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GODDARD RECEIVES SUPER DARWIN DRIVE THE SUPERCHEAP AUTO WILDCARD CAMARO WILL RACE MUCH SOONER THAN EXPECTED, WITH ZANE GODDARD TO BECOME THE FIRST EVER GEN3 WILDCARD, AT THE DARWIN TRIPLE CROWN ...

ZANE GODDARD WILL steer Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Supercheap Auto wildcard Camaro at Hidden Valley Raceway on June 16-18 in preparation for his enduro drives alongside Craig Lowndes.

The #888 Supercheap Auto Camaro was always planned to race at the iconic Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 events, but the sight of it racing at the Indigenous Round was not anticipated.

Not only will it mark Goddard’s first solo drive since 2021, it will also be the first time Triple Eight has entered an extra car outside of Bathurst, and the first wildcard in the Gen3 era.

Although Goddard has not finished a Supercars race since November 2021, he boasts the rare experience of testing both the Gen3 Mustang and Camaro prototypes.

The Darwin drive and this week’s test session will provide the 23-year-old with more invaluable seat time to understand the Camaro before he shares the spotlight with Lowndes in September.

But most of all, it is a grand opportunity to remind the Supercars world what he is made of after coming under criticism following the infamous multi-car incident at The Chase in last year’s Great Race.

Having previously raced “hand-me-down” chassis for Matt Stone Racing and made a brace of S5000 appearances, Goddard cannot wait to go racing in a brand new Supercar.

“It’s also a great opportunity for me to have a standalone wildcard entry in Darwin and get some laps under my belt before the enduro season,” he said.

“I can’t thank Supercheap Auto and Triple Eight enough.

“I’ve obviously raced full-time before, but to also have a chance in the car to show what I can do is really cool.

“I’ve never had a brand-new car to race, so that’s a really cool experience. Usually, the cars I’ve had in the past have been hand-me-downs from Jamie (Whincup) and Shane (van Gisbergen), but to have a brand-new car is a cool opportunity.

“The guys and girls at Triple Eight have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes to get the car ready, so hopefully we can repay them with a good result.”

To assist Goddard with coming to grips with the new beast, he will have a familiar face by his side.

Engineering car #888 will be Wes McDougal, who has race-winning

experience with Whincup, but has previously worked with Goddard at Matt Stone Racing.

Goddard said it is a boost to have McDougal in his ear will allow them to get straight into work and have the best chance of extracting speed from the new Camaro.

“It’s going to be cool to work with Wes again,” he said.

“I’ve worked with him at past teams, and it’s a bit surreal how it goes full circle and we’re now working together at Triple Eight.

“Knowing the way he works and having that prior knowledge cuts out a lot of the teething phase of growing that relationship – he understands what I like and I understand what he means when he says certain phrases, which definitely helps.

“He’s an extremely talented, race-winning engineer who has worked at Triple Eight before and it’s great to see him back in the Supercars paddock.

“Hopefully Craig, Wes and myself can work well together and set up the optimal car every time it goes out on track.”

Goddard is no stranger to Hidden Valley, having raced at the 2.9km circuit twice during his days at Matt Stone Racing.

His first trip was in 2020 when he was

sharing the #34 SuperLite Commodore with Jake Kostecki and recorded a trio of P21 finishes.

But Goddard showed greater speed the following season when he was completing his one and only full-length campaign in 2021.

He secured the joint second-highest grid position of his career of 10th in the opening racing of that year’s Triple Crown before going on to take the chequered flag in 16th.

Goddard’s co-driver Lowndes, believes his younger partner is ready to shine in the Supercars spotlight again.

“It’s fantastic that Zane will be racing in Darwin,” Lowndes said.

“Any laps in these new cars are invaluable, and as I’ve mentioned before, Zane’s a fantastic young kid with great speed and a great head on his shoulders, and his return to the main game is truly deserved.”

Triple Eight’s previous wildcards have only raced around Mount Panorama, but enjoyed solid success with two top 10 results from three attempts.

But in 2023 Goddard will spearhead a new chapter on new turf, which could be the perfect platform to relaunch his career.

Thomas Miles

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VAN GISBERGEN SET FOR

NASCAR DEBUT SUPERCARS CHAMPION SHANE VAN GISBERGEN IS READY TO HIT THE STREETS OF CHICAGO ON THE FIRST WEEKEND OF JULY, WITH HIS NASCAR CUP DEBUT CONFIRMED LAST WEEK. HE TALKS WITH ANDREW CLARKE – WHO MAKES HIS THIRD ‘CUP’ APPEARANCE AT THE SAME RACE ...

IT WAS little surprise to anyone. Shane van Gisbergen will make his NASCAR debut at the Chicago Street Race with Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91.

The three-time Supercars champion earmarked the Chicago race right from the minute it was announced. After a few months of negotiations with team owner Justin Marks, van Gisbergen will become the second driver for PROJECT91, following in the footsteps of F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

The PROJECT91 Camaro is run by Trackhouse Racing for drivers outside of NASCAR to drop in and run races in the Cup series. Raikkonen was the first driver in the car, running at Watkins Glen last year and the Circuit of the Americas earlier this year. Van Gisbergen is number two.

“When I spoke with Justin, we had targeted it,” van Gisbergen said of his plans.

“I think, first, it was pretty amazing to be considered. After seeing who they had last year, Kimi, I didn’t think I would be on the shortlist. So that’s pretty flattering.

“But I think it suits me with how many street circuits we run here in Australia. It’s certainly not going to be easy. I don’t think

it’s full of kerbs and stuff like our tracks; it looks like walls at apexes, it looks like a Singapore-type thing with one corner and an intersection going one way and another way on the other side, and there’s no runoff.

It looks like there’s not much margin for error.

“It’s pretty unreal to replace Kimi as the next guy on the list. I thought the shortlist would be full of internationals and F1 guys and people like that. But I guess part of that project is to have people from around the world come and try NASCAR, show what they can do, and be a part of that series.

“It’s pretty cool too. I think it’ll get good coverage down here in this part of the world for the sport. It has been a few years since we’ve had anyone over there – since Marcos stopped racing.”

Surprisingly, given his approach to eRacing, he says he is not hitting the sim to learn the class, waiting instead to try the car on the Charlotte road course in the lead-up to Chicago.

“At least I get a run in it. I don’t think I’ll have much of a run, but it’s at least something to get a feel for before you’re on a street course.

“I’m not focussed on the result. I just want to do the best I can and apply myself. I’ll study as much as possible and be ready to go, but I’m not going there with the mindset of winning. I want to go there and enjoy

myself, put on the best show, and do the best job possible.

“I don’t see it as a massive task in that sense; I see it as an opportunity. But I also want to do my best and enjoy it because it Below: The NASCAR (Chevrolet of course) in which SVG will make his US debut.

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CHICAGO STREET RACING READY TO CHANGE NASCAR

Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen has driven for Trackhouse Racing a couple of times in a Chevrolet Camaro.

The Trackhouse Racing team has been making headlines in NASCAR. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES might never happen again. It’s very rare that The deal took six months to tie down, with someone gets a shot in the main NASCAR SVG saying he first spoke with team owner series nowadays. Normally you’ve got to Justin Marks last year and then started start in the Xfinity or the trucks and work working on budgets and the like earlier this up, so I’m pretty lucky to be straight into the year. But when Marks confirmed his interest Cup series and in a top car too. So let’s go in March, the deal and funding came there and enjoy it for what it is.” together quickly.

Despite not talking about anything in NASCAR beyond Chicago, van Gisbergen could open a new direction as his dissatisfaction with racing and the scene in Australia grows. When he started talking with Trackhouse, he was thinking nothing more than just a one-off teaser, but that is changing ever so slightly.

A big weekend in Chicago could change it all.

“A couple of months ago, my answer would’ve been different, but now

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I’m starting to think about other things.

NASCAR looks good, and they’re doing more different stuff now, a lot more road courses. Not long ago, there were only two. Now there’s four or five a year, and the formats of the races are different.

“It doesn’t look as monotonous as it used to be with just one-and-a-half mile racetracks and 35 weeks a year. It looks like the series has a lot of variety. I think it looks a lot better now.”

Trackhouse and Ross Chastain are currently making waves in the sport with the way they go racing, and van Gisbergen says the sport’s openness over there also appeals to him after his slapdown in Newcastle.

“The team looks awesome. This year I’ve been taking an interest, and you see Ross Chastain in the news every week, and the way the team builds it up. I think they do a great job. Even when they’re not winning, they’re still making the headlines, which is cool.

“And I guess that’s where we are as well,” he adds, referring to Red Bull Ampol Racing.

“When we’ve had a shit weekend, we’re still up there in the news, so it’s similar in some ways. Which maybe doesn’t suit my personality sometimes, but it does look like they’re a sharp team.

“It’s still a long way away, but it’s coming around quickly. It’s going to be awesome.

Can’t wait.”

Van Gisbergen will get one 50-minute practice session before an hour-long qualifying on the Saturday before the Xfinity race. On race day, it looks like he will contest the 100 laps, 220-mile race.

TWENTY YEARS ago, NASCARs ran on the streets of the Gold Coast to support the ChampCar race there, but it was only a domestic race rather than the top level of the biggest tin-top class in the world.

At that stage, NASCAR was only an oval track sport, and they’d struggle anytime the ‘good old boys’ had to turn right, which is why Marcos Ambrose could make such a significant mark on the sport. It is different now, with road course races at Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Circuit of the Americas, Indianapolis and the ‘roval’ at Charlotte.

Now, we have the Cup Series’ firstever street race in Chicago on 1-2 July, a US$50m gamble from NASCAR that it thinks could transform the sport in much the same way as the Adelaide 500 did for Supercars.

The two-day event will be run in the Grant Park area on the edge of one of the world’s most iconic cities, running against the skyscrapers and Lake Michigan. The 3.6km (2.2 mile) track has 12 turns with no kerbs and concrete against the racing surface with limited run-off areas.

The race had its doubters even as late as last month, but it is going ahead even though the mayor who wanted the race, Lori Lightfoot, was ousted in an election earlier this year. The new mayor, Brandon Johnson, expressed his concerns about the race during the election but is locked into a three-year agreement for the race.

More than 100,000 fans are expected to attend the race weekend, and the original plans to run an IMSA race on Saturday were shelved in favour of an Xfinity ace.

Other cities are believed to be considering a street race and will be eying Chicago as NASCAR continues expanding its reach. At the moment, nine of the tracks in the 36-race series host events leaving plenty of room for cities to join in the street party.

Auto Action will be at the race – as will Shane van Gisbergen!

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BROWN NOT THINKING ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIP DESPITE RAPID RISE

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

FEENEY KEEN TO SHAKE OFF “MR SUNDAY” TAG BROC FEENEY has developed the nickname ‘Mr Sunday’ but he is determined to get rid of it as quickly as it arrived.

Feeney has forged the new reputation after backing up his maiden success on the final day of the 2022 Supercars season at Adelaide with more successive Sunday wins at Melbourne, Perth and now Tasmania in 2023.

‘Mr Sunday’ jokes were heard all over the Fox Sports broadcast after car #88 jumped the Coke Camaros to claim victory in Race 11 at the Tasmania SuperSprint last weekend.

Despite the obvious positives the nickname brings, Feeney is determined to prove himself on the opening race day of weekends with not one of his eight career podiums arriving on a Saturday.

“I don’t want to be good on just Sundays, I want to be good across the whole weekend,” he said.

“The biggest thing is being consistent across all three races.

I thought we put ourselves in a good position to do that here, but

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unfortunately racing happens and I got caught up in a bit of a mess.

“For sure we are making gains and it is something I am working hard on to be quicker out of the gate in the future.”

The opening day of the Tasmania SuperSprint was a tough one for Feeney.

Despite qualifying sixth, he dropped to 18th by the time the chequered flag fell after sustaining damage from spinning Chaz Mostert at the hairpin.

But like so many times in his career, Feeney bounced back well to charge to victory with “ripping race pace” in Race 11 and splitting the Coke Camaros in Race 12.

The success at Symmons Plains arrived on the anniversary of the youngster’s maiden career podium recorded at the same venue last year.

It was also the latest chapter in the continual growth of Feeney, who looks ready to not only fight for wins, but also a championship being just 19 points behind teammate Shane van Gisbergen.

Feeney said he feels like he is

improving every time he jumps in the car, but stressed this is a necessity due to Erebus Motorsport’s relentless speed.

“I still feel like every weekend I am only getting better,” he said.

“It was a bit over 12 months ago I got my first podium here and I feel like I have kept building.

“Since Perth I have been in Thailand and racing different stuff, so every week I have something to work on.

“But we need to keep lifting our game because these boys (Erebus) have certainly raised the bar a lot this year and seem to have a really good base at the moment.

“Every track we have rocked up to they have been the ones to chase pretty much from the start of the weekend, so we have to keep hunting them down.”

Feeney’s chance at claiming a maiden Saturday trophy will be at the Darwin Triple Crown on June 16-18.

Read more about Feeney’s rise from tentative teen to winning machine in a four-page special on pages 30-33.

Thomas Miles

DESPITE CLIMBING from fourth to second in the championship after two wins at Tasmania, Will Brown is not thinking about the bigger picture.

Although most of the championship talk has centered around Brown’s Erebus Motorsport teammate Brodie Kostecki, car #9 has surged into contention.

Three wins across the last two rounds at Perth and Tasmania has put the smiling boy from Toowoomba in the thick of the fight.

Now both Coke Camaros sit at the top of the standings with Kostecki leading Brown by 87 points.

The next best is Chaz Mostert, a further 79 points adrift ahead of both Triple Eight cars.

With one third of the championship already accounted for, Erebus is in a strong position, but Brown is not getting ahead of himself despite being the man in form.

Instead he knows the importance of maximising every session given the competitive nature of the series.

“It has been fantastic to have been so fast and race for wins from the Grand Prix,” Brown said.

“On Saturday I got the win and you would think I would be super excited, but all I thought about was ‘I hope I don’t stuff it up tomorrow’!

“It is such tight lap times around here so you could easily make a mistake and be 10th because everyone is so competitive. Each day you have to be so on it.

“I would not call it pressure, but each round you want to do the best job you can, but I would not say I am thinking about the championship at all.”

The 2023 season has been one of new highs for Brown, who had only got to as high as seventh in the championship across his first two seasons in the sport.

But after some bad luck and a driving error proved costly at the Australian Grand Prix, Brown has bounced back brilliantly as Erebus continues its rise.

Having collected four podiums from his first 63 races, the #9 driver has collected five from his last five starts.

Brown said even the little things have made a massive difference at Erebus, but he is aware the hard work cannot stop now.

“I think we have just lifted our game this year,” he said.

“We have lifted a few sections. From presence with Coca-Cola on board and how tidy the garage is, to just the small stuff in the pit stops.

“Myself and Brodie have been working very hard. Obviously we have raced a lot of different stuff, so adapting to Gen3 was not too bad, but the team has done a fantastic job.

“With these Gen3 cars we have been able to roll that success on each weekend and hopefully we can do that each time.

“But heading to each round you need to keep your eyes open and work hard because you do not know what you are going to get.”

Brown hopes to extend his golden streak at the Darwin Triple Crown on June 16-18. Thomas Miles

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

SUPERLICENCE ARGY-BARGY HURTING MOTORSPORT ARG CHIEF CALLS UPON MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA TO INTERVENE

Super3 star Cameron McLeod – unable to drive a Supercar yet ... due to Supercars’ Super2 ‘compulsion.’

Image: MARK HORSBURGH AS THE Australian Racing Group prepares for its biggest standalone event of the year at Winton, one of its directors, Barry Rogers, has taken aim at Supercars over its driver licensing requirement, stating that it is negatively affecting grassroots motorsport in Australia – and called upon Motorsport Australia to intervene..

He said Supercars’ requirement to run in Super2 before being allowed into the ‘main game’, even as an endurance co-driver, is the biggest hurdle to the progression of talented drivers in several Australian Racing Group categories, as well as others such as Carrera Cup, is discriminatory, and over and above the requirements set down

by Motorsport Australia for a Supercars Superlicence.

Last year, Motorsport Australia confirmed changes to the domestic Superlicence requirements, removing the Supercars-specific clauses, which required all potential Supercars drivers to have completed a minimum of six Super2 races first, regardless of Superlicence points qualification.

Supercars has however retained the Super2 requirement, meaning success in classes such as S5000 Trans Am, FIA TCR, Carrera Cup – and even Super3, which runs in the same races as Super2, is not enough, even if you have the required Superlicence points, if you’re looking for a Bathurst drive.

When those corrections were made by MA last year, Rogers was upbeat about the change, but critical of Supercars’ failure to respect them, a view he retains today.

Garry Rogers Motorsport, in which Barry is a partner with his father Garry, has a long history of supporting young talent in the sport dating back to the 1990s with drivers like Steven Richards, Jason Bargwanna, Garth Tander and James Golding – and of course Scott McLaughlin was given his first Supercars opportunity with GRM.

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Supercars is keeping talented National-level drivers out of its category for no valid reason, says ARG’s Barry Rogers ...

Image:JACK MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY

To say he is frustrated with the current pathways is an understatement, and not just because it affects ARG. “No doubt, some of the grid sizes aren’t where you want them to be,” he said, “but there are factors … we talk to a lot of young drivers, and the ‘compulsory’ pathway that Supercars have created, where they say that you have got to do Super2 to get into a Supercar, has impacted grassroots and mid-range motorsport.

“Not everyone’s got half a million bucks-plus to go through Super2, and it’s a shame because an S5000 is probably the most challenging car in the country to drive. And you have a guy like Joey Mawson, who beat Mick Schumacher to the German F4 crown, raced against guys like Lando Norris in Europe and is a double Gold Star champion, but under the current Supercars driver participation requirements is deemed unfit to drive a Supercar – by Supercars only.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous and, until that is sorted out, I think grid sizes won’t be easy because a lot of young drivers in Australia dream of racing Supercars.

And that’s fantastic. That is the professional pinnacle of our sport, but there needs to be more than one avenue for drivers to get there, without being forced to spend $500,000 to race a secondhand and now superceded Supercar.

“We can use AFL as an analogy. You can be a family with little money and buy your kid a pair of footy boots from

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the Salvation Army, and if that kid’s good enough at the local footy club and an AFL club spots them, they can make it. They can make it to the elite level.

“They don’t have to go and do the Coates Talent League. They don’t have to go to a private school and go through a football program. They can get there simply if they’re good enough.

“Motorsport’s got enough hurdles and barriers to advance. From the very start, a kart’s a lot more expensive than a pair of footy boots, so I think it’s incumbent upon everyone involved in the industry to lessen those barriers as much as possible.”

The licencing rules came to the fore last year when Michael Anderson was refused a start at Bathurst despite meeting the Superlicence points requirements of Motorsport Australia.

Previously, drivers like Nathan Herne, who is driving Trans-Am in the States, were also blocked from running as a codriver at Bathurst.

To get a Superlicence in Australia, a driver needs to hold a minimum of an FIA International Grade C licence, be a minimum of 17 years of age, and accumulate a minimum of 13 points under either the FIA or Motorsport Australia Superlicence points system during the five years prior to the application.

However, according to the Supercars requirements to race in the ‘main game’ of Supercars, a driver needs to hold a Superlicence that meets the requirements

as outlined above, PLUS they have to have competed in a minimum of six Super2 races. Even competing in the same races, with the same Motorsport Australia permit numbers (ie Super3), does not meet the requirements.

“It’s a Motorsport Australia matter, as the custodians of motorsport in this country,” Rogers adds. “I think they’ve got an obligation to fix it; to not allow a cartel-type system where it’s a closed shop. It should be open.

“If you’re a driver with ability, there should be no reason why you can’t come from any category, if you’ve earned the points. You can race Formula One if you earn enough FIA Superlicence points. There are about 10 or 12 different open-wheel categories worldwide that Formula One recognises; they don’t say you have to do F2 and F3. They like it if you do, but it’s not a requirement.

“There is a reasonable argument to say the racing experience gained in S5000, Trans-Am, GT, Porsche and TCR is greater as you are often competing against current Supercar and international drivers, and are more likely to complete many more racing laps, based on the recent record of Super2 racing. It’s a complete fallacy to say you need to do Super2 to competently race a Supercar. If other global racing categories had Supercars’ mindset, we wouldn’t be watching a very successful Scott McLaughlin racing and winning in Indycar because he did not do Indy Lights first!

“We must be very careful in a country of 25 million people. We need to reduce the barriers for people to stay in motorsport, not build more.

Financial barriers are the biggest issue in motorsport. If we can lessen those by allowing drivers to compete in categories that aren’t as expensive but of a standard that earn the appropriate Superlicence points, they should have that opportunity. “I think it just needs to be done.” By Andrew Clarke

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AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX REMAINS IN THIRD PLACE FOR 2024 AUSTRALIA IS expected to be confirmed as the third Grand Prix in 2024, with 24 March, the weekend before Easter, earmarked for the event. Melbourne’s contract with Formula One guarantees it five opening round races during the next 13 years, but next year will not be one of those despite an announcement by the State Government last year.

The series will most likely open in Saudi Arabia in late February, with Bahrain slotting in a week later, giving the teams a two-weekend break before heading Down-

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

under for the popular event.

Piecing together all the rumours, the calendar (right) is a possible plan for the 24-round season. China will make a return, but the much-talked-about Vietnamese Grand Prix will likely wait at least another year.

Early speculation had Singapore moving to a March date, but that now appears unlikely. A 15 September date might allow Supercars to run there without impacting the running of the Bathurst 1000 on the second Sunday of October ....

Thomas Miles

ROUND DATE

GRAND PRIX

VENUE

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Pre-season testing Saudi Arabia Bahrain Australia China Azerbaijan Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco Spain Canada Austria United Kingdom Hungary Belgium Netherlands Italy Singapore Japan Qatar USA Mexico Brazil Las Vegas Abu Dhabi

Jeddah Jeddah Sakhir Melbourne Shanghai Baku Miami Imola Monaco Barcelona Montreal Spielberg Silverstone Budapest Spa Zandvoort Monza Singapore Suzuka Lusail Austin Mexico City Sao Paulo Las Vegas* Yas Marina

February 15-17 February 25 March 3 March 24 April 7 April 21 May 5 May 19 May 26 June 2 June 16 June 30 July 7 July 21 July 28 August 25 September 1 September 15 September 22 October 6 October 20 October 27 November 3 November 16 (Sat Night) November 24

NEW TYRES BOOST S5000 WHILST THE S5000 Series kicks back into gear at Winton this month, a new and improved tyre package is on the way.

A new set of front and rear Hoosier tyres is being developed, believed to be a step softer than the current compound.

The diameter of the front tyre hasalso increased by two inches in the move hailed as the “next evolution” from the previous change made before the 2022 season.

Although they will not be used at Winton, they will be available before the Sydney round on July 28-30.

Garry Rogers Motorsport team manager Stefan Millard said the taller sidewall has been brought in due to tyres being identified as an area of improvement from the ever-increasing mileage the category has racked up since it arrived in 2019.

“We had three goals based off the feedback we have had from the nearly 100,000km with these cars since 2019 across the field,” he told Auto Action.

“Across the board we felt there was a need to change and improve the tyre package.

“The first thing was to shift the grip balance further to the front axle and improve the feeling the driver has under brakes.

“We also wanted to get the mechanical balance to a point where we can dial some oversteering into the car without having to make it loose.

“In terms of the current compound, longevity has been a talking point, generating good qualifying

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sessions and racing, however a lot of guys are just warming up in the first half of a session and new drivers coming to the category have struggled.”

The wider sidewall is hoped to help steer and feel for the drivers and remove some of the inconsistencies that have been noticed.

Despite being a step softer, there is expected to be enough of an adjustment in the current front push rod system to help teams easily get the ride height within the peak operating window.

These new tyres are a result of a flurry of test sessions taking place over the last few years and prototypes have already been examined by the likes of James Golding and Cooper Webster at Winton and Phillip Island.

Millard said the initial reaction from the drivers was a positive one.

“Our main feedback has been the drivers have an improved feeling of the locking margin and have more confidence on the brakes,” he said.

“They are also not pinching wheels and they can actually control it.”

Traditionally multiple warm-up laps have been a feature of S5000 races, but Millard suggested they should be a thing of the past with the softer tyres.

“No. It will just go to a standard championship start,” he confirmed.

“Something that we have implemented since we had feedback last year was that we have been

The new S5000 front is two inches taller, and softer ... running tyre warming tents at Gold Coast onwards.

“It was just to improve the cold tyre performance.”

In addition to the purpose built Hoosier tyres, some technical changes have also been made recently.

Stiffer shock absorber valving changes were made based off feedback about the controllability of the car, which has been hailed as a “big step forward” to allow drivers to further “push the limits”.

Over the course of the assessments, Millard has been impressed with the durability of the S5000 machine.

“We are pretty close to having 100,000km across the whole 18 cars that we have built and are about to click over 8000km on our first engine which is pretty impressive,” he said.

“The wheel bearings are being pushed over 5000km. We had some early days issues with the drive shafts, but we now have a new spec and have not had any issues after 4000km.

“We have not lost a tub yet and they are all still racing.”

The S5000 series returns at Winton on June 9-11.

Thomas Miles with Bruce Williams

ARG’S V8 POWER HITS WINTON

THE AUSTRALIAN RACING GROUP IS RUNNING A STANDALONE MEETING AT WINTON OVER THE KING’S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND AND THE THEME IS ALL ABOUT V8S – FROM TRANS AM TO S5000 TO TCM ...

THE WINTON V8 Festival event will focus on delivering and showcasing ARG’s own V8 powered categories, with Formula Ford included as a pathway class. Solid fields of Trans-Am, S5000, Touring Car Masters and V8 Touring Cars are all appearing at the meeting, as well as a big field of thumping Sports Sedans, with TCR almost a support act.

Barry Rogers says the race meeting effectively came about because ARG thought there was a hole in Winton’s major events program after it was left off the 2023 Supercars calendar, and it made sense to take its V8s to the track.

“When the calendar came out, there was no major racing event at Winton, “ he said.

“There was plenty of club racing but no reasonably high-profile event. Garry has been racing there since the 1960s and wanted to do something about it.

“We wanted to give people in the North East something on the June long weekend.

The camping grounds will be open, and sure, it’s cold at night, but you get some beautiful, clear sunny days, and we’re praying for that.”

While all the fields in the ARG armoury are struggling for numbers, they are not short of quality. Trans Am has taken over as the SpeedSeries’ most numerous, and watchable class, and the battle between Nash Morris, James Moffat, Ben Grice and Owen Kelly will resume at Winton.

“The racing at Phillip Island was amazing, with Nash Morris doing a tremendous job

The Moffat/Grice/Morris/Kelly Trans Am brawl from PI will continue at Winton. Image: DANIEL KALISZ-ARG as a young driver holding off experienced guys like Moffat and Kelly. Trans Am is a fullcontact sport; that’s probably the easiest way to explain it. They’re into each other.

“Thankfully, the DSOs who police the actions of the drivers are not stopping them leaning on each other; while you just can’t take someone out, they encourage bodyon-body, panel-to-panel type racing. As a fan, that’s what I like to see.”

But Rogers is most looking forward to

seeing the S5000 cars race with push-topass playing an important role in opening up the short Winton straights as overtaking opportunities.

Touring Car Masters is back at Winton and it will be a battle of Johnson versus Bowe in the muscle car classics. Johnson has been hard to beat of late in the massivily powerful Mustang, but Bowe is the master of Winton-so it should be a great battle, with plenty of other great cars

and driver combination sure to take the fight to the well known duo.

“It’s the first time the S5000s have ever raced at Winton, and we think there will be a bit of action. We’ve tested there on a number of occasions, and it’s a tight, twisty circuit, not necessarily suited to the long legs of an S5000.

“But I think you’ll find if you’ve never seen them live, they really are a special car to come and see.” A weekend pass is $55.

CRUCIAL TEST DAYS AHEAD OF DARWIN AHEAD OF the fifth round of the season, Supercars teams will get in some vital test days at Winton and Queensland Raceway, giving them a chance to work with collected Gen3 data outside of the racing environment, as well as giving their co-drivers, wildcards and rookies some extra seat time.

Whilst Team 18 was able to sneak in some testing between Perth and Tassie, the rest of the teams will be running sessions between May 30 and June 1.

Triple Eight will be at the Queensland Raceway on Thursday June 1, where the Red Bull drivers will be alongside co-drivers Richie Stanaway and Jamie Whincup, whilst its Supercheap Auto entry with Craig Lowndes and Zane Goddard will also get a run, with Goddard to have some vital seat time ahead of his recently announced Darwin Wildcard.

SVG said it was a much needed day outside the racing environment.

“We need the test probably more than ever at a race weekend, it’s pretty hard to go outside your circle with set-up and get too adventurous,” the #97 Camaro driver said.

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Matt Stone Racing will be among the horde of Queensland teams testing at QR. Image: MARK HORSBUGH-MOTORSPORT IMAGES “We don’t need to find that much, but we really want to try some things and we’ll look at different avenues of set-up that we probably don’t have the time to do at a race weekend, so it’s very important.”

Also testing in Ipswich will be returning co-drivers Lee Holdsworth and Fabian Coulthard with Mostert and Percat, with Mostert adding that: “There are a lot of things we want to keep trying, the cars are running without fault now, but we

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really need to hammer down at the test day and see if we can learn something.”

MSR will be running with its two recent frontrunners, whilst DJR will also be testing up north.

The Shell Mustang drivers will be joined by co-driver’s Alex Davison and Tony D’Alberto.

Ahead of the session, Will Davison admitted that the team has had to use some race weekends as test days.

“We never use races at test sessions

but at the moment we have to, and between the two cars we threw a huge amount at them in Tasmania,” Davison said.

“I feel like we learnt a lot and got some really interesting data with some really good direction, but we’re excited to go testing and see if we can take a good step forward before we get to Darwin.”

At a far busier Winton, Matt Payne will have his own dedicated rookie session in a good chance to reset after a tough Tassie round, whilst the Tickford drivers will share the track with James Moffat, Zak Best, Tyler Everingham and Garry Jacobson, as well as running a rookie session with Declan Fraser that Randle will also participate in.

BJR will have all of its stable alongside enduro drivers Dale Wood, Dean Fiore, Jordan Boys, with Jaxon Evans absent ahead of his next Nurburgring Endurance Series event.

Erebus meanwhile is opting to run a Gen3 evaluation day at Winton for academy racer Jay Hanson and, fellow Super 2 racer Cooper Murray on May 30, with Will Brown also putting in some more seat time in his race winning #9 Camaro. TW Neal

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BJR RETAINS ENDURO QUARTET BRAD JONES Racing will take on the extended 2023 endurance season with the same set of co-drivers.

Seasoned pros Dale Wood and Dean Fiore will take on 16th and 15th Great Races respectively, while Jordan Boys and Jaxon Evans have three Bathurst starts between them.

Wood will join Andre Heimgartner in the flagship car #8 having also scored a solo Winton podium with the team in 2014.

Fiore hopes to score a hat-trick of Bathurst top 10s in car #14 with Bryce Fullwood this year while youngsters Jordan Boys and Jaxon Evans will split driving duties with Macauley Jones and Jack Smith respectively.

SVG RECIEVES SPECIAL KIWI ACCOLADE SHANE VAN Gisbergen has added a prestigious Kiwi accolade to the growing list of achievements from his motorsport career.

Three-time Supercars champion van Gisbergen was honoured at the annual Motorsport New Zealand awards night where he was inducted into its Wall of Fame. The Wall of Fame celebrates the highest achieving Kiwis in the sport and only a select few are given the honour since being established in 1994.

Van Gisbergen joins former rival Scott McLaughlin, Greg Murphy, Craig Baird, Paul Radisich and Jim Richards as the Supercars drivers to appear on the Wall of Fame.

SUPERCARS TO STAY IN THE WILD WEST SUPERCARS WILL continue racing in Western Australia until at least the end of 2025.

Supercars, the WA Government, Tourism WA and the WA Sporting Car Club have struck a deal to continue racing at the famed Wanneroo Raceway.

The championship first headed west 50 years ago in 1973 and the 2.4km circuit has hosted 95 race since.

The latest round held in April 2023 attracted a crowd of 34,052 and Supercars CEO Shane Howard is looking forward to more future memories.

“The Wanneroo circuit is steeped in history and is a favourite among fans and drivers alike, so we’re delighted to be able to continue racing there,” he said.

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Piastri ended up racing his teammate for much of the race.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

PIASTRI PERFORMS ON MONACO DEBUT

OSCAR PIASTRI had to contend with rain, intrateam battles and close calls, but the Aussie overcame it all to score an impressive points finish on Monaco Grand Prix debut.

A late move on Yuki Tsunoda vaulted Piastri into P10 and the McLaren driver managed to stay out of trouble in the treacherous conditions to collect his second points finish.

Seven races into his short Formula 1 career, Piastri has saved his best performances for the biggest occasions – his maiden home race at Melbourne and the daunting test of Monte Carlo.

The young Australian followed home teammate Lando Norris, who finished ninth to give McLaren a much-needed double points finish after the Miami disaster.

Piastri, who now sits 13th in the standings with five points, said he was ecstatic to add to his tally after the “trickiest” weekend of his short F1 career.

“I am very happy to get a point,” he said.

“I think starting from 11th and getting into the points is a good effort at Monaco.

“I think we executed the race very well, starting on the Hards and going straight to the Inters at the right time.

“The race itself was probably the most tricky of the year as well.

“These are the weekends where you learn the most … I don’t think it gets too much harder than Monaco in the rain on slicks. So very happy.”

Although Piastri did not set the timesheets on fire, he showed plenty of composure throughout the high-profile race weekend.

While the Aussie had previous experience of the famous track in junior formulae, he admitted he was “a bit off the pace” and struggled to find a rhythm in his first crack of driving an F1 car around the Principality.

But after only recording a highest result of 17th across the three practice sessions, the Aussie took a giant step forward when it mattered.

