Auto Action #1822

GEN3 DELAY SUPERCARS BOSS EXPLAINS WHY

“HE GETS IT”

PENSKE CHIEF ON SCOTTY MAC AND THE AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE

TICKFORD LOCKS DOWN FUTURE STARS AS COURTNEY SIGNS UP FOR SENIOR ROLE ISSN 2204-9924

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Issue #1822 Oct 21 to Nov 03 2021 $9.95 INC GST

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AUSSIE YOUNG GUNS TAKING IT TO THE WORLD.

CLASSIC CAR AUCTION

SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER 2021 Including a large and varied range of classic, racing and collectable MOTOR CARS, HAND SELECTED MEMORABILIA AND NUMBER PLATES!

HOLDEN VX V8 EUROPCAR SUPERCAR • VIN/Chassis: MILS001 • Engine Type: GMS – Gibson Motorsport Chev 5 Litre • Engine Number: GMS#VR22 • Transmission: Hollinger 6 Speed • Build Date: 2000 Built in 2000 by Les Small -Advanced Vehicle Design from a New body shell supplied by Holden Motorsport for Mike Imrie IMS Motorsport (hence Vin# MILS001) the car has competed in over 30 V8 Supercar Shell Championship rounds.

Gibson Motorsport Chev 5 Litre engine #VR22, 620Horsepower, Gibson inlet manifold, Dry sump, Hollinger 6 Speed H pattern Gearbox, Harrop 9inch Diff housing, MoTeC dash and ECU.

THE RACE CAR HAS COMPETED IN 3 BATHURST 1000S

• 2000 Rodney Crick -Peter Gazzard • 2001 James Brock -Steve Owen • 2002 Christian D’Agostin -David Krause.

For the full list of vehicle details and spares included go to burnsandcoauctions.com.au/portfolio/ holden-vx-v8-europcar-supercar/

1970 LC TORANA XU1 SERIES PRODUCTION RACE CAR

TROY BAYLISS 2018 DUCATI BUILD NO 475/1299

• Transmission: Manual • Engine Type: 6 Cylinder • VIN/Chassis: LC192667A • Engine Number: 3100X18117 • Build Date: 09/1970

Raced by Troy in 2018 ASBK Championship

For further information and a full range of detailed photos go to burnsandcoauctions.com.au/portfolio/lc-torana-xu1-race-car/

For further information and a full range of detailed photos go to burnsandcoauctions.com.au/portfolio/troy-bayliss-2018-ducati/

AUCTION DETAILS: 1 & 2/4 Market Drive Bayswater, VIC 3153

SELLING COMMENCING 12PM (AEDT)

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LMCT 11428

GEN3 DELAYED TO 2023

The future of Gen3 racing in Supercars is secure despite the second delay to the introduction of Chevrolet Camaro versus Ford Mustang competition.

By Paul Gover THE ARRIVAL of the all-new Gen3 cars has been postponed for a second time after a crisis meeting involving Supercars, Ford and General Motors, and homologation teams Red Bull Ampol Racing and Shell V-Power Racing.

The cars now won’t race until the first event of season 2023 on the streets of Newcastle but, critically, the Gen3 program will not be affected by the imminent sales of Supercars.

Supercars CEO, Sean Seamer (pictured in discussion with DJR engineer Ludo Lacroix), says the new owners are well aware of the reasons behind the delay and are committed to the Gen3 program.

“They understand the importance of the core product,” Seamer reveals to Auto Action.

“They certainly know the importance of the update. They have bought into the philosophy and what we are doing with the cars.”

The postponement from the mid-point of the 2022 season to the start of 2023 is no surprise, and comes after months of rumours about delays and unexpected technical problems.

Teams have voiced concerns about the rising costs of the cars, originally hoped to be close to $350,000 but now likely to be close to the current cars and more than $600,000, as well as some of the technical details. Changing a clutch in one of the cars, one team principal tells Auto Action, means removing both the engine and bell-housing to get access.

Seamer is not commenting on any of the technical aspects of Gen3, but admits the turmoil of the Covid-19 year has affected supply of critical materials and components, as well as the ability of teams to build and test their all-new Supercars.

When Supercars was forced to compress the final five events of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship into little

more than five weeks, something had to give. And that something was Gen3.

“It was something that was building.

The tipping point was the change to the calendar, as well as difficulties in getting raw materials,” says Seamer.

“It became obvious to all of us when we looked at the pressure that was being put on all of the teams, and particularly the homologation teams, in quarter four. And the implications that was going to have on the ability to test the cars,” he says.

“We’ve been working through it for a couple of weeks. Therefore, it was a pretty obvious conclusion that was drawn.”

Seamer’s backgrounding for Auto Action goes much deeper than the official announcement of the postponement.

“Factors outside the control of Supercars, including the ongoing challenges with international supply chains and domestic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, are among the major contributing factors,” says the Supercars’ press announcement.

“Lockdowns in various states, which have forced Supercars to condense its racing program over the final three months of 2021, have also limited the Gen3 testing program as originally planned.

“Supercars has arrived at this decision following consultation with key stakeholders including Repco, Ford, General Motors and Supercars’ broadcast partners.”

According to Seamer, confirming the new delay was relatively easy.

“It was collaborative. It wasn’t complicated,” he says.

“It just gives us more time. It gives us more time for testing. It takes lot of pressure off the motorsport department and the homologation teams.

“All of the project timelines need to be re-done and that’s a process we’re doing right now.”

