Auto Action #1896

DANNY RIC BOWS OUT AMID CONFUSION

WAS IT OR WASN’T IT? THANKS TO SOME BEHIND-THE-SCENES POLITICS, THE DECISION ON DANIEL RICCIARDO’S FUTURE WASN’T OFFICIAL UNTIL A FEW DAYS AFTER THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX – ALTHOUGH JUST ABOUT EVERYONE THERE KNEW IT WAS … AS WE ALL DID, AUTO ACTION’S RESIDENT F1 FAN, REESE MAUTONE, RODE THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER-COASTER WITH DANNY RIC …

ALTHOUGH DANIEL Ricciardo’s impact on the thriving modern Formula 1 landscape may be hard to fully quantify, the Honey Badger’s emotional farewell at the Singapore Grand Prix perfectly summed up the profound impact the sport has had on him in return.

With 257 race starts, 32 podiums, 17 fastest laps, eight victories, three pole positions, and one legacy that extends well beyond the racetrack, Ricciardo was left crossing the finish line of his career on his own, with the recognition his journey truly deserved never arriving. With tears in his eyes after a confusing end to over 13 years in the sport, Ricciardo admitted he felt “at peace” with the possibility of never stepping foot inside the cockpit of an F1 car again, a painful truth confirmed when it was officially announced on Tuesday (UK time) that he would be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of 2024.

“A lot of emotions, because … look I’m aware it could be it and I think it’s also just [being] exhausted after the race, so there’s so much …

“I don’t know, it’s like a flood of many emotions and feelings and exhaustion,” Ricciardo said, welling up as he reflected on the final moments of his career post-race in Singapore.

“The cockpit is something that I got very used to for many years, and yeah, I just wanted to savour the moment.”

The #3 later added: “I think I’m in a much happier place in the sport now than I was [when I left McLaren].”

“If this was it then I have a little bit more peace. I’m proud of the career – I tried to become World Champion, I tried to become the best at something in the world. I think it is a tall task that we ask from ourselves – some achieve it, some don’t.

“In the end, if I came up a little short, I also can’t be too hard on myself. I’m happy with the effort I put in and for that there’s no sadness or feeling of regret or what could have been.”

Supposedly granted the ‘grace’ of ending his career on one final high, Ricciardo was given the green light to “have some fun” while lending his old pal Max Verstappen a hand, setting the fastest lap and the new race lap record around the Marina Bay Street Circuit on the last lap on fresh ‘Reds’, stealing

What next for Daniel Ricciardo? The infamous clash with up-and-coming team-mate Max Verstappen at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (below) was the precursor to Daniel’s departure from the team at the end of the year and things haven’t quite ‘clicked’ since. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

a point from Lando Norris in the narrowing championship fight. This, however, served as little consolation for the lack of earlier support.

While he was able to show his support for Red Bull during what became his final display, Red Bull’s support following Ricciardo’s return in mid-2023 never translated into concrete action this season.

“Last year it made a lot of sense to keep one foot in the door and the big picture was to try and get back to Red Bull. But I’m not going to restart my career,” Ricciardo said, confirming his disinterest in a do-over with another team.

“I’m also 35. I still showed the pace I had over the years, but it’s also been evident that it’s been harder for me to show it every weekend and maybe that is a little bit of an

age thing. It definitely came easier for me when I was 25 as opposed to 35, and also maybe the competition is also increasing.

“I think that’s a common thing with all sports, the simulators are getting better, the kids are getting younger, so naturally they have access to all onboards now – they can watch and study everyone,. Maybe the level’s increased and it’s probably a tall task to fight at that level week-in, week-out.

“I can’t be disappointed with that. I’m happy that once upon a time I could do it, and that was a lot of fun and, if this is it, I want to make sure I leave the sport with good memories of it and it doesn’t get to that place where it’s just a grind and I’m out of Q1 every weekend – that’s obviously not fun.”

With the decision-makers lacking the decency to give the unanimously-loved veteran an adequate farewell, fans united to show their love for Danny Ric, honouring the #3 by voting him ‘Driver of The Day’ in Singapore — a gesture that spoke volumes.

“I don’t think that ‘Driver of The Day’ normally means much to us drivers – it’s nice, but it’s not something to brag about,” the West

Australian admitted.

“But I think today the fans read the media and knew this could be my last one, so I think that’s a really nice gesture from them and today it is appreciated. I do acknowledge that.

“I thank them for being a part of it and acknowledging my efforts and my love for the sport.

“Obviously there were times when it tested me and I wasn’t always grinning ear to ear, but I felt like I always tried to have as much fun with it and leave as much as I could on track.”

‘Fun’ is exactly how the Australian’s legacy in the sport will be remembered, with his infectious smile and fearless driving style leaving an irreplaceable gap in the Formula 1 paddock.

As the final chequered flag falls on Ricciardo’s F1 journey, his unfortunate exit is softened by the unforgettable memories he created along the way, leaving a lasting joy that will forever resonate within the sport.

For more on the politics of Daniel Ricciardo’s exit, see News Extra (pages 16-17) and Luis Vasconcelas’ verdict (page 23).

TOYOTA’S ARRIVAL CHANGES SUPERCARS FOREVER

AFTER MORE THAN TWO DECADES OF COURTING, SUPERCARS HAS FINALLY LANDED ITS BIG FISH – TOYOTA. THE WOOING PROCESS RAMPED UP NEARLY 18 MONTHS AGO WHEN TOYOTA’S APPETITE FOR THE SERIES CHANGED OFF THE BACK OF ITS INVOLVEMENT IN THE SUPERCARS SHOW VIA THE TOYOTA 86 SERIES AND FROM THERE BOTH PARTIES WORKED THROUGH THE VARIOUS STEPS IN ABSOLUTE SECRECY ...

Bruce Williams and Andrew Clarke report

PARTICIPANTS IN the process were told to lie to anybody asking questions to keep it under wraps until Toyota had made its decision on which way it was going to jump – and then Toyota controlled the announcement. Its commitment to Supercars is enormous and will shake up the Supercars scene tsunami-style … It will be a significant positive as Supercars looks to renegotiate its TV deal, with Toyota well-known for backing its sporting sponsorships (commercially) to the hilt.

Walkinshaw Andretti United was roped into the process two months ago as the chosen Homologation Team, but Toyota will also involve at least one other team when it hits the track in 2026.

The arrival of Toyota is different from that of past participants Nissan, Volvo and Mercedes in that it is being driven at a series level rather than a team level, which means Toyota has evaluated the series before deciding if

the current profile was a suitable marketing platform. Then it had to work out if it had confidence in the technical arm of Supercars, headed by Tim Edwards, to get the parity right so it could compete for wins on day one.

Both got the tick.

Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, confirmed that Toyota’s participation was “a dream come true that would provide both a showcase for Toyota’s GR performance cars and an extended career opportunity for talented drivers and the design and engineering crews that support them”.

Toyota runs the Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series, where it has been a participant since 2007, but runs the Supra in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and has chosen to run with the GR Supra in Supercars. The engine will be the 5-litre 2UR-GSE all-aluminium, quad-cam V8 engine that has featured in a range of performance production cars including the Lexus LC500 which runs in GT racing and also

powered the TRD Toyota Hilux to a class win in the 2019 Dakar Rally.

Work has been underway for some time at Toyota’s local design facility in Melbourne, to design the car’s bodywork. A 40% scale clay model is already in existence and Toyota has

promised a full-scale mock-up for display at Bathurst.

“At Toyota, we have been toying with the idea of competing in Supercars for more than 20 years and now, with the right car, the right team, and a very strong partnership with the

Heavy-hitters at the launch (l to r): Shane Howard, Ryan Walkinshaw, Barclay Nettlefold, and Toyota’s Sean Hanley.

Above and below: How the WAU Toyota Supra could look ... Computer-generated images by Nick Moss Design nickmossdesign.com

Repco Supercars Championship, the time is definitely right,” a very proud and excited Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley said.

“Our ‘GR’ brand and performance cars were built on the knowledge that we gain from participating in top-level motorsport and our entry into the Supercars Championship will cement that connection and give us the opportunity to showcase Toyota Gazoo Racing excitement to a wide audience of passionate fans.

“It will also provide an opportunity for a continuous career pathway for drivers and teams that we first established when we launched the one-make Toyota 86 Series nine years ago as an affordable grassroots circuitracing category run as a support series at select Supercars Championship events around the country.

“And with our strong and ever-growing partnerships with Walkinshaw Andretti United and Supercars, we are in it to win it,” he said. Supercars is confident that its uprated parity determination process, after a busy past year in wind tunnels and on transient dyno, has created a clear baseline for its cars as it prepares for Toyota’s entry into the sport.

The Gen3 racers hit the track at the start of its first season with clear issues around the parity of the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, but intense aero testing at the Windshear facility in Concord, North Carolina, has provided both aero parity for its current cars and a clear map moving forward.

Work is ongoing with the engines and the transient dyno testing at AVL in Detroit is not far from locking that away too, notwithstanding the current reliability issues for Ford.

Speaking with Auto Action’s Bruce Williams at the launch, Supercars technical boss Tim Edwards said all the work has been done to enable a smooth introduction for Toyota.

“It actually gives us the exact blueprint of what we’ve got to re-create,” Edwards said of the two-step parity process. “We’ve been working with Dynamic, our aerodynamics partner, who worked with us at Windshear all year to get this right.

“They’ve helped with the styling of this car because they’ve been able to do the CFD study compared to the CFD of the other two cars. Now, yes, we’ve got to go back and put it in the wind tunnel as the final part of the test, but we’re going to be very close because Dynamic has been part of the journey to design this surfacing of this car.

“Because we’ve got that data and the same thing with AVL, we’ve now got accurate torque data, etcetera, from that to also match this Toyota engine up with the incumbents.

“And yes, we’ll have to go back and tick the box by going back to AVL to cross-reference everything, but it’s given us great information that we’ve never had in the past to – fingers crossed – literally hit the nail on the head with a car that’s got the same aero and the same engine as the incumbents.”

He says the 40% scale model of the car shown at the launch is an accurate representation of what is being planned and not just a pipe dream drawn up in a design studio.

“Look, there’s some work going on, and we’ve got three different versions of the front of the car. If you took a snapshot of the glass-house of the car, the doors, the windscreen, the roof, all that is very close, if not exactly what we’ll see. But the front ... we’ve got a lot of different versions going on there.

“Obviously, that’s been Supercars’ input; it’s been Dynamics input; it’s been in the design studio because, obviously, from a Toyota point of view, they’re worried about making sure it’s got the right design cues.

“Then when Supercars and Dynamic get involved, we’re making sure that it actually has the right downforce and drag.”

Toyota’s last presence in Australia’s premier touring car championship was between 1985 and 1990, when it contested the Australian Touring Car Championship, taking several class wins with Toyota Corollas.

WAU boss Walkinshaw believes the Toyota link gives the team the status it deserves.

“I think what it does is just get us back to where we believe we should be and should have been for a long period of time,” he said.

“Since losing the Holden Racing Team contract back in 2016, we’ve been adamant that we want and can be a leading homologation team again.

“Our performance over the last five years, since becoming Walkinshaw Andretti United, has put us in a position where we’re an attractive team to partner with for any manufacturer.

“Then, when the opportunity came when Toyota approached us and asked if we’d be interested to represent them in Supercars for 2026, obviously it was something that we grabbed with both hands.

“Who wouldn’t want to work with a company like Toyota? It was a very easy, simple fit and very quick discussion.”

The signing of Toyota is a feather in Shane Howard’s cap as the current CEO of Supercars is the first in a long line of bosses who have successfully courted the world’s largest car manufacturer.

Howard agreed that this was exciting news for Supercars and puts it back on the world stage.

“It’s right at the top of the tree,” he said of the magnitude.

“We’ve been trying to entice Toyota to join our championship circuit for 20 years. To get the moment when that’s actually delivered is one of the most exciting opportunities that we’ve ever been presented with.

“We had a few issues when we rolled Gen-3 out, and we’ve changed so much now. But if you look at the over-arching philosophy, it was to have a chassis and a platform that OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) could use to adapt their current model cars and provide a racing version of what they sell in the showroom with Mustang and Camaro.

“The look and feel of the cars is sensational, and I think it has worked. It’s always timing with these opportunities. As Sean (Hanley) said, they’ve invested significantly in their GR86 program.

“At Bathurst, he spoke about how it was a dream of his that one of those young drivers coming out of that category would race in a Supercar and win Bathurst.

“Now, they can do it in a Toyota. They’re developing great young drivers and seeing them go off and jump into Ford and GM products. His passion was that he wanted them in a Toyota Supercar, and it kicked off from there.”

SUPERCARS CALENDAR FIRMING FOR BATHURST LAUNCH

by Andrew Clarke

THE 2025 Repco Supercars Championship Series calendar is apparently locked and ready to go, with a Bathurst announcement to confirm the dates we have pieced together from numerous sources.

Most of the dates listed below are speculative, so we urge caution if you are planning on booking early flights and accommodation – but we are certain of the order of events.

Sydney Motorsport Park has long been the desired season opener but events like the Gay Mardi Gras have forced the race into February, which also allows for a two-week break after the first round, before the Grand Prix meeting.

We expect Tasmania to be pulled into the first weekend of May in search of better weather, before heading to Perth with a one weekend break to Darwin which is being done so the cars don’t need to return to the East Coast for servicing, with race prep completed on the road.

Townsville has also been moved back a week to the last weekend of the Queensland school holidays, which will have drivers like Cam Waters and Will Brown scrambling for NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series drives at the Chicago Street Race which is no longer a clash.

The arrival of Toyota in the series is big news that will be felt in mainstream Australia and motorsport globally. It is just the kind of tick the series has been looking for since Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE) took over the sport a couple of years back.

RACE CEO Barclay Nettlefold: “It opens up an enormous opportunity. Toyota is the biggest OEM globally, and they’ve got a very solid racing pedigree worldwide. Joining that will generate enormous interest through their supporter base, their fan base, and their dealer principals.

“I think you’re going to have three very, very strong manufacturers on our grid and it just enhances the competition. All OEMs want to be fighting against the best, and there’s no-one at Ford or GM who is not going, ‘This is a good idea’. They’re going to go ‘we want to fight against them’.’

“

Toyota is committed to racing in the Supercars Championship for five years, and confirmed it will field four cars in the 2026 Supercars Championship.

Early speculation suggests that Team 18, already with a Toyota relationship via team owner Charlie Schwerkolt’s forklify company, might well head the queue to be that second team.

Auto Action was on hand for the bombshell news as it broke and has the story covered from all angles. Scan the QR code to read other important stories about Toyota’s entry into Supercars on Auto Action’s website.

The previous version of the calendar we saw had a long break to Queensland Raceway, but we now believe it will have as many weeks before as after, hence our speculative date of 8-10 August for a return to the crowd favourite venue now run under the stewardship of Tony Quinn. From there we hit the enduros with the previously confirmed The Bend 500 on 8-10 September, before Bathurst on the second weekend of October, and two weeks later the Gold Coast 500.

Sandown gets pushed back to the week after the Melbourne Cup horse racing carnival, but it is not clear if this will be a two-driver endurance event or not. With the ‘rebel’ ticket winning all the open seats on the Melbourne Racing Club ballot, Sandown is expected to remain as a racing venue, although considerable expense may be required to keep it at the FIA Grade 2 or 3 standard required for Supercars.

Adelaide rounds out the season in the final week of November.

The 13-event calendar should be confirmed at Bathurst next week.

THE LIKELY CALENDAR

Feb 21-23 – Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

Mar 13-16* – Australian Grand Prix, VIC

Apr 11-13* – Taupo, NZ

May 9-11 – Symmons Plains, TAS

June 6-8 – Perth, WA

Jun 20-22 – Darwin, NT

Jul 11-13 – Townsville, Qld

August 8-10 – Queensland Raceway, QLD

Sept 12-14 - The Bend, SA

Oct 9-12* – Bathurst, NSW

Oct 23-26* – Gold Coast, QLD

Nov 14-16 – Sandown, VIC

Nov 27-30 – Adelaide, SA

* Date Confirmed, all other are speculative

Toyota ambassador Neil Crompton MC’d the launch ...

TO SUPERCARS

GT3 CRANKS FOR FORD ENGINES

MOTORSPORT POWERTRAINS IS REPORTEDLY CHASING ENOUGH GT3 CRANKSHAFTS FROM FORD TO REBUILD ALL 20 FORD SUPERCAR ENGINES LEADING INTO BATHURST. ANDREW CLARKE LOOKS AT A HECTIC COUPLE OF WEEKS IN FORD-LAND ...

AFTER A series of embarrassing failures at the Sandown 500 and subsequent drive day, Auto Action believes Motorsport Powertrains, the Dick Johnson Racing subsidiary that builds and develops the Ford Supercars engines, has found enough replacement crankshafts from the Mustang GT3 program to deal with its recent reliability issue.

A finger-pointing exercise post-Sandown has glossed over the work undertaken at Motorsport Powertrains to both understand the issue, which only appeared in recently built or rebuilt engines, and to determine a suitable fix.

Theories have been rolled out surrounding the source of the crankshafts, a faulty build on a batch of cranks, and whether or not the reduced size of the harmonic balancer has impacted the durability of the crankshafts – none of which Motorsport Powertrains would confirm.

Penrite Racing Team Principal, Dave Cauchi, oversaw the team with the first crank failure at Sandown, when Richie Stanaway’s #26 Penrite car ground to a halt with an engine that had 517km on the clock.

He said that was the first sign there was a drama and rejected the rumours that the Ford teams had been asked to go gently on the engines during the race.

“No there was nothing before our failure,” he said. “There wasn’t any request to change the way we treated the engines. There were some measures that we that we put in place for the drive day, but at the end of the day, it’s almost a good thing that those days happen because it meant that now we can act and put our best foot forward for Bathurst – or who knows what could have happened.”

Getting the fix though, is not easy with the teams not allowed to work on their engines,

meaning it all falls back on Motorsport Powertrains which is facing a big overtime bill.

David Noble, the CEO at Dick Johnson Racing which owns Motorsport Powertrains, said it was a complex issue with a not-sosimple solution, of which he was confident of reaching.

“We’re just looking to get into the best position for the teams going forward, and that’s all we’ve done really,” Noble said.

“Our fellow Ford teams have been very supportive and helpful, but we’re still throwing additional resources at it.”

He said they know what went wrong but didn’t really want to elaborate.

“It’s too complicated, and we’re not in a position to talk about it. The main thing is to get the teams ready for Bathurst, that’s the honest truth of where it’s at.”

He confirmed they were looking at the GT3 cranks with the help of Ford Performance, but that even that solution was not as straightforward as it sounds, let alone the issues with sourcing 20 cranks in a short space of time. It was not the only solution being explored as we closed for press.

“We’re confident we’ll get there, and we’ll be able to put all the Ford teams on the start grid with confidence in the engines. We’re looking at all options if that makes sense.

“We’ve been in daily dialogue with people at Ford and they’ve been helpful. The techos have been working around all the bits that they need in regards to the specifics of the crank.”

He said the issue of getting the engines completed was not just with his crew, with Paul Halsted needed to confirm all the

engines once they are built, which means he was still uncertain when the teams would be sent their engines.

“You’ve just to get on with it; you don’t have time to sit and reflect. Stuff happened, but what do we need to do to fix it is the best approach. We’ve just got to get it done.”

From the team side of it, Cauchi said they had to put their faith in Motorsport Powertrains given there was nothing they could do.

“There’s no question it would be nice not to have had the failure at Sandown and then the subsequent failures on the drive day ... so yeah, it’s not a desirable position to be in,” Cauchi said.

“But all the guys at Ford Performance and Motorsport Powerplants are working away to try to find solutions so that we can get to Bathurst and ensure the best possible reliability.

“Of course we’re nervous – it’s not a nice position to be in going into the biggest and longest race of the year. There’s some nerves and some uncertainty, but we just have to work through everything methodically and put the best solutions on the table and then and implement them.

“The timelines are tight ... it’s a very, very tricky situation for lots of reasons. But you know we just have to work with what we’ve got and get to Bathurst, and we should be OK.”

He said all the Grove Racing engines –they are allowed two for each car – have been freighted to Queensland for whatever fix is created, and he expects a couple back this week and the other two the next week. It remains possible that some of the rebuilt Ford engines may be delivered to the teams at Bathurst, meaning they start the weekend on the back foot.

Grove Racing was the first to suffer a crankshat breakage, in the Sandown race. Team Principal Dave Cauchi (above) is nervous but, like all the Ford teams, is relying on Motorsport Powertrains to come up with the best solution ... Images: MARK HORSBURGH, PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

RACING AUSTRALIA Consolidated

Enterprises (RACE), the owner of Supercars, has confirmed Mark Skaife is no longer on its board of directors after stepping down ahead of the Bathurst 1000.

Skaife has stepped down from his position as a director of RACE and its Supercars subsidiaries, with the big change to take place ahead of the Bathurst 1000. With TV rights negotiations coming up (the current deal with Fox Sports and Seven), the five-time Supercars champion felt the timing was right to step back.

However, RACE will still use the knowledge of the 90-time race winner in an advisory capacity.

Skaife has been calling Supercars ever since his retirement in 2008 as an expert on the Supercars TV broadcast beamed by Fox Sports since the pay TV network took over in 2015.

A Supercars statement confirmed the news and stated that Skaife “decided to remove any perception of conflicts due to his role

back as March.

SKAIFE OFF RACE BOARD SLADE CALLS TIME

AFTER 15 years behind the wheel, Tim Slade has announced that 2024 will be his final full-time Supercars season – and added a new twist to the Silly Season. PremiAir Nulon Racing was playing the waiting game in the 2025 driver market, but some of its hand is now

revealed after Slade’s announcement.

The 39-year-old appeared to be the most at risk of the incumbents with the younger James Golding boosted by a breakthrough podium at Sandown and it is now official the team will have a new driver.

It marks the end of an era for the South Australian, who has been a regular on the Supercars grid ever since his debut in 2009.

Since the then-24-year-old raced for the first time on home turf for Paul Morris Motorsport, he has racked up 446 starts and 17 podiums and fittingly his final race as a full timer will be where it all began, in Adelaide.

“2024 is my 15th and will also be my last year competing full time in Supercars,” Slade wrote on social media.

“I’m proud to have spent that length of time racing at the top level in Australia in one of the most competitive series in the world.

“I’m looking forward to finishing it off the best way possible in the remaining races this year and also for what’s to come next.

“I’m very appreciative to the many people that have made it all possible over the years, especially and firstly my Dad and secondly, James Rosenberg.”

Every season bar 2020 when he was Scott McLaughlin’s

his position as a director of RACE and its Supercars subsidiaries, with the change set to take effect in the coming weeks,” read the Supercars statement.

“RACE is due to enter negotiations for the television media rights of the Repco Supercars Championship (and the Bathurst 12 Hour) in light of the expiry of the current deal with the Foxtel Group and Seven West Media at the end of 2025.

“Given his continuing role as the face of the Sport on Fox Sports Australia/Kayo, Mark Skaife OAM has decided to step down to remove any perception of conflicts during this important process.

“Mark’s work to date on the Board has been invaluable, with his stewardship of the Gen 3 Project in particular creating the pathway for the recent announcement of Toyota’s entry into the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026.

“To this end, RACE will continue to utilise Mark’s expertise in an advisory role.”

Thomas Miles

co-driver for DJR, Slade has been on the full time grid. Following his rookie one-year stint at Paul Morris Racing, he raced at James Rosenberg Racing/SBR/ Erebus, Walkinshaw Racing, Brad Jones Racing, Blanchard Racing Team and PremiAir.

His standout season was 2012 when he finished a strong fifth, as the best SBR driver, ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, while his crowning moment will forever be that memorable weekend at Winton where Slade’s #14 BJR Commodore was unbeatable, winning both sprints. PremiAir Nulon Racing Team Principal Peter Xiberras thanked Slade’s service at the team, helping it rise up the grid over the last two years:

“Since joining as our full-time driver in 2023, Tim has consistently impressed us with his race craft and commitment. We’re grateful for his contributions during a crucial time of growth for the team in this highly competitive sport,” said team principal Peter Xiberras.

“We wish Tim all the best and are committed to helping him finish the 2024 season on a high, especially at the upcoming Bathurst 1000.”

Slade currently sits 19th in the championship with best results of eighth at Albert Park and Symmons Plains and will likely become a handy co-driver option.

Thomas Miles

The Auto Action

RevLimiter podcast

The team that’s not trying to make friends or look after sponsors!

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

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

NEW EPISODES

behind the microphone”, although Auto Action first heard of this possibility as far

“Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises

Ltd (RACE), the owner of Australasia’s premier motorsport category, the Repco Supercars Championship, today confirmed that Mark Skaife OAM will step down from

Image: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY

TICKET PRESSURE FOR AGP

TICKETS GO ON SALE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX IN THE NEXT WEEK AND, IF YOU WANT TO GO, YOU’D BETTER BE QUICK BECAUSE IT WILL SELL OUT AGAIN FOR THE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, AND LIKELY FRIDAY TOO IF CORPORATE SALES ARE ANY INDICATION. ALL OF WHICH, YOU’D THINK, IF YOU WERE THE BOSS OF THE AGP, WOULD MAKE YOUR LIFE EASY – BUT IT DOESN’T ...

TRAVIS AULD has been in the driver’s seat for a little more than a year now after spending more than two decades inside the world of Australian football, initially in clubland but then with the AFL as the CFO and GM Broadcasting and Clubs.

Auld’s challenge with the four-wheel race – he also looks at the MotoGP event at Phillip Island in less than a month – has been how to create value without damaging the event. As in, can you get 150,000 people in and out of Albert Park without creating angst? Can you get enough food trucks in, are there enough toilets? … the list goes on.

While juggling that, his team has been working on ways of taking the experience outside into the streets and laneways of Melbourne. Imagine a little Italian eatery in Daniel Ricciardo Lane – it’s not impossible.

“We’ve got a lot of things to look forward to next year. 2024 was a huge event, and we’ve got a bit of a head start with the first race of the season.

“There are so many things to look forward to with next year’s event. We can fit more people in the park – it’s a large green space. The focus for us has been that as we consider satisfying the demand, we’ve got to

AGP CEO Travis Auld – looking to get a bigger crowd in – as long as the ‘experience’ isn’t negatively affected.

do it in a way that doesn’t impact the experience.

“We’ve been looking at some additional infrastructure to help people get around the park. Whether that be overpasses or pontoon bridges, if we can land some of those things, then I think that allows us to get more people in.

“But that is marginal in the sense that we have this focus on making sure that it maintains its reputation as a great event for everyone. That’s a long way of saying if we do get a few more people in; we’re going to be quite considerate about it.”

He said raising ticket prices to dull demand was an option, but they are trying to limit price increases as they eye the long term. Rather that use it as a crowd control, they’re just trying to balance out the increased cost of running the event.

There is a pre-ballot for tickets this year as with last year. Don’t expect much to be left in the grandstands within a day of going on sale.

“We had 100,000 people in the queue when we went on sale, and Ticketmaster says that’s pretty much unprecedented demand. This year, we sold out Friday, Saturday, and

Sunday, so the focus is now in terms of growing attendance on Thursday.

“We want to approach it in a couple of ways. We are talking with Supercars about how we can make that better on Thursday and we’re also introducing a concert on a Thursday night.”

But now there’s more to it than just at the track.

“There’s two parts to this. We receive a significant amount of funding from the Victorian government and, therefore, we have a duty to make sure we’re giving back to the people of Victoria. We’re very focused on the economic and social benefits that the event generates, and a lot of that comes from people coming from outside of Victoria.

“Then there’s this second part where we have a demand that’s hard to satisfy. So how can we use this level of interest that we’ve got to better activate it so that you can still experience the atmosphere of the event without being at the track?

“We have spoken to the City of Melbourne and we’re still speaking with them now about how we work with them to activate the city. This is something they are very interested in – a good example is the laneway

concept, because it’s something that is iconic to Melbourne. How do we use those iconic assets of Melbourne?”

He must juggle that with the MotoGP event in three weeks’ time.

The bikes are not quite a sell-out yet though, but Auld’s crew have been similarly creative with activations with things like Monster Trucks and a new beer hall adding to the experience.

“Tickets sales are sort-of running in a similar rate to the prior year. I think for the lovers of MotoGP, they appreciate it’s a tight championship, and I think we’ve ended up with a really important race.

“What I’ve learned in a really short period of time is just how much the riders love Phillip Island.

“We’ve got obviously Jack Miller’s confirmation that he’s going around again next year with the Pramac Yamaha team, and so we’re looking forward to that. There’s a whole lot of things to look forward to, and we’re represented in Moto2 (Senna Agius) and Moto3 (Jacob Roulstone and Joel Kelso).”

Tickets remain on sale for the MotoGP event at Ticketmaster, and the AGP goes on sale on October 8.

Andrew Clarke

EREBUS CONFIDENT OF BATHURST SUCCESS

AFTER BEING second-best at the Mountain in its championship-winning season, Erebus Motorsport is determined to go all the way at Bathurst in 2024.

Last year Brodie Kostecki and Erebus won the title, but could not stop Shane van Gisbergen from taking back-to-back Great Race wins.

The #99 Camaro was fast all weekend and stormed to pole by 0.48s, but could not stop a fast SVG when it mattered.

Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan admitted a few “strategy errors” proved costly when victory was possible in 2023, making the team more committed than ever to replicating its 2017 Peter Brock Trophy success.

He also feels the lessons learned from 2023 makes the team in a better position to win the Bathurst 1000.

“Bathurst is always the one race you want to win every year,” Ryan told Auto Action

“Last year we had the speed with Brodie qualifying on pole by half a second in the Shootout, but we just made a few strategy errors in the race.

“It was really a sprint race and it will be again this year so you just cannot make any errors and if you do they need to be really minimal.

“Going back there we feel stronger than what we were last year so lets see how we go.”

There will be a different look to Erebus

at Bathurst this year with a completely fresh co-driver line up.

Joining Kostecki is Todd Hazelwood, while Jack Le Brocq and Jayden Ojeda are a brand-new combination in the #9.

Despite being raw, both duos were rapid at the Sandown 500 with Kostecki/ Hazelwood battling hard against eventual runners-up Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup, whilst Le Brocq/Ojeda charged from 19th to fourth before a clash at Turn 4.

Ryan was extremely impressed with how his new co-drivers performed in their first Erebus enduros.

“It was not our day at Sandown but we had the speed to win,” he said.

“Todd was the standout co-driver at Sandown and then sadly we had an alternator issue.

“Jayden and Jack did a great job as well and were looking for a podium but sadly Jack left the door open a bit too much and got served into the fence.

“Both co-drivers did a great job and we cannot wait to work with them at Bathurst.

“The co-drivers will be even more critical this year because it will be like a sprint race.

“If you just want them to bring it back and stay safe you can’t win; you need them to be exceptional and be fighting to hopefully bring it back in a better position to when they got in.”

Thomas Miles

MAWSON COPS BAN

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has issued double Gold Star champion Joey Mawson with a three-year ban following a substance test undertaken at Phillip Island during the May 2023 event.

The Sydney driver had taken a supplement readily available online as part of a general fitness regime.

The case has taken 16 months to be resolved, with Sporting Integrity Australia and Motorsport Australia confirming the situation last week.

For his part, Joey issued his own statement on the news:

“This has been a very difficult time for me,” he wrote.

“Also for my family who have sacrificed so much and worked so hard to gift me the opportunity and dream that I was living.

“Without a doubt since the news broke out on June 27th I have experienced the darkest hours, days and months of my life.

“A living nightmare I couldn’t wake up from for months on end. The hardest part was knowing I had let down my parents, my team, my sponsors, my management,

Amazon link there had been no warning that it was banned by WADA or any wording that it is not approved for athletes.

“The supplement I had ordered was named Mildronate. On March 14th I began taking the supplement. My intention was always to take it for my running training and my biggest mistake (which negligence is not as excuse as an athlete but it is my truth) is that I didn’t check that the supplement was approved for competition and not on the banned list.

“I never intended to take the supplement to enhance my racing. The risk and consequences for a driver to take this to have minimal benefit to the overall performance makes absolutely no sense.

“It was an honest mistake and now I will have to pay the consequences of that mistake, losing 3 years of my career along with the damage to my reputation.

“I wish to return to racing again after May 13th 2026. I love racing, my passion won’t go away. I miss it every day so I do hope I can be back in the seat some day.”

Image: JACK MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY

Le Brocq/Ojeda showed strong poace at Sandown ... Image:DMac Photography

BUILDING THE McLEOD BATHURST LEGACY

THE 2024 Bathurst 1000 will be a magical one for the McLeod family as Cameron (right) follows in the footsteps of father Ryan and grandfather Peter to further etch the family name into Great Race history.

The McLeods will join the Setons (Bo, Glenn and Aaron) in an exclusive club of families with three generations to start the Great Race.

Peter made his Bathurst debut aged 32 in 1980 and went on to become a leading privateer before the unexpected opportunity to drive the second Team Brock car (#10) in 1987 – resulting in the famous win, Brock’s last.

His son Ryan arrived on the scene in the 1990s and made three of his five Bathurst 1000 starts alongside his father.

