Auto Action #1903

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CHUCKY’S DAKAR DOMINATION

VICTORIAN RIDER Daniel Sanders has dominated the 2025 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, becoming just the second Aussie to capture the famous race in its 47th edition; the sixth in the Arabian Kingdom.

The gutsy KTM Factory rider from Three Bridges has also battled through years of serious injury setbacks in order to put his name next to Toby Price as the county’s only other winner.

Sanders, who also previously claimed the Sonoro Rally (2023) and the Rallye du Maroc at the end of last season’s World RallyRaid Championship, broke his femur badly in 2023, but he’s delivered on his Dakar promise in just his fifth attempt, claiming a very healthy five stage wins along the way.

After the Prologue and 12 gruelling stages over some 8000km, Sanders remarkably led the 2025 edition from start to finish with a total time of 53 hours 8 minutes and 52 seconds.

That was enough to give him a cushion of 8 minutes and 50 seconds over Spanish Honda rider Tosha Schareina (a likely future winner), with France’s Adrien Van Beveren taking third.

His efforts to lead the event all the way from Bisha to Shubaytah was also the first such occurrence in 16 years (Marc Coma in 2009), and his five stage wins by the 10th stage is a record that he now shares with compatriot Toby Price from 2016 (equal fourth of all-time).

Having finished fourth in his first ever Dakar, then taking three stage wins in 2022 before retiring, Sanders always had the look of a future Dakar winner, especially after his mastery of the Moroccan dunes last season.

“It’s massive,” the Rally 450 rider said on the moment of realisation. “When I came over the last dune, I could see the bivouac and then I just got instant chills through the whole body.

“… just worked really hard with the team and myself to do better. From last year, we learnt from all our mistakes and where we needed to be better, and the team went away and worked on that and I went away and worked on things I needed to with recovering and physically being more strong.”

“The first real test was at Morocco, and we knew we were in a good position, then do

a bit of fine tuning from there and come out full focus. I was fit and strong, so I just knew I had to focus on what I needed to do to win the Dakar. It was a lot of hard work and it worked out really well.

“It’s a massive accomplishment from myself and the team after a tough year, and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support.”

Sanders first set the scene in the Bisha Prologue to have the first option of position for Stage 1. He went on to take the first two stages out, both multi directional Bisha loop stages, to open up a whopping early lead of over 12 minutes from American Honda rider Skyler Howes.

Rain and disappearing tracks then made it hard for the whole field, but with the challengers faring little better, Sanders then put in an outstanding and defining Stage 4 from Henakiyah to Alula to grow the gap by another minute with Schareina settling into second. After a Stage 5 penalty was reversed, his Stage 7 win meant he

led by over 15 minutes after the interior Al Duwadimi dune loop, a lead that would prove insurmountable.

The effort was also a much needed tonic for the KTM team, whose racing program has faced a crippling cash crisis owing to its parent group Pierer Mobility losing over 90% of its share value.

Much of its future depends whether KTM’s proposal for insolvency protection is accepted ... but it didn’t stop Sanders taking out the team’s 20th Dakar win, having lost only three since 2001!

KTM Motorsport Director, Pit Beirer, also shared his thoughts on the nature of the victory.

“What an incredible victory!

Congratulations to Daniel, and thank you to the whole team,” he began.

“Daniel won this Dakar in the most dominant style I have ever seen. It was such a special statement and is so important for KTM as it shows exactly what we stand for ...

“This victory is not just for the team and

the race department – it’s for the whole company.”

Having taken the double points for Dakar, if Sanders can now stay healthy for the first time in many years, he’ll hopefully head to Abu Dhabi, South Africa, Portugal, and Morocco to battle it out for a world title in the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship in a bid to become the second Aussie to take it out (Price, 2018, was the first).

Timothy W Neal

FULL COVERAGE: Page 52

Daniel Sanders’ name now joins that of Toby Price as an Australian winner of the world’s toughest race. Images: FLAVIEN DUHAMEL / RED BULL CONTENT POOL

WHO WANTS TO BE A BILLIONAIRE?

VERSTAPPEN TO ASTON MARTIN RUMORS INTENSIFY

By LUIS VASCONCELAS/STAFF

STORIES LINKING Max Verstappen’s immediate future with a move to Aston Martin have been mildly denied by both parties, but the focus of their denials was on the amount of money Lawrence Stroll’s team has allegedly offered to the Dutch driver –totalling a billion bucks – not the report that there are negotiations ongoing between them.

Talking to sources from Aston Martin,

the Verstappen camp and also to some of their respective commercial partners, AA can confirm there are talks between the World Champion and the Silverstone-based team and also that Stroll is so confident of securing the deal that he’s already told his more important sponsors and partners that the Dutchman will join his team in 2026. It’s true that Verstappen talked at length of being faithful to Red Bull, especially in the days after securing his fourth title, but the Dutchman has also made it clear that

“things can change very quickly in Formula 1” and that his priority will always be “to have a competitive car that will put me in a position to win races and championships.” If one looks only at the standings at the end of the 2024 season, moving from Red Bull to Aston Martin doesn’t make any sense, but as it’s widely known, things are rapidly changing for both teams. The Austrian team has lost Adrian Newey, the genius behind all its championship-winning cars, but also Jonathan Wheatley, who

moves to Audi in the next couple of months, as well as a good number of top engineers.

On top of that, from 2026 Red Bull will be running with its own Power Unit and, while Ford is a technical partner in this project, the vast majority of the work and resources come from the Milton Keynes base. Given the complexity of the Formula 1 Power Units, a privateer will struggle to fight with manufacturer-backed teams and Verstappen is acutely aware of that.

Aston Martin, on the other hand, offers very rosy prospects. Newey is joining the team in the next four months, bringing with him that genial mind and ability to see what others can’t; Honda will move its efforts from simply building and maintaining the Power Units Red Bull is still using to designing and developing new ones exclusively for Aston Martin; the team’s new factory is by far the most modern of all Formula 1 bases; Aramco’s sponsorship deal is believed to be the biggest in the history of Formula 1; and the recently arrived Andy Cowell has already started reshaping the team’s organisation to make the whole team more efficient.

The prospect of continuing to work with Honda and Newey is obviously attractive for Verstappen and there’s no doubt Stroll can offer the biggest ever contract for a Formula 1 driver, as money is no object for the Canadian and his partners.

Our sources have assured us no contract has been signed but expect Verstappen will make a decision after the first handful of races this year, as he’ll see how Red Bull operates without Newey’s input and how Aston Martin has changed with the arrival of Cowell.

There’s never smoke without fire – the drivers’ market could easily be turned upside down quite soon if Verstappen decides to move to the British team for 2026 …

The side issue then becomes which driver of the current pair would make way – ageing ex-World champ Alonso or the boss’ son … or both, if exclusive engine supplier Honda has any degree of input …

IS JACK DOOHAN UNDER THREAT BEFORE THE 2025 F1 SEASON EVEN STARTS?

AS THE 2025 Formula 1 season approaches, the spotlight is on Alpine’s driver lineup, particularly the position of Jack Doohan. The Australian driver was announced as part of Alpine’s 2025 lineup in August, but now faces uncertainty with the recruitment of Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver.

Alpine’s executive advisor, Flavio Briatore has been vocal about the team’s strategy. He emphasised that the driver lineup was not the immediate priority, stating: “We will start the year with Pierre [Gasly] and Jack. I can guarantee you that. Then, we will see during the season … I have to put the team in a position to achieve results”.

While not directly targeting Doohan, this statement suggests that Alpine’s commitment to him might be conditional on his performance.

Colapinto, who made a significant impact in his short time at Williams after replacing Logan Seargent, was already in contract negotiations with Alpine within weeks of his debut. This move has led to speculations that Alpine might be hedging its bets, preparing for a potential midseason driver change if Doohan does not meet expectations.

This situation is a regular part of Formula 1’s high-stakes environment, where teams often make strategic decisions to ensure

competitiveness. But nothing is given in F1, with backroom decisions often promoting or saving drivers for reasons that are not clear outside the inner sanctum, such as Red Bull Racing’s decision to retain a struggling Sergio Perez in 2024.

Briatore’s comments in various media underline the brutal and cutthroat nature of Formula 1, to which he has often been a central and controversial figure: “If a driver doesn’t deliver results or progress, he will be replaced. You can’t be emotional in Formula 1.”

Adding to the complexity is Doohan’s season out of the driver’s seat, which, while it allowed plenty of valuable simulator time,

has left him a little behind Colapinto in race kilometres, who has nine Grands Prix to Doohan’s one.

The pressure on Doohan to perform is immense, and with Colapinto waiting in the wings, the stakes are higher than ever. However, in earlier conversations with Doohan, Auto Action remains confident that he can do the job and will not be concerned about Colapinto.

The dynamics within the team will also play a crucial role. Building further on his strong rapport with his teammate, Pierre Gasly, and the engineering crew will be essential for Doohan … as will be the results. Andrew Clarke

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

GM STARTS F1 POWER UNIT COMPANY

CADILLAC AND General Motors (GM) have continued to take steps towards Formula 1 by forming the new company that will turn it into a “works team.”

TWG Motorsports and General Motors announced the formation of GM Performance Power Units LLC, which will contract both power units and the chassis by the end of the decade.

Cadillac will be the 11th team on the F1 grid in 2026, but initially use customer Ferrari engines like fellow American team Haas.

But, come 2029, Cadillac is expected to become a full works team with GM to construct its own factory power units.

Tasked with leading the project that will bring factory status to the Cadillac team will be industry veteran Russ O’Blenes (pictured, right), who has been named the CEO.

O’Blenes has over three decades of experience in motorsport and is currently director of the GM Motorsports Propulsion and Performance team.

“I am truly excited to have the opportunity to build and lead the team that will bring an American built F1 power unit to the grid,” said O’Blenes. “GM PPU is currently ramping up its team and is hiring in all areas of the business.”

“We’re delighted to welcome Russ to this pivotal role,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports.

“His expertise and leadership will be instrumental as we lay the foundation for Cadillac’s Formula 1 journey.

“Together with Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, they will lead the team in setting new standards of performance and innovation in the sport.”

“Russ

Cadillac and

HERTA HINTS AT F1 SNUB

INDYCAR STAR Colton Herta has admitted he’s not actively pursuing a career in Grand Prix racing, at a time he’s being widely considered as the most likely candidate to take the seat that Cadillac seems to have reserved for an American driver once the GM-backed team enters the Formula 1 World Championship at the start of 2026. Herta’s name has been mentioned as a likely Formula 1 candidate for many years now, first with AlphaTauri seeming interested in giving him a seat (as the clothes company was trying to break into the US market) – before its spectacular collapse – and then with Alpine, that was also targeting that market as the Renault Group was trying to revive a name that was synonymous with low cost, high performance road cars back in the 1970s and early 1980s. On both occasions, the fact Herta didn’t have enough points to qualify for a Super Licence forced negotiations to be aborted and that led to a heated public discussion about the criteria used by the FIA to award those points.

Seemingly frustrated by the whole sage, Herta has now admitted that “I’ve kind of been dragged around in this talk for, it feels like, half a decade now,” adding that “I’ve had the carrot in front of me for a while and I’m kind of tired of that being the case. I just want to drive at this point and focus on IndyCar this year and focus on winning a

championship … and if something arises out of that, I’d have to think about it.”

With his name being widely connected with the Cadillac Formula 1 project, Herta assured that “It’s still not a ‘for-sure’ thing. All my friends and family are here in the US and I don’t know anybody where I’m supposed to be going, so it’s a big decision to make – if I have to make that decision …”

Herta’s lack of results in IndyCars between 2021 and 2023 meant he was far off the 40 points required to earn a FIA Super Licence but he’s made big strides by finishing second in last year’s championship and is now nine points away from that target. This means that if he finishes P4 this year or P5 but adding one Formula 1 FP1 session, he’ll reach that magic number.

Surprisingly, though, Herta admitted he wasn’t even aware of what was required from him, explaining that “I guess the answer to that is I didn’t even know what the math was to get a Super Licence.”

In conclusion, and seemingly not too keen to make the move to Formula 1, Herta stated that “if it happens, it happens … great, and then I’ll have a decision to make, if I’m still wanted. If it doesn’t happen, then I’m stuck racing IndyCars. I’ll be all right either way.”

BIG CHANGES AT AA

LIKE ANY good race team, Auto Action is always looking for better ways to do things. While we love our 50+ years of covering motorsport here and overseas via our fortnightly newspaper, it is time to shake things up and do things differently. From this issue forwards, Auto Action’s fortnightly magazine will be digital only. We are not abandoning print altogether, but it will be different ... and we’ll communicate that to you soon.

What does this mean for you?

This is the start of a massive digital transformation for Auto Action, and we have already started exploring ways of generating bespoke content that raises the bar inside a digital magazine.

In addition to this, we are also working at growing the news content on the AA website, where the latest and breaking news will be current and living.

We’ve been planning this for a

will make it happen.”

while – and now is the time to flick the switch and deliver.

Existing fortnightly (print) subscribers will of course will be prioritised and looked after – we’ll be in touch with you soon with our plans.

The Auto Action Team.

Right: Today’s issue of Auto Action is the first published solely in digital form. Go to autoaction.com.au to register for your FREE copy every fortnight.

The GM F1 base will be close to the brand’s technical centre in Charlotte, North Carolina.

brings vast experience from many championship racing series, and has outstanding technical expertise, including spearheading our hybrid IMSA

Corvette C8.R engines that are proven winners,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “In F1, we’re going to demonstrate GM’s engineering and technology capabilities on a global stage, and Russ is the right choice to lead the Power Unit team that

Thomas Miles

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

NEW TARGET FOR PERTH STREET CIRCUIT

HAVING INITIALLY targeted 2026, the first sight of Supercars racing on the streets of Perth is now planned to be in 2027, but how that looks is much clearer, being part of a multi-million dollar project.

The change in target comes as Supercars releases more details of what appears to be a 12-turn street circuit that will be located in the shadow of Perth Stadium in Burswood Park.

The historic Wanneroo circuit has been the home of Supercars in WA since 1973, but the category is pushing for a landmark change.

If a Labor Government is elected at the WA State Election on March 8, a $217.5 million precinctwill be created that will incorporate many things outside of Supercars. The precinct also includes a multi-use event infrastructure, a function centre and an outdoor music amphitheatre, similar to Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.

These visions have been brought to life via a digital render that suggests an outline of what the new track could look like.

A pair of long straights appear to lead into a tight hairpin as the track winds around the music bowl along the river to the south of Perth Stadium.

The renders suggest a 12-turn circuit has been designed, with three straights connected by a series of medium to slow-speed corners.

The track will hold a capacity of around 50,000 with the Queensland based Townsville and Gold Coast street circuit rounds used as inspiration.

Permanent grandstands are also promised with the media release suggesting both the Formula E or MotoGP world championships could be seen at the circuit.

The government has not only promised money to host Supercars, but an additional $17.6 million has been committed to grassroots motorsport with upgrades and works for a range of racetracks, kart clubs, motorcross and speedways across the State.

This includes $10.75 million for Perth Motorplex in Kwinana towards a new Winged Outlaw kart track, LED lighting and clubroom upgrades, as well as a new off-road vehicle area at the Motorplex to replace the current site in Medina.

The major package also includes a $1.3 million fund to deliver standalone

medical facilities at Karting WA’s 13 tracks around the State.

The Supercars heavyweights are fully behind the proposal.

“We at Supercars are absolutely thrilled at the prospect of racing on the streets of Perth, and applaud the work from the Western Australia Government thus far as this project has progressed,” said Supercars CEO Shane Howard.

“A street race at the Burswood Park precinct would instantly become a marquee event on the Supercars calendar and offer amazing on and off-track entertainment that truly has something for everyone.

“To hold an event in such a stunning and central location would brilliantly showcase the beautiful city of Perth both to racegoers and broadcast audiences around the world.

“This project has energised stakeholders and supporters from every corner of our Championship, and we look forward to working closely with the Western Australia Government to bring this event to reality.”

“We are very excited to announce the next step in bringing the Perth street circuit at Burswood Park to life,” said Supercars COO Tim Watsford.

“The Burswood Park precinct is set to be a world-class entertainment and sporting venue and would be an incredible addition to both Australian

motorsport and Perth’s outstanding events offering.

“The Perth street race will have pride of place as one of the premier events on the Supercars calendar, right up with the likes of the Gold Coast 500, Bathurst 1000, and others, and will thrill fans with heart pumping action on and off the track.

“We have a very ambitious vision for racing at Burswood Park. We extend our thanks Premier Cook, Deputy Premier Saffioti, and the Western Australian Government for their ongoing support of that vision, and look forward to continue working together to see the project through.”

WA Premier Roger Cook said grass roots motorsport, not just Supercars, is a big part of his vision.

“Living in Kwinana, I know how big our motorsports community is in WA,” he said.

“This investment will completely transform the Burswood Park precinct, making it capable of not only hosting our own uniquely motorsport event, but other major and community events all year round.

“Hosting major events is a huge part of WA Labor’s plan to create local jobs, set up WA’s economy for the future and continue to be a global destination of choice for visitors.

“Importantly, we are spending an

additional $17.6 million to upgrade local racetracks, kart clubs, motorcross and speedways. This will see local motorsports addressed in its own right as a sporting code, receiving a significant coordinated funding package for the first time under a re-elected WA Labor Government.”

Thomas Miles

F URTHER DETAILS OF PACKAGE OUTSIDE OF SUPERCARS

• Perth Motorplex, Kwinana – $10.75 million towards a new Winged Outlaw Kart track, LED lighting and clubroom upgrades, and a new off-road vehicle area at the Motorplex to replace the current site in Medina

• Hurricane Go Kart Club, Wundowie – $1.1 million for upgrades including track extension and resurfacing, new ablution facilities, canteen and other infrastructure improvements

• Tiger Kart Club, Wanneroo – $1 million for clubroom upgrades

Ellenbrook Speedway, Ellenbrook –$400,000 for lighting upgrades

• Gidgegannup Motorcross Facility, Gidgegannup – $400,000 for new toilets

$1.3 million to deliver medical facilities upgrades at 13 Karting WA tracks around the State

• Plus further upgrades for facilities across regional WA to be announced.

NEW ADDITIONS TO RACE BOARD

THE NEW year has marked a reshuffle on the board of the owners of Supercars, RACE.

In moves effective on January 1 2025, Brian Learst joined as a Board Appointed Director, while Ryan Whitelegg has been appointed as the new ShareholderAppointed Director.

The changes come after Mark Skaife stepped down as a director at RACE to avoid any perceptions of a conflict of interest during the TV deal negotiations as he remains a big part of the Fox Sports/Channel 7 coverage.

Whitelegg succeeds Stephen Macaw, who has stepped down after three years the Board.

Learst is no stranger to Supercars, having acquired a significant share in the category in March 2024.

He has a background in events and hospitality from his time as the CEO of QuintEvents based in North Carolina and has run F1 Experiences.

“Brian’s remarkable leadership in the events industry and his passion for motorsport make him a fantastic addition to the Board,” said RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold.

“His expertise and global perspective will help us further elevate Supercars

and engage new audiences both here in Australia and internationally.

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to Stephen for his invaluable contributions during his tenure.

“His efforts have been instrumental in

helping shape Supercars’ success, and we wish him all the best.

“We are delighted to welcome Ryan to the Board and look forward to his expertise as we continue building on our momentum.”

With the board changes announced, RACE’s focus is on the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour at the end of the month before the first Supercars season featuring Finals begins at Sydney Motorsport Park.

CRICK GETS MULTI-ROUND WILDCARD

AFTER DEBUTING in the main game during 2024, Cameron Crick will get extra Supercars drives in 2025 though a multiround Matt Stone Racing wildcard.

Crick will drive an MSR wildcard Camaro at the season opening Sydney 500 at the end of February, plus both endurance events at The Bend and Bathurst.

It will be MSR’s first wildcard since 2017 and first ever while competing full-time in the championship.

Before its full-time debut in 2018, MSR made a wildcard appearance with Todd Hazelwood at the Queensland Raceway sprint round where the #35 finished 22nd and 18th.

After growing across seven years of main game racing and becoming a racewinning team in the Gen3 era, MSR is ready to expand once again.

The team made its wildcard intentions clear in November when it announced it will build a new chassis for Nick Percat ahead of the 2025 season.

As a result, this left the team with two spare Camaros and opened up the possibility of running a wildcard.

The livery for the Crick wildcard will be revealed on February 11.

Crick joined MSR for the enduros last year and raced alongside Cameron Hill at the enduros where the pair battled hard to back to back top 10 results.

Doing that was a dream come true for Crick, who can’t wait for his first taste of solo Supercars.

“This is an absolute dream come true for me, I’m very excited to have my first solo race in Supercars with MSR,” he said.

“Since doing the enduros with the team last year I have built a very strong relationship with all of the crew and they have welcomed me with open arms.

“I have already learnt a lot from Nick and Cam and I plan to take those learnings into my home race at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“Very grateful to have Dormer HVAC Services as the main sponsor investing into this program.”

Former Williams F1 Team Manager Peter Vale will lead the wildcard program.

Aside from his two-year stint at Williams before joining Manor in its final F1 season in 2016, Vale also spent time at Brad Jones Racing before arriving at MSR where he is currently the Team Principal.

“This wildcard programme has been years in the making,” said Stone.

“Having Cricky spearhead the programme is great, he is a good

ambassador for the team and fits in really well.

“It’s also great for him to further his driving career and get the opportunity to compete solo in the Supercars main game at Sydney.

“The Bend and Bathurst enduros are obviously a bit further away, so the plans for those will come together over the next few months.”

Thomas Miles

Crick (left) and Matt Stone. Crick will drive an MSR wildcard.

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SHANE VAN GISBERGEN may be stepping up to the NASCAR Cup Series this year, but that does not mean he will

disappear from the Xfinity Series.

Van Gisbergen and his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain will

be participating in a combined total of nine races for JR Motorsports alongside Connor Zilisch.

The Kiwi will return to the second tier series four times and all of them are on road courses.

His first race will be at the home of the Mexican Grand Prix, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 14.

Then he will again do the double at the Chicago Street Race on July 5 before he aims to go back to back at Sonoma a week later.

Van Gisbergen’s final Xfinity Series race will be at Watkins Glen on August 9.

JR Motorsports is a special home, given it is the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I’m trying to get as much experience as I can,” said van Gisbergen, who hopes to set himself up for a big Cup Series rookie season.

“JR Motorsports is one of the top teams and won the championship with Justin Allgaier. I can’t wait to get started.”

Van Gisbergen is no stranger to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, having taken part in the full 2024 season.

Highlighted by three wins at Portland, Sonoma and Chicago, the Kiwi made it to the Playoffs in his rookie season and finished 12th.

The 2025 NASCAR season kicks off with a non championship event at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 and AUTO ACTION will be there.

Thomas Miles

VAN GISBERGEN SET FOR XFINITY SERIES RETURN POWER TALKS LE MANS INTEREST

AUSTRALIAN INDYCAR STAR Will

Power has revealed he wants to race in the American championship for another five years, but also has a strong desire to drive the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Power has almost exclusively been an a single seater driver, highlighted by starring in IndyCar since 2008 and winning the championship twice in 2014 and 2022.

Despite being 43, he is still easily one of the leading drivers on the evercompetitive grid, never finishing outside of the top 10 in the championship since he arrived at Team Penske back in 2009 and winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2018. However, Power still holds ambitions outside of IndyCar, pinpointing the 24 Hours of Le Mans as an event he would love to do.

The only racing Power has done with a roof over his head has been cameo appearances as a Supercars co-driver.

The first was in 2002 alongside Mark Larkham where they finished 11th and 16th at the Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000 respectively.

Power returned to Ford Performance Racing in 2010 as the international

at the

500 with Steven Richards and they had a best result of 13th.

