Auto Action #1893

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA INVESTIGATING DUTTON FOR RANDLE PUSH

AN OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION INTO A PUSHING INCIDENT BETWEEN TRIPLE EIGHT’S MARK DUTTON AND TICKFORD’S THOMAS RANDLE HAS BEEN INITIATED BY MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA AFTER AN OFFICIAL REQUEST BY TICKFORD RACING ON MONDAY. ANDREW CLARKE LOOKS AT THE SITUATION ...

RACE STEWARDS at Symmons Plains declined to take any action against Triple Eight’s Mark Dutton, despite Motorsport Australia rule B6.5.1 stating “a person must not intentionally make physical contact”, which kicked off a social media storm on Monday morning that only calmed down when Tickford, as Randle’s employer, stepped into the fray.

Randle was involved in an on-track incident with Broc Feeney that cost the Triple Eight driver any chance of a podium, and Randle was looking for Feeney after the race to apologise for his mistake when Dutton jumped into his path and pushed him out of the Triple Eight garage saying “don’t walk in the garage”.

Jamie Whincup was also on the scene and was heard saying “he can apologise”. We believe only the parties involved or Supercars could ask for a review after the race stewards didn’t act on their own.

A Motorsport Australia spokesperson told Auto Action on Monday that: “Motorsport Australia has received correspondence from Tickford regarding a post-race incident in pit lane at this weekend’s Supercars event in Tasmania. We will now work with the relevant parties to determine the next steps and if any further action will be taken.”

The delays in this review being requested fired up social media, many referring back to an incident between Erebus’ Barry Ryan and Mark Winterbottom, at Pukekohe in 2022, that earned Ryan a reprimand, questioning if it was a case of one set of rules for Erebus, and another for Triple Eight.

Erebus Motorsport owner Betty Klimenko expressed her concerns about how the incident has been handled via her various social media platforms.

“It was a very interesting weekend. I was home watching and could not believe it when Dutton and (Jamie) Whincup, put their hands on Randle when he tried to apologise,” Klimenko wrote.

“A rule which got Barry Ryan in trouble and punished and, as the rule states no-one from

any team may physically touch someone from another team.

“But all things being as they are in Supercars, as far as I know, neither of them got a summons to appear in front of the stewards.

“And people wonder why I have so little faith in the sport as it is at the moment.

“Most rules have gone out the window and change to suit the occasion. Oh well, nothing I can do but hope that one day my faith will come back.”

Both Klimenko’s post and Auto Action’s story highlighting the issue have received numerous comments from fans asking the same questions.

Triple Eight’s Jeromy Moore offered an

explanation from the team on the incident in the post-race press conference:

“In the heat of the moment emotions were running high.

“We will have a look at what transpired whether it was a pure mistake or whatever.

“For sure we get upset when we lose a 2-3, regardless of the scenario but when it is from another team you go into defence mode.

“We will go back and see what the cause was but, at the end of the day, we got taken out and we are not happy about that, so it is natural I think.”

Motorsport Australia has initiated an investigation and will report in due course.

Triple Eight also escaped sanction over the

Watch the moment here

weekend when the ‘Control’ Scene Config in the Judicial In-Car Camera for Cars 87 and 88 did not match the Config held by Supercars and the video stream output from the cameras was not operating.

The cameras recorded all the information but did not live-stream, and there was debate around the words “for judicial purposes” in Rule D21.2.5.2, given the live-stream was not technically part of the judicial process even though race stewards could refer to it if needed. No action was taken against Triple Eight for what looked like an error caused by older VBOX software in the Triple Eight cameras and not any deliberate action of the team.

No entry, mate! Thomas Randle’s bid to apologise to Broc Feeney for an on-track incident was rebuffed, physically ... Image: FOX SPORTS

PERCAT’S HAPPY HOME RETURNING THE RESULTS

NICK PERCAT’S WIN ON SATURDAY IN TASMANIA WAS HIS SECOND FOR THE SEASON, LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER MANY THOUGHT HIS FULL-TIME CAREER WAS DONE. BUT AN OFF-SEASON SWITCH TO MATT STONE RACING HAS REVIVED HIS CAREER AND HIS LOVE OF RACING ...

PERCAT COULDN’T put a finger on what was not working during his second stint at Walkinshaw Andretti United, but he says tough times doesn’t mean anyone is wrong – it just means it is not working.

“100% it works well for me here ... it doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong anywhere else though,” he said after the win. “Obviously, Chaz fits in there, Waters fits in at Tickford and I seem to fit in here.

“The WAU stint was the only time it hasn’t worked for me – it worked with them the first time though. We got good results at LDM considering the resources we had; there were great results at BJR; so the blip in the radar is just that couple of years.

“It feels natural and like I’ve been here for 100 years.”

For Percat, it wasn’t just about finding the right Supercars team, it was also about doing something outside the sport that works for him, which is JND Racing team in karts, which he sees as his full-time job, with Supercars a part-time gig.

“I like giving back to the sport and trying to help the next generation come through. I really enjoy that and I’ve always enjoyed the hands-on approach. I build all their karts – there’s 10 of them – and still race the Supercar.

“At the moment I’m lucky because Supercars is kind-of part-time – but I’d prefer more Supercar racing.

“I virtually have a full-time job 24-7 outside of this (Supercars) and I can still do the 12 events comfortably. If the championship was 14, 15 rounds, which is where I think it should be, it would be way more difficult.”

The karting team has eight young racers from ages 10 to 16 and, in Tasmania at the weekend, JND even had a corporate suite to accommodate the Tasmanian based families of his drivers, along with their sponsors.

In Tasmania, Nick aimed to get the young karters involved as much as possible, including taking them to debriefs and the like.

“They can see we still do track maps and all that stuff after 20-odd years; that every bit matters. I think it’s pretty special and, to be honest, I don’t think anyone else has done it to the level that we’re doing it with JND. It’s very cool.”

The final of the Australian Kart Championship is in two weekends time at Oakleigh, but he’s not letting that distract him from his top five target in the Supercars Championship.

“I’ve always said I wanted to be top five, and if it wasn’t for Townsville and

having that little bit of a chassis issue, I think we’d be there. We have big races coming up with Sandown and Bathurst and it can all unravel very, very quickly so, if we can just keep punching along consistently like we are, we’ll be OK.”

He sees Matt Stone Racing as a nofrills racing team – if something isn’t going to make the car better it doesn’t happen.

“They’re just racers ... there’s no political junk in the background. There’s no gossip and no Days of Our Lives like at other places.

“We just go racing and all we talk about is how to make the car go faster and what areas we can improve – I think that’s how you should go racing. That’s why it probably gels quite well for me.

“I think we’re still in the walking phase – we’ve improved the pit stops this year times 100. The car’s more consistent, the preparation’s really good.

“We’re building a new car now too, so we’re showing the signs that we’re

serious about it, but to trouble Triple Eight will be obviously hard. The resources they have and the backing there is huge, but the Gen 3 cars have closed it right up.

“It only takes a couple of races to go differently for me this year and you’d probably be in the top three of the championship, annoying them. Maybe in the next two or three years we can have a crack.

“Matt could have put anyone in this car this year, but he had a lot of faith in what I was capable of and what I’d done in the past. I think he appreciates the work ethic that goes in behind the scenes and the knowledge. He likes honesty and wants to improve where others don’t like it. I think that’s why it works well.

“And when you go to the workshop and Jimmy (Matt’s father Jim Stone) is there building new cars and getting stuff prepared for next rounds, it shows that it’s really from the ground up. Everyone’s purely there to race.”

Andrew Clarke

PERCAT’S MENTEES

HARRY BRESNEHAN (pictured top centre) is one of Percat’s young karters.

The 14-year-old racer dreams of racing cars professionally, and he is learning a lot off Percat.

“I didn’t have many expectations because it was the first year of the team, but I knew it would be good and I would have a great year,” Bresnehan says.

“He’s taught us a lot about how to race and how to talk to people. He’s spent a lot of time with us rather than some other teams where you just get a little bit of guidance.”

The prime message is to simply enjoy the racing, something Nick Percat is doing again.

Second-gen team on the up – Matt Stone (left) and Nick Percat have ‘clicked’ ... Image: MARK HORSBURGH-MSR

COOPER MURRAY SET TO SIGN WITH EREBUS

THE PADDOCK CHATTER LINKING COOPER MURRAY WITH EREBUS WAS NEARLY A ROAR IN TASMANIA, WITH OUR SOURCES EXPECTING THE DEAL TO BE DONE ANY DAY. THE TALK AROUND MURRAY WAS JUST ONE OF THE SILLYSEASON TOPICS, WITH BRODIE KOSTECKI, WILL DAVISON, ANTON DE PASQUALE AND RICHIE STANAWAY ALL ENTERING THE DISCUSSION ... ANDREW CLARKE WAS ON THE GROUND IN TASMANIA TO SNIFF OUT THE STORY.

BUT LET’S start with Murray (above) who was as tight-lipped at Symmons Plains as those at Erebus, only saying he hoped the speculation was right. With limited immediate opportunities at Triple Eight, Murray has been forced to look outside the camp that has been supporting him, and the chance to replace Brodie Kostecki appears to be too good to refuse.

Murray was impressive in his wildcard main game debut in Darwin, although this season hasn’t gone to plan in Super2. Murray has been involved in a couple of high-profile incidents, including the spectacular coming together with Cameron McLeod in Perth, for which he was later penalised.

The 23-year-old from Melbourne is in his second year with Eggleston Motorsport in Super2 after being a contender in 2023. Before that, he successfully ran Porsches for a few years and finished second to Cam Hill in the Carrera Cup title in 2021. Since linking up with Lowndes for this year’s Bathurst 1000, Murray has

impressed the veteran with his work ethic and talent.

“Cooper is doing a lot of great work behind the scenes,” Lowndes told Supercars.com last week. “He comes to every race, sits on the debriefs and prebriefs. I’ve reflected on his Darwin experience, and it was quite incredible when you think about it.

“To do your first main event and to be in the top 10 around drivers of this calibre was impressive.

“Part of my role is to give him the opportunity to showcase his talents. And if that’s a springboard into the main game, which is what the program’s all about, it’s worked.”

Murray will join fellow Super2 driver Kai Allen as rookies in the 2025 season, with Allen already confirmed at Penrite Racing. Several other Super2 drivers are knocking on the door of the main game too, with the likes of Zach Bates and McLeod impressing in 2024. What of the other main game drivers not signed for 2025?

Brodie Kostecki will be on the move at the end of this season.

The 2023 Supercars champion has not had the best season, his early season issues derailing both his and Erebus’ title defences.

It became clear early in the season that he would not continue with Erebus at the end of his current contract, but where he would land has been the centre of much chatter.

As the options have dwindled, it appears it is a race between Dick Johnson Racing and PremiAir Racing, with good sources standing in both camps.

The problem is, Kostecki and his new employers, whoever it might be, can’t declare their hand until October because of Kostecki’s rumoured contractual obligations with Erebus.

The whole Kostecki saga started last October when his former manager was shopping him around with a significant uplift in his driving fee – one of those he approached was PremiAir.

Peter Xiberras has remained keen since that day and is still hopeful of landing his big fish to replace Tim Slade, which some of our sources say he has done.

The second seat at PremiAir is also rummered open, with PremiAir not yet exercising its option on James Golding as it waits on news of whether it can secure Kostecki.

Whether Xiberras would replace Golding with a rookie remains open for debate, but with likes of De Pasquale and Richie Stanaway still available he has other options.

De Pasquale and Kostecki were teammates at Erebus, sharing the #99 car at Bathurst in 2020, and Kostecki is known to rate Stanaway who is without a drive for next year.

Other sources are adamant that Kostecki has signed for DJR and will take George Commins with him, which is in contrast to the prevailing view in the paddock.

DJR has been amazing in its silence, with David Noble listening intently when drivers are raised with him, but never uttering a word that provides any hints.

For the first time in this silly season, we heard people seriously talking about Will Davison as possibly being on the move. But, like De Pasquale, the question is where to?

Any move on Davison’s part will likely not be initiated by him.

De Pasquale was linked to Grove Racing by lazy pundits, saying his ties to the Groves’ team, where he has raced in the Bathurst 12-Hour were stronger than his ties to the Ralph family that owns DJR, forgetting it was that relationship that sparked the DJR buy-out by the Ralphs.

He was also linked to PremiAir in the gossip, but that could be nothing more than joining the dots and slotting the race winner into an open seat, but it could also make sense.

DJR could just as easily stick with its current line-up since there are few suitable other options open to it.

It is hard to see Kostecki as a DJR driver given that DJR, since the Team Penske era, has been very corporate slick, which is not the bloke nicknamed Bush’s forte.

But then, his racing ability is without question which is why DJR and PremiAir are chasing him.

Richie Stanaway was also seen wandering around the paddock, including a visit to the Erebus transporter on Sunday afternoon.

DJR, PremiAir, Team 18 (we’d be surprised if it doesn’t go with Mark Winterbottom again) and Brad Jones Racing (two) all have seats open for 2025.

JONES REJECTS LOW-BALL BUY OFFERS

JONES has confirmed that he has recently been approached by two parties looking to purchase all or part of his Supercars team, but rejected the offers as not being of a serious nature.

He described the offers as coming from people who were just looking for a cheap way into Supercars, but the Albury based veteran team owner said at Symmons Plains he didn’t take the offers seriously.

WAU MAKES SUPERSOFT GAINS

MASTERING THE SuperSoft tyre loomed as arguably the biggest hurdle for Walkinshaw Andretti United in Chaz Mostert’s title pursuit, but the team displayed pleasing progress in Tasmania.

The biggest setback in 2024 so far was the previous SuperSoft round where WAU could not get the tyre to ‘switch on’ and paid the price.

Mostert could not qualify inside the top 20 and, whilst he produced some impressive comeback drives, he still leaked a lot of ground in the championship.

With two wins and a rookie test day taking place since, WAU arrived at Symmons Plains with more confidence on the SuperSoft and it showed.

Mostert came very close to snatching an unlikely win on the Saturday through smart tyre strategy and gained ground on all of his rivals with a second place.

Although the #25 found itself knocked out in Q2 on Sunday, Chaz still had enough race pace to move into the top four. In addition to Mostert, teammate Ryan Wood was also around the mark, finishing 11th and eighth.

Mostert said the team was in a much

better place with the softer rubber.

“I think we got a better understanding for sure,” he said.

“This weekend we have rolled out a lot more competitive on the tyre.

“The team has worked very hard and I have really liked the philosophy of the car that we have here.

“It is a bit different to what we have normally done, but you also need to match the balance. It came together for us in the race – it’s good to get a result.”

WAU Team Principal Carl Faux feels like “we were on top of it.”

“It was a positive weekend for us,” he said.

“Our focus has been on the SuperSoft tyre since our problems in Darwin, and it looks like we’re on top of it.

“We had a rookie test with Ryan Wood before this weekend and we got through a lot of things. We seem to have finally unlocked a bit of speed on the SuperSoft.

“So we’re in a positive frame of mind heading to Sandown. The track has a lot of similar characteristics to Symmons Plains and we’ll be on the SuperSoft tyre again.”

Thomas Miles

BJR – not for sale ... Image; PACE IMAGES-BJR

It has been leaked that the offers came from people based in Queensland and South Australia who seemed to miss the mark on the value of a Teams Racing Charter (TRC), as the sport continues its

run of financial strength in the face of criticism over the number of rounds and other minor issues.

Jones’ rejection reinforces the value of a Supercars TRC as the sport continues to retain its place in the Australian sporting landscape.

Betty Klimenko also recently rejected similar low-ball offers for her team, one reportedly from Jones’ second suitor, saying she wasn’t that desperate to sell.

Other teams have also reportedly been approached about partial and complete sales, but none have been entertained since the sale of DJR 18 months ago.

Jones has been the most vocal team owner talking about protecting the value of the sport by not expanding too early, and his stance is validated by the retained value of his team.

Other team owners agreed with Jones’ view as expressed at a media conference on Friday, agreeing that any expansion of the series needs to be carefully managed in a tough economic climate.

With Supercars known to prefer twocar teams in its series, a partial sale of the team would be encouraged if Jones were to sell two of his three TRCs, with the fourth owned by the Smith family that owns SCT Logistics.  Andrew Clarke

KOSTECKI REMAINING POSITIVE

DESPITE A tough final day of the Tasmania SuperSprint where three separate penalties came his way, Brodie Kostecki is focusing on the positives ahead of the enduros.

The #1 Erebus Motorsport Camaro was fighting towards the front of the field at Symmons Plains.

After qualifying third and finishing fifth on Saturday, Kostecki’s confidence would have grown after a fast start on Sunday when he fired from eighth to fifth inside the first two laps.

But a clash with David Reynolds quickly saw his race fall apart.

Kostecki was hit with a 15s penalty for spinning the #20 at the hairpin, but before he could serve that he had another run in with the sister Team 18 entry.

Erebus released Kostecki into path of Winterbottom as the latter was entering his pit bay, which led to a drive-through penalty.

Car #1 then received another drive through for pit lane speeding to run salt into the wounds.

Although the penalties ruined Kostecki’s race, he is more focused on the positives and believes the speed

shown at Symmons Plains holds Erebus in good stead for the enduros where the reigning champion will be determined to go one better after coming close at both Sandown and Bathurst last year.

Now six rounds into his comeback, Kostecki is starting to feel more at home in the #1 Camaro.

“It was a rough day, but the car was actually really good in the race and I was making ground in that first stint,” he recalled.

“There was actually not too much damage so got a good read on the car in the last stint and it felt really good.

“We have had a couple of results here and there, but have not had too much pace lately.

“When I first came back other teams had been able to develop their cars and we were behind the eight-ball a little bit but I am feeling more comfortable with each round.

“We raced really well in Sydney and learnt a lot and I personally learnt a lot this weekend as well as the engineers.

“So I am excited to come to Sandown and team up with Todd (Hazelwood) and hopefully we have a good shot at it.”

Thomas Miles

Image: RACE PROJECT-WAU

Image: DMAC Photography

BRAD

FULLWOOD PODIUM THE PERFECT TONIC FOR BJR

AFTER 147 races, Bryce Fullwood has finally landed a podium in Supercars, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Brad Jones Racing after a tough couple of rounds.

Fullwood was fast at Symmons Plains and swooped on the podium when Thomas Randle knocked both himself and Broc Feeney out of contention for the final spot on the podium.

“Obviously it means a lot,” he said about finally shaking champagne in Supercars. “We all put our blood, sweat and tears into our racing – we do absolutely everything we can.

“This sport has a knack of really kicking you when you’re down. We’ve really struggled this first part of the year. We had a really good Bathurst [500] but then from there, it’s been really, really tough.

“The guys and girls at BJR haven’t slept a lot in the last couple of weeks and have done a lot of work. And they’ve really turned some stuff around for us.

“I can really see the grit in the team –they really wanted this. It’s awesome to be able to repay them for all the hard work and look forward to trying to continue the form into the enduros.”

Team owner Brad Jones was visibly moved by the podium, not just because of what it means to Fullwood, who has been close since joining BJR, but also his team.

“Bryce had been fast all weekend,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of things go just on the wrong side for us and today it wasn’t like that.

“It’s encouraging. It’s what we need right now.”

Like all the other teams, BJR had to work its way through the changeable weather on Saturday, but then was able to put on a show in the all-dry Sunday. The only downside for the team was a crash that took Jaxon Evans out of the race.

“Today things fell into place, I felt like it was a really good day. Very unfortunate

with the SCT car – that’s taken the gloss off it a little bit – but by and large, our cars were pretty speedy today.

“Bryce drove really sensibly. When Feeney got up behind him, he let him go just so he didn’t him push back into the next pack. It was a very mature drive. He was in the right place at the right time and it went the right way, and here we are on the podium.

“It’s gone the other way many times.

“This is a good reset for the team coming into the enduros. I think any time you get a podium, it changes the feel of the place. Last year we had a lot of podiums and this year we’ve had good speed on and off, but a lot of things are different.”

BJR now has one win and one podium for the season, but Jones says it feel like it has turned the corner. Andrew Clarke

TEAM 18 FRUSTRATED BUT POSITIVE

TEAM 18 nearly had a good weekend at Symmons Plains, but a red flag that scuppered its chances on Saturday was follow by a disastrous race on Sunday.

Team boss Adrian Burgess said that, despite the lack of results, the weekend had many positives.

“I think, to be fair, both guys had speed,” he said. “Saturday went wrong in that second qualifying session. Both were easily into the next part of qualifying when they couldn’t finish their laps … there’s never ‘easy’ in this game, but we would have been in the 10.

“Then the race was just a little bit scrappy and a processional; we didn’t make up that many places.

“Today, we did what we thought we should have done in Saturday’s qualifying. But then, the same thing again: the first session’s hard; you’ve got 24 cars out there, and Frosty didn’t make it through. We’ve got to look at why we didn’t get the tyres ‘turned on’ quickly enough.

“Dave only got through in 18th when we knew the car was quick enough for a pole, and it probably should have had pole. The lap before his final lap was quicker, and we got stuck in gear and dropped over a tenth. So that probably would have been a pole lap. ...

“Early in the race, Dave was just looking after his tyres; it clearly looked like Brodie had the eyes on in those first few laps and took him out of the race. That race was one that got away from us.”

Burgess says nothing is easy in Supercars, and that message was driven home when he sat looking at Reynolds beached on the inside the exit at the hairpin.

“Dave’s pace in that race, while two laps down, was the fastest car out there every lap. And then Frosty made a good decision to go onto a set of greens when the second Safety

Car came. We knew we’d only lose probably two or three places in pit lane, which we did, and then he got back up to 10th.”

Team 18 left Tasmania with 258 points and dropped a spot in the Team Points, but he still said it was a positive weekend.

“I think if your car’s good here, your car should be probably good at Sandown. Like I’ve said already this year, we’ve got

some new people, new engineers, and some new tools that we invested in that are starting to bear some fruit.

“I feel like we’re making some progress, but it’s frustrating when you go home without any real reward ... but that’s the game. We’ve been doing it long enough.

“We’ll have a regroup, a good test day before we go to Sandown, and hopefully come away with a result.”

Andrew Clarke

Adrian Burgess (right) in the Symmons Plains pits with Dennis Huijser, Team 18 crew chief.

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

Bryce Fullwood and the Middys crew – success at just the right time. Image: PACE IMAGES-BJR

ALLEN ARRIVES AT BASE CAMP

DESPITE COMPLETING a rapid ascension to a “dream” full-time Supercars seat, teenage sensation 19 year-old Kai Allen knows the hard work has only just begun.

In 2025, Allen will join Matt Payne in the Grove Racing squad to form the youngest main-game combination seen since 2007 when Shane Price and Jack Perkins raced for Perkins Engineering.

It is a moment many saw coming when the Mount Gambier teenager first burst onto the scene at Townsville 2021 when he defied sickness to get a podium on Toyota 86 debut.

Then, a rapidly fast Super3 rookie campaign in 2022 was followed by Super2 championship success at the first time of asking.

With another Dunlop Series crown looking likely and an enduro campaign with Will Davison on the horizon, Allen is doing all the right things – but he knows the step up to Supercars will be something he has never encountered before.

“It is very exciting to confirm I’ll be racing Supercars with Penrite Racing and the Groves,” Allen told Auto Action.

“I am super grateful for the opportunity Brenton and Stephen have given me and just can’t wait to have a crack in the championship I have always dreamed of being a part of. It still does not feel real –how quickly everything has happened.

“(But) just because I have done well in Super2, it does not mean I will go well.

“It will be very difficult against a lot of experienced and fast drivers.

“I will work really hard with the team at Grove Racing to make sure I can do the best I can.

“It won’t be easy, but looking forward to having a crack.”

Having made his Supercars debut at just 18 in a Dick Johnson Racing wildcard at Bathurst last year and being promoted to co-drive the #17 for 2024, many expected Allen would eventually be the latest to race for the famous Ford squad.

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However, the team’s ‘holding deal’ expired at the end of July and with the teen hot property, the Groves pounced.

“I have been in the DJR stable for a while and I am super grateful for what they have given me through the wildcard with Simona (De Silvestro) and all the development since,” Allen explained.

“But unfortunately the timing just was not right with them and we had to part ways.

“I fully understood they had to do what they had to do with their business.

“From there I started looking and had a lot of offers, not just from Groves, but from other people as well.

“It got to the point where I wanted to step up and couldn’t do another year in Super2, so the opportunity and timing was right with the Groves and it felt like it was meant to be.”

Perhaps it is appropriate, given Allen will take over Richie Stanaway’s #26 Mustang, which just happens to use the teenager’s favourite racing number.

When given the chance, Allen has only used the #26 – from go-karts through to Toyota 86s, Super3 and his Super2 success. It comes down to two simple reasons – his birthday and fictional NASCAR superstar Ricky Bobby!

Not only is Allen on the rise, but so is Grove Racing, which has steadily morphed itself over the last four seasons into a serious contender with Payne leading the charge.

Payne’s rapid development as a rookie, which culminated in winning the 2023 Adelaide 500, has given its latest arrival plenty of belief.

“As you have seen they are super hardworking and very passionate to win. I see a lot in them in what I see in myself,” Allen said.

“It is really cool to see the amount of effort they have put into the sport and Matty. He won the last race of his rookie year and has had some really strong results.

“I think it is going to be a really good partnership between the team and myself and also Matty.

“I am sure we will work well together and hopefully we can have some strong results.”

But before Allen makes a highly anticipated debut, he still has two big objectives with DJR and Eggleston Motorsport.

“Even though I was a (Super2) champion last year, I was not the fastest, so this year I just needed to tick a few more things off to make sure I am comfortable and ready to go,” he said.

“I was in the Eggleston’s workshop a lot of the summer adjusting all the ergonomics and it has paid off, but I still need to improve on qualifying.

“I also still have a job to do with DJR at Sandown and Bathurst.

“It is a great chance for me to learn off Will – at the test we had a similar driving style so I think we are going to work really well.

“Will is a great guy at a great team, so I will put everything in 2025 aside and go out there to give back to DJR and end on a high.”

Thomas Miles

NEW EPISODES OUT EVERY WEDNESDAY

Supercars seat for 2025 ... things are coming together for Kai Allen.

2025 SUPERLICENCE POINTS REVEALED

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has confirmed changes for the Superlicence points structure for 2025 which includes four distinct tiers becoming apparent, some award alterations, whilst karting has been dropped from the table.

Whilst the Super2 category remains on top of the tree with 15 points available for a championship (15 are required to qualify for the Superlicence), Super3 has been reduced from 12 to 10 points, with Trans Am receiving a 3-point hike to be in the top tier, with 10 points.

The Porsche Carrera Cup now stands as the highest after Super2, alone on 12 points, with Super3, TCR, Porsche Sprint Challenge, and Trans Am – all on 10 points – filling the top tier, with all the 10-point categories only awarding points down to seventh position.

That also means that Super3, a category that has had very small fields in 2024, also no longer awards points down to 10th in the championship, whereas the Super2 remains as it was, giving a minimum of three points to 10th place.

Several categories like Formula 4 and the Toyota 86 series are lifted marginally, to eight points, along with the existentially threatened S5000 series, the GT Championship and the NZ Toyota Racing Series.

The categories that only award a maximum of five points (down to 1 point for third) largely remain as such for 2025, but noticeably, top level karting no longer awards any Superlicence points, as opposed to three available in 2024.

At the same time, MA appears to have overlooked the popular Formula Open single-seater category. Category Manager Tim Macrow expressed surprise, commenting that “the previous MA management had confirmed to me that Formula Open would be eligible for suitable points … I’ll be contacting MA asap to correct what must just be an oversight …”

Motorsport Australia CEO Sunil Vohra said the changes would help provide competitors with certainty as the plan for their 2025 racing seasons.

“This year we have simplified the Superlicence structure, with four clear tiers of racing categories based on their status in Australian motorsport, as well as their competitiveness at the various events,” Vohra explained.

“When the Superlicence was reintroduced for 2024, we said it was our intention to constantly review and ensure the relevance of the categories and the points they receive. Working closely with Shane (Howard) and the team at Supercars, we are pleased to present the new points table for 2025.

“Motorsport Australia will continue to review the structure each year to ensure the right points are awarded to the categories and the drivers who compete.” TW Neal

TARGA INQUEST LOOMS

THE FUTURE of Targa Tasmania will be made clearer when the Coronial inquest into the four people killed in the 2021 and 2022 events takes place on August 26-29, with an expected four-day hearing.

Coroner Simon Cooper will preside over the hearings regarding the tragic deaths of Shane Navin, Leigh Mundy, Dennis Neagle, and Anthony Seymour, at the Hobart Magistrates Court.

Auto Action contacted Targa CEO Mark Perry for further comment, but out of respect for the proceedings, he declined to offer any comment until after the hearing is complete.

Behind the scenes, talks have been well underway in regards to the planned 2025 return of the Targa Tasmania, with the new regulations having been heavily discussed in open conversation with prospective competitors, groups, and organisers.

