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FRUSTRATING DEBUT

BUT GOOD SIGNS FROM PIASTRI

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES THERE’S NO hiding the fact that qualifying 18th in a field of 20 cars and being the first to retire from the race has to be qualified as a disappointing weekend.

That’s the cold reality of what was Oscar Piastri first ever Grand Prix and the young Australian was obviously hoping for a lot more in Bahrain – even if he knew, like everyone at McLaren, that the MCL60 is way off the targets the team had set when the design process of the car started nearly one year ago.

That much was confirmed during the weekend, with Piastri out in Q1 and Lando Norris only getting past this first hurdle by virtue of setting his lap times a few seconds before another rookie, Logan Sargeant, matching it to the thousandth of a second!

Then, being a real master of the one-lap exercise, the British driver managed an amazing P11 in Q2, shaving nearly 0.3s off his previous lap time and that made Piastri’s own effort look worse than it was.

Looking at the times set in Q1, the young driver from Melbourne was 0.449s away from his team-mate, a big moment coming out of Turn 2 costing him precious lap time, as Team Principal Andrea Stella told us:

“The snap he had in Turn 2 was huge.

He lost two-to-three tenths there. But, otherwise, he was not too far off Lando, which is obviously a very strong reference in Formula One.” The Italian, who’s not one to sugarcoat his words, admitted that he was, “impressed with his speed, but I’m also impressed with the approach. Oscar’s gone really step by step, staying always very calm, very aware of his points of strengths, and to some extent the limitations associated with being a rookie.

It’s just a shame that this is not reflected in the classification.”

A good launch, combined with a disastrous one for Zhou, put Piastri two places up to P16 by the end of the first lap, but stuck in a DRS train that started, as usual, behind Albon’s Williams and ended with Magnussen, three places behind the McLaren driver. Soon, though, the young driver knew he was in trouble: “I would say the first signs something was not right started a couple of laps before I stopped. There were just a few things flashing up on the dash that were a bit unexpected. Then it started messing with

the gearshifts and stuff like that, so the team told me to pit.”

The expectation on the pit wall was that the issue was coming from a faulty connection on the steering wheel and that was changed, at the same time a set of hard tyres was mounted on the MCL60. Sadly, the problem was terminal, so Piastri never made it past the pits: “It wouldn’t fire up, and I’m not 100 per cent sure what was wrong. We thought it was the steering wheel based on what was happening, but it wasn’t that. So, we’ll diagnose what was wrong.”

Having sat out last season, the Australian driver admitted that, “it was nice to be

racing again! The launch was really good, my first lap was reasonable, and then I was in the DRS train. So, all in all, I think a lot of boxes ticked – from the start, and obviously was clean myself, so, I think it was positive up until that point.”

Putting a brave face on, Piastri agreed when asked if he believed his weekend looked worse than it was: “I think so. Coming into the season we kind of knew this is where we might be, struggling, or on the fringe of points. We’ll see what our high-speed performance is like in Jeddah, which, obviously is a very different track. I think from my side it’s been a positive weekend. I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable every time I jump in the car. So, I’m looking forward to Jeddah.”

Having a car that is extremely hard to drive is not nice for anyone, let alone for a rookie, but McLaren had no other option but to run with a smaller rear wing than ideal, to avoid being dead slow on the straights.

The downside of this solution is, of course, lack of downforce for the corners, making the car slide a lot and break grip easily, so Piastri’s mistake in Q1 didn’t come from him pushing too hard, but from having a car that is, to put it bluntly, a handful especially in the slower corners.

Until McLaren sorts itself out, it will be hard for the rookie to shine and the much more experienced Lando Norris should be able to extract more of the MCL60.

The team is not expecting miracles from Piastri but have seen enough of his speed, discipline and quick learning ability to believe once they give him a half decent car, he’ll start to deliver immediately.

There was nothing in his performance in Bahrain to give Piastri and his fans any reason for concern about his potential – it was just he lacked the tools to show what he can do in Formula One, for now.

Luis Vasconcelos

McLaren’s struggle with an under-performing MCL60 are going to make for a tough baptism for the Aussie.

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THE FINAL COUNTDOWN GEN3 IS MUCH MORE THAN A COUPLE OF HOT NEW BODIES

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE FINAL pieces of the Gen3 Supercars puzzle are finally falling into place ahead of the season opener in Newcastle.

The VCAT aero testing is done, the ballast parity to equalise the Ford and Chevrolet V8 engines is complete, and the teams are (almost) ready to go racing.

As this edition of Auto Action went to the press, the final details of the aero and

engine parity had not been made public.

But, even without the exact numbers – kilograms of ballast, degrees of wing, ride-height settings – it is obvious that Supercars has completed its Gen3 work and it’s up to the teams to go racing.

So that leaves the only thing missing, for the moment – the production-style dashboard for the Ford Mustang.

The dash for the Chevrolet Camaro was one of the early production parts in the Gen3 program, but the interior for

the Ford – part of the vital decision to mirror the showroom cars as closely as possible – has been running late.

Still, it’s only one in a series of late changes, updates and revisions that have set the stage for the arrival of Gen3 racers in Supercars.

There have been changes to the wheel nuts (and some teams, including Erebus, have made their own) after problems in testing; the Ford engine map has been finalised after problems in testing;

and the windscreen numbers are being tweaked after – you guessed it – visibility problems for some drivers in testing.

The key figure for Gen3, right now, is the official minimum racing weight.

It’s been set at 1335 kilograms – 65kg less than the Car of the Future cars – without fuel but including the driver, with an allowance of 95 kilos for the pilot.

Cars must also have a minimum frontaxle weight of 725 kilograms.

What else is new?

PATIENCE IS THE KEY TO NEWCASTLE MARK LARKHAM SAYS THE KEY TO WINNING ON THE MEAN STREETS COULD BE TO AVOID LOSING. THE FIRST winner of the Gen3 era will be the driver who works best with his engineer, stays calm, and adapts quickest to the new cars.

They will also have to compromise in the short term to get the best result over the twin 250-kilometre mini-enduros on the Newcastle street circuit.

So says Mark Larkham, the pitlane pundit who is responsible for translating the challenges of Supercars into television entertainment.

Larkham has been close to the Gen3 development program, has attended pre-season tests, and talked to the insiders, but admits there is no clear picture ahead of the 2023 Supercars season.

“We might get surprised in Newcastle. I’m not going to try and predict that stuff,” Larkham tells Auto Action.

“This is drivers in a new environment. It’s not just a new car, it’s a new way to go racing.”

Apart from the new-age Chevrolet Camaro and

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Ford Mustang, Larkham talks about the refuelling rate, fuel consumption, tyre wear, and even the lack of driver-operated anti-roll bars.

“The winner, for me, will be the driver and engineer combination that have the ability to ignore all the noise, theatre and drama around them, and the distractions,” he says.

“They need to see through all that and sit down and focus on what matters. Things like getting the anti-roll bar settings right before start, and getting the brake bias right.”

He sees plenty of potential for an upset, and errors.

“They are tougher cars to drive. Frustrated athletes means they will be making human errors.

“I’d like to see that. That would be a good start.”

Larkham also believes experience in Supercars could be both a plus and a minus as drivers adapt to the new cars.

“I won’t be surprised to see more experienced drivers getting frustrated. But there may be some

Who has the street smarts to bring their new generation Supercar home in first place? midfield runners that aren’t as rattled by it all.

“I’m sensing already a subtle but real difference between the feedback and attitudes from some of the more experienced drivers. They have a lot of muscle memory. All of their stuff they have been very good at.

“To plonk them in the new cars, I’m sensing some frustration. That’s good.

“When I talk to younger guys, I’m seeing less

of that. They seem much more relaxed about it.

You would hope they’re a little more settled and focussed on the job.”

Larkham believes it’s not just the drivers who will be struggling in Newcastle.

“There are so many things to get used to. I think

NOT MUCH TO LEARN AT NEWCASTLE WE WILL COME AWAY FROM NEWCASTLE WITH SOME KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEW GEN3 CARS, BUT WE WON’T KNOW MUCH – ANDREW CLARKE EXPLAINS THE PARADOX

The refuelling rate has been boosted to 3.67 litres-per-second, to fill tanks which have increased in capacity from 110 to 130 litres. That should mean a similar overall refuelling time and a similar number of laps between pitstops.

The Dunlop tyre allocations have also been finalised, together with (separate story) an all-new wet-weather tyre that promises to be much quicker and grippier.

What happens next? The cars go racing.

it’s going to be a little bit all over the place, just not from the cockpit,” he says.

So, is he prepared to make a prediction for Newcastle?

“No way. No way,” he laughs.

But then he gets serious, ready for the sort of insight he beams every weekend from the Hino Hub. “On a piece of paper, van Gisbergen is a freak, we know that. He will probably hustle and drive that car better than anyone,” he begins.

“But, having said that, I saw him getting out of the car at Queensland Raceway looking red faced and flustered.

“And I’ve seen that with Chazzie Mostert, too. And young Cam Waters.

“The younger guys look to me be less hot and frustrated.”

So, what’s the bottom line for Larkham?

“A little patience will pay off. You might have to lose a battle to win the war,” he says. Paul Gover

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NEWCASTLE, IN some respects, is one of the best the average. All teams have worked hard to pull this places we could have chosen to debut the new cars. together. When we all walked into our factories at the But in other respects, it is also one of the worst. beginning of this year, there was an amount of work to Regarding the great parity debate, which has get done, and it was a lot. consumed part of summer, along with grief over the “So it’s a credit to the mechanics and engineers to build process, we won’t be any wiser at the end of the get this over the line. We were hardly going to waste weekend as we were before the start. Newcastle, as our testing time playing games.” a street track, will not test the aero like the Grand Prix Edwards said he is confident the parity is okay, but for instance, and that is when a clear picture will start he urged caution about jumping to conclusions too forming. early. He said two factors need to be taken into account For the first round of the Gen3 era, little of the to-ing from the first weekend of racing.

The GM V8 which powers the Camaro and fro-ing between Ford, Chev and Supercars will not One is that four of the top five teams in pitlane are matter as much as if we were debuting elsewhere. running Mustangs, which will skew the performance The parity process has been the most advanced data Ford’s way, and that needs to be considered when ever undertaken in Supercars, but it still has flaws, as looking at laps times across the field. it will for as long as it avoids a wind tunnel. Ford has The second is the track. Newcastle will test the been raging a mini-war to find aero balance, while mechanical parts of the cars, but will reveal little on GM has said it was right – which is probably a fair the aero. indication it may not be. If people aren’t complaining in “It’s not a real aero track. Other factors will play a motorsport, they’ve found an edge. bigger role in performance, like COG [centre of gravity].

The test days at Winton, Queensland Raceway and The Grand Prix will be better for testing everything.

Sydney Motorsport Park also revealed little; ultimately, “It’s hard to know about parity, but we can’t change Ford’s engine is an overhead quad-cam the times from the ‘allthat, so we just do our best. Three different parts for in’ day are parity will matter now. Obviously, aero is one, but there irrelevant. Some Chevs were likely is COG which is hard to know about until all the cars are built. We know that will be running without ballast, while addressed, but we can’t do it just yet because the cars are missing bits and pieces other teams were running everywhere. Supercars, in a sense, don’t even know what we’ve all got yet. to a plan. The Brad Jones “Once you get all the information, and they’ll be flat out at Newcastle gathering Racing drivers accused that information, they’ll just do whatever needs to be done. So that one’s just more of the Fords of sandbagging, a timing thing. which raised the ire of a few.

“In terms of engine and aero, there’s a lot of work going on in that space at the “What a crock of shit,” Tickford’s moment. So it’s hard to comment.”

Tim Edwards (left) says. “At least The data from the final VCAT test hasn’t been revealed to Auto Action, but we were running our cars at the we believe it confirmed the original data and the two cars would race ‘as-is’ at weight we’re going to race with. The Newcastle. reality is we were working through a A more relaxed Edwards said he didn’t really care about the data, Tickford’s job is test plan. Bizarrely our test plan was to get the best out of what it has got; hopefully, that is enough to take the title. It’s his the same as Triple Eight, and we new vibe. were on similar times. Were they “It’ll be shitty if we finish second again, but I’ve decided 2023 is the year of happy sandbagging?

Tim. I’ll try and tame my aggression. I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t win because “My guys have been that’s why we’re in this. We’re not in it to make up the numbers. We finished third in working seven days a week, the teams’ championship for about what feels like the 20th year. We definitely want a lot of them for two months more than that, and we also want more for all our cars. In 2019 we finished third and now. And long days as well, fourth in the teams’ championship, and that’s the minimum of where I need us to 10 hours days is probably be.”

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AVALON TRACK GETTING NEARER AS PHILLIP ISLAND SALE RUMOURS GROW THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT IS PREPARING TO LAUNCH ITS PLANS FOR A NEW $500M MOTORSPORT FACILITY NEXT TO AVALON AIRPORT. ANDREW CLARKE REPORTS ON WHAT WE KNOW ...

THE ACTION is heating up on the rumours surrounding a new Victorian Government funded motor racing facility on privately owned land near Avalon Airport.

Original figures before the state election indicated the facility would cost in the region of $300m, but rumours now have it moving past $500m.

The land believed to already be earmarked for the track is owned by Linfox Property Group. Reports are that the Government will enter into a PPP and effectively lease that land for 25 years with Motorsport Australia granted management rights. At the end of the 25 years, the full ownership of the facility will likely revert to Linfox.

Added to this is speculation surrounding Linfox and a reported possable sale of the Phillip Island Circuit to fund in part its

proportion of the required investment.

Tony Quinn, who owns Queensland Raceway and three tracks in New Zealand, and the Peregrine Corporation, owned by the Shahin family, who built and operate The Bend Motorsport Park, have been mentioned as potential suitors.

WHAT WE KNOW The Victorian Government allocated $1.7 million in its 2022/2023 budget to undertake design, master planning and site due diligence for the ‘Home of Victorian Motorsport’.

At the time, Motorsport Australia CEO, Eugene Arocca, recognised the significance of the investment.

“We have been working closely with the Victorian Government around discussions

for a new motorsport venue in the state, which we know is sorely needed,” he said last year.

“This funding announcement is a terrific show of support from the Andrews Government who, like us, can see the need for more facilities as motorsport’s popularity continues to grow.

“The funding will allow the Victorian Government and Motorsport Australia to conduct preliminary work into finding a location for a Victorian Home of Motorsport and allow more people to enjoy more motorsport more often.”

The details that remain hazy and what may be premature are the new facility’s location and the investment’s size, although the site next adjacent to Avalon airport makes sense politically (with

strong ties between the Fox family and the Andrews Government) and logically, a car racing facility next to an airport is unlikely to have noise complaints.

Government sources said a $500m investment – if the project had gotten that far – was unlikely to go unnoticed and doesn’t appear to be in the cycle for this year’s budget.

They also added that they would expect significant private funding for such a venture, in effect stating the Government was unlikely to stump up the full investment.

The Victorian Government, Linfox Property Group, Tony Quinn and Peregrine Corporation were contacted for comment but had not responded when we closed for press.

Is the much loved Phillip Island race track on the market? Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

VICTORY FLAME STILL BURNS BRIGHT FOR “FROSTY” MARK WINTERBOTTOM may be in a six-year drought between wins, but the dawn of Gen3 has reignited his desire to chase Supercars glory.

Winterbottom won the 2015 Supercars title in dominant fashion for Prodrive (now Tickford) but has not finished in the top five since.

Now preparing for a fifth year with Team 18, which will race Chevrolet Camaros in the maiden season of Gen3, ‘Frosty’ feels refreshed ahead of the Newcastle season opener after getting tired of the old Gen2 cars which had reached “a limit”.

The 41-year-old made his maingame debut with Stone Brothers Racing at the start of the Project Blueprint era in 2003 and has done it all, standing on the top step 38 times, with the latest success at Pukekohe, 2016.

For Winterbottom, the dawn of Gen3 presents a new opportunity to return to the front of the grid, believing his unmatched experience of almost 600 races could make a big difference.

“I think every time there is a new car there is a new challenge,” he said.

“I am glad the new cars have

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come in because the old car was kind-of at its limit and it was too dominant for teams.

“As a driver I always back myself and a new opportunity gives big options for Team 18.

“Every year you think you can win, but after driving the car it is going to be tough. The cars are hard to drive and set up, so I think experience can play a big role.

Drivers and teams will be pushed to the limit.

“I am here to win and not to putter around. I have won before, so we will see how I go.”

Thomas Miles

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

DUNLOP PUMPED FOR RAIN AT THE SEASON OPENER NEW WET-WEATHER RACING RUBBER IS READY FOR NEWCASTLE

By Paul Gover, News Editor RAIN FOR the Supercars season opener in Newcastle has put a stronger focus on new Dunlop wet-weather racing rubber.

Dunlop has produced a softer Wet tyre – with white lettering on the sidewall to identify it – and says testing last year showed it was 2.5 seconds a lap quicker at Sandown than the old-spec wet.

The early forecast for the Newcastle weekend includes 40 millimetres of rain, with a strong chance of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon.

“Well, that will be exciting, won’t it,” Dunlop’s Australian motorsport manager, Kevin Fitzsimons tells Auto Action.

He reports an unchanged set of slick racing tyres – Hard, Soft, SuperSoft –

for season 2023, but a big change to the wet.

“The only change to the tyre for this year is the new Wet. Everything on the new car is new this year, including the Wet,” Fitzsimons begins.

“Same tread pattern, just massively softer. That’s all. They arrived this week, so we’ve got stock.

“They will have white lettering on the sidewall, the old one was yellow. The Dunlop Series will still be on the yellow one.”

There were two Dunlop test runs last year, at Sandown and Bathurst, but that was with the prototype cars belonging to Supercars.

The just-superseded Dunlop wet was used for the last time at the all-in test at Sydney Motorsport Park, where there were several periods of rain that damped the track.

Now everything is changing, according to Fitzsimons.

“At Sydney they were able to use the older stuff left over from last year. But now they are on the new allocation for 2023,” he says.

“I daresay everyone will have a green set of practice Soft tyres for Newcastle.”

The big bonus is the extra speed from the new Wet. “They are about two and a half seconds a lap faster at Sandown than the old tyre,” he says.

“We tested on the Monday after the race last year. It was fully wet.

Absolutely bucketing, it was.

“Courtney and and Broc Feeney both drove, from the hard tyre to the soft and then swapped them back.

“Then we ran them at Bathurst as well, with Steve Richards and Luke Youlden.

Both of them said ‘Yeah, we’ll have more of those’.

“We ran them in the prototypes. The teams haven’t had the new wet at all.”

Fitzsimons reports little change to the Dunlop plan for season 2023, although the Hard compound is out of favour and will be used at less events – just one in fact..

“It’s the Hard at the Grand Prix. That’s the only race for the Hard tyre this year.”

Fitzsimons also runs Auto Action through the tyre allocation for the 2023 season.

“Newcastle is Soft, then SuperSoft and Hard for the Grand Prix,” he says.

“Tassie is SuperSoft, Perth is Soft, Darwin SuperSoft. Townsville is Soft, Sydney Soft, Tailem Bend Soft.

Sandown is SuperSoft.

“Bathurst is Soft, Gold Coast is Soft, and Adelaide is Soft.”

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REYNOLDS: CAMAROS IN A ‘DIFFERENT SPORT’ GROVE RACING’S David Reynolds has not held back on the Gen3 Supercars parity debate, believing Ford is fighting with “one arm tied behind its back”.

The parity storm between the new Gen3 Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaro has been building throughout the off-season, but reached boiling point at the pre-season test where 11 of the top 12 fastest cars were Camaros.

Reynolds was not afraid to speak his mind on the matter, believing the Chevrolets are currently “in a different sport” compared to the Fords.

“It is supposed to be a parity sport where everyone can win on their day, but as it stands we don’t have that at all,” he said on a radio interview with SEN.

“The Ford cars are six to eight-tenths slower, which is literally a different sport and you may as well not compete.

“It is like you were to play a team in the NRL that is allowed to take drugs and you are not. 99% of the time the blokes taking the drugs are going to win.

“So we are fighting against another car with one arm tied behind our back.

“It is going to be a very difficult year.”

Reynolds finished the test day 19th, while Grove Racing emerged as the slowest of the 11 teams on show, being 1.7s off the pace.

Reynolds has called on Supercars to bring the two new cars closer together and pivotal straight-line evaluation tests were held last week.

“We went into the test day assuming they (Chevrolet) were a second faster, but Supercars gave us a bigger restricter so we could have a bit more engine speed,” he said.

“They also took a little bit of gear cut time out of the Camaro to slow them down the straights, but that only helped about two or three tenths of a second.

“They don’t have long to sort it out, otherwise it will be a pretty dismal year for us.”

Reflecting on the positives of Gen3, Reynolds does love the look of the new cars and expects fans to see a lot more action with drivers battling to keep it on the black stuff.

“It is a completely new car we are getting

the hang of and it is really cool for the sport,” he said.

“When you look at the cars they are so much better. They look much lower and wider and sound amazing.

“They sound way better than last year’s cars, but are not the funnest things to drive.

They have wound back the clock 20 years on the aerodynamics.

“When we turn into a corner, the car is moving around in the rear and almost wants to spin you out of control.

“During the race I assume there will be a lot more mistakes by the drivers, so it will be a much better spectacle.”

Parity will be one of the hottest topics when the 2023 Supercars season begins at Newcastle this weekend. Thomas Miles

NICE GUYS FINISH LAST ON NETFLIX THE NEW SEASON OF DRIVE TO SURVIVE HAS EVERYTHING FOR FORMULA ONE FANS

By Paul Gover, News Editor EPISODE SIX of Drive to Survive is the one every Australian fan of Formula One will want to watch.

It tells the the tale of Daniel Ricciardo’s failure and Oscar Piastri’s arrival at McLaren like an episode of Game of Thrones – without the swords and gore.

The key characters all get their time, including the scenes where Mark Webber – Piastri’s manager – goes running with the youngster and then sits down for a quick coffee in a picturesque French village.

It’s through these scenes, and many of the other episodes, that Ricciardo’s role in the supersuccessful Netflix series becomes obvious. He is loud, unscripted, honest and insightful.

Which cannot be said of most of the other grand prix drivers.

Luckily, or not, series five of Drive to Survive is even more like a motorsport soap opera than earlier series.

It’s obvious that the producers and editors have cut and re-cut the footage to follow their own story lines.

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That’s good in some ways, because it makes the 2022 season easier to follow, but it is also used to create controversy and highlight the rivalries in F1.

Some are between drivers, many are between team bosses, and a few are between the drivers and themselves.

The footage, as always, is brilliant.

The inside view of the F1 paddock, as always, is impressive.

So, too, are the candid moments on the grand prix trail, which have done so much to make Formula One more accessible to a global television audience.

Has it gone too far down the soap opera road?

Not for casual viewers, or the new fans in countries like the USA – especially in the USA – or the people who just crave more than David Croft’s shouty commentary and the weekend views of the track and the garages.

But the storylines are cut-and-shut to suit the new audience, not genuine followers of F1.

Looking ahead to Series Seven, Drive to Survive will also be missing two of its biggest stars – Daniel

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.

It was ‘Aussie Dan’ who injected much of the real feel into the series, and Vettel too talked about much more than the on-track activity.

Ricciardo is the focus for Episode Six, subtitled ’Nice Guys Finish Last’, who quipped “At least I’m a good bloke” on Instagram when he read the title.

He will also be missed, by the producers as much as the viewers.

“I felt very emotional with him leaving,” executive producer Paul Martin told the New York Post.

“He was the first driver that we talk to about it, the first driver that invited us to his home in Australia.”

It was also Ricciardo who invited viewers inside his grand prix world, and that’s a genuine highlight of the latest Netflix series.

It helps to make Drive To Survive, once again, compulsory viewing for anyone with any level of interest in Formula One. But be careful about what you see, because it’s not always the whole story . . .

AUSSIE BILLIONAIRE BACKS FERRARI A WEALTHY GAMER IS A NEW SPONSOR OF THE RED TEAM.

By Paul Gover, News Editor

Image: MARK HORSDBURGH-EDGE PHOTOGRAPHICS

TEST TOPPERS BJR WORRIED ABOUT ‘SANDBAGGING’ HISTORY REPEATED at Sydney Motorsport Park as Brad Jones Racing topped the first official session of the new Gen3 Supercars era, but is wary of people “playing games”.

A decade ago when the Car of the Future regulations first appeared, BJR enjoyed a 1-2 finish at the first test also at the track once known as Eastern Creek.

On that occasion, it was Fabian Coulthard leading Jason Bright, but now with Andre Heimgartner at the wheel, the Albury-based team has once again started a phase of Supercars racing on the front foot.

Heimgartner topped the timesheets with a 1:28.6787, while all four BJR Camaros finished in the top six.

Despite ending the first official session

featuring all 25 Gen3 cars on top, Heimgartner believes the first round at Newcastle will provide a more meaningful form guide.

“It’s pretty interesting. We had more (tyres) saved up so for sure we chucked some good tyres at it and, as the timesheets say, we ended up at the top which is good,” the Kiwi said. “(But) you don’t really know 100% until we get to the (Newcastle) round because obviously people play games, you know.

“They don’t show their hand as it always is, so we’ll see when we get to Newcastle.”

Bryce Fullwood achieved the coveted milestone of recording the most laps at the test with 121 tours of the 3.905km circuit.

Despite being around the mark, Fullwood is also wary of sandbagging but said

he believes there is even more pace to find from his Camaro after some dramas developed towards the end of the big day.

“I think our day went okay, but it’s obviously really hard to know because there is a certain element of people sandbagging. It’s a hot topic,” he said.

“The last hour probably didn’t quite go our way with a couple of little dramas, so I feel like we’re a bit stronger than probably what we showed.

“But I thought through most of the day we’ve been pretty speedy actually and we are happy. It was a pretty good day for the team obviously with four cars in the top six.”

BJR hopes to replicate similar results at the season-opening Newcastle 500 this weekend ... Thomas Miles

AN AUSTRALIAN billionaire is backing Ferrari for success in Formula One. Laurence Escalante has made the play through his online gaming business, Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), and his company logo sits front-and-centre on the helmets of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

VGW is an online social gaming business which had a turnover in 2022 of $3.4 billion, and Escalante has an estimated personal fortune – according to The Australian newspaper – of almost $3 billion.

He is an amateur sports car racer and also has a collection of exotic road cars.

Perth-based Escalante, whose first job was working at Hungry Jacks, was attracted to motorsport when he played NASCAR and Need For Speed games.

Now he says VGW Play has formed a natural connection to Ferrari in F1.

“There is no bigger brand than Ferrari.

We may operate in different industries, but share similar beliefs when it comes to the power of technology and teams for performance,” he says.

The newest development for VGW, which does most of its business in the USA, is a new brand called VGW Play – which has a global range of free ‘casual’ games.

It’s the VGW Play logo which is being splashed across the Ferrari F1 team, cars and drivers.

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www.autoaction.com.au I 9

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REBORN ADELAIDE 500 SMASHES RECORDS

DJR RETAINS CO-DRIVER LINE UP

DICK JOHNSON Racing will tackle the 2023 Supercars enduros with the same co-driver lineup.

Alex Davison will partner brother Will Davison for a seventh time, while Tony D’Alberto joins Anton de Pasquale for a third successive season.

The announcement retaining the status quo rules out the unlikely scenario of IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin returning for an enduro.

D’Alberto has been a familiar face at DJR and will suit up for his eighth straight season, with a Great Race podium in 2016 the highlight.

The Davison brothers will be determined to bounce back from their dramatic Bathurst DNF last year.

STANAWAY MAKES EARLY GAINS THE MYSTERY of racing Gen3 has been removed for new Triple Eight Race Engineering co-driver Richie Stanaway thanks to some handy pre-season shifts.

Stanaway has prepared for his co-driving role with Shane van Gisbergen by testing the #97 Camaro at Sydney Motorsport Park and Queensland Raceway.

The Kiwi said the laps have put him in a strong mindset before taking on Sandown and Bathurst.

“It has been great to be part of the program so early in the year, so I am not left guessing as we get closer to the co-driver season,” Stanaway said.

MASON KELLY TO FOLLOW IN FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS MASON KELLY will follow hiasn father into touring cars and make his debut at Super3 level at Newcastle. Mason, 18, is the son of 2005 Bathurst 1000 winner Todd Kelly and will drive the same Nissan Altima on the same track as his father when he completed the 541st and final Supercars race six years earlier. Mason Kelly said he is not setting any goals in his debut year.

“I’m really looking forward to it, but I’m not going in with any expectations,” he said.

“My focus is to finish all the sessions and bring the car back with no damage.”

10 I www.autoaction.com.au

THE RETURN of the Adelaide 500 Supercars street race in 2022, rewrote the record books, being the biggest ever in the event’s proud history.

The 2022 race generated a record $51.85 million boost to the South Australian economy, which has been described as an “incredible success” by SA Premier Peter Malinauskas.

The previous record was set in 2019 when $45 million was pumped back into the economy after Scott McLaughlin’s cleans-sweep.

Last year’s season finale strongly outperformed the previous Adelaide 500 held in 2020 on a number of key metrics.

The economic impact increased by 34.3%, while there was also a much larger crowd flocking to Victoria Park, with 51,850 more people attending.

More than 12,000 of those traveled from interstate, while an estimated 96,671 visitor nights were produced from the event.

The number of jobs supported (20.1%) media items (82.9%) and PR value (73.2%) also heavily increased.

In addition to the impressive statistics, the racing was

The event was reborn in the new December time slot, having traditionally been held around early March.

Despite the change, the numbers proved the Adelaide 500 was firing on all cylinders upon return.

“The VALO Adelaide 500 was a resounding success Image:MARK HORSBURGH on-track and now we know it was an incredible success unforgettable with Chaz Mostert off-track too,” Malinauskas said. leading home a Walkinshaw Andretti “Our tourism and hospitality United 1-2 and Broc Feeney scoring businesses have done it hard a tense maiden win in Holden’s last over the past few years and these race. numbers reveal the return of a big Having arrived with a bang in event like the VALO Adelaide 500 1999, the Adelaide 500 instantly gave local businesses a muchbecame one of the highlights of the needed boost.

Supercars season, attracting huge “Pubs and restaurants were crowds and producing unforgettable packed, hotel rooms were full and action at the gruelling street circuit, more than $50 million was returned which previously hosted Formula 1. to the South Australian economy.

But its momentum was suddenly “I am incredibly proud we were cut short after being cancelled able to deliver on our promise to by previous state Premier Steven bring back the VALO Adelaide 500 Marshall following the 2020 race. and make it bigger and better than Then opposition leader ever.”

Malinauskas promised the Work for the 2023 Adelaide 500 Supercars Hall of Fame event would which will concludes the Supercars return if Labor was victorious in the Championship on November 23-26 state election and followed through is already underway. with his commitment once in power.

Thomas Miles

BARRY RYAN BELIEVES EREBUS CAN WIN

“On track so far we have been really strong,” he said.

“But it is really hard to tell exactly where we are with Ford who have got a few sandbags in the boot at the moment.

“Both Will and Image:MARK HORSBURGH Brodie are really EREBUS MOTORSPORT CEO Barry excited about the cars and adapted to Ryan believes his team can win in the driving them within laps.

Gen3 Supercars era despite claiming “The engineers have also done a Ford has a “few sandbags in the boot”. fantastic job to get the car setup in a Erebus endured just its second window already where we think we winless Supercars season since 2016 can translate at each track to get the last year, but with the sport thrown car to work out of the gate. wide open due to the advent of Gen3, “Winning is always difficult in this anything is possible in 2023. category, but we have prepared With Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki properly and there is no reason why finishing second and third respectively we cannot have success with the at the Sydney test, Ryan believes a first drivers and team we have.” win since Sydney 2021 is on the cards.

Erebus elected to go their own way in

the Gen3 build starting with fabricator James White constructing the chassis from his base located in the small South Australian country town of Mount Gambier.

Now the squad has two bright red Chevrolets ready to race after test sessions at Winton and Sydney Motorsport Park in recent weeks.

Ryan admitted it has been quite the journey to get to this point, but believes the hard yards over the summer will make a difference when it matters.

“It has been a big off season building these cars,” he said.

“It started back in 2021 when we decided to build them in house and make our own chassis, clips and major components and to date they have come up brilliant, so credit to the team.

“The money we have invested in getting the right equipment to build the chassis properly and to the highest spec we can has paid off.”

Thomas Miles

SUPER 2

VAUGHAN ‘MORE CONFIDENT THAN EVER” AHEAD OF

SUPER2 DEBUT REIGNING SUPER3 champion Brad Vaughan is full of belief as he prepares for his maiden Super2 campaign in 2023.

Tickford’s Vaughan will race the Gen2 Ford Mustang previously used by James Courtney and Jack Le Brocq at Newcastle this weekend.

Armed with the Super3 title and extensive test milage in his new Mustang at Winton, Vaughan feels he is entering his biggest season of his career to date in an even better frame of mind than last year.

“It is starting to sink in now and I am just counting down the days,” he told Auto Action at the opening round of the 2023 Victorian State Series.

“It is all coming together and I am pretty confident going into round 1 to be honest.

A lot more confident than I was 12 months ago.

“Thomas Randle told me that the more you can keep it as special as possible, you will be in a good mindset.

“Being at Tickford with four main-game drivers to learn off has been great for my mindset going into this year.”

The jump from Super3 will be a big one for the 18-year-old, switching from the same Car of the Future spec FG Falcon Cam Waters won the Super2 Series with in 2015 to a Gen2 Mustang which raced in the main game almost a decade after the FG. To get up to speed with the much newer machinery, Vaughan has completed a number of test days at Winton with the help

of experienced engineer Dylan Talabani.

“It (the Mustang) was a huge step up (from the Falcon) for sure with the aero and what-not,” he said.

“Everything is more refined. The way the car drives and ergonomically is much nicer. You feel like you are jumping from a road car into a race car.

“We have plenty of data at Tickford and Dylan has been great at explaining things to me. He has had lots of experience in the main game, so I just have to give him the right feedback and we can go fast.”

Vaughan has taken the unconventional pathway to the Supercars scene, following in the footsteps of his father, who is a speedway veteran.

Despite growing up on the dirt, Vaughan

admitted Supercars was always front and centre in his mind.

“My career progression has been very different to the traditional go karting pathway,” he said.

“My dad raced speedway for 30 years, so I very much have dirt in my blood and would love to keep doing it. There are definitely some skills there when it rains.

“But Supercars has always been the ultimate dream and I never thought I would drive one in my life. Being at a professional race team like Tickford is definitely a pinch-yourself moment.

“Bring it on.”

Vaughan will continue that journey in Super2 in 2023, which begins with this weekend’s Newcastle 500. Thomas Miles

SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING USED: SUPER2 KICKS OFF AT NEWCASTLE 500

THE 2023 Super2 season season is ready to launch at the Newcastle 500, with a field of ex-Supercars Commodore ZBs and Mustang GTs, joined by nine Super3 cars that have inherited the Car of the Future models.

Nine rookies will take the track at Newcastle, as well as a competitive group of returnees like Matt Chahda, Jay Robotham, Zane Morse, and two time series runner up Zac Best.

Tickford is unleashing Elly Morrow in a Mustang for her first full-time Super2 season, as well as debutant Brad Vaughan, who won the 2022 Super3 title.