He reveals there was no single component, or date, that made the difference.

“It’s a combination of everything. The electronics challenges are very well documented in the motor industry at the moment. Aluminium is also in short supply.

“It’s not one thing. It’s a range of things that have become problematic. It’s not just Supercars that are affected.”

But Seamer says Supercars is committed to revealing the Gen3 racers to the public during the Repco Bathurst 1000 meeting.

“We will have the cars at Bathurst.

They will do laps, on the proviso that the timeline allows us to complete the necessary shakedowns.”

He’s not ready to announce drivers, but Skaife and his old rival Marcos Ambrose – who will be back on the broadcast team at Mount Panorama – would be obvious choices.

Seamer says there is no embarrassment about the postponement and there is no push-back from any of the stakeholders.

“These are factors outside our control.

There has been unanimous support.

“Everyone wants to do it right. And we have the time to do it right.

“With the situation we’ve been dealt this year with Covid, and the disruption to our calendar, it is what it is.”

With the Gen3 situation now clarified, and things moving quickly on timetables and categories for the events at Sydney Motorsport Park, Seamer says the bottom line is simple.

“We’re looking forwards to going racing again. Everything is looking really good.

We’re encouraged by what we’re seeing around the states.

“Our big focus is getting everyone home for Christmas,” he says.

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COURTNEY – THREE MORE YEARS

By Paul Gover JAMES COURTNEY faces three years as Cam Waters’ tail-gunner under a new deal with Tickford Racing.

The former Supercars champion and tin-top tough guy admits he is now prepared to sacrifice his own results to push Waters towards a Supercars championship.

It’s a significant admission from the maturing racer, who is already the oldest driver in Supercars and seems set to hold the honour until the end of season 2024.

“I’m realistic about my position in the team and the stage I’m at in my career,” Courtney tells Auto Action.

“For sure, I’d love to be the centre of attention, as I have been in the past, but I’m a realist. Things change.

I’m happy now to be doing my job.”

That job is to mentor Waters and focus on the team, something Courtney says he is new for him.

“Even up to two years ago, if you’d asked me if I would be happy in this position I would have just laughed. But not really laughing …

“Now I’m really enjoying it. I don’t know if it’s my age and the point I’m at in my career, and being a father with two growing kids, but things have changed.”

“I’m not saying I’m Cam’s dad, but it changes you a little. To be honest, I don’t know what’s triggered things, but I’m really enjoying working closely with him.”

But one thing that won’t change is Courtney’s desire to compete and win.

“If we’re first and second, and I’m in front, I’m not moving over to let Cam win. But if we’re second and first, I won’t lunge him and take us both out, which is what I would have done in the past.”

Reflecting on his own career, where Courtney was selfish and focussed as he raced single-seaters towards Formula One, and then rebuilt his career in Japan, he sees good and bad examples for his new role.

“It reminds me of when I first came back to Australia and I was racing with Russell Ingall at Stone Brothers, who didn’t help me … at all,” he laughs.

There have been tussles with several team mates since then, including Scott Pye, but Courtney says it is possible to work as a team in Supercars.

“Garth Tander and I raced incredibly hard with each other, but I think we were both really fair. I would expect him to lunge me at the last corner.

“Nothing was done intentionally to screw the other bloke. We were both racing incredibly hard, we had lots of pressure from team owners, and were at the same point in our careers.”

Tickford Racing chief, Tim Edwards, says he has seen the change in Courtney and is happy to extend his deal.

“James has been a great addition to the team since he’s come on board and we’re delighted to be going around again with him in a multi-year agreement,” Edwards says.

“He’s been a great source of insight for our engineers and an excellent sounding board for his team mates since he joined our program, he’s fit in with the whole team really well and has driven some great races for us, so we’re more than happy to keep him around.

“In addition to all that, we expect his feedback will be particularly valuable as we transition to and develop the Gen3 Ford Mustang, which certainly excites both of us quite a bit.”

Courtney is happy to have three more years and

that he is not just sliding into a co-driver role.

“It’s not a co-driving deal, we’re still main game. It doesn’t transfer into anything else.”

But he still knows he needs to sharpen his act for 2022 and beyond.

“Honestly, I think I need to be better in qualifying. Being realistic and honest, and critiquing myself, that’s the weakest part of my whole thing.

“Cam has a bit more of that youthful exuberance.

When you get to my age you don’t drive at 12-tenths in qualifying, like you do at that stage.

“In the racing thing, I think I’m as good as every had been. It’s mental stability, maturity.

While he admits the new deal is not as lucrative as past contracts, he says no-one is being paid the $1 millionand-more salary he landed when he was the subject of a Ford-versus-Holden bidding war after he won his Supercars title with Dick Johnson Racing.

“Nobody loves me that much these days,” Courtney laughs.

Youth and experience confirmed for Tickford Paul Gover RETURNING TO four cars, with two new drivers, is the challenge for Tickford Racing in 2022.

The Melbourne squad has taken on a fourth Racing Entitlements Contract for next year and added Thomas Randle and Jake Kostecki to its driver roster alongside Cam Waters and James Courtney.

It could mean a pair of two-car teams, with the old(er) timers on one side and the kids on the other, but team boss Tim Edwards says that will not be the case.

“It’s not the junior team and the senior team.

We’re going to be trying to win races with all four of our cars,” says Edwards.

“You cannot get away from fact that there is an experience difference. But it builds to a great future in my eyes.

“It’s not a premeditated thing. We’re not going to focus on one garage.