A transparent Perry created the public forum to foster an open debate surrounding what the future of the event will look like, which has also recently involved the TRCAA (Tarmac Rally Competitors Association of Australia).

The group, which was formed in 2022, has also been accepted as an interested party to attend the Coroner’s Inquest, and will be able to provide input for the Coroner’s consideration.

In a recent communique published online by the TRCAA after a meeting attended by Perry, they confirmed their presence

on August 26, whilst another of the topics discussed was the prospective banning of semi-slick tyres at tarmac rally events. With treaded tyres being a safer option in the wet, it would also serve to slow down speeds on dry stages, but that such an option would need to apply across all categories to promote fair and even competition.

The group is open to members that have competed at any Targa event in the past seven years, with a non-voting Associate level membership also available for new competitors that have an interest in buying or building a car to compete at future events.

TW Neal

STOP / GO

DON’T MESS WITH HEIMGARTNER

THERE IS no more Mr Nice Guy when it comes to Andre Heimgartner after he made a statement on the Saturday of the Tasmania SuperSprint.

Heimgartner was hit by a 15s penalty for spinning Mark Winterbottom in Race 17, which followed the pair having a word with each other after qualifying in the Team 18 garage.

The Kiwi admitted the spin was caused by his frustrations from a tough 2024.

“I think this year has really tipped me onto the edge, so it has not taken much to really piss me off lately,” Heimgartner said.

“So a warning to everyone else – if you don’t want to be in my sights, then don’t piss me off.”

WINTERBOTTOM MAKES HISTORY

MARK WINTERBOTTOM created more history at Symmons Plains, being the first ever driver to start 600 straight ATCC/Supercars Championship races.

Winterbottom achieved the feat in Sunday’s Race 18 with the streak starting back at Hidden Valley 2005.

There he missed two races in the previous round at Shanghai where he infamously ran over a loose grate, which tore apart the floor of his Larkham Motorsport Falcon.

Winterbottom marked the milestone with a serious comeback drive, rising from 23rd to 10th.

“It was a weekend of just missed opportunities. The cars were fast,” Winterbottom said.

EDWARDS SKIPS SYMMONS PLAINS, ENGINE TESTING MOVED

SUPERCARS HEAD of Motorsport Tim Edwards missed the Tasmanian SuperSprint for personal reasons with James Delzoppo standing in.

The news came after the ongoing engine transient dyno parity testing schedule was adjusted, with Edwards having spent a long period of time overseeing it in the USA. When announced in June, the second and final phase of testing at the AVL facility in Detroit was originally going to begin on the week of August 5.

However, this has now been pushed back to an undisclosed date “later this month” to ensure both the AVL facility and Supercars have enough time to closely analyse the phase one results before developing a plan for phase two.

AN IRISH UPGRADE

RALLY CHAMPION NEEDS MORE SPEED

By Paul Gover

A YEN for (more) speed has driven

Richie Dalton into the seat of a titlewinning new rally car.

The transplanted Irishman finished third in the Australian Rally Championship in 2022 and is the reigning NSW champion (below), but is still not satisfied.

So he has snatched a successful Toyota Yaris R5 from Harry Bates to renew his rally plan into 2025.

“At the end of the day, if you’re going to do something you have to do it properly. Why take a short-cut?”, Dalton told Auto Action

Yet Dalton, a flamboyant transplanted Irishman, has no plans for a stronger assault on the national title.

“I’m heading towards 43 and I’m not as fast as I used to be. I’d probably be top five in the ARC, but

I’d like to be in the top three, or the top one,” he said.

So, instead of chasing the title trail across the country, he intends to stay close to home and enjoy family time as well as his rallying.

“My first rally in the new car is Narooma in a few weeks. Then I’ll be back to the NSW championship,” he said.

“Next year, I plan on doing the ARC round in Western Australia because it’s a rally I really, really enjoy. I’ll tackle the six rounds in NSW.

“There is more value in doing the state rounds. Instead of a week away from home, it’s just a weekend and I get the same buzz. It’s a lot more bang for my bucks.”

His new car is a replacement for a Yaris AP4, built by Neal Bates Motorsport in Canberra, which followed a variety of cars through

the years, from a Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo to a Ford Fiesta.

Dalton, is a 42-year-old who only took up rallying in 2013 after arriving from Kilkenny, and is a successful Sydney businessman with a growing family.

He has already completed a Yaris R5 shakedown in a private forest in Canberra and was impressed by the extra speed.

“My Yaris, the first version, was getting outdated. And it wasn’t as competitive as the newer cars,” Dalton said.

“It’s quite a step up. I’m surprised how much of a step up. It’s a little bit hard to get used to.

“It’s got an absolutely unbelievable chassis. The stability in the rear - I just get tingles thinking about how good it is.”

KING READY FOR GT4 DEBUT

LUKE KING is preparing for his GT4 debut this weekend at Phillip Island, climbing behind the wheel of one of Chaz Mostert’s Method Motorsport McLaren GT4 Artura with Anthony

King has been working with Levitt after meeting him at the Aussie Driver Search in 2018 and encouraging him off sim racing and onto the track. A few years after that meeting, Levitt started running a Mercedes C63 in events like the Bathurst 6-Hour, with

King as his driving coach.

Now the pair (above) are stepping up to the McLaren together having run the 6-Hour together earlier this year.

“Tony rang me last week and said, ‘mate, we’re going to drive McLaren next weekend in GT4. We’re going to make our GT debut together. Are you in?’ And I said, ‘hell yeah, I’m in’. “That’s as simple as it was. We went to the workshop, met Aaron from Method and it’s all go.”

The pair will be running the car that Nathan Morcom and Tom McLennan won with in Queensland.

“No pressure, tell me about it,” King joked about slotting into a race winning car. “I think it’ll be good. We probably shouldn’t call Tony an Am, but technically we’re a Pro-Am pairing.

“Tony will be a really good fit in a GT car, he certainly won’t lack brake pressure… the guy’s got tree trunks for legs, so the GT should suit him really well. And Phillip Island, what a track to debut at.”

King’s first laps in any GT4 car will be when he rolls out for practice on Friday.

“I’ve got GT experience and I’ve driven a GT3 Audi, but never at an actual GT event. So, technically, this is my first competitive debut in a GT car, and the same for Tony and it’s just great that we’re doing it together because that’s basically what brought us together in the first place.

“It’s a proven car and the guys at Method know what it needs. I’ve spoken to some friends over in Europe who run GT4 McLaren Arturas to get their idea on what they’re like, but I think we’ll try and keep it simple for the weekend.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

Levitt.

Image: WISHART MEDIA

WILDCARD CHANCE FOR ZACH

CONSIDERING A LIFELINE FOR THEIR YOUNGSTER

By Paul Gover

SUPER2 FRONT-RUNNER Zach Bates

could get a Wildcard break in Supercars next year thanks to Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Unlike Ryan Wood, who rolled a wrecking ball through Super2 last year and bounced straight into a main game ride with WAU, Bates’ time at the team has been a slow burn.

Bates has joined the other youngsters searching for a full Supercars ride in season 2025, while at the same time Wood has just secured an extended deal, but WAU boss Bruce Stewart is working on another plan.

“We’re considering Wildcards for Zach next year,” Stewart told Auto Action

“We believe in the young bloke. He needs a break.”

Bates has driven his Super2 car recently at an evaluation day at The Bend but says he craves the chance to have a crack in a Gen3 Ford Mustang.

“I did 10 laps in the Super2 car. But I was also there for the Gen3 testing and seeing what it’s all about,” Bates said.

“You’re looking Chaz and Woodie trying to learn as much as you can. I want to see what I can do.

“At the end of the day, all I want to do is get into one of those cars and compare myself to Chaz and Ryan.”

Bates has been keeping busy with WAU work and also helping to run a Toyota 86 for Jazi French.

“I’m doing the Winton 300 in a Toyota 86 and then co-driving in a TransAm race at The Bend.

“I’m keeping busy and trying to learn. I love

craft has improved, and he looks after the gear and respects the cars,” he said.

“The team trusts him implicitly. He has the genuine pace. And he showed that when he was racing in Super2 with Ryan Wood last year.

“He is a very focussed individual in the car. he has shown it through his testing and racing.

“Like every young driver he has found the limit a couple of times . . . “

There is no main game opening at WAU in the foreseeable future, but Stewart is hoping some Gen3 seat time and the potential for Wildcard starts will help Bates’ cause.

“It is disappointing he is not mentioned a bit more by teams who are looking for a fast rookie,” he said.

“We would like to put him in a Gen3 car at some stage, towards the end of the year. Whether at a test, but more likely an evaluation day.”

AIM MOTORSPORT WITHDRAWS FROM SUPER2

THE PINK Mustang of Zane Morse will not light up the Super2 grid for the remainder of 2024 with AIM Motorsport withdrawing from the category with immediate effect.

After entering 2024 with ambitions of challenging for the title, the first three rounds were full of unfortunate scenarios for the privateer squad from Bungendore.

As a result of all these costly setbacks, AIM Motorsport co-owner Andre Morse has taken the difficult decision of leaving Super2 at the halfway mark of its fifth season in the second tier category.

“We love motorsport, but we have not loved this year. It has been a nightmare with nothing going right,” Morse told Auto Action

“It was just a culmination of so many things where it got to the point where a decision had to be made because we are just a family-run team.

“It was either pull out of the year or pull out of the sport.

“We love Super2, but have pulled out because we cannot sustain it.

“Super2 is just run at such a high tempo now and we were not there just to make up numbers – we want to win and get the top fives and top 10s, but it just got too expensive for us trying to compete against ‘main-game’ teams.

“It became too hard and the fun went out of it, so we want to get back to having fun.”

AIM Motorsport will now put everything of its Super2 setup for sale, including Morse’s Gen2 Mustang that was driven to six Supercars wins by Cameron Waters, plus spares and the transporter.

Despite the decision, Andre Morse made it clear his plucky family-run outfit is not leaving motorsport for good.

“We would love to stay in the sport and are now looking at other avenues,” he said.

“We will put it all up for sale and then we will go again. We will have a look at what is viable for AIM Motorsport and what is best for Zane himself.”

Thomas Miles

Zach Bates tested Super2 at The Bend – but wants a Supercars opportunity.

Image: RACE PROJECT

STOP / GO

PIASTRI’S BREAK

OSCAR PIASTRI has just revealed that he drove the last two Grands Prix – including his first ever win at he Hungarian Grand Prix – with a fractured sixth rib.

In one of his cryptic Instagram messages Piastri wrote: First part of the season done. First GP victory. First broken bone.

Rib’s enjoying the break

Oscar hasn’t detailed how he broke his rib, but the scan is dated the day after the British GP which suggests it may ahve happened during the race, or the post-race celebrations!

If he was able to contest two F1 races with the rib injury – there’s no doubt he’ll contest the Dutch GP.

FREE ENTRY FOR GT FESTIVAL

Fans will enjoy free entry at the inaugural GT festival at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit later this month.

SRO Australia has thrown open the gates for the August 23-25 event where the GT World Challenge Australia and GT4 Australia headline the schedule.

“We really want to make the inaugural GT Festival as accessible to the fans as possible,” said SRO Motorsports Australia CEO Ben McMellan said.

“This is the first time that SRO Motorsports Australia has promoted our own event. We know we have a great racing product, and we want as many people there to see it live.”

It will be broadcast for free on the GT World YouTube channel and Fox Sports/Kayo

NEW HOME FOR EREBUS

THE CHEVROLET Camaro Brodie Kostecki steered to a famous Supercars Championship victory last year now has a special resting place.

In the gap between the Sydney and Tasmania rounds, Barry Ryan helped deliver the #99 Camaro to Erebus owner Betty Klimenko.

Kostecki’s championship winner will now take pride and place in Klimenko’s garage, along with a number of classic cars. The Camaro remains in the same condition from when it took championship glory on the streets of Adelaide last year, with yellow numbers, the full CocaCola livery, championship signs and even some confetti. The chassis called EM05 was retired after claiming the historic title.

OLD DOG LEARNING NEW TRICKS

JOHN BOWE IS ENROLLED AT THE SCHOOL OF GT4

By Paul Gover

TOURING CAR immortal John Bowe is racing to stay relevant in 2024.

Switching from old-school muscle cars to a hightech GT4 BMW has challenged his ability to change and adapt.

“For an old guy it’s an interesting exercise. It is totally different,” Bowe admitted to Auto Action.

GT4 is the latest pivot for a driver who began in single-seaters, became a touring car champion in Group A touring cars, upgraded to V8 Falcons, and then starred for more than a decade in Touring Car Masters.

Bowe has been back in TCM this year, taking a cameo in the Ford Mustang normally steered by Steve Johnson, but is doing more and more with the Randall Industries-Southern BMW team in GT4 racing.

He has a dual role, as a driver and coach for newcomer Jacob Lawrence, but is learning as much as he is teaching.

“I’ve got to say, and I’m honest about myself, that I struggled at bit at the last event at Queensland Raceway,” Bowe said.

“But I’ve forgotten more than most people know. I think I’ve raced 75 different types of cars. So I’m happy to be there.”

Bowe said the root of his confusion is the difference between old-school touring cars and the new generation of high-tech GT cars.

“I’m basically brain-trained to be an over-powered, under-tyred driver. You develop, without knowing it, a certain tenderness towards the car,” he said.

“I’ve spent, if you think about the Ford Sierra turbo onwards from 1988, most of my career in cars that were over-powered. Really over-powered.

“These GT cars are the exact opposite. You’ve got to

drive the crap out of them.

“The throttle is like a tap. You just open it full once you get to the apex. You have to push the brake pedal so hard you just about pop out the roof.”

For the past decade, Bowe has been a stalwart of the TCM series driving ‘Mustang Sally’ and his own Holden Torana.

“They are basically old dungers. Very expensive, very fast, old dungers. And the driving style is much more like a V8 Supercar.

“ A TCM car has up to 700 horsepower, eight-inch wide wheels, and 304-millimetre brake rotors. So braking distances are long, throttle progression is long.”

But Bowe has no plan to park his career.

“Every year I think to myself ’Should I be doing this?’. I honestly don’t know,” he said.

“I’m tapering but I’m not done yet. It’s very had to let go. It’s been such a big part of my life.”

SICKNESS

HITS STEVE JOHNSON

RECOVERY PLAN IS FOCUSSED ON SANDOWN

By Paul Gover

STEVE JOHNSON has joined his son Jet on the sidelines after a tough year on the health front.

Breathing dramas at Sydney Motorsport Park ended Steve’s effort in the Touring Car Masters round but he is hoping to be back on the grid at the Sandown 500 meeting next month.

His health hit came after Jett withdrew from Super2 this year to focus on his mental health.

“I’ve raced with some pretty bad colds and flu over the years. But that was the first time in my career that

I was too bad to drive,” Johnson told Auto Action. “It’s an ongoing chest infection and it has made me feel crap.

In Sydney I really, really struggled to breathe. It really knocked me around.

“When I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly we had to do something. If I was doing to drive, I would have been mid-pack and just wanting to finish the races. And that’s not me.”

“It would have been good to chase five (TCM) titles this year, but you have to do what you need for your health.”

Johnson has been the benchmark in TCM in recent years, most recently in the Ford Mustang owned by Russell

Hancock and raced in the silver-andgreen colours of Brut.

“I first drove the car in 2022. We won all four races at Bathurst, then won all three races in Adelaide at the end of 2022,” Johnson recalled.

He had been planning an all-out effort in 2024 but was derailed at SMP.

Once again it’s veteran John Bowe, who stepped into the Mustang in Sydney, who is on stand-by for Sandown.

“I’ve just got to be cleared to drive,” Johnson said.

“If I feel ok, then I will race. And if I don’t then JB can step in again.”

A GT4 seat is something new for veteran JB ...

Steve Johnson – a ‘maybe’ for Sandown.

FORMULA ATLANTIC SHOWCASE SET FOR TAUPO

THE 2025 Historic Grand Prix at Taupo International Motorsport Park in New Zealand is set to showcase a field of Formula Atlantic and Pacific machines from across the globe and locally for the January 11-12 event.

The historic category which started in the US and then Britain in the 1970s, eventually shifted to NZ, Australia, and Asia, later becoming known as Formula Pacific, running as such in name until 1983 before being replaced by the FIA-named Formula Mondial series.

In performance terms, they were somewhere between a Formula 2 and Formula 3 machine of the period.

Powered by production-based fourcylinder engines under 1600cc, the DOHC Ford Cosworth engine was the main choice of powerplant for the international category.

At the time they were first introduced to Australia, they ran alongside Formula 5000 cars until they eventually replaced them altogether as the premium national open wheeler category that fought for the Gold Star.

Largely the field composed of Ralt cars powered by Ford Cosworth engines, with

some Toyota, and Nissan engines.

International F1 drivers including World Champions Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost and Niki Lauda all competed in the formula.

Piquet, Prost and Lauda also competed in Australian GPs run under Formula Pacific regulations at Bob Jane’s Calder Park.

The first of these events was the 1981 Australian GP run in November.

The meeting was dominated by 22-year-old Roberto Moreno who qualified on pole and won by over a lap from Nelson Piquet with Australian Geoff Brabham finishing third.

Kiwi racers racers such as the legendary Kenny Smith, Dave McMillan, David Oxton, Ross Stone, Craig Baird and Paul Radisich all won New Zealand Gold Sars during the Formula Pacific eras.

In Australia our four times Gold Star Champion Alfredo ‘Alfie’ Costanzo won the 1982 and 1983 Australian Drivers’ Championships driving a Tiga FA81 powered by a 1.6-litre, 4 cyl Ford BDA engine. John Bowe took two Australian Drivers Championships in a Ralt RT4, in the 1984 and ‘85 championships.

And in 1986, Kiwi Graham Watson won in another Ralt RT4 Ford.

The Ralt-Ford RT4 was the most prolific car used, with Moreno winning the Australian Grand Prix in ’81, ’83, and ’84, whilst Prost won in 1982, all at Calder Raceway.

The event in January will also feature a Ford showcase, Saloon cars, Muscle cars, Touring cars, and F5000 machines, the Formula Atlantics will have a standalone race to commemorate the historic gathering.

Kiwi Supercars icon Greg Murphy, who raced them in the 90s, is on the organising team for the event.

“Formula Atlantics are hugely exciting to me because I raced them here in New Zealand in the 90s as a part of my stepping stone into racing,” said Murphy.

“I’m a massive fan of the cars; they played a huge part in my career. In the 1980s and 90s, the Formula Atlantics were a pathway to a single-seater career.

“The list of drivers that have come through Formula Atlantics and gone on to bigger and better things is enormous.

“Americans, Europeans and people from all over the world would come to New

Zealand over our summer to get experience, log miles and get competition before going back to the Northern Hemisphere to race.”

With motorsport magnate and Taupo owner Tony Quinn as part of the organising committee, others key figures include Murphy, Taupo CEO Josie Spillane, Kiwi Motorsport co-founder Garry Orton, along with Barry Leitch, Steve Horne, Martin Collins, Kenny Smith, Peter Johnson, and John Tomlin, who are all involved in helping to bring the Formula Atlantic field from across the globe.

“They were very special cars in their time,” said Orton.

“They launched the careers of a lot of Formula 1 drivers, just like the Toyota Racing Series has. There are a lot of these cars around the country, and this is an excellent opportunity to get them out of their sheds. They’re fast, they sound good … they’re are a different generation of race car.

“We’ve also got a few in the United States that are quite interested in coming over – a couple of those guys who are showing interest raced Formula Atlantics in New Zealand in the early 90s.” TW Neal

CASHA ON THE MONEY

YOUNGSTER Ryan Casha (right) has quietly handled his rookie TCR season like a pro, as evident by his “super fulfilling” maiden win at Queensland Raceway.

Whilst the success arrived in the reverse grid affair, it marks the high point of a successful start to life in TCR for Casha.

He currently sits a solid fifth in the championship, just 27 points away from second and ahead of the likes of Brad Harris, Dylan O’Keeffe, Tony D’Alberto and Aaron Cameron.

The reigning Toyota 86 champion admitted his rookie campaign is currently progressing well ahead of expectations.

“I think so – you always want to win and try your best but you don’t go out there expecting to win when you qualify poorly in such a competitive field,” Casha said.

“It was not surprising but super rewarding.

“We had a couple of good runs at the previous tracks. Tasmania was a tough run in the first race getting away from the crash

but we ended up around fifth, so for that to be our weakest round is a pretty cool thing to say.

“Now to have four podiums in five rounds is great in a rookie year.

“We are definitely exceeding expectations

and now we have to focus on more, which will be the hard part.

“The win was a big credit to the team at GRM to set the car up and put it in that window for me and hopefully there are many more.”

Switching from the rear-wheel-drive Toyota 86 to the front-wheel-drive Peugeot 308 TCR is a challenge Casha felt he has come to terms with.

“I feel like I have adapted really well,” he said.

“I did not expect to come out of the gate firing at Sandown like we did because the calibre of drivers is so high.

“There have been a lot of firsts for me, being a paddle shift car, sitting on the lefthand side, starting with a launch procedure, first time racing on slicks, so many new things.

“So for us to come out firing at Sandown and continue that form throughout the year shows that we can be genuine contenders.”

Thomas Miles

GRM

Manfeild, 1978, and a packed Formula Atlantic field is headed by Keke Rosberg ... Image: ROBIN CURTIS

HISTORIC HOWELLS

FOR THE first time ever in the 38-year history of the Milbrodale Mountain Classic, a female driver/co-driver combo stood on the top step with Ally Howells and Sarah Corrigan (right) taking a famous win.

The Prolite Buggy combination achieved the breakthrough victory by completing the arduous NSW off-road race in three hours, 26 minutes and 40 seconds.

After 251.2km they emerged just over a minute clear of nearest rivals Benjamin Scott and Dylan Scott.

The first female success was a popular one with plenty of support being showcased for the family run Howells Motorsport operation that is the creation of Ally’s father, who is the “driving force” with her uncle and brother also supporting.

Howells’ first crack at the NSW off-road classic was back in 2010 and finished second last year, so was delighted to make history and go one better.

“It hasn’t sunk in. It was a bit of a whirlwind of a weekend and still in shock we pulled it off,” she told Auto Action

“It could not have gone any better. We got the lead early after we prologued second, 1.9s behind, but won the whole shot to the corner and held off Scott.

“To win it, especially with Sarah is a great feeling.

“It is such an amazing and challenging race that my brother and I have done for quite some time.

“We missed some years because they clashed with the Australian series but in the last two years we have made it a priority because we love it so much. It is a real driver’s track with a great community and volunteers.

“I am thrilled to do it for the team, which is my dad’s full-time passion and without him this would not happen. His dedication drives us forward.”

It was soon apparent it will be a two-horse race for the Milbrodale Mountain Classic with Howells leading Scott.

Howells gained the upper hand by being 18s clear in the 66km opener, whilst the likes of Glen Ackroyd and Justin Guy also showed pace.

Stage 2 was much closer with Glenn Spizzo edging out David Chandler and Howells who importantly walked away from the opening day in the lead.

Stage 3 was even closer as Howells fell just 1s short of the top time. In the end she was edged out by Chandler.

But with the event on the line in the bigger 120km finale, Howells rose to the occasion. She nailed Stage 4 by being 10s clear of Scott in a drive that secured the breakthrough triumph.

When the Milbrodale Mountain Classic rolls around again in 2025, Howells will defend her title – “for sure.”

Thomas Miles

TCM ANNOUNCE SA FINALE

THE TOURING Car Masters series has announced it will conclude its 2024 six round calendar at Tailem Bend on November 22-24.

The finale was originally planned for SMP (the scene of the most recent and thrilling fourth round) as part of the Motorsport Australia SpeedSeries, but the cancellation of the TCR international round earlier in the year forced the change of venue.

It’s the second time in two years TCM has visited the South Australian track, but this time it will compete on the shorter ‘West’ circuit, just one week after the VAILO Adelaide 500.

With a healthy supporter base in SA, it means the locals won’t miss out on the fan-favourite category in 2024, with the TCM having covered most states and Territories except for Queensland and Tasmania, in what has been a highly successful season under new management.

After missing out on the Adelaide 500 support bill in what has been a Supercars exclusive year for the classic muscle cars, TCM’s Rowan Harman says that it’s a great opportunity for the category to end its season in SA.

“After losing the opportunity to go back to SMP and to be at the Adelaide 500, we were able to work in with a South Australian enduro state round, meaning we get to visit most of the states and territories

this year,” Harman told Auto Action

“For those that will miss us at the Adelaide 500, it’ll just be a trip up the road to catch us at The Bend.

“Recently in SA we’ve also run the invitational category, and that will again be the case. We get a lot of support over there from both fans and prospective entry’s, and we’re very appreciative of

The Bend being able to fit us in.”

With racing set to be on the shorter West circuit at The Bend, TCM fans can expect more laps and better racing with the back loop knocked off the circuit.

The event will feature two practice sessions on Friday (22nd), qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, and Races 2 and 3 on Sunday.

As the series currently stands after Round 4 at SMP, Adam Garwood holds a 43 point lead in his #2 Holden VB Commodore, with SuperNight round winner Jamie Tilley in hot pursuit in the #29 Mustang, who has surpassed 2022’s champion Ryan Hansford for second place in the point score. TW Neal

RODIN’S REIMAGINED SINTURA TO TAKE ON WTAC

THIS YEAR’S Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge (WTAC) Sydney has added another intriguing piece of machinery to the bill: the reborn Sintura S99 from the mechanical ingenuity of NZ’s Rodin Cars team. The reimagined Sintura S99 machine will compete as part of the Emtron Pro Class for the August 30-31 edition.

Last seen in competition 25 years ago, Rodin has reimagined the GT1-era racer after founder David Dicker found it in an ex-F1 showroom and brought it to Rodin HQ in New Zealand with a vision to redesign it as the Rodin Sintura.

The Sintura S99 was a grand tourer-style GT1 race car that became infamous for meeting regulations via some creative means, such as fitting the race car with registration plates and road tyres.

Originally debuting in the 1999 British Championship with drivers Richard Dean and Kurt Luby, it won at Silverstone, outperforming factory McLaren F1 GTRs, and Porsche GT1s.

Dicker acknowledged that re-building the S99 from scratch had been a challenging process, and is far

from a finalised machine.

“It’s been a hard push for the team to get the car ready in time and, in all honesty, it’s still in testing mode,” Dicker stated.

“It’s likely we’ll have some challenges pop up at WTAC. Our goal is to unveil the reworked Sintura to the world, enjoy the competition, and entertain the crowd.”

Configured for WTAC, the Sintura features 650HP and 530 Nm available from Rodin Cars’ RC-TEN 4-litre naturally aspirated V10 engine.

Revving to 10,500rpm, the sound has been described as bone-shattering and ear-splitting.

To solidify that the British-born Sintura now calls NZ home, tuning and instrumentation is managed by Kiwimade Link ECU units.

2023 TCR champion Josh Buchan – a familiar name to the WTAC for his on- and off-track work – will be piloting the S99.

The F1-style Rodin FZED will also make a demonstration appearance at this year’s event.

TW Neal

AVON TO ROLL AGAIN

CLASSIC TYRES GUARANTEED

By Paul Gover

AUSTRALIA’S CLASSIC car competitors will soon be able to race on born-again Avon tyres.

The British company shut down after a takeover by Goodyear but Avon products are now being revived by new owners, Nova Motorsport.

Nova has spent $33 million to set up a factory in Portugal and its first product, a classic Avon ACB9 for Formula Ford, is already into

FOR OLD-TIME CARS

the proprietor of Stuckey Tyres in Melbourne, told Auto Action.

“There is not a category in any country that doesn’t rely on Avon.

They have such a diverse range.”

Stuckey is not expecting any significant Avon deliveries until sometime in 2025, as Nova begins the ramp-up of a wide variety of tyre sizes and designs.

It is working with the same equipment, moulds, compounds and expert engineering talent as the

is also on track to start full-scale production of the Avon CR6ZZ classic street-legal performance and competition radial tyre, a core Nova Motorsport Rallycross range and further Nova Motorsport Autocross products in Q4 2024,” Nova Motorsport said in a press release.

“Production of the Avon ACB10 Sport tyre (suitable fitment for lightweight competition vehicles), several Avon Historic Competition

Avon tyres have been a mainstay of historic categories such as F5000.

DE PASQUALE REPLACES WINTERBOTTOM AT TEAM 18

IN A shock move, current Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton De Pasquale has signed a deal with Charlie Schwerkolt’s Team 18 to replace Mark Winterbottom, turning his back on an apparent offer from PremiAir Racing.

Auto Action also expects that Brodie Kostecki will be announced as his replacement at Dick Johnson Racing as soon as the 2023 champion’s current contract with Erebus allows for a public announcement.

De Pasquale has been the centre of speculation since the young gun driver and DJR prospect Kai Allen was confirmed at Grove Racing.