But speaking ahead of the 2025 IndyCar season, Power revealed his desire to

compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

If Power is successful, he would be the first Australian and just 15th all time to complete at least two legs of the Triple Crown featuring the Indianapolis 500, 24

Hours of Le Mans, Monaco Grand Prix wins or F1 World Championship.

“I would love to have a shot at winning that race,” Power said.

“I’ve won the Indy 500, and when I think about those sort of opportunities, someone like Fernando Alonso certainly has a lot of good contacts in Europe.

“It’s a very cool event that I haven’t been able to do yet. It’s definitely, definitely on the radar.”

Before opening up on the Indianapolis 500, Power said IndyCar remained his focus and cautiously highlighted 2030 as a jumping off point.

“It’s absolutely the goal to definitely keep rolling while I’m really competitive,” he said.

“I was like very competitive last year. I won three races and seven podiums.

“No one else in the field but (Scott) McLaughlin did that. So I’m still performance really high.

“If I wasn’t performing, I wouldn’t want to do it. I’m still learning. It’s crazy, but you’re still learning stuff.

“I think I could be absolutely competitive for another five years if I wanted.”

Thomas Miles

guest

Gold Coast

Image: LAT

FEENEY SCORES LAST MINUTE 12 HOUR DRIVE

BROC FEENEY is a late addition to the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour grid thanks to a late deal between Melbourne Performance Centre and James Racing.

Feeney will drive a Pro class Audi R8 LMS alongside GT World Challenge Australia champion Liam Talbot and 2024 Nürburgring 24 Hour winner Ricardo Feller.

The Supercars star appeared destined to be missing the ‘International’ Enduro for the first time since 2021 with Triple Eight electing not to participate.

Feeney has four previous starts at the 12 Hour and finished no lower than 15th – when he took a class win in 2020.

On the last three attempts, he raced with Triple Eight and was particularly impressive last year when he took provisional pole before being second best in the Top 10 Shootout.

“I’m thankful to Troy and Steve for making it happen. I was benched pretty late notice and I had my helmet off and was going to

be sitting on the sidelines, so I couldn’t have been happier when the phone rang,” Feeney said.

“It’s been an awesome event for me and

being on the front row for the last two years has made it super special but it made it more painful to know I was missing out.

“It’s a great opportunity to get laps before

the start of our season at a huge event and one of my favourites.

“When I spoke with Troy (Russell, MPC coowner) we were both on the same page and we didn’t want to waste time doing it unless we could go there and fight for the win. With the drivers, the team and the car we have every opportunity to get some great results.

“It’s been super last minute, but they’re super confident in their package and I’m excited.”

It will also be an interesting situation for Talbot, who finds himself in direct competition with the team he won the GT World Challenge Australia title with.

Talbot drove an Arise Racing Ferrari 296 to GT glory last year, but will now be back in an Audi, which he also drove in his last 12 Hour start.

The team will hoping to build on the third place it snatched in the closing stages last year and victory in 2018.

Thomas Miles

HAMILTON’S ‘UNFORGETTABLE’ FIRST DAY

LEWIS HAMILTON said his first day as a Ferrari Formula 1 driver at the iconic Maranello factory is one that will stay with him forever.

On Monday, Hamilton toured the Ferrari factory and met the staff of the Scuderia ahead of his highly anticipated debut in red at Albert Park in 2025.

The seven time world champion is making the move after spending the last 11 years at Mercedes and six before that at McLaren following his memorable debut in 2007.

With the most successful driver ever joining the most successful team ever, anticipation is at fever pitch.

On Monday Hamilton took the opportunity to meet the team and catch up with team principal Frederic Vasseur, who he worked with in F3 and GP2.

It is believed he completed a seat fitting, made some steering wheel adjustments and had a run on the simulator, while more technical meetings and briefings are

in line ahead of a Fiorano test in an older spec car.

The saying goes every F1 driver would love to race for Ferrari and that was the case for Carlos Sainz’s replacement as he soaked up the history at Maranello.

“There are some days that you know you’ll remember forever and today, my first as a Ferrari driver, is one of those days,”

Hamilton wrote on social media in a post that was also translated to Italian.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realise that dream today.

“Today we start a new era in the history of this iconic team, and I can’t wait to see what story we will write together.

“I’m incredibly grateful to John Elkann, Benedetto Vigna, Fred Vasseur and everyone at Ferrari for their trust in me and making me part of this family,.

Lewis was appropriately dressed for his first appearance at Maranello ...

“I’m so excited to start this new era and to meet and work with a hugely talented and inspiring group of people. I’m dedicated to bringing everything I have to deliver for the team, the wider

organisation and the fans.”

Hamilton’s Ferrari race debut will be at the Australian Grand Prix, in Melbourne, on March 14-16.

Thomas Miles

The Best Value in Auto Racing Safety

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

INGALL REUNITES WITH CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING FALCON

RUSSELL INGALL has celebrated the 20-year anniversary of his breakthrough Supercars title by reuniting with the same SBR Falcon.

Ingall got back behind the wheel of the Stone Brothers Racing built BA Falcon that won the 2005 Supercars Championship at last weekend’s SIXT Rent-

a-Car Taupo Historic GP.

Having finished second on four occasions throughout the previous decade with both Perkins Engineering and SBR, ‘The Enforcer’ finally emerged on top in 2005.

He did it with consistency by winning just two races, at Wanneroo and Oran Park.

He opened the season with six podiums in

the first nine races, but he did not finish in the top three in any of the last 11 races.

However, he still remained consistent, with only one retirement and three straight P5s in the Phillip Island finale sewing it up.

Ingall released the years of frustration by pulling off an iconic burnout while hanging out of the car.

Two decades later, across the ditch, Ingall was back behind the wheel in the car that has maintained the teal and silver Vortex livery and said it was a “surreal” experience.

“This very Ford Falcon went across the line to finally give me that championship after four times runner-up in the Supercars,” Ingall told Greg Rust at Taupo.

“But I finally got that elusive championship, and this was it. Whoever could forget that hanging-out-the-window burnout outside the door.

“It’s very surreal, you know, after 20 years. Can you believe it’s been 20 years that we’re actually back here?

“This has been completely rebuilt, the number nine, which then turned into the number one.

“It’s immaculate. This was a total restoration, like down to the bare shell, completely repainted.

“A lot of the parts remanufactured, because they had a lot of the moulds left over, from the dash, those sort of things, so they were brand new.

“They actually kept the original, engine, gearbox and diff.

“So every component on this is how I left it in 2005, but it’s shiny and new.

“I walk around and it’s like a time warp. I’m walking around this car and this was like the beginning of 2005 when I jumped into it.

“I’m looking around, I’m sitting in it, and all of a sudden, all those things start coming back.”

S5000’s CARS FOR SALE

GARRY ROGERS Motorsport is looking to sell its fleet of the spectacular V8-powered open-wheelers.

A total of 16 chassis that raced in S5000 from 20192023 in the all-Australian V8-powered category (there are additional privately-owned cars), plus the spare parts inventory, are available for sale to both domestic and international interested parties.

S5000 has not raced since the end of 2023 when Aaron Cameron took four wins on the bounce to snare the title.

Faced with Supercars licensing issues, unresolved for two years, which prevented even double champion Joey Mawson from accepting a Supercars co-drive, Garry and Barry Rogers decided to ‘park’ the cars for 2024 and reevaluate options.

GRM is now looking to sell the cars that are combination of an FIA-homologated monocoque produced by OnroakLigier (JSF3 chassis), mated to a 5.2-litre Ford-based V8 engine and six-speed Holinger gearbox as they focus on Trans Am and TCR (whose category management is also up for grabs).

The S5000 concept was the brainchild of Chris Lambden, who built the prototype before the build project was undertaken by GRM.

He has, AA understands, over recent months been formulating independent plans to relaunch the openwheel category and would love to work with any new owner, if that is the case, on getting it back on track.

“It is no surprise that Garry and Barry are doing this – it’s been an option for a while – and I share their frustration with the way ARG and in particular S5000 have been treated over the last few years,” he told Auto Action “However, I have been, over the last few months, quietly working on a project that I’m hoping could relaunch the

category in a new and interesting format and scenario, doing what I wanted to do from the start, which is running something over the summer when the Northern Hemisphere is all covered in snow ... and thus attracting overseas driver interest …

“The Rogers are aware of that and have said they would make the cars available. If there is a change of ownership, I would be very happy to talk to whoever that may be.

“Based on the response it got when first launched, I’m sure the category has something worthwhile to offer Australian motorsport.”

When S5000 was in full swing, it attracted former Ferrari Formula 1 stars such as Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella, while Supercars drivers Will Brown, Thomas Randle and James Golding also took part in the early days.

S5000 supported the 2020 (abandoned) and 2022 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix events. Covid (2020) cost the category a full season and it was when things resumed that the issues with Supercars and Motorsport Australia began to affect entrant numbers, leading to the ‘parking’ of the category this year.

A full grid of S5000s contested supporting races at the 2022 Australian Grand prix – before FIA F2 and F3 bumped them from the program ... Image: ARG

CLEAN, MEAN AND READY TO RACE

Autoglym, proudly supporting STM in the Bathurst 12-hour, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s #GetChecked cause.

THORNBURROW TO RACE IN THE STATES

AUSSIE TRANS AM driver Edan Thornburrow is taking a giant step into the unknown this year, taking on the best in America.

Having spent four years racing Trans Am domestically, Thornburrow will head to the USA to race around half of the rounds in the TA2 National Series.

He will suit up for FAST Auto Racing and hopes to compete in around five to six of the 12 rounds, starting with the February 20-23 Sebring opener.

Thornburrow may only be 21, but already has 72 starts in Trans Am having competed in the last four years.

His big highlight was finishing second in the 2021 championship where he was a consistent finisher in and around the top five.

But now he wants a different challenge and will be criss crossing the Pacific to make it happen, following in the footsteps of Nathan Herne and Matt Brabham.

“I have been racing Trans Am for a while, four years now since I was 17,” Thornburrow told Auto Action

“Now being 21 and doing the first two years privately and with GRM most recently, I thought it was time for a change.

“I was looking around the Australian motorsport scene looking for something that is fast, good for sponsors and fans and also cost effective but could not really find that outside Trans Am.

“When you look at the Australian motorsport scene there is not too much out there unless you go down the Supercars route.

“Financially that does not make sense and we don’t have enough people to warrant going down that path.

“I love Trans Am and when the American

opportunity came up I jumped at it.

“We do not have the budget to race the full season and will aim to get to four to six rounds or so.”

Thornburrow has spent the last two years racing in Trans Am for Garry Rogers Motorsport and it was a case of right time right place.

The American opportunity surfaced through GRM with Garry and Barry Rogers knowing local car manufacturer Chaz Howell.

Through Howell, he was recommended to contact FAST Auto Racing and they have a seat available.

While he will have to adapt to the new surroundings, the beauty about Trans Am is there is actually not much he will have to adapt to in the hot seat.

“The cars are the same to our TA2 cars,” he said. “There are a few minor differences with the wheel and tyre package and aero, but they are basically the same.

“Because I am the Aussie among the Americans who has never driven the car or track before, having three teammates will be a massive help.

“In Australia we are a bit sheltered with the types of cars and tracks we drive, but going over there is a completely different ball game against guys who are racing every single weekend.

“You hear and watch the tracks on TV and I have been on the simulator every night.

“There are not many people who can say they have raced overseas – it will be a pretty unreal experience.

“If that is all I get, that would be great, but the aim is to get an opportunity over there.

“I am very lucky to have something like this come up.”

While it is a big step up, Thornburrow has not only turned to Nathan Herne for support, but also Marcos Ambrose, who went from Supercars to NASCAR with great success in 2006.

“I have looked at all Aussies that go over there,” he said.

“Nathan is someone I have called and he has been very open with giving me information.

“Garry and Barry as well have helped and all of their advice has made it so much easier for me.

“I have never been to America so having that has made it less daunting.

“The other one who has really, really helped me is Marcos Ambrose.

“I have called him around a dozen times through this process from contracts to laws and general stuff – like people to meet.

“He has been amazing in the background providing advice. If anyone has done it, it is him and he did it properly.

“He has been unreal to lean on and I would not have that without GRM.”

Although America is an attractive proposition, it has not been a long term dream for Thornburrow, who is more keen to stay in the Trans Am scene he enjoys so much.

“Having done Trans Am is why America appeals to me now,” he said.

“The Trans Am formula and racing style have made America more attractive.

“It was never a long term goal but now having enjoyed the racing, I have fallen in love with the category.”

Whilst he will be racing in America, from time to time Thornburrow will still be based in Australia throughout the year and said he is open to the occasional drive, highlight events like the Bathurst 6 Hour.

Thomas Miles

GEOGHEGAN STEPS INTO SUPER2

A YOUNGSTER with a famous name, Max Geoghegan, becomes the latest Erebus Academy junior to step into Super2. Geoghegan will make his Super2 debut in 2025 with Image Racing, which is likely to enter three cars.

The grandson of five time ATCC champion Ian Geoghegan enjoyed a breakout 2024 where he won the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia GR Cup season.

But that was not his only success in 2024 – he did the double of also winning the Scholarship Series.

The 21-year-old will drive the ZB Commodore Will Brown drove to 14th in the championship.

He will have Jobe Stewart for company, with the 2023 Super3 champion confirmed to be going around again, while Jarrod Hughes is yet to announce his 2025 plans, but also raced for

Image Racing and has an Erebus co-drive locked in.

Having entered the Erebus Academy in August last year, he has opened the latest door in following the footsteps of his grandfather to Supercars.

“I am very proud to say I am joining the Erebus Academy and Image Racing for Super2 in 2025,” Geoghegan said.

“I look forward to the challenge ahead and believe I am in the best place to tackle it head-on.

“We have worked well together so far, and I can’t wait to get hands-on and into the thick of it.

“Erebus Academy has such a strong history of nurturing talent, and it’s exciting to be a part of that journey.

“This is the perfect environment to develop as a driver, and I’m ready to give it my all and see where it takes me.”

Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan said Geoghegan has proved why he deserves to take on Super2 and highlighted the Academy’s growth.

“Max has proven he has the talent and attitude to make it to the top of the motorsport tree,” he said.

“His impressive two championships in 2024 in the Toyota 86 Scholarship and GR Cup were outstanding.

“I am excited to see Max progress and show his talents in Super2 in 2025.

“The Erebus Academy is our commitment to building the next generation of motorsport talent.

“From karting to Supercars and beyond, we’re working to create clear pathways for young racers to succeed.

“The Erebus Academy is more than a development program.

What sets our Academy apart is our willingness not only to provide these opportunities, but to back these young drivers at the highest level.”  Thomas Miles

BMW SETS THE TONE IN THE ‘ROAR BEFORE’

THE LEAD up ‘Roar Before the 24’ event in the lead-up to the 63rd 24 at Daytona has seen the BMW M Team RLL take the overall honours on the time sheets in the lead up to the IMSA season opener this weekend.

The twice-around-the-clock classic that will have 12 GTP LMDh Hypercars as part of a 61 car grid, held six sessions across all four categories (GTP/LMP2/GTDPro/ GTD).

The first day held under sunny skies on the 5.7km track went the way of BMW after the Meyer Shank Acura team took out session one, with Dries Vanthoor then setting the ultimate benchmark of 35.424sec for the weekend in the

second session.

The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 driver (brother of Laurens in the #7 Porsche 963) summed up the effort as the team looked to advance on a strong finish to 2024.

“It’s a shame it’s not Sunday evening in one week’s time,” joked Vanthoor

“This is not the most important session of the weekend, or the race, but it’s good to know that it’s looking good and the steps we’ve done since last year and the evolution we have been working on since we started the project is looking better.”

“We’ve been testing a lot trying to improve our issues, so let’s see next

week if they pay off or not. That will show if all the work we did was for nothing, or for victory, maybe.”

While the #25 BMW then topped the third and fourth outings with a 1:36s and the sister #24 in tow, the defending champion Porsche 963 machinery then stood up on a wet final day to sweep sessions five and six, with the Penske #7 and factory Proton Competition #5 taking them out respectively (the latter doing 1:45.433 in the wet over the JDC Miller MotorSports 963).

The LMP2 sessions proved a mixed bag, but all four Aussie/Kiwi drivers featured up the top throughout, with James Allen, Garnet Patterson, Josh Burdon, and

Hunter McElrea, all topping the sheets at one time for their respective teams. In the GTD Pro/GTD stakes, the Lamborghini Huracans were strong across the board, whilst the dream pairing of Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin in the Trackhouse #91 Corvette managed a weekend high of second in class in third session with a time of 1:48.471.

Qualifying gets underway on Thursday with three more practice sessions before the race kicks off at 1:40 pm local time on Saturday the 25th.

TW Neal

See page 36/37 for full Daytona 24 Hour preview

MOFFAT’S OTHER TITLE WINNER

A UNIQUE bit of Allan Moffat racing history will be on full display at the upcoming Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

In addition to winning four ATCC and Bathurst 500/1000 titles, Moffat was also a regular competitor in Sports Sedans and Sports Cars in an era where the stars would drive anything.

Rather than a famous Ford, the Porsche 934 Turbo RSR he drove to title glory in the 1980 Australian Sports Car Championship will be at Adelaide.

The Porsche turbo was the dominant car, wining all five rounds of the season.

Moffat won three of them, with victories at Sandown, Baskerville and Winton enough to push him all the way despite missing the final round at Calder Park.

The car had an interesting history in the category having been parked due to technical requirements after Alan Hamilton won the 1977 title.

But it was eligible again in 1980, allowing Moffat to drive the Porsche to more glory. Moffat ran the season in a striking red and white livery with gold wheels and Federation Insurance backing.

The car will be a must-see in the Porsche Rennsport category for Porsches with

DUNLOP SOLD

Rubber Industries.

A purchase agreement worth around $701million USD sees Sumitomo Rubber Industries take over trademark and other rights for Dunlop four-wheel tyres in Europe, North America and Oceania, which includes Australia.

Supercars has used Dunlop as its control tyre supplier non stop since 2002 and it is believed the recent news will not change that strong partnership.

That deal carries on until the end of 2027 as a new compound arrives in 2025 for the 25th anniversary.

“This is another important milestone as we continue to execute against our Goodyear Forward transformation plan. We are optimising

our portfolio and reducing leverage to drive sustainable and substantial shareholder value creation,” said Mark Stewart, Goodyear Chief Executive Officer and President.

“Not only does the transaction deliver significant value for our shareholders, it better positions Goodyear to enhance our focus on the growth of our core brands.”

“Our team conducted a comprehensive process focused on maximising value for Goodyear through a divestment of our Dunlop Brand, and we are very pleased with the outcome achieved,” said Christina Zamarro, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

“We are committed to working closely with SRI to ensure a smooth transition for customers of the Dunlop Brand.”

Thomas Miles

competition history.

From the past to the present, the Pagani Huayra R will make its on-track Australian debut in a new Hypercar category at the 2025 Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

It will be a rare sight as the car will be just one of only 30 Huayra Rs made by Italian

sports car manufacturer.

It will certainly turn heads, being powered by a V12 engine revving up to 9000rpm.

The Pagani joins Aston Martin Vulcan and Brabham BT62 in the Hypercar category.

In a treat for two-wheel fans, Isle of Man TT winner Cameron Donald will ride an Irving Vincent at the event.

Donald is a highly accomplished road racer, taking on not only the Isle of Man, but also Macau Grand Prix, North West 200 and others.

The highlight was his victory in the Superbike and Superstock races at the Isle of Man TT in 2008.

His ride will be a 1600cc four-valve Irving Vincent that produces 186BHP at 7000RPM in the Motorbike category.

These announcements provide an idea of some of the depth at the 2025 Adelaide Motorsport Festival on March 5-8.

Thomas Miles

TOYOTA STEPS UP ARC SUPPORT

TOYOTA WILL increase its presence in the 2025 EROAD Australian Rally Championship by becoming the naming rights partner of the season opener.

The first round in the capital will now be known as the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally of Canberra, which will be held on March 21-23.

It is the latest part of Toyota’s support for ARC, with the brand winning the last four with Neal Bates Motorsport.

Toyota is a name synonymous with rally, having had a significant presence since the early 1970s.

“We’re excited to be supporting the ARC this year—it’s a great way to celebrate everything we love about motorsport,” Toyota Motor Corporation Australia, Eastern Region Marketing Manager Emma O’Brien said.

“Canberra holds a special place for us and we’re proud to support the Rally of Canberra, an event that brings people together and showcases the passion for racing.

“And of course, we want to recognise the Bates family, whose dedication to rallying continues to inspire us all.”

“Having a brand as prestigious as Toyota join

as a major partner for our season opener is fantastic news for the championship,” EROAD Australian Rally Championship, Events Director Jill Coppin said.

“I have no doubt Toyota’s influence on Rally of Canberra will be significant as it adds an extra element of prestige to the event and will increase the championship’s reach within the ACT as a result.

“From an ARC point of view, we look forward to seeing this collaboration take place in 2025 and can’t wait to get the season underway.”

Thomas Miles

ICONIC TYRE brand Dunlop has been sold by Goodyear, which will now supply the tyres to Sumitomo

APC MAKES BIG SWITCH

THE 2025 season will be a new chapter for Australian Production Cars as it switches to AASA.

The 10th season of the Australian Production Car Series will be the first run on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series platform.

As a result the five-round season will be broadcast on Foxtel, Kayo and SBS and begin in the last weekend of February.

The season is bookended by rounds at Winton, but is also encompassing Sydney Motorsport Park, Queensland Raceway and Mallala.

Previously, Australian Production Cars was run by Motorsport Australia and often ran at the SpeedSeries behind GT World Challenge and GT4 Australia.

Australian Production Cars representative Troy Williams believes it is the right path for the category.

“This is fantastic news for the Australian Production Cars and a change that myself and the competitors are really looking forward to,” said Williams.

“Reducing the entry fees, improving the broadcast package and having more assurance around track time is something our competitors are continually asking for, so we are delighted with the prospects for 2025.

“This marks a new era for Production Car racing in Australia and we have no doubt that we have put our

category in the best position to prosper and succeed this year and beyond.”

Both AASA CEO Stephen Whyte and Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Manager Carolyn Oldano welcomed the new arrival of a national level series.

“These are exciting times for AASA and the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series to welcome Australian Production Cars to the fold,” said Whyte.

“It’s been a long held ambition for AASA to work with APC as production cars is a part of our early DNA, particularly Winton Raceway being the home of production car racing in the 80s.”

“I’m looking forward to working with Troy and the APC team this year and beyond,” said Oldano.

“It is a great privilege to have such a prestigious category joining the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series in 2025.”

Thomas Miles

2025 AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION SERIES CALENDAR

Round 1: Winton Motor Raceway - Feb 28-March 2

Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park - May 30-June 1

Round 3: Queensland Raceway - August 15-17

Round 4: Mallala Motorsport Park - September 26-28

Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway - October 31-November 2

BOURDAIS AND JOHNSON LINKED TO INDY 500 WILDCARD

PROLIFIC WINNERS

Sebastien Bourdais and Jimmie Johnson are linked to join forces in a high profile wildcard for the 2025 Indianapolis 500.

If that was not enough to excite motorsport fans, the imaginations of general American sports fans will be captured when they hear that former NFL star quarterback Tom Brady is involved.

Reports from America, stemming from the Tony D. Podcast, suggest Johnson and Brady are expected to join forces as team owners of a fourth Chip Ganassi Racing entry for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

It only adds the excitement of the famous race with Kyle Larson returning after being so fast in his brief opportunity in 2024.

It would be an American sports dream team with Brady and Johnson among the most successful athletes in their respective disciplines.

With seven victories, Brady won

the most SuperBowls of all players in NFL history.

