Auto Action #1881

EXCLUSIVE SUPERCARS SHAREHOLDER CASHES OUT

AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT

SUPERCARS FIRES UP BACK AT BATHURST...

IS IT TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? IS PARITY STILL A THING?

RINSE AND REPEAT

NOTHING CHANGES IN FORMULA 1?

TOURING CAR MASTERS

MAR 7 to MAR 20 2024 • $10.95 INC GST

ISSN 2204-9924 ISSUE 1881

FAN FAVOURITE BACK AND ON THE RISE

RETRO RALLY LIVES

SVG’S NASCAR ADVENTURE

PORSCHE WINS WEC RD1

NATIONAL SPEEDWAY

TRACKSIDE RETREAT:‘THE CUTTING’

This unique property can be rented out all year round as well as being available for race teams who might be competing at events held on the famous Mount Panorama Bathurst race circuit.

‘The Cutting’ is a country retreat and short-term holiday stay that comfortably accommodates up to 20 people.

The unique position of this 9 acre (3.66 ha) property on the corner of ‘The Cutting’, on the iconic Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit, offers unparalleled private seclusion.

Surrounded by mature trees to ensure your privacy and with the 117 ha Mount Panorama Woodlands.

The property has beautifully landscaped gardens and north-facing views over Bathurst and beyond.

It offers easy 24 hours per day access during race weeks via Barry Gurdon Drive enabling guests to come and go from ‘The Cutting’ according to their own schedule.

LOUNGE ROOMS COURTYARD WITH BBQ This property is an entertainer’s delight.

This alfresco entertainment area located within the courtyard The upstairs living area open to impressive is another fantastic place to expansive views of the Bathurst landscape socialise.

The property features via a balcony, with the downstairs living area in ground magnesium swimming enjoying direct access to the wet bar room pool tennis and basketball court as well as outside to the croquet lawn.

DINING ROOM Next to the kitchen is the dining room offering expansive views of Bathurst.

BEDROOMS Set over two levels, The Cutting, with ducted airconditioning comfortably accommodates up to 18 people across 6 Bedrooms.

VIEWING PLATFORM FOR RACE EVENTS If you want to enhance your race experience, it is possible to erect a certified viewing scaffolding platform which can legally hold 20 people at one time across two levels.

MT PANORAMA RACING – view from ‘The Cutting’ This is the front row seat view of the racetrack from the entrance of ‘The Cutting’. “‘The Cutting’ gets its name from the obvious: the track is cut into the rock of the mountain. It provides drivers with a 1:6 gradient and is one of the tightest corners on the track. Overtaking is virtually impossible here, though that doesn’t stop drivers from trying. It is very hard to recover from spins due to the gradient and closeness of the walls.”

For more information and bookings at this unique and wonderful property-at the ‘Mecca’ of Australian motorsport, visit www.thecuttingmtpan.com Or contact Suzi Edwards +61 400 396 355 • Email: info@thecuttingmtpan.com Address: 212 Mountain Straight Mt Panorama NSW 2795 Australia

LATEST NEWS

RED BULL/HORNER SCANDAL CONTINUES TO ROCK F1 PRESSURE CONTINUES TO MOUNT ON RED BULL TEAM PRINCIPAL CHRISTIAN HORNER, BUT THERE’S WAY MORE AT STAKE FOR F1’S CHAMPION TEAM …

WHILE CHRISTIAN Horner has been cleared of any wrongdoing following an independent inquiry into allegations made by a female staff member at Red Bull, the story is far from over.

With leaked emails purportedly exposing the evidence given at the independent inquiry and now Max Verstappen’s father directly calling for Horner to go, the conclusion that ‘someone’ or a group of people is out to get the Red Bull boss gains momentum.

In a short statement issued as teams prepared for last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull declared that “the independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal.”

While the giant drinks company and F1 team owners might have thought and hoped that would be the end of it, that was shortlived.

Immediate reaction focussed on the transparency of the investigation process: should the details be made public, and should the FIA/F1 conduct its own investigation?

Team principals, in particular Toto Wolff and McLaren’s Zak Brown, took the high ground, of course, citing the interests and reputation of the sport. It’s also not their role to make Horner’s life easy – an unstable Red Bull is a team that might be easier to beat ...

Wolff: “My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain. At the end of the day, there is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR, and said there was an issue, and it was investigated, and yesterday the sport has received the message that ‘it’s all fine, we’ve looked at it.’

“I believe with the aspiration as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency, and I wonder what the sport’s position is.”

Brown: “I think the sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport, to our fans. I think all of us in Formula 1 are ambassadors for the sport on and off the track, like you see in other sports.

“So I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them.

Jos, father of Max, Verstappen (right) has publicly called for Hormer to go. It’s getting ugly ...

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES I don’t know what those conversations are.

It needs to be thorough, fully transparent, and that they come to the same conclusion that has been given by Red Bull, and that they agree with the outcome. Until then, I think there’ll continue to be some level of speculation by people and I don’t think that’s healthy for the sport.”

The world didn’t have to wait too long for the next headline.

As Practice 2 was taking place, on Thursday, anonymous emails were sent to all F1 media and senior F1 personnel, including team principals, claiming to reveal the pile of evidence at the centre of the HR complaint.

Observers noted that anyone with that level of comprehensive contact list wasn’t an F1 outsider, suggesting that the attack was certainly coming from within the sport.

As the Grand Prix itself got under way, there was no real evidence to give credibility or verification or otherwise to any of the leaked evidence, but there was lots of it and it hung

over the Bahrain circus all weekend.

For his part, Horner gave all the signs of ‘business as usual.’ His wife Geri flew in to present united support. But behind the scenes, the pressure was intense.

And then, with the GP run and won, by his son, along came Jos (Verstappen), who weighed in with his own fairly un-subtle opinion.

“There is tension here while he remains in the position,” he told the UK’s Daily Mail.

“The team is in danger of being torn apart.

It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode.

He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”

So, the champ’s dad wants the guy who has overseen his son’s three championship wins out ...

As AA goes to press, there is a sense that the wagons are circling the Red Bull team boss, and that the whole thing is way more complex than it appears, with AA’s F1 manon-the-spot, Luis Vasconcelas, maintaining it

is just a part of the huge power struggle that has evolved since the death in 2022 of Red Bull part owner Dietrich Mateschitz (see p24).

The team, and the Red Bull business, is now effectively split between the two sons of the original founders, and there are conflicting views as to how the F1 element of the business should be run.

From its 2005 start, it is acknowledged that it has been Horner who set it all up, evolved the Powertrain business and – most critically and simply of all – attracted and retained F1 genius designer Adrian Newey. But the Brit clearly has some enemies.

If Horner is toppled, Newey might, it is being said, go with him, and that would be a disaster for Red Bull. There is already obvious further speculation that, in turn, the team’s star driver might get out too.

Mercedes and others would be foolish not to pounce if the opportunity arose. There is a lot at stake.

Luis Vasconcelas/staff

UP COMING RACE EVENT CALENDAR Brought to you by www.speedflow.com.au FORMULA 1 RD 2 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX MARCH 7-9 • NASCAR PHOENIX MARCH 10 MOTOGP RD 1 QATAR GRAND PRIX MARCH 8-10 • INDYCAR RD 1 ST PETERSBURG MARCH 10 NASCAR BRISTOL 500 MARCH 17 • SPEEDSERIES ROUND 2 TASMANIA MARCH 15-17 Australian AustralianMade MadeSince Since 1983 1983

peedflow www.speedflow.com.au www.speedflow.com.au

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 3

LATEST NEWS

TECHNICAL OR SPORTING: ENGINE PARITY DEBATE LIVES ON ENGINE PARITY WAS ON THE RADAR AT BATHURST, BUT WHAT DOES THE DATA SAY, AND WHAT DOES SUPERCARS HAVE TO SAY? ANDREW CLARKE DIGS INTO THE DATA ...

CHAZ MOSTERT opened up the parity debate at Bathurst when he queried his straight-line pace versus that of the Camaros.

He was spot-on; his Mustang was well down on top speed compared with the Camaro. But is that enough of an indicator for a lack of parity, or are there other factors to consider?

An analysis of the sector times during every lap of Race 2 makes interesting reading.

After 40 laps, the gap between Will Brown and Mostert in first and second was 1.5535 seconds. Including in and out laps, the statistical variation between the two was an average of 0.0781 seconds per lap.

Mostert dropped 0.2251 seconds on the first sector, which is a combination of Mountain Straight and the run up through The Cutting, then in the third sector, which is essentially the power run down Conrod Straight, he dropped another 0.2351 seconds.

But across the top of the Mount, a sacred place the Wiradjuri people call Wahluu, Mostert thumped Brown to the tune of 0.3901 seconds for an end result of 0.0701 seconds difference.

In the media conference on Saturday, Mostert raised concerns over the comparative lack of straightline of his Mustang.

He implied that there was still an engine parity disadvantage to the Fords, despite an alarming amount of work by Dick Johnson Racing over the summer, since they took over the engine program for Ford Performance.

“The difficulty in just sitting looking at timing data is you actually don’t know exactly how the car’s set up,” said Supercars’ Tim Edwards.

“What rake is in the car, what toe are they running, what bump steer? There’s so many variables in the car – like what preload are they running on the bearings?

It just goes on and on.

“It does make it very difficult when you’re just looking at timing data alone or timing sectors.

“But obviously we’re privy to a lot more than just the timing data because we can overlay the actual car data to do the

4 I www.autoaction.com.au

Supercars’ Tim Edwards is assessing data from every session at every race.

comparison that way as well.

“It’s absolutely closer than it’s ever been.

When we went to the wind tunnel, we gave ourselves a box and both of them had to be in the box. When you’re looking at top speeds, what’s the box on that as well?

“Because when you’ve got two cars getting into the top 10 shootout of the same make that are five kilometres an hour different in top speed, it’s hard to actually draw a conclusion from that because what is the set-up of those cars?

“There’s so many factors, but when you’ve got two cars of the same make, 5kmh different in speed down the straight and both of them made the shootout, it tells you that there’s a lot of variance among the teams.

There’s tens of thousands of combinations of

geometry. But that’s not to say that we’re just going, ‘everything’s perfect, move on.’

“We’re going to continue what we set out to achieve and we did it at Bathurst and now there’s two different cars that are going to have all our assets on at the Grand Prix and we’ll continue to do more study.

“We’ve also got more sensors going on at the Grand Prix than we had at Bathurst, and we’ll rotate some sensors in and out as we determine whether we need to capture any more of that particular information or not.”

Edwards said Supercars will continue to monitor every session of every weekend for any problems, and that they have access to certain information and can visually see things, like rear camber angles, when they are dramatically different.

A healthy GM/Ford mix at the front of Race 1 at Bathurst.

He said they don’t have set-up sheets, so some of the fine-tuning remains hidden.

“We know that there is a big difference in the way people are tuning their cars – you only had to stand on the grid and you could see probably five degrees difference in camber between cars, just visually just standing there looking at it,” Edwards said.

“But that’s what we want. We want some teams making a decision that they do want to go fast across the top and make their best time in that area and others wanting to make it in others.

“We want teams tuning their cars for what they think is the best way to go around the circuit.”

Edwards confirmed they have a target date for the transient dyno test, but would not

FORD READY TO COMMIT TO SUPERCARS

Chas Mostert – a bit down on the straights – but rocketship fast across the top at Bathurst. You could call that performance parity! Images: PETER NORTON - EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

ALL LAPS

S1

S2

S3

AVERAGE LAP

Will Brown

54.5663

34.5165

41.8782

2m10.9610

Off Fastest

0.0000

0.3901

0.0000

0.0000

Chaz Mostert

54.7914

34.1264

42.1133

2m11.0311

Off Fastest

0.2251

0.0000

0.2351

0.0701

James Golding

54.8014

34.7751

42.0072

2m11.5837

Off Fastest

0.2351

0.6487

0.1290

0.6227

Thomas Randle

54.7901

34.6557

42.069

2m11.5148

Off Fastest

0.2238

0.5293

0.1908

0.5538

This table shows the dominance of Mostert in the middle sector. He was 0.3901 seconds quicker than Will Brown and more than half a second over Golding and Randle, the next best places cars from Chev and Ford outside of their teams. All three were about the same in the ‘power’ sectors where Brown was dominant.

MANUFACTURERS REMOVING THE STATISTICAL OUTLIERS S1

S2

S3

AVERAGE LAP

FORD

53.0530

34.8370

42.3153

2m10.2053

CHEV

52.8926

34.8787

42.1301

2m09.9014

CHEV TO FORD

0.1604

-0.0417

0.1852

0.3039

Removing the statistical outliers over the course of the two races, this chart shows the Chevs were, on the whole, quicker on the straight and the Fords better in the twists and turns. This chart records sporting parity rather than technical parity with no knowledge of car set-up which can affect things like top speed. elaborate on the timing.

As reported in earlier editions of Auto Action, there are issues he wants fixed with hardware first so the testing only has to be done once.

“One hundred per cent, we’re working towards dates,” Edwards said.

“That’s for us to know and you not to know, but we’ve got a date in mind that we’re working towards and that’s the date that

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

we’re using to say to DJR they have to have everything ready for that date.

“But don’t forget, we’ve got the torque sensors in the cars, and ultimately in some categories, the torque sensors are the final arbiter, not what might be done on the transient dyno.

“We are running the end step before the interim step.

“The torque sensors are a very good tool

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

and we’ve obviously got some very good information from that as well. So that’s giving us a degree of comfort as well when we’ve got that data.

“We’ve got a lot of information at our disposal now, and we’ll have more sensors and more information at the Grand Prix.

“All this extra information we’re gathering just puts us in a much better position to make an educated assessment of where everything’s at and you can use some of the evidence to actually form a counter argument for whatever the subject of the day is.

“Everything that we’ve got at the moment is all very positive… Sure, we want to get the transient dyno testing done.

“Yes, we want to put other sensors on the car and actually get some data from other tracks because obviously Bathurst is a bit of an outlier with the drop gear used there and with the altitude.

“The Grand Prix is going to be a very different track again – it could tell us something completely different. So that’s why we’ve just got to keep doing the study that we’re doing at all the different venues to build up a good database.”

The transient dyno earmarked by Supercars is AVL Test Systems in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, so Edwards will get some more frequent-flyer points up when that test is done.

Once they have the data from the US tests, they’ll be able to work with a facility in Melbourne to continue the work, which will obviously make it easier in the future.

FORD PERFORMANCE boss Mark Rushbrook (above, with Supercars Commission Chair, Michael Masi) says Supercars is closer than ever to parity, but more data is needed from controlled scenarios to give it all a tick.

There was plenty of parity talk at Bathurst, but little to do with the aero following the wind tunnel tests last year. The extensive multi-day test at Windshear in Concorde just outside Charlotte in North Carolina gave enough data for all the interested parties to agree on aero parity.

Now, Ford Motorsport boss Mark Rushbrook says the equivalent science is needed on the engines with transient dyno testing required to lock away parity under the hood.

“We know that the processes that are here today that weren’t part of Supercars historically leading up to this,” he said. “We knew that aero wasn’t sufficient, and it’s great that Supercars have embraced that now and gone to Windshear to a control test with a process that’s aligned with both manufacturers, with both the modification teams, and we believe we’ve got a good outcome there.

“We’ve said from day one that AEP using the dyno that’s available here is not sufficient, especially when you get to two different engines, different displacements and different architecture. It may look the same, and AEP may say it’s the same, but it doesn’t mean it is the same and we’re certainly seeing that.

“The ultimate goal is a proper transient dyno, and there is a commitment that testing will happen so we can characterise the two different engines. I expect that we will see differences there that we did not see on the dyno here, but then we’ve got to be prepared to make those changes.”

He indicated that if parity is locked away soon, he saw no reason to move away from current rules for many years … until the advent of the Gen4 rules whatever they may be.

“If you look at NASCAR, it’s a set of technical rules you build to, and then you go and race. There’s no engine parity other than the rules say this is the displacement you need to use and some other technical restrictions.

“There is parity by rules, and then you play within those rules, and you can get some different power differences. That’s the nature of NASCAR. “I think it’s too early to talk about it,” he added on Gen4. “I think GT3 is a fantastic category that is working very well around the world. And it’s great that we can design, build, and develop one car and sell it in all those different markets and all those different series.”

But, he said, GT3 was the not the answer here, while leaving the door open for a form of NASCAR. “If you compare the cost of building a Supercar versus a NASCAR, if you think about how many Gen3 Supercars have been built and how many NASCARs have been built? At any point in time, any car number has seven chassis and there’s 40 cars. That’s 40 times seven, – that’s a lot more than here.

“But to me it probably isn’t the right solution for here. If you look at the bodies, these look like a proper race car, truly off of the street car. Whereas NASCAR, partly because of what the racing is, with ovals and the speeds that they go, you’ve got to have a common greenhouse to help keep the aero closer.

So, would that be right here? Maybe not, maybe you could just use the chassis.

“If we do the proper testing [transient dyno] in the next two months, and if there are no changes and if we’re still racing a Mustang and Chevy still has a Camaro with the same engines, there’s no reason to change anything.” Andrew Clarke

www.autoaction.com.au I 5

LATEST NEWS

SUPERCARS LOOKING FOR NEW SEASON OPENER THE BATHURST FESTIVAL OF WHATEVER, WAS A LIMP 2024 LAUNCH FOR SUPERCARS AND IT IS UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN. ANDREW CLARKE SPOKE WITH SUPERCARS CEO SHANE HOWARD ABOUT PLANS FOR A BETTER START TO THE 2025 SUPERCARS SEASON...

WITH THE unexpected demise of the Newcastle Street Race, Supercars was left to pull together a season opener for 2024 that wasn’t just another round at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Supercars decided to add the Bathurst 500 to the back end of the Bathurst 12-Hour to create the 10-day Bathurst SuperFest.

A crowd of 103,000 is claimed (really?) for the entire SuperFest, but not much of that came on the Supercars weekend, with the atmosphere rivalling that of a test day.

With the poor attendance and lack of atmosphere, Supercars is unlikely to try that again, and instead will work with the mayors who have been calling for an event in the region, and fire up a new street race for 2025, most likely somewhere in the picturesque Hunter Valley.

“Obviously we were blindsided by the issue in Newcastle with the council not supporting us to compete there, but that took a while to play out,” said Supercars CEO Shane Howard last week.

“The council would only consider it if there was a five-year agreement in place, and while we had full support from the Premier and the sports minister, he approved us on a one-year deal as it was outside the budget process for the government.

“He approved us on that basis and provided a commitment to the council that it was full intent to facilitate a longer-term agreement for us to be in Newcastle and support the region.

“Unfortunately, the council wouldn’t support that. That led to us to having to scramble to find an all-alternative event.

“Obviously, with a strong commitment from the New South Wales government, the Premier’s strong preference was to have it in

New South Wales and really there are very narrow options there.

“We looked at the opportunity of doing something different, which was creating the Festival of Speed across the two events.

“We knew that we wouldn’t have the numbers that Newcastle would generate and being late into the market doesn’t help.

But all in all, we were very happy with the event.

“We had extremely strong support from the New South Wales government and fantastic support from the Bathurst Regional Council.

“They’re just very good partners and they wanted it to happen. They thought it would be absolutely great for their region to have a commercial festival span that length of time, and talking to the mayor over the event, he couldn’t have been happier with the result for the region.

“It was a little bit softer than we would’ve liked, but still a very good event.”

Which means the crowds were lower than desired. Howard reiterated a desire to run only one Supercars event at Bathurst regardless of the outcome of the weekend just gone, which means his team is exploring other options for 2025.

With Supercars not tied to rural NSW as reported elsewhere, Sydney Motorsport Park was considered for a night race but, with daylight saving in place, it was decided that to get the full impact from that, the racing would need to be too late.

He added that Newcastle was “no longer an option for us,” but with the ‘kit’ ready to be moved somewhere else, a street race was a likely option, and preferably not too far from Newcastle given the complexity of moving the more-than four tonne concrete walls.

“You never say never, and we’ve had this

situation before where a particular council or a particular government entity chooses not to support a race – but things change, just look at Adelaide as an example,” Howard said.

“I think Newcastle was one of the greatest events that we’ve done. It was absolutely spectacular.

“If the option was there, we’d consider it, but we are looking at other options now. I think we’ve had about nine mayors contact us to investigate or consider having a race in their area.

“We’ll investigate them now. I think the government is a very strong supporter and they would appreciate the opportunity to have a major event in that region [rural NSW] for sure.

“We’ve got all the kit. It’s just finding the right location and you can put it together pretty quickly.

“There have been some options put forward for the Hunter Valley but I won’t get into the specifics of them.

“We will certainly investigate those options very soon actually with our engineers and our events department. It could be either a street circuit track or a permanent circuit.

We’ll have a look at all options that are open to us.

“Obviously, we’ve got all the kit for the street circuit there, so it makes sense to investigate those options – the street circuits deliver huge economic benefits for the region.

“If we can manage that, that would be our preference – and permanent circuits take a lot longer of course.”

Howard talks about the ‘kit’ and the cost of moving it, which is why he is focussing on areas close to Newcastle. The kit is the

Spectators were sparse at the Bathurst 500 last month. Image: MARK HORSBURGH racing infrastructure required for a street circuit, meaning the concrete walls and safety fences.

The demise of the Newcastle event was annoying for the accountants. With the cost of the ‘kit’ being amortised over several race meetings, after being moved from Homebush, they were preparing to move the event into profit.

“That would be the right area and certainly our first point of investigation,” Howard said of the Hunter Valley.

“There are a few options there. We’ll have a look at that.”

Several towns in the Hunter Valley could host a round, with places like Cessnock only 150 kilometres from Sydney CBD, and Maitland only 30 kilometres from Newcastle.

The region has a population of nearly 700,000 and endless accommodation options as a centre for tourism.

Technically there are nine local governments in the Hunter Valley ranging from populations of 210,000 to just 10,000, meaning there are nine mayors in the area, but not all with the finances and location to host a Supercars race.

Auto Action also understands Supercars’ engineers and events team have been working on another street race which may be locked away in the next month or two.

Supercars CEO Shane Howard said their track ‘kit,’ including safety fences and concrete walls, can be quickly installed – the organisation just has to find the right street race location.

Image: PETER NORTON / EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

6 I www.autoaction.com.au

LATEST NEWS

VISION LOST – ROGERS DUO SELLS RACE SHARES WHEN GARRY and Barry Rogers became shareholders in RACE, their goal was to support the country’s entire motor racing community, but two-and-a-half years later, the motorsport stalwarts and father-son duo behind Australian Racing Group are out.

Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises, or RACE, is the owner of V8 Supercars Holdings Pty Ltd, and the pair have sold their nearly 14 per cent slice, or three-and-ahalf-million shares, with the majority going to an overseas investor.

The Rogers bought into the public company when it formed in 2021.

Barry said he and his father were always clear that becoming shareholders in the nation’s biggest motorsport business was their vision to nurture the “whole of motorsport.”

“You can make the whole of motorsport better by putting it all together,” he told Auto Action.

“Our objective was to create 20 weeks of motorsport – not just 12 weeks of Supercars and eight weeks of SpeedSeries.

“Supercars would be the prime headline act, but you could go to any number of circuits around the country that don’t currently hold a Supercars round, and have Trans Am, S5000, TCR, or any number of categories as well.

“In recent years we’ve seen championshipwinning drivers head off overseas because they’re not doing enough racing in this country, so there would be more incentive for the Supercar-type drivers, as well as others, to go and race at those rounds.

“In the newspapers, you never read about motorsport because it’s not happening enough, and no-one knows who anyone is, but if the sport was out there racing 20 weeks a year, then you can better promote the personalities and who’s-who.

“RACE said that made sense, because they’re all about digital marketing, and we

understand car racing reasonably well.”

However, Garry said that not long after the ink was dry, and money had been handed over, “everything changed.”

“There were claims that we were trying to ride on the coat-tails of Supercars to try and build our ARG brand and our own promoted events,” he said.

“We were prepared to put it all in the pot, we just wanted what was right for the whole of motorsport. It never even got started.”

Garry believes Supercars’ leadership “didn’t want” ARG’s racing brands as part of its events.

Supercars chair Barclay Nettlefold, however, said its board does want to embrace their categories.

“Despite our best efforts, we were unable to agree on commercial terms for RACE to acquire an ownership interest in categories operated by the Australian Racing Group,” Nettlefold said.

“RACE remains committed to supporting the entire spectrum of Australian motorsport and we will continue to work with the Rogers and the Australian Racing Group moving forward, including by having their categories race at Supercars events.”

By 2023, Barry claims there had been no dividend from the investment they made in RACE. “In the last 12 months, Garry has been requesting to see some financials,” he said.

“All this money was being spent on Gen3. It might have been going in as an asset.”

Garry “never knew” what was going on financially.

Additionally, a Melbourne Supercars office was also planned.

“It never happened,” he said. “Once the deal was done, it just went ‘poof.’ It stopped.”

Only months after that initial 2021 deal, Brian Boyd, then a RACE board member, and ARGaligned shareholder of

nearly-14 per cent, decided to sell his slice, and exit.

“Brian was a self-made man with an excellent understanding of motorsport and had become frustrated,” Garry said.

“The majority of RACE board members were obviously smart businesspeople that had a limited knowledge of motorsport and were being led by Mark Skaife on those matters.

“There were quite a few disagreements at the meetings and, in the end, Brian was sick of the politics and moved on.”

The Rogers would remain involved for two more years, but Garry said they had no influence in the organisation.

“We didn’t sell our shares straight away,” Garry said. “We thought, we’ll just let the water settle and we’ll keep running our ARG categories; we’ll keep our Trans Ams, our TCRs, our S5000s.

“We thought that we’d just keep presenting the cars and doing the racing as best we could, and let’s hope and pray somewhere along the way some other people [on the board] might wise up to what’s going on, and then we’ll talk about it again.

“But that never happened.”

Barry said that the RACE group was fixated on the Supercars brand, “nothing else,” and that power and influence was never evenly held.

“They got blindsided as to how they could grow the whole of motorsport,” he said.

“The Supercars business has become too elitist. The filter for talent has unfortunately been weighted too heavily towards the financial side, rather than a driver’s talent.

“The young kid running around in their gokart, with the dream of getting to Bathurst, might as well stop.”

Recently, ARG received a letter outlining an amended shareholders agreement which, like all

policies, required a “supermajority” of 90 per cent to pass.

Smaller investors had previously been contacted as a courtesy, yet Garry and Barry, as major shareholders of more-than 13 per cent, knew nothing of this new agreement before the mail arrived.

“There were no benefits to the shareholders in the changes,” Garry said.

“We refused to sign it.”

In recent weeks, he decided they “needed to get out.”

“It’s very, very simple,” Garry said.

“We went in there about the whole of motorsport. We didn’t go in for any financial gain. We had our motor racing business, which is a separate thing; we race cars and we go to race meetings.

“But we went there because we always had that belief of getting the whole of motorsport together.

“And after a period of time … there was no positive movement of heading in that direction.

“Even if there’d been some little snippet, we may have persevered with it, but the fact is nothing had, or even looked like it was going to happen.

“If I thought there was a real positive vibe there, we would have stayed. You can only be so patient.

“So we said, ‘okay, we’re done.’ Simple as that.”

On behalf of Supercars and RACE, Nettlefold wished the pair well.

“We extend our sincere thanks to Garry and Barry Rogers for their role as foundation investors in RACE,” he said.

“They were instrumental in our journey to acquire the business of Supercars, and we are grateful for their support. We respect their decision to sell their shares in RACE and realise what was a material uplift on the value of their initial investment.”

Edwina Williams

They’re out: Barry and Garry Rogers, pictured at Garry Rogers Motorsport in Dandenong, have sold their shares in RACE. Image: EDWINA WILLIAMS

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

au-

www.autoaction.com.au I 7

LATEST NEWS

HAZELWOOD POSITIVE ABOUT EREBUS DEBUT TODD HAZELWOOD made an unexpected return to the Supercars grid at the Bathurst 500 and he walked away satisfied from the “information overload.”

Hazelwood entered 2024 with no prospect of racing Supercars outside of the enduros after being dropped by Blanchard Racing Team.

But due to Brodie Kostecki missing the season opener, Erebus phoned the 2017 Super2 champion, due to co-drive laterv in the year, to be the substitute in car #99.

The returning driver showed strong top-three speed on Friday and made the Saturday shootout but some dramas meant he was unable to crack the top 10 in the two 40-lap races in car #99.

However, Hazelwood is certain the P11 and P13 results do not reflect the potential Erebus displayed at Mount Panorama.

“It was a positive weekend,” Hazelwood told Auto Action.

“Our race results did not highlight our potential unfortunately.

“We had a few little dramas losing 7-8s in the pits on Saturday when we were on track for a comfortable top 10 result and then on Sunday we had a clutch issue ... so it was not meant to be.

“We showed speed throughout the weekend and had top-three race pace in those final two stints.

“I felt like we showed promise over the weekend and definitely did not disgrace ourselves, but when you know the team is a championship winning team capable of winning races, it is a bit disappointing when you don’t achieve that goal.

“The potential is there, we just need to put it all together in the future if that is what transpires.”

With such a big microscope being placed

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

Image: PETER NORTON on Erebus, Hazelwood admitted at times it was challenge to block everything out and focus on his job behind the wheel.

“My mindset was to quieten the external noise and focus on my job internally,” he said.

“There has been a lot of focus on Erebus and with my name linked to that as well.

“It was a pressure I tried to embrace and felt like I dealt with that well. “(But) there were a few people that had some nasty things to say over the weekend which can always cause a distraction.

“But you just had to put that aside and get on with the job and I tried to embrace every session and opportunity.”

Having previously spent short stints at Matt Stone Racing, Brad Jones Racing and Blanchard Racing Team, the Bathurst 500 was Hazelwood’s first taste of being inside a championship-winning squad.

He admitted there was a lot to get his head around but believes both himself and the

team would be in a good position to hunt for trophies if another opportunity arises in the unpredictable future.

“Just seeing all the little one percenters show why they are a championship winning team. The ingredients are still there today which is really cool to witness,” Hazelwood said.

“It was really cool to be part of an organisation that is capable of winning races and I have no doubt that if I was to do more races in the future, we can be on the podium and fighting for wins when we fully unlock the car.”

Thomas Miles

MSR CHASING TROPHIES AFTER FAST START MATT STONE Racing wants more podiums after it started 2024 with impressive pace at Bathurst.

Leading the charge was Cameron Hill, who has started his second season in Supercars hitting new heights.

A career-best fourth in qualifying following an impressive lap in his maiden Top 10 Shootout where he “did not leave much out there” saw the Canberran fighting for the podium.

Despite a costly mistake at Hell Corner that caught Hill “off guard” he still managed to secure his first top five result at the start of his second full time season and right behind him was new teammate Nick Percat, who went long, with a different strategy.

Although things did not go Hill’s way on Sunday when he was caught in an opening lap tangle, Percat still finished ninth to ensure the team still emerged a strong third in the teams championship and higher up the pit lane then ever before.

Hill was thrilled to start so strong, crediting a greater amount of confidence in and out of the car.

8 I www.autoaction.com.au

The MSR boys – Hill and Percat – in line astern. A promising start to the season. Image: Supplied “It is a massive boost,” Hill told Auto Action.

“It is definitely good to reward the team because they work harder than just about anyone in the pit lane, but I was very pleased with my own driving.

“I feel like I am a lot more confident after

12 months in the car and the race pace was really good as well.

“It is all those little one percenters, being better prepared physically and mentally.

“It is a sign do great things to come, I hope.”

In its sixth Supercars season, last year,

MSR broke through for a maiden win at Hidden Valley thanks to Jack Le Brocq.

But after two years of finishing ninth, MSR still slipped to 10th in the teams championship in 2023.

This year team owner Matt Stone has made it clear he wants to be higher up the grid and its determined to see one of his Camaros back on the podium.

“The team has put a massive amount of work into the preseason so to roll out strong makes everything justified,” Stone told Auto Action.

“It was fantastic to see Cam step up his game and hang with the heavy hitters up front and despite the little mistake it was still a strong result.

“Our goal this year is to get on the podium.

Every year we want to go one better than the year before and last year we won a race but did not quite get 10th in the championship.

“We have big goals this year and off to the right start so we need to keep pushing forward.”

Thomas Miles

Image: ONENINE MEDIA

NEW CHALLENGE FOR PYE SCOTT PYE will make his racing return in a completely new car and category at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.

Pye will join the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia field at Albert Park driving a pink BWT Melbourne Performance Centre machine. The team already has Supercars co-driver Fabian Coulthard and former category champion Harri Jones in its ranks.

The one-off cameo presents the 34-year-old with a golden opportunity to get some racing laps under his belt in one of the most competitive domestic championships ahead of his Triple Eight co-driving debut with Will Brown.

Pye has already got a taste of his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, at a full test day at Sandown, which has only fuelled his excitement.

“I have had now the first test in the car and it is great to have a run prior to the Grand Prix and getting familiar with the car,” he told Auto Action.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of learning a new car again. It has been a long time since I have driven something so different and really enjoyed the car itself.

“I am now super excited to head to the Grand Prix.

Albert park is a track I love and the event itself is always really special.

“It will be great to drive for a great team and a great backer as well in BWT – I will be proud to represent that brand on that stage.”

The Porsche is a distinct change from the Supercars Pye has raced for the last decade, being left-hand drive and paddle shift.

But he embraced the differences and was comfortable in the car almost instantly.

“I really enjoyed it, the tyre especially, because it gives you so much grip and feel,” Pye recalled.

“The car itself with paddles and sitting on the left-hand side was very different, but it also felt natural straight away.

“It is something you don’t really notice and the moment you drive out of the pit lane it all felt normal.

“I was really impressed but I know it is going to be very steep learning curve with just one practice going straight into qualifying – I am not underestimating the competitiveness of the championship because there are a lot of very good drivers.

“I am coming in with an open mind and the intention of doing well.”

Thomas Miles

Huddle in: Adrian Burgess leads a team debrief last month following the Bathurst 500.

Image: BRUCE WILLIAMS

ONE DREAM AT TEAM 18 REFLECTING ON his new crew’s first Supercars Championship performance for 2024, Adrian Burgess can see the potential for success.

The former Supercars technical department head, now lead of the independent team, said the Charlie Schwerkolt-owned group produced pleasing results at last month’s Bathurst 500 in the TRADIE Beer and DEWALT Camaros.

“The biggest thing is that we had a solid weekend,” Burgess said. “It wasn’t spectacular, but it was solid.

“We definitely saw the potential of the package and in the group of people that work with that package.

“I’ve got a note pad ... with loads of little things; half-percenters, one percenters we know we can improve and do better.

