Auto Action #1882

EXCLUSIVE IT’S ON - SUPERCARS BOARD POWER STRUGGLE

AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT

CAN ANYONE MATCH MAX? AUSSIE PIASTRI LEADS THE CHARGE AT HOME

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OSCAR PIASTRI COLUMN

FULL PREVIEW AUSTRALIAN F1 GP

PAUL MORRIS MAR 21 to APR 3 2024 • $10.95 INC GST

ISSN 2204-9924 ISSUE 1882

AUSTRALIA’S ‘DRIVER WHISPERER’

DUCATI CRUSHES MOTOGP

ADELAIDE COMES ALIVE

EXCELS FIGHT FOR $10,000

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

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SUPERCARS BOARD BATTLE ...

ALL IS not wine and roses at RACE (Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises), owners of Supercars, with a build-up of disagreement on policy and planning creating division among key board members.

Something of a ‘cone of silence’ has descended upon the board over recent weeks, but news of a series of ‘urgent’ board meetings to try and resolve the issues is starting to circulate.

At the core of the unrest appears to be a souring of the relationship between board chairman Barclay Nettlefold and high-profile board member Mark Skaife.

Although the RACE board has undergone some change over its existence, it is said to be modest in size and includes QMS Media Chairman Barclay Nettlefold, Stephen Macaw (of private equity company and significant investor Henslow), ACT-based property developer Jure Domazet, a significant shareholder, and Skaife.

Former ARG Chairman John McMellan was an initial board member, but that ceased with the withdrawal of Brian Boyd (PAYCE), and subsequently Barry Rogers – who both sold their 14% shareholding to other investors.

While most of the board comes from the world of finance and investment, Skaife is now seen as the only member with a significant motorsport background.

Just what the disagreement concerns, or whether it’s a general disquiet is not clear, but the Supercars chat is that Nettlefold and Skaife are no longer on the same page.

After two years in the role, AA understands that Nettlefold – whose time is primarily taken up by QMS Media – is looking to make some changes within Supercars management policy and planning.

Whatever, it seems to have put him into a degree of conflict with Skaife, whose other business commitments include a founding directorship and a reported shareholding in iEDM, the successful sports event logistics company which, among other things, assembles the infrastructure of the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park for the AGP Corporation and the Adelaide 500 on behalf of the South Australian Motorsport Board, as well as being contracted directly to Supercars to engineer its events at Townsville and the Gold Coast 500 (and Newcastle during its existence).

Skaife also undertakes his TV commentary

Supercars CEO Shane Howard, RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold and fellow RACE board member Mark Skaife. Image: MARK HORSBURGH role on Fox Sports and other company directorships.

AA understands that matters came to a head some three weeks ago, prior to the Bathurst 500, with an urgent board meeting convened to discuss the situation. At the time, it was even considered that one or the other – Nettlefold or Skaife – might not survive the debate but, as it stands, there has been no change to date in the board’s make-up.

It is believed that Nettlefold recently met with the Supercars Teams owners, who have

been asking to develop a closer working relationship with the RACE board including a better line of communication with the owners of Supercars teams and a drivers forum.

Another RACE board meeting was set to broach the subject as AUTO ACTION went to press, having broken the news via the autoaction.com.au website.

AA has contacted both parties but, understandably, no-one wanted to comment at this point.

Watch this space … Bruce Williams

RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold.

Image: BRUCE WILLIAMS

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THE LONG WAIT IS OVER, SUPERCARS ARE BACK ON THE GRID AND RACING

By ANDREW CLARKE THE THREE-WEEKEND break between the first and second rounds of the 2024 Supercars Championship Series is almost over, with Supercars falling off the sporting radar with the AFL and NRL season kicking into gear and the NBA finals also grabbing media attention.

Steven Grove says he is noticing such a long break at the start of the year and thinks it is an issue that needs a resolution.

Grove says it hard for Supercars to stay front-of-mind when you disappear after the season opener, which he feels needs to change.

“We compete for sponsorship dollars and for viewers with the NRL and AFL, and they have 24 rounds and they’re on television all the time. They’re out in the marketplace, and we are not,” he said.

“For me, and there’s different views in the pitlane of how many rounds we should have, but I am in the 16-round camp. I’m not advocating at all that we should be doing 24 like in Formula One – they’ve got huge budgets, and they have a lot more people and it’s a lot easier, but 24 is a lot.

“Twelve rounds is not enough, but 12 rounds is what everything’s currently based on so, if we went to 16, or four extra rounds, you would hope the Supercars had commercial relationships in place where they would be able to generate more income and that income would then flow down to the teams.

Under the new regulations, the Grove team has earned the second spot in pit lane for the AGP ... which is almost worthless ...

Image: MARK HORSBURGH “I’ve been very vocal on this because I think that’s where we need to go as a sport. If we don’t, we just keep losing momentum. And we won’t get a lot of momentum this weekend either, which is not great. We’re number four – there are three other categories in front of us.

“So then we have to start building momentum again. New Zealand will be big, but then we have to go building again. In my view, and this is not so

much from a team owner – it’s a fan just wanting to grow the sport – we need more events.

“Barclay is very vocal as well in that he’s working hard behind the scenes to try and grow the rounds, and I know he really wants to grow the amount of rounds.

“There’s all the commercial things that flow in from there, but you’ve got to get it right first.”

Grove Racing sits second in the pit order at the Grand Prix meeting, but with no compulsory pitstops there is no real benefit to the team which did a stellar job at Bathurst.

“It’s very disappointing,” he said of the lack of pitstops with his team second in the championship. “So we either have to go one better or at least maintain where we are so we can be up that end for New Zealand.”

SANDOWN DATE FORCES GROVE CHANGES

By ANDREW CLARKE

THE CHANGE to the date of the Sandown 500 has scuppered Grove Racing’s plans of running Kevin Estre for a second season – and closes the door to other international drivers, such as Porsche superstar Matt Campbell, who will be racing at Fuji.

The Sandown 500 was originally scheduled for 22 September, which was really only a clash with an IMSA race, but now the effects are more wide-spread.

Moving the race by a week has caused the clash, but has also created other issues such as blocking any local drivers from running in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen.

For Steven Grove, the shift in date has caused a rethink, but he still wants an international driver.

“We don’t know who our new targets are, but we still want an international driver,” he said. “The change in the date does create issues and we’re still just in the process (of sorting it out). We’re not overly stressed at this stage – there’s a lot of good calibre overseas drivers that we have access to.

“We’re just working through the process.

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With Estre driving for the Penske Porsche team in the WEC with Matt Campbell, two of his preferred choices have been ruled out.

“Everything is open now – it’s not something that we stress about, or even something that we’re working day and night to get resolved. We’re just working through the process. If you think heading in a direction and that doesn’t work out, then it’s opens a whole lot of other avenues.

“It could be locals, it could be internationals, we really don’t know now.

But we do a lot of GT races and we race with a lot of these guys overseas and we see how good they are and I think it just adds something to the event and it helps us learn too.”

Kevin Estre – Sandown now clashes with his WEC commitments.

“Our ability to maybe get one of the guys that we traditionally would like to have has changed, and it did catch us by surprise.”

GT gun Estre impressed on debut at Sandown and Bathurst last year, and would have returned sharper, but the World Endurance Championship round at Fuji on the same day as the new date for the

Sandown 500 he is unlikely to be available.

“Running Kevin would have been a good thing – that would have given us a second year with him in these cars. That was our desire to start with but we had nothing in place. We were working towards it, but my understanding is that there is a date clash now.”

15 SEPTEMBER RACES • Final round of the IndyCar Championship at Nashville • NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series races at Watkins Glen • World Endurance Championship race at Fuji (including LMGT3) • Sandown 500

INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS TO GROW AGP CROWD

A new entrance/exit across the lake from the pit area could be part of the improved AGP access infrastructure.

Travis Auld.

NEW AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix CEO Travis Auld has revealed plans to grow the 130,000 per day self-imposed crowd limit for the event, redesigning some of the access and entry gates to the venue, as well as growing the off-track attractions in and around the circuit’s area for a entertainment of the larger ‘after-hours’ crowd A new entry on the Queens Road

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side of the circuit is part of the infrastructure changes that could allow more than 500,000 fans to attend the four-day Australian GP event for the first time.

Attaining that figure would put the Australian GP ahead of the British Grand Prix, which currently holds the event crowd record.

Around 444,600 attended the 2023 Grand Prix, but Silverstone admits 480,000.

“We want to continue to grow and in fact our aspiration is to be the biggest, the most highly attended Grand Prix on the circuit,” he told the Herald Sun’s Peter Rolfe.

“At the moment we are in the top couple,” he said of Melbourne’s F1 global status.

“But we are obviously a park and we have the (extra) capacity, so we are going to keep pushing towards that but we want to make sure that the experience matches on the way through.

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“We don’t want to get too greedy and let the growth get ahead of the experience.”

Auld explained that central to expansion plans will be creation of the new entry and exit point, an easy walk from the Anzac Station Metro Tunnel stop expected to open next year.

It in turn will take pressure off the main Canterbury Rd entry which currently forms a spectator entry bottleneck.

Mr Auld told the Herald Sun that: “there is certainly demand” to make Melbourne’s Grand Prix bigger, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday of this year’s event selling out again.

The current self-regulated attendance cap of about 130,000 per day is “based on us wanting to make sure the experience is right.

“Having another exit point, on the other side of the golf course on Queens Way, would be a significant help,” he said.

“That will impact our ability to grow crowds.

“And then it’s what happens within the ticketed zone of the event, access to bathrooms, food and beverage, ability to get around the park and see the action.

“We will make an assessment of all those things after this race but we have pretty clear aspirations to take the event to more people, given the demand.”

Suggestions to assist the whole of the St Kilda area becoming something of a sizeable pedestrian food/entertainment zone during the Grand Prix could see streets such as Fitzroy Street temporarily closed to traffic, which would require the support of the local City of Port Phillip Council.

A similar approach could be taken in South Melbourne, to the north of the track.

At this point, the whole thing is just ‘conversations’ but, clearly, Auld is looking to spectator growth as his first key goal in boosting the event to meet the modern ‘Drive to Survive’ spectator demographic.

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WHERE’S BRODIE? UPDATE

SUPERCARS WILL enter its second event of the 2024 championship with its reigning champion on the sidelines as the impasse between Brodie Kostecki and his employer, Erebus Motorsport, continues without any external signs of a resolution.

Erebus is legally tied to silence over the issues at hand, which Auto Action understand are both complex and simple at the same time, although without any correspondence with Kostecki it is hard to get to the bottom of the issues.

The silence from both parties has created a vacuum into which many have trod over the past few weeks, creating a ‘shit-storm’ of epic proportions.

Paul Morris has been involved with Kostecki for the past few years as a student and in instructor at the Norwell Motorplex, and he says all he wants is a resolution to the stand-off so that Kostecki can get back to doing what he does best – racing.

Morris is in the unique position of dealing with both sides of the dispute in a commercial sense and doesn’t believe

Life was once simpler ... Morris chats with Kostecki, Broc Feeney and Nash Morris ... in taking sides or filling social media with hate and misinformation.

He wishes it would just get solved, and recently he’s taken to Facebook to express that view. And then he needed a second attempt, to set the record straight– when he felt he was misrepresented by ‘clickbait’.

“I just think this needs to be tidied up.

I don’t know the full story, and obviously no-one’s telling the full story yet, but somewhere around that, that relationship’s broken down and it looks like it won’t be healed,” he told Auto Action last week.

“And sometimes the best way to deal with

those things is to just agree to disagree and get on with your life. To me, it’s just dragging on too long, and that can’t be good for both people.

“I think we do look silly. look at NASCAR and Daniel Suarez wins a NASCAR race and he’s on stage with Pitbull and we can’t even get our champion on the grid.”

With connections on both sides of the dispute, he has tried to broker a resolution, and even then he feels he hasn’t been given the full story from either side … ‘for obvious reasons’.

“Sometimes things just don’t work out, and the best way to deal with it, is to resolve it and get on with your life.

“To be successful at motor racing, you need to have a really clear mind and clear objectives of what you’re doing. To take a bit of the drama out of your life and just think about what you’re doing should be better if you’re in a race team. So that’s how I see it.”

Turn to page 34 for our in-depth chat with Australian motorsport’s ‘Driver Whisperer” ... Andrew Clarke

STEWART TURNS HEADS IN FIRST GEN3 DRIVE EREBUS MOTORSPORT CEO Barry Ryan was full of praise for Academy youngster Jobe Stewart following his “amazing job” driving a Gen3 Camaro for the first time.

The reigning Super3 champion enjoyed his maiden taste of the Chevrolet Camaro Gen3 Supercar during an evaluation day with Erebus Motorsport at Winton on Tuesday, March 12.

In addition to Stewart’s special stint behind the wheel, Todd Hazelwood also had 10 laps to prepare for his return at the Australian Grand Prix but, more importantly, to set a baseline for the teenager.

Then Stewart had a crack at Gen3 for the first time, starting with shorter stints before stepping up with longer race sim runs once he had come to grips with the new beast, while he also used both the Hard and Soft tyre compound.

Stewart has already impressed as an Erebus Academy member, winning Super3 last year and qualifying and finishing second on Super2 debut at Bathurst and Ryan said the 19-year-old again showed no nerves in the tougher Gen3 Camaro.

“Jobe did an amazing job on a hot day at Winton,” Ryan told Auto Action.

“Being with the Erebus Academy since he was 12, Jobe is well known to the team and prepared very well for the evaluation day under the always watchful eye of Wayne Mackie, who is his Super2 race engineer and an important part of our overall engineering group.

“Jobe worked with regular race engineers George (Commins) and Tom (Moore) really well on the day and as soon as they knew he was on the pace he performed some valuable testing for the engineers and provided amazing feedback.

“Todd did his 10 laps in the morning and set the baseline for how the car and track was that day.

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Preparing for the big step into the Gen3 Camaro. Image: MARK HORSBURGH Below: Building up speed ...

“Jobe learnt a lot about how to get the most out of a GEN3 Camaro and listened, learnt and actioned everything he was asked to.

“Jobe has certainly shown us that he will be a star of the future as he exceeded our expectations, with both outright pace and race pace consistency.”

Despite already enjoying some special days in the Dunlop Series alone, Stewart said the chance to drive a Gen3 Camaro for the current Supercars champions is up at the top.

“It was probably the biggest moment of my career so far,” Stewart told Auto Action.

“To have a whole evaluation day with the entire Erebus team dedicated to myself and working with me to give me the best opportunity was very cool.”

Having only previously raced a Toyota 86, Holden VF Commodore and Holden ZB Commodore, Stewart said he had to work harder than ever to protect the rear tyres on the Gen3 Camaro.

“In a way it has similar power, but from the driving point of view it is completely different (to Gen2) with your technique,” he recalled.

“It has got a lot less aerodynamics and, especially in the corners, is a bit more lively in the rear.

“You have to pay a bit more attention trying to save the rear tyres because you can slide it so easily.

“In Super2 we only have the Hard so I did a few laps on the Soft for the first time and that is a huge change as well.

“It gives you a lot more grip through the slower speed corners which kind of compensates for the lack of aero.”

Stewart sits seventh in his rookie Super2 season which resumes at Perth on May 17-19.

Thomas Miles

BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR SUPERCARS NO COMPULSORY PITSTOP FOR THE FOUR SUPERCARS RACES AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX THIS WEEKEND IS A RETURN TO THE WAY TOURING CAR RACING IN AUSTRALIA USED TO BE. ANDREW CLARKE SPOKE WITH JOHN BOWE ABOUT WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN ...

FOR THE first time in more than 20 years, Australian Supercars will this weekend race for championship points without a compulsory pitstop. The changes forced on Supercars with the removal of the dedicated pitlane at the Australian Grand Prix meeting could spice up the racing, with drivers needing to make up places, having to do it on the track, rather than in the pitlane.

No drivers in the field were racing Supercars in 2001 prior to the introduction of the compulsory pitstop (CPS), and few of the engineers were involved at strategy level, meaning what is old is new for most of the pitlane.

John Bowe, who raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship and the rebranded V8 Supercars from 1987 to 2007, won a championship in the era before the introduction of the compulsory pitstop (CPS) and he says he enjoyed the racing because it was more on the driver that relying on pitstops to spice it up.

“Personally, I think it’s interesting,” he said.

“It makes the driving style more important,

how some drivers are gentler than others on tyres. I used to thoroughly enjoy them.

In fact, back in the day, all the races were sprint races – there were no pit stops. The only pit stops we ever did was Sandown and Bathurst.

“They were long races, an hour long, and it was always quite good. I don’t want to say it was better in my day because that’s not how I think, but I thoroughly enjoy the races.

The racing now is so close, it doesn’t spread out at all, so you really don’t need pit stops to liven it up.”

The CPS was introduced to bring a strategy element into play when Holden Racing Team was at its peak, with the hope that it would mix up the running order a bit, but the alignment of strategies today as removed a lot of the uncertainty.

With no undercuts, overcuts and tyre ‘deltas’, the only people expected to suffer through the telecasts may be the commentary team which will need to find something else to talk about for the duration of the 20 and 14 lap races.

With lap times around the 1m50s mark, the 20 lap races should take around 40 minutes, which Bowe feels is about 20 minutes too short to provide the true test and spectacle.

“The cars are way more sophisticated now, but in those days, different drivers were different on their tyres. I was fortunate that I wasn’t hard on my tyres, but I think that adds a bit of fun to the thing and the cars are so close anyway.

“We just had to do our best from the time the lights went out to the time the chequered flag dropped. There was no biding your time waiting for pitstops, but the cars were not as close then as they are now.”

He also said if the racing turns out to be as good as he expects, that Supercars could look at the removal of the CPS in the sprint races as a cost cutting measure too.

“It would been a lot cheaper without CPSs – you don’t have to take as many people.

If they are looking at saving some money, it’s probably a good thing to think about as a permanent change. I don’t know, they

haven’t invited me to sit on the Commission yet!” he added.

“An hour is a good race, I think these races are a bit short but it will still be interesting.

It is important for Supercars to be there at the Grand Prix – in my day it was a nonchampionship race, and you just went there to have a bit of fun. There were 200,000 or 300,000 people there, and a huge viewing audience not only locally but world-wide.

“When I used to go to the Grand Prix we weren’t the glamour category, we were in the paddock and we lined up in the dummy grid about an hour before the race. I think whoever did the negotiating on Supercars behalf did a very good job. But it seems the reverse now, kind of back to the future ...

“I’m not a Supercars knocker, I’m a fan. If I could wind my speedo back, I’d be in there in a heartbeat.”

We believe the last race for points without a compulsory pitstop was the final race of three at Calder Park in August 2001, with compulsory pitstops introduced for the 2002 season.

Adelaide, 2005, and the BJR crew refuel John Bowe in the BJR Falcon at the Clipsal 500.

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

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

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.

NEW EPISODES OUT EVERY WEDNESDAY

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

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FIA DRAGGED INTO RED BULL INVESTIGATION THE ONGOING saga swirling around Red Bull Racing and Christian Horner has risen to new heights as the FIA responds to reports of a grievance filed against the team principal.

Initially, allegations of inappropriate conduct were raised by a staff member, triggering a comprehensive investigation that exonerated Horner of any wrongdoing. Despite this internal resolution, tensions persisted, dividing the team into factions.

Now, it has come to light that the complainant has taken the matter directly to the FIA, seeking further intervention as well as lodging an appeal against the original decision, following reports the complainant had been suspended from employment.

The FIA’s statement underscored its commitment to handling inquiries and complaints of this nature with stringent confidentiality, recognising the autonomy of its Compliance Officer and Ethics Committee in managing such affairs.

“The reality is that there was a grievance that was raised,” Horner had asserted firmly in Saudi Arabia. “It was handled in the most professional manner by the group, not by Red Bull Racing, but by the owners of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull GmbH, who appointed an independent KC that is among the most reputable in the land.”

Horner’s words carried gravitas, reflecting the earnestness with which Red Bull approached the investigation.

He elaborated, “He took the time to thoroughly investigate all the facts.

He interviewed everyone involved, along with other relevant parties. He scrutinised every detail. He had all the facts. And he arrived at a conclusion where he dismissed the grievance. As far as I’m concerned, as far as Red Bull is concerned, we move forward and focus on the future.”

CHASING THE LARRY PERKINS TROPHY

The saga has strained a number of key relationships ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES However, the future now appears slightly uncertain amid reports of the complainant’s appeal against the dismissal of their grievance. The situation hints at deeper rifts within the team, with conflicting loyalties threatening to potentially erode its unity.

As murmurs of the controversy rippled through Formula One, onlookers have speculated about the potential repercussions for Red Bull Racing.

Will the internal turmoil impede its performance on the track? Could the allegations against Horner tarnish the reputation of one of the sport’s most prominent figures?

Meanwhile, the involvement of the FIA’s Ethics Committee injects a new layer of complexity into the unfolding drama. The governing body’s statement, while enigmatic, hinted at the seriousness of the situation and the imperative for a thorough and impartial inquiry.

“As a result, and in general, we are unable to confirm the receipt of any specific complaint, and it is unlikely

that we will be able to provide further comment on the complaints that we may receive from any parties,” read the FIA’s statement.

Yet, beneath the veneer of official pronouncements and diplomatic language, the stakes are unmistakable.

The integrity of Formula One, as well as the reputations of those involved, hangs in the balance.

For Horner, the scrutiny was particularly intense. As the public face of Red Bull Racing, every move he made was scrutinised, with the spotlight growing ever more intense amid the allegations and subsequent appeals.

As the story drags on, the fate of Red Bull Racing remains an issue, with the FIA now poised to play a central role in resolving the conflict. The integrity of the sport, along with the reputations of those entangled in the saga, hangs in the balance as the drama unfolds further, still casting a pall over the competitive landscape of Formula One as the circus arrives in Melbourne for the third race of the year.

A SPECIAL prize will again be on the line for the Supercars race at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

Ever since the trip to Albert Park became a championship round in 2018, the Larry Perkins Trophy has been awarded to the highest points scorer across the four races.

Amazingly, the trophy named after the driver with 11 Grand Prix starts and six Bathurst 1000 wins has gone to a new home every single year on offer, with four winners from four attempts.

Jamie Whincup was the first winner in 2018 whilst Chaz Mostert took it home the following year when Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters ran into each other on the lap to the grid.

After a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Triple Eight was back on top thanks to Shane van Gisbergen, but his pursuit of back-to-back triumphs was denied

by Brodie Kostecki and Erebus Motorsport, who ignited their 2023 championship chase with two wins.

With Mostert the only previous winner on the grid, there is a big chance the streak will remain.

WINTERBOTTOM CHASING QUALI PACE AFTER BEING outdone by new teammate David Reynolds at Bathurst, Mark Winterbottom is chasing more qualifying pace from his Team 18 Camaro at Albert Park.

As Reynolds contested both Bathurst 500 Shootouts and scored a pair of top 10s, the best Winterbottom could manage was 12th, having qualified no higher than 19th.

Although ‘Frosty’ moved up in the races, he knows one-lap pace is key at the Australian Grand Prix where the four short sprint races offer little chance of making significant ground.

“My qualifying pace was poor,” Winterbottom said.

“So I need good qualifying pace here because that is the key.

“Our race pace was really good at Bathurst. The car was really fast and it made sense to me. We passed seven cars in both races.

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Winterbottom is looking for a better qualifying result than Bathurst ...

Image: PETER NORTON “It would be great If you can win the round, which obviously gets you the Larry Perkins Trophy.

“He is one of those guys that built our sport – the Perkins, the Moffat’s, the Johnsons, the Brocks, all those guys.

“So when you can win something that has their name attached to it, it is a little bit more special.”

Winterbottom had previous success at Albert Park before the Australian Grand Prix became a championship round.

He was unbeatable in 2015, winning all four races, while further wins in 2009 and 2012 mean his total of seven is the equal third most since Supercars started racing there in 1996.

Although F2 and F3 have taken over the Pit/Paddock and taken Supercars’ spot as the second biggest show at the Australian Grand Prix, Winterbottom said Supercars still has a “purpose” at Albert Park.

“The Grand Prix is one of my favourite events,” he said.

“Although we’re not the spectacle event, we sure have a purpose here, and championship points, plus the ego of all the drivers.”

Thomas Miles

O’KEEFFE COMING TO GRIPS WITH NEW CAR

Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

D’ALBERTO ‘PARKS’ TCR HONDA DRAMA ENVELOPED the Supercheap Auto TCR Championship round at Symmons Plains, with championship contender Tony D’Alberto parking his Honda in pit lane, as a form of protest, instead of contesting the third and final race of the weekend.

The problem appears to go back to a red-flagged and re-started opening race on Saturday – the scheduled 30-lapper run ending up as a fresh 10-lap race (including its own Safety Car) – and extended debate over why this race, which was completed, did not count towards the feature race grid – which would have seen D’Alberto, who won the race, much better placed on the key Race 3 grid.

Saturday’s race didn’t get far before a collision involving Ryan Casha and Brad Harris ripped a front wheel off the Cash Peugeot.

The second attempt at the race got as far as lap two, before a Safety Car was deployed to retrieve Harris’ car from the

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Turn 4 gravel trap (a separate incident).

In the end, the race ran just 10 laps before ‘time certainty’ kicked in..

Much of the lead-up to Sunday’s final race was centred around the grid, which was ultimately only decided using Qualifying and the finishing result of the Race Two (reverse grid) earlier Sunday race.

D’Alberto’s Honda team are of the view that the first race should have been included in the calculation.

Drivers meetings and team meetings with officials continued until close to the start time of the Race 3 finale, questioning the decisions made by MA race officials.

In the end, D’Alberto completed the warm-up lap, only to pull in and park in pit lane as the race started.

D’Alberto said “I had to take a stand” due to the “unprofessional” decision making process from the officials.

“It is very much a sad situation having the car in the garage,” D’Alberto said.

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“We out it on pole and won the first race so then we conserved in Race 2 and knew we had enough points to start on pole for the last one.

“Then a decision has been made that Race 1 is now non points and we were to start that race back in seventh, so I just think it is so unprofessional to happen so late in the piece. I had to make a stand.

“The team were encouraging me to do the race but I decided to pull the pin on it because I thought it was so unprofessional that I don’t want to be a part of it.

“Everyone was talking the same thing but some were not quite as brave as I was.

“The championship wants to have myself, Honda and some big sponsors in the category and teams operate at a professional level and this weekend it has clearly been sub-par.

“Everyone makes mistakes but it just keeps happening .…

“I am so disappointed in the whole process.”

AFTER ENDING a four-year wait between TCR wins at Symmons Plains, Dylan O’Keeffe is looking at the future with confidence.

Having raced Carrera Cup instead of TCR last year, O’Keeffe has returned to the front-wheel drive category with the team he made his debut with – Ashley Seward Motorsport.

The pair have tasted success in their second event together by winning Race 2 at AWC Race Tasmania.

Although O’Keeffe started on pole in the reverse grid affair, he still had to fight desperately to secure the win.

For a period it appeared Tom Oliphant would hunt the Lynk & Co down, but O’Keeffe not only held firm, but also pulled away to win by 1.1s.

Not only was it O’Keeffe’s first TCR win in four years, but it was also ASM’s first with the new Lynk & Co. He was able to back that result up with a fighting third place in a Race 3 full of drama.

Going forward O’Keeffe believes he is starting to get his head around the Lynk & Co and carries confidence to Phillip Island where went back-to-back in 2019.

“We learned a lot about the Lynk & Co and a particular strength was the consistency of our speed over the race distances,” he said.

“We weren’t where we wanted to be but Ash and the boys did a fantastic job and unlocked some great performance from the car in the Sunday races.

“With the pace I had in the second half of Race 3, I actually feel like another race win was possible but second overall is still a great result after where we were at Sandown.

“It’s definitely put us in a good mindset heading to Phillip Island, a circuit where I’ve had success with the ASM team in TCR before.”

Thomas Miles

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DOOHANS TEAM UP FOR AUS GP FAMOUS AUSTRALIAN motor racing father/son Mick and Jack Doohan will join forces at the Australian Grand Prix.

Mick will mark three decades since his first of five famous connective 500cc world motorcycle championship titles by riding a MotoGP Honda RCV213.

Alongside him will be his son Jack, who is a Formula 2 race winner and current Alpine Formula 1 reserve driver.

The younger Doohan will steer the V10-powered 2000 Benetton B200 F1 which was raced by Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz, who finished fifth and seventh respectively at that year’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

O’KEEFFE HOPES TWEAK BRINGS RESULTS

RUSSELL MAKES FULL TIME CARRERA CUP COMEBACK DAVID RUSSELL is returning to the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship in a full-time capacity in 2024.

After competing in five of the eight rounds last year, Russell steps up to the entire campaign in 2024 having joined TekworkX Motorsport, which is now a two-car team.

The 2023 Bathurst 1000 runner-up and current Erebus Motorsport codriver brings more than a decade of experience of one-make Porsche racing to the team since his series debut in 2006.

Across campaigns in 2006, 07, 08 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 and 23 Russell has accumulated 36 podium finishes.

His best championship finish is second achieved in 2015 and 2022, while last year he had a best finish of fourth at Sandown and Bathurst.

Russell admitted he had been chasing a full time return to Carrera Cup and can’t wait for the opportunity.

“I did selected rounds last year and I wanted an opportunity to do the whole championship again, especially after coming third in 2022,” said Russell.

“We put our heads together with Rob and worked out a deal, and I’ve already gelled with the whole team. To be working again with Paul Ceprinich is great, having

previously worked with him at the Spa 24 Hour as well.

“Being the third year in the car, there were originally some unknowns in the setup department but now it’s just tuning for what each track and driver needs. The TekworkX team will be able to put us in a position to be strong at every round.

“You don’t need to win every race across the year, but we will work hard to put our best foot forward for each track. I’m really looking forward to getting to the Grand Prix and representing a good group of sponsors.”

TekworkX Motorsport enters its fourth full season of Porsche Carrera Cup and the opening round takes place at the Australian Grand Prix, where the team has emerged as equal or outright round winners

two years in a row.

TekworkX Motorsport team owner Rob Woods is looking forward to renewing his relationship with Russell.

