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PARITY: IT’S ALL THE RAGE! WHAT CHANGES WILL BE MADE AND WHEN? COG, ENGINE MAPS – PLUS CHASSIS STRENGTHENING

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CENTRE OF GRAVITY SHIFTING AND CHASSIS UPGRADES SUPERCARS IS SHIFTING THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY ON THE CAMAROS IN THE FIRST PARITY ADJUSTMENT, AS IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR MODIFICATIONS TO THE CHASSIS TO HELP THEM CRASH BETTER. ANDREW CLARKE REPORTS ...

SUPERCARS HAS started making changes to its Gen3 racers to improve the cars’ crash resistance and address any possible imbalances in parity. Changes to the chassis have been confirmed while a shift in the centre of gravity (COG) for the Camaros is at the proposal stage and was waiting sign-off as we closed for press.

The COG shift is only minor, but it lends a little weight to the arguments of the Ford teams who claim they are racing with a disadvantage, or what Tickford’s Tim Edwards cynically referred to as the “Mustang Cup.” The decision to raise the centre of gravity at the front end of the Chevrolet cars resulted from the recent COG tests at Tickford after the Grand Prix. Supercars initially had computer modelling to work from but couldn’t run accurate ‘real world’ tests until all the teams had their cars in a final build stage.

While the data on the COG was close, believed to be within 0.2 degrees, the decision has been made to lift the ballast at the front of the Camaro by between three and four millimetres. This is significantly less than the 20mm shift in 2019 to sort out the Gen2 Mustang’s advantage over the Commodores.

The Chevrolet engine is lighter than the Ford and has a lower centre of gravity due to the differences in the configuration of the engines. The Chevs already run ballast in the front of the cars, so this change will be relatively minor in execution.

The major ongoing issue for parity is connected to the engine mapping and an issue Ford’s engine developers, Herrod Performance Engines, have been working on

Centre-of-gravity testing was carried out at Tickford Racing’s premises .

since the February test day. Under the rules of Gen3, Ford cannot release a new engine map to the cars until Supercars has tested and approved the upgrade.

According to Ford’s head of motorsport in Australia, Ben Nightingale, that process is underway, and he is hopeful the proposed changes will be rolled out for Perth.

“It’s still very much a work in progress on the engine side,” he said this week. “We’ve had some very productive meetings with Supercars over the past few weeks, and while there is nothing confirmed yet there are certainly some good discussions happening.

“We’ve got our engines on the dyno at HPE all the time, trialling things, trying to understand these engines more as the work goes on, then we’ve got to go through the process of applying to Supercars to implement it.”

To the dual suggestion that the Ford teams are not doing a good enough job or that the drivers aren’t changing gears properly, Nightingale bristles.

“Top-level teams and drivers don’t forget how to prepare or drive race cars. You can’t tell me that 11 top-flight race drivers have forgotten how to shift gears. It’s a ridiculous

notion that Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert, Will Davidson, Anton de Pasquale and David Reynolds have forgotten how to change gears. Honestly, what are we doing here?

“Last year, four of our teams were in the top five of the championship. They didn’t just forget how to build a race car. All of them?

There have been races throughout this year where some of our teams have put their hand up and said, ‘Yep, we didn’t do a good enough job’. But all of them at the Grand Prix?

I don’t think so.

“Speaking to certain Mustang drivers, they tell me that you hit fourth gear and pull fifth, and they just walk away. I’ve seen some vision that suggests that too. There’s no question that tyre conditions and other factors sometimes come into play, but when you’re at full throttle, and grip doesn’t come into it, and that happens, there certainly appears to be an issue.

“Sometimes the simplest answer is the simplest answer, and we’re working through it all with Shane Howard and his team at Supercars.”

The changes to the chassis are optional and much more significant in terms of implementation. The teams are now allowed

Above: The COG ballast weight on the Camaros is attached to the chassis. Image: PETER NORTON

to add some strengthening gussets to the chassis to stiffen the chassis clip mounts, which should therefore be less likely to move in a moderate hit.

Alarm bells were raised in the pitlane at Albert Park when a relatively minor wall scrape for Macauley Jones resulted in a significant repair.

With Tim Slade and Shane van Gisbergen sharing similar experiences, albeit with bigger hits, and Tickford’s dual repair from Newcastle, the pressure was coming for changes to the crash structure.

Supercars maintains that the changes align with the ‘continuous improvement’ exercises adopted when the last new platform — Car of the Future — was introduced. Changes to the chassis also happened early in that evolution a decade ago.

“The Technical Working Group approved some modifications to the front and rear clips, and chassis, to improve the impacts of damage learnt from the Albert Park findings,” a Supercars spokesperson said.

“This is a process of continuous improvement similar to what the series went through the last time it introduced a new platform.”

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WORLDS SUPERCARS CHAIRMAN REBUFFS DANE ‘LUNATIC’ GIBE AS HE SPELLS OUT GRAND VISION

By Bruce Williams CONTRARY TO powerbroker Roland Dane’s view, Supercars chairman Barclay Nettlefold says Australia’s premier race series should be looking to expand overseas – and is doing exactly that.

Nettlefold has flagged that Supercars is close to finalising a new event in New Zealand to replace Pukekohe, which ended last year.

And, while Dane says Supercars should be concentrating on “building back up the home base”, Nettlefold is eyeing returns to the Middle East, Asia and America.

He wants to not only expand the calendar beyond this year’s 12 events,

RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold believes the time is right for Supercars to re-establish an international presence.

but sees it as a way to attract new makes to Supercars.

“Some manufacturers want to be part of what we are doing,” Nettlefold, who moved into the big chair at Supercars 18 months ago in the takeover

by Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE), told Auto Action in a lengthy sit-down interview at his Melbourne offices.

He admits he was one of the ‘lunatics’ Dane referred to after the Australian Grand Prix as sprouting misguided international expansion.

“I’m sure he (Dane) was referencing me,” Nettlefold said.

“That’s probably not my choice of words to call someone, but I think his statements are ill-informed because he hasn’t got enough information to understand what we are trying to achieve.

“He was clearly thinking we should be focusing more on New Zealand, but he’s not aware of just how much work we are doing to get the sport back to New Zealand.”

Dane – the sport’s most successful team owner, as the former boss of Triple Eight Race Engineering, and a former Supercars board member too – made his ‘lunatics’ gibe in a column for website Speedcafe.com on April 5.

TAUPO LEADING THE WAY IN NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND’S ONLY FIA GRADE 2 TRACK MAY BE TOP CANDIDATE TO HOST SUPERCARS RETURN SUPERCARS LOOKS set to return to New Zealand in 2024, with Taupo now believed to be leading the way as the most likely venue for the 13th event in the Supercars Championship.

Talking exclusively to AUTO ACTION, Supercars Chairman Barclay Nettlefind has hinted at a return to New Zealand next year and said the choice was down to three venues (see Pages 30-35).

Most of the media speculation has centred on Triple Eight Race Engineering co-owner Tony Quinn’s Hampton Downs circuit just down the road from Pukekohe, but the ease of getting Taupo –also owned by the trust Quinn has set up to run his NZ interests – up to the level required in terms of facilities for spectators, as well as its higher safety grading, is believed to have nudged it in front.

Other circuits being considered include Manfeild in the south of the North Island, with Highlands (Quinn’s third kiwi venue), deep in the south of the South Island, ruled out because it is believed to be too remote to be considered for New Zealand’s only Supercars race.

Taupo’s international layout (registered as ‘Grand Prix’ by the FIA) is New Zealand’s only Grade 2 circuit, meaning it is allowed to run races for cars with a weight-to-power ratio of between 1 and 2kg/hp. A Gen3

Supercars is presently just a little more than 2kg/hp, which means a Grade 3 licence is actually all that is required.

There are eight tracks in New Zealand with Grade 3 or higher, meaning they can all host a Supercars event. Pukekohe’s grading will disappear soon.

Taupo is near the centre of New Zealand’s North Island and sits on the edge of a 616 square-km lake of the same name.

The biggest obstacle for Taupo is the weather and accommodation. At an altitude of 390m, Taupo’s weather is colder and wetter than the Supercars are used to, and November is the most likely date to host a race, with February and March locked away for other events.

Its average high temperature for November is 18.3°C, and there are on average, only eight days of rain during that month.

It has a population of only 26,000 but as a resort town there is plenty of accommodation. It is a twohour drive from Hamilton, three from Auckland and four from Wellington.

FIA GRADE 2 CIRCUITS IN NEW ZEALAND Circuits holding Grade Two certification may host events involving “Automobiles of Groups D (FIA International Formula) and E (Free formula) with a weight/power ratio of between 1 and 2 kg/hp.

Taupo International Motorsport Park Taupo

Grand Prix

3.321 km (2.064 mi)

FIA GRADE 3 CIRCUITS IN NEW ZEALAND Circuits holding Grade Three certification may host events involving “Category II Automobiles with a weight/power ratio of between 2 and 3 kg/hp.

Circuit Chris Amon Feilding Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Te Kauwhata Highlands Motorsport Park Cromwell Pukekohe Park Raceway Pukekohe Ruapuna Park Christchurch Teretonga Park Invercargill Timaru International Motor Raceway Timaru

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Grand Prix National Full Grand Prix Full Full Full

3.030 km (1.883 mi) 2.630 km (1.634 mi) 3.932 km (2.443 mi) 2.910 km (1.808 mi) 3.330 km (2.069 mi) 2.610 km (1.622 mi) 2.400 km (1.491 mi)

As NZ’s only ‘Level 2’ circuit, Taupo hosted FIA A1 Grand Prix in 2008. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

APART “There was a lunatic or two from the Supercars board rolling around the paddock (at Albert Park) who still thinks it would be a great idea to go and compete at other regional Grands Prix,” Dane wrote.

“For the umpteenth time, for everyone’s sake, concentrate on building back up the home base, including New Zealand …

Maximise (appreciation of the new Gen3 Supercars) at home – including the Kiwis, of course.”

But in a vigorous response that harked back to the halcyon days of Tony Cochrane as the Supercars impresario (although he didn’t invoke the name ‘Cocho’ in the AA interview), Nettlefold said of potential overseas expansion: “Is it us seeing an opportunity, or is the world seeing it?

“Is it inbound, or is it outbound pressure?

“Everyone needs to understand that we’ve now got a relevant product on for the global market.

“World touring cars has disbanded and we’ve now got the world’s number one touring car product.

“Our racing is door-to-door better than it’s ever been.

“It is really creating a lot of inbound interest.

“That interest can stem from the potential of forming some sort of F1 affiliation, but also standalone racing too.

“If we can put on more races, teams get paid more, and we can have our drivers doing a lot more events during a year.

“I think it’s better for Supercars.”

Later in the interview Nettlefold said that “if Roland was privy to more information he might not think we were lunatics”.

“From what we are getting told from our executive, some manufacturers want to be a part of what we are doing,” Nettlefold said.

“If we look to get broadened outside of Australia, that will also assist the commercial narrative around

that and build the appetite.”

Again echoing Tony Cochrane, Nettlefold declared he wants Supercars to become “the third biggest sport in the country,” although the pecking order is already crowded at the top with AFL, NRL, Cricket and Tennis – all with massive audiences.

And, in a dig at Archer Capital, the former controlling shareholder in Supercars, Nettlefold said: “We’re building the brand again. There’s been no investment in building the Supercars brand for years.

“We certainly have got our eyes focused on a five-year plan.

“We are committing our executive team to that.

“We’ll keep growing the sport and investing in it to bring it back to what it should be.

“It is a fantastic part of the DNA of Australia, and has been for so long, and I would say it’s been neglected in a way.

“You only have to look at what the AFL spends on grassroots sport.

“Where are our grassroots programmes, other than Super2 and Super3?

“If we are doing better, we should be supporting karting.

“We should nearly become the masthead of Motorsport Australia.”

Nettlefold emphasised that the RACE regime wanted to “amplify” the profile of Supercar drivers.

And he hit on what he sees as the strongest selling point for the sport’s growth.

“Motorsports has got an adrenaline factor to it as no other sport does.”

Nettlefold’s Super-Duper vision – pages 30-35.

Roland Dane – brands a return to overseas expansion as ‘lunacy’ ...

Image: DANIEL KALISZ

Image: Mark Horsburgh

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SVG PUMPING UP FEENEY’S TYRES SHANE VAN Gisbergen is feeling bullish about the constantly rising star of teammate Broc Feeney, who looks like he could start making a regular habit out of winning.

After the end of the 2022 season, SVG commented that he wanted to be pushed within the team, saying: “Sometimes I miss getting pushed by Jamie (Whincup), and then Broc outqualified me in Adelaide, which gives me something new to learn.”

The three-time Supercars champion thrives on competition, and with two wins and a podium in his last seven races (and a ‘cancelled’ podium), Feeney is starting to provide that in-team push, and SVG warns that he’s only getting better, saying it’s also a vital aspect to improving the Camaro.

“It’s been awesome, and on-track, it’s going to get better and better,” van Gisbergen said on the latest The Quarterly Report podcast.

“The tracks that were new to him last year, he’s only going to be even quicker on.

“Tassie was in the second round last year, and he’s out-qualified me in his first time there!

“Especially this year as well, we need to push each other and develop this car together before we try and beat everyone else.

“To have that year last year, before the new cars came, is a huge help to us this year.”

That’s been evident in 2023 already, with the Red Bull Ampol Camaros

Image: MARK HORSBURGH having been on all six podiums this season at the drop of the chequered flag.

And ahead of Perth, where teams are again facing a unique new format in regards to the Gen3 cars, SVG sees the two-pronged feedback as a vital edge.

“It’s more important to work together to make sure we get the set-up right and develop the car right to be fast,” he continued.

“It feels like you’re so limited with what the car does ... we need to have the thing

right every time.

“We don’t have the roll bar systems to tune the car, so we’ve got to be sharp with our feedback.

“We have to try all areas of set-up during practice and be on it.” TW Neal

REVLIMITER PODCAST GETTING STRONGER

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

HEIMGARTNER PUSHING FOR MORE PODIUMS FRESH FROM his maiden Gen3 podium, Andre Heimgartner heads to Perth in a confident frame of mind as the undisputed Brad Jones Racing team leader.

Having shown plenty of promise during the early stages of 2023, Heimgartner got the trophy he craved in the fourth and final race of the Melbourne SuperSprint.

It was the latest scene of Heimgartner’s continual improvement in his new colours.

Having only scored five podiums from his first 183 starts, the Kiwi has already doubled his top-three finishes in just the 39 races since he shifted from Kelly Racing to Brad Jones Racing.

Not only did Heimgartner show strong form at Melbourne, Bryce Fullwood also

fought at the front and Macauley Jones scored his first top 10 finish in a year.

Car #8 has been fast from the get-go, topping pre-season testing at Sydney and the first official Gen3 practice session at the Newcastle 500.

Heimgartner was a consistent force at Newcastle with a pair of top 10 finishes to emerge in the championship a solid fifth.

But the pace disappeared on the Thursday and Friday of the Australian Grand Prix, Andre trailing in the back half of the field before a special turnaround came at the weekend.

A set-up change inspired by the Fullwood side of the garage worked wonders, with Heimgartner returning to the top five on Saturday before grabbing an impressive podium, second, in the finale.

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The 222-race veteran now heads to Perth where he feels BJR could make the most of another unknown.

“I think we are still a little while from being consistently up the front, but there were good things here,” Heimgartner said at Melbourne.

“I think at Newcastle we were not quite as fast as we wanted, so there are some things we needed to learn which we did.

“You just don’t know with these new cars, it is always slightly different whichever track you go to. We have obviously had two contrasting tracks in Newcastle and Melbourne and Perth is somewhere in the middle.

“We are just going to have to learn as we go and it will be who can adapt the fastest. who succeed” Thomas Miles

AUTO ACTION has been the leading motorsports publication for over half a century, and now it has its own podcast, which is climbing the charts.

Further expanding its digital footprint.

The Rev Limiter Podcast has been running for three years and has focused on reviewing Supercars rounds, with host Andrew Clarke providing detailed analysis of each race.

Now it has expanded to cater to a wider audience, including Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR and IndyCar in addition to Supercars.

The change in format has clearly paid off, as The Auto Action Rev Limiter Podcast has broken into the top 10 sporting podcasts in Australia, according to Chartable.

Andrew is now joined by Auto Action editor Bruce Williams and senior reporter Paul Gover. Together, they provide listeners with the latest news, opinions, and analysis on the world of motorsports.

And they have plenty of opinions too.

In a recent interview, Clarke revealed that the decision to broaden the show’s focus was driven by a desire to provide more value to listeners.

“We wanted to make sure that we were providing our audience with the best

possible content,” he said. “By expanding the podcast’s scope, we’re able to cover more races and provide more in-depth analysis of each event.”

After each major race meeting, the crew will still unpack what went on, but in the other weeks, it will dig into the critical topics for the sport.

Last week, Clarke, Williams and Gover looked at the Gen3 roll-out and where it is at.

The success of The Auto Action Rev Limiter Podcast is a testament to the dedication and expertise of the team behind it. Auto Action has been a trusted source of motorsports news for over 50 years, and the podcast is a natural extension of that expertise.

With its new format and a growing audience, The Auto Action Rev Limiter Podcast is poised to become a must-listen-to for motorsports fans in Australia and around the world.

To listen to the Auto Action RevLimiter Podcast, scan the QR code or go to the link below https://autoaction.com.au/category/ features/podcasts

Keep in mind this view... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

AVALON CONFIRMED FOR “THE HOME OF MOTORSPORT” AFTER MONTHS OF DENIALS, MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIAN AND THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE CONFIRMED THEIR INTEREST IN DEVELOPING A NEW MOTOR RACING FACILITY AT AVALON. ANDREW CLARKE REPORTS

THE VICTORIAN State Government has confirmed what Motorsport Australia has denied to Auto Action for months – that Avalon has been earmarked for Victoria’s new Home of Motorsport. The statement by the government adds little clarity to its previous statements regarding the facility but does confirm it is finally moving forward as the preferred venue.

The State Government announcement says it has accepted the recommendation of Motorsport Australia to use a 150ha plot of land that is part of the Avalon Airport precinct.

The State’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos, said last weekend, “Motorsport is a great Victorian passion and pastime for many, and it also supports thousands of jobs and delivers significant economic benefits to our state.

“A Home of Motorsport at Avalon would inspire and encourage the development of up-and-coming drivers in their efforts to become household names like local heroes Oscar Piastri and Cameron Waters.”

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At the moment, the deal is only for a $1.6m study to work out what to do, as confirmed to Auto Action in October last year.

The final development is expected to cost between $250m and $500m, as a Principal Public Partnership involving the Government, Motorsport Australia and Linfox Group which owns the Phillip Island Circuit.

However, the Victorian State Government is under enormous pressure to reign in its spending on major projects and a firm commitment to fund a project of this type could be some budgets away unless it is funded privately – which is highly unlikely.

The controversial former head of Major Projects Victoria and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Tim Bamford, is rurmoured to be confirmed as leading the project.

Linfox has indicated to other media outlets it is not keen on funding the project to the level that may be required to get it up and running. In 1997, Linfox signed a 50-year lease with a 49-year option for

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Avalon airport and the surrounding land which will house the track.

This reluctance has opened speculation about a possible sale of Phillip Island to fund the Linfox part of the arrangement after its plans to enhance the 256 hectare Phillip Island site into a holiday resort – including a golf course and a 5-star hotel – have not come to fruition.

Victoria presently hosts the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, and the Sandown 500 for Supercars. While it is too early to speculate on future events, there will be pressure to move one or all three events to the new circuit when it is up and running.

With the annual cost of running the Australian Grand Prix soaring past $50m, the government is known to be keen to offset some of its investment by moving the race to Avalon.

Formula 1’s view on a possible move is not clear, although former boss Bernie Ecclestone was always keen to point out

the race is at Albert Park, or it wasn’t in Australia!

Avalon Airport took to its Facebook page to express its ‘excitement’ at the announcement.

Tony Brun, CEO Melbourne Avalon Airport, said: “We have been selected as the preferred site for the proposed Home of Motorsport in Victoria, a decision based on Motorsport Australia’s existing participation base, proximity to transport and logistics infrastructure, and the sites potential for significant development. We have been the regular host for logistics for major motorsports use at our international airport and we look forward to welcoming more members of the motorsport community to our precinct.”

With Calder Park presently going through a privately funded resurgence, and Sandown on the verge of being saved by its owners, the Melbourne Racing Club, Melbourne will have three significant motor racing circuits when and if Avalon is up and running.

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For Auto Action’s Supercars Perth SuperSprint event guide, scan the QR code to download

AUSSIE V8 OFF TO THE STATES A FORMER Holden Racing Team VF Commodore is currently under the roof of a NASCAR Cup Series powerhouse. The plain white car currently owned by Image Racing’s Terry Wyhoon is Stateside to help Richard Childress Racing’s big-name drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon gain some testing mileage during the year. The Commodore chassis made its Supercars debut with Garth Tander at the wheel in 2013, and was also raced by Tim Slade, Aaren Russell and Shae Davies in the main game until 2016.

RCR hopes the Supercars laps can help their drivers gain an extra advantage amid tight testing restrictions and Wyhoon will be present to see the special laps unfold..

MAJORAM STEPS UP FOR FULL SUPERUTES ASSAULT TRITON RACING will be fronted by Adam Marjoram, who steps up for a full-time seat in the V8 SuperUte Series for season 2023. Majoram has pervious racing experience in Super2 and the V8 Utes Racing Series, but is boosted by a successful one-off appearance at The Bend last year. A rejuvenated “the Menace” took a race and round win on SuperUtes debut and hopes for similar success in the #15 Mitsubishi.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about racing, and now I am,” said Marjoram.

“To get the win and the pole on a comeback round last year really reignited the passion for motorsport.”

CASEY TO SADDLE UP IN BENDIX UTE AFTER A strong debut season, Dave Casey will saddle up for his sophomore V8 SuperUte Series season in 2023. Casey finished sixth in last year’s rookie campaign and will drive an updated Dmax backed by Bendix this year.

His #5 Isuzu will stand out with a white and purple colour scheme and the SWL Racing driver is ready to race. “The 2022 season was great and now we enter 2023 looking to capitalise, take everything we have learnt and put it to fruition with a brand-new Dmax,” Casey said. The 2023 V8SuperUte Series begins at Perth on April 28-30.

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PERTH PUTS HEAT ON GEN3 SUPERCARS SUPERCARS HEADS west to Wanneroo Raceway for what promises to be an intriguing Perth SuperSprint on April 28-30.

A third format in as many rounds will be on offer with the familiar hat-trick of 100km sprints returning to the 2.42km circuit.

The 2023 Barbagallo blast will be the first not to feature a night race since 2018, while only one practice session will be seen on Friday.

Perth is notorious for chewing through tyres with five of the seven corners right handers putting immense pressure on the working left-hand side – this characteristic has produced many nail-biting finishes over the years.

The Soft rubber, which held up well last year will be on show once again.

Supercars arrives at WA with a new championship leader in homegrown hero Brodie Kostecki, who tops the points for the first time after a breakthrough Australian Grand Prix.

Kostecki has shown a liking to the Gen3 Camaro from the get-go and scored his first two main-game wins at Melbourne before a strong drive from 14th to third to secure the Larry Perkins Trophy.

The Erebus driver has a 32-point advantage over Chaz Mostert, while Shane van Gisbergen is quickly closing in just 86 back.

All onlookers will be keeping a keen eye on the timesheets with parity a hot topic coming out of the Melbourne

SuperSprint where not a single Ford scored a podium finish.

Camaros have won all six races on the track in 2023, with Cam Waters only awarded the Race 1 win following a disqualification.

The Mustang runners will be desperate to stop the worrying trend, but can turn to last year for hope.

Ford entered Sunday of last year’s Perth SuperSprint winless from the first 10 races before Will Davison made the breakthrough.

Although van Gisbergen claimed the other two wins, he was kept honest as the Blue Oval brigade featured prominently on the podium throughout the weekend.

Car #97 is the only non-DJR car to win a race at Perth since 2016, but the oldest team on the grid has struggled to unlock their new Gen3 weapon.

Whilst Mostert has been Ford’s leading Gen3 challenger, Perth has not been a happy hunting ground for WAU. Last year both WAU cars lacked pace at a track the team has not won at since 2006, while Mostert has also struggled for tyre life this year.

History will be made at Perth where Mark Winterbottom will make his 600th race start at the scene of his last podium, in 2018.

Could a fitting Frosty fairytale be on the cards as the Camaros strengthen their grip or will Ford fight back at Wanneroo?

Thomas Miles

YOUNG GUNS GEARING UP FOR PERTH DUNLOP SHOWDOWN ROUND 2 of the Super2/3 series heads to Wanneroo for the Perth SuperSprint, with the series set to enjoy its newly extended 40 minute race format.

It’s a big round for the 29 car grid with 15 rookies looking to get settled, and will be sure to enjoy the open space after the walled-in Newcastle bull ring.

The Super2 wins were shared between the Anderson Motorsport championship leader Zak Best, and Cooper Murray, with the Victorian taking out Race 1 on his return to racing for Eggleston.

It’s a big round for Super2 series rookie Aaron Love as he returns to his home-state, and will enjoy the longer format on a familiar track in his BRT Mustang.

The WA native got caught up in anything that went wrong at Newcastle, but walked away with a P2 in Race 2.

WAU rookie Ryan Wood is another talent that will challenge for wins in ’23, and after taking pole and finding trouble in Race 2 for a retirement, will be coming in hot at Wanneroo; as will Matt Chahda, who looked faster as the weekend progressed.

Also, look for #54 Eggleston Mustang rookie

Image: PETER NORTON Jordyn Sinni to make an impact with the more tintop drives he gets under his belt.

The nine-car Super3 grid sees Image Racing’s Jobe Stewart leading on 288 points in the #999 Commodore VF, who after being awarded Race 1 by the race stewards, took a P2 in the mayhem filled closer.

Plenty of eyes will be on the rising star of Queensland’s Cameron McLeod (above), who took the class chequered flag on both occasions in Newcastle, only for Stewart to be awarded the win on a post-race investigation.

McLeod was also the double-pole getter in

strong first up performance in the ex-Kelly Racing Nissan Altima.

Ryan Gilroy holds and even-points third over Jett Johnson, as his rise from the TGRA 86 series looks to be a fruitful one.

Johnson, also in an Altima, will be looking to improve on his sole podium from Round 1.

Former NZ Formula Ford gun Matthew McCutcheon took a promoted P2 on his debut Super3 outing, with the Eggleston youngster looking the goods, as did another son-of-agun and third generation racer in Mason Kelly – driving the third L33 on the grid. TW Neal

TYRES PASS MELBOURNE TEST

THE MELBOURNE SuperSprint provided the first glimpse of how the SuperSoft and new Wet tyres would cope in the Gen3 era and Dunlop is happy with the result.

With Melbourne being a street track tough on tyres, the SuperSoft rubber did well to show strong speed throughout the races.

It was a far cry from the scenes of 12 months ago when tyre dramas were a common occurrence on the aero-heavy Gen2 cars.

Dunlop Motorsport operations manager Kevin Fitzsimmons was pleased with how the SuperSofts stood up.

“We are quite happy with the way things are,” Fitzsimmons (below) told Auto Action.

“We were not sure how the tyre was going to react with this car and I was expecting there to be a lot more deg than there was, so I was pleasantly surprised cars were still punching out good numbers (throughout the race).

“It is a work in process and we are learning as we go, but it is ticking the boxes I want to tick.”

The new for 2023 Wet compound tyres are a step softer and around 2.5s faster than last year’s version.

Although the Race 5 qualifying began on a damp track providing the first sight of the Wets, Fitzsimmons said it was hard to get a perfect reading given cars were still operating dry setups.

“Running in the wet was a good fact-finding mission for everybody, but it was probably the worst case scenario you could have for the first time,” he said.

“It was high load, high speed in a very short qualifying session where everybody had a dry setup on because of the back to back sessions.

“Unfortunately plenty of rears blistered, but if you had a list of things there was a cross next to every one of them.

“It is all part of the Gen3 progress.”

The Dunlop Soft tyres will be in play at Perth on April 28-30.

Thomas Miles

Image: THOMAS MILES

It is expected that longer Super2 3 races should result in better races – with less Safety Car intervention ...

DUNLOP SERIES FORMAT CHANGE WELCOMED THE DUNLOP Super2 and Super3 Series will unveil a new race format at Perth, which has already been welcomed by competitors.

In response to a lack of racing laps at recent Development Series events, the Supercars Commission approved a change to increase the development series race distances.

Under the new format, races no longer feature a lap count and will be a timed 40-minute affair, upping the previous allocation of half-an-hour.

The new 40-minute race format will be in play at the Perth, Townsville, Sandown and Adelaide events, while Bathurst retains its dual 100km races.

The move has been welcomed by the teams with Image Racing’s Terry Wyhoon believing the extra 10 minutes could promote better racing and less carnage.

“When I saw it I just went, wow that is awesome,” he told Auto Action.

“It is great to see an extension of 10 minutes. It is move in the right direction and I am quite excited.

“Ten minutes could be the difference between making the race kind of a nonevent and a decent show.”

Wyhoon’s relief comes after an incidentfilled recent history of the Dunlop Series where long periods of green flag racing have been hard to come by.

Both Newcastle races featured Safety Car interruptions with Sunday’s finale marred by a five-car pile-up, while even less racing was possible at the weather-impacted Bathurst round last year.

“It has been difficult lately,” Wyhoon reflected.

“Last year we worked out we raced for probably half of the time allocated to us ... but it is what it is.

“As a team owner/engineer I did not even know where to run the tyre pressures because I did not know if there were going to have five or 18 laps.

“I felt for the drivers because (if you lose lots of racing laps) you can’t give the drivers much back.

“Hopefully we get back into more of a routine and do things how it is supposed to be done.

“It will benefit everyone.”

When the lights go out, Wyhoon believes the extra racing laps will also have a positive affect on the way the drivers go about battling on track.

He said drivers may show less desperation when making moves, which will only enhance their racecraft for the future.

“I hope drivers will go in with a different mindset, not being as urgent and thinking I don’t have to make this pass on Lap 1,” Wyhoon said.

“When we go to somewhere like Perth, suddenly there are 10 extra laps and that could make all the difference when someone is fighting for position.

“The young guys still have a bit of racecraft to learn, but having this extra time means everyone needs to be smarter.”

Thomas Miles

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SOFTLY SOFTLY: JONES ON GEN3 CLIP ISSUES

FROSTY TO REACH MAJOR MILESTONE

MARK WINTERBOTTOM will create history at the upcoming Perth SuperSprint, becoming just the third driver ever to record 600 Supercars/ATCC race starts.

Winterbottom will hit the milestone in Saturday’s opening race at Wannaroo.

‘Frosty’ made his debut for SBR in 2003 and has driven for Larkham Motorsport, FPR and Team 18, having claimed Bathurst (2013) and championship (2015) titles along the way.

The milestone arrives at a successful circuit for Winterbottom, who has won in WA seven times, while his last podium also occurred at Barbagallo in 2018.

Car #18 heads to the special race 12th in the championship.

NEW NAMING RIGHTS FOR THE BEND THE BEND Motorsport Park will have a slightly different appearance in the future after the sale of the OTR Group, which is a South Australian-based retail fuel and convenience store chain.

Viva Energy, which operates with the famous Shell brand in Australia, has struck a deal with the Shahin family-owned Peregrine Corporation, the owners of The Bend motorsport facility, to buy the OTR Group for $1.15 billion.

As part of the purchase of the OTR fuel outlet business from the Peregrine Corporation, a deal has been done for a decade-long naming rights partnership with The Bend Motorsport Park.

QUICK CLEAN UP FOR BURNT MUSTANG JAMES COURTNEY’S burnt Tickford Racing Ford Mustang is ready for Perth after a rapid clean up effort following the Albert Park fire.

Courtney was forced to jump out of his car on the first lap of Race 5 after his Mustang burst into flames.

But within a handful of days after the Grand Prix, Tickford had stripped it back, cleaned, repaired the chassis and commenced the assembly phase.

Courtney hopes to turn around his luck at Perth where he scored a second place finish last year.

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BRAD JONES Racing’s Macauley Jones has shed light on the overtly delicate nature of the Gen3 front and rear clips that caused headaches at the Australian Grand Prix.

Jones’s #96 Camaro appeared to have some good pace at Albert Park, taking two top 10s in the shorter format sprints, but the weekend had its issues after a seemingly innocuous brush on the fence.

The #96 driver explained the issue on the Brad Jones Racing Run Down podcast, stating the clips are a lot softer in composition than they are

perhaps required to be, as well as some other new parts.