“I’m excited to see the growth and where it can go, and I’m certainly not underestimating the competition.”

Burgess said he’s enjoying watching Team 18 in action, including drivers David Reynolds and Mark Winterbottom, and a behind-thescenes culture where positive postrace debriefs are valued regardless of outcome.

“We’re not going to sit here and say we’re going to be teams champions this year, but it was a great weekend,” he said.

“We didn’t win anything and had some big mistakes, but they’re things you learn from.

“I enjoyed being back on this side of the fence in team land, getting competitive, shouting at the TV, and showing those emotions.

“We’ve got to make the right decisions, put better tools and processes in place, but it was encouraging.”

When Winterbottom got out of the car on Sunday afternoon at Bathurst,

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

Burgess said he was feeling “pumped” for what’s to come.

“He went from 21 to 14 and in the second stint he was hunting down cars,” Burgess said.

At the end of Supercars season ‘23 a few months ago, Schwerkolt saw Team 18 as a “disaster” needing immediate overhaul.

“We had to change a lot of things; I had to change a lot of things,” he said.

Now, after the “first day of school,” he’s got a completely different perspective.

“It’s a brand new start with a quality team of people... and [I’ve got] someone who can really lead and bring this team on board,” Schwerkolt said.

“We’ve got a long way to go... but this is Adrian’s shot, and this is my shot, of getting it right. David and ‘Frosty’ are very happy with this direction, and the sponsors love the exposure.

“It does feel good.”

Edwina Willams

NEW EPISODES OUT EVERY WEDNESDAY

It’s hard and it’s fast and sometimes it’s a bit rough, but we call it how we see it and pull no punches.

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. autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 9

LATEST NEWS

STOP / GO Image: PETER NORTONEPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

SPORTS SEDANS TO HIT THE STRAIT

THE DUDE SUPPORTS BARRY RYAN PAUL MORRIS has taken to his Facebook page to throw his support behind Barry Ryan after he felt an earlier video had been misquoted by another media outlet as part of its ‘Barry bashing’ agenda. Morris outlined the support Ryan has given to young drivers, saying that without people like him many drivers wouldn’t have had the chances they have. “You don’t know all the details, and don’t assume things,” he said.” I don’t know who is right or wrong in this thing – I wish it would be resolved.

Cut out the Erebus bashing, cut out the Barry bashing.”

Image: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

HAT SWAP/DUMMY SPIT SUPERCARS HAS changed its supplementary regulations for the next round of the championship to cover the wearing of hats during the pole position presentation after public criticism by Jason Haynes, the General Manager Boost Mobile. The supp regs for Bathurst erroneously required a hat from the previous pole award sponsor to be worn, and Red Bull Ampol Racing took the view to not wear the Boost hat because it has support from Vodafone. For Albert Park the supp regs reads “Drivers are required to wear caps supplied by the sponsor at the direction of Supercars during the official Pole Award presentation at the conclusion of qualifying or the shootout.” A similar change has been made for the podium presentation.

Image:PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

LITTLE SHUFFLED SUPERCARS STALWART Campbell Little has shuffled himself out of the technical team on race weekends to supply technical data to the TV telecast on Fox. Little is one of the most experience engineers in the sport, tracing his involvement in Australian touring car racing back the 1980s with the JPS BMWs run by Frank Gardner. Since then, he was won championships and Bathursts with a few different teams, but has spent the past few years with Supercars, most recently working on the Gen3 development. Little replaced Oscar Fiorinotto on the telecast, while John Russell replaces him at Supercars.

10 I www.autoaction.com.au

The Sports Sedan renaissance continued, at Bathurst. Image: JOHN MORRIS-MPIX IN BOTH sight and sound, the Precision National Sports Sedan Series spent 2023 as somewhat of fan favourite on the Supercars bill at both the Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 500.

Now 2024 kicks off at Symmons Plains on March 15-17 at the SpeedSeries Round 2.

Whilst Tasmania has proved logistically difficult for some regulars, the series will arrive with 18 cars to start its five round season.

A couple of big names that will unfortunately miss likely includes the record breaking Alfa Romeo GTV of Tony Ricciardello, as well as John Gourlay’s Jordan Caruso-

driven Audi A4, which is still awaiting engine parts from abroad, whilst Kiwi Angus Fogg’s 1970 Fastback will also be missing.

The likes of Ashley Jarvis (Monaro) and Steve Tamasi (Calibra) have stamped their tickets though, as has the MARC GT Mustang that swept the Gold Coast 500, which will be steered by Jeff Taunton.

Some further good news is the addition of NSW brothers Matt and Peter Ingram in their respective Mazda RX machines to give the front of the field a shake.

The 1984 Ford XE Falcon of Ryan Humfrey will come from WA, whilst from NSW, Steve Lacey will comes

in a new MARC car, as will Mark Duggan in the Aston Martin DB and Scott Cameron in the 2006 VS Commodore.

Some locals include Steve Gangell, Kim Barwick, and Alex Williams – whose Mazda RX8 will look the part alongside the Ingram machines.

The quality of the field will also build as the season progresses, with the returning Caruso and Ricciardello for Round 2, as well as some new cars that are coming; one of which may be steered by GT3 racer Ricky Capo, as well as a new Gourlay Audi A4 and the long anticipated appearance of Daniel Tamasi’s Nissan 300 ZX. Category manager and racer Micheal Robinson says he’s excited for the series to back-up a scintillating 2023.

“Last year really set the expectations, and it’s encouraged a number of competitors to both join and return. It also an important thing to get back to Tassie after more than 20 years away.

“And the new cars that we’ll see entering over the course of the year will really spice up the season as it progresses. We may even see some at The Bend in Round 2, where there will be lots talented drivers coming together.”

TW Neal

TOURING CAR MASTERS ROARS BACK TO SUPERCARS UNDERCARD TOURING CAR Masters (TCM) is making a triumphant return to the Supercars undercard, signalling a comeback for the beloved category that has been a staple in the hearts of touring car fans in Australia.

Under new ownership, TCM is set to bring back the nostalgia of classic touring cars, spanning from Mustangs and Camaros to Valiants and Falcons.

Category manager, Rowan Harman, emphasises that TCM is not just about muscle cars; it’s a celebration of touring car history, welcoming a diverse range of vehicles manufactured between 1963 and 1980. This inclusion of varied cars ensures a captivating spectacle for fans, as the competition is defined by the diversity and performance of the vehicles on the track.

Supercars CEO Shane Howard expresses his excitement for TCM’s return to the Supercars calendar, acknowledging the appeal of the classic cars and skilled drivers. He sees TCM as a reflection of the history and heritage of Supercars, adding, “They’re good to watch. I do rate TCM very highly, and I know the

Touring Car Masters is back! Bathurst ... where else? Image: JAMES SMITH PHOTOS fans also really like to see those cars on track.”

The 2024 Series, divided among Supercars and Speed Series rounds, marks TCM’s resurgence. Despite a challenging period, Harman notes a positive response at Bathurst, with interest from both returning and new participants looking to be a part of the revived series.

With the support of new ownership led by Tony Hunter, TCM has secured its place on the Supercars undercard, a move crucial for the future of the category. The connection between Supercars and Image: RACE PROJECT

TCM enthusiasts remains strong, with the classic cars providing ontrack entertainment that resonates with the fans.

As TCM gears up for rounds in Perth and Darwin, the anticipation for the series’ growth and expansion is palpable. The return to free-to-air TV through Fox Sports and Seven is expected to boost the series’ reach and engagement, ensuring that TCM continues to captivate fans with its unique blend of classic cars, thrilling races, and a rich touring car history.

See Page 30 for our four-page feature on TCM

Image: PETER NORTON

MORSE’S MYSTERY

Image: BRUCE WILLIAMS

STEWART SALUTES THE ‘LIFE OF THE TEAM’ THERE WAS hardly a dry eye inside the Image Racing garage at Bathurst as Super2 rookie Jobe Stewart scored a special podium after an emotionally challenging week on and off the track for driver and team.

Stewart stepped up to Super2 this year after winning the Super3 Championship in 2023 with Image Racing, but the team has been rocked by the loss of a vital team member in Dana Wyhoon, who tragically passed away on the eve of the Bathurst 500.

Dana was part owner and the wife of team leader Terry and mother of karting racer Ryan and was present at each of Image Racing’s Dunlop Series meetings, supporting Stewart to his Super3 crown in 2023.

This is why it was extra special to see car #99 qualify and finish second in Sunday’s Dunlop Series race.

For Stewart, to produce an eye-catching 2:05.4932 before taking the lead off the

line and ultimately finishing second in just his second Super2 race was always going to be significant.

But to do it at the end of an extremely challenging week, meant the world to him and he described Dana Wyhoon as the “life of Image Racing.”

“It has been a huge week of emotions for the team,” Stewart told Auto Action.

“The main thing was obviously Dana passing away earlier in the week and everyone just wanted to do the best job they could for Terry and Ryan.

“It has not been easy. Dana was a vital part of the team.

“She was here at every single race weekend and you grow pretty close to someone when you are always at the track together.

“She was the life of the team because when all of the mechanics were hard at work she brought so much happiness.

“We all miss her.”

To celebrate Dana’s life both Stewart and Image Racing teammate Jarrod Hughes ran tributes on their rear windscreens throughout the weekend, whilst there were special scenes on Saturday as the entire grid conducted a minute’s silence and young Ryan waved the field away on the warmup lap.

Despite all of this going on, Stewart said the tragedy has brought the team closer together.

“The team has been great and have worked together better than we ever have,” he said.

“I am pretty quiet around the track as many know but the whole team has got behind me and we are all backing each other.

“Even after Race 1 (stalled start) the team made sure everything was okay and talked me through what I could do better so we are gelling together.”

Thomas Miles

The 2024 Dunlop Series season is an important one for AIM Motorsport and Zane Morse, but it could not have started in stranger circumstances than Bathurst.

The weekend itself was a dramatic one full of incidents but the biggest setback happened off track when someone allegedly stole a box from the AIM Motorsport garage containing the rear uprights required to repair the #11 Mustang.

As a result Morse missed Practice 2 but was still able to front up for Races 1 and 2 where incidents followed him.

Morse was mystified after the oddity occurred on Friday.

“I have not heard much yet but it is just so surprising we have been here many years and never seen anything like this before,” Morse told Auto Action.

“I have heard of people taking damaged parts of souvenirs but not a box full of fresh parts.

“We had the first practice and obviously I had a prang so we came back in to fix the car and discovered there was a box missing.

“We definitely knew we brought it so we looked everywhere around the truck and tent and could not find it.

“We talked to some security guys and they said some bloke’s walked past with it.”

Even though the results didn’t come AIM Motorsport’s way, 2024 is one of growth with Jett Johnson adding a third car to the stable and Adam De Borre jumping on board.

After coming so close in 2023, Morse wants to be chasing the maiden win in 2024.

“Our goal is definitely to be near the top for all races,” he said.

“We just need to keep up our momentum from last year.

“We went from one car to two last year and now three in Super2. We have gelled really well considering there is a whole bunch of people. More data and more cars is a good thing so I am excited to see what everything holds for us.”

Thomas Miles

The Best Value in Auto Racing Safety

RaceQuip brand has built a reputation for manufacturing and distributing high quality auto racing safety equipment at affordable prices and continues to build on that reputation.

SFI rated auto racing Snell SA rated helmets, fire retardant suits, shoes, nomex gloves and SFI & FIA seat belts & harness sets.

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 11

LATEST NEWS

STOP / GO

SUPERCARS HONOURS DANA ON THE eve of the season opening Bathurst 500, the Supercars community was hit by the tragic passing of Dana Wyhoon.

Dana, wife of Image Racing owner Terry Wyhoon and mother of kart racer Ryan Wyhoon tragically passed away on the Wednesday two days prior to the Bathurst 500.

The entire grid conducted a minute’s silence in her memory prior to the race, while Ryan himself was in the flag stand waving off the field with the green flag in hand to commence the warm up lap. Both Jobe Stewart’s and Jarrod Hughes’ ZB Commodores. Carried the special messages “In loving memory of Dana Wyhoon” on the rear windscreens, while competitors also ran special stickers.

WAUGH’S LOVE FOR MOTORSPORT FOR THE second event in a row, Australian cricket legend Steven Waugh was at Bathurst watching the Supercars fly around Mount Panorama.

Waugh revealed to Auto Action his lifelong passion for motorsport and special connection with Betty Klimenko.

“I have always enjoyed motorsport – I used to go to the sprintcars at Parramatta,” he said.

“I am really good friends with Betty. She has been a big supporter for my charity and is an amazing lady.

“I have been to Bathurst a few times and actually started the race once.

“It is such an iconic track and world renowned so I have always take the chance to take a look”

VAUGHAN’S BATTLE TO MAIDEN SUPER2 PODIUM TICKFORD YOUNG gun Brad Vaughan overcame some nasty sickness on his way to a maiden Super2 podium.

Vaughan emerged third in the fight for round honours in the #5 Mustang after a solid weekend where he finished sixth and third in Races 1 and 2 respectively.

Despite the clear pace, Vaughan revealed it was a battle behind the wheel.

“After first practice I got on the scales and almost threw up. I had to sit on the ground for a bit,” Vaughan said.

“I was a bit under the weather throughout the weekend and you just wear yourself out, so I need to look after myself.”

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

NEED FOR SPEED? SYMMONS PLAINS! SYMMONS Plains Raceway will come alive with all the action of the AWC Race Tasmania meet in two weeks’ time.

The second round of the 2024 Shannons SpeedSeries will see five categories on the track just south of Launceston from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 March.

The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, Trico Trans Am Series, Precision National Sports Sedans, ACL Race Series Hyundai Excel and Sparco Tassie Tin Tops, and Drift League Tasmania are all on the fourthever Race Tasmania program.

Organiser, Barry Rogers said he expects a strong turn-out of spectators.

“We’re ahead on ticket sales, so I think we’ll get a pretty good crowd down there – we always get a good crowd down there,” he said.

“We’re taking Sports Sedans down there for the first time in 20-plus years.”

The Hyundai Excel drivers are competing for $10,000; the biggest Hyundai racing prize ever in Australia.

Race Tasmania marks Round 2 for TCR Australia and Trans Am, and a series opener for Sports Sedans, which has never launched a season in Tassie before.

Taking the SpeedSeries to the

Apple Isle is a joy for Barry and his father, Garry Rogers, who have a solid connection to the area, and a desire to give back to motorsport lovers in that community.

“I’m a Tasmanian boy, really,” Garry said.

“Whilst I was brought up in Melbourne, my dad was born in Tassie, and as a kid I spent all my young life on a farm in Sulphur Creek, just near Burnie.

“That’s where I learned to ride a horse, milk a cow by hand … I’ve always gone there for holidays and just enjoyed it, and I’ve still got a few relatives there.

“I spend so much time there, and I have some great racing memories at Baskerville and Symmons.”

Barry said the event is also made possible due to the passion of Andrew Walter of naming rights sponsor, AWC. “Andrew is a big supporter of motorsport up here, but he supports this event and helps us out strongly with it, as does the Tasmanian Government,” Barry said.

Garry added that Walter’s commitment to motor racing in Australia is “vital.”

“Not just us, but he supports a lot of young people in car racing; in go karts, in all sorts of things,” Garry said.

A free grid walk will allow spectators on track before Race 2 of TCR and Trans Am. Barry said he’s proud to be bringing all this action to Tassie, hoping it encourages more grassroots motorsport involvement, further investment in community sport, and a boost to tourism.

“It’s vital to maintain and retain places like Baskerville and Symmons,” he said. “If a child gets involved in motorsport, the whole family goes.

“They’re working on the car, mum’s making the sandwiches, and they might end up becoming officials.

“It’s a real investment in sport for families and it is so important otherwise kids can drift off.

“With Race Tasmania, between our categories and all the teams, I think there’s 600 or 700 people that go down as teams, and they’re all there for about four nights.

“You go to the footy and you might stay a night, or fly out the same day, but motorsport definitely generates more bed nights and expenditure in a place.”

The AWC Race Tasmania track program and 7mate free-to-air telecast schedule was published yesterday afternoon, and more information can be found at racetasmania.com.au.

Edwina Williams

The Trico Trans Am field will compete at Race Tasmania this month.

Images: SUPPLIED

SWEENY SEARCHING FOR SUPER2 SEAT BAILEY SWEENY is a notable omission from the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia grid in 2024, but there is a good reason for it.

Despite falling heartbreakingly short of the TCR title last year, having won four races, Sweeny has left HMO Customer Racing instead of trying to clinch the crown.

In 2024 the 21-year-old ended his time in TCR in order to chase a spot on the Super2 grid.

Although nothing came to fruition, he is still hopeful of securing a drive later in the season in similar fashion to what fellow TCR star Aaron Cameron did last year.

“We got what we can from TCR and stepped away at the end of 2023 thinking that will be our final year before moving onto something else,” Sweeny told Auto Action.

“We were hoping to have a foray into Super2 this year but that did not come to fruition.

“We still are trying to get something for the second half of the year.”

Image: RACE PROJECT Four victories at Symmons Plains, Winton and Sandown made him the favourite heading into the Bathurst finale but a mechanical failure saw his dream dashed and he fell from first to third in the standings.

Despite the disappointment, Sweeny feels he still made a big enough statement and TCR should be a category closely looked at by Image: RACE PROJECT

Supercars teams.

“I feel like TCR is underrated,” he said.

“Someone like Aaron Cameron has come in and is right at the front which shows the quality in the category.

“I honestly think I could jump in a Supercar and do a good job straight away.”

Thomas Miles

HAS THE AASA STOLEN THE AUSTRALIAN DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP? MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA’S most longstanding and prestigious championship and title – the Australian Drivers Championship – appears to have been kidnapped by its administrative and alternative motorsport sanctioning rival, the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA).

With S5000, which has decided the Australian Drivers Championship over the past three seasons, currently in recess and its future the subject of ongoing discussion, AASA issued a statement last week, announcing it intends to stage the 2024 Australian Drivers Championship – using locally produced Hyper Racer cars.

The release acknowledges the Australian Drivers Championship’s history, but says that ‘Mountain Motor Sports’ has registered the name as a trademark and will lease it to AASA/Hyper Racers to run the 2024 series.

AASA’S FULL STATEMENT READ:

“The Australian Driver’s (sic) Championship (ADC) is Australia’s premiere open-wheeler motor racing championship, contested annually since 1957.

“2024 marks an extremely significant year for the historic racing series as the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA) will be proudly applying the title to the largest growing slicks and wings open wheeler category in Australia, the Hyper Racer Championship, honouring the illustrious 67-year history of the series.

“The Hyper Racer Australian Drivers Championship will succeed the S5000 ADC, Formula 3 ADC and so on, all the way back to the Formula aLibre of 1957.

Created by former Australian Formula 2 Champion Jon Crooke and his son Dean, the Australian designed and built openwheelers are currently the only “slicks and wings” open-wheeler in active production in the country.

“The 2024 Australian Drivers Championship will feature rounds of the VMRC (Victorian Motor Racing Championship) calendar alongside

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

Motorsport Australia (nee CAMS) has run the Australian Drivers Championship since 1957, including the Formula Mondiale period in the mid-80s, won twice by John Bowe, leading four times champion Alf Costanzo. Image Auto Action archives additional interstate circuits for six rounds in total. The full national calendar is set to be released in the coming weeks.

“The AASA is proud to carry on the Australian Drivers Championship name and uphold the tradition of the ADC titling the premiere open-wheeler racing class in Australia.”

AASA CEO, Stephen Whyte, says he is “excited to see more young and upcoming talent, especially those looking to take the leap from karting, enjoying access to this high speed, low running cost and extremely competitive class and to grow their skills and showcase their abilities against the number of Australian Champions that make up the grid.

“Round 1 will take place at Calder Park Raceway on March 16th & 17th.”

The statement has come as a complete shock to the motorsport industry, including Motorsport Australia, and is likely to ignite heated discussion, potentially legal, over ownership of the Australian Drivers Championship – is it a trademark, who owns it, or does over 50 years of running Australia’s premier open wheeler confer ‘ownership’ of the title?

A search of the Trademark register reveals an application, made a year ago, by a Victorian based company named as

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Mountain Motor Sports Pty Ltd for the Australian Driver’s Championship appearing to have been granted.

Did MA know about it? Could it be appealed?

Mountain Motor Sports Peter Washington spoke to AUTO ACTION to clarify the situation.

“Yes, Mountain Motor Sports Pty Ltd owns the Trademark for the ‘Australian Driver’s Championship’, and we legally registered the name and the trademark with IP Australia just over a year ago,” he said.

“We went through a legal process of obtaining the trademark.

“It was a drawn-out process over a period of time, with quite a bit of angst but, under the law we were able to use it and proved that we are going use it in the future.

“I own the trademark and have leased it to the AASA and Hyper Racer who will run the Australian Driver’s Championship series in the future.”

Crazy stuff, recalling the dramas some years back when CAMS realised that the Australian Touring Car Championship title was owned

by Larry Perkins!

For his part John Crooke, owner of Hyper Racers, says the situation is quite simple: “We didn’t hijack this series – we were offered the series by AASA. It’s got nothing to do with the Gold Star – it’s just the Australian

Drivers Championship.

“We’re a $100,000 category, not a half a million dollar category. So drivers with talent, but not much money, can now participate, which hasn’t happened in the past.”

In a further twist to this particular story, the Australian Touring Car Championship name and trademark is also registered to Mountain Motor Sports Pty Ltd. According to Washington, the trademarking action to claim and trademark the ‘Australian Touring Car Championship’ saw a very heated legal battle between CAMS Ltd (Trading as Motorsport Australia) and Mountain Motor Sports Pty Ltd. Washington says he action against the registration was led by MA’s then CEO Eugene Arocca.

That action failed, he says, and ultimately Mountain Motor Sports now owns the name and trademark.

Certainly, it is a brave and audacious move

by AASA. Its low-cost tubular-chassied Hyper Racers have to date run a number of Statebased club events, but to claim it should take on the Australian Drivers Championship title and status will undoubtedly ignite debate around the sport.

Additionally, the concept that the championship’s name could seemingly successfully be trademarked by another party, in this case Mountain Motor Sports, while the 2023 Australian Drivers Championship, run

by Motorsport Australia, was actually taking place is, to put it mildly, puzzling.

Auto Action approached CAMS Ltd management and Paul Riordan-Director of Communications, for comment but hadn’t received a response as AA went to press.

www.autoaction.com.au I 13

LATEST NEWS

STOP / GO

THE ADELAIDE MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL IS A FORTNIGHT AWAY, MARCH 16-17 AUSTRALIAN RACE fans can double up, take in the Phillip Island Classic and then head to Adelaide for a fabulous weekend of sun and automotive fun!

Not to be missed are ‘ex-Rock Star’ F1 team principal Guenther Steiner’s taste of a Ford Mustang Supercar driven by James Courtney. Courtney and Steiner’s F1 paths crossed when James was a test driver, and Steiner the team principal at Jaguar Racing in 2001-02.

F1 fans will also be treated to two ex-Martin Brundle/ Stefano Modena 1989 Brabham BT58 Judd V8s. In addition, an Adrian Newey-designed 625bhp Leyton House CG891 Judd driven by Ivan Capelli returns.

Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson makes his first Adelaide appearance driving a number of electric cars; more exciting will be his demonstrations of an ‘F1’ Rodin FZED and a Leyton House Porsche 962C. And all of the rest folks, don’t miss it!

$10K FOR EXCEL-LENT DRIVER THE ACL Race Series Hyundai Excels will return to Symmons Plains Raceway for Race Tasmania this month, competing for $10,000!

The category is a key feature of the second round of the 2024 Shannons SpeedSeries, from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 March.

Excel drivers in the field will be contesting the biggest Hyundai racing prize ever to be awarded in Australia, put up by the Australian Racing Group.

“Tassie is the richest place in Australia for Hyundais,” said ARG’s Garry Rogers.

ACL Race Series Hyundai Excel drivers include Tabitha Ambrose, the daughter of former Supercars and NASCAR driver, Marcus Ambrose.

WORLD RALLYCROSS SET FOR DEBUT DOWN UNDER AUSTRALIA IS set to host all the action of the FIA World Rallycross Championships’ season finale for 2024.

In the recently published race schedule, the end of the series has been booked at a location to be advised from Saturday 30 November to Sunday 1 December.

It will be the first time the category has ever been staged in the country.

“We’re excited to officially present the 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship calendar,” said the championships’ managing director, Arne Dirks.

“A huge amount of hard work has gone into putting this schedule together, and we must thank all of our stakeholders for their earnest efforts and support.

“With a mixture of traditional rallycross favourites such as Höljes, Montalegre and Mettet, a very well-deserved promotion for Nyirád following two excellent European championship events, a maiden visit to Australia and a return to France, we have a truly global and compelling calendar sure to whet the appetite of competitors and fans alike, and one befitting of such a landmark season as the ‘Battle of Technologies’ gets underway in style.”

The FIA World Rallycross Championship is a dual-surface category that has been running for

Ole Christian Veiby, Johan Kristoffersson, Niclas Groenholm and Timmy Hansen go head-to-head in Hong Kong during last year’s FIA World Rallycross Championships.

Image: RED BULL CONTENT POOL 10 years, and 2024’s field will include both combustion engines and electric vehicles going head-to-head.

“We are looking forward to seeing the RX1e cars back in action for the first time since last summer, and curious to discover how they compare against the sustainablyfuelled combustion cars on the grid,” Mr Dirks said.

“As we all know in rallycross, there will be absolutely no quarter given.”

The penultimate round of the series, which is expected to be held in Asia, is yet to be confirmed.

Action will begin in June in Essay, France, before rounds in Sweden, Hungary, Belgium, and Portugal.

“Looking further ahead, we are already in the advanced stages of finalising next year’s plans, with even more interest from major new

14 I www.autoaction.com.au

2024 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR JUNE 8-9 Euro RX of France, Essay (Euro RX only) JULY 6-7 World RX of Sweden, Höljes JULY 27-28 World RX of Hungary, Nyirád AUGUST 17-18 World RX of Benelux, Mettet SEPTEMBER 7-8 World RX of Portugal, Montalegre NOVEMBER 30 – DECEMBER 1 World RX of Australia, TBA

LOWNDES AND CHEV LAUNCH FINKE ASSAULT CRAIG LOWNDES will compete the full Finke Desert Race for the first time with Chevrolet this year.

Lowndes has previously made cameo appearances at the famous offroad event such as 2021, while he also won the Great Australian Safari on his first attempt in 2010.

He will be taking on the entire Finke Desert Race in 2024 alongside Dakar co-driver Dale Moscatt in a factory backed Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 ‘off road racer’.

Lowndes is used to racing on the smooth tarmac tracks all over Australia but he is looking forward to the new challenge of racing on the dirt in the “Red Centre” at Finke.

“I’m thrilled to be taking the Silverado to Finke,” Lowndes said.

“It’s been a while since I won the

Australian Safari, which was way back in 2010, this is going to be a great test.

“I can’t wait to get back to the Finke Desert Race, after attending as a fan, and running and testing the Prologue track in 2021. It’s a race like no other in Australia and has been on my bucket list for a long time.

“I drive a Silverado ZR2 every day and regularly put it through its paces off-road on weekends, as well as towing our caravan yearly to the Bathurst 1000.

“It covers impressive distances and handles Australian conditions so easily, now we’re out to prove its off-road capability.”

General Manager Chevrolet Racing Australia and New Zealand Chris Payne said the Silverado ZR2 is ready to spearhead the brand’s assault into

CHEERS TO EREBUS

LOCAL BATHURST beer brewer Reckless Brewing Co teamed up with Erebus Motorsport at the Bathurst 500.

Their “BX Lager” was showcased on the bonnets of Jack Le Brocq and Todd Hazelwood’s Camaros during the season opener as they took to the track for the first time to defend the team’s 2023 Championship.

Betty Klimenko met with Jarrod Moore from Reckless Brewing Co at the track over the race weekend and she praised the passion of young entrepreneurs like Jarrod and his partners Grace Fowler and Alice Wilson.

“I always sign my emails with BX too so maybe it was meant to be!,” Klimenko joked.

markets, so we look forward to confirming and presenting the 2025 World RX dates in due course,” Mr Dirks said.

Use of an Australian venue, and the Nyirád circuit in Hungary, are subject to approval.

Edwina Williams

Image: SUPPLIED

Image: RACE PROJECT

off road racing.

“This is Chevrolet Racing’s first foray into the world of Off-Road Racing and builds on other motorsport categories we compete in, including Supercars and Drag Racing,” he said.

“It is a natural fit for a vehicle such as the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2, which is already an accomplished all-terrain performer in its own right, as this provides an opportunity to showcase all-round capability and demonstrate multi-purpose off road prowess.”

Car entries to take on Finke are now open with and limited spots remain.

At the time of print 139 cars have already been entered, leaving only 26 spots left.

The 2024 Finke Desert Race will be held on June 7-10.

Thomas Miles

15-17 MARCH 2024 SYM M O NS PLAINS RACEWAY SUPERCHEAP AUTO TCR AUSTRALIA SERIES N AT I O N A L T R A N S A M S E R I E S

P R E C I S I O N N AT I O N A L SPORTS SEDANS SERIES

HYUNDAI EXCEL R A C I N G TA S M A N I A TA S S I E T I N T O P S

S P E E D S E R I E S . C O M . A U

INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES

GILL ‘PLEASED’ WITH JWRC PACE

Taylor Gill showed genuine pace, although a pair of punctures took away a potentially great result.

DESPITE SOME misfortune, Aussie youngster Taylor Gill was “really pleased” with his pace in the Swedish snow during his FIA Junior World Rally Championship debut, held alongside the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship,.

Taylor and Australian co-driver Daniel Brkic may have finished seventh in JWRC, but that does not reveal the fast start, as they made a big impression.

The Aussie was in the frame until Stage 7 when he was hit by a double puncture, dropping from third to 13th in the JWRC standings in one stage.

Despite wondering about what could have been possible without the punctures, Gill is still walking away from Sweden upbeat from

the experiencing his first JWRC round.

“I was really happy with our performance early in the rally,” he said.

“To be in the top three from the get-go was something that surprised me, and I was really pleased with.

“We were able to drive to the conditions accordingly and the times were coming out nicely.

“But it ended up being a weekend of what could’ve been.”

Reflecting on what caused the double flat, Gill said it was a minor impact on a snow bank which also caught out the likes of Kalle Rovanpera and Ott Tanak.

“We had a very small impact with a snow bank and, while it seemed like nothing, there

must have been something in there because it was immediately two flats,” he explained.

“Normally we would’ve pulled over straight away, but due to how the roads are ploughed of snow, there’s nowhere safe to pull over in a lot of spots, so we had to wait until a junction to have enough room to change it.

“It was incredibly frustrating. To be in such a good position and then to have it all over from such a small mistake was tough – but that’s the way it goes.”

With the puncture on the Friday, Gill pressed on for the remainder of the weekend and, after a few moments, returned to top four pace in some stages later in the weekend.

“Over the weekend we were more focussed on doing the kilometres and gaining the experience,” he said.

“We had a couple of overshoots as well as a pretty sizeable moment that we were lucky to get away with.

“We needed to get back some lost time as there was still championship points on offer for stage wins, as well as moving up the leaderboard.

“Realistically though, I’m happy with what we proved to ourselves and our competitors, in that we are here to give it a real shot for the rest of the year.”

Gill now gets to take on the more familiar tarmac in Round 2, in Croatia on April 18-22.

Thomas Miles

DIVING INTO THE SWEDISH SNOW PETER RULLO and Ben Searcy formed an Aussie combination to take on Rally Sweden and they almost made it to the finish.

The duo took on the 70th edition of the Swedish rally in a Toni Gardemeister Services (TGS) Worldwide Team Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo and got to as high as 27th.

They managed to stay out of trouble all of the way until the penultimate stage where unfortunately they suffered an intake fuel pump failure.

It meant they were unable to take part in the final stage, but it did not diminish their spirits.

“To be fair the experience of doing the final stage would have just been the icing,” Searcy told Auto Action.

“We enjoyed it so much and achieved what we wanted to achieve so it did not ruin the experience. Overall the event was a success and it was an awesome opportunity.

“We initially eased into it because everything was new and we worked our way to 27th and the trajectory was heading really well.

“But on the second to last stage we had

16 I www.autoaction.com.au

an intake fuel pump failure and we limped it through the stage but could not continue.

“Peter drove really well and I was very impressed. He put so much into the sport through his son Alex and in ARC so to see him smiling so much was beautiful.”

Searcy is a highly rated co-driver who has taken on FIA World Rally Championship events in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

However, he admitted the journey of flying through the Swedish snow was something he had never tasted before.

“It was definitely a different experience,” Searcy said.

“When I left Perth it was 43 degrees and then it was -26 in Sweden. It did not get out of the minuses for the whole time.

The Peter Rullo and Ben Searcy Skoda on the snow in Sweden.

“I have done a number of WRC events around the world but never in the snow and I was very taken aback by the amount of grip the tyres provided on that surface.

“It was my incorrect assumption that snow and ice would be slippery as anything but the grip those tyres produce is sensational.

“Toni who is a former WRC driver said if you could drive on dirt you can drive on anything.

“Even on the road sections between

stages the signs are covered by snow so you cannot tell where the road is. There is just mountains and mountains of snow everywhere.

“You have to be bang on with the map and notes, knowing exactly where you need to go because everything is totally white.”

Whilst the Rally Sweden entry was described a “one off” Searcy said both would “love to do more.”

Thomas Miles

WRC NEWS

WRC DUMPS HYBRID

BEGINNING FROM next season, the FIA Rally Working Group has laid out the technical rules and regulations road map that will define the future of the World Rally Championship.

Over two years of transition, the governing body has set out the plans that it hopes will attract a much needed manufacturer boom in the sports top flight, as the original plan for the Rally1 machine will fall short of its original five-year homologation vision which began in 2022.

As early as next season the Rally1 hybrid system will be no more, with the 100kW unit to go by the wayside, reducing the extensive costs that have kept many

interested manufacturers from joining the field alongside Toyota, Hyundai, and Ford M-Sport.

There will also be a cut in overall performance when engine power takes over once again, with the aerodynamics and air restrictor also receiving a performance decrease to bring it closer to the current Rally2 performance.

The uncertainty over the hybrid system had lingered for all of last season, as no deal could be struck with the unit’s maker, Compact Dynamics, which in itself caused a great deal of uncertainty over the sport’s direction.

The current Rally1 machines – priced

2

WHEN COMPROMISE ISN’T AN OPTION

at around one million Euros – will still be eligible in 2025/2026 without the hybrid unit and with reduced performance until the new regulations and cars come in for 2027, utilising sustainable fuels.