“There is a natural divide between youth and experience. So, by default, the newer guys are going to be learning from the veterans.

Although it’s hard to believe we’re calling Cam a veteran.”

“One of the advantages of a four-car team is that we can grow stars of the future.”

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Tickford was a long-time four-car operation until sponsorship troubles forced it to scale back, but Edwards says increasing from three will work.

“Three cars is such an oddball number to be running. You’re effectively taking a double with one extra car.

“Everything in the Supercars structure is built around pairs of cars. The model is two cars. It’s not like I have get another truckie or anything, and the second truck is not carrying any fresh air.”

“This facility at Tickford is geared around running a large team. All the support networks means you sweat the assets more.

“You can run them internally or have a group of customers. Our model for many years was running four cars, and that’s what we will be doing.”

Edwards is well aware of what he is getting with Thomas Randle, who has been linked for the team for a number of years, but Jake Kostecki is different. Even though both will effectively start 2022 as rookies, Kostecki will have to learn the team.

“He is a hungry young kid. He’s very early and green in his career. He’s effectively only done one season, because it was only a

half-season last year and effectively another half with the way things have gone this year.

“You hope you can mould them into what you want. He’s got a lot to learn and we’re a team that can teach him. He has three team mates to learn from.”

So Edwards sees it as a fresh start for Kostecki (pictured above)..

“You hope you can go on the journey with somebody. We’ve gone down the road with a few over the years. You don’t always strike gold.

“Is he going to win races next year year?

Highly unlikely. Is there a chance he could win races in 2023? Quite possibly.”

“If you look at Cam, we went on a journey together and it worked.”

But what about Jack Le Brocq, who lost out on the musical chairs at Tickford?

“The last two years haven’t gone as we planned. Sometimes you need to change, try something new,” says Edwards.

“The catalyst for change is something that Jack would agree with me about.

That applies to us as a team and also to Jack as a driver. That meant we had to find someone else.

“There is no lack of respect there. We’ve known Jack since he drove for us in 2016 in the Super2 championship.

“We gave it a crack over a couple of years and it hasn’t worked out for both of us. He’ll get to try something new and we will try something new.”

BACK-ENDED $25 MILLION PAYDAY FOR SUPERCAR RECS A $1million bonus, spread over five years, is coming to each of the current 25 Racing Entitlements Contract holders in Supercars as a result of the pending sale of the series.

By Bruce Williams IN THE Supercars equivalent of Afterpay, the $25m will be paid over five years, as a ‘time payment’ of the teams’ revenue for selling their 35% of the business.

The final details of the updated REC, which will now be called a Team Racing Charter once the category changes hands, is being negotiated by Roland Dane and category ‘salesman’ Tim Miles.

The new deal effectively creates a value in each of the RECs at around $1 million, a significant turnaround from recent years when both Tickford Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering handed RECs back to Supercars without payment until they were re-sold to a new owner.

It’s a far cry from halcyon past years when RECs were reportedly sold for as much as $2 million each.

Recently the value had dropped, and the price has been somewhere around $500,000 to $650,000 each if a serious bidder who could support a Supercars program could be found and approved.

However, the full buyout of Archer Capital’s and the teams (REC Holders) ownership in Supercars will result in a total guaranteed payday for each ‘Team Racing Charter’ owner of $650,000 a year for five years.

The sale details reveal that Archer Capital, which has a 65 per cent ownership stake, has shared some of its annual profits from Supercars, which have amounted to around $20 million, with the teams receiving Archer’s 65% share of the initial $19m and Archer receiving only 35% up to the first $19m.

It is understood this was negotiated after the initial sale to Archer once the teams needed additional funding beyond their 35% ownership entitlement to be able to continue to meet their running costs.

This has meant an average annual payday of around $450,000 under the current REC, so with a guarantee of $650,000 per annum for five years, part of that a payment, around $200,000 is due to payment for the REC – hence owners will receive $1 million for a REC.

As other details of the TLA-ARG buyout emerge, it appears that any plans to expand the grid back up from 26 to 30 cars has been rejected by team owners as they look to restrict supply to restore value in the revised REC. The REC situation has become complicated in recent years as some teams have struggled to find the budgets to field cars and service the REC requirement to compete in every race of the Repco Supercars Championship. The current REC has a significant liquidated damages component for “no shows” which is well in excess of $100,000 for each missed event.

Former team owner John Faulkner was once hit with a $300,000 penalty for ‘liquidated damages’ when he failed to compete, a penalty that resulted from complicated ownership tangles that was only settled when Holden agreed to sponsor what was then called the Supercars Development Series.

It is understood that the teams gained another significant improvement in terms by negotiating

out the liquidated damages component in the new charter.

It is understood that the new version sees the team able to give up the new version REC without further penalty and in turn losing any value in it.

Triple Eight and Tickford each put single RECs up for sale this year and attracted three bidders, but - ironically - the only successful tender came from Tickford, which effectively paid to get its own REC back and received a cheque back as well … In a complicated set of processes, Tickford paid because it had struck a deal with T8 to split any proceeds once either of their RECs was sold.

REC owners are reportedly happy with the new financial deal, which lifts their annual income and also pays them for their REC stake.

“It’s as good as money in the bank. It’s a great turnaround from only a few months ago, when one of two RECS that was for sale went begging and is still on the shelf after an underwhelming series of offers,” one team owner told Auto Action.