That sets up a battle to watch for with another rookie in Kai Allen, who’ll be seeking revenge after Vaughan snatched the championship in the season finale at the

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Adelaide 500, when Allen crashed at Turn 8, costing himself the title.

After finishing 2022 with good pace, and sharing a dream privateer Bathurst 1000 wildcard with Robotham, Chahda returns with an ex-BJR Supercar and the hunger to step up.

There’s plenty of sons-of-guns returning to the Super2 fold, with Nash Morris, Jack Perkins (pictured), and Aaron Seton, who’ll also be joined by Mason Kelly, Jett Johnson, and Cameron McLeod on the Super3 grid.

One of the major drivers to keep an eye on is WA’s Aaron Love, with the rampant ex-Porsche star taking his brilliant race craft into Super2 with BRT, as they enter the second tier fold for the first time.

BRT’s swoop on the talented Love has the distinct smell of a direct path into Supercars!

Fellow debutants Ryan Wood and Zach Bates enter on the back of WAU taking on its first Super2 season in 10 years, with the talented Kiwi in Wood making the surprise switch from Porsche racing, backflipping on a scholarship into the Carrera Cup. Entering its 24th season, Race 1 kicks off at 1350pm local time, on Saturday March 11.

TW Neal

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SUPER2 ENTRY LIST #2 #3 #5 #6 #11 #17 #18 #25 #26 #30 #33 #38 #43 #49 #54 #67 #70 #78 #88 #219

Ryan Wood Jay Robotham Brad Vaughan Elly Morrow Zane Morse Zak Best Matt Chadha Zach Bates Kai Allen Aaron Seton Callum Walker Cameron Crick Lochie Dalton Jay Hanson Jordyn Sinni Nash Morris Jack Perkins Aaron Love Cooper Murray James Masterton

WAU MW Motorsport Tickford Tickford AIM Motorsport Anderson Motorsport Matt Chahda Motorsport WAU Eggleston Motorsport Gomersall Motorsport Callum Walker Eggleston Motorsport BJR Image Racing Eggleston Motorsport Nemo Racing Erebus Motorsport BRT Eggleston Motorsport Masterton Motorsports

Commodore ZB Mustang GT Mustang GT Mustang GT Mustang GT Mustang GT Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Commodore ZB Mustang GT Commodore ZB Mustang GT

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DJR STILL HAS ‘MUCH TO LEARN’ ABOUT NEW CAR JACOBSON TO MAKE SUPERCARS COMEBACK GARRY JACOBSON will make his Supercars comeback as one of four Tickford Racing co-drivers for the 2023 Supercars endurance season.

In addition to Jacobson returning to Tickford, the team has also brought Tyler Everingham into the fold from Team 18.

Incumbents Zak Best and James Moffat have been retained, while Zane Goddard is off to Triple Eight and Kurt Kostecki also replaced.

The news is a homecoming for Jacobson, who won his Super2 crown in 2016 and co-drove impressively with Jason Bright a year later.

Jacobson was dropped from PremiAir after the Darwin Triple Crown last year.

DICK JOHNSON Racing drivers Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale admitted there is still “so much to learn” about the new Gen3 cars after the team’s final test.

Just 10 days before Round 1, Dick Johnson Racing put its pair of Gen3 Ford Mustangs to the test for the final time at Queensland Raceway.

Speaking at Queensland Raceway during his last drive before Newcastle, Davison revealed Dick Johnson Racing has overcome some of the previous dramas, but said there is still lots to learn about the new Mustang.

“We have ironed out a couple of the little gremlins we had at shakedowns and everything is now running really well for us,” he said.

“We had a massively long run sheet and have thrown lots of preplanned changes at the car.

“We still have so much we need to learn about this car and if we can get through half of it, that would be great with Newcastle coming up.

“We are not just focused on Queensland Raceway, there are many challenges that lie ahead we need to be mindful of.”

Davison is one of the most experienced drivers on the current grid, with only Mark Winterbottom ahead of him in terms of championship round starts.

The #17 driver has been racing Supercars since 2004 when he debuted for Team Dynamik at Winton, but revealed he feels like a rookie again with the skills that have brought him 22 wins not quite translating to the new Gen3 cars.

“It is a very complex sport and you sort-of need to unlearn a lot of the past,” he said.

“There are some carryover principals but we have such a different tool here not only aerodynamically, but mechanically – we need to relearn a lot of things.

“We obviously need to understand the car because when we go to all

of these range of circuits ahead we have an idea of what does what.

“But ultimately we need to be fast and need to know what characteristics of the car do that – so that will be the story of the year.”

Davison’s younger teammate de Pasquale is experiencing the first major technical shakeup of his career, having arrived in 2018 during the early days of Gen2.

De Pasquale admitted he is still yet to go full-attack mode in the new Gen3 Mustang, with the process of extracting maximum speed and controlling tyre wear still a mystery.

“At some point we will have to get our big boy pants on and do a big lap in these things and getting the car into a window when we know we can do that,” he said.

“There is a fine element between changes, making the car as good as you can, feeling comfortable and knowing how you can extract a lap and look after the tyre.

“There is all of that stuff we have not got into yet and are still trying to work out.

“I think as the year goes on we will get better and better.”

Thomas Miles

STANAWAY MAKING EARLY SEASON GAINS THE MYSTERY of racing Gen3 has been removed for new Triple Eight Race Engineering co-driver Richie Stanaway thanks to some handy pre-season drivers.

Stanaway will partner Shane van Gisbergen in the 2023 Supercars enduros, and to get up to speed the Kiwi has enjoyed some critical pre-season seat time in the #97 Chevrolet Camaro at both Sydney Motorsport Park and Queensland Raceway.

“It has been great to be part of the program so early in the year, so I am not left guessing as we get closer the co-driver season,” Stanaway said.

“I now have a feel for the car.”

DALTON REVEALS BJR SUPER2 COLOURS Lochie Dalton’s first full-time Super2 livery for BJR has been revealed ahead of this weekend’s Newcastle 500.

The Trans Am and Super2 racer from Tasmania sported similar colours on his AWC Pty Ltd sponsored Trans Am Mustang in Tasmania two weeks ago, where he captured two podiums to finish second outright at Symmons Plains. “I’m realistic about our goals this year, it’s our first full season in Super2 and while we want to finish as high as we can, if we can finish with a clean car and get into the top five, I’d be pretty happy with that,” Dalton said.

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

MY TAKE ON TARGA Opinion - by Paul Gover

THE SHAKE-up for Targa events in Australia is great news.

There will be huge complaints and considerable push-back from some competitors, but it had to happen.

Targa Tasmania began as the motoring equivalent of a weekend fun run but has morphed into an all-out road race.

The cars got way too fast, most of the crews are still just hobbyists, and Tasmania roads – especially with R-Spec track tyres on a wet road – can be treacherous.

I admit I have never competed in Targa Tasmania, despite several opportunities.

“I don’t want to have to go to a mate’s funeral,” the head of Mazda Motorsport, Allan Horsley, told me once.

He knew his RX road racer was capable of a Top 10 finish but was hugely worried about the driver’s fitness and focus. That was me.

He was right and I’ve never been tempted again.

Too many people start by thinking a Targa event is just a brisk sprint, but then the adrenalin kicks in and the

competitive nature of people who have been successful enough to buy a car like a Porsche 911 GT3 takes over.

It’s a recipe for potential disaster.

There will be plenty of whinging from people who still want to compete in highly-modified cars that should be restricted to the safety of racetracks, who will complain about the high entry fees to cover insurance, and courses which will be trimmed of some of the stupidly-fast roads.

But I have spoken to two of the people who framed the safety report after the latest Targa Tasmania, both

long-term friends who I admire immensely for their various skills, and they make a compelling case.

They also compare the Targa events, cars and mindset in Australia to the dozens of road rallies that run in Europe without the sort of tragedies we have seen in Australia, thanks to regulations which are not far different to what is now being proposed.

Targa Tasmania is hugely popular and that will not change, but safer and slower does not mean an end to enjoyment or some red-hot competition.

TARMAC RALLYING FACING SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ‘HARD RESET’ Motorsport Australia has signalled a ‘hard reset’ for tarmac rallies following the Targa Panel Report into a fatality at the 2022 Targa Tasmania. Andrew Clarke says tarmac rallies have been put on hold until July 1 while the 94 recommendations are considered.

The Targa Review Panel was formed primarily to investigate the death of Tony Seymour in the 2022 event, but also covered the fatalities of Shane Nevin, Leigh Mundy, and Dennis Neagle in the 2021 events, which were also covered in a previous report. A similar report was also commissioned following the death of John Mansell at the 2013 Targa Tasmania event.

Each of the reports has several recommendations, which are repeated, indicating either a lack of enforcement or implementation, which may cause legal problems for both Motorsport Australia and the event organisers.

Motorsport Australia has promised to act on the findings of the report but say it is “committed to seeing these events return later this year’.

“Today’s release of the Targa Review Panel’s report is the first step in the return of Targa style tarmac rallies in Australia,” the CEO of Motorsport Australia, Eugene Arocca, said in a media release last week.

“Ultimately, it is now time for a hard reset of tarmac rallying in Australia to improve safety standards across various parts of the discipline. The 94 recommendations cover many facets of the discipline and will aim to improve the overall safety of Targa-style tarmac rallies.

“Having the right vehicles being driven by appropriately licensed drivers will be a key part of these recommendations being implemented, along with appropriate course selection by event organisers in conjunction with Motorsport Australia.”

The 94 Recommendations are covered in four sections: Course, Competition vehicles,

Competitors and Tour categories.

The recommendations covering Course include avoiding competitive use sections of road with ‘significant un-protectable roadside objects in identified likely run off’ and fast roads that add little to the challenge. It asks for virtual or physical slowing devices, hazard and black spot signs and standard Reconnaissance Notes that identifies spots of high risk.

It also says, among other things, that stages with an average speed of more than 132km/h are unacceptable. The role of the Competition Checker should also be upgraded at the expense of Motorsport Australia.

The Competition Vehicles recommendations seek stricter controls over the eligibility of cars, with the development of an approved vehicle list

by Motorsport Australia, which considers kg/hp rates, acceleration, top speed and banning open-roofed vehicles. It also looks at safety equipment such as roll cage design and winged seats among five recommendations after an analysis of the roll cage in the Seymour crash deemed the cage inadequate for purpose.

One part of the report looks at cars with track-focused suspension and ultra-lowprofile tyres, which it deems incompatible with tarmac rallying and the uneven and bumpy surfaces encountered.

A new licensing system should be employed that limits drivers to particular grading of cars depending on experience and capability. Mandatory safety training is also recommended.

There are eight recommendations in the Tour categories covering regulations and operational processes.

Litigation lawyer Paolo Tatti from Aitken Partners recommends Motorsport Australia takes the reports seriously.

“This is the third report,” he says. “They need to sit down and consider why it’s been necessary to have three reports, yet extensive recommendations are

still being made. What have they done with that information from the reports, and have they been vigorous and tough enough in implementing and enforcing change?

“At the end of the day, we’re talking about safety and risk. In the current panel’s preamble, they recognise in paragraph 13 that motorsport drivers take an inherent risk when they go racing. But they don’t accept that the onus should remain on the driver.

It’s not just on the individual; it’s Motorsport Australia and the organisers. They need to take this seriously.”

Eight-time Targa Tasmania winner and proudly local Barry Oliver (right) has some concerns with the report, but overall he agrees with what they are trying to do.

“The first thing that struck me is stage selection and the idea of grading the stage into Categories A and B,” he said.

“When you look at the points they’ve raised regarding hazards on a stage, the proximity of trees and rocks and banks and whatever, it’s going to be very difficult to establish what bits of road you’re going to be able to use.

“Then, on top of that, they’re now saying that when they issue the reconnaissance notes, they need to also issue the road book at the same time, which may be too early because things can change so much.”

He also had concerns about whether the competitors would be willing to go to the extra expense and trouble of jumping through the hoops to get an international licence to compete in the full competition.

With the addition of the car modifications likely to meet the upgraded safety standards, he thinks competitors may steer clear of the event.

He feels perhaps some of the recommendations in the report, at first glance, are an overreaction to last year’s fatal crash and he needs more details about the proposed implementation of things like the wet tyre recommendation.

“I drove past the scene of the crash on

Friday. I know the road; I’ve been there 26 times competitively. It is not a highspeed corner, and it was an unfortunate combination of factors – none of which were the extreme speeds this report is targetting.

“I’m not trying to downplay it, but they’ve got to be careful that they still make it attractive enough for people to want to spend all that money to come down here and do the event. I’m also worried about the Tour cars. The organisers need to be stricter with people exceeding the speeds in the tours and issue significant penalties since these people have no roll cages or helmets.”

Motorsport Australia’s plan for the recommendations is expected before July 1, 2023.

In response to further enquires by Auto Action’s Publisher Bruce Williams into the report, Motorsport Australia replied with the following response: “As the report is now with the Coroner, we will not be able to comment further – other than what has already been issued in yesterday’s comms.

Paul Riordan, General Manager – Media and Communications, Motorsport Australia.”

(Andrew Clarke is an advisor to Aitken Partners)

Targa Tasmania has attracted a wide range of performance road cars over the years, keen to take on the challenge of backcountry roads.

TO READ THE FULL MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA TARGA PANEL REPORT SCAN THIS CODE

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GILTRAP RACES TO EARLY PORSCHE SPRINT CHALLENGE ASCENDENCY QUINN JOINS CARRERA CUP GRID RYDER QUINN will join the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia grid, becoming the one-make category’s first third generation racer.

The 17-year-old Queenslander – grandson of racer and motorsport magnate Tony Quinn – will move into tin-top racing after doing national Formula Ford in 2022.

The inaugural Carrera Cup Australia season in 2003 saw both his father Klark, and grandfather Tony, competing, with the latter being a 28-time race winner, whilst Klark Quinn competed five season’s with a best finishing of P5.

“The car and the championship is a very special one for me. Bring it on,” Quinn said.

PORSCHE JUNIOR PROGRAM HITS RECORD NUMBERS THE PORSCHE Motorsport Australia Junior Program will feature a record number of participants across the country’s premier categories.

No less than 21 rising stars are participating in the program, who are all racing in either the Porsche Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge.

Angelo Mouzouris, Aron Shields, Bayley Hall, Caleb Sumich, Callum Hedge, Christian Pancione, Courtney Prince, Hamish Fitzsimmons, Harrison Goodman, Jackson Walls, Lachlan Bloxsom, Marco Giltrap, Marcos Flack, Max Vidau, Oscar Targett, Ronan Murphy, Ryder Quinn, Simon Fallon, Thomas McLennan, Tom Taplin and Zac Stichbury are the 2022 representatives.

CRICK’S NEW WARPAINT CAMERON CRICK will carry new colours in his second Super2 season in 2023 at Eggleston Motorsport.

Crick made his Super2 debut last year with Eggleston Motorsport racing an all-black Holden VF Commodore, but not only has his car changed to a Triple Eight prepared ZB Commodore, but also his livery.

He will be seen in a predominately white livery, while black still plays a big role on the bonnet and rear quarter panels.

Crick is part of a four-car assault for Eggleston Motorsport alongside Kai Allen, Jordan Sinni and Cooper Murray.

14 I www.autoaction.com.au

KIWI TEENAGER Marco Giltrap (right) starred in the opening round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia Series at Phillip Island last weekend, taking an early season lead with two race wins.

Giltrap rose from fourth on the starting grid to open his account in Race 1 of the new season, avoiding trouble as rival Marcos Flack was unable to capitalise on his pole position in the 10-lap sprint.

The Team Porsche NZ/EBM import’s only blemish was a second-place finish in Race 2, as Aron Shields denied the youngster a clean sweep in the second sprint of the day.

Race 3, the 25-lap Jim Richards Enduro opener, saw Giltrap return to the top of the podium steps with a tense victory.

The lead changed hands multiple times between Giltrap and Harrison Goodman, but the former came out on top, leading Ronan Murphy and Goodman to the line.

As a result, the top three for the weekend were Giltrap, Shields and Goodman.

“I’ve finished with the round win and a couple of race wins – can’t get a much better stuff than that,” Giltrap said.

“We’re pretty sure we had some pretty good pace coming into the weekend. There’s still some room for improvement as always, but that third race was pretty hectic. I mean, it was a long one.

“There’s a bit of tyre conservation and then the traffic got involved and we sort of slipped back to second.

“Ultimately, we knew we had the pace towards the end of the race and we kept strong and

ultimately, we came out on top.”

Sam Shahin kicked off his campaign in style with a hat-trick of wins in the Pro-Am class, while Lachlan Harburg picked up from where he left off from last year by triumphing in Class B. In other Porsche series news, New Zealander Madeline Stewart is taking her career overseas and will race in the North America Porsche Sprint Challenge and Carrera Cup over the next two years.

The next round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia Series will be held at Queensland Raceway alongside the Australian Superbike Championship, from April 28-30. JN

MADELINE STEWART OFF TO AMERICA MADELINE STEWART is taking her career overseas and will race in the North America Porsche Sprint Challenge and Carrera Cup over the next two years.

The Queensland based Kiwi will begin her US career this year in the Sprint Challenge North America Series with JDX Racing – she already has a test at Barber Motorsport Park under her belt.

It is the first step of a two-year program where Stewart will make the transition to the top-level Carrera Cup North America in 2024.

When the 22-year-old does progress next year, she will join another Kiwi with Australian racing experience on the Carrera Cup North America grid in the form of McElrea Racing, which has reigning Porsche Sprint Challenge champion Thomas Sargent behind the wheel.

“I am really excited for this new opportunity, racing in America. JDX have a great pedigree and had such a strong 2022 Carrera Cup Campaign,” she said.

“I’m really looking forward to working with them and I’m confident that I’ll learn a lot.

“It’s also great to have Byers Porsche on board for 2023 and I’m excited to build a relationship with them.

“This will be my first time racing a Porsche 992 Cup Car and to have the chance to race at such iconic circuits such as Sebring, Circuit of the Americas and the Indy Road Course is a dream come true.

“We’ve had a successful first test at Barber Motorsport Park so I’m excited to see what we can do this year.”

Stewart competed in five of the six of the Porsche Sprint Challenge events in 2022 and finished eighth in the standings with a podium at The Bend the highlight.

JDX Racing co-owner Jeremy Dale has already been impressed with what Stewart has shown in the first chapter to the two-year journey.

“We are very excited about our program with Madeline. She is very focused and serious about her goals in motorsport, and we intend to give

her all the tools she needs to achieve those goals,” he said.

“Sprint Challenge is quickly becoming a proving ground for young drivers on their way to Carrera Cup, and we think this program is ideal preparation for our planned 2024 campaign in the ultra-competitive Carrera Cup North America championship.

“We have just completed our first test at Barber, and Madeline did an exceptional job in her first outing in the 992 Cup Car. “We’re all in!”

The 2023 Sprint Challenge North America season begins at Sebring International Raceway on March 2426.

Thomas Miles

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FAMOUS PARTNERSHIP REUNITES THE FAMOUS Bates and Taylor partnership has reunited in 2023 with Coral Taylor to be Harry Bates’ co-driver for the upcoming Australian Rally Championship.

Taylor replaces John McCarthy in the co-driver’s seat in the same Toyota GR Yaris Bates used to finish second last year and arrives with an incredible record.

Taylor has four ARC titles next to her name, which were all achieved alongside Harry’s father Neal Bates.

All up, the pair won 34 ARC rounds and achieved six top 10 finishes at World Rally Championship level, and the co-driver returns three decades since the first title in 1993.

Harry Bates and Taylor have joined forces before, completing a one-off appearance at Rally Launceston last year, plus two events in the early days of the second generation driver’s career.

The arrival of Taylor has given Harry Bates a big boost as he hopes to regain the ARC title from brother Lewis.

“I’m very excited to have Coral on board for 2023,” he said.

“To be honest I was surprised she agreed to jump back in and do the full season with me. I was thrilled when she called and said she would do it.

“Coral is known by everyone in the sport as a consummate professional.

She is amazing in the car, amazing on the pace notes.

“It’s going to be a tough fight for the championship this year, but I am so happy I have Coral on my team.

“We both want to win – I feel like Coral’s demeanour is so calm to everyone around her, but underneath there is a very competitive side to both of us for sure.”

Despite Bates’ surprise, it was too good of an opportunity for Taylor to pass by, with a chance to chase a fifth title and return to the sport she has dedicated her life.

“The unexpected, and very lastminute opportunity, to co-drive for Harry in Rally Launceston last year, (when John McCarthy was struck down by COVID), was such an

enjoyable event,” she said.

“To be honest, after spending the last few years sitting on the other side of the fence in the service park, jumping back into a car felt so great.

“Harry and I had a lot of fun and for me it felt like coming back to my happy place, being in a competitive car and sitting beside a top driver.

“I hadn’t realised I’d missed it so much.”

It also allows Taylor to start a new chapter in a special partnership dating back 30 years.

“I joined Neal Bates Motorsport in 1993 so this opportunity now to sit beside Harry for the 2023 ARC is one hell of a way to celebrate my 30th anniversary with NBM and Toyota,” she said.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet. I am very grateful and excited.”

Although Harry Bates is committed to chasing #1 in 2023 after falling 103 points short of Lewis Bates last year, he also thanked McCarthy their longlasting partnership.

“I really can’t thank John (McCarthy) enough for eight brilliant years,” he said.

“I’m sure we haven’t done our last rally together.”

The 2023 Australian Rally Championship begins at Launceston in Tasmania on March 24-26.

Thomas Miles

STOP / GO

HARRIS BACK FOR MORE SUPERUTES SUCCESS RYAL HARRIS is coming back to the V8 SuperUtes Series on a full-time basis and is aiming for a sixth title.

Harris will race a #58 Toyota Hilux with familiar colours throughout the entire 2023 season, driving the Hilux raced by Craig Woods to second last year.

Harris is the only driver to win titles across three eras of ute racing in Australia from the original V8 Utes, the inaugural diesel-powered SuperUtes and the current V8 Superutes era.

He returns to the category after taking on a season of Super2 last year.

VERNON SHIFTS TO V8 SUPERUTES

ALBERT PARK READY FOR 70TH ANNIVERSARY

THE 2023 season marks the 70th anniversary of Albert Park first hosting the Australian Grand Prix, in 1953, and two cars which competed in the maiden race have returned to the circuit.

Seven decades ago, only hay bales were used as safety barriers around the lake, while now concrete and Tech Pro barriers line the circuit, where well over 400,000 people pack the grandstands over the four days.

To celebrate the milestone, a pair of iconic cars that competed in the

first Grand Prix held in Melbourne returned to the Albert Park pit straight alongside former Formula 1 driver Tim Schenken and 1995 Supercars champion and openwheel racer John Bowe.

The former drivers were in awe of the 1953 Curly Brydon, which finished second behind Whiteford and the Maybach Mk1, which set the fastest lap of the inaugural race with the father of 1980 F1 world champion Alan Jones, Stan Jones at the wheel.

Both Schenken and Bowe got to jump into the classic cars and

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revved the engines down pit lane.

For Schenken it was a great thrill, having recalled the days when he used to watch the early Albert Park Grands Prix from the golf course located at what is now the highspeed run from Turn 8 to Turn 9.

“I’ve been associated with this event since it was the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, but it actually it goes back to 1953 when the cars used to go in the opposite direction,” he said.

“I watched the race from the golf links and in fact that was the time that inspired me to become a professional driver.

“You can’t compare the circuit today to as it was in the 1950s. The types of the cars, the safety, it went in the other direction ... it was a completely different scene in those days.”

The 2023 Australian Grand Prix will be held from March 30-April 2.

Thomas Miles

VERSATILE RACER Jimmy Vernon will take on a new challenge in 2023, making the switch to the V8 SuperUte Series.

Vernon is a two-time national champion on the track and also a Kids with Cancer Foundation ambassador off the track and joins the category with a vast amount of experience.

He has raced in categories such as Porsche Sprint Challenge, Trans Am, Toyota 86, TCR, Australian Formula Ford and Formula 4 over the years.

Vernon will make his long-awaited V8 SuperUtes debut in the Mitsubishi Triton campaigned by David Seiders last year.

SHELBY COBRA HEADED FOR ROB ROY HILLCLIMB A 1965 Shelby Cobra “Slalom Snake” will make an appearance at the Rob Roy Revival on March 18-19. One of two ever built by American racer and constructor, Carroll Shelby, it will be driven by dual Bathurst 1000 winner John Bowe. Designed with auto-cross events in mind, it was an upgrade on vehicles such as the ‘Dragon Snake’ dragster, with Koni struts, front and rear anti-roll bars, and Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special Tyres.

“It will be such a thrill to show off this megaimportant car to Aussie enthusiasts,” Bowe said.

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STAGE SET FOR SPECIAL ISLAND CLASH ONE OF the biggest Island Classic events in years is in store this weekend, with motorsport history at every turn of the famous track.

One of the largest fields ever is coming to the Festival of Motorsport and the Victorian Historic Racing Register is thrilled.

“Everything is on track and it is the most exciting one for years,” VHRR president Ian Tate told Auto Action.

“We will have 270 cars just practising on Thursday, and have finished off with around 240 entries for the weekend.

“We have not been able to bring cars from overseas for the last three years when it was just an average race meeting, but now all of a sudden there is a real buzz around with many people from interstate flying in. There is something for everyone.

“It is pretty exciting and all of the hard work leading up to the event has paid off.”

There will be a strong Formula 1 presence at the event with 10 classic exF1 Grand Prix cars from the 70s and 80s racing in a special Phillip Island Historic Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.

Six of the cars have been flown in from Europe including a Hesketh raced by James Hunt and the Shadow Australia’s Alan Jones scored his first Grand Prix win with at Austria in 1977.

In addition to the cars racing, the Williams FW07 Jones drove to championship glory in 1980 will lead the field on a parade lap.

A driver who knows what it is like to win a Formula Grand Prix, Eddie Irvine, will also be present at Phillip Island,

The Group C and A touring car category will be of sepcial interest. Image: Bruce Williams expected to watch at least Thursday’s running.

More than 40 Formula Ford drivers will be striving to get their hands on the Larry Perkins Cup, which goes on the line on the Sunday afternoon.

The Group C and A category is one not to miss for touring car fans with 1999 Bathurst 1000 winners Greg Murphy and Steven Richards to face off in a pair of Nissan Skyline HR31s.

Richards will be looking to make his family proud, driving the same Nissan his father Jim drove to the 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship crown.

Looking to take the fight to the Nissan duo with a combined total of 40 Supercars race wins, 899 starts and nine

Bathurst 1000 wins will be Chris Stillwell in a Ford Sierra, while an ex Allan Moffat Mazda RX7 will also be on show.

Tate has been in contact with the two men who led the #2 Nissan to championship glory in 1990, who cannot wait to see it back on track with a Richards behind the wheel.

“Jim Richards told me he cannot wait to get to Phillip Island,” Tate said.

“Jim said he has been waiting for years to see this and thinks it’s going to be fantastic.

“Fred Gibson also said he will be coming every day and wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

There are more European arrivals outside of F1, with four spectacular sports cars including a 1962 Shelby

Cobra, Lola T70 Mk3b, Chevron B31 and 1966 Chevron B6.

A pair of 962 Porsches have been recently added to the Q and R Sportscar field, while the sole surviving 1962 Ferrari 196 SP Dino will also be on show.

Coming from America will be a 1959 Old Yeller Mk11 raced by Ernie Nagamatsu. Headlining Regularity is a 1946 Maybach Mk1, which won the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix.

The on-track action runs from 9.10 to around 16.30 AEDT from Friday to Sunday with all 11 classes completing at least four races.

Tickets are available at the VHRR website with children aged 17 and under free with a paying adult.

Thomas Miles

VALTTERI BOTTAS ADELAIDE BOUND THE 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival will be boosted by the star presence of Formula 1 driver Valterri Bottas.

Bottas, is a 10-time Grand Prix winner and will will take part in a number of ontrack demonstrations at the festival held on March 25-26, including one behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo GTV Group A touring car.

The current Alfa Romeo F1 driver has been a regular visitor to South Australia recently with his partner Tiffany Cromwell, a professional cyclist from Adelaide.

Bottas will not be the only F1 driver at the event, with Swedish 1980’s Ferrari and McLaren driver Stefan Johansson also present, driving the Ferrari 156/85 he raced at Adelaide in 1985.

In a short video statement announcing the news prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix, Bottas revealed he is eyeing a chance of driving a V8 Supercar around the streets of Adelaide.

“I’ll be at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and I will be getting behind the

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Former AGP winner Bottas is heading to Adelaide. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES wheel of some kind of Alfa Romeo and perhaps a V8 Supercar,” the 67-time F1 podium finisher said.

“I’ve got all my gear packed and heading to Adelaide and I look forward to seeing everyone there.”

Being an Alfa Romeo F1 team driver, it is

appropriate Bottas will drive a classic car from the Italian manufacturer around the Adelaide streets.

The Alfa Romeo GTV Group A touring car the Finn will drive is a European Touring Car Championship winning machine.

It also has racing experience in Australia

with 1980 Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones steering it a number of times, while Colin Bond also drove the car at a Group A support race on when the Australian Grand Prix was held on the same Victoria Park street circuit.

Bottas is a veteran of more than 200 Grand Prix starts having made his debut for Williams at the 2013 Australian Grand Prix.

By 2014 he was scoring the first of his 67 podiums and was promoted to Mercedes following the sudden retirement of Nico Rosberg in 2016.

Between the 2017 Russian Grand Prix and the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix, he collected 10 wins for the ‘Silver Arrows’ with one of the most memorable being his dominant drive at Albert Park to open the 2019 season.

Bottas is just one of the mainly Formula 1 based attractions at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival at least eight Grand Prix cars coming to the event on March 25-26.

Thomas Miles

WATERS’ SPEEDWAY SUCCESS FLOWS ON JAROD WATERS (right) has continued the family dominance, being the third to add the Waters name to the South Australian Speedway Sedan honour role after victory at Murray Bridge.

Waters can now sit alongside his dad Chris and brother Cameron (Supercar and Sprintcar driver) as South Australian Champions following last weekend’s triumph.

While Chris and Jarod each share a Modified Sedan Championship, brother Cameron has the South Australian Late Model Championship in addition to winning the Australian Modified Sedan Championship and eight Supercars races on his impressive CV. The other point of interest that the Waters trio have in common is that they have all qualified on Pole Position for the Australian Modified Sedan Championship and claimed a podium position.

It makes for the journey of a class rebuilding and a dominant performance by Jarod…

While the Modified Sedan class has been consistently strong on a national level, it is fair to say that in South Australia the section has been lost in the wilderness for

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many summers with dwindling numbers and almost a period of non-existence on the local Speedway landscape.

The Modified Sedans have made something of a resurgence in recent times as a small but dedicated group of competitors and Modified Sedans SA club members concentrated their efforts to regrow the division over the last few seasons – that proved evident at Murray Bridge Speedway with a field of 27 competitors in the house for the running of the 2023 South Australian Modified Sedan Championship.

While the event attracted a large turnout of interstate competitors, including three reigning state champions in Jakobe Jetson (Tasmania), Kye Walters (Victoria) and Martin Hawson the defending South Aussie Champion, it was Mildura’s Jarod Waters, who stamped his authority over the field aboard his uniquely campaigned ENZEDsupported C350 Mercedes Benz entry amongst a field of Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons and Mustangs.

After nine hard fought qualifying heats, the field lined up for the all-important 30lap final with Waters and Jetson sharing the front row. The highest qualified local

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Image: PARIS CHARLES

was be Bronte Perkins, starting back in 17th amongst the top 20 finalists.

At the drop of the green, the leaders traded punches, but Waters got the upper hand. From that point forward he would go on to lead with little trouble in the incidentplagued final.

He went on to chalk up his third successive victory at the venue this season.

Sharing the podium celebrations with an untroubled Waters were Jetson and Wade McCarthy.

Corey Jetson, Joel Berkley, followed home

by Kye Walters, Dylan Barrows, Andrew

Dike, Daniel Simpson and Darcy Wilson completed the top 10.

Will Shore, Brooke Ferguson, Wade Cleary, Angelo Halacas, Aaron Bunton and Perkins rounded out the finishers, while John Baker Jnr, Rob Uren, Justin Demaine and Mark Deckert failed to travel the journey.

Heat wins were monopolised at the top, with Jakobe Jetson, Berkley and Waters each taking a double, while Simpson, McCarthy, and Halacas collected singles and Perkins claimed the B Main event.

Paris Charles

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READ TRUMPS XIBERRAS IN EVENTFUL WESTERN DASH AFTER AN EVENTFUL DAY, PHIL READ EDGED OUT PETER XIBERRAS IN THE 52ND MACTRACK WESTERNATIONALS AT THE PERTH MOTORPLEX THE FIFTH round of the 2022/23 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship was a hard-fought and unique one with Read and Xiberras going head to head at an event marred by timing issues.

Due to the timing dramas, the competitors agreed to fight for glory in an extreme pedal fest across the whole strip.

With neither driver giving an inch and no clear winner emerging, replays were required to determine the victor with Read’s skating dragster dislodging a number of timing blocks.

In the end the Hydraulink Jim Read Racing driver was awarded victory in the photo finish, while Xiberras closed in on Damien Harris in the championship standings.

Read said it was an emotional win for the team.

“What a final. I am so glad to get the win, and it is great to be back in the points chase,” he said.

“Everyone knows that we lost our truck driver Grant ‘Fozzie’ Foster on the way over here to the Goldenstates in November. I drove the truck over this time especially to place a special memorial plaque created by Wayne Newby where we lost him and this win is for him.”

The reliance on the cameras at the Westernationals was required due to the numerous timing issues that were encountered throughout the event,

culminating in there being no timing for the 1000ft markers on Sunday.

Following a meeting between the series, the track and the Top Fuel teams, a slow-motion camera was set up and a three-strong adjudicating panel appointed to declare winners. An official was also positioned on either side of the track with a flag to signal the result, while half-track times were used for seeding and bonus points for low ET and high speed.

“The timing issues were clear from qualifying with issues on the tree, but noone expected them to develop as they did, “ said runner-up Xiberras.

“In Q1, we accepted the green and ran to just before the 1000 foot, to record an ET of 4.233 seconds at 317.63 km/h only to later find out the 1000ft timers hadn’t worked.

“Come Sunday, and racing under the workaround conditions put in place in light of the timing issue, we raced through for two wins in the opening rounds, putting us into the A-Final against Phil Read.

“It was quite the race and while it didn’t go our way, we have closed the gap to Damien Harris in the championship chase now.”

Harris still came away with some silverware winning a closely contested B Final against Damien Harris.

Kyle Putland continued a strong weekend of PBs to win over an off-early Phil

It was close, but Phil Read took out the silverware in Top Fuel.

Image: CACKLING PIPES

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Lamattina in the C Final, while Shane OIive won a solo D Final.

In ADRC Top Doorslammer, Daniel Gregorini backed up last year’s Westernationals and Goldenstates wins with another Perth triumph, this time over Kelvin Lyle.

Unlike the Goldenstates final where Gregorini was on a solo, it was a side by side race down the quarter-mile with Gregorini taking the win on a holeshot with a 5.752 second pass at 410.22kph.

In the B Final, Peter Kapiris overcame Lisa Gregorini, while Matt Abel claimed the victory but also a hefty damage bill in the C Final.