The new regulations for the 2027 cars will however come into effect partly in 2026, with the Rally1 cars still eligible to run alongside the new-spec 2026 cars which will feature a larger spaceframe chassis and, importantly, will only cost a manufacturer around 400,000 Euros and run at 330hp (the current Rally1 car operates at 500 hp).

The FIA is planning on solidifying the new regulations in June at the next World Motor Sport Council.

1

BE RYCO READY

Former WRC team boss David Richards – who was a part of the FIA working group – said that there’s some big challenges ahead.

“These regulations, and we realise it’s a tight timescale, will come in for 2026 and we don’t necessarily believe there will be many cars in 2026, but it will give an opportunity to come in during the course of the season and then 2027 it will be fully into that new regulation,” Richards said.

“We have addressed most of the major concerns and we have tried to take the manufacturers with us. I don’t think they will like every aspect of it, but it’s a fair and reasonable process, and it will develop over the next two years.

“There is no magic wand – it is not suddenly going to be wonderful from tomorrow, but I stand to be judged in two years’ time … these are the things we think are going to work, so let’s work together.”

In terms of the teams agreeing to the deal and ending the big investment in the five year hybrid homologation cycle, Richards added that: “I wouldn’t say they (the teams) all wanted to get rid of it (hybrid) immediately.

There are some issues to resolve with the immediacy of that. In principle they would all support the removal of it.

“This is a unique opportunity to promote sustainable fuels. That has to be one of the promotional platforms for the future.”

TW Neal

3

Ryco is proud to be the Official Filtration Partner of the Repco Supercars Championship.

Along with being engineered, developed, and tested at its Melbourne Laboratory, Ryco’s range of GEN3 Control Parts deliver outstanding filtration and extended engine life without compromising flow or performance.

So, when your everyday passenger, 4x4 or commercial vehicle needs the same protection as a Supercar, be Ryco Ready.

RYC3759

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 17

Auto Action magazine will be subscription-only and not available in store from April 2nd 2024

SUBSCRIBE TO AUTO ACTION PRINT MAGAZINE AND

SAVE 10%

For over 50 years Auto Action has been delivering the most in-depth coverage of motorsport news, race reviews and behind the scenes features. From Supercars and Formula 1, to national, state and club level racing and rallying speedway and drag racing, Auto Action covers it all!

ORDER TODAY AND RECEIVE YOUR COPY OF AUTO ACTION MAGAZINE ON TIME, EVERY TIME! Anywhere in Australian including SOUTH AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA and TASMANIA*

? e b i cr s b u Why S SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE

As Auto Action magazine will be subscription-only and not available in store from April 2nd 2024, we would like to make that transition easier for all of our readers by offering you a

10% discount on 6 and 12 month print subscriptions!

FREE DELIVERY

SPECIAL OFFER

10

Receive your print edition straight to you door!

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE

%

Receive all the latest motorsport news, reviews and features delivered every fortnight!

OFF

FOR A LIMITED TIME DON’T MISS OUT! **

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! RECURRING

6 MONTHS

12 MONTHS

Receive your print mag each fortnight via recurring payment. Billed every 3 months to your chosen payment method. ONLY $64.95

NOW ONLY $117!

NOW ONLY $234!

FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR

FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR

PRINT SUBSCRIPTION

FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR

PRINT SUBSCRIPTION 12 issues $130

PRINT SUBSCRIPTION 25 issues $260

To arrange your Auto Action subscription go to

www.autoactionmagazine.myshopify.com Or contact us at *In most cases. **Offer ends April 2nd 2024

admin@autoaction.com.au

R to Scan Qib subscr e!

03 9563 2107 for payment options

Great news for race fans!

Auto Action digital magazine will be FREE from Tuesday April 2*

Enjoy over 60 pages of all the latest motorsport news, in depth features and race coverage from F1 to Speedway delivered FREE straight to your inbox every fortnight!

SAVE $112.50

*

SIGN UP NOW FOR YOUR FREE 12 MONTH* SUBSCRIPTION TO AUTO ACTION DIGITAL MAGAZINE! Our Post-Grand Prix magazine will herald the first FREE online digital issue of Auto Action.

Everything you love and enjoy about Auto Action in its current printed format, which will still be available to subscribers

IT’S EASY TO DO - JUST SCAN THE QR CODE Register now to start receiving your FREE digital magazine subscription Simply visit www.autoaction.com.au or scan the QR code *Up to $112.50 of savings for a 12 month digital subscription. Free subscription valid for 12 months delivered to your inbox from April 2, 2024 until April 2, 2025.

MURDER, HE WROTE …

LAST WEEK’S SHOCK NEWS THAT AASA APPEARS TO HAVE STOLEN AUSTRALIA’S MOST HISTORIC AND PRESTIGIOUS CHAMPIONSHIP FROM UNDER MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA’S NOSE HAS FORCED AA’S COLUMNIST TO BREAK A PROMISE (BUT IT’S NOTHING TO DO WITH FEDERAL TAX POLICY, OKAY!) …

FIRST UP, an apology. When I agreed to contribute a column to AA, with my pet project S5000 ‘in recess’, I did promise it would not delve into the issues confronting it – there’s a lot more to motorsport than that, most of it positive, to drone on about a personal project ad infinitum …

However, the startling events of last week, with AASA announcing its plans to stage an ‘Australian Driver’s Championship’, seemingly nicking the title from Motorsport Australia, and the associated negative commentary again stretching across social media, about S5000’s ‘failure to deliver’ or ’death’ compels me to put the facts out there.

You, the readers, can make up your own mind – but at least it will be with the full story as a reference.

There are things in Australian motorsport which need to change.

S5000 didn’t die (and I hope it may yet re-launch). It was murder, your honour.

Between them, Supercars, Motorsport Australia, and even ARG itself, to varying degrees, all contributed to an extraordinary pile-on.

SUPERCARS, FUNNILY enough, was moderately okay to start with – remember, they thought enough of the concept to build a ‘copycat’

with Chris Lambden

CL ON CALL car of their own at one point (even though it turned out to be a pile of you-know-what) – and S5000 raced at the 2021 Bathurst 1000 event, at the tail end of Covid. There were issues on the day, with constrained power, and a couple of needless crashes (on which more later), but the cars were still impressively fast – sub 2mins – challenging and safe. I guess that’s called racing.

January 2022 saw two big changes: Firstly, the takeover of Supercars by new owners RACE. At the time, ARG shareholders Brian Boyd (PAYCE) and Barry Rogers (GRM) each held around 14% of the new company and went in with wellintentioned plans to bring the whole of national-level motorsport together under one happy family roof. There were even clauses in the paperwork, which I have seen, referring to the potential for RACE to acquire ARG a couple of years down the track.

This ‘kumbayah’ concept soon went west, with the balance of the

20 I www.autoaction.com.au

RACE Board more or less telling the duo to butt out. Boyd, one of the greatest supporters and patrons of Australian motorsport (including S5000) for many, many years, sold his shares back shortly thereafter and stepped out of the sport entirely – a very great shame. The relationship between Supercars and ARG/S5000 ever since has been less than productive … and Barry Rogers has confirmed that their shares have also recently been sold (see news pages).

At the same time, along came the Supercars Superlicence scandal.

Despite any points you might earn racing in other national-level categories, you would need to complete a season of Supercars Second-hand Car category, Super2, before you could race a Supercar.

That protectionist and discriminatory policy has been discussed and protested to death ever since, with Motorsport Australia seemingly unable to do anything

about it until very recently when, of all things, the FIA – reacting to a complaint from the owners of the FIA TCR series, similarly affected – pushed both parties for change. But the solution – reverting to a points qualification system – is so utterly slanted towards Super 2 and Super 3 (was that really just two Super 3 entries at Bathurst last month?), and against other selected categories, that it’s actually worse. MA needs to react and fix it … now.

The litmus test is double Gold Star champion Joey Mawson, who still remains ineligible, under the revised points system, to race a Supercar!

Apart from his two Gold Star S5000 Australian Drivers Championships and his earlier German F4 championship, remember that Joey started the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hours from the back of the grid in a private team Audi R8 after it missed qualifying due to a crash (one of the other drivers). At the wheel for the pitch black 5.15am start, in the pouring rain, Joey did the first two stints and handed the car back in second place – outright …

Not good enough for a Supercars licence? Give me a break …

It was me who convinced Joey to return home to Australia to contest S5000, and found the backers, and his success has been one of the

personally rewarding things out of the whole deal. His treatment by ‘the system’ has, however, been appalling.

I’ve also grown tired of reeling off the long list of former Formula Holden contenders/champions – including RACE Board member and TV commentator Mark Skaife – who then moved directly to V8 Supercars and didn’t manage too badly …

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA? It’s hard to figure them out sometimes.

Bureaucracy has always puzzled me (although I’ve even been part of it on rare occasions!).

The fact is that S5000 has been selectively and discriminatively hit with technical and event restrictions which have simply not been applied to other Australian racing categories.

And MA has become some sort of Ivory Tower, where questioning of policy and decisions is dismissed out of hand. Certainly, the organisation has of late stopped even responding to my emails …

When S5000 raced at Bathurst in 2021, it was with horsepower slashed – to meet an FIA ‘Grade 3’ circuit weight-to-power minimum (2:1) guideline which MA, despite a myriad of discussions, said was absolutely non-negotiable.

“FIA, mate. In black and white. Out of our hands. No can do,” was the theme.

S5000 at Bathurst (left) – the category was subsequently banned from the Mountain – the only category ever banned – on ‘safety’ grounds.

Image: ARG/KALISZ Above: An Aussie Race Car clears the fence at Bathurst a few years back. Aussie Race Cars competed at Bathurst last month ...

TOP: Joey Mawson, double Gold Star champion – still doesn’t qualify for a Supercars Superlicence.

Image ARG/KALISZ ...

Below: Mawson leads S5000 at the 2022 Grand Prix – the category was subsequently elbowed out by Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Image: ARG/KALISZ

In the end, ARG complied and the cars raced, with 80hp electronically removed. With the car’s inherent drag, it meant speeds on Con Rod were barely over 280kmh, slower than Supercars, Super2 and, embarrassingly, even a couple of venerable Touring Car Masters cars! It was pathetic – though they still lapped under 2mins … The cars simply couldn’t pass on Con Rod and that, in my view, ultimately contributed to the couple of high-profile incidents at The Chase. Boys will be boys (or should that be ‘persons will be persons’ …).

But guess what; the cars performed superbly, safety-wise, throughout – as they should, being based on full FIA-approved carbon-fibre chassis etc. Not a scratch on any driver. Not a cracked fingernail … Perfect.

“Non-negotiable” we’d been told. “Must be minimum 2:1 weight-to-power ratio.” Yeah, right.

Four months ago, Sports Sedans (good on ‘em by the way) raced at Bathurst – with, in some cases, 7-800hp powering 1000kg cars. Do the maths. MA personnel I’ve queried this apparent contradiction with simply shrug and mumble …

As we left Bathurst that day back in 2021, the MA official overseeing S5000 commented to me that “well, you won’t be back here again!” I ignored him … then a few months later received the news that S5000 was indeed going to be banned from Bathurst – on safety grounds.

I asked to attend and contribute to the relevant MA ‘Risk Management Committee’ discussion but was told it was not possible.

“Send us something in writing.”

I did, pointing out that, in fact, S5000 was currently the safest category in Australian motorsport. 51 races at the time (now 60) completed; no car has ever come close to rolling over (car weight and minimal tyre-totyre friction/grip being a technical factor), never mind barrel-rolling into the crowd; no driver has been injured. Nothing. Nil. Zero.

I included images of an Aussie Race Car

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

barrel-rolling over the fence at Bathurst (left), noting that Aussie Race Cars still race at Bathurst. Plus images of GTs, Supercars etc upside down or barrel-rolling at the Chase. No S5000 has ever rolled, or come closed to it.

The meeting was, however, swayed by a prominent and vocal Supercars identity who – despite the obvious conflict of interest, and absolutely no direct experience with open-wheel race cars – lectured the group on ‘interlocking wheels’ in open-wheel race cars and the high risk of an S5000 car spiralling off into the crowd …

S5000 was thus banned from Bathurst – the only category treated thus – and that despite MA having been party to and directly involved in the original Bathurst International presentation to the Bathurst City Council, which proposed TCR and S5000 as the two likely ‘of international interest’ categories!

I appealed to MA, again highlighting the total safety of the cars, that no car had ever even rolled, blah, blah, and was, this time, informed that FIA Simulations had identified risk.

Really! Simulations involve making a pile of assumptions, because actual facts don’t exist.

F1 teams do extensive pre-race simulations for each race, which become null and void the moment the cars hit the track for P1 at each GP. As F1 commentator and ex-racer Martin Brundle puts it, perfectly, “simulations are okay, but it’s real cars on real race tracks that matters.”

I pointed this out (in writing of course), reiterating the factual data of S5000’s perfect safety record. I asked for a re-evaluation based on the facts.

“ ”

bucks from a pay TV channel – that not a lot of people watch – with a week’s notice.

Yes, a week before the opening S5000 race of 2022, teams and drivers who had sold their sponsors based on free-to-air TV audience were told of the move. The TV audience dived overnight. Over the following two seasons, the drift away of real sponsors across ARG (ie not someone’s mate/family) was palpable.

Example? With all the IP etc related to S5000 passing to ARG when GRM stepped up to construct the cars – which they did a great job of – my financial involvement became limited to a half share of a car, the one campaigned by Tim Macrow who, of course, did all the development testing for us from the start. Going into 2022, Tim had a great, potentially multi-year, sponsor (UCS), which loved the involvement and was primarily in it as something for the staff, nationally, to relate to – attending races and watching on TV. The overnight switch to pay TV was a disaster. The company, to its enormous credit, saw out the first year, then regretfully stepped back. Tim thus ‘retired’ from driving … prematurely.

There were many other similar examples.

This, at least, has now, just, been fixed – credit MA, which has retained the TV rights and done its SpeedSeries deal with Seven/7Plus. Great news, but maybe a little late – not only for S5000, but for other key ARG categories which suffered a steady numbers decline over the past two years – in my view, again, directly as a result of that badly-advised pay TV deal …

PUT ALL that together and you can see how, over the past 18-24 months, S5000 has had very little to offer an ambitious young racer, which is why entry numbers have stalled.

Incredibly frustrating, believe me – I have dealt with numbers of enquiries from drivers who love the S5000 concept – you know, fastest race cars in the country at half the cost of doing Super2; Gold Star Championship .... But then the discussion has turned to: Crap TV audience for the sponsors; the total barrier to progress to Supercars if successful (viz Joey Mawson); loss of two major events – Bathurst and, ah yes, the Grand Prix. And so on.

Not much to offer.

As F1 commentator and ex-racer Martin Brundle puts it, “simulations are okay, but it’s real cars on real tracks that matters.”

Didn’t get a reply, Can you see where I’m going with this? For some reason, MA has an uncomfortable ‘set’ against S5000. It’s okay for 800hp Sports Sedans and barrier-jumping Aussie Race Cars to compete at Bathurst, but the category with the best safety record in the country can’t?

I’ve always shared the feeling that no-one at MA wants to upset the barrel with the FIA. We’re affiliated to the FIA, not owned or run by it. But there’s an almost religious deference to the FIA, that nothing should be challenged – or sensibly adapted for Australian conditions.

And for some reason – maybe it’s that S5000 as a single-seater category doesn’t quite ‘fit’ with the FIA’s formal F4/3/2 pathway to F1 – it’s S5000 which has been singled out and ‘discouraged’ …

Right now, there’s a new CEO at MA, and a new Director of Technical and Safety is being appointed. To me, that’s a golden opportunity to re-evaluate how the organisation thinks and operates. Maybe.

Ah yes, the AGP. After the disastrous 2020 ‘Covid Friday’ cancellation, with Rubens and ‘Fisi’ on hand as part of a full grid, S5000 finally raced at the GP in 2022 – full grid, decent races (only one Safety Car incident throughout) with F1 teams rushing to the pit wall to see/hear what it was all about.

Fast-forward 12 months and, for some reason, the GP Corporation, which sells-out its event tickets within days, agrees to fork out what must be $5m+ flying 52 F2/F3 cars from Europe to

dominate the support program. S5000 is out (and Supercars gets to enjoy life as a fourthranked support show!). And ironically, F3/F2 both resulted in embarrasing numbers of red flags and Safety Car interventions …

ALL-UP, YOU may now be starting to understand why I won’t accept that S5000, in itself, has ‘failed’. It has actually been crushed – by a combination of the conflicted parties, constraints and bad decisions outlined above.

Some of it is pretty ugly, but it is why numbers struggled to grow over the past two years and has resulted in GRM currently ‘parking’ the fleet.

I’ve been in and around this sport, here and in Europe, since I was 14 (which, yes, is a while) and generally had a ball, but I have never, ever seen such a concentrated effort by elements within a sport to bring something down.

By the way, I also don’t accept the S5000 ‘relevance/pathway’ criticism. If you’re the next Verstappen, you’re most likely on a plane out of here once you realise you’re pretty good in karting (although time in S5000 did Cooper Webster no harm) … eg Piastri, Doohan …

European/Middle East F4/F3/F2 beckons and you’ll get as far as your talent and – more importantly – budget allows. Same if the US scene attracts you.

But, if you’re single-seater oriented, hanker for ‘real’ race cars, and can’t afford to fly the coop, why not sharpen your act in something challenging that can do Bathurst in under two minutes, and in top-level safety – something that race fans say they like, and with Australia’s most long-standing title at stake? It didn’t do Thomas Randle and James Golding any harm!

My other disappointment is due to the S5000 car itself being a tremendous example of the very best motorsport engineering available in this country. Its creation was overseen by Michael Borland, with key input from Roger Higgins (InnoV8) on the engine side, Holinger Engineering and MoTeC. A brilliant all-Australian combination. Then GRM got involved – $6m+ in first-up investment, ‘productionising’ things, and building 18 superb race cars. They’re almost bullet-proof – no spindles break; the steering doesn’t come loose; no wheels fall off … guess you know what I’m cheekily poking a stick at there! …

I’m frustrated and disappointed for all of those who created such a terrific all-Australian car yet have had to watch on as it has slowly and deliberately been dragged down.

WHAT NEXT? I retain the hope that – with the key barriers hopefully taken down, S5000 might just successfully relaunch. We’ll see.

Summer series anyone?

But when, after all that, I’m confronted last week with the news that AASA looks to have hijacked the Australian Drivers Championship, and intends to run it using, with respect, what is a solid, economical, bike-engined club race car, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry …

Anyway, that’s it. CL on Call will return to other, more positive, topics from here on. Promise!

AND THEN there’s been ARG itself. It was its long-departed first CEO who thought it a good idea to ditch free-to-air TV (SBS) for a few

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 21

LATEST NEWS

PYE ON WHY TRIPLE EIGHT ARE THE BEST IN 2024 Scott Pye will return to Triple Eight as a co-driver 12 years after his Super2 stint with the team and he remains just as impressed.

Since Pye finished second to Scott McLaughlin in the 2012 Dunlop Series, he has raced for Lucas Dumbrell Racing, Dick Johnson Racing before and after Roger Penske arrived, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Team 18.

But according to the South Australian, none of them can compare to the standards set at Triple Eight.

After 12 years away Pye returns to the team as the co-driver for Will Brown’s #87 Camaro in the 2024 Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 endurance races.

He revealed the ruthless mentality of chasing perfection has not changed, which he feels is something that is not replicated elsewhere on the grid.

“There is not much comparison to the way that Triple Eight operate elsewhere in pit lane,” Pye told Auto Action.

“Nothing against individuals in other teams. I think they can drop into Triple Eight and would be able to plug in and do well straight away.

“But unfortunately I don’t think the infrastructure in other teams is what is at Triple Eight.

“They are such a professional team and powerhouse but the way it has been led from day one is the difference.

“The most impressive thing is they have pretty much been in contention almost every year since they started.

“There may be opportunities a team stands up and beats them for a year or so but it is how they constantly turn up with the mindset of trying to be better than everyone else everyday that keeps them where they are.

“Jamie (Whincup) has that mentality and I remember when I was in Super2 him saying that when you win on Saturday, the hardest thing was to win again on Sunday so Saturday night is work. You make sure you

come back better because everyone else will too. That never stops.”

Pye was reminded of this when he was present at the pre-season test day at Queensland Raceway before the Bathurst 500 season opener where Triple Eight took out every single on track session.

“When I saw them operating at the test day, it was proof they are not resting on what they have done in the past,” he said.

“I was really impressed with the way they

ran the test day with the procedures and structure in place was excellent.

“Erebus was really fast last year but I think we are seeing Triple Eight rebound even stronger because of that.

“They have just been able to build on the previous year as opposed to rebuilding and we are seeing the results on track.

“It was cool to see Will and Broc (Feeney) show what they are capable of, leading the team into the next phase into the future.”

HERNE READY TO DOMINATE TRANS AM AGAIN NATHAN HERNE is coming back to dominate Australian Trans Am once again at the AWC Race Tasmania season opener.

Herne is back down under after a year racing in America and will make an anticipated cameo at Symmons Plains as a privateer.

Herne is the most successful driver in Trans Am, dominating the 2021 and 2022 seasons where he stormed to 19 wins and 33 podiums in 35 races.

Whilst he was victorious steering a Garry Rogers Motorsport Mustang in 2022, the “Lismore Bullet” will reunite with the Dodge Challenger he took to the 2021 crown.

Herne spent 2023 racing in America in the TA2 Series where he took three podiums in his rookie campaign.

However, due to off track dramas Herne has been unable to secure a 2024 drive and has been racing closer to home recently.

He recently dominated the NZ v Aus TA2 Series, taking out every session in an

effective one-car, one-man operation.

Herne also has happy memories of Symmons Plains winning three of the six races he has participated in the Apple Isle.

Despite having such an impressive Tran Am record, Herne knows it will be extremely difficult to carry on that form.

“I definitely want to come back and go straight to the top,” he said.

“The stuff I’ve learnt over the last year, the cars were quite different but there’s

plenty of things I can relate in theory.

“The competition in Trans Am has stepped up to an extent, which is good, there’s more of those professional benchmarks – guys like (James) Moffat, (James) Golding, (Todd) Hazelwood and (Tim) Slade.

“I’ll do a shakedown at Winton just to make sure everything works how it should, but then we’re straight into the deep end in Tassie.

“A lot of people say Symmons Plains is a

drivers’ track, but I believe a lot of it also comes down to the setup of the car, if it’s just one percent off it’s very hard to make that up.”

Like in New Zealand, Herne will carry on with his more hands-on approach to racing being a one-man band.

“I’ll be the crew chief, engineer, and mechanic in the garage at home,” he said.

“I have some guys coming to help out at the track which will take the load off but it’s very much a self-run effort.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to try and test myself off the track as well as on it.

It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, especially more so recently, as I think taking responsibility is pretty important to moving forward, and unfortunately for myself, if things go backwards there won’t be many others to blame!

“I think it’ll be a stressful weekend, but hopefully rewarding.”

The AWC Race Tasmania will feature four races across the March 15-17 weekend, with all of the action live and free via the Seven Network.

PERENJORI CLASSIC TRAGEDY THE 2024 Perenjori Classic

“PERIOD OF DISAPPOINTING RESULTS” PROMPTS ALPINE TECHNICAL TEAM DEPARTURES ALPINE’S 2024 woes have worsened with the announcement that Technical Director Matt Harman and head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have departed from the French team following a points-less run in Bahrain last weekend.

The news comes after a far-fromideal start to the 2024 Formula 1 season, which saw Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly starting the race from the back on the grid, and only promoting their new-concept A524 to P17 and P18 come the chequered flag.

In a statement released by Alpine, the team announced the “organisation changes across its technical teams”.

“BWT Alpine F1 Team today introduces a series of organisational changes throughout its technical teams where it will take a new threepillared approach.

“The team has created three specialised technical roles: Technical Director (Performance), Technical Director (Aerodynamics) and Technical Director (Engineering), replacing the previous structure of a

singular Technical Director.

“The decision comes after a period of disappointing results in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, where the team has fallen from finishing fourth in the 2022 Championship to sixth in 2023, missing several key targets in its ambitions to reach the front of the grid.”

The changes also come after an internally tumultuous 2023 season in which former Alpine F1 Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer was dismissed mid-Belgium Grand Prix weekend, temporarily replaced by Bruno Famin who was confirmed as full-time Team Principal earlier this year.

Along with Szafnauer’s departure, Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry and CEO Laurent Rossi all left the team as well.

As replacements for Harman and de Beer, Alpine announced Joe Burnell as Technical Director of Engineering, David Wheater as Technical Director of Aerodynamics, and Ciaron Pilbeam as Technical Director of Performance.

“The three will work closely

together and report to Team Principal Bruno Famin, with immediate effect,” the team statement said.

“On a power unit side, the technical team in Viry is led by Technical Director (Power Unit) Eric Meignan who continues to work on the 2026 PU project.

“The team can also confirm the start of the tenures of Chief Operating Officers John Woods at Enstone and Audrey Vastroux at Viry-Chatillon to continue the development of the factories behind the Formula 1 project.

“BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have chosen to leave the team to seek new challenges.

“The team thanks Matt and Dirk for their efforts at the team and wishes them the best in their future endeavours.”

Before true changes to the A524 can be made, Ocon and Gasly will be thrown into the high-speed challenge that is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix later this week, kicking off from 12:30 AM, Friday morning, AEST.

Western Australia Off Road Championship event was cancelled last weekend after a driver tragically passed away.

A capacity field of 60 entries started the 2024 Western Australia Off Road Championship season opener, but the event was cancelled on the opening day due to a tragic accident.

The driver’s identity has not been made public but the family has been advised.

AUTO ACTION sends its deepest condolences to the friends and family of the driver.

Motorsport Australia released the below statement on the situation.

Motorsport Australia has been advised of a critical incident at the Perenjori Classic, a round of the Western Australia Off Road Championship.

A driver was found unresponsive on the side of the course on Saturday afternoon (WA time), with first aid administered by competing crews before the on-site ambulance team arrived at the scene shortly after. Unfortunately they were unable to revive the driver.

Witness reports from those at the event also indicate the vehicle was undamaged.

Western Australia Police were called to the scene and are investigating the incident, working closely with Motorsport Australia officials and staff.

The family has been advised of the incident, with Motorsport Australia offering its full support.

Motorsport Australia extends its sympathy to the family, friends and officials at the scene and has offered counselling services to those at the event impacted by this tragic event.

The remainder of the event scheduled to run on Sunday has also been cancelled, event organisers have confirmed.

LATEST NEWS

TARGA UPDATE: PERRY DECLARES 2024 AS DEFINING YEAR

WHILST THERE will be no TARGA events in 2024 with the coroners inquest still to be held on August 25, CEO Mark Perry has stressed this year as the most important in TARGA Tasmania’s history.

Since the date has been locked in for the coroners inquest into the deaths at the 2021 and 2022 TARGA Tasmania events, the push toward the return of the event in 2025 has further ramped up with a discussion opened on the new Draft Regulations.

Some of the changes put forth via the new Draft Regulations include: • the return of the Rookie Rallye in a speed limited form • an updated licence system, which sees the removal of the Super Licence • removal of the Supercar list and replaced with a Modern Category 1 list, which retains the same licence but will require greater experience to compete in these vehicles • tyres have been increased to eight • Mechanical freedoms that do not impact safety have been added to overcome availability challenges and reduce costs, especially for those in Classic and Early Modern vehicles. Thanks again to all those

who provided great input into this area • clarifications on cages, seats, foam, and ABS, are included • derived time system has been updated and streamlined • overtaking and reconnaissance requirements have been updated and many more…

Perry has spent the last half a year in constant communication with members and competitors to ensure that the return of TARGA Tasmania not only goes ahead, but goes ahead as relevant tarmac rally that remains healthy for the future generations to enjoy.

“It will take patience, understanding, compromise, engagement, input, support, prayers, vision and innovation from every member of the TARGA family to overcome the challenges that are obvious for all to see,” Perry said in his regular communications.

“To survive, TARGA Tasmania must remain an all-embracing destination tourism event that appeals to motorsport competitors and driving enthusiasts alike.

“This year, a year where there will not be

a TARGA event, will be the most important year in the history of TARGA Tasmania. This is the year that we will SAVE TARGA Tasmania!”

“TARGA must continue to travel to all corners of Tasmania and cannot be shortened to a generic and homogenised loop-style rally based in a single location.

“There is a surplus of these events around the world but there is only one TARGA Tasmania; we must save it for us to continue to enjoy, but importantly we must save it so future generations can also experience the journey of a lifetime. A journey of freedom and the sorts of things that we have all taken for granted for the last three decades.”

The version 1.0 of the Draft Regulations received over 300 responses after Perry released them to get a handle on opinions from members and competitors, with the more defined Draft Regulations 2.0 being formed.

There is also a beginners guide on the way for new competitors in order to properly digest the experience in 2025.

Perry – a competitor himself from the late 90’s – said that the overarching theme

in the feedback was to return the event to what it once was. “…Others may say that this is a ‘rose coloured glasses’ view and you can never go back, but I feel there is some middle ground needing to be found to ensure a long and successful future for TARGA Tasmania.

“In essence, there is a very strong feeling amongst many of you that TARGA Tasmania needs to have less competitions, far more categories to replace these, a merged TARGA plate system which is not impacted by where you choose to compete, and a range of new TARGA plates and awards to incentivise people to keep coming back and focus on winning these awards instead of chasing outright results and championship points.

“For me, it made for compelling reading and as someone who competed in the late 1990s, I could relate to what many of you were saying.”

Perry also encourages people and those with a passion for TARGA to download the SAVE TARGA banner to their social pages.

BEETON TAKES MOTORLAND YOUNG AUSSIE Jack Beeton has continued on with his Formula 4 education, taking out the latest Formula Winter Series at Motorland Aragon in Spain.

In the backend of 2023 Beeton took out his first Junior Formulae title for Australian team AGI Sport in the F4 South East Asia Championship, and after taking a few podiums to start the year in the F4 UAE Championship, he’s backed it up with a sweep of them in Spain for the German US Racing team.

Whilst his finishes of two second places and third got him the round win, it’s another Aussie in Griffin Peebles that leads the series after having taken wins at Jerez and Ricardo Tormo in the

Gianmarco Pradel (left) and Jack Beeton. first two rounds.

Peebles’ fifth place in Race 3 also enabled him to take the outright

championship lead over Peruvian driver Andres Cardenas, leading the series by seven points with one round to

come with the decider to take place in Barcelona on March 8-10.

It was also a solid round for another Aussie driver in Gianmarco Pradel, who netted a podium in Race 1.

Pradel took out last year’s rookie title in the Formula Series, as well as finishing second outright.

Both Beeton and Pradel will be competing for US Racing in the Italian Formula 4 this season before they look to move up the formulae rungs in 2025.

The other Aussie out on track in Aragon was another AGI product in Peter Bouzinelos, but his weekend didn’t fare so well with a couple of retirements.

TW Neal

LACEY PRIMED FOR BIG 2024 AUSSIE YOUNG gun Jesse Lacey is bracing himself for a busy 2024 as he will race open-wheel championships on both sides of the Pacific.

After making the move overseas and taking on the F4 United States Championship in 2023, Lacey will race a sophomore season in 2024 thanks to support from Ares Group, but that will not be his only campaign.

The teenager will also race in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship for Bionic Jack Racing having been one of just three drivers worldwide to receive the m2 Management and G Force Engineering scholarship.

The new campaign will see him race at the iconic Suzuka Circuit at this weekend’s season opener, plus Sportsland Sugo, Okayama, Motegi and Fuji Speedway.

This will be held in addition to a second crack at the F4 United States Championship with KiwiCrosslink Motorsport.

Lacey’s mindset for the busy year where he will be crisscrossing the Pacific is very clear.

“The goal is to win both championships and I think I can do that,” Lacey told AUTO ACTION. Lacey has already got a taste of what is to be expected in Japan having completed a test in the Formula Regional car at a wet Suzuka.

Despite the tough conditions, he came away with a positive feeling from the opening test.

“I had a long break so when I went back into the car I had to get the hang of it again but it was all good,” he said.

“I had a day and a half in a Formula Regional car before but the American one is different to the one in Japan.

“The first time I drove it was pouring with rain in Suzuka so it was not ideal but I loved it.

“The speed difference was massive down the straight and

Lacey – testing USF4. there is also a lot more aero through the corners. It also has a turbo so the power delivery is quite fast.

“Add that all to the wet, so it was a bit tricky but I got the hang of it.”

Last year was a big one for Lacey, who made the move from Australia to America.

In his debut season in the F4 United States Championship, the youngster from Melbourne claimed two pole positions and one race win on his way to fourth in the USF4 title race.

The sweet success arrived in the penultimate round of the year at Virginia, while a solid second place in the final race of

the season at Circuit of the Americas secured fourth in the championship.

Reflecting on his rookie season, Lacey admitted adjusting to life on and off the track took some time, but feels more is possible with a less aggressive approach behind the wheel.

“The start of it was a bit tricky being my first F4 race. It took us a bit of time getting a grip of things because it was completely different from racing a kart,” he reflected.

“But once we did it was good from there.

“I probably did a couple of high risk/high reward moves which cost us a few places.

“We also had some mechanical problems which cost us a few places but now I know what to do.”

Lacey is also looking forward to racing with less pressure on his shoulders with two full championships confirmed.

Thanks to the support of the m2 Management and G Force Engineering scholarship, Ares Group, and Jason Miller, Lacey will be able to go full attack in America and Japan.

“I am proud and honoured to represent my supporters because Japan would not have happened and racing would have been hard,” he said.

“At the end of last year if I didn’t perform it would have been really hard for us to race this year but luckily we did and I have people who believe in me.

“I don’t have as much pressure because at times last year we were not sure if we were doing the next round or not.

“Now knowing I will be doing both championships, I cannot wait to go racing now.”

The Formula Regional Japanese Championship begins at Suzuka on March 9-10 where three races will be held, while the USF4 season begins at NOLA Motorsports Park on April 11-14.

FIA PRESIDENT UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR F1 RACE RESULT INTERFERENCE

FIA PRESIDENT Mohammed Ben Sulayem is under investigation for allegedly interfering with the results of last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in which he is said to have overturned a post-race penalty against Fernando Alonso.

According to BBC Sport, a whistleblower recently made the FIA aware of the incident, seeing the claim form part of an official report made by an FIA compliance officer to the motorsport’s governing body’s ethics committee.

The report constructed by Paolo Basarri, FIA Compliance Officer, details that Ben Sulayem “pretended the stewards to overturn their decision to issue” the 10-second penalty to Alonso.