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BIGGEST EVER F1 CALENDAR

A RECORD-breaking 23 round FIA Formula 1 Championship calendar has been announced including a new track and some returning classic venues for the new era of F1.

For the second year running the Bahrain International Circuit will play host to the season opener, with the grand prix taking place on March 20.

The championship will last for exactly eight months, concluding at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 20.

After Bahrain the championship will visit the Saudi Arabian Street Circuit in Jeddah before returning to Australian after a two-year absence from the calendar (see other story).

Notably, Imola returns for a third straight year, replacing China before the championship heads over to America for the first of two races where F1 will make its maiden visit to the Miami Street Circuit.

“We are very pleased with the interest in Formula 1 from places that want to host races and the growth of the sport and believe we have a fantastic calendar for 2022 with destinations like Miami joining famous and historic venues,” says Stefano Domenicali “We are excited to announce the 2022 calendar as we prepare to enter a new era for the sport with brand new regulations and cars for next year that are designed to create closer racing.

Other returning tracks include the iconic Suzuka Circuit and Circuit de Giles Villeneuve in Montreal.

“The impressive 2022 FIA Formula One Championship calendar is the result of the great work made by Formula 1, led by Stefano Domenicali and his team, in strong synergy with the FIA,”said FIA President Jean Todt.

“Over the past two years, F1 has shown remarkable resilience. This is clearly demonstrated by the continued growth of the sport despite the important challenges of the pandemic.

“The 23 Grands Prix in 2022 will be an exciting showcase for the all-new cars and I am looking forward to it.”

Formula 1 organisers are pleased to see some fans return this year and are looking forward to making another step in 2022.

“The 2022 season follows an unprecedented two years for Formula 1 in which the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in revised calendar of 17 races in 2020 and 22 races in 2021.

Provisional 2022 Formula 1 calendar Date Grand Prix 20 March Bahrain 27 March Saudi Arabia 10 April Australia 24 April Emilia Romagna 8 May Miami 22 May Spain 29 May Monaco 12 June Azerbaijan 19 June Canada 3 July United Kingdom 10 July Austria 24 July France 31 July Hungary 28 August Belgium 4 September Netherlands 11 September Italy 25 September Russia 2 October Singapore 9 October Japan 23 October USA 30 October Mexico 13 November Brazil 20 November Abu Dhabi *subject to contract **subject to FIA circuit homologation

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Venue Sakhir Jeddah Melbourne Imola* Miami** Barcelona* Monaco Baku Montreal Silverstone Spielberg Le Castellet Budapest Spa Zandvoort Monza Sochi Singapore* Suzuka Austin* Mexico City Sao Paulo Abu Dhabi

Cindric: Scotty gets a B+

By Paul Gover THE TWO most important people in Scott McLaughlin’s first year of IndyCar racing, Tim Cindric and ScottyMac himself, rate him the same for season 2021.

McLaughlin is already looking for a Top 10 finish next year, while Cindric – president of Team Penske and the man who has overall control of both its IndyCar and NASCAR programs (pictured, right) – is happy with his newest signing.

He rates the Supercars graduate’s rookie year strongly and gives him almost the same grading as McLaughlin .

“I would say it would be a B or B+. I think he had a good year. He met our expectation,” Cindric says.

“As a whole, it was probably a B+ for me,” says McLaughlin.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Action, Cindric picks up the positives from the youngster’s first year stateside.

“You don’t have to push him. Sometimes you have to pull him back. Nobody is harder on him than himself.

“He showed pace. But he learned really what it takes to run up the front. It’s all the details. It’s not just the speed.”

McLaughlin admits there were ups and downs as he adjusted to everything IndyCar, and confesses that his early runner-up spot on the high-speed Texas Motor Speedway in his first oval race might have come too early.

“I probably got a little complacent in some ways. I expected it to happen sooner, and I was putting a lot of pressure on myself,” he says.

“Once I sorted out my attitude and a few things, it got a lot better.

“I’m in America. I’m racing. It’s what I always wanted to do. I feel like I’m in my prime.”

McLaughlin says he could feel momentum building through the back end of the season, once he admitted he was only a rookie with a lot to learn.

“I started enjoying myself. The last 6-7 races the results got better,” he says.

“As a team, as a driver, I felt we were really punching and going good. The momentum was really there.”

Cindric reports the same sorts of things as he talks about McLaughlin’s season.

“Early in the year there are lots of opportunities, because

Motorsport Images everybody is just getting started. But once they hit their feet it, as the year goes along, it gets more and more competitive. The little details matter more. There is not so much low-hanging fruit,” he says.

“We assured him we had the patience. I’m not sure Penske has ever had a rookie before. It didn’t fit our normal program.“ For Cindric, the expectation for season 2022, as Team Penske contracts to a three-car outfit after adding an extra car for McLaughlin this year, is clear.

“I think it’s obviously to evolve his craft in an Indycar. Scott’s biggest hurdle to overcome is what it takes to do the knockout qualifying. The tyre and everything,” he says.

“Had he been able to get out of the first knockout session, and even the second one, I think you would have seen him finish in the Top 10 in points (this year).

“For him, the ultimate in my eyes anyway is to be an Indy 500 winner. That’s what the world recognises.”

It has also been confirmed that McLaughlin will not be making the trip back to Aus to race at the Bathurst 1000.

THE 2022 AUSSIE GP WILL HAPPEN INTERNATIONAL SPECULATION over the future of the Australian Grand Prix has died down after it was announced that the Australian Grand Prix is on the provisional Formula 1 calendar for 2022.