Most pundits attached him to PremiAir as Tim Slade’s replacement, and we believe negotiations were well advanced when Schwerkolt appeared from left field.

PremiAir hoped that De Pasquale’s relationship with engineer Ludo Lacroix, with whom he worked at DJR, might help close the deal, but it doesn’t seem to have been enough to cover off the persuasive Schwerkolt.

“I’m super pumped to be joining Team 18 in 2025,” De Pasquale said.

“It’s a really exciting next step for me in my career and I’m looking forward to

progressing with Charlie, Adrian and the team and being a part of what they’re building for the future.

“Looking forward to chasing that common goal and getting stuck into it next year!”

“It’s exciting to have Anton De Pasquale join the team next year,” Schwerkolt said.

“Anton’s a clear standout in the next generation of drivers coming through the sport.

“He’s a proven winner and has what it takes to be a future champion of the sport.”

On his social media channels

Winterbottom has confirmed his departure from Team 18 at the end of 2024 and has said that Team 18 advised him that they had signed a different driver for 2025, indicating that he was pushed rather than stepping back from his full time role.

“To my supporters, the last 24hrs has been a whirlwind, as I was told that Team 18 signed a different driver for 2025,”

Winterbottom wrote on social media.

“I don’t really know what the future holds, I’m still digesting the news, but I know I can hold my head high as a professional sportsman.

“I have given 110% and loved working

with the team crew and all the sponsors, you are great people.”

At the time of breaking this story parties involved did not answer calls from Auto Action.

Previously he has spoken about the next phase of his career being involved in the management at Team 18, and it will be interesting to see if this happens.

It will also be of interest to see if his talents as a driver are going to be retained by Team 18, as Winterbottom would be a huge asset to any team as an experienced and still fast co-driver.

De Pasquale is the last of the big names to settle his future for 2025, and, if the speculation is true, PremiAir’s Peter Xiberras remains in the hunt for a suitable replacement for Tim Slade – while likely settling on James Golding for another season.

A seat with PremiAir would be viewed as a strong option for any driver wanting to race in the Supercars series.

If the speculation is true, the question must be asked as to why De Pasquale is moving on from DJR and why he was overlooked at Grove Racing, given his long-term involvement with them, in favour of a rookie.

VAN GISBERGEN TO RACE NASCAR CUP SERIES IN 2025

SHANE VAN Gisbergen will join Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez as NASCAR Cup Series drivers with Trackhouse Racing next year.

The Justin Marks led team has brought one of the four charters up for sale with the closure Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of this season, and the three-time Supercars champion has secured the election to the top level via this charter.

Van Gisbergen on the strength of his road course ability would likely be a Playoffs contender immediately, and with his oval track form improving with each outing he is regarded as a title prospect in 2025.

He follows in the footsteps of Marcos Ambrose, who raced NASCAR Cup Series from 2008-2014 and will race a #88 Chevrolet, fittingly a number famous at his former Supercars squad Triple Eight.

Both Trackhouse drivers are inside the Playoffs at the moment, but Chastain is 16th and leads Bubba Wallace by only two playoff points.

He would also be knocked out if any driver not already qualified wins any of the next five races before the Playoffs start in Kansas City on 29 September.

Following a successful Supercars career, Van Gisbergen moved to the States earlier this year to run a full NASCAR Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing while remaining a Trackhouse driver, and has won three times on road courses and is improving his performance on the ovals.

He leads the Xfinity Playoffs with three wins in his rookie season, and his third place finish at Atlanta is his best oval track result this season.

According to our sources, he has met all the goals set for him this year and his popularity presents a tantalising sponsorship prospect for next year.

It is a dream come true for the Kiwi.

“This is what I have planned for and I am ready,” said the 35-year-old Auckland, New Zealand native.

“I know there is a tough learning curve ahead, but the best way to learn is to go out and do it.

“I feel I have made progress running the Xfinity Series this year with Kaulig Racing and I can’t thank everyone there enough. I look forward to the Cup Series.

“Those drivers and teams are the best in the world and it will be an honor to be part of their races.”

It is also a special moment for Trackhouse as it expands.

“This is a big day in so many ways for Trackhouse Racing, Shane, Chevrolet and race fans around the world,” said Trackhouse Racing founder and owner Justin Marks.

“This is an important step for our organization and it’s a credit to the men and women at Trackhouse Racing whose hard work and success the last few years has led to us expanding to three Cup teams in 2025.

“It’s also a big step up for Shane who took a chance on Trackhouse Racing, moved here from New Zealand and now joins the most competitive stock car racing series in the world.

“Everyone will get to watch one of the world’s racing superstars compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next year.

“Shane is the type of driver we had in mind when we created PROJECT91.

“He took advantage of his opportunity and that experience in Chicago launched a whole new chapter in an already successful story.”

Van Gisbergen is doing both the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series at Daytona this weekend.

HUGHES WINS PRESTIGIOUS TITLE

RISING STAR Lochie Hughes has given his IndyCar dream a massive boost by becoming just the second Australian to win the USF Pro 2000 Championship on the streets of Portland.

Hughes secured the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship title with a second place finish in the Portland finale, which was enough to emerge 40 points clear of nearest rival and race winner Nikita Johnson. To make the crown taste sweeter, the 22-year-old from the Gold Coast also received a scholarship prize valued at $681,500 USD to ensure graduation next year to INDY NXT, the stepping stone to IndyCar. He joins Matthew Brabham, who won what was then known as the Pro Mazda Championship in 2013.

Hughes kicked off 2024 in style with a win in the St Petersburg opener and bounced back from a tough run at NOLA with an impressive seven straight podiums.

All up the Turn 3 Motorsport driver took five wins also at Road America and Toronto,

the finale.

“It was a good race. I think I had the best launch, to be honest, off the start and had to send it really deep into Turn One to hold my position,” Hughes said.

“Then basically it was just Nikita and I the whole race just nose to tail. It was very difficult because a lot of the corners here are mid- to high-speed corners, so following just wasn’t ideal, cooking the front tires a little bit.

“But there was sort of a bit of a rubber band between us where I’d make a bit of a mistake, he’d pull away, then I’d catch up again, and it was sort of like that the whole race.

“The last few laps I actually closed in quite a bit and made a mistake into Turn One, braking too late on the last lap and that was it.

“I gave it everything for my last race with the Turn 3 crew.

“I’m so happy to have driven here this year, and I wish them the best for the future. I’m sure they’ll always be part of my family.”

Image: NIGEL KINRADE / NKP / LAT IMAGES

while solid P6 and P2 finishes in the Portland finale were enough to keep Johnson at bay. The latest success follows his 2022 F4 US

title and a third place finish in last year’s

Image: GAVIN BAKER PHOTOGRAPHY

NEW LEADER AT GROVE RACING

GROVE RACING has further bolstered its leadership with Troy Bundy joining the ranks as Chief Executive.

The addition of Bundy is part of some restructuring within the grove group with Brenton Grove moving from CEO to Executive Director, reporting to Executive Chairman Stephen Grove, while David Cauchi remains the Team Principal.

Bundy comes to Supercars with more than a quarter of a century of sporting experience.

His latest role was leading the One Make and GT racing program for Porsche in North America.

He has also previously been the Head of Motorsport for Porsche Cars Australia and played a part in the Junior Development program when the likes of Jaxon Evans and Cameron Hill were rising through the ranks.

“I am thrilled to join Grove Racing as CEO and to be part of such a talented team with a clear ambition to reach the pinnacle of the sport,” Bundy said.

“Contributing to the growth and success of Grove Racing, and building on the strong foundation laid by Brenton and David, is incredibly exciting.

“I look forward to collaborating with the team to drive our vision forward and achieve great success both on and off the track.”

Bundy’s appointment comes as Grove Racing continues its rise from the mid-pack to the front of the grid.

“Troy’s appointment is a fantastic development for Grove Racing,” Brenton Grove said.

“His experience and background will enhance our efforts on the track, and I am excited to collaborate with him to achieve Grove Racing’s strategic goals.

“With both Troy and David leading key areas of the business, the team is well-positioned to continue our progress and success in the sport.”

After scoring breakthrough wins in 2023, Grove Racing has also enjoyed high points in 2024 led by Matt Payne’s Townsville victory.

After a tough time in Tasmania, the team is aiming to bounce back with a strong performance at the Sandown 500.

TARGA INQUEST DELAYED

THE FORMAL inquest into the deaths of four drivers at the 2021 and 2022 Targa Tasmania has been delayed.

A four-day hearing was scheduled to take place in Hobart from August 26-29 and make the future of the iconic event clearer.

However, after the hearing was initially delayed by a day after not beginning on Monday, it has been postponed indefinitely due to the coroner’s illness.

The Magistrates Court of Tasmania website has confirmed the inquest has been “adjourned to a later date to be confirmed.”

On Monday, Tasmanian newspaper The Mercury reported the initial delay.

“On what was meant to be the opening

day of the coronial inquest, the court informed parties the hearing had been delayed due to illness of key personnel. The inquest is now set to begin on Tuesday,” read the report.

However, the inquest is now further delayed. Coroner Simon Cooper was to preside over the hearings regarding the tragic deaths of Shane Navin, Leigh Mundy, Dennis Neagle, and Anthony Seymour, at the Hobart Magistrates Court.

Behind the scenes, talks have been progressing over the planned return of Targa Tasmania in 2025.

Targa CEO Mark Perry created a public forum to foster an open debate surrounding

what the future of the event will look like, which has also recently involved the TRCAA (Tarmac Rally Competitors Association of Australia).

Following the deaths in the 2021 and 2022 Targa Tasmania events, Motorsport Australia suspended all of its tarmac rallying activities in May 2022 before forwarding 94 recommendations to enable the Targa style events to resume under Motorsport Australia sanctioning.

These recommendations have all but stopped competitive Tarmac events under MA’s sanctioning, however Tarmac rally events are still being successfully held under the sanctioning of the AASA.

LARSON TO RACE WITH JPM DOWN UNDER

NASCAR CUP Series champion Kyle Larson will go sprintcar racing in Australia with Jason Pryde Motorsport this summer.

Larson, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR and also competes in the High Limit sprintcar series will head down under in December.

There the three-time Knoxville Nationals winner will bring his American High Limit Racing brand from America to Perth for three big nights of racing from December 27-29.

In addition to the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion coming to Perth Motorplex, Australian superstar James McFadden, plus US stars Brad Sweet and Rico Abreu are also coming for the show where $100,000 are on offer for the winner.

When Larson goes racing he will be driving for local Perth based Jason Pryde Motorsport thanks to his connection with Sweet.

“Honestly, I don’t really know anything about Sprintcar racing on that side of the country,” said Larson.

The Jason Pryde sprintcar on the dirt in Perth. Image: Supplied

“I was really reliant on Brad Sweet, he had spent a few weeks down there this past season racing in Perth.

“So I relied on him to find who would be the best available car owner for me to get lined up with.

“Everyone has said all sorts of good things about him as well as his equipment, so I’m really excited to get there and meet Jason

and his team and get to race his awesome stuff and hopefully have a fun, successful week of racing there in Perth.

“I’m really excited to go to that side of Australia, I’ve never been to that side of the country. It will be a good time.”

With Larson being one of the biggest names in racing, JPM owner Jason Pryde was delighted to have him racing one of his cars.

“We are thrilled to have Kyle join the JPM

squad for three nights this summer,” said Pryde.

“He is one of the biggest names in global motorsport and for him to choose us to run his Australian programme is a testament to JPM as a team.

“We know we are a competitive team but we’re also excited about what we can learn from a driver with so much experience in not just sprintcars but NASCAR and IndyCar as well.”

Image: MATTHEW T. THACKER / NKP / LAT IMAGES

NORRIS EARNS UNTOUCHABLE VICTORY ON VERSTAPPEN’S HOME SOIL

CROSSING THE line with the largest winning margin of the season, Lando Norris secured his second-ever F1 victory at the Dutch Grand Prix to spoil home hero Max Verstappen’s milestone race. With a near-perfect run in the Netherlands, Norris was rarely in doubt as the sole contender to seal the 25 points.

The #4’s track record on failing to maintain the lead into Turn 1 did continue, however, with both Norris and Oscar Piastri losing out to wheel-spin as the five lights shut off.

The eventual race winner’s teammate didn’t have the race he was hoping for, being relegated to P4 after George Russell passed him down the inside of the first turn.

Piastri stuck within DRS range of the Mercedes, however, Russell called upon Carlos Sainz’s Singapore 2023 tactics, pushing the McLaren driver back into Charles Leclerc’s grasp to give himself a sigh of relief.

Catching the Australian off guard, Russell shot off into the distance, leaving Piastri unassisted in his defence over the Ferrari driver.

Leclerc had a quick look down the inside of Turn 1, holding off until Lap 23 where he took another dig at a pass through the first corner.

His move around the outside of the same corner wasn’t quite possible despite running three-tenths back on the #81 at one point, seeing him peeling into the pitlane instead.

Given the hurry up, the McLaren pit wall informed Piastri that he would be extending ‘Plan A’ by five laps, inheriting his way into the race lead as his

competitors made their first tyre changes.

Piastri took his first and only stop of the race on Lap 33, swapping out the battered medium compound for the favourable hard compound as he rejoined in P5.

Over 20 seconds off his race-leading teammate and 3.2 seconds behind his closest competitor, Piastri built temperature into his tyres until he was ready to strike on the driver ahead on Lap 40.

That driver was Russell once again, who became Piastri’s first victim into the sweeping first corner.

Leclerc was the next target sitting in the final podium place four seconds down the road.

The 9-lap tyre offset was noticeable at first, however, the McLaren’s pace soon dropped off, an issue that was compounded as the battlers made their way through the back-markers.

With 20 laps remaining, the Australian lost his DRS advantage and was forced to stare at the rear of the SF-24 for the remainder of the race.

He crossed the line 27.3 seconds behind his teammate, collecting 12 points to reduce the margin between Red Bull and McLaren to 30 points in the constructors’ championship.

The 12 points earned also mean Piastri is the highest points scorer over the last five races, adding 92 points to his now-179point total.

As for the second-running Australian, Daniel Ricciardo’s race was a stagnant one that saw him taking the chequered flag in P13, however, instantly inheriting P12.

Off the line, Ricciardo’s launch was solid, however, he found himself losing out in a close battle with Nico Hulkenberg.

Ricciardo also lost out to Lewis Hamilton, moving him into P15 as the early laps ticked by.

Up until Lap 30, Ricciardo found himself eyeing down the bright green rear of Valtteri Bottas’ C44, hopeful of passing the Fin while running less than a second back.

He wasn’t able to, instead retreating to the pitlane for his solo pitstop of the 72lap race.

Ricciardo rejoined the Dutch Grand Prix behind Lance Stroll, needing to make the most of his tyres as he clawed his way back from P17.

With the order ahead reshuffling, Bottas had returned to Ricciardo’s sights, allowing Ricciardo to redeem his earlier efforts with a successful overtake into Turn 1 at the halfway mark of the race.

Carrying a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane, Stroll was the driver ahead.

It remained that way until the end of the race, with the interval between the two fluctuating in Ricciardo’s favour as they took the chequered flag.

As a result, P12 was Daniel Ricciardo’s to keep in Zandvoort — his second-best result at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Beyond the Australians, the 72-laps were largely uneventful aside from a few focused battles within the top ten.

While the two-man duel for the lead was non-existent beyond the first few laps, the opening kilometres had their fair share of entertainment.

Max Verstappen thrilled the Orange

Army as he took the lead into Turn 1, instantly breaking free of DRS threat as the early laps ticked by.

He began managing his tyres despite setting the fastest lap, holding the interval steady until Norris decided to attack on Lap 13.

Five laps later, the McLaren driver had reinstated his P1 starting position, quieting the crowd as he stole the lead from Verstappen who celebrated 200 race starts in F1 this weekend.

Along with the positional loss, Verstappen had greater worries as his RB20 lacked grip and the ability to turn.

Only falling back in the order due to pitstops, Norris rounded out the race with a 22.8-second lead, the largest margin all season as he took his first win since Miami, and the fastest lap with a time of 1:13.817s.

Behind the first- and second-place finishers, a four-way battle unfolded in the first stint.

Russell, Piastri, Leclerc and Sergio Perez found themselves in a controlled DRS train, fighting for the final podium position off the line.

On his own terms, Russell broke free, and getting left behind, Perez dropped off to leave Leclerc and Piastri engaged.

Disposing of the McLaren, Leclerc’s “miracle” podium hunt from P6 kicked off, aided by a perfectly executed undercut that saw him pass both Russell and Piastri in the process.

Holding onto the booze position, Leclerc rewarded the Italian team with an unexpected podium finish, while Carlos Sainz, starting from P10, made up five places to finish in a hard-earned P5.

Lewis Hamilton was also a big mover, scoring 4 points from his penalised starting position of P14.

The seven-time world champion’s race ran at a different pace, starting on the soft tyre before a switch to the hard compound, and then back to the soft tyre.

Russell also completed the Dutch Grand Prix as a two-stopper, gifting Sergio Perez an additional place in a strategy call that didn’t pay off for the #63.

As a result, Mercedes finished in P7 and P8, a shift from their race-winning form prior to the summer break.

Rounding out the top ten, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso filled the final two points-scoring positions.

In the Alpine, Gasly had a super race, making two places up through the first turn to eventually hold on to his starting position by the chequered flag.

Alonso’s race was dependent on demoting Nico Hulkenberg, successfully doing so to take home one point in the Netherlands.

The Spaniard and his 19 competitors will have the chance to go again in seven days, with the paddock up and moving to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix next weekend.

In Ferrari’s backyard, the cars will be back on track on Friday, with the first practice session taking place at 9:30 PM.

ALTHOUGH TICKFORD and WAU continued to show speed, it was not a successful trip to Symmons Plains for the other Ford teams.

Not one of the combined six cars from Dick Johnson Racing, Grove Racing and Blanchard Racing Team registered a top 10 finish at the Tasmania SuperSprint.

It is the first time this season DJR and Grove Racing have failed to be in the 10 at least once across an entire round.

DJR did get close however, with Will Davison falling just four tenths short in 11th in Sunday’s Race 18.

Both Davison and Anton De Pasquale made decent gains in the race, but not enough to make a significant impact.

After being on pole and fighting for podiums at Sydney, DJR’s David Noble hopes a test day can put them on the right path for the enduros.

“We’ve had better weekends. We’re frustrated and disappointed,” Noble said.

“We were able to come back through on Sunday, but we but cannot rely on that.

“We’ve got to deliver better and have more consistent performances in both qualifying and races.

TRIPLE EIGHT PONDERS TEAM ORDERS FORD TEAMS LOOKING TO HIT BACK

TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering will ponder whether or not team orders could have been used before Broc Feeney was spun by Thomas Randle.

Whilst Cameron Waters drove to a commanding victory, the Triple Eight teammates found themselves in a close contest with Randle for second in the closing stages of Race 18.

A quick tyre change had allowed Brown to jump the #55 to snatch second in the lane, but the pair found themselves thrillingly racing side by side.

After Randle lost out in the nail-biting exchange by finding the grass coming out of the final corner, he slipped to fourth as Feeney got by.

The #88 then caught the back of the #87 as the championship leader nursed a flat-spotted tyre.

However, before Feeney could think about making a move, he was taken out by a locked-up Randle at the

hairpin, falling fro third to 15th and losing valuable championship points.

As part of its post-race review, Triple Eight’s Technical Director Jeromy Moore noted the team will look at whether or not team orders could have been used to avoid the situation.

“As a team we always like our drivers racing,” he said.

“We don’t want to lock the race down and make it boring for fans.

“At the end of the day we are an entertainment business, so we want to make sure that we are putting on a good show and allow the drivers to do what they can for their own championship.

“But we will go back and have a look to see if we could have done anything better there or not.

“It’s always a tough decision to call a switch or not in the heat of the moment.

“You’re never going to get it right 100

percent of the time.

“The main thing is to allow them to race as much as they can and leave it on the track and less in the pit bunker.”

Brown put his hand up stating that if asked he “would listen” to team orders.

“We had really good pace, but I flat spotted a tire in the early stages of the first lap and I was limping the car home,” Brown recalled.

“I was hoping we could do four tyres in the stop and change that front, but unfortunately we could not due to a Safety Car.

“I managed to limp it home and have a great battle with Thomas.

“(But) unfortunately, and probably due to me being slow, Broc got spun around by Thomas.”

The Feeney spin came a decade after Triple Eight team-mates Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes clashed when fighting for the lead at the same circuit in 2014.

“We’ve got a test day in early September, so it will be nice to give the co-drivers a bit more track time and there is some homework we have ready to take forward to the enduros.”

For Grove Racing, Tasmania was a significant step backwards with Matt Payne finishing the previous four races inside the top four.

But like Darwin where its best result was 10th, the team could not unlock pace on the Supersoft tyre with a best result of 16th.

“This has been a poor weekend for us. We just didn’t execute well enough. We made too many mistakes,” Stephen Grove said.

“You’ve only got to be a little bit off the pace to suffer and qualifying let us down. When you’re towards the back of the grid it’s hard to go forward.

“Still, we’re super excited as we head into the enduro season. We think we’ve got the right team and the right package to do the job at Sandown and Bathurst.”

BRABHAM TO CHASE GT FESTIVAL GLORY

DAVID BRABHAM will bring an iconic name and Le Mans winning pedigree to the GT World Challenge Australia grid at Phillip Island this weekend.

Brabham will race a Harrolds Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Chris Batzios at the inaugural GT Festival.

The son of three-time F1 world champion Sir Jack Brabham, has carved out a significant career of his own, especially in the sportscar world.

He won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot alongside Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz, while he also has 24 F1 Grand Prix starts from 1990-1994 where he was Roland Ratzenburger’s Simtek teammate.

Brabham ensured the famous name raced in the Bathurst 1000 regularly until 2011, including 1997 when he won the Super Touring Great Race in a BMW alongside brother Geoff.

In more recent years he has raced a variety of GT events in Europe and launched his Brabham Automotive organisation, which included the BT62.

Currently Brabham has worked closely as a mentor with Australian GB3 youngster Patrick Heuzenroeder.

But now he cannot wait to return to the Australian racing scene.

“I’ve never driven the Mercedes GT3 before, I raced against one in the UK in GT Cup and it’s very quick so I am really looking forward to driving it,” said Brabham.

“Sam has always been complementary of Volante Rosso and when I was at Bathurst for a GT round when Sam (Brabham) raced, it was clear to me they were a very good team with a strong technical understanding of the car.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve raced at Phillip Island. It was with Stone Brothers in the V8 Supercar enduro round in

2011. When we were secretly testing the Brabham BT62 in 2017, both Sam and I were driving so that was the last time I drove a car in anger there.”

It means there will be two Brabhams taking on the GT Festival with Sam driving a GT4 Mercedes with the Love Racing team.

In addition to racing, David will be looking for the opportunity to ensure the famous Brabham name once again becomes a big part of the Australian

racing scene.

“Australian motorsport continues to grow and we believe it’s time for Brabham to return to its roots and establish a Motorsport presence in the country,” he said.

“How this looks is still being discussed and while I’m in town I will be assessing our options and catching up with leading teams, professionals and influencers in the Australian Motorsport landscape.

“My family and Phillip Island go back a long way from when my father won the Repco Trophy in 1960 and was a very close friend of Len Lukey who purchased the circuit in 1964. I always remember calling him Uncle Len as a kid.

“As a circuit, I would personally put it number two in Australia – just behind Bathurst. It has the best location with the sea in the background, it’s fast flowing and has a mix of technical corners, a great drivers circuit.”

REDDICK WINS DOUBLE OVERTIME THRILLER

TYLER REDDICK scored his second NASCAR Cup Series win of 2024 after holding on in a double Overtime affair at Michigan where Corey LaJoie took a tumble.

The final 149 laps of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway were delayed to Monday due to wet weather and it was worth the wait.

Reddick was controlling the race with seven to go before a Caution suddenly arrived when Martin Truex Jr got loose and went hard into the Turn 4 wall.

It was the fifth time this year a caution has arrived inside the final 10 laps when Reddick was leading the way.

Despite not winning on four of those occasions, the 23XI Racing driver ensured that would not happen again despite the tense finish.

A surge on the low line saw Will Byron hit the lead at the first attempt of racing in Overtime, but just as Reddick came up alongside the #24, Ross Chastain spun out on the back straight.

Alex Bowman hit the wall on the outside of Turn 2, but carried on, albeit

unsettling the pack behind.

This saw Chastain lose control and spin wildly into the infield.

The second crack at Overtime was successful with once again a big push on the inside line pushing the second placed car to the front of the field.

This time Reddick was the beneficiary

and surged ahead of Byron, who went low as they crossed the line, but fell 0.168s short.

It was an emotional success for Reddick as he dedicated his victory to mentor and late model racer Scott Bloomquist, who died in a plane accident on Friday.

“The last couple days have been tough, but this really helps,” Reddick said.

“This win goes to him (Bloomquist) and his family and friends, and all that meant a lot to him. It’s always tough when someone you care about passes away.

“We did a really good job today. I think we were the last car on the lead lap starting stage three today so good effort for us.”

After only 51 laps were completed on Sunday that included Denny Hamlin spinning from pole, the race resumed under sunnier skies on Monday.

Prior to the double Overtime finish, the biggest moment of action was produced by LaJoie, who took a tumble.

Moments after making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr, the #7 Camaro suddenly flipped upside down.

LaJoie skated almost the entire length of the back straight on his roof before finding the grass and rolling twice before finally coming to rest.

NASCAR returns to Daytona for the Saturday night Coke Zero 400.

NEW LIVERY FOR VAN GISBERGEN DAYTONA DEBUT

SHANE VAN Gisbergen will make his Daytona NASCAR Cup Series debut at this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 with a new look.

Van Gisbergen will be sponsored by Safety Culture in both his NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races this weekend.

Whilst his Xfinity Series campaign carries on, the Cup Series start will be a big one for the Kiwi in the #16.

It will be his fifth of 2024 and first ever at the iconic Daytona International Speedway.

The last time van Gisbergen raced was on the streets of Chicago when he was in the mix for victory before being taken out.

He also already has one SuperSpeedway start under his belt in the big league, having taken on the GEICO 500 at Talladega.

Whilst van Gisbergen finished 28th, he did lead and could have been fighting towards the front of the field if his draft was broken up late in the race.

It marks a return to where things all started for van Gisbergen with Daytona being the first race of a massive 2024.

He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the famous Florida SuperSpeedway and finished a respectable 12th.

Since then he has claimed three road course wins and two top five oval finishes to sit 12th in the standings.

His last race at Michigan was hit by a restart violation penalty, but still recovered from 30th to 17th in the closing stages.

“Tough one with a bit of a lack of speed!” Van Gisbergen said.

“A bad restart on my part gave us a penalty late which put us behind. “Had some close calls, missing some big crashes! Another one next week, can’t wait.”

The night races at Daytona are friendly viewing for Aussies with the Xfinity Race kicking off at 9.30 AEST Saturday morning and the Cup Series going racing at the same time on Sunday.

MILLER FOCUSED ON POSITIVES DESPITE CRASH

ALTHOUGH IT ended in disappointment, Jack Miller was pleased by an upturn in pace at the Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Miller qualified fifth and in the Sprint proceeded to score his first top five race result since Portugal, nine races ago.

The #43 was fighting towards the front as well in the Grand Prix, sitting in the top four early before being passed by Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi.

The Australian was then under immense pressure with Marc Marquez on his tail before the race came to an abrupt end.

Miller crashed out of fifth at the chicane, which was a sad end to an important weekend with his future the subject of much speculation.

Despite the frustrating finish, Miller said it was a boost to be fighting back towards the front of the field.

“Austria was a weekend of solid pace, good vibes, and decent running despite a small mishap on my end,” Miller wrote in his website column.

“We were pretty competitive from the get-go, and it was nice to have some confidence heading into the weekend.

“We felt we learned a lot throughout these (practice and qualifying) sessions and I felt like we maximised that side of things.

“The Sprint Race went pretty bloody well too I must say - to finish up there in P5 right with the boys was awesome as it’s been a minute since we’ve had that pace.

“To bank a solid result like that is crucial for points and momentum for the remainder of the season.

“In the Feature Race, not the ideal way we wanted that to pan out.

“I felt like we were in a good position again and the pace was strong, but just a small mistake on my behalf - not sure if I hit a bump or what - but it ultimately put me down.

“That was a real bummer to end the weekend like that, although there were a lot of positives to take away and all things considered I’m happy that we had a competitive bike throughout the weekend and a solid showing despite the crash.”

The next MotoGP race will be a return to Aragon on August 30-September 1.

VALE CAMPBELL LITTLE

IT’S WITH a heavy heart that everyone at AA has heard of the passing of Campbell Little, this morning, at the age of 65.

One of the long-standing top-level engineers around Australian motorsport for several decades, Little died after battling pancreatic cancer for over three years.

