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AUSSIE MATT IS A GERMAN ACE PROMOTION TO THE PORSCHE A-TEAM FOR LE MANS PROVES MATT CAMPBELL IS HEADED FOR THE TOP An Auto Action exclusive by Paul Gover, in Germany PORSCHE PUNTER Matt Campbell is facing the busiest and toughest season of his motorsport career in 2024.

He is about to front for the Daytona 24-Hour sports car classic in a factory 963 hypercar, will return home (briefly) for the Bathurst 12-Hour, then faces a torrid challenge in the World Endurance Championship, including Le Mans.

But Campbell’s boss at Porsche Motorsport headquarters at Weissach in Germany has no qualms about his 28-year-old star.

“He’s at the top end of the ranking,” Urs Kuratle, Porsche’s director of factory racing in LMDh – Le Mans prototypes – told Auto Action at his office at Weissach, Germany.

Kuratle goes even further in his praise for Campbell during an exclusive visit to the competition department.

He believes the 28-year-old Australian has a long future with Porsche that could eventually see him become a brand ambassador after his retirement from racing, as Walter Rohrl and Mark Webber have done.

“How long with us? Forever, I hope,” he said.

“I really hope he will be the next Mark Webber or Walter Rohrl. He is living the sport completely.”

Campbell has rocketed up the ranks with Porsche after gaining his grounding through Carrera Cup in Australia, then through Cup Car competition in Europe and GT longdistance racing.

He graduated to the top level, with the 963 hypercar, in 2023 but missed out on The Big One when there was no space for him on the driver roster at Le Mans.

Porsche needed nine drivers and he became number 10, as his team mate from IMSA sports cars in the USA – Felippe Nasr – got the slot.

“It was not a decision against him. He did an awesome job,” Kuratle said.

“That’s the one that makes him a really good guy. He takes it really professionally.”

Campbell is definitely a headliner at Le Mans this year, as well as starring in the WEC crew.

His strengths are obvious to Kuratle.

“He is a calm guy. He is definitely, not judging the other drivers, but he’s at the top end of the ranking. Regardless of the track and situation.

“If it’s raining in the dark in Le Mans, and Matt is in the car, you feel safe.”

Kuratle is also supportive of Campbell, a former winner for Porsche, returning to the

Factory and private team Porsche 963s will challenge for Le Mans victory.

12-Hour at Mount Panorama.

He is on the roster for the crack Manthey Racing team and one of the pre-event favourites.

Kuratle will not be there, as GT3 is outside his brief, but admits the appeal of Bathurst and the scrabble by drivers to compete.

“That’s one on the bucket list for me. The track is cool. Everybody knows Bathurst, even if they have no clue about GT3,” he said.

“It is an important race for Porsche. Winning at Bathurst, there are only a few races like that.

“Macau is another one. Bathurst is in that league.

“It is one of those big motorsport events. All the drivers want to go there.”

‘ALL-IN’ FOR LE MANS

ONLY FIRST place will be good enough to satisfy the most successful team in the history of the French 24-Hour Everything is on the line as Porsche prepares to fight for its 20th overall victory at Le Mans in June.

Stung by its loss to Ferrari in 2023 in the first race under new prototype hybrid rules that combine IMSA cars from the USA with the World Endurance Championship contenders, the German brand is desperate for success.

“Le Mans is the one. It’s the biggest endurance race,” Porsche’s director of factory racing in LMDh, Urs Kuratle, told Auto Action during our exclusive interview in Germany.

“We want to win it, we have to win it. If you go with Porsche to Le Mans you have to win.”

But Kuratle, who leads the attack at Le Mans, also knows the risks as much as the reward.

“You always shit your pants when you are on the grid for a 24-hour race,” he said.

“We are not there to come second or third.

Last year we did not go well at Le Mans.”

The result is a revised 963 with more Porsches in the field, including private teams and an all-star driver line-up including Aussie Campbell.

“Visually, the car is the same. It is the same car. (But) over the last season we developed the car much more and increased the reliability.

“But you never know what happens.”

Kuratle knows the new rules for Le Mans will draw the biggest factory field in recent years – perhaps of all time – for the 2024 race.

“It makes it much more important to the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).”

There is another benefit.

“You no longer need the budget like Formula One. That was a big, big reason for the manufacturers to step into WEC. “Le Mans is the one. It’s the biggest endurance race.

“It’s more on the marketing side. If you win Le Mans, that is big.”

Despite the competition and the prestige and the giant crowds and media coverage, Kuratle said Le Mans has become more of a sprint event in recent years.

“The track actually is a boring one. More than 70 per cent full throttle,” he said.

“Sebring, for example, is much harder on the car. It’s probably the hardest of the tracks.”

Urs Kuratle

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MUSTANG AND CAMARO SETTLED FOR 2024 THE 2024 AERO SPECS ARE ALMOST LOCKED DOWN FOR THE MUSTANG AND CAMARO SUPERCARS. AUTO ACTION’S ANDREW CLARKE LOOKS AT WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND WHAT IS LEFT TO DO ...

PARITY WAS the story of the 2023 Supercars season, and Supercars has been working hard in the off-season with Ford, Chevrolet and the homologations teams at Dick Johnson Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering to try to eradicate those issues for 2024.

As reported previously, both cars were wind tunnel tested late last year with 3D-printed components being used to alter the aero of the two cars, and changes have been agreed to for both models pending formal sign-off. There is still some design work left for the Ford to deal with, and structural and crash repair issues, but the outer surface of the car is now locked away barring a backflip from the blue oval.

In the testing, the first two versions of the Mustang were deemed to be at a disadvantage to the Camaro, while the third version for the final four races of the ‘23 season was a slight over-correction and ceded the Ford an advantage and four race wins.

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For 2024, there will be more downforce and more drag on both cars, with the changes at the front end requiring slightly more rear downforce to create an aerodynamic balance, but to also give the Fords a broader set-up window to match the Camaro. From V3, the Mustang’s rear end has been pulled back a little while the Camaro has been given more at the rear.

Supercars was conscious of not allowing the chase for downforce to get out of control as it did with the Gen2 cars, particularly from the ZB Commodore onwards.

The final version of the Mustang was tested at Windshear in Concorde, NC, the weekend before last and the changes, with the final manufactured parts in place, validated the numbers.

Sign-off from Ford, we are told, is a formality.

Ford teams were sent the changes to their cars last week, with nine changes documented along with plans for three more modifications on which DJR and

Ford are still working. Ford will have parts manufactured to alter existing bodywork while any new parts manufactured from now will feature the final designs in full.

Starting from the front of the car, the fog light inserts from Mustang V3 remain but the wheel arch packers have been removed from that spec (‘1’ in the image above). The front splitter has been reprofiled, and while it is not obvious from this drawing, we are led to believe that it will have a more rounded profile on the front, similar to the Chevrolet Camaro, along with a raised middle section to facilitate airflow underneath during low ride heights (2).

According to our sources, the sharperedged design of the Ford was identified as a contributing factor to some of the significant balance changes observed in the Mustang under braking and acceleration.

There is a new leading edge packer for the side skirts (3) and the door mirrors have been changed to Australian spec mirrors and will be supplied out of the Ford’s OEM

stocks (4). The side skirt’s trailing edge packer that was introduced on the Gold Coast remains.

The trailing edge of the roof will feature a new adjustable bracing rod between the chassis cross and the roof header (5); aluminium rail extensions have also been proposed the same as the Chev, but Ford may explore a redesign of the current steel units to make them more crushable after failures on Tickford cars at Newcastle and Bathurst.

At the rear of the car, there is a new standard-sized decklid spoiler (6), while the rear wing remains at 1500mm and has been returned to the V2 position, which is 25mm forward of where it finished the season (7).

Its wing has an angled rear wing endplate (8) the maximum angle allowed on the wing is 10°, up from 6° at end of 2023, and the 3mm gurney is removed (9).

Work is also under way on the rear quarter panel stiffness and the door frame where the side mirrors mount. The flexing panels on the Mustang was an issue in the wind tunnel because it created variances in the measurements.

A rubberised airbox upper is also being made to match changes being made to the Camaro, and DJR is also working on a more crushable section of the radiator duct layups to reduce damage to the radiators in a front impact.

It is expected the aero changes will all be in play for the opening round, but that other modifications may take a little longer.

There is no word, for instance, on when Ford will have a homologated dashboard available.

SUMMER OF CHANGE AT PREMIAIR RACING PREMIAIR RACING boss Peter Xiberras has made the biggest statement yet in his short time in Supercars, boosting his team’s engineering credentials in the off-season.

Xiberras has laid down some definitive statements over the summer break with the recruitment of Ludo Lacroix (above) and Mirko De Rosa for its third season in Supercars. Xiberras, who runs his team with contracted support from Triple Eight, has always said he will step it up over time and he believes the changes will help his squad become more consistent front runners in the series.

Dr Geoffrey Slater (below) has left the team after a mid-season switch off the tools and into the role of Director of Engineering during 2023.

It is expected that he full changes to the Mustang will align with the Camaro in aero terms – While engine parity is still being finalised Below: Camaro rear wing and front spoiler.

Far left: The aero ‘work’ continued on the ‘mule’ Camaro during the US wind tunnel testing sessions.

The Camaro has also had a bit of a workover, with changes to both the front and rear aerodynamic components to provide alignment between the brands. Some of the changes have been made to create a more aerodynamically stable front end, including new infills to round out the leading edge of the design and changing the profile of the

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four front splitter inner centre skids to raise the centre.

The splitter’s leading edge packers will initially be 3D-printed and bonded onto existing splitters and, like the Ford, all new components manufactured will be the new specification.

Brad Jones Racing recently showed how it all works on its YouTube Channel.

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These modifications have increased front downforce in both cars, necessitating more rear downforce to maintain the right balance.

To do this, the rear wing on the Camaro has been moved 50mm rearward and the wing itself has been widened by 100mm using two 50mm spacers on either side, a cost-effective approach like the post-Bathurst modifications to the Mustang.

The remaining parity obstacle is the engines which, while V8s, are of a completely different configuration. Ford’s Coyote engine is a 5.4L dual overhead cam V8 with Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing, and the challenge has been tuning it to match the Chev V8 which retains the use of pushrods and fixed cam timing on its 5.7L engine.

Ford, with its engine program now running out of Dick Johnson Racing, was seen testing last week at Queensland Raceway with Premiair Racing being used as a Chev benchmark in the absence of availability at Triple Eight.

It is believed Ford was trying some physical changes to the make-up of its engines, including parts to match the smaller throttlebody adopted earlier in the season, aimed at improving transient performance, as well as some mapping. More changes may yet come, although DJR’s Dr Ryan Story would not confirm any of this as we closed for press.

After Ford locks down the specs, Supercars will be seeking time on a transient dyno in the States to fine-tune the mapping before locking down the specs for the first round at Bathurst in a month’s time.

Lacroix is the prize signing, the Frenchman being a critical part of dominant eras at Triple Eight and Dick Johnson Racing.

He was first brought to Australia by Roland Dane in 2003 after four years with the British arm of Triple Eight and was a key player in the evolution of the team as both a racing and homologation outfit for a decade before joining DJR Team Penske in 2017 for similar success.

Lacroix’s move to PremiAir was first floated publicly on the Auto Action RevLimiter Podcast on the day it was announced he was leaving DJR after a tough season.

“We are exceptionally pleased to have someone of Ludo’s calibre joining the PremiAir Racing team,” Xiberras said. “It is no secret that we are dedicated to having the best people on our team, and clearly Ludo is a heavyweight in his field.

“With Ludo and Stephen (team manager Stephen Robertson) having worked together previously at Triple Eight, there is also an aspect of getting the band back together which I think will serve us well in 2024.”

Xiberras said the partnership between Lacroix and Robertson is important. The pair first worked together in Germany in DTM in 2002 before they both moved to Australia as part of Triple Eight’s first Supercars team a year later.

In two years, they helped turn Triple Eight from a mid to rear-of- the-grid operation to a championship heavyweight and now they hope to do the same at PremiAir. Effectively making way for Lacroix, Slater confirmed his resignation to Auto Action recently and stated he is currently looking at new opportunities within the motorsport world.

“There are several factors that influenced my decision to resign from PremiAir Racing,” he said. “I’ve been presented with numerous opportunities both within Supercars and externally that I am currently considering.

“I’ll be remaining in motorsport and looking forward to my next challenge.”

De Rosa is likely to engineer Tim Slade, renewing his working relationship with Slade from when they were both at Blanchard Racing Team. Prior to his two years with BRT, he was lead engineer at Erebus and was looking after Anton De Pasquale when he scored his first win in 2020.

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EREBUS BRINGS HUGHES INTO SUPER2 FOLD QUEENSLAND YOUNG gun Jarrod Hughes will be a new face to watch in Super2, being the latest to join the Erebus Academy and Image Racing combination.

Hughes will make the transition to the Dunlop Series after two seasons of being a frontrunner in the Toyota 86 Series.

The Brisbane-based driver will race a Holden ZB Commodore with support from the current Supercars champions alongside reigning Super3 champion Jobe Stewart.

Hughes finished fifth in the 2023 Toyota 86 Series championship but recently impressively won on TA2 Muscle Car Series debut at a very wet Calder Park Raceway.

Hughes also claimed the Kaizen Award after taking the most poles in the 2022 Toyota 86 Series.

But Supercars has always been a big ambition of the youngster and he cannot wait to make his Dunlop Series debut with Image Racing at Bathurst.

“Competing in the Super2 Series with Image Racing and Erebus Academy is an exciting new chapter in my career,” Hughes said.

“Alongside Jobe, I am eager to get to Bathurst for the first round of the 2024 season.”

Jarrod Hughes with Image Racing boss Terry Wyhoon.

After fielding the experienced Jack Perkins last year alongside Jay Hanson, Erebus and Image have gone for an allyouth combination in 2024.

Alongside Hughes, as expected, will be Stewart, who won the Super3 crown

driving a #999 VF Commodore with Terry Wyhoon’s support.

The Mount Gambier teenager finished no lower than fourth across the entire Super3 season on his way to a comfortable championship win.

Both Stewart and Hughes raced against each other in the 2022 Toyota 86 Series season, finishing third and seventh respectively.

Erebus Motorsport boss Barry Ryan believes the pair will be a strong combination as teammates as the team’s academy continues its growing history of supporting young drivers.

“The Erebus Academy has lent its support to many notable drivers, including Jack Le Brocq, Richard Muscat, Adam Marjoram, Anton De Pasquale and Will Brown to name a few,” Ryan said.

“The fact we have Jack returning this year as a Supercars race winner is a testament to the importance of creating pathways to develop young talent – both on and off the track.

“Jobe is still only 19 years old but last year he showed exactly what we saw in him at 12. He has all the hallmarks of a future Erebus Champion and that is exactly what the Academy is about.

“It’s great to welcome Jarrod to the Academy. The Super2 category is extremely competitive and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the two of them go this year.”

Thomas Miles

BACKROOM CHANGES AT SUPERCARS A SERIES of off-season changes at Supercars will likely shake up the joint in the lead-up to and the opening rounds of 2024.

The departures of long-time Motorsport Operations Manager Paul Martin and David Tunnicliffe (Head of Broadcast) have been announced. Adding intrigue to the scenario, Nathan Prendergast is making a triumphant return to head up Supercars’ television department, while James Delzoppo is set to take on Martin’s role as Motorsport Operations Manager, transitioning from Motorsport Australia.

Martin is Supercars stalwart and has held the pivotal Motorsport Operations Manager (MOM) role for both Supercars and the Bathurst 12 Hour. He has served as the official starter and a judge of fact at Supercars events and stepped up as the acting Head of Motorsport in the absence of Adrian Burgess at the VAILO Adelaide 500 last year.

The upcoming Bathurst SuperFest marks the end of an era for Martin, as he steps away from his current Supercars role in a full-time capacity, at least for the time being.

James Delzoppo is making the move from Motorsport Australia to replace Martin in the MOM role, from the Australian Grand Prix onwards.

Delzoppo is no stranger to the Supercars paddock, having previously served as one of the deputy race directors working closely with race director James Taylor. His extensive experience also includes the role of integrity officer at Motorsport Australia since 2016.

On the broadcast front, the departure of David Tunnicliffe has paved the way for the return of Nathan Prendergast to the Head of Broadcast position at Supercars TV. Prendergast previously held the same role from 2017 to 2022.

His history with Supercars spans from 2005 to 2022, covering various broadcasting eras from Channel 10 to Seven and then Fox Sports. Having missed just three events during his 17-year stint, Prendergast already has his feet under the desk as preparations for the 2024 season accelerate.

Supercars issued a statement expressing its pleasure in welcoming him back and highlighting his extensive experience, which now includes global productions like Formula 1, World Supercross Championship, the Dakar rally, and the Olympic eSport week in Singapore, along with domestic events like AFL Grand Finals, Summer Olympics, the Sydney to Hobart, and the national Drag Racing Championship.

Tunnicliffe’s departure from the Head of Broadcast position, which he held since midway through 2022, oversaw the arrival of Gen3 and a new graphics package on the

The Auto Action motorsport podcast The team that’s not trying to make friends or look after sponsors!

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Plenty of analysis and lots of opinion from some of the most experienced motorsport media people in the business - Bruce Williams, Paul Gover and Andrew Clarke.

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Nathan Prendergast – back after a year away.

Supercars TV broadcast. Supercars explained in a statement that Tunnicliffe’s departure was a result of careful consideration, expressing gratitude for his dedication and contributions.

The announcement sets the stage for a busy 2024 season, with Supercars returning to TV screens at the Bathurst 500 on February 23-25.

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ROSSI AND BMW WILL BE BACK AT BATHURST FOR THE second year in a row, Bathurst will be swamped by Valentino Rossi fans with the MotoGP legend returning to Mount Panorama with BMW. After his presence brought the event to new heights last year, Rossi will return with Team WRT and its two factory supported M4 GT3s for the February endurance race.

Once again the ‘Doctor’ will go racing with his iconic #46 on the door alongside Belgian Maxime Martin and new BMW recruit Raffaele Marciello.

Rossi finished sixth on Bathurst debut last year despite a late additional pit stop to fix an electrical issue.

The sister entry was in podium contention and finished a strong fourth with South African Sheldon van der Linde, plus Belgians Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts.

The trio will have another crack at chasing a trophy in the #32 BMW. After the competitive start at Bathurst BMW M Team WRT enjoyed a solid 2023 highlighted by victories at the Dubai 24 Hours, plus Kyalami 9 Hour and Indianapolis 8 Hour Intercontinental GT Challenge races.

Although much of the fanfare will surround Rossi, Marciello arrives at BMW with high expectations having collected three Bathurst 12 Hour podiums in the

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past, while he also took pole in 2019.

He cannot wait to have a crack in a factory BMW. “Bathurst is a very special place for me – the perfect first race with BMW M Motorsport,” he said.

“I love the circuit and have come very close to winning on a few occasions.

Unfortunately, it has never quite worked out so far.

“However, I believe I have a good chance to change all that this year with BMW M Team WRT. WRT is one of the best teams in the world, and my team-mates Maxime and Valentino are extremely quick.

“Sharing the car with Vale is very special for me. I watched him in MotoGP when I was a kid.”

After showing pleasing pace last year, BMW Team WRT Principal Vincent Vosse is determined to go all the way and hunt down the Mercedes in 2024.

“What an event to kick off our second season with BMW M Motorsport,” he said.

“We are very much looking forward to returning to Bathurst.

“We were unfortunately unable to challenge for first place again last year, but we are now back for another shot with a fantastic squad of drivers.”

Thomas Miles

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FERRARI’S AUSSIE ASSAULT THE FAMOUS Ferrari logo will be back in Australian GT racing with two new factory-supported cars coming down under.

A partnership between the Lance East group and Arise Racing has resulted in the boost of two new Ferrari 296 GT3 cars being added to the 2024 GT World Challenge Australia grid.

It will be the first time in almost a decade a Ferrari customer racing program will be seen in the Australian GT scene.

Arise Racing’s 296 GT3 will also be the first current generation Ferrari in the GT World Challenge Australia since the very first round at Phillip Island in 2021 where Maranello Motorsport raced a 488. Various older 458 GT3s have been a feature at numerous rounds since.

The Ferrari 296 GT3, powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, has already tasted success globally with victory at the 2023 24 Hours of Nurburgring with Kiwi Earl Bamber at the wheel.

Arise Racing itself will be based in WA and team manager Jordan Oon is determined to be a big player in the category for a long time to come.

“We’re very excited at Arise Racing GT for this year and beyond. There’s a lot of unknowns, but we are in the process of putting the drivers and teams together ahead of what will be a great season,” said Oon. “Obviously we want to be at the

pointy end, but until we get through the first round, we aren’t going to know. We are really keen to see the category grow.

“We want to see more internationals and see the Australian championship be recognised globally. The class has had its ups and downs over the years, but it’s clearly on the way up.

“We are gearing up for the future.

We don’t want to be here for one or two years. We see this as a long term program and we want to make it sustainable.”

Oon also revealed how the opportunity to race with the Prancing Horse arose with Lance East group owner Laurence Escalante a major influence.

“We were invited to see the new Ferrari 296 GT3 being shaken down in Fiorano (Italy), so we got a crash course to see what they are and what the cars are about,” he said.

“They are very impressive, and from what we’ve seen, their design and systems are a match for any GT3 car in the world.

“It’s nice that we have been able to add a new flavour to the category.

“Ferrari has a huge following globally, and the release of the new car has been huge.

“They won the Nurburgring 24 Hour, Laurences’ relationship with Ferrari through F1 is very strong, so it was a no brainer to go down this route.”

Thomas Miles

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POWER INTRIGUED TO SEE HYBRID IMPACT

AUSTRALIA’S INDYCAR star Will Power is intrigued to see the impact of introducing hybrid power in the middle of the championship will have on the 2024 season.

IndyCar is currently powered by 2.2L V6 twin-turbocharged engines, but at an unspecified time in 2024 after the 108th Indianapolis 500, the open-wheeled series will go hybrid.

The new engines are made up of a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and Energy Storage System (ESS) which will feature additional horsepower and the Push to Pass system.

Within three months, a total of 15,256 miles of testing was completed and one of the busiest drivers was Australia’s Penske star Power.

The 2014 and 2022 IndyCar champion is fascinated to see how the midseason introduction of hybrid power will shake up

the championship fight between the Chevrolet and Honda competitors.

“It will be very interesting,” he said.

“There is no question that it is going to be a factor in the championship.

“People will be learning through those races on how to extract the most out of the system which is a good thing.

“It will make for a very interesting championship.”

The hybrid system will add a new element to the racing with drivers strategically deploying the ESS throughout the race at their own call – and Power stressed the need to be smart and not greedy with the new trick.

“Maybe you’ll deploy and (realise) you’re not going to get them and switch it back to (regeneration) in their draft and wait for a better run,” Chevrolet driver Power said. “I think you’ll try to keep that tank full (all the) time. Instead of hitting the limiter or lifting, you’ll grab

the paddle to (regenerate). It will be a constantly changing thing.

“It’s now part of the game, another tool that you’ve got to be good at, and you’ve got to be smart with how you use it.”

Despite a specific rollout date yet to be announced, Power has full confidence in the system after countless trouble free laps behind the wheel.

“I have done quite a few tests where you just run all day with no problems at all,” he said.

“The testing has been good with the system working really well. I think the way it is packaged and everything is really good.

“It just needs time and I think IndyCar wants it to be absolutely bulletproof when it is introduced with absolutely zero chance of problems – that is the smart way to do it.”

In terms of pure racing, Power is hopeful of bouncing back after his

first ever winless season in IndyCar, especially without the struggles of 12 months ago when his wife Liz suffered a near death staph infection.

Thankfully she has recovered and a relieved Power said this means he is able to have a greater focus on racing as he prepares for a 17th season.

“I would say going into ’23 was not a very good situation and the preparation was not normal ... and that kind of continued into the season a bit,” the Toowoomba product reflected.

“Liz is doing a lot better (so) not having that stress, the constant thought in the back of your mind frees up a bit of space.

You cannot compete at a high level if you are not 100 percent.

“We have made improvements on a team front and are very determined to turn up in ’24 with simply better performances.”

Thomas Miles

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SVG TAKES BIG STEP SHANE VAN Gisbergen has ticked off a major milestone in his NASCAR career by completing his first practice session at Daytona.

Van Gisbergen, who will race in both the NASCAR Cup (part time) and Xfinity Series (full time) in 2024, is getting ready for the big year by also taking part in the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona.

The Kiwi enjoyed his first taste of driving a stock car at a Superspeedway in the ARCA Menards Series 2024 prerace practice session at Daytona that ran over two days on January 12-13.

Van Gisbergen finished 12th out of a massive 76 cars with a time of 49.410s and a speed of 182.149mph in the Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet.

The effectively fourth-tier category uses machinery from a decade ago, meaning SVG drove the Chevrolet SS which was the American version of the Holden VF Commodore.

Van Gisbergen was 0.532s away from

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Images: TRACKHOUSE RACING leader Jake Finch who led a Venturini Motorsports 1-2-3-4.

Speaking before the session van Gisbergen stressed the importance of the practice, which provided him a valuable chance to get accustomed to the car itself, the speed, the track, the banking and drafting alongside other cars.

“It is cool to be here again. Last time

I was here I was racing the Rolex 24 in 2020 before the world shutdown.

“But I have never done the full speedway and in a Stock Car now, so it would be interesting to get a feel by myself of how the car handles.

“But it really starts when you are around other cars, learning how the drafting works and comfortable around people with a spotter.

“It is all stuff I have not really done before so I have a lot to learn and keen to get some running just to get comfortable and start understanding how it all works.”

Van Gisbergen will race the 80-lap ARCA 200 on the same day as the 120lap Xfinity Series opener at Daytona on Saturday, February 17.

Thomas Miles

MCLAUGHLIN AIMING FOR A BIG 2024 IN JUST three seasons Scott McLaughlin has already cemented himself as one of the stars of IndyCar. Last year was McLaughlin’s best yet, finishing a career-high third in the championship in addition to being the leading Team Penske driver.

Whilst he only recorded one win, in Alabama, the Kiwi enjoyed his most consistent season with three other podiums and a streak of 11 straight top 10 finishes to close out the year from Detroit to Laguna Seca.

After beating former IndyCar champion teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden in the points last year, McLaughlin now has his eyes firmly locked on challenging for the coveted IndyCar title and become the second New Zealander after Scott Dixon to achieve the feat.

“I think ever since I won my first race, I knew that every year after that I’m going to have a legitimate shot (at the championship) knowing that the tools I have at hand and where I am in my development as an IndyCar driver,” the three-time Supercars champion said.

“I never come out and say I’m going to win the championship. I don’t.

“I feel like I’m in the best possible spot I’ve ever been for a long time, but even probably better than last year.

“But it’s the same for everyone. It’s just a matter of doing your talking on the track. I feel comfortable.

“I think we can certainly do that – with the championship side.

“We can have a really good run and put ourselves in position to hopefully finish off the year in a position that we are in contention for the championship.”

Reflecting on his 2023 campaign, McLaughlin believes more refinement was required to take the extra step to being a title challenger.

“I felt like we had our best year last year and was really good with my process,” he said.

“It was just a matter of putting together things a little bit earlier on in the season and winning races when we probably should have.

“There was a couple of races we kind of let go as well. It’s so competitive, the margins are so tight, but you’re trying to get that last little bit.

“Sometimes that last little bit in the sport is a little bit of luck. You might have the fastest car and certainly places like Nashville and other places where we had a really good opportunity to win, but the yellow didn’t fall our way, or fuel strategy didn’t work our way or whatnot, and you find yourself fifth or sixth in a race that you could easily have been maybe the top step of the podium.

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“I feel like we really finished the year strong last year and it is going to be important to start the year strong with the changes throughout the season.”

McLaughlin also stated a first oval win is a major ambition of his, with each of his previous wins all arriving on road and street courses.

His maiden success was the unforgettable 2022 season opener on the streets of St Petersburg, while he backed that up with further wins at the Mid Ohio and Portland road courses.

The Kiwi’s only win of 2023 arrived at the twisty Barber Motorsport Park.

Meanwhile, on the ovals, McLaughlin has collected three podiums, including his first runner-up finish at Texas in 2021, while his best finish at the iconic Indianapolis 500 is 14th.

McLaughlin hopes the high level of comfort he enjoys in the Chevrolet powered Penske car can push him to the breakthrough win.

“I guess the first oval win is the next thing for me, to finish off everything,” he said.

“But I think from a comfort, pace feeling perspective, I feel really at home.

“I certainly don’t feel like the new kid anymore, and I feel more like an openwheel driver than a touring car driver now.”

If McLaughlin is to achieve his goals in 2024, he is in the perfect environment at Team Penske with countless individuals who know how to win.

One of them is Rick Mears, who has

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Leading team-mate Will Power at Laguna Seca.

Above: Winner – Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, at Barber Motorsports Park.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

four Indianapolis 500 wins in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991.

The 30-year-old, from Christchurch, spoke highly about the oval insights that have surfaced from his relationship with the 72-year-old from Kansas.

“Rick’s basically my eye in the sky in some ways,” McLaughlin said.

“He’s not my spotter, but he certainly watches everything with a keen interest and where I’m positioning the car.

“He’s one of the first people that always comments about my driving when I come back in from an oval.

“It has been more so his help has been on ovals to accelerate that phase, and that’s been amazing for me, particularly at Indy, but short ovals as well.

“I just find myself picking up the phone and ringing him, which I’ve had the

privilege to, which is an amazing feeling.”

McLaughlin is not only feeling settled on the track with Penske but also off it – having finally got a Visa and purchased a house and a second best friend.

It means he is ready to give it everything when he jumps back into the #3.

“I feel like my off-track side is sorted in terms of I’ve got my Visa now, I’ve bought a house, got a second dog, so everything is sorted on that side, and I can finally focus on racing in some ways,” he said.

“But I’m super excited for the year. I feel very comfortable with where I’m at with the team.

“I’m excited to hit the ground running hopefully at St. Pete, a place that I love.”

