Auto Action #1853

TICKFORD GRABS SUPER2 CHAMP DECLAN FRASER www.autoaction.com.au

AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT

ZANE GODDARD

JOINS LOWNDES FOR ENDUROS

LOWNDES MAKES IT SUPER

SUPERSTAR CONFIRMED FOR BATHURST

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DECLAN FRASER’S SUMMER SWAP THE 2022 SUPER2 CHAMPION WENT FROM HOLIDAYING IN BALI AND WONDERING WHAT THE YEAR AHEAD WAS GOING TO HOLD TO SECURING A PLUM DRIVE WITH TICKFORD. HE SPOKE WITH ANDREW CLARKE DECLAN FRASER’S summer holidays took a dramatic turn in December. It started with a Championship win in Super2 and not having a full-time drive or contract for 2023, and ended early with the full-time gig at Tickford.

A Triple Eight driver, the door opened for him to switch camps when Tickford sacked Jake Kostecki after an incidentpacked night at the Supercars Gala Awards in Adelaide. After Tickfrord decided to part ways with Kostecki, Tickford’s search for its new driver was quick and sharp.

After ruling out its Super2 driver and series runner-up Zak Best, it turned to the champion and made the approach. It didn’t take long to do a deal to put Fraser into the #56 Tradie Mustang.

“It was pretty chaotic,” Fraser said of the past few weeks. “We had a good run in Adelaide and won two races and the championship. But after that, it was, what do I do now? At that time, I didn’t have a

full-time drive lined up, and the financial step from Super2 to the main game is massive so we couldn’t make anything happen there.

“To have them [Tickford] call me and offer me the drive purely on my performance and how we raced through the season means the absolute world to me. I have to trust in them now and move forward with them.”

The deal was done pretty quickly.

“I went to Bali for a holiday after Adelaide, and that was when everything was happening. It was definitely a busy time.”

Fraser’s rise to the top has been rapid and undoubtedly accelerated by his involvement with Triple Eight, Craig Lowndes and Supercheap. He entered the Super2 series in 2021 with MW Motorsport, and then last year, he joined the Triple Eight family and drove the #777 Commodore to victory with four wins from 11 starts during the season.

He also made his Bathurst debut in the Supercheap wildcard entry with Craig Lowndes, finishing eighth on a tough day at the Mountain.

It was all enough to put him on the radar. And with Supercheap support, he was the centre of many silly season rumours, but none came off. Just when he was looking at signing a deal with Triple Eight for a couple of wildcards and the endurance races, Tickford rang.

“It’s a massive shift for me. I can’t thank Triple Eight enough for their support in the past. I still have a real connection with them; they were kind enough to let me chase my goal and get into my own drive.

“They were so supportive. They let me know that I am always welcome to chat with them, even if I am with one of their rivals. Having them in my corner means a lot, and knowing that I can ring Craig as a mentor is amazing.

“They’ve supported my move to

Tickford, and I’m so excited to be joining such a massive team. I spent a couple of days with them at the workshop, meeting everybody and learning what they all do.

“It is a great time to join the series, too, with the new cars. I think you saw with Broc and Tom that you can qualify well in your first season and get podiums, so I’ll definitely be going for that. But really, I just want to settle into the team and finish in the top 10 as often as possible.”

Tickford has already integrated him with the team, sending him on a fitness boot camp with the other drivers while the crew scrambles to get the new cars ready for Newcastle.

DECLAN FRASER SERIES RESULTS 2018 Toyota 86 – Declan Fraser Racing 12th 2019 Toyota 86 – Paul Morris Motorsport 4th 2020 Super3 – Anderson Motorsport N/A* 2021 Super2 – MW Motorsport 8th 2022 Super2 – Triple Eight Race Engineering 1st * No Championship was awarded in 2020

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SUPERCHEAP GOES WITH LOWNDES AND SUPERCHEAP WILL AGAIN ENTER A WILDCARD FOR BATHURST – FOR CRAIG LOWNDES AND ZANE GODDARD. FOLLOWING ON from its successful run at Bathurst in 2022 with Craig Lowndes and Declan Fraser, Supercheap Auto has announced it will team up with Triple Eight to run a Bathurst wildcard for the third year in succession. Craig Lowndes will lead the effort after running last year with Declan Fraser, and Zane Goddard has been poached from Tickford to take the second seat.

With Goddard on board, Supercheap and Triple Eight will explore the possibility of adding a SuperSprint wildcard to its confirmed runs at the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000.

Supercheap’s decision to run with Triple Eight and Lowndes again was announced yesterday (Wednesday) and is the first official livery launch for the Gen3 era, albeit with renderings only.

“Supercheap Auto is super excited to partner up with Triple Eight Race Engineering for our third consecutive year with a Supercars Wildcard,” Benjamin Ward, Managing Director of Supercheap Auto said.

“We’re delighted to welcome back Craig Lowndes in the Supercheap Auto Racing Camaro while also providing Zane Goddard with an opportunity to showcase his full potential. Fans can expect we’ll make it super again in 2023 with exciting plans on and off track to follow for this year’s Supercheap Auto Wildcard program.”

Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight’s Team Principal, said the signing of Goddard to run in the car is a bonus for the team as it farewells Declan Fraser, who will run with Tickford in 2023.

“Zane is an amazingly talented driver, and the entire team are so excited to have him join us in 2023, partnering with Lowndesy.

“His racing resume for such a young age is quite impressive; two years in Super2, two years in the main game and

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a handful of Bathurst 1000 appearances – he’s going to be an incredible asset to our program. It’s now up to us to give him all the support he needs to grab this opportunity with both hands.

“I also want to thank Supercheap Auto for their continued support of such an amazing program. To think our Supercheap Auto wildcard program over the last two years has helped two emerging superstars in Broc (Feeney) and Declan (Fraser) graduate to the Supercars Championship as full-time drivers is beyond amazing.

“Their [Supercheap] support for not only our team, but the sport itself should not be underestimated.”

Lowndes says he was impressed last year with Supercheap’s approach, and he is excited to mentor another young co-driver.

“Being part of the Supercheap Auto team last year and the way they presented themselves was amazing,” he said. “I’m excited to come back and grow on that – make it bigger and more super. Having a brand new Camaro is something that will be really special as well.

“I’ve been working alongside Zane for the last couple of years. We’ve been doing some demonstrations together with the Gen3 car, so I got to know Zane pretty well over this time, as well as his stint in the main game. He’s a great young kid with great speed and a great head on his shoulders. For me, I’m really looking forward to going to Bathurst this year in the wildcard car and sharing the load both on and off the track, and from what I saw last year, he did a fantastic job. He made one little mistake on race day – we all do that, but, of course, we all move on and grow as drivers.

“I really enjoyed the

mentoring side of things last year with Declan (Fraser). I think that Zane is a bit further down the path than what Declan was or is now, so for me, I don’t think it’ll be as intense off the track.

Hopefully, we can share the knowledge and experience we have, especially when you get to Bathurst because it’s such a long week. There’s obviously a bit of a spotlight on us being a wildcard at Bathurst, but my focus is to make sure that by the time we get to Sunday’s race, Zane is focussed and ready to go.

“Once we get the cars built, ergonomics will be a big focus for us to ensure we’re both comfortable inside the car. Zane’s height is very similar to mine – I’m probably a little bit wider in the girth, but I’m really looking forward to getting on track to sort those things out.

“My focus this year is to better our result from last year. We achieved the best result for any wildcard entry at the Bathurst 1000, so that was great.

The problem is, you want to do that again, so my focus is to finish higher than eighth.

“It’s fantastic to have a major organisation like Supercheap Auto backing a program like this – you really have to take these opportunities with both hands. I know Broc (Feeney) did and has now migrated into the main game, the same as Declan.

Zane has been in that position, but we now want to get him back there, and this is a great opportunity for it.”

For Goddard, it was about looking for opportunities to showcase his talents, which he doesn’t think he got to do last year because of circumstances. He had only one race in

Zane Goddard 2022, and that was the fateful run at Bathurst, which ended after three laps.

The 23-year-old was a full-time driver for Matt Stone Racing in 2021 after completing a half-season in 2020 while sharing his MSR drive with Jake Kostecki.

When the phone rang with this opportunity, he was excited to join a seven times Bathurst winner in the most successful team in the sport.

“Triple Eight is the best in the business, and driving alongside Craig is not something everyone gets to do,” he said.

“Around Bathurst, he is probably as good as it gets, so it will be awesome, a great opportunity.”

At Tickford Racing, he felt doors were closing when Declan Fraser joined the team, which also had Zak Best on the sidelines at the time. He felt the only way to get back in the picture for a full-time drive was to leave there.

WILD AGAIN GODDARD ANDREW CLARKE REPORTS The washout from his Bathurst crash was a tough time for him as he was targeted in a hate campaign on social media that had current and past drivers up in arms at the treatment and threats by cowardly keyboard warriors. He went underground for a bit as people jumped in to support him, personally and publicly.

Russell Ingall led the defence, calling for better behaviour from Supercars fans on social media and, along with Tickford’s support, he got through a tough time in pretty good shape and is ready to race again.

“It was definitely an experience, but it wasn’t ideal. It went from the domino effect of a little lockup to disaster. It is the sort of thing that happens there all the time and, on any other day, it would have just been a run on some dry grass.

“The way it transpired was not ideal, and the backlash from a lot of people on social media definitely stuck with me.

“I spent some time away from all the social media and other stuff, and I didn’t think about racing too much for a little while. It was quite refreshing, and I feel a lot more motivated to get back into it after the time away.

It was all just background noise, and now I’m going to do what I enjoy and ignore it.

“Through the whole thing, he [Ingall)

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reached out straight away.

But I was surprised at some of the other people who reached out to me, even people that were involved in it [the crash], like mechanics and other drivers. They were all checking in on me, which was really nice.

“But I definitely saw the bad side of a lot of people as much as the good.”

The social media onslaught was unprecedented, helped in no small part by mis-statements in the commentary that Mark Skaife retracted after he listened back to what was said. But the damage was done, and he had to dig deep to come back rather than walk away, which was an option he considered.

“I thought about if I was going to come back, and now that I have, I feel like I’m in a good position. I didn’t want to be halfway on anything. It was either all in or out. It does reinvigorate you, but it was a little bit questionable in those two months. I still love my racing, but external things were affecting me.

“But I feel like I’m pretty much back now.”

THE PART-TIME CHALLENGE Goddard, like all the endurance drivers doing only Sandown and Bathurst, has the challenge of keeping in touch and staying match fit. There is the possibility of a sprint round wildcard in the car, which will help, but that is yet to be confirmed.

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The current rules allow for only one sprint wildcard per Teams Racing Charter (TRC), of which Triple Eight has one. Loopholes discussed in Auto Action #1852 may allow extra runs, and there is also a proposal for extra wildcards per TRC being considered

by Supercars. It will also depend on the team having its third car ready and whether or not he has to battle Peter Adderton’s Boost Mobile entry for the Triple Eight entry.

Regardless, he’ll prepare like he is racing tomorrow.

“The fitness side is not a drama for me. I enjoy that anyway, and I’d do it whether I was racing or not. I don’t need any extra motivation. That part is good. Last year I did a lot of the Gen3 stuff, so I was around the track a lot. I always had that sort of involvement.

“I like the experience of having a different role and hope to help develop the new car. I feel like I can take those learnings into driving full-time again.”

STANAWAY JOINS TRIPLE EIGHT RICHIE STANAWAY has won the most coveted co-driver vacancy on the Supercars grid, joining Triple Eight Race Engineering to partner Shane van Gisbergen.

Following on from his wildcard drive to P4 in qualifying and a P11 race finish at last year’s Bathurst 1000, the Tauranga-born Kiwi joins van Gisbergen for an all New Zealand assault on the 2023 Sandown 500 and Great Race.

After van Gisbergen and Garth Tander combined to win two of the last three Bathurst 1000s, many were shocked to see the latter switch to Ford for the first time in his long career to drive for Grove Racing.

Suddenly Triple Eight found themselves in a “global search” for van Gisbergen’s new partner and settled on fellow Kiwi Stanaway.

The 2017 Sandown 500 winner first arrived on the Supercars scene seven years ago, but driving car #97 with the all-conquering van Gisbergen will be easily his best shot at chasing Great Race glory in his stop-start career.

Stanaway is determined to make the opportunity count and will be present at all the team’s test and ride days.

He also thanked Boost Mobile boss Peter Adderton, who has been strongly supporting him throughout his Supercars journey.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining the team in 2023.

It’s a huge opportunity for me and I’m so grateful to work with such an amazing team,” Stanaway said.

“It’s the best possible outcome for me after doing the wildcard program at Bathurst last year. To drive for arguably the best team in the field with the best driver in the category is the best-case scenario as a co-driver … I can’t ask for much more than that.

“For now, it’s about preparing as best as I can and getting my racing mileage up as much as possible. I’ll continue to do a lot of simulator work to stay sharp … that was the main way I prepared for Bathurst in 2022.

“I want to thank Boost Mobile and Peter Adderton for their support, as well as Greg Murphy who I drove with last year. They’ve been instrumental in getting me back on the right track which has led to this opportunity.”

Thomas Miles

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FORD COMFORT LEVELS RISING WITH GEN3 ANDREW CLARKE REPORTS THAT AN EXTRA ROUND OF TESTING TO SOLVE AN ENGINE ISSUE HAS LEFT FORD CAUTIOUSLY HAPPY WITH THE PROGRESS OF GEN3. NOW IT JUST NEEDS THE AERO TO BE SIGNED OFF LAST WEEK’S Gen3 test at Queensland Raceway is believed to have left Ford a little happier with the progress of parity in the Gen3 program, but it is reportedly cautious awaiting Supercars’ validation of the changes.

Two issues have left the Ford camp unhappy.

The first one surrounds the engine mapping of the Coyote engine – which was on test last week – and the other is regarding the rear wing end plates and the validation of the VCAT aerodynamic testing from last year.

The engine issue is unrelated to the new E75 fuel that Supercars will use next year. The new fuel has 75% ethanol and a 25% blend of synthetic and fossil fuels, leading Supercars into the synthetic fuel era three years earlier than Formula One. GM Camaro-based teams will run a 5.7-litre V8 single camshaft engine with two valves-per-cylinder, not that far removed in format from the previous engine used in the Commodore. Ford has gone for the more modern Coyote engine, the 5.4-litre quad cam, four valves-per-cylinder V8 that rides in the latest Mustang GT road car.

Herrod Performance Engines will build and supply all the Ford Supercar teams, while KRE Race Engines is doing the same for the GM engines. The development program has been run by a combination of these two suppliers with factory support out of the States.

The engine mapping problem has come about as Ford and Supercars work with the Coyote engine to try and match the performance metrics of the older design Chev V8. The sophisticated Coyote engine has a number of variables not available on the Chev, and the engine mapping has been tweaked to try and exactly match the Chev’s performance in terms of not just how much power and torque is delivered to the rear wheels but how that is delivered.

The issue was picked up during its back-to-back test with

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Mapping of the Ford Coyote engine has been completed. the three drivers allowed to test both cars – Luke Youlden, Steve Richards and Warren Luff.

Supercars scheduled last week’s comparative test to check Ford’s changes to the engine map, and word is that all are happy with the changes but that the data first needs to be validated by Supercars before being signed off.

The mapping work has not stopped the build of the engines since the hardware has been locked away for some time, and revisions to the mapping can be uploaded – and locked – at any time.

Six Ford engines and seven Chev engines have been built, tested and allocated to the teams at an initial rate of one engine per two cars, meaning Tickford Racing and Brad Jones Racing have two engines on the way down the highway.

All engines are tested for parity by Cragsted Race Engines and randomly allocated by a computer to each of the teams.

On the aero front, Supercars is trying to find a venue for an extra VCAT test to confirm some of the data to Ford’s satisfaction, although this has played no part in the late delivery of the rear wings for the 11 Mustangs that will take the grid.

That supply issue is purely production related with delays out of LSM Composites in Toowoomba.

While the battle for parity and confidence continues, the teams are getting on with the task of building cars without all the components.

Barry Ryan from Erebus Motorsport has published a letter detailing where his team is at with the Gen3 build as we near the scheduled shakedown runs on 1 February, which will likely move back at least a week.

“Firstly, I will say that Gen3 is what Supercars needs and a change the fans will hopefully embrace with open arms. The GM vs Ford rivalry is hopefully alive again,” his letter reads.

“Delays with controlled components is what currently stalls our car builds. We don’t have engines, exhausts, air boxes, radiator ducts, front splitters, front crash bars, dashboards, leg protection/drivers floor trays (both these items are now for us to make), rear wings, uprights and several designs and items we are expecting for assembly direction.

“We could send out a picture of a car on wheels and pretend we are nearly ready, but that would be misleading and simply waste critical time that can be spent making things better.

“Erebus will shake our cars down and test when we have 100% complete cars. Testing an incomplete car without proper initial set up time is a waste of everyone’s time and will not help us win races in 2023. If this happens to be February 1, that’s great, but I suspect we will shake down and test February 13-15.”

ADDERTON CALLS ANDRETTI ON HYPOCRISY AND ASKS FOR SUPPORT

PETER ADDERTON IS STILL NOT WELCOME IN SUPERCARS AS THE TEAMS CLOSE SHOP TO BLOCK HIS ENTRY, AND HE CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY WAU CO-OWNER MICHAEL ANDRETTI IS PART OF THE CLIQUE WHEN THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING TO HIM IN FORMULA 1. ADDERTON SPEAKS WITH BRUCE WILLIAMS. PETER ADDERTON is happy that his wildcard effort last year has landed Richie Stanaway the plum drive of co-driving at Bathurst with Shane van Gisbergen, but he still believes Stanaway should be on the grid full-time in 2023 in a Boost Mobile Camaro.

Speaking from his base in the United States, Adderton has again expressed his dismay at being blocked by the teams, especially when one of its team owners is suffering the same fate in Formula One. Instead, he’ll just look at doing as many wildcard rounds as he is permitted.

“We’re still as committed as ever to doing wildcards,” Adderton said. “We’re still as committed as ever to going full-time racing, it’s just that we’ve got no answers from anybody.

“Supercars hasn’t made up their minds on what they’re doing on the wildcards. I think they’re struggling to work out whether

they’regoing to have enough cars to get to Newcastle, so I think that that’s their focus right now.

“So we’re basically doing nothing.

“This is the first year in five or six years, maybe even longer, that Boost Mobile won’t have a Supercar on the grid.

“It’s not because we don’t want to, it is just because we’re unable to. I find it mindboggling that a major sponsor like us can’t get a car on the grid.”

Adderton is like a hyperactive kid; when one door closes, he opens another.

Enter the Boost Mobile/Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the Bathurst 12-hour next week with Richie Stanaway joining Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Jamie Whincup in an outright race contender.

“We got involved with the 12-hour because I like the GT cars. Richie is also in the car, which is a good tie-in for us.

It’s about dabbling our hand in other forms of motorsport because clearly Supercars and the teams, probably more importantly, clearly

don’t want us on the grid.

“I’m a motorsport fan, so we’ll go do something else. It just is mindboggling that we’re going to have a perfectly good Gen3 car sitting in a warehouse, unable to race with a sponsor who’s willing to sponsor it and with a driver who’s willing to drive it.

“In 2023, when motorsport might need all the sponsorship help that it can get, especially in Australia, my car will sit in a warehouse, brand spanking new ...”

That said, he will continue his campaign to get on the grid and work his way around the blockages in his path. First will hopefully be some wildcard runs this season.

“We will put Richie in the car. It’ll be good for him to be in the car for Triple Eight, it will obviously give him experience in the new cars.

“But, I’m sick and tired of seeing the videos of race teams bolting together parts of the car and trying to take us on a journey that no one really cares about. All they want to know is if all the cars will turn up.”

He remains frustrated with getting on the grid, and says the teams should have no say in who is allowed to race now that they have all sold their interests in Supercars.

He says that if his

Boost Mobile won’t have a full-time Camaro Supercar on the grid in 2023 ... the closest it has come to date is this Erebus artist’s impression created last year ... Image: ssMEDIA DESIGN

consortium had managed to buy the sport, it would have been different, hinting that perhaps that played a bigger part in missing out than the finances.

“You’ve got to remember that we were the underbidders. In fact, our consortium was not just the underbidders – we refused to accept those terms. We wanted complete control of the sport to improve it and not have hidden agendas. The irony is that Michael Andretti, a large shareholder of WAU, is having the exact same treatment against him in F1 that he’s doing to me in Supercars.

“No one’s reporting that. You can quote me as asking when is Michael coming out and supporting our entry into the sport that he has some control over.

“If Michael Andretti came out and said, ‘I have no problem with Peter racing his car in the Supercars Championship’, that would have a huge impact. But he’s silent.

“We’re all supposed to feel bad for him regarding his F1 ambitions, which I do feel bad about. But why should we when he does the opposite here? He would be a great addition to Formula One, just as we would be a great addition to Supercars.

“I would love to hear Michael come out and give us some support, just as he’s looking for everybody else to do for him in Formula One.” “If we want to do Bathurst, we can do it.

But we need to have a plan. But don’t run our business like the Supercar teams do, which is month-to-month.

“Our marketing budgets are all being planned, and if we don’t have direction, we have to spend money in other areas.

“So, that’s my concern. Once we go out of the sport, the marketing team will have to do other things with that money, and there may not be a budget to bother doing it again. No company marches to the tune of the Supercar teams.”

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EXTENSIVE TV COVERAGE FOR 12 HOUR FANS WILL enjoy two views of the LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour action, broadcast live on Fox Sports/ Kayo, plus across the screens of the Seven Network on Saturday and Sunday. Coverage commences at 12.30pm AEDT on Saturday afternoon with Qualifying, support races and the Top 10 Shootout all taking place.

The Raceday telecast begins at 5.30am AEDT, just before the race begins at 5.45am AEDT and runs all the way until 6.00pm AEDT, beyond the chequered flag. Richard Craill, John Hindhaugh and Garth Tander will call the action, while Shea Adam, Chad Neylon and Mark Beretta will be in the pits and the supports will be called by Matt Naulty.

STANAWAY LEADS SECOND 888 MERCEDES TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering will launch a twocar assault at the LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour with a strong line-up driving car #99.

In addition to the #888 Supercheap Auto Mercedes driven by Shane van Gisbergen, Broc Feeney and Maximilian Gotz, a sister car backed by Boost Mobile will be on show led by new recruit Richie Stanaway.

Stanaway shares driving duties in car #99 with 2017 12 Hour winner Jamie Whincup and Triple Eight GT regular Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

Despite having raced for Aston Martin in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the kiwi will be taking on the Bathurst 12 Hour for the first time, and is excited to race a GT for the first time in two years.

“This year’s Bathurst 12 Hour is going to be a great race to be a part of. I’ve never raced at the 12 Hour before,” he said.

“I did a lot of GT racing when I was in Europe, but it’s been two years now since I’ve driven a GT car.

“I’m looking forward to getting the feeling of a GT car again with its extra downforce compared to what I’ve driven in the past few years. It’s going to be really helpful for me to drive at Bathurst again and complete more laps than what I would have done at last year’s Bathurst 1000.

“It’s one of the top international events in the

world, and I’m looking forward to experiencing what it’s like.”

Whincup will be determined to maintain his impressive Bathurst 12 Hour record. After winning the race in his first attempt in 2017, the 39-year-old has only missed the podium once, but still finished as high as fourth on that occasion.

“The Bathurst 12 Hour is one of the highestregarded events on the international motorsport calendar,” Whincup said.

“To have two Triple Eight-prepared cars participating alongside the world’s best teams is an experience we should all cherish.”

Ibrahim has strong Bathurst form, having backed up last year’s 12 Hour podium with a Bathurst International win and hopes to continue his streak.

“Bathurst has always been a special track and one of my favourites. There have been a lot of good memories there,” he said.

“This year’s Bathurst 12 hour will be interesting as there are a lot more cars and international teams entering; competition will be high, but I’m really excited by our team this year.

“We hope to have a good result, carrying on the positive momentum of last year to fight against the field in 2023.” Thomas Miles

WALL LAMBO RETURNS THE DISTINCTIVE Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan EVO will have another crack at the LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour. Car owner Adrian Deitz has joined forces with David Wall and Wall Racing for a fourth straight year in the red and white Italian beast.

The duo will share driving duties with Wall Racing’s TCR Australia champion Tony D’Alberto, while former Supercars driver Grant Denyer completes the quartet.

The Silver Class team hopes to at least repeat its 2022 performance where it fought for the podium before being forced to settle for P5. The car will be a new force after getting a ‘freshen up’ over the summer.

CAMPBELL TO STEER GREEN MACHINE VICTORIAN TEAM READY FOR FIRST 12 HOUR VICTORIAN OUTFIT Harrolds Volante Rosso Motorsport will front up for its maiden LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour campaign.

After an impressive maiden GT World Challenge Australia Championship, Ross Poulakis will take on the 12 Hour for the first time with Macanese driver Kevin Tse and Hong Kong’s Jonathan Hui. Tse raced at Bathurst with Craft Bamboo Racing last year and finished second in Pro-Am, while he also completed a full Intercontinental GT Challenge campaign.

Hui is yet to race at Mount Panorama, but is an experienced GT racer, winning Pro-Am in the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.

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AUSTRALIA’S PORSCHE star Matt Campbell will be chasing another Bathurst 12 Hour win in a green machine.

Campbell will be the lead driver of the Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside fellow Porsche factory drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Thomas Preining.

The stunning ‘Grello’ bright green machine is the result of a German and Australian collaboration between the Nurburgring based Manthey and Melbourne’s EMA Motorsport.

Manthey last came to Mount Panorama in 2018 and finished P6.

In addition to forging an impressive overseas reputation, Campbell has enjoyed lots of Bathurst 12 Hour success, starting with a class win in

2017 and another class podium a year later.

Campbell then achieved the ultimate success in 2019 when he took a thrilling victory by just 3.4s after pulling off a decisive late-race move on Chaz Mostert.

He also came close to back-to-back wins a year later when he took pole position before finishing the race fourth.

Since then Campbell has established himself as one of the most sought-after Porsche drivers in the world and will front the Porsche Penske Motorsport LMDh program.

At Mount Panorama he rekindles his successful partnership with Jaminet, after they combined to win the IMSA Sportscar championship and the

Daytona 24 Hours titles last year.

Jaminet will travel to Bathurst for the third time and hopes to better his personal best of fourth achieved in 2020 alongside Campbell.

Preining arrives with confidence after a strong 2022, which included two wins in the DTM Championship at the Norisring and Red Bull Ring.

It will not be the 24-year-old’s first attempt at the 12 Hour, having raced in 2020 and finished seventh in an Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Porsche entry has been formed from an alliance between Melbourne’s EMA Motorsport and Manthey after the Porsche specialists supported each other in Europe last year.

Thomas Miles

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BATHURST 12 HOUR SCHEDULE

James Koundouris/David Russell/Paul Stokell will co-drive the Supabarn Audi R8 LMS #47. Image: MARK HORSBURGH

AUDI TO UNLEASH SEVEN CAR ASSAULT AUDI WILL not take a backward step at this year’s LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour, with no less than seven cars taking on Mount Panorama.

The four-ringed cars will feature a mix of Audi Sport factory drivers and familiar Supercars faces.

One of those is Jonathan Webb, who returns to top-level racing after the best part of a year in the dark.

Webb has not been seen since selling his Supercars outfit last year, but will be back at the race he won in 2016 with Shane van Gisbergen and Alvaro Parente in a McLaren 650S GT3.

His comeback will occur in the #47 Supabarn Melbourne Performance Centre entry, which he will share with another long-time Supercars co-driver in David Russell, plus James and Theo Koundouris.

But leading the German manufacturer’s

charge will be the #74 Audi Sport Team MPC R8 LMS driven by an all-pro and factory trio in Mattia Drudi, Christopher Haase and Patric Niederhauser.

All three are Audi Sport stars and have been GT racing around Europe and the globe over the last decade.

The #777 Audi will see Swiss Ricardo Ricardo Feller race alongside GT World Challenge Australia winner Yasser Shahin for a second straight year.

The pair will share The Bend Motorsport Park car with Christopher Mies, who did double duties at Bathurst in 2021 racing in the GT World Challenge and TCR Australia categories.

Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth will be striving for a third 12 Hour top 10 finish when he teams up with another Supercars regular Dean Fiore and GT racer Marc Cini.

Two GT3 cars will also be racing with the four rings badge, with Daniel Gaunt, Dylan O’Keefe and Andrew Fawcet racing in car #10 and Liam Talbot and Fraser Ross combining in #65.

PremiAir Racing will also represent the German manufacturer in its Bathurst 12 Hour debut.

