of water away.

“That’s why everyone always tries to switch very quickly to an intermediate, because it’s just so much faster per lap. Like you could see from one to the other lap we went from the Extreme to the Intermediates today and we went immediately five seconds — at least — faster, and that is just too big a gap ...”

With Leclerc’s Intermediate tyres losing grip at an alarming rate, Verstappen’s life was made easier, and he finished the 28 lap race a stunning 27s ahead of his nearest rival: “Being in front and with Charles dropping back, I could control the pace and look after the tyres. This is one of the strengths of our car – not in all the races this year, but certainly in the most recent ones – so although there was some tyre degradation,

the pace was still good and I could manage them.”

PRECIPITATING THE INEVITABLE

Charles Leclerc’s last corner mistake handed the title to Max Verstappen as the 5s penalty he was quickly handed by the Stewards put him down in third place in the race and three points short of being able to delay Max’s title celebrations for another two weeks.

After briefly challenging the Red Bull driver at the re-start, Leclerc lost nearly two seconds when they both pitted for Intermediate tyres at the end of lap seven and lost another couple of seconds getting past Mick Schumacher, who, by staying out on Full Wets, was suddenly among the leaders.

The Ferrari driver then cut back the gap to 4.2s to Verstappen by lap 10, but after that he knew he was in trouble: “We had the same issue we had all year, this time made more obvious because we were running on Intermediates, that degrade faster than the slicks.

Water, water, water ... Latifi’s result was his best of the year. earning points.

, Vettel checks out the gravel density ... while (above) the Red Bull 1-2 confirmed Verstappen’s title – at Honda’s home track ...

“Again we were able to switch them on really quickly, so we were quick immediately after the pit stop but then they just lost grip very, very quickly and Max could pull away easily.”

That’s why the Monegasque was convinced that, “even if I had passed in the first or the second start there was no way we could have stayed in front, because he had much more pace as soon as his tyres started to work and mine started to drop off at the same time.”

Then came the mistake in the chicane, at the end of lap 28, that settled the title with still four races to go: “Checo was all over the back of my car for a few laps and I simply had no front-end grip, so I couldn’t turn into the chicane. I thought there was one more lap, so I wanted to keep a gap to Checo and I didn’t realise the race was ending on that lap and was still pushing.”

As for the penalty he was handed, the Ferrari driver didn’t seem too bothered: “Yes, I cut the chicane and kept my position, didn’t gain anything, but I accept it.” That’s more than what can be said about Team

Principal Mattia Binotto, who from his office in Maranello made it clear he was surprised by the speed the penalty decision was taken: “I’m very surprised, very disappointed.

In Singapore, they only decided a long time after the race – they had to hear the drivers to take a simple decision which was straightforward; but today they took it in a few seconds, so I’m surprised by such different behaviours between Singapore and here, after only a few days.

“Was the decision of a five-second penalty right or wrong? In our view, Charles didn’t gain the advantage, he was ahead, he stayed ahead; he’s got the gap, he kept the same gap. It was still arguable, but that is the way they decided, which we will have to accept.”

AN UNEXPECTED CELEBRATION

Having stepped out of the RB18 believing he would need to wait at least another two weeks before celebrating his second title, Verstappen was surprised to be told he was now the 2022 World Champion.

But the confusion didn’t end there: “On the radio they told me I was one point short,

QUALIFYING / STARTING GRID RACE 17

RESULTS RACE 17 ?? LAPS SUZUKA CIRCUIT

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 17

Pos Driver Time 1 Max Verstappen 1:29.304 2 Charles Leclerc 1:29.314 3 Carlos Sainz 1:29.361 4 Sergio Perez 1:29.709 5 Esteban Ocon 1:30.165 6 Lewis Hamilton 1:30.261 7 Fernando Alonso 1:30.322 8 George Russell 1:30.389 9 Sebastian Vettel 1:30.554 10 Lando Norris 1:31.003 11 Daniel Ricciardo 1:30.659 12 Valtteri Bottas 1:30.709 13 Yuki Tsunoda 1:30.808 14 Zhou Guanyu 1:30.953 15 Mick Schumacher 1:31.439 16 Alexander Albon 1:31.311 17 Pierre Gasly 1:31.322 18 Kevin Magnussen 1:31.352 19 Lance Stroll 1:31.419 20 Nicholas Latifi 1:31.511