Thomas Miles

www.autoaction.com.au I 9

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BROWN’S FIRST TRIPLE EIGHT DRIVE WILL BROWN’s first Triple Eight Race Engineering race car has been unveiled as he is a key part of the team’s Bathurst 12 Hour assault.

The newcomer from Erebus will team up with new Supercars teammate Broc Feeney and Mercedes AMG factory driver Mikael Grenier.

Brown enjoyed a test at Queensland Raceway last Friday and will be hoping to improve on his best 12 Hour result of 17th.

“It’s been great here at Triple Eight so far,” Brown said.

“It allows myself to work closely with the team before we get to the first Supercars event the weekend after.”

Image: RACE PROJECT

S5000 RACING STILL A POSSIBILITY STOP PRESS LOVE TO STEER SECOND T8 MERC AUSSIE INTERNATIONAL Jordan Love will drive the second Triple Eight Mercedes at Bathurst as part of his 2024 program.

Love will share the #88 Triple Eight/Johor Racing Pro-Am Merceds with Jamie Whincup and Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

In addition to the Bathurst drive he will also race in Spa and Indianapolis with Johor Racing and will team up with the Groves in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

“I’m really excited to announce my first plans for 2024,” he said.

“Returning to Bathurst, Spa, and making my debut in the USA at the Indianapolis 8 Hour are the highlights.”

ESTRE LEADS HUBAUTO’S RETURN SUPERCARS CO-driver Kevin Estre headlines the driver line up that will spearhead HubAuto’s first Bathurst 12 Hour campaign in four years.

The Taiwanese outfit will be back at Mount Panorama with Grove Racing co-driver Estre leading a factorysupported Porsche 911 GT3R 992.

He will share the car alongside fellow Porsche factory drivers Klaus Bachler and Patrick Pilet.

HubAuto has started the race twice, in 2019 and 2020, and is yet to finish, however, the “tremendous fan support” from Australia is a big reason behind the comeback.

10 I www.autoaction.com.au

THE SIGHT of S5000 racing in 2024 is far from impossible, with GRM’s Barry Rogers hoping to produce a calendar in the second half of the year – on one condition.

It will all hinge on whether or not the contentious Supercars driver entry requirements are dumped.

For the past two years, Supercars maintained a requirement that, regardless of any other qualifying process, drivers must contest six Super2 events before being permitted to race in premier category.

Although that requirement was recently halved for drivers coming from Carrera Cup and Super3, it has remained a major barrier for drivers in many relevant national categories, including TCR, S5000 and Trans Am. S5000 suffered a tough 2023 with the grid reaching double figures in just two of the six rounds and a return in 2024 is currently up in the air.

Believing the Supercars entry requirements are having a negative impact on a number of national categories, S5000 has sent a clear message by parking the V8 powered open-wheelers until those requirements are changed.

Despite no calendar being made public, Rogers said racing can be possible in the second half of the season if the situation

changes, having ruled out the possibility of the cars being moved overseas.

“It is a shame the year is already going but, hopefully, the matter gets resolved,” he told Auto Action.

“If it does we will reassess in the second half of the year and we could put a decent calendar together.

“We are in no hurry and are reluctant to send them overseas because if we did that, Australia would never get them again.

“Our intention is for that not to happen … so we will see what unfolds.”

Rogers said the decision has been made to create a better future for not just S5000, but Australian motorsport as a whole and confirmed drivers, teams and sponsors are supportive of keeping the cars off the track for now.

“Many drivers in Australia aspire to be in Supercars, which is wonderful, but unfortunately the door on S5000, and other categories, being a pathway to the pinnacle of the sport has been slammed shut,” he said.

“As a result, we have struggled to attract drivers to the category.

“It is incumbent on all of us to lower those barriers to keep people within the sport rather then making them give up because they don’t have enough money.”

Thomas Miles Image: RACE PROJECT

SUPERCARS ENTRY BARRIER TO GO THE REQUIREMENT that a driver must contest Super2 before being allowed to race a Supercar is set to be removed.

As first reported, exclusively,

by AA online (January 11), representations have been made to the FIA by TCR’s global boss Marcello Lotti (above), objecting to the barrier Supercars (an FIArecognised category) has to TCR – also an FIA category – with its ‘compulsory Super2’ requirement.

It is understood that the approach has been successful, and that an announcement may be imminent, as AA goes to press.

That will come as good news to drivers across many categories as well as TCR, in particular Trans Am and S5000 – the latter having been ‘parked’ by category owners ARG pending change.

PIASTRI ANOINTED

BY ECCLESTONE AS THE Formula 1 teams prepare for their season launches, McLaren is being tipped by many as the team that will take the fight to Red Bull Racing, while former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has endorsed Oscar Piastri as a star on the rise.

Ecclestone, as the Brabham team owner, famously took Nelson Piquet to back-toback titles in the early 1980s, but it was his work at the head of F1 that turned the struggling sport into the financial powerhouse that it is today.

Ecclestone told German publication Bild: “Young Australian Oscar Piastri, at 22 years old, impresses me the most. He will surely be a champion.”

Piastri’s debut season saw him in the points three races into his career, and later in the season the winner of a Sprint race. While he was outscored in the season 205 points to 97 by teammate Lando Norris, his overall performance and level-headed, calm approach to racing

won him many fans.

Norris benefitted from mid-season upgrades before Piastri which contributed to the points gap. Piastri had a superior qualifying average to his teammate, but was shaded in the races as the greater experience of Norris shone through.

The 22-year-old Australian and Auto Action columnist was officially the rookie of the season last year and continues to grow his credentials.

McLaren team boss, Andrea Stella has spoken often since about Piastri’s rare abilities since taking over the reins at the iconic Formula One team and has credited him with playing a key role in the team’s rise from the also ran ranks to that of contender.

“I think maybe one of the key enablers, why he can grow so rapidly is just the man beyond the driver. He’s so calm. I think he’s so good at keeping himself in a state in which he can use the best of his talent. I

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

don’t have that quality,” Stella said during 2023.

“I have to think very actively about what am I thinking. What are my emotions?

I have to think about my psychology to actively keep myself in the most productive state. For Oscar, this seems to come quite naturally. That’s the main enabler. I think he potentially has a natural gift, or maybe he worked through that throughout his young career.

“But certainly, he’s remarkable. And even when I’ve seen great drivers currently or in the past, all of them sort of sometimes underperformed because they don’t stay in the status in which they give their best. I think for Oscar, this is quite natural.

“Even the analytical behaviour, looking at things, trying to learn, and at the same time always remaining very calm. He is able to absorb things, execute things, always staying very calm, which I think is a strong point of Oscar.”

OSAKA PLANNING AMBITIOUS JAPANESE GP HEIST THE ICONIC Suzuka Circuit (above) has entered 2024 with no contract beyond this year’s April 5-7 Formula 1 round, and now a challenge has been issued by Japan’s third largest island of Osaka to host a Grand Prix in 2025.

The Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau has confirmed its aspirations to construct a new street circuit on the man-made Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay, with news organisation Japan Today getting confirmation from Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura.

“We would very much like to realise the Osaka F1 Grand Prix,” the Governor said.

“If we can attract investment from the world, we’ll be able to achieve things we currently can’t realise in Japan,” (referring to the island hosting the 2025 World Exposition).

“Racing on a street circuit might be achievable at Yumeshima … It would be difficult to use regular asphalt roads. We should develop better quality ones.”

The popular Suzuka Circuit (Honda-owned) held its first Grand Prix in 1987 after it shifted from the Fuji International Speedway (Toyotaowned), to which it then returned in 2007/08 as part of an alternating agreement between the two circuits.

Since Toyota pulled the plug in 2009 due to economic reasons, rivals Honda have claimed the race at Suzuka ever since.

If the Osaka bid is successful, it would add a seventh street race to the calendar after the introduction of Las Vegas in 2023.

The man-made island is currently under an ballistic $1.6 billion dollar (235 billion yen) reconstruction to ready itself for the World Exposition, being transformed from an industrial island into a site featuring transportation links, hotels, conference centres and residential areas (plus the 155 hectare expo site) with a newly-built one mile bridge connecting it to the main island.

The economic benefit of the Vegas race was estimated to have been around $1.2 billion dollars.

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MOFFAT DETERMINED TO DEFEND TRANS AM TITLE

BRABHAM’S FUTURE IN DOUBT THE FUTURE of Australian supercar maker Brabham Automotive is under a major cloud after its split with a major investor.

Brabham Group Limited and Fusion Capital have ended their six-year collaboration which included the creations of the BT62 and BT63 supercars since its launch in May 2018.

“With the brand licence for Automotive ended, it opens the doors for future business ventures in the Motorsport, Automotive and Heritage sectors,” David Brabham said.

“Ultimately the strategic direction of both groups did not align – that happens,” Fusion Capital chair Mat Fitch said.

FORD SUPERVAN COMING TO THE MOUNTAIN THE FORD SuperVan will turn wheels on Australian soil for the first time at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit during next month’s Bathurst 12 Hour. The allelectric E-Transit SuperVan 4.2 will be on public display throughout the Bathurst SuperFest event and features four electric motors, with one 50kWh battery and 1400 horsepower. Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Romain Dumas will steer a number of demonstration runs.

“Driving SuperVan 4.2 is always a huge privilege,” Dumas said. “For any racing driver, Bathurst is a unique and exhilarating challenge and I can’t wait to give the Australian fans a show they will hopefully never forget.”

GROVES SWITCH GT ALLIANCES GROVE RACING’S GT program will look vastly different in 2024, having switched from one major German make to another. After racing Porsches for a number of years, Grove Racing will begin a new journey with Mercedes.

“To head into another season with a new brand is incredibly refreshing,” Brenton Grove said.

“Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing has been a pleasure to deal with and we’re excited to see what we can do together. “There’s no need to explain the pedigree the brand has within Motorsport, and we can’t wait to be a part of that.” Their first race for the three pointed star was the Abu Dhabi 6 Hour last weekend while they will also partake in the 24 Hours of Dubai this weekend.

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

Moffat, with team owner Barry Rogers.

Image: RACE PROJECT AFTER ENDING almost two decades of pain, James Moffat finally won a national crown last year and will be back to defend his Trans Am title with GRM. The 39-year-old will remain racing in the distinctive red Ford Mustang and despite the #1 being on offer, he will continue using his preferred #34.

Moffat is excited to be the hunted in a brand new Mustang.

“I’m looking forward to the year ahead. 2023 was pretty successful for us, but that’s behind us now and the job ahead is to perform at a high level

once again,” said Moffat.

“It’s exciting to be back with the team and everyone at GRM, Valvoline and LMCT+.

“We’re in a brand-new car so we’re looking to hit the ground running.

“You never take anything for granted in this sport, so hopefully we can pick up where we left off.

“If we do all the things right that we did last year, we should be competitive again throughout the season.”

Moffat feels right at home at GRM having a strong history with the

family team dating back to 2016.

He raced full time for the team in Supercars as Scott McLaughlin’s and Garth Tander’s teammate in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Moffat returned in 2019 to race a Renault in TCR for three years before shifting to Trans Am successfully in 2023.

GRM co-owner Barry Rogers was delighted to retain Moffat and hinted that the challengers to snatch his crown could be tougher than ever.

“As team you go and race to win and for James it was his first national championship, so we were very proud with how he went about the year,” Rogers told Auto Action.

“He is a tremendous driver to have within the team and helps out young drivers.

“His experience really echoes throughout the team so it is great to have him back this year and we cannot wait to defend the championship.

“But the competition is going to be tough for sure. There are some high calibre drivers that will be announced soon.

“The competition is going up another level so Moff will have his work cut out.

“We look forward to giving it our best shot and seeing how we go come Adelaide at the end of the year.”

Thomas Miles

BUCHAN NOT GOING ANYWHERE AFTER WINNING a breakthrough Supercheap Auto TCR Australia crown last year, Josh Buchan will be back to defend the #1.

Buchan has signed a two-year deal to keep on racing the HMO Customer Racing Hyundai team which brought him the ultimate success last year.

The 2023 TCR Australia champion made his category debut in 2021 with the HMO squad and having gone better than ever last year, sees no reason to change a winning formula.

“I am very pumped to lock away a two-year deal with a brand I am passionate about and happy about having been involved for more than a decade now,” he said.

“First and foremost, every driver dreams of getting an opportunity to race, but to get longevity and job security through a multiple-year deal is incredible, not only for peace of mind, but also for team consistency.

“We can get stuck into the job and focus on trying to win races and titles.

“There is more contributing to the deal than just the results in the car.

“Of course, the title helped, but it’s a culmination of several years of loyalty I have with them, as well as the amount of events I do with them in the background. I have good relationships on all levels.

“I have felt at home with Hyundai

Image: RACE PROJECT since day one and, in my eyes, it’s been a successful relationship.

“They want to go TCR racing, and they feel I am the right person for that.

I have always said I will stick around Image: for as long as theyRACE havePROJECT me as it’s a

great honour representing them.

“TCR is the natural choice for me to call home for my car racing. The category has always been good to me, so it was a no-brainer to come back.”

Thomas Miles

WHITELINE RACING COMMITS TO TWO-CAR TCM CAMARO PROGRAM WITH A new ownership structure and a 2024 calendar that sees Touring Car Masters return to a predominantly Supercars event-based series, things seem to be on the up for the fan-favourite category.

The teams are getting organised, and several are stepping up to make sure the series is sustainable into the future.

One such team is Whiteline Racing, led by long-time supporters of Touring Car Masters, Bob and Sharon Middleton, who have made a commitment to run their twocar Chevrolet Camaro team through 2024.

Whiteline Racing has been one of the most successful teams in the history of TCM, and Bob Middleton said he has a renewed commitment to the championship and his group’s driver signings.

“We see the changes being made to the category as being very positive and we have signed up to run the full TCM series in 2024.

“We’ve now got two drivers that have locked in for the whole year, which is great,” he said.

“Our commitment is to give it one more year and have a serious go at trying to win the championship.

“We have been part of the championship for many seasons, but despite winning many races, we haven’t won a championship yet.

“We’ve been second, third, and always been up there somewhere, and had some great drivers, with Andrew Medecki and obviously Adam Bressington – and in the past we also had a long-term relationship with Mark King.

“Moving forward, the people that are now involved in running TCM understand the series, which is now virtually owned by the competitors and administered by the people that were involved in the past, which is great.”

Middleton said changes to team drivers in the past has affected Whiteline Racing’s ability to be competitive consistently in the championship, although they achieved a few first places.

“This year, we have got two drivers signed up and they are fully sponsored by different people to keep them in their car for the season, which that’s made all the difference,” he said.

“We’ve got Joel Heinrich, who is the current Aussie Legends champion, and will race in the #95 Chevrolet Camaro SS which has run over 300 race races in TCM.

“It’s the third highest behind the John Bowe and Steven Johnson cars for race and round wins in TCM. “Joel did a fantastic job for us last year in the couple of rounds he drove for us.

He won six out of the seven races he contended in two rounds.

“Joel will be running in the Pro Masters class for outright championship contention.”

Adelaide Control Engineering and CR International, an American Based Company, are set to offer support.

Gearing up to sit in Whiteline Racing’s second #85 Chevrolet Camaro RS is Jeff Fane.

“He’s from Queensland and he drove the car for several rounds last year,” Middleton said.

“He’s locked in to do it again this year, and he will run in the Pro Am class, with support from Velocity Trucks, Mercedes Benz and NTI insurance and obviously White Line Transport.”

Middleton said the 2024 race calendar is an improvement on the recent past, competing at Supercars rounds.

“That’s a big positive change for the better,” he said. “Running with the top series gives TCM better exposure and the

sponsors are keen to go again.

“It made them happier to be involved in the Supercars program and help us with the drivers, the cars and all; everything that goes with it.

“The competitors are the main people involved so hopefully it will run a lot smoother and be a better show for the television and the fans.”

He said he is motivated to achieve a win in the Touring Cars Masters series, off the back of some strong showings in the back half of last season.

“We finished the year off on a high, winning the Adelaide 500 round, and we won the Tailem Bend round, both with Joe,l and when things are going well, you’re always enthused to keep trying,” he said.

“That in itself makes you wonder whether we should be giving it away just yet.

“In light of the positive new feel about TCM and given that we haven’t won a championship yet, we’ll give it a crack.

“It’s a good reason to give the championship one more serious attempt and hopefully with the drivers who have committed for the whole year, we could pull one off.”

Bruce Williams

Joel Heinrich won the Adelaide 500 event in the Whiteline Racing Camaro and lines up again in 2024. Image: RACE PROJECT

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MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA LOSES KEY STAFF ‘ASSET’ Image: JACK MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY

BJR BUILDS SUPER2 TEAM BRAD JONES Racing has expanded to two cars for the 2024 Super2 Series where rookies Elliott Cleary and Cody Gillis will spearhead the Albury squad.

Cleary, 17, will race the #9 Holden ZB Commodore after finishing 14th in the 2023 Trans Am championship, but finished on a high with a podium at the Bathurst finale.

It marks the continuation of a rapid-fire ascension for the teen who only got behind the wheel for the first time four years ago.

“Really excited to work with BJR and to step up to the challenge that Super2 presents,” Cleary said.

“The racing in Super2 is very competitive and it will be awesome for me to learn and grow with the team.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity and for all the support I have around me, especially my family.”

Gillis is seven years older than his new teammate and will jump aboard the #19 ZB Commodore.

He arrives from a strong Trans Am campaign (above) where he finished seventh in the championship after five podiums.

“Super2 has been a big dream of mine since I was young,” Gillis said.

“I’m probably a little bit older than most of the field at the moment, but it’s not going to stop me. And I’ve always wanted to be here. I’m keen for the big year.

“But if we can sort of aim for top five and then as the year goes on, probably consistently to be top three would be amazing and then a couple of wins along the way would be perfect.”

The new duo replace another Trans Am driver in Lochie Dalton who represented BJR in the 2023 Super2 Series and finished 10th in the championship.

Thomas Miles

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AFTER MORE than two decades at Motorsport Australia, “key asset” Michael Smith will depart the Director of Motorsport and Commercial Operations position for an overseas role.

Smith will leave the organisation “in the coming months to take up an international, high-profile position in the motorsport industry”.

This comes on the back of many people thinking Smith was the natural choice and successor to the recently departed Motorsport Australia CEO. Smith first joined Motorsport Australia as a member of the Victorian State Office and held several high-profile roles in the organisation, but is now heading overseas for a new challenge within the motorsport world.

“Having been at Motorsport Australia for more than 20 years, this decision was not an easy one to make at all and is certainly a very emotional time for me,” Smith said.

“I’ve made lifelong friends and enjoyed nearly every moment working in a sport that people are so passionate about.

“It will be a bittersweet, final few weeks at Motorsport Australia as I bid a fond farewell to the people who make our sport great, in particular my past and present colleagues at Motorsport Australia who have made these last two decades such a rich and rewarding experience.”

Motorsport Australia CEO Sunil Vohra said it was “disappointing” to lose the experience of Smith.

“Having worked with Mike over the

first few months of my time with the organisation, it’s clear that he has been an asset to this organisation and the sport,” Vohra explained.

“While it’s disappointing for Motorsport Australia to lose Mike, we know that this is an opportunity that he has been considering since early last year and has now accepted that new role overseas. We are certainly pleased to be supporting him as he takes that next step in his career.

“We look forward to working with Mike until he departs the organisation after the Australian Grand Prix and celebrating his many achievements.”

Motorsport Australia will commence its search for a replacement in coming weeks.

AUSSIE AVRAMIDES SCORES COVETED SEAT AUSTRALIAN TEEN Xavier Avramides is now a factory-backed driver for leading European kart team Tonykart.

Avramides, 15, will race for a team known as one of the most elite karting squads in the world in the OK Senior class and Shfiter class in FIA championship races around Europe.

He joins some prestigious names, with James Courtney and Ryan Briscoe the only previous Australians to be Tonykart factory racers Europe.

It will be Avramides’ second season racing in the heartland of racing and manager Michael Patrizi said 2024 will be a massive opportunity.

“Xavier is an exceptional young talent that has made an instant impact on the international stage which is very rare for an Australian,” the former Supercars driver said.

“It was an honour to have Tonykart contact

me as it shows the work we are doing with our young drivers is being recognised on a global stage.

“Xavier is following in the footsteps of two other drivers under the MP Management banner including 2019 KZ world karting Champion Marijn Kremersand of course Matthew Payne who we recently announced a contract extension with Grove Racing here in Australia.

“2024 is going to be a big year for Xavier as he will tackle both the OK Senior direct drive and KZ2 Shifter categories with a 24race calendar in Europe exclusively.

“I really feel the foundations are being

Image: TONYKART

laid for Xavier to become our next best prospect into Formula 1 in the future. Jack and Oscar took the same path, so let’s see how we go – but that’s the goal, like everyone else!”

Thomas Miles

McRAE GM-1 TRIUMPHS IN F5000 HISTORIC GP THE SECOND round of the SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival series took place at Taupo International Motorsport Park last weekend, with Dunedin’s Steve Ross claiming the weekend in his 50year old McRae GM-1.

The three-race opener for 2024 was dominated by the #5, which claimed Sunday’s winner-take-all finale by 0.816 over the Lola T332 of Kevin Ingram in 10 laps under vastly improved conditions from Saturday’s wet Race 1.

“That was a very tough race,” said Ross, who made an early pass to conquer the Lola machine.

“Kevin ran right up my bum the whole time – I thought I was going to be in trouble there. So it is a very nice feeling to be here first.”

After taking out qualifying by 4.385s from Russell Greer in the #14 Lola, the humid weather turned nasty for the eight-lap opener, providing treacherous running for the classic 600hp machinery – on slicks.

Despite topping the T332s of Ingram and Greer

respectively over the eight laps in Race 1, Ross said the experience was “not that much fun” after he took an early off track excursion with a couple of 360-degree efforts after hitting the paint. Despite that, he stormed back to pick off his rivals.

An eight-lap handicap Race 2 was the Sunday warmup for the Historic GP, and whilst Graeme Annabell’s McLaren M10B was the best to the first corner, he was swamped by Ross and the Lolas of Codie Banks and

Bruce Kett for the podium, with Ross taking it by 2.896s.

The Race 3 GP wasn’t so one-sided, as Ross had to work hard to fend off the persistent Ingram, whilst third would go to another T332 , that of Tony Galbraith. Eight of the 10 starters made it to the finish of the 10 lap finale, with the winner of the 1970 Tasman Series Graeme Lawrence on-hand to award the trophies.

It’s only a short wait until the third round of action for these sensational classic machines, with the South Island and Christchurch’s Euromarque Motorsport Park playing host on February 2-4 for the Skope Classic.

Following that, the series makes its way across the ditch to start the Trans-Tasman leg of the season at the Phillip Island Classic on March 7-10, whilst the McLarens among the pack will be part of a demonstration event at Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 21-24.

Visit the series’ Facebook page, F5000 New Zealand, or the website www.f5000.co.nz for more information.

TW Neal

Graeme Annabell’s beautiful McLaren M10B. Above: Kiwi F5000 stalwart Steve Ross (McRae GM-1) took home the winner’s trophy in all three races. Images: F5000 NZ

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LATEST NEWS

TOP FUEL TITLE CHASE HITS TOP GEAR VITAL POINTS in the Top Fuel National Drag Racing Championship title race are up for grabs at a massive doubleheader across the Australia Day weekend in Sydney.

The Top Fuel stars will ignite their 11,000hp machines in two NDRC rounds this Friday and Saturday.

Defending champion Damien Harris is once again at the top of the standings with 157 points on the board.

Harris currently enjoys a 32-point lead over teammate Wayne Newby, while the likes of Peter Xiberras (90), Phil Lamattina (66) and Phil Read (60) will sense the double-header as a significant opportunity to get themselves into contention.

The top five in the championship all having title winning experience and will be joined by newcomer Kyle Putland, US racing star and round one winner Larry Dixon, and 2022 event winner Shane Olive, who is back after some time away.

There is also plenty to play for in Top Doorslammer where tension is high.

John Zappia was initially named the winner of the last round at The Bend, only to be disqualified after crossing the line first when a crew member was found to have touched his car while it was in full stage – not allowed ...

Despite Zappia immediately appealing the decision, it was upheld and the result promoted rookie Russell Taylor to his second win of the year.

More importantly, Taylor snatched a 23-point championship lead from Zappia as a result, while Lisa Gregorini and Ronnie Palumbo are also in close proximity.

Zappia is now fully focussed on Sydney.

“It is certainly a very tough reminder and lesson to crews about not being too blasé in the staging position and around the racing vehicle once the race is classed as commenced,” he said.

“Though it was an unwitting mistake, we accept the rules and accept the outcome.

This has hit the team hard, but rules are put in place for varying reasons, including safety, to which we always aim to abide by.

“Now we are on our way to Sydney, and we are certainly looking for a good event there and to do what we do best.

“We want to go there and put on a good show.”

Russell Mills hopes to extend his Pro Alcohol title advantage in front of his home crowd.

In Pro Stock Robert Dekert appears to be the one to beat after a perfect weekend

2

WHEN COMPROMISE ISN’T AN OPTION

16 I www.autoaction.com.au

at the season opener also in Sydney.

He overcame Rick Chilton in the A Final while Clint George is third.

Scott White leads the way in Pro Stock Motorcycle after a special round 1 victory ahead of Rob Campisi and Joe Gauci.

FuelTech Pro Mod also returns after opening at Sydney in October with Craig Burns, Rob Campisi and Joe Gauci are expected to be the front runners.

On both Australia Day and Saturday the Top Fuel finals ignite at 22.00 AEDT at Sydney.

Also on track will be the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship competitors from 17.00 AEDT both days.

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Defending Top Fuel champion Damien Harris ignites ... Left: Steve Norman is part of a big Sportsman contingent. Images: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY The Western Sportsman drivers have little time to rest as they will be back driving a week later at the round at South Coast Raceway in Portland on January 27-28.

Matt Forbes (Competition) Steve Norman (Super Stock) Joe Khoury (Competition bike) Dale Tucker (Supercharged Outlaws) Glenn Henley (Top Sportsman) Simon Barlow (Modified) David Todd (Super Sedan) Michael Jennings (Super Street) Lucas Neagoe (Modified Bike) Cooper Plummer (Junior Dragster) and Robert Bergamin (Super Gas) are the championship leaders.

Thomas Miles

3

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SYDNEY SPEEDWAY HAS NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL Speedway has revealed its new management and operations team that hopes to bring racing back very soon.

Long time privateer racer Garry Willmington has been appointed as the new Track Manager of the venue.

In addition to making 22 Bathurst 1000 starts, Willmington has also been the former manager of Wakefield Park Raceway and the original founder of what is now the Pheasant Wood Circuit, previously known as the Marulan Driver Training Centre.

Former Australian Karting champion Troy Boldy has also been announced as the venue’s Operator.

“Troy Boldy (former Australian karting champion) has been appointed the new venue operator for the Sydney International Speedway and has the determination to ensure the world class venue lives up to its expectations,” read the statement.

Sydney Speedway Operator Troy Boldy, Western Sydney International Dragway Director Tony Beuk and Sydney Speedway Track Manager Garry Willmington.

“Troy has appointed Garry Willmington, former manager of Wakefield Park

Raceway and original founder of the Marulan Driver Training Centre (now

Pheasant Wood Circuit) to operate the venue and will work with all divisions to secure the best outcome for all.”

It is another positive piece of news for recently embattled Eastern Creek Speedway following the announcement that the neighbouring Sydney Dragway led

by Toby Beuk took up the lease for the dirt track last November.

The venue opened in 2021 but was unable to host racing this summer, as the likes of Lismore and Morris Park Speedways kept on track action going in NSW. In a further boost for a return to racing, an independent reviewer inspected Western Sydney International Speedway on 21 September 2023 and signed off on recent works confirming the facility is ready for on-track action.

The first practice night is expected to be held next month, while racing dates will be announced in the near future.

Thomas Miles

CAN GOODYER KEEP HIS CROWN? ONE WEEK after the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway will this weekend host the 2024 Australian Sprintcar title.

The prestigious #1 plate will be awarded across two big nights of racing around the famous Victorian circuit kicking off on Australia Day before the big race on Saturday night.

After more than 100 cars chased the Classic crown, 84 and 86 cars have nominated for nights one and two of the Aussie title, with the Americans who have lit up the summer so far on their way out after dominating the Classic.

The driver all will be looking to beat is Jock Goodyer, who was unstoppable last year.

Goodyer led all 35 laps of the 2023 decider at Perth Motorplex and left the likes of Lachlan McHugh and Callum Williamson for dust.

With the #1 on the wing, the fast Tasmanian has lost none of his momentum this season.

Since the 2023/24 summer of speedway began Goodyer has been a winning machine, taking six of his first seven races.

The final three wins of that stretch pushed him to the Speedweek crown and whilst the speed has not disappeared, he has been unable to hit the same heights in 2024.

Goodyer is still searching for his first win, but came close on New Years Day at Premier

Speedway, coming within half a second of winner Jamie Veal.

He remained one of the fastest in race trim at the recent Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, surging from 20th to fifth in the A Main after a troubled campaign which included a first-lap crash in the B Main.

Goodyer knows securing a much higher starting position will be the key as he hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Tasmanian David Murcott and go back to back.

“We know we have a pretty good package and always have good car speed so we just have to put the night together to give ourselves the best chance at defending it,” Goodyer told Auto Action.

“Obviously we did not have the classic that we wanted to have but climbing from 20th to fifth proves we still have a fast package.

“Back to back titles would be sick. One was hard enough to win, but I am certainly very excited to defend it.”

One of the big talking points all season has been Premier Speedway’s track surface and over the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic weekend Goodyer said it “changed a lot”.

With Late Models also on the support card, he is hoping Sprintcar tyres won’t be worked too hard: “The track changed a lot,” Goodyer said.

“It is going to be hard this weekend, especially with Late Models racing as well, so there is going to be a lot of horsepower laying down a lot of rubber which could be bad.

“We will see how it goes and hopefully they can make sure the track surface does not burn off tyres – but we will take it as it comes.”

There are serveral other big names that will be hungry to steal the crown from Goodyer this weekend, They include former champions James

Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

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McFadden (2010,13) Kerry Madsen (2003, 16, 17, 18) Jamie Veal (2020) and Marcus Dumesny (2021).