After opponent John Zappia was unable to select gears to take to the track, Abel rolled in the sand trap, but exited his 1957 Chevrolet Belair unharmed. Ryan Moresby won the D Final over Maurice Brennan.

On two wheels, Benny Stevens continued his impressive performances in ADRC Top Fuel Motorcycle to take out the A-Final win over Kevin Gummow.

Stevens achieved the feat with a 7.074 second pass at 248.48kph over Gummow’s 8.564/185.85kph run.

The winner said a “conservative” approach led to making a dream become a reality.

“We have had an awesome day,” Stevens said.

“We wanted to be conservative this morning so we tamed

it down a bit and the first lap was a 6.55.

“We got the data we needed and pretty much left the bike the same and repeated for the second run, and the track had turned around really well so we probably should have thrown some more power at it, but we still got through the win on what ended up being a solo.

“In the final, we were out against Kevin Gummow and we went towards the centre line at about 800 foot – now normally I would have ridden out of something like that, but I didn’t want to risk losing the final, so I got off the throttle, got a bit close to the line, flicked the bike across and came through for the win.

“I have won two Goldenstates before with two Silver Christmas Trees, so to be able to get a Gold ANDRA Christmas Tree is fantastic.

“It is something I have wanted to achieve for many years so to finally have that dream come true is absolutely awesome.

“My whole team is absolutely stoked to win the event.”

Greg Durack won the B Final on a solo after Chris Matheson was unable to back up after a burnout.

The C and D Finals went to Rob Cassar and Jay Upton respectively.

The next round of the 2022/23 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship is the Nitro Champs at Sydney on May 5-6.

Thomas Miles

NEWS

Vosbergen #4 battles with third-placed Tasmanian Callum Harper

VOSBERGEN WINS LONG AWAITED TITLE AS LATE MODELS GATHER SPEED AFTER DECADES OF TRYING, THE VOSBERGEN FAMILY FINALLY HAS THE AUSTRALIAN LATE MODEL CHAMPIONSHIP IN THEIR POSSESSION. AUTO ACTION’S THOMAS MILES SPOKE TO BRENT VOSBERGEN ABOUT HIS SUCCESS. THE BREAKTHROUGH success was scored by third generation Western Australian racer Brent Vosbergen, who won a dramatic 40-lap final ahead of NSW’s Daniel Cassidy and Tasmania’s Callum Harper at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool recently.

It was an emotional win for Brent, who went one better than his father Craig and grandfather Bert, who collectively finished second best in Late Model national title finals on four separate occasions.

The relief experienced by the entire family was not lost on the WA driver.

“I remember how unlucky my dad was, leading it with four laps to go, so it was a massive relief off my shoulders to finally get one for my family,” Vosbergen told Auto Action.

“When I was second at the late restart, I thought I am just going to give it my all remembering how much heartache finishing second has been for my family.

“I did not think it would ever happen and it is surreal to get it done. The amount of support from everyone has been really overwhelming to be honest.”

Vosbergen marked the win with a heartfelt kiss on the roof to his late grandfather Bert, who also raced #4 and

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played a big role in Brent’s career.

“He was my biggest supporter and it is a shame he is not around to see me win a race. I started out four years ago when he passed away.

“But we always have the four on the roof with all of his cars inside of it. I just wish he was here to see it.”

Vosbergen secured the win after prevailing in a dramatic final, but it almost did not happen after car #4 was badly bruised from a big crash on Saturday night.

But Vosbergen was back on track when it mattered, but only after several rival teams generously helped complete the extensive repair job.

“I felt the car was pretty good, but unfortunately we tore a lot of stuff up in the third heat race on Saturday night.

“One of the cars got a push up in front of me because it is such a small place; I ran into the back of him and the whole field clouted into me.

“It tore the front, the left side and back off it, so we stripped the whole body off, put a spare one on and spare shock absorbers.

“I am just thankful to 15-20 people from many different teams in the pit area that came over and loaned us parts and assistance. Without them I probably would not have been back out there.”

Despite the crash, Vosbergen was still encouraged by his strong pace having won a heat by four seconds following a six-lap dash to the flag.

When the big race commenced, Cassidy took control, while Vosbergen settled into seventh.

However, car #4 progressed steadily up the order and hit the lead as the final quarter of the race dawned, only to let it

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slip due to lapped traffic.

But luck was on Vosbergen’s side as he returned to the lead following Jason Oldfield’s puncture with four laps to go and held on to the chequered flag, despite a remarkable comeback drive from Cassidy.

For the 14th Western Australian to lift the Late Model crown, the win is the completion of a stellar recent run, which included being crowned the 2021/22 driver of the year.

Not only was the race a big moment in Vosbergen’s career, but also for the category, being the first Late Model Australian title since COVID-19.

Vosbergen said it was important for the category to get back to national racing and host more headline events.

“It is a good thing to have these big races back, just to get the division back out there, so people don’t forget about us,” he said.

“Sprintcars have always had those big titles – we just need to head that way with more bigger races, so we can get recognised as one of the premier divisions in Australia. The standard of racing has proved it.

“We just need to showcase it on a bigger scale to entice guys from Super or modified Sedans.”

Before Vosbergen defends his Australian title next summer, he will take on the challenge of racing in America for the first time.

The Western Australian native will compete in 15 events across one loaded month of racing.

Vosbergen enters the ‘bucket list’ series with an open mind, but admits an A-Main appearance would be incredible.

“We are off to America this off season to

Image: Aidan Freeman Photography

Runner-up NSW’s Daniel Cassidy. have a crack at Eldora and some Lucas Oils events,” he said.

“There are no goals – whatever happens, happens. I am just going over there to say I have raced against the best in the world and to experience the atmosphere over there.

“To make an A-Main against that calibre of drivers would be like a feature win here.

“We will go there for a month to tick that off the bucket list and be back next summer.”

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JETT JOHNSON’S FIRST SUPERCAR SHOWED OFF

THIRD GENERATION racer Jett Johnson will take the next step in his career in a familiar colour scheme at Newcastle this weekend.

Johnson will make his Super3 debut in a distinctive #117 Nissan Altima on the streets of Newcastle with backing from NAPA Auto Parts and colours his family knows well.

The 17-year-old is the son of 2001 Queensland 500 winner Steven Johnson and grandson of five-time ATCC champion Dick Johnson.

In his first Supercars race at Newcastle, Jett will race a livery that will evoke memories of the famous TruBlu #17 Fords Dick carried, which hit the rock and won Bathurst in the space of two years.

After winning the 2022 TA2 Muscle Car Series, Jett Johnson was originally slated to contest the 2023 Trans Am Series and raced at the recent Symmons Plains season opener.

But he is full of excitement to be following in his family’s footsteps by contesting Super3 in 2023.

“I can’t believe this is the year I get to start my Supercars career,” he said.

“Being around Supercars with Dad and Grandpa all my life, I feel the time is right. I’m nervous but really excited so I can’t wait to get into it at Newcastle” “It’s been great running in TA2 and Trans Am. I’ve really enjoyed the category so much. We won the title in TA2 last year and picked up podiums in Trans Am, but with the way that things have worked out, it was time for me to take the step into Super3 and hopefully continue my career forwards.”

Johnson will not be the only driver with a famous name on the Super3 grid, with Todd Kelly’s son Mason also making his Super3 debut at Newcastle.

With the pair both running Nissan Altimas, the former rivals have joined forces in the next chapter of their long-lasting and successful Supercars journeys.

Johnson and Kelly hope to emulate not only their famous relatives, but also the likes of Jack Smith, Tyler Everingham, Broc Feeney, Nash Morris and Brad Vaughan and win a Super3 crown.

The Newcastle 500 kicks off the Super3 season this weekend.

Thomas Miles

GROVE GOES GLOBAL FOR NEW CO DRIVER GROVE RACING has gone global to complete its co-driver duo for the 2023 Supercars Championship, signing Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre.

Estre, 34, is set for a Supercars debut at the Sandown 500 and will stand alongside 642-race Garth Tander as Grove Racing’s endurance pair on opposite ends of the experience spectrum.

Despite being a Supercars rookie, the Frenchman has a vast amount of international racing miles behind him and will steer a Porsche 963 in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Estre has secured championship success in the French and German Porsche Carrera Cup series, plus the GTE title in the 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Also on his CV is a class victory at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, plus the biggest GT races in the world such as the Spa 24 Hours and Nürburgring 24 Hour.

Although the French Porsche driver will be driving a Supercar for the first time, he is familiar with the undulating terrain of Mount Panorama.

He has raced at the Bathurst 12 Hour four times with a top result of fifth in 2018 when he drove a Craft Bamboo Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. Now the chance to take on Bathurst’s ‘Great Race’ is one that excites Estre, who has childhood memories of watching

Supercars races.

“I am really glad to join the Penrite Racing team for this year for the enduros as a codriver,” he said.

“It is a championship I always loved, and I remember watching races with my Grandpa on the sofa being a really young kid in France.

“I can’t wait to be in Sandown and Bathurst and drive this awesome car.”

Estre and Tander will perform co-driver duties for one of David Reynolds or Matthew Payne with driver combinations for the enduros yet to be confirmed.

The Frenchman is the latest global Porsche star Grove Racing has called upon for an endurance, with Australia’s Matt Campbell partnering Reynolds last year.

Grove Racing team owner Stephen Grove revealed Campbell was the original option, but due to a clash with the Australian’s IMSA commitments, the team had to look elsewhere.

In Estre, Grove believes the team has locked in a safe and experienced pair of hands who has been endurance racing with the best in the world.

“When the IMSA calendar came out and it was evident there would be a clash with Matt Campbell, it was vital that we signed the best possible endurance driver we could find,” he said.

“Kévin is an incredible talent and someone

who’s had great success at the highest level for a long period of time.

“His raw speed was our first attraction to him, however his experience in longdistance races meant that he was the perfect fit. He’s used to working with some of the most accomplished racing teams in the world and we can’t wait to see what he brings to Penrite Racing.

“Having driven at Bathurst before and being a big fan of Supercars, we were confident that there would be a relatively short learning curve for someone of his stature and professionalism.”

Estre’s appointment has been one of the bigger surprises in the co-driver silly season, which is taking shape.

Richie Stanaway has replaced Tander at Triple Eight Race Engineering, while Dick Johnson Racing confirmed an unchanged line up with Tony D’Alberto and Alex Davison behind the wheel.

Erebus Motorsport has also turned to experience in the form of Jack Perkins, while Tickford Racing’s quartet is James Moffat, Zak Best, Tyler Everingham and Garry Jacobson.

The Sandown 500 returns on September 15-17, while the Bathurst 1000 follows on October 5-8.

The 2023 Supercars Championship ignites at Newcastle this weekend.

Thomas Miles

MCLAREN BELIEVES IT CAN BOUNCE BACK

MCLAREN IS adamant it can still outdevelop its rivals despite a disastrous start to the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Neither Australian rookie Oscar Piastri or established British star Lando Norris could make an impact as reliability issues got in the way.

The debut race for Piastri lasted just 13 laps when gearbox issues forced him to

retire, while Norris languished at the back of the field, stopping six times after his MCL60 developed a pressure leak and needed refilling every 10 laps.

The MCL60 was not expected to be a world beater coming into the first race after a troubled test and the team sent worrying signals at the launch. It is already banking on an upgrade package scheduled for the

fourth Grand Prix at Azerbaijan, but could find itself a long way back in the midfield battle by then.

Despite the disappointing start, Stella believes his team has the strength to overcome the struggles, which centre around reliability and aerodynamics.

“The main limitation that we have at the moment is aerodynamic downforce,” he told Autosport.

“Obviously we can improve the rate of development in the car by having better infrastructure, by having more workforce and this is why we are having the investments that are ongoing now at McLaren.

“However, I think that for the level of talent and availability we have at McLaren already, we can recover and we can out-develop other teams because what we see in development right now is a very alive car in terms of development.

“There are some areas of the car that seem to be able to generate good downforce, like I’ve said already, they were not ready in time to be part of the launch spec.

“But this car will evolve pretty much raceby-race, with some major upgrades that will come, the first one around race four.”

As a source of hope, Stella pinpointed two recent seasons where McLaren turned its

season around.

In 2009 McLaren entered a new set of regulations as defending champions, but neither Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton were in contention in Australia, being the best part of a second off the pace.

But McLaren came so far with the MP4-24 that Hamilton was a regular winner and podium finisher in the second half of the season.

Stella also recalled 2012 when McLaren experienced an up and down campaign, before winning the last two races.

Although a cost cap and aero testing restrictions have been introduced since, Stella is using those seasons as inspiration for McLaren, which finds itself under pressure to perform after a second straight winter where it has started in a worse position than the previous year.

“There are certainly cases in the past in which this has happened and obviously many things have changed,” he said.

“For us, that is the ambition. We want to be able to do what McLaren was able to do in 2009. I remember they recovered a lot of performance, and in 2012 as well.

“If I look at the potential in development, I think we have the potential to out-develop competitors, so hopefully we can add 2023 to this list.”

Thomas Miles

BIG GRID FOR AUSSIE RACING CARS THE 2023 Aussie Racing Cars will start with a bang at Newcastle, where a huge 40-car field will conduct a street fight this weekend.

With so much interest ahead of the new season, Motorsport Australia was forced to expand the grid from 36 to 40 cars due to an oversubscribed field.

The category returns to the Newcastle street circuit having raced when the event was last held in 2019.

On that occasion Kel Treseder overcame Nick Simmons and Justin Ruggier in a tight three-way battle for the round win.

Neither will be coming back to the race, which makes a comeback after a COVID-19 enforced break, but the 2023 field’s strength in numbers does not come at a cost to quality.

Reigning champion Josh Anderson is back for CoolDrive Racing to defend his crown.

But one driver looking to steal the #1 off his door is Lachlan Ward, who is determined to go one better after falling six points short last year.

The pair will resume their rivalry after

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a fierce battle in 2022, while there are many others looking to shake up the pecking order.

Joel Heinrich could be a contender after winning the non-championship race on the streets of Adelaide in December last year.

Others keen to impress are Cody Brewczynski, TCR driver Kody Garland, Craig Woods, Anderson’s CoolDrive team-mate Reece Chapman and previous category frontrunner Sheridan Phillips.

Trans Am convert Jon McCorkindale, former Toyota 86 drivers Rylan Grey and Michael Sherwell are rookies.

Sherwell is one of four Novocastrians in the field alongside Charlotte Poynting, Cody McKay and Shaun Martin.

The Aussie Racing Cars drivers will fight for honours in Championship, Rookie, Masters Cup, Gold Cup and Women’s Cup classes.

The weekend will consist of two 20-minute practice sessions and one segment of qualifying before three 12-lap races.

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ENTRY LIST NO. CLASS 1 3 5 6 7 11 13 14 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 25 27 28 33 34 41 47 48 52 55 64 69 72 78 82 83 86 87 88 91 95 96 111 117 187

Championship Rookie Championship Gold Cup Masters Cup Masters Cup Gold Cup/Rookie Gold Cup Championship Gold Cup Rookie Championship Rookie Masters Cup Gold Cup/Rookie Championship Rookie Masters Cup Masters Cup/Rookie Gold Cup/Rookie Championship Masters Cup Masters Cup/Rookie Women’s Cup Masters Cup/Rookie Championship Rookie Gold Cup Masters Cup Championship Rookie Masters Gold Cup/Rookie Masters Cup/Rookie Championship Rookie Gold Masters Cup Championship Rookie

TEAM/SPONSOR

CoolDrive/Perenso Racing Black Diamond Building and Construction Lichtenberg Motorsport Chivas Motorsport Muscle Motor Trimmers Toolforce/Ace Construction Group ASAP Marketing PTY LTD PCA/MGR Racing Osborn’s Transport Butler Fabrication/Team Grand Racing Shell Rimula Topgun Race Team Phillips & Co Automotive Rylan Gray Motorsport MSS Group/O’Keefe Motorsports Action Line Marking CoolDrive Racing/Motorsport 25 Locke Racing Team Norganic Proteins PTY LTD Elev8 Motorsports Elev8 Loans/Engedi Capital MTA NSW/Valvoline Motorsport 25/Pro Cool Racing ASAP Marketing PTY LTD Charlotte Poynting Racing Nova Air and Electrical/EVC Western Sydney Motorsport Before You Dig/Aus Karts Western Sydney Motorsport Western Sydney Motorsport Cody McKay Motorsport Shaun Martin Motorsport/AVE Technologies Osborn’s Transport Corish Motorsports Bartsch Earthmoving Koan Solutions – Crete & Works Co Nathan Williams Racing Fight MND Layton McKenhie Racing Lachlan Ward Racing Corish Motorsport

DRIVER

STATE BODY

Josh Anderson NSW Steve Jakic QLD Nicklaus Lichtenberger NSW Ian Chivas NSW Andrew Lorgelly VIC Adam Casuccio NSW Scott Gore QLD Matt Gooding QLD Joel Heinrich SA Denis Butler QLD Cody Brewczynski NSW Sheridan Phillips NSW Rylan Gray QLD Scott O’Keefe NSW Scott Dornan SA Reece Chapman NSW Nathan Locke QLD Kent Quinn QLD Antonio Basile QLD Todd O’Brien QLD Kody Garland NSW Troy Jones NSW Keith Bensley QLD Charlotte Poynting NSW Michael Sherwell NSW Craig Woods NSW Jon McCorkindale NSW Craig Thompson NSW Grant Thompson NSW Cody McKay NSW Shaun Martin NSW Brett Osborn NSW Leslie Corish NSW Michael Bartsch SA Anthony DiMauro SA Nathan Williams VIC Jeff Watters VIC Layton McKenhie SA Lachlan Ward NSW Andrew Corish NSW

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MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA LEANS ON GOVERNMENT FOR WAKEFIELD AS THE New South Wales state election nears, Motorsport Australia has expressed its hope for greater government assistance to cater for the sport’s “enormous popularity” with limited current viable venues.

The national body has highlighted the need for New South Wales to introduce a “statewide motorsport strategy” ahead of the state election on Saturday, March 23.

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca believes a “co-operative” approach between the governing body and the state government is required to help the sport continue its growth.

“There is no doubt that a co-operative approach to understanding how motorsport can be supported is key to achieving the best outcome for the state of New South Wales,” Arocca said.

“The fact that the biggest Australia state in terms of participation has the least number of facilities cries out for a targeted strategy to ensure that the sport capitalises on the enormous popularity it is currently experiencing.

“We need more venues and more needs to be done to preserve those that exist.”

A major reason behind New South Wales’ low number of venues is the current closure of Wakefield Park.

Since the circuit closed it gates in September 2022 due to a ruling from the NSW Land and Environmental Court, which resulted in inoperable conditions for owners Benalla Auto Club.

As previously reported in AUTO ACTION Wakefield Park has been the subject of a lot of political interest in getting the venue returned to operations with the opposition Labor Party pledging $1 million if elected.

Current sitting Liberal Member for Goulburn & NSW Minister for Local Government, Wendy Tuckerman is also “continuing to engage with and support the facilities proprietors (Benalla Auto Club).”

Arocca welcomed the recent election commitments, stating how important Wakefield Park is to the New South Wales motorsport community.

“We have been in discussion with Julia Finn, the Shadow Minister for Sport, along with Shadow Minister for Police and Planning Paul Scully who has pledged $1 million in funding for noise mitigation should the Labor Party win the upcoming election,” Arocca said.

“We also welcome the commitment that an elected Minns Labor Government will have the Department of Planning work with the Goulburn-Mulwaree Council and the Office of Sport on a plan to re-open Wakefield Park and, very importantly, to develop a statewide Motorsport Strategy.

“Any funding pledge for motorsport is always welcome. This commitment should be applauded and seen as particularly reassuring to the local community who rely on the facility to bring in tourism, bed nights in local hotels along with spending at local hospitality and suppliers as part of any track activity.

“We also want to congratulate those

involved in the Save Wakefield Park group who until recently have been making an impact on the campaign.

“Demand for motorsport is at record levels and circuits are constantly booked out months, if not years ahead. This clearly demonstrates how important Wakefield Park is to NSW and motorsport in Australia more broadly.

“Motorsport Australia will continue to speak with all local representatives to ensure the best outcome for the motorsport community is reached. We are committed to ensuring that our sport receives the funding support it deserves from the grassroots up.”

Thomas Miles

MATT STONE RACING LOOKING TO EMBRACE GEN3 MATT STONE Racing has experienced the biggest change to Supercars during its short time in the sport and will embrace the unknowns at Newcastle.

The team will once again sport two cars on the grid and will stand out with two bright orange Chevrolet Camaros driven by Jack Le Brocq and Cameron Hill.

Matt Stone Racing is ready for Newcastle after a busy offseason preparing for the beginning of Gen3.

Last year the team enjoyed its most productive year, matching its best teams championship finish of ninth and scoring points 2502 compared to 2245.

Le Brocq played a role with two top 10 finishes in 2022 and giving the team its highest qualifying position ever of second at Symmons Plains.

He is back for more in car #34 and will join an exclusive club becoming the sixth driver to race for five different manufacturers in Supercars/ATCC. Le Brocq joins Ian Geoghegan, Bob Morris, Bob Holden, Jim Richards and Kevin Bartlett, with the latter driving six different brands.

The Matt Stone Racing driver made his debut in 2015 as co-drIver to in an Erebus Motorsport Mercedes-Benz

E63 AMG with Ashley Walsh.

A year later he shared a Ford FG X Falcon with Cameron Waters before switching to Nissan alongside Todd Kelly in 2017.

Across his full-time career, which began in 2018, Le Brocq has driven both a Holden ZB Commodore and Ford Mustang GT during stints for Tekno Autosports, Tickford Racing and his current home.

With Chevrolet now replacing Holden, he will notch up five different manufacturers.

Despite getting to know the Camaro well during preseason testing, Le Brocq believes nothing will correlate with what the Newcastle streets have in store this weekend.

“Newcastle will be a completely different kettle of fish to what we have done with pre-season testing and preparations,” he said.

“I’m feeling comfortable and confident in the car, but as a street circuit and the first race for these new Gen3 cars, there are so many unknowns.

“It’s going to be so interesting; we haven’t really jumped these things over kerbs or any of that sort of stuff. We don’t really know what to expect when we get there, but I love Newcastle, it’s an awesome event and a great atmosphere.

“Hopefully we can get some great results.”

Alongside him will be rookie Hill, who is simply looking to embrace all the challenges that lie ahead.

The 26-year-old from the capital believes starting with fresh cars on a tricky track could present many opportunities to surprise.

“I’m super excited for this weekend; very much looking forward to just soaking it all in,” Hill said.

“I’m going there with no expectations and just enjoying my first-ever solo Supercars race.

“As a street circuit first up, it will be a challenge, but it also provides good opportunity for us.”

The Newcastle 500 begins this Friday.

Thomas Miles

TEAM 18 DETERMINED TO CHARGE TOWARDS THE TOP

TEAM 18 has “big goals” in mind at the season-opening Newcastle 500 this weekend with drivers Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom in a confident frame of mind.

Pye and Winterbottom are racing a pair of Chevrolet Camaro for Charlie Schwerkolt’s operation for a fourth straight season.

The team ended the Gen2 era on a high, with Pye showing express pace to be in the mix for a breakthrough win in Adelaide, only for the pursuit to end in heartbreak.

However, Winterbottom gave the team something to smile about charging from 21st to sixth in the same race to seal a Team 18 best of ninth in the championship.

In addition to the strong finish, the team believes it has built up to Gen3 in solid fashion. It was the last to commence testing, but more importantly both drivers feel up to speed with the machinery ahead of Newcastle.

“Before you go to Newcastle you want to finish with a good feeling and I think we achieved that,” Pye said.

“Testing has been good relative to the rest of the field. It was important to get an understanding of what the car balance was going to be, how I could turn under people, how it would react at high speed so I could start to gauge how I would setup an overtake.

“The biggest thing for us as drivers is getting comfortable and doing some longer runs.

I think we locked something in that with a decent tyre we feel really comfortable with.”

Winterbottom, who is the most experienced driver on the grid, echoes his teammates comments, believing he is more ready than ever to start his 20th season in Supercars.

“We’re well and truly ready for Newcastle,” he said.

“I mean testing and racing is a different thing with pit stops, qualifying formats and all of that sort of stuff, but in terms of the car and the setup, I’m feeling comfortable and ready to hit the track.

“I think we’re competitive, but time will tell. There’s a bit going on in the world of Supercars regarding who’s fast and who’s not, I feel like the car is giving me the right feedback and that’s what I go off, the car is responding so good to changes.

“Come Sunday night at Newcastle there will be two winners and if we could be one or both of them then we’re going alright, but time will tell.”

In the first Newcastle 500, Team 18 went faster than it did all year with Lee Holdsworth finishing fourth after starting 18th, while car #18 achieved its only top 10 finish of 2018 at the circuit.

Looking ahead to the first Newcastle 500 since 2019, Pye said Team 18 has high ambitions of starting the new era better than ever.

“My expectations are high. I am going there with big goals in mind and want to start the season in the right way,” he said.

“I want to be on the front row or in the top five and challenging right at the pointy end at the word go. Not just finishing the race, but covering this thing in champagne.”

Thomas Miles

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DJR PREPARE FOR ‘DAUNTING’ NEWCASTLE STREETS

DJR PILOT Will Davison described the “daunting baptism of fire” challenge that the Newcastle street circuit presents ahead of the Supercars opener.

Dick Johnson Racing, the official homologation team for Ford’s Supercars program, will be facing plenty of pressure early on out of the second pit lane garage.

And although the mystery Gen3 factor is there for all the teams to tackle at the Newcastle 500 opener, the scrambled lead-up with Gen3 testing and all the vocalised parity wars between the Mustang and the Camaro, make the tight streets of Newcastle just that little bit tighter, even for a veteran such as Davison.

The #17 DJR Mustang pilot has described the difficulties that the street circuit presents, and where the team is at with their preparation.

“Newcastle is a very challenging event. I probably couldn’t find a more daunting initiation or baptism of fire for the cars than on this circuit,” Davison described for round one.

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“We’ve certainly made a lot of progress, and there’s a lot of firsts we’re running through systematically with some gremlins here and there.

“Now we’re focusing on some performance side of things…it’s been challenging, but we’ve all enjoyed the challenge and we’re slowly getting on top of things.

“It’s going to be really difficult for the drivers over two 250 km races.

I wouldn’t say I’m scared, but I’m definitely excited by the daunting nature of the challenge.”

Davison gave an insight into the track itself and what the drivers are facing, as well as saying that fans are guaranteed to see plenty of action to kick off the Gen3 era.

“I would say Newcastle is one of the most hardcore street tracks,” Davison continued.

“There’s a lot of varying road surfaces, a lot of varying cambers, very narrow, and very fast in certain places. There’s no room for error, and it’s very hard on the cars in terms of bottoming out a lot.

“Its quite aggressive on the kerbs we have to use, and these new cars are a bit of a handful, they use their tyre very aggressively.

“Trying to wrestle these cars over the long distance is going to be an awesome challenge for us drivers, so we’ll be working hard in the buildup to make sure we see the chequered flag.

“The fans are definitely going to see us working hard, and I think they’re going to see a lot of action. They look sensational with the flames out the side, and the new Mustang sounds absolutely mega.

“We’re in for hot and hard days work, but I think from the fans perspective there’s going to be some serious action.”

That action kicks off on Friday with the most exciting three practice sessions in recent Supercars memory, ahead of Saturday’s two qualifying sessions and the first 250km race of the year, with both Saturdays and Sundays race at 3:20pm local time.

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MCLEOD PRIMED FOR HIS SUPER3 DEBUT CAMERON MCLEOD is raring to go for his Super3 debut at the Newcastle 500 in his exKelly Racing #92 Nissan Altima.

The third generation racer is just days out from his debut and is excited for the streets of Newcastle after running a final testing session in the Altima L33 with his team at Winton last week.

“Going into Super3 is a big step for me and it’s very exciting. It’s a new car to learn and a new chapter of my career, so we’re all excited to see what I can do in this new project,” McLeod told Auto Action.

“For my very first Super3 race to be at the Newcastle 500 is awesome, and the Newcastle street track is going to be an awesome experience for me, it’s my first proper street track that I’ve raced on so I’ll go and give it a fair crack and we’ll see how I go.

“The Nissan Altima feels really good, we did a test day at Winton recently and I was very happy with the car, we made some adjustments in the seat comfort for Newcastle, but it ran faultlessly in the testing and we couldn’t be happier with where it’s at.”

McLeod and his team have been preparing for his debut year in Supercar machinery with an extensive program of racing and fitness training, which included a drive at the 24 Hours of Dubai at the end of last year in a BMW M4 GT4.

He’s also enlisted the help of experienced Motorsport fitness trainer Phil Young, who’s had experience in everything from F1 to Supercars, as well as keeping his mind sharp on the Karting track.

“We’ve done a lot of different forms of racing with the aim of preparing myself for this Super3 season, and I’ve really gone hard on my fitness

with Phil Young as my trainer, who’s obviously really experienced as a specialised motorsport trainer, so I feel really prepared,” he continued.

“I’ve just tried to keep myself driving in anything I can in the lead up; the Dubai 24 Hour was invaluable in the BMW GT4, and I did some laps at Bathurst for the 12 Hour in the MARC Mustang.

“I’ve also been going twice a week to the Karting track, which I think is an awesome thing to do while I’m racing to get in the zone and keep my eye in.

It just keeps your head in the racing aspect of things.”

He enters this year with a very strong team of backers, including the continuation of support from Gotzinger Smallgoods, who was with him for the full 2022 Australian Formula Ford season, as well as former V8 and GT Racer Morgan Haber, and sponsorship from HQ Caravans.

Managing director of major sponsor Gotzinger Smallgoods, Antony van der Drift, said the chance to continue his support of the McLoud family at Super3 level was a simple one.

“I have known the McLoud family for some years and have been supporting Cameron in his quest moving forward in Australian motorsport,” he said.

“He has proved to be quite a handy driver and I am a strong believer he has what it takes.

We would not do this unless we believe in supporting someone who has true potential.”

The Newcastle 500 kicks off this Friday, with the Super2/Super3 fields having two practice sessions, with qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, and the Race 2 qualifying and the closing race on Sunday.

TW Neal

EREBUS STAYS WITH RUSSELL FOR #99 ENDURO SEAT EREBUS HAVE confirmed David Russell will return as Brodie Kostecki’s Supercars co-driver for its 2023 endurance Program.

Russell rejoins the Coca-Cola Racing by Erebus program for a third straight year, which confirms an unchanged line-up with Jack Perkins also rejoining Will Brown.

The Kostecki-Russell duo finished fourth in last year’s Bathurst 1000 after taking a podium in 2021, and Russell is excited to rekindle the partnership.

“I definitely enjoy my time with the whole Erebus team so I’m very happy to be back again for a third year,” Russell said.

“To have the continuity of working with the same driver, the same engineering group and the same team, it adds an extra level of confidence and means we can get down to work straight away.

“Brodie’s an incredible driver and he’s

very talented so for me to be there and support him in these two big races is great.”

The long-time Supercars co-driver is also looking forward to re-striking his friendship with the iconic Sandown 500, and beginning anew with the Gen3 Camaro.

“The Sandown 500 is such a nostalgic race for many and one that I’ve been a part of personally for a number of years,” Russell said.

“It’s like a pre-run before the grand final and it’s good to iron out the little basics and get some practice in the lead up to Bathurst, especially with the introduction of Gen3.

“Part of being a professional driver is being able to get into something new and figuring out what makes a car tick so

you can go fast in it so I’m really looking forward to turning my first laps in the new car.”

The back-to-back enduro’s for the 2023

Supercars season will start with the Sandown 500 on September 15-17, before ‘The Great Race’ at Bathurst on October 5-8. TW Neal

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BRABHAM TOPS ANDRETTI AT SEBRING MATT BRABHAM (right) has picked up where he left off in the American Trans Am premier TA class at Sebring, taking out the Season opener over another famous surname in Adam Andretti.

The Florida born Aussie, and grandson of Sir Jack, took the chequered flag by a dominant 5.976s over the nephew of Mario Andretti.

Brabham qualified in P4 in the #20 Gym Weed Mustang, and took full advantage of the mechanical failures from both pole sitter Justin Marks, and defending champion and teammate Chris Dyson.

SUN-ENERGY KEEP THE AMG POWER ON AT KYALAMI

THE SUN-ENERGY 1 Mercedes AMG team has continued its strong start to 2023, taking the Pro Am class win at the Kyalami 9 Hour for Round 2 of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

With Kenny Habul defending his IGTC Pro Am title, the team’s perfect start at the Bathurst 12 Hour also sees he and his teammate Jules Gounon leading the outright Drivers Championship after their overall P5 in Africa.

With B12H Sunenergy1 driver Luca Stolz sitting out, Swiss driver Yannick Mettler admirably filled the German’s AMG shoes, as they ended up two laps behind the overall winners WRT, who took their first IGTC win since 2019, and its first with the BMW M4 GT3.

Fellow Aussies Grove Racing also managed to take their Porsche 911 GT3-R into P2 in the Pro Am, with the Steven/Brenton Grove and Earl Bamber trio finishing two laps back for the overall P6, making up for their B12H DNF. Aside from maintaining their lead up top, the Mercedes trio also took out the IGTC Independent Cup for Round 2, as well as keeping Mercedes dead level on points with BMW for the Manufacturers Cup. After visiting two continents in the space of a month, the IGTC will resume at the historic 24 Hours of Spa on June 29/July 2.

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“This was an unbelievable weekend,“Chris [Dyson] was really fast in the race, and Justin [Marks] was too, but they had issues,” Brabham said on the podium.

“This track is just really hard on the cars. I was fortunate, and sharing the podium with these guys is so cool, especially having Adam [Andretti] here.

“Hearing the names Brabham and Andretti at a track like this with so much history, in a series with so much history, is pretty cool. Trans Am is just unbelievable; it’s so much fun.

“Thank you to Chris and the team.

They deserved a 1-2 finish and I’m so happy to get it for those guys. We made it to the end and survived. Thank you so much to Gym Weed and allgram for supporting our team.”

Marks led through the first 13 laps, but couldn’t shake Brabham, as he harassed the #99 throughout.

Dyson’s breakdown brought on the first yellow, with the restart seeing Marks suffer the same fate in his Chevrolet.

The remaining 10 laps saw Brabham storm home over Andretti, as the Aussie took his fourth win in six TA starts, with his worst finishes being a pair of P2’s.

TW Neal

HERNE WITH TA2 PACE TO BURN NATHAN HERNE has made his American Trans Am TA2 Season debut at the Sebring International Raceway, and despite suffering some setbacks, showed some seriously promising pace.

The two-time Aussie Trans Am champion finished in P13 in the TA2 season opener, charging through the rear of the field twice, as former IndyCar flyer and veteran racer Rafa Matos took out the season’s first scrap.

The misfortune started after Herne qualified in P3 after topping practice, but an issue with ‘frame height’ saw the tech shed scrap his Q-time, forcing him to start in P47.

Herne didn’t show any apprehension in his Sebring debut, chopping through the 47 car TA2 field into P19 after just 6 laps, before shifting into P15 by the ninth.

The #29 Stevens-Miller Racing Mustang then made contact in passing with the #48 after bullying his way into P14, which cut his left rear tyre and forced a pit on lap 10 of 27, re-entering the pack in P33.