The long-time drag racing outfit and Supercars newbie will be stepping into the GT world and has outright honours in its sights.

After impressing in an unexpected Supercars berth at the back end of last year, James Golding will saddle up to represent the team.

He will drive the car with local GT racer Brad Schumacher and experienced Belgian Frederic Vervisch.

Audi is aiming to repeat its 2011, 2012 and 2018 12 Hour wins in its 12th assault at the race. Thomas Miles

REYNOLDS SPEARHEADS EXPERIENCED TEAM DAVID REYNOLDS will lead Volante Rosso Motorsport’s push for LIQUIMOLY Bathurst 12 Hour honours in a new Mercedes AMG GT3.

The Penrite Racing Supercars fan favourite will be joined by Australian international Jordan Love and experienced racer Tony Bates.

The trio will be behind the wheel of car #24 which will stand out on track in a bright red and black livery and is the leading Volante Rosso Motorsport car.

Reynolds raced with Bates and Cameron Waters at last year’s 12 Hour in an Audi and ran in the top four for much of the race until tyre issues relegated them to 11th.

The 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner will make his seventh 12 Hour start and fifth in a Mercedes and hopes his strong understanding of the car can make a difference.

“Looking forward to it – the best way to start the year is the 12 Hour in dream machine cars,” Reynolds said.

“I think I kind of understand that car (the Mercedes-AMG GT3) more than

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FRIDAY: Combined Sedans Qual 8.20; Formula Ford P1 9.00; Bathurst 12 Hour P1 9.45; Combined Sedans Qual 2 10.35; Bathurst 12 Hour P2 11.05; Formula Ford Qual 11.55; Combined Sedans Race 1 13.15; Bathurst 12 Hour P3 14.00; Formula Ford Race 1 15.30; Bathurst 12 Hour P4 16.10.

SATURDAY: Combined Sedans Race 2 7.20; Formula Ford Race 2 8.00; Bathurst 12 Hour P5: Bathurst 12 Hour P5 10.50; Bathurst 12 Hour Q1 12.45; Bathurst 12 Hour Q2 13.55; Combined Sedans Race 3 14.50; Formula Ford Race 3 15.30; Bathurst 12 Hour T10 Shootout 16.20.

SUNDAY: Bathurst 12 Hour race 5.45.

OJEDA TO DEBUT IN KTM SUPERCARS CO-DRIVER Jayden Ojeda will make his LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour debut in a KTM XBow. Ojeda will drive the KTM prepared by M Motorsport and Vantage Racing in the Invitational class.

He will be joined by car owner David Crampton, plus experienced GT racers Trent Harrison and Glen Wood.

KTM fronts up for a second Bathurst 12 Hour title after a Lap 38 accident forced the car into retirement.

Undiagnosed engine issues put the 12 Hour assault at serious threat, but factory-backed air freight has made it happen.

SOUTH AUSSIE STEPS UP TO TRANS AM the Audi – the AMG I’ve been relatively speedy in before.

“Batesy is awesome – we’ve been good friends for a long time. To share a car with him is fun. He’s a great storyteller and good to hang out with.

“Pro-Am is about Amateur racing and not so much about the Pro, it’s all about setup for the Am, give him a comfortable car to drive and work on his own racing. I really like watching that happen.”

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Since winning the 2019 Carrera Cup Australia title, Love has moved to Europe and forged an international career racing for the three-pointed star.

Last year he drove a Mercedes AMG GT3 for Haupt Racing Team in the GT World Challenge Europe at some of the most well-known circuits in the world.

This year will mark a new chapter for Bates, who will complete his fifth 12 Hour, but first in a Mercedes.

Thomas Miles

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN Brad Gartner will make his National Trans Am Series debut at the upcoming AWC Race Tasmania.

After racing in the TA2 Muscle Car Series and also S5000, Gartner will race a Ford Mustang for MVA Racing as he joins a competitive field at Symmons Plains.

He said himself and the entire team is keen to take on the elevation.

“I am very keen to get involved, the whole team is,” said Gartner.

“We’re all so keen to join the series and get a taste of it, so it’s pretty exciting.”

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IMSA’S GTP CLASS OPEN

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT AT DAYTONA SWEDISH DRIVER Tom Blomqvist has made history in a Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) Acura ARX-06, in the first ever GTP Qualifying session at the Roar Before Daytona.

Blomqvist took the Meyer Shank Racing #60 Acura (right) to an historical pole for the 24 Hours of Daytona, in a weekend that saw nine IMSA GTP machines on track together for the very first time.

Felipe Nasr, who will take on the IMSA season and Daytona with Aussie Matt Campbell in a Penske Porsche 963, finished a close second by only 0.083s, with the second Acura piloted by Ricky Taylor taking P3 by under a tenth.

The 01# Chip Ganassi Cadillac V-LMDh that Indy star Scott Dixon will drive at the Daytona 24 will fill the second row with Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais behind the steer.

The long awaited debut of the machines built to LMDh technical regulations is replacing the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) category at the pinnacle of Sportscar racing for the 2023

IMSA season and beyond.

With Nick Tandy Running the second Porsche off early, only eight cars finished a session that was split by under a second (0.815), giving a mouthwatering account of what’s to come this season.

Nasr was holding the front spot in the dramatic closing seconds, until a Blomqvist flyer at 1:34.031s pinched the historic pole from the Penske team.

Chip Ganassi’s second Cadillac entry (Daytona only) came in fifth with Alex Lynn behind the wheel, in a team that also contains two-time Le Mans 24 Hour winner, Kiwi Earl Bamber The Whelen Engineering Cadillac came in P6, ahead of both BMW M Hybrid V8’s, with the second Porsche in ninth after completing only three laps.

Overall, the new Prototypes put in similar

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES Daytona lap times equivalent to the fastest of the DPi predecessors, but the entire field was much more evenly paced, whereas the DPi’s showed much less parity.

The 61st edition of the 24 hours of Daytona is on January 28-29, which also involves IMSA’s LMP2, LMP3 classes, as well as a large field of GT cars. TW Neal

SLADE SET FOR TRANS AM DEBUT TIM SLADE is set to make his Trams Am debut, for a new team, at the 2023 AWC Race Tasmania event.

Before making his PremiAir Racing debut in Supercars, Slade will get primed for Newcastle by leading new Trans Am team, The Racing Academy, in the SpeedSeries opener.

Last year the 350-race Supercars veteran drove an S5000 at Symmons Plains to the podium, but this year he has the extra task of mentoring some youngsters.

Slade will share The Racing Academy garage with Cody Gillis, while 16-year-old Elliott Cleary will replace the Supercars wildcard in Phillip Island.

The team is spearheaded by renowned karting operator and engineer Tom Williamson, who has formed the Trans Am squad as an extension of his karting team, aimed at nurturing young guns through the ranks.

Slade recognised this focus and said supporting up

decisions straight out of karts,” said Slade.

“It’s awesome that Tom has the ability to nurture the talent in karts and keep them in his system for those next steps after karting, and potentially all the way to Supercars and beyond.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team.”

With the least amount of Supercars Championship rounds since 1998 this year, Slade said the seat time gained at the AWC Race Tasmania will be invaluable and he is looking forward to challenging himself in new machinery.

“I haven’t driven a Trans Am properly, but I’ve always been a big fan of the class,” he said.

“The cars look good and outside of a Supercar, it’s potentially the closest thing you can get to one.

Image: DANIEL KALISZ “Now that we only have 12 (Supercars) race and coming youngsters was one of the major factors meetings and a few test days, I want to do as behind his Trans Am debut. many miles as I can.

“Having been through the ups and downs of climbing “It’s perfect to do at the start of the year when you’ve the motorsport ranks myself, especially when you don’t had three months off.” have a lot of money, it can be hard to make the right Thomas Miles

WHATS ON AT WINTON THE NATION’S ACTION TRACK! TEST AND TUNE DAYS - Dedicated test and tune days for the preparation and setup of race cars.

Test days may be broken into sessions (if applicable) which allow for sedans and open wheelers to share the track independently, this ensures the Racecar Test Day is perfect for any race car from Production Specification to V8 Supercar to S5000 and everything in between.

27 January 2023 03 February 2023 10 February 2023 16 February 2023 17 February 2023 18 February 2023 28 February 2023

Winton Raceway Test and Tune Winton Raceway Test and Tune Winton Raceway Test and Tune Winton Racecar Test Day Winton Raceway Test and Tune Pedders No Bull Sprint Series Winton Track Day

BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL. FREE PIT GARAGE SLOTS ARE INCLUDED WITH ENTRY. Contact mail to: reception@eintonraceway.com.au or call the events hotline on 03 5760 7100 For more information go to: www.wintonraceway.com.au/drive/racecar-test-days 10 I www.autoaction.com.au

VALIANT FANS WEIGH HELPEDIN GET BIG NAMES ON AUSSIE GT4 TILLEY’S PACER OVER THE LINE THE PUSH is on for GT4 to become the Cayman GT4, says it makes complete premier class in the Australian Production sense from an economic standpoint.

Car (APC) category, with more big names “I used to be heavily involved in GT throwing in their support. racing, and GT4 was just starting off The comments come after Former and I thought it was a great product for Triple Eight owner Roland Dane the truly amateur driver,” Quinn said recently backed the category.

“They were pretty much production “I think what’s held GT4 back in this cars that were built to last on the country so far is that the cars have only racetrack, so it was always a good been able to run with GT3, and the guys concept! running GT4 don’t like the fact that they “The GT3 product has become very have to look in the mirrors all the time,” expensive to run, so from an economic he told Auto Action during the Bathurst point of view, the GT4 is far more International.

‘Scottish’, or, economical if you like.

“In plenty of other markets, they’ve “Also, the GT3s are becoming too separated the two so that GT4 can fast with way too much commitment have its own proper space, and in many required to compete with the young places, they’ve got very healthy grids of pros. I am a great believer that if we can GT4 cars. keep the pros out of GT4, I think it will be “These Class X cars will gradually get very successful for the sprint rounds. “ replaced by GT4 because a Class X car Speaking to Auto Action on the is effectively a GT4 car that’s been built subject, McLeod weighed in on some by a local tuning company that has of the technical aspects that benefit got nowhere near the resources of the racing GT4s, having built plenty of manufacturers.” production cars, as well as just having Motorsport magnate and GT racer helped as an engineer with a new BMW Tony Quinn, along with MARC Cars M GT4 at the Dubai 24 for Kassulke. founder and production race car “As far as a Pro Am type category it’s builder, Ryan McLeod, and popular fantastic because they’re fast enough TCM and GT endurance race Kieth and good enough to get a GT feel …

Kassulke, have all added their voice to they don’t have all the downforce, but the argument. they’re still very good, ” he explained. circumstances, but the grid was reverted AS THE rain dumped down on the Quinn, a regular in the to the “They’ve also session got all the creature dry practice times in a Sandown racewho trackhas on been the Saturday of the APC racing, hasAUTO signedACTION up for a comforts and they’re comfortable to controversial decision.

Shannons Nationaland round, full APCin season with acar Porsche race, whereasreaction the GT3 cars are way The delighted from the crowd was on-hand the Touring Masters718 tent reflected their appreciation for it being there behind the pit lane. at all, with its fans also having played a part Surrounded by mechanics and onlookers, in its return.

Cameron Tilley stood behind his rebuilt “The fan support was massive, I set up Valiant in his blue racing suit with a smile as a Go-fund-me page which rounded up a wide as his Pacer’s bonnet. reasonable contribution, which got me about The normally reserved driver had reason a quarter of the way there,” Tilley told AUTO to be satisfied after taking a podium in the ACTION. Trophy race when he blasted off the line down the outside of the pit straight, putting “Whether I raced it again or not, it had him in first position by the second turn. to be fixed – I couldn’t handle seeing it He also qualified in P1 in trying like that. People were helping every day

VALE – LES SIVIOUR MULTIPLE AUSTRALIAN Off Road Champion Les Siviour passed away on September 8 after a short battle with cancer. He began racing in 1983 at Waikerie in his wife’s shopping car. He subsequently campaigned Nissan Patrols for 19 years and won the Production 4WD Championship 16 times, and the Road Championship in p41).

The all-new BMWAustralian GT4 debutedOff at the recent Dubai 24 Hours (see 1985. The Griffith-based rice farmer retired from fulltime

too fast when you look at the speed “If you compare the two, they’re differences, and they’re very expensive very close on spec, but it’s just how in our market.” it’s been achieved. One’s done by the In terms of the current Production manufacturer, and the other by a couple cars that are heavily modified and of well-meaning people in a backyard uneven across the grid in terms of the or workshop.”

Balance of Performance (BOP), McLeod Kassulke, who took the BMT GT4 says that they’re 100 per cent a better to a class P2 in Dubai, said he was proposition going forward. incredibly impressed by the new GT4 “Because of the way the BOP works in machinery, and that he’d love to see the GT4’s, BMW has a unique system in them here soon. that it’s adjustable from inside the car, “Straight out of the box with the driver and that’s been done to equal out the aids it’s incredible. Everything was lap times. made to suit the driver, and not just one “They are easy cars to own and race. driver,” Kassulke said. “You jump in the They are ready to go as they come from cockpit, and with the pedal box adjuster the factory; at the track there’s a little and the steering column you can adjust bit of set-up stuff you can change, but it all very quickly and perfectly for every they’re 100 per cent a better proposition driver within 30 seconds! than building or adjusting a Class X “It wasn’t difficult getting up to speed car, but you’re not going off into the on track with it, and it was very good unknown. on the tyres and they’re very easy “When building a class X car, just to handle. It was also very fast – the replacing the major electronics alone GT3 cars obviously took you on the can set you back a minimum $35,000… straights, but they didn’t flash past, it that’s replacing the wiring harness, the was moreBOWE a slower overtake.

JOHN brought up his 300th main control boxes – the PDM and ECU “On top ofCar that, you can race Touring Masters start at them Sandown – and it knocks on from there. Then you anywhere inon theSunday world, dung and you Raceway thecan Shannons have to tune and calibrate it all! also sell them Australia anywhere.Championship.

Motorsport “You couldn’t even try to do that to the “When you compare theiscost of some The Bathurst legend a four-time same level that BMW can do when they of the production cars running in the winner of the fan favourite category, reach into their technical capacity.

The 6 Hour, moreatexpensive bringing up thethey’re milestone a track after leaving their own jobs, I couldn’t even Bathurst ABS, power-steering, the we air all con, a new GT4 costs The wherethan he also cantured tour…

Sandown beginthe to count the hours that put in to build the module control … it’s all done sooner they get here, the better!” bts Bowe’s TCM career started in 2008, overbody the nine weeks.

To experience that at theoffactory.

Timothy W Camaro Neal before jumping into a driving in level support was something else – I Ford Mustang Trans Am affectionately couldn’t believe it. known as “Sally.”

“I got a big help from Gear-Exchange from In 2015, Bowe shifted over to the Smithfield in Sydney also. It’s people like that Bendigo Retro Muscle cars Torana, that keep us all going really. And Anglomoil built by Gary O’Brien, in which he nas has also helped me for years, and they’ve competed in 147 races. Bowe’s 300th given me great support throughout.” start almost delivered a fairy tale “I couldn’t have done it without them and finish, where the left mirror of Adam everyone else. People just kept coming out Bressington’s #95 Camaro loomed large of nowhere just saying they could help. No with the #18 Torana into the final straight. matter how big or small the contribution, It The final margin of 0.024s was the helped me to keep on pushing.” TN closest finish in TCM history, with Bowe losing by a foot and a half’s length – or the Camaro’s bonnet. Bowe had the championship lead leading into the round, but the rival Torana of Ryan competition in 2003 before he returned to competition Hansford takes a nine point lead heading briefly in 2005, and again in 2010 with daughter Katie, also into Bathurst on November 11-13. at Griffith. He kept involved, with support to son-in-law Having won the Bathurst 1000 twice, Shannon Rentsch and his father Ian in their bids to win the there’s a fair chance Bowe’s victorious Australian Championship. AUTO ACTION extends its deepest knowledge of The Mountain may have condolences to his wife Jan, daughters Bobbie and Katie, him in good stead ... TN and to the extended family and friends. GO

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BOWE BREAKS THE 300 TCM BARRIER

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NEW TCR TYRE THE SUPERCHEAP Auto TCR Australia Series will use new rubber in 2023 with Kuhmo Tyres the new supplier.

Kuhmo takes over from Michelin as the category’s official control tyre supplier on a new multi-year deal.

The announcement aligns the Australian series with the TCR world with the Korean manufacturer already supplying the TCR World Tour, Europe, South America, Brazil, Spain, Eastern Europe and Denmark categories.

“This was an important step for TCR Australia to make to fall in line with other major TCR categories around the world,” ARG head of category operations Ben McMellan said.

Image: DANIEL KALISZ-ARG TCR/HUB

RACE TASMANIA GROWS RACE TASMANIA will remain on the SpeedSeries schedule for two more years following an extension, which also includes a nationals return to Baskerville Raceway.

Over the last two years Race Tasmania has become an integral stop on the SpeedSeries calendar and will host the 2023 season opener from February 24-26.

But the event will grow from next year onwards, with racing to take place at Symmons Plains and Baskerville.

Baskerville has previously hosted TCR and TCM exhibition races and a Trans Am event in 2021. The first Race Tasmania double header will be in 2024.

Image: DANIEL KALISZ-ARG TCR/HUB

QUALI POINTS BOOST FOR TCR ’23 QUALIFYING POINTS have been added to the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia season.

The change is aimed at increasing the importance of Qualifying and speed, meaning the maximum amount of points on offer per round is 153.

An extra 27 points are on the line each session with grid positions one to five being awarded.

The driver who scores the fastest lap in each race will also score a championship point, with a maximum of 50 points available for Races 1 and 3, while the top-10 flipped grid Race 2 has 40 points on the line.

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

Image: DANIEL KALISZ-ARG TCR/HUB

SOUTAR MAKES AUDI SWITCH TCR PRIVATEER Zac Souter will go into season 2023 making the switch from Honda to an Audi RS3 LMS, in an effort to challenge for the title. Soutar impressed with a P6 championship finish last year, which included an opening round win in Tasmania, the first in the category for a privateer racer.

The young Victorian speedster hopes to progress up the grid with his new latest-spec Audi machinery, which has been successful across the globe in TCR, with rival Jay Hanson claiming four wins and three poles in an Audi RS3 last season.

Soutar and his family-run team – Team Soutar Motorsport – will take possession of the car in February, just ahead of the opening round at Symmons Plains.

“We’re really excited to announce we’ll be racing a brandnew Audi RS3 LMS TCR,” said Soutar.

“There’s been a massive amount of hard work in the background to try and put deals together as we figured out how to make this all happen, but I’m delighted to say it has.

“It was a very tough decision, my family and the team loved the Honda as it was our first TCR entry of which we put many hours into it to make it fast, beautiful and competitive.

“It is sad to see it go, but I think the Audi is the next step for myself and the team.”

Souter revealed he initially had plans to continue racing a Honda in 2023, before the Audi opportunity was too good to resist.

“Initially we were planning to continue on in the Honda for season 2023, but the opportunity to jump into a brand-new Audi was just too good to turn away from,” he said.

As a result, Souter will work with the more closely located Melbourne Performance Centre and believes the partnership has makings of more success.

“We’ve really enjoyed our relationship with both Wall Racing and JAS Motorsport over the past few seasons, and we thank them for all of their help,” Soutar said. “(Now) we’ll form a relationship with Melbourne Performance Centre, but obviously Team Soutar Motorsport will continue to run the entry. The good thing with MPC is the team is Melbourne-based and we’re in Geelong, so to get parts or meet with the squad is really easy now.

“For us, I think my team will really step it up this season as we have the experience and the Audi is a great all round package, so I’m hoping to challenge for the title come the end of the year.”

TW Neal

MPC CLOSING IN ON BROWN MELBOURNE PERFORMANCE Centre will tackle the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series with three upgraded Audis and likely a former champion.

Audi’s official customer support team has expanded to three new Audi RS3s and hopes one of them will have Erebus Motorsport Supercars driver Will Brown behind the wheel.

Brown has already achieved plenty of success in the TCR arena, having won the inaugural TCR Australia Series title in 2019.

In addition to the maiden success, he also challenged for a second glory in last year, but was forced to settle for the runner’s-up prize Image - ARG/TCR HUB after falling nine points short of champion Tony D’Alberto.

MPC, which also won the 2021 TCR Australia Series title “We still have a number of elements to lock away, and there with Chaz Mostert, plans on running Brown in one of the new are some time pressures, but interest has been positive.

R3Ss this year.

“Locking away Will (Brown) in the new-specification RS3 is a The new car could be a trump card after Jay Hanson priority, and we hope to be able to make a firm announcement (pictured) drove it to wins at Queensland Raceway, Sydney on that shortly.

Motorsport Park and Phillip Island.

“Jay Hanson proved the capabilities of that car, and with MPC director Troy Russell said Brown should “shortly” Will’s extra experience, we feel that will be a title contender. become the lead driver of what he hopes to be a “competitive” “Not that the other two cars are lacking for speed, three-car squad. though. Will showed how good his Audi was, finishing “We are really very confident that we are going to have a second in the title. That chassis also won the 2021 series. competitive line-up for the 2023 TCR Australia season,” he We suspect that chassis is the most successful that we said. have here in Australia.” TW Neal

MCLEOD IMPRESSES IN DUBAI AHEAD OF BATHURST 12 HOUR DEBUT

AHEAD OF Cameron McLeod’s Bathurst 12 Hour (B12H) debut in the MARC II Mustang (above), the young Queenslander has turned heads with his performance at the Dubai 24 Hour.

McLeod co-piloted a new BMW M GT4 that’s co-owned by MARC car, Touring Car Masters, and endurance racer Kieth Kassulke, and ex British Touring cars racer James Kaye.

Along with his father – MARC Cars founder and ex-racer Ryan McLeod – Kaye and Kassulke are among a group of backers that are behind McLeod. That list also includes British Touring Car champion

Matt Neal, and experienced racer and mentor Bradley Neill, who has helped the young gun get a seat in the 2023 Super3 season.

Auto Action spoke to Kassulke about his observations on McLeod’s race smarts, and why he was a logical choice to help steer the MARC II Mustang at the Mountain.

“Back in November he did some laps in the Mustang at the Challenge Bathurst, and the second lap out he’d jumped to a 2:08, before he put out a 2:06,” Kassulke explained.

“I was so impressed with how he drove,

and with watching the footage and incar-data, he’s very clinical and very calm.

There’s no seesawing of the steering wheel like you see with a lot of drivers.

There’s huge potential there.”

McLeod was part of the team that scored a class second in the GT4 field at Dubai, and again showed a level of skill beyond his eighteen years.

“Then seeing him in Dubai … bloody hell, he was great straight off. He had a best lap of 2:09 in a GT4 which in itself was pretty impressive.

“He reads a track very quickly and is very aware of the cars around him, which

is a big thing in an endurance race, especially in the night time. He could avoid the faster cars and keep clear of the slower one’s.

One of the biggest things that impressed Kassulke was also McLeod’s ability to protect the tyres.

“Another thing that shone through was his ability to manage the tyres,” He continued.

“Where some other drivers stayed out for 12-14 laps in qualifying and shot their tyre’s to pieces, but young Cam went out and did 3 laps and called it in, saying he couldn’t go any faster, and I just thought that for a young teenager to not use the car up, it showed that intelligence of a good driver.

Having had first hand experience of seeing how McLeod handled the MARC II at Mount Panorama, Kassulke is comfortable to have elected him as a copilot for the B12H. “He’s going to be the third driver in the Mustang at Bathurst. After the Challenge (Bathurst), we talked about it and agreed we should give a leg up and help get him in the car.

“So it’ll be myself, Hadrian Morrell, and Cameron.

“He drives that track very well, and that alone shows great potential.”

TW Neal

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Chris Lambden-The father/ class founder of S5000.Left The S5000 grid rolls out for its opening race at the 2022 Australian F1 Grand Prix.

Image: DANIEL KALISZ Below: the first prototype – high airbox and big rubber ...

SPEEDSERIES SCHEDULE COMPLETE THE FAMOUS Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is the final addition of the now complete eight-round 2023 SpeedSeries calendar.

The third round of the season was listed as “to be confirmed” but it now has a home with the 4.445km circuit to welcome a number of categories on May 12-14.

One of those will be the GT World Challenge Australia field, which also confirmed its Sprint season.

The GT Sprint season will race at the Bathurst 6 Hour, Perth SuperSprint, Phillip Island, Sydney SuperNight, Queensland SpeedSeries and Adelaide 500.

S5000 LINKS UP WITH AFO THE NEW Australian Formula Open has joined forces with S5000 to help promote a natural openwheel pathway.

The winner of the new AFO series that combines Formula 3, Formula Renault, Toyota Racers and Formula 4 cars will get assistance in a ‘wings and slicks’ racing progression, with key S5000 prizes on offer.

AFO champions will receive a fully funded test with the Tim Macrow racing team and free entry into the first round of the S5000 series.

The new six-round AFO series begins on March 4-5 at Winton.

NEW HOLDEN HQ EVENT HIDDEN VALLEY will host a fierce new interstate contest when the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series heads to the top end.

The Holden HQ State of Origin Challenge will be one of the headline acts of round 2 of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series at Darwin on April 29-May 1.

The unique format involves two drivers sharing each car across the four sprint races before a twohour endurance race with compulsory pit stops completes the weekend.

The drivers will score points for their respective state/territory and the highest amount will be secure the State of Origin crown.

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S5000 CREATOR DEPARTS ARG

CHRIS LAMBDEN, the man who conceived and developed what has become the S5000 Australian Gold Star Championship car, has departed S5000 category managers, the Australian Racing Group, where he had been contracted initially as S5000 Category Manager, more recently as Development Manager.

After nearly five years of tenure within the ARG Group, the change is due, we understand, to a budgetary restructure within the ARG organisation, owned primarily by Barry Rogers and minor share holder John McMellan.

Lambden, the former motorsport competitor and media identity (Auto Action Editor from 1984 to 1988 and publisher of Australasian Motorsport News, from 1993 to 2011), first dreamed up the idea of a modern allAustralian V8-powered single-seater category in 2015, after briefly dipping a toe into historic Formula 5000 racing, with a McRae GM1.

After investigating options and co-opting respected Formula Ford constructor and engineer Michael Borland’s involvement, the first FT5000 prototype, based on a Swift Formula Nippon tub, with the Ford Coyote engine/Holinger gearbox combination, was designed, completed and unveiled (and featured on Auto Action’s cover) in late 2016.

There were several challenges along the way, including the 2017 commissioning of a ‘copy-cat’ car by Supercars (ultimately discarded when the two projects merged thanks to the intervention of long-time motorsport supporter Brian Boyd), and then Motorsport Australia’s insistence on a more current car spec (resolved with

the adoption of the Onroak-Ligier tub, including ‘halo’, ultimately being approved).

With the early support and investment by Brian Boyd, the revised car, the more modern and FIA-friendly S5000 was unveiled in December 2018, completing demonstration laps at the Supercars finale at Newcastle.

At the same time, Garry Rogers stepped forward, offering GRM’s facilities – and capital – to build cars.

With some design ‘productionising’, the first batch of cars was completed for a spectacular launch event at Sandown late in 2019 – under the auspices of the then newly-launched Australian Racing Group.

At the same time, Lambden was embraced by ARG, initially as S5000 Category, then Development Manager, a position he has held until recently.

The Covid-induced cancellation of the 2020 Australian F1 GP, and its S5000 races, heralded a tough period for all motorsport, including S5000.

However, the category’s most recent event – on the spectacular VALO Adelaide 5000 circuit in December – points to the great potential for the category, which enjoys significant race fan support.

Lambden however will now, for the first time, have no formal involvement – although he retains shared ownership (with F5000 enthusiast Frank Harris) of the #23 car raced to date by Tim Macrow.

There had been some talk around since the successful Adelaide 500S5000 program, that Lambden may no longer have an official role with S5000.

When contacted by AUTO ACTION, Lambden confirmed that he was no

longer officially involved with the category.

“That’s correct – I’m not contracted to ARG as of New Year,” Lambden said.

“While I have had terrific support in the development of S5000 – and everyone at ARG has been ‘putting in’ – there’s been a few recent changes within ARG, some new faces along the way, and I guess it’s fair to say we weren’t able to agree on my continuation in the role.

“While that’s a bit frustrating, I remain S5000’s number one supporter and fan and will be doing whatever I can to aid its future growth – as an independent. While the title was ‘Development’ it involved a fair bit more than development of the car itself – which has been GRM’s domain more recently anyway – including measures to try to grow the grid, assisting teams with sponsorship activities, and so on.