Others who have shown plenty of speed this season include USA v WA Speedweek title winner Williamson, McHugh, Luke Oldfield, Brock Hallett, Tate Frost and Matt Egel just to name a few, while Supercars star Cameron Waters is also in the running.

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ISSUE 1875

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LAND ALICE’S WONDER

GREAT NEWS FOR RACE FANS – AA D-DAY – APRIL 2 50 YEARS ago last week, Denny Hulme won his last F1 Grand Prix, for McLaren. Three months earlier, Allan Moffat and Ian Geoghegan won the 1973 James Hardie 1000 in Moffat’s XA Ford Falcon, beating Peter Brock and Doug Chivas’ LJ Torana to the chequer.

Many motorsport fans would have read about all that after racing down to their newsagent to pick up their copy of Auto Action, which had been launched a couple of years earlier.

Ever since, for 52 years, Auto Action has been the leading source, at times the only source, of in-depth coverage, and features in the Australian motorsport market, along with breaking news.

Over that time, one thing has remained the same for many readers – that trip to the newsagent.

Fifty years later, and the world has changed, massively, technologically – including most recently the ability to access AA digitally, online, by subscription.

We’re here to announce some more big, positive changes that are in the wind, aided by the introduction of new and significant investment in Australia’s longest-serving and best-known motorsport publication.

AA D-DAY is going to be a landmark occasion …

So, Auto Action is completing its move into the digital era – and the issue after the Australian F1 Grand Prix (TUESDAY APRIL 2) will be a landmark one.

Auto Action, in digital format, will be available FREE online to readers everywhere – Australia and world-wide. And, it will be available at least TWO DAYS earlier than you have been used to – from 12pm on every second Tuesday morning, rather than Thursday, as newsagent distribution has required.

Yes, you read it right – AA will be available FREE, online, every second TUESDAY – no matter where you are in the world!

However, if you truly are a traditionalist, and enjoy the look and feel of a printed publication, Auto Action will still be available in printed form – by subscription only.

As current subscribers will tell you, that gets it directly to your door in much of Australia before it appears in the shops.

Auto Action’s website will continue to evolve and present the latest news as it breaks, complementing the digital version of Auto Action, which will publish every second Tuesday.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

WHEN?

NEWSAGENT DISTRIBUTION, indeed the newsagent industry, has not quite been able to keep up with 21st century speed and efficiency – particularly in a wide brown land like Australia. It has become increasingly inefficient – and expensive.

18 I www.autoaction.com.au

TUESDAY APRIL 2, post-Grand Prix, will herald the first FREE online digital issue of Auto Action.

Everything

REGISTER NOW FOR AUTO ACTION DIGITAL – FREE FROM APRIL 2!

you love and enjoy about Auto Action in its current printed format, FREE online (while still available in print form, by subscription – see discount subscription details elsewhere).

HOW?

FOR AUTO ACTION ONLINE DIGITAL all we need from you is your name and preferred email address – which will enable us to send you a 10am Tuesday email with the link to that fortnight’s issue. It’s that simple.

To sign up for the FREE DIGITAL MAGAZINE, go to www.autoaction.com. au/subscribe-to-auto-action-free-digitalmagazine and fill in your details.

Or scan the QR code below.

SCAN THE QR TO REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR FREE DIGITAL MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION – STARTS APRIL 2

SUBSCRIBE TO AUTO ACTION PRINT MAGAZINE If you want to continue to read Auto Action in its printed form, subscribe NOW for our AA D-DAY DISCOUNTED OFFER – available, on new or renewal subscriptions, until March 21! (All prices $AUS)

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ORDER TODAY AND RECEIVE YOUR COPY ON THE SAME DAY THE MAGAZINE GOES ON SALE! Anywhere in Australian including SOUTH AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA and TASMANIA*

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NEW BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP TO PROPEL ICONIC ‘AUTO ACTION’ BRAND TO ANOTHER LEVEL. 2024 HAS started with positive news for Auto Action, with the news that new investment, in the form of a significant new majority shareholder, has boosted the AA team.

Sydney-based businessman, and lifelong motorsport – and Auto Action – fan, Sterling Ashbee, head of a successful civil plumbing, drainage and infrastructure business, joins publisher Bruce Williams in the AA share portfolio, and is thrilled to come on board at a time of significant change for the magazine. ’Sterlo’ as he is known around the sport, has a few significant race cars in his garage, and has been involved in supporting drivers and teams across various categories.

It was there, some time back, he made Williams’ acquaintance – which now leads to his investment in Australia’s longest-standing motorsport publication.

“My first ever motor race was at Claremont Speedway in 1974. I was shown a copy of Auto Action, and I’ve been buying and reading it ever since!’ he says.

“Obviously, I’ve been a huge fan of AA for a long time, and the opportunity to get involved is terrific. Bruce is one of the hardest workers I’ve met. We are on the same page when it comes to business ethics and hard work – this to me is a priceless commodity and I look forward to working with Bruce and his expanding AA team over the coming years ...

“I am here to play the long game.

“Auto Action, is a unique and necessary part of the sport.

The publication will continue to provide the fans and industry a world class publication. Whether in print or via electronic media streams, AA will continue to be independent and fair when delivering the big stories … “ Bruce Williams: “Sterling’s investment in Auto Action is welcome on a number of fronts – specifically ensuring the capital base is in place to expand all aspects of how we provide motorsport news in the most fan-friendly way, with the latest technology in digital communications.”

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Patrick Malanaphy – regular contender.

VICTORIAN HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP ROLLS INTO LIFE THE TRYDEL EZIUP AND GO Victorian Hillclimb Championship roared back to life at Rob Roy last weekend.

A massive field of more than 100 cars took on the Smiths Gully circuit for the first of six rounds of the new season, which delighted organisers.

Rob Roy was the first round of the 2024 championship which has been slightly reduced from seven to six rounds – as Victorian Hillclimb Championship secretary John Read explained, releasing financial pressure from the competitors the reason for the shortened season.

But he also made it clear the VHC hopes to return to a seven-round structure in 2025.

“We had a good look at the calendar and thought that, with the economic downturn that is pretty evident right now, we will try to reduce it by a round to save competitors a little bit of cost,” he told Auto Action.

“We put it to them before we finalised the calendar that it probably wasn’t a bad idea.

“Two of the rounds are two-day affairs so people will have to purchase more accomodation – so we are just trying to keep costs down.

“If the outlook improves in 2025 we would like to go back to seven rounds.”

Once again the season will be backed by Trydel EZIUP AND GO – the continuation of a long-lasting partnership.

“It is the 11th year and it is a fantastic relationship,” Read said.

“Both parties are keen to stay involved which is terrific.”

Thomas Miles 2024 VICTORIAN HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR Round 2: Bryant Park February 17 Round 3: Mt Leura March 16-17 Round 4: Bryant Park April 21 Round 5: Rob Roy May 19 Round 6: One Tree Hill August 10-11

20 I www.autoaction.com.au

SPENCER MARTIN TO BRING ISLAND CLASSIC TO LIFE THE ISLAND Classic is always one of the highlights of the Australian motorsport calendar and the 2024 edition will be the latest example.

The special historic racing event will feature all sorts of favourites, from some of the most famous Great Race winners to Formula 5000s and Le Mans racers.

But leading the way will be a famous name in Australian motorsport – Spencer Martin.

Martin is a two-time Gold Star – Australian Drivers Championship – winner and was one of the best open-wheel and sports car racers in the 1960s.

His crowning moments arrived in 1966 and 1967 when he went back-to-back driving for Bob Jane in a Repco Brabham BT11A. Martin also raced a Ferrari 250LM for David McKay’s Scuderia Veloce Racing and competed in many sports car races,

taking several big event wins alonf the way.

Victorian Historic Racing Register president Ian Tate confirmed Martin will be a headline guest come March 7-10 and will even drive a Ferrari 250LM around the famous sweeping bends of Phillip Island.

“We can confirm that two times Gold Star champion Spencer Martin will be patron of the meeting,” Tate revealed to Auto Action.

“Spencer drove for the late Bob Jane and won the Gold Star back-to-back in 1966/67 in a Repco Brabham BT11A. “At our event he will drive a very special Ferrari 250LM, which arrives in Australia on February 8.

“This car is similar to the Ferrari 250LM which Spencer raced to many victories in the mid 1960s. “He will drive the Ferrari and lead the cars around in the parade lap for the Q& R Sports car race.”

In a further boost for the Island Classic, Tate said the VHRR is anticipating a strong field of 400-plus entries.

“It’s coming along really well. We’re are very happy with the entries,” he said.

“Entries have picked up since Christmas, which is traditional. But as of today, we’ve got about 370 entries.

“It’s slowly getting back to pre-COVID numbers – COVID damaged us no question.

“We’ve still got another couple of weeks to go before entries close, and we’re hoping to get our traditional 400plus entries, which will be absolutely sensational.”

The Island Classic is always a fantastic event and a highlight of Australia’s motorsport calendar so make sure you leave the weekend of March 7 to 10 free.

Bruce Williams For further details visit www.vhra.com

Spencer Martin driving the Scuderia Veloce Racing Ferrari 250LM at Warwick Farm August 1965. Image: JOHN ELLACOTT

The ‘free or pay’ TV debate remains in the broadcasting of motorsport. It’s the same in publishing – and AA is making the change ...

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE ...

A FORMER AUTO ACTION EDITOR, WHO’S BEEN OFF DOING ALL SORTS OF OTHER MOTORSPORT THINGS SINCE, IS BACK BEHIND THE KEYBOARD …

OF LATE it’s been a bit of a good news/bad news scenario.

Bad news: S5000 is, for the next while at least, in recess. ARG and category owners, Garry and Barry Rogers, have stayed true to their ‘line in the sand’ declaration (see latest news elsewhere) and so, as of today, there are no concrete race plans in place for the category this year. There have been recent solid rumours that there may be a resolution coming … but even if that eventuates, it’s just way too late to put anything meaningful together for much of 2024. And that is a very great shame.

This isn’t the time or place to ‘vent’ on it much, other than to say that, as the nut-job who came up with the concept, I remain pretty frustrated that an all-Australian car and category showcasing the sheer excellence of engineering design and development available in Australia (applause please for Michael Borland; Roger Higgins’ of InnoV8; and Holinger Engineering – along with GRM who invested millions in car construction), and that drivers and fans alike appeared to take to when it was launched, could end up caught up

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

with Chris Lambden

CL ON CALL in the cross-fire, steadily dragged down by what can best be described as the self-interest and ego of various elements within the management and administration of motorsport in this country.

I’ll leave it at that!

Hopefully S5000 will return – ‘Gen 2’ perhaps, maybe later this year – when the circumstances are more conducive …

Good news: That news does, for now at least, remove the possible conflict of interest that has deterred me from picking up a media/writer pen for quite some time.

So, when, amid the myriad of significant changes coming to AA in the very near future, the opportunity arose to contribute as an independent commentator on all sorts of motorsport ‘stuff’, I figured it would be fun – so here we are! …

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autoactionmag

THE AUTO ACTION ‘brand’ is as locked into Australian motorsport history as Jack Brabham and Peter Brock. It’s been around for 52 years, dragging motorsport people to their newsagent once a fortnight for its unique and comprehensive look into just about every level of motorsport in this country.

A whole lot is changing in our 21st century world, and that includes the publishing industry – especially over the past decade.

Digital is king, and the old world of the corner newsagent is virtually gone (my young adult offspring have never bought a printed magazine in their lives!).

So, the introduction of AA DIGITAL some four years ago, by subscription, was a solid step forward, now to be completed when AA DIGITAL shortly becomes a free online publication

(although with a ‘limited edition’ print version still available by subscription for those who still want something solid in hand – and who are still battling to understand iPhones and other associated devices!).

It’s the same conundrum that Supercars will face when its current broadcast contract comes up for renewal at the end of next year – pay TV or free-to-air? It’s an often-discussed quandary. A new complicating factor has been the rapid advance of good quality livestreaming of events, whereby you can import coverage (subscription or free) via any personal device – phone, laptop, PC – and ‘cast’ it (Chromecast is one of the popular apps) up onto your smart TV. It’s increasingly common in European motorsport and among Gen ‘Z’ – my kids barely watch commercial TV …

It’ll be a crucial discussion and a big decision for Supercars.

Personally, I’m still a strong advocate for sport ideally being free for fans, whatever the broadcast medium, if at all possible. Not many sports are big enough to take the audience drop that pay TV can bring.

I do believe that it was the premature switch from free-to-air TV to a relatively new and untried pay TV operator (Stan) which dented ARG’s viewing audience significantly, and thus sponsors and thus entry numbers in its various categories over the past two years … That has now been curtailed, and the SpeedSeries will return to free-to-air in 2024.

Lesson learned, albeit belatedly.

Similarly, the adoption by AUTO ACTION of the modern, ‘digital, free, online’ model, coming in March, is a big plus for motorsport fans. It also comes at a time when a new, solid investor has chosen to partner with current owner/publisher Bruce Williams in strengthening what is an iconic member of the motorsport scene in Australia. So, good news week at AA …

And so, on to 2024. What to look forward to? Bathurst 12 Hour shortly? But in an F1 where development through a season is severely limited by tight regulation, McLaren’s phenomenal charge from the back to the front row last year has me excited for Oscar.

I’m well and truly on the ‘He’s Got It’ wagon, so sit back and enjoy the ride …

www.autoaction.com.au I 21

LATEST NEWS

WEBBER FULL OF PRAISE FOR PIASTRI AUSTRALIA’S OSCAR Piastri entered Formula 1 surrounding plenty of hype and delivered, with a rookie season that was beyond “our wildest dreams” according to manager Mark Webber.

Last year Piastri produced what many believe is the best first Formula 1 season since Lewis Hamilton’s stunning 2007 debut when he came within a point of clinching the title from Kimi Raikkonen.

Driving arguably the fastest car of the year, Hamilton finished on the podium in the first nine races and won four Grands Prix.

Fast forward 16 years and another rookie sensation stunned the Formula 1 paddock driving a McLaren.

In 2023 it was Piastri and whilst he did not win a Grand Prix, he recorded a memorable Sprint win at Qatar and two Grand Prix podiums at Suzuka and Lusail on his way to ninth place in the championship.

The Australian scored 97 points, which is the most by a rookie since Hamilton in 2007, overtaking Alex Albon’s 92 in 2019 when he raced for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull.

To make the feat more impressive, the Brighton boy did it all having not registered a single racing lap for 448 days prior to his Bahrain debut since his 2021 FIA Formula 2 title due to being the Alpine reserve driver. Then the dispute between the French team and McLaren meant he lost valuable testing miles throughout 2022 that were originally part

of his Alpine program.

Helping Piastri throughout the wild journey to Formula 1 and beyond was another Australian star in Webber, who is still astounded by what the rookie could achieve.

“Overall of course, I’m very, very, very proud, very happy,” Webber told AUTOSPORT on Piastri’s 2023 form.

“I don’t think in our wildest dreams we could have expected to start with a season like that.

“It’s never good for a racing driver not to race, with 15 months out.

“He did a bit of testing, but there’s no substitute for racing, so he was certainly behind the eight ball a lot for the first six months.

“So that was a bit of a shock, just how much the gap hurt, but he took it in his stride.

“The team obviously were struggling at the start as well and then the third race was the home race.

“There was a lot to consider early doors psychologically for him, which he handled very, very well.”

Despite collecting maiden points on home turf in Australia, the uncompetitiveness of McLaren’s MCL60 was clear for all to see.

But by Austria a fourth place for Lando Norris proved the team had turned a corner and when Piastri received the upgrades he was also fighting to be on the podium in Silverstone before eventually getting a maiden top three

finish in the Spa Sprint and first Grand Prix trophy in Japan.

By Qatar the Aussie was so accustomed to being a leading contender, he did not crack under the immense pressure of a charging Max Verstappen breathing down his neck.

His composure resulted in the famous Sprint success and Webber recalls the youngster’s ability to show maturity beyond his years that not only impressed the 12-time Grand Prix winner, but also the entire McLaren garage.

“It was fascinating to be on the radio listening,” Webber recalls of that special Saturday night during the Bathurst 1000 weekend.

“He was like, ‘just let me know when Max clears George (Russell)’ and when that happened, just the way he got everything lined up ready if Max did arrive, the McLaren guys were like, ‘okay, wow, that was third, fourth year stuff, maybe?’

“That’s the stuff that we like about Oscar. There are still gaps, there have to be gaps obviously, but ultimately over the next two or three years, of course, we’re going to start just slowly closing those gaps down.“ The other ability that impressed Webber the most was how Piastri kept his McLaren out of trouble.

Aside from Practice offs in Montreal and Zandvoort during practice, the only other incidents of note were minor, yet costly first lap brushes with Pierre Gasly

at Saudi Arabia and Carlos Sainz in Belgium. As a result Piastri accrued the 12th cheapest repair bill on the F1 grid last year with a total of $2.27 million, well less than half of the only other rookie who completed an entire season Logan Sargeant with $4.33 million.

Webber said Piastri struck a good balance between racing hard and maintaining the car.

“He didn’t go through much material, we sort of expected that, but it is not always easy,” he said “He said in February ‘I’ve got to be careful, I have to not be too soft in my first year’ and Oscar’s like that.

“I said we’re not going to pay people based on their reputations. We are going to respect them because they are best guys in the world.

“We have to race them, as hard and as fair as you like, but don’t be too much of a pushover, because that’s what people might expect.

“That’s not what he’s about.”

As a whole Webber believes the way McLaren, and especially team principal Andrea Stella, has embraced Piastri is a big reason why the Aussie turned heads so quickly.

“McLaren have been just so, so good,” the former Minardi, Jaguar, Williams and Red Bull driver said.

“He was so, so lucky to have Andrea in his first year because has just been so good for Oscar on the sporting side and I know that he loves Oscar.”

MARQUEZ’ FIRST GRESINI DUCATI REVEALED GRESINI HAS revealed the livery Marc Marquez will race throughout the 2024 MotoGP World Championship season.

In one of the biggest silly season bombshells in recent memory Marquez deflected from Repsol Honda to Gresini Ducati.

It means for the first time since the Spaniard’s rookie season in 2013, the #93 will be seen on a bike that is not a factory Honda.

Instead Marquez will team up with his brother Alex at the satellite Ducati outfit where the pair will ride a GP23 spec machine.

Marc Marquez rode a Ducati for the first time in November last year at Valencia

where he finished fourth, just 0.171s off the pace.

The Gresini Ducati livery itself is extremely similar to last year’s with the familiar grey and red style retained while the Ducati logo has been moved closer to the handlebars.

As expected a lot of the focus on the livery reveal was around new star recruit Marc Marquez who appears refreshed after a frustrating and injury interrupted recent past that led to the Honda departure.

“To be fair it is quite a strange feeling after many years with the one team, but this is a beautiful challenge,” he said.

“I only spent a day on it, around 50 laps

and I felt good, but curious and eager. I am like a child with new shoes that wants to learn new things.”

In fact, Marc went as far as saying that brother Alex, who is preparing for his second season with the Gresini team is in much better shape to win at Qatar than himself.

“The first race is Qatar, where I think Alex has more chance than me,” insisted the 59-time MotoGP winner.

“I won only two times. I’m not in the mindset to think about victory now but we’ll see. If it’s a win for Gresini we will be happy.

“I’ve always said, you can’t finish the championship in tenth and start the next

one thinking you will win it. It doesn’t happen.

“If you are tenth you have to start thinking you can get top 7 or top 5. Little by little, you scale it up.

“A sporting person can’t make such a big change from one year to another. It’s continuous progress.

“The most important thing for Alex is, don’t put high expectations because I’m in the box. He needs to be realistic all the time.”

The 2024 MotoGP launch season continues when the factory Ducati squad reveals its new world championship defender on Monday, January 22.

DUCATI EYES MORE TITLES WITH NEW LOOK MACHINE DUCATI ENJOYED one of the most dominant seasons ever in 2023 and it is eyeing more success in 2024 after revealing its latest challenger.

The Italian marquee revealed the colours current twotime champion Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini will race their DesmosediciGP24s with throughout the 2024 season.

The traditional Ducati red remains the dominant feature much like the liveries in recent years.

The biggest change has been on the front of the bike with the black surrounding the numbers gone and the red continuing.

As a result the #1 of Bagnaia and #23 of Bastianini have changed colours to black and white respectively to stand out more.

Bagnaia hopes to join Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi as the only riders to take a hat-trick of MotoGP world titles later this season.

The Italian is already boosted by a positive experience testing the 2024 bike and is full of confidence to chase more silverware.

“I’m thrilled to kick off my fourth season with the Ducati Lenovo Team,” the 2022 and 2023 world champion said.

“The last test in Valencia provided positive feedback, giving us a solid foundation for the upcoming season’s development work. I’m eager to hit the track and pick up where we left off. “It’s bound to be a challenging season, but we’re ready to face it with our usual determination.

“As a close-knit team, we’ll give our best to aim for the Championship once again.”

Whilst Bagnaia held off Pramac Ducati rival Jorge Martin to the title after winning seven Grands Prix last year, it was a very different campaign for Bastianini.

He could only manage 15th in the championship with one podium after a tough season dominated by injury setbacks having started just five of the first 14 races.

However, that podium was a sweet one being a redemption victory in Malaysia and Bastianini believes the challenges of 2023 will give him more resolve for what’s to come in 2024.

“2023 was a challenging year, and I look forward to redeeming myself in the upcoming season,” he said.

“Despite participating in only a few Grands Prix last year, I’ve learned valuable lessons that I’ll carry into the new season.

“I have great confidence in my Team, and I know we have all the potential to do well.

“I can’t wait to hit the track and start the new season.”

Testing begins in Malaysia on February 6-8.

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F1 CONFIRMS SPANISH GP MOVE TO MADRID FORMULA 1 has confirmed the Spanish Grand Prix will be held at a new track in Madrid from 2026.

Madrid’s recent agreement with Formula 1 signifies a major shift as the Spanish Grand Prix relocates from its long-standing home at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to an all-new hybrid circuit in Madrid.

The move, effective from 2026 to 2035, has left the future of the Barcelona venue uncertain, with ongoing discussions among local authorities about the possibility of hosting a second event in the country.

The upcoming circuit, a hybrid 5.47km track, will be constructed around the IFEMA fairgrounds and convention centre in the north-east of Madrid.

This groundbreaking project, subject to FIA approval, features a combination of street and non-street sections much like Supercars’ Reid Park circuit in Townsville, comprising 20 corners with a projected lap time of 1 minute and 32 seconds. The track will include what Formula 1 terms a ‘premium’ paddock building, creating a state-of-the-art facility.

With initial public transport accessibility and a capacity of 110,000 spectators, the venue plans to increase its capacity to 140,000 over the first half of the 10-year contract. IFEMA, operational since 1991, enjoys the backing of local authorities, with a consortium of public bodies overseeing its operations.

The 10-year deal aligns with the trend of long-term race contracts, with Madrid joining Australia (2035) and Bahrain (2036) in securing commitments that extend well into the future. The Madrid area has a history of hosting races at the Jarama circuit between 1968 and 1981.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali expressed excitement about this new chapter for F1 in Spain, thanking IFEMA MADRID, the regional government, and the city’s mayor for a compelling proposal that aligns with F1’s vision of creating a multi-day spectacle emphasizing innovation and sustainability.

“It’s great news for Formula 1 as it shows once again that there is strong appetite around the world for our sport,” says Domenicali.

“It shows that at a moment where Europe is perceived to be a place that is not ready to invest in our sport, Madrid and others are showing it is.

“They have presented a fascinating project, one that will be built in the next couple of years and a project that is considering the fans and their whole experience, from their travel to the whole event experience.

“The proposition we received from the promoter was great. Since the first day, it has been an open discussion of what this event can be.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem emphasized the venue’s commitment to sustainability, aligning with the broader goals for Net Zero carbon by 2030. The proposed circuit will undergo FIA homologation, safety checks, and calendar approval by the World Motor Sport Council.

Jose Vicente de los Mozos, president of the executive committee of IFEMA MADRID, emphasized that the race aims to become a “reference” for the sport. He expressed excitement about hosting a major F1 event

after more than four decades and outlined ambitions to create a Grand Prix that offers a distinctive and unique experience for fans and teams.

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the Region of Madrid, highlighted the predicted economic impact on the city, projecting a substantial increase in GDP and job creation. The event, expected to be followed globally by 70 million people, is seen as a significant contributor to further consolidating Madrid’s international standing.

City mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida

echoed these sentiments, emphasising that F1 presents an unprecedented opportunity to showcase Madrid’s transformation, energy, character, and passion to the world. Confident in the city’s ability to meet the challenge, he expressed that F1 deserves a city with the energy and passion of Madrid.

WINTON SUPERCARS TEST DAY OPEN TO FANS VICTORIAN BASED fans will get an early glimpse at the 2024 Supercars with Winton’s gates to be thrown open at next month’s pre-season test day.

On Wednesday, February 5, all Victorian based teams - Erebus Motorsport, Tickford, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Penrite Racing, Team 18, Brad Jones Racing and Blanchard Racing Team - will put their new cars and liveries to the test at Winton.

Being the only official day of on track running prior to the season opening Bathurst 500, it will be a critical session to get right with Queensland based teams testing at Ipswich two day earlier.

Outside of the standalone official sessions, test days are usually held behind closed doors but fans will be able to get a first-hand glimpse of the 2024 Chevrolet

Camaros and Ford Mustangs before they go racing. No less than 16 cars will be on show it what may be the only to see the cars fly around the “Action Track” in 2024 with no round scheduled for the second year in a row.

Winton Motor Raceway General Manager Stephen Whyte is looking forward to offering fans a unique experience away from a race meeting.

“Whilst it is disappointing that Winton Motor Raceway isn’t hosting a round for

2024, it’s important that Winton plays a part in the Supercars by providing the official test track for the Victorian and New South Wales based teams,” he said.

“The official Supercars test day provides the North East Victorian fans an opportunity to see the cars up close!”

Food, drink and coffee will be available to attendees who will also have the chance to win one of three Winton merchandise packs which include a hat, t-shirt, stubbie and hoodie.

Entry is $5 each while children under 12 and Benalla Auto Club members have free entry.

Gates will open from 9am on Wednesday, February 7.

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE

SUPER3 CHAMP STEWART THRILLED TO STEP UP WITH EREBUS/IMAGE RACING REIGNING SUPER3 champion Jobe Stewart will stick with Image Racing and the Erebus Academy as he takes the step up to Super2 in 2024.

Along with welcoming Jarrod Hughes to the team (see news pages) Erebus also confirmed its current Academy member Stewart will continue his progression to the second tier.

The Mount Gambier based driver will drive the Holden ZB Commodore Jack Perkins raced in last year’s Super2 season that was previously raced by David Reynolds and Will Brown in the main game in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

For Stewart, the decision to stay with Barry Ryan and Terry Wyhoon’s team at Super2 level made perfect sense.

Last year he made the jump from the Toyota 86 Series to Super3 and clinched the title at the first time of asking after a super consistent campaign.

The teenager finished no lower than fourth across the entire Super3 season on

his way to a comfortable championship win, while his relationship with Erebus dates back to 2017.

“We have been working on it over the past couple of months behind the scenes just trying to get the fine details down and now it is official we can start looking forward to a big season,” Stewart told AUTO ACTION. “I have been with Image for one year and with the Erebus Academy for the last six years and could not see myself doing it any other team.

“The whole team environment will be the same which will be really good because it will feel like just stepping into another race.

“It is great we can continue with them and I just can’t wait to go racing.”

Stewart described transitioning from the simple, one-make Toyota 86 Series to the faster and more powerful ex Supercars Super3 series as a “huge jump” But he expects shifting from a 10-year

old VF Commodore to a four-year-old ZB Commodore as much simpler.

Whilst the ZB being more aero dependant, his first taste of a Supercar was in the final Holden Commodore.

At the end of 2022 Stewart enjoyed a drive in the “Mercadore” chassis at Winton and he believes it won’t be too different to the car he steered to glory in Super3.

“I am looking forward to the new challenge with a year of experience under my belt (but) it won’t be the biggest change,” Stewart said.

“90 percent of the car will be the same with just a few things slightly different, being a bit faster with more aero.

“I won’t have to re-juggle my head too much. Just need to get comfortable in the ZB and focus on my driving.”

Despite coming into Super2 with the Super3 crown, Stewart is not placing any pressure on himself to do the double like Broc Feeney.

“Although I have a year in Super3 under

my belt, it will be another big learning year,” he said.

“Last year I was still learning at the final round being a brand new track so I have not really set any expectations.

“It would be great to win, which is what everyone thinks but I will just try my best and hopefully we can be on the top step.”

Ryan has been extremely impressed with Stewart’s approach and believes he is the perfect byproduct of the Erebus Academy.

“Jobe is still only 19 years old but last year he showed exactly what we saw in him at 12,” Ryan said.

“He has all the hallmarks of a future Erebus Champion and that is exactly what the Academy is about.”

Both Stewart and Hughes will test their ZB Commodores for the first time at Winton Motor Raceway on Monday, February 5.

EARLY BATHURST WINNING CORTINA COMING TO ADELAIDE ONE OF the earliest cars to conquer Mount Panorama, the Ford Cortina Mk.I GT500, will perform a starring role at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

The famous Ford Cortina nameplate scored a hat-trick of Great Race victories from 1963-1965 with the latest arriving with the updated GT500.

The new car featured several mechanical upgrades to the engine, gearbox and suspension as well as a larger fuel tank after strong input from Ford competition manager Harry Firth ahead of the 1965 Armstrong 500.

Armed with these updates, Bo Seton and Midge Bosworth led home Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland in a Ford one-two after 130 laps of racing.

The 1965 Armstrong 500 was

dominated by two cars, the Ford Cortina Mk.I GT500 and the Mini

Cooper S which filled the top nine positions.

The Cortina that will be coming to Adelaide is in the same clean colours Seton and Bosworth drove with the #11 and Class D signs on the door.

It is the latest famous car to join the PremiAir Hire Bathurst winners’ category at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and by far the oldest.

Other cars include Peter Brock’s Holden VH SS Commodore from 1982 and 1983, the Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 that went back to back with Jim Richards and Mark Skaife in 1991 and 1992, plus Shane van Gisbergen’s and Garth Tander’s Holden ZB Commodore in 2020 and 2022.