“They have proven to be softer than what I guess they probably first imagined,” Jones said.

“I had some contact on Thursday, I got caught out in that first session and hit the wall side on…it wasn’t a huge impact.

“And it didn’t do any damage to any of the arms, panels or uprights, but it had bent the clevis in the rear clip, quite a lot actually!

“That knocked out all the rear toes, the bump steer, camber and bent the clip.

“It is not really like you can just

bend it back into place, because then the metal would become even softer and potentially crack from there on.”

The Albury born racer also highlighted the delicate nature of the new carbon undertray, which also breaks far too easily for the style of racing that’s meant to be happening out on a Supercars track.

“With the carbon undertray, you’re tapping a curb or tapping a tyre bundle and they’re falling apart,” he continued.

“That’s a bit of a worry – it’s not like we have heaps to just replace them, like you can just tap one curb and then go “Okay, well we need to replace that”, but it’s hard to just be doing that all the time.

“They’re about $4,000 dollars apiece, so hopefully they can be made out of something that’s not carbon in the future, I just don’t think it needs to be carbon.

“So there’s a few things on the cars that aren’t probably as strong as what we need or want them to be actually.

“In our style of racing, we want to be banging doors and we want to be bumping curbs.”

Tim W Neal

PERCAT PREPARED TO BE MOSTERT’S WINGMAN NICK PERCAT is already prepared to sacrifice his own ambitions to help Chaz Mostert’s and Walkinshaw Andretti United’s title push.

Percat’s change of mindset to play a ‘wingman’ role comes after suffering the “worst start” to his career.

He sits last in the championship Image: MARK HORSBURGH with just 117 points, 36 less than nearest rival It is the first time Percat has not James Courtney, while his #25 scored a top-10 result in the first two stablemate is second, 36 points rounds of a season since 2015 – his behind leader Brodie Kostecki. second full-time campaign and first After a forgetful Newcastle, Percat for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. appeared to be on the right track with With his championship hopes a P12 in the opening Aus GP race. already down the drain, Percat has However, more bad luck followed at already announced his intentions the Melbourne SuperSprint summed of being a team player to support up by the in-car fire in Friday’s Sprint.

Mostert’s title assault.

Percat returned for the final two “It’s been the worst start to a races where he recorded P16 and P20 championship I’ve had in my career, results. ever,” Percat told Supercars.com.

“Personally, it’s more about single results.

I want to be standing on the podium, qualify much better than I did last year.

“On the other side, I want a really strong result for the team.

“I might not be going well with what’s happened, but Chaz is in the championship fight.

“Chaz is in an amazing position, and I know he’d do the same for me.

“If it comes to it that I need to get the elbows out to block someone, or strategy doesn’t go my way to make sure he gets a better result.

“Whatever we have to do to try and end up with a championship on that car would be pretty big.”

Percat hopes to spark his turnaround at the Perth SuperSprint on April 28-30.

Thomas Miles

HILL’S ROOKIE REVELATIONS ON GEN3

VALIANT FANS HELPED GET TILLEY’S PACER OVER THE LINE

MATT STONE Racing rookie Cameron “To me and my untrained eye it feels Hill has likened driving a Gen3 Supercar pretty good,” Hill said, to “walking a tightrope” after his first “I do not want to fan flames or taste of being a full-time driver. anything, but I was behind a Mustang Across two contrasting rounds when I came through a corner and distance-wise, the new Gen3 Camaro thought I had a good exit. has already left an impression on Hill.

“But then he pulled away from me Speaking exclusively with Auto Action’s down the straight, so I thought ‘okay, Bruce Williams, the Canberran driver there is nothing wrong there’. stated care is required when hustling the “Considering you have two completely Gen3 around a circuit. different engines and shaped race cars, “I think you are definitely walking a for us to be doing times as close as tightrope everywhere at the moment,” he we are I feel like they have got it pretty said. good.”

“Certainly over race distances, even if Off the track Hill is full of praise for his they are short, if you overstep the mark a new home at Matt Stone Racing, which couple of times you can really pay for it. has enjoyed a fast start to 2023 with “Having the discipline not to get too the more experienced Jack Le Brocq a keen or excited and grab a little bit too regular top 10 finisher. much throttle, especially when you are Le Brocq is thriving from the “good JOHN BOWE brought up his 300th racing people seems to be super critical.” vibes in the tight-knit team” to enjoy his Touring Car Masters start at Sandown Hill has already been dealt with a best start to a Supercars season.

Raceway on Sunday dung the Shannons harsh lesson of where the limits are in a Hill also feels boosted by the positive Motorsport Australia Championship.

Supercar. atmosphere at the two-car team in its The Bathurst legend is a four-time On debut at Newcastle in Race 2, he sixth Supercars season. winner of the fan favourite category, 15th down to 21stonafter “I think the environment at Matt Stone but the grid was reverted bringing up the milestone at a track after leaving their own jobs, I couldn’t even ASdropped THE rainfrom dumped the bowling a circumstances, wide atrace the track first corner in theofpiece, awesome.

Thetimes guys in area great toRacing the dryispractice session where he also cantured tour Sandown begin to count the hours that we all put in Sandown on the late Saturday the while his Melbourne ended controversial to work withdecision. and are all hard-core bts Bowe’s TCM career started in 2008, over the nine weeks. To experience that Shannons National round,SuperSprint AUTO ACTION the gravel. racers, ” he said.

The delighted reaction from the crowd driving in Camaro before jumping into a level of support was something else – I wasinon-hand in the Touring car Masters tent However, Hill, who has also shown “They their are only doing it because they reflected appreciation for it being there Ford Mustang Trans Am affectionately couldn’t believe it. behind the pit lane. strong pace, he finished atlove it and washaving a greatplayed opportunity all, with itsGen3 fans also a part known as “Sally.”

Surrounded byespecially mechanicswhen and onlookers, “I got a big help from Gear-Exchange from 15th onTilley debut, stillbehind described the Camaro intoitshave a fresh start. return.

In 2015, Bowe shifted over to the Cameron stood his rebuilt Smithfield in Sydney also. It’s people like that as “balanced” and even a as “It isfan their first time a levelI playing “The support wason massive, set up Bendigo Retro Muscle cars Torana, Valiant in his blue racing suit said with ita is smile that keep us all going really. And Anglomoil similar to bonnet.

Gen2 but finding the where they not rounded a few years a field Go-fund-me pageare which up a built by Gary O’Brien, in which he nas wide as hisbeast Pacer’s has also helped me for years, and they’ve boundaries is a challenge. behind with older cars.which ” reasonable contribution, got me about given me great support throughout.” competed in 147 races. Bowe’s 300th The normally reserved driver had reason car is stilltaking balanced.

Theyinare It is this of environment thatAUTO will of kind the way there,” Tilley told start almost delivered a fairy tale to be“The satisfied after a podium thevery a quarter “I couldn’t have done it without them and similar the cars we hadoffand help Hill overcome the early challenges finish, where the left mirror of Adam Trophy racetowhen he blasted thestill linefeels ACTION. everyone else. People just kept coming out likethe a Supercar, he said. of his developing Bressington’s #95 Camaro loomed large down outside of” the pit straight, putting of nowhere just saying they could help. No “Whether I raced Supercars it again or career. not, it had “Itfirst is not like itby is horrifically “We just–need to start to convert with the #18 Torana into the final straight. him in position the second loose turn. matter how big or small the contribution, It to be fixed I couldn’t handle seeingon it all or also has qualified horrible understeer, but that of the we have hadevery so far,day ” he The final margin of 0.024s was the He in P1 in trying helped me to keep on pushing.” TN like that.positives People were helping threshold is a lot lower. said. closest finish in TCM history, with Bowe “Sometimes you might pick up a bit “I felt pretty comfortable in Newcastle losing by a foot and a half’s length – or of push, which if you try to fix it could having got my head around the the Camaro’s bonnet. Bowe had the become oversteer. longer races, whereas I did not feel as championship lead leading into the “CertainlyAUSTRALIAN on the hard tyre car Champion comfortable at AGP ...competition so we have ainbit of before he returned to competition round, but the rival Torana of Ryan 2003 MULTIPLE Offthe Road Les Siviour moving around, so finding where work to do.

Hansford takes a nine point lead heading briefly in 2005, and again in 2010 with daughter Katie, also passed away on September 8 afterthat a short battle with limit isHe andbegan not going over is the “There are guys who a ith. bit more don’t want overstep with car theon is going to give me the intothe Bathurst November 11-13. atare Griff He kept involved, withto support to it. son-in-law cancer. racing in it1983 attough Waikerie in his wife’s part.” car. He subsequently campaignedcomfortable hanging Shannon it out there lap afterand his “There have races where mythe pace confidence. ” Having won the Bathurst 1000 twice, Rentsch father Ianbeen in their bids to win shopping Nissan Patrols asked Auto Action for his take lap, so I am just playing with thatChampionship. and has been good, extends so if I can Hill heads to the PerthBowe’s SuperSprint there’s a fair chance victorious Australian AUTOvery ACTION itsqualify deepest for When 19 years andby won the Production 4WD Championship the Gen3 parity debate, he probably not just yet because better, should be Bobbie able to race in the championship. knowledge of The Mountain may have condolences to his wife Jan, Idaughters and further Katie, up. 23rd 16on times, and the Australian Offproduced Road Championship in at the limit an interesting and honest response.

I am fulltime not quite sure where that and I “I just need to findGO that sweet spot Thomas and Bruce him in Miles good stead ... TN Williams and to theis extended family and friends.

1985.

The Griffith-based rice farmer retired from

BOWE BREAKS THE 300 TCM BARRIER

VALE – LES SIVIOUR

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ALLEN RACING TOWARDS SEVENTH ELMS SEASON JAMES ALLEN is only a few weeks away from competing in his seventh European Le Mans Series (ELMS), as well as preparing for his sixth 24 hours of Le Mans in what’s already been a big 2023.

Allen will enter his second straight season with Portuguese team Algarve Pro Racing (APR) in an 18-strong LMP2 prototype field with Kyffin Simpson and Alex Lynn, and is in a good spot to challenge for a maiden ELMS championship.

The 26-year-old LMP2 driver has had a stellar start to 2023, which began with a remarkable photo-finish victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona, where he ironically beat Algarve Racing to the line whilst behind the wheel of a Proton Competition LMP2 ORECA-Gibson.

He then took out a win at the Asian Le Mans Series, again acting as the closing driver, developing a healthy knack for bringing it home under duress to the chequered flag.

Allen recently gave his thoughts on entering his seventh ELMS season, after starting with Graff Racing as a teenager in 2017, reminiscing fondly on his two wins in his debut season, and finishing third in a championship he craves to win.

“It’s crazy to think that it’s my seventh season in the European Le Mans Series, and it definitely makes me feel a bit old in a way,” Allen said.

“There are so many memories to choose from, but my first LMP2 win at Spa in 2017 was something I’ll never forget – but I’d have to say my favourite memory was Le Castellet in 2019.

“I took the start of the race from fifth and managed to build a 25-second lead in the first stint, and we ended up winning the race overall. It was a really special win to me, and I’ll always remember it.”

All up he’s had four wins over his ELMS career and, whilst he didn’t get one last season with Algarve as a Pro Am class team, this year he’ll be competing with an all Pro line-up in the very capable #20 APR ORECA 07.

“I’m really happy to be returning to Algarve Pro Racing for the coming season,” he continued.

“It’s always nice to be with a team that I already know and get on well with, since we already understand how each other works and any procedures.

“I met Kyffin (Simpson) last year at the FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain and he’s a hard-working driver who’s very easy to get along with, and us doing the Asian Le Mans Series together has been a big plus.

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

“I’ve only met Alex (Lynn) once or twice and he was nice to talk to and is obviously a very fast and experienced driver. I’m really looking forward to working with them all in the coming season.

“The LMP2 class is going to be very close this year. I’d say our biggest rivals for the season would have to be United Autosports, as it’s a team that has seen so much success in sportscar racing and will always be one of the ones to beat in the ELMS paddock.”

class with APR last year with Steven Thomas and Rene Binder. He’ll enter the 2023 edition again with APR, driving with Americans George Kurtz and Hake Brown in the #45.

Along with Allen, four other Aussies will be taking to the ELMS series in 2023, with Fraser Ross and George Nakas racing for Graff in LMP3, along with Andres Latorre Canon for RLR MSport; and in the LMGTE class, Martin Berry will be racing a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for JMW Motorsport.

The opening race is at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 4 Hours of Barcelona, on April 23.

TW Neal

The Aussie will also be taking on his sixth 24 Hours of Le Mans, and his second with the APR outfit, in the centennial celebrations for the world’s most famous race.

Allen finished 2023 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES CALENDAR third in the LMP2 Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Spain April 22 class in 2021 Imola Circuit, Italy May 6 with French team Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France June 8-9 Panis Racing, Circuit Paul Ricard, France July 15 before taking the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, Belgium September 23 top step in the Algarve International Circuit, Portugal October 22 Pro Am LMP2

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SYDNEY SECOND AUSSIE TCR WORLD TOUR ROUND

FIRST LYNK & CO TCR CAR ARRIVES DOWN UNDER

THE FIRST Lynk & Co 03 TCR has arrived in Australia ahead of its Supercheap Auto TCR Australia debut at Phillip Island next month.

After an extensive rebuild, the ex Cyan Racing FIA World Touring Car Cup chassis has arrived at the ASM workshop and made an impression.

“On first impression, we’re blown away by the car. It’s built like a tank and features exceptional craftsmanship. We’re really excited for its track debut down under,” said ASM’s Ashley Seward.

ASM will be the team racing with the Lynk & Co badge with British Touring Car Championship race winner Tom Oliphant behind the wheel.

V8 TOURING CARS OFF TO QLD V8S WILL go racing around Queensland Raceway in 2023 with the recently revived V8 Touring Cars going to the sunshine state.

The announcement of the TCR World Tour heading to Sydney Motorsport Park in November, has sparked significant shifts in the SpeedSeries calendar. Part of it includes that Round 3 of the V8 Touring Car Series will be held at Ipswich on August 11-13.

Having spent recent seasons under the Super3 banner, the V8 Touring Cars Series returns to its original guise.

The remainder of the 2023 calendar remains unchanged with round 1 at Phillip Island on May 12-14..

OSCAR ON TARGETT FOR BRIGHT RACING FUTURE 17-YEAR-old Queenslander Oscar Targett is about to embark on a big year in the Grove Junior Team, competing in the both the TGRA 86 Scholarship series, and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia series’, with Earl Bamber Motorsport also backing him for the latter.

A talented junior FIA Karter with European credentials and experience, Targett will spend the year not only on track, but amongst the Penrite Racing Supercars outfit.

“I have a lot of learning to do this year to prepare myself for the future but I’m up for the challenge and keen to get to work,” Targett said.

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THE FINAL Australian TCR World Tour slot alongside Bathurst has been sealed with Sydney Motorsport Park getting the honour.

The circuit formally known as Eastern Creek will host the seventh stop on the TCR World Tour on November 3-5, while Bathurst takes centre stage a week later.

Not only will Sydney Motorsport Park be the first Australian round of the series, it will also be the scene of the TCR World Tour’s maiden night race.

The second TCR World Tour Australian based round has been speculated ever since Bathurst was first announced onto the calendar back in November last year.

Sydney and Bathurst join Portimao, Spa-Francorchamps, Vallelunga, Hungaroring, Autodromo de El Pinar, San Luis and Macau on the nine-round calendar, which crisscrosses the globe visiting four continents.

The event will see local stars such as Tony D’Alberto and Will Brown take on previous global TCR champions Mikel Azcona, Thed Björk, Norbert Michelisz and Yann Ehrlacher.

The TCR World Tour will not run as a standalone event at Sydney or Bathurst, with the two New South Wales rounds also being the final rounds of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series.

It has also forced a reshuffle of the SpeedSeries schedule with the Sydney round originally scheduled for June 23-25 featuring TCR, Trans Am, V8 Touring Cars and Hyundai Excels now moved to the new November World Tour date.

As a result, the revived V8 Touring Car Series has

swapped its Sydney race for an August trip to Queensland Raceway.

The TCR World Tour will be a major moment for Australian motorsport, being the first time since 1987 an international touring car event has taken place down-under and 25 years since the final Super Touring Bathurst 1000, which also featured global teams with Rickard Rydell and Jim Richards taking victory in a Volvo.

“We are pleased to formalise this deal that will see two weeks of world-class motorsport in NewSouth Wales,” Australian Racing Group chief operating officer Liam Curkpatrick said.

“To have the best TCR drivers and teams come to Australia is great for our local competitors, really testing themselves against the world and to conclude the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series with back-to-back rounds at Sydney and Bathurst is going to bring a lot of excitement and interest to TCR.” Thomas Miles 2023 TCR WORLD TOUR CALENDAR Round 1: Portuga April 28-30 Round 2: Belgium May 26-28 Round 3: Italy June 9-11 Round 4: Hungary June 16-18 Round 5: Uruguay August 18-20 Round 6: Argentina August 25-27 Round 7: Sydney November 3-5 Round 8: Bathurst November 10-12 Round 9: Macau November 17-19 2023 SPEEDSERIES CALENDAR Round 1: Symmons Plains February 24-26 Round 2: Phillip Island May 12-14 Round 3: Winton June 9-11 Round 4: Queensland Raceway August 11-13 Round 5: Sandown September 8-10 Round 6: Sydney Motorsport Park November 3-5 Round 7: Supercheap Auto November 10-12 Bathurst International

FIRST GR86 CUSTOMER CAR DELIVERED AT SMP THE FIRST GR86 evolution customer race car was on show at the 2023 Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series launch at SMP last week.

Set to hit the track in the 2024 TGRA 86 series, a Toyota GR86 test car was on track at SMP, and underwent some demo laps.

Motorsports (NBM) in Canberra, the new GR86 will fill the 2024 grids, elevating the series that is currently populated by the 2016 Toyota 86 models that are purchased and then built to race-spec by the teams and racers.

In the future, all cars currently competing will be eligible to compete in the brand new TGRA 86 Scholarship Series from next year onward.

Offered by NBM at the turn-key price of $89,990 to prospective entrants in

the 2024 TGRA 86 Series, the new model, based on the road car, gives entrants a straight-up and race-ready car, which is exceptional value.

The GR86 offers an advanced performance improvement, going from a 2.0L to a 2.4L engine, giving an extra 20kw of power.

As well as being faster, the new Toyota racing car has had some minor tweaks, believed to be made to the shock absorber package and rear suspension, with the shock absorber travel and rear spring rates having

changes.

There have also been some minor body work tweaks.

But all up, the cost may have risen slightly from what could be built by a competitor themselves, but with the new GR86, competitors are getting a race-ready, competitive car from NBM. NBM has already started building the customer GR86 race cars, and handed over the first of those to the 2022 TGRA 86 Series Kaizen Award winner Jarrod Hughes.

The 17-year-old from Brisbane won the award for continuous improvement over the course of the 2022 season and received an allexpenses paid trip to the NASCAR Daytona 500 in the US, where he met some of the Toyota drivers and toured the Toyota Gazoo Racing production facility. Tim W Neal

NEWS

RALLY INTERNATIONAL CRAIG BREEN DIES THE RALLY WORLD HAS LOST ONE OF ITS MOST CHARISMATIC AND WELL-LIKED CHARACTERS CRAIG BREEN has died after a crash in pre-event testing for Rally Croatia in the municipality of Labor in northern Croatia, on April 13.

Testing with his co-driver and fellow Irishman, James Fulton, Breen’s Hyundai Rally1 i20N went off the road and made contact with a wooden post, with the 33 year-old passing away on the spot. Fulton was unharmed.

Hyundai Motorsport, who Breen had returned to as a part-time driver after a year with Ford M-Sport, released a statement following the incident: “Hyundai Motorsport is deeply saddened to confirm that driver Craig Breen today lost his life following an accident during the pre-event test for Croatia Rally.

“Hyundai Motorsport sends its sincerest condolences to Craig’s family, friends and his many fans.”

Born in 1990 in Slieverue, Ireland, Craig Breen turned professional in 2009 after being crowned as Ireland’s Young Driver of the Year after winning the International, British and Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy titles.

The son of former Irish rally Champion, Ray Breen, he started out in karting

before quickly showing his talent in the rally discipline.

After finishing second in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and winning his first British Championship victory in Ulster, he entered the WRC academy, and took out that title in a Fiesta R2.

Despite tragically losing his co-driver Gareth Roberts at the Targo Florio Rally, he then won the SWRC (WRC2) with four wins in Fiesta S2000, before joining Peugeot in the ERC in 2013, finishing third in the standings, and again in 2014.

A big 2015 saw him narrowly miss the ERC title whilst also competing in the WRC2, and in 2016 he joined the WRC with the the Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team in a Citroen DS 3, taking a memorable P3 at Rally Finland.

His reward was a Citroen rally contract and, after an up-and-down 2017, he started his second full time year with a P2 at Rally Sweden, before experiencing a lull in results.

He then started his relationship with Hyundai as a part-time driver and, in his second year in 2020, took another P2 in Estonia, before sharing the team’s third i20 with Spaniard Dani Sordo in 2021, collecting three podiums in Estonia,

Belgium, and Finland.

A hunt for a full-time seat led him to M-Sport in 2022, where he showed promising pace all year, taking a podium on debut at Monte Carlo, then another P2 in Italy, before a run of mishaps put paid to a promising year.

Breen then pulled the pin on Ford and in a surprise move, returned to Hyundai part-time to rejoin Sordo in the third i20N.

Breen took a fantastic P2 at Rally Sweden, which proved to be his final rally.

Breen’s WRC record was made up of 81 rallies, 9 podiums, and 30 stage wins.

Craig is survived by his parents, Ray and Jackie, his sister Kellie, brother in-law Darragh, and his nephew Bobbie.

Auto Action sends it condolences to family, friends and the WRC community.

TW Neal

THE VICTORIAN STATE RACE SERIES

ROUND 2 - WINTON RACEWAY

APRIL 22-23

Presented by the Vic State Race Series • Round 3

Phillip Island/PIARC May 26-28

• Round 4 Sandown/ASSA

August 11-13

• Round 5 Phillip Island/VMC

September 22-24

• Round 6 Calder/Combined

October 27-29 TBC

Always great racing and fantastic entries across many categories.

• Formula Ford • MG/Invited British Sports Cars • Formula Vee • Sports Cars • Hyundai Excel • Saloon Cars • Improved Production • Porsche 944 Challenge • Sports Sedans • BMW E30

Spectators are always well catered for with access to the paddock.

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

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NEWS

KARTING LEGEND ANGELO PARRILLA DIES Ayrton Senna was twice a world championship runner-up for DAP. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THE KARTING world is mourning the passing last Friday of Angelo Parrilla, at the age of 77.

Parrilla was the head of the little Italian DAP kart engine (and chassis) business, along with brother Achille, that took on the big boys back in karting’s midlate 1970s ‘golden era’.

Parrilla and DAP are, however, most recognised as the combination, who ran Ayrton Senna through his international karting career – from mid-1978 through to end of 1980 on a full time basis.

Even after 1980, Senna and DAP continued to join forces with the occasional big event ‘returns’ after the young up-and-comer had started his car racing career in Formula Ford in 1981/82.

A little earlier in 1978, DAP – which had been a growing thorn in the side of the big dominant IAME kart engine company – had won its first major international event, with Brit Terry Fullerton.

Fullerton, driving a DAP-powered Zip kart, took out the season-starting Champions Cup at Jesolo, before going on to win a host of races and championships that year.

Senna’s arrival, and his early development within the DAP kart team, signalled the start of an intense two-year head-to-head between the two – almost previewing the Senna/Prost rivalry to come – with the pair dominating international karting.

Both Senna and Fullerton came tantalisingly close to winning a world title for DAP – both would have been justified.

In the end it was Dutchman Peter Koene who did so (at Senna’s expense, in 1979 – due to a one-off change in the three-final tie-breaker rules).

Fullerton had it shot to pieces in 1980, only for a cruel mechanical issue to take it away within sight of victory.

Come 1981 and the huge IAME engine company, stung by DAP’s success, had pulled political strings and helped push through a major change in engine spec for international karting (from 100cc to 130cc – by coincidence IAME already had a suitable, easily-adapted 125cc Komet engine in production!). DAP wasn’t ready or able to compete and its time at the top (and karting’s ‘golden era)’ was over.

With Senna’s rise to F1 greatness, Parrilla became something of a celebrity – known as the man whose karting business gave the Brazilian’s career its international kick start, something he was always immensely proud of.

In Australian terms, DAP had a long and successful relationship with Australian karting legend John Pizarro, who contested a number of world championships and won Australian titles using DAP karts and engines.

AA’s thoughts are with Achille and the Parrilla family.

HILLYER TOPS BACK-TOBACK AFFS ROUNDS MATT HILLYER (above) has taken out two victories at SMP for round two of the Australian Formula Ford Series to remain at the top of of the table over Zak Lobko.

The Sonic Motor Racing young gun took out Races 1 and 2 to extend his championship lead after having won four out of the first six races.

“Overall it wasn’t too bad a weekend and I was able to come away with pole position as well as the race wins,” Hillyer said.

“It was a great result for both the team and I, especially having Conor there behind me in the first two races. It gave the team

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great confidence knowing we can progress together and run at the front.

Zak Lobko took overall second place for the SMP round, taking a victory in Race 3 to hold onto second in the championship.

Hillyer started the weekend by grabbing pole position by 0.219s, and sharing the front row with Sonic team-mate Conor Somers, and proceeded to turn it into a victory over Somers and Eddy Beswick.

Race 2 saw much of the same, with Hillyer and Somers keeping the Sonic Mygale’s up top respectively, making it four AFFS

race wins in a row for Hillyer, with Lobko keeping in touch with a P3.

Lobko struck back in Race 3, and a battle for the front spot between the two championship pace setters ended in favour of the #7 Che Racer.

Somers didn’t have any luck with a poor start in the third stanza, but the #71 Sonic racer held onto third outright, as well as third in the championship.

The AFFS heads to Symmons Plains in Tasmania for its next round, on May 19-21, in support of the Supercars SuperSprint.

TW Neal

SEDANS AND S5000 Image: DANIEL KALISZ

S5000 OFF GOLD COAST 500 BILL

NATIONAL SPORTS SEDAN SERIES GETS A BIG

GOLD COAST BOOST A REVISED calendar for the 2023 Precision International National Sports Sedan Series has confirmed a high-profile trip to the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast 500 will conclude the season with a big finish and brings the series back to a five-round calendar after the cancellation of the Symmons Plains Supercars support round.

In addition to the Surfers Paradise street race, the highlight of the National Sports Sedan Series season will be six on-track sessions at the Bathurst 1000.

The category has not raced at either Bathurst or the Gold Coast since the early 1990’s and the two Supercars rounds will put it in the spotlight with large numbers watching both trackside and on TV. Director of the National Sports Sedan series Michael Robinson expressed his delight with the revised calendar.

“This is an unbelievable opportunity to continue showcasing our category and help set the series up for next year and beyond,” he said.

“To be competing at two of the biggest motorsport events in the country with live Foxtel TV coverage is a massive boost to the series.

“With the Bathurst 1000 event locked away and now with confirmation of the Supercars Gold Coast 500 event being included, I know that the competitors are really excited with the future for the category.”

In addition to the growing calendar, Robinson also said fans can expect strong fields to be racing Sports Sedans when attending the high-profile events.

“The competitor interest is high as we head to our first round at Winton in June, and I expect very solid fields for the whole series.” Robinson said.

“It’s a big opportunity for competitors to deliver real exposure for their sponsors as the series has solid media exposure with coverage across Foxtel, Stan Sport as well as live and delayed coverage on free to air TV across both Channel 9 and the 7 Network.

“What we have been able to give them this year is that exposure at high-profile events with crowds watching and TV coverage, so sponsors and friends can all watch it.

“The profile has lifted which was our aim because it is something sponsors, teams and competitors need, so it is working out well.”

2023 PRECISION INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL SPORTS SEDAN SERIES CALENDAR Round 1: June 9-11 Winton Round 2: August 4-6 Queensland Raceway Round 3: September 9-10 Sydney Motorsport Park Round 4: October 5-8 Bathurst Round 5: October 27-29 Gold Coast

THE ANNOUNCEMENT confirming the addition of the National Sports Sedans at the Gold Coast 500 in October, follows the unfortunate withdrawal of the S5000s from the Supercars event.

Last October, the S5000 contested a successful three-race Tasman Series round at the Gold Coast 500 which took place without a single yellow flag/Safety Car interruption, around what can be considered a carwrecking circuit.

The Trans Am America bound Nathan Herne took the honours that weekend, taking the series’ first ever clean sweep in a nine car field, with Cooper Webster, who now races in the UK’s GB4 series, also impressing.

Teams were expecting to line up at the event again in 2023, however, Auto Action understands that discussions between ARG and Supercars has resulted in the removal of Australia’s premier ‘Wings and Slicks’ series from the 2023 Gold Coast programme.

With last season’s successful back-to-back Tasman Series closers on the Supercars support bill, it’s a blow to the category that was looking to expand on those showings in a year where it also knew it was squeezed off the AGP menu with the F2 and F3 coming to Albert Park.

This season’s Gold Star championship will now be reduced from seven to six rounds as no replacement event is likely to be considered by the series operators.

The grand finale for the series is still penned in at the prestigious Adelaide 500 event, which last season produced some of the weekends standout racing, which saw Herne take the Tasman Trophy, F1 race winner Giancarlo Fisichella join the grid, and Webster taking a clean sweep of podiums in yet another display that turned heads.

For the National Sports Sedans, it’s a high-profile round, with the category also provisionally competing at the Bathurst 1000 in October.

The S5000 series will next be on track at Phillip Island on May 12-14, where Joey Mawson will look to keep on marching toward his third straight title.

TW Neal

08 8322 3848

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INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES

SARGENT CONTINUES CHARGE AT LONG BEACH TOM SARGENT (right) has kept-on keeping-on with a pair of P2 finishes at Long Beach in his debut Carrera Cup North America season for Aussie team McElrea Racing.

Although a debut win is still in the offing, the 21-year-old from Young in NSW has made it four straight P2s after his stellar debut in Sebring.

His improvement is there to see after he also took out pole position for Race 2, after also starting Race 1 on the front row next to points leader Riley Dickson.

“Overall, I’m pretty stoked – if you came into the weekend and told me I’d have a pair of P2s, having never been here, I would have been over the moon,” Sargent said.

Sargent had the pace on Dickson in Race 1, but an attempted pass failed to stick, dropping the rookie into P3. He fought back however, retaking P2 before the 40-minute race finished under yellow with Sargent unfortunately having pace to burn, ending just 0.759 behind the #53.

The 2022 Sprint Challenge Australia winner then went on to his fourth straight P2, giving up his pole position after the first yellow flag, 10 minutes in, to Will Martin.

He did manage to wrest in back after a

Image: PORSCHE MOTORSPORT NORTH AMERICA second Safety Car, but some earlier damage dropped him back into second, which he then against a charging Dickson by just 0.634s.

“We had the car speed, we had the fastest car here. I hit the wall pretty hard

on the second lap and from there the car wasn’t quite right, so I couldn’t force my way past.

“But when you’re so close on both races, it hurts a little bit!”

With Sargent cementing second in the overall pointscore, he next heads to the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix support for Round 3 of America’s premier Porsche Cup, on May 5-7. TW Neal

MCFADDEN SHOWS THE WAY TO ST LOUIS PODIUM

WEBSTER SHOWS GOOD FIGHT IN GB4 DEBUT COOPER WEBSTER (above) and the Australian-run Evans GP team have taken a fighting debut podium in their British GB4 Championship debut at Oulton Park.

The young Victorian had to fight hard for it, and in a closely run affair he finished Race 1 in P3, driving the #37 Tatuus F4T014.

Showing the defensive smarts he so frequently displayed in S5000, he fought off a constant challenge to take his race debut GB4 podium.

“That was a great race, one of the most exciting I’ve had in years,” Webster said.

“It was very exciting and quite kart-like, everyone was so close the whole race. I unfortunately couldn’t fight the two KMRs in the end because I just didn’t have the pace through the corners.

“First race in the series and a podium – we can’t ask for much more than that, and we’ll build on this into the next rounds.”

Impressing immediately, Webster fell just

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0.414 short of pole, with KMR pair Tom Mills and Jeremy Fairburn topping the list.

In the race, the two KMRs pulled away at various points to fight it out between themselves, which brought Webster back into the frame several times, and towards the final stanza he had a brief look.

Webster had his own fight on his hands the entire race however, with Queen haranguing him throughout, and even getting his nose in front, with the Aussie then doubling back before re-taking the lead, holding on to finish only 0.865 short of the leading American in Fairburn.