After an early career in the bike racing world, literally travelling the globe, he returned to Australia in 1985 – his first car racing job was with Frank Gardner’s BMW team. (Campbell was literally on the radio to former F1 champion Denny Hulme on that horrendous day in 1992 when Hulme suffered a heart attack at the wheel of the B&H BMW at Bathurst).

He was the first employee signed up when Ross and Jimmy Stone started Stone Brothers Racing, in 1995 and stayed with the team, at the same time occasionally commuting to Europe for one-off gigs, through to 2003, when he accepted Roland Dane’s invitation to be a part of his new venture here in Australia.

After an involvement in Car of the Future, Campbell spent time with other teams – FPR, DJR, Tekno – reaching a total of five Bathurst wins and a couple

of championships – before joining Supercars in a technical role, assisting the then technical chief Adrian Burgess.

Most recently, following his diagnosis and early treatment, Campbell returned to assist with data management, to

and

assist the TV commentators. Campbell Little is survived by wife Clare,

three daughters – Ellyse, Georgia and Jess.

RIP Campbell – all-round nice guy and achiever.

DIFFEY INTO NASCAR

VETERAN BROADCASTER Leigh

Diffey is taking on a new challenge this weekend as he becomes the anchor for NASCAR coverage on the NBC network in the USA.

The transplanted Queenslander is making the switch from IndyCar commentary and is heading to Daytona straight after leading the coverage of track-and-field events at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Diffey will be in the broadcast booth alongside former NASCAR racer Jeff Burton and retired crew chief Steve Letarte.

He told Auto Action, speaking from his home in the USA, that he is looking forward to the new challenge and the competitiveness of the Playoffs.

“It’s Daytona this weekend. It’s going to be great. It’s going to be fun,” Diffey said.

“It’s the beginning of something new for me. I’ve done NASCAR before, but

not as my main motorsports activity and job. It’s going to be nice to have that singular focus and do the last 12 races of this year.”

Diffey commentated IndyCar for more

than a decade, including covering six Indianapolis 500s, but this year alone he has also been part of IMSA sports car and Supercross broadcasts.

Diffey has been flat-out to prepare

for the NASCAR challenge, learning the cars, drivers and teams to ensure a seamless roll-out into the broadcast booth.

“Since getting home from Paris it’s been head-down, in full homework mode. It’s been watching a lot of tapes, learning all the people. It’s a lot of research,” he said.

The opportunity in NASCAR comes as broadcast rights switch from Fox Sports to NBC Sports at the mid-point of the 2024 season.

Diffey has commentated NASCAR in the past, but only on a secondary feed, and said he is looking forward to the move.

“It funnels down to a climatic moment at the end. You’ve got the season-long race to make it to the Playoffs. When it gets pared down it builds a lot of drama towards the end of the season,” he said.

Paul Gover

YOUNG GUN SWEENY LANDS SUPER3 RIDE

will make a longawaited Dunlop Series debut by steering an Image Racing Super3 VF Commodore at

Sweeny will drive the #4 VF Commodore that Tony Auddino raced at Wanneroo when the Dunlop Series arrives at Mount Panorama in October. It is a big moment for the 21-year-old, who has had a quiet 2024 after stepping away from TCR Australia.

After falling just short of the TCR title last year, Sweeny has only done a handful of races including the RX8 Cup and Jeremy Hodges Memorial Excel race.

But since he left TCR, he has had his sights set on the Dunlop Series and the chance has finally arrived for the penultimate round of the season.

“I am very excited to announce I will be racing Super3 with Image Racing at the Bathurst 1000,” Sweeny said.

“It has been a bit quiet for myself in the motorsport world but we have been working hard behind the scenes. I have been racing a few categories throughout the year.”

Sweeny has already got accustomed to the VF Commodore by staging a test day this week at a sunny Phillip

Island and was encouraged by the start.

“I have just wrapped up an awesome day of testing at Phillip Island. The VF Commodore was an absolute weapon and I learnt lots of new things,” he said.

“I feel like we are in good shape heading into Bathurst and I can’t wait to hit the track.”

The addition of Sweeny is a much needed one for both driver and category.

In two of the three rounds so far, Cody Burcher and Thomas Maxwell have been the only Super3 competitors racing amongst themselves.

The only exception was Perth when Auddino made a one-off appearance to bring the third tier to a three-car field.

BATES GETS THE BIG V

ROUND 4 OF THE AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP SAW THE GAZOO RACING CREWS BACK ON TOP, WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP-LEADING GR YARIS FINDING SOME POINTSCORE BREATHING SPACE IN VICTORIA’S GIPPSLAND REGION. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

THE TOYOTA pairing of Harry Bates and Coral Taylor came away with the goods in Victoria’s Middle of Everywhere Rally on 10/11 August, taking their third win of the year and extending their championship lead over the chasing Skoda crews.

After the Queensland Rally saw an allSkoda podium, this time it was back to a Toyota one-two with Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin finding their first ARC podium finish since Round 1 in Canberra.

In a two-day endurance set-up in Victoria’s southeast, the defending champions came home by 2min 32.3 seconds over 16 stages and 188km of competitive timing, whilst it was two ARC podiums running for the Skoda Fabia R5 pairing of Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey, just 1.3s behind the 2022 champs in third place.

The final overall podium didn’t tell the whole story of this fast-paced affair, with Bates having to battle it out hard withhis chief title protagonists, Scott Pedder and Glenn Macneall.

Several late incidents on the Sunday had Pedder first fall from the victory lane equation heading into the final Power Stage in Boisdale, before a post-race penalty saw him slip off the podium altogether.

With the loss of championship points, Eddie Maguire was promoted into second, 61 points in arrears of the #1 Toyota, whilst Pedder slipped 16 points behind Maguire.

It’s a commanding position for Bates (with only Adelaide and Launceston to come in 2024) who couldn’t do much better than to lead from SS1, on the first pass of the Thompson Stage.

“It’s a very important one for the

championship, obviously, being the half-way point and the second half of the season starting here,” Bates said.

“A strong one for us. Obviously, we led from the first to the last stage, so I was very happy with that. Even today when we backed off slightly, our pace was still okay.

“I’m looking forward to battling it out for the rest of the season with Scott, but it’s nice to have a bit of a points advantage now.”

Pedder ripped a rear wheel partly off in the Power Stage on the first corner and, after being unable to return to the service park his own power after crossing the line, dropped to eighth overall, dropping a nasty 80 championship points in the process with no points having been awarded on the Saturday (with it being an endurance round rather than a Heat 1, Heat 2 points system).

The fast and flowing first day had the Queensland Rally winners well poised to scrap it out on what could be regarded as more technical running on the Sunday, just

12.3s behind overnight after splitting the day with four stages apiece.

But a cleaner Bates grew the lead out stage by stage over the final day, with Pedder also making an error when he didn’t take in a note call correctly, resulting in a flat which largely put them out of the running before their Power Stage mishap.

Also finding trouble on the Sunday was the Rullo family crews, with Alex Rullo and co-driver Steve Glenne finding mechanical issues after a creek crossing, whilst Peter Rullo and James Marquet also retired after impact just one stage later.

Around the other ARC cups, it was former national champion Molly Taylor who limped home for the Production class win despite some late mechanical drama to maintain control in that title race, whilst she and co-driver Andy Sarandis finished in fourth overall in their Subaru WRX.

Taylor leads that title race by 100 points, but won’t take part in the final two-rounds,

leaving Frank O’Shea with the work to do in closing that gap, whilst last year’s champions, Tasmanian’s Bodie Reading and Mark Young finished second in class and sixth outright (behind ARC pairing Jamie and Brad Luff).

Also participating was a guest driver from Japan, Nao Otake, via the Toyota junior program, finishing eighth overall in a solid showing on foreign soil.

In the Junior ARC Cup, Mitch Garrad and co-driver Taylah Murphy continued their run of form to edge out Molly Spalding and co-driver Adam Branford, whilst in the 2WD ARC Cup, Nick Seymour and co-driver Matt Whitten continued their momentum from Saturday to take out the class victory.

The 2WD Classic ARC Cup went to Ivan Thompson and Lachlan Nordsvan in their crowd favourite Ford Capri, whilst the first ARC instalment of the Subaru WRX Challenge one-make series went to Timothy Clark and Leonie Clark.

In the Victorian Rally Championship stakes, Round 3 went to Adrian Stratford and Anthony Staltari in their Ford Fiesta, winning by a slender 58s over the Mitsubishi Evo IX pairing of Warren Lee and David Lethlean.

Next up is the penultimate Adelaide Hills Rally in South Australia September 13-15.

ARC STANDINGS AFTER FOUR ROUNDS

H.Bates/Taylor 317

E.Maguire/Brakey 256

Pedder/Macneall 240

L.Bates/McLoughlin 202

Taylor/Sarandis 157

Harry Bates and Coral Taylor ran at the front all weekend to re-establish a solid points lead while (above) an early incident put the Pedder Skoda behind the eight-ball. Below: the podium.

IS KYLE THE NEW MARIO – WILL WE EVER KNOW?

WHEN US NASCAR/Speedway ace Kyle Larson lit up social media with his claim, last Friday (see NASCAR news, page 49), that he was a better all-round racing driver than Max Verstappen, I had two immediate thoughts:

Firstly, wow – quite a statement from the current ‘Mr Everything’ of US racing. An interesting debate maybe … but how can anyone ever realistically measure the pair?

And then I thought of Mario Gabriele Andretti ... Dirt and oval-raised Mario took on F1 in its own back yard – and won.

Almost 60 years ago, a young Mario Andretti was at a similar point in his career that Kyle Larson finds himself at today – a winner across the wide US motorsport spectrum and, in Mario’s case, the ultimate desire to measure himself in F1 … at some point.

As a kid, growing up in Italy, Mario and his brother Aldo had been taken to the 1954 Italian Grand Prix where he was mesmerised by Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio. The seed was sown. The following year, the family emigrated to Nazareth, Pennsylvania – the family base to this day – and before long, the Andretti motorsport legend began.

Via Stock cars, NASCAR, speedway midgets and Sprintcars, the young Andretti made his name before debuting in what we currently know as Indycar. USAC champion for the first time in 1965, aged 25 (again in 1966), he was Indycar runner-up in ’67 and ’68 … From an almost penniless immigrant family, Mario Andretti was by now a motorsport gun for hire –and, while the lure of F1 was there, it

with Chris Lambden CL ON CALL

had to be the right thing at the right time.

F1 Lotus boss Colin Chapman had met the young American at the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 and quite simply said to him “when you’re ready for F1, let me know …”

He was ready in 1968, and Chapman called to offer him a drive at that year’s US Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen, in a Lotus 49. Mario put it on pole … ahead of Jackie Stewart and team-mate Graham Hill and the entire F1 glitterati of the time. The race was anti-climactic – some slight body damage dicing with Stewart for the lead was followed by gearbox failure and a DNF. But it was an attentiongrabbing start …

As you could do in those days, Andretti started to mix his US commitments with sporadic F1 races, for March, Lotus and Ferrari. His first race for Ferrari was the 1971 South African Grand Prix. He won.

Enzo Ferrari then offered him a full-time drive, as number one driver in the world’s most famous team. Mario turned him down. He turned down Enzo Ferrari! … At this point, for Mario, it was still a balance between ambition and a secure financial future. As he later said, back home in the States:

“F1 didn’t pay much back then and my contracts and commitments were so lucrative

over here I couldn’t give that up for the security of my family. The timing wasn’t right yet, so I had to turn him down; but I always figured I’d get another opportunity …”

He did. His first full F1 season came in 1975 when his Indycar team, Parnelli Jones Racing, ventured into Grand Prix racing. But it was way too ambitious, the team inexperienced and wasn’t successful.

Other one-offs came and went, but the big F1 break finally came with Lotus, in 1977 and, with the brilliant Lotus 79 ground-effect car, Mario was 1978 F1 world champion. Lotus tripped over its own innovative shoe-laces the following year and eventually Mario returned to the US world of Indycar in which he was competitive, and starred until stepping back at the end of 1994, aged 54 ...

His last F1 races were late in 1982 when, out of the blue, Ferrari asked him to sub for the badly injured Didier Pironi for the last couple of races of that year. The first was at Monza – Mario finished third after dropping the turbocharged Ferrari 126C2 onto pole …

There are obvious parallels between the career of Mario Andretti and that to date of Kyle Larson although, at 32, Larson would be a fairly late F1 starter. They are both typical of the American dirt-track-bred stars who, yes, can

drive just about anything and have an unparallelled seat-of-the-pants intuition for car set-up.

So, to answer the question, could there ever be another Mario? A show-down between Larson, whose star has rocketed over the last couple of years, and Max Verstappen? In F1?

Sadly, and Larson’s age aside, the chances of that happening are zero. Whereas owners of F1 teams of those early days could offer any driver they thought worthy of it a drive – one-off or otherwise –these days the spectre of the FIA Superlicence and its Euro-biased points qualification system, towards F2 and F3, make it very, very difficult for anyone other than an outright Indycar champion to walk in the door. It would require a big rethink.

For now, the route to F1 is that taken by the most recent US graduate, Logan Sargent – the multi-million-dollar regular pathway, via F4/3/2.

Most recently (2023), young Indycar racer Colton Herta had a potential F1 option but was unable to pursue it due to insufficient

Superlicence points.

An application for an exception for Herta was rejected, although an age exception has recently been made available if needed for potential Mercedes youngster Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli to debut before turning 18 (he turns 17 next week) ...

As an agitated Graham (son of Bobby) Rahal pointed out at the time of Herta’s issues: “F1 is an elitist sport. They don’t want us. They want US companies’ money; they want wealthy US individuals’ money. But they don’t care about the rest … F1 has had ‘ride-buyers’ for years who don’t hold a candle to CH (Herta). Fact!”

So, whether or not you sympathise with Rahal’s frustration, Kyle Larson’s headline-grabbing assertion will likely remain just that – a debating point. Whether the US (Liberty Media) ownership of F1, or even the possible entry of Mario’s son Michael into F1 as a team owner ultimately leads to change, Mario Andretti will most likely remain as the US dirt-track racer who became an F1 champion …

Mario Andretti remains just the second American to win the F1 World Championship (Phil Hill was the first, in 1962) – and the only one from traditional dirt-track roots. Below: With Lotus team owner/designer Colin Chapman during his championship year. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

PUBLISHER Bruce Williams

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Andrew Clarke

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Caroline Garde

NATIONAL EDITOR Thomas Miles

HISTORICS EDITOR Mark Bisset

FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconcelos

US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell

SPEEDWAY REPORTER Paris Charles

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Reese Mautone, David Batchelor, Edwina Williams, Siena Roperti, Gary Hill, Geoffrey Harris, John Lemm, Martin Agatyn, Paul Gover, Chris Lambden, Pete Trapnell, Ray Oliver, Steven Devries, Timothy W Neal, Toby Cooper, Craig O’Brien, Dan McCarthy,

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INTERNATIONAL Motorsport Images

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AUTO ACTION WEBSITE

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

Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Email: editor@autoaction.com.au

Postal: Suite 4/156 Drummond Street. Oakleigh Victoria 3166

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ACTION FROM TASMANIA AND AROUND THE WORLD WHICH GAVE THOSE ON AUTO ACTION SOCIALS PLENTY TO TALK ABOUT…

HAS THE GRAND PLAN FOR AVALON CRASHED?

VICTORIA’S TOURISM, Sport and Major Events Minister

Steve Dimopoulos and (then) Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca announced almost 18 months ago a ‘Home of Motorsport’ plan for Avalon Airport.

The government was spending $1.6 million to “help with the design and planning … which will see the 150ha plot at Avalon earmarked for the new home of an elite multi-purpose motorsport precinct”.

Mr Dimopoulos was quoted as saying “the proposed Home of Motorsport will help support regional Victoria to host more high-octane major events”.

The announcement said “a new Home of Motorsport is listed as a priority in the recently-announced 202232 Victorian Motorsport Infrastructure and Participation Strategy, which will help to sustain the high number of motorsport events held in Victoria from grassroots to elite level”.

It was subsequently reported that a track would be built by 2025 and be ready to host a round of the Supercars Championship in 2026. Is this all on schedule?

Haven’t heard any more about it and wonder whether it’s all fallen over.

Suspect so.

Yet again a plan for a motorsport complex appears to have gone up in smoke or just disappeared into the ether.

Perhaps if the plan had been to build the track at ‘Pork Barrel Park’ where the Geelong Cats play and there seems to have been a bottomless pit of money from governments, both

Labor and Liberal, to build new grandstands we’d have a new Supercars venue in the next year or two.

Alan Smith Bacchus Marsh, Victoria

TOP MARKS FOR DIGITAL SWITCH

I JUST wanted to drop you a note to say how much I enjoy the digital version of Auto Action

The depth and quality of stories is first rate and frankly is the best motorsport news resource in the country. By far.

I can understand that the move to a digital platform is challenging.

I designed the framework for Rallysport News to move to a subscriber platform two years ago and that has been successful for them.

To your entire team, well done. Content will always rule supreme.

Keep up the good work.

Dallas Dogger Brisbane, Queensland

ON BOARD AND RIGHT WITH JETT JOHNSON

HEARING RECENTLY about third-generation racer Jett Johnson’s mental health battle touched me immensely.

I’ve been absorbed in motor racing all my life and, at 71, still run a nostalgia nitro funny car, Time Traveler, but for eight years have been with The Black Dog (and had been suffering a bit for 40 years).

My heartfelt advice to Jett is that, while it’s gruelling and a long journey, once you find a psychiatrist you click with you will get there.

It’s a huge relief once you open up.

Jett seems to have a lot of

family support and that is great. Keep up the good work with your magazine Auto Action.

Peter Peirano Surfers Paradise, Queensland

GO MSR BUT WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF IT?

I DON’T expect this letter to get into your next issue but nonetheless I felt that I had to send you my thoughts on what went on down in Tasmania over the weekend.

To be honest the racing was good, and it was great to see some different cars near the front and winning. Same as last year, it looks like Matt Stone has a good set up for his cars down there, with Nick taking another win.

But what I was really pissed off about was what went on when Thomas Randle went to apologise to Broc Feeney.

How come the Red Bull Team Manager is allowed to push him away from going into the shed and have nothing done about it.

The kid is a nice young bloke and was going to say sorry.

Last time this happened it was in New Zealand a couple of years ago and Frosty was actually in the Erebus shed and giving Will Brown a spray and good old Barry Ryan told him to get out and gave him a push.

He copped a big fine for that, and yet at this stage nothing happens to the Red Bull team.

G MacRae Sutherland. NSW

Editors Note; Thanks for your letter Mr. MacRae, you make some valid pionts, but stay tuned because it seems likely that something may happen with regards this matter as an official complaint have been lodged. See the news pages.

DUTTON AND RANDLE CLASH

Paul Buccini

Dutton could have been much nicer about this. Yes I understand you don’t want the two drivers meeting, while one maybe not in the right headspace. Lucky Jamie was there and handled it like a gentleman.

Liam Tame

Going to stand up for Dutto here and say he’s just doing his job. Randle obviously just trying to do a good thing, but who’s to say what sort of mindset Feeney was in after that kind of result?

LARSON – BETTER THAN MAX?

Neil Johnson

It’s very unlike an American driver to be so (over) confident in his own abilities. No question that Larson is highly talented, but (to my knowledge) Max has never even driven a Sprintcar so it’s a pointless comparison.

Johannes Verbiesen

Let’s not forget Kyle was beaten on the road circuits by SVG in a NASCAR so perhaps we should throw Shane into this discussion as I think he is also one of the best!

DILLON’S RICHMOND RAMPAGE

Wayne Nugent

What a half-arsed response from the WWE of motorsport. If you want to send a message then you strip the win. It’s that simple. NASCAR have only themselves to blame for things getting to the stage they have now.

Anthony Fogliani

Punting someone off to win is the footy equivalent of a coward punch from behind.

Paul Wright

Logano and Hamlin would have done the same if they were looking for a win to enter the play-offs. It was an exciting finish and has plenty of people talking NASCAR.

FAME FOR WAYNE AN

OVERDUE HONOUR IS ESSENTIAL

THE BEST boss in the history of Supercars has died.

Wayne Cattach passed as he had lived and worked, without fuss or fanfare. But Supercars should be celebrating the life and achievements of the best CEO in its history.

Right now, someone at Supercars headquarters should be writing the words of tribute for his (long overdue) posthumous induction into the Supercars Hall of Fame at the end of this year.

Without Wayne Cattach it’s easy to argue the whole Supercars show would never have happened, or run completely off the rails – more than once.

He was the anchor in the early days, from 2000, as well as the cleaner who followed the mercurial Tony Cochrane with a hazmat pack and ensured any mess was cleaned and polished.

His job must have been a lot like working as the chief-of-staff for Donald Trump.

Cattach could be a tough taskmaster, rubbing some people the wrong way, and I have clear memories of my first whack.

I was called to Cattach’s office in the Dick Johnson Racing transporter for some ‘counselling’. It might have been the time I had given Paul Radisch a nickname in News Limited papers, ’The Rat’, and Shell was not happy and threatening to sue.

with Paul Gover THE PG PERSPECTIVE

That problem eventually went away when DJR created some ‘Rat caps’ in their merchandise for Bathurst – and they sold out by lunchtime on Thursday!

More likely, it was earlier in his time at DJR when John Bowe was racing alongside Dick.

Anyway, Cattach kept me waiting outside the truck for at least 15 minutes, like a naughty schoolboy outside the headmaster’s office.

He called me in – he sat, I stood – and then delivered his sermon on my misdemeanour. I put my case and we agreed to disagree.

So, from that day on – and with a chuckle from the man himself – he became ’Headmaster’ whenever we met.

There were plenty of meetings, as

When DJR got into big trouble after the failed First Rock sponsorship deal, Cattach came back. And fixed it.

Yet there was never any grandstanding or showboating. Cattach was calm and considered, with a whip-crack dry sense of humour.

He was a person who always listened first, then never used two words if one would do the job.

When he moved to the top of Supercars he was somehow able to herd the cats.

There was still spitting and scratching and screaming, but he kept everyone thinking and working in the right direction.

Of course, he also made the team bosses into millionaires and

up his sleeves to make it happen.

“He was a terrific, unassuming bloke, outstanding leader and a gifted administrator,” said Ryan Story, who became one of Cattach’s close friends.

When Cattach quietly walked away from Supercars and into retirement, Story became the ‘minder’ at DJR. They had regular lunchtime catch-ups, often with Dick, and I was once invited back

It was as if nothing had changed. A quick whack to remind me of the rules, then a brilliant discussion of everything from motorsport to politics, economics, fine wine and the food for lunch.

The Headmaster was still kind and honourable. There was no bad-mouthing from him.

Now it’s time to pay our respects – and get him into the Supercars

Wayne Cattach – the calming half of the double-act which set Supercars on its way.

Above: His Supercars trip started, and ended, with Dick Johnson. Images: MARK HORSBURGH, SUPERCARS

AGIUS GETS SECOND MOTO2 CRACK

YOUNG AUSSIE Senna Agius has been given a contract extension to carry on with his Moto2 career heading into 2025.

NINOVIC COMPILING RECORD BRITISH

F4 SEASON

YOUNG AUSSIE Alex Ninovic has continued to rack up the podium places in British F4, in what is fast becoming a record season for the Rodin driver.

A former KA3 National Karting champion, Ninovic has been a frequent visitor to the podium, which has included three wins, to be second in the standings by some distance.

His recent round at the Knockhill Racing Circuit in Scotland reaped a second place in Race 1, and a third in Race 3, in pursuit of the rampant Deagen Fairclough who has registered nine wins.

In Ninovic’s championship karting year at home, his appearance percentage on the podium across the year stood at a remarkable 77%, whilst his current British F4 record stands at 71.4%, with 14 podiums across 20 races.

In context, the NSW youngster has already equalled last year’s champion – NZ’s Louis Sharp – in podium appearances with three rounds and nine races remaining, and needs just one more podium to match Oscar Piastri’s 15 podiums in 2017 where the Aussie Formula 1 race winner finished second in the title race.

That would comfortably give Ninovic the Australian record since the series adopted FIA Formula 4 technical regulations in 2015, a championship year that went to Lando Norris, also with 15 podiums.

At Knockhill, the #12 Rodin driver qualified fourth for the opener before making it podium #13 for the year, before a fuel pump issue saw him retire from the second outing.

Ninovic had to scrap hard for a podium

in the finale, getting promoted due to a penalty, ending the round 101 points in arrears of dominant Fairclough.

“Definitely getting some podiums and points from this weekend is a positive because this weekend has not gone exactly the way I wanted it to go,” he said.

“Not finishing Race 2 was gutting, but there is nothing you can do when you have a car problem.

“Still getting good points though, and I am really looking forward to Donington and hopefully we can top qualifying again.”

Ninovic heads for Donington Park on August 24-25, with a second visit to Silverstone to follow before he finishes his season at the legendary Brands Hatch.

TW Neal

The promising 19-year old will stay with the Kalex IntactGP Husqvarna outfit after having some positive results in an upand-down, tough, yet consistent rookie campaign.

The Sydneysider sits 15th in the championship as the highest placed rookie after coming over as the 2023 European Moto2 champion, with seven point scoring finishes this season. His season high finish was an impressive fifth in Spain, whilst he has featured in the first three rows twice in qualifying.

His last two starts have also seen him take another top-10 at Silverstone, whilst he managed to finish on the back-end of the points in Austria at the weekend.

“I am very happy that the team has the confidence in me to let me show my potential next season,” he said.

“A big thank you to Jürgen Lingg, Stefan Keckeisen, and Wolfgang Kuhn, and everyone at Intact GP who believe in me.

“It’s been a very good start to the season for a rookie and I think we can build on that next year.

“I can’t wait to continue the journey with this team.”

Agius’ next outing comes at the Aragon Motorcycle Grand Prix in Spain on September 1, whilst his first major Moto class race in Australia will come at Phillip Island on October 20.

TW Neal

GOODYER KICKS OFF MAIDEN US STINT

JOCK GOODYER (right) has turned his hand to the American Sprintcar circuit for 16 outings, with the prolific national winner having started his 16 race schedule in California in Kyle Larson’s #W57 Works LTD machine, which features the unique turnedout exhaust.

The national champion has so far had outings in the Larson co-owned High Limit Series at Thunderbowl Raceway, Kings Speedway, and Placerville Speedway, driving in the same Sprintcar that Larson himself won the recent Knoxville Nationals with.

Joining fellow Aussies James McFadden, Jamie Veal, and Jessie Attard, Goodyer will compete in both the High Limit and World of Outlaws series, and still has seven races of the former to go.

On signing the 16-race deal, Goodyer said that, although it will affect the start of his national season, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“I can’t thank the whole 57W crew enough for giving me this opportunity,” Goodyer said.

“This does mean I will be missing Darwin this year in my T22 but I am due to be home for Toowoomba.

“Sorry to the fans that were heading to Darwin but when such a good opportunity arises I would be crazy if I didn’t take it.

“Thank you to all my sponsors and family for being so supportive on this journey.”

His first outings in the all white weapon saw him pair up with Larson in Tulare, southeast of Fresno with the NASCAR champion piloting the 57 machine for his

only High Limit race of the season.

His debut saw him make the top 5 transfer in the Heat stages, which meant he got to contest the 35 lap A Main, finishing in 16th, whilst his superstar teammate took the win.

His next outing in nearby Hanford saw him win his Heat over drivers like Justin Merck and Rico Abreu, but his second straight A Main final saw him finish in 19th.

Heading up north near Sacramento, his third outing in Placerville saw his night end in the B Main, whilst Aussie superstar James McFadden triumphed for his second High Limit win.

Up next, Goodyer has three outings at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA, before heading to Oregon and Washington. Check the High Limit website for Schedule details.

TW Neal

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

A SHORT BREAK AND READY TO GO AGAIN ...

IT WAS an amazing moment to secure my first GP win, in Budapest, and I’m sure that July 21 2024 will be a day that I remember for a long time.

I won the Qatar Sprint race last year, which was also special, but it felt different to win on Sunday and hear the Australian national anthem.

As a kid, you dream of racing in Formula 1, representing your country on the biggest stage and taking the chequered flag and so it was nice to tick that experience off for the first time.

It was an awesome feeling to pull the car into parc fermé behind the winner’s board and feel the energy from the crowd and all the team. Hearing the chants and songs from the grandstands was epic and it was nice to soak that all up on the podium.

After the race, I had some lovely messages from a lot of people that

FORMULA 1 WORLD

have supported me along the way as well as from supporters around the world and it always amazes me to hear the lengths people go to, to watch my races and cheer me on.

We had rather a quick turnaround before Spa the next weekend and my flight out of Budapest was delayed – so my celebration consisted of a game of monopoly in the airport lounge with Lando and Alex Albon accompanied by some chicken nuggets, as it was the only thing we could get our hands on at the airport.

We did have a cool moment back at MTC (above) following Spa where the whole team got together on the boulevard (where many of the team’s greatest cars are displayed) to celebrate the win.