The 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival will take place on March 15-17 and more information can be found here.

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HOW MCLEOD IS SHARPENING UP FOR SUPER2 IN THE DESERT MSR CHANGES RISING TALENT Cameron McLeod is currently in the UAE using the ongoing 24h series endurance events as a critical preparation for his upcoming Super2 debut.

Last year McLeod competed in the Dubai 24hrs event in a BMW M4 GT4 before setting Super3 alight with eight race wins, nine pole positions and 11 fastest laps.

He also won the Marc Cars Australia Championship, and the Precision National Sports Sedans event at the Gold Coast on his way to winning the highly prestigious Mike Cable Young Gun Award.

McLeod sees the early season competition at the major Middle East Creventic events as being very important for his development and preparation as he heads into his first Super2 season.

“Racing in the Creventic series, gives me such a head start on the competition,” said McLeod. “By the time we roll out for Practice at Bathurst, I’ve already competed the equivalent of two or three rounds.

“I’ve driven different cars, on different tyres, in varying conditions so I’ve well and truly blown out all the cobwebs from the off season and I hit the track ready to go.

“I’ve been focusing on training and competing for at least a month longer than the people I’m racing against.

“The 24hseries events are well organised and run at a professional level, it’s a perfect situation for me to place myself in order to be able to perform at a high a level against great opposition.”

McLeod returned to the Middle East earlier this month to compete in the Hankook 6H at Abu Dhabi, driving in Porsche 992 class.

Despite his limited practice

laps on the famous Yas Marina Circuit, and his first experience in a Porsche, he raised eyebrows by registering the fastest class time in his Q2 session, and third fastest overall for all Porsche drivers.

McLeod was pleased with how his performance and is chasing a drive in the 24H race this weekend.

“Whilst I didn’t get many laps in practice, I did get to qualify and start the race which was a great opportunity afforded to me by the team,” he said.

“It was great experience and I raced for more than 2 hours over the two stints I was in the car.

“I’m very thankful to Karsten and his KKramer team for giving me the opportunity.

“I’ve decided to stay on in the Middle East and try to arrange another drive at Dubai for the Hankook 24H race.

“The opportunity and the experience are too good to pass up, so I’m working hard and canvassing all the teams and talking with all our contacts to try and get in a car for this great event.”

For 2024 McLeod will step up to Super2 with support from PremiAir Racing and believes staying sharp in GTs could give him “an edge” when the season begins at the Bathurst 500.

“With the PremiAir team there’s an option, a pathway to Supercars and I know I have to perform at my best to maximsze the opportunities in front of me, so for me, this experience counts,” he said.

“It keeps me sharp, gives me confidence, and it exposes me to new circumstances and puts me in front of new people.

“I think it gives me an edge.

And that’s why I’m here in the Middle East, to gain an advantage.”

TO ICONIC FAMILY NUMBERS MATT STONE Racing (MSR) has tapped into its family heritage by changing both of its racing numbers ahead of the 2024 season.

Since entering Supercars in 2018 #35 has been associated with MSR while it has used #34 since expanding to two cars in 2020.

However, MSR will bring the iconic #4 back to the family for the first time in 12 years with Cameron Hill to sport the special number.

New recruit Nick Percat will race #10 which is appropriate given that was the number he made his Supercars debut with in 2010 racing for Walkinshaw Racing at Phillip Island.

The acquisition of #4 from Brad Jones Racing is particularly significant given MSR owner Matt Stone’s father is Jim Stone, who co-owned Stone Brothers Racing.

SBR was one of the top Ford teams during its 14-year stint in Supercars from 1998 to 2012.

Undoubtedly the highpoint was SBR’s hat-trick of championships from 2003 to 2005 and the car which turned the team into a heavyweight was the #4 driven by Marcos Ambrose.

Ambrose drove the #4 Pirtek Falcon and SBR into Ford folklore by ending HRT’s run of five straight championships going back to back in 2003 and 2004.

After Ambrose retired in 2005 the #4 remained at SBR when a fresh faced rookie James Courtney joined the team, steered a Jeld-Wen Falcon from 2006 to 2008.

In 2009 Alex Davison took over the iconic #4 with IRWIN backing also for three seasons before Lee Holdsworth arrived in 2012.

The #4 carried on into the Erebus Motorsport and Mercedes era where Holdsworth ended a six-year drought between wins for the number at Winton in 2014.

The final season with Mercedes saw Ash Walsh, Dean Canto and Davison all drive car #4 in 2015.

After three years off the grid the #4 was

brought back by BJR initially in a wildcard capacity through Macualey Jones and Jack Smith before being run full time by the latter from 2020 to 2023.

With Smith retiring and being replaced

by Jaxon Evans, the fourth BJR Camaro will race with a new number in 2024.

A smaller connection is also behind the move to #10 for Percat’s entry with that number used by SBR customer team Larkham Motorsport.

The #10 is forever associated with Mark Larkham having used it in his ATCC debut in 1995 all the way to the end of 2005 when Larkham Motorsport switched to WPS Racing.

After Larkham hung up the helmet full time at the end of 2003, the #10 remained the lead car of the team being transferred to Jason Bargwanna.

When WPS Racing folded ahead of 2008, the #10 also disappeared off the grid for a season before Walkinshaw Racing brought it back with Paul Dumbrell in 2009 and Andrew Thompson in 2010.

For the next 12 years car #10 was only seen once when the Triple Eight Bathurst wildcard of 2013 driven by Mattias Ekstrom and Andy Priaulx used it.

The number’s return to the full time grid was made by Grove Racing when it expanded to two cars with Lee Holdsworth in 2022.

But the number immediately disappeared again with rookie Matt Payne opting for #19.

However, MSR has brought it back for Percat, who will get a smile from the sight of it given it was a Walkinshaw Racing #10 VE Commodore he made his first Supercars start with alongside Thompson 14 years ago.

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LE BROCQ TO DRIVE EREBUS BACKED 12 HOUR CAR EREBUS MOTORSPORT has thrown its support behind M-Motorsport’s Mercedes which will take on the Bathurst 12 Hour with Jack Le Brocq at the wheel.

M-Motorsport will field a new Mercedes GT3 at the February classic endurance race with team owner Justin McMillan, Le Brocq and experienced GT drivers Glen Wood and Garth Walden.

It will not be Le Brocq’s first attempt at the 12 Hour having raced in an Erebus Mercedes in 2013 and finished sixth while the all

German sister entry won.

Le Brocq has also worked with M-Motorsport in 2015, whilst Wood helped him secure his Formula Ford title in 2012 as a mechanic and data engineer.

He knows the Bathurst 12 Hour will be vital preparation for the Bathurst 500 the following weekend.

“I’m super excited to be getting the band back together and attacking the Mountain in a current spec Mercedes GT3,” he said.

“I obviously spent some time in the SLS

back in ‘13-’14 under the Erebus banner and to be back with Justin and Glen who I’ve shared some incredibly memorable times with is a huge honour.

“It’s also a great opportunity to get some early miles in before my 2024 Supercars campaign with Erebus gets underway at the Bathurst 500.”

For McMillan it will be his 10th attempt at the 12 Hour and he believes his Pro-Am line up will be a “formidable” one.

“With the support of Erebus and our

M-Motorsport team, together with a new Mercedes GT3 and a formidable Pro-Am driver lineup, I am confident that we will be a strong contender for the Pro-Am this year,” he said.

“The Bathurst 12 Hour is undoubtedly one of the world’s most demanding races and we have a lot of boxes to tick but I’m excited for what’s to come.”

The M-Motorsport and Erebus entry will conduct a test session at Phillip Island on January 30.

LEGENDARY 250 LM ADDED TO ADELAIDE’S ‘FERRARI SPETTACOLO’

THE ADELAIDE Motorsport Festival has confirmed the legendary Ferrari 250 LM as a part of its ‘Ferrari Spettacolo’ demonstration.

One of the most spectacular “oggetti di desiderio” in the Ferrari collection, the 250 LM was developed as a Berlinetta version of the Le Mans-winning 250 P. After making its first public appearance in 1963 at the Paris Motor Show, it was then rejected for GT homologation by

the FIA for entry into the GT class as fewer than the required 100 models were built, which in turn, also damaged its public sales potential.

The manufacturer instead opted to enter it into the outright prototype class, which took victory in 1965 with Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory behind the wheel (Ferrari’s last overall Le Mans victory before its 499P took victory in 2023).

The 250 LM is powered with a rear, longitudinal 60° 3.3 L

V12 engine, producing 320 horsepower (235 KW) at 7500 rpm with a top speed of 287 kph, sharing the same chassis and running gear as the 250 P prototype with minor modifications.

The car has repeatedly broken auction records as just 32 were built between 1963 to 1965, with this particular machine having been piloted by the likes of Rindt, John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Nürburgring 1000km, and the Reims 12 Hours. It is a car with incredible international provenance and arguably one of the most important cars spectators will see at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

The ‘Ferrari Spettacolo’ will be the greatest gathering of special edition Ferraris in the southern hemisphere, with the demonstration taking place on both days of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, on the Victoria Park section of the Adelaide Street Circuit. It features the likes of a LaFerrari, Ferrari FXX, Ferrari 599XX, Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari F40 in addition to the Ferrari 250 LM. Held the week prior to the Australian Grand Prix on March 15-17, the Adelaide Motorsport Festival is a museum in motion, displaying historic, rare and significant racing vehicles on the Victoria Park section of the Adelaide Street Circuit.

Categories featuring Formula 1, V8 Supercars, Group C and A touring cars, sportscars and more will feature over the course of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, in addition to on-track demonstrations, off-track displays, villas and more.

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Toyota isn’t putting all its eggs in the electric basket – thankfully – including its Le Mans challenger. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

PISTON POWER WILL CONTINUE TRADITIONAL COMBUSTION ENGINES ARE STILL #1 AT TOYOTA!

By Paul Gover TOYOTA, WHICH has dominated Le Mans and the World Rally Championship for the past decade, is not turning away from internal combustion power.

Despite the global push for electric vehicles, on the road and in motorsport, the world’s biggest car company has just renewed its commitment to piston power.

The news comes right from the top and company chairman, regular races and longterm ‘car guy’, Akio Toyoda.

He wants to protect millions of jobs in Japan and to also provide a range of choices for future car buyers, which is good news for anyone who still favours petrol power over EVs. “To all those who have made engines up until now, let’s continue to make engines,” Toyoda said at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 in Tokyo.

“Everyone’s help will continue to be

needed. I will never let all the work you’ve all done so far go to waste.”

The Auto Salon is an annual showcase for fast cars and modified vehicles, which Toyota used to reveal an update to the production Yaris GR that was originally championed by Toyoda.

“Tokyo Auto Salon is a festival at which car lovers can surround themselves with cars and smiles. The smiles born here will lead to energising Japan’s automotive industry,” he said.

“Because we’re car lovers, we can build the future. My desire to enjoy cars makes me want to try various technologies. This is something that I’m serious about.”

He switched focus to the employees of Toyota and its giant network of supplier companies in Japan.

“Many of our 5.5 million colleagues make engine parts. These people support Japan and have the skills to make the Japan of

tomorrow strong. We must never lose these people,” he said.

“However, there seem to be cases in which engine-related people cannot borrow money from a bank these days. That should not happen, and I want to do something about it.”

Toyoda continued by again highlighting his company’s multi-path plan for future mobility.

“How to climb the carbon neutrality mountain depends on the country and region. However, isn’t a desire for cars what we all need?,” he said.

“I found out that, overseas, we have many colleagues who have such a passionate desire.”

He then highlighted some of Toyota’s work to extend the life of combustion engines.

“Believing that battery electric vehicles do not represent the only way to achieve carbon neutrality, we have been working on hydrogen-engine initiatives since three years ago.

“Last year, we tried liquid hydrogen and drove a vehicle using it at Le Mans. Why put so much effort into such? It’s because we can’t build the future unless we do it with our colleagues.

“There is still a role for engines as a practical means of achieving carbon neutrality. So, let’s refine engine technology.

Let’s start such a project.

“However, Toyota is a large company, so it might take much more time. I ask that you look forward to it.

“Like me, some people think ‘I love engines’ and ‘Their sounds and smells are irresistible’.

“Some people like battery EVs. Some say that now is the time for hybrids. And then there are plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen.

“The motive force could be anything. There is always one truth. The only enemy is carbon,” Toyoda said.

CORRUPTION SCANDAL IMPLICATES SINGAPORE GP PROMOTER ONG BENG Seng, the promoter of the Singapore Grand Prix, has now been officially implicated in a corruption case that has led to the resignation of the Minister of Trade Relations, Subramaniam Iswaran.

Denying the allegations, as he has done since the case became public six months ago, Iswaran had to leave the government as he’s now officially charged on a corruption case, with Ong Beng Seng being nominated as the local businessman who handed gifts worth more than 160.000 Singaporean dollars ( just over A$180,000) to facilitate some of the his business ventures, namely in the area of real estate – the promoter of the Singaporean Grand Prix’s main area of business is in building and managing hotels and resorts.

Both men were briefly arrested in July of 2023, shortly before the Marina Bay race, but released immediately, with Ong Beng Seng even being allowed to travel outside the country and returning in time to attend the Formula 1 event, but then surrendering his passport to the local authorities.

One of the 27 charges made against Iswaran is that he purportedly helped

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Former cabinet minister Subramaniam Iswaran (left) with Singapore F1 promoter and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng. advancing Ong’s business interests in matters relating to a contract with a public body and the facilitation agreement between Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board, meaning that while only the politician has been indited so far, it’s

almost certain the promoter of the Formula 1 race in the country will also face official charges, as the corruptor that handed expensive gifts to the minister in exchange for favors.

In a brief statement issued last Thursday,

Iswaran said that he “reject the changes and am innocent” but was forced to quit his position in the government, as he’s now officially charged with “obtaining gratification as a public servant.”

Corruption cases are extremely rare in Singapore, as politicians are very highly paid to be protected from the temptation of big offers to help businessman – the initial monthly salary for a minister is 4500 SGD (A$50,000), so this case has attracted a lot of attention in the island country.

While there’s no word for now on Ong Beng Seng’s situation in this affair, it has to be noted that the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement after Iswaran’s resignation, that, “the terms of all the agreements were considered carefully by the government,” adding that “there was an independent consultancy study.”

This means the contract between Singapore and Formula 1 is not in doubt but it’s likely the promoter will have to be changed if Beng Seng is also officially charged, something that local observers expect will happen in the next couple of weeks.

Luis Vasconcelos

THE WEISSACH DREAM MACHINE EVERY PORSCHE RACING CAR COMES FROM THE SAME PLACE

Le Mans is just one of Porsche’s extensive motorsport programs ...

WHEN YOU see a Porsche 963 racing at Le Mans it arrived there from Weissach.

It’s the same for the Carrera Cup cars in competition in Australia, as well as the imported GT3 racers at the Bathurst 12-Hour.

And Porsche’s Formula E singleseaters.

In fact, Weissach is a Very Big Deal.

Every new Porsche – both road and race cars – comes to life in Weissach.

It’s a small town in the German countryside, not far from Stuttgart, and stands out from nearby hamlets because the cute old buildings and farms have been replaced with impressive new buildings all surrounded by high wire fences and high-tech security systems.

Motorsport fans know Weissach best because of its test track, where all race cars do their testing and development. But there is also an impressive bank of the world’s

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE fastest electric car chargers.

Oh, and a wind tunnel.

In total, 5000 Porsche employees are based in Weissach. It’s the company’s research-anddevelopment base and, right now in 2024, the focus is on creating electric cars for the road – a face-lifted Taycan, all-new Macan, the next Cayman/Boxster twins, and even an all-new luxury SUV flagship.

But it’s the 500 people at the motorsport department who really turn dreams into reality.

It’s the home base for the Le Mans racing team, its counterpart for IMSA in the USA, for Formula-E and all the 911 and Cayman-based competition cars.

Customer racing cars are built here and there is also a small-butgrowing operation to provide parts and expertise for historic Porsche racers.

“Motorsport is a big thing,” said Urs Kuratle, Porsche’s director of factory racing in LMDh - Le Mans prototypes.

He is pinch-hitting for Auto Action, as his boss Thomas Laudenbach is down with a cold, and we’re sitting in his office near the entrance to the competition department.

On the wall behind his desk is a giant front-on picture of the Porsche 917 that won Le Mans in 1971 with Gijs van Lennup and Helmut Marko – yes, him – as the drivers.

“Porsche is one of the companies where motorsport is most integrated into the company DNA. We are also one of the company goals, which I believe is unique,” he said.

“It’s probably a unique thing to Porsche. We say ‘Motorsport is the core of the Porsche brand’.

That’s a great thing for the Motorsport department, but there is a flip side.

“It increases the pressure,” Kuratle, who has also worked in Formula One and with Sauber in its sports car days.

On a brisk tour of the Motorsport Department, it would be easy to confuse the Porsche operation with one of the smaller grand prix teams. It’s not as big as Mercedes, or as high-tech as McLaren, but the size and scope is similar to the Sauber – BMW, Alfa, whatever –factory at Hinwil in Switzerland.

Most of the cars were away this day, the 963s at Daytona for the

24 Hours and the E-cars were in Mexico, where Pascal Wehrlein was the winner.

But still there are bare 911 body shells with roll cages, a giant parts store, the preparation bays and an undercover parking area that’s bigger than any Supercars team base.

It’s all corporate, clean and meticulously tidy, just as you would expect.

But the bottom line is all about racing – and winning.

Kuratle highlights one giant difference between Porsche Motorsport and other factory racing teams, and it’s reflected in Weissach.

The competition operation is fully integrated into the research-anddevelopment facility, not just a hang-on sideshow operating while things look good.

“We are responsible to the development department, not marketing.

“Motorsport is a big, big thing.”

LAWYERS THAT KNOW MOTORSPORTS Know your position.

• Teams • Series owners • Manufacturers

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Partner sburchartz@kkilawyers.com.au

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER

Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555

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

Oakleigh Victoria 3166

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams STAFF JOURNALIST Thomas Miles NEWS EDITOR Andrew Clarke FEATURES WRITER Paul Gover SENIOR ART DIRECTOR/PRODUCTION Caroline Garde NATIONAL EDITOR Thomas Miles HISTORICS EDITOR Mark Bisset SPEEDWAY REPORTER Paris Charles ONLINE EDITOR

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SOCIAL DISCOURSE THERE IS LOTS OF TALK AS THE MOTORSPORT WORLD CREEPS CLOSER TO THE 2024 SEASON ON AUTO ACTION’S SOCIAL CHANNELS…

Timothy W. Neal, Josh Nevett, Dan McCarthy, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Geoffrey Harris, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Ray Oliver, Martin Agatyn, Reese Mautone. David Batchelor, John Lemm, Pete Trapnell , Toby Cooper FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Mark Horsburgh-Edge Photography, Peter Norton-Epic Sports Photography, Ross Gibb Photography, Daniel Kalisz, Mick Oliver-MTR Images, Rebecca Hind-REVVED, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Richard Hathaway, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, Ray Oliver, autopics.com.au Roy Meuronen Photography, Angryman Photography, Riccardo Benvenuti, Matthew Bissett-MJB Photography, Phil Wisewould Photography.

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

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

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Maybe Paul Gover is staying here for the week between races? There’s plenty of atmosphere at Bathurst for the 12 Hour!

IS MOTOR RACING SLIDING DOWN THE TOTEM POLE?

THE OTHER day I saw a list of the top 50 programmes on Australian television last year.

The list was dominated by sporting events. I was amazed that the Bathurst 1000 and Formula 1 Grand Prix didn’t make the top 50. The last programme on the list had 1,347,000 viewers.

Have I been deluding myself all these years that motorsport is bigger than it really is, or has our sport just lost popularity in recent times?

I suppose it’s understandable that Supercars have lost some fans in the past few years, but would have thought the Netflix series Drive to Survive would have boosted the audience for F1.

Apparently not. Or not enough to make the GP a big ‘winner’ on TV. Although Bathurst and the GP are on free-to-air TV, are these results an indication that the majority of Supercars and F1 races being primarily on pay-TV diminishes the interest in them?

Trevor Ross, Essendon, Victoria Interesting isn’t it – when The Matildas can draw 13m+ for a single World Cup soccer game ...

DOUBLE VISION AT BATHURST A WONDERFUL THING GEE, THAT Mr Gover of yours is a lucky bastard (Editor’s note: Paul Gover’s column in edition #1876 concluded with him saying he would attend the Bathurst 12Hour and may well stay on for the following weekend’s Supercars event).

He must have relatives at Bathurst or a car company putting him up. How else could one decide whether to attend one or both Bathurst events in February at such short notice?

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For the rest of us plebs, booking accommodation/camping takes place a year before.

The Bathurst 12-Hour has been my happy holiday destination for the past decade, and this year there is the added bonus of an adjunct Supercars event. Happy Days!

If the people of Newcastle don’t want the Supercars event, I’m absolutely sure the good citizens of Bathurst are more than happy to see our dollars.

And for Supercars, the double-header is a no-brainer logistically and organisationally.

Everything is already on hand.

Long may this scenario reign.

While I’ve often bagged the Supercars organisation, I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. After having a computer malfunction, some of my ticketing information was lost. The good folks at Southport came to my rescue and handled the issue with grace and aplomb. Bravo!

Peter L Dutkowski Sunshine Coast, Queensland

ADD EARLY-SEASON ENDURANCE RACES TO THE CALENDAR THE SUPERCARS series has two permanent endurance races, the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000, which are held later in the year, but why not have two more enduros – a Western Sydney 500 and The Bend 1000 – earlier in the season from next year?

A Western Sydney 500 could be held at Sydney Motorsport Park in April and it could be a sister race to the Sandown 500.

It could be held either on a Sunday or maybe on a Saturday night.

The Bend 1000 at The Bend Motorsport Park could be a sister race to the Bathurst 1000 and it could be held in early May. This race could be run on The Bend’s 7.77km GT circuit which

would make a very challenging Supercars enduro.

A Western Sydney 500 and The Bend 1000 annually from 2025 would attract strong crowds, high TV ratings and corporate sponsorships.

The Bend Motorsport Park has the ideal infrastructure to cater for a 1000km Supercars enduro and, like the Bathurst 1000, it could attract 200,000 people over four days.

The Bend 1000 could get support from the South Australian Government as well.

I’m sure the owners of Sydney Motorsport Park and The Bend Motorsport Park would love to have an annual Supercars endurance round at their venues.

I’m sure they would co-operate in every way to make sure they would work effectively with Supercars Australia and the teams.

As Channel 7 has the TV rights to both the Supercars and the AFL and both a Western Sydney 500 and The Bend 1000 would be held during the AFL season, the Seven Network could show these enduros live on 7mate.

You may find that the majority of Supercars fans would love to have four enduros a year. The two new ones should not affect the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 in any way.

Hopefully Sandown will continue as a motor racing circuit.

If there were four enduros from 2025 it would certainly add spice to the Supercars Championship.

Malcolm Webster Boronia, Victoria Editor’s note; Malcom, I have to admit I like the sound of enduros held early in the Supercar season, but no doubt the teams would put up a fight. I’m also not sure whether telecast on 7mate would be the right move, perhaps Fox plus + 7mate might be the inevitable outcome.

SUPERCARS SUPERLICENCE REQUIREMENTS TO BE DUMPED? Michael Patrizi Absolute joke. It was only introduced for one reason and one reason only. Another poor decision finally looking to be overturned.

Ryan Scott Hopefully Supercars can find a way to keep this in place and maybe create a financial link between Supercars current TRCs and Super2.

Drivers who want to race in Supercars should be racing against others who want to race in Supercars.

Gary Rowe Working in Supercars for 25 years I have seen so many young guys with talent never move forward because they were never going to have the budget.

MUSTANG AERO CHANGES REVEALED Clinton Rowles With Tim Edwards being in charge of the aero testing, if anyone even hints at a GM bias to these changes then they have no idea what they are talking about.

Having been on both sides of parity issues, and having the amount of motorsport experience as he has, there is no way that he wouldn’t be looking to make the aero as close as physically possible to equal.

John Christianson After extensive testing they declare the cars are equal then Ford complains of the look. Could 2024 turn out to be 2019 all over again.

Andrew Clarke No No, that is not right. I think after getting burned last year, Ford wanted a final test of the parts as they will be manufactured, not 3D-printed bits. Fair enough I think.

These cars have come out of a wind tunnel with real science behind it; they will be closer in aero parity than we have ever had before in Supercars.

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Who will be left at the end of this year on the F1 Team Principal roundabout? Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

F1 TEAM PRINCIPAL ...

A FRAGILE EXISTANCE MIKE KRACK is now the third longest serving Formula 1 Team Principal! Now, that’s a sentence that makes you go back and read again, but you read it right first time around – yes, the Aston Martin man has now moved into that spot following the sensational departure of Gunther Steiner from the role he fulfilled at Haas F1 Team since its creation.

But, as you well know, the Luxembourgian has been Aston Martin’s Team Principal for just over two years – he reached that mark on January 14th! – and that means that from the start of 2022 until now, eight of the Formula 1 teams have changed Team Principal in what is an unprecedented phenomenon that indicates the team’s shareholders are now more inclined to take what has long been the football approach – sack the coach if you’re not happy with the results.

Last winter there was a remarkable turnaround in the Team Principal’s market, dictated

by Ferrari’s decision to sack

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with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER Mattia Binotto and replace him with Frédéric Vasseur, who was still under contract with Sauber.

When the deal was done, Audi, who had just purchased the Swiss team, was able to release Andreas Seidl from McLaren a couple of years ahead of schedule and the German was promtly replaced by Andrea Stella. So, in one go, three teams changed main man.

Then came the unexpected departure of Jost Capito from Williams, with James Vowles being called in as his replacement ... so 40 per cent of the Formula 1 teams started 2023 under a leadership that was different from the one they had ended the 2022 season with.

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During the 2023 championship, Alpine also made big changes, with Otmar Szafnauer being one of three high-profile departures from Enstone and Bruno Famin accumulating the role of Team Principal with his other positions inside the Alpine Group.

And now, at the start of 2024, Laurent Mekies has finally started his new job as Team Principal of Racing Bulls and Ayao Komatsu has replaced Gunther Steiner as the man in charge of running the team on behalf of – and following the guidelines of – Gene Haas.

This means that, apart from Christian Horner who is going into his 20th season as Red Bull’s Team Principal, and

Toto Wolff, who started to run Mercedes’ Formula 1 effort at the start of 2012, all other eight Team Principals have been less than 24 months in their jobs.

This level of instability shows how much more trigger-happy the new owners of Formula 1 teams are, demanding instant results without considering making bigger investments or changing their company’s business models.

It’s also true that in some cases – notably at McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams, but also at Ferrari – the 2023 results point to the decisions being correct even if, in Stroll’s team, the main change was the investment and the hiring of Fernando Alonso, who came with the kind of motivation Sebastian Vettel could no longer find in himself.

Nevertheless, the eight ‘new’ guys in the job know they’re under immediate pressure to perform; they won’t be given time to settle in and make the profound changes they may

believe are necessary and, therefore, may not be as effective as they could be if they knew they had time on their hands to get it all to their liking.

It’s a new reality, that moves Formula 1 completely away from the days when teams were run by their owners who would put their own money and neck on the line in their bid to be successful.

There was no way Bernie Ecclestone, Frank Williams, Ken Tyrrell or Ron Dennis were going to sack themselves if results didn’t come and the fact that they kept their historic technical directors with them for a very long time was the other main reason they tended to bounce back after a bad patch.

Now, though, there are important shareholders with no racing background or understanding, so the business model has changed and the Team Principal is no longer the person in charge – just one of the many links in the chain of command of a Formula 1 team.

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

FULL 2024 GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE PUBLISHED the afternoons, was causing a serious visibility issue for the drivers on the long run down to Turn 3.

The return of the Chinese and Qatari Grands Prix will see Shanghai and Losail feature sprint events, so the only fixed start times for those two Grand Prix, for now, is for the races, with the Chinese Grand Prix starting at 15h00m, while the Qatar one will be held at night, with a scheduled start time for 20h00m.

2024 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX START TIMES

Will we see Oscar Piastri at the front of the F1 field again? Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES THE FIA has published the full schedule of most of the 2024 Formula 1 Grand Prix calendar, confirming that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will join Las Vegas as Saturday races, to make sure that everyone working in Jeddah is able to leave the country before the start of Ramadan, on the evening of March 10, a Sunday. But with the format of the Sprint events yet to be agreed, as we reported recently, the six Grands Prix that will feature them have yet to have their schedules decided.

This means that, for now, there’s no scheduled time for any sessions for China, Miami, Austria, United States, Brazil and Qatar, with only the time

for the race start being fixed, On the other hand, the other 18 Grands Prix in the calendar already have all practice and qualifying sessions scheduled, allowing the promoters to adjust their ticket packages, while Formula 1 – for the Paddock Club and F1 Experiences – and the teams, can now start putting together their own packages in coordination with their sponsors.

As it has been the case since the new deal with ESPN came into force, the Friday and Saturday schedules of the nine European Grands Prix were moved to later in the day to help the US-based broadcaster get a bigger number of viewers, so action will only start at

13h30m on Friday (12h30m in Silverstone and Zandvoort), with FP2 ending quite late, at 18h00m (17h00m in those two races), while qualifying will normally end at 17h00m on Saturday, with most races scheduled to start at 15h00m on Sunday.