The Aussie Cube3 racer then took advantage of a Safety Car to fight back into P14 by lap 23, showing that the S-MR Mustang has more than enough pace to compete at the front of the field.

Another Safety Car shortly after had Herne in P13, with the race finishing

under those conditions following a two car smash.

“Very tough race; got that contact which cut down my left rear tyre, and it was a major case of pace to burn, but our luck was absent,” Herne lamented, “although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy coming through the field twice. We’re definitely fast, So that’s a positive. We will reset and refresh for NOLA in two weeks time.”

The American Trans Am show heads to New Orleans Motorsport Park (NOLA) for Round 2 this weekend. And similarly to Sebring, it’s a flat track where Herne can exploit the car’s pace.

TW Neal

HUGHES WINS ON USF2000 DEBUT GOLD COAST youngster Lochie Hughes has started his USF2000 season in style by taking the season opener at St Petersburg, Florida, from pole position, before grabbing a P3 in Race 2.

Last year’s F4 US champion – who has graduated to the second tier of Indycar feeder series with Jay Howard Driver Development – claimed a comfortable lights-to-flag win in his #8 Tatuus USF-17.

Hughes’ near faultless start to the season, now gives him an early one point lead in the championship on 54 points, with his pole position making the difference to Nikita Johnson, the Race 2 winner.

The weekend started out perfectly for Hughes as he grabbed pole position by 0.080s with a flying lap of 1:13.083 around the Florida streets, topping Johnson – the youngest in the field at 14-years-old.

Hughes then took the season’s first chequered flag in the 21 car field by 2.484s over teammate Evagoras Papasavvas, and American youngster Johnson.

After jumping out of the blocks, an early yellow dragged his lead back, but he wasted no time in leaving the field behind for a second time.

“I couldn’t ask for a better race. I started on pole and built a gap on the first lap and just managed the race really,” Hughes said at the finish line.

“I didn’t make any mistakes. I probably could have pushed a bit harder, but the goal was to just get the win.

“I sacrificed a starting position for tomorrow, but I am over the moon to get this race win. This is my first time on a street circuit. It takes a little bit to get used to it, but I am loving it.”

He had to fight hard for his second race

podium after starting on the second row, squabbling with his teammate in a catand-mouse fight for the last podium spot.

Hughes then put his foot down on lap 12 to take P3, finishing 3.517s down on the pacesetter.

“The race was alright, but I struggled a little bit to be honest. We were on an older tyre and everyone ahead had newer tires,” Hughes lamented.

“I made some mistakes on the first lap which made me drop some positions, so then I was trying to catch back up and make some passes.

“In the end, I finished third. It was tough with Evagoras behind me. It was a decent result. To take a pole, a win and a third

from the first round of the year, I’m pretty happy.”

The USF2000 will stay in Florida for

Round 2 of eight, for one of only two rounds not in support of the IndyCar series, on March 25-26. TW Neal

PRICE HANGS TOUGH IN ABU DHABI FOR WRRC LEAD TOBY PRICE has battled hard to take third outright at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC), taking the lead in the FIM World Rally Raid Championship (WRRC) after two rounds.

Starting the 206km Stage 5 finale in eighth place, the 2018 WRRC champion went for broke on the run home from Qasr Al Sarab to Abu Dhabi, dominating the stage by 2:23s over Chilean Honda rider Ignacio Cornejo.

The KTM Factory Aussie took P3 from the Chilean by just two seconds, enough to take the lead of the championship by four points over Adrien van Beveren in the absence of Dakar winner Kevin Benavides, who missed the rally after crashing his bike in pre-shakedown.

Van Beveren took out the ADDC by 4:18s over Luciano Benavides, with Price just under a minute behind.

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“I had to push really hard today. Opening on the long day four really knocked me back in the overall such were the conditions,” Price said at the finish.

“I knew my only choice today was to push hard, and so I went as hard as I could possibly go for the whole 206 kilometres!

“To only just make the podium by two seconds is crazy. It shows the level of the riders at the moment in rally, with the results often coming down to seconds and not minutes – I think that’s really good for the championship.

“Lastly, the bike and the whole team have been great here in Abu Dhabi, working so hard to give us the tools we need. There’s a little bit of a gap now but then it’s on to Mexico for the next round.”

The two-time Dakar winner initially struggled for consistency over the three

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Dune heavy loops around Qasr Al Sarab, despite the fact he managed to win Stage 3 to sit in P3, leading off in Stage 4 set him back into P8 after the backlog of riders could follow his tracks in the damp sand following heavy mists in the morning.

Round 3 of the WRRC heads to Mexico for the Sonoro Rally on April 22-28, a new leg of the FIM World Tour, replacing the rally in Kazakhstan, in conditions that play into the Aussie’s strengths. Following that is the Argentine rally in late August, before the finale at the famous Rallye du Maroc.

TW Neal

FIM WORLD RALLY-RAID CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 46 2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 42 3. Kevin Benavides (ARG), KTM, 38 4. Luciano Benavides (ARG), Husqvarna, 35 5. Skyler Howes (USA), Husqvarna, 34

Image: RED BULL CONTENT POOL

www.autoaction.com.au I 21

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NASCAR TO GO RETRO AERO A BRAND new NASCAR Cup Series Aerodynamic rules package will be unveiled for on-track action at the Phoenix Raceway on March 12.

The package is aimed at enhancing short oval and road course racing, with a massive 30% reduction in the level of downforce, not seen in NASCAR since the 1990s.

The overall package (though different) was inspired by, and based on the development of the Hendrick Motorsport Le Mans 24 Hour entry, the Garage 56 Chevrolet.

The insane amounts of Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES mechanical grip that drivers have noted this season, has seen more spread out fields on track with removal of three diffuser strakes, engine the cars sliding far less and becoming strakes, trimming to the diffuser’s outer “less racy”. fencing, and removal of the mufflers.

The chief changes include a halved With it agreed that some racing at reduction of the four inch spoiler blade, certain courses last year still offered and tweaks under the car, like the a good product with the current aero

package, the tracks that will feature the new package are Charlotte Roval, Chicago Street Course, Circuit of The Americas, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Martinsville, New Hampshire, North Wilkesboro, Phoenix,

Richmond, Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

Tracks that will exclude the package are the 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway and the 1-mile Dover Motor Speedway.

In the package testing sessions at Phoenix, drivers noted that there became much more track-real-estate to use as the packs grew tighter, with the cars more noticeably “out of control”.

“They said at the test (the drivers) in our debrief meeting, that it felt more like a race car,” said Eric Jacuzzi, Nascar VP of vehicle performance.

“Definitely wasn’t as planted, more able to move around and use all the track. So, a net positive. Some drivers were a little more hesitant, but the difficulty in those tests is you’re really making big changes and you don’t have infinite practice time.”

TW Neal

“TRUE” STOCK CAR UNVEILS LE MANS 24 COLOURS WRC RETURNS TO THE MOUNTAINS OF MEXICO

THE GARAGE 56 project – a NASCAR stock car headed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – has lifted the lid of its colours ahead of the race’s centennial celebrations on June 11-12 race at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

A union between Chevrolet, NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsport and Goodyear, the #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZR1, will be piloted by 2009 F1 Champion Jenson Button, 7-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, and Le Mans 24 winner and DTM champion Mike Rockenfeller – who have already logged 3,600 miles of testing.

As the first stock car to run at Le Mans in 50 years, It will compete as an Exhibition Class car, which means

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it cannot claim a GTE Am class podium spot, for example.

And although it may look quite similar to a Cup Car to the naked eye, this Atlantic skipping beast with its similar naturally aspirated 5.8-litre Chevrolet R07 engine and steel tube chassis, is also quite different.

Weighing in at 1342kg, it’s 238kg lighter than a current Cup Car, despite it being able to carry an extra 12 gallons of fuel (with a Cup Car carrying 20 gallons).

Its aero package is quite different (although it has inspired the new NASCAR aero package that debuts this March), with a taller 2 inch spoiler, rear canards, and added dive planes.

It also has a similar 5-speed

sequential transaxle transmission, but with paddle shifters on the steering, which the Cup Cars don’t feature.

It also has functional lights (instead of stickers) with a second bank of lights nestled just over the frontsplitter.

Its Goodyear tyres are also developed specifically for the race, with carbon disc brakes.

“From the beginning of this project, it was important to us that the car we bring to Le Mans is a true NASCAR stock car,” said NASCAR CEO, Jim France.

“While there have been some adjustments to allow the car to compete in a 24-hour endurance race, fans in Le Mans will be treated to the full NASCAR experience.”

TW Neal

THE WORLD Rally Championship heads back to Mexico next week, for the first time since 2020, in the first gravel hit-out of the season.

Rally Mexico offers unique challenges to the drivers and team engineers, with heat, dust, and high altitude conditions, 2,500 metres above sea level.

Monte Carlo winner and the last winner of Rally Mexico, Sebastian Ogier, returns for Toyota meaning Takamoto Katsuta drops out of the manufacturer point scoring for the Japanese team.

Dani Sordo will also team up with Hyundai for his first start of the season, whilst Ford will run an extra Rally 1.

Added to the M-Sport line up, is the gentlemanly 59-yearold Greek driver Jourdan Serderidis, for his fourth start in a Rally1 Puma Hybrid.

After his triumph at Rally Sweden, Ott Tanak will have the disadvantage of leading the field, owing to his brilliant win in the Scandinavian snow.

Conditions couldn’t be more stark between Sweden and Mexico, with much of the timed stages occurring at high altitude, in areas like León and Guanajuato.

To compensate for the thin air, team engineers need to decrease the fuel load to compensate for the lower air intake, whilst also being able to increase the rotation speed of the turbocharger, which comes with overheating risks in the 30+ degree temperatures common to the area.

Drivers also need to nurse the cars and do their bit for the engine, driving cleaner and cutting down on sliding, as well as braking later, which also means cornering at higher speeds.

Rally Mexico kicks off on March 16-19, with the WRC season then going into a sustained seven-rally gravel run after the following event in Croatia.

TW Neal

GEN3 SIGHTED!

MULTIPLE FORMULA FORD MANUFACTURERS NOW LIKELY

FORMULA FORD is now likely to evolution of Formula Ford Racing, remain as a multiple manufacturer as distinct from trying to introduce category after Motorsport Australia something that’s entirely new that we took note of competitor feedback. know with our Formula 4 experience Motorsport Australia Director hasn’t worked.”

IT FEELS like we’ve been talking more closely resemble their roadprovide a much more entertaining of Motorsport and Commercial Smith also admitted that the plan about Supercars’ impending Gen3 going brethren and wear their new and credible series-opener than Operations Michael Smith opened for a 2023 introduction along with the era for years. liveries better too, especially the the rubbish NASCAR dished up up to Auto Action about the current reintroduction of championship status That’s because it has been years!

Mustangs. Big tick there. for the Daytona 500. In Florida, state of play in the incredibly popular is looking ambitious.

Four years, in fact. Four l-o-n-g Overall, it’s just good to have a fans were robbed of seeing the Australian Formula Ford category.

“If I’m being really honest, I think years. fresh start. I have to go back 30 winner cross the finishline due to Smith explained that the original 2023 introduction might be a bit Gen3 was first mooted in early years, to 1993, to the start of the ‘wrecks’ each time officials tried for idea Formula Ford now appears to be ambitious at this point,” Smith felt.

2019 by then Supercars CEO Sean 5.0-litre touring car era which manufactured green-and-white substantially less likely after listening to “But we ahaven’t formed a fixed view Seamer. Remember him? At that soon evolved into V8 Supercars, checkered two-lap run to the end. competitors views. on that, the Formula Ford Association stage a 2021 introduction was experienced a price per remember a time so eagerly It was pathetic. How appropriate “We’re really wanting the DNA towonder stay Gen3 “We’ve taken the time toreduce speakthe tototal build“But ultimately, to if we’re, wanting to of course, will be key to all of this as suggested. In the middle of 2019 troubled gestation. Trying to please car to under half of a Gen2 car; anticipated. Yes, the current parity the same,” he said to AA. every single one of those people or achieve or carry on the philosophy of well. that NASCAR’s biggest race Supercars executive John Casey doesn’t work, reduce yearly running bullshit is annoying, with every car sponsored by “I know one of our preliminary many masters emailjust every single one ofsignificantly those people.

Formula Ford Racing we need to be “What was I willwon sayby is aour current thinking rejoined the organization and was especially when the category’s costs; and improve the on-track viewpoint expressed going down flushable toilet wipes. Now there’s recommendations was to look at a “I guess as a consequence of that able to do it in a multi-manufacturer is to run Formula Ford, the current appointed head of ‘strategy and many master politicians will assert that’s lost its way. single manufacturer path,” he said. we’ve come around to theentertainment view that product. environment.” party lines, despite the many cars as aa sport national series next year, and product’ with the remit of guiding their influence. The pandemic So how has Gen3 fared thus keyboard experts having so little Anyway, there will surely be a “Whilst the (Formula Ford) working perhaps a multi-manufacturer concept Smith believes the reason that then at a point in time, whether that’s the sport into a new era. By this was truly only partly to blame for far on those four key criteria? of where things really stand. crowd of Novocastrians group hasn’t formed a view, one way is the way to go.”

Formula 4 did notclue work in Australia 2023 or bumper 2024, we will introduce a new stage, the 2022 season was offered Gen3’s troubled birth.

Respectively, that’s a ‘fail’, ‘fail’, ‘not We’ll find out soon enough when (and Sydneysiders) for Supercars’s or another on that, I think we’re coming Smith feels that if they can get the was because it did not appeal to the car as a championship. as a more likely start date for the the Fan Council looking good’ and ‘let’s bloody cars hit the mean streets of the new beginning thanks to three around to the view that, potentially Unsurprisingly, a rules right, then a multi-manufacturer Australian motor the sport scene, this is “We’d run existing cars in parallel new rulebook. That too would idea never flew. Much like Seamer hope so’.

Hunter, then the faster corners of pent-up demand and multi-manufacturer format would be series will continue to work why it is essential that Formula Ford with the years new of ones as sort of a mixed prove optimistic. and Casey, it hasn’t been sighted In truth, what do I care if the well- Albert Park a few weeks later.

Gen3’s debut. It will be a similar a better path to go, because that’s successfully. remains as close as possible to its grid and that would happen for a In November 2019, ahead of Nobbys since… to-do folk who own the teams are In the first instance, a fascinating story at all tracks this year, consistent with what Formula Fordoffhas “In order to do that (a multi-brand roots. period, broadly speaking, I’d be the last Newcastle 500 for three In fairness, those poor bastards, spending more money than they weekend awaits us as the new with punters (even a few ‘light always been in this country. category) you have to get the rules “Formula 4 didn’t work here,” he anticipating that it’d be three to five years and four months, Seamer and Casey, were on a to build cars and go racing. cars hit the tight confines – and consumers’) eager to get their “We had the stakeholder forum, Seamer we right, we know that, it’s a hoped lot simpler admitted. “It’s clear, people are very years, something like that. announced the plan for a Fan hiding to nothing. If F1 has the Let’s face it, the alpha males and hopefully not the walls – of backsides trackside to see the new then had the survey, and then we to craft a set of rules when you’re only passionate about Formula Ford Racing “I guess ultimately, it depends on the Council on the Supercars website.

Piranha Club, Supercars has females of the ownership ranks invited people to make submissions. have one homologated manufacturer.

“Our thinking isNewcastle have it asEast. an Who knows how take up cars. of any new car. DM

AA’S COLUMNIST SAYS GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT.

with Luke West

REVVED UP

He wanted to involve fans in the the Shark Tank. Then there was don’t go Supercars racing to make shaping of the category’s future, the death of Holden to deal money. including its Gen3 rules, via with, conjuring up a new rival I do, however, care about the quarterly feedback sessions. for effective sole remaining on-track product, which has been “What we want is a qualitative manufacturer Ford to race, and pretty lousy the last five years or of the illustrious names that won in the ONE OF the country’s longest serving conversation with important fans,” trying to forecast other automotive so. I still hold hope that Gen3 will category administrators Margaret Hardy category.

Seamer said, “both the die-hard industry changes. deliver far more entertainment Hardy assisted all of these drivers on passed away from cancer on Thursday fans, but also the light user and Supercars’ stated Gen3 aims, than its ugly older sister ever did. their route to Australia’s top-level.

August 19. light consumers.” Say what? during Seamer and Casey’s time, At least the sexy Gen3 cars are She was liked by all who knew her Hardy was involved in motor racing Yeah, let’s get ‘light consumers’ were to: attract new manufacturers already light years ahead of the in the industry which is why the motor for decades and was known for her to show us the way forward. Little beyond the two incumbents; Gen2 cars they replaced. Plus, they

things will pan out.

History shows the start of a new era usually sees some new frontrunners emerge, even if temporarily. Yet the only certainty will be the unintended consequences of debuting all-new cars. Things will pop up that no one could have predicted. How refreshing! Can’t wait.

I’m confident Newcastle will

For those watching at home, hopefully the television coverage doesn’t focus on tyre management and compulsory fuel drops. If we must have the latter, please don’t talk about it during the race.

Anyway, thank the big man upstairs that Supercars’ new era has finally arrived. You could say Gen3 has finally been sighted off Nobbys!

VALE: MARGARET HARDY – FORMULA FORD’S GUIDING HAND

dedication to Formula Ford.

Hardy joined the Light Car Club as the office manager and began working with the Australian Formula Ford championship 1978, doing paperwork for the category throughout the ‘80s.

Early in the following year she became the administrator of the category and was tasked with organising national series events, a role she held until 2013.

She has dealt with many of Australia’s motor sport stars over the years and was well-known as a hardworking and passionate worker.

In her time as category manager seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes, reigning 1000 victor, Will Davison, David Reynolds, Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale are just some

sport community is sad to hear of her passing.

During her time in the category, she was named a Life Member of the Formula Ford Association.

Formula Ford Association representative Phil Marinon said she remained very connected to the category.

“Margaret was a tireless Administrator for Formula Ford Association and also the AFFM including category manager for the national competition,” he told Auto Action.

“Her attention to detail and ability to support the competitors has been very strongly acknowledged on social media and is undisputed.

“Margaret was a very private person

and was always focused on the result rather than looking for accolades.

“Margaret was very dedicated to all things Formula Ford and has recently assisted the association in the production of a book on 50 years of Formula Ford in Australia and disappointingly will not get to see the final result.”

Many Australian racing legends past

and present took to social media to send their condolences.

Outside of Formula Ford, Margaret also took on roles such as the race secretary for Sandown Raceway.

Hardy was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2019 and went into Stage 4 in May. Auto Action sends its condolences to her friends and family. DM

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

Oakleigh Victoria 3166

GIVE GEN3 A FAIR GO HERE WE are on the eve of a new Supercars season and I reckon we all need to take a deep breath.

Sure there’s been some interest and excitement about the new Gen3 cars, but there’s also been a lot of criticism and carping.

Let’s just see how it unfolds.

Hopefully it’s a new level playing field which may see some different faces on the podium rather than the domination we’ve seen so often in the past.

Some people have been carrying on about the cost of these new cars. That may be a legitimate headache for team owners (the smaller ones at least), but to the fans what does it matter?

We just want to see great racing. What the cars cost is not our worry.

Let’s sit back and enjoy it.

Supercars is the main racing show we’ve got in Australia and we ought to just lap it up for what it is, instead of knocking it before the new cars even get going in anger.

Fair go.

Sam Moss Port Macquarie, NSW

REALITY CHECK FOR SUPERCAR HYPE MERCHANTS IT WAS reported recently that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund tried to buy Formula One for $20 billion.

That means the value of F1 has more than doubled in five years since Liberty Media bought it.

Compare that to what happened in V8 Supercars.

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

Tarmac rallying ... will the recent investigation spell the end? the days of seeing a great array of cars on Tassie’s open roads are gone and we will have to content ourselves with watching racing at Symmons Plains and Baskerville.

Bill Russell Ulverstone, Tasmania

BEST LETTER PRIZE It changed hands little more than a year ago for, reportedly, about one-third of what it was valued at when Archer Capital bought into it 10 years earlier.

That’s a fair old reality check for the Supercars hype merchants.

Someone who used to be very close to the scene told me that 20 years ago the then chief executive of Supercars had boasted that Supercars had become bigger than F1.

That was bulldust then and is shown by the recent valuations to have been even more far fetched than it would have been at the time.

Get real guys. Supercars is a tinpot show compared to F1.

Jeremy Stevenson Prospect, SA

KIWIS THE SUPERSTARS OF THE SHOW HEY AUSSIES, you can change the cars, change the rules, do whatever you like, but one thing won’t change in Supercars.

Kiwis rule.

As if Jim Richards and Greg Murphy weren’t evidence enough of that, we have since sent you AutoActionMag

Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Scotty has gone on to bigger and better things in America, but you’re stuck with ‘The Giz’ for a fair while yet.

Suck it up, bros.

Wayne Heath Hamilton, New Zealand

THE GREAT QUANDARY OF TARMAC RALLYING WHAT REALLY is the future of tarmac rallying?

This week’s announcement from Motorsport Australia following the latest investigation into Targa Tasmania seems to be indicating that MA wants tarmac rallying to continue but at the same time be setting requirements that will virtually make it impossible to do so.

It really is a quandary.

Targa Tasmania has brought a lot to the state over 30 years, but the fatalities, particularly those in recent years, understandably raise questions about whether it can continue.

It’s going to take a while to get the head around everything that is in this latest MA report, but perhaps the reality is that Auto_Action

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For our next issue we will choose our best letter and award the author the fantastic book below.

FORMULA ONE DOWN UNDER – AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY A complete history of the Australian Grand Prix’s world championship era.

This wonderful hardcover and jacketed book features over 300 pages, covering each year since 1985 the Formula One circus has pitched its tent in Australia for an annual round of the World Championship – every Grand Prix is covered in this quality publication.

Published by Gelding Street Press, Rockpool Publishing, and available from all good bookstores. $39.99

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Formula 1 got underway in Bahrain over the weekend, but it was local motorsport that generated the most buzz on our social media channels over the last fortnight.

BARRY RYAN BELIEVES CRASH MARRED TRANS AM this talk about the disparity in lap If you want it to be possible to RACE TO BE INVESTIGATED EREBUS CAN WIN AGAIN Barry Dickson Funny how a lot of people are bagging Ryan for expressing a fairly relevant opinion but are quick to jump on the Tim Edwards and Dave Reynolds bandwagon complaining about how fast the Camaros were and conveniently forget to mention that some of the Camaros were running Soft/Super Soft tyres in drying conditions, compared to the Mustang teams which chose not to. Lap times in testing sessions mean nothing, except to the teams themselves.

They, and only they, know what fuel loads, tyres, car setups and strategies they were running. Until they compare apples with apples, and not oranges with apples, all

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

times is rubbish.

Gareth Pedley Motorsport I reckon Brodie is right up there when it comes to the next firsttime winner in the category. Going to be good to watch either way.

Clinton Wallace Is he getting SVG to drive for him?

Martin Taylor They’ll win a race or two when the stars align. They do have two good drivers who can win on their day.

TARGA FUTURE LOOKS DIFFERENT Cameron Thompson

Politics is the art of the possible.

stage tarmac rallies in Australia, you need to stop the deaths.

If you don’t stop the deaths, staging Targa, etc. will become impossible.

Barry Cassidy The leading car had passed the start/finish line prior to the incident so there shouldn’t be a count-back is how I see it.

Ian Green

Mike Imrie Going back a lap is the true representation of where the finishing positions should be.

I don’t understand why the category that didn’t have issues is now banned. I’m all for safety and safely run events but wouldn’t it be in the sport’s best interests to make decisions that translate into reality and aren’t PR-based?

Tim Tee So, unless you have a slow, relatively long travel suspension car, you’re out?

Mark Chapman Smith If a car has run out of puff get it off the racing line while it still has momentum.

Greg De Vries Being on TV for that and first to the scene … I won’t comment apart from ... so many armchair experts.

PARITY FIGHT? (THAT’S NOT A PARITY FIGHT) THE GEN3 CONFLICT BETWEEN FORD AND CHEVROLET IS NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS ANYONE WHO thinks the row over Gen3 parity is a Very Big Deal was clearly not around in the 1980s.

Today’s parity problem spins around just two cars – the newage Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.

When you look under the skin and ignore the engines, they are the same racers, with shared parts almost everywhere – right down to the steering wheel and the position of the switches on it.

So it’s just a question of some relatively minor tweaking.

Aero is more important than ever in 2023, and there are big mechanical differences between the Ford and Chevy V8s, but finding parity is just a question of time and brainpower.

Now, imagine trying to equalise the performance of a 5-litre V8 Holden Commodore with a rotaryengined Mazda RX-7. Then throw another V8, in a bigger and heavier Ford Falcon, with a six-cylinder BMW 635i also in the mix.

In that case there were different sizes and weights, vastly different shapes, with two and four doors, and engines which could not be more different.

And I’ve forgotten about Bartlett’s Chevrolet Camaro – with drum brakes on the back end.

It wasn’t just the cars that were different, either.

In the early 1980s there was also very direct, and very vocal, backing from car companies.

Mazda and BMW had proper factory teams with direct connections to their overseas headquarters, Holden was right behind its Commodore crews, and

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE Ford was giving back-door finance to Dick Johnson and the blue boys in their XD Falcons.

Mazda only got into Group C through a sports-car loophole based on the tiny space in its back seat. But it cleverly let Peter Brock race one of its RX-7s at Sandown while it was lobbying for certification and he reported the car would never be a winner.

Yet Allan Moffat went on to win the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1983 in the lightly-disguised sports car, as well as three Australian Endurance Championships.

So there were fights all the time.

Some teams would sandbag through the sprint races, with their eyes on the big prize at Bathurst, so it was even more difficult to adjust

things to get anywhere close to an even playing field.

That’s one reason why CAMS – now Motorsport Australia – decided to bin the local Group C regulations, with the all the local squabbling and politicking, and go with the international Group A rules.

But that got even worse.

There was lots of kudos to be won on the world’s racetracks that would translate into showroom sales around the world.

So BMW and Ford and Volvo and Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo – you get the picture – all created ‘homologation’ specials.

These were limited-edition cars built with all the good stuff needed for racing, like the BMW M3 and Ford Sierra RS500 and even the

Holden Commodore Group A SS. And that was before the cheating started . . .

Tom Walkinshaw was responsible for racing Rovers and Jaguars which were ridiculously quick and – according to current owners – not quite the way they were built for showrooms, if you know what I mean.

When a BMW M3 was crashed during the World Touring Car Championship race at Bathurst the head of the TAFE repair team asked the company’s global motorsport boss if he would like the car repaired to match the homologation papers – or the way it was before the shunt!

The Volvo 240 had a fivecentimetre droop from the base of the windscreen – no surprise, as it was as aerodynamic as a brick – that was missing from the road cars.

The Mercedes that raced at Bathurst had a carbon-fibre dashboard beneath its leather trim ... and let’s not get started on the racing Sierras . . .

Then came Godzilla, the Nissan GT-R that killed Group A, and no-

one had any idea how to match it to its rivals.

It had four-wheel-drive, four-wheel steering, a six-cylinder turbo engine, and so on, and so on, and so on.

CAMS tried winding back the boost, and adding weight – team boss Fred Gibson even claimed the car was so heavy it was unsafe for Bathurst – but it won, and won and won.

More recently, in the Supercars era, there have been period spats over parity, mostly around the shape of the bodies and the size of the wings.

But remember the high-tech V8 in the Nissan Altima, and the techno-laden AMG package for the Mercedes E-Class, and even the efforts to get the Volvo S60 equalised with the local Fords and Holdens?

So, really, is Gen3 parity such a big deal?

It might take a while to finesse the final details, which could cause some dramas through the early part of the 2023 season, but the longer-term outlook is for heavy racing with storms of excitement.

Volvo, Commodore, Nissan head the 2010 AGP queue – took a lot of ‘parity’ sorting.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LAWYERS THAT KNOW Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES MOTORSPORTS Know your position.

• Teams • Series owners • Manufacturers

SVEN BURCHARTZ

Partner sburchartz@kkilawyers.com.au

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

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STABILITY WILL HELP

F1’S GROWTH

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES STEFANO DOMENICALI and his team at Formula 1 management continue to try new qualifying and race formats in a bid to improve the show and attract even more fans to the sport.

This policy is, of course, in stark contrast with what the sport experienced during the many years of Bernie Ecclestone’s reign, where the motto seemed to be “this is Formula 1; this is the way we do things; take it or leave it.”

As always, though, it would be better to avoid extreme policies and find a middle ground that will still attract new and younger fans into the sport but won’t alienate the older, hardcore fans – those who don’t necessarily enjoy constant changes to a format that already works very well and resent that an element of randomness is taking a bigger and bigger role in the way the Commercial Rights Holder fiddles with the weekend schedule.

Speak to the top drivers and it’s clear none of them is a fan of the Sprint Race format. Yes, it’s more exciting to already have something to fight for on Friday, with qualifying being run after

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER just one Free Practice Session, but from their point of view the Saturday race is one they just need to finish without damaging the car. So they’re never going to stick their necks out to make up one position, as there’s only one extra point to gain, making the risk/reward ration quite a low one.

Double World Champion Max Verstappen has been quite vocal on his dislike for the format changes in general and the Sprint Race format in particular.

The same goes for Lewis Hamilton; the most titled driver in the history of the sport, doesn’t much like them either.

So, it would be nice if Formula 1 and the FIA would listen to them when making decisions that will have a direct effect on their performances and results.

Of course, Domenicali will

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argue that Sprint Races have been terribly exciting and provided great entertainment, pointing to the one run in Brazill as proof this is the way to go.

Frankly, though, Interlagos, like Baku, the Red Bull Ring, Spa-Francorchamps and Austin, don’t need Sprint Races to hold exciting and unpredictable races. So let’s wait and see if there’s any benefit from hosting one of these races in Losail, later in the year, as that will be the ultimate test for the format.

We’ve also learned that this year, the Emilia Romagna race will see a new qualifying format being trialed, with all drivers forced to use the Hard tyre compound in Q1, the Medium compound in Q2 and only the Soft tyre in Q3. With the tyre allocation for the weekend adjusting to three sets of

Hard, four sets of Mediums and another four sets of Softs – cutting down from the 13 sets normally available for the weekend – the consequence will be less running done in the three Free Practice Sessions, as the teams will want to keep at least two, but ideally three, new sets for the race and that won’t certainly help the show.

Asked about this new gimmick, the top three qualifiers in Bahrain were far from excited at the prospect.

Max Verstappen: “I hope it’s not going to be cold in Imola, otherwise it’s going to be quite tricky but, yeah, it’s the same for everyone.

“I don’t think we need to actually do these kinds of things in qualifying. I don’t really see the benefit of it. It’s better if we make sure that all the cars are close to each other and more competitive instead of spicing things up in that way, which I think is probably for the show.”

Teammate Sérgio Pérez concurred, agreeing that, “I think we don’t need that when you see the qualifying we had today, how close everything was. We do not really need to

change anything.

But we’ll see, we’ll see once we try it – but I don’t think there’s a need to change something that is working well.”

Charles Leclerc summarised the general feeling among the drivers, saying, “I don’t feel there is a need for change for that, but let’s try and see.”

Personally, I believe that the current qualifying format is excellent, as there’s excitement in all mini-sessions.

Occasionally there are drivers from top teams dropping out in Q1 or Q2 when they hit trouble or the teams miscalculate the track improvement in the final moments of the sessions; and having the same format, weekend in, weekend out, allows the fans to establish their own Grand Prix weekend routines.

Changing format, schedule and rules many times per year only confuses the majority (that are not hardcore fans) rather than glueing them to the TV screens.

A bit of stability should be very welcomed – without the need to go back to the old mentality and bringing in change just for change’s sake.

FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

WOLFF ADMITS MERCEDES “WILL CHANGE CAR CONCEPT” TOTO WOLFF’S patience seems to have run out quickly, the Mercedes Team Principal admitting, “we’ll change the car concept” minutes after the end of the first qualifying session of the season.

With George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only sixth and seventh on the grid, beaten

by Fernando Alonso, driving a car with the same Power Unit and gearbox as the works team, and unable to get within 0.,6s of Max

Verstappen’s pole position time, the Austrian was quite stern when he faced the media.

Asked if he still believed the car concept could eventually be a winning one, Wolff’s answer surprised everyone: “I don’t think this package is going to be competitive eventually. We gave it our best go over the winter and now we need to regroup, sit down with the engineers, who are totally not dogmatic about anything – there

are no holy cows – and decide what is the development direction that we want to pursue in order to be competitive to win races. It is not like last year when you score many podiums and eventually you get there, I’m sure that we can win races this season, but it’s the mid and long term that we need to look at and which decisions we need to make.”

Quite candidly, Wolff admitted that, “we hit our targets and that’s why we gave it our

best shot. The moment comes when the stopwatch comes out and that showed us that we are not good enough and we have not got enough downforce. We have to find solutions to fix that.”

Asked for specifics of the issues, Wolff had no problems admitting lack of overall downforce is the W14’s main problem: “If you look at mechanical and suspension, then the Aston Martin should have it too.”

WCMS CONFIRMS F1 REGULATION CHANGES

A WORLD Council for Motor Sports meetingwas held on Friday morning in Bahrain, president by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to approve all the changes to the Sporting and Technical Regulations that had been agreed in the previous meeting of the Formula One Commission.

On top of that, it was announced that, “The Invitation to Tender for the Single Supply of tyres to Formula 1 for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons, with an option for 2028, will be launched in the coming weeks.” Pirelli is expected to be unchallenged by any other manufacturer, as the role of being the sole tyre supplier is not particularly attractive from a marketing perspective.

Still on tyres, it was approved, against some drivers’ protests, that the measure to ban tyre blankets for the intermediate and rain tyres once the new constructions would be introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. That decision came on the back of Pirelli’s Racing Director Mario Isola’s comments, that, “the reason Hamilton believes the tyres will offer no grip on the early laps comes from the fact he tested them in very unfavorable conditions, as it was very cold in Jerez when he ran. Racing mostly in warmer conditions, he’ll find there’s a lot more grip on non-pre-heated tyres than what he found when he tested them.”

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FIA President, Mohammed bin Sulayem.

No more wet/intermediate tyre warmers ...

With the FIA taking a more relaxed approach to ancient regulations, radio messages between drivers and the pits were eased, which will benefit the TV broadcasting as the fans will get a better insight of what’s really happening in real time; and Parc Fermé regulations for the Sprint Race events were also eased, allowing the teams to change some parts after the short race, if they demonstrate they were genuinely damaged or worn out before the start of Sunday’s race.

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It was also confirmed that penalty points for the drivers will no longer be imposed if they exceed track limits – loss of the lap being considered enough of a punishment – and also that the DRS zones in a few circuits will be adjusted. That will include the addition of a fourth DRS zone in Melbourne – a first for Formula One – in a bid to increase overtaking at the Australian track.

Also approved were changes currently being made to the layout of five circuits –

Jeddah, Baku, Miami, Zanvoort and Losail – all with the goal of increasing drivers’ safety. The introduction of a compulsory winter shutdown was confirmed, but cut to just to nine days, from December 24 to January 1. That went according to the smaller teams’ request, as the top teams were apparently happy to give their staff up to 12 days around Christmas and New Year.