Now, in 2024, Cameron will continue the legacy by making his debut, aged 19, in the #23 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro alongside Tim Slade, who happened to have Ryan on the radio for his first Great Race in 2009.

However, the McLeod Mount Panorama story is far greater than just the three who have started the Bathurst 1000, with Nick, Gerard and Ben all being regulars in either the 6 or 12 Hour Bathurst races.

As Peter describes it, Bathurst will always be a massive part of the family history:

“There are now six of us who have been involved at Bathurst for a very long time since I made my debut as an old man in 1980!,” the 1987 Great Race winner told Auto Action

“The amount of cars and entries we have been responsible for is quite incredible. There is so much wider evolvement than besides what myself, Ryan and Cam have done.

“I had watched Bathurst every year as a great enthusiast, but never for a moment thought I would ever end up there as a driver and once I did I never stopped.

“It is a wonderful disease to have and after all these years the hair on the back of my neck still stands up when you first see Mount Panorama. Its like I have come home.”

Whilst Peter has seen many generations and relations behind the wheel, he knew the latest

to reach the top level was something special from the very start.

“I am very proud, not just because he is doing it, but because he is so good,” Peter said of Cameron.

“Ryan rang me one day saying Cameron was going karting and needed me to look after him. At that stage he was not particularly focused on it, just wanting to have some fun.

“But when he got in that kart he just had the x-factor.

“He was on the white line on exit and entry to every corner, every lap, no matter what, at full noise.

“I then rang Ryan and said he has ‘got it’ and can go anywhere, so Ryan started helping him and has done a great job at getting stronger, fitter and faster.

“Cam loved it all and he never has any drama crying ‘this kart is rubbish and I want better tyres, this and that’ ... he just says thanks guys and puts the foot down.

“He works so hard in practice and training in the gym and simulator all of the time preparing for the next race.

“I believe he has the capacity to do anything because of his nature, professionalism and natural talent. He is a racer.”

After many years of racing all sorts of cars both in Australian and also around the world, Cameron burst onto the Supercars pathway last year when he took Super3 by storm, posting race wins, poles and fastest laps for fun.

He has made the step up to Super2 this year and, despite finding some trouble, has shown flashes of speed with a best result of third in that Wanneroo.

McLeod made his Supercars debut at Sandown with Tim Slade and the pair overcame some setbacks to finish a respectable 12th.

But now the big one at the track that means the most to all, especially Cameron’s family, awaits.

“It took time to sink in,” Cameron said of his upcoming Bathurst debut.

“In my head I had the belief it was going to happen because I have put so much effort in for such a long time.

“It was a matter of when not if because I knew I had the right people around me. My grandad won a Bathurst and my dad raced Supercars and had a lot of connections so

there was no real reason why I could not, and it was up to me to piece it all together.

“When the announcement came I was very excited and as it gets closer the pressure builds a bit, but I need to turn that into focus.”

Miles

Thomas

Dad (Ryan) and Grandad (Peter) shared a Commodore three times at the Bathurst 1000... this is during the 1996 race.

Image: AUTO ACTION ARCHIVES

MORE MUSTANG MOVES

GT4 FRONT-RUNNER WILL NOT BE ALONE FOR LONG

By Paul Gover

A SECOND Ford Mustang is about to fire up in the Australian GT4 championship.

Jason Gomersall will slide into his ‘Stang at Sydney Motorsport Park and there is more Mustang action planned for the future.

It could even include an Australian raid on Le Mans.

The man behind the Mustang moves is Andrew Miedecke, the former racer and successful car dealer who is now also the Australian agent for Multimatic, the company that builds GT4 and GT3 race cars for Ford Motorsport.

Miedecke landed the first Mustang GT4 which has set the pace in GT4 with his son George and speedy youngster Rylan Gray driving.

“We have landed a second Mustang and it will be running with Jason Gomersall at Eastern Creek in October,” Andrew Miedecke told Auto Action

“Gomersall Motorsport, which includes Aaron Seton, will be responsible for the car.

I have assisted Jason but he ordered his car before I became the representative for Multimatic.”

But two cars is not enough for Miedecke,

who says he is fielding interest for more of the $440,000 turn-key racers.

“We think we can support about six cars in this country. Multimatic builds a lot of racing cars and they do nice stuff. Like the Porsche WEC car and the Ford GT.”

“I think GT4 is gathering momentum and we’re expecting more people to get on board with the Mustang GT4. It’s a natural fit for Australia.

“We know all about Coyote V8 engines, MoTec engine management systems and Holinger gearboxes.

“Spares for the Mustang are a fraction

of the price of European spares. It’s much cheaper to run.”

Miedecke is already working on a plan for the weekend of the Bathurst 12-Hour in 2025, hoping for a standalone GT4 race.

“A standalone race would be very well subscribed. The other day I was talking to a team owner in the UK and he was saying ‘Everyone in the UK wants to race at Bathurst’.

“Across Asia, I’m continually being asked about a GT4 race at Bathurst.”

But there is another twist to the Mustang tale, as Miedecke is also pushing to get

the latest Dark Horse model accepted for production car racing in Australia.

It is a sellout for road use in Australia with more than 1000 cars set to be delivered in coming months.

“We’re working to get acceptance in 3E production cars,” he said.

There has also been some talk, but no official moves yet, for an Australian series for the Dark Horse.

Ford Motorsport is working to get onemake Mustang Challenge series running in a number of countries, starting in the USA, and Australia is believed to be on the list.

NEW PEUGEOT MAKING STRONG PROGRESS

GARRY ROGERS Motorsport’s first Australian designed and built TCR race car has knocked off some big objectives as its racing debut approaches.

Two new Peugeot 308 P51s are expected to make their first global racing appearance in the TCR Australia series at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 18-20.

But to make that happen, a number of boxes have had to be ticked.

In late August the GRM built Peugeot hit the track for the first time at Sandown and enjoyed a follow up test at Winton. Last week, WSC head technical advisor Andrea Adamo inspected the car to complete the certification process of homologating cars for TCR competition.

This all followed two GRM members heading to Italy for engine certification where the turbo-charged four-cylinder engine, plus ECU and the six different power levels required for TCR were tested and signed off.

GRM’s Stefan Millard has been at the centre of all of it and said all the milestones are good news for the SMP racing debut.

“The last month was pretty busy for us,” Millard told Auto Action.

“Obviously we got the car out on track and testing went well.

“Then we had the engine certification over in Italy on the dyno in mid September and that was successfully completed.

“Andrea came here last week and spent a couple of days at our workshop to complete the inspection for the certification.

“We had been keeping them up to date on the progress over the last 18 months and Andrea was happy with the progress that was made which was great.

“Our plan now is to have some cars on the grid for the Sydney round at the end of October.

“Like anything we are dealing with supply things like getting parts and having them all available for us to put the cars together is the critical factor.

“But everything is on track to deliver that.”

After inspecting the Peugeot in the GRM workshop at Dandenong, Melbourne Adamo was impressed by what he saw.

“I know the work needed to start from a white sheet of paper and have a running car,” he said.

“It’s something that most people underestimate and they don’t know the hard work that there is behind. They think it’s easy; it’s far from it.

“I have to say, the job that they have done in such a short time with the amount of things that they have to face between all the other things that they are doing, it’s amazing.

“I think everyone has to appreciate the effort that these young people have done, and it’s nice to see that they are such a nice organisation where everything is done inside.

“I think they have to be proud of what they have done so far.”

Thomas Miles

The first GT4 Mustang has enjoyed category success from day one in Australia.

Stefan Millard (left) with WSC tech adviser Andrea Adamo with GRM’s first Peugeot. Image: HIGH PERFORMANCE MEDIA

STOP / GO

GOLD COAST AND TOWNSVILLE GET THREE EXTENSIONS

THE GOLD Coast and Townsville 500’s will remain on the Supercars show for at least the next three years after the Queensland Government extended its support. Queensland Premier Steven Miles said that it’s “a huge win for motorsports fans and a huge win for the visitor economy. These events will deliver more than 280,000 visitor nights and inject approximately $100 million into Queensland’s economy for each year of this extended deal.”

Minister for Tourism and Sport, Michael Healy, reiterated that “I look forward to keeping these engines running hot for another three years.” The post-Bathurst 2024 Gold Coast 500 kicks off on October October 25-27.

B12H QUALIFYING ADJUSTED

WITH FEBRUARY’s 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour regulations now set in stone for the Dawn to Dusk classic, one of the key changes has been an alteration to the Pole award in both the format and Top 10 Shootout. Whilst previously the Top 10 was split into two groups ’25 will now being an all-in session. Q1 and Q2 will also be split into two groups, determined by the fastest laps out of Practice 6. Other alterations include two formation laps ahead of the rolling start, and Bronze driver stint lengths extended to 120 minutes (not imposed in Pro Am), among a host of other changes.

NEW PREMIER SPEEDWAY ADDITION

THE SUNGOLD Stadium Premier Speedway will introduce a new ARB Warrnambool International Sprintcar Carnival in 2025, with the Sprintcarexclusive event kicking off on January 19.

Drivers will be competing for a total prize purse of $50,000 in the A-Main, $15,000 of which will go to the winner. Whilst the details are still being shaped, the grids are said to be decided via a “novelty” event, with three hours of racing expected, starting at 18.30 and wrapping up by 21.30 in what is promised to be a “familyfriendly event with a carnival atmosphere around the venue”. Tickets are available on the Premier website from October 9.

TARGA FUTURE AWAITS HEARING OUTCOME

THE CORONER’S Inquest into the Targa Tasmania 2021-2022 deaths has gone ahead after its initial delay, with the Magistrates Court of Tasmania inquest listing now reading as:

Adjourned Sine Die For Submissions and findings to follow

Following the four-day inquest, led by Coroner Simon Cooper, with all interested parties involved including Targa CEO Mark Perry, the significance of the event’s importance to the state was highlighted by the extensive coverage of local news media such as The Examiner and The Mercury, as well as national outlet ABC News.

Evidence from competitors was heard, as well as Perry who stressed the importance of the event’s return to the state, and that the event must “reset” its culture of safety.

Chairman of the Australian Institute for Motor Sport Safety (AIMSS), Gary Connelly, was also heard at the inquest, where he expressed his “shock” at the speed that 57-year old competitor Anthony Seymour took the fatal corner in 2022.

As reported in The Mercury, Motorsport Australia lawyer Bruce Hodgkinson questioned Connelly, who said that:

“I was quite shocked at the speed with which Mr Seymour drove into that corner. A large speedometer was clearly mounted in the camera view and that was the same speed reading we read from telemetry information, but what shocked me was seeing how disproportionate the speed was in relation to that piece of road.”

A news report by The Examiner on September 26 quoted Perry under questioning from his own lawyer, Dean Jordan. Perry spoke about the event’s future:

“It’s been a long journey, and every year that goes by [without Targa events] it will get more difficult,” the local paper reported.

“The reality of not running this event has had a profound impact on regional communities around Tasmania who this event has touched.”

Jordan asked that “you recognise there must be changes that reset the

culture and safety of Targa Tasmania?” Perry replied in the affirmative, and went on to say that he had reflected on further changes to boost the safety and viability of future Targa events. Other comments on safety considerations broached by Perry were said to include a new maximum speed limit to be applied separately across the classes; real-time electric monitoring via the RallySafe system; and the introduction of the new government radio network, and Starlink internet network.

There was also evidence heard from co-driver Glenn Evans, among others, who was in the crash that claimed the life of Shane Navin in 2021, with Evans saying that “there were no technical problems with the car” but that he “wasn’t satisfied with the tyres” which were limited to six, and that they couldn’t change them to suit the conditions.

He also confirmed that their RallySafe emergency system wasn’t activated and that they couldn’t be seen from the road after the car slid upside down into a creek embankment.

In describing the tragic ordeal, Evans said that there was no response when he called out to see if Mr Navin was conscious, saying that, “there was water inside the car. I thought his head might be under the water”, and he was unable to flag down a rally car as it passed.

With the Tasmanian government openly throwing their support behind the event with a commitment through to 2029, Targa organisers will look to shape the planned April 2025 running from any recommendations that are eventually put forth by the Coroner.

TW Neal

RODIN ESTABLISHES F1 PATHWAY

RODIN CARS and Motorsport New Zealand have joined forces to establish a new pathway for aspiring Kiwi drivers to reach F1.

The first step in the new special partnership is winning the NZ Formula Ford Championship with the champion receiving a fully funded, three-day test and evaluation program in NZ.

If the driver performs well there, Rodin Cars will fund an extended test in the United Kingdom, which could lead to a drive in one of Rodin Motorsport’s British or Spanish F4 Championship teams.

Rodin stated drivers who don’t win the NZ Formula Ford title, but display a “high level of skill during the season” will also be considered.

Leading the way currently is young Kiwi Louis Sharp, who has just won the GB3 Championship for Rodin, while Australia’s Alex Ninovic is second in the British F4 Championship representing the NZ manufacturer.

Fomula Ford becomes part of the NZ ‘overseas’ pathway again ...

“We’re in a great position to provide a clear pathway for talented young drivers from this side of the world,” said Rodin Cars founder David Dicker.

“Watching them grow and excel on the global stage reaffirms our company’s passion for driving and motorsport in general.”

MotorSport New Zealand’s President, Deborah Day, echoes Dicker’s excitement.

“We are incredibly proud to partner

with Rodin Cars to offer this truly lifechanging opportunity to our aspiring drivers,” said Day.

“New Zealand has a remarkable history of producing world-class driving talent, and Formula Ford has played a crucial role in that for over 50 years.

“The list of New Zealand’s Formula Ford graduates who have excelled internationally is a testament to its success as a development formula.”

Thomas Miles

AUSTRALIAN RALLYING SET FOR A NZ BOOST

HAYDEN PADDON WANTS TO CROSS THE DITCH ...

By Paul Gover

KIWI RAIDER Hayden Paddon has his eyes on Australia after successfully conquering the European Rally Championship.

The one-time Hyundai factory driver in the World Championship is plotting an all-out assault on next year’s Australian title with the same Rally2 Hyundai he has campaigned in recent years.

It would be the most significant cross-Tasman campaign since the late Possum Bourne arrived from New Zealand to pulverise the ARC for Subaru.

Paddon said he is close to confirming the details for 2025 despite still needing to find extra funding.

“It’s something we’re working on. There is an appetite to do it,” Paddon revealed to Auto Action

SVG’S

“We’re trying to do it, but nothing is confirmed yet.”

Paddon is a seven-time champion in New Zealand and is on track for another title in 2024.

He also won the Production Car World Championship in 2011 and is the reigning European Rally Champion after a successful foreign assault in 2023.

He has one more European rally to wrap up his program this year and only needs a solid finish to claim a second crown with his long-term co-driver John Kennard.

“We have one rally left, in Poland. The goal is to wrap up the championship,” Paddon said.

“We should be able to do it. We have to finish in the top six.

“But it’s quite a challenging tarmac rally. We’ve just got to do our job.”

Once the ERC campaign is complete he is expected to shift focus to 2025, and Australia.

He said an ARC campaign is his idea and will centre around the Rally2 car he has in a fleet of four Hyundai rally racers. He has recently acquired the Hyundai i20 WRC car he drove to victory in Rally Argentina in 2016, giving it another win in the Ashley Forest Rallysprint, and has an AP4 car and also a battery-electric sprint car.

“With the WRC car in the fleet we now have four cars. We would use the Rally2 car,” he said.

It would likely mean a fly-in, fly-out approach similar to the one used by Bourne in his early days in Australia.

But Paddon is still at the early stages of his plan.

“To make it happen, we’re trying to find commercial support out of Australia,” he said. “We’ve had discussions but nothing is in the pipeline at this stage.”

Paddon said part of the appeal, beyond stretching himself again with an overseas program, is the growing success of the ARC and the new commercial plan for 2025 under the direction of Adrian Coppin.

“How they are doing the championship over there is really appealing,” he said.

Hyundai Australia is aware of Paddon’s potential plan but its motorsport focus is still on the TCR championship and the efforts of its champion driver, Josh Buchan.

“We would like to see it happen,” the corporate communications manager for Hyundai Australia, Bill Thomas, told Auto Action

“We’ll give it as much support as we can.”

Harry Bates, former Australian champion and leader of this year’s series, is also keen.

“Having Hayden here would be great for the championship,” he told Auto Action

FLYING PLAYOFFS START

SHANE VAN Gisbergen showed no nerves in the high-pressure environment that was his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs race.

Despite starting down in 22nd and racing at Kansas for the first time, van Gisbergen produced a smashing final stage to soar to eighth, fifth amongst the Playoff contenders. It was the Kiwi’s fourth-best result on an oval and could not have come at a more critical moment in the Playoffs, where he is trying to be one of the leading eight to make the cut after the first three-race segment. Up front, Aric Almirola made a late-race charge to snatch the win from Playoff drivers Cole Custer and Chandler Smith, who had words post-race.

Sheldon Creed in fifth and Austin Hill in seventh were the only other Playoff drivers to finish ahead of the #97.

Despite the strong result, van Gisbergen admitted his bemusement after getting to know the Turn 4 wall rather well.

“The Safety Culture Camaro looked good, but did not drive very well,” he told Frontstretch.

“I got lucky with the caution at the end. Kevin Walter and the guys made so many changes to get it at least handling where I could be comfortable.

“I learnt a lot being up high and the wall kindof saved me countless times which was fun and we got an amazing result.

“The amount of times I joked on the radio saying ‘I hit the wall but the thing is still in the same place’ was fun.”

With only the top eight of the 12 contending progressing to the next Playoffs stage, van Gisbergen knows this is only the start of the challenge with the unpredictable Talladega next up before concluding at the Charlotte “Roval.”

“I tried to approach it just like I would every other weekend, especially at this place where I haven’t been to,” he said. “I examined the Cup guys in Bristol with how they reacted to what happened under pressure.

“Thankfully we had a good day – being plus eight, we are still near the cut line but have to keep chipping away.

“Hopefully we have a decent week at Talladega and we should go well at the Roval so just got to keep chipping away.”

Thomas Miles

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Paddon plans to contest the ARC with a Rally2 Hyundai – which will add international flavour to the championship.

STOP / GO

MILLER’S MOTOGP YAMAHA LIFELINE

JACK MILLER will line up for the Yamaha Pramac satellite team for the 2025 MotoGP season, with the current KTM rider having been thrown a lifeline by the Italian squad. With Pramac moving from Ducati, Miller will join new Portuguese teammate Miguel Oliveira in the YZR-M1 machinery. The Australian’s signing completes the 2025 grid, as he re-joins Pramac for an 11th career year, where he has been with Ducati, Honda, and KTM, reaping four wins and 23 podiums across 166 starts. “I feel like I still have some unfinished business …I wasn’t ready to pack up my bat and ball and go home,” Miller said.

FERRARI CHALLENGE ARRIVES FOR 2025

THE FERRARI Challenge Australasia is bound for Aussie shores next year, with a five round series announced in support of the GT World Challenge Australia. With two titles up for grabs for Ferrari 296 Challenge drivers and Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo entrants, the series kicks off at the Bathurst 12 Hour, with trips to Phillip Island, SMP (Rounds 3-4), and The Bend. The Australasia series joins Europe, North America, UK, and Japan FC Trofeo events, with the top performers to have the chance at competing in Italy’s annual Finali Mondiali.

FEENEY TO MAKE ONE RACEWAY APPEARANCE

THE OPENING of One Raceway (formerly Wakefield Park) featuring Round 6 of the Australian SuperBike Championship, will also see Broc Feeney cutting laps in his 2023 Adelaide 500-winning Holden Commodore Supercar. Feeney has links to the ASBK series through his father Paul, who will also ride alongside him on a Superbike, as Feeney attempts lap records on both directions of the remodelled bi-directional raceway. “Returning to Goulburn to do something cool for the community was an idea I’ve had since the start of the year and, with the reopening of One Raceway, which holds so much history in the town, it was a perfect opportunity.”

PETER FITZGERALD never got the respect and recognition he deserved for his motor racing career. He had considerable success across cars and classes, but because ‘Fitzy’ never cracked the full-time touring car championship he occupied a supporting role in motorsport.

He died at the age of 74 in Melbourne on Saturday, September 29, after a long battle with cancer and now, rolling back the years, come the records of his success.

He was a champion in both Production Car and Porsche categories, and even competed in AUSCAR on the Thunderdome at Calder Park.

He also had a few runs in the Bathurst 1000, peaking with a class win and fourth outright iwhen sharing a factory-backed BMW M3 with the great Denny Hulme in 1991 after finishing second with Alan Jones at the Sandown 500 in the lead-up. Fitzgerald was never a cashed-up contender and once, while fronting for Porsche against the mighty Mazda factory team in the Bathurst 12Hour, his crew were eating ham sandwiches while the RX-7 runners had an on-site chef!

Even so, he won the inaugural 12Hour in a Toyota Supra.

The Toyota was one of a string of winning cars for ’Fitzy’ in production cars, including a Holden Commodore.

He was a versatile driver and found his strength with Porsches, first as a front-running driver and then with his Fitzgerald Racing Services cars that claimed the 2008 Carrera Cup with Craig Baird after he wound back on his own driving.

“Vale Peter Fitzgerald. Pete passed away this afternoon after an incredible battle against cancer,” Jim Richards’ wife, Fay, said in a Facebook tribute from her family.

“So much admiration of him for what he has been through to try to beat it. Sincere condolences to his lovely family. Hope the Melbourne Storm win the NRL Grand Final for you next week Fitzy.”

Paul Gover

VALE: PETER FITZGERALD CHASING HISTORY

SOME OF the best, from Jamie Whincup to Craig Lowndes, have been crowned Australian Formula Ford champions and Eddie Beswick is in the box seat to join an illustrious list in 2024.

The 2024 Australian Formula Ford Championship will be decided across three races at the fast, flowing Phillip Island this weekend.

A thrilling multi-car title fight had been brewing until it was busted open by the ultra-consistent Beswick at Sandown.

Having stayed out of trouble and finished third in the penultimate round, he now enjoys a formidable 38-point advantage heading into the final round where 61 points are up for grabs.

Harrison Sellars leads a tight race for second with Jack Bussey, Liam Loiacono and Kobi Williams all in his

slipstream and still in contention.

But Beswick knows that if he is smart, he can join some famous names and become a national Formula Ford champion.

“The names on that list are crazy so would be pretty cool if I could put my name on that trophy ... but don’t want to think about it too much too early,” he told Auto Action

“Obviously I will drive as fast as I can and hopefully that will put me at the front of the field but I just need to finish, which is how I am seeing it.

“I don’t usually get nervous but, before Sandown, I was ... (but) now I have a bigger gap I can take it a little bit easier.

“My confidence is as high as it has ever been this year so I am hoping we

can have a strong round and finish on a double high.”

Despite heading to a track he is familiar with, Beswick admits being the hunted is something he is not as accustomed to.

“This is the first time I have ever been at the front end of a championship,” he said. “I was never that great in gokarting before this, so it is an unknown how I will perform under the pressure.

“But I am very happy with everyone around me and all of the support which has helped a lot.

“I got my first ever Formula Ford win at Phillip Island. It is a track I love.

“It looks and feels awesome and the cars are awesome around there as well.

“I cannot wait to finish the year there.”

Thomas Miles

Image: AUTO ACTION ARCHIVES

Eddie Beswick led the way at Sandown ... the title is tantalisingly close ... Image: REBECCA HIND-REEVED PHOTOGRAPHY

NEW GOURLAY AUDI GETS CALDER SHAKEDOWN

THE SOON-to-be new addition to the Precision National Sports Sedans family – a newly constructed Audi by John Gourlay –has had its first shakedown, at Calder Park. Seven years in the making, with thousands of meticulous hours behind its construction, the car was piloted by Darren Hossack of Hossack Motorsport Services for the shakedown (and we’re told he was thrilled to do so) in the absence of Jordan Caruso, who will eventually drive the new Audi for its expected debut at the Bathurst International in November.

The initial shakedown was largely a systems check, with plenty of the series’ participants and organisers present, with only a few minor issues, that have already been sorted.

With the gear lever, as well as accelerator cable linkages rubbing on the new carbon fibre panels, it was an easy no-fuss fix for

the team ahead of the car getting a further and more opened-up run at Winton next weekend (again piloted by Hossack).

The new Audi is built around a Pontiac transaxle that Gourlay purchased seven years back – a well known national Sports Sedan machine that was formerly owned and raced by Jeff Barnes.

With a new frame built and custom shaped panels around it and a newly constructed 6L small block Chev 350 V8 – the same heart as his other championship winning Audi that came to grief at Tailem Bend – tongues will be wagging for its national debut.

Category manager Michael Robinson says it will be a fantastic addition:

“I think it’s been a big build project for John, and it will be a very exciting debut at Bathurst,” he told Auto Action

“It’s all unknown, but it’s very well-built with a similar body and engine, but it should be better than the older car, with some slight improvements.

“It’s another step up for us and the series. These cars aren’t cheap; they’re totally individual with individually made parts, and you do that to get better weight distribution and handling … it’s why John goes down this path, and I hope it proves to be a very quick car.”

Onlookers should and will be fascinated to see if John’s new Audi jet, in the hands of Caruso, can beat the astounding Mount Panorama lap of 2023, when he put down a category record 2:02.543s in the older A4 (which is also being rebuilt, and will return to the series). TW Neal

NEW NDRC READY TO ROAR

THE SECOND season of the National Drag Racing Championship is firing up this month with hopes of further growth from a promising inaugural year.

The NDRC commenced in 2023/24 to create a national championship for both Group One (Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car) and Sportsman competitors and is returning for a second season.

All up there are 12 events completing the 2024/25 NDRC season starting with the Spring Nationals at The Bend on October 18-20 and wraps up with the Winternationals at Willowbank.

The biggest change is on the Sportsman side of things with a single season culminating with a traditional Grand Final round at the Winternationals, seeing the removal of the conference system for Sportsman racers.

“Season two of the National Drag Racing Championship will be amazing,” NDRC co-owner Andy Lopez said.

“Since day one we’ve shown that we’re listening to racers when it comes to creating the type of national championship they want to race for, and the changes we’ve made for the coming season are a reflection of that. We’ve simplified the championship. We’ve engaged with track partners and other promoters to deliver a calendar that is sustainable now and for the future.

“I’m going to be really honest. There will be a lot of excitement about this calendar in the racer group. I know there will be some who feel that they’re not getting what they want from us

but our message is clear.

“As always, the NDRC will continue to explore other event opportunities as the season unfolds, so keep your eyes peeled for more announcements.

“The NDRC’s motto remains, ‘One Way. Forward.’ All of us, and I mean promoters, tracks, sponsors, and racers, can make this happen.”

2024/25 National Drag Racing Championship calendar

Spring Nationals – Dragway at The Bend (October 18-20) Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Aeroflow Sportsman Championship.

Dragbike Nationals – Dragway at The Bend (November 9)

NDRC Pro Racing – Sydney Dragway (November 15-16) Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Mod

Goldenstates (November 22-23) Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle

Nitro Slam – Perth Motorplex (January 4)

New Year Nitro – Willowbank Raceway (January 10-11)

Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car and Aeroflow Sportsman Championship

The Bend (February 8-9) NDRC Pro Racing

Westernationals – Perth Motorplex (March 1-2) Top Fuel, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer and Aeroflow Sportsman Championship

NDRC Pro Racing – Sydney Dragway (March 21-22)

Riverbend Nationals – Dragway at The Bend (April 5-6) Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer and Aeroflow Sportsman Championship

Nitro Champs – Sydney Dragway (May 3-4) Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Mod and Aeroflow Sportsman Championship.

Winternationals – Willowbank Raceway (June 5-8)

Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Mod and Aeroflow Sportsman Championship

The Best Value in Auto Racing Safety

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Top Fuel’s Damien Harris. Image: PHIL LUVER/HIGH OCTANE PHOTOS

RED BULL MISHANDLES RICCIARDO’S SACKING …

BY LUIS VASCONCELAS

RED BULL made a right mess of the way it handled the clearly expected change of driver at VCARB, as Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo from the forthcoming US Grand Prix and the Australian’s Formula 1 career comes to an end six races ahead of what he was expecting.

On arrival in Singapore, and with his future

that “I’m also not going to stand here too boastful and confident. I believe I will be racing until the end of the year, but let’s obviously see.”

But Red Bull’s history of dropping drivers mid-season made him obviously weary of what could be in store. Asked if the team could drop him before the end of the year without breaking the contract, Ricciardo confidently said “I don’t think so,” but quickly

seen through a season before. It’s nothing new in some ways. So, I don’t want to also be ‘Oh, 100%, I’ll bet all my house on it.’ I’ve been around too long to think like that.”

Eventually Red Bull saw fit to inform Ricciardo, on Sunday, a few hours before the start of the race, that he wouldn’t be retained until the end of the season, with VCARB providing the traditional guard of honor as he left the hospitality unit to get into his car

Monday night after the race but took more than 48 hours to be made, as contractual complications delayed Red Bull’s plans. So maybe Ricciardo was right when he’d said, a few days earlier, that he didn’t believe the team had the full right to sack him mid-season. To make the Austrian company’s handling of the situation even more ridiculous, Liam Lawson later admitted he’d been told two weeks before the announcement that he

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

… BUT LAWSON DESERVES HIS BREAK

GIVEN DANIEL Ricciardo’s target for this season was to prove to Red Bull he could be a better support driver for Max Verstappen than Sérgio Pérez it’s fair to say – as the Australian himself admitted – that he fell short of his intended goal.

Therefore, regardless, his time with VCARB was always going to end at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix … but Red Bull decided to accelerate things and call back Liam Lawson to partner Yuki Tsunoda until the end of the season, as he had done during the five Grands Prix last year that the Australian had to miss due to injury.

It has been clear that Lawson was next in line for the Junior team, as Formula 2 title contender Isack Hadjar will need one season of testing two-year old cars, running four FP1 sessions – two for each of the Austrians’ teams – and doing as much testing as possible for Pirelli.

That’s why the Kiwi was always a shoe-in for the drive, especially as he would have become a free-agent for 2025 and beyond if he had not been handed a race seat by the drinks company.

With Pérez clearly not up to the task anymore, Tsunoda more linked to Honda than to Red Bull, Ricciardo failing to perform, and Verstappen mulling a 2026 move to either Mercedes or Aston Martin, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko need to accelerate the development of their youngster, to have at least two ready to race at the highest level

RIVALS

from that start of that year.

That’s why giving Lawson a running start made all the sense in the world – but the same cannot be said of announcing him just for the coming six Grands Prix without confirming he’ll stay on with VCARB for 2025 as well.

The concept seems to be that ‘if it doesn’t work, don’t change it’ as the vast majority of drivers who have passed through the team’s Junior programme haven’t dealt brilliantly with the prospect that any race could be their last one.

Lawson, though, seems to have survived quite a few of these moments – possibly as his early career experiences, before Red Bull

A multiple race winner in Formula 4, Formula 3 and Formula 2, as well as in the Toyota Racing Series (which he won overall), in Super Formula and in the DTM, Lawson has only done one full season – and the Japanese Super Formula only features nine rounds –since the end of 2022, so he will need a proper opportunity to be able to show everything he can do.

And, frankly, just six races with no guarantees for 2025, is not what one could call a fair crack … Luis Vasconcelas

PAY TRIBUTE TO RICCIARDO

TO SAY Daniel Ricciardo is going to be missed in the Formula 1 paddock is an understatement, the Australian leaving the sport without any enemies, which is a big endorsement of the way he conducted himself over the last 13 years.

And even before Red Bull’s delayed announcement came, everyone in the Marina Bay circuit was already treating the Singapore Grand Prix as Ricciardo’s last – it was probably the worst kept secret in many, many years.

Former team-mate Max Verstappen said that “he’s a great guy and we always had a great relationship but we had a sporting rivalry in the team.

“He will be remembered as a great driver, as a great person also. He has a great character. I think it’s very rare if someone is like him.”

The Dutchman then added that “he has proven himself as a great Formula 1 driver and he’s a friend of mine. I don’t think he has to feel sorry for himself. He can still look back at all the amazing things he has achieved and now

go and do something else in life also.

“I mean, why not? Many more... other race series or not. Maybe just chill back at the farm. Have a lot of fun. I mean, he’s a great guy …”

Fellow Australian Oscar Piastri, who took Ricciardo’s place at McLaren at the start of last year, revealed that “Daniel is the guy I’d be up at 1am to watch him racing when I was still in karting back home.”

The young driver explained that “for me and for all the young Australian drivers, Daniel was our inspiration – he made Australia proud with his results, his Grand Prix wins, his moves and his way of going racing. Daniel can be proud of what he has achieved and be sure he has earned his place in the sport’s history.”

Ricciardo’s last Formula 1 team mate, Yuki Tsunoda, was also sad to see the veteran go, explaining that “I definitely respect him a lot, especially as the things he has are the things I don’t have – especially the emotional control and how he’s able to be consistent to the team, I would say. I’m a bit more probably

emotional … I learned a lot of things from him, and I’m still learning about that.”

In the hours following the announcement, other drivers took to social media to salute the departing Australian.

Lewis Hamilton led the tributes, writing that “it’s been a honor to compete with you over the years. I’ll never forget the battles, the laughs, and drinking out of your shoe. It was gross, but glad I got to do it with you, bud!” He then added that “you leave a legacy of always being yourself, which in this sport is never easy. You’ve taken it all with the biggest smile and I salute you for it. There is so much more for you up ahead and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Always here for you, man.”