“It’s been quite a trip from the first ‘thought-bubble’ seven years ago, with some interesting road humps along the way, but I’m 100 per cent convinced, with good management, of the category’s viability and future.

“Adelaide was a great S5000 event – probably the best yet – so I look forward to ARG building on that.”

Liam Curkpatrick, Chief Operating Officer of the Australian Racing Group and an important player in the S5000 category’s development, praised Lambden, but also highlighted that the development phase of the category has finished.

“Chris has been such an important part of the creation of this wonderful racing category. All along he’s been important part of the category’s development, and I can absolutely confirm there are no issues with him going forward.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Chris, and I have always enjoyed working with him on the development of the S5000 category.

“We are all on good terms and I know that he will still have an important and positive role in the development of the category into the future.” Curkpatrick told AA. Bruce Williams

Cresting the rise at COTA – Nathan Herne is chasing a US NASCAR career ...

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES, DANIEL KALISZ

HERNE CHASES THE AMERICAN DREAM AUSTRALIA’S NATHAN Herne has been snapped up by American Trans Am team Steven-Miller Racing (SMR) to race in the TA2 class for the 2023 season.

The 20 year-old from Lismore, NSW, dominated the past two seasons of the National Trans Am circuit, winning backto-back titles, as well as capturing the S5000 Tasman Series.

After being invited to compete for SMR at the last round of the 2022 American TA2 series (images above), he impressed with a P4 in a 53 car field in Texas at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

Auto Action spoke with Herne fresh off the plane in Chicago, where he’ll embark on his Trans Am journey, with an eye towards for a future in NASCAR. “I’ve always wanted to race in America, and I got my chance at COTA! Luckily, I had a good enough weekend to be invited back,” Herne said.

“The TA2 series is still growing here, just like at home, but everything was just so organised and well-run with SMR … everyone was very inviting and helpful, they’re that kind of organisation.

“It really seemed like everyone wanted to help me move on, and there was nothing about giving them amounts of money, they just gave advice and helped.

What I liked most was they were just

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there for the racing – no bullshit, just to go racing and see what happens.”

With American TA2 Trans Am beginning to transform into a NASCAR feeder series, and teams putting prospects through the series, Herne says he has plans to climb the ladder.

“Whilst NASCAR is very expensive, similar to Supercars in that way, there’s a lot of people who want to help you get there. So it’s not out of control to get into the bottom rung of the feeders,” he continued.

“And now that TA2 is even considered a feeder, I’m in the right place, but I’d have to try getting onto the oval pathway, which I’ve talked about to people. It’s very expensive, but the help’s there.

“I’ll do my best to make a name for myself in TA2, and I don’t see why those opportunities won’t come up in the future.

I’m definitely going to have a crack at getting there, and I do have some things lined up that I’m going to try, and hopefully it all falls into place.

“I’ll hit the ground running with TA2 first, but I’ve got a fair idea of where I want to go, and how I’ll go about it.”

When it comes to leaving home, Herne admits that he’ll miss his family, but the option to race at home and turn professional didn’t seem an option, despite his success.

“I won five championships in three different categories in Australia, but I felt it wasn’t leading to anything,” he continued.

“I was lucky with Garry Rogers Motorsport because they actually kept me racing. Then after a week in America, I get to be a professional driver! It sucks

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that I can’t do that in my own country, and I’d like to be near my family, but it is what it is … I had to bite the bullet and come to America. There just wasn’t anything presenting in Australia.”

From his sole experience in Texas, Herne noted the main differences in racing style, and how to navigate those challenges.

“Winning a championship over here is a very different prospect – the grids are massive, and there’s more penalty for anything that goes wrong on track.

“If you spin out here, you’ve got to pass 50 cars to get back into it, not 20 or so. What I learnt at COTA was to be aggressive in the first lap and get through everything; then you can start making your big moves. If you go defensive you just get tangled up in the trouble, and if you go for the Hail Mary on the outside, you also hit the bad stuff, so you have to be aggressive, but smart about it … and get a bit of luck.”

In 2023, Herne will be coming up against drivers like Thad Moffitt (Richard Petty’s Grandson), former Indycar driver Raphael Matos, Adam Andretti (brother of John and nephew of Mario), and last years TA2 champion Thomas Merrill, as well as racing on some of world’s most famous tracks.

“It’s a shame they took Laguna Seca off the schedule, but to race at places like Watkins Glen and Road America will be amazing. Obviously it’ll be tough to learn 12 new tracks … haven’t learnt a new one for a while so I’ll see how I go. Round 1 at Sebring will be an eye-opener with that bottle neck at Turn 1 also.

“It’s going to be really cool racing against some really good drivers on these great tracks. But at the end of the day, I’m going for the championship this year! I’m not going out for any cowboy moves, and although I want to win every race, I’m happy finishing second or third, or whatever it takes to win SMR a championship.”

The American Trans Am season kicks off at Sebring on February 2326 at the Sebring in Florida, with a 12 round season that goes through until November 5 at COTA. TW Neal

www.autoaction.com.au I 15

LATEST NEWS

RACE ON TO SAVE LONGFORD FESTIVAL AFTER CASH BURN

By Bruce Williams FRANTIC TALKS have been taking place in Tasmania in recent days to salvage a historic event in March after the sudden collapse of the proposed Longford Grand Prix Expo.

Tasmanians are reported by the Longford-based Northern Midlands Courier newspaper (NMC) to be “shocked and angered” by the cancellation of the Expo within five months of it being granted $450,000 by the state government.

The NMC said in a front-page splash that the international company that was to have run the event “has pulled the plug on the motor racing history extravaganza, leaving ticket holders around the country in the lurch and questions around what has happened to the $450,000 grant”.

The proposed Expo, only announced in late August 2022, had been portrayed as taking the annual Longford Motorama of recent years to grand new heights.

It was to have been staged by DX Industries, a Singapore-registered company headed by Jeremy Dickson, a son of former Australian touring car racer, administrator/promoter and overseas circuit designer Ron Dickson.

The younger Dickson, who has been living in Hobart in recent times, quietly announced on January 13 that the Expo, scheduled for March 11-12, had stalled “due to a combination of difficult economic conditions, such as infrastructure costs and ongoing supply chain issues and labour shortages”.

“Unfortunately, these factors together have the potential to diminish the experience we hoped to deliver,” Dickson said, curiously referring to it as ‘the Longford Car and Bike Exhibition’ rather than the Longford Grand Prix Expo.

People who had subscribed to the Expo website seemingly did not get direct notification of the cancellation.

The NMC said Dickson had been “uncontactable” since the announcement.

Questions are being asked among the Tasmanian historic racing community about how much of the $450,000 grant had been handed over to DX Industries by the government, what it has been spent on, and whether New Zealander Bruce McLaren, Cooper T79 Climax leads Australia’s Jack Brabham, driving a Brabham BT11A there are some Climax in the 1965 Australian Grand Prix at Longford, where the Kiwi notched his second victory in the town’s feature event. Image: TASMANIAN LIBRARIES ARCHIVE funds remaining to enable organisers of the previous Longford Village Green, home of the Longford from the Tasmanian Government and Motorama to still put on a nostalgic Motorama for several years, or at the Events Tasmania, I am very proud to event in March. historic Woolmers property to the south develop the Longford Grand Prix Expo Longford, 20km from Launceston, of Longford towards Symmons Plains. within Northern Tasmania, building famously staged motor racing on a The NMC said the former Motorama on the legacy of the world-famous 7.2km public road circuit over two organisers, Justin Brown and Robert history of motoring associated with bridges, through a railway viaduct, Knott, were gathering “a groundswell of this town. The event will feature a fully around a pub, over a train line and on support”. immersive adventure into motor vehicles long, super-fast straights from 1953 until It said car and motorcycle enthusiasts and mobility. Coupled with a range of 1968. Seven Formula 1 world champions, around Tasmania and across mainland educational, family-friendly and firsttop touring car drivers and global Australia had been “dismayed” at class hospitality activities, the vision is motorcycle stars raced there. hearing DX Industries had ‘blackto create an internationally recognised Interest in Longford’s racing history flagged’ the Expo. event that will become a marquee visitor has peaked in recent weeks with The paper said in its edition late last experience on the Tasmanian events the runaway success of a book by week that locals “hope that stakeholder calendar.” renowned journalist Neil Kearney titled meetings this weekend will generate The website of DX Industries claims LONGFORD – The Legend of a Little support for a community-driven it is the “first and only true turn-key Town with a Big Motor. The book sold replacement to celebrate Longford’s rich service and framework provider” in the out within a week of release, with a racing history”. motorsport industry. reprint due by early February.

The Expo had been projected as “a It says that, “with a rich motorsport The NMC reported that Longford nod to the past, repositioning Longford history” of more than 25 years, it motor racing enthusiasts believed they as a place of historical significance for “promotes events around the world” could still stage a successful event in Australian motorsport”. and that its “core business is circuit March.

It was supposed to be going to pay design, engineering and motorsport It is believed as much as $150,000 of $30,000 in prizemoney to participants. development”. the allocated grant may still be available.

Dickson said at the August launch “Our company continually fulfils Discussion has centred largely on when the $450,000 grant was delivery … delivering on time and on whether any event be held on the town’s announced: “With absolute support budget is our guarantee.”

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LARSON TO DO INDY500/ COCA-COLA 600 DOUBLE

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson has signed up for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in an Arrow McLaren-Hendrick Motorsports partnership.

The Chevrolet will be co-entered by NASCAR hall of famer Rick Hendrick, the chairman and CEO of the Hendrick

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Automotive Group, and owner of Hendrick Motorsports – a 14 time NASCAR cupseries winning team.

The 30 year-old Larson finished seventh in the point standings in his 2022 titledefence year, his 11th season, and second with Hendrick Motorsports.

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He’ll also become just the fifth individual to pull off the ‘Memorial Day Double’, by racing at both the Indy500 (in Indiana) and the Coca-Cola 600 (formerly World 600, in North Carolina) on the same day.

The tracks are some 900kms apart across Tennessee and Kentucky – about an hour and 30 minutes via commercial plane ... though one would expect Larson to get an airlift directly from the track.

The last NASCAR driver to attempt the feat was Kurt Busch in 2014, who finished sixth in the Indy, and 40th in the 400 lap 600 in the evening.

“I’m super excited … competing at the Indianapolis 500 is a dream of mine, and something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, since I was a child before I ever began competing in Sprintcars,” said a delighted Larson.

“To do it with Arrow McLaren and Mr. Hendrick especially is a dream come true.

I’m grateful for the opportunity and am really looking forward to it even though it’s still about a year-and-a-half away.

“I’m really looking forward to competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the CocaCola 600 and maybe even get a win or two that day.”

In partnership with McLaren Racing, the 108th Indy500 will be the first IndyCar event for Hendrick, whose NASCAR teams

have won a record 291 Cup Series races and, fittingly, he’s the winningest owner in NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (10 victories).

“Having the opportunity to support Kyle, and partner with an elite team like Arrow McLaren to promote HendrickCars.com in one of the world’s great auto racing events is truly unique,” Hendrick said.

“All of us are competitors. Putting Kyle in top-level equipment and allowing ample time for him to prepare for such a difficult challenge was important. It’s going to be very, very special to field a Chevrolet in the Indy 500 as a car owner.”

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is looking forward to having the freakishly talented driver in an Arrows Chev, with Larson being well known for his broad racing resume, having won over 400 career races.

“Adding Kyle Larson with a HendrickCars. com partnership to the Indy 500 lineup in 2024 is exciting for our Arrow McLaren team as well as for race fans,” Brown explained.

“He’s a complete driver, known for racing anything on wheels, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Kyle can do in an NTT Indycar series car.”

This years Indianapolis 500 is on May 28, as is NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.

TW Neal

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LATEST NEWS

NATIONAL SPEED AND AUTO TEST CHAMPIONSHIP DATES CONFIRMED THE DATES and locations for the National Speed and Auto Test Championships have been confirmed by Motorsport Australia, along with the hosting car clubs.

Queensland and NSW will split the four events, with the opening battle – the Motorsport Australia Khanacross Championship – taking place on April 29-30 in Queensland, with the Central Coast Car Club chosen as the host.

Last year’s Khanacross championship was the first held since 2019, with victorian Barry Nowell taking his first title at the Mid Murray Motorplex in South Australia.

Five months later, the Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship will take place on September 30-October 1 in Nirimba, NSW, with multiple clubs to play host. Aaron Wuillemin is the defending Motorkhana champion, after taking it out at a rainy Willowbank in his Honda Special last year.

The Porsche Club at Morgan Park in Queensland then plays host to the Motorsport Australia Supersprint Championship a fortnight later, with last year’s Supersprint and Hill Climb champion Dean Tighe (pictured) looking to go back-to-back.

Closing the Speed and Auto Test Championship will be the Motorsport Australia Hill Climb Championship on October 26-29.

The 77th iconic National Hill Climb championship will be hosted by the MG Car Club of Newcastle, at the Ringwood Park Motor Complex in NSW. Tighe became just the fourth driver to take out two Australian championships in the one year, with a Hill Climb time of 37.46s, with 78 competitors having taken part.

Motorsport Australia CEO, Eugene Arocca, congratulated the clubs that were chosen to host the

prestigious Australian championship events.

“We are excited to confirm these dates and venues for the 2023 Championships,” Arocca said.

“All four Championships have significant motorsport history and we are pleased to see the passion for these events continuing now and into the future.

“After a tough period for these grassroots Championships, we were delighted to see them return in full swing in 2022 and know that the event hosts will be able to build on that momentum and put on an excellent show across these four events in 2023.”

TW Neal 2023 SPEED & AUTO TEST CHAMPIONSHIP DATES Motorsport Australia Khanacross Championship: Central Coast CC 29-30 April – Benaraby Driver Education Facility, Queensland Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship: Multiple Clubs 30 September-1 October – Nirimba Education Precinct, New South Wales Motorsport Australia Supersprint Championship: Porsche CC 14 October – Morgan Park, Queensland Motorsport Australia Hill Climb Championship: MG Car Club (Newcastle) 26-29 October – Ringwood Park Motor Complex, New South Wales

ROB ROY REVIVAL SET FOR HISTORIC FESTIVAL AUSTRALIA’S OLDEST hillclimb track, in the scenic Yarra Valley, is set to host the inaugural Rob Roy Revival on March 18-19 in 2023.

The two-day festival will seek to emulate the atmosphere of the 1950s and 60s motorsport, with spectators also encouraged to dress in the style of the era.

Organised by the MG Car Club Victoria, in collaboration with the Victorian Historic Register, the revival will feature 75 historic racing cars competing for awards.

Two-time Bathurst winner and six-time Touring Car masters champion John Bowe AM will act as the event patron, and the Rob Roy paddock will be lined with marquees, where attendees can view the vehicles up close and speak with drivers and crews.

Entrants will include pre-war Grand Prix cars, MGs with international racing pedigrees, Australian Specials from the 30s to the 50s – including cars that competed in the 1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park – along with Brabhams, Elfins, Coopers and Lolas, plus historic touring cars and Sports Sedans.

A feature of the event will be a tribute to Garrie Cooper’s Elfin marque, with a minimum of 10

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Elfins competing, including an MR8 Formula 5000.

An exclusive package will be available for a limited number of guests in the Rob Roy Revival VIP Marquee, with a gourmet luncheon showcasing Yarra Valley produce and wines. The marquee has a view of the start line and will be overseen by executive chef Keith Jackson, who has years of experience catering for the Australian Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup. There will also be a range of other gourmet food and beverage options, including picnic hampers and food trucks, along with market and trade stalls.

Live music and fashion shows will be presented from the stage, with the well-known queen of 50s

vintage style, Lisa Defazio, as MC. Everyone is encouraged to wear their best vintage 50s and 60s gear and there will be fashion awards presented each day.

Period dress will be required to enter the paddock area where the competing cars are garaged.

Car clubs will also have an opportunity to participate, with up to 100 classics from the era on display each day. Clubs are invited to contact the Rob Roy Revival organisers to discuss participation.

Early-bird tickets are now on sale. This is a fully ticketed event, so booking online is essential.

For more information about the Rob Roy Revival and to book your tickets go to https://www. robroyrevival.mgcc.com.au/ TW Neal

Australia’s oldest hillclimb venue will be honoured in style ...

Image: JOHN MORRIS

FORMER F1 STAR AND CARS FOR PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC

Alan Jones first GP was in the sister car to James Hunt’s Hesketh 308 – and it’s coming to PI. Right: Eddie Irvine rose to be Schumacher’s Ferrari team-mate. Also coming to PI is the Shadow in which AJ took his first F1 win. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES FORMULA 1 fever will descend on the 2023 Phillip Island Classic with pristine historic Grand Prix cars and a fan-favourite driver to feature at the event.

Former Ferrari star and four-time Grand Prix winner Eddie Irvine is expected to make an appearance at the “Festival of Motorsport” from March 10-12.

The Irishman was a much-loved figure across the 1990s and early 2000s, starting 146 Grands Prix for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar.

Irvine reached his peak racing for the Scuderia in 1999, where he fell four points short of the world title.

The now 57-year-old is expected to attend the “Festival of Motorsport” event at Phillip Island during a stay which also includes the Australian Grand Prix.

In addition to Irvine providing some glamour to Phillip Island, there will be plenty of classic F1 cars putting on a show on the track.

Six F1 cars from the 1970s and 1980s will be arriving from Europe to race against Australian based F1 cars on the famous Victorian circuit in a ‘Grand Prix’ after completing combined events with Formula 5000 cars.

The cars coming from the other side of the world have a strong connection to Australia’s 1980 world champion Alan Jones.

The first car Jones drove in a Grand Prix, the Hesketh 308-1, also driven by 1976 world

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champion James Hunt, is coming, plus the Aussie’s maiden winner.

In 1977 Jones drove a Shadow DN8 from P14 to P1 at Austria to secure his first of 12 wins.

The oldest car coming from Europe is the Surtees TS16/02 raced in 1974 and 1975.

Its high watermark was delivered by Carlos Pace, who scored fourth in the 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix at the circuit that would later bear his name.

The Tyrrell 012 previously driven by the likes of Alboreto, Stefan Bellof, Martin Brundle and Stefan Johansson will stand out in its distinctive green Benetton sponsored livery.

The unremarkable, but highly memorable Ensign N179 also joins the era. The car which only competed in 11 Grands Prix in 1979 stood out for its unique nose design where radiators were built into the scuttle and continued all the way to the front wing.

Nigel Mansell’s first F1 car, the Lotus 81 will also be racing. The car driven by the likes of Mansell, Mario Andretti and Elio de Angelis scored two podiums and nine points finishes from 42 starts.

An F1 car display for fans to enjoy a closeup look of the pristine machines is also being planned.

The addition of the Grand Prix cars has excited event organisers with Victorian Historic Racing Register president and event director Ian Tate saying it will be the first time

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F1 cars will be seen racing a standalone ‘Grand Prix’ at the event.

“We have a heap going on and I hope they create a lot of interest,” he told Auto Action.

“The Sunday we will have a dedicated race for F1 cars for the first time and we hope to have four or five local F1 cars as well.

“They will have their own dedicated race for Formula 1 cars which we have never seen before at Phillip Island.

“These guys are not coming just to make up the field, these guys are serious racers and will bring seven mechanics to prepare the cars.

“I hope the public get behind it.”

Tate also said there is a strong chance many Australian based F1 cars will further bolster the field.“We also hope to have some local cars. We have an ex Michele Alboreto (1985) Ferrari, we have got Ian Ross coming in his Lola turbo and Ian Buddery in a 1986 March,” he said.

“Hopefully we are going to get Chris Green from South Australia with a Benetton and Paul Faulkner to bring an Alan Jones’ Grand Prix winning car to lead them around on a warm up lap, while Duttons has an Arrows.

“We are trying to get paperwork through now for them to come across and race.”

Ensuring the priceless F1 cars from the celebrated era of the sport travel halfway around the world to Australia will be no easy task and Tate said it was only possible due to

two generous supporters.

“We have two fantastic members from our club to put in a lot of money – two thirds of the cost to bring the cars here,” he said.

“George Nakas from Dutton Garage and Joe Calleja from Apex Steel have tipped in a lot of money to make it happen, so we are so appreciative of them it is not funny.”

Although entries are yet to be closed, Tate said he has already seen the positive impact of bringing the F1 cars to the Phillip Island Classic.

“There will also be five Formula 5000s, some Formula 3 cars which are very quick, but we have more entries in Q and R racing than we have ever had before because they want to race with the F1 cars, which is sensational.”

The VHRR encourages anyone who owns a F1 car from the 1970-1990 period to contact Ian Tate at 0458 882 304 Thomas Miles

www.autoaction.com.au I 19

INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES

PRICE SITS AMONG THE DAKAR GREATS

Images: RED BULL CONTENT POOL A THIRD Dakar title eluded Australia’s Toby Price by the barest of margins after almost 45 hours of a seesawing, catand-mouse affair. The 43 seconds that separated Price and Kevin Benavides will be encapsulated in Dakar history as perhaps the closest that will ever be seen.

In recent memory, 2022 was relatively close at 3m27s, but Sam Sunderland went into the final stage seven minutes up, whereas Price had only a 12 second lead to defend over the last stage.

And before that, you have to go back to 2008 when David Casteu won the first relocated Dakar rally (Central Europe Rally) by 2m58s.

Once the Saudi Arabian dust settles on the 45th edition (the fourth on the Arabian Gulf) it will be Price’s overall Dakar record that will stand out over the tournament’s barest ever losing margin, which was admittedly “hard to swallow”.

“To be honest, I am disappointed, we’ve come so damn far, and to fall short by such a small margin is a tough one to swallow,” Price said.

“It is what it is, and we had a really good race for 14 days … it’s been a really tight battle the whole way, and we’ll go home with a Dakar trophy, so we’re happy.

“However, full credit to Kevin – he rode a crazy solid race and I’m really proud of the

entire team effort. This Dakar has been huge” The 35 year-old will undoubtedly add some more stats to his already impressive record – his Dakar motorbikes record already has him among the all-time greats.

In nine attempts (2 DNFs), aside from being the first and only Australian to ever win a Dakar title, he was the first to ever win it on a second attempt, and the first nonEuropean.

His two titles puts him equal with six others as the fifth most of all time, and his 15 stage wins rank him equal ninth.

His 2016 Dakar effort in South America ranks him equal fourth for most stage wins

at a single event (5), and his six podiums (two wins/one P2/three P3’s) ranks him at number eight, whilst his solo efforts place Australia as the equal third most winningest nation (French riders hold an insurmountable 22 wins, with Italy and Spain the next best on six).

In the overall category stakes, his two wins rank him equal seventh, and 19th for stages.

From entering his first Dakar in 2015 (P3/+23m14s/1 stage win) as a relative global unknown – outside of a legendary off road and enduro record on home shores – Price has already cemented his name in Australian and Dakar folklore.

TW Neal

SANDERS SHOWS TRUE-BLUE GRIT AT DAKAR ’23 THE EPIC nature of the Dakar Rally brings out the true competitive grit in racers, and nowhere was this more evident in the performance of Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders.

The gutsy GAS GAS rider finished seventh after 44 hours and 53 minutes of racing – 25m57s off the victorious Kevin Benavides – but the fact that he made it to the finish line in Dammam is a stoic testament to the 28 year-old, born in Three Bridges, Victoria.

Not to mention that it was his first competitive event since he almost lost his life at Dakar 2022, when an accident in the Stage 7 liaison saw him hit a highway kerb in the early hours at 120km/h, incurring arm injuries he’s still recovering from, forcing him off the bike for an entire season.

The highest rookie finisher of Dakar 2021 (P4) then started Dakar 2023 strongly despite being underprepared and under conditioned, winning his fourth ever Dakar event stage and holding a 3m33s overall lead going into Stage 5.

“I believe I went into the race 20 percent prepared and everyone around knew how unprepared I was,” Sanders explained.

“Now I’m looking back at the last 14 days and I seriously don’t know how I finished every day. I’m proud of what I’ve

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done in my circumstances and I believe I’ve shown a lot of people who I am and what I can do when I put my mind to it.”

Aside from picking up a painful 20mm thorn in his throttle arm after Stage 3 – which would stay with him for the duration of the rally – Sanders came down with an illness that left him unable to eat, drink, or sleep on the morning of the gruelling Ha’il to Ha’il loop.

He still finished the 645km loop (373km Special) in P18

that day, and despite several days of malnutrition and illness in the Saudi desert, he then managed to hold onto eighth overall.

By Stage 8, he fought back to within 7m03s of the top 10 after making the desperately needed rest day in Riyadh.

A difficult Stage 9 dropped him into P9, before fighting back with a P2 in the testing dunes of the vast Empty Quarter, elevating him back into P7, a position he held onto until the chequered flag.

“I went into this Dakar not knowing what to expect. I wasn’t even sure if I was even going to be on the start line after struggling so much to ride through the pain in my elbow – it was only 70 percent healed,” he continued.

“Five days on a new rally bike, 3 days of road-books and two days testing in December is all I had to get ready for the hardest race in the world.

“I had a 20mm thorn/needle in my arm muscle for 10 days, a stomach bug for 2 days that was really bad, and wasn’t able to consume food and had no energy.”

A P4 as a rookie and a seventh under severe duress, leaves a tantalising story to be told at Dakar 2024.

TW Neal

JONES LANDS MOBIL 1 SUPERCUP SEAT CARRERA CUP Australia champion Harri Jones has scored the opportunity of a lifetime, signing with top Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup team BWT Lechner Racing.

It is a huge drive for the Aussie to land, joining the team which dominated the 2022 season by winning five of the eight races, scoring 124 more points than the next best outfit in the pinnacle category of Porsche racing.

Jones will race at famous tracks such as Imola, Monaco, Silverstone, Spa and Monza, with all eight rounds coming as a support act for the Formula 1 season.

“To say I’m excited is an understatement,” Jones said.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. And to not only have the chance to move to Europe and race in the Porsche Supercup, but to do so with the most

YOUNG FORMULA Ford racer Jack Clifford has been signed by Kevin Mills Racing (KMR) for the 2023 British GB4 Championship season.

The 17 year-old graduated from Karting to race in the state Formula Ford 1600 before competing in full season of the VSRS Duratec Championship (above), as well as competing in one national round in 2022.

KMR won the GB4 Teams championship in 2022, giving the Melbourne-born racer a good introductory footing.

Clifford will have American Jeremy Fairbairn as a team-mate, and will join another Victorian in S5000 young gun Cooper Webster, as the second Australian on the grid (Evans GP).

“I’m ecstatic to be competing in the GB4 Championship in Britain this year. It’s a big step on the motorsport ladder, especially coming from Australia,” Clifford said.

“It is a great stepping stone category as it competes on world class race tracks, has tremendous exposure as well as great driving standards. I look forward to becoming one with the Tatuus GB4 car and the Kevin Mills Racing team.

“The learning curve in England is much steeper than Australia, and one which will develop my driving throughout the year.”

Clifford will enter into pre-season testing ahead of Round 1 at Oulton Park on April 7-10.

TW

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Jones and BWT team boss Robert Lechner seal the deal.

athlete and after already winning some silverware for the team in Bahrain last year, and of course the 2022 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, we are all very excited to see him race with

us for a full season of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup this year.”

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup kicks off at Imola, from May 19-21.

Thomas Miles

BARTER SIGNING COMPLETES AUSSIE F3 BOON

CLIFFORD JOINS GB4 FOR EUROPEAN DEBUT

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successful team in the series’ history, is quite simply a dream come true.

“This year we will be racing at some of the most spectacular venues in the world, including Monaco, Spa and Monza to name a few. I’m already buzzing at the thought, but I know I will need to work harder than ever to ensure we have success on track.”

Jones is fresh from winning the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title with McElrea Racing and has already represented BWT Lechner Racing in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East series and team principal Robert Lechner has been impressed with what he has seen.

“I first met Harri at the final round of the 2022 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Championship at Monza,” Lechner said.

“He is a very impressive driver and

AUSTRALIA’S HUGH Barter has been confirmed as a starter for the FIA Formula 3 season, signing for Spanish team Campos Racing for 2023.

That makes two Australians racing for the Campos F3 program (the other being Christian Mansell), with Tommy Smith (Van Amersfoort Racing) making for an unprecedented three Aussies on Melbourne’s F3 grid come March/April.

The 16 year-old Barter, Born in Nagoya, Japan, grew up in Hughesdale Victoria, and has spent the last few seasons dominating Spanish and French F4, cementing himself as one of the country’s brightest youth prospects.

“I am thrilled to announce that I will be competing in the FIA F3 championship

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this season with Campos Racing,” Barter said.

“It’s dream come true for me and I am eager to take on the challenge and showcase my skills on the track. I am looking forward to the season ahead and will work tirelessly to achieve my goals.”