Ahead of the announcement that the Australian Grand Prix would return as the third round next year, there was increasing international Motorsport Images speculation that should the event not take place, Melbourne would lose its a successful race at Albert Park in place on the calendar permanently.

2022,” a government spokesperson The speculation was built upon due said in a statement. to a slow vaccination rate and tight Following this, the Australian Grand international border closures which Prix was placed in the draft calendar currently force international travellers to as the third round of the Formula 1 conduct 14 days hotel quarantine. season after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, However, with the confirmation of set to be run from April 7-10. the Australian Grand Prix and the “It is extremely pleasing to have the increased vaccine levels nationwide, Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix date the speculation has been extinguished. for 2022 locked in,” said the Victorian Both the Victorian government and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Australian Grand Prix Corporation Events, Martin Pakula. rallied to support and throw their “I want to thank Paul Little, Andrew confidence behind the event.

Westacott and the whole team at the “We’re committed to the Australian SGPC for their hard work in helping to Grand Prix and with vaccination rates deliver the great outcome for Victoria.” rising daily, we look forward to hosting Australian Grand Prix Cooperation

(AGPC) CEO Andrew Westacott was pleased to announce the date after it had been called off during the last two years.

“The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix will make its long-awaited return to Albert Park in 2022,” confirmed Westacott.

The last GPs down under have been cancelled, with the first canned on the Friday of the event as teams prepared to take to the track after two McLaren mechanics tested positive for COVID-19.

Australia has a contract to hold the race until 2025 and the Victorian Government remains committed to hosting the historic race in its capital.

It is expected to get easier with quarantine for international arrivals expected to be loosened in coming weeks.

The Australian Open Grand Slam is set to take place three months prior to the 2022 Grand Prix in Melbourne, which means that Victorian health authorities will already be well rehearsed in the art of running an international sporting event in 2022. Dan McCarthy

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SVG: happy to be back, but ...

Runaways series leader Shane van Gisbergen is busting to get back to racing in the Repco Supercars Championship.

Sydney Motorsport Park? Not so much …

By Paul Gover SHANE VAN Gisbergen knows the Sydney circuit has not been kind to him and the Red Bull Ampol Racing team and is less than happy about mixedcompound racing and only using one track when there are three different circuit layouts.

“I’m ready to go racing. It’s been a long break. Should be a fun finish to the year,” van Gisbergen tells Auto Action.

“I’m raring to go in a couple of weeks.

It should be good.”

But he is less excited when the talk turns to details on the resumption of racing.

“I think it’s an awesome thing that we’re doing, racing and all, but it’s a track that has at least three layouts so there are plenty of formats we could have done a little different,” he says.

“The opportunity is there. It would be a bit more interesting.

“I read mixed tyres and I lost interest pretty quick. I think it’s stupid,” he says.

“I think it’s not too much of a lottery, like last year. I think there should still be some genuine racing, but I don’t like when they mix things up, and don’t give you enough tyres, and stuff.

“You want to see the best cars winning, and feel like you’re a deserved winner.

Well, I do, anyway.

What about the twin 250-kilometre races that will end the SMP sweep?

“No, because you have hard tyres and one set of super-softs, so everyone is going to do the same thing and put the super-softs on at the end. Cruise around for the first 200, or 180 kays.”

Van Gisbergen has looking nearly unbeatable for much of the 2021 campaign, even when he had a broken shoulder, but is not getting over-confindent ahead of SMP. “I think that style of track suits other teams and cars. The Mustang is

good there, obviously, and BJR - and Nick Percat obviously are good. And sometimes Erebus are good, as well, on that style of track,” he says.

“It’s not particuarly our strong point.”

He is not expecting a massive re-shuffle of the pecking order after the long Covid-enforced break, but says The Bulls could struggle “It’s very close, but due to the style of track, not bcause anyone is getting better.

“I don’t focus on anyone. But it seems to be on any particular weekend there are five guys who are consistently there, and another five who might randomly turn up.”

Van Gisbergen says he has had a quiet time through the break, apart from a couple of tests at Queensland Raceway with The Bulls and long laps of durability running with the Triple Eight TA2 test car, which is doing engine work for the upcoming Gen3 Camaro.

“Keeping to myslef. Nothing much, really, Just cruising along,” he says.

“We’ve had a few test days. It’s not like racing, but you get laps.”

The last of those days was the traditional pre-Bathurst hit-out, but there was no chance for co-driver laps with his winning partner from last year stuck in Victoria.

“That’s one negative of doing our test at QR. Garth doesn’t get laps, because he’s stuck in Melbourne.

“We only get three days a year now.

(So) you always have stuff becuase you don’t hve enough time to do it on race weekends.

“You always have a big list of things to get through. Set-ups. Just trying stuff.”

When talk turns to the championship race, SvG reverts to his usual line.

“I think I’m only 140 points ahead, and Bathurst is 300. There is no point thinking about it,” he says.

But van Gisbergen is looking beyond lockdown, and beyond the championship, with hopes of returning to the Battle of Jack’s Ridge Rallysprint.

“That’s in February now. It’s great. But I don’t hold out high hopes.”

And there is also the chance for GT3 racing overseas, starting with the Daytona 24-Hour race where he has starred in the past.

“There are a few opportunities. I’d like to do Daytona again. I’ve got opportunities to do that.

“I’d love to do it again with Lexus, because I like teaming up with Steve Hallam. But I can’t commit. I can’t go and look yet.”