Also with seven titles, Johnson has the equal most NASCAR Cup Series championships alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

But the driver himself will also have plenty of star power.

Bourdais is no stranger to IndyCar, having taken six wins from 74 races between 2005 and 2021, while his best championship result was seventh.

The Frenchman with 27 F1 Grand Prix starts has taken part in nine Indianapolis 500s with a best result of seventh in 2014.

Brady does have small IndyCar

connections already having starred in an advertisement with Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou.

While yet to be confirmed, if it does become official it would be huge for the category as it aims to maximise its new broadcast deal with Fox Sports in America.

With Leigh Diffey sticking with NASCAR, Fox has hired the services of well known motorsports caller Will Buxton.

Buxton is best known for his work in Formula 1 having been the face of F1TV in recent years.

But in the four preceding years he was calling IndyCar with NBC before becoming F1’s first digital presenter in 2018.

Buxton will be calling the races alongside James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell.

The Brit credited Aussie Lee Diffey as one of the key figures behind his jump from F1 to IndyCar.

Thomas Miles

ONE CASHED-UP STEP TOO FAR?

EVERY YEAR, usually in late July or August, Formula 1 descends on a region of Belgium where the weather can be a bit hit-andmiss, for the Belgian Grand Prix.

To a man, F1 drivers will tell you it is their favourite circuit. The real legends of the sport have a knack for winning there. It’s picturesque but challenging. It’s one of the classic Grands Prix.

So the news that the Belgian Grand Prix, at SpaFrancorchamps, is to join what is to be a rotational, every-secondyear slot on the F1 calendar is just one business decision too far. One greedy, profit-maximisation decision that tugs at what remains of the soul of Formula 1.

The first Belgian Grand Prix was held at Spa in 1925. The track, imagine it, was over 14km long and over the years it varied as elements were created and modified, and the names that have defined the circuit – La Source, Eau Rouge, Les Combes, Blanchimont – were born.

The race came and went a bit. In 1971 the Belgian GP moved to, firstly, a nondescript track called Nivelles (more famous for the classic World Championships held on the adjacent kart circuit around that time), then Zolder, where a number of bad accidents, including the crash that killed the great Gilles Villeneuve eventually

with Chris Lambden CL ON CALL

saw a return to Spa in 1985 – to the 7km circuit which remains basically unaltered today.

Well almost. A knee-jerk reaction to the horrors of Imola 1994 saw a chicane installed at the bottom of Eau Rouge that year. Really. It was removed before the following year’s race.

Michael Schumacher (6), Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton (5) head up the list of drivers with multiple wins at Spa. Jim Clark won four on the trot in his relatively short career. That tells you all you need to know.

If you haven’t made a pilgrimage to the place – just once – you’ve missed out. I managed a Spa/ Monza double once and it remains a motorsport life highlight.

The race has been backed by its regional government as the fees extracted for F1 races have spiralled upwards, but even that has now apparently reached its limit.

The enormous growth of Formula 1, spreading around the world, making massive profits,

is the momentum behind the decision to turn Spa into a biennial race. It’s a shocker. There are maybe four F1 races which should make up a ‘Heritage-listed’ group – Spa, Monza, Silverstone and Suzuka – for very obvious reasons. Their presence in the championship, annually, should be sacrosanct.

A few mill short of the fee? Well, damn-well reduce the fee. Subsidise it. A few million is chickenfeed in the overall picture, to preserve the soul of F1.

Imagine tennis without Wimbledon; football without Wembley; IndyCar without the Indy 500. Not going to happen. And where is F1 going to go with a newly vacant slot created by the ‘rotation’ of classic Euro events? Another ‘howdy y’all’ US creation – isn’t three enough? Another flat, featureless Hermann Tilke-dome, with Middle Eastern sand blowing across it? There are already decent venues in South East Asia which have invested – then

walked away as the numbers spiralled up. Malaysia, for example …

We are told South Africa is next. Lewis is particularly keen. Apparently, Rwanda is one of two South African countries vying for it. Rwanda? Apparently it will be great for the country.

The private jets will drop the circus into a freshly-minted (Tilke or street race?) multi-million dollar track for the five days of the race. And then they’ll be gone.

What I know about Rwanda is that when I turn the TV on nowadays, I’m faced with pleas for help, for starving children … in Rwanda.

Add all that up and you get to what has become the almost ruthless, revenue-positive expansion of F1 – at almost any cost.

I’m sure the maths, the dollars and cents, adds up. But at some point, some time, you have to look at what is being lost in the chase for profits.

And right now, it’s the excited anticipation of the annual Grand Prix at Spa, in Belgium. It is one unemotional revenue-positive decision too far.

Is there any hope of a re-think; a literal grouping of four ‘protected’ F1 races, supported a little if necessary? Yeah, right …

As Ayrton Senna stepped out of his McLaren after winning, in Adelaide in 1993, his last race for the team – indeed his last F1 win full stop – Ron Dennis leaned in and in his usual succinct manner observed that “it’s never too late to change your mind …”

We can only hope.

F1 does make silly mistakes – and correct them. The chicane at Eau Rouge in 1994 was one of them ...

Having stunned the world with his F1 debut there the year before, Michael Schumacher took out the 1992 Belgian GP – the first of his five wins there. Here he battles with Mika Hakkinen and Jean Alesi as they plummet towards Les Combes ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

ALONSO AND VERSTAPPEN CLOSE TO RACE BAN

FERNANDO ALONSO and Max Verstappen are the only drivers close to an automatic race ban based on a points demerit not unlike that on our roads. But it’s the four-time World Champion who will have to be on his best behaviour for the first half of the 2025 season, as it will be only on the Monday after the Austrian Grand Prix that the first penalty points on his FIA Super Licence will be rescinded. Alonso and Verstappen accumulated

eight penalty points each during the 2024 season. Nico Hulkenberg, Oscar Piastri and Lance Stroll followed them with four penalty points each, with 12 drivers already having some points on their licences.

The Spanish veteran will see three penalty points returned to him on Monday after the Chinese Grand Prix, so it will only be in the first two races of the season that he’ll have to be extra vigilant to avoid any

further penalties.

Verstappen, however, will have to make sure he doesn’t accumulate another four penalty points in the first 11 Grands Prix of the coming season – almost half of the entire championship – as it will only be on the Monday after the Austrian Grand Prix that two points will be put back on his licence (the points deducted for the first collision with Lando Norris during last year’s main race at the Red Bull Ring).

Being in such a perilous position would encourage most drivers to be a bit more circumspect in wheel-to-wheel racing to avoid an automatic race ban. Still, Verstappen has already vowed to “keep on racing the way I’ve always done,” explaining that “if I get a ban, so be it,” before joking that “if that ban comes when the baby is born, then I’ll get a bit of paternity leave!” – hinting at the expected birth of his first child.

Obviously, missing out on one race in a season that most predict will be a very tight one could have devastating consequences for Verstappen’s title hopes, but, only in Melbourne, will we get a first glimpse of what his racing attitude will be in the first 11 races of the championship.

If the Dutchman doesn’t collect any more penalty points, he’ll still carry six points until after the Mexican Grand Prix, in the last weekend of October, as most of his penalties in 2024 came close to the end of the season, when the pressure from Norris and McLaren piled up on him.

THE FULL LIST OF PENALTY POINTS AND EXPIRY DATE IS AS FOLLOWS: FERNANDO ALONSO 8 points (3 expiring on March 24)

VERSTAPPEN 8 points (2 expiring on June 30) NICO HULKENBERG 4 points (2 expiring on June 2) OSCAR PIASTRI 4 points (2 expiring on November 3) LANCE STROLL 4 points (2 expiring on April 21)

LANDO NORRIS 3 points (expiring on December 1) ESTEBAN OCON 3 points (1 expiring on May 4)

ALEX ALBON 2 points (expiring on December 1)

OLIVER BEARMAN 2 points (expiring on November 3)

LIAM LAWSON 2 points (expiring on December 1)

GEORGE RUSSELL 1 point (expiring on December 1) CARLOS SAINZ 1 point (expiring on May 5)

ASTON MARTIN PUTS COWELL IN CHARGE

ANDY COWELL has been put fully in charge of Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team, merging the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Team Principal in yet another reshuffle decided by team owner Lawrence Stroll.

The former Mercedes man becomes the third Team Principal since the Canadian acquired the team a little more than six years ago, following in the footsteps of Otmar Szafnauer and Mike Krack.

The announcement was made in the second week of the year, with the team statement explaining that “to deliver the best race car performance, the team’s Aerodynamics, Engineering and Performance Departments have evolved to become separate, dedicated trackside and AMR Technology Campus-based teams with both reporting to Andy.”

Unlike Szafnauer, though, Mike Krack has been retained by Aston Martin but his new role limits him to being in charge of track operations, the Luxembourgian being given the title of Chief Trackside Officer.

In a way, this is a return to his original

background, as Krack was a race engineer for Sauber and BMW Sauber until close to the end of 2008, working with Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and then test driver Sebastian Vettel. But this demotion for Krack has also led to the departure of the highly respected

Tom McCullogh from his position as Performance Director, a role he’d been filling for almost a decade now.

Given that his contract is far from ending, Aston Martin has opted against sacking McCullogh but has moved him away from the

Formula 1 team, as he’ll be now working on expanding the company’s brand into other motor racing categories.

And with Cowell now filling a dual role, Enrico Cardille has moved up from his position as Technical Director to Chief Technical Officer, effectively running the team’s technical department until Adrian Newey is allowed to start working at Silverstone, close to the start of the summer.

Speaking about his promotion, Cowell commented, “I have spent the last three months understanding and assessing our performance, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the dedication, commitment and hard work of this team. With the completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team, alongside our strategic partners Honda and Aramco, we are on a journey to becoming a Championship-winning team.

“These organisational changes are a natural evolution of the multi-year plans that we have scheduled to make and I’m incredibly excited about the future.”

F1’s Bad Boys – Alonso and Verstappen need to be on their best behaviour as 2025 kicks off ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Andy Cowell – another ex-Mercedes person heading an F1 team. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

THE PROS AND CONS OF THE ROTATION SYSTEM

WITH THE announcement that the Belgian Grand Prix will be held every two years from the start of the 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, Liberty Media has started to put in place a system CEO Stefano Domenicali has been working on for a few years – the rotation system for some European races.

The Italian would love to add more Grands Prix to the calendar but has been reigned in by the teams and the FIA, as everyone would need to hire a complete second crew to cope with a bigger schedule … so rotating races has been his alternative solution and Spa-Francorchamps is the first circuit to accept being part of it.

On the other hand, Zandvoort decided against joining this new system, opting instead to bow out of the World Championship at the end of 2026. The private investors behind the Dutch race decided the risks involved would be too big without guaranteeing an annual race on Max Verstappen’s home soil.

There is an important difference

INSIDER

between those two Grand Prix, as Spa-Francorchamps has support from the regional government of Wallonia and that’s a luxury the Dutch Grand Prix promoters don’t have. Public money is spent to cover the inevitable deficit of each Belgian Grand Prix, allowing the promoters to work in the knowledge they’ll break even.

Six European races have slots guaranteed in the calendar for the long haul: Austria (2030), Monaco, Italy (both until 2031), Hungary (2032), Great Britain (2034) and the new Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid (2036) and that means there will be a maximum of another two Grands Prix per year on the European continent.

Belgium has been the first to join the rotation system, with

Imola and Barcelona being offered similar deals. As far as I know, the Italian circuit is close to accepting being part of this rotation system – always hoping Monza will fail to complete the required upgrades to snatch the Italian Grand Prix away from that historic track – but the Catalans are still reluctant to join in.

France has two possible candidates to return to the calendar – the Paul Ricard or a street circuit on the outskirts of Nice – while in Germany, only Hockenheim may be able to gather local government support to do so.

Then, of course, Domenicali will want to expand the concept to other continents. In Asia, only Suzuka is considered by the teams as an essential race, with

Singapore also a favourite but facing increasing local opposition to the expenditure shouldered by the taxpayer. Thailand and South Korea are in advanced talks to host street races in Bangkok and Incheon respectively, and could well alternate on the calendar if Singapore is kept as a permanent feature.

And, in Africa, Rwanda and South Africa are vying for one slot but could also rotate given that Europe will lose one of its slots in the calendar from 2027.

By putting this rotation system in place, Formula 1 will reach more countries and have more locals in attendance, growing the fan base in those regions, which is good for the sport.

On the other hand, the promoters will be more dependent on volunteers and short-term staff, as it makes no sense to keep a bigger salary sheet if you’re only hosting a Formula 1 race every two years, and the efficiency of the organisations will suffer.

Another negative factor is that there’s no shortage of fans who

have made a habit of going to the same track every year and may find better holiday alternatives once they try something new when their race is out of the calendar.

And, finally, the local hotels will surely bump their prices even more, trying to earn in one weekend every two years what they’re currently earning once a year, making it even more expensive for the fans to travel to the races.

Imola, Montreal and Austin are the current biggest examples of how the hotel industry is squeezing more than three times the price per night during Grand Prix weekends than what they were doing before – and that’s why they’re losing attendance. There has to be a balance that will encourage families to keep going to the races as, when it’s cheaper to spend two weeks in a tropical paradise than sitting for three days in a cold and wet grandstand watching Formula 1 cars for a total of six hours, very few people will continue to come to the races …

with Luis Vasconcelos F1

Shame ... Despite increased crowds, one of the greatest F1 venues is now set to be a biennial event ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

VERSTAPPEN TOPS ABANDONED FASTEST LAP TABLE

FROM THE start of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, the points system will no longer award one point to the driver who sets the fastest lap in each Grand Prix, a welcome change to the Sporting Regulations that puts an end to an abnormality that was introduced at the start of 2019 without due to consideration to its implications in race strategy.

For six long seasons, the extra point for the fastest lap was handed to the driver who set the quickest lap time of a full race provided he was classified inside the top 10, taking Formula 1 back to the 1950s, when a point for the fastest lap was awarded between 1950 and 1958 before being abandoned.

The brainchild of Ross Brawn, who also came up with the concept of the Sprint Races most drivers still dislike, this point for the fastest lap was thought to spice up the championship battles but did anything but that.

As soon as the top teams realised how they could use this new point to cut their losses or to take away from their rivals an

FULL HOUSE DIDN’T MAKE BELGIAN GP PROFITABLE!

THE DIFFICULTIES faced by European Grand Prix promoters have been put in evidence last week, when the president of the Spa Grand Prix group announced that the Belgian Grand Prix had made a net loss for the third year in succession. That happened in spite of the event being sold out, with 370.000 spectators filling the grandstands during the four days of the event, maximising the possible income for the Grand Prix promoter.

The extremely high cost of the promoters’ fee, paid to Formula 1, added to the organisational costs of putting together an event of such magnitude as a Grand Prix, meaning that, even with no tickets left to be sold, the SpaFrancorchamps promoters lost close to Euro 3.5m (A$5.8m). That helps explain why they have now accepted hosting Formula 1 races every two years from 2027 onwards, as it would not be sustainable for them to keep their races annually, especially as the fees paid to the commercial rights owner continue to rise.

During the recent Brussels Motor Show, Melchio Wathelet, the president of the Spa Grand Prix group, explained that, in 2022, the Belgian Grand Prix was run with a deficit exceeding five million Euros, but that was cut down to a loss of 2.3 million in 2023.

While the financial results of last year’s event will only be finalised by the end of March, Wathelet admitted that the deficit for 2024 is estimated at between three and 3.5 million Euros, but – as contracted – the debt has been annually wiped out by the Walloon Region.

To explain a greater loss than in 2023, Spa Grand Prix has pointed out that significant investments have been made, and additional promotional operations were put in place to attract more fans to the circuit.

Until 2020, the Belgian Grand Prix was running at an annual loss of between six and eight million Euros, before new grandstands were installed, allowing an extra 20,000 spectators to enter the circuit daily.

advantage, we started to see the slowest driver of the front bunch stop with two laps to go, provided he had enough of a gap to the first of the midfield runners, get a fresh set of soft tyres and then set the fastest lap of the race, to gain an extra point.

Then, the game evolved to use the team’s slowest driver, who would sacrifice his own result if a championship rival had the fastest

lap of a race, pitting to score that point and take it away from his teammate’s rival.

Close to the end of the 2024 season, the situation reached an extreme, with Alpine, VCARB and Haas all going for the fastest lap with their slowest driver to take that point away from their rivals in the battle for P6 in the Constructors’ Championship.

But it was Daniel Ricciardo’s last effort

in Formula 1, in the Singapore Grand Prix, that tipped the scales entirely in favour of abolishing this extra point as the Australian, in his final Grand Prix, snatched the fastest lap from Lando Norris, not to benefit his team but to take away a point from Max Verstappen’s title rival, as Red Bull made the most out of owning two teams against McLaren’s one.

As the system won’t be used any more, the final statistics show that Max Verstappen was the driver who benefitted the most from this extra point, collecting 28 or them against 26 for Lewis Hamilton.

THE FINAL ‘TOP 10’ FOR THE EXTRA POINT IS, THUS, AS FOLLOWS:

Max Verstappen – 28

Lewis Hamilton – 26

Lando Norris – 12

Charles Leclerc – 10

Valtteri Bottas – 7

George Russell – 7

Sergio Perez – 7

Carlos Sainz – 4

Pierre Gasly – 3

Daniel Ricciardo – 3

RED BULL IN MASSIVE SPONSORSHIP CHANGES

RED BULL is in the process of dealing with big changes to its sponsorship portfolio, primarily as a direct consequence of Sérgio Pérez’s sacking when he still had two years left on his contract.

As expected, Claro and Telcel, two companies that belong to the Slim family and have been long-term supporters of the Mexican driver, are no longer part of Red Bull’s sponsorship portfolio and are now missing from the team’s website page dedicated to its backers.

At the same time, a large number of US-based companies have abandoned ship, possibly as a consequence of the bad press the team has been getting since the start of last year when allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made

against Team Principal Christian Horner, with the final steps in the process still to get to court.

Allegations of that kind are taken very seriously in the United States, as the image of the companies may be affected by being linked to these sorts of scandals, so it’s no surprise a significant number of sponsors have decided against renewing their contracts with Red Bull.

That is the case with computer giant Hewlett Packard, digital wallet CashApp, Intel Corporation, Therabody, BMC Software, Walmart and Poly – all seven American companies opting to terminate their connection with Red Bull Racing, putting a considerable dent in the team’s income. That is also the case of Chinese

giant byBit, the Chinese-based crypto trading company allegedly pumping US$50m per year into the team’s coffers and now opting to move out of the deal. Add to that the loss of income resulting from dropping from first to third place in the Constructors’ Championship – US$18m – and it’s clear that Red Bull Racing has a lot of new deals to make to close on the level of income it has grown accustomed to in the last four years.

So far, the team has announced the arrival of five new sponsors and partners – Neat, Patron, AVA Trade, Pepe Jeans and EA Sports – but it’s highly unlikely their combined contributions will get Red Bull even close to the level of sponsorship money the team received in 2024.

Max heads the ‘Fastest Lap’ winners – now discontinued ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

The 2025 Red Bull will have a very different sponsor line-up when compared wirth the 2024 car ...

HUNGARORING UPGRADES AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

WHEN THE Formula 1 community returns to the Hungaroring in the first weekend of August, they’ll find it hard to recognise the place, such is the amount of changes that are being made in the main areas of work for the teams and all the Formula 1 staff.

The layout of the track and the access will remain the same, but the circuit management, with support from the Hungarian government, has opted to build a completely new pits and paddock complex, as well as new grandstands on the main straight.

With the safety net of a contract to host the Hungarian Grand Prix until the end of 2032, the circuit owners decided this was the right time to bring the track up to the standard of the most modern circuits and started the upgrade work the week after last year’s race.

From the start of last August, there’s been around 620 staff working on the premises, as the most recent photos released by the circuit show that the new buildings are already halfway completed.

One notable difference from the previous structure is that the paddock building will now feature a much wider permanent area, as the new requirements of the Paddock Club and Formula 1’s own hospitality suites have grown tremendously in the last four years. There will now be an entire third floor the whole length of the pit lane and construction of that part of the circuit is already underway.

Across the pit straight, with two new grandstands being built, 100% of the precast reinforced concrete stand beams and almost 50% of the grandstand elements have been installed and the stair elements are being put in place.

The drought that has affected Europe this winter, with December registering the lowest rain numbers in the last 70 years, has helped the construction work get ahead of schedule, as virtually no days have been lost to bad weather. Hence, the Hungarians are ahead of schedule and may have all the construction done by the end of May, one month earlier than planned at the start of this massive amount of work.

GRAND PRIX CONTRACTS GETTING LONGER

FORMULA 1 has changed its strategy regarding contracts with Grand Prix promoters in the last few years.

Initial contracts have been very short-term and tended to last only three years before going for extremely long deals to make sure the promoters and the circuits can invest in major upgrades to their structures but also create new fan bases around those circuits.

Of the 24 Grands Prix that are part of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, only two will be in the last year of their contract, as most promoters now have long-term deals in their pockets. In fact, 16 Grand Prix promoters have contracts that run into the next decade, with Bahrain having the longest deal in place – valid until the end of 2036!

Only Mexico and Las Vegas have contracts that expire at the end of this year, but both seem set for relatively easy extensions.

The American night race in Las Vegas is promoted by Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1’s Commercial Rights, and even though the number of spectators was drastically reduced in 2024 after the shambles seen in the first year of the contract (when the first day of practice effectively happened with no one in the grandstands), the fact that the most

expensive packages have sold out means the money has continued to flow and that’s good enough reason for Liberty to invest for a few more years in this race.

As for Mexico, it’s clear that without Sérgio Pérez on the grid, the interest in Formula 1 in the country will decline a bit, but the local fan base is so big and devoted, that the promoters won’t have any problem selling out in 2025 and, once they get a clear picture of what their income will be this year, they’ll quickly agree terms with

Formula 1 to extend the contract.

Next year will see four Grand Prix contracts come to an end, with Zandvoort already announcing it won’t be vying for a new deal, but both Imola and Barcelona look set to be part of the rotation system that will be put in place for some European races, joining Spa-Francorchamps, which has already officially become part of this system.

As for Austin, the home of the US Grand Prix has been a huge financial and sporting

success, combining concerts from big stars with a Formula 1 race on a proper racetrack, so there’s little doubt the contract will be extended, and the announcement is likely to come during this year’s event.

Until the end of the decade, only Azerbaijan (2027), Singapore (2028) and Japan (2029) have their contracts coming to an end, so long-term stability has been reached and the expected new deals – with a second race in Saudi Arabia’s new track in Qiddiya, a street race in Bangkok, a return to South Africa either in Kyalami or Cape Town, another one to South Korea and a first Grand Prix in Rwanda all on the cards.

THE FULL LIST OF THE TERMS OF THE CURRENT GRAND PRIX CONTRACTS IS AS FOLLOWS:

2025: Mexico and Las Vegas

2026: Imola, Barcelona, Netherlands (not up for extension) and USA (Austin)

2027: Azerbaijan

2028: Singapore

2029: Japan

2030: China, Austria and Brazil

2031: Miami, Monaco, Canada, Belgium (no races in 2028 and 2030); Italy (Monza), Qatar and Abu Dhabi; 2032: Hungary

2034: Great Britain

2035: Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), Australia and Spain (Madrid)

2036: Bahrain

Bahrain has the longest F1 race contract ... locked in until 2036 ...

Image: SUPPLIED BY HUNGARORING

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MOUNTAIN MONSTERS A VERY WELCOME BLAST FROM PAST

I ENJOYED Auto Action #1901 with the three-page hillclimb article.

Seeing my car at the bottom of the page brought back a few memories.

When I bought the car from Don Biggar it had a nice fibreglass body of the era.

Traditional hillclimb cars didn’t have wings in those days.