Pierre Gasly, who featured in many of Ricciardo’s social media stories – with the Australian screaming his name in a comedic way whenever they crossed paths – wrote “congrats on your career DR! A huge lot to be proud of! I will always remember that one time you showed up in the Paddock riding that horse … hell yeah! One of a kind. Enjoyed those late dive bombs of yours. We will miss you in the Paddock Honey Badger. All the best on your next adventures and enchanté buddy!”

For once the two Alpine drivers were on the same page, with Esteban Ocon saying “congrats for all you achieved in your career mate. Learned a lot from you during our time together. Wishing you all the best for your next adventure!”

George Russell’s message was short and to the point, the Mercedes driver writing that “F1 won’t be the same without you, mate,” a feeling that summarised well all Grand Prix regulars’ personal thoughts on Ricciardo’s departure. Luis Vasconcelas

took him, prepared him to live on the edge and his CV proves the New Zealander deserves a proper chance in Grand Prix racing.

Left: By the time the field gridded up for the Singapore Grand Prix, Red Bull had told Daniel that it would be his farewell race ...

Right: Liam Lawson with VCARB team boss Laurent Mekies – a difficult few weeks for both leading up to Singapore, as different people knew – or didn’t –what was coming.

Lower right: Max Verstappen was among those to pay warm tribute to Ricciardo – the two are friends and the Aussie has often hitched a ride on the Verstappen jet to races.

WHARTON DOMINATES IN BARCELONA

AUSSIE PREMA driver James Wharton

continued his fine run of form in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, dominating the penultimate round in Barcelona, Spain.

The former Ferrari Academy member and 2023 UAE F4 champion swept up the outing with a stellar two pole/two win weekend, with his Race 1 win also giving the Italian junior formulae giant its third consecutive team title in the series.

Heading into the Spanish round, Wharton’s last seven outings had featured two wins and two podiums and, with his sensational double, he sought to finish the year at the Monza finale by being the vice-champion for the globally regional F3 competition.

After opening the weekend by claiming his fourth pole of the year with a 1:35.458s –

outpointing the eventual champion and his Brazilian teammate Rafael Camara by a few tenths – Wharton then claimed second in the championship with his third win of the year.

“I’m really proud of what I achieved today,” he said after his lights-to-flag win.

“The car was fantastic, starting from qualifying where it was the fastest, and in the race – it helped me build a solid gap to those behind me. I was able to drive well and secure a great result. Now, we have three races ahead, and we aim to continue in this way.”

Wharton then claimed his second pole of the weekend and fifth for the season with a 1:35.897s, before taking another lights-toflag victory whilst his teammate clinched the title.

“I love this track – I’ve had some great wins here, and the victories this weekend helped me move up to second in the championship,” he added after Race 2.

“I also have to thank Rafael (Camara ) for the great work we did this year, which allowed us to achieve important results. Now, we need to keep fighting like this for the last two races of the year … Monza awaits us.”

In a year that has seen the young Aussie make his FIA Formula 3 debut at Silverstone back in July, the Prema charger will look to finish off on a high on October 26-27 at the ‘Temple of Speed’, whilst he may then finish the year by trying to claim the first ever FRECA World Cup race at the 71st Macau Grand Prix on November 17.

TW Neal

Anagnostiadis (above) has broken a near three-decade World Karting Championship drought, becoming the first Aussie to claim an FIA KWC Junior podium since Supercar driver James Courtney in 1997.

Having joined the Mercedes Formula 1 Junior driver program in mid-2024, the young Victorian entered the round at England’s PF International Circuit in Lincolnshire, against 118 other drivers, and was one of the top 34 qualifiers (in fifth) to advance into the final.

In wet and tricky conditions during the early stages of the race, Anagnostiadis handled himself well to set himself up for the closing stages.

The door to the podium opened when the two competitors in front of him became unstuck on the final lap, where he eventually finished third just under two seconds back from British Karter Kenzo Craigie and Kit Belofsky, before being elevated into P2 after Belofsky was given a starting line infringement penalty.

“It felt unreal … to think that 12 months ago I was racing in Australia and watching the world championship and wishing I could race in it one day,” the youngster said.

“And now, standing on the podium there … it’s crazy.”

It broke the drought for an Aussie podium including the likes of F1 drivers Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan, who finished sixth and seventh in the Junior category in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Fellow Aussie William Calleja wasn’t so lucky in getting through to the final outing (62nd at the end of the heats), whilst in the Senior class, Aussies Lewis Francis (37th), Xavier Avramides (64th), and Mika Lemasurier (66th) also missed out the cut against 105 other drivers.

TW Neal

McELREA BREAKS IMSA DUCK

INDYCAR HOPEFUL and former IndyNXT Andretti driver, Hunter McElrea, has taken another career victory at Indianapolis, but this time in the prototype LMP2 series in the IMSA Sportscar Championship.

The antipodean U.S resident has supplemented his time in 2024 by competing for TDS Racing in the #11 ORECA 07 machine, filling the endurance seat for the fourth time this season at the IMSA Battle on the Bricks.

McElrea joined TDS regulars Mikkel Jensen and Steven Thomas, as the Trans Tasman driver looked to go one better after he was part of the team’s second place at the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier in the season.

As the team looked to secure their second straight Battle On The Bricks win, things didn’t go as planned early, as they had to fight back from a lap down in slippery conditions by the time McElrea jumped into the cockpit.

The Silver rated driver went on an absolute tear to fight back from the rear, bringing his past experiences on a wet Indy Road Course track in open-wheelers to the party,

surging to the front before handing over the reins to WEC regular, Jensen, for the final two hours.

They eventually won by a domineering 26.049 seconds from the pole-sitting Inter Europol team.

“Steven (Thomas) has given me a very good opportunity to where I’ve had a lot of testing, so I don’t necessarily feel like I’m unprepared when I come to the race,” McElrea said.

“With Indy lights (IndyNXT), the car’s a little different to LMP2 in a way, but also quite similar. I didn’t want to assume that we’re going to be fast, but I kind of knew halfway through the first day of testing we were doing okay, we just need to get the basics right, and we’d probably win.

“I would say, truthfully, even in the wet and knowing where the grip was … I had a really fun stint in the wet, and it was all things I already knew, which was nice, because usually I’m just trying stuff and learning on the go.”

After making his IndyCar debut for Dale Coyne Racing in Toronto earlier in the year, McElrea’s open wheel future is still uncertain, but in the immediate future, he’ll be looking for another LMP2 victory at the season finale IMSA Petit Le Mans, A 10 hour outing at Road Atlanta on October 17. TW Neal (See page 58 for full IMSA race report).

VIC TEEN BREAKS AUSSIE KARTING DROUGHT

VICTORIAN TEENAGER James

WHEN IT’S SUDDENLY NOT THERE ANY MORE

ANOTHER ROLLER-COASTER fortnight in motorsport, here and overseas … including Daniel’s departure and Liam Lawson’s promotion; Ford’s Supercar engine problems a couple of weeks out from Bathurst; and a tough penalty handed to double Gold Star champ Joey Mawson for, in many people’s view, an unfortunate and silly mistake involving a banned substance 16 months ago.

Joey. Having got to know him and his terrific family a little, I was as stunned as anyone when in May last year he was found to have a prohibited substance in his system. Something called Meldonium – I’m no expert but Google tells me it assists recovery after extended physical exercise. Unlikely to have any beneficial effect on someone driving a race car for 25 minutes at a time. But, nevertheless, a dumb mistake.

Sixteen months later, Joey has been hit with a four-year ban (dating from May 2023), reduced to three years as he readily admitted his mistake. However, with motorsport being the seasonal/annually-based thing it is, the mid-year kick-off and ending (May 2026) of the ban does effectively mean four years. Hopefully that might form part of a review …

Out of interest, former number one women’s tennis player, Maria Sharapova – a highly-paid professional, with professional trainers, professional fitness advisers, professional dieticians and professional lawyers – was

CL ON CALL

in 2016 found to have exactly the same substance in her system, inadvertently of course … Long tennis matches can be quite exhausting. She was banned for two years, subsequently reduced to 15 months.

Joey, as with most of the non-Supercars competitors in Australia, hasn’t been able to race professionally yet. He is an amateur. Normally, that is also a positive consideration in reducing penalty length in these cases.

With the Sharapova outcome as an obvious precedent, Joey’s ban is, by all measures, severe. A review ought to be considered by the authorities.

Joey had embarked on a more intense fitness campaign earlier in 2023, on the advice of his personal trainer, to take his mind off some things that were troubling him –one thing in particular.

The former German ADAC F4 champion and now double Gold Star champion was effectively banned from racing a Supercar – he didn’t have the $600,000 necessary to undertake a season in Super2. At that time, the Superlicence rules were simply over-arched by a requirement that you MUST do six races (ie a full season) in Super2 before you

would be granted a Superlicence. Full stop. (It has improved, but only marginally, this year with the reintroduction of a points qualifying system instead – I have made myself moderately unpopular in some quarters by pushing, largely unsuccessfully, for change … but that’s another story).

Joey had in fact, done laps in one of PremiAir Racing’s cars at the February pre-season test last year.

There was a co-drive in the offing in the fledgling Sydney (now Gold Coast-based) team.

During the test day, a senior Supercars identity wandered down to the PremiAir garage to re-iterate to Joey that if he thought he was going to get his arse into one of these cars without doing six Super2 races, he was dreamin’ …

And so it was. No go for Joey. Everyone knew he was good enough – in my view, good enough to beat half the incumbents with his eyes closed. Amidst all the ‘but you need to learn all the unique things about driving Supercars via Super2’ excuses and justification, the evidence to the contrary was in front of all their noses.

Cars with a roof? Easy!

Joey had done the Bathurst 12 Hours in 2022, with the

Audi R8 team owned by Adelaide’s Mark Rosser, with Nick Percat completing the three-driver line-up. After a practice issue, they missed qualifying and would start on the very back row of the grid.

Joey started the race, in the early morning pitch black and, as it happened, pouring rain.

After two stints, Joey handed the car back … in second place outright, having passed much of the glitterati of Supercars and international GT motorsport along the way.

Even Roland Dane, that Supercars Ambassador at Large, believed – and wrote publicly – that Joey should have a Superlicence.

If ever there was a case for common sense and an exception, Joey Mawson was it.

Nope.

It’s not a stretch, then, to consider that, as 2023 kicked off, Joey was possibly not at his best in terms of mental health – in fact, I’d say it was highly likely. Simply, Supercars and its absurd licensing requirements were killing his chances of making a career, a profession out of his talent.

Did the mental health ‘downer’ contribute to his bad judgement re supplements for his renewed fitness push, to try and stay mentally fresh? Quite possibly.

And waiting 16 months for an outcome hasn’t helped either.

Daniel Ricciardo will likely be going through similar withdrawal symptoms to Mawson right now.

People who have never competed at high level in

motorsport can possibly not quite understand the addictive effect it has on its participants –the exhilaration, the mental and physical contest balanced against risk, the focus, the challenge, the occasional success … and in particular the void if it’s suddenly not there any more.

John Bowe became a very public commentator on this issue when he revealed his own challenges once his days in top level touring car racing were over. JB was, he’ll tell you, depressed.

However, JB found a satisfying after-life, particularly in Touring Car Masters, with a range of driver training and corporate activities and is still kept pretty busy. It may not be top level professional motorsport, but it satisfies some of the needs.

But it is a real issue.

I’m sure Daniel will find things to do. Nothing will replace the unique buzz that Formula 1 offers, but there is still satisfaction to be had in other areas of motorsport – or maybe something completely different. He is, at least, financially secure!

But there needs to be a better times ahead for Joey Mawson.

An understanding of the modest level of his mistake (hands up in the room who’s never made a mistake) and a review of his significant penalty, bearing in mind the Sharapova case, would be a start. Then, a change to the system which barred one of the most talented racers I’ve known from stepping into Supercars would be next …

private

with Chris Lambden

Daniel’s last win came at Monza in 2021 after a chaotic race saw a McLaren 1-2. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Joey Mawson went from the back row to second in two stints in miserable conditions in the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour ... but authorities wouldn’t let him race a Supercar ... Image: MARK HORSBURGH

PUBLISHER Bruce Williams

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Andrew Clarke

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Caroline Garde

NATIONAL EDITOR Thomas Miles

HISTORICS EDITOR Mark Bisset

FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconcelos

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Email: editor@autoaction.com.au

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

A BIG THANK-YOU TO RICCIARDO – WHAT A STAR! CONGRATULATIONS

TO Daniel Ricciardo on a wonderful career in Formula 1.

Not only was he very successful on the track, but he always carried himself well and represented Australia very well off the track.

He’s credited with a major role in the growth of the popularity of F1, especially through what people have seen in the numerous Drive to Survive series.

The end may have been unfortunate, the way Daniel didn’t seem to have been told officially that Liam Lawson was replacing him at RB, but – as always – The Honey Badger conducted himself impeccably.

He brought a smile to our faces as much as he beamed himself.

Obviously Daniel didn’t get to fulfil the dream of becoming world champion, but my only other disappointment is that he has finished up with one grand prix win less than Mark Webber.

I greatly admired Webber for his grit, determination and sheer will in F1, but I believe Daniel was more talented and think he would have won more GPs had he stayed at Red Bull Racing longer, even if he was going to have to play second fiddle to Max Verstappen.

We owe Daniel a huge vote

of thanks for what he did for Australia – and WA – in F1.

Oscar Piastri might not have the outgoing personality of Daniel, but he may reach greater heights.

Good luck to him. He’s going really well.

It’s great that we have another top Aussie carrying the flag for us, and hopefully Jack Doohan does well too when he gets his chance next year.

Samantha Watson Geraldton, WA

FINALLY CATCHING UP ON TRANSIENT DYNO TESTING

HAVING BEEN a fan of motorsport for some 60 years it is interesting to see transient dyno testing returning.

In the golden era of “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” and deep corporate pockets, I recall a report on Ford’s Bathurst preparations which had them running their engines on a dyno which replicated the whole race.

Howard Marsden certainly knew about preparing race cars and it looks like Supercars are catching on after some 50 years.

I like the digital format of Auto Action as I can increase the size of the articles, which makes them easier to read. Well done.

Bill Rooney Gilead, NSW

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

THE AUTO ACTION SOCIAL HANDLES WERE BUSY WITH SOME SIGNIFICANT SUPERCARS AND F1 NEWS DROPPING …

TOYOTA IN SUPERCARS

Neil Johnson

Don’t really see any negatives to this, the more the merrier and to include the worlds largest automotive manufacturer (that has a pretty strong racing pedigree) can only be a good thing, especially when they announce a second team.

Paul Wright

This is over 20 years in the making and is certainly a feather in Supercars cap. The question that remains to be answered is will they treat Toyota like they did Nissan?

Daniel Williams

WEBSTER’S WARBLE

Our regular ideas man now has a concept for an even cheaper entry to open-wheeler racing than Formula Ford or Formula Vee.

AMERICA’S FORMULA 600 A GREAT TEMPLATE FOR AUSTRALIA

THERE IS a low-cost open-wheeler category in America called Formula 600 which has given racing drivers on low budgets the opportunity to race in a category that is similar to Formula Ford or Formula Vee but at a much lower cost base.

Formula 600 race cars are powered by a two-cylinder, water-cooled two-stroke engine or a four-stroke 600cc motorcycle engine.

Why not introduce Formula 600 to Australia and create an Australian Formula 600 Championship?

A Formula 600 category here would give young Australian drivers on low budgets an opportunity to participate and gain valuable open-wheeler experience.

The cars that would take part could go by similar rules and regulations to their American counterparts.

It would give drivers the opportunity to make their mark as potential Supercars, IndyCar or Formula One drivers.

An Australian Formula 600 Championship could be held as a summer series so that it doesn’t clash with Formula Ford and Formula Vee. Malcolm Webster Boronia, Victoria

Interesting decision from WAU to move away from Ford. Especially considering up until Sandown they were the best placed Ford team and Mostert is the best placed Mustang driver and in all likelihood the only one that can really challenge Will Brown. Wonder when WAU lost faith in the blue oval, or when Toyota waved an incentive large enough to promote the loss of Ford faith. Next year will be interesting to see how WAU split their resources, on the Mustang or towards the Supra.

James Rerden

The series needs this! This will be epic.

RICCIARDO OUT

Debbie Pearson

Seriously they should let him drive until the season ends! This is a real kick in the guts for Daniel as he deserves much better than that!

Liz Sawnton

We all know motorsport is a tough game but there is no need for sheer bastardry. Seeing too much of it. Treat the guy with the same respect and loyalty as he has shown the team.

Carl Prosser

Not good enough, simple as that. If he wasn’t an Aussie people wouldn’t care. Didn’t see all this complaining when other drivers get dropped. F1 is a tough sport, remember that. Good luck to Dan in whatever he does next.

Better days – winning days! Daniel Ricciardo and his parents with the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix trophy ...

TOYOTA ON THE MOUNTAIN

THERE IS PLENTY OF HISTORY WITH ‘BRAND T’ IN TOURING CARS

WHEN THE Toyota Supra rolls out of the Bathurst pitlane in 2026 it will be a first.

But not the first you might be thinking.

It will be a first for Toyota in the Gen3 era of Supercars racing, but not nearly a first for Toyota – or even the Supra – at Mount Panorama.

Peter Williamson, best known for his pioneering efforts with incar cameras, was the first to take a Supra to The Mountain.

The year was 1984 and Group A touring cars had been added to the field as a supporting class behind the Holden Commodores, Ford Falcons, Mazda RX-7s and Nissan Bluebird turbos fighting for the big prize.

The race was billed by Holden’s public relations guru Tim Pemberton as ’The Last of the Big Bangers’.

But it was a first for the Toyota Supra, even if Williamson failed to complete a single lap.

He whacked into the back of a Jaguar XJ-S which was stranded on the start-line, and driven –ironically – by Tom Walkinshaw.

In 1990, Toyota Australia dived in with a factory Supra, shipped directly from Japan – but hugely overweight and under-powered – for John Smith, Mark Poole and

with Paul Gover THE PG PERSPECTIVE

journalist-racer Peter McKay. Not surprisingly, it failed to finish.

There was better luck for the Supra in 1991, when Peter Fitzgerald and Allan Grice drove to victory in the inaugural Bathurst 12-Hour for production cars.

But Garry Willmington added to the non-finishing record the same year when he took a slow-coach Supra to the 1000.

There has been nothing notable since the start of the Supercars era, but Toyota still has a solid record in motorsport.

‘Brand T’ scored a long list of class wins at Bathurst and across the Austrlaian Touring Car Championship, with its Corolla.

The honour role of drivers includes John Faulkner and John Smith, while future rally star – and Toyota stalwart – Neal Bates drove to class success in 1989 alongside Superbike racer Michael Dowson after the pair won a ’Star Search’ competition

that even included Sprintcar ace Brooke Tatnell.

Another future star also got his winning start at Bathurst in a Toyota.

It was Paul Morris, who won the tiddler class in a Corolla, sharing with Geoff Full, then earned his ‘Dude’ nickname when he shouted ‘Yo, dudes’ from the victory dais.

Toyota has also competed at Bathurst with its MR2 sports car, once with Juan Fangio II on the driving roster, winning four straight class titles in the 12-Hour. It even created an ‘MR2 Bathurst’ model for showrooms to celebrate.

But even the MR2 is not the end of the Toyota story in racing.

For a time, Brad Jones ran his Holden Commodore as a Toyota Lexcen – mirroring a short-lived badge engineering experiment that also turned the Corolla into a Holden Nova – in the hope of snagging factory backing for his

highly-successful AUSCAR racing campaign on the Thunderdome at Calder Park.

It was the first of many failed attempts to lure Toyota Australia into touring car racing – there was once a move, also in the Lexcen days, that included Larry Perkins.

More recently, a long line of Supercars team bosses –including Roland Dane – has been involved in talks with Toyota.

This time around, Neil Crompton – a Toyota brand ambassador for 16 years and also the head of the Toyota 86 racing programs – has played a pivotal role.

So, what has changed to change the minds at Toyota Australia?

For a start, the Gen3 platform was created to allow a variety of carmakers to drop their two-door production bodywork over the chassis and install a V8 engine in the nose.

Toyota Australia has also been doing extremely well in showrooms with its GR performance models, even if very few people know that Gazoo Racing comes from the nickname used by Toyota’s global boss Akio Toyoda for his motorsport efforts. To protect his identity he raced as ‘Morizo’ for Gazoo Racing.

The GR line-up began with the GR Yaris, which was also

morphed into a World Rally Championship contender, followed by the GR Corolla and, crucially, GR Supra.

But the Supercars program is more than just a GR marketing campaign.

Toyota’s vice-president and marketing livewire Sean Hanley has always been a motorsport fan and pushed for a Supra program in the past while also touting the benefits from Toyota’s rally program with Neal Bates.

He is now charged with protecting Toyota’s sales leadership in Australia against a rising tide of cheap Chinese brands, providing everything from electric cars to family SUVs.

As yet, there is no Chinese pickup truck, but it will come and that could be the biggest threat yet to the long-term success of the Toyota HiLux.

So, although there are only a relative handful of Supra owners in Australia, there is a vast number of HiLux buyers and many of them will happily support the move into Supercars.

Now that Holden has gone, the Supercars campaign could even help to cement Toyota as the ‘heartland brand’ for a new generation of showroom shoppers.

Peter Williamson (left) and his crew lined up with a Toyota Supra in a short-lived but landmark Bathurst in 1984 – both in terms of the Supra brand, but also the incar TV camera ... Image: PETER WILLAIMSON COLLECTION

EDWARDS LAUDS BRT

SUPERCARS GENERAL Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards has lauded BRT’s efforts to overcome a tight turnaround and test a new crankshaft as it was one of four cars on track at Queensland Raceway.

In addition to PremiAir Nulon Racing utilising both Camaros for its final test day, Triple Eight and Blanchard Racing Team also had one car each for Supercars engine testing.

Triple Eight’s Camaro ZL1 was used to verify minor mapping changes to the Chevrolet engine that were identified after last month’s AVL transient dyno testing in the USA.

The BRT Mustang in Ipswich was the team’s spare car, which was rolled out to test Ford’s new specification crank in response to the post-Sandown 500 dramas.

After a series of embarrassing failures at the Sandown 500 and subsequent drive day, Auto Action believes Motorsport Powertrains, the Dick Johnson Racing subsidiary that builds and develops the Ford Supercars engines, has found enough replacement crankshafts from the Mustang GT3 program to deal with its recent reliability issue.

BRT was the first to use the new crankshaft, but only after a rapid turnaround having received the part on Sunday and within 24 hours hit the track.

“The crankshaft only arrived in the country from Japan on Sunday morning,” Edwards told Supercars.com.

“It was built into an engine, dynoed, put in a race car, taken to the track, and arrived around 2:30pm this (Monday) afternoon.

“It cut some laps just to make sure

everything runs okay, and then later in the week, they’ll have a full day to put as many kilometres on it as possible.”

Edwards explained the Camaro engine testing was to see how the AVL testing findings progressed on a track.

“It’s important to take these opportunities and work through engine maps that were developed at AVL testing, to align the findings to realworld application,” he said.

“It’s also important to emphasise that this testing is about fine-tuning the

current engine packages with small changes to engine calibration.”

PremiAir Nulon Racing racked up a total of 885km across its two cars with all four drivers James Golding, David Russell, Tim Slade and Cameron McLeod getting seat time.

“It was a huge day and a very important test day, allowing us to go through some bigger changes that we normally can’t do on a race weekend as they take quite a bit of time, and it all went very smoothly and we got a lot of

answers from that,” #31 engineer Romy Mayer said.

“We also had very important pit stop practice and also went through all the operational stuff to get ready for Bathurst, before going through tuning and set up changes. With no problems in either car, it was a big and productive day for all involved.”

The testing takes place with just over a week before the Bathurst 1000 on October 10-13.

Thomas Miles

SRO GAINS KEY APPOINTMENT

AS SRO Motorsports Australia prepares to take over the national circuit racing series in 2025, it has signed up a key figure.

Experienced motorsport figure Adrian Coppin will join SRO as the Head of Events and Commercial Operations for its expanded 2025 season.

Currently SRO Motorsports Australia oversees GT World Challenge and GT4 Australia, but next year that will grow to incorporate the staging of what is currently known as the SpeedSeries.

Coppin, who has already joined SRO Motorsports Australia will be responsible for the execution of SRO’s five Australian events next year at Phillip Island, Sydney Motorsport Park, Queensland Raceway, The Bend and a TBC venue.

Coppin brings a wealth of experience in motorsport management after his time at Motorsport Australia where he focused on the SpeedSeries and Australian Rally Championship, whilst he also held a high-profile position in the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix sporting team.

I’m extremely excited to be joining SRO Motorsports Australia for the 2025 season and thank Ben and the team for entrusting me with this important role,” said Coppin.

“SRO Motorsports is a globally recognised brand who hold some of the most iconic events in the world, so I am looking forward to the opportunity to be part of that and deliver premiere events here in Australia.”

SRO Motorsports Australia CEO Ben McMellan believes Coppin will be a significant part of a big 2025.

“We are extremely thrilled to welcome Adrian to the SRO

Motorsports Australia team for the 2025 season,” said McMellan.

“After the success of our GT Festival in Phillip Island earlier this year, having someone with the calibre of Adrian’s experience and knowledge on board will only

further elevate our efforts to create a premier motorsport events platform in Australia.

“Adrian has a highly impressive resume in Australian motorsport both as a competitor and administrator, and I am confident he will do a fantastic job.”

32nd 32nd

ALPINE ENDS F1 ENGINE PROGRAM

ALPINE WILL shed its factory Formula 1 team tag at the end of 2025 when it ends the long running Renault engine project.

It was a move that has been highly rumoured, but now been confirmed with Australia’s Jack Doohan to be driving Alpine’s last season as a works team and Renault’s 41st in F1 since it arrived in 1977.

It will mark the end of an era for the Enstone squad, which has been running Renault power across its various guises for the past three decades.

The last time it did not have factory support from the famous French brand was 1994 when Ford pushed Benetton and Michael Schumacher to a maiden championship success.

Since then the team has always run Renault engines despite changing names from Lotus to Alpine and Renault when it carried the factory name across two stints from 2002-2011 and 2016-2020.

It is believed Alpine will switch to Mercedes power having been in talks with the German giant.

This means Renault’s time as an engine supplier in F1 will end having been at the pinnacle of motorsport since 1977, and only missed two seasons between 1986-1989.

Over that time Lotus, Ligier, Tyrrell, Williams, Benetton, Red Bull, Caterham, Toro Rosso and McLaren have all run as customers in addition

to the factory squads.

All up Renault have scored 169 Grand Prix victories highlighted by championship triumphs in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

But the last win with Renault power was Esteban Ocon’s 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix and last pole amazingly back in the V8 era, the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel.

In Renault’s statement it confirmed the company’s F1 engine factory in Viry-Chatillon will be transformed into an engineering centre focused on Renault and Alpine cars with a focus on supercars, future battery and electric motor technologies, plus Alpine’s factory backed FIA World Endurance Championship team.

“As a result of the consultation process with the employee representatives, during

which discussions were constructive and an independent assessment was conducted, Alpine’s management confirms its project to transform the site into a centre of engineering and high-tech excellence by late 2024,” the Alpine statement said.

“Formula 1 activities at Viry, excluding the development of a new engine, will continue until the end of the 2025 season.

“Each employee affected by this transformation project will be proposed a new position within Alpine Hypertech.”

Despite some staff protesting, Alpine has said it would ensure all current staff at Viry will keep their jobs, whilst the brand will monitor F1 going forward.

“Creating this Hypertech Alpine centre is key to Alpine’s development strategy and, more broadly, to the Group’s innovation strategy,” Alpine CEO Philippe Krief said.

“It is a turning point in the history of the Viry-Châtillon site, which will ensure the continuity of a savoir-faire and the inclusion of its rare skills in the Group’s ambitious future while strengthening Alpine’s position as an ‘innovation garage’.

“Its racing DNA remains a cornerstone of the brand. It will continue to fuel an unprecedented industrial and automotive project, thanks particularly to Hypertech Alpine.”

The news comes on the eve of the arrival of Australia’s newest F1 driver Doohan, who steps up to make his debut in 2025 as replacement for Esteban Ocon.

It also comes after former Benetton and Renault boss Flavio Briatore returned to F1 as Alpine’s new Executive Advisor, while Oliver Oakes became the squad’s new team principal.

Briatore and Renault CEO Luca de Meo conducted a review of Alpine’s F1 plan earlier this year where it became evident the squad was condidering ditching its long running F1 engine program in favour of being a customer to a brand like Mercedes.

Just a decade ago Renault powered four of the 12 teams on the 2014 grid, whilst in 2024 it only had the factory Alpine team using Frenchbadged power units.

Alpine currently sits a lowly ninth in the 2024 constructors championship with the next F1 race the USA Grand Prix on October 18-20.

SUPERCARS TO CHASE RICCIARDO

SUPERCARS CEO Shane Howard has already revealed the category hopes to entice former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo to race on home soil.

Last week Racing Bulls decided to drop Ricciardo in favour of Kiwi reserve Liam Lawson, leaving the popular 35-year-old to suffer a sudden stop to his F1 career that began with HRT in 2011 after Singapore.

For the second time in two years Ricciardo now faces an uncertain future, but unlike 2022, it appears the eight-time Grand Prix winner does not appear to be seeking a return to the pinnacle of the sport.

Howard made his interest in chasing Ricciardo clear at the launch of the 2024 Bathurst 1000 in Sydney on Monday with the category moving from the traditional Wanneroo to a new street circuit in Ricciardo’s home Perth in 2026.

“I think everyone would welcome Daniel with open arms, absolutely,” Howard told News Corp.

“Would we like to see Daniel Ricciardo in a Supercar? 100 percent.

“Just imagine if he could be in one of our cars and race

in a new street race in Perth, that would be something special wouldn’t it?

“It would be absolutely massive. He is such an incredible driver and such an incredible personality and people just absolutely love him.

“Imagine him racing at Bathurst. Wow, that would be very cool indeed.”

Howard went on to state he intends to approach Ricciardo’s management.

“At an appropriate time we would reach out to Daniel and his management,” he said.

“Obviously he has got a lot going on and we respect that.

“Blake Friend in his management team used to work for us (at Supercars).

“At the right time, we would reach out, but we would certainly like to have him in one of our cars. 100 percent we would.”

Ricciardo has previously had a taste of a Supercar in 2019 when he steered Rick Kelly’s Nissan Altima at Calder Park and has stated he would “love to do Bathurst.”

If Ricciardo does look to Supercars, he would follow in the footsteps of Alan Jones, Larry Perkins and David Brabham, who all competed in Supercars/ATCC rounds after F1, while Sir Jack Brabham, Vern Schuppan, Frank Gardner and Paul Hawkins also competed in the Great Race.

However, it may be unlikely with the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix winner stating he does not feel anything outside F1 will give him the same buzz.

“IndyCar still scares me!” Ricciardo told RACER.

“I mean, I have thought about it because I also thought about it a couple of years ago when I knew that I wasn’t going to start the 2023 season.

“I don’t know. I know I’m still a competitor. I know I still have a lot of fire in me.

“Maybe that itch is scratched doing something else, I don’t know. We’ll see.

“It’s hard. Even talking about being in the sport (F1) and fighting for even a 10th place every now and then It’s maybe the same with doing another series.

“No disrespect to other series - I am a fan of NASCAR and a lot of other forms of motorsport - but because I have been there and experienced the highest of highs, will I get true fulfillment doing something else?

“No guarantee. It would be awesome doing something else (but) is that actually going to scratch

HERNE RETURNING TO AMERICA

NATHAN HERNE will return to America for a second TA2 appearance of 2024, but this one has already contained a lot more.

In addition to racing the penultimate round of the 2024 American TA2 Series at Virginia International Raceway this weekend for F.A.S.T Racing, the Australian driver has also already raced a School Bus and Stacker Car.

The last time the “Lismore Bullet” was in America was June at Mid-Ohio when he made highly anticipated TA2 comeback after a disappointing full 2023 campaign and went straight to the front row.

He was in the fight for victory before being turned from the lead.

Herne hopes to complete the job when he makes his comeback at Virginia.

“It’s been a great year so far, it started out

PREMIAIR NULON Racing believes the new fuel restrictors brought in for Bathurst will only provide a “small change”.

This year larger fuel hoses were implemented to speed up pit stop times, but teams found they were inconsistent and almost too fast for driver changes at the recent Sandown 500.

Ahead of the Great Race Supercars has introduced a 46mm restrictor, 3mm smaller than Sandown, to create more consistent pit stops.

However, PremiAir Nulon Racing race engineer Andrew Gilliam does not believe it will have much of an impact.

“We had the 49mm restrictor at Sandown but to equalise the field a bit the category has introduced a 46mm restrictor in the cars themselves which should reduce the variability,” Gilliam explained.

with a bit of uncertainty although slowly but surely pieces are falling together once again and I’m excited to be returning to the American TA2 Series with F.A.S.T Auto and Howe Racing once again,” said Herne.