Along with Barter, Smith, and Mansell, that makes five Australians racing across the F1 weekend, with Oscar Piastri in F1, and Jack Doohan in F2.

Between himself and his then Campos F4 teammate, Nikola Tsolov – who’s also on the F3 grid – the two of them won all but two of 21 races, with Barter finishing second in the championship with six wins and seven podiums.

If not for points being cancelled in the

same season for doubling up on some circuits, Barter would have won the French F4 after claiming nine of the 21 races, with four of those scratched for points at both Spa, and Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

It’s understood that several Formula 1 teams have been watching Barter very closely.

His union with Campos – a competitive team across the F4,F3,F2 formulae – puts him in good hands for 2023, as the F3 season will operate right under the noses of the F1 bosses.

The Formula 3 season opens on March 3-5 at Sakhir in Bahrain, with its Round 2 event at the Melbourne Grand Prix on March 31-April 2.

TW Neal

Barter competing in the Sapish Formula 4 Series, at Spa Francorchamps, 2022 .

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TAYLOR REFLECTS ON ‘INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE’ MOLLY TAYLOR has returned home after successfully completing her second Dakar Rally with a new PB, but was left wanting more.

The Australian fronted up for South Racing Can-Am in her second successive campaign in the taxing drive through the Saudi Arabian desert after her Dakar debut in 2022.

Taylor recorded a solid P14 in her first attempt, but improved two places to finish 12th in the T4 Modified Production SSV class this year after an up and down journey through the gruelling event, which proved more “tougher” than last year.

Despite the improvement, Taylor and American co-driver Andrew Short were left wondering what could have been having

targeted a top 10 finish and looked on track to achieve the objective before it slipped away in the closing stages.

Having dropped down to 12th after sitting as high as eighth, Taylor said she had mixed emotions about her second Dakar tilt.

“For our Dakar it is a bit bittersweet,” she said.

“Just disappointed to not come away with the result we were really aiming and working hard for and capable of.

“So that (P12) was not where we want to be, but so many things happen that are out of your control at this event.

“It was a case of trying to overcome things and keep putting our best foot forward and we did have some really great days where we could show the pace we do have.

“There are a lot of encouraging things to take away, but would have loved to have brought it home in a better result.”

Taylor was able to extract pace from her Can-Am, scoring sixth in three separate stages.

But notorious Dakar issues such as flat tyres, broken front drive shafts and CBT belts, failing brakes, delays and general wear and tear held her back.

The 34-year-old said they are all things that make Dakar such a rewarding physical and mental challenge to complete and wants to give it another shot in 2024.

“Overall Dakar is the most incredible adventure, you go into another world for two weeks,” she said.

“In the Dakar bubble you just get up and

drive for 10 to 13 hours a day across all of these amazing landscapes, so it is a pretty incredible experience to do.

“That is one of the things why you keep coming back for more because to try and put it together for that long in all the difference terrains is a big thing.

“We learnt heaps and having Andrew co-drive with me was amazing, he is so experienced and is just a great person to be around. Especially on the tough days to be focused on what was ahead, which enabled us to put our best foot forward.

“We had a great time, but some very tough days unfortunately derailed the result, but that will just make us hungrier to give it another crack.”

Thomas Miles

DRIVERS READYING THEMSELVES FOR

‘BRUTAL’ SUPERCARS OPENER NEWCASTLE WILL become the sixth track to host Supercars season opener in the 21st century and drivers believe it could be one of the toughest.

For the first time since 2019, Supercars will be roaring around the streets of Newcastle and welcome the new Gen3 era on March 10-12.

While the 2.63km street circuit has not changed since Jamie Whincup won the 2019 season finale, the comeback will have a different feel with the event switching time-slots to the opposite end of the calendar.

After opening last year’s season at the wide-open Sydney Motorsport Park, a return to a concrete canyon such as Newcastle will be an eye-opener, with drivers having to be wary of keeping the brand new Gen3 chassis away from the ever-close walls.

In the space of three years, Newcastle has already developed a reputation as a car killer with the likes of David Reynolds, Scott

Pye, Fabian Coulthard, Anton De Pasquale, Richie Stanaway and most famously Craig Lowndes in 2017 finding the fence.

With a pair of 250km races and walls everywhere, it shapes up to be a similar season opener to the Adelaide 500, which is now the season finale.

Chaz Mostert will be aiming for his first Newcastle podium this year in his maiden race appearance for Walkinshaw Andretti United and compared the circuit to the famous Macau street track.

“I am excited to get back there,” he said.

“The crowd we had last time there in 2019 was pretty spectacular. The track is gruelling and the race is pretty hard.

“It is probably one of the tightest tracks we have and I like to think it is our mini Macau in Australia.

“It will be a big test for all the teams, drivers and these new cars.”

Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison echoed Mostert’s thoughts believing the Newcastle 500 is a ‘brutal’ challenge he is

keen to take on.

“Newcastle is awesome and a really wild circuit that has certainly been missed the last few years,” he said.

“It will be a brutal way to kick off the championship and a real challenge for everyone whilst we get our heads around

the new Gen3 car.

“I am excited by that challenge. We are going to be hanging on that is for sure.”

The 2023 Supercars season starts with the Thrifty Newcastle 500 on March 10-12.

Thomas Miles

SVG SCORES MAIDEN SPEEDWAY WIN

FAMOUS NAME HUNTING MORE AUSSIE SUCCESS THE MURPHY name will continue to chase more silverware in Australian motorsport, with Ronan, son of Greg, racing down under in 2023.

Ronan Murphy, 21, will be competing in the 2023 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge for Sonic Motor Racing Service.

The Kiwi will be racing in the Carrera Cup Australia feeder series alongside 16-year-old Marcos Flack and second year Porsche driver Harrison Goodman.

Murphy is following in his father’s footsteps having competed in the Formula Ford and Toyota 86 series in New Zealand, but is now turning his attention to Australia.

His father, Greg Murphy was a Holden hero, winning the 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2004 Bathurst 1000’s. He also produced the iconic “Lap of the Gods” and collected 28 wins from 448 Supercars starts, the

latest a Great Race wildcard aged 50.

The junior Murphy said he hopes to forge his own path in the Australian motorsport scene.

“I’m super pumped to join Team Sonic and join the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge for 2023,” said Ronan Murphy.

“It’s my first time racing in Australia and I couldn’t be more stoked to be doing it and joining a team like Sonic for the season.

“I certainly respect everything Dad has done in his time in Australia. He obviously had a half-decent run at things but I’m here to do my own thing and just do the best I can with what I have and the people around me and the support I’ve got and see how far it takes me.”

Murphy, Flack and Goodman enjoyed a test session at Phillip Island on Friday to come to grips with their new ride.

For Murphy it was his lap ever in

Australia and his goal is to chase a top five championship finish.

“They were my first laps at Phillip Island in a Gen II Porsche. I have a little bit of experience previously in New Zealand with Porsche but not this car and certainly not this track, I absolutely loved it,” he said.

“I have just been working on a few things with the team but we’re getting there slowly so I can’t wait for the season to roll around.

“My goal for the season is just to get some really good consistent results and see where we end up in the championship, ideally in the top five somewhere.

Hopefully we will be fighting at the front come the season’s end.

“I’m just going to give it 110 percent, take every opportunity and hopefully we will come out of it successful in the end.”

Thomas Miles

SHANE VAN Gisbgergen can now add a sprintcar race win to his long list of achievements after finishing his summer of speedway on top.

Three-time Supercars champion van Gisbergen has been racing for United Truck Parts in five sprintcar races around New Zealand and finished on a high at Robertson Prestige International Speedway last weekend.

The 33-year-old started on the front foot in Heat 1, where he perfected the restarts to score a close second.

The Kiwi continued to show his speed in a dramatic second heat, where he started from eighth and progressed to sixth until disaster struck.

Van Gisbergen was sent spinning to the back on Lap 4, but despite sustaining front wing damage, he raced through the pack to secure P3.

The result ensured the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner started the Feature from pole position as the top qualifier.

Van Gisbergen managed to maintain his advantage, but his hopes of racing away from the pack were thwarted by numerous cautions.

However, the multiple restarts failed to deter the #97 driver, who drove clear of his competitors to secure his maiden win on the dirt in dominant fashion.

After a rookie summer of speedway with many highs and lows, van Gisbergen was thrilled to take victory and announced his intentions of returning for more in 2023/24.

“Woohoo! Got our first win,” van Gisbergen posted on social media.

“Great way to finish off the speedway season for me. Thanks a lot to Brian, Shaun and the United Truck Parts team for giving me a crack at it.

“A lot of fun, hope to have another go next season.”

Van Gisbergen will now jump across the Tasman and shift focus to the LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour where he hopes to secure a second win at the endurance race before another Supercars season.

Thomas Miles

SPEEDWAY ALLIANCE GETS AMERICANS TO THE LINE

SPEEDWAY AUSTRALIA’S renewed Alliance with Motorsport Australia has allowed previously denied American racers entry to our shores as the Grand Annual Classic nears.

Three high profile Speedway racers

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from America that were previously denied a visa, have been granted entry after vital advice from Motorsport Australia led to their admittance.

Brad Sweet, Sheldon Haudenchild, and Aaron Reutzel were all initially denied visas, but can now race at the Classic in Warrnambool.

Speedway Australia CEO Darren Tindal explained the process, and how the renewed relationship has led to a boom for star internationals returning in droves.

“Our new relationship with Motorsport

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Australia is the only reason we have these three high profile racers making it into Australia this season, and this is vital for our whole sport from Sprintcars through to Junior Sedans,” Tindal explained.

“I called Eugene Arocca at Motorsport Australia, who put me in touch directly with the right people in the Immigration Department who understand motorsport and the importance of International drivers, and within a day they were processing Brad’s (Sweet) entry.”

The process meant that the other two American stars were also then granted visas within a matter of days.

“This is a major breakthrough for the sport and our relationship with the highest levels of government, because we now have the correct people, departments, pathways and procedures for inviting international competitors into our nation,”

Tindal continued.

“On behalf of Landrigan Motorsport (Brad Sweet,) Jack Lee Racing (Sheldon Haudenschild) and Saller Motorsport (Aaron Reutzel,) we want to thank Eugene and the team at Motorsport Australia for their immeasurable assistance in this process.

“Knowing that this new alliance has made a significant difference not just to the events this year, but also for so many more international competitors in the future. I can’t understate how significant this breakthrough is for our sport.”

Sweet, Haudenschild and Reutzel have all arrived in Australia, with Reutzel and Haudenschild all competing in some prelude events ahead of the 50th Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway on January 27-29.

Tim W Neal

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Images: IMAGE: Tornado 2 Chev and Len Lukey’s Cooper T23 Bristol with Austin Millers Cooper at rear. Repco service truck! Gray won from Stan Jones Maserati and Arnold Glass’ Ferrari.

LONGFORD BACK ON WITH LONG WEEKEND MOTOR SHOW FOLLOWING THE controversial collapse of the planned Longford Grand Prix Expo (GPX) in Tasmania, the remains of the government grant will be used to host a new event, The Long Weekend, on the second weekend of March.

As reported in AUTO ACTION, It comes on the back of frantic talks to save the show after the pin was pulled on the Longford GPX by its organiser, Jeremy Dickson.

A government grant of $450,000 was allocated to DX Industries, a Singaporeregistered company headed by Dickson - son of former Australian touring car racer, administrator/promoter and overseas circuit designer Ron Dickson.

The younger Dickson announced earlier this month that the GXP was called off

“due to a combination of difficult economic conditions, such as infrastructure costs and ongoing supply chain issues and labour shortages”.

It was reported by Longford’s Northern Midlands Courier newspaper to have left ticket holders in the lurch, raising the question of where the government funding had gone.

The Tasmanian Liberal Government will now contribute the remaining $150,000 not given to GPX, with the replacement motorsport show in Longford on March 10-13, that will host historic cars and motorcycles from several significant collectors in Tasmania, including some of the racing cars from the Longford motor racing days in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said supporting the event was a fantastic opportunity to fill the state’s long weekend in March.

“Following the unfortunate cancellation of the GPX event in recent weeks, I’m pleased that our Government is able to support the organisers of a new motorsport showcase in Longford,” Premier Rockliff said.

“The enthusiasm shown in ensuring the motorsport and Northern Midlands communities don’t miss out on sharing their motorsport history has been great, and I’m sure the event will be a success.”

The event will be led by Tasmanian historic motorsport identities Justin Brown, Robert Knott, John Talbot and Neil Kearney, with confirmation that all tickets sold to the GPX will be honoured at the new event.

The Expo that was announced in late August 2022 had been portrayed as taking the annual Longford Motorama of recent years to grand new heights.

It was slated as being a nod to the past, to put Longford back on the map as a place of great significance in the annals of Australian Motorsport, with up to $30,000 in prize money set aside for its participants.

However, the Northern Midlands Courier had a front-page splash last week on its foundering, saying that DX Industries “pulled the plug on the motor racing history extravaganza, leaving ticket holders around the country in the lurch and questions around what has happened to the $450,000 grant.”

TW Neal

O’KEEFE RETURNS TO B12H WITH AUDI

DYLAN O’KEEFFE will make his fifth start at the Bathurst 12 Hour, returning to The Mountain in an Audi R8 GT3 Evo 2.

The Carrera Cup and TCR frontrunner will line up alongside Daniel Gaunt and Andrew Fawcet in the Silver Class Myland Partners Audi, entered by the Melbourne Performance Centre, and run by a crew from the New Zealand based International Motorsport Operation.

It’s the third time O’Keeffe has tackled the B12H in an Audi, having raced an R8 GT3 in 2018 and 2020.

His first appearance in Australia’s premier summer enduro came in 2017, taking a Class B victory on debut in

a Porsche GT3 Cup car, whilst he raced a MARC car in 2019.

“Driving a GT3 car around Bathurst is such a mind-blowing experience – there’s nothing like plunging down through Sulman Park towards the metal grate at 200km/h with the concrete walls just centimetres away. You’re literally holding your breath and telling yourself to trust the downforce,” O’Keeffe said.

Gaunt and Fawcet have enjoyed recent success in New Zealand GT racing, finishing second in both the North and South Island Endurance Series last year aboard a McLaren.

O’Keeffe is expecting the trio to be a strong combination in the Silver Class.

“Daniel and Andrew have both had plenty of recent seat time in GT3 cars, and I’ve done a lot of racing at Bathurst lately, so our combined knowledge will stand us in good stead for the 12 Hour,” he continued.

“Like any endurance race, the key will be to stay out of trouble in the early stages and make sure we’re in a position to race hard at the finish.”

The Bathurst 12 Hour formalities commence on Thursday, February 2, with the now-traditional “Town to Track” street parade and car display.

Live coverage of the Bathurst 12 Hour will be provided

by Channel 7, 7Plus, Fox Sports and Kayo.

TW Neal

2023 LIQUI-MOLY BATHURST 12 HOUR SCHEDULE THURSDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 10:30am Town to Track Parade (2 hr 30 min) FRIDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 9:45am Practice 1 (40 min) 11:05am Practice 2 Bronze Drivers (40 min) 2:00pm Practice 3 Bronze Drivers (40 min) 4:10pm Practice 4 (40 min) SATURDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 8:35am Practice 5 (1 hr) 10:50am Practice 6 (1 hr) 12:45pm Qualifying (25 min) 4:10pm Top 10 Shootout Part 1 (15 min) 4:35pm Top 10 Shootout Part 2 (15 min) SUNDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 5:45am Bathurst 12 Hour (12 hr)

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PREVIEW: DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS

SAM TO BE SALUTED IN STYLE THE DRAG racing world will remember the life of Sam Fenech when it returns to action in a big way at the Atlantic Oils Top Fuel Slam at Sydney Dragway this weekend.

The January 27/28 event, which doubles as Round 4 of the 2022/23 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship is the first since Fenech’s tragic incident at Willowbank Raceway on January 7.

The meeting will be dedicated to saluting the veteran and the drag racing community will turn out in force, with a capacity field ready to be unleashed at Sydney Dragway.

Being free to enter, competitor entries maxed out in no time, with well over 200 race teams signed up.

Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship and Atlantic Oils Top Fuel Slam promoter, Nathan Prendergast said the drag racing world is determined to put on a show Fenech would be proud of.

“The entire drag racing community is devastated at the passing of Sam Fenech, so together with Burson Auto Parts and Atlantic Oils, we wanted to make this Australia Day weekend event an opportunity for the racing community to really come together,” Prendergast said.

“Free-of-charge competitor entry and drastically reduced spectator ticketing have been introduced to make sure this event is as accessible as possible so we can fill Sydney Dragway and appropriately pay our respects to one of the greats of the drag racing scene. The response has been phenomenal with entries now sold out and spectator tickets flying out the door.

“Together, we will ensure that January 27 and 28 is a fitting tribute to Sam with exciting drag racing action and a number of special moments in his honour as we remember him in a way that would make him smile – at the track, racing with friends.”

After being involved in the sport for more than three decades, Fenech’s passing has left a profound impact.

He started his journey working on Santino Rapisarda’s Top Fuel cars before he drove his

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Above: Damien Harris heads to Sydney as the man to beat.

American racer Larry Dixon (right) will pilot a third Rapisarda entry.

Image: CACKLING PIPES Below: The drag racing fraternity has been devastated by the loss of the much-loved Sam Fenech ...

own Super Sedans. Fenech then drove for Steve Sarkis for the best part of a decade However, Sarkis folded the team after Fenech walked away from a scary incident where the parachutes did not deploy after a run in Sydney.

Eighteen months ago Fenech started racing for Maurice Fabietti and the partnership lasted all the way until the tragic incident.

A funeral celebrating Fenech’s life in fitting style was held on Tuesday. The service started at Sydney Dragway in the morning where the stands were open for the public to pay their respects before continuing at St Paul’s Catholic Church which was attended by family members and close friends.

The tributes will continue to flow at Sydney

Dragway this weekend where a massive field and big crowd will be on hand.

The loaded grid is headlined by seven 11,000 horsepower Top Fuel Dragsters, while ADRC Top Doorslammer, Top Alcohol and Pro Mod, Australia’s best sportsman racers and burnouts will also be in action in what is set to be a true celebration of Fenech and the sport he loved.

While the occasion alone will be providing enough incentive, crucial championship points will be on offer at the Atlantic Oils Top Fuel Slam too.

Due to the Willowbank Raceway round getting called off and the Alice Springs round being postponed with inclement weather, only one weekend of racing has been held in the scheduled four months of the 2022/23 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship.

That was a double-header at Perth, where both the postponed Red CentreNats and the scheduled 48th annual Goldenstates were held in as many days.

Damien Harris displayed express pace in the season opener, setting a new track record on his way to defeating Phil Read.

Just 24 hours later Harris went back-to-back after outpacing Phil Lamattina in the final.

The success means Harris heads to Sydney as the man to beat, but one of his challengers could be wildcard US drag racing star, Larry Dixon.

Dixon will drive the third Rapisarda Autosport International Top Fuel Dragster alongside RAI regulars Damien Harris and Wayne Newby.

The three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion has been in the drag-racing world since the 1990s and is a second generation racer following in the footsteps of his father Larry Snr. The American last raced in Australia at the opening round of the ATFC championship in January 2022.

He will be one of the star attractions in what shapes up to be a fitting tribute to Fenech at Sydney this weekend. Thomas Miles

German car, ja!

AA’S COLUMNIST PREVIEWS THE WUNDERBAR BATHURST ZWÖLF STUNDE THIS YEAR’S Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour is so Germanic in flavour it possibly should be held in Oktober.

Outright victory in ‘der Februarfest’ will undoubtedly be fought between Porsche, AMG Mercedes, Audi and returnee BMW. No other marque is taking the 2023 race seriously. In fact, just five different badges will be represented in the GT3 classes this year, half of 2020’s high-water mark of 10.

The British, Italian and Japanese brands that previously embraced the 12 Hour and GT3 with factorysupported efforts have gone MIA, for a variety of reasons.

No complaints about Bentley’s absence, as much as I’ll miss the German-owned but fiercely Pommie brand’s Continentals.

Bentley stoically supported the 12 Hour for six years before claiming a popular victory in 2020, the climax to its GT3 program. Bentley owes no one anything. But it’s a huge shame no McLarens or Aston Martins are entered for February 5’s rock around the clock. I’ll explore why in a moment.

Nissan’s GT3 days are well

with Luke West

REVVED UP behind it, and Honda/Acura only ever dipped its toe in the water with a single-car entry in 2020. It was a similar story for Lamborghini via its works FFF team which has now folded.

At least we’ll have the Adrian Dietz-owned and Wall Racingrun Huracan on track with its much-loved BASF-inspired livery, aiming to improve on a terrific fifth place in 2022. All strength to Dietz and the other gentleman racers, particular regulars like Marc Cini and Tony Bates. We need to find more ways to celebrate their Pro-Am class achievements to underpin the event.

The most notable absentee, again, is Ferrari. Last year it offered a lame excuse for its absence, some crap about a lack of availability of 488 GT3 models worldwide. This year Ferrari’s excuse is the newness of the 488’s replacement, the 299.

Ferrari has widely supported the Intercontinental GT Challenge everywhere else, just not in

Australia. I would have thought the Prancing Horse could have mustered up a single superseded 488, especially with the brand re-introducing its Club Challenge in Australia as part of a renewed customer racing focus here.

Opportunity missed, one thinks, with GT3 the pinnacle of customer racing. In fairness to Ferrari, it does have a lot happening internationally in Formula 1, WEC and IMSA for 2023.

Customer racing lies at the heart of why the 12 Hour and GT3 globally is now so Germanic. The likes of Aston Martin and McLaren are just too small to properly establish viable ‘back of business’ customer racing divisions. The four German marques properly understand the business model needed to provide aftersales support, service and parts to farflung teams owned by gentleman drivers.

That’s a key reason former Aston Martin, McLaren and Ferrari teams have gravitated to running

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

Audis, AMG Mercedes, BMWs and Porsches. The latter wrote the book on customer racing via Carrera Cup. When it comes to the GT3 scene, ze Chermans have been flexing their cheque books in a bid to get teams to join their fold, offering discounts on new cars and parts support, and paying for factory-aligned drivers to join local customer teams. It’s just the way it is.

Both Ford and GM (with Corvette) are making noises about setting up proper customer efforts when they join the GT3 fun, so there’s an influx of new marques coming to the IGTC in the years ahead. Toyota has also previewed a GT3-based concept at motor shows, so there’s no reason to worry about the future.

Anyway, there’s much to look forward to over February 3-5.

Thankfully BMW’s assault provides fresh machinery and star factor via its M4s and Valentino Rossi. Both will move the needle re event profile, spectator attendance and television audience. As will the RedBull F1 car demonstrated during the preliminaries. Can’t wait to hear that car.

Don’t miss the Bathurst 12 Hour’s unique qualifying ‘shootout’ format – the top 10 runners are split into two groups given five minutes each – a spectacular format lucked upon last May when cars

were struggling to get tyres up to temperature for a single lap.

I, myself, will be cheering on Craft-Bamboo Racing in its sixth crack at the 12 Hour. No one should begrudge the Hong Kong operation a victory as it was the only fully overseas team to contest last year’s race, scoring a fine second place. True, last year’s victors SunEnergy1 Racing imported its AMG GT GT3, but ex-pat Australian Kenny Habul’s car was run by locals Triple Eight.

CBR, meantime, sent its regular crew to Australia and ran the car itself. No easy undertaking with COVID-19 still making international travel an uncertain, complicated and expensive exercise. It took a punt on borders being open and added some much-needed international flavour.

Doing so, when it was all too hard for other overseas teams, speaks volumes for CBR’s desire to win the Aussie event.

I have a soft spot, too, for the German-Australian alliance of Manthey-Racing/EMA Motorsport.

Tell us another racing team that has a trademark livery with its own moniker? Manthey – pronounced ‘man-tie’ – has a fluoro green/ yellow paintscheme, ‘Grello’, with a fan following of its own.

February 5 can’t come quickly Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES enough.

SVEN BURCHARTZ LIVES MOTORSPORTS LAWYER AND PARTNER

Know your position.

• Teams • Series owners • Manufacturers

sburchartz@kkilawyers.com.au

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

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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 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 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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AUTO ACTION WEBSITE

For more of the latest motorsport news, reviews and features, PLUS additional breaking news.

Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

email: letters@autoaction.com.au Postal: Suite 4/156 Drummond Street.

Oakleigh Victoria 3166 LET’S SHARE THE LOVE FOR OSCAR AND DANIEL I’M ONE of the new fans who has come to Formula 1 through Drive to Survive.

My partner has been into F1 for quite a while, back before we became an item, but watching Drive to Survive on Netflix got me into it, and quite a few of my girlfriends have got into it too in pretty much the same way.

With a new season not far away I’m just concerned about one thing – that Oscar Piastri is embraced

by Australians, who still have a big ‘thing’ for Daniel Ricciardo and feel that he’s been harshly treated in losing his drive in F1.

I’ve sensed that there is an undercurrent of resentment towards Oscar because he’s got into F1 at the expense of Daniel.

Obviously it would have been great if both the guys were going to be on the grid in the Australian Grand Prix, but the decisions that have been made surely were made by people with a lot more knowledge than those of us who just look on and we just have to accept that.

Daniel has taken his fate really well and it will be great that he will still be around F1 in some capacity this year with Red Bull.

I just hope that people don’t hold any grudge against Oscar for how he came to be in the McLaren seat that was Daniel’s and that we really give him all our support all the time, especially at the Oz GP..

Bring it on.

Mandy Sullivan, Coogee, NSW

WAITING TO SEE SUPERCARS REV UP ITS PROMOTION IT’S MORE than a year now since the RACE organisation (Editor’s note: it’s Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises) took over Supercars from Archer Capital.

I remember hearing and reading at the time that RACE was going to be bringing a whole lot of new marketing expertise to Supercars.

I’m now wondering when we are

going to see that new marketing of our sport. Nothing much has changed to date.

It seems to me that Supercars is just getting left behind in an increasingly saturated sports market.

Obviously it’s the season for cricket and tennis right now, but a sport like basketball is getting a whole lot of media attention that Supercars isn’t.

Basketball is a sport that lots of people play, but it’s never really got serious traction in Australia as a spectator sport. So why does it get so much attention and Supercars not? Does basketball have marketing whizzes that Supercars doesn’t, despite us being led to believe bigger and better things were on the way?

I’m in my early 30s, but I consider myself a ‘student’ of the sport of motor racing and its history – and my late dad was a great lover of our sport, especially what he always referred to as touring cars. We had lots of great chats about motor racing back over the years.

He worried in his later years about where Supercars was headed, and I must say I’ve grown increasingly concerned about the future of the sport.

Must admit I can’t get hugely excited about Gen3. Are those who run the sport and make the key decisions pinning too much on the traditional love of Australian motor racing fans for V8s and Americandesigned or derived muscle cars?

Perhaps modern motor racing in Australia needs to get more in touch with trends in the road car market.

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

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Peter Brock’s huge popularity was built on, or at least coincided with, lots of Holden Toranas and then Commodores being built and sold. That’s all changed, obviously, with Holden (and Ford) not even building sedans in Australia anymore.

It just seems to me that, where once there was a great connection, there is now a huge divergence in Australia between the car market and motor racing and that the sport has lost its standing because of that – and that, whatever form of racing we go with here, it’s not being ‘sold’ well to the sporting public.

It’s sad to see other sports thriving – well, good luck to them – while ours is so often invisible in the media.

It would be nice to hear from RACE what it’s got planned.

Warren Burns, Bendigo, Victoria

GRAND PRIX ACCOUNTING IS A STRANGE, STRANGE WORLD AS ALWAYS, there are some very curious numbers in the latest annual report of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

Total revenue on last year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix is stated at about $75 million, of which about $56 million was from ticket sales, while sponsorship and commercial revenue is stated at about $9.5 million.

So where’s the other almost $10 million to get to $75 million ‘total revenue’.

Surely not Victorian Government ‘contributions’ towards future Grands Auto_Action

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Prix, listed at $9.35 million?

That’s money the Victorian Government appears to already have pumped into the AGPC in anticipation of future losses on the F1 event, on top of the $78.122 million it had to tip in on last year’s event (and after all the other millions, hundreds of millions now, of taxpayer money to cover losses going back to the 1990s).

Surely these government subsidies, and especially payments in anticipation of future losses, cannot be considered ‘revenue’ or ‘income’ in any accounting sense.

The cost of staging the GP – the annual report shows ‘total expenditure’ last year was more than $153 million – is now more than twice the most generous interpretation that can be put on ‘total revenue’ - $75 million, but should it really be more like $65 million (ticket sales plus sponsorship and commercial)?