In Race 2, an issue with his intercooler meant he lost his front row spot, and couldn’t fight back into the points, and in the flipped grid and very wet Race 3, a gamble with high tyre pressures backfired when the downpour abated, finishing in P9.

Webster and Evans GP head to Silverstone for Round 2, on May 6-7.

TW Neal

WORLD OF Outlaws Roth Motorsports Aussie, James McFadden (below), stormed from the back of the field to take an unlikely P2 behind Brad Sweet in Night 1 at the Federated Auto Parts Raceway in St Louis.

The Northern Territory Sprintcar gun qualified in P14 for the 13th feature race of the 2030 WoO season, but found trouble early after an initial top-10 surge, which dropped him back in P20.

Some trouble at the front of the field with Carson Macedo and David Gravel tangling outside the preferred groove allowed McFadden an avenue back during the yellow, and he started to pick cars off at will, eventually taking P2 in the Toyota engined #83, two seconds back from Sweet for his 39th career top-three, and third podium of the year to go with his two victories.

Image: TRENT GOWER

“We got up in the top-10 there early and then got put in the fence on corner entry,” McFadden recalled.

“We fell back to about 20th and fought our way back there. I felt like it got really, really slow down there on the bottom in (Turns) three and four, and I thought, ‘Well, why not? Let’s have a crack – got nothing to lose.’

“Then I started picking cars off up there, so hats off to my Roth Motorsports guys.

They gave me a really good car all night.”

With Night 2 cancelled due to heavy rains, McFadden was elevated into seventh overall, within striking distance of Sheldon Haudenschild in sixth, and 134 points in arrears of series leader, Macedo.

TW Neal

CAMPBELL PRAISED FOR 963 PODIUM FIGHT MOTORSPORT IMAGES

DIXON TAKES AMERICAN HALL OF FAME HONOURS SCOTT DIXON has been named as one the eight 2024 inductees into the Motorsports Hall of Fame America.

The six-time IndyCar champion will be entered into the league of greats in one of motorsports greatest honours, at Daytona Beach, Florida, the site of the US Motorsports Hall of Fame.

“I’m extremely honoured to be thought of in this way and mentioned among many of the greats across so many forms of motorsports,” Dixon said.

“A single person can never do it alone, I’m grateful to Chip (Ganassi), the team and everyone who has helped make this possible over the last 20 years, and then going back to the start of it all with my parents.

“But it comes down to racing for me, and the pure love that I have for this sport across every different category.

“I am a racing fan, and that’s where the desire comes from. I’m extremely lucky to be able to do what I do, and I am grateful for everybody that has helped give me the possibility … this is in their honour.”

The 42-year-old Australian born, New Zealander is currently in his 23rd IndyCars season (a record 22 with Chip Ganassi). His stats read: 332 races, 52 wins, 130 podiums, 32 poles, as well as winning the 2008 INDY500.

Those 52 wins place him second of all-time behind AJ Foyt (67), whilst his six championships leave him just one behind Foyt’s seven for most of all time.

His five INDY500 poles are second of all time behind Rick Mears (6), and if he can take pole in the 2023 INDY500, he’ll be the first ever to take three-straight.

The seven other inductees include: Paul Newman, Jimmie Johnson, John Surtees, Bud Ekins, Austin Coil, Jim Downing, Dr. Robert Hubbard. TW Neal

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Campbell’s effort in defending track position against the #31 Cadillac aided his team mates’ win ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES THE PORSCHE Penske team claimed an historic double podium for its first IMSA GTP step climb, owing to a mix of creative tyre strategy, and the efforts of Aussie Porsche factory driver Matt Campbell - who fought like hell against the probable.

The #6 Porsche took the chequered flag under a full-course yellow after the #10 Acura driven Ricky Taylor finally caught Mathieu Jaminet on the last lap, before putting the A9X into the wall.

With Jaminet’s tyres shot, Campbell held off the challengers in the #7 Porsche with his own Michelins cooked from the long stint/no new tyre strategy.

Holding the field from reaching from

the sister #6 963, Campbell defended resolutely despite having his back left rear diffuser damaged by the chasing Pipo Derani Cadillac, also holding back the charging #10 Acura and the #25 BMW. Though they would all get through, Jaminet would surely have been run down by the three chasers. And when Derani did get past Campbell, he put the Cadillac into the wall, with both late incidents giving the #7 Porsche a deserved P3.

“I’m delighted for my colleagues in the #6 car. Victory at last for the Porsche 963,” Campbell said.

“I gave absolutely everything in the battle for second place … I couldn’t quite fend off

the competition due to our deteriorating tyres. At least we got over the line in third.”

Nick Tandy, #6 co-driver, also gave thanks to Campbell.

“We also owe our victory to our colleague Matt Campbell, who put in a terrific performance in the battle for second place.

That was a super strong effort from him!”

Porsche Motorsport vice president, Thomas Laudenbach, also had this to say about the Aussie.

“We owe this triumph to every single person, but what Matt Campbell did in the battle at the end was awesome. He had the sister car’s back in the important final phase.” TW Neal

LOVE STEPS INTO AMG FACTORY AUSSIE GT3 racer Jordan Love has signed up with the Mercedes AMG factory team as part of its Junior Driver line-up.

At 23-years of age, the 2019 (and youngest ever) Carrera Cup Australia champion joins the Affalter-bach AMG factory team, having already been racing with the Haupt Racing Team (HRT) over the past few season in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, World Challenge Europe, and the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS).

“This is a huge step in my career and something that not only myself but my supporters, partners, and family, have been working towards since this crazy journey began,” Love said.

“I can’t thank everyone involved enough, especially Stefan (Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing) and the entire team at Mercedes-AMG for this incredible opportunity, as well as MB Partners (sponsors) for their continued support.

“The hard work is far from over – in fact it’s only just the beginning, and I cannot wait to get the season under way!”

The WA native has also just announced his 2023 seat with HRT in the GT World

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Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, his first foray into GT Sprint racing in Europe after years of specialised Endurance racing.

“This is my first time competing in the Sprint Cup, which is an unfamiliar format for me as I’ve only ever raced in the Endurance Cup,” Love said.

“But I’m looking forward to the shorter

race format. With Frank (Bird) I have a good partner and in combination with HRT we are well set up for the Silver Cup.” Love’s first race in the GT WCE Sprint Cup comes at Brands Hatch on May 13-14, followed by the NLS 24 Hours of Nurburgring on May 18-21. TW Neal

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NATIONALS NEWS

VIC STATE SERIES TO ROLL ON AT WINTON

THE VICTORIAN State Race Series resumes at Winton this weekend for Round 2 of the 2023 season.

A solid total of over 170 cars is expected to hit the nation’s “action track” across eight classes, which will fight for glory in four sprint races spread across the two days.

The season started in a big way at Sandown in February, featuring a time-based race format for the first time.

VSRS representative Michael Holliway said the series is looking forward to building more momentum at Ian McLellan and Luke Gretch-Cumbo are among the Improved Production contenders. Image: REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY Winton.

“It is shaping up to be a pretty flash race meeting,” he said. competitive one with Lachlan Strickland, mechanical gremlins and Triumph runners “We have a reasonable field and the Jack Bussey, Edison Beswick and Jarred Trevor Lindsay and Keith Ondarchie will be weather is looking good.

Farrell fighting at the front. ready to pounce.

“Sandown was a terrific race meeting and The Kent class looks set to be more Soon after a big field took on Mount Winton always presents a challenge and one-sided after Richard Davison picked up Panorama at the 6 Hour, at least 17 Hyundai all the great viewing areas will be open for from where he left off and recorded a clean Excels are expected to arrive at Winton. spectators.” sweep.

All hope to catch Pieter Faulkner after his At the time of print the biggest field lined A “terrific” total of 25 vehicles is dominant Round 1 performance. up to race at Winton was the Improved expected in Saloon Cars where the classic It will be an open race for P1 in Sports Production class with 28 entries where Luke Commodore versus Falcon rivalry will take Sedans with the man who blew the field Grech-Cumbo and Danny Timewell are the place. away at Sandown in a Saab 9-3, Thomas favourites.

The man to catch is Shaun Jamieson, Randle, not returning.

There will also be a 27-strong pack of who was a dominant force in his VY at the This will bring the likes of Ray Hislop, Formula Vees hitting the grid. Youngster season opener and Daniel Johnson, plus a Dean Came and Greg Lynch into Reef McCarthy was the form driver at host of others aim to provide a fight. contention.

Sandown, while Lee Partridge produced the The MG and Invited British Sports Cars Wrapping up the busy entry list is the feel-good story getting his first win in two class returns to give fans a glimpse of 19 Porsche 944 category, which produced decades. classic cars. interesting racing in the season opener.

Formula Fords add to the open-wheel Michael Roddy’s Jaguar TWR XJS showed Tickets are available at the gate. action and the Duratec class battle was a Sandown strong pace, but also had Thomas Miles

TEAMS READY TO RACE FOR SIX HOUR GLORY

TWO SUCCESSFUL teams will fight for victory at the upcoming NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The six hour event, to be held on April 29-30 on the same stretch of road Supercars race on at the former Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix venue, will be a unique spectacle.

The winner’s trophy is not decided by the fastest driver, but rather the most consistent, with drivers rewarded with points for lapping as close to their nominated time as possible.

A solid field of 28 cars is expected to line up on the SMP grid for the seventh running of the event, which is expected to be a battle between two dominant teams Phoenix Racing and Panorama Mountain Men. There are also many family teams on show with NSW Road Racing Club chairman Ross Elliott swapping his organisers hat for a racing helmet.

Three practice sessions will be held before the 6 Hour begins at 10.00 AEST on Sunday, April 30.

Those looking for more information about the event can contact 6hour@ nswrrc.com.au.

Thomas Miles

SUPER SERIES TRAVELS TO THE TOP END THE NATIONAL Hi-Tec Oils Super Series will make a journey to the Hidden Valley in Darwin for the May Day long weekend on April 29-May 1, with its headline TA2 Muscle Car Series act to appear in the Top End for the first time.

It’s the second stop for the national series, after it opened its account at the Benalla Auto Clubs (BAC) Winton Motor Raceway.

The TA2 series (right), which features the V8 powered Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, and Dodge Challengers, will celebrate its first Darwin trip with a worldfirst twin-driver TA2 endurance race, with Tyler Everingham and Jordan Cox the first named co-drivers to be joining the field.

Joining the Trans Am beasts will be the HQ Holdens, a category with a long standing history in Darwin, with that series to also run a twin-driver race. Drivers will converge from all around Australia to take on the local HQ Holdens in competition for The Crocodile Cup – a sort of HQ

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Holden State of Origin showdown.

Joining the Hidden Valley show will also be the Hyundai Excel Racing series, as well as the popular Northern Territory Drift Championship.

In a further local flavour, the program will host a combined race for Improved

Production, Commodore Cup, and Australian Super TT, giving local drivers the benefit of competing in a national level event.

The Monday afternoon of the event will be broadcast live on SBS and Fox Sports between 1-4pm, with live streaming also

available on the Monday between 9;30am12:30pm on the series’ Facebook site. Fans at the track will also be treated to a series of key off-track events, where fans can get up close with the cars, with the event also incorporating Thursdays Mindil Sunset Market.

Promoted by the North Australian Motor Sports Club (NAMSC) and the BAC, Stephen Whyte from the BAC says that the event is perfect for bringing benefits to the Darwin community.

“As well as drivers and teams travelling from all over Australia to compete at Hidden Valley, our Darwin round will also allow local competitors and officials to showcase their abilities on the national stage,” Whyte said.

“The support from NAMSC and the local motorsport community has been fantastic, and we’re looking forward to creating a special event for the town of Darwin, on and off the track.”

TW Neal

Proper, raised spectator banks at Oran Park allowed fans to watch Skaife and Ambrose go at it close-up.

PARADISE FOUND? AA’S COLUMNIST HOPES THE AVALON CIRCUIT CATERS FOR MOTORSPORT’S MOST IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS

GOOD NEWS in the motorsporting world doesn’t come much better than the announcement of a new circuit to be built within the Avalon Airport Precinct in Victoria. Wunderbar!

New permanent racetracks are truly rare beasts. You could count on one hand the clean-sheet, fulltime circuits built on greenfield sites in this country in the last 50 years.

Most of this country’s existing tracks date back to the 1960s.

One only has to consider the forces working against existing circuits – financial viability, noise and other environmental issues, encroaching suburbia, everincreasing safety standards and myriad regulations from several levels of government – to get a sense of the hurdles to be leaped for a brand-new circuit to come to life. The red tape must be endless.

And then there’s the massive amount of funding needed.

with Luke West

REVVED UP Only an airport would be more difficult. Building a football stadium is child’s play in comparison.

Well done to Motorsport Australia for driving this project and acquiring government support. MA’s stewardship should not be underestimated. CEO Eugene Arocca is truly a bloke who makes things happen. Well done to Arocca and his team.

It was exciting to hear Arocca talk on a recent podcast of the many disparate uses planned for this modern and multi-purpose complex. Complex being the operative word. Avalon will be a boon for competitors and motorsport’s many different stakeholders.

I just hope that motorsport’s biggest cohort will be considered as well – race fans. Specifically, punters who love to view motorsport trackside. This is a group seemingly forgotten by circuit designers in recent

decades. In the very least, catering for paying punters has been way down the priority list, or mismanaged.

No one wants to sit in a grandstand halfway along a straight with cars droning past.

This gets old very quickly.

Wouldn’t it be something if planning for the new Avalon circuit could include a series of interesting corners overlooked by at least one elevated spectator area. Somewhere where fans could gather in numbers – thereby creating some good atmosphere – at a genuine overtaking spot.

A place where we get to see the cars moving around or negotiating a tricky corner. Perhaps even featuring a big screen to view.

I’ll call it a ‘stadium section’ but it doesn’t need to be as grand as that name implies.

I do wonder if catering for spectators is actually possible in this day and age? Perhaps the era of good spectating is gone, with

fans needing to be 100 metres away from the action for safety’s sake? Dunno.

I do know that when new football stadiums come to life spectators are a primary focus. Fan comfort, views and amenities are central to the stadium’s success. That doesn’t happen in motorsport, sadly. Trackside punters are a long way down the pecking order at racetracks. Then the powers-thatbe scratch their heads and wonder why fans don’t turn up.

I’d love to be able to take Avalon circuit designers back in time to, say, Oran Park to show them the amphitheater where thousands gathered to watch the cars charge through the dogleg before plunging down into the final turn. At least vision and photos exist for them to study.

More practical would be hosting the designers and planners for a day at the races at a couple of tracks to get a better idea of the spectator’s lot in life.

In all seriousness, I would be happy to offer my services as a ‘fan experience’ expert. If being domiciled in Sydney is an issue, I’ll nominate a prolific Victorian race attendee or two to consult to the project.

It’s not just trackside fans a new circuit should consider,

as those watching at home need to be entertained too by a track with character.

Importantly, a TV viewer should be able to immediately identify exactly which corner cars are negotiating, something that’s not easy to do at The Bend.

To achieve this, every corner should be different in profile, not just feature a series of constant radius turns. Some should go up, others down. Some fast, some slow. A super-wide hairpin is a must. Ditto a heavily cambered corner like one of those built into the reworked Zandvoort.

Lessons of what not to do should be learned from the many non-descript, cookie-cutter Tilkerings that have disappeared from the F1 schedule.

Anyway, while we are at it, each corner should have a name, rather than a number. Perhaps they could mimic and be named after famous features or corners from long-lost Aussie racetracks.

I’m starting to doubt that it is possible to build a new circuit with character. I hope that Avalon proves me wrong and that it lives up to its name for all racing enthusiasts. In Celtic mythology Avalon is an island paradise. Let’s hope it proves to be just that when it comes to life.

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www.autoaction.com.au I 21

LATEST NEWS

MILLER GUTTED AFTER MISSED COTA PODIUM

AUSSIE JACK Miller was on course for an emotional maiden podium for KTM, but his dreams disappeared in the flash of a second at the Americas Grand Prix.

Starting 10th, Miller was on fire and flew up to fourth after just one corner, while Aleix Espargaro’s fall at 11 turns later promoted #43 to the podium.

The Aussie proved he had the pace to stay with the

runaway leaders Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Rins to fuel hopes of a famous win.

Miller could become just the fourth rider to score premier class wins for three separate manufacturers and ahead of the weekend he admitted a slice of history, plus shutting his critics up were major motivators.

However, just when he was looking comfortable to challenge Bagnaia and Rins, it all fell apart when the Aussie’s KTM RC16 “let go of me” at Turn 7 on Lap 7.

The crash brought an end to a painful weekend for Miller, who fell off his bike no less than six times over the three days.

It was Miller’s first major mistake in race conditions in KTM colours, having also been fighting towards the front before finishing seventh in Algrave.

Despite starting down in 16th, #43 rose up 10 positions in the rain at Argentina to continue building momentum.

But the first DNF of the season saw Miller drop down to 12th in the championship, 38 points behind Bagnaia and three places behind KTM teammate Brad Binder.

Miller let his emotions free on social media post race, reflecting on how costly the mistake was.

“Bloody gutted. A DNF in podium contention is obviously the last thing we were hoping for as we were right there in the thick of it and feeling good,” Miller posted on Twitter after the race.

The four-time MotoGP race winner later revealed he just entered the tyre management phase and swapped a map before the bike “let go”.

Despite the disappointment, the pace provides Miller with plenty of confidence as the MotoGP world turns its attention to the famous Spanish Grand Prix.

“It is an unfortunate one. I made a decent start, felt comfortable and good from the get-go,” he said.

“I settled into the race and swapped a map but then she let go of me.

“I was really trying to manage the tyres and I felt we had a great chance of being there until the end.

“The positive part was the speed and how we were up there with the guys.

“We will take that from the weekend, learn from the negatives and go towards Jerez with a clean mind.”

Although the Americas Grand Prix was a “tough” one for KTM, the team is buoyed by its speed ahead of the fourth round of the 2023 MotoGP world championship at Jerez on April 28-30.

Thomas Miles

BARTER TO TEST MASERATI FORMULA E AUSTRALIAN FORMULA 3 driver Hugh Barter will broaden his horizons and drive a Maserati Formula E at Berlin.

The Japanese born Australian youngster currently drives in Formula 3 for Campos Racing, but will drive a new kind of open-wheel car in next week’s Formula E rookie test.

Barter will share driving duties for Maserati MSG Racing with Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.

The 17-year-old Aussie has no shortage of open-wheel experience in his fledgling young career, having completed double duties in the French and Spanish Formula 4 series last year with great success.

The Maserati MSG Racing Formula E car will be the latest addition to the list and Barter cannot wait to taste the real thing having already sampled some simulation sessions.

“I would like to thank Maserati MSG Racing for giving me the opportunity to experience Formula E for the very first time,” said Barter.

“I have really enjoyed my experience in the sim so far and I can’t wait to get out on the track in Berlin.

“Working closely with (Maserati MSG Racing team members) James, Edo and Max will be an invaluable learning experience for me, especially at this stage of my career.”

Having just completed a two-day inseason F3 test at Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona and another scheduled for Imola on April 18-19, Barter is in the middle of a massive month of testing.

After showing some promise, but failing to score points at Bahrain and Australia, all the testing miles should put him in good stead for the next Formula 3 race at Imola on May 19-21.

Maserati MSG Racing team principal James Rossiter said he is looking forward to seeing how Barter and Drugovich perform in Berlin.

“We’re delighted to welcome Felipe

and Hugh to the team for our rookie test in Berlin,” he said.

“It provides a key chance for the next generation of racing talent to experience electric motorsport for the first time.

“In Felipe and Hugh, we’ll have a driver line-up formed from experience and youth. We can’t wait for them to take to the track in the GEN3 car in Berlin.”

Giovanni Sgro, head of Maserati Corse added the test will provide Barter and Drugovich with a special platform to showcase their skills.

“We are excited to see new talent approaching the highest levels of motorsport, especially with young drivers like Felipe and Hugh,” he said.

“Rookie tests can be the best platform and opportunity for both drivers and teams to discover future talent and give the guys a chance to prove and show their capabilities.

“We are confident that Felipe and Hugh will have a great test session and we look forward to seeing their racing careers evolve.”

The Formula E rookie test will take place on Monday, April 24.

Thomas Miles

SUPERCARS

EXPLORING PIT ROSS LANE SHAKE UP LANDS EURO DRIVE

THE PIT lane garage positions could be shaken up as Supercars explores the concept of a “live” paddock order for 2024.

Garages up and down pit lane have been allocated by Supercars based on the previous season’s teams championship order.

This has been the custom for the best part of the last two decades with the previous teams champion enjoying the privilege of having the final pit bay before pit lane exit for the entire season.

This year Triple Eight Race Engineering heads the pit lane and took advantage of the luxury at the Melbourne SuperSprint where it was able to react to Erebus Motorsport’s rear-tyres only pit stop to help Shane van Gisbergen retain his lead in an officially wet Thursday race.

Triple Eight has had the privilege in 11 of the last 15 seasons having dominated the teams championship.

Rule D.2.1 in the Supercars Operations Manual states the pit order is locked for the entire season, but a new concept was explored at a recent Supercars Commission meeting.

If approved, the pit lane order could change at each event with the allocation being based on the current

teams championship standings rather than the previous years.

A Supercars.com story reported there was “unanimous” support for the concept and a category spokesperson confirmed a shake up is being considered for the future.

“It is something that has come up as an action item for the commission to look into,” a Supercars spokesperson said.

“There is a tonne of logistical operations involved in pit lane set-up for teams that needs to be considered before this goes any further, but we are happy to look into it.

“We’re always looking for new ways to improve the racing experience for fans and drivers.

“The commission will be conducting a thorough review of the proposed concept in the coming months, with a final decision expected to be announced ahead of the 2024 season.”

A live pit order would see Erebus Motorsport jump from garages #13 and #14 to the very front, while Triple Eight will be right behind.

Dick Johnson Racing would have to prepare for a big shift, moving from garages #3 and #4 to #17 and #18.

Four-car teams such as Tickford

Racing and Brad Jones Racing will be split into two-car squads like they are in the teams championship.

But this would mean team principals Tim Edwards and Brad Jones could spend much of their race weekends walking up and down pit lane with their respective two-car squads unlikely to land next to their sister operations.

For example, the Andre Heimgartner/Bryce Fullwood combination would currently occupy garages #5 and #6, while the Jack Smith/Macauley Jones crew will be at the opposite end of the paddock in pit booms #23 and #24.

For single-car setups such as Blanchard Racing Team, its points tally would be doubled.

However, these changes are all hypotheticals with a live pit order change not anticipated to be brought in until prior to the 2024 championship season if approved.

Despite Erebus Motorsport enjoying a 101-point advantage over Triple Eight in the teams championship heading to Perth, the Red Bull Ampol Racing crews will retain garages #1 and #2 for the upcoming Perth SuperSprint on April 28-30.

Thomas Miles

FRASER ROSS will join French team Graff Racing in the Le Mans Cup, with the Australian GT veteran set to make his European debut in the LMP3 series.

At 32-years-old, Ross has been a regular on the GT World Challenge Australia scene, and is also a two-time Bathurst 12 Hour class champion, having recently won the Pro Am class with Chaz Mostert and Liam Talbot in an Audi R8 LMS Evo II. Ross joins up with fellow Aussie George Nakas for the all-Australian piloted #8 LMP3 Dutton Garage-backed Ligier JS P320.

Ross recognises the opportunity as the greatest challenge of his career.

“This is, without doubt, the biggest challenge of my racing career so far, but I am delighted to confirm the plans,” Ross explained.

“A new category, new tracks, a new championship, a new teammate and a new team, but I cannot wait to get started.

“George (Nakas) and I have been friends for a long time, and it is great to be able to go racing with him.

“These plans have been in the pipeline for a while, and I have been training hard over the winter in preparation, so I can’t wait to get the season started. We know it won’t be an easy step up, but feeling confident working with Graff Racing and heading to Barcelona for the first round.”

Graff Racing team is based just South of Paris in Essonne, and have been at the top of Sportscar/Prototype racing since the 80’s, winning over 40 major Sportscar titles, and most recently, the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series.

The European Le Mans Cup is a six round affair that races across Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, and Portugal, with races ranging from 1 55 minutes, to four hours, with the 31 car LMP3 class sharing the track with a 12 car GT3 field.

Scott Andrews is the other Australian competing in the LMP3 field for United Autosports, with Andrews being a regular competitor in the IMSA GTD and Pilot Challenge Sports Class.

The continent’s premier top-class LMP3 competition gets underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, on April 22.

This year also includes an extra round as part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans centennial celebrations, with two 55 minute races taking place at the home of the Le Mans 24, the Circuit De La Sarthe.

Tim W Neal

LATEST NEWS

MANSELL GETS TOP-FIVE AT IMOLA TEST

THE SECOND in-season Formula 3 test in as many weeks commenced at Imola where Australia’s Christian Mansell charged into the top-five.

Mansell finished the Catalunya test on a high by scoring the sixth fastest time on Day 2, and went even better when the F3 cars graced the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

The Campos Racing driver, who scored points in Australia, impressed to record the fifth fastest time of the morning session.

Mansell’s 1:31.633 was just two tenths away from Jenzer Motorsport’s Nikita Bedrin, who took P1 with a 1:31.445.

Australia’s Hugh Barter had a troubled morning, with his #25 car stopping at Turn 1 and bringing out the red flag.

Despite only getting the fewest laps of all 30 cars in the morning running with 14, Barter recovered impressively to end up 13th, just half a second off the ultimate pace in a competitive session.

Just four days after driving at Imola, Barter will swap an F3 car for a Formula E as he takes part in a rookie test in Berlin next week.

The F3 Aussies were fast out of the gates with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith the first to set a benchmark.

Smith started the session with the 4.9km Imola circuit all to himself and set a 1:33.664.

This stood for the best part of two hours as proceedings got off to a leisurely start; eventually Smith would finish the morning running 20th, despite improving his time by more than a second.

At the top of the timesheets the gap was just 0.024s as Bedrin edged out Paul Aron.

Bedrin completed a clean sweep by also setting the fastest time in the afternoon session.

The Italian driver further lowered the benchmark to a 1:30.368 to beat Gabriel Bortoleto by three tenths of a second.

Mansell was again the first of the Australians, but was down in 16th, just sneaking 0.030s ahead of Campos teammate Barter.

Smith finished a second slower in 26th having stayed out of trouble in a session regularly interrupted by red flags.

The second and final day of the Imola in-season test takes place tonight.

Thomas Miles

LOCAL AUSSIE ALPINE’S HERO ALEX PERONI has taken on a new challenge for the 2023 season, with the Tassie jet having joined GetSpeed for its GT World Challenge Europe campaign.

At 23-years-old, Peroni will take his first steps into GT racing via the GT WCE Endurance Cup in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Peroni will contest the Enduro season as a gold-rated professional driver in the Bronze Cup entry, driving alongside the experienced German pair of Patrick Assenheimer and Florian Scholze.

“I’m very excited to start this new chapter of my career with GetSpeed, and to be driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo,” Peroni said.

“I want to extend my thanks to the team for their belief in me, and to my sponsor Blundstone for their continued support.

“It’s going to be a massive learning experience, but I’m eager to get started in the most competitive GT3 championship in the world.”

Peroni has gone through a few changes of scenery over the years, having raced two seasons of Formula 3 for Spanish team Campos Racing in 2019-2020.

It was also at Monza (where the first GT WCE enduro race is) in the F3, where fans may recall Peroni’s car scarily hitting some kerbing, which almost launched him over the track fence where the old Monza banking is.

He then had a season in Indy Lights, before taking on a seat at Algarve Pro Racing in the European Le Mans Series driving an LMP2, alongside fellow Aussie James Allen, where he took three podiums to end the year in the Pro-Am ranks.

The German GetSpeed team - based just near the Nurburgring - is one of Mercedes-AMG premier racing outfits, and its CEO and founder Adam Osieka is very happy to have Peroni onboard.

“We are very pleased that Alex has decided to join GetSpeed. We will bring in all of our experience from working with young drivers as well as the factory drivers from Mercedes-AMG,” Osieka said.

“Therefore, it is the right step for him to join us and enter a full season in the GTWC Endurance.”

Along with fellow Aussies Ricky Capo (Grasser Racing - Lamborghini Huracan EVO 2) and Calan Williams (WRT - BMW M4 GT3), Europe’s premier GT3 enduro series gets underway at the famed Temple of Speed Monza track on April 21-23.

TW Neal

GILL GETS FIA RALLY STAR PROGRAM

AUSTRALIA’S TAYLOR Gill will take part in a six event European FIA Rally Star program in 2023, starting with an extensive training program in Sardinia.

As the winner of the FIA Rally Star Asia Pacific region, Gill will contest for a spot in the 2024 Junior WRC Championship.

The 2022 ARC Production Cup winner joins Max McRae as another one of our young Aussies in the European junior Rally system, with McRae competing in the Junior European Rally Championship.

All the FIA Rally star entrants will be competing in the same machinery, in a Pirelli equipped Ford Fiesta Rally, which will be run by the M-Sport division in Poland.

The young stars form all over the globe will first head to Sardinia on May 21 ahead of the June 16-17 season opener in San Marino,

Italy, where they will receive extensive training on gravel and tarmac, physical and mental training, recce practice, media training, and spend time with their mechanics.

Gill, who already has a strong background in mechanics, is looking forward to getting stuck in.

“Over the moon to finally share our calendar of events for the remainder of the year with the FIA Rally Star program,” Gill said.

“It all kicks off with an extensive training camp on the island of Sardinia from May 21st.

“Super keen to get behind the wheel and throw some gravel!”

In an exciting boon for the young rally chargers, they will also get to take part in the WRC’s recce for Rally Italia Serdegna. (June 1-4).

The FIA Rally Star six round season (which is in turn considered as a season long training program) will have two events on tarmac, and four on gravel.

Ahead of each round, the world finalists will get a test day ahead of each event, as well as an extensive debrief following the rallies, in what is a thoroughly prepared campaign/program by the FIA. TW Neal FIA RALLY STAR CALENDAR 2023 Rally San Marino, Italy (gravel) Rallye Weiz, Austria (Tarmac) Rally Nova Gorica, Slovenia (Tarmac) Rally Saarema, Estonia (Gravel) RallyRACC, Spain (Gravel) Lausitz Rallye, Germany (Gravel)

June 16-17 July 13-15 September 22-24 October 6-7 October 20-21 November 9-11

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LATEST NEWS

NO ROLLING STARTS AT PERTH THE TRADITIONAL standing start procedure will make a welcomed return at round 3 of the Supercars season in Perth after race 6 required a rolling getaway.

With the familiar standing start coming back at Wanneroo Raceway, it ensures the single-file rolling start will be restricted to a standalone appearance at the Melbourne SuperSprint.

The fourth and final race at the Australian Grand Prix commenced in unusual fashion with the field being escorted by the Safety Car in single file before rolling away in similar style to a mid-race restart.

This was activated by Supercars as one of many emergency safety measures in

response to the sudden fires experienced

by Ford Mustang drivers Nick Percat and James Courtney in the Friday and Saturday races respectively at Albert Park.

It was brought in to ensure no more fiery Fords would appear, while further investigations from the category have pinpointed the issue and led to engine ventilation changes to reduce vapour build up, therefore the chances of a Mustang catching alight again.

The cause of the fire is believed to be unburnt fuel vapours, however generated, finding its way into the purge tank, which prior to the fitment of the breather hose extension vented directly into the engine

bay.

In recent episodes of the Rev Limiter podcast, AUTO ACTION’s Bruce Williams shed some light on the fire dramas and explained the changes Supercars have made.

“The common theme seemed to be that the Mustangs build up crankcase pressure.

There is an oil breather tank in the engine bay and the suggestion is there was a bit of fuel bypassing the rings and getting into the oil when the engine is not fully heated,” he said.

“When the cars are sitting on the hard cut on the start line it builds up pressure in the oil catch can and the fumes ignite.

“It is a purge tank effectively. I think they fitted dump hoses that vented the vapour down and out and underneath the car, so it should not be a problem anymore.”

The Mustang engine issues have been just one part of a busy post Melbourne period for Supercars, which has also conducted a Centre of Gravity test and announced proposed changes to strengthen the Gen3 chassis.

Now with a solution to the fiery Fords in place, Supercars has the confidence to bring standing starts back to Barbagallo, where races 7, 8 and 9 of the 2023 season will be held on April 28-30.

Thomas Miles

WRC AND HYUNDAI ANNOUNCE BREEN TRIBUTES THE WORLD Rally Championship has retired Craig Breen’s #42, while Hyundai will pay tribute to its former driver at the upcoming Rally Croatia.