Finally, a new points system for Sprint Races that don’t reach the scheduled amount of laps was approved, with a sliding scale similar to the one applied to the Sunday races. The budget cap was adjusted from US$1.2 to US$1.8 million more, for the teams to cope with the extra cost brought by increasing the number of Sprint Race events this year from three to six.

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

TEAMS AGREE TO INNOVATIVE WINTER BREAK PENALTY POINTS SYSTEM SET FOR RESHUFFLE ALPINE HAS won half the war it was fighting against the penalty points’ system that has been in effect since the start of the 2014 Formula One World Championship, as new regulations will remove one of the elements that cost Pierre Gasly four of the current 10 points he has on his license.

The change won’t be applied retroactively, as the French team was hoping, meaning that until the end of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Frenchman will be treading on thin water as he’s just two penalty points away from getting a one-race ban.

Four of the penalty points the former AlphaTauri driver collected during the 2022 season came from exceeding track limits – doubling down with losing the respective lap times – an offense that will no longer result in penalty points being applied. Alpine successfully argued that penalty points should be imposed only in cases of dangerous driving – causing incidents, speeding in the pit lane, violating Safety Car and Virtual Safety car regulations – but also wanted the points applied last year for going over the track limits to be removed from each driver’s count.

The FIA, however, argued that applying rules retroactively would create all sorts of legal issues and with a vast majority of the teams supporting the Federation’s view, it was decided the new rules will apply from the Bahrain Grand Prix onwards but will have no bearing on the penalty points accumulated in the past.

The second team that was pushing for a massive overhaul of the penalty points system was Aston Martin. Lance Stroll accumulated eight penalty points last year, a spat of incidents in the final four rounds putting him close to getting an automatic race ban.

The uncertainty surrounding Lance Stroll’s presence in the inaugural race of the season, following his bike accident while training, made this matter less pressing for his father’s team, so in the final meeting before the Bahrain Grand Prix it was mainly left for Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer to push for this regulation change, the Romanian-born American eventually getting the support of all other teams and from the FIA, with the modified rules set to come into effect immediately, if not retrospectively.

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FOR THE first time in the sport’s history all Formula One personnel will be able to spend a quiet Christmas break with their families as the teams have agreed there will be a winter shutdown at the end of this season. While the plan was originally for the factories’ shutdown to start on December 23 and end on January 2, agreement has been reached that the teams will close down on December 24 and will reopen for business on January 1, giving everyone a nine day break.

The increase in the number of Grands Prix, the length of a calendar that goes on for more than nine months, and the massive amount of work each individual now has to do as the budget cap has forced the teams to streamline their operations, increasing everyone’s workload, have led to calls for this break to be put in the regulations. The fact that the 2024 pre-season test is scheduled for one week earlier than this year and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could be pushed back to the second weekend of December, increasing to nine and a half months the time teams

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES will spend on the road, has really convinced the Team Principals this is the right way to go.

For the teams, the fact these days off cannot be counted as official holidays for their staff, means each individual will recover the normal four or five holidays they tended to schedule around the Christmas festivities to another time in the year, so there will be a lot of rescheduling of holidays to be done.

At a time many in the industry were starting to consider the possibility of moving away, because Formula One teams don’t pay comparatively as well as other industries – especially after, for a couple of decades, having had the most attractive salaries – a problem exacerbated by the fact the cost of living in the United Kingdom, where seven of the ten teams are based, has gone through the roof

since Brexit and the situation got worse since Russia attacked and invaded Ukraine.

This measure could be a decisive step to keep Formula One personnel in their current jobs as, together with the mandatory Summer shutdown, this means everyone will have for full two-weeks’ break as well as their contracted 22 days of holidays spread throughout the year.

VASSEUR’S SOFT REVOLUTION HAS STARTED QUIETLY, AND without making a fuss about it, Frédéric Vasseur has already started to make changes at Ferrari, barely seven weeks after taking control of the Scuderia. Very much in line with what was anticipated, the first visible change was the absence from the track and the pit wall of former Head of Strategy Iñaki Rueda, with the highly rated Ravin Jain taking over the position the Spaniard occupied since May of 2015.

Rueda, however, hasn’t left the Scuderia and is now factory-based, in Maranello, and will continue to be a key element of the strategic group as he’ll be the one leading the Virtual Garage during the Grand Prix, filtering all the necessary information for Jain to make the best possible decisions from the pit wall.

Although Vasseur had played down the possibility of making quick changes in the team’s structure, the Frenchman had warned that, “we’ll make some small adjustments, but what you see at the track is just the visible part of the iceberg. And when we spoke about strategy, you were speaking about strategist, and strategy. But it’s not just about one person pushing on a button.

It’s the software, it’s the team at the factory and it’s also process on the pit wall. So, it’s a complete picture rather than about one person.”

Speeding up the decisions requires clear and quick communications and it’s now Rueda’s job to make sure the information coming from the Virtual Garage in Maranello helps the race team to make more informed and timely calls as in the past couple of years there were several hesitations, delays and plainly wrong calls that cost the team and its drivers valuable points and a couple of potential race wins.

With his vast experience in the pit wall, Rueda will be in a position to understand how the Virtual Garage can improve its procedures and expedite the communication, so his input may be even more valuable for the Scuderia than when he was at the tracks even if, for all intents and purposes, he’s been demoted and that’s something no-one takes lightly.

Of Indian descent, British-born Jain had two brief internships at Cateham and Williams but it was after spending a summer as a stagiary at Ferrari that he got a full job in Formula One and, for the last six and a half years, his role has been growing inside the team culminating, now, in his promotion to Head of Strategy.

Another change has been a direct consequence of the difference in background between Vasseur and his predecessor Mattia Binotto.

While the Italian also led the technical department, leaving it up to Laurent Mekies to deal with everything else, the Frenchman has realized Mekies had too much on his plate and has now put him in charge of the race team, leaving to himself the responsibility to do all the work with partners, marketing and communications.

That will allow the younger Frenchman to be fully focused on optimising the operations at the track, helping him to do a more effective job.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH ALPHATAURI? ALPHATAURI HAS unwillingly been thrown into the media headlines following a story published by the highly respected Michael Schmidt in the Auto Motor and Sport website, indicating the team could be up for sale if it was not possible to move the entire operation from Faenza to Milton Keynes, to be operating right next to the company’s main team, Red Bull Racing.

The story gained even more traction when Red Bull’s mentor, Helmut Marko, confirmed to Sky TV Germany that, “in general, we don’t comment on rumors, but it’s understandable that AlphaTauri can’t be satisfied with what it achieved last year – ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

“Such a decision, however, is entirely up to the shareholders – these are rumours that we do not comment on in detail. But

you think about how you can increase efficiency. If you have a team that wins the World Championship and the other one is only around ninth place, the synergies don’t seem to work properly. The overall result is not satisfactory. As proper business people, our shareholders will make the right decision.”

That was certainly not the denial of the story AlphaTauri was hoping for, so Team Principal Franz Tost was forced to issue a statement on Wednesday, saying that, “I had some very good meetings with Oliver Mintzlaff, who confirmed that the shareholders will not sell Scuderia AlphaTauri, and that Red Bull will continue supporting the team in the future. All these rumours have no foundation, and the team has to remain focused for the start of the season to perform better than last year.”

That statement, of course, forced Helmut Marko to deny the story himself, obviously blaming the messenger for “the misunderstanding”, as he called it: “A journalist came to me and actually we just talked about which new manufacturers and investors could be interested in Formula 1. In this context, I never said that Alpha Tauri was for sale, only how the efficiency of our second team could be increased.

It’s no secret that no one can be satisfied with ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship.”

Movements in the background, however, show that Red Bull is open to sell the team, after it was made clear to the Austrians that making it a satellite team operating from Milton Keynes would go against the regulations and would not be allowed by the FIA. The alternative plan was to sell it to

Hitech, transfer the entire operation to the Silverstone area, sell Power Units, gearboxes and other technology to the team until 2030 and have at least one Red Bull-backed driver racing with Oliver Oaks team.

However there are concerns Dmitry Mazepin is still the real owner of the team, a suspicion that seems to have been confirmed when the FIA initiated a due diligence on the team after Oakes applied to get a slot in the World Championship from 2026.

As Mazepin is highly linked to the Russian regime, such a plan wouldn’t be accepted by the Federation, so for now the future of the Faenza structure seems secure as whoever will want to buy AlphaTauri will have to keep the current factory and staff, something that reduces the number of potential interested parties.

BROWN CONFIDENT “NORRIS WILL SEE OUT HIS CONTRACT!” MCLAREN’S CEO Zak Brown has stated that, “Lando will see out his contract with McLaren”, when asked if he was confident the young British driver wouldn’t try to move out of his team if this year’s MCL60 was as disappointing as it looked like in testing.

Even new Team Principal Andrea Stella has admitted that, “we haven’t been able to achieve the targets we had set for the MCL60, so we’re working hard to get a massive upgrade on track as soon as possible”, a solid indication (confirmed last weekend!) that the orange cars are unlikely to feature in the battle immediately behind the top three teams, at least in the early stages of this year’s Formula One World Championship.

Given Norris is very highly rated by other teams as well and that Lewis Hamilton is yet to commit to a new contract with Mercedes – even if both Toto Wolff and the seven-times World Champion insist it’s only a matter of them sitting down and coming up with a deal – it is believed the German team has targeted Norris as the driver they could get to replace Hamilton, with Charles Leclerc being their other alternative.

In Bahrain, Brown was confronted with this possibility and reacted immediately by pointing out that, “Lando is committed to

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McLaren – he signed a long-term contract with us and we’re fully confident he’ll remain with us for a very long time.”

When pointed out to the American that drivers don’t normally have a lot of patience to wait for their teams to come up with a winning car and tend to jump at the first opportunity to move to a more competitive

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squad, Brown insisted that, “Lando is an integral part of the team – he’s been with us for a long time, he knows the steps we are taking to bring McLaren back to the front of the field as soon as possible, he believes in the project we are putting together and, of course, he has a rock solid contract with us as well.”

That led to the inevitable question as to whether Brown’s confidence came from the contract or from Norris genuinely believing the team will make swift progress. The American concluded that, “the confidence comes from knowing what we are doing and believing Lando is an integral part of the team’s future.”

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THE PITLANE MARK ‘LARKO’ LARKHAM HAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT JOBS IN SUPERCARS

By PAUL GOVER THE START of the Gen3 era in Supercars has Mark Larkham full of excitement and anticipation.

He’s been an insider through the process, following the development and of the new Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang from the design stage to final testing.

Now, with Newcastle just days away, he is as ready as anyone in the pitlane to enter a new world.

The difference, for Larkham, is that he has to unravel the complexities of Gen3 and present it to the watching world of armchair fans and experts.

He also has to do it without fear or favour, or any bias, while taking his audience along for the ride. He might be paid as a key member of the broadcast team at Supercars Television, but he knows he works for the fans.

“It’s just a great joy to have the opportunity to explain it to people. We have this incredibly complex game, and there is a lot to explain.

A guess a lot of it will fall in my lap, and I love doing it.

“We don’t need to be boring people at home with geometry lessons. You’re not talking to your engineering mates. You’re talking to people who enjoy motorsport.”

Ask Larkham what he expecting in

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Newcastle and he gives Auto Action a surprising answer.

“When you walk into Newcastle, along the beautiful boardwalk beside the water, there are buckets of fans and families. I think it will be chock-a-block. That’s thoroughly enjoyable,” he says.

“I know I’ve been banging on about this, but I’m looking forward to the moment on Saturday when the cars come around and grid-up for the first race. When that moment happens, Gen3 will be really driven home.

“The cars look spectacular. To see 25 of them lined up, I think, will be seriously pivotal moment in our sport.

“The other objective, for me, is making the cars harder to drive, more challenging for the drivers, increasing the opportunities for mistakes.

“I’m looking forward to seeing that. You won’t see people driving them in sideways, but I think the mistake window has been opened substantially.”

Now he’s up to speed, talking with the enthusiasm of a teenaged fan ahead of their first Supercars race.

“This is a big change for our sport. think we are going to see all sorts of theatre, drama, frustration, a sense of accomplishment for the category. It will be a mix of all those things.

“I think everyone will be really satisfied and entertained. And we have to remember we’re

in the entertainment business.”

His role, as always, is to wizard through the technical stuff to entertain and educate the fans at home. He does it well, very well, but knows he has a bigger workload than usual at Newcastle.

“It’s not just the cars. It’s a new fuelling system, a new fuel rate, new rattle guns, new wheel nuts. The fuel spike guy is standing in a different position.

Larkos place ...

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

“I’ve got a busy weekend ahead, a lot to explain.”

Talking about the Gen3 program, it’s clear that Larkham has his own view.

“When I went to the test day at Willowbank, I stood and said to myself ‘Wow, that looks good’. I’m genuinely exited,” he begins.

“We know it hasn’t been without its problems, and there is some still heavy lifting still to go. But it’s just fabulous.”

WIZARD As an old-school fan, and a Ford frontman through his own touring car years, he is also happy with the Camaro-versus-Mustang field.

“At this point I’m glad we didn’t have another manufacturer come along. It’s GM versus Ford. Same as it was 60-odd years ago, with Allan Moffat in his Mustang and Bob Jane in his Camaro.

“It’s one of the things that differentiates our cars from the rest of the world. I’m so glad

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we’ve landed where we’ve landed.

“By god, that’s what we do. We’re big and bad, we belch flames. If our fans love it, and are excited, I’m all-in.”

As he gets into detail, he admits Supercars made a mistake with the previous Mustang.

“I know I’m a Ford guy, but I’m a motorsport guy first and foremost. I love the Gen3 Mustang because I didn’t like what we did last time.

“That shouldn’t have happened. We, as a sport, should have found a better way around that.

“Now I’m really pleased because the Mustang replicates the road car. We’ve got it back.

“A few years ago, at the Adelaide 500, I saw a Camaro road car. I kept looking at the car, and I was begging, hoping and praying that was where we would go.

“When you see the Camaro, it’s an angry beast. It looks like a tank – it’s got no glass. It looks about six foot wide.”

So he’s talked about the cars, but what about the racing?

Who will be at the front, and why?

“I reckon we’ll get a handle on the one-lap speed pretty quickly. We’ll see the guys who are going to adapt to his new world fairly quickly,” he says.

“They will be the gifted, skilled guys that apply their craft. But that’s only qualifying.

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“The pecking order in terms of a championship ... with all the white noise, it will be a while. In terms of racing, I think we’ll have to wait three or four races. It’s going to be intriguing to see all that play out.”

He is now running at full speed, with an infectious enthusiasm.

“Newcastle is a no-brainer. Big colourful cars that monster a race circuit. That is great imagery, and will also get it from the Gold Coast and Adelaide.

“We’ve got kerbs and bumps there. I’m intrigued to see what happens. And what they look like over the big bump down the back of the hill in Newcastle.

“Anyone, anywhere in the world, can look at that. People are going to be peering over the fence at what we do here in Australia. And that’s kinda cool.”

Larkham is also looking ahead to The Great Race.

“Bathurst is the spot when you’re averaging around 200kmh across the top. That already is the ballsiest bit of track in the country. Now bleed 60 per cent of aero off the Gen3 cars, wow, that’s going to be a massive battle.

“And the cars will get to terminal velocity faster without the drag. Turning into Caltex Chase . . . I’m looking forward to seeing the cars moving around, braking duels into the Chase.”

Larkham has had a privileged inside role through the Gen3 project, imbedded for much of the process.

“I’ve been very close to it. I’ve had to. And I’ve been lucky to do that.

“I started with the engines, then the testing, then the cars. I’ve been close enough to know what I need to know, and then educate people about it.

“I’ve stayed close enough, but I’ve tried very hard not to let my head get full of the drama, the politics, and the parity. I have huge confidence in our ability to get it right. That doesn’t mean parity is going away, but we’re bloody good at it.”

One of his key take-outs is the continued blue-against-red rivalry.

“Did we make the right change? Hand on heart, and not for any political reason, I absolutely believe we’ve made the right decision.

“Fans love V8s, big cars, and drivers. Let’s keep working on getting their kids loving us.

Our fan base has no interest in Ferrari, Audi and those other GT brands.

“And I’m so pleased we’ve landed with Ford versus GM. Part of my job is ensuring every Holden family knows they’ve always been part of the General Motors family, “We are so lucky to have this tribal rivalry in Australia that is part of the culture of what we do. Because it just doesn’t happen anywhere.

We’ll be pleased to feed that beast for some time to come.”

Larkham cannot avoid the technology, and the parity, but he starts with the obvious stuff.

“I love all the techno stuff, but it’s the look of them. We’ve got the best looking touring car racing car in the world. Full stop. And that matters. Kids follow cars that look good.”

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“The other impressive thing, for me, is both the aero and engine parity. People need to understand, we are absolutely there.

“It is utterly, utterly remarkable. You just have to understand how difficult that is to do. That’s right up there, for me, in the remarkable things.

“I seriously didn’t think that could be done. It’s just incredible. And that’s not to say there won’t be adjustment down the track, but everyone has to have an equal opportunity to win.

“But testing doesn’t matter. You have to go and race them.”

As he finalises his preparation for Newcastle, to ‘go live’ on Gen3, he has a clear picture of his objective.

“I like saying ‘Give people the information they need to win the pub argument’,” Larkham says.

LARKHAM IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA

“I love live television. I love it live because when you’re the bunny in the headlights, and you trip up, you’ve got to wheelbarrow yourself out of it,” says Mark Larkham.

“It puts the pressure on. So I really like the live TV. It’s a lot of pressure to do a lot of things in three-and-a-half minutes, it’s a bit competitive.

“I love interviewing other racing people about racing things, but most of all the Hino Hub stuff is me.

“The Hub is my world. I love the Hub.” Larkham has become the pitlane wizard, translating complex technical topics into understandable bite-sized pieces for television viewers.

He is natural, enthusiastic, speaks with authority and experience, but still has the presentation of the bloke next door.

“Without sounding like a smart arse, I think I now the important things people need to

know. If I say it’s my opinion, then it’s my opinion.

“What you get is what you get. I bumble and I stumble and fall, but I’m honest and enthusiastic.

“I love the technical aspect of it; I hate the politics and the bullshit, but I love it as a sport.”

He is also an incredibly hard worker, starting his pre-race preparation a couple of weeks before he goes live to air.

Larkham comes up with ideas for segments, the key talking points, then drives his concepts through his producer Emma ‘Debs’ Debney to Angela Edwards, who produces the telecast, then up to the big boss David Tunnicliffe if he needs to ’sell’ a concept.

“I’m not constantly at it. But you’ve got to stay on top of it.

“I wouldn’t say I’m given a free rein, but they ask what I want to do. Typically, I come up

with the racing concept.

“I think everyone knows I’m not smart. But no-one rings up and tells me do say this or don’t say that. I think it’s really important to be honest with our fans.

“The thing I struggle most of all is telling a seven-minute story in two minutes. I’m not a TV person.”

But he has a clear picture of his goal for every telecast.

“I want to make sure, by the time we get to Sunday afternoon, that everyone should be able to go and have a meal at the pub and know they will be a little bit informed.

“That’s a real target for me this weekend in Newcastle. I want fans to have a good understanding of what it’s all about.

“We should never assume people know this stuff. How would you know what Gen3

Larko went wheel-to-wheel with Mark Skaife in the Formula Holden Australian Gold Star Championship.

Left: mentor and mate Greg ‘Peewee’ Siddle with Garry Rogers. Image: DANIEL KALISZ Below left: wheeling the Team Larko Falcon through the streets of Canberra, 2002. Image: MARK HORSBURGH

means? We’ll pull it back to basics and then start from there.”

Larkham gets more and more excited as he talks about his television work.

“I’m so lucky I’ve landed in this space. It’s not a chore, but it’s created a lot of work for myself.

“I wouldn’t say I’m artistic, but I’m creative. I like visual things. I feel like I’m blessed to hit this sweet spot that works.

“It works, it’s fun, and I love the fans.

“I never, every walk up to the plate and think ‘What does the boss think, or the board of directors?.I think ‘What do our fans think, what do they need to know?’.”

LARKHAM BEHIND THE WHEEL

Most people will have forgotten, or never known, how good Mark Larkham was as a driver.

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He was good enough to put his Ford Falcon on pole position for the Bathurst 1000 in 1999.

He also won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 1989, was a topranked single-seater racer, and competed in production car racing on the way to Supercars and then team ownership.

So he is much more than just a talking head on television.

“Racing consumed my life from 1987 to 2004, first as a driver and then as a team owner,” Larkham recalls.

“I wasn’t Mark Skaife or Craig Lowndes. I haven’t been a (Supercars) champion. But I’ve got a few trophies in the cabinet.

“I knew what my resources were, so I knew I could never compete with them. Like Brad Jones’ team, which punches above their weight.

“For many years we punched above our weight. Won a couple of races. The highlight was putting the car on pole at Bathurst.”

He’s also happy he won the race to find funding for his career, and cashed-out of Supercars with enough money for a farm north of Queensland.

“I came from pretty humble beginnings and I’m satisfied with my time my as a driver. That was cool, and now I get to talk about racing.

How lucky is that.”

He’s had plenty of offers to jump back into a Supercars racer, even if only for a television spot, but says he is not tempted.

“It’s because of the way I am. I’ve done all that. Unless you’re driving a car at 99.99 per cent, you’re a wanker. Yo won’t get any realistic feedback.”

“The game is hard and it’s got even harder.

I put my helmet away and only came back once. It was 2004 at Bathurst, I went back as a co-driver, and quickly realised how difficult it is.

“I didn’t crash, but I was a crash waiting to happen.”

Still he has very happy memories.

“I loved it. Still love it.”

Larkham also got the chance to help a bunch of youngsters, right up to Anton de Pasquale, although his plan for a Junior Academy in Australia – like the ones so popular now for Formula One teams – never got going.

“I’m realistic. Everyone wants to be a champion. But I tell young kids that you need to define what success is for you. I came from being a refrigerator mechanic in Griffith.”

He says he picked up his desire to help from his own mentor, Greg ‘Peewee’ Siddle. He was the long-term importer of Van Dieman

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‘Managment’ Larkham.

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

Bathurst Top 10 Shootout in the Mitre 10 Falcon. Image: MARK HORSBURGH

racing cars for Formula Ford, but had also been the manager for three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet.

“The way he mentored me, as both a racer and a human being, has had an impact on me. He’s godfather to my son, he’s like my other father and has been fro a long-long time.

“I went pretty deep down the route on an Academy. I think it’s sad that didn’t get up. It would have been a good thing for Australian motorsport.

“So many people have a commercial imperative, or another agenda, to steer a driver in a particular direction. I talk to a lot of parents and say ’This is what you should be doing’.”

Once Larkham stopped driving he became

a team boss and it was a downhill slide.

“That is the bit that I don’t miss. That’s what corrupts you in the end.

“Like so many I got into this at Formula Ford because I loved driving, competing and trying to win. By the time I sold the team in 2005 I had 20-something staff, I was writing OHS bulletins, all that office stuff.

“I was looking around and thinking ‘What are you doing here?’. The best thing was to accept the sport had got bigger than me as a team owner.

But he still has an incredible passion for motorsport, right back to his roots.

“Even now, when I walk past the back of a Formula Ford and it’s sitting and idling, and I can smell the Avgas, nothing feels more beautiful than that,” Larkham says.

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ANSWERS AT LAST ON THE STREETS OF NEWCASTLE

IT’S CAMARO VERSUS MUSTANG, CHEVROLET AGAINST FORD, FOR THE START OF THE GEN3 ERA IN SUPERCARS.

By Paul Gover THE BIGGEST re-set in the history of Supercars is here.

The first race of the 2023 season brings massive changes, massive challenges, and a massive chance for a new order at the front of the pack.

No-one really knows what will happen on the streets of Newcastle, or how the season will unroll through the following 12 races.

But one thing is certain – there is uncertainty.

That’s good news for fans, but less good for drivers and teams who will be working flat-out to get the best from their newgeneration Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang racers.

The cars look and sound good, they promise to be more lively with more chances for passing, but how will they react on a flat-out qualifying lap or through the dying stages of a 250-kilometre thrash around Newcastle?

Who has the key for success? Right now, no-one knows.

And there is still still the question of parity – aero and engine – after more than 18 months of design, development and testing of the Gen3 racers.

Shane van Gisbergen and Triple Eight Race Engineering have dominated over the past two seasons of Supercars competition, he should cope if his Camaro is close to the mark, and T8 should have a good handle on the car as the official Chevrolet homologation team.

But …

Andre Heimgartner set the pace at the pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park, and Brad Jones Racing has a history of doing well after a regulation change.

But …

Cam Waters is promising big things and his first serious tilt at the title, he is sharp

Gen3 will launch this weekend, on the tight, treacherous streets of Newcastle. What could possibly go wrong?

Image: DANIEL KALISZ- LAT

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after skidding on speedways through the summer, and Tickford Racing believes it has overcome the early niggles for its Gen3 Mustang.

But …

The cars could be closer than ever on the track and the timing screens, or the change of regulations could spread the field.

This time around, we don’t even know what we don’t know.

And it’s the same for the teams.

They have great simulation tools, and a huge depth of engineering talent throughout the pitlane, but no-one truly knows what it will take to tune the best speed from the Gen3 contenders.

Or how will they react over two 250-kilometre mini-enduros on a track which has punished mistakes in the past.

Cream always rises in motorsport, but how long will it take? And which cars will be best suited to which drivers?

No-one is betting against SvG, but Chaz Mostert will be at short odds and the WAU switch from Holden to Ford will be made easier because everyone is at ground zero with the Gen3 cars.

Mostert and his engineering ace Adam de Bore are like two sides of the same coin, which will work heavily in their favour.

But there are still lots of buts.

Will there be repeats of the wheel-locking dramas suffered by some teams in testing, which culminate in a wheel departing from David Reynolds’ Mustang and a number of teams deciding to manufacture their own nuts to overcome the problem?

Will the very different new engines work in a similar way, what will fuel consumption be like, and will one be better over a race distance?

And what about the planned cut in downforce and aero grip, which is promised to make the cars more lively in all conditions – including the bumps in Newcastle – and harder on tyres?

Until now, most Supercars insiders have predicted a qualifying advantage for the Ford Mustang and a race advantage for the Chevrolet Camaro.

We’re about to find out . . .

2023 SEASON PREVIEW

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DATES – RACES – PLACES MARCH 10-12 – NEWCASTLE 500 Newcastle street circuit, NSW

The bumpy, up-and-down, inner-city street circuit will be a torrid test for the start of the Gen3 revolution. Drivers who like a lively car, and can cope best with the unproven Gen3 package, are most likely to shine. Newcastle provides the most potential for an upset result and a big bill for crash damage – although teams will be tough on drivers without the usual stock of spares.

MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – MELBOURNE 400 Albert Park street circuit, Victoria

If the Gen3 aero parity is right, the AGP meeting should produce some cracker racing. The super-smooth, high-speed Albert Park layout puts a premium on car set-up and aero grip. But it also takes clever tyre management to get the best results over four days.

APRIL 28-20 – PERTH SUPERSPRINT

Driver: Engineer – the key relationship. Tickford debutant Declan Fraser and engineer Chris Stuckey.

Wanneroo Park, Western Australia

THE CHALLENGES OF GETTING GEN3 RIGHT

MAY 19-21 – TASMANIA SUPERSPRINT

TICKFORD’S TIM Edwards says there are plenty of engineering challenges in the new Gen3 cars, but they are different challenges from before. It’s like giving his engineers a new Rubik’s Cube design, they’ve just got to work out a new solution. ANDREW CLARKE spoke with Edwards on the eve of the new era.

This weekend, all the posturing and positioning is replaced by reality and racing, and the teams are as keen for it to get underway as we all are. The Gen3 racers will hit the track for the first time in anger, and we’ll know the truth and if the three-year-long project will return on the only metric that matters, better racing.

We know the ingredients are there, controlled manufacturing but with plenty of adjustability and lower downforce should deliver in spades. Should.

“They look amazing, so that’s a big box ticked” is Tickford Team Principal, Tim Edwards’s first take on the cars that he’ll probably be playing with for a decade. “In terms of how they race and whether they improve their racing, we don’t know yet, because we haven’t raced them.

“That’s obviously the biggest part of it.

Reducing the downforce so they move around more and all the other stuff that you’ve heard in the build-up, is all about improving the racing. But we don’t know yet. When we go testing, we’re not doing the lengths of run to simulate a race, we’re not racing with 24 other cars around us. There are so many things we don’t know yet.”

Tickford was one of the teams to send its drivers out to play at one of its tests to see how close they can run together and to find out what happens when you pull out of a slipstream, but he said while the feedback was positive, it was only a test.

The biggest challenge in Supercars, he says hasn’t changed, and that is managing your tyres and maximising pace over a run.

“You’ve seen it for years now – it's about how we manage the tyres. You never see, or very rarely see, someone just go out and do pretty much a qualifying lap on their first lap on a new tyre in the race. They won’t have the same longevity, and you’ll pay for it at the other end.

“It’s just what we do. It’s not 1960 where you just go for it until the tyre falls off a cliff.

There’s a lot of science goes behind it now.

It’s the same with Formula One – you see

The shortest lap of the season, on a track which traditionally lacks grip, is always likely to throw up some craziness. Short sprints will keep the cars together and also encourage bravery by the drivers to get the smallest edge. It could be the first time the crews need to repair some major battle damage.

Symmons Plains, Tasmania

The track looks simple but the challenge is huge, and the cars are likely to be at their liveliest as teams wind the wings down for maximum speeds on the straights. High speeds and big stops will really challenge the drivers in the new Gen3 cars.

JUNE 16-18 – DARWIN TRIPLE CROWN Hidden Valley, Northern Territory

The blast furnace in the north will create another new challenge for the Gen3 cars, and the long straight will prove if there is any difference between the new powertrains. But it’s also a track which has produced some great racing and, with tyres also punished in the heat, it could be a highlight of 2023.

JULY 7-9 – TOWNSVILLE 500 Townsville, Queensland

More hot-weather racing will keep the pressure high and Townsville is a track where crews have to find a tricky balance for a very mixed challenge. Good drivers do well in Townsville and this year will be no different.

JULY 28-30 – SYDNEY SUPERNIGHT Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

The bright lights will focus on another new challenge at the track which is toughest of all on tyres. The pre-season test at SMP will be deep into the rear-vision mirrors but tyre life and car balance will be critical on a track which is never popular with drivers.

AUGUST 18-20 – THE BEND SUPERSPRINT The Bend, South Australia

A return to AGP-style track conditions will mean a clearer picture of the real running order and the parity work. The Bend can be barren, with very changeable weather conditions, so a bit of winter rain is always a possibility to mix the field.

SEPTEMBER 15-17 – SANDOWN 500 Sandown Park, Victoria

And now the co-drivers get their Gen3 baptism of fire. Sandown always produces great racing, with long straights and big bumps, and the lead-up to Bathurst will be more important than ever as the Camaro and Mustang are put through their first long-distance test of 2023.

OCTOBER 5-9 – BATHURST 1000 Mount Panorama, NSW

History will be made at the heartland of Supercars and a bumper crowd is guaranteed for the Gen3 shootout at the biggest race of the year. Sandown will help everyone to prepare for The Big One, but Mount Panorama has always punished the slightest mistakes and there are certain to be a few with the new cars.

OCTOBER 27-29 – GOLD COAST 500 Gold Coast, Queensland

Battle-scarred cars are always on the cards in the Gold Coast canyons, but crews should have the parts and experience for the inevitable running repairs. Some teams have done better than usual over the kerbs on the ‘coast and that could shuffle the deck again.

NOVEMBER 23-26 – ADELAIDE 500 Adelaide, South Australia

Everyone is hoping the championship will go down to the wire on the mean streets in Adelaide, but that’s one of the other unknowns for 2023. What’s definite is a torrid weekend of racing, up and down the pack, on one of the most popular circuits on Supercars schedule.

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them qualify eight seconds a lap faster than they do on the first lap of the race.

“It’s time management, and there’s a lot that goes into it. That’s why you have all these engineers working out what is the best way.”

Engineers, Edwards says, fall into two camps. One is the widget builders who see a problem and then build something to fix it – they are not that happy with the new cars. The others are not designers, and they are the ones chomping at the bit for this weekend.

“In the past, they’ve come home, and whatever you were suffering with, they’d fire up the CAD machine and start designing a new widget to achieve a different outcome.

They can’t do that anymore.

“That said, there are still hundreds of thousands of combinations of geometry.

While we talk about it as more of a control car than we’ve had in the past, the range of adjustments is not like another control category. There’s very little in most of those categories you can do to set those cars up differently from the guy you’re next to.

“You can probably get it right or you can get it horribly wrong still. There’s still a challenge, but it’s more of a vehicle dynamics challenge, as opposed to a manufacturing and design challenge. It wouldn’t take much to be half a second off the pace, and that could be 15 spots on the grid.

“There’s a lot more virtual simulation going on just to try and optimise all of those setup combinations. It’s a different challenge. I’m sure some of the more design-orientated engineers are probably not rapt with the new cars, but at the moment we’re still stimulating them with plenty of options for them to solve.

“We just give them a different type of Rubik’s Cube.”

Perhaps the biggest stress point for Newcastle is the biggest unknown. What happens when you bend one? Or does the steering break if you bounce off someone or you clip a wall, which will happen?

“We don't know what we don't know.

Unfortunately, we're not flush with spares either. You hope you don't have anything too disastrous on Saturday, because you might not be racing Sunday.

“That's a little daunting, but it’s the same for everybody.”

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AUTO ACTION'S FORM GUIDE THE SUPERCARS class of 2023 ranges from highly-rated rookies to fading stars in the twilight of their career. With the start of a new era, Paul Gover and Andrew Clarke put their thoughts together for the season start.

The new Gen3 regulations promise to mix-and-match the drivers, and their teams, in a new way.

Andre Heimgartner has already shone and Jack Smith, normally closer to the bottom of the grid, also

put in a solid top-10 performance as Brad Jones Racing starred at the pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Will that form carry over to Newcastle, or on to Bathurst, or the

final championship placings?

Perhaps, but . . . Rating the field before the start of the first Gen3 season is more about the experience and enthusiasm of the drivers.

A veteran with a youthful approach

TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: JAMIE WHINCUP SHANE VAN GISBERGEN - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Andrew Edwards AGE: 33 DEBUT: Oran Park 2007 STARTS: 483 BEST QUAL: 1st (x45) PODIUMS: 166 BEST RESULT: 1st (x75) BEST CHAMP POS: 1st (16, 21, 22)

97

He’s been the class of the field for three years, but he’s also had a significant car advantage. How will he go if that advantage is wiped? That said, he’s performed well in various cars so he remains the one to beat.

Copped Bathurst snub in the 12-hour, but we think he’ll have forgotten that by now. AC

SVG is the driver anyone who wants to take this year’s Supercars title will have to go over – or through.