It’s nice to thank all the people who are working so hard and pushing to deliver performance in the car as the success is as much theirs as it is mine. I feel privileged to be part of this team and extremely motivated to achieve much more for and with them.

There is a lot left for me to accomplish in this sport, but it was also another step in the right

direction and more learning and experience in the process.

I felt like I built up really good momentum before the break with the win in Hungary, two second places, in Austria and Spa, and fourth at Silverstone so I’m happy with where my driving is at and looking to kick on in the second part of the season.

The break actually came at a good time for me as I picked up a fractured rib around Austria time, three or four races before the F1 summer break. Therefore, it’s been a good opportunity to let that rest and heal so I’m now fully fit and looking ahead to Zandvoort this weekend when the action resumes.

During the break, I’ve been having a rest with the odd training session here and there but also been keeping a close eye on the Olympics in Paris.

It’s been an amazing effort by

our Olympians to bring home 18 golds and 53 medals in total. Some of the performances have been outstanding. Watching athletes like Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Cam McEvoy, Jess Fox and many more has been phenomenal.

I’m looking forward to the Paralympics now which get under way towards the end of the month, after we’ve raced at Zandvoort, as they are set to be equally as competitive.

Hope you are also managing to have a break before F1 gets going again. Take care and speak soon.

OSCAR IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

Oscar Piastri’s

This is one trophy you have to be careful with ... easily damaged, but a milestone for Oscar. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

RULE CLARIFICATION LEADS TO CONSPIRACY THEORIES

ONE SMALL addition to the 2024 Technical Regulations has been perceived as a sign that at least one top team has been fiddling with its car’s braking system, using technology that would allow for ‘asymetric braking torques’ at the rear of the car, as a way to improve its ‘turn-in’ cornering performance.

Some observers have gone as far as linking the reminder of the ban on this kind of system to Red Bull’s comparative loss of performance since the Miami Grand Prix, albeit offering limited or no evidence to back up those theories.

In what has been a couple of slow news weeks since Williams confirmed the signing of Carlos Sainz, a lot of detailed reading has gone into the latest changes approved by the World Motor Sport Council on July 31 and, in particular, a clarification on the Technical Regulations has led to a lot of speculation.

As has been the case since this current set of Technical Regulations was first adopted, the chapter dedicated to brake systems says that:

“The brake system must be designed so that within each circuit, the forces applied to the brake pads are the same

magnitude and act as opposing pairs on a given brake disc.”

That in itself is a clear indication that ‘asymmetric braking torques’ have always been banned, but now the sport’s regulator has added a second paragraph that reads:

“Any system or mechanism that can systematically or intentionally produce asymmetric braking torques for a given axle is prohibited.”

That has been interpreted as the consequence of the FIA Technical Delegate finding such a system in a competing car – but there is no firm

evidence backing these suspicions up.

It has long been Formula 1’s modus operandi that teams using systems the Technical Delegate finds contravene the spirit but not the letter of the regulations, are advised to remove them, with clarifying Technical Directives on the matter being issued, when the ‘letter of the law’ is not clear enough.

In this case, it must be noted that no Technical Directive has been issued –an obvous sign tthat he FIA believes the letter of the law was clear enough, with the added paragraph simply reinforcing the first one. An alternative possibility to that theory is that one team may have suspected Red Bull, for example, was using such a system and then submitted its own design of an asymmetric braking system to the FIA Technical Delegate, asking if it would be legal to fit it on its cars, leading to the clarification of the rules.

A couple of issues Red Bull experienced, in Pérez’s car during the Bahrain preseason test, and another one that led to Verstappen’s retirement in Australia, have been labelled as clues that point to the Austrian team as the target of this rule tweak. However, it is also true that this is the first season Brembo has been supplying the entire braking hardware to the Milton Keynes-based team, after almost two decades of working with Carbone Industrie’s disc brakes, like most of the other teams, so teething problems were to be expected.

ANDRETTI’S SNUB PROBED BY US GOVERNMENT

THE INVESTIGATION into Liberty Media’s possible antitrust breach, related to the Formula 1 Commercial Rights’ Holder refusal to grant Andretti Grand Prix an entry to the sport ,has moved up a gear and is now in the hands of the U. Department of Justice.

Last May, at the request of a group of US senators, an investigation was launched, as the politicians claimed they were concerned that Formula 1 may be violating US antitrust law by helping the largely European rival teams, “including foreign automakers,” to block competition from Andretti Global, which has teamed up with the Michigan-based GM and Cadillac to build its power unit.

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee took on the process and concluded there was enough evidence to move the case to the Department of Justice’s AntiTrust Division, where it now sits.

Liberty Media has notified its investors about the inquiry, informing them that, it has “received notification from the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division that an investigation has been opened with respect to Formula 1’s conduct

concerning the application by Andretti Formula Racing to enter the FIA Formula One World Championship.”

Furthermore, in a conference call with the company’s shareholders, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei vowed full co-operation with the investigation but

defended his company’s handling of Andretti’s request for a place on the Formula 1 grid. Maffei said that “we intend to fully co-operate with that investigation, including any related request for information,” before reinforcing that “we believe our determination or F1’s

determination was in compliance with all applicable US antitrust laws.”

The American businessmen than added that “we’ve detailed the rationale for this decision vis-a-vis Andretti in prior statements. We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is wrong,” then explaining that “there is a methodology for expansion that requires approval of the FIA and the F1 and both groups have to meet and find the criteria met. And we’re certainly open to new entrants making applications and potentially being approved if those requirements are met.”

There is, so far, no calendar for the expected hearings to be held but there’s no doubt this is a very high stakes game for Liberty Media, Greg Maffei and Stefano Domenicali.

The uncertainty created by this probe has also put on hold all planned changes in the MotoGP commercial structure (the American company has already announced plans to take over Dorna and run the two wheels world). But until this probe is concluded, Carmelo Ezpeleta and his experienced team are set to continue to run MotoGP, to avoid further issues for Liberty Media.

Was Red Bull’s dominance ended by having to remove an asymetric rear axle braking device (a boost to ‘turn-in’ to corners) which, while complying with the wording of the law wasn’t in ‘in the spirit’ of the now-updated regs? Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Greg Maffei –Liberty Media CEO

FIA CRACKS DOWN ON CRITICISM OF STEWARDS

FIA PRESIDENT Mohammed Ben Sulayem has announced that the World Motor Sport Council has approved a change to the International Sporting Code that expands the powers of the Stewards and the Federation when dealing with anything that may be perceived as abuse directed towards its own officials.

The measure seems to target Formula 1 drivers and team principals who criticise Stewards’ decisions when they feel injusticed and is likely to see a reaction from the Grand Prix Drivers Association after its members next meeting, scheduled for this week’s Dutch Grand Prix.

In a post published in his personal social media outlets, Ben Sulayem announced that, “as part of our ongoing fight against online abuse, recent investigations have shown that there is a direct link between negative comments from drivers and team members and increased hate directed towards officials on social media.”

That’s why, according to the Emirati, “at the last World Motor Sport Council, members approved a change to the definition of misconduct within the ISC following incidents in which high profile members of our sport have made statements towards

NO F1 PLANS ON PORSCHE’S HORIZON

IT’S “OUT of the question” that Porsche will make another attempt to return to Formula 1, the company’s Vice President for Motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach, said in an interview with British magazine Autosport.

The German sports car manufacturer was in advanced negotiations with Red Bull to become its Power Units’ supplier and partner from the start of 2026 when talks were abruptly curtailed by the Austrian company, which then took the risky decision to design and build its own motive power for the future Technical Regulations.

Left with no other viable partners available, as the likes of McLaren and Aston Martin couldn’t provide the same level of technical support Red Bull, throught its Powertrains division, could, Porsche was forced to call off the development of the planned 2026-spec Power Units and has no admitted it has no intention of entering Grand Prix racing in the near future.

reasons why Formula 1 is no longer on Porsche’s horizon, detailing that “we are involved in customer racing in GT4 and one-make series up to professional GT racing. In addition to that, we compete in the two most important endurance series with our partner Penske. The third aspect, since the electrification of our brand is very important, is our commitment to Formula E, which is the only fully electric high-level series. I think we are really well positioned.”

officials that incite abuse.”

For the FIA president, “this change will ensure further support for the FIA officials and volunteers who dedicate their time to improving our sport, keeping it safe and fair.”

The FIA president then defended that “our stewards must be prepared to show strength when combatting this form of abuse, and they have my full support, and the support of our International Sporting Code, when making their decisions.” He then concluded that “I urge them to show that the FIA will not allow abuse of any kind within our sport.”

This decision is unlikey to go down well with the drivers as there were already calls for radio messages to be seriously filtered before being broadcast. As Max Verstappen and other drivers have stated, in the high pressure environment they perform, angry reactions and bad language are to be expected – but in most sports the players’ words are not heard and broadcast.

Total radio silence is an extreme measure some drivers are now campaigning for – a full Grand Prix without any radio broadcast would be a perfect and legal way of showing their disagreament with the measures the FIA now wants to implement.

In that same interview, Laudenbach detailed that “for now, F1 is not a task for us and we are not dedicating any energy to it. We are solely focused on what we are currently doing – and if you look closely, we have many different activities. We are very busy and extremely satisfied with what we are doing.”

The German manager pointed out that his company is enjoying quite a lot of success in other racing categories, as demonstrated by Pascal Wehrlein’s recent success in Formula E.

In fact, Laudenbach pointed out three

While it would be great for Formula 1’s image to have a brand like Porsche competing in Grand Prix racing, the fact that the German group will already have Audi competing from 2026 seriously cuts down the chances of such a scenario being viable. Also, it has to be pointed out that the only period, in three attempts, that Porsche was really successful in Formula 1 was in the mid-80s, when a project fully founded by the late Mansour Ojjeh’s TAG gave McLaren the most competitive engine in the field, helping Niki Lauda to win his third title and Alain Prost to secure his first two titles.

More than 20 years earler, Porsche had entered its own Grand Prix team, Dan Gurney winning the 1962 French Grand Prix after scoring three second places the previous year, the team shutting down at the end of that season. And a brief return to the sport, in early 1991, with Footwork, was an unmitigated disaster that led to the partnership being terminated before half season.

FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem (left) plans to curb public (radio) criticism of Stewards’ decisions by drivers ... Good luck with that!.

Porsche’s most successful entry into Formula 1 provided Niki Lauda with his third world title, in 1984, with McLaren.

DRIVERS’ MARKET ENTERS FINAL STAGE

WILLIAMS’ ANNOUNCEMENT that Carlos Sainz will be joining Alex Albon for the next two seasons was supposed to open the floodgates in the drivers’ market but, two weeks after the Spaniard’s decision was made public, neither Audi nor Alpine have yet made their moves and the situation at both Red Bull and VCARB remains uncertain.

So, in a way, it doesn’t seem like Sainz was the cork in the bottle the other drivers were accusing him of being.

With the internal movements at Red Bull expected to go undecided at least for a few more weeks, it’s Audi and Alpine that are likely to make their moves between now and the end of the Italian Grand Prix, effectively shutting down next year’s drivers’ market extremely early – probably a direct consequence of Lewis Hamilton’s shock decision to leave Mercedes and move to Ferrari at the start of this season.

At Alpine, the smart money is on Jack Doohan being promoted to the race seat Esteban Ocon will vacate at the end of this year, but the length of the Australian’s contract is now unlikely to be over one year, something his management cannot be too happy about. Doohan has done a very good job when testing for the French team, is extremely well integrated with the technical team and well-liked by the race team, so he’ll fit in extremely well alongside Pierre Gasly.

And, after losing Zhou Guanyu to

Sauber and, more damagingly, Oscar Piastri to McLaren, Alpine doesn’t want to see another big investment on a young driver’s career go to waste. Doing it would effectively doom the team’s young drivers’ program and that’s one area where even Briatore wants to keep on investing, the Italian having a long history of grabbing young talent to then maximise the benefits – for the team and

himself – of selling their contracts to the bigger teams.

Audi, on the other hand, has halted drivers discussions for a while but things seem to have picked up recently, with Valtteri Bottas back at the top of the German manufacturer’s list. The Finn teased the fans with a photo taken in California where he posed alongside an Audi roadcar with VB77 stickers on the

side, but things may be far from defined, as all drivers still looking for a seat are now banging on Mattia Binotto’s door. Nevertheless, a decision is expected in the next couple of weeks, as it will be important for Binotto to have the driver line-up secured quickly, to then focus on hiring as many talented engineers as possible to put the team in a better position for the 2026 season.

THAILAND GP PLANS ON HOLD

PLANS FOR Thailand to host a Grand Prix from the start of 2027 have now been put on hold, after yet another political crisis has hit the Land of 1000 Smiles.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was forced to abandon his role after a Supreme Court ruling last Wednesday and was replaced, two days later, by 37 year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, younger daughter of the divisive Thaksin Shinawatra, who led the country between 2001 and 2006 before being deposed by a coup.

Thavasin, a businessman turned politician, was the driving force behind the plan to organize a Formula 1 street race in Bangkok, seeing it as one way to help the Thai tourism industry that is still reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 period. The country’s late and strict measures had a very negative effect on Thailand’s image and that’s why the number of visitors is still close to 30 percent less than at the end of 2019. Hosting a Grand Prix was seen by Thavasin as a quick and relatively inexpensive way (really!) of boosting the number of visitors to the country and that’s why the former Prime Minister made a big effort to reach a deal,

in principle, with Formula 1’s Stefano Domenicali.

It was the Thai government which initiated talks with the Italian manager –Thavasin and Domenicali had a couple of videocalls earlier this year in preparation for a face-to-face meeting that took place in Bangkok and a second, in Imola, during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The then Prime Minister made a point of walking around the grid and talking to as many TV stations as possible to talk about his plans, hours after shaking hands with Domenicali on the basis of a future deal.

With Thavasin now gone from power and a completely new government yet to be sworn in, talks between the two parties will be back to square one but that doesn’t mean the deal is completely off. Given that she’s likely to follow the policies initiated by her father and later resumed by her aunt Yingluck, also Prime Minister between 2011 and 2014 (also ousted by a military coup), new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra may well picked the deal up where Thavasin left off and continue to push some state-owned companies, like oil giants PTT, and also

private ones, like Red Bull, to put money behind the project.

Nevertheless, with transitions of power taking time and halting the momentum of this kind of negotiations, plans for Formula 1 to add a second Southeast Asian race to its calendar may be delayed by one or two years – and the project could be

even moved to a different location. That’s because, according to local sources, the obstacles to putting together a street circuit in the proposed area of Ratchadamnoen Avenue are quite big and would force the closure of some of the most lucrative historic sites of the city during the Grand Prix week.

Subtle? Bottas dropped an image on Twitter, parked in the Californian desert with an Audi ....

Things were progressing between Stefano Domenicali and then-Thai Prime Minister Thavisin (left), but will need to start over again.

SO MUCH TO PLAY FOR!

AFTER AN unusually quiet summer break, the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship returns with a double header in Zandvoort and Monza, the start of a final 10-race dash to the end of the season.

If you haven’t been paying close attention to what has been going on, seeing Max Verstappen with a 78-points lead over Lando Norris, could easily convince you this championship is done and dusted, but things are not quite that simple and the Dutch driver knows it.

Verstappen’s last win came in the Spanish Grand Prix, at the start of June – the next four Grands Prix were won by three different drivers: Hamilton returned to the winner’s circle with two wins, team-mate

George Russell also scored one win and Australia’s Oscar Piastri opened his account in Hungary, after a weekend completely dominated by McLaren.

It’s been a while since the British team has had the faster

with Luis Vasconcelos F1

car in more or less all kinds of tracks, with Mercedes also being able to beat Red Bull on merit on a few occasions.

Both McLaren and Mercedes have the advantage of running two highly competitive drivers, while Red Bull’s second man, Sérgio Pérez, has been struggling so much he faced the real possibility of being sacked before this summer break.

Having two drivers fighting at the front can be nervewrecking, as McLaren found out at the Hungaroring, but is also a tremendous strategic advantage during races where tyre choices are not clear cut. That’s why Verstappen has been unable to cover everyone else’s moves,

as Red Bull has to stick with the strategy they deem to be the fastest, leaving the Dutchman vulnerable to alternative strategic choices – and his meltdown during the Hungarian Grand Prix showed he’s still not taking extreme pressure well. Fortunately for the Dutchman, the man closest to him in the championship, Lando Norris, has failed to capitalise on the situation, consecutive bad starts putting him on the back foot on several occasions and, effectively, costing him the win at least in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In fact, compared to Verstappen’s 58 points since Spain, Norris scored only 49

– heavily penalised by being taken out by the Dutchman in Austria – while Hamilton and Piastri have scored 80 points each. And, as demonstrated in the Hungaroring, Verstappen’s animosity towards Hamilton still leads to avoidable clashes that the Mercedes driver can afford – after all, he’s not fighting for the title – but the Red Bull driver cannot.

But it’s not only at the front of the field that there is all to play for.

Ferrari needs to make a big leap in performance soon as, after a promising start of the season, the Scuderia has dropped to fourth force, to the tifosi’s disappointment.

A massive upgrade is planned for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and, given Leclerc’s speed around the streets of Baku, one can only expect the red cars to be back in the fight for the win. There’s also a lot at stake for Aston Martin and Alpine’s managements, as both teams

have failed to deliver as much as expected since the start of the year, with the battle for P6 and P7 in the Constructors’ Championship being seriously intense.

More than pride, there’s a lot of money at stake for VCARB, Haas, Alpine, Williams and Sauber, so the pressure is on, especially for drivers like Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo and Logan Sargeant, all still without a drive for next season.

You couldn’t find two circuits less alike than Zandvoort and Monza, so expect the pecking order to change from one week to the next, but those who’ll do well in both Grands Prix will head into Asia and the Americas much more confident than their rivals.

These will be crucial weeks for everybody in the field and that can only make us look forward to this return to action after the break ...

McLaren’s ascension to the front of the field has been great news for Australian Piastri fans. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

FIXING THE FORMATS

SO MANY PARTS OF SUPERCARS IS GREAT AND GETTING BETTER, BUT THE RACE FORMATS USED IN 2024 WERE NOT AMONG THOSE. ANDREW CLARKE TOSSES AROUND SOME IDEAS ...

CHANGE IS coming, and change is needed, and resistant team owners need to get on board. Supercars needs more rounds, and Supercars needs a fix for the disastrous SuperSprint format of 2024.

Two races of less than an hour each have done little to inspire the fans to reach into their pockets or to leave a track feeling like it was money well spent. Perth and Darwin, in particular, were not great crowd pullers.

The upside is that Supercars knows the new format didn’t work, and it knows it needs to make changes. But it also knows the argument for change will need to be compelling to convince at least one resistant team owner.

The problem for change lies in the Teams Racing Charter which effectively caps the series at 12 rounds – without coming up with an extra $60k per car for each extra round – and also a certain number of racing kilometres per season.

So, change will not happen if three of the 11 team owners do not want change.

We understand the restraints in a recession-like economy, but we’re greedy and we want the changes …

The series sits on the upper limit for both, so the first challenge to anything is getting either or both changed.

We may get to 13 rounds and, on a really good day, we’d get the 14 rounds that Supercars wants, but we’re pretty sure that with some other cost savings measures and concession we will get more racing kilometres … so we’ll focus on that.

We also need to Motorsport Australia to take some of the shackles off the racing and allow for a lot more biff and barge – hence the need to change some of the costs base – within reason. How does a $2000 headlight help, or a $15,000 bumper?

We’d also get rid of blue flags because it is a bigger test for the drivers.

PITLANE SPEEDS

SOMETHING THAT can be changed is getting less pitlane transit time to open up strategies, and the only way to do this is to increase the pitlane speed limit from 40km/h.

We think 60km/h is workable, and the safety risk is negligible, but there is obviously a body of research required. Some thought will be needed around

pitstops under Safety Car conditions when pitlane can get congested.

RESTARTS

MOVE TO double lane restarts to create opportunities for passing. These are supposed to be the best racers in the land – if they can’t do that without crashing then we have serious trouble. NASCAR has been this way for years, and it is exciting. Close down the restart window too, you can’t gun it until you are on the straight ... even introduce restart zones.

We tried all this years ago – and then backed away from it because of nervous team owners. The good news here is that this can be done without the need for the team owners to agree, so let’s go.

TYRES

WE’RE PRETTY sure we’ll have only one compound of tyre next year, so that simplifies the way tyres are handled. Just don’t give them too many.

QUALIFYING FORMAT

SPRINT QUALIFYING is to be 10 minutes only, and it starts as the last car leaves pit lane, none of this rubbish of all the cars in the pit lane till three minutes to go they all race out onto the track.

AA's format suggestions mainly affect Sprint races such as Tasmania (left) and Perth sprint events (above).

Pit stops (below left) would be more unpredictable ... Far right (top to bottom): Adelaide 500 –unchanged; cars would be under 'parc ferme' conditions more often and with pit stops less in number.

Images: PETER NORTON, MARK HORSBURGH, DMAC.

Post-qualifying, the cars should be locked under parc ferme conditions at the end, for fuel and tyres … ie they start the race with the fuel and tyres they qualify with. And the interesting part is we won't know how much fuel is in the cars.

The 24-16-8 Qualifying should be considered for the anything other than the sprints and Bathurst. How does it work.

24 cars start the session, and after 12 minutes eight cars are dropped, leaving 16.

After a 2.5-minute break, the cars then run for 10 minutes and the slowest eight are dropped again, leaving the ‘Fast 8’ who have one last crack after another 2.5-minute break.

The whole thing is done in 35 minutes.

WEEKEND FORMATS

ESSENTIALLY, WE have four different types of race meeting, and we think they work pretty easily to a formula that helps save a bit of cash and delivers the teams less practice kilometres and gives back racing kilometre credits.

Let’s start with the two-driver endurance races. Bathurst needs to remain essentially untouched as four a day race meeting, while the 2 x 500 (Sandown and The Bend next year) and the Super500 (our name for the 2 x 250 races at Adelaide, Townsville, Taupo, Gold Coast) weekends can run over three.

The SuperSprints – of which there could be six next year with Perth, Darwin, Symmons Plains, Sydney Motorsport Park, Queensland Raceway and Phillip Island – should only be two-day events, with the teams not allowed to set-up before Friday.

The Grand Prix meeting remains a unique outlier and remains in other people’s hands.

The SuperSprint rounds, we think, should have Sprint Race Saturday and Feature Race Sunday.

Qualifying for these races will be just before the races, allowing for a build-up to the event, but also locking the cars down in parc ferme conditions for them to essentially race as they qualified.

The fuel tanks are sealed by Motorsport Australia and the tyres are marked, and then only minor set-up changes – no components – are allowed in the 20 minutes or so available to the teams.

Then, in the races, there are no compulsory pitstops or other rules that restrict strategy, such as a minimum fuel drop in the Feature Race. If you want to run without a tyre stop, go for it.

Sprint Race Saturday should have two quick races, 30-40 minutes in length, after an equally as quick qualifying at 10 minutes, with a short break of 20 minutes between the end of qualifying and the race.

One race should be early afternoon, and other later in the day to allow for set-up changes and the like.

One suggestion is a return to the progressive grid, so the grid for the second sprint is set by the finishing order of the first race, and also consider points on the second race results only.

This is a common race format for many categories around the world and here as well.

The risk there is that the drivers may then be more conservative in the first race and turn it into a bit of a snoozefest.

Although the view is that this will change the races from a 'qualifying result determines the result,' to a benefit for racers who will

charge through the field.

On Sunday the race needs to run long enough to for 1.3 tanks of fuel, or any number outside of a full fill, to be added to the car –ballast the fuel tanks to get this right.

After qualifying – either the quickfire 10-minute session or a new ’24-16-8 Qualifying’ – the cars are locked away with the fuel and tyres on which they’ll start the race.

While most will qualify with as much fuel as possible to minimise pitstop lengths, the option is there for teams to try something unusual – running 10-litres less could unlock some serious grid gains.

The races are entirely in the teams’ hands with no artificial controls – such a minimum fuel drops - or compulsory pitstops. And while we’re at it, how much fuel anyone is using is a secret – introduces an element of the unknown to the fans, and Larko.

WHAT APPROVAL IS NEEDED?

RACE FORMATS are entirely in Supercars' hands, but within the constraints of the TRC. As we said earlier, we’re greedy and we want more rounds and more racing. But it isn’t our money.

But put together a bigger and better package and the sport grows and eventually everyone thrives. ‘Eventually’ being the key word.

The need for teams approval for the extra rounds has been well documented, but there hasn’t been a lot of public talk around the racing kilometres.

While we believe it is around $60-100k to run a car over a weekend, we don’t think increasing the racing kilometres will have a dramatic uplift in costs and we’d be disappointed if the teams don’t agree, especially if the kilometres in practice and qualifying are reduced.

We know there will be format changes next year, and we think our formats are a good option.

We’ve even thought about the marketing. Let us know what you think.

SUPERSPRINT WEEKEND

SPRINT RACE SATURDAY 11:00am – Practice (15 Minutes)

1:00pm – Qualifying 1 (10 minutes)

1:30pm – Race 1

SUPER500 WEEKEND FRIDAY 3pm – Practice 1 (1 Hour)

KEEP THE TITLE ALIVE

PRESSURE HAS BEEN RAGING TO FIND A BETTER WAY; A BETTER WAY TO KEEP THE SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ALIVE HEADING INTO ITS FINAL RACE OF EACH SEASON – WHICH ACTUALLY DOESN’T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN. ANDREW CLARKE LOOKS AT SETTING UP THE SUPERCARS FINALS ...

MOST MAJOR sports in the world have a final series, a time when the teams that have earned the right to challenge for a title or premiership, line up against each other to prove who is the best. If you are the best on the day, you are the champion.

Motorsport has more often than not shied away from that when trying to determine its champions and it leaves lots of dead rubbers on the table as the season winds down. Especially so with Supercars, which sometimes seems keener on handing out participation ribbons than it is with encouraging the best to race like their lives depend on it.

They can pass someone for three points, but why bother, if there is no significant reward in terms of points or money for winning a race.

Just accumulate the points like Russell Ingall and Rick Kelly two decades ago and win a championship.

One DNF can be enough to rule you out of the championship; two and we’re pretty certain it is done. And how about the seasons when it is over, barring something ridiculous, before Bathurst is even run. There’s what is mathematically possible, and then there is reality.

“Everyone starts the year with the idea to win the championship; everyone does,” David Reynolds says when thinking about a finals system. “And then, by the time Bathurst comes around, the people who aren’t in the championship, they’re like, ‘Oh we’re going to win Bathurst.’ so you can see the mentality shift.

“But then, come the last round, there could be kind of nothing to fight for. There’s one or two, maybe three people if you’re lucky going for the championship. Generally, the person in third is a mathematical chance but they’re miles off the pace.

“I actually wasn’t for it at the start, but the more I thought about a Playoff series, the more I kind of liked it. You want to make our

championship really exciting – everyone watching the last race to find out who is going to win it at that last event, at the last race, at the line.”

So, with Reynolds on board, let’s get into the system that we’ve been talking about on The Auto Action RevLimiter Podcast for the best part of the year which, to be fair, is a modified version of the NASCAR system – the most prominent motor racing category we can find that has a final series.

WIN AND YOU’RE IN … MOSTLY

IN EVERY year since it first emerged as ‘The Chase for the Nextel Cup’ in 2004, a win has been enough to get you into the final 16 cars to battle for the NASCAR CUP Series title.

Initially it was for the top 10 only and the points were reset for the run home. Initially 10 was the number because, statistically, no driver outside the top 10 with 10 races remaining had ever won the series.

It changed a little over time and now sits at 16 drivers, with a win the key criteria for making the playoffs. NASCAR races are longer than Supercar races and, in 2017, stages were introduced and playoff points were allocated to the stages as well as at the end of the race. All of a sudden, pacing yourself to the flag was no longer an option – you had to race The Playoffs in NASCAR are run over 10 races. The first three races are known as the Round of 16, and four drivers drop out using the same system as the regular season – win

and you are through no matter what happens in the other races.

Then it goes again for three races in each of the Round of 12 and the Round of 8, leaving four drivers in the final race of the year to fight it out. The highest placed driver in that race, of the four remaining in contention, is the champion. That race is the Grand Final. In Supercars we need to make adjustments for the smaller fields and the fewer and shorter races.

So, we’re running eight in the Supercars Finals, selected at the end of the penultimate round for those that have raced more than 80% of the series. Win a race, and you are almost certainly in (although there have been seasons with more than eight winners).

The drivers are graded first by the number of wins, and then by points. If there are more than eight winners, the lowest ranked drivers miss out – though we are tempted to look at a 'win and you’re in' system, and just run more drivers in the first race of the Finals and drop more out to keep it at four for the final day.

If there are not enough winners, the highest point scorers without a win are used to get to the eight. Again, a variation could be that you just run fewer drivers in the first final.

After the first race in Adelaide – because that is where the Finals are contractually held – the highest four of those eight remain in contention. That first race can be called the Elimination Final. And then on the Sunday, the highest placed of those remaining is the champion.