Breen passed away last Thursday after a tragic testing crash as he prepared to drive Hyundai’s third car at the fourth round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship.

Tributes from all over the motorsport world have been flowing in over the last five days and they will reach further heights when the WRC returns this weekend.

Leading the tributes at the upcoming Rally Croatia will be Breen’s final WRC team Hyundai, which will carry a special livery.

The two Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars driven

by Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi will be decked out in special colours saluting their Irish mate.

Hyundai Motorsport team principal Cyril Abiteboul said the team will withdraw the third car and run a tribute livery on the remaining two in memory of Breen having received the blessing from his family and

co-driver James Fulton.

“After careful consideration involving all stakeholders, we have decided to participate in Croatia Rally. We will do this in memory of Craig, to honour him, his passion for rallying and his competitive spirit,” Abiteboul said.

“We will enter two cars and withdraw the third entry as a mark of respect.

“Both cars will run with a special livery for Craig, his family, friends and fans.

“It is clear from speaking to everyone that the best way to honour Craig’s legacy was not to withdraw our entry, so we participate mindful of our lost team-mate, friend and incredible competitor.”

The FIA and WRC made a joint announcement it will retire Breen’s #42

for the remainder of the 2023 season as a mark of respect.

Breen first carried the #42 when he joined Hyundai as a part-time driver in 2019 and retained it for his only full-time season with M-Sport in 2022.

When the Irishman returned to the Korean manufacturer this year, he brought the #42 along with him.

Sadly the #42 is the second number to be retired this year with the #43 also retired following the death of American driver Ken Block.

FIA president mohammed Ben Sulayem was quick to offer his condolences following the tragic news.

“On behalf of the FIA, I wish to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Craig Breen following his passing during a private testing accident in Croatia. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and the entire Rally community at this difficult time.”

More tributes from the entire grid are expected to be seen when Rally Croatia begins this weekend.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

LAWSON CONQUERS MOUNT FUJI ON SF DEBUT WRC HANGTIME TO BE AWARDED AS OF the World Rally Championship Rally de Portugal round on May 11-14, drivers will collect bonus points for the biggest jumps.

At a single pre-designated jump at each rally from Portugal, five championship points will be given for the furthest jump across the Rally1 field.

In the case of stages being performed in the same area twice, as in Portugal with the iconic and well attended Pedra Sentada jump (pictured), the longest of the two jumps will be taken.

It took the WRC boardroom some time to deliberate on the proposal, with the drivers understood to have given the idea unanimous backing for the crowdpleasing objective.

Whilst the Pedra Sentada is often the longest and among the most famous of the fan-favourite jumps in WRC, other ones of note are at Italy’s Sardegna Rally, and at Rally Finland, where in 2021 Adrien Fourmaux jumped 68 metres in Ford Fiesta Rally5.

The record jump at Rally Portugal is a Ridiculous 73.5 metres, by German driver Armin Schwarz in the 2000 WRC season in a Skoda Octavia.

But the all-time record is held by eighttime WRC champion Sebastian Loeb, with the absurd distance of 85 metres in a Citroen C4 in Turkey in 2010.

TW Neal

RED BULL Junior Liam Lawson took a win on debut in the Japanese Super Formula Championship under the backdrop of Mount Fuji for Team Mugen, with the promising New Zealander taking the not-so-common, yet practiced route, into one day securing an F1 seat.

The series uses the brand new and super fast Dallara SF23 machinery, utilising either the turbocharged Honda HR-414E, or Toyota RI4A engines, and is well known for its tough, fast, and high quality racing standards.

It has seen drivers like Pierre Gasly go through its ranks in highly similar circumstances to Lawson, with Gasly coming straight out of it into his Toro Rosso seat in 2017, also at Team Mugen as a RB Junior.

2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou also competed in Super Formula in 2019, as did Felix Rosenqvist, and a good handful of F2 drivers.

Lawson impressed with a P5 in his last

F1 Free Practice, driving Max Verstappen’s championship winning RB18.

Having not had any test sessions prior, the Hastings born Kiwi charged into P3 in debut qualifying, before taking a 2.058s victory over teammate Tomoki Nojiri.

Race 2 saw him finish in P3, but a harsh 5s penalty saw him demoted to P5.

The #15 Honda engined driver gave an insight into his first weekend of the SF season.

“The car is extremely fast, faster than Formula 2, and a lot closer to Formula 1, and sometimes it even feels like F1 in some corners. The downforce is pretty exceptional,” Lawson said “I knew coming here to Japan that the series would be at a very high level because I know a lot of the drivers that have raced here before.

“What has impressed me is that I didn’t quite expect the very high level of the cars and the teams. The teams are impressive, the way they operate.”

“Learning on the go a little bit, but the team did a great job coming into the weekend, with no practice and having to guess a baseline set-up. It’s really impressive that they have put together something this strong. So happy to win Race 1.”

“And the competition ... these guys have obviously raced here a long time, they are very experienced, so they don’t make many mistakes and they are very fast.”

With the verdict still to come on Nick De Vries in the F1 AlphaTauri seat, along with the heaping pressure on his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson won’t do himself any harm in winning big over in Japan this season.

After his Fuji Speedway debut, Lawson heads to the famous Suzuka Circuit this weekend.

TW Neal

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LOEB LURKING IN THE AZORES NINE-TIME World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb has made a return to rallying following his January Dakar tilt, taking part in the Azores Rallye.

And, as the French legend nears 50 years of age, he put up a reminder that will surely make some WRC teams want to revisit their contacts list in 2023.

Loeb took on a completely unfamiliar Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 (right), and along with co-driver Laurene Godey, stormed to a 19.2s win over Andreas Mikkelson.

The Haguenau born driver reminded the WRC crowd of his prowess last season, taking out the Monte Carlo Rally in the season opener – again, in a car he’d never driven – in the Ford M-Sport Rally1, which until Ott Tanak’s win in Sweden this year,

22 I www.autoaction.com.au

was the team’s only win in the new hybrid.

Is there any chance of a Ford/Loeb reunion this season, and a rekindling of the famous French Loeb vs Sebastien Ogier rivalry?

M-Sport’s team principal Richard Millener gave his take: “Certainly, if we do use anyone else, it will be later in the season when potentially we need to take points off our competitors,” adding that, “at the moment all of the resources are going into Ott (Tanak) to make things as good as possible for him.”

Tanak v Loeb and Loeb v Ogier at the same event?

Make the phone call Mr.Millener!

TW Neal

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THANKS MELBOURNE! FIRSTLY, I’M delighted to have the opportunity to write this new monthly column in Auto Action and give you a bit of an insight into what I’m getting up to in my first season as an F1 driver.

Some of you may remember that I started writing a similar column in 2020 as I was embarking on my Formula 3 campaign and through to early last year.

With my F1 racing now underway, now feels a good time to bring you back up to speed with everything going on with my racing and some of the things I’m involved with off-track too.

Growing up back home in Australia, I used to read Auto Action to keep abreast of all the racing news and so, it is great to be asked to pen my thoughts on a regular basis. I am going to try and use the column to reflect on my races, let you know some of the things I’m doing in between grands prix and throw things forward to the next trips in my diary.

It’s been a very busy start to the year with official testing in Bahrain and the three grands prix thus far.

I must say that I am absolutely loving being back in the car after a year out last year as there is no feeling like racing and having the competitive juices flowing.

Oscar Piastri’s

FORMULA 1 WORLD Racing is a massive part of my life and I am enjoying every second of being in Formula 1 and testing myself at all the different circuits with their unique challenges. This was the dream all those years ago and I am determined to make the most of the incredible opportunity that I have.

McLaren have given me an awesome welcome as their new F1 driver and it’s been great to work with all the team, the engineers, the mechanics, the senior management and of course, Lando, as we work to improve the car and push us forwards.

I’ve got the hang of all the names and faces now and I’ve really enjoyed spending lots of time at the MTC in Woking where I’ve seen the team spirit and determination that goes into everything.

The first two races didn’t quite go to plan for us but I was really encouraged by qualifying in Saudi Arabia where I lined up on the grid

in P8 just behind Lewis and it was great to back that up with my firstever F1 points in Melbourne.

I am a very proud Australian and to be able to achieve that in front of my home crowd was special.

I grew up in Brighton, a stone’s throw away from Albert Park, so it was my home city not just home country.

I’ve driven round the park countless times in a road vehicle, so flying round there in an F1 car for the first time was amazing and brought back so many memories of when I used to hear the roar of the F1 engines from my back garden with family.

Seeing the grandstands full of papaya and so many fans lining

the Melbourne Walk to see and support me was a massive boost. I was blown away by the amount of people that turned out day in, day out so a big thank you to everyone.

I wasn’t at all surprised to hear of the record four-day attendance at the GP. The buzz around the fan parks and wider circuit was incredible and the passion that all the fans show is remarkable.

I flew back to the UK the morning after the race as we had testing in Imola that week in the 2021 McLaren car, the MCL35M. While I was at Imola, I also celebrated my 22nd birthday.

Some of you may have seen it online but the team surprised me with a birthday cake which was a nice surprise.

I will say that the presentation was slightly dubious though!

Since then, I’ve been training hard getting ready for the next race in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has been a bit of an extended break, so I am looking forward to getting back to it when FP1 gets under way on the 28th.

Thanks for reading and I will be back with my next column in mid-May.

osCaR pias tRi MCLAREN RAC

ING FORMUL

A 1 DRIVER

2023 AUSTRALIA N GRAND PRIX ALB ERT PARK MELBOURNE

CHAMPION 2019 EUROCUP - RACE GP

CHAMPION 2020 FIA FORMULA 3-

PREMA RACING

CHAMPION 2021 FIA FORMULA 2-

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WELCOME BACK OSCAR! To celebrate Oscar’s return to Auto Action as a columnist, we have a special collectable A2 poster that you can download and take to your local digital print outlet to have printed. Its a big file so it can be made pretty large!

Just scan the QR code below or download at https://autoaction. com.au/2023/04/03/welcomeback-oscar

OSCAR IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

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www.autoaction.com.au I 23

AUSSIE DRAG RACER TAKES ON AMERICA AUSTRALIAN DRAG racer Michael Konstandinou has taken on America and made a lasting impression with his Holden VN Commodore.

After a false start last year, the Australianbuilt and modified Commodore, made its US debut in February at the renowned Lights Out event in Georgia.

Armed with a heap of locally Australian manufactured components including Konstandinou’s own ICE Ignition system, the LS based V8 engine produces over 1300 horsepower.

Despite being on spec tyres for the first time, and with just one test session under his belt, Konstandinou immediately impressed by qualifying first in the 33-car DXP Street/Limited field.

Although a damaged engine component ruled the Commodore out of further running, it laid the foundations for another strong outing at the Carolina Nitrous Nationals.

Konstandinou went all the way to the semi-finals but spun the tyres on the start line. However, he is still thrilled with the results and is ready to do it all again on May 11-13.

“Considering most of the cars in the class have been racing for several years, we are

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

very happy to be competitive straight off the bat,” he told Auto Action.

“Was I surprised? Yes and no. I did it because I thought we would be competitive and show that Aussies could do just as good as them.

“They had a lot more data and experience and we just arrived and did it, but that is because we have good people.

“It was not an easy thing to do. The whole thing was new to us, so it is a credit to everyone that has had input into the project.

“We were happy to achieve the results in such a competitive field, but it was only the beginning.”

The American success is the culmination of a journey which started all the way back before COVID-19.

However, countless setbacks such as lockdowns, bad luck, logistical and mechanical dramas dragged out the process and meant that the program started two years later than planned.

But for Konstandinou, it just makes the end result even more rewarding after an enormous effort from himself and a large support network of 25 people.

“Originally, I saw the rules at the end of 2019 when I was in America for business, so I came back (to Australia) and started

getting everything done, but then COVID hit,” he recalled.

“Then of course it was difficult to travel for two years and we could not really do anything. We were meant to be there in October 2020 and would have made it for October 2022, but shipping delays and a hurricane meant the car did not get there on time. That was a big disappointment.

“Unfortunately, after the first qualifying session (at Lights Out) we found a

damaged component in the engine that prevented us from competing further. That was hard because we had a really good chance.”

Despite the dramas, Konstandinou’s team was able to rectify the issues and come out swinging at the Carolina Nitrous Nationals.

It puts the Aussie underdog in a good position to chase some American silverware in the near future.

Thomas Miles

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE Image: Ross Gibb Photography

with Paul Gover

WHY PARITY IS THE TALKING POINT IN SUPERCARS TODAY IT’S GREAT to see Brodie Kostecki (above) leading the Supercars championship.

He is a huge talent with a big heart and is rightly making the best of things in the early races of the 2023 season.

It will be even better if he can stay on top of Shane van Gisbergen for a bit longer, or even to the end of this year’s title fight.

Although that seems unlikely ...

Broc Feeney has also popped up as a serious front-runner after the opening events at Newcastle and Melbourne, with Chaz Mostert showing his usual one-lap pace before burning the rear tyres, with the Shell Mustangs in the most obvious early form slump of ’23.

But that’s not what all the talk is about following the Australian Grand Prix meeting.

The chatter is not even about the nasty fires under the bonnets of two of the front-running Ford Mustangs.

No, everyone is talking about the P-word again.

Parity is the talking point

because, based on the numbers and despite some bright talk from inside Supercars, there is none.

After Newcastle and Albert Park, the Chevrolet Camaro appears to have a clear advantage over the Ford Mustang.

When Andrew Clarke crunched the numbers for ‘Auto Action’s Rev Limiter’ podcast, he confirmed there have only been five Ford podiums in the first 18 races – with zero wins.

Things are even more stark in qualifying, where the Top 10 results have been heavily skewed towards the red teams.

Heading to Perth, nothing is likely to change.

Supercars always said it would wait until after the three first three races before examining parity, but is it already too late?

The Ford drivers are complaining about the drivability of their engines as well as the top-speed advantage of the Camaros. It was especially noticeable, they say, on the high-speed swoop down Lakeside Drive in Melbourne (even

THE PG PERSPECTIVE if van Gisbergen had a massive high-speed spin into the concrete at the start of practice …).

Perth is one of the fastest tracks on the championship trail and that means things will stay much the same on the parity front.

So don’t bet the housekeeping on a Mustang win.

What’s also likely is a continuation of the sketchy handling of the Gen3 cars, which will be great news for fans.

The cars are moving around more, they take more taming, and the drivers are more likely to make mistakes.

There were plenty of driver errors at Albert Park, as well as three and four-wide battles, and the downhill swoop at Wanneroo Park promises to be another cauldron in 2023.

Start with Gen3 cars, add the drivers, bring things to a boil ...

Which brings us back to Brodie Kostecki, his Erebus crew and team boss Barry Ryan.

They are the early over-achievers in Gen3 and it’s down to oldfashioned hard work and racecraft.

It’s a similar story at Brad Jones Racing – no surprise, as the Albury bunch always manage to over-achieve when there is a rule change.

Ryan learned his trade under Larry Perkins and it was perfectly fitting that Kostecki claimed the Perkins’ trophy for the top driver at the Grand Prix meeting.

There is plenty of Larry in Barry, from his grumpy garage attitude with journalists to his old-school focus on hard work and mechanical excellence.

You never have to wonder how Barry is feeling. And that’s a great way to do business.

Ryan got a bad rap through the first season of Inside Line, which told the Erebus story in Supercars in a similar style to Drive to Survive on Netflix.

But he’s found a way to get the best from his youngsters, Kostecki

and Will Brown, in more-recent times.

Now Kostecki is showing what he can really do.

He has plenty of raw talent and also comes from a background in the USA, in Stock Cars, where there was no data and the engineering was down to the driver and his crew chief.

It’s the same at the moment in Gen3 and Kostecki is happy. And fast. And successful.

He’s also been doing some Sprintcar racing through the Supercars off-season, often running in the same local Queensland races as Nash ‘Flash’ Morris.

Kostecki has been a regular in the A-main shootouts at Archerfield and Toowoomba and has plans for a bigger motor and more races when the dirt tracks go green at the end of 2023.

Until then, he is focussed on getting the best from himself in Supercars with Erebus and Barry and the blokes.

Keep an eye on him.

SVEN BURCHARTZ LIVES MOTORSPORTS LAWYER AND PARTNER

Know your position.

sburchartz@kkilawyers.com.au • Teams • Series owners • Manufacturers

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

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www.autoaction.com.au I 25

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER

Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams STAFF JOURNALIST Timothy W. Neal STAFF JOURNALIST Thomas Miles NEWS EDITOR Andrew Clarke FEATURES WRITER Paul Gover PRODUCTION/SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Caroline Garde SENIOR DESIGNER Neville Wilkinson NATIONAL EDITOR

HISTORICS EDITOR Mark Bisset SPEEDWAY REPORTER Paris Charles ONLINE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Josh Nevett, Dan McCarthy, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Geoffrey Harris, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Ray Oliver, Martin Agatyn, Reese Mautone.

FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Mark Horsburgh-EDGE PHOTOGRAPHY, Peter Norton-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY, ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY, Daniel Kalisz, Mick Oliver-MTR IMAGES, Rebecca Hind-REVVED, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Richard Hathaway, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, Ray Oliver, autopics.com.au INTERNATIONAL

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ADVERTISING MANAGER Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope.

Auto Action is published by Action Media Partners ABN number 62976094459 Suite 4/156 Drummond Street Oakleigh Victoria 3166 Phone: 03 9563 2107 The trademark Auto Action is the sole property of Action Media Partners The website www.autoaction.com.au and associated social media platforms are wholly owned by Action Media Partners.

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AUTO ACTION WEBSITE

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

Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

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

Oakleigh Victoria 3166

ARG HAS PROVED TO BE A VERY FALSE HOPE I KNOW Supercars cops its share of criticism, and justifiably so a lot of the time, but the people I’m really dark on are Australian Racing Group.

ARG’s arrival on the scene a few years ago gave us a lot of hope – a genuine alternative to Supercars, more marques out on track, fair dinkum touring cars rather than the silhouettes we’ve been watching for so long now, and scope for other categories to flourish on the ARG program.

Well I’m quite fed up with what ARG has given us.

TCR hasn’t really clicked, and maybe it’s just a fact of life that Australian motorsport fans are hitched to V8s.

But, as a couple of other people have alluded to in your pages, what on earth is going on in TCM? That category is now just a shadow of its former self.

Now, it looks to me, ARG is intent on killing the golden goose that S5000 should be.

It’s pretty easy to see from the Grand Prix that there is lots of interest in open-wheeler racing again now. Australia was crying out for a classy new single-seater category and ARG came in behind it, but now it’s hardly being seen around the country and on TV. It’s very, very disappointing.

Dallas Cooper Ryde, NSW

OBSERVATIONS ON GRAND PRIX AFTER LONG ABSENCE I ATTENDED the Australian Grand Prix this year for the first time since its Adelaide days.

My son and daughter shouted me a nice ticket as a milestone birthday present.

Quite an eye-opener our visit to Melbourne turned out to be.

There certainly is a new audience for Formula 1 and it’s particularly interesting to see young women in twos and threes,

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

Winner of the Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfer’s Paradise, in 2005 – Sebastien Bourdais driving for Newman-Hass, with team co-owner Carl (not Gene!) Haas.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES even fours, wandering around the circuit at Albert Park, enjoying each other’s company and not just tagging along with boyfriends as they traditionally would have, if they were even there.

There is more glitz and glamour every which way you look, and I mean structures as well as the ‘beautiful people’.

It is quite different to what the GP was in Adelaide, where I’d say the fans developed quite a pure attachment to F1, its history, the whole package of what it is.

I’d say this new audience is – and I don’t mean this in a derogatory sense – more superficial. They have come to like F1 as an event, a day out (or weekend), and enjoy the various sights, on and particularly off the track, but not really getting into or understanding F1’s heritage and how it got to where it now is.

This is not a criticism, more just an observation. They might know that Max Verstappen is the new ‘king’, having dethroned Lewis Hamilton, but I suspect they don’t have much appreciation of where Michael Schumacher sat in the overall scheme of things by comparison (statistically the best driver before the Hamilton era), or Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, let alone back to Niki Lauda, Jim Clark and Juan-Manuel Fangio.

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The new fans are living very much ‘in the moment’, and that’s fair enough, but it makes me wonder whether F1 will be just a fad for this generation for a while, rather than developing an abiding, deep interest in the sport.

Anyway, I’m delighted to see so many newcomers get exposed to F1 and attending the event, rather than just watching on TV as I have for so many years (but I’m of a different generation).

My one major disappointment is the drunkenness I witnessed, although that’s not anything new.

Adelaide certainly had plenty of that too.

Finally, I must say I always enjoy my Auto Action too. Great magazine. Keep up the good work.

Steve Gordon Wagga Wagga, NSW Publisher/editor’s note: Thanks for your letter Steve, your observations are noted and congratulations on the ‘milestone’ birthday.

It was the type of story that everyone enjoys. No politics involved, refreshingly exposing Guenther’s honest and down-toearth manner and a philosophical approach to his dedication to motor racing, with an exaggerated (at times), outlandish and funny sense of humour.

BUT ... isn’t it just crap when everything is going well, and then someone says BUT! So here’s my BUT. It’s the bit in Mr Gover’s article where he says that when Guenther and his Team Haas compatriots have a bad day, Guenther says “Now I have to call Carl” in reference to the team owner Carl Haas to give him the bad news.

All I can say is that’s going to be pretty difficult, as Mr Carl Haas passed away on June 29, 2016, at Lake Forest, Illinois, USA. What is correct is that the present-day Team Haas in Formula 1 is owned by Eugene Francis Haas (aka Gene Haas), born November 12, 1952, and still very much alive! Furthermore, Carl Haas and ‘Gene’ Haas were not related in any way whatsoever even though they both have had connection to motorsport.

Maybe it’s a case to know who is the correct Haas, so a particular Haas family does not feel offended.

Phil Hilzinger Bombala, NSW P.S. I’m the one still excitedly waiting for my F1 book to be delivered as my prize … … (from A #1857).

AUTO ACTION #1858 had a most entertaining article by Paul Gover about that most quirky and interesting character Guenther Steiner.

Publisher/editor’s note: Our bad, Phil. We should have picked up at any of three points in the process of producing our magazine that it should be have been Gene Haas rather than the late Carl. There you go – we’ve manned up and admitted our blue. Re the book, AA is still waiting too – for the publisher’s representative to deliver as promised!

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KNOW YOUR HAAS AND YOU WON’T LOOK LIKE AN ASS

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Despite a lack of racing over the last fortnight, many revheads still had plenty to say on Auto Action’s social channels.

AVALON ARRIVAL

John Christianson No opinion on the location, but given the eventual closure of Sandown, the uncertain future of Philip Island and the joke that was Supercars at Albert Park, it Is obvious Victoria needs something new like The Bend.

26 I www.autoaction.com.au

Timothy Mayne Is there even a train line there?

The track will end up like the Bend for spectators if its tough to get to.

Dave Hunt The safety in rally cars nowadays is as good as it gets I dread to think what happened; such a great talent.

RIP CRAIG BREEN

GEN3 PARITY

Wayne Nugent No words. What a tragedy.

Thoughts and prayers for his family and friends.

Tim Noske I don’t think outright speed is the problem, but the Mustang can’t seem to keep its rear tyres

underneath it for as long as the Camaros.

David Morgan Reminds me of the AU Falcon vs VT Commodore era. It was suggested then that the Holden teams were just doing a better job by some coincidence, but it was revealed later the Ford AU Falcon suffered from a huge aero deficit.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS

TO F1 SUCCESS

RED BULL’S domination since the start of this year’s season, combined with Aston Martin’s astonishing progression to have a car capable of racing and beating Mercedes and Ferrari, has sent shockwaves through the paddock – as could be expected in a multimillion dollar business where ultra-competitive people expect to be successful and those funding them demand almost instant results.

Many times in the recent past – since teams are no longer led by the people that created and run them – we’ve seen knee-jerk reactions to disappointing starts to the season, with heads rolling quickly. But, in fairness, those changes hardly ever brought better results.

At the start of 2014, now Formula One supremo Stefano Domenicali was unceremoniously booted from Ferrari and replaced

by Marco Mattiacci (remember him?) with zero results, as the

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F1 INSIDER Scuderia failed to win a single Grand Prix that year and lost Fernando Alonso too.

McLaren too reacted in haste after a tremendously humiliating start of the 2018 season, dumping Eric Boullier and giving Zak Brown full control of the team – but it took a couple of years more, and the arrival is Andreas Seidl in the team, for things to start improving.

Given the pressure they’ve been subjected to, it’s remarkable that Toto Wolff and Frédéric Vasseur have resisted the temptation to fire a lot of people and make big changes in their teams. Of course the Austrian’s position is

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far more comfortable than the one his French friend enjoys at Ferrari because he owns one third of the Mercedes F1 team.

Therefore he is in a much more secure situation. But even for Wolff it would have been easier to remove Technical Director Mike Elliot or Aerodynamics Director Jarrod Murphy, making them the scapegoats for the team’s second failed project, rather than sticking with them and trusting the team to change things around.

Vasseur, for his part, has already made changes in the areas where he had internal alternatives for the leadership, particularly in the strategy area, and has not reacted

too quickly to David Sanchez’s departure to McLaren.

The Frenchman has been in this situation before, when he joined Renault at the start of 2016 and quickly realised he needed to hire from other teams because there was a lack of talent at Enstone.

As he told me midway through 2018, when he was rebuilding the Sauber team that had lost so much talent in the seven years after BMW sold it back to its original owner, the last few people he had hired for Renault were only then joining the team, as the best engineers in the sport have 12 to 18 month ‘gardening leaves’ in their contracts.

McLaren, which has recently announced a huge overhaul of its technical department, will have to wait until the end of January 2024 to get David Sanchez down to Woking, the Frenchman only able to make an impact on the design of the 2025 car.

And now that Ferrari is openly

hiring abroad, the new arrivals in Maranello will only be able to start working for the Scuderia on the 2025 car as well.

That’s why there are no shortcuts to success in Formula One and those leading the teams that are not doing so well right now have to be strong and believe in their own structures.

After all, even with the billions of dollars poured into the team by the late Dietrich Matteschitz and the arrival of the genial Adrian Newey at the start of the team’s second season, it took Red Bull Racing six full years to win its first title. But it never crossed the Austrian’s mind to fire Horner or Newey while his squad was not winning.

Deep pockets, clinical hiring and nerves of steel are the three requirements to reach success in Formula One, but it’s the resilience of the leadership that is, in the end, the vital ingredient to get to the top.

www.autoaction.com.au I 27

FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS Images: Motorsport Images

VERSTAPPEN THREATENS TO QUIT “IF THEY KEEP CHANGING EVERYTHING!”

F1 WANTS 2024 JAPANESE GP MOVED TO MARCH! NEXT YEAR’S Japanese Grand Prix could be moved to the last weekend in March, if the plans made by Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali come to fruition.

The sport’s commercial rights owner is planning a massive overhaul of its calendar for next year, in a bid to seriously reduce the carbon footprint created by the tremendous amount of long flights the teams and all the material have to currently take.

In Melbourne, during last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Stefano Domenicali informed the teams that plans to create regionally based calendar, with as many races held in the same region in quick succession – and that potentially includes a tremendously hard triple-header at the end of the season, starting in Australia, stopping in China and being concluded in Japan.

With the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix promoters having now changed their minds for the second time in one month and wanting, again, to host next year’s inaugural race, what’s now scheduled is that Formula One will test in Bahrain between February 22 and 24, before moving to Jeddah, where the first race will be held on March 3rd, one week before the start of the Ramadan.

With this religious event lasting until April 8, no other races can be held in Muslim countries for five weeks, so Domenicali’s plan is to move the Australian Grand Prix forward by two weeks, to March 17, right at the end of the local summer, but then wants the return of the Chinese Grand Prix to be on March 24, quickly followed by the Japanese Grand Prix on March 31.

Given the flight between Melbourne and Shanghai lasts just over 10 hours and the normal temperatures in those two cities in the month of March vary around 10ºC, it’s clear such a double header will be tremendously punishing for Formula One personnel and, also, that Pirelli will have trouble getting its tyres to work with track temperatures that will be well bellow 20ºC in Shanghai.

Things get even more complicated if the plans to move the Japanese Grand Prix from the end of September to the end of March really go ahead. As was perfectly demonstrated recently by Super Formula opening round in Fuji Speedway, around this time of the year it tends to be way too wet and very cold too for motor racing events to be held ... so it would make a lot more sense to put the Singaporean Grand Prix as the

MASSA’S 2008 REVISION BID SET TO FAIL FELIPE MASSA has revealed he’s considering taking legal action against the FIA regarding the way the Federation treated the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix incident involving the Renault team, after Bernie Ecclestone admitted in a documentary he’s put together to illustrate his life and achievements that he “knew what had happened almost immediately,” adding that, “Max (Mosley) and I decided to do nothing about it, to protect the image of the sport.”

Confronted with the words of the man who controlled Formula One at the time, Massa admitted he’s seeking “legal advice to see what can be done about it, because if the FIA knew what happened, they should have acted quickly and that would have changed the result of the 2008 championship.”

It was a championship Massa – who retired in the pits in Singapore after Ferrari fumbled his stop and refueling – lost by one point at the end of a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix. The then Ferrari driver won the Interlagos race in style and looked set to win the championship until Lewis Hamilton passed Timo Glock’s Toyota at the last corner to secure enough points to clinch the title.

Even though Massa has all the reasons in the world to

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follow up to the Melbourne event and from there go north to Shanghai, leaving Suzuka out of this calendar shake-up.

But it has been made very clear by the Singaporean promoters they have no intention of leaving their late summer slot in the calendar – as veteran Colin Syn told us in Melbourne: “We’ve had the race in late September since 2008. This has created a routine for those who come and watch the race and if we change it we may lose some of our more regular ticket buyers, so I’ve told Stefano I don’t want that change to happen.”

Given Singapore pays considerably more than Japan in promoter’s fee, their political weight is bigger – the more you pay, the more power you have, as demonstrated by Saudi Arabia’s complete command of where in the calendar its race will be placed ... So Suzuka may have to brace for a very wet and cold 2024 Grand Prix ...

For now, though, Domenicali’s plans are still tentative, as he’s still working first on expanding the calendar to 25 races next year and then will try to put together a less physically punitive calendar than the one everyone in the sport has to endure in 2023.

Felipe Massa (left) and Lewis Hamilton, 2008.

A title rethink is unlikely ...

feel cheated. For more than 13 years it has been proved that Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed on purpose to create a Safety Car situation that would put team-mate Fernando Alonso in the lead of the Singapore Grand Prix. While the Brazilian recently admitted again to the facts, blaming team boss Briatore for his actions, it’s clear the results of a race held almost 15 years ago cannot be change and all the Brazilian may end up getting is a financial compensation for his troubles ... at best.

When the FIA ruled on the so called “Crashgate Scandal”, its president, Max Mosley, admitted Race Director Charlie Whiting had known the facts at the

2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, as Nelson Piquet Sr. related them to him, but the Federation had its hands tied because Piquet Jr. wouldn’t testify against his team and, therefore, there was no way to get the case going.

Only when the young driver was fired, after the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, did he send his testimony to the FIA, giving the Federation enough grounds to start legal proceedings that ended with Briatore and Pat Symonds getting long term bans from the sport. And that, most likely, is the end of the story, with Massa’s eventual legal action having no effects on the results of the 2008 season.

MAX VERSTAPPEN has threatened to leave Formula One at the end of his current contract with Red Bull, that expires at the end of 2028, if “they keep changing everything and putting more of these sprint race weekends in the calendar”, the Dutchman said in Melbourne, during the Australian Grand Prix weekend.

The double World Champion has never been a fan of the Sprint Race format and doubled down on his criticism of such events in Melbourne, explaining that, “I’m not a fan of it at all.”

The Red Bull driver went on to explain that, “for me, a Sprint race is all about surviving, it’s not about racing. For me, when you have a quick car, there’s nothing to risk. I prefer to just keep my car alive and make sure that I have a good race car for Sunday. And even if you change the format, I don’t find it’s the DNA of Formula One to do these kinds of Sprint races. Formula One is about getting the most out of it in qualifying and then having an amazing Sunday, good long race distances. That’s the DNA of the sport and I don’t understand or I don’t know why we should change that because I think the action has been good.”