“We are thrilled to have ‘D-Russ’ join TekworkX in Carrera Cup,” said Woods.

“We shared engineers back in 2021, our first season in Carrera Cup, so it’s not a new relationship.

“We have also gained engineering services of that same engineer from 2021, Paul Ceprinich, as team engineer alongside his son Luke who now heads up TekworkX engineering full time.

“They all come with an immense amount of motorsport experience that the team will benefit from throughout the season, of which I expect the results will come.”

Thomas Miles

DYLAN O’KEEFFE brings a new look to the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season and hopes a subtle change to his driving technique can strike gold.

O’Keeffe is fronting up for his sixth full season in the one make series and has a best finish of third in 2018 bit did win twice on his way to fourth last year.

“We identified a couple of weaknesses, and one of those was my speed on cold tyres,” O’Keeffe said.

“I’ve always right-foot braked in the Porsche, but this season I’m going to change to left-foot braking, which will allow me to balance the car more precisely during those early race laps where car finesse is so critical.”

‘CLOSE’ CARRERA CUP 2024 GROVES SHOW NEW MERC AHEAD OF the GT World Challenge Australia, Grove Racing’s Stephen and Brenton Grove have unveiled the look of their new Mercedes AMG. Formerly Porsche drivers, the father and son are coming back to the series full time in 2024 in the Mercedes with assistance from Earl Bamber Motorsport.

“I really love the car,” Stephen said.

“Being a front engined car, it also gives you a lot of confidence with all of the weight at the front.

“The Porsche is more nervous in the rear, so for an AM driver, it makes me feel very confident.”

10 I www.autoaction.com.au

27 HOWLING Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Cars will contest three races in Round 1 of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup at Albert Park this weekend. MARK BISSET reports.

It’s hard to go past last year’s front-runners in predicting the Professional Class race winner from the 17 drivers entered: Jackson Walls, Dale Wood, Dylan O’Keefe, and Bayley Hall will all be up there.

Scott Pye, on a one race deal, should be at the pointy-end too. 2022 and 2005 champions, Harri Jones and Fabian Coulthard are on the grid.

Adrian Flack returns to defend his Pro-Am crown, while young Kiwi star

Marco Giltrap steps up to the Porsche ‘main game’ having clinched the Sprint Challenge last year.

He’ll be joined on debut by fellow Sprint Challenge graduates Lachlan Bloxsom, Tom McLennan, Nash Morris, Harrison Goodman and Marcos Flack. Matt Slavin steps up from the Sprint Challenge Pro-Am class to the Carrera Cup. Ryder Quinn, 2023 Gold Coast winner Bayley Hall, Angelo Mouzouris, David Russell and brothers Dale and Glen Wood all return.

Balancing out the strong rookies, 10 Carrera Cup race winners also Image: RACE PROJECT

feature, nine of whom have more than 100 Carrera Cup races under their belts.

The Pro-Am battle will see Flack chased again by drivers such as Dean Cook, Sam Shahin, Matt Belford, Marc Cini and Rodney Jane.

Milestone man, and front-running lawyer, Nick McBride should start his 200th Carrera Cup race this weekend. McBride’s Carrera Cup debut was in 2014 and has four round and 11 race wins to his credit.

The Carrera Cup races are always fast and furious, not to be missed!

Mark Bisset

INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES

ON A HIGH CHRISTIAN MANSELL is riding a wave of confidence to Albert Park fresh from his best FIA Formula 3 result in Bahrain.

After flying to second in the season opening Feature Race at Sakhir, Mansell is arguably Australia’s best chance to see a home hero on the podium at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old has commenced his second full season in the FIA Formula 3 World Championship and first with ART. It has started with a third career podium joining his performances at Spa and Silverstone last year.

Mansell admitted he is still on a high from the result, which has only fuelled his excitement for his second home race at Albert Park where he scored his first F3 points.

“It has been a pretty big whirlwind of emotions so far,” he told Auto Action.

“Obviously we had such great success in Bahrain and I think everyone in ART and the Mansell camp did an exceptional job.

“It just creates good momentum coming to Australia and I just want to do the very best I can this weekend. Not only for myself but also for the Aussie fans.

“Seeing them fully behind me gives me a pep in my step and I will try to use it the best I can.”

After making four starts in 2022, Mansell took on his first full F3 campaign last year with Campos Racing and was the leading Aussie in 12th after a second in the Spa Feature and third in the Silverstone Sprint.

But within months of the Monza finale, Mansell made the move to ART completing the non championship Macau Grand Prix plus post- and pre-season testing either side of the new year.

This extra seat time helped Mansell settle into his new French team ahead of the Bahrain opener.

Although the Sprint didn’t quite go to plan, finishing 14th when the team “didn’t go in the right direction” they nailed it on Sunday.

Starting eighth, Mansell rocketed up to the

Christian Mansell flying through the field in Bahrain.

Image: DUTCH PHOTO AGENCY top three within three laps with a number of aggressive but clean moves.

Mansell ranked his third career podium as the highlight of his F3 career.

“I thought I was in a good place and I just kept picking them off one by one,” he recalled.

“I didn’t quite have the tyres to battle for the lead at the end but we had mega pace.

“My other podiums, at Silverstone and Spa, fell into my lap but I still had to take them.

“But this was not luck – this was a proper drive and it means more.”

Having tasted racing at home for the first

time and all of the on- and off-track hurdles that came along, Mansell knows he returns in a stronger space.

“The strong point is that I am doing it again,” he said.

“It is my second time – it makes a world of difference having that experience and insight because it is not fresh with things jumping out at you.

“You can go into it a lot calmer.”

Mansell will not be the only Aussie to cheer for on the F3 grid with Tommy Smith also suiting up for Van Amersfoort Racing.

Thomas Miles

HUGHES OFF TO FLYING START AFTER A tough 2023 for talented Aussie export Lochie Hughes, he has started 2024 with a near-perfect performance on the streets of St Petersburg.

After taking four wins on his way to third in the USF2000 Championship last year, Hughes has stepped up to the next level the USF Pro 2000 Championship – a key ingredient on the Road to Indy.

Despite the challenges, the 21-year-old Gold Coast product proved he is a rookie to watch by finishing first and second.

As a result Hughes walked away from his USF Pro 2000 Championship debut as the points leader and he was thrilled with the dream start to life in the new series and new team Turn 3 Motorsport.

“This is a great start to the year,” Hughes told Auto Action.

“It is always hard to tell being at a new team in a new series, moving up a level and driving a new car.

“But I felt really positive from testing and gelled with the team very quickly.

“We had an almost perfect weekend. We won the opener and could have also won that second race if it wasn’t for the safety car.”

Hughes’ USF Pro 2000 debut could not have gone much better, having taken pole by a commanding three-tenths of a second ahead of Turn 3 teammate Danny Dyszelski.

The Aussie then controlled the stop/start opener, despite the race being constantly interrupted by stoppages, including an early red flag.

Hughes again looked strong in Race 2 as the #44 charged into the lead once again.

However, his advantage was wiped out by two yellows within 10 laps of each other.

At the final restart Hughes had “no grip under brakes” and slid wide and sacrificed P1.

Despite leading 20 of the 25 laps, he had to settle for second behind Nikita Johnson.

To start so well is an impressive effort for Hughes, who had to overcome an injury across the summer.

“The biggest thing was I actually had an injury in the off season and had to have surgery,” he said.

“I was suffering a lot of arm pump towards the end of last year which was quite strange and I had compartment syndrome.

“We got that fixed and I was anxious about it but it was all fine.”

Having already won the USF4 Championship, performed in USF2000, Hughes is hoping a victorious 2024 can springboard him to IndyNXT. “The plan is to keep winning,” he said.

“I feel like since I have moved to the US I have won in everything I have sat in and hope to continue to do that to convince teams I am the man you want. It is hard to do that especially with limited support from Australia.

“The plan is to win this year’s championship and get a good IndyNXT seat for next year.”

The next USF Pro 2000 Championship round is at NOLA Motorsports Park on April 5-7, a circuit where Hughes topped pre-season testing.

Thomas Miles

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YOUNG GUN WINS GARRY ROGERS TROPHY YOUNG 14-year-old racer Oliver Wickham overcame a number of challengers to become the first winner of the Garry Rogers Trophy.

The trophy was up for grabs in the Hyundai Excels where a solid field went racing across two weekends at Baskerville and Symmons Plains.

Two impressive wins by Wickham ensured the 14-yearold walked away with the silverware.

The Masters category went to Peter Kingston ahead of Les Axelsen, while encouragement awards go to Damien Midgley and Luke Gardner.

CICONTE JOINS F4 FIFTEEN YEAR-OLD Joanne Ciconte has signed on to compete in the upcoming Australian Formula 4 Championship, which returns in May. Ciconte will compete in her first full season of car racing with M2/Tim Macrow Racing.

In February she finished second in her Australian Formula Open debut at Sandown.

AGI Sport also announced some of the drivers that will spearhead its local F4 campaign.

One of its current international youngsters James Piszcyk will be leading the way and he will be joined by 15-year-old Nicolas Stati, who recently competed in the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship.

NEW TORANA BUILD FOLLOWING HIS his Trophy Race win in the Touring Car Masters opening round at Bathurst 500, Danny Buzadzic has a new Torana on the way.

Buzadzic has bounced back from a heavy crash at the Senna Chicane in the 2023 TCM finale at Adelaide. “[After the crash] I got a lot of people from outside who jumped in and called saying they wanted to help out which was really nice,” he said.

“We’re building another car now, and it will be fantastic.

It’s the exact same car – a Torana hatchback.”

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

STEINER ON WILD RIDE ONE OF the biggest names at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival was former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner.

A big part of Steiner’s experience was being taken for a wild ride by James Courtney in a Blanchard Racing Team Ford Mustang.

Steiner could not wipe the smile off his face as he flew through the shortened Adelaide Street Circuit in the Gen3 Mustang across a number of hot laps before donuts.

Steiner admitted it he was surprised by the speed and the skills required to steer the Supercar.

“The experience was fantastic,” he said.

“We all think we can drive these racing cars, but then you see the skills of the driver and how good these cars are when you are in it.

“But it was very nice and then I got smoked out when he did the donuts in the end.

“I know that I am privileged to be able to do these things and I really appreciate doing them.”

Reflecting on the experience, Steiner said the ride through the Senna Chicane really stuck out with him.

“There was one section of the race track where it is very fast and there is a twist in it,” he said.

“There you actually ask could I go at that speed? No, I am not going to do it.!”

The Italian American knows the high-speed world of motorsport

well having started his engineering and management career in rallying which led to being the director of engineering at Ford World Rally Team with Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz.

In 2001 he then switched to Formula 1 where he was the managing director at Jaguar.

Steiner stayed in the Formula 1 world through stints at Red Bull and, most memorably, Haas where he became a popular and well known team principal.

But it was during his Jaguar days that he had a connection with Courtney when the then young

Aussie was a test driver for the team.

Steiner said it gave him a buzz to know Courtney is the Supercars driver to give him the special experience.

“When I was asked a few weeks ago to come they said ‘are you keen to do a lap with James? I said yes sure’,” Steiner said.

“I have not seen James in a long time when he was the test and development driver at Jaguar in the early 2000s.

“What more can you wish after 20 years of not seeing somebody?”

Thomas Miles

NEW DATE FOR 2025 AMF AFTER A successful running in 2024, the date for next year’s Adelaide Motorsport Festival has already been confirmed.

The 2025 Adelaide Motorsport Festival will be held slightly earlier on the first weekend of the month from March 1-2.

The announcement may also provide a hint as to when the 2025 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix may be held in Melbourne.

Both this year and last year the Adelaide Motorsport Festival has been held the week prior to when the Formula 1 world descends on Albert Park.

Next year, Melbourne returns to its season opener position, having held that title from 1996-2005, 2007-2009 and 2011-2019 but been Round 3

since returning from COVID. Notably, the Adelaide Motorsport Festival date has been moved forward a fortnight which marries up with the timeframe of the Australian Grand Prix being the season opener.

This year, the 2024 F1 season began on the first weekend of March and Adelaide would obviously like to stay aligned with the Grand Prix.

The close proximity to the big race allowed the likes of current Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas, Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson, former Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner, 1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill and Sky Sport F1 commentator David Croft to call in to the former home of the Australian Grand Prix.

They were star attractions in what has been hailed as a successful

The colourful variety ofcars on show at the 2024 Adelaide Motorpsort Festival could not be illustrated better ...

Image: Supplied

Image: RACE PROJECT

2024 edition last weekend.

It attracted several Formula 1 names plus Supercars stars such as Craig Lowndes and many famous Bathurst winning cars, ranging from his Triple Eight 2006 Falcon to Larry Perkins’ Commodores and the Nissan Skyline ‘Godzillas’ of the early 90s.

Australian and international motorsport stars are promised to return to Adelaide in 2025, as will many of the classic and iconic cars and bikes that flew around Victoria Park last weekend ranging from Formula 1, V8 Supercars, Group C and A touring cars, sportscars and more.

The 2025 Adelaide Motorsport Festival will be held from March 1-2 2025.

TCM LEADERS EXCITED FOR FUTURE AFTER RACING hard around the Mountain, both Steven Johnson and Joel Heinrich are excited for what the future holds in the rejuvenated 2024 Touring Car Masters season.

The new-look TCM season started with a bang, back on the Supercars card at Bathurst, where Johnson and Heinrich emerged as the top contenders.

Reigning champion Johnson picked up from where he left off by winning the round with two hard fought wins in the Hancock Racing Mustang.

Although Johnson looked as precise as ever behind the wheel, he revealed it has been a battle of late to simply be fit enough to go racing, but stated he is in good shape for the challenges ahead.

“I probably need to get a bit healthier to be fair because I am still struggling a little bit with a respiratory and lung problem I got at the end of last year,” Johnson told Auto Action.

“I still have a partially deflated right lung and struggled to breathe so that is why you see me trying to go hard at the start and roll off at the end.

“I have been struggling for the last six months but I will get there and should be right now for Round 2.

“People don’t realise how much work goes into it. I still work hard and train hard, look at the data and think about what I can change on the car all the time.

The Bathurst TCM podium – L to r: Ryan Hansford, Steven Johnson, Joel Heinrich. Image: JAMES SMITH PHOTOGRAPHER “I need to stay fit to keep up with the Joel Heinrich’s and Adam Garwoods and Ryan Hansfords.

“The dogfights I am having with these guys are great and I love that competition and look forward to more battles throughout this exciting season.”

Johnson leads the championship by 16 points over Heinrich, who fought hard to claim the Race 2 win in his Whiteline Racing Camaro.

2

WHEN COMPROMISE ISN’T AN OPTION

It was a busy weekend for Heinrich as he jumped between his little Aussie Racing Car and his mighty Chevrolet Camaro.

Having never raced the car before at Mount Panorama, the South Australian was thrilled to walk away with a win, believing the better than expected results set up a title assault.

“I was behind the eight ball because I had never driven the car here before

1

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and the Mountain bites – so just getting through was the goal and having a win was a bonus,” he said.

“The end goal for me is a championship too and we have the whole year locked in.

“It will be hard work beating Steven and Ryan but I have raced at all these tracks and know the Camaro will be good at a couple of them, so bring it on. It will be an exciting year ahead.”

Thomas Miles

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BIG NAMES EVERYWHERE IN ADELAIDE IT WAS A BIT LIKE THE OSCARS IN ADELAIDE AT THE WEEKEND – WITH ‘PICK THE F1 NAME’ THE GAME OF CHOICE AS A BIG CROWD DESCENDED ON VICTORIA PARK.

including the ‘win-from-a lap-behind’ Perkins/Ingall car.

Throw in a range of classic Le Mans sports cars, and vehicles from just about every nook and cranny of motor-sport and you’ve got an overdose of nostalgia …

Plans for 2025 are already well advanced, with a date already locked in (see separate story, P12).

Valtteri leads Lowndes in the Arrows A10B. Left: LP’s Enzed VP Commodore with Jack at the wheel; Bathurst-winning VF ... Below: A couple more of Larry’s Castrol winners ...

WHETHER IT was Valtteri Bottas turning laps in a Leyton House CG891-Judd – a late addition to his commitments to lap a VK Commodore Group A car and the Australian-built Brabham BT62 Sports Car – or Gunther ‘did I swear?’ Schneider at speed in the passenger seat of James Courtney’s Gen3 Supercar (“Pretty cool …” was his expletive-free comment), or even Damon Hill paying his respects at the plaque at the Senna Chicane, there was plenty to see and do. Ford’s ubiquitous electric Supervan also ventured on track – with F1 Super-rookie Liam Lawson at the wheel.

The Adrian Newey-designed Leyton House was originally driven in the 1989 F1 World Championship by Ivan Capello and

Mauricio Gugelmin – the latter finishing seventh at the Adelaide GP.

For his part, the laps in the Leyton House were his first in a ‘Newey’ car and, on the ‘shortened’ Festival layout, a mere taste of what the original full course would have offered.

And, with a local flavour, Craig Lowndes joined in the F1-fest at the wheel of the Arrows A10B-BMW raced by Eddie Cheever in the 1988 F1 World Championship.

The influx of F1 faces also included Sky Sports commentator David Croft, who earned his passage by interviewing Bottas and others in the Grand Marquee.

For the sedan fans, there were Supercars and earlier V8 Touring cars galore … including a couple of Larry Perkins more recent Bathurst winners recently restored,

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.

Image: RACE PROJECT

14 I www.autoaction.com.au

One of the stars – John Reaks’ Benetton 190 ...

Below l to r: A few mates (Lowndes, Hill and Croft) gather around as Valtteri prepares to lap the Leyton House; Huge crowd; Is that a Transit?

Above left: Mazda Group C 767B, with Senji Hoshino at the wheel. Above right: Aussie historic ‘tragic’ Peter Brennan has one great toy – an Arrows A1B – and he let son David drive it!.

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IT’S HERE! AAFROM NEXT ISSUE (ISSUE 1883 – TUESDAY APRIL 2), YOU’LL BE ABLE TO ACCESS AUTO ACTION DIGITALLY, ONLINE, AND FREE Yes, everything you’ve always enjoyed about Australia’s most long-standing and read motorsport publication online, free and ...

TWO DAYS EARLIER THAN YOU’VE BEEN USED TO! Print and distribution, the old-fashioned way, takes time.

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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.

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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

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L34 TORANA’S FLOCK TO FIFTY-YEAR CELEBRATION

BY BRUCE WILLIAMS AND EDWINA WILLIAMS

IT’S FITTING that the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Holden Torana SL/R 5000 L34 took place at Phillip Island.

In a great part of the L34’s racing history, the V8 powered Torana had a mortgage on the Phillip Island 500k Manchamp-enduro races with three 1974 to 1976 wins back-toback going to Bond/Brock/Bond respectively.

In a wonderful half-centenary 1974-2024 Phillip Island book-end, Rod Hatfield’s exRod and Russ McRae Dustings of Burwood L34 – third place-getter in the 1974 500K – was on-circuit throughout the Phillip Island Classic along with 40 other race/road L34s organised by the L34 Fiftieth Anniversary Committee.

Tim Hatfield, in conjunction with Western

Australia’s Craig Poole, helped to deliver a fabulous turnout of Torana SLR5000/L34’s as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the L34.

“We have approximately 41 L34’s at the island event, including seven race cars, most with significant history,” Hatfield said on Sunday 10 March.

“It’s probably the biggest gathering of L34s since they were built.”

Of the seven L34 race cars at the event, one of the most significant cars to take to the track was the 1976 Bathurst 1000 winner, driven by Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick; the first L34 built and on loan from the National Motor Racing Museum Another very special L34 involved was the EX HDT L34 rally car, which was driven

by Colin Bond and co-driven by George Shepheard.

“Rod Hatfield was driving the Dustings car.

The Charlie O’Brien car turned up, which has been good. It’s the same car [he won at Amaroo in].

“We’ve had the Gough L34, but the ultimate is having number one; the Bob Morris car.”

Poole said the success of the celebration was a great reward for organisers who had been planning the meet for five years.

“What started out as a small group of L34 enthusiasts turned out to be rather large,” he said.

“We’ve had an amazing time here with the VHRR and their event. They’ve put on an amazing show for us.

“We’ve had guys from Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, five from Western Australia, and one from Tasmania; they’ve traveled far and wide to be here. One came all the way from Broome. He drove to

All the colours of the Holden Torana SL/R 5000 L34 rainbow were on the main straight of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit earlier this month Image: TIM HATFIELD

Perth, joined us, then drove over.

“He did running maintenance on the car on the way over, which was awesome to watch. We had our cars on trailers and took a five-day trip to be here, arriving on Thursday night.”

Hatfield said a highlight of the event was a mass drive into Cowes which included some L34 race and road cars.

For Poole, the Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport is the ultimate historic vehicle event in Australia.

“I can’t think of any place better to showcase an L34 Torana,” he said. “They had some great successes when the drivers drove them within their limits, and to their strengths.

On Monday 11 March, a group of the L34s headed to the old Holden Lang Lang Proving Ground to conclude the long weekend of celebration.

L34s shook their tail feathe rs at this year’s Phillip Island Classic in celebration of the car’s 50th anniversar y.

Image: BARRY EVANS

TASSIE HALL OF FAME INDUCTS TRACK LEGENDS, STALWARTS

By Martin Agatyn THE WORLD-FAMOUS Longford Grand Prix track has been immortalised with an induction into the Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame, along with race engineer Peter Turnbull, and official and administrator Steven Chopping OAM, who reached the worldwide pinnacle of the sport.

The Longford track came into being in 1953 when it hosted its first race meeting – a combined motorcycle and car racing event which attracted 40,000 spectators over three days of competition.

The 7.2km circuit hosted 14 international meetings up until 1968, attracting no less than seven reigning world champions, including Sir Jack Brabham.

Longford hosted the final round of the Tasman Cup in the 1960s, the Australian Grand Prix in 1959 and 1965, and the Australian Tourist Trophy for Sports Cars in 1960, 1964 and 1966.

Motorcycles were an integral part of the programme up until 1966 for both solos and sidecars, with the Australian TT held at Longford in 1953, 1959 and 1965, and the Australian Grand Prix in 1960 and 1966.

Escalating costs and a need for safety upgrades caused the circuit’s downfall in 1969.

Steven Chopping began competing in car club events at 16 years of age, racing in autocross and grass roots level meetings including club day speed events.

He continued with lower level competition until 1974, when he purchased an Elfin Formula Ford, going on to race in Formula Ford,

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The Lotuses of Graham Hill and Jim Clark and the Dino Ferrari of Chris Amon lead the Tasman Series field off Long Bridge during the last Longford event in 1968. Image: SUPPLIED Formula 2, Formula Vees and a variety of sports sedans and production cars until 1984.

Off the track he had many roles, including president of the Hobart Sporting Car Club, the Tasmanian correspondent for Racing Car News magazine, and Motoring News International from 1966 to 1980.

He had a weekly 7HT radio programme in the 1970s, a Saturday Evening Mercury column for 10 years, and commentated motorsport on ABC TV. Over 40 years, Steven rose through the ranks of motorsport officialdom, as chairman of stewards for the Australian Rally Championship, the Australian V8 Supercars Championship, and a

steward for the Australian and international Formula One Grand Prixs.

He was chairman of stewards for Formula 2 and Formula 3, and the World Touring Car Championship, and was named FIA 2013 International Steward of the Year.

Steven has a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to motorsport.

Peter Turnbull started racing in 1964, competing in hill climbs and motorkhanas with the North West Car Club, and the Morris 850 Club, before taking up circuit racing.

By then, Peter and Tony Hamilton had already built the first Turnham race car in what was to become a long line of Turnhams over the next 50-plus years.

Peter has competed at 45 different motor racing circuits around Australia, and in Tasmania, he won and placed in numerous races at Baskerville and Symmons Plains between 1969 and 1984.

The Turnham cars had considerable success and it was not uncommon in the early-1970s to see up to five cars built by Peter in the same race.

In his career, he’s built and fabricated sports cars, clubmans, and Formula Vees.

Between 1966 and 1978, Peter built three sports racing cars and three clubman cars, but they were known by 15 different names and underwent modification to more than 20 different motor and body configurations and meeting with considerable success at the hands of various drivers.

The Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame was founded in 1989.

Lewis at US$55m, or Oliver, aged 18, at not a lot! Could there be incentives for teams to usher new faces through the door?

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK …

THAT NOISE YOU HEAR IS A GROUP OF VERY TALENTED YOUNG F1 HOPEFULS BASHING ON THE F1 DOOR – BUT THIS YEAR IT’S CLOSED. IS THERE A SOLUTION? IT’S GRAND Prix week in Melbourne. The Big Show is in town; Drive to Survive has been and gone (starting to look a bit ‘samey’ …), and Martin Brundle is on the loose with the grid-walk microphone.

Nothing particularly new there.

And, a bit sadly, there’s also not a single new face behind the wheel of the 20 cars – for the first time in F1 history, the driver line-up is unchanged from last year (unless someone needs their appendix out on race eve, of course).

Given what we witnessed last year, with kiwi Liam Lawson absolutely nailing his stand-in role while Daniel Ricciardo recovered from a broken hand and, recently, 18 year-old Brit Oliver Bearman’s superb cameo thanks to Carlos Sainz’s appendix, there’s a case to be made that – with top young drivers piling up against a barely ajar door between F2 and F1 – Formula 1 should provide some incentive for teams to move some of the ‘senior citizens’ along and inject fresh, talented young blood into Grand Prix racing.

Formula 1, Liberty Media and the FIA in particular make a big deal of their ‘pathway’ to Formula 1 and guard its relevance vehemently, yet seem terribly conservative at the final hurdle, when it comes to F1 driver contracts.

Aspiring F1 racers go through a hugely costly process just to get as far as F2. Some earn the support of one of the various F1 Academies

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with Chris Lambden

CL ON CALL – becoming trendy, with F1 teams ‘signing up’ kids barely into their karting career in some cases; some are there because a supporting group of businessmen from their country of origin have put in the cash; others just have a rich family or family business.

Whatever the backing source, too many are getting to the front of F2 only to find their F1 options disappearing or on hold as ‘experienced’ Drivers A and B sign on for another year or two, teams opting to go for the ‘safe’ option.

You can see how, in some cases, that may have become the case. Small teams such as HAAS operate under a tight budget and can struggle with the sort of year they had when, for example, Mick Schumacher had an awkward run of crashed race cars. So much easier to top up the superannuation for a couple of pilots who ain’t too bad, have been around the block a few times …

But not all newcomers are an insurance excess nightmare!

And with the current breed of cars, with their minute aero tweaks after hours in the wind tunnel and ‘sim’ not exactly a riveting diet for

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the techno fans, the focus is on the drivers more than ever.

There’s a new new-breed on the block. They’ve been doing it since they were five or six years old, practising and learning in Cadetstyle karts before racing them when they turned seven. And, apart from being able to drive fast, they’ve come through an education process that is now as much mental as physical. They’re pretty calm young dudes. No yelling on the team radio, no cursing, just calm analysis.

Example? I give you Oscar Piastri. Then I give you Lawson and Bearman. Three very calm, very professional, very fast – and generally crash-free – race drivers.

And there are more queueing up.

Lawson and Bearman and others (Felipe Drugovich?) should be on the grid, taking over from – with all due respect – some of the faces who’ve ‘been there done that; who’ve had their time’, and who on the basis of experience are more or less topping up their super account, while continuing to enjoy the adrenalin rush and life-style that goes with being part of F1. Or those who are occupying a seat due, in some part, to their name or even their nationality.

Is there any way of nudging F1 teams in this direction? Rightly, it’s their call who drives their cars, and there are many factors to consider, but can there be some incentive to push the new young stars to the fore?

Maybe. F1 teams now run to a US$135m budget cap – but it’s fundamentally a technical/ operational budget cap. It doesn’t include the drivers (or for that matter the highest three staff earners, or travel costs, or ’marketing expenditure’, or staff bonuses, or whatever else – plenty of rort potential there, huh!’). So, whether Mercedes chooses to pay Lewis US$55m or a new face a fraction of that, their race team operating budget is currently unaffected.

Most professional sports leagues (other than the English Premier League soccer – an out-of-control cost nightmare) have budget caps linked to their stars. Decisions are made on overall cost/benefit efficiency. Bang for buck. So why not F1?

F1, with its costly technical element, ie the car, is a bit more complex. But if F1’s cost cap was raised to include a driver allowance of, say, $40m for the pair, teams with a driver bill of less than that could use the difference to make their car go faster – incentive for teams to certainly consider giving newer, less expensive new faces a go.

With the startling ability of the new breed coming through, a pair of ‘$5m young stars’ could, based

on our driver allowance example ($40m per team) give a team $30m more to spend on their car (assuming they can raise it) – which we are told goes a long way in ‘new parts’/wind tunnel/Sim Land!

The only drawback – if indeed it’s seen as such – might be slightly shorter careers for some of the established, more expensive, drivers – or the perceived loss of their ‘star-power’.

Is that a concern? Don’t think so.

Young Oscar has rapidly generated his own star-status, thanks to his ‘total package’ ability.

Much as I’m impressed by Adrian Newey’s latest miracle car (for goodness’ sake, the man has 25 Drivers’/Constructors’ titles to his name – 27 by this year’s end), and Max’s ability to cruise around in front of the field, it’s Oscar, and his potential and progress, that will have me paying attention when the engines fire up at Albert Park.

Kiwi Lawson and Brit Bearman should be doing the same (although the front of the grid, with Lando Norris and George Russell up there, along with old-timer Hamilton, is starting to become a bit ‘Pom-heavy!). But you get what I mean …

If you’re going to insist on a F4/3/2 pathway (the only realistic option under FIA Superlicence rules), then you are obliged to ensure that the ‘Entry’ door is more than just slightly ajar, or not closed, when very talented youngsters come knocking …

www.autoaction.com.au I 19

LATEST NEWS

VALE: BILL FORSYTH, PHOTOGRAPHER

a – car which Ferrari 350 Can-Am/P4 on and Bill Am ris Ch by was shared e meeting rac al fin Brown at Longford’s in March 1968.