Piastri qualified 11th, missing out on a Q3 berth by just 0.018s having been edged out by Norris.

However, he was confident he could push car #81

into the top 10 on Sunday and that is exactly what he did.

Piastri stayed out of trouble in a scratchy first lap and held down P11 for the entire first stint and importantly kept in touch with the points positions.

This ensured the Aussie could pounce when the race was turned on its head when rain started to fall around lap 51.

Whilst Norris changed from the Medium to Hard tyre compound on Lap 51, Piastri stayed out for a further three laps which provided him with the chance to jump on the Intermediates and jump his teammate, who was forced to double stack.

Although the Brit did retake 10th from Piastri, the Aussie was still able to work his way into the points.

Yuki Tsunoda struggled with braking in the slippery conditions which opened the door for Piastri to pounce at Sainte Devote for 10th, 11 laps before the chequered flag.

During that time Piastri also got the chance to trail Max Verstappen and was able to keep up with him as the McLarens showed strong pace against the victorious Red Bull in the wet.

In doing so, the Aussie said he gathered a lot of knowledge of how the best navigate the tricky conditions.

“Having Max right in front of me was actually quite useful in some ways because it was my first time on slicks on a rainy track in an F1 car and having Max there, I knew that if it was gonna be anyone in front of me that’s probably gonna be OK to follow it would be him,” Piastri said.

“When it was raining on the slicks, understandably, I think he was being very cautious, so I could keep with him quite well there.

“And even when we came out on Inters I could keep with him quite well.

“Once the track dried up and he got a bit more comfortable, he was a fair bit quicker but initially I was managing to keep behind him, which is the first time I’ve been able to say that.”

Piastri hopes to build more momentum at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona this weekend.

Thomas Miles

PHILLIP ISLAND GETS BIG SAFETY UPGRADE

VALIANT FANS HELPED GET TILLEY’S PACER OVER THE LINE

CHANGES TO PHILLIP ISLAND HAVE IMPROVED THE SAFETY AT THE TRACK FOR RIDERS, DRIVERS AND SPECTATORS. AUTO ACTION’S BRUCE WILLIAMS SPOKE WITH MATTHEW WALTON FROM THE AGPC ABOUT THE CHANGES KEEN-EYED viewers of the recent fundamentally different from what you SpeedSeries at Phillip Island would have would be used to seeing.” noticed some significant changes to the He said about 300 tonnes of gravel that track in preparation for this year’s MotoGP complied with the FIM standards was event in October. While the changes are used, and that 25,000 cubic metres of soil at the behest of the FIM, the work has was removed when deepening the Turns 1 improved the safety of all competitors and and 12 gravel traps. Approximately 1.7kms spectators. of track verges were changed as well.

The most obvious changes are at Turns “We work very closely with the circuit to 1 and 12, but many other corners on the deliver the outcomes, and because we’re track have had a minor tweak. the headline act, it becomes a Grand Prix “Every year, we receive a report from Corporation responsibility to deliver on the Turn 2, looking back towards Turn 1,.Below is Turn 6 and Turn 12 work, including new track edges. the FIM requesting various changes scope. to the circuit as needed to ensure we “We have a good relationship with the comply with safety from a variety of PI management, working through those different levels,” the Australian Grand deliverables, and they support us by Prix Corporation’s General Manager providing sufficient time as required to be of Design and Construction, Mathew able to doBOWE those brought things asup needed.

JOHN his 300th Walton, explained. “This year, there was “Because theMasters circuit has cars it as Touring Car start aton Sandown a significant piece of work undertaken well, we have work very closely with Raceway ontoSunday dung the Shannons in March which went for six weeks, and theMotorsport circuit, theAustralia FIA and the FIM on the Championship. it focused on a number of areas which also included 205 debris fences or 820m But it was quite evident that there needed deliverables to ensure that meet The Bathurst legend iswe a four-time included an extension to the gravel trap of fencing, extending from Turn 11 and to be these key changes.” both thoseofstandards to the best level winner the fan favourite category, in the runoff around Turn 12. ” the grid was reverted Planning fortheir the changes started last even webringing can. It’s up a tough one because circumstances, but the milestone at a there track after leaving own jobs, I couldn’t ASand THEasphalt rain dumped down at onTurn the 1.

“There was the on addition of a variety of “There was a need to improve November following the report from obviously complexities to the dry practice session times inthe a safety he also cantured between tour Sandown begin to count the hours that we allthe put in arewhere Sandown race track the Saturday of the differentNational verges around at Tuns 1, 2, 3, 6, for riders, but there’s also recognition that FIM, the AGPC called for tendersthat soon thebts FIA and the FIM,career and we certainly controversial decision.

Bowe’s TCM started in 2008, over and the nine weeks.

To experience Shannons round, AUTO ACTION 9, 11, andin12, asTouring well as car an extension the needed to improve spectator after the planning began withelse iEDM. had challenges with the deliverables Thetrack delighted reaction from the crowd driving in Camaro before jumping into a leveland of support was something –I was8,on-hand the Masters tent to the trap at Turn 12, which is safety. I their thinkappreciation Phillip Island’s only there major couldn’t “We hadbelieve three suppliers effectively associated with these to reflected forthe it being Ford Mustang Transmodifications Am affectionately it. behind thegravel pit lane. probably the of the and workonlookers, at Turn in the thathaving doesn’t have adebris working their own spaces tofrom support needs. attrack all, with its world fans also played part knownthe as FIA’s “Sally. ” Surrounded byequal mechanics “I got atogether big helpin from Gear-Exchange 1. TheyTilley (Turns 1 and 12) were major deliver the in scale of work. been pretty much ticked all to thethe boxes infencing. its return.

In 2015, Bowe shifted over Cameron stood behind his both rebuilt Smithfield Sydney also.What’s It’s people like that “We’ve pieces of work.

It’s notsuit only anaexpansive “It’s an track, it’s beautiful achieved remarkable.

I don’t know now and areRetro just working through the “The fanincredible support was massive, I set upand Bendigo Muscle cars Torana, Valiant in his blue racing with smile as that keep is usquite all going really. And Anglomoil gravel now bonnet. down at Turn 12, but we’ve a it’s amazing to watch the rounded bikes goup around. ifhas you’ve it on butthey’ve it’s finalities. ” Gary O’Brien, in which he nas Go-fund-me page which a built by wide as histrap Pacer’s also seen helped methe for ground, years, and reasonable contribution, which got me about given me great support throughout.” competed in 147 races. Bowe’s 300th The normally reserved driver had reason a quarter of the way there,” Tilley told AUTO start almost delivered a fairy tale to be satisfied after taking a podium in the “I couldn’t have done it without them and ACTION. finish, where the left mirror of Adam Trophy race when he blasted off the line everyone else. People just kept coming out Bressington’s #95 Camaro loomed large down the outside of the pit straight, putting of nowhere just saying they could help. No “Whether I raced it again or not, it had with the #18 Torana into the final straight. him in first position by the second turn. matter how big or small the contribution, It to be fixed – I couldn’t handle seeing it The final margin of 0.024s was the He also qualified in P1 in trying helped me to keep on pushing.” TN like that. People were helping every day closest finish in TCM history, with Bowe losing by a foot and a half’s length – or the Camaro’s bonnet. Bowe had the championship lead leading into the round, but the rival Torana of Ryan competition in 2003 before he returned to competition MULTIPLE AUSTRALIAN Off Road Champion Les Siviour Hansford takes a nine point lead heading briefly in 2005, and again in 2010 with daughter Katie, also passed away on September 8 after a short battle with into Bathurst on November 11-13. at Griffith. He kept involved, with support to son-in-law cancer. He began racing in 1983 at Waikerie in his wife’s Having won the Bathurst 1000 twice, Shannon Rentsch and his father Ian in their bids to win the shopping car. He subsequently campaigned Nissan Patrols there’s a fair chance Bowe’s victorious Australian Championship. AUTO ACTION extends its deepest for 19 years and won the Production 4WD Championship knowledge of The Mountain may have condolences to his wife Jan, daughters Bobbie and Katie, 16 times, and the Australian Off Road Championship in him inofgood stead TN and to the extended family and friends. GO 1985. The Griffith-based rice farmer retired from fulltime A huge amount work has been... undertaken at Turn 1.

BOWE BREAKS THE 300 TCM BARRIER

VALE – LES SIVIOUR

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

HONDA CONFIRMS 2026 ASTON MARTIN DEAL HONDA WILL officially return to Formula One, with Aston Martin Racing, from the start of the 2026 season.

Having announced in October of 2020 it would be leaving the sport at the end of the following season, Honda has remained as Red Bull’s Power Unit supplier, in what is purely a commercial deal and will remain with the Austrian company until the end of 2025.

After that, Red Bull will be running with its own Power Units, in collaboration with Ford, so the famous Japanese brand has found a new partner to officially return to Formula One, now that it is clear the sport is going into the same direction as Honda, in terms of the electrification of the engines and the use of carbon neutral fuels from the start of 2026.

Speaking to a restricted number of media outlets, including Auto Action, before the announcement, Honda Racing Corporation President, Koji Watabane, explained the reasons behind the historic return to being a works manufacturer.

“In pursuit of its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, starting in the 2026 season, the FIA will mandate the use of 100% carbon neutral fuel, and the deployment of electrical power will be increased significantly by three times from the current regulations,” the Honda president explained.

“With this massive increase in the electrical power, the key to winning in the new F1 will be a compact, lightweight and high power motor with the high performance battery that is capable of

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swiftly handling high power output, as well as the energy management technology.

“We believe that the technology and know-how gained from this new challenge has the potential to be applied directly to our future mass production electric vehicles.

“Also, F1 is introducing a cost cap structure on power unit development, which will make a long-term and continuous participation in F1 easier.”

The decision to join forces with Aston Martin, was, according to Watanabe, a logical one, given the similarities between the two team’s spirit and goals.

“The Aston Martin Formula 1 team and Honda share the same spirit, and together, we will take on this new challenge,” he said.

“In this project, HRC will design, develop and manufacture the power unit optimised for Aston Martin’s F1 chassis configuration, and supply it to them.

“And Aston Martin F1 team will design, develop and manufacture the chassis, as well as handling the team management.

“Aston Martin F1 is a team with a lot of momentum, including a construction of a new factory, and they are currently working on various measures to strengthen the team to strive for winning the F1 championship title.

“As they have given the high marks to our F1 power unit technology, and we can relate to the AMR attitude, and also a strong passion to win, we decided to work together and strive for the championship title as Aston Martin Honda.”

Aston Martin Racing Group CEO

Martin Whitmarsh, was delighted with the announcement, having played a fundamental part in the set-up of the McLaren-Honda deal in 2014 – although he was no longer working for the British team when the two companies started their ontrack cooperation.

He said the deal provides Aston Martin with the ideal platform to chase championships in the future.

“I’m very excited to be talking to you from Tokyo about our future partnership with Honda,” he said.

“Aston Martin is building a team to win in Formula 1. Over the last 18 months, I think we have been recruiting the right people, we have been investing in the required facilities and developing the right culture and processes to win.

“We know we need strong partnerships and it’s a great opportunity to partner a global motorsport titan like Honda as a works team.

“This is an extremely exciting and important further step for the team.

Both organisations share the same mutual drive, determination, and relentless ambition to succeed on track.

“We’ve seen Honda over many years achieve great success. We are still building.

We are very proud, very grateful, very honoured to put in place this partnership.

“It’s clear to us and to Honda that the 2026 F1 regulations will require the full integration of chassis and PU that only a full works team relationship delivers. To have this partnership puts us in a position to compete for championships.

Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll.

“It’s clear from everything we’ve seen from Honda in the past, from our recent learnings, from being in conversation the last few weeks.

“They have a huge passion, they are racers and want to win. That’s what they are in this sport to do and that’s fantastic because that’s exactly our goal.

“We have a lot to learn from Honda, who have been successful over many, many decades in this sport. We are already confident this is going to be a fantastic partnership for the future, so we look forward to it.”

In the next couple of months it will become clear how much resources HRC will have to recover the time lost to a competition that never stopped developing their Power Units for 2026, while the Japanese manufacturer kept just a skeleton of the motor sports technical team still working on this project following the homologation of the 2022-2025 Power Units in March of last year.

Luis Vasconcelos

HONDA WON’T OBJECT TO ALONSO DRIVING IN 2026 HONDA WILL not object to Fernando Alonso remaining with Aston Martin once the two companies start to work together in 2026, HRC president Koji Watanabe revealed during the announcement of this new partnership. Alonso was tremendously critical of Honda’s efforts during the three years in which the Japanese manufacturer was partnered with McLaren, between 2015 and 2017, being one of the key people behind the early termination of that deal.

When asked if Honda would be part of the decision-making process that will come with the selection of drivers for Aston Martin in 2026, Watanabe-san made it clear that, “our stance remains unchanged in thinking the selection of the drivers is fully up to the team members and not something that a partner and supplier like us is supposed to me making. So, we’ll be leaving the drivers’ selection to the team.”

That, of course, led to questions about Fernando Alonso, the Spanish driver humiliating Honda publicly during the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix when, having been passed by another driver in Suzuka’s pits straight, shouted “GP2 engine!” over the radio, a message that was obviously

broadcast worldwide.

Even after that was reminded to him, Koji Watanabe insisted Honda wouldn’t get involved at all in the negotiations with future drivers. He even paid a compliment to Alonso, saying that, “we have been accelerating out development during all our recent time in Formula One, while working

with Alonso, and that enabled us to win the World Championship. I believe he’s such a brand and respectable driver, but, like I said, the selection of drivers is up to the team to decide.

So, if the team decides we’ll have Alonso as a driver again, we will have no objections whatsoever in him driving.”

Aston Martin’s Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh added that, “Fernando is doing a great job in the team and I’m delighted to have him as part of our team as he’s making a great contribution both on and off the track. Obviously, I spoke to Fernando a while ago about the direction we wanted to go, he’s a very intelligent individual, I’m sure everyone here is referring to some comments that were made in the heat of the battle, once, which were quite memorable for some, but I think he understand and respects what Honda is doing.”

But on the prospect of the Oviedo-born driver still being a Formula One driver at the age of 46, the former McLaren man was not so sure: “By 2026, who knows, it’s probably outside his planning, horizon, at the moment. We’ve got to give him a car that is consistently capable of winning races. We’ll have a discussion before 2026, I’m sure, about where Fernando’s future lies. I hope he’ll be around for a number of years, and it would be great if he’s as fit and competitive as he’s today.

Then it would be fantastic to have him in the car in 2026 as well.”

EVERYONE PUSHING FOR NEW COMMERCIAL DEAL BUT… ALTHOUGH THE Concorde Agreement only expires at the end of 2025, there’s a general desire from all parties involved in the Commercial Rights over Formula One for a new deal to be brokered as soon as possible. Liberty Media’s Gregg Maffei has made it very clear that the Commercial Rights Holder wants to accelerate the negotiations with the teams and the FIA to get the new contract signed by all parties involved and in recent days Team Principals like Toto Wolff, Christian Horner and Zak Brown have urged the entire group to get together as soon as possible and reach a new deal that will regulate the commercial side of Formula One between the start of 2026 and the end of 2030.

It will come as no surprise for anyone, though, that the three parties involved in the negotiations have completely different goals for the next Concorde Agreement,

indicating that finding a common ground won’t be as easy as they all seem to believe it will be the case. The tremendous increase in Formula One’s profits since the start of 2021 has increased the thirst for bigger profits for all parts involved, and with the team’s value now being two or three times higher than it was the case at the start of 2020, negotiations will be probably tougher than ever before.

From Liberty Media’s point of view, the fact the sports’ income has gone up so much since they took over is entirely down to the work they’ve done and, therefore they now want a bigger cut of the profits, full control of areas like merchandising, where the teams get a decent amount of money from and complete autonomy to decide the Formula One calendar’s, without giving the teams the possibility to veto a bigger number of Grand Prix per

season of put a limit on the number of triple-headers events.

The teams, on the other hand, were caught out by a technicality on the last Concorde Agreement that limited the amount of money they could get per year of the profits would go over a certain amount - thus increasing the share that goes to Liberty Media - and want to keep their 62,5% share of the profits regardless of the amount raised by the sport, so their intentions collide head on with those from Liberty.

Finally, the FIA wants a much bigger slice of the profits’ cake, as Ben Sulayem is very unhappy with the disastrous deal Max Mosley struck with Bernie Ecclestone some 20 years ago and that Jean Todt never tried to renegotiate. Given that more races and stricter controls force the FIA to hire and move more people around

the world, the president wants a proper compensation for the Federation so, in the end, all three sides want a bigger share of the profits and that, of course, will make the negotiations very hard to get to a successful result.

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

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

Test and Tune Hi-Tec Drift All Stars Rd 3 Hi-Tec Drift All Stars Rd 3 Winton Track Day Eggelston Motorsport Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton Friday June 9 ,10, 11 /Shannons Speed Series Friday June 16 Test and Tune Saturday June 17 Pedders No Bull Sprint Series Round 3 Wednesday June 20 Trackschool Trackday Friday June 2nd Saturday June 3 Sunday June 4 Monday June 5 Wednesday June 7

Private Booking Test and Tune Motor Events Racing Saturday June 24 – Winton Rumble Motor Events Racing Sunday June 25 – Winton Rumble Monday June 26 Private Booking Tuesday June 27 Tickford Racing Wednesday June 28 WMR Racecar Test Day Friday June 30 Test and Tune Thursday June 21 Friday June 23

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

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MIGHTY MAZDA TO MAKE LE MANS RETURN THE FIRST Japanese car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mazda 787B, will return to the Circuit de la Sarthe. The car was made famous when it was driven to glory by Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot and Volker Weidler in 1991.

Now 22 years later will make a comeback to Le Mans by paying a special visit as part of the event’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

The car will cut some demonstration laps throughout the weekend and take part in the Le Mans Classic on June 30 to July 2.

NEW T86 RACE CARS ON SALE THE NEW Toyota Gazoo Racing TG86 that will make its racing debut next year is now on sale to hopeful racers.

Unveiled at last year’s Bathurst 1000, the race ready $89,990 turn-key package is now available for customers outside of current series competitors.

The cars based on the road-going version have been built and developed by Neal Bates Motorsport and will be available from May 29.

Once purchased, they will be delivered to customers completely race-ready.

Drivers interested in purchasing a fully-built GR86 race car to compete in the 2024 season can contact TGRA 86 Series administrator AirTime Autosport.

Jim Smith at speed in his beloved Rover. Image: Autopics.com.au

VALE: JIM SMITH, GEOFF LEEDS AND JIM McKEOWN THE MOTORSPORT world has mourned the loss of three industry stalwarts in Jim Smith, Geoff Leeds and Jim McKeown over the last fortnight.

All three had performed roles on and off the track since the 1960s and left a major impact on the sport in Australia.

Smith passed away, aged 88, after a long fight with cancer.

Described as an “innovative motorsport lover” he did everything from being a driver, team principal/ manager, administrator and distributor.

Despite finishing as high as sixth in the Armstrong 500, Smith made a name for himself by driving the distinctively bizarre yellow Camel-backed Rover V8 in Sports Sedans throughout the 70s.

In addition to being a driver, he was for a time the Australian distributor for Lotus while, after hanging up the helmet, he played a big part in the Volvo Dealer Team’s 1986 ATCC crown.

By the 1990s his son Andrew was also on board and the family pair managed their team to Australian Super Production Car Series success with Brad Jones in 1994 and back-to-back Nations Cup triumphs with Paul Stokell in a Lamborghini Diablo GTR. A week later the news of Leeds passing, aged 77, then hit the Aussie motorsport world.

Having grown up at Bathurst, Leeds spent his entire life around the sport,

Geoff Leeds. racing for over three decades before a long stint as a category administrator and official.

He remained active in the sport until his diagnosis earlier this year, having spent the last four seasons as the Driving Standards and Prosecuting Officer for the TA2 Muscle Car Series where he was highly respected by all.

Leeds was a Bathurst regular, making 23 straight Great Race appearances from the 1970s to 1990s.

His best finish was P8 with Terry Finnigan in 1991 after they rose from 24th on the grid.

After finally hanging up the helmet following a stint in Aussie Racing Cars, Leeds stayed deeply involved in the sport.

In 2002 he became the investigating and prosecuting officer for V8 Supercars and also spent two years as the driving standards advisor in the development series.

His last role was with the TA2 Muscle Car Series as the Driving Standards and Prosecuting Officer’s role.

Leeds’ son Ben will keep the family name within the category, working for the distributors which deliver and service Spec TA2 race cars.

Sadly one of Leeds’ former Bathurst co drivers, Jim McKeown, also passed away within the same week, aged 85.

McKeown was a major member of the Australian motor racing scene, especially in the early days of the ATCC. He was a front runner in the ATCC during the late 60s and early 70s, taking pole on debut and collecting eight podiums across 23 races.

In 1970 McKeown finished four points short of the championship taken by Norm Beechey.

He then turned his attention to Sports Car racing in Alfa Romeos and Porsches, while his final Great Race was in 1976 with Leeds.

Auto Action would like to pass on its heart-felt condolences to Smith’s, Leeds’ and McKeown’s family and friends.

Thomas Miles Jim McKeown.

TECHNICAL TWEAKS FOR EXCEL SERIES THE HYUNDAI Excel Racing National Series fires up at Queensland Raceway on June 2-4 and will do so with a strong field and some minor technical changes.

Leading Ecel races from all over Australia are expected to hit the grid including multiple Australian champion Cam Wilson.

The series will use the same technical regulations as the Time Attack Australia Queensland Excel Cup. This will ensure drivers are allowed to run coil-over suspension systems from approved suppliers such as Supashock, MCA and XYZ, while Nankang will be the control tyre supplier.

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SPORTS SEDANS TO LAUNCH SEASON AT WINTON THE 2023 PRECISION National Sports Sedans Series will assemble at Winton Raceway on June 9-11, starting a calendar year that will see it compete at two Supercars rounds, which includes the Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 500.

Over 30 entries from all across the country have entered to compete at the Nations Action Track for the Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton round, which will also see the expected return of some category legends and some new faces.

In some big news, that is expected to include 11-time champion Tony Ricciardello in his Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV-Chevrolet, his first time in the category since taking the 2019 championship after the record setting WA winner was forced to sit out three seasons due to the pandemic.

Reigning champion Jordan Caruso is also back in the John Gourlay prepared Audi A4 after a dominant 2022, and with plenty of experience at Winton, he’ll be looking to kickstart his campaign with a victory.

His chief rival Steve Tamasi is also ready to roll in his Holden Calibra after mechanical issues brought his title challenge undone at the Sandown finale, with his father Daniel Tamasi also expected to join the grid in the coming rounds.

Entering the series this season is new young gun and multiple national TA2 race winner Josh Haynes, who’ll be taking up the charge in Phil Crompton’s Ford Mustang in place of Daniel Crompton.

Drivers from all over the nation will be heading into Victoria, with confirmed entries from NSW, Queensland, WA and Tassie, as well some entrants from SA still to be confirmed.

The group of around eight drivers from NSW includes the likes of Steve Lacey in his Chevrolet Camaro, and Mark Duggan from the Duggan Family Racing team, again competing in the slick looking Aston Martin DBR. From across the strait, another front running returnee in Alex Williams will

provide a welcome comeback in his Mazda RX7 Turbo after also being waylaid by the pandemic.

From Queensland, Ashley Jarvis returns in the popular Smith Family Monaro with a new livery, as well as Tim Triton in the Honda Prelude who missed much of last year, and Anthony Cox in his SAAB. Another solid competitor from WA is also Ryan Humphrey, retuning to Winton with his competitive Falcon XD. The series also welcomes a new second level series sponsor, in Sydney’s Earlcore Property Developments.

After the long-awaited opening round at Winton – which perhaps has some more big national names to be confirmed – that’s followed with a round at the Queensland Raceway, then SMP (where the field will once again contest for the perpetual Des Wall trophy) in August and September.

Then comes the big support slot at the Great Race on October 5-8, followed by the Gold Coast 500 on October 27-29.

Category manager and racer Michael Robinson spoke to Auto Action, saying that it’s a huge boon for the popular series, where they will return to both tracks for the first time since 1993.

“It’s pretty unique that we’re back 30 years later to compete at both those events,” Robinson said.

“We’re very fortunate to be on those grids, and the talk all around the country in Sports Sedan circles is that they’re both pretty impressive opportunities.

“After the difficulties we’ve worked through this year to get the series going, it’s very motivating to have a five round series with two Supercars events, it’s fantastic for everybody with our field coming from all over the country.

“None of us have actually raced at Surfers Paradise because it’s been 30 years since the categories were there.

“And of course the Bathurst 1000 is going to be special for us, and we’ll have a 38 grid capacity for that with six ontrack sessions.” TW Neal

SUPER SERIES MEETS 2 DAYS OF THUNDER THE QUEENSLAND Raceway is set for a huge combined weekend of action on June 2-4, with the Paperclip to play host to Round 3 of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series, as well as the annual Two Days of Thunder motorsport festival.

After its huge King of the North Darwin round, the TA2 Muscle Series will again headline the Super Series, with the inaugural round of the EFS Excel Racing National Series also taking part.

The TA2 series is closely fought this year, with Dylan Young leading Jackson Rice by just five points, with the series also welcoming back its inaugural champion in Russell Wright, driving the ex-Aaron Seton Mustang.

Joining the Super Series is a large contingent of local categories, which includes the popular Queensland Production Car Series with a 30 car grid that will stage two one-hour endurance races.

The Queensland Touring Car Championship and Replica Tourers Trophy Series will also feature, with both categories open to a variety of road carbased replicas of touring cars from Group C, Group A, V8 Supercar and Super Tourer eras; vehicles competing in the class include V8 Holdens and Fords, along with six-cylinder BMWs. Also taking part is the Queensland Porsche Cup, which is open to all generations of Porsche race cars, and rounding out the huge lineup is the nostalgic categories: Group N (Aussie racing vehicles from the 1960s and ‘70s) and Australian Trans Am (V8 American production vehicles built from 1963 to 1974). TW Neal

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LATEST NEWS

THE FINKE IS BACK ON THE AUTO (Car) section of the 2023 Finke Desert Race will go ahead after Motorsport Australia issued a permit, but with significant new safety measures in place.

The Bikes category of the famous race held in the Outback was not in doubt, but the presence of four wheels at the event was.

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This was due to the recent conclusion of the coronial inquest into the death of a spectator at the 2021 event where there was damning evidence against both Motorsport Australia and the Finke Committee regarding their efforts to maximise or, even act on, extreme safety

concerns prior to the incident.

As a result, the Auto section of the race will go ahead, but only after a MSA permit, plus the creation of three major safety measures that will impact the fan experience.

Spectators will be allowed no closer than 30m from the track. The minimum distance renders previously popular camping areas along the track off limits.

Landing zones, crests and rises will also have significant restrictions, while spectator exclusion zones will be set up at “high risk” corners.

The measures were outlined in a Finke Desert Race media release, which explained why they have been taken with a “zero tolerance” approach to be taken.

“The Finke Desert Race Committee has received confirmation that Motorsport Australia (MSA) will issue a permit for the Auto (car) section of the 2023 Tatts Finke Desert Race,” it read.

“The Finke Desert Race Committee takes seriously the safety of spectators and competitors, and will implement a host of specific safety measures that will enhance

the safety of all attendees at the 2023 Tatts Finke Desert Race.

“This means the spectator experience at the 2023 Tatts Finke Desert Race will be different to previous years.

“Spectator safety marshals will be stationed along the length of the track to monitor spectators’ compliance with the new safety measures.

“Spectators have a significant role to play to ensure a smooth and safe running of the 2023 Tatts Finke Desert Race, and there will be a zero tolerance approach to spectators who fail to follow the new safety measures or instructions of marshals, officials, event staff and NT Police.

“The Finke Desert Race Committee once again thanks all competitors, crews, sponsors, volunteers, contractors and the Alice Springs community for their continued patience and support in the implementation of the new safety measures.

“The Finke Desert Race Committee would also like to commend the Northern Territory Government for its support of the event.

“The Finke Desert Race Committee looks forward to welcoming all attendees for a safe and successful running of the 47th Finke Desert Race, held from 9-12 June 2023 in Alice Springs.”

Thomas Miles

DRAG RACING

2023/24 NATIONAL DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR ROUND 1 – THE BEND DRAGWAY Featuring Top Fuel, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer, Pro Stock Motorcycle, plus Sportsman Western Conference racing. .....................................21-22 October 2023

Images: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY

NEW ERA OF DRAG RACING READY FOR ACTION THE NATIONAL Drag Racing Championship will be born at The Bend Motorsport Park this October ahead of a huge maiden 2023/24 season with “unprecedented levels of broadcast exposure”.

The new unified season will be staged across 11 rounds, starting in South Australia on October 21-22 and wrapping up with the Winternationals Grand Final at Willowbank Raceway in June 6-9, 2024.

Between times, the National Drag Racing Championship will criss-cross the country with either the Burson Auto Parts Top Fuel Championship or Nitro Funny Car series in the Group One spotlight alongside four of Top Fuel motorbikes, Top Doorslammer, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Pro Mod and Western and Eastern conference Sportsmans as supports.

The season concludes with a “mega” Grand Final featuring both Top Fuel and Funny Cars at the Willowbank Winternationals.

All 11 rounds will be broadcast live and free on streaming service 7Plus, while 7mate will also broadcast post-produced highlight packages.

National Drag Racing Championship copromoter Andy Lopez said the 11-round season is the perfect launching pad for the new era.

“We’re really proud of this calendar,” he said.

“There are 11 amazing events at Australia’s premier drag racing facilities, headlined by either the Burson Top Fuel Championship or the Nitro Funny Car Championship.

“For competitors, this means a true national championship and a unified sport. For race fans, it means unbeatable shows with the best Australian drag racing has to offer.

“The NDRC’s motto is ‘One Way, Forward.’ We all race in the same direction, for the same reason, and it is

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our hope that with the NDRC having unified this great sport, we can bring it the attention and respect it deserves.”

One of the big factors behind the National Drag Racing Championship is an “unprecedented” TV package for the sport with the Seven Network.

NDRC co-promotor and head of TV Nathan Prendergast said the deal presents a massive opportunity for the sport.

“Taking it all up a notch is the fact that these 11 NDRC Group One events will benefit from unprecedented levels of broadcast exposure thanks to the NDRC’s landmark deal with Australia’s home of motorsport, the Seven Network,” he said.

“Never before has Australian drag racing benefited from this kind of coverage – this is truly a new era for the sport.”

It comes off the back of Channel Seven’s recent coverage of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship, which Prendergast believes was a key part of the continual growth.

“We’ve delivered 13 high-quality broadcast events in the past 18 months with the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship,” he said.

“That’s given Seven the confidence to get behind Australian drag racing and take these next steps with us to bring the sport to a whole new audience.”

A major part of the National Drag Racing Championship calendar is the Sportsman’s titles which will be split

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across Eastern and Western conferences.

Rounds held in SA and WA will stage the Western conference, while NSW and Queensland races will make up the Eastern series.

National Drag Racing Championship communications manager Adrian Hodgson confirmed the Summit Series will also make up part of the Eastern series with a Victorian round also in the works.

“The full Aeroflow Sportsman Championship calendar is well advanced,” he said “There is Sportsman Championship racing at most NDRC Group 1 events and we’re in discussions with venues in Victoria and QLD to round out the Eastern Conference.

“I can confirm that the Summit Series already committed to by ANDRA until December 31 will be recognised as part of this year’s Western Conference, and that the series will continue as the Aeroflow Championship Western Conference from January 1, 2024.

“The complete Aeroflow Sportsman Championship calendar will be announced on June 14, including how racers qualify for the National Grand Final at The Bend.”

The National Drag Racing Championship aims to unify the sport and bring it back to its heyday, with packed grandstands enjoying the action.

“It is a bloody great sport, so we want to simplify the message about what is drag racing so that non-traditional fans will watch and want to come back,” Lopez said.

“Experiencing the event live is always amazing. You can see the start and finish line easily from your seat and there is a result happening every couple of minutes. It also looks fantastic on TV. “Our mission is to make drag racing Australia’s favourite motorsport.”

Thomas Miles

ROUND 2 – SYDNEY DRAGWAY Featuring Nitro Funny Car, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock and Pro Mod, plus Sportsman Eastern Conference racing. .....................................27-28 October 2023 ROUND 3 – PERTH MOTORPLEX (Goldenstates) Featuring Nitro Funny Car, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, plus Sportsman Western Conference racing. ................................24-25 November 2023 ROUND 4 – WILLOWBANK RACEWAY Featuring Top Fuel, Pro Alcohol, Pro Mod, plus Sportsman Eastern Conference racing + QDRC Final. ..................................... 1-2 December 2023 ROUND 5 – THE BEND DRAGWAY Featuring Nitro Funny Car, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, plus Sportsman Western Conference racing. .......................................13-14 January 2024 ROUND 6 – SYDNEY DRAGWAY Featuring Top Fuel, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, plus Sportsman Eastern Conference racing. ..................................... 26-27 January 2024 ROUND 7 – WILLOWBANK RACEWAY Featuring Nitro Funny Car, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Pro Mod, Pro Stock Motorcycle, plus Sportsman Eastern Conference racing. .................................... 16-17 February 2024 ROUND 8 – PERTH MOTORPLEX (Westernationals) – featuring Top Fuel, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer plus Sportsman Western Conference racing..................................2-3 March 2024 ROUND 9 – THE BEND DRAGWAY Featuring Top Fuel, Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock, plus the Sportsman National Grand Final......... 6-7 April 2024 ROUND 10 – SYDNEY DRAGWAY – (Nitro Champs) – featuring Top Fuel, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer, Pro Stock, Pro Mod, Pro Stock Motorcycle, plus Sportsman Eastern Conference racing..............3-4 May 2024 ROUND 11 (GRAND FINAL) – WILLOWBANK RACEWAY (Winternationals) – featuring Top Fuel, Nitro Funny Car, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Pro Mod, Pro Stock Motorcycle, plus Sportsman Eastern Conference racing.................................... 6-9 June 2024

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NEW TOWNSVILLE TRACK ON ITS WAY

WITH THE SEALING OF THE 2.75KM RACE CIRCUIT, THINGS ARE MOVING FAST AT AUSTRALIA’S NEWEST RACE CIRCUIT LOCATED IN NORTH QUEENSLAND. AUTO ACTION’S BRUCE WILLIAMS SPOKE TO THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE PROJECT- PAT DRISCOLL FOR AN UPDATE. TOWNSVILLE MIGHT be well known for hosting an annual Supercars race through the streets of the northern regional centre – it’s an event that delivers a heap of attention and income to the city once a year.