Originally published in Italian, the word “pretendere” translated to ‘to pretend’, however, with the meaning ‘to expect/ demand’.

As indicated by the whistleblower, Ben Sulayem allegedly called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the FIA’s vice-president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa, who was working at the Saudi Arabian GP that weekend to make it clear that he thought Alonso’s penalty should be nullified.

The penalty in question was a 10-second penalty given to the Spaniard for work done on his car whilst serving a previously dealt five-second penalty.

Prior to the penalty being revoked, the 10-second addition to his race time would have knocked Alonso off the podium, sending him back behind

George Russell in P4.

Instead, the #14 finished on the podium for the second time in the first two rounds, taking home the third-place trophy for Aston Martin.

Ben Sulayem has been the FIA President since December 2021, and not without controversy.

The FIA President has found himself in hot water on many occasions including, but not limited to:

Halting an agreement between teams and the commercial rights holder to double the number of sprint weekends per season for six months.

Being on the receiving end of a “ceaseand-desist” letter from F1’s lawyers after a public reaction on social media to an article claiming Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had attempted to buy the sport for $20bn.

And, the revelation of misogynistic

remarks made by Ben Sulayem resurfacing in old quotes.

The most recent controversy Ben Sulayem has been involved in was the highly publicised compliance investigation made by the FIA into the Wolffs in 2023.

A conclusion to the investigation is expected to be made in the next four to six weeks, with all parties yet to make comment on the situation.

LATEST NEWS

FAWCETT TAKES IT UP A GEAR

BY EDWINA WILLIAMS

REIGNING VICTORIAN State Race Series Formula Ford champion Joe Fawcett is leveling up his driving in 2024.

The eighteen-year-old will compete in the Australian Formula Ford Series, which begins later this month over the Easter weekend at the Mount Panorama Circuit, during the Bathurst 6 Hour.

“This year, our plan and our focus is on the national championship, which is seven rounds around Australia,” he said.

Competing at Bathurst will be a dreamcome-true for the Ballarat Grammar year 12 student, who is balancing racing with his

Joe Fawcett will begin the 2024 Australian Formula Ford Series as the current Victorian State Race Series Formula Ford champion.

Image: REBECCA HIND / REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY

VCE studies.

“You hear all the Supercars drivers saying it’s their favourite track and everyone says it’s amazing,” Fawcett said.

“I’m also a bit nervous at the same time

because it’s quite a daunting thing to do; there’s not much room for error at Bathurst.

“But I’m also just super excited to experience the track.”

Fawcett said he tends to achieve his best

results at Winton Motor Raceway, although his favourite track is Sandown.

He’ll be in action at both - during round two and six respectively - as part of the series.

“Past that, I don’t really have a specific plan, it’s more just seeing if anything comes up during the year,” Fawcett said.

“I’d like to get a drive in a Porsche or Toyota 86, something like that. But my focus is this year, for now.”

His ultimate goal is to get a drive in a Supercar.

The opening round of the Australian Formula Ford Series is part of the Bathurst 6 Hour event.

Father and son competitors, David (#91) and Codie (#50) Banks are part of the NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series which will conclude at Phillip Island.

Image: MATTHEW SMITH

Eleven Australian F5000 drivers will compete at the Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport.

Image: JOHN LEMM

IT’S AUS V NZ FOR F5000S AT PHILLIP ISLAND

BY EDWINA WILLIAMS

THIS WEEKEND’S Phillip Island Classic is an opportunity for Australians and New Zealanders to battle it out.

Ten Formula 5000 drivers from the SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival series are set to cross the ditch for the event which includes the Phillip Island F5000 Historic Grand Prix.

Twenty-one cars have entered the trans-Tasman hit-out at the festival of motorsport, with nine from Victoria and two heading down from New South Wales.

An inaugural trophy organised by members of the Victorian Historic Racing Register is to be presented by F5000 chief of driver standards, Kevin Bartlett.

A champion competitor, Bartlett won major races including the 1974 Bathurst 1000, and said he expects those traveling from NZ to do well. “[The Kiwis] won’t have any problem,” he said. “Look at all the racing they’ve been doing.

“I’ll have a good chat with them and ensure, along with guys like John Bowe,

we… answer all their questions.”

Bartlett said the Phillip Island track is a more simple one to approach.

“The new guys will pick it up quickly,” he said.

“It has one blind approach, with plenty of run-off. The track lends itself to a flowing pattern, the straights are longer.

You have time to settle down and look at things.”

The Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport is set for Friday 8 to Sunday 10 March.

F5000 qualifying is scheduled for

Friday morning before an afternoon four-lap race. On Saturday, five-lap and seven-lap races are set for the morning and afternoon respectively.

A five-lap race on Sunday morning will be followed by the Historic Grand Prix from 12.15pm.

An afternoon 11-lap race is also open to competitors.

Tickets are available at the gate.

Patrons under 17 enter free if accompanied by an adult.

Gates open Friday 8 March, 8am. Visit vhrr.com.au for more information.

GARWOOD JOINS TRANS AM BATTLE FOR RACE TASMANIA AT SYMMONS PLAINS DREAM RACING Australia have confirmed that they will field the highly credentialed Adam Garwood in the upcoming round of the Trans Am Series which will be held as part of the AWC Race Tasmania event at Symmons Plains Raceway near Launceston over the weekend of 15-17 March.

Adam Garwood will compete in the team’s Chevrolet Camaro-bodied Trans Am racer in round two of the National Trans Am Series and will be up against some serious competition with the likes of current Trans Am Champion James Moffat, Nathan Herne, Ben Bargwanna James Golding, Supercar driver Tim Slade, Ben Grice and Nash Morris all competing.

The car that Garwood will compete in was raced by American Robert Noaker at Mount Panorama last year and it’s also the same chassis that has been formerly driven by Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki (Queensland Raceway 2022) and tested by now-NASCAR star Shane van Gisbergen.

Garwood is no stranger to the class or high-powered V8 racing. The 25 year old competed with Dream Racing Australia at Symmons Plains last year, driving a Dodge Challenger, as well as a year in the S5000 class plus a number of seasons in Touring Car Masters.

Garwood is enthusiastic about the upcoming program. “Last year had some

AU

$9395! per person, twin-share

positive moments in Trans Am. “This year should be better in a newer car, and hopefully that gets us up the field a bit further and closer to a top five result.”

Recently, Garwood drove the popular VB Commodore at the opening round of the Touring Car Masters series event run at the Supercars Bathurst 500, finishing with two podium results at Mount Panorama.

“Trans Am is a great class and compared to all of the other categories that I’ve raced recently, it’s closer to Touring Car Masters because it has no aero. The cars move around so hopefully we find our way quickly and get some good results.”

He confirmed.

“Craig (Scutella, team owner) and Cam (Fisher, team manager) are very accommodating and very welcoming. It’s a great team to be around.

“Adam drove with us last year, our old Dodge, and he was competitive, but we feel that this car will be much stronger,” said Fisher.

“This is a really good car. Robert drove the car to the front at Bathurst, and Adam being a local Tasmanian, he probably knows that track better than anyone in the Trans Am field.

“He is having a run at Winton on Friday for some testing, and I’m hoping that he can be close to the pace of the top five.”

Fisher explained.

“As much as I know Symmons Plains like the back of my hand, it doesn’t make it easier with a bunch of Supercars drivers and a few very good up and comers. But I’m looking forward to mixing it up with them.” Garwood concluded.

The Launceston resident will join Dream Racing regulars Jackson Rice and fellow Tasmanian Josh Webster in the

expanded team, fielding three outright contenders.

Rice ran hot in the opening round at Sandown, scoring a third place finish in the final race and currently sits sixth in standings.

Webster is looking forward to a return to his home race and will sport a new-look Ford Mustang-bodied car, set to be revealed in the coming days.

Webster also had an encouraging run at Sandown, winning the Pro-Am class.

The Symmons Plains Raceway event is part of a big weekend of motorsport action at the Tasmanian circuit, including supporting acts from TCR Australia and other local racing classes.

Prices for a three-day weekend pass are $55.00, single Sunday $30, kids under 12 Free For further information visit racetasmania.com.au

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER

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

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams PRODUCTION EDITOR Edwina 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 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Timothy W. Neal, Josh Nevett, Dan McCarthy, Steven Devries, 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.

Geoff Colson - Colson Photography INTERNATIONAL

Motorsport Images

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.

All rights reserved No part of this magazine’s content may be reproduced, retransmitted or rebroadcast without the express written permission of the Publisher and Action Media Partners.

Printed by ive Group Distributed by ARE Direct Retail Distribution Australia

AUTO ACTION WEBSITE

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

Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

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

Oakleigh Victoria 3166 James Golding made a great start in Race 2 at Bathurst – but there wasn’t a lot of people there to watch it ... Image: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

SOCIAL DISCOURSE AS THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN BOTH SUPERCARS AND FORMULA 1, THERE WAS ALSO A LOT GOING ON AUTO ACTION’S SOCIAL CHANNELS…

BATHURST CAN’T BE DONE BY HALVES

I’M BAFFLED after the opening round of the Supercars Championship at Bathurst.

What was it all about?

The attendance was poor and the racing was lacking the reigning champion Brodie Kostecki and only just passable.

The Bathurst 500 wasn’t half as good as the 1000 always is in October.

The lesson from that weekend is that Supercars can’t do Bathurst by halves.

One thing that does really bother me is the form of one of the sponsors.

Peter Adderton has been blowing in and out of Supercars for years like the series is a public toilet – a convenience.

One minute he’s in love with the show or some part of it, then he’s bagging it all over the media, then he’s back in love with it as he is now, it seems, with a sponsorship of the pole position award.

I suppose Supercars has to take his money when he offers it, but it’s too hot and cold for my liking.

This is an example of Supercars needing to get stability into the sport. All stakeholders need to be totally committed.

Put up, all the time or shut up, or p... off, I say.

Frank Avery Wagga Wagga, NSW

EREBUS BUST-UP IS A VERY FISHY BUSINESS

ONE THING I have noticed in all the reporting and speculation on the Erebus situation is that David Reynolds was not mentioned.

He would have to be the easiest going bloke in the Supercars circus. Yet a couple of seasons back he happily signed with Erebus for ‘life’, only to renege on the contract soon after.

I remember he was looking very depressed at the time. That may have been the first rumblings of discontent in the team.

Will Brown bailing out halfway through last year probably has more to it than just grabbing an opportunity to get a drive at Red Bull.

22 I www.autoaction.com.au

The saying goes that a fish rots from the head down and there may be a lot of that in the Erebus situation.

To me, Barry Ryan comes across as a hand grenade with the pin half-pulled most of the time.

Maybe he should enrol in a staff management course.

I hope Betty Klimenko has an expanding budget to fill the hole her stampeding sponsors left.

Bob Redfern Howard Springs, Northern Territory Publisher’s note: Many people have many views on the Erebus situation, Bob, but one thing I’d say is that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing – especially when opinions are formed from information ‘outside the tent’.

AN IDEA FOR PERFECT PARITY AT BATHURST

NOW THAT Supercars has got the parity issue hopefully fixed, I would like to float the idea that they build 30-40 cars (half Ford/half GM) to a Bathurst spec.

The race in October to go back to anyone-can-enter (no super licence) with Supercar teams as well as privateers and overseas teams.

The cars to be numbered and each team draws a number out of a barrel and that’s their car for the race.

No points for Supercar teams or drivers. Unless they nominate where they think they will finish?

No radios back to the pit wall, or maybe one-way radios.

No mods to the cars by the teams, just seating.

This would create employment.

I know there is a lot more to work out, but it’s a start.

And no input from ex team owners!!!

Arthur Van Boven Hallston, Victoria Publisher’s note: Thanks Arthur.

We are a broad church here and welcome a diversity of opinions, but I don’t like the chances of getting to first base – or the first turn – on this one!

WEBSTER’S WARBLE OUR MOST regular letter writer just keeps coming with ideas …

LET’S HAVE MORE, AND CHEAPER, S5000 S5000 IS Australia’s premier Australian open-wheeler category, but it hasn’t been well managed – although hopefully it will be in the near future.

Apart from at the Australian Grand Prix, all S5000 rounds should be a support act at all the Supercar rounds.

No doubt a lot of young Australian and New Zealand racing drivers aspire to take part in the S5000 championship, but some won’t have the finances or adequate sponsorship to do so.

Why not create a lowerbudget S5000 2 category from 2025?

Like the TransAm and TA2 categories, S5000 2 could be developed as an openwheeler support act to TA2, with its V8 engines restricted to 525 horsepower and built on a cost-effective platform.

Like S5000, S5000 2 could still produce speeds capable of raising eyebrows, but at a cheaper cost than S5000.

S5000 2 would give young Australians and New Zealanders the opportunity to race in a V8 open-wheeler category and hopefully graduate to S5000.

S5000 2 also, or alternatively, could be a major support act at Super 2 and Super 3 rounds and hopefully get a fair share of television coverage.

Malcolm Webster Boronia, Victoria

Publisher’s note: S5000 needs to be sorted first, Malcolm, then there’s the cost of building cars for your proposed S5000 2 program.

Maybe too big a stretch, I think.

ANOTHER BORING F1 RACE LOSES RACING LEGEND John Fitzpatrick - 1976 Bathurst 1000 winner Watching the Formula 1 procession, boring.

Commentators doing their best to make it interesting but failing. Wake me when it is finished. Like watching paint try. Can’t bame the drivers.

Adrian Newey is in a class of his own. Back to the golf.

TRIPLE EIGHT SWEEPS BATHURST Nikk MacRae Chaz had the fastest car and was in the box seat to win until Triple 8 pulled a better strategy.

Ryan Hare Chaz has the talent to win the title but Walkinshaw have been frustratingly inconsistent for well over a decade now. I don’t think they will be able to give him the consistently quick car needed to be champion.

Would be happy to be proven wrong though.

John Watson Triple Eight has no competition this year. Just have to follow who comes second and third in the championship.

MA LOSES PRESTIGIOUS TITLE Peter Moore The Australian Drivers Championship should be with an organisation that has vision , with a clear three part stepping stone from Formula Ford.

Stuart Sutcliffe They may as well grab it. MA have butchered everything they’ve touched or come close to with open wheel racing.

Supercars have them by the short and curlies!

RICCIARDO FUMING AT TEAMMATE Jack Whale Regardless of whether it was the right decision regarding the driver swap, Yuki should not have reacted like that.

Shows immaturity.

AutoActionMag

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

AutoActionMag

BROTHERLY LOVE GOOD TIMES FOR NOW, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TITLE FIGHT? BROC FEENEY and Will Brown will run into each other this year. It is inevitable.

It’s not a question of if it will happen, just about the time and the place.

And, of course, the fallout . . .

The early signs were obvious at Bathurst, as the two young bulls began their battle for supremacy.

Will Brown scored an early point with pole position for the first leg of the Bathurst 500, but there are no points for pole.

So Broc Feeney let the new boy have his bragging rights and then got the maximum return when it was time for the chequered flag.

On Sunday, Feeney lifted the bar – and pole position – as he has done so often through the development of his education at Red Bull Racing.

The pair looked set for a right old stoush until Feeney got overambitious, or over-confident, in an early battle with Jimmy Golding.

So Brown got to have the big celebration as he banked top points on Sunday night, 288 to 279, with Feeney still best-ofthe-rest and Red Bull back to their usual spot at the top end of pitlane for the GP meeting at Albert Park.

But Bathurst was just the start of a battle that will run and run.

It could become the Supercars’ equivalent of Ayrton Senna against Alain Prost at McLaren in the 80s, or Lewis Hamilton against Nico Rosberg at Mercedes-AMG in the noughties.

And that’s a very, very good thing.

Fans can back their favourite, the Camaro gladiators will have to be on top form every weekend, they will have equal equipment, and they are so young their battle of the bulls will last for years.

And the crash?

Sometime this year they will be battling over the same piece of bitumen with an equal level of commitment and entitlement.

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE Feeney regards Red Bull as his team, Brown believes he has equal or better skills and speed, and they come from opposite ends of the personality spectrum.

Brown is big and bold and bright and bouncy. You can see instantly when he is having a good time, or a good lap, or a good result.

Feeney is quiet and considered.

He shows little emotion until the job is done and, even then, he still appears calm and controlled.

Brown is more like Craig Lowndes; Feeney is more like Jamie Whincup.

So these polar opposites will attract and repel, most likely from the front of the field through 2024.

And beyond.

The big question is not when they will collide, or who will get the blame, but how The Bulls will manage the situation.

Roland Dane, if he was still around, would expect fireworks from the youngsters. He would treat them equally and then quickly put a hose on any fire, unlike Christian Horner’s feeble efforts when he backed Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in the early battles with Mark Webber and Daniel Riccardo which demoted the two Aussies to backup roles at the front of Formula One. Does Jamie Whincup have the

steel to spank them? Will it be Mark Dutton who gets the job as umpire? Will Jess Dane – who clearly has the take-no-prisoners approach of her father – make regular returns from her new life with Shane van Gisbergen in the USA to keep things under control in Australia?

It’s going to be fun for anyone watching, and for the rest of the field – Chaz Mostert finally looks to have a handle on his rear tyres and Grove Racing (nicknamed Triple Eight South) is shaping as the best of the Ford teams for season 2024. Who will have the best view of the action.

So, will there be an heir and spare, like the British royal family?

It’s inevitable, even though Brown and Feeney can easily share everything but the championship title.

Right now, the young bulls say they are getting along famously and forging a new friendship.

But here is a story about two

other mates, who wound up fighting at the front of F1 and also collided more than once.

When Nico Rosberg arrived as Lewis Hamilton’s team mate at the Silver Arrows he sat down with a group of Australian reporters at Albert Park.

His relationship with Hamilton, new boy against established ace, quickly became a topic and Rosberg talked happily about his friend.

“We’ve been mates since karting. We used to travel everywhere together,” Rosberg told me.

It was time to probe a little deeper.

“I hear you’re getting married this year?,” I asked Rosberg.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m really looking forward to it,” he replied.

So, a chance to test the friendship.

“Have you asked Lewis as one of the guests?,” I asked.

“Um. Er. No,” he replied.

Exactly.

All smiles now. We’ll check in again in November!

Image: PETER NORTON – EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

LAWYERS THAT KNOW MOTORSPORTS Know your position.

• Teams • Series owners • Manufacturers

SVEN BURCHARTZ

Partner sburchartz@kkilawyers.com.au

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 23

FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

Former Spice Girl Geri Horner shows support for her husband – conspicuously joined by 51% Red Bull owner Chalerm Yoovidhya and his wife Daranee – at the Bahrain podium ceremony. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES.

THE HORNER DILEMMA – PART OF A HUGE POWER STRUGGLE CHRISTIAN HORNER’S HR PROBLEMS COME AT A TIME OF SIGNIFICANT DIVISION BEHIND THE SCENES AT RED BULL, AND THERE IS MUCH AT STAKE …

WHEN CHRISTIAN Horner landed in Bahrain on the Wednesday night leading in to the GP, having flown on a private jet from Graz with Helmut Marko, he was relieved to know he’d been cleared of any wrongdoing by Red Bull.

It was hoped that a short statement by the Austrian company, putting an end to an investigation that rocked the Formula 1 world in general and Red Bull Racing in particular, for the last few weeks, would end the saga.

It didn’t, with email leaks and opinion from team owners and, later, Max Verstappen’s father, it is only getting worse (see page 3).

If for a moment, Horner thought the worst was already behind him, it isn’t.

The power struggle, amidst which this latest drama has exploded, that is ensuing between two different factions within the Red Bull company is far from over. It is increasingly clear that there is disagreement between the two shareholders of the energy drinks company and, so far, it’s the Thai side of the operation, who puts all its trust on

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

Horner, that had seemed to be getting the upper hand.

When Dietrich Mateschitz and Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya, got together to start Red Bull, it was Yoovidhya who got 51 per cent of the shares – nominally handing two per cent to his elder son – with Mateschitz getting the remaining 49 per cent.

Nevertheless, Mateschitz had carte blanche to run the company the way he wanted and the amazing marketing campaign he started was entirely his responsibility – with the Thai businessman, who had come up with the original drink in his home country, happy to collect his earnings and reinvest them in his other businesses.

Once the Thai founder passed away, his son Chalerm, gained control of 51 per cent of the shares in Red Bull but didn’t look to change anything until the death of Mateschitz, 18 months ago.

A frequent presence at Grand Prixs, Chalerm has become quite close to Christian Horner, who realised that, with his supportive owner Dietrich gone, the balance of power inside the

company would change.

Right now, there are two different visions about the way Red Bull Racing should move ahead – the Thai and Mark Mateschitz, who inherited his father’s shares, seem to be at loggerheads.

According to sources from Red Bull, the plan from the Austrian side of the operation is to have bigger control over Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Technologies and Red Bull Powertrains, something Horner desperately wants to avoid, as he wants to remain in full control, as has been the case since 2005 – and he has the enormous success of the team over that time as supporting evidence.

What he has been working on is on the complete separation of the Formula 1 operations from the parent company and, with Chalern Yoovidhya being a great car and racing fan, he’s been trying to persuade the Thai to buy Red Bull AG out of the racing structure and become the sole owner of the team, the technology company, and the Powertrains subsidiary.

That way, the Red Bull board itself

would no longer have any control over the racing side of the operations, Horner would be given free rein by the Thai owner, and the only link between the two sides would be through a sponsorship contract that would keep the drinks company’s name in Formula 1 for the long term.

Given what’s at stake, this power struggle is not going to be resolved soon, but Horner’s survival – at least initially – following the investigation into his ‘managerial behaviour’, seemed an indication that the Thai side of the operation has the upper hand, and is happy to throw its full support behind Horner and help him fulfill his ambitions and plans for the business.

But then, as Practice 2 got under way in Bahrain, anonymous emails started to flow, then Jos Verstappen got involved, and all hell broke loose.

Things could move fast if the operations of the F1 team are seen to be affected by the fall-out from Red Bull’s initial investigation. Keep an eye on AA’s website for developments.

Luis Vasconcelas/staff

HOW TO DESTROY THE PERFECT TEAM

I’D MUCH rather be talking about cars and racing in this first column after the start of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, because racing is my passion, the reason I follow this sport for most of my life and, also, because I believe we’re in for a vintage season where Max Verstappen and Red Bull won’t have it all their own way.

But, with another 23 races ahead of us, I guess there’s time to go into that and use this issue’s column to try and understand why someone is hell bent on destroying what has been one of Formula 1’s perfect teams: Red Bull Racing.

When the news that Christian Horner was under an internal investigation was leaked to a Dutch newspaper, there was no clear reason for what was an internal affair to be taken into the public eye. The leak could come from a disgruntled employee, from the plaintiff herself to try and get a favorable outcome for her complaint or, simply, from someone with a

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER personal grudge against the Team Principal.

But after the investigation led to nothing, all the alleged screenshots of the famous chat between Horner and his former PA were sent to almost 150 people in the Paddock, so it’s clear there’s a lot more to it than just a personal vendetta.

Putting all that ‘information’ out only has one goal: to force Red Bull’s hand and get rid of Horner, as it’s now clear the FIA, Formula 1, Liberty Media, together with the team’s present and future partners – Ford, Oracle, Exxon/Mobil, AT&T and many others – want to see all the real documents and, should the email we all received represent the facts, then they’ll

all put pressure on Red Bull to change Team Principal.

Of course teams have changed boss and have carried on, some doing way better under the new management than with the previous one – after all, currently only Horner and Wolff have been in the job for more than two full seasons! But bringing Horner down is likely to have a much bigger impact on the Austrian team’s future than it was the case in other teams.

First of all, Horner has been the only Team Principal Red Bull has had since becoming a team owner at the start of 2005, so the build-up of the entire structure, the race team, the technology centre and now the Powertrains company,

were done under his vision, his leadership and with people he knows and trusts being put in the key positions.

Secondly, one shouldn’t undersestimate Horner’s contribution in keeping the irreplaceable Adrian Newey happy for such a long time, even when, from 2014 to 2018, the team was fighting with a bellow-par Power Unit and the genial engineer wanted to get out of Formula 1. It was Horner who found ways to keep Newey motivated, getting the partnership with Aston Martin, first, and Infiniti later, for him to play with the design of road cars and also the America’s Cup project, that allowed Newey to be involved in catamaran design.

Can a new boss keep Newey happy and motivated? Can a new boss comand the same respect and close-knit atmosphere the British manager has instilled in the team? Red Bull has been remarkably insular in the way it operates inside

the Austrian drinks’ company structure and that pleases engineers, mechanics and the rest of the very large group of workers no end. A change in Team Principal will surely come with a change in philosophy.

If people are then unhappy at Milton Keynes, they won’t have any problem in finding a top job in another Formula 1 team, as all rivals would love to get some internal know how of how the RB20 works.

Whoever is behind this persistent attack against Horner – and I’m not passing any judgement on what he’s supposed to have done because I cannot know if that anonymous information is real – may have been targeting just the man, trying to get rid of him, but if that person or group of persons operate inside the Red Bull structure, they may be destroying their own team as the consequences of his departure could be devastating.

Now, let’s focus on the racing, please ...

Christian Horner (below) is credited with keeping design genius Adrian Newey (left) at Red Bull. One departure could lead to another ...

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 25

FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

IMAGES: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

KOMATSU HAPPY WITH “EVERYBODY’S GREAT SUPPORT” ON HIS first day on track as Haas’ new Team Principal, Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu made a point of thanking the entire staff of the American team for the support they’ve been given him since he was thrown at the deep end, replacing the charismatic Gunther Steiner.

Asked how things had been going on for him since he was promoted to Team Principal, Komatsu admitted that, “it’s been going really well.” The engineer was quick to explain that, “ever since, it’s been, obviously, very, very busy to catch up on everything and help the team move forward”. Then, he offered a lot of praise to his staff, revealing that, “honestly, I cannot ask for better support. Everybody’s been so supportive, collaborative,

and then the positive response they’ve been given has been really good.”

Given his personality and background are very different from Steiner’s, it’s natural the Japanese engineer will bring a new style of leadership into Haas and that he’ll change the way the team is structured to follow his own beliefs. Komatsu admitted that, “I guess it’s a very different dynamic”, but was quick to add that, “on some of the things, I know the team, I know people strengths, weakness, and how they understand each other. So, I think we’ve got a very good base to start off with.”

Looking at the changes the team and the car needed, after a really disappointing season in 2023, Komatsu was

quick to admit that, “ last year our biggest issue was tyre degradation, but we have managed to understand the root of the problem and why we couldn’t solve it quickly.

“Now we have addressed it in a different way, we have a new baseline, so we are confident we have improved in that area. Again, that’s thanks to the great work done by the entire staff and I cannot praise them enough.”

Cautious as usual, the Haas Team Principal declined to set a target for his team, explaining that, “we’re going to be so more than just set a championship target. I think it’s very important as a team that we’ll work on how to make our incremental improvements. So, that’s what I’m looking for.”

NIELSEN BACK WITH F1 IN CONSULTANCY ROLE VETERAN STEVE Nielsen wasn’t out of a job for very long after handing in his resignation to the FIA, where he served as Sporting Director for just over one year. The former team manager has set up his own consultancy company and has already started working with Formula 1, advising the management on logistic and administrative areas, as well as using his vast experience to continue to improve the company’s management of sporting matters.

Nielsen, who started his Formula 1 career as Team Lotus’ spare parts manager back in the middle of the 1980s, has been a regular feature of the sport for nearly 40 years, working for a large number of teams, from Tyrrell to Arrows – with a brief stint in Honda’s aborted new team during the 1999 season – and then into Benetton/Renault, where he stayed for nearly a decade.

In the aftermath of the infamous Crashgate affair, Nielsen decided he didn’t want to stay in a team where the top management had let everyone down, worked for Toro Rosso, Caterham and then Williams, before deciding to take a

26 I www.autoaction.com.au

break from the sport. But Formula 1 came calling, as his vast experience was very muh in demand, with Nielsen being one

of the key people that managed to keep Grand Prix racing on the road – it was the British veteran who led the operations,

in close cooperation with delivery expert DHL, during the two very difficult seaons in which the sport had to live with very strict COVID-19-related restrictions.

His succes led to a quick promotion to the sport’s Sporting Director, but eventually Nielsen decided it was time to reduce the number of races he had to attend and accepted a job with the FIA, where, among other things, he was in charge of putting together the new set of Sporting Regulations that will come into effect at the start of the new season.

However, Nielsen found it hard to work with the Federation, as processes were not as effective as he had been used to while working for the teams or Formula 1, so he left and has now set his own company, resuming his cooperation with the Commercial Rights Holder.

Nielsen has also done deals with a couple of non-European circuits, advising them on how to upgrade their facilities to be up to the new standards imposed

by Grand Prix racing, so he’ll remain a regular feature in the paddock, as he has been for the last 38 years.

WOLFF TRIES TO COOL TALKS OF ANTONELLI FOR 2025 TOTO WOLFF is doing his best to try and cool the expectations of Italian phenomenon Andrea Kimi Antonelli being promoted to Formula 1 next year, replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

He went to great lengths in Bahrain to take the subject away from the table.

The Austrian manager didn’t hide the fact that, “we’ve got that curveball thrown at us with Lewis in the beginning of February”, before adding that, “I want to do the opposite when choosing the driver for next year.”

As it has been leaked that Wolff told his own staff, when acknowledging Hamilton would leave for Ferrari, that Antonellu is his first choice for the seat now vacant for 2025, Wolff has been playing down this possibility every time he speaks in public. The Mercedes Team Principal explained, again, that,

“it’s clear Kimi has been in our in our junior academy since he was 11 and we have great pleasure in watching him grow as a young man and growing through the ranks.”

But the Austrian quickly added that, “I also want to take a little bit of pressure off him. He’s 17, he’s just turned 17 years old.

He’s won everything he needed to win in his rookie Formula Regional Europre season, and I think he is going to be in Formula 1. He is going to be a very, very successful driver in Formula 1.”

Then, more words of caution: “But he hasn’t started his Formula 2 campaign yet. They had a difficult test in the first days in Bahrain, and we shall see how this develops. And that’s why I want to wait for the first few races that are actually overlaying

with F1 are going to go.” In conclusion, the Austrian reminded us that, “there’s many very good Formula 1 drivers available for next year also, and this is all going to come into the equation when deciding on the driver line-up for next year, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

Sitting alongside his former boss, Williams Team Principal James Vowles also praised the Italian driver in no uncertain terms, before playing down the chances of taking him for his rookie Formula 1 season in 2025: “When you’re looking after a junior who’s 11 years old, you have no idea that they’re going to be incredible, or perhaps good, great or average. But with Kimi, you could see early on in the Formula 4 days that he was developing exceptionally well. So much so, that we questioned whether or not there was

something else going on at the time.”

The British engineer was adamant that, “from my perspective, I have no doubt that Kimi will be in Formula 1”, before cautioning that, “he’s done incredibly well in his junior series. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be in Williams, necessarily.”

On the subject, Vowles explained that, “I have Alex here next year under contract and I have Logan obviously under contract as well, along with other juniors, so it’s just a question of seeing how everything plays out across the next six months.”

As we wrote before, the first part of his maiden Formula 2 season will determine Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s future moves, as both Williams and Mercedes are keeping a close eye on him – but, in any case, it’s a matter of when, rather than if, for him to become a Grand Prix driver.

OCTOBER ARRIVAL FOR SERRA AT FERRARI; BINOTTO’S NEW CHAPTER FERRARI WILL have to wait until mid October to finally have Loic Serra working in Maranello, as the Frenchman is still operative at Mercedes, having handed his notice to leave in April of last year, and will have to serve a six months gardening leave period after he is allowed to stop working for the German team.

Gardening leaves are common practice in Formula 1, protecting the teams from losing important staff one day and seeing them start working for a rival company the next, but it has emerged Mercedes has added a twist to this kind of clause. Serra, who was the first big hiring Frédéric Vasseur made on his arrival at Ferrari, handed his notice to leave Mercedes to Toto Wolff in

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

the middle of April of last year, but is still operative in Brackley. That’s because, under the terms of his contract he has to give a one-year notice to the team, remaining at work for those 12 months, before taking his mandatory six months of gardening leave and being free to join another team.

Vasseur was hoping to get Serra on board by the middle of the season, so that the Frenchman could still make an important contribution to the design of next year’s car. Now, though, the strategy has changed and Serra’s first task will be to focus on the design and development of the 2026 chassis that will have to follow a completely new set of Technical Regulations.

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto seems to have put his Formula 1 ambitions in the freezer, for now, as he has joined Texa Industries.

The Italian manufacturer is a leading company in the design, industrialisation and manufacturing of multi-brand diagnostic tools, exhaust gas analysers, stations for air conditioning maintenance and devices for remote diagnosis, for passenger cars, motorcycles, trucks, agricultural and construction vehicles, boats.

The former Ferrari Team Principal has now been appointed Managing Director of the newly created E-Powertrains division of this company, as well as joining the Board of Directors.

Loic Serra.

www.autoaction.com.au I 27

BAPTISM OF FIRE

BATHURST CAN BE DIFFICULT TO CONQUER AT THE BEST OF TIMES, LET ALONE ON DEBUT. THAT WAS WHAT RYAN WOOD, AARON LOVE AND JAXON EVANS HAD TO CONTEND WITH IN THEIR FIRST WEEKEND AS A FULL-TIME SUPERCARS DRIVER. ALL THREE WERE BITTEN BY THE MOUNTAIN BUT HAVE LEARNT A LOT AND ARE READY FOR THE CHALLENGES TO COME. THEY DEBRIEFED WITH AA’S THOMAS MILES… FOR THE second year in a row the Supercars paddock welcomed three rookies to the grid.

Walkinshaw Andretti United promoted Ryan Wood to the top team from Super2, as did an expanded Blanchard Racing Team with Aaron Love, while Brad Jones Racing called up codriver Jaxon Evans.

The trio have taken contrasting journeys to the main game and showed flashes of their potential at the Bathurst 500, but also found out first-hand how unforgiving the Mountain is.

Wood generated so much excitement in his Super2 rookie season last year, with five memorable wins, that WAU chose to elevate

Ex-Porsche racer Jaxon Evans (below and far right) was one of three rookies debuting at Bathurst. He was joined by CoolDrive debutant Aaron Love (right) Images: PETER NORTON EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY AND MARK HORSBURGH

28 I www.autoaction.com.au

the youngster in place of Nick Percat.

In the development series, the Kiwi stunned with raw pace and aggressive racing. This was on show when he impressed in Saturday qualifying before a Shootout berth was taken away from him.