There’s also a contradiction in AGPC chairman Paul Little’s introductory remarks in the annual report. In one breath he says last year’s GP “recorded an estimated attendance of more than 419,000”, then on the next page he gives a supposedly definitive “419,114 across the four days”.

Then Mr Little claims “55 million people around the world tuning in to watch the event, while 154 million watched the race coverage on Formula 1-owned channels”.

Hang on? How does that make sense? Shouldn’t those watching on F1-owned channels be included in the number tuning in around the world?

It’s another world!

In any case, if the GP is as popular as is always claimed, how come the tickets aren’t more expensive or there isn’t a sponsor willing to pay enough money so that the Victorian Government doesn’t have to contribute almost $80 million a year now to cover the financial losses?

Barry Kane, St Kilda, Victoria Editor’s note: The Australian Grand Prix Corporation annual report can be read or downloaded from the bottom of website grandprix.com.au AutoActionMag

The motorsport world may be slightly quiet, but some took to Auto Action’s social channels to cheer on Aussies at Dakar or farewell John Bowe from TCM.

FRASER LOCKED IN AT TICKFORD

John Savaidis About time, I can’t understand what Tickford saw in Kostecki. Getting Fraser on board is a master stroke for the team.

Darren Gould Fantastic news, great up and coming young driver that has certainly earned his chance!

Best of luck Declan.

JB TO BOW OUT OF TCM

Brian Palmer Thank you John Bowe for a lifetime of great entertainment and memories. I was always excited when your name popped up on an entry

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list across many categories. Have a great year building up to your well deserved retirement.

Looking forward to where you show up in a non driver role.

the series you gave the series some real driver creditability. Sure we will still be entertained by you in occasional cameos.

Neil Matthews JB, sad to read this will be your last run in TCM. Thank you for all the memories, excitement and thrills you have given to us fans. You are a true gentleman who loves nothing better than talking to us all. Good luck for 2023, but I think Steven Johnson is going to be hard to beat.

Damian Clarken He’s a legend. Us viewers can’t comment really but we are so proud as he’s had a crack but not quite got there. We all love your dedication and skill.

Stephen Wilson Thanks John. It has been entertaining over the years. Not meaning to demean the early/ establishing drivers but when you came into

AGONISING FINISH FOR PRICE

Trish Anderson Toby showed what it is like to come so agonising close to first but finished second. No shame in that. He is a champion in every sense of the word. Australia is so proud of him and know that he has a lot more to give to the sport.

Good on you Toby.

WHY THE CALENDAR NEEDS A REVOLUTION IT’S THAT time of the year again, when everyone who travels to all the races is finalising the details of their logistics plan, booking all the hotel rooms for the 23 Grands Prix, trying to get the best deals in rent-a-cars and, crucially, completing the acquisition of those expensive airline tickets that are going to take us around the word several times ove r… for nine long, tiring, months.

Being blunt, I haven’t heard of anyone not connected to Zhou Guanyu express disappointment the Chinese Grand Prix was not reinstated in the calendar – and very few were upset there will be no replacement race, be it Portugal or anywhere else.

Why? Not because Formula One people are lazy, but because 23 Grands Prix are more than enough to exhaust us all and three consecutive weekends at home are a real blessing.

With no race in the April 16 slot, Formula One will now have only three Grands Prix

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER from the first days of March to the last week of April, but then the massacre will start.

In the space of just 14 weeks, 10 Grands Prix will be held, meaning that from the end of April until the end of July no one will get more than four weekends at home.

But it doesn’t get better after the summer break, not at all, as we’re on for another total of 10 Grands Prix in just 14 weeks, and this final section of the championship is much more punishing than the first one.

Granted, the first marathon starts with an idiotic BakuMiami back-to-back – one of the worst sequences anyone could have come up with … but then all the races are held in Europe, with the exception

of the Canadian Grand Prix that, thank God for that, will be a stand-alone race this year.

The rest is a maximum of three flight hours away from each ones’ bases, so traveling won’t be too punishing even if four races in five weekends in July is something no-one is looking for.

After the summer break, though, the real madness begins. Singapore-Japan probably sounds a reasonable back-to-back until you consider there’s a seven hour flight between the two races and, because Singapore’s weekend is run at night, the real time difference people have to adapt to in the space of three days, flight included, is a staggering eight hours ... jet lag

being the common complaint heard in Suzuka.

After a one week break and a stand-alone race in Qatar, the end of the season is the real killer. A triple header USAMexico-Brazil is a health risk for anyone working – while the first two races are close to each other, from Mexico City to São Paulo you’re stuck in a plane for nearly 11 hours and get out to a five hour time difference that will hit your already very fatigued body and mind hard.

One week at home is probably not enough to recover and suddenly you’re back on a plane to Las Vegas, crossing the Atlantic for the seventh time in less than six months, with the aggravated issue that qualifying and the race will start at 10pm local time, meaning you’ll be working until 4am the next day, a schedule than only the few Asian-based F1 workers will welcome, if they can keep themselves in their native time zones.

Finishing work on the early hours of the day after the race,

no one will be able to leave Vegas on Sunday morning, so the trip to Abu Dhabi will be done from Sunday night until the early hours of Tuesday, and you have to factor in a minimum of 20 hours trip and then a time difference of 12 hours.

All this flying is not only tremendously punishing for the over 2000 people that have to be on-site in every single Grand Prix but is also certainly not in line with the “zero emissions” message Formula One is so keen to advertise.

If you’re based in Europe, as most Formula One folk are, you’re looking at a minimum of 20 intercontinental trips in the space of nine months, so your health will suffer and your carbon footprint will be gigantic. Time is coming for Stefano Domenicali and his team to have a proper rethink of how the calendar is organized, because the current one is not sustainable for neither man nor the planet...

The Azerbaijan GP kicks off a punishing sequence of back-to-back F1 races ...

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

SMALLER TEAMS FORCED SEASON

CUT TO 23 RACES STRONG OPPOSITION from the smaller Formula One teams, together with contractual difficulties with the Chinese Grand Prix promoters, led to Formula 1’s decision to accept the 2023 season will not have 24 races, dropping the deal that had already been agreed with the Portimão circuit management, in Portugal.

Stefano Domenicali had been pushing very hard to put together a recordbreaking 24-event season this year and was very proud of his achievement when the original 2023 calendar was announced, late last year. By contract, the Italian had to give a slot to the Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 16, but he knew that the Shanghai race was unlikely to go ahead as, at the time, China was pursuing the Zero Covid strategy and it was virtually impossible to get the entire Formula One personnel into the country.

As a consequence of that policy, Juss Events, the Chinese Grand Prix organizer, asked for the race to be cancelled and had to pay in excess of US$20m to Formula One for failing to go ahead with the race. Formula One immediately started negotiations with the Portuguese Grand Prix promoter and quickly reached a deal, with only paperwork getting in the way of the even being confirmed.

Then, of course, China did a U-turn on its policy, abandoned the Zero Covid strategy and opened the borders, so Juss Events returned to the negotiation table and asked to get the race back already in 2023.

But the Chinese had missed a deadline by which they could get their race back at no cost, so lengthy negotiations ensued, leaving Portugal in limbo.

That was a problem for the management

Portimao misses out – F1 couldn’t give an assurance in time.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

of the Portimão circuit, as they needed assurances the Grand Prix would go ahead before negotiating with the WEC promoters a change of date for their race, as the Portuguese round is scheduled for April 16, but never got a positive answer by the cut-off date to make a decision.

At the same time, knowing China had already paid a large part of the promoters’ fee and worried that having a stand-alone race in Europe between the Australian and the Azerbaijan Grand

Prix (that would force them to have the trucks, motorhomes and mobile garage gear ready five weeks before originally planned), the majority of the teams registered their opposition to the April 16 slot being filled with a race in Europe, with only Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes giving their approval.

With so much against the idea, Domenicali had to accept he wouldn’t be able to deliver the 24 events calendar he had hoped for and, once a final push

by the Chinese Grand Prix promoters to get the race back had to be turned down, (as the country is not allowing people traveling from Japan to get a visa, making it impossible for Honda personnel to travel to the race), all that was left was to announce this year’s World Championship will have 23 races and leave a four-week hole between the Australian and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, something the TV rights holders are certainly not happy about.

WHAT DOES NIELSEN’S MOVE TO THE FIA MEANS STEVE NIELSEN’S move from Formula 1 to the FIA, announced during the Federation’s reshuffle of its sporting management, goes a long way to show how much Mohammed Ben Sulayem is determined to bring the sport under the complete control of the regulator.

The Emirati is working very hard to repair all the damage that 12 years under Jean Todt’s presidency did to the FIA, as the Frenchman essentially didn’t care about the sport and was primarily busy working on road satefy throughout the world, his declared goal being to become the United Nations Special Envoy for Road Safety – a goal he achieved in 2015 after being nominated by then Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and has kept ever since.

As a result of his priorities, Todt simply allowed the Commercial Rights Holder to take more and more control of Formula One, firstly during Bernie Ecclestone’s final years in power and, even more so, when his former Ferrari ally Ross Brawn

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took over the role of Managing Director of Formula 1. The FIA’s stance even led to Brawn and Pat Symonds writing the Technical Regulations that came in at the start of last year – the first time ever anyone but the FIA staff didn’t lead such a process.

Now, Ben Sulayemn is reclaiming back the FIA control of the sport – the technical rules are written under Technical Director Nikolas Tombazis’ leadership and with Steve Nielsen now taking the role of Sporting Director, it won’t be Formula 1 and the teams dictating the way the Sporting Regulations will evolve, as the very experienced Englishman will now lead the meetings of the Sporting Group.

Nielsen, 58, has been involved in Formula One for more than 35 years, first at Team Lotus, then at Tyrrell, until the team folded, before moving to Arrows. He then had a long spell as Benetton and Renault’s Sporting Director, before rejoining former colleague Mike Gascoyne at Caterham

for one year and then working at Toro Rosso. His final team in Formula One was Williams, and in the summer of 2017 he joined Formula 1 as Sporting Director.

The way he organised and ran all Formula 1 logistics during the Covid-19 pandemic earned him widespread praise, other sports coming to ask for his advice when they also tried to overcome the effects of the pandemic and return to action.

Now, at the FIA, Nielsen (pictured) comes with all the benefits of knowing all team managers and bosses very well, but also the way the Commercial Rights Holder operates, so he’ll be precious for Ben Sulayem’s drive to get the FIA to regain full control of the sport. A no-nonsense man, widely liked in the entire paddock, Nielsen is the perfect element to mediate between all parties and make informed suggestions, but is also not afraid of taking a hard line when he believes that is necessary.

He will work under Tombazis’ leadership,

alongside Tim Goss (Technical), François Sicard (Sporting) and Federico Lodi (Financial) in what will be a very strong team that will prevent the teams and the Commercial Rights Holder from running Formula 1’s agenda. .

FERRARI FINALLY AGREES TO 2026 PU REGULATIONS The FIA clearly wants the proposed Andretti Formula 1 team in the pit lane... But they have some work to do to convince some players.

“NOBODY WOULD QUESTION GM’S PEDIGREE” SAYS WOLFF THE IMPACT of Andretti’s partnership with General Motors seems to have led to a shift in the way the existing teams look at the American outfit’s plan to enter Formula One, judging by Mercedes’ Toto Wolff’s first words on the subject. In an interview alongside departing Head of Strategy James Vowles, now moving to Williams to have his first experience as Team Principal of a Formula One team, Wolff admitted that, “joining forces with Cadillac and GM, that’s a statement.”

For the Austrian, it’s clear that, “having them joining forces with Andretti is definitely a positive.” But then, Wolff, who has openly stated he doesn’t think Formula One needs new teams at this moment, seemed to hesitate on his judgement of the new reality created by the announcement Cadillac will be a major partner in Andretti’s proposed Formula One team: “It certainly gives it another angle that may or may not be beneficial for Formula One. But nobody would ever question GM or Cadillac’s pedigree in motorsport or as a global auto company.”

In his first media assignment as Williams Team Principal, James Vowles was far more enthusiastic about Andretti’s partnership with General Motors. “We are always open to the sport growing.”

But Vowles then made a point of stating that anyone coming into Formula One now needs to bring added value to the sport: “The truth behind it is that the sport financially is becoming more and more successful. Whoever joins in that environment, effectively needs to bring with it the growth that is required in order for everyone else to be in a better position – or at least a neutral position. And that’s been the statement from the beginning.”

Asked more specifically what he thought about the announced deal, Vowles praised the American’s partnership, but also admitted there’s still a lot to be understood about how Andretti and General Motors are planning to structure their involvement in Formula One: “There are a lot of lovely things about Andretti and about Cadillac. We just need to have good understanding of how it will grow the sport and in what way and what the growth will be.”

Although these are not open endorsements of Andretti’s Formula One entry – those have, so far, been made only by McLaren and Alpine’s representatives – Wolff and Vowles’ statements mark a clear departure from the blunt refusing of giving an entry to the American team that was so common in the paddock just two months ago ... so it’s clear the connection with General Motors is helping change perceptions of Michael Andretti’s Formula One plans.

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FERRARI HAS agreed to sign up as a manufacturer for the new set of Technical Regulations that will come into effect from the start of the 2026 Formula One World Championship, according to Italian sources.

The Scuderia’s decision comes at the end of lengthy discussions with the FIA, with the focus being on what status Red Bull Powertrains will be given, as being classified as a new manufacturer will give the Austrian company a massive advantage over the existing manufacturers, from Ferrari’s point of view.

With Audi coming into Formula One in 2026, negotiations with the German manufacturer, as well as with Porsche, focused on how much more money and resources the new entries would be allowed to spend in the lead-in to that season – it was necessary to give them clear benefits to allow them to catch up with Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine, that have a perfect benchmark for the future ‘motorisations’ from the current Power Units. The changes required for 2026 are not too dramatic, the exception being the end of the MGU-H power source, that will not be included in the future regulations.

Having bought Honda’s IP, Red Bull Powertrains has applied to the FIA as a new manufacturer and that has led to Ferrari trying to block that move, on the basis that, by having full knowledge of the Japanese Power Unit, Red Bull shouldn’t be considered a new manufacturer. As one source from the Italian company told us, “this would be the same as Alfa Romeo “buying” our IP for the current Power Unit, using the benefits handed to new

manufacturers in the next three seasons and, obviously, they would come up with a much better Power Unit than what we’ll be able to do with the limitations imposed on the existing manufacturers. Then, of course, we could “buy” engines from Alfa Romeo, badge them as Ferrari and we’d have a super engine the others couldn’t beat – and that’s not what the regulations we agreed were intended for.

“New manufacturers are companies like Audi or Porsche, that come to Formula One genuinely without any experience of the current set of regulations, not some cosmetic gimmick like Red Bull is using to start off with the current Power Units that are completely design, built and developed by Honda.”

Whatever reservations Ferrari had about Red Bull Powertrains, the Italians now seem to have signed a pre-agreement with the FIA committing themselves to remain in Formula One beyond the end of the current set of regulations. The fact the Scuderia was not invited to a pre-Christmas meeting with the manufacturers that had already signed up for 2026 seems to have forced the Scuderia’s hand, but now under Frederic Vasseur’s leadership it’s likely the Italians will try to get their way from inside the regulations, using process rather than just sitting out in protest, and having no influence on the way Red Bull Powertrains will be classified regarding its 2026 manufacturer status.

WOLFF: “LEWIS’ NEW CONTRACT TO BE SIGNED SOON!”

MERCEDES TEAM Principal Toto Wolff has revealed he’s extremely confident Lewis Hamilton will remain with the German team beyond the end of his current contract and is likely to extend his deal even before the 2023 Formula One World Championship gets going, six weeks from now, in Bahrain.

Speaking during Mercedes’ press meeting called to explain the reasons the team had allowed James Vowles to leave and become Williams’ new Team Principal, Wolff was asked about Hamilton’s contractual situation.

The Austrian looked very relaxed about the situation, starting by pointing out that, “we have a full year to go” to sort things out, before explaining that, “we’re so aligned that it’s just a matter of him physically being back in Europe, sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit and then leaving the room with white smoke after a few hours.”

Earlier, during the 2022 season, Wolff had explained that, “in the last 10 years our

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relationship has grown so much and Lewis has become such an integral part of the team that there is no need for lengthy negotiations going back and forth between the two sides.

We just sit down together and after a few intense hours of discussion we come up with a deal that is good for him and for the team.”

While other drivers’ negotiations tend to involve managers, advisors and lawyers, Wolff has already explained how Hamilton and himself conduct their negotiations: “The most difficult thing is to find a space in the schedule where both of us can be away for a full day. Once that is done, we just go into a room alone, just Lewis and me, and we discuss what we both want. It’s like a game of chess that sometimes turns into a wrestling match – we leave no stone unturn, we speak not only about the following year but also our long-term plans to continue to work together and then we reach a deal, shake hands and go out to tell the lawyers what we want the contract to say. As simple as that.”

Famously the two man used the week before the first two races of the 2020 season, (when the pandemic forced the cancellation of all flyaway races and the championship started with back-to-back Grands Prix in the Red Bull Ring, in Austria), to agree the deal that expires at the end of this year. With

the movement restrictions imposed at the time, they had to stay in Spielberg area and contacting only people from their team so, as Hamilton explained, “that was the perfect opportunity for us to sort out things quickly, as, honestly, there was not much more we could do during those three days off!”

Having long stated he had no intentions of keeping on racing after the age of 40, Hamilton has changed his tune in the last couple of years and recently admitted that, “I’m planning to do a multi-year deal with my team. I really, really don’t know what the next five years will hold – I think we’re still trying to work on that. We are doing so many things together, way more than just me driving for them, that it’s a natural continuation of our journey that we keep on working together.

After all, I’ve been a Mercedes driver since the age of 13, when they started to back me in karting, that I cannot see myself working with any other team or manufacturer.”

Having expanded his horizons beyond motor racing, Hamilton has found in Mercedes the perfect environment where he’s allowed to focus on other businesses and, after venturing into music and fashion, he has now started a movie production company he’s very excited about: “There’s a lot of great things that are being put in place, like I’ve just launched a production company late last year. I think there’s more stuff to achieve together with Mercedes – I just don’t know for how long as a driver, but for sure I’ll remain as part of the team once I stop racing.”

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FIVE THINGS WE WANT TO SEE

IN 2023 THE NEW YEAR PRESENTS NEW OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE CREW AT AUTO ACTION IS EXCITED TO SEE WHAT THE MOTOR RACING YEAR LOOKS LIKE. WE ASKED EACH OF THEM FOR THE FIVE THINGS THEY WANT TO SEE. IN SUPERCARS, we are facing the biggest year of change in the past three decades.

Not since the transition from Group A to Group 3A (which later became the V8 Supercar formula) has the bath water been thrown out with the baby.

The Gen2 Supercar, which was really the third generation (but let’s not debate

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semantics here) is gone. The four-door-only formula with tightly constrained dimensions that underpinned the sport is forever resigned to the scrap heap, just like those four-door sedans. In its place is a tighter set of rules that allow the Mustang to look like a Mustang rather than Lighting McQueen and the Camaro to look like a Camaro.

But will it work, and what will we really get, or will it go awry like Formula One did last year? Our Supercars expert, Andrew Clarke, puts in his wish list. The rest of the AA crew casts their votes, and look at the rest of the world, including our local scene.

Speaking of F1, this week Luis Vasconcelos (page 25) tells what he’s sick

of in F1 – the travel! Our man on the spot will delve into what he would like to see in Grand Prix racing in our next issue, The new-for-2022 rules didn’t give the promised better racing and, in fact, provided the most dominant season by one driver we have seen for a while. What does Luis want to see? He’ll enlighten us next time ...

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR FROM ANDREW D. CLARKE GEN3 – I HOPE IT WORKS THE MUCH-HYPED Gen3 Supercar is here, and it has to work, or Supercars racing in Australia will continue its slide in popularity. The development project has been hit by delays and rumours around costings, and there have been stoushes over respect, or the lack thereof, and arguments over the merits of some parts of the project. We could have gone a much simpler route with modified NASCARs or Trans-Am cars, but we wouldn’t have ended up with a product that can be sold globally, which we most certainly have.

As one team principal said, he’s not sure about the need for the cost of it all when a $400k racer would do the job, but the boy racer in him likes what he sees. There will only be one measure that matters, though – is the entertainment better? Personally, I’m not sure parity racing works on road courses, but I’m happy to be proven wrong.

WILL 12 ROUNDS BE ENOUGH? AT A time when the sport needs to be expanding, the new owners are contracting. Twelve rounds in 2023 is the least we’ve had in a regular season in some time. In 2018 we had 16 weekends of Supercars racing. Now there are four fewer in an era when motorsport is expanding off the back of surging interest in Formula One. Ignoring the COVID year of 2020, this is the least number of rounds in the series since 1998, the year before the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 joined the series, along with the new Adelaide 500 event. The 10 rounds that year were held in a 184-day window, meaning the action wasn’t spread out that much. This year we have 12 rounds at 262 days from start to end, and four times we have a four-week break between the action. Will we have enough action to keep people interested? We need more rounds, not less.

Above: After all the discussion, planning, manufacturing, it’s up to Supercars to deliver with the Gen3 Mustang and Camaro.

Below: No Phillip Island? Just 12 championship rounds, and no visit to the most scenic race track in the country ...

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES-MARK HORSBURGH AND DIRK KLYNSMITH, ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY

TICKFORD WITHOUT TYRE WOES CAM WATERS will be looking forward to the new cars more than any other driver in pitlane. It is likely that Tickford’s issues with certain tracks will be a thing of the past with the new cars, and if that is the case, he seems the most likely driver to take on Shane van Gisbergen. The Tickford cars have really struggled in

the race at Symmons Plains and Sydney Motorsport Park, and by the time those rounds, along with the tyre-shredding Grand Prix meeting, were done in 2022 at an average finish of 10.6, his title quest was already over. From there, his finishing average was 4.3, while van Gisbergen’s for the season was 3.5. He showed he is happy to get the elbows and fight, and this year we think he is a legitimate contender with no excuses.

WHO ELSE WILL RISE THE GREAT thing about a new era is uncertainty. When Car of the Future debuted in 2013, we had seven winners in the first eight races and 17 winners across the season. Compare that with 2022, when we had only seven winners for the season and two different winners in the first eight races. The last time there was a significant overall change to the Supercar regulations was Car of the Future and Brad Jones Racing shot out of the blocks in 2013 with the new cars but was soon reeled in by the mega teams. Triple Eight Race Engineering eventually fought out the title between its two drivers after it got on top of the new cars and took control of the series, with 14 wins from 27 races from Perth onwards. The cream always rises to the top. The question is how long will it take and what surprises are in store? Can Team 18 finally give us a win? What will we get from PremiAir, which is on the rise?

Can Matt Stone Racing return his famous family back onto the podium?

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Will there be any new challengers ...

THE CONTENDERS OBVIOUSLY, THE top of the tree is the reigning back-to-back champion Shane van Gisbergen. He had more wins last year than anyone else has accumulated in one season, although his winning percentage isn’t the highest. His synergy with the car, team and engineer is as good as we have seen, and we have no doubt the transition to Gen3 will be seamless.

I’m not sure parity racing works on road courses, but I’m happy to be proven wrong...

Will the change of formula allow Cam Waters to really challenge SVG?

Some of our great venues have again missed out on Supercar events...

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Will BJR jump out of the box and win in Gen3?

But what of the rest?

Waters, we’ve spoken about, but three other Ford runners should be thinking of titles as we enjoy the summer break. Chaz Mostert is back with the blue oval, and the new cars will hopefully prevent disastrous outings like Perth last year. He will have all the resources required, and we know he has the speed.

The boys at DJR, Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale, likewise, will have no excuses. They have both been with the team long enough, and DJR is one of the best-resourced teams in the pitlane.

For Will, it is win or bust at this stage of his career, while De Pasquale has to start giving us a return on the promise that has been much spoken about.

As a bit of a dark horse, we like Brodie Kostecki at Erebus. We know he won’t be bullied out of race wins because he is such a fierce competitor, but can Erebus give him the car required week in, week out? As the only team building its own chassis, will that be the wildcard for the team? Will it drag them down, or does it just not matter?

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FIVE THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO: BRUCE WILLIAMS POWER SLIDING GEN3 SUPERCARS LET’S GET right to it… A lot is riding on what happens with the Supercars move to the Gen3 platform.

There has been a lot said about why Gen3 was necessary, and a lot of justification for why the cars are so technical and what on the surface seems to be a costly change.

There is no doubt that Supercars – with the input from T8 and DJR – have created some decent race cars, and

OSCAR TO ROLL UP TO HIS GRID POSTION FOR THE START OF HIS FIRST F1 RACE WHEN IT comes to Oscar Piastri, yep, I have a personal bias – no hiding that fact. I have known a very well-mannered and polite young kid from Melbourne for a long time. A kid who raced karts and did a good job. I watched him race at Oakleigh and Fishermans Bend, and then in Bahrain in a world title. Then he disappeared off to race in Europe and started to win in open-wheel race cars.

Was I surprised? Not at all.

I asked him to write a regular column for Auto Action about his journey along the ‘Path to Formula One’, and he wrote his story in Auto Action for a couple of years.

I had faith in his ability as racer and a person, so when Mark and Ann stepped up to take control of his career, I reckoned that, of all the Aussie aspirants, one day he would be in Formula 1.

Was I confident? Yes, I was. Along the way I told plenty of people that he would make it, and yes, I did make a small earn along the way (taking a few dollars from people who said he wouldn’t win in F3 ... and more again when he won in F2!).

Anyway, after all the hard work over the years, his family’s dedication, and all the goings on around Oscar, inluding his contract issues with Alpine and finally confirmation of his signing with McLaren, he is only a few weeks away from making his first Grand Prix start … And yes, I am excited and very much looking forward to seeing that.

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that was their job. If what they tell us is true, then they will be less expensive to run. Let’s hope so because that was the primary focus, along with “better racing” for the creation of these new vehicles.

Have they created race cars that are going to provide better racing? Because, after all the time effort, delays and investment, that’s mostly what race fans and I want to see. We want drivers like SVG and Kosteki, out-and-out hard racers, to go into battle and race hard and enjoy the fight

WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED GOES FORD WE KNOW THAT under the skin the Gen3 cars are essentially the same, and with everyone having to embrace these new cars, now is the right time to switch.

All eyes, though, will be on how the fans embrace the new Ford team. Mostert is one of the stars of the sport, and he has his own fan-base, but can the Holden fans with nothing to follow be convinced to go Ford rather than Chev? Time will tell.

THE ROOKIES WE LOVE rookies in the series, but are any of this year’s crop future champions?

Declan Fraser would have to be in the prime spot at the moment at Tickford. Cam Hill (above) is a great driver and now full time at Matt Stone Racing and Matt Payne at Penrite Racing are the pure rookies for the season and all three acquitted themselves well at Bathurst. Hill’s run at MSR this year will likely start down at the tail of the field, with Auto Action seeding the team 11th of 11, while Payne has a better shot with the fifth-ranked team at Grove Racing. Fraser at Tickford … they could be very hot or cold – time will tell.

The last few generations of Supercars increasingly took a lot of the raceability away from the drivers, as the aero performance grew, and overall grip levels grew, limiting passing opportunities.

While we have all marvelled about how technically great the modern Supercar is, it had become more of a techo exercise in the end, with a big focus on the engineers. It didn’t really allow the driver to put on any real wheel-to-wheel racing.

Will Gen3 deliver the wheel-to-wheel racing we have been promised?

The new Generation 3 Supercars have been developed with a significantly reduced aero package so, with increased braking distances, let’s hope we see more dives under brakes, and cars sliding wide as they use up their tyres.

At the end of the day, Supercars success relies on the support of its audience – that’s you. And while some cost reduction is good for the teams, it’s got to entertain the fans ... and that’s the really big thing that I want to see.

Will Super2’s aspiring Supercars racers get it together? ...

SUPER2/3 RACES GO THE DISTANCE. HERE IS a 2023 wish… How about the drivers in the Super2/3 Series work out how to start and finish a race without interruption?

Last year’s series was a joke, with nearly two-thirds of the racing laps due to be run either cancelled or run behind the Safety Car. The number of stupid mistakes and unnecessary damage to valuable race cars was amazing and, if youlook back at how the category has been going, this level of bad driving has been on the rise for some time.

Given that this is the category that young racers ‘must’ compete in to get a chance of a main game Supercar drive, you would have thought that the racing put on would be of a standard to impress Supercar team managers. Maybe these drivers could be a little more professional in their behaviour.

Still, the team owners aren’t the ones paying for the damage as a rule, so it’s more money for them if their young chargers keep tearing the cars up all the time!