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TICKFORD RACING has confirmed alterations to its car number allocations, ahead of a return to running four cars in the 2022 Supercars Championship.

James Courtney will drive the #5 car next season, after piloting the #44 Tickford car since 2020.

New signings Thomas Randle and Jake Kostecki will take on #55 and #56 respectively. Cameron Waters, who has driven the #6 car in 2021, has yet to re-sign but is expected to remain at Tickford for a seventh straight full-time season. JN

TICKETS HAVE gone on sale for all four Sydney Supercars Championship events and fans will have the freedom to wander the venue after being confined to the grandstand last year. Fans in attendance will have the option of moving around the track and selecting a vantage point of their choosing. Fans who want the comfort of a grandstand seat have the option of purchasing unreserved Grandstand tickets. JN

PORSCHE CARS Australia (PCA) has confirmed that both the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche Sprint Challenge Championships will host two more rounds to complete the season. Carrera Cup will return for the Bathurst 1000 event before heading to South Australia for a double header to round out the 2021 Championship from December 10-12. Porsche Sprint Challenge will host the final two rounds of its series over the same weekend. JN

SCOTT PYE’S Dewalt sponsored Team 18 ZB Commodore has undertaken a minor livery tweak. The Guaranteed Tough tagline will be featured across the sides, bonnet and boot-lid of the Supercar for the Sydney SuperNight on 29-31 October. The team will continue to roll out a number of brand livery activations across the remaining five rounds of the championship. Pye is placed 13th in the standings and turned laps at Winton Motor Raceway on Tuesday. DM THE 2021 Touring Car Masters Series (TCM) will hold its finale at Mount Panorama, reducing the competition to four rounds. After three rounds at Symmons Plains, Mount Panorama and Sydney Motorsport Park earlier in the year, a round during the six-day Bathurst 1000 event will complete the series calendar. Six events were originally scheduled but TCM Category Management and Motorsport Australia have confirmed that the various outright series and class titles will still be awarded following the Bathurst event this December. JN

8 AutoAction

GODDARD TO LEAVE MSR RISING STAR Zane Goddard announced that he will depart Matt Stone Racing at the end of the current Supercars Championship season.

The 22-year-old had been in discussions to extend his contract with MSR for the 2022 campaign, however his management and the team were unable to come to an agreement.

Commercial objectives from Goddard were at the forefront of this decision, along with several other issues that were raised during the course of the failed negotiation process.

Goddard expressed his thanks to MSR for giving him a shot in his rookie Supercars campaign – however, he was disappointed to make the announcement.

“It isn’t an easy thing to make statements like this – however, after consultation with my management and sponsors, we’re in a position where it feels right to explore some new opportunities,” Goddard said.

“I have nothing but gratitude to Matt and the entire team, along with their sponsors.

“We broke new ground with the SuperLite program last year, which led to me being a full time rookie this year – it was a huge step for both the team and I, which means a lot.”

The Queenslander expressed that he is pushing to secure a drive in something for 2022.

“I am working overtime towards what

lies ahead next year,” he expressed.

“The sport is in an exciting phase – we’re seeing the average age of the grid reducing almost by the day and that is something I’m excited about.

“We’re looking at several options and nothing is off the table.

“My family and personal sponsors, who have been with me the entire way, are committed to what we’re announcing today and have all asserted that they remain on board and are really looking forward to what we can do.

“Now’s the time for the next chapter.”

His management team reiterated these claims, stating that it is about finding the right seat for Goddard.

“There are a number of opportunities we’re exploring for Zane,” Goddard’s management team said.

“It is a matter of finding the right fit for him so that he can continue to remain racing and build on his profile.

‘There’s a real youth movement in Australian motorsport right now and

Zane has the chance to be at the forefront of that.

“Given his experience already in Supercars, coupled with the lessons learnt in places like Monaco, Silverstone and Monza racing single seaters, there are some great opportunities that lie ahead.”

Goddard made his debut with MSR last year as part of the MSR SuperLite program before stepping up to race full-time in 2021.

Goddard has impressed this year, scoring a top 10 finish at Symmons Plains and bagging multiple top 10 qualifying performances.

There are a number of seats still up for grabs in the Supercars Championship for 2022 including at Brad Jones Racing, which may be an option.

If a full-time Supercars deal does not prevail, Goddard may well secure a top co-drive and could potentially look at taking part in something like the S5000 Championship – which he has raced in previously. Dan McCarthy

BATHURST 12 HOUR DATE YET TO BE CONFIRMED THE BATHURST 12 Hour will return in 2022 – however the proposed date of March 18-20 is far from secure.

It was revealed by SRO Motorsports founder CEO Stephane Ratel that the Bathurst 12 Hour would return in 2022 after a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Australia’s international border restrictions.

Bathurst is expected to make its return as the traditional season opener for the Intercontinental GT Challenge, slightly later than usual, to give time for Australia’s international border restrictions to relax.

“I’m pleased to announce the Bathurst 12 Hour,” he said.

“I’m very pleased to say that we are announcing a date for next year 18-20 March in Bathurst.

“It’s later than usual but it should give teams more time to prepare.

“Of course, the travel situation is improving in Australia and we are very confident that it will be possible to travel to Australia by the end of March, that is a very important event in our calendar.”

The March 18-20 date announced by Ratel is subject to confirmation and could possibly change as it clashes with the legendary Sebring 12 Hours in the United States of America.

It would be expected that at least several drivers would race in the IMSA Sportscar race over the Bathurst 12 Hour.