However, things are set to change with a major milestone being reached and the further and ongoing development of a dedicated multi-purpose motorsport facility known as Drive It NQ. Progress of the non-for-profit Drive It NQ precinct is coming along rapidly after achieving the significant milestone of having the 2.75km race circuit surfaced.

Within the next five years the plan is for the purpose built race track to boast an FIA Grade 3 licence which will enable the venue to conduct club, state and national level racing. While a quarter-mile drag strip, a 450m dirt speedway and off-road circuits are also planned.

Key to the development of the Drive It NQ facility will be that it offers more than just motorsport programs, with a purposebuilt driver training and vehicle testing area already built.

Much of the funding for the precinct has come from the support of many members of governments, with all levels including regional, state and federal governments contributing funds to the facility which is situated 40km from the Townsville CBD at Calcium.

The site is located in a developing industrial zoned area, while still offering picturesque views of the nearby mountains.

The track itself runs in a clockwise direction, with a lengthy main straight followed by a series of long hairpins before opening up with a sequence of flowing corners and concludes with a fast chicane.

Despite the promising progress Drive It NQ CEO Pat Driscoll explained the full completion of the project, which first sprung

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to mind 20 years ago, is still a little way in the distance.

He hopes the track can obtain an FIA Grade 3 licence in the short term, so it can host national level race meetings.

“This project has been a long road to overnight success and it is an ongoing journey,” he told Auto Action.

“We are not-for-profit and are fully funded by all levels of the government and with the support of all sides of politics including some of the cross benchers.

“We are building it as an FIA Grade 3 circuit but obviously we need to get usage before we spend all the money to do that.

“Our vision for the track is to continue to develop it towards an FIA Grade 3 licence, then add support and spectator facilities along the way.

“We would hope to have a barrier all the way around the track within the next three to five years.

“We are currently reviewing tenders for the drag strip and the speedway project is unfunded.”

Townsville turned to the forefront of the Australian motorsport scene when it hosted its first Supercars street race in 2009.

Since then, the round has grown to become a major part of the Supercars calendar as a destination event and has never missed a year, even hosting doubleheaders during the COVID-19 era.

Rather than creating direct competition, Driscoll said he hopes the facility can harness the motorsport passion sparked by Supercars and grow potential competitor interest in the region.

He believes having a dedicated driving precinct can create a far more lasting economic impact on the region with potential competitors and interested people coming for a couple of weekends of motorsport.

“I was fortunate enough to run a car around that (Supercars) track and it was brilliant. But what is more important is that we can run events that shoulder the Supercars races,” Driscoll said.

“We can bring people here for up to 10 nights or two weeks instead of four nights.

We can bring secondary classes of cars so it can become a festival of speed.

“By working with existing Supercars events, we can enhance it and our local economy.”

Driscoll was a late comer to motorsport but is now fully invested in making an impact.

His initiation was through club level sprint racing in his late 30’s before involvement at local clubs led to the Drive It idea.

After the Driver Education Centre and Motorsport Action Group was formed back in 2006, the community funded project only kicked into gear more recently following a $12 million injection of funding from the Federal Government, while the State Government also contributed $10 million of direct funding.

Ground was first broken in August 2020 and the final design draft of the circuit was completed by the end of the year.

Now completely surfaced, the project continues to gather momentum offering racers a local option rather than travelling long distances to Morgan Park and Queensland Raceway.

With Townsville not only full of Supercars fans, but also car lovers, the likes of John Bowe, Jack Miller, Molly Taylor and Paul Morris have all shown their support.

Driscoll’s vision is for the facility to boost the entire community and said it has already had a major positive impact.

“The purpose is to provide the region with social and economic benefits,” he said.

“When people travel (to race outside of Townsville) sometimes they are leeching money from our economy and keeping and

Preconstruction site visit, (L-R) Gary Ellem, Greg Fitzgerald, Pat Driscoll, Paul Morris, and Mike Seymour.

(L-R) Greg Fitzgerald, Premier of QLD Annastacia Palaszczuk, Pat Driscoll (front row), backed by local State members of parliament Scott Stewart, Les walker, and Aaron Harper. This photo was taken when the State committed $10m to the project. preparing their competition cars in other places.

“Having a local motorsport venue and circuit should help to stop that sort of leakage from the local economy and help to create more local jobs as well.

“Many years ago I was talking to John Bowe and he said it is the most car centric town he knew. He said it is not going to be about finding people, it will be about keeping them away!

“Even as it is, it is getting a lot of interest and activity and since we have been building the track there has been a resurgence in the motoring industry.”

With Thomas Miles

THE BEND

THE BEND APPROACHING BLAST-OFF

EXCITEMENT IS building at The Bend Motorsport Park, where its shiny new drag strip will host the dawn of a new era in drag racing.

The first ever National Drag Racing Championship round will be staged at The Bend on October 21-22.

It will ensure the inaugural season will start in a big way, with the first round doubling up as the grand opening of the venue’s new $35 million facility.

It will bring top-level drag racing back to South Australia for the first time in almost two decades.

The project is coming along rapidly with 45 light towers already installed and tested, while the 402m surface, 700m braking area and 125m sand trap with twin nets and tyre barriers are 90 percent complete.

The shaded 1000-seat grandstand and grassed terraces are also nearing completion, as are the race control and pit paddock facilities, which will be completed shortly.

The latest Australian-made and US designed track preparation equipment and traction compounds are all on site and ready for use.

In a further sign of progression, over 120 track officials have been recruited with a third of them having previous drag racing experience.

With South Australia having been starved of the sport in recent times, The Bend Motorsport Park CEO Alistair MacDonald is proud to know it will happen by hosting the first NSRC round at his facility.

“We cannot understate how excited we are for the fans of Drag Racing and the people of South Australia to have a new home for the sport right here at The Bend,” he said.

“To see the $35 million investment by the Shahin family through the Peregrine Corporation supported by the key stakeholders in Drag Racing and the government is fantastic for the state and the region.

“We look forward to seeing you all at The Bend in October.”

The Bend Motorsport Park general manager Steve Bettes said he can feel the hype growing by the day as the opening looms.

“The excitement at Dragway at The Bend is growing daily as the project nears its completion ready for round 1 of the National Drag Racing Championship, featuring the Burson Top Fuel Championship in October 2023,” he said.

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Marketing and Sponsorship Manager Vlad Ostashkevich and General Manager Steve Bettes – ready to go.

“All in all, the Dragway at The Bend is progressing very well, and the event management team are in full preparation mode for the grand opening of the National Drag Racing Championship on October 21/22.

“This first event will feature the 10,000-horsepower flame-throwing 530kmh Top Fuel Dragsters at Rd 1 of the Burson Top Fuel Championship plus Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle and Pro Stock Bike.

“The new VAILO lights are a sight to behold with 45 light towers producing 800 lux of light on the dragway.

“This team of officials will hit the ground running in the lead up to the October event with track preparation expected to run for 10 to 12 days. Several systems checking smaller events will occur prior to October to make sure we have the bugs ironed out ready for the first major event.”

NDRC Andrew Lopez believes The Bend will be the perfect stage to commence the new era.

“To start our season at a track that is poised to become one of the best in Australia if not the world is a credit to The Bend and the Shahin family,” he said.

“To bring the pinnacle of our sport back to South Australia is incredible for our competitors, fans and partners and the excitement amongst the drag racing community is incredible.

“We can’t wait to entertain fans at The Dragway at The Bend and showcase our sport to those who have been starved of it for so long and share it with the next generation of supporters.”

Thomas Miles

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LATEST NEWS

FORD MUST WIN IN SUPERCARS THE HEAD of Ford Performance, Mark Rushbrook, has spoken on the Supercars parity debate, with having the “opportunity for Ford to win” a key ingredient.

The Global Director of Motorsports for the “Blue Oval” addressed the media at Walkinshaw’s Clayton factory ahead of the Ford Ranger Raptor’s Finke campaign, but most of the chat circulated on Supercars.

Ever since the roll out of Gen3 at the Sydney Motorsport Park test in February, parity has been the biggest talking point and that has not changed after four one-sided rounds of action.

Officially the scoreline is 11-1 in Chevrolet’s favour, but in reality the Mustang is yet to win a single race on the track in the Gen3 era.

The only Ford driver to possess a winner’s trophy in 2023 is Cameron Waters, who was also the most outspoken during the recent Tasmania SuperSprint.

On Saturday in Symmons Plains Waters was the only Mustang to qualify in the top 10, while Ford also trialled some engine map changes throughout the weekend.

Rushbrook has confirmed Ford “will continue to experiment with

ending mapping” during the array of tests scheduled this Wednesday and Thursday.

The head of Ford Performance motorsports said the parity debate can only be settled once Supercars has full data transparency, which he claims is something the sport is currently lacking.

“We need to look at the data for technical parity and that is where we continue to work with Supercars,” he said.

“We are in favour of transparently sharing that data, so we can form conclusions on technical parity and in absence of that we all struggle to do so.

“In every racing series outside Supercars we have full transparency into the data.

“To be honest with you we can make observations based upon what we see on track and what data is available from our teams, but until there is data transparency we cannot draw clear conclusions of engine parity or anything else.”

“We know what we are doing relative to our competitors on track, so we know where we as a manufacturer may be falling short or succeeding.

The exact cause of the apparent lack

of parity, now seems unclear as some commentators are suggesting that it goes beyond just a lack of engine performance parity.

With suggestions that the chassis (which are all the same) is lacking. This cannot be a genuine issue unless it is in the aero package which Supercars and both Ford and Chevrolet signed off on after rigorous VCAT testing which took place just before the first championship race at Newcastle.

Despite the clear concerns about the parity between the KRE Race Engines produced Chevrolet Racing 5.7L V8 engine and the Herrod developed 5.4L Coyote Ford power plant, Rushbrook has full faith in his team.

“I have utmost confidence in what the hardware is capable of with the Coyote engine, the software that controls it and the people that are working on it,” he said.

“We have got great partners in Australian Supercars with our homologation team and our engine partner Herrod.

“Just like we have great partners around the world, we have been able to race Coyote based engines competitively in other series and do great things with it.

“I have confidence in that, but ultimately it is the technical part of the process that determines whether that engine hardware and those great people are capable of delivering.”

When quizzed on Ford’s long-term commitment to Supercars, Rushbrook said it all depends on having the “opportunity to win” and not “tarnish our brand”.

“Anywhere we race, we race for the same reasons and that is to win races and championships that matter,” he said.

“We need the opportunity to win because it is important to our brand and if we are not able to win or have the opportunity to win, there is the risk of tarnishing our brand.

“We need to race where we have the opportunity to market our product appropriately tied back to winning and provide pride and satisfaction for our world wide staff and dealer network.

“If we are not meeting those pillars, then there is a consideration as we look at our future racing motorsport cycle plan.”

The next time the Fords will race the Chevrolets will be at the Darwin Triple Crown on June 16-18.

Thomas Miles

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LATEST NEWS

BRAD JONES RACING READY FOR ‘VITAL’ GEN3 TEST

BRAD JONES Racing will embark on a “vital” test day at Winton where it hopes to discover the intricacies of Gen3.

BJR is just one of many teams conducting test sessions this week and the four Albury based Camaro’s will be driving around their home track, Winton, today.

All the main game drivers Andre Heimgartner, Bryce Fullwood, Jack Smith and Macauley Jones will be on show, plus three of their respective codrivers.

Only Jaxon Evans will not be in action, while BJR will be joined by Walkinshaw Andretti United, Tickford Racing, Grove Racing and Erebus Motorsport, but the latter will only conduct an evaluation day compared to the full-scale test session.

Despite four rounds already flying by, both Macauley Jones and his engineer Andrew Donnelly have stated the importance of gathering further data in taming the Gen3 beast at the upcoming test session.

Jones stressed how imperative the ontrack time will be ahead of the Darwin Triple Crown.

“This one’s a pretty important one,” he said on the BJR RunDown Podcast.

“We’re four rounds in and we still have a lot to learn.

“You get such an opportunity at a test day to be able to do some bigger changes, find a direction and be able to try a different philosophy and do eight changes and just continually change them back-to-back. ‘Yes, no, this worked, this didn’t work, why didn’t it work?’

“It’s pretty vital to have these days to be able to go okay, this is what went well, this is what we didn’t really like, this did this.

“Because we’re probably finding some of the changes that we make on the Gen3 isn’t the same read as what you get on the Gen2, so that’s going to be pretty important to try and figure out those different things.”

In addition to coming to grips with the Gen3 Camaro, it will be important for the #96 crew to bounce back from a “disappointing” Tasmania SuperSprint.

Jones could only manage a top result of P19 across the three races and established braking confidence as the root cause of the battles at a track where braking stability is key.

“I didn’t have a great weekend,” he said.

“I feel like I struggled a lot with confidence in braking there, and braking is just about everything at that place.

“So we didn’t quite piece it together for that one, which was a little bit disappointing, but we are hustling in the background.

“The test day will be handy to implement some things there.”

Thomas Miles

FORD RANGER RAPTOR READY FOR FINKE CHALLENGE FORD PERFORMANCE is ready to take on the Finke Desert Race next month, with its new Ford Ranger Raptor.

The “Blue Oval” is best known in Australia for chasing success at tracks such as Bathurst and Adelaide in the Supercars arena, but in June it is heading to the red centre for a different challenge.

After collecting a class win at the Baja 1000 in Mexico, Ford Performance, Walkinshaw and Kelly Racing have teamed up again to set their sights on Finke.

The countdown is on for the famous race to be held on June 9-12 and the new car has been unveiled at Walkinshaw’s Clayton based factory.

With the car being built by Kelly Racing, it is now truely on Australian soil and is ready to race.

Behind the wheel will be father-son duo Brad and Byam Lovell in the Production 4WD Class of the Finke Desert Race.

Ford Performance Motorsports Global Director Mark Rushbrook said the company is buzzing to see the Ranger

Raptor racing on the Northern Territory dirt following successful stints in America.

“We are excited about racing with the Ranger Raptor at Finke,” he said.

“We have a great commitment to racing and there is more and more of an interest in the off road racing space.

“We were certainly excited by what we were able to do with the Ranger Raptor program in Baja with a great group of people.

“It had great success there and now the same truck is going back to Australia for the Finke Desert race.”

The new Ford Ranger Raptor is powered by a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 engine and is equated with the largest permissible wheels in the class of 35 inches.

Rushbrook further explained that the reason behind the Finke program was to put the Ranger Raptor to the ultimate test.

“We have done this to show the great products we have and put them into some of the world’s most toughest tests like Baja and Finke to show what they are capable of,” he said.

“Finke is another proving ground, especially with the way the product has developed.

“It is another opportunity to race it at an important market like Australia, which is a tough proving ground to see what it is capable of.”

Rushbrook also said taking on the Finke Desert Race for the first time is another example of the brand’s commitment to the “important” Australian market.

“It (Australia) is still an important footprint for us in terms of our employees, development work and sales and services,” he said.

“We have a lot of employees here that are important to us and part of the mission of Ford Performance is employee pride, so we want to show a racing product in front of them.

“We are a global company committed to racing around the world and Australia is still a very important market for us.”

The Ford Ranger Raptor will be seen at the Finke Desert Race from June 9-12.

Thomas Miles

LATEST NEWS

MCLAREN RAID RED BULL WITH BIG APPOINTMENT THE MCLAREN F1 team has continued with its fundamental restructuring by obtaining Red Bull’s head of engineering, Rob Marshall.

Marshall spent nearly 20 years behind the scenes at the Milton Keynes factory, and will now join the Woking based McLaren group at the start of January, and has been stood down from his role at Red Bull effective immediately.

He’ll join the papaya technical executive team as technical director, replacing James Key, and will work alongside Peter Prodromou and David Sanchez, reporting directly to team principal Andrea Stella.

Along with Stella replacing Andreas Seidl, Sanchez was also a new addition to the team after leaving Ferrari as its head of vehicle concept.

Marshall will have his work cut out in helping to turn McLaren back into an F1 powerhouse, but all the right puzzle pieces are being put into place, which includes the talented young driving line-up of Australia’s Oscar Piastri and Brit Lando Norris.

Alongside Adrian Newey, Marshall has been a key figure in driving the Red Bull success story, and Stella is delighted to

have him help shape McLaren’s future, as Marshall arrives with a big arsenal of knowledge.

“I am delighted to welcome Rob to McLaren, with more than 25 years of experience in motorsport, he will arrive with an excellent technical background and a lot of experience,” Stella said.

“His career and his track record at Red Bull speak for themselves, and this appointment is one of the fundamental steps in the

restructuring of McLaren.

“He is an essential addition to allow us to find the outposts. Our ambition is to compete in the championships, but recent seasons have not translated into enough progress on the track.

“For several months we have been working hard to reverse the trend through a global approach and the recruitment of highly qualified people. Rob’s arrival is part of this approach and will strengthen it.”

Despite what would be the tense nature of events behind the scenes at Milton Keynes with his immediate resignation, Red Bull boss Christian Horner thanked Marshall publicly for his contribution.

“We would like to thank Rob for everything he has done for the team over the past 17 years,” Horner said.

“His work on the generation of cars that gave us four incredible championship one-twos between 2010 and 2013 was truly remarkable.

“In the years since he has continued to be a key figure in the team and in 2016 he took on the wider role of Director of Engineering which saw him involved in other projects in the company.

“We will miss his influence, but once again we thank him for all he has done and wish him the best in his new role.”

The F1 season resumes this weekend in Barcelona, Spain, on June 2-4, as Piastri and Norris hope to capitalise on their double point haul at Monaco where they achieved a P9-P10 finish.

TW Neal

ALPINE WEC HYPERCAR TO BE REVEALED AT LE MANS THE 2024 Alpine A110 R Le Mans Hypercar that will compete in next year’s WEC will be revealed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans centennial on June 9.

Alpine competed between 2021-2022 with the Alpine A480, which was essentially a re-badged version of the R13 LMP1, which was allowed to compete as the new era LMH and LMDh models made their way into reality in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

The French brand always had an eye on sitting out 2023 when the automotive giants of Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and Cadillac were making their way into IMSA and the WEC, with Peugeot having joined in 2022.

It adds some more behind the scenes hype to an already huge occasion, as the automotive industry celebrates the centennial running of one of its most celebrated events, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which across the century has been one of the focal driving points of Sportscar development and excellence.

Unlike the rest of the current WEC field, the A110 R will be based upon the LMDh ruleset, which doesn’t allow the manufacturer as much design freedom as the LMH ruleset, with the chassis choice limited to either Oreca, Dallara, Ligier, or Multimatic.

The French manufacturers elected to go with the Oreca chassis, and as per ruleset regulations will have a Bosch hybrid system, with the power management and

energy storage system made by Williams Advanced Engineering (limited to front wheel energy distribution only).

With some distinct branding and design elements free for manufacturer expression, such as elements of the body work and aero, the new hypercar is thematically based off Alpine’s 2022 concept car, the Alpenglow, and as engine choice is free under the regulations, it will feature an in-house Alpine engine which will not be the brands F1 engine as the base of its powertrain - as initially speculated.

After just one year out of WEC hypercar action, the Alpine Elf Team will return to Le Mans next year to try and win its first outright since 1978, when Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi took the V6powered A442B to victory.

Also set to be unveiled at the historical event is Lamborghini’s 2024 entry, which will also be made to LMDh specs, but will be competing at both the IMSA and WEC endurance championships.

Lamborghini has already announced that former F1 and current IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean will be driving one of

the new Lamborghini hypercars, with IMSA being the likely choice as he’s already based in North America.

Alongside its Ligier choice of Chassis, the twin-turbo V8 engine has also been built entirely in-house by the Squadra Corse team in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. And

although there has only been a sneak peak, it is said to be similar in design to the Cadillac V-Series R LMDh hypercar.

The 2023 24 Hour of Le Mans will take place on Sunday June 11 at its traditional home on the Circuit de la Sarthe track.

TW Neal

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LATEST NEWS

EMOTIONAL BLANEY GIVES PENSKE MAIDEN INDY/CHARLOTTE DOUBLE RYAN BLANEY was on the verge of tears after driving Penske to a second big win in as many days at the Coca-Cola 600.

On Sunday Josef Newgarden scored a breakthrough Indianapolis 500 victory, and at Charlotte on Memorial Day it was Blaney’s turn to deliver Roger Penske more success.

The Penske team has achieved a lot in motorsport, but 2023 is the first time the heavyweight has won the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same weekend.

The 2023 running of the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 was postponed 24 hours due to Sunday showers, but it was worth the wait for the patient Blaney.

The Penske driver overcame the third most cautions (16) in event history to snap a 59-race winless streak in the NASCAR Cup Series and struggled to contain his emotions as the crowd chanted “Blaney,

Blaney, Blaney”.

“I might shed a tear,” he said in the post-race interview after delivering Team Penske a third Coca-Cola 600 triumph.

“This has been a cool weekend obviously being Memorial Day. I grew up watching dad run this race for a long time and it is cool just to be a part of it, let alone win it.

“I was able to get the lead on the restart and our car is so good that I could bide my time a little bit.

“I knew we could do it, but I was just hoping there was not another restart because you never know what could happen.

“When you don’t win in a while, you start to feel like you cannot win anymore.

“It was getting hard, so I am just super thankful for the #12 cars for believing in me.”

Blaney prevailed after a crazy 600 mile race around the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway, which contained no less than 16 caution flags. Only the 2005 and 2022 runnings of the race had more interruptions.

When the red flag arrived early in the race, Aric Almirola and Bubba Wallace took the opportunity to have a verbal and physical spat after side to side contact when racing.

Denny Hamlin was wiped out after a big smash at Turn 4, while Kevin Harvick also came unstuck at the same corner.

William Byron controlled the first stage, but both he and Blaney lost ground in the second stage fronted by five Fords led by Chris Buescher.

However, the final half of the race was dominated by Blaney, who led the third and fourth stages.

The last caution arrived with 26 laps to go when contenders Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, Aric Almirola and Christopher Bell were wiped out by a big smash caused by Larson, who lost control when his Chevy front end “snapped” at Turn 2.

Whilst the chaos unfolded behind, a major moment in the race also occurred up front with Blaney edging his front end slightly ahead of the 24 at the final scoring loop before the yellow arrived.

This allowed the Penske driver to take control of the restart, hold off Byron and lead the field home to the chequered flag.

Blaney is now the 10th winner from the first 14 races of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, which resumes at World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois on June 4.

Thomas Miles

EREBUS SUPER2 YOUNGSTERS TO ENJOY EXTRA GEN3 LAPS SUPER2 YOUNGSTERS Jay Hanson and Cooper Murray will enjoy some memorable laps behind the championship leading Erebus Gen3 Supercar this Wednesday.

The pair will jump behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Camaro in an Erebus Motorsport evaluation day at Winton Motor Raceway.

Being an evaluation day, the session will not swallow up one of Erebus’ crucial official Gen3 test days.

The #9 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Will Brown will be the car in the spotlight while the four-time Supercars race winner will also be on hand to provide support and guidance to Hanson and Murray.

It is no surprise to see Hanson given the opportunity being a member of the Erebus Academy and currently racing for Image Racing which has a close association with the championship-leading Supercars team.

However, it is noteworthy Erebus has its eye on Murray, who has impressed, having not raced at all in 2022 and only returned to a full time seat this year.

But he showed no signs of rust, winning as early as the first race of the 2023 Dunlop Series at Newcastle for Eggleston Motorsport.

Murray backed that performance up with a P3 in the second and final race at Perth to sit second in the championship.

Now he has been rewarded by Erebus Motorsport, with CEO Barry Ryan believing the youngsters will be good

enough to provide the championship leaders with a better understanding of the Gen3 machines.

“We’re glad to have the opportunity to give Jay and Cooper the chance to test these new cars,” Ryan said.

“We’ve run these evaluation days in the past and they’ve been really beneficial with the right drivers and we believe that Jay and Cooper are at the right point in their careers to show us what they’re capable of and we’ll be trusting their feedback.

“It gives us the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the Gen3 cars away from the race meetings.”

Ryan said Erebus plans on saving its rare test days for later in the year to maximise their chances of success in the enduros.

“Our intention for our two remaining test days is to do them closer to the enduro events,” Ryan said.

“It’s important heading into Sandown and Bathurst to really focus on the co-drivers and maximise their seat time closer to those race meetings.”

Thomas Miles

PEREZ MUST BE “PERFECT” AFTER “SAD” MONACO DEFENCE AFTER HIS 2023 Formula 1 title hopes took a further big hit at Monaco, Sergio Perez must be “perfect” in Spain this weekend.

Perez entered Monaco full of hope of scoring back-to-back triumphs at the Principality, but left downhearted after a disappointing P16 finish.

In a distinct contrast to last year’s wet Monaco Grand Prix, the Mexican finished two laps adrift of his victorious teammate Max Verstappen in the 80th running of the famous street race.

Perez put himself on the back foot by crashing hard at Saint Devote in the early stages of qualifying.

This meant the 2022 Monaco race winner had to somehow defend his crown from last on the grid and struggled to regain ground despite driving the superior RB19, unlike his comeback effort to fifth from theback in Australia.

Perez had a scratchy race which included a scary moment hitting the barrier at the swimming pool chicane and collecting George Russell’s Mercedes when the rain started to fall.

Reflecting on his weekend, “Checo” said he was “really sad” with his performance where “everything went wrong”.

“It was the worst weekend I can remember in a while,” Perez said.

“Everything went wrong and we paid the price for a poor mistake from myself in qualifying.

“I’m really sad about the performance across the whole weekend.

“I knew Saturday would be extremely costly and ultimately it was 25 points.

“The conditions were tricky out there and there was some hope that when it started raining we could get things right, but we didn’t. It was a shame.

“I don’t think there was much we could have done differently; all the damage was done in qualifying.”

The first pointless race of the year for Perez has allowed Verstappen to extend his championship lead to a commanding 39 points.

Soon “Checo” might need to start looking over his shoulder with Fernando Alonso now just 12 points away.

Looking ahead, Perez knows he has to compile a “perfect” performance in Spain to get his title attack back on track.

“I only want to move on from this race

because it was a terrible weekend,” he said.

“I still have hope in the Championship, but I know I cannot afford another zero in a race, so I really hope I can be back to my normal level in Barcelona.

“I need to be perfect in the next few races to get victories and get them soon.

“I’m happy we are racing again in a few days.”

Thomas Miles

ALONSO DEFENDS COSTLY ASTON MARTIN STRATEGY FERNANDO ALONSO might have scored his first P2 in 3,227 days, but some thought a tyre change cost him shot at aiming even higher in Monaco.

Alonso finished 27s behind winner Max Verstappen in the 80th running of the Monaco Grand Prix characterised by a late downpour.

Before the first round of stops, car #14 was just 8s behind car #1 as the threat of rain started to arrive.

Although sections of the track around the Lowes Hairpin and Portier started to get wet and some competitors bolted on the intermediate tyres, Aston Martin stayed with slicks.

Alonso changed from Hards to Mediums, but only lasted on the yellow-walled tyres for two laps before returning to the lane.

In the short space of time the track had already become so wet it was close to undriveable on slicks.

This left Alonso with no choice, but to immediately return to the lane and bolt on the Intermediates.

Despite the extra trip to the pits, Alonso’s grip on second spot was never under threat, but with Verstappen switching straight from slicks to inters, the faint hopes of catching the Red Bull had

disappeared.

Verstappen more than doubled his lead and cruised to a second Monaco triumph.

Although Alonso scored his first P2 since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix and best Monaco result in 12 years, Aston Martin’s extra stop came under criticism.

However, the Spaniard defended his team’s costly call, stating that he believed the track was “99 percent dry”.

“I was surprised a little bit,” Alonso said.

“For me, it was very clear that the track on that lap we stopped was completely dry apart from Turns 7 and 8, so how will we put on the Inters?

“It was completely dry, 99 per cent of the track, so, I stopped for dries.

“The weather forecast was small shower and small quantity of rain as well.

“But in the minute and a half that it took to go through Turns 5, 6, 7 and 8 again, it changed completely.

“So the out-lap on the dry tyres, it was very wet when I go to those corners, but the lap that we stopped, it was completely dry.”

In terms of the dream of ending his decade-long wait for win #33, Alonso said he had “no chance” against the relentless pace of Verstappen.

“I think we didn’t have a chance, to be honest,” the two-time world champion said.

“I think we were brave on the strategy: it’s not normal that you start on the first row of the grid and you choose the Hard tyre, trying to do the opposite of the leaders.

“We knew that it had some downside that the strategy we could have ended-up maybe P5, P6 or something like that, out of the podium.

“But this morning, we discussed it and we said we’ve had couple of podiums this year so we go for all or nothing, we start on the Hard tyre and we didn’t have the pace.

“We were hoping for more graining or bigger degradation and Max was able to drive 50 laps on an amazing pace.

“That was the reason why he won the race, not because the strategy. He was just faster than us.”

Thomas Miles

INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES

MCRAE FIGHTS BACK IN ERC DEBUT

Lacey (16) heads to the start with teammate Patrick Woods-Toth. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LACEY HAS BREAK THROUGH F4US WEEKEND YOUNG VICTORIAN Jesse Lacey has achieved a sweep of podiums in the F4US Championship at Road America, Wisconsin.

After scoring a podium on debut at NOLA in Round 1, the Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport driver took a category record pole position at the Elkhart Lake circuit, with fellow Aussie Lewis Hodgson taking P4.

Lacey also had the assistance of AGI Sport’s Adam Gotch, who flew over from Sydney to assist the young talent.

“Road America was an excellent track to drive,” he told Auto Action.

“It was unfortunate the second race was

split with too many red flags, but that happens sometimes in F4.

“I was also very thankful to have Adam Gotch from AGI Sport come over and engineer for the weekend. The setup of the car was so fantastic to drive, and I learnt a lot from his advice.”

Although he got the jump in Race 1 in his 160hp #16 Tatuus, he was run down by teammate Patrick Woods-Toth, who held off Lacey’s pressure for a 0.834s win.

Lacey was again in reach of a win in a heavily interrupted Race 2, and after crossing the line in P3, but was elevated to another P2 after a 10-second penalty

saw the race winning Frankie Mossman stripped of victory.

The Melbournian then had an entertaining battle with Mossman for P2, and after initially getting the best of the #6 JHDD driver, he slipped back to P3, with his championshipleading teammate taking the win to lead Lacey by 22 points in the title race.

After Hodgson had scored a P8 – his fourth straight top-10 – he finished in P28 in the second, before a DNF derailed him in the finale.

Lacey and Hodgson will be back in action at the PERMCO Grand Prix of MidOhio on June 22-25. TW Neal

VICTORY AND PODIUM FOR BRITISH SBK AUSSIES AUSSIE RIDER Jason O’Halloran took the 23rd win of his British Superbike Career at Donington Park to be back on the winners’ list in a thriller.

The 224 race veteran of the British SBK Championship put a difficult start to the year behind him to register his first win since Thruxton back in August 2022.

“It’s been a difficult start for us, and for sure we’ve had the speed and just for one reason or another it’s just not come together which has been frustrating,” O’Halloran said “I’ve felt really good from the start of this weekend, and for yesterday’s race I had no grip from the start and felt like a sitting duck, so to turn that around for today felt great.

“When it’s a frantic race like that you get a buzz from it at the end, especially when you win.

“After that Safety Car I knew I had to get

by Leon (Haslam), and I managed to do that in a couple of corners, and I knew there was a lot going on behind me with only a few laps left, but we got it done.”

Fellow Aussie Josh Brookes (two-time

20 I www.autoaction.com.au

MAX MCRAE has made his longawaited European Rally Championship debut in the Junior Rally4 category in Poland, salvaging a fighting P6 after experiencing a host of setbacks.

Things started well for the nephew of rally great Colin McRae – the third generation McRae to compete in the ERC – finishing in P2 after the opening stage.

McRae and fellow 18-year-old Mille Johansson not only topped the Junior Rally4 category, but also the ERC4 category in a strong show of pace on the gravel surface.

Saturday didn’t go McRae’s and co-driver Mac Kieran’s way from the opening stage, with the brand new Factory Racing Opel Corsa Rally4 encountering issues.

After struggling with his set-up early and being dogged by electrical problems, it cost him plenty of valuable time, but he managed to fight back to go into Sunday in P7 after dropping as low as P11.

“Tough day for us here in Poland, we struggled a lot with the car setup but got it feeling good for the afternoon,” McRae said after the eight stage opening.

“We ran into an electrical problem causing the car to cut out meaning we lost a fair amount of time. Apart from these issues, we are enjoying ourselves and learning a lot at each stage. Lots of positives.”

Sunday saw McRae fight into P6, with the future WRC junior hopeful initially over one minute behind Italian Mattia Zanin. Two straight Stage P2 finishes allowed McRae to move into P6 to finish his debut on a high, behind the 22-year-old Norwegian winner Ola Nore.

After a broken drive shaft put McRae out of the Jim Clark Rally in the British Rally Championship in Scotland a week later, Round 2 of the Junior ERC heads to Latvia for the Rally Liepaja on June 17-18. TW Neal

Aussie O’Halloran wins! Image: DOUBLE RED British SBK champion) and FHO Racing BMW rider, took a podium in Race 2, briefly giving the former World Superbike competitor the championship lead, before a P13 in race 3 dislodged him into third.