“This weekend will be a bit of a different format and I’ll be quite busy on the tools by the sounds of things, similar to how things have been this season in Australia with running my own car, which I am really looking forward to.

“I’ve learnt so much this season and reignited a spark in myself that I really didn’t know I lost, just enjoying the process once again of going racing and developing further as a driver and engineer, if I can use that word.

“The first win is the goal for sure, it’s

something that’s evaded me for a long time, longer than I wanted it too at least.

“I try not to single out any drivers but there’s some serious competition for this one, so for sure a good weekend at Virginia will probably stand out more than normal.

“I’m hoping we can build on our previous momentum and get the third time’s a charm win.”

Herne can turn to his last trip to Virginia for inspiration when he qualified sixth and recorded one of three podium finishes for his 2023 rookie season.

“The high-speed high-risk style of the track is something that suits me though, I always feel comfortable in a Howe car which definitely helps at a place like this as well,” he recalled.

“This was a bit of a surprise addition to the trip, as I initially came over to just do some testing in the TA2 and test some Shocks for a Dirt Late Model, but I’ve ended up staying for an extra two weeks to race some peculiar cars to say the least!

“After how strong Mid-Ohio was for us it was definitely something we were looking at, in terms of ways to be able to get on the grid.”

However, Herne has prepared for the return by racing some unusual machinery.

“Owosso Speedway will be onboard once again and I thank Rex and the team for doing so. It was a great time last weekend to race in the stacker and bus demolition race at the speedway, hopefully a bit of a far cry from what this weekend will look like,” Herne said.

“The day was split into different parts with some of it about quantifying things we wanted to learn on the car while the rest was spent on our Bathurst enduro preparation, including plenty of pit stop practice with multiple different strategies, fuel dumps with the new restrictors, brake pad changes with discs and lots of driver changes as we looked to both improve on some things we learnt at Sandown while preparing ourselves for the big one.”

“It will slow it down a little bit, but it won’t be like it was before Sandown – you will still see very quick flow rates and I think it will only be a small change, although it may give the drivers a little bit of relief in their driver changes.

the track before Sandown.

“But I don’t think it will have much of an impact on the race.”

The reason why PremiAir Nulon Racing can speak from experience is that it was the only team to save a test day for the eve of the Bathurst 1000 with the rest of the field hitting

The team is on a high after a maiden podium finish scored by James Golding and David Russell at the 500.

With Tim Slade and Cameron McLeod also on show, the team racked up a total of 885km of running at Queensland Raceway on Monday.

“It was a huge day and a very important test day, allowing us to go through some bigger changes that we normally can’t do on a race weekend as they take quite a bit of time, and it all went very smoothly and we got a lot of answers from that,” podium scoring engineer Romy Mayer said.

“We also had very important pit stop practice and also went through all the operational stuff to get ready for Bathurst, before going through tuning and set up changes.

“With no problems in either car, it was a big and productive day for all involved.”

RIVALS SIDE WITH VERSTAPPEN IN FIA FEUD …

MAX

got into hot water even before sitting in his Red Bull RB20 in Singapore after using inappropriate language during Thursday’s FIA press conference.

With the event broadcast live by F1TV and several national rights holders, the Dutchman was quickly summoned to the Stewards of the Meeting and ended up being punished with the “obligation to accomplish some work of public interest.”

The Stewards reminded all competitors that strict guidelines had been set after Toto Wolff and Frédéric Vasseur also used some expletives during the Las Vegas Grand Prix’s Friday conference, when the Frenchman was furious that Carlos Sainz’s car had effectively been destroyed by a loose manhole cover, with the Spaniard incurring on a grid penalty as he had to use an extra PU and gearbox for the rest of the weekend.

However, Verstappen was incensed with the penalty and, from then on, resorted to very short ‘two-word’ answers during the post-qualifying and post-race official press conferences, inviting the journalists to meet him outside the FIA area to answer their questions, in what was, effectively, a boycott of the official session.

On Saturday, sitting alongside a very quiet Verstappen, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton briefly commented on the punishment, with the McLaren driver initially joking that “he deserved it. Foul language …” before giving his real view on the matter. Norris described the penalty as “pretty unfair and I don’t agree with any of it.”

Even Verstappen’s arch-enemy Lewis Hamilton said that “I think it’s a bit of a joke,

to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made.” The Mercedes driver then added that if punished in the same way “I certainly won’t be doing it, and I hope Max doesn’t do it” – referring to the “work of public interest”.

Verstappen made a point of explaining that his stance “is not against the stewards, but I think it is ridiculous – so why should I give full answers? They seem to want to create a big precedent, which seems very strange.

I didn’t insult anyone. For me, this is not the way we can move forward in this sport.”

The rest of the field has clearly sided with

the world champion, who revealed that “when I published the punishment on the GPDA’s chat group everyone asked if that was a joke, because it was so stupid.”

GPDA Director Alex Wurz confirmed that “nobody in the chat thinks it’s cool and all the drivers are quite clear about it.” The Austrian added that he found it strange that the FIA and its president didn’t first seek dialogue with the association before summoning Verstappen and handing out a penalty, but admitted that “we all know you have to be careful with your choice of words, but nowadays it is also so difficult for a driver

to remain authentic and to be who he wants to be. I am personally not a fan of verbally attacking competitors, but if Max complains about his car, then that should only be a discussion with his team boss.”

Wurz admitted he’ll be speaking to the FIA officials after discussing with all GPDA members on the course of action they want the association to take and, with three weeks to go before the next Grand Prix, he hopes to have the issue resolved before Formula 1 lands in Austin, in the third weekend of October.

… AS MAX THREATENS TO QUIT THE SPORT!

MAX VERSTAPPEN admitted he may leave the sport sooner, in the aftermath of the controversial penalty he was handed by the Singapore Grand Prix Stewards “for use of inappropriate language” during the FIA’s Thursday Press Conference.

The Dutch driver warned that “these kind of things definitely decide my future as well.” He then added that “now I’m at the stage of my career that you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring.”

The Red Bull driver admitted he was surprised by the Federation’s stance, explaining that “I never really felt like I had a bad relationship with them. Even this year, I did voluntary work with junior stewards. I gave them a half an hour interview, so I tried to help out. I’m not a difficult person, so if they asked I’d say ‘OK, sure, if that’s what you guys would like’ … I like to help out.”

Continuing his explanation, Verstappen said that “when then you get treated like that, that’s just not how it works …”

Again, the world champion refused to blame the Stewards of the Meeting, explaining that what led to his punishment “is

in the Sporting Code. They have to follow the book and it’s not the Stewards – I don’t want to blame this on the Stewards, because I actually had a really good chat with them and they need to follow the code, the book. I think they are quite understanding, but it’s difficult for them as well.”

Expanding on his threat to quit Formula 1 if he’s no longer allowed to express himself the way he wants, Verstappen warned that “if you can’t really be yourself to the fullest, then it’s better not to speak. That’s what no-one wants, because then you become a robot, and it is not how you should be going about

it in the sport. It is going the wrong way to create a following.”

The Red Bull driver admitted that “of course, it’s great to have success and win races, but once you have accomplished all that winning, championships and races, then you want to just have a good time as well.

“Of course, everyone is pushing to the limit. Everyone in this paddock, even at the back of the grid, but if you have to deal with all this kind of silly things … for me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure.”

He then made it clear that “I will always be myself. I will not, because of that, change how I am in my life anyway, but also how I’m operating here.”

Asked if he would be following Hamilton’s advice to ignore the FIA punishment, Verstappen smirked and just said “he’s also not the one being punished,” before admitting that “at the moment, I’m not even thinking about it, about that ruling. I’m just focused on the performance, what we’re going to do for Austin, and beyond. That’s what I’m thinking about. For me, I shouldn’t waste any energy on it, because it’s actually just very silly.”

VERSTAPPEN

Lewis Hamilton urged Max to not comply with the ‘community service’ penalty handed down by the FIA stewards ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Lando did most of the press conference talking – Max preferred not to, in case he said the wrong thing again!

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

THE END of Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career is, rightly so, being lamented by virtually everyone that has ever had the pleasure of meeting him in the paddock – what we are all going to miss is the person, the character, the permanent smile and the disarming honesty he always displayed.

Let’s be as honest as Ricciardo himself was in his final interviews in Singapore and admit he failed to prove to Red Bull he could be a better team-mate for Max Verstappen than Sérgio Pérez has been for the majority of this season.

Proving that was the Australian’s main goal for this season and, apart from a couple of flashes –fourth both in qualifying in Miami’s Sprint event, qualifying fourth and finishing eight in Canada –Ricciardo didn’t impress, so it was obvious he wasn’t going to move up to Red Bull Racing next year. Therefore, there was no point in keeping him with VCARB in 2025, because the chances of him improving his performances next year were slim and, also, because the Austrian company had to guarantee Liam Lawson a race seat for the coming season or let him go free in the market.

All that made a lot of sense and,

with Luis Vasconcelos F1

in a way, it also made sense to put the Kiwi in the car for the final six Grands Prix of this year, to help him get a running start for 2025.

What doesn’t make sense is to only announce that Lawson will race for the Faenza-based team until the end of this year and leave his future up in the air. We all know Red Bull believes that putting their drivers under extreme pressure is the right thing to do – even against massive evidence, it’s not – but that announcement also had the effect of putting Pérez’s future with Red Bull in question, as it’s not impossible to see Lawson getting his seat in 2025 and Isack Hadjar being promoted to the role of Tsunoda’s team mate next year.

Far fetched, maybe, but much stranger things have happened in the Red Bull family …

Going back to Ricciardo, it’s clear he was just a pawn in the civil war that has been going on between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko since the death of Red Bull

founder Dietrich Mateschitz. For many years, the Austrian had failed to being any impressive youngster to Formula 1, as Kvyat, Gasly and Albon all had their chances with the main team and were either shipped back to the Junior team or simply let go.

Then came Nyck de Vries, essentially chosen on the basis of a good weekend with Williams and that was the ammunition Horner needed to shoot Marko down. The veteran had resorted to calling back drivers he’d fired before – Kvyat, Hartley, Albon – as his program was failing, so the Brit took the opportunity to impose the hiring of Ricciardo, sure he’d prove to the bosses he could select drivers much better than the octogenarian. That would be followed by his taking control of the Young Drivers’ program and taking away from Marko his last bit of control over the structure.

I can understand Ricciardo’s willingness to return, even if only

to be vying for a number two role at Red Bull, as Formula 1 was unfinished business for him after his McLaren years. I cannot understand, though, why he was chosen over Liam Lawson, who’d been sent to Super Formula when he should have been promoted to AlphaTauri at the start of 2023 instead of de Vries.

Ricciardo’s failure to deliver is a personal defeat for Horner and now it’s Marko who has the upper hand. With Lawson returning to a seat he briefly held in 2023 when the Australian was injured and Isack Hadjar fighting for the Formula 2 title, Marko has two quick youngsters ready to show what they can do right now.

Given Tsunoda is unlikely to stay with VCARB in 2026, as his links are with Honda, not Red Bull, the two could form a strong line-up, the best the team has had for almost a decade.

And there’s also 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad, moving to Formula 2 next year, the Swede showing a lot of speed but still lacking in consistency, for now.

In a way, it’s good Ricciardo got closure on his Formula 1 career but a shame he was just part of a bigger issue going on inside Red Bull. And the way Red Bull handled his departure from the scene was

embarassing for the Austrian company and painful for the driver.

I don’t think there was one single person in the Marina Bay paddock that didn’t know it was going to be Ricciardo’s last race. Even the VCARB staff did all they could to provide the clues that it was the case, as they couldn’t do anything more …

But it took five long days after the race for the announcement to be made. For all he’d done in the past for Red Bull, the man from Perth certainly deserved to be treated with more dignity and respect.

Body language ... Daniel Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull’s Junior team was tangled up in the internal war at Red Bull between Marko (left) and Horner ... It wasn’t always possible to keep that trademark smile going (below). Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

STELLA “HAPPY THAT RIVALS WASTE ENERGY” ON FLEXI-WING DEBATE

McLaren’s ‘Mini-DRS’ rear wing was the centre of post-Azerbaijan chat ... although it had been passed as legal by scrutineers.

TEAM

Stella revealed he’s “happy” about the debate on the legality of his team’s ‘mini-DRS’ –because “it means they are spending time and energy on it,” while defending that “the legality of the wing is incontrovertible.”

He also explained that his team will talk to the FIA about the wing, because “it looks like this story is becoming big.”

The Italian added that “for us, making changes is pretty much transparent, so we may as well do it. It won’t be a big

FELIPE DRUGOVICH and Aston Martin kicked off Pirelli’s 2026 tyre development with a two-day test in the Circuit de BarcelonaCatalunya on the Tuesday before the Singapore Grand Prix.

The British team had been selected in a raffle between all the teams that offered their services to the Italian tyre manufacturer when Pirelli presented its development program and asked for bids to be made.

Aware of the technical advantage that represents having more information than its rivals about the way the 2026-spec tyres will behave, most teams showed interest in taking part in this program and, in the interest of fairness, Pirelli decided that the order in which teams would be called upon testing the new prototype tyres would be decided by a lottery.

Aston Martin drew number one and, therefore, it was up to Lawrence Stroll’s team to be the first one to get to try the new prototype tyres Pirelli has been developing since the 2026 Technical Regulations were published.

Although the initial plan was for teams to have purposely modified chassis to simulate as accurately as possible the loads the 2026 cars will put on the tyres, in these early

consequence from a performance point of view,” he assured us.

From Stella’s point of view the whole subject was blown out of proportion because “once legality of the wing is incontrovertible – and it’s a fact – personally, I find that so much attention on our rear wing is just good news, because it means that opponents are not focusing on themselves.

“And Formula 1 is such a marginal game, it’s so complicated. So, when I see that

there’s so much attention from other teams, it means that they will be doing work, they will be doing analysis, they will be talking to the FIA. There’s limited time and limited energy – and they’re using this time and energy to chase something that I think is a red herring.

“So for me, as McLaren, that’s just good news. We want to come with technical solutions that may be challenging, but totally sound from a legality point of view. If others want to get distracted, keep doing

that – because for us, it’s just good news.”

Given the ‘mini DRS’ was only available on the MCL38’s low-downforce rear wing (not used in Singapore), Stella, speaking after qualifying, pointed out that,“we are on pole and I haven’t seen a lot of slot gap opening – have you? No? And we are in pole position by two tenths – that’s where I want people to focus. But, if in this sense, it’s a distraction for the others, then it’s good news for us.”

Speaking of the talks his technical team had with the FIA, Stella explained that “it also gave us the opportunity to remind the FIA that we also do some due diligence in terms of studying other people. We don’t want to spend so much energy and time with journalists and trying to create big stories, so we just told the FIA what we think is happening; and we trust and we are confident that they will talk to the other teams and make sure that they fix their own issues, which may be less visible, but definitely, they do exist!”

That’s because, as the Italian explained, “I don’t want my people at McLaren to go racing and think, ‘oh yeah, of course they won, because they have this solution’. This is just such a distraction from a mindset point of view.

“When you go racing, you think and you focus on yourself. This doesn’t mean that you don’t look at the competitors, and you don’t study how deformation happens on competitors, and you don’t go to the FIA and say ‘have you looked at that?’ That’s technical due diligence. That’s tough competition mentality that we do have at McLaren.”

stages of development the changes haven’t been too extreme and are basically based on the future suspensions. The aerodynamic configuration of the 2026 single-seaters will be very different, as will the dimensions that will tend to reduce to transform the current ground-effect cars into single-seaters defined as “agile.”

With Pirelli successfully lobbying the FIA, the teams and Formula 1 for the 18 inches wheels to remain in use, as that matches what the Italian company’s produces for high performance road cars, the width and external diameter of the tyre will change and will be slightly smaller, both at the front and rear.

After the initial phases of design, simulation and bench tests, the development program includes, in parallel, a series of track tests carried out thanks to the fundamental collaboration of the teams.

As planned, but on a different track than when first announced, Felipe Drugovich, reserve driver of the Aston Martin, was the first driver to be on the track in the circuit that has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix since 1991, the Brazilian covering a total of 670km on his first day of running.

Given the AMR23 ran with a lower

MCLAREN

Principal Andrea

Aston Martin’s reserve driver became the first to sample what Pirelli has in store for 2026.

McLAREN BOSSES QUESTION RED BULL ALLIANCE

McLAREN’S TOP management was surprised to see Lando Norris lose the extra point for the fastest lap at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix, after Red Bull’s junior team Daniel Ricciardo – on his last Formula 1 outing – was called into the pits with three laps to go and given a fresh set of Soft tyres.

Danny Ric made good use of it to lap in 1m34.486s to set the fastest lap of the race, but gaining no point as he was dead last in P18, but crucially lapping 0.439s

faster than what Norris had managed some 15 laps earlier.

A fresh set of Softs with a couple of laps to go allowed departing VCARB (nee Red Bull Junior Team) driver Daniel Ricciardo to steal a fastest lap point from Lando Norris. McLaren’s Andrea Stella was “surprised ...”

For a couple of minutes it had looked like Kevin Magnussen would get the fastest lap of the race as the Dane, having pitted with a puncture, had set a personal best of 1m34.754s but this time was deleted as he’d gone over track limits, so it was Norris who lost the extra point – and the least one can say is that McLaren CEO Zak Brown was not amused … The American believed Ricciardo’s call for

Soft tyres “was a nice ‘A/B’ team sporting thing that I didn’t think was allowed,” then adding that “hey, that’s not the first time we’ve seen it – probably won’t be the last.” Brown insisted that “I’ll certainly ask some questions. It’s something I’ve spoken about in the past and I think it illustrates that it does happen, because I think you wouldn’t have made that pit stop to go for that. It’s not going to get anyone a point, so I think it does illustrate the issue around that topic.”

The more diplomatic Andrea Stella

admitted that “I did not see that coming …” explaining that “I was a little surprised that the highest priority of racing in Singapore was to go and score the fastest lap of the race.”

But he made a point of stating that “I have so much sympathy, support and friendship with Daniel that I’m just happy that he may add this fastest lap to his track record.”

Asked how he’d feel if Norris ended up losing the championship by just one point, the Italian just stated that “I think we just have to work hard to make sure that this doesn’t come down to a point.”

Then, on the subject of the legitimacy of two teams owned by the same company working as one, Stella pointed out that “there’s a rule in the International Sporting Code, that I think you know well from Canada last year [NB: when Norris got a penalty for delaying the queue of cars behind him, under Safety Car, to open a gap to team-mate Piastri to avoid him losing positions in the pits] about unsportsmanlike behaviour, sporting ethics. Does the sister team of the team you’re competing against, taking a point off you indirectly, not potentially violate that?”

Warming up to the theme, the Italian concluded that “this is not a coalition championship. Therefore this needs to be definitely addressed – but at no point do I have elements now to say Racing Bulls went for the fastest lap to support Red Bull. I just find it a little peculiar …”

HORNER UPSETS WOLFF WITH ‘RUSSELL FOR 2026’ SUGGESTION

CHRISTIAN HORNER has managed to upset arch-enemy Toto Wolff yet again, by suggesting Red Bull could be interested in hiring George Russell from the start of 2026.

Given the Brit’s contract with Mercedes is up for renewal at the end of next season, Horner has hinted the English driver could be up for grabs and explained that, “it would be foolish not to take that into consideration.”

It didn’t take long for the Austrian to take the bait as, a couple of days later, Wolff accused Horner of “always stirring shit up … it is part of the game,” and it was clear he didn’t enjoy being on the receiving end, after many, many months of openly courting Max Verstappen who, as it’s universally known, is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028!

The context in which Horner was asked about his future options came on the back of Sérgio Pérez’s tremendously disappointing season that is very likely to cost Red Bull the Constructors’ title.

With Daniel Ricciardo failing in his quest to impress the team enough to get the second Red Bull seat back for 2025, Horner’s reply on the subject was, to say the least, an interesting one: “The Red Bull system does demand

results and demand performance. Of course, Max is delivering but Checo has been under-delivering this year. Last year, he did a good job, or good enough job to finish second in the championship and for us to be Constructors’ champions.”

It was then that Horner revealed that “we’re not afraid to go out of the pool,” before noting that “George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration,” concluding that “there are other drivers, talented drivers, that will be out of contract as well …”

Given that Pérez insists he has a fixed contract for 2025 and 2026, the fact Horner is openly discussing the Mexican’s seat for the second year hints that there are performance clauses he hasn’t been meeting and that, therefore, he may be dropped before the end of his deal if he doesn’t raise his game quickly.

Wolff, for his side, insisted that “George is a Mercedes driver and has been forever and hopefully will be forever. We have a long contract with him.”

How that matches up with the Austrian’s open desire to snatch Max Verstappen from Red Bull was not explained, as Wolff also guaranteed newly-hired Kimi Antonelli will be racing for Mercedes for a long time.

Speaking about his 2025 line-up, Wolff guaranteed that “these two are the future. They have been and will be Mercedes drivers and, therefore, we have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer, that are very complicated in terms of options. Mercedes has always been a pressure cooker, but this is where we stand as a team today – we want to go with these two.”

Could this be a sign that Wolff now believed Max Verstappen is set to move to Aston Martin-Honda the moment he decides to leave Red Bull? Only time will tell but it’s clear that three drivers into two seats doesn’t fit …

Pot. Kettle. Black. Toto didn’t react too well to Horner’s quip that Red Bull might pinch George Russell!

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

IT’S REALLY ONLY ONCE A YEAR

BATHURST COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR. YES, THE SUPERCARS CIRCUS TRIED FOR A SECOND CHRISTMAS IN 2024, BUT THAT JUST PROVED THERE IS ONLY ONE RACE AT BATHURST THAT COUNTS, AND THAT IS THE 1000 ...

By ANDREW CLARKE

WE ALL waxed lyrical about the Bathurst 1000, and how we were glued to the television set each October (in most cases) to watch a set of warriors in steel frames take on our greatest automotive challenge. As we grew up, the fascination evolved. For some it became an obsession, while for others it became a competition of man versus machine and mountain.

It is the reason the sport is where it is at today. But what is it that makes it so special?

Partly, it is the track. The Mount Panorama track is a purpose-built racing circuit that is open to the public for everyday use.

In the 1930s, Mayor Martin Griffin realised the only way he was going to get Federal funding – during the Great Depression – for his racing track was to make a public road, so he did.

It climbs up the side of a mountain once known as Wahluu to the Wiradjuri peoples, and it looks over Bathurst and the surrounding areas just as it does over Australian motorsport.

But if you’re reading this, we probably don’t need to tell you too much more about why the Bathurst 1000 is one of Australia’s greatest sporting events. All we need to say is Happy Bathurst Day.

THE WARRIORS

FIFTY-TWO DRIVERS will line up for the race this year, with the series regular 24 cars joined by two wildcards. There are 16 Chevrolet Camaros and 10 of the latest generation Ford Mustang and 10 former winners of the race with a total of 19 wins since 1996 when Craig Lowndes took his first of seven wins.

Triple Eight has dominated the past two decades with a win every two years, and four of the last six. Walkinshaw Andretti United has won eight since the beginning of time, Dick Johnson Racing four, Tickford two and Erebus one as the current teams in the pitlane to have won the race. There are engineers in virtually every team in pitlane who have won as well, and all continue to dream about another … they are no different to the drivers.

There is the battle of man and machine, the relentless hunt for speed. A rabid desire to make the famous Top 10 Shootout – the original and the best – and winning a Bathurst pole carries as much kudos today as it did when Greg Murphy ran his ‘Lap of the Gods’ 21 years ago.

Two drivers will walk away as Bathurst Champions on Sunday 13 October, but they won’t have done it alone.

This race, more than any other, is all about being a team, from building the best widget to playing the right strategy game and executing it properly.

It is not easy to get it all right, and that is why this race matters so much.

Luck may take a win away, but it never gives you the win.

THE CHANGES TO THE RACING FORMAT

THERE HAVE been some changes this year which will mix it up a bit too. We know from last year that 29-30 laps is the number to target for a full tank of fuel, but all those early stops are being scheduled with only one thought in mind – how do you get the last stop to be as short as possible?

Last year Shane van Gisbergen’s final stop was on lap 148 after the second half of the race went green all the way. This was three laps after Brodie Kostecki and five after Anton De Pasquale, which virtually guaranteed he would retain the lead.

He needed 13 laps worth of fuel to make the flag, which meant his stop was shorter than the others, so if he was in the cut and thrust of the race, rather than leading relatively comfortably, he could have jumped others with his wheels in the air for less time. He was the last of the leading runners to pit.

In terms of strategy, aside from the need to get 54 laps into the co-driver, getting that final pitstop at the right time and having it as short as possible is all that counts. If you have track

position in the final stint, you are laughing. Just ask Cam Waters who has had speed in the final stint in three of the past four years, but only has three podiums on his CV.

SO, TO THE UNKNOWNS AND THE QUESTIONS.

FORD ENGINE ISSUES … A REAL UNKNOWN

IT IS impossible to talk about potential winners of this race without talking about the Ford engines. At Sandown, a serious issue with the crankshaft was unearthed, and five of the 10 cars suffered a failure believed to be crack related over the course of the race weekend and subsequent drive day. We’ve written about that, but what we can’t tell you is whether everything will be OK for the Great Race. Will the Fords be able to race hard over 1000km or will they need to be nursed? We sit in the camp of placing enough faith in Motorsport Powertrains, a subsidiary of Dick Johnson Racing, to have a fix in place by the time we get to Bathurst. They’ll know what went wrong, and whether it was a poor batch of cranks or a harmonic balancer that was too small or whatever else, will probably only be known to insiders – until the leaks start pouring out over the Bathurst weekend – but it will be fixed, and the Fords will be able to race. We have faith!

Phones in the air! Hundreds of Turn 1 amateur photographers record the start of the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000. Image: PETER NORTON,

Driver/co-driver balance is crucial early on –Waters/Moffat last year. Below: PremiAir Racing has an 'expert' co-driver in Dave Russell. Bottom: The timing of the final stop is crucial. Below right: 2023 winners – Shane van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway.

twice to stop double stacking. Car #87 can stop first if it is the leading Red Bull Ampol Racing car and then, on the next lap, car #88 can stop before the field is bunched up. They are guaranteed not to lose any ground by staying out.

It sucks the life out of the race.

In the past, teams would split strategies to try and avoid the double stack. Not any longer, which means strategies will align in a potential yawn-fest. Not to mention the need for an extra two laps for every Safety Car.

For all the reasons cited for its need, none have ever been an issue. This is OHS wokeness at its best. And like most other woke behaviour, it sucks.

QUICKER FUEL DROP ... EQUALS LESS TIME STATIONARY

BECAUSE OF the FCY rules, the quicker fuel drop won’t be as important, but it does open it up a little bit. At Sandown it played no role at all, but if the FCY rule is tossed into the bin where it belongs, this could shake it all up.

But it won’t change, so one of the best changes is meaningless.

TYRES V FUEL ... YOU NEED PLENTY OF BOTH TO WIN

Images: PETER NORTON, MARK HORSBURGH

LEAD DRIVERS STARTING ... AS IT SHOULD BE!

THE TEAMS are bleating over the decision to start the race with the lead drivers in the car. This is a marketing move from Supercars that makes perfect sense to us. The TV audience is at its biggest at the start of the race and the name drivers need to be in the car. The totem on the side of the screen needs to be clear and not in need of explanation.

Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife should not have to explain that Tony D’Alberto who is starting the race is the co-driver for Anton De Pasquale. Or that Jamie Whincup is no longer the main man in car #88 … or whatever. It makes sense.

But the teams say it is taking away strategy options – which is just crap given most used to start the co-drivers anyway on aligned strategies. They can sook away in a corner and complain about this while they support the full course yellow (FCY) which killed the Sandown 500. In both these cases their

voices should not be heard, but we’ll get to the FCY in a second.

If the race went green the whole way, you could get through this race with five stops –six stints. A co-driver needs to run 54 Laps, which means two stints which fits the longheld theory that the race only starts on lap 100, and then really only heats up after 140. Get rid of the co-driver before triple digits is the mantra, then race hard.

The change to starting the lead driver will make no tangible difference to anyone in pitlane, but it will be significant for the sport.

FULL COURSE YELLOW… IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG RACE-TIMEWISE.

THE FCY rules at Sandown destroyed what could have been a good race, it took the need for alternative strategy options off the table and provided safety and certainty.

When a Safety Car is called, the cars have 15 seconds to drop to 80km/h in what is then a virtual Safety Car.

Then, the Safety Car passes the pits

TYRES WILL not be an issue at Bathurst this year with the return to the Hard tyre. What it also means is that the marbles off the racing line won’t be so much of a factor either, which opens up passing opportunities later in the race.

These cars can run up to 30 laps on a tank of fuel and the tyres will easily do that. Nothing to see here.

CO-DRIVERS ... BRING IT BACK STRAIGHT PLEASE …

THE CO-DRIVER’S role is to generally run to a number and return the car unscathed for the lead driver to triple stint on the way home. Increasingly though, the gun codriver has created new strategy options and the role of Richie Stanaway, Garth Tander and Lee Holdsworth in the past three wins has shaken the system a little.

A co-driver who can race with the lead drivers opens strategy calls which can make a huge difference depending on where the Safety Cars fall. On our driver ratings this year, there are four A-Grade co-drivers –Tander, Pye, Russell and Whincup – and several knocking on that door such as Hazelwood (if PG wasn’t so harsh he’d be an A), Holdsworth, D’Alberto and Luff.

In the past drivers like Luke Youlden, Jonathon Webb and Paul Morris have won the race, but in recent years the co-drivers have all been in the gun category and we have reflected their importance in our driver ratings.

THE

FINAL STINT … THE RACE THAT COUNTS

THE RUN home is the most important part of the race. The smart teams set the car setup for the run home; the engineers take an educated guess about what is needed, and the drivers just have to make sure they get the car to that point without damaging the thing. The race's 161 laps will go full distance, even if it is dark, and we will know the answers. The chances are (only the #25 Mostert/Holdsworth entry has two winners in the car) that someone, and maybe both drivers, will be a first time Bathurst winner and their lives will change forever. Bring on the 2024 Repco Bathurst 1000.

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

BATHURST 1000 FORM GUIDE

WINNING BATHURST REQUIRES A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF DRIVERS, CAR AND TEAM. ONE BAD CALL FROM PITLANE AND YOUR RACE FOR VICTORY CAN BE DONE AS QUICKLY AS BY AN ERROR IN THE CAR. IT MAY NOT BE AS OBVIOUS OR SPECTACULAR, BUT THE REALITY IS THAT IT CAN BE LOST IN THE PITS AS EASILY AS ON THE TRACK ...

by ANDREW CLARKE

IT IS a lot easier to lose this race than it is to win, but we don’t believe the Mountain chooses its master; we think it is about having everything right on the day.

In our annual ratings we look at all the aspects of what makes up a winning Bathurst combination, rating each component before weighting them and coming up with an overall score out of 100. We look at the driver and co-driver for speed and consistency and X-factor. Then there’s the car that has been built

and then the team’s ability to make the right calls in the race.

So, some assumptions. Parity shouldn’t be an issue, although we are told there was no aero testing done at more than around 250km/h ... but we don’t expect that to be a factor. Nor the engines, in terms of parity at least with the transient dyno testing providing a finish to those arguments ... in theory.

But the elephant in the room is, in fact, the engines and the issues experienced by the Ford camp at the Sandown 500 and the drive day on the Monday after.

TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING

There are 10 Fords in the field, and half of them had crankshaft issues in their Sandown and Bathurst engines, meaning Motorsport Powertrains has had to first determine the problem, and then implement a fix.

We’d suggest a bit of overtime has been earned at the engine shop, but we’re heading to Bathurst hoping and trusting all is good. If the Fords have to go gently, , for 161 laps, or even simply fail, these ratings will be way off.

For the AA ratings we had Bruce Williams, Paul Gover and I rate each entry

on the lead driver for both qualifying and the race; the co-driver (on what a codriver has to do, so not comparing then with a lead driver); the car that has been built; and the team’s ability on the day to get the stops and strategy right.

We put all that into a machine that put emphasis on certain parts of the package than others – ie, qualifying at Bathurst is less important than at a sprint round for instance – and out spits the Auto Action Car-byCar Ratings for the 2024 Repco Bathurst 1000. All scores are out of 100.

Sandown 500 winners are, not unsurprisingly, the leading contenders for the Great Race. Brown is the championship leader for a reason – his 2024 season form holds up to any acid test. Pye is only one season out of the main game and he will do the job asked of him, and the Triple Eight team knows how to win this race with four wins in the last six 1000s.

TICKFORD RACING

55 80.4

DRIVERS: THOMAS RANDLE/TYLER EVERINGHAM ENGINEER: CHRIS STUCKEY FORD MUSTANG GT

17

JOHNSON RACING

DRIVERS: WILL DAVISON/KAI ALLEN ENGINEER: RICHARD HARRIS

78.0

MUSTANG GT

FORD MUSTANG GT 11

DRIVERS: ANTON DE PASQUALE/TONY D’ALBERTO ENGINEER: PERRY KAPPER

77.6

This is one of those venerable driver pairings you just pencil in as solid and sometimes more. They do well as Bathurst too. De Pasquale is fast and D’Alberto is one of the veteran co-drivers who has a full championship in another class, and that means he hits the ground running at Bathurst. DJR is not the team it once was, but there’s enough there to rate it right up there as a contender.