Bill Forsyth on a walk around the former Catalina Park Raceway in Katoomba, Blue Mountains.

Image: TONY LOXLEY, FULL THROTTLE PUBLISHING

BY EDWINA WILLIAMS AN EXPERT at capturing car and motorcyle action, and so often behind the lens for iconic moments, Bill Forsyth was embedded in the Australian motor racing community from as early as the 1960s. He passed away on March 11.

“From the thunderous roar of touring cars to the adrenaline-pumping world of F5000, from the elegance of world sports cars to the high-speed realm of motorcycles, from the excitement of speedway to the grit of rallying, from the rugged off-road terrain to the prestigious grand prix circuits, Bill Forsyth’s lens has flawlessly captured them all,” says Tony Loxley, in an excerpt from

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an upcoming photographic book The Best of Bill: The Motorsport Photography of Bill Forsyth.

Loxley was a dear friend of Forsyth, who he described as “one of the best people I knew.”

“A truly great photographer and a friend to countless people around the world, he was a loving husband, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and the owner of a heart of gold,” Loxley said this week.

“Surrounded by his loving family, Bill passed away quietly. His infectious laugh, love of life, love of family and his love of photography and motorsport, left an indelible mark with all who knew him.

“Bill took me under his wing in 1980, after

a chance meeting at Behrens Brown, a photographic agency in North Sydney.

From there, a deep friendship grew.

“If I needed film to shoot the speedway or motorsport; Bill was there. Cameras, flashes, lenses, Bill was there. Printing, paper, and high-speed hayrides back home in his Volvo or Honda Civic; he was there.

“How many times do you get to experience a Volvo or Civic sideways from Crows Nest to Eastwood? Put it this way, every corner was an adventure!”

The yet-to-be-released Bill Forsyth book is a 368-page hardback publication, full of 500 black-and-white and colour images taken between 1962 and the late-2010s.

Drivers including Brock, Moffatt, Johnson, Senna, Jones, Lauda, Bartlett, Mulligan, Revell, Vogler, Sanders, Penhall, Doohan, Campbell, Gardner, Ickx, Brown, and Goss are featured in action.

“The book will mean so much more when released later this year, but somehow I know Billy will be there for that launch,” Loxley said. “He wouldn’t miss such an occasion, and he’ll have the best seat in the house.

“What a legacy remains.”

Forsyth is survived by his daughter Emma, son-in-law Robert and their children, and his friends.

Auto Action publisher, Bruce Williams, described Forsyth as a “wonderful and creative photographer.”

“Bill loved and understood the drama of motorsport and the people that were a part of it,” Williams said. “And he was across all aspects of the sport.

“He was able to catch the drama and action and sometimes capture moments that we sometimes missed through his great skill with the lens, and techniques.

“It was wonderful to be able to enjoy the great detail in his work, as this page’s small sample of images (above) shows.”

THANKS TO THE MEISTER WALTER ROHRL IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION MY ALL-TIME rally hero, Walter Rohrl, just turned 77.

You might remember him from the astonishing in-car footage from the days of the Audi Quattro Sport, with his feet dancing over the pedals, or his efforts in the Pikes Peak hillclimb.

Then again, it could be ‘just’ the World Rally Championship, or the German touring car championship, or IMSA in the USA, or Le Mans sports cars.

Rohrl was definitely a versatile driver – and a winner in most things.

Then there was the time he took me for a sprint in a Porsche 911 Turbo at a press event in Spain, going all-but flat-out, to average better than 160km/h on a fivekilometre stretch of closed tarmac road. He had run over it many times, but the speed was … well … breathtaking.

“If I had notes and my co-driver, maybe I would be one second faster per kilometre,” he reported.

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE Yowza.

Over the years we’ve met many times at Porsche’s press events, where he invariably brings along a bicycle for his daily ride.

Which reminds me of his 60th birthday, when he decided to take things a little easier following his retirement from competitive motorsport. That was, until he got to the halfway point of his regular training ride through the mountains near his home.

“What are you? You are not dead,” he told me. So he went flatout through the second half and set an all-time personal best time.

Rohrl also used to ride a ’naked’ motorcycle on the autobahns in

Germany, flat-out at well over 200km/h, just to build strength in his forearms for rallying.

Commitment? I only know how to spell it!

And that’s why he is so special.

In the rally world, Ari Vatanen was far more spectacular, Sebastian Loeb re-wrote the rules with a race-style driving style, Greg Carr was the most committed of the Aussies, Possum Bourne was a superstar from New Zealand, and my good mates Neal Bates and Ed Ordynski both have cupboards full of trophies.

But none of them would happily predict his final finishing position

before a WRC event – and then nail it.

Rohrl did it three times for me, twice in NZ, by accurately assessing the strengths and weaknesses of himself and his rivals. He was not afraid to say “I cannot beat him here”.

I first met Rohrl in 1980, when he was driving a Fiat 131 in Rally New Zealand.

At the end of one early special stage he stopped, but would not open the door or wind the window down for a chat. That was unusual.

Then Pentti Airikkala, his closest rival in a Ford Escort, arrived and stormed up to the Fiat with his face covered in blood and started banging on the roof.

Later, Rohrl told me he had taken tarmac tyres for the mixedsurface stage. The feisty Finn started behind on gravel rubber and caught the German on the early gravel kilometres, eventually storming past and tearing the

If you ever saw Walter Rohrl at speed, live, in the fearsome Audi Quattro, you never forgot it! Image courtesy AUDI

flared guards off both cars after having his windscreen broken and mirrors blasted away by stones from Rohrl’s Fiat.

When they got to the bitumen, Rohrl reversed the overtake and removed the flares from the other side of the Masport Escort.

“Such an idiot. He should have been patient for another kilometre,” Rohrl said later, recalling his rival’s emotional response.

Rohrl has a huge ego, even telling a story about the day he outpaced Michael Schumacher during a road car test day on the Nurburgring, but he is blunt and honest. And technical and fast.

That’s why he has been a long-term brand ambassador for Porsche, a slot now filled by Mark Webber and quite likely by Matt Campbell at some time in the future.

He was hugely critical when Porsche went for rocker switches in the early days of its PDK gearboxes, saying it was only the ego of the Porsche CEO – “He says if Ferrari has paddles, Porsche will not have paddles” – which had delayed their introduction.

So, why write about Rohrl when his latest birthday is only #77?

Because motorsport stars are falling all around us, from Hannu Mikkola and Ove Andersson and Bjorn Waldegaard (he once drove me in a Ford Escort RS1800 before the Southern Cross Rally, but that’s another story), to Gil de Ferran from IndyCars.

Not enough people say a simple ’Thank you’ in 2024, but there are many, many people we all have to thank.

So my thanks go today to Walter Rohrl, along with my great mate Allan Moffat, and Greg and Ed and Neal, because no-one is guaranteed tomorrow and we all should pause sometimes to be happy and thankful.

SVEN BURCHARTZ LIVES MOTORSPORTS LAWYER AND PARTNER

Know your position.

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

T +613 8825 4800 kkilawyers.com.au

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LATEST NEWS

Lola heads Talon – Codie Banks begins to stretch the lead over his father David. Image: NEIL HAMMOND Above: Final spot on the podium went to a delighted Frank Harris (#33 – Team VDS Chevron B34).

Images: IAN SMITH AUTOPIX, NEIL HAMMOND, JOHN LEMM

KIWIS ON TOP IN F5000 GP

KIWI CODIE BANKS (LOLA T332) DOMINATED THE FIELD OF F5000 CARS TO SECURE THE INAUGURAL PHILLIP ISLAND FORMULA 5000 GP TITLE, THE FINAL ROUND OF NZ’S 2024 SAS AUTOPARTS MSC NZ F5000 TASMAN CUP REVIVAL SERIES. THE F5000GP race was the climax of a five-race weekend at Phillip Island, and came after Banks – on hand with nine other Kiwis – had clean-swept the rest of the races.

The last of them, on Sunday morning was red-flagged after a first-lap incident, but the rest ran as scheduled.

Banks led all the way – almost – in the feature, beaten off the line by …. his father!

“I got drag-raced by my father at the start who overtook me and led me into Turn 1,” he said.

Banks Jnr re-took the position on the second lap, the pair heading for a Kiwi 1-2 until mid-race when Banks senior parked his Talon MR1 with overheating issues – the event taking place in the searing +30degC ambient temperatures that swept Victoria that weekend – and taxed the Talon’s cooling system.

“It was the hottest conditions I’ve ever raced in – with the track again over 50degC,” added Banks, who nevertheless went on to set a respectable 1:31.5303 fastest lap time.

“The tyres were actually starting to go so I had to button off and nurse them to

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Victorian Darcy Russell (Lola T330) was a close second. Below left: Codie Banks was thrilled to receive the KB Trophy from ... KB!.

Event convenor Ian Tate watches on. Below right: The beautiful ‘papaya’ McLaren M10A of Kiwi Frank Roberts.

the finish.”

Chasing for the opportunity to beat the flying Kiwi, Victorian veteran Darcy Russell (Lola T330) finished just, 1.7sec behind. Third was the ex-Team VDS

Chevron B24 of Victoria’s Frank Harris – who was over the moon with his result.

The Shellsport Lola T330 of Frank Brennan took fourth, ahead of the next best Kiwi Grant Clearwater

(McLaren M10A).

“It’s been a bloody good day,” continued Banks, who was then awarded the Kevin Bartlett trophy by the man himself – the original driver of the Lola T332 Banks now races.

“To get the hand-shake from Kevin – that was awesome. He said I did the car proud.”

Banks was also awarded the Jack Brabham Driver of the Meeting award.

Several of the McLaren F5000s are now headed for Albert Park, to take part in the McLaren Tribute parade, celebrating the ‘papaya’ brand …

RESULT: PHILLIP ISLAND FORMULA 5000 GP 1 50 Codie Banks (NZ) Lola T332 2 711 Darcy Russell (VIC) Lola T330 3 330 Frank Harris (VIC Chevron B24 4 208 Peter Brennan (VIC) Shellsport Lola T330 5 10 Grant Clearwater (NZ) McLaren M10A 6 7 Tony Roberts (NZ) McLaren M10A 7 99 Robert Splatt (VIC) March F5000 73/15A 8 12 Frank Karl (NZ) McLaren M10B 9 9 Toby Annabell (NZ) McLaren M10B DNF 48 Bruce Kett (NZ) Lola T332 DNF 91 David Banks (NZ) Talon MR1 DNF 32 Alastair Chalmers (NZ) Chevron B32

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

BACK AT HOME IN MELBOURNE ...

WE ARE UP AND RUNNING WITH THE 2024 F1 SEASON AND IT’S TIME FOR MY FIRST AUTO ACTION COLUMN OF THE SEASON ...

THE AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix is just on the horizon and I couldn’t be more excited to be back in Melbourne and racing on home turf.

It’s been a busy few months since I last penned this column. I’ve had testing, lots of engineering days in advance of the season and a pre-season training camp out in Lanzarote.

The start of the season has been solid for us, with good points in both Bahrain and Saudi, and the aim is to keep that consistency up at Albert Park.

We still have some work to do in terms of the car but we are a large step ahead of where we were last year and the initial signs are encouraging.

These few days ahead of the Australian GP are special. Not only is it my home race but to come back to my hometown

Oscar Piastri’s

FORMULA 1 WORLD again is something else, having grown up near to the track.

I used to play footy and cricket on the ovals that the F1 Paddock is built on and to score my firstever points here last year was phenomenal.

It was a pretty crazy race last year with a very eventful ending so, hopefully, it will remain straight-forward and we can get some more good points.

I count myself very lucky to be a home driver in Melbourne.

The reception on the Melbourne Walk, on the Drivers’ Parade and

walking through the crowds is mind-blowing.

Everyone is so supportive and their energy is fantastic. Having that atmosphere all around the grounds gives you such a boost.

This is the first race that I look for when the calendar is published and the one that I look forward to most of all.

I’ve been told that even bigger crowds are in store for 2024, so it’s awesome to see those levels of interest in motorsport in Australia. Even on a Thursday, there are so many people and

you can really feel the buzz.

I am obviously pretty biased but this is the favourite race for lots of drivers on the grid. It’s been on the calendar a while but it keeps on evolving and improving year after year.

Thanks to everyone who puts such a lot of hard work into the organisation and planning and everyone who volunteers across the four days to put the event on. It’s not lost on us how many people it takes to make an event like this happen.

I will actually be sporting a special helmet design with an outback sunset theme rather than my usual colours. I really like how it’s taken shape and it’s one of the favourites that I have done so far.

It’s got trees and kangaroos set against the night sky and I hope that we have been able to capture the Aussie spirit.

I’ve had a really good reaction to it online and I think it should look pretty cool in the cockpit.

If you’re visiting Albert Park over the next few days, feel free to come and say hello on the Melbourne Walk or during my visits to the Fanzone or the Quad Lock Box. I look forward to seeing you all.

Hope everyone enjoys the Grand Prix and I will be back with my next column soon.

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RED BULL ON ALL CONQUERING RB20 THE RED Bull RB20 is the car to beat at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix where Max Verstappen hopes to go back-to-back.

On his way to a record breaking 2023 championship success, Verstappen ended Red Bull’s Albert Park drought that stretched back to 2011.

He did it with the RB19 that scored the most wins ever in a single season and joined the iconic 1988 McLaren MP4/4 to win every Grand Prix bar one.

The flying Dutchman returns in 2024 with a radically different looking RB20 that has already looked just as ominous as its predecessor.

Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez

have cruised to 1-2 finishes in both the season opening Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.

No one has been able to beat them so far and the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren seemingly need a miracle to end Verstappen’s streak of nine straight Grand Prix wins.

The RB20 itself has been turning heads ever since it was revealed, showcasing a major aggressive overhaul in aerodynamic philosophy that gives the car a similar look to Mercedes’ 2023 car.

Whilst much of the focus is on the significantly re-profiled side pods, Red Bull chief designer Adrian Newey said it is

the more “subtle” elements that make the RB20 so fast.

“The underlying architecture of the car is the third-generation evolution of what started as the RB18,” Newey explained on the F1 NATION podcast.

“Apart from the radiators, we carry over everything: layout of the front suspension, the rear suspension, the gearbox, the casing, so it’s a third evolution of the RB18.

“It’s the bits that are visible, that have caused quite a lot of attention – obviously we’re pursuing aerodynamic gains there.

“The visual change is actually much larger than the performance change you get from that (but) the other, much more

subtle bits that people haven’t noticed are probably responsible for a bigger gain.”

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan told AUTOSPORT that the RB20 is the team’s “last big roll of the dice”.

“If we choose to make some bigger changes on the car it opens up more options for us,” he said.

“That’s part of our reason to say ‘let’s go ahead and change it more fully’.

“It’s probably the last big roll of the dice because into 2025 you have to be looking at the 2026 car.”

The RB20 will be on track in Melbourne this Friday.

Thomas Miles

R

WHY LADELLE MISSED RACE TASMANIA

THE AWC Race Tasmania TCR field was limited to just 13 cars and one of the absentees was newcomer Marcus LaDelle.

LaDelle is the man behind the newest team on the grid, 99motorsport, which made its debut at the Sandown season opener.

After being unable to find a driver, LaDelle was forced to make an unexpected debut in the #99 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ, finishing 12th and 13th between a DNF after a clash with Glen Nirvana in Race 2.

LaDelle admitted it has been hard to watch the SpeedSeries carry on at AWC Race Tasmania and explained that due to the team’s start in TCR not going completely to plan driver and sponsorshipwise, he was unable to make the trip across Bass Strait.

“As everybody saw it was a relatively rushed run into Sandown and the original intention of this was to be a customer program so for me driving the car was a backup plan,” LaDelle told AUTO ACTION. “Therefore finding sponsorship was also last minute.

“We have a number of long term sponsors but unfortunately another sponsor had come on and had a change in circumstances which was understandable.

“The damage costs from Sandown were significant and we were already tight on budget with me having to drive the car without a customer paying at the last minute.

“I am gutted not to be there and only watched a little bit because it did get to me

that I was not there.”

Despite missing round 2, LaDelle said he remains committed to the category.

“I am really looking forward to returning,” he said.

We are still very committed to TCR and would love to bring another driver onboard with more sponsorship.

“It is a mainstream series and worldwide category that is extremely competitive.

“The driver, team and management

groups are great. In the lead up to Tasmania I had other team owners reach out and ask if there was any way they could help us get to Tasmania.”

Due to the third round of the TCR Australia series at Phillip Island clashing with the Toyota 86 Scholarship Series opener at SMP, 99motorsport will also miss the April event due to fielding Toby Dvorak, Ben Stewart and Max Geoghegan in the second tier Toyota series.

Due to the clash, LaDelle is targeting Round 4 at The Bend as the comeback to TCR as he continues to chase a new driver and more support.

“Phillip Island was always going to be a challenge because of the clash with 86s in that we had to have a whole lot of infrastructure in Phillip Island but also take three 86s to Sydney,” he said.

“If I had a customer in the car (Audi) we could have made it work but I need to be in Sydney mentoring our Toyota drivers.

“The goal moving forward will be back racing at The Bend which is contingent on having some funding land in our lap.”

PRICE AND KTM PART WAYS DOWEL AIMING FOR SPECIAL ARC COMEBACK TROY DOWEL is dreaming of a miraculous return to the Australia Rally Championship in 2025 despite being in a battle against leukaemia.

Having already beaten the disease before, Dowel has suffered a relapse and the cancer returned to his system earlier this year.

However, a new trial drug called Blinatumomab has helped the Victorian make giant steps forward.

The next step in Dowel’s recovery will be a full bone marrow transplant in May and should his positive progress continue, the dream of returning to the ARC will be on the cards.

“I am extremely grateful to have been part of this revolutionary trial that looks to have helped me overcome and can’t thank all the people who have supported and helped me enough,” Dowel said.

“I was awfully saddened to be diagnosed with leukaemia again, but I stayed positive and was lucky enough to have a good support network around me and to take part in the trial.

“This alternative treatment gave me another chance to fight the disease because the leukaemia cells would have been resistant to traditional chemo treatments from my first battle.

“Obviously, there is still a fair way to go but the recent results have given myself and the family a real boost and we can see that there is light at the end of this dark tunnel.

“I am really looking forward to getting through the transplant and returning to normal life throughout the year and am hopeful that I will be in a rally car back in the ARC for the 2025 season.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone for their support during this tough time and I look forward to my ARC return next year.”

The 2024 Australia Rally Championship begins in Canberra on April 5-7. Thomas Miles

The 2024 Dakar Rally was the last for Australian star Toby Price as a factory KTM rider.

The two time Dakar champion has taken to social media to announce he and the famous Austrian brand have parted ways.

It brings an end to a long and successful collaboration between the pair which started back in 2010.

The undoubted highlights are Price’s famous Dakar glories in 2016 and in 2019 when he rode with a broken wrist.

After being second best in 2023, Price could only manage fifth this year in what was his final Dakar with KTM where he believed he made “too many mistakes.”

With speculation surrounding his

future, Price decided to let the world know on Instagram.

“Everyone has been asking me about what events I’ll be riding in this year, but in some personal news, KTM has decided to not renew my contract so Dakar 2024 was my last event with them,” Price wrote.

“I’m really appreciative of the support they gave me in my career.

We’ve been able to do some great things together like win two Dakars and get a couple podiums, a World Championship and our success in Australia too.”

Despite losing the coveted factory ride, the 36-year-old made it clear he still feels he has a lot more to give.

“I do feel like I’m still in my prime

and going out there fighting for wins, especially at Dakar,” Price continued.

“It’s unfortunate to not have that opportunity to do it in 2025.

“For now my focus is on the 2024 SCORE International Championship with Team Australia and to see what comes next.”

Price could attract interest from rivals Honda and Hero, while he may look to pursue more four-wheel opportunities having won Australia’s Finke Desert Race in both a car and truck.

Price’s bombshell arrives on the eve of the 2024 SCORE International Championship which begins with the 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 in Mexico on March 20-24.

Thomas Miles

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REYNOLDS: MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT AUS GP

AFTER A solid Team 18 debut, David Reynolds heads to Albert Park ready for the new challenges that await.

Whilst the veteran loves the feeling of racing in front of some of the biggest racing crowds in the world, he is not so much of a fan of the unique race formats.

The condensed schedule and lack of pit lane means that, for the first time in a long time, there will not be a single required pit stop for the entire race weekend.

The longest of the four races are 20 lappers on Thursday and Friday, while the weekend races are just 14 laps.

Although no-stop sprints have been a staple of Supercars at the Australian Grand Prix even since it became a championship event in 2018, at least two of the races had a compulsory tyre change, while all four did last year.

It may be the first full race weekend without a compulsory stop since the trip to Calder Park all the way back in August 2001.

Reynolds admitted he is not looking forward to the prospect of racing without any pit strategy with the added onus on maximising the short-sharp qualifying sessions.

“It’s the first time in a long time that we

haven’t had pit stop races for the Grand Prix, which I’m kind of not looking forward to, because it puts a highlight on qualifying which will set up the rest of our races,” he said.

“If you can qualify well, you’ll probably

race well, because the laps are too short to make any difference.

“Whereas before, when we had pit stops, you could sort-of have a different strategy, pit early, pit late, or throw in a bit of weather, now it’s just back to sprint races.

“It goes back to where we all started – in Carrera Cup and Formula Ford.”

However, he is a big fan of the sweeping street circuit and the feeling of racing at a Grand Prix.

In the first points-paying trip to the Australian Grand Prix, Reynolds performed by dominating the fourth and final race of the 2018 round.

“The Grand Prix is a really big event for us with huge exposure on the world stage – being part of a Formula One weekend – which is fantastic for Supercars,” Reynolds said.

“The track’s fun to drive; there’s always big crashes; and with no pit stops and short races there’s a huge emphasis on qualifying. It’s a championship round for us, so the points do matter for us and we need to perform well.

“I love going to the Grand Prix. It’s one of my favourite events of the year.

“I’ve won races there before, been on pole a few times and had a lot of success there.

It’s a very difficult track to get your car in the window, but it feels amazing once you do get in the window and you can do a good lap.”

Supercars will conduct practice, qualifying and race sessions from Thursday on at the Grand Prix. Thomas Miles

VERSTAPPEN AND RED BULL FUTURE IN AUSSIE SPOTLIGHT MAX VERSTAPPEN is on the edge of a special slice of Formula 1 history, but that is not the topic on everyone’s lips ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

If Verstappen secures back-to-back Australian Grand Prix wins, as expected, he will secure a 10th consecutive victory with the faultless run stretching back to Japan last year.

This will match the record the Flying Dutchman already holds of the most successive wins in Grand Prix history (10, achieved at Italy just last year where he overtook Sebastian Vettel’s record).

Despite both Verstappen and Red Bull performing at a level rarely seen before, the future of both team and driver is the big talking point heading to Albert Park.

These discussions would have been unthinkable just a month ago with Verstappen in theory locked in until 2028.

But the ongoing battle for power within Red Bull following the fall-out of the Christian Horner investigation, has turned the team on its head.

Although Horner was cleared by Red Bull GmbH of wrongdoing in a misconduct investigation into the allegations made by a female staff member, the controversy has not gone away.

Ever since the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, there are conflicting views as to how the F1 team should be run.

If Horner ends his rein as team principal – dating back to its first race back in 2005 – mastermind designer Adrian Newey could also go with him.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

However, it is the position of Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko that could have a big impact on Verstappen’s future at the team.

At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the threetime world champion made the intriguing comments that he would likely leave the team he has scored all of his 56 wins at if Marko is let go.

“I think I have been very clear that he always has to stay,” said Verstappen on Marko.

“My loyalty in general is to Red Bull, but also to him – after all, what he has done for me goes very far.

“I’ve always said, especially after Dietrich’s passing, with everyone in the team, that I find it really important that we keep the key team together because that’s how we have performed really well and that’s how we will

perform really well in the future. They know that.

“For me, Helmut is a very key factor in that and he has to stay for me, for sure.

“I’ve always indicated that Helmut has to stay for the future, as long as he’s alive. I can’t continue without him.

“I’ve always been very clear about that, like last year after Qatar, and I hope that doesn’t change.”

The comments have sparked speculation ahead of Australia that there maybe a break clause in Verstappen’s contract that would enable him to leave Red Bull before 2028.

These are a commonplace in contracts, with the most recent notable example being Lewis Hamilton who activated an exit clause in his two-year deal with Mercedes to 2025 to join Ferrari next year instead.

Having lost the seven-time world

champion, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he “would love” to place Verstappen into the vacant seat alongside George Russell.

Despite being “certain” Verstappen would stay at Red Bull at the start of the Jeddah weekend, Horner’s comments slightly changed tone after the race.

“You can never say never. If a driver doesn’t want to be somewhere, then they’ll go somewhere else,” he said.

“But as a team, I can’t see any reason why anybody would want to step out of this team.

“I think he’s got great support around him and he’s doing a wonderful job with a great car.”

Max’s father Jos Verstappen hopes the whole situation will “calm down” in Melbourne.

“It’s part of it, but it’s also necessary to calm down,” he told SPORZA. “It is necessary to regain calm in the team, but given the circumstances it will take some time, I think.

“I can’t say much about it. Hopefully they can concentrate on racing again soon, because that’s what it’s all about.

“The important thing is that he keeps winning, whatever he does. The car is running very well and between the engineers and him there is also nothing wrong.

“Max can switch off a certain part, only he gets a lot of questions about it. He doesn’t like that, but it’s part of Formula 1.”

The matter will certainly be a talking point inside the paddock when the Formula 1 world returns to Albert Park for Media day on Thursday and opening practice on Friday.

Image: DMAC Photography

WALL RACING APPEALS TASMANIA DECISION Motorsport Australia has revealed Wall Racing has officially lodged an intention to appeal the call to not award points from the opening TCR race in Tasmania last weekend.

The second round of the 2024 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia season was one of the most heated in recent memory due to a call that split pit lane on Sunday.

The point of contention surrounded the opening race of the weekend on Saturday, won by Wall Racing’s Tony D’Alberto.

Only 10 of the 30 laps were completed before the chequered flag waved due to an instant red flag stoppage and then a mid-race Safety Car. Full points were initially awarded but a successful Garry Rogers Motorsport

protest saw them stripped due to an insufficient amount of laps being completed.

The call was made on the eve of the third and deciding race of the weekend on Sunday and meant the grid positions for the final 30-lapper were decided by Race 2 and Qualifying alone.

The decision was an extremely controversial one up and down the lane, leading to D’Alberto parking his Wall Racing Honda in a form of protest due to the “unprofessionalism”.

Wall Racing has now taken the matter a step further by lodging an intention to appeal.

Motorsport Australia has conformed the appeal will take place prior to the trip to Phillip Island.

“Motorsport Australia can provide the

following update regarding the judicial process for the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at the recent AWC Race Tasmania event,” read a Motorsport Australia statement.

“After the decision was made to award full points for Race 1, Garry Rogers Motorsport protested this decision after the provisional results for Race 1 were released on Sunday morning.

“That protest was subsequently heard and upheld, with Stewards determining no points would be awarded for the opening race.

“As part of the standard judicial process that is available to all competitors, Wall Racing has since lodged a notice of intention to appeal that decision, with a hearing to be scheduled prior to the next round of the Supercheap Auto TCR

Australia Series at Race Phillip Island should the appeal documentation be provided in the prescribed time.

“Given that the judicial process is continuing, the overall round standings for TCR remains provisional. Motorsport Australia will advise the outcome of any future judicial matters relating to this event.”

Whilst the TCR round and championship standings are currently provisional, there is nothing in it at the top of the table.

Zac Soutar leads by only one point ahead of both Ben Bargwanna and Jordan Cox, who are tied on 186.

Without his Race 1 win, D’Alberto and Wall Racing sit down in 10th.

The next TCR round at Phillip Island is on April 12-14. Thomas Miles

BATES TO MAKE WRC2 DEBUT AUSTRALIAN RALLY Championship star Lewis Bates will be the latest Aussie to take on the world in WRC2.

Bates will make his WRC2 debut at the FIA World Rally Championship Rally Portugal event in May in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

He follows Peter Rullo/Ben Searcy and Taylor Gill/Dan Brkic, who both represented Australia at the recent Rally Sweden.

Bates will be steering the Yaris alongside co-driver Anthony McLoughlin.

Bates is one of the biggest names in Australian rally racing, having won the 2022 ARC title, just falling short last year to brother Harry Bates by 2.1s.

Lewis admitted it has long been a dream to enter a WRC event in the WR2 class and he cannot wait for the challenge: “I can’t wait to get to Portugal,” Bates said.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s always an incredibly tough event, but I’m excited to tackle it and see what we can achieve.

“I’ve been dreaming about this opportunity for a while, so it feels a bit surreal to finally get the chance.

“Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without the help of sponsors like SafetyCulture and I’m incredibly grateful for their support.”

The Rally de Portugal is a gravel based event held inland from Porto on fast and technical roads.

The highlight is the famous Pedra

Sentada jump, which will not feature until the final stage in Fafe and attracts a sea of fans annually.

The Bates car will be supported by SafetyCulture and CEO Luke Anear is thrilled to be a part of the entry: “Lewis is an incredible Aussie talent, so we’re really proud to be backing

him,” he said.

“He’s a team player and one of the hardest workers in rallying, which aligns nicely with what we’re all about as a company.”

The 2024 Rally de Portugal will be held on May 9-12 as round 5 of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship.

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SOCIAL DISCOURSE AS WE HEAD TO ALBERT PARK, OUR READERS HAVE WIDE-RANGING THOUGHTS ON A RANGE OF CIURRENT TOPICS! The one ‘down’ side to the AGP is likely to be the planned banning of fans coming onto the track to celebrate at the podium ceremony.

Guess we’ll see how that goes ....

SICK OF THE SOUND OF PARITY

Happy new Supercars season.

It seems like parity is already on this year’s agenda.

I’m in my mid-60s and have followed the V8s since the late 1970s. Back then it was Holdens v Fords. Allan Moffat probably ran a 351 Cleveland motor. Peter Brock probably had a 308 under the bonnet. From memory, and I could be wrong, parity wasn’t talked about.