O’Halloran had to negotiate a five lap sprint to the line to claim victory, with the #22 McAMS Yamaha rider having to joust with Haslam and Bridewell for a podium spot, with the lead swapping several times in the closest race that the championship

had seen for some time.

Round 4 heads to Knockhill in Fife, Scotland, on June 17-18, where Brookes will vie for the Championship lead again, and O’Halloran will hope to keep his good fortune rolling, 45 points of the title leader in sixth. TW Neal

McRae – flying in Rally Poland.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

WHARTON FIRES UP WITH SPA DOUBLE JAMES WHARTON has kick-started his Italian F4 season, taking a double win at Spa Francorchamps and a P3 in the finale, with those wins also being his first in Europe’s premier F4 series.

Competing in his second Italian F4 season for Prema Racing, the Ferrari Driver Academy junior also scored a double pole for Races 1 and 2 in a weekend that saw him fight back into championship contention.

“I am extremely happy with the weekend,

my first pole position and first wins in the Italian F4 after some time,” Wharton said.

“I think it was necessary to finally get it done, and now it is time to keep pushing, but three podiums and two wins … solid weekend.

“There’s still a long way to go in the championship, but it was such an amazing track as well, and probably one of the hardest to win at.

“So to win twice, I know that I can move forward now, and start fighting for the title.”

Wharton got the jump early in Race 1 with a red flag interrupting his charge, but he skipped away to ensure his maiden win, before a late yellow saw the race called with Wharton clearly in front.

The second race saw some chaos at Raidillon, with fellow Aussie Jack Beeton getting caught up for a DNF. After only 6 laps, Wharton ensured the double having held the lead, with the race being called with 10 minutes still on the clock.

The fight for the top-10 in Race 3 was a heated affair, with Wharton holding P3 amongst plenty of battles after getting passed by his teammate Ugo Ugochukwu early.

Wharton has now moved into third in the championship, and like his UAE F4 title win, seems to enjoy the fight when he’s behind.

The next round is at the hallowed Temple of Speed in Monza, Italy on 23-25.

TW Neal

WEBSTER TAKES RECORD GB4 PODIUM SWEEP VICTORIAN S5000 racer Cooper Webster has continued his run of podiums in the British GB4 Championship, taking a sweep of podiums after four races at Donington Park for Round 3.

With the rescheduled race from Silverstone making it a four-race weekend, Webster entered the fold after qualifying in P3, which is where he finished in the Silverstone re-run, before making it three straight P2s and coming within a whisker of victory in the finale.

Until the finale it was a three way fight between him, Thomas Mills, and Colin Queen, a running trend for the season.

And with those two absent from the podium in the finale, Webster can claim to be the first GB4 racer to achieve four podiums in one weekend.

“It seems like I just can’t win, I’ve had a load of second places and podiums each race this weekend and we’re so close,” said the Evans GP Aussie.

“That race was really close again (Race 3), but I had heaps of fun coming through and I’m really

stoked about how I got through, quicker than Tom and Colin behind. And I really fought McNeilly there for the win, so it was good.

Webster’s P3 in the opener coming only 1.122s off the mark from eventual triple winner Thomas Mills, whilst his P2 in the second race saw him 1.558s behind Mills and just under a second in front of Queen.

Race 3 had Mills romp to a 7.330s win over Webster, who took advantage of a Queen spin to take P2.

Webster put on the pressure to move through the field in Race 4, with an assured drive putting him close to his maiden win, with the #37 Aussie also taking the lap record.

Fellow Aussie Jack Clifford picked up some more top-10s for KMR, with the fellow Victorian taking dual P8s before a DNF and a P9 in the finale.

With Webster sitting fourth in the championship, Round 4 heads to Snetterton Circuit on June 17-18.

TW Neal

Auto_Action

MOSTERT AND DE PASQUALE TAKE ON SPA AS TEAMS were leaving Tasmania, Supercars drivers Chaz Mostert and Anton De Pasquale were already flying to the other side of the world.

The reason was to take part in the two-day prologue for the Spa 24 Hour race, which is scheduled a week before the Townsville 500 on June 29-July 2.

Despite the tight turnaround between the Tasmania SuperSprint and the prologue, both Mostert and De Pasquale spent lengthy stints behind the wheel for separate Aussie-associated teams at the famed Spa Francorchamps circuit.

De Pasquale continued his long association with Brenton and Stephen Grove and helped push their Porsche all the way

Cooper (21) on the case ... four podiums.

autoactionmag

Anton De Pasquale joined the Groves for the test.

Image: SRO – TWENTY-ONE CREATION | JULES BENICHOU

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

up to second in the fourth and final session.

The Grove team finished less than a tenth away from the ultimate pace set by Rutronik Racing.

But what raised the most eyebrows was Mostert being spotted behind the wheel of the SunEnergy1 Mercedes run by back-toback Bathurst 12 Hour winner Kenny Habul.

An overseas opportunity for Mostert was hinted by WAU team principal Bruce Stewart as recently as the Symmons Plains round.

At Spa the SunEnergy1 Mercedes finished 31st, 17th, 28th and 12th across the two days.

Time will tell to see if the Ford drivers will return to Spa later this month.

Thomas Miles

www.autoaction.com.au I 21

GUTS AND GLORY AUSSIE RIDER MATT SUTHERLAND WILL BE TAKING ON THE EPIC TASK OF TACKLING THE DAKAR RALLY AS A PRIVATEER IN 2024. AUTO ACTION’S TIMOTHY W NEAL SPOKE TO HIM FROM HIS HOME IN VANCOUVER ABOUT WHAT LIES AHEAD, AND HIS RECENT SUCCESSES IN MEXICO …

BORN IN Ballarat, Victoria, Matt Sutherland has flown under the radar until his recent successes in Mexico. The Aussie has revealed that he now has his heart set on fulfilling his dream of taking on the legendary Dakar Rally.

Based out of Vancouver BC in Canada for the last decade, the KTM 450 Rally rider has taken on and won some significant events.

Just recently he completed a remarkable double in both the FIM Sonora Rally (National Malle Moto class) and the Norra Mexican 1000 in Baja (Open Pro). He won both events in a gruelling 11-day slog, as well as claiming back-to-back victories in the 1000 despite tearing off the ligaments in his ankle and doing his MCL with 60 km to go.

In Canada, Sutherland takes riders out into the mountains around Vancouver on KTM adventure bikes to fund his epic rally excursions – as well as running a tile installation company – and he hopes his next event will be the Rallye du Maroc, to get practice in the unforgiving dunes ahead of the next Saudi Dakar event After coming into the rally scene relatively late in the game, he took on the original Monaco to Dakar (Senegal) route in 2020 at the brutal, unassisted, 12-day, Africa Race and took P7 in just his third rally, and now he’s hooked.

“It’s the first year that they’ve held them back-to-back, so I thought it’s the perfect training for Dakar with 11 straight days of rally,” Sutherland said of the recent double.

“The organiser of Norra noticed there were a few of us doing the double, so they sent vans and trailers to San Luis (Sonora) to shuttle us up Ensenada (Baja), and they organised a commemorative plaque. It was nice to have it recognised and definitely

unexpected. I was just there to push myself for my Dakar training really.”

With his sights firmly on Dakar in the Malle Moto class, Sutherland will attempt it as a privateer, which means he’ll receive no in-event assistance, aside from paying to have his spare tyres and mousses carried, plus a 1500 Euro fee to be able to purchase parts from the KTM truck.

“As it’s completely unassisted, I have to do all the work on the bike myself.

“You have to sleep in a tent, and whilst most riders come off their bike after a long day and hand it to an engineer, I have to knuckle down and work on it myself.

“So you give up precious time and energy just to make sure the machine is maintained, as well as finding the happy medium to keep it in one piece.

“In Africa Race, I split the bike and buckled the navigation tower in – if that happens in Dakar, it’s a solo all nighter to get it fixed.

“I guess in the past I haven’t really been ready to do Dakar. I had a lot of areas to work on which was clear after Africa.

At around US$60,000 to compete in the Dakar and invest all the time and effort to get there, I want to be prepared.

“I know the mechanics of my bike really well, and after the back-to-back, physically I was fine. Apart from being fatigued and tired from four hours sleep a night, my nutrition was good and I feel I’m in the sweet spot for it.

“I’ve kept my eyes on the Malle Moto Dakar times over the years, and against guys I’ve already raced, I think I could push into the podium spots if everything runs smoothly.”

October’s Rallye Du Maroc – another FIM world championship event – is next on the

Images: Justin W. Coffey radar, with it being the perfect like-for-like Dakar prep race.

“It will depend on finances, but I’d really like to refresh myself on the FIMs exclusive ERTF navigational computer system.

“But it’s five days of all-sand, and I’ve not had the pace I wanted on sand dunes in the past, so I’ll go there to not necessarily try and win, but to work on things and get through it.

“It’s only a few months from Dakar, so I want to be careful with injury. But the dunes are important to work at – you could be going along and then all of a sudden the ground disappears and it’s a 20-foot drop. So being able to read the terrain and look for cuts in the sand is important … one mistake and it’s over!”

As a self-reliant and committed competitor, Sutherland is working hard to get some outside support and funding

for his Dakar attack and he has some sponsorship space available on his KTM 450.

If you would like to join with Auto Action and get behind Matt, drop us a line at AA HQ or you can contact Matt directly on matt@mvmadventures.com for sponsorship opportunities and to be part of his remarkable journey.

As a privateer entry, Sutherland competes without mechanical back-up and maintains and repairs his bike himself ... which eats into physical recovery time!

22 I www.autoaction.com.au

CONSEQUENCES THERE WAS a time when part of motor racing’s allure was the danger. Serious consequences awaited drivers who went beyond the limit or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Rightly or wrongly, the fact that drivers could be injured or killed was part of racing’s macabre attraction.

Thankfully, safety advances mean most motorsport is safer today than contact ball sports like AFL and rugby league. There are exceptions, of course, IndyCar racing on ovals among them.

Targa rallying, too. And things still occasionally go horribly wrong out-of-the blue for a driver, like they did for Craig Breen in WRC testing back in April.

I’m a strong believer that a sport without consequences is not worth watching. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see people injured or worse in motorsport.

By ‘consequences’ I mean drivers crashing out (without being injured), failing to qualify or even losing their ride if they are not up to scratch. Success and failure – and the fallout of both – form major parts of the theatre of sport.

Any sport where every participant wins a prize fails to hold my interest for long.

In sharp contrast was the recent Indy 500 qualification weekend.

With 34 cars vying for 33 starting positions, the pressure was on teams struggling with car speed to make the show.

One team in particular had an uncomfortable month of May – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

This four-car squad had three of their four drivers involved in Last Chance Qualifying, a 60-minute session to determine the three drivers to fill out the 11th and final row along with the magnificentlynamed Stingray Robb (Dale Coyne Racing). In an hour of high drama, one driver was always going to miss out on contesting Indycar’s (and the world’s) biggest race. The

Drama ... Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey – Rahal Lanigan Racing. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

with Luke West

REVVED UP viewing was compelling as there was so much at stake.

In the end, the driver to miss the cut was Graham Rahal, knocked out of the 33rd position by his teammate Jack Harvey in an intense last ditch four-lap qualifying run.

It was must-see TV with so many dramatic elements to the occasion.

There was the obvious pressure on drivers to perform, Rahal’s (and his sponsor’s) anguish at being bumped and Harvey’s mixed emotions of qualifying for the race but at the expense of his team leader. There might have been some relief for Harvey but there was little joy.

Adding to the drama were the parallels of Graham’s predicament

to his father Bobby Rahal’s own failure to qualify 30 years earlier.

Bobby was watching on from the pitlane as all of this played out but would have been proud of his boy’s graciousness in handling such a massive disappointment.

Karma kicked in a couple of days later after Stefan Wilson was ruled out of the big race after a post-qualifying practice crash and Graham Rahal was named to fill in – different team, different engine manufacturer. But then Rahal’s new ride suffered a flat battery after the ‘drivers start your engines’ command and he dropped two laps … what a saga.

The Indy 500’s LCQ took me back to the brief periods, late last century, when both Formula

1 and V8 Supercars featured oversubscribed grids and prequalifying. Oh, how I loved this era.

I enjoyed it, of course, much more than the participants in these sessions. I also loved it when only six F1 drivers finished in the points, as it kept viewers interested right till the end to see who would bag a point. Now F1 pays down to 10th place. Supercars is worse. It likes to hand out meaningless points to the drivers who finish 23rd, 24th or 25th and make everyone feel like they win a prize. While they are at it, these drivers might as well receive a brown-coloured ribbon for participation.

But I digress. LCQ at Indy made me think Supercars should find a way to introduce the same sort of ‘someone has to miss out’ drama.

Perhaps have a format where not everyone gets to start. Wouldn’t that bring otherwise rank-andfile rounds alive?! It’s unlikely to happen, of course, but dreams are free.

Imagine the entertainment value in Supercars qualifying at events

with three races if fans saw a fight to get on the front row AND, in a following LCQ session, a fight to avoid missing out on a race start.

If a driver missed out on Saturday, he could still attempt to qualify for Sunday’s races.

I understand this system would rob a team’s sponsors of exposure in the race, but if there were genuine consequences of not qualifying it would draw a bigger TV audience to qualifying for everyone’s betterment. Back of grid teams would get more onscreen time during the LCQ anyway.

To take things a step further, maybe grids could be capped at 24 starters when wildcard entries are permitted.

There are harsh consequences in most other sports where a minimum threshold must be met to keep playing on. Maybe motorsport events beyond the Indy 500 could employ the same approach as they seek ways to retain or increase audiences.

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www.autoaction.com.au I 23

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

24H NURBURGRING BRINGS TRANS TASMAN SUCCESS KIWI GT3 gun Earl Bamber and the Frikadelli Ferrari team scored an historic 24h Nurburgring win, with Aussies Jordan Love and Josh Burdon taking podiums.

The 51st running of the once-aroundthe-clock epic at the Green Hell saw the 20 year German manufacturer stranglehold on the iconic event broken by the Italian brand in a German-run team, affectionately known as ‘the world’s fastest meatball’, whilst it was also the first time a Ferrari had won the event.

Bamber raced with Nicky Catsburg, David Pittard and Felipe Fernandez Laser, taking the 296 GT3 to a 26.911s win in the top S9 Pro class, over the #98 Rowe

Racing BMW M4 GT3, with the third placed Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein 1:44.311s back on the lead lap, which was a record 162 revolutions of the famous circuit.

“It was an amazing team effort. We worked very hard and had a near-perfect race.” Bamber said.

“The car was rapid all week. I have been hunting a win here for 10 years, it’s very special.”

Australian Mercedes AMG Junior Factory driver, Jordan Love, continued his hot run of podiums, scoring his best result at the Nordschleife, taking a fantastic class P2 in the top S9 Pro Am for Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein in the #6 Mercedes AMG GT3.

After a podium double at Brand Hatch

in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, Love helped steer the #6 AMG with team HRT owner Hubert Haupt and Indian driver Arjun Maini, finishing in P8 overall and a class P2 behind WTM by Rinaldi Racing, who made it an S9 sweep for prancing horse brand.

“First Nurburgring 24 Hour in the books and it was certainly one to remember for myself and the #6 crew!” Love said.

“Definitely an experience I will not be forgetting anytime soon on such an iconic track, and to claim a podium finish was the icing on the cake for a memorable debut weekend.

After starting on the class pole, Love’s team finished a lap down on the frontrunners, and 6:39.715s down on the class-winning 296, but overcame the

chasing ABT Sportsline Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 by one lap.

Fellow Aussie Josh Burdon, an LMP3 regular in the IMSA sportscar championship, also took a P2 in the 16 entry S10 class, finishing in P21 outright.

Racing a Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo for KCMG, Burdon shared the duties with Italian Edoardo Liberati, and Estonian Martin Rump, with the Supra GT4 making its Green Hell debut.

It was a hotly contested class, and the #47 GT4 led for much of the race, with Burdon enjoying several pivotal stints at the front, but it was unfortunately eventually run down by the #86 BMW M4 GT4 run by FK Performance, to finish a lap down.

TW Neal

Bamber st speed in the winning Frikadelli Ferrari. Right: Jordan Love co-drove the Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein car to second in S9 Pro Am. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LAWSON TAKES AUTOPOLIS LIAM LAWSON has won his second Japanese Super Formula Race of the year, at Autopolis in the Oita Prefecture, to take the overall series lead.

After winning on debut at Fuji Speedway, the Red Bull Junior put a frustrating Suzuka round behind him to storm to a remarkable win on heavily deteriorating tyres for a 1.255s victory.

Racing for the Asaka based Team Mugen, Lawson – whom Red Bull has placed away fro F2 this year, as it did with Pierre Gasley – is steering that different path toward Formula 1.

After qualifying in P2 and slipping back to P3 early, Lawson opted for an early pit stop to go for an undercut in the 41lap race.

With the leading teams opting to pit late to back-in their fresh tyres, Vantelin driver Ritomo Miyata tried in vain to catch the inspired Kiwi after a late Safety Car on Lap 30.

“The undercut worked but I had taken everything out of the tyres getting past

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES people and there was not much left,” Lawson explained.

“It was a really cool weekend – the car was great and good enough for the pole, which we only just missed.

“The start wasn’t perfect – the left of the track was a bit dirty but also the bite point wasn’t quite right and it wasn’t a perfect launch.

“So from P3, the team went for the

opposite strategy to everyone else, the early stop. It put me out in traffic that I had to get past as quickly as possible so that I could make up time on the leaders.

“The late Safety Car helped a bit in getting the tyres cooled down, but they were still pretty much gone and I was just hanging on at the end.”

The win lifts Lawson above Miyata, with the Hastings-born Kiwi holding a

slender four-point lead with four rounds and five races to go.

With plenty of pressure on F1 driver Nick de Vries at AlphaTauri, Lawson won’t do himself any disservice in winning the championship.

The quality is high in the JSF, with the JSF machines performing at higher speeds than in F2, with handling closer to that of an F1 car – although, controversially, the Superlicence points available aren’t as plentiful as the F2.

Drivers are awarded 25 points for a win, whereas the F2 drivers are awarded 40 for a top three. There has been noise for some time in regards to the disparity, especially considering the quality of the championship.

Next up, the 23 strong field heads to Sportsland SUGO on June 16-18, in the town of Murata in the Miyagi Prefecture, which is located just under Sendai on Japan’s main island (Honshu).

TW Neal

RISKING YOUR LIFE

WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE IF EVERYTHING DEPENDED ON IT? THERE WAS plenty of time for other things – even a nap – during the two days of gabbery leading up to qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Ant Davison and Jenson Button provided some genuine analysis and insight, but much of the other stuff was just filler for the airtime on the Fox Sorts coverage.

Thankfully, qualifying came alive and the battle at the top was as good as anything in recent years of Formula One. “I was pushing like an animal,” said Fernando Alonso, who came oh-so-close to pole position.

But, until then and despite the predictable errors and crashes, Monaco had been flat.

Which got me to thinking …

Back in the day, when he was at the absolute peak of his powers as one of the world’s fastest and most flamboyant really drivers, Peter ‘Possum’ Bourne introduced me to a game of his.

It started with a single simple question that triggered many conversations, and nearly as many arguments, on Possum’s regular visits to my home in Sydney.

What question?

Who would you choose to race, for your life, in a one-onone showdown.

If was not about heroes, or favourites, or friends, but a genuine pick when the chips were really down.

Possum applied the question to rallying with a couple of very simple limits – same day, same surface, identical cars, and a 10-kilometre travel special stage.

And one more thing …

The driver had to actually come out the other end of the stage, which eliminated my personal rally hero Ari Vatanen before we even started to play.

First up – PG against Bourne.

And obvious win for the Subaru star.

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE We would talk about aces from different generations using different cars and technology, trying to make a meaningful comparison between, say, Neal Bates and Colin Bond in Australia, or Hannu Mikkola and Sebastian Loeb in the World Rally Championship.

It was all very personal, often heated, and a source of great entertainment.

So, as a I battled to stay awake through the latest Formula One broadcast, I got thinking about a Race for Your Life in Formula One. Would you – or I – pick Jim Clark to beat Michael

Schumacher on a one-lap sprint or over a grand prix distance. I settled for a one-lap shootout on the same track on the same day in the same car.

There would, of course, be some basic testing to adjust to the car to ensure, as closely as possible, a level playing field.

That’s the thing, of course, because one of the basic differences between rallying and F1 is the reliance on a superior car for success on the track. So often, grand prix eras have been defined by mechanical domination, most recently by Mercedes-AMG and then Red Bull.

‘Possum’ Bourne, Rally NZ, 1995.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

In rallying, it’s easier for a fully-committed driver to make a measurable and meaningful difference through their skill and commitment.

In F1, almost anyone racing in 2023 would be a winner in Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

I also spent some time thinking about touring car racing in Australia, and would would come out on top on contests between, let’s say, Jim Richards and Shane van Gisbergen, or Ian Geoghegan and Brodie Kostecki, or Jamie Whincup and Mark Skaife.

But that’s a topic for another day.

As the pictures from Monte Carlo switched to qualifying, I only had time to assess the 20 current drivers from, as it turned out, Verstappen to Sergio Perez in the starting order for Monaco 2023.

So, who would I choose to race for my life?

Fernando Alonso. Of course.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER

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

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

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Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

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

Oakleigh Victoria 3166

MOSTERT THE SAVING GRACE AMID THE GEN3 DISASTER I HAVE followed/supported touring cars and Supercars with all their changes over the last 50-odd years, most of this as a Holden fan until I became Chaz Mostert’s No. 1 fan because he is a very talented driver and a great person.

Once the manufacturers of the road cars were pushed out, the race car-born things have gone downhill. They introduced the ‘Next Generation’ that was going to create parity between the brands.

What a joke. That never worked.

Volvo was given an advantage, Nissan was shafted (along with the Kelly boys), Ford with Penske were given all they needed. Holden were given a hand a few years later.

Then came ‘Generation 3’ and what a devastating outcome. Ford has been shafted.

If this is the best our engineers can produce as equal, they need to go back to school and relearn their craft. I hope I never have to use something they have engineered.

How can the so-called smart engineers with all the ‘Next Generation’, ‘Generation 2’ knowledge, along with input from the teams and drivers, produce a race car that is so fragile, not crash-tested, parts-tested, or raceready. What a disgrace to their profession and Supercars.

I don’t have an engineering degree but that doesn’t mean I am stupid and believe the bullsh** they are feeding us.

After watching last weekend’s racing from Symmons Plains, we need to employ commentators who are not signed to Supercars.

To say it’s all the Ford drivers tripping over themselves and that Red Bull are never wrong, what a joke. Skaife, Tander and Crompton are yes men and need to be gone.

Too much vested interest and not able to say anything that might be seen to upset Supercars or Red Bull (a bit like Penske).

They need to bring back someone like ‘The Enforcer’ (Russell Ingall) who is willing to

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

tell it as it is without fear of losing his or her job with Supercars.

The drivers and teams also need to be able to speak freely without fear of sanctions.

If it wasn’t for Chaz and all the sponsors that support Supercars I could walk away from the sport and spend my money on other motorsport action.

The TV coverage has gone downhill to the point that they only cover Red Bull and others in the top two or three – no Ford drivers.

Gen3 is a BIG failure and will destroy Supercars. They must think we are all dumb. Maybe we need to get smarter and shift our spending and support elsewhere.

Peter Warburton Huntly, Victoria P.S. A part of my support goes to Auto Action, which I have purchased and read for a lot of years.

SPEEDSERIES MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE THAN SUPERCARS IN AUTO Action #1861 your writers said exactly what I’ve been thinking.

I live near Phillip Island and have been attending events there since late 1980s.

I used to totally enjoy Supercars when they had three 20-minute races in a day, racing all out with nothing to interrupt. Now I can’t be bothered watching on TV as the Supercars drone around for what seems like hours and worry about tyre changes and refuelling and strategy and parity, with endless intervals between races filled by mostly dull commentators.

But SpeedSeries is a real day out. It has many categories and no duds. Luke West said it well.

AutoActionMag

The Trans Am races at Phillip Island especially were excellent.

The variety of GTs, the sounds of the S5000s, the closeness of TCR (and Trans Am), even the old Supercars – and they get on with it, no big gaps between races and none of this strategy BS. And, as a bonus, you could go anywhere in the pits to see the cars and talk to people who were happy to talk. And you could go anywhere around the track, to find the best spot to watch.

Try that at Supercars – officials everywhere keeping you away and telling you where you can go and can’t go.

Here’s hoping the SpeedSeries builds up more, with more entrants in each category.

Owen Rye Boolarra South, Victoria

more beneficial for the drivers and teams and could lead to more sponsorship.

To participate in all the Supercar rounds except the GP from 2024 there would need to be more sponsorship, but if Supercars and the S5000 management and teams could work together it would grow the category and and greatly benefit motorsport in Australia overall.

It may lead to more S5000 teams, more S5000 cars racing and more opportunities for young Australian and NZ drivers.

Malcolm Webster Boronia, Victoria

FOND MEMORIES OF JIM SMITH AND THAT ROVER

S5000 IS Australia’s premier openwheeler category and it is great for young Australian and New Zealand racing drivers who have ambitions to participate in Formula One or IndyCar. S5000 is V8-powered and in some ways is Australia’s ‘IndyCar’, but for the 2023 championship there are seven rounds and there should be more.

Why not try, with the help of Supercars Australia, to get S5000 taking part at all the Supercars rounds other than at the Australian Grand Prix, but certainly including the Bathurst 1000 weekend?

This would be a great opportunity for the S5000 drivers and teams to participate more and gain more experience.

Supercar fans love V8 racing and they should be more than happy to see the S5000s taking part at more Supercar rounds as a major support event.

It would also be a great opportunity for S5000 to participate in front of many more people and they could get live TV coverage, which would be even

I KNEW Jim Smith had not been well, but hearing of his passing recently was a great shock.

When I was employed by Leyland Australia as a zone manager for NSW country dealerships I arrived back at the factory late one Friday and saw the works Rover V8 in the auditorium.

I knew about the works Rovers as I had subscribed to the British Leyland Motor Corporation magazine, High Road, and loved the look of these special cars.

Apparently Leyland Australia helped Jim buy one and he spent some time in the UK with the engineer who built them, Bill Shaw.

When Jim ran Manton Motors in Melbourne I used to see him at dealer conferences. He was always immaculate, thus his moniker Gentleman James.

In the mid-1980s I bought the Rover in a dilapidated state and Jim kindly sold me all the spare parts that came with it and he was always willing to help with advice about the car.

I’ll miss Jim and our phone calls and hope I can keep the memories of him alive by finishing his car one day.

Rob Harrison Balgowlah, NSW.

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S5000S SHOULD BE ON SUPERCARS PROGRAM MUCH MORE OFTEN

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The last fortnight has seen thousands of comments on the Auto Action social media channels... Here are a few.

PARITY FRUSTRATIONS Mason Legg IT CERTAINLY seems as though, if you want to win, you need to be in a Camaro. It’s starting to look a little obvious.

I’m sure they’ll sort it, but a little sad for someone like Cam who has continually finished second.

This could’ve been the year he had a crack. Too late for this season now.

26 I www.autoaction.com.au

Joe Dingli HOW CAN the competition still continue as normal when everyone knows there is a problem with parity?

If supercars were serious about parity no stone should be left unturned and do it urgently and transparently as possible.

Monster car as fastest on track, then there is an argument the parity is more even than we think. It seems the sprint races suit the Camaro, but how is it over longer races?

Juddo Lines I FEEL it is now a closer playing field. If Cam can wrestle the

Anthony Bugge WHAT’S NEEDED is two split 15min sessions. One car per

CHANGES PONDERED AFTER QUALI CLASH

team per session to open the field up and allow more room for qualifying.

Kristy Earnshaw FAIR COMMENTS I reckon.

On these short tracks it makes sense to split qualifying.

Stephen Taylor DIDN’T SEE anyone else have the same problem. You need to pick a better spot on a hot lap.

The 1.5 litre V12 Honda engine in Ronnie Bucknum’s 1964 RA-271 Honda F1 car was mounted transverely ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

UNDERSTANDING HONDA’S DNA...

YOU COULD almost bet your house on it, couldn’t you? Barely 30 months after announcing it would be leaving Formula One at the end of 2021, Honda has officially announced it will be back in full force in Grand Prix racing from the start of 2026, with an exciting new partnership with Aston Martin, the surprise package of this early part of the 2023 season.

This is, after all, the company that dominated Formula One between 1986 and 1991 and then left the sport abruptly at the end of 1992, leaving McLaren emptyhanded and in need to buy engines from Ford to compete in 1993; only to then design and build its own chassis, having it tested at several European circuits during the 1999 season, hiring the entire staff that had been forced out by the closure of Tyrrell at the end of the previous year and then suddenly closing down the project and abandoning plans to race under its own banner from 2000.

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with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER Then, of course, Honda engines were in the back of the BAR cars from the start of that same year, with the Japanese eventually purchasing the whole team from British American Tobacco and running it until the end of 2008.

Another sudden decision to shut down came on December 8 of that year, with a generous offer made to Ross Brawn to purchase the team and have a budget to race in 2009 – the BGP001 winning the title with Jenson Button, with Honda getting no credit whatsoever for it…

Fast forward to 2021 and history almost repeated itself. After a failed return with McLaren, between 2015 and 2017, Honda moved to Toro Rosso and then to

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Red Bull to become the dominant force by 2021, winning the title on its last day as an official Formula One manufacturer. Of course it’s still Honda supplying and servicing the Power Units to Red Bull, but only as a commercial supplier and, therefore, with no right to use the team’s success for its own marketing purposes.

And now, of course, comes the announcement Honda is, after all, designing and building Power Units for 2026 and has done a five-year deal with Aston Martin.

So, how did latest U-turn come about? Essentially, because Honda is the only big manufacturer where its racing department has almost complete autonomy and can

almost overrule decisions made by the board. It’s in Sakura, not in Tokyo; the motorsport budget is managed independently and resources are pooled without the big bosses knowing what’s going down at the racing department. There’s a nice collection of at least four unraced Honda F1 cars to be found in Sakura, one from the 70s, one from the 80s and two from the 90s, designed and built in secret by racing engineers working after their regular hours, always in the hope of getting the go ahead from the Board to go racing at any time.

Honda was the first manufacturer to make it to Formula One, in 1964, to promote its road cars and tell the world they were more than a motorcycle company – with success, it must be said. No other manufacturer has such a high racing culture as Honda so, even when the Board wants out, the racing minds in Sakura continue to work on

Formula One projects and are, therefore, ready whenever the call comes.

Since Honda officially stopped developing the current Power Units, following their homologation at the end of March 2022, almost the entire staff working on them was moved to the newly formed Honda Racing Corporation and continued to work on the design and development of a 2026 Power Unit – even if the Board had made it clear there was no way back to Formula One, as full electrification was their only goal.

That’s why they were ready to start working with Aston Martin already last week, showing the technical management of the British team their facilities in Sakura and getting them up to speed on the development of the 2026 PU. Racing is in Honda’s DNA and that’s why the company can never be away from Formula One for long.

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

HAMILTON, VASSEUR RIDICULE FERRARI SWITCH MOVE

LEWIS HAMILTON and Frédéric Vasseur have ridiculed stories that linked the British driver to a move to Ferrari for next year, with the seven-times World Champion revealing he’s close to finalising a new contract with Mercedes and expects all the necessary details to be ironed out in the next couple of weeks.

Asked how he reacted to the story linking him with Ferrari, Hamilton said, “I think when you’re in contract negotiations, there’s always going to be speculation. And I think ultimately that’s … unless you hear from me, then that’s all it is.”

He then took issue directly with the writer at the origin of that rumor, saying that, “there’s a certain individual in this room who’s written at least one of them! I think maybe with last weekend, with the race been cancelled, maybe they just got bored and started to speculate. But my team’s working closely behind the scenes with Toto; we’re almost at the end of having a contract ready. So, having a team focus on that, so I can just do my job, that’s a much better position than I was in before, because I remember I used to do all my negotiations on my own, and it was very stressful. So, I don’t have to do that anymore.”

The Mercedes driver stopped short of revealing what details were still holding up the negotiations, when the general belief is that he wants a fixed two-years contract, valid until the end of 2025, while Toto Wolff

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES is willing to offer him a one-plus-one deal, to be able to reassess his priorities for 2025: “It’s not really stuff that I can really talk about, to be honest. But as I said, this is the first time I think that I’ve not been negotiating myself and I’ve got a great team in the background that are doing all the work so I can just focus fully on the job at hand. I say what I want and that’s what we’re working towards and so hopefully in the coming weeks ...”

The Ferrari Team Principal took a

humorous take on the rumors, saying that, “as a joke, I could say two weeks ago you sent Sainz to Audi and one week ago you sent Leclerc to Mercedes and now I am alone! But you know that at this stage of the season you will have each week a different story and we are not sending an offer to Lewis Hamilton. We didn’t do it.”

On a more serious note, Vasseur explained that, “we didn’t have discussions. I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage – it would be

bullshit to say you wouldn’t. Over the last 20 years I have discussed almost every single weekend with Hamilton and I don’t want to have to stop having discussions with him just because you are chasing me!”

Asked if he had been forced to reassure Sainz and Leclerc their jobs were secure for next year, Vasseur denied that was the case, adding that, “they didn’t have to reassure me last week when you sent them to Sauber, or for Charles it was Mercedes. They didn’t come to see me, to say, “Fred, don’t worry, it’s not true”. We are used to it, we know that each week, we will have new rumors, and we are just focused on the event.”

With both drivers having contracts with Ferrari for 2024, Vasseur insisted there was a lot more on his plate to be sorted out before opening negotiations with Leclerc or Sainz to extend their deals: “The most important for us is to stay focused on the development and the current season. In a couple of months, we’ll have a slot to discuss about the future, and it will be time to discuss. I didn’t want to discuss with them the extension, and I didn’t change, I told my position, that the most important is to try to do a step forward, to be able to compete with Red Bull. That’s the focus on this and I don’t want to change because we had the rumors from someone that Lewis could come or Charles could go, or Carlos could go. We are dealing our job internally, and I will stay focused on the plan.”