DICK JOHNSON RACING

Twenty-six cars; 52 drivers – that's the Repco Bathurst 1000 line-up ...

ENGINEER: GEORGE COMMINS 1

DRIVERS: BRODIE KOSTECKI/TODD HAZELWOOD

CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 76.8

Anything is possible with this pairing but based on recent form you’ve got to rate them down. The turbulent off-season seems to still have some lagging effects, but Brodie on his day has proven he still has what it takes. If he starts the weekend with his mojo and Erebus has it all spot-on, the fastest car last year could again be right up there. Hazelwood is fresh out of the saddle and getting plenty of racing – for us he is one of the highest-rated co-drivers.

RYAN WOOD/FABIAN COULTHARD

Wood is undoubtedly a star of the future, but in his first season and his first Bathurst he remains a work in progress. Coulthard has been there and is a great and experienced co-driver that will settle the pair down without dampening its speed. The team is also a first-class contender now, so let’s see how Wood handles the weekend. 2

experienced

DRIVERS: DAVID REYNOLDS/WARREN LUFF

ENGINEER: RICHARD HOLLWAY

the race. Surprisingly he is the second-oldest driver in the field. It is up to the team though; can it elevate for the 1000?

BRAD JONES RACING

JACK LE BROCQ/JAYDEN OJEDA

Again, victims of the Erebus off-season, but Le Brocq has been really good at times this year and should put in a good show. Ojeda is good, really good, but their week will come down to the team and whether it is on form or not. Like the #99 car, our ratings could be a little low if the Erebus of last year returns to Bathurst. 9

DRIVERS: ANDRE HEIMGARTNER/DECLAN FRASER ENGINEER: TONY WOODWARD

The ageing duo just seem to be dropping off the pace a little, perhaps victims of Team 18’s up-and-down season. Winterbottom is a winner here who could turn it on, while Caruso is very much in the twilight of his career. Will be faster than this rating says, but can they put it together over 1000km? That was our query.

72.9

has at times lifted Brad Jones Racing as it struggles its way as the grip increases over the course of a weekend. And Bathurst, if it stays dry all the weekend, will do just that. Heimgartner is a race winner this year and a star. Fraser is a young guy trying to recover his future after one year in the main game with Tickford. He was very impressive at Sandown, and we know BJR is one of the smartest on strategy. 8

4

DRIVERS: CAMERON HILL/CAMERON CRICK ENGINEER: PAUL FORGIE

CAMARO ZL1 MATT STONE

The reigning race champion has struggled at times this season, but he proved in the rain at Sandown he can drive. He’s always good at Bathurst too. Wood is an

steady hand in

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

1964 ARMSTRONG 500

A SMALL FORD MASSACRE

By Mark Bisset

FORD CORTINA Mk1 two-door GTs filled eight of the Top-10 placings at Mount Panorama on October 4, 1964, in a major rout for the Blue Oval Brigade.

The Harry Firth-prepared FoMoCo works cars took the podium: the Bob Jane/George Reynolds machine was first from the Barry Seton/Herb Taylor pairing, then Harry himself partnered with John Raeburn. It was more of the same really – Harry and Bob had won in a Cortina the year before with Bruce McPhee and Graham Ryan third in another GT.

The Big V8s again comprised only the Stubaker Larks and, again, while quick in a straight line their lack of front discs was their achilles-heel. The best placed of these crowd favourite ‘Cop-Cars’ was fourthplaced Warren Weldon/Bert Needham. Holdens were thin on the ground and finished ‘nowhere’. The General worked on the S22 for 1964, an extension of the ’63 EH S4 179 theme. It had a 9:1 compression ratio, a ‘worked’ 149 head fitted with wildish cam, twin Solexes, and front discs. Said to have 135bhp and a top speed of 120mph – a rooster amongst the chookins’ it would have been for sure – then GMH announced just before the Bathurst entry closing date that no such special cars existed in production form …

A record 59 cars entered the race.

Thirteen marques, 19 different models –there was no one chassis, two engine, parity-at-all-costs bullshit back then: Citroen, Ford, Hillman, Holden, Humber, Morris, NSU, Renault, Simca, Studebaker, Triumph, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

The drivers faced the most vile, cold,

miserable weather for a Bathurst enduro ever. The roll-call was classy indeed and included many of the main-men behind the wheel or in the workshop for the next 15 years or so including Lionel Ayers, Paul Bolton, Midge Bosworth, Bill Brown, Bill Buckle, Doug Chivas, Digby Cooke, Lex Davison, Barry Ferguson, Harry Firth, Brian Foley, John French, Dennis Geary, Leo and Pete Geoghegan, Ray Gulson, Bernie Haehnle, Ron Hodgson, Bob Holden, Don Holland, Bob Jane, Spencer Martin, Bruce McPhee, Barry Mulholland, Brian Muir, John Raeburn, Brian Reed, John Roxburgh, Ralph Sach, Barry Seton, Tony Simmons, Bob Skelton, Laurie Stewart, Max Stewart, Herb Taylor, Rocky Tresise, Bryan Thompson, Phil West, Peter Williamson, David Walker, Warren Weldon and many more.

It rained cats and dogs from late Friday and continued until early on Sunday morning leaving the paddock, camping grounds and access roads an absolute quagmire.

Practice was indicative rather than a definitive of race potential. Legendary ARDC Chief John Hinxman allocated gridpositions by lucky-dip – a ballot ... so there was plenty of ultimate performance foxing going on during Friday and Saturday. The omnipresent rain added to the intrigue. The race started on Sunday at 9.15am with the field bunching up enormously into Hell – Bob Jane copped two taps before starting his journey up Mountain Straight. The two Studebakers were soon in the lead, doing 115 mph down Conrod. The lead group started to lap back-markers on lap seven.

After 30 laps, the Larks and Cortinas pitted, and after the first round of stops Leo Geoghegan led from Seton, Hodgson, Jane and Firth – five Corties in a row! The Studebakers would need five stops for fuel and brakes.

Leo and Pete pressed on hard, leading George Reynolds by 14 seconds; then Harry Firth came in for fuel – a broken generator strap added to his stop. While

the Cortinas were suffering from high pad wear, their front-disc performance advantage was clear.

By mid-race the Geoghegans (Class C GT) had the fastest race lap at 3:21.3 albeit the Seton/Taylor Cortina GT was quickest down the chute: 113mph against 106mph. Everything was stable by lap 80: a Studebaker in front of Class D, Coopers in B and Vivas in Class A. Then the shape of the race changed. Bob Jane passed Pete Geoghegan – the immaculate blue Cortina had broken a generator bracket which took 15 minutes to fix.

With 50 laps to run, the ‘outright’ result was set in favour of the Jane/Reynolds works Cortina GT. The Spencer Martin/ Bill Brown Vauxhall Viva won Class A from five other pursuing Vivas, while the Bruce Maher/Charlie Smith Morris Cooper triumphed in Class B from three siblings. The rumbling Studebaker Larks of Warren Weldon/Bert Needham and Fred Sutherland/Allan Mottram led home 10 other Class D machines.

Bathurst winner, 1974 – Bob Jane and George Reynolds, Ford Cortina GT ... Above left: A pack of Cortina GTs battle it out – Cooper/Hills, Firth/Reaburn, Geoghegan brothers. Top Right: The Skelton/Ismay EH Holden battles down the Mountain. Left: Yes, that’s a VW 1200! Dave Walker and Brian Milton ... Images: AUTOPICS.COM.AU

THE GOSS/BARTLETT/FALCON TEAR-JERKER 19 74

By Mark Bisset

HARDIE-FERODO 1000 1974

GENERALLY, KARMA doesn’t attend motor races, but every now and then ...

John Goss and Kevin Bartlett starred in Yellow Peril at Bathurst in 1973, starting from pole and were seemingly running away with the race until Max McLeod’s fabulous Ford Falcon XA GT351 Superbird was smote a blow by an inverted Torana in The Cutting starting a sequence of problems. By comparison, Holden’s ‘Chivas Gate’ was a self-inflicted blow.

It all came good in 1974, when the same Hardtop, now in a blue hue, won a close race from fellow privateers, Bob Forbes/Wayne Negus and Kiwis Jim Richards/Rod Coppins aboard Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34s. Goss blazed the trail in his new spectacular, bellowing Group C Superbird throughout the ’73 ATCC suffering loads of the bottom end engine failures as the superior grip of wider tyres exposed the wet-sump shortcomings of his Clevelands. Works-driver Allan Moffat raced his old-faithful XY GT-HO to an ATCC win, while Goss and Max McLeod showed-off the lines of the new XA Falcon to the punters. Holden Dealer Team’s Peter Brock squeezed one more old-jigger victory when he took the ’74 ATCC, securing most of his points with the outgoing LJ Holden Torana GTR XU-1. By the start of the Manufacturers’ Championship the performance enhanced Torana SL/R 5000 L34 was in use. Colin Bond won on a wing-and-a-prayer in Adelaide, with Brock having similar bottom end problems to the Fords. The quickie-fix, twin-electric pump boost system, used on the Fords was adopted by Harry Firth for his cars while CAMS turned a blind eye. Legalising dry-sumps would have been a cheaper fix.

Allan Moffat’s Project B52 Falcon GT Superbird – just back from its development trip to the ‘States – won at Sandown, the traditional Bathurst warm-up, it was game on. Fans around the country waved bye-bye to the boss and headed to Mount Panorama to watch it all play out, a record 38,000 of ‘em! Another layer of pathos was added when Gossy again saddled up with KB despite the Curl Curl Kid not being fully fit after a huge accident in the first round of the ’74 Tasman Cup at Pukekohe when Bartlett lost his Lola T330 Chev F5000 at high speed, breaking both legs.

While the field was chock full of all of the performance cars of the day, it was the outright battle that fascinated: three Falcons, faced off against twelve L34s. Goss/Bartlett were third fastest of the Top-10, the rest were Holdens, seven L34s and a pair of venerable XU-1s. Brock was quickest, sharing with Brian Sampson, Bond second, Bob Skelton was his offsider.

raceday, the early order was Bond, Brock, Jane, Moffat – off to a great start after an engine change ruined practice – Hunter, Goss, Richards, Forbes and Morris.

The HDT duo then drove into the distance. By lap 12, when Moffat made his first of many stops, only Goss, Richards, Forbes, Grice and Morris were on the same lap as the HDT amigos. Gricey’s bearing rattle on lap 19 was indicative of the L34 carnage to come.

After 40 laps the order was Brock, Bond, Morris, Bartlett, Negus, Blanchard and Pollard – the latter fitted with a wet-sump John Sheppard built engine – McRae and Richards. There was rain at the top of the circuit by lap 62. Goss pitted, having driven all the way down the mountain with a ruined right-front tyre/wheel on the grass, then Bond’s car began to smoke, losing oil through a leaking sump and was black-flagged, but struggled on. Moffat’s troubled race came to an end when he was unable to find a gear, shortly after

the crowd roared when Brock’s car belched smoke. It has been reported that a piston had failed after an electric oil pump breakage. But insiders admit that a carburettor jet blockage is likley the real reason a piston failed.

At this stage the Forbes/Negus L34 led, then Goss copped another puncture just as Jim Richards demonstrated the Rain-master skills which became his hallmark. Goss got to within five seconds of Forbes then had to pit as he was perilously close to the maximum 3.5 hours each driver was allowed at the wheel. Bartlett set off after Forbes in the final stint. That car had to pit for fuel, on lap 149 and the Pit Straight crowd lit up as the blue Ford took a lead it never relinquished. It was hardly cruise-and-collect in those conditions though, and KB was under pressure from Forbes who got to within nine seconds of his fellow Sydneysider before a misfire decided the matter. One of The Great Race’s greatest, folks…

When

Come

Below: John Goss and Kevin ‘KB’ Bartlett took out the 1974 race in the McLeod Ford Falcon GT Hardtop. Far left: Auto Action’s Bathurst ‘74 cover!

Images:

ARCHIVES

It was an HDT front row ... Above right: Bob Forbes and Wayne Negus finished second in their Torana. Right: Jim Richards and kiwi mate Rod Coppins were third – also in a Torana ...

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

BEST OF THE BIG BANGERS

PETER BROCK LEADS FAMOUS FORMATION FINISH FOR HDT ‘BIG BANGERS’

By Paul Gover

SOME BATHURST races fade over time, but not 1984.

It’s one of the contests that turned Australia’s favourite race into ‘The Great Race’.

Peter Brock might have scored an easy win and led a 1-2 sweep for the Marlboro Holden Dealer team, but there was much more to the weekend than a simple demonstration run for the dayglo red and white Group C Commodores.

All the crack drivers and teams had gathered for the fray, with Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat, Allan Grice, Jim Richards and George Fury all at the height of their powers.

Car makers were also heavily invested in the battle, with Holden lined up against Ford, BMW, Mazda and Nissan. And there was the Chevrolet Camaro.

There was even a Jaguar XJ-S coupe, as Tom Walkinshaw joined former winner John Goss, bringing with him a bunch of go-faster bits from Britain that allowed him to make the Top 10 shootout.

It’s no wonder the race was known as ’The Last of the Big Bangers’, a tag initially dreamed up by Holden’s skunkworks PR boss Tim Pemberton to describe the Brock team’s outrageous Commodore contenders.

But that’s not all . . .

The 1984 race was also the start of the Group A era in Australia and, while the wild Group C powerhouses battled like raging dinosaurs at the front of the field, there was a separate class battle raging back in the pack with cars which looked (a lot) more like the ones in showrooms.

Peter Williamson had a Toyota Supra and there were Alfas and tiddler Corollas, and

even a dreadful front-wheel drive Nissan EXA coupe for future star Glenn Seton and Christine Gibson.

But the real action was provided by a pair of Rover Vitesses, officially backed by Jaguar Land Rover Australia and fielded by TWR from Britain as a fly-in, fly-out operation. It was the toe-in-the-water test which would provide victory in Group A but also set the beachhead for TWR’s return with its Group A ’Tomcat’ Jaguars.

The background to Bathurst in 1984 was typically torrid, at a time when car makers and their teams were battling for every advantage. There was intended to be parity, of sorts, between wildly different makes and models and that meant cars which were always on the edge.

Somehow Mazda managed to get its two-seater RX-7 classified as a ’touring car:’ Nissan turned the boost all the way to 11 under Howard Marsden with a car that was not in local showrooms; while the VK Commodore and XE Falcon grew outrageous

flared guards and big spoilers in the most obvious reflection of the technical battle.

By the time of Bathurst, the touring car championship had already been run and won by Dick Johnson in his signature Greens-Tuf Falcon.

But it was anything but a walkover, as Brock went back-to-back with wins in the first two races. Moffat won at Wanneroo Park after a crafty gamble on refuelling, then Fury bagged a win in the wet at Lakeside and Grice claimed the season finale in Adelaide.

The touring car dramas carried into Bathurst, as the Moffat and Grice teams entered two cars with the same drivers –planning to race only one to the finish – and this upset the Hardies Heroes shoot-out.

Bitterly cold weather – with snow at the top of the mountain – played to the strength of the turbo Nissan with Fury claimed pole with a lap in 2 minutes 13.850 seconds, as Brock managed a 14.039 with Moffat and his RX-7 co-driver Gregg Hansford taking fifth and eighth.

There was more drama at the start, when Walkinshaw had clutch failure that triggered a giant pile-up and a red flag stoppage for the first full re-start, minus some cars, in race history.

Success was relatively straightforward for the MHDT, as Brock and co-driver Larry Perkins completed their third straight triumph in a reflection of car speed and the quality of the whole crew under Perkins. It was proven when John Harvey and David Parson took second in a formation finish.

Moffat and Hansford were third, ahead of Warren Cullen and Alan Jones in another Commodore, as the list of non-finishers – and the non-starting Ford Mustang for Johnson and John French in Group A – was one of the longest in modern race history.

Jeff Allam and Armin Hahne (who would win for Jaguar alongside Goss in ‘85), took the Group A honors with their Rover and finished 12th, on 152 laps, only 11 down on the winning Brock-mobile.

THE FALCON FLIES HIGH

DICK AND JOHN TAKE THE DOUBLE AS ‘THE KID’ MAKES HIS MARK 19 94

By Paul Gover

MOST PEOPLE only remember one thing about Bathurst in 1994.

It was the bold around-the-outside pass at the top of Mountain Straight that took 20-year-old Craig Lowndes into the lead at Griffins Bend and announced his arrival as a future star in touring car racing.

Lowndes now admits he missed his braking, and John Bowe declined to fight him for the spot with victory on the line –but it was a truly memorable moment.

It came at a time when Aussie muscle cars were the fan favourites, the touring car championship had grown to 10 rounds, but a new generation of two-litre touring cars were sliding into the action.

It would only be a couple of years before the creation of V8 Supercars to properly promote and market the homegrown heroes – cars and drivers – and the introduction of Super Touring that triggered the biggest Bathurst battle in the history of the race. It would be the last race with a two-class entry as Ford-versus-Holden and Falconversus-Commodore provided the inspiration for a new generation of touring car fans.

Lowndes’ performance also signalled a significant change on the driving front, as the old guard of owner-drivers started to step back and a new generation of paid hotshoes arrived to fill their spots.

But that was still to come as team boss Dick Johnson and his hired gun Bowe claimed victory in the Bathurst 1000.

They were sharing an EB Falcon which was a world away from the Ford Sierra turbo which first carried the pair to first place in 1989.

Lowndes was second with the Holden Racing Team and got plenty of credit, even though it was Brad Jones who had done the largely unrecognised heavy lifting to get himself and ’The Kid’ back into contention after also qualifying ninth in the Top 10 shootout.

Larry Perkins and former MotoGP racer Gregg Hansford were third, a year after the pair had scored one of Perkins’ six victories at Mount Panorama. It was a time when the former F1 racer was at his peak as Commodores from Perkins Engineering won three times through the 1990s, but just months before Hansford was killed in a crash at Phillip Island in a Ford Mondeo.

Best of the 2-litre cars was Paul Morris, sharing with BMW factory racer Altfrid Heger, in a factory-prepared 318i. They had only qualified 31st but finished in 10th place, as BMWs screamed home to a 1011-12 result, although eight laps behind the winners at the flag.

The results were one thing, but there were

plenty of other stories as only 26 cars took the chequered flag from the 45 who started the race.

Most significant, with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight, was the non-finish for Glenn Seton, who had lined up with Paul Radisich. He had qualified his Falcon on pole position with a lap in 2 minutes 12.1464 seconds, edging out Peter Brock, and was a consistent pace-setter throughout the weekend.

But, just after halfway through the 161-lap contest, his engine failed and contributed another non-finish to the record of the best driver never to win at Mount Panorama. There were other high-profile casualties. Brock, who had started from the front row with Tomas Mezera as his co-driver after building a bridge with Holden that put him back into the HRT factory team, crashed at the top of the Mountain in a rare error that signalled the start of his decline as a front-line racer. It also meant he missed a potential $100,000 payday, as he was

offered that bonus if he could claim his 10th Bathurst win.

Wayne Gardner, who was operating his Coca-Cola Commodore team from Sydney after his own split from HRT, where the crew unkindly nicknamed him ‘Captain Chaos’, was another who crashed out of the race after hitting oil.

Mark Skaife, who came to Bathurst as the touring car champion after taking four wins in the Winfield Commodore prepared by Fred Gibson’s team, should have been a contender with Jim Richards alongside him and third on the grid. But he, too, crashed. In a pointer to the future, there was a group of high-profile rookies who raced alongside Lowndes in ’94.

Steven Johnson shared a family Falcon with Allan Grice and Greg Murphy raced an unlikely Toyota Carina in the two-litre class, only managing 23rd place.

Below: Johnson and Bowe followed up their Sandown 500 win with a solid Bathurst win.

Above left: It was wet for the start ... Brock led out of Turn 1.

Top right: Brad Jones and debutant Lowndes weren’t far away in second ... Above right: LP, with Greg Hansford battles for third with the Longhurst/O’Brien B&H Commodore.

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

HISTORY REPEATS

By Thomas Miles

SPLIT ENZ may say “history never repeats” but another Kiwi legend, Greg Murphy, proved that wrong as he and Rick Kelly went back-to-back, mirroring the 2003 result and leading home Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton.

However, the way the two teams returned to the Mount Panorama podium was totally different in 2004.

Unlike 2003 when the #51 was untouchable following the ‘Lap of the Gods,’ Kmart Racing had to pull off some strategy smarts to send the Spider-Man VY Commodore to glory.

After a slow start, Murphy was only ninth in the early stages, but he and Kelly opted for the five-stop strategy in the #15 and it paid dividends.

The crunch moment was Lap 134 when leader Brad Jones/John Bowe, second placed Russell Ingall, third placed Murphy and Lowndes in fourth all boxed to complete their final stop under a Safety Car caused by a Griffins Bend clash between Mark Winterbottom and Garth Tander, ending the latter’s podium hopes.

A shorter fuel stop saw Murphy jump both the Falcons to snatch track position and once in front, the Kiwi was untouchable.

He cruised to a 9s gap to record back-toback wins for himself and Kelly as Lowndes snatched second from Bowe, who recovered from an early race spin.

After the 2003 domination, Murphy and Kelly had to fight hard to complete their second straight win, this time driving the #15 in Spider-Man colours.

“To do this twice in a row ... I am absolutely blown away,” Murphy said.

“After the first stint we were struggling a bit,

but then the race came to us.

“The last stop was the back-breaker. I came in with half a tank and the Safety Car came out at the perfect time.”

In front of the newly-constructed pit complex, there was drama as early on Mountain Straight where the front row almost took each other out.

Steven Richards, driving with father Jim, took pole by what remains the smallest margin ever, 0.0012s over Jason Bright and little separated the pair as they came out of Hell Corner.

The two Commodores clashed on corner exit, almost sending Bright into a spin, but they somehow kept it straight despite finding the inside grass.

The tangling Holdens presented the perfect gift for Ford hero Marcos Ambrose to rise from fifth to first and control the early stages.

The reigning champion looked ominous, building a 12s advantage prior to the first Safety Car caused by a Garth Walden crash in the Esses on Lap 20.

This kicked off a dramatic turn of events as a number of cars found trouble in the opening half, headlined by the #05.

A record crowd had turned out to see Peter Brock take part in his 32nd and final

Bathurst 1000 in a third Holden Racing Team Commodore with the famous #05 on the door.

However, fans did not even get the chance to see the King of the Mountain record a single racing lap.

Co-driver Jason Plato retired in unforgettable circumstances on Lap 29.

Having whacked the wall coming out of Murrays, Plato was crawling in a crippled Commodore on the exit of The Chase when an unsighted John Cleland clipped the Brit.

The contact sent the sister OzEmail Falcon skywards before landing and rolling on its roof.

“I had seen (Plato) a lap before and did not expect to see him ‘faffing’ about in the middle of the track. I just don’t understand,” Cleland said.

“It thought there was plenty of room when five or six cars got by. It was a daft situation,” Plato said.

The heartbreak meant Brock was denied a farewell lap.

“This makes me all the more determined that this is the right time to (quit) and there is a new direction in life. Throwing the helmet around is not the way to do things and I am most disappointed for the fans.”

At the same time, Mark Skaife’s campaign

ended when the #2 shed an alternator belt, while championship contender Jason Bright suffered brake dramas.

Alan Gurr lost it at the top of the Mountain in a fast Paul Morris Commodore which led to ‘The Dude’ saying on TV it was “the end of (Gurr’s) career.”

Triple Eight showed pace with Dean Canto and Paul Radisich but an incident in the Esses and spindle failure ended their respective races.

It was a dramatic and tough day for the Richards father-son duo, who found the Griffins Bend wall before a knockout blow was dealt by a kangaroo, which was horrifically hit in the Cutting.

The sister Perkins entry of Paul Dumbrell started third, but hit the wall at The Dipper. Marcos Ambrose scored his best Bathurst 1000 result of fourth. The #1 SBR Pirtek Falcon led early, but ran out of sequence to the leaders, which meant Ambrose made his final stop under green and was 10s short of the podium.

Below: ‘Murph’ and Rick Kelly blazed to their second win while (inset) Brad Jones and John Bowe made the podium. Above Left: The front row featured the Richards duo (#11) and Jason Bright/ Paul Weel (#50). Top Right: Lowndes/Seton finished second, while (above right) Brock’s car was taken out in

THE WACKY GREAT RACE

UNLIKELY DUO FLY FROM LAST TO FIRST IN THE WILDEST AND WACKIEST GREAT RACE EVER 20 14

By Thomas Miles

THE 2014 Bathurst 1000 is rightly regarded as one of the strangest races ever, which saw Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris starting from the back of the grid, crash, then take the Peter Brock Trophy on the very last lap.

At 7h58m53.2s it was the longest Great Race ever, but took fans on a journey like no other with non-stop drama, an infamous red flag for track repairs, incidents, brilliant driving, record speeds and strategy gambles creating a podium no-one predicted.

It all culminated in a finish for the ages with Jamie Whincup, who started 24th after a quali crash in the Cutting, ignoring team radio and going for glory.

The #1 VF Commodore pushed into the 2m07s and built a 3s advantage, but was running out of fuel.

Just when he looked unbeatable, Whincup started slowing on the penultimate lap, bringing Mostert onto his tail when they took the white flag.

After three looks over the top of the Mountain, Mostert finally nudged his way past at Forests Elbow to steal a stunning win as the out-of-gas Whincup crawled, coughed and sputtered his way to fifth.

It completed the craziest win as the 22-yearold Mostert and 46-year-old Morris went from starting last to being in the fence at Griffins Bend before arriving in victory lane.

“Oh wow, second year in main game and this happens! The FPR guys gave me a rocket-ship – we didn’t have it in qualifying, but god we had it in the race,” Mostert said. “I just kept screaming in the cockpit ‘cough you bastard, cough.’ I was committed to The

Elbow, last corner and The Chase. I had to have a crack and we pulled it off. Go Ford!”

The action kicked off as early as Friday when Whincup and Reynolds crashed in qualifying, while Mostert was excluded due to passing a car under red flags.

By Saturday the Mountain had already claimed its first victim with Garth Tander and Warren Luff ruled out from a practice smash.

As Luff approached Griffins Bend, the brake pedal went to the floor and he careered into Craig Lowndes and the tyre barrier.

With the #2 on its side and suffering rollcage damage, their Great Race was over before race day as Shane van Gisbergen flew to his one and only pole.

When the lights went out under perfect blue skies, there were two races to watch; the one with those at the front, and the fast guys charging from the back.

As Scott McLaughlin snuck his Volvo through a tight gap between a slow-moving van Gisbergen and the inside wall off the line to hit the lead, Whincup was on a mission and ran down the entire field in one astonishing 130km stint.

The first dose of drama occurred on Lap 26 when Luke Youlden got beached in The Chase gravel and the #14 would later have a close call with a kangaroo.

In more pain for BJR, both Jason Bright and Dale Wood were effectively wiped out from a strange crash under Safety Car at Reid Park.

As the first half of the race progressed, Griffins Bend became more and more of a talking point.

Morris infamously was the first to fire into the tyres, but critically made it back to the pits and rejoined, last. Then Taz Douglas and Scott Pye did the same, which meant #Turn2 was trending on Twitter and few were surprised when the reds were waved on lap 61 to repair the offending piece of tarmac.

Once the race restarted, Whincup had a tangle with Todd Kelly coming out of the Chase and the #1 was hit with a drivethrough.

Soon the contenders were dropping like flies in the second half as the narrative kept taking unbelievable turns.

Reynolds dropped out with an alternator issue, Steven Johnson crashed at Sulman

Cutting, Lowndes spun Winterbottom, while van Gisbergen was in the box seat, only to lose three laps when his #87 stalled trying to leave the pits.

All of this unfolded in the last 60 laps to create a finish that had to be seen to be believed.

Like Mostert, James Moffat/Douglas bounced back from the Griffins tyres to take a sensational second for the battling Nissan Altima, while Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin were equally as surprised to be on the podium in the satellite Walkinshaw Commodore.

Bathurst has produced six decades of magic, but none were quite like that wonderfully wacky sunny Sunday a decade ago.

Park, Lee Holdsworth went upside down in a horrifying smashed at Griffins, Tim Blanchard, McLaughlin and Robert Dahlgren crashed in the

Below: Strangest win of all time? Chaz and The Dude ... Inset: Pit straight line-up under red flag for track repairs.

Above left: Even team manager Tim Edwards can hardly believe it ... Top right: Whincup ‘blanked’ his team’s request to ease up, then ran out of fuel. Above: A Volvo (McLaughlin) led the Great Race away from pole!

Images: PETER NORTON/EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

‘YOU NEVER THINK IT IS YOUR LAST ONE’

AFTER 30 YEARS, JOHN BOWE REFLECTS

ON THE BATHURST 1994 WIN HE SHARED WITH DICK JOHNSON –THE LAST

OF TWO WINS

WHEN JOHN Bowe won the 1994 Bathurst 1000, he thought he had a few more wins there still to come. Dick Johnson Racing had finally unlocked the new V8-powered Falcon’s performance and in 1994 he took the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 double with Johnson, and then JB took the 1995 championship.

But that was it. There were no more Bathurst or championship wins after that in his time in what became Supercars.

Thirty years on, Bowe has been reflecting a bit because of the ‘zero’ on the end of the anniversary.

“It’s obviously front and centre of my mind at the moment because it’s 30 years since we did it,” he said. “It was a really good era of my racing life, and I still have very fond memories of it.

“But you never think it’s your last one. Never. I mean, we came second again … in ‘95 we got punted out of the way but in ‘96 we came second to Lowndes and Murphy.

“It was when Ross and Jimmy Stone were there, which was a very strong combination. We had some good people. We used to go to Bathurst every year thinking we could win it, even later, with Brad, I was the same.

“That’s your mindset when you go there.” Bowe says part of the reason it all worked so well was because of the relationship he

FOR HIM IN THE GREAT RACE. HE SPOKE WITH ANDREW CLARKE ...

had with Dick, which he says to this day is still incredibly strong. He ran 10 Bathursts in the same car as Johnson, for two wins and three second place finishes … and a few DNFs too.

“We were a good pairing; we always were. I was very respectful of him and I still am. I only left the team because I thought it would create an opportunity for Stevie J, but it was another year before he got a shot.”

The race itself was a cracker. The famous #17 car qualified third and was the first car to drop below the 2m12s bracket in the warmup for the Shootout, but then Johnson tagged the wall in the Shootout and started the race in 10th. The weather was all over the place, which always adds to the drama, and Bowe started the race … not that he wanted to.

“By that stage, I knew Dick very well and it was raining in the morning. Once we had our breakfast, I disappeared because I knew what was going to happen. I wandered off and talked to people and I just got out of the way.

“The next thing, Ross Stone’s found me, and he says ‘Dick wants you to start’. And I go, ‘no’. ‘Remember whose name it is up on the door,’ he said.

“So yeah, I’m sitting on the grid and the rain’s falling, the windows are steaming up, the wipers are going, and I see Dick and Jill down on the front row talking to Freddie

Gibson. I’m on row five in the 10th spot. And I look at him and I think ‘You bastard!’ “

The race played its course and the Falcon came into its own as the day progressed. As a leading Dunlop car, they were running tyre bleeders which kept the tyres operating in the optimum window … except for when a Safety Car for a Peter Brock crash slowed the field and the pressure dropped as the tyres cooled.

Which set-up the stunning finish to the race after a late Safety Car bunched the field and temporarily handed the advantage to a young Craig Lowndes who was in his first Bathurst and sharing with Brad Jones.

“The last section of laps was exciting because Lowndes passed me. We battled through the day on and off, wets, and intermediates, whatever. And then we had a Safety Car, and he was right behind me. As we circulated behind the Safety Car, the tyre pressure went way down. When it restarted, the car was very lazy, that’s why he was able to pass me.

“Once we got some tyre pressure again, I managed to get past him, but it took a bit of soul searching at the time because when you’re on to win the biggest race of the year and some bloke that’s barely out of nappies passes you, it’s not a very great feeling.”

The pass around the outside at Griffins Bend is now part of Bathurst folklore, but

all is not as it seems.

“I think at the time he said that he missed the brake pedal or something. It was a bit of a weird moment ... I’d covered him off on the inside so he went round the outside and I gave him room because it would be silly to go and crash.

“We started 10th; we played the changing tyre game quite often. We were nearly a lap behind at one stage and we fought our way back because the car was quick. When the car’s quick and it’s doing what you want it to do, you can really knuckle down. It was my favourite Bathurst, for sure.”

It was a hard-earned win for Dick and JB in ‘94. Opposite: Larry Perkins and Greg Hansford finished third – here leading Mark Skaife in the early damp conditions.

Top of page: sharing the rostrum with the great Channel 7 commentator, the late Mike Raymond. Images: AUTOPICS.COM.AU

MORRIS’ CREDIBILITY STAMP

IT WAS one of the weirdest Bathurst races of all time, which included the cars being stopped on the main straight while the damaged track was repaired.

While all this went on, one car started last and wore a groove in the pit lane, but ultimately took the flag first. One half of the race winning duo Paul ‘The Dude’ Morris tells ANDREW CLARKE all about it.