Simple?

We think so.

WHAT RESULTS WOULD IT HAVE THROWN UP?

WE START this with the clear

Brodie Kostecki would have needed to beat Broc Feeney on Sunday in Adelaide, which would have been Race 2 of the Final series. Above: Nothing would have changed in 2016 ...

THE SUPERCARS 'PLAYOFFS'

Using a 'Playoff' system, David Reynolds (left) would have been champion in 2017 and 2018!; Feeney (top) 2022 and 2023; Bright in 2013; Whincup, above, just once, 2015 ... Below: By finishing second in the Newcastle Sunday 'Final' in 2019, Fabian Coulthard would have been champion for that year instead of his DJR team-mate. Lower: By winning the final race (Sydney), Shane van Gisbergen would have taken the 2014 crown ... Bottom left: Lowndes ended up with the 2012 title instead of team mate Jamie Whincup! Images: PETER NORTON, MARK HORSBURGH

proviso that we think/know drivers would have driven differently had this system been employed. We’ve seen plenty of championship winners plonking around in the final round needing only a handful of points to win the title … but what would have happened in 2019 when Scott McLaughlin barely had to turn up to the final two rounds to be crowned the champion. He wouldn’t have been able to just cruise around at Newcastle. He would have had to race hard in each of the two races.

On the results thrown up, he would have made it through on Saturday, along with van Gisbergen, Coulthard and Reynolds.

On the Sunday, Fabian Coulthard finished second, to be the highest placed of those four, and that would have made him the champion. The last 10 championships we could decide this way – the COVID years were odd because they finished at Bathurst – the championships

fell a very different way – as you can see in the table.

We don’t complain about a team in football, whatever series, where a team that doesn’t finish on top over the season wins the title. In some cases, it is form – a team spends all year getting it right for September. Now we want the drivers to go out there and race for wins from the start of the season to the end.

“That’s pretty cool,” the now two-time champion David Reynolds said of the system and the outcome. “It’s an alternative reality, that’s for sure. But you know the results would have been different if some people hadn’t just had to roll around for a handful of points.

“It is good to look at different systems; we’ve got to innovate to keep it interesting. I like this – it means the final race will always have meaning.”

THE HIGHLIGHTS

EIGHT DRIVERS Qualifying for the Finals, using wins and then points to decided the Final 8 The highest four places of those drivers in the Elimination Final (Race 1) get to race for the title in the final race of the season.

The winner of the championship is the highest-placed of those four drivers in that Final race – see how it might have been (right).

RACING’S GREATEST

JIM HALL’S CREATIONS DAZZLED THE RACING WORLD. DECADES ON, HIS MYSTIQUE, CHARISMA AND, MOST OF ALL, INFLUENCE STILL SHINE BRIGHTLY THROUGHOUT THE SPORT FROM HIS REMOTE RATTLESNAKE RACEWAY IN TEXAS. AND NOW THE FULLEST STORY OF IT ALL IS TOLD IN A WONDERFUL NEW BOOK, AS GEOFFREY HARRIS WRITES ...

JIM HALL may well have been the most significant figure in the history of car racing.

George Levy, president of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, doesn’t go as far as to make that claim outright in his excellent new book, TEXAS LEGEND – Jim Hall and his Chaparrals, but he lays out all the evidence.

Now approaching 90 years of age, Hall more than anybody was responsible for quantum leaps in speeds. Not in a straight line, but through corners, which slashed lap times.

Quite a driver in his day, Hall spent 1963 in Formula 1 (with a team part-owned by Alfred Moss, father of Stirling), but it was in sports cars at American circuits that he made more of a mark – and as a designer, engineer and team owner that he imposed his seismic impact on motorsport.

He created the radical white missiles that featured in the original Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) in the 1960s and ’70 while the last of his ‘2’ series, the ‘Yellow Submarine’ 2K, later revolutionised Indy racing.

Hall brought scientific training and rigour to racing and a focus on the whole car after the emphasis had been largely on horsepower.

As Levy says, he pioneered ways of quantifying race car dynamics and turning it into actionable, race-winning data.

Another Texan, John Mecom, an Indianapolis 500-winning team owner of the ’60s, says of Hall: “He knew how to go faster. The rest of us were only guessing.” Levy sets Hall’s advances against the backdrop of America’s preoccupations with the space race and the arms race of the ’60s, while on the ground many Americans had a love of motor races.

“Into this scene strides this straightbacked, tight-lipped, Stetson-wearing Texan who carries himself like an astronaut, commanding a series of cars so advanced they look like they came not from Porsche or Ferrari but the NASA Space Centre,” Levy writes.

A Road & Track magazine columnist, Peter Egan, described Hall as “the very essence of cool.”

His credo was that actions spoke much louder than words. Levy says Hall “could envision the future of automotive design.”

“His Chaparrals changed the course of racing history so profoundly that you can still see his fingerprints,” Levy says.

“Today every Formula 1 car is equipped with wings, moveable aerodynamic devices, side-mounted radiators, semi-automatic transmissions and composite monocoque chassis. All of them things that Jim Hall pioneered in the mid-1960s.

“Hall’s biggest contribution to vehicle design was net downforce – the idea of redirecting the previously wasted energy of air flowing above, below and around the vehicle to press down on the tyres to improve stability and performance.

“Before Hall, others had tried spoilers and such, but more as Band-Aids to cure lift and stability ills. Some had even tried wings … but none of them stuck with it. It was Hall who made them work and proved to the rest of the racing world that downforce was the next great frontier in vehicle performance.

“Over time net downforce spread throughout the automotive world. Today it is a fundamental element not just in race car design but most serious road cars.”

Hall’s stand-out creations were the 2E and 2J Can-Am cars and, in association with British designer John Barnard, the 2K IndyCar, while the 2D and 2F made their mark in sports car endurance racing in Europe.

Levy brands the 2E as “possibly the single most influential race car design of the past 75 years” and that 1966, when it burst on the

scene, was “a year when the world would be absolutely dazzled by what Chaparral was capable of.”

“Moveable wings. Side-mounted radiators. Composite chassis. Semi-automatic transmissions. Data acquisition and analysis. Adjustable net downforce. All things not only later adopted by Formula 1, but still present on every Grand Prix car today, more than half a century later,” Levy says.

Sam Posey remembers that the 2E instantly made every other race car of the time obsolete. Gian Paolo Dallara saw when the 2D won the ’66 Nurburgring 1000 – the first victory in 40 years by an American car in a major European road race – that Hall and Chaparral were “on another planet … they were doing things in a completely different way”.

Four years later the 2J ‘Sucker Car’ (featured in Auto Action #1883 last April –

5000, which then transformed – with full bodies – into a second, less evocative Can-Am. He won seven straight championships. Later again came the idea of tackling the Indianapolis 500, which Hall won twice in three years – the first time with Al Unser Senior in a Lola, then with Johnny Rutherford and the 2K (on which Hall and Barnard drew on Colin Chapman’s venturi-tunnel ground effects concept).

Even later came other IndyCar campaigns with long-time right-hand man Franz Weis, son Jim Hall Junior and Count Rudi van der Straten of the Stella Artois empire, and finally – in the 1990s – as a solo team owner. But Hall, the man with an IQ “off the charts” and described by Jackie Stewart as a “more robust” engineer than Chapman (and, strangely, Jack Brabham), lost interest because of the sameness of the cars.

A series of cars so advanced they look like they came from … the NASA Space Centre. “ ”

digital link: issuu.com/me8674/docs/aa1883_ digital_issue) rocketed around corners 12-15 per cent quicker than its Can-Am opposition. The first full ground-effect racing car, it was promptly outlawed by international authorities, after having been given the allclear by its US sanctioning body.

Levy details how Hall and the 2J “started other designers on the path to all the groundeffect vehicles that followed.”

Hall won a lot in American sports car racing in the early ’60s, but the 2E’s success at Laguna Seca – driven by Phil Hill – was Chaparral’s sole victory in the original CanAm, in the first year of that monumental series. Thereafter Hall’s innovations, as mind-blowing as they were, proved too radical and unreliable, especially against the diametrically-different McLarens that the Texan described as “common cars done uncommonly well”.

Hall took a sabbatical after the banning of the 2J but a couple of years later was lured into running cars acquired from others in Formula

Levy’s tome on Hall is almost 500 pages, written after many interviews with Hall and more than 100 associates and it’s peppered with excellent photos, all beautifully presented and captioned.

Of particular Australian interest are the mentions of Alan Jones’ five wins for Hall in 1978, gun mechanic Steve Roby crossing to Chaparral from McLaren, and John Andretti’s victory for Hall in the first Gold Coast Indy in 1991.

But there’s so much more – where the name Chaparral came from (the Texas bird nicknamed the roadrunner); Hall’s early partner Hap Sharp; the base at Rattlesnake Raceway in remote Midland; the association with GM’s R&D “Skunk works;” family tragedies and horrendous crash injuries; the miniature model mania that once provided the bulk of Hall’s sponsorship; understanding more about tyres than the makers; how competing in multiple series (including Trans-Am at one time) detracted from results; clashes with sanctioning bodies; and ideas of

Jim Hall racing his Chaparral 2E in 1966 … “possibly the single most influential race car design of the past 75 years,” says author and Motorsports Hall of Fame of America president George Levy.

GREATEST INNOVATOR

a production car that never eventuated.

Hall’s perspective is that: “I’m proud that what we did accomplish has led to a better understanding of the fundamental forces that determine land vehicle performance and control, and I hope that it continues to help improve the safety within our sport, and to improve the design and the control safety of all future land vehicles.”

Levy’s summation on his legendary subject is: “The greatest contribution Jim Hall made to motor racing was the concept of net downforce and, through it, the ability to vastly improve the controllability of the vehicle over a broad speed range … If the measure of a life is how long one’s ideas endure, then the passage of time has only underscored the impact Jim Hall has made on motorsports and the automotive world in general.”

Hall’s great innovations came a long time ago – it’s 60 years since he introduced net downforce; more than 50 years since his fan-powered ground-effect downforce; and almost half a century since the prototype for all the IndyCars since.

Levy’s mammoth tribute to him is far from the first, but it may well be the best book published in the history of the sport.

The easiest way to obtain it is through Amazon.com. It costs about A$120, including delivery. It’s worth every cent and much more.

Above: The cover of the new book, TEXAS LEGEND.

Top right: A 1967 cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Far top right: An advertisement for a Cox model.

Right: Hall and his ‘family’ of Chaparrals (courtesy Jim Hall Collection).

Below right: The fans at the rear of the 2J ‘sucker car’; and Johnny Rutherford in the 2K at Indianapolis.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

ACTION MART

SUPERIOR ENGINE ENAMELS

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HARE & FORBES Machinery

House has expanded its national footprint with the June opening of a new store in Adelaide, South Australia.

This development marks a significant milestone for the familyowned Australian business as it seeks to better serve its customer base in the SA region.

Management tells us that the new store, boasting over 4300 sqm, will offer a wide range of machinery and equipment, catering to various industries including metalworking, woodworking, automotive, and fabrication. This is the fifth Hare & Forbes Machinery House store, with existing branches in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.

“We’re really pleased to finally be trading in Adelaide” says Rick Foster, General Manager.

“This project has been in the plans for almost five years – it’s really exciting for us to invest in a bricksand-mortar store in a new location”.

The new store’s launch underscores Hare & Forbes’ dedication to innovation and growth, as well as its ongoing commitment to providing industryleading solutions to its customers, as it has done for over 90 years.

Through its extensive product offerings, knowledgeable staff, and dedication to customer service, Hare & Forbes aims to become the go-to destination for engineering machinery and accessories.

Store Manager, Jim Burton, brings a wealth of experience and will look after the almost-dozen full time staff, which includes a CNC specialist and after-sales support: “After running my own Machinery business for over two decades, its was an easy decision and great opportunity to join the team.

“The interest we’ve had already from the public and my old customers has been incredible” says Jim.

As Hare & Forbes continues to expand its reach across Australia, the opening of the new store in Adelaide signals a bright future for the company and its commitment to serving the needs of the engineering and manufacturing communities nationwide.

OTHER INFORMATION:

STREET ADDRESS:

Unit 11/20 Cheltenham Parade, Woodville, SA, 5011, (Entry via Alexander Avenue) Ph: 08 9373 9969

OPENING HOURS: Mon - Fri 8:00am - 4:30pm and Sat - 8:30am - 12:30pm Hare & Forbes ranges over 5000 products, specialising in Engineering, Metal and Wood Machinery.

Across the five stores in Australia, Hare & Forbes employs 220 staff. www.machineryhouse.com.au

BACK-TO-BACK ENDURO VICTORIES

ALEXANDRA SPEEDWAY held its annual winter racing attraction, the 3 Hour Enduro, which attracted 32 two-car teams out to complete as many laps as possible.

For the second year in a row, Northern Suburbs-based racers Shane O’Brien and Lennie Bonnici claimed the prized trophies and the winner’s cash when they chased down and passed Warrick Taylor and Dylan Barrow, the latter who flew back in from the United States the night before, having been competing in America.

Also on stage was the Crash and Bash Association of Victoria with two events to open its season.

The same car won both with Brad Warren winning the Mick Corbett Memorial and Kellie Latham taking the Ladies race.

Latham won both heat races and set a new eight lap record around the dog-leg course in the opener.

In the 10-lap final, Latham once again set a record and led every lap to win by 14s from Erin Brown and Danni Marshall, Sam Robinson.

The feature race provided a little bit of crashing with Romney Stirling collecting the retaining wall.

In the Open Crash and Bash Nathan Taylor won the first heat by over 18s ahead of Zac Leeson and Jackson Barneveld.

Taylor led every lap on his way to the win, while Brad Warren then won the second heat race as he defeated Clint Robinson by 3s.

In the third heat race, Taylor again claimed the victory, but this time he drove from eighth to first by lap five before motoring to a 13s triumph.

In the final qualifying race Taylor again

claimed the win on the last lap having started in eighth spot with just 1.5s between himself and Hebblethwaite.

The final was held over 26 laps, in a shortened race, and Taylor did not have things go his way despite dominating the qualifying.

Warren led every lap on his way to lapping everybody in the field up to second place. The margin between Warren and runner-up Robinson was almost 35s.

Leeson finished in third ahead of Logan Mair.

TEAMS IN the 3 Hour Enduro each had one heat race for each driver to contribute towards the qualifying points determining their tarting position in the final.

The team of Dylan Barrow and Warrick Taylor had a win each to claim pole position having established a 10-lap record through the course in their second heat race. Robert Garlick and David Donegan had a win, as did father and son Frank and Travis

Ramsdale plus Nathan O’Brien and Josh Barber. The last winners were Lee Beach and Lenny Bates.

Racers then set about the 3-hour Enduro, and it was an entertaining start with the Caleb and Corey Lincoln combination losing a wheel before the race really got going.

The team of Stuart Robinson and Aaron Bunton then tried to exit the track out the open back gate and managed to crash into it.

The race settled with the Barrow/Taylor combination leading to the 50-lap mark of the race in the first half an hour, before they were the first of the front running teams to pit.

This sent the team way down the leader’s board whilst others capitalised with brothers Damien and Brendan Miller leading over in-laws Shane O’Brien and Lennie Bonnici, before great mates Daniel Unternahrer and Josh Service held the lead.

There were numerous flat tyres during the race with cars limping off to the pit

enclosure hoping to tag in a ready to go team-mate to continue their race.

In the second half of the race, Barrow and Taylor claimed the lead once again after working their way through almost 20 others. They set a scorching pace with a big lead before cautions tore their race apart bringing O’ Brien and Bonnici whom had taken advantage of their pit strategies to come up roses at the end of the race, running down the leaders and dashing out to a six second margin when the chequered flag unfurled.

A back-to-back victory to the O’Brien/ Bonnici combination in the Enduro, to add to the four 100-Lap Derby wins that Bonnici has under his belt further cements the family as the current kings of the endurance racing scene in Victoria.

They completed 274 laps to defeat Barrow/Taylor, the Millers of the host club, Shane’s brother Nathan and mate Josh Barber and another Alexandra member combination Luke Fallon and Steve Kershaw. A total of 15 teams finished the race out of the 32 starters.

“We put a lot of effort into our racing, and we have strategies and a great family team around us to make sure every piece works,” Bonnici said.

“We love endurance racing at our home track Nagambie and here at Alexandra and it is fantastic to race and win with my brother-in-law Shane. Thank you to all our supporters and congratulations to the other place runners on their efforts.”

Alexandra now will prepare its venue for the start on the 24/25 season of Speedway in the middle of spring.

Dean Thompson

Shane O’Brien works the outside line. Below: Lennie Bonnici hikes an inside front. Images: IMAGE WORX

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LARSON LIGHTS UP KNOXVILLE

KYLE LARSON (above) was an irresistible force, dominating all 50 laps of the 2024 Knoxville Nationals Sprintcar classic.

A preliminary win on Thursday put Larson on pole for the 63rd running of the Knoxville Nationals and he dominated from there. Despite some challenges from the likes of Daryn Pittman, Carson Macedo and Giovanni Scelzi, the NASCAR Cup Series star ended up cruising to back-to-back Knoxville triumphs and a third overall.

Australia’s James McFadden was another High Limit racer on show and ended up

coming 17th.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than the Knoxville Nationals,” Larson said.

“It feels great to lead back-to-back 50-lappers from start to finish because the best Sprint Car drivers in the world are lined up behind me.

“They don’t make it easy. It was a tricky race there.

“I know at times it maybe doesn’t look like it, but those lappers were just fast enough around the bottom.

“I felt like I was just slowing myself down.

“I was able to get clear of a couple of them and able to get rolling back near the bottom and the middle actually came in, so I felt like I strung together some good laps there at the end.”

Despite Pittman initially getting a better leap off the line, Larson hit the lead by making good use of the inside line. But by the time they arrived at Turn 4, Pittman made a move up high and the pair almost made contact before the #69K backed out.

Behind them Macedo settled into third

ahead of Rico Abreu as the first caution arrived on lap six due to a slow Logan Schuchart.

However, his team was able to pull off an impressive gear change to get the #1 back on track for the restart and it ended up crossing the line 14th.

When racing resumed Macri completed his impressive climb up to fourth with a slide job on Abreu, who was soon displaced out of the top five by Scelzi.

By Lap 16 Larson was already the best part of 3s up the road and Macedo snatched second from Pittman.

Scelzi only needed two more laps to also pounce on Pittman.

The order remained unchanged until the mid-race caution where the leading contenders opted to stay on their used rubber.

At the drop of the green flag Larson was once again untroubled as Scelzi put the foot down, battling Macedo for second.

The pair raced side by side for multiple laps before the #18 prevailed on the low line. Corey Day also had good post-restart pace and swooped around the outside of Macedo to jump to third.

With Larson in complete control when he took the white flag, all eyes were on Scelzi and Day as they battled for second.

In the end Scelzi ended up ahead of Day and Macedo.

Knoxville Nationals glory capped off an extraordinary week for Larson, who went from 21st to first at I-55, then victories in the Ironman 55 Dumbbell and Iowa races prior to the Knoxville prelim success.

Now after winning America’s biggest sprintcar race, Larson is currently 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond.

Thomas Miles

THUNDERING THROUGH NORTH QUEENSLAND

THE FOURTH Southside Mechanical & Spares Sprintcars Thunder in the Canefields will go down as the best yet with a total of 20 competitors coming from far and wide. The 360 and LS-powered Sprintcars series was run over four nights of competition at the Walsh’s Auto Cairns Speedway with a $25k prize pool, commencing on August 2-3 before concluding the following weekend.

Qualifying would see the Ryan and Brodie Davis head the time sheets with Victorian Ryan setting a stout 12.387s while Brodie was a mere .026s behind.

The Davis pair won their opening heat races as did Dane Court, ending the first round with a win before rain set in and curtailed the opening night.

Despite some patches of light rain, the second night managed to go the full distance, and the prize money for the final was doubled.

The Davises again set the quickest time against the clock, however Brodie turned the tables with a 12.308.

Boosted by the success Brodie Davis claimed both his heat wins ahead of Ryan Davis.

Making the most of his outside front row start, Brendan Guerin used the topside momentum to slingshot his way to the lead at the drop of the green.

Jones quickly worked his way past Brodie Davis and the order at the pointy end of the field would remain that way until lap 25 of 30 when the latter took back the runner-up position.

Court also made his way onto the podium.

It was a race of attrition as Carlo Moiola, Libby Ellis, Steven Loader, Ryan Farrell and Alyssa Cherrie failed to travel the journey. At the start of Night 3 Ryan Farrell set quickest time in qualifying with a 12.060s ahead of Brodie and Ryan Davis.

From the drop of the green the order at the pointy end would remain unchanged from start to finish.

The only change was the retirement of Magro at one third race distance, which

promoted Brian Walsh.

Joining Magro on the DNF list were Tyler Burnham, Dan Murray, Carlo Moiola and Court.

Local racer Brian Walsh started Night 4 on the pace by adding his name to the top of qualifying time sheet with a 12.555 as light rain fell.

Brodie Davis proved consistent to make the top three on all four nights, just 0.055s clear of Farrell.

Brendan Guerin and Farrell each won both of their heats while the remaining two were shared again by the Davis’ Ryan and Brodie.

In the feature, Farrell (pictured) got the better of the starts from the outside and took control. Guerin chased hard as he locked down the runner up position.

Brodie Davis snuck by Ryan Davis for the only positional change in the top half dozen over the 30-lap final which in the end gave him just enough overall points to win the series and go back to back.

Brodie Davis successfully defended his title from Guerin as Jones used consistency to be third.

Paris Charles

Image: GORDON GREAVES

NATIONALS WRAP

A DECISION in the paddock between heats of the Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally based at Heyfield has set up a thrilling finish for the last round of the Victorian Championship in October.

The rally ran on the Saturday of the Australian Championship endurance round on August 10.

Though run under clear skies, the morning stages were slippery in patches with water over the road and snow still evident on the roadsides.

Special Stage 3 seemed to be the most challenging – it was James and Mark Leoncini in their 2WD (AE71 Corolla) who finished with second place on stage.

With a win on SS4, it rocketed them to equal second place for the heat. They retired from Heat 2 with driveline failure.

Championship leader Warren Lee/David Lethlean (Evo 9) – knowing that consistency not bravery will get them their second Victorian title – took fastest on Stage 2 (by three seconds from Robison/ Hutchins,

Datsun Sunny) and were fast enough on the others to win Heat 1 by 10 seconds.

Adrian Stratford/Anthony Staltari (G4 Fiesta), who are second in the championship, could only manage fourth after a front wheel bearing failure.

(Stratford had to use the brakes to keep

the disc in place, thus cooking the rear brakes despite winding the bias off).

Also having brake issues were Traverso/ Carr when their Evo 9’s hydraulic handbrake locked mid-corner, on SS1 making the car immovable! They fashioned a fix for SS2 but retired from Heat 1.

It was at service that Lee/Lethlean opted to swap tyres front to back rather than fit the new tyres they brought with them.

That decision shaped Heat 2 and the championship. Ironically, they were running the same tyres as rival Stratford who went on to win the heat by nine seconds from Traverso whose times they had been monitoring to gauge how hard to push for the win.

Lee/Lethlean had pushed too hard on SS5 and SS6 on worn tyres, having to slow on the last two stages, finishing fourth. Third in Heat 2 was Kevin Millar/ Pat Hughes (Evo 9) in a much improved result over Heat 1.

The challenge now is for Stratford to lock out Lee from heat wins at the Akademos. If Lee/Lethlean take second in each to Stratford they will finish equal on points. The scenarios are endless and the result will be played out on October 20.

Alan Baker

SA RALLY ON HOLD GRIPPING GIPPSLAND RALLY

THE 2024 South Australian Rally Championship is now just a three-round affair after the Walky100 Rally was cancelled.

The second round of the season was scheduled to take place on August 10 after a long break since the opener.

However, the drivers and cars were unable to unleash in the Crystal Brook area of South Australia.

The 40th anniversary of the

Walky100 Rally was cancelled due to “circumstances beyond organisers control the Copyworld Walky 100.”

But crews do not need to wait long, with the Adelaide Hills Rally not far away.

Last year the rally started at The Bend Motorsport Park and will be the penultimate round on September 13-15.

The leaders remain Matt Selley and Hamish McKendrick after their opening round success.

Images: BRUCE KEYS

The Stratford/Staltari Fiesta took the win and are chaellenging for the series title. Below: Lee/Lethlean’s Lancer held on for fourth, and leads the championship. Images: BRUCE KEYS

SMASHING THE SAND

THERE WAS plenty of sand flying north of Beachport recently as the Millicent Sand Buggy Club hosted the Robe Earthmovers David Larter Memorial 2024.

The day and night racing event had main sponsor Todd Lehmann from Robe Earthmovers work with the committee to prepare the track.

Seventeen race teams took part in the event, with drivers, crew and supporters travelling from Adelaide, Victoria and the Limestone Coast to race the six daytime and

five night laps.

The event was won by Lehmann in his new race buggy.

“It is a tremendous community event which is family orientated and brings a lot of money to the local community with accommodation, meals, fuel and vehicle parts being bought across the Limestone Coast by the crew,” Lehmann said.

Darren Oliver brought a group of 14 people with four race cars from Adelaide to the event which enabled three qualified young

navigators to get racing experience.

The team had a 12, 13 and 14-year-old navigator in all of their cars.

Oliver finished third in the event with his son Lewis Oliver navigating for him.

“We came because of the great people, facilities and company that we can race with in this event,” Oliver said.

Limestone Coast driver Jakob Douglass and his navigator Jake England drove hard all day, finishing second overall.

SE Voice

WILSON JUMPS CLEAR

ROUND 3 of the SEAC 2024 Series saw Motorkhana action return to the Glenburnie Saleyards where Damien Wilson (pictured) showcased his dominance.

A small field entered for this round as the event clashed with the Ararat Hillclimb, but there was a decent amount of juniors.

To get the drivers eye in, a ‘Straight Slalom’ was the first test layout and Jason Sims made it look easy in the family Celica before Aaron Bowering (23.05s) took the top spot in the follow-up.

With his usual flair, Wilson dominated the Forward Reverse Slalom, easily winning both passes.

Junior Henry Sims turned heads on the Spiro Slalom before Wilson found his groove his second pass with a 25.81s.

On Run 7 Geoff Wilson managed to

reverse the big Magna through all the gaps in 37.89s to beat Damien, who got the chocolates next time around as cone

Penalties were plentiful.

Next layout to be set up is Multiple Loops and is a series of 5 loops that can be quick to do – or easy to get lost on the way.

Bowering, driving his underpowered Subaru Wagon used all the traction available to top the first run around the Five Loops ahead of Jason Sims before Geoff Wilson drove a different line to win the follow-up.

Bowering got his first attempt of Try Angles right to beat Damien Wilson by just two-tenths.

However, the latter had the last laugh by winning the second test by a second over Jason Sims.

The last course of the day was Gables, which was a tight layout where Damien Wilson showed his style and set the pace with a 39.74s. This was a second clear of Jason and Henry Sims, while Bowering suffered the WD penalty.

Bowering then “got it right” on his final run and pinched the top time (38.92s) from Jason Sims.

Damien Wilson cost himself the top run by hitting a marker, but did not have to worry as he took a solid win.

His final time of 7m42.88s was 13s clear of runner-up Jason Sims with Bowering rounding out the podium.

Next event on the SEAC Calendar will be an Autocross at the SEAC Park Circuit, Megaw Road, Sunday August 25.

SE Voice

HUMM TAKES REJEX CLASSIC

TRAVIS HUMM (above) pushed his Mazda MX5 all the way to glory in the 2024 Rejex Classic Rally on August 4.

A strong final day, where Humm won three of the five driving tests, cemented his outright success ahead of Mitchell Davis’ Honda Civic.

Handicap honours went to Anthony Feeham with an average of 4.60 in his 1958 Wolseley 1500.

The 69th anniversary of the event proved to be a nice affair for all as the 36-car field spanned almost a century of history from Iain Locke’s 1928 Dodge to Paul Griggs’ Toyota Landcrusier.

Grant Davis started strongly in his Mini Moke by taking out the opening test on the skidpan ahead of Humm, while Connor Maher took out the overflow test with a time of 49.10s, just eclipsing Nicholas Brustolin.

Both Davis and Humm were back on top in Test 3, Noonamah, before the latter took his first victory in the following stage by sneaking ahead of the LJ Torana of Tim Feehan.

But Feehan only had to wait until the next stage to get into P1.

The Torana driver made the most of it by going back to back in the Rum Jungle Car Park.

Despite finishing the day on a high, a slow start saw Feehan only be 12th in the outright standings that were led by the consistent Humm with Hansen’s Corolla right behind. Davis started the final day in third, but went on the attack by taking out the first test of the morning before Humm responded. Steve Harlan impressed in his Toyota Starlet during Driving Test 9.