Most hillclimb corners were low-speed.

I was a farmer at the time and in the farm workshop I built much larger wings with the thought ‘slow corners, big wings’.

The first meeting was at Lakeland (near Lilydale in Melbourne’s outer east).

There were a few smart remarks.

Brain Shead, the builder of Cheetah cars, was there and he said to me: “I believe there is now a shortage of aluminum in Australia.”

I can’t remember if I won on that occasion, but at the next hillclimb everyone had wings.

My wife read the AA article and she said that I was the only one in it left alive!

My son Jeff followed in my footsteps but was into speedway Super Rods – he won three Victorian titles, then into Spintcars, won the SRA series, then into Wingless Sprints, again three Victorian titles, but no Australian titles like his old man.

He came close a couple of times. He was a much better driver than me but had a lot of support from mum and dad, which I never had.

Still involved with speedway, being the crew chief of the Jamie Veal Sprintcar team out

He was banned for life over the ‘Crashgate’ scandal out of the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix. Now he’s back “in the wings” around the Alpine F1 team and already he’s undermining Jack Doohan.

He’s extracted the Argentinean kid Franco Colapinto from Williams, where he was very quick but created massive damage bills, to be Alpine’s ‘reserve driver’.

Briatore clearly intends to pop Colapinto into Jack Doohan’s seat before the season is too old. Colapinto probably has

Doohan can never hope to get serious financial backing from Australia to compete against that money.

Hopefully young Jack, with the help of his legendary motorcycle champion father Mick, can withstand the unreasonable pressure from Briatore and just let his talent do the talking.

Stick it up ‘em, Jack. Patrick Johnstone Chelmer, Queensland

Below: Former Hillclimb Champion

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME...

BETTY KLIMENKO IS AN AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT ICON – AND THE FIRST FEMALE TEAM OWNER IN SUPERCARS. SHE IS ALSO A SHAREHOLDER IN AND SUPPORTER OF THIS PUBLICATION AND, EVERY NOW AND THEN, WILL PRESENT HER UNIQUE VIEW ON THE SPORT IN GENERAL. WELCOME ON BOARD, BETTY …

IT’S THAT time of year again, the Christmas trees are put away, the fireworks are forgotten except for 15 minutes of video no one will ever watch again, and any time we have taken off from work is coming to an end.

But for reasons that will become obvious, I have an old Xmas song in my head, the one that goes “it’s the most wonderful time of the year”, and it is – every January, around this time is when we finalise our teams, check the logbooks, dust off the cars and get ready for the year ahead.

As a team owner, let me digress a little here as, last year, there were a few people who didn’t have a clue on how Supercar team ownership works.

I own the business, 100%. That means anything you can touch, like cars, factory and anything tangible, belongs to me. All the employees work for my business. Then, separate to that, every

TRACK

car has a licence attached to it. I own the licence to car #9 and half a licence of car #99, Barry Ryan owns the other half of that licence and is the CEO of the company.

sponsors that had stayed with us and my motorsport friends. But it was the fans who believed in Erebus and me who gave me the biggest boost and that made me start to think about why I do what I do.

I do it because I love it.

And if you have questions, please feel free to send them in. So, till next time, stay safe and remember, there are idiots out there! with Betty Klimenko OFF

So, with that out of the way, let’s get back to this time of year.

It is no secret that last year we did not have the best start, but that is now water under the bridge, and we are literally starting again in a new year, with Jack and Cooper as our drivers, and a few new faces in the team. Does it scare me that we are starting this journey again from the beginning?

Yes, it does.

We had built up an amazing team, had brilliant sponsors, had just won two championships, and I thought we were finally in a position that I could sit back and, as they say, enjoy the show.

But that was not to be, I found myself in one of the worst positions a team can find itself in – sponsorless and the subject of ridicule from every avenue. It didn’t matter what I did or didn’t do, it was always wrong, and I got to a point that I just didn’t want to go to the track.

I did survive – with the help of my husband and family, the

I have spent more than a decade in this series and more than 25 years in motorsport, and because of this I will endeavour to write a column every now and

then letting you know about how my Supercar journey is going and what I think about what is happening in general in the world of motorsport – from fashion for the ladies, to the vroom and crash of different series for the men … and women too.

After a difficult start to the year, the Erebus team peaked when it mattered – Bathurst .... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Betty with the AA crew – Bruce Williams and Andrew Clarke ...

CAN HAMILTON DO BETTER THAN ALONSO AND VETTEL?

MANY F1 CHAMPIONS HAVE HEADED TO MARANELLO TO END, OR RESUSCITATE, THEIR CAREERS – WITH VARYING LEVELS OF SUCCESS, OR FAILURE. WHAT DOES PAST EXPERIENCE SUGGEST LIFE AT FERRARI WILL BE FOR LEWIS HAMILTON? LUIS VASCONCELAS READS THE TEA LEAVES …

DRIVING FOR Ferrari is almost every Formula 1 driver’s dream and, exactly one year ago Lewis Hamilton signed a deal that will see him finish his Grand Prix career driving for the Scuderia.

Ferrari’s iconic status has attracted some of the best drivers in the sport’s history and Hamilton joins an impressive list of World Champions and Grand Prix winners that have raced in red.

It is believed the great Ayrton Senna was already in talks with Ferrari early in 1994 to move to Maranello a couple of years later, but with the Brazilian’s death, then Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo turned to Michael Schumacher, who duly joined the team in 1996.

Such was the team’s state at the time that it took the German five seasons to win the World Championship again, but the two other champions that followed him into Maranello, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, were less successful that Schumacher and eventually left Ferrari without achieving their main goal.

There was, of course, a couple of main differences in the way Schumacher arrived at Maranello, when compared to Alonso, Vettel and now Hamilton.

The German moved to Ferrari on the back of two consecutive titles with Benetton

and took with him Technical Director Ross Brawn, Chief Designer Rory Byrne and Head of Electronics Ted Czapski and it was their combined work, together with a huge budget, unlimited testing, a close collaboration with Bridgestone – all orchestrated by Jean Todt –that eventually led to their success.

“ ”

First

For Alonso and Vettel, the move to Maranello came when their careers started to take a wrong path. The Spaniard had left McLaren at the end of 2007 after a massive fallout with the management, initially found refuge back at Renault but, with the French team floundering, took Ferrari’s offer in the hope of getting back to his winning ways.

years with Mercedes, the team unable to provide him with a title contender and with teammate George Russell slowly turning things his way, to become the team’s best performer last year.

Here, we look at the way his three predecessors arrived and performed with Ferrari to try establishing which way Hamilton is most likely to go. Will he emulate Schumacher’s success or will he fail in his quest, like Alonso and Vettel did before him.

of all, Schumacher was only 27-yearsold when he joined Ferrari and had just won two titles in a row ...

RED CARPET FOR SCHUMACHER

Vettel, on the other hand, had seen his fortunes change without moving team –after being Red Bull’s golden boy for five years, winning four titles in a row, he was outperformed by the newly arrived Daniel Ricciardo in 2014, the Australian winning three Grands Prix to Vettel’s none, meaning the writing was on the wall.

Hamilton joins Ferrari after three dreadful

FORMULA 1 lived a unique situation in the mid-90s, with only one World Champion still racing – Michael Schumacher. Piquet, Mansell and Prost had all retired from Grand Prix racing in consecutive years and Senna had died in May of 1994, leaving the German – still on his way to his first title – very much on his own as the undisputed best driver in the world.

Two titles with Benetton reinforced his status and when Ferrari came calling,

Schumacher didn’t hesitate. In the contract, he was handed undisputed number one status and a much bigger salary than what he was getting in the British team – so even if Ferrari hadn’t won the Drivers’ title since 1979, this was a no-brainer for the German.

For Ferrari, getting Schumacher was essential, as the Italian team had a lot of ground to recover, but the heist on Benetton’s talents also took away the technical trio that had led to that team’s success.

Brawn and Byrne went on to become the most successful partnership in the sport’s history and Czapski was crucial too as, back then, electronics were a big performance differentiator – and he was a master at working on systems that the FIA couldn’t really police.

And yet, it took Schumacher all the way to 2000 to win his first title in red, after five long years in Maranello. The 1996 contender was no match for the much faster Williams but still the German managed to win three Grands Prix during that season, something no driver had done for Ferrari since Prost in his 1990 campaign.

In Spain, he mastered the rain to beat Villeneuve and then back-to-back wins in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza – in front of the tifosi – gave him God-like status in Italy as the title looked just around the corner.

There were, however, three years of frustration and near misses ahead, as the German lost the championship battle in the last race in 1997 to Villeneuve and 1998 to Hakkinen, before being sidelined by broken legs in 1999, after crashing in the opening lap at Silverstone.

Only in 2000, thanks to a great surge in the final races, did Schumacher fulfil his dream and from then went on to dominate the sport for

the next four years, securing five consecutive titles.

The German’s circumstances were different from anything the other three champions lived in red.

First of all, Schumacher was only 27-years-old when he joined Ferrari and had just won two titles in a row. In between 1996 and 2004 only Mika Hakkinen proved he could beat him in a straight fight – between 1998 and 2000 – so it was only Alonso’s arrival on the scene that gave the German a lasting and worthy rival.

Then, of course, Ferrari could deploy a lot more resources than any other team, as there was no budget cap, no limitation on

Michael Schumacher had to build the team almost from scratch before success came ... Left: A pensive Lewis – what will 2025 bring .... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Michael earned the adoration of the tifosi (above), but there were difficult and dark days along the way, including Silverstone 1999 (below) ...

Below: Alonso won his debut race with Ferrari, but the relationship ended badly ...

testing and his days that turned into nights running in Fiorano became part of the legend.

Added to that, from 1999, Bridgestone –having become the sports’ sole tyre supplier – handed the development of its rubber to the German driver alone, so he could steer their work to suit his unique driving style while the rest of the field had to make do with his choices.

And, last but not least, Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello were hired as supporting acts and were never given a fair crack at challenging – even if the Brazilian tried his best.

Such a set of circumstances is, of course, no longer available, with the budget cap and testing restrictions in place, but Hamilton lands in Italy to find a team in a much better position than Schumacher did almost 30 years ago.

The competition – internal and external – is much fiercer than in the second half of the 90s, so the Brit’s task will be at least as difficult as the German’s was.

GREAT PASSION BEFORE A MASSIVE FALLOUT

FERNANDO ALONSO’S career had taken a slump after his two consecutive titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. Fulfilling a childhood dream, the Spaniard offered his services to McLaren and got a winning car in 2007. However, faced with stiff internal competition from a rookie called Lewis Hamilton, he quickly fell out with Ron Dennis and his three-year contract was rescinded after just one season.

With nowhere else to go, Alonso returned to Enstone for two largely unsuccessful seasons but that was always going to be a stop-gap solution until he’d be able to get to Ferrari.

In theory, Raikkonen and Massa were contracted until the end of 2010 but the Finn’s poor performances in 2008 and, especially, 2009, led to an early exit and Alonso arrived in Maranello as the clear new number one driver – especially as there were doubts about Massa’s return to racing after his dreadful accident in the Hungaroring the previous summer.

A dream start saw Alonso win his first Grand Prix in red, in Bahrain, but the performances dipped until mid-season and the Spaniard was already 47 points behind Hamilton after the British Grand Prix.

His controversial win in Hockenheim, when Massa was forced to hand him the lead, marked the start of a great comeback and was followed by more success in Monza, Singapore and Korea, so the Spanish driver arrived in Abu Dhabi leading the championship by eight points from Mark Webber, with Vettel still in contention, with a 15 point deficit – and Hamilton was still mathematically in the battle, although his deficit of 24 points meant he needed a few miracles to win the title.

Famously, Ferrari marked the wrong man and pitted early to keep Alonso ahead of Webber, opening the doors for Vettel to win the race and the title after Vitaly Petrov frustrated all of the Spaniard’s attempts to get past him.

More frustration came in 2012, when a first lap incident for Vettel in Brazil left Alonso in the virtual lead of the championship, but even with a damaged car the German scythed through the field and secured his third straight title.

The following two years brought no joy for Alonso and with Ferrari in internal turmoil, he opted to leave. Montezemolo was under pressure from new Fiat leader

After a stunning second-start win (bottom of page), things went off the rails for Vettel – including shunts at Singapore (2017) and Hockenheim in 2018 (below) ...

In the background, though, an even bigger factor was gathering shape. Frédéric Vasseur … “ ”

Sergio Marcchione had fired Domenicali and the technical leaders, replacing the Italian with the unexperienced Marco Mattiacci. Therefore, and even with James Allison in charge of the design of the car, Alonso lost all faith in the team and moved back to McLaren.

In the end, there was no love lost between Alonso and the top level of Ferrari, as the initial passion and success turned sour. To this day his last Grand Prix win came on home soil, in Barcelona, back in 2013 and the Scuderia is virtually the only top team that has never been mentioned again as a possible berth for Alonso. What started

with great promise and passion turned into an open wound that hasn’t yet been healed.

VETTEL’S FALL FROM GRACE

SEBASTIAN VETTEL was on top of the world at the end of 2013. With four titles in a row in his pocket, he’d seen teammate and foe Mark Webber head into retirement, getting the relatively inexperienced Daniel Ricciardo as teammate at Red Bull.

But while Renault had provided him and the Austrian team a great V8 engine that helped them to tremendous success, the French’s first efforts with the hybrid Power Units, mandatory from 2014, were a disaster.

Underpowered and fragile, with a chassis that

handled very differently from the previous ones, the Red Bull-Renault combination was no match for Mercedes and Vettel’s radical set-up solutions certainly didn’t help.

To make matters worse, on the other side of the garage, Ricciardo was coping much better with a relatively poor car and when Newey’s magic finally worked, it was the Australian that made the most out of it, winning three races and beating Vettel in a few wheel-to-wheel battles.

Still, it was a bombshell when Ferrari announced the German would be joining them from 2015, Mattiacci making the most of a small window of opportunity via a pre-contract offered him, to sign Vettel – and it was a reinvigorated driver that arrived in Maranello, to join forces with his friend Raikkonen.

Ferrari too had got the new regulations wrong, to start with, failing to win any races in 2014, so it was clear Vettel would need a couple of years to take the battle to the Mercedes. Somehow, he won on his second outing with the Scuderia, in Malaysia, adding another two victories later in the year to finish a clear third in the standings, so hopes were high for 2016.

The German had learned Italian to better communicate with his team, but the new car didn’t perform as expected; there were no wins for Vettel or Raikkonen, so president Marcchione axed Allison and de Beer and put an all-Italian team at the head of the Technical Department.

Things improved dramatically for 2017, Vettel winning four races before the midyear break to lead Hamilton by 14 points and Bottas by 33 after the Hungarian

As the German team put all its efforts behind Hamilton’s title bid, Vettel was taken out at the start in Singapore and then retired with a broken spark plug in Japan, seeing his rival ease past and being forced to settle for the runner-up spot. Still, Ferrari had made big progress in just 12 months and when Vettel won the first two Grands Prix of 2018, it was clear that this was his best ever chance to win his fifth title and his first with Ferrari.

The battle with Hamilton was tight but, after the British Grand Prix, it was the German

' Alonso led Ferrari into the final race of the 2010 championship, but an infamous tactical blunder by the team saw him stuck behind journeyman Vitaly Petrov as Vettel raced away to the title.

Below: Hamilton's Mercedes swansong year has been tough – although wins at Spa and Silverstone (note the red pants!) suggest the magic might still be there ... Frederic Vasseur saved Lewis' F3 career 20 years ago –can he do the same in F1?

who led by eight points with no one else in contention.

Then came the German Grand Prix and two events that changed everything for the team and for Vettel. First of all, he crashed from the lead in front of his fans, handing the championship advantage to Hamilton. Then came the unexpected death of Marchione and the whole company struggled for a few months.

Vettel didn’t win another Grand Prix until the end of the year – Raikkonen, though, won in Austin – and the new management decided to promote the very promising Charles Leclerc, putting him in the Finn’s place.

The Monegasque’s impact in Maranello was instant, only losing in Bahrain due to an issue with the Power Unit, before winning convincingly in Spa and Monza.

Vettel’s final success came in Singapore, as he benefitted from a timely Safety Car to beat his teammate, but the writing was on the wall and, after a very poor 2020 season for him and the team, the German left the Scuderia as the clear number two, his fall from grace being as quick and dramatic as any we can recall.

WHAT IS HAMILTON IN FOR?

LEWIS HAMILTON and Mercedes looked like partners for life, the British driver never losing an opportunity to remind everyone that the German manufacturer had backed him since he was a karting ace. Six World Championships together, five in succession, cemented the belief the British driver would only drive for Mercedes until his retirement, but a couple of unexpected events and the weight of personal relationships changed all that.

First of all, Mercedes got the change of

Technical Regulations badly wrong and started 2022 with a terribly slow car. To make matters worse, three full seasons into it, the German team hasn’t yet fully sorted out its problems and it was only in 2024 that Hamilton finally managed to get a couple of wins after the biggest dry spell of his career.

At the same time, George Russell slowly but surely gained the upper hand in the internal battle with the veteran and being tremendously politically minded, worked his way into a leading role with the direction of the technical changes.

In the background, though, an even bigger factor was gathering shape. Frédéric Vasseur, who had helped Hamilton win in European Formula 3 and then in GP2, was convincing the British driver that he’d be better off at Ferrari than persevering with Mercedes.

It’s a little-known fact that Vasseur effectively saved Hamilton’s career exactly 20 years ago, when Ron Dennis was ready to drop the youngster from the McLaren program. A lacklustre first Formula 3 season, combined with personal issues between Dennis and Anthony Hamilton were leading

to a split, when Vasseur stepped in.

The Frenchman, then running his ASM Formula 3 team, flew to England and offered Dennis a deal he couldn’t refuse: a seat in the best team in the category at half price!

Even in such favorable conditions, Dennis took some convincing, but Vasseur’s gamble more than paid off, as Hamilton throttled the opposition in 2005, winning 15 out of the 20 races of the season.

The rest, as they say, is history, but Hamilton’s admiration for Vasseur hasn’t faded in the 20 years between then and now.

At the same time, Toto Wolff’s heart has been beating faster and faster for the highly promising Andrea Kimi Antonelli, so, between

being slowly set aside by Mercedes and joining his former mentor, Hamilton’s decision sort-of made itself.

Compared to the other three World Champions that joined Ferrari before him, Hamilton heads into a highly competitive team, that nearly won last year’s Constructors’ title and has been on an upwards trajectory since Vasseur arrived in Maranello.

Schumacher, in particular, but also Alonso and Vettel, in contrast, joined the Scuderia when there was a lot to be done before dreaming of titles. On the other hand, the three men before him joined the Scuderia as undisputed number one drivers and at a time when there were no budget restrictions … so there was plenty of untapped potential to explore, whereas now, every gain of 0.1s may prove crucial for the outcome of a season. Finally, the fact Hamilton joins Charles Leclerc, puts him in a much more difficult position than his predecessors.

Schumacher came as number one with Eddie Irvine accepting he was at Ferrari just to support the German; Alonso replaced Raikkonen and teamed up with Massa, who was recovering from a life threatening injury and lacked the gravitas to take the battle to the Spaniard; and Vettel joined Raikkonen, who’d just been massacred by Alonso and was nowhere near his best days in the sport. So, in such different circumstances, how will Lewis Hamilton fare?

Will he succeed where Alonso and Vettel failed and get to the title much faster than Schumacher did? Only time will tell, of course, but having the seven-times World Champion in red clearly adds to the excitement everyone is feeling just weeks before the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

BATHURST 12 HOUR PREVIEW

WELCOME WORLD

THE WORLD RETURNS TO MOUNT PANORAMA NEXT WEEK FOR THE ANNUAL MEGUIAR’S BATHURST 12 HOUR CLASSIC.

THOMAS MILES PREVIEWS THE 2025 EDITION …

THE AUSTRALIAN motorsport calendar begins with what has become the special sight of some of the world’s best GT cars and drivers flying over Skyline at dawn.

After humble beginnings in the early 1990s, the event has come a long way, especially in the last decade, and become the only way to start another big year of racing.

In fact, it is now extremely difficult to imagine any other way, aside from GT bullets flying up the Mountain.

The 2025 event will be the 23rd edition of the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour and again some of the most talented international drivers on the planet will do battle with plenty of Supercars stars.

This year will be especially exciting with the Ferrari 296 GT3 on show for the first time, renewing the iconic Italian brand’s rivalry with German heavyweights Porsche, Audi and Mercedes, which have won five of the last six 12 Hours.

Spearheading one of the Pro Am Ferraris will be Supercars Kiwi Jaxon Evans, alongside GT World Challenge teammate Elliott Schutte, plus local Brad Schumacher and Ferrari factory driver Alessio Rovera.

Evans has raced at the biggest GT races all over the world and believes the 12 Hour has grown to become a destination event across the globe.

In terms of the key to victory, the Pro Am driver believes it is all about survival before the cut throat final two hours.

“It continues to find its own feet and you see teams from all over the world making the effort and spending a lot of money to get here,” Evans told Auto Action.

“It is not for any reason other than to win. It is one of those races where winning is an extra special feeling.

“I have a lot of European mates that love coming here because it is a great event and one of the best race tracks in the world.

“Bathurst always throws a few things

at you so if we can play the strategy right and maintain a consistent pace we would be in with a shot overall.

“It all comes down to those last two hours.”

The team that won last year, Manthey/ EMA will not be returning to defend its crown.

However, the home hero who guided the Day-Glo Porsche to a 2.6s victory, Matt Campbell is.

This time Campbell will be back racing in familiar colours, returning to Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customer team, Absolute Racing, which has not been at Mount Panorama for five years.

Its last visit was in 2020 where Campbell took pole position and just missed out on a podium, finishing fourth.

He will also have Turkish driver Ayhancan Güven by his side, who also stood on the top step last year.

Completing the line up is Belgian Alessio Picariello, who took Pro-Am honours in 2024.

After winning the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour, Campbell spent the rest of the year steering the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 Hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA. He is looking forward to returning to familiar surroundings in more ways than one:

“It’s great to be reuniting with Absolute Racing as we secured Porsche’s first ever Bathurst pole position when we last worked together in 2020,” Campbell said.

“After the success in 2024, when I won the race, we’ll be aiming to replicate this alongside Ayhancan and Alessio.

“It’s my home event at my favourite track in the world, so I can’t wait to start the year off in Australia.”

The most successful team of the GT3 era of the race, SunEnergy1 Racing, is back and determined to return to the top

Dawn breaks as the 2024 field wind its way across the top of the Mountain ... Above: Valentino Rossi will be back ... Images: PETER NORTON

WORLD

The race’s only three-time winner, Jules Gounon put the foot down, but was unable to reel in Campbell in the closing stages of another tense 12 Hour.

The familiar trio of Habul, Gounon and Lica Stolz are back together, keen to get their hands back on the trophy.

Team WRT will be bringing its BMWs back to the mountain and hope it will be a case of third time lucky.

Whilst all the attention and fanfare has been on the special sight of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi taking on Bathurst, the M4s have been very fast.

Whilst Team WRT won in 2018, it is desperate to do so with BMW having been the factory team of the German manufacturer since 2023.

Whilst its best Bathurst result is fourth on debut, the team took a step forward last year with Sheldon van der Linde taking pole position and being in podium contention before dropping to fifth in the closing stages.

Team WRT’s driver line ups are yet to be announced, but it is expected

Valentino Rossi will be back for a third attempt, having finished fifth last year.

“I’ll be at the start of the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hours,” Rossi confirmed to Endurance-Info.com back in July.

“I hope it will be with these two guys (Maxime Martin and Raffaele Marciello).”

Once again the STM #222 will carry familiar green and black colours, but this time with a revamped livery, all in support of Prostate Cancer Australia.