However, Wood is yet to get a reasonable amount of racing laps under his belt after being caught up in tangles in the run up to Hell Corner in both races.

Love is another Super2 graduate from 2023 with fellow Ford squad BRT. The Perth product has grown with the expanded two-car team to the main game and

endured a character-building rookie weekend.

On Saturday Love made the same mistake twice at The Cutting, while on Sunday he started strong, only to find the concrete again at Sulman Park.

The most senior member of the group is Evans at BJR and he initially did well to avoid all the obstacles the Mountain threw at him.

Despite battling for one-lap pace, starting on the last row, Evans made ground in both races.

He finished 20th on Saturday and looked set to finish 17th on Sunday, only to lose three spots after a slip-up in the Esses as he battled with a burnt foot.

#2 RYAN WOOD – WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED

BORN: WELLINGTON 4 DEC 2003 Journey to Supercars: 2020 T86 NZ (10th) 2021 T86 NZ (3rd) 2022 T86 Aus (45th) PSC Aus (2nd) 2023 Super2 (3rd) RYAN WOOD is the latest rapid youngster to arrive from the never-ending Trans-Tasman production line.

Although Supercars has always been Wood’s ambition, proved when he ditched a Team Porsche NZ scholarship in favour of Super2, he revealed there were little nerves

Aus (1st) 2019 SuperCup Germany (6th) SuperCup (7th) 2020 Carrera Cup France (1st) 2021 WEC (3rd class) SuperCup (2nd) 2023 IMSA (39th)

Ryan Wood is the second Kiwi making his debut in 2024, under the WAU banner.

behind the wheel.

“It has been a fast step up but for me it was just another meeting,” Wood said.

“You don’t get caught up in it and just try to drive as fast as you can. That is all I focused on.”

Some of Wood’s potential was on display on Saturday when the 20-year-old turned heads by initially posting the eighth fastest time in qualifying, having also been 11th in Practice 2.

However, a dream Shootout berth in his very first Supercars race was dashed when it was apparent he sped under a yellow flag.

Although many were astounded by Wood’s one-lap pace, he felt he still left a lot of time out there in both qualifying sessions, having missed Sunday’s shootout by 0.0135s.

When he arrived at the Cutting he was three-tenths up but a mistake at the left hander meant he had to abort.

Unfortunately for Wood, who is fresh from the development series and was determined to get laps under his belt at Bathurst, both of his races were effectively over at Hell Corner.

In the opener car #2 was stuck in the Turn 1 sand after being sandwiched between Andre Heimgartner on the inside, James Golding on the outside, plus Thomas Randle from behind.

On the second occasion Wood was hit by a spinning Cam Hill at corner entry among the tight fight for track position. He carried on for seven laps before suffering a second retirement in as many starts.

Looking back Wood believes there was little else he could have done at Hell Corner, while he is most disappointed about not practising key race elements such as pits and tyre management, which he won’t experience until Round 3. However, he knows there is a long road ahead.

“It was great to get my first weekend out of the way, although the results weren't ideal,” he said.

“Sadly we did not get a huge gauge on racing. It is all good doing it over one lap, but you need to do it over a race distance.

“One of the big things I wanted to get sorted was doing my first pit stop and I haven’t done that. But there are still plenty of positives and there is lots of time to learn.”

#3 AARON LOVE – BLANCHARD RACING TEAM

BORN PERTH 26 MAR 2002 Journey to Supercars: 2017 F4 Aus (9th) FR South East Asia (18th) 2018 F4 Aus (3rd) 2019 PSC Aus (2nd) 2020 Carrera

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Cup Aus (3rd) 2021 Carrera Cup Aus (5th) 2022 Carrera Cup Aus (2nd) Carrera Cup France (5th) 2023 Super2 (9th) S5000 (10th) AFTER SERVING his apprenticeship in Super2 and in an enduros wildcard last year, Aaron Love returned to Bathurst for a daunting main game debut.

Having raced both domestically and internationally within the Porsche Pyramid, Love went all in on Supercars last year and a busy program with BRT highlighted by a Super2 win at Bathurst has pushed him to where he wants to be.

Despite having already tasted the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000, the main game debut proved to be a baptism of fire as the Perth product retired from both races due to some mistakes with big consequences. In the opener he qualified 20th and held 19th early on before he got caught off line and slid into the Cutting concrete not once, but twice.

The first time, he escaped with a snapped rear towlink, but the second he was not so lucky and it brought the race to an end.

Sunday was a new day and Love started it with plenty of promise.

He qualified 16th and felt more could have been possible if it wasn’t for some traffic at Murrays Corner.

When racing began he continued to impress by climbing up three spots on the opening lap to sit 13th.

However, Love threw a strong result away by losing the rear end once again, at Sulman Park and whacking the wall due to “trying to be a little bit too conservative”.

As a result he finished three laps down at the finish.

Despite the costly crashes, Love was still encouraged from his developing pace throughout the weekend and is determined to learn from his mistakes.

“Outside of my disappointing crashes I feel I only got faster and faster from the start to the end of the weekend,” he said.

“From Qualifying 1 to Qualifying 2 we made a big jump up the grid and the race pace was good.

“Especially in the first race we got through the first stint and speaking to the engineers we were shaping up for a quite positive result which only makes the brunt of the crash hurt even more but that is racing and life sometimes.

“We can use that to learn what went wrong and why it happened so we can keep moving forward and there is no repeat.”

JAXON EVANS has paved his own way to Supercars, racing Porsches all over the world from Europe to America.

After two endurance campaigns alongside Jack Smith, the globetrotting Kiwi has settled in Australia as the new face in the SCT Camaro, but not even all of his experience could stop him from suffering the full heat of Supercars.

Evans had done well to navigate his way through his first solo weekend without incident until the penultimate lap.

He had risen from 24th to 17th across the first 38 laps but soon a heating problem in the footwell led to an incident at The Esses.

Evans said some ergonomic issues and the pressure of racing hard towards the chequered flag built up until boiling point was reached and he hit the wall.

“It started by doing some damage in the Saturday race where we just had some ergonomics in the car that were not quite right and I was also still having get to groups to deal with heal and toe,” Evans said “It was not really the pain that got me; everything kind of added up and I could see the car in front of me was starting to struggle with their rear tyres so I maybe pushed a bit too hard for what I had underneath me and when the Mountain bites it bites bad.”

The forced Evans to take a trip to the medical centre on Sunday night to assess his burnt right foot, but he is now well on the mend.

One of the biggest challenges for Evans was one-lap pace, qualifying 23rd and 24th in the two races. Despite his experience racing Porsches all over the world, Evans admitted he is only just starting to understand the secrets of how to unlock pace from the unique Supercar.

“It is a very steep learning curve and I was not too upset by the performance,” he said.

“I have a lot of experience in other cars, especially with ones with the engine in the rear but these cars require a certain driving style and different set-up philosophy.

“So certain things, like working out what particular changes do to the car, I am still trying to get my head around.

“There were times last year when I was with Jack and the team where they were talking about certain things in the debrief that I did not quite have my head around but my understanding is definitely better now.

“That was certainly the biggest challenge making sure we were not heading down the wrong direction through my feedback.

“Once it all starts to click hopefully we can improve every time we go on track.”

#12 JAXON EVANS – BRAD JONES RACING

BORN LEVIN 19 SEP 1996 Journey to Supercars: 2015 PSC Aus (13th) 2016 PSC Aus (2nd) T86 NZ (12th) 2017 Carrera Cup Aus (5th) 2018 Carrera Cup

www.autoaction.com.au I 29

TOURING CAR MASTERS ON THE COMEBACK AFTER A TOUGH COUPLE OF YEARS FOR THE CATEGORY, TOURING CAR MASTERS IS BACK ON THE SUPERCARS UNDERCARD AND ON THE WAY BACK TO THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF TOURING CAR FANS IN AUSTRALIA. AUTO ACTION'S ANDREW CLARKE JOINS THE REVIVAL ...

NO MATTER what fancy name Supercars wants to use, an Australian Supercar is a touring car. It owes the roots of its existence to the Australian Touring Car Championship, which only had its name changed for marketing purposes. And before we raced Falcons and Commodores with big rear wings, we ran a mixed bag of fruit that over the decades has included all sorts of little oddities, as well as the traditional products from Ford and General Motors.

Bananas, apples, oranges and strawberries are at the core of the Touring Car Masters Series, only in this case it is Mustangs, Camaros, Valiants, Falcons,

30 I www.autoaction.com.au

Commodores, Toranas and 911s which were all racing as touring cars somewhere in the world prior to 1980. Soon there’ll be other additions too, with maybe even Nissan Bluebirds and Mazda RX7s joining the party.

There were quite a few people involved in the category taking back its ownership, and the positive vibes were flowing at Bathurst.

Along with Tony Hunter, Peter Burnitt was one of the key players.

“It’s been fantastic for all the guys and sponsors to get back with the Supercars,” Burnitt said. “The ARG thing was failing us a little bit. Sponsors weren’t getting on board because of the lack of television crowd. A lot

of the people who used to follow us couldn’t or wouldn’t get onto Stan, so we lost a lot of support.

“We sort of voted to try and buy the series off ARG and put it back where it should be and Tony Hunter was a part of it. He’s done a lot of work to get to where we are today and to see it come and have a great week of racing here.

“We’ve got a little bit of time between now and Perth, but we’ll have probably 19 or 20 cars there and then maybe more in Darwin.

I think it’s just the momentum this weekend that is so positive. It’s been a fantastic sort of morale boosting weekend.

“We want to try to get things back to normal, where it’s 30-40 cars, and people building new cars and things like that. I’m very happy with where we are now.”

The competitors we talked with up at Bathurst, were loving being back with the Supercars as much as being at Bathurst.

Whiteline Racing has been one of the most successful teams in the history of TCM, and owner 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

Adam Garwood leads the field down from Skyline ... Below: Ryan Hansford sewed up the 2023 title in Adelaide. Sean McCaughan (Falcon-XY GTHO) through the esses at the same event. Bottom right: Kiwi invader Angus Fogg with his black beast 1970 Mustang ...

lots of other people are looking at what is happening and hopefully we will see some fresh new faces get involved in TCM.” TCM’s Rowan Harman remains cognisant that 2024 is a transition year for TCM and he is keen to point out that it is Touring Car Masters, and not muscle cars. That means as the ‘new’ TCM looks forward, it doesn’t have to stick with V8s and, in fact, the integrity of the category is defined by the variation of the vehicles.

But as a category they’ve got to get it right. They have to make sure that vehicles spanning 30 or more years in the date of manufacture are competitive with each other; that a Bluebird Turbo, RX7 or an XD Falcon doesn’t come in and blow a 1960s Mustang or Camaro away.

There is a natural synergy between these cars and Supercars, and the crowd is happy

Johnsoan and Heinrich lead the field into Hell Corner at Bathurst. Left: Peter Burnitt flames out at Bathurst and (below) with his car in the TCM marquee.

Images: JOHN SMITH, PETER NORTON, THOMAS MILES, RACEPROJECT, BRUCE WILLIAMS

“ ”

We’ve got a little bit of time between now and Perth, but we’ll have probably 19 or 20 cars there and then maybe more in Darwin ...

to embrace that connection. Among that crowd is Supercars CEO Shane Howard who says he is an unabashed fan of TCM, which this year is on the Supercars calendar five-times as it moves forward under new ownership.

“TCM is a great category and it is particularly good to see them back with us at this circuit,” he said. “All the beautiful old cars and great drivers, I think it reflects the history and heritage of Supercars. They’re good to watch.

“I do rate TCM very highly, and I know the fans also really like to see those cars on track, so yeah, we’d like to be doing more with TCM in the future.”

The basics of the class is an evolution out have signed up to run the full TCM series in 2024,” he said. “We’ve now got two drivers that have locked in for the whole year, which is great.

“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.

“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

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

of CAMS Group N Touring Cars and open to modified touring cars manufactured between 1 January 1963 and 31 December 1980. The cars are not strictly as they raced back then, with modifications allowed for safety, reliability, affordability and competitiveness.

The changes mean it is not an historic touring car category and that it also allows scope for growth. The challenge remains to keep all the cars competitive by the rules allowed for the construction of the cars.

You’ll see, for instance, that the flares on some of the newer cars are not like the Group C days, despite Australian motorsport fans hankering for the ‘big bangers’.

The 2024 Series is split over a variety of Supercars and Speed Series rounds, but it is the return to the Supercars undercard that is the most significant.

“We’re coming off the back foot,” Harman says of the past few years. “But just being here at Bathurst this weekend with essentially 18 cars has been good.

“The encouraging thing is that, already, three people who have either been in the category before, shown interest in the category before, or are totally new to the category are looking for a way in. ‘How do we get into this? Where are the cars?’ We know there are cars out there, ready to go, and we know some are being built.

“If they were with us before, they dropped out because of extenuating circumstances, but with the pull of being back on the Supercars card, I think that will make a difference.”

the people that were involved in the past, which is great.”

Another team owner, Brett Peters of Multispares Racing, said the recent changes are a big reason behind owning the Torana.

“I think getting back onto the Supercars program has been an important part of the decision,” he said.

“When we started racing in TCM, the category was mostly on with the Supercars program and it worked really well for us – as a team, for Ryan as a driver, and for our corporate partners.

“It’s been a positive move and I know

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 31

That starting point for this class is some beautiful machinery, some of which as road cars would cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Teams are pulled together with a combination of enthusiastic amateurs and professionals in both the build of the cars and the running on a race weekend.

Getting to Perth and Darwin won’t be cheap either, so it is not a ‘discount’ category in that sense, and it was never intended to be. What you will get when you build a car, however, is the potential to run for many years without the car being rendered uncompetitive by something newer. An XD Falcon will not come in and blow away and XY Falcon.

“There might be a little bit of an increase in horsepower over the journey, but the competition is stable, so if people want to join in, so long as they know that if you’re totally raw to the category, it’s going to take a little bit of time. If you’re an ex-Supercar driver, you might just find yourself in the top five straight away.

“But TCM is a golf game to a lot of people, it’s not a ladder category. They’re there for the enjoyment of motorsport. And the bonus of being on the Supercars card is that you’re having fun and putting on a show in front of a crowd which means the ability to attract sponsors is a little easier.

“The preparation of the Valiant Pacer ... I mean, that’s a show car if it wasn’t racing. We always used to say the cars were the stars, and even John Bowe used to say that too.

When he moved from the Mustang to the Torana, there was a whole heap of emotion around it but it didn’t matter. All the Torana people, all of a sudden, liked John Bowe who was seen as a Ford man.”

TCM was always rated highly by the fans who attended Supercars races, but it fell out of favour before a change of ownership last year opened to door for a return. The benefits are already there, and they are only just starting.

“I had about 40,000 missed calls and messages after winning the Trophy Race and that is only because we are at a Supercars round,” Danny Buzadzic told Auto Action over the weekend. “I think being here is the best thing ever and it is so much fun – it is great being a support class to Supercars.”

Buzadzic’s Torana A9X is painted like an old Allan Grice Torana, making it one of the more

32 I www.autoaction.com.au

popular cars in the field.

Tony Hunter led the buy-out of the series from ARG, which has opened the door to the Supercars return. The new ownership is critical for the future of the class.

“Tony did that negotiation when the discussion started around the category that they weren’t totally happy with the then ownership. A core group of competitors got together through Tony after he negotiated a structure where they could take over the ownership,” Harman explains.

“Tony also offered to assist in it the

“ ”

I think, the most popular support category, despite the last couple of years.”

The connection between fans of Supercars and TCM is there in a way that will never be seen with Toyota 86s and Carrera Cup. “I think Supercars want categories that provide entertainment on track, not categories that race under Safety Car,” motor racing stalwart Graham Sattler adds.

“The races we’ve had have been great entertainment. Whereas you have another category that might be racing three-quarters under Safety Car.”

We came out of Group N, and then you sort of wait five years, and then you add the next three years ...

backroom – negotiating with Motorsport Australia and with Supercars. Supercars were happy to have us back, albeit we were late in getting on the card, being October, and we probably didn’t get the best draw.

But for a category that’s getting back on its feet, it is good. The second round will be Perth, and the third round will be Darwin.

“The good thing is that most of the guys are saying, “Yes, we know we’ve got to do that.”

They’ll all be there. We used to argue that at the Townsville round, we probably bought another 2,000 to 4,000 people through the gate, and we put that to Supercars. We also think those that do come through the gate have a better experience at a Supercars event because Touring Car Masters is there.

“That’s not to take away from any of the other categories, but it does seem we’re still,

Officially, over the Bathurst weekend, Super2 had races of six and 12 laps, with technically four and five laps each under Safety Car, but the reality was more. The Saturday race, which was stopped early after nearly every car in the field was involved in a crash at The Cutting, did not have one full green lap. That’s not entertainment.

The cut-off year for the cars will shift over time, meaning newer touring cars will come into play. Each will have a set of regulations that are designed to make them competitive.

But that nature of different cars with different engines is that the competitiveness of the cars will vary from track to track. Bathurst, with its long straights is fodder for Mustangs.

But TCM can also change things on the run via altered rev limits and weight changes.

“Somewhere like Bathurst, a Mustang is

Top: Start of the Bathurst Trophy Race ... Above left: Marcus Zukanovic's Falcon three-wheels in the Adelaide rain. Above: Great dayb for it – the Bathurst dummy grid. Above right: Another regular – Cam Tilley – with just a bit of lock on. Below: Blast-off at The Bend, 2023.

going to be faster than most other things.

But you get to Wanneroo or Winton, it might be a Torana. But, if you took Steven Johnson out of that race, the racing was actually pretty competitive. And that thing he’s running isn’t really a TCM car, it’s more like something else ...

“One of the things that is being talked about by Tony and others is that there’s an opportunity to look at things like RX-7s, but maybe with 6-speed gearboxes – they won’t race with a 4-speed box because it just won’t be competitive because of the nature of the engine.

“We came out of Group N, and then you sort of wait five years, and then you add the next three years. That’s when we brought in the LH Torana, and then the XD Falcon and the VB Commodore. It might be time that we start looking at perhaps, let’s say, '82. We’re still talking about a steel bumper Commodore; there is the Series 2 RX-7.

“Sometimes when you bring another car into the category it creates controversy and then creates camps, and that brings a bit of disunification, which is not what we want. So long as people accept it as Touring Car Masters and not muscle cars, we can push forwards. We’ve had under 2-litre cars in the past too, and the sixcylinder XU1s.”

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

Other cars being talked about as potential competitors include six-cylinder BMWs and a 12-cylinder Jaguar XJS which, relatively speaking, are easy to regulate – turbos and rotaries are something else and will need careful consideration.

“You need two full-time people looking into where this pipe goes and where that pipe goes, because you get some pretty smart people. Other cars out of the period like the BMW 635 would be good to see in the field.

"Then when we went to 1979, we’ve got the Fox Body Mustang, and there’s a couple of those being built.

“That car might not have raced here until 1985, but it was released in 1978 and it was racing in SCCA in 1978, so it is eligible.

“The deal always has been if it competed, if it was a homologated as a touring car or competed in a recognised touring car series in the period, because not all cars in America were FIA homologated, then we’ll consider it.

“But we need to be careful to not leave the old cars behind too much.”

The resurgence for the class has only just begun, and people approached Harman and Sattler at Bathurst with questions. One even said, ‘give me a list of cars’ and was going away to find something exciting to race.

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

“Free-to-air TV comes at a cost as you’d be aware. But we’ve got two races at Darwin that will be free-to-air. Because we’re late on the card in a way, we’re filling in some gaps for Supercars. They’ve helped us to get to those meetings with fees, but their TV time is already fixed.”

Being tied to Stan in 2022/23 hurt the Series, but now there’s a combination of Fox Sports and Seven. The hurt wasn’t because of the content, but reach.

The AC Delco Hard Chargers Award is something that will be spoken about as the commentators learn more about it, and there are other initiatives coming that will make a difference too.

The Trophy Race is something else that is a point of difference, and not everyone likes it, but as a spectacle it delivers. The top 10 from qualifying is inverted for the race, meaning the 10th-fastest qualifier comes off pole.

On Friday at Bathurst, the Trophy Race was won Danny Buzadzik – it took four laps for the top three to settle, and every lap saw passing throughout the field. It may not be for the purist, but the fans love it, and social media lit up on Friday night.

Remember, professional motor racing is meant to be entertaining, and that race was.

Most of the competitors understand.

John Adams blew a gearbox during the weekend and, while packing up and with his crew already at the pub having lunch, one of the other competitors offered him his spare for the weekend and he was able to call the crew back and complete the weekend with his Falcon XY GT. “That’s the character of a lot of the people that are involved. Some of them have only been racing two or three years and may have come to it late in life or we’ve got some young blood like Joel

Heinrich. But the majority of them are guys that have been around TCM or Group N or historic type touring cars for a good period and they know what it was like when they first started. They’ve got a little bit of savvy and if somebody is struggling, support seems to be readily offered.”

Garry and Barry Rogers, who head up ARG who owned the class, made it easy for some of the team owners, headed by Hunter, to buy the class and try to put it back on the map. This is year is seen as a transition year with five of the six rounds of the series running with Supercars; next year it wants more.

“We haven’t got a naming rights sponsor at the moment, but we’ve still got strong support from businesses like Gulf Western.

We’ve got a bit of marketing work to do, and we don’t want cars going out there with no recognition but we’re certainly not going to prostitute ourselves.

“The focus is on next year but at least maintain the rage or lift it this year.”

As a series rather than a championship some of the requirements to race are a little easier, such as licencing for drivers which is okay for everywhere other than Bathurst, where a full licence it required. I could go out tomorrow with a new licence, prepare a stunning car and race at most of the places TCM will line up this year.

“One of the crew on Hansford’s car has bought Peter Burnitt’s old Torana and I don’t think he’s got his full licence yet, but he’s going to start with us at Darwin as a driver.

That is part of what TCM is all about.”

2024 TCM CALENDAR Round 1 - Bathurst 500 – Feb 23-25 Round 2 - Perth SuperSprint – May 17-19 Round 3 - Darwin Triple Crown – June 14-16 Round 4 - Sydney SuperNight – July 19-21 Round 5 - Sandown 500 – September 20-22 Round 6 - TBA

www.autoaction.com.au I 33

WHO CAN STOP THE SPANIARD? ALEX PALOU DOMINATED THE INDYCAR SERIES LAST YEAR – HOWEVER IT IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THIS WILL BE REPLICATED WITH MANY FAST DRIVERS MOVING TEAMS IN THE OFF-SEASON. BUT WHO CAN STOP THE YOUNG SPANIARD? DAN McCARTHY PREVIEWS THE 2024 INDYCAR SERIES ...

AS INDYCAR seasons go, 2023 was one of the most one-sided in recent years – Alex Palou won five of the 17 races, finishing on the podium 10 times, and never once finished outside of the top 10.

It was a season in which Palou was not only the fastest driver, but also the most consistent.

This enabled him to win the championship with a round to spare, the first time this has occurred since 2007.

While the 2024 regulations have remained very stable, there has been quite a significant driver silly season and, notably, a number of calendar changes, with the introduction of several additional oval races.

REGULATION CHANGES

THERE IS very little change in IndyCar on this side of things going into 2024.

IndyCar had intended to add a hybrid component to the existing 2.2L twinturbocharged engines for the commencement of the 2024 season – however this will not now happen until at least May. Despite a release in December stating that they were still committed to introducing the hybrid component this year, the new e-set-up will now be launched after the Indianapolis 500, during the second half of the 2024 season.

34 I www.autoaction.com.au

IndyCar highlighted that the new engines will feature additional ‘push-to-pass’ options in a bid to enhance the on-track action.

Notably, the cars will be lighter this season, with lighter chassis components (aeroscreen, bellhousing and gearbox) prepared for the hybrid addition.

Other than that, the regs have remained almost identical, playing into the hands of 2023 champions Chip Ganassi Racing.

DRIVER CHANGES

PROBABLY THE biggest transfer in the off-season is 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson moving from Chip Ganassi Racing to Andretti Autosport, renamed in 2024 as

Andretti Global, which has downscaled to three cars in a bid to improve results. Ericsson joins race winning youngsters Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood.

Andretti replaces one ex-F1 driver with another as French driver Romain Grosjean makes way for Ericsson. The GrosjeanAndretti combination promised so much but yielded just three podiums over two years and, as a result, Grosjean has been dropped.

With the downscale, Canadian Devlin De Francesco is without a seat

for 2024, while Grosjean has landed himself a seat at Juncos Hollinger Racing.

After a challenging 2023, Callum Ilott has departed IndyCar to race in the World Endurance Championship, leaving the seat at JHR vacant for Grosjean, alongside Agustin Canapino.

While Andretti has downscaled, the team that finished 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship, Chip Ganassi Racing has expanded to five, yes, five full-time entries.

Reigning champion Palou and veteran Scott Dixon remain, as Marcus Armstrong steps up to contest a full IndyCar program in 2024.

Replacing Ericsson in the #8 machine will be 2022 Indy Lights Series winner Linus Lundqvist, who impressed in the three races he contested with Meyer Shank Racing last year.

The additional fifth machine will be driven by Kyffin Simpson who competed in Indy NXT last year.

At McLaren, the popular Pato O’Ward and former Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi stay at the team, while Felix Rosenqvist is replaced by another upand-comer David Malukas.

Malukas moves from Dale Coyne Racin – however he will miss Round 1 after dislocating his wrist and breaking his hand in an offseason mountain bike crash.

Race winner Rosenqvist moves to Meyer Shank Racing. Prior to 2023 MSR were on an upward trajectory with two IndyCar Series and Indy 500 winners, but 2024 saw this momentum stall.

As a result, Helio Castroneves has stepped back from full-time driving into an ownership stake within the team while Simon Pagenaud, who spend a large portion of 2023 on the sidelines with a head injury, has been moved aside.

Rosenqvist will be joined by fellow ‘qvist’ Tom Blomqvist in an all-new MSR line-up. Tom, who raced for the team in IMSA made an impact when he replaced the injured Pagenaud last year, and has been elevated to full-timer this season.

Pagenaud looks unlikely to be on the grid at all in 2024 as he continues to recover from his injuries.

Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard remain with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and will be joined by two-time F1 starter Pietro Fittipaldi.

The 2023 Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen will race on the road and street courses for Ed Carpenter Racing, while owner and driver Carpenter himself will steer the #20 car on the ovals. Dutchman Rinus Veekay remains in the #21 machine.

At AJ Foyt Enterprises, Indy 500 surprise front-runner Santino Ferrcucci is joined by new teammate Sting Ray Robb.

Both Robb and Malukas have departed Dale Coyne Racing in the off-season, and despite being only a couple of weeks away from the first round, that team is yet to announce either driver.

Notably Team Penske has not been mentioned – they are the only team that enters with an unchanged line-up.

The Texas oval and the second Indy Road course races are replaced by a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile.

Additionally, a non-championship race for US$1 million will take place after Round 1 at The Thermal Club.

FAVOURITES

Reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden; 2022 champion and Aussie Will Power; and the highest scoring of the trio in the series last year, Scott McLaughlin, head the unchanged squad.

CALENDAR CHANGES

THE 2024 calendar has been shaken up. The traditional season finale Laguna Seca has been moved to June, as the Nashville Street Circuit was set to take its place.

However, due to construction beginning on the new Tennessee Titans Stadium, the finale will not take place on the streets but, instead, at the Nashville Superspeedway which has not hosted an IndyCar race since 2008.

In fact, there will be seven oval races in 2024, the most since 2011. Only one (the Indy 500) will take place in the first nine races, while six of the final eight races will take place on ovals.

ALEX PALOU in his new DHL sponsored machine goes in as the favourite this season, and with no legal battle in 2024 he has no distractions and could be even stronger.

However, no driver has gone back-to-back since Dario Franchitti in 2010-2011.

Dixon got off to a slow start (by Dixon standards) in 2023, but came home strong by winning three of the last four races – expect him to be pushing his younger teammate throughout 2024.

Expect good things from former Ferrari Academy Junior Armstrong. He performed a lot, lot better than the results showed in 2023.

Expect him to be towards the front on the road and street courses, but he has to learn how to drive on the ovals, having not done so previously.

At Penske, McLaughlin finished 2023 with a flourish, vaulting himself to third in the standings.

McLaughlin is getting stronger season on season and more consistent too – this is the year he must feel he can mount a serious title challenge.

Newgarden has not just dominated on ovals in recent years, he has been damn near unbeatable. This man will finish the season strongly with so many oval races in the back half of the year. If Newgarden is within a sniff of the championship lead at the mis-season point, he will be hard to stop.

Power struggled in 2023. His wife was very unwell for much of the season. She has recovered and that means Power will put all of his attention back on the track. We hope for a resurgence from the Aussie battler.

McLaren has the talent, with a mixture of youth and experience. However, it must become more consistent if it wants to fight for the title in 2024. O’Ward and Rossi were winless last year, they and Malukas, will be desperate to change that this year.

Andretti has a great driver line-up – all have proved themselves, Ericsson joining the team adds experience that can help both Herta and Kirkwood.

You can’t read much into testing, but it appears as though Ericsson has settled in well, with the fastest time in the pre-season Sebring test.

Expect Meyer Shank Racing to move up the grid in 2024, while Grosjean may find life a challenge early in the season at JHR ...

Round 1 takes place at St Petersburg on March 10 (March 11 in Australia) and can be viewed live on Stan Sport.

Palou (right) is the defending champ, but McLaughlin (left) is among those gunning for the crown this year. The Indy 500 remains the early focal point of the season (below left). Aussie Will Power (top left) will be fully-concentrated on the chase this year.

Above (top): Watch out for Kiwi Armstrong – a real dark horse. Bryan Herta (above, lower) is among those to have tested the Hybrid-spec combination, due for implementation mid-year. Top right: the Chev enginem, in current spec, is an impressive unit ...

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 35

ACTION MART SUPERIOR ENGINE ENAMELS

THE ORIGINAL

OFTEN COPIED - NEVER EQUALLED www.speco.com.au

AA3

Australia’s premier online racewear retailer • Karting & race suits, gloves, shoes, underwear • Helmets • Hans devices • Coolshirt products • Steering wheels

OMP DISTRIBUTOR & MORE

CAZ MILBURN 0428 887 223 www.raceline-racewear.com.au

Custom printed or embroidered suits, made to measure

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

NEW EPISODES OUT EVERY WEDNESDAY WWW.REVLIMITER.COM.AU

Suppliers of...

Leading LS Conversion Specialists Castle Headers and Exhaust components Dynogen Alternators - The hidden alternator in a generator body Hi-Torque Gear Reduction Starter motors Billet High Performance Alternators Wiper Motor Kits EFI Conversion Looms and ECU reprogramming Conversion engine mounts, Transmission Crossmembers, Conversion Sumps Rack & pinion Conversions

OVER 5,000 PRODUCTS

INSTORE OR ONLINE

machineryhouse.com.au

CAEPERFORMANCEPRODUCTS.COM.AU 01_AA_290420

7 MAIN RD CASTLEMAINE VICTORIA 3450

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE!

T 03 5472 1442

SPECIAL OFFER

10 %

OFF

LIMITED TIME

Subscribe to Auto Action print magazine and never miss an issue!

DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR DOOR!

autoactionmagazine.myshopify.com

WANT MORE MOTORSPORT?

Stay up to date with all the latest motorsport news Subscribe to the Auto Action newsletter today!

autoaction.com.au/newsletter

Chrome moly 4130N tube and sheet 350 grade COW tube Roll cages Tube bending Race car components Andrews Race Cars +61 (02) 9838 0032 andrewsracecars@hotmail.com Units 1-3, 33 Anvil Road, Seven Hills NSW 2147 Australia www.andrewsracecars.com.au TOP TORQUE PROVIDES FULL ENGINE reconditioning and rebuilding services including complete engine rebuilding specialising in Subaru and LS Series engines.

With over 100 years of combined experience in engine machining, assembly and cylinder head reconditioning-from performance, full competition to standard, Top Torque Performance is a trade leader.

• Cylinder Head Reconditioning • Engine Block Reconditioning Our workshop is full of the latest engine and cylinder head reconditioning machinery including Serdi, Berco, Hines and Rottler machines.

FACTORY 5, 187-201 ROOKS ROAD, VERMONT VIC. 3133

PHONE: 03 9873 3800 • WWW.TOPTORQUE.COM.AU

Contact Bruce Williams for bookings and information on 0418 349 555 or bruce@autoaction.com.au

PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRY NEWS

F F I e rence D e h t l e e F

• High quality German made limited slip differentials • Proven in competition by winners in FIA GT, ALMS, WTCC, Targa, BTCC, F3, Nürburgring 24 hour and Bathurst 12 hour • Competition gearboxes, Gear sets, Driveshafts, & Wheels Hubs also available

Contact details: P: (02) 4868 2347 W: www.drexler-motorsport.com.au

MOUNTAIN ACCOMMODATION AMONGST THE ACTION FOR RACING teams, or die-hard motorsports enthusiasts camping trackside at Bathurst, the daily routine is usually ‘eat, sleep, race, repeat.’

But, alongside the iconic circuit’s third turn, in the heart of the Mount Panorama woodlands, there’s a private and luxurious place where racegoers can enjoy more than snacking, snoozing, and spectating.

A six-bedroom retreat on nine acres, ‘The Cutting’ accommodates up to 20 short-term guests to rest, cook, have a hit of tennis or croquet, a dip in the pool, or a shot at basketball – between action on the track, of course.

The house and landscaped garden are available to rent year-round, and with a driveway adjoining Mountain Straight, and a certified viewing scaffold right on the famous ‘The Cutting’ bend, it’s easy to sit back, relax, and feed your need for speed at Australia’s motorsport mecca.

“The Cutting gets its name from the obvious; the track is cut into the rock of the mountain,” said the property’s owner, Suzi Edwards.

“It provides drivers with a 1/6 gradient and is one of the tightest corners on the track. Overtaking is virtually impossible here, though that doesn’t stop drivers from trying, which often results in spectacular action.

“It is very hard to recover from spins due to the gradient and closeness of the walls.”

The home has two levels, with a cook’s kitchen, two Not a bad view!

CAMS CAMS SPEC SPEC MILD MILD STEEL STEEL CHROMOLY CHROMOLY TUBE TUBE -- SHEET SHEET -- SOLID SOLID

TUBE BENDERS - DIES - NOTCHERS

PH: 02 9676 8001 SHIPPING DAILY AUSTRALIA WIDE W W W. R A C E T E C H S T E E L . C O M . A U

living areas and a dining space, balcony, wet bar room, ducted air conditioning, alfresco entertainment area with a barbecue, magnesium swimming pool, and sports court.