With the rally on the line, Humm flew home by taking the final two tests to cement the victory in both outright and Class E.

Brustolin claimed Class A for the classic cars, with Anthony and Tim Feehan taking Class B and C wins respectively.

Overall runner-up Davis was given the Class D win as Hansen’s Corolla comfortingly won Class F.

The 70th anniversary Rejex Classic Rally will be held on August 2-3 2025.

Thomas Miles

Jakob Douglas pressed on hard, finishing second. Image: STEVE CHAPPLE

NATIONALS WRAP

CLASHING AT THE CLIP

THE MOTORSPORT Australia Queensland State Championship returned to Queensland Raceway for two big days on August 10-11.

HQ’s AND GEMINIS

THE FIRST cars on track were the Holden HQs and Geminis and there was not much in it at the top with Joseph Andriske beating Seth Mathie by a tenth in the fight for pole.

Andriske controlled the opening race, but trouble struck Mathie on lap two as he dropped from third to 15th.

This allowed Justin Van Twest to jump to second and leading Gemini Nick Rangeley to finish third.

Mathie’s day went from bad to worse as he failed to finish Race 2, which again went to Andriske.

Finally things went Mathie’s way in the finale where he charged all the way up to fifth as Andriske completed the hat-trick.

The big finale was a 35-lap enduro and it was full of action from lights out.

Leigh Lovering and Andriske clashed and speared into the kitty litter.

Rod Boyle emerged from all the chaos to secure a commanding victory by 8s over Mathie.

FORMULA FORD AND RACING

FFORD SPORTS and Racing featured a variety of machines and the Radical SR3 was the car to have, filling the top four grid positions with Michael McMillan the clear leader.

Whilst McMillan dominated, David Rodgie in a Chiron LMP3 had good race pace to snatch second from Rob Knight with two laps left.

Rodgie then took his race pace to the next level by perfecting the start and leading all 12 laps of Race 2 with McMillan forced to

settle for second.

and Leigh

From then on, Rodgie was unbeatable for the remainder of the weekend.

PRODUCTION SPORTS CARS

A SOLID field of Production Sports Cars was dominated by Tom McLennan as he enjoyed a 2.1s advantage in qualifying.

As a result, McLennan’s Porsche took two big wins, but it was a different story in Race 3.

His Porsche 991 was absent from the 12lap affair which allowed Steve Burridge to take the honours comfortable in an Audi R8. It was the same story in Race 4 as Burridge cruised to both the race and round win.

FORMULA VEE

IT WAS a two-horse race in Formula Vee as just 0.0710s separated Alex MacDonald and Alex Hedemann with Mark Moran more than a second back.

Amazingly the first race was even closer as MacDonald and Hedemann went side by side to the chequered flag and in the end only 0.03s was the gap.

The pair again took turns fighting for the lead in Race 2, but this time Oliver Seibel joined them.

Only four-tenths covered the trio with

MacDonald again emerging on top.

In the third contest Seibel could not keep up with them as MacDonald controlled the final four laps to take another hard-earned win by a meagre margin.

MacDonald ended up taking one of the closest clean sweeps ever with the final the most one sided as Hedeman dropped to third and the victory margin was 3s.

SUPERMINI CHALLENGE

TRENT SPENCER started strongly by taking SuperMini Challenge pole, but he slipped to third in the race as Brayden Larkin charged 8s clear. Anthony Elliott ended up taking pole by just 0.04s.

The second sprint was an enthralling affair as Spencer and Larkin took turns in P1 before the former emerged 0.7s clear.

Larkin looked on track to start Sunday well, leading the first seven laps, but could not stop Spencer from sprinting past and it was all academic in the end as Larkin was hit with a penalty.

They had one last tussle on Sunday afternoon and again the crown went to Spencer with Larkin 2s back.

CIRCUIT EXCELS

THE BIGGEST field on show were the Series X3 Circuit Excels with 33 cars. Jackson Cooper took pole, but struggled in the race and dropped to 16th as Matthew Boylett kept George Wood at bay by a single tenth.

The second race was a barnstormer as just seven-tenths covered the entire five. Despite having a sea of Excels on his tail, Boylett led all 12 laps and went back-toback.

Boylett ended up having to settle for second best in Race 3 as Cooper edged him out by three-tenths with Wood not far behind.

The finale was a four-horse race as seventenths covered the quartet at the chequered. It was a grandstand finish as the lead changed hands six times but Cooper did it again as Boylett won the round.

COMBINED SEDANS

THE COMBINED MARC, SS and IPRA was dominated by MARCs with Daniel Jilsen the spearhead, winning three of the four races. Geoff Taunton set the pace initially taking pole and Race 1 honours, but could not retain the pace as the weekend carried on.

Thomas Miles

LONG WAIT ENDED

AFTER SEVEN years without any club grounds, the Mini Car Club of NSW finally enjoyed a Motorkhana again.

The breakthrough event on August 11 attracted 18 competitors to the banks of the Colo River.

The event “ran like clockwork” as each competitor enjoys two runs win all six tests with the quickest emerging on top. At the end of the day the fastest driver was Cooper Ellis.

Ellis was consistent win his Mini Clubman, being towards the top of the leaderboard all day and was awarded by

securing outright honours.

Another driver that was impressive behind the wheel of a Mini Clubman was Brock Heydon, who secured the Class A victory.

Class B went to Dwyane Affleck in a Moke, while Glenn Dorrenboom claimed Class C behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Mirage.

Class D was also up for grabs and the winner was Corrine East-Johnston in a BMW Mini.

The next Mini Car Club of NSW event is the Shannons Classic.

Image: AARON RUIG

Alex MacDonald was a hard charger in Formula Vee.

Images: MTR IMAGES

Joseph Andriske

Lovering collide and take each other out of the HQ race.

Jackson Cooper leads a sea of Excels into Turn 1.

CHASING TOP SPOT

THE NSW Motor Racing Championships went racing under sunny skies at Sydney Motorsport Park. BRUCE MOXON unpacked the action …

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

OVER AND under 2-litres were combined which made for a fullish grid and some excellent racing.

Ben Sheedy was unheaded all weekend in his Commodore, taking three from three.

Stephen Engel (Lancer Evo) was very fast off the line and diced in the opening race with Joe Lenthall (BMW M3), dropping to third.

Best of the small-bore cars was Danny Castro Jnr (Sylvia) after Matt Birks’ Corolla dropped its engine while leading and running fourth outright.

Engel had a driveline drama and retired in the second race, Sheedy and Lenthall untroubled in the top spots with Castro next.

In the final, Engel was off the rear of grid and moved up to fourth by the end, behind Sheedy, Lenthall and Castro.

PULSARS

JAMIE CRAIG dominated, leading brother Josh home in all three races.

Thankfully, there was some good dicing behind them to keep things interesting.

Scott Tidyman took all three thirds, but Chris Manning, Matt Butters and Simon Kendrick kept him honest.

SUPERKARTS

A POOR entry of just 10 karts made for a very empty-looking track. Laurie Fooks (Raider) dominated, winning by huge margins in all four races.

Mark Vickers ran well in his Woodgate, taking two seconds and two thirds.

Jock Dos Santos took the other two second places after early dramas with his BRM, while Tony Moit filled third twice.

HOLDEN HQS

BRETT OSBORNE took three wins in mostly close races.

Chris Molle took the first two second places, before getting shoved back a few spots in the chaotic final.

Luke Harrison took second in the last

race from Jarrod Harber, while the Osborne Transport teammates David Proglio and Matt Barker tangled.

FORMULA CARS

ROD BAKER took his Dallara to three wins with the fast-starting Doug Barry (Reynard) taking two seconds and failing to finish the final.

Graeme Holmes (Dallara) took two thirds and a second in the absence of Barry in the last.

FORMULA VEE

LUKE COLLETT took three-from-three in his Jacer. Craig Sparke didn’t do a lap in qualifying due to a throttle cable failure. He

HAPPY HAZELTON

THE RX8 Cup Series returned to Sydney Motorsport Park for Round 4 of the 2024 championship.

An 18-car field hit the track Saturday morning for 15 minutes of qualifying where Jett Blumeris set the standard by claiming his second pole of 2024 with a time of 1:47.6. Mik Hazelton would end up second after Grant Bray had his best lap deleted due to track limits.

Hazelton made the best start in the first race, where he was chased by Blumeris, Shaw and Bray. The race quickly settled down as the first four drivers slowly spread, while the unfortunate Tom Donohue was the first retirement on lap two.

Up front, Hazelton (pictured) continued his great form and took a comfortable 7s win, from Blumeris and Shaw.

Robert however with a few laps remaining he would retire with a mechanical failure.

Hazelton repeated his previous start in race 2 and immediately proceeded to pull away from Blumeris.

The scrap for third was a different story however, with Robert Scott, Shaw, Hills and Bray swapping positions. Meanwhile, Hazelton was in a class of his own up front and he had no opposition and won comfortably from Blumeris.

Hills dropped down the field leaving Shaw and Robert Scott to fight for third place, which went to the latter.

Race 3 would be the most spirited race from the weekend as behind the leaders it would be action galore.

The dice of the weekend was between Place, Totani and Wilson, who would try to out manoeuvre each other at every opportunity until the chequered flag.

But up front Hazelton won comfortably

started rear of grid in the first race and an electrifying opening lap saw him second, before a suspension drama put him out.

Ryan Stott (Jacer) and Cory Ogden (Corsica) took the minors.

In the second race, Sparke took just half a lap to be in second place. From there, he rand down Collett and the two put on a fantastic dice, before Collett took the flag.

In the final race, all things were equal, the two best drivers starting together.

They continued their earlier scrap, with Collett again winning the run to the flag, ahead by just 0.04s at the flag.

Stott took both third places, with the 1200cc class going to Grant Cassell (Nimbus) all three times.

Track limits were often violated and a raft of time penalties would ensue.

Most notably Robert Scott, who would be demoted from fourth to seventh with a 10-second penalty.

The clouds rolled in for the finale Hazelton made another great start from Blumeris. Hills, Shaw, Bray, Noakes and Robert Scott all battled for the last podium step available. Hazelton powered so far into the lead that a five second penalty for a track limit breach did not stop him from sweeping

Blumeris came home in second and Tom Shaw third, while Bray was consistent all weekend and was rewarded with fourth. Noakes recovered from his early misfortune to finish a strong fifth. Round 5 will take place also at Sydney Motorsport Park on September 27-29.

Story and image: Riccardo Benvenuti

Ben Sheedy was unchallenged in Improved Production. Below left: Rodney Baker locks the fronts ... Below right: Brett Osborne shows the way in the HQ contest. Images: RICCARDO BENVENUTI

NATIONALS WRAP

MASTERING MALLALA

THE SOUTH Australian Motor Racing Championship was back at Mallala on August 2/3 with an action packed day/night meeting.

Bradley Vaughan and Joel Johnson set the top times in the split qualifying sessions for Circuit Excel then the pair continued to dominate the day.

Johnson won two of the three heat races while Vaughan claimed the other as well as the nine lap preliminary final ahead of Johnson and Shayne Nowickyj.

Brodi Dominic, Fletcher Lewis, Adam Currie and Nowickyj all grabbed a piece of the podium action in the heat races.

The final was a 10 lap thriller under lights with Johnson and Vaughan going head to head with massive braking duels for the lead which change numerous times.

All the while Lewis and Nowickyj were waging their own war for P3.

Nowickyj got in front at half distance and closed the gap to the leaders with the order at the flag Johnson, Vaughan (who led the most laps) and Nowickyj.

Currie hung on for fifth behind Aaron Oliver to win the Masters class.

Despite having some brake overheating issues Michael Bartsch (Toyota 86/Chev) came out on top in Sports Sedans.

Daniel Wallis (Nissan 180SX) was the best of the rest from Neil Turner (Mini).

Matt Longhurst (Honda Integra) broke Bartsch’s winning streak in race two after Bartsch and Matt Wildy (Mazda RX7) spun on the first lap.

Bartsch charged back through the field in the darkness to grab second.

Jason Palmer (BMW E30) had another perfect day sweeping all before him in

Improved Production.

James Sutton (Mazda R100) struggled to keep Ian Statham (Mitsubishi Magna) at bay for the minor positions.

Brett Waters (Peugeot 308 GTi) was the top Under Two-litre contender while once again Anthony Norris (Datsun 1200 coupe) had the speed of the front runners but not the reliability.

Luke Havinga (Renault Clio) exited Race 1 in spectacular fashion rolling at the Northern Hairpin but walked away from the wreckage.

Matthew Bialek (Stinger 03) kept it all together to take the 1600 F/Vee win from

Nathan Clifton (Jacer V2K) who had the pace but not the luck. Top qualifier Sean Grimmond (Merlin PE08) scored P3.

There wasn’t much between the 1200 F/Vee runners and it was Baxter Midwinter (Panther 1A) that came out on top ahead of Frank Chessell (Elfin Crusader).

Jay Thompson (Spectre) was a distant third only due to gear selector issues putting him out of Race 1.

Philip Andrawos (Firman F1000) was the man to beat in SA Prototypes.

Timothy Cook (Wolf GB08 CN) was comfortably next best while it was hard to

separate Mark Haig (West WR1000) and Andrew McKee (Wolf F1 Mistral).

Paul Trengrove (West WR1000) was fast and ran with the leaders but missed qualifying and DNFed in Race 1.

Jack Boyd (Mercedes) had to work hard for his Aussie Racecar win.

Shane Mann (Mustang) chased hard all day for P2 and won the opening race.

But it was top qualifier Bruce Heinrich (Falcon) that pushed Boyd the hardest ending the day on the bottom step of the podium.

Jim Doig (Motorlab Asp 340) took the Race 1 win and the big trophy in Historic Sports and Racing.

Melissa Ford (Mallock U2) wasn’t far behind in the points with an even smaller gap back to Keith Williamson (Farrell Clubman) in third.

Andrew Ford (Birrana 274) made it look easy winning two of the three races but hadn’t started Race 1.

In Saloon Cars Wayne King (Falcon AU) was the man to beat easily seeing off Blair Davies (Falcon AU).

Things may have been different had Jayden Jamieson (Holden VY) finished the opening race. However top two finishes, including winning the last race, snared him P3 for the round.

Jacob Currie (Holden VY) made the move up from Circuit Excels and qualified P1 and showed good form in the races he finished.

Darren Jenkins didn’t have it all his own way in HQ’s taking a narrow win over Nathan Roberts who beat him across the line in the last race.

Anthony Bobridge was safe in P3 all day and that’s where he stood overall.

David Batchelor

Matthew Bialek (#3) and Nathan Clifton duked it out in the Vee contest. Top: Jason Palmer dominated Improved Production and was unbeaten. Above left: Wayne King was the man to beat in Saloon Cars. Above right: Under lights, Darren Jenkins had to fight hard for HQ victory. Images: DAVID BATCHELOR

DOUBLE TROUBLE

THE ANNUAL Winton 300 enduro race has been run and won in 2024 on a massive weekend that also included round 3 of the Victorian Motor Racing Championship on August 9-11. THOMAS MILES reports…

WINTON 300

THE MIGHTY Mazda MX5 of Todd Herring and Andy Boydell has taken the Winton 300 crown for a second year running.

Herring and Boydell were relentless in their Class C machine to win the enduro by 14s after 100 laps of the well-known Benalla circuit.

The only other pairing in the big 39-car field to score a century were Matt and Aaron Giuntini in their Honda Civic thanks to their strong late race pace.

However, neither of these combinations appeared to be a favourite after a 30-minute qualifying session dominated by the trio of Marcus LaDelle, Anthony Soole and Wilson.

Their 1:30.7416 was 2s clear of the Wemyss/ Towsend, who won a tight battle for second.

But an incident saw LaDelle lose provisional pole in the Top 10 Shootout where Daniel Kapetanovic took pole with a 1:32.8817. He was 1.15s clear of Jimmy Tran’s Honda Integra.

Off the rolling start and the #8 of Kapetanovic led the field but Rick Bates got off to a flyer and settled into second with the top two charging away from the pack, which safely negotiated the first lap.

Kapetanovic’s advantage was short lived as he received a 15s penalty as early as lap two for merging over the blend line on the warmup lap.

But there were bigger dramas for Soole, who had charged from eighth to second, only for the BMW M4 to lose power on the back straight and headed to the pits and retirement.

Glenn Towsend was now the fastest car as the #173 Lotus Exige flew from seventh to first and controlled the first quarter of the race.

The Lotus led until as late as Lap 69, but dropped to fourth after the final stop and retired as late as Lap 96.

It became a three-horse race with Jimmy Tran in charge ahead of Boydell and

Giuntini with 30 to go.

In the end Boydell had the ultimate pace, snatching the lead on Lap 80 and cruising to a commanding win.

Then the attention turned to second with Tran slipping to third on the road and Giuntini also getting by when the #818 took its final stop.

However, Trans slipped to 11th due to a fivelap penalty which promoted the Bates duo to the podium.

The top four were all Class C cars, while Class D went to Ricketts/Haynes in the Pulsar, while Class B winners were Kapetanovic/Thompson. Viola/ Hanrahan took Class E as the leading Class A competitor were the Agars in their Hyundai I30N.

ADC

THE AUSTRALIAN Drivers Championship carried on and Damon Sterling was leading the way in Round 3.

Sterling cemented his dominance by taking pole by seven-tenths over Dean Crooke and further asserted himself in the first two races.

The opener was a truncated affair due to four cars all failing to finish which saw Hayden Crossland and Dean Crooke also on the podium.

The top four remained unchanged through the 10-lap follow up where only Josh Gardiner retired.

Race 3 was the only blemish for Sterling as he was beaten by Crossland, but only just.

Sterling led for eight laps but was pipped by Crossland, who ended up holding on by just 0.062s, while Crooke was a further 16s adrift. Sterling then hit back in the finale.

SUPER TRUCKS

THE KENWORTHS were king in the Australian Super Trucks, dominating all four races.

Steven Zammit and Harvey Dale charged away in the opener with the former taking the honours by 2s.

Zammit went back to back in Race 2 where Shannon Smith snatched second from Frank Amoroso on the final lap.

Race 3 was a closer contest for victory with Mitchell Prillwitz leading the first three laps, only to slump to last by the chequered flag as Smith emerged on top.

It was a smilier story in Race 4 as Lachlan Fern’s Isuzu threatened to snap the streak, being in charge to Lap 4 but dropped to fourth.

Amoroso ended up taking the spoils ahead of Smith.

STOCK CARS AUSTRALIA

DESPITE MISSING out on pole to Jeff Stubbs, Scott Nind was untouchable in Stock Cars Australia.

Nind’s #16 Greg Biffle tribute Ford Mustang cleaned up all four races.

Stubbs’ Dodge finished second in the first three races, but slipped to fifth in the finale with Brendon Hourigan taking that place. There were also some stunning tributes to the Earnhardt family with Richard White and Jake Frisch saluting both generations steering the #8 and #3 respectively.

SUPER TT

THE VICTORIAN Super TT battle was a two-horse race between the Nissans of Peter Ryder and Brett Ramsay.

Ryder claimed the opener, but Ramsay edged ahead by 0.5s in the follow up.

However, Ryder hit back in Race 3, but his hopes of further success were denied by a DNF in the finale that went to his arch rival Ramsay.

2L SPORTS SEDAN

THE MINI of Linda Devlin shot 6s clear of the field in the 2L Sports Sedan opener.

That dominance only accelerated in the following two races with more big wins. However, the Mini fell to the back of the train in the finale that went to James Harris.

VICTORIAN EXCELS

AS USUAL the Hyundai Excels produced some thrilling finishes and it was on as early as the Trophy opener.

Ryan Phillips held on in the #8 Earnhardt livery ahead of Bradley James by a meagre 0.2s, but the latter hit back with a more commanding win in the following sprint.

James then cemented himself by dominating the final two races.

In the Masters, Daniel Webster had a strong start by winning the first two races comfortably.

Although Webster ended up securing the clean sweep, the last two sprints were much closer – especially Race 3 where he was only three-tenths clear of David Musgrave.

Todd Herring/Andy Boydell took the 300 double. Below: Damon Sterling leads the ADC race with chaos in the background ... Bottom left: Linda Devlin took three wins in 2L Sports Sedans. Bottom right: Peter Ryder and Brett Ramsay duelled throughout the Super TT contest.

Images: NEIL HAMMOND/ GEOFF COLSON

SUPERCARS SUPPORTS

DRAMA FILLED WEEKEND FOR FORMULA FORDS

THE PENULTIMATE round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Symmons Plans on August 17-18 provided plenty of dramas, especially for some of the title contenders.

Eddy Beswick (Spectrum) led the series by 13 points at the start of the meeting, with second-placed Kobi Williams (Spectrum) qualifying on pole for what was to be a wet race one.

Beswick started in P4 and last-round winner Liam Loiacano ((Mygale) went from chocolate to boiled lollies to start from grid nine.

Williams led for every lap in Race 1 and at one stage held a 3.5 second lead on the field, easing back in the closing laps.

It was to prove a costly decision as he was penalised 5 secs for a ”wheelspin breach before the start,”but still claimed third points, with Jack Bussey (Spectrum) awarded the win.

The second race was an absolute ripper, with multiple lead changes involving Bussey, Williams and Beswick.

The rain started to fall on lap eight, just after Williams took the lead.

Cody Maynes-Rutty (Spectrum) had managed to inch his way up to the leading trio on the next lap and challenged for third near the pit entrance,

only to make contact and spin, sadly bringing out the Safety Car.

Unfortunately, it prematurely ended what was a fantastic race, with Beswick being the fortunate one of the top three to be in front when the race was declared, awarded the victory ahead of Bussey and Williams.

Race 3 picked up where Race 2 left off, with some great early battles.

Loiacano made contact with the wall on lap three, bringing out the Safety Car, ending what had been a dirty weekend for the Queenslander.

Williams, Beswick and Bussey continued their great battle, until Beswick spun at the hairpin on lap 11.

He was able to rejoin in 14th position.

Lachlan Evernett (Mygale) started to make his move as the lead pack became unsettled and Bussey started to ease away from the field.

Two laps later it all came unstuck for Williams, making heavy contact with the back of Evernett (Mygale), while challenging for third, sustaining major damage, bringing out the Safety Car and ending the race on lap 15, with Bussey taking the win.

Despite a far from perfect weekend, Beswick actually increased his series lead, with Bussey moving into second and

Williams dropping to third.

It was Bussey’s first round win of the series and he was understandably pleased to find some consistency, with two wins and a second from three races.

“The car was fast from the start and we

just stuck to the game plan and got the results we were after,” he said.

“It’s been an up and down season and the championship is probably out of reach, but it’s good to get some consistent results late in the season.”

Martin Agatyn

BARWICK WINS BATTLE OF THE BEASTS

THERE WERE two standout drivers in the Tassie Tin Tops on the support programme for the Tasmanian round of the Supercars Championship at Symmons Plains on August 17 and 18 – and they were both deserving of a win.

In the end, over four races, it came down to just one point separating Josh Barwick (Nissan Skyline R32) and Ben Purtell (Nissan 180 SX), with the honours going to Barwick.

The Tin Tops category was a mix of regular Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship series cars, alongside Sports Sedans, Improved Production sedans, and Sports GTA and Sports GTB cars, with rolling starts for all events. Purtell and Barwick were clearly head and shoulders above the entire field, including fellow Sports Sedan drivers,

but their close, high-speed duels kept the crowd entertained all weekend.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing, with race 1 halted after only four laps when Charlie Williscroft (Pontiac Grand Prix) rode a heavy hit on the tyre wall on the back straight sweeper when he lost traction at almost full-noise and slid across the wet grass, sustaining massive damage to his Sports Sedan.

With the race being so short, only halfpoints were awarded, with the win going to Purtell, from Barwick and Mark Duggan (Aston Martin DBRS9).

The second race was only slightly less eventful with a Safety Car after only two laps when Sports GTB driver Wayne Monson (Ford AU Falcon Turbo) ran off the track on Turn 6 and became bogged Duggan led at the re-start, but Barwick

was able to blast by soon after, with Purtell in tow, as the speedy pair smartly put a gap on the field.

By the chequered flag, which came after 12 laps, Barwick had opened a 2.3 sec gap on Purtell.

Race 3 on the Sunday saw Purtell getting a great start, only to almost loose it in front of the pack, using all his skills as a former Tasmanian drifting champion to save what could have been a major disaster. However, it was only half a lap later when Rye Dunsmuir (BMW) and Lance ‘Spike’ Jones (Holden Torana SS Hatchback) came together in the approach to the hairpin, with Jones catapulted into the wall, forcing a Safety Car.

At the re-start, Purtell was tidier and led Duggan as they again opened a significant gap on the field in a relatively short time.

The pair lapped the field up to ninth, with Purtell taking the honours by 3.4 secs.

The fourth and final race again saw Purtell and Barwick way out in front in an entertaining cat-and-mouse duel as they lapped the field up to fourth.

Barwick eventually found a way past Purtell with two laps to go, with the latter, spinning in the hairpin on the next lap, but having enough space to rejoin and still finish second, 17 secs behind Barwick.

Further down in the field, Chris Boyd (Nissan Skyline R35) won the weekend for Sports GTA, David Walker (Holden VX Commodore) topped the points in Sports GTB, while Scott Arthur (Holden VX Commodore) winning improved production sedans.

Martin Agatyn

Beswick’s Spectrum 14 leads a tight field which provided some tense battles. Image: FFORD

Josh Barwick (Nissan Skyline R32) took the points – just. Image: DMAC

GARLAND GETS IT

THE FIGHT for round honours in the Aussie Racing Cars at Symmons Plains went down to the wire.

It was a tight between Kody Garland and Cody Brewczynski with only two points separating the duo after four races.

However, a Sunday sweep propelled Garland all the way to P1 in the fifth round of the 2024 season.

It was tense from the very start as the opening race was held in treachous conditions and many were caught out.

Garland and Joel Heinrich led the way with Brandon Madden in third until he spun backwards into the fence at the hairpin.

This brought out the Safety Car and Brewczynski flew when racing resumed as he rose from third to first.

Reynolds went off at the end of the back straight, but what brought the Safety Car back was another clash at the hairpin, this time between Chad Chapman and Shane Mann.

As a result the race ended under Safety Car with Brewczynski leading Garland, setting the tone for their weekend-long battle.

The sun was out for Race 2 and it was a fast start for Brewczynski who flew 3s clear of field.

But the Safety Car again destroyed his momentum with Desmond Collier spun out of turn 3 and Mason Harvey stopped after rotating at the final corner due to engine failure.

At the restart Heinrich began his charge from fourth, passing Garland and Chapman in quick succession.

Although two spinners occurred further back in the pack, racing carried on

allowing Heinrich to press for the lead. Brewczynski cracked under pressure by running wide at the final corner, which provided the opening for the reigning series winner.

Heinrich claimed the comeback win by 2.6s.

The third race of the weekend and first on Sunday saw the top 12 of the grid being inverted but this did not stop Garland from prevailing in a thriller.

On pole was Josh Thomas, but Reynolds jumped him at the hairpin.

TARGETT TITLE

in control as he took victory in a Safety Car-disrupted contest.

But on the charge was Garland, who had reached third from the fifth row by lap three.

There was heartbreak for Reynolds as his dreams of victory were dashed by a gremlin which forced him to stop at Turn 6 and the Safety Car bunched the field up.

This completed Garland’s charge to first, but he had to fight to keep hold of it.

Brewczynski had also flown to the front and launched an attack down the main straight where he and Garland made contact, while Dornan and Heinrich were also nearby.

In the end Garland held on by 0.8s.

After a tight Race 3 win, there was no denying Garland in the finale as he rose to the occasion.

He took a commanding lights to flag victory over Chapman to snatch the round win with Brewczynski third.

There was a high attrition rate in the 13lap affair with five DNFs including Heinrich, who suddenly slowed on the back straight. Aussie Racing Cars will be buzzing around Phillip Island on September 7-8. Thomas Miles

Tasmanian arm wrestle.

Despite Gilchrist winning the opening bout, Targett hit back in the final two races to secure another round win.

The Queenslander now enjoys a commanding 91 points, but there are still 181 up for grabs in the finale.

However, neither of the title contenders could get their hands on pole position after they are upstaged by Clay Osborne in qualifying.

Osborne was the only driver to record a 51s lap with Gilchrist and Targett not far away.

But Osborne was unable to make the most of pole as he was slow off the line when the opening race began in wet conditions.

He was swamped by the field and dropped to eighth as Gilchrist took charge. The race was in safe hands with Gilchrist

Osborne’s race went from bad to worse when he clashed with Aron Shields at the hairpin and the pole sitter suffered a drivethrough.

In Pro-Am, Eric Constantinidis led the first seven laps, only to be caught out by the rain, which helped Andrew Georgiadis take victory.

The 45-minute Jim Richards Trophy race was a thriller where Targett and Gilchrist went head to head.

They set a hot pace across the first 16 laps trading fastest laps before a Safety Car arrived for the stranded Jonathan Gliksten.