Clearly warming up to the theme, Verstappen also added that expanding the calendar to up to 25 races while increasing the number of Sprint Races is not what Formula One should be doing: “I think when we’re going to do all that kind of stuff, the weekend becomes even more intense and we’re already doing so many races. So, I think that is not the right way to go at it. I understand, of course, they want to make every day exciting, but then I think maybe it’s better to just reduce the weekend, only race on Saturday and Sunday and make those two days exciting, because we’re heading into seasons where you have, at one point, 24/25 races, because that’s where we’re going to head into, and if we then start adding even more stuff, it’s not worth it, for me anyway.

“I’m not enjoying that. And how do you get even more action is about getting the cars closer, getting more teams to be able to fight for the win.

And I think, naturally, the show will be great. If we have six, seven teams already fighting for a win, that will be insane. Then you really don’t need to change anything.”

Verstappen has long stated that, “I want to do other things in my life while I’m still young enough to enjoy them and do them well”, so his threat to quit the sport should be treated with care

by Stefano Domenicali and his team. However, it’s worth remembering that other top drivers, like Lewis Hamilton, also insisted, after five or six seasons in Formula One, they wouldn’t be racing for much longer and ended up racing until their 40s, so just because the Dutchman is now threatening to quit in five years’ time, that doesn’t mean he’ll actually walk away from the sport ... especially if he’s still winning as often as he’s doing now.

FERRARI WANTS SAINZ’S PENALTY OVERTURNED FERRARI HAS requested to the FIA the Right to Review regarding the five second penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz in the final moments of the Australian Grand Prix.

Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur revealed the request via a conference call, from Maranello, with a restricted group of media.

Having 14 days after the publication of the Australian Grand Prix results to request the Right to Review, Ferrari spent the last four days of the fortnight analysing the events from the last four laps of the race in Melbourne and believes it has found new and relevant elements that should lead to a new appreciation of its driver’s penalty, according to Vasseur.

Explaining that, “I don’t want to give away many details, because we have to respect the procedure and we first want to put our case to the FIA, get the Right to Review and then go to the Stewards of the Meeting to present our evidence and give our and Carlos’ view on the incident before speaking to the media about it”, Vasseur insisted that, “the decision was taken without giving Carlos or us the possibility to present our case.”

The veteran Frenchman admitted that, “as I’ve been in motor racing for 33 years now, I know that for every incident between drivers there are always two different versions”, before adding that, “the least we want is to be able to give our view, show our evidence but, of course, we hope to get a different outcome from the one we got in Melbourne.”

When pushed for more information about Ferrari’s request and asked if he was surprised there were no more penalties applied in that first corner incident – particularly to Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant, who took Esteban Ocon and Nyck de Vries, respectively, out of the race

while Fernando Alonso, who was tipped into a spin by Sainz, continued on track – Vasseur admitted that, “as you said, there were quite a few incidents in that final restart and, as you know, they were treated in a very different way by the Stewards. There’s the Gasly incident, yes, there’s the Sargeant incident as well, but there was no action taken on both these cases, so we want to understand how could that be possible.”

Once again Vasseur reiterated that, “we would also prefer that in the future, particularly in cases like this, when the podium ceremony doesn’t have to be delayed, as Carlos was in fourth place, not in a podium finish position, the Stewards wait until the end of the race to allow the drivers and their teams to present their evidence before handing a penalty.

I mean, there was no rush, Fernando was always going to the podium, so they could have easily waited for Carlos and the team to finish the race and then gone to the Stewards.”

What is not certain now, as the Frenchman explained, is “when the FIA will decide if the new evidence is enough for us to get the Right of Review and, if we do, as we hope, if we’ll go back to speak to the Stewards that were on duty in Melbourne, in an online meeting, or whether the matter passes to the hands of the Stewards of the Meeting from the next race, in Azerbaijan, for them to decide.” In conclusion, Vasseur explained that: “we’re hoping to have a final decision before we get to Azerbaijan, as the sooner this is decided, the better it is for everybody.”

RUSSELL, HULKENBERG’S PU ISSUES REVEALED A BROKEN cylinder on his Mercedes V6 internal combustion engine was the reason that forced George Russell to retire from the Australian Grand Prix, a race he led from Turn One until pitting under the Safety Car at the end of lap 7; while Nico Hulkenberg’s last lap scare on his way to a rewarding seventh place was due to an MGU-K failure, we can reveal.

With no time to investigate the causes of the two failures while in Melbourne, as the priority was to pack everything up and put it on the FOM cargo planes that transported all the teams’ material back to Europe, it was only when the Power Units arrived back at the factories that Mercedes and Ferrari could analyse what had gone wrong with both Power Units.

Once Russell’s W14 was at the Brackley factory, the Power Unit was removed and taken to the HPP headquarters in Brixworth, where a cylinder failure was

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A cylinder failure has been identified as the cause of the expiry of George Russell’s engine in Melbourne. diagnosed as the cause of the V6 failure in Melbourne. But the reason behind such a failure is yet to be determined, as there was no obvious tell-tale indication of what could have caused such a rare problem for the German engine.

Having decided to give Russell a completely new Power Unit for the next Grand Prix, in Azerbaijan, two weeks from now, there will be no grid penalty

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for the young English driver, as he’ll still be on his second unit for the season, but at Brixworth there’s growing concern about the reliability of its PU. The problems started in Bahrain, when McLaren driver Lando Norris was forced to stop for six times during the race due to a malfunction of a pneumatic valve.

The British driver also got a new Power Unit for the following race, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as

the damaged PU was still back at Brixworth for a full analysis of that problem.

Down at Maranello, having received the Power Units used

by Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg in Melbourne, Ferrari identified an MGU-K failure as the reason for the German’s last lap scare, the Haas driver being very fortunate the race ended behind the Safety Car as he would have been a sitting duck for all his rivals had the last lap of the Australian Grand Prix been covered in full race conditions.

Although the full investigation on the problem is not yet completed, the initial analysis points to an incorrect procedure being used during the last red flag procedure, as the recommended way to turn off and then turn on the Italian Power Unit may have not been followed by Hulkenberg and/or his mechanics, probably due to

the time constraints imposed by that third red flag, that came immediately after another re-start of the race.

With the temperatures of the different components of the Power Units being critical to their life cycle, it is believed something may have been done outside the normal procedures required by the Italian PU, which led to the failure of the component.

It’s a failure that will make Ferrari hand a second MGU-K to Hulkenberg in Baku, as the rest of the Power Unit was not affected by the last lap failure. But that has put the engine department in Maranello on high alert, with the remaining Power Units – from the Scuderia, Magnussen’s Haas and both Alfa Romeo’s – being subjected to a detailed analysis, as Ferrari is making the most of the extra time available before the next Grand Prix to make sure there are no more reliability issues in the Power Units used until now.

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SUPERCARS CHAIRMAN’S VISION IS

SUPER DUPER

BARCLAY NETTLEFOLD OUTLINES HIS PERSPECTIVE ON THE STATE OF THE SPORT

EXCLUSIVE

THE RACING AUSTRALIA CONSOLIDATED ENTERPRISES CONSORTIUM HAS BEEN IN CHARGE OF SUPERCARS FOR MORE THAN A YEAR NOW AND IT’S NOW GOT THE NEW GEN3 CARS OUT ON TRACK. RACE BOSS INVITED AUTO ACTION’S PUBLISHER AND EDITOR BRUCE WILLIAMS TO HIS PLUSH OFFICE FOR AN EXTENSIVE, FRANK AND HONEST DISCUSSION ABOUT THE SPORT’S POSITION AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW AND WHERE HE SEES THE FUTURE ...

WHEN BARCLAY Nettlefold, at the urging of Mark Skaife, formed Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE) in 2021 and put in a bid for Supercars, he was a novice in our sport.

He had experience with Swimming Australia and a brace of successful businesses but nothing in motorsport.

Fronting up with tens of millions of dollars for a sporting entity near the end of the COVID crisis seemed like folly at the time, and the first year looked a little stagnant from the outside.

But like a paddling duck, plenty was going on that we couldn’t see.

A low media profile – read nonexistent – left a vacuum for rumours and sometimes facts to fill the void, like Auto Action’s cover story last year about RACE being approached to sell the sport and the bunfight surrounding the no-sale.

While everything is for sale at the right price, it would take a significant sum to prize Nettlefold from Supercars, which he treats as a longterm project.

RACE’s investment in the sport goes beyond what was paid to Archer Capital and the teams for the 100% ownership of the sport, and that extra investment is all part of a five-year plan to get the sport back to prominence ... and even up to the third-ranked sport in the nation.

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AA: RACE has owned Supercars for nearly 18 months – do you think things have progressed in that time from the sporting and spectator points of view?

BN: We got off to a bit of a slow start with Newcastle being cancelled for '22 and the weather issues (when we had to slip in at Sydney Motorsport Park), but the momentum grew through the year, and we had all the indicators into the back end of the year that things were growing.

The final four months of the year were outstanding. All the KPIs were strong, and the fan support from New Zealand to the closer in Adelaide was really building and, again, we would’ve broken records but for a bit of poor weather issue.

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Gisbergen. We’ve got a long history there, and we’ve got great driving talent, and New Zealanders love motorsport.

AA: Was Supercars fortunate that South Australia had a change of government and delivered the Adelaide 500 back as a bigger, better and more spectacular event?

BN: Absolutely. And I see that it proved how powerful the brand and the sport are in that state and how much they missed it.

And the Premier, Peter Malinauskas, really did listen to the people. I was so impressed with how the State Government leaned into bringing the sport back and did it in such a short timeframe.

They invested heavily, but I believe that,

New Zealand is a real focus for us – 20% of our fan base is there, which is very important for our sponsors and our teams.

AA: Pukekohe was a standout event, but it was the last race there, so it was always going to be big. Do you think the fan base in New Zealand is strong enough to deliver similar crowds in the future?

BN: I think bigger. New Zealand is a real focus for us – 20% of our fan base is there, which is very important for our sponsors and our teams. We are also one of the largest annual sporting events on the calendar outside of the All Blacks. So if you look at it through those eyes, Supercars has enormous DNA there, especially with the older drivers like Greg Murphy and our current drivers led by Shane Van

from all indications, the investments are already paying strong dividends. You can see he (Peter Malinauskas) is already committed to LIV golf in the next couple of weeks, but as soon as you sign Robbie Williams you’ve got 90,000 tickets sold to the whole sporting event.

If you look at the price of a ticket for a family with two kids for the whole weekend, it’s great value if we are putting on this extra activity. So what we’ve got to do is we’ve got to keep making it not just about the sport, but about the entertainment and giving people value for money for the tickets.

AA: The tickets aren’t cheap for a Supercars event compared to the footy, but the event goes for a lot longer – it’s an eight-hour day or longer if you’ve got a concert.

BN: I don’t think we’re overpriced. We’ve done a lot of work regarding the pricing and are conscious of the fans’ position on that. It’s about how we can invest more behind the racing. We don’t sit there and think, 'okay, if we put on a certain event it is going to attract this amount of money and people to equate to the cost of it.' We don’t look at it through those eyes. We look at it through the lens that basically says, 'how are we going to make this event bigger and better and stronger for the future?' We want people to walk away saying, ‘wow, that was good. I want to come back next year’.

AA: Supercars had significant events at the end of last year, with Pukekohe, Bathurst, Gold Coast and the Adelaide 500 and then kicked it off this year with a big show at Newcastle. The crowd at Newcastle was strong and it seemed to be a pretty solid event. Do you think that your ongoing negotiations with Newcastle and the New South Wales government will see the event come back again next year?

BN: Look, we believe so. We hope so. I think it’s an important event as a sport.

We touch the regions very strongly and well compared to most sports. So if you look at the way that we get into Darwin, we get into Townsville, we get into Perth and Launceston. So we are reaching all parts of Australia and Newcastle, being a big city of New South Wales, is an important city and

it’s got a big following, and they love our racing there.

AA: When do you think you’ll know whether or not Supercars is there again? Is there a timeline for that?

BN: A survey has been done by the Newcastle City Council, so now we’re working with them and New South Wales Events in regards to what it all means.

AA: One of the keys with Supercars revolves around support from governments.

Is that what stops events at places like Winton from happening?

BN: What stops it? I think it gets back to the commercial platform on what our racing defines – first and foremost, in getting our core product to the fans. Street circuits are expensive to build, but they’re also exciting.

So we need to focus on making sure we’ve got the events to create the entertainment and the ecosystem around that.

Then we need to look at circuit racing.

I think Winton last year was a great event, but at the moment we've had to restrict ourselves to a 12-race event calendar, and, unfortunately, the state government wasn’t there to support it enough.

So, when you talk about government support and sanctions, there’s a perfect example, where, if the government was more supportive, maybe we could still have been there ahead of some other places.

With Pukekohe (above) gone, a return to racing in NZ is high on the agenda, with more than one venue option. Below: Delivering Gen3 has been a time-consuming focus for the new owners of Supercars; negotiating a return to Newcastle (below) is now a priority.

Images: MARK HORSBURGH We’ve got a Big Beach Club activation on the Gold Coast, and we’ll be more selective around different events and what we do.

But that’ll be a progression where we start to build to have a big and more powerful membership base where we can set up a club set-up that’s functioning at a high level at some of our major events. We are just trying to create value, but a lot of the value comes not just from the other entertainment and hospitality but also from the racing – and I think we’ve had probably the best racing in the sport for a while.

LAST YEAR, we were told that South Australia wasn’t just getting behind the return of the Adelaide 500; the state Premier also kicked in support for The Bend's event, which made all the difference in the end and rural Victoria lost out.

Growth is the focus of RACE, and that requires investment. RACE won’t be happy to sit at a 12-event season for long, but that is not going to happen without getting the package right. Formula One has shown what happens if you get the events right and can put the brand story into the marketing with authenticity. That can happen sooner rather than later.

AA: What has the RACE ownership delivered to the sport and Supercar fans in the past 12 months, apart from some good events?

BN: I think we’ve certainly provided some stability around the sport regarding continuity. We’re focused on investing in the sport too. There’s been very limited investment put into the sport in the past few years.

We’ve got a real focus on the fan base and how to connect and be more engaged with the fans.

We are investing in our whole digital platform, and we’re expecting the first phase to be running for Bathurst (in October).

AA: What does that digital platform look like?

BN: It’s just our social media platforms, our websites, the way that you’ll be able to consume the sport off your phones versus the way we’re doing it now (which is quite clunky). It enables us to be more engaging with fans regarding the full area of the sport and also capture a lot more data so we can get more granular with our analytics around the sport.

That’s a big piece of work and we are spending a significant amount of money on that. The other thing the sport hasn’t done is that it hasn’t promoted itself.

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This is RACE investing and we’ll continue to invest because we are happy with the insights we’re getting from the uplift in the sport.

Over the weekend we were running TVCs (commercials) in the AFL, NRL and all the major sports telecasts, over and above what we get contractually. We signed off on a major pay-to-play with News Corp as well, and we’ve just done a major deal broadcasting with SEN (radio) for every race. We are really focused on expanding the opportunity to create more awareness around the new cars.

AA: How do you pay for all of that?

BN: This is RACE investing and we’ll continue to invest because we are happy with the insights we’re getting from the uplift in the sport.

AA: Since you guys took ownership, you’ve had the distraction of bringing Gen3 to the sport. Do you think that’s been a positive or a hindrance for you in some ways?

BN: I think it’s put a lot of pressure on the executive and the sport in operational terms. There’s no question about that.

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It’s blown out in cost. But from a RACE perspective in what we expected to invest, we’ve nearly doubled down regarding our commitment to Gen3 to ensure that we got it on-track at Newcastle.

But also the teams. The cars are a bit more expensive in the current world, but they still managed to deliver the cars for the start of the season. They are more expensive, let’s not get away from that, but there’s reasons. The raw materials are now more expensive than we were expecting, and the teams were doing so much overtime to get the cars on the up.

AA: What do you think has changed for the fans since RACE took over?

BN: I think we’ve enhanced our broadcast, with helmet cams and how we are running the totem poles onscreen and the digitals.

We’re certainly working to improve the hospitality side of the sport. We’ve had some initiatives around that and we’ll continue to expand on those.

NEW ZEALAND falling off the calendar is more about circumstance and timing than anything else. Even though Hampton Downs is not that far from Pukekohe, it is in a different region, meaning things like Resource Consent need to be obtained again.

Nettefold says missing New Zealand in 2023 wasn’t for the lack of trying, and that, along with a few other expansion activities, he plans to return Supercars to New Zealand in 2024.

AA: There’s been a little bit of external noise about the fact that there doesn’t appear to have been anything happening with New Zealand. How’s all that looking? Can you give us a little bit of insight into what you’re thinking about New Zealand?

BN: First and foremost, the contract was at an end. So we had to renew at the same time as we got notified two days before the race started that they were closing the venue.

AA: When you say two days before, it had been announced a long time before …

BN: They officially told us that it would be the last just before the event. Supercars has not made money over the last five years in New Zealand. We’ve made quite a material loss, but it’s been important for fans to be there. There hasn’t been a focus on it being a commercial outcome in the past. But we need a racetrack to race that works for us.

We’ve got to make sure it’s compatible for our cars.

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The return to racing on the streets of Adelaide was a blessing... Image: MARK HORSBURGH AA: There’s three main racetracks there, are you close to signing off on one of them?

BN: We are close to signing off on one as we speak.

AA: Is it a possibility there will be more than one event in New Zealand?

BN: I think it could be one for next year, but the way that the motorsports and commercial teams inside Supercars want to do it, we could expand it into being a motorsport festival for New Zealand. Our aim is to try to get back next year.

We really are focused and committed to getting back to New Zealand.

It’s integral for our sponsors to be there – I mean Bunnings, as an example, has 45 to 50 outlets there, and if we are trying to talk to someone like a Chemist Warehouse in the future, they’ve got a big growth profile moving over there now.

Repco is very big there. BP is there. It is an important part of their business and an important part for many of our team sponsors’ businesses, and we recognise that. So we don’t just look at it through the lens of us as a holding company. We’ve got to look at it through the whole sport in general.

We even see, just through the ticket sales at Bathurst, we are 50% up already on where we were on ticket sales at the same time last year – and I can tell you that the amount that is sold to New Zealanders will be at an all-time record.

AA: There is a gentleman (Roland Dane) who has suggested that there were some ‘lunatics’ from the RACE board wandering around at the Grand Prix talking about expanding the series beyond Australia and New Zealand. Were you one of those lunatics?

BN: I’m sure he was referencing me. That’s probably not my choice of words to call someone, but I think his statements are ill-informed because he hasn’t got enough information to understand what we’re trying to achieve. He was clearly thinking we should be focusing more on New Zealand, but he’s not aware of just how much work we are doing to get the sport back to New Zealand.

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AA: Roland mentioned that the board’s looking to expand elsewhere. Supercars has had periods where it raced in China, the Middle East and America. Do you foresee that again?

BN: Is it us seeing an opportunity, or is the world seeing it? Is it inbound, or is it outbound pressure?

Everyone needs to understand that we’ve now got a relevant product for the global market. World touring cars has disbanded and we’ve now got the world’s number one touring car product. Our racing is door-todoor, better than it’s ever been. It is really creating a lot of inbound interest.

Now, that interest can stem in the potential of forming some sort of F1 affiliation, but also standalone racing too. If we can put on more races, teams get paid more, and we can have our drivers doing a lot more events during a year. I think it’s better for Supercars.

AA: You couldn’t suggest with 12 events that they are overworked. There’s plenty of room in the calendar.

BN: Correct. That’s another thing I’m really focusing on. When I was president of Swimming Australia, one of the key things was working with the athletes and getting them to become professionals and not having to go and find another job.

What I see now is that we have a lot of our drivers who have to race elsewhere to make money or keep their skills up.

AA: On that subject, a survey recently in the News Corp papers ranked the top 50 Australian athletes regarding marketability and their ability to generate income and deliver power to their sponsors and their sports. There were no Supercar drivers in those rankings. Is that a concern for the sport?

BN: I think that shows we haven’t provided the right platform. They were in the old days.

When we took over the sport we said we wanted to focus more on the drivers. They are certainly something that we need to amplify. It’s coming.

AA: Do you think there are the personalities, drivers within the sport, to earn that sort of excitement? You’ve got a situation where some drivers don’t want to talk, and others want to run away from the cameras. Do you think that there’s a problem there?

BN: Answering that question is not as simple as it sounds. You’re dealing with individuals at times when they might be frustrated. There’s some underswell in regards to how they feel and stuff.

I think each and every one of them is

Bahrain was one of Supercars first OS projects – the new management is looking at options ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

extremely good and very accomplished in front of a camera. They’re very capable.

I don’t think they’re given the credit they deserve in the Australian market for just how skilled they are. But if I look at our interaction with the drivers, I think we can do a lot more.

I don’t think we have a sort of affiliation for themselves. We talk about technical issues with the top six drivers. But I’d like to see how we could enhance that and take that to the next level in the future.

AA: The drivers within the sport are obviously very approachable when they’re not in the pressure-cooker of trying to get ready for racing and so on. What’s your feelings about the accessibility of the athletes in that situation?

BN: I think we’re probably making them too accessible in some instances before a race. Right at the start of a race, I think we are – but that’s part of the entertainment as well. And everyone forgets it. Motorsports has got an adrenaline factor to it as no other sport does.

AA: Look at the grid at the start of Bathurst, our biggest race of the year, and there’s a couple of thousand people on the grid literally two minutes before the race starts.

Can you imagine the same thing happening at the AFL or NRL grand final?

BN: That’s exactly what Kyle Chalmers said to me in the pits at the Grand Prix.

He couldn’t believe how these guys could focus. He said he couldn’t walk from the marshalling room to the blocks to race for an Olympic gold medal with all this distraction. That again proves just how unique racing drivers are.

I think we’ve got to work with them to help them to exploit themselves better. The more we can do to assist them the better our sport will be too.

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If Roland was privy to more information, he might not think we were lunatics.

AA: There was a bit of fluff and bubble circulating around whether Supercars should be at the Grand Prix. A couple of team owners were complaining that they’d been pushed back a bit now F2 and F3 are there. What’s your position on the Grand Prix?

BN: We have an agreement with the AGP, and they have an option for two years to extend with us. We are discussing that now and what that means. Certain things are being negotiated with the new deal that has to come into place by 2026.

This includes the paddock, pits and all the facilities in general. We see the AGP as the largest sporting spectacle in Australia. Close to 450,000 people. There were 80,000 people on the Thursday, and that was the day that Supercars were practising and racing. There was no F1 activity, so it was us.

That to me proves that the people want us. I’ve heard that there was a big outcry when Supercars wasn’t there. I think we turned it on this year and gave a great show. Sadly we were limited on time, and they’re the things that are more important at the moment. The quality of our track time is fundamental.

AA: Is it more important than worrying about whether or not you can walk out to your transporter and have a little sit down and a cup of tea?

BN: Without question! Again, who are we concerned about here? We are there to race, and we’re racing on the biggest platform in the country.

We had enormous sponsorship support there. But I don’t think it’s just our current sponsors; it’s also potential sponsors for our teams and us. We must be there. The current deal expires in 2025, which is why negotiations are going on regarding facilities and services as part of a new long-term agreement. If Roland was privy to more information, he might not think we were lunatics.

NETTLEFOLD SPOKE about overseas venues. He certainly sees a future for the cars in Asia and the Middle East.

Previously when Supercars raced in those places it was running domestic Falcons and Commodores.

Now it is global with Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs, with cars that look amazing on the track – today, more so than in 2005 (in China) when Rick Kelly raced in Buick colours to try and give some relevance. They’d heard of Ford, but what was a Holden?

China only lasted that one year. The Middle East ran longer, and the USA was only one event too. That could be different now, and RACE knows that by the calls that are coming it’s way.

Remember, it is a business, and it needs to make a profit. That is something of which that Nettlefold is well aware.

and Mark Skaife, and then you’ve got three investors basically who are nonmotorsport people, very supportive of myself and Mark and the executive on where they’re taking the sport.

AA: Archer Capital were pretty hands-off as far as running the sport was concerned.

You’ve got two people, in yourself and Mark Skaife, who are reasonably highprofile. Does the ownership now have more direct input into the way the sport’s run than it would’ve in the past?

BN: Absolutely, and that’s a great thing.

I think, if you talk to any teams, they’ve seen more of the ownership group in the first 12 months than they’d probably seen of Archer in the whole 10 years.

AA: There’s a little bit confusion because your business card says ‘Chairman of Supercars’. Are you the chairman of Supercars or are you the chairman of RACE. BN: Well, I’m the chairman of both.

Supercars is more an operating board and we have team advisers on there, and that’s important to us because we can then talk about things that are important to the racing side of it that come in from the Commission.

It doesn’t really focus so much on the commercial activities; that’s a different team.

RACE sees the AGP as a vital event in its schedule, despite some on-track logistics challenges followng the arrival; of F2/F3. Image: MARK HORSBURGH

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What I see now is that we have a lot of our drivers who have to race elsewhere to make money or keep their skills up..

Once we started to have more relevant discussions around it with the incumbent CEO and others in the sport, we realised that a lot of fundamental issues had been sitting around, dragging its value down.

It had an ownership structure that was not working. There was no purpose for anyone to invest in the sport, and there was no real direction on the key buckets of commercial importance to the sport; where do you really focus your attention?

AA: 35% of the sport was owned by the teams. How important was it to take full ownership?

BN: That was put to us as an option from the advisors to Archer Capital, the previous owners. When we started to Having a 'motorsport person' such as Shane Howard at the helm is a big plus, according to the Chairman.

AA: The creation of RACE was an interesting thing. When you guys got involved in the sport it was a group of enthusiastic people. How did it all come about?

BN: I was looking at numerous sports, and this opportunity was presented at a board meeting (elsewhere) when COVID hit, and the board declined to pursue it. I said I’d like to continue because Mark Skaife had a seat at the table, and I believe we owed it to him to take it further, to look at it further.

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look at being more in control of our own destiny and direction with investors, we could sit there and say, if we want to go and spend an extra $15 million now, why can’t we grow the sport to cover that? We want to expand the racing, so why can’t we? And then we’d cover that investment.

The teams needed to put that investment back into their cars, and Gen3 was lagging until we got the ownership of the sport. We gave it some real focus because we had to make it succeed.

We had to deliver that product.

AA: What sort of people are on the board?

Are they sporting people, or are they investment people?

BN: You’ve got sporting people like myself

AA: Shane Howard was appointed CEO at the beginning of 2022. How do you think he’s going?

BN: I’ve been Shane’s strongest supporter. In all my businesses the CEO role is one of the most critical roles.

You need to be able to have open dialogue, talk about real issues, and where you need to help.

Without a doubt, Shane is the right man for the sport. It’s the first time the sport’s had a motorsport person leading it for a long, long time. People don’t realise that, while we’re a sport, we’re also an event company. We’ve got sponsorship, we’ve got hospitality, we’ve got a lot of different activities to sit along with us. He carries a lot of the load. And with his history and experience, he does a great job in the administration of teams and rules and the general day-to-day racing stuff.

AA: So he is a worker more than a figurehead, as some of high-profile people in the past were?

BN: Well, I don’t know if the last CEO before him was a high-profile person.

But I think Shane is a real figurehead in the motorsport area and one of the sport’s most understated persons. He’s very understated regarding his delivery but just gets things done. He’s built a really good team around him to support him. But if you think about it, I think 70% of his time’s been just Gen3-focused for the last six months.

THERE WERE other bidders for the Supercars, including one led by or involving Boost Mobile’s Peter Adderton, who has been at times an outspoken critic of the sport. Other dissenters have spoken up too, and many have expressed their views in private to Auto Action.

Nettlefold is confident he knows what he is doing, and knew what he was doing. His eyes were wide open when RACE put its bid together.

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AA: When you originally looked at buying Supercars you put in a tender under your umbrella, as did ARG and a couple of others, but you joined forces with ARG. Is there anything left of the relationship with ARG? BN: We joined the bid with the two main shareholders of ARG, not ARG itself directly. And we all thought that there was a way to consolidate the motorsport play. But once we got inside Supercars we realised we had a lot of work to do.

We had to deliver Gen3. We had to focus on working with the fans. We had to get our digital platforms back, and we’re starting to see the results.

We are now running at 98.5% of our sponsorship budget already for this year.

We’re at 80% on event sponsorship. We are 61% committed already on hospitality.

So we’re getting a lot of things right. We didn’t need to be distracted. We’ve tried to consolidate additional sporting categories into the Supercars business platform too.

AA: There was a bit of agitation with the ARG people, Garry and Barry Rogers, not so much John McMellan because he doesn’t have much to say publicly. But they were unhappy about the fact that their expectations didn’t come to fruition. Where do you see it?

BN: I think that gets back to the SpeedSeries. They wanted it to happen quickly and we just couldn’t allow that.

The executive was crippled under the pressure and the load to deliver Gen3 and events. So how could we make it go quicker when so much is happening?

AA: Brian Boyd sold his share in Supercars?

BN: Yes, he did.

AA: ARG sharholder John McMellan was on the RACE board, but he left several months ago?

BN: Yes, he's been off the board for several months now.

AA: And you’ve still got Garry and Barry Rogers.

BN: Yes, Garry and Barry are still a shareholder.

disqualified from that first race?

BN: Maybe. He’s an athlete. Why wouldn’t he be upset? I think he was disappointed with the outcome. But Motorsport Australia are the technical officials of the race, and they determined the outcome.

BN: I think Mark is a very emotional guy. I think that’s what drives him. His commitment to the success of RACE and Supercars has been unparalleled. He was the instigator in getting me focused on the investment strategy. He upskilled the board and me initially to enable us to understand the sport from certain technical aspects and how it operated.

He does a job on TV, and being an exrace car driver, he will have an opinion.

When he’s in that role, he’s entitled to his opinion. I don’t think he was talking through the wrong lens. That might come across as stepping over the mark, but I think it was in the sport’s best interest that Mark was making a statement.

But it flows back to the fact that we’ve got some fundamental things to work on about how we interact with our drivers. How do we make them bigger champions in the country? And making them realise that we are not the opposition – we are one. And if we work harder in that area you’ll see a lot more harmony, but you’ll see a lot better outcomes.

views that Shane held, but Shane reacted in a very firm and negative way. He took it one step further by refusuing to speak at all. Do you think it was helpful or unhelpful for the sport?

BN: I think it is what it is. Any theatre can be good, but it can also be negative. You see it in other sports, but I don’t think both people were looking through the wrong eyes from their side at the time. The car’s a new car.

They were rushed on to the grid and there will be some issues. We all recognise that.

Seeing how the teams, both the Ford and the General Motors teams, got together to bring the sport together for its betterment was enormous. But you’re going to have some teething problems. If we work together though, we can overcome the problems.

We are already starting to think about what 3.5 is. We know we’ve got certain parts on the car that aren’t right. If one was a cooling system, so be it. Is it undertrays?

We’re working on it. We’ve got the right people working on it.

AA: It looked like Mark was trying to calm down the chat about some of the negative

AA: Do you think Shane’s emotional state was intensified because he’d been

AA: There’s obviously still some interaction because Supercars run some ARG categories with S5000 and TCM and GTs on the programme. So there’s still an interface there. There’s still some relationship?

BN: It’s all at arm’s length regarding the categories. For the first 12 months we assisted them with their broadcast and got that up to the level that it is for the current SpeedSeries. I respect Garry for what he’s done for the sport. He’s done so much.

We asked him during that time if he wanted to sell his shares in RACE, and even more recently too, and he said no.

So I see that is a sign of faith that we are doing the right thing and that his investment in Supercars is going to be commercial in the long run.

AA: One of the key figures in the sport is Mark Skaife. You and Mark have a very close relationship. Mark is a true champion of the sport. He is also the figurehead on your television broadcast. There was a dust-up in Newcastle with Mark and Shane van Gisbergen. Do you think Mark wears his heart on his sleeve a little bit when it comes to any criticism directed at Supercars or the television and the category in general?

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So in their mind, Archer had no incentive to invest and grow the sport.

The 'Three Supercars Amigos' – Shane Howard, Barclay Nettlefold and Mark Skaife are now the heavy-hitters of Supercars.

AA: But there’s also your own technical group, which Triple Eight claims advised it was all right to do whatb they did. Is there some confusion about where one group starts and the other finishes?

BN: I’m not going to sit here and comment about who’s right or wrong, what was said, and what was hearsay. It’s not for me to say anything about that. That was something, and it’s a Motorsport Australia issue.

There are written policies and we’ve got to race by those.

AA: Back on Mark Skaife again, is he the most influential person in Supercars?

BN: There’s no question Mark has a lot of influence, and I believe it’s all positive.

We’ve just got to ensure I can assist Mark moving forward to ensure he stays where he needs to be. It’s making sure that when he’s talking as a commentator, that he’s talking as a commentator and not as a director.

AA: It must be difficult from that perspective, though? You can’t split it easily.