But how about some of you young guns think about playing the long game, evaluate the odds, and instead of making that desperate lunge on the first lap, think twice?

How about you spend more time racing, do more racing laps, get more experience and not spend so much of mum and dad’s money in pointless crashes? Believe it or not, it will be more fun for you, and cheaper for them as

well. A Super2/3 race without a Safety Car? … I would love to see that!

It’s back! Sandown 500

And yes, guess what, I actually have a sixth thing I’m looking forward to ...

BOOK-ENDS – AND THE RETURN OF THE SANDOWN 500.

While we are all disappointed with the shorter calendar, I couldn’t be happier with the return of Newcastle and the Sandown 500. It is also great to see the series bookended again by Newcastle and Adelaide, even if the order has flipped.

The Sandown 500 is one of the classic races in Australia and a great run for the co-drivers before Bathurst. It could have been scheduled two weeks earlier, when there is no football in Melbourne, but we don’t care because it is back. We also think that Sandown is here for a lot longer than the doomsayers believe, so let’s work with the Melbourne Racing Club to work out what we need to do to make Sandown a great and safe racetrack again.

TOMMY’S TOP FIVE: INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORT

RICCIARDO TO MAKE STUNNING F1 COMEBACK DANIEL RICCIARDO’S stocks may be at an all-time low, but the career which has given us so much does not need to have a sad end. After the McLaren disaster, Ricciardo now finds himself off the grid, as Red Bull reserve driver, but there is a chance he could make his 233rd Grand Prix start next year if either Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez are not in a position to race. Being back in the same environment which brought out his best, plus driving a car that is expected to be a championship contender once again, Ricciardo could find himself challenging for an unexpected podium or victory. If the opportunity presents itself and he takes it, the Aussie could get himself back into the full-time F1 frame once again. If discarded drivers such as Nico Hulkenburg and Kevin Magnussen, who only have one F1 podium between them can come back, then why can’t a driver with 32 F1 trophies like Ricciardo? It may be a wild fantasy, but imagine how much fun it would be.

MCLAUGHLIN AN INDY CONTENDER FROM THE moment Scott McLaughlin announced himself on the Supercars scene at Pukekohe in 2013, everyone knew he was special and few have been surprised to see the Kiwi raise even more eyebrows in America. Since making the major move across the Pacific in 2021, McLaughlin has taken major steps each season after a 12-year break from all open-wheel racing and was one of the revelations of 2022, recording three wins and poles. Now the next challenge is to discover similar consistency to Penske teammate Will Power and become a championship contender. If his current trajectory continues, we could be watching McLaughlin fight for Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar championship glory very soon.

REGULAR F2/F3 PODIUMS WITH MANY names racing all over the world, Australian motorsport is blessed to be represented by some outstanding talents.

In addition to Oscar Piastri elevating to F1, Aussies Jack Doohan, Christian Mansell, Tommy Smith and Hugh Barter will also be lining up on the grid at Albert Park in F2/ F3. Doohan has already proven his talent and has the F2 title firmly in his sights. In F3

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Mansell, Smith and Barter are all new kids on the block and will be determined to make a statement. Although the trio will be driving for teams that finished in the bottom half of the 2022 Constructors championship in Van Amersfoort Racing and Campos, the pair both scored wins despite not taking part in 2021. Mansell already has a couple of F3 starts and both he and Barter are fresh from promising European campaigns, while Smith has a couple of extra years of experience under his belt. Hopefully the Australian flag will be seen regularly on the podium this year.

CAMPBELL TO CEMENT PORSCHE STATUS QUEENSLANDER MATT Campbell has quietly risen to the top of the Porsche pyramid over the last seven years since taking out the 2016 Carrera Cup Australia title and 2023 shapes up as his biggest yet. After securing the IMSA GTP Pro class championship in a Porsche GT3 R for Pfaff Motorsports, Campbell will be driving for two of the biggest names in world motorsport – Penske and Porsche. The American and German giants have joined forces and created the new Porsche 963 LMDh. Campbell will be one of the few drivers to steer the machine alongside former F1 driver Felipe Nasr in the new IMSA GTP class.

Jumping from a GT3 to a Le Mans prototype will be no easy feat, but if Campbell can deliver IMSA success and a 20th Le Mans 24 Hour win to Porsche, it will complete his rise from relative unknown to global star.

MAKE OR BREAK YEAR FOR GLOBAL FEMALE MOTORSPORT IT IS a massive year for female motorsport.

After the plug was pulled from the W Series last year with three races to go, the FIA needs its highest female championship to flourish.

In addition to rebuilding the W Series, the governing body is also trying to get a new all female championship off the ground called F1 Academy, designed to prepare young racers for the higher levels. The fact that female drivers are eligible to compete in all levels of motorsport, is one of the sports biggest strengths and weaknesses.

It provides a level playing field and women racers can get all the way F1, but the last to start a Grand Prix was Lella Lombardi all the way back in 1975. With sports such as soccer, cricket and football focusing heavily on allfemale competitions, which now generate widespread media attention, motorsport needs its equivalent to start gaining traction on the global stage to inspire a new generation of female drivers.

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TW’S TOP FIVE: THE NATIONAL AGENDA

FULL GRIDS FOR THE S5000s IN THE CATEGORY’S VITAL 2023 THE S5000s put on a stellar show at the Adelaide 500 and showed the country what kind of racing these machines, and its young drivers are capable of. It really should grow and expand in 2023 to be front-and-centre in the race fans consciousness on a national front; and whilst a return to Bathurst would be a boon, Auto Action would love to see consistently bigger fields. After it provided young Cooper Webster the exposure to get a good drive overseas, it would be great to see it grow into a desired platform for Australia’s fast minded youth. The added developments like the push-topass and the looming introduction of a new control tyre, also mean its direction is pointing the right way.

TCR AUSTRALIA TO GROW IN LINE WITH NEW TCR WORLD TOUR THE AUSTRALIAN TCR series is evidently on the cusp of thriving, and it spent the back-end of 2022 aligning itself with the newly announced TCR World Tour. The World Tour will be coming to Australian shores through the dedicated drive of its boss, Marcello Lotti, bringing the globe’s best TCR drivers to the Bathurst International, with SMP likely to be the second venue.

It gives Australia’s best ranked TCR racers the chance to compete on a world stage, giving added spice to the ramifications of the on-track action. With 2024 slated as the introduction of Hybrid vehicles, 2023 looks to be the year that the category will lay its foundations in attracting a wider national audience.

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA OPEN (AFO) TO HELP PREPARE AUSSIE YOUTH FOR OVERSEAS RACING AFTER A big field of entries in a oneoff round at the Phillip Island’s Island Magic last November, S5000 racer Tim Macrow quickly identified the need for a ‘transitionary’ open-wheel wings and slicks series. Since F3 faded and F4 vanished as a national category in 2019, the ability for

up-and-coming racers to have experience in similar machinery has become harder to get without going overseas. The AFO can fill some of that void! As well as expanding the opportunities for Australia’s eager youth to both test out and race some quicker machinery before heading overseas (or graduating to S5000), it also provides the opportunity for some of these dormant machines to leave the garages they currently occupy …and there’s plenty of them.

CALDER TO MAKE ITS COMEBACK – SANDOWN TO FLOURISH – AND WAKEFIELD PARK TO RE-OPEN ITS BESIEGED GATES WHILE THE Victorian State Race Series (VSRS) and the AASA-run Super Series have both tentatively named Calder Park on their calendars for 2023. Calder Park Management are working through the respective track safety reports from Motorsport Australia and the AASA. Work is underway to bring it back to a safe and usable venue for club level racing and a testing facility close to the Melbourne CBD. Having Calder and Sandown as options in the future bodes well for both the state and national scene. Whilst we await the unfolding Melbourne Racing Club’s board dramas behind the scenes for Sandown, Auto Action believes that the news looks positive for its future survival.

On the NSW front, the Wakefield Park saga will continue to simmer through government channels in 2023, with a state election battle on. Its owners – The Benalla Auto Club – are exploring their own options to return the circuit to operation and are leaving no stone unturned.

AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER STATE SERIES NUMBERS TO GO THROUGH THE ROOF COMPETITOR WISE, the Victorian State Race Series (VSRS) is the most wellattended state race series in the country, and 2023 offers the natural opportunity to cash in on that come future seasons.

Racers came out of the Pandemic in huge numbers with every round of 2022 having well over 200 entrants that were eager to race on Victoria’s best circuits. With the possibility of the Calder Park Raceway to be added to that calendar as soon as this year, the VSRS is looking at its biggest season in recent memory.

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NEW ERA FOR IMSA AHEAD OF THE PRESTIGIOUS 2023 SEASON OF THE IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP, EXCITEMENT IS BUILDING FOR ITS NEW ERA OF TOP TIER LMDH PROTOTYPES. TIMOTHY NEAL REPORTS

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES IT’S THE 53rd season run by the International Motorsports Association (IMSA), which has its roots going back to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. And for 2023, the words coming out of every Sportscar-mad fan’s lips will be GTP … GTP … GTP. Last year saw the final season of the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) class – the Daytona Prototype successors made specifically for the IMSA championship for its 2017 season.

Replacing the DPi cars is the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche, have committed to the 2023 season and beyond, with Lamborghini to join the show in 2024.

Built to LMDh and LMH technical regulations, these multi-million dollar hybrid machines speak to the very height of racing technology, and will join up with the LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, and GTD categories for the upcoming season.

THE GRAND TOURING PROTOTYPE (GTP)

THE TANTALISING manufacturer battle in the new GTP category between Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche represents an exciting new era for the IMSA series.

Even the name – Grand Touring Prototype – is designed to evoke memories of IMSA’s heyday in the 1980s and early 90s.

As the GTP class will operate under LMDh guidelines – as in the WEC – it means that IMSA GTP machines are also eligible to compete in some rounds of the WEC, as

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well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: with the same to be true of WEC prototypes entering IMSA races by 2024.

Of the four approved LMDh ‘spine’ constructors – the spine being a full composite central chassis, suspension, and braking system – BMW and Cadillac are linked with Dallara, Acura with ORECA, and Porsche are going with Multimatic.

Lamborghini will enter the ’24 season with Ligier.

The four LMDh manufacturers each have their own stylised bodywork, and a relative freedom in regard to the powertrain.

The rules permit any gasoline powered four stroke internal combustion engine with a 10,000rpm limit, as long as it integrates into the Bosch mandates Motor Generation Unit (MGU) – the hybrid technology unit built into the common seven-speed Xtrac gearbox used by every LMDh car as part of the common Energy Recovery System (ERS).

Aside from the versatility in appearance, the GTP manufacturer teams have also gone their separate ways in engine choice.

Whilst both Porsche and BMW have opted for turbocharged V8s, Cadillac has gone with a 5.5L naturally-aspirated V8, with Acura having developed a twin-turbo V6.

The sleek new beasts will also be distinguishable on track compared the LMP2 and LMP3 prototypes, as they are much larger (5.1m in length, and 2m wide), and will pull faster lap times, generating 643-697 horsepower at the rear wheels.

For Australian motorsport fans, Matt Campbell will be at the forefront of the

revolution, as he’ll be piloting one of the new 963 Porsches, having climbed to the top of the Porsche Factory Pyramid for 2023.

After winning the GTD Pro championship in a GT3 with Matthew Jaminet by a record margin, Campbell will debut one of its two entries at the Daytona 24.

#25 - BMW M Team RLL - Connor De Phillippi (USA)/Nick Yelloly (ENG) ACURA ARX-06 #10 - Konica Minolta - Filipe Albuquerque (PRT)/Ricky Taylor (USA) #60 - Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian - Tom Blomqvist (ENG)/Colin Braun (USA)

2023 FULL SEASON GTP ENTRIES

THE CALENDAR

CADILLAC V-LMDH #1 - Chip Ganassi Racing - Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande #31 - Action Express Racing - Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims PORSCHE 963 #6 - Penske Motorsport - Mathieu Jaminet (FRE)/Nick Tandy (ENG) #7 - Penske Motorsport - Matt Campbell (AUS)/Felipe Nasr (BRA) BMW M HYBRID V8 #24 - BMW M Team RLL - Augusto Farfus (BRA)/Philipp Eng (AUT)

THE 11-ROUND season is a Who’s Who of North American racing circuits – befitting the stellar machinery on show – with the season starting at the classic 24 Hours of Daytona on January 26-29, before it settles into the unique travelling IMSA show.

After Daytona (and the postseason: Roar Before Daytona), the series will head to Sebring for its marquee 12 Hour event, followed by the Grand Prix of Long Beach (street circuit) before heading to the flowing Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

The 6 Hours at Watkins Glen in New York and the Chevrolet Grand Prix in Canada

The BMW M Hybrid is powered by a turbocharged V8.

The competitive LMP2 category is retained, while the biggest class numerically will be GTD (above right). The season kicks off with the traditional 24 hour contest at Daytona ... (right)

Aussie Matt Campbell will share one of the hot Penske Porsches.

Below left: The Cadillac features a 5.5-litre naturally-aspirated V8 ... constitute rounds five and six, before the first GTD-only round at the beautiful Lime Rock park, Connecticut.

The run home from August to October then goes to Road America in Wisconsin for the IMSA Sportscar Weekend, before the series heads to the Virginia International Raceway for its second GTD only hit-out.

The Prototypes then return for the new penultimate round – the Battle of the Bricks – at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, before the season wraps up at the popular 10-hour Petit Le Mans, which operates under modified 24 Hours of Le Mans rules in accomodation for larger fields.

NEW SUPPORT SERIES

ANOTHER INTRIGUING addition to the season is the newly introduced VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, which will make its series debut at the Roar before Daytona, and will operate in the preceding weeks of six IMSA rounds.

It replaces the LMP3 exclusive IMSA Prototype Challenge, and features two

45 minute sprint races with no pit stops, placing LMP3 cars up against GT4 cars.

They seem like strange bedfellows, but it could be intriguing.

LMP2, LMP3, GTD

TOWER MOTORSPORTS will be defending its LMP2 Drivers and Team championships this season, with Canadian driver John Farano eager to kick things off at Daytona in his title defence.

Last year, Farano registered two wins and three podiums, to beat the Era Motorsport pairing of Ryan Dalziel and Dwight Merriman in a tight season for the second tier of the IMSA prototype world.

American Jon Bennett and his CORE Autosport team took out the LMP3 Series last season with Colin Braun as his co-title winning partner, but won’t be returning in 2023.

Gar Robinson of Riley Motorsports also won two races for the season in the Ligier machinery, falling just 54 points short of the title, and with the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup on the line, and the five time champion out of the picture, its wide open for the taking with plenty of racing for the third tier prototype machines.

The GTD represents the biggest field in the IMSA championship, and as such, has two rounds to itself, at Lime Rock and Virginia.

Parity is the buzzword for GTD, with nine of the seven Automotive brands taking

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RULE TWEAKS

SOME OF the new rule tweaks include that the GTD, LMP2, and LMP3 classes, will run without the GTD for 15 minutes of every practice session; whilst in the GTD, a driver of either Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum may now qualify the car, whereas previously it had to be a Bronze level competitor.

Also for the GTDs, the minimum sprint race time for a Bronze driver has been reduced for 45 to 35 minutes.

And if any race is shortened by at least 10% due to weather and red flag conditions, each driver’s minimum required seat time would be reduced by 20% to avoid unfair penalties for drive-time infringements.

For drivers competing in more than one car, the cumulative maximum driving time no longer applies for races under 6 hours.

THE 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA + AUSSIE AND KIWI DRIVERS

THE 61ST running of America’s classic race sees a 61 car field and some 300 drivers set to go twice around the clock.

The list of entries is broken down into 9 GTP cars, 10 LMP2 cars, 9 LMP3s, 9 GT Daytona Pro cars, and 24 GT Daytona entries.

Chip Ganassi Racing will enter an extra Cadillac GTP car into the fray, with the experienced team of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook taking the wheel.

Cool ... the GTP Acura ARX-06 ...

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.victories in 2022, with no marquee taking the title twice since the IMSA sports car racing was merged under one roof in 2014.

With Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, MercedesAMG, and Porsche, all represented, all eyes will be on the new Ferrari 296 GT3 contender with AF Corse at the helm, with three full-season entries, whilst Porsche rolls out its new 992 evolution version of its 911 GT3R, and Lamborghini has substantially refreshed the Huracan.

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Whilst it’s obviously expected that the new endurance beasts will head the Daytona field, it’s impossible to pick a winner until they complete their practice laps at the Roar Before Daytona.

Aside from New Zealand’s two-time Le Mans 24 winner in Bamber, there’s plenty of Kiwis and Aussies in the field. The list starts with high hopes for Campbell’s Porsche GTP debut with Dane Michael Christensen added to the line up – Campbell won his class in a Porsche GT3 last year at the 24, and his rise to the top would be iced with a maiden victory.

The #10 Acura will be run by Wayne Taylor Racing for the 24, with Kiwi WEC racer Brendon Hartley added to the line-up, joining up with the IMSA regular season team.

Last but not least in the GTP is IndyCar legend Scott Dixon, with the Brisbane born Kiwi jumping into the Chip Ganassi #1 Cadillac and aiming for his fourth outright win at the 24 hour classic.

Three time Supercar champion turned IndyCar contender, Scott McLaughlin, will pilot an Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 with Penske team-mate Josef Newgarden for Tower Motorsports for his Daytona debut, whilst Toowoomba’s Cameron Shields will return for Performance Tech Motorsports in the LMP3 Ligier JS P320-Nissan.

In the 24 car GT Daytona field, Australia’s Kenny Habul was the 61st and last entry, returning to Daytona with his SunEnergy1 team. He did have two-time IndyCar champion Will Power as his co-driver, but the Toowoomba legend has pulled out for family reasons, whilst the highly talented, and WEC experienced Kiwi, Jaxon Evans, makes his debut in the KellyMoss with Riley Porsche GT3 (992).

Last on the list is the Australian born, and highly experienced Ryan Briscoe; with the ex IndyCar race winner making his sixth Daytona start in a Racer’s Edge with WTR Acura NSX GTS.

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SPEEDWAY

Overall Series winner Brock Hallett’s consistency paid dividends. Image: BEN GRIFFIN

CONSISTENCY THE KEY AS BROCK BANKS STATES SERIES THE SPRINTCAR Speedweek Series has been launched to full houses in different parts of the nation in recent times – firstly it was the South Australia/Victoria Speedweek, the Western Australia v America Speedweek, and now it’s the East Coast’s turn with the Speedway Australiapresented New South Wales/Queensland States Series.

ROUND 1 – TO FINISH FIRST, FIRST YOU MUST FINISH Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway was the first destination, for a mid-week show, and with 37 cars all aiming to kick things off in the best way possible the racing proved a tough affair. Jamie Veal would find himself on the front row with Lachlan McHugh for the 35 lap final.

Luke Oldfield quicky relegated McHugh to third while Veal set the tempo and looked comfortable leading the charge as they entered deep into the journey. But in short succession, what looked to be the podium would be turned on its head.

Firstly, Oldfield received contact from McHugh, ending Oldfield’s run. Then, a few laps further on, similar fate would befall the race leader after American star Carson Macedo had stormed his way through the field to challenge for the race lead; and with just three laps remaining Macedo mistimed his move, sending Veal into the wall, upside down and out of contention.

With just three laps remaining, Marcus

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Dumesny would inherit the lead and race on to Victory Lane. Joining the Australian Champion on the dais was Brock Hallett, who had come from as deep as 13th and Justin Sanders the best of the Americans in third.

Ryan Newton and Brooke Tatnell completed the top five ahead of Steven Lines and McHugh, with Matthew Dumesny, Macedo and Michael Saller rounding out the top 10 and final finisher to go the distance. Joining Veal on the infield in the incident-packed affair would be Ian Madsen, Jock Goodyer, Jayden Peacock, Oldfield, Randy Morgan, Peter Doukas, Cole Macedo, Jy Corbet and Brent Kratzmann.

Cole Macedo, Hallett, Corbet, Veal, Oldfield and Goodyer claimed the heats and Saller topped the last-chance B Main.

ROUND 2 – MACEDO MAKES AMENDS!

Back at the Archerfield venue for two successive nights for the 25th annual running of the Australian Open, there was no tennis rackets or balls in sight! Just 40 hard charging Sprintcars doing battle looking to take game, set and match in the winner’s circle.

Keen to make amends for his Round 1 misjudgement was American Carson Macedo who made the most of pole position to lead the entire 25-lap journey. Luke Oldfield would hold down second for the majority of the distance, however a strong finish propelled Lachlan McHugh into the runner up position, relegating Oldfield to the final step on the

podium. Brothers, Matt and Marcus Dumesny swooped on the final lap to round out the top five, to dispose of Jock Goodyer. Seventh was Steven Lines followed by Chase Randall, Jamie Veal, Ian Madsen, Brock Hallett, Ryan Newton, Aaron Kelly, Michael Saller, Sam Walsh and Brooke Tatnell while Justin Sanders and Cole Macedo would both retire less than two laps from home.

Marcus Dumesny, Ryan Newton, McHugh, Adam Butler, Cole Macedo, Randy Morgan, Jackson Delamont and Tim Farrell each claimed a heat win.

ROUND 3 – GAME, SET AND MATCH GOODYER!

Returning serve, with a cool $20,000 on the line for the prestigious Australian Sprintcar Open, racers would leave nothing on the table in an effort to take the win in the marathon 50 lap finale. Lachlan McHugh claimed the Gold Shootout, earning him pole position for the final – however the in-form Tasmanian sensation Jock Goodyer would square up on outside front row.

At the drop of the green, McHugh would trail blaze, with Goodyer on his tail for the first 10 laps, until Carson Macedo joined the fray, challenging Goodyer for the runner-up position. The duo’s tussle developed into an enthralling battle for position over a 15 lap period while McHugh continued to set the pace. Macedo would eventually get the upper hand and set his sights on the leader.

Just past the 40-lap mark, Macedo would

get his man, taking the lead – however a determined McHugh would regain the front running position only for Macedo to attempt a strike back just two laps from home. Sadly the pair would again touch, ending the run of McHugh.

Goodyer then inherited the lead and powered home for the Round 3 win and the $20,000 winner’s purse, edging out Luke Oldfield by just 0.187 of a second with the second of the Macedos, Cole, joining the victory celebrations. Matt Dumesny, Texan teenager Chase Randall and Steven Lines rounded out the top half dozen.

Brooke Tatnell rocketed from 19th to finish in front of Jamie Veal, Brock Hallett and Michael Saller rounding out the top 10. Justin Sanders, Carson Macedo and Brent Kratzmann made up the finishers of the epic affair. Joining McHugh on the DNF list was Sam Walsh, Marcus Dumesny, Ian Madsen, Ryan Newton, Aaron Kelly and Jy Corbet.

Single heat wins went to Walsh, Saller, Kelly and Peter Doukas while Corbet and Kratzmann collected a double. Kye Jensen won the C Main and Madsen the B.

ROUND 4 – MCHUGH PUSHES THROUGH!

The Speedweek then ventured south and into New South Wales for the first time, stopping at the Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway for the fourth round. A field of 23 competitors fronted and while some Brisbane locals decided to forfeit the round, some New South Welshmen

Round 2 winner Carson Macedo.

Image: CHRIS METCALFE

Round 4 winner Lachlan McHugh. Image: BEN GRIFFIN

Marcus Dumensy was the early series leader after winning the opening round. Image: BEN GRIFFIN

made a welcome addition to the party.

However, the front row for the all important 35 lap final would see two old sparring partners in Lachlan McHugh and Luke Oldfield go wheel-to-wheel.

Oldfield got the upper hand at the green, before the tempo was disrupted with a caution period just two laps in, for Cody Maroske.

Oldfield again led, only to fall to McHugh’s challenge as they entered lapped traffic. Sadly things would turn further south for Oldfield, hitting the Turn 1 wall and ending his tilt at victory as the race hit the halfway mark.

McHugh again led the field away, this time pursued by Brock Hallett who had worked his way from sixth. Marcus Dumesny swooped to third before bouncing into the wall, ending upside down. Despite a few late caution periods McHugh knuckled down to the job at hand, fending off a determined Hallett on the last corner to win by a mere 0.063 of a second in the run to the chequered flags, while taking the final step on the podium was Justin Sanders. Ian Madsen and Brooke Tatnell turned in their best performances to this point since returning from North American racing duties. Jock Goodyer, Randy Morgan, Jy Corbett were next. Lachlan Caunt and Karl Hoffman rounded out the top 10, chased by Brad Ayres, Brodie Tulloch and Dumesny in a wounded car while Tony Bridge finished one lap in arrears. Anthony Vanderreyden, Sam Walsh, Brett Hobson and Jackson Delamont

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joined Oldfield and Maroske on the nonfinishers list.

Walsh, Morgan, Madsen, Tatnell, Sanders and McHugh each claimed a single qualifying heat and Ayres the B Main.

ROUND 5 – MAROSKE MAKES FIVE!

The series then U-turned north and beelined to the Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway for the penultimate round of the series, the first night of two successive nights for the Red Hot Summer Shooutout.

With four rounds run, the series would see four different competitors standing on the top podium step, round five would attract a strong field of 40 competitors and from that crop Cody Maroske became the fifth addition to the winner’s circle.

Joining Maroske on the front row was the ever consistent Lachlan McHugh, who led the field away as Maroske and Jock Goodyer battled for second only to be interrupted by a few yellow light stoppages. McHugh’s run at the front would come under challenge as Maroske engaged, the duo trading multiple slide jobs for the lead as they raced through lapped traffic. Maroske would eventually get the upper hand as McHugh was doubleteamed by Goodyer and Carson Macedo, the trio running three wide.

Maroske would express to Victory Lane, and joining the local on the podium was

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Macedo and the fast-finishing Brock Hallett to consolidate his series points lead going into the final round. Goodyer, McHugh, Ian Madsen and Justin Sanders stayed on the lead lap while one lap in arrears were Ryan Newton, Aaron Reutzel, Steven Lines, Jy Corbet, Jessie Attard, Luke Oldfield, Matt Dumesny, Brooke Tatnell, Cole Macedo, Ben Atkinson Jnr, Taylor Prosser and Anthony Lambert while Marcus Dumesny was the sole non-finisher.

Jessie Attard, Carson Macedo, Prosser, Hallett, brothers Matt and Marcus Dumesny, Madsen and Atkinson Jnr took maximum points in the qualifying heats.

ROUND 6 – MAROSKE’S 20K PAY DAY!

As we rolled into the Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway for the final night of the series it was pleasing to see that the SOLD-OUT signs were out on display, something that any race promoter around the nation would be envious of.

The sign on the marque read Red Hot Summer Shootout – however, ironically, rain was closing in on the venue and the hard decision to curtail the heats and dashes and get straight into the B Main and the 40 lap A Main final was taken.

Fittingly, two Queenslanders – Lachlan McHugh and Cody Maroske – would line up on the prime row for what would become a

drama -illed opening portion of the race.

As the lights went green, they quickly blazed red after Justin Sanders squared the Motorguard Motorsport USA1, leaving the innocent trio of Sam Walsh, Jy Corbet and Taylor Prosser with nowhere to go. Under the reds, the Sanders team would change their left rear to re-join, while the Prosser team changed the front wing only to be disqualified for their work efforts. Kevin Titman would also retire, with no brakes.

At the complete restart McHugh led the field away, however the red lights would soon blaze for Matt Dumensy who took a wild ride, ending his run. Walsh also retired.

Take three: McHugh led the field away and with 10 laps in the books McHugh was negotiating his way through the back markers. The race would run express until lap 23 before Ryan Newton spun, bringing on the cautions. As the field regathered for the restart, disaster struck the race leader when the ignition cut out.

Maroske inherited the lead with Ian Madsen and Brock Hallett tucked in behind. As the race distance narrowed, the track started to widen and slide jobs began for mid-field positions. Ben Atkinson Jr ripped a pass on both Sanders and Steven Lines, crossing Sanders up for the second time while Lines bumped through looping his entry to bring on the yellows.

With 11 laps to run Maroske again led the charge and with clear track ahead that would be the advantage in the run to the line, earning Maroske the $20,000 winner’s purse in the inaugural Red Hot Summer Shooutout Series. The fast-finishing Madsen and Hallett took the places, his consistency rewarding him the overall New South Wales/ Queensland States Series championship despite not claiming a victory along the way.

For his efforts he received the uniquely prized payout of $6,666.66c. Jock Goodyer, Carson Macedo, Jessie Attard, Atkinson Jr, Brooke Tatnell, Lines and Luke Oldfield rounded out the top 10 finishers. The retiree list would read long with Aaron Reutzel, Sanders, McHugh, Newton, Anthony Lambert, Matt Dumesny, Walsh, Prosser, Corbet and Titman.