So for the 308 A9X to compete and actually beat the larger 351 they had to develop and engineer the vehicle to do so. Then Dick Johnson ran 351 Clevelands against 308 Commodores.

Once again, from memory, no mention of parity – drivers just drove as hard as they could at all race days.

Back then when an opposition team had an advantage over other teams it was heads down to find more out of their race car.

Skip a few years to make my point.

While Jamie Whincup won his championships there was little or no mention of parity.Penske joins Dick Johnson and developed a Ford which could not only compete but actually beat the opposition.

Scott McLaughli n and Penske were able to compete with Whincup and Triple 8.

It was then that Triple 8 started talking parity because they had some real competition now.

Adjustments were made to the Ford and other changes were made to Triple 8 race cars to even things up.

McLaughlin managed to win his championships under a lot of scrutiny With Gen3, Betty’s Erebus developed a winning team and champion driver. Such a great outcome.

Throughout last year there was so much talk about parity from Mustang teams to even up the racing because the Camaro was dominating and, as a supporter, the racing was just Chev against Chev every race.

By the end of the year, through parity, it was driver against driver

24 I www.autoaction.com.au

and the podiums showed the improvement.

Now Triple 8 have won the first two races, lead the teams’ championship, lead the drivers’ championship and have number ‘1’ pit lane back, Jamie Whincup wants parity talk to stop.

The point is Triple 8 started parity talks when the Ford was dominating with Scott McLaughlin behind the wheel. McLaughlin and Penske moved away. Triple 8 got what they wanted, Shane Van Gisbergen won his championships.

Note to Jamie: It’s not all about you.

P.S. Hope Brodie Kostecki is back soon. The sport needs him racing.

Nomadic Phil Loxton, South Australia

FUN POLICE STRIKE AT ALBERT PARK

My daughter and her kids have been going to the grand prix in Melbourne at dad/grandpa’s vast expense for quite a few years.

One of the things they’ve always loved about the GP has been getting out on the pit straight with tens of thousands of other fans to see the podium presentations.

They say the atmosphere is fantastic.

But this year, after securing ticktets for them early and booking accommodation, I read that fans entering the track after next Sunday’s Formula 1 race will face fines of $17,307. Pity we didn’t know about this before buying tickets.

I only watch the race on TV these days and know there was a bit of a problem last year with people getting on to the track early amid some confusion, but this ban surely is a massive over-reaction.

The scene on the pit straight after the GP is one of the things that sets the event apart from others like the footy grand finals, the tennis Open and even the Melbourne Cup (although there’s no shortage of hoopla off-track at Flemington).

Even if this is something imposed by the international authorities, it is a big setback for the GP – and damn rude that we weren’t told about it earlier.

Gavin Ward, Newtown, Tasmania

WEBSTER’S WARBLE OUR INVETERATE correspondent wants a long-distance double-up.

LET’S GO TWICE AROUND THE CLOCK

The Bathurst 12-Hour intercontinental endurance race that is held in February has become one of the world’s most important International enduros, on a par with the Spa and Nurburgring 24-hour events in Europe.

Why not have a second major international intercontinental enduro in Australia that could be held a week or two before the Bathurst 12-Hour - The Bend 24-Hour on The Bend Motorsport Park’s 7.7km GT circuit in South Australia.

It could have the same teams taking part as at Bathurst in the 12-Hour.

A nation like Australia should have an annual international 24-Hour race and an intercontinental GT event at The Bend would be ideal during the summer.

As The Bend is a lot closer to Adelaide than Bathurst is to Sydney, The Bend 24-Hour could attract larger crowds than Mt Panorama.

If there was a 24-hour race at The Bend as well as the 12-hour at Bathurst each Feburary it would make the trip to Australia a lot more worthwhile for European teams and more would want to take part.

The NSW government uses the Bathurst 12-Hour to promote Sydney and NSW internationally. The Bend 24-Hour could be used by the SA government to promote Adelaide and SA internationally as well.

The Bend has the infrastructure to cater for a major International 24-hour race and the fans could stay at the track for the whole time the race is on.

Malcolm Webster Boronia, Victoria

THINNING GRIDS – IT’S OBVIOUS WHY Michael Frost So who thinks it’s a good idea to have SuperSeries in Tassie, Vic State racing at Winton, Adelaide Motorsport Festival, and – of course – racing at Calder including the (what?) Australian Drivers Championship, all on the same weekend. Who plans this stuff ?

THE CRUSHING OF S5000 Craig Winters Chris Lambden, after having similar dealings with MA I have no doubt about the difficulties you encountered.

Feel for you mate Tony Lewis OMG what an absolute joke.

MA (aka) CAMS have done nothing but denigrate the true meaning of the ADC (Gold Star). They have once again proved their ineptitude and total lack of understanding and appreciation of Australian motorsport history.

ADELAIDE FESTIVAL – OR GOODWOOD? Matthew Willoughby Had such an amazing day at this event today, well done.

Peter Ridge Next week he (Valtteri Bottas) will be in Melbourne saying “last weekend I drove a real F1 car through the Senna Chicane”.

MASSA SUING THE FIA Greg Workman Massa should sue himself for spinning 257 times in the wet at Silverstone.

BILL FORSYTH PASSES Liz Swanton A gentle man and a gentleman. A pleasure to know and a privilege to work with. Fly free, Billy.

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THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

I KNOW there’s no lack of events that claim to be The Greatest Show on Earth but I think Formula 1, in general, and the Australian Grand Prix, in particular, have a strong case if they want to make such a claim.

Sticking strictly to motor racing, the Indy 500, Daytona 500, Le Mans 24 Hours, Bathurst 1000 and the Isle of Man TT have all good points to make when it comes to claiming that title, but Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor racing (currently the field is even tighter than in MotoGP – we’ve had 0.7s covering the whole field in qualifying more than once last year) and Melbourne puts on a great show.

The Australian Grand Prix is the only one when track action lasts for four full days – you can hardly get a break between sessions from different categories, and now that Formula 2 and Formula 3 are an integral part of the program,

with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER you have not only the 20 Grand Prix drivers in action, but also another 52 youngsters that are all trying to get into Grand Prix racing.

And once some of them make it to the top – you can always claim you saw them in action even before they got to Formula 1.

Yes, Max Verstappen has arrived in Melbourne as the very hot favorite to win this weekend’s Grand Prix. Sérgio Pérez may even be able to back him up and finish second, but the gaps are so small that the smallest of mistakes can cost even the three times World Champion quite dearly. And with the internal political situation at

Red Bull far from calming down, the possibility some key elements may be slightly distracted is real and could open the doors for Ferrari to get an early win this year, especially if Carlos Sainz is back in his seat and can help Charles Leclerc – as having two drivers close to the front of the field is always beneficial for a team.

Local boy Oscar Piastri arrives in Melbourne in a much better position than this time last year.

For one, McLaren is way more competitive now than at the start of last season; getting into Q3 is not a pipe dream any more and anything below the third row of

the grid for the start feels a bit disappointing.

Piastri was starting just his third Grand Prix this time last year; now he’s into his second season, has stood multiple times on a Grand Prix podium, got pole position for last year’s Qatar Grand Prix’s sprint race and then completed the job by winning it.

So, he’s getting close to being the complete package and already is the equal to the far more experienced Lando Norris.

Then we have Daniel Ricciardo, back in action in Melbourne after being just an interested spectator last year, when he was on reserve driver duty for Red Bull and AlphaTauri. His comeback season hasn’t got off to a rocketing start, but we’ve all seen what Ricciardo is capable of – just look at his speed in last year’s Mexican Grand Prix and you understand the raw talent and the hunger to win are still there – and there’s

good reason to believe that once he gets on top of the new car, he’ll be up there with Yuki Tsunoda fighting for a place in Q3, then points on Sunday.

And you also have two promising young drivers to support in Formula 3. Christian Mansell arrives on home soil fresh from finishing second in Bahrain’s Feature race, third in the championship, just seven points away from the leader, while Tommy Smith had a more challenging start of the season and will be looking to make amends this coming weekend.

Add to that the Supercars and the Porsche Cup; the demonstrations father and son Doohan are going to do; the always tremendous atmosphere that the Albert Park provides; and you can strap on for an exciting weekend in what is the most complete Grand Prix program Formula 1 enjoys for the whole year.

From Rookie to contender in 12 months – Oscar will be one of the prime focuses for race fans.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

PRESSURE ON RICCIARDO TO DELIVER DANIEL RICCIARDO’S bid to return to Red Bull Racing next year, replacing Sérgio Pérez alongside Max Verstappen, clearly hasn’t got off to the start the Australian was hoping for.

Marginally outquaified by Yuki Tsunoda in Bahrain, Ricciardo only finished the race ahead of the Japanese driver thanks to a controversial team order, but in Saudi Arabia the gap between the two Racing Bulls drivers was considerable, both in qualifying and the race.

On Friday night, Tsunoda made it into Q3 with an impressive P8 in Q2, beating Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton, both with way more competitive cars than the Japanese, while Ricciardo only improved 0.04s on his Q1 time and was last of the 14 runners, as Hulkenberg’s session ended with a mechanical failure before the German set a lap time.

On Saturday things didn’t get better for Ricciardo, who ran towards the back of the field and dropped to last after pitting during the Safety Car period and losing 40s in the pits. He only got past Bottas, who was struggling with very low tyre temperatures, but was unable to keep up with the big group behind Magnussen, compounding his bad weekend with a spin in Turn 1 at the start of the penultimate lap.

A clearly puzzled Ricciardo admitted at the end of the race that, “I just want to put this weekend behind me as quickly as possible and focus on moving forward to go to Melbourne and kick some ass.” Explaining the unseen on TV long pit stop that didn’t help him at all, the Australian didn’t hide the fact that, “they were some painful three days, but I don’t want it to take any confidence out of us. It

hasn’t been the start that we wanted, but it’s race two and Melbourne’s next.”

Trying to explain what had gone wrong, Ricciardo pointed out he couldn’t improve his lap times in qualifying when the track was ramping up and hinted there were mechanical issues on his chassis: “I could feel that that was the limit of the car. We did find some things afterwards.

But then you got Parc Fermé. But even we didn’t have Parc Fermé – it’s probably nothing we can fix in 24 hours. I’m sure there are a few things that will go back to the factory and we’ll come back with a fresh car in Melbourne.”

Red Bull’s junior team is being handled like a pressure cooker by Helmut Marko.

Ricciardo knows he has to start delivering soon because the veteran Austrian was never known for his patience and has

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

young and promising Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.

In his column on Red Bull-owned website Speedweek, Marko made it clear that, “there’s a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel”, and after praising the Japanese because his “qualifying was very good”, Marko added that, “Ricciardo has to come up with something soon.”

The immediate future of the Australian could be the new battle ground for Horner and Marko, as it was the Red Bull Team Principal who insisted on putting Ricciardo back in the Junior team when Marko wanted to promote Lawson mid-way through last year – so on top of needing to deliver on track, the man from Perth may also find himself a simple pawn in a bigger struggle for power inside the Red Bull motorsports group.

FERRARI POUNCES ON RED BULL’S TROUBLES FRÉDÉRIC VASSEUR seems determined to leave no stone unturned in his bid to take Ferrari back to the world title and has been scouting the Scuderia’s main rivals to try and hire away from them some of the best talent around.

As has been widely reported, Vasseur has already secured the future services of Pierre Wache, who will start working at Maranello some 18 months from now as the team’s new Chief Technical Officer, taking the Frenchman away from Red Bull.

As for Mercedes, it’s not a secret that Head of Aerodynamics Loic Serra will move to Ferrari before the end of this season, but Vasseur has no intenton of stopping his hiring spree there.

According to the authoritive Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, another four top engineers have already started negotiations to join Ferrari as soon as their notice and gardening leave periods end, all coming from Red Bull to Maranello in the next year and a half.

The name at the top of the list is Italian Enrico Balbo, a man with 18 years experience in Formula 1 and with a very quick rise to the

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Pierre Wache – headed to Maranello – with current boss Helmut Marko.

top. Balbo started his racing career at Williams, back in 2006, moving to Mercedes eight years later. After three years with the German team, the Italian signed with Red Bull as Principal Aerodynamicist and, two promotions later, became Head of Aerodynamics three years later.

According to that report, Balbo will be taking his close colaborator Ben Waterhouse with him, as the duo has been working very well

together, the British engineer being Head of Performance Engineering. Waterhouse started his career at Jaguar at the end of 2003, one year begore the team was bought by Red Bull, spent two years at BMW Sauber between 2008 and 2010, remaining with the Swiss team once BMW pulled out, until the summer of 2014.

He then had a three years stint at Toro Rosso as Deputy Technical Director, and has been

with Red Bull for the last seven years.

David Morgan, currently Aero Trackside Performance Team Leader at Red Bull is also negotiating a contract with Ferrari, the Englishman coming with 14 years of experience in Williams and his current team.

Finally, young Alessandro Germiani, currently Aerodynamics Development Team Leader at Red Bull, is also on the verge of joining the Scuderia, having spent his entire racing career in Milton Keynes.

Ferrari has also been clinically contacting young talent from other teams. While the majority of the other teams tends to advertise the vaccancies online, the Scuderia has hired a couple of specialised head hunter agencies that do the ground work and conduct the first couple of interviews with the technicians they identify as candidates for Ferrari.

Those who pass this initial process get invited to spend one day at Maranello, where the final interview is conducted by the manager responsible for the department they’re about to join, with a tour around the facilities being the way to let them know they’ve been hired!

ECCLESTONE SAYS “MASSA IS DOING THE RIGHT THING”...

BERNIE ECCLESTONE seems unconcerned by the fact he’s been targeted, together with the FIA and Formula 1, in the case former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has announced he’s starting in a British court, the Brazilian demanding the reversal of the results of the 2008 Formula One World Championship and a undisclosed compensation for his losses, believed to be closer to US$100 million.

Reached for comment just hours after Massa’s lawyers issued the statement in which they announced that “Mr. Massa is seeking declarations that the FIA breached its regulations by failing to promptly investigate Nelson Piquet Junior’s crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix and that, had it acted properly, Mr. Massa would have won the Drivers’ Championship that year.”

Having had quite a few brushes with the British legal system in recent years, including being found guilty of tax evasion and forced to pay a whooping 650 million British pounds, Ecclestone was surprisingly calm in the face of another possible lawsuit.

The man who ran Formula One for almost 40 years, talking about Massa’s decision, said that, “if he had asked me,” Ecclestone told

Press Association. “I would have said it was the complete right thing to do, to sue, and to let an English judge decide what is right and wrong.”

That, however, doesn’t mean Bernie Ecclestone believes the former driver will succeed in his lawsuit, as he quickly added that, “I cannot say anything about the outcome and what will happen.”

Nevertheless, the 93-years old manager reiterated that, “from Massa’s point of view, it is better that an English judge comes up with a verdict. It will be of more help for him.”

Ecclestone, like everyone else in Formula 1, seriously doubts Massa will win this legal case as his and the FIA’s hands were tied until Nelson Piquet Jnr agreed to come clean about what really happened in Singapore 2008, the Brazilian driver only making his move after being sacked midway through the 2009 season, replaced by Romain Grosjean.

All the FIA had was a private conversation between Nelson Piquet Snr and then Race Director Charlie Whitting, in which the two friends talked openly about what had happened, but with the three-times World Champion refusing to make a formal

Singapore 2008. Piquet Jnr deliberately crashes the Team Renault car, bringing out the Safety Car that helped his team leader, Fernando Alonso to win ... statement, as that would hurt his son’s career.

And, even if the FIA had opened its own investigation into the matter, with little chance of success without Piquet Jr.’s cooperation, the most likely outcome would have been the disqualification of the Renault team from the Singapore Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso

losing his win and everyone else, including Massa’s title rival Lewis Hamilton, moving one position up the order – while the Brazilian wouldn’t benefit from the ruling as he retired after a botched pit stop during the Safety Car period that ensued after Piquet crashed on purpose.

… BUT THERE’S LITTLE SUPPORT ELSEWHERE Bernie and Felipe – not a lot of support on this one ...

FELIPE MASSA’S decision to go ahead and sue the FIA, Formula 1 and Bernie Ecclestone for 64 million pounds was received with clear scepticism throughout the Formula 1 community, with almost no-one showing any support for his action and even fewer believing the Brazilian has any realistic chance of getting a rulling in his favor.

One surprising revelation from the court papers served by Felipe Massa’s lawyers is that he’s no longer looking to have the results of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix cancelled and, therefore, the final outcome of that

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season’s Formula 1 World Championship reversed, but he’s simply demanding compensation for his direct financial losses, the loss of future income that would come with the status of being a World Champion and also moral compensation for not winning the title.

Given the former Sauber, Ferrari and Williams driver insisted from the start of his claim that money was not the motivation for him and that all he wanted was, “to get what should be the right result restored”, it’s a bit strange he’s now gone ahead with a lawsuit in which all he demands is a lot of money and also some sort of

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acknowledgement from the FIA and Formula 1 that he was wrongly deprived of a World Champion title.

His claim was met with derision from former drivers, 1997 runner-up Heinz-Harald Frentzen tweeting, “I hope he wins the case. So I get a chance as well. I think Jacques in 1997 was running illegal fuel. I am looking for a lawyer as well”, before making it clear he was, of course, joking.

And in reply to the man who he replaced at Williams for 1997, World Champion Damil Hill also tweeted, “Mate, if anyone tries to take Dad’s 1966 Indy away ... I’ll sue them!”, in a reference to Graham Hill’s controversial Indy 500’s win, when many believe the lap recorders failed to count one lap for Jimmy Clark, who was thought to be the rightful winner of that race.

Even Massa’s close friend and longtime race engineer Rob Smedley admitted he didn’t really agree with the course of action the Brazilian has taken.

The former Formula 1 man explained that, “he’s one of my best mates and if he wants to pursue this whole thing, then everybody should be free to do what they want to do”, but quickly added that, “I’m somebody who never looks back. I don’t care about what happened yesterday, I’m interested in what’s happening today, tomorrow, and how I can affect that. Felipe has been pretty clear that why he wants to do this, he wants to do it for justice as he says and he has the right to be able to pursue that. Good on him if that’s what he wants to do.”

And to make his case clear, Smedley concluded that, “my view on it is it would have been great to have won the 2008 World Championship in 2008. We didn’t, Lewis won it, and the guy with the most points at the end of the season is the guy who deserves to win it, however those points are accrued, I think. That’s racing.”

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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

HOPES THAT FERRARI, MERCEDES AND MAYBE EVEN McLAREN WOULD CATCH UP WITH RED BULL THIS YEAR, ON THE THIRD SEASON OF THE CURRENT SET OF TECHNICAL REGULATIONS, HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY HIT BY THE WAY MAX VERSTAPPEN AND THE AUSTRIAN TEAM DOMINATED PROCEDINGS IN BAHRAIN AND, WITH EVEN BIGGER AUTHORITY, IN SAUDI ARABIA. AUTO ACTION'S FORMULA 1 MAN LUIS VASCONCELOS REPORTS ...

WHILE IN Bahrain there was the distinct possibility Charles Leclerc would snatch pole position from the Dutchman, before the final set of tyres frustrated his chances, one week later, at the faster Jeddah track, the 0.3s gap between the two was a true reflection of the balance of forces at the front of the field.

The maximum Leclerc has been able to do, so far this season, is to split the two Red Bulls in qualifying, but even the feisty Monegasque has no answer for the RB20’s race pace, which is why Sérgio Pérez finished second in both the Middle Eastern races and arrives in Melbourne eight points ahead of the Ferrari driver.

But it’s also true that Ferrari’s night races were both compromised by unusual circumstances – meaning we are yet to see the full potential of the 2024 Scuderia on race day. In Bahrain there was an issue with the right-front brake disc of Leclerc’s car, right from the start of the race, so he dropped behind Pérez, Russell and Sainz before making a small recovery to beat the British driver for P4. That issue left Sainz alone in the battle against Pérez, the Spaniard ending up running out of laps to catch his rival, as the

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tyre advantage was swinging Sainz’s way.

And it was Sainz’s forced withdrewal from Jeddah that hampered the Scuderia’s efforts on race day. For all the great performance rookie Oliver Bearman displayed, it’s obvious Ferrari would have been stronger in Saudi Arabia if the Spanish driver was in his car, given his level of experience and the good form he showed one week before.

With Sainz starting from the second row of the grid, Pérez would have been alone against the two red cars, the Scuderia could have made a gamble with the start tyre choice or during the Safety Car period, and that could have made all the difference.

Having said that, two other facts must be stated: one, even if Ferrari had been firing on all cylinders, Leclerc and Sainz had no chance to seriously fight with Verstappen in the first two races of the season; two, it’s highly unlikely the Dutchman has even shown his full hand, as he hasn’t had the need to push to the limit and may have a handful of tenths under his right foot to use only when needed. Only on his first lap on new tyres in Bahrain, after the pit stop, did we get a glimpse of what the RB20 can do

in Verstappen’s hands, as he was 1.4s quicker than anyone managed during the night race and that was a ominous sign ...

In fact, there are quite a few senior citizens within the Formula 1 community that believe the only way the Dutchman and Red Bull can be stopped is if the current internal war for ultimate power between Christian Horner and the Austrian side of the operations leads to an astonishing implosion at management level – with maybe an eventual departure by Horner, Newey or even Marko destabilising the whole team!

ALL HOPES ON FERRARI

NEVERTHELSS IT’S clear Ferrari has made a good step forward

compared to this time last year and has left Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin behind, pulling away from the group where it was battling until the end of 2023.

In fact, the Scuderia is the closests thing Red Bull has to a direct rival and there’s a quiet confidence at Maranello that it’s just a matter of time before Leclerc and Sainz can start putting real pressure on Verstappen.

That may well happen, as the technical structure Frédéric Vasseur has put in place in the last 14 months is getting into its stride and, judging by the big progress made during the 2023 season, the team seems to know how to develop a car and cut the gap to Red Bull – the RB20 is, hopefully for the competition, closer to its limit than the SF-24.

Even if the gap for Red Bull is still significant, particularly in race pace, there’s no doubt Ferrari has made big strides also in the way the races are prepared, the strategies and pit stops are executed, as Vasseur is leaving no stone unturned and has been pushing for serious progress in all areas that can affect performance.

AUSTRALIAN F1 GRAND PRIX PREVIEW has grown to over half a second per lap in qualifying. The veteran’s Q3 efforts have been spectacular but in the races his car doesn’t seem to be able to keep that same level of performance, so the pace drops a bit. That was very obvious in Bahrain, where Alonso finished only ninth, but less so in Jeddah – a track where the team also did very well last year – as the veteran was able to hold on to P5 in spite of Russell’s pressure.

A CLEAR DIVIDE

To date, Charles Leclerc looks like the man to challenge Max ... Below: So far, Lewis has seemed a bit 'off the boil' ... Below left: Is it just a race to see who joins the RB duo on the podium?

Bottom left: Haas has surprised – The Hulk in the points at Jeddah.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

WITH ALPINE dramatically dropping down the order, leaving 2023 clearly with the sixth quickest car but now lagging at the back of the field as the A524’s initial version had to be rushed, due to a serious issue with the original project, the gap between the top five teams and the rest has grown so much, there’s a clear divide between the two halves of the grid.

In fact, it’s only because Stroll is not performing at a reasonable level that the best of the rest has any hopes of scoring points.

In this battle for survival, Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg have emerged as the most consistent performers, with Alex Albon close behind, but the gaps are so small that you can be 11th one day and 19th the next, depending on how closerto maximising the performance of your car you got.

Back for his first full Formula 1 season since 2022, Daniel Ricciardo has struggled quite a bit more than expected, as Tsunoda has outqualifed him twice and deserved to be in the points in Jeddah, where Magnussen’s antics worked against him.

CAN WE GET A SURPRISE?

MERCEDES AND COSTUMERS WITH WORK TO DO

I HAVE to confess I was expecting Mercedes to start this 2024 season in a much more competitive way, battling it out with Ferrari and taking the fight to, at least, Sérgio Pérez.

For now my faith on James Allison’s ability to turn things around quickly may have been a bit misplaced. While the W15 was the thirdquickest car in Bahrain, it was slower than McLaren and the best driver Aston Martin in Saudi Arabia, so there’s serious work to be done back at Brackley, to move George Russell and a surprisingly subdued Lewis Hamilton towards the front of the field.

McLaren arrives in Melbourne sitting third in the Constructors’ Championship but the true pace of the MCL38 has been difficult

to read. In Bahrain both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris owned up to making costly mistakes in Q3 and then didn’t really have the race pace to move forward on Saturday night. Things were a bit more encouraging one week later in Jeddah, but the qualifying pace wasn’t really there and, in the race, the lack of straightline speed cost a lot of time for Piastri (stuck behind Hamilton for half the race) and never allowed Norris to get even within DRS reach of Bearman in the final five laps.

As for Aston Martin, even more than last year, it’s the only one-car team in the field ... While Fernando Alonso is extracting absolutely everything from the AMR24, qualifying sixth and fouth in the first two races, Lance Stroll’s deficit for the Spaniard

WITH THE Formula 1 community already in town, what can the Australian fans expect from next weekend’s Grand Prix? On paper, it’s hard to see anyone challenging Verstappen and Red Bull around the Albert Park track but, as they say, races are run on tarmac, not on paper, so there’s always the chance of the dominating team getting things slightly wrong – like in Singapore six months ago, and Ferrari, for example, getting it spot on.

With Carlos Sainz likely to be back in his car, this could be the first real match between the two fastest cars of the year, and Melbourne being a track that doesn’t forgive the slightest mistake, we could get an interesting Sunday afternoon battle, especially if Mercedes, McLaren and Fernando Alonso also get close to the battle at the front.

Here’s hoping!

The race is, again, a sell-out and massive Melbourne occasion – and fans will be hoping to see a certain 'papaya' McLaren up near the sharp end ...

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OUR LOCAL HEROES TWO AUSSIES – BOTH AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CAREERS, AND THUS WITH DIFFERENT AGENDAS – WILL LINE UP AT ALBERT PARK THIS WEEKEND ...

Oscar comes home with a couple of decent results already under his belt, looking for more with the #81 McLaren and (middle right) will be in demand at the spectator sites! Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES WHILE OSCAR Piastri heads to his home town aiming to grow an already, just-outof-rookie-status career, Daniel Ricciardo is literally fighting for his career. Auto Action’s REESE MAUTONE looks at r'acing at home' for them both.

DANIEL RICCIARDO – PRESSURE ...

IT’D BE tough to find another driver more in need of an at-home reset than Daniel Ricciardo … even if we are just two races into the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Albert Park has always offered an outpouring of support for our universally loved Honey Badger, and maybe that’s just what the #3 needs to ignite his first season back as a full-time driver since being dropped

by McLaren in 2022.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Ricciardo, with the RB driver starting 2024 on the back foot after a few not-so-welcomed hiccups in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Although it is still early days, Ricciardo finds himself sitting in P16 of the Drivers’ Championship, as a result of his P13 and P18 finishes over the first two rounds.

The Perth-born racer’s season-opener was plagued by post-chequered flag controversy.

After being told to switch positions in the final stint of the Bahrain Grand Prix,

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The RB-Honda hasn't come out of the box that well and Daniel's primary battle is one of survival, needing to beat Tsunoda in the mid-field battle. The new McLaren (opposite) is a podium contender.

Daniel Ricciardo inherited P13 from his very unsatisfied teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

Even though Ricciardo, who had put on Soft tyres to uncover any extra pace in his VCARB 01, was unable to catch Kevin Magnussen, he crossed the line ahead of the #22.

The two RB teammates nearly collided on the cool-down lap as a result of the messy team orders, with Tsunoda absolutely fuming – seemingly turning in on the Australian.

Despite the cutting words exchanged, by Saudi Arabia, the pairing had supposedly sorted their issues out and were as good as new.

“We talked personally, privately, doors closed, openly, transparently, so it was the right thing to do and we left on Saturday

night feeling it’s done” Ricciardo said on Media Day in Saudi Arabia.

“I said a few things [over the radio] but I also had to stop myself, because I know everything gets broadcast and I knew it was something we would discuss once the helmet’s off and maybe the heart rate's come down a little.

“No one’s going to benefit from us having a rivalry or tension or anything like this from race one of a long season, especially when the team has new personnel, everyone’s trying to pick each other up and kind of build themselves in confidence.

“We need to help them do that as well.”

Although coming into the Jeddah weekend with a positive mindset, it didn’t

follow through into his qualifying or race performance.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was high up on the list of races to forget for Ricciardo who is in his 14th year in Formula 1.

In qualifying, the Honey Badger sits zero for two in the head-to-head fight with his teammate after qualifying in P14.

During the race, an extremely slow stop under the Safety Car cost Riccardo around 30 seconds of critical time, with the team having “a problem with the tyres” as he arrived.

From there it went from bad to worse, with Daniel joining the snake of cars in last place.

“It was tricky. Just a tough one. One of those ones you just hope that it’s over,” Ricciardo said after crossing the line in P16 in Jeddah.

“Just knowing that we don’t quite have underneath us what we should – that’s where you feel a little bit helpless.”

Ricciardo was able to pass Valtteri Bottas on Lap 24, and later inherited a position from Zhou Guanyu who also had a slow pitstop, but aside from that showed no positive signs.

On the final lap, Ricciardo had an “odd” self-inflicted spin at Turn 1, misjudging the amount of kerb he was taking.

The Australian avoided any major damage, instead getting back on track to cross

AUSTRALIAN F1 GRAND PRIX PREVIEW sole-running Red Bull in that race after his teammate was unable to start.

Ricciardo finished a lap down in 2015 despite crossing the line in P6, a muchwelcomed haul of points after being disqualified from second place due to illegal fuel flow issue in 2014.

In his final year with Toro Rosso, in 2013, Ricciardo retired during the race due to a broken exhaust.

Ricciardo’s first-ever Australian Grand Prix in 2012 was a positive one – however, with the then 22-year-old scoring points on his Australian debut, after finishing in P9.

Come Sunday, Ricciardo will be hoping to replicate his 2012 results, with any place within the points a more-than-welcomed sight for RB. “I’ll obviously put [the Saudi Arabian GP] weekend behind, I think ... just push the team hard.