MELBOURNE 2020 LESSONS HELPED F1 DO BETTER IN IMOLA

FORMULA ONE has used the lessons learned the hard way by the last-minute cancellation of the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and dealt with the inevitable abandoning of the Emilia Romagna and Made in Italy Grand Prix in a much swifter, efficient and logical manner.

Of course, the circumstances that led to both races being cancelled were completely different, but in both cases it was clear some 48 hours before the start of the event there were no safe conditions to go ahead and Formula One and the teams’ reaction was very different and effective.

Just over three years ago, when the Formula One community flew to Australia, early in March, the Covid-19 pandemic had already led China, Vietnam and other neighboring countries to shut their borders to foreigners and several European regions were being seriously affected too, particularly in Italy. The situation was so serious that the viability of racing in Melbourne, not the relative performance of the 10 competing cars, was the main topic of discussion during the last week of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

But with Formula One pretending nothing was

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Melbourne, March 2020 ... the cancellation announcement came way too late ... With AGP CEO Westacott about to depart shortly, that will leave just one of the quartet with the same role ... happening and Australia hoping the pandemic wouldn’t seriously hit its shores, by Tuesday before the Grand Prix, everyone and everything that was needed, were already in the Melbourne paddock.

As was, of course, Covid-19, with the first four cases in the paddock being confirmed by Wednesday evening.

From then on, we had a true Mexican standoff, with Formula One, the teams and the race promoters all hoping one of the others would pull the trigger and cancel the Australian Grand Prix, as the first to do it was likely to be issued with the entire bill of the losses. In the end, with Vettel and Raikkonen already on a plane back home and almost no team bosses left in the paddock, the FIA pulled the plug, with the race being officially

cancelled less than one hour before FP1 was scheduled to start …

Two years on, lessons were learned. By Tuesday morning before the Grand Prix the devastation in the Emila Romagna was clear and with a lot more rain on the forecast the situation was only going to get worse. While preparations were going ahead as usual, the regional government, the civil protection authorities and even the central government started to push the race promoters to cancel the whole thing. Firemen, ambulances, medical helicopters and volunteers were going to be much more needed to rescue the victims of the impending floods, so they wouldn’t be available to work in the circuit the whole weekend. On top of that, many roads leading to Imola had been shut, as

they were under water, under landslides or blocked by trees. All parking areas inside the Autodromo were also waterlogged, so cancelling the whole thing was the only reasonable decision.

Still, in full Formula One style, it was necessary for the secondary paddock to be flooded and most team personnel locked in their hotels as the roads in front of them were flooded for a decisive meeting to take place, two days before the cars were due to start practicing, and then Giancarlo Minardi, representing the circuit, and Stefano Domenicali, for Formula One, could only accept the inevitable.

While a lot of Formula One personnel were already in Imola or making their way there – hundreds of them landed in Bologna, Bergamo or Milan to learn the event had been cancelled, so they immediately booked new flights home for that evening or Thursday morning – the fans were still at home and a useless and potentially dangerous road trip was saved for everybody.

This time around money was not the deciding factor; people’s lives and priorities were, so it’s safe to say that three years on, Formula One acted much better than in Melbourne, back in March of 2020.

TEAMS VOTE AGAINST AUGUST SLOT FOR IMOLA THE VAST majority of Formula One teams have voted against a joint proposal from the commercial rights’ owner and the promoter of the Emilia Romagna and Made in Italy Grand Prix, to have the Imola weekend postponed to August, after it was clear there was no way the event could go ahead on schedule.

With Stefano Domenicali determined the season couldn’t lose a second race after he failed to secure a deal to replace the Chinese Grand Prix (scheduled for April 16), and Giancarlo Minardi, representing the promoters of the Imola circuit, trying desperately to keep his race in this year’s calendar, as the promoters’ fee had already been paid, a proposal to have the Emilia Romagna and Made in Italy Grand Prix rescheduled to either the week after the Belgium Grand Prix – on the August 6 weekend – or before the Dutch Grand Prix, on the August 20 weekend, was turned down by a large majority of the teams, citing logistical issues. Even more importantly was the fact that cutting the summer break to just a total of 14 days would lead to the cancellation of the mandatory Summer

shutdown, creating problems for everyone as the staff’s holidays are mandatory for everyone in Formula One during those two weeks.

With these contractual issues adding up to the insanity that would be a HungaroringSpa-Imola triple header or, even worse, a Imola-Zandvoort-Monza triple header, the proposal was dismissed, meaning this year’s Formula One season, will contain

only 21 Grands Prix, very far from the targeted 25, which could be a problem for Domenicali to justify to his bosses.

While in this case we’re clear faced with a force majeure issue, the fact he couldn’t find an alternative to the Chinese Grand Prix during the many months in which it was clear the Shanghai race couldn’t go ahead, didn’t sit well with Liberty Media in what can be considered the Italian’s first failure

since he took over from Chase Carey as CEO of Formula 1.

There were several alternatives available – Portugal had secured the necessary government backing, Malaysia was ready to accept to pay a reasonable fee that would make the trip to Sepang profitable, as Shanghai had paid part of its fee as well, and Turkey was desperate to get a third Grand Prix in four years too ...

WATANABE CONFIRMS ‘HRC NEVER STOPPED PU DEVELOPMENT’ HONDA’S PLANS to officially return to Formula One from the start of 2026 won’t be hampered by the company’s scaling down of resources and personnel to the motor racing group in Sakura that followed the decision to leave the sport two and a half years ago.

When Honda unexpectedly announced it would be leaving Formula One at the end of 2021, the Japanese manufacturer was on the brink of success and such a decision stopped Honda from being able to take advantage of Max Verstappen’s first title, on what was the company’s last official season in Formula One. With the deal to continue to supply Power Units to Red Bull now extended until the end of 2025, Honda continued to develop its PU until the final homologation done at the end of March 2022, before adhering to the engine development freeze imposed by the regulations.

From then on, while Mercedes, Ferrari, Alpine and Red Bull Technologies continued to work flat out on the design and development of their 2026-spec Power Units, Honda diverted a lot of resources and personnel to other, nonracing activities, but HRC president Koji Watanabe denied that would put the company on the back foot come 2026: “First of all, I’d like to mention that we have been continuously supplying engines upon request from Red Bull even for the current Formula 1. So therefore, we’re still in operation for the ongoing Formula

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One races as well. And as for the new regulations to be introduced from 2026, we have continuously engaged in elements that are important factors in terms of the power units. So, therefore, we have not totally withdrawn from our R&D activities.

So unlike the previous time when we were fully withdrawn, we have already been engaging in development.”

Asked for details, the Japanese manager finally gave some details of how Honda has continued to work on the design and development of its future

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Formula One Power Unit: “Until March of 2022 we have been fully engaged in the development of the Power Unit, giving full support to our partner, so until March of 2022 the headcount remained the same, so the development numbers were still existing until March of 2022.

“After that, they were allocated to various carbon neutral projects, so the headcount of the development members started to decrease, starting from April 2022.

“However, also in April of 2022, a new company called Honda Racing Corporation was established. This is a dedicated company for motor sport racing and this company continued to engage in studies and development of four-wheel technologies, so, for that matter, we have also been continuously conducting studies regarding the new regulations and, therefore, we don’t think we have lost so much, regardless of our withdrawal from Formula One racing at the present time.”

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Images: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY (main), MARK HORSBURGHMOTORSPORT IMAGES, ARG, LOU MARTIN.

FEENEY JOINS THE YOUTH REVOLUTION A WAVE OF YOUTH IS SWEEPING THE TOP END OF THE SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP. TRIPLE EIGHT’S BROC FEENEY HAS JOINED THE WAVE AND HAS STAMPED HIS CHAMPIONSHIP CREDENTIALS WITH A STELLAR START TO 2023. ANDREW CLARKE SAT DOWN WITH THE 20-YEAR-OLD FOR AN IN-DEPTH CHAT ...

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THERE HAS been a surge of youth to herald the Gen3 era, and Broc Feeney, with three wins out of the 12 races run and aged just 20, is very much a part of what looks like a youth revolution. Like Brodie Kostecki (25) and Will Brown (24), who stood on the podium with him in Tasmania, a fresh-faced approach to the new cars has allowed them to unlock the results and hold down positions in the top five of the championship.

And in Feeney’s case, if it wasn’t for that pesky disqualification in the first race, he’d be a little higher up the table as well … third, in fact.

But that is not the point of this discussion.

Since Feeney replaced Jamie Whincup at Red Bull Ampol Racing last year, the eyes of the sport have been sitting and watching, waiting to see what Roland Dane saw in the young Queenslander when he snatched him out from under Tickford’s nose a couple of years back.

In his fourth race as a main game driver in 2022 – on a Sunday – he picked up his first podium. Then in Race 26 of that season, he climbed onto the podium again after 14 top10 finishes. Again, a Sunday.

Then, in the final race of the season, he claimed that historic last win for Holden in Adelaide. Yes, Sunday.

The Australian Grand Prix spoils the Sunday rhythm with a Friday podium, but then we have Sunday wins in Melbourne, Perth and Launceston. We’re not sure he called himself Mr Sunday first, but he has certainly embraced the title, for the moment.

“I just keep winning races on Sunday.

So, we [the team] joked about it, and even Saturday night in the truck, we were like, “Oh, well, tomorrow’s Sunday, we’ll be all right,” and it turns out we were,” he says.

“It’s quite funny, we all get a joke out of that and, as I keep saying, hopefully, I can break it soon and get win on Saturdays, but I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying being at the front and battling for wins; that’s where I want to be,

“ ”

and they seem to be coming on Sundays at the moment.

“I’m getting more confident. Coming into this year, I felt a lot better prepared than I did last year, and going into these new cars was a level playing field for everyone. I thought it was a good opportunity to try and move up to the front, and be in the battle more often.

“I’m definitely feeling better and obviously enjoying battling for the wins and podiums more often.”

Replacing Jamie Whincup, Supercars’ GOAT, was never going to be easy in a pressure sense, but going into the best team from the past two decades had its advantages. Whincup was there to mentor and guide the driver he chose to replace him, all the gun engineers were there, and a bloke named Shane van Gisbergen has plenty to offer. Feeney has soaked it all in like a sponge and took the drive as the opportunity it was, not the pressure cooker many wanted it to be.

“I looked at it in a different way, I want to try and be as successful as those guys and be able to continue winning races and

I’m definitely feeling better and obviously enjoying battling for the wins and podiums more often ...

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Advice from the experienced team of Roland Dane and Jamie Whincup (centre) has enabled Feeney to solidify his spot in the Next Generation (above) – Kostecki, Feeney, Brown ...

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Teacher and pupil (above) during Gen3 testing. Below, top to bottom: The Family Feeney. Leading in Super3 at Sandown. Taking the Sunday win, at Perth ...

eventually win championships,” he says of replacing Whincup and racing with van Gisbergen. “I know I was in the right spot, but I took an approach where I had a learning mentality, and I’m still in that actually, where I just try and gather as much information as I can from the guys around me.

“They’re the best in the business for a reason, and I’ve been fortunate to learn from them and to race with Shane. You can look at it in many different ways, but I thought what a great opportunity to be so fresh-minded and come in with the guys that are so dominant in the sport.

“The best thing about my relationship with Jamie is that he’d just stepped out of the main game as a driver. He’d never really had the opportunity to pass his knowledge on to anyone. As a driver, he’s reasonably selfish, we all are, but he’s been there to help me out quite a lot – and it’s not just the on-track stuff,

The Super2 season with Triple Eight laid the foundations for the move into Supercars.

Image: LOU MARTIN

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but what goes on behind the scenes; what goes on during the week, and making sure you’re best prepared.

“The bonus to that is that I get to co-drive with him, and we get to spend a few months working really hard together. It’s been a great opportunity for me.”

Feeney is confident without being cocky, which is a risk in Australia that doesn’t occur in other parts of the world. He knows what he wants to do and where he wants to be, which logically is the top of the sport or why bother at all, and he knew the quickest and best way there was to be in the best team.

What he didn’t know at the time was how much Gen3 was actually going to shake the sport. Feeney, Kostecki and Brown were sixth, seventh and 14th in the series last year with the only win between them being the Adelaide victory by Feeney. This year they have won eight of the 12 races so far with 22 of the 36 podiums to date. They also have eight pole positions too. Feeney’s 2023 ledger stands at three wins, five podiums and two poles and he hasn’t even done 50 races yet.

“I knew where I wanted to be, and thankfully the team saw something in me and gave me an opportunity. I want to be fighting for wins and championships, and I knew there was no better place to be than Red Bull Ampol Racing, and I think this year we’re showing that. We’re in the mix a lot and winning races.”

After that early podium last year, it was easy to shift expectations and end up saying the mid-part of the season was a plateau of sorts. I did. But he was there or thereabouts for most of the time.

Being taken out of the qualifying seat at Bathurst could have been devastating for a young driver. It could have been confidencesnapping, but the team knew what it was doing – it collectively wrapped its arms around Feeney who accepted it was the right thing to do for the outcome of the race, and he quickly moved on.

“It was just a building thing. Everyone obviously sees when you stand up on the podium with the trophy, but we had a really consistent year last year, and I think obviously now I look back on it I’m very proud of what we achieved in a rookie season.

“To get the win at the end of the year was the highlight, but maybe people looked at it differently because I got to the podium so early in the year and my next one wasn’t till Sandown. From that mid-part of the year, from just after Townsville with Sandown and New Zealand we were in the top 10.

“I think if you look at my results last year, we were quite consistent. We just didn’t have those extra couple of tenths to be contesting for podiums all the time. But the trophy cabinet still had three trophies, and that was pretty cool for a rookie season.

“I probably learnt a lot more from having a tough race than I did just running around by myself up front.”

The win, he says, helped his confidence and allowed him to step up in 2023.

“I didn’t really think about that too much at the time, but I think it has helped. I came into this year knowing that I can win races, and when I get in that position now, I feel comfortable. Even before Adelaide, I felt comfortable out front and leading races, but to do it against these guys probably just gave me that little bit of a boost.

“It wasn’t a given win either – we did have to earn it. The big thing was that coming into this year it was the new cars and a new challenge, and I think that’s been good for me.”

Left: Bathurst 2020 with James Courtney/Tickford. Above: SVG says congrats after last November’s Adelaide win. Below: Bathurst wildcard 2021. Right: Where it started – karting and Toyota 86s ...

And the Bathurst qualifying snub?

“That was about 8 months ago, so I don’t really think about it too much. It was the right choice to make; Jamie was faster than me, so we put him in for qualifying. I wanted to win the race, and he was quite a bit faster.

“I had a lot of support from that. A lot of people reached out and made sure I was okay, and I appreciated that, but for me, I wanted to do the best that I could in that event. At the time, it seemed like the right decision to make, and I was for it. I wasn’t questioning the decision.”

Feeney’s path to Supercars began on two wheels with his father, Paul who was a factory Kawasaki Superbike rider in the 1980s who raced against Mick Doohan. It was a family holiday to Thailand that added the extra two wheels, and the rest is history as they say.

“I was much more interested in motorbike racing when I was younger. My dad used to race Superbikes back in the day and then went into the business of importing and distributing motorcycles. So, I grew up racing bikes from the age of three and did that for six or so years.

“I was about nine years old when we went on a holiday to Thailand, and I went to the hire kart track with my brother and pretty much never left. When we came home, I got into karts. We’re very close friends with Mick

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“ ”

I probably learnt a lot more from having a tough race than I did just running around by myself up front ...

and Jack Doohan, and we went and watched a few of his [Jack] races and thought it was awesome.

“That’s pretty much how it started, and very quickly, I swapped to four wheels and the bike stayed in the shed.”

He ran karts for six years, racked up the wins and won a few titles. An Australian champion in 2017, he went overseas and finished fifth in the ROK Cup in 2017 and put up some other good results too against the likes of Oscar Piastri.

Europe was a possibility for a while, but the family took a realistic look at it and chose a local path with the Supercars goal. The Toyota 86 Series was next with some Aussie Racing cars and the Queensland Excel Cup. It was about getting racing kilometres and every lap counted.

He won the Super3 title in 2019 and joined Tickford for 2020 in the COVID-abbreviated Super2 season. He made his Bathurst debut with James Courtney and then Roland Dane jumped. Dane knew he had to replace Whincup some time soon, and he wanted to go young.

Now a Triple Eight driver, he won the Super2 Series

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and ran in the Supercheap wildcard entry at Bathurst with Russell Ingall. Even though he crashed in the race, he was good that day and his path was settled.

“I learnt heaps from the 86s. I was fresh out of karting and we were able to do some testing because there were no restrictions.

We had a couple of wins and podiums, but I wasn’t thinking about putting myself on the map by any means, but you do get to race in front of the Supercars guys and race at those tracks.

“For me, it seemed like the perfect step coming out of the karts. We still ran it ourselves as a family operation with my kart mechanic, and we’d fly in an engineer on the weekend. It was some of the most fun that we’ve had going away racing.

“Going into Triple Eight in 2021, I knew what was at stake. I knew that, if I could do a good job, there was a chance to replace Jamie. It was sort of the plan all along, but to be able to go in and have a year like we did, yeah; I think we won four races and about the same amount of pole positions and a few second places.”

In that season, he missed the podium only once, and that was because of a penalty. He dominated the season with four wins and four second places that could

have been five but for the penalty.

“It was a really solid year, and I think it was announced in August that I’d be replacing Jamie. So, that was a massive year for me, and I’m still here today. 2021 was certainly one of the biggest years of my career.”

It was more than just the right timing, right place. Feeney was chosen, plucked and trained by Triple Eight, and now the rewards are flowing. He never had any doubts about stepping into #88 and he believes he can keep winning races and start winning titles.

“I don’t want to come off the wrong way, but I was confident that I’d be able to come into the environment and learn. I knew the team, and they didn’t expect me to go out and win the championship in my first year.

“I said, ‘Okay, what can I do? I can learn from Shane. I can learn from all the guys around me, and build on the Super2 year with the team.’ It was about being consistent and finishing races. After a year of learning, you really want to be able to step up and be in the mix.

“I was confident that I had the right people around me, but I suppose the biggest thing for me was that the people that I lean on a lot, made sure that I was ready for this. People like Paul Morris and Roland, and if those guys put their trust in me, I’ve got full faith that we can go and do the job.

“It has been a really good start to the year, and I suppose to have a win in the last three rounds has been awesome. It’s been a good step up from last year. I think Gen3 has been good to me, and it’s a fresh start for everyone.

“It’s great to have a few more wins under our belt and a podium, but as I said, we want to keep working towards and keep climbing up that championship order.”

Belying his light demeanour when he talks to you, he says there’s enough mongrel in him to run with the best. He’s not going to take any backward steps and he’s not planning on finishing second to anyone this year.

Broc Feeney is coming, and he is part of the changing face of Supercars.

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24 HOURS OF LE MANS A CENTURY OF AUTOMOTIVE EXCELLENCE

Ferrari won in 1962 (above), with Dan Gurney (below left) sharing with Olivier Gendebien. Below (top right): The 1980-winning Rondeau. Bottom: 1953, and the apparently drunk duo of Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton took out the race in a C Type Jaguar! Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

ONE OF MANKIND’S MOST TREASURED ACHIEVEMENTS, THE AUTOMOBILE, WILL BE CELEBRATED THIS WEEK WITH THE CENTENNIAL YEAR OF PERHAPS ITS MOST ICONIC BYPRODUCT – THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

THE 24 Hours of Le Mans is ensconced into the thought and vernacular of motorsport history like no other event.

Since the first edition of the “Grand Prix of Speed and Endurance”, in 1923 at the 'de la Sarthe' road-racing circuit in Le Mans, France, it has helped shaped the history of motor racing with its focus on the manufacturers' engineering prowess, which is why the event made its beginning in the first place.

On May 26-27, 37 entries covering 20 manufacturers competed at the first Le Mans 24 from the outskirts of Le Mans to Mulsanne and back in a bid to crown a manufacturer as having built the most reliable vehicle that could cover the most distance in 24 hours.

That year it was Andre Lagache and Rene Leonarda, driving a 3 L Chenard Walcker Type U3 15CV Sport which, after two more events, was awarded the first Rudge Whitworth Triennial Cup in 1925, proving itself as the most endurable vehicle over a three-race average.

HISTORY DRIVES ON

FAST FORWARD to the all-conquering Toyota TS050 and GR010 Hypercars, which in 2022 did what only Ferrari, Audi and Porsche had ever done – winning five straight.

The Japanese brand will try matching Ferrari’s record of six, between 1960-1965, where Ferrari did so with six different models, highlighting Enzo’s love affair for the event, using it as his own pathway toward achieving perfection. They did it with the 250 TR59/60, 250 TRI/61, the stunning 330 TRI/LM Spyder, 250 P, 275 P, and the 250 LM (Porsche holds the record with seven: 1981-1987).

That sparked the infamous Ford vs Ferrari battle where Enzo told Henry Ford II that his cars were ugly, the company was ugly, and that his factory was ugly.

Via Carrol Shelby and an estimated

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spend upwards of US$25 million, Ford then answered the sheer hatred with the remarkable GT40 Mk II contender. After two years of failure, Kiwi legends Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren started a dominant four-race streak, leading a 1-2-3, with the famed Ken Miles in P2 alongside another Kiwi, Denny Hulme.

1965 was the last time Ferrari ever won it and now, after a 50-year SportsCar Endurance sabbatical, it returns with the LMH 499P in a bid to overcome Toyota.

After 100 years and 90 editions, there have been 25 winning manufacturers, covering seven nations.

Porsche sits on top with 19 and will go for its first since 2017, which was also a Kiwi love-in with Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley – with the latter now at Toyota as a three-time winner.

A CENTURY OF STORIES

THE EVENT has seen countless moments of glory and tragedy, such as the terrible 1955 crash which claimed over 80 lives when a Mercedes 300 SLR clipped the wheel of a

Austin-Healey, sending a scattered storm of shrapnel and white hot magnesium into the crowd.

Then there was the infamous yet legendary 6km Mulsanne straight with its sheer gift of pure adrenaline and terror, which claimed the life of eight drivers. Mulsanne has now been cut into three sections on the existing circuit, but before that happened, a Peugeot WM P88 clocked 405 kph on it in 1988 as its enduring record.

It’s history is graced with such stories as the 1950 effort of Louis Rosier, who raced with his son Jean in a Talbot Lago Grand Sport T26.

Louis outwardly deemed his son useless and drove for 23 hours and 15 minutes, stopping only to change a rocker shaft, eat, use the toilet, before winning by a lap against the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio.

Then there’s Jean Rondeau, who built his own car (Rondeau M379B), beating Jacky Ickx in a Porsche 908 in 1980 (Rondeau’s co-driver Jean-Louis Lafosse would die on the Mulsanne straight the following year in the same car). In the entire history of topflight

racing, only Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren had won races in a car featuring their own name.

And In 1953, the Jaguar C-Type, the British pairing of Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt were disqualified overnight due to a clerical error. Both drivers then got sensationally drunk that night only to be re-instated in the morning, 40 minutes prior to the race. They pushed on, still heavily intoxicated whilst sporting horrific hangovers. During the race (during which it is alleged he kept drinking brandy so as not to fade) Hamilton had his nose broken whilst behind the wheel when a bird flew into his face at speed. The pair went on to win!

The classic tradition of spraying champagne also started in Le Mans, when Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt decided to cover Henry Ford II and Shelby in the fizzy stuff from the podium in 1967 after storming home over two Ferrari 330 P4’s.

The list of moments, glories, tragedies and historical peculiarities are endless, and this race has played a vital role in the overarching story of motorsport.

Bernard Rubin (seated in the passenger seat) was the first Australian to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, in 1928 ... Below: Vern Sschuppan won in 1983, despite a Porsche 'door' incident! Bottom: David Brabham shared his 2009 win with Alex Wurz and Merc Gene.

A STORY OF FOUR AUSSIES

AUSTRALIA HAS had four outright winning drivers, whilst across the ditch, NZ can claim seven to be 10th on the all-time nations list, with Australia in 11th.

The first Australian to take a Le Mans win occurred in the sixth ever editor in 1928, taken out by Bernard Rubin, who was born in Carlton, Victoria. Rubin took the win in a Bentley 3 L Speed alongside British driver Woolf Barnato.

After a long wait, South Australia’s Vern Schuppan won in 1983 driving a Porsche 956 and was a part of Porsche’s record seven straight 24 Hour wins.

The next came in 1993, when three times World Formula 1 Champion Jack Brabham’s son Geoff did what his legendary father couldn’t do in three attempts by winning the classic. Brabham, a seasoned sports car racer helped to steer a works Peugeot 905 to victory.

Then in 2009, it was down to another Brabham, as Geoff’s younger brother David took an LMP1 Peugeot 908 to victory on his 16th attempt.

They become only the second brothers to share the honour after the infamous drug smuggling brothers, Don and Bill Whittington, did it together in 1979.

Our first winner, Rubin, who made his early wealth via family farming and pearling interest in WA, lived a short but busy and

exciting life. Rubin passed away from pulmonary tuberculosis in 1936 at the age of 39.

As well as being a pilot, Rubin was known as one of the famed “Bentley Boys” – drivers who drove Bentleys, to raise the “world’s fastest lorries” manufacturer's reputation.

The second winner, Schuppan, a legendary Aussie driver, team owner, and sports car builder, recounted to Auto Action’s Mark Bisset in 2022, the nerve racking and remarkable win in his 11th attempt after taking P2 in 1982.

“We led for more than 19 hours, then, with a two-lap lead, the left door came off on the Mulsanne during my final stint. I kept going until getting the Black Flag, which gave the team time to prepare a repair,” Schuppan described.

It took two laps, and two attempts to fix – the first one didn’t allow the driver to open the door, so was deemed illegal – then Al took her over for the last stint.”

“15 minutes before the finish, Hurley and I were already on the podium when we saw on the overhead screen smoke coming from the left-hand cylinder bank. We had our hearts in our mouths as we watched the car roll over the finishing line with a seized engine.

"Al dipped the clutch when it failed at Arnage and had the momentum to roll over the line! The podium was one of the sweetest of my career, having led the race many times before. The Jacky Ickx/Derek Bell sister Porsche works car was only 50 seconds behind us.”

Geoff Brabham then had the honour of being the first in his family, doing so in only three attempts. After two DNFs he had the

distinct honour of actually taking the car to the chequered flag in an all-French team.

“Le Mans has such a great tradition because the race has been around so long with so many great drivers competing.

Racing over 24 hours can be extremely draining.

“It is not so bad with one of the professional factory outfits, but if you are in a low budget team, sleeping between your stint on top of a toolbox in the back of the shed is not very comfortable.

“When I won for Peugeot in 1993, I was the only non-French speaking person amongst a 200-person team.

"Despite that Jean Todt (former Ferrari F1 team manager) asked me to finish the race.

“It was quite an experience to win at Le Mans with a French team and be in the car as it took the chequered flag.

In 18 attempts, David Brabham achieved two straight class victories before winning it outright, also with Peugeot.

Recounting his debut and what it meant to race at de la Sarthe, he described both the fear inducing aspects of the event, and its

pride of place within the Brabham family.

“I had the initiation from hell at my first Le Mans. My team-mate crashed the car on the opening lap and by the time they repaired the car and I had my turn to drive, the circuit was blanketed in thick fog and it was raining really heavily. It was actually quite terrifying.

“Le Mans is pretty close to my heart. I did it 18 times and I managed to get on the podium quite a few times. And with my dad’s history, just competing there in that type of environment, means something quite special.”

Geoff Brabham's win, with Peugeot, in 1993, was a career highlight.

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CENTENNIAL LE MANS WELCOMES

HISTORIC

HYPERCAR GRID

THE 91ST 24 HOURS OF LE MANS WILL HAVE A 62 CAR GRID, HEADLINED BY THE EVENTS FIRST HISTORIC CONJOINING OF THE LMH AND LMDH RULESET HYPERCARS. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

STRIVING for automotive perfection at 'Le Circuit de la Sarthe' has played an important role in shaping the direction of the sport – and it still does, with the stunning new era machines of the LHM, LMDh Le Mans Hypercars spearheading its 100th anniversary.

Sixteen hypercars will headline the World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) flagship event next week, the 12th edition of the race since the WEC body was formed in 2012 after taking over from the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. With the wait finally over for the new manufacturer LMH and LMDh cars to join the show, three IMSA LMDh (GTP class) Hypercars jump the Atlantic – Porsche and Cadillac, as well as a customer Porsche entry.

They join LMH Le Mans newcomers Peugeot and Vanwall, along with the historic return of Ferrari.

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Penske Porsche crosses the Atlantic for its Le Mans bid.

The total count is: Porsche (4), Cadillac (3), Toyota (2), Peugeot (2), Ferrari (2), Glickenhaus (2), and Vanwall (1).

The previous two Le Mans races have had a slim premier SportCar field as it awaited the LMDh and other LMH manufacturers joining the party, with only Toyota, Alpine,

and Glickenhaus taking part.

Twelve of the entries are factory-backed, with the extra four coming from customers; British Hertz Team Jota running a Porsche 963, and Action Express Racing, a US team competing with the third Cadillac V-series.R. The additional car will be a second

Glickenhaus 007, also run by the American Glickenhaus team.

Cadillac has also committed two IMSA entries to go with its one WEC regular, run

by Chip Ganassi Racing under the Cadillac banner, whilst Porsche Penske goes with a sole IMSA entry, joining its two WEC regulars.

(Looking ahead, BMW, Isotta Fraschini, Acura, and the returning Alpine, may also feature in 2024).

The LMP2 prototypes will be represented by 24 cars with 16 Pro class and 8 Pro Am class entries.

The remaining entries are filled with 21 GTE Am, the last year of the class before the WEC replaces that field with a new GT3 field to attract new manufacturers.

Only Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Corvette will be represented.

The last entry is the single Innovative Car

2023 PREVIEW Glickenhaus achieved its fine 2022 Le Mans podium competing only against Toyota and Alpine.

TRANS TASMAN DRIVERS

Toyotas have been at the front of the grid, and won, all year – can it change? Top right: Earl Bamber shares a Cadillac; Toyota won last year – easily ...

Below, top to bottom: Peugeot, Porsche JOTA, and Glickenhaus (with Aussie Ryan Briscoe sharing).

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

entry that won’t be racing for a podium, but will be competing, and that’s the unusual edition of the purpose built NASCAR Hendricks Motorsport Garage56 Camaro.

They’ve gone all-in with a big endurance testing programme, to be piloted by Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, which will be sure to add some intrigue.

THE HYPERCAR STORY

IT’S HARD to look past the rampant Toyota GR010’s for a winner, but anything can happen at a 24 hour enduro (as Toyota learned the hard way along the way) … but unless something extraordinary does happen, Toyota will be the red hot favourites.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) team is aiming for its sixth straight Le Mans 24, joining Ferrari and Porsche as the only other manufacturers to achieve that number.

So far this season, the TGR 010s have won all three rounds, and would have made it three one-two’s if not for electrical problems in Portimao.

They’ve had an extra two years in the category as the world waited for the IMSA LMDh, and will also be going for their third straight one-two in its third Le Mans LMH outing.

If it’s not Cadillac or Porsche that will challenge the Japanese giants, it’s the new Ferrari LMH 499P. The two AF Corse teams have taken three podiums this year, with the Antonio Fuoco-led #50 having snatched a P2 in Portimao.

It’s the Italian manufacturer's first factory backed entry since 1973 in the race that helped make it famous, and so far they’re looked the best of the rest – but both

Cadillac and Porsche are capable of an upset, having won 3 IMSA races between them this season. Porsche is also the only other manufacturer, next to Ferrari, to claim a WEC podium this season.

Whilst the customer Jota Porsche was impressive in its WEC debut in Spa, it’s also a big task going from a six hour to a 24 hour with a new car, though they will have factory assistance with data and spare parts from Porsche Penske.

If one of the four Porsches does get up this year, it will be the 20th win at Le Mans, and the fourth of the hybrid era after three in a row from 2105-2017.

Cadillac is an interesting one, heading into this year’s big one after two decades away since it axed its doomed Northstar LMP car.

Cadillac Racing sent an extra V-Series to compete at Spa as warm up, but a massive crash at Eau Rouge with Renger van der Zande behind the wheel put paid to that warmup, before the same car won in IMSA two weeks later at Laguna Seca.

For the two Peugeot AX9s, surviving without mechanical or electrical issues would be a minor miracle for the French team, with both teams having been plagued with problems so far this year.

But the Peugeot TotalEnergies team will enter on top of a rigorous Le Mans testing preparation, and will also go in with a spectacular looking technicolour sci-fi livery.

As for the WEC Glickenhaus entries and new Vanwall entry – LMH rule-set cars with no hybrid units – the joining of Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot and Cadillac to the grid, essentially means that any fairytale story is highly unlikely. Both have been running at the back of the field in 2023, although Peugeot hasn’t fared much better.

THE FIELD will feature just two Australians this year in the absence of Matt Campbell, who wasn’t preferred for the IMSA Porsche 963 entry over Philipe Nasr, Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy.

Ryan Briscoe will feature in the premier field, racing for Glickenhaus in the regular #708 WEC entry alongside French duo Olivier Pla and Romain Dumas, with Briscoe having taken a remarkable podium with Glickenhaus at last year’s Le Mans.

James Allen will be racing for Algarve Pro Racing in the Pro Am LMP2 class, the same pairing that took top class honours at last year’s running.

There’s three Kiwi’s at the top of the WEC food chain for this year, with Earl Bamber (fresh off winning the 24h Nurburgring), Brendan Hartley, and Scott Dixon.

Bamber, racing the #2 Cadillac V-Series, will be trying to emulate Hartley with a third top tier Le Mans victory, whilst Hartley will go in as a favourite, driving one of the indomitable Toyota GR010 LMHs. If either win, they’ll claim a remarkable eighth victory at the great event for an NZ driver.