SERIES RESULTS At the completion of the Speedway Australiapresented NSW/Qld States Series the top 10 points score is: 1: Q5 Brock Hallett 1258, 2: Jock Goodyer 1228, 3: Lachlan McHugh 1177, 4: Justin Sander 1124, 5: Ian Madsen 1085, 6: Brooke Tatnell 1082, 7: Luke Oldfield 1015, 8: Marcus Dumensy 1015, 9: Carson Macedo 914, 10: Steven Lines 863. Paris Charles

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SPEEDWAY STARS OF TOMORROW SHINING BRIGHTLY TODAY! COMING FROM all corners of the nation, all roads led to the Borderline Speedway in the southeastern corner of South Australia for 77 Junior Sedan teams converging to contest the 20th running of the SSA Inc National Junior Sedan Title.

After a practice night followed by two full nights consisting of a staggering 28 qualifying heats, a C Main and two B Mains that provided an abundance of thrills and spills it would come down to the top 22 competitors to duke it out in the winner-takesall 25-lap final.

After the heats, Aidan Rigby had topped the points sheet, however a frantic engine change at the completion of his final heat would be needed in order to contest the main event after damaging his primary power plant. Lining up on the front row we would see the two state champions in Rigby (Queensland) and West Australian Beau Oldfield.

At the drop of the green, the latter successfully used the topside of the track to slingshot his way to lead Rigby while Zach Munro and Linken Paterson locked into a close battle for third.

As the race fell into its rhythm, the lead duo opened a handy break while Paterson manoeuvred his way to third. At the halfway mark, Rigby slid under Oldfield to gain the lead. The race would run express until Victorian James Oliver slowed with a flat trye, and while trying to find a way out of harm’s way he contacted the lone female finalist Kiarna Barton, sending her into the inside armco and almost taking the race leader with them.

With 10 to run, Rigby led the Indian File restart away. Oldfield quickly stepped up and the duo locked into a dogfight for the lead. After a clean first sector of the race the yellows would blaze for a series of stoppages, the next being for the coming together of Cameron Smith and Bree Simpson, taking the latter out of the equation.

The next came for Zak Turner and the flat tyre Jayden Hancock who was running fourth at the time. Cameron Smith was responsible for the next stoppage and Lucas Warnett would trigger the final caution period as the lead duo raced wheel-to-wheel.

With two laps remaining Rigby and Oldfield resumed their battle for a green, white and chequered conclusion. Rigby hung on to claim the national crown over Oldfield, with Munro clawing his way back into third, making the Mitsubishi Mirage the weapon of choice with the top three all at the wheelhouse of the tri-star brand. Flanking them on the top five podium was Paterson and Kurtis Peall. Next was Brodie Hollyman followed by Hunter Downs, River Paterson, Miller Throckmorton, Jayden Lock, Harry Fowler, Cooper Flynn, Barton, Warnett and Jaiden Santin rounding the 15 finishers.

Simpson, Smith, Billy Macdonald, Jayden Hancock, Turner, Oliver and Donny Davis all retired along the journey.

Queensland’s Aidan Rigby proved too strong, claiming the Australian Junior Sedan Championship. Image: RAY RITTER

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Sheldon Haudenschild powers home to victory.

Image: BRETT SWANSON

HAUDENSCHILD HOLDS STRONG THE HEYTESBURY Stockfeeds Simpson Speedway celebrated its largest fan tumout as they came from far and wide for the running of the Mainline DynoLog Dynamometers All Star Challenge, Australia’s largest 360 Sprintcar race that carries a whopping $15k winner’s prize purse. Chasing the payday were Americans Sheldon Haudenschild and Chase Randall, taking the challenge to a stout field of 34 hard-charging Aussies including former event winners John Vogels, James McFadden and Brendan Quinn.

Shelden Haudenschild lined up alongside Rusty Hickman for the 35 lap final. Hickman led convincingly before Charles Hunter, Chris Campbell and Quinn collided, taking the trio from the equation.

Hickman again jetted out front, only for the yellows to light the track for Victorian Champion Brenten Farrer.

Again, Hickman led, although mechanical gremlins would see him roll to the infield yielding the lead to Haudenschild. The race for second was an entertaining affair as Randall slid by Mark Caruso who was soon rounded up by Grant Anderson and James McFadden.

With five to run, the reds blazed for the inverted Dan Scott who tagged the back of McFadden, after Todd Moule and McFadden bumped, spinning Moule – however McFadden would come off second best from the Scott bump.

From the next two attempts at resumption, Michael Tancredi would tag the wall and Matthew Reed rolled over

and after connecting with the rear of Brett Milburn, joining Scott, McFadden and Moule on the infield.

With six laps remaining, second generation racer Haudenschild made the most of clear track ahead to become the fifth American driver to add his name to the honour board, leading home fellow compatriot Randall, with Grant Anderson joining them on the final step of the podium. Fourth was Chris Solomon followed by Chris Temby, Paul Solomon, Caruso, Ricky Maiolo, Milburn, Terry Kelly and Farrer the last of the finishers.

Heat race wins went to Tancredi, Randall, Maiolo, Temby, Haudenschild, Quinn, Hickman and Hickman a pair while Milburn claimed the last chance B Main.

BLIGHT BEATS THE CARNAGE BUT NOT THE CLOCK THE LATE Models provided plenty of spin, crash and bash entertainment over the two nights of competition at the Perth Motorplex for the running of the Late Model Nationals.

Twenty-seven competitors fronted, including interstate chargers from South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria for the prestigious event.

The top 24 qualifiers lined up for the scheduled 30-lap final – however the start would turn into a gruelling affair as it took five complete restarts, the final crash involving nine competitors which then began a lengthy recovery period to dismount the Mat Crimmins entry from the top of Kodee Brows’ entry before a single full lap would be recorded under green.

For the fifth start an Indian file line up was ordered by the Chief Steward to get the race under way. Pole sitter Matt Goodlad led the field away, although Kye Blight would jet from fourth to lead the field. Goodlad’s run would soon sour as he dropped back to fifth. Four laps down and the race leader was already slicing his way through lapped traffic. Brent Vosbergen would close the real estate and

Kye Blight claimed his third Late Model Nationals victory. Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY the duo duelled through the back markers.

Sadly, the final would be cut short on the 17th lap due to the strict 11pm time curfew, despite the race running in a strong rhythm.

Blight, Vosbergen and the Oldfields (Warren and Jamie) rounded out the four. Goodlad, Michael Holmes, Freddy Kinsella, Jay Cardy, Brad Smith, Joe Chalmers, Matt Amato and

David Boyes completed the top dozen.

Further back was Steve Schofield, Damian Hudson, Veronica McCann, Ben Strautins, Bruce MacKenzie and Domain Ramsay making up the finishers, while Nathan Richards, Brown, Crimmins, Greg Horan, Jason Oldfield and Chris Barrow would park up on the infield.

SPEEDWEEK WAY OUT WEST PICKING UP from where we last left off for the Speedway Australia USA vs WA Sprintcar Speedweek Series, run in conjunction with the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series, the action continued to excite the large crowds who came to watch the local guns defend home ground against the three heavy hitting Americans – Brock Zearfoss, Tyler Courtney and Corey Eliason, who have all featured at the pointy end of the field. For round five we ventured to the Allwest Plant Hire Ellenbrook Speedway, heralded as The Summer Slam.

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles

ROUND 5 – YANKS CONTINUE TO FIRE!

A field of 20 West Aussie competitors fronted for the occasion, yet despite their best efforts to keep the American trio at bay it would be an all-American front row going into the 30 lap feature with Eliason and Courtney heading the field while Zearfoss sat ready to pounce from P5 – separating him from his countryman was James Inglis and Callum Williamson.

At the drop of the green Eliason took the lead, quickly followed by Inglis. However Courtney would soon find his way back to second. By one-third race distance the leaders were deep into lapped traffic, but this would not pose any issues as they Americans turned on a smooth display of passing using the bottom through Turns 1 and 2 while the top side was the preferred option at the other end of the track.

As the race continued to run express, the top three would be line astern with half a dozen laps remaining and it was shaping up for a thrilling battle until the only caution was pulled after contact between Matthew Cross and Zearfoss who was running fourth at the time. Both would resume.

With clear track, Eliason covered off a determined Courtney and all looked set for a processional finish until reds blazed on the final lap for David Priolo, while Robbie Farr and Daniel Harding came together simultaneously at opposite ends of the track.

With a green/white/chequered finish, Eliason would blaze to the finish line followed to the podium by Courtney and Inglis. Further back was Williamson, Harding, Bradley Maiolo, Trent Pigdon, Mitchell Wormall, Jason Kendrick and Jason Pryde completing the top 10, followed by Andrew Priolo, Taylor Milling, Zearfoss, Ryan Lancaster, Jaydee Dack, George Eaton, Cross and Nathan Swan for the finishers. Farr and David Priolo were the two retirees.

Courtney, Zerafoss and Williamson shared the heat wins.

ROUND 6 – COREY CRACKS ANOTHER

The series then ventured back to the Totally Workwear Bunbury Speedway ‘Battle of Bunbury’ for the penultimate night and again it would be American Corey Eliason claiming pole position for the 30-lap final alongside James Inglis.

As the lights blazed green, the field pounced – however pandemonium broke loose on the opening lap when Inglis spun taking with him the speedy trio of Tyler Courtney, Jason Kendrick and Bradley Maiolo. All would go to the infield workstation as their cars were frantically worked upon by their teams to get

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USA26 Cory Eliason – Overall series Champion. Below left: Tyler Courtney took out the final round.

Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY A. Priolo, Jason Pryde, Bradley Maiolo, Jaydee Dack and Todd Davis. Finding refuge on the infield was Harding, Williamson, Russell Taylor, James Inglis and Lancaster.

The heats were shared amongst Lancaster, Maiolo and Inglis.

ROUND 7 – COURTNEY COLLECTS FINALE back in for the restart, Courtney the last to re-join with just seconds to spare.

After a series of aborted attempts, Eliason would again start from pole, this time alongside the elevated Andrew Priolo – however Brock Zearfoss would rocket into second as Andrew ran third. With nine laps run, the yellows again blazed, for Callum Williamson coming to a halt after losing the front-right wheel.

Again, another false start as Ryan Lancaster spun to a halt. Eliason led them away followed by Zerafoss. Andrew Priolo slowly fell back through the field while his brother David advanced into third. At the halfway mark, the reds would find a part to play as the officials removed debris from the track while the crews fuelled and tuned their cars.

Green again: as the front runners remained status quo the race for fifth provided a thrilling battle pack with Mitchell Wormall, Dayne Kingshott, A. Priolo, Jason Kendrick and Tyler Courtney racing in close quarters.

As the laps blew by Eliason stretched his legs to run away with a commanding win over D. Priolo and Trent Pigdon for the podium. Kris Coyle was next followed by Kendrick, Kingshott and Wormall, while next were the Americans Courtney and Zerafoss,

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The seventh and final round saw the cars return to the Perth Motorplex for the Mr. Sprintcar Alf Barbagallo tribute race – with a $15,000 to win prize purse the 25 competitors put their best wheels forward and going into the drama filled 30-lap finale it would be Bradley Maiolo and Tyler Courtney sharing the front row.

Courtney set the pace until David Priolo, fittingly in the Alf Barbagello tribute car, raced to the lead only for the yellows to trigger for the spun entry of Russell Taylor, bringing on the first of the Indian file restarts, setting the tone for what would unfold as the infield work area burst into an array of action as there would be several stoppages without another full lap being completed.

The next stoppage was for Bradley Maiolo and the returning Ken Sartori. The third caution would trigger after Andrew Priolo and Jaydee Dack came together. The quartet of Jason Kendrick, Ryan Lancaster, Robbie Farr and Trent Pigdon then set off the reds.

Incredibly it would be another 20 minutes before we would see the next full lap go into the books, Courtney, David Priolo and Brock Zearfoss leading the way as the race broke into a rhythm with two distinctive racing lines at the top and bottom of the track. Sadly, there were another two successive cautions for Sartori then Taylor and it was at this point

the Chief Steward called an open red for all cars to refuel.

Recommencement: Courtney charged from the front and thankfully the race settled into a groove. Taylor Milling proved the big mover, charging to second. With 10 to run, points leader James Inglis and Brock Zearfoss would retire to the infield. Courtney again led – however D. Priolo challenged strongly until the yellows played their final part when Kris Coyle tagged the wall, ending his race.

From the final restart with four to run Callum Williamson came from the clouds moving to second and challenged for the lead at the final corner. Courtney held on for the win over Williamson, and D. Priolo completingn the podium. Milling, Cory Eliason, Kerry Madsen, Dayne Kingshott, Jason Kendrick, Luke Dillon and Jason Pryde rounded out the top 10.

A. Priolo, Maiolo and Matthew Cross completed the finishers. Daniel Harding, Coyle, Nash, Zearfoss, Inglis, Taylor, Satori, Lancaster, Farr, Trent Pigdon and Dack would make up the long list of non-finishers and Nathan Swan failed to start.

D. Priolo, Pigdon and Lancaster claimed the heat wins.

USA V WA POINTS SCORE: Cory Eliason and the Diamond Bay Motorsport Team have claimed the overall championship, winning Speedway Australia USA V WA Speedweek with four wins from the seven rounds, earning a total of 1032 points. 2: Tyler Courtney 1010, 3: Callum Williamson 960, 4: Jason Kendrick 944, 5: David Priolo 928, 6: James Ingliss 922, 7: Andrew Priolo 904, 8: Brock Zerafoss 880, 9: Jason Pryde 876 and 10: Bradley Maiolo 868.

Paris Charles

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NASCAR

HARVICK TO HANG UP THE BOOTS VETERAN RACER Kevin Harvick will hang up the boots after 2023 following two decades in NASCAR that has so far yielded 60 Cup Series victories.

The 47 year-old from Bakersfield, California, won the 2014 championship after making the switch from Richard Childress Racing to Stewart Haas Racing, becoming the first winner of NASCAR’s eliminationstyle post-season format.

Harvick’s 2001 debut came about following the tragic last lap death of racing legend Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, with Richard Childress putting Harvick in his Chev the following week at the Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham.

“Looking back on it now, you realise the importance of getting in the Cup car, and then we wound up winning my first race at Atlanta in the (re-numbered) #29 car after Dale’s death,” Harvick said.

“The significance and the importance of keeping that car on the race track and winning that race early at Atlanta – knowing now what it meant to the sport, and just that moment in general of being able to carry on, was so important.”

That win would kickstart a career that would include winning all four ‘crown jewel’ NASCAR races: the Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and the Southern 500 – along with Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson, he has been the only other driver to achieve the feat.

“There is absolutely nothing else in the world that I enjoy doing more than going to the race track, and I’m genuinely looking forward to this season,” Harvick said.

“It’s definitely been hard to understand when that right moment is (to retire) because we’ve been so fortunate to run well. But sometimes there are just other things going on that become more important and, for me, that time has come.”

In 2022, Harvick broke a 65 winless streak to go back-to-back at Michigan and

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES Richmond to pull equal with Kyle Busch as the ninth most winningest driver in NASCAR history. It was also the first time in his career that he failed to get past the first round of the NASCAR elimination series.

The #4 SHR Mustang driver is expected to go into a full-time broadcasting role following his retirement from a career that also yielded two Xfinity Series championships (47 wins), and 14 Truck Series victories.

Team co-owner, Tony Stewart, had this to say about Harvick’s final season with the team.

“I want Kevin to savour every lap this season, to compete like hell and to take it all in,” Stewart said.

“He’s made all of us at Stewart-Haas Racing incredibly proud and we want to make his last racing season his best season.”

TW Neal

CLASH AT THE LA COLISEUM Football stadium becomes NASCAR track ...

FOR NINE decades, the LA Memorial Coliseum was the sole home of the American college football team, the USC Trojans.

That was before Ben Kennedy, the NASCAR vice president for strategy and innovation, drove past the iconic Coliseum and thought it would be a good idea to build a temporary NASCAR track in it for the Preseason Clash.

500 trucks and 1,560 tons of four inch thick, high performance Asphalt later, NASCAR managed to build a temporary quarter mile track, and moved the Clash from Daytona where it had lived since 1979.

It was first held last year, in front of a big crowd in America’s West, and returns for 2023 with a sprintcar-like race format to kick off the year.

The format involves single car three-lap qualifying, where the order is set for four heats, with each heat race to be 25 laps long.

The top five of each heat go through to the Clash final which, due to the quarter mile track, can be a maximum of 27 cars.

The remaining cars that missed qualifying for the clash, then go into two 50 lap last-chance qualifiers, with the top three of each advancing to the Clash.

The 27 car is reserved for the driver who had the most points in 2022, but didn’t qualify for the Clash final – which will be 150 laps of green flag racing.

Last year’s Clash was taken out by the 2022 NASCAR champion, Team Penske’s Joey Logano, with this year’s event starting on February 5. TW Neal

NASCAR IMPLEMENTS 2023 SAFETY CHANGES A HIGHLIGHTED issue during NASCAR’s first season of its Next Generation cars, was the amount of concussions that drivers experienced, with two drivers sidelined for several weeks as a result.

Meetings were held with drivers in October of 2022 after Alex Bowman was concussed, missing six races after a seemingly innocuous accident during the Playoffs in Texas.

That came after Kurt Busch missed several weeks in a similar incident at Pocono earlier in the season, which led to some annoyance from drivers that a meeting hadn’t occured sooner.

“The frustrating part is it took way too long to have that meeting – it should have happened after Kurt’s crash, not waiting until Alex had his crash to have a meeting and at least hear us out,” said

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Alex Bowman was one of two NASCAR drivers badly concussed during the 2022 season.

Penske’s Joey Logano.

“I’m not saying they weren’t working on it after Kurt’s crash, but the communication in-person is so important … We should be in-person, having those meetings, a lot. Not when we need to,

but before we need to. And I think those messages were heard loud and clear.”

As a result, new rear bumper struts have been fitted to allow for a bigger crumple zone, as well as as the longitudinal bars in the upper part of

the rear clip being removed, with the lower rails changed to angled compound mitered tubes, which were previously relatively straight.

The less rigid bumper structure and supports will also include outer diagonal tubes on the top section of the midchassis, as well as in the bottom section, with the total changes directed at lessening the rigidity during an impact.

All changes have been initially paid for by NASCAR, with Rick Hendrick, Bowman’s team owner (Hendrick Motorsports) saying the ongoing cost will be a small but necessary price to pay.

“Our drivers are so important, we don’t want them hurt,” said Hendrick. ”So if it meant buying all new clips on a Monday morning … I’d do it. I’d be happy to do it. We want them to be safe, because we invest a lot in our drivers.”

DUBAI 24 HOUR

WRT DOMINATES DUBAI 24 PODIUM

WITH NEW BMW ALLIANCE/GT3

BELGIAN TEAM WRT took the new BMW M4 GT3 to victory at the Dubai 24 Hour, with its Valentino Rossi led #46 entry taking third.

It also marked the first time since 2011 that BMW has had an overall winner at the event, with the new M4 GT3 stamping its threat as a future endurance menace.

It was the team’s endurance racing debut as BMW M outfit, capturing its third Dubai 24 victory over 621 completed laps (second most in 18 editions), and went back-to-back with Dries Vanthoor and Mohammed Al Saud at the helm, after winning in 2022 with an Audi R8 LMS Evo. This year they did it with Jens Klingmann, Diego Menchaca and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer in the #7, as Vanthoor took the wheel and the lead with 20 minutes to run.

After WRT claimed its first win in 2016, team boss Vincent Vosse knows how hard a race it is to win.

“The challenge was big – we know how difficult this race can be. In the end you need a bit of luck, a great strategy from the guys, and a largely faultless effort from the drivers,” he said.

“At the end we are learning a lot ... we did learn a lot in this race about the car and let’s go to the next one. This was a great achievement.”

That next race happens to be the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia, where Rossi will be among the drivers for the two WRT entries, before the team embarks on its WEC campaign with BMW’s Hybrid V8 LMDh. Coming in a close second was the German outfit Herbert Racing in the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Robert Renauer, his brother Alfred Renauer, Ralf Bohn, and Daniel Allemann finishing just 31s behind the WRT #7.

The Rossi led #46, came in two laps in arrears of the winners, with Factory drivers Maxime Martin and Max Hesse, WEC regular Sean Gelael, and Brit Tim Whale in assistance.

The fourth placed #10 Porsche GT3 was led by New Zealand endurance stalwart Earl Bamber and Grove Racing, backed up by an all Australian trio of Steven and Brenton Grove, and Supercars DJR pilot Anton De Pasquale.

The #10 came in just two minutes behind Rossi’s WRT, completing 618 laps, in what was an impressive event debut for Bamber – a two-time Le Mans 24 Hour winner.

It was an impressive team performance from the Grove Racing outfit, which qualified the #10 in P4 and avoided the front row havoc A sensational comeback drive rounded out the top five, with the HAAS RT Audi R8 outfit, led by Maxime Soulet and Mathieu Detry, coming from 43rd to claim P5 on the same lap as the #10 Porsche.

It was also the first outing for the new BMW M4 GT4, with an Australian-led Simpson Motorsport outfit taking a class P2, behind a Mercedes AMG GT4 operated by RO FGO with Dragon Racing.

The team, led by Aussie driver and PNG resident Kieth Kassulke, included young 18 year-old Queenslander Cameron McLeod, Brits James Kaye and David Holloway, and Cypriot driver Vasily Vladykin.

The #438 BMW GT4 finished in P26 outright, which was a great effort after qualifying in P40 and third in their class.

After a front row lockout from the Haupt Racing Team (HRT) for the 18h Dubai 24 Hour, both the HRT #4 Abu Dhabi Racing team, and its sister team, the HRT #777 Al Manar Racing were among the front runners until disaster struck for both teams.

Whilst running in P9, the Hubert Hauptled #4 caught fire after making contact with the barriers with its driver leaping from the vehicle. Then shortly after, whilst running in P5, a terminal suspension failure in the #777 ruled out the second HRT Mercedes.

Following that, both WRT cars and

Grove Racing finished a strong fourth. The #438 BMW GT4 (below) provided the come-back drive of the event ...

the Herbert Racing Porsche remained consistently in the top bracket, with the Grove Porsche swapping places with the HAAS RT several times.

Heading into the final hour, the provisional podium stood where it would finish, with the #91 Porsche taking the lead before a fuel stop put the winners back in front.

On the final tour of the race, Vanthoor slowed the #7 BMW to avoid doing another lap, while still keeping a safe margin to the chequered flag.

Of consolation to the German Porsche team, its P2 took out the GT3 PRO-AM class with a one-two, with its second #92 Porsche capturing P6, and second in the class, with Heart of Racing by SPS taking its Mercedes AMG into a class three.

Next up for WRT, Vanthoor will lead a team alongside Sheldon van der Linde and Charles Weerts at Mount Panorama on February 3-5, with Moto GP legend Rossi back in the #46 with Maxime Martin, with Augusto Farfus Jr added to the line up.

Bamber will also take the fight back up against the new WRT Beamers, with two combined entries alongside the Grove Team once again. TW Neal

The winning #7 BMW M4 GT3 took a dominant first-up win – and now heads to Bathurst ...

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UAE-F4

PISZCYK SHOWS IMPROVEMENT IN UAE F4 OPENER JAMES PISZCYK showcased impressive improvement across the first round of the UAE F4 season, leaving Dubai Autodrome with some points in his pocket.

Piszcyk (above) is using the fiveround FIA sanctioned series as a vital stepping stone in the biggest year of his fledgeling motorsport career.

The 16-year-old has made the move to Europe to race the British Formula 4 series but, before that begins in March, he is gaining experience in the UAE. Four Australians raced, but Piszcyk was one of just two to score points thanks to a P8 finish in the final race.

The Hitech driver said the result gives him encouragement for the road ahead.

“We went into the weekend not really looking for points and just to learn what the race craft was like, but getting points

was an added bonus,” Piszcyk told Auto Action.

“Once we figured out we had some pace, we thought we better go for some points and having some now is definitely a good thing.

“Going into Kuwait, now that I have finished in the top 10, I just want to keep itching out more and more (points).

“Hopefully I can get some more podiums towards the end of the season or sooner.”

Piszcyk entered the weekend having raced at the F4 UAE Trophy Series during last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Despite the experience, the South Australian admitted he was “upset” with his early performances through practice and qualifying as he tried to adapt to the vastly different Dubai Autodrome.

“During the first couple of practice

sessions I was upset with myself because I was not where I was hoping to be straight away,” Piszcyk said.

“There was a section of the track through Turns 5-6-7 I found quite difficult.

“But we kept progressing through every session and the car felt stuck to the ground.

“It was definitely one of my biggest weekends starting with testing on the Monday (but) it was a good learning weekend.”

Piszcyk started the first race from P19, but some moves off the start line helped him improve to 16th, while he also improved some place to 19th in Race 2.

But with greater qualifying speed on Sunday, the Hitech driver was able to put car #4 into grid position nine for the final race after lapping 0.7s away from pole man Arvid Lindbald.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Despite dropped back to 11th off the line, Piszcyk fought back and reclaimed a top 10 position prior to the first Safety Car period.

At the restart a spinning car ahead provided the perfect opportunity for the 16-year-old to get some handy points.

Whilst Piszcyk has been racing hard on the track, he has also been having fun off it with fellow Aussies Jack Beeton and James Wharton.

“Jack did the Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific selection together, so we came pretty good mates over the weekend and went hire karting together.

“I used to race with James in karts around Australia, so chatted to him a fair bit.

“Its a good championship because everyone is on the same playing field.”

Thomas Miles

AUSSIE SCORES PODIUM IN UAE F4 OPENER

THE 2023 FIA UAE Formula 4 Championship started in exciting fashion at the Dubai Autodrome where James Wharton led the Aussie charge.

Wharton was the top performer of the four Australians on show in the season opener, scoring a podium to sit fifth in the championship after the first three races.

James Piszcyk also scored points in the final race of the weekend, while late addition Jack Beeton got himself off the mark in the Rookie Cup and Noah Lisle got some laps under his belt.

After a big week of testing, teams were prepared for a busy race

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weekend. Wharton topped Free Practice, but he could not continue the momentum in Qualifying and had to settle for grid positions 10 and seven for Races 1 and 2 respectively having “lacked grip”.

Behind Wharton, the next best Australian was Piszcyk in 19th, while Lisle and Beeton were split by just 0.041s in positions 24 and 25 respectively.

Wharton progressed up to P7 in Q2 and was joined inside the top 10 by Piszcyk, while Lisle and Beeton could not improve.

The opening race of the season was

a dramatic 11-lap affair won by Ugo Ugochukwu after a late-race Safety Car brought Wharton back into play.

After rising from 10th to sixth on the opening lap, the Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited driver made more bold moves after the restart with a big lunge on Kirill Smal at Turn 10.

The Aussie made it stick and it proved decisive, with a penalty to Arvid Lindbald promoting him to a hardfought third.

Piszcyk also made some moves to score 16th and Beeton shot up the order into the top 20, while Lisle had to settle for 29th.

The second race of the weekend proved to be a tougher one for the Aussies as Ugochukwu went back-to-back.

Wharton’s hopes of another podium were dashed after he stalled on the formation lap, which relegated him to the back of the grid.

Despite the costly mistake, the Ferrari Academy driver got his elbows out and climbed up to P18, leading a train of Aussies with Beeton and Piszcyk directly behind.

Wharton returned to the front of the field in the third and final race of the weekend. He climbed from seventh up to fourth despite regular Safety Car interruptions.

Piszcyk also had plenty to simile about after scoring his first points of the season. The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver started ninth and held firm to take the chequered flag in eighth.

Lisle also put in a consistent drive to record a P17 finish, while Beeton encountered dramas and dropped to 31st.

After the strong opening round, Wharton is the top placed Australian in the championship standings. He sits fifth, 27 points behind leader Ugochukwu.

Having salvaged some points in the final race Piszcyk lies 13th with four next to his name.

Beeton and Lisle are yet to score, but the former was able to snare two points in the Rookie Cup classification.

The second round of the 2023 UAE F4 Championship is at Kuwait Motor Town on January 27-28.

Thomas Miles

TOYOTA FR OCEANIA - NZ

WURZ TOPS TOYOTA FR OCEANIA TABLE AFTER TWO rounds of action for the 2023 edition of the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand, Charlie Wurz finds himself head of the class after six races.

The son of the former Austrian F1 driver, Alex Wurz, found himself as the first multiple race winner at the second round at Teretonga, Invercargill, by taking out the opening sprint race and the feature in the deep south of NZ. Local star Cameron Hedge took the wet second race on the Sunday, as well as challenging in the feature to go into round three’s Manfeild races second on the table.