“I know they want it as bad as I do.

“So, [we will] make sure that we have a good package into Melbourne and then, let’s say, my season will start there and kick some ass.”

It's an early season crunch-time race for Perth's popular star, with an on-off relationship with teammate Tsunoda (bottom) .

the finish line 13.8 seconds behind Logan Sargeant.

“In Bahrain, I knew that it was more me – like, in qualifying, I knew I left some time on the table; I left a couple of tenths.

“But [in Saudi Arabia] … and when it kindof plateaus and the others keep improving, it’s also a bit of a sign.

“We did find some things [after qualifying], but then you got Parc Fermé and, to be honest, even if we didn’t have Parc Fermé, it’s probably nothing we can fix in 24 hours.

“I’m sure a few things would go back to the factory and we'll come back with a fresh car in Melbourne.”

Melbourne will, hopefully, be a reprieve for Ricciardo, with the West Australian looking to score his first points of the season on home soil.

Despite not having raced around Albert Park since 2022, Ricciardo has a mixed track record in front of his home crowd.

Ricciardo finished sixth on his last Australian outing with McLaren, one place behind his then team-mate Lando Norris.

In 2021 and 2020, the whole grid remained absent from the Albert Park Circuit after COVID-19 restrictions forced the sport into a revised European-based calendar, which left Ricciardo’s previous memories of his home

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race being not-so-positive.

2019 was Ricciardo’s first season with Renault, with the Australian Grand Prix also being his first race with the French team – making his misjudgement on the run down to Turn 1 even more painful.

In his final season with Red Bull, in 2018, Ricciardo was so close to that elusive home podium, crossing the line in P4, just seven-tenths behind Kimi Räikkönen.

That made up for his performance the year before, in which Ricciardo experienced his second DNF in Australia.

In 2016, Ricciardo had finished just 14 seconds shy of the podium, being the

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OSCAR PIASTRI – DELIVERING

STARTING THE season in a much more positive place this year, McLaren are fuelling their Australian fans’ hopes and dreams of a podium at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri has started his 2024 campaign on a much stronger note when compared to his F1 debut just 12 months ago.

As he is no longer a rookie, Piastri has heightened expectations for himself and his team, who anticipate more of their MCL38 this season.

The #81 seems to be living up to those expectations after producing two solid performances in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia, on par and surpassing the results of his more experienced teammate.

Piastri qualified just under seven-

hundredths of a second behind Lando Norris, seeing the pairing lining up on P7 and P8 for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old finished where he started, collecting four points as the chequered flag was waved.

“It was nice to get back out there, just be racing,” Piastri said after the season-opener.

“I personally felt like it was a good race for myself, and I think the race pace we had seemed ok.

“A few things to improve, but not a bad first race for us, especially when you look at where we were this time last year.”

Heading into Saudi Arabia, Piastri was “optimistic”, and rightfully so.

It was a stellar effort from the young Australian who out-qualified his teammate, levelling the head-to-head score as they move on to Melbourne.

Piastri’s Saturday night race was a tentative one, with the McLaren driver held up by Lewis Hamilton for much of the 50-lap race.

After starting from P5, Oscar pitted during the Safety Car, rejoining behind the tiresome obstacle of Hamilton – going as far as he could on Mediums.

During their first interaction, the duo made contact into Turn 1, with carbon fibre spraying from the MCL38.

Following that, Piastri actually passed Hamilton off the track (wide at the esses), forcing him to give the position back.

Piastri was close, but not close enough even with the aid of DRS down the main straight, seeing the battle come to an anticlimatic end when the Mercedes driver finally peeled into the pits for his first stop of the race.

“Just didn’t quite have enough straight-line speed to do anything. I think the last corner as well is not one of our strongest, so you put both of those together and you end up stuck behind Lewis [Hamilton] for a long time!"

Piastri said.

“I think we have different strengths and weaknesses [to Mercedes], for sure.

“Lewis showed that if we qualify behind them, there was always a good chance we were going to be stuck behind them for the whole night.

“It’s very, very tight between us. And we need to do some work to try and jump them and catch the two teams ahead.”

Heading into Melbourne, Piastri says “there’s a bit of a mix [of expectations]”, with McLaren seemingly on par with Mercedes.

Despite the chaos that was last year’s Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne came as a relief to the thenrookie.

The #81 was knocked out in Q1, qualifying in a lacklustre P16 for his home race.

But in an impressive effort, Piastri scored his first-ever points in F1 on home soil, capitalising on the record number of Red Flag incidents to end in P8, adding four points to McLaren’s slim total at the time.

“If you could pick one race of the year to have a good one, it’s your home race,” the home hero said.

“We’ll try our best. But I think if we can finish around where we did [in Saudi Arabia], that would be the most we can do.

“My home race is going to be exciting so looking forward to going back!”

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A number of drivers will be fighting for supremacy in the new-generation Formula 2 cars in Australia.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

CHASING THE DREAM FOR THE second time, the FIA Formula 2 World Championship is coming to Albert Park where some fresh and familiar faces hope to make an impression down under.

Although home hero Jack Doohan has not returned to the F2 grid, there are still plenty of exciting talents to watch out for on the path to Formula 1.

Leading the championship is Barbados talent Zane Maloney, who enjoyed a dream start in Bahrain.

Maloney was untouchable at the Sakhir season opener, winning both the Sprint and Feature races.

The Rodin Motorsport driver’s success was made possible by some impressively

aggressive driving in the early stages where he rapidly rose from eighth and third on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Although he could only manage P4 and P7 in Saudi Arabia, Maloney enjoys a 15-point championship lead over Enzo Fittipaldi.

The grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson is in his third full F2 season and bounced back from a disastrous point-less start in Bahrain with a Feature Race win and podium at Jeddah.

The other driver to find form on the highspeed layout was Dane Dennis Hauger, who repeated Fittipaldi’s results but with a Sprint success.

The likes of Paul Aron, Kush Maini, Pepe Marti and Jak Crawford will also be ones to watch having all appeared on the podium already in 2024.

But most of the attention will centre on Oliver Bearman, fresh from a famous Formula 1 debut subbing for Carlos Sainz.

Despite being thrown a last minute Formula 1 Grand Prix debut for the famous Ferrari team, Bearman showed no nerves, holding off the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton to rise from 11th to seventh and score points on debut.

The F2 cars themselves will look radically different to last year with the new generation Dallara chassis being

rolled out for 2024. The car has ground effect upgrades and features redesigned front wing, floor, sidepods and rear wing to closely resemble F1.

F2 first hits the track on Friday before the Sprint on Saturday and Feature on Sunday.

Thomas Miles FIA FORMULA 2 SCHEDULE FRIDAY, MARCH 22 Practice: 10.00-10.45 Qualifying: 17.30-18.00 SATURDAY, MARCH 23 Sprint Race: 14.15-15.05 SUNDAY, MARCH 24 Feature Race: 11.35-12.35

OPEN FIELD FOR F3 FORMULA 3 is back on Australian soil and the fight for victory is anyone’s guess with a number of contenders, including a local in the mix.

Leading the charge of the home heroes is Christian Mansell, who is on a high after one of his best F3 drives.

Mansell has moved to ART for his second full season in the category and marked the arrival with a special performance. The Newcastle raised driver started the Feature in eighth place but rocketed up to third within three laps.

Mansell eventually matched his personal best F3 result with second, just 1.2s behind winner Luke Browning.

The result will be a big boost for the 19-year-old ahead of his home race where he scored his maiden career points last year.

Despite dropping from fourth to 14th in the Sprint race, Mansell sits a strong third as the F3 field heads down under.

The other Australian fans will cheer for

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Home hero Christian Mansell heads to Albert Park after a special podium in the F3 opener at Bahrain. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES is Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith.

Smith is also in his second full F3 season and had a tough start in Bahrain with a best result of 22nd.

He can turn to his race pace from Albert Park last year for promise, having risen 10 spots before crashing in the Sprint and ending on the cusp of points in the Feature.

With six different drivers appearing on the Bahrain podium, it is anyone’s guess who will appear on the top step.

The one driver Mansell could not catch in the opening feature race of the season was Browning.

It meant that, despite finishing the Sprint down in 15th, he enjoys a fourpoint lead in the title race.

Next best is German Tim Tramnitz, who was the most consistent in the Sakhir sand, with a fifth place in the Sprint and third place in the Feature.

The Sprint race was taken out by Arvid Lindblad after he overcame Laurens van Hoepen and Nikola Tsolov.

Although its drivers Santiago Ramos, Sami Meguetounif and Leonardo Fornaroli did not collect a trophy, Trident emerged on top of the teams standings.

F3 follows the same schedule as F2 with Sprint and Feature races on the weekend.

Thomas Miles FIA FORMULA 3 SCHEDULE FRIDAY, MARCH 22 Practice: 08.50-09.35 Qualifying: 14.00-14.30 SATURDAY, MARCH 23 Sprint Race: 11.15-12.00 SUNDAY, MARCH 24 Feature Race: 09.05-09.50

AUSTRALIAN F1 GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

ONE MAKE WONDERS Jackson Walls leads the Carrera Cup field into Turn 1 at the start of the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season.

Image: MARK HORSBURGH EDGE PHOTOGRAPHICS

A BIG season of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia begins on the biggest stage, at Albert Park.

Once again the competitive one-make championship promises to be another hardfought year with a number of youngsters and experienced faces going head to head.

Few will be hungrier than Jackson Walls in pursuit of the Carrera Cup title.

Walls went head-to-head with fellow youngster Callum Hedge last year and despite the latter missing a round, Walls was second best.

His promising campaign ended in heartbreak in Adelaide and he is back with McElrea Racing to go one better.

He took two wins on offer at Albert Park last year and with only Max Vidau beating

him then (like Hedge, no longer on the grid), Walls will fancy his chances.

But there are a long list of experienced heads looking to stop him.

Porsche Centre Melbourne has had a busy off-season welcoming 2022 champion and Mobil 1 Supercup competitor Harri Jones.

Jones will take on his first full Carrera Cup campaign since his title and will spearhead the team alongside Fabian Coulthard.

Joining them in the bright BWT pink, making a cameo one-off appearance, is Triple Eight co-driver Scott Pye. Another driver making a comeback to full time racing is David Russell at TekworkX, while there will be two Woods to keep an eye on.

Joining regular Dale Wood is brother Glen Wood who joins in the fun at the expanded team, while other newcomers include young guns, Lachlan Bloxsom (McElrea

Racing) and Tom McLennan (Earl Bamber Motorsport).

Sonic Motor Racing Services will be spearheaded by Marcos Flack, Harrison Goodman, Angelo Mouzouris and Rodney Jane.

Last year a mix of wet weather, crashes and pit tours meant racing laps were heavily restricted for the Carrera Cup. A similar three-race format will kick off the 2024 season that includes a trip to New Zealand.

Thomas Miles PORSCHE CARRERA CUP AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE THURSDAY, MARCH 21 Practice 1: 10.30-11.00 Qualifying: 12.30-13.00 Race 1 (13 laps): 16.45-17.20 FRIDAY, MARCH 22 Race 2 (13 laps): 18.25-19.00 SATURDAY, MARCH 23 Race 3 (13 laps): 18.25-19.00

SUPERCARS: SPRINT! AFTER TRIPLE Eight started strongly at Bathurst, the rest of the field hopes to close the gap at Albert Park where rapid-fire sprint racing is on the agenda.

The second round of the 2024 season will be a significant change of pace for the Supercars grid.

At Mount Panorama, tyre changes, strategy and refuelling were keys to victory, but these elements will not be a factor.

Four short sprint races, soft tyres and no pit stops means it will be pedal-to-the-metal.

For the first time in a long time, the Supercars field will not have its own pit lane at Albert Park after being elbowed out

by F2, so no compulsory pit stops will be needed, unlike in the past.

Triple Eight is the undoubted favourite after cleaning up every single on-track session at Mount Panorama.

The new era of Will Brown and Broc Feeney could not have enjoyed a better start and they will be determined to keep up the momentum.

However, it will not be easy and teams only have to rewind one year ago for hope.

Although the first Melbourne SuperSprint of the Gen3 era was bookended by wins to Triple Eight, it was Erebus Motorsport that made the biggest impact.

Erebus ignited its charge to the championship with two wins to Brodie Kostecki after taking the fight to the Red Bulls and overwhelming them.

Once again reigning champion Kostecki will not be racing, with Todd Hazelwood subbing for a second straight round in the #99.

Erebus hopes it can unlock similar pace to last year after scoring a best result of eighth at Bathurst.

The only other driver that shared the podium with the Triple Eight drivers at Bathurst was Chaz Mostert, who was easily the best of the rest.

Mostert finished a solid third on Saturday but led the majority of Sunday’s race, only to relinquish control at the start of the final stint when Triple Eight overcame WAU on strategy. The #25 Mustang was a rocketship across the top of the Mountain and could be quick through the fast-flowing nature of the F1 street circuit.

Richie Stanaway showed plenty of promise on his return to full time racing, emerging fourth in the championship for Grove Racing.

Other surprise packets at Bathurst were Matt Stone Racing and Team 18, which punched above their previous weight to be regularly challenging the top five.

Ford heavyweights Tickford and Dick Johnson Racing will be looking to come out swinging after both suffered challenging starts to the season, as the Mustang runners hope no fires will stop their charge this time!

Aside from the removal of pit stops, the race formats have received a tweak with much more racing on offer.

Last year only 320km of racing was held across the four races, whilst this year there will be 370km of action in the condensed weekend.

Rolling out of the truck well will be key, given five of the eight on-track sessions including practice, qualifying and the opening race are all squeezed into the opening day.

Bonus points for the fastest lap are also on offer with action a certainty.

Thomas Miles SUPERCARS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE THURSDAY, MARCH 21 Practice 1: 11.25-11.55 Practice 2: 13.25-13.55 Qualifying R3: 15.10-15.25 Qualifying R4: 15.35-15.50 Race 3 (20 laps): 17.50-18.35 FRIDAY, MARCH 22 Race 4 (20 laps): 14.50-15.35 SATURDAY, MARCH 23 Qualifying R5: 09.00-09.15 Qualifying R6: 09.25-09.40 Race 5 (14 laps): 17.35-18.10 SUNDAY, MARCH 24 Race 6 (14 laps): 10.20-10.55

Can Chaz Mostert’s Bathurst speed translate to the flowing Albert Park track and help him to overcome Triple Eight? Image: PETER NORTON EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

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The Big One – Bathurst, 2014. Tim Edwards can hardly believe it – a lastlap win! Image: PETER NORTON. Far right: A young Morris, with the legendary Frank Gardner and Diet Coke BMW team-mate Geoff Brabham.

Below: With a young Broc Feeney – the current success story.

Lower opposite: Morris's biggest solo win came at a Calder Park Supercars round, in 2001.

Bottom: Norwell from the air. Not a race track – a driver training facility.

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THE DRIVER WHISPERER

PAUL MORRIS WAS AN ACCOMPLISHED DRIVER IN HIS OWN RIGHT AND IS THE ONLY DRIVER TO WIN ALL THREE OF THE BATHURST CLASSICS. BUT NOW HE IS HELPING YOUNG DRIVERS BECOME CHAMPIONS. HE SAT WITH AUTO ACTION’S ANDREW CLARKE FOR A CHAT ...

THIS IS a story that began in the mid-1990s, became apparent in the early part of the second decade of the 2000s, and reached its zenith last year. But it is also a story that does not have an end in sight.

Paul Morris has become Australia’s answer

“ ”

is pretty clear all the lights are on.

“I don’t think anything takes away or kind-of trumps the feeling of actually racing but, for me, when you get a bit older and you can’t do something as good as you could before, you need something else.

“It’s a lot more enjoyable watching someone young do it and do it well than doing it shit yourself.”

His step into training was more evolution than design via what is now known as the Norwell Motorplex, which was built and initially run by Frank Gardner and Tony Longhurst in 1990. It was designed as a driver training complex – I was one its first students, and some of things I learnt that day remain in my consciousness when driving on the road.

I also did a story 15 years ago where Russell

talent we haven’t spotted yet.

“It goes back to when I first started driving with Frank Gardner. He was really big on it and we didn’t have much data acquisition back then, but he was very big on the driver coaching stuff.

“Tony would just be: 'what would that silly old bloke know?' But I could see there was something in it. Normally, if you cut right down to what he was saying, it made you better. So that’s where I learnt it – and then Frank used to make me do a lot of the driver training here.

“I found that when I did it [training], I was better when I raced because it got me thinking about what I was doing by teaching other people. From there I always did little bits and pieces of that with different drivers that drove for us over the years, from when we had younger guys in our teams like Fabian [Coulthard] and even when I had Murph [Greg Murphy] drive for me I did a bit of driver coaching stuff with him as well.

“I was always in the background, but then

basically, when I stopped running the team, and Holden no longer had cars here in Norwell, I was looking for another car I could do coaching with, and I bought a Toyota 86.

As soon as I got that car, I was, like, ‘oh, okay, I can take this coaching to another level because I now have a really good tool to coach people with’.

“That was at the time when Anton was driving for me. We had done a fair bit of coaching stuff in an SS Commodore, and then when we got the Toyota 86 we could really make some headway because we could pound the car all day and maximise our coaching time and get a bit further down the road with it.

I found that when I did it [training], I was better when I raced because it got me thinking about what I was doing by teaching other people ...

to the infamous Jim Russell, the race driver trainer where racers went to sort out their foibles and sharpen their craft. Russell coached the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Derek Bell and Danny Sullivan. Morris has coached Chaz Mostert, Anton De Pasquale, Broc Feeney and Brodie Kostecki in their careers.

Morris was an accomplished racer in his own right, a Bathurst winner in his final Supercar race, a multiple Australian Super Touring champion and a winner in pretty much every class he ever raced. Laconic and laid back and nicknamed ‘The Dude’ it is pretty easy to get misread him, but talk to him a little and it

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Ingall set a time and then tried to coach me into catching him, it was meant to be Catching The Dude, but he wasn’t available. For the record, I didn’t catch him ... but I got close.

The Morris family bought into the complex in the mid-1990s by buying Longhurst’s share and then bought the rest when Gardner died in 2009, and The Dude has been running it ever since.

We’ll do a story on it soon. Maybe we’ll see if The Dude can teach Thomas from our office how to race … and if he can do that he’ll be more than just a ‘driver whisperer!'

Who knows, maybe Thomas has a rare

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where you’re hanging on and thinking 'I can’t concentrate on what I’m doing.' The speeds are quite low, and the tyres we use on the cars keep your grip level to a bit of a minimum as well. You’re learning and you’re driving the limit of the car, but not at a really high speed, so it allows you to just refine what you’re doing.”

Morris has his office at the Motorplex and works there most days.

In terms of high-level race driver training, it stepped up a gear when Ford Performance Racing brought him in to work with Chaz

“So, it probably really started taking off with Anton – he embraced it as well, similar to what I did with Frank.”

Without access to full data logging, they use a Vbox system on the 86, which gives good blocks of data with access to steering, brake and throttle inputs, which Paul says are logically the three main controls for a racing car. There’s also video to map over it. When you have all that and a driver trainer – like Morris – in the passenger seat there is plenty of information to filter and study.

“A fair bit of it is just being in the car with someone – there’s stuff that the data won’t show you. A lot of it is what people do with their feet. If you find someone’s footwork is right, they don’t really need the hands that much. It’s a combination of all that.

“After Anton had progressed, I started working with Broc, and then Anton helped me a lot with that process as well. Whenever we went testing, we would always take Anton with us in the Super 3 car to baseline the car; Broc would drive it, and then all the things we learnt there, we’d just refine back in Norwell.

“So it's always having that yardstick driver, tuning the driver more than tuning the car. That is, get the driver right first, then tune the car.”

He said his process has evolved over time, but it still relies on the basics, which haven’t changed.

“It does evolve, but if you trim it right back to where this started, which was

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probably at the Jim Russell School in England, and it went on through Frank. I was in a car with Jackie Stewart, here at Norwell, 20-odd years ago, and if you watch that video, those basic fundamentals haven’t changed – it’s about being smooth with the car and your inputs and balance and eyesight. All that stuff hasn’t changed but the technique evolves as car technology gets different.

“But what keeps us really current, and current with what’s going on, is we get to see the best drivers. You’ve got Formula One guys coming in here; you’ve got Brodie, Shane – guys that are at the top of their game, and so you get a bit of a look at what’s happening.

“We all sit around and go, what about if we did this? What about if we did things a little bit different? How we do it keeps evolving – the technique keeps evolving and that’s just by looking at what everyone’s doing.”

Looking back to the early days and reflecting on today, he is proud of what has been built. It was conceived as a driver training track, and the layout reflects that. There is a world class skid pan that BMW had forgotten about until recently, which is bizarre given it was there at the start.

Morris says that, recently, BMW came and mapped the skidpan to replicate it elsewhere.

“It was built as a training facility and it works best like that. We’re not a racetrack, we’re a training facility. The speed’s not that high,

“ ”

back to the front very quickly.

“He had that much speed – I thought we were always in with a shot. The other key was saving fuel for a minimum final pit stop time – minimum hose time to try and jump the other team car. Once we had boom preference on the other car and Chaz was in the car, I was confident that he would have the speed and the ability to win the race.”

Famously, Mostert took the lead for the first time on the last lap when Jamie Whincup ran out of fuel.

So always having that yardstick driver, tuning the driver more than tuning the car. Like get the driver right first, then tune the car. ...

Mostert in 2014, the year the pair won the Bathurst 1000 from the back of the grid, leading only one lap for the entire day – lap 161.

“I went there because Chaz had written off that DJR car in practice the year before and missed qualifying. I got to talking to Rod [team owner Rod Nash] and Rod said 'we need you to come and do some work with Chaz. Come down and drive with him.' That was a big part of it.

“The biggest thing I said to Chaz was, ‘lap 161, that’s all that matters’. That’s turned out to be true! For him, it was not about his driving or anything else. It was just about his philosophy on how to attack that race.

“But that race has evolved too – now it’s a track position race. There’s a couple of keys to that: first you need position over your teammates because of the stacking. And then you need track position on your competitors now because it’s so hard to pass.

“But at the end of the day you’ve got to get to the last lap or you don’t have a chance.”

Winning the 1000 was the biggest day of Morris’s career, and good place to end his driving career at the top level. They ran a good strategy that day that maximised Mostert’s speed.

“I knew Chaz was that quick, so the key to it was me starting. And then every time he got in the car, even though I’d rolled backwards a bit against the main drivers, he was up against the co-drivers, so he just dragged the thing

“Some people say, it’s was a 'Bradbury' event or whatever. But it can’t be – he set the lap record with three laps to go, so he had the speed. He’s an amazing driver.”

He loves all his ‘children’ equally, or so he says. But he comes alive when he talks about Broc Feeney and his dedication to being the best. Feeney was dropped into his care at the age of 15 and has evolved and climbed through the ranks. De Pasquale had raced in Europe, and Kostecki the States, so Feeney is the pure local in that sense.

“They’re all a little bit different and require different things at different stages of life but if you look at Broc, I’ve never seen a kid or a person more dedicated to what they’re doing.

There’s just nothing else,” he said when taking about Feeney as a student.

“When he worked at Norwell, he was always on time. He was always tidy, he was the last to leave, he always washed the cars. Everything he did, he did to the best of his ability, and he still continues to do that.

“That’s why he’s doing so well at such a young age. I’ve seen a few other kids come along that have got his ability ... but how do they apply themselves? That kid’s just at another level.

“He’s in the right place to win a lot of championships. I think you’re seeing Jamie now really make that transition from racing driver to team manager and it’s amazing what they’ve achieved. It’s pretty exciting to watch.”

Above left: Morris recently received a Motorsport Australia Lifetime Achievement award – protege 2023 Supercars champ Brodie Kostecki, the Peter Brock medallist.

Left: Another student – 2023 Super2 Champion Kai Allen.

Above, top to bottom: talking tactics with Jarrod Hughes; Paul supports the Racing Together indigenous race programme; With Declan Fraser, Super2 Champion; In the office with another gun ... SVG !

Top right: Feeney and Kostecki enjoy the AGP podium, with Broc's dad. Image: ROSS GIBB Above right: School's in! Norwell scholars listen in ...

The next big star out of Norwell, he thinks, will be Jarrod Hughes.

“Jarrod started hanging around here when he was 15. So much so that I gave him a job, and then he did some Excel racing and that grew into Toyota 86s and now he’s in the Erebus Academy.

"He’s a ripper kid, but he’s got to really work hard at what he does because he doesn’t come from a background with a lot of finance but he’s managing to make it happen, which is cool to watch. He’s the next one on the list.”

Having Morris in his corner helps. Plenty of team owners and sponsors talk to Morris for advice, so that can help open doors for people like Hughes.

One last piece of advice for young drivers?

“I think the biggest thing in motor racing is your network. It’s the people that you know and the people in your phone book that matter. That’s what I’ve seen and that’s something that we’ve sort-of created, not by design, but the network of people that we

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know and we can lean on by just picking up the phone and talking.

“If you’ve got a question on the media or something, there’s a network there that doesn’t really cost you anything. If you’re nice to people and, I suppose, just being a good person helps.

“I think the mental aspect is good too. What I find is if you can find someone old enough, they’ve probably had the same problem you’ve had and maybe help solve your problem.

“I think that we’ll all keep evolving, Coaching has not been a big thing that we’ve had in motorsport before. What a driver does is normally their intellectual property and they don’t like to share it around. But to me, it’s pretty amazing when you’ve got people like Shane Van Gisbergen and Brodie and Anton and Broc that do share it around.

“That to me shows what sort of people they are and how much they care about the sport.”

“The data can’t show you their inputs.

Sometimes it’s just their initial input or their

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foot speed, or something’s just a little bit too quick for what the tyre will initially want.

“All that stuff – you have to get in the car and you have to look at it.

“I think 'feel' is probably the key word.

Because the more you feel, the more you can work with the tyre. People say you can’t teach feel, but I think you can. I think you can build people’s senses up to feel.

“Start with your eyes – they are the things you’re using the most. Then, what are you hearing? What can you feel through your fingertips? What can you feel through your bum? And you talk to different drivers on how they approached that corner – they might have felt it through the bum.

“Someone like Shane might say ‘I heard the tyre hit the ripple-strip there and it made a noise because it hit that rock’. The drivers with the best feel are the guys that do really well in the Shootout. You watch someone prep a tyre for a Shootout lap and you know.

“Sure, you’ve got sensors going back to the pits and they can tell you tyre pressures and all that, but the person that varies their warmup procedure because they are actually feeling how much grip that tyre’s got, and what they need to do with it, is normally the person that’s up the front in the Shootout.

“That was probably one of Brodie’s biggest strengths last year, and one Shane’s biggest strengths too – those guys that are mega in the Shootout have just got this feel for the tyre and they know how to prep it for that one lap.”

He also said that translates into the wet.

If you want to see the blokes with real talent, in Morris’s eyes, look for shootout and rain specialists. Ayrton Senna didn’t get to run shootouts, but he did make his mark in inferior cars in the rain! So too Kostecki and van Gisbergen.

Now, we just need to have some rain so we can measure the next bank of talent.

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This year’s race became a classic battle with eventual 2023 Australian Supercars Champion Brodie Kostecki chasing home three-time series champion and multiple Bathurst winner, and then reigning series and Bathurst champion, Shane van Gisbergen.

Their respective co-drivers, David Russell and Ritchie Stanaway, could only sit in the pits and watch on in hope.

It was the Aussie pair versus the Kiwi aces. It was the little team of Erebus versus the big boys of Triple Eight, both in Chevrolet Camaros.

The co-drivers had their own stories, the quiet well-liked Australian Russell has always been a great racer, with many good results in sportscars both locally and internationally, but has never been a regular front-runner in Australia’s leading category.

To stand on the top of the podium at Bathurst would be a dream come true for the talented Aussie.

In the other camp, Kiwi youngster Stanaway was making a comeback to Supercars racing. He was

nearly lost to the sport after retiring early after a disillusioned 2019 season. Racing in Europe in his early days he was touted as the next big thing. Like many antipodeans his wallet didn’t match his talent and he as forced back Downunder. He then had a successful start to a career reboot in Australia before off-track disagreements caused issues.

After returning to Bathurst in 2022 partnering New Zealand legend Greg Murphy, Stanaway was back with fellow Kiwi, the NASCAR-bound van Gisbergen.

For him to stand on the podium would be a fairytale.

And that was a fairytale that came true as the Kiwi boys held off the Aussies to take the chequered flag first at the famous Mountain circuit, 200-kilometres west of Sydney.

This 76-page hardcover book records this story and many more along the pitlane of the 2023 Australian Great Race. It includes 100s of full colour images from some of Australia’s best photographers, including Peter Norton, Danny Bourke and Ben Auld.

If you consider yourself a true Australian motorsport enthusiast then you need to have this book alongside the former editions on your bookshelf or coffee table. It’s just $85 and, along with the earlier editions, it can be ordered directly from the online shop on www.supercarxtra.com.au

SPEEDWAY

McHUGH MASTERS MURRAY BRIDGE LACHLAN McHUGH continued his successful 2023/24 season by taking out the Australian Masters race that had everything at Murray Bridge.

McHugh had to fight for the victory, bouncing back from an early race spin which sent him spiralling down the order.

However, he showed why he is the current national champion by flying through the field and overcoming a fierce battle with Jock Goodyer to steal the win.

Matt Egel started the two-night event with speed to burn by winning Saturday night’s Ross Wright Memorial in tough conditions ahead of Jy Corbet and Daniel Pestka.

Egel looked destined to carry on his momentum by taking the lead early in Sunday night’s main event as Daniel Pestka’s attempt to slide down the inside did not pay off.

McHugh only got his way as high as 10th before he spun on lap 10 after appearing to get squeezed between Jy Corbett and Luke Dillon in Turns 3 and 4.

The red flag was then waved just a lap later when four cars were caught up in a crash at Turn 1.

Egel continued to look in complete control after the restart, ahead of Dumesny all the way until lap 14 when he spun from the lead.