The Australian Grand Prix’s schedule matches last year’s, with FP1 starting on Friday at 12h30AEST and FP2 running from 16h00m to 17h00m. On Saturday, Formula 1 track action starts again at 12h30m, with the final practice session, with qualifying scheduled to start at 16h00m. Finally, Sunday’s race will have a 15h00m start, which has been the norm since Formula 1 realised the lowering sun, at the end of

ROUND 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

GRAND PRIX Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Japan China Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco Canada Spain Austria Great Britain Hungary Belgium Netherlands Italy Azerbaijan Singapore USA Mexico Brazil Las Vegas Qatar Abu Dhabi

START TIME AEDT 02.00 March 3 04.00 March 10 15.00 March 24 15.00 April 7 17.00 April 21 06.00 May 6 23.00 May 19 23.00 May 26 04.00 June 10 23.00 June 23 23.00 June 30 00.00 July 8 23.00 July 21 23.00 July 28 23.00 August 25 23.00 September 1 21.00 September 15 22.00 September 22 06.00 October 21 07.00 October 28 04.00 November 4 17.00 November 24 04.00 December 2 00.00 December 9

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS … ENDS UP IN COURT! FORMULA 1 came out of its first selfpromoted Grand Prix, in Las Vegas, singing the praises of the event, claiming it had been a tremendous commercial success – so much so that it decided to promote the Grand Prix’s commercial manager, Emily Prazer, to the role of Formula 1’s Chief Commercial Officer, hoping she can reproduce in other countries the model first tried in Sin City.

Those who actively worked during the Grand Prix, on the other hand, were far from impressed by their experience, thanks to the very late night schedule, with extremely cold temperatures and with everyone’s body clocks confused by the need to be fully operational from 6pm to 4Aam, especially being in a time zone where a morning event would be much more suitable for people normally working in Europe – the case for all team members, FIA and Formula 1 personnel and most of the logistics people too – making it an experience very few are keen to repeat.

Now it has emerged that local businesses were also not impressed with the event, as legal procedures have been started against the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the Clark County government, that has to

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give the final green light to approve the organisation of the event. The group of local businessman who have brought the case to the local government claim to have collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars during the weeks around the Grand Prix, as major construction work was required to put together the track and all necessary facilities, blocking streets, sidewalks, business accesses and so on, and are now demanding compensation.

One of those plaintiffs, Jay Market’s owner Wade Bohn, went as far as saying that,

“we don’t need the Formula 1; Formula 1 needs us,” adding that, “we want to be compensated for the losses that occurred due to everything Formula 1 brought. We believe the county is responsible,” he added.

“They’re using taxpayer dollars to bring Formula 1 into town.”

Clearly looking for a hefty compensation package, Bohn added that, “when Formula 1 went before the county, they promised they would not be a hindrance, that they would be a part of the community. What they did was they came in, tore everything up, ran

the race, and got the hell out of Dodge ... If this happens again next year, I will be out of business ... 100 percent.”

Others, however, have a more conciliatory approach to the complaint, making it clear they won’t oppose the race staying in town as long as they’re getting their compensation money – as is the case of Randy Markin, who owns a restaurant and a small casino in the areas used by the Las Vegas street race: “We, as a community, got bamboozled; we got fooled. This has not ever happened before. It just steamrolled out of control.”

But he then added that, “none of us want to destroy Las Vegas – we don’t want a lawsuit.

We want to turn a negative into a positive. It’s much better if the county commission and F1 get together and be proactive about this problem.”

The Clark County Comission is already investigation the complain, as its chairman, Tick Segerblon, admitted, before commiting to approve the 2024 race: “For sure, we will be looking at this in the future. Before we approve the 2024 Formula 1 race, we will address the businesses that have been impacted in the past and are likely to be impacted in the future.”

ALLISON’S MERCEDES CONTRACT EXTENDED

JAMES ALLISON’S impact since his return to lead Mercedes’ Technical Department has been big enough for Toto Wolff to offer him a long-term extension to his contract, with the German team announcing that the 55-years old Technical Director will remain in his role for the foreseable future.

Having joined Mercedes at the start of 2017, Allison was crucial in the team’s continued success, as he oversaw Hamilton’s four last world titles, with the team winning another five Constructor Championships in succession as well.

Due to some personal issues, Allison had to reduce his working commitments and was shifted to the team’s America’s Cup project for two years, but his absence from

Brackley’s Formula 1 campus coincided with Mercedes’ failure to come up with a winning car for the technical regulations that came into effect at the start of 2022, so Wolff had to call him back at the start of last year.

Allison oversaw the vast transformations made on the W14 that helped the team secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Allison is seen by many in Formula 1 as the man with a talent that almost matches Adrian Newey’s, both being visionary and brave, but with very different personalities.

While the Red Bull man is quite reclusive and circumspect, Allison has a bubbly personality and has such outward enthusiasm for what he’s doing that his

passion is contagious for those working with him.

Even Lewis Hamilton, who is quite demanding with the people that worked with him, has praised “James’ energy and driver” since Allison’s return to the Formula 1 fold and now, in the official statement issued by Mercedes, Toto Wolff has admitted that “I am thrilled that James has committed his longterm future to the team. Put simply, he is the most impressive technical leader in our sport. His gladiator spirit, along with his knowledge, experience, and determination, make him second-to-none.

His influence and impact, however, goes so much further than that.”

The Austrian added that, “since joining in 2017, he has been a key ally and sparring partner for me personally. We can challenge each other openly and honestly; an embodiment of the ‘tough love’ culture of the team that is vital in helping us all perform at our very best. Most importantly though, James is a true friend you can rely on, not only in times of success but in difficult moments too. It has been a pleasure to work with him over the past seven years and I look forward to doing so for many more to come.”

For his side, Allison admitted that, “Formula 1 has brought me a lot of good fortune, but none greater than answering Toto’s call to join Mercedes in 2017. It is a great privilege to continue this adventure, working alongside brilliant colleagues and fighting together for championship success.”

PERMANE SET FOR RACING BULLS MOVE VETERAN ENGINEER Alan Permane is set to return to Formula 1 in the next couple of weeks, joining Red Bull’s junior team – soon to be rebranded Racing Bulls – as part of the new management team led by Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies. Permane was sacked by Alpine, at the same time as then Team Principal Otmar Szafnaeur, on the run up to last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, and after sitting out for six months is about to join the Faenza-based team at the end of this month.

Having served his entire Formula 1 career in the Enstone-based team, Permane started off as a junior race engineer at the start of the 1990s and quickly move to the role of race engineer by 1992. When Pat Symonds moved to a senior position in the technical department of Benetton, following Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn’s move to Ferrari, he promoted Permane, who eventually became the Director of Racing.

Although his official title changed on a number of occasions – as the team changed ownership often, from Benetton, to Renault, back to Benetton and again Renault, before becoming Lotus F1 Team and, again, being bough back by the French manufacturer, who eventually rebranded it Alpine – Permane was, in fact, the man who ran the race team for over 20 years, apart from a brief spell in which he was farmed off to the test team as his personal relationship with

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Now in the ‘Family’ Permane with Red Bull team manager Jonathan Wheatley. some key team members as the time was not very good.

Permane’s departure from Alpine came as Bruno Famin took control of the team and identified that race operations was one of the areas where the French team could progress the most. The fact Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon scored a lot more points in the second part of the season than in the first one validated, from the Team Principal’s point of view, his decisions.

It was soon clear that Red Bull was keen to pick up on Permane’s experience, as he’s always had an excellent relationship with the team’s Sporting Director, Jonathan

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Wheately, and Christian Horner was quick to sing his praises while F1 was still in Spa-Francorchamps. The Red Bull Team Principal said that, “to stay for 34 years in any job is a truly remarkable achievement.

To go from Benetton to Renault to whatever … Lotus, back to Renault to Alpine ... he’s been one of the mainstays there. And obviously he’s been there through the world championship periods of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, so a hugely competent guy. I doubt he’s going to be unemployed for too long.

“But just hats off to what he’s done with that team, particularly, when you look at the difficult periods when they were looking at insolvency and the issues with shareholders and the transfer for all the team. That’s when the team needs clear guidance and leadership and mainstays, and I was particularly impressed at that point in time that he was a solid pillar.”

Now Permane is set to join the Red Bull operation and is set to run the race operations, as he won’t be keen on moving to Faenza and will want to keep his home base in the United Kingdom.

From Enstone to Milton Keynes it’s a relatively small distance, meaning the veteran English engineer won’t even have to move house to take on his new job with a team undergoing a tremendous transformation over this winter.

KOMATSU REPLACES STEINER AT HAAS… GUNTHER STEINER has been dropped

by Gene Haas as the American team’s main man, with former Chief Engineer Ayao Komatsu (above left) being appointing Haas’ new Team Principal, in a surprising decision that has, for now, robbed Formula 1 fans of one of its most charismatic personalities.

The decision was taken just before the end of 2023 but only made official in the second week of January, in a short press release that, tellingly, didn’t include any quotes from the departing Italian.

Given Steiner was the man behind Gene Haas’ decision to enter Formula 1 at the start of 2016, running the entire operation very much as he wanted – with the owner just calling the shots on the definition of the budget and on the drivers choices – it’s clear the two have fallen out and there may have been three contributing factors for that: Steiner believing Haas was not investing enough in the team to match what back-of-thegrid rivals like Williams, Sauber and AlphaTauri were doing; the American being terribly disappointing with his team finishing in the bottom three places in the last five years, being dead last in 2023; and Haas probably resenting Steiner’s increasing popularity and possibly believing he was taking his eye off the ball to cultivate his image.

In his statement Haas said that, “I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future. Moving forward as an organisation it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances.

In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.”

He then added that, “we have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organisation. We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team. I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.”

The Japanese engineer, a man with a lot of Formula 1 experience and a Haas F1 Team member since its inception, admitted that, “I’m naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be Team Principal Having been with the team since its track-debut back in 2016. I’m obviously passionately invested in its success in Formula 1. I’m looking forward to leading our program and the various competitive operations internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved on-track performances.”

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VERSTAPPEN UNTAPPED: “I PREFER DOMINATING TO FIGHTING!”

IN A FORMULA 1 SEASON OF DOMINANCE, MAX VERSTAPPEN ETCHED HIS NAME IN THE ANNALS OF RACING HISTORY, SECURING HIS THIRD CONSECUTIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WITH AN UNYIELDING DESIRE TO DOMINATE RATHER THAN MERELY RACE. THE DUTCH DRIVER DISCUSSES HIS RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE THAT SHATTERED RECORDS IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AUTO ACTION’S LUIS VASCONCELOS ...

THINK OF a Formula 1 season record and chances are Max Verstappen beat it on his way to his third consecutive World Championship. The Dutchman beat number of Grand Prix wins in a season, with 19 victories out of 22 races, an impressive 86,36% of the wins – another record. On his way to those numbers, Verstappen became the first driver to lead for more than 1000 laps in a season – he led 1003 laps – and that meant he was in P1 for 75.54% of the season – yes, another record.

The Red Bull driver was also the first driver to manage 10 consecutive Grand Prix wins, to stand on the podium 21 times in just one season, and to win 12 races from pole in just one season; all that on his way to shattering the previous record of points achieved in a year – 575 points.

At the end of the 2023 campaign, Verstappen admitted those were “crazy numbers”, but admitted “we had a crazy year” before paying tribute to the work done

by Red Bull and admitting he’s going to “miss driving the RB19, because it’s the best car I’ve ever driven.” And when asked if those numbers and records meant anything to him, the Dutch driver added, “yes, those are some crazy numbers but, we’ve really had a

“ ”

Nevertheless, I’m very focused on what’s ahead of me and hopefully also next year we have a competitive car again ...

crazy year, so we have to enjoy the moment, celebrate it properly and then start focusing on the next year, because while it would be very nice to repeat these numbers and

even more to beat them, I know it’s probably not going to be possible. Nevertheless, I’m very focused on what’s ahead of me and hopefully also next year we have a

Images: Max Verstappenn has set almost impossible-to-beat records ... With some of the key people behind his success – Adrian Newey and Christian Horner (above right); and his Red Bull crew. Lower right: spilling the beans to AA's Luis Vasconcelos ... Far left: Max has huge support from the 'Orange' crowd.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES, RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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Battling with Carlos Sainz – who took the one race Red Bull didn't win in 2023. Lower right: More Vasconcelos chat; a rare side-by-side moment with team-mate Perez – in Miami. competitive car again, we can really continue that momentum and we can win more races.”

During the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, we sat with the now three-times World Champion to discover the man behind the driver; how does he want and need the team and the family to operate around him; how he looks back at was, by all accounts, an amazing season; what he wants to do in the future, and many more things that came naturally into the conversation.

AA. You broke your traditional a bit when you sang “Green, green grass of home” on the car radio after winning in Brazil – so how did that come into your mind?

MV. It was a song that I played with my Dad in the car when we were traveling all over Europe, quite often, so for me, it brings a lot of memories back in the days of go-karting.

My Dad told that to Christian one day – he remembered and he had it playing on the car radio.

AA. That song came out, like the one in Vegas, from the good relationship you have with Giampiero Lambiase and other key

members of the team, like Helmut Marko.

These are people that always tell you exactly what they think, so is it important to you that the people that are closest to you are blunt and straight with you?

MV. Yes, that’s also what I demand. I mean, that’s how I am as well. What is good is good, what is bad is bad, and it needs to be said.

And that works really well for us.

AA. Are the harsh words quickly forgotten or understood?

MV. I think you should be able to accept criticism. At the end of the day nothing is always perfect; you don’t always agree on everything – that’s how life works.

AA. Looking back at the whole season, it was a nearly perfect one. You end up with 575 points out of maximum possible of 620, so that’s 92.74% of what was achievable. Can you believe this kind of numbers? And at the end of a perfect season, do you think you can do a perfect lap?

MV. I don’t think so – it can always be better.

Sometimes you are closer to perfection than other times, that’s for sure.

AA. What kind of mistakes have you made?

MV.. I drove into the pit wall in Silverstone!

That was not ideal ... but also looking back at the Singapore weekend, I probably did some wrong things with the set-up. There are some things I can improve on for next year but, luckily, racing related stuff, not many mistakes.

AA. Winning is, of course, always nice, but do you get more satisfaction from driving from pole and pulling away early on or to have to fight for it to the end, like in Las Vegas, for example?

MV. It depends. I really like to dominate the race – I mean, I’m always fighting with myself; I’m not always looking at the competition, I’m trying to do the best I can inside the car, because I can always optimise things more…

AA. ... and go to that extra point for the fastest point even when GP advised you against it?

MV. If possible, at the end, yes! If possible, why not?

AA. Did you at any stage this year feel you were taking risks that were not very wise given the advantage you had?

MV. No, it’s all controlled, basically. I think even in Barcelona, where I was already on three warnings for track limits, I knew I wasn’t going to cross the line. I’ve made that mistake in the past. I still wanted to go for the fastest lap, so I did.

AA. Do you remember your last DNF? MV. Yes, Australia in 2022, I don’t remember exactly what it was that stopped me, I think

Climbing into the car for the second-last race, and win, of the year – Vegas.

Right: sharing the podium with (top) Fernando, Lewis and Adrian – 25 Drivers titles in one spot – Newey tops with 13 ... Lower: With Carlos and Charles.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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Real emotion is on track. Everything that happens outside the track is a sideshow.

Of course, I love the sport ...

it was some sort of leak. For sure it’s a good record of reliability, as it also shows that, as a team, we are really on top of things. We are always trying to prevent issues that will lead to retirements, because if you are going for the title, you cannot afford that – you always have to try to score points.

AA. In Singapore you broke the streak to equal Michael Schumacher’s 19 consecutive podium finishes, but you’ve now started again. Can you beat that record next year?

MV. Well, that was, of course, a bit unfortunate but it’s not something I’m in Formula 1 for – to try and break the podium’s record. It’s of course nice but what’s

important at the end of the day is that you win the championship. It doesn’t matter how.

Ideally you win it in the best possible way, by winning every single race, but that also, of course, is not realistic.

AA. You’ve praised the team, you’ve created very strong bonds at Red Bull, in the seven and a half years you’ve been with the team, so do you think you could recreate this atmosphere in another team, in the future?

MV. Wow ... in Formula 1, for sure, probably not. I think that’s also fine, I’m very happy where I am, I’m certainly not thinking about any other possible team.

AA. Do you see the team as your second family?

MV. Yes, for sure, I’m very happy. I can be myself here, which I think is also very important.

AA. Your real family also comes very often to the races; so it’s still important to have, for example, Jos around often?

MV. I think it’s nice to have them around here and there. Of course there have been many races where I’ve been by myself or whatever, but whenever they can join, I like it. To have a conversation, to have dinner with them, it’s nice.

AA. Will you go and watch Jos doing his rallying in the future?

MV. I would like to but the problem with rallying is that you can’t hide, it’s all quite open and I also like my privacy. I would be there for my Dad, but I wouldn’t want to speak to anyone else, so I would be there just see him drive but he could get distracted with so many other things. I’m there to watch him drive, not to be a distraction.

Monaco (below), the real driver's circuit ... another win. Above: And another win ... Mexico.

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AA. Two more years with Honda engines and then Red Bull’s own engine – so what will that be like?

MV. It’s difficult to say. It’s a question mark, but everybody is pushing flat-out to make it a success because that’s, of course, what we’re aiming for – to start off in 2026 on the right foot. I hope, of course, it’s going to be a rocket, but we don’t know that yet.

AA. Do you miss the battles you had with Lewis?

MV. No, I’m happy with how the season has gone on. I appreciated also the fights that we had, but I also like the car we have, the team we have, the way we are operating – this is where we want to be.

AA. He hasn’t won for 45 races, so is he still as strong a rival as he once was? Can you imagine going through such a dry patch too in the future?

MV. Well, I’ve done it … wait, no, I haven’t done it – I had some wins here and there. It can happen, but I prefer not to think about those kind of things, because that’s energy you are putting into thoughts that aren’t necessary to think about.

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AA. What’s the most important word for a Formula 1 driver?

MV. Commitment.

AA. You used the word emotion often in Las Vegas, while explaining why you were not enjoying the event; so how important is having emotion as the main ingredient of a race weekend?

MV. Real emotion is on track – everything that happens outside the track is a sideshow. Of course, I love the sport, I love the competition, driving, racing ... that’s what I’m here for.

AA. When your Dad started racing in Formula 1, the cars were simpler, the teams much smaller, almost no marketing or sponsor functions; big names around like Piquet, Senna, Prost or Mansell; so being a purist, would you have preferred to race in that era?

MV. I would say that the era from the late 80s until the early 2000s, not before that. I would have loved to race back then, but I’m also happy racing now. The world has evolved, it has changed a lot and it’s fine – you evolve with it. But I would also have liked to try that kind of car.

AA. Because Red Bull only started in 2005 you were never given the opportunity to try historic Formula 1 cars, but how much would you like to have a go?

MV. Yes, that’s right, it’s harder for us – but maybe in the future I’ll have the opportunity to try one, for a fun outing. I’ve seen the Lotus 79 they had on display at the paddock entry but that’s a car from too early a time for me. I would like to drive something with more power and more grip, probably. It was the first proper ground effect car, but the lap times were miles away from what we’re doing now.

AA. Helmut Marko said that as soon as you stop racing in Formula 1 you’ll start your own GT team – is that a plan in the making?

MV. It’s a target; that’s absolutely the target.

I won’t necessarily be wanting to drive then but I want to build something where, of course in a different role, I will be of help and create opportunities for young talent to come through. It’s not necessarily to bring them all the way to Formula 1, but at least to create an opportunity for them to come into racing. People forget it’s not only about Formula 1 – there are so many different categories of racing where you can have fun and make a living, become a professional racing driver.

AA. What kind of team boss do you think you can be? Have you taken any lessons from Christian Horner, Helmut Marko or Franz Tost on how to run a team and get the best out of people?

MV. A no-bullshit boss! Probably a bit more old school because it’s all about performance; it’s not about how many likes we get on social media, or how big we are on social media. I just want to win, because winning does the talking and that’s the most important thing for m–AA. Speaking about

Above left: The most-seen view of the RB 19 ... here in Mexico. Left: Regular scene – celebrating in Vegas. Top: Chatting with partner Kelly Piquet. Above: Offering advice? Chatting with Oscar Piastri ...

Right: About the only thing that changed much in 2023 – the helmet design!

Far right: Top – The most successful team in a single season ever ... Sitting around with a few trophies ... With Franz Tost – a team principal (AlphaTauri) much respected by the world champion.

Below: Aerial view of the car and driver of the year – at Abu Dhabi.

Below left: Mexico, Turn 1. Three into two didn't go and team-mate Perez (on the outside) was out of his home race. Yup, Max won.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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go on the knee ... it needs to happen To get married? Me? Now the pressure is tonaturally. on me to say a date! (laughs) I don’t know AA. Can it happen during your time in Formula 1 or only afterwards?

– I guess time will tell ...

MV. I don’t know. Now you’re putting the

it, how important is the example coming from above, from the Team Principal?

MV. Very important! Even if you have all the money in the world and you think you can do whatever you like, if you mismanage your club or your team, it can all go down the drain quickly. I don’t want to name any names here, but this has happened to big names here in the paddock and they’ve gone from titles, podiums and so on all the way to the back of the grid.

AA. This is Franz’s last Grand Prix as a Team Principal, so what outstanding memories do you have from working with him?

MV. Good memories. I have a lot of good memories with him. I think he was definitively more like a kind of old-school team boss, who only cared about the performance and not about the show and

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this kind of things. Yes, I liked that he was always very involved with the engineers, and he would give them shit if he was not happy with the performance. Which I think it’s good, because if the team boss is just laid back, doesn’t care about the results, is just here to be seen, I don’t think that’s good. So I always had a very good relationship with Franz – a very honest, straightforward relationship, as well. You always know where you stand with him.

AA. After the Brazilian Grand Prix you went back to Kelly’s family farm to attend her brother’s wedding ... so when do you plan to have your own wedding?

MV. To get married? Me? Now the pressure is on me to say a date! (laughs) I don’t know – I guess time will tell. I’m happy, very happy, but I don’t put pressure on myself

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pressure on me. It will happen whenever we feel like it – whenever we feel it’s the time to put a stamp on it.

AA. How important is it to have a family back home that helps you disconnect completely from Formula 1?

MV. Very. It works definitively well for me and it’s nice to have someone, a family back home. I think, especially when it’s so busy as well, it takes away stressful moments. So I like to have a big family and animals too. I think it’s really cool, yes.

AA. What pets do you have?

MV. At the moment just cats, because cats are more independent, I love dogs but it’s more difficult to have them when you’re traveling so much. You can take the dog with you but then it’s like taking a baby ... you know, you need to take care of it, so it’s quite tough.

AA. How much does it help that your

partner knows what racing drivers are all about, being Nelson Piquet’s daughter and having a few racing brothers as well?

MV. Yes, it probably helps as well; she understands perfectly the world that you live in.

AA. Will Formula 1 be totally green in 10 years and will you still enjoy it?

MV. I hope the sustainable fuels, the biofuels will change the world, so that we can continue racing in proper Formula 1 style. But I won’t be there.

AA. Was Vegas proper Formula 1 style or do you agree with Fernando Alonso when he says these cars are not made for slow, 90 degrees corners?

MV. Well, the racing was fun, because you were passing but I prefer to do that around Spa! Or Suzuka.

AA. What’s the best racetrack for you, Suzuka?

MV. No, I prefer Spa but Suzuka is also one of my favourites. Zandvoort is also old-school – yes, the tough ones with no real run-offs You make a mistake and you’re off.

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FIXING SUPERCARS… ON LAST WEEK’S AUTO ACTION REVLIMITER PODCAST WE FLOATED SOME IDEAS FOR HOW TO FIX SOME OF SUPERCARS’ ILLS. AUTO ACTION'S ANDREW CLARKE LOOKS DEEPER ...

THE SUPERCARS Championship Series invariable peters away to its end, the title decided before the final race and more often than not a round or two prior in both practical and mathematical terms. Our biggest race of the year drifts for the majority of its six our so hours while team position their cars for the run home in the hope that a Safety Car will put them into a winning position.

Other sports build up to the end of the season, a crescendo of excitement and action that captivates fans of the sport, and in most cases casual observers too. If the AFL or NRL Premier was decided before the Grand Final, would a hundred thousand people turn up to the ground and millions switch on a TV set?

We think not. Yet, in Australia, we do that with Supercars.

It is time for a series of changes to shake up the sport, to revive intertest from casual and occasional fans and to spice up the action.

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We sat down on The Auto Action RevLimiter Podcast recently and started workshopping some ideas, and here they are, all fleshed out and open for discussion.

Some changes suggested will require changes to the legal structure of the Teams Racing Charter, so they can’t happen this year, but there is nothing stopping the rest from happening now, and leaving 2024 as rock bottom in terms of the event count, crowds and the TV audience.

For the past two years, the Bathurst telecast has had 170,000 fewer viewers at the start of the race than the year before. That is not acceptable.

It is time for change!

BATHURST 1000

We know it is playing with fire, but what is wrong with some changes to our biggest race? And for this we want to float three ideas.

Let’s start with starting the race with the lead drivers in the cars. It is silly that, when

the TV audience is at its highest, that the stars of the sport are standing in the garage.

It is like starting a football match with the seconds and then bringing the main team on later. It doesn’t matter what the teams think, and rabbiting on about strategy options is irrelevant when the majority do the same thing.

Let’s mandate the driver that qualifies the car starts the race or, even more basically, the nominated A Driver starts the race.

It is important when the most eyes are on the race, that the name on the window is the driver in the car.

Next, we need to discuss if this race needs to be the Grand Final for the season – the biggest race of the year as the final race.

Forget the traditional date – even in a normal year we don’t run on that date. We’ve already shifted it for commercial purposes, to get away from football grand finals. Let’s be bold.

As a bonus, if we ran late November it would fall outside the NASCAR and IndyCar

seasons and we could get some US pairings onto the grid and watch the TV audience in the US explode!

Imagine a DJR Mustang with Joey Logano and Scott McLaughlin, or an Erebus Camaro for the Richard Childress Racing Duo of Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, and maybe a Triple Eight car with Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain. It would be huge.

The final change we want to explore is breaking the race into stages with prizemoney and championship points at each of 40, 80 and 120 laps, as well as at the end. We think Bathurst is important enough as a race to carry double the points of other races – by doing this under the current pointscore with the three-race format points for each of the stages, a complete whitewash of Bathurst would be worth 600 points.

Commercially, there is the opportunity to have a different sponsor for each stage. We’d love the ‘first quarter’ to be the Auto Action

PENULTIMATE RACE

FINAL RACE

CHAMPION

ACTUAL CHAMPION

Cameron Waters Brodie Kostecki Broc Feeney David Reynolds

Broc Feeney

2023

Cameron Waters Shane van Gisbergen Brodie Kostecki Broc Feeney Will Brown Jack Le Brocq Anton De Pasquale David Reynolds

Brodie Kostecki Actual – 1 Race Remaining Logical – 5 Races Remaining

Chaz Mostert Brodie Kostecki Will Davison Broc Feeney

Broc Feeney

2022

Anton De Pasquale Cameron Waters Chaz Mostert Shane van Gisbergen Will Davison Broc Feeney* David Reynolds* Brodie Kostecki*

Shane van Gisbergen Actual – 3 Races Remaining Logical – 15 of 34 Races Remaining

Shane van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup Chaz Mostert Andre Heimgartner Anton De Pasquale Cameron Waters Will Brown Will Davison*

Shane van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup Anton De Pasquale Cameron Waters

Cameron Waters

2021

THE LAST 5 YEARS – HOW IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ...

Shane van Gisbergen Actual – 2 Races Remaining Logical – 11 of 31 Races Remaining

Jamie Whincup Scott McLaughlin Nick Percat Jack Le Brocq Anton De Pasquale Shane van Gisbergen Fabian Coulthard Cameron Waters*

Cameron Waters Scott McLaughlin Jamie Whincuop Nick Percat

Cameron Waters

2020

the championship can be decided by one DNF is ridiculous, and a Chase – or a better pointscore - would change that.

In four of the past five title runs, the championship was decided with a third or more of the series left to run.

If we switch it up with a Chase, every title is alive in the final race and, like a grand final in any other sport, the best team on the final day wins the championship. For AFL fans, remember Hawthorn in 2008 and most of the three-peat, or the Bulldogs in 2016 or Richmond in 2017. Even last year, the game was wide open deep into the final quarter – there was no going to the fridge for another beer.

We’d like the same.

Scott McLaughlin Actual – 3 Races Remaining Logical – 16 of 31 Races Remaining

Scott McLaughlin Chaz Mostert Shane van Gisbergen Fabian Coulthard Jamie Whincup David Reynolds* Cameron Waters* Will Davison*

Shane van Gisbergen Scott McLaughlin Fabian Coulthard David Reynolds

Jamie Whincup

2019

The 2023 championship was all-but over before the final event – and indeed it was decided before Sunday in Adelaide. Is there a better way? Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES, MARK HORSBURGH

Scott McLaughlin Actual - 3 Races Remaining Logically – 21 of 32 Races Remaining

HOW DOES IT WORK?

First Quarter, but it could be anything that doesn’t clash with the main sponsor …

Gilligans Route 66 Tours Second Quarter and the AC Delco Third Quarter. They do it on the footy – why not in the car racing?

Better still, the race strategy would be mixed up, and there’d be little of the pacing to the 100-lap mark when the co-drivers are done for the day. It would also put pressure on the teams to up the stakes for the co-drivers and may encourage the development of some of our young talent rather than funding retirement plans for drivers that never really made it in the first place.

TO QUALIFY for the Supercars Chase, you need to win a race; if there are more than eight winners in a season then the top eight of those in the championship make it through. Last year, Dave Reynolds’ win on the Gold Coast made him the ninth race winner of the season to that point and, on championship points, Mark Winterbottom was knocked out of the running as the series ventured to Adelaide.

In previous seasons, there has been less than eight race winners, so the extra spots go to the highest-placed drivers in the championship without a race win. In 2022, for instance, there were five race winners and Broc Feeney, David Reynolds and Brodie Kostecki would be added to the eight.

The penultimate race of the season halves the number of the drivers in the Chase, with the four highest-placed of the Chase contenders remaining in contention in the final race, and from there the highest placed of those four is the series champion.

Obviously, without actually racing to this system you can’t say definitively who would have been the champion, but on the results as they played out, Broc Feeney would have won the past two titles, and Cam Waters the two prior.

Back track a couple of months. Brodie Kostecki was the fastest qualifier in Adelaide, but in the races, he looked like he was running to finish. On Saturday, all he had to do was finish to be the champion, and on Sunday he needed to finish to celebrate on the track.

Notes: Actual is when the title is mathematically out of reach.

Logical is when a 300-point (one round win) gap was opened and maintained.