Dixon on the other hand, fresh off competing at his 21st Indy 500, will race in his fifth Le Mans 24, and his first in the elite class, also driving a Cadillac in the recent victories #3 IMSA entry.

SCHEDULE AND QUALIFYING

WITH THE extended Hypercar grid jumping from five to 16, the two-part qualifying returns as a knockout session for the LMH and LMDh cars.

June 7 starts with the vital three-hour Free Practice session for the 62-car field at 2pm, and then at 7pm the bandaid is ripped off with a half hour Practice Qualifying where the top eight cars from each class will advance to the HyperPole session, whilst the remaining grid from P9 down for each class is set.

Then, at 10pm that evening, drivers will get a chance to test the 13.626km circuit by night with a two-hour session.

Day 2 opens with another three-hour Free Practice before the 24-car, three class HyperPole session kicks off at 8pm to set the remaining grid. The day then ends with a final one hour night session at 10pm.

June 9 has no activity for the headlining field, and then on Saturday’s race day (June 10) a very brief 15 minute warmup session is held.

Lights out for the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans is at 4pm on the Saturday, with the field then hitting the finish line at 4pm on Sunday. Allons-y (Lets Go!).

It might take something to go wrong at Toyota, but Ferrari's LMH 499P presents the most likley challenger.

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SPEEDWAY Brad Pascoe claimed his maiden Queensland Super Sedan Championship.

Images: TONY POWELL

Q1 MATT ATTACK! Father and son Brad and Matt Pascoe – Super Sedans.

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles MODS MC-ONE, MC-TWO!

SUPER SEDAN driver Matt Pascoe’s six-year Queensland title reign has come to an end – at the hands of his own son Brad. The 19-year-old claimed his maiden state championship at the Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway over a stacked field of 41, making it the biggest field in almost two decades, assembling from Tasmania, South Australia, New South Wales and the home state for a crack at The Club Hotel Roma Queensland Super Sedan Championship.

The top 22 competitors made it into the marathon 40-lap final. Tasmanian charger Callum Harper shared the front row with JJ Hamilton while the Pascoes, Matt and Brad, locked down the second row.

At the green blaze the lead duo ran side-by-side for the first three laps before Hamilton edged to the lead only to loop his entry to bring on the first of many cautions to come.

While Hamilton rejoined at the back of the field, Harper led the field away while Hamilton tried to make his way through the field only to spin for a second time at the quarter race distance, bringing his quest to an end. Justin Randall also retired to the infield at the caution period. Harper continued to run the bottom, but all eyes were on the battle for second as father as son duked it out. Brad made his way into second and began to dog fight for the lead.

As the race ventured just past the halfway

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Brothers Nathan and Shane MacDonald – Modified Sedans.

A STRONG field of 25 Modified Sedans fronted for the running of the Pacific Petroleum Smackdown Series powered by Toowoomba Steering & Suspension. Going into the final the front row was a lockout for the number 1s, with Queensland / New South Wales champion Nathan MacDonald and West Australian champion Joel Berkley.

At the green, MacDonald got the upper hand, taking command as the field settled into rhythm. Despite some caution periods bringing the field back together MacDonald kept a cool head as he closed in on the chequered flag followed home by his brother Shane MacDonald,with Berkley home in third.

2 WAYS, 1 WINNER!

THE ENGAGE Ag Iron Man Series Final for Street Stocks was a race in two, literally …

The 16 car field ran the first 10 laps running in the clockwise direction. Darren Ciesiolka, the well-travelled Victorian Matt Nelson and Luke Wilkinson made up the top three at the halfway point before the field were reset and set in the traditional anticlockwise direction.

The trio would remain in their placings after the final stanza. Ricky Gill also finished fourth in each direction. Gary Bonwick, Michael Irwin, Ken Iseppi, Jake Wilkinson, Brock Thornton, Luke Gray and Harry Fowler were all on the lead lap while Rylee Smith and Robert Peardon rounded out the finishers. Gordon Midolo was a late retirement in the second stanza while Pole sitter Nathan MacDonald retired in the opening period.

Luke Wilkinson won his first Street Stock series beating Darren Ciesiolka and Gary Bonwick.

Nathan MacDonald celebrates his Modified Sedan win with a victory lap.

BREKLEY’S BIG WIN!

mark the yellows would again blaze as the Matthew Williams entry slowed to a halt on the back straight, resulting in multiple cars spinning to take evasive action, blocking the track.

To make matters more interesting Brad Pascoe would lead Harper at the restart and stretch the lead until catching the slower traffic. While negotiating his way through, Harper made one last surge, taking to the topside of the track, picking up ground hand over fist, but real-estate ran out as the chequered flag unfurled to give Brad Pascoe the Q1 mantle over Harper, Matt Pascoe and Hayden Brims for the podium.

THE MOORE Trailers Series Final for Production Sedans produced a thrilling affair. Stuart Fawcett led, while an epic six-car, three wide battle for the minors raged before the lights went orange for Robert Trapp.

Fawcett led the field away with 11 to run – however Joel Berkley who was performing double duties with his podium finish in the Modified Sedans, was on a mission, setting a new lap record of 16.268 as he stormed from 14th to snatch the lead, Fawcett dropped to third as Simon Walker also advanced. Despite further cautions the lead trio would remain in the above order.

Robert Trapp will retire from Speedway competition on a high, winning the Production Sedan series ahead of Michael Mason and Kory Jennings.

Joel Berkley Production Sedan winner.

Darren Ciesiolka Street Stock winner.

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TY TAKES TWO, SPIDER WEBS SERIES and Keir Doe with Dylan Richter the only retiree. The heat races were close with Justin Chadwick and Stephens winning one each.

Modified Sedan Podium; (L-R) 4th Jason Demaine, 3rd Bronte Perkins, 2nd: Peter McCarthy and 1st Ty Galley.

Street Stock winner S19 Phil Watson celebrates with a victory lap. Images: PARIS CHARLES THE 1700km trip from Wagga Wagga New South Sales to Waikerie’s Sunline Speedway nestled in the Riverland region of South Australia and back was worth every inch travelled for Ty Galley and his team, who claimed back-to-back feature race wins, including the fourth and now fifth round of the state Modified Sedan Series.

After the three qualifying heats and a victory in the Preliminary final, Galley lined up outside front row with the experienced Peter McCarthy on pole position. At the drop of the green, Galley cut to the lead as they entered Turn 1 and from that point the lead duo quickly opened a healthy gap over the chasing field. By half race distance the leading pair had made their way through the first of the back markers while a solid three-way battle for the minors was unfolding between Jason Demaine, Bronte Perkins and Trev Logan.

In a race that went 15 laps express, Galley

led from green to chequered, lapping up to fourth place. McCarthy consolidated the runner-up placing while Perkins made a last lap pass for third, relegating Demaine to the fourth and final podium step. Rob Uren, Logan, Brendon Elphick and Mark Janssan finished one lap in arrears while Shelley Hardy and Marty Raams failed to travel the journey. Heath Thorne, Trevor Raams, Adam Haseldine and Paul Hayes failed to trouble the lap scorers. McCarthy claimed a single heat and Thorne a double.

At the completion of the meeting the numbers were crunched, and the Modified Sedans SA Champion went to Mildura’s Peter ‘Spider’ McCarthy, from Rob Uren, Trev Logan (Mda), Jason Demaine and Angelo Halacas making it three Mildura based competitors in the top five.

WATSON WINS

THE 15 lap Street Stock final saw the top six competitors all finish where

they started. Phil Watson claimed the victory over veteran Darren Flatman, who challenged early for the lead before having to defend from third placed runner Kye Richardson. Ayden Powell, Daniel Blakemore and Jack Littlehales were next while last start feature winner Jason Gantz and Neville Nitschke were non-starters in the final. Gantz and Watson shared the qualifying heats.

JAKE STRONG ARMS THE FIELD

THE 15 lap Modlite final ran green to chequer with Jake Armstrong breaking his own record by 1.5 seconds, a feat that is even more impressive considering that the top eight heat point scorers are inverted for the final. Jake started from P8, making his way through the field for victory.

Sharing the podium were Shane Price, who made the most of his ole position, and Brian Chadwick who would finish where he stared in third. Justin Chadwick was next, followed by Jacob Carlier, debutant Jordan Miller, Brett Stephens, Sam Lamont

BOLITHO BLOWS TO VICTORY

A FIELD of 10 Wingless Sprinters ventured out for their final hit out of the season.

The Ti Bill’s Injectors and Race Partssponsored event was claimed by Jordon Bolitho and squaring the podium were Alan Saint and Kirra-Lee Pitcher.

Kaitlin Vickers was a close fourth followed to the line by Thomas Walkom.

Dale Gesell, Andy Thomas, Nate Trewin and Tickford Racing Super competitor Bradley Vaughan were all retirees. Bolitho and Pitcher shared the heats.

WARNETT WINS

THE JUNIOR Sedans were combined with both the New Stars and the more experienced Top Stars running together.

After a tight tussle Lucas Warnett got the upper hand over Lachlan Brown for the final victory, with Summer Gesell third.

Deklan Bolitho was the first New Star home in fourth overall followed by Ryan Burns, Max Richter and Seth Greig.

Sadly the McAllister siblings Evan and Bree did not make the distance. Warnett claimed dual heats and Brown the remainder.

The crowd on hand were also treated to series of nostalgic demonstration runs from the Classic Hot Rods.

HATELEY BRINGS THE HEAT HORSHAM’S BLUE Ribbon Raceway played host to dual-headlining open wheeled events with the running of the DC & TM Auto Electrics Wingless Classic along with the Wimmera Auto Service Kev Baker Challenge for the Limited Sportsman.

Both classes were well supported. With a field of 27 competitors nominated in the Wingless Sprints the field was divided into a mix of two rounds equating to six qualifying heats. After the these heats the top point scorers would qualify directly into the feature event while the remaining six positions would transfer through the B Main.

Going into the 20-lap final, South Australian racer Sam Martin qualified on pole position while alongside was local Steven Hateley who was determined to defend home track honour against a multitude of visiting drivers. At the drop of the green Martin led the way, but his run at the front would be short lived – making a small mistake coming out of Turn 2 on the second lap was enough for Hatley to seize the opportunity and command from the front. Also storming forward was James Rodda, but just as things looked promising his challenge would end prematurely.

This elevated fellow South Aussie Nate Trewin into second. As the front runners approached the back markers the lead duo tightened up and it was on until the yellow

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Justin Robinson and Frank Thierry for Round 3 of the Barry Reidy Memorial.

Thierry challenged valiantly on several occasions only to spin to stop on the 17th lap. Sadly that dropped him to the back of the field for the Indian file restart. Robinson powered on to take the victory over Darren McCarthy, Paul Sullivan and Neale Peachey for the top four. Garth Stevens, Brydon Bradley, Shaun Sutton, Stephen Hopkins and Thierry rounded out the field while Rodney Bassett was the lone retiree.

Peachey, Sullivan and Bassett shared the heat wins.

V60 Steven Hateley, winner of the DC & TM Auto Electrics Wingless Classic.

Images: TANYA EASTWOOD

lights blazed on the 17th lap.

With three laps to run Hatley knuckled down to claim a well-deserved win over Trewin and the two Jeremys, Beddison and Pearson. Blake Walsh claimed a well deserved fifth, slicing from 20th position.

The six qualifying heats were shared amongst Aston, Martin, Pearson, O’Brien, Hateley and Moore.

ANTON POWERS ON!

THE KEV Baker Challenge for Limited Sportsman format put the top qualifiers to the rear for the 20-lap final. Late nomination South Australian Dylan Anton sliced his way from the fourth row of the grid, hitting the lead on the sixth lap – and from that point he would lead the charge to the chequered flag. Thomas Baker, Adam

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JAMES TAMES THE FIELD Dylan Anton, winner of the Wimmera Auto Service Kev Baker Challenge for the Limited Sportsman.

McKenzie substituting aboard the Jock Baker entry, Andrew Wilson, Troy Curran and Craig Ansell followed, while Stephen Purchase rounded the finishers one lap down. Nathan McDonald and Dillon Siely did not finish. Siely, McDonald and Anton each claimed a qualifying heat.

ROBINSON RACES TO VICTORY

THE AMCA Nationals final produced an enthralling battle at the pointy end between

LUKE JAMES made every post a winner in the V8 Truck category, clean sweeping all three heat races before leading from green to chequered in the express 10-lap final.

Fletcher Mills challenged early for the lead, but slowly lost ground on the leader as his run came to an end, retiring to the infield at the halfway point. Wes Bell and double duty driver Steven Hately rounded the podium placings while Donald Timms was one lap down in fourth ALSO ON the program were the Vintage Sedans and Hot Rods which turned back the hands of time with some memorable demonstration runs.

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NATIONALS WRAP BIG SUNDAY NETS GONZALEZ WARC WIN Images: PHIL WISEWOULD PHOTOGRAPHY

HILLYER FIGHTS FOR TG86 SWEEP Image: DAKAR PRESS TEAM AUSTRALIA DANIEL GONZALEZ and co-driver Daymon Nicoli (above) have secured a second straight WA Rally championship round at the ARC Forest Rally in their home state.

The Skoda Fabia R5 pair took out both heats over the weekend to remain top of the table, leading more than 50 crews to take the win.

Hyundai i20N R2 pair Peter Rullo and James Marquet took outright second from the late charging Craig Rando and Scott Beckwith.

Gonzalez had to fight hard for Saturday’s Heat win, coming from behind in a barnstorming finish, before dominating Sunday’s Heat 2.

“Sunday was the perfect rally day for us, we were comfortable, the car felt good and there was plenty of chemistry between Daymon and I,” Gonzalez described.

“We made progress through the day, we weren’t taking any risks and we had a nice solid pace.

“There was an issue on the first two stages on Saturday for us. The feeling just wasn’t there, and we didn’t seem in the right mindset. It just felt wrong.

“But then everything clicked for SS7, and we were back where we needed to be. It was a real confidence booster.

“I got into the right mindset after having a firm chat with our people, who noticed straight away that something was not right, so it was good to have the love and support around us and it had an immediate effect.

“It’s been a great start to the WA season with two wins, and now it is just making sure that we put together two good days at future events because that is what is going to keep us progressing.”

The Friday night stages at the Bunbury Speedway had Alex Rullo getting on top early along with Steve Glenney, with both of them managing to match it with 2019 ARC champion Harry Bates.

Even though Gonzalez hit back on Saturday’s Stage 7, he still trailed Alex Rullo by 40s.

The tables turned on Stage 8 however with Gonzalez flipping the time to the tune of 50 seconds over Rullo to go P1 in the WARC. Taking out the WARC 2WD Cup was Alexander White and Lisa Read White, whilst in the In the Clubman Cup, Jack Ryan and Luke Dunkley got it done, whilst Graeme Miles and Liam Turton were the only finishers in the Clubman Masters.

Round 3 of the WARC continues with the Grimwade Stages in Kirup on July 1.

TW Neal

RIDGE TRIUMPHANT AT NAROOMA DEAN RIDGE and Dean George (right) pushed their car to the limit to overcome a challenging course and score a resounding Narooma Rally victory.

The event was a round of the NSW Clubman, East Coast Classic (ECCRS), Hyundai and ACT Series and Ridge was surprised by the win stating “hats off to Sean McAloon who kept the heat on, pushing the pace on our 4WD Turbo.”

McAloon and Muireann Hayes were in a 2WD Ford Escort and never took the pressure off Ridge’s Mitsubishi Evo 7 4WD to come home second outright and first 2WD. Narooma thew up a mix of fast paced and technical stages with plenty of spills for the crews to conquer.

The event started with several stage one incidents which even ruled out some top contenders including prerally favourite Michael Dermody.

Dermody’s battles started with a roll on SS1 before mechical issues struck on the first heat.

Michael Harding and James Thornburn also had to withdraw due to mechanical issues on SS7 but only after recording several stage wins.

There were significant midfield delays on Stage 1 after Jacob Umback and Peter Stringfellow hit a bank on the narrow road.

It took some time to clear the course which was blocked and delays continued throughout the event as

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Image: ROY MEURONEN more cars struggled to stay on the slippery course.

The return to night stages and dusty conditions presented another challenge for teams, but this did not stop Carl Stewart and Matthew James from rounding out the podium.

Stewart and James came home third despite a frantic repair job on their Datsun 1600 after an off-road excursion on SS1.

Tim and Peter Joass stormed home in fourth outright and first ECCRS 4WD in a Mitsubishi Lancer.

They finished ahead of Jake Bramble and Dallas Gill, who were third in the CCRS 4WD Series in their Nissan Pulsar.

The top seven outright cars ran on roadbook with the first pace-noted team of Bethany Cullen and Melanie McMinn in eighth outright.

The Hyundai Excel award went to Lachlan Moore and Paul Bailey, while the leading Hyundai Getz award went to Veronica Stack and Daniel Browne.

Lachlan Moore scooped up both the Northern Hyundai challenge and development awards.

Excel rookie Vicki Gillon-Connolly claimed the gravel girls trophy after completing her first ever rally as a driver.

Raine O’Keeffe

FOLLOWING THE opening round of last month’s Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Scholarship Series at Sydney Motorsport Park, Phillip Island was the setting for Round 2 as an extra category alongside the Victorian State Race Series regulars.

Qualifying in Saturday’s sun-laden weather proved a tight contest as the top 10 drivers were separated by just under six-tenths of the second.

Queenslander Jack Westbury topped the list to secure pole position (1:52.2644) by seven-hundredths over Rylan Gray and little over a tenth ahead third-placed Max Geoghegan.

Eventual round winner and WAU driver Matthew Hillyer (above) started Race 1 from fifth place but found himself at the head of the field after just one lap. The sole Victorian competitor was chased all the way home over eight entertaining laps on Saturday

by Lachlan Bloxsom, followed by Geoghegan, Gray and Westbury.

A slippery track was the setting for Race 2 on Sunday morning and Hillyer survived the advances of Gray for another win, with third-placed driver Brock Stinson eight seconds adrift. Several drivers struggled, with Queenslanders Holly Espray and Jordan Freestone colliding on lap four and failing to finish.

With another damp track race three as light began to fade, several drivers pushed too hard as Mason Harvey, Brock Stinson and Mitchell McGarry all ended up parked in the sodden grass at Southern Loop. Rylan Gray looked set for the win until he pushed too hard at Lukey Heights and coughed up two places to both Hillyer and Grove junior, Oscar Targett. Gray then fought to keep his nose in front of Cody Burcher for third in the run to the finish.

The series now moves back to Sydney Motorsport Park for round three on June 16 to 18, with frontrunning drivers eyeing off a ticket to the NTI Townsville 500 in July.

Steven Devries

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FOUR SEASONS AT THE ISLAND By: Steven Devries JUST ON 170 cars contested round three of this year’s Victorian State Race Series, as drivers came to grips with continually changing weather and track conditions across two days of racing.

FORMULA FORD

Damon Woods converted pole into race one’s win, holding off Joe Fawcett and Edison Beswick after a Safety Car restart.

Beswick’s ballsy turn eight pass set him up to win race two ahead of Cody MaynesRutty and Matthew Holmes. Bailey Collins then upstaged the field to secure the feature race win ahead of Zak Lobko and Harrison Sellars, as Beswick’s poor final race dropped him to third for the round behind Collins and Lobko.

In Kent Class, Richard Davison’s run of six straight class wins came to a halt at the hands of Peter Fitzgerald, who secured two of the three wins in class and the round overall.

SPORTS SEDANS

Francios Habib (VZ Commodore) picked up the opening race win over Greg Lynch (HSV GTS) and Ben McLeod (Holden Commodore) following Brett Dickie’s retirement. New South Welshman Mark Tracey (BMW E36) showed them how it was done on Sunday morning, mastering the wet conditions from fifth to finish first in front of Habib and Lynch.

A one-lap dash following a Safety Car settled the feature race finishing order. Habib held off the consistent Lynch and Tracey for the final race win – the same three drivers finishing in that order for the round.

Bailey Collins (Spectrum) heads to Formula Ford victory, from Zak Lobco.

Images: PHIL WISEWOULD PHOTOGRAPHY

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

Luke Grech-Cumbo (HSV Senator) kept Danny Timewell (VF Commodore) and Damien Milano (VX Commodore) at bay for all nine laps of Race 1.

Timewell spun out in Race 2’s wet conditions, as Milano snuck past GrechCumbo a few seconds before the yellow flags flew (as the race ended behind the Safety Car) with Matthew Logan (VE Commodore) taking third.

Milano and Grech-Cumbo duelled on a drying track in Race 3, with accidental contact sending the Senator driver off between Turns 2 and 3.

He recovered to finish third behind round-winner Milano and Logan in a tight three-round contest.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

Cadel Ambrose continually edged away from the field to win Race 1. As James Lodge retired, Harry Tomkins inherited second place with Antonio Molluso right behind him at the finish.

Tomkins kept the pressure on Ambrose in the wet and eventually slipped through on the final lap at Turn 1 to take Race 2, with Lodge charging through to third after starting last. Lodge would feature on the podium again in Race 3, going one better after overhauling Tomkins. Ambrose picked up another race win and secured his second consecutive round win.

FORMULA VEE

Reef McCarthy dominated the opening race by 13 seconds, with best-of-the-rest Nick Jones and Andrew Curin fighting right to the line behind him. McCarthy added another win in Race 2 ahead of Heath Collinson, with Jake Rowe putting on a masterclass of wet weather racing to climb from last to finish third.

Race 3 was nearing two laps old when McCarthy made an error at Lukey Heights and was collected by Curin. No result was recorded with the red flag shown, and McCarthy’s two wins awarded him the round ahead of a tie between Jones and Collinson.

SALOON CARS

Kerran Pridmore (VY Commodore) took out the opening race win ahead of Adam Lowndes (VY Commodore), with Keven Stoopman (AU Falcon) third following Andrew McSwain’s last lap

Damien Milano took out Improved Production.

Cadel Ambrose (194) shows the way to Harry Tomkins (33) and James Lodge (39) in the Excel contest.

Habib and Lynch took the Sports Sedan 1-2.

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puncture. Pridmore did not cope well with a wet second race as Lowndes went one better ahead of Jacob Prestipino (VT Commodore) with another third for Stoopman.

Lowndes added the feature race win to close out round honours as Pridmore bounced back to finish a close second, with Prestipino equally close behind in third.

PORSCHE 944S

Almost nothing separating the top trio in Race 1, with championship leader Chris Lewis-Williams holding on ahead of Adam Brewer and Cameron Beller. The rain split up the field in Race 2 as James Westaway climbed from 10th to dominate the affair by 12 seconds over Lewis-Williams and Beller.

As conditions improved in the afternoon, Lewis-Williams returned to the top for Race 3 and for the round as he outlasted Beller by one tenth, as Westaway followed them home in third.

BMW E30S

Eventual round winner Royce Lyne could not make a lasting pass on Race 1 winner Ash Rogers as the pair finished first and second ahead of Jesse Bryan.

Lyne’s Sunday performance was sublime.

Race 2 in the rain was a seven second win over Seth Burchartz and Brian Bourke as Rogers struggled in the conditions. Race 3 was a tighter affair – Lyne holding off Bryan by two seconds and Bourke by three.

HQ HOLDENS

Rod Raatjes showed his class with a last-tofirst win after rounding up Steve Banks with three laps to go in the opener, with pole sitter Gavin Ross finished third with a misfiring car. Ross would bounce back on a greasy track in Race 2 ahead of Ryan Woods who capitalised on a rare Raatjes mistake.

Woods put it all on the line the start of Race 3’s final lap but briefly slipped off the track at Turn 1 and lost ground. Raatjes then outlasted Ross for the feature race win with Woods coming home third - the three podium sitters also the same top three for the round.

The next round of the Vic State Race Series will be held at Sandown August 11-13

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MACKRELL RETURNS LAUCKE

TO WINNING HILLCLIMBING RETURNED to Mt. Alma Road, Inman Valley on South Australia’s south coast on 12-14 May for the first time in four years.

Victoria’s Kevin Mackrell, back in his Chev V8-powered Datsun 260Z 4WD (above) for the first time since blowing the front diff at Legend of the Lakes last year, had a narrow win over the local Subaru STi C-spec of Dan Day (right) after the pair battled for the lead over the whole weekend. There were also close fights for the final podium spot as well as in the 2WD categories.

The new event, Supaservice Tyre & Auto Backbone Hillclimb was the result of two years of hard work and negotiations by the state’s newest motorsport club, Hillclimb SA. The new name for the hillclimb comes from the Devil’s Backbone, an old name for the ridge along which the steep part of Mt. Alma Road runs. It is still shown as this on Google Maps.

The course had been altered slightly since it was last used, with a new chicane installed near the top of the hill to slow the cars at the finish line.

Classes were a little different to the usual, with categories for Standard, Improved and

Modified vehicles, and sub-categories for capacity and 2WD or 4WD. Friday consisted of a ‘Members Only’ competition, unfortunately held in rainy conditions for most of the day.

Saturday’s weather was much kinder, with Dan Day (Subaru WRX STi C-spec) going into an immediate lead with 44.950 secs. from Doug Johnson (Subaru WRX) and Henry Beasley (Mitsubishi EVO) before Mackrell (Datsun 260Z Chev 4WD) dropped the benchmark to 44.220s on the next run.

Day went back into the lead on the third run with 43.660s, dropping it again to 43.610s in the fourth. Cool conditions late in the day saw Day and Mackrell electing not to run in the fifth, leaving the former 0.56s up at day’s end, Johnson 0.63s back, in turn 0.59s ahead of Beasley with Nick Streckeisen (Nissan R35 GTR) 1.53s back, only managing two runs before losing gears.

Andrew Campbell (Nissan S14) led the 2WDs with 48.30s from Glen Latter (Mazda RX7) by 1.44s with Anthony Norris (Nissan S15) only .0011s further back.

Damian Malizani broke the diff in his fifth-placed Mazda RX7 on the third run, replacing it with spare prior to Sunday’s proceedings.

Despite beautiful weather on Sunday, the crowd was smaller, no doubt due to it being Mother’s Day. Day began by setting an identical fastest time of 43.610s on his first run, before Mackrell again took the lead on the next, with 43.210s to Day’s 43.260s.

Mackrell set the weekend’s fastest time of 42.760s on the eighth run, 0.51 faster than Day, whilst Beasley moved up into third with 44.800s.

There were several delays during the final ninth runs due to kangaroos either on the course or in very close proximity, with a few runs having to be rescheduled. Day set his best time of 43.040s on the run, to leave him short of Mackrell’s best by 0.28s whilst the battling pair of Johnson and Beasley also set their fastest times of the weekend, to move Johnson into third by 0.14s over Beasley.

Despite not running on Sunday, Streckeisen finished fifth, 0.039s ahead of Campbell, top 2WD, with Norris next, displacing Latter on the final run. The very tidy Fiesta ST of Nate Dale was next, followed by the very rare Subaru STi 22B of Sean Day. The top 10 2WD and 4WDs lined up for a shootout at the end of the day.

Unfortunately this had to be cancelled after most had run due to Dan Day going off exiting the long right hander and damaging the oil cooler, leaving a large slick on the road.

Story and Images: John Lemm

HAS IT

ROUND THREE of the 2023 series was run over the 4.95km long ‘International Circuit’ and saw plenty of action from the small but high-quality field of prototypes.

Mark Laucke (Wolf Tornado) extended his lead in the 2023 SA Prototype Series with consistency at The Bend Motorsport Park on May 19.

A pair of podiums were enough for Laucke to collect a solid haul of points without winning a race.

Tim Cook (Wolf Thunder) top qualified, but his hopes of an easy first up race win looked unlikely when he blew the start in race one. John Paul Drake grabbed the lead (above) ahead of the two Radicals of Sammy Moussawel and Julian Newton into turn one. As the race progressed Cook moved to the front claiming the win from Ian Eldridge (Stohr WF1) and Lauke.

Drake encountered technical dramas and had fallen back through the field to be two laps down in eighth at the finish while Newton and Moussawel filled out the top five.

Drake didn’t put a foot wrong in Race 2, taking a convincing win with Laucke not far behind and Chien-Wen Liew (Wolf) claiming third. This time it was Cook’s turn to struggle coming home five laps down in eighth after running at the front in the early laps.

Moussawel and Scott Bormann (Wolf Extreme) made up the top five this time while Eldridge was a lap down in seventh after running with the leaders before the pit stops and Newton failed to start.

Round 4 of the 2023 SA Prototype Series will be run on the The Bend Motorsport Park full-length GT Circuit on August 26th.

Story and image: David Bachelor

MAHON DOMINANT AT BRYANT PARK THE MOTORSPORT Australia Victorian Hill Climb Championship completed its fourth round of the 2023 season last month as an impressive field of 72 took on the famous Bryant Park.

Competitors had four attempts to post the fastest time across their four completed runs, but it was a familiar face in David Mahon (far right) who topped the timesheets once again.

The South Australian’s fastest time came in his third run, where he steered his Dallara Hayabusa F394 to a rapid time of 66.90 seconds.

Not only did Mahon post the fastest time in the third run, but his second and fourth runs were also unbeaten by any other competitor.

The winner was two whole seconds faster than the second placed Wim Janssen, who finished in the top five for the second time in as many outings at

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Images: SEVEN70 PHOTOGRAPHY Bryant Park this season.

The Minihan family in their Hayward VHCC Pete 07 held down two spots within the top five with Bruce rounding out the podium and Peter not far behind in fifth, while Patrick Malanaphy split the pair with a solid time of 72.71 seconds in his third and final run.

Mahon took the lead the championship

with the result by 20 points over former leader Greg Ackland, who sits equal second with Malanaphy on 37 points as the Vic series headed to Mt Laura at Camperdown.

With the A class open wheelers dominating the event, Mirko Grbic was the highest placed tin top, finishing seventh overall and topping the C class competitors.

Behind him in eighth overall was D Class winner Thomas Inkster in his IDS clubman IDS sports car, while a pair of Honda Civics driven by Rhys Yeomans and Stuart Haverkort rounded out the top 10.

Just missing out on a top 10 finish was Colin Newitt, however the Lotus Clubman sports car driver didn’t go home empty handed as he won the B Class.

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Images: DAKAR PRESS TEAM AUSTRALIA

QUINN TAKES MAIDEN WA FOREST RALLY WIN NATHAN QUINN and Ray Winwood-Smith (above) have claimed their first Australian Rally Championship victory of the year at the Western Australia’s Forest Rally, in their first ever attempt at the WA event.

The 2017 Australian rally champion was elevated into the lead after Harry Bates and Coral Taylor incurred a one-minute penalty late in the day whilst in the lead, dropping them to outright P3, and into P6 for Sunday’s Heat 2.

A subsequent protest was lodged by the #2 Toyota team, after they were penalised by booking into time control early prior to the final stage, but the protest was withdrawn the following Tuesday, affirming the victory for the elevated Hyundai pair.

Despite the #1 Toyota pairing of Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin then claiming the Power Stage to secure overall second, Quinn took his second outright win in three rallies after taking out the Coffs Coast finale in 2022.

After being in front of Quinn after the first heat, Lewis Bates’ P2 has helped him keep the championship lead over Quinn heading into Round 3.

Troy Dowel and Bernie Webb claimed P4 in their Skoda Fabia Evo, whilst Tasmanian pair Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey rounded out the top five in their Subaru, with the latter pair also claiming the Production Cup win over Steve Maguire and regular WRC2 co-driver Dale Moscatt.

ARC debutants Craig Rando and Scott Beckwith also finished with a Production Cup P3, as well as a top-ten outright finish.

But for the overall victor, it was the first visit to WA for the Queensland state champion, with the Hyundai i20 G4 team doing themselves no harm in the championship fight against Lewis Bates

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Lewis (above) and the flying Harry (right) Bates ceded victory to the Quinn Hyundai ... after a P3 in Launceston.

“It’s good stuff. Thanks to the team and big old Ray (co-driver) ... he goes alright,” Quinn said.

“The challenges early in the weekend are part of the rally game. It’s a shame with Harry’s penalty this afternoon as he’s an exceptional driver.

“I did my normal thing and plugged away and got through to the end … It was certainly worth a trip!

“We decided early to come and the decision has paid off. It is a shame the way it happened for us to win, but overall we had a good event.

“Fabulous drives by Harry and Lewis and one day, I will get a Power Stage win,” he quipped.

“I live my life one round at a time. We were always going to Queensland providing we didn’t barrel roll the car. So, we will be there. If that round goes well, we will compete in the whole championship.”

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After claiming Heat 1 on the Saturday, Harry Bates was looking the goods to break his win drought with four more stage wins on Sunday, but his run of ill luck continued against a quality field where a single error (on or off-track) can cost dearly.

“Third place for us isn’t what we deserved after our drive. A penalty dropped us down from P1,” the 2019 champion said.

“But mainly I’m happy with the pace we showed, especially yesterday with four out of five stage wins.

“Massive congratulations to Nathan and Ray Winwood-Smith and Lewis Bates and Anthony on the podiums and thanks for such tight battles all weekend.

“We were all consistent and it was a thrill just knowing that if you missed an apex somewhere in a 22 km stage, then that was the difference between winning a stage and coming third. Exciting stuff for

us, and exciting for the championship.”

Rounding out the Cup wins was another Tassie pair in David Thompson and Matthew Sanders, guiding their Mazda RX7 to the ARC Classic Cup win, having claimed top class honours on Sunday and second in Heat 1.

And, after a challenging opening day, the Queensland pairing of Josh Wiedman and co-driver Nick Reid took out the ARC Junior Cup, whilst Ben and Catherine Hayes took the honours in the ARC 2WD. In Round 2 of the WA State championship stakes, it was Daniel Gonzalez and Daymon Nicoli who finished in a brilliant P6 in the ARC outright, which was more than enough to claim the state victory in their Skoda Fabia R5, ahead of Peter Rullo and Ben James Marquet in a Hyundai i20 R2 (See separate story elsewhere).