But he’s at the top of his game, he knows how to sprint and also to play the long game, so it will take something special to take him down. The odds-on favourite for the crown. PG

88

BROC FEENEY - CHEVROLET CAMARO

Cracking rookie season, but now he has to learn something completely new and show us what he can do. How he copes with the pressure is the key. AC

ENGINEER: Martin Short AGE: 20 DEBUT: BATH 2020 STARTS: 36 BEST QUAL: 2nd (x2) PODIUMS: 3 BEST RESULT: 1st (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 6th (22)

A future champion? Everything points that way, especially after his breakthrough first win in Adelaide, but the second season can often be the toughest one for youngsters on their way to the top. He needs to ignore van Gisbergen across the garage and concentrate on beating everyone else first. PG

DICK JOHNSON RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: BEN CROKE ANTON DE PASQUALE - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Ludo Lacroix AGE: 27 DEBUT: Adel 2018 STARTS: 154 BEST QUAL: 1st (x15) PODIUMS: 29 BEST RESULT: 1st (x8) BEST CHAMP POS: 4th (22)

11 A disappointing second season with DJR – we’ll need to see the 2021 speed again consistently to be convinced he is what they say he is. AC

He went missing in the midfield for too much of last year and was outclassed by his teammate Will Davison despite his youth and speed. He needs to get the wagon back on track this year to deliver on the potential that earned him one of the most-coveted rides on the grid. PG

17 Age does not weary him, but he does need to find a little more mongrel. Superfast and smooth as anyone, the sky is the limit and can do an Ingall and take it when everyone is focused on his age. AC

WILL DAVISON - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Richard Harris AGE: 40 DEBUT: Winton 2004 STARTS: 518 BEST QUAL: 1st (x28) PODIUMS: 78 BEST RESULT: 1st (x22) BEST CHAMP POS: 2nd (09)

About to be a first-time dad and that could put him in the happy place where he is most settled and dangerous. There were lots of good results last year, especially for an 'old-timer', and he knows he needs another stand-out year to avoid relegation to the co-driver ranks. Don’t bet against him.

TICKFORD RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: TIM EDWARDS JAMES COURTNEY - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Sam Scaffidi AGE: 42 DEBUT: Sand 2005 STARTS: 528 BEST QUAL: 1st (x10) PODIUMS: 64 BEST RESULT: 1st (x15) BEST CHAMP POS: 1st (10)

5 He still has it, but we need to see it more often. Last year he struggled with qualifying – and we know this is a qualifying category, so he has to learn from Waters on how to get a Tickford car to come alive after one lap. AC

Closing in on the end of his career, but doing it with style and the personality missing from much of the field. As ‘wingman’ for Cam Waters, he showed maturity and speed in '22, but he needs more to satisfy himself before he signs off as a full-timer. A new wife and baby mean he is happier and looking younger than he has in the past. PG

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6 The new cars should cure Tickford’s past weaknesses, which have stopped him from hunting down the title. He is a serious contender in 2023, but Tickford is going to have to get it right. AC

CAM WATERS - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Sam Potter AGE: 28 DEBUT: BATH 2011 STARTS: 223 BEST QUAL: 1st (x19) PODIUMS: 42 BEST RESULT: 1st (x8) BEST CHAMP POS: 2nd (20, 22)

The driver most likely to lead the new Mustang runners and take the fight to Shane van Gisbergen. He has all the right ingredients, from talent to hunger, and just needs to find the right mix for an epic recipe. But Tickford also needs to be spot-on in the garage and pitlane to provide the support he needs. PG

2023 SEASON PREVIEW

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FOR THE SUPERCARS FIELD – think new dad James Courtney – could spring a surprise.

A highly-rated rookie – think Super2 champion Declan Fraser – could inject uncertainty and surprise results.

The bottom line?

We don’t know and neither, really, do the teams. Triple Eight and DJR should have an edge in the early races because they have been the ‘homologation’ teams for the Gen3 regulations and have the

most experience after fielding the Supercars prototypes through the test-and-evalution process.

So, once again, Shane van Gisbergen looks like the one to beat and it’s the same story for T8 in the

teams’ title fight.

Newcastle will provide the first signpost, and is certain to spark the early action with the Camaro and Mustang, but it’s only a signpost and not the final destination.

WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED // TEAM PRINCIPAL: BRUCE STEWART NICK PERCAT - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER - Adam Austin AGE: 34 DEBUT: PI 2010 STARTS: 288 BEST QUAL: 1st (x2) PODIUMS: 6 BEST RESULT: 1st (x2) BEST CHAMP POS: 7th (20, 21)

2 I’m not sure he lost that much confidence, but the shoulders will slump quickly if there is a repeat of last season. I’m backing him to rise. AC

The first year alongside Mostert did not go as planned, and he was demoralised by the end of season '22.

Needs a quick reset and early results to restore his confidence. The switch to Mustangs at WAU will not be as challenging with Gen3 as it would have in the past. PG

25 We know he has elbows, and he will fight with his old mate Cam Waters to be the top of the Ford pile, but will that be enough? AC

CHAZ MOSTERT - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER - Adam de Borre AGE: 30 DEBUT: Perth 2013 STARTS: 296 BEST QUAL: 23 PODIUMS: 81 BEST RESULT: 1st (x21) BEST CHAMP POS: 3rd (21,22)

The fan favourite has a silly side that can mask the intensity and talent of one of the top three drivers in Supercars.

If he and his engineering anchor Adam De Borre can click with their new Ford Mustang, they could easily go on a championship rampage. But that question is one of the biggest ones to be answered in 2023. PG

GROVE RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: DAVID CAUCHI MATT PAYNE - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Jack Bell AGE: 20 DEBUT: Bath 2022 STARTS: 1 BEST QUAL: N/A PODIUMS: 0 BEST RESULT: 6th (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 34th (22)

19 One of three rookies, the battle is first to be the best of those. He was good at Bathurst, and the Groves believe in him, but we are yet to see why. Show us why. AC

The highly-touted rookie will have everything he needs at the rapidly-improving Grove outfit, including hard-nosed Garth Tander as his mentor. He has shown lots of potential, but this is 'go time' for the youngster, and he has more pressure than most, with no excuses. PG

26 The sport needs Reynolds to be winning, and the Groves are doing everything to make that possible.

Two poles last year; expect more this year – he can win races. AC

DAVID REYNOLDS - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Alistair McVean AGE: 37 DEBUT: Sand 2007 STARTS: 404 BEST QUAL: 1st (x15) PODIUMS: 38 BEST RESULT: 1st (x7) BEST CHAMP POS: 3rd (15)

His star has lost some of its shine in recent years, but it won’t take much of a polish to get it looking good.

The pocket rocket should have no excuses with the emerging Grove team and is looking forward to the challenge – and rewards – of driving for an outfit looking to get to the top of the order. PG

TICKFORD RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: TIM EDWARDS THOMAS RANDLE - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Ray Lau AGE: 26 DEBUT: Bend 2019 STARTS: 51 BEST QUAL: 2nd (x1) PODIUMS: 1 BEST RESULT: 3rd (x1) BETS CHAMP POS: 23rd (22)

55 Somehow, we expected more from his rookie season; he has all the attributes to win races and needs to do that this year. The Bend crash was bigger than we all understand. AC

Another driver in a make-or-break year. He now has all the knowledge he needs to get on with the job as a Top 10 regular, and everything else is up to his hunger and speed – and the ability of Tickford to provide him with the right car. Cannot afford any mistakes. PG

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56 The reigning Super2 Champion was a late call-up to Tickford, but he’s well-equipped to deliver. Step 1, be the best rookie. Step 2, beat a Tickford driver across the season.

He’s good enough to do both. AC

DECLAN FRASER - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Chris Stuckey AGE: 23 DEBUT: Bath 2022 STARTS: 1 BEST QUAL: N/A PODIUMS: 0 BEST RESULT: 8th (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 36th (x1)

Definitely one to watch after his Super2 title and his classy work with Triple Eight at Bathurst.

Tickford was smart to swoop on the youngster, but he will need to get his elbows out on the track and also in the crowded Tickford garage. PG

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EREBUS MOTORSPORT // TEAM PRINCIPAL: BARRY RYAN WILL BROWN - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Tom Moore AGE: 24 DEBUT: Sand 2018 STARTS: 74 BEST QUAL: 1st (x1) PODIUMS: 5 BEST RESULT: 1st (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 8th (21)

9 In reality, this is crunch time for Brown.

Whether he makes up the numbers or is a contender is on his shoulders alone.

Where is his head at? And can he stay focused for the season and not get distracted by shiny objects? AC

Last year was underwhelming by his high standards. Brown looks like a happy chappy, but he has a burning will to win, and he is desperate to rebound in the first year of the Camaro, which he can do if Erebus is on track with its new cars. PG

BRODIE KOSTECKI - CHEVROLET CAMARO

99 A racer’s racer. A little bit of NASCAR and Trans-Am here and there, he’s well-equipped to take advantage of the new cars, and he leaves nothing on the table, which is good and bad. - AC

ENGINEER: George Commins AGE: 25 DEBUT: Bath 2019 STARTS: 71 BEST QUAL: 1st (x1) PODIUMS: 5 BEST RESULT: 2nd (x2) BEST CHAMP POS: 7th (22)

Like Brown, he wilted last year and craves a return to his earlier form. No one doubts his raw pace and commitment, but only he and Erebus know what went awry last year. Supercars and its fans need him back at the sharp end.

BRAD JONES RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: BRAD JONES JACK SMITH - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Julian Stannard AGE: 23 DEBUT: Tas 2019 STARTS: 105 BEST QUAL: 10th (x2) PODIUMS: 0 BEST RESULT: 10th (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 21st (21)

4 Surprised us at the test day – maybe the new cars will suit him. He cannot continue to be the lowest qualifier if he wants to get anywhere, so his first task is to get up the grid. AC

This is the time, and this is the year. Smith clearly has some talent and speed but needs to hit every track at full pace from the first lap. He takes too long to get up to speed, and that’s his biggest weakness. PG

BRYCE FULLWOOD - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Phil Keed AGE: 24 DEBUT: Sand 2018 STARTS: 101 BEST QUAL: 4th (x1) PODIUMS: 1 BEST RESULT: 3rd (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 14th (21)

14

Yes PG, it is the brightest car in the field, but we haven’t seen enough yet to understand where he sits in the pecking order. He needs to capitalise on BJR’s legendary efforts with major technical changes and keep closer to Heimgartner than last year. AC

The jury is still out on the youngster, who has shown flashes of the right stuff but not enough consistency. He has speed, but that’s not nearly enough to shine – despite the boldest colours of all in the Supercars business. PG

8

Emerging and fast, and big technical change always works well for BJR. His test day speed will prove no fluke, but he’ll need a little luck to run an entire season with the big boys. AC

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ENGINEER: Tony Woodward AGE: 27 DEBUT: Bath 2014 STARTS: 216 BEST QUAL: 1st (x2) PODIUMS: 9 BEST RESULT: 1st (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 10th (22)

The potential breakout star of 2023. He looks happy and at home with the Brad Jones crew, and a happy driver is a successful racer. He made the right move with the trip to Albury last year and has already shown impressive speed in the pre-season testing. Watch him go. PG

96 See Jack Smith – ie must qualify better to use the technical expertise at BJR best. If he’s in the bottom two of qualifying again, there’ll be questions from us, if not from his father. AC

MACAULEY JONES - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Andrew Donnelly AGE: 28 DEBUT: Sand 2015 STARTS: 146 BEST QUAL: 8th (x2) PODIUMS: 0 BEST RESULT: 6th (x2) BEST CHAMP POS: 19th (20,22)

Has a wise head and a super-fit body, but something is still missing as he looks to move up the field. BJR has a history of early success after technical changes and that could provide the spark he needs. PG

AND THE WILDCARDS? In adddition to the 25 cars locked for the 2023 season, the prospect of several 'wildcard entries' promises some additional on track action. Supercheap Auto has already confirmed its entry for the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000, with Craig Lowndes and Zane Goddard.

Add the spice of Peter Adderton running a Boost Mobile backed Camaro. He says he wants to run Richie Stanaway in a sprint round or two. Stay tuned as the season develops.

ANDRE HEIMGARTNER - CHEVROLET CAMARO

2023 SEASON PREVIEW

Brought to you by

TEAM 18 // TEAM PRINCIPAL: CHARLIE SCHWERKOLT MARK WINTERBOTTOM - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Manuel Sanchez AGE: 41 DEBUT: Sand 2003 STARTS: 593 BEST QUAL: 1st (x36) PODIUMS: 117 BEST RESULT: 1st (x38) BEST CHAMP POS: 1st (15)

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Could get a boost with the old style of car, so I’m expecting him to run high early. He needs the team to step up, and all the signs are there that it can happen. AC

He is already making the gradual switch to management and team ambassador, but the feisty racer is never far from the surface. Frosty still fights for every position in every race and that means he is still worth watching. PG

SCOTT PYE - CHEVROLET CAMARO

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ENGINEER: Richard Hollway AGE: 33 DEBUT: Sand 2012 STARTS: 312 BEST QUAL: 1st (x1) PODIUMS: 10 BEST RESULT: 1st (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 7th (18)

Was dogged by bad luck last year, but you can argue that you make your own luck in this sport. He needs to stay out of trouble and knock off Frosty, or the twilight may be very short. AC

Looked lost last year, not for lack of trying, and also got involved in some silly incidents. He needs to clean things up, bank the backing from Charlie Schwerkolt, and keep his eyes forward. The first job is to ensure he sends Winterbottom to the co-drivers bench by dominating as team leader. PG

MATT STONE RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: PETER VALE JACK LE BROCQ - CHEVROLET CAMARO ENGINEER: Jack Bellotti AGE: 28 DEBUT: Sand 2015 STARTS: 170 BEST QUAL: 2nd (x1) PODIUMS: 2 BEST RESULT: 1st (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 15th (20)

34 He’s a race winner from his days at Tickford, but outwardly Matt Stone Racing looks to be the team least able to capitalise on the change to Gen3. He can step up, but it is going to be a tough year. AC

One of the nicer guys in the pitlane but an also-ran for much of his career. He might surprise with some good results, but despite Matt Stone’s commitment to his small crew, it’s unlikely to be more than irregular. PG

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CAMERON HILL - CHEVROLET CAMARO

The rookie was beaten in Super2 last year, but his efforts at Bathurst impressed Stone and he was signed up quite early for this season. Read comments for #34: ie A pass mark is beating his teammate and the tailenders at BJR. AC

ENGINEER: Paul Forgie AGE: 26 DEBUT: Bath 2022 STARTS: 1 BEST QUAL: N/A PODIUMS: 0 BEST RESULT: 21st (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 51st (22)

Graduating to the main game is the biggest challenge, and Hill has shown it takes him time to give his best.

He could – maybe should – have been Super2 champion after earlier successes, but he’s a smart guy with a business brain and should work things out. PG

PREMIAIR RACING // TEAM PRINCIPAL: MATT COOK TIM SLADE - CHEVROLET CAMARO

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ENGINEER: Phillip De Fazio AGE: 37 DEBUT: Adel 2009 STARTS: 399 BEST QUAL: 1st (x2) PODIUMS: 17 BEST RESULT: 1st (x2) BEST CHAMP POS: 5th (12)

Big move for the veteran, and we think PremiAir will be on the rise.

Last year he was inconsistent, which was part car, part driver. Needs to wipe out the poor rounds and finish top 10 in the series. AC

Team owner Peter Xiberras is doing everything he can to push his revamped and revitalised squad up the rankings, and Slade is a key part of the plan. He brings experience but is still youthful and hungry. He won’t have an easy run alongside James Golding but should get what he needs to prove he is more than just one of the Supercars pack.

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JAMES GOLDING - CHEVROLET CAMARO

I rate Golding, and he was a good mid-season pick-up for the fledgling team. A new car and greater investment raises the pressure, so we’re looking for regular top-five running and a podium or two. Not much to ask, is it? AC

ENGINEER: Geoff Slater AGE: 27 DEBUT: Sand 2016 STARTS: 71 BEST QUAL: 6th (x1) PODIUMS: 0 BEST RESULT: 4th (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 20th (19)

His mid-season injection into the tail-ender team produced immediate results, and now the challenge is to keep the momentum. Having Slade as a teammate could cut either way, but Golding has proven he has the speed to be more than just a midfield runner.

BLANCHARD RACING TEAM // TEAM PRINCIPAL: TIM BLANCHARD TODD HAZELWOOD - FORD MUSTANG ENGINEER: Mirko De Rosa AGE: 27 DEBUT: QR 2017 STARTS: 159 BEST QUAL: 1 (x1) PODIUMS: 1 BEST RESULT: 3rd (x1) BEST CHAMP POS: 13th (21)

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New year and new opportunity for the likeable South Australian. Might benefit from being first on the track with the new car, but must be knocking on the door of the top 10 to regard the season as a success. AC

A team switch means a big opportunity for the youngster. Driving in a single-car team means he will be the sole focus. But it also means there will be nowhere to hide, and he won’t have the data or backup from teammates to fall back on. PG

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WEC PREVIEW

THE ‘NEW WEC ERA’ A BIG LEAP FORWARD

THE 2023 SEASON OF THE WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP IS SET TO GO TO NEW HEIGHTS THIS SEASON, AS ITS PREMIER HYPERCAR CLASS NOT ONLY DOUBLES IN SIZE, BUT BRINGS THE MANUFACTURER AND IMSA CROSSOVER THAT THE SPORT HAS BEEN CRAVING. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

IT’S A huge season for the WEC, as 2023 marks the year that the pinnacle Hypercar class sees the growth that sportscar prototype fans were craving for after the LMH (Le Mans Hypercars) cars made their debut in 2021.

It also marks the first time in 10 years that IMSA and WEC will cross paths in the inseason of the WEC. Since the collapse of the monster budgeted LMP1 WEC class, the LMH vehicles have been running with limited numbers with an eye to the future (six entrants/four manufacturers in 2022), but with the advent of the IMSA’s new GTP LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) vehicles entering WEC, and the addition of new teams and manufacturers, the stage is set for an historic hypercar boom.

Whilst the Alpine Elf Team will briefly drop out of the class until 2024 (after it was given special dispensation to race an LMP1 based hypercar in 2022), that leaves the original LMH pioneers Toyota, Glickenhaus, and the 2022 Peugeot, as well as a few global giants that have been added to the line up.

Also joining in 2023 is the team built Vanwall Vandervell entry.

The new manufacturers crossing from IMSA include Cadillac and Porsche, whilst the

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historic return of Ferrari, with the new 499P LMH, marks its return to sportscar racing after an astonishing 50 year absence!

What 2023 will offer in Hypercar grid growth, is also just the preamble to what is coming in 2024.

The ’24 season will add even more manufacturer firepower, with BMW committing its IMSA current Hybrid V8 to the WEC, Lamborghini entering with a new Twin-Turbo LMDh, and Alpine returning with a redesigned LMDh after using the ORECA constructed A480.

All of a sudden, WEC’s 2023 Hypercar class will feature 13 cars, bringing more distinct variety, and more world class drivers to the globe’s premier endurance championship.

As well as the growth of the LM-GTE Am class which will feature 13 teams, four manufacturers, and 14 entries, the second tier Sportscar class will feature a six nation/11 car LMP2 field.

All up, the season will feature 38 entries from 12 different nations: Italy (9), Germany (6), USA (5); Great Britain (4), France (4), Japan (3), Belgium (2), Canada (1), Switzerland (1), Poland (1), Austria (1), Oman (1).

It’s also the year to celebrate 100 years of

the world’s most iconic endurance race, and the flagship of the WECs 11th season … the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

THE HYPERCAR REVOLUTION CROSSOVER

THE WAIT for the new entries and expanded Hypercar grid will end at Sebring International raceway on March 11-12, for the 1000 Miles of Sebring.

It begins the first step in the crossover of LMDh and LMH regulation cars, with Porsche

committing four 963 LMDh cars to the WEC, and Cadillac entering the season with one V Series LMDh (three for Le Mans).

For the Floyd Vanwall Vandervell team, they’ll enter with the Vanwall Vandervell 680 LMH after being rejected entry in 2022 by the FIA and ACO (Automobile Club de L’Ouest) for not meeting homologation standards.

With the initial ruleset for both makes aimed at severe cost cutting, the major aim was to maintain a BOP (Balance of Performance) to facilitate the crossover between the flagship

Daytona 24 and Le Mans 24 events, as well as the full WEC and IMSA seasons.

But whilst the GTP IMSA cars will enter the WEC and Le Mans 24 this year, the LMH hypercars won’t enter IMSA or the Daytona 24 until 2024.

Although designed with a strict BOP standard, the set regulations between the LMH and LMDh are quite different when it comes to the construction regulations and freedoms afforded.

LMH/LMDh REGULATION DIFFERENCES

THE WEC’S LMH prototype cars are permitted far more freedom of expression – cars can be built completely from scratch, as well as having the option of using their own hybrid system (a stipulation of Toyota) or, in turn, not having a hybrid system at all, in which case (Glickenhaus and Vanwall Vandervell) will have their engines tuned down to match performance.

The powertrain/engine design is also open for the LMH’s five manufacturers, albeit restricted to the use of a four stroke petrol engine – the same for LMDh. The production-based engine, however, may be slightly altered via machining or the addition of material, but the valves and camshafts must remain fitted as per the road legal Hyper/Supercars.

For the LMDh manufacturers, the freedom of chassis design is limited to four licensed constructors: Oreca, Dallara, Ligier and Multimatic.

The engine choice is free – within the scope of regulations – but the choice of hybrid system is limited to a spec 50hp hybrid system, with the motor supplied by Bosch, and the power management and energy storage system made by Williams Advanced engineering.

Similarly, its gearbox system is also controlled, and provided by British transmission developers, Xtrac.

The internal combustion engine in an LMDh is also limited to 640 hp (compared to the LMH’s 671 hp), and combined with its spec hybrid system, it must then cap its maximum power output at 671hp to match the overall output of an LMH. Another major difference between the two regulations is that the LMH hybrid system can deliver power to both its front and rear wheels, whilst the LMDh is limited to a front wheel distribution, and cannot run at very low speeds on electric alone.

Aerodynamics in the LMDh are also controlled by the chosen chassis provider with the slight freedom of adding any identifiable manufacturer body work whilst keeping the downforce drag ratio at 4:1; whereas the LMHs technical rules offer far more freedom, with bodywork and floor design almost completely liberal (barring any safety regs).

Compared to the WECs former LMP1 class, both the LMH and LMDh are around 15-20% heavier, with the FIA capping the overall weight at 1,030 kg.

2023 WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR 1000 Miles of Sebring (USA) March 17 6 Hours of Portimao (PRT) April 16 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps (BEL) April 29 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) June 10-11 6 Hours of Monza (ITA) July 9 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN) September 10 8 Hours of Bahrain (BHR) November 4

LMP2 AND LMGTE AM CLASSES

WITH 11 entries spanning six nations (Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, USA) the LMP2 class also sees an impressive injection of new drivers to the WEC. Current F2 driver Juan Manuel Correa will race for Prema, whilst current F1 reserve driver and racing journeyman, HAAS’ Pietro Fittipaldi, will race for defending British champions, Jota.

Also competing in 2023 are the highly recognised endurance specialists: Filipe Albuquerque, Oliver Jarvis, Phil Hanson, Tom Blomqvist, Mathieu Vaxiviere and Andre Negrao.

The two-car entrants will be WRT, Alpine Elf Team, United AutoSports, and Prema.

Last season was dominated by three teams, with all the wins split between Jota, WRT, and UnitedAutosports, with Vector Sports the only other team to even score a podium.

In the production based LMGTE Am class, a record breaking 14 entries over 13 teams will take to the new season, with the four global giants of Porsche (911 RSR-19), Ferrari (488 GTE-EVO), Aston Martin (Vantage AMR), and Corvette (C8.R) providing the machinery.

Defending champions and Ferrari team AF Corse welcome former LMP2 team Richard Mills Racing on board to form a new joint Ferrari team, whilst Corvette also return after their welcome 2022 WEC comeback.

Last season saw a complete dominance of three teams, with AF Corse, Porsche GT Team, and Corvette Racing, splitting all the wins and podiums between them.

A CENTURY OF THE 24 HEURES DU MANS: 1923-2023

ON MAY 26-27 of 1923, French nationals Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard drove a 3-Litre Chenard-Walcker Type U3 15CV Sport to victory through the streets and outskirts of Le Mans to Mulsanne and back, beating out 37 entries over 20 manufacturers, and completing 128 laps.

Although officially run over three 24 Hour races over the space of three years to decide

a manufacturer winner, the first ever Le Mans Trophy – the Rudge Whitworth triennial cup – wasn’t awarded until 1925, which ChenardWalcker eventually did win after a consistent three-year showing.

Fast forward 100 years, and the railway and mining engineers, Ernest Chenard and Henri Walcker – builders of the first ever Le Mans winner – would likely suffer heart attacks should they witness any one of the 16 Hypercar entries confirmed for 2023.

The 62 car entry for the 100th anniversary will feature 16 GTP/Hypercars, 24 LMP2 entries, 21 LMGTE cars…and 1 NASCAR Camaro, entered by Hendrick Motorsports and the 56 project, piloted by Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller.

Making up the extra Hypercar entries will be two more Cadillac’s, An extra Porsche Penske 963, and another Glickenhaus – with the WEC Proton Competition Porsche dropping out.

NEW WEC REGULATIONS

THE MOST notable change in regulation is the banning of tyre heating, with the FIA and ACO saying it was “designed to reduce the teams’ environmental impact”.

Hypercar Team owner and Manufacturer, Jim Glickenhaus, described the reasoning as absurd, adding “I think we have to study the math. If it [having cold tyres] causes one crash, how much energy does that cost, to rebuild the car?”

Watching the Daytona 24, it was evident that the GTP cars didn’t handle particularly well on cold tyres.

2023 also sees a change in the qualifying format, with each class given a seperate 15-minute session, as opposed to previously, when the LMH and LMP2 classes ran in the same session.

Full Course Yellows in 2023 also dictate the closure of pit lane in order to mitigate the impact of FCY periods on the eventual result of the race. The only exception to this rule is for cars that are damaged, or are too low on fuel, in which case, a strict five second window is allotted under FCY running.

WEC returns to its collection of mostly ‘classic’ circuits such as Fuji (left), Monza (right) and Le Mans (above left) and newer additions such as Portimao (above).

Ferrari (top right) brings its 488 GTE-EVO to the popular LMGTE Am class.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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WEC PREVIEW

MANUFACTURER BOOM: A BOLD NEW GRID THE 2023 WEC SEASON SEES ITS NEW HYPERCAR ERA EXPAND TO A 12-CAR GRID WITH THE ADDITION OF SOME MANUFACTURING GIANTS, THE IMSA LMDH PROTOTYPES, AND SOME BOUTIQUE HOPEFULS. AA’S TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS TEAM: AF CORSE

DRIVERS: #50 A ntonia Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielson #51 Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado

FERRARI 499P LMH: THE HISTORIC RETURN

FERRARI RETURNS to the sportscar world after a 50 year sabbatical with the Ferrari 499P. It features hybrid-powered four-wheel-drive and a 3-litre twin-turbocharged V6, that shares its architecture with the 296 GT3.

Whilst its Hybrid component is built inhouse, Ferrari also chose to go with the Xtrac seven-speed sequential transmission.

When Ferrari chose to follow the LMH path over the LMDh route, they did so to keep this new sportscar as Ferrari-based as possible.

“Well, this is our car. So, basically, we can optimise everything we want in the chassis, on the suspension ... everything,” explained Ferdinando Cannizzo, technical director for the 499P. “We’ve transferred all the know-how we collected with GT and F1 racing, which was not possible in the other case (LMDh regulations).”

The last time a Ferrari took to Le Mans 24 Hour in a sportscar was 1973 with the 312 PB, and the last time it won was 1965, in a 250 LM. Despite winning the World Sportscar Championship in 1972, the Italians pulled the pin altogether to focus on its ailing F1 program.

Its two team, six-driver line-up, includes former Alfa Romeo F1 driver, and F1 Scuderia Reserve Driver, Antonio Giovinazzi.

“The first word was Wow! I found myself

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in front of a wonderful prototype from Maranello, something that hadn’t been seen for half a century ... It was an emotion that I find difficult to put into words. And as for the car … it’s beautiful to drive.”

The 499P has just finished its last major test, a non-stop two-day hit-out at Sebring, but Giovinazzi knows they’re going in raw.

“We will make a humble start – aware that we are making our debut in this category and that we still have a lot of work to do.”

TEAM: TOYOTA GAZOO RACING

DRIVERS: #7 Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez #8 Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

TOYOTA GR010 HYBRID LMH: THE PARTY GUESTS FINALLY ARRIVE

FOR TWO seasons, the Toyota Gazoo Racing team had its way in the WEC Hypercar class.

Undefeated in the inaugural LMH 2021 year, competition was limited to Alpine and Glickenhaus, whilst Peugeot joined the show in 2022 when Alpine split the two Gazoo teams to finish second.

Toyota helped dictate the initial set of LMH regulations with the ACO, declaring it vital that the brand could push its Japanese-based Hybrid technology into the new generation of Hypercars.

The GR 010 is based on the 2018 Toyota GR Super Sport Concept, and carries Toyota’s H8909, 3.5-litre Twin-turbocharged V6, with an in-house hybrid system run on lithium-ion batteries.

It has a Transversal 7-speed sequential semi-automatic transmission, with independent front and rear pushrod systems.

The two teams have only made one change over the course of two years, and will enter 2023 with the same line-up from last year, as it looks to prove itself against the in-coming motoring giants from Italy, Germany, and America.

TEAM: PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES DRIVERS: #93 Loic Duval, Mikkel Jensen and Gustavo Menezes #94 N ico Muller, Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne

PEUGEOT 9X8 LMH: HAS THE LION REMOVED ITS THORN?

PEUGEOT JOINED the WEC halfway through 2022 at Monza, immediately finding itself in the rear of the field, where it then stayed due to a lack of pace and reliability issues.

The team has made sure 2023 starts with a more assured footing, having already completed two 30 hour sessions at Paul Ricard and Algarve, with a third currently underway.

The distinctly Mohawked 9X8 has no rear

wing, instead relying on underbody aero.

“We realised we had a fixed downforce to achieve, and almost complete freedom to do it,” said Peugeot’s tech director, Olivier Jansonnie.

“This combination of fixed targets and freedom makes you think, and try new ideas. We found we could achieve the level of performance required without the rear wing.”

The 9X8 has a mid-bodied 2.6-litre twinturbo V6 engine, mated to an electric motor, developed in-house by Stellantis as per LMH allowances, with a seperate frontmounted MGU. Its electric engine powertrain setup is similar to that found in the road going Peugeot 508 Sport, with the 908 being its LMP predecessor.

Their two car team also features former British Force India F1 driver, and Williams/ McLaren Reserve driver, Paul Di Resta.

PORSCHE 963 LMDh: PENSKE’S LE MANS DREAM RETURNS

HAVING DEBUTED the 963 at IMSA’s flagship Daytona 24, the powerful PorschePenske union will send four of its cars to the

TEAMS: PORSCHE-PENSKE MOTORSPORT #5/#6 HERTZ TEAM JOTA #38 PROTON COMPETITION #99

DRIVERS: #5 Dane Cameron/Michael Christensen /Frederic Makowiecki #6 Kevin Estre/Andre Lotterer /Laurens Vanthoor #38 Yifei Ye/Antonio Felix da Costa /Will Stevens #99 Gianmaria Bruni/TBA/TBA

Xtrac 7 speed transmission.

And whilst the engine development started from its 918 base, it was also amalgamated with the 3397cc V8 found in the RS Spyder.

Porsche was the first manufacturer to commit to the LMDh class, and has also done the most reliability testing out of the IMSA based manufactures, fully preparing itself to be successful over both championships.

TEAM: CADILLAC RACING

LMH equals ‘Wow’ factor: Ferrari returns (left) with its stunning 499P; Toyota with the GR010 hybrid (bottom left) ; and Peugeot with its wingless 9X8 (below).

Porsche is presenting a full-on LMDh challenge with its 963 (top right); taking on Cadillac (centre right); while Vanwall’s Vandervell 680 (right) and the Glickenhaus SCG 007 (bottom of page) face off in the LMH non-hybrid contest.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES/SUPPLIED WEC is 2023, as the German automotive giant consolidate its return to the top of the sportscar world since its WEC exit in 2017, retiring its 919 Hybrid.

Two of the entries will operate Proton Competition and Hertz Team Jota, whilst adding a third Porsche-Penske to its Le Mans 24 tilt, which Roger Penske has deep desire for winning.

“There’s always that one you want, and I think that’s one of the things that Le Mans would mean to us as a team. Certainly for me personally. It’s a goal that we want to achieve,” Penske said.

Porsche opted to go with the Canadian Multimatic as its future-gen LMP2 chassis provider, as the companies had previously worked together on the 919.

The engine is based on the 918 road car – a 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8, which is paired with the IMSA specified hybrid components, and

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DRIVERS: #2 Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook

CADILLAC V-SERIES.R LMDh: THAT FAMILIAR V8 ROAR

CADILLAC HAVE opted for a single car WEC attack in 2023, but will sweeten the payload with a three-prong assault on the Le Mans 24, following its debut IMSA podium at the Daytona 24.

Out of all the LMDh manufactures, the V-Series has the largest engine displacement in the field, featuring a distinctly loud and naturally aspirated 5.5-litre DOHC V-8 engine, developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team in Pontiac, Michigan.

Cadillac decided to stick with its larger engine (continuing from its successful DPi approach) to assist in cooling, and create less stress on the capped 670hp allowed across both series’.

“The engine has a solid balance of torque and power output across a wide range of circumstances,” said Kalvin Parker, assistant program manager of Cadillac Racing.

“When choosing the engine for the V-LMDh, we designed an engine that took all the learnings we’ve had from past programs, applying them in a way we felt would bring success across a wide range of circuits.”

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And as per-LMDh regulations, it carries the same hybrid components and 7 speed transmission as its IMSA counterparts.

Cadillac went with Dallara for its Chassis provider, and managed to keep the brand’s sleek classic winged feel with its floating blades and distinct vertical lights.

TEAM: GLICKENHAUS RACING DRIVERS: #708 Ryan Briscoe, Olivier Pla, Romain Dumas

GLICKENHAUS SCG 007 LMH NON-HYBRID: HYBRID GIANT SLAYERS?

THE AMERICAN boutique manufacturer made big strides in 2022 after its shaky debut in ‘21, almost pulling off a victory from pole at the Monza 6 Hour before an engine failure rained on the miracle.

Team owner James Glickenhaus says the minnows did “tolerably well” in 2022, taking three podiums, with pole positions at Spa and Monza.

The SCG 007 was designed by Podium Advanced Technologies, with a 3.5 Litre twin-turbocharged engine V8, built by rally specialists Pipo Moteurs.

The team was initially blindsided pre-2021 by the regulators, originally using a 670hp twin-turbo V6 Alfa Romeo unit. Regulators then raised the hp to between 680 hp/785 hp, before the FIA endurance commission settled on 670hp.

In that time space, they had the very expensive 870hp Pipo engine built, and couldn’t afford to revert back after making the financial commitment.

For Aussie racing fans, this is the team to follow, with Ryan Briscoe having been there since its inception.

TEAM: FLOYD VANWALL VANDERVELL DRIVERS: #4 Tom Dillmann, Esteban Guerrieri, Jacques Villeneuve

VANWALL VANDERVELL 680 LMH NON-HYBRID: THE F1 STAR BRINGER

THE FLOYD/BYKOLLES Vanwall Vandervell project has had a long journey to the WEC LMH class.