Qualification for the Chase is by race wins. If there are more than eight winners in a season, the lowest point scorer is eliminated. If there are not eight race winners, then the next highest point scorers are added to the Chase to make up the eight participants (marked with an *).

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Let’s mandate the driver that qualifies the car starts the race, or even more basically, the nominated A Driver starts the race ...

There are a number of ways the Bathurst 1000 could have some pep added to its step ....

THE CHASE

Football has finals. Cricket has finals.

Basketball has finals. NASCAR has finals … so why not Supercars?

We can’t remember the last time the championship felt truly alive in the final round, and mathematical chances do not mean the title is alive. Even then, mathematically, the final race of the season hasn’t mattered for the championship outcome in those seasons.

The way we look at the series, once the championship lead is beyond the total points available for a clean sweep, then the title is done. Historically, once the gap has gone beyond 300 points before the final round, it has not dropped back below that level again, and that is a more common than not outcome. That

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A Chase would have raised the desperation stakes and Kostecki would have had to race hard – which is his natural state. It would have been much more engaging and interesting.

The purists will scoff, but we think it will mix it up and make it more exciting. In professional sport, the entertainment factor matters, and keeping titles alive guarantees maximum effort and risk. Change the points collection mentality and reward the racers.

TECHNICAL CHANGES

WE’LL START with the assumption that Supercars will get parity right this season, so what other technical changes can be implemented that will help the racing? We see two major change that would do just that. One is the addition of a limited slip differential (LSD), and the other is to allow Dunlop to build the tyres it wants, rather than manufacturing to a spec that is more than two decades old.

Both of these would need to wait until next year.

Drivers should be able to race on the tyres, to go hard from the moment the tyres are fitted to the car. It is one of the things van Gisbergen liked in NASCAR – why can’t we do the same thing? Dunlop and Goodyear are the same company and Dunlop is a fading brand at any rate, so why not explore those tyres as a starting point.

Why not explore the 'drive and steer' tyre concept; when building Gen3 we could have easily had wider drive tyres on the rear, and we still can. So why not?

An LSD would give drivers the chance to run different lines in corners, meaning the overtaking opportunities open up. It would make for a better racing car.

Greg Murphy first started the push for this when he was at his peak, yet 15 years on we

are still running archaic technology in the rear of our cars.

While not a technical change, which means we can have it this season, the minimum fuel drop needs to be removed from our sport.

Surely, we have enough technology to ensure the engines have the same fuel economy, and then the rest will come down to strategy.

If you want to spend a little less time on the jacks, drive more economically.

We reckon Larko would happily throw away his ruler for a bit of the unknown and the chances of different race strategies.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

At the moment, every car in the field gets paid by Supercars, which means we have journeymen running in the series. Let’s change that system to only pay the top 20 placed TRCs at the end of each season, meaning four TRCs in 2024 would not take a dividend from Supercars.

In 2023, Blanchard Racing Team (#3), Brad Jones Racing (#4 and #96), Matt Stone Racing (#35) and Tickford Racing (#56) all finished with cars outside of the top 20 and would have missed a payment. Those teams may have changed the way they approached the season if they were looking at a financial shortfall, and maybe the multi-car teams (interestingly two of them were four cars teams) may have shifted resources around the garage in a different way.

Some of the teams are repeat offenders.

In 2022, Tickford, BJR and MSR had cars outside the top 20, and in 2021 BJR again had two cars down there. Tekno/Team Sydney were also repeat offenders.

An even more radical system would be a relegation and promotion system, with cars dropping in and out of the main game based on performances. Obviously there’s a big step up from Super2 to the so-called

The Chase is on – Kostecki harrassed by Young Gun Feeney ... Above: The Shoey – yes, let the pilots show some individual character! Above right: Let it all out – Will Brown-style ... Far right top: Zak Best floored the regulars with a super qualifying result at The Bend – create the circumstances for more of that – let the kids in! Far right: Remembeer this AA cover? Skaife versus Ingall – brought he house down!

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main game, so this would require a lot of thought about how not to create a rotating underclass.

MISSING CASH 2023 – BRT #3, BJR #96, MSR #35, Tickford #56/777, BJR #4 2022 – MSR #34, Tickford #56, Tickford #55, BJR #4, PremiAir #31/76 2021 – BJR #4, Tekno #22, BJR #96, Tekno #19 2020 – MSR #35, BJR #4, MSR #34, Tekno #19

2019 – GRM #33, BJR/BRT #21 (same as #96), Tekno #19, Kelly (#3)

THERE'S MORE ...

Let’s start with one of the most basic issues facing the series – change the name back to V8 Supercars. In branding, you try to adopt a name that people have comfort with, and most people still refer to the series as either V8 Supercars or just 'the V8s'.

The move to drop V8 was when the series was exploring other engine formats. That is

“ ”

Some of the teams are repeat offenders.

In 2022, Tickford, BJR and MSR had cars outside the top 20 ...

now not happening and it is time to revert.

Go searching on the internet for Supercars and you get a bunch of Lamborghinis and Ferraris, not our Mustangs and Camaros.

We’ve spoken at great length about the digital platform. It doesn’t work so fix it and stop telling us how good it is. There is nothing leading edge about the site – it trails most other major motorsport series in the world in terms of both content and features, and while aesthetics is a personal thing, it is not very attractive.

The telecast feels old and stale and lacks innovation and needs a great injection of ideas. Changes are needed to commentary make-up, and we’d start by removing people with conflicts because they can’t talk openly about what they know. This means we may

lose a star or two from the panel, but work out if you are a race driver or a commentator and commit.

Ditto those with Board commitments.

We need to develop the personalities in the sport. Part of this is making sure they have removed their helmets before a victory celebration. The second part is to allow the personalities to thrive – stop the killing our personalities by vanilla-cide.

Give us more Dave Reynolds in the field – let them shine. Encourage the drivers to stop rolling out cliches and speak honestly, reward them with more coverage on TV, and I know we’ll give them more space if they have something interesting to say.

Stop being buddies and worrying about offending someone – if you reckon you’ve

been wronged, unleash and stop cuddling each other. Think Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton – it was riveting!

Go and ask someone who doesn’t follow the sport who the big names are, and the chances are they’ll spit out Craig Lowndes.

Do the same with other leading sports and the chances are they’ll have names – I don’t follow NRL, but I know Ryan Papenhuyzen at least.

GOOD GUYS AND ... BAD!

AND DON’T be frightened of being a villain.

For every white hat we need a black hat, just as we’ve had in the past – Moffat and Ingall come to mind as black hats without even thinking. Who is it today? As we said, its very vanilla ...

Then revamp the lead-up to the final race on Sunday. Make it something special.

Personally, as the writer of this, I’d have only one race on a Sunday, but I know others don’t like the idea. But what should we do? How do we make Sunday feel like an event?

Update for Super2 – Bring on the young guns! Let’s start by moving Super2 to the current Gen3 car from next season and then,

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at tracks where capacity allows, expand the grid size of the main game. A pre-qualifying session on Friday could be run to filter the fastest driver-car combinations among those that want a crack and allow up to six of them onto the grid – those that don’t make it into the main-game field they remain running Super2 for the weekend.

There’s some number crunching required and deeper thought on how it impacts the Super2 title and so forth, but it is worth a look given many of our tracks can accommodate more than just the 24 cars that will line up for 2024 and '25.

A move like could fast track some careers and create some excitement. Think about the buzz around Zak Best’s main game pole as a wildcard entry, and pump it full of steroids.

We reckon some of the young guns on the rise would give some of the existing names a run for their money.

There’s plenty to think about with the future of Supercars racing, and these are just some ideas. Jump on our socials and tell us what you think. Or better still, tell us what you’d do if you were Barclay Nettlefold.

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DAYTONA DUEL THE TRADITIONAL IMSA SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP OPENER, THE DAYTONA 24 HOURS, IS JUST A WEEK AWAY. DAN MCCARTHY PREVIEWS WHAT IS SET TO BE A CLASSIC ENCOUNTER ...

YES, THE 2023 edition of the 24 hour was a momentous race with the debut of the Acura, Cadilac, Porsche and BMW Hypercars.

However, with a year under the belt and a number of additional cars, the 2024 race will be highly competitive.

There is a contingent of locals that will be racing in the 24 hour this year, with six Australians and five Kiwis spread across the four classes.

We will also look at the likely contenders for victory in the great American enduro, but before that we will look at the new machines and the rule changes in the IMSA Sportscar Championship this season.

NEW CARS AND CLASS CHANGES THE DAYTONA 24 Hours will see the highly anticipated worldwide debut of the Ford Mustang GT3 machine. Two Mustangs will compete in the GTD Pro class, with a further one in GTD. For the creation of the GT3 machine, Ford Performance collaborated with two familiar partners. Multimatic, who built the highly successful class winning Le Mans 24 Hours Ford GT less than a decade ago, helped to design the Mustang GT3.

At the same time, M-Sport, the team which runs the Ford World Rally Championship team, developed the powerful 5.4l V8 engine.

As well as assisting with the design, Multimatic will also run both of the factory cars in GTD Pro, while Proton Competition will field the GTD car.

The GTD Pro line-up is strong, as the manufacturer has secured the services

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of a number of ex-Audi drivers including Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch and Mike Rockenfeller, as well as Harry Tincknell, Dirk Muller and American Joey Hand.

Ford has done a lot of testing with the new GT3 car and will expect to be on the pace from the get-go.

LMP3 has been dropped – the class was originally added to bolster the low grid numbers in IMSA, and with GTP, and with second tier LMP2 fields so strong there is no need for the third-tier prototype class.

For the first time since 2021, there will two chassis in the LMP2 category. For the last two years Oreca has been the sole chassis; however in 2024 a Ligier JS P217 will join the class.

The sole Ligier will be run by Sean Creech Motorsport and has a strong driver line-up – multiple-time Daytona 24 Hour class winner Joao Barbosa, FIA Formula 3 Championship race winner Jonny Edgar, Indy NXT frontrunner Nolan Siegel and American Lance Willsey.

THE AUSSIES AND KIWIS

LET’S START at the top, with the GTP class.

Despite shifting from IMSA to the World Endurance Championship for 2024, Aussie Matt Campbell will kickstart his season with the Porsche Penske IMSA team.

Campbell will race alongside his former teammate Felipe Nasr, American sportscar ace Dane Cameron and reigning Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden.

Reigning WEC champion Brendon Hartley will again contest the Daytona 24 Hours, racing for the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti team.

He will share the machine with the 2023 series runners-up Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, as well as Marcus Ericsson, as the #10 crew look to go one better in 2024.

Scott Dixon is a regular in the long distance IMSA races and this year is no exception. He will be joining the Cadilac racing crew of Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais along with his IndyCar teammate Alex Palou.

Speaking of IndyCar, Scott McLaughlin will be competing in the LMP2 category, driving for Tower Motorsports as he did on several occasions last year.

In 2023 he scored a Sebring 12 Hour class win, while in the other two races luck was very much against him. If the team stays out of trouble McLaughlin will be a class winning contender.

Kiwi, but adopted Aussie, Hunter McElrea is doing marvellous things in the second-tier IndyCar Series and is keeping himself fresh by competing in LMP2, with Peugeot WEC driver Mikkel Jensen, Alpine WEC driver Charles Milesi and former Daytona 24 Hours class winner Steven Thomas. TDS Racing with this driver line-up is undoubtably one of the favourites to win the class.

Aussie Josh Burdon also has a great chance to win the class – he is teamed up with former F1 star Felipe Massa, the adaptable Felipe Fraga, and Gar Robinson.

Another Aussie, James Allen, won the LMP2 class at the Daytona 24 Hours last year, but will have a tougher task this year competing with Dragon Speed USA. Matt Brabham will also compete in LMP2 driving for AO Racing.

Onto the GT classes: in GTD Pro Kiwi Earl Bamber completes a very strong #4 Corvette Racing line-up with Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner.

Two-time Bathurst 12 Hour winner Kenny Habul has got familiar names alongside him – he will drive alongside his winning co-drivers Luca Stolz and Jules Gounon. Add to the driver roster Maro Engel and this team has a real shot at victory.

WTR Andretti have completed many kms of testing. Above left: IndyNXT contender Andy McElrea will contest LMP2 with the TDS team. Left: Scott McLaughlin will also contest LMP2 – part of the driver line-up for Tower Motorsports . Below left: The Global Mustang GT3 entry. Bottom: Matt Campbell comes off 2023 race wins (Road America) and lines up with Porsche Penske in the top GTP class, before heading off to the WEC.

The 2023 Daytona 24 Hours was a spectacular race ... Below: Scott Dixon will pilot one of the Cadillacs.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Scott Andrews who normally drives LMP3 machinery has made the move to GTD, driving a Mercedes with Lone Star Racing.

THE CLASS CONTENDERS

LAST YEAR Acura scored a 1-2 victory, with the Meyer Shank Racing beating home the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti.

However, MSR does not return. Acura is now supporting two WTR by Andretti machines instead.

WTR finished the season in second after a controversial incident with the eventual champions in the #31 Whelan Racing Cadilac.

I’d expect the two WTR Acruras and the two Cadilacs to fight at the front throughout the 24 hour race, but Porsche will be there or thereabouts also.

Late last year the Porsche Penske came on strong, winning two of the last three races and will be more of a season-long threat to Acura and Cadilac.

Despite taking a win at Watkins Glen, BMW still looks

a little bit behind the other brands on outright pace over a stint.

Last year at the Daytona 24 Hours, both the German brands – BMW and Porsche – had horror races and were on the backfoot all season long.

After joining mid-season, the two customer Porsche teams of JDC-Miller Motorsport and Proton Competition are still playing catchup having never raced at the venue in GTP previously.

As in GTP, the LMP2 Daytona class winners are not returning, with the Proton team of course now competing in the top class.

The 2024 United Autosport squad is strong, very strong, with the never aging Ben Keating – who at the moment can’t stop winning.

He will be joined by Ben Hanley who finished as the class runner-up last year with CrowdStrike Racing as well as highly regarded up-and-comer Nico Pino and IndyCar Star Pato O’Ward.

Despite losing Hanley, CrowdStrike will again challenge for the title with a strong line-up.

Elsewhere, look for the TDS team featuring

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McElrea and the Tower Motorsports squad featuring McLaughlin – both look like they can at least fight for a podium.

No less than 11 manufacturers are entered in the GTD classes, 10 in GTD Pro and 11 in GTD. Thanks to the incredibly reliable GT3 regulations anyone can win on any given day.

Last year the GTD Pro Championship went to Lexus drivers Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth through sheer consistency – they finished off the podium just twice all season.

They will be the ones to beat again in 2023 as they are joined by Kyle Kirkwood and Mike Conway for the 24 hour.

The Mercedes outfits looked strong late last year and with very strong driver line-ups could be the ones to beat at Daytona.

The 296 Ferrari performed well globally in its debut year, however on its debut at Daytona it failed to shine, look for the 296s to fight up the front at Daytona.

The GTD class is the hardest to predict, with 23 GT3 cars containing both pro and am drivers.

Aston Martin performed strongly in the race last year finishing 1-2 in class and with the Heart of Racing Car boasting arguably the strongest line-up, they will be tough to beat.

The event car be watched via live stream on the IMSA web site www.imsa.com/tvlive

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LAMBORGHINI DESPITE COMMITTING to the top-tier GTP class in IMSA competition this year, Lamborghini and the SC63 will miss the opening round of the season.

The Italian brand has stated that, despite rigorous testing, it is a little behind schedule and will therefore appear from the second round (the Sebring 12 Hour). Instead the SC63 will make its worldwide debut at Qatar, in the WEC opener.

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WRC 2024: A YEAR OF PURGATORY AND CHANGE THE 2024 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP SEES THE HISTORICAL SERIES ON THE CUSP OF FURTHER CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY, BUT ONE THING IS NEAR CERTAIN … THAT A NEW CHAMPION MAY BE CROWNED AFTER KALLE ROVANPERA’S TWO-YEAR DOMINANCE. TIMOTHY W NEAL LOOKS AHEAD...

AS THE Rally1 teams prepare for the new WRC season, starting with the traditional Monte Carlo opener in the southern French Alps, a raft of changes see this year go ahead with a slightly different feel.

There’s plenty of seat changes in the Toyota, Hyundai, and Ford M-Sport ranks, some new and returning countries on the calendar, some rule tweaks that both aim to spice up the title race, and also point to the uncertain future of the hybrid Rally1 cars.

Before the season has started, the hopes and findings of the ‘Baku lunch’ will no doubt reverberate throughout the ’24 campaign, after the FIA and WRC formed a Working Group to investigate and research the future direction of rallying. It’s a ‘watch this space’ moment and, although the finings haven’t been released, they may be seismic in terms of the WRC’s future direction.

The current regulations will run until 2026, with 2027 slated as the big year of change, but what that change is remains unclear and currently lacks any discernible direction. Will or won’t it be hybrid? Does it need to be, considering the development of biofuel? Is the dismantling of the hybrid direction necessary to bring back the manufacturers?

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It makes 2024 a year in purgatory, but there are some attractive story lines nonetheless.

World rally’s most brilliant talent and back-to-back title winner will only be racing part-time, which leaves the door ajar for a few of the sports perennial bridesmaids to finally take a title. But there’s also a certain driver (and 2019 title winner) who’s returned to a machine/team far more equipped at returning him to the top, who might have something to stay about that.

DRIVER CHANGES

EVERY TEAM enters the year with an altered line-up and, to start with, the threepeat manufacturer champions, and the squad that delivered the last five drivers titles, Toyota, will again be confident … though it’s had to deal with one crucial change.

With young star Rovanpera declaring he’ll step down to “recharge his batteries”, he’ll share a part-time role only, alongside eighttime WRC champion Sebastien Ogier.

That leaves 2023 runner-up Elfyn Evans as lead driver for the Finland based Japanese team.

That means Takamoto Katsuta will enter his first year as a certified full-timer in terms of being able to score manufacturer

Ogier won Monte Carlo for Toyota in 2023 – who can stop him in 2024? Above: They (Toyota/Ogier) are already testing in the snow ...

IMAGES: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THE CALENDAR There are three main changes to the calendar this year, the earliest of which comes in Round 3 with an early visit to Kenya in March. That also coincides with the rainy season in Naivasha, making an already tough event a truly testing prospect.

With Mexico and Estonia missing out, the replacements are a newcomer and a returnee.

The lightning-fast roads of Poland will host its first WRC event since 2017 after it lost the event due to spectator safety breaches. It proved itself via the ERC, whilst the event will also celebrate its 80th anniversary.

Ford goes into 2024 with a new, untested driver pairing for its Pumas.

Hyundai has a strong line-up, headed by Ott Tanak (right).

Whilst many are disappointed with Estonia being dropped, it will remain in the Baltic with Latvia hosting its first WRC rally.

It also showed its worth in the ERC, with the roads around the coastal city of Liepaja to offer up loose surfaces at very high speeds.

RALLYE MONTE CARLO Jan 25-28 (ice/snow/tarmac) RALLY SWEDEN Feb 15-18 (snow) SAFARI RALLY KENYA March 28-31 (gravel) CROATIA RALLY April 18-21 (tarmac) RALLY DE PORTUGAL May 9-12 (gravel) RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA May 30 - June 2 (gravel) RALLY POLAND June 27-30 (gravel) RALLY LATVIA July 18-21 (gravel) RALLY FINLAND August 1-4 (gravel) ACROPOLIS RALLY GREECE Sept 5-8 (gravel) RALLY CHILE BIO BIO Sept 26-29 (gravel) CENTRAL EUROPEAN RALLY Oct 31- Nov 3 (tarmac) RALLY JAPAN November 21-24 (tarmac)

TOYOTA • Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin • Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston • Sebastien Ogier/ Vincent Landais (PT) • Kalle Rovanpera/ Jonna Halttunen (PT)

HYUNDAI • Ott Tanak/Marton Jarveoja • Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe • Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (PT) • Dani Sordo/Candidi Carrera (PT) • Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (PT)

FORD-M-SPORT • Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka • Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria

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points, though Rovanpera and Ogier will wax with him from time-to-time in that role depending on results. Remarkably, Ogier still won three rallies last season and, at one point, threatened to be in the title race. Can that happen again between the Finn and Frenchman?

Chief title rival Hyundai is a different beast this season, especially with Ott Tanak returning after a failed single season experiment with the Ford Puma team.

The Estonian still won two events despite a year of mechanical nightmares, and his return to the Korean squad sees him with a good shot of a second world title.

Five-time runner-up Thierry Neuville will be in the other lead i20N car, and the return of Tanak might make it a tough year for the Belgians chances, who have the undesirable record of being a five-time runner-up.

Hyundai has three part-timers, with the promising Finn Esapekka Lappi making way for Tanak into a part-time seat alongside regular Spaniard Dani Sordo and the return of former WRC race winner Andreas Mikkelsen after the Norwegian took the WRC2 title in ’23. It’s a line-up that can deliver both titles.

With luckless Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet getting the flick and Tanak leaving, Ford M-Sport enter the year with a fresh two-prong attack, with last year’s occasional part-timers Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster making the step up.

At 28 and 25 respectively, it’s a young team, with Munster (Luxembourg) long touted as big talent after impressing last year.

Although it will be another small Rally1 field, Rovanpera’s year of respite means the title race is wide open, and it promises to be an entertaining battle. It’ll likely be a lineball call between Evans and Tanak, with the return of the latter to the Alzenau based squad to make life tough for Neuville’s chances.

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RULE CHANGES

THE MAIN changes revolve around the championship point structure and a non-hybrid entry option for the top tier.

The points change will make things more interesting and add spice to previously moot stages throughout the weekend, but it also reeks of a championship in limbo that’s attempting to add intrigue outside of the most important factor … the cars!

Whilst a total of 25 points remain on offer for the event winner, added points for leading both Saturday and Sunday are on offer outside of the points for the winner of the Power Stage.

Leading points for Saturday will be awarded on a 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 scale, whilst Sunday offers 7-6-5-4-3- 2-1 outside of the Power Stage (5-4-3-2-1). But Points from Saturday will only be collected if the team finishes the Sunday, in which case they are awarded to the next best team. Unusually, It also means that the winner of a rally mightn’t be the highest point scorer of the round.

Manufacturer points (in the case of a three or four driver team for any one event) will only be awarded to the top-two finishes of that team.

A team may also nominate a non-hybrid Rally1 machine to compete in the toptier, with a car not using the hybrid unit to carry the equivalent weight in ballast, which will also result in a loss of 100 horsepower (the EV adds an extra 134 hp in a Rally1).

However, those cars also can’t score championship points. But the main effect of this rule is to allow Rally1 cars to be used at national level competition to help close the big cost-gap and make the Rally1 car more available, as well as attempting to close the performance level between WRC and WRC2, with the manufacturer to also provide support for a non-hybrid Rally1 entry.

In terms of tech regulations, the number of hybrid units available to cars has dropped steeply from nine to three in an attempt to

reduce running costs.

Also, the five-minute penalty for an engine change between pre-rally scrutineering and first-time control has been thrown out, as well as penalties for changing hybrid units between stages – as long as the allotted number of EVs isn’t exceeded.

AN EYE ON PRESEASON TESTING AND CAR CHANGES

HYUNDAI CONDUCTED most of its preseason action on Kenyan like roads to test durability with its new look aero package. Tanak noted that the car is far more finely-tuned than what he experienced in 2022 with Hyundai, with stripped weight being the key focus to relieve reliability issues, as well as a new exhaust system to improve overheating issues. Much of the aero change has been to flatten out the floor for better airflow.

M-Sport has always been behind the ball, with only half the manufacturer support than the other teams are afforded, and this year they need to be more reliable with two relative top-tier newcomers. Tanak could have won more rallies last season were it not for the reliability issues, so if they get it right they know they can compete, but the driver pairing itself may be their achilles heal this season.

The major early change for the Puma car will be the rear wing, although it won’t feature until a few rounds in. The team will use all three of their homologation Joker cards (allotted development allowances) in 2024, starting with the aero shift. Much of their preseason testing has been in snowy conditions to prepare for the ice/snow/ tarmac opener in Monte Carlo, and Sweden.

Aside from a new-look livery, Toyota haven’t made drastic alterations to their title winning machine, with much of the preseason attention on its new Rally2 Yaris instead.

Of note, Ogier has used his early season testing time to prepare for Monte Carlo, which will feature this feature near his hometown of Gap, with Rovanpera to sit out the opening round.

Each team has 21 total days of testing to use throughout the year, as well as three homologation jokers to use. Only Ford will likely use that quota.

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RYAN

CASHA

FROM SCORING TRIES TO WINNING RACES

THE TOYOTA 86 SERIES HAS A HISTORY OF CREATING FUTURE SUPERCARS STARS AND THE LATEST CHAMPION IS BLAZING A UNIQUE TRAIL. RYAN CASHA GREW UP ON THE RUGBY FIELD, DREAMING OF RUNNING ONTO LANG PARK ONE DAY. BUT INSTEAD OF SCORING TRIES HE IS NOW WINNING RACES AND HE SPOKE TO THOMAS MILES ABOUT HIS UNEXPECTED CAREER CHANGE …

FOR MANY years Ryan Casha was dreaming of scoring tries rather than winning races for a living. Growing up in the rural Queensland town of Fernvale, Casha was a die-hard Brisbane Broncos fan and played rugby every weekend.

With tries to score and tackles to lay, motorsport was never on his mind, despite his father’s encouragement.

“Ever since I was a little weed whacker I loved playing footy, both rugby league and rugby union,” Casha recalled.

“My family was a big league family and we always supported the Broncos.

“Honestly, I had no intentions to go racing when I was younger. Dad pushed me that way a bit but I was not really interested. All I wanted to do was play footy with my mates.”

However, motorsport soon captured Casha’s imagination when he jumped behind the wheel of a dirt kart for the first time.

Although it was initially one drive, it was enough for the bug to bite and soon racing rather than footy was all Casha could think about.

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Soon the need for speed had become so strong it even overtook his childhood obsession as the biggest priority in his life by 16.

“The first time I got in a dirt kart I was

actually a bit scared,” Casha said.

“But we just stuck with it and when we finished the season I was, like, ‘I want to keep going again and again’.

“Once I got into dirt karting and really

committed to it, I fell in love with it.

“Motorsport is one of those things that you have to fall in love with and commit to.

“It got to the point where I had to commit to one or the other.

“We were doing both for a bit but I didn’t want to risk getting injured and end up missing races.

“I just found that I enjoyed racing more and we have stuck with it ever since.”

By 2020, Casha had swapped the dirt for the tarmac and made his racing debut driving a Hyundai Excel in Queensland, skipping karts.

His first year of car racing contained eight races across the Queensland Excel Cup and Excel Invitational during the COVIDinterrupted season.

But he then stepped it up in 2021, driving in the Excel Cup and even taking his little Hyundai to the mighty Mount Panorama.

In a massive field of 55 cars, Casha emerged as one of the leaders in the Excel Challenge Bathurst event, finishing fourth in the opening two races.

Dirt karts (top right) and Excels have been Casha’s pathway to Toyota 86s, which he hopes will lead ultimately to Supercars. Below and Bottom: Leading a big Hyundai Excel field – at Bathurst.

MAIN: On his way to winning the GR86 title, from the front at Bathurst.

Below: A young Casha with Rugby League legend Mal Meninga ...

Images: MTR IMAGES, LIAM TURNBULL, TOYOTA, PETER NORTON EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY, THOMAS MILES He believes the Excel was a critical part of his learning being his first taste of circuit racing.

“You drive them a little bit differently (to the Toyota) but they are both single-make categories so they produce great racing,” he said.

“The Excels are a great feeder category before you step into something like an 86 and are perfect for learning race craft and prep.”

By October, Casha had done enough to receive the special opportunity to drive an Erebus Motorsport Holden ZB Commodore Supercar at Queensland Raceway.

The raw racer got to learn from the likes of Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki and race winner Will Brown, while other youngsters who shared the seat with Casha were Kai Allen, Lockie Bloxsom and Logan Campbell.

In that same month, the Queenslander was back at Mount Panorama, this time racing a Toyota 86.

After making his debut earlier in the year at Townsville, Casha made an impression by finishing sixth in his second race meeting in a wide range of conditions.

A full campaign was now possible in 2022 where Casha hoped to take his career to the next level.

Driving for a bare,bones team that included just himself and his dad, Casha fought hard to finish eighth in the standings with three podiums the highlight with two of them at Bathurst.

After being “happy” with eighth, a friendship surfaced from racing Excels, with Rylan Gray helping Casha enjoy greater assistance in 2023 as part of a multi-car team – and he made the most of it.

The #79 Attachment Warehouse Racing was not just fast, but also consistent, achieving 10 podium finishes from a possible 15 races.

Casha was on the pace straight away in Townsville which was the scene of his maiden win, which was part of a run of five podiums in the first six races.

Another win at The Bend meant he was in

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the middle of a thrilling championship battle led by Campbell Logan ahead of the Bathurst finale.

But the pressure brought out the best of Casha, who recorded critical back-to-back wins and a close second to wrap up the championship, joining names such as Will Brown and Aaron Borg on the honours board.

The championship and the clutch performance meant a lot to Casha, who believes a step up in one lap pace was a major factor.

“I am stoked. It has been a perfect weekend

But we just stuck with it and when we finished the season I was, like, ‘I want to keep going again and again ...

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and honestly it is such a surreal feeling,” he said at Bathurst.

“There is so much work that goes into it that a lot of people don’t realise.

“We have committed all of my own and my parents’ time into making sure we can put ourselves in the best spot to win the championship over the last two years and luckily this year we have had some good results.

We struggled a lot in qualifying last year (2022) which is why my championship was slightly hindered while we also had a few DNFs too.

(But) the biggest thing is just being mentally there, always being focussed and making sure I am in top shape and confident in the car so I am in the best shape to win no matter what.”

Whilst he is still busy dealing with the other side of motorsport, negotiations, it is clear Casha wants to join Brown, Broc Feeney and Cam Hill as drivers who went from the Toyota 86 Series to Supercars.

“Supercars is the path we want to go and 86s is the perfect breeding ground,” he said.

“It is all about finding the funding because motorsport is expensive, so we just have to work things out and see what we can do.