The ARC now has a welcome return to the Sunshine State, with the Rally Queensland to take place in Gympie on 21-23 July after it was cancelled last year due to flooding.

TW Neal

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Image: MATHEW BISSETT- MJB PHOTOGRAPHY

TIM’S THE MANN IN SYMMONS TIN TOPS

By Martin Agatyn SYMMONS PLAINS became Tim Mann Plains for the Tassie Tin Tops support category at the Ned Whisky Tasmanian Supersprint Supercars round on May 19-21.

The Tasmanian sports sedan racer (pictured) dominated the category – a blend of five categories which normally run in the Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championships, namely Sports Sedans, Improved Production sedans, Sports GTA, Sports GTB and Sports GTC. Not surprisingly, the hybrid category, which featured rolling starts, had good grid numbers, but unsurprisingly, the Sports Sedan boys, led by Mann (Ford BF Falcon), were at the pointy end all weekend.

For Mann, it was a perfect weekend, qualifying on pole and winning all three races convincingly, despite discovering a cracked diff mount overnight after the first race.

Craig Sheahen, better known as a rally navigator, was impressive in his circuit racing debut in a hastily-prepared Nissan Skyline GTR. Sheahen finished second in the first race, albeit by 10 secs, third in Race 2, and was running in second in the third and final race, before heading to the pits after 10 laps with a smoky engine on his Brad Sherriff-prepared bullet.

Mann was dominant in the second race, lapping everyone up to fourth, as he did in Race 1.

Sheahen looked solid in second until an off-track excursion in the gravel on the exit of Turn 6 gifted second place to John Douglas (Chev Camaro), with Sheahen able to rejoin in third.

A blown tyre and fire on the Holden Torana A9X Hatchback of Lance ‘Spike’ Jones in the hairpin on lap 13 resulted in a finish under the Safety Car. In Race 3, John Douglas started the better and led Mann for three-quarters of the opening lap, but Mann soon asserted his superiority to run away with a 12-second victory.

Sheahen caught Douglas on lap nine, but his smoky engine on the next lap ended his weekend prematurely.

Back in the pack Scott Arthur (Holden VX Commodore) dominated the Improved Production sedans with three wins for the weekend, while Rye Dunsmuir (BMW E3) did likewise in Sports GTB. Stuart Benson (Porsche GT3) and Shawn Sheather (Infinity G375) scored maximum points in Sports GTA and Sports GTC respectively.

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KIWIS EAT UP APPLE ISLE IT WAS a Kiwi invasion in the second round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge season with New Zealanders taking home all of the spoils at Tasmania.

Marco Giltrap (above) continued his prolific start to the season, while son-ofa-gun Ronan Murphy took his first victory on Australian soil.

The local who made the biggest impact was impressive rookie Oscar Targett. The 17-year-old drove to a podium in his first appearance racing for the Grove junior team.

Having finished no lower than second in the season opener at Phillip Island, Giltrap headed to Tasmania as the driver to beat and that proved to be the case.

The Team Porsche New Zealand driver took pole with a 52.2810s, but only just.

It proved to be the closest qualifying in the category’s history with Giltrap, Lachlan Blossom, Marcos Flack and Murphy split by just 0.0792s.

But the margins were not so close when racing began, as Giltrap charged to a crushing 4s win.

Murphy ensured it was an NZ 1-2, while Targett collected an impressive third on debut in the Porsche category.

Their path to the podium was made easier by Flack and Aron Shields, who both spun at the hairpin, while more drama ensured the Safety Car played a role.

Giltrap went back-to-back in the second Saturday sprint – however, this occasion was much tighter contest.

He lost the lead after a wild slide at Turn 3 which allowed Zac Stichbury to take control.

The Kiwi pair ran nose-to-tail for the majority of the race before Giltrap made the decisive move eight laps from home.

Gilstrap led Stichbury in another NZ 1-2 ahead of Harrison Goodman while Flack spun at Turn 6 after a failed move on Targett.

The weekend concluded with the longer 40-lap feature race where Murphy showed shades of his father.

Just like Greg did in 1997 and 1999, Ronan drove the Murphy name in victory lane at Symmons Plains.

Driving the #77 Sonic Motorsport Porsche, the 21-year-old put in a composed drive to beat Targett and Tom McLennan by 4s.

Murphy started on the second row, but hit the lead after pulling off moves on Stitchbury and Giltrap at the hairpin.

After accounting for Giltrap on Lap 11 he was never headed as the latter slipped to fourth.

Blossom crossed the line second, but dropped to 12th due to a post-race penalty.

After two of six rounds have been accounted for, Giltrap enjoys a 55-point lead over Murphy with Goodman and Zac Stichbury the others to push past the 200 mark.

Thomas Miles The next Porsche Sprint Challenge round is the Sydney SuperNight event on July 28-30.

PORSCHE SPRINT CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2 1 Marco Giltrap 337 2 Ronan Murphy 282 3 Harrison Goodman 251 4 Zac Stichbury 230 5 Tom McLennan 174

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HEINRICH PREVAILS IN TASSIE CHAOS

JOEL HEINRICH (leading, above) delivered a hammer blow in the Aussie Racing Cars championship battle with a near-perfect trip to Tasmania.

Heinrich arrived at the Apple Isle with just a seven-point lead, but he more than doubled his advantage after winning three of the four races at Symmons Plains.

The third round of the season saw the introduction of high-aero kits being applied to all cars on the grid, while Ryder Quinn and Reece Chapman’s father Chad, were additions to the 23-strong field.

Heinrich sent an early warning by transitioning his practice form into pole position.

His 1:00.682s was two-tenths too much

for the CoolDrive pair of Josh Anderson and Reece Chapman.

Although the #16 Mustang remained in front when racing began, the competition threw up a much sterner test.

Heinrich had to contend with Anderson across the early laps with car #1 in P1 until the reigning champion’s engine cut out on lap seven and restricted him to a P5 finish.

Although Heinrich controlled the remainder of the race, he had to hold off a late charge from Ryder Quinn, who led home his uncle Kent after they both beat Reece Chapman to the podium.

Heinrich went back-to-back later on Saturday, but only after an almighty battle with Chapman and Ryder Quinn.

Quinn got the whole shot off the line

which setup a fascinating duel for the lead that changed hands on numerous occasions.

Heinrich eventually won the battle after pouncing on Chapman’s mistake at the hairpin.

Just 6s covered the top five when they crossed the line with the two Quinns and James Ward filling the remaining spots.

The fight for victory was even closer in Race 3 as Heinrich fell 0.199s short of a perfect sweep.

The reverse top 10 race created action from start to finish with Anderson an early casualty, being one of many to get caught up in hairpin mayhem.

After rubbing shoulders with Kent Quinn, Chapman was in control as the former

dropped to fifth with tyre dramas and Heinrich surged to second.

The jostling for position continued all the way until the chequered flag was waved a lap early with Chapman leading home a top four by less than a second.

Heinrich hit back with a strong win after executing two fine starts in Safety Carimpacted final race.

A Lap 3 incident brought out an early Safety Car, but this did not stop Heinrich, who had an answer for everything Chapman threw at him with just fourtenths the difference across the line.

The Aussie Racing Cars will be back in action at the Darwin Supercars roundHidden Valley Raceway on June 16-18.

Thomas Miles

SYMMONS PLAINS GOES SONIC EVEN AFTER a decade away, Symmons Plains Raceway remains Sonic Motor Racing Services territory thanks to Jake Santalucia (image supplied right).

Santalucia took Sonic to victory lane in the third round of the 2023 Australian Formula Ford Series at Tasmania.

The last time the category raced around Symmons Plains was in 2013 when current DJR driver Anton De Pasquale took round honours for Sonic and a decade later Santalucia kept the team’s streak going.

The team has now won the last six straight Formula Ford rounds held in Tasmania, dating back to 2009.

But it proved to be one of mixed emotions for the Sonic squad, as teammate Matt Hillyer lost the championship lead.

Xavier Kokai, in a Spectrum, took his maiden pole position after lapping a 56.418 in a competitive qualifying session.

Just 0.038s away was Kobi Williams, while Santalucia had a second-row start as early season victors Hillyeer and Zak Lobko could only manage P6 and P12 respectively.

The morning chill was broken by the heated racing action first thing on Saturday morning.

The fight for Race 1 victory was intense with Eddy Beswick and Santalucia dicing for the lead.

Santalucia prevailed after Beswick dropped from first to ninth on Lap 14.

This helped Cody Maynes Rutty complete a dramatic drive to second just two-tenths away from the victorious Sonic steerer.

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Lobko stayed out of trouble to take third, but the same could not be said for Hillyer, who slumped to 13th after spinning whilst battling for the lead.

Hillyer found himself in the middle of drama again in race 2 when he had to take avoiding action as Daniel Frougas got hit from behind bringing out an early Safety Car. Beswick also got caught up in the chaos and had to retire after his suspension arm got bent.

The stoppage created the exciting scenario of a one-lap has for glory and it lived up to the hype.

Maynes Rutty made a move for the lead on the outside of Santalucia at Turn 6, but the #4 Sonic car held strong and drove to another win with Kokai in third.

Santalucia’s hopes of a clean sweep were denied by Kokai’s Spectrum, which edged him out in another

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interrupted, but tense race.

The eventual round winner started strong, leading the first 10 laps despite a nervous moment at the Safety Car restart.

The yellows were required early after Lachlan Mineef became airborne at Turn 3 following contact with Lachlan Strickland.

As Lobko and Hillyer fought for fourth in a battle eventually won by the former, the lead also changed hands as Kokai snatched the lead from Santalucia on Lap 11.

Their tussle was cut short by a tyre-flying shunt by Elliot Cleary, which brought out another yellow, and ensured the race finish under the control of the Safety Car. Despite losing the final race, a second place ensured Santalucia a solid round win ahead of Kokai and Maynes Rutty.

Hillyer’s battles saw him record just 16 points and lose the championship lead to Lobko as Santalucia rose from 10th to fourth.

Formula Ford returns to Winton Motor Raceway on June 9-11 as part of the ARG V8 Festival.

Thomas Miles FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 3 1 Zac Lobko 133 2 Matt Hillyer 123 3 Xaver Kokai 100 4 Jake Santalucia 91 5 Lachlan Strickland 74

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 4 – TASMANIA

BROWN DOUBLES DOWN

The Erebus/Coca-Cola team continued its form surge – this time with Will Brown (above and below) taking double-victory points.

Images: MARK HORSBURG-MOTORSPORT IMAGES / MATHEW BISSETT- MJB PHOTOGRAPHY

THE SEASON STARTED WITH SOME CYNICAL AND IMPATIENT CRIES OF “NOTHING’S CHANGED” ...

BUT AFTER ROUND 4 IN TASMANIA, PLENTY’S CHANGED. BRODIE KOSTECKI ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE AND HIS MATE WILL BROWN IS NOW RIGHT UNDER HIS BACK WING IN THE TITLE CHASE. BUT DON’T FORGET ABOUT ‘MR SUNDAY’!

TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS

FOR THE Second round running, the Supercars Championship travelled to a more traditional track for a third straight SuperSprint format.

After the tight margins of Wanneroo livened up the Gen3 season, a similar but harder braking layout greeted the teams across the Bass Strait.

What was different, however, is that Perth’s Round 3 gave fans a new story. It teased a new challenger … or challengers, and it gave the Australian racing world a good look at a team on the rise, doing it their own way.

The 2.4 km, three-corner, low deg Symmons Plains track south of Launceston was the scene of this story’s next act, and for first time, the new Dunlop Super Soft tyre would be the the sole choice of rubber for the Camaros and Mustangs after it was a offered as a choice of two compounds at Albert Park.

Parity was still a buzzword, with the Mustangs getting an engine update for the second round running.

In a three-phase plan (V2, V2L, V3) that will extend to the Triple Crown in June, the Mustang engine mapping upgrade saw them get extra torque in Perth (V2), with Tasmania’s phase-two (V2L) to settle the throttle-lag issue, giving the Ford’s more power on the exit.

The phase three mapping (V3) would also feature on three cars over the practice sessions, but with only the new V2L mapping to be utilised for the three Tassie races, with the V3 expected for the next round at Hidden Valley.

For the 50th ATCC/Supercars round at Symmons Plains

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since the first in 1969, the crowd would be treated to a packed two days of action, which included two half-hour practice sessions, a three part knockout qualifying with 45 minutes on the clock, a back-to-back qualifying hit out, and Races 10, 11 and 12.

What fans got was three more Safety Car-free, yet entertaining races, and confirmation that another challenger to the title has well and truly arrived, cementing Erebus as a dangerous and consistent double proposition.

SATURDAY

DAY 1 began with two half-hour practice sessions on a chilly four degree Tasmanian morning ahead of the threepart knockout qualifying.

The championship leader would top both sessions, with Kostecki firing off a warning that he’d be running at the front for the third round running.

The #99 put down a 51.014s in a late qualifying sim run, but it was Cam Waters that led for most of the first session.

After both Erebus Camaros were up early, they were dislodged by the Mustangs of James Courtney and Will Davison, who were both running the Darwin bound V3 mapping, and they were soon joined by the third in BRT’s Todd Hazelwood in P3, with Waters sitting over Davison, and Brown in P5 over a procession of Camaros in SVG, Mark Winterbottom, with Jack Smith pulling a surprise to be +0.453s off the mark over Feeney.

With the second session warming up a bit, the split down

the field became tighter but Kostecki couldn’t top his first session run with a 51.172s.

In a sign that he’d continue his love affair with Tasmania, MSR’s Jack Le Brocq announced his intentions with P2, only 0.019s off the pace, over Brown.

Grove showed signs of struggle for the second straight session with Reynolds and Payne struggling to mount a top-10 challenge, with DJR’s De Pasquale also a cause for concern as he dejectedly struggled with clutch issues.

A big scare towards the end of the session saw a near miss between Reynolds and Courtney into Turn 6, which could have ended both their weekends.

With Courtney on a fast lap, the gentlemen’s agreement to keep left didn’t register for Reynolds as he warmed his tyres, with the #5 Mustang narrowly avoiding the #26 and ploughing into the run off at speed.

Q1

BROWN CLAIMED the first meaningful P1 of the weekend, taking his third career pole and second of 2023.

Waters was quick again with the Tickford driver looking on a mission (the only Mustang to make the top-ten) but he couldn’t top Le Brocq, as the #34 made it two years straight with a Symmons Plains front row.

The knockout began with Reynolds and De Pasquale having issues, with the Grove racer stuck in the sheds with a tyre sensor issue, and the #11 having continuing clutch problems. Both would miss out on putting in a late flyer,

Shane van Gisbergen came off second-best after contact at the end of the main straight. Below: Aftyer a troubled Saturday, ‘Mr Sunday’ came right for a win and second on Sunday. with Fullwood, Fraser, and Macualey Jones also missing the cut.

With the times getting tighter, the top-10 cut would see a split of 0.662s down to P20.

The day got tougher for DJR, with Davison not only missing the cut, but getting a four-grid penalty for impeding a late Feeney run.

Missing the Q3 knockout would be Mostert, Slade, Percat, Winterbottom, Courtney, Davison, Payne, Randle, Hazelwood and Smith.

In the third knockout, Brown’s flyer of 50.878s would get the job done for Erebus, and he’d have his teammate for company on the second row in P4, as Heimgartner and Feeney took the third row.

Cam Hill added to MSR’s weekend promise with a P7, whilst Golding, SVG and Scott Pye filled the top of the grid for Race 10.

RACE 10 – DON’T FORGET NUMBER NINE

BROWN SURVIVED an early challenge out front to take his second Supercars win of the season from pole, as the hairpin played a big role in shaping Race 10.

Just like at Perth, Brown was assertive out front, holding off Heimgartner who matched it lap-for-lap with the #9 Erebus Camaro, as SVG stormed up six spots to claim P3 with a last lap take over of Waters.

It was hard luck for Kostecki early, as he lost out at the hairpin in a battle with Waters, with Mostert also getting

rear-ended by Feeney which cost both drivers dearly with Mostert finishing in the garage.

A good showing from rookie Cameron Hill made it two top-10s for the MSR team with a career high P8, finishing just behind his teammate.

With Brown’s victory, his third in Supercars, the 24-year-old moved into third in the championship, with Mostert dropping into fourth, and SVG taking second with his late podium.

The race got going with Brown holding the inside into Turn 2, as Waters made his first round of contact with Kostecki who went into P3.

Kostecki and Le Brocq then bumped doors with the Erebus driver taking P2 before mayhem unfurled at the hairpin with Waters squeezing Kostecki into the right side wall with Mostert also getting turned by Feeney.

The championship leader dropped into P23, and spent the race in the back field.

It stayed green despite the chaos, with SVG also looking present and up into P5.

Mostert’s steering rack damage saw him bow out, with Feeney limping at the rear with body damage.

The front three gapped the chasing pack by lap 12 with SVG up five spots into P4.

Waters and Heimgartner pitted on Lap 22 from the provisional podium spots, with Brown going in on Lap 23, rejoining in P9 as the highest pitter.

He resumed up front by Lap 30, as the top three matched speeds to hold the gap to P4, Although the #97 had fresher tyres but little time to close the gap.

Heimgartner found something extra to threaten Brown,

In contrast to Feeney, Andre Heingartner turned out to be ‘Mr Saturday’ with a strong second to Brown.

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 4 – TASMANIA

The Matt Stone Racing duo had another strong weekeknd. Here Hill and Le Brocq run together, with Feeney as company ... Right: The Coke boys took out all three pole positions. Below: Feeney into the hairpin during his Sunday runaway win.

getting the gap to under a second with seven laps to race, but the #9 had the answers.

Waters faded fast in the closing stages, as SVG stormed through and took the inside line on Turn 6 to relegate him into P4.

Pye claimed P5 over Slade, with Le Brocq, Hill, Percat and Randle filling the top 10.

SUNDAY Q2/Q3

SUNDAY’S BACK-to-back qualifying for Races 11 and 12 saw the championship leader stand tall and take a dominant double pole.

Both sessions would be highlighted by heavy traffic in the desperate dash for late flyers and a tow down the back straight in Turn 6 which saw a strong headwind.

Drama would ensue between Waters and the two DJRs as a result of the heavy traffic in both sessions, with contact to the #11 in the first, and the #17 in the second.

MSR continued its weekend of top-10s, with both drivers doubling up.

In the first session, Kostecki and Waters exchanged early fire in the lead up to the scramble, with Randle then topping the timesheet into the final minutes.

The congested finish was highlighted with Waters going purple through the first sector before making contact with De Pasquale at Turn 6, relegating him to a P10 start.

Kostecki’s lap of 50.833 gave him pole by 0.002s over Feeney, as Brown and Le Brocq took the second row with Hill in P5 next to Golding, whilst Davison took P7 with Randle and Reynolds in tow.

The second session was once again highlighted by late traffic and a dominant Erebus, who locked out the front row for the third time this season.

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The #99’s 50.621s would get it done by 0.018s over his teammate, whilst Le Brocq would make it to the second row again with a P4 behind Waters.

Though Waters would start behind Kostecki he might well have claimed pole, with the Tickford driver having to contend with DJR’s Davison into Turn 6, with the two making door-to-door contact as the faster #6 wasn’t afraid to get his elbows out against the slower Mustang who got in the way of another purple sector lap after the chequered flag had dropped.

Randle again placed well heading into the final minute, but couldn’t hold off the charging pack, with Slade and Feeney on the third row, over Hill, Randle, SVG, and Winterbottom, with just 0.699s splitting the field.

RACE 11 - MR SUNDAY

BROC FEENEY took his third Sunday victory of the season from P2, with a great strategy based win over Kostecki, with Erebus also taking another double podium.

The #87 Red Bull youngster had good lap pace on fresh tyres out of the pits to gradually pull away over 20 laps from the #99, taking his third win for 2023, meanwhile, his teammate was absent after a lap one tussle with Reynolds.

Waters challenged the podium but Brown made it another double podium for the Melbourne based team.

At the flag Kostecki hung on into Turn 2, with Brown at first jumping Feeney, whilst drama ensued for van Gisbergen.

SVG speared off into the tyre wall after contact with Reynolds at Turn 6, limping back into pit lane with plenty of right-side damage.

QUALIFYING RACE 10 Pos Driver 1 Will Brown 2 Jack Le Brocq 3 Cam Waters 4 Brodie Kostecki 5 Andre Heimgartner 6 Broc Feeney 7 Cameron Hill 8 James Golding 9 Shane van Gisbergen 10 Scott Pye 11 Chaz Mostert 12 Tim Slade 13 Nick Percat 14 Mark Winterbottom 15 James Courtney 16 Will Davison 17 Matt Payne 18 Thomas Randle 19 Todd Hazelwood 20 Jack Smith 21 Bryce Fullwood 22 Anton De Pasquale 23 David Reynolds 24 Declan Fraser 25 Macauley Jones

RESULTS RACE 10 42 LAPS Time 50.878 +0.198 +0.202 +0.206 +0.228 +0.266 +0.356 +0.380 +0.450 +0.496 +0.3069 +0.3957 +0.3986 +0.4004 +0.4557 +0.4644 +0.5413 +0.5467 +0.5896 +0.6537 +0.6149 +0.6857 +0.8046 +0.9021 +0.9613

Pos Drivers 1 Will Brown 2 Andre Heimgartner 3 Shane van Gisbergen 4 Cam Waters 5 Scott Pye 6 Tim Slade 7 Jack Le Brocq 8 Cameron Hill 9 Nick Percat 10 Thomas Randle 11 Will Davison 12 Mark Winterbottom 13 Anton De Pasquale 14 James Golding 15 Matt Payne 16 David Reynolds 17 Jack Smith 18 Broc Feeney 19 Bryce Fullwood 20 Todd Hazelwood 21 Declan Fraser 22 Macauley Jones 23 Brodie Kostecki 24 James Courtney DNF Chaz Mostert

Laps Race time 42 00:37.15 42 +0.685 42 +4.788 42 +5.375 42 +14.779 42 +19.223 42 +19.598 42 +19.997 42 +21.745 42 +23.113 42 +23.255 42 +23.457 42 +25.547 42 +25.930 42 +29.240 42 +30.045 42 +30.380 42 +30.729 42 +33.029 42 +33.056 42 +34.922 42 +35.133 36 +6 Laps 35 +7 Laps 2

s3 s6 t1 s5 s6 t5 t1 s4 s7 s9 s2 s9 t6 s1 s7 s2 t12 s2 t2 s3 s3 t19 t9 t14

Cam Waters took two P3s in qualifying, a best of fourth over a race distance. Right: It used to be T8, now it’s Erebus blasting off the front tow ...

Hill jumped his teammate into P3 with Feeney in P5 as Reynolds also went to pit lane with flat after the unavoidable collision with SVG. Brown took the lead on lap four with a great pass on Kostecki at the hairpin, with the top six staying close.

Le Brocq dropped into P6 with the #87 and #17 moving through as Hill did his best to hang onto the back of the two Erebus Camaros as they broke away.

Brown went wide at the hairpin on Lap 16 allowing Kostecki to retake the lead, as Hill pitted which put Feeney in P3, with Brown following suit on lap 18 to emerge as the highest pitter.

Brown looked to have the advantage, but Kostecki pitted at the halfway mark to come out in front.

A sensational T8 over-cut pit from Feeney then saw him hit the front out of nowhere, with a good battle emerging on relatively even tyres.

Kostecki tried to keep with Feeney as they gapped Brown and Davison with Waters looming large with a gap to Hill who was dropping off.

Waters and Davison made contact again, with the Tickford racer getting the best of the hairpin and looking a danger to Brown with six laps to run.

He resisted the challenge however, and the #9 even closed on his teammate as Feeney stayed solid out front

with a 2s margin at the chequered flag.

With Waters in P4, Davison and Mostert followed suit, with Slade, Le Brocq, Golding and Percat filling the 10.

RACE 12 - BROWN TO THE DOUBLE

ONCE AGAIN, Brown showed what he can do out front in clean air, taking an assured win to create a 79-point break over Mostert in the championship in second, as well as pulling to within 87 points of Kostecki.

It was an untroubled run to take a third win from the last two rounds, cementing his status as a challenger.

It was looking like another 1-2 from Erebus early, but ‘Mr Sunday’ put in another good stint for a fine P2 over Kostecki, who was left to resume his battles with SVG for the final step.

Brown got the jump he needed into Turn 2, whilst Waters seemed to kick his podium chances by dropping into P6, promoting Feeney and Slade.

A four-Camaro battle developed out front between the two Erebus cars, Le Brocq and Feeney, whilst a bit of action unfolded at the back with both Fraser and Heimgartner getting pushed off track at 6 and 2.

Feeney pushed into P3 by Lap 10 as the leaders pushed the gap out to 1.5s advantage.

In Percat’s 300th race, a loose brake pedal pad brought

The Nulon PremiAir duo are regular top 10 qualifiers and runners now. Here Golding heads Slade, who was unlucky to go out of Sunday’s final race when running strongly in fifth before an engine issue intervened.

QUALIFYING RACE 11 Pos Driver 1 Brodie Kostecki 2 Broc Feeney 3 Will Brown 4 Jack Le Brocq 5 Cameron Hill 6 James Golding 7 Will Davison 8 Thomas Randle 9 David Reynolds 10 Cameron Waters 11 Shane van Gisbergen 12 Tim Slade 13 Chaz Mostert 14 Bryce Fullwood 15 Mark Winterbottom 16 Nick Percat 17 James Courtney 18 Matthew Payne 19 Anton De Pasquale 20 Jack Smith 21 Andre Heimgartner 22 Todd Hazelwood 23 Declan Fraser 24 Macauley Jones 25 Scott Pye

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RESULTS RACE 11 42 LAPS Time 50.833 +0.002 +0.062 +0.130 +0.150 +0.174 +0.210 +0.221 +0.239 +0.240 +0.255 +0.311 +0.329 +0.365 +0.400 +0.440 +0.443 +0.456 +0.562 +0.565 +0.565 +0.568 +0.604 +0.648 +0.662

Pos Drivers 1 Broc Feeney 2 Brodie Kostecki 3 Will Brown 4 Cameron Waters 5 Will Davison 6 Chaz Mostert 7 Tim Slade 8 Jack Le Brocq 9 James Golding 10 Nick Percat 11 Cameron Hill 12 Andre Heimgartner 13 Mark Winterbottom 14 Anton De Pasquale 15 Matthew Payne 16 James Courtney 17 Bryce Fullwood 18 Jack Smith 19 Todd Hazelwood 20 Scott Pye 21 Macauley Jones 22 Thomas Randle 23 David Reynolds NC Declan Fraser NC Shane van Gisbergen

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QUALIFYING RACE 12 Laps Race time 42 37:25.5846 42 +1.7244 42 +3.3921 42 +3.5441 42 +4.2250 42 +4.4571 42 +8.0620 42 +9.4276 42 +10.6106 42 +12.0816 42 +14.6018 42 +15.3316 42 +16.2830 42 +16.5753 42 +19.8982 42 +21.3964 42 +21.8069 42 + 22.6978 42 +33.2086 42 +35.7761 42 +36.2152 42 +1:00.2131 40 26 +16 Laps 0 0 Laps

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s1 t1 s6 s2 s7 s5 t4 t3 t6 t6 s9 s2 s5 s4 s2 t2 s3 s4 s6 s4 t13 s2 t1 t14

Pos Driver 1 Brodie Kostecki 2 Will Brown 3 Cameron Waters 4 Jack Le Brocq 5 Tim Slade 6 Broc Feeney 7 Cameron Hill 8 Thomas Randle 9 Shane van Gisbergen 10 Mark Winterbottom 11 Chaz Mostert 12 Matthew Payne 13 Bryce Fullwood 14 Nick Percat 15 Andre Heimgartner 16 James Golding 17 Anton De Pasquale 18 David Reynolds 19 James Courtney 20 Macauley Jones 21 Scott Pye 22 Todd Hazelwood 23 Declan Fraser 24 Will Davison 25 Jack Smith

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him unstuck, whilst SVG went for the first undercut on Lap 12.

Kostecki pitted from P2 on lap 20, causing a chain of stops, whilst Le Brocq took a cheeky whack from SVG at the hairpin as the #97 moved into P4 to mount a podium challenge.

After Brown pitted and re-entered with a comfortable lead from his teammate, Slade dropped out of the top-10 with engine issues to run last in the #23 Camaro, as Waters also battled with smoke coming from his front right.

With 10 laps to run, Feeney closed on Kostecki at the hairpin, whilst SVG also moved up on Turn 6 to displace the #99 from P3.

With Kostecki looking down and out, he found something in reserve, reclaiming P3 at the same turn with three laps to go.

Unlike Perth, SVG had lost his tyres, with the #99 holding him off to claim a sixth double podium for Erebus, with Brown topping Feeney by a healthy 3.99s.

Le Brocq made it three top-10s for the weekend with a P5, with Mostert, Waters, Winterbottom, De Pasquale, and Fullwood all rounded out the ten.

SUPERCARS NEXT head for a fourth straight SuperSprint round at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway for the Triple Crown.

The schedule returns to a three-day weekend, with two practice sessions on Friday, then an identical qualifying and race format for the three 35 lap outings over Saturday and Sunday.

Over a longer track, tyre degradation will be more of a factor as teams face another round of Super Softs, but this time, they’ll have higher track temperature to contend with.

Despite another barren weekend of podiums for the Mustang drivers, the new engine mapping surprisingly saw them as the faster machine down the straights at Symmons Plains.

The worry however, is that the Ford’s tyre life seems to drop off a lot faster than the Chevrolets, and if that was happening at the low deg Tassie track, Hidden Valley could provide yet another Camaro dominated show.

RESULTS RACE 12 42 LAPS Time 50.621 +0.018 +0.031 +0.054 +0.115 +0.122 +0.148 +0.220 +0.230 +0.283 +0.312 +0.315 +0.397 +0.413 +0.416 +0.440 +0.448 +0.471 +0.495 +0.503 +0.529 +0.599 +0.602 +0.617 +0.699

Pos Drivers 1 Will Brown 2 Broc Feeney 3 Brodie Kostecki 4 Shane van Gisbergen 5 Jack Le Brocq 6 Chaz Mostert 7 Cameron Waters 8 Mark Winterbottom 9 Anton De Pasquale 10 Bryce Fullwood 11 Cameron Hill 12 David Reynolds 13 Will Davison 14 Thomas Randle 15 Scott Pye 16 James Golding 17 Andre Heimgartner 18 Jack Smith 19 Macauley Jones 20 Declan Fraser 21 Matthew Payne 22 James Courtney 23 Nick Percat 24 Todd Hazelwood 25 Tim Slade

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 4 Laps 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 38

Race time 37:15.8755 +3.9921 +8.7320 +9.8944 +10.4953 +10.6245 +14.5238 +15.8103 +16.7574 +18.1779 +19.5841 +21.1187 +22.8498 +23.4593 +23.7824 +24.6497 +25.8734 +33.6318 +36.5656 +37.7718 +39.4164 +40.6039 +44.8143 +48.9424 +4 Laps

s1 s4 t3 s5 t1 s5 t4 s2 s8 s3 t4 s6 s11 t6 s6 t2 s7 s1 s3 t9 t3 t9 t2 t20

Pos Driver 1 Brodie Kostecki 2 Will Brown 3 Chaz Mostert 4 Shane van Gisbergen 5 Broc Feeney 6 Cameron Waters 7 Andre Heimgartner 8 David Reynolds 9 Will Davison 10 Jack Le Brocq 11 Tim Slade 12 James Golding 13 Scott Pye 14 Bryce Fullwood 15 Mark Winterbottom 16 Matt Payne 17 Todd Hazelwood 18 Anton De Pasquale 19 Thomas Randle 20 James Courtney 21 Cameron Hill 22 Macauley Jones 23 Jack Smith 24 Nick Percat 25 Declan Fraser

Points 986 899 820 814 795 757 666 641 634 631 551 540 522 519 517 513 492 491 462 453 407 384 370 361 317

s2 t1 t1 s1 s1 t2 s3 s1 s3 s1 s3 t4 t6 s1 s1 t3 s3 t1 t1 s1 t2

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JOEY’S '500' DREAM RESULT THE 107TH INDIANAPOLIS 500 DELIVERED ON ITS REPUTATION AS THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN MOTORSPORT. A SELL-OUT CROWD SAW A HIGH DRAMA FINISH AFTER 200 LAPS AT THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, AS TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS… JOSEF NEWGARDEN took out his maiden Indy 500 on his 12th attempt, with the twotime series champion giving Team Penske its 19th win in motorsport's greatest spectacle.

In 107 editions of the race it was only the third time in history that a winner had got it done with a last lap pass, as Newgarden blew past defending 500 winner Marcus Ericsson through the Turn 3 onto the finish straight, with Santino Ferrucci taking P3, as three late red flags defined the finale.

The thrilling climax saw a weaving Newgarden hold off the #8 CGR to become the first American to win the race since 2016, taking the chequered flag by 0.0974s – the fourth closest finish in the race’s storied history.

Ericsson was left ruing the loss after taking the lead just prior to the last red flag, as a late-race restart with no full warm-up lap saw a one-lap dash out of the pits.

After the victory, the Honda Penske driver who had qualified in P17 leapt out of his car after parking it on the bricks, and sprinted into the crowd to spark wild celebrations before the Nashville native finally got to pour the coveted milk over his head, hold the Borg-Warner Trophy, and kiss the hallowed bricks.

“I’ve always wanted to go into the crowd here in Indianapolis,” Newgarden said postrace.

“I’ve seen people go up on the fence ... I wanted to go through the fence, I wanted to celebrate with the people.”

“I knew we were in a position to fight for this win, and it wasn’t going to be easy. It is not easy to win this race ... it’s the most difficult race in the world to win.

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“I’m just so thankful to be here. I started out as a fan in the crowd, and this place is amazing, regardless of where you’re sitting.”

For Chevrolet, it gave them their fifth victory since the beginning of the 2.2-litre twin-turbo direct injection era in 2012.

WHAT THEY SAID AFTER COLLECTING his 19th Indy 500 victory, team owner and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, had this to say.