It has been a shortened season in 2021 due to the pandemic, so the return of the Bathurst 12 Hour is a real positive for the series next year.

“It’s been a difficult year simply because we couldn’t run in

Japan, and we couldn’t run in Australia,” Ratel explained.

“So as you can see from the number of participating manufacturers we went from nine in 2020 to only five in 2021.

“We still have a very good participation and we’re very pleased about the commitment of the manufacturers.”

After Australia the series goes to Europe for the the Spa 24 Hours in July and is followed by the Indianapolis 8 Hours.

As always, the season will conclude in South Africa with the Kyalami 9 hours, an event which continues to grow year on year.

Due to travel restrictions in Japan, the Asian round at Suzuka remains off the schedule for next year. Dan McCarthy Intercontinental GT Challenge 2022 Schedule R1 – Bathurst 12 Hour March 18-20 (TBC) R2 – 24 Hours of Spa July 28-31 R3 – Indianapolis 8 Hour October 7-9 R4 – Kyalami 9 Hour November 24-26

MULTIPLE FORMULA FORD MANUFACTURERS NOW LIKELY ADELAIDE 500 DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED

FORMULA FORD is now likely to evolution of Formula Ford Racing, Dan McCarthy “That’s why it’s trying worthytoofintroduce preservation remain as a multiple manufacturer as distinct from AN ADELAIDE 500 event date will and that’s what I’m committed category after Motorsport Australia something that’s entirely new to that we be announced ahead of the 2022 bringing back event)4to the streets took note of competitor feedback. know with our(the Formula experience South Australian state election, of Adelaide on that track.

Motorsport Australia Director SA hasn’t worked.”

Labor Leader Peter Malinauskas has “It’s important it’s preserved the of Motorsport and Commercial Smith also admitted that theinplan confirmed. meantime.”

Operations Michael Smith opened for a 2023 introduction along with the The Since announcing his intention tostatus up to opposition Auto Actionleader abouthas thealways current reintroduction of championship maintained – ever since the Adelaide bring the Adelaide 500 state of play in the incredibly popular is looking ambitious. back from the 500 was canned by Premier Steven dead, hebeing has been a fewI hurdles, Australian Formula Ford category.

“If I’m reallydealt honest, think Marshall nearly 12 months ago – that including the Liberal Government Smith explained that the original 2023 introduction might be a bit selling upon re-election he now would revive to be aambitious large portion of the infrastructure idea Formula Ford appears at this point,” Smith felt.such the event when he signed a sign a as the stands and bridges. substantially less likely after listening to “But we haven’t formed a fixed view memorandum of understanding (MOU) Recently, hasAssociation begun on competitors views. on that, theconstruction Formula Ford with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer. the Victoria Park wetlands project “We’re really wanting the DNA to stay “We’ve taken the time to speak to “But ultimately, if we’re, wanting to of course, will be key to all of thissouth as In recent days Malinauskas explained of the final turn on the circuit. the same,” he said to AA. every single one of those people or achieve or carry on the philosophy of well. to“IAuto Action conversations As well Ias no current maintenance, know one that of our preliminary have email every single one of those people. Formula Ford Racing we need to be “What willthis, saywith is our thinking continued with Supercars and that he the track is beginning to worn. recommendations was to look at a “I guess as a consequence of that able to do it in a multi-manufacturer is to run Formula Ford, look the current will announce provisional return date, “We’llcome bring around it back better Malinauskas confirmed to AA that in Malinauskas however saysnext thatyear, he is and not single manufacturer path,” he said. we’ve to thethan viewitthat environment.” cars as a national series should be elected into office in March was before, and I think there’s a lot of the end logic prevailed and is relieved deterred, and will bring the event back “Whilst the (Formula Ford) working perhaps a multi-manufacturer concept Smith believes the reason that then at a point in time, whether that’s next year. excitement outgo.” there to do that.” that his plans bring back the event properly. group hasn’t formed a view, one way is the way to Formula 4 didtonot work in Australia 2023 or 2024, we will introduce a new are inon active with Nearly a fortnight motorsport will be scuppered in appeal this way.

“What would say is, if we bring it or“We another that,conversations I think we’re coming Smith feels that ifago theythe can get the wasnot because it did not to the car as aI championship.

Supercars about our options in terms of community – not just in Australia, but “It’s good to see that the Adelaide back, it’ll be done properly,” said. around to the view that, potentially a rules right, then a multi-manufacturer Australian motor sport scene, this is “We’d run existing cars in he parallel timing and we look forward to making internationally – was shocked to hear City council has come to its senses,” “We don’t expect the wetlands multi-manufacturer format would be series will continue to work why it is essential that Formula Ford with the new ones as sort of a that mixed an announcement of that before the that an Adelaide City Council member Malinauskas said. have beenthat builtwould at the happen southernfor end a better path to go, because that’s successfully. remains as close as possible to its grid and a of next election,” he revealed to Auto was supporting the idea of ripping up “I think it was absolutely crazy to even the parklands to inhibit our ability to consistent with what Formula Ford has “In order to do that (a multi-brand roots. period, broadly speaking, I’d be put Action. the 1.2km Adelaide Parklands section. contemplate ripping up the track, not on a great event thisbe track. always been in this country. category) you have to get the rules “Formula 4 didn’t work here,” he anticipating thatatit’d three to five “I want to thank Supercars and the The comments were met with huge just for potential motorsport offence, but “The track provides a means for “We had the stakeholder forum, we right, we know that, it’s a lot simpler admitted. “It’s clear, people are very years, something like that. motorsport community outthen therewe in criticism South as well just as importantly for the thousands to be able to participate in on the then had the survey, and to craft afrom set of rulesAustralians when you’re only passionate about Formula Ford Racing people “I guess ultimately, it depends Australia for keeping the dream alive, as passionate motorsport fans. upon thousands of families that use this activities like the Pedal Prix, bike invited people to make submissions. have one homologated manufacturer.