One of the leading international squads, Mercedes-AMG Team GMR, will return, as will fellow ‘Silver Arrow’ outfit Craft-Bamboo Racing.

A wildcard to the traditional contenders will be Arise Racing, especially its Pro combination, featuring some of the biggest names in Supercars.

Supercars champion Will Brown is jumping from Audi to Ferrari, where he will team up with title rival Chaz Mostert.

Whilst this will be Brown’s Ferrari debut, Mostert is extremely familiar with the 296, having raced it to the GT World Challenge Australia title last year and taken Bathurst pole with a 2:00.9861 – a time only one pole position in the history of the 12 Hour can surpass.

Rounding out a formidable combination is Ferrari factory driver Daniel Serra, who is an IMSA winner.

The last confirmed Pro entry is the Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes featuring three home heroes.

Craig Lowndes is not only a Great Race legend, but he has also enjoyed lots of 12 Hour success with two wins in 2014

Just like last year he will team up with Tickford teammates Thomas Randle and

Only three Pro Am entries are confirmed so far with a Tigani Motorsport Audi joining the Arise Racing Ferrari.

The Audi will be led by Aussie international Scott Andrews, who has not been at Mount Panorama since 2016.

Since then he has competed in Asian Le Mans, IMSA, European Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship and Intercontinental GT Challenge.

A winner in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 34-year-old is also an IMSA Endurance Cup Champion and has enjoyed success at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Hoping to let the good times roll will be the Shahin brothers in a Bend-backed Porsche 911 GT3R 992.

Yasser Shahin is on a high after a class victory in the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours and he will be joined by brother Sam. Currently there are only two Silver cars with David Russell and Luke Youlden leading Tigani Motorsport’s Mercedes.

There will also be Volante Rosso Motorsport, which will not only bring Aston Martin back to the grid, but do so with a young line up featuring Jaylyn Robotham, plus Jamie Day and Mateo Villagomez. None of them are aged over 22.

Bronze should be competitive with

Grove Racing returning after a year away, but this time in a Mercedes rather than a Porsche.

Joining Brenton and Stephen Grove is Mercedes AMG Performance Driver Fabian Schiller

Former Grove Racing driver Lee Holdsworth will be driving an Audi, yet again with Marc Cini and Dean Fiore.

The trio have been an unbroken partnership for eight years which is a record.

A Wall Racing Lamborghini featuring Tony D’Alberto and Kiwi Brendon Leitch will be one to watch.

The two Method Motorsport McLaren Arturas are the only GT4 entries so far, while the Vantage Team KTM is on its own in Invitational at the time of print.

Cameron Waters.

Team WRT’s BMW crests a rise ... Above left: Matt Campbell will anchor the factory Porsche #911. Top: Kenny Habul’s Merc – here showing the way – has won twice. Right upper: Invitational cars are an interesting addition to the field. Right lower: Grove is ready to go with its Mercedes ... Images: PETER NORTON/SUPPLIED

BATHURST 12 HOUR PREVIEW

GETTING BACK ON THE HORSE

FERRARI IS coming back to the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour and spearheading the Italian icon’s assault is WA’s own Arise Racing.

Like most things it tackles in motorsport, Ferrari has a proud history at the nation’s “International Enduro.”

The “Prancing Horse” has two previous 12 Hour wins in 2014 and 2017 with Craig Lowndes at the wheel on both occasions.

However, the famous red cars have not been seen on the mountain on 12 Hour weekend since 2020.

But ending the five-year drought will be a recent local success story in Arise Racing through a pair of fast Ferrari 296 GT3s.

Fresh from dominating the GT World Challenge Australia at the first time of asking, the squad now has its sights set on beating the internationals in the summer classic.

To do that it kept one half of its championship winning combination in Chaz Mostert and paired him with Supercars rival Will Brown, plus Ferrari factory ace Daniel Serra in the Pro car. Spearheading the Pro Am assault are familiar GT combo Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte, plus GT regular Brad Schumacher and another Ferrari backed driver in Alessio Rovera.

Arise Racing burst onto the scene with a dominant debut in the GT World Challenge Australia, winning three races, and being on the podium in all-but one event.

But Arise Racing Commercial Manager Jake Klarich revealed all of that was simply preparation for taking on the Bathurst 12 Hour.

“We could not have asked for a better

first year, but the whole time we have had the Bathurst 12 Hour in the back of our minds. That is one of the ultimate goals for us,” he told Auto Action.

“Ferrari has done really well in the past there and our car has proven to be quite fast there.

“It really took to the mountain and the Ferrari loves super high-flowing corners, so hopefully it goes well over the 12 hours.

“We essentially worked in the background all of last year getting our procedures right with these cars and the team.

“The Sydney 3 Hour was a great chance to test the equipment and get everyone familiar with the pit stops.

“It will be a big learning curve because we have not run a 12 Hour yet, but a lot of people in the team have done multiple.

“We have an awesome team together and will give it one big crack.”

Arise Racing may be new to GT racing, but it has been a staple of the Western Australian racing scene for around a decade.

The team started in Radicals and grew to become a significant force, but it was the connection with Perth businessman Laurence Escalante where the Ferrari chapter began and suddenly they were on the grid and scoring a 1-2 on debut at Phillip Island.

“It all happened extremely fast,” Klarich recalled.

“We thought it might be a plan to be first on the grid in 2025 and then we started building the team in December 2023.

“We got cars six weeks before the first round and flew a whole heap of guys that never worked together to Perth.

“It was cool to see it all come together so well and it was just insane to get a 1-2 in the first race.

“It is a credit to everyone in our team

and our partners led by Lance East Exotics.

“It was a memorable year and we are looking forward to the future.”

Arise Racing will not be on its own at the Mountain, with Ferrari even sending a group of technicians and engineers from Italy in addition to Serra and Rovera.

In addition to the factory assistance, Klarich says the prestige of racing with such an iconic brand is not lost on anyone inside the garage with a strong fan base already forming.

“It was quite surreal in the lead up to our first event when we were talking to people involved in GT World Challenge Australia and many were so excited to see Ferrari back on the grid. To do that for them was unreal,” he said.

“The fan base Ferrari carries is huge. There was a young kid standing at the back of the garage with a Ferrari F1 shirt and we invited him in for a photo with the car and make his year.

“It is cool to provide that iconic brand for local fans where they may only get to support Ferrari online.

“It is special to be a part of and our fan base has been growing all year and that has given us a great source of inspiration.”

It will be this kind of support that will be pushing Evans on at Mount Panorama.

The Kiwi Supercars driver has plenty of 12 hour experience with four previous starts, highlighted by fourth outright last year.

But all of those have been driving some of Ferrari’s biggest rivals from McLaren to Porsche, where he spent

The Arise Racing Ferrari challenge is a formidable one, with Supercars star Chaz Mostert (lower right) teaming up wit rival Will Brown. Above left: Jackson Evans and Elliott Schutte – topPro Am contenders. Images: PETER NORTON/SUPPLIED

the majority of his international GT career.

Now Evans will get to experience taking on the mountain in red and he admits it will hit different.

“Being a local starting the year at the Bathurst 12 Hour is always special. It will be my fourth start and first in a Ferrari which is very exciting,” Evans told Auto Action.

“It will be a great event and super stoked to be doing it for Ferrari.”

Evans has raced for big teams at big events such as Le Mans 24 Hours and feels the impact Arise Racing has already made cannot be overstated.

“It was a massive achievement what they did last year winning the drivers and teams championship in their first season,” he said.

“That is a massive credit to everyone from top to bottom.

“They were very ambitious, putting a plan in place and setting a goal to go out a win and they made sure we had every opportunity to make that happen.

“It is not an easy sport to hit the ground running in but with the right people in the right place was great to be a part of.”

Most of his previous GT starts have been behind the wheel of a Porsche,

but it did not take long for the thrill of driving the Ferrari 296 to hit him.

Whilst Arise Racing did not win at Bathurst last year in GT World Challenge, the car was fast with two podiums and a pole.

Almost instantly Evans felt the 296 acclimatise to the Mountain, which fuels his hopes of success and growing Ferrari’s Bathurst legacy.

“It is a big change from the Porsche being not rear engined and more mid engined. It is the most advanced GT3 car the world has seen at the moment,” he said.

“There has been a lot of research and development behind the scenes from Ferrari.

“It is quite unique to drive. It is very aero dependent so tracks like Bathurst is where it comes into its own.

2019 D. Werner/D. Olsen/M. Campbell

2018 R. Frijns/S. Leonard/D. Vanthoor

2017 C. Lowndes/J. Whincup/T. Vilander

2016 A. Parente/S. Van Gisbergen/J. Webb

2015 K. Chiyo/W. Reip/F. Strauss

2014 J. Bowe/P. Edwards/C. Lowndes/M. Salo

2013 T. Jager/A. Roloff/B. Schneider

2012 D. O’Young/C. Jons/C. Mies

2011 M. Basseng/C. Mies/D. O’Young

2010 J. Bowe/G. Holt/P. Morris

2009 T. Longhurst/R. Salmon/D. White

2008 G. Alexander/R. Salmon/D. White

C. Baird/G. Holt/P. Morris

J. Bowe/D. Johnson

N. Crompton/G. Hansford

1993 A. Jones/G.

“Its nice and stable and gives you confidence to push faster, especially in those high speed areas.

“When we got our first taste (at Bathurst) we loved it.

“Balance of performance is a big thing in GT racing so you never know what can happen too early.

“But we are confident if they are kind to us in that department we will have a speedy package.”

The challenge of winning the Bathurst 12 Hour only gets bigger by the year, but Arise Racing certainly has the ingredients of giving Ferrari a third Bathurst 12 Hour victory this year.

Thomas Miles

The Arise Racing Ferraris will sport a new look ...

The Arise Racing Ferrari squad will debut a new look at Bathurst ...

SAME BUT DIFFERENT: WRC 2025

ON THE CUSP OF ITS TRADITIONAL RALLYE MONTE-CARLO OPENER, THE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CREWS GET READY TO UNDERTAKE ANOTHER YEAR, WITH SELECTIVE ALTERATIONS SET MAKE FOR AN INTERESTING SEASON. TIMOTHY W NEAL LOOKS AHEAD …

ON THE face of it, the WRC's 2025 season can be regarded as something of a holding/ transitional year ahead of the sweeping regulation changes due in 2027. With the FIA and WRC stakeholders vitally targeting a regulation cost cap to attract manufacturers back into the top tier and more versatility around what can be added around the current space frame chassis, there's a true hope for a new era … but first things first: 2025.

At a simple glance, this season won't have an expanded Rally1 field. There have been two major changes specific to the driver and crew experience; there's a few regulation tweaks; some calendar changes with a view to the future; a returning dual-champion; a new defending champion; a new points system, and some team alterations. But while rally fans wait for what's to come and can spend another season picking the bones out of what's wrong now, it's easy to forget just how entertaining and dramatic 2024 was. And while it will certainly come down to another title bout between Toyota and Hyundai, what a fight it may yet prove to be!

WHILE WE WAIT…

THE TWO biggest technical alterations this season are the removal of the hybrid system and the change of tyre manufacturer. While an optional hybrid system is still on the table

for 2027 (along with electric and combustion engine options) it won't feature in '25.

After three seasons the German-made Compact Dynamics 100kW hybrid unit has been dropped, returning the Rally1 cars to rely solely on the 1.6 litre turbocharged internal combustion engines (powered by 100% sustainable fuel).

With that 87kg dropped, the minimum weight has been redcued from 1260kg to 1180kg, resulting in a similar power-to-weight ratio, including a slightly smaller air restrictor (down 1mm) employed as a result. Without the hybrid system the lower gear ratios will also be altered to compensate. With the new adjustments, not too much should change in regards to performance.

The other major change is the rubber. Stepping up to replace Pirelli is the South Korean Hankook tyre. There is perhaps no other category in world motorsport that performs on such variable surfaces, but Hankook is far from strangers to the rally tyre, having been in wide usage in the European Rally Championship and other regional competitions.

While only Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux and Toyota Kalle Rovanperä have tested them in competition, the tread is still being experimentedwith, with the former saying, "I was happy with the tyres. The slick is good. The winter needed a little bit of development, but it's really good that Hankook is very open

to talk about everything."

The true wait will be to see what comes out of Sebastien Ogier's mouth – one of Pirelli's most formidable critics.

BEHIND THE WHEEL…

THIERRY NEUVILLE (who'll sport the #1) finally broke the duck for a world title in '24, but the full-time return of generational talent Rovanperä will seriously test the Belgian's ability to go back-to-back. The 'Flying Finn' still managed four wins as a part-time competitor compared to Neuville's two.

Will Rovanperä retain his sheer dominance after his (kind-of) gap year? It would be easy to suggest a return to a one-way show, but there should be four genuine contenders in '25: Rovanperä, Neuville, Ott Tanak, and Elfyn Evans.

There is also the strong addition to the i20N team in the shape of Fourmaux, with the Frenchman having had a stellar season for Ford M-Sport last year, with five podiums and four top-fives before jumping ship. At times Hyundai will run a fourth Rally1 in addition to its permanent third machine, with the talented Esapekka Lappi (2024 Sweden winner), Andreas Mikkelsen, and Dani Sordo, still all in the running for those part time drives..

WRC2 champion Sami Pajari has also been added to the four-car lineup that Toyota will

employ this year, with the fast Finn impressing in his limited Rally1 outings last season, taking some stage wins along the way. He'll operate full time under what Toyota is calling its TGR World Rally Team2. That also means any points will count solely towards that satellite team, and not to the main TGR team in terms of the manufacturer fight.

His new TGR Teammate Elfyn Evans is still searching for his first WRC title (having taken over the mantle as the WRCs 'Perennial Bridesmaid' from Neuville, with four runner up seasons) the Welshman is expected to be front and centre as Toyota look to reclaim the drivers title.

Ogier will again be a constant threat as a part-timer in the GR Yaris as a regular fifth entrant (though perhaps not as many outings as last year) while, in-turn, full-timer Takamoto Katsuta will keep trying to deliver as the marque's homegrown talent.

With Fourmaux's predictable Hyundai defection, M-Sport will go ahead with Gregoire Munster as its main hope, while unexpected newcomer – Irishman Josh McErlean – has been given the nod to step into the top-tier as a shock graduate, with the 25 year-old having had three part-time WRC2 seasons to date.

M-Sport has said it will look to employ a potential third car at some events, but with Fourmaux gone, its podium threat is greatly minimised.

Thierry Neuville – defending champion ...

FULL TIME WRC TEAM LINEUPS – DRIVER/CO-DRIVER

TOYOTA

• Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen

• Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin

• Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston

Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen

HYUNDAI

• Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe

• Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja

Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria

FORD M-SPORT

• Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka

• Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy

NEW YEAR, NEW CONTINENT…

2025 SEES three new events join the circus to make it a 14-round season, the most intriguing of which is Saudi Arabia, replacing Japan as the season closer, with a 10-year-deal being signed.

Also added is the Rally Islas Canarias (asphalt), and the Rally del Paraguay (gravel). The Canary Islands – a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa – has been a popular ERC tarmac event for a number of years, and will add a great flavour to the party, while Paraguay and its thriving rally scene has been awarded as the second South American event on the calendar alongside Chile. Dropping off the calendar is Croatia, Poland, and Latvia, while the hugely popular and epically fast Rally Estonia has thankfully rejoined the fray after a season in limbo.

NEW POINTS SYSTEM, AND FURTHER REG ALTERATIONS…

THE CONTROVERSIAL points system that plagued opinion in 2024 has been dropped, with a more traditional approach employed to ensure a more representational point allocation.

In short, the 18 available Saturday points have been removed, meaning the winner of a rally is unlikely to be outscored or matched in points – an absurd scenario that happened several times last season (but yes, this scenario is still possible should the ultimate winner, however unlikely, not take any Sunday points).

It will now be 25 points down to 1 for the top 10 crews (17 for second place), while the 'Super Sunday' element will be retained but with the top-five fastest drivers awarded instead of the top-seven, while Power Stage points will also remain.

The other changes that will feature

with an at-times noticeable impact, will be the Remote Services availability, the Obstruction ruling, and the Public Road usage tweak.

Remote Service will allow three mechanics (plus the competing crew) with a limited but necessarily generous equipment bag – plus what's carried in the car – to have a 20 minute repair window in remote service zones (RSZ).

As for the obstruction rule, an event clerk (with a likely nudge from the obstructed team) can call for a notional time to be awarded should they be impeded by somethinglike another competitor changing a tyre, or a crash.

And in terms of traversing a public road, unless the machine is operational with all four tyres rotational the crew must, "immediately stop, repair the damage if possible, respecting all the applicable regulations or retire".

MONTE-CARLO MAGNIFIER…

COME THE first round in the French Riviera region (the 93rd edition), Ogier will be aiming for a record extending tenth win at the legendary event. And like most of the field, his time in the car has been limited, with this to say about the opener:

"There are so many changes, so I think this will probably be the Monte Carlo Rally where I'm the least prepared ever, but it's probably the same for everybody," Ogier remarked.

"Honestly, it's hard to predict anything at the moment. We'll have only one test day in January, which will be very important to try to learn as much as we can about this whole new package."

For Hyundai, Neuville will be looking for a second straight (and third overall) win at the event. Overall, the fleet of Drivers' title winning i20Ns will also enter the event with keen eye on the ensuing rounds, as the Hyundai will trigger all four of its homologation jokers at once (perhaps as early as Sweden) to introduce a package that they think can take the manufacturers title off Toyota.

They'll be bullish for the opener, as Fourmaux recently held off Rovanperä in the snow and ice (both in the '25 spec machinery) in a regional French rally.

The weather is expected to be similar to last year, mostly dry, but with slippery conditions on the asphalt in the tight and twisty mountain passes, with the new Hankook's expected to be under the microscope. And while pundits will be spruiking the 'unknown' factor (a popular and sometimes lazy rhetoric in motorsport commentary) it will likely be business as usual behind the wheel with the big names in a small 10-car Rally1 field up front to kick off an intriguing season.

Auto Action's tip: Ogier for a tenth MonteCarlo over Neuville, and Rovanperä for a third title in four years.

Neuville's big challenge will come from the full-time return of Kalle Rovanperä at Toyota. Left: Gregoire Munster (top) will spearhead the M-Sport challenge; while Ogier's Toyota appearances (lower) will be sporadic.

Adrien Fourmaux is part of Hyundai's three-car attack while (below) Josh McErlean joins Ford M-Sport. Bottom: Fourth in the Toyota line-up will be Sami Pajari, part of a satellite team.

DAYTONA KICKS OFF IMSA 2025

WITH THE DAYTONA 24 HOUR ENTERING THE STRAIGHT TO KICK OFF THE 2025 IMSA SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP, AUTO ACTION TAKES A LOOK AT THE TRANS-TASMAN HOPEFULS AND WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE USA’s TWICE AROUND THE CLOCK CLASSIC. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

IT’S THAT time of year again when the globe’s premier sportscar championships start their prospective engines, with the North American brand kicking off one month ahead of the FIA WEC, on January 25-26, heralding the third major instalment of the Hypercar revolution.

And what better way to do it with all eyes on Florida for the 63rd 24 At Daytona, featuring a capacity 61 car grid, including 12 GTP, 12 LMP2, and 37 GTD/GTD Pro machines!

Among that will be a dozen Aussie and Kiwi chargers across all four categories, which includes the defending champion, an ex-Supercars dream team pairing, a WEC Hypercar champion, some Le Mans winners, a dual Bathurst 12 Hour winner, some Indycar stars, and some notable sportscar and prototype journeymen.

Coming off a dominant year on a global scale, the Porsche Penske camp will again be looking to get the jump on its Hypercar rivals after a 2024 season that saw four

manufacturers (Porsche 4, Cadillac 2, BMW 2, Acura 1) take victories across the year.

Amazingly, Porsche machinery never left the podium in 2024 to trump the Cadillac team (the Manufacturers’ Champion the previous season), and it started off its season with a memorable 24 At Daytona win in which Aussie Matt Campbell was an integral part.

But Porsche will have its hands full to start

off 2025 in the same way, with Meyer Shank back at the helm of Acura, and a rapidly improving BMW squad looking to shake up Cadillac for the main contenders spot.

In all, across more than 200 drivers, it’s another modern 24 At Daytona field with a vast array of talent and big names through all categories, with Auto Action taking a closer in-depth look at the Antipodean brigade…

THE ANTIPODEAN DOZEN

A FULL-ON Trans-Tasman assault will be launched at the Daytona International Speedway come January 25-26, with six drivers apiece from Australia and New Zealand (including one Kiwi we like to claim as our own). And of those 12 contenders, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we could see a winner or podium-getter across nearly every class.

GTP

AT THE top of the IMSA tree is the GTP LMDh Hypercars and, after a season spent in the WEC Porsche factory team, superstar Matt Campbell has returned to his favoured North American series with the German manufacturer, and will be an integral part of its title and Daytona 24Hr defence. Campbell will be hoping to become the 16th driver in the race’s history to go back-to-back, and help deliver Porsche its 24th win overall in the US classic.

He’s also teaming back up with Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet, with whom he won the GTD Pro class in 2022 at Pfaff Motorsports in Porsche GT3, as well as WEC championship driver Kevin Estre, making the #6 Porsche 963 one of the preevent favourites.

While he’s the only Aussie in the top tier, there’s no shortage of Kiwi stars, including Scott Dixon, Earl Bamber, and Brendon Hartley.

Former F1 driver Hartley, a three-time Le Mans winner for Toyota, is no stranger to Daytona, but is yet to take out the classic in six attempts. He’ll be lining up in a Cadillac V-Series.R for the first time (he drove a Cadillac DPi-V.R in 2019) after having raced for Acura in his last three attempts, alongside Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, and Will Stevens.

The driver who nearly won it all, Bamber, is the other Kiwi in with a strong show, and like Hartley, has never cracked the topstep in 10 attempts.

After taking on the 24Hrs in the GTD class with Cadillac last year, he returns to GTP in A V-Series.R with Action Express Racing in the #31 with Jack Aitken, Frederik Vesti, and Felipe Drugovich.

Last but not least, Indycar legend/veteran Dixon returns to Daytona for his 22nd time as a four-time winner. But since his Chip Ganassi family is no longer in the game with Cadillac, he switches to an Acura ARX-06 alongside Meyer Shank Racing.

Like the other Antipodeans in the class, Dixon is in a very strong team, driving the #60 with Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, and fellow Indy driver Felix Rosenqvist.

It’s hard to look past Campbell as the cake-getter here, but Bamber and Hartley’s machinery will certainly shake-up the Porsche dominance in 2025.

LMP2

THE PROTOTYPE representation is strong once again, with a stronger Aussie flavour strapping up in the Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 machinery, with three certified Aussies and one Kiwi who we like to claim as bred in OZ (though he is also American).

James Allen, Garnet Patterson, Josh Burdon, and Hunter McElrea will all line up for strong squads.

The cross-north Atlantic United Autosports squad has recruited two Aussies into its two car squad, with LMP2 maestro, Allen, and Patterson. Allen had a year to forget in 2024 after epic ’22-’23 seasons where he captured the European Le Mans Series champions, back-to-back Le Mans class titles, and a 24 At Daytona.

His excursion with French team Duqueine didn’t go as planned last season, but he steps up with United alongside ex-F1 driver Paul Di Resta, and IMSA regulars Daniel Goldburg and Rasmum Lindh in the #22.

With him at United in GT3 and prototype journeymen, Patterson, a previous podium getter with the team, co-piloting with the very strong line up of Ben Hanley, Oliver Jarvis, and Nick Boulle.

The underrated Josh Burdon will team up with his regular American crew Riley Motorsports for his fifth 24 At Daytona, the team who almost took it all in 2024.

Burdon was an impressive fill-in last year and a podium regular in the #74 car, and alongside Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, and Felipe Massa, will hope to go two better than last season’s third place.