Pos Drivers 1 Max Verstappen 2 Sergio Perez 3 Charles Leclerc 4 Esteban Ocon 5 Lewis Hamilton 6 Sebastian Vettel 7 Fernando Alonso 8 George Russell 9 Nicholas Latifi 10 Lando Norris 11 Daniel Ricciardo 12 Lance Stroll 13 Yuki Tsunoda 14 Kevin Magnussen 15 Valtteri Bottas 16 Zhou Guanyu 17 Mick Schumacher 18 Pierre Gasly NC Carlos Sainz NC Alexander Albon

Pos Driver 1 Max Verstappen 2 Sergio Perez 3 Charles Leclerc 4 George Russell 5 Carlos Sainz 6 Lewis Hamilton 7 Lando Norris 8 Esteban Ocon 9 Fernando Alonso 10 Valtteri Bottas 11 Sebastian Vettel 12 Daniel Ricciardo 13 Pierre Gasly 14 Kevin Magnussen 15 Lance Stroll 16 Mick Schumacher 17 Yuki Tsunoda 18 Zhou Guanyu 19 Alexander Albon 20 Nicholas Latifi

Make Laps Margin RED BULL RACING 28 3:01:44.004 RED BULL RACING 28 +27.066s s3 FERRARI 28 +31.763s t-1 ALPINE F1 28 +39.685s s1 MERCEDES 28 +40.326s s1 ASTON MARTIN 28 +46.358s s3 ALPINE F1 28 +46.369s MERCEDES 28 +47.661s WILLIAMS 28 +70.143s s11 MCLAREN 28 +70.782s MCLAREN 28 +72.877s ASTON MARTIN 28 +73.904s s7 ALPHATAURI 28 +75.599s HAAS FERRARI 28 +86.016s s4 ALFA ROMEO 28 +86.496s t-3 ALFA ROMEO 28 +87.043s t-2 HAAS FERRARI 28 +92.523s t-2 ALPHATAURI 28 +108.091s t-1 FERRARI 0 DNF t-16 WILLIAMS 0 DNF t-4

Points 366 253 s1 252 t-1 207 202 180 101 78 65 46 32 s1 29 t-1 23 22 13 12 11 6 4 2 -

Note - Perez scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

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so I was still happy to have won the race and that was that. Soon after I did the first interview out of the car someone said I was champion and I was like, ‘oh, cool’ but then the team told me that was not the case.

“Eventually it was confirmed so that was really, really cool, because it was a great reward for the whole team and especially for Honda, in their home circuit.”

With the benefit of knowing the title was his, the Dutchman saw the funny side of the situation: “To be honest, I don’t mind that it was a little bit confusing, I find it actually quite funny, because it’s not going to change the result. When I crossed the line it was anyway not enough even if we knew they were going to give full points; in that scenario it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

In conclusion, the double World Champion didn’t see any reason to criticise the way Formula One handled the end of the race: “Honestly, these are really complex situations with the weather and the amount of laps needed, and of course it’s the difference between if you finish a race or the race gets red-flagged early on and then you can’t continue, and there is a difference between the two.

“I do think if you don’t write enough rules it’s not good; if you write too many rules it’s also not good – it’s always really hard to find a middle ground, I think.”

Given this title was won with so many races in hand, it’s no surprise the Dutchman admits the feeling in Suzuka was very different from the one he experienced ten months ago in Abu Dhabi: “For sure they are very different emotions.

Last year, all the way to the last race, it was probably the worst kind of feeling, going into that last race. At the time, I didn’t think we were the quickest anymore, and that doesn’t help.

“And this year, it has just been very, very different in emotions, from the start, all the way through the year. Both titles are beautiful and both are nice to experience. It’s nice to have the pressure on and having to perform at your limit every single lap, but not for too many years in a row, so I was very happy with the year we had this time around.”