With a king bed, bathroom, and walk-in wardrobe in the master suite upstairs, there’s two other bedrooms with ensuites on level one. On the ground floor are three more bedrooms including a king suite with a built-in robe.

While on site, guests have north-east-facing views over Bathurst and beyond, and if vehicles need to leave at any time during a race meeting, Barry Gurdon Drive is always accessible.

“The Cutting is a favourite of race teams who might be competing at events held on the famous Mount Panorama race circuit,” Ms Edwards said.

“The certified viewing scaffolding platform can legally hold 20 people at one time across two levels.”

Visit thecuttingmtpan. com for more information, or contact info@ thecuttingmtpan.com or 0400 396 355 to express interest in booking the property.

Or scan the QR Code

SPEEDWAY

Goodyer – winning in WA again ... Above: Jamie Veal climbs the inside line as he pushes inside of Kaiden Manders.

Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

GOODYER WINS IN THE WEST POSSIBLY NOT for the first time, Jock Goodyer is being called ‘Mr Sprintcar’ after he again stormed to victory at Perth Motorplex.

Goodyer dominated the 27th Krikke Boys Shootout in front of around 5000 fans to edge out home hero Callum Williamson to the Mr Sprintcar Trophy.

The Tasmanian and West Australian were the two dominant drivers during the Perth Motorplex double-header which hosted Rounds 12 and 13 of the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series still led by Dayne Kingshott.

The two-day event started at a hot pace, with Williamson leading the charge in the Friday night opener.

No one could compete with the #3 as it stormed into the lead off the line and was never challenged from there.

Australian champion Lockie McHugh started alongside Williamson on the front row but quickly dropped to fourth having struggled to keep Bradley Maiolo and Daniel Harding at bay.

But this soon became third when Harding

sacrificed that place by retiring on lap 16, while Goodyer was also sitting in the top four until he also retired six laps later with engine issues.

However, there were no dramas for Williamson as he soared to a crushing 2.3s win over Maiolo.

Having completed the race in 6m50.407s the #3 also broke the 30 lap race record in the process as the event ran green from start to finish.

Williamson carried that momentum into the main event on Saturday night when he and Goodyer had an almighty battle.

But before those two stole the centre stage, American Brock Zearfoss was in the mix showing great car speed.

The #U95 managed to beat Goodyer in the fight for pole but could not maintain the position when racing got underway.

Also on the charge was Williamson, who pounced on James Inglis to take third off the line and he only needed another handful of laps to jump Zearfoss.

A caution period was activated as early as the second lap when Matt Egel went to the work area with front-end damage.

The only other caution period came three laps later when Kris Coyle sustained frontend damage in the W79, putting him out of the show.

Then, within 11 laps Williamson completed his charge from fourth to first by catching Goodyer.

This set off a nail-biting battle as the lead changed hands on a number of occasions.

Zearfoss was still not far away in third, but there was heartbreak with six laps to go when his campaign ended with a broken rear end.

This left Goodyer and Williamson in a two-car fight to the chequered flag and the Tasmanian prevailed.

The #T22 had the extra gear required to pull 2.6s over Williamson at the death.

Trailing the lead pair by a further 8s was McHugh, who once again had extreme race pace to climb from 10th to third.

EGEL SOARS IN SA MATT EGEL has soared to victory in the SA Shootout Series Sprintcars race at Hoppers Crossing.

Despite starting fifth, Egel flew home to a sweet win on a track that took rubber all night.

Ryan Newton started the night strong by beating Jackson Delamont in the opening heat, while the second sprint went down to the wire with Luke Dillon leading Will Carrol by just eight tenths.

Egel showed pace in Heat 3 but that was not enough to stop Brock Hallett from finishing 1.6s ahead of him.

The grid was set in a six-lap dash that was dominated by Dillon. He took pole by beating Newton by six-tenths.

Hallett came third as Egel made a late move on Carroll to secure grid position fifth.

Only five cars took part in the B Main and none could compete with Jacob Pitcher as he secured a 2.5s triumph.

This set the scene for the 30-lap A Main

38 I www.autoaction.com.au

which proved to be a dramatic affair.

Dillon lead away from pole as Newton soon found himself dropping from the front row to as low as fifth.

Meanwhile, Dillon controlled the field until being passed by Hallet on lap 10.

The #Q5 looked strong in P1 for 10 laps until it started to struggle with excessive tyre wear.

After relinquishing the lead to Dillon, Hallett sat in third before eventually blowing a right rear with two laps to go and tumbling out of the top 10.

Despite his disappearance, the battle for the lead was heated as Dillon’s second stint in the lead only lasted a lap before Egel made his race-changing move.

On the one lap the #S52 rose from third to first and drove away from Dillon to secure the 2.2s win.

Dillon held on to finish second, while Ryan Jones rounded out the podium after completing a big drive from 12th to third.

Egel had the pace to run away. Below: Don’t think that’ll buff out! Delemont and Wilson come to blows.

Images: RAY RITTER

Keke Falland and Daniel Pestka completed the top five while Hallett dropped to 12th as the last on the lead lap.

Jacob Pitcher, Chad Ely, Jackson Delamont and Jason Wilson were all retirements.

Delemont and Wilson’s departures were particularly notable as they had a crunching head-on crash (right).

Thomas Miles

In addition to winning the 27th Krikke Boys Shootout, Goodyer was able to edge ahead of Williamson in the race for the Mr Sprintcar Trophy by four points having collected 946 across the five nights of racing.

In the supports, Cody Turrachio dominated the Opal Finance Formula 500’s from Chris Dymock and Steven Ellement.

Michael Keen won an incident-filled Limited Sprintcars thriller over brother Daniel, while early leader Chad Pittard found the fence with Bailey Nash coming home in third.

Kye Blight won Late Models after several caution periods, ahead of Brent Vosbergen and Jason Oldfield who charged from 16th to third.

Importantly Kingshott was able to retain his Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series points lead over Inglis, but the latter has made some inroads.

Kingshott only leads by 26 points with round 14 of the series also taking place at Perth Motorplex on on Saturday, March 9.

Thomas Miles

Want to see your category event or news story included in the Auto Action Speedway pages.

Send your information, images and contact details to team@autoaction.com.au or give us a call on 03 9563 2107

JONES DOES IT AT THE DEATH THE FIGHT for the Victorian Speedway Council Sprintcar title went down the last corner of the last lap at Bairnsdale Speedway.

Despite Adam Greenwood leading 34 and three quarters of the 35 laps, he could not stop Dennis Jones (pictured) from snatching the title at the death.

Jones made a last-corner assault on victory and it paid off as he became a fivetime winner of the state title pipping local favourite Greenwood.

Both Jones and Greenwood took heat victories to ensure they started at the front of the field in the 35-lap main event.

Greenwood shot to the front when the green flagged drop to start the race leaving Jones, Dillon Siely and Travis Millar

to fight for second best.

All three drivers took turns in second until the finish was within sight when Jones launched his late-race counterattack.

On lap 33 Jones passed Siely and on the final lap slipped passed race leader Greenwood, the hard luck story of the night. Siely slotted into third ahead of Noonan and Horton.

After the action was completed the Victorian Sprintcar Association drivers voted Adam Greenwood as the Drivers Driver, while the stewards also awarded him the Stewards Sportsman Award, whilst Dillon Siely was selected to receive the Colin Sands Future Frontrunner award.

Dean Thompson

Image: IMAGE WORX

Buckingham – in command.

Below: Joe Lostitch is attacked on the inside by Michael McDonald.

Images: DEAN MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

BUCKINGHAM BEST IN BALLARAT SPRINTCARS’ RETURN to Redline Raceway was marked by a commanding performance by Josh Buckingham.

The C&H Trucking Pro Sprint Car Series brought Sprintcars back to Ballarat and Buckingham used the platform to be at his dominant best.

By virtue of strong results in his preliminary heat races (including one victory) Buckingham started the feature race on the front row alongside Kim Loong Gosling.

The #23 leaped ahead off the line to take the lead and was never headed, controlling the entire feature race.

With the race staying green the whole way, Buckingham was never challenged and cruised to victory.

“The car was pretty settled through the whole race and I was able to build quite a big lead, so I was glad it ran green through to the finish,” he said.

“My task might have been tougher if there had been a caution to bunch up the field.”

In the fight for second, Gosling resisted an early challenge

by Dennis Jones, which disappeared when the latter spun when attempting a passing move.

Jones managed to pull off an impressive save but his podium challenge faded as he eventually slipped to sixth.

Gosling’s car performance also fell away during the closing stages as Jacob Smith and Adam Greenwood charged to join Buckingham on the podium.

Although the feature was a clean affair, incidents did

interrupt some of the heats including rollovers for Alex Thompson and Joe Lostitch.

However, Lostitch redeemed himself by winning the prestigious Speedcars Beasley Family Memorial trophy, leading the feature race all the way.

The #V22 dominated all 20 laps and enjoyed a 7s advantage over Nick Parker when the chequered flag fell.

Parker bounced back from crashing in one of the heat races and held off Dillon Ghent.

“There’s only one word I can use to describe tonight – bittersweet,” Lostitch said. “It means a lot to win the Beasley Memorial Trophy – it’s a family with rich history in Speedcars, so it’s an honour to collect it.

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

“While I led all the way, it certainly wasn’t straightforward from the driver’s seat – the track changed substantially midrace, and my arms got sore from holding onto it.”

The Standard Saloons feature went down to the wire with just six-tenths separating Patrick Walsh, Lachie Chivers and Bailey Sinclair.

The fight was setup when polesitter Ian Walsh fell to the back in the early stages.

Patrick Walsh hit the front but only just clung on with Chivers and Bailey Sinclair on his tail.

In the end Walsh withstood extreme pressure from Chivers to win by 0.455s.

In the Sports Sedans, Rhys Kakoschke and his brother Bailey were the form drivers in the heat races and Rhys duly won the feature, but Bailey was forced to settle for third behind Corey Knox.

Troy Desmond-Veal also showed front-running pace but a spate of tyre failures (three in total) put paid to his chances.

Danny Smith won the Unlimited Sedans feature from Ian Smith, Jaryd Carman and Gavin Ough, who recovered from a crash in the second heat race to finish fourth in the feature.

The next event at Redline Raceway will be held on March 16, featuring Street Stocks King of the Mount, the AMCA Victorian Title and Wingless Sprints. AA Staff

www.autoaction.com.au I 39

SPEEDWAY

Ti Bills South Australian Wingless Sprints winner Rylan Fuller. Images: PARIS CHARLES

RACING IN THE RIVERLAND

WAIKERIE’S SUNLINE Speedway kicked off its 2024 summer season with Round 4 of the Ti Bills South Australian Wingless Sprints.

The the final provided plenty of thrills and spills as many of the competitors crashed out on the first corner with just 10 of the 17 cars making it through.

Once the race settled into rhythm, Rylan Fuller was never headed as he overcame a race long battle with Keke Falland and Matthew Kennedy.

Jesse Alexander was next best followed by Super2 competitor Bradley Vaughan.

An epic battle in the Modiltes saw Jacob Carlier and Dylan Richter trade early blows for the lead before Carlier eventually got the upperhand.

Rob Stevens’ iconic HQ Monaro Super Sedan has been immaculately restored and undertook Pace Car duties for the finals.

Rylan Hartman

The top four in the Super Sedans remained unchanged from lights to flag with Paul Blenkiron leading home Neville Nitschke.

It was a fruitful night for the Waikerie locals filling the top three placings in the V6 Sprints. Siblings, John Junior and Renee Pfieler were followed to the finish line by Jason Wilson, while Phil Watson took his Holden Commodore to Victory Lane in the

Street Stocks final.

Mildura’s Ryan Burns went from fourth to claim the win in the Junior Sedans Top Stars over Lachlan Brown and the New Stars final went to Bree McAllister The wild and wingless South Australian action continued to roll on at Murray Bridge for Round 7 of the Ausloans Finance Strathalbyn Track Championship

Anthony Tapley led the early proceedings before Matthew Kennedy took command on the 10th lap.

He led for six laps before Jack McCarthy edged his way into the lead and went on to claim the victory ahead of Kennedy.

Whyalla’s Justin Chadwick led flag to flag for the 12-lap Modlites final, while Jordi Miller edged out Dylan Richter in a tight battle for second.

From Pole position Nick Hall showed the quickest way to the finish line over Damien Eve in the 15-lap V6 Sprints final.

For the second straight weekend Ryan Burns won the Junior Sedans Top Stars final and Lachlan Brown would place as the runner up again.

Paris Charles

LEEK DOUBLES UP

AT THE tender age of 16, Bryce Leek (pictured) has cemented himself as a star of the future after securing backto-back Junior titles with the latest at Bairnsdale Speedway.

Having already collected back-to-back 1200cc Sedan state titles and Junior Sedan titles, Leek flew to the Junior Standard Saloon title at the country Victorian circuit.

Leek was lighting up the dirt, setting an eight-lap record in his opening heat.

Despite being in grand form, Leek was beaten off the line Brad Marshall, who led the first four of 20 laps.

But on lap five Leek leapt to the lead and did not let it go as Marshall suffered late-race heartbreak.

He fell from second to fourth as Leek flew past the chequered flag almost four seconds ahead of runner-up Andrew Mitchell and Xander Baxter.

Unlimited Sedans hosted a state

40 I www.autoaction.com.au

Image: DTM SPORTS MEDIA series round and there was drama straight away as Anthony McKean was declared winner of Heat 1 despite Travis Ramsdale crossing the line first, due to a penalty.

Determined to make a statement, Ramsdale then set an eight-lap record

in the second heat on his way to victory before also winning by a huge margin in Heat 3.

There was no stopping Ramsdale as he then set a 15-lap track record to take out the final ahead of Farley.

Beau Stuchbery was able to overcome

a significant challenge from Jamie Curtis and Gus Argoon to take out Standard Saloons.

Curtis led early before Stuchbery moved to the front and Braz also hit the lead.

Curtis’ assault however came to a sudden stop around the halfway mark and Stuchbery went on to win his first adult-aged final from Ashley Cormack.

There was some hot racing in Junior Standard Saloons with Tyler McDermott controlling the early stages.

But on lap nine, Tannah Lee put his foot down and on the final lap moved from third to first taking a terrific victory over McDermott and Johnson.

Bree Walker led every lap of the Ladies Standard Saloons final but Elise Halliday inserted herself into the battle to ensure Walker didn’t have it all her own way.

Dean Thompson

Want to see your category event or news story included in the Auto Action Speedway pages.

Send your information, images and contact details to team@autoaction.com.au or give us a call on 03 9563 2107

SPEEDWAY NEWS

Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

KEENS RACE TEAM TAKE ONETWO IN LIMITED SPRINTCARS IT RARELY happens in speedway, but at the Perth Motorplex the Keens Race Team secured a 1-2 finish in the feature race.

Following the misfortune of Chad Pittard, who crashed out of the race, polesitter Michael Keen took up the reins at the front of the field in the Krikke Boys Shootout, and went on to score his fourth featurerace win of the 2023-24 season in the Limited Sprintcars.

The team were even more ecstatic with this particular victory as Michael’s older brother Daniel Keen came home in second to secure the outfit a memorable 1-2.

Michael was delighted as it ends a difficult run of races.

“The team and I have been having a tough run of late following a wide range of car issues that a lot of the time has been just plain bad luck,” he said.

“To get back in the winner’s circle was a fantastic feeling, not only for me, but for the whole team, and it’s also the best kind of reward for all of the team’s continued hard work.

“To have my brother join me on the podium in second was just the best possible result for the whole team and what made it even better was the fact it was at a prestigious event like the Krikke Boys Shootout.”

His brother Daniel, in the #94 machine, was possibly even more elated than his brother as, for him, it was just a bonus to be on the track.

“If I was ever going to finish second to someone, I’m glad it was to Michael,” Daniel expressed.

“If someone had said to me at the beginning of last night that this was where we were going to finish, I simply wouldn’t have believed them.

“This was only my second outing of the season, and we weren’t even sure if we were going to make last night’s show, as we had to do a quick engine swap the morning of the race meeting.

“But my whole team dug deep and made it happen, so to then go on to finish the night on the podium was an outstanding achievement.”

Michael qualified on pole position for the feature race after finishing the heats in second and a first.

Daniel, who had started the feature race from position six, finished his two heat races in sixth and third.

The Keens Race Team’s next event will be at Moora Speedway on March 23, the 10th round of the Western Australian Limited Sprintcar Series.

Dan McCarthy

HUDSON IN A HURRY PITTSWORTH’S ZACK Hudson has a hectic schedule over March and April juggling circuit racing and speedway.

In close proximity will be the Queensland Late Model Title and Australian Title races that will take place within two days in April.

Last week though, Hudson was in South Australia mentoring and working on a pit crew for the Empire Karting Team competing in the opening round of the Australian Karting Championships (AKC).

Hudson has not only been busy circuit racing, also turning his attention to speedway having an opportunity in a Late Model and a Modlite in Gympie last week.

This follows some more Late Model racing and a number of nights in a Super Sedan.

This is his first full season in the Late Model, showing promising results in Dubbo, Bundaberg and Gladstone.

Having started at age 9 in karts, by 13 Zack was racing with Brock Feeney and Jack Doohan in Team Vortex.

Hudson then moved to the Hindia Xl Series followed by Improved Production before moving into the Trans Am Series.

“It’s a big learning curve coming back to speedway,” Hudson said.

“The cars are slower but mentally and physically they feel faster.

“There is no time to look at gages like I can in the (Trans Am) Mustang and the corners come up on you pretty quick.

“I do enjoy it and I’m liking the challenge from bitumen to dirt.

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

“To read a speedway track is the challenging part, on bitumen; the track stays the same.

“In speedway the track is always moving underneath you and sometimes difficult to get a handle on. You can run mid track this lap, high or low on others.

“Sometimes there is grip, other times not and then you find a hole in a corner that you have to negotiate that really unsettles the car. These are all the things to consider when you are racing on dirt.”

Nominations are now open for the Australian Late Model Title and Queensland Title races being held at Hi-Tec- Oils Toowoomba Speedway and will close on Friday, April 8 at 5pm.

David Budden

www.autoaction.com.au I 41

NATIONALS WRAP

BREAKOUT WINS IN TASSIE THE SECOND round of the 2024 Tasmanian Circuit Racing Series was held at Symmons Plains on February 17-18, Auto Action’s Martin Agatyn was there to cover the action.

Despite small fields in several classes the racing was entertaining, with highlights the first victories for 14 year-old Oliver Wickham (Hyundai Excel) and HQ Holden pilot Anthony Viney. Both then backed it up by winning the double-points finals of their categories.

HYUNDAI EXCEL THREE DRIVERS led the way, distancing themselves from the pack in most cases.

However, the lead trio of series leader Jackson Shaw, reigning champion Jeremy Bennett, and Wickham, provided exciting racing.

Wickham broke through for his first win in the fourth Excel race with Bennett second by 6/1000ths /sec in one of the closest results of the meeting. Wickham hit the lead on lap eight then soaked up the pressure over the last two laps to win.

In the double-points final, Wickham lost the start to Bennett, but led later on lap one then demonstrated his ability to withstand all challengers with a mature drive beyond his years. It came too late to win the round, Bennett’s consistency over the weekend saw him through, drawing level with Shaw for the series lead, with Wickham now breathing down their necks in third.

HOLDEN HQ THE SMALL field of HQs was devoid of reigning champion and series leader Brad Wickham.

Former multiple Tasmanian champion Andrew Bird was the man to beat early, winning the first two races.

Bird made the early wins look easy with solid margins, but things got lively in race four, with Anthony Viney’s great start ensuring he took the lead from Bird before a

continued-to-fall!

Steve Gangell (Holden VL Commodore) won two races, one the double-points final, so he took round honours and the series lead.

Craig Sheehan (Nissan GTR) won the first two races then had dramas, while Brett Champ (Holden VE Commodore) won race three, but didn’t start the final.

Charles Williscroft’s (Pontiac Grand Prix) run of consistency – top four in every race –bagged second for the round.

mistake restored the earlier race order.

Viney, determined, made amends, forcing his way to the front on lap seven, then hung on for the win with Rattray pinching second from Bird on the last lap.

Viney then backed up in the double-points final, winning from Rattray and Bird.

Bird’s early results ensured the round win, giving him the series lead too.

FORMULA VEE THE SMALL field in the Vees was bolstered by the presence of multiple Australian and Tasmanian champion Noel Clark (Elfin NG2) who has come out of retirement, again!

The action between the top three – Noel Clark, Richard Gray (Bee Cee Jabiru) and Michael Vaughan (Spectre) – was intense.

Every race featured multiple lead changes, swapping second and third places, and close finishes; Formula Vee at its best.

Clark and Vaughan won a race each on the Saturday, but Sunday belonged to Gray who won both the remaining heats and the double-points final. He had to work hard for the wins including some last lap coming from behind efforts. The third race was typical with the top four separated by only 6/10ths sec at the chequered flag.

Gray won the round, helped by the doublepoints haul in the final, with Clark second, by just one point over Vaughan who now leads the championship.

Oliver Wickham shows the Hyundais the way. Opposite (top): Anthony Viney took out the HQ feature. Right: Jason House dominated Improved production. Above: Geoff Sherriff (Sports/Racing Cars). Images: ANGRYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

42 I www.autoaction.com.au

RACING CARS AND SPORTS CARS MICHAEL ROBERTS (Dallara F389) and Darryl Hurd (Dallara F396) were the pacesetters throughout the weekend.

Roberts set the early pace on the Saturday, but struck dramas in race four on the Sunday, with a DNF, then no-show in the final.

This let in reigning champion Rod Bender (Radical SR3 RSX), consistently in the top three, enabling him to finish second for the round.

Hurd wasn’t seriously challenged after Roberts’ demise and won the round from Bender and Roberts, with the latter taking a one-point lead over Bender for the series.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION JASON HOUSE (BMW E92 M3) dominated, clean-sheeting the weekend with top qualifier and wins in all four heats and final, to score a maximum available 160 points.

Opening-round winner Ayrton Richardson (Toyota KE 35 Corolla) was second throughout, protecting his series lead, while David Waldon’s (Rover SD1) string of thirds maintained his second place in the championship.

SPORTS SEDANS IT WAS a case of last-driver standing for sports sedans, with a high attrition rate producing three different winners in five races, as the green-bottles-on-the-wall-

SPORTS AND GT SMALL FIELDS were the order of the day for all Sports GT classes.

Sports GTA series leader Tony Warren finished second and third on Saturday, but expensive smoke-signals emanating from his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 on Sunday morning preceded an early end to his weekend. Andrew Reader (Mazda RX-7) took three wins, the round and series points lead.

Steve Noble (Nissan 350Z) won both Saturday races but couldn’t match Reader on the Sunday. Troy Johnson (Porsche 911 GT3) ran up front, second or third in every race. Further down the Sports GTB field, Dennis Howard (Nissan 350Z) proved the man to beat, winning three races and the round, with Mike Hamilton (Subaru Legacy) and defending champion David Walker (Datsun 1200 Turbo Ute) picking up a win each.

Walker had issues on Sunday but circulated to defend his series lead, with Howard now moving into second.

Meanwhile, Michael Symons dominated Sports GTC, winning all five races, talking him into the series lead over Steve Olive (Ford Falcon), who was second in every race, but now sits 11 points off the championship lead.

Want to see your category event or news story included in the Auto Action Nationals Wrap.

Send your information, images and contact details to team@autoaction.com.au or give us a call on 03 9563 2107

Douglas Johnson dominated the Twin Peaks Hillclimb.

Image: CURTIS BOYD

JOHNSON TAMES TWIN PEAKS

Michael Holloway wheels his Monaro through the dirt. Below (left) A Waldegard Escort?

Yes! Right: And yes, that’s a Commodore on full lock ... Images: IAN SMITH AUTOPIX

CLASSICS IMPRESS AT RETRO RALLY A STRONG field of 60 cars from around Australia gathered in Melbourne for the annual Rally Retro Festival.

Held at the METEC Driver Education Centre in Bayswater North, the fifth running of the rally attracted the largest crowds seen at the event.

Many of the 60 rally cars were restored ex-works cars, presented as they were at the start of their first event and entertained fans with bonus demonstration runs.

Many also took to the combination rally course of bitumen and gravel, where both driver and rallycar were put to the test.

Competitors that turned heads included a genuine BMC prepared works Austin Cooper S from 1967, and a works African Safari Ford Escort.

Cody Croker’s Subaru Liberty RS was one of the fastest on show, while Ian Hill steered

an Australian Ford works prepared Mark 2 Escort The 1970 Victorian championship winning Renault R8 Gordini was also on show, as was Barry Ferguson’s Repco Reliability Trial #17 Commodore that arrived from Sydney.

Gerry Duyvestyn’s collection took centre stage, including a Lancia Stratos, Delta Integrale, Fiat 131 Abarth, Renault R5 turbo and Ferrari 308 in Group 4 specification.

In addition to the real things, the Retro

Rally has also encouraged the production of faithful replicas to revive some classics from bygone eras.

One of the most notable was the Galant GTO, where four were built to tackle the Southern Cross Rally but none remain.

Others included Datsun Violet 710 , Safari Spec Morris 1800, a pair of Triumph TR7’s and a Subaru Legacy RS covered in Possum Bourne’s 1992 Rally New Zealand livery. Thomas Miles

HAYWARD HITS BACK BRETT HAYWARD (pictured) stamped his authority on the EZIUP AND GO Victorian Hill Climb Championship by taking out Round 2.

The second round of the season was the first of a double-header at Bryant Park and hosted by the Gippsland Car Club.

After more than 100 cars took on the season opener, another solid field of 98 entries took on the Yallourn based circuit.

Initially competitors were greeted with overcast skies, foggy conditions and a damp track, which dried after two runs.

In the end Haywood was unbeatable in his self-built Hayward, posting a winning time of 45.82s despite being just his second run on the drying track.

It is the second win in as many rounds for Hayward machinery after Mike Barker won the opening round with a 23.81s at Rob Roy. Haywood only won by four-tenths of

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

Image: KEV WILSON a second as Greg Ackland also showed speed in his ninja GA8 after lapping a 46.22s.

Rounding out the top three was reigning 2023 Victorian champion, Dave Mahon, who trailed Ackland by 0.92s in his Dallara F394.

While eight of the 10 fastest cars were open wheelers, a couple of noteworthy

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

performances also came from Thomas Inkster in his historic IDS sportscar and Jordan James in his Mitsubishi Evo sedan to round out the top 10 places.

The championship will remain at Bryant Park with round three to be held on April 21 after the trip to Mt. Leura was rescheduled to June.

Thomas Miles

DOUGLAS JOHNSON was in a league of his own, flying to victory in the ninth ‘Twin Peaks’ Hill Climb event, held at Port MacDonnell.

A full field of 70 eager participants enjoyed the two testing coastal road layouts that form the Hillclimb at the Bay, run by the South Eastern Automobile Club.

In the end no one could compete with Johnson as he flew to back-to-back wins to the tune of almost 5s.

Johnson’s 3:25.17 in his Subaru WRX was well ahed of next best and fellow Subaru driver Sean Day with a 3:30.76.

He just edged out Peter Gazzard by a tenth with the former Legend of the Lakes dominator having a crack in his Mitsubishi Evo. The event opened on Saturday in cool weather conditions, resulting in a ‘loose’ track with not a lot of grip on offer.

Most of the drivers used their opening run to settle in and find out how the car reacted to the track surface.

The likes of Johnson, Gazzard, Day and Damien Brand got down and dirty right from the start while Derrick White, Ashley Blanchard, David Harris and Brenton Byfield the quickest group on both tracks for the 4WD group.

Luke Day, Philip Wilson, Chris Hortop, Shaun Williamson were at the pointy end of the sheets for Saturday’s run in their 2WD cars.

Track conditions changed on Sunday due to the extra heat which caused the odd error or two.

But in the end Johnson was in a league of his own, producing the untouchable time of 3:25.17.

Runner-up Sean Day took out the Improved Vehicle 4WD class, while Chris Hortop took out Standard Vehicle 2WD 2501cc-4000cc.

The four Improved Vehicle 2WD categories went to Jason Sims (up to 1800cc) Joshua Munn (1801-2500cc) Luke Day (2501-4000cc) and Alex Bohner (4001cc and over).

The respective Modified Vehicle winners were Shaun Williamson (up to 1800cc) Philip Wilson (2501-4000cc) and Jason Jordan (4001cc and over).

The best Junior was Max Viitanen while the leading Ladies class driver was Tania Langcake and Masters went to Brenton Byfield. Thomas Miles Tania Langcake took on the picturesque ‘Twin Peaks.’ Image: KARL THOMPSON

www.autoaction.com.au I 43

NATIONALS WRAP

READ WINS AGAIN IN WA

Phil Read took another WA title after a carcking final. Below: Benny Stevens pulls a mono in Top Fuel Bike. Bottom: John Zappia took the Top Doorslammer tree with a 5.676/407.6 final pass. Images: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY PHIL READ overcame Phil Lammattina to take out the 53rd Westernationals title at the latest National Drag Racing Championship Top Fuel round.

Read and Lamattina faced off in the A Final and produced a breathtaking sideby-side three second pass.

Read (3.910/503.44kph) emerged victorious by taking his second consecutive Westernationals triumph by beating Lamattina (3.950/463.99kph) to the line by a margin of six feet.

“I think I am moving to Perth; I seem to win here a lot!” grinned Read.

“We dedicate this win to Gav (Gavin Coulthard) – he has come back to the races after losing his daughter recently and it is great to see him back at the track.”

The win was a vital one for Read in his chase for the Top Fuel NDRC title with the “Rapisardas have been getting away from us” and Peter Xiberras being absent from the trip to Perth Motorplex.

It was a difficult day for the championship leading Rapisarda Autosport International outfit.

Damien Harris blazed through to the top qualifier spot in Q2 early in the afternoon with a 3.870 second pass at a mammoth 511.89kph before a front left wheel failure saw him stranded on the track. While Harris was okay, his dragster would take no further part.

His teammate Wayne Newby got the team to the B Final where it all went wrong with his RAI dragster heading into the sand at speed and into both nets before coming to a stop. Newby was able to exit the car and walk to the medical crews.

Newby was lined up against rookie

44 I www.autoaction.com.au

Kyle Putland in the B Final but he went nowhere off the line due to a deflated front left tyre.

Benny Stevens had a special time at the Westernationals, taking home two Gold Christmas Trees as the Top Fuel Motorcycle category contested two rounds over the weekend.

Sunday was an especially busy day with two A Finals taking place.

Stevens took the first A-Final win over Damien Muscat – a windstorm forced it to be rescheduled from Saturday night.

He then raced through to his second A-Final of the day, this time against Wayne McGuinnes, who defeated Stevens at the Goldenstates in November.

“Two Gold Christmas Trees – what a week it has been!” Stevens said.

“We came out here on Wednesday for testing and didn’t do much good – we ended up hurting the motor.

“On Thursday we had another test day and put a new motor in it and got down the track and everything was good.

“Then on Saturday race day we torched a head and had to switch a motor out – luckily we ran a good time with that.

“Then today was a bit of a shamble with a few problems, but we found the problem before this last race.”

The ‘Sunday’ B-Final win went to Greg Durack over visiting US star Michael Beland, while Kim Leonard won the C-Final on a solo pass after Damien Muscat was pushed back from the startline with bike issues.

The ‘Saturday’ B-Final win went to McGuinnes over Durack, with Kevin Gummow claimed the C-Final from Leonard and Beland beat Ricky Wood in the D Final.

John Zappia made a big statement in the Top Doorslammer title fight by overcoming Rookie Taylor.

The pair have had a huge rivalry this season, facing off in the last two finals with Taylor taking the win both times.

But, at the Westernationals, Zappia hit back. He had been strong all weekend taking out the top qualifying honours before taking a Round 1 solo win and a Round 2 win over Daniel Gregorini to earn his place in the A-Final.

Zappia delivered again in the decider, posting a 5.676s pass at 407.61kph, while Russell meanwhile red lit on the line.

“The Dananni Hot Shots/FUCHS Monaro was flying all weekend – it was consistent as,” Zappia said.

“We have been trying to run a six all weekend – we have been stepping it up taking small steps all weekend not wanting to overdo it and we got it right then and got it done – with five-six anything I am rapt!”

Mark Chapman also returned to form by winning the B Final over Ronnie Palumbo, who had a launching problem.

Maurice Brennan took the C-Final win from debutant Andrew Cole in his first five second pass (5.925) with his new converter and Lisa Gregorini won the D-Final against Frank Taylor.

Taking out the victories in Sportsmans were Cooper Plummer (Junior Dragster), Cameron Lockett (Super Street), Paul Nieuwhof (Modified Bike), Kathy Regan (Super Sedan), Paul Garbellini (Modified), Jason Lippi (Top Sportsman), Kasey McClure (Supercharged Outlaws), Michael Holister (Competition Bike), Errol Quartermaine (Super Stock) and Connor McClure (Competition).

Top Fuel and the NDRC returns to The Dragway at The Bend for the Riverland Nationals, where Top Doorslammer, Pro Stock and the Aeroflow National Sportsman Series will also feature, on April 6-7.

Thomas Miles

Want to see your category event or news story included in the Auto Action Nationals Wrap.

Send your information, images and contact details to team@autoaction.com.au or give us a call on 03 9563 2107

Image: SUPPLIED

Heinrich heads the Aussie Race Car field towards Griffins ...

Image: SUPPLIED

HEINIRCH CARRIES ON REIGNING CHAMPION Joel Heinrich has started his quest for another Aussie Racing Cars title on the front foot by taking out the Bathurst opener.

Heinrich made his intentions clear by taking pole position but could not quite convert it into an opening race win amongst the big 32-car field.

He was in the middle of a thrilling threeway fight for victory with Reece Chapman and Cody Brewczynski.

It went all the way to the chequered flag as Chapman caught leader Brewczynski and Heinrich on the penultimate lap.

Things reached a climax when they

arrived at The Chase, where Chapman launched a move on Brewczynski and made it stick.

Brewczynski then tried an all-or-nothing response at the final corner but got it wrong and found the gravel.

This opened the door for Chapman to lead home Heinrich in a thriller.

Heinrich was able to get his first win of 2024 on the board in Race 2, orchestrated by an opening lap drag race with Chapman.

The race was disrupted by mechanical problems for Cody McKay and Josh Anderson.

A one-lap dash followed where Heinrich held on.

Race 3 never took place due to a reschedule on Saturday leaving Heinrich to seal his round win in Sunday’s finale where he had to overcome three Safety Cars.

Heinrich had built up more than a 2s lead until Desmond Collier spun in the Esses and Grant Thompson had to jump out of his car at The Chase due to a fire.