Lastly, Kiwi/American/Aussie racer Hunter McElrea will race his second Daytona, with the four-time Indy NXT race winner jumping in the TDS Racing #11 with Steven Thomas,

Mikkel Jensen, and Charles Milesi.

Last year, after debuting in IndyCar with a one-off appearance, McElrea went ballistic with TDS in IMSA, taking out the iconic Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis, before backing it up with the Petit Le Mans, showing a real promise for prototype racing should Indy ultimately fall through.

GTD/GTD

PRO

THE MOST-represented classes also have the biggest weight of Antipodean chargers, with five representatives, three in GTD Pro, and two in GTD.

Although there’s plenty of hope for a result here, it’s pretty hard to look past the dream Kiwi pairing of Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin in the same piece of machinery.

Joining them is back-to-back Bathurst 12 Hour winner Kenny Habul from Oz in the same class, and fellow countrymen Scott Andrews and Tom Sargent in the GTD.

To start with, SVG and Scotty Mac, USbased stars in their own right across NASCAR and IndyCar with six Supercars titles between them, is a mouth watering proposition.

On the first-time pairing of the once fierce rivals, McLaughlin said:

“It’s funny … it’s weird, actually,”

“Especially over here now ... we go out for dinners and have beers and whatnot and hang out a little bit more than we probably did in the past.

“It’s not that we didn’t like each other beforehand ... it was just awkward, and now we’re sort-of friends and team-mates and excited for Daytona.”

They’ll be piloting a Corvette Z06 GT3.R for none other than Trackhouse Racing (by TF Sport), SVG’s NASCAR team, alongside

Americans Connor Zilisch and Ben Keating, the latter of which will double up in an LMP2 car.

Along with Trackhouse’s 24 At Daytona debut, they’ve also expressed a desire to take on the Indy 500. Could we see SVG compete in the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsport one day?

The three Aussie drivers are headlined by Habul in his regularly successful MercedesAMG GT3 Evo machinery.

A regular world traveller who has found global wins with his SunEnergy team, Habul will attempt his eighth 24 At Daytona having taken second place in 2021. Racing under the 75 Express team this year, he has some familiar and formidable talent in his team, with Marco Engel, Jules Gounon, and Mikael Grenier in the #75.

The talented Tom Sargent will resume his Stateside career with his first 24 At Daytona appearance in the #120 Wright Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the GTD class.

The Aussie GT3 racer impressed in 2023 by taking second in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, and since taken wins in the GT World Challenge America.

Lastly, highly rated Scott Andrews returns to Daytona as a previous winner in the LMP3 category from 2021. Andrews will once again race with Lone Star Racing, a team that he’s raced with in IMSA onand-off since 2023, and will be in the #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

THE ROAR BEFORE DAYTONA

THE PRE-EVENT testing across six sessions with all classes on track proved that times will be tight for qualifying, with little splitting the machines up the top end of the field.

All of Porsche, Cadillac, Acura, and BMW topped the sessions, but it was the latter that impressed the most, with its #24 putting down a 1:35.424 in the second session to prove its hot lap credentials.

But it’s the longevity that gets wins at the 24, something BMW improved on the back end of last year; and into the third season, quite frankly, so did most teams, but few could rival the mechanical consistency that Porsche Penske found, and they’ll be backing that in again.

One notable change was the narrower curbing at the Le Mans Chicane.

Where once it proved a good passing spot for the GTP, the now single file procession could lead to some big shunts.

In the LMP2 stakes, all of the Aussie and Kiwi drivers took some time up front, with McElrea, Garnett, Allen, and Burdon, seeing their teams up the top of the class charts.

And while the GTD/GTD Pro field was a mixed bag of results, the Lamborghini Huracan machines were consistently up top with the Porsche GT3’s, while for the Aussies, Sargent’s #120 AMG found some good laps to show they’ll be around.

And whilst weather proved to make the final few sessions a bit hairy, the forecast is looking A-OK for the big one, when the beautiful mayhem of a 24 hour race will no doubt ensue, and 2025 (in motorsport terms) will finally feel like it has kicked off properly.

The winners of the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona included our own Matt Campbell (right).

Above (top to bottom): Tom Sargent takes on GTD while Earl Bamber runs with Action Express Racing in the main GTP class.

Below (left): United Autosports is a top LMP2 contender, with James Allen and Garnet Patterson in the squad.

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Scott Dixon is back – again – this time with a strong Meyer Shank Racing GTP entry.

Above (top): Who’d have thought! Scotty Mac and SVG in the same car ...

Above (lower): Hunter McElrea makes his second Daytona start, with LMP2 contenders TDS Racing.

ACTION MART

BRAKE CLEANER

SPEEDWAY

KINGSHOTT CROWNED

THE FIGHT for the WA Speedweek crown went down to the wire and Dale Kingshott held his nerve to take it out.

After nine races, the title was not decided until the final race as the points battle went down to single figures.

Kingshott held the high ground and did what he needed to do, finishing fifth to wrap it up, which was critical with nearest rival Brock Zearfoss only managing 11th.

This meant Kingshott emerged on top by the slender margin of six points.

Boosted by a sixth place finish, Matt Egel rose to third ahead of James McFadden. In the fight for the wider 2024-25 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series, Kingshott is still on track to do the double, with a commanding 94-point lead over Callum Williamson.

While there was plenty of attention on the Speedweek title fight, there was also a race on and Madsen bounced back brilliantly from disappointment on the previous night to win from second on the grid.

Madsen started on the front row, but Kaiden Manders got the initial jump before the caution lights were activated after an Andrew Priolo incident in Turn 3.

Madsen took six laps to hit the lead and never looked back.

He survived a couple of challenges and a couple of restarts late in the race, to claim the win.

The biggest threat came from an unlikely source in James McFadden.

While McFadden was on fire, having won the previous night, he started the final down in 13th after battling in qualifying.

The Brady Motorsport driver then put the foot down, flying through the field and producing an entertaining battle for the lead with Madsen and Taylor Milling.

While McFadden ultimately finished second best, it was a special comeback.

Milling also produced a a massive turnaround from the race meeting at the

same venue 24 hours earlier, where the car stumbled with engine issues early on, and was then damaged too much for him to even qualify for the main event.

Milling was a frontrunner all night and challenged for the lead before slotting into third.

Callum Williamson reclaimed vital points by being the Hard Charger, storming from 24th to fourth having encouraged engine issues in qualifying.

Jack Williamson was originally slated to start towards the front of the pack after qualifying for the A Dash, but was a DNF from a crash, ruling him out for the rest of the night.

SPEEDWEEK finished with a double header with another Sprintcar meeting held on the Friday night also at Perth Motorplex.

McFadden used this stage as an opportunity to further showcase his form in season 2024/25 by taking a fourth win for Brady Motorsport.

He had to fight for it, however, with Kingshott just eight-tenths behind him, while Cole Macedo was a further 2s adrift.

McFadden was quickest in the first qualifying group, with his 13.086 second lap being enough to set the Victory 1 Performance Quick Time.

From there he was third in his heat race, after starting p4 and won the B  Dash, after starting on the front row, on the inside of American Brad Sweet.

Kingshott, who started on the inside of McFadden on the front row, led for a few opening laps, but after that, it was McFadden who held the lead, surviving a number of challenges.

Kingshott battled hard, but had to settle for second, but with Callum Williamson being fourth, he extended his series lead to 94 points.

Macedo claimed his second podium result of his maiden WA Speedweek series, onboard the Trent Pigdon-owned #7.

He started from p5 in the finale after being second quickest in Qualifying Session 2 –and was second to Sweet in his heat race.

Williamson started from p7 and moved up three spots, a big improvement on the DNS the team suffered at the last show, at Bunbury Speedway, last weekend.

He won a spirited battle with American Brock Zearfoss, with the two trading lines and places. Zearfoss held on for fifth from South Australian Matt Egel, who started and finished sixth.

Taylor Milling, fresh from his fourth at the last round, moved up 10 spots to be ninth, while American Cory Eliason was this round’s Kincrome Hard Charger winning, crossing the line in 10th after being scheduled to start from p26.

He moved up one row before the field even rolled out after Joel Ettridge, who crashed hard in the Mid Pack Dash, surrendered a p18 start.

Then as the field formed, Kaiden Manders went to the work area with front suspension issues after being slated to start from p8, elevating Eliason to 22nd before the field took the green.

Brad Maiolo was strong for 11th after starting from p21, backing up a big heat race where he started 10th and finished fifth.

Jason Kendrick was 12th after originally marked to start p20, but like Eliason, he benefited from two cars in front of him dropping out before the race.

Sweet, who started from p4, was third before heading infield on lap 12 for a DNF.

The first caution period came when Manders pulled up on the back straight after only three laps were completed.

Jack Williamson was out shortly afterwards after slowing the W24 when coming out of turn four

Daniel Harding went over on the main straight and damaged a section of fence on a restart that involved a handful of cars, including damaging the top wing of the Kris Coyle #79.

With the Speedweek out of the way, the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series resumes on Friday, February 7 for the opening night of the Barbagallo Australian Sprintcar Nationals.

Thomas Miles

Kingshot did the maths, and enough to take the title.

Top: McFadden – took the Friday night win. Above: Callum Williamson put on a finale charge. Below: Madsen took the $10k cheque ...

Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Send your

MADSEN STARTS STREAK

KERRY MADSEN (above) showcased his first signs of form by winning the return of the WA Speedweek at Bunbury Speedway.

Before being victorious in the finale, Madsen also took round 12 of the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series, which proved to be a hard-fought affair.

Madsen crossed the line nine-tenths ahead of American duo Sweet and Cory Eliason at the Onsite Rentals Battle of Bunbury.

Madsen started on the front row and

controlled the first 12 laps before Brock Zearfoss made a significant challenge.

Zearfoss took the lead and looked strong, but with only a couple of laps left he rotated at Turn 1, in what proved to be a racechanging mistake.

This meant Zearfoss had to settle for 12th but, up front, Madsen found himself in a pressure-packed dash to the flag with only a handful of laps left and hungry Americans behind him.

In the end he did enough to fend off Sweet and Eliason as Taylor Milling snared fourth from Brad Maiolo.

However, there was big movement in the fight for the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series crown with trouble striking Callum Williamson.

Heading into Round 12, Kingshott, the defending series champion, had just eight points up his sleeve ahead of Williamson. Before lights went out Williamson appeared

destined to at least regain ground as he started fourth, 14 places ahead of Kingshott. However, stripped gears meant Williamson’s W3 never made the start.

With Kingshott fighting his way up to ninth, Williamson lost more ground and the points gap grew to a significant 90 points, which proved to be a turning point in their battle ahead of the Speedweek.

Thomas Miles

BY THE BAREST OF MARGINS

OUTSIDE OF Sprintcars, there was plenty of enjoyable racing at Perth Motorplex, led by the Wingless Sprints, which produced the closest finish in the venue’s history.

On January 11 Daran Humfrey put in a titanic drive to fend off Brendon Wedge and win by the insane margin of 0.001s.

Humfrey did it from sixth on the grid as Wedge and Blake Scarey shared the front row. Wedge led the way as the race burst into life after going low and shutting the door, but was unable to build a gap across the first three laps before the first caution on lap three caused by a standard Edward Owen.

Only one more lap was possible before the yellows returned for a spinner.

At the restart Britton went for it and launched an attack on leader Wedge down the inside. However, Wedge responded and held firm a lap later moments before the latest caution for Geoff Underdown head first in the wall.

At the restart third placed Sharpe locked onto the back of Britton and found a way underneath at Turn 3.

As this panned out, Wedge built a 1.5s lead and looked to be in a strong position as the second half of the race accelerated.

But as the laps wound down Sharpe began to close the gap on Wedge, and then a caution arrived at the perfect time.

With five to go Wedge had opened up the

gap once again but Sharpe put the right rear up on the wall and used his momentum to again peg away the gap.

A tense fight for third was also brewing as Britton and Humfrey were side by side.

This was where Humfrey’s insane fightback began, jolting into the top three with three to go.

Humfrey did not mess around, picking off Sharpe for second, leaving him with on the next lap.

This left him with two laps to chase glory and he gave everything. He was right on Wedge’s tail as they took the

white flag and after the negotiated the first two turns, he launched a big run down the back straight.

Humfrey saved his glory moment for the final turn where he went underneath Wedge and snatched the victory in dramatic style.

The 20-lap race was now a drag race lasting no more than 100m and Humfrey won by the barest of margins.

It was an epic finish that left the crowd on its feet.

Sharpe was third and had the best seat in the house ahead of Britton.

It was also a special night in the WA

Model Racing Pro Dirt Series, which celebrated its 300th round milestone.

Australian Champion Joe Chalmers used the occasion to show his prowess by dominating the event and being undefeated.

However, despite starting on the front row he did not lead the early stages as Rod Musarra led the way.

After eight laps slower traffic became a factor and allowed Chalmers to hunt Musarra down.

It was not until Lap 11 when Chalmers made his move.

The Australian champion went high and even collect the outside wall.

Despite the moment seeing Chalmers lose some momentum, he still had enough speed to charge into the lead by turn 2.

Now in the lead Chalmers quickly set about driving into the distance and cruised to victory.

Jamie Oldfield mangled to steal second from Musarra in the closing stages.

The next event is the WA Late Models title at Perth Motorplex on February 15.

Thomas Miles

Late

Daran Humfrey grabbed the win on the last corner ... Right: Joe Chalmers was undefeted in Late Model. Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

SPEEDWAY

LAST TO FIRST...

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION Lockie McHugh (above) showed why he has the #A1 with a special performance to snatch both feature races at a Toowoomba Hi-Tec-Oils Speedway doubleheader in early January.

McHugh was at his best in the second feature coming from 20th to take the win on the final lap of the race in an instant classic

Alex Attard was the unlucky driver who saw victory disappear at the last possible moment and finished second ahead of Kobi Wright.

The Queensland Speedweek Twin 20s saw back-to-back 20-lap races where the results of the initial dash were flipped, but this did not stop McHugh from producing something special.

McHugh won the first feature also ahead of Jessie Attard and Brock Hallett.

The event ran smoothly for 20 laps without a stoppage and with all 20 starters finishing the race.

Hallett bolted away initially, but McHugh caught his back wheel by lap six.

After around two laps of shadowing, McHugh swooped around the outside of Hallett at Turn 4 as the #Q5 battled for traction on the bottom.

The #A1 was untroubled for the remainder of the race and cruised to victory.

With the field was then being inverted which meant McHugh and Attard started all the way down in 19th and 20th in the second feature.

“I knew after the first few laps I was a bit better than Brock, so I just waited for the right opportunity to make a move on him,”

McHugh told Clay per View McHugh predicted it would be “elbows out” for the deciding final 20-lap finale as he came from the back and that proved to be the case.

Coby Wright got a flying start from the front row, while McHugh was initially watchful, only gaining the one place on the first lap.

But by lap three he started to make his moves and sailed around the outside of Hallett again at Turn 4 as he pressed towards the top 15.

Having made good use of the high line, the Aussie champion then went low to slice between both David and Peacock to charge to 13th by lap four.

This move was made moments before a red flag when Claridge crashed from the lead.

Claridge had wrestled P1 from Wright, but got wide coming out of Turn 4 and drove into the outside wall.

The front right climbed over the concrete

which sent him into an aggressive tumble.

“I don’t even know ... I was only doing threequarter throttle and not even pushing that hard. My dad gave me a great car and I just ramped it up the fence. I don’t know what to say,” Claridge said.

Wright got a good restart as McHugh resumed 16th with 16 to go.

But it was Alex Attard who had the pace and he flew around the outside of Wright to steal the lead.

As the laps ticked down McHugh put the foot down and picked off his rivals on the high side.

The #A1 hot the top five as early as lap 14, leaving him with six laps to go for glory.

Iverson offered a brief fight for two corners but could not keep up with him.

Next up was third placed Callum Walker and McHugh nailed it with a smart slide job at Turn 1.

This left two laps to catch the top two and he made his move at the first opportunity, doing the same to Wright.

McHugh now had just one a half laps to catch Attard and did not even need three corners.

He got a grand run coming out of the final turn, allowing him to send it down the inside of Turn 1.

Attard had no response as McHugh came back up the track with a car’s length in hand.

The #A1 kept it clean through the final two corners to pull off a win for the ages.

“The car was on rails and I knew there were a lot of cars to pass,” McHugh reacted.

“I looked up at the board with about four to go and could see the third-placed car was the next one.

“So I opened it up a bit and thought I would try and get the win.

“I just managed to sneak it on the last lap.

“I had half a lap of clean track when I got fourth which helped me to catch up to the top three.”

McHugh took out the overall points for the twin 20-lap features ahead of Brodie Davis and Jessie Attard.

Meanwhile Brodie Davis claimed the Summer Speedweek Series.

In the 360-LS Sprintcars it was Kye Jensen who took the win after a sensational drive from deep in the field, with John Magro second ahead of Jacob Jolley finishing third.

Carter Armstrong won the Late Models from Alex Sweeney and Klinton Hancey third while Ben Langton won the very entertaining Laugh a minute Boat & Dunny Derby.

Thomas Miles

DATE CHANGE FOR TOOWOOMBA

FORECAST RAIN and thunderstorms have seen the 2025 edition of the Red Hot Summer Shootout at Toowoomba being postponed.

Across two days, 41 of the biggest names in Sprintcars, plus Compacts, Lightning Sprints, Formula 500s and Speedcars were set to go racing in the biggest annual event at Hi-Tec Oils Speedway on January 10-11. Nominations included Australian champion Lockie McHugh, Brock Hallett, Chase Randall, Jock Goodyer, Jamie Veal and more.

But with at least a 70 percent chance of heavy rain on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, organisers feared it would be a wash out and elected to postpone it. However, racing is still possible with the event moved to April 11-12.

“Trust me when I say I’m gutted about this decision, because everyone has put so much work into it,” Events Manager Ryan Harris said.

“But its not only us, it’s all the people that have taken annual leave and paid for flights and all the teams that have committed and built their season calendars around attending this cool race meeting.

“But given the forecast and given it’s been a genuine wet season up here of late, its not fare on anyone to take that kind of gamble, particular given the cost associated with everything right now.

“I can’t expect people to tear up thousands of dollars on a very low chance we can get this race meeting in – that’s not fair on anyone.”

Thomas Miles

Image: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

The 2024 podium ...

MACEDO WINS AS THE HEAT SETS IN ...

AMERICAN COLE Macedo won the early bragging rights ahead of the Classic by winning a dramatic ARB Warrnambool International Sprintcar Carnival event at Premier Speedway on Sunday night.

The new Sprintcar-only event saw 49 cars compete across hot laps, time trials, heats and three main races.

At the end of it all Macedo was in a league of his own, leading every lap and pushing 2.3s clear of Kerry Madsen and Brock Hallett, who also continued their good form this season with joint podiums.

Macedo is filling in for his injured brother Carson at Dyson Motorsport and proved why he is also a force through his dominant drive.

But it was a fight for survival with more non-finishers (13) than finishers (11) after hot conditions saw tyres struggle to survive 32 laps.

Whilst Macedo cruised to victory, it was an interesting battle for best of the rest.

Madsen initially held sway over Jordan Rae, who hit back briefly before dropping to fourth,

Late in the race Jamie Veal appeared to have risen from ninth to second, only to

Macedo won the Classic warm-up ... Image: ART OF SPEEDWAY

join the long list of retirements seven laps from home.

That included big names such as Lockie McHugh, Callum Williamson, Matt Egel and Cameron Waters as many struggled to survive.

The conditions were so abrasive that Premier Speedway management apologised to fans and competitors.

“The Premier Speedway Club Board and Management wish to thank the teams and patrons who supported the International Sprintcar Carnival at Sungold Stadium Premier Speedway,” a statement read.

“The Premier Speedway Club sets high standards for the execution of our events, and we wish to acknowledge that last night didn’t meet this.

“There were some challenges thrown at our team with the very hot weather which impacts the track preparation, which resulted in significant track work.

“This also took significant time, with the program exceeding our desired completion time.

“More disappointing was the unfavourable track conditions late in the night which caused drivers to pop tyres in the main feature race.

“While there were some great initiatives introduced last night it didn’t come together as planned.

“Our team, largely comprised of volunteers, invests hours to put ourselves in the best position and will come together during the week to ensure we bounce back at next weekend’s 52nd Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

“Thank you again to those who supported the event.”

All eyes now turn to a massive week of action, with races at Borderline Speedway and Avalon preceding the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic on January 24-26.

Thomas Miles

MONSTER NIGHT AT NYORA

A SOLD-OUT Nyora Raceway enjoyed a big night of racing including Dirt Modifieds, Unlimited Sedans and Formula 500s.

Marcus Reddecliffe won the first qualifying race leading all the way before his older brother Matt did exactly the same in the second qualifying race.

In the Monster Tonne 1000 feature event Matt Reddecliffe took the lead on lap one ahead of Zeke Edwards and Marcus Reddecliffe.

But there was big drama as Matt Reddecliffe dropped out, while Edwards then spun and slotted back to fourth, handing the lead and the victory to Marcus Reddecliffe.

Formula 500’s were racing in their state Stampede Series and from the drop of the green flag, Terry Rankin (pictured) led the race with Stephens a quick mover into fourth spot.

Cudia dropped through the field early as late in the race Chad Bell got by Sinclair into second spot, while Rankin finished almost 4s ahead to take victory.

(pictured)

MILLER AND BASSETT WIN BIG

A SOLID crowd enjoyed the action at Wahgunyah Speedway once again led by the Sports Sedans.

David Donegan did not take his place in the feature event dinting his series chances due to a smokey engine.

Brendan Miller led the field away off the line and controlled the first five laps ahead of Ian Thomsen before Tommy McDonald entered the fray and moved into second.

As Conder retired Miller went on to claim the win in the 25-lap final from Thomsen and Dale Smith, while McDonald drifted down the order on the last lap.

MANY LOCAL Corowa racers compete in the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association and leading the initial stages of the feature event was Nathan Shortis from Marty Bassett (pictured) until lap four when positions changed.

Justin Ewert was the first of the favoured drivers to drop out of the race and Ross Maclean moved into third spot before Mitch Watts moved back ahead of him.

Bassett steadied with a margin of around one second and as 20 laps came to an end, he led Shortis and Watts across the finish line.

Bassett car suffered mechanical issues with smoke billowing out from underneath the panels leaving the Bassett team with some work to do before racing again.

In Junior Formula 500 Hugo Chivell dominated despite Ponting putting the pressure on with Andreatta, Farrell and Koby O’Shannassy rounding out the positions.

Travis Ramsdale claimed victory in the first Unlimited Sedan qualifier setting a new ten lap record for the class of 2:44.740, with

Clyde based racer Warrick Taylor winning the second.

But it was Taylor, who led every lap in the final to claim a win in front of Jimmy Harris, Ramsdale, Gavin Ough and Troy Hutchison. Nyora will fire up with racing once again on February 8th when the Formula 500s return.

Dean Thompson

Katie Meyer won all three qualifying races in Ladies Sports Sedans before she went on to clean sweep her night, winning the final from Samantha Gray and Kimberley Smith.

In Junior Sedans Cooper Lack won two of the three qualifiers with Taijan Ussher winning the other before Ussher won the final from Cooper and Ryder Lack.

Corowa’s Micheal FlemingRobertson clean swept the Standard Saloon action winning all three qualifiers and then the final.

In the first heat race FlemingRobertson came from the rear of the line-up to the lead in just two turns.

In the final Fleming-Robertson was too strong for Adam Brezovnik. Wahgunyah Speedway returns to racing again on March 15.