OCON SHINES AS MCLAREN CRUMBLES WITH THE Red Bulls and Ferraris out of reach in Suzuka, as Mercedes had dropped to the front of the midfield, Carlos Sainz’s first lap shunt meant fourth place was up for grabs.

Esteban Ocon (above), though, was in the best form of the season and right from qualifying showed he was best of the rest around Suzuka. Holding Hamilton in the two starts put him in a strong position but he then had to defend a lot from the seven-times World Champion, admitting, “it was hard enough to look ahead and read the track conditions, I also had my mirrors full of Lewis’ car, so that was a hard afternoon.”

To his credit the Frenchman didn’t put a wheel wrong and thanks to the Alpine’s straight-line advantage he was able to keep the Mercedes driver at bay.

For Hamilton, “it was great fun to be actually fighting with someone, but Esteban made few mistakes and every time I pulled out of the slipstream and started to get alongside him, he just pulled away, because we really don’t have the same top speed as the others.”

Behind them it was Sebastian Vettel – in his best showing of the year – who beat Fernando Alonso for sixth place, the German recovering from contact with his rival at the start of the race and being rewarded for being the first to revert to Intermediate tyres as soon as the Safety Car pulled into the pits, after the re-start.

The Aston Martin driver admitted, “I love Suzuka and even in these conditions it’s great fun to drive around here, so this is definitively the one I’ll miss next year”, when he’ll be a retired racing driver.

Alonso rued the team’s strategy, claiming, “today we got it all wrong, because we pitted way too late for new tyres and just barely recovered to the position we were in before that. We should have pitted three or four laps earlier and that would have put me much further up the order.”

George Russell was also an unhappy man, “because the team insisted that I pit the same lap as Lewis and with the need to double stack I lost about 10 seconds…” His recovery drive, though, was one of the highlights of the race, twice passing people around the outside in the last leg of the Esses, something you really don’t see every day, so his eighth place was poor reward for his efforts.

Nicholas Latifi finally got into the points with a steady drive in difficult conditions, pitting as soon as the track was clear and then holding out without making any mistakes. While he didn’t have the pace to hold Alonso and Russell, the Canadian driver kept the two McLaren drivers behind him until the end of the race, proving to his critics he’s not as hopeless as they make him out to be.

For Norris and Ricciardo the weekend was a tremendous disappointment after showing some promise in dry conditions, in FP3. The Englishman secured the last point available ahead of his teammate, but the loss of 17 points to Alpine put McLaren really on the backfoot in the battle for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

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TEST YOUR MOTORSPORT KNOWLEDGE

Across

Down

4. Which F1 team will sport an all-French driver line-up in 2023?

6. Who won the IndyCar championship on debut in 1993? (surname) 8. Dick Johnson made his ATCC debut driving what brand of car?

10. Who has signed to join AlphaTauri in 2023? (surname) 11. Who scored pole position for the Bathurst 1000 in 2022? (surname) 13. Which Aussie won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1993? (full name) 18. Kalle Rovanpera won his maiden World Rally Championship title driving for what brand?

19 Who won his fourth and final Formula 1 World Championship in 1993 before retiring from the sport? (surname) 21. Which rally did Kalle Rovanpera win to secure the 2022 WRC title?

22. Garth Tander won the Bathurst 1000 again in 2022, how many times has he now won the `Great Race?’

23. For how many seasons were Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa teammates in MotoGP? 24. Ford locked out the top three positions of the 1993 ATCC, who was the highest placed Holden driver? (full name) 25. On what straight did Zak Best and Thomas Randle’s Bathurst 1000 come to an early end?

26. Kalle Rovanpera broke the record set by Colin McRae as youngest WRC title winner, how old is he? (in years) 27. The all-Kiwi pairing of Richie Stanaway and Greg Murphy finished the race in what position?

1. Who won the DTM title a fortnight ago? (full name) 2. Who was the highest placed rookie to finish the Bathurst 1000 this year? (surname) 3. Who scored his maiden Formula 1 victory at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019? (surname) 5. Remy Gardner will race for what brand in World Superbikes next year?