BN: I asked him to take a position on the board because he is the right person to be there. He took it with open arms, never looked back, and never complained. He’s a true pro.

I take my hat off to him too, because he went above and beyond what we expected of him. But yes, if you think about it, if you’re a board member and a commentator, he’s not stepping over the mark in regard to his fiduciary duties.

AA: You’ve done pretty well here. You haven’t avoided any of my serious questions. Maybe they’re not serious enough! Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

BN: There’s a lot of stuff here that’s all positive and look at how we are tracking, our fan engagements and stuff.

AA: Let’s talk about long term sustainability for Supercars.

BN: We’ve employed Tim Watsford in a role.

He’s now working on all the government relationships. He’s ex-NRL, and then he went up and ran all the events for Northern Territory and was fundamental in regards to our Darwin race.

But he’s focused on that now (government relationships). So he’s tasked with getting New Zealand back, renewing Newcastle, and working on our government relationships with the Victorian sports minister regarding what we can do more in the state other than just being a category support race to the AGP. He’s tasked with our sustainability plans.

Sustainability is something we’ve got to focus on. The future of our sport is really pegged to it. You’re seeing it now with F1, and you’re seeing it with all sports. So we need to make sure that we’re thinking about it.

fantastic part of the DNA of Australia, and has been for so long, and I would say it’s been neglected in a way.

You only have to look at what the AFL spends on grassroots sport. Where are our grassroots programmes, other than Super2 and Super3? If we are doing better, we should be supporting karting. We should nearly become the masthead of Motorsport Australia.

Supercars has employed sports event/management specialist Tim Watsford to oversee government relationships – he is initially tasked with getting New Zealand back and renewing Newcastle.

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

“ ”

We should nearly become the masthead of Motorsport Australia.

no incentive to invest and grow the sport.

It was in a closed fund that was just sitting there idle for years.

Nettlefold believes that the drivers need a higher profile .... and says that its okay for a drivers group to be formed. Image: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY We are doing things that are right. We’ve gone more into biofuels this year.

At the same time, Shane has bolstered his Executive team with a very experienced media executive in Mark Pejic, and also a new General Counsel, Tim Holden – ex-FA (Football Australia) General Counsel.

AA: You touched on Gen 3.5. Is part of that sustainability for Supercars to involve more manufacturers? Do you really think that Supercars is the sort of category that another manufacturer wants to be involved in?

BN: I think yes. From what we are getting told from our executive, some manufacturers want to be a part of what we are doing.

If we look to get broadened outside of Australia, that will also assist the commercial narrative around that and build the appetite.

I think the General Motors company will still be a very long-term player in our motorsport in some shape or form. I think a lot of water will go under the bridge in time.

NASCAR has got the same issue as us (the phasing out of the Camaro).

AA: How is the sport really going?

BN: We get independent key insights quarterly on the sport. So it enables us to then look through here and say, “How is Supercars tracking relative to our competitors?” Because we’ve got to look at it through that lens as well. Ultimately we want to get to be the third-biggest sport in the country. And if you look here, you start to see that the red line is kicking up.

We’re building the brand again. There’s been no investment in building the Supercars brand for years. So if you go back and ask me how much the Supercars teams got paid in 2021, before we took over, compared to what we pay them now, there’s no comparison.

It was disproportionate. They were getting the first wave of funds that would come through, and then Archer Capital would get the balance. So in their mind, Archer had

AA: So any money that was going to be invested would’ve come straight out of their income, not out of other investors wanting to come in?

BN: Correct. The business model was fundamentally flawed.

AA: And now the focus is rebuilding the brand?

BN: Yes. And that’s why we are doing what we’re doing with News Corp and SEN and investing in TV (extra advertising), over and above our current broadcast deals. To ensure that we are getting a stronger share of voice.

AA: So does that make, long-term, Supercars a more attractive business for somebody from another investment firm to buy you out? Are you in it for the long haul?

There was a situation last year where there was some suggestion of a potential sale.

BN: There was. We certainly have got our eyes focused on a five-year plan. We are committing our executive team to that. We’ll keep growing the sport and investing in it to bring it back to what it should be. It is a

AA: For somebody who is very new to the sport, how do you think your knowledge of motorsport’s grown?

BN: I know a lot more about the sport, and more so the idiosyncrasies of the sport, which I think is more the point. There are certain permutations around the sport.

It’s a sport made up of a lot of funnels of operations.

So in the business sense, as I said before, you have your sponsorship side and your commercial arm, and then you’ve got your events and entertainment arm. Then you’ve got a racing arm. And they’re very distinct. Then you’ve got all the government sanctions and support you’re dealing with.

It’s quite complicated and fluid.

AA: Which part of those things do you stick your nose in the most?

BN: The commercial side, of course, because that’s where I can give more value.

Unless I’m asked, I try to stay out as much as I can on the motorsports side.

Mark Skaife and Shane know a lot more about it than I do.

And you don’t need a chairman to stand over your shoulder telling you what to do.

As long as the governance is right, it will work.

I think a perfect example of that was what happened on Saturday (of the Grand Prix) in the pits. They were sitting in a trailer having meetings till 1am on Sunday, making sure we could get everyone agreeing to race.

NETTLEFOLD HAS a vision for the sport that hasn’t been publicly articulated.

He understands what he doesn’t understand and has experts in place for that.

Auto Action’s relationship with him was strained last year when we ran the story of the tensions around an offer to buy Supercars from RACE just months after it bought the show. Now, RACE is investing in the sport with a growth vision.

It isn’t afraid of a ‘driver union’. In fact, it would welcome a group it can work with to create superstars out of the drivers.

It is a fresh approach; only time will tell if it works. In the meantime, we’re checking that our passports are up to date.

Nettlefold works the commercioal side of the Supercars business, because it's where he sees he can give more value – below, working the room at a Supercars sponsor dinner during the AGP week. Right: Nettlefold and Supercars legend Dick Johnson.

AA: You touched on Supercars 3.5, but the chat around is there’ll be Gen4 in 2026.

What’s happening with Gen4? What will it be based on – maybe convertibles?

BN: No. I just think we’ve got to look at the evolution of our car racing. And it might be just an acronym at this stage.

AA: Will batteries and hybrid be part of the solution?

BN: No comment.

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MASTER THRUSTER

AMERICA’S KING OF SPEED CRAIG BREEDLOVE WAS THE FIRST MAN TO TOP 400, 500 AND 600MPH BUT HIS ROCK STAR – AND ROCKY – LIFE ALSO INCLUDED A COUPLE OF ALMIGHTY CRASHES ...

By Geoffrey Harris ON JANUARY 20, 1961, the day he was sworn in as president of the United States, John F Kennedy uttered arguably his most famous line: “Ask not what my country can do for me, ask what I can do for my country.”

Craig Breedlove, who had built a hot rod with a supercharged Oldsmobile V8 as a 15-year-old California schoolboy, became a drag racer, a welder and fireman and then an aircraft technician, was inspired by Kennedy’s exhortation.

Breedlove decided that his contribution to his country would be to ensure that America owned the world land speed record (LSR).

He’d already gone 236mph on the Bonneville salt flats in Utah at 20 years of age.

Barely 2½ years after Kennedy’s inauguration speech, Breedlove topped 400mph at Bonneville in his finned streamliner Spirit of America, which – with only three wheels – complied with FIM but not FIA rules. It looked like a fighter plane but without wings and was jet-powered, unlike the piston-engined, wheel-driven Bluebird that Englishman Donald Campbell ran on Australia’s Lake Eyre in the ’60s.

Breedlove’s first major feat so captivated America that The Beach Boys paid tribute to it with a song adopting the name of his rocketship and released on the album Little Deuce Coupe.

The next year, 1964, Breedlove went beyond 500mph.

Then, in 1965, now with an FIAlegal four-wheel streamliner – the Sonic 1 incarnation of Spirit of America – and a General Electric J-79 jet engine rather than the earlier ex-military J-47 he’d bought for $500, he broke the 600mph barrier.

That was more than 965kmh!

“At that speed we saw from the telemetry that the front wheels were barely on the ground. Sonic 1 was flying,” Breedlove later recalled.

Handsome, revered as a kind of earthbound astronaut, and later described as “a cross between Neil Armstrong and Evil Knievel”, Breedlove was all over television, magazines and newspapers during the

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Craig Breedlove and Spirit of America Sonic 1 – this was Breedlove’s second Land Speed Record car, twice setting new speed records in 1965. Below: The first car Breedlove built was a 1934 Ford Coupe, which he bought at the age of 13 for $75 and raced it in the Mojave desert ...

three years he constantly battled his countrymen Art Arfons and his brother Walt (using Tom Green as his driver) at Bonneville.

The trio traded the record – which was established by taking the average of two runs in opposite directions, to avoid wind advantage – among them.

The day Breedlove cracked 500mph, Spirit of America hit a bump on its return run, lost both its parachutes and all its brakes, scissored telephone poles and left the longest skids marks in history before flying through the air and landing, nose-first, in a brine pool (an underwater lake).

His crew feared the worst, but Breedlove

surfaced, swam for his life, then coolly declared: “For my next trick I’m going to set myself on fire!”

He didn’t, and by November ’65 had clocked 600.601mph. That was not only another world record but, for some years, the end of LSR competition, that obsessive quest in what has since been labelled “ultra high-speed ping-pong”, primarily with the Arfons.

Known by then as the fastest man on wheels, Breedlove had said: “Going 400mph blows your mind, but when you get to 600mph you’re absolutely on the verge of disaster, which is not too much fun.”

At the height of his career then, Breedlove came to Australia, but it was only a promotional visit. “He made a celebrity slow lap of the Sydney Showground (during a speedway meeting), waving to the crowd from the back of the Golden Fleece ute,” recalls journalist-turned-promoter Phil Christensen.

“He wore a jacket and tie. Think he presented the trophy to the feature race winner.”

Breedlove’s fortunes took a dive in the late ’60s and in 1970, the year that Gary Gabelich’s Blue Flame snatched his record, Sports Illustrated magazine reported that he was living above his garage and driving a battered 1956 Buick he’d bought for $100.

“In the late ’70s and ’80s I was in a real mess,” Breedlove recalled over lunch with Motor Sport magazine in 2019. “I was broke. I owed the taxman money that I didn’t have and my back was against the wall. I had to get a real job to earn some money.”

He pursued a career in real estate, restoring his fortunes and more.

Married first at 18 and with three children by the time he was 21, Breedlove at one time became a Mormon, a religion that sanctioned polygamy. Ultimately he was married six times – once more than he held the LSR. One of his wives, Lee, went 308.5mph in Sonic 1 to become the fastest woman alive and make them the world’s fastest couple.

Breedlove remembered, in a 2004 documentary, that “it was a very optimistic

In 1992, Breedlove launched construction on his third-generation car, Spirit of America 3.

Powered by a J79 General Electric jet engine. “I’m sitting six inches off of the ground, going faster than a bullet,” said Breedlove. Breedlove, below, in recent years.

Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) the British designed and built jet propelled car developed by Richard Noble and Ron Ayers, which holds the world land speed record. The record was set on October 15, 1997 in the Black Rock Desert, in Nevada USA, driven by Andy Green, reaching a speed of 1227 km/h (763 mph).

Top left; Craig Breedlove, an image taken in 1966 by Jason Hailey-National Portrait GallerySmithsonian Institute. Middle left, Craig Breedlove with Englishman Donald Campbell and a model of the wheel-driven Bluebird and his own streamliner Spirit of America. Bottom left; Breedlove visited Australia in October of 1963 – here he is seen sitting in a Speedcar with Len Brock leaning over bonnet. Image: Larry Taylor from The Brian Darby Collection. time … we kind of thought we could do anything”.

Subsequent projects by other racers raised the LSR to more than 700mph – and broke the speed of sound doing so.

Breedlove made a comeback in the mid ’90s, at Black Rock Desert in Nevada, with a Spirit of America dubbed ‘Sonic Arrow’, but this time lost the battle with Brits Richard Noble and Andy Green, and endured an even more mega crash.

“By the time I went through the start of the measured mile I was doing 675mph and the car hadn’t stopped accelerating,” he told Motor Sport. “According to the data, if I’d stayed in the throttle for six more seconds we’d have come out the other end at 920mph (1480kmh).

But a gust of wind literally blew the car on to its side. It happened in a fraction of a second.”

Veteran US motorsport writer Marshall Pruett has recalled that “an aerodynamic imbalance … caused the pearl white machine to lift one of its outrigger rear wheels off the ground and continue rolling until the nose, with Breedlove at the tip of the listing rocket, began to dig into the sun-dried desert basin and cause extensive damage as it shed hundreds of mph through grinding friction before it came to a halt”.

While the LSR remains with Andy Green, Noble and ThrustSSC from 1997, at 763.035mph (1227.985kmh), Pruett has written since Breedlove’s death

from cancer, on April 4, aged 86, that he remained “LSR racing’s biggest and most enduring star.”

Another American writer, Phillip Thomas, says Breedlove was “largely self-taught, uniquely entrepreneurial and displayed relentless persistence”.

And Leigh Dorrington, who penned a three-part series for Vintage Motorsport last year, proclaimed: “Craig Breedlove was the living Spirit of America.

He succeeded in unimaginable ways and inspired generations.”

Breedlove had said he wouldn’t have done much, if anything, differently.

That he had had been “a pretty wild ride”. For many, Craig Breedlove will always be the king of speed.

Craig Breedlove in a wonderful portrait with his first jet-powered Spirit of America – the finned streamliner seen here on the salt flats of Bonneville. Image: HERITAGE IMAGES

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WHITELINE DRIVES CONVENIENCE WITH NEW ‘CLICK AND FIT’ OPTION FOR SUSPENSION COMPONENTS. BUYING AUTO PARTS online is pretty easy, but finding a trusted workshop to install the components if you don’t have the time or skills to swing the spanners yourself, can be a major hassle.

Leading manufacturer of performance suspension components, Whiteline, has addressed this situation, devising a clever solution that offers motoring enthusiasts a timesaving ‘Click and Fit’ option as part of its recent whiteline.com.au website revamp.

The process is simple and convenient. Once the customer has chosen their desired product from the broad Whiteline range of components, they can select a Whiteline recommended local workshop at the checkout stage. With over 150 participating partner workshops (and growing), there’s bound to be an installer close by.

WANT MORE MOTORSPORT?

Once the order is placed, a dedicated Whiteline Click and Fit specialist will confirm via phone that the components are suitable for the chosen vehicle, and that they’ll meet the owner’s needs. The products are then promptly tagged and dispatched to the nominated installer.

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The service doesn’t stop there though. The Click and Fit specialist will then liaise with both the workshop and buyer and organise a mutually convenient time to have the work done. Additionally, the specialist will keep the purchaser informed of the order status via email and SMS, because there’s nothing worse than not knowing how far off parts are.

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According to Zeder Corporation Group Executive – Marketing & Sales, James Curtain, the exciting initiative is one of several enhancements to the Whiteline website.

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They also receive the peace of mind of knowing they’ll be directed to a specialist with strong experience fitting the Whiteline range,” James explained.

Along with the added functionality of Click and Fit, the enhanced website also offers more intuitive navigation, allowing users to identify the Whiteline part they seek more efficiently.

To learn more or to place an order, please visit: whiteline.com.au

SPEEDWAY

GOODYER’S EASTER CHOCOLATES THE EASTER Sprintcar Trial is traditionally contested over three consecutive nights, kicking off at the Avalon Raceway in Lara, Victoria, before venturing to South Australia’s Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier and concluding at Warnambool’s Premier Speedway.

Sadly, the opening two rounds were hit

by Mother nature and inclement weather disbanded the meetings. Thankfully, the third night was able to run, giving fans at the Sungold Milk Stadium a solid night’s action with a field of 29 Sprintcars.

Jock Goodyer led every lap of the 30-lap Main with an impressive drive. Jake Smith qualified on the front row and held down second place. Will Carroll showed great form to complete the podium with Daniel Pestka and Cameron Waters finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

The top 10 was rounded out by Tim Hutchins, Jack Lee, Grant Stansfield, Dennis Jones and Scott Enderl. The second half of the field – Glen Sutherland, Bobby Daly, Jordyn Charge, Dane Court, Troy Little, Tate Frost, Jett Bell, Stephen Spark, Josh Buckingham and Brock Hallett – failed to go the distance. Enderl, Waters, Smith, Lee, Hallett and Goodyer claimed the qualifying heats and Court the B Main, while Charge and Bell both entered the nine-second

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles bracket during the time trial section at the beginning of the night, Charge setting a new one -ap record with a blistering 9:943 lap.

Despite crashing out in the feature, Hallett had accumulated sufficient points to seal the 2022/23 Total Tools Warrnambool Sprintcar Track Championship and the $10,000 first prize. The overall Sprintcar Trail was awarded to Jock Goodyer from Jake Smith, Daniel Pestka, with Tim Hutchins and Grant Stansfield rounding out the top five.

SUPPORTS

THE MAX Dumesny Motorsport Super Rod Easter Trail was also scheduled to appear across all three nights. The final round saw Stan Marco Junior take a clean sweep, claiming the Super Rods final and both of his heats along the way. Pitcher, father and son, filled the podium position with Jacob

#A1 Goodyer – Sprintcar winner.. Images: BRETT SWANSON leading home his dad Alan.

The night prior would see Jamie May go green to chequer in the 20-lap final. Daniel Grist and Paul Verhoeven rounded out the podium at the Borderline Speedway.

Late Models was the third and final class scheduled for the Easter Trail. On the final night a field of nine competitors battled out two qualifying heats, wins shared by Brock Edwards and Brad Smith.

Sadly, their feature race was scratched from the program. Shane Belk won the

Super Rods winner – #77 Stan Marco Junior only heat run the night prior before the abandonment of proceedings due to weather.

BROWN GOES TO TOWN FOR 20K PAY DAY! WITH A cool $20k to win (which forms part of over $50,000 in prize money, making it the largest winner’s purse ever in the Southern Hemisphere) a stellar field of 27 competitors ventured to the Murray Murray Machining and Sheds Murray Bridge Bridge Speedway for The McMahon Services Australasian Speedcar Championship, staged over two nights over the Easter weekend and culminating in a marathon 50 lap final.

Sadly the venue was hit by inclement weather on the opening night of competition, making the second night a packed night of action. West Australian Daniel Harding and Kaidon Brown shared the front row, for the final with the former leading early until retiring to the infield. Brown led to lap 13 before Michael Stewart stormed from sixth to take command. From that point an intense battle developed between the lead duo with the lead changing four times over the journey before Brown knuckled down to lead the final 10 laps.

Stewart and New Zealander Kaleb Currie were next to complete the podium.

Kaiden Manders and Troy Ware also finished on the lead lap.

Rounding those to cross the finish line were Dillon Ghent, Matt Geering, Robert Heard, Glen Arnold, Braydan Willmington and Beau Doyle.

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West Australian Thomas Davies was the first of the interstaters followed by Declan Robinson, Chad Bell, Tyler Maggs, Brendan Zadow, Bradley Turnball and Thomas Richter for the 10 finishers while Simon Reichelt, Harrison Pfitzner and Michael Wise failed to travel the distance.

SUPPORTS

Kaidon Brown took out the Australasian Speedcar Championship. Images: RAY RITTER Left to contemplate their misfortunes on the infield with Harding were Nick Parker, Charlie Brown, Ryan Jones, Luke Storer, Michael Pickens, Travis Mills, Rusty Whittaker and Troy Jenkins.

Heat race wins were shared between Storer, Mills, Stewart and Ware with singles while Brown, Manders and Harding collected doubles and Ghent for the B Main.

MERRETT MAKES MOST FOR 65 ROSES

The Formula 500s fronted for their annual 65 Roses Race, an event designed to raise awareness for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Patrick Merrett made the most of his pole position to claim the 30 lap final. A late race pass elevated Angelo Karoussis to the runner up position relegating Corey Jones to third.

A FIELD of six Victorian Junior Formula 500’s ran in support. Rusty Ponting and Lachy Pickert shared the front row for the 15-lap final – they would run in that order over the distance. Evie Bell, Rowdy Andreatta and Hugo Chivell rounded the finishersl.

The weekend wrapped up with the U Pull It Demolition Derby. A 43 car field crashed and bashed until Jess Williams was the last car running. Robb Burrows and Bob Bishop shared the podium while Andrew Frahn was recognised with causing the most damage.

Patrick Merrett, 65 Roses winner.

MORRIS’ MAIDEN WIN AND CARUSO’S THIRD ALL-STAR CHAMPIONSHIP COREY COLLECTS CONTROVERSIAL EASTER NATIONALS

Ben Morris claimed his maiden feature race win. Images: RAY RITTER AND PARIS CHARLES AFTER A 12 month hiatus the B&S Earthworks Timmis Speedway Mildura relaunched back into action for two spectacular nights of racing over the Easter weekend.

During the 12 month absence the club have worked diligently behind the scenes in improving the facility, making it more user friendly for both teams and fans visiting the Sunraysia venue.

Good Friday was the final round of the 2022/23 Mainline Dynolog Dynamometers Australian Sprintcar All Stars Series.

Going into the final feature race Mark Caruso led the points score and seemed poised for a solid result only to be out of commission after rolling over on the opening corner.

While Mark failed to score any points, he would still hang tough to claim the overall series championship.

When the race settled into a groove Chris Solomon led the early proceedings after challenges from Ricky Maiolo and Steven Caruso.

The lights blazed red for the second time for Lisa Walker and David Donegan after coming together in Turn 2.

Solomon led the field away and opened what was an unassailable lead – with just 6 laps remaining Solomon had almost half a lap between himself and the second-placed Ben Morris until contact with a lapped car brought his run to an end.

Morris led the field away and was not headed in the sprint to the line, notching up his maiden Sprintcar victory with Caruso and Maiolo filling the minor placings, making it an all-South Australian podium.

Ryan Davis, Steven Loader, Corey Sandow, Brendan Quinn, Zac Farrer, Kane Newcombe and Boyd Harris finished on the lead lap with Stacey Galliford the final finisher.

Joining M. Caruso, Solomon, Walker and Donegan on the infield were Terry Kelly, Brett Smith, Jeremy Kupsch, Charles Hunter and Brendan Guerin.

Maiolo, Davis, Rusty Hickman, Farrer, Quinn and Hunter shared the heat wins and Loader took out the B Main.

The Sprintcars returned on Easter Sunday for a double dose of action with the running of the SpaceTEK IT and Communications Easter Sprintcar Nationals. With $5000 to win from a total pool of $12k the 30 cars provided some fast and frantic action on a track that was tearing up the tyres at a great rate of knots in the latter half of the 25-lap final.

Pole sitter Steven Caruso got the initial jump; however a fast Ricky Maiolo commandeered the lead, followed by Caruso, Paul Solomon and Terry Kelly. With 10 laps remaining Maiolo ran out of tyre and spun out of contention.

Caruso led the field away, however Kelly found the fast way past, only for the yellow to blaze for a three-car pileup in Turn 3.

Caruso would lead away but tyre wear would soon be his demise as Kelly went to the front for a few laps before Solomon took control on lap 18. From that point forward tyres became the issue – with three to run the yellows were triggered after Charles Hunter blew his right rear tyre.

At the green Solomon led the field with one lap remaining – a succession of tyres cried no more as front runners Brett Smith and Todd Moule’s rubber let go and race leader Solomon also succumbed to a blown tyre, rolling his car on the back chute just half a lap from the chequered flag. With the red light in play the Chief Steward decided to declare the race and award the final placings to the few remaining cars with all four inflated tyres, giving the win to Corey Sandow, sharing the podium with Zac Farrer and Brendan Guerin.

Rounding out the classified finishers were Keke Falland, Stacey Galliford and Jarreth Argus. Joining P. Solomon on the ‘did not finish’ list was Kelly, Smith, Chris Solomon, Jett Speed, Moule, Hunter, Steve Caruso, Steve Loader, Dan Scott, Mark Caruso, Jordan Abbott, Brent Hough and Maiolo.

SUPPORTS

ACROSS THE two nights the 4000 strong crowd were treated to a great variety of supports, The Ti Bill’s supported Wingless Sprints feature provided a thrilling ending with William Caruso making a last lap pass on Jordan Bolitho and Sam Martin for the podium. After a tough battle late in the Street Stocks final Dale Morrison prevailed over Hayden Glare and Jason Faux.

Angelo Halacas led the majority of the ENZED Mildura Modified Sedan feature only to be passed by Will Shore late in the race; rounding out the top three was Trevor Logan. It was a 1-2 finish for Linken and River Paterson in the Junior Sedans Top Stars; third was Blake Glynn while the New Stars final went to Evan McAllester with James Peacock and Deklan Bolitho.

Local racers V43 Corey Sandow and 37 Terry Kelly.

William Caruso, Wingless Sprints feature race winner.

Dale Morrison took out the Street Stock Final.

THE RIVERLAND REVS UP! HISTORY HAS been made at Renmark’s Riverland Speedway – for the first time in national Street Stock competition, a front-wheel-drive car has won a state championship. On this occasion it was Nathan Thorne taking victory against a field of 27 fellow competitors in the South Australian Title to earn the number one mantle on the side of his Mitsubishi Magna Going into the 30 lap final, Thorne was on pole, lined up alongside the defending champion Bailey Heinrich with the latter taking the early lead. Thorne made his way to the front on the fifth lap and was never headed, surviving each re-start in a caution riddled event.

The places for the minor positions chopped and changed throughout, including a late race clash between Steven Gartner and Heinrich which brought about the final yellow flag. Thorne was well clear at the chequered flag ahead of Sam Brumfield who raced from the mid

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pack to the runner up position, as did third placed runner Peter Kinnear from Western Australia and local Jason Gantz taking the fourth and final step on the podium.

Veterans Craig Buchanan and Darren Flatman were next with Matthew Martin, Anthony Buchanan, Adam Barkby, Tristan Hunt and Heinrich making up the finishers.

Failing to travel the distance was Gartner, Mick Dann, Phil Watson, Jason Faux, Wade Fell, Ryan Buchanan, Jason Duell, Neville Nitschke and Darren Brumfield.

Thorne clean swept his three qualifiers while singles went to Drew Flatman, Watson, Duell, Gartner, Heinrich and S. Brumfield.

his way from the second row to advance to lead. From that point he would run the next 17 laps at the pointy end of the field to take the top step of the podium, Falland second and Anthony Tapley rounding the top three.

Tate Cowie, Jordan Bolitho, Matthew Tyler, Bronson Mauro, Sam Martin, Mitchell Rigney, Alan Saint, Andy Thomas, Darryl Sloan, Michael Busby, William Caruso, Nicole Southby and Thomas Walkom all finished on the lead lap, while debutant Kaitlyn Vickers and Caleb Evans would retire before the fall of the chequered flag.

The four heat wins were shared between Falland, Bolitho, Saint and Rigney.

FURLER FLIES FOR ROUND 4

SUPPORTS

TWENTY TWO competitors fronted for the fourth and final round of the Ti Bills State Series. Local racer Keke Falland launched from pole to lead the early proceedings of the 20 lap final before Rylan Furler made

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TERRY BROWN went flag to flag in the Modified Sedan final claiming victory over Jake Richter and the experienced local Marty Raams, his son Trevor Raams and Mark Janssan making up the top five.

Nathan Thorne and Bailey Heinrich racing door to door. Images: PARIS CHARLES

Rylan Furler took the Wingless Sprint final.

Flag-to-flag would also prove to be the way for Mildura’s Diesel Fallon in the Junior Sedan final, was closely followed by Evan McAllister and Deklan Bolitho. Max Richter, Seth Grieg, Beau Allman and Bree McAllister all went the distance.

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SPEEDWAY

DUMESNY – SAME NAME, DIFFERENT DRIVER FOR NSW TITLE

Newly crowned Aus 1 Mitch Randall battling out-going champion Mark Robinson. Image: TONY POWELL

RANDALL RUNS TO AUSTRALIAN V8 DIRT MODIFIED CHAMPIONSHIP A STRONG field of 33 V8 Dirt Modified competitors ventured to the Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway for the running of the JMFC Pty Ltd 2023 Australian V8 Dirt Modified Championship. After two solid nights of 16 heat races and a B Main the highest 20 point-scorers wheeled out for the gruelling 35-lap final.

Chris Corbett and Ryley Smith qualified on the front row. Corbett made the most of his well-earned pole to take the lead – sadly for Smith he would retire to the infield just a few laps in. Corbett continued to lead and looked comfortable despite having to endure a couple of caution periods. Sadly, his quest would come to a crushing end with a deflating tyre while working his way through slower traffic with two laps remaining Mitch Randall, who had been running in second since lap 20, then inherited the lead and went on to claim his maiden Australian Championship. Randall was followed to the chequered flag by five-time Australian champion Kevin Britten and former national number one Scott Cannon. Fourth home was an impressive Seiton Young followed to the line by the Firths, Andrew and Tayla, and rounding those to travel the journey was Trevor Wiley in seventh. Adding to Randall and the long list on non-finishers was Chris Corbett, Joshua Rose, outgoing champion Mark Robinson, Phillip Roberts, David Clark, Brayd Stevenson, Marcus Reddecliffe, David Blanch, Dale Corbett, Todd Hobson, Smith, Brock Gardiner and Andrew Pezzutti

SUPPORTS

STEWART FAWCETT ran flag to flag in the 20-lap Production Sedan final with Sam Mooney and Madison Harkin completing the podium.

The Street Stocks final went to Jakob Lesha over Joel Williams and Brendan Hayes. Daisy Smith showed the Junior Formula 500s the fastest way home to take the win over Charlie Bowen and Brooke Wilson.

Newly crowned South Australian Junior Sedan Champion Jaiden Santin proved his worth with a flagto-flag win over Jorja Woolfe and Jackson Kunny.

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THE NAME Dumesny is no stranger when it come to the record books for the New South Wales Sprintcar Championship, with Max and Matthew’s names enscribed in the winners list. Adding his name to that is Marcus Dumesny, notching up his maiden NSW title against a field of 37 competitors.

The top 24 points scorers went into the 35-lap final after two nights consisting of 12 heats and a B Main at the Eastern Creek Speedway.

Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic winner Brock Hallett continued his good form after claiming the Preliminary A Main the night prior and Luke Stirton squared up on the front row. After a tight tussle for the lead, Hallett took the upper hand until the 21st lap when Jock Goodyer worked his way to the front, quickly joined by Dumesny as Hallett was relegated to third.

With 10 laps remaining Dumensy found his way to lead before the caution lights blazed. Goodyer made the most of the situation to reclaim the lead momentarily before Dumensy asserted his dominance to express to Victory Lane after an epic 35-lap race, followed by Hallett and Goodyer for the podium. A fast finishing Jy Corbet raced into fourth ahead of Stirton, Lachlan Caunt,

Marcus Dumesny takes the Valvoline 47 Maxim to victory Lane.

Image: CHRIS METCALF

Randy Morgan, Aaron Kelly, Kaidon Brown, Michael Stewart, Troy Little and Jessie Attard to round out the top dozen. Luke Thomas and Grant Anderson also finished on the lead lap while Warren Ferguson and Luke Sayre completed the finishers one lap behind. Ryan Newton, Sam Walsh, Daniel Sayre, Jordyn Brazier, Matt Brazier, Jake Baines, Jai Stephenson and Ben Atkinson Jr failed to go the full journey.

SUPPORTS

Lachlan Onley proved the one in the thundering V8 Late Models, Brad Smith and Nathan Disney completing the podium.

Mark Blyton chalked up a feature race win in the Wingless Sprints over Bradley McCarthy and Zac Pacchiarotta. Shaun Davoodi, Matt Alexander and Troy Dawes would run in that order from green to chequered in the RSA Street Stockers class.

WATERS RUNS DEEP FOR A1

Brent Vosbergen – Australia 1 Late Model winner.

Jarod Waters took A1 aboard the C350 Mercedes Benz. Images: RAY RITTER AND RICHARD HATHAWAY FROM P15, Mildura’s Jarod Waters has won an epic Speedway Sedans Australia National Modified Sedan Title, presented

by The City of Albany at Western Australia’s Attwell Park Speedway, adding his name to a trophy won by his brother Cameron in 2018 and Dad Chris, who placed on the podium in 1998.

A strong field of 47 competitors put themselves through two solid nights, filled with 20 qualifying heats and two B Main events, Luke Fraser shared the front row with the defending national champion Brock Atkins with the former taking the lead as both Aidan Raymont and Matt Noakes worked their way past Atkins. The race would continue in that order for almost half race distance before Waters worked his way to second relegating Raymont and Nokes to third and fourth respectively. Ramont’s run would soon end as he retired to the infield.