“We are working things out and talking with a few people but it is a very tricky environment to navigate I guess.

“But we will keep working at it and see where we go.”

www.autoaction.com.au I 43

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NATIONALS WRAP

WALSHE GETS FIRST FUNNY CAR WIN AT THE BEND

JUSTIN WALSHE is the first ever to win a Nitro Funny Cars National Drag Racing Championship title at the new Dragway at The Bend.

Walshe took a hole-shot win over championship leader Morice McMillin with a 5.012 second pass.

With a top speed of 494.78kph, he trumped McMillin’s 4.989/478.87kph effort in a side-by-side battle that will have an impact on the championship at the halfway mark.

It was their second matchup of the day after they faced off in the first round when McMillin got up.

But Walshe said he gave it everything.

“I had a real crack at the tree,” he said.

“I knew that Morice was having problems, and we knew we had the quicker car, but we have also had some tricky conditions across the class today.

“I kind of flirted with it (a red light) a bit but we got it done and that is what matters,” said Walshe, who had a brilliant 0.002 reaction time.

“This is all about the team, this isn’t me, this is the team, I can’t do this without every single person on our crew.”

In the B Final Brandon Gosbell took third place honours with a solo 5.269 second pass at 387.7kph.

Earlier in the day the ‘One Bad Kiwi’ mistakenly celebrated a world record time in Round 2 before it was discovered the time was incorrect due to a fault in the timing system’s guard beam.

Anthony Begley also had issues, hitting the sand at the end of his Round 2 run when the throttle stuck open, which meant he could not participate in the B Final.

Benny Stevens overcame a problematic Saturday to secure another Top Fuel Motorcycle victory.

Stevens built his championship lead by beating Greg Durack having been too good for Corey Buttigieg in the opening round prior to a Round 2 solo.

The victor was pleased to be on top after a frustrating campaign.

“It was a bit of a difficult weekend for us tuning wise,” Stevens explained.

“We tried a few different things in the Harley and just couldn’t get away from running six-sixties.

“We were putting power in, we were taking it out, playing with the clutch – we just couldn’t seem to come to terms with the conditions.

“On a lot of laps the bike was moving around over the track and more or less hazing the tyre.

“When we went out for the final we took a heap of power out of it and a heap of clutch out to make sure we could get from A to B. “We dropped cylinders at the 1000ft, but we still came away with the win against Greg Durack and have another trophy on the shelf, so it is a happy day.”

Defending champion Rob Cassar had to settle for B Final honours after edging out top qualifier Damian Muscat with a better reaction time.

After recording a 5.763 second pass at 400.52kph, John Zappia was tearfully presented with the Gold Christmas Tree after beating Russell Taylor.

However, his joy was short lived, later disqualified due to a crew member touching the injector hat he was spraying

while Zappia was in full stage. As a result the win went to Taylor.

Earlier, Zappia took a Round 1 solo win before getting the better of Adam Tassone in a side-by-side Round 2 battle.

However, Taylor was the top qualifier after beating Ronnie Palumbo and Matt Abel who both red lit.

The B Final saw husband and wife fight head to head with Lisa and Daniel Gregorini squaring off.

Lisa won the bragging rights with a 5.932 ET to his 5.97.

Tassone and Palumbo battled in the C Final which went to the ACDelco Monaro after Tassone got out of shape off the line.

The Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship was also on hand, with the victories going to Sean Maher (Super Sedan), Cory Dyson (Modified), Lachlan Walker (Junior Dragster), Bob Sherry (Supercharged Outlaws), Briane Keane (Super Street), Lucas Neagoe (Modified Bike), Chris Allen (Competition Bike), Steve Norman (Super Stock), Glenn Henley (Top Sportsman), and Matt Forbes (Competition).

The biggest cheers were saved for Forbes, who became the first Australian national championship competitor to win national events in five different championship brackets – Super Gas, Modified, Top Sportsman, Super Stock, and now Competition Eliminator.

“To get the fifth win is huge. It is not a relief; it is more a celebration. We have been trying to do it for a while and we have worked really hard. We didn’t know if it would happen this weekend or in a month’s time or never – Competition Eliminator is a super tough class as they all are,” Forbes said.

The NDRC action continues thick and fast from here, with the Australia Day Nationals at Sydney Dragway this weekend (Jan 26/27) to be followed by the South Coast Rumble at South Coast Raceway on February 3 and 4.

Thomas Miles

Walshe v McMillin in the NFC final. Above: Winner Walshe. Left (top to bottom): Benny Stevens took out Top Fuel Bike; Zappia – Doorslammer ... penalised; Bob Sherry won Supercharged Outlaws; Junior Dragster went to Lachlan Walker.

Images: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY

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MACEDO SNATCHES AVALON NAILBITER THE FIRST ever Avalon International looked destined to be headed to Jack Goodyer, but some late drama saw Carson Macedo (above) prevail over an unlucky Marcus Dumesny and quick Cameron Waters.

Having soared from pole position, Goodyer looked unbeatable, dominating 28 of the 35 laps.

However, with seven laps to go the big crowd were stunned as the Australian champion suddenly slowed to a stop at Turn 4 due to a suspected driveline issue.

He was just one of 10 cars that could not reach the finish in a tense war of attrition.

This inherited the lead to Dumesny for the sevenlap sprint to the chequered, but on the second trip through Turn 2 after the final restart he hit a rut which saw the #N47 bounce out of the lead.

The airborne moment provided the perfect opportunity for a charging Macedo to pounce and he swooped into a lead he did not let go, eventually winning by 1.5s over a shattered Dumesny.

Having started seventh, the American possessed great race pace, especially at the restarts and made the most of each opportunity that came his way to lead Dumesny home by 1.5s.

Avalon is turning into a happy hunting ground for Macedo, who also won at Speedweek and said car pace was the key.

“Sometimes you need to be a bit more lucky than good but I felt like my car was really fast,” the Dyson Motorsport racer said post race.

“That was a crazy race – so many guys fell out.

“We started seventh but had a really good start and did enough to get the win. It was pretty incredible.”

The pace of Dumesny and Goodyer was clear from the outset as they topped qualifying with the Valvoline machine edging ahead with a 12.53s time.

However, it was Goodyer who snatched pole by flying around the outside and dominating the short Dash for Pole race.

Earlier the pair both took crushing heat wins while Aaron Ruetzel and Supercars star Waters were also victorious.

The second heat was disrupted by a huge crash at the drop of the green flag between Justin Peck and Dane Court which resulted in the American rolling heavily on the approach to Turn 1.

Grant Stansfield won the B Dash as Corey McCullagh overcame some late yellows and a less dramatic B Main 2 was taken out by Peter Doukas.

All eyes then turned to the 35-lap feature which started slow but became more exciting as it approached the finish.

Goodyer charged into an early lead as the top five positions were unchanged for the first six laps before Waters and Macedo started wrestling for fourth until McCullagh suffered a rollover.

Before too long Goodyer rebuilt his handy lead as Waters and Macedo went side by side through Turns 1 and 2.

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West Coast Classic podium – Cockerill, winner West, Watts.

McFadden had a firm grip on third and was challenging Dumesny for second until his Hodges Motorsport machine came to a sudden stop on the exit of Turn 2 on lap 17.

Once being pulled to the infield, the team had a close look at the rear end of the car before trying to rejoin the race only for the #D5 to be unable to fire up.

With 18 to go the intensity stepped up as Macedo stole third from Waters at the restart in an important move.

A string of cautions inside the final 10 laps started when Hallett’s charge from 16th to seventh ended with an engine issue.

Two laps later, Jamie Veal spun out from the top five. After nearly sticking the nose down the inside of Waters, he did a complete 360 and dropped to ninth before eventually reclaiming sixth.

After another restart that Goodyer blitzed, it looked that he was unbeatable until he came to a stop at Turn 4.

This set up a seven-lap dash to the flag Macedo overcame Dumseny and Waters, while Frost had soared from last to fourth.

Dumesny was shattered not to get the win.

“Painful is an understatement. It was just not meant to be,” he said.

“I was going through those ruts all day and I would rather end up how we were the other week because at least we went out on top.

“We have been busting our arse trying to get on the top step and I am sure we will get there.”

Modified Production The West Coast Classic was also on the line with drivers battling it out for one of the longest standing Modified Production titles in Victoria.

The 20-lap feature was all about one man and one car, Graham West and his LJ Torana.

West led every lap to cruise to the title while it was a more intense battle for second with Calvin Watts coming from seventh to secure second ahead of Darren Cockerill.

The Presidents Cup has been rescheduled to Wednesday, January 24.

Thomas Miles

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SPEEDWAY

UL PHOTOGRAPHY Image: MATTHEW PA

THOMSEN DEFENDS STATE TITLE SCOTT THOMSEN (above) put his Queensland Wingless Sprintcar Title on the line at Toowoomba Speedway and defended it in style.

Drivers came from as far away as Victoria and NSW to try and take the title home but, starting from pole, Thomsen was too good.

From the green, Thomsen stayed on the bottom and settled into a lead as Luke Weel slipped past Jason Bates for second.

Dillon Siely soon seized third as Ben Manson broke the torque tube out of his car bringing out a caution.

From the restart, Thomsen got away smoothly with Weel going with him before switching to the top and driving around the outside.

Thomsen then stepped it up in response, stood on the throttle, and pulled away to reclaim the lead and score a fifth Queensland Title.

Luke Wilkinson started strongly, leading the first 10 laps of the Street Stock feature.

He then controlled the second half of the race to lead home Ben Langton, despite the latter having a massive look around the outside as Darren Ciesiolka finished third.

As a result, Wilkinson leads the points race over Ken Iseppi. Street Stocks will return to HI-Tec-Oils Toowoomba Speedway on February 24.

The Production Sedan Championship points race has begun to heat up as Chris Pagel, Kaine Richters and Hayden Turner were locked in a frantic battle with six laps remaining.

In the end, the positions remained unchanged as Pagel led them home and hopes to do the same when the Queensland Title comes to Toowoomba on February 10.

In the Formula 500 Forza Challenge, Liam Williams won the feature race from Brodie Davis and Wayne Jukes. They kept a hard charging Bailey Leeson off the podium.

David Budden

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Oldfield came from P4 to win. Right: Podium – l to r – Brodie Davis, Luke Oldfield, Jock Goodyer. Images: TONY POWELL PHOTOGAPHY.

OLDFIELD LOVES LISMORE

LUKE OLDFIELD continued his love affair with Lismore Speedway by driving to victory lane in the Lil Aussie Open.

Despite the likes of Lachlan McHugh, Aaron Reutzel and Jock Goodyer getting better starts, Oldfield saved his pace for when it mattered to charge on the high line to the $10,000 prize on offer in the midweek 410 Sprintcar race.

The #Q17 settled into fourth during the opening laps as McHugh shot into the lead and Aussie champion Goodyer and American Reutzel wrestled for second.

Smoke actually appeared from Oldfield’s car, but by lap seven he was looking racey and climbed up to third with a smart move around the outside as Reutzel dropped out of contention after a lap four skirmish.

This left Oldfield and Randall to wrestle for third behind McHugh and Goodyer and it was the #USA9 that prevailed.

However, Oldfield nailed an aggressive move around the outside of Turns 1 and 2 on

lap 10 to steal third.

Two laps later it was Goodyear who was caught napping. The Aussie champion slipped from second to fourth when he was trapped in lapped traffic at Turn 3. This allowed McHugh to open up a comfortable lead.

But he did not have the same pace as Oldfield, who found himself alongside the #Q74 with just 13 laps to go.

The pace of the #Q17 proved irresistible with Oldfield on fire on the high line, swooping past McHugh and into the lead.

As Oldfield pressed on and left McHugh behind, Randall danced his chances of also displacing the #Q74.

But his attempt was not so successful, ending up in the wall on the exit of Turn 2 with 10 to go.

McHugh managed to emerge unscathed but was left with a flattened front wing as racing resumed.

Despite dominating the first half of the

race, McHugh’s promising night came to an early end when he was involved in a lapped competitor’s incident on lap 24 which ended with Tony Bridge barrel rolling at Turn 2.

This set up a six-lap dash to the flag and a fast restart ensured Oldfield was never troubled on his way to another Lismore win.

He led home Goodyer by 0.9s while 3s adrift was Brodie Davies rounding out the podium.

Thomas Miles

Mitch Foster (4) v Josh Thomas contested Standard Saloons.

Above: Darren Adams – Limited Sportsmans.

Images: DMT Sports Media

RAIN DISRUPTS BAIRNSDALE BASH MOTHER NATURE prevailed at the January 13 race meeting at Bairnsdale Speedway.

Persistent rain ensured racing was unable to take place, but cars still hit the dirt and qualifying races took place ensuring class winners could be determined based on points.

The Junior Standard Saloon competition was extremely competitive with four drivers taking wins in each race.

River Paterson emerged on top of the points after he, Noah Collette, Tom Braz and Dylcan Sweet took the quali races.

Ladies Standard Saloon competition finished with Bree Walker locking in a third victory for the season so far.

On the way she won two of the three heat races with Simon Taylor taking the other.

Division Two Hot Rod racers had another steer as they ready themselves for their state title also and Jordan Haley showed good form.

He won two of the three heat races with Fraser Crittenden securing the other.

As a result Haley came out on top in his

first sight of Bairnsdale Speedway this season.

Mitch Foster claimed the points victory in Standard Saloons action with Jack Braz finishing second.

Six heat races made up the qualifying for the class with Braz (twice), Jamie Curtis, Foster (twice) and Thomas the winners of those events.

Competitors will be back on January 27 for the Victorian Speedway Council Junior Standard Saloon title.

Dean Thompson

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Cooper Antone, battles with Hayden Pascoe and Blake Schlein.

Image: PARIS CHARLES

Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

MUSARRA TAKES SPECIAL LATE MODEL SUCCESS ROD MUSARRA (above) was on the cusp of giving up the sport recently and he is now a national Late Models champion.

Musarra clinched the crown at Perth Motorplex despite suffering a right rear puncture coming out of the final corner and crawling over the line.

He did enough to win the 2024 Late Model Nationals race by seven-tenths over Joe Chalmers and Warren Oldfield.

They emerged at the front of the field after a tense tyre war of attrition where just 11 of the 24 cars made it to the chequered flag after the 30-lap finale.

Just one of the hard luck stories was defending champion Brent Vosbergen, who looked destined for back-to-back wins only to suffer a right rear puncture

with just five laps left.

After winning the preliminary races, Kye Blight started on pole and controlled the field for the first five laps as eventual winner Musarra started fifth and immediately dropped down to ninth.

Reigning champion Vosbergen looked ominous by jumping from fourth to second and setting his sights on Blight.

The #A1 hunted down the #31 on lap six to snatch the lead and looked unbeatable as he enjoyed the next 19 laps untroubled.

In the meantime, Musarra had begun his fightback getting into the top four by lap 17 as Brad Blake spun.

Three laps later he picked off both

Blight and Joe Chalmers from second and third respectivel.

This ensured Musarra was in the perfect spot to be the beneficiary from Vosbergen’s misfortune when the #A1’s tyre let go.

He was not the only high profile driver to have tyre troubles with a flat also taking out Blight from second with just three laps to go.

Even leader Musarra had a puncture at the final corner but he crept to the chequered flag to secure a special win ahead of Chalmers and Warren Oldfield, who started 12th and charged to third as many found trouble during the dramatic final laps.

Thomas Miles

ANTONE ALL THE WAY IN SA

A NINE and a half hour trip from New South Wales did not deter Cooper Antone from claiming the 2024 South Australian Under 16 Speedway 125cc Solo Championship at Wingfield.

Going into the final, Antone had qualified second, with Kobi Canning on pole and Hayden Pascoe from gate three while Blake Schlein, did it the hard way by winning the last chance B Final.

The first attempt to get the final race underway saw a nasty opening corner crash where Schlein left Pascoe with no room as Hayden landed heavily on the former.

Fortunately, both were able to restart – as the tapes flew Antone again got the better of Canning to lead the entire four lap journey with Schlein and Pascoe rounding out the podium.

Paris Charles

MILLER AND FOWLER WIN AT NYORA DAMIEN MILLER has won the first of two major Sports Sedan feature events this season at Nyora Raceway whilst Chris Fowler won the Grand Prix Midgets.

Other winners on the night included Kacey Ingram from Warragul in Standard Saloons, Ally Moore in Lightning Sprints, Tristan Jarred a local Nyora resident in Top Star Juniors, and Jaylen Knight in New Star Juniors.

A 20-lap feature event saw the top three in the field evenly spread out with Miller holding a four-second buffer in front of Marcus Reddecliffe and then a further four-second buffer back to Simon Bent in third as the favoured Scott Angus was unable to finish.

There was high drama in the Grand Prix Midgets feature where two of the race favourites would come a cropper and find themselves infield in Peter Robotham and Terry Brown.

This allowed Fowler to storm to a sevensecond victory over Travis Florrimell, Paul Perry, Shaun Ward, and Johnny Rouse.

Kacey Ingram set about lodging a new 15-lap record for the Standard Saloon

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Chris Fowler took out the Midget feature.

Damien Miller shows the way in Sports Sedans. Images: DMT Sports Media class as he held out Andrew Miles who was on his tail.

Owen Cecil had a tight battle with Chris Miles whilst Justin Prins returned to the track and sat in fifth for much of the race.

Ingram claimed the win as the chequered flag dropped with Andrew

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Miles, Cecil, Chris Miles, and Prins the top five.

Lightning Sprints returned to action with Heathcote racer Ally Moore continuing to shine behind the wheel.

Moore and Aaron Bell went at it again and the standout drivers gapped

everybody else in the feature event.

Moore taking the honours from Bell with Lynn in third place and Liz Peach the only other finisher in fourth.

Junior Sedan racers competed together in the Speedway Sedans Victoria class and, in the feature race event, three drivers hit the front of the field and gapped the rest.

Tristan Jarred went on to claim victory leaving Jaylen Knight to settle for second as the top New Star categorised racer.

She finished in front of Luke Morrison, Blake Beach, Dayne Murdoch and Maddison Beach for the top five in that categorisation.

Dean Thompson

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SPEEDWAY

WILLIAMSON STEALS USA V WA CROWN ACROSS SIX action-packed races, travelling American stars took on the locals, and a home hero prevailed in a dramatic end to the USA v WA Sprintcar Speedweek.

Heading into the Perth Motorplex finale, American Rico Abreu held a slim eightpoint lead over returning WA racer Callum Williamson.

But the tables turned in dramatic style as the championship leaders clashed during a thrilling 30-lap race that brought down the curtain on the six-race season.

The pair were in a middle of a three-way tussle for third with eventual race winner Brad Sweet, but came to blows on the exit of Turn 2 immediately after an early restart.

Williamson and Abreu were both running high outside the opening left hander with the West Australian in front of the American.

On corner exit the front left of Abreu climbed over the rear of his championship rival, sending the leading #24 out of control and into the path of an innocent Dyane Kingshott and eventually the inside wall.

Despite the best efforts of the team they were not able to fix the heavily bent front left in time. ending Abreu’s race.

After the clash Williamson simply had to finish to snatch the title and he did it in style, coming in just 0.5s behind winner Sweet in second.

Having won earlier at Perth, plus also registering a pair of seconds, a third, fourth and an eighth, Williamson was consistent enough to claim the title by 32 points over Abreu.

“Its great to get the title. It was a shame Rico and I came together,” Williamson said.

“It has been a lot of fun over the six

meetings. I definitely tested myself more than I ever have racing these guys and glad I could be consistent.

“I have to give it to the crew because they kept making sure it was quick enough.”

Hot and humid conditions greeted competitors for the big race and Williamson made his intentions clear early.

He was second-fastest in his qualifying group before winning both his heat and A Dash races to secure pole position.

The preliminary races did not go troublefree as Jaydee Dack’s night ended early after a clash with Trent Pigdon.

Mitchell Wormall was also an early casualty, with a horrific crash during the heats which unfortunately left him with three fractured vertebrae.

When the A Main arrived, it crawled into life as the opening laps were disrupted by a flurry of cautions.

The first was caused by Cory Eliason who spun from third. At the restart Jason Kendrick took charge as Williamson also fell behind Zearfoss and Sweet before a

multi-car crash involving Taylor Milling, Ryan Lancaster, Tim King and Kris Coyle brought out the reds at Turn 1.

When racing returned, Kendrick retained his lead as Sweet, Williamson and Abreu commenced their title-changing fight for third on the road.

Abreu completed a major slide job on both Sweet and Williamson at Turn 3, only to be under threat two corners later, where the championship contenders clashed.

It was a sad way for Abreu’s brilliant Speedweek and the championship fight to end.

As Abreu’s crew desperately but unsuccessfully tried to repair the damaged #24, Kendrick retained track position as both Sweet and Williamson picked off Zearfoss before Bradley Maiolo brought out yet another caution.

After four stoppages in three laps, fans finally enjoyed a stretch of green flag racing and Williamson initially struggled, falling to fourth after whacking the Turn 2 wall.

On lap 10 Kendrick’s strong lead

evaporated when he was caught wide across turns 1 and 2 which allowed both Zearfoss, Sweet and Williamson to fly past.

A lap later it was clear the #11 had no traction and his promising race was suddenly over.

The next challenge for the leaders was picking off lapped traffic and Zearfoss initially did a brilliant job at slicing his way through.

His momentum was stopped when Eliason and Cameron Mckenzie triggered back to back yellows, setting up an 11-lap showdown.

Zearfoss stayed in front until lap 23 when Sweet dived down the inside at Turn 3 after a big run up the back straight.

Two laps later Williamson also picked off the #95 to steal second, but their battle was far from straight forward and was only settled following a side-by-side game of chicken at Turn 3.

Sweet appeared to enjoy a handy lead but suddenly that disappeared at the death with Williamson on his bumper on the back straight of the final lap.

Fans held their breath as the eventual champion gave it everything for the win, but he got “too excited and spun the wheels” firing his right rear square into the wall on the exit of the final corner.

Sweet kept him at bay to get a third win in five starts by half a second with Zearfoss settling for third.

Although the USA v WA Speedweek is all over, the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series resumes at Bunbury Speedway on Saturday, February 3.

Thomas Miles

USA V WA Speedweek championship points: 1: Callum Williamson 862, 2: Rico Abreu 830, 3: Dayne Kingshott 830, 4: Brock Zearfoss 818, 5: Kaiden Manders 796 Callum Williamson survived the late tangle with Abreu to take the series win.

Opposite: Series podium – l to r – Abreu, Williamson, Kongshott. Acgion aplenty, but tough news for Jadee Dack ...

Above: Brad Sweet completed his third win from five starts in the series.

Images by RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

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Sheldon Haudenschild (left and below left) hit the front and drove away to win. Below: Kerry Madsen got the best of a scrap for second.

Images by RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

HAUDENSCHILD TAKES KINGS CHALLENGE CROWN BACK TO AMERICA SHELDON HAUDENSCHILD became the first American to win the Kings Challenge at Borderline Speedway in more than a decade.

After brake issues took out early leader Randall, Haudenschild drove away from his rivals to win by a convincing 4.2s margin over Kerry Madsen in the A-Main to charge towards the Grand Annual Classic with plenty of momentum, while Jy Corbet flew from 18th to third.

He is the first driver from the USA to win Mount Gambier’s biggest race since Jason Johnson back in 2012 and the fifth American overall, joining Phil Grossman, Donny Schatz, Daryl Pittman and Johnson.

Haudenschild was in a league of his own, being the only driver to clock a 12s lap during the 30-lap A Main and said he felt at home at Borderline.

It was an action-packed night full of drama from major players tangling in the heats to favourites forced to fight back from the back foot.

In qualifying the track got faster after each run with Brock Zearfoss, Carson Macedo, Chase Randall, Callum Williamson, Grant Anderson and Luke Dillon topping their respective time trial groups.

The fastest of all was Dillon, who posted a 10.631, a huge two-tenths faster than the next best Haudenschild.

No less than 12 heats entertained the crown with Jordyn Charge, Macedo, Randall, Madsen, Grant Anderson, and Dillon the winners of the first six respectively.

The next set saw Australian champion Jock Goodyer taste success alongside Taylor Prosser, Jamie Bricknell, Randy Morgan, Brock Hallett and Ben Morris.

High drama occurred in Heat 4 when, behind winner Madsen, big names Lachlan McHugh and American star Rico Abreu clashed.

The pair had completed the first lap and

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a half side-by-side, fighting for third, until they made wheel-to-wheel contact at Turn 3, sending the 2021 Kings Challenge winner flipping into the catch fence.

But there was no bigger victim than Matt Egel, who was unfortunately not only ruled out of the Kings Challenge, but also the entire Grand Annual Classic weekend due to the chassis damage inflicted from a hit in the top of the cage.

In the C Main, Daniel Pestka gave his local Port McDonnell-based team something to cheer about, while Goodyer blazed his way to an important B-Main win over Jy Corbet and Matt Dumesny to secure their places in the main event, albeit forced to start at the rear end of the grid, which did not stop them from having an impact.

At the start of the 30-lap main event, for the Kings Challenge crown, Randall led out of Turn 1 but only briefly as Dillon got a great exit from the second left-hander and stormed into the lead up the back straight.

However, Dillon responded at the same part of the track a lap later as Madsen fended off Anderson and Haudenschild for third with poleman Anderson fading to fifth.

There was also plenty of action deeper in

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the field with the likes of McFadden, Goodyer, Waters, Dumsney and many more fighting like crazy to get into the top 10.

Haudesnchild made good use of the high line to claw into the top three past Madsen as Randall opened up some breathing space on Dillon.

Before too long, Dillon lost two spots in as many corners after being ganged up by the #USA25 and Madsen.

By lap 8, Haudenschild had already caught leader Randall and two laps later he swooped down the inside at Turn 3.

It appeared the #USA25 would be unbeatable but a small mistake, clipping the wall on the exit of Turn 2, allowed Randall to regain control.

The Americans continued their tense battle for the lead until the mid-race caution arrived when some of the big chargers came unstuck.

Goodyer had started down in 17th but charged all the way up to seventh until he was wiped out in a big crash on the back straight.

Despite the slow start Anderson had held fifth until he found the fence on the exit of Turn 2.

This sent the #V37 barrel rolling down the back straight and neither Goodyer or Carson Macedo could avoid the crashed car.

Goodyer was out on the spot with the impact taking out his right rear, while Macedo was able to continue with a damaged wing.

To add to the drama, Randall pulled into the infield and out of the lead during the caution with major brake issues.

This promoted Haudenschild to the lead with 16 to go, with Madsen and Dillon in behind.

Despite having started 18th, Corbet climbed his way into the top five and would eventually snatch third away from Dillon after a thrilling battle where they exchanged places four times.

Up front, Hadenschild had grown a comfortable gap but it almost all disappeared when he almost spun whilst trying to avoid the lapped Macedo. He enjoyed the remaining three laps untroubled to claim the Kings Challenge crown convincingly.

Four seconds separated each of the top three, with Madsen and hard-charger Corbet fighting hard to be on the podium, while Cory Eliason and Dillon kept McFadden, who was chasing a Kings Challenge hat-trick, out of the top five. Thomas Miles 2024 KINGS CHALLENGE RESULTS 1 S. Haudenschild 11:27.883 2 K. Madsen +4.201 3 J. Corbet +8.810 4 C. Eliason +9.807 5 L. Dillon +9.879

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SPEEDWAY

REUTZEL REIGNS SUPREME IN CRAZY CLASSIC THE 51ST edition of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic was a chaotic one with three reds and numerous cautions pushing the finish beyond midnight. At the end of it all, Aaron Reutzel reigned supreme.

On a night full of drama, Reutzel survived the carnage to become the first American since Kyle Hurst in 2015 to take the big one at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway by keeping last year’s winner Brock Hallett at bay by seven-tenths.

But that was just the beginning of a dramatic race as the driver who was beaten at the final corner last year, Sheldon Haudenschild, suffered another heartbreaking story of what could have been.

Haudenschild controlled the early laps until a crash wiped out both himself and James McFadden on lap nine.

They were just some of the victims in an attritional 40-lapper where just half of the 26-car field reached the chequered flag.

Although Reutzel controlled the race from Haudenschild’s crash onwards, the Texan revealed it was far from an easy drive and was relieved to take the famous race.

“It is unreal to win the Classic, the Knoxville Nationals of Australia,” he said in victory lane.

“We came here last year and had some bad luck and we were super, super fast early and who knows what would have happened with Sheldon and James there.

“But I felt like I was pressuring Sheldon

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and he got up running hard and luckily I didn’t get caught up in it.

“There is no bigger stage here and this is definitely in the top two of my accomplishments.”

NIGHT ONE - WARNING SIGNS

REUTZEL MADE his intentions clear as early as the opening night of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

The first batch of the 100-plus car field opened the three-night meeting on Friday which soon turned into a party for the USA. However, initially Kerry Madsen was flying the flag for Australia and led the early laps

of the opening A Main.

Reutzel sat third during the opening laps but soared into second after launching a move on Brendan Quinn at Turn 3.

After a second caution due to an incident between Kaidon Brown and Luke Oldfield, Reutzel sensed an opportunity to pounce on Madsen at the restart.

After running side-by-side for two corners, the American pounced on the low line to snatch the lead with 24 to go.

It became academic as Madsen’s #W2 suffered a smoky retirement with 23 to go.

As Reutzel cruised to victory, his compatriots went on the charge.

With Jamie Veal crashing out of third, Chase Randall was safe in second after starting 10th, while Hallett was third – but Rico Abreu was flying.

With five to go Abreu completed his charge from 13th to third having recovered from an earlier engine change and ensuring an allAmerican podium.

NIGHT TWO - BATTLE OF THE OUTLAWS

THE SATURDAY night spotlight was dominated by World of Outlaws stars Haudesnchild and McFadden, who set a hot pace in pursuit of victory.

Before their battle for the Night 2 A-Main, there was plenty of action in the heats as Brock Zearfoss passed Callum Williamson on the final lap to take victory, while Jesse Attard literally threw his steering wheel at Dane Court twice after seeing a heat win slip away ...

When the main 20-lap race arrived, McFadden was on pole ahead of Luke Dillon and the Hodges Motorsport machine powered into the lead as some big names got taken out.