6. Who won the 2019 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix? (surname) 7. Who won the Bathurst 1000 in 1993 with Larry Perkins? (surname) 8. What brand of bike does Alex Marquez currently ride?

9. Which F1 team did James Hunt race for in 1979 before retiring mid-season?

12. What car number was the highest placed Ford Mustang in the Bathurst 1000?

14. Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indy 500 in 1993 – how many times did he win the famous race?

15. Which manufacturer locked out the Le Mans podium in 1993?

16. Which Italian manufacturer will debut in Formula E next season?

17. In what position did Craig Lowndes and Declan Fraser finish the Bathurst 1000?

20. Who says “its lights out and away we go?” (full name) 23. Who won his first V8 Supercars Championship in 1993? (surname)

Bathurst crossword answers: 1 down – seven, 2 across – three, 3 across – Torana, 3 down – three-hundred, 4 across – Hell Corner, 5 down – Jim Richards, 6 down – Smith, 6 across – Skaife, 7 down – twenty-eight, 7 across – three, 8 across – six, 9 across – Dick Johnson, 10 down – one, 11 down – two, 12 down – Dumbrell, 13 across – Coulthard,14 across – zero, 15 across – Goddard, 16 down – one, 17 down – MSR, 18 down – Moffat, 19 across – seven, 20 down – nine, 21 down – fourteen, 21 across – fifty-one, 22 across – nine, 23 across – Besnard, 24 across – fifth, 25 across – Lowndes, 26 across – French

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1972: THE MOTORSPORT world could not stop talking about Peter Brock, following the King’s first of nine Bathurst wins half a century ago. Brock claimed the 1972 Hardie Ferodo 500 unchallenged after a famously eventful race in wet conditions.

At Port Macquarie, Scottish rally driver Andrew Cowan took out the Rothmans International Southern Cross Rally on board a Galant 1600.

Looking to recover from his Bathurst defeat, Allan Moffat added a Boss 302 Mustang to the Calder Challenge field, which also included Bob Jane, Bill Brown and Leo Geoghegan.

1982: ONE WEEK after getting disqualified from the recent Bathurst 1000, Dick Johnson recieved another blow, being suspended from racing for en entire month. Johnson and John French were disqualified when race scrutineers deemed the heads on the Tru-Blu Ford Falcon XE to be illegal. Allan Moffat was also back in the news, as Mazda looked at ways of being more competitive at Bathurst.

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1992: THE CONTROVERSY reached new heights in 1992 when winners Jim Richards and Mark Skaife were greeted with a hostile reception on the podium. After a wet and wild Great Race, the pair’s Nissan Skyline GTR famously finished the race in the wall. But much to the crowd’s fury, they were declared winners and Richards had something to say.

Sadly, the day was also scarred following the death of 1967 Formula 1 world champion Denny Hulme, who passed away behind the wheel on Conrod Straight.

2002: MOUNT PANORAMA turned red as history repeated with Mark Skaife and Jim Richards combining successfully once again. This time they were celebrating with the crowd on a day when their HRT ‘Golden Child’ led an all holden top five, while Peter Brock made his first of two comebacks to the Mountain in the Motorola Commodore, but could only complete 136 of the 161 laps. Overseas Michael Schumacher completed one of the most dominant Formula 1 titles by recording his 11th win at the season finale in Suzuka, Japan.

2012: JAMIE WHINCUP joined the greats by holding off David Reynolds in a nail-biting finish to the 2012 Great Race. Whincup and Paul Dumbrell secured their only Bathurst win in their first drive together, while Reynolds and Dean Canto won a lot of hearts by pushing the eventual championship winning car all the way to the chequered flag in their FPR Falcon, paying tribute to Harry Firth and Fred Gibson’s 1967 winner. Amid the 50th anniversary celebrations, rumours Ford favourite Dick Johnson Racing would ditch the blue oval for Mazda started circulating.

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1989 Nissan Skyline GTR

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