With the #52 also suffering some front wing damage, Dumesny was now in charge as Goodyer became a factor and McHugh returned to the top 10.

But things then got too intense when Dumesny, Corey Sandow and Pestka went three wide and the end result was the latter flipping out of the race from second.

This allowed Goodyer to rise to second behind leader Dumesny at the restart while Corbett clung onto third amid some wild battles.

With 17 to go Goodyer launched a counterattack for the win, sliding down the inside of Dumesny and

made it stick on the second attempt.

Dumesny’s promising race ended in dramatic fashion with eight to go when hit the fence on the exit of Turn 4 and landed on his side.

This setup a sprint to the flag between Goodyer and McHugh and their battle ignited inside the final three laps.

As Goodyer got caught up high behind two lapped cars, McHugh went to the bottom and soared past them all.

It was a sensational way to end a sensational drive to victory lane for McHugh.

Thomas Miles

Nothing could stop Lachlan McHugh flying from the back to the front of the field at Murray Bridge.

Image: RAY RITTER

KINGSHOTT POWERS ON IN PERTH DAYNE KINGSHOTT (right) has strengthened his lead in the 2023/24 Madddington Toyota Sprintcar Series championship after being perfect in Round 14 at Perth.

Driving a special retro livery celebrating 1985 Australian Sprintcar Championship winning WA # 99 car driven by Ron Krikke, Kingshott held off the hard-finishing Callum Wiliamson and Brad Maiolo to win the feature.

The Krikke Motorsport driver started third and snatched the lead from Williamson, who pushed hard but could not overhaul the championship leader.

“Absolutely cool” was how Kingshott described the win on the podium after starting from third.

“If you can drive by the #3 (Williamson) here in a feature race, you know you have something right.”

He described the car as a “rocketship” and said while it was a wild ride through lapped traffic, he was pretty happy to get the job done.

“The team did a fantastic job on the car all night and supplied me with a rocket ship for the feature race and I made the most of it and managed to get the win,” Kingshott said.

It’s a great feeling to get back into victory lane and hopefully we can be up there again and challenge for a

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Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

few more wins before the season ends.”

The result has made a big impact on the fight for the Madddington Toyota Sprintcar Series championship after Kingshott’s main rival for the series championship, defending series champion James Inglis, was a nonfinisher after crashing out following contact with Aaron Chircop near the end of the race.

Taylor Milling, who started on the outside, got the jump on the first lap from Williamson and Kingshott.

But green flag racing was soon interrupted when a

series of events were triggered when the caution light came on after only a few laps.

Trent Pigdon spun, as Jaydee Dack, who started from p7, headed to the work area with seatbelt issues and Kaiden Manders, who was contesting the Australian Speedcar Championship 40-lap feature race straight after the sprintcar feature race, opted to pull infield and prepare for that event.

At the restart, Kingshott made his move, putting a slide job on Milling on lap 10 and from there he was never seriously challenged.

Williamson and Kris Coyle also both passed Milling in the following laps to ignite a tight battle for the minor places.

Coyle also went under Williamson for second as they contended with lapped traffic.

However, Williamson immediately responded to snatch the spot back.

Despite earlier tagging the wall, Maiolo fought all the way up to fourth before launching an attack on Milling.

It paid off as the shot to third with Milling and Coyle completing the top five.

Thomas Miles

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Images: SPEEDWAY SEDANS AUSTRALIA

KANE WINS A RECORD FIFTH NATIONAL TITLE DARREN KANE has become the first ever five-time National Super Sedan Champion after capturing victory at the Attwell Park Speedway in Albany, Western Australia.

After a dramatic 40 laps, Kane (above and right) took the chequered flag five seconds clear of Western Australian champion Dustin Higgs after the two contested an enthralling main event.

Queenslander Kane was shocked to hear he’d set a new record for National Super Sedan Championship crowns.

“To me, this is huge. I’m overawed and it’s going to take a while to sink in,” he said post-race.

“I never had any intention of setting any new records, because some of the other multi-time winners raced in different eras of the sport, but there’s something about the National Title that is very special to me and always seems to draw another level of motivation out of me – so to get another one is just as special as the first four.

“Todd Atkins put in an amazing effort along with the whole Boettcher family who have been amazing and I’m so thankful they talked me into coming back,” Kane concluded, referencing his withdrawal from racing at the end of the 2021 season, that has now been relabelled as a “reset” rather than a “retirement.”

Despite being able to overcome Higgs in a tense battle, Kane admitted he felt an unnerving vibration in the car as early as the first 10 laps.

This led to him racing conservatively until he was sure everything was okay, all the while battling with a very experienced Higgs who has banked countless laps around the Albany venue.

“Dustin and I had very similar speeds despite him having a lighter, lower horsepower car,” Kane explained.

“But my car seemed better in more parts of the track while he seemed to be stuck up in the fence, so when we came around to the tail of the field into traffic, I think I had a few more options than him thankfully, but it was a fantastic battle.”

Kane and Dave Gartner occupied the front row of the grid for the 40-lap feature with Higgs and Matt Pascoe in behind

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Image: WE LOVE OUR CARS PHOTOGRAPHY

sharing row two.

Kane took control during the opening three laps before a multi-car pile up further back in the field involving Kyle Larson, Tristan Green and Matthew McMahon led to a significant stoppage.

New South Wales champion Pascoe did not last long and retired to the infield during the red-light stoppage with fluid leaking from his power plant.

When racing resumed Kane led again from from Higgs who quickly shot into second and started pressurising the leader.

On lap 13 Higgs made his move to snatch the lead from Kane as a two-horse race was established at the front.

But just when Higgs tried to stamp his authority on the race, traffic became a big factor and the opportunistic Kane made a response with ten laps remaining.

With just five laps left to run, Higgs made a brave slide for the lead, only to tag the wall on the exit of turn two after Kane switched back.

This would gift a five second gap to Kane whose car also showed hints of distress.

Just as the race appeared to be decided, Kane suffered a massive scare, getting tangled with outgoing national champion Trent Wilson.

The clash sent both cars spearing to a momentary infield excursion, before Kane regathered to run an uninterrupted final lap and take the chequered flag.

Amid the remarkable finale Higgs suffered an exploded flat right rear tyre as he crossed the line second while Dave Gartner held off Brad Pascoe for fourth.

They were the only cars to finish on the lead lap.

The 2025 SSA National Super Sedan Title will be conducted at the Murray Bridge Speedway in South Australia.

Thomas Miles

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SPRINTCARS BREAK DROUGHT IN CANBERRA AFTER an absence of about 27 years, Sprintcars have returned to Canberra.

Collector local, Michael Stewart (pictured above), won the Regional Rumble Series fifth round at the ACT Speedway.

The 28-year-old Bohud Racing team member started the 30-lap feature race from position three, passing Jackson Delamont and Brendan Scorgie during laps seven and 12 respectively.

“It was great to have Sprintcars return to Canberra, as it had been a long time coming, and to cap it off by getting into victory lane made it all the more special,” Stewart said.

“The ACT Speedway crowd really embraced the return of the Sprintcars by showing up in large numbers and hopefully this is the beginning of Sprintcars running at the track a few times a season.”

Although they turned things around, Stewart said the night of racing didn’t kick off well for the Bohud team.

“I struggled out there in the opening heat race and nearly crashed out, but the team and I worked hard on getting a hold of things with the car’s setup for the rest of the night,” he said.

“With Sprintcars having not raced

around the ACT Speedway track before, and its tight nature, it took a bit for us to get used to.

“However, as the night went on, the better we got, and it showed in the feature race, as I was able to move through traffic very well and it was one of the keys to my win.”

The success mark’s Stewart and Bohud Racing’s third feature win as a partnership.

“It’s been a big past month of travelling on the road and the whole Bohud Racing team has been working very hard, so to be able to pick up our latest win makes it all the more rewarding,” said team owner Scott Jones.

“Michael and the team did a great job throughout the night, as there was a bit of pressure on Michael being the local driver at ACT Speedway, but he took it all in his stride being the consummate professional that he is.

“There was a massive crowd out at ACT Speedway, and they really got behind the return of Sprintcars to the region, which was something really good to be a part of.”

Regional Rumble Series sprintcar action heads to Sydney International Speedway track on Saturday night, March 23.

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SPEEDWAY rde/Darren Fuller and Corey Fo Jarred Marko/Shaun ars glory. ec Sid side-by-side for Freudenstein raced

BATHURST LONG TRACK MASTERS EXCITES MORE THAN 300 riders put on a show from start to finish at the 2024 Bathurst Long Track Masters event.

In front of a 2000 strong crowd at the historic 810-metre Bathurst Showground, the headlining class of the Bathurst 450cc Masters put on a spectacular battle in the final between Jarred Brook and Cyshan Weale.

Weale had set the pace for much of the four-lap final, before Brook managed to steal victory from the jaws of defeat by making a pass on the final lap.

In the Long Track 500cc Sliders, Zane Keleher proved too strong for his rivals throughout the final.

After taking the early lead, Keleher was able to stay out in front ahead of a fast finishing Harrison Ryan who snatched second on the last lap from newcomer Sam Martin.

Jarred Marko/Shaun Fuller and Corey Forde/Darren Freudenstein fought tooth and nail for the Dirt Track Sidecars lead.

The two pairings ran side-by-side cleanly in the second half of the final, but in the end, it was Marko and Fuller

who came out on top by the slimmest of margins.

With the best seat in the house, Matthew Davies and Tom Northey followed the battling pairings home to appear on the podium.

Daniel Wicks scored a solid victory in the Flat Track 19 final. He was joined on the podium by Jarred Brook and Cyshan Weale in second and third place respectively.

In what was one of the biggest classes of the event, the cream certainly rose to the top when the final came around and Wicks was a deserving winner.

Wicks also emerged on top in the Unlimited 2-Stroke action and finished ahead of Jacob Richardson and Bailey Spencer.

Local youngster Jett Carter showed his class throughout the Pro 250 final.

After James Sawdy set the early pace in the final, Carter managed to chase him down and pass him for the lead during the middle stages.

Once out in front, Carter was never headed and at the finish defeated Sawdy

GARY BOWYER CLAIMS HIS SECOND NSW MIDGET TITLE

Jarred Brook stormed home in the final to take out the Bathurst Dirt Track Masters 450cc victory.

Images: NIC PIC NSW and Rory Hutchinson.

After finishing second in last year’s event, Joshua McCosker was able to go one better and took out the Over 40s final.

A fast finishing Jason Morris ended up in second, while third place was filled by Adam Ferguson.

Tayla Street ended up winning three of the four races in the Pro Womens class and by virtue of this earned the overall spoils. Kelsey Jensen, who defeated Street in the third race, ended up second.

Making it a hat trick of wins, Kenny Angel emerged the overall winner in the Hooligans class for the third year running.

He was joined on the overall podium

by Damien Bombardiere and Kristian O’Donnell.

Sam Drane and Lockie Duggan were the winners in the Junior class action. Drane won the Junior 250/125cc 13 to Under 16 Years ahead of Thomas Gotts and Beau Bailey, while in the Junior 85/150cc 9 to Under 13 Years, Duggan scored the win after defeating Cooper Antone and Jed Fyffe.

Daniel Powell

GARY BOWYER is now a two-time winner of the New South Wales Grand Prix Midget Racing Association title.

Bowyer (pictured above) took the victory in the 46th running of the NSW State Title for Grand Prix Midgets at Cullen Bullen Raceway.

Despite a scheduling clash meaning a number of the Victorian competitors missed out, a strong contingent of NSW drivers ensured the field remained competitive.

Bowyer started his run to the title with a heat win, while Gavin Black and NSW Super Series point score leader Adam Buckley also tasted early success.

Buckley emerged as the top qualifier and headed the field followed by Gary and Riley Bowyer for the final which was held immediately after Heat 3 (due to the track’s lighting system failing).

This proved costly for Buckley, as confusion on the start process resulted in him completely missing the green light and Bowyer Snr racing out to an early lead.

Black moved into second place closely followed by Bowyer Jnr, as Buckley dropped to fifth behind Lea. In Turn 3 on the first lap, Bowyer Jnr moved by Black into second and Buckley raced past Lea and Black in quick succession.

Before too long Bowyer Snr was out to a 10-car length lead with Bowyer Jnr ahead of Buckley.

The next four laps of the race saw Buckley snapping away on the rear bumper of Bowyer Jnr, making moves up the inside but unable to make a clean pass.

On lap five, Buckley’s pressure was rewarded when Bowyer Jnr drifted wide in Turn 2 and Buckley made the move up the inside into second place.

On the last lap Buckley attempted to lap Kermond on the inside of Turn 1 – hhowever he could not hold his line on a slickened pole line and his outside rear climbed over Kermond’s inside rear, taking both cars out.

With this happening on the final lap, the Stewards declared the race, with Bowyer Snr the delighted victor.

Dean Thompson

CLARK AND BRUMPTON SCORE BIG LISMORE SPEEDWAY saw plenty of action on and off the track as David Clark and Darren Brumpton emerged the big winners.

With a massive storm approaching the venue as afternoon turned into night, track promoters pushed the race meeting through to beat the weather and ensure the racing went ahead.

Queensland-based V8 Dirt Modified driver Clark has always enjoyed Lismore thanks to his one and only Australian Title win back in 2014 and a decade later he showed a clean pair of heels during the third and final Mr Modified Series round.

Despite the best efforts of local and defending Mr Modified Series Champion Mark Robinson throughout the 25-lap event, he was unable to deny Clark the win and had to settle for second. Brayd Stephenson put in a solid drive to complete the podium ahead of youngsters Seiton Connor Young and Ryley Smith.

Thanks to winning the finale, Clark was crowned the 2023/24 season overall points winner.

Toowoomba’s Darren Brumpton drove to NSW Title glory in

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David Clark scored a breakthrough win to snatch the Mr Modified Series title.

Image: DANIEL KEOGH PHOTOGRAPHY

the RSA Four Cylinder Sedans.

Up against a competitive field of drivers, Brumpton, who was the lone Queenslander in the NSW Title field, only took control of the lead in the latter stages, but held on.

Scott Lawler held the lead for the majority of the race but ended up having to settle for second, while third place went to local youngster Jeremy Wade.

In the support class action, feature-race wins were shared

between another two Queenslanders in Scott Thomsen (Wingless Sprints) and veteran Bruce Marshall (AMCA Nationals), while Jackson Bailey, from Nana Glen, picked up a win for the NSW drivers in the Junior Sedans.

For the Wingless Sprints, it was the second-last occasion for the drivers to get laps around Lismore Speedway prior to next month’s Australian Title at the same venue.

Current Queensland champion Thomsen proved too strong for his rivals and scored the win ahead of local and NSW Champion Jacob Jolley and Queenslander Lachie Robertson in second and third place respectively.

Marshall impressively defeated the Hardy duo of Matt and Russ to secure his fifth feature-race win of the season in the AMCA Nationals and first feature-race victory at Lismore in 20 years.

Jackson Bailey has been one of the form Junior Sedan drivers in northern NSW so far this season, and last night was just another example of this, when he scored the feature-race spoils by outpacing Indi Butcher and Brock Stubbs to the chequered flag. Daniel Powell

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Image: 44 PHOTOGRAPHY

HEALEY’S BIG WIN THE 2023-24 season has reached new heights for youngster Jaiden Healey (pictured above) with victory in the Bob Bailey Memorial at Wangaratta Speedway fetching a $3,000 payday.

The 18-year-old’s victory was memorable for a number of reasons, as it was the biggest win of his young speedway career, his first interstate victory, and the first interstate Bob Bailey Memorial winner.

Healey did it in style, by qualifing on pole position and dominating the 25-lap event from start to finish.

“The Bob Bailey Memorial is one of the biggest events on the season calendar, and it’s an honour to be able to put my name on the winner’s trophy, as Bob was a highly

regarded racer and an all round top bloke,” Healey said.

“It was the type of night where everything just came together for us, as we were fast all night and it was great to cap the night with the feature race win, and I can’t thank my team enough for all of their hard work, as this simply wouldn’t happen without them.”

Healey’s Bob Bailey Memorial victory came on the back of his Queensland Title performance last month at Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway where he finished eighth, while he also just missed out on winning the Production Stampede event.

Healey said he had been building form in recent weeks.

“The Production Sedans are currently very strong up in Queensland and that’s one of the biggest reasons we travel up there as much as possible, as the goal is to test ourselves and become better,” he said.

“We came very close to winning the Production Stampede, but just fell short, and then, in the Queensland Title, we were on track for a top-five finish but I made a driver error in the closing stages – it hurt me and I lost a few spots.

“These experiences are going to help us in the long run.”

Healey hopes to carry on that form at the NSW, Victorian and National Title races that all await in April.

Daniel Powell

Trent Susol, Unlimited Sedans feature race winner. Images: TANYA EASTWOOD

BLUE RIBBON BRINGS THE HEAT! HORSHAM’S BLUE Ribbon Raceway fired into life for a busy event where five classes went racing.

Despite hot conditions, the track was in great condition and headlining the event were 11 ultra-fast V8 powered Super Rods Victorian Champion Allan Pitcher and Michael Coad shared the heat wins early while Jamie May suffered a spectacular roll-over.

However, May bounced back and prevailed in the Top 6 Dash before backing that up with a well deserved flag to flag feature race win in the 20 lap final.

The opening 15-laps went express before the cautions were trigged after George Woolstencroft crashed and retired to the infield.

Michael Coad chased May over the journey to claim the runner-up position over Pitcher, who had advanced from fifth to third.

The VSC Unlimited Sedans with varying

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Super Rods feature race winner Jamie May. horsepower and handling characteristics provided plenty of interest with a mixture of 13 Super Sedans, Late Models, AMCA Nationals all fighting hard for victory in round 5 of the Farley’s Pool Lucky 7’s Series.

The battle between Trent Susol (Late Model) and Danny Smith (Super Sedan) went right down to the wire in the 20-lap final.

Peter Farley was next with Tim Williams, Nathan Lightburn and Jimmy Harris all on the lead lap.

For the first time this season the Limited

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Sportsmans hit the Horsham track.

Despite numbers being down, the six competitors pushed hard as they run wheel to wheel in the 15-lap final to the chequered flag.

Craig Ansell claimed two of the three qualifying races in addition to the final, Tom baker pushed hard over the distance for second and Darren Adams for the podium.

Peter Dowling proved the best of the Production Sedans taking his Ford FG Falcon to Victory Lane with the father and son duo of Shane and Colby Hammond right behind in the 15-lap final. Dean Hughes, Shaun Queale and Belinda Taylor were next.

The always entertaining V8 Trucks raced in the annual Robin Thomas Memorial.

Luke James showed the rest of the field the quickest way to the finish line. Nathan Bird, Fletcher Mills and V8 Trucks debutant Belinda Taylor squared off the finishers.

Paris Charles

FOWLER WINS THIRD IRONBARK CLASSIC CHRIS FOWLER (pictured) took out a third Ironbark Classic victory at Goulburn Valley’s Rushworth Speedway.

The Victorian Grand Prix Midget Racing Association event was a hotly-contested affair with new Australian champion Peter Robotham having the opportunity to compete for the first time in Victoria since winning the national title, but also facing some stiff competition in the form of Fowler, local hot shot Alex Hudson-Myers, and a host of others.

Due to damage from the heats taking a toll on the field, only five cars made it to the green flag for the feature event.

With top point scorers starting at the back of the field, Robotham, Fowler, Terry Brown, Shawn Ward and Johnny Rouse all greeted the flagman.

None could keep up with Fowler who flew from fourth to the lead with Robotham in tow, then Brown, Rouse, and Ward.

A Turn 4 spin on lap five to Ward halted the race and stacked the field for a restart.

But this did deter Fowler as he continued to lead from Robotham and Brown.

Lap times continued to drop away, and Fowler set the fastest in the final stopping the clock at 18.180s as he pulled out almost a 5s margin on Robotham.

Brown finished third with Rouse and Shawn Ward rounding out the results.

Rouse has moved to sixth in the ‘Stingers Chassis’ Masters Series point score in his rookie season, while Fowler and Robotham are still separated by just a single point.

Fowler becomes the winningest driver of the Ironbark Classic with Janelle Saville behind him with two wins.

Dean Thompson

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NATIONALS WRAP

Lee Faulkner gets some air in his Datsun 260z.

Images: PETE TRAPNELL

SUPER SERIES SPRINTS FIRE UP

THE WARWICK District Car Club returned to action by kicking off its Super Series Sprints for 2024.

It all started with Round 1 of the ‘A’ sprints on the popular 3km circuit used for most state race events.

Each driver enjoyed eight timed runs over the weekend with each run having three timed laps.

There was, as usual, a large variety of cars and categories. Amongst these were some historic and modern open wheelers with some bravely battling the wet conditions on Saturday. There was also a great turn out from the Datsun Z cars with 12 all dicing in one group.

There were two rolling start groups, one consisting of mostly Cobras and the other of Sports Sedans and various tin-tops.

The juniors had a group of their own which was run as a Regularity event. The winner was Alex Niven with Jye Wickham in second followed by Daniel Kirby.

The weekend ran smoothly with no major incidents despite Saturday’s conditions.

There was still plenty of spins and exploration of the track’s outer limits.

The event wrapped up with a Top 10 Shootout and the winner was Lee Falkner who beat his time by 0.4s.

The following weekend it was the ‘B’ Series’ turn to begin 2024 – eight timed runs were also on offer.

It was a huge weekend, with 170 competitors, and the Warwick weather turned up the heat with some brutal conditions testing drivers over the weekend.

There was a great turn out of Lotus cars, all in various colours almost resembling a spilt bag of skittles.Matt Plowman ran his beautifully-crafted time attack Lotus which was an awesome spectacle.

Th ere was only one rolling start group this round. Racing in this group were father and son Paul and Jordan Spiteri with this being Jordan’s first go at the rolling starts.

The group consisted of some faster Sports Sedans and a trail of some Hyundais and a mix of other four-cylinder cars all around the same pace jostling for position – some of which found themselves ever so slightly trading a little paint here and there.

The next round of the ‘A’ series is on April 5-7, the same weekend as the ‘C Series opener while the ‘B’ Series returns on May 11-12.

Pete Trapnell

Father and son Paul and Jordan Spiteri took family bragging rights to a new level by racing side by side.

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Image: BRUCE KEYS

ROOKIES WIN RALLY ROOKIES CONNOR Oldham and Charlotte Farr (above) pushed their Mazda Familia to victory in the George Woods Rally.

The format of four daylight stages repeated after nightfall gave a total of 106km and leading the field for the first two stages were Geoff Holloway/Stuart Reid.

But an overheating engine in their usually reliable Hyundai Excel forced their withdrawal at the halfway point.

Peter Sweeney/Simon Young (Subaru Liberty) had a perfect start on stage 1, but 10 seconds late on stage 2 dropped them to

6th, slipping further back with a 40 second early penalty on Stage 3.

They allowed themselves to be a few seconds late on the remaining stages and that strategy took them briefly to 2nd and finally 3rd overall by the end of the rally.

Winners Oldham/Farr scored just a 9s penalty over-all and the next best was 90s.

Runners up were Rain Calder and Andrew Murdoch Junior in their Subaru Impreza WRX. They did just enough to beat O2 class winners Sweeney and Young.

REIMANN/REDDING WRAP UP JAMALKA 360 TOBY REIMANN and Craig Redding (pictured) led from start to finish to win the Jamalka 360 at Tumby Bay. The opening round of the MA South Australian Off-Road Championship and the SAORRA Multi Club Challenge was all about the Reimann and Redding Scorpion/Volvo.

Dean Carter and Bradley Jacob (Jimco/ Chev) were a distant second after battling their way through the thick dust.

Richard and Lauren Andrews (S&S Woftam/Nissan) pushed hard and were rewarded with a strong third place with Luke Mudde and Todd Curgenven (CanAm Maverick) breathing down their neck next across the line.

Si Heaslip (Jimco/Chev) collected fifth after losing some time on Saturday when he hit a tree.

Track owner and event promoter Ben MacNamarra had a steady run into sixth with Wayne Pascoe along side in their Can-Am Maverick.

Paul Tinga and William Kelsey slotted their Sportslite into seventh but had been delayed a bit on day one with gear selector problems ahead of Ben Nixon and Thomas Margitch.

After being Reimman’s closest pursuer Images: DAVID BATCHELOR

for most of the race Simon and Kyle Tucker (Southern Cross Next Gen/Nissan) came home ninth after an unscheduled pit stop late in the race.

Brett Taylor and Peter Treis didn’t have much luck with their Chev engine Truck getting bogged on the last lap on Saturday then only managing two of the three laps on Sunday.

John and Blake Smith (Nissan Patrol) looked the business in Extreme 2WD despite hitting a tree but retired with boost issues.

Andrew and Teegan Mowles (Razorback/BMW) didn’t get a chance to show what they were capable of with the engine dying on lap one.

In the SAORRA section, Reimann also topped the time sheet with Evan Lampard and Josh Gaskin (Southern Cross/Nissan) not far behind.

They were followed very closely by the Tuckers then a gap back to Carter.

Class winners were Pro Class Reimann, Prolite (SAORC) Andrews, (SAORRA) Lampard, Super 1650 (SAORRA) Mark and Ryder Taylor (Cobra/Mazda), SXS Turbo Mudde, Extreme 2WD (SAORC) Taylor, (SAORRA) Smith, Sportslite Tinga.

David Batchelor

Set in the forests around Powelltown with stages of up to 22 km in length and with varying road types within the stages, keeping the car on the right pace can’t have been easy.

With an average speed set for all stages of 65 km/h, maximum speed of 110 km/h and a minimum of 20 km/h, the objective was to arrive at the finish control on time, to the second, with one penalty point per second late. It created a new type of teamwork between crew members.

Alan Baker

Image: MAX WALKER MCS

CHRISTENSEN TOPS ROUND TWO THE PAKENHAM Auto Club Khanacross season rolled on into round two where Max Christensen emerged victorious.

After a solid field of 32 cars greeted the starter, Christensen showed them how it was done in his family’s Subaru Liberty.

The second-generation racer gained confidence throughout the day before topping the final two tests, which ultimately paved the way to a 9sec victory.

Although not featured in the thick of the final results, Roger Shaw set the timesheets alight early on in his khanacross special, topping the speed charts for the first four runs.

But second ultimately went to Trevor Douglas, who was once again impressive in the Toyota GR Yaris, which was at home on the gravel surface.

Richard Allen was a dark horse in his swift Peugeot 306 and flew under the radar before securing third.

Next home was the freshly rally-specced Ford Fiesta XR4 of Anthony Franks, who just edged out Stuart Reid in his Holden Astra SRI. Billy Douglas was next and the first of the juniors in his shared

Yaris.

Nicole Challis was the fastest of the seven female competitors in her Nissan Pulsar.

Pakenham Auto Club Khanacross Clerk of Course Anthony Kealy, the event was another sign of the growth in grassroots motorsport in Melbourne.

“It was fantastic to see so many people here this weekend; we’re truly carrying some momentum into a busy part of the season,” he said.

“Compared to the same point of last year, entries are up 270 per cent, and with the weather continuing to play ball, we should be in great stead as we transition to the motorkhana portion of the calendar later in May. “The presentation of the grounds is truly a credit to the hard-working army who continue to toil behind the scenes to make constant improvements to the facility.

“A special thanks also have to go out to our volunteers who assisted with the running of the day, everything went very smoothly for us to get six competition runs in.”

Thomas Miles

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STATE SERIES AT SUNNY WINTON EIGHT CATEGORIES and 156 cars took to Winton for the second round of the Victorian state championships on March 16 and 17, with two categories starting their seasons after skipping Sandown in February.

Baxter-Smith to take the round over Lindorff and Lowndes, which also vaulted him up the series standings to second overall.

PORSCHE 944s

FORMULA FORD

EDISON BESWICK’S two race wins and a second place in the final gave him a fourpoint round margin over Liam Loiacono, who claimed the final win of the weekend.

Beswick and Loiacono were well clear of third-placed Daniel Frougas.

Richard Davison’s run of consecutive Kent class wins dating back to last season came to a halt in the final race of the weekend.

Davison claimed the first two races ahead of Malcolm Coleman and Andrew Torti, but a 15-second time penalty ruined what would have been another clean sweep, gifting Coleman the final race win and the round in class.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

AFTER MISSING the last round at Sandown, Improved Production returned to the series and saw Jarrod Tonks (VY Commodore) claim a clean sweep with pole and all three wins.

Former champion James Atkinson (VX Commodore) kept Tonks honest for the first two races, but a costly mechanical DNF elevated Kaide Lehmann (VE Commodore) and Danny Timewell (VF Commodore) to second and third for the round behind Tonks.

FORMULA VEE

FOLLOWING AN accident and a four-lap

Jarrod Tonks was in a league of his own in Improved Production at Winton.

Images: REBECCA HIND/REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY

MARK TAUBITZ finally broke through for his first race win on Saturday afternoon, then backed it up by claiming Sunday morning’s race as well.

The clean sweep unfortunately did not come to be as Taubitz finished the final race in seventh; well behind Chris LewisWilliams who prevailed in a tight contest, but also finished second to Taubitz in the other two races. His consistency gave him the round victory over a tie between Taubitz and Adam Brewer.

HYUNDAI EXCELS Lee Partridge claimed a hat-trick of wins in Formula Vee.

Chris Lewis-William took out a closely fought battle for Porsche 944 honours.

Safety Car period, Lee Partridge made it four different race winners from the first four races of the season, before going on to sweep the weekend.

Ash Quiddington (second overall), Jake Rowe (third), and Andre Curin (fourth), second, third and fourth made Partridge work hard for his victories by keeping him under constant pressure all weekend.

car started emitting smoke.

While Camm rejoined and finished the final race in eighth place, that handed Keven Stoopman (Mitsubishi Evo 7) the race win as well as the round, with Travis Condon (Toyota Corolla) second and Camm third.

SPORTS SEDANS

DEAN CAMM (Chevrolet Corvette) added another two wins to his Sandown clean sweep, bringing his tally to five wins for the season. He was leading the weekend’s final race before receiving a black flag when his

SALOON CARS

KANE BAXTER-SMITH (AU Falcon) secured two narrow wins over Adam Lowndes (VY Commodore), but the clean sweep went begging with Travis Lindorff (VX Commodore) winning the last race of the weekend.