Dean Thompson

Image: NAPIER PHOTOGRAPHY - LOUISE NORMAN

Image: VERN PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY

SPEEDWAY

BERES GETS JUNIOR TITLE

WA DRIVER Harrison Beres (above) made the long trip to Queensland worth it, by racing his way to the SSA Junior Sedan National Title at the Kingaroy Speedway last weekend.

Despite a major scare in the closing stages, Beres overcame Jake Leaman in the 25-lap feature to be the national junior sedans champion.

Beres had a right to fear things were not going to go his way as his team’s tow vehicle blew an engine just 20km out from completing the 4,172km journey from Albany to Kingaroy.

It was an all-West Australian front row, with Beres joining pole sitter Jake Leaman, who were both tied on points and only separated by lap times from the heat races.

Beres would get the initial jump as the race went green, but Leaman quickly

got the nose back in front, while behind them chaos unfolded.

Cars went every which way and James Peacock got the worst of it and was left with nowhere to go and crashed out.

The second attempt at racing was even worse, with a chain reaction seeing at least seven cars piling into the Turn 1 wall, including Poppy Airey who tipped over among the mess to bring out the red lights.

Attempt three was only marginally better, with Will Fallon spinning at the opening corner, while take four also saw Brad Marshall clobber the Turn 2 wall.

Thankfully the fifth attempt finally saw some racing with Leaman hitting the lead with Beres chasing hard.

Jesse Hamon also grabbed third from Ryan Burns on Lap 5 when the field

started to spread.

Beres was glued to Leaman’s bumper while Hamon had come on in leaps and bounds, significantly closing the gap on the lead duo.

With 10 to go Leaman and Beres had again split the seam, still battling hard while Hamon was now coming under pressure from Will Fallon, who had passed Burns for fourth.

At this stage the lead duo closed in on lapped traffic, which bunched up the field and set up an exciting finish.

This provided the chance Beres needed, and he grabbed the lead coming out of turn four to have the nose in front by 0.062 seconds on lap 21.

Unfortunately, just as that lap was completed by the rest of the field there was contact with lapped traffic at the

front which saw Beres spinning to a stop.

But critically the yellows had come on just prior to that incident as Cruz Carlin slowed to a stop.

This allowed Beres to be back at the front for the resumption with four to go ahead of Leaman and Hamon and it was the slice of luck he needed.  Leaman looked for a way through on the restart, while Hamon was also sticking the nose underneath.

But Beres held strong, and on the penultimate lap he was able to get even further ahead, going on to cross the line in first place ahead of Leaman, Hamon, Fallon, and Burns.

Bradley recovered well after being involved in the opening lap skirmish to finish sixth.

Thomas Miles

MORE STEWART SUCCESS

SOME BIG names came to Sydney International Speedway, but once again no one could touch Michael Stewart (pictured).

Stewart dominated the midweek Summer of Speed meeting on January 14 and led each of the 30 laps before crossing the line 1.8s clear of Matt Dumesny to win the $100,000 prize.

The Bohud Racing driver showcased his strong Sydney form by lighting up the start and immediately gapping Matt Dumesny and Goodyer off the line.

After seven laps Stewart retained his lead as Dumesny worried about keeping Goodyer and Attard behind with both on his back wheel. But an attack on second put Goodyer on the back foot as it allowed Attard to slingshot past him at Turn 3.

The #T22 launched a fightback on the ‘Chicken Man’ but it was not successful.

More than half the race was able to take place before the first caution, which arrived due to a spinning Marcus Dumesny.

He rotated right in front of the leaders halfway down the back straight, but everyone avoided him.

Racing resumed with 14 to go and Stewart got another lightning getaway to

retain the lead as Attard also impressed to snare second from Dumesny.

Further back, Nick Saller got so unsettled over the bumps on the outside of Turns 3 and 4, his car was bouncing like a bunny rabbit.

Eventually it finally shot right, leaving Hallett with nowhere to go and the pair crunched hard, sending the #N56 into a roll and the pair into retirement.

A second attempt at racing took place without Attard, who suffered a failure in the right rear and headed straight for the infield.

On this occasion Matt Dumesny kept up with Stewart as the pair charged away ahead of Henry.

Cole Macedo, substituting for the injured Carson, went squabbling with Goodyer and McHugh and initially won, to sit fourth.

Following another stoppage for a slow car, Henry snatched second at the restart, while McHugh displaced Goodyer out of the top five.

McHugh was pushing the limits however, sliding up high until he eventually kissed the outside barrier at Turn 3 with five to go, but carried on.

Just when Stewart appeared to have wrapped it up with a big lead, the yellows came just three laps from home due to Daniel Sayre suffering a flat tyre following a collision with the outside wall.

This setup a three-lap dash but no one was challenging Stewart as he carried on his dominance.

The top three were evenly spread out at the chequered with 3.6s covering Matt Dumesny and Macedo.

But the biggest battle was for fourth with Henry and Kobi Wright managing to keep McHugh and Marcus Dumesny out of the top five, while Goodyer was eighth.

“After the last couple of races I am just glad to finish to be honest,” Stewart said.

“The boys have tried so hard and we had some bad luck, so it is nice to repay them for a win.”

Thomas Miles

Image: ZP IMAGES

TIMMIS THRILLER

THE 2025 South Australian AMCA National Championship, staged just across the Victorian border at the B&S Earthworks Timmis Speedway in Mildura, will be long remembered for one of the most spectacular finishes in the history of the class.

The crowd rose and cheered as one as the lead group of Stephen Hopkins, Mick Kiraley and Shane Cartwright dashed to the line across 30 hard-fought laps.

In the closing laps, the top four competitors raced closely and, with one lap to run, things got desperate as the quartet raced through Turns 3 and 4 separated by about one metre and in a drag race to the finish line all hell broke loose. Stephen Hopkins who had led from approximately half-race distance, held on for the narrowest of margins to take the

win by less than a half car length over his Uncle, Mick Kiraley.

Shane Cartwright from New South Wales was in third before a desperate attempt to

move forward came undone as he spun to the infield, crossing the finish line backwards.

This elevated the back-to-back defending Champion Tim Reidy, who would relinquish

his title while salvaging third. Cartright was fourth past the post but that would not be the end of his drama – the race stewards carefully watched a video and judged that all four wheels of Cartright’s machine were over the pole line, making him ineligible for the podium and moving him back to eighth as the final runner on the lead lap. Queensland’s Peter Robotham and New South Welshman Peter Markulin rounded out the top five from the 18-car field.

The Knox Fabrication Modified Sedan All Stars Challenge rolled out a strong field of 13 competitors but there was only one who would stand the tallest, The reigning Australian Champion Jarod Waters took a clean sweep in his Enzed Mercedes taking both of his heat wins and the 20-lap final in convincing fashion.

Will Shore was the runner up with locals Angelo Halacas, Taleah Dolic and Jeremy McClure squaring off the top five.

Ballarat’s Mick Dan showed the fastest way home in the 20-lap Street Stock final and in doing so setting a new track record with a time of 6:18.1 for the journey.

Wangratta’s Bradin Claridge showed good form in the Ford Falcon for second and rounding the top four from the 11 starters were Zack Yeoman and South Australian Bradley Sherriden.

The Junior Sedans were mixed Top and New Stars for the 15-lap final. Jayden Garner looked hard to beat in the first half of the race but a determined Violet Thorne surged forward to take the lead and victory over Garner, Bree McAllester, Riley Greig, Rylan Hartman, Mayson Cadd, Zoe Greig, James Becker and Leonardo Gantz.

Paris Charles

BLUE RIBBON OPENS WITH A BLAST!

HORSHAM’S BLUE Ribbon Raceway kicked off their 2025 season with a fantastic night of dirt track action featuring a wide variety of six classes on January 4. Despite the 40 degree-plus heat in the lead up to the event, the track staff had produced a quality race surface that provided plenty of passing, thrills and spills for the large crowd in attendance.

The Southern Street Stock Series headlined the event with almost 30 competitors.

After a hard fought series of heat racing and last chance B Main the top 20 point scorers fronted for the 30-lap final with 15 laps ran in each direction to keep the competitors on their toes.

Mitch Viney would prove to be a worthy winner – after qualifying on Pole Position he was never headed in the 30 lap final.

Thomas Garner from South Australia would finish a well deserved runner-up and rounding out the top four podium were Bhoe Paterson and Jayden Blomeley.

A solid midfield battle saw Jayden Edwards edge out Mick Clark, Mark Jennings and Bryan Brown all finishing on the lead lap while Ricky Throckmortan and Matthew Martin rounded out the top 10. Jack Jordan, Darren Flatman, Matt

LePoidevin, Cameron Merrett and Peter Morris were the finial finishers while Patrick Hall, Drew Flatman, Alex Merrett, Brooklyn Winterfield and Hayden Glare did not travel the full journey.

Warrick Taylor proved a powerhouse in the Unlimited Sedans, clean sweeping all three heats and the 15-lap final over Corey McDonald and followed home by Anthony McKean, Jaryd Carman and Daryl Nicolson.

Steve Perry proved too strong in the Production Sedan final, taking his Commodore to Victory Lane over the Falcon’s Shaun Queale and Dean Hughes. Rounding out the top half dozen were Mark Riley, Alex Miller and Blake Adam.

The popular V8 Truck final was curtailed early after front runner Luke James lost a wheel. Dean Thomas was awarded the race victory over Fletcher Mills with

debutants Maxi Muller and Jacinta Jones next.

James was placed as a did-not-finish after causing the race stoppage.

South Australia’s Riley Greig was too strong in the 1200 Junior Sedans taking all three heats and the 12-lap final in convincing fashion.

Jack Mills led the opening lap of the final before conceding the lead and filling the runner-up position. Libby Ahearn and Rebecca Johnstone squared up the top four.

A small field of only three Limited Sportsman was in attendance.

The night started well for Shaun Hutchins taking the opening heat but from that point a determined Craig Ansell would take the next two and the 8-lap final. Ash Harrison posted thirds in all races.

Paris Charles

Steven Hopkins took out the main event – by less than a car’s length.

Below: Violet Thorne snatched a super Junior Sedan win. Images: PARIS CHARLES

Mitch Viney snared the Street Stock trophy. Right: Riley Greig was too fast for the opposition in 1200 Junior Sedans. Images: PARIS CHARLES

HISTORIC TAUPO TICKS THE BOXES

FOR

KIWIS, THE SIXT RENT-A-CAR TAUPO HISTORIC GP EVENT WAS SOMETHING DRIPPING IN NOSTALGIA, WITH THE FOCUS ON A GRID OF FORMULA ATLANTIC CARS, WHICH RULED THE ROOST BACK IN THE 1970s . BUT THERE WAS A LOT MORE TO IT ...

HOWEVER, THAT was just the start, with a competitive Formula 5000 grid and various historic ‘saloon car’ classes providing a snapshot of NZ motorsport over the years.

To top it off, a demonstration group of cars including Denny Hulme’s F1 McLaren, a six-wheel Tyrrell, Russell Ingall’s rebuilt SBR Falcon and – show-stealers – a pair of bellowing Can Am McLarens, all driven by NZ motorsport names, completed the show.

Well, almost. Sunday’s crowd was significantly up on Saturday – the word was out that Kiwi F1 ascendant Liam Lawson was to be on hand to meet fans and sign stuff –and that he did, for a very long time!

Indeed, it was as much the drivers from past decades that the public – and drivers themselves – were keen to meet and chat with.

Oh yes, almost as a supporting show albeit with prime focus, the 2025 Formula Regional championship made its debut (coverage elsewhere in this issue) – resulting in a quaint combination of past and present.

The specific Historic focus was on the collection of Formula Atlantic cars – and drivers – from the era, split into three categories

A solid grid of 24 cars, half the field from Australia, contested heats, leading to

Kaleb Ngatoa (familiar to Australians for his S5000 exploits), driving a Swift DB4, followed up his heat performances to take out the

Sunday’s Formula Atlantic Historic Grand Prix.

race, from James Watson (Swift DB4), with Tom Alexander taking over Kenny Smith’s GP-winning Swift from the man himself (who had run top sixes in the heats) to complete the podium. Oliver Sentch completed a top

James Watson locks a wheel as he heads Kaleb Ngatoa into Turn 1.

Above: Pick the Legend ... a rare collection of names that have ‘made’ NZ motorsport ... from Liam Lawson (front centre) to the diminutive and ageless Kenny Smith (third from right, rear). Images: TAYLER BURKE

TAUPO BOXES

Swift rout, with Greg Murphy fifth in a Ralt RT40.

Unlucky was Aussie Porsche racer Tim Miles, who podiumed in heats, only to be a non-starter in the main event in his newly acquired, you guessed it, Swift DB4.

In the ‘A’ class, for older cars, Andrew Miedecke battled with Malcolm Oastler through the heats, although the latter was a GP non-starter, handing the win to Miedecke’s March 76R.

The F5000 grid, modest in size, was very competitive, with the four-way contest between Steve Ross (McRae GM1), Michael Hey (McRae GM1), Michael Collins (Leda

and Kevin Ingram

dominating the results, and Brett Willis (Lola T332) taking out the Saturday handicap race. Biggest grid at the event was the Heritage Touring Car contest, with well-known names from both sides of the Tasman at the wheel of various Sierras, BMWs, Commodores, Falcons, Toyotas, Skylines, Nissans, Mazdas and Mustangs forming touring car history … Kayne Scott (Ford Sierra) dominated, but was challenged primarily along the way by Paul Radisich (Ford Mondeo), Stephen Armstrong (Mazda RX-7) and Graeme Cameron’s BMW M3.

four

GM1)

(Lola T330)

Kevin Ingram heads a popular F5000 field into Turn 1. Centre (top to bottom): Tyrrell 6-wheeler – really! The Enforcer was re-united with his restored SBR Falcon; Andy Greenslabde (Sierra) heads Paul Radisich (Mondeo), with Stephen Armstrong’s ex-Moffat Mazda in the bckground. Images: TAYLER BURKE

Bryce Hogg’s Falcon keeps a couple of Beemers at bay ... Image: TAYLER BURKE. Below: Craig Baird ticked off a bucket-list item and sampled Mortimer Motorsport’s McLaren M8 E/F. Image: BRAD DYER

NEW ZEALAND MOTORSPORT SCENE

LINDBLAD LIGHTS IT UP

MANY DRIVERS performed well across the opening round of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship, with Australians Will Brown and Patrick Heuzenroeder, plus other rising youngsters fighting for the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy.

British rising star Arvid Lindblad impressed the most, producing a dominant drive to take the feature race on Sunday.

Supercars champion Brown returned to open-wheel racing for the first time in six years and was immediately on the pace, fighting for victory in the opening race where Kiwi teenager Zack Scoular denied him a dream start.

Starting from pole Scoular schooled the field and controlled the race, producing qualifying laps throughout the 17-lap affair.

Supercars champion Brown was next best having overcome a challenge from Arvid Lindblad.

Scoular was delighted to overcome some big names to be victorious.

“The car was really, really good and as soon I made a decent start it was head down and then qually lap, qually lap, qually lap,” he said.

“Tyre degradation can be really bad here at Taupo but it really wasn’t too much of a problem for me in that race and I was able to push hard.

“I knew Will would be fast but I also knew that if I could stay a reasonable distance ahead of him, he’d never get himself in a position to pass – so that was my focus.

“It’s fantastic to take the win here first time out, a really amazing feeling.”

Despite missing out on victory, Brown was delighted to be on the podium in his first open-wheel race in six years.

“I was never close enough to have a crack but it was very cool to be back in an openwheeler,” he said afterwards.

“I tried to not lock up but I did it a few times so that’s something I’ve got to learn.

“Even so, we had a pretty competitive car and its cool to be on the podium.”

Australian GB3 racer Patrick Heuzenroeder hoped to finish in the top five at least, but dropped to ninth after a Turn 1 scuffle.

Qualifying for Race 2 saw Lindblad snatching pole with his last lap.

It was enough to knock team mate Matias Zagazeta off the top spot and push Scoular down to third.

In the Sunday morning Sprint race, Peruvian Zagazeta scored a breakthrough win fuelled by an astounding start. He leaped from fourth to first by the

time the field arrived at Turn 1 and held off teammate Enzo Yeh all the way to the finish. Yeh ended up dropping to fourth due to a 5s penalty for creeping at the start, promoting Pierson and Lindblad onto the podium.

Heuzenroeder was the leading Aussie in eighth.

“Turn 1 here at Taupo is very, very difficult so it was going to be important to get a good start if I was going to fight for a podium place. We had really old tyres so it was all about managing them after a good start,” said Zagazeta.

“It was big pressure defending so I am really glad to have been able to hold him off.  It’s fantastic to represent my country and to take its first win in New Zealand.”

In the deciding finale, despite Zagazeta getting a better start, Lindblad bided his time

before launching a successful counterattack. He went for it around the outside of the opening corner and it proved to be a decisive blow as he cruised to a 5s win.

This forced Zagazeta to settle for second ahead of Scoular.

“I made my life difficult at the start, it’s not easy to start on the inside here as it is a bit dirtier and I didn’t do a great start,” Lindblad said.

“I was very committed when I saw I had lost the lead that I had to get it back at Turn 1 and I’m very happy that from there I was able to control the race.

“I could feel very quickly that the thermal degradation was a lot higher worse in this race than in the previous two, and the guys behind were very close but after four or five laps I managed to edge away.”

Brown once again finished in the now

familiar position of fourth, one spot clear of fellow Aussie Heuzenroeder.

But it was far from a simple race for Brown, who survived a scary moment early on after interlocking wheels with Michael Shin down the long back straight.

The clash sent the Korean into a wild high speed spin which he was very fortunate to survive and recover from with no contact of any sort.

Brown, later penalised, resumed in 10th and returned to the top five by completing a great pass on Josh Pierson at the final chicane that was completed by a four-wheel drift around the outside.

After snatching fourth from Heuzenroeder he got under the rear wing of Scoular and attacked on the final lap but had run out of grip.

Thomas Miles

Taupo’s first corner made for lap one opportunity – or drama ... Images: BRUCE JENKINS

Winner Lindblad took home the Denny Hulme Trophy ...

Will Brown had a busy weekend as he re-acquainted himself with open-wheelers. Right: Zagazeta (top) made a demon start to win on Sunday morning, while Scoular (lower) took third in the finale.

LINDBLAD MAKES MARK

FAST BRIT Arvid Lindblad has announced himself as the driver to catch in the 2025 Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Championship by taking Round 2 at Hampton Downs at the weekend.

Lindblad won the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy by taking the feature at the twisty North Island circuit located between Hamilton and Pukekohe.

The Red Bull junior driver also won the opening race and now enjoys a formidable 25-point lead over Zack Scoular.

Lindblad started the weekend with a bang by taking pole with a recordbreaking 1:28.074, which overcame Scoular, who lamented a small mistake.

“I really enjoy this circuit although I’m not sure if it’s more to my style or not. It’s really cool and there’s a really nice flow to it. It’s quite challenging with the bumps which is not something I’m really used to,” Lindblad said after pole.

Lindblad made the most of pole position by getting a fast start and opening a large gap as early as the second turn.

But the Sprint race was far from a cruise as both Scoular and Supercars champion Will Brown refused to allow him to open a significant gap.

They were in full attack mode, staying within tenths of the leader and swapping lap records.

Scouter stuck his nose alongside Lindblad a couple of times, but the latter always did enough to maintain the lead until the chequered flag.

“It was not an easy race, and it was quite long given how I felt in the car,” he explained on the podium, confirming his second win in a row was far from straightforward,” Lindblad said.

“I knew it would be difficult from lap two or three and I wasn’t very happy but I had to adapt and make the most of the car underneath me. I was struggling and

it wasn’t easy in the car.”

Brown had his most encouraging race by getting a podium, with third, having shadowed Scoular throughout.

Josh Pierson and Australian Patrick Heuzenroeder completed the top five.

The top eight were reversed for the Race 2 Sprint and Sebastian Manson used this as his chance to shine.

Nikita Johnson was on pole and led early, but he could do little about Manson’s pace.

On fresher tyres Manson had plenty of pace and needed just half a lap to snatch the lead.

From there on he did not look back and took a comfortable and memorable home win.

“It feels great. I probably shouldn’t be that excited about a reverse grid race but

it does feel good,” he said.

“We were quite aggressive on strategy and the idea was to get ahead and maintain it through the race, so it’s great we were able to do so.”

Despite being forced to start eighth, Lindblad cut through the field like a knife on hot butter.

He soared up to third to collect crucial points as Heuzenroeder was his most daunting obstacle.

The Aussie did not provide an opening for the Brit to steal third until lap 12.

Brown completed the top five again having beaten Pierson.

With the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy on the line, drivers knew the importance of the feature race.

Lindblad and Scoular got away well and duelled side-by-side for the first half

of the opening lap before the Red Bull driver prevailed.

Behind them, Pierson slotted into third, but not for long as Brown snuck past by the time they arrived at Turn 2.

The race got quite physical as it went on with Manson and Rashid especially going at it.

Despite being in the lead, Lindblad was not cruising at all, breaking the lap record to push more than a second over Scoular.

All eyes were on the fight for second as Scoular and Brown were closely separated.

The Kiwi was flying, lowering Lindblad’s lap record and the pressure was too much for Brown.

The Supercars star lost it at the opening turn of Lap 11, going off and falling all the way to eighth.

Brown’s mistake elevated Pierson back into third with Johnson, Zagazeta, Heuzenroeder and Shin also being promoted.

Brown did everything to regain some ground, but Shin put up a mighty defence across the final series of laps.

But the race was all about Lindblad, who credited his success to the fast start.

“The start was a bit difficult and it was a bit hairy in Turn 1,” he said.

“The first two laps were tricky but I then settled into a nice rhythm and started to build the gap.

“It wasn’t easy as the gap was small and any mistake I made would have let Zack in, so it was pretty tough.

“I’m here to win to races though, so I’m happy with the result.”

The next stop on the 2025 Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Championship is at Manfield’s Circuit Chris Amon this weekend – January 24-26.

Thomas Miles

Lindblad leads the way ... and (below) is thrilled with the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy.

Bottom left: Scoular presses on ... Bottom right: Patrick Heuzenroeder – top five finishes. Images: BRUCE JENKINS

NATIONALS WRAP

NEW YEAR NITRO FINALLY HERE

WITH NINE Top Fuel dragsters and XPRO Nitro Funny Cars coming to Willowbank Raceway, the rescheduled New Year Nitro will bring the National Drag Racing Championship roaring to life in 2025.

The New Year Nitro was moved to the Australia Day weekend and leading the way for the Top Fuel ranks will be the Hydraulink Jim Read Racing team.

After a crushing win in round one, where Phil Read not only took the event victory in convincing style, but also set a new Australian record (3.72 seconds at 522.62mph) they go to Queensland high on confidence.

“At round one we walked away with the event-winning NDRC Christmas Tree trophy, the NDRC Top Qualifying Medallion, and a new Australian record thanks to running the quickest Top Fuel quarter-mile pass ever set in the country,” Phil Read said.

“It is safe to say that it was pretty much the perfect way to start our new season, and it has only made us hungrier for more.

“As a team we have had a lot of success at Willowbank over the years, and it is about time we brought home some more trophies from Queensland!”

This weekend will mark the first time since June of 2024 that Top Fuel and XPRO Nitro Funny Car have been on-track at Willowbank Raceway, where the racers competed on the newly resurfaced track surface.

It wasn’t a great event for the Reads, but Bruce Read says that only makes them more set on redemption this weekend.

“While the Winternats was a fantastic, banner event for Top Fuel racing and Willowbank Raceway, for us personally it was a difficult event full of problems,” he said.

“To say that we are keen to redeem ourselves this weekend is the understatement of the year.

“We have the history here to know that we can do it, the new track surface at Willowbank is incredible, and we know we have the goods following our performances at round one.