“Those last two laps I forgot about being a track owner and I thought 'let’s go for it!'

“What a day with all these wonderful fans, and for us, to get number 19 racing against Ganassi, my best friend in this business … What a terrific effort by Josef.

Tim Cindric called it a perfect race – it was a great race, and a safe race for us, and I’ll never forget it.

“Josef wanted this so bad, and he always wondered why he couldn’t be there in the

past, but he worked all day long to be up there, and in the end when it was time to go, I was betting on him!”

With emotions running high, runner -up Ericsson had plenty to say after the race, labelling the final restart unfair and dangerous.”

“It was an unfair and dangerous end to the race – we’ve never done a restart straight out of the pits. We don’t get the tyres up to temperature,” the CGR Swede said.

“I think it was a tough way to end the race; I don’t really agree with how they did that.

“I don’t think there was enough laps left to do what we did. I don’t think it’s safe to go out of the pits on cold tyres for a restart when half the field is trying to get out on track as we come to green, I don’t think that’s a fair or right way to end a race. I don’t agree with it.

“I think I did an awesome last restart and caught Josef completely off guard and by surprise, kept the lead into one, but I just

couldn’t hold it after that ... it wasn’t enough so it’s hard to swallow.”

Newgarden described what it really meant to him, and that his connection with the famed speedway ran deep; he described the pressure of not having got it done before in May: “This is just amazing – regardless of where you’re sitting in America, driving a car, working on one, or you’re out here in the crowd, you’re part of this event and the energy,” he said.

“And so thank you to Indianapolis. I love this city. I grew up racing cars here when I was a kid, and I’m just so thankful for Roger and everybody that’s been a part of this.

“You know, I just felt like everyone kept asking me why I haven’t won this race, and they look at you like you’re a failure if you don’t win it, it’s so bad. But I knew we were capable.

“The whole last 10 laps I knew we were in a position to fight for this, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“It’s so long to get to this point; we’re here for weeks, and that’s what makes it so demoralising when it doesn’t work out. But I can tell you, we’re gonna enjoy it tonight.”

HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED: “DRIVERS START YOUR ENGINES” AT THE green flag, poleman Palou led off the line early, with last runner Rahal stuck in the pits due to an untimely battery failure.

Dixon got a good start from P6 moving into fourth early, with Rahal rejoining two laps down.

Aussie Penske racer Will Power was a big mover early on, moving up four spots into P8,

as the frontrunners in Palou and Veekay swapped the lead early on.

Early issues for Dixon meant it wouldn’t be his day after a consistent lead in, with left-side wheel vibrations dropping him down to P14 before a forced pit had him in P32 after 27 laps, alongside Grosjean, who also had handling issues.

Rosenqvist, O’Ward and Power stayed out for the first brief over-cuts, as Palou eventually cycled back to the head of the field after his lap 30 pit.

Power then started to struggle as he reported weight jacker issues and was struggling with his rear balance, as Ericsson positioned himself in P8 by the quarter race distance.

By lap 70 it was a McLaren one-two with Rosenqvist and O’Ward trading draft spots, with Ferrucci in P3, as Palou also started to experience balance issues.

The first yellow came on lap 92 as Sting Ray Robb found the Turn 1 wall after getting pushed up the high side by Rahal.

On the proceeding pit exits, Veekay’s rears got lively which forced Palou into the exit wall, forcing the pole-getter to pit a second time for a new front wing.

A similar incident saw a near miss between Rossi and Power, while at the halfway mark it was Rosenqvist in the lead, whilst Power tumbled into P16 after a close call at Turn 1.

After 110 laps O’Ward again hit the front over his McLaren teammate, which then repeated every three laps in a fuel-saving move, with the race pace slowing as teams

Newgarden led for the last few hundred metres ... Below: Kirkwood is upside while one of his wheels soars over the crowd. Centre: Ericsson led into the final lap sprint.

Bottom Ferruci was in the frame, but finished third. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

across the field strategised over their final two pit stops.

McLaren was the first to get it wrong as O’Ward stopped earlier than planned due to a mis-juggling of its frontrunners stops, whilst Ericsson and Rossi took advantage to get a fuel overcut. A competitive looking Herta had his chances blown after being released too early into his own teammate, Grosjean.

With teams wildly trying to judge the best pit times, it led to a reshuffling in the front runners, as Newgarden emerged into the front pack for the first time, behind Rosenqvist and Ericsson, with Ferrucci and O’Ward in behind him.

With 50 laps left, Ericsson went to the front, as the race saw its second caution

The winner gets to climb, no, burst through, the fence! Below: O'Ward's race ended in the wall .

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when Grosjean went hard into the Turn 2 fencing.

The green dropped with 43 to run, as some more pit shuffling saw Newgarden move into P2, leading Rosenqvist, Rossi, Ferrucci and Kirkwood.

Power’s day got worse when he broke his suspension on the Turn 2 wall, whilst the final pit windows approached.

Leaders Ericsson, Kirkwood, Newgarden and Rosenqvist all pitted on lap 170, with a tight battle then ensuing up front.

O’Ward took the lead after going past Rosenqvist and Ericsson, before the a third caution was called due to Rosenqvist finding the Turn 1 wall, which caused a massive crash as he spun across the track making contact with Kirkwood who hit the wall and flipped into the catchfence (An errant rear wheel flew high over the fence but missed the crowd, slamming into a parked car).

With the race then red flagged, it was O’Ward over Ericsson and Newgarden.

The restart saw Newgarden swoop around the outride to take the lead, and in a wild battle for P2, O’Ward clipped the back of Ericsson, sending him hard into the wall, as he slid down the track on top of it. After the race, a furious O’Ward said of Ericsson “next time, he’s coming with me. ..”

In the meantime, Pagenaud and McLaughlin also made contact, and whilst Canapino tried to avoid Pagenaud he couldn’t, as he then rolled out of control down the track and into the wreck of O’Ward.

A four lap restart then saw a wreck at Turn 4 with a five-car incident between Carpenter,

Rahal, Lundgaard, Andretti and Pedersen, with Ericsson having just nudged in-front of Newgarden when the flag dropped, as the field was forced into the pits.

A quick restart out of the pits saw Ericsson try and pull away, but Newgarden set himself out of Turn 2 to rip into the lead for an amazing end to an action packed Indy 500, with Ferrucci in P3 over Palou, Rossi, Dixon, Sato, Daly, Herta and Veekay.

INDYCAR STANDINGS AFTER 6 ROUNDS Palou 219 Ericsson 199 O’Ward 185 Newgarden 182 Dixon 162

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SUPERCUP AND NASCAR

LARSON’S TRIPLE ALL-STAR MILLIONS KYLE LARSON dominated NASCAR’s non-championship All-Star Race at the revitalised Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina on May 21 ahead of the Coca-Cola 600.

The 2021 champion took it by 4.537s over Toyota pair Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

In the 200 lap race at the 1km oval, the winning move was essentially made on Lap 18 when he pitted early under a caution for fresh tyres.

Despite incurring a speed penalty in pit lane, he chopped through the field to run down Daniel Suarez by Lap 55 and that was game, set and match for his third All-Star win, making him the first driver to take the Million dollar race at three different venues.

“I can’t even tell you what it means, this is my third All-Star win and my third different track. In a historical place like that, this weekend was so awesome. We could feel the atmosphere all weekend,” Larson said.

“So much fun there. That was an oldschool (insert expletive) whipping, for sure, and we had a great car on the long run there and was just thinking for sure there was going to be a caution.

“I got out to a big lead, and I could see everybody’s cars were driving like (insert 2nd expletive) in front of me, but I can’t thank the team enough.”

Larson led 145 laps to Suarez’s 55, with the #5 Hendricks Camaro driver only losing the lead under a caution after his initial pass.

(Note: at the time of publication, tlast weekend’s NASCAR round, the Coca Cola 600, was postponed after inclement weather in North Carolina.

The Coca Cola 600 review will feature in issue #1863) TW Neal

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Harry King heads for victory (above), while Harri Jones earned a Rookie P3 podium (below).

JONES’ MOBIL 1 ROOKIE PODIUM AUSTRALIA’S REIGNING Carrera Cup champion Harri Jones got to climb a podium on the streets of Monaco at the first round of the Mobil 1 Supercup.

After the world’s premier Porsche onemake series had to delay its opening round at Imola, Jones got to have a dream debut at the legendary circuit.

Driving for the championship winning BWT Lechner Racing team in a 992 GT3 Cup Car, Jones finished P9 in the Formula 1 lead-in race, which netted him a P3 rookie podium.

It was the Queenslanders second straight international podium after also climbing the rookie steps in the German Carrera Cup. “It was an awesome race,I’m really happy with the result,” Jones said.

“We could have fought further forward if we had a few more laps but the Safety Car came out towards the end and we ended up finishing behind it.

“The Lechner Racing Team gave me a really good car this weekend. They ended up finishing P1 outright and P3 so they had a double podium so I’m really proud of the team and looking forward to Round 2 at the Red Bull Ring.”

Jones started out the weekend by placing as the highest rookie at opening practice (P9), before qualifying in P12 for the season opener, just one second from the benchmark.

In the desperate bid for early spots on the hard-to-pass track, he slipped back two spots on the first lap.

He worked his way back however, with his race being highlighted by a strong pass at Beau Rivage on Supercup veteran Jaap van Lagen, which put him in P9 before the yellow dropped with a few laps remaining.

It was a good day for the Lechner team, with Harri’s teammate, Harry King, taking P1 over two-time series champion Larry ten Voorde, with fellow BWT racer Bastian Buus rounding out

the podium.

For Jones, it’s a great start to what’s been a meteoric rise into the international ranks after the 23-yearold did the one-make double on home shores with the 2019 Sprint Challenge, then last year’s Carrera Cup. Jones’ next three outings see him going to Hockenheim (June 9-11) and Zandvoort (June 23-25) in the German Carrera Cup, before taking on the Red Bull Ring in Austria for round two of the F1 exclusive Mobil 1 Supercup.

TW Neal

F2 AND F3

Vesti took the Feature race points in a straightforward race, albeit red-flagged for some time thanks to Doohan’s big shunt.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

MORE DOOHAN PAIN IN MONACO THERE WAS more pain for Jack Doohan as Ayumu Iwasa and Frederik Vesti shared the wins in Formula 2’s trip to the streets of Monte Carlo.

As always Monaco claimed its victims, and one of the most notable was Australia’s Doohan in the red-flagged Feature race.

Buoyed by a strong recent Spanish test, Doohan hoped for a strong result and sat a solid fourth for the first half of the Feature race before a heavy shunt at Massenet sparked both flames and the red flag.

Although the rear end of the Virtuosi car was badly damaged from the incident and fire, fortunately the 20-year-old walked away, but the impact on his championship hopes were clear, dropping to 14th in the standings.

The man leading the way is Vesti, whose Feature race win saw him jump Iwasa and Theo Pourchaire and take a five-point lead into Spain.

The Dane, racing for Prema, made his intentions clear by snatching pole on the

split qualifying session.

To avoid congestion around the tight 3.3km layout, the cars were split into two groups of 11 cars.

Despite both groups being interrupted by late red flags caused by incidents, Vesti held off Pourchaire for pole position.

The Prema racer recorded a 1:21.053 to take top spot, 0.053s ahead of his French ART rival, while the top Group A qualifier was Victor Martins in third.

Doohan impressed to be the second fastest in Group A and fourth overall.

But before Vesti could do his thing on Sunday to take control of the championship, the points lead was initially held by Iwasa.

The DAMS driver took the championship ascendancy by dominating the Saturday Sprint race, winning by 6.6s over Jehan Daruvala.

Iwasa only held second during the early laps, but was gifted P1 by Isack Hadjar’s mechanical troubles, which saw him retire.

Once in front, Iwasa was never troubled

despite two Safety Car interruptions throughout the 30-lap race.

The first was a big tangle at the Nouvelle Chicane where Clement Novalak struck the battling Kush Maini and Amaury Cordeel, while Arthur Leclerc, Dennis Hauger Roy Nissan and Ralph Novalak were also caught up in the near traffic jam.

The race resumed on Lap 6, but another Safety Car returned four laps later when Cordeel hit the wall at Mirabeau after contact with Juan Manuel Correa.

After the crazy opening, the final two thirds of the race were trouble free with Iwasa leading home Daruvala and Jack Crawford, while Doohan was sixth.

Despite a red flag stoppage, the feature race was less eventful with Vesti in cruise control.

Vesti took command from the start ahead of Pourchaire, who was on the defence from a fast-starting Doohan.

The Prema driver opened up a 3s gap until the race came to a sudden halt on Lap 22 due to Doohan’s Virtuosi bursting

into flames after a heavy rear-end smash at Massenet.

The Aussie had earlier clipped the wall at the Swimming Pool Chicane which led to the more spectacular smash five corners later.

After a 20-minute delay, racing resumed and Vesti was never troubled on his way to a 2.5s win over Pourchaire.

Zane Maloney of Barbados joined them on the podium, while Iwasa could only manage 10th and Ralph Boschung, Cordeel, Enzo Fittipaldi, and Leclerc joined Doohan as non-finishers.

The next Formula 2 round is Spain this weekend.

Thomas Miles FORMULA 2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 6 1 F. Vesti 89 2 T. Pourchaire 84 3 A. Iwasa 69 4 K. Maini 49 5 D. Hauger 48

MINI AND MARTI MASTER MONACO GABRIELE MINI (right) has made some small inroads into Gabriel Bortoleto’s championship lead after emerging victorious in Formula 3’s first visit to Monaco in more than a decade.

The last time the junior series raced around the Principality was in 2012 when the series was in the middle of its GP3 days.

Drivers immediately took a liking to the daunting challenge of the famous street circuit, but the one, who extracted the most time was Mini.

As in F2, qualifying was balloted into split groups and no-one could get close to the French Hitech driver, Mini’s 1:23.278 six-tenths better than next best Dino Beganovic.

The first F3 race at Monaco in 11 years was a rather sedate affair with Pepe Marti taking a lights to flag Sprint race triumph.

The Campos Racing driver started on reverse grid pole and never came under threat, beating Leonardo Fornaroli by 8s despite an early Safety Car caused by Jonny Edgar.

Australia’s Tommy Smith found himself momentarily up on two wheels after Oliver Goethe bumped him into the wall on the exit of Portier.

Despite the moment, Smith was only one spot behind

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half a second at the chequered flag.

Another early Safety Car was required when Ido Cohen crashed at Tabac, but it did not break Mini’s rhythm as he re-established his lead.

Behind Sebastian Montoya’s and Caio Collet’s battle for the lead got aggressive when they came together on lap 18, forcing the latter to go off at Massenet.

As the chequered flag approached, Beganovic cut Mini’s lead down from 1.4s to 0.4, but he could not stop the Frenchman from scoring a memorable win.

Championship leader Bortoleto had to settle for fifth, while Smith scored a solid P15 with Mansell and Barter in 17th and 26th respectively.

The Formula 3 drivers have less than a week to get ready for Spain on June 2-4.

Thomas Miles

the highest placed Australian, Christian Mansell, who was 20th, while Campos Racing teammate Hugh Barter battled to 25th.

The Feature race was highlighted by a tense battle between Mini and Beganovic where the former prevailed.

Despite Mini taking the honours with a lights-to-flag win, he had to earn it with Beganovic trailing him by less than

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FORMULA 3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 4 1 G. Bortoleto 73 2 G. Mini 56 3 G. Saucy 47 4 D. Beganovic 46 5 P. Aron 38

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Formula 1 Round 07 MONACO Grand Prix - Race report

Verstappen eased away from Alonso having put everything on the line to snatch pole.

MAX SUBLIME – GAME, SET AND MATCH ...

By Luis Vasconcelos Images Motorsport Images

SUCCESS FEELS even better when you’ve earned it the hard way and there’s no doubt the Monaco Grand Prix win was the most difficult for Max Verstappen to achieve this year. The nearly half a minute gap to Alonso at the end of the race gives a false reading of how the Dutchman’s weekend panned out, because this time Red Bull and their main driver really had to work for it.

Friday was a tough day for them with the RB19 bottoming way too much, so the team had to raise the ride height of the car for Saturday – losing peak performance but gaining in predictability, a must in Monaco – and that worked a treat. Still, it still required a super last ditch effort from Verstappen to secure pole position, twice hitting the walls on his way to beating Alonso and Leclerc – just!

On Sunday, with Leclerc demoted to sixth on the grid following a penalty for getting in Norris’ way in Q3, the expected duel between Verstappen and Alonso was about strategy and tyre management, more Just what Red Bull needed ... showing the underside of its car to all and sundry after Perez’s Q1 crash ...

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than on direct pace confrontation. With the Medium tyres on, the Dutchman had no trouble opening a gap to Alonso, who had opted to start on Hards, and after managing the tyres for the first eight laps, quickly pulled away, to be 8,5s ahead of the Aston Martin driver by lap 19.

The gap stabilised around 11.5s four laps later but now there were increasing signs the rain was coming, and stopping for new slicks would leave the drivers vulnerable to those who’d stick it out on used tyres and then pit only when the track would actually become wet.

This was easier to do for Alonso, on the harder compound, that for Verstappen, who was on Mediums. As the World Champion explained: “Fernando starting on the Hard made me do a very long stint, probably almost double to what we would have liked, but because of the rain in the area, we couldn’t really stop. If it would have been nice and sunny, I would have stopped, put the Hard tyre on, catch up and you wait until Fernando did his pitstop, but we couldn’t do that because the risk of rain was around so I had to stay out.

“The tyres were graining, I had to go through that graining phase, which wasn’t that easy. But then luckily it picked up a little bit, but then of course, it started to rain.”

In the end it was Aston Martin which bit the bullet, calling Alonso in for Medium tyres on lap 54 – at a time others had already gone for Intermediates! But one lap later the Spaniard was back in the pits as the rain had increased intensity and that settled the match between the two.

Alonso, however, defended his team’s decision, explaining that, “For me, it was very clear that the track on that lap we stopped was completely dry, apart from Turn 7 and 8. So, how will we put the Inters on? It was completely dry, 99 per cent of the track. So, I stopped for dries. The weather forecast was for a small shower, and the small quantity of rain as well, and we had a lot of margin behind us, to put the dry tyres on and, if necessary, the Inter tyres – so, you maybe it was extra safe, I don’t know. But that minute and a half that it took to go through Turns 5, 6, 7 and 8 again, it changed completely – so the out-lap on the dry tyres was very wet when Stroll and Russell screw it up after their change to Intermediates ...

I got to those corners, but the lap that we stopped, it was completely dry.”

Having waiting way more than he was comfortable with to get rid of his medium tyres, Verstappen actually hit the wall coming out of Portier on his last lap before pitting, admitting conditions for those still on slicks were atrocious: “I locked the rears and I couldn’t get out of it. So it’s just trying to control it with a bit of drifting. But luckily, the wall, in a way, stopped it from sliding even more.”

If Verstappen and Alonso performed at the highest level all weekend, their team mates had a torrid time. Pérez crashed out at the start of Q1 immediately admitting it was all his fault, while Stroll messed up in Q2 and was eliminated, in P14. Several incidents in the race left them with no chance of recovering into the top 10 before the Canadian put it in the wall coming out of the hairpin immediately after switching to Intermediate tyres.

ALPINE RESPONDS TO BOSS’ CRITICISM

Reeling from the harsh assessment made by its own CEO, Laurent Rossi, during the

,

MERCEDES ON THE WAY UP Bizarrely, the McLaren was the fastest car on Intermediates ...

The podium (right) – Fernando closer than ever to the top step.

I should have done a lot better in qualifying, Esteban proved it was possible, so the race was just about trying to capitalise on other’s mistakes, but, unfortunately, there weren’t many.”

FERRARI DESERVED MORE

Verstappen only really needed to win the 500m sprint to Turn 1 – which he did.

Miami Grand Prix, Alpine achieved its best result of the season with Esteban Ocon achieving a remarkable podium finish in a weekend when the A523 finally sported a large number of upgrades, both mechanical and aerodynamic.

The Frenchman was one of the stars of qualifying, briefling claiming pole position, with a lap where he admitted, “I didn’t care if I’d finish it or not. I brushed the wall coming out of Turn 1 and decided I was going to give 200 per cent all the way. I hit the walls a few more times but never damaged the car, so there was nothing more to extract and P4 was a pretty good result for us.”

That became P3 due to Leclerc’s postqualifying penalty and in the race Ocon didn’t put a wheel wrong to claim a muchneeded podium for the French team.

Never trying to hold on to the back of Alonso’s AMR23, Ocon preserved his tyres as much as he could, but was lucky to

QUALIFYING RACE 07

survive contact with Sainz at the chicane, on lap 11, when the frustrated Spanish driver went for a move that was never going to stick. Sticking to the plan, Ocon pitted on lap 31 for Hard tyres but when the rain came a second pit stop put him behind Russell, who promptly spun at Mirabeau.

Back to third place, Ocon Initially struggled to keep Hamilton behind on Intermediates, but eventually put a small galp between himself and the Mercedes driver, to reach a podium finish that delighted him: “Before the weekend, if you told us that we are going to be in the top 10, we would have been happy. It would have been a strong weekend. But we are not in the top 10, we are not in the top five, we are on the podium this weekend here in Monaco.

And that shows really that never stopped believing.”

Gasly completed the team’s good result in seventh place but was frustrated, “because

RESULTS RACE 07 78 LAPS MONAC0 GP

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 07

Pos Driver

Time

Pos Drivers

Make

Laps

Margin

Pos Driver

1

Max Verstappen

1:11.365

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

78

1:48:51.980 -

1

Max Verstappen

144

-

2

Fernando Alonso

+0.084

2

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

78

+27.921 -

2

Sergio Perez

105

-

3

Charles Leclerc

+0.106

3

Esteban Ocon

Alpine

78

+36.990 -

3

Fernando Alonso

93

-

4

Esteban Ocon

+0.188

4

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

78

+39.062 s1

4

Lewis Hamilton

69

-

5

Carlos Sainz

+0.265

5 George Russell

Mercedes

78

+56.284 s3

5

George Russell

50 s1

6

Lewis Hamilton

+0.360

6 Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

78

+1:01.890 -

6

Carlos Sainz

48 t1

7

Pierre Gasly

+0.568

7

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

78

+1:02.362 -

7

Charles Leclerc

42

-

8

George Russell

+0.599

8 Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

78

+1:03.391 t4

8

Lance Stroll

27

-

9

Yuki Tsunoda

+0.717

9

Lando Norris

McLaren

77

+1 Lap s1

9

Esteban Ocon

21 s3

10 Lando Norris

+0.889

10 Oscar Piastri

McLaren

77

+1 Lap s1

10 Pierre Gasly

14

11

Oscar Piastri

+1.030

11 Valtteri Bottas

Alfa Romeo

77

+1 Lap s4

11

12 t2

12 Nyck de Vries

+1.063

12 Nyck de Vries

AlphaTauri

77

+1 Lap -

12 Nico Hulkenberg

6 t1

13 Alex Albon

+1.162

13 Zhou Guanyu

Alfa Romeo

77

+1 Lap s6

13 Oscar Piastri

5 s1

14 Lance Stroll

+1.258

14 Alex Albon

Williams

77

+1 Lap t1

14 Valtteri Bottas

4 t1

15 Valtteri Bottas

+1.260

15 Yuki Tsunoda

AlphaTauri

76

+2 Laps t6

15 Zhou Guanyu

2

-

16 Logan Sargeant

+1.748

16 Sergio Perez

Red Bull

76

+2 Laps s4

16 Yuki Tsunoda

2

-

17 Kevin Magnussen

+1.905

17 Nico Hulkenberg

Haas

76

+2 Laps s1

17 Kevin Magnussen

2

-

18 Nico Hulkenberg

+1.914

18 Logan Sargeant

Williams

76

+2 Laps t2

18 Alex Albon

1

-

19 Zhou Guanyu

+2.158

NC Kevin Magnussen Haas

70

+6 Laps t2

19 Nyck de Vries

0 s1

20 Sergio Perez

+2.485

NC Lance Stroll

53

+25 Laps t6

20 Logan Sargeant

0

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Aston Martin

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Points

Lando Norris

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Ferrari was hoping for a lot more than sixth and eighth place, but small mistakes, from the drivers and on the operational side, made a much stronger result slip away. Leclerc was let down by his race engineer who failed to tell him Norris was catching up at the end of qualifying and the penalty he received, while deserved, effectively ended his and Ferrari’s chances to get to the podium.

Sainz, on the other hand, had only himself to blame for losing what looked like a certain fourth place to drop to eighth at the end. His move to pass Ocon on lap 11 was, at best, optimistic and if the SF-23 continued to handle well without the left front wing endplate, that aero imbalance certainly didn’t help. An off at Mirabeau on lap 55 dropped him behind Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly and, with Russell doing just one tyre change, that put the driver from Madrid down in eighth place.

DOUBLE POINTS FOR MCLAREN

McLaren put together a great recovery after the miserable weekend the team experienced in Miami. Already, in qualifying, things looked much better than in Florida, with Norris just beating Piastri for P10 but in the race neither of them seemed to have the pace to challenge the surprisingly quick Yuki Tsunoda for ninth place.

Norris admitted, “we were just slow and using the tyre too much” but the rain came to the rescue, as the Englishman explained: “Don’t ask me why but on the Intermediates the car felt much better and we were, by far, the fastest on track!”

Tsunoda, with brake issues, was no match for Norris with Pastri following his more experienced team mate one lap later.

For the Australian the point was just reward for a difficult weekend, “because there’s a big difference between racing a Formula 2 or a Formula 1 here” and he was pleased with running close to Norris’ pace in the wet.

The man from Melbourne, however, admitted that, “given my lack of experience in wet conditions it was good to be right behind Max, albeit one lap behind, when conditions were at their most difficult, as I could see what he was doing and sort-of match it. It was an accelerated learning curve, but a very precious one!”

THIS MONACO Grand Prix was a crucial event for Mercedes. Finally bringing the much awaited upgrade that had been planned for Imola, the German team was desperate for data to analyse, even on a track where car performance can be masked by driver’s bravery and skill. With both Hamilton and Russell much happier with the car’s stability under braking right from the first run on Friday, the difficulties to find the best set-up for a chassis that was, effectively, unknown for the team became apparent by the fact the two drivers went in different directions before qualifying.

In the end it was Hamilton who’d gone the right way, although the veteran admitted, “I just made life very difficult for myself because the car was so difficult to drive in the faster corners. But it was the fastest way for me, so I was on a knife’s edge in qualifying and even more so in the race.”

Stuck behind Ocon and Sainz in the first stint, Hamilton inherited P4 when the Spaniard spun and while he nearly got past the Alpine driver when the track was at its wettest, fourth was the best he could get. The fact the Mercedes driver was in a great mood at the end of the race – he who is never happy unless he has won – hinted his confidence has increased with the upgrades introduced this weekend: “It’s a good result. Good improvement, overall, as a team I feel we made a good step forward, to finish fourth and fifth in such a tricky race like this one was today, I think it’s a great result. The team did a really great job today with strategy, and I think to get to leapfrog one Ferrari is awesome.”

Russell briefly looked like he had hit the jackpot being the only driver fighting for P3 that stayed out on slicks until the rain came, getting ahead of Ocon, Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly that had all pitted in the previous 20 laps, but “I’m really kicking myself because P3 was almost guaranteed after pitting. There was a yellow flag, I backed off and as soon as I touched the brakes I locked up and followed Stroll up the escape road. It’s probably a lesson that actually when you’re not on it and you’re not focused you make those mistakes.”

Collecting the lapped Pérez on his way back to the track Russell incurred in a 5s penalty but had enough pace to pull away from the two Ferrari and secure fifth place for his team – a good, solid result that now puts Mercedes just one point behind Aston Martin in the battle for second in the Constructor’s Championship.

Lewis – happy despite not winning!

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HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CENTENARY EDITION OF THE LE MANS 24 HOURS ACROSS 2 Of the 21 cars in GTE Am at Le Mans, how many are Chevrolets?

3 How many brands are in the GTE Am class at Le Mans this year?

6 Which brand will have the most cars in the top class at Le Mans this year, with four?

8 How many cars are entered in the Hypercar class at Le Mans in 2023?

15 Which brand took pole for the Sebring 1000 miles?

17 Porsche is the most successful brand at Le Mans with how many wins?

18 How many rounds does the WEC consist of in 2023?

19 Which manufacturer has won the first three rounds of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship this year?

20 One invitational car will be run by Hendrick Motorsports – what brand of car is the team racing?

22 Not one but who Brabhams have won the race for Peugeot – who was the first? (first name) 24 Which famous Irish actor will make his second Le Mans start with Proton Competition in GTE Am? 25 The Australian who won the LMP2 Pro Am class at Le Mans last year is returning with Algarve Pro Racing – what is his name? (surname)

3 Toyota has dominated the Le Mans 24 Hours in recent years – how many consecutive times has the brand won it coming into the 2023 edition?

3

5 The first three rounds have seen Toyota, Ferrari and which other manufacturer finish on the podium?

7 Which car runs the 9X8 in WEC competition?

4 5 6

7

9 A record number of Cadillacs are entered in this WEC round; how many will be racing?

8

10 Who is the Australian racing for Glickenhaus in the Hypercar class this year? (surname) 11 How many times has Peugeot won Le Mans?

12 Esteban Gutierrez will race for what Hypercar brand?

13 Three New Zealanders will compete in the Hypercar class this year, Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber and who? (surname)

9

10

11 12

17 18

19

20 21

18 How many brands are in the top class at Le Mans this year?

21 Which brand was Jacques Villeneuve entered for – then dropped?

14

16

16 Which tyre brand do LMP2 machines run on?

27 What tyre brand is used by the Hypercar class and GTE Am?

13

15

14 Which team debuted a customer Porsche 963 at Spa-Francorchamps?

26 Which manufacturer won the GTE Am class in 2022 at Le Mans?

1 How many times has Cadillac won the Le Mans 24 Hours?

2

4 Which former Formula 1 World Champion will compete in the single invitational class car? (surname)

20 Last time Porsche entered the top class in 2017 it won, Brendon Hartley now races for Toyota – whichbrand will Earl Bamber race for?

DOWN

1

23

22

24

25 26

27

23 Ryo Hirakawa, Brendon Hartley and which other #8 Toyota driver won the race in 2022? (surname)

1 down – CGR, 2 down – Marco, 3 down – Mario Andretti, 4 down – fifteen, 5 across – Kanaan, 6 across – Rossi, 7 down – Legge, 8 across – Dixon, 9 down – one, 10 across – Newgarden, 11 down – one, 12 across – Castroneves, 13 across – thirty-three, 14 across – Fittipaldi, 14 down – Franchitti, 15 across – four, 16 down – zero, 17 across – nine, 18 across – twentieth, 19 across – Pagenaud, 20 across – two, 21 down – Luyendyk, 22 across – two-hundred, 23 down – Mansell, 24 across – thirty-four, 25 across – Team Penske, 26 across – Ericsson, 27 down – one, 28 across – nine, 29 across – Clark

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1973 PRE-RACE favourite Bill Brown was beaten to victory in the Apeco Sports Sedan races at Amaroo Park. Brown driving an “expensive and exotic” Porsche Carrera. He was downed by the car he gave up the previous year driven by Pete Geoghegan. The 57th Indianapolis 500 was filled with tragedy after drivers Art Pollard and eventually Swede Savage passed away after heavy incidents, while pit crew member Armando Teran also died having been struck by a fire truck. Another incident involving David Walther also left both driver and numerous fans severely injured. After the rainaffected race was held across three days, Gordon Johncock was declared the winner.

1983 AUSTRALIA’S GEOFF Brabham scored an impressive fourth at the 67th Indianapolis 500 won

by Tom Sneva. Brabham finished fourth behind Sneva, Al Unser and Rick Mears having run as high as second. Allan Moffat made himself the “firm favourite” to win his eventual fourth ATCC crown by recording an “easy win” at Oran Park. Moffat took control of the seventh round of the season by passing Peter Brock on Lap 6 of the 32-lap race.

Although he only held off Brock by 1.9s, Moffat “drove within himself” to take the chequered flag in the Mazda RX-7. Off track, Allan Grice was shocked by “one of the most ill-judged decisions ever” by CAMS, which announced new Touring Car regulations.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1993 NOT EVEN a “dramatic” new aero aid for the Commodores could stop Glenn Seton and Ford from continuing to dominate the 1993 ATCC season.

The Eastern Creek round was controlled by Seton, who won both races ahead of fellow Falcon drivers John Bowe and Alan Jones. McLaren’s Ayrton Senna scored a record fifth successive victory on the streets of Monte Carlo. Senna proved he was the Monaco master by winning by 52s as pole man Alain Prost got stuck in the pits. A tense Indianapolis 500 went to Penske’s Emerson Fittipaldi, who held off six Lola-Fords to claim his second win. The Brazilian then broke a decades-old tradition by drinking orange juice rather than milk in victory lane.

2003 THE MULTI month saga of who will take over the Holden Racing Team from Walkinshaw came to an end thanks to Mark Skaife.

In addition to leading the team in the #1 Commodore behind the wheel, the then threetime reigning champion became the new owner. Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya ruled the streets of Monte Carlo after holding off Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher in a nail-biter. Just 1.7s separated the top trio as a fast first stint allowed Montoya to rise from third and become the second driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and Monaco Grand Prix.

2013 A SUPERCARS Swede sensation developed as Volvo announced its return to Supercars.

The brand revealed it will team up with Garry Rogers Motorsport to field two Volvo S60 Polestars, which with the help of Scott McLaughlin would capture the imagination of the Aussie public.

Nico Rosberg followed in the footsteps of his father Keke, to win the Monaco Grand Prix. Three decades on from his dad, the younger Rosberg dominated the 2013 edition for Mecerdes, while Mark Webber finished third in his final race around the Principality.

A fortnight later Sebastian Vettel was untouchable at Canada where a track worker was tragically run over by a recovery vehicle.

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