PAUL MORRIS was as surprised as anyone to win the 2014 Bathurst race after he and Chaz Mostert started from the last row of the grid thanks to a qualifying penalty dropped them out of the Top 10 Shootout. Not that he thought he was without chance but, in his 22nd run at the race, he knew you needed the cards to fall your way on race day.

And this day they did, even though he says, humbly, every time he gave the car to Mostert during the race, the then young driver had to drag it back up the order. But that humility hides a few key facts.

Like why he was there and driving that car at all – which was to mentor the rising star. Or how he was racing lead drivers most of the time. Or how his experience saved the day, twice … the first when he pitted with damaged tyres because he felt something was wrong.

“I’d driven through a heap of carbon and I’d come in early which they didn’t want me to do and said ‘I think we should get the tyres off this car’. And luckily, we did. We pulled the tyres off it and they’re about to go – they’re all eaten up with carbon cuts.

“I’d been there that many times and had that much go wrong, but it (2014) was just one of those days where even the ‘shitgone-wrong’ fell our way. Yes, there’s luck but, at the end of the day, no matter what happened, Chaz was quick enough to win the race.

“People said it was a Bradbury, but it definitely wasn’t. Chaz set the lap record near the end of the race. I really think Jamie thought he’d dropped the hammer, and Chaz would bin it trying to catch him. But it didn’t work ...

“He had enough speed – every time he got in the car, and I’d gone backwards, he had enough speed to drive it back to the front again.

“The one thing we did was save fuel the whole time and then, when we pitted, we had less fuel hose time. We passed a lot of cars in the pitstops ... we got a lot of track position back that way.”

Starting on the back row, they had nothing to lose. Morris started the race because they wanted to get his stints done as early as possible. He wasn’t worried about starting last –1000km is a long race, but this one turned out to be a weird one too.

The second save was he had to overcome nosing into the tyre wall at Griffins Bend, which was partly due to the track falling apart – which eventually brought out the red flag for track repairs.

“I was under Safety Car, and I reckon I was probably doing 60-70km/h and I just turned into that corner, hit the gravel and slid into the fence. I’m,ike, ‘holy shit, what’s happened here?’ The tow truck driver stuck his head in the door, and I said, ‘can you just pluck me

out of here, mate? I reckon I’ll be right’.

“He hooked on and just dragged me out of there and off I went. If that guy hadn’t been there so quickly, we would have gone a lap down. It was also one of those things where I had enough experience to know I was stuck – I could easily have tried and blown the clutch or gearbox trying to get out, but I knew what would happen.

“I was out of there pretty quickly and back on the train again!”

Morris was one of many victims of that corner as the track started breaking up, to the point where the race was stopped so it could be fixed.

Then he had the nerve-wracking experience of watching Mostert hunt down Whincup for the lead, closing in while listening to the chat about how little fuel Whincup had – he hadn’t stopped, like Mostert, on lap 150 and he was cutting it fine. The Triple Eight crew wanted him to stop, but he didn’t. And he almost got there, but Morris, watching in the pits, knew he was in trouble.

“I knew that car because I’ve driven with Scotty Pye in the LDM ex-Triple Eight car the year before, so I knew how that fuel system

worked and how the alarm and all that was set up. As soon as I saw the alarm on the dash, with something like three to go, I knew there was no way he was going to make it.”

After 22 attempts, he was now a winner of the Bathurst 1000, adding to his win in the Bathurst 12-hour from a few years prior. It was also his last run in the Great Race.

“It changed my life in terms of people’s

perception of me. I’d also won the 12 Hour, but this gave it all a little more importance. Then I won the Bathurst Six Hour as well, giving me the Triple Crown ... so that’s so kind-of cool.

“It gave me credibility to what I’ve achieved in my career.” Andrew Clarke

The podium – even team boss Edwards is bemused! Above: A late (lap 150) stop ensured Chaz wouldn’t have a fuel issue – it won them the race. Right: Morris waits for a (practice) driver change. Below: Chaz hunted Whincup down, and won ... Images: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

THE MOUNTAIN’S SUPPORT ACTS

FAST FACTS

IN ADDITION TO THE STARS FIGHTING FOR THE GREAT RACE WIN, THERE ARE MANY OTHER DRIVERS AND CARS TO WATCH IN THE SUPPORT PADDOCK … THOMAS MILES PREVIEWS THE ACTION ... TRACK LENGTH: 6.213KM

DUNLOP SERIES

THE DUNLOP Series is back at the Mountain for a second taste of Bathurst in 2024, but things have evolved greatly since the season opener.

The 2024 season kicked off at Mount Panorama and it was all about reigning champion Kai Allen, who asserted his dominance with back-to-back wins.

Whilst Allen still enjoys a solid lead in the championship standings, his hope of taking a record-breaking crown is not so simple any more.

As the #1 could not maximise qualifying, Zach Bates took a pair of podiums at Sandown to jump to second in the standings and cut the deficit to 126 points.

The experienced Jack Perkins will be one to watch in the retro Peter Janson machine having won a race in both rounds since his comeback.

Another Ford star full of confidence is Brad Vaughan, boosted by a maiden win, while Jobe Stewart came within a whisker of a breakthrough round win at Sandown and Image Racing hopes to unlock the pace it showed at the Bathurst opener, with Jarrod Hughes also impressing.

In Super3, Cody Burcher hopes to inch closer to the crown, enjoying a 126-point lead over Thomas Maxwell, while they will be joined by TCR winner Bailey Sweeny in an Image Racing VF.

The usual two 45-minute race format should produce plenty of talking points.

PORSCHE CARRERA CUP

THE 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup season has been about one driver, Harri Jones, who has reasserted his dominance on the championship.

Jones and Porsche Centre Melbourne have been an overwhelming force, with Sandown being an impressive fourth round win of 2024. As a result, the 2022 champion enjoys effectively a full round’s worth of points lead in the standings over Jackson Walls.

This dominance is down to a crushing seven-race winning streak for Jones, but Walls was able to bring it to an end last time out.

Other challengers are Dylan O’Keeffe, who has only missed the top five twice in the last 12 races.

David Russell and Marcos Flack are the only other drivers to appear in victory lane so far.

After getting his Carrera Cup debut out of the way, Zak Best will be looking to build for EMA Motorsport, having finished 13th at Sandown.

Adrian Flack enjoys a massive 301-point lead in Pro Am, having won 13 of the 15 races so far in the class.

However, things should be a lot more competitive after a tighter Sandown round, where Matt Belford snatched Race 2.

Last year Jones was the only local to keep up with fast Brit Harry King and will be determined to go one better in the three-race weekend.

TGRA GR CUP

TWO DRIVERS have dominated the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia GR Cup so far and it is up to the other young chargers to stop them.

Bradi Owen made a big impression by sweeping the season opener at Townsville for TekworkX Motorsport.

But since then it has all been one way traffic with Matt Hillyer pushing Walkinshaw Andretti United to back-to-back clean sweeps.

The run of dominance started at Sydney Motorsport Park under lights before reaching further heights at Sandown where drivers had to contend with wild and woolly conditions.

Thanks to a run of six straight wins, Hillyer enjoys a 64-point lead over Owen, who has done enough to be the next best.

Whilst the top two have been dominant, the likes of Max Geoghegan, Brock Stinson and Ben Gomersall have shown enough pace to complete the top five in the championship.

There will be a big field of Toyota 86s looking to make an impression across three sprints.

V8 SUPERUTE

SERIES

IT HAS been a slow start to the V8 SuperUte Series, but things are about to fire up with a busy second half of the season.

After three rounds spaced out across

eight months, the final three rounds will be squeezed into just five weeks.

So far, the Team Motion Racing teammates, Aaron Borg and Adam Marjoram, have been the class of the field and they are wrestling for the lead of the championship.

Despite Borg being the one with the #1 on the door, it is Marjoram who holds the advantage.

He gained big ground on Borg in the last round at Darwin to enjoy a 24-point lead.

Cameron Crick is third in the standings as the only other driver with more than 600 points, but it remains to be seen if he will race, given his Supercars commitments.

Crick and Ryal Harris are the only nonTeam Motion Racing drivers to appear in victory lane.

Four races are up for grabs in the V8 SuperUte Series.

HERITAGE TOURING CARS

IN A treat for the fans, Heritage Touring Cars will bring some famous cars and colours back to the Mountain in a blast from the past.

A capacity 55-car field will span iconic eras including Group C, Group A, Group 3A fivelitre V8s, and two-litre Super Tourers from the 1970s-1990s.

Headlining the entry list is four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy, who will be racing around the mountain two decades after his last Great Race success.

In 2024 he will steer a 1991 Bathurst 1000 VN Commodore raced by Bob Pearson and Bruce Stewart’s which will carry his special #51.

He will not be the only Great Race winner in the field with John Bowe behind the wheel of an ex-Allan Grice STP Commodore.

Another Supercars identity, Peter Xiberras, will also be on the grid in the ex-Graeme Crosby 1985 VK Commodore.

A wide array of Toranas, Falcons, Mustangs, Sierras and more can be anticipated.

• Direction: Anti-clockwise

• Average speed: 179 km/h

• Top speed: 300km/h

• Qualifying lap record: Chaz Mostert 2:03.3732s (2021)

• Race lap record: Chaz Mostert 2:04.7602s (2019)

MOST BATHURST 1000 WINS

• Peter Brock 9

• Jim Richards, Craig Lowndes 7

• Larry Perkins, Mark Skaife 6

MOST BATHURST 1000 POLES

• Peter Brock 6 • Mark Skaife 5

• Allan Moffat 4

MOST BATHURST 1000 PODIUMS

• Craig Lowndes 14

• Peter Brock, Jim Richards, Larry Perkins 12

• Mark Skaife 10

• Steven Richards 9 TEAMS WITH MOST WINS

• Triple Eight 10 • HDT 9 HRT/WAU 8

• Ford Motor Company 6 TEAMS WITH MOST POLES

• HRT/WAU 8

• Tickford 7

• Ford Motor Company, HDT 5

CLOSEST FINISH Moffat/Ickx +0.1s to Bond/Hamilton (1977 form finish)

BIGGEST WIN

• Brock/Richards +6 Laps to Janson/Perkins (1979)

MOST BATHURST 1000 STARTS Jim Richards 35

• Peter Brock 32

• Craig Lowndes 30

MOST SHOOTOUT STARTS

• Dick Johnson 21

• Larry Perkins 18

• Peter Brock, Craig Lowndes 17

BIGGEST POLE MARGIN

• Allan Moffat +3s to John French (1971)

SMALLEST POLE MARGIN

• Steven Richards +0.0012s to Jason Bright (2004)

MOST MANUFACTURER WINS

• 36 Holden

• 20 Ford

MOST MANUFACTURER POLES

• 26 Ford

• 24 Holden

Super2 is making its second visit to the Mountain for the year. Below: A massive Heritage Touring Car field (left) is entered. while the Toyota 86 show continues. Images: PETER NORTON

MAKING MOUNTAIN MEMORIES

EACH YEAR THE GREAT RACE PRODUCES A MOUNTAIN OF STORIES AND STARTING NEW CHAPTERS WILL BE SIX ROOKIES. THOMAS MILES LOOKS AT THOSE MAKING THEIR BATHURST DEBUTS IN 2024 …

#2 RYAN WOOD

IT IS easy to forget, but this will be the first time WAU young gun Ryan Wood (pictured bottom of page) will take on the 161-lap classic.

However, he is no stranger to Mount Panorama as it was the scene of his Supercars debut at the season-opening Bathurst 500.

Unfortunately, the Kiwi did not finish either race after getting tangled up at Hell Corner twice.

But Wood has grown rapidly in the nine races since with a number of impressive performances, highlighted by P4s at Taupo and Perth, while he is particularly fast over one lap.

The 21-year-old will tap into the rich experience of fellow Kiwi Fabian Coulthard and the pair were on track for a solid top 10 at the Sandown 500 before a late-race drama in the pits restricted them to 15th.

“There was a heap to take from my first enduro,” Wood said.

“The end result doesn’t reflect the weekend we had to be honest, so there was still a heap of positives to take from it.

“The speed was there – made it into the Shootout, got through the race ... now I just can’t wait until Bathurst.”

Wood is easily the leading full-time rookie in the championship, in 16th, and determined to give the Mountain a shake in his first Great Race attempt.

HAVING ALREADY secured his future, Cooper Murray (above) will be hell bent on making more headlines when he takes on the Bathurst 1000 for the first time.

Murray is off to Erebus replacing Brodie Kostecki in 2025 but, before then, the Great Race will be his third and final race of an impressive sequence in the Supercheap Auto wildcard.

The 23-year-old pushed the #888 into the Top 10 Shootout on his solo debut at Darwin before scoring the equal best wildcard result ever at Sandown, with fifth.

As a result, Murray is full of confidence as he prepares to take on the Mountain where he has had plenty of Super2 experience.

“Sandown was amazing with the Supercheap Auto wildcard. Massive thanks to Craig and the Triple Eight team for the hard work,” Murray said.

“Towards the end of the race it was a bit sketchy, but I was more than prepared for it.

“Now eyes forward to Bathurst!”

Whilst Murray will be doing his first ever Bathurst 1000, on the opposite end of the spectrum will be co-driver Lowndes.

Lowndes will be making his 31st straight start, which surpasses Peter Brock as the second most of all time.

#23 CAMERON MCLEOD

THE YOUNGEST rookie in the field is Cameron McLeod (above), who will suit up alongside the experienced Tim Slade for PremiAir Nulon Racing.

The McLeod name already has plenty of history at Mount Panorama with Cameron a third generation racer following in the footsteps of 1987-winning grandfather Peter, and father Ryan.

The 19-year-old hopes to cement his own legacy in the #23 Camaro after an up-anddown debut at Sandown where he finished 12th after a number of trips through the Turn 2-3 run-off.

“I was pretty happy with how I performed, lap time-wise, during my stint, minus hitting (Jordan Boys) off,” McLeod reflected on Sandown.

“I didn’t mean to hit him off, but I wasn’t going to be easy on him either – there were a lot of accidents in the race for the whole field.

“We will regroup and go forward and look to a positve result at Bathurst.”

At 26 Crick is making a long-awaited Bathurst 1000 debut alongside friend Cameron Hill in the #4 MSR Camaro, which was fast in the season-opener.

He continues the legacy of his father Rodney, who made five Great Race starts from 1994-2000 in addition to taking six Australian Super Truck titles.

Fittingly, Cameron will race with the same helmet design as his father and has plenty of experience of Mount Panorama across a number of categories.

Despite making the unfortunate mistake of spinning under Safety Car on his Supercars debut, Crick recorded a top 10 finish and it will be interesting to see if he will also fulfil his V8 SuperUte Series commitments.

“We were really stoked to get a top 10 at Sandown,” Crick said.

“I was a little bit hard on myself there midrace and just made an error and spun at Turn 4. We lost a few spots ... luckily it was under Safety Car and then I made a few spots back up a bit later.

“But the car was really good and a massive effort from the crew with really good pit stops.”

#3 AARON CAMERON IN THE gone from never racing a Supercar to lining up at the Big One.

At Sandown last year Cameron made his Super2 debut and, at the same circuit 12 months later, he did the same in the main game, with Aaron Love for BRT ( It was the fruit of a big career switch for the 24-yearold who has spent most of his career winning races in TCR and S5000.

But Supercars was always the burning ambition, which is why Cameron could

“Everyone was giving me a bit of shit because I was just smiling all the time ... because I was so happy to be there (at Sandown),” he said.

“I know we have to be serious and have to go for it, but I am, like, ‘this is my Supercars debut’ and one of those happy guys that even though the car may not be perfect, it was just awesome to be in the Supercars Championship with Aaron.”

(above) has been given the chance to shine thanks to the Matt Chahda Motorsport wildcard.

Vaughan took the opportunity with both hands by producing the standout weekend

the #118, but did not back down and held

“We seemed really competitive,”

We were genuinely competitive and kept up with the main name drivers which was great.

“We finished on the lead lap in P19 so cannot complain.

“Bathurst will be another step up again so hopefully we can get a

#888 COOPER MURRAY

#118 BRAD VAUGHAN TICKFORD YOUNGSTER Brad Vaughan

BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

2024 BATHURST 1000 SCHEDULE (AEDT)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11

PUB AMMO

THESE LITTLE fun facts will help you to sound like the Bathurst expert at the pub or around the BBQ while your watching the Great Race with your mates

THE CURRENT pit complex was completed 20 years ago, in 2004

1km, over Albert Park

THE ORIGINAL track, used from 1938-1986, was 6.172km before The Chase was added in 1987 THERE IS 174m of elevation between the highest and lowest points of Mount Panorama

NINE OF the 10 closest Bathurst 1000 finishes have come in the last 18 years – 2016, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2006, 2007, 2019 and 2009

HOWEVER, THE famous Moffat Ford Dealers formation finish of 1977, with Allan Moffat leading Colin Bond, remains the closest

THE FIRST Top 10 Shootout was held in 1978 under the Hardies Heroes banner, topped by Peter Brock with a 2:20.006s

ONLY TWO of the last 14 pole-sitters have won the Great Race – McLaughlin 2019 and Mostert 2021

KLAUS LUDWIG (1987) and Marcos Ambrose (2001) are the only 'rookies' to take pole

THE LOWEST grid position to win the Great Race from is 25th – Mostert/Morris 2014

THE HIGHEST grid position not to have won the Great Race ever from is eighth LAST TIME a defending winner was not on the grid was Alex Premat in 2020

CRAIG LOWNDES will become just the second driver to make at least 31 consecutive Great Race starts – Jim Richards holds the record with 35, from 1974-2006

THE MOST cars finishing on the lead lap is 19, in 2022, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010

LAST YEAR van Gisbergen and Stanaway gave Chevrolet its first Bathurst 1000 win

TEN DRIVERS have done the Bathurst and Championship double, van Gisbergen the last in 2022

PETER BROCK and Craig Lowndes are the only drivers to win the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and championship triple in the same year

PETER BROCK and Craig Lowndes are the only ones from the 11 drivers to win the 1000 and 500km enduros in the same year more than once

ON ONLY six occasions has the “Great Race Grand Slam” of winning Bathurst, posting the fastest lap and taking pole position been achieved -–2021 Chaz Mostert, 1991 Mark Skaife 1983 Peter Brock, 1979 Peter Brock, 1973 John Goss and 1968 Bruce McPhee

THREE CHASSIS have won the Great Race twice – Peter Brock’s HDT VH Commodore 1982/83 Mark Skaife’s HRT VX Commodore 2001/02 and Shane van Gisbergen’s ZB Commodore 2020/22

ALL IN FOR THE BIGGEST EVER

With the best motorsport action and spectacular entertainment, we'll see you in Adelaide.

14-17 NOV 2024

ACTION MART

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WÜRTH IS ingrained globally with sports and, in particular, motorsport. When it comes to motorsport, Würth knows that its products are highly regarded and valued in not only pit lane, but also in the race workshops where hours of meticulous preparation take place.

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MATT EGEL soared to the 2024 Chariots of Thunder title at Northline Speedway after three impressive drives.

Queensland’s Brock Hallett was quick out of the box in Hot Laps and dialled in a best time of 11.480s ahead of Egel and Jordyn Charge.

Hallett then backed this up in the Time Trials to take out Quick Time with slightly quicker time of 11.425s to beat WA’s Daniel Harding with a lap of 11.579s and Charge with a 11.590s time.

Over the following three heats there were victories recorded by Egel in Heat 1, Tate Frost in Heat 2 and Charge in Heat 3. Heat 2 was frantic with multiple restarts that eventually ended up with Benny Atkinson Jnr being squeezed into the wall on the main straight, flipping the D2 machine and taking him out for the night.

The first of two B-Battles occurred with Kale Quinlan (NT) winning Battle 1 whilst Benny Atkinson Jnr, again unfortunate with a big crash in Turn 1 which took out some panels in the catch fence, and Trent Pigdon (WA) taking out Battle 2.

SA’s Ryan Jones thundered home first in the Mid Pack Dash ahead of Hayden Brown (NT) and Scott Enderl (SA).

Charge’s stellar form this year continued into Chariots of Thunder by taking out the win in the Dash ahead of Egel and Hallett.

Last chance to make the A-Main saw Todd Moule win the B-Main and make the transfer along with Kale Quinlan, Mick Saller and Chris Harrison all into the A-Main.

Into the 30 lap A-Main Feature Race and it was Matt Egel skipping away to an early lead before being run down mid-race by Charge, who forced his way through and into the lead, which he would hold onto and take out the win with Egel in second and Kaiden Manders in third place.

Things heated up on Night 2 and leading the way in the hot laps was Hallett and Manders before the likes of Lochie McHugh showed pace in the hot laps.

McHugh backed up in Heat 1 to lead home Matt Egel and Tate Frost in a dominant display from three of the fancied runners.

Manders was also showing fast pace with a win in Heat 2 ahead of Hallett and Benny Atkinson Jnr bouncing back from horrid luck.

Jordyn was on the Charge in Heat 3 with a flag-to-flag win.

Heading into B-Battle 1 it was WA’s Aaron

Chircop taking out the win while firstyear Sprint car pilot Zack Grimshaw (NT) recorded the win in B-Battle 2 as the Mid Pack Dash saw a victory to Daniel Harding.

Next up was the Pole Shuffle to determine who starts from the coveted Pole Position, thus a tilt at the Pope Challenge.

Atkinson Jnr was on song and Kaiden Manders suffered a jumped the start until Charge blasted his way through to take out the Challenge 3-2.

Enter McHugh – he put Charge to the sword and claim the pole, but he took up the Pope Challenge and started from the rear of field, chasing the additional prize money.

Atkinson Jnr jumped the field and led for the first nine laps until being chased down by Charge and Egel.

McHugh made a valiant attempt from the rear of the field and clawed up to fourth as Charge was victorious.

All or nothing was the order of the final night and Moule backed up the Time Trails pace by blasting to a flag-to-flag Heat 1 win, while Egel and Charge dominated Heats 2 and 3 respectively.

The top 10-point scorers then faced off in the 8-lap Dash to determine Pole Position with Moule taking an epic win.

EGEL SOARS TO CHARIOTS OF THUNDER MAGRO GETS THAT WINNING FEELING

JOHN MAGRO might be in the early stages of his time in Sprintcar racing, but a week ago, on home soil, he had a major breakthrough.

Currently in his second season of Sprintcar racing, following an extensive circuit career, he picked up his first feature race victory at Mareeba Speedway by beating Brodie Davis.

“To get my first feature race win in a Sprintcar was awesome, and it was proof that the team and I are heading in the right direction, as Brodie (Davis) has been the yardstick since I stepped into Sprintcar racing up here, so it was good to get one over him,” Magro said.

“On Saturday night, Brodie (Davis) headed into the feature race as the highest point scorer and I shared the front row with him on the outside, so I knew if I was going to be a chance of winning,

I had to nail the start, and that’s exactly what I did, where I committed to ripping the top on the opening lap and was rewarded with taking control of the lead. From there, I was able to control the lead for the rest of the race and come away with the win.”

Magro continued on by saying that he attributes his improved form to a recent change of Triple X chassis, along with some driver coaching from 2019 Australian Sprintcar Champion Andrew Scheuerle.

With the 2024 season coming to an end, Magro finds himself in the lead of the North Queensland Series point standings with two rounds to go before it resumes at Cairns Speedway on October 5.

Daniel Powell

The 30 lap Feature Race saw Moule and Egel fire away from the front row with Egel blasting to the lead on lap two, never headed again for the remainder of the race. Moule held down second spot until lap five and then held third spot until lap 13 and then issues led to him sliding away down the field and out on lap 25.

The first 15 laps of the Feature were frantic until the first yellow light came on.

From there Egel sliced his way through the traffic with the precision of a surgeon, with Lachlan McHugh closing in rapidly.

Tragedy arrived for Jordyn Charge on lap 18 whilst in fifth place with a cut rear tire, necessitating a quick change on the infield during a stoppage which saw him back to 17th place at the resumption.

He managed his way back to 11th spot but it was not enough to secure the series win as Egel won the race ahead of McHugh and Tate Frost in third place.

Egel emerged as the overall winner with 1007 points accumulated, nine more than runner up Charge with McHugh in third.

Thus, another great chapter of Chariots of Thunder brought the curtain down on the Northline Speedway season.

SK-Motorpics/Scott Kernahan

Matt Egel took out the overall win and celebrated (top above). Above: Jordyn Charge shows Kaiden Manders the way. Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

John Magro and Team.

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DARING DAVIS

JOINING THE sprintcars at Northline Speedway as a late addition were the Wingless Sprintcars and they put on entertaining racing.

Duel 1 was won by WA’s Jason Davis ahead of Victorian Blake Walsh while the NT’s William Prest came home in third place.

Walsh then took a commanding victory in Duel 2 to win ahead of the rapidly improving Keelan Edwards and Sean Tiedeman claiming third spot.

Davis then continued his earlier great form to win the Feature Race ahead of Walsh with the NT’s Matt Sealy taking last spot on the podium in a fine drive for third place.

On the Friday, the NT’s Mathew McLennan began the night in fine form in the Wingless Sprints Duel 1 to lead from start to finish and had the rapidly finishing Walsh closing in at the end to score second spot and Jamie McInnes home in third place.

Edwards recorded an outstanding win in Duel 2 – well deserved after a run of wretched luck lately – with Walsh again in second place and Sean Tiedeman a fine

drive home in third place. However, the cream rises to the top and that was Blake Walsh who again finished on the top step of the podium to take out

yet another Feature Race win at Northline Speedway this last month as he led home NT’s Jamie McInnes with WA’s Jason Davis recording third place.

On Sunday, Edwards wanted to finish on a high with a win in Duel 1 ahead of the star of the future, William Prest in second and Sean Tiedeman in third place.

Wash has been in rare form this campaign, with yet another Heat Race win in Duel 2 to lead home Davis and Edwards this time in third place.

It was Walsh all the way in the 20-lap Feature Race to romp home for another Feature Race win. Matt Sealy was the hard charger, making his way from sixth starting position to come home in second place with Prest in third.

Bad luck returned to Edwards who got as high as second place on lap 11 but suffered a broken front shock to relegate him back to an eventual sixth spot finish.

SK-Motorpics/Scott Kernahan

SENSATIONAL SEASON OPENER

IF THE NSW Wingless Sprint Club Championship opener at Sydney International Speedway is of any indication, the 2024-25 season is set to be one of the most competitive in the state’s history.

It follows Andrew Sayre (pictured) coming out on top after a titanic featurerace battle amongst the top 10 runners from beginning to end.

Sayre, who was steering the NSW # 16 One6 Industries-supported car that is owned by Ash and Daniel Sayre, didn’t have the best of runs during the opening half of the 25-lap feature race.

However, he came home in the second half in sensational fashion to work his way to the front on lap 17 and was never headed from then on all the way through to the fall of the chequered flag.

Defending NSW Club Champion and the previous night’s feature race pole sitter John Egan was looking strong out in front for a winning start to his 2024-25 season campaign, following an opening lap battle with fellow front row starter Brayden

Shute, and paced the field up until lap 16, before he was swallowed up by Sayre and eventually dropped back to fourth.

With plenty of determination, he fought his way back into podium contention and raced home to finish in second.

The final spot on the podium was filled by Shute, who was right up there amongst the front runners throughout the feature race and drove a good hard and clean race, rewarded with third place, which was a performance he was really happy with.

In what was a hard-fought race, Andrew Serry finished just off the podium in fourth, but he was right amongst the front runners all race, especially during the second half of the race.

Paul Freeman rounded out the top five by coming home in fifth after being up as high as third in the closing stages.

The most experienced driver amongst the top five finishers had one of his best runs in a Wingless Sprint and he will no doubt be a podium threat as the season goes on.

Similar to Freeman, youngster Corey Sammut enjoyed a career-best run in Wingless Sprint with a sixth place.

The hard-luck stories of the feature race were led by front runners Mark Blyton and Joel Buttel.

Both Blyton and Buttel, who were the highest point scorers out of the heat races and started the feature race from positions three and four due to the top four point scorers’ inversion, suffered race-ending issues, which saw Blyton out on lap 21 after a fuel leak and Buttel on lap 14 following power steering failure.

Other feature-race retirements included the Boulding brothers Jaidyn and Darcy, Adam Hotchkis and rookie Adam Walsh.

In the heat race action earlier in the night, the wins were shared between Blyton (x 2), Buttel, Freeman, Shute and Egan.

The NSW Club Championship will continue with the second round in a fortnight’s time (Saturday night, September 28) at Sydney International Speedway.

Blake Walsh completed a strong week up in the NT ... Image: JAKE DUNN/NORTHLINE MEDIA. Below: the youthful podium. Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY

HAPPY AS HABY

CARL AND Caitlin Haby (Element Prodigy/Nissan – above) dominated The Truck Factory Wynarka Enduro on September 14/15.

The Habys top qualified and maintained their position at the front of the pack for the entire 14-lap race.

Like the winners, Travis and Alistair Conrad (Racer/Nissan) had an incident-free race and capitalised on the misfortune of some of their more powerful opposition to cross the line second. Toby Reimann and Craig Redding (Scorpion/Volvo) had some minor issues during the race but managed to grab third spot and look like adding the SAORRA series win to their state championship title.

Ben and Heath Fatchen (CanAm) were next home in only their second race of the year after a race-long battle with Geoff Brennan and Brett Beaty (Can-

Am) who were less than a minute behind them.

Corey and Jai Haworth (Southern Cross/Mitsubishi) were slowed by an electrical problem in qualifying but were on the money in the race picking up P6.

Mark Taylor and Roy Adams bought the trusty Cobra/Mazda home seventh in another strong showing.

Evan Lampard and Josh Gaskin (Southern Cross/Nissan) led the SAORRA series points at the start of the race but lost over an hour when the buggy mysteriously stopped within sight of the pits.

After affecting repairs the pair were playing catch up and fought their way back to finish eighth.

After a couple of flat tyres Patrick Byrne and Van Nixon (Bryne Truck/Chev) were classified ninth after stopping three laps from the finish with an oil leak.

Tony Purcell and Alan Morris (Rivmasta/Toyota) were credited with P10 after a broken stub axle on lap 10 ended what had been an eventful race.

Tyson and Chris Proud (Evotech), Daryl Nissen and Andrew Harness (Sore/Nissam) and Nic Hicks and Christian MacIntosh (Element Prodigy/Toyota) ran at or near the front but either failed start or finish on day two.

Trent Gravestock and Daniel White (F100) had a number of niggly issues on Saturday but showed some speed however a faulty alternator let them down on Sunday.

Class wins went to Haby/Haby Pro Buggy, Lampard/Gaskin Pro Lite Buggy, Haworth/Haworth Super 1650, Fatchen/Fatchen Pro SXS and Conrad/Conrad Sportslite Buggy.

Story and Image: David Batchelor

NAPIER WINS WARIALDA

MICHAEL NAPIER and Scott Coleman (right) drove to victory in the recent Warialda 200 New South Wales Off Road Racing Championship event.

Napier’s #11 Pro Buggy was fast from the outset and ended up taking a comfortable 1m24s triumph over Benjamin and Jamie Scott.

David Chandler and Jonathon Ryan ensured Pro Buggy combinations locked out the podium with the best SXS Pro team Craig and James Anderson finding a good area in fourth.

After Ally Howells and Sarah Corrigan made history at the Milbrodale Classic, competitors went to the small town located in the Gwydir Shire part of northern New South Wales for the Warialda 200.

Being the penultimate round of the New South Wales Off Road Racing Championship, the stakes were high.

Whilst Napier was fast out of the gate, he had to settle for second-best on the opening stage which was taken out by Josh Howells and Shaun Harris.

Howells was on fire early, posting a 18m02s time which was 20s clear of Napier and Scott.

The #15 carried on its momentum by being the only entrant to record a 17m time in Stage 2 and extend the lead.

After also winning the penultimate Stage 3, Howells and Harris appeared to be in the box seat heading into the much longer final stage.

But it proved a bridge too far as their drive was cut short after just 23 minutes in the two-hour-plus long journey.

Suddenly the Warialda 200 was up for grabs with the winner of the final stage also taking the event. Napier stepped up under pressure, flying home and stopping the clock at 2h19m44s.

Being the only driver to go under 2h21m in the stage,

Napier and Coleman convincingly claimed the honours. They had been consistent all weekend, being second in Stage 1 and 2 and equal third in Stage 3 where four other cars amazingly all stopped the clock at 10m51s. Settling for second were the Scotts who emerged 18s clear of Chandler, while there were big gaps to the reminder of the top five filled by Anderson and Prolite Buggy winner Aaron McClintock.

Extreme 2WD honours went to Jamie Knight, Sportslite was won by David Mendham, Super 1650 Buggy secured by Richard Wilton and Gaby Wills claimed Extreme 4WD honours,

The final round of the New South Wales Off Road Racing Championship is Nabiac on October 19-20. Thomas Miles

YOUNG GUNS EXCEL WHILE HQs ENDURE

IT WAS A BIG WEEKEND OF LONG RACES FOR BOTH THE LOCAL EXCEL AND HQ FRATERNITIES, INCLUDING SEVERAL INTERSTATE COMPETITORS WHO HAD COMPETED AT THE HQ NATIONALS THE WEEKEND BEFORE ...