Fraser held sway for the first 25 laps before Waters took his C350 Mercedes

Benz to the front of the pack – and from that point he would not look back in the run to the line in the 40-lap final, along the way he would also set the fastest lap of the race with a lap of 18.625. Fraser held tough for the runner-up position with Queenslander Joel Berkley moving from ninth to third on the podium. Noakes and Fraser were next while Laurie Dowsett rounded the top half dozen. Brad Wicks, Jason Batchelor, Dylan Barrow and Gary Pagel completed the top 10 – Sam McAuley also finished on the lead lap. One lap in arrears were Daniel Simpson and Aydan Trewern, rounding the finishers.

Joining Raymont on the retiree list was Jamie Higgs, Paul Stevens, Kye Walters, the defending champion Atkins, Calon Ball, Brendan Selleck, Matt Nelson and Brody Chrystie.

SUPPORTS

A dozen thundering Late Models and healthy field of 19 Super Sedans supported

the two nights. The newly crowned Australian Late Model Champion Brent Vosbergen worked his way from fourth to claim the 30-lap final over Freddy Kinsella and Joe Chalmers completing the podium.

The Nylanders, David and Matt, were next, followed by David Boyes, Ben Strautins and Michael Holmes, the final car on the lead lap. Trailing off the finishers were Greg Horan, Damian Hudson, Chris Kent and Peter Mewett.

Going into the 25-lap Super Sedan final it was a Higgs lockout with Dustin on pole alongside Gary.

Dustin, the reigning West Australian Champion, proved why he wears the number one with a solid flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap final.

Rob Knox was second and Tristan Green third, while GaryHiggs fell back to fourth.

Brent Vosbergen, performing double duties, finished fifth while Bryce Fisher, Ryan Huxtable, Ajay Hammer, Kemble Aylett, Jerome Wade, Andrew Kennedy and Lukas Lampert completed the dozen finishers, with Phil Barton the sole retiree.

Sadly, Lee Aylett, Kevin Bell, Kyle Larson, Damo Wallinger, Stephen Larson and Terry Green did not start the feature event.

QR DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP RD2

Lee Gravolin took out the silverware in the Qld Touriung Car class. Image: MTR IMAGES

FIRST ROUNDS AT SECOND QRDC

ON MARCH 25-26 QUEENSLAND RACEWAY HOSTED THE SECOND ROUND OF THE QR DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – WHICH FOR MOST CATEGORIES WAS THE FIRST ROUND OF THEIR CHAMPIONSHIPS ...

REPLICA TOURERS

RACING STALWART Geoff Russell in his Ford Mustang Mach I was the overall winner ahead of Rex Scoles (Holden Commodore) and Dylan Pereira (BMW E36). Fellow veteran Ian Woodward (Chev Camaro) took the fight to Russell in Race 1 and finished a close second with Jason Habchi (Holden Torana) third ahead of Scoles.

Woodward sat out Race 2 which Russell won narrowly from Scoles. Pereira was third from Danny Turner (Honda Integra).

Russell continued his winning ways in the third with Woodward second from the back and ahead of Scoles, Turner and Pereira before the Camaro driver won the fourth outing from Allan Hughes (Torana).

Russell was third in front of Scoles and hit back to win the last over Pereira, Hughes and Scoles.

EXCEL CUP

WELL OVER 40 took in the first round where, despite his five race triumphs, Jack Wood had to work for the reward. Second overall was Connor Roberts with Zane Rinaldi next ahead of Tyler Collins and Darren Whittington Wood and Roberts both led the first at times before the former prevailed. With three cars in the sand trap, the race finished under full course yellows with Brett Parrish next and ahead of Rinaldi, Jarrod Hughes, Collins, Whittington, Alice Buckley and Max Geoghegan.

In Race 2 Roberts led initially before passed by Wood who then succumbed to Collins for some laps before he repassed the former leader. Geoghegan progressed to third while Roberts dropped to tenth behind Whittington, Hughes, Holly Espray, George Wood, Rinaldi and Matt Boylett.

In Race 3 Jack Wood had to ward off Rinaldi after Roberts was initially second and finished third. In his wake, fourth was a tight contest won by Collins over

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Below: Replica Tourers – Woodward and Russell show the way. Right: Wood and Dianldi show rthe way in a packed Excel field. Bottom right: Spencer, who took Outright honours, heads Alwyn Bishop in the Australian Trans-Am contest. Images: MTR Images

Whittington, Geoghegan, Alice Buckley, Jarrod Hughes and Parrish.

It was the same top three in the fourth with Buckley a close fourth and ahead of Whittington and Parrish. Wood, Rinaldi, Parrish and Roberts had turns of leading the last with Wood passing the latter on the final lap for the win. Rinaldi was third ahead of Parrish, Collins and Buckley.

AUSTRALIAN TRANS AM

THE SEASON opener was taken out

by Mark Spencer (Ford Mustang) in the outright and 6.0lt class with John Prefontaine (Mustang) the best of the 5.0lt entries. Russell Wright (Mustang) qualified fastest and won Race 1 from Alwyn Bishop (Plymouth Duster) and Spencer.

Out of the race due to contact from Prefontaine, Ian Palmer (Plymouth AAR Cuda) came back for second in the next race behind Bishop as the race finished behind a Safety Car because Wright’s engine expired.

Bishop and Peter Schulte (AMC Javelin) had mechanical DNFs in Race 3 where Spencer won. Second placed Palmer had the fourth race lead until passed by Spencer, the former had slowed due to the safety lights mistakenly and briefly illuminated. Post race Palmer was given

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the win and followed up with the Race 4 victory behind the Safety Car in the rain.

Bishop was second in front of Spencer.

QLD TOURING CARS

THREE WINS gave Lee Gravolin (Holden Monaro) the first round overall and Group A win while Ben Malpass (BMW E36) unbeaten in Group B, and likewise Dean Wort (BMW E46) in Group C. Gravolin led the first race throughout to beat Cameron Haak (Holden Commodore) and Gary Lange (E46). The second race was on the new circuit which suited the latter. The track’s characteristics suited the nimble BMWs with Malpass outright fourth behind Gravolin and Peter Bray (Commodore).

The next two races went to Gravolin over Bray and Les Hanifin (Commodore). The heat affected several including Haak after his third in race three. Bray broke through for a win in the last where he headed Gravolin, Malpass and Hanifin.

FORMULA VEES

VICTORY IN the fifth and final race gave Alex Hedemann (Rapier) the first round honours over Matt Dicinoski (Jacer) and Edward Lawrence (Stinger). Dicinoski won the first ahead of Hedemann and Alex

Macdonald (Jacer) who was first across the line in the second. A Safety Car helped Dicinoski to overcome a poor start to edge out Hedemann, Lawrence and Mark Moran (Elfin) for second.

Another Safety Car in the next made for a three-way charge to the line with Dicinoski the winner from Macdonald and Hedemann with 0.33s across the three.

The fourth outing went to Macdonald and Hedemann. Brody Nunn (Sabre) was next from (Stinger).

Dicinoski was deposited in a sand trap but came back to finish second behind Hedemann in the rainy last. Nunn slipped up which left Lawrence third from Moran.

SUPERKARTS

WHILE HE didn’t win a race, consistent places helped Andrew Cain (Scorpion) to top the points for the weekend. David Dyson (Scorpion) vied with Cain for top honours but DNF’d the fifth race and finished second.

Tim Philp (Road Rebel) won two races, but failed to finish two others, due to carby issues. Glenn Wiggins (Anderson) also had two wins but also no results twice. Craig Hillier (OTK Superkart) looked good in Race 3 but then lost the chain. Garry O’Brien

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NATIONALS WRAP

Image: DMAC

CHAMPS REIGN, SHOW UP ARC REIGNING TASMANIAN state rally champions Bodie Reading and Mark Young (above) started their title defence in blistering form in an impressive win in the season opener, Rally Launceston, on March 25.

The TRC opener was run in conjunction with the first day of the Australian Rally Championship round, with the Tasmanians, turning a few heads by finishing Heat 1 in second outright after the six stages.

Reading and Young (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) finished second by just 28.5s behind national champions Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin.

The Tassie champs weren’t the only ones to surprise a few higher rated ARC teams, with Eddie Maguire a last-minute entry. He substituted for Ben Newman (WRX) who had an injured knee and couldn’t drive, despite the fact Maguire had only raced Mitsubishis at state level in the past.

However, Maguire adapted quickly to the Subaru and co-driver Adam Kudra, to finish the TRC round in second outright, just 23.1s behind Reading. Third placed went to Maguire’s brother Steve Maguire and Stuart Benson (Mitsubishi EVO 9), only 15s slower than Eddie, to also finish seventh outright in the ARC heat. Son and father team Jacob and Adrian Walsh (Mazda RX-7) won the 2WD category of the TRC round.

Victorians Ben and Catherine Hayes are no strangers to competing in Tasmanian rally events, more recently in a Holden Commodore. This time they campaigned a new Subaru BRZ and finished second in 2WD and finished 52s behind the Walshs’.

Rounding out 2WD honours and making it a trifecta for family teams, were Jaidyn and Lucy Gluskie (Hyundai Excel), over four minutes behind the Hayes.

Martin Agatyn

Image: TIM ALLOTT

WINVALE WIN PUTS GONZALEZ AHEAD WITH A comprehensive victory in the Winvale Park Stages in their Skoda Fabia R5 on April 2, Daniel Gonzalez and Daymon Nicoli (above) have the early lead in the Western Australian Rally Championship.

Held over 10 stages of which they won nine, it was a clear 1min 20.3s win.

Second and third were separated by just 10.7s as Peter Rullo, with Jimmy Marquet, edged out his son Alex who had Ben Searcy in the navigator’s seat and was the other stage winner. Both were in Hyundai i20s as R5 rally cars filled the top three places.

Fourth outright were Craig Rondo and Scott Beckwith (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) with consistent stage performances,

NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien fourth on five together with a third on the final. They finished 8.5s in front of John O’Dowd and Toni Feaver (Skoda).

Then came Jack Flanagan and Murray Hynes, and Ali Aslam and Dan Adams in

another two WRXs, and Thomas Loughton and Michael Lloyd in their Mitsubishi EVO X. Gary Mills and Jonathan Charlesson were eighth on the first stage, but their Peugeot 208 later broke its rear diff.

The best of the 2WDs were Alex and Jade White in their Nissan Silvia S13. They placed 23rd while second place went to Tony Oates and Adam Branford (Honda Civic) ahead of Scott Bennett and Gavin Turner (Mitsubishi Lancer).

Held over six stages, the Clubman Cup honours went to Sam Moody and David Christian over Tiana Chapman and Sami Polak, and Jack Ryan and Luke Dunkley, with all three crews in Subaru Impezas.

Garry O’Brien

NOT QUITE OUT OF THE WOODS

IT TOOK four years, cancelled previously by flood, fire and Covid, to get the KickAss Motorsport Australia Queensland State Championship opening round to take place, and then there were dramas with the end result on March 25.

The Roos Systems Manumbar Rally win went to Glenn Brinkman and Steven Richardson (right) ahead of the fellow Mitsubishi EVO 9 crew of Ian Menzies and Robert McGowan.

Ryan Williams and Brad Jones (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) were classified third after they won the first six stages. On Stage 7 they had an off road moment but managed to get back on track before the torrential rains hit.

That cost them 4mins 30s to Brinkman, but they still held the lead and with the last two stages cancelled, thought they had the rally won. The event was stopped

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during the stage due to weather and a rollover with road conditions severely affected.

The decision was taken to not transport the balance of the 38 car field through this stage so they could not start SS8. Derived times were calculated for those that did not completeSstages 7 and 8 which affected the final placings.

Fourth place went to Simon and Elysia Jansen (EVO 6) ahead of Jamie Neale and Scott Muhling, Anthony and Chloe Tanzer, Todd Webster and Nicola Hoey, and Cameron Henry and Eric Johnsson, all in Subarus.

Honours in the 2WD class went to ninth placed Tim and Andrew Dillon (Honda Civic) who finished comfortably finished ahead of their nearest rivals, 13th placed David Ovenden and Kelvin O’Shea (Mazda RX2).

The Clubman Cup winners were Nikki Duclos and Craig Hodge (WRX) in 11th place.

Image: CH IMAGES Included in the DNFs were top seeds Matt and Amy Davidson (WRX) with blown engine and small fire, as well as Andrew Carrigan and Liam Hinschen (Mitsubishi Magna) out with rear suspension damage.

Garry O’Brien

R.I.P. FOR THE BEND OPPOSITION Image: CAPTURE THE DOG

MAIDEN TO MARSH

IT WAS a breakthrough victory for Zac Marsh (Class 6 Can-Am – above) when he won the rescheduled Speciality Services QLD Federal Short Course, round one of the ARB Mickey Thompson Tyres Queensland Off Road Championship on April 1-2.

Hosted by the Gympie Auto Sports Club, it was originally scheduled for Dalby but rain in the lead-up forced the change of venue. Marsh won ahead of Tony Fehihaber (Class 1 Chenowth/Nissan) and Josh Weidman (Can-Am).

At the end of a dusty Day 1, Richard Tassin (Can-Am) had a 15s advantage over Marsh after three heats. Weidman was third, 27s away. Fehlhaber held fourth with Aaron Phillis (Unlimited Superboot) next.

Mechanical issues on Sunday morning put Tassin out and left Marsh in front and he was able to hold off Fehlhaber by over 1min. The latter was just 7.0s in front Weidman while Guy Hicks (Class 1 Sollitt/ Subaru) put in a spirited run to take fourth ahead of Luke Brandon (Class 6S Polaris).

Sixth and first in Class 10 was Steven Orr (Jimco) as Phillips ensued ahead of Steven Kildey (Holden Colorado/Chev) who led Class 4 throughout. Christian Trusz (Class 8 GQ Nissan Patrol) and Tony Patterson (Polaris) rounded out the top 10.

In Class 5 Tyler Youman (Toyota Hilux/ Chev) won, so did Colin Gaven (Tony Parker Engineering/Toyota) in Class 2, as Clayton Chapman overcame late mechanical issues to secure Class 7.

Garry O’Brien

Image: DAVID BATCHELOR JOSH WILSON and Andy Panton (Visattak GET/Chev Pro Buggy – above) buried their opposition as they blasted through the dust to win the opening round of the South Australian Off Road Championship in the Tigervac The Bend Short Course on April 1-2.

Nick Hicks, Christian MacIntosh and Michael Shipton (Element Prodigy/Nissan turbo Pro Buggy) were a distant second at The Bend Motorsport Park with another big gap back to last year’s winners Nick and Alex Burt with Sam Vanstone sharing the left hand seat of the Extreme 2WD Chev-powered Rush Truck.

Although off the pace at the end, Luke Mudde and Todd

Curgenven (SXS Pro Can-Am Maverick) were next home just ahead of Tom Hicks and Lochy Rochfort (Can-Am) who ran Section 5 with no clutch. Kevin Howitt and Gavin Chant (ECE Matrix/Toyota) came in sixth, just ahead of Ben and Luke Erceg (Racer/Nissan Sportslite) who were slowed by a late flat tyre.

After section two, Darryl Nissen and Andrew Harness (SORE/ Nissan) had a narrow lead but dropped out in section three.

Rob Cowie (Jimco/Chev) led the way in section one, then they incurred several time penalties for hitting track markers and dropped down the order. Cowie looked set to make a comeback on Sunday only to break a stub axle.

Among the front runners were Dean Carter and Brad Jacob (Razorback/Chev) until the steering broke. Andrew Rost and David Lamour (Can-Am) were the top SXS Pro, fifth in section two but didn’t make the start of the next.

Round 1 of the SAORRA Multi Club Series was a comfortable win for Nick Hicks with Mudde 2mins up on the Burt’s and Vanstone. Tom Hicks was only 0.5s off the podium with a comfortable buffer back to Ben and Heath Fatchen (Can-Am).

Mark and Ryder Taylor (Super 1650 Cobra/Mazda) weren’t far behind and were the last to complete the full distance.

David Batchelor

PLANT SUPREME AT DAY OUT IN HIS new single seater Unlimited class Jimco 2000/Chev LS1, Brett Plant (right) won the Sea Lake Off Road Club’s event on April 1. He finished Darren’s Day Out 1min 53.3s in front of Dean Meginley and Peter McRae (Tatum/Honda K24) and another 2mins13s ahead of Image: SHOW ‘N’ GO Paul Meikle (Sabre/Suzuki), both in Class 10.

Martin (Unlimited Feral Gen 1/Chev LS1).

The capacity 30 entries faced 11 laps of In the second section over five laps, the 15km course at the Mott farm near Plant again showed the way, this time with Gama, held over three sections for Round Meginley second in front of Joey Marshall 1 of the Victorian Club Shield. Plant won and Andrew Clark in their Class 1 Southern the first section which was over one Cross buggy. Then came Meikle, 24s adrift lap. Second were Tim and Jordan Lloyd and in front of Brant Knight (Class 10 (Unlimited Lloyd Mark/Nissan SR20 turbo) Sabre/Suzuki), and Class 2 leaders Steve ahead of Meginley and Chris and Zac and Jackson Crowe.

Over the final five laps heat, Marshall broke a CV joint, and Crowe was also out with a mechanical issue that had him towed. Meanwhile Plant was the fastest and Meginley was again second. Meikle complete the section third ahead of Rhett Standen and Josh Lyell (Hunter Rivmasta/ Toyota) who finished fourth overall and won Class 2.

Knight finished fifth in the end while sixth outright were Dean Williams and John Huber (Class 3 Southern Cross/Diahatsu) ahead of Darren Frankling/Rob Hackney (Class 11 Can-Am), Dan and Angus Schiller (Class 2 Southern Cross/Nissan), and Class 4 winners Craig and Adam Button (CBR/Holden V8). Garry O’Brien

CONDO BACK AFTER A three-year Covid-induced hiatus, the Condo 750 returned for the 30th running of the iconic Lachlan Shire gruelling event where William Dunn and Gareth Edwards (right) won the automotive part in their Nissan Patrol.

They covered the 750kms over April 1-2 in 9hrs 8mins to head home Geoff Olholm and John Doble (Can-Am Maverick) by two and a half minutes while Daniel Jones and Bernard Weber (Mitsubishi Triton) were a further 16mins behind in third place.

The event is a cross-country navigational rally run over a variety of private/public roads and tracks, for 4WD, Buggies, Quads and Motorbikes under off road regulations.

It attacked 30 entries in the Auto division and 49 bikes.

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Dean George and Lucas Beer (Ford Maverick) started off with victory in the first stage and were well ahead in the second before they hit an unmarked hole and broke the radius arm, the chassis mount, cracked the sump and bent the chassis.

Dunn was second on the first stage, 19th on the second before first on the next four that had him in front at the end of the first day. Olholm was second after 10th on the first and steady improvement from there as Todd Smith and Chris Holman (Patrol) filled third.

Fourth at the end of Day 1 were Graham and Aaron Colbran (Can-Am) ahead of Guy and Heidi Shoemark (Patrol), Warren Denham/Aaron Topliff (Triton), Daniel Jones/Bernard Weber (Triton), and David

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Mendham and Adam Barnacoat in their Jimco buggy.

Dunn had a slow start on Sunday, eighth on Stage 1 before he headed the remaining stages. He won the day ahead of Olholm, George, Jones and Smith. Overall Smith was fourth in front of Ryan Hall/Adam Brigden, Ryan Hall/Adam Brigden, Alan

Magill/Lachlan Bennie, and Mitchell and Brad Deeves.

Local rider and 750 regular Jacob Smith, on a Husqvarna, won the bike section in 8hrs 56mins 26s. Another local Lachlan Manwaring (KTM 500) was second 4mins 23s behind with his teammate Sam Davie third. Garry O’Brien

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HILLCLIMB

ENDURO GOES INTO TWO NIGHTS Image: IAN COLLEY

AMOS BACK A WINNER DEAN AMOS (above) was back for the second outing of the Queensland Hillclimb Series on March 25-26 and was a comprehensive winner.

Behind the Nicolson McLaren powered Gould was Warwick Hutchinson (OMS28 RPV03/Rotary turbo) by 1.41s as Formula Libre over 1.3lt cars completed a one-two outright result.

Third spot went to Jim Milliner (OMS

2000M) with F/L under 1.3lt taking the next five places. Next on the times were David Quelch (DPQ-03), Luke Weiks (Empire 1), Michael Ciccotelli (Stohr F1000) and Greg Tebble (Spreads RM11).

Eighth place was Matt Read (F/L over 3.0lt Readster MRR1) ahead of Mick Harders in his Esprei KZ Superkart, and the first of the Tin Tops, Gavin Taylor at the wheel of his Volkswagen Golf under 2.0lt Sports Sedan.

Best of the Sports Cars was 11th placed James Heymer (Farrell) in front of Glenn Anable (BMW 2002 Turbo over 2.0lt Sports Sedan).

As the separate Top Six Shootout commenced, heavy rain came down and made the track conditions slippery. Milliner was the fastest sliding around at 53.96s. He finished ahead of Harders, Weiks, and Tebble.

Both Hutchinson and Amos did not venture out. Garry O’Brien

TIGHE ADS HUNTLEY TO SEQUENCE

CHALLENGE STARTS WITH FOSTER WIN AT THE first round of the Collingrove Challenge Hillclimb on April 2, Derek Foster (above) in his shared Formula Libre up to 2.0lt, had just three runs to post the fastest time of 31.24s.

Second quickest was 19-year-old Harry Pfeiffer who got better and better as the day wore on his mother Sarah’s Peter Bail-built Mallock Clubman Sports Car. He ultimately finished on a 33s dead to beat third David Coombs (Road Registered 4WD Sedans Mitsubishi EVO 7) by 0.45s.

David Pfeiffer (Talbot RF Formula Ford) took a new class record and finished fifth ahead

of Brad De Luca (Ford Anglia Sports Sedan), Matt Benneche (PRB Clubman), Alex Wilson (Audi A4) and Geoff Vardon (Modified 2WD under 2.5lt Datsun 1200 Coupe). Tenth of the 59 entries was Jacob Brackenridge in his Ford Focus RS. The latter finished second to Wilson by 0.35 in Improved Production under 6.0lt, while Harry Pfeiffer’s 16-year-old brother Bailey was fourth behind Simon Barker. Road Registered 2WD Sedans & Sports Cars under 2.0lt was also close which Kai Availe won by 0.11s over Jon Hopkins.

Garry O’Brien

Image: GRAHAM LOGG PREDICTED RAIN was expected to favour the 4WDs at Huntley Hill, the venue for the third round of the NSW Hillclimb Championships on April 1-2, but Dean Tighe had the pace to make it three in a row.

Despite some early precipitation, Tighe (Formula Libre over 2.0lt supercharged Empire Wrath/Hayabusa) was able to put down a 20.73s run on his final attempt to be fastest of anyone and maintain a 2023 unbeaten score.

Second quickest was Peter Brown (Mulsane – above) at 22.81s, also set on his fifth run, and a new over 1.6lt Sports Car class record, which beat his old mark by 1.1s. Meanwhile Matt Brown was third outright in his Road Registered AWD non log-

booked Audi RS4 at 23.38s.

Fourth and fifth were the over 3.0lt Sports Sedans of Greg Boyle (Nissan Skyline GTR) and Wayne Penrose (VW Beetle). The two Formula Libre up to 1.3lt cars of Steve Moxon and Searle Courtright in the shared Talbot 184. They were split by Warren Bell (Datsun Stanza) who set a new benchmark for Time Attack 2WD, beating his previous record by just over half a second.

Ninth of the 34 entries was Tim Blake (Subaru Impreza WRX Sports Sedan), in front of Ben Ford (up to 3.0lt Sports Sedan VW). The only other class course record recorded was a new one, in Improved Production, for Rick Yates (Mini Cooper S). Garry O’Brien

COMPETITORS FACED a gruelling the Two Night Endurance Event Sydney GP at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 31-Apri 1. A mammoth 626 laps were the most clocked up while Motor Events Racing had their first one-two form finish.

Civic Unrest in their Honda EK Civic chalked up 12 more than The Imposters (Mitsubishi Magna) as ME1 (140-199kW) class cars filled the top three spots with Nein Nein Problems (BMW E36) third another 10 laps adrift.

RaceLab (BMW 323Ci) headed the way from the start until their diff blew.

They were forced out of the event when the replacement had the wrong axle flanges. Nein Nein Problems ran at the front for a short period, but Civic Unrest led predominantly and besides clocking over 1800kms, also raised the most money for Rare Cancers Australia – the series now totals $118,000.

Fourth and first in ME2 (90-139kW) was AJ Don’t Car Racing (EG Civic) and they finished ahead of the ME1s of Weekend Racers and Farm Find in their respective BMW 318Ti and E46.

The focus of the event was in ME3 (up to 89 kW) where the Hy Undies two-car team of Hyundai Excel finish first and second, and crossed the line side by side (pictured above). They were 10 laps apart and the situation became tense in the closing stages as McBuilt Motorsport (Holden Astra) looked like they would split the historic result. They missed out by 9.2s.

A week earlier the RAdelaide 500 was staged at Mallala Motorsport Park over 14 hours where Black Pearl Pirates (ME2 Subaru Impreza) won by six laps over Drought Breakers (ME1 Ford Falcon EB) and Red Rockets (Renault) who did 28 laps less than BPP. Garry O’Brien

PUSHED TO CLASS RECORDS IT TOOK David Mahon (right) to eclipse a time set earlier by Greg Ackland to win the latest outing in the Trydel Victorian Hillclimb Championship at Mt Leura on March 25-26. Round 3 was the second for the year after the scheduled opener at Rob Roy was moved to later in the year.

Ackland (Formula Libre under 2.0lt turbocharged Kawasaki powered Ninja GA8) was the pacesetter and set a class benchmark time of 28.42s on his fourth

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and as it turned out, last run. Mahon (F/L under 1.3lt Dallara F394/Hayabusa) was 0.63s slower by that stage, and had to dig deep to finally net his 28.81s lap that became the class record.

The under 1.3lt cars filled the next two positions with Patrick Malanaphy, aboard his very different buggy-style Spanish Yacar Cross K8, in front of Keith Wilson (Ninja BH1).

Just 0.02s adrift of the latter was Mirko Grbic in Time Attack Mitsubishi EVO 7.

Despite only three runs he was the fastest Tin Top. Chasing the EVO were David Harris and Mark Dixon in their Subarus (Improved Production and Non log-booked respectively) with Steve Grinstead (Holden VL Commodore Sports Sedans), Glenn Latter (Mazda RX7 Sports Sedan) and Jordan James (EVO 4 Sports Sedan) completing the top ten of 77 entries.

Garry O’Brien

Image: DAVID JOWETT

BATHURST 6 HOUR SUPPORTS

Images: SPEEDSHOTS PHOTOGRAPHY

APC/GT4 ACTION AT BATHURST GT4 AUSTRALIA made its racing debut alongside Australian Production Cars across three non-championship sprints at Bathurst.

A quartet of GT4 cars joined the APC regulars with Karl Begg (above) and the Grant and Iain Sherrin entry taking the respective honours.

With the GT4 cars getting little running in first practice, APC frontrunner Grant Sherrin set the pace by almost a second.

The GT4 competitors found their stride in Practice 2 with Begg lapping almost five seconds faster than APC leader Trevor Symonds.

The pace stepped up for qualifying where Toby Quinn set a 2:35.5, 2s better than Begg.

The APC grid rolls around to the start.

The APC pole was taken by Beric Lynton, who went half a second faster than Michael Osmond.

Quinn was able to overcome a slow start to convert his pole into victory in the opening GT4

CASHA THE EXCEL BATHURST CHALLENGE CONQUEROR

Casha leads the packed field away. Image: RICCARDO BENVENUTI IN ALL three Circuit Excel Bathurst Challenge races, held over the Easter weekend, it was Ryan Casha who emerged victorious. The Queenslander took the overall laurels from Victorians Hugo Simpson and Dale Carpenter.

The 62 entries featured most of the best from several states and managed to get through practice and qualifying without issues but each of the races had Safety Cars.

A last lap flyer by Casha earned him pole for Race 1 from Harry Tomkins, Ben Gomersall, Hugo Simpson and Asher Johnston.

Casha led at the start with Tomkins second until Forrest Elbow where the latter crashed out. That brought out the first of two Safety Cars –the second came when Lewis Buhagiar and Max Geoghegan slid off a Murrays Corner while dicing for 10th.

Casha won ahead of Simpson with Gomersall third ahead of Dale Carpenter, Brock Giblin, Johnston, Brett Parrish, Jackson Faulkner, Toby Waghorn and Shayne Nowickyj.

Simpson grabbed the early front running in Race 2, but Casha passed him on the second lap. Behind them there was huge scrap for

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third. On lap three, Seal and Johnston were side-by-side on Conrod Straight in the battle for fourth behind Gomersall. They touched and Johnston pirouetted several times without wall contact.

Meanwhile at Brock Skyline, Neville Blight crashed heavily, and the race finished on lap four behind the Safety Car. Simpson finished behind Casha with Seal able to snare third ahead of Gomersall, Carpenter, Brad James, Tyler Collins, Nowickyj, Waghorn and Faulkner.

The Safety Car was out early in the last as Josh Dremel was into the concrete on Mountain Straight, Nowickyj was also stopped with a puncture.

When the race resumed Simpson mostly led although Casha did get ahead briefly before he secured the victory on the final lap.

Also in a late move, Collins relegated Simpson to third while Giblin and Carpenter disputed fourth.

That resulted in Giblin crossing the line backwards and barely ahead of his rival.

Seal was close behind and ahead of James, Parrish, Faulkner and Geoghegan 10th after 55th in race one. Garry O’Brien

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race in his Porsche Cayman GT4, 3s ahead of Begg.

Having initially fought for the outright lead, Grant Sherrin secured a crushing APC win.

Being third on the road, Sherrin was 23s ahead of his nearest APC rival and early race leader Beric Lynton.

Iain Sherrin continued car #27’s dominance in Race 2, finishing almost a minute ahead of Chris Sutton.

Begg turned the tables on Quinn to take out GT4 and outright honours by the comfortable margin of 23s. Quinn led early, but the decisive move was made on Lap 5.

As rain came into play towards the end,

Race 2 was full of incidents with Grant Denyer, Michael Osmond, Symonds and Thomas Davies all crashing out.

Under sunny skies the third and final race on Sunday started in electric fashion with multiple dices for the lead.

But once tings settled, Begg held off Quinn to take GT4/outright race and round honours.

Grant Sherrin was amongst the outright fight before dropping back, but this did not stop him from cruising to an APC clean sweep by a minute and 17 seconds over Sutton.

The non championship outing set the scene for the opening round at Phillip Island on May 12-14.

CONTENDERS HELP SMITH’S PULSAR WIN WITH A race win and two seconds, Dan Smith was the overall winner of the second round of the MRF Tyres Pulsar Racing Series at Bathurst on Easter Saturday.

Smith missed out on a promising pole position for the first race when the session had a late red flag which meant he would start the opener alongside Josh Craig.

The latter led Smith and first round winner Will Foot until a Safety Car was called when eighth placed Andre Cortes went off in the Chase. The race resumed with two laps to go but Craig overshot at Murrays Corner and dropped to 13th.

His mishap gifted Smith a narrow win over Foot. Chris Manning was third ahead of Scott Tidyman who overtook Shane Tate on the final lap. Next came Gavan Reynolds from Jerome Pirozzi and Craig who climbed back to eighth.

Foot jumped the best at the outset of Race 2 and edged away to a small lead, before he brought it all undone with a wall hit at

Forrest Elbow. There follow a three-lap Safety Car where Smith led Tidyman and Craig after a good initial charge.

Craig displaced Tidyman after the resumption, and then his job to get the front was made easy when Smith ran wide at Murrays Corner as they started the final lap. Craig won from Smith and Tidyman with Tate fourth from Chris Butterfield and Michael Ricketts. Manning was fourth but a hiccup on the penultimate lap dropped him out of the top ten.

The last race was Safety Car-free, where Craig dictated from the front to beat Smith to the line by 0.3s. Tate maintained third throughout as Butterfield had fourth until he DNF’d. Tidyman was fifth early but also struck dramas and was out.

That put Ian Joyce to fourth while Manning improved to fifth ahead of Denis Barbaro, Reynolds, Kane Alderton, Corey Fraser, Pirozzi and Ricketts.

Garry O’Brien

Dan Smith leads Josh Craig across ‘Skyline’. Image: RICCARDO BENVENUTI

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BATHURST GT WC

Images: JACK MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY

TALBOT AND HOFER

SWEEP UP ON THE MOUNTAIN THE ONE-off pairing of Liam Talbot and Max Hofer (podium top step, right) have won the top Pro-Am class of the opening round of the GT World Challenge Australia at Mount Panorama with a dominant clean sweep in the #65 Audi R8 LMS Evo2.