Swinging lawsuits over the use of the trademarked Vanwall name are still ongoing. Nonetheless, after ByKolles just lost the naming-rights lawsuit they had previously won, they’ve appealed, meaning it’s still listed with the Vanwall name with WEC. Despite the uncertainty – which threatened its involvement in the WEC – ByKolles still managed to bag a fairly big fish, that of 1997 F1 World Champion, Jacques Villeneuve.

The 680 chassis is built in house in Austria, based on the ByKolles team’s previous LMP1 generation CLM P1/01.

They’ve opted for the highly reliable LMP2 standard, naturally-aspirated 4.5-litre Gibson V8 90 degreed cylinder mid engine, which can produce up to 700hp.

“It’s a heavy car and it’s fast. It wasn’t easy to drive but the car was still in its infancy,” Villeneuve said.

“So, there was still a lot to do on balance and the car was a little bit surprising at moments as it would catch you out which could make it difficult for a six or eight hour race.

There’s still a lot of work to do but the basics of it are there.”

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SPEEDWAY

LACHLAN McHUGH TAKES FIRST KRIKKE BOYS SHOOTOUT

Carter, Jason Carbone and Darren Wood were a lap in arrears and Gavin Casey the lone retiree.

Lachlan McHugh (#7), Krikke Boys Shootout winner battles Ian Madsen.

Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY

THE KRIKKE Boys Shootout is one of, it not the most emotionally-charged events on the national Sprintcar calendar as thye sport celebrates the memory of Darryl and Jason Krikke and, more recently, Shane Krikke. The 26th running of the event in conjunction with Round 12 of the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series proved a ripping affair as 33 cars took to the Perth Motorplex.

Competitors raced the clock and setting the quickest time was Matthew Dumesny with a 13.290. However drama quickly followed at the completion of qualifying as Matthew, and Shaun Bradford, were disqualified as both cars failed to carry the correct contingency sponsor decals as stated in the rules.

A disgruntled Matthew withdrew from the program in protest of the decision, while Bradford would rebuild his quest from scratch. Local racer AJ Nash then inherited Quick Time with a 13.350, edging out Kerry Madsen, defending Krikke Shootout winner Kris Coyle rounding out the top three.

For the final Kerry Madsen lined up alongside the newly crowd A1 Jock Goodyer. The red lights soon blazed for a five car pileup, taking Jason Kendrick, Kye Scroop, Jason Pryde and Bradley Maiolo all out of the running before a single lap had been run.

This would trigger successive incidents before the race settled into rhythm as Madsen led the field before Lachlan McHugh soon rocketed by to take command.

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Tim King, WA Limited Sprintcar Champion

A late race stoppage set up an exciting five-way battle for the lead before Madsen and Marcus Dumensy spun bringing one more roll of the dice into play. McHugh then got the upper hand to take the win to claim his maiden Krikke Boys Shootout. A fastfinishing Jamie Veal advanced to second and Goodyer took the final podium position.

Dayne Kingshott was next in the first of the two Krikke Motorsport entries followed by Daniel Harding, Luke Oldfield, James Inglis, Nash, Luke Dillon, Taylor Milling, Marcus Dumesny and Madsen in the second of the Krikke cars for the top dozen, followed by his brother Ian. Chad Ely, Ryan Lancaster and Matthew Cross rounding out the 16 of 24 to go the distance, while Coyle, Callum Williamson, Trent Pigdon, Jaydee Dack, all retired along the journey.

C. Williamson, Dack and Goodyer shared the heats. The A, B and Mid Pack Dashes went to Kerry Madsen, Goodyer and Inglis while Maiolo grabbed the B Main.

SUPPORTS

DUAL WEST Australian Championships, The Freo Group Formula 500 and the Keen Brothers Truck Driver Training Limited Sprintcars titles ran over two nights of competition along with The Pool Shop Group Speedcars made it an all open-wheel extravaganza.

From a field of 27 Formula 500s Steven Ellement led the express 20-lap final, adding a fifth state crown to his CV. American gun Jake Hagopian chased hard as did Matt Brown and Mark House

SPEEDWAY NEWS

Tim King inherited the lead on lap 15 of 25 of the Limited Sprintcar final from the retiring Michael Keen who looked comfortable with a 2.5 second lead before Kyle Francis brought on the reds with a heavy roll in the main straight. With four laps remaining, King found the quickest way to Victory Lane with Dominic Rifici and Joel Ettridge sharing the podium.

Outgoing Champion Tim Boujos gave his title defence everything he could, rocketing from 22nd to fourth, followed by Craig Bottrell, Chad Pittard, Aaron Chircop, Glenn Dickinson, Greg Clarke and Matthew Laughton making up the top 10. They were trailed by home Nash Waldron, Anthony Gaudio, Mike Hanlon and Mat Borgas on the prime lap. John Magerl, Blake Jackson and Jason Jones squared off the finishers.

Kaiden Manders, Speedcar feature race winner

with Paris Charles to round out the podium. Glenn Carstairs, Brendon Marshman, Ryan Higgs, David Sinagra, Jett Speed, Angus Hollis and Jordan Mansell finished on the lead lap.

Glen Mears, Brendan Newmarch, Alfonso Guadagnino, Jake Pobjoy, Hayden Pascoe, Robert Rankin, Jayden Maughan, David Carstairs, Jamie Pages, Troy Samwell, Steve

Steven Ellement (#2), WA Formula 500 Champion.

Kaiden Manders claimed the Speedcar final over Daniel Harding, Kaidon Brown and Beau Doyle the fourth and final runner on the lead lap. Declan Minchin, Cory Smith, Aron Sharp and Joel Watson were the final cars to see the chequered flag.

NEWTON NAILS IT!

Image: RAY RITTER

Ryan Newton racks up his first feature win of the season.

Image: CHRIS METCALF

QUICK KIWI KALEB CURRIE’S WIN

ON A wild incident-packed night at Archerfield Speedway, Ryan Newton outgunned the field of 27 fellow competitors to win Round 6 of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship.

Newton set a cracking pace to lead from flag to flag in the 30-lap final, riding the ragged edge and bouncing off the wall on several occasions before landing in Victory Lane to notch up his first feature win of the season. Finishing second and third respectively were Tim Farrell and Adam Butler, also turning in their best results of the season. Aaron Kelly and Randy Morgan completed the first five finishers, trailed by Trent Vardy, Kevin Titman, Brent Kratzmann, Harry Stewart, Dan Murray, Jack Bell and Mitch Gowland rounding out the top dozen,

all finishing on the lead lap. Further back were Jy Corbet, Taylor Prosser, Mark Pholi, Dave Fanning, Tarhlea Apelt, Andrew Baumber and Brad Ayres.

Butler, Vardy, Bell. Farrell, Kelly collected maximum points in the qualifying heats while Newton took a heat and The Dash; and Corbet the B Main; while further back in the field all eyes were on Nash Morris, son of Bathurst winner Paul Morris. Nash made his Sprintcar debut, qualifying 16th position in the B Main to finish 10th.

The Petzyo Development Series C Main Final was claimed by Kaydon Iverson, taking the lead with just two laps remaining over Kaydon Iverson and Kinser Claridge who led the first 11 laps of the 13 lap final.

Jared Desmares, Nathan Pronger, Ron

Hendrickson and Carlo Moiola all finished on the lead lap, followed by Robert Munro, Noah Ball, Todd Gaudry and Luke Manttan the final finisher.

Thomas Button, Connar Keiler and Libby Ellis failing to travel the journey. The heat wins were shared by Ball, Pronger, Moes and Claridge.

SUPPORTS

CHARLIE BROWN snared the Speedcar final over Boyd Chaffey and Brad Dawson.

The Wingless Sprints feature was claimed

by Scott Thomsen from Jacob Jolley and Liam Atkinson. Last but not least, the Open Sedans final went to Wayne Kirkman over Colin Morris and Robin Bains for the podium.

THE MURRAY Machining & Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway hosted the final round of the hotly contested Speedcars SA Blackjack Series. Kiwi racer Kaleb Currie (above) led all 20 laps of the final, followed by his teammate Jack McCarthy making it a one-two finish for the Hardwire Motorsport Team.

Despite dropping to seventh in the early stanza of the race, versatile Sydneysider Brayden Willmington worked his way through the field to finish on the third podium step. Alice Springs racer Garth Thompson was next, followed to the line by Victorian Zoe Pearce with locals Robert Heard and Damien Eve completing the field.

The two heat wins were shared by Willmington and Currie.

McCarthy’s runner up placing secured him the outright Blackjack Series win ahead of Heard as the duo had entered the final locked on event points, with Willmington overall third. Rounding out the top 10 were Thompson, Pearce, Brendan Zadow, Currie, Dillon Ghent and Ashley Booker.

SUPPORTS From a stout field of 35 Wingless Sprints, the reigning South Australian Champion Tyson Martin won in convincing style over Ryan Alexander and Jack McCarthy, the latter two both running double duties on the night with Alexander in the Modlites and McCarthy in a Speedcar. Speaking of Modlites, Ryan Alexander proved too strong, moving from ninth over the 13-lap journey to claim the final ahead of Michael Miller and Dylan Richter and finally Mildura’s Darren McCarthy took the AMCA National feature defeating John Stumann and Jake Armstrong.

BROOME GOES BOOM! A HUGE crowd ventured to the Waikerie venue for the opening night of their 2023 season. The venue was in tip-top shape and very well presented, although the track conditions proved challenging in the time trials but came back to a fair condition after an additional track preparation as the sun dropped behind the horizon.

With a massive field of 37 Wingless Sprints in the house for Round 3 of the Ti Bills Injectors and Race Parts Series, the racing was a fast and furious affair as the headline class elected to run their eight heats in succession once the sun had dropped and the track was reworked to their favour.

Mitchell Broome and Jordan Bolitho shared the front row and for the next 28 of 30 laps the leaders would run express in that order on a track that provided to be difficult to pass on before the only caution of the race would present. The only movement coming from behind was thirdplaced Joel Chadwick sadly dropping

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a position as he attempted to find an alternative line as Hayden Vickers and Jack McCarthy would scoot underneath in the closing third of the race.

While Broome, Bolitho, Vickers and McCarthy rounded the top four, a disappointed Chadwick was next followed

by Anthony Tapley, Tyson Martin, Rylan Fuller, Keke Falland, Nate Trewin, Caleb Evans and Ryley Hammerstein rounding out the top dozen home, followed by Matthew Tyler, Thomas Walkom, William Caruso, Jesse Alexander, Tate Cowie, Sam Martin, James Rodda and Andy Thomas completing the field of 20 – all finishing on the lead lap.

Martin, Broome, McCarthy, Trewin, Tyler, Chadwick, Vickers and Walkom each claimed a heat win and Hammerstein the B Main.

SUPPORTS

THE MODLITES feature was claimed by Whyalla’s well-travelled Justin Chadwick

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Mitchell Broome and his team celebrate round 3 victory. Image: PARIS CHARLES over Jake Armstrong and Scott Webb. Nick Hall dominated the second round of the King of The Riverland for V6 Sprints to go flag-to-flag in the 15-lap final over brother and sister John and Renee Pfeiler. The front wheeled drive Mitsubishi Magna of

Heath Thorne got the job done in the Street Stocks feature, third generation racer Ryan Buchanan and Ayden Powell completing the podium. The Junior Sedans final went to Lucas Warnett, sharing the podium were Diesel Fallon and Lachlan Brown.

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NATIONALS WRAP

IP NATIONALS FOR NSW THIS YEAR ACKLAND KNOCKS OFF CHAMP

THE 2023 YOKOHAMA Improved Production Nationals is set to take place at Sydney Motorsport Park on June 16-18 where be part of the Motorsport Australia Trophy Series round.

The 31st Improved Production Racing Association’s annual event will take place on the Gardner circuit and will encompass racing under lights.

Organisers are expecting up to 96 starters in over and under 2.0 litre, mixed in numerous heats on Saturday before their individual class finals on Sunday.

In 2022 the event which moves from state to state, circuit to circuit on a yearly basis, was held at Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland where Zak Hudson

(Mazda RX7) and Kurt Macready (Under 2.0 Lt Nissan Silvia pictured above) were the respective winners.

The last time the National took place in NSW was in 2014 at Wakefield Park.

It was won by West Australian Kevin Ledger in a Subaru Impreza, and Andrew Tendli (U2L Honda Civic). Prior to that it was twice held at Oran Park – 2008 and 2003 – and taken out by Queenslanders Justin Keys (Mazda RX3) and Wayne Wakefield (Mazda 808) respectively.

The event has been held at Sydney Motorsport Park (nee Eastern Creek) twice, in 1998 and 1993. Both event were won by drivers in RX3s with NSW’s Noel McFarlane and Victorian Andrew Brown.

NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien Currently Ray Hislop, in V8 Ford Falcons, is the most prolific winner on eight victories, ahead of fellow Tasmanian Roger Hurd (Holden Torana LX V8) on four, and Ken Douglas (RX7) with three. Garry O’Brien

FORMER AUSTRALIAN champion Greg Ackland was outright fastest at the first round of the EZI UP Victorian Hillclimb Championship in his Formula Libre 1.3-2.0 litre class turbocharged Kawasaki powered Ninja GA8 at Bryant Park on February 18.

Ackland who took the national title in 2013, completed three of five runs available and on his second attempt put down a 45.46s time that more than sealed the victory (by 2.29s) ahead of current Victorian and South Australian Champion David Mahon (F/L up to 1.3lt Dallara/Hayabusa).

While the event was the season opener, it was actually round two as the first round was postponed to later in the year on July 9.

Third outright and second in class to Mahon was Peter Minahan (Hayward 07). He finished ahead of Wim Janssen (Wimp003), Bruce Minahan who shared with his brother in the Suzuki-powered machine, Mike Barker (Hayward 06), Patrick Malanaphy (buggy-style Spanish Yacar Cross) and Keith Wilson (Ninja BH1) as open wheelers filled the top eight spots.

Colin Newitt (Sports Car Locost) finished ninth ahead of Thomas Inkster (Historic IDS open sports car). Then came David Casey (Casey TH109R) and Steven Buffinton (Westfield).

Best of the Tin Tops was Jim McNiven (Sports Sedan Toyota Corolla) who was 13th overall who edged Brad De Luca (Sports Sedan Ford Anglia) by 0.15s while Rhys Yeomans (Improved Production Honda Civic) was just 0.02s behind.

Garry O’Brien

MURFET AND WILCOX LATEST INDUCTEES RALLY DRIVER Andrew Murfet and touring car and Targa Tasmania competitor Darryl Wilcox have been inducted into the Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

Murfet’s motor sport involvement commenced in 1980 when he participated in club days in a Mazda 929 road car.

He moved to rallying and in 1984, finished second to national champion David Officer in the local Australian Rally Championship round. In 1985 Murfet and navigator Pip Welch contested all ARC rounds and finished sixth outright, and also won the Tasmanian championship.

Together with new navigator Tony Jackson, Murfet again contested the ARC in 1986. They switched to a new AWD turbo-charged Mazda 323, became the first resident-Tasmanians to win an ARC round, and finished third outright in the championship. They also won the state championship, victorious in all rounds contested.

From 1987 budget constraints limited outings firstly in a Mazda RX-4 before another 323. The arrival of an AWD Nissan Gti-R saw them score Tasmanian championships in 1996 and 1997.

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They were also regulars in the Rally Tasmania events, with second places in 1997 and 1998. A later model Gti-R carried

Murfet to his fifth state title in 2001.

Murfet did all his own car preparation and maintenance and on numerous occasions,

was a valued crew member of the Neal Bates Motorsport ARC team.

Wilcox raced several Holdens. He competed in hillclimbs in the early 1960s, and made his circuit racing debut at Baskerville in 1963 in an EH Holden.

He decided to test himself on the national stage, competed at Hume Weir in 1966, and won the Hume Weir 200, followed by second place in the event in 1967. He raced at Calder, won many six cylinder races and the 1972 Calder Six Cylinder Series.

He built a Torana sports sedan in the early 1970s, lived and raced in Victoria for several years. After a short retirement, Wilcox returned to racing in 1992 in a Holden Torana A9X and in Targa Tasmania in 1993.

He was fastest on the Symmons Plains stage and was top 10 outright when the gearbox broke on the last day.

In 1994, he bought a Holden Monaro shell, built it up as an Historic Touring Car, and competed in circuit and tarmac rallies.

His contribution to the Hobart Sporting Car Club and the Baskerville circuit has been recognised with the clubrooms named in his honour.

Martin Agatyn

POPULAR HILLCLIMB RETURNS

CAPTAIN MORGAN’S REVENGE A BMW FEST AFTER 14 HOURS of the Captain Morgan’s Revenge Shwarze Wurst Motorsport chalked up the most laps with 465 to better the next best by a healthy 13 laps. It was Motor Events Racing’s second outing of the year, held at Morgan Park over two days on February 25-26.

Behind the SWM BMW 325Ci, (pictured above) Turtle Racing and Double Decker Racing both finished with 452 laps completed and separated by 1min 15s in their respective BMW 330Ci and 325. The three were all in the ME-1 (140-199 kW) class as was the fourth Anteck Racing 2.0 in their Holden

Commodore, three laps adrift.

Fifth number of laps accumulated went to Cool Runnings in their Nissan NX Coupe which was first of the ME-2 (90-139 kW) class on 439. They had a 12 lap advantage on Ezy As Racing (Nissan Pulsar) who eighth and second in class.

Sixth and seventh went to the ME-1 entries of DomDidit (BMW 325Ci) and Ripple Strip Racing (BMW 318) on 432 and 426 laps respectively. DomDidit led the way at the end of Saturday by six laps. However on Sunday they experienced clutch problems that negated their first day advantage.

Cosmo Motorsport (Mitsubishi Lancer)

finished ninth and was the first of the ME-3 (up to 89 KW), one place and 12 more laps covered than class rivals Checkered Past (Nissan Pulsar).

Rumble Racing top the amount of money raised for Rare Cancers Australia of the 27 entries. On A Roll Racing (Ford Laser TX3 4WD) had a soul testing event.

They sourced and replaced the gearbox overnight but found the shifter the cables were the problem before the car dropped its load of oil with just 94 laps done.

Meanwhile on debut DSD motorsport turbo and supercharged V6 Commodore turned just a few laps as they worked out the last of the bugs. Garry O’Brien

AMOS KICKS OFF WITH A WIN NEW SOUTH WALES’ Dean Amos started his year off with a win in the first round of the Queensland Hillclimb Series at Mt Cotton on February 25-26.

In the MG Car Club run event over the 946km course, the Gould/ Nicholson McLaren V8 driver posted a best run of 36.35s on his eighth attempt of the 11 available. As to whether Amos will compete at all rounds, that remains in the air as he continues to rebuild after the lost of home and shop in last year’s floods.

He was 0.19s off his own course record and was 0.65s ahead of current Australian Hillclimb Champions Dean Tighe (Empire Wrath/ supercharged Hayabusa) who only managed four runs on very old tyres after hampered by the car not coming back to idle problem.

Third went to Warwick Hutchinson (OMS28/turbo rotary) and he had a harmless spin on one run. He placed ahead of Brett Bull (Van Diemen/turbo Kawasaki) who battled a misfire. The four were in the Formula Libre – 1.3 Litre and over class with the next best two both F/L up to 1.3lt cars where Jim Milliner (OMS 2000M) edged out David Quelch (Homebuilt DPQ03) and Luke Weiks (Empire 1).

The trio were covered by 1.1s.

Fourth in the class was Greg Tebble (Spreads RM11) who placed

eighth overall ahead of Matt Read (F/L over 1.3lt Readster MTR1) and Mark Crespan in his Production Sports over 2.0lt Ford Cobra.

The fastest Tin Top was Chris Ryan in his Forced Induction AWD VW Golf Type R, from Gavin Taylor (U2.0lt Sports Sedan Golf) and they were 12th and 13th outright ahead of James Heymer (Superports/Sports 1300 Farrell).

The separate points Top Six Shootout also went to Amos from Tighe, Hutchinson, Milliner, Quelch and Weiks.

Garry O’Brien

LAST HELD in 2019, Mount Alma Hillclimb will be back this year on May 12-14, but with a few changes. Organised by Hillclimb SA Inc in place of Ultimate Motorsport Events, the event will be known as Supaservice Tyre & Auto Backbone Hillclimb, the name taken from Devil’s Backbone, an old name of the ridge where the road runs.

The course used for the 1.5km hillclimb is a steep closed public road that runs through sheep country in Inman Valley near Victor Harbor on South Australia’s south coast.

The main change from previous will be that results will no longer be scored on aggregate, with only the fastest run to be counted. Also new chicane will be installed 50 metres before the final right-hand corner, where there have been several major incidents in the past.

Event spokesperson Brendan Wegener said that the return was the result of 18 months of work and negotiations with the Ashby family, who own the land on which Mt Alma Road travels.

Entries, which will be capped at 150, are open, with some top hillclimbers having already entered, including Dan Day, Henry and John Beasley, Andrew Campbell, Brenton Byfield, Tania Langcake, Douglas Johnson, Nathan Dale, Nick Streckeisen, Anthony Norris, Nathan Green, Kurt Wilson and Damian Malizani.

Six-time Mt. Alma Hillclimb winner Kevin Mackrell (pictured) is keen to enter his 6.5 litre 4WD Datsun 260Z, which broke its front differential at last year’s Legend of the Lakes Hillclimb at Mt Gambier if parts for the car arrive in time.

Spectator entry for the event will be via a gold coin donation going to the Dolly’s Dream foundation.

John Lemm

CLOSE IN FOUR HOUR THE END of the first Deputy 4 Hour for the year resulted in three teams on the lead lap but the winner was not the first one to greet the chequered flag at Pheasant Wood on February 19.

The GT-40 team of Cameron Lane, Jason Muir, Peter Gatt, and Bartek and Chris Kacpersk who shared their Mitsubishi Lancer (pictured) were the winners ahead of the Capital Racing Mitsubishi Galant shared by John Graydon, Finlay Allen, Cooper Allen and Josh Haynes. They were just 3.4s apart after 186 laps.

Image: MOXON But it BRUCE was third placed Celican with Mat

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Davey, Wayne Movigliatti, Ben Pritchard and Laurie Movigliatti in their Toyota Celica who were first at the end of the four hours, but they were penalised a lap (exceed driver time) and relegated to third.

Penalties were issued to several teams for such things as short driver change pitstops and over drive time of more than 15mins.

Opened to any four seater cars produced between 1986-2009 with an engine capacity of 2.0 litres or less, the series features three classes, based on lap times.

The top three were from the G1 class with the best of G2 the Craven Wild Racing

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Subaru Impreza driven by Gary Chick/Jamie Hodgson/Adam Bailey. They finished two laps adrift and two up on class rivals Steve McCallum, Jayden Zealey and Dean Alessi in their Eunos X30.

The G3 winners were ninth outright GSMF crew of Mark Pakula, Sam Pradhan and Greg Amadio in a Mazda 2. Outright early leaders were 200 Lexarse (in a Lexus is200) with Alex Holzl, Matthew and Michael Vellalonga until they went out after 31 laps.

In the leadup, Dean Alessi was unbeaten

in the first round of the Excel X3 Series for older generation Hyundais. He won the four races ahead of Blake Paterson. Logan Clark was third in races one and two, before Ben Googridge and Luke Ferguson took a third each in the other outings.

Garry O’Brien

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SPEEDSERIES TASMANIA

NATIONALS WRAP

SWEENY MAKES A STATEMENT IN TASSIE BAILEY SWEENY is the early front runner in the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series after showing speed at Symmons Plains.

Sweeny took two of the three wins on offer at the season opener and started the weekend on top by being fastest in opening practice.

He edged out Will Brown by just 0.009s before the 2019 champion turned the tables later that afternoon, while the fight for pole also went down to the wire.

Eventually Brown emerged on top in both segments to snatch P1 by just 0.011s over Hyundai pair Josh Buchan and Sweeny.

But the smile on the Melbourne Performance Centre driver’s face quickly disappeared as driveshaft dramas on both Audi RS3 LMS TCR Gen2 cars driven by Brown and Zac Soutar meant they failed to appear on the grid.

With Buchan also being dropped to the back of the field due to a turbo boost irregularity, the seas parted for Sweeny.

The #130 Hyundai i30N driver took control into Turn 1 and was never headed across the opening 30-lap affair.

Sweeny cruised to a seven-second win over Tony D’Alberto, while Kody Garland joined them on the podium.

Come Sunday, both Brown and Soutar were back in action and started at the back, but their pain continued with both Audis back in garage before halfway.

At the front, Lachlan Mineeff started from pole and had a fight on his hands keeping the fast-starting Aaron Cameron behind.

Sweeny holds Cameron at bay , with D’Alberto heading the rest of the TCR pack. Images: DANIEL KALISZ Cameron started in fifth, but surged into second and soon had eyes on the leader.

He made his move at the hairpin, going down the inside of Mineeff, who could not find a response.

In the end, three seconds separated Cameron and Mineeff across the line, while Jordan Cox finished third and Sweeny settled for sixth.

With Brown and Soutar out, just 11 cars lined up for the third and final race.

D’Alberto had a fast start in the #1 Honda to take the lead as Sweeny dropped to

third.

But the HMO Customer Racing Hyundai quickly launched a fightback, snatching second from from Cox with a switchback move at the last corner.

Sweeny then started closing in on D’Alberto and a tense battle for the lead brewed, But the reigning champion’s chances were dashed by an intermittent gear shifter problem, which allowed Sweeny to swoop in and claim a second win.

Despite the drama, D’Alberto held on to

second ahead of Cox and Cameron.

Round 2 of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series takes place at Phillip Island on May 12-14.

Thomas Miles 2023 SUPERCHEAP AUTO TCR AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 1 Bailey Sweeny 137 2 Tony D’Alberto 123 3 Aaron Cameron 119 4 Jordan Cox 118 5 Tom Oliphant 108

MOFFAT SWEEPS SYMMONS PLAINS JAMES MOFFAT enjoyed a perfect start to the 2023 Trans Am season, sweeping Symmons Plains.

Moffat (right) took all three wins on offer and started his near-perfect weekend in ominous fashion by topping both practice sessions.

However, the Garry Rogers Motorsport driver was beaten to pole by Ben Grice by just 0.0061s.

The hard-fought pole did not count for much, as Moffat swooped around the outside of Grice at Turn 2 to take the lead and was never challenged in the opening race.

Some could have been mistaken for being transporting back in time with Moffat leading home Grice, but the fight was on for third.

Tim Slade making a one-off appearance for The Racing Academy and marked his Trams Am debut with a P3 finish.

However, Slade was stripped of his trophy post race after being handed a five-second penalty due to contact with Owen Kelly, who inherited the podium place.

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The second race was cut short to a 12-lap affair due to a scary crash between Grice and James Simpson.

Grice was leading until lap 12 when he suddenly slowed out of the final corner and was smashed in the right rear by Simpson, who was instantly thrown in the air, the car flipping onto its roof before finally landing on all four wheels along the pit wall in similar scenes to Jason Plato and John Creland’s famous flip at the

2004 Bathurst 1000.

Fortunately both drivers emerged unscathed, but their cars fared much worse, ruled out for the rest of the weekend.

The incident brought an early end to the dramatic race, which also saw Slade sent into the concrete by Hayman on lap three.

After all the chaos, Moffat headed a GRM 1-2-3 alongside Kelly and Lochie Dalton.

Moffat completed his clean sweep with a dominant drive in the Sunday afternoon finale.

But the heat was on behind with Kelly spinning at the final corner, Tyler Everingham suffering a suspension problem and Cody Gillis and Edan Thornburrow getting tangled up.

But the most defining moment was between Kelly and Brett Holdsworth.

Kelly was on the charge through the field and muscled past Holdsworth for fourth on the final lap, but lost it due to a fivesecond penalty.

Moffat has taken over the mantle from Nathan Herne as the dominant GRM driver at the front – the rest hope to stop him at Phillip Island on May 12-14.

Thomas Miles 2023 TRANS AM SERIES POINTS 1

James Moffat

200

2

Owen Kelly

182

3

Lochie Dalton

180

4

Jaylyn Robotham

178

5

Brett Holdsworth

165

JUNIOR PUSHES ON WITH TCM MUSTANG DOMINANCE STEVEN JOHNSON has picked up where he left off in the Touring Car Masters, taking the #33 Mustang to victory at Symmons Plains.

He made his mark early, beating John Bowe’s 2018 qualifying record by 0.9s with a 55.298s pass for pole, and went on to win two of the three feature races.

The first race of JB’s TCM farewell tour didn’t go as planned, with his Torana SL/R losing its oil pump belt in the flipped grid Trophy Race opener, forcing him to miss Race 1 as the Rare Spares team swapped to last years engine, with the Bathurst legend quipping that like himself, the replacement engine was “a bit older and worn out”.

It was a great start, and all out round result for defending champion Ryan Hansford, who took out the Trophy Race

over Danny Buzadzic and Andrew Fisher.

But the ‘Moffat,Brut #33-themed Mustang did the job over the opening 19 lapper, coming home by 1.767s over the two Torana A9Xs of Fisher and Hansford, with the heavier Mustang proving too quick down the two long straights.

Race 2 had JB resume at the back of the field in P9, with the old engine doing the trick as he worked up onto his first podium of 2023.

Hansford again put in a strong show in the #6 Multispares, finishing in P2. 1.091s behind Johnson, who powered in for his 56th TCM victory to make it eight out of the last 10.

Race 3 finished off the TCM opener with a good hometown story for Bowe, as two of the giants from the ATCC and early Supercars days battled it out for

the victory.

Bowe had the luxury of fresher tyres having missed Race 1, as Johnson again got off to a flyer, with his green headlights becoming a familiar sight at the front of the field.

As the four Toranas of Bowe, Hansford, Fisher, and Buzadzic battled it out behind, the positions swapped until Hansford slipped wide, allowing Bowe to cash in.

Bowe’s grip on the fast cornering – particularly in the hairpin – allowed him to make ground on Junior, as it became a classic two-horse race.

JB finally caught him on lap 18, ducking down the inside of the hairpin to take the lead, giving the six-time TCM champ a hometown “Ciao for now” by a mere 0.147s.

With Fisher dropping out with a battery issue, Buzadzic took P3 for his second podium of the weekend.

Fans were then left with the classic sight of JB and Junior joining hands out their windows down the straight.

It was also a solid return for former Supercars driver and TCM race winner Marcus Zukanovic, as the field now heads to the Newcastle 500, with the expected return of a much healthier grid to really get the year charging.

TW Neal TCM CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 1.

Steven Johnson 196 2. Ryan Hansford 176 3. Danny Buzadzic 168 4. Cameron Tilley 152 5. Marcus Zukanovic 149

Stevie J and the Mustang’s green headlights show the way to a bunch of Toranas, headed by Ryan Hasnsford. Images: DANIEL KALISZ

MAWSON DOMINATES S5000 TASSIE OPENER JOEY MAWSON (right) has started his quest for a third straight Australian Drivers Championship with an S5000 sweep at Symmons Plains in Tasmania.

It’s only the second ever clean sweep in S5000’s short history, after Nathan Herne managed it at the Gold Coast 500 in the 2022 Tasman Series opener.

But fittingly, it was the incomparable Mawson who claimed the first in-series sweep as he attempts to keep his strange hold on Australia’s growing Wings and Slicks category as its only Champion.

The series kicked off 2023 with only 10 cars crossing Bass Strait, but it was a fairly talented field despite the modest numbers, with former Spanish F1 driver and racing globetrotter Roberto Merhi returning for another appearance.

The highly talented Vic young gun Cooper Webster also joined the field before he jets off to compete in the British GB4 championship, with Zane Goddard, Aaron Cameron, Jordan Boys, and James Golding providing stiff competition, with Nic Carrol, Blake Purdie and Mark Rosser also joining the grid.

Qualifying was split by under a second throughout the field, with Mawson edging

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out Golding by 0.053, with Merhi sharing the second row with Cameron.

It was lights-to-flag in Race 1 for the future Supercars hopeful, as the Sydneysider recorded a record 10th S5000 win.

The #1 ACM car beat Cameron in by a comfortable 6.266s, with Webster taking his fourth straight S5000 podium.

Another pole start in Race 2 had Mawson get off the line fast, as Cameron struggled to get going, with Golding moving into P2 and taking chase.

As Webster did at the Adelaide 500 against another former F1 driver (Giancarlo Fisichella), he defended P3 against a charging Merhi to take another podium for the round, with Mawson beating Golding by 3.8s in another romp.

Race 3 saw Mawson lose the race lead for the first time in the weekend, as Webster got the jump off the line.

Mawson stuck fast to the tail of the #37, putting pressure on Webster’s track position, using the push-to-pass on lap 14 to retake the lead, shutting out the 26-lap feature with a 1.378 win over Webster.

Golding came in for his second podium

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of the weekend, as Webster also got his second straight podium series sweep.

“It was tough out there following against Cooper, but we were smart with the push to pass,” Mawson said.

“Can’t believe we had our first clean sweep, it’s absolutely mega. Definitely looking forward to the new Hoosier tyre coming in round two or three.”

There’s a long wait for the second round of the S5000 series, not coming until May

12-14 at Phillip Island, where hopefully there will be a return to some healthier grid sizes.

TW Neal S5000 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 1 Joey Mawson 130 2 Cooper Webster 101 3 James Golding 87 4 Aaron Cameron 77 5 Jordan Boys 64

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SPEEDSERIES TASMANIA

NATIONALS WRAP

EDDIE LOCKS IN FIRST CIRCUIT WIN

By Martin Agatyn

TWO TIMES Targa Tasmania winner and former Tasmanian rally champion Eddie Maguire took his Targa-winning Dodge Viper to victory in the Tassie tin tops category on the support programme for the Race Tasmania ARG Speed Series opener on February 25 and 26.

It wasn’t Maguire’s first time on a circuit, nor at Symmons Plains, after a one-off TCR appearance at the corresponding meeting last year.

However, it was the first time in the Viper, requiring a different set-up and caused some overheating issues on the warmer first day of the meeting.

Maguire was also using the meeting as a hit-out ahead of Targa New Zealand later this year, using a sequential gearbox, which permitted in Targa NZ for his car, but

not in Australian Targa events.

The Tassie Tin Tops was a hybrid category for the Race Tasmania meeting, consisting of sports sedans, improved production sedans, and Sports GTA, which is where the Dodge Viper would normally be categorised.

The highlight of the weekend for the

category were the battles between Maguire and Liam Hooper (Nissan Skyline).

Hooper top qualified by more than 1.6 secs, while Maguire familiarised himself with the new car set-up.

Hooper was impressive in the first race, winning by over a second and setting a

new Sports GTA lap record.

Maguire was able to reverse the result in race two after a slight coming together in the hairpin on the second lap.

Hooper was black-flagged for no brake lights, but he didn’t pit, earning him a rear of the grid start for race three the following morning.

A blistering first lap saw Hooper up to third and closing on Maguire by lap five.

However, Maguire was able to keep him at bay to score his second race win of the weekend.

Hooper was missing from the starting grid for the fourth and double-points final race, with an unchallenged Maguire establishing a big lead by mid-race.

Knowing he had the race, and the meeting in the bag, Maguire eased off in the closing laps to win by less than a second from Tim Man (Ford BF Falcon).