AN EXCELLENT HOUR OF RACING

TASMANIA’S INAUGURAL Hyundai

Excel Enduro at Symmons Plains on September 22 went right down to the wire in an incident-free final, with no Safety Cars and no red flags.

The enduro was run over 60 minutes, plus one lap, with a compulsory driver change.

In the end, it all came down to the final lap, with only 29 thousandths of a second separating first from second.

The race lasted for 48 laps, with Tasmanian teenager Oliver Wickham and Queensland Super 2 driver Nash Morris winning by the barest of margins from reigning Tasmanian Hyundai champion Jeremy Bennett and multiple former Tasmanian HQ Holden champion Phil Ashlin.

The rules for the enduro stipulated the lead driver (in this case the car’s owner) had to complete at least 50 per cent of the race.

The compulsory pit stop was for a mandatory 3 mins and 30 secs to ensure the changeover was effected safely, with no re-fuelling.

Grid positions for the final were decided by results from two seven-lap heats (one for each driver) and two 10-lap heats, with Charlie Parker and Adam Prewer the most consistent over the four heats to claim pole in the final and lead for the first four laps, with Parker taking the first stint.

Jackson Shaw, and Tasmanian Super 2

driver Lochie Dalton, had a few dramas during the heats, but worked their way to the front by lap five in the final with Dalton at the wheel.

Parker, Dalton, Ashlin and Wickham managed to open a break on the rest of the field by lap eight.

Ashlin was the first to pit, with Bennett rejoining in a good position, with Parker taking the lead on lap 23.

When Dalton handed over to Shaw, a miscalculation saw the pit-stop going 20 secs longer than it needed to, seeing Shaw rejoin in sixth place.

Meanwhile, Morris, who had taken over from Oliver, was locked in a two-way battle for the lead with Bennett as they started to wind their way through lapped traffic.

Morris was able to use the traffic to his advantage to steal the lead on what was to be the penultimate lap, with Bennett on his tail right until the chequered flag to just miss out on the win.

Dylan Cooper and Will Twining had a good second half of the race to creep up to third at the flag, with Prewer and Parker fourth, ahead of Dalton and Shaw, who were unable to make up for their pit-stop bungle.

HQs PLAY THE LONG GAME

ON THE same programme, the Hobart Sporting Car Club organised a series of races for the majority of HQ Holden drivers who had contested the Australian HQ Nationals at Baskerville the previous week.

The HQ programme saw the field split in two, for two seven-lap and two 10-lap heats, and an all-in 15-lap final. Hot on the heels of his second consecutive HQ nationals title and his fourth overall, NSW driver Brett Osborn was full of confidence, winning both his heats to qualify on pole for the final.

Grant Ord (WA) also had a strong run through his heats to join Osborn on the front row, but he couldn’t match the pace of the national champ off the line.

Jarrod Harber (NSW) who finished third in the nationals, was quickly into second with Ryan Woods (Vic.) and Jake Madden (Qld) in the lead pack.

However, Osborn was intent on showing why he is now a four-time national champion and had opened up a decent gap on the rest of the field after only three laps. By half-race distance, Osborn had a five-second gap on the next best and cruised to victory, easing up in the closing stages to win by 5.5 secs from Harber and Madden, who had a great battle, with Harber taking second by just 7/100ths of a second.

Martin Agatyn

FLYING THROUGH THE HILLS

DECLAN DWYER and Zoe Dwyer (pictured) came on top after a closely fought South Australian Rally Championship round at the Adelaide Hills Rally.

After a big battle with Matthew Selley, Dwyer in his 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer ended up as the leader by a comfortable 2m47s margin over Mitch Garrad.

They won a war of attrition as many others showed speed throughout the rally, but could not survive the 18-stage, 169km journey through the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula.

Selley got a flying start in his 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, taking out the opening stage over Crozier by 14s with Garrad fifth.

Although the trip through Callington Back was closer, Selley stayed on top by 4s with Sam Thomas showing speed. Declan Dwyer brought the deficit down to just 1.4s in Stage 3, but still could not quite topple Selley.

However, this finally arrived in Stage 7 when Dwyer knocked off Selley by a second.

They were well clear of Garrad and Spalding.

Despite the breakthrough, Selley still

swept the rest to ensure he took seven of the stages on the opening day.

Dwyer came within 0.9s of beating Selley in the finale where they were well clear of the rest with Garrad a 41s back.

Boosted by the late day pace, Dwyer started Heat 2 on top by taking out the day’s opening stage by 2.3s over Selley.

He carried on this momentum by taking the first three, including Stage 11 where the difference was just 1.6s.

Selley was able to wrestle back stage honours in Stage 12 over Tyler with Dwyer in third.

This started an entertaining tussle with Dwyer taking Meadows and Bugle Ranges, only for Selley to fire back at Wattle Flat and Old Bull.

But Selley’s pursuit of rally honours ended on the penultimate stage when he retired.

However, Selley’s heartbreak was Dywer’s gain as he took Stage 17 by 23s over Crozier.

Garrad gave it everything to knock Dywer off and take the final stage which went down to the wire.

Just 0.2s covered the top two drives in the second run through Old Bull Creek, but Dwyer still held on to claim another stage win and finish the rally in style as

Garrad had to settle for second. In the end Dwyer enjoyed a formidable 2m47.5s advantage over Garrad after 18 stages.

The final round of the South Australian Rally Championship will be the Rally Barossa on October 19-20. Thomas Miles

Brett Osborne shows the way in HQs. Right: Bennett, Shaw and Wickham fight for the Excel lead. Images: ANGRYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

NATIONALS WRAP

COX CONQUERS GUNNEDAH HILLCLIMB

LUCA COX (pictured above) put the foot down and charged to victory in round eight of the NSW Hillclimb Championships.

The eighth round of the 2024 season was held under sunny skies at Mount Porcupine in Gunnedah, which is located on the Liverpool Plains in north-central New South Wales.

Cox proved to be the fastest up the mountain, setting a scorching 27.63s time in a Cox OW 1 fitted with a screaming 600cc engine built by his father Brian.

Brian Cox also competed in the Formula Libre class and performed well, stopping the clock at 29.73s.

Luca’s open wheeler was so fast it enjoyed an eight-tenth advantage over next best Jason Perkins, who fought hard as the fastest tin top driving a Lotus Elise.

Perkins produced a 28.46s time with his very last run of the day, leaving Dave Morrow to settle for third.

However, a 28.54 was still an impressive effort from the Suzuki Krygger driver, who first competed in the Apex Drive hill climb in 1968.

The leading sportscar over 1600cc was a Locost GSL steered by Greg Jones in 30.34s.

In the battle of the Subarus, Peter Akers emerged on top by edging ahead of Michael Boaden by a tenth.

The leading Holden was Dave Williams with his supercharged ute posting a 31.51s time.

Like Brian Cox, Gundy Hunt was competing at Apex Drive in 1968 and in 2024 he was still going strong, leading the unregistered competitor’s field with a 32.10 in his Amaroo Clubman.

In Improved Production, the little Datsun 1200 coupe of Gerard Gotch (32.96s) was just ahead of Wollongong’s David Hussey Ford Laser TX-(33.31s).

The top junior was Aidan Whitten, who produced a 37.86s in a Hyundai Excel.

One driver who found the limits on his final run was Alex Frodl, who lost it though the chicane and his damaged Renault Clio Sport required the tilt tray.

Attention now turns to the Australian Hillclimb Championships at Bryant Park on October 24-27.

Thomas Miles

BACK IN BUSINESS

AFTER THREE years, long form tarmac rallying made a return in a big way at the Tarmac West event.

Across four days, 33 stages and 250km, Brett Morse and Rodney Ng emerged victorious in the 50-car field.

Morse and Ng were clinical in their BMW, finishing just over three minutes ahead of the 2017 Lotus Exige of Heuson Bak and Roger Tan.

Matthew O’Neill led the early stages, but ran into mechanical issues on Day 2.

Once O’Neill’s 2006 Subaru WRX was out of action, Morse never looked back and charged to an overall victory.

Will White could have been fighting amongst them, having won four stages on the final day alone and 13 in total.

However, he had to settle for fourth due to an intercooling pipe issue on day 2, which saw the 2018 Nissan GTR Nismo driver lose three and a half minutes.

It was a grand result for him being his seventh attempt at the Tarmac West with a previous best result of fourth, while he won the 130 class honours in his debut.

“I’m thrilled, it’s taking a bit to sink in, we work really hard in our sport and it’s great to get a reward,” Morse said.

“Thanks to Ross the event organiser, all the fans, my sponsors, G-Spec, it’s a team sport, you can’t do this one your own, and a huge thanks to Rodney my co-driver – to call notes doing warp speed is incredible, I don’t think I could do it.”

The battle for second was a tight one with Bak and Tan taking on Jurgen and

Helen Lunsmann, who drove a 2019 Tesla Model 3P+.

In the end only 13s separated the pair at the end with Bak and Tan getting on top.

“It feels incredible, we didn’t think we’d be up here, it’s amazing,” said Bak.

“The car has been absolutely faultless all event, the team at KYP have been looking after it and they have been incredible, they have been at every stage, it’s been amazing.”

Despite ending up third, Lunsmann was thrilled to get on the podium.

“It’s always tricky driving someone else’s car and the EV has a big following, so there’s been a bit of pressure, but we’re really happy with the result,” Lunsmann said.

“This is our first time in the T200 main category, and wow, it’s different than the lower categories, but we’ve enjoyed it.

“In this event, it’s hard to catch up if you fall behind, so we went out hard straight

away and I know this car well so I could do that, and that helped us a lot, thrilled to get have got there.”

The event was made possible by an army of 500 volunteers and event director Ross Trapper labelled it as a success.

“Our priority is always safety, and the event has been successful on that front,” Tapper said.

“Just as importantly, the competitors have loved the return of the long-form rally.

“We love what we do take enormous pride and satisfaction knowing that we’ve run a safe and enjoyable rally, and this year it’s been outstanding.”

Finishing fifth overall and winning the T200 Classic Class was Nathan Ellement in his 1985 Chevrolet Corvette C4, which carried seven cylinders at one stage.

T200 Classic Class, Nathan Ellement in his 1985 Chevrolet Corvette C4 dominated in an Evo 7. Thomas Miles

Morse/Ng emerged on top after 250km. Image: BRETT SANDELLS Below: Who said Minis can’t fly Image: JARROD SIEROCIAK

Image: DON J. GRAHAM

The Craigs work to keep Tidyman (48) at bay in the Pulsar contest. Below: Brett Mitchell won Super TT, with a pair of wins. Images: RICCARDO BENVENUTI/PRICELESS IMAGES

RACING UNTIL THE END

A WINDY chilly day greeted the competitors for the final round of the Motor Race Australia Championship – a single day event packed full of action.

MX5 CUP

Richard Herring claimed pole position and two race victories and a third place to take the round win.

Jett Herring showed great speed to win the other race. Notable efforts by John Fraser, Sarah Medley and Richard Herring with all three drivers claiming podium positions.

PULSAR

JAMIE CRAIG stole the show, being fast from the onset claiming pole position and race wins. His brother Josh Craig and Daniel Smith kept him honest by applying plenty of pressure and multiple onslaughts throughout all race, all to no avail.

Unfortunately, in Race 1 there was high drama, with an incident that damaged multiple cars. Greg Oliver probably suffering the most damage with his car’s rear end pushed in.

EXCEL

BLAKE TRACEY was fast from the onset, with pole and triple-race treat. Tracey comfortably controlled all three races, however the battle for second was a different story.

In Race 1, Connor Cooper and Nick Hough were never separate by more than one second. Cooper had a similar dice with Hayden Auld in Race 2.

In the final race, Monique Sciberras picked up the baton and pushed Cooper hard all the way.

SUPER TT BRETT MITCHELL in his Oztruck claimed a comfortable pole position and repeated his great effort winning the first race from Myles Jones.

Barry Kelleher claimed a strong third. The roles were reversed for Race 2, with Jones out gunning Mitchell. Kelleher again finished third.

Race 3 was marred by an incident. Unfortunately, Jones lost control of his car just after the fast Turn 1, resulting in a multiple rollover.

His stricken Honda Civic eventually stopped about 200m later with pieces strewn all over the racetrack – thankfully he was able to get out of the car relatively unharmed.

Before the race ended under Safety Car Mitchell led the early part of the race with Jones in pursuit.

The race finished early under the Safety Car with Mitchell winning from Kelleher and Louis Loizou.

ALFA ROMEO/BMW E36

MARK BAGGETTO was fast out of the block with a pole position and a win in race 1.

Ewan Jones strung together a series of consistent laps to finish second and Alfio Musumeci claimed third place.

Baggetto did not start the remaining races, this allowed David Capraro to steal the show and claim two race victories. Jones and Musumeci took the minor placings in race 2 and 3. Otis Cravensands won all the races in the BWM E36 class.

Riccardo Benvenuti

NEW COMMODORE SERIES HITS GO

A NEW chapter began at Sydney Motorsport Park on September 15 when the Australian Commodore Series was launched.

The inaugural round of the Australian Commodore Series was part of the Motor Race Australia Championship event and the new series ran on track at the same time as Super TT.

Drivers raced a ride variety of six-litre production-spec Holden Commodores in the one-make series.

Two drivers who suffered early setbacks happened to be co-founders Tony Virag and Barry Sternbeck.

Sternbeck’s car remained unfinished due to a delayed wiring harness, while Virag was sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

The weekend began with qualifying at 8.30am in the morning and Trevor Symonds raced out of the blocks, flying to pole.

His 1:43.3177 in a VE was well clear of nearest rival Anthony Barbara in a VF.

The first race was held alongside the Super TT category and the Commodores had a delayed launch, which created the extra challenge of driving through traffic.

With Symonds a non-starter, Matt O’Brien

took control and claimed a 7s win in his VE.

The battle for second was much closer with Glen Wilson holding off James Brickwood and Aaron Hamblin. Sternbeck took a class win.

With Race 2 only being a three-lap affair, drivers focused on clean racing and achieved that with no incidents of note.

Sternbeck drove to a 3s win as O’Brien emerged just three-tenths clear of Wilson in the fight for second.

Sternbeck and O’Brien were on the front row for the third and final race where Virag watched from the sidelines as Barry drove his

car and his daughter Corrine raced her VF SS. Another proud moment came from Gus Barbara, racing his HSV GTS Coupe alongside his son Anthony, who competed in his first event with a newly built VF SSV. Sternbeck took the win in the open class, but only just.

The seven-lap finale proved to be the hardest fought affair with only eight-tenths the difference at the chequer.

Despite pushing Sternbeck hard, O’Brien had to settle for second, while Wilson was only a further half a second adrift.

O’Brien (CSV Volanti), Glen Wilson (VF SS), and Gus Barbara (GTS Coupe) placed in the six-litre category.

There are already signs the championship will grow as Gavyn Croft, Matt Holt and Daniel Daquino confirmed their participation in the 2025 season.

An Australian Commodore Series press release stated the inaugural meeting was a success.

“The pit paddock was alive with excitement as meticulously prepared production-class Commodores rolled off trailers for the inaugural round of the Malex Motorsports Australian Commodore Series. Conversations flowed among returning drivers and crews, reuniting after years apart, sharing stories of past racing memories, and praising the new multi-class, one-make series that brought them back together,” it read.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – drivers loved the Australian Commodore Series format, offering maximum fun with a budget-friendly price. We hope to see you on the grid next year. BYO Commodore!”

Thomas Miles

NATIONALS WRAP

THRILLING FIGHTS

ROUND FIVE of the WA Sporting Car Club Championship at CARCO Raceway on September 14-15 had everything including the LGC Equipment Hire Formula Vee Nationals. Beautiful spring weather greeted the 200 plus competitors over the weekend leaving the weather less of a factor than at the previous round.

FREE FORMULA

FREE FORMULA, the historic open wheel category, opened proceedings with 10 of the museum pieces on show.

Daniel Gate took pole in his March 80A and led Simon Alderson in all four races, while William Norman joined them on the podium.

EXCEL CUP

CARLOS AMBROSIO stormed away from the field finishing 3 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor Brett Sherriff and the returning Andy Malkin.

Unfortunately i Race 2, Malkin was involved in an on track impromptu ballet dance and spun out as Ambrosio held off Sheriff by 0.3s as Race 3 would see a similar result.

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

AS SOON as the green flag waved it looked like it was going to be all Clinton Rayner for the weekend after he set a blistering 1:03.2777s in his Chevrolet Camaro, more than 3.5s clear of the rest.

But his charge to victory was cut short on the final lap when he decided to take advantage of the great weather and head to the beach a little early, albeit in Turn 7, leading to a DNF and handing the win to Greg Barr.

Determined to make up for the mistake, Rayner needed just five laps to charge from last to first ahead of Barr and UK visitor

Nicholas Swift.

Now in front Rayner dominated the remainder of the weekend and cleaned up the final three races, while Pisconeri was second on the road in Race 4 but was hit with a 15 second penalty. He fought back to third in the finale.

STREET CAR, IPC AND 3E PRODUCTION

A COMBINED grid of 21 Street Cars, Improved Production and Production Cars battled it out over three races for not only individual category wins but bragging rights of being best of the best.

Across the day there were battles up and down the field with both category battles and overall battles being fought hard with Benjamin Peachey (Street Car) Matt Cherry (IPC) and Damien Croxon (3E Production) took two wins each.

FORMULA FORD

THE HEAT was on in qualifying as Josh Matthews took pole by 0.064s over Todd Vince.

But Race 1 would see Marc Redman take control and win from fifth on the grid as Redman won a squabble for second, while Vince ended up facing the wrong way on the final lap.

Race 2 would be a four way dance for the top step with Brewer, Redman, Chapman and Matthews all keeping it tight.

Redman would eventually take over the lead of the race for a couple of laps before contact between Brewer and Redman in Turn 1 would see Redman slip back down the field.

Eventually Chapman would get past Brewer for the race win with Mathews in third and Redman coming home in seventh.

Race 3 was an all-Chapman affair with a commanding lights to flag effort.

FSR

BRYCE MOORE took a clean sweep and finally broke the deadlock in the Motorsport Australia FSR championship and snatch the points lead from Brandon Duncombe.

Duncombe could only manage a run of fourth place finishes on a dramatic weekend where many came undone as Reindler and Cutts fought for the podium places.

SPORTS CARS, SPORTS SEDANS AND WA MUSCLE CARS

A SMATTERING of Sports Cars, Sports Sedans and WA Muscle Cars produced some fast racing.

Ryan Humfrey just kept Grant Hill at bay in the Sports Sedans opener, but the latter could not finish Race 2 after a spin at Turn 1.

In Sports Cars a 10th lap spin from Chris McKenzie would bring out the Safety Car while Campbell Nunn also rotated.

In WA Muscle Cars, Chase Hoy would put in a dominant performance over Ron Moller having set a new lap record.

Race 2 saw a depleted field with four of the five Sports Cars not taking to the start leaving Humfrey out front as Hoy finished second on track and the first of the Trans Ams while Epple was the only Sports Car on track and finished third.

FORMULA VEE NATIONALS

THE FIGHT for Formula Vee Nationals honours was split into 1600 and 1200 classes.

In the 1600 less than 1s covered the top eight in qualifying with Michael Kinsella on pole as Stephen Butcher enjoyed a bigger margin in the 1200s.

Daniel Reynolds overcame Michael Kinsella

by 0.16s in a tense opener as David Campbell claimed the 1200 class before Butcher hit back in Sunday’s first sprint.

The 1600s first Sunday sprint was cut short after a lap 5 incident involving Rod Lisson and Ryan Stott who had a roll but was fortunately unscathed.

The race was declared with Reynolds getting the win.

The final race for the 1200s was all about Butcher winning by 4.6s over Callum Lamont who was disqualified with Myles Lockett promoted to second. Bruce Welsh saluted a 30 year career with a fifth place finish.

The 1600s came down to an exciting back-and-forth battle between Reynolds and Kinsella.

The pair battled all race long with Reynolds edging out Kinsella in the closing moments of the race for the win by just 0.0110 seconds

SALOON CAR NATIONALS

A TOTAL of 38 Saloon Cars took to the grid with heats setting the grid for the Nationals race on Sunday afternoon.

In the Pro class, Mason Harvey dominate the heats as Michael Koberstein was the form car in Pro Am.

Harvey saved his best for when it mattered most in the nationals final, finishing just under 10 seconds ahead of Chris Kneafsey while Brock Ralph would finish 3rd after penalties were handed out post race to Scott Dornan and Jackson Callo.

The Pro-Ams would see a Koberstein 1-2 again with Michael taking out a clean sweep.

The final round is on October 19-20 at CARCO Raceway with more information at https://wascc.com.au

Daniel Reynolds heads a packed Formula Vee pack. Images: TURN 7 MEDIA / MARK MEDLOCK

Chase Hoy heads the WA Muscle Car field.

Abbott and Bowden Minis mix it ...

Harvey and Kneafsey lead a big field of Saloons.

NO HOLDING BACK

IT WAS back to Shell V-Power Motorsport Park for round seven of the South Australian Motor Racing Championship on September 21/22 with a big influx of interstate drivers boosting the Improved Production field and a huge pack of Circuit Excels.

John Callegari had the six-litre VN Commodore humming and the West Aussie finished on the podium in every race to take the outright win.

Jason Palmer (BMW E30) came into the round leading the series points and second for the weekend kept him safely on top.

Andrew Cogan (BMW M3) showed some good form not far behind the leaders to claim P3 for the round. Scott Cook (Nissan Silvia S13) was the man to beat but clutch issues on Saturday  left him down in fifth on points.

Christopher Redin (Nissan Silvia) and Gregory Faggotter (Nissan Bluebird) were both on the pace but had a coming together which put them both out of Race 1.

Not surprisingly, Joel Johnson was the man to beat in Circuit Excel Trophy but he couldn’t shake off persistent Queenslander Jackson Faulkner. It was another good performance by Fletcher Lewis to bag third for the event while Aaron Oliver and Shane Nowickyj were mixing it up with the leaders. There was plenty action back through the pack with lots of carnage and the Safety Car got plenty of laps.

Victorian David Musgrave stood on the top step in Circuit Excel Masters after some close battles with Kim Andersen and Shaun Pannowitch who made up the rest of the podium.

Jack Boyd (ARC Mercedes) was a comfortable winner in Aussie Racing

Cars having beaten top qualifier Bruce Heinrich (ARC Aurion) in both of Saturday’s races.

Things changed on Sunday with Joel Heinrich sliding behind the wheel of the Aurion to take two wins. With points split between the Heinrich’s this left Nathan Barber (ARC Falcon) a distant second with Dean Michalik (ARC Commodore) not far behind the Victorian in third.

Bradley Vaughan (Commodore) and Scott Dorman (Commodore) tied for the Saloon Car win with two wins and two second places each.

Joel Heinrich (Falcon) was comfortably the best of the rest and had been the top qualifier.

Darryl Crouch made a rare appearance in HQs and bumped Darren Jenkins out of the top spot. There were some fierce battles for supremacy between Crouch, Jenkins and Nathan Roberts with the latter picking up third.

Matthew Bailek (Stinger 3) and Nathan Clifton (Jacer V2K) went wheel to wheel in 1600 Vees with two wins each.

It was only a bit of bad luck in Race 1 that gave the overall win to Bailek. Luke Maeder (Elfin Crusader) was third in a fairly diverse field of Vees.

Baxter Midwinter (Panther 1A) was only beaten once on his way to the 1200 Vee victory by Frank Chessell (Elfin Crusader).  Andrew Ford (Birrana 274) took the opening win in Historic Sports and Racing but the it was all David Benda (Tiga SC80) and with Ford parked up on Sunday the win went to Benda.

A consistent weekend for Jim Doig (Motorlab Asp 340) had him move up to second overall with the absence of Ford with only a small gap back to Melissa Ford (Mallock U2) in the points.

Story/Images: David Batchelor

PERFECT PEGORARO KARTING WATCH

GARY PEGORARO (above) took a nail-biting win in 250 International at the 2024 Superkarts Australia Nationals held at the Shell V-Power The Bend Motorsport Park on September 21/22.

Iyla Harpas looked set to dominate the class, setting the pace in qualifying and running away from the opposition to win Race 1.

It all went wrong in Race 2 with a DNF early in the race handing the lead and the win to Pegoraro.

Despite Harpas winning the remaining two races on Sunday  constant podium finishes gave Pegoraro the narrowest of margins for the outright victory.

Anton Stevens had a consistent weekend which saw him stand on the bottom step of the podium. Matt Bass showed some good pace in the later races giving the front runners a hurry up but a DNF in Race 1 spoiled his chances of an outright podium finish.

Defending champion Russell Jamieson had a weekend to forget as well, not finishing or not starting in every race.

Brett Burvill and Marcel MorenoChamorro made the long haul across the Nulaboor worth while by claiming the top two spots in 250 National.

Nicholas Vella was looking every bit the winner after two wins on Saturday but a DNF in the final race meant he could only manage third for the weekend.

Sebastian Amadio claimed the 125 Gearbox win after a hard fought battle with Lee Vella.

Vella had been the man to beat winning the first three races but a DNF in race four dropped him to P2 outright.

Laurie Fooks was the best of the rest although James Boden had some good results too.

Numbers were a bit low in Rotax Non Gearbox with Doug Savage taking a lonely win in the Light division.

Patrick Ross was the Heavy winner but Christian Amadio didn’t make it easy for him with some very close finish’s the later breaking through for his only win in the final race of the event.

Story/Image: David Batchelor

Brad Vaughan tied with Scott Dorman for the Saloon car points. Below: Super consistency won the day for John Callegari in Improved Production.

David Benda won Historic Sports and Racing.

NATIONALS WRAP

TAS TITLES TO GO DOWN TO THE WIRE

BY THE time the second-last round of a championship series rolls around, a champion-elect starts to become obvious, but that certainly didn’t prove to be the case at the fifth and penultimate round of the Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championships at Bulk Nutrients Baskerville Raceway on September 14 and 15.

In fact, championships are still alive in seven categories, where the margin is 50 points or less.

Given that there’s potentially 160 points per round available, the final rounds will reach an exciting climax.

However, two categories are done and dusted (or just about), with Mike Hamilton (Subaru Liberty) all but seven points away from wrapping up the Sports GTB championship, while John Talbot (Ford Mustang) can’t be beaten in the Historic Touring Car title.

Both drivers easily won their respective rounds at Baskerville to put the results beyond doubt.

That certainly can’t be said for the Improved Production category, where only seven points now separate Ayrton Richardson (Toyota Corolla) and Jason House (BMW E92 M3).

House has dominated the championship since joining the field in Round 2 and this round was no different, top qualifying and winning every race easily to whittle down Richardson’s lead.

Richardson was running third and fourth for most of the weekend, but his cause wasn’t helped when he failed to make the grid for the double-points final.

Further down the field, the Under Twolitre Improved Production title is also up for grabs, with Leon Duggan (Ford Escort) keeping his hopes alive, with his worst result being a fourth in Race 1, to take a 40-point lead into the final round.

Anthony McKenzie (Ford Escort) looked set to win the round after a string of wins and some impressive placings in the outright field, but a DNF in race four and a non-start ended his chance to bridge the series gap.

Kyle Smith (Datsun 1200) picked up the slack and won the round to ease closer to Duggan for the title, while Mary White (Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg) kept racking up the points with a few placings here and there and now sits 15 points behind Smith in the series.

The Hyundai Excel racing was up to its usual brilliant standard, with Jeremy Bennett, Jackson Shaw, and teenager Oliver Wickham entertaining the crowd with their close racing all weekend.

Bennett won the round with three wins, a second and a third in the double-points final race, which was won by Wickham, who also won race two, to finish second for the round and maintain third in the title, only 49 points behind Bennett.

Shaw was left wondering that could have been when he was battling for the lead in race three on the opening lap, but made contact with Bennett, spinning them both out and earning himself a penalty from the stewards.

However, he still managed to salvage enough points to finish third for the round and remain second in the championship.

The stage is set now for a thrilling final round, where any dramas to the top three could easily cost them the championship.

It’s a similar three-horse race in the Formula Vee title, with Michael Vaughan (Spectre) the man to beat as the most consistent all season.

Noel Clark (Elfin NG2) and Richard Gray (Jabiru) both missed the opening round and have been playing catch-up ever since.

The top trio again shared honours after a weekend of tight racing, with Clark winning two heats and the double-points final to win the round, with Gray winning the other two races.

Vaughan was ever-present in either second or third for every race, giving him an 81-point lead in the championship, with 21 points separating Gray and Clark in second and third.

With only four rounds for the Racing and Sports Car championship, as opposed to six in other categories, strong results in what was the third round were very important.

Matthew Roberts (Dallara) made the most of his opportunities and won three races, including the double-points final to increase his series lead over Daniel Hoult (Radical SR3).

Hoult won only one heat and spent most of the weekend battling with newcomer Josh Peacock (Radical SR3), who qualified third and then ran second in every race in an impressive debut.

Hoult now sits 54 points behind Roberts in the championship and 25 points ahead of third-placed Scott Blee (Reynard 923) Troy Johnson (Porsche GT3) dominated Sports GTA, winning every race easily in the absence of series leader Andrew Reader, to claw his way up to within 34 points of the championship lead.

As mentioned earlier, Mike Hamilton has one hand on the Sports GTB championship trophy after a solid weekend which included three race wins.

Further down the field, the season-long battle in Sports GTC continued between Michael Symons (BMW 125i) and Steve Olive Ford Falcon), and it was another close one again.

Symons won the round with three wins, including the double-points final, to keep his series lead in tact, winning the round over Olive, who won every race Symons didn’t, to be within 32 points of the championship in what will be another nailbiter in the final round.

Martin Agatyn

John Talbot can’t now be beaten for the Historic Touring Car title. Top: Noel Clark closed the points gap to Michael Vaughan.

Above: Mike Hamilton is close to the Sports GTB crown ... Images: SCOTTY B PHOTOGRAPHY

BIG O GOES BACK TO BACK

REIGNING AUSTRALIAN HQ Holden champion Brett Osborn has claimed his second consecutive championship at the Howell Automotive Australian HQ Holden Nationals, run at Bulk Nutrients Baskerville Raceway in Tasmania on September 14 and 15.

The title was decided over two six lap heats for each driver (four in total), one 10-lap heat each and a 34-car grid for the 20-lap final.

Osborn qualified on the front row for the final, but it was fellow New South Wales driver Luke Harrison who was the pacesetter for much of the weekend to qualify on pole position.

Harrison had finished second in the past two nationals and it was looking like it was finally going to be his weekend.

And he had every right to feel confident, top qualifying and winning all his three heats, including the only heat where he and Osborn met, lowering the defending champion’s colours in the opening six-lap heat.

Qualifying on pole for the 20-lap decider, Harrison appeared on target for the perfect weekend.

However, Osborn managed to win the start and went on to lead from start to finish, although the luckless Harrison pushed him all the way.

Another NSW driver, Jarrod Harber, and Victorian Ryan Woods also performed strongly in the heats to qualify well up the grid.

Former Australian champion and local hope Phil Ashlin (Tas.) qualified on grid three after some impressive heats as well, with Andrew Magilton (Vic.) in fourth.

Current Tasmanian champion Andrew Toth and 1987 Bathurst 1000 winner David Parsons (Tas.) in a comeback guest drive,

joined him on the third row, with Harber starting out of grid seven.

There was drama before the race had even gone 150m, with Phil Ashlin pulling over with his gearbox jammed in first gear, ending his chances of a home town victory.

Within a few laps Osborn, Harrison, Magilton and Woods started to distance

themselves from the chasing pack, led by Harber and Parsons.

By lap eight, Woods was starting to be dropped by the leaders, with confusion breaking out a few laps later when local driver Shane Hughes spun on the front straight, with the leaders bearing down on him seconds later.

Quick thinking from Osborn, who went on

one side, and Harrison and Magilton, who went down the other side, ensured disaster was averted.

Full course yellow flags were displayed, along with the Safety Car board.

The Safety Car entered the course, but was unable to pick up the leaders with the field spread out so much, with race officials displaying the green flag two laps later when the leaders crossed the line.

Harber capitalised on the re-start and found his way through to third.

Osborn was able to get clear in lapped traffic from time to time, but Harrison and Wood managed to eventually get back on his tail every time as the laps counted down and the race reached its inevitable conclusion, with Osborn winning from Harrison and Woods.

Osborn said after his victory it was special to go back to back and also claim his fourth national title in the process.

“It was pretty special when I won my third title last year, but to go back to back is awesome,” Osborn said. “To be honest, I didn’t really expect it this morning and was expecting to maybe finish second.”

“I knew we had a reasonable car, but I didn’t think I had the power to get past Luke, because he pipped me by a couple of tenths in qualifying and won every race, including the one we were both in, so my only chance was to get him at the start.”

“It was a bit confusing when we did a couple of laps with the SC board out and none of us were ready for the green flag, but it worked out in the end.”

“It’s pretty cool to win a national title at the track where it (HQ racing) all started at Baskerville on my first time here.”

“If it wasn’t for the Tassie guys who started all this 36 years ago, we wouldn’t be here.”