“Our thinking is have it as an take up of any new car. DM riding that we can bring the Adelaide 500 At an Adelaide City Council meeting track for a whole range of purposes. in a way that’s utterly healthy – if there back. this notion was overturned with the “The Adelaide track is much loved. are ways to further enhance that, we’re “Essentially, for Motorsport fans, (the council now investigating the option to It’s an iconic racetrack. It’s one of certainly open to it. election will) be a referendum on whether make it a national heritage site, making the most infamous street circuits “But as it stands, our focus is on this race comes back or not, and if significant note of the Senna Chicane, anywhere in the world that’s highly bringing the V8s back as an event, of the illustrious names that won in the ONE OF the country’s longest serving Labour does win at the next election, we named after the late three-time Formula regarded, not just by spectators, but because South Australia desperately category administrators Margaret Hardy category. will be bringing the race back.

1 champion. drivers and teams alike. needs those jobs.”

Hardy assisted all of these drivers on passed away from cancer on Thursday their route to Australia’s top-level.

August 19.

She was liked by all who knew her Hardy was involved in motor racing Cup would earn Payne three maximum of the first eight (8) of the in the industry which is why the motor for decades and was known for her Superlicense points, adding to the final classification of the previous sport community is sad to hear of her dedication to Formula Ford.

10 he accumulated from winning the year’s Series; or passing.

Hardy joined the Light Car Club as Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. ii. Have competed in a minimum of 3 During her time in the category, the office manager and began working However, he has not met other rounds of the Supercars Championship she was named a Life Member of the with the Australian Formula Ford essential criteria conditions, within the last 5 years or; Commission over the coming weeks.”

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has Formula Ford Association. championship 1978, doing paperwork preventing him from qualifying for iii.

Have competed in a minimum The application suggests that confirmed that it has received a Formula Ford Association for the category throughout the ‘80s. a Superlicense without Motorsport of 6 rounds of the Supercars Super2 the team are intending to give the Superlicence dispensation application Early in the following year she became representative Phil Marinon said Australia’s approval Series within the last 3 years or; Kiwi junior driver the #7 Grove from Kelly Grove Racing for Matthew she remained very connected to the the administrator of the category and According to the 2021 Superlicence iv.

Hold a minimum of a Gold FIA Racing Mustang seat, replacing Payne. category. was tasked with organising national Application form, Payne must have Driver Categorisation Andre Heimgartner in the Supercars A Motorsport Australia and was always focused on the result and present took to social media to “Margaret was a tireless Administrator series events, a role she held until 2013. achieved at least one of the following: has not achieved any of these Championship next year. Ford Association theseand requirements, asrather he onlythan requires spokesperson confirmed the of Australia’s looking for accolades. send theirPayne condolences. for Formula also She has dealt with many i.

Be one of the first six (6) of the criteria.

Currently, Motorsport Australia three more points which he can earn application, which will now be the AFFM including category manager “Margaret was very dedicated to Outside of Formula Ford, Margaret motor sport stars over the years and classification application hold a minimum by finishing seventh orall higher in theFormulafinal assessed. on roles suchforasdispensation the race is fordriver the to national competition,” he told things Ford and has of the previousalso took The was well-known as a hardworking requires and any Porsche Carrera Cup Series. year’s Supercars Australia Super2 not guaranteed to be successful, FIA International Grade C licence, “Yes, we have received a secretary for Sandown Raceway. as Auto Action. recently assisted the association in passionate worker.

The 19-year-old currently sits 12th in Series.

If one (1) or more Driver/s Motorsport Australia refused to grant be a minimum of 17 years of age Superlicence application from Matt Hardy was diagnosed with “Her attention to detail and ability to the production of a book on 50 years In her time as category manager the series for Earl Bamber Motorsport currently holding a Motorsport Nathan Herne an exemption to race in Payne,” the spokesperson told Auto and accumulate a minimum of 13 Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2019 support the competitors has been very of Formula Ford in Australia and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig but has shown strong speed, taking Australia Superlicence are within the 2020 Bathurst 1000.

Action. points on the Motorsport Australian and went into Stage 4 in May. strongly acknowledged on social media disappointingly will not get to see the Lowndes, reigning 1000 victor, Will two pole positions andfinal a race victory the first six of the final classification, For more on its the condolences young Kiwi “The application now be Chaz Mostert Superlicence point system during a Auto Action sends to and is undisputed. result.”

Davison, Davidwill Reynolds, in Townsville. eligibility for a Motorsport Australia sensation turn to p26-27. considered jointly by Motorsport five-year period her friends and family. DM “Margaret was a very private person Many Australian racing legends past and Anton de Pasquale are just some A seventh-place finish in Carrera Superlicence shall extend up to a Josh Nevett Australia and the Supercars Payne is a strong chance to satisfy

VALE: MARGARET HARDY – FORMULA FORD’S GUIDING HAND

PAYNE SUPERLICENCE APPLICATION RECEIVED

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LATEST NEWS

THE 