“It has been really good. We have improved a lot – getting two wins and a pole position – we couldn’t be happier to be honest,” said Wurz.

“We were good off the line and I knew that was important, Callum (Hedge) was very fast today and I was lacking pace compared to Race 1, so I had to watch him closely in the mirrors. But I can only be happy with this.”

Wurz headed into Round 2 after a consistent three race opening at Highlands Park, which saw him leading the field over American’s David Morales and Jacob Abel, and Aussie youngster Ryder Quinn.

The series which has traditionally acted as a breeding ground for some current F1 drivers, such as Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, Guanyu Zhou and Nicolas Latifi, and was recently given an FIA Superlicence point upgrade, and renamed the Formula Regional Oceania Championship (formerly named: Toyota Racing Series).

10 points are now available to the driver who takes out the series, with young guns coming from all around the globe to make up the 13-car field.

Charlie Wurz was a late entry into the NZ series, but has eked out an early points lead.

ROUND 1 - HIGHLANDS PARK

Auckland born Hedge, who won two races in the 2022 Australian Carrera Cup season, started out on fire by taking Race 1 from pole.

The 19 year-old topped both Wurz and Morales to claim first blood, whilst the Aussie grandson of Tony Quinn (circuit owner) managed to finish in P7. The other Aussie in Tom McLennan had to start from pitlane after gearbox issues, which saw him finish in P11.

Another Kiwi in James Penrose took out the second race with fellow Kiwi Liam Sceats finding the fence at the first chicane, with Abel taking P2.

Quinn trailed Wurz for third going into the final lap, but the young Queenslander took the Austrian with a few corners to race to grab his first series Podium.

The confident Morales of Florida took a dominant lights-to-flag finish in the feature race, winning by 10.723s.

Suspension issues dropped Hedge out of the podium fight, whilst Wurz took another podium in front of the fast finishing Sceats.

Kiwi Callum Hedge has proven to be Wurz’s main challenger to date.

Grand-son of a Gun: Ryder Quinn’s Formula Ford pathway has seen him present a strong challenge.

Images: TAYLER BURKE

ROUND 2 - TERETONGA PARK

The narrow confines of the shorter Teretonga circuit (where Lance Stroll holds the track record) made for less passing in the second hit-out, with the wet and windy weather coming in for the second race to tighten the field up.

But it was Wurz who managed to break his Toyota FR duck to become the fourth series winner, out dragging pole-getter Hedge to Turn 1. The two quickly split from the rest of the field, as the local mounted some challenges but couldn’t pass the Austrian,

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with Abel leading a train in for P3.

Coming from seventh in the reverse grid Race 2, Hedge hit back to take the second race which started with a dry line but ended in the wet, with drivers on the full Hancock wets.

The fourth American in the field, Ryan Shehan, started on pole ahead of Quinn, with the Aussie jumping out of the blocks before

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Shehan reeled him in when the rain came.

Quinn quickly came into the grips of Wurz, but an inspired drive allowed him to hold onto P3 for his second podium of the series.

Hedge took it by six seconds in the end, an impressive effort from P7 on a limited passing track, whilst Shehan came in P2.

Improved conditions for the 30 lap feature saw Wurz regain the ascendancy from pole.

Whilst Hedge again mounted some early challenges, Wurz controlled proceedings from the outset.

Sceats and the young British driver Josh Mason provided an entertaining battle for third, with the less experienced local holding Mason off to claim a close third.

THE THIRD of five rounds now sees the cirus head to the North Island at Circuit Chris Amon on January 27-29, with its 3km track and big sweeping right hander.

The fourth round constitutes the 67th New Zealand Grand Prix on February 3-5 at Hampton Downs, before the series wraps up Taupo International Motorsport park on February 10-12. TW Neal 2023 Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship 1.

Wurz (Aut) 160 2.

Hedge (NZ) 135 3.

Abel (USA) 117 4.

Quinn (AUS) 110 5.

Sceats (NZ) 108

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WORLD RALLY CHAMIONSHIP - MONTE CARLO

MASTER OF MONTE CARLO

EIGHT-TIME WORLD RALLY CHAMPION SEBASTIEN OGIER HAS TAKEN OUT A RECORD NINTH RALLYE MONTE CARLO IN THE WRC’S TRADITIONAL OPENER – TIMOTHY NEAL REPORTS THE FRENCHMAN can now be labelled as the true ‘Master of Monte Carlo’ after breaking the tie with long time rival Sebastien Loeb, who was resting from his P2 at the Dakar Rally.

Kalle Rovanpera made it a Toyota 1-2, getting his championship defence off to the perfect start, finishing just 18.8 seconds behind his team-mate, whilst Hyundai i20N driver Thierry Neuville took a comfortable third place over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.

For Ogier – a part-time driver for Toyota this season – winning the Monte Carlo event has been a consistent career highlight, and he was able to deliver his co-driver, Vincent Landais, his first international victory.

“It’s huge. I love this rally. It’s the one which gave me the dream right at the beginning and I am so happy for Vincent. For me it’s nice, but for him it’s a dream to take his first win,” Ogier said.

“We still need to enjoy these moments and that’s why we are still here in the WRC, to catch some victories like this. To win a famous one like Monte has no price.”

The 39 year-old’s familiarity with the French Alps, north of Monaco, were evident with nine stage wins; and whilst there was more ‘black-ice’ than the usual mix of snow and ice, the drier conditions suited the now part-timer, who seems to come in a sweep out the Asphalt events over the current generation of stars.

MIXED BAG FOR TANAK AND FORD

For Ott Tanak, his P5 return to Ford M-Sport wasn’t as smooth as he would have hoped for

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after encountering electrical issues from the get-go, as well as having no fifth gear over the first full day.

The Estonian threw everything at the final Power Stage to try and steal some late points from Rovanpera, but fell just 0.05s short, as well as being 1m22.5s in arrears of Evans.

Considering that drivers on days two and three had no mid-service points, the 2019 WRC champion may well have finished higher, but he said it was a better start than usual, in what seemed like a cheeky dig at his former Hyundai team.

“It’s a long season ahead but this is a positive start … at least we have scored some points already unlike the previous three years!”

Things went poorly for his Ford Puma teammate, Pierre-Louis Loubet on full-time debut with M-Sport, with the Frenchman having no power steering on day two, before an effort to climb back up the field on day three saw him crash into a bridge, ending his rally in a dejected fashion.

LIGHTS-TO-FLAG FOR THE ALPS KING

Day 1 had Ogier immediately on top, with the French Rally legend taking out the Shakedown and the two Night stages to head into two with a slender six second lead over Evans, who was looking very fast in a year that should see him competing for the title.

Dry conditions and a later starting time assisted Ogier in the #17 GR Yaris on the night runs, using the tyre marks as an indicator for judging difficult corners.

Big crowds were there for the start.

Tanak was at three despite the electrical issues in the Liaison, whilst Rovanpera sat in behind Neuville after experiencing overheating in his soft compounds, as he nursed his #69 through the first 40km.

Loubet would get as high as he would for Ford, finishing the opening stance in P7, with Lappi and Katsuta in behind him.

The second day saw a 105.34km loop starting at the Roure mountain pass, and Ogier stamped his authority with a hattrick of Stages before making it four for

the day on Stage 7.

Evans again started strongly to finish P2 over both opening stages, to be 11.3s behind the leader, before a rear tyre blowout cost him 40 seconds on the third stage, which was a gap he couldn’t afford to give to a faultless Rovanpera and Neuville.

The Brit would fight back to take Stage 6, but would sit 1m02.3s back to effectively end his chances.

Neuville held onto second for the majority of the day, before Rovanpera hit back late,

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja wouldn’t have been totally happy with P5 on debut for the M-Sport Ford team.

It was Tanak’s turn for power-steering issues in the Puma, whilst his teammate came unstuck at the death of Stage 1, hitting black ice to destroy the front left of his #7 Puma beyond repair.

Sunday’s finale returned to the AlpesMaritimes from Day 1, where Ogier would do enough to hold onto his lead, splitting the day with Rovanpera and going one for one over four stanzas.

The fourth stage was a big bonus for the Finn, as he added five championship points to defence by taking out the Power Stage over Tanak, who protected his softs all day to have one final crack.

Evans topped Neuville for the day, but couldn’t bridge the gap to make it a Toyota clean sweep, but he evidently has the pace to challenge this season.

Katsuta struggled in for overall seventh to top Sordo after a promising P2 on the penultimate stage, in an intriguing opener that showed Toyota to be a gathering storm for 2023.

Sebastien Ogier, with navigator Vincent Landais, flies the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris on the way to victory. and (right) spray the champers.

All Images: JAANUS REE / RED BULL CONTENT POOL

SWEDEN WAITS

Kalle Rovanperä gave it real crack, but finished just 18.8 seconds behind his Toyota team-mate. tacking the eighth stage to top the Belgian by just 1.9s, with the defending champion well placed to attack Ogier.

Loubet lost his power-steering completely and, with no mid-service point available to him, slipped down into a lowly P26, 8m51.2s

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in arrears of the leader.

The action switched west for six stages over 111.78km, where Rovanpera would fight back to cut the overnight 36s gap to 16 seconds.

The Finn took the first to make it back-

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to-back stages, before Ogier took his only stage win of the day to cut his advances.

Neuville would cement his place at the bottom of the provisional podium with two straight over 12/13, before Rovanpera closed the day with a third stage win.

The WRC’s true winter round comes on February 9-12, with Ogier sitting this round out, as he’s only expected to take on eight rallies this season.

Defending Rally Sweden champion Rovanpera enters Sweden in ominous form, and the fact that he concentrated most of his preseason testing in the snow to prepare for it, would have the the Rally1 field concerned.

The special tyres used for the snow round help to make for a great spectacle as no speed is sacrificed, whilst drivers can hit corners at speed whilst using the snow and ice banks to effectively slingshot their vehicles.

Craig Breen will also make his first start on his Hyundai return, whilst Italian Lorenzo Bertelli will enter as a privateer in the fourth Toyota.

RALLYE MONTE CARLO 1. Ogier 3:12:02 2. Rovanpera +18.8 3. Neuville +44.6 4. Evans +1:12.4 5. Tanak +2.34.9

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DAKAR REPORT - CARS

AL-ATTIYAH CRUISES INTO RECORD BOOKS WITH

DOMINANT DAKAR WIN A FAMILIAR FACE HAS CONQUERED THE DAKAR RALLY ONCE AGAIN. NASSER AL-ATTIYAH ENJOYED A VIRTUALLY UNTROUBLED RUN TO BEING CROWNED A FIVE-TIME WINNER, BUT THE 45 HOUR JOURNEY TO THE FINISH LINE IN DAMMAM STILL PRODUCED MANY THRILLS AND SPILLS IN THE CARS CATEGORY. THOMAS MILES REPORTS NASSER AL-ATTIYAH is a five-time Dakar Rally winner after crushing the field with a dominant drive to the Bedouin Trophy.

As his rivals dropped out of contention one by one, like flies, Al-Attiyah stayed cool in the Saudi Arabian desert to win by an hour and 20 minutes from Sebastien Loeb.

The Qatar born Toyota Gazoo Racing driver only won three stages, but was a model of consistency, finishing no lower than 13th in each stage.

Al-Attiyah has now cemented himself into the Dakar record books, being one of only two drivers to win at least five times after moving ahead of four-time winner Ari Vatanen.

“I’m very happy to win five times,” AlAttiyah said after going back-to-back.

“It was a difficult Dakar for everyone. It’s crazy to manage to defend my title.

“I respect Ari (Vatanen) enormously, he’s still my idol. I always want to win more and more, now I want to defend my world champion’s title.

“We didn’t have to attack like crazy. We managed to get through the second week

and win the Dakar at the end, that’s what really matters.”

Despite Al-Attiyah being in control of the rally for the last 11 stages, there was a lot of hope for a tight battle at the top of the leaderboard.

Audi showed strong pace out of the gate with Mattias Ekstrom and Carlos Sainz Snr winning the Prologue and Stage 1 respectively.

Despite also performing on the opening day, Loeb’s nightmare first week started to unravel in Stage 2 when three punctures equated to a 90-minute time loss.

Meanwhile, Al-Attiyah fired a warning shot, scoring his first stage win before taking control of the rally on the following day.

As the Toyota driver tightened his grip on the rally, Sainz was the first Audi to hit trouble with mechanical, tyre and navigation dramas all coming his way, dropping him from first to eighth in the overall standings.

Images: Red Bull Content Pool A disastrous nose-dive crash over a dune (left) took out Carlos Sainz – who suffered a pair of cracked vertebrae ...

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For Al Attiyah, the second week was a case of protecting a huge lead.

Loeb fired back to life with his first stage win of the rally after prevailing in a tight battle where the top four were split by just two minutes.

It proved to be a false dawn as Loeb was back at rock bottom 24 hours later having rolled his Bahrain Raid Xtreme vehicle.

There was also plenty of drama off the track with Al-Attiyah and Audi arguing over an FIA ruling allowing the latter a boost of 11 horsepower.

But all the incident did was fire up AlAttiyah, who extended his lead to well over an hour thanks to back-to-back stage wins,

as Audi continued to find trouble.

Stephane Peterhansel withdrew from the rally after his co-driver sustained injuries from an incident, while Sainz also got stuck in the sand.

The Spaniard then lost more time in the next stage when he pulled over to assist the team’s only overall contender Ekstrom, who encountered mechanical issues.

A nightmare first half of the rally for Audi was completed on the last stage before the rest day when Sainz recorded the fastest time, but was stripped of the stage win due to a penalty.

The win was inherited by Loeb, who then went on a record-breaking charge.

In the second victorious stage of his stunning streak, the combination of heavy rain and sand dunes loomed, but it did not slow down the Bahrain Raid Xtreme driver as he went back-to-back, while it did catch Sainz off guard.

The Spaniard flipped his Audi RS Q e-tron just 6km into the special and with irreparable damage to the car, and two vertebrae fractures to the driver, was forced to retire.

By the time the field entered the “Empty Quarter” Loeb was in a league of his own and secured a third successive stage win by more than three minutes.

Al-Attiyah’s dominant stranglehold on the rally received a minor dent with impressive rookie and nearest challenger Lucas Moraes beating him in Stage 10, albeit by just 23 seconds.

More dominant drives put Loeb on the verge of history and meant the rest of

the field grew accustomed to fighting for second fastest.

In Stage 11 Guerlain Chicherit and Ekstrom had a fierce battle, with the GCK Motorsport driver pipping the Audi star at the post.

Despite the disappointment, Ekstrom was able to reclaim the position on the following day with a fast finish to the 274km special.

Although Al-Attiyah protected his strong lead, a P10 result for Moraes opened the door for Loeb to sensationally steal second.

After sitting as low as 31st on the leaderboard, five straight stage wins vaulted the French WRC legend up into the top two.

Despite reclaiming second position on the overall leaderboard, Loeb had not finished re-writing the record books and collected an unprecedented sixth straight Dakar stage win.

The nine-time WRC champion smashed the record with a five and a half minute triumph in the penultimate stage.

Al-Attiyah finished second to ensure he was in the box seat to secure glory in the final stage having prevailed in a tight battle for the runnerup place.

With the Qatari only needing to finish the final stage to be crowned king, attention turned to who could stop Loeb’s blitz.

But the Frenchman’s hopes of securing a record-extending seventh stage win were ruined by a two-minute penalty, which ensured the race to finish the rally with a stage win was suddenly blown wide open.

With less than 10 minutes covering the top 21 cars, the rather uncompetitive rally witnessed a competitive finish.

Eventually Chicherit seized on the opportunity and secured his second stage win of the year.

Rather fittingly Ekstrom finished second to deliver more disappointment to Audi, while Al-Attiyah completed his rally with a calm drive to eighth.

It was a typical way for Al-Attiyah to seal his fifth Dakar Rally win, having compiled the ultimate professional’s effort to conquer one of the toughest endurance tests in the world.

2023 DAKAR RALLY CARS OVERALL CLASSIFICATION POS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DRIVER/CO-DRIVER Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel Sebastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin Lucas Moraes/Timo Gottschalk Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings Martin Prokop/Viktor Chytka Juan Cruz Yacopini/Daniel Oliveras Carreras Wei Han/Ma Li Sebastian Halpern/Bernardo Graue Guerlain Chicherit/Alex Winocq

TIME GAP 43H 03’ 15” 46H 24’ 04” +1H 30’ 49” 46H 41’ 46” +1H 38’ 31” 47H 34’ 27” +2H 31’ 12” 47H 39’ 38” +2H 36’ 23” 48H 43’ 59” +3H 40’ 44” 49H 30’ 24” +4H 27’09” 49H 32’ 36” +4H 29’ 21” 49H 45’ 53” +4H 42’ 38” 50H 25’ 25” +5H 22’ 10”

Loeb went on a stage-winning spree, and recovered to second outright, just eight minutes ahead of Moraes (above).

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DAKAR BIKES

FORTY THREE SECONDS SPLITS DAKAR EPIC

THE DAKAR BIKES PRODUCED A CLASSIC – A WAR OF ATTRITION SEPARATED BY MERE METRES …

43 SECONDS AFTER 44 HOURS OF RACING TO BE EXACT! TIMOTHY NEAL REPORTS. CHASING HIS third Dakar title, Toby Price’s scarcely believable 43 second loss to KTM Factory teammate Kevin Benavides, will go down in history as the closest ever margin in 44 editions of the famous event.

It was the 35-year-old’s sixth podium at the event, the third most in history, equal with four other riders.

“To be honest, I am disappointed, we’ve come so damn far and to fall short by such a small margin is a tough one to

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swallow,” Price concluded.

For the Argentine champion and master of the soft dunes, it was his second Dakar victory in Saudi Arabia (previously 2021), cementing KTM’s stranglehold on the event with a record 19 wins, including 18 in a row from 2001-2019.

American Husqvarna rider Skyler Howes was also only five minutes behind the two, rounding out the podium spots, with the Californian leading for 6

straight stages, and again on Stage 11, before Price and Benavides made their big moves.

The other Aussie, Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders, started the rally on fire before an unfortunate ailment struck him down at his comeback event. After six surgeries, Sanders was still recovering from a bad crash at last year’s Dakar in early 2022, which almost cost him his life.

Despite a suspected infection from a

thorn leaving him unable to eat or drink, a gutsy Sanders pushed through without missing a stage to finish a remarkable seventh in the overall – 25 minutes off the leader – even capturing two straight P2s over the Empty Quarter Marathon (Stage 11/12).

For both Price and Sanders, the fourth edition of the Rally Raid in Saudi Arabia couldn’t have started any better, with Price topping the Red Sea Prologue over Sanders.

Toby Price flies ... in the end a couple of small navigation errors cost the Aussie the win ...

How’s that for the closest finish in Dakar history ... 43 seconds!

Images: Red Bull Content Pool The Stage 1 Sea Camp loop with a 367km Special, marked the first time in Dakar history that bonus points would be awarded to riders for speed sections over special timed sections within each stage.

It wasn’t long into the first stage before last year’s champion, Sam Sunderland, needed an airlift to the hospital after just 52km, 2023 claiming its first high profile DNF. Young American and BAS KTM rider Mason Klein then won his maiden stage on the second leg, over the rocky stage to Alula.

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Stage 3, the road to Ha’il, saw a second high-profile victim, with Stage 1 winner Ricky Brabec crashing out at the 274 km mark, whilst Sanders won his fourth ever Dakar stage.

The Saudi dunes entered into prominence over the next few stages, as riders took on two monster loops around the Ha’il Province. Spaniard Joan Barreda took the first loop stage, with Klein losing his lead to Sanders, before the Aussie GAS GAS rider endured an energy-sapping bug.

Price remained in third at this point, but he lost five minutes after crashing into, and then aiding, an injured Barreda.

Wild weather affected the next three stages leading into the rest day at Riyadh, as Howes went into a sustained run as overall leader, with Stage 7 called off due to the inclement weather.

Howes would only briefly lose his lead at Stage 10 to Benavides after the resumption, as the top three started to settle.

Both Price and Howes struggled with navigation on Stage 10, finishing in P15/P16 respectively, which brought Benavides into strong contention.

Price then outpointed Howes over the next two stages as riders entered into the vast Empty Quarter in the SouthEast of the country, and finished up in the lead after Stage 12.

The difference between the Husqvarna and KTM rider was only 23s when they went into the Empty Quarter, which Price would flip into a slim 28s lead as the field arrived at Shaybah.

With two stages to run, Price, Howes, and Benavides were covered by 2m40s, with Honda rider Pablo Quintanilla the next closest in fourth 14m54s off the Aussie leader.

After impressing over the course of his Second Dakar, Klein would give in to his injuries from two crashes in the prior Stage 9 – but had asserted himself as a future Dakar threat. Starting Stage 13 in P10, the young American would bow out, as the rally was tuned on its head with Benavides taking out the Shaybah to AlHofuf leg by just 27s.

Importantly for the Argentine, Price endured some navigation issues, which

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A mysterious energy-sapping bug – reportedly caused by a poisonous thistle – hampered Daniel Sanders efforts, though he would ultimately finish a strong seventh outright.

Below: American Skyler Howes was best-of-the-rest, for Husqvarna, in third – still only five minutes from the lead!

had him finish the 154km special 2m28s behind his teammate.

Of important note, Benavides was only declared the Stage 13 winner after having 23 minutes and 10 seconds restored to his time after stopping to aid KTM teammate Matthias Walkner, who was airlifted to the hospital after running in ninth overall.

Benavides’ restored time now put him ahead of Howes – who was now in overall third after finishing sixth on the stage and 1m31s off the leader in Price – as the gap between Price and the Argentinian was only a remarkable 12 seconds after 3900km of racing.

The sprint home to Dammam on the final stage of the Dakar Rally was a flipped overall classification grid, leaving Price to head off last, three minutes after Benavides.

Whilst Benavides was near flawless over the 138km, gradually pushing the lead out to 1m30s after 100km, Price missed three waypoints, forcing him to turn back each time which culminated in a 55 second Stage 14 loss to his teammate, with Howes coming home in fifth on the stage, and third overall, 5m04s off the winner.

Honda teammates Quintanilla and Adrien van Beveren were fourth and fifth overall, with Quintanilla 19m.02s off the benchmark.

Luciano Benavides finished in sixth for Husqvarna, with Sanders in seventh after a remarkable effort to get through in his

first return to rallying.

Another Honda Team rider, Chilean Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, took eighth, with Sherco Factory rider Lorenzo Santolino, and Hero Motorsport’s Franco Caimi (+1:38m04s) rounding off the top-ten.

OVERALL BIKES Kevin Benavides ARG Toby Rice AUS Skyler Howes USA Pablo Quintanilla CHI Adrien van Beveren FRA Luciano Benavides ARG Daniel Sanders AUS Jose I.C Florimo CHI Lorenzo Santolino ESP Franco Caimi ARG

KTM KTM Husqvarna Honda Honda Husqvarna GAS GAS Honda Sherco Hero

44:27m20s +0m43s +05m04s +19m02s +20m30s +0:22m42s +0:25m57s +0:51m21s +1:17m53s +1:38m04s

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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Across

Down

6 Who is the most recent Scottish driver to compete in Formula 1? (surname) 8 Who won the Bathurst 1000 as a rookie alongside Garth Tander in 2011? (surname) 9 Sebastien Loeb won a record number of stages in a row at Dakar this year, –how many did he win on the trot?

10 Who won the Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 1000 in 1996? (surname) 11 How many cars will Vanwall enter in WEC this year?

12 Who scored his maiden Formula 1 race victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix? (surname) 13 Who scored pole position for MotoGP at Phillip Island breaking the two-wheel lap record last year? (surname) 15 Who won the Dakar Rally this year in the car class? (surname) 16 Which New Zealander has signed to race in IndyCar for Chip Ganassi Racing on the road and street courses in 2023? (surname) 19 Damon Hill won the Belgian Grand Prix in 1994 after who was disqualified? (surname) 22 Ferrari had to wait 21 years before Michael Schumacher ended the team’s drought – who won the brand’s previous title in 1979? (surname) 24 How many drivers finished the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix?

25 Jake Kostecki has been replaced at Tickford Racing – who is taking his place in the Tradie Mustang? (surname) 27 Who won his third straight Australian Drivers’ title in 1996? (surname) 28 Who am I? Born in Czechoslovakia I moved to Australia and won the Bathurst 1000 in 1988 driving a Ford Sierra? (surname)

1 After Sir Jack Brabham in 1960, who was the next F1 driver to win back-to-back titles? (surname) 2 Who won the first Formula E race of the Gen3 era in Mexico? (surname) 3 With what team did Greg Murphy make his Australian Touring Car Championship debut? (abbreviation) 4 Who was the first second-generation driver to follow in his father’s footsteps by winning the F1 title in 1996? (full name) 5 Who was the last driver to contest the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day? (full name) 6 Along with 2022 IndyCar champion Will Power, who was the other driver to complete every lap of the 2022 season? (surname) 7 Who has the most wins for Ducati in MotoGP? (surname) 8 Who won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for Ligier? (surname) 14 Which former Formula 1 champion will race for Vanwall in WEC? (surname) 17 In what position did Toby Price finish in the Dakar Motorcycle class this year?

18 Who famously said “Young bloke. Cold tyres.

F****d up...” (surname) 20 Kyle Larson has signed to race with what team in the Indy 500 next year?

21 Which Australian driver is making the switch from S5000 to the GB4 Championship in 2023? (surname) 23 For how many years were Garth Tander and Shane van Gisbergen Bathurst 1000 co-drivers?

26 Which S5000 team has the most Championship and Tasman Series race wins? (abbreviation)

#1852 Holden Crossword Answers: 1 down – Rins, 2 down – Vettel, 3 down – Silverstone, 4 down – Waters, 5 down – Leclerc, 6 across – Nine, 7 across – Heimgartner, 8 down – Norris, 9 across – five, 10 across – Albert Park, 11 across – three, 11 down – twenty-two, 12 down – Brazil, 13 down – Golding, 14 down – Ericsson, 15 across – Zhou Guanyu, 16 across – two, 17 across – Fisichella, 18 across – Williams, 19 down – Webster, 20 across – D’Alberto, 21 across – Feeney, 21 down – Fourth, 22 across – Best, 23 down – Hanson, 24 down – four, 25 across – Fraser, 26 across – Power, 27 across – third, 28 across – Tanak

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1973: THE NEW Zealand Grand Prix was taken out by John McCormack after a ‘war of attrition’ at Pukekohe.

Only seven of the 18 starters reached the chequered flag after 58 laps, but it was a thriller with McCormack edging out Alan Rollinson by just 0.6s.

A week later the Tasman Championship continued at Levin, where Graham McRae (mis-spelt on the cover!) stormed to a crushing win.

McRae led every lap of the 100 mile race and rewrote the event’s average speed record. He won by 29.6s over Frank Matich, while McCormack suffered a broken throttle cable on the first lap.

1983: TOURING CAR racing appeared destined to take place on the Geelong streets on the Easter weekend of 1983.

The Geelong 500 was given the green light to be held on April 2-4 after the Geelong City Council voted 14-1 in favour of the race.

Excitement was also building for the start of the 1983 ATCC season at Calder Park with Dick Johnson, Peter Brock, John Harvey and Allan Moffat predicted to contend for the title.

50 I www.autoaction.com.au

1993: RUMOURS OF a potential shock switch from F1 to IndyCar for Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna were running wild at the start of 1993.

A test for Penske fuelled the speculation with Senna revealing IndyCar was becoming a serious option in a one-page interview.

“I have an open mind about the future and seriously considering what I should do next,” Senna said.

“Given the difficulties we had in F1, I lost my enthusiasm. I am seriously considering what I should be doing next, and that includes not driving in ’93 as well as thinking about Indy.” (Only one Auto Action magazine was published in January 1993)

2003: THE NEW Holden VY Commodore V8 Supercar was revealed with a more aggressive look.

Although the new car was revealed, it was still unclear which drivers would be lucky enough to steer the latest Commodore at the nonchampionship 2003 opener at Albert Park.

Max Verstappen’s father Jos, was confirmed to make an F1 comeback with Minardi, after a year away, in what would prove to be his final F1 season.

Despite losing star driver Craig Lowndes and question marks surrounding its factory support from Ford, 00 Motorsport announced it was “blazing along” towards the 2003 season.

2013: EREBUS MOTORSPORT was in a frantic race against time to get its three Mercedes AMG E63s ready for the first chapter of the Car of the Future era.

With less than a month before the February test day, Erebus was yet to finish building a single Mercedes or sign its third driver alongside Lee Holdsworth and Tim Slade, but was adamant it would “definitely have three cars ready.”

The silly season remained in full swing with seats at Tekno Autosports, Dick Johnson Racing, Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport and Erebus still up for grabs.

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