However, second place in the final along with his two wins was more than enough for

ASHTON CATTACH claimed the first win of the weekend on Saturday under huge pressure from Jaylyn Robotham and Hugo Simpson. Robotham hit back with both wins on Sunday ahead of Simpson which placed them first and second for the round.

Cattach had his hands full with Toby Waghorn in Sunday’s pair of races but came away from the weekend with third place for the round.

BMW E30S

Following Brian Bourke’s win on Saturday, Ash Rogers came away with both wins on Sunday which included the feature race win which earned him round honours by four points over Bourke, with newcomer Ben Munro 14 points adrift of Bourke in third.

Steven Devries

ROB ROY REVIVAL 2024:

THE CHRISTMAS HILLS ARE ALIVE THE BEAUTIFUL Christmas Hills reverberated to the music of about 80 race engines on March 2-3. MARK BISSET reports.

First used in February 1937, the MG Car Club-run Clintons Road venue is a popular short-climb given the natural beauty of the area, its challenges, and proximity to Melbourne. A Government Grant allowed improvements to both the road and amenities in recent years which makes it even better than before.

Great weather favoured competitors

who got six timed runs, grouped by car type and engine capacity.

FTD – on both the ‘long’ and ‘short’ courses – went to Darren Visser in the ex-Leo Bates, 1977 Bates Cyclo.

Some competitors doubled up at Rob Roy and the Phillip Island Classic including Laurie Bennett (second-outright F2 Elfin 600B Lotus-Ford twin-cam), Lyndon Arnel (fourth-outright Lola T440 Formula Ford) and long-time Alpine Renault A110 exponent, John Hardy. Dick O’Keefe’s Photon Lotus 11 replica is a

quick car – eighth was his reward.

When Graeme Raper lines up the raucous George Reed Monoskate Ford V8 Special anywhere, the crowds head for the track, with good reason! He didn’t disappoint with third outright in one of the oldest cars present.

Other cars to catch the eye were the ex-Lex Davison Cooper Irving Mk5 s/c of Rod North, Graham Whincup’s Bob Jane Tribute Holden Torana GTR-XU1, Maurie Harper’s Jaguar D-Type rep and James Lambert’s jewell-like ANF 1.5 Elfin Mono

Mk2 Lotus-Ford Cosworth twin-cam.

Quick too, the little car built by father Ron at Elfins in the mid-1960s was seventh outright. Mark Bisset Richard Townley in the BrydonPaterson MG TC Special.

James Lambert in his superb Elfin Mono was seventh outright.

Images: IAN SMITH AUTOPIX

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NATIONALS WRAP

SHAW GRABS HYUNDAI SERIES LEAD Shaw leads Bennett and Wickham in the tightlycontested Excel event. Right: Williscroft’s Pontiac shows Newman’s Merc the way around Baskerville! Images: ANGRYMAN

By Martin Agatyn

ACL EXCEL RACE SERIES

SECOND GENERATION Tasmanian driver Jackson Shaw took the box seat for the lion’s share of the winnings in Australia’s richest Hyundai Excel Series after a strong performance in the first round of the ACL Excel Race Series at Baskerville Raceway on March 10.

The promoters of Round 2 of the national Speed Series put up $10,000 for the tworound series, with the second round on the support programme for Round 2 of the series, Race Tasmania, at Buckby Motors Symmons Plains Raceway the following weekend.

Shaw won all three races in the opening round at Baskerville, although he was made

to work hard for each victory.

His easiest win came in the opening race, where he led from start to finish, from reigning Tasmania Excel champion Jeremy Bennett. Shaw set a new Excel lap record in the process.

Tasmanian rookie Oliver Wickham was third, following up from his recent winning form at Symmons Plains.

Steady drizzle greeted the start of Race 2, ensuring a new lap record was not likely, although a dry line developed fairly quickly.

Bennett made a mistake on lap three, losing ground, but recovered with Wickham in tow, with the race developing into a great three-way battle by mid-race.

The placings didn’t change for the remainder of the race, but there were plenty of triers, producing an entertaining spectacle.

The third race was a 25-minute feature, pushing many drivers and their cars into uncharted waters, compared to normal Tasmanian 12-lap finals.

The format worked well, producing the race of the day, with Bennett hitting the lead on lap eight. What followed was some great dicing and lead changes to the chequered flag, with Shaw taking the win over Bennett.

Wickham was a solid third with the best seat in the house to watch the action.

TASSIE TIN TOPS

THERE WAS plenty of action in the Tassie Tin Tops as well, which was a hybrid category consisting of Sports Sedans, Sports GT and Improved Production sedans.

Charles Williscroft (Pontiac Grand Prix) dominated proceedings, winning all

three races.

The first win was also Williscroft’s first chequered flag and only the car’s second meeting.

Despite the longer-than-usual (for local) race durations, which included rolling starts, Williscroft defied the prediction his car would suffer brake and tyre issues late in the races, to resist every challenge – not that he got many.

Ben Newman (Mercedes Benz AMG GT) shadowed Williscroft for the entire opening race, but was unable to find a gap, with David Walker (Datsun 1200 turbo ute) finishing a distant third after Honni Pitt (Lotus Exige) made a mistake in third place late in the race.

Pitt started brilliantly and pinched second from Newman on the opening lap of the second race and kept him at bay for nine laps before she was relegated to third again.

The race was red flagged and declared on lap 10, following a coming together between David Walker and Troy Wood (Ford Falcon) on the back straight, with Williscroft again taking the win from Newman and Pitt.

Despite his solid early results, Newman was a non-starter in the final race due to tyre issues.

Williscroft dominated for an easy win from Pitt and Peter Galloway (Datsun 1200 Coupe turbo), with the field spread out and massive gaps between the top three cars.

PUSHING HARD AROUND THE ISLAND A wide range of cars, including Formula fords, descended on the Island.

Bradley James fought hard to emerge victorious in two Excel Trophy races. Images: REBECCA HIND REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY PLEASANT CONDITIONS greeted the solid field of competitors that gathered for the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club March Access race meeting.

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A total of 39 Hyundai Excels went racing across the Trophy and Masters categories and produced some competitive action.

The biggest field was the Excel Trophy

class and it was on for young and old straight away as Ethan Grigg-Gault edged out Bradley James by just 0.06s in the opener.

The roles were reversed in Race 2 with James emerging victorious by the even closer margin of 0.03s.

Their back and forth battle was interrupted by Ashton Cattach, who won the third race by the biggest advantage of the weekend – three tenths of a second!

James eventually emerged as the leader at the end of the weekend by taking out

the finale by just 0.05s over Cattach.

The Excel Masters category only took part in three races but they were still nailbiting.

Just 0.07s split David Musgrave and Tim Rowse in the opener, while the result was repeated in the next eight-lapper.

Once again Rowse had to settle for second for the third and final time of the weekend when this time Glenn Mackenzie took the chequered flag.

In the Sprints that featured a wide range of cars David Hawkes (Lotus Elise) Cadel Ambrose (Excel) Matt Gower (Renault RS250) Cameron Rees (Porsche 997) Graham Bentley (Audi TT RS) Cadel Ambrose (Toyota 86) Andrew Cook (Ford Falcon AU) and Nicholas McBride (Swift DB1) won their respective classes.

The next PIARC meeting is at Calder Park on April 6-7.

Thomas Miles

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A big pack of Excels led by Jacob Currie charge into Turn 1.

Images: DENNIS ALLEN

NEW CHAPTER FOR SA STATE SERIES A NEW era of the South Australian Motor Racing Championship kicked off at The Bend Motorsport Park.

More than 230 competitors greeted the season opener which was the most since The Bend’s opening year in 2018.

Joel Johnson and Aaron Oliver wrestle for the lead in the Circuit SA Excel Trophy race.

SA PROTOTYPES

FOR SO much of the weekend the SA Prototypes win looked set to go to Mark Laucke after he won two of the first three races.

However, a final race DNF gave the round win to Andrew Mckee, who had a consistent weekend without a win, but never left the top five.

Jack Boyd was in a league of his own in the SA Aussie Racing Cars.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

AS USUAL the Hyundai Excels were ultra-competitive and, in the SA Trophy series, back to back wins gave Aaron Oliver the edge over the Joel Johnson, who also took two wins but was left to rue a costly Race 3.

The Excel Masters wins were shared by Brian Smith and Kim Andersen. But the feat of never leaving the top two allowed Smith to take out round honours.

Brad Fox was on the run in his FG Falcon as no one could keep up with him in SA TinTops.

Fox swept all three races with Stratton Limberis’ Toyota Corolla right behind him on each occasion.

SA AUSSIE RACING CARS

THE SA Aussie Racing Cars buzzed around The Bend but none could match Jack Boyd.

Boyd’s Mercedes dominated all four races as he completed the perfect weekend.

Right behind him in each race was Shane Mann’s Camaro and Adam Sharp’s Altima.

SUPERKARTS

The Australian Superkarts put on a

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show with tight racing being held across all three classes.

The fight for the 125cc Max Heavy win went down to the wire with just one point separating home drivers Patrick Ross and Jonathan Twigden.

Ross started strongly, winning the first two races, but was unable to return to the top three for the remainder of the weekend.

This opened the door to Twigden, who dominated the final two heats but was forced to rue a DNF in the first race having fallen one point short.

Sanuja Perera had a tight tussle with Kiwi Tyler Edney but emerged victorious by taking out three of the four races in 125cc Max Light.

It was all one-way traffic in 125cc Max Super Heavy as Rod Clarke took a quartet of wins, as did Lee Vella in 125 Gearbox.

Nicholas Schembri raced out of the blocks in 250cc International but was unable to match the pace of Ilya Harpas for the rest of the weekend.

Harpas dominated the final three races to snatch the round honours.

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Ilya Harpas snared 250cc International Superkart honours.

In 250cc National, a number of drivers wrestled for victory.

Brett Burvill, Nick Vella and Mark Vella all showed enough speed to collect wins.

But Marcel Moreno-Chamor won the opener and remained consistent throughout to collect more points than his rivals.

MG AND INVITED BRITISH

A PAIR of Victorians did their best but they could not stop Trevor Lambert’s MG C from cruising to MG and Invited British.

Lambert took a hat-trick of wins with the visiting Jason Holmes and Kim Cole close for company in second and third on each occasion.

The second round at Mallala has been rescheduled to Saturday, April 20.

Thomas Miles

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NATIONALS WRAP

PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC: FAST, FURIOUS AND FABULOUS

THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS THE GOODWOOD REVIVAL WHILE AUSTRALIA HAS THE PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC; THE EVENT STANDS ALONE LOCALLY. AUTO ACTION’S MARK BISSET SPENT A WONDERFUL WEEKEND THERE AND SUMMARISES ALL THE COLOUR AND MOVEMENT OF WHAT WAS A FABULOUS EVENT ...

THE VICTORIAN Historic Racing Register and MG Car Club ran another great meeting from March 8-10.

Clear blue skies and Bass Straight waves twinkling in very hot sunshine provided a stunning stage for about 420 cars to strut their stuff. Not the biggest entry ever but a comfy number in the paddock and for spectators.

We’ve all got our star cars of the

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weekend. For me they were Michael Collins – driving Alistair Hey’s superb 7-litre 1969 McLaren M8B Chev Can-Am car, and Peter Harburg’s 1964 3.3-litre Ferrari 250LM V12 Le Mans endurance racer demonstrated by event patron – 1966-67 Gold Star winner – Spencer Martin.

Old-timers were misty eyed at the sight of the swoopy coupe which reminded

us of the Scuderia Veloce 250LM Martin raced throughout 1965. The other mistyeyed paddock star was the large group of Holden Torana L34s. They took one straight back to 308 Holden V8 thunder in the 1974 Manufacturers Championship (see separate story).

Phillip Island shows off big cars well, they get a chance for a serious highspeed gallop.

The 5-litre Tourer races were all won by Commodore V8s: Martin Wragg’s VF won four, and Brad Neill’s VE one.

Formula 5000 is always spectacular, with Kiwi star Codie Banks winning all of the Q&R Racing events in his Lola T332 Chev.

Somewhat controversially the 5-litre cars shared the grid with an Indycar and F3000 machine, Australian and European

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It’s the early 90s, and Richards (Nissan HR31) leads the way ... Left top: Remember Holden v Ford Supercars? Left: Joe Calleja’s Corvette Stingray shows the way in Group S.

Shane Bowden (Lotus 11 replica) leads Nick McDonald’s Repco Holden Monoposto.

Left: Reunion of great names ... Spencer Martin laps in the Ferrari 355 ... Below left: The Harley Sprague Midget is getting hot ... Below: Aldo di Paoli (Chev Camaro), inside Paul Stubber’s similar car during the Historic Touring Car contest.

Top left: Oh yeah ... that’s Michael Collins in Denny’s McLaren M8B ... Below: And hey, there’s another M8 (E/F), driven by Kiwi Roger Williams. Bottom: And a 3.3L V12 Ferrari 250LM no less ...

Images: JOHN LEMM, IAN SMITH, NEIL HAMMOND

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F2 and Formula Atlantic/Pacific machines.

The over 40-car grid made for great, varied racing, but a few thrills and spills will doubtless give the VHRR cause to review a mix of different roadholding, handling and braking-properties, not to forget acceleration and closing speeds.

However the F5000s played their own starring role with the ‘Philip Island Formula 5000 Grand Prix, which was a eight lap feature race featuring F5000 cars only, with Banks again the winner (see separate report, page 22).

Ray Williams’ 8.3-litre Can-Am McLaren M8E/F Chev defined closing speeds in the Q&R Sports events, winning the lot!

The big ZL1 ally-blocked missile moved the ground (and your guts!), rattled the car windows and the fillings in ‘yer teeth.

Awesome.

Similarly-impressive were the tail-happy exploits of Perth Chev Camaro boys, Paul Stubber and Aldo De Paoli in their Over 2-litre Tourers, Aldo won a race and Paul the rest.

More dominant still were Josh Axford’s Ford Escort RS1600, Terry Lawlor’s Ford Shelby Mustang, Nick McBride’s Swift DB1, Nick McDonald’s Repco Holden Monoposto and Nick Bennett’s Elfin 600B Lotus-Ford twin-cam in Under 2-litre Tourers, Group S, Formula Ford, Groups J,K,Lb & FV, and M&O Sports & Racing respectively.

The ritual lap of the track on-foot was an invitation to suffer heat-stroke but rewarding all-the-same: favourites are the entry and exit of Southern Loop, outside Honda, the exit of Siberia, ‘below’ MG and of course atop the pits, a good place to meet some prominent former drivers.

Throw in a swag of performance roadcars on display opposite the pits and in The Shed, not to forget the Friday evening displays of race-cars in Cowes main-drag and you have one intoxicating, spectacular weekend of motorsport.

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NATIONALS WRAP

WILD RACING AND PROTESTS THE SECOND round of the 2024 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia season at AWC Race Tasmania had everything from crazy racing, and incidents, to controversy and even protests.

At the end of it all, a fighting Race 3 win gave Tom Oliphant a maiden TCR round victory in his second weekend at HMO Customer Racing.

Only 13 cars crossed Bass Strait and Tony D’Alberto’s weekend, that ended with a defiant protest started brilliantly as he took pole by 0.07s over Josh Buchan.

The Wall Racing driver then shot into the lead with a questionable but clean getaway.

However, any hope of building a lead was wiped out by a major first lap incident.

Further back, Brad Harris and Ryan Casha clashed on the exit of Turn 3 which sent the GRM rookie hard into the fence and resulted in the red flag being waved.

Casha described the incident as “stupid” and felt he was squeezed into the outside wall, while Harris believed the youngster “tagged his rear (and) drove into a gap that was closing.”

The second attempt at racing began with another standing start where Buchan had the better getaway, only for D’Alberto to fight back and hit the lead at Turn 2.

Harris sat behind the pair in third but got his second approach to the hairpin all wrong, locking up, finding the dirt and getting stuck in the gravel.

The Safety Car controlled the field until lap five and only another five laps of green flag racing were possible before time certainly kicked in.

As a result D’Alberto cruised to victory by 1.6s over Buchan and Zac Soutar. Initially full points were awarded before being completely removed almost 24 hours later – which caused an eruption inside the Paddock.

But before then, Race 2, with the reverse top 10 grid took place and Dylan O’Keeffe made the most of the inherited pole.

O’Keeffe did not have it all his own way however, as Oliphant launched a mid-race assault on the lead.

Oliphant’s Hyundai was strong in and out of the hairpin while O’Keeffe’s Lynk & Co had better legs down the straights.

After 13 tense laps, O’Keeffe was able to pull away from the Hyundai to seal the breakthrough win for both driver and team.

It was O’Keeffe’s first since Queensland 2019 and Ashley Seward Motorsport’s maiden with a Lynk & Co. Earlier Aaron Cameron was in the fight

for second before he was torpedoed by Will Harris at the hairpin.

In the 140 minute break between Races 2 and 3, tensions exploded in the TCR pits as the officials decided to not include the Race 1 results in the Race 3 grid calculations.

Whilst it appeared to be resolved, D’Alberto “took a stand” due to the “unprofessional” decision-making process and parked his Honda in the pits at the end of the warm-up lap and did not take part in Race 3 in protest.

Although just 11 cars lined up on the grid, the finale proved to be a classic with drama from start to finish.

O’Keeffe again converted pole into an early lead but lost it when Oliphant literally pushed Jordan Cox past the Lynk & Co with a bump draft down the back straight.

This ignited a crazy following 10 laps where a number of drivers shuffled all over the order with the top 10 running nose-totail.

Ben Bargwanna was the big loser, being spun out at Turn 1, while the Peugeots of Cameron and Cox somehow avoided a major crash when the #18 surfed over the Turn 2 kerb.

The wash up of it all saw Soutar hit the lead and Oliphant rise from sixth to second.

It did not take long for the leading Audi to be nudged out of position by both Oliphant and Clay Richards on separate occasions at the hairpin.

Soon Buchan hunted down Soutar for third but their battle ended in tears.

They went side-by-side through Turn 5 but the Audi got unsettled and found the grass, which sent it on a collision course with the Hyundai.

As Buchan went on a high-speed tour of the outfield and dropped to 11th, Soutar stayed on the track and held onto fourth.

Untroubled by all the chaos was Oliphant who took a 2s win over the spirited Richards and O’Keeffe.

Now, just one point covers the top three in the championship, now led by Soutar and after an eventful and tense trip to Tasmania, the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia field returns at Phillip Island on April 12-14.

Thomas Miles SUPERCHEAP AUTO TCR AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 2 1: Zac Soutar 187 points 2: Ben Bargwanna 186 3: Jordan Cox 186 4: Josh Buchan 169 5: Clay Richards 168

Tom Oliphant held off a number of challenges to take out a dramatic TCR round in Tasmania. Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

CREAM RISES TO THE TOP AS HYUNDAIS EXCEL REIGNING TASMANIAN Hyundai Excel champion Jeremy Bennett has come out on top after two intense weekends of racing for the Race Tasmania ACL Hyundai Series.

While Jackson Shaw may have taken the points with three wins form three starts the opening round at Baskerville on March 9, it was a different story for the second and deciding round at Symmons Plains Raceway and produced some incredible racing.

Throughout the five races over the weekend, it was mostly a battle between Bennett, first-round winner Shaw, and exciting 14 year-old up and comer Oliver Wickham.

Bennett won the first two races on the Saturday, with Shaw and Dalton scrapping for the minors in race one after

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Jeremy Bennett managed to emerge victorious from a number of intense Excel battles.

Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

Bennett pulled away.

The reigning Tasmanian champ led away the third race on the Saturday, but

Wickham took the lead on lap six and withstood tremendous pressure from behind to hang on for a hard-fought win.

A poor start from Wickham from pole in Race 4 on the Sunday morning allowed Bennett to lead for the first four laps.

The race had a dramatic conclusion as Bennett forced his way through on the inside on the second last corner with Wickham in tow as the top five were covered by less than a second.

The final race was more of the same, with Bennett, Wickham and Shaw swapping and changing places in the dying laps, before Wickham hit the lead in the hairpin on the last lap to hold on from Bennett and Shaw.

In the final wash-up, Bennett won the series by just eight points, with seven points between Jackson and Wickham.

Anyone of them would have been a worthy winner in a great series.

Martin Agatyn

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GOLDING MAKES HIS MARK SUPERCARS STAR James Golding now has a Trans Am round win on his resume after making a late charge at the AWC Race Tasmania.

Initially the weekend was dominated by Jordan Boys as he cleaned up the first two races but a gearbox issue in Race 3 changed everything.

A perfect Sunday for Golding was enough to overhaul Boys for the overall victory in just his second round in the category.

The Garry Rogers Motorsport driver admitted he did not think a round win was possible after qualifying down in seventh.

Up front ,Boys edged out Nathan Herne, who made an impressive comeback to the category after a year in America.

Herne, driving and engineering his 2021 title winning Dodge, was 0.18s short of Boys.

The returning champion started strong by beating Boys off the line only for the Racing Academy driver to hit back at

the hairpin.

Herne sat second until he dived into the pits during an early Safety Car due to a puncture and fell to last.

As a result Boys cruised to glory and fronted a Racing Academy 1-2 as teenage teammate Elliott Cleary followed him, while James Moffat could only manage sixth.

Cleary got a storming start in Race 2 but he could only lead for six laps before Boys hunted him down to seal back-toback wins.

In what would become a theme of the weekend, two grass fires brought out the Safety Car to set up a one-lap dash.

Boys was unthreatened but Cleary came under attack and dropped to fifth as Barbour and Golding surged to the podium.

Barbour continued to show spirit in Race 3 where he beat Boys off the line and controlled the first five laps.

Once again Boys had the foot down and returned to the lead as the Racing

Academy driver looked unbeatable and on course for a hat-trick of wins.

However, the #9 Mustang suddenly slowed down on the back straight on what would become the penultimate lap of the race.

Boys was stuck in fourth gear and he crawled the rest of the race which, fortunately for him, ended early due to another grass fire.

Although Boys could not hold on for another win, he still secured fourth as the fight for victory exploded in front of him.

Barbour and Golding had been battling for second but it went up another level with the win on the line.

Golding threw his Mustang down the inside of Barbour’s Camaro on the penultimate trip through the last corner.

It proved to be the difference as Golding won by two-tenths while Todd Hazelwood joined them on the podium.

Their battle carried on into the finale where Golding snuck ahead of Barbour off the start.

Behind them the likes of Boys and Moffat were trading paint in pursuit of third and the Racing Academy driver prevailed over the reigning champion.

The race was interrupted by a midrace Safety Car for yet another grass fire caused by a Ben Grice off.

But the second Safety Car saw the race come to an early finish when Mark Bailey and Josh Thomas clashed on the exit of the hairpin which fired the #69 into the guardrail and they finished spinning just behind a limping Tim Slade.

With Moffat only managing fifth for the round, it is now game on in Trans Am as it heads to Phillip Island on April 12-14.

Thomas Miles TRANS AM CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 2 1: James Moffat 250 points 2: Jordan Boys 245 3: James Golding 233 4: Todd Hazelwood 205 5: Elliott Barbour 201

James Golding was victorious in his second Trans Am round. Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

CONSISTENCY PAYS FOR WILLISCROFT TWO CONSISTENT weekends from Tasmanian sports sedan driver Charles Williscroft has been enough for him to secure the two-round Tassie Tin Top Series at Symmons Plains.

After a clean sweep of the first three races at Baskerville in his Pontiac Grand Prix, Williscroft didn’t win any of the following four races at Symmons Plains, but stayed close enough to the front to protect his points lead and come out on top with two thirds and two seconds.

The real pacesetter at Symmons Plains was Craig Sheehan (Nissan GTR), who dominated Race 1, despite an engine oil leak, which looked worse than it really was, with Ben Newman (Mercedes Benz AMG GT) second and Williscroft third.

Sheehan blasted out to a sizeable lead in Race 2, before an engine crank sensor issue stopped his Nissan on lap four.

Newman was able to capitalise and take the win from Williscroft.

Sheehan started from the rear of the grid for Race 3 and was on a solid charge until an alternator issue forced him out yet again on the third lap.

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Meanwhile, Williscroft had managed to get past Newman and led from the restart, in a see-sawing battle between the two very different cars.

Newman managed to sneak into the lead on lap 17 and took the win.

After replacing his alternator, Sheehan,

started from the rear of the grid again and charged to the lead – with his car being more than 30 kmh faster than anyone else on the back straight sweeper.

By the chequered flag, Sheehan had lapped everyone except Newman and Williscroft and was closing in on the latter

on the final lap.

Williscroft had backed off considerably, comfortable in the knowledge he had done enough to secure the series win from Newman and Champ.

Martin Agatyn

Stringing together a clean and fast weekend was enough for Charles Williscroft to take out Tassie Tin Tops.

Image: DMAC Photography

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NATIONALS WRAP

MAZDA TERRITORY THE PRECISION National Sports Sedan Series made a celebrated return to racing in the Apple Isle, but Peter Ingram made sure Tasmania was Mazda territory.

As Steve Tamasi had the speed, but not the consistency, Ingram’s Mazda RX7 waltzed to a hat-trick of wins at Symmons Plains.

The opening round of the 2024 season was a grand occasion being the category’s first visit to Tassie in over three decades (since 1992).

With reigning champion Tony Ricciardello and arch-rival Jordan Caruso both missing, the opening round, the 16-driver field of fire-breathing monsters that made the trip to Tasmania had a golden chance to start the year with a bang.

Initially it appeared Tamasi’s Holden Calibra was the one to beat after it was the fastest on Friday and carried that speed into qualifying.

Tamasi took pole with a 51.2714s lap, which was a tenth clear of a pair of Mazda RX7s driven by Ingram and Alex Williams.

When the lights went out for the first National Sports Sedans race in over three decades at Tasmania, Tamasi and Ingram battled door-to-door off the line.

The Calibra ended up winning the battle with the inside line at Turn 2 but the RX7 responded and its lightning straight line speed proved overwhelming on lap two.

Ingram flew past Tamasi on the entry to the hairpin and the lead change arrived moments before the first Safety Car caused by Steve Lacey going off at the end of the back straight.

After overcoming a challenge from Purtell to hold onto second, Tamasi had good enough race pace to reduce Ingram’s lead to less than a second after

Peter Ingram was unstoppable in his Mazda RX7. Images: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

It ended up being a weekend of ‘what could have been’ for Steven Tamasi. being more than three.

But just when a battle was brewing, the Safety Car returned due to Ashley Jarvis being awkwardly parked on the inside of Turn 2.

Thankfully the race was at least decided by a one-lap dash where Ingram kept Tamasi at bay.

Ingram enjoyed a much easier drive to glory in Race 2 as his main rivals both found trouble at the start.

As Tamasi entered Turn 2, he was tagged by Purtell from a long way back and the pair rotated in front of the field, which then had to scatter across the grass.

Geoff Taunton was the only driver

The Precision National Sports Sedan Series field shook the Apple Isle for the first time since 1992.

Images: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

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unable to avoid the spinners as he brushed the Nissan 180sx and as a result the bonnet flew off his MARC at the hairpin, but was able to carry on in third.

The chaos allowed Ingram to build a 6s lead within two laps but that was wiped out by the Safety Car needed to collect debris.

When racing resumed Tamasi was a man on a mission, charging all the way up to fifth by lap seven.

But his pursuit was stopped when both he and Jarvis stopped halfway up the opening straight, ensuring the race ended under the control of the Safety Car. Steve Lacey had an embarrassing moment before the third and final race began, spinning at pit exit on his way to the grid.

Due to his Race 2 DNF, Tamasi started down in 13th, but was already up to eighth at the end of the first lap.

As Ingram once again drove into the distance, Taunton and Barwick went back and forth for second, trading blows on consecutive trips down the back straight.

By lap seven Tamasi hit the top five and

he only needed two laps to soar to third by accounting for Purtell and Barwick.

But there was trouble brewing at the hairpin which would eventually see the race end under the Safety Car. Scotty Cameron was the first, having a big spin and was lucky to escape significant contact with both the wall and other competitors.

Mark Duggan was sitting a solid sixth in the Aston Martin DB9 but a second lockup in three laps at the hairpin sent him into a spin.

Duggan tried to recover but his turning circle was not tight enough and his Aston Martin got stuck in the sand.

It meant the race and the historic weekend ended in anti-climactic style with Ingram leading every lap, ahead of Taunton and Tamasi, who flew from 13th to third.

However, his comeback drive was only enough to secure seventh in the round honours as Taunton edged out Barwick in the close battle for second behind Ingram.

After ending a long time between drinks in Tasmania, the Precision National Sports Sedan Series returns at The Bend Motorsport Park on May 31-June 2.

Thomas Miles

2024 PRECISION NATIONAL SPORTS SEDAN SERIES POINTS AFTER ROUND 1 1: Peter Ingram 135 points 2: Geoff Taunton 117 3: Kim Barwick 114 4: Ben Purtell 94 5: Matthew Ingram 85

INTERNATIONAL

NASCAR • BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY • IMSA

Denny Hamlin in the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, leads team-mate and second place getter Martin Truex Jr, also in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

NASCAR: OLDIES DOMINATE BRISTOL ON A day where tyre management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions on Sunday, with Denny Hamlin winning the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In a race that produced 54 lead changes — a record for Cup Series short tracks — Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds.

In a return to concrete after three straight races on dirt, Hamlin won his second straight race at the 0.533-mile speedway and his fourth overall, second only among active drivers to Kyle Busch’s eight.

But the story was the tyres and the mysterious way they behaved in a race that saw the track start to eat through to the casings 45 laps into a green-flag run.

Goodyear brought the same tyre that ran without issues in last year’s night race, but the concrete surface did not take rubber very well, marbles accumulating on the high line, making the top of the track untenable.

Whatever the case, with his short-track background, Hamlin was best equipped to deal with the surprising situation.

“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston, Martinsville,” said Hamlin, who grew up in Chesterfield, Viriginia.

“Once it became a tyre-management race, I really liked our chances.