Martin Agatyn

Brett Osborn got the jump and led all the way in the final. Below: Harrison, Osborn and Harber spray the champers ... Bottom: A pretty big field assembled for the HQ Nationals! Images: SCOTTY B PHOTOGRAPHY

INTERNATIONAL

UP AND DOWN

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER Jorge Martin emerged on top from a tough Indonesian Motorcycle Grand Prix weekend where many had contrasting fortunes.

Martin fell on Saturday, but won on Sunday to restore a 21-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia, who crossed the line third in the GP behind Pedro Acosta.

It was a race of attrition, with only 12 of the 21 riders reaching the finish line on Sunday, whilst there was also drama on Saturday.

AFTER SMASHING the field and taking pole by half a second, Martin eyed more success in the Sprint.

The PRAMAC rider led on the opening lap, but only got to the penultimate Turn 16 before a costly crash.

Martin was perplexed as he “didn’t feel on the limit” and recovered to 10th, one place ahead of Australia’s Jack Miller but, critically, out of the points.

Bagnaia made him pay once again, taking victory in a Ducati formation finish with teammate Enea Bastianini on his back wheel.

It was far from a smooth ride however, with a resurgent Marco Bezzecchi being an early challenger before a big moment at Turn 10 on lap seven.

Bezzecchi got out of shape and almost careered into the #1, but avoided disaster, running wide and dropping to fourth.

This helped Marc Marquez complete yet another charge – having started from 12th, he found himself in second.

Whilst the #93 threatened Bagnaia, the Gresini rider’s attention soon turned to the sister factory Ducati as Bastianini pressed hard.

Their battle went all the way to the penultimate lap where Bastianini flew by, while it was an all Ducati top five thanks to Franco Morbidelli.

DETERMINED TO make up for his Saturday sadness, Martin dominated the main event.

The PRAMAC rider shot clear off the line and was never challenged in a convincing lights-to-flag performance.

He emerged 1s clear in the 27-lap affair of the impressive Acosta, who was the lone KTM in a sea of Ducatis.

The young Tech3 rookie was the only non Ducati in the top fiver and more than

held his own by pulling 4s on Bagnaia and restricting the reigning champion to third as Morbidelli fended off Bezzecchi for fourth.

However, they did well to make it, as many failed to see the finish.

Aussie Miller found himself at the centre of attention after sparking a four-rider pileup by skittling Aleix Espargaro, Luca Marini and Alex Marquez at Turn 3.

Marc Marquez was unable to produce another charge through the field as his #93 went up in flames.

The highest profile drama occurred to Bastianini as his grip on the podium and dream of possibly contending for

the championship disappeared when he fell at Turn 1 with six laps left. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Joan Mir and Augusto Fernandez also retired.

Martin enjoys a 21-point lead over Bagnaia with Japan this weekend and Phillip Island calling on October 18-20. Thomas Miles

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

AFTER ROUND 15

1: Jorge Martin 366 points

2: Francesco Bagnaia 345

3: Enea Bastianini 291

4: Marc Marquez 288

5: Pedro Acosta 181

BASTIANINI WINS, BAGNAIA FALLS

THE SECOND trip to Misano, last week, could be one of the biggest chapters of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship as Francesco Bagnaia fell and Enea Bastianini denied Jorge Martin in a controversial last-lap thriller.

After beating Martin in the Sprint and leading the opening four laps of the Grand Prix, things were looking good for Bagnaia.

He led the race and the championship by a solitary point until he suddenly slipped to third due to tyre dramas.

Across the next 15 laps he struggled to keep up with the leaders until the reigning champion locked the front on approach to Quercia and crashed out, throwing away valuable ground.

The Ducati star pointed towards some “strange” tyre struggles, which he believes is having an affect on the bigger picture.

“I don’t know what was normal, everything was quite strange,” he explained.

“But nothing ... I was straight, because I was having 32 degrees, and normally in track conditions you can crash directly like this.

“I didn’t brake hard, I braked 18 metres before (I did on) the fastest lap I did, and I still lost the front ... like I touched a bump but there is not.

“Strange, but everything is strange from the start.”

“I arrived in the race with the pace to win the race, starting from pole position, leading the first lap, and then I had to slow down because the tyres are not ready, the tyres are not there.

“This is a huge problem that is making the championship not balanced in this moment.”

Bagnaia was the last to fall in a war of attrition as both Brad Binder and Pedro

also crashed from the top four, allowing

This was mainly due to the hot pace of Martin and Bastianini, who blazed away in a thrilling fight for victory that went down to the wire.

It came alive with five laps to go as a few wide moments from Martin brought Bastianini on his back wheel.

On Lap 25 the #23 tried to make a run down the back straight, but the #89 shut it

down to retain the leader as they took the final lap.

Bastianini went for it at Turn 4, going very deep on the inside, forcing Martin to sit up, run wide and concede defeat.

It was the winning move, albeit a controversial one from Bastianini.

“I think the manoeuvre maybe was a bit too much because he pushed me out of the track and I couldn’t fight back,” Martin recalled.

“There was no room to make that manoeuvre. I deserved that victory and (if) he made a move, at least do it clean and don’t touch me.”

“Jorge was certainly not happy, but he closed the gap a lot when I overtook him,” Bastianini defended.

“It was a bit on the limit, but it was a good overtake.

“When you have the chance to win the race, you have to do it.

“Yes, it has been a bit on the limit, but it was the only choice.”

Australia’s Jack Miller could only manage 19th in qualifying and ended up 16th despite getting as high as 12th.

Thomas Miles

Acosta

Marc Marquez to inherit third.

Yay! Martin now enjoys a 21-point championship lead. Image: GOLD AND GOOSE

Bastianini hunted down Martin – and it ended controversially ... Image: GOLD AND GOOSE

FINN IN THE FOG

THE FEARLESS Finn, driving part-time for Toyota in the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship, took his fourth win of his ‘resting up’ season, denying his team-mate Elfyn Evans his first victory of the year.

Round 11’s tyre testing Chile event saw Hyundai’s Thierry Neville heading in with a chance to clinch his maiden title, but it was clear from early on that the Toyota GR Yaris machines would be denying Hyundai a second straight win after its podium sweep in Greece.

The rally was marked by dense Saturday and Sunday fog, which saw near invisibility as the field ascended into the mountain passes, which was where Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen took control over a rightfully cautious Evans.

Chile also saw fellow Toyota part-timer Sebastien Ogier drop out of championship contention – after looking a threat on Friday, his car broke a steering arm on Saturday to deny his push for a ninth WRC title.

In the end, it was the 23-year old twotime defending champion who mastered the danger of the fog, taking it out by 23.4 seconds from Evans, with Ott Tanak taking third (43.9s off Rovanpera) to remain a highly slim chance of challenging for the title.

In rough road conditions that the victorious Finn admitted wasn’t his strongpoint, Rovanpera’s main goal was to keep Toyota in the Manufacturers fight.

“This win feels really good for us. It was a tough weekend and it always feels good when you’ve really had to fight for a victory,” he said at the finish line.

“It wasn’t easy at any point with all of the weather and everything … on Friday I wasn’t feeling comfortable, but we made it through without any big mistakes.

“It was important to push today and together with our team-mates we scored

really important points for the Manufacturers’ championship and we can be very happy with that.”

Ahead of Thursday’s Shakedown, the 10-car Rally 1 field welcomed impressive Latvian Martin Sesks back into the Ford MSport ranks along with Gregoire Munster, whilst Esapekka Lappi returned for Hyundai, and the other promising future talent – Sami Pajari – making another appearance for Toyota.

Three days, 16 stages, and 306.76km of competitive tyre-testing distance greeted the field, with Lappi pacing the 6.79km warm-up.

After initially topping Friday’s six stages with a narrow 0.4 second advantage, Ott Tanak was stripped of the lead after Evans’ opening stage received an updated notional time, which put him ahead by three seconds for Saturday morning.

Although Ogier claimed three stages to look the dominant force, the Frenchman ran

wide in SS3 to lose a 30 second lead, whilst midday service tweaks saw Tanak haul them in, searching for his third straight Chile win.

Saturday saw a testing 140km of altitude rallying on the cards, with Evans looking on the money to break his 2024 duck after the early going, before the great fog rolled in.

Evans enjoyed a 13s cushion after taking three of the first four stages, but was caught out as the last driver out for the final two stages of the day, with Rovanpera 20 seconds better than anyone to lead by 15.1s overnight.

“Huge fog … I have never done anything like this, it’s crazy. You drive and you are just trying to stay on the road,” he described. Neuville also fought back from sixth to be in fourth behind Tanak.

The final day had 54.8km of action, with the fog hanging about and the roads staying damp; conditions more suited to the Finn’s liking.

He set up the 15th win of his career by staying ahead of Evans throughout, whilst Ogier claimed all four stages to add some bonus points, whilst Neuville would finish in fourth with a 29-point title lead, and simply needs to outscore his Estonian teammate to clinch the title in Central Europe.

Toyota’s one-two and Ogier’s Sunday point haul also closed the manufacturer gap to 17 points to the i20N squad.

In the WRC2, Citroen C3 Rally2 drivers Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin finished eighth and ninth overall respectively, with Gus Greensmith in third – 10th outright –whilst Rally3 Ford driver Diego Dominguez took the class win to also claim the third tier title.

The penultimate round of the season sees teams head for the tri-country Central European round on October 17-20, with two asphalt rallies set to close out the season. Starting out in southeast Germany, the rally also travels through Australia and the Czech Republic, with the season then drawing to close in Japan come late November.

Flying through the fog, with no idea what’s ahead! Rovanpera made the best of the conditions. Below left: Elfyn Evans made it a Toyota 1-2. Below right: Tanak still leads the Drivers’ championship – by 29 points.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

IMSA BREAKTHROUGH FOR BMW

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS TWO-YEAR IMSA GTP HYPERCAR PROGRAMME – AND INDEED FOR THE BMW

M HYBRID V8 MACHINE – THE BMW M TEAM RLL TOOK A NORTH AMERICAN CHEQUERED FLAG AT THE INDIANAPOLIS’ BATTLE ON THE BRICKS. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

THE SECOND ever instalment of the IMSA SportsCar Championship race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw the Bavarian manufacturer capture its first on-track Hypercar victory two years into its LMDh programme.

They also delivered a maiden one-two finish with its #24 and #25 machines. After being awarded the Six Hours of The Glen in 2023 win via post-race scrutineering, it was the first time the team had the ultimate satisfaction of crossing the chequered flag in the lead.

The team of Philipp Eng/Jesse Krohn came home over its sister car piloted by Connor De Phillippi/Nick Yelloly by 1.647 seconds after 219 laps on the IMS road course, with the #6 Porsche team of Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy taking third in a race that saw an hour’s running under caution due to excessive standing water from heavy storms. However, in a field of 11 GTP machines, seven were impounded for inspection following the race. That included the winning BMW and the #6 Porsche, with the latter eventually losing its podium over a wiring harness/loom that was deemed outside of homologation rules.

Sent to the rear of the field, the penalty also saw massive championship implications heading into October’s season finale at Atlanta.

As a result, it saw a 14 point deficit to the championship leading #7 sister Porsche of Felipe Nasr/Dane Cameron (who finished ninth due to power steering issues) blown out to 124 points.

That elevated the customer JDC-Miller MotorSports #85 Porsche into third.

For Finnish BMW factory driver, Jesse

Krohn, the maiden victory made him a class winer across every machine the team has put him in, with it also being the first time on the podium for the #24.

“This is just unbelievable – this is my 11th year with BMW, and looking back on the journey I’ve had with them, now I can say I’ve won in every single car they put me in.”

Whilst co-owner Bobby Rahal said that, “Given all the craziness of this week, this may rank as our greatest victory as a team,” the circumstances being that the FBI had raided the team’s headquarters, allegedly due to a former employee of IndyCar’s Andretti team – now working for RLL – having transferred intellectual property to the BMW based team.

In typical 6-hour GTP fashion, it was all about nursing the car into the final hour, with the one-two being achieved from eighth and fifth on the grid respectively.

Both machines crept up the grid through the several caution stages after showing their pace in the third hour, whilst the decisive

pit-stops came into the fifth hour under another caution when the #7 Porsche slowed on track, elevating both BMW’s into second (#25) and third (#24).

With the eventual post-race penalised #40 Acura ARX-06 in the lead, Eng first made a move on the sister machine, before a daring pass at Turn 13 gave them the lead with 47 minutes remaining.

With De Phillippi then taking P2, the two BMW’s fought a tense battle to the end with little separation, which included a side-byside moment with only 10 minutes to go.

Across the board, every GTP machine on track showed great promise to deliver one of the most entertaining class outings in the short history of the class, with eight separate leaders throughout.

The Lamborghini squad will leave enthused after being in the fight, with its #63 SC63 leading for 10 minutes at the hands of former F1 and current IndyCar racer Romain Grosjean, scything through the field at pace

before a pit-wall (drive-through) penalty derailed the push.

In the LMP2 class, Aussie/Kiwi Hunter McElrea was a part of the winning Steven Thomas/Mikkel Jensen team in the TDS Racing ORECA-07 (ninth outright) – its second straight IMS win – beating the title leading #54 Inter Europol ORECA by 26.049 seconds.

McElrea was integral after being at the helm in a confusing class reshuffle, performing an inspired drive to put the team in the lead heading into the final two hours.

In the GTD Pro stakes, the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Michael Christensen/ Laurin Heinrich took a remarkable win from the rear of the grid.

After a ferocious battle with the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 and #14 Lexus RC F GT3, they leapfrogged the pair in the final pit stop to win by 12.527s over the Mustang.

The final IMSA outing of the 2024 season is the 27th Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on October 9-12. Porsche Penske will be looking to clinch its first GTP IMSA Hypercar title whilst the third placed #4 Cadillac V-Series.R is also in contention, 164 points in arrears (with 350 to the winner) as the American manufacturer looks to back up its 2023 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles.

BMW eventually took a decisive 1-2. Above: When you win at Indy, you gotta kiss the bricks ... Right: Hunter McElrea did a superb job on debut with the winning TDS team ORECA-07 in LMP2. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

KANSAS CITY SPOILER

NON-PLAYOFF driver and watermelon smasher Ross Chastain spoiled the opening ‘Round of 12’ bout for the post-season contenders, taking his first win of the year at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

The Trackhouse disrupters #1Chevrolet (pictured) came to life in the second half of the 267-lap outing, holding off NASCAR playoff contender William Byron (who led for 24 laps) by a nose, who would fall just 0.388 seconds short in his bid for automatic ‘Round of 8’ qualification.

After losing the lead toward the back end, Martin Truex Jr. took third a week after being bungled out of the Playoffs, whilst it was a vital fourth place for defending champion Ryan Blaney after he rallied from an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel.

Chastain led for 52 laps for his fifth career win in a tense outing after taking the lead from Truex Jr. after the final restart on the 248th lap, with the clean air giving him an aerodynamic advantage over Byron who had to fight through the dirty air to make a challenge.

“For us on this #1 team, it’s what Cup racing is all about. It’s what (team co-owner) Justin Marks bought into Trackhouse with Pitbull, bought into NASCAR with Trackhouse to do stuff like this — to disrupt,” Chastain said.

“There’s been times this year where we couldn’t have disrupted the minnow pond outside of Darlington, let alone a Cup race. It’s hard. It’s really tough. To come and do this, there are times where I didn’t think after practising and qualifying we had what it took. I thought we have been

way stronger here in the past. It didn’t feel great all day, but our Chevy was better as the rubber went down, and the adjustments were great.”

Playoff drivers Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell (the pole winner and race-high 122-lap leader), Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott also finished in the top10, with the latter also coming from the rear of the field after a pre-race engine change.

Byron’s P2 sees him lead the playoff

standings by six points over Bell, Blaney, and Kyle Larson, with the latter Bristol winner having a day to forget after cutting this tyre at the Turn 2 wall just 19 laps in to finish 26th.

Rounding out the fight in the top-eight of the Playoff picture are Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliot, and Joey Logano, whilst Tyler Reddick is four points back over the cut-line, heading up Daniel Suarez (-14), Chase Briscoe (-24), and Austin Cindric (-29).

sFor a moment during the race, it also looked like Kyle Busch would keep up his remarkable and record-holding 19-year streak, but the veteran hit traffic on lap 226 as his car broke loose after trying to pass Briscoe, who was a lap down, bringing out the race’s ninth caution.

The second stanza of the ‘Round of 12’ picture now heads for wildcard Talladega Superspeedway, with the Charlotte roval to close it out ahead of the ‘Round of 8’.

TW Neal

LARSON ROMPS THE COLOSSEUM

THE FINAL go-around for the NASCAR Playoff’s ‘Round of 16’ was a total romp by Hendrick’s Kyle Larson, putting on one of the most dominant performances in Playoff history at the Bristol Speedway a week ago.

Although his advance into the ‘Round of 12’ was hardly a thing of doubt, the self proclaimed “Greatest Racer in the World” looked every bit the claim, taking the win at the famous half-mile by 7.088 seconds from teammate Chase Elliot.

The #5 Chevrolet star led an astounding 462 of 500 laps after starting on the front row, with the elimination race seeing four cut from the 2024 picture, as Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Harrison Burton all took the chop.

Larson’s second win at Bristol was a Hendricks team record for laps led in a single race, as he dominated both stages to take a fifth win for 2024 – the 28th of his career – whilst it was the most laps led at Bristol since Cale Yarborough led 495 of them in 1977.

“Man, that was just great execution all weekend by the team,” Larson said.

“You’ve got to qualify well, and we did that. Just had a great car. Thanks to the whole #5 team. They’re the best in the business.

“We dominate a lot of races, but we might not close them all out, so it feels really good to close one out here in this Chevy. We’ve got (team owner) Rick Hendrick here today, too. He hasn’t been to many races this year …

“Just a phenomenal car, could kind of manage my stuff and then really pass some cars there at the end.”

Entering Bristol, the situation around the cut zone had Denny Hamlin in the #11 Toyota below the cut to the tune of six points,

whilst Gibbs teetered in the final spot.

Whilst Hamlin would end up fourth to scrape into the 12, Gibbs wasn’t so lucky, wearing out his right rear tyre to drop into fifteenth by the final laps, as well as taking a speeding penalty, with Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe surviving above him to knock him out.

The Gibbs penalty was also the saving grace for Suarez, who finished four laps down in 31st, but advanced in the face of

No surprise here – Larson leads, and wins ...

Gibbs losing the points as he dropped through the field. Heading into the ‘Round of 12’ beginning at Kansas, the advance drivers would be Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Williams Byron, Ryan Blaney, Hamlin, Elliot, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Suarez, Alex Bowman, and Briscoe. Kansas Speedway, Talladega SuperSpeedway, and the Charlotte “roval” were set to make up the ‘Round of 12.’

TW Neal

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

A CRUSHING WIN FOR LANDO

Report: LUIS VASCONCELAS

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LANDO NORRIS crushed the opposition in Singapore to beat Max Verstappen by more than 20 seconds and continue to cut the gap to the Red Bull driver in the championship.

With Oscar Piastri recovering to third place after a difficult qualifying, on a Saturday where the drivers let Ferrari down with mistakes in Q3, this was an excellent weekend for Zak Brown’s team.

Norris was very impressive right from the start of FP1 on Friday afternoon and dominated procedures with only Charles Leclerc close enough on pace to be hopeful of presenting a challenge.

On Sunday, after a good start, the McLaren driver puled away easily from Verstappen but, with the situation perfectly controlled, showed he’s still a bit vulnerable with two avoidable mistakes.

On lap 29, leading by 25s, he went deep into Turn 5 and scrapped the wall on the exit before overshooting Turn 16 while lapping Colapinto with five laps to go “because it was really slippery off line and I had to go into the marbles to get past him.”

Even those mistakes cost him little lap time, so his third Grand Prix win was almost a formality. That’s why Norris can legitimaly believe in the title, for, even though he’s still 52 points behind Verstappen, he’s recovered 26 points in the last four races and the pace gap between the two cars continues to grow.

The English driver clearly enjoyed this win more than others, saying that “a win is always a win, but when you win in this way, maybe it puts a slightly bigger smile on your face. Still, the main job is just getting the win because it’s satisfying no matter what.”

Then, still with a big smile, he added that “the bigger the gap you can have, the happier you’re going to be, but I’m just happy we finished on top, and we got maximum points and got another win. I felt good all

weekend, so all I had to do was go out there and perform like I’ve been performing, and all things were going to go well.”

THE BOOT IS ON THE OTHER FOOT

McLAREN’S DOMINATION of the last couple of races has changed the picture at the top of the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship and, having arrived in Baku eight points behind Red Bull, Zak Brown’s team has now left Singapore with a healthy gap of 41 points over its rivals and with momentum clearly on its side.

And while in Azerbaijan it was Sérgio Pérez who was the fastest of the two Red Bulls, his late-in-the-race crash with Sainz in Baku, combined with a very poor performance in Singapore meant he only scored one of his team’s 28 points, with both races combined ... McLaren, on the other hand, scored 78 points out of a possible maximum of 88, having the advantage of its two drivers being up there race-in, race-out, and has momentum on its side. It will be a brave man who bets against the Woking-based team winning its first Constructor’s title since … 1998!

The always analytical Andrea Stella pointed out that, with Piastri recovering to third in the

race “from a numerical point of view, it’s a little frustrating because I think we could have gone away from Singapore having gained more points on Max.”

The Italian added that “I think Ferrari could have finished ahead of Max; I think even Oscar, polishing a little bit the qualifying laps, could have finished ahead of Max. But the positives that come from the pace of the car definitely overcome this kind of frustration.

“We are heading on to the next six events, three of which are Sprint events.”

In conclusion, the Italian engineer insisted that the Drivers’ title “is definitely not in our hands, because it’s still in Max’s hands. Likewise, the Constructors – that’s more in our hands, in fairness. But I think we go away potentially encouraged and even more optimistic that the Drivers’ Championship is possible because of the performance of the car.”

PIASTRI’S GREAT RECOVERY

BY HIS own admission, Oscar Piastri didn’t have an easy weekend in Singapore, struggling to have the confidence in his MCL38 that Norris was displaying right from the first lap on Friday with the other papaya car.

Not really a threat to his team-mate but capable of fighting with Leclerc, Piastri’s progress until the end of Q2 was remarkable. However, with Q3 becoming a one-lap shootout for all due to an early red flag, a couple of mistakes towards the end of the lap put him down in P5, behind the two Mercedes. Losing out to Hulkenberg in the first corner could have completely derailed the Australian’s day, but he managed to pass the Haas driver on that first lap before being forced to patiently wait behind Hamilton and Russell for their stops.

When the last Mercedes pitted, on lap 27, Piastri could push on very used tyres and extended his stint until lap 38. He made quick work of Hamilton on the first flying lap on new Hard tyres, ands needed just five laps to catch and pass Russell. But Verstappen was too far in front by then, so Piastri had to settle for P3. Happy with the recovery, the youngster felt he had left a few points on the table, though: “Yesterday wasn’t ideal, but today the aim was to get onto the podium. And I think losing so much time behind the Mercedes in the first stint meant this was definitely the most we could have done. So, walking away reasonably happy. Of course, I’d prefer to be sat in the middle seat, but I think it was a good damage limitation day today.”

MEASURED VERSTAPPEN LIMITS HIS LOSSES ON RED Bull’s side, Max Verstappen presented a more positive body language in Singapore than the one seen in Baku. In Azerbaijan the Dutchman had made it clear

Norris ‘nailed it’ in Singapore, from his great qualifying lap, to his start, and an ever-extending lead thereafter. Below: After dropping a couple of tenths, and spots, in qualifying, Oscar Piastri made the best of it with a strong recovery to third. Right: Despite this lock-up Colapinto again boosted his resume with a fine performance.

that “my advantage may seem big but if we cannot improve the car quickly then we have no chance, as McLaren is quick everywhere”, but was extremely relieved with the recovery done over the Singapore weekend, where he recovered from a terrible Friday to be second on the grid and in the race.

Still, the World Champion made it clear that “this can change very quickly again, so we just need to keep on trying to overturn it a bit, not always finishing behind, but we’ll see how that goes.”

Team Principal Christian Horner was relieved to tell us that “we’ve got a vein of development and I think we’ve understood some of the issues with the car. I think we’re starting to address them. We were better in Baku. We were better here.”

He then added that, “the encouraging thing this weekend was that the car reacted as we hoped it would, and what our tools were telling us. I think that’s the encouraging factor. I think that the team is starting to get a direction and understanding of where some of the limitations and some of the causes of limitations, and that opens up development paths and veins that hopefully will be productive.”

Pérez, as we reported above, dropped his performance to a mediocre level in qualifying, was out in Q2 and then spent the first half of the race behind Colapinto, moving to P10 as he undercut the Williams driver. Once again he sat behind a much slower car, Hulkenberg’s, until the end of the race, scoring just one point ...

MERCEDES CAN’T CATCH UP

GIVEN LEWIS Hamilton’s good track record at this circuit, Mercedes had hoped to get in the battle with the front runners, but only in qualifying did things click for both drivers. Hamilton was on the pace all evening, qualifying third, but Russell had trouble in the first two mini-sessions, nearly being knocked out twice, before nearly matching his team mate in Q3.

Gambling on Soft tyres for the start, hoping to get ahead of Verstappen and then controlling the pace, Hamilton didn’t have the getaway he needed, so he quickly dropped a few seconds from the Dutchman to try and extend his first stint.

That only lasted until lap 17, when he was the first front runner to pit. From then on Hamilton had to balance passing three slower cars and keeping his tyres in good condition to finish the race, so it was no the veteran dropped to sixth place as he didn’t have enough grip to fight Piastri or Leclerc, who were on much fresher tyres and was also overcut by Russell.

The younger Brit, on a more conservative strategy, held Piastri until stopping for Hard tyres, got ahead of his team-mate by overcutting him but then had no answer for the young Australian, quickly dropping to fourth place. Good tyre management gave him enough grip to defend from a charging Leclerc in the last five laps but it was clear that, in clean air, Mercedes is still the fourth quickest team and seems unable to catch up.

ALONSO LEADS THE MIDFIELD

TO SAY that Fernando Alonso drove brilliantly all weekend is becoming repetitive but given the shortcomings of his Aston Martin, seventh on the grid and eighth at the end of the race was the best he could do. Sitting behind Hulkenberg in the first stint was the best way to guarantee he’d have DRS to defend from Leclerc until the tyre changes and it was on strategy the Spaniard beat the Haas driver to guarantee P8, as clearly best of the rest.

DRIVERS COST FERRARI

FERRARI ARRIVED in Singapore with high hopes of repeating last year’s success and the pace shown, especially by Charles Leclerc, until the end of Q2, justified the Italian’s optimism, as their driver was the only one that was close to matching the unstoppable Norris from the start of practice.

However, mistakes by both drivers in Q3 meant that none of them even set a lap time, so they lined up on the fifth row of the grid, with no hope of fighting for the podium positions.

Stuck behind Hulkenberg and Alonso in the first part of the race, the Monegasque was audibly frustrated at being at the back of a mini DRS train but kept his head, bided his time and, as soon as the Aston Martin driver pitted, on lap 25, passed Hulkenberg and then extended the life of his Medium tyres for another eight laps.

Hulkenberg comfortably beat Magnussen all weekend, was one of the stars of qualifying by beating Alonso into P6 and, with Tsunoda having a poor start, his race was against the Spaniard, losing it on strategy, and then salvaging two precious points by holding Pérez, in a much faster car, until the end of the race.

Resuming behind Alonso but ahead of the Haas driver, Leclerc went on a charge, passing the veteran and also Sainz within three laps. The 15.4s Hamilton had in hand over the Monegasque disappeared in just seven laps, so overtaking his future team-mate was a formality for the Ferrari driver, who even caught Russell with five laps to go. By then, though, he’d run out of tyres and had to settled for fifth place. Happy with his race pace, Leclerc admitted that “the mistakes we made on Saturday cost us today. Yes, the front tyres were a bit cold but I also didn’t do as good a job as I should have and paid the price.”

For Carlos Sainz the story was similar, compounded with the loss of two places in the first lap, when he had to take evasive action to avoid the aggressive Colapinto into Turn 1.

Stuck in a much bigger DRS train, the Spaniard pitted very early, on lap 13, overtook the two Saubers, the two Alpines, Ricciardo and Magnussen with relative ease and got the undercut on Pérez, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Colapinto. That put him up to P6 after the last driver pitted for the Hard tyre, a position he quickly handed to Leclerc, on much fresher tyres, to settle for seventh place.

As Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur admitted at the end of the race, “the result of the weekend is not the one expected, but the result of the Sunday is a good one.”

The Frenchman insisted that “it was a good race. from us – we had a strong pace, a good start for Charles. Carlos, for his side, was a little bit on the dirty side and a bit blocked, but then with a good strategy, good pit stop and with tyre management in the line of the last couple of events, I think we can be pleased with this now.”

Dandaeped qui ipsam, incto te et ut que lamentur ut audam et adi sit

Lando got the start and was never seen again. Right: Podium time ...

Merc boys ran different strategies, but P4 and P6 was

Sainz’s

1974: WE ARE CONFUSED

ON PAGE 15 OF AA ISSUE #95 YOU WILL FIND A SHORT NEWS STORY CONCERNING THE CAMS RALLY PANEL ...

THE CAMS RALLY Panel had come up with a recommendation that the Australian Rally Championship should be run under what amounted to Sports Sedan rules.

This information was given to Auto Action by John Keeffe of CAMS, and AA put the story together in good faith.

However, according to National Councillor John Roxburgh, and ex-deputy councillor Stewart McLeod, not to mention CAMS Rally Panel member Frank Kilfoyle, far from being held over for decision at the NCC’s November meeting, the Panel’s recommendations had been passed by the National Council!

The vote was three to nothing, with three of the councillors abstaining. AA reported that:

“All rally people should note that, in accordance with the NCC’s properly constituted decision, the 1975 Australian Rally Championship WILL BE for vehicles which comply with their various State’s traffic regulations.

“They will no longer be restricted to CAMS production Touring Car regulations.

“This will be applicable to the drivers’ and navigators’ titles, but will not be applicable to the Manufacturer’s title which will be decided under the same rules as this year’s ARC.”

1984

AS THE Australian racing world celebrated Peter Brock and Larry Perkins leading HDT’s famous formation finish, there was a lot going on behind the scenes.

There was a lot of excitement at Calder Park as it finally received the go-ahead to construct the tri-oval now known as the Thunderdome.

Before the oval would be created, the original circuit which had just received a tweak, was set to host the final non F1 Australian Grand Prix in November.

The two McLaren drivers fighting for a thrilling F1 world title, Niki Lauda and Alain Prost were locked in to race.

AA rang John Keeffe again before going to press, asking him why his version on the subject differed from the others.

He reiterated that the rule had NOT been changed.

“It’s easier to say that, in view of the fact that the matter will be raised again in November when it will either be ratified or revoked.”.

ORIGINAL STORY

OPEN SLATHER recommendations put forward to the National Council by the National Rally Panel concern making the ARC vehicle rules “open slather”.

This is a reaction to the present situation where only CAMS homologated production touring cars are eligible for ARC points, are making the points winning cars look pretty stupid.

Even so, creating “Sports Sedan” rallying might not be the correct answer.

If the recommendations are adopted however, each car will still have to comply with the Australian Design Rules.

The National Council will be considering the new recommendations at its November meeting

1994

2004

AS JOHN Bowe took the chequered flag at Bathurst in a Falcon, Dick Johnson was threatening to switch camps and drive a Commodore in 1995.

Johnson had been at war with Ford over funding cutbacks and re-allocation of resources to new teams.

When Tony Longhurst’s shift into a Castrol Racing Falcon was announced on race morning, Johnson saw red:

“They’re decreasing my support and helping everyone else,” he said, bitterly. “It stinks.“

“I’ll be telling Ford that unless I get support, I’ll be changing to Holden . .. if I get a quid off them, I’m out of here.”

We believed both parties would return to the table for fresh negotiations to restore between one-eighth and one quarter of DJR’s budget.

THE BRITISH Grand Prix at Silverstone appeared set to be dropped from the 2005 Formula 1 season and its absence was highlighted by then sports minister Richard Caborn.

He personally called Bernie Ecclestone to mediate the dispute with BRDC.

“In the end there was about 3m Euros ($8.4m AUD) difference but Richard asked me ‘Bernie can’t you help?’ said the entrepreneur.

“So we split the difference.”

BRDC president Jackie Stewart had pushed for government support, but Caborn stated there would be no cash for a sport he saw as being sufficiently affluent to look after itself.

2014

WITH A new track surface, record speeds were predicted for the 2014 Bathurst 1000. “We are expecting it to be 2s a lap quicker than last year,” Mark Winterbottom said.

“The cars are faster and have more horsepower than ever before,” Greg Murphy said, whose Lap of the Gods still remained the qualifying lap record at the time. It was now clear Fernando Alonso was not happy at Ferrari and rumours started swirling over where he was off to next. Whilst he would end up at McLaren Honda in 2015, there were some interesting reports about the Spaniard’s potential for racing elsewhere. A return to the Enstone operation then called Lotus was floated, which happened to be connected to a Canadian billionaire called Lawrence Stroll, who was reported to be interested in buying the team. Funnily enough Alonso would return to Enstone in 2021 before teaming up with Stroll at Aston Martin in 2023 ...

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