“While round one was perfect for us, we haven’t rested on our laurels, making the most of the break since then to be as absolutely and completely prepared as possible for New Year Nitro and tackling Willowbank Raceway in the heat of the Queensland summer, which makes for a completely different scenario to The Bend in October.

“What I can tell you for sure, is that we will be swinging for the fences and are quietly confident that we have what it takes to make sure we can bring home another big trophy.”

One of his main rivals will be Peter Xiberras, who is boosted by a recent test at Willowbank.

“Across the 2023/2024 season we

were working through changes to our supercharger and engine programs and chasing gains in the clutch,” Xiberras said.

“That saw us have a bit of an up-and-down season, but things were definitely on the improve in the latter stages, as is shown in our results.

“Having said that, there is a lot we still want to achieve, which we feel will have us back in championship-winning form if we can get it right.

“As part of that, we have been taking every opportunity to test in the second half of 2024 as we get ready to relaunch our campaign in the Top Fuel title chase in January of 2025.

“With the assistance of Dom Lagana from 142 Speed Shop, we have made some big changes and we are looking forward to seeing those yielding race winning results soon.

“If how our test days have gone so far are any indication, then we are certainly moving in the right direction.”

For Funny Car driver Justin Walshe, his last event was a true stand-out, seeing the Gold

Coast racer take out not only the prestigious Winternationals event win, but also the inaugural NDRC XPRO Nitro Funny Car title.

With a home track advantage also on his side, Walshe now heads into New Year Nitro looking to build on that momentum.

“At the Winternationals we won the race meeting itself and we sealed the championship for the season, but there’s no pressure,” Walshe grinned.

“I am always excited to go to Willowbank because it is technically our home track. I am very excited to get back there and see if we can have the same performance and take home some gold, so to speak.”

Walshe also feels the heat will play a big factor in the hunt for speed.

“The heat will make it tricky to tune the race cars as it will be the hottest time of year, so we will be working hard to make sure we have them performing for the crowd.

“You are going from June, where it is absolutely perfect conditions for racing these styles of cars, to summer and January, where it is very hot, but we will be throwing everything we have at it to make sure the fans get the show they expect!

“As drivers, we all have the utmost trust in the guys tuning the cars and you have to be ready to drive it to the best of your ability, no matter the conditions.

“I just have to trust in the decisions made by our in-house tuning team, Graeme Frawley and David Mullins, and be ready for whatever the track and conditions throw at me.

“We might even see a first time winner at Willowbank – if I had to make a prediction that isn’t me, I would say Adam Murrihy – a fellow local – is one to watch.”

Thomas Miles

With a newly-minted Australian record, Phil Read is the man to beat this weekend. Above: Winternats and NDRC XPRO winner Justin Walshe goes in as Funny Car favourite. Images: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY

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CIVIC SCORES

RHYS AND Andrew Howell (above) started 2025 with a bang by winning the fourth Boisdale Rallysprint.

The January 18 event saw 25 cars take on the Historic Rally Association run event where they had six runs of a busy 2km course.

Competitors received the thrill of taking on the same course as the Power Stage of the Gippsland Rally Australian Rally Championship event.

Emerging on top was the Howells duo, who were rapid in their Honda Civic.

The P81 class winner tallied the lowest score after the six runs with 16:03 points.

They just edged out Seth McGill and Matt de Vaus, who ended up with 16:08 in their Mitsubishi Mirage.

Despite being second best they secured SCC class honours.

Rounding out the podium were Cody Richards and Karlie Vallance in a BMW 325i that also led the PM class.

RC was a close contest with Dale, Jen and Jamie Linaker pushing their Subaru Legacy RS just ahead of Matthew Caldwell and Nic Sheehy.

Other class winners were John Rawson/Kim Begelhole (H81) in a Datsun Stanza, Craig Lee/Richard Hood/Emerson Lee (CRC) in a Nissan Fairlady and Mark Laidlay/Alan Upton (H68) in a Datsun Sunny. It was an attritional affair with a number of retirements.

David Johns and Paul Franklin were the first out running out of fuel, while Joel Wald and Chris Ellis suffered a roll, as five others also retired.

Thomas Miles

DOWN TO THE WIRE

THE 2025 Trydel EZIUP Victorian Hillclimb Championship started with a bang at Rob Roy with a thrilling three-way battle panning out.

The battle for victory went down to the wire with Mike Barker, David Mahon and

Patrick Malanaphy the cream of the crop of the 32-car field and going blow for blow.

The historic Rob Roy circuit offered its usual challenges, but with the chicane adding an extra technical aspect.

Unpredictability surrounding the fate of

the winner went down to the final runs as little separated the trio throughout the opening round hosted by the MG Car Club Victoria.

In the end the winner of last year’s opening round, Barker, did it again.

His time of 23.90s ended up being just enough to hold on. A slender and agonising 0.08s adrift was David Mahon.

Meanwhile rounding out the podium was Malanaphy, who may not have been able to break the 23s barrier, but was not far off.

His 24.15s time was just 0.25s away from the overall lead, stating how close the fight for victory was.

The 2025 Trydel EZIUP Victorian Hillclimb Championship resumes at Bryant Park on February 22. Thomas Miles

REPLICA TOURERS GROW

IT WILL be the biggest season of Replica Tourers yet with its Trophy Series going all over the country.

The Queensland based series will again join the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series at not only Ipswich, but also Sydney Motorsport Park. Replica Tourers see competitors bring to life some of their favourite cars, building their own versions of Peter Brock’s ‘Big Banger’ VK Commodore and Rick Kelly’s 2012 VE Commodore.

In addition to Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons, Mazda RX8s, BMW E36s, Chevrolet Camaros, Honda Civics and Alfa Romeo GTVs are also on show and that is just a sample.

It will be the first interstate meeting for the category, which started four years ago and General Manager Craig Line was thrilled.

“We’re very, very keen to be part of the 2025 season, there’s no two ways about it,” Line enthused.

“We have been absolutely rapt in the relationship we’ve had with the Hi-Tec series.

“They took a chance on us two years ago as a support category to come on board for the Queensland legs and we managed to bring some very, very big grid numbers.

“As a state series, to have the recognition to be nationally televised is wonderful, all of our drivers have been rapt.

“We’re looking forward to going to Sydney

Motorsport Park as our, shall we say, first away round as part of the series.

“That’s breaking new ground for us, and we estimate at this stage we’re going to be probably somewhere between 20 and 25 cars.

“To get that amount of drivers put their hand up to say we would love to run as a category at SMP with Hi-Tec is amazing.”

Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Manager Carolyn

Oldano believes Replica Tourers will be a fan favourite.

“It’s fantastic to have Replica Tourers on board for 2025,” she said. “General Manager Craig and Category CEO Brian’s camaraderie really speaks volumes about their dedication to the category.

“Their commitment is truly admirable.

This year, we’ll see them in action for three rounds, and I’m excited to see what they bring to the series.

“Replica Tourers consistently deliver large and competitive grids, which is a testament to the category’s appeal.

“Replica Tourers are a fan favourite because they bring the excitement of old-school racing with classic cars that evoke a sense of nostalgia as well as the new.

“There’s something special about seeing a mix of these timeless machines on track, and it creates a real connection with the fans.”

Thomas Miles

David Mahin threw everything at it (below), but the win wentn to Maike Barker (above). Images: IAN SMITH/AUTOPIX

Images: IAN SMITH/AUTOPIX

Image: MTR IMAGES

MAKING HISTORY

AUSTRALIA’S DANIEL SANDERS IS THE TOAST OF THE MOTORSPORT WORLD AFTER HE BECAME JUST THE SECOND AUSTRALIAN TO WIN THE DEMANDING DAKAR RALLY IN DOMINANT STYLE. THOMAS MILES REFLECTS ON HIS RIDE TO GLORY …

ACROSS ALMOST 8,000km Daniel Sanders rode his way into an exclusive club alongside Toby Price as the only Australians to win the toughest and longest rally raid event.

Not only did ‘Chucky’ win, he did the 47th Dakar in crushing style, leading from start to finish and ensuring his advantage was never under any serious threat.

Having bolted out of the gates in the Prologue before winning the first two stages, Sanders was always the man to catch.

But the KTM rider did not let the pressure get to him, impressively only making small navigation errors as he won three more stages and finished no lower than 17th across the 12 stages.

The big turning point came on Stage 7 where he claimed a record-equalling fifth stage victory, matching the high watermark set by Price in 2016.

This pushed his lead to beyond a quarter of an hour and ensured that even with a crash on the penultimate stage, which went to nearest rival Tosha Schareina, he was in the box seat.

Although Schareina won the final pass through the Empty Quarter and gained 7m31s on Sanders, the KTM Aussie had enough time up his sleeve to comfortably secure the win he craved and deserved. A sixth place in the shorter 131km finale was enough for Sanders to secure the 8m50s win over Schareina.

It completes a special journey to the top for Sanders, who first arrived at Dakar so impressively in 2021, only to endure a number of injury setbacks since, which is what made his dominant 2025 ride even more impressive.

Having overcome so much in not only the fortnight in the Saudi Arabian desert, but also his entire career, the 30-year-old found it hard not to get emotional as the finish approached.

“When I came out of the dunes I could see the bivouac and I just got instant chills through my whole body, I was super nervous,” he recalled.

“I couldn’t believe it. All the emotions started coming through and I could see the finishing line.

“It’s the biggest race in the world of motorbikes and off-roading.

“To win the six-day international enduro and now the Dakar, it’s just ticked off all the goals for my career and everything I’ve wanted to achieve. It’s a massive accomplishment.

“For the team, my family, friends, my girlfriend and everyone who’s seen me undergo all the lows and highs along the way, it’s finally all paid off.

“They knew I could do it – everyone who’s backed me along the way, even after the last three years of a lot of lows, really, now we’ve got the up ... so all the hard work has paid off.”

A NEW STAR

TO ONLY add to the celebrations, the only other Australian finisher, Toby Hederics, also exceeded expectations.

In his very first crack at taking on the daunting Dakar, Hederics impressively rode away from the constant dangers to finish a strong 19th overall in the bikes.

He steadily rose up the overall rankings throughout the rally, climbing from 33rd to 19th across the first eight stages, before holding firm in the run home.

The high point of the rally was a strong 12th place overall on Stage 4.

He also finished in ninth place in the Rally2

category and second among the rookies.

Simply riding at Dakar was a dream come true for the 29-year-old Victorian, who was destined for such a career being the son of Australian off-road legend John Hederics.

“To achieve this is what it is all about and I am speechless,” Toby said after receiving the finisher’s medal around his neck.

“It is raw emotion. This is Dakar and it means a lot to all of us so it’s special.

“It is no mean feat to reach the finish.”

Meanwhile, compatriots Peter and Christopher Schey managed a 13th-placed finish in the Classic category, while Andrew Houlihan withdrew after seven stages.

PRICE’S SACRIFICE

FITTINGLY, AS Sanders joined him on the Dakar honours board, Toby Price was also competing, but with a twist.

After 10 attempts on a bike where he won twice and finished on the podium on four other occasions, Price had a crack on four wheels for the first time.

The Australian off road legend teamed up with another bike convert Sam Sunderland as navigator.

Having won the iconic Finke Desert Race and Baja 500 in a car, Price was no stranger to life behind the wheel.

Sanders led from the start, paced himself, and took the bike crown (right) after days crossing the desolate desert (below) ... Above: The car title went to a ‘local’ – Yazeed Al-Rajhi. Below left: Tosha Schareina pushed Sanders most of the way. Below: Toby Price’s four-wheel effort impressed before his navigator suffered a concussion. Images: FLAVIEN DUHAMEL / RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Sanders rode a composed and confident Dakar ... Right: Ausssie Toby Hederics achieved a debut finish – no mean feat. Below: Former bike winner Toby Price takes a food and drink breather. Price was running with the stars before the incident which led to the team’s withdrawal, following navigator Sam Sunderland’s concussion.

After losing his factory ride at KTM he turned to a new challenge with Overdrive Racing and Toyota and it was all going well.

After the first two stages, Price was sitting pretty in an impressive fourth in the overall leaderboard, well ahead of big names such as Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz.

But his hopes of victory were wiped out in a costly Stage 4 where they suffered axle issues.

They did bounce back on Stage 5, but the health of Sunderland came first and Price took the big decision to withdraw on medical grounds after five stages.

“Unfortunately we’ve chosen to withdraw from the Dakar Rally due to medical reasons,” Price wrote on social media.

“Sammy suffered a concussion on Thursday which we kept on the ‘down low’ because he really wanted to soldier on like the true fighter he is.

“Today we had an issue with the car that pushed us back into the dust with poor visibility and Sammy took another blow to the head, losing vision and making his concussion worse.

“I feel it’s not fair to keep going because we have so much more to lose than gain.

“It’s a shame to finish like this and we’re both gutted.

“We can fix cars but not humans, and Sam is family to me so his health comes first.

DAKAR • 2025

HOW SANDERS STORMED TO VICTORY

DANIEL SANDERS RODE HIS WAY INTO AUSSIE FOLKLORE AT DAKAR AND HERE IS HIS STAGE BY STAGE JOURNEY…

PROLOGUE - 77KM: 1ST 16M51S

“We can’t thank everyone enough for their support, especially Overdrive Racing and Black Rock Motorsport.

“It means the world to us and we wouldn’t be here without each and every partner that helped bring this to life!

“Hopefully this won’t be our last one ... time will only tell and thank you all again –it’s been a wild ride!”

LOCAL HERO

THE DAKAR Rally has been a Mount Everest-like challenge for countless competitors in numerous locations ever since it was first held in 1979, but it was not until 2025 that a driver lifted the Touareg Trophy on home soil.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi, a Saudi Arabian billionaire entrepreneur, is the man who broke the drought by winning the overall cars category in the 47th edition.

As many big names, from Nasser Al-Attiyah, Loeb, Sainz and Price encountered dramas, Al-Rajhi stayed on course and won a see-sawing battle with Henk Lategan.

In the final four stages alone, the lead changed hands on three occasions.

Boosted by a second career Dakar stage win on Stage 4, Al-Rajhi did not hit the lead until Stage 9, where Lategan lost 7m.

But he only held it for a day as Lategan hit back in emphatic fashion as he overturned the 7m deficit to a 2m27s lead.

With two stages to go, Al-Rajhi had his back against the wall, but an impressive drive on the penultimate stage through the Empty Quarter proved to be the turning point.

Al-Rajhi finished second behind Mattias Ekstrom, but importantly gained almost 8m on Lategan, who struggled in the dunes, to enter the finale with a 6m11s lead.

The final margin between the rivals was 3m57s as Al-Rajhi claimed an inspiring win on home soil.

To make the achievement more impressive, he drove a customer Hilux and beat the factory-supported rivals.

“I am very, very happy to do it, it is not an easy race, it’s the toughest one that I’ve done in the last 11 years,” Al-Rajhi said.

“For sure, I’m very happy – me and Timo and my team did a great job like always.

“For sure, we have made a lot of records today: the first Saudi driver to win and also in the last 25 years no private team beat a factory team but we did it this time.

“Also, it’s the first time there is a winner on the Dakar from the same country in which it is raced, with a Saudi guy winning a Saudi Dakar.

“I’m very happy … Today we took it easy, there was no need to push and we did a great job.”

DAKAR BIKES CLASSIFICATION

1: Daniel Sanders 53h08m52s

2: Tosha Schareina +8m50s

3: Adrien van Beveren +14m46s

4: Luciano Benavides +22m16s

5: Ricky Brabec +29m50s

DAKAR CARS CLASSIFICATION

1: Yazeed Al-Rajhi 52h52m15s

2: Henk Lategan +3m57s

3: Mattias Ekstrem +20m21s

4: Nasser Al-Attiyah +23m58s

5: Mitch Guthrie Jr +1h02m10s

Got off to a flying start by being the only rider to complete the Prologue in less than 17m. His time was 12s clear of Ross Branch having tried to keep it “pretty clean” but made a “few mistakes.”

STAGE 1 - 499KM: 1ST 4H41M27S

Sanders stepped up the pace to a new level by pulling a further 2m on the rest oft he field with a storming ride through the thin air. Had to “ignore the roadblock” as he battled dust, but pushed through.

STAGE 2 - 947KM: 1ST 11H12M13S

Being held over two days, this was arguably the most daunting stage of the rally and Sanders perfected it, extending his lead from 2m to 12m. He revealed it was “very tough” negotiating the soft dunes, but the decision to “save energy” proved beneficial.

STAGE 3 - 466KM: 17TH 3H54M29S

Amazingly this the only stage Sanders did not finish in the top 11. A hunt for a quartet of wins was denied by bad luck, “out of my control,” as his tablet lost signal, forcing him to “tag along” with other lost riders just before a refuel, seeing him lose 6m.

STAGE 4 - 415KM: 1ST 5H10M33S

He found the perfect response, winning the very next stage to build his advantage beyond 13m. Had an initial “cat and mouse” battle with nearest rival Schareina before powering home despite a tense moment in the dust.

STAGE 5 - 428KM: 12TH 4H56M42S

Despite being a solid sixth fastest, this proved to be one of the few setbacks. Sanders was hit with an 8m penalty for speed-limit violations and dropped to 12th in the stage rankings. Was actually pleased not to lose more time having experienced navigation dramas in the last 40km.

STAGE 6 - 605KM: 9TH 5H06M34S

Following the rest day Sanders had a composed ride to ninth, only being 5m off the ultimate pace. Had a “bit of a rough start” but carried on.

STAGE 7 - 709KM: 1ST 4H10M33S

A special ride in the loop to and from Al Duwadimi proved to be the latest Sanders statement. In a “very fast stage” that was technical and impacted by rain, he won by 3m36s to push his lead to beyond a quarter of an hour again.

STAGE 8 - 733KM: 7TH 4H57M30S

On a journey that featured technical rocky tracks, sandy sections, and vast open desert, Sanders opened well and maintained his standings with a solid seventh. Was hit by a 1m penalty and still lost only 6m.

STAGE 9 - 589KM: 3RD 3H18M42S

Despite battling navigation, Sanders still managed to protect his lead and secure third by pipping Brabec. The Aussie “got lost a couple of times” because he “couldn’t see the tracks properly because it was really white dirt.”

STAGE 10 - 635KM: 11TH 2H08M25S

Sanders did not push too hard in the taxing first ride through the Empty Quarter. Stayed out of trouble and finished 11th, but gained time on Schareina. “It’s pretty much survival. The first 40-50km felt really rough because it’s completely different softer sand here.”

STAGE 11 - 384KM: 6TH 2H19M35S

The penultimate stage was Sanders only major hiccup. He suffered a fall in the sand dunes and “felt pretty rough” throughout. But importantly ‘Chucky’ gritted his teeth and limited the time lost to Schareina, who gave it everything to keep his dream alive, winning the stage.

STAGE 12 - 70KM: 6TH 55M18S

Completed a near perfect ride to glory with a solid sixth place. On a shorter and calmer stage to the finish at Shubaytah, he only lost 10s to Schareina, whilst winner Michael Docherty was a further 1m07s ahead.

Images: FLAVIEN DUHAMEL / RED BULL CONTENT POOL

ONCE UPON A TIME – 50 PLUS YEARS OF AUTO ACTION

2015: THE FINAL COMMODORE

THE HOLDEN Commodore is set to roar on into the future after General Motors confirmed the nameplate will continue beyond 2017 when local manufacturing grinds to a halt.

Holden Motorsport has confirmed its plans to continue with the large sedan beyond 2017 after V8 Supercars opened up its technical rules to new body shapes, number of doors and engine configurations, effectively ending speculation that the General would switch to racing rebadged Camaros.

AA has learned the imported Commodore is set to be based on the Opel Monza concept that was released last year. It’s a move that harks back to the earliest history of the large sedan, since the original VB Commodore took its cues from earlier Opel products, the Rekord and Senator.

GM Holden Motorsport and Sponsorship Manager Simon McNamara flagged the company’s intention to continue racing the Commodore in V8 Supercars after it secured 15 championships in the series.

While the decision is yet to be set in stone, McNamara acknowledged the plan to continue with the Commodore ahead of the 2017 introduction of Gen2 Supercar rules.

1975

PHILLIP ISLAND was the place to be on Australia Day as organisers made good use of the long weekend to stage the Matthew Flinders Plate.

John Harvey used it as the platform to show his skills, romping home to an easy win in the Sports Sedans feature. Harvey demolished both the outright Sports Sedans record and the 2001-3000cc mark.

To make the success more stunning, Harvey had to start all three races from last on the grid due to missing practice.

Chris Amon provided a faultless exhibition of wet weather driving by winning the fourth race of the Peter Stuyvesant Series at Teretonga. Amon won driving a Talon MR 1 Chevrolet in record time in 1h20m2s.

John McCormack and Kevin Bartlett rounded out the podium.

“Racing is an integral part of Holden’s DNA and Commodore is the most successful nameplate in Australian Touring Car and V8 Supercar history and we are looking forward to winning races and championships with Commodores in the future,”said McNamara.

“We have every intention of racing Commodore for many years to come, but obviously we need to keep working with the regulators and ensure the specific program is the right one.”

The decision ends speculation Holden will abandon the Commodore after the Gen2 Supercars regulations come into effect. Holden has been linked with re establishing the Monaro nameplate in Australia by selling a rebadged Chevrolet Camaro.

Speaking with media at the Detroit Motor Show, GM Executive Vice President and President of GM International, Stefan Jacoby, explained Australia was set for a V8 powered sports car.

“We will bring a Holden sports car in

1985

THERE WAS a bold new look coming to the Holden Dealer Team with Mobil replacing Marlboro as the naming rights backer.

Marlboro had been with the team for 11 years, but Mobil offered a deal too good to refuse being a threeyear contract worth over $1 million dollars.

Not only did it end Marlboro’s reign, but it ended Brock’s longer link with Castrol.

It was all action on the speedways with Garry Rush appearing set to defend his Australian Sprintcar Title.

However, a deflating rear tyre with a few laps to go saw him lose it to Ron Krikke.

the near future,” said Jacoby.

“It will be something which truly fulfils the requirements of a true Holden sports car Under Gen2 Supercar rules, cars must be sold in Australia, opening the window for the imported Camaro/ Monaro coupe to compete in the sport.”

The replacement Commodore has already commenced testing at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground and local engineers and designers will have an influence on the imported car.

1995

FORD STRUCK first in 1995 as Peter Jackson Racing recorded a clean sweep of the non-championship Winfield Sydney Triple Challenge.

Glenn Seton won the opening before Alan Jones went back-to-back in the EB, Meanwhile, reigning champion Mark Skaife suffered a horrific start to his new year.

2005

THE OPENING weeks of 2005 were the “most intense period of F1 racing politics since 1981.”

Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley and the teams had three meetings, with the most important aspect judging the unity of the nine teams that were stunned by Ferrari’s decision to sign a unilateral agreement with Ecclestone when the current rules end in 2007.

In practice Skaife slid off in wet conditions at more than 200km/h and careered into a movable concrete barrier at the end of Turn 1.

Skaife was knocked unconscious and it took 15 minutes for rescue crews to stabilise and remove him from the wreck.

Once conscious it was revealed he suffered a concussion.

The fears of what will happen to Kmart Racing were gone as Holden gave the green light for HSV to back the sister team.

With Kmart heading out, a new name was needed and initially Holden were not a fan of the HSV Dealer Team concept, but that was eventually given approval, until a new title sponsor could be found.

7 - 9 February 2025, Sir Jack Brabham Park, Orange

The 2025 Gnoo Blas Classic celebrates 65 years since the first Australian Touring Car Championship at the Gnoo Blas racing circuit in 1960. As always we’ll have a huge display of classic vehicles, motorbikes, trucks, even boats and caravans – everything on wheels!

2nd week of February at Sir Jack Brabham Park 3 HUGE DAYS!

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