Talbot was paired with the 23 year-old Austrian young gun, a junior ADAC GT Masters winner, until Round 3, in the absence of Fraser Ross, who is over in the European Le Mans Series racing an LMP3 Ligier.

It was the perfect start for Talbot after falling just short of the championship in 2022 – and things get even better for him at the Perth Supersprint with Audi factory star Christopher Mies set to join him.

The #75 Audi pairing of Geoff Emery and Christer Joens took second overall in the Pro-Am standings, with Yasser Shahin and Garnet Patterson coming in third after their switch to a Porsche 911 GT3R, topping both of the Triple Eight Engineering teams.

But the ultimate spoils of the weekend would all go to Talbot and Hofer, with Talbot securing a pole for a dominant Race 1 win, before overcoming the two T8 Mercedes AMGs in the finale.

“Two race wins and a pole position, it’s just the perfect start to the year, and a huge thanks goes to the team,” Talbot said from pit lane.

“There was a lot of work behind the scenes between qualifying and Race 1 because we had to change a power steering hose!”

In regards to the second stanza, Talbot offered up his take on the winning pass on the #888 AMG with just 2:35 left on the clock.

“We were catching them really quickly so I knew the move was going to be on at some

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point, but I didn’t know how it was going to unfold.

“Its got some good straight line speed that Merc, but in the end we were quicker ... couldn’t be happier, it was a good win.”

In the Am class, it was Local racer Brad Schumacher all the way in the comparatively matched #55 Audi R8, also managing to get a pair of outright P3’s.

He overcame the Audi pairings of Matt Stoupas and Paul Stokell, and Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires for the combined round standings.

Young Queenslander Marcos Flack impressed also, taking his Porsche 911 Cup Car to class victory over Stephen Coe in the Ferrari 458 GT3, in just his second race outing in a tin-top, and managed to match it among the GTs with a P9 and P10.

For Race 1, Talbot shared the front row with Schumacher, who was going it alone, with Poulakis and Shahin on the second row.

The front two starters provided a good stint-long battle over the opening frame, with the local Am driver determined to get an outright podium.

The opening lap didn’t go well for Prince Jefri Ibrahim in the #888, getting turned around after making contact with Mike Bailey.

Schumacher fought hard to hold onto P2, but the experience and pace of Patterson in the Porsche – a regular overseas competitor in LMP2 and GT racing – was too much to keep at bay.

Hofer took the line by 6.9s over the reigning GT WCA champion, as the #55 Audi fell off the pace by 13s to round out the podium over the Am pairing of Emery and Joens.

Jamie Whincup fought back for a class P4

in the #88, with Feeney coming in behind him.

In the three-car invitational class, Geoff Taunton took victory in P13 outright in the MARC II Mustang, whilst Flack comfortably took out the GT Trophy class.

With the T8 pairs having locked out the front row for Race 3, Talbot and Hofer had to fight hard to snatch their clean sweep over Ibrahim and Feeney, with Schumacher making it a double Am class podium.

Whilst Whincup won the AMG battle early, the drivers swap saw the #888 take the lead whilst Hofer held onto P3 before changing with Talbot.

The compulsory pit stop then saw Patterson climb into P2 in the #1 EMA Porsche, whilst Feeney looked to have it under control up front, before a penalty dropped the Shahin/Patterson pair into P5.

Talbot scorched it on the run home to execute a clean pass with minuted to run, and with J.Ibrahim holding second, Schumacher managed to come home to complete the double podium and Am class sweep, over Stoupas and Stokell, and Michael Sheargold and Garth Walden.

Completing the trend of class sweeps, Flack and Taunton both got the double in their respective fields.

GT WCA now heads for Wanneroo in support of the Supercars Perth SuperSprint on April 28-30.

Talbot will look to extend his championship lead with the aid of the German Audi star, Mies, who fans will remember for putting on an edge-of-the-seat show at the Adelaide 500 last year against fellow factory driver Kelvin van der Linde.

TW Neal

BATHURST 6 HOUR

Jayden Ojeda, with Simon Hodges, took the most prestigious win of his career. Images: SPEEDSHOTS PHOTOGRAPHY

OJEDA WINS ONE LAP SHOWDOWN AFTER MORE than half a day of racing, the 2023 Bathurst 6 Hour went down to a one-lap showdown and Jayden Ojeda and Simon Hodges (above) emerged victorious.

The thrilling finish occurred after a wild day featuring a record 12 Safety Cars and the event’s first ever red flag.

The race appeared destined to finish behind the Safety Car when Coleby Cowham and Paul Loiacano found trouble at Murrays Corner and Forrest’s Elbow respectively with just three minutes to go.

But it set up a one-lap grandstand finish instead and Ojeda held his nerve amid a fuel-saving drama to fend off the Drew, Wayne and Aaren Russell entry.

Anton De Pasquale, Anthony Soole and Adam Burgess completed the podium after Tyler Everingham received a 15-second penalty for passing the DJR driver under Safety Car conditions.

The penalty also promoted the Breast Cancer Trials car of Thomas Randle, Ben and Michael Kavich to fourth, while the Marcos Ambrose Mustang only lasted two hours.

A2 Class honours were even more hardfought with just 0.098s separating winners Ryder Quinn, his grandfather Tony Quinn and Grant Denyer from the Ryan Casha led Ford.

The Quinn Mustang was also the highest placed non-BMW, in seventh.

Other class winners were Cameron Crick/Dean Campbell (A1), Scott Turner/ Jordan Cox/Rob Rubis (B1), Brent Edwards/Cody McKay/Bradley McDonald (B2), Brock Giblin/Ben McLeod (C), Murray Dowsett/Mitchell Maddren/ Lachlan Bloxsom (D) and Andre Jackman/ Cameron Beller/Mark Taubitz (E).

A huge field of 59 cars greeted the starter as pole-sitter Beric Lynton, sharing the BMW with Will Davison, took control.

But he only led for one lap as De

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Pasquale snatched the lead before Ojeda charged to P1 at The Chase to set up an enticing fight at the front.

The Mountain claimed its first victim at the 40-minute mark when Tony Levitt’s Mercedes found the wall at McPhillamy Park.

This triggered the first round of stops and Safety Car period, which shuffled the pecking order.

The next interruption followed at the commencement of the second hour when a pair of A1 cars locked horns at Hell Corner.

Another interruption caused by the stationary Jason Gomersall created the next cycle of stops where Ambrose emerged in front.

However, the next heartbreaking chapter of Ambrose chasing a Bathurst victory occurred soon after when he was forced to retire with a blown gearbox.

More incidents littered the remainder of the first half of the race when Tim Leahey led for the Davison BMW with just 1.2s covering the top three.

Despite a scary moment spinning in front of the pack in the Esses, the Tony D’Alberto and Dwayne West HSV was the only non-BMW in the top seven.

As the race headed into the second half, things got more dramatic as Kris Mackie brought out the Safety Car having carried too much speed through Hell Corner and spun before smacking the inside wall hard.

Only a handful of laps were possible until an even bigger interruption surfaced as chaos unfolded at The Chase.

A flaming oil-spreading Michael Ferns ensured the Safety Car was initially called, but after several cars also skated off, including the Ben and Jude Bargwanna Audi, which almost collected a recovery vehicle, the event’s first ever red flag was waved to clean up the spillage at the lefthander.

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Being a time certain finish, the race clock continued to count down despite the red flag causing a delay of around 20 minutes.

Once racing resumed and more Safety Cars followed, the Class X contenders completed their final mandatory stops with an hour and a quarter left to go.

Ojeda emerged with the lead ahead of Russell, Randle, De Pasquale and Davison to set up an exciting run to the flag where drivers not only had to race hard, but save fuel too.

Ojeda’s charge was characterised by a daring move at Conrod Straight.

Being in the wake of Randle on the exit of Forrest’s Elbow, Ojeda went for it on Con Rod straight.

Despite having two wheels in the dirt, he managed to fly past two lapped cars and, crucially, Randle in the single daring move.

Amid the late-race drama where many found the fence, other key contenders were not so lucky.

Grant and Iain Sherrin were forced to retire with a broken rear subframe, while Davison’s BMW had to settle for sixth due to a tyre puncture.

Russell leads the Kavich Bros car.

Under gloomy skies the final minutes were littered with fierce door-to-door battles and incidents.

After the final Safety Car it all came down to a one-lap dash and there was no stopping Ojeda, who drove clear to seal the memorable win.

Thomas Miles

2023 BATHURST 6 HOUR RESULTS 1 S.Hodges/J.Ojeda 6:02:16.2064 2 W.Russell/D.Russell/A.Russell 6:02:19.0001 3 A.Soole/A.Burgess/A.De Pasquale 6:02:20.7048 4 B.Kavich/M.Kavich/T.Randle 6:02:21.3102 5 G.Walden/M.Auld/T.Everingham 6:02:34.9820 6 B.Lynton/T.Leahey/W.Davison 6:02:39.0930 7 T.Quinn/G.Denyer/R.Quinn 6:02:40.3321 8 C.Delfsma/R.Casha/R.Gray 6:02:40.4310 9 D.Campbell/C.Crick 6:02:41.4252 10 M.Sheargold/D.O’Keeffe/B.Hobson 6:02:42.7944

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INDYCAR ROUND 3 - LONGBEACH

It all just came together for 2022 Rookie Kirkwood (left and below left, on top of the podium). Below: It’s packed in there – Kirkwood heads championship leader Ericson ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

KIRKWOOD’S MAIDEN WIN HEADS ANDRETTI ONE-TWO SECOND-YEAR Indycar racer Kyle Kirkwood has converted a maiden pole into a maiden victory at the 48th Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The 24-year-old American from Florida led his French teammate and former F1 driver Romain Grosjean by 0.990s to the chequered flag, with Swede Marcus Ericsson maintaining his championship lead by comfortably taking P3 by 5.578 over Colton Herta.

Of the 85 laps, Kirkwood held onto a dominant 53 of them in the lead, while Grosjean was left to rue what could’ve been as a chance for his own maiden win went begging. The #28 Honda driver wasn’t able to use his push-to-pass due to not having enough fuel over the closing, yellow free, stanza.

With his American counterpart having pitted a lap later on their final stops, it may have proved the difference, but it was a deserved win for the #27.

“It’s amazing man, oh my gosh … what a day! The calmest day I’ve had in two years and it was a win!” Kirkwood described.

“We got a little unlucky in traffic –I was really the only one who made a mistake in the pit stops to be honest, and came away with a win in Long Beach. I was happy with the pole yesterday but I’m over the moon right now.

“We had a stellar day as a team and Romain (Grosjean) kept me on my toes.

“I felt like I needed this win … a moment of relief no doubt,” he said. “I can’t thank the team enough. We avoided touching the car since qualifying, so hats off to the crew. Bryan (Herta, strategist) nearly brought me to tears on the in-lap, it was a cool moment.”

Although Kirkwood got off the line beautifully at the green flag, it was Josef

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Newgarden who loomed dangerously, jumping into P4 from eighth, and an early yellow from a Helio Castroneves crash saw the top four of Kirkwood, Ericsson, Grosjean, and Newgarden form a tight group on the restart.

The leading group held their positions until lap 20 with Kirkwood edging away, but when Pato O’Ward tried an ambitious and late overtake on Scott Dixon, a full course yellow closed the gap back up.

In the ensuing pit shuffle, Newgarden and Penske played their cards, getting the #2 Chev driver out in front as the effective pitted leader.

And when the leading car of Agustin Canapino hit the wall, Newgarden shot through for the outright lead, before another late dive from O’Ward running in P2 put him into the Turn 8 tyre wall, allowing Kirkwood to get back under the wing of Newgarden.

Though Ericsson had dropped back, issues from Dixon and McLaughlin saw him crawl back up the placings, whilst Newgarden pitted from the lead on lap 52.

Grosjean then made his stop the following lap, from P3, whilst Kirkwood stayed out an extra lap in the lead, with that over-cut telling the story over the closing laps.

Newgarden then proceeded to burn his fuel fast in an effort to get back, giving Ericsson the opening to move into P3 after taking both he and Herta.

As the laps dwindled down, Grosjean was picking up the tenths on his teammate, but at the risk of Ericsson taking advantage of a squabble, with Grosjean also having a tenuous fuel load to use his push-to-pass, the places remained as such to end an entertaining race, with Herta, Palou, Power, Rosenqvist, Armstrong, Newgarden, and

McLaughlin making up the top-10.

“Kyle has done an amazing job in qualifying and again in the race. I mean, he didn’t make any mistake in front of me,” Grosjean said.

“I had to save a lot of fuel during the last stint. I had 188 seconds of push to pass left, but I was not allowed to use it. For once I saved too much, I guess.

“It sucks. I just wanted to push the button and I wasn’t allowed to. I would lie if I said I wouldn’t have loved to be on the top step of the podium today, and I thought I had a chance. Just the way the race turned out and the fuel situation was, it wasn’t possible.”

With that win, Kirkwood leapt up the standings into fifth after a tough opening few rounds for the American.

With three different winners to open the season, IndyCar now heads to Birmingham, Alabama, for 90 laps of the 3.7km Barber Motorsports Park road course on April 30.

TW Neal INDYCAR STANDINGS AFTER 3 ROUNDS 1 Ericsson 110 2 O’Ward 95 3 Palou 91 4 Newgarden 89 5 Kirkwood 74

WEC IMSA

A Penske/Porsche 1-3 was good enough reason to celebrate ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

PENSKE GRABS MAIDEN GTP-ERA PODIUMS IT TOOK some help from the California racing gods, but the Porsche Penske team finally opened its IMSA Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) account with a podium one-three at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The #6 963 piloted by Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy took out a thrilling victory thanks to a late error from Rick Taylor in the #10 Acura ARX-06, which also opened the door for the BMW driven by Connor De Phillippi to take P2 over the #7 Porsche of Australia’s Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr.

In the shortest race of the season for the IMSA GTP, clocking in at 100 minutes, it was always going to be close on the

walled-off street circuit, with pit strategy and tyre life to make all the difference.

It was also evident from practice and qualifying – with the Acura #10 and #60 LMDh’s locking out the front row over the Cadillac #01 and the two BMW’s – that Porsche would have to get it done on strategy, and as it turned out, a bit of luck.

“We knew from practice and qualifying that our pace was probably not going to win us the race.” Tandy said.

“We wanted to try something different, and tried negating the tyre warm-up issue that teams have had this year, and went with no new tyres in-race.

“But we didn’t know how the tyre was

going to end up over the last 40 minutes because nobody had run them that long.”

Sure enough, that strategy worked in giving a mid-race cushion with straightup pace out of the pits, but with Penske running one-two over the final stretch, both 963s were being rapidly run down due to high tyre deg, with Campbell defending grimly against the much quicker Whelen #31 Cadillac driven by Pipo Derani.

And when Derani made contact with the #7 left-rear diffuser, Campbell’s loss of aero then left him a sitting duck, with Derani, Phillippi, and Taylor blowing past him.

However, Derani slid the Cadillac into the wall, damaging the left-side tyres, whilst

the #10 Acura quickly caught Jaminet in the #6 on the final lap, but after making the pass, he speared it into the wall, running out of room within the tight street confines, with the race ending under a full-course yellow!

That gave Penske its 33rd IMSA victory, and first ever GTP-LMDh-era triumph.

In the GTD PRO stakes, Vasser Sullivan got it done with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3, whilst Paul Miller and Bryan Sellers took out an historic third-straight GTD win at Long Beach in the Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3.

TW Neal

TOYOTA MAINTAINS UNBEATEN WEC CAMPAIGN THE TOYOTA Gazoo Racing team has maintained its unbeaten start to the World Endurance Championship, taking a one-lap victory over the #50 Ferrari 499P, which claimed its second podium in as many starts.

The Porsche Penske #6 963 made it a trio of constructors on the podium, claiming the first trophy for an LMDh hypercar in the new-era WEC. The manufacturer procession extended down to P5, with the #2 Cadillac and #94 Peugeot 9X8 leading the second Ferrari and Peugeot, the Glickenhaus, and the mechanically plagued #7 Toyota.

“My team-mates and the whole crew did a brilliant job. I feel sorry for car #7 with this small issue which took away their chances,” #8 Toyota winner Sebastien Buemi said.

“It would have been another tough fight, like in Sebring. We came very close to winning there but we made it today, so it is a very good feeling.”

The defending champions and pole sitting crew of Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo

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The Toyotas led the Ferraris and the rest of field away.

Hirakawa, in the #8 Toyota GR010 hybrid were challenged early from the #7 Toyota, trailing for the first hour after getting jumped at Turn 2.

After an ‘exchanging’ P2 tussle with the #51 Ferrari, the #7 Toyota was shown a black and orange flag for a faulty torque sensor, with the Sebring winners dropping 7 laps.

This allowed the #50 Ferrari of Antonio

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Fuoco, Nicklaus Nielson, and Miguel Molina to move into P2, with the #51 499P experiencing braking issues.

None could get close to the #8 Toyota however, as it built its gap steadily with an issue-free run into the final hour, which the Ferrari also enjoyed.

After the lead LMH car lapped the pursuing Ferrari into the final hour, the non-

hybrid Vanwall driven by Jacques Villeneuve encountered a brake fire bringing, hitting the wall and bringing out a Safety Car. The #51 Ferrari’s brake issues returned, and on pitting, it allowed the Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer to move into P3, with the podium spots holding to the chequered flag, and the Penske Porsche coming in 1:06.498s in arrears of the Ferrari.

In the LMP2 battle, United Autosports took out a one-two finish, with the #23 prototype finishing 0.684s ahead of the #22 sister car, with the WRT ORECA 07 taking P3 just 4.588s behind.

Rounding out the classes, the LMGTE Corvette C8.R of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone, defended a slim final lap lead to take a thrilling win over the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 488 Evo by just 0.260s.

The all-female Iron Dames team finished in P3 after leading early.

The next WEC round sees teams head to Spa Francorchamps for the Spa 6 Hour on April 29. TW Neal

www.autoaction.com.au I 51

NASCAR

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LARSON BREAKS MARTINSVILLE CLOCK HOODOO HENDRICK MOTORSPORT gun Kyle Larson took out his second NASCAR Cup Series race of the season on Sunday, with a commanding 4.142s victory over Joey Logano in the #22 Penske Mustang.

Rounding out the podium was Martin Truex Jr, getting on the steps for the first time this season.

The famed half-mile Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, was also a place that Larson thought he’d never take a victory.

Staying with Martinsville tradition, Larson was given the winner’s grandfather clock, joining his team-mate William Byron as the only other multiple race winner this year.

“I never thought I’d win here at Martinsville, so I don’t have a spot picked out either for the grandfather clock, so I’ll have to make some space for sure,” the

#5 Chevrolet driver said after taking his 21st career win.

“This place has been so tough on me – it just doesn’t suit my driving style at all.

I like to change the centre and roll the momentum, and that’s just not what this place is like.”

In the end, it was a true win for the Hendrick race strategy calls, with Logano not really appearing a realistic chance during the day.

“Solid recovery for what the start of the race looked like, stayed out at the end when everyone pitted, which put us on the front row and had a shot to win the race,” he continued.

“I feel like the crew chief, Cliff Daniels, and everybody did a great job all day on pit road, making the right calls and having great pit stops and it all kind of worked out for me there at the end, we

had a great car – that was the best my car had been.”

Larson took the lead for the first time with 30 laps remaining, and then had to hold off another past champion, Logano, who was among the majority of the field who had pitted under the decisive lap 304 Safety Car, after a tyre flew off Anthony Alfredo’s No. 78 Chevrolet.

Larson instead chose to stay out, in order to gain vital track position on a hard-to-pass day, moving into P5, which paid off seeing as he was battling in vain behind the mid-pack throughout much of the 400-lap race.

The 2021 champion then took the opportunity to pit on the Lap 343 caution, taking two new tyres and reemerging into P5 with the leading four not having pitted.

Larson moved through that lot and after

ONE FOR THE DIRT TRACKERS FOR THE first time, a NASCAR “dirt guy” finally got it done at the Bristol Speedway, with Christopher Bell taking his first win of the year to leave Tennessee with the Championship lead.

Bell, who grew up racing racing on dirt, took his fifth career win by 0.469s over Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon, making it seven Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES different winners from eight rounds this season.

“Man, let me tell you, those were some of the longest The Joe Gibbs Racing #20 Toyota racer fought hard to laps of my entire life,” Bell said of the closing stages. hold off Reddick in the final stage of the 250 laps, having “This place is so much fun, whether it’s dirt or concrete. led for 100 laps total, as the 14th caution of the race was Whenever the cushion got up there on the top, it was called to end the day whilst he held a slim lead. very tough, because you couldn’t drive it super hard.

52 I www.autoaction.com.au

a battle with Logano put the afterburners on, taking advantage of the fresher tyres.

Completing the top-10 were Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott.

For Elliott, it was his first NASCAR race in six rounds following a badly broken leg.

Larson’s win also moved him up the standings into fourth, whilst Christopher Bell still holds onto the lead despite the Toyota driver finishing in P16.

Little separates the championship topfour after the second and the third place sitters Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick finished P13 and P20 respectively.

The next NASCAR outing is at the Talladega Speedway in Alabama on April 23, followed by a trip to Delaware for 400 laps of the Dover Motor Speedway. TW Neal

Otherwise, you’d get sucked in.

“If you got your right front into it, you’d push a little bit. If you got your right rear into it, you’d slide. It was a lot of fun.”

“Turns 3 and 4, that was the scary corner for me, because if you got into it too far, you lost all your momentum.”

Stage 1 was taken out by Kyle Larson, who had led wireto-wire for the 75 laps from pole position, but tempers flared between he and Ryan Preece, with Preece running the Hendrick Camaro driver into the fence and breaking his suspension as revenge for an earlier altercation.

But it was Bell, who kept his older tyres on to lead the final 100 laps, with traditional dirt trackers filling the top six positions, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chase Briscoe, and Justin Haley made up those numbers. TW Neal

MOTOGP

BAGNAIA BLUNDER HANDS RINS SPECIAL WIN ANOTHER FRANCESCO Bagnaia blunder helped the impressive Alex Rins score a drought-breaking win at a dramatic Americas Grand Prix in round 3 of the 2023 MotoGP season.

Bagnaia led the first seven laps, but crashed at Turn 2, having succumbed to the pressure applied by Rins, who scored Honda LCR’s first win since Cal Crutchlow’s Argentina 2018 success and snapped a 25race winless streak for the famous Japanese manufacturer.

The defending champion’s fall proved costly as it extended Marco Bezzecchi’s championship lead from one to 11 points after he finished sixth behind podium finishers Luca Marini and Fabio Quartararo.

Australia’s Jack Miller was on track to score an impressive podium, but was one of nine riders to fall in a crash-filled race.

COTA king Marc Marquez was not in action in 2023 as he continued his recovery from his Portugal smash and Repsol Honda replaced him with long-time sub Stefan Bradl.

Joining #93 and Pol Espargaro on the sidelines was Enea Bastianini, with the Ducati seats being filled in by Jonas Folger and Michele Pirro respectively.

Luca Marini topped the opening session of the weekend, but the carnage began in FP2.

As Jorge Martin finished fastest, his Pramac teammate Johann Zarco had a notable moment with Joan Mir, who also fell.

Following Friday practice many riders voiced their concerns over the COTA track surface, but this did not stop Bagnaia from taking pole with a record-breaking time.

Rins showed his first signs of speed by taking second ahead of Luca Marini, Alex Marquez and Bezzecchi.

After two crashes in Q2, Miller had to settle for grid position 10.

Bagnaia sent a statement with a dominant Sprint win, 2.5s ahead of Rins in the first chapter of their weekend-long battle.

Both got fast starts and the Honda LCR rider won the first corner, only to let his advantage slip by running wide on the exit.

This set up an exciting dice as Rins fought back to reclaim P1 with a sharp move at Turn 7 before Bagnaia utilised the Ducati’s top speed and completed fourth and final

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When the King is away ... With Marc Marquez sidelined, it was Alex Rins who put Honda back in the winner’s enclosure ...

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Jack Miller fell when in podium contention.

BAGNAIA: CRASH NOT MY FAULT FOR THE second time in as many Grands Prix, defending MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia fell from his Ducati.

After slipping in the rain at Argentina, Bagnaia crashed out of the lead at the Americas Grand Prix at Turn 2, 12 laps from home.

The two mistakes have cost the Ducati star 45 points in

two rounds and allowed Marco Bezzecchi to enjoy an 11-point advantage in the championship.

Bagnaia struggled to explain his COTA crash, but was adamant it was not his fault.

“I don’t know what happened.

I was in total control (and) crashed,” he reacted post race.

“I am very angry, but not with

lead change on the opening lap.

Rins stayed on Bagnaia’s back wheel, but his hopes of victory disappeared when he ran wide at the heavy-braking Turn 12.

The Honda LCR rider momentarily lost second to Aleix Espargaro, but soon won it back.

Quartararo looked to be putting in a strong ride until he fell at Turn 1.

The inclined left-hander also caught out

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autoactionmag

myself because I am 100% sure it was not my fault.

“In Argentina I was on the limit, but today something happened.

“We need to understand what happened.”

Despite the disappointment, Bagnaia feels “unbeatable” ahead of Round 4, in Spain, on April 28-30 .

Pirro, while Alex Marquez threw up in his helmet moments before crashing out of the top five.A similarly sick Martin managed to ride through the adversity to beat Aleix Espargaro to a strong podium finish behind Bagnaia and Rins.

THE 20-LAP main event was the second instalment of the Bagnaia versus Rins battle as the pair went side by side into Turn 1,

but this time the Ducati flew into the lead around the outside.

Chaos unfolded behind them however, as Martin took out Alex Marquez, and Aleix Espargaro fell at Turn 12.

One of the beneficiaries was Miller, who flew from 10th to third on the opening lap.

The KTM rider looked to be a victory contender until he threw it away at Turn 7 on Lap 7.

Up front, a chain of fast laps from Rins put pressure on Bagnaia and the defending champion cracked, losing the front end and crashing out at Turn 2.

Bagnaia’s second Grand Prix crash in a row released Rins into a strong lead he would never let go as more riders struggled to stay on their bikes.

Rins’ former Suzuki teammate Joan Mir crashed out from a points position to complete a tough weekend for Repsol Honda with Bradl also going down.

Brad Binder fell at Turn 15, while Takaaki Nakagami slid off at Turn 1.

Quartararo did well to keep hold of second until Marini’s supreme straight-line speed proved too much on Lap 13.

Despite all the drama, nothing could stop Rins from taking a sensational breakthrough win. Thomas Miles 2023 MOTOGP RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 3 1 Marco Bezzecchi 64 2 Francesco Bagnaia 53 3 Alex Rins 47 4 Maverick Vinales 45 5 Johann Zarco 44

www.autoaction.com.au I 53

TEST YOUR GENERAL MOTORSPORT KNOWLEDGE ACROSS 2 How many red flags featured in the Australian Grand Prix?

third in the Super2 Series last year before making my full-time Supercars debut in 2023. (surname)

3 Where did Oscar Piastri finish the Australian Grand Prix?

6 For how many years were Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton teammates?

10 What is the name of the final corner at Bathurst? (full name)

7 Which Swede won his sole Indy 500 in 1999? (surname)

11 Combined, how many world championships did the drivers on the Australian Grand Prix podium win?

8 How many points did Fernando Alonso score in the first three races last year?

14 Best solo debut finish of anyone in the field?

9 Which Supercars Championship squad is leading the teams championship?

16 How many Bathurst 6 Hours have BMW now won?

12 Which Columbian won the 1999 CART Series? (surname)

17 Who won the 1999 Australian Driver’s Championship (surname)

13 Who won the annual NASCAR Cup Series dirt race at Bristol this year? (surname)

19 Who made a last lap pass to win the A2 class in the Bathurst 6 Hour by 0.098s? (full name) 22 Who has won the most races for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1? (surname) 24 Who leads the FIA Formula 3 Championship after the Australian round? (surname) 27 Who won his fourth straight WRC title for Mitsubishi in 1999? (surname) 28 Alongside Jayden Ojeda who won the Bathurst Six Hour? (surname)

DOWN 1 For what team did Daniel Ricciardo make his F1 debut?

2 How many Aussies have now scored their debut points in Australia?

15 Behind Nigel Mansell and Ricardo Patrese, who rounded out the podium in the 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix? (surname) 17 Who famously said. “You can cut the tension with a cricket stump.” (surname) 18 How many points has Charles Leclerc scored in total so far this season?

20 Who recorded their debut Supercars race victory at Bathurst in 2011? (surname) 21 How many races did Brodie Kostecki win at the Australian Grand Prix weekend?

23 Who won his third and final V8 Supercars Championship in 1999? (surname)

4 Who now leads the FIA Formula 2 Championship? (surname)

25 Where did Carlos Sainz finish the Australian Grand Prix?

5 Who am I? Born in New Zealand, I won the 2021 Toyota Racing Series, I finished

26 Who has moved to the factory Honda MotoGP squad this year? (surname)

1858 crossword answers: 1 down – Volvo, 2 down – Paddon, 3 down – Bright, 3 across – Button, 4 down – Jordan, 5 down – five, 6 down – three, 7 across – Ligier, 8 down – Damon Hill, 9 down – Hakkinen, 10 across – one, 11 across – Earnhardt, 12 down – Dixon, 13 down – Aleix Espargaro, 13 across – Alesi, 14 across – Senna Chicane, 15 across – Ford, 16 across – Webb, 17 across – Cadillac, 17 down – Cindric, 18 down – Bottas, 19 down – five, 20 across – Lowndes, 21 across – Aprilia, 22 across – Marquez, 23 across – Moss, 24 down – Courtney, 25 across – Toro Rosso, 26 across – Stanaway, 27 across – Toyota

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1973 ALLAN MOFFAT strengthened his grip on the Australian Touring Car Championship lead after winning at Sandown. But he had to fight for it, being “hounded all the way” by Peter Brock until his HDT Torana ran out of fuel on the last lap. Despite the drama, Brock pushed his powerless car for almost a third of the lap to the finish, accompanied by wild cheers from the grandstand. Colin Bond brought more success to the Holden Dealer Team by beating a “mediocre” field at the Bathurst Sports Sedan round.

1983 THE FACE of issue #317 was Tony Edmondson, who walked away from a sickening 175mph crash at Sandown. Edmondson was driving a recently rebuilt Alfetta-Chev GT during a Australian GT Championship practice session and speared straight on into the barrier at the end of the back straight after a jammed throttle. Jim Richards did not experience any dramas on his way to winning the season opener in a BMW blitz. Richards “dominated both practice and the race by sheer speed and reliability (and) the opposition could not maintain the cracking pace”. Richards backed up the success with another win at Lakeside ahead of Rusty French and Bruce Lynton.

54 I www.autoaction.com.au

1993 HOLDEN FACED the “horrible truth” of its uncompetitive Commodore after another Ford walkover at Lakeside.

For the fourth straight ATCC round, Falcons dominated proceedings with Alan Jones beating Dick Johnson and John Bowe, with Holden drivers admitting the General did not do a good enough job homologating the VP Commodore. “Holden’s homologated car is not as good as the Ford,” said Peter Brock. Fresh from winning a fourth AUSCAR title, Brad Jones set his sights in NASCAR before taking on Touring Cars. “This title means a lot.

I would like to run in the NASCAR and have a regular touring car drive (in the future),” Jones said after his latest Thunderdome success.

2003 THE MOTORSPORT world was “praying for a miracle” when AUTO ACTION closed for press in issue #1037 as Kiwi rally legend Possum Bourne fought for his life. Bourne suffered severe head and internal injuries in a freak accident when preparing for the Race to the Sky event. Bourne was taken off life support systems and was given little hope of surviving. Sadly Bourne eventually succumbed to his injuries and a tribute will appear in the next AA Archives feature. In the Supercars sphere, Holden and Ford “reacted angrily” to Mitsubishi’s proposal to join the category, claiming the Japanese brand “doesn’t belong”.

2013 BRAD JONES Racing was suddenly an unexpected Supercars title contender after Jason Bright backed up the team’s Tassie triple by memorably winning the inaugural Jason Richards Memorial Trophy in emotional style. Bright admitted he could not stop thinking about winning the trophy celebrating after his former teammate and did it fittingly with the same #8. The action-packed weekend also contained Scott McLaughlin’s first championship win and a heated clash between Mark Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup. One race after the MULTI 21 saga, more bad luck followed Mark Webber, who retired from a thrilling Chinese Grand Prix after his right-rear parted from his RB9. Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed greater success, scoring a PB of P7 as Fernando Alonso won after eight lead changes.

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