WA v USA Speedweek champion Callum Williamson lost control from third coming into Turn 3 and had a light roll after contact with Justin Peck at corner entry.

But there was further drama as Australian champion Jock Goodyer was caught up in a separate incident with Daniel Pestka and Bobby Daly further down, at Turn 4.

McFadden’s early advantage was quickly wiped out by a lap seven caution and Haudenschild pounced at the restart.

As McFadden was busy picking off the lapped Will Carroll between Turns 3 and 4, the American got a rapid exit and used all of

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Reutzel avoided the carnage and drove to a solid Classic win. Below: A big, big crowd showed up for a classic Classic! Bottom: Sheldon Haudenschild took out the Night 2 A-Main though, (far left) he bounced back from hitting the wall and took out McFadden (5) in the Classic ... Left top: A tyre deflation took Chase Randall a Classic podium. Left: The Classic podium ... Opposite bottom: McFadden takes a turn at the head of the field. Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

his momentum to slingshot down the inside and into the lead with 15 to go. McFadden fought hard but fell 1.4s short, while Marcus Dumesny lost third due to an exploding right rear, promoting Carson Macedo.

NIGHT THREE - CLASSIC CARNAGE A BIG crowd settled in for a big night of racing that delivered, with the daredevils on the dirt action keeping going well past midnight at Premier Speedway.

A fast track and sunny skies greeted competitors and, following the six heats, Haudenschild landed the first blow by beating McFadden and Reutzel to the Gold Scramble win.

The likes of Jamie Veal and Jock Goodyer had to secure their spots for the big one

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through the B-Main and did what was required by taking comfortable wins.

The 26-car field was now set to chase the $40,000 prize across 40 laps with World of Outlaws rivals Haudenschild and McFadden on the front row.

Despite having heavyweights Reutzel and McFadden either side of him, Haudenschild held firm in the middle and took the lead as the #USA87 made it an American 1-2.

But only one lap was possible before the first red after Peter Doukas and Chad Ely had a big crash at Turn 2.

This set the tone for a heavily disrupted Classic as a second red arrived four laps later when USA v WA Speedweek champion Callum Williamson came unstuck.

Within seconds of the third restart, the yellows were waved when Justin Peck was rotated from sixth.

Finally some extended green flag racing was possible at the fourth time of asking and a tussle for the lead emerged. Earlier Haudenschild had looked untroubled but, after the restart, Reutzel had pace to burn and was all over the back of the #USA25, using both the top and bottom to be a threat.

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After five pressurised laps, Haudenschild cracked and lost it between Turns 3 and 4, whacking the outside wall.

In another dramatic twist, the #USA25 rebounded back towards the racing line and directly into the path of an unlucky McFadden.

With the cars sitting a strong first and third suddenly wiped out, the seas parted for Reutzel, who enjoyed a clear path into the lead.

Racing resumed with 31 laps remaining with an American 1-2-3 as Randall and Cory Eliason sat ahead of top Aussie Hallett.

An extended green flag run finally arrived and Lachlan McHugh made the most of it, having continued his charge from outside the top 10 towards the podium highlighted by a storming move around the outside of Madsen.

Before too long he was up to fourth as Eliason was the latest high-profile retirement, dropping out of the top three due to a flat tyre.

As the race crept towards the halfway mark, lapped traffic started to make life difficult for Reutzel as Randall hunted him down.

But just as the #USA9 looked to threaten for the lead, his tyre also gave way and sent him into the Turn 2 fence.

Another driver who had impressed against the big boys all weekend was Supercars star Cameron Waters. Despite being in an unfamiliar environment, the Chief Racing driver worked his way from 15th into the top 10 until his #V6 became the next to find the concrete.

The drama was not over as a third red flag arrived with 15 to go when Brock Zearfoss crashed out in the #83 Danny Lasoski tribute livery.

It was the final stoppage of the night as the remainder of the race went green to the chequered.

Determined Aussies Hallett and McHugh were hungry to make a late-race challenge, but those hopes were shut down as Reutzel blazed ahead with a strong restart.

All eyes had turned to Goodyer as he completed his charge from 20th to the top five after he picked off Madsen.

Veal did the same to climb from a similar starting position of 19th all the way up to fourth.

Although Reutzel enjoyed an untroubled run to the chequered, he revealed it was no simple task behind the wheel as his tyres just held on.

“Luckily we had the lead at the end because we really fell apart. I was struggling at the end,” he said.

But the Cessar Motorsport machine got there to ensure Reutzel was the 28th winner of the Classic ending the Americans’ nine-year drought.

Thomas Miles

GRAND ANNUAL CLASSIC RESULTS 1 A. Reutzel 37:52.276 2 B. Hallett +0.724 3 L. McHugh +2.537 4 J. Veal +3.687 5 J. Goodyer +4.570

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INTERNATIONAL

Al Azhari leads the F4 field on the opening lap.

Images: UAE FORMULA 4

SLATER BUILDS LEAD

FREDDIE SLATER retained his advantage at the top of the Formula 4 UAE Championship after a competitive second round at the Yas Marina Circuit.

This was despite losing out to home hero Keanu Al Azhari, who battled hard to take out the lions share of wins in the second round at the Abu Dhabi track in as many weeks.

Slater and Al Azhari were the standouts throughout the weekend, taking P1 in all three races and Qualifying 2.

It was a tough weekend for the Australians with 17th the highest finish, by Jack Beeton for AGI Sport.

Although Slater and Al Azhari were the pace-setters all weekend, they were both beaten to pole, but only just.

The driver who found the ultimate one lap pace was Jamaican Alex Powell with a

1:55.736, which shaded Slater, Nikita Bedrin and Al Azhari as just 0.180s separated the top four.

Powell converted pole into an early lead, only for an early Safety Car to disrupt his momentum when Tina Hausmann, Enzo Yeh, Kean Nakamura and Al Azhari ran into trouble.

At the restart Slater took his chance, diving down the inside of Powell at the sweeping Turn 1.

Slater overcame a second Safety Car period, caused by Luka Sammalisto, to record a 2.3s win over Powell with Bedrin in third.

Having found trouble in the opener, Al Azhari was well placed to get redemption in the inverted top 10 Race 2.

Despite starting on the second row, Al Azhari hit the lead on the opening lap ahead

of Nakamura as the pair pressed on while a tight three-way battle emerged for third.

Racing did not last long before the Safety Car was deployed when Aussie Beeton suffered damage and Yeh retired with broken front left suspension.

From there Al Azhari was never troubled to win by 1.3s from Nakamura as Slater put in a charge to third.

The finale, under lights, was heavily interrupted by incidents with drama from the moment the flag dropped as fourth placed Powell stalled his Mumbai Falcons machine.

Everyone avoided the Jamaican as Al Azhari had to go on the defensive to stop Bedrin from taking the lead.

But a few corners later Dion Gowda and Beeton collided, bringing out the first Safety Car.

It returned on lap five and stayed in place for four laps due to Kamal Mrad, Everett, Stack and Alvise Rodella all retired.

In the meantime Slater had sewn up second behind Al Azhari as Bedrin slumped to seventh before the race finished under the Safety Car conditions following a collision between Maxi Restrepo and Yuhao Fu. The third round of the Formula 4 UAE Championship is at Dubai Autodrome on February 2-4.

Thomas Miles 2024 F4 UAE STANDINGS 1 F. Slater 52 points 2 K. Nakamura 39 3 K. Al Azhari 36 4 D. Fairclough 36 5 N. Bedrin 33

MUMBAI FALCONS FLY HIGH MUMBAI FALCONS Racing soared above all its challengers to control the opening round of the 2024 Formula 4 UAE Championship.

The season kicked off at the Yas Marina’ Circuit’s Corkscrew layout which Supercars used in 2010 and 2011 – and in 2024 Brit Freddie Slater stamped his authority.

The 15-year-old who started F4 last August took a win and a hat-trick of top four finishes to open the season with a healthy 13-point lead over teammate Kean Nakamura-Berta, while Jack Beeton was the highest Aussie, in sixth, having come agonisingly close to victory in the reverse grid race.

Keanu Al Azhari was dominant across one lap, topping both qualifying sessions by at least two-tenths.

However, Al Azhari was unable to retain track position and fell to fourth at the line which promoted Kean Nakamura-Berta into the lead.

But before too long, Al Azhari was on the comeback trail, picking off Alex Powell and Slater to salvage second in quick time.

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Aussie Jack Beeton leads the Race 2 ‘reverse-grid’ race.

However, by the end of the first lap Nakamura-Berta was already 1.5s up the road and would eventually win by 5.6s.

Attention then turned to the battle for second as Slater made a size on Al Azhari into Turn 6 but that fight was resolved when the Brit ran wide three corners later.

Beeton was the leading Aussie in 12th ahead of Peter Bouzinelos (25th) Kamal Mrad (27th) and Nicolas Stati (30th).

With Beeton coming home 12th, he enjoyed

pole position for the reverse grid Race 2.

The AGI Sport driver took full use of the opportunity and led the field through Turn 1 as Nikita Bedrin charged from fourth to second quickly.

Bedrin then started applying the pressure on Beeton until lap six when the Safety Car was required following Raphael Narac’s crash at Turn 15.

This was just some of the mid-pack drama as Rashid Al Dhaheri was spun by teammate

Doriane Pin, while Al Azhari retired with damaged suspension following a clash with Kean Nakamura-Berta.

At the restart Bedrin went on the attack and drew alongside Beeton, but the Aussie held firm on the inside line.

However, the battle hotted up on the final lap as a mistake at Turn 5 by Beeton proved costly, allowing Bedrin to slide past and take the win. Sadly the AGI Sport driver also lost second when Fairclough pulled off an aggressive move at the fast Turn 15, but a podium was still a strong result for the F4 South East Asia champion.

Al Zahari was determined to make pole count in Race 3 and retained track position from Slater despite running wide at the first turn.

Eventually he was forced to give the place back to Slater, who held on despite a late Safety Car caused by Kai Daryanani.

Beeton had a tough race and dropped to 27th, while Mrad impressed to be 13th ahead of Bouzinelos (19th) and Stati (21st).

Thomas Miles

F4 UAE • NEW ZEALAND

TAUPO OPENER FALLS TO BILINSKI THE 2024 CASTROL TOYOTA FORMULA REGIONAL OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIP HAS OPENED ITS FIVE-ROUND CAMPAIGN IN TAUPO, WITH POLISH YOUNG GUN ROMAN BILINSKI TAKING THE EARLY HONOURS. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

THE FIVE round championship with FIA points on offer started off with a 17 car grid, with nine countries represented across the board.

Among the junior formulae talent on offer is three Aussies, with FIA Formula 3 drivers Christian Mansell and Tommy Smith joined

by Elliot Cleary – the latter has just signed up for Brad Jones Racing’s Super2 program for 2024.

With the three races on offer at Taupo International Motorsport Park – culminating in the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy – the Round 1 honours fell to M2 Competition’s Roman Bilinski, with the Polish-British fresh off two seasons with Trident in the Formula Regional European Championship.

By winning two out the three races, the 19-year-old topped NZ talent and teammate Liam Sceats, whilst Aussie Mansell put in a solid shift for Giles Motorsport to hold third despite taking two podiums and a pole position across the weekend.

For the ART F3 Aussie, it could have been much more, but a post race penalty after a Race 2 retirement cost him pole for the finale, where he fought his way to second from fifth, placing him in a strong spot to challenge for the lead come Round 2 at Manfeild’s Circuit Chris Amon.

Here’s how the weekend unfolded…

Bilinski (4) and Mansell went toe-to-toe in the feature race, the Pole (bottom right) winning out. Below: Crosbie, leads Sceats and Smith into Turn 1 of the top-12 reverse grid Race 2.

QUALIFYING

IT WAS Mansell who claimed the first pole position on the championship in his #71 Tatuus FT-60 after putting in the fastest ever Taupo lap in the first practice session – while a minor Earthquake was also felt at the track (that’s NZ!). The championship was also utilising the Pirelli tyres for the first time.

In wet conditions Mansell took pole with a 1:26.763, seven-tenths quicker than Bilinski, with China’s Gerrard Xie in third.

RACE 1

IN WET conditions, Bilinski took first blood over Mansell, whilst the podium was rounded out by South Korean youngster Michael Shin, with M2 Motorsport taking two spots on the steps.

The Polish youngest was the only driver to avoid the slicks on a soggy but drying track, coming home by 6.131s over Mansell, and nine seconds over Shin.

From the green light, Mansell struggled for grip, with Bilinski taking advantage of the wheelspin to lead early, as the two duelled and broke away from the pack, with Shin and NZ’s Kaleb Ngatoa battling for third and fourth.

Whilst Mansell looked to have the pace to catch the leader as the racing line dried up, it was a minor error that let his challenge slip on Lap 18, as Bilinski skipped away,

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with Shin holding third after a race long battle with Ngatoa. Sceats, Xie, Smith, Alex Crosbie, Lucas Fecury, and Cleary made up the top-10.

RACE 2

THE SECOND stanza went the way of China’s Xie with a late pass on local driver Crosbie in a dramatic finish, with Bilinski also securing second late-on in the piece over Crosbie.

The reverse grid had Crosbie on pole at the green, leading Sceats and Smith early.

After the first yellow, the drivers with Pirelli experience came to the fore as the laps ticked down, with Xie and Bilinski closing the gap to the leader.

Whilst Mansell crashed out during the race with a second Safety Car coming out, Xie made a sensational move at the chicane after the restart to pass Crosbie, whom Bilinski also passed, with Xie taking it by 1.493s. Sceats, Patrick Woods-Toth, Nico Lacorte, Smith, Shin, Cleary, and Landan Matriano Lim rounded out the 10.

RACE 3

THE REBUILD from his Race 2 crash

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cost Mansell his second pole start, in the race dedicated to the memory of NZ F1 champion (1967) Denny Hulme, who passed away at the 1992 Bathurst 1000 after suffering a heart attack while at the wheel.

It was Bilinski who would claim the unique trophy (which has the actual trophy from his final F1 win in Argentina incorporated into its design).

Mansell took his second P2 of the weekend, only 0.552s behind the winner, with Sceats in third to claim second in the championship race.

Mansell was rampant early on, tucking under the wing of Sceats who led from pole, with Mansell then briefly leading whilst Bilinski sat patiently in third.

He took advantage of the front two having spent their tyre life in a tense tussle, and performed two skilful and brave passes to take the lead.

Mansell fought hard but to no avail and never left the Pole’s tail, but would fall short.

Regardless, his third for the weekend puts him in good stead heading into Manfeild.

Crosbie, Shin, Lacorte, Ngatoa, Titus Sherlock, Woods-Toth, and Cleary (his third top-ten) rounded out the 10.

REMAINING ROUNDS ROUND 2: Manfeild - Circuit Chris Amon Jan – 25-28 ROUND 3: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park – Feb 2-4 ROUND 4: Euromarque Motorsport Park -–Feb 9-11 ROUND 5: Highlands Motorsport Park – Feb 16-18 (68th NZ Grand Prix)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER 1 ROUND Bilinski 88 Sceats 63 Mansell 62 Shin 58 Crosbie 56

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INTERNATIONAL

‘EL MATADOR’ TAKES HIS FOURTH DAKAR

CARLOS SAINZ SNR BROKE HIS OWN RECORD TO CAPTURE A FOURTH DAKAR RALLY CARS VICTORY AT THE AGE OF 61, WHILST AMERICAN RICKY BRABEC TOOK HIS SECOND ON THE BIKES TO WRAP UP THE 46TH EDITION OF THE LEGENDARY RACE. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

AFTER 12 Stages and 7,967 km across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the historic twoweek slog saw the record books rewritten on several fronts.

Whilst Sainz took a fourth win with a fourth different manufacturer (Volkswagen, Peugeot, Mini, Audi) alongside navigator Lucas Cruz, it was also the first ever win in a hybrid vehicle in the competition’s history via Audi’s revolutionary RS Q e-Tron E2.

‘El Matador’ as he’s affectionately known – the father of F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jnr – also got it done without adding to his 47 career Dakar stage wins.

It’s his second win in Saudi Arabia after winning the first ever Middle East edition

(2020), with his other two coming in Argentina in 2010/2018.

He finished one hour 20 minutes and 25 seconds ahead of Overdrive Toyota’s Belgian debutant Guillaume de Mevius, whilst France’s Sebastien Loeb’s Dakar dream waits another year, with the nine-time WRC champion finishing third to take his fifth podium in eight attempts after a dubious retirement from his teammate left him to fight the Audis in a solo performance.

In the Bikes, 32 year-old Monster Energy Honda rider Ricky Brabec became the second American to win Dakar twice, four years after his last.

He took the reins toward victory in the

Team Audi ensured Carlos Sanz (Snr) swept to a conclusive win.

Opposite (top to bottom): The bike podium – Brabec, Branch, van Beveren; Loeb played a lone hand and was unable to match Team Audi; Branch snared a superb runner-up result for Hero motorcycles ...

Images: RED BULL CONTENT POOL, HONDA

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epic 48 hour Empty Quarter stages to win by 10min 53 sec over the Kalahari Ferrari in Ross Branch from Botswana (Hero Motorsports) whilst Brabec’s team-mate and Frenchman, Adrien Van Beveren, came in third – his first podium in nine attempts.

More history was made in the Challenger cars class, with Cristina Gutierrez becoming just the second woman to win a Dakar class, after Jutta Kleinschmidt was the first in 2001.

In the SSVs, after nine attempts via motorcycle and his second in auto, Xavier de Soultrait took narrow win racing for Loeb’s team to give the legendary Frenchman some consolation.

And lastly, in the trucks category, Martin Macik gave the Czech Republic its first Dakar win in 23 years.

In all, 239 of 340 vehicles reached the finishing line in Yanbu (96 of 132 bikes, seven of 10 quads, 55 of 70 Ultimate class cars, all three stock cars, 29 of 42 Challenger cars, 28 of 36 SSVs, and 21 of 47 trucks.

OLD MAN SAINZ WON’T GO QUIETLY

YOU COULD have forgiven Sainz – a twotime WRC champion – for retiring after he fractured two vertebrae in a crash at the 2023 event, but Dakar competitors are

DAKAR RALLY • XX

made of tough stuff, and the rally veteran ranks this as his best win.

He took the lead on Stage 6 after Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi crashed out, and his closest competitor, the French great Loeb came undone with mechanical woes.

“This car is so special, it’s so difficult to manage, it has been so difficult to make it work ... I’m so happy for Audi,” said Sainz.

“To be here with my age and to stay at the level, you need to work a lot before.

It’s not coming just like that. It shows that when you work hard, normally it pays off.

“At the moment I want to enjoy this victory and I will think about my future in the next weeks and we will see,” he concluded on any chance of retirement.

In Sainz’s favour, he essentially had an unlimited amount of spares and assistance with a three-Audi team surviving the race, whereas Loeb had limited help after last year, and five-time winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah retired in his Prodrive machine.

“At the end we didn’t have any chance against Team Audi. They were driving together. They had two cars helping Carlos. He was safe – he had three punctures yesterday,” Loeb said.

“I couldn’t have three punctures because I would stay stuck on the stage. So yeah. Fighting alone against a complete team like Audi is difficult.”

Starting out on the road to Al Henakiyah, Toyota’s Guillaume de Mevius was the shock early leader with Sainz close behind, whilst both Loeb and AlAttiyah were out of the top-10.

American Brabec took his second bike win while, below, Sainz’s win was his fourth – not bad for an old guy!

The second stanza saw the legendary Stephane Peterhansel (eight time winner) score his 50th Dakar stage win, but Loeb was a big mover to move within five minutes of Sainz into third.

After again losing big minutes on the rocky Stage 3, Loeb then stormed back to take the fourth, but it was Al Rajhi who had the lead on both Sainz and Loeb after the fifth after Sainz nursed his Audi into 16th on the stage.

Into the gruelling Empty quarter, Al Rajhi lost his lead with mechanical woes, as the Audis of Sainz and the fast-coming Mattias Ekstrom held the top-two in the general rankings, with Loeb starting to eat into the lead.

Loeb would take his third stage to move within 29 minutes of the lead, whilst the vast dunes claimed Ekstrom, who broke the left rear axle to drop out of contention.

Peterhansel and Ekström then topped the next stage to put themselves in a favourable position to assist Sainz the following day, whilst Loeb lost what he gained with a navigational era, leaving him needing four days error-free to be in with a shot, whilst Lucas Moraes and De Mevius held third and fourth.

As the road headed back to AlUla on Stage 9, Loeb took his fourth stage, but the ‘Audi Convoy’ was driving to protect Sainz, with ‘El Matador’ looking in the box seat.

Ekstrom then aided Sainz with tyres twice on the ninth stage, whilst Loeb sat 13 minutes back with three stages left and in need of a miracle.

The Stage 10 Alula loop proved disastrous for the podium sitters, with Moraes dropping from third to ninth, whilst Al Attiyah decided to retire, leaving Loeb completely on his own, with two punctures

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derailing any real hope against a clean bill of Audi health.

The penultimate run to Yanbu then saw Loeb break his front-wheel axle unit after 132 km, but he held onto third place, though his Dakar run was cooked, with the Audis finishing one-two-three in the final stage to ice it for Sainz.

BRABEC BACKS-UP HISTORY MAKING FIRST

AFTER BRABEC was the first American to win Dakar on the Bikes in 2020, the Californian Baja 1000 winner made it two in nine attempts for the Honda team.

At one stage he and Branch were separated by mere seconds, in what was a thrilling battle which resulted in the Botswana rider becoming the first Indian Motorcycle (HERO) to take a Dakar podium.

“I’m really happy to be here, it’s difficult to describe this feeling with words. The first win in 2020 was special as every first time … I was also the first American to make it,” Brabec said.

“We had a bigger advantage in 2020, while this time it was a tight duel till the end between me and Ross Branch, but also my teammates Nacho Cornejo and Adrien Van Beveren.

“The last 10 km gave me a chill the whole time. I was really happy I made it to the finish line. It was emotional. My body was shaking. I haven’t been nervous these last few days, I knew I had to hold myself together because the final sprint would not have been easy. You need to finish the race before celebrating.”

On the Australian front, Toby Price and Daniel Sanders finished fifth and eighth respectively, with Price finishing 45 min off

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autoactionmag

the lead behind his KTM teammate Kevin Benavides, in what may be the last Dakar on two wheels for the dual Aussie winner.

The rally also suffered a tragedy early on, with Spanish rider Carles Falcon losing his life in hospital a week after crashing in Stage 2.

Following the prologue, the bikes started their gruelling two weeks in the Province of Medina. Stage 1 also saw one the favourites in Spaniard Tosha Schareina bow out, with the Prologue winner crashing out after 240 km with a fractured arm, whilst Ross Branch took the early advantage.

Another fancied rider in Mason Klein went down with mechanical woes in the second, whilst Nacho Cornejo won the stage to move into P2 over Brabec.

Last year’s winner K. Benavides then topped the stage to Al Salamiya, with Brabec holding third, a little over 5 minutes back on Branch.

Cornejo’s navigational expertise then got him the overall lead with a second stage win with Honda looking the goods with Branch’s two crashes then seeing him lose his three minute advantage.

Branch and Brabec then swapped the overall lead over the following two stages, with only one second splitting them by Stage 8 coming out of the Empty Quarter, whilst Van Beveren found his way into third, and took Stage 9 to be 11 mins off the leading Honda.

Brabec’s Stage 10 triumph saw him extend his lead to over 10 minutes from Branch whilst Van Beveren also secured second place.

Branch then took the penultimate stage, but could only eat 32sec off the lead with Brabec in second, whilst the pursuing Frenchman (who kept third) had a scare when he rode into a pack of camels and came off his bike.

Brabec then eased home in the finale, which finished on the coast of the Red Sea in Yanbu, whilst Price’s P2 on the stage ensured it was two KTM’s in the top-five, surpassing Cornejo for fifth.

AUTO STANDINGS Sainz/Cruz (Audi) De Mevius/Panseri (Toyota) Loeb/Lurquin (Prodrive)

48:15.18 +1:20.25 +1:29.12

BIKES STANDINGS Brabec (Honda) Branch (Hero) Van Beveren (Honda)

51:30.08 +10:53 +12:25

www.autoaction.com.au I 57

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MOTORSPORT MOVES IN 2024?

ACROSS 1 Which Supercar team has upscaled from one to two cars in the off-season? (abbreviation) 4 Mick Schumacher will return to racing in WE – what manufacturer will he be racing for?

23 Which driver will make his full-time debut for M-Sport Ford in WRC this year? (surname) 25 Who will make his debut for Walkinshaw Andretti United? (surname) 26 On what brand of bike will Marc Marquez be riding for this season?

5 How many Formula 1 drivers have changed team between the 2023 and 2024 season?

27 Franco Morbidelli has left Yamaha – who will his teammate be in 2024? (surname)

6 Who replaces Jack Smith in the fourth Brad Jones Racing car this season? (surname)

1 Who replaces Shane van Gisbergen at Triple Eight Race Engineering this season? (surname)

7 What WRC manufacturer will Ott Tanak compete for in 2024?

9 Which Formula 1 race now follows the Australian Grand Prix?

10 Which Formula 1 Grand Prix returns for the first time since 2019?

11 Team 18 is the only outfit with two Bathurst 1000 winners this year, Mark Winterbottom is one, who is the other? (surname) 12 Which former Supercars Champion has moved teams in the off-season? (surname) 14 Who has joined the McLaren IndyCar team for 2024? (surname) 15 Who will be Fabio Quartararo’s new teammate at the factory Yamaha team? (surname) 16 If a driver wins the non-championship IndyCar race at the Thermal Club, how much money will they take home?

17 Which New Zealander will take on IndyCar full-time for the first time in 2024? (surname) 21 Richie Stanaway returns full-time to Supercars in 2024 with what squad?

DOWN

2 What is the nationality of MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta?

3 Who will be Cameron Hill’s new teammate in 2024? (surname) 6 Which former F1 driver will race for Andretti in IndyCar this season? (surname) 8 Which Norweigen makes his WRC return with Hyundai this year?

13 Daniil Kvyat will race for which WEC Hypercar manufacturer?

18 How many cars will Tickford Racing field full-time in 2024?

19 What is the main sponsor of the Sauber F1 Team this year?

20 Who steps in as the new teammate to reigning champion Brodie Kostecki at Erebus this year? (surname) 22 Which racetrack returns to the F1 calendar in 2024 after it was cancelled due to flooding last year?

23 Who replaces Marc Marquez at the Repsol Honda team in 2024? (surname) 24 How many Ford teams will be on the Supercars Championship grid in 2024?

1877 Crossword answers - 1 down – Brabham, 2 down – two, 3 across – three, 4 across – four, 4 down – Toleman, 5 down – Mercedes, 6 down – Alattiyah, 7 down – Clark, 8 across – Brazilian, 9 across – Perez, 10 down – Team Penske, 11 across – Perkins, 12 across – McLeod, 13 down – Audi, 14 down – Porsche, 15 down – Castroneves, 16 across – Saudi Arabia, 17 down – Dixon, 18 across – six, 19 down – Ron Dennis, 20 across – Winterbottom, 21 across – KTM, 22 down – Mercedes, 23 down – McLaren, 24 down – Mansell, 25 across – forty-three, 26 across – Stake, 27 across – Prodrive, 28 across – Agius, 29 across - Gounon

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1974 THE 1974 New Zealand Grand Prix was won convincingly by John McCormack at Wigram.

Despite winning by 41s McCormack described the win as “lucky” in his Elfin after getting his second NZGP triumph over a pair of Chevron B24s driven by Teddy Pilette and Peter Gethin.

For the first time, Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway held a night race meeting and it was hailed as a “great success”.

The brand new Chevy powered Volkswagen of Bryan Thomson also made a great impression, taking a solid second place on debut.

The only driver and car combo to beat Thomson was the mighty Monaro GTS driven

by Bob Jane.

1984 ANDREW MIEDECKE’S freak accident covered the front page of Auto Action after his Ralt RT 4 flew through an advertising sign at Pukekohe.

Miedecke suffered a jammed throttle when running third on the opening lap of the New Zealand Grand Prix after a “million to one thing” of a rock going into the air filter occurred.

He then left the track, struck an earth bank which launched the car straight into the sheet metal advertising sign at Forest Corner.

“I ended up with my head jammed between the car and fence with fuel pouring over me. I have had worse accidents,” Miedecke said at the time.

The New Zealand Grand Prix was eventually won by American Davy Jones.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1994 AUTO ACTION had an exclusive chat with Formula 1’s ‘Mr Fun’ Gerhard Berger about the big names from the era.

Ayrton Senna: “I think his biggest strength is his concentration. Mentally he is very strong.”

Alain Prost: “There is a significant step between them (Prost and Senna) on the limit. It doesn’t mean Prost is worse. It is easier to overtake when you are racing against Prost (than Senna).

Michael Schumacher: “His strength seems to be for his age, he already has a great way to approach week to week and maximise his performances.

Jean Alesi: “Alesi is very, very quick. He has very fast reflexes but he is too emotional.”

2004 FORMULA 1 launch season was in full swing with Mark Webber’s second and ultimately last Jaguar unveiled.

At the launch, the team was hopeful the R5 would be capable of translating the one lap pace in 2003 to race day but there were already dramas after Webber did not complete the first full public lap due to a gearbox glitch.

“It is important we work hard as a team and understand the issues that are holding us back,” Webber said.

One week after Peter Brock announced his departure from V8 Supercars, Team Brock was back in the form of a two-car Holden Monaro squad in the Nations Cup.

2014 WITH ADRIAN Burgess arriving at Clayton, Holden Racing Team started 214 full of belief it would return to the top. Burgess came to HRT after a successful stint at Triple Eight which was preceded by taking DJR from the midpack to the championship. Burgess was under no illusions on his target. “My sole goal is to get us to a position of where we can challenge for championships,” he said.

Garry Rogers Motorsport also welcomed a new face in the form of Robert Dahlgren.

In addition to bringing a Swedish car in Volvo, they also introduced a Swedish driver in Dahlgren, who was realistic about his chances.

“I don’t want to think I’m going to run at the front at the first event because that won’t happen,”

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Pic Courtesy Chris Carter