“Obviously, the veteran in Martin knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”

Truex passed Hamlin for the lead in traffic on lap 483 but surrendered the top spot to the race winner one lap later, as the teammates worked around

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slower cars. Truex’s tyres gave up the ghost on the last few circuits, as Hamlin pulled away.

Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, as the four JGR drivers spent a combined 383 of 500 laps at the front of the field, with Ty Gibbs leading 137, Truex 54 and Christopher Bell 29.

Brad Keselowski finished third, 7.284 seconds behind Hamlin. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were fourth and fifth, respectively, as only five drivers finished on the lead lap.

Larson and Truex leave Bristol tied for the series lead, passing defending series champion Ryan Blaney, who finished 16th.

The Cup Series moves to its first road course of 2024 as Circuit of The Americas awaits this weekend.

THE PREVIOUS weekend, Christopher Bell pulled off an impressive win for Toyota at Phoenix Raceway, with a revised body ‘package’ and set-up making the difference on the short-track.

The Toyota beat the Ford of Chris Buescher to the finish line by a distant 5.465 seconds, with Ty Gibbs third.

A number of the big name teams had a bad weekend, but Bell was cautious about the future: “The Hendrick cars clearly missed it this week, right?” He said. “They’re not going to miss it in November whenever a championship is on the line and they’ve had however many races to get their set-up dialed in.

Clearly the JGR cars and the Toyota group hit on the setup the best. We saw that in 2022 whenever Next Gen was first introduced– the Fords smoked everybody this race.

“It just takes time with these changes to optimise it.”

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The winning IMSA Sebring 12 Hour Acura ARX-06 GTP of Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, driven by the stella combination of Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Indycar star Colton Herta. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

ACURA SNATCHES SEBRING IMSA WIN SATURDAY’S MOBIL1 12 Hours of Sebring was decided by an intense battle for the lead with less than five minutes remaining in a classic endurance racing contest.

Louis Deletraz in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 stalked Sebastien Bourdais in the #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R throughout the last of 12 hours before finally forcing his way past to claim the overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class victory in Round 2 of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The 26-year-old Swiss driver faked a pass to the outside of Sebring International Raceway’s hairpin before making a late dive to the inside.

Bourdais attempted a crossover move exiting up the next straight, but Deletraz was able to edge ahead through the next sequence of corners, with the Acura and Cadillac making light contact.

He held the lead in the car he shared with Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta over the final four laps to prevail by 0.891s over Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon.

Rolex 24 At Daytona winners Felipe

Nasr, Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell rounded out the podium, finishing 8.898s back in third place in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.

The #7 and #40 teams left Sebring tied for the lead of the GTP standings with 706 points each.

“The car was really strong in the end, and I knew we were in a position to win,” said Deletraz. “I didn’t want to take risks, but in the end, I had to send it. Seb was tough but fair. If he didn’t respect me, we would have both ended up in the wall.

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, on April 19-20.

In the LMP2 category, Era Motorsport remained unbeaten this season as Connor Zilisch, Ryan Dalziel and Dwight Merriman took the chequered flag. In GTD Pro, Jack Hawksworth teamed with Ben Barnicoat and IndyCar winner Kyle Kirkwood to take the victory in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 for Vasser Sullivan Racing.

In GTD, Philip Ellis, Russell Ward and Indy Dontje won in the #57 MercedesAMG GT3 for Winward Racing.

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INTERNATIONAL

CHAMPION AND THE CHALLENGER FIGHT AGAIN MOTOGP’S SEASON-OPENER in Qatar was a tale of two stories, with Saturday’s Sprint ruled by Prima Pramac’s Jorge Martín, while Sunday’s main event was dominated by Ducati’s defending champion, Francesco Bagnaia.

After qualifying on Pole and breaking the Losail International Circuit’s lap record with a time of 1:50.789s, Jorge Martín started Saturday’s 11-lap race alongside Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini.

As the five lights went out for the first time in 2024, Martín set off, however, not without the threat of a fast-starting Brad Binder behind.

Binder capitalised on his KTM’s impressive launch, sprinting into P2 with such pace that the gap to third place had grown to five-tenths come the end of Lap 1.

As the leaders rounded Turn 1 on Lap 2, it took heavy braking to save the pairing from a collision after Binder had gained too much speed in Martín’s slipstream.

The top two soon became a leading quartet with Bagnaia and Espargaro joining the fight.

With five laps to go, the gap between Martín and Binder had grown from onetenth to six-tenths, allowing Marquez, in his first Gresini outing, to claw his way to the rear of the lead pack.

His hopes faded, however, after running wide and letting Espargaro past.

Out of Turn 15, the #41 then relegated Bagnaia from podium contention.

After tweaking his set-up after the Sprint, Bagnaia had the pace to surpass Jorge Martin in the GP itself. Right: Podium time – l to r: Binder, Bagnaia, Martin. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Martín crossed the line clear of the pack, starting 2024 with 12 points in the bag.

As for Jack Miller, the Australian finished out of the points, in P10, crossing the line 12.6 seconds behind the race leader.

In the main event, it was a slightly different story – however, still with a Ducati ending on the top step.

After slight chaos before the lights went out, Martín set off, instantly losing his lead to the rapid Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia who started from P5.

Binder was right behind the Italian, trading second place with Martín for much

of the reduced 21-lap Grand Prix.

The start couldn’t have been worse for Miller who, after capitalising on his Red Bull KTM’s impressive launch and moving into P6, crashed at the first corner on Lap 2. He was able to continue, rejoining at the back of the 22-man field.

One to impress, however, was 19-year-old Pedro Acosta on his MotoGP Grand Prix debut, taking the fight to Marquez for P4.

Acosta surpassed expectations as the race reached half-distance, poetically storming down the inside of Marquez into the first turn before fading in the closing stages.

He still ended the race within the points, finishing in P9.

In the final few laps, and with Bagnaia clear in the lead, it was down to Binder and Martín to sort the final podium places out.

As the field flew down the main straight to start the final lap, Binder’s margin was dangerously close to the #89.

He stepped it up as Martín chased him down, just holding onto P2 by the chequered flag.

Martín was forced to settle for a thirdplace finish, taking home a handsome haul of points in conjunction with his Sprint win the previous night.

Heading into the Portuguese Grand Prix, Bagnaia sits P1 in the standings on 31 points, a welcome feat in his title defence, with Binder and Martín hot on his heels.

Reese Mauntone

FITTIPALDI MAKES STATEMENT ENZO FITTIPALDI has announced himself as a FIA Formula 2 Championship contender in 2024 after flying in Saudi Arabia.

Despite having a tough point-less outing in Bahrain, Fittipaldi bounced back brilliantly with a third in the Sprint and victory in the Feature at Jeddah.

In qualifying, Oliver Bearman started what would become the biggest weekend of his life on the pace by taking pole position with a 1:42.217, just 0.025s ahead of Kush Maini.

However, Bearman was never able to line up his PREMA Racing machine at the front of the grid as Ferrari came calling for the young Brit to sub for the remainder of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in place of Carlos Sainz.

Due to the reverse grid, this had no impact on the front of the field. Paul Aron chopped in front of Richard Verschoor to take the lead, while Franco Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan failed to get away.

The SC was needed instantly due to Victor Martins finding the fence at Turn 2.

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Fittipaldi heads Mercedes Academy’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who ended up sixth in both races.

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES When racing resumed, Verschoor hit the lead and was able to guide Hauger to the chequered flag by 0.7s.

However, Verschoor was disqualified and stripped of the win due to a technical breach (an incorrect throttle ‘map’), gifting the win to Hauger.

With Bearman racing for the Scuderia, Maini started the Feature on pole and made the perfect start while chaos unfolded behind, with Pepe Marti

spinning into Roman Stanek.Gabriel Bortoleto also retired due to a mechanical problem, bringing the SC into action.

As early as lap six, the field dived into the pits and once the cycle was completed, Fittipaldi emerged in the net lead, having started fourth, by passing Maini with DRS on lap 13.

Just two laps later the SC arrived again, with Franco Colapinto losing the rear at Turn 1.

Despite being in the effective lead, Fittipaldi still had Amaury Cordeel and Jaun Manuel Correa to get past with the latter pair staying out trying to make a long run on Supersofts last to the finish.

The Brazilian went for it at the start of lap 22 when he went three wide and around the outside of Cordeel and Correa.

Maini and Hauger also got by to join Fittipaldi on the podium with the Brazilian taking a commanding 7.8s win.

The grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi is now second in the championship, nine points behind Zane Maloney as F2 returns to Australia this weekend.

Thomas Miles FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RD 2 1 Z. Maloney 47 points 2 E. Fittipaldi 32 3 D. Hauger 31 4 P. Aron 29 5 K. Maini 27

INDYCAR • ST PETERSBURG

PENSKE POWER JOSEF NEWGARDEN and Scott McLaughlin starred at St Petersburg to give Penske a strong start to the 2024 IndyCar season.

Newgarden dominated the 100-lap Grand Prix of St Petersburg to emerge 7.9s ahead of the rest of the field.

His near perfect drive completed a near perfect opening round for Penske as three of the Captain’s cars filled the top four.

Kiwi McLaughlin carried on his strong form with the street circuit by finishing third ahead of Aussie Will Power with the two trans-Tasman stars charging late after starting towards the end of the top 10.

The sole non Penske driver up the front of the field was McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who collected his third runner-up finish at St Petersburg in five starts.

Newgarden led early from pole but lost control during an early caution period caused by a Marcus Armstrong crash.

He showed strong mid-race pace and needed just four laps to retake the effective lead from Felix Rosenqvist.

With 29 laps to go Newgarden had to lead the field away from a Safety Car restart but showed no nerves as he charged 8s away from O’Ward.

A big part of his dominant drive was his confidence behind the wheel with the 2023 Indy 500 winner revealing a “killer mentality”.

“I went into the race comfortable with the fact that let’s just have a good day.

If we don’t win, that’s not the end all, be all. Let’s just get good points. “[But] as soon as we restarted, I’m like ‘I’m going past these guys’. I don’t care if I wreck it. I’m just going to the front.

“I felt that today. So, it was fun to have the killer mentality. I think you’ve got to have that in a lot of ways in any race that

Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin say cheers on the podium. you’re in. It’s hard to survive without it.

Josef Newgarden leads the field at the “I think just simply put, it’s just nice to start of the 2024 IndyCar season. feel positive.

“I think I overloaded myself in the past, so I am enjoying it more, simply put.”

In the Fast 6 Newgarden received a mighty challenge from Rosenqvist with just 0.0058s separating the pair.

But the #2 Penske driver was able to edge ahead with a 59.5714s lap.

When the lights went out Newgarden tyre barriers. aggressively chopped in front of The yellow created chaos on pit Rosenqvist to take the racing line into road and shook up the pecking order Turn 1 where McLaughlin sent it down with everyone aside from Christian the inside to rise from ninth to sixth.

Lundgaard being serviced.

Christian Lundgaard suffered an early There was almost a collision between setback when he received a rear right the leading four drivers on exit, with puncture from nose-to-tail contract from Newgarden forced to rejoin behind Alex Palou.

Rosenqvist and Colton Herta after a The first caution did not arrive until close call with O’Ward. lap 26 when Kiwi young gun Armstrong Rosenqvist and Herta ran side by side found the barriers. until the line and despite Herta flying Armstrong locked the brakes and out of pit road ahead, it was actually carried too much speed into the leftRosenqvist who had the nose in front at handed Turn 10, going head first into the the all important exit.

This meant Newgarden was down in fourth when racing resumed on lap 31, while McLaughlin was up to sixth.

However, it did not take long for the #2 Penske driver to reassert his dominance.

He picked off Herta as early as Turn 4 as the Andretti driver soon slumped to sixth behind O’Ward and McLaughlin.

On lap 33 Newgarden made a calculated move to steal the effective lead from Rosenqvist at Turn 1, while O’Ward also picked off the #60 a handful of corners later.

Marcus Ericsson returned with mechanical issues but it was the caution caused by Linus Lundgaard that threatened to spice up the race.

Newgarden had built a comfortable 5.4s until it was wiped out with 32 laps to when Lundgaard was punted backwards into the Turn 10 tyres by Romain Grosjean.

It set up a 29-lap sprint to the flag where Newgarden and O’Ward were untroubled but the Trans-Tasman Penske stars went on the charge.

McLaughlin wasted no time in stealing third from Herta, while Power rose from sixth to fourth at the death.

After Penske powered to a crushing 1-3-4, it will be tough to beat at the nonchampionship Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge on March 24, while Round 2 is on the famous streets of Long Beach on April 21.

Thomas Miles INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1 J. Newgarden 54 points 2 P. O’Ward 40 3 S. McLaughlin 35 4 W. Power 32 5 C. Herta 31

Josef Newgarden was in a league of his own at St Petersburg.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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INTERNATIONAL

VERSTAPPEN IN DEMO RUN MODE

Report: LUIS VASCONCELOS Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES ANOTHER RACE, another categoric Max Verstappen win, another easy one-two finish for Red Bull.

Even more than in Bahrain, the RB’s superiority was never in question at the much faster Jeddah circuit, Verstappen having his life made easier in qualifying when Ferrari took a gamble that failed on Leclerc’s first attempt – two ‘preparation laps’ were too much for the C5 tyres – leaving the Monegasque, the only one remotely close to the Dutchmans pace, with just one serious attempt to go for it.

Leclerc managed to overcome a poor start and got P2 back with a bold move around the outside of Pérez’s Red Bull coming out of Turn 2 (“I trusted Checo would leave me enough room and, fortunately, he did”, he said after the race) but had no answer for Verstappen, who was immediately out of DRS reach and managing the Medium tyres, as he was planning to go all the way to at least lap 20.

By the start of lap four, Pérez had eased past Leclerc in the pits straight and started to pull away as well, so the race looked like a foregone conclusion after less than 10 minutes.

This being a one-stop race for everyone, and with only rookie Oliver Bearman and Valtteri Bottas on the Soft compound, we were on for a long, boring evening on a track that only provides some excitement when there are accidents and restarts.

On cue, on lap seven, Lance Stroll hit the wall hard in Turn 22 and provided the excitement we were all hoping for.

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Bearman became the second ‘unscheduled’ debutant in the last year to make a sensational debut ...

Above: Verstappen used more energy getting out of the car – it was that easy ... Below left: Perez dropped a couple of spots while pitting but soon pushed back to finish second. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Into Turn 1 and Max is clear, Leclerc under threat from Perez, Oscar heading down the inside ...

DOUBLE STACKING PAID OFF

JEDDAH OFFERING no challenge for Pirelli’s tyres – this was always going to be a onestop race and even with 43 laps to go, 14 drivers dived into the pits and put the Hard tyres on, to go all the way to the end.

Only Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Zhou Guanyu stayed out, as their teams reasoned they’d lose more time by being double stacked behind their team-mates in the pits, so the McLaren driver jumped from sixth to first and Hamilton moved up to third after running the early laps in P8.

The dangers of double stacking were in evidence when Sérgio Pérez got a penalty

for unsafe release but, with the Mexican falling only to fourth place, the extra five seconds were never going to put his final result in question.

Ricciardo was the unlucky one in this massive pit stops round, a mix up with the rear tyres making him lose 40s while stationary. That cost him four places and a drop to last, but he was already glued to the back of the field and the race resumed.

Knowing Norris would eventually have to stop and being careful to keep his hard tyres in good condition, Verstappen only moved ahead of Norris on lap 13 and, two seconds behind, Pérez did the same to Hamilton, but using DRS in the main straight.

But then it took another five laps for the Mexican to overtake the McLaren driver and by then Verstappen was already 5.4s ahead of his team-mate and pulling away little by little as well.

The Dutchman’s conservative pace helped Pérez to stay in relative contact with the leader, with 8.6s separating them at the flag – so Perez’s penalty, added Verstappen’s victory margin was up to 13.6s. No wonder he was quietly pleased after scoring another 25 points: “It was a very good race. Of course, after that first stint with the Safety Car, we had to box and I knew that it was going to be a very long stint to the end. But it was the same for most of us and I think we just managed the pace very well to the end. The whole weekend, the car has been performing really well, probably a little bit better than expected even.”

Far from the surprising pole and win he scored on this track last year, Sérgio Pérez seemed to have accepted what his role for the rest of the season will be: “I had a great start. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep ahead of Charles because he kept it there and I gave him the space into Turn 2 and it was his corner then in Turn 4. I was able to get through Charles, I think, within two or three laps. And then it was looking good, the race. I was within three seconds from Max, and I think the degradation on that Medium stint was looking quite good.

“But unfortunately, then we were compromised with such an early Safety Car, and that meant that basically everyone just pitted. And when I was going out, it was actually my mistake, because I was told by the team to hold it back.”

For Charles Leclerc this was a loney race for third place, after Perez got through and

Formula 1 Round 2 SAUDI ARABIA Grand Prix - Race report

Stroll piled into the wall on lap seven ... he cleared both Hamilton and Norris by the halfway distance. As he was already 8.4s behind Pérez when he eventually got by the McLaren, Leclers accepted he wasn’t going to get within five seconds of the Mexican to inherit second place, so he saved his tyres to go for the fastest lap on the final lap, scoring an extra point.

Happy with his performance, the Monegasque was, nevertheless, well aware of the gap to Red Bull: “It was a bit of a boring race because Red Bull were a bit too quick and, behind, we had a bit of a gap, but we took the maximum points we could today and that was the target, so that’s great.”

PIASTRI LEADS THE MIDFIELD BATTLE

OLIVER PIASTRI bounced back in style from a disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix, being the quickest McLaren driver both in qualifying and the race in Jeddah. The young Australian was fifth quickest on Friday night, beating Norris by 0.043s but none of them had an answer for an on-form Fernando Alonso, who too his Aston Martin up to the second row of the grid.

On race pace, though, the MCL38 was the fastest car in this battle, with Piastri getting ahead of the veteran right at the start of lap two, opening immediately a gap that denied the Aston Martin driver the use of DRS. Joining the queue of cars pitting for Hard tyres during the Safey Car period, Piastri was then frustrated by the lack of top speed, even with the use of DRS of his car.

Lap after lap he tried to get ahead of Hamilton going into Turn 1, twice going over track limits after outbraking himself, so it was only when the Mercedes driver finally pitted at the end of lap 36, that the Australian moved up to P4, already more than 10s behind Leclerc, so all that was left for him to do was to bring the car home.

Knowing he’d scored the maximum points QUALIFYING RACE 2

Fourth place, nursing his Hard tyres home, was a great result for Oscar Piastri.

Hulkenberg grabbed Hass’ first points for the year.

Russell had the wood on Lewis most of the weekend ...

available for his car certainly made Piastri a happier man than in Bahrain: “I think qualifying made the difference today. I think Lewis showed that if we qualify behind them, there was a good chance we were going to be stuck behind them for the whole night. I think it’s very, very tight between us. And we need to do some work to try and jump them and catch the two teams ahead.”

Norris completed the team’s good result with P8, behind rookie sensation Oliver Bearman, paying the price for not pitting under the Safety Car – that gamble would have only paid off if, later on, there would have been a second Safety Car period.

Piastri got past him early on but he managed to hold George Russell until the end of the race to finish in a fifth place that fully satisfied him: “I’m definitely happy with the race result, in front of both Mercedes, one McLaren and one Ferrari – this is the maximum we can wish for at the moment. We saw again in the race that we still miss two or three tenths compared to Mercedes and McLaren, maybe a little bit more comparing Red Bull and Ferrari.”

Mercedes left Saudi Arabia confused with the lack of pace of the W15, the rear of the car being too nervous for the drivers to trust it on the high speed corners. The gamble to go for a low downforce setting cost Russell and Hamilton around half a second per lap in the first sector, time they never got back in the rest of the lap.

That, at least, allowed Hamilton to be able to keep Piastri at bay for 25 laps but was of no use when Russell tried to get by Alonso or the seven times World Champion resumed, on fresh tyres, behind Bearman and Norris, so sixth and ninth place was the best the British duo could get.

HUMBLE PIE TIME FOR MERCEDES

FIGHTING ASTON Martin’s corner on his own, as Stroll was, again, more than half a second off his team mate’s pace in qualifying, then hitting the wall early on in the race, Fernando Alonso focused entirely on defending his position, knowing he didn’t have a good enough car to make any progress.

RESULTS RACE 2 50 LAPS JEDDAH

HULKENBERG SCORES CONTROVERSIAL POINT

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 2

Pos Driver

Time

Pos Drivers

Make

Laps

Margin

Pos Driver

Points

1

Max Verstappen

1:27.472

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

50

1:20.43.273 -

1

Max Verstappen

51

-

2

Charles Leclerc

+0.319

2

Sergio Perez

Red Bull

50

+13.643 s1

2

Sergio Perez

36

-

3

Sergio Perez

+0.335

3

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

50

+18.639 t1

3

Charles Leclerc

28 s1

4

Fernando Alonso

+0.374

4

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

50

+32.007 s1

4

George Russell

18 s1

5

Oscar Piastri

+0.617

5 Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

50

+35.759 t1

5

Oscar Piastri

16 s3

6

Lando Norris

+0.660

6 George Russell

Mercedes

50

+39.936 s1

6

Carlos Sainz

15 t3

7

George Russell

+0.844

7

Oliver Bearman

Ferrari

50

+42.679 s4

7

Fernando Alonso

12 s2

8

Lewis Hamilton

+0.988

8 Lando Norris

McLaren

50

+45.708 t2

8

Lando Norris

12 t2

9

Yuki Tsunoda

+1.075

9

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

50

+47.391 t1

9

Lewis Hamilton

8 t2

10 Lance Stroll

+1.100

10 Nico Hulkenberg

Haas

50

+1:16.996 s5

10 Oliver Bearman

6 s11

11

+1.170

11 Alex Albon

Williams

50

+1:28.354 s1

11

1 s5

12 Alex Albon

+1.508

12 Kevin Magnussen Haas

50

+1:45.737 s1

12 Lance Stroll

1 t2

13 Kevin Magnussen

+1.548

13 Esteban Ocon

Alpine

49

+1 Lap s4

13 Alex Albon

0 s2

14 Daniel Ricciardo

+1.553

14 Logan Sargeant

Williams

49

+1 Lap s5

14 Zhou Guanyu

0 t3

15 Nico Hulkenberg

-

15 Yuki Tsunoda

Racing Bulls

49

+1 lap t6

15 Kevin Magnussen

0 t3

16 Valtteri Bottas

+1.707

16 Daniel Ricciardo

Racing Bulls

49

+1 Lap t2

16 Daniel Ricciardo

0 t3

17 Esteban Ocon

+2.003

17 Valtteri Bottas

Sauber

49

+1 Lap t1

17 Esteban Ocon

0

18 Pierre Gasly

+2.007

18 Zhou Guanyu

Sauber

49

+1 Lap s2

18 Yuki Tsunoda

0 t4

19 Logan Sargeant

+2.054

NC Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

5

+45 Laps t9

19 Logan Sargeant

0 s1

20 Zhou Guanyu

-

NC Pierre Gasly

Alpine

1

+49 Laps t2

20 Valtteri Bottas

0 t1

Oliver Bearman

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

autoactionmag

Nico Hulkenberg

autoactionmag

-

NICO HULKENBERG gave Haas its first point of the season, moving the team to P6 in the Constructors’ Championship, the German being the only driver who benefited from staying out during the Safety Car period.

While it’s undeniable Hulkenberg drove a strong race and was even able to keep Bearman’s Ferrari behind for six laps, he owes his point to team mate Kevin Magnussen’s tactics – tactics that were highly controversial.

The Dane had already incurred a 10s penalty for squeezing Albon against the wall early on in the race, when he jumped Turn 1 to get ahead of Tsunoda on lap 17.

Instead of giving the position back, he then followed the team’s instructions to lose two seconds per lap to Hulkenberg, which allowed the German to eventually pit and resume in P10, while Magnussen’s second 10s penalty didn’t have any impact as he was already outside the points.

BEARMAN’S SENSATIONAL DEBUT GETTING YOUR first full Grand Prix experience at a circuit like Jeddah is daunting enough for any driver, but to start your weekend straight into FP3 makes things even harder.

For 18-year-old Oliver Bearman to then miss out on Q3 by just 0.036s and then move up to a solid seventh place in the race, beating Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, was just amazing and a great way for the British driver to show Frédéric Vasseur and the new management of the Haas F1 Team, that he deserves a full time seat right from the start of 2025.

One of two drivers to start on the Soft compound, Bearman kept P11 until the Safety Car period but at the restart he quickly showed he meant business, catching Tsunoda by surprise going into Turn 1 to get into the points. He then made quick work of Zhou Guanyu, but Hulkenberg was a much tougher nut to crack, as he admitted at the end of the race: “ I had a lot more pace than these guys and they were just a bit smarter than me with energy usage, which is something I’ve never had to do before. I was pretty much learning on the job. Especially with Nico – he seemed to use his battery in all the right places and I seemed to use it in all the wrong places, so it took me a few laps to figure it out.”

Once he cleared the Haas, on lap 21, Bearman slowly started to cut the gap to Russell, but the priority was to keep the tyres alive, as he knew he’d have to defend from Norris and Hamilton after they would eventually stop for new Hard tyres, The 5.6s gap he had over the McLaren driver once the pit stops were all done was more than enough thanks to his good tyre management, as he completed the Grand Prix still 3s ahead of Norris.

He did, as Vasseur gladly admitted, “ a mega job the whole weekend – he missed Q3 by a couple of hundredths and in the race he didn’t put a wheel wrong, but I think the best way to help him is to not to draw conclusions today.”

And, making it clear he has clear targets for the young driver, he concluded that, “you have to consider that for him Jeddah is a step, not the final target. He did well this weekend, but he will have other challenges in front of him in the future with the Formula 2 season.

Then we’ll think about Formula 1 and next year.” Luis Vasconcelos

www.autoaction.com.au I 57

Since 1971 Auto Action has covered motorsport in all its forms, from club rallies through to Formula 1 and everything in between.

The history that is recorded in the pages of Auto Action is a goldmine.

Here are some of the highlights of the corresponding decades past, as historic editor Mark Bisset takes a deep dive into the pages.

1994 IT BECAME official that the Australian Formula

at Albert Park in 1995 … and the monetary

1 Grand Prix would be moving to Melbourne

compensation in relation thereto.

in 1996, a year earlier than expected. A decade

Two rounds of the 1994 ATCC season

on from its Adelaide debut, John Bannon was mortally politically wounded allowing pugnacious Victorian Liberal Premier, Jeff Kenntt, to nick the race for Melbourne.

He delivered Bernie Albert Park and nice Port Phillip Bay views in addition to city backdrops.

AA reported on the stoush between the by-then two Liberal administrations in South

were held in consecutive weeks and no-one could stop Mark Skaife at either Sandown or Symmons Plains.

Skaife’s Gibson Motorsport VP Commodore cleaned up all four races, leaving Fred Gibson to tell his rivals to “lift you game” in response to allegations that the team’s dominance was

Australia and Victoria about transitioning the

achieved by running traction control which

race to Melbourne in ’96 after the Victorians

was banned.

abandoned plans to hold a Pacific Grand Prix

1974 DESPITE PETER Brock taking a second straight ATCC round win, the Sports Sedans were actually being hailed as the big-ticket item at Calder Park.

John McCormack’s Charger Repco-Holden initially blasted away from his Sports Sedan rivals to dominate 13 of the 20 laps in the final.

But his dominant drive was undone by an electrical issue, handing the win to Bob Jane’s Monaro GTS350.

The ATCC contest was dominated by Brock, who won “as he pleased” while Allan Moffat’s Falcon battled pump issues to fourth.

The ATCC round was described as the “least interesting” part of the weekend with the report reading “with so much interest in the Sports Sedan freaks, there is little about the everyday looking cars that excites anybody now.”

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1984 A DECADE on Peter Brock was still dominating the ATCC by leading the Symmons Plains round from start to finish.

A distant second was Dick Johnson, ahead of Allan Grice, who finished on the podium in what was believed at the time to be his last race of the season.

The chances of Formula 1 arriving in Australia in 1985 were rapidly increasing after venues in both Melbourne and Adelaide received the tick of approval from FISA track inspector Derek Ongaro.

Ongaro was “pretty happy” with the new layout at Sandown but was “very impressed with the way the Adelaide people had got the city fathers on side and talked to police.”

By coincidence there was a certain amount of AGP announcement symmetry in AA’s March 1984 and 1994 issues.

In 1984 the planets-were-aligning in favour of Adelaide rather than Sandown. Labor Premier John Bannon was desperate to put Adelaide’s name in lights and was keen to do a deal.

BC Ecclestone loved the colur of his money and Victoria Park backdrops rather than the Dandenong Road and Springvale Cemetery vista offered by Sandown.

2004 DESPITE MANY getting caught out in a carnage filled Clipsal 500, Marcos Ambrose enjoyed a perfect start to his title defence.

Racing with the #1 on his Pirtek SBR Falcon for the first time, Ambrose cruised to a maiden Adelaide sweep for both driver and Ford.

But behind him there was plenty of trouble. The team that had won every Clipsal 500 until 2004 HRT had a shocker with Skaife struggling to 7th and 17th and Todd Kelly crashing in race 1.

Michael Schumacher continued his dominant start to the 2004 F1 season at Malaysia, a track that the defending champion “wasn’t supposed to win at”.

A sudden shower made life tough at the start whilst the pace of Jaun Pablo Montoya and Jenson Button kept him honest.

Mark Webber qualified a sensational second for Jaguar but had a shocking start and was the first to retire after a spin.

2014 HE MAY never have the trophy or points to show for it, but the 2014 Australian Grand Prix was the moment the F1 world knew Daniel Ricciardo was a star.

In his first weekend for Red Bull in front of an adoring home crowd, Ricciardo was the only driver to compete with the all conquering Mercedes in the debut of the V6 turbo hybrid era.

Ricciardo split the Mercedes in qualifying and finished a strong second, only for the famous podium to be taken away due to being disqualified for breaching the maximum fuel limit.

In the Supercars supports, Shane van Gisbergen won the first three races but came unstuck in the fourth, allowing Scott McLaughlin to take a maiden win for Volvo.

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