But it was at the restart where Targett launched an attack, diving down the inside of Gilchrist at the hairpin, only for the latter to fight back.

The pair ran side-by-side down the back straight, only for a Safety Car to pause their battle due to Tyler Greenbury, who suffered steering damage after contact with Ayrton Hodson.

Targett once again had a crack at the restart and slipped past at Turn 6, only to run wide and sacrifice track position.

However, third time was a charm as his second attempt at Turn 6 was successful, leaving Gilchrist stumped.

Eric Constantinidis produced an impressive drive to take the Pro Am victory.

The final sprint on Sunday morning proved to be another thriller between the championship leaders.

Gilchrist once again led early after

winning the battle at Turn 1, only for Targett to again launch a number of assaults.

The Turn 4 hairpin did the trick, as Targett then kept Gilcrhsit at bay, who had Osborne for close company as just a second split the trio at the chequered.

Constantinidis was the only DNF which saw Georgiadis take Pro Am.

The final round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge championship will be determined at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 18-20. Thomas Miles

GROVE JUNIOR Oscar Targett is in the box seat to complete his mission to the Porsche Sprint Challenge title after beating rival Brock Gilchrist in a

Cody Garland shows the way in a tight contest. Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

Targett takes the chequer and a handy championship lead.

DASHING HOME SUPERCARS

THE STAGE IS SET FOR THE ENDUROS AFTER THE FINAL SPRINT ROUND OF THE SEASON IN TASMANIA PRODUCED PLENTY OF DRAMA FROM HARDEARNED WINS, THRILLS, SPILLS AND SPINS. THOMAS MILES LOOKS AT THE TASMANIA SUPERSPRINT …

SUPERCARS HAVE been racing around Symmons Plains since 1969, but 2024 was just the second held in the Tasmanian winter and whilst the rain mainly stayed away, the track still caught many out.

With Triple Eight only having one winless weekend at Tasmania since 2006, many would have expected the Red Bulls to lead the charge, but things did not go their way for a change.

Instead, Matt Stone Racing and Tickford received the applause in victory lane to carry on the increasingly unpredictable nature of 2024.

It was the much-maligned Sprint format’s final hurrah of 2024 and it felt like it finally delivered.

Whilst not many will miss it if it does go, the drama at Symmons Plains ensured it produced some memorable moments.

FINDING A GROOVE

IT WAS a slow start to the weekend with 80 minutes spread across two practice sessions available for teams to come to grips with the SuperSoft tyres and cold conditions.

On Friday there was just a single hour-long session that painted an ominous sign. The top nine was full of Camaros with David Reynolds leading the way despite encountering engine dramas early.

The Team 18 driver pulled out of his opening lap with a misfiring engine, but an ECU reconfiguration did the job.

After a trouble-free opener, there was much more risk in Practice 2 on Saturday morning as the heavens opened.

As some got caught out, discarded Grove Racing driver Richie Stanaway reminded the grid of his prowess in the wet.

IN A SPIN

THE RETURN of the F1-style knockout qualifying session created many headaches up and down the grid and there was none bigger than at the end of Q2.

In the opening segment teams had to contend with changing conditions – Will Davison “made a mess of it” locking up and qualifying last, while Matt Payne also struggled, only managing 23rd in an early indication of what Grove Racing had to endure all weekend.

But just when drivers were plotting their pivotal final runs to secure promotion into Q3, Thomas Randle threw a spanner in the works.

The Tickford driver carried too much speed coming out of the final corner and found himself in the wet grass and out of control.

As a result the #55 Mustang spun across the track and through the gravel before

clipping the inside wall.

Although Randle was able to eventually recover, the red flag was waved and with just 38s left, the session was cut short and a lot of drivers were frustrated at missing their chance.

“I was pushing pretty hard. I just dropped a wheel out of (Turn) 7. Feeney bailed on his lap and let Cam (Waters) through, but I was sort-of right behind him and understeered off,” Randle recalled.

The mistake had big consequences on some big names with Brown forced to start down in 15th.

However, once again, the #87 was able to claw back critical ground in the race with the smart call to change all four tyres propelling him up to seventh.

Those left to fight for pole pushed all the way to the end and Feeney snuck ahead of Waters and Brodie Kostecki as less than a tenth covered the trio.

MORE MSR MAGIC

PERCAT AND Matt Stone Racing secured their second special triumph of 2024, but on this occasion there was no luck involved –instead it was orchestrated by brilliance from both driver and team.

When Saturday’s Race 17 started, a Percat victory was not looking overly likely.

Left: Percat’s smart ‘over-cut’ took him into the lead and a superb Saturday win, from Mostert and Feeney, and resulted in him getting soaked in champagne (far right).

Above: Feeney eased away from Waters for his podium. Right: Slade and Reynolds duked it out inside the top 10.

Bottom of page: The Tickford duo blasted away evenly on Saturday, with Randle snatching the early lead before a hairpin overshoot.

Images: MARK HORSBURGH, DMAC

Feeney led away from pole ahead of Waters and the pair pulled a second clear of the #10, exchanging fastest laps.

The opening exchanges were relatively trouble-free aside from Payne spinning Davison and Aaron Love being muscled down the order from a PB position.

Despite the lead pair’s fast start, Percat focused on saving his tyre life, but did well enough to stay in touch and reaped the rewards later in the stint.

Both Feeney and Waters lost significant ground when they caught traffic and Tickford had had enough, being the first of the leaders to stop on Lap 27.

Feeney followed a lap later and the pair held position, but they were both outfoxed by the overcut from MSR.

Percat pressed on in clean air before a rapid 3.8s tyre change released the #10 into the lead.

Despite resisting a challenge from Feeney, there would be a fourth factor added to the equation in the final stint.

WAU also produced a smart strategy with Mostert taking three tyres – and he made good use of the extra fresh rubber.

He picked off both Waters and then Feeney with ease, leaving the #25 with five laps to hunt down Percat, who was a second further up the road.

Mostert was able to reel in the MSR Camaro to tease a grandstand finish, but Percat had enough up his sleeve to keep his former team-mate at bay and send a statement to WAU by scoring another stunning victory.

Percat knew the critical role his team played in snatching P1:

“When you can execute strategy and pull off a big pit stop like that, it is a big team effort.

I don’t think anyone can say we lucked into that one,” he said.

“The car has been on rails since we rolled out of the truck and I cannot thank everyone in the team enough.

“The overcut made sense because it takes time for the tyre to come on.

“We knew our strategy and stuck to the plan. When I came through the lane I thought ‘we are going to get into the lead here’ because that was a seriously fast stop.

“I went as quick as I could with that one extra lap and got in front and I could then manage the race from there.

“But then I saw Chaz coming and had to use everything to get there.”

To give MSR extra cause for celebration, the sister car of Cameron Hill had a solid day out, securing a second-best result of sixth.

“For me to convert my quali result was really cool to get another top 10 and for Nick to grab the win, it’s MSR’s best day yet to have a car winning and sixth. Really stoked for the boys – they have put a lot of work into this,” Hill said.

Mostert was simply happy to be on the podium given the team’s previous SuperSoft struggles.

“Pretty stocked with second. Credit to the team; we did a different strategy and it complemented our car a bit better,” Mostert said.

“The team got me the result today.”

Although he still gained ground on Brown in the championship race, Feeney felt a potential win disappeared having slipped from first to third around the cycle of stops.

“Obviously happy to be on the podium, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed with only getting third,” he said.

“Ran well up front early on and built a bit of a lead, but caught a bit of chaos before pitting.

“It was hard because a few cars came in front of me and ran into each other just

before we pitted. “I don’t know ... if I went longer I might have got caught up with them anyway.

“But Nick has done a great job all weekend and knew he would be tough to catch in clear air.”

CLASHING CAMAROS

UNSEEN BY the cameras, the day-long rivalry between Andre Heimgartner and Mark Winterbottom ended ugly.

The BJR and Team 18 drivers first clashed in qualifying where they were both knocked out in Q2.

After a moment battling for track position, Heimgartner ventured to the Team 18 garage to have some words.

“Obviously he was behind me and everyone tries to get tows,” Winterbottom explained.

“He made room for me but I was still trucking on with my lap because you can’t just stop your lap for everyone else.

“I would have given him a tow but he backed out and the red flag obviously cost him.

“Small tracks create these issues and we both missed out anyway.”

The pair then found themselves at close quarters fighting for 12th towards the end of the race and contact could not be avoided.

Heimgartner sent Winterbottom into a spin at the hairpin with just three laps to go and admitted there was a hint of retaliation.

“There is a bit more to the story than that. He knows what happened, so hopefully he won’t block me in qualifying and we won’t have another issue. I didn’t necessarily mean to take him out, but its unfortunate.”

Heimgartner was handed a 15s penalty for the clash, which dropped the #8 from 13th to 22nd.

FROM ECSTASY TO AGONY

FOR THE second straight round, Tickford locked out the front row, but on this occasion a delighted Thomas Randle turned the tables. Having cried “why?” when teammate Waters denied him pole by the barest of margins at SMP, the #55 did the same in a thrillingly tight Q3 where less than a tenth covered the top five cars.

In the last-minute dash for pole, Randle’s 50.6620s eclipsed Waters by 0.0440s to put Saturday’s demons away, getting a first of 2024 and second ever.

SUPERCARS

“It is awesome,” Randle reacted. “It is a bit of redemption after yesterday’s off. I just managed to nail the lap and the car was a jet.”

Suddenly Randle had the best opportunity to secure his first Supercars victory and appeared to be making the most of it after fighting off his teammate through the opening corners.

However, the #55 threw the lead away by running wide at the hairpin, which presented the perfect invitation for Waters to drive by and never be seen again.

It proved to be just the first costly mistake for Randle, who was lucky to retain second, but through a mix of double stacking and a quick tyre change for Will Brown, he slipped to third during the opening Safety Car where the entire field pitted.

With Waters in control, the battle for second between Randle and Brown caught everyone’s attention and it burst alive on Lap 45.

Randle gave Brown enough of a bump to unsettle the #87 Camaro in the hairpin before

the pair bumped door-to-door all the way down the back straight.

When they arrived at Turn 6, Randle slipped down the inside, only for Brown to complete the criss-cross. To complete the job, Brown gave Randle a little bump on corner exit, which fired the #55 into the wet grass and allowed Feeney to snatch third.

Randle was then pushing hard to keep up with the Bulls, but went way too deep on the 51st approach to the hairpin, locking up and spearing into the back of Feeney.

The significant contact sent Feeney into a spin and he cried “are you serious” over the radio as he slipped from third to 15th and lost massive ground in the championship.

Randle received a 15s penalty and was dejected post race, apologising for his mistake, although, Mark Dutton wasn’t having any of it (see News pages).

“I am just gutted with my mistake going into Turn 4 with five to go. That was all my fault,” Randle said.

“There is no one else to blame and I will be kicking myself over that one for a while.

“It is just a real shame because it was a great opportunity to capitalise and get some points.”

KOSTECKI’S NIGHTMARE

AFTER A solid P5 on Saturday and a fast start on Sunday, a positive weekend was

forming for reigning champion Brodie Kostecki.

Starting Race 18 in eighth, Kostecki rocketed into the top five in the first two laps and took aim at next target, David Reynolds.

But the former Erebus driver was not making things easy for the current Erebus driver as they battled hard for a number of laps before it all unravelled at the hairpin. On corner exit Kostecki got into Reynolds and spun the Team 18 driver around and with the #20 stuck on the verge, the first Safety Car was required.

The reigning champion was hit with a 15s penalty for the incident, but that proved to be just the start as he felt the further wrath of the stewards.

Not one, but two drive-through penalties followed. The first was for speeding in the pit lane and the second was for another clash, this time after pit release, with Team 18. This time it was Winterbottom, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time with Erebus releasing Kostecki from the pit box directly into the path of the #18.

Following the two drive-throughs, the race became a glorified test session for Kostecki.

“Had that little tangle with Dave and with the full course yellow coming on I thought I hit the button and with all the lights flashing I didn’t quite get it and the button was on too late,” he told the Cool Down Lap podcast.

“I was racing Dave for a bit and he was blocking. Tried to pass him a lap before at the hairpin and he tried to fire me in the fence.

“It was a bit unfortunate. We rubbed, touched wheels and these wheels are shithouse so his rear came off the ground and my wheel got ripped out of my hand, so it was just one of those things.”

However, Kostecki handled the situation well and was upbeat by the speed of the #1.

“You get days like that in motorsport. It was a rough race, but we haven’t had too much pace lately and I was really happy with the race car then, so excited going into Sandown,” he summarised.

ROOKIE MISTAKES

THE SECOND Safety Car only arrived just 10 laps after the first as a pair of rookies tangled on the main straight.

Randle versus Brown was quite a tussle ... Top: Bryce Fullwood had a great Sunday, joining Cam Waters and Will Brown on the podium. Others were less fortunte ... Above left: Kostecki’s problems started with contact with Reynolds, then multiplied in pit lane ... Above right: Jaxon Evans came off second-best after a territory dispute with Aaron Love. Images: MARK HORSBURGH, DMAC

Jaxon Evans and Aaron Love were fighting for 20th like a win and went side by side down the twisty pit straight.

As they approached the opening hump, Love did not leave enough room for his BJR rival and wheel-to-wheel contact fired the Kiwi into a collision course with the concrete.

Love pressed on to secure 20th, while Evans was out on the spot.

“I got caught up in a bit of the argybargy stuff down the mid-pack, and then unfortunately, got sent exit stage left at Turn 1, and I hit the fence,” Evans said.

FIGHTERS

WHILST WATERS cruised to a maiden Symmons Plains success by a commanding 6s, behind him there were a number of eye-catching drives.

Despite a rough recent past for BJR, Bryce Fullwood had strong speed all weekend and made the most of it on Sunday.

He raced his way out of the trouble in the opening stint to lock down fourth, which eventually became third when Feeney was spun.

Suddenly Fullwood found himself making a welcome return to the podium after four years since his only previous trip, at The Bend back in 2020. “Obviously it means a lot. It’s awesome to be able to repay them for all the hard work,” Fullwood said.

It was hero to zero for Percat as he went from victory lane on Saturday to qualifying dead last on Sunday due to “bad timing” and only running used tyres.

However, the #10 was still fast and shot through the pack, rising an impressive 17 positions to somehow score a seventh place to cap off a stunning weekend for MSR.

Also starting on the last row, Winterbottom also produced a similar comeback, rising 14 spots to the top 10.

Teams and drivers have a month to cool off from a dramatic trip to Tasmania and prepare for the season-shaping enduros with the 60th anniversary Sandown 500 on September 13-15.

SUPERCARS TASMANIA SUPERSPRINT

INTERNATIONAL

LATE PENSKE DRAMA IN ST LOUIS

IT WAS a mixed bag for Penske’s ‘Thirsty Three’ at the Gateway Motorsports Park in St Louis for Round 13 of the IndyCar season.

Oval King Josef Newgarden prevailed after some late drama, despite having an early spin, eventually topping Kiwi teammate and poleman Scott McLaughlin after a late dash to the flag following an earlier concertina-like restart.

Newgarden’s perceived late jump resulted in some damaging contact for Aussie driver Will Power – who is in the midst of his push for a third title – dropping him from second to fourth in the pointscore as a result.

Power led a race-high 117 laps, with his fuel-strategy leaving him in fourth place after the penultimate yellow flag restart, when his teammate was perceptibly slow to react from the front of the field when the light turned green.

However, the initial yellow with 21 laps to run was also a result of Power, who made contact with David Malukas when he was overtaking on the inside. He got wrecked into the high-side wall after being squeezed by Power, as the two battled for potential winning positions.

When the light eventually went green with 10 laps remaining, Alexander Rossi slammed into Power after Will himself had to check-up to avoid colliding with Herta … a red flag ensued.

Never shy of a colourful moment, as Newgarden passed into pit lane to avoid getting debris on his tyres, Power then flipped his teammate the Toowoomba bird (middle finger).

“Where are you supposed to go?… I do not know why they (the leaders) just kept backing it up, I don’t understand it,” said Power, who himself was unnecessarily

jumpy on his own throttle, and not entirely free of any blame.

That led to a final dash with seven laps remaining as the floodlights had to go on at the Gateway, resulting in Newgarden, McLaughlin, Colton Herta, and Linus Lundqvist battling it out.

A late-charging Alex Palou was a big points winner on the day, taking advantage of Power’s absence, climbing from eighth to fourth and banking extra points to extend his championship lead as he attempts a third title in four years.

Back to the final result, Newgarden’s jump after the red was explosive, putting 1.679

AUSTRIAN TRIPLE

FRANCESCO BAGNAIA has continued his lover affair with Austria, by taking a hattrick in Spielberg that has put him back in charge of the MotoGP title race.

Once again Bagnaia and Jorge Martin were the class of the field, but the reigning champion was a cut above in both the Sprint and Grand Prix.

Martin would have lined up on the grid hopeful of taking the fight to the #1 after snatching pole by a tenth.

The Pramac rider was especially racey early in the Sprint as he and Bagnaia wrestled for ascendancy in a wild opening lap.

But eventually Bagnaia proved too strong and he ended up taking a commanding Sprint success as a long lap penalty appeared to have cost Martin second.

However, Marc Marquez gifted that position back by crashing at the top of the hill, which also promoted Aleix Espargaro onto the podium.

Jack Miller had a productive day, finishing

fifth, which was his best result since Portugal, nine races ago.

However, the big news from the Sprint was that both Bagnaia and Martin were even on points at the top of the world championship.

seconds on Scotty Mac, whilst Lundqvist completed the podium: an important one for the Rookie Swede who is fighting for his IndyCar future.

Though Newgarden didn’t feel that his restart was a bastardisation of the rules, he did regret the fact that it affected Power’s race.

“I was trying to go as late as I could at the end of the zone … and I’ve done that a lot, so I wouldn’t have done anything different!” said the five-time Gateway winner.

“The worst part of the victory is the #12 (Power) not making it home.

“I hate that that happened … I watched

THE PAIR went side by side into Turn 1 as they shot clear of the field at the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Martin ended up winning the battle on the inside, while Marquez almost found himself in a lot of trouble behind.

Marquez and Franco Morbedelli were in a tangle in the braking zone and could not stop themselves form taking to the run off, but were lucky to continue.

The big winners were Bastianini and Miller, who flew into the top four.

Although Martin controlled the first lap, he had no answer to Bagnaia’s straight-line speed as the #1 flew past at the start of the second tour. The Pramac rider tried to fire a response at the penultimate corner and did dive down the inside, only for Bagnaia to

it on the TV and it kind of looked like the green went on before I went, just momentarily …”

Three rounds and four races remain, with Portland Raceway next up on August 25, the final ‘circuit’ affair of the season before three oval races bring 2024 to a conclusion.

TW Neal

INDYCAR STANDINGS AFTER 13 ROUNDS

perform the undercut.

From there Martin had no answer as Bagnaia rode clear to a third successive Spielberg Grand Prix victory.

With Martin and third placed Bastianini spaced out, all eyes turned to Marquez.

The Gresini star dropped down to 14th after his offtrack excursion, but quickly mounted a fightback and forced his way up to an impressive fourth.

One of his victims was Miller, who after

dropping out of the top five ended up crashing out at the chicane.

Bagnaia appears hard to stop as MotoGP returns to Aragon on September 1.

Thomas Miles

MOTOGP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 11

1: Francesco Bagnaia 275 points

2: Jorge Martin 270

3: Enea Bastianini 214

4: Marc Marquez 192

5: Maverick Vinales 139

Image: GOLD AND GOOSE

McLaughlin had pole but had to give best to Newgarden. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

RICHMOND WRECKING BALL

A THRILLING, controversial, and subsequently penalised finish to the 400 at Richmond Raceway on August 11 saw Austin Dillon confirmed as the winner but stripped post-race of his Playoff place in NASCAR’s return to action after the break.

A hectic final few corners saw the #3 Chevrolet driver first take out Joey Logano from the rear at Turn 3, before he dived into the inside lane, taking out Denny Hamlin who looked on for the win. Dillon took the chequer immediately

after as result, but a post-race inquest in which NASCAR officials studied the telemetry charts and the throttle mapping deemed his actions reckless.

The Richard Childress driver still claimed the paycheck and win, but was docked 25 points and his automatic Playoff spot.

A furious and verbally colourful Logano said the move from four lengths back was “chicken shit” and that “I get it … bump and run. I’ve done that, but he just drove through me – it’s ridiculous.

“He’s a piece of crap. He sucks. He’s sucked his whole career …” Phew. Hamlin, who was declared second, said that, “I was just minding my own business and he hooked me in the right rear and put me in the fence. I don’t know. The record book won’t care

about what happened. He’s going to be credited with a win.”

Dillon’s crew chief didn’t help the matter in the inquest after he told the driver to “wreck him” over the radio immediately after he hit Logano.

In the end, the book says Dillon over Hamlin with Tyler Reddick in third.

In the victory lane aftermath, the driver who snapped his 68 race winless streak had this to say.

“I felt like with two to go, we were the fastest car …Wrecked the guy … I hate to do that, but sometimes you just have to do it … When given that shot, you’ve got to take it.”

In the days after the race, an appeal to the NASCAR Tribunal was also confirmed to take place on August 21.

“I’ve got to be careful with what I give out right now for the appeal process because it’s going to be like a trial,” Dillon commented.

“I haven’t really given my entire story yet … So I’m going to do my best to get RCR in the playoffs, where they need to be.”

As the backstory to the race played out, Christopher Bell led a race-high 122 laps, taking the first stage for a record 10 for the year, whilst Trackhouse’s Daniel Suarez claimed the second stage. Only three regular season races remained after Richmond, with the scramble for playoff spots to play out at Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington.

At AA went to press, the Michigan 400 had been delayed due to torrential rain. TW Neal

NASCAR’S LARSON CLAIMS PARITY WITH MAX

NASCAR STAR Kyle Larson has excited global motorsport social media after claiming on Friday that he is a better all-round racing driver than F1 champion Max Verstappen.

Talking on US podcast The Loudpedal, hosted by FloRacing, Larson ended up in a discussion about driver quality, ultimately claiming that:

“I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver,” he said. There’s no way (Verstappen) can get into a Sprintcar and win the Knoxville Nationals. There’s no way he can go win the Chili Bowl. There’s no way he can go win a Cup race at Bristol. There’s probably no way I can go win a Formula 1 race at Monaco, but I think I’d have a better shot at him …”

“Maybe not in an open-wheel IndyCar or Formula 1 car, but that’s one discipline. I think I would beat him in everything else. You can quote that!”

Larson has set NASCAR alight since emerging from a successful background in Speedway – Sprintcars

and Midgets – and NASCAR, in which he debuted modestly 11 years ago. Securing a drive with Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 set him on the road to NASCAR success, running second

in last year’s NASCAR Cup Series, by a single point.

This year, Larson made his debut in Indycars, at the Indianapolis 500. He ran with the lead pack and, without an unfortunate pit lane speeding penalty was, according to Indycar regulars, headed for a likely top five finish – on debut.

Larson has competed in both Sprintcars and Midgets in Australia and New Zealand over recent years and is due back in Australia this summer to headline the High Limit Sprintcar spectacular, from December 28-30 in Perth.

Better than Verstappen? The two come from very different motorsport worlds and the discussion is very much a subjective one, as the concept of the pair racing in the same category any time is very unlikely. It will be interesting to hear what Max has to say when, inevitably, the question is asked when F1 reconvenes, at Zandvoort, this weekend …

NASCAR VENUE TO HOST MLB

BRISTOL MOTOR Speedway has witnessed many famous racing moments, but, next year, Major League Baseball will briefly take centre stage instead of NASCAR.

For the first time in Major League Baseball history, a regular-season game will be played at a NASCAR track.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs will face off on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025 on a field located inside the Bristol Motor Speedway, as part of the inaugural Speedway Classic.

The infield of the track, which can accommodate up to 162,000 spectators, will host a diamond with dimensions similar to those of Great American Ball Park, the home of the Reds.

Austin Dillon (#3) crosses the line while, further back, there’s mayhem ...Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

2004 - WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME

AVESCO AND TEGA launched an investigation into a possible major testing breach at remote SA venue.

Team Dynamik was at the centre of a potential cheating scandal (unauthorised aero testing), with the South Australian team allegedly caught illegally testing one of its VY Commodores at an airstrip in the remote township of Woomera, best known for its rocket launch site.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing a Team Dynamik car, driven by lead driver Simon Wills, running at the airstrip.

“We are investigating a matter,” revealed AVESCO CEO Wayne Cattach.

“I can’t really say much more than that. The facts need to be assembled before I could say any more.”

V8 Supercar rules restricted teams to six test days per season at a specifically nominated test track.

Mallala just north of Adelaide is Team Dynamik’s designated test facility.

Any testing undertaken at a venue other than a nominated circuit carried a fine up to $250,000 and the loss of 100 championship points.

Reports suggested that the car ran on both Friday and Saturday of the previous week at the airstrip approximately 650 km north of Adelaide.

An unconfirmed report suggests that an AVESCO representative – present for the Konica Minolta round at Mallala – was made aware of the possible rule breach and began investigating the issue at that time. Indeed, the team’s transporter, with its signage covered over was seen heading

1974

LEO GEOGHEGAN prevailed in a “duel of classic proportions” with Bob Muir in the fourth round of the Formula 2 Championship at Calder Park.

Geoghegan held on by just half a second as Muir adapted to his altered handling Bob Brown Birrana 273 to produce a “never say die” effort.

Kiwi Graeme Lawrence overcame the locals to take the Formula 5000 race at Amaroo.

Lawrence held off Max Stewart in the battle of the Lola Chevrolets.

Allan Moffatt called up a German ace to help him chase victory in the 1974 Hardie Ferodo 1000.

Dieter Glemser was a surprise announcement but had plenty of experience having been a former European Touring Car champion and recognised as a top long stance driver for the Daimler-Benz Porsche and BMW works teams.

north by several Mallala competitors! ... Teams group TEGA was understood to have launched its own inquiry into the incident at Woomera, but TEGA chief executive officer Kelvin O’Reilly was hesitant to comment before completing the report.

Any matter would be brought before the CAMS stewards at Sandown on September 10-12.

With the current state of affairs surrounding the sport’s judicial system the team was likely to face the full severity of the law if found in breach of any testing rules.

Well-placed industry sources were suggesting that any team found in breach of the rules could be made an example of in order to send a clear message through the paddock, following what had been seen as lenient punishments handed out to Stone Brothers Racing and Castrol Perkins Racing for earlier relatively minor breaches.

Team Dynamik team owner Kieran

1984

ROVER’S ALL-OUT effort to win the 1984 James Hardie 1000 was announced with major backing from Mobil.

The two Rover 3500s prepared by Tom Walkinshaw Racing were revealed featuring similar liveries to Peter Brock later that decade. British Rover drivers Steve Soper, Jeff Allam and Ron Dickson were confirmed with Rover director of sales and marketing claiming “we are going to Bathurst to win.”

Niki Lauda’s pursuit of a thrillingly tight 1984 F1 championship glory took an important step forward with a home-race glory at the Österreichring.

An interestingly revised layout of the Adelaide street circuit was revealed. The pit straight was on Wakefield Street rather than the parklands with no Senna Chicane and instead of the stairway stopping at Wakefield Street, the track went a further two blocks to Frome Street where a little chicane was seen before linking back to what became the F1 track.

1994

THE 610TH edition of Auto Action was a collector’s edition, having been turned into the official program for the 1994 Sandown 500. But the big news surrounded the Australian Two Litre Touring Car Championship, which was set for a major shakeup with the leaders of the BTCC coming to town.

TOCA Limited took a major stake in the Australian Super Touring competition with a “better quality field and drivers” promised. Michael Schumacher was disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix due to the Benetton’s wooden skid block being worn to an illegal extent.

To build excitement for the Bathurst 1000, the inaugural “Hot August Lap” was held where Peter Brock emerged on top. Brock’s 2:12.61 was just one hundredth of a second ahead of Mark Skaife as more than 10,000 fans came to watch the event.

2014

DANIEL RICCIARDO was once again on top of the world after a stunning third victory of the 2014 F1 season at Belgium. What should have been an easy Mercedes 1-2, became Ricciardo’s latest crowning moment after Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg tripped over each other.

A certain 16-year-old by the name of Max Verstappen was making headlines by being on the verge of being announced by Toro Rosso as the youngest driver ever. For the first time since 2011, rain arrived on a Supercars weekend and it was worth the wait for Shane van Gisbergen as he swept both Saturday races at SMP. Another star of the future Scott McLaughlin starred on Sunday in the Volvo after two DNFs, a lost wheel and a blown engine on Saturday. Dragon Motor Racing had hopes of fielding two wildcards at Bathurst, but infrastructure issues saw the dream disappear.

Wills was unavailable for comment as AA closed for press. (Note: Despite an appeal, the team was ultimately fined $132,000 – despite the team engineer’s claim they were testing a revolutionary low-drag paint, not car aero ...

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