SIMPSON TAMES THE PLAINS

By Martin Agatyn

Symmons Plains could have been renamed Simpson Plains from a Hyundai Excel racing point of view with Victorian champion Hugo Simpson dominating the “every day” tin tops on the support programme for the Race Tasmania ARG Speed Series opener on February 25 and 26.

Despite having never seen Symmons Plains, let alone raced on it, the reigning Victorian champion made an instant impact, qualifying on pole position for the first race on the Saturday by more than 3/10ths of a second.

The local grid was missing reigning Tasmanian champion Josh Webster,

who had stepped up into a Trans-Am for the meeting (he finished seventh for the meeting by the way, which was an impressive debut).

With Webster on other duties, Tasmanian championship runner-up Jeremy Bennett and Campbell Logan were hoping to fly the Tassie flag.

Logan contested last year’s national Toyota 86 Series, but when he was back home in the selected rounds of the Tasmanian Super Series, he was more than competitive with the front-runners.

As hoped, Logan and Bennett were able to take the race up to Simpson in all four events over the weekend and despite occasionally hitting the front, Simpson was

able answer the challenge on each occasion to record a clean sweep of victories for the meeting, also breaking Josh Webster’s Hyundai lap record in the fourth race.

Not surprisingly, he said during his victory speech that he liked the track.

Logan and Bennett scored two second places each, with a coming together in the last race, which was the double points final, seeing Logan coming off second best and finishing third for the race, which consequently dropped him to fourth for the meeting.

Other notable performances included the much-improved Damien Midgely, who finished third overall, and Tabitha Ambrose (daughter of Marcos Ambrose), who finished eighth overall in a field of 21 cars in her circuit racing debut, stepping up from karts for the first time

ANOTHER WAY AROUND QR SOME CLASSES were able to race on Queensland Raceway’s newest track configuration at the opening round of the QR Drivers Championships on February 18-19.

The new layout follows the Clubman Circuit through turns 1 and 2, the short run to 3 and then 4 and 5. After that the cars would normally race to Turn 6, but on the new circuit there is a left turn midway along and a brief run onto the straight between the National Turns 3 and 4, in the reverse direction. Another right turn takes them back towards the last corner and the main straight.

PRODUCTION TOURING

RELIABILITY FINALLY came to Anthony Levitt and his Class A2 Mercedes AMG C63 with four all-the-wins at the first of the six round sprint series. With two races on the New Circuit and two on the National, Levitt won each ahead of Jake Camilleri (Class C Mazda 3 MPS). Trent Allen (B1 Subaru Impreza WRX STi) was third in the first three and held the spot in the fourth until two laps from the end when he was passed by Richard Shinkfield (B2 BMW E92 M3).

Patrick Navin (C VW Scirocco R) was fourth early in the opener but finished sixth behind

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Paul Buccini (A1 BMW 135i and Murray Dowsett (D Toyota 86). John McCleverty (B2 Holden Commodore) was next, and in the second race placed behind Shinkfield and Buccini after he led them at the start.

McCleverty split the two in the third outing and trailed Allen for fifth in the last.

REPLICA TOURERS

ALL FOUR configurations were used across five races in which Greg Wilson in his Nissan Skyline was victorious in each.

He took overall honours over Rex Scoles (Holden Commodore VE) and Dylan Pereira (BMW E36).

Fastest qualifier was Ian Woodward (Commodore VT pictured right) and he led the first race until overheating caused the ECU to go into limp mode. Wilson took a narrow win over Scoles and Jason Habchi (Holden Torana Hatchback). Second fastest qualifier Len Meiers (VE) was out after one lap.

Wilson and Scoles had turns in front of race two before the former won from Sam Allen (E36) and Pereira. Scoles dropped three places to fifth on the final lap behind Shane Tuxworth (Commodore). In the next three encounters Scoles was second to Wilson,

0.5s behind in the last two. Pereira was third in each while Allen scored three fourths ahead of Tuxworth.

PRODUCTION UTES

AT THE head of the field it was old verse new with Ashton Gealy (Ford Falcon FG V8 Ute) against Robert McMahon (Mazda BT50 SuperUte). Over five encounters on the different layouts Gealy scored four wins to one. McMahon won race four but didn’t figure in the last.

Peter Clarke (Commodore V8) was an early retiree with diff dramas in race one and had a third in race three. That left third overall a six cylinder scrap where John Young (Commodore) finished with three thirds, a fourth and a second while pushed by Dan Ford (Falcon) who encountered gearbox problems which slowed him in the fourth and forced a DNF the last. Troy Montgomerie (Falcon) overcame teething issues on Saturday for a sixth, fourth and third.

HOT HATCHES

IN THE same field as the Utes, Trent Laves (Hyundai Getz) scored four out of five victories and took the round honours ahead

of Barry Mather (Mazda 2) and Jamie Dixon (Getz). Behind Laves in the first race, Grant Preston was a close second and just in front of Preston and Mather who were fourth and third respectively in the next race. Mather was first in race three ahead of Dixon and Laves who struck back to top the last two races. Mather was second in both as Dixon and Preston shared thirds and fourths.

QR SPORTS & SEDANS

UTRIGHT AND Xtreme Class honours went to Grant Draney (Chev Monte Carlo) with four wins and a second. He was only beaten in the first race by Darren Berry in his recently acquired Chev Camaro GT3 while Bernard Walsh (TA2 Mustang) was second in the other outings ahead of the best of the 2.0 Litre Coupes in Liam Moyse (Toyota 86).

Garry O’Brien

NASCAR

BYRON CLEANS UP AT VEGAS SPEEDWAY

Above: Byron runs the outside line and, below, prepares to exit the pits after a race-winning tyre call. Image:s MOTORSPORT IMAGES WILLIAM BYRON won big at the Vegas Motor Speedway in NASCAR’s third round Pennzoil 400 race.

The Hendrick Motorsport #24 Chevrolet driver led for 176 of the 271 laps, giving the North Carolina team a podium clean-sweep, taking his fifth career win by 0.622s over teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman.

Although Byron had dominated the race lead, it needed him to exert one final push in the second lap of overtime, after losing the lead following a late pit stop.

The overtime came courtesy of an Aric Almirola spin and wreck on lap 264, with Martin Truex opting to stay out in the lead, whilst both Byron and Larson gambling for fresh tyres.

That left Truex a sitting duck for the twolap overtime dash, with Byron and Larson powering past him, as Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Austin Cindric all did the same to finish behind P3-getter Bowman.

“Just been really confident about the group of guys that I have on this No. 24 team. They work extremely hard, and we spent a lot of time in the off-season just going through running at the sim with Chevy and running

on iRacing, just trying to get better as a race car driver and as a team,” Byron said, as he also gave his best wishes to teammate Chase Elliot, who broke his leg skiing just days before the race.

“It’s all about the team, it’s a great pit crew.

But we’re all thinking of Chase Elliott back home. Wish he was out here with us. He’s a great race car driver and a great teammate.

“Honestly when we got back in traffic, it was a little bit tight, but we knew we had speed so we just had to have the right things play out, and Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) made a great pit call, so it was good.”

That also makes it three from three for Chevrolet in 2023, the first such streak since 2010.

Byron also won the first two stages of the Pennzoil 400, as pole getter Joey Logano also remained in the mix until an incident on lap 182.

The #22 Penske received contact from Brad Keselowski after spending much of the race in the top-ten, with his Mustang bouncing off the wall into infield after being pinched for room, leading him to retire into the garage.

That flag saw Larson take the lead for the

first time, blowing past Hamlin on lap 186, and, by the last of the green flag pit stops on lap 220, the #5 Hendricks gun started to pull away, looking the goods for victory, with Byron 3.1s behind on the 2.4km Oval Speedway.

Until Almirola’s spin – only the fourth caution of the day – the race appeared done and dusted in Larson’s favour, but thanks to the two-tyre call from Hendricks, Byron deservingly managed to be first off the pit road.

The first three rounds of NASCAR action has seen three Chev drivers from three different teams collect wins, as the next round of action heads to the Phoenix Raceway.

The 1-mile, 312 lap, Arizona tri-oval hit-out on March 12, also sees the new NASCAR aero package come into play; which sees the amount of downforce stripped back to a pre-2000s 30% reduction, in a bid to open up track real-estate and make the cars harder to handle. TW Neal

BUSCH BURNS THE RECORD BOOKS IN CA KYLE BUSCH further pushed his name into the all-time NASCAR greats with a win at the Pala Casino 400 at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

It was the 61st career win for the ‘Wild Thing’ and his first for Richard Childress Racing since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years and two championships.

With 61 wins on the board, he sits ninth of all-time and the most among the active drivers, and now surpasses Richard Petty with 19 straight seasons with at least onewin in a Cup Series win.

Along with his brother’s 34 wins, he and Kurt now surpasses the brother pairing of Bobby and Donnie Allison with 95 victories.

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Busch led for 27 of the 200 laps, taking the #8 Chevy to a 2.998s win over Chase Elliot and Ross Chastain.

The 37 year-old veteran overcame a pitroad speeding penalty on lap 43, to briefly take the lead from Chastain on lap 165 who had led for a race-high 91 laps.

Busch regained the lead on lap 180 after a cycle of green flag pits, with the final 55 laps running completely green.

The race saw one major incident, on lap 86, which eliminated pole getter Christopher Bell and four other drivers.

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez came in at P4, with ex-RCR racer Kevin Harvick coming in at P5 in his 750th consecutive Cup Series race. TW Neal

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INDYCAR

Image:s MOTORSPORT IMAGES

ERICSSON SURVIVES STREETS OF FLORIDA MAYHEM SWEDISH CHIP Ganassi racer Marcus Ericsson (above) has won a mayhem-filled IndyCar opener on the Streets of St Petersburg in Florida.

Last year’s INDY500 winner took out his fourth career win, cementing his claim as one of the early title favourites after leading the championship at the halfway mark in 2022.

Ericsson stormed home over an unfortunate Pato O’Ward by 2.411s, after the Mexican Arrow McLaren racer lost the lead with a brief mechanical issue on lap 97 of 100.

Six-time champion Scott Dixon started his 21st Indy season with solid third place, giving CGR a double podium in the chaotic opener.

The race saw the lead change seven times all up, with Ericsson inheriting his first leading lap at the misfortune of the #5 McLaren, after starting the race on the second row.

“I feel bad for Pato for having the issue, but that’s racing,” said the Swedish CGR charger after the race.

“You need to get there to the finish line and we had such a good weekend. The car was fantastic all the way through.

“We were hunting him down (O’Ward), putting the pressure on, and that’s when things happened.

It was a hell of a start to the season.”

For the first time in his IndyCar career, Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean started a race from pole position, sharing the front row with Colton Herta, who had topped the practice sessions.

In a race that witnessed 26 caution laps, it wasn’t long into lights out before the first major incident.

Grosjean got off the line well to lead early, before Arrows driver Felix Rosenqvist was pushed into the wall by Dixon, triggering a six car snarl up in the turn 2 bend, which saw Devlin DeFrancesco’s #29 Honda tossed into the air.

After another caution on lap 37, Kiwi Scott McLaughlin found himself in the lead from Grosjean, before another car became airborne on lap 42, with Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood flying over the top of Jack Harvey after he slammed into the tyre barrier.

Herta’s race then ended on lap 50, when he tried to get around Will Power, crushing the front of his #26 Honda into the wall.

A hectic pit exit from Grosjean on lap 72 saw he and McLaughlin fight for what would likely have been the race winning lead, as the two drivers that led for 37 and 31 laps respectively then took each other out, hurtling into the same Turn 4 tyre barrier.

That incident saw O’Ward slip through with Ericsson and Dixon flying into the provisional podium spots prior to the final caution restart.

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McLaughlin and Grosjean were close – too close ...

It was heartbreak for Grosjean, who had a clear tyre advantage in the run home to the flag over the #3 Penske Chevrolet Kiwi.

With 22 laps to run, O’Ward was in temporary control, with the podium spots looking tied up as the laps counted down, but with 4 laps to run and very little splitting the front three, disaster struck for the four time race winner.

O’Ward very briefly, but suddenly slowed into a corner, with the issue identified as a brief fire in the plenum chamber of his powerplant.

That allowed Ericsson to shoot through, whilst Dixon couldn’t make the pass into P2, while O’Ward’s engine regained power.

“We did everything right today … there’s always something,” a dejected O’Ward related.

“The boys deserved that and, compared to where we were here last year, this is a massive step. But we gave that one away. We can’t have that happen anymore. I know we were second, but …”

Alexander Rossi found himself in P4, 6.768s off the Swedish victor, with Callum Ilott making a good start with a P5 over Graham Rahal, followed by last year’s champion, Aussie Will Power, who avoided the chaos, but didn’t have the speed to threaten.

Alex Palou, Christian Lundgaard, and David Malukas made up the top 10, with a notable mention to New Zealand debutant and former F2 driver, Marcus Armstrong, with a P11 finish as the leading rookie, finishing on the lead lap over fellow rookie and Argentinian mystery man, Agustin Canapino.

It was a thrilling start to the season after last year’s epic seven-car title fight over the run home, with the next round bringing on the first Oval/Speedway of the year, at the banked 2.4km Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on April 2. TW Neal INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS Ericsson 51 O’Ward 41 Dixon 36 Rossi 32 Ilott 30

F2 AND F3

POURCHAIRE DOMINATES

WILD F2 OPENER ART GRAND Prix’s Theo Pourchaire took out his Sixth Formula 2 victory in Bahrain, charging home by huge margin over Ralph Boschung and Zane Maloney.

The French feature winner had a dominant weekend after taking out the first practice session, before taking pole position for the feature race over Victor Martins and Richard Verschoor.

The weekend spoils also belonged to Boschung, after the Swiss Campos racer had the best round of his F2 career, taking his first win in 96 F2 starts in the flipped-grid Sprint opener, before backing it up with a brilliant P2 in the feature.

Boschung won the Sprint from a flippedgrid pole position, over Norse MP racer

Dennis Hauger, and Alpine Academy driver Victor Martins, doing it comfortably by 10.848s.

“My first victory after 96 starts, and as I said, better late than never! I’m super happy, the car was on rails. Thanks to the team, they deserve this so much. Super happy with today,” Boschung said, capping a great weekend of wins for Spanish team Campos over F2 and F3.

But it was Pourchaire who landed the first serious blow after making the call to remain in F2 for a third full season.

He also gained points with a P5 finish in the Sprint, making it a great points start for one of the title fancies.

Maloney also had a brilliant drive from P18

to P3, as he cut through the field on fresher soft tyres, closing a large gap to chase down Campos’ Kush Maini who looked assured for the podium spot.

It was tyre degradation mayhem throughout at the Sakhir Feature, with the coarse and sandy track causing big wear on the soft compounds.

An early yellow was called after three cars got caught up at turn 3, which saw Martins, Hauger, and Frederick Vesti all retire early.

Aussie Virtuosi ace Jack Doohan seemed to put a hard weekend behind him, jumping from P17 to P10 early, but his pit stop saw him take a penalty for an early release, and although he fought into P7, tyre wear saw him plummet back into P15.

Behind the runaway front three at the midpoint, spots changed hands all down the field with a tyre wear battle playing havoc with lots of passing on show, with Arthur Leclerc locking up several times which changed the complexion of the closing stages, losing P3 due to several errors as the top 10 changed at will.

Maloney’s drive was brilliant however, with the Barbados International showing the promise of his 2022 F3 year, as he drove with determined aggression for an improbable podium, closing a six second gap over 4 laps.

Round 2 heads to Jeddah on March 18-19, before the F2 party makes its way to Albert Park, for the Melbourne Grand Prix.

TW Neal

BORTOLETO TAKES CONTROL AS AUSSIES BATTLE IN BAHRAIN THE FIRST round of the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship proved to be a challenging one for the Aussie rookies Hugh Barter, Christian Mansell or Tommy Smith as Gabriele Bortoleto took the series lead at Bahrain.

Bortoleto started the weekend on top, while Barter was the leading Aussie in practice in P15, eight tenths away from the top. He just edged out Campos Racing teammate Mansell by 0.048s.

Smith was able to record the most laps of the trio and finished 25th for Van Amersfoort Racing.

Barter was the star of qualifying, going an impressive fifth fastest in a competitive fight for pole.

The 16 year-old left his run late, but it paid off handsomely, snatching fifth place with a 1:47.274 at the stroke of the chequered flag, being just two tenths

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away from poleman Gabriele Mini.

Mansell qualified in P13, but just 0.396s away from Mini, with half a second covering the top 15 cars as Smith recorded 27th.

The season opened with a frenetic 19-lap sprint race won by Josep Maria Marti after a late-race pass.

Marti shadowed pole-sitter Franco Colapinto across the opening stages interrupted by two Safety Car appearances and launched a racewinning pass with six laps to go.

As his Campos Racing teammate charged to victory, Barter did his best to chase points, but fell just 0.7s short in 11th after being edged out by Sebastian Montoya.

Not far behind in the train of cars was Mansell in 13th and Smith stayed out of trouble to come home in P23.

With Barter starting fifth, he had high

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hopes for the feature race, but bad luck got in his way.

At the start the Campos Racing driver found himself sandwiched by Kaylen Frederick and Dino Beganovic, with the trio going off at the exit of Turn 2.

In the process Barter suffered contact and an eventual flat tyre meant he had to settle for a heartbreaking P26.

Smith also found trouble, being spun

around by Mari Boya at Turn 8 and failed to finish.

Mansell was able to have a clean race and finished in 13th, while Gabriel Bortoleto secured victory after Mini received a five-second time penalty.

The Aussie trio will be determined to impress at their home race on March 29-April 2.

Thomas Miles

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Formula 1 Round 01 Bahrain Grand Prix - Race report

Lights out ... and Sainz takes to pit exit as Perez covers the Ferrari.

DOMINATING WITHOUT HAVING TO PUSH

By LUIS VASCONCELOS Images Motorsport Images AS DOMINATIONS go, Red Bull couldn’t have hoped for a better start of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, with Max Verstappen rocketing away for one of the easiest wins of his career in Bahrain, Sérgio Pérez overtaking Charles Leclerc in a straight fight to claim second place, and the Monegasque – the only one who was close enough to worry the Austrian team – retiring with a Power Unit failure.

The nearly 40 seconds gap to Fernando Alonso, the other podium finisher, were achieved without Verstappen needing to push after the first stint, the Dutchman just keep the gap to the second placed man and protecting his tyres as much as possible: “In this track, as soon as you have a bit of a gap you just manage the tyres. You never know when a Safety Car will come out; you never know what is going to happen, so you just preserve your tyres and don’t push any more than you need. I think it was important to have that first stint where I could open up the gap a little bit and after that I could look after my tyres quite well.”

Given the Dutchman’s pace on Sunday, it looked quite clearly that Red Bull, certain of their speed advantage in this track, compromised the qualifying set-up to make sure the cars were on top form on Sunday, keeping the rear tyres alive in the most abrasive surface of the season.

Verstappen hid the game, preferring to point out that the balance of the car was not great on Saturday: “ I’ve said before, the one-lap performance and the race performance is very different in balance requirements. So, I’m not really surprised, just of course happy that it worked out like this. Jeddah is going to be quite different again. Our car seems quite strong in

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high-speed, I think the Ferrari is quite quick on the straight, which in Jeddah is very nice to have.”

The numbers say it all: after a good start Verstappen was already 4.1s ahead of Leclerc after five laps, extended the gap to 9.7s by lap 12, before the Monegasque pitted for Hard tyres. After pitting on lap 14, for a second set of Softs, the double World Champion just kept the gap at around 10s to his rival, before it was the Ferrari, on the harder compound, that started to degrade, settling the matter once and for all.

Second placed Sérgio Pérez, who managed to get 17 laps on the Soft tyres early on in the race, believed that losing the position to Leclerc at the start had cost him, “at least the opportunity to fight for the win.”

The Mexican, nevertheless, was happy that, “the pace of the car was very good, we were able to keep the tyres alive for a long time and using a different strategy to Ferrari, I could pass Charles and pull away quickly.”

Even though he tried to play down the significance of the double win and the massive pace advantage the RB19 had over all other cars, Christian Horner couldn’t contain his happiness at the end of the race, and who could blame him?

“I think at the first race of the season there’s always an element of nerves, because it’s the first time you’re running two cars and there’s so many things that can go wrong. But it was a phenomenal performance from the whole team back at base in providing a competitive car.”

He then gave away what Verstappen tried to hide, admitting that, “we focused a little more on the race than we did on qualifying and that paid us dividends today. We were able to run on the softer compound, particularly in the middle part of the race, and still have the durability, so it was a well-executed Grand Prix and, after last year coming away from here with zero points, to have 43 on the board feels like a good response.”

But the Red Bull manager insisted on being careful, concluding that, “we’re not taking anything for granted, so let’s see in Jeddah, in two weeks, and Melbourne after that.

After we’ve got two or three circuits under our belt, we’ll have a much better picture of strengths and weaknesses of our car and our opposition.”

But given the pace advantage Red Bull showed in Sakhir, it’s difficult to disagree with George Russell, the disappointed Mercedes Russell tried to keep Alonso at bay, to no avail.

driver saying, after the Grand Prix, that, “Red Bull has won this championship and I’m convinced they’ll win all the races this year…”

OLD RIVALS IN TROUBLE

If Sunday was a perfect day for Red Bull, historic rivals Ferrari and Mercedes had a weekend to forget – or maybe to reflect on to try to react as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Ferrari had gambled in Q3, deciding against sending Leclerc out for a second time to try and fight for pole, to keep a new set of Soft tyres for the race, believing that would give the Monegasque an advantage at the start.

It did, as he passed Pérez, getting back the position on the front row he’d lost by missing the final run of Q3, but that was as good as it got for the Scuderia in Bahrain.

Slower and with much higher tyre degradation than the World Champions, Leclerc pitted early to defend a possible undercut from Pérez, but only had new Hard tyres for the remainder of the race – amazingly, they were not only slower than Pérez’s used soft (no surprise there) but also degraded a lot faster, so by lap 26 the Mexican was through and the podium positions looked decided. A Power Unit

Not happy, Jan ...Toto Wolff – beaten by a customer team.

,

Above: It really was a Sunday cruise for the defending world champion. But for Ferrari’s main man (right) there was byre degradation and a failed engine ... Below: Oscar Piastri made several places from his p18 start, but the McLaren’s electrics failed.

failure, possibly coming from the ECU, stopped Leclerc on lap 40, adding an extra frustration for the tifosi.

Sainz, who never managed to get the SF-23 to his liking in Sakhir, held fourth place for most of the race but the tyre issues on the Hard tyre meant he had no answer for his childhood hero, Fernando Alonso, in the final stint and it was just Ferrari’s superior top speed that secured him P4 but a whooping 48s behind the winner.

Team Principal Fred Vasseur admitted that, “the biggest concern for now is reliability. I don’t question the car concept because Charles fought for pole and the car concept doesn’t change from qualifying to the race. What we have to find is why the tyres are degrading so quickly, because the baseline of the car is good.”

WOLFF’S FRUSTRATION SURFACES

In contrast, his friend Toto Wolff didn’t hide his feelings, admitting, “this is one of my worst days in racing. Not good at all. We are lacking pace front, right and centre. The Aston Martin is fast – they deserve that. And the Red Bull is on a different planet. That is what hurts, because they are so far ahead. It reminds me of our best years, when we were a second ahead of everybody else ...”

As Lewis Hamilton said post-race: “we’re Lance Stroll did well to get his Aston Martin into sixth, despite some pain from his broken wrist.

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miles away. If Charles had finished, we really would have been sixth. And if Lance wasn’t injured, he would have beaten us too … We were nowhere near a podium finish.”

Behind the four faster cars, Valtteri Bottas saw off an early challenge from Ocon even before the Frenchman incurred three different penalties that put him out of contention, and had just enough tyre life to resist the other Alpine’s late charge, Gasly making the most of being the first car close to the pits when the VSC was called to remove Leclerc’s stranded car, putting a set of Soft tyres that helped him pass Albon and claim P9, while the Finn was delighted with eighth place, admitting, “it was too close for comfort with Pierre at the end, but we just managed.”

For the Frenchman, “after what happened in qualifying I had to go for it and that’s what I did. The car had great pace but we still

QUALIFYING RACE 01

have work to do, especially on one lap pace, because the gap to the top four teams is way too big for now.”

Now, with a car that is capable of fighting in the midfield, Alex Albon scored a valuable point for Williams, but was under tremendous pressure from the much-improved Yuki Tsunoda in the final 15 laps of the race.

With his trademark smile, the Thai admitted that, “last year I gained a lot of experience on how to defend from faster cars, so I wasn’t too concerned about Yuki, even though he was quite a bit faster”, before admitting, “it feels great to have a car that allows me to fight with the others.”

There certainly was some great racing in Bahrain, there’s no denying that. Shame it wasn’t for the win, because there was no stopping Red Bull in an ominous start of the season for everyone else.

RESULTS RACE 01 57 LAPS SAKHIR INTERNATIONAL

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 01

Pos Driver

Time

Pos Drivers

Make

Laps

Margin

Pos Driver

1

Max Verstappen

1:29.708

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

57

1:33.56.736 -

1

Max Verstappen

25

2

Sergio Perez

1:29.846

2

Sergio Perez

Red Bull

57

+11.987 -

2

Sergio Perez

18

3

Charles Leclerc

1:30.000

3

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

57

+38.637s s2

3

Fernando Alonso

15

4

Carlos Sainz

1:30.154

4

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

57

+48.052s -

4

Carlos Sainz

12

5

Fernando Alonso

1:30.336

5 Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

57

+50.977s s2

5

Lewis Hamilton

10

6

George Russell

1:30.340

6 Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

57

+54.502s s2

6

Lance Stroll

8

7

Lewis Hamilton

1:30.384

7

George Russell

Mercedes

57

+55.873s t1

7

George Russell

6

8

Lance Stroll

1:30.836

8 Valtteri Bottas

Alfa Romeo

57

+72.647s s4

8

Valtteri Bottas

4

9

Esteban Ocon

1:30.984

9

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

57

+73.753s s11

9

Pierre Gasly

2

10 Nico Hulkenberg

1:30.809

10 Alexander Albon

Williams

57

+89.774s s5

10 Alexander Albon

1

11

Lando Norris

1:31.381

11 Yuki Tsunoda

AlphaTauri

57

+90.870s s3

11

Yuki Tsunoda

0

12 Valtteri Bottas

1:31.443

12 Logan Sargeant

Williams

56

+1 lap s4

12 Logan Sargeant

0

13 Zhou Guanyu

1:31.473

13 Kevin Magnussen Haas

56

+1 lap s4

13 Kevin Magnussen

0

14 Yuki Tsunoda

1:32.510

14 Nyck de Vries

AlphaTauri

56

+1 lap s5

14 Nyck de Vries

0

15 Alexander Albon

1:31.461

15 Nico Hulkenberg

Haas

56

+1 lap t5

15 Nico Hulkenberg

0

16 Logan Sargeant

1:31.652

16 Zhou Guanyu

Alfa Romeo

56

+1 lap t3

16 Zhou Guanyu

0

17 Kevin Magnussen

1:31.892

17 Lando Norris

McLaren

55

+2 laps t6

17 Lando Norris

0

18 Oscar Piastri

1:32.101

18 Esteban Ocon

Alpine

41

DNF t9

18 Esteban Ocon

0

19 Nyck de Vries

1:32.121

19 Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

39

DNF t16 19 Charles Leclerc

0

20 Pierre Gasly

1:32.181

20 Oscar Piastri

McLaren

13

DNF t2

0

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20 Oscar Piastri

Points

ALONSO BACK ON THE PODIUM FERNANDO ALONSO’S decision to leave Alpine and move to Aston Martin seems to have paid off royally, the Spanish driver beating Carlos Sainz and the two Mercedes drivers in a straight fight to benefit from Leclerc’s retirement and claim his first podium for his new team.

That, in spite of an eventful first lap, where he lost a position to Hamilton going into Turn 4 and another one to Russell, having been heavily tapped in the back by team mate Lance Stroll, as he was trying to get back at the seven-times World Champion.

Having stunned everyone with his pace and consistency during Free Practice, Alonso was fifth quickest in qualifying, admitting, “this is actually more than we were expecting”, but it was in the race the pace and good tyre management of the AMR23 really came to the fore.

For the Spaniard, “this is obviously a perfect start to this project. We didn’t expect to be that competitive. The aim in 2023 was getting the mix in the midfield, leading that midfield and getting close to the top three teams. Even a podium was maybe not on the radar in 2023. And we found ourselves second-best car today in Bahrain, or the whole weekend, just behind Red Bull.

So, this is a little bit of a surprise. We are extremely proud, happy with the job done at Silverstone in the factory, so big congratulations to everyone, let’s enjoy this moment, and build from here hopefully a good 2023 campaign and get closer and closer to the top guys.”

Asked if it was time to re-set his targets for the season, as with his experience and technical know-how he could feel this car should be quick in every track, Alonso went for a cautious reply: “Experience also taught me to be careful with my expectations and we have to understand Bahrain is a very unique circuit, with many slow corners and a very abrasive tarmac. Ferrari was very quick down the straights and in the faster corners, we were quick in the slow corners, and now we go to Jeddah, where there are no slow corners but plenty of fast corners and very long straights and a different tarmac, so let’s wait another two or three races before we can understand exactly where we stand.”

Stroll, incident with Alonso apart, drove a heroic race, given he’s carrying broken bones in a wrist and in one toe, to beat George Russell in a straight fight and add his P6 to Alonso’s podium. The Canadian, hurt as he was, still stood around to answer all the questions with a smile that hadn’t been seen since he arrived in Formula One, saying that, “it does it feels great to beat Russell. I think we could have got Hamilton without the VSC, as we were catching him towards the end, but my pain was the biggest limiting factor in the last 20 laps. In Turn 10 and the hairpins I was just struggling to just turn in with confidence because of the pain. I was just trying to get to the end but it was still a lot of fun to drive the car today. Great car!”

The message is clear: Aston Martin can fight with Ferrari and Mercedes, so the two historic teams will have a lot more than ‘just’ Red Bull to be worried about.

www.autoaction.com.au I 57

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ACROSS

DOWN

2 Fabian Coulthard will pair up with which driver this season? (surname)

1 Who has replaced Jake Kostecki at Tickford Racing? (surname)

7 Mark Winterbottom will be sponsored by what brand in 2023?

Mustang this year? (surname)

10 How many Fords will be on the grid fulltime in 2023?

11 Both Erebus Motorsport cars will be sponsored by which company in 2023?

13 Who has moved to the Blanchard Racing Team for 2023? (surname) 14 Who will drive the #31 PremiAir Racing car? (surname) 15 Which state will host the most Supercars rounds in 2023? (abbreviation) 17 Garry Jacobson will return to Supercars competition as a co-driver for which outfit?

18 Garth Tander has moved from Triple Eight to race for what team?

19 Who won the most recent Supercars race in Newcastle?

3 Who will drive the #19 Grove Racing 4 The final round of the season will take place in what city?

5 Which circuit will host the returning preBathurst 500 race in 2023?

6 Who was fastest in the pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park? (surname) 8 Who completed the most laps in the official pre-season test? (surname) 9 Shane van Gisbergen will run what number on his car this year?

12 Who will join Craig Lowndes in the Supercheap Auto Wildcard at Bathurst? (surname) 15 In which city will the opening round occur?

16 The 2023 season is set to consist of how many races?

19 Which legendary Supercars team has made the move to Ford for this year? (abb)

21 Which manufacturer replaces Holden as a rival to Ford in the Gen3 era?

20 Shane van Gisbergen will have a new co-driver in 2023, who will it be? (surname)

26 Which venue will play host the first ever Thursday Supercars race in 2023?

22 How many Supercars rounds will take place?

27 Who joins the PremiAir Racing stable as a full-time driver in 2023? (surname) 28 How many Bathurst 1000 wins have Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth taken together?

23 How many SuperNight rounds take place this year?

24 How many full-time rookies are making their Supercars debut in 2023?

25 A full-time rookie joins Matt Stone Racing; what is his surname? (surname)

F1 and IndyCar crossword answers: 1 down – five, 2 down – America, 3 down – St Petersburg, 4 across – three, 5 down – six, 6 down – two, 7 down – twelve, 7 across – twenty-three, 8 down – Abu Dhabi, 8 across – Audi, 9 across – one, 10 down – three, 11 down – Armstrong, 11 across – AlphaTauri, 12 down – Kanaan, 13 down – Ericsson, 14 down – Piastri, 15 across – Hulkenberg, 16 down – CGR, 17 across – Eighty-one, 18 down – one, 19 across – Rossi, 20 down – Bahrain, 21 across – Las Vegas, 22 across – Qatar, 23 down – three, 24 across – Power, 25 down – Black, 26 down – Robb, 27 across - Alonso

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1973: “WHAT THE hell is going on?” was the opening line of the cover story 50 years ago reviewing the opening round of the 1973 Australian Rally Championship. Confusion over which cars were allowed to compete, what modifications were allowed and how the lighting regulations are controlled, dominated the Uniroyal Southern 500 in Adelaide. Stewart McLoud and navigator Adrian Mortimer won the event in a Torana GTR XU-1. Meanwhile at Symmons Plains, Allan Moffat dominated the curtainraiser to the 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship. His big orange Falcon led the entire race ahead of Peter Brock and John Goss.

1983: AS A new Formula 1 season approached, Alan Jones revealed he would quit local racing and return to the European scene. After leaving F1 in 1981, Jones lasted one year in the Australian GT Championship before claiming “I am very disappointed with the local scene and there’s no doubt my future is overseas”. The 1983 AMSCAR season kicked off on a wild note with “crashes galore” as Terry Shiel stayed out of trouble to win. Local Steve Masterton faced a three-month suspension after the Stewarts charged him with “knowingly presenting an illegal car” while he also turned Allan Grice around, not once, but twice.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1993: BACK RACING in Australia, Alan Jones had his infamous blow-up with Mark Skaife in the Symmons Plains pits at Round 2 of the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship. The pair engaged in a war of words after Jones spun Skaife out of the lead at the hairpin. The 1980 world champion labelled Skaife a “spoiled kid” while the Gibson Motorsport driver claimed Jones “spun me on purpose”. Whilst Jones won both races, he was fined $1000 for the incident.

Alain Prost made a triumphant return to F1 at an incident-packed South African Grand Prix, despite “botching the start”.

2003: FANS WERE buzzing after David Coulthard won a “cracking” Australian Grand Prix to open the 2003 Formula 1 season. Coulthard started from 11th, but “kept his cool” as the likes of Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher all found trouble. It was also a big weekend for Supercars, with the first races of the Project Blueprint era being held, albeit as non-championship races. Team Brock’s Jason Bright and Stone Brothers Racing’s Russell Ingall shared the wins, while Paul Morris had a monster shunt in the rain.

2013: SHANE VAN Gisbergen’s move to Tekno Autosports was sensationally vindicated with a surprise victory at the Adelaide 500. The Car of the Future era started with a crushing Craig Lowndes win in a rare Safety Car free opening race. But there was plenty of action on Sunday, with van Gisbergen escaping the chaos to beat both Triple Eight cars. Casey Stoner’s Super2 debut ended with a flat tyre as Chaz Mostert took the honours. Off the track, Jamie Whincup was on the verge of being ‘benched’ due to a dispute with personal sponsor Monster Energy as Triple Eight raced in Red Bull colours for the first time.

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