Other incidents included Anthony DiMauro crashing from fourth while Reese Chapman dropped out of contention due to a rubbing tyre.

This meant the race ultimately finished under Safety Car, securing Heinrich’s round win, while the consistent Kody Garland secured a strong second on debut.

Aussie Racing Cars are back on track at Queensland Raceway on April 26-28.

Thomas Miles AUSSIE RACING CARS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 1 1: J. Heinrich 203 points 2: K. Garland 193 3: C. Brewczynski 189 4: M. Harvey 187 5: K. Ensbey 187

RESUMING RIVALRIES THE 2024 V8 SuperUte Series started in similar fashion to how 2023 ended with Aaron Borg edging out Adam Marjoram.

Now Team Motion Racing teammates, the rivals resumed their contest at Mount Panorama where they were the class of the field, claiming all four races.

Despite being beaten to pole by David Sieders, Borg kicked off his title defence with a victory in Race 1. The reigning champion took a lights-to-flag success by 0.7s over Sieders and Marjoram, while Ryal Harris produced plenty of entertainment from the rear of the grid.

He flew all the way to sixth on the final lap, but was penalised 15s for assisting Jimmy Vernon into the Forrest Elbow tyres, dropping from third to 12th.

The top seven were inverted for Race 2 and rookie Jayden Wanzek was the early leader.

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

Team Motion Racing stablemates Adam Marjoram and Aaron Borg fight for track position entering Hell Corner. Image: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

But Crick had the pace and after surviving a major scare with Harris at The Chase, he launched a successful attack on Wanzek for the lead at the same section of track as Cody Brewczynski got stuck in the gravel at Murrays.

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Despite crossing the line first, Crick was penalised for his clash with Harris and Marjoram was promoted as the winner.

Team Motion Racing managed to confirm the clean sweep on Sunday with

Borg getting the better of Marjoram in a clean Race 3.

The finale saw the two red and white Isuzus go side by side all the way up to Griffins Bend where Marjoram won the battle.

Despite taking out the race, Borg did enough to claim the round win as Sieders’ secured best of the rest behind the leading pair.

The V8 SuperUte Series returns at the Darwin Triple Crown in June 14-16.

Thomas Miles V8 SUPERUTE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 1 1: A. Borg 239 points 2: A. Marjoram 233 3: D. Sieders 214 4: C. Crick 187 5: R. How 181

www.autoaction.com.au I 45

NATIONALS WRAP

Steven Johnson heads the angry pack of TCM cars into Griffins Bend.

JOHNSON STARTS STRONG

Images: JAMES SMITH PHOTOGRAPHER/ PETER NORTON - EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

TOURING CAR Masters’ return to the Supercars spotlight produced some great racing around Mount Panorama but, across four races, Steven Johnson once again emerged on top.

The reigning champion managed to make the right changes to ensure his meanlooking #33 BRUT Mustang was the class of the field despite the odd battle.

Following a change in ownership, the TCM field arrived at Mount Panorama rejuvenated and that was displayed by the entertaining racing on show.

The Trophy Race – that did not include Andrew Fisher due to a heavy crash – was a tight contest that went down to the wire in a classic Torana v Mustang battle.

Whilst Jim Pollicina led early, both Buzadzic and Angus Fogg were on the charge and rose eight and six spots respectively in the opening three laps to front the field.

What followed across the final five laps was a thrilling back-and-forth battle with leader Buzadzic clinging on in his little Torana despite locking up multiple times at Murrays Corner.

Fogg was applying the blowtorch with his Mustang monstering the back of Buzadzic, but he ultimately fell 0.1629s short.

“This is the best thing in car racing,” a beaming Buzadzic screamed to Auto Action after taking his first win at Mount Panorama.

“Just to be racing around Bathurst is great and then it started to rain and I had Fogg being a monster behind me and I did not know what to think – but held it all together and we got the win!”

Johnson could only manage 13th, being a lap down due to mechanical issues but hit back in a big way on Saturday.

Having captured pole by a huge 1.3s over Ryan Hansford, Johnson then cruised to a commanding race win.

46 I www.autoaction.com.au

Hansford and Heinrich weave down through the esses. Below Left: Jamie Tilley took ProAm. Below right: ACDelco’s Chris Payne awards ‘The Trophy Race’ winner, the excited Danny Buzadzic, his award.

He shot clear of the field straight away and quickly built a 5s lead before backing off slightly towards the chequered flag, having already set a fastest lap almost a second clear of the next best.

Despite the one way traffic at the pointy end, the fight for second was on for young and old.

Adam Garwood pushed his VB Commodore up to second but had to give it absolutely everything to keep Hansford and Joel Heinrich at bay.

Eventually Hansford pushed too hard, with a massive lockup at The Chase blowing his right front and restricting him to 13th.

This meant Heinrich could now attack Garwood, but the latter placed his Holden perfectly to keep the charging Camaro in third by just over a tenth.

The penultimate race of the weekend started without Fogg due to engine issues but still produced plenty of action.

Johnson controlled the field once again as Heinrich won a door-to-door battle with Garwood for second up Mountain Straight.

By lap four, Heinrich had now caught Johnson, setting up a duel for the lead.

It proved to be a one-sided fight, however, as Heinrich pulled out of Johnson’s slipstream up Mountain Straight and made

a clean move at Griffins Bend. Within a lap he was already a second up the road.

Soon, Johnson was under pressure from Garwood to retain second and on the final lap the latter tried to perform a brave move around the outside of the Chase.

Garwood hung tough at the heavy braking zone, clipping the grass to make a dive down the inside but could quite get up far enough.

Only four points split Johnson and Heinrich in the fight for the round win leading into the final race and they were side-by-side at the rolling start.

However, it was soon three wide as Garwood made an aggressive move to the inside on the exit of Hell Corner.

As the field charged up Mountain Straight, Johnson and Garwood emerged from the crazy start in front, while Heinrich was squeezed out and went from leading to sixth in the run from Mountain Straight to the Cutting.

Jamie Tilley also made the most of the action, getting his Ford Mustang Coupe up to second as Garwood faded, while Hansford fended off Heinrich for third.

After an entertaining season opener back on the Supercars stage, Touring Car Masters return at Wanneroo on May 17-19.

Thomas Miles 2024 TOURING CAR MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 1 1: S. Johnson 196 points 2: J. Heinrich 180 3: J. Tilley 172 4: A. Garwood 164 5: C. Tilley 146

Want to see your category event or news story included in the Auto Action Nationals Wrap.

Send your information, images and contact details to team@autoaction.com.au or give us a call on 03 9563 2107

UPPING THE ANTE KAI ALLEN wanted to dominate with the #1 on the door and he did just that at Bathurst, starting his Dunlop Series title defence perfectly.

Allen’s Eggleston Motorsport teammate Cooper Murray and Image Racing rookie Jobe Stewart may have challenged at different points, but the reigning champion showed ominous form by controlling both disappointingly Safety Car-shortened races.

Only two Super3 Nissan Altimas were on the grid and Cody Burcher overcame Thomas Maxwell.

The pace of the Eggleston Motorsport Commodores was clear from as early as practice where Allen started strongly before rookie Cameron McLeod made the most of mixed conditions in P2.

But, come qualifying, no-one could compete with Murray, who was a tenth clear of teammate Allen as Zach Bates proved to claim the best of the rest status.

The season got off to a slow start as incidents plagued the first race. In what proved to be the decisive move of the race, Allen had a better reaction time than Murray when lights went out to take the lead, while a host of drivers struggled to get off the line.

One of them was Callum Walker’s #33 ZB Commodore which was not moving and required the recovery vehicle and Safety Car to be removed from pit straight after the “clutch went to the firewall, stopped and then broke the transaxle.”

Racing resumed but the yellows were waved halfway up the Mountain after Murray crashed out of second place.

He hit the fence square on at McPhillamy Park before going off at Skyline and stopping in the Esses with broken suspension.

Then even more drama unfolded, at the third attempt at racing.

Cameron Crick had a peek on Zane Morse at the evertightening Cutting and tagged the pink Mustang, sending it into a spin.

Just when Morse tried to escape, carnage followed as Max Vidau was squeezed between car and concrete before Jett Johnson later arrived on the scene with nowhere to go and pin-balled into McLeod, Burcher and Vidau.

A total of nine cars were stuck at The Cutting forcing commentators to cry “the track is jammed” – not for the first time for an incident at that part of the circuit.

With only eight minutes left on the clock and the reds out, the race was called and despite not a full racing lap being recorded, full points were strangely dished out.

More racing was thankfully possible on Sunday when the two Blue Lake boys stole the show.

Fuelled by emotion from a challenging week for everyone

Cars everywhere as the field heads to Hell Corner. at Image Racing following the tragic passing of Dana Wyhoon, rookie Stewart produced a special 2:05.4932, which put him on the verge of a meaningful pole.

However, Allen had the final say and snatched it by just 0.08s during his final run.

Unlike Saturday, Stewart nailed the start to swoop past Allen and into the lead, sparking dreams of one of the most emotional Dunlop Series wins ever.

But the #99 ZB Commodore was only in front until The Chase where Allen launched a counter-attack and dived down the inside.

Despite Stewart giving Allen a rub on the approach to Murrays, the #1 Coke Commodore held sway to lead the first racing lap of the weekend.

The pair was able to gap third placed Murray, who survived a second whack with the wall at the top of the Mountain in as many days.

Meanwhile, Matt Chahda was not so lucky, crunching the concrete head on at Forrest’s Elbow.

It appeared Chahda could have clipped the inside wall which fired him hard into the outside wall, destroying the front end and triggering the Safety Car on lap four.

The restart arrived with exactly 12 minutes on the clock and there was high drama with a number of cars going off, including Crick, who was beached at Hell Corner.

To make matters worse for Eggleston Motorsport, Murray was out of action.

Zach Bates tried to make a move to steal third at The Cutting, but did not get up far enough and contact sent the

Vaughan heads Cameron into Hell Corner. #88 onto a collision course with the outside wall.

It set up a last-lap dash to the finish, but there was little change as Allen led home Stewart in a Mount Gambier onetwo, while Bates was third on the road. But a 30s penalty for the Murray incident promoted Aaron Cameron and Brad Vaughan to well-deserved maiden round podiums.

After Allen enjoyed a near-perfect start to his title defence, he will be tough to catch at Wanneroo on May 17-19.

Thomas Miles DUNLOP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 1 1: K. Allen 300 points 2: A. Cameron 258 3: B. Vaughan 231 4: R. Gray 222 5: L. Dalton 207

MAIN: Kai Allen gets some air flying over Skyline on his way to a Bathurst sweep.

Images: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY.

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 47

INTERNATIONAL

LARSON UPS THE ANTE IN VEGAS KYLE LARSON took his first Cup Series race of 2024 with a dominant finish over the challenge of Tyler Reddick.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver led for 181 of 267 laps at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and signalled that he’ll be about at the pointy end again in his #5 Chevrolet.

Reddick came hard in his Camry over the closing laps, but his attempted move on the inside with two to run didn’t come off, with Larson distancing himself to the chequered flag for a 24th career win.

“I knew Tyler was going to be the guy to beat from the first stage when he was really fast there,” Larson said, who also swept the Stages.

“I thought he and Bubba (Wallace) were going to try to work together and build a run. So, I was happy that didn’t happen.

Just the execution on pit road, the restarts, all that was great. Cool to get a win here in Vegas again. Swept all the stages again. Can’t ask for much more.”

After having run second in Vegas three times, Larson started out by taking the opening Stage over Reddick, which saw an 11 minute caution after Chris Buescher made a mess of the wall between Turns 1 and 2.

Reddick came again in the second stanza but fell under a second short again, with Larson and the other leading cars opting not to pit between stages.

Wallace then moved up to help his 23XI teammate, pushing him close to Larson’s

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES tail, but after taking a green cycle pit stop, Larson took the lead back with 46 laps to run.

The final caution of the day came on lap 235, when LaJoie wrecked off Turn 2,

with Larson leading the wild in-and-out of the pits once more, with the final fight lasting 27 laps, which saw the 2021 Cup Series champ getting it done by 0.441s, with Penske’s Ryan Blaney finishing third,

a further 3.827 back.

The fourth round sees the series head to the Phoenix Raceway for 312 laps of the 1.6 km “oddball” desert oval.

Timothy W Neal

BYRON CLAIMS WILD SEASON OPENER THE 2024 NASCAR season kicked off with the iconic Daytona 500, and last year’s Championship Four contender William Byron helped Hendrick Motorsport celebrate its 40th birthday with its sixth 500 victory at the legendary Florida Superspeedway.

In a race that saw plenty of big pile-ups over 200 laps, it was a hectic scramble after a lap 197 restart that saw the North Carolina resident take the chequered flag moments before the chasing field collapsed behind him for the fifth caution of the night to end the race.

Alex Bowman made it a Chevrolet Hendrick one-two after Toyota’s Christopher Bell, whilst the GM squad, now draw level with Petty Enterprises with nine wins on the sports biggest stage.

Byron, a 26-year-old who made his way into the top flight via sim racing, couldn’t believe he’d finally won the 500.

“I’m just a kid from racing on

48 I www.autoaction.com.au

computers and winning the Daytona 500,” he said.

“I can’t believe it. I wish my dad was here. He’s sick, but this is for him, man.

We’ve been through so much, and we sat up in the grandstands together and watched the race when I was younger.

This is so freaking cool.”

Prior to the final restart, it was Ross Chastain who could lay claim to letting it slip after leading prior to the massive pile up that took out seven cars.

With Byron getting the jump on Chastain at the restart, the #24 car led its only laps of the day across the final four lap dash.

When the white flag went, Chastain was still in with a shot, but his push for the gap saw him get out of shape in a three-wide moment, with he and Austin Cindric spinning into the infield (right) as Byron took his 11th Cup Series win ahead of Round 2’s trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Timothy W Neal

NASCAR • DAYTONA 500 • LAS VEGAS • ATLANTA

SVG FINDING THE DRAFT SHANE VAN Gisbergen’s maiden NASCAR XFinity season in the States has him three races deep in his quest towards a NASCAR Cup Series career.

His initiation via the Kaulig Racing team with support from Trackhouse has seen him face off at Daytona SuperSpeedway, and the Atlanta and Las Vegas Motor Speedways.

His high point to date was a podium finish in Atlanta, whilst he was tested at Daytona and fought his way into 12th, before suffering a retirement in Vegas due to heating issues.

In a race dictated by the leaders running out of fuel in an entertaining affair in Atlanta, SVG’s #97 made the right call to pit under caution which elevated him into contention by race end.

It was clear by his experience at Daytona that he’s getting his head around sitting in the draft, with the three-time Supercar champion involved in some hairy three-wide running and holding his own by the second round.

On his journey around the States and his new racing regime, in his Vegas pre-race press conference a clearly relaxed SVG

said he’s getting his head around the hectic schedule.

“It’s just every week – and compared to Australia the weeks are a lot shorter,” he said.

“The weekends are so condensed, and then during the week it’s one or two days of debriefing then you’re instantly onto the next race. The routine is so different, but I’m enjoying it – you’re constantly thinking about race cars and it’s really cool so far, but it’s obviously very back-and-forth.

“It was two or three weeks between Supercars races so I was trying to drive as many other things as I could, but it’s awesome to have my schedule full and

having a routine … it’s what I’m enjoying the most.”

In terms of comparisons between Daytona and Atlanta, he also gave an insight into the changing nature of the tracks, with the roulette style of ovals in the first two rounds proving a tough challenge.

“I really liked Atlanta a lot more than Daytona – you had to peddle it a bit more and search for air to try and get the car to handle.

“Qualifying at Atlanta, not having seen the track before and having to go do it wide open was pretty hectic. I kept it flat and it was on the edge and I was hanging on pretty tight.

Then I watched Austin Hill’s lap (XFinity winner of Daytona and Atlanta) and he was driving around one handed … so I have a bit to go before I get comfortable,” he quipped.

On the issue of learning the race craft, he said he’s watching the other drivers closely.

“Everyone is sharp and committed – watching Hill in particular at Daytona who passed me a few times, he was so committed in where he was placing his car and aware of his surroundings.

“When we were in a line at Atlanta, I got shuffled out of line and at one point I thought I got hit – but he only just got close and it made me slide up.

“The air affects the car so differently at these speeds and I’ve never felt that before, so I need to try and understand how things work and why they do.”

SVG’s next Xfinity race see’s him tackle the Phoenix Raceway on March 10, a unique oval in itself with some unusually wide turns where things can get very loose.

His first Cup Series race for 2024 is at COTA on March 24. Timothy W Neal

SUAREZ TAKES THREEWIDE ATLANTA THRILLER TRACKHOUSE RACING kicked off 2024 in style after Daniel Suarez edged out last year’s champion Ryan Blaney by a matter of inches at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Mexican born racer claimed his second career victory by just 0.003s from the Penske driver, Richard Childress Racing veteran Kyle Busch completing the three-wide photo, just 0.007 behind.

The #99 Trackhouse driver led only nine of the 260 laps on the newly paved Speedway, and also survived an early lap two wreck.

“It was so damn close, man, It was so damn close,” Suarez said in Victory Lane.

“It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also did a great job

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

giving pushes. In the back straightaway, he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to screw his teammate, but, man, what a job.

“We wrecked on lap two. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car. I can’t thank everyone enough, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet, all the amazing fans here. Let’s go!”

The thrilling finish was representative of a wild and entertaining race, which also featured a record 48 lead changes, whilst the 14-car wreck that kicked off the first stage was the biggest ever single incident on the 2.4 km Speedway.

Suarez had to make multiple pit stops in an effort to stay in the game after getting

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

caught up in the fracas, whilst Stage 2 also saw a wreck under the green flag pit stops, when poleman Michael McDowell took out Daytona 500 victor William Byron when he locked up at the entry. Seven speeding penalties owing to the speed limit confusion in the pits also saw the field-order get thrown into disarray, which would right itself with all seven drivers getting the lucky dog under the ensuing cautions.

In another race twist, 2022 champion Joey Logano revived a pre-race penalty due to an illegal webbing identified on his driving glove from qualifying, but starting at the back of the field helped him avoid some of the chaos, and he took he lead into the second stage

after he overtook Todd Gilliland who had led for a race high 58 laps.

Things then soured for the Penske driver when he collected two cars and lost six laps in the pits.

The third stage provided some thrilling three and four wide action, with the final in-race caution coming on lap 249 owing to a Josh Berry crash, which saw Suarez poke his nose in front for the final four laps.

With Suarez holding the top lane into Turn 3, the favourable spot gave Trackhouse the perfect start ahead of the Round of 3 trip to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400.

Timothy W Neal

www.autoaction.com.au I 49

INTERNATIONAL

PENSKE-PORSCHE BREAKS THROUGH IN QATAR WEC THE 2024 FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP OPENER IN QATAR WAS SWEPT BY THE PORSCHE 963 MACHINES, WITH PENSKE ACHIEVING A ONE-THREE AND ITS FIRST EVER WEC VICTORY ...

AFTER 2023 was dominated by the LMHspec Hypercars, an LMDh rule-set machine achieved a first WEC victory at the Qatar 1812 KM as well as an all-Porsche podium sweep.

After the LMDh machines could only achieve three podiums last season, the previously dominant Toyota and Ferrari teams failed to make an impact to start the year off.

It was an historic weekend, with 19 Hypercars on the grid alongside the new LMGT3 field, with WEC newcomers Alpine, Lamborghini, BMW, and Isotta Fraschini all joining the grid, as well as some extra customer cars from both Porsche and Ferrari.

The weekend was largely controlled by the Porsche Penske cars, topping all but one session on their way to pole and victory.

It was the #6 Porsche that prevailed after 365 laps at the Losail International Circuit, piloted by Kevin Estre/Andre Lotterer/ Laurens Vanthoor, beating home the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche (Callum Ilott/Will Stevens/Norman Nato) by 33.297s, with the sister Penske #5 963 machine taking third after starting on pole.

It was also the first time that a Porsche has topped the premier WEC class since 2017 in the LMP1 generation.

The Estre-led 963 survived a late scare after a dominant performance after making contact with a Lexus GT3 in the last 15 minutes, but resumed with time in hand. The pole-getting #5 Porsche with Aussie Matt Campbell on board (partnered by Michael Christensen/Frederic Makoweicki) was also promoted into third late in the race when the #93 Peugeot 9X8 (which was later

got off to a tough start, finishing five laps back.

The boutique Isotta Fraschini machine only made it to 157 laps, with the single entry #11 Tipo 6 Competizione rearing at the six hour mark.

The top BMW M Hybrid V8 entry had to settle for 11th place, with the #20 finishing four places over its sister #15 entry.

disqualified) inexplicably lost power with only two laps remaining whilst running in second place. That cost the French marquee its highest ever finish, but they’ll be buoyed by the kick-on in performance after finishing last year strongly.

With Campbell at the wheel they a Penske one-two looked a possibility, in the end falling just 1.099s short of the Jota Porsche, recovering after being taken out of contention early after tyre vibrations had forced it into the pits.

Porsche asserted an early dominance in the brand-packed 2024 WEC championship, the #6 Estreled car heading a 1-2-3. Top: The 2024 Hypercar grids heads for Turn 1. Above: Not such a good day for Peugeot ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

50 I www.autoaction.com.au

The Earl Bamber-led Cadillac took fourth after taking damage early in the race, finishing over the new AF Corse Ferrari 499P, with the dominant Toyota outfit experiencing its worst Hypercar performance with a sixth place finish after its GR010 machines were given a 9kg BoP hit and a maximum power reduction prior to the round.

As for last year’s Le Mans winners, both factory Ferraris were out of contention early.

The #50 499P stormed into the lead off the line after qualifying fourth, but couldn’t hold the pace before also receiving a drivethrough penalty for an illegal pit entry, while the #51 Ferrari also lost its rear wing after early contact.

Of the WEC Hypercar newcomers, it was the #35 Alpine A424 in eighth that finished the highest as well as taking points on debut, whilst Lamborghini’s debut with the SC63

PORSCHE SWEEP THE CLASSES THE NEW LMGT3 class – which has replaced both the LMGTE and LMP2 classes – was also taken out by a Porsche with the Manthey PureRxcing squad taking out a 4.866s win after 299 laps over the fancied #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR, with the D’Station AMR team in third.

The #92 Porsche driven by Klaus Bachler/ Joel Sturm/Aliaksandr Malykhin led for most of the day after taking the lead 15 minutes in over the pole-sitting #81 Corvette Z06, which would later retire with electric issues.

Coming home in fourth place was the Team WRT BMW, which also featured legendary MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi in his WEC debut for the M4 squad, whilst the new Ford Mustang GT3 (run by Porsche Hypercar customer team Proton Competition) started out its WEC life in ninth place.

The FIA WEC next heads to Italy for the Six Hours of Imola on April 21, where a very different track with tighter corners and more chicanes will likely see another BoP change back in favour of the LMH Toyota and Ferrari cars.

Timothy W Neal

WEC • QATAR I F2 F3 • SAKHIR

BROWNING TOPS MANSELL IN F3 OPENER Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

MALONEY PUTS DOWN THE FLAG AT SAKHIR RODIN MOTORSPORT young gun Zane Maloney (pictured) made the best possible start to the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season by taking out the Sprint and Feature race double at Sakhir in Bahrain.

The 20-year-old from Barbados was a regular sight in cutting though the field in 2023 and, armed with the new Dallara-built F2 machinery he finally did what he threatened to do all last season to take his maiden victories.

“So happy to get the Sprint Race and the Feature Race victory this weekend,” said Maloney, who scored 36 points to open the year.

“Team Rodin did an unbelievable job and I just had to drive the car as quickly as I could. Thank you everyone for the support. Of course I know Jeddah is going to be another story so we will push on in Jeddah.”

After starting on the second row, Maloney took out the feature by 4.621s over fulltime F2 debutant’s Pepe Marti and Paul Aron of Spain and Estonia respectively.

After Campos’ Isack Hadjar topped practice, it was last year’s Formula 3 champion in Gabriel Bortoleto who took a chilling pole in his F2 debut with a 1:41.915, topping both Hadjar and Maloney by under 0.3s.

Maloney’s first victory came from eighth place in the Sprint race, slicing through the grid to eventually overcome the reverse grid pole-sitter Jak Crawford

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

by lap eight for a 5.490s win, with the American in second over Marti.

Maloney then took a rare F2 double in the Feature – the first since Felipe Drugovich in 2022 – to complete the weekend.

The #5 victor started out on the Option tyre to make his move, which he did by the first turn, from third place, whilst the front row pair came to grief after colliding behind him, with Hadjar retiring and Bortoleto taking a 10s penalty.

The lap five restart saw the Bajan leader get the jump on the promoted Zak O’Sullivan, with Marti in third.

Crawford moved into third shortly after but suffered a retirement after boxing with power issues, whilst a second Safety Car was called on lap 19 when Victor Martins pulled over on-track.

The green was dropped on the 22nd lap with Maloney keeping his pace, whilst O’Sullivan’s switch to the Soft compound didn’t do him any favours, as Marti overcame the fellow F2 debutant to move into second, with Aron then doing the same to claim the final spot on the podium, 7.160s behind Marti.

It won’t be a long wait for the F2 field to resume the season, with a visit to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah track on March 7-9, before they then return to Melbourne for the Albert Park Grand Prix on March 22-24.

Timothy W Neal

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

Browning shows the way with Mansell (#23) fourth at this early stage. Below: Mansell takes centre stage on the podium!

BRITISH DRIVER Luke Browning took his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory at Sakhir, with the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver overcoming determined Aussie Christian Mansell in his first outing for ART Grand Prix.

In his second full-time year in F3, Browning took the feature by 1.264s after jumping pole sitter Dino Beganovic, with Mansell fighting from eighth to finish over impressive German debutant Tim Tramnitz.

Upon equalling his best ever F3 finish, Mansell sits third in the standings after the opener, driving with his usual aggressiveness that saw him turn heads last season.

“I was very, very aggressive in the opening stages of the race. I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” the Newcastle native said.

“Turn 8 was my favourite corner in that race – I made a few pretty decisive moves there but overall, just really really happy with how the race turned out.

“You need to have good points at the start of the season because you’re going to have a bad round – it’s F3, we all have bad rounds no matter what. It’s about building up that tally as soon as possible and then maintaining it.”

After Browning opened the weekend up top in the first practice session, he was then jumped by Prema’s Beganovic for the first pole of the season, with the Swede putting down a 1:46.431.

But it was another Brit on debut, Arvid Lindblad, who took first points, in the reverse grid Sprint race, utilising superior tyre management to overcome Laurens van Hoepen for a comfortable 5.478s win, with another debutant, Leonardo Fornaroli, filling the podium.

Poleman Beganovic then lamented a slow jump in the Feature, allowing drivers like Mansell, Tramnitz and Sami Meguetounif to move through.

Mansell wasted little time in moving up the field, taking third early, then overtook Meguetounif at Turn 8 to put pressure on the leader Browning.

But with the Frenchman pressuring the Aussie for second, it allowed the eventual winner to gain some valuable space before Mansell found the DRS zone to reapply the heat.

Only five seconds split the top eight with 10 laps remaining, with Mansell taking advantage of an error from the chasing Trident car to get some breathing room, which allowed the German youngster to slip into the podium spots, only 1.168 off Mansell by the chequered flag.

The next outing for F3 is a return trip to Melbourne’s Albert Park on March 23-24, where the ever-improving Mansell will look to his home crowd for support alongside fellow Aussie – VAR’s Tommy Smith – to shoot for his maiden FIA win.

Timothy W Neal

www.autoaction.com.au I 51

INTERNATIONAL

RINSE AND REPEAT… VERSTAPPEN IN ANOTHER GALAXY Report: LUIS VASCONCELOS Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Sergio Perez did his Red Bull justice to drive through into second, but nowhere near his dominant team leader (below)

TOTO WOLFF summed up everyone’s feelings at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix, when he said, “today Max was not in a different league, he’s in a different galaxy – the performance is extraordinary; the machine is just really extraordinary …”

Even the World Champion admitted he was surprised with how easy his life had been during the 57 laps of the race, saying that, “I think today it went even better than expected.

I think the car was really nice to drive on every compound and I think we had a lot of pace. It was super enjoyable to drive today.”

Given how tight the pack had been in qualifying, the expectation was that, even if Verstappen would keep the lead at the start, Ferrari and Mercedes would be able to keep the pressure on. But that never happened.

The Red Bull driver protected the inside going into Turn 1, to avoid a late dive from Leclerc, but then pulled quickly away, leading by 7,5s after just 10 laps, already game over for everyone else.

For the World Champion, “the thing that changed, was the wind and the intensity of it. And the car just felt a bit better. I just had a better feeling with the car, and I could look after my tyres quite well at the same time. So, that was very positive. Probably it was a bit more how it was in testing as well. I just felt very comfortable with the car and that really showed today, so I’m very happy to kickstart the season like this.”

Thursday and Friday had seen pretty strong winds hit Bahrain, making all the cars quite difficult to drive in certain parts of the track, but on race day the conditions were much more stable and, clearly, the Red Bull RB20 made the most out of it and in Verstappen’s hands, was clearly dominant from start to finish.

Sérgio Pérez backed up his team leader, moving from fifth on the grid to second in the first stint, with good moves on Sainz,at the start, and then on Leclerc and especially Russell, but was never able to lap close to his team mate’s pace. With Sainz as his remaining rival after the first round of pit stops, Pérez had to react to the Ferrari’s early final stop to avoid losing track position, but that left him with 21 laps to do on a set of Soft tyres, against the Hard the Spaniard had left.

Managing his tyres well, the Mexican held on to second

52 I www.autoaction.com.au

place but admitted his life was made harder by a few technical issues, particularly towards the end of the race: “It was a quite a tricky race, with the management of the tyres but I think there’s plenty we will learn from tonight’s race, which will be important for the championship. I think it’s a great way to start the season but we had some issues with the engine braking, that affected the drivability of the car, so it was not easy around here, because there is plenty of low-speed corners. That’s why towards the end of the race that meant our degradation was getting quite a lot worse, but we had enough to finish second.”

Relieved to be able to speak about racing, under-fire Team Principal Christian Horner was finally smiling by the end of the race: “I think that the start to the season that we’ve had has been an incredible

result by the whole team. In the race today, Max was dominant, and Checo drove a very strong race coming through the field from fifth to achieve a one-two finish at the first Grand Prix of the year.

Achieving maximum points I think is the perfect start for us in our 20th season.”

Still, he played down the significance of the big gap Verstappen opened to the rest of the field, cautioning that, “yes, it’s one down out of 24, but you can’t read too much into a single event because of the nature of the circuit, the temperature and the fact that we’re able to carry over a Soft tyre into the race. I was surprised that others didn’t – it distorted perhaps the back end of the stint, but, nonetheless, it was a dominant display and great to get that maximum score.”

RIVALS WITH CONFLICTING REACTIONS

HORNER’S ARCH-rival, Toto Wolff, who had put Verstappen in a different galaxy, was despondent enough to even admit the Dutchman could win evert single race this year: “Unfortunately, I think so. We just have to acknowledge his performance levels are really strong.”

Third placed Carlos Sainz, while admitting there was no stopping Red Bull in Bahrain, was clearly more hopeful than Wolff about the prospects of topping the Austrian team during the season: “When I saw the long runs of Max and Checo on FP2 and then the long runs of testing, there’s no secrets.

We’ve been here three days. I knew they had

Formula 1 Round 1 BAHRAIN Grand Prix - Race report

Sainz slipped past Leclerc for an excellent third, Below: Russell led Leclerc early but overheating slowed the Mercedes.

Max won the start and was gone ...

Below: Lando led Oscar throughout.

Verstappen had the place to himself ... while Hamilton (below) just ... struggled.

hoped for, so it was only in the last five laps that Sainz started to go faster than his rival, too little too late to be able to fight for P2.

Still, the Spaniard had a much better day than Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque puzzled by the brake issues that compromised his race right from the start: “It was impossible in the first 15 laps, the issue was getting a lot worse every lap, so I was basing my braking for 9/10 of what it was the previous lap, but the issue was getting a lot worse. Every lap I would brake three metres earlier than the previous lap but would still lock up…”

The team told me that there was more than 100 degree split from front right to front left, which is huge, so at that moment I understood the best I can do was to bring the car home – and honestly all-in-all, considering that the issue didn’t get any better throughout the whole race, fourth place is a positive result.”

COOLING COMPROMISED MERCEDES’ PACE

MERCEDES HAD high hopes for the race after Russell’s encouraging speed in qualifying and Hamilton opting for a set-up that should be really strong on the long runs, but a miscalculation of the W15’s cooling needs undid all the good work. Russell moved past Leclerc on lap three, to go up to second, but soon after that knew he was in trouble: “The engine was overheating after lap three. As soon as overtook Charles, I had big red alarms on the steering wheel – we had to turn the power down to stop engine overheating and that cost us probably foura three to four-tenths advantage. I knew the Red Bulls today were going to be very, very difficult to beat but, hopefully when we go to a more front-limited track and maybe better tarmac, our car will come alive and we will be able to mount a better challenge on Max for the win.”

Sainz was one of the stars of the race, deserving his place in the podium. Beaten

by Pérez off the line, he passed team mate Charles Leclerc at the start of lap 11, in a battle reminiscent of the one they had in Monza last year and then set off after Russell. The decision to pit later than his rivals backfired, as Sainz had to pass Leclerc again on lap 17 but one lap later he was already ahead of the Mercedes driver and with Pérez within his sight. The decision to pit again on lap 35 was aimed at forcing the Mexican to cover his move to avoid losing track position and that’s what happened.

But the crossover between the Hard tyres on the SF-24 and the Soft tyres on the RB20 came much latter than Ferrari

QUALIFYING RACE 1

tenths a lap. And by that point we just went backwards. So a real shame – we didn’t show the car’s true potential, so we need to understand how we got that one wrong.”

Hamilton: “I probably went the wrong direction with the set-up but had a lot of other issues too.” The seven-times World Champion explained that, “for a while my battery was dead, so I was just de-rating the whole way down the straights and lost a lot of ground to the McLarens. Fixing that took some time, plenty of seconds as well.”

Brake issues also forced him to a lot of lift and coast, before a broken support made his seat move a lot, “which, of course, is not what you want, because you’re moving under braking…”

With Russell finishing just ahead of Norris and Hamilton getting Piastri in the second pit stop, Mercedes scored more points than its customer team, but they were both out of Aston Martin’s reach, with Alonso admitting there was nothing more in his AMR24: “I think yesterday’s lap was exceptional”, he said of the lap that put him sixth on the grid, before explaining that, “I think is exactly what we expected. Our simulations were saying that we were around P9 with not much fight in front of us. The top four teams are a little bit too much ahead and with a comfortable gap behind. I had the McLarens 18 seconds ahead and the Sauber 28 seconds behind.

So, we were in no-man’s land the whole race.”

Team mate Stroll scored the final point, recovering well after being tipped into a spin

by Hulkenberg on the first lap, getting past the two Racing Bulls, Magnussen and Zhou in the second part of the race.

RESULTS RACE 1 57 LAPS SAKHIR

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 1

Pos Driver

Time

Pos Drivers

Make

Laps

Margin

Pos Driver

1

Max Verstappen

1:29.179

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

57

1:31.44.742 -

1

Max Verstappen

26

2

Charles Leclerc

+0.228

2

Sergio Perez

Red Bull

57

+22.457 +3

2

Sergio Perez

18

3

George Russell

+0.306

3

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

57

+25.110 +1

3

Carlos Sainz

15

4

Carlos Sainz

+0.328

4

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

57

+39.669 -2

4

Charles Leclerc

12

5

Sergio Perez

+0.358

5 George Russell

Mercedes

57

+46.788 -2

5

George Russell

10

6

Fernando Alonso

+0.363

6 Lando Norris

McLaren

57

+48.458 +1

6

Lando Norris

8

7

Lando Norris

+0.435

7

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

57

+50.324 +2

7

Lewis Hamilton

6

8

Oscar Piastri

+0.504

8 Oscar Piastri

McLaren

57

+56.082 -

8

Oscar Piastri

4

9

Fernando Alonso

2

Lewis Hamilton

+0.531

9

Aston Martin

57

+1:14.887 -3

9

10 Nico Hulkenberg

+1.323

10 Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

57

+1:33.216 -2

10 Lance Stroll

1

11

+0.950

11 Zhou Guanyu

Sauber

56

+1 Lap +6

11

Zhou Guanyu

0

12 Lance Stroll

+1.021

12 Kevin Magnussen Haas

56

+1 Lap +3

12 Kevin Magnussen

0

13 Alex Albon

+1.042

13 Daniel Ricciardo

Racing Bulls

56

+1 Lap +1

13 Daniel Ricciardo

0

14 Daniel Ricciardo

+1.099

14 Yuki Tsunoda

Racing Bulls

56

+1 Lap -3

14 Yuki Tsunoda

0

15 Kevin Magnussen

+1.350

15 Alex Albon

Williams

56

+1 Lap -2

15 Alex Albon

0

16 Valtteri Bottas

+1.577

16 Nico Hulkenberg

Haas

56

+1 Lap -6

16 Nico Hulkenberg

0

17 Zhou Guanyu

+1.578

17 Esteban Ocon

Alpine

56

+1 Lap +2

17 Esteban Ocon

0

18 Logan Sargeant

+1.591

18 Pierre Gasly

Alpine

56

+1 Lap +2

18 Pierre Gasly

0

19 Esteban Ocon

+1.614

19 Valtteri Bottas

Sauber

56

+1 Lap -3

19 Valtteri Bottas

0

20 Pierre Gasly

+1.769

20 Logan Sargeant

Williams

55

+2 Laps -2

20 Logan Sargeant

0

Yuki Tsunoda

autoactionmag

Fernando Alonso

Points

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

BITTER SWEET RESULTS FOR AUSSIES OSCAR PIASTRI (above) scored four points after finishing eight in Bahrain, while Daniel Ricciardo was able to recover to P13, but was never in the fight for the top 10, Racing Bulls dropping its performance in the race after a promising qualifying effort, particularly for 11th placed Yuki Tsunoda.

Piastri passed Norris at the start but quickly lost the position to his team-mate, before they both cleared Alonso within six laps. From then on, the young Australian was midway between Norris and Hamilton, but a slow last pit stop put him at the veteran’s mercy and, in spite of a big lunge into Turn 1, the McLaren driver had to give way to his rival.

After admitting his own efforts in qualifying weren’t great, Piastri accepted there was no more speed to get out of the car in the race: “But not a bad way to start the year compared to last year – we will definitely take it. The pace was more or less how I thought it would pan out. We’re were very close with Mercedes, Ferrari seem a bit of a step ahead, Red Bull a clear step ahead. Not a bad way to start the year and it was a decent race.”

On the battle with Hamilton, Piastri admitted that, “I think there was a few things in the race that we needed to do a little bit better, like pit stops and strategy. I think it was a little bit closer than it needed to be. And, obviously, we lost out on that. I tried my best to stay in front, but just didn’t have any grip on the Hards coming out of the pits.”

Ricciardo (below) went for an alternative strategy using Soft tyres in the first and last stints, with Hard for the middle of the race but found team mate Tsunoda uncooperative when the team ordered a position swap, as the Australian was on softer tyres and could attack Magnussen and Zhou.

In the end the Japanese left it late to open the door and by the time he did it, Ricciardo felt his tyre edge was gone: “I think the call was already one lap too late and then Yuki reacted too late. With the Soft tyre, every lap is crucial, so I think I already lost probably two-and-a-half good laps of the tyre and that was maybe the difference. Could we have caught Stroll in 10th? No. At best we may have got Zhou. So, points were still tricky but we had to try something.”

At least Ricciardo’s race pace was better than his one-lap effort, so there’s hope for better results in the coming races.

Luis Vasconcelos

www.autoaction.com.au I 53

SUPERCARS

Broc Feeney leads home teammate Will Brown to win Race 1 in an ominous start to the 2024 season.

Images: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY AND MARK HORSBURG- EDGE PHOTOGRAPHIC

NO SHANE, NO WORRIES THE NEW SUPERCARS SEASON STARTED WITH MANY UNKNOWNS AND POSSIBILITIES, HIGHLIGHTED

BY THE ABSENCE OF RECENT CHAMPIONS SHANE VAN GISBERGEN AND DEFENDING CHAMP BRODIE KOSTECKI. IT PROMISED TO BE OPEN, BUT WHEN THE CHEQUERED FLAG FELL AT BATHURST, IT WAS A VERY FAMILIAR FEEL. AA’S THOMAS MILES WAS AT BATHURST TO REPORT …

THE BUILD up to the 2024 Supercars season-opening Bathurst 500 was like no other.

There had already been plenty of movement up and down the grid with nine of the 11 teams welcoming at least one new driver, but one change was on everyone’s lips.

Reigning champions Erebus Motorsport entered its title defence shrouded in controversy due to a dispute between Kostecki and the team getting messy on many levels.

It led to the 26-year-old becoming just the fifth reigning champion not to defend the #1 in the following season.

Once cars hit the track, the talk finally stopped and although one of the most open fights for the title was tipped, Triple Eight was once again at its dominant best.

The Red Bull Camaros of Broc Feeney and new recruit Will Brown cleaned up all eight on-track sessions on their way to proving the powerhouse would have no trouble with life postSVG. Feeney took out the opener after jumping his teammate during the first round of stops to kick off 2024 with a crushing one-two.

54 I www.autoaction.com.au

Chaz Mostert mounted a stiff challenge on Sunday, but smart fuel strategy and a composed final gave Brown a maiden win in his new colours.

It marked the sweet way to end a near-perfect Triple Eight debut for Brown, who walked away with the championship lead having done something none of Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, van Gisbergen or Feeney could do and win in his first weekend at the team.

“Stepping up and taking (Shane’s) seat, obviously there is pressure that comes with that,” Brown said on Fox Sports.

“But I feel like last year I did a good job to prove that I am in the championship and can win races.

“It is obviously awesome to sign with the team and win a race in my first weekend.”

EREBUS HEARTBREAK

HAVING ENDURED a hellish off-season, the entire team at Erebus Motorsport was eager to finally put the off-track drama aside and focus on racing when their two new Camaros hit the track on Friday practice.

However, Erebus could not even catch a break then as its title defence started in the worst possible way when Jack Le Brocq’s full-time career at the team only got as far as two corners before the first setback.

An oil pressure issue saw the #9 Camaro stop on the exit of Griffins Bend and cause a red flag.

Le Brocq was unable to complete a single lap in the opening session of the season, with the team faced with an unplanned engine change.

Despite the heartbreaking start to the year, it was far from panic stations with the experienced Le Brocq unconcerned.

“It is unfortunate,” Le Brocq told AA. “Not too sure what happened exactly but we think there was an oil pressure issue with the engine so I just pulled over to save what was left “It is definitely disappointing we did not get too far in Practice 1, but that is our bad luck out of the way now and we will keep boxing on.”

On the other side of the garage #99 sub Todd Hazelwood wasted no time in showing his speed.

Supercars RACE REPORT Round 1 – BATHURST 500

Chaz Mostert celebrates another podium finish in style.

Reigning champions Erebus Motorsport fronted pit lane with a new look and driver lineup.

Thomas Randle gave Tickford some level of dignity with a solid run in Sundays race to fourth place.

Despite processing an “information overload” he ended his first day in Erebus colours third fastest and the best of the rest behind the Triple Eight Camaros.

Drivers suffering dramas in their first day in new colours became a theme on Friday.

Richie Stanaway also had a bumpy ride on Penrite Racing debut, whacking the wall on the approach to The Dipper but still managed to finish fourth in Practice 1.

A massive rain shower caught out David Reynolds, who aquaplaned into the fence at The Chase, giving his new Team 18 Camaro a scratch, while former teammate Anton De Pasquale also joined him in the sandpit.

Matt Payne was beached in the gravel.

“To make the Top 10 Shootout and then get it taken away is gutting,” Wood said.

“It is a shame that Matty Payne forgot how to brake at the last corner ... he is one of my best mates so I can say that!”

Percat ran an “aggressive” strategy, staying out a lot later than his rivals and made good use of the light fuel load to rise from eighth to sixth.

As a result MSR sat second in the teams championship after Race 1.

MSR MAGIC

RAGING BULLS

A COUPLE of drivers enjoyed their first crack at the onelap dash around the Mountain and Cameron Hill took the opportunity with both hands.

Hill nailed his first ever Shootout lap to secure a career-best grid position of fourth with a 2:06.7241.

Boosted by a fast start to Saturday’s race, the secondyear driver managed to muscle his way past Chaz Mostert on the first lap to secure third.

The #4 Camaro managed to comfortably hold the top three place until the first chain of stops on lap 14, fuelling dreams of a maiden podium.

But crucially just prior to that, Hill was “caught off guard” by a front lockup and went off at Hell Corner, narrowly avoiding the sand trap.

The lapse saw him fall to seventh but he was eventually able to jump David Reynolds and Hazelwood to secure a maiden top five result with his previous best eighth at Tasmania.

“This is a massive boost and a great way to start the year,” he told AA. “I was pleased with my own driving and the race pace was awesome.

“Unfortunately I made a small mistake and almost threw it off, but recovered and had to make a few passes after that. It caught me off guard and it is all experience.”

To make MSR’s celebrations even bigger, Hill’s new teammate Nick Percat was right behind him, securing sixth.

TRIPLE EIGHT’S ominous form was on full display in Saturday’s opener when Feeney led Brown in a formation finish.

Despite the dominant nature of the win, there were a few concerns when the lights went out as both Triple Eight Camaros crawled off the line.

Although both Mostert and Hill got much faster launches, the two Bulls got their elbows out to shut down any challenges from their rivals as Brown converted pole to lead Feeney through Hell Corner.

Within a lap, the #87 had opened a second on the field but importantly the #88 held the deficit to just 0.8s but the time the stops arrived.

Brown was the first to pit, on lap 10, but Feeney gained track position and snatched the effective lead by stopping a lap later.

Behind them Mostert also capitalised on Hill’s Hell Corner mistake to snatch third as Feeney made the most of clean air and pulled 2s on Brown in the middle stint.

The new recruit tried to perform the under-cut by boxing on lap 24, six laps earlier than his teammate.

But due requiring a shorter amount of fuel on lap 30, Feeney was able to retain track position from his teammate.

A tense battle was in store across the final 10 laps but a Full Course Yellow and then a Safety Car wiped out all hopes of a grandstand finish.

Feeney led Brown across the line in a formation finish behind the Safety Car in a true sign of Triple Eight dominance, maintaining its near unbeatable record in season openers, being the 16th from the last 19 since 2006.

FALTERING FORDS

AS THE Camaros controlled the field, some Mustangs found trouble and fell by the wayside.

Wood’s first race only got as far as Hell Corner after being sandwiched between Andre Heimgartner on the inside, Golding on the outside, plus Thomas Randle behind.

KIWI CHAOS

COME QUALIFYING, Triple Eight remained untouchable, with Feeney and Brown a cut above the rest, but the Kiwis made the biggest impact on the session.

The fight to secure a berth in the Top 10 Shootout was as competitive as ever but WAU rookie Ryan Wood appeared to be one the most impressive performers.

In his first Supercars qualifying session he set the eighthfastest time and was set for a dream run in the single-lap dash.

However, a fellow Kiwi ended up bringing the youngster undone as Wood’s fastest time was removed due to being set when yellows were waved at Murrays Corner where

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

One of the big surprise packets was the Saturday speed of MSR and Cameron Hill.

autoactionmag autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

autoactionmag

www.autoaction.com.au I 55

SUPERCARS

Chaz Mostert leads a pacey James Golding and the field through Hell Corner on Sunday as Cam Hill finds trouble further back.

‘NOT FAST ENOUGH’

Nothing went Cameron Waters’ way this weekend, at one point having to crawl back to the pits after losing his front-left.

Contact between the cars sent the #2 WAU Mustang into the sand – four into one certainly did not go.

“I probably did not get off to the best start, which put me in the position I was in,” Wood said. “Unfortunately I just ended up between two cars and it was a pinball effect.”

Cam Waters and Tickford were having a shocker, running down in 22nd and it reached a new low on lap 34.

Just two laps after pitting, the safety clip of Waters front left wheel came off on the exit of Griffins Bend and it suddenly parted company from the Monster Mustang.

The wheel rolled along the outside fence before bouncing in front of the leaders as they negotiated the right hander.

Thankfully Brown and Mostert just missed the stray Dunlop before the first ever Supercars Full Course Yellow was implemented to retrieve it when it finally came to rest on corner entry.

Mostert came the closest to contract with the rogue wheel and he was very relieved to avoid a repeat of the infamous 2005 Craig Lowndes/Paul Dumbrell incident.

“I came through Turn 2 and there was this wheel bouncing down from the Cutting,” Mostert recalled.

56 I www.autoaction.com.au

“My engineer said ‘stay inside, stay inside’ I felt like it was a bit NASCAR-esqe out there and then it darted towards me and I had to go up on the kerb.

“I kind of might have screamed in my helmet there ... I said ‘no Lowndsey no’ just remembering all of these years ago when he hit one.

“I was lucky enough to dodge it and I’m glad no one hit it – but it was hard to see.”

Despite the surreal moment, it was actually Aaron Love’s second crash at The Cutting that brought the race to an anticlimactic finish.

Rookie Love had previously come unstuck at The Cutting where he ran off line and whacked the wall with right rear but managed to escape.

However, when he made the same mistake a second time the BRT youngster was not so lucky, with more significant damage leaving the #3 CoolDrive Mustang standard at the left-hander.

The Safety Car was required to clean up the damage and was unable to be fixed In time for the chequered flag, resulting in an anticlimactic end to the opening race of the year.

UNFORTUNATELY THE same Ford drivers continued to suffer battles on Sunday.

Although Thomas Randle gave Tickford something to celebrate with a strong P4, the team leader’s struggles continued.

After a tough Saturday that saw a top three qualifying lap wiped out due to yellows and first-lap damage occur prior to losing his tyre on Saturday he hoped to bounce back but could only qualify 18th and finish 16th.

Tickford owner Rod Nash revealed Waters was struggling for support from the rear end of the Monster Mustang.

“It was a challenging weekend for us. We had mixed results but there were signs of pace so we’ve got to charge on,” he said.

“Thomas (Randle) did really well in the second race to take fourth, and the three in front of him at the flag were all pretty strong.

“Cam was fighting with a lack of rear-end grip over the whole weekend. We just couldn’t get the car right for him so the objective was just to finish.”

Another famous Ford team that failed to meet expectations at Bathurst was Dick Johnson Racing.

For the second year in a row, the team emerges from the season opener in a lowly 10th in the championship.

Although Anton De Pasquale made both Top 10 Shootouts, he fell away during the races and could only manage P21 and P15 finishes.

Will Davison had better race pace, climbing from 21st to 16th on Saturday and holding onto 10th after starting eighth øn Sunday.

But the returning team principal Ryan Story was a disappointed figure after Mount Panorama, highlighting a lack of race pace from cars #11 and #17.

“Not much to say this weekend,” Story said.

“There is obviously plenty of room for improvement because we’re not where we want, and need, to be.

Supercars RACE REPORT Round 1 – BATHURST 500

There was no bigger grin than Will Brown’s after being victorious on T8 debut.

David Reynolds enjoyed a positive Team 18 debut.

Triple Eight’s strategy smarts made a big difference in Race 2.

Love got off to a flying start, climbing up to 12th, only to throw it away by losing the rear and hitting the wall under the tree at Sulman Park.

SO NEAR, SO FAR

“We seem to have reasonable one-lap pace but there is still a lot to learn about how we manage a race over the stints.”

The Mountain also continued to bite Ford rookies Love and Wood on the final day.

For the second day in a row, the WAU driver found trouble on the approach to Hell Corner, the Kiwi in a tangle with Stanaway and Hill that left the #2 and #4 worse for wear.

HAVING BEEN beaten on Saturday, Mostert and WAU came out punching on Sunday.

The #25 Mustang had been on fire across the top of the mountain all weekend and that speed was on show in the Shootout.

Mostert posted a 2:06.6453 to lead the way and even Brown could not knock it off, only for Feeney to deny the Ford driver by 0.0988s.

Despite being edged out in the race for pole, Mostert nailed a second start in a row and this time there were no Red Bulls in the road to slow him down.

As a result Mostert sailed into the lead and quickly opened a second on the field as the fight to be next best reached a climax.

James Golding shot to second in the PremiAir Nulon Camaro but lost it at The Chase where Feeney launched a dive-bomb.

The #88 driver outbraked himself and forced both Camaros to tour the infield and whilst the Triple Eight driver slotted back into third, Golding dropped all the way to eighth.

As a result Feeney received a 5s penalty and when the first

cycle of stops arrived, Mostert gained more time and sat pretty with a 4s lead over Brown.

However, Triple Eight had one more ace up its sleeve – strategy. The team smartly saved a shorter fuel stop for the second and final trip to the lane later in the race, which proved decisive.

Both Mostert and Brown pitted on lap 29 when the #25 required 21s worth of fuel, but the #87 only needed 17s.

As a result it was Brown who emerged in front and hit the lead with just 11 laps left to run.

Mostert fought valiantly, initially closing the gap to around half a second, but could not keep up the momentum at the death and ultimately fell 1.5s short.

“I am a little bit gutted,” Mostert said after scoring a ninth straight podium in a season opener.

“The gap was coming down until I locked the smallest brake at the Chase. The car was a rocket ship this weekend but we have a little bit more to do because those Bulls are quick in a straight line.”

With the familiar tale of Triple Eight domination being heard at the season opener, the rest of the Supercars grid has four weeks to find an answer before the race for the Larry Perkins Trophy at the Australian Grand Prix on March 21-24.

BATHURST 500 RACE RESULTS QUALIFYING RACE 1 Pos Driver 1 Will Brown 2 Broc Feeney 3 Chaz Mostert 4 Cameron Hill 5 Richie Stanaway 6 James Golding 7 Todd Hazelwood 8 Nick Percat 9 Anton De Pasquale 10 David Reynolds 11 Jack Le Brocq 12 Bryce Fullwood 13 Matthew Payne 14 Ryan Wood 15 James Courtney 16 Thomas Randle 17 Andre Heimgartner 18 Tim Slade 19 Mark Winterbottom 20 Cameron Waters 21 Will Davison 22 Aaron Love 23 Jaxon Evans 24 Macauley Jones

autoactionmag

Brought to you by

RESULTS RACE 1 40 LAPS MOUNT PANORAMA Time 2:06.3740 0.2065 +0.2134 +0.3501 +0.5992 +0.6962 +0.8379 +0.9778 +1.0946 +0.7304 +0.8073 +0.8126 +0.8173 +0.8466 +0.9033 +0.9124 +0.9824 +1.0088 +1.0195 +1.1538 +1.3039 +1.5612 +1.5938

Pos Drivers 1 Broc Feeney 2 Will Brown 3 Chaz Mostert 4 Richie Stanaway 5 Cameron Hill 6 Nick Percat 7 Bryce Fullwood 8 David Reynolds 9 Andre Heimgartner 10 Matthew Payne 11 Todd Hazelwood 12 Mark Winterbottom 13 Jack Le Brocq 14 Thomas Randle 15 James Courtney 16 Will Davison 17 Tim Slade 18 James Golding 19 Macauley Jones 20 Jaxon Evans 21 Anton De Pasquale 22 Cameron Waters NC Aaron Love NC Ryan Wood

Auto_Action

Laps 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 35 33 0

Race time 01:36:15.9437 +0.390 +1.132 +1.510 +2.263 +3.086 +3.943 +4.383 +5.125 +5.596 +6.016 +6.925 +8.429 +8.847 +9.717 +10.315 +10.851 +11.634 +12.367 +12.752 +13.840 +5 Laps +7 Laps -

autoactionmag

QUALIFYING RACE 2 s1 t1 s1 t1 s2 s5 s2 s8 s3 t4 s7 t2 s2 s5 s1 t12 s5 s3 t12 t2 t1 t10

Pos Driver 1 Broc Feeney 2 Chaz Mostert 3 Will Brown 4 James Golding 5 David Reynolds 6 Jack Le Brocq 7 Thomas Randle 8 Will Davison 9 Nick Percat 10 Anton De Pasquale 11 Ryan Wood 12 Todd Hazelwood 13 Matthew Payne 14 Cameron Hill 15 Richie Stanaway 16 Aaron Love 17 Tim Slade 18 Cameron Waters 19 Andre Heimgartner 20 Bryce Fullwood 21 Mark Winterbottom 22 James Courtney 23 Macauley Jones 24 Jaxon Evans

autoactionmag

RESULTS RACE 2 40 LAPS MOUNT PANORAMA Time 2:06.5465 +0.0988 +0.1772 +0.4080 +0.6144 +0.8352 +0.8442 +0.8791 +0.9159 +0.9652 +0.7328 +0.7337 +0.7617 +0.7707 +0.8457 +0.8873 +0.9179 +0.9188 +0.9390 +1.0260 +1.0478 +1.0539 +1.0563 +1.2354

Pos Drivers 1 Will Brown 2 Chaz Mostert 3 Broc Feeney 4 Thomas Randle 5 James Golding 6 David Reynolds 7 Matthew Payne 8 Jack Le Brocq 9 Nick Percat 10 Will Davison 11 Richie Stanaway 12 Bryce Fullwood 13 Todd Hazelwood 14 Mark Winterbottom 15 Anton De Pasquale 16 Cameron Waters 17 Tim Slade 18 Andre Heimgartner 19 James Courtney 20 Macauley Jones 21 Jaxon Evans 22 Aaron Love 23 Cameron Hill NC Ryan Wood

Laps 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 37 31 7

Race time 01:27:19.1560 +1.553 +2.730 22.683 +24.040 +26.271 +27.357 +34.916 +35.248 +42.616 +42.884 +43.628 +45.431 +46.285 +56.111 +58.015 +1:00.424 +1:00.594 +1:11.778 +1:11.926 +2:13.318 +3 Laps +9 Laps +33

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 1 s2 t2 s3 t1 t1 s6 t2 t2 s4 s8 t1 s7 t5 s2 s1 s3 s3 s3 t6 t9 t13

Pos Driver 1 Will Brown 2 Broc Feeney 3 Chaz Mostert 4 Richie Stanaway 5 David Reynolds 6 Nick Percat 7 Thomas Randle 8 Matthew Payne 9 Bryce Fullwood 10 James Golding 11 Jack Le Brocq 12 Cameron Hill 13 Todd Hazelwood 14 Andre Heimgartner 15 Will Davison 16 Mark Winterbottom 17 James Courtney 18 Tim Slade 19 Anton De Pasquale 20 Cameron Waters 21 Macauley Jones 22 Jaxon Evans 23 Aaron Love 24 Ryan Wood

Points 288 279 267 192 192 186 183 174 165 162 156 147 138 135 135 132 108 108 102 96 93 87 39 0

www.autoaction.com.au I 57

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE UPCOMING INDYCAR SEASON? ACROSS

Lanigan Racing? (full name)

3 What team will Romain Grosjean compete for in 2024? (abbreviation)

4 Who was the highest placed Andretti driver in the 2023 IndyCar Series? (surname)

10 In which city did Christian Lundgaard score his maiden IndyCar Series race win?

11 Tom Blomqvist and who else will race for Meyer Shank Racing in 2024? (surname) 13 How many Andretti cars will be on the grid in 2024?

15 How many IndyCar Series winners are on the grid full-time this season?

17 Who is the sole Mexican on the grid in 2024? (surname) 18 How many New Zealanders are going to be competing full-time in 2024?

19 Who was the last driver to win back-to-back IndyCar Series titles? (surname) 22 What team has Marcus Ericsson moved to? (first word) 23 Andretti Autosport has renamed itself to what?

25 Which Swedish rookie will make his full-time debut for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2024? (surname) 27 Who was the Rookie of the Year last year? (surname) 29 How many races will take place on ovals this year?

5 Who was the highest placed New Zealander in the Championship in 2023? (full name) 6 How many races will the 2024 IndyCar Series be held over?

7 How many races has Scott McLaughlin won in IndyCar? 8 How many races did Palou win in 2023?

9 Who is the reigning Indy 500 winner? (surname) 10 In what championship position did Scott McLaughlin finish the 2023 IndyCar season?

12 Who was the highest placed American in the 2023 IndyCar Series? (surname) 14 Which four-time Indy 500 winner has become a shareholder in Meyer Shank Racing? (surname) 16 Who is the most successful IndyCar driver on the grid in terms of titles?

20 How many Australians are on the IndyCar Series grid this year?

21 Who has joined McLaren this year? (surname)

DOWN

24 How many races did Kyle Kirkwood win in 2024?

1 Who is the reigning IndyCar Series winner? (surname)

26 How many cars will Chip Ganassi Racing field in 2024?

2 Which third-generation IndyCar driver will race for Rahal Letterman

28 How many IndyCar titles has Alex Palou won?

1 down – Percat, 2 down – New South Wales, 3 across – twelve, 3 down – Taupo, 4 across – eighty-seven, 5 down – Heimgartner, 6 down – BRT, 7 down – Feeney, 8 across – MSR, 9 down – Pye, 10 across – Kostecki, 11 across – Twenty-four 12 down – Brown, 13 across – Tradie, 14 across – BJR, 14 down – Bathurst, 15 down – Ryan Wood, 16 across – two, 17 down – Hazelwood, 18 down – Grove Racing, 19 across – The Bend, 20 down – Love, 21 down – Courtney, 22 across – Wood, 23 across – Erebus Motorsport, 24 across – November, 25 across – two, 26 down – Evans, 27 across – GRM, 28 across – Adelaide

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1974 THE FAMOUS Holden Torana SLR/5000 arrived in Australia 50 years ago.

The new Toranas were revealed ahead of the 1974 season and were described as “the car they said would never be built” and “is close to the well loved EH models of the mid-sixties but with more sophisticated suspension”.

Alongside the announcement of the new Torana, another famous and successful partnership commenced between Marlboro and the Holden Dealer Team.

The 1974 Tasman Series hosted a “spectacular finale” – Warwick Brown victorious at Adelaide.

He overcame Peter Gethin, who overcame “near exhaustion” to cross the line second.

1984 RUSTY FRENCH’S three-man Australian team to take on the Le Mans 24 Hour race was revealed.

A week after Peter Brock’s car was announced, French was announced to lead a sister entry in a Porsche 956.

At Amaroo Park, Steven Masterton showed his skills by dominating all three heats in the AMSCAR Series.

In a field containing Jim Richards and Dick Johnson, Masterton stormed to three “runaway wins”.

Keith Croft made the cover for his spectacular rollover at an Oran Park Sports Sedans meeting which led to a write-off.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1994 THE 1994 Australian Touring Car Championship also began in late February and a giant determined to get its title back dominated.

No one could compete with Mark Skaife’s Gibson Motorsport VP Commodore as he took pole before winning the Dash and winning both races.

Reigning champion Glenn Seton finished second best as Peter Brock marked his first Holden Racing Team round with a third.

Ayrton Senna conducted an exclusive interview previewing what was to come in 1994 for Williams and stated “I just want to keep on winning. I know that I can win races so the question is how many and how often.”

2004 MICHAEL SCHUMACHER’S and Ferrari’s then record-breaking season started in style with a crushing Australian Grand Prix performance.

Schumacher hit the Grand Slam of pole position, setting the fastest lap and leading all 58 tours of the Albert Park circuit, leading Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello and Renault’s Fernando Alonso. There was heartbreak for Australia as home hero Mark Webber started sixth, but retired on lap 29 due to transmission issues.

The V8 Supercars were on track for the first time in 2004 and there was plenty of drama with a number of incidents.

But Holden dominated as Greg Murphy won the opener and Jason Bright won Races 2 and 3 while Ford’s best race result was fifth.

2014 HOLDEN MIGHT have dominated the weekend, winning all three races, but all of the fanfare was focused on Volvo after that year’s Adelaide 500.

Scott McLaughlin ensured the Volvo/GRM package instantly became a fan favourite after he “gave it some jandle” to “put one on the champ” Jamie Whincup and steal second in the Saturday twilight race.

Whincup still took out the opener as Craig Lowndes cruised to victory in Race 2 where his teammate and McLaughlin went side-by-side further behind, while James Courtney won the main event on Sunday.

To add to the drama Jason Bright had his infamous rollover in the Senna Chicane.

XP Superior

Load Capacity & Performance

NEW N NE EW Adv Advanced Features: • 24% stronger overlay ove achieving 18.1HV • 17% greater fatigue fatig resistance • Unique U i t i design maximizes geometric surface load area • Bull’s Eye Wall Tolerance™ ensures perfect oil clearance in every set • Available for all popular Australian, US & Japanese engines

MEGA MARCH

3,289 (W07705)

$

SAVE $396

DELUXE CENTRE LATHE - AL-336D

MARCH 7 - 17

TH

• Ø300 x 900mm capacity • 2-Axis digital readout • Hardened & ground bed • 38mm spindle bore • 2hp 240V motor • Includes: 3 & 4-jaw chucks, faceplate, dead centres, work light, steadies, foot brake, splash tray & stand

EXTENDED TRADING OPEN TILL 3:00PM

AND FREE SAUSAGE SIZZLE SAT. 16TH

NEW RANGE OF TAPS! TOOLMASTER has released its new range of high-quality precision ground, TiCN Coated Spiral Gun and Flute taps, ranging from fine tocourse metric threads in various sizes.

RHINO CART MOBILE FIXTURING STATION TDQ612075-K1 • 1200 x 750 x 910mm (L x W x H) • Ø16mm holes in 50 x 50mm spacing pattern • Reversible tabletop with Nitrided black oxide finish • 700kg load capacity • Portable on wheels with levelling pads

SALE 10 DAYS ONLY TH

OVER 4,000 PRODUCTS ON SALE

INCLUDESGE AN QUICK CHOST TOOLP

6,435 (L682D)

$

SAVE $440

Hydraulic Vehicle Positioning Jacks - VJ-680

Engine Stand 450kg Capacity - ESR-450

Hydraulic Engine Crane - HC-1T

• 680kg hydraulic lift per jack • 270mm max. tyre width • 620mm max opening • Sold in pairs

• 360° Geared Rotating Head • Six swivel caster wheels • Fold-up legs for storing

• 1T lifting cap.

• Double action pump • Fold up legs • 2300mm lift height • 6 cast steel swivel wheels

IVEL 360° SW

WHEELS

LEGS FOLD UP

299 (A332)

Priced from $ 15.40 (T8406)

429 (A337)

385 (A350)

$

$

$

SAVE $53

SAVE $33

SAVE $44

Air Die Grinder ATG-178

Air Nut Riveter Kit ATR-10RN

Air Pop Rivet Kit ATR-48

HEX KEY SETS

• 22,000rpm Free speed • Easy to adjust power speed with built in regulator • Rear exhaust with built-in silencer • 1/4” Collet Size • 99L/min air consumption

• M3 - M10 capacity • 6 x nut rivet mandrels (M3, M4, M5, M6, M8, M10) • 2-10mm stroke length • 1.5 L/stroke air consumption

• 2.4mm - 4.8mm capacity • 16mm stroke length • 1.48L/stroke air consumption • 4 x rivet mandrels 2.4, 3.2, 4.0 & 4.8mm • 40 x blind rivets included

• Chrome vanadium steel • Adjustable 3 detent positions on T-bar handle • Free-spinning rotating handle

55 (A040)

$

349 (A0450)

$

SAVE $47

SAVE $33

SAVE $11

WIN $1000!

SIMPLY BECOME A MACHINERYHOUSE MATE BEFORE

ENTER HERE

MARCH ift 31

G

ST

card

ALREADY A MATE? CONFIRM YOUR DETAILS TO WIN.

165 (A046)

Air Impact Wrench - ATW-190 • 1/2” Square Drive • 9,500 rpm free speed • 1000 ft-lb max torque • 3 Speed forward & 1 reverse • 207 L/min air consumption

$

Imperial

Metric

165 (A026)

5/64, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/18" Order Code: H821

2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10mm Order Code: H820

SAVE $33

HSS Sheet Metal Step Drill Set - D1071

Metric Precision HSS Drill Set - D1272

• 3 piece set • For drilling thin material • HSS M2 grade • 4-12mm x 1mm steps • 6-20mm x 2mm steps • 6-30mm x 2mm steps

• 25 piece set • Precision ground flutes • HSS M2 bright finish • Range: 1~13mm • 0.5mm increments

$

79 (D1071)

$

SAVE $14.50

SAVE $19.50

Torx®

T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30, T40, T45, T50 Order Code: H822

85 (D1272)

79 EACH

$

SAVE $20

View and purchase these items online: www.machineryhouse.com.au/AAC2403 Specifications and prices are subject to change without notification. Offer is valid till the 17th of March.

SYDNEY

(02) 9890 9111

1/2 Windsor Rd, Northmead

BRISBANE

MELBOURNE

625 Boundary Rd, Coopers Plains

4 Abbotts Rd, Dandenong

(07) 3715 2200

(03) 9212 4422

PERTH

(08) 9373 9999

11 Valentine St, Kewdale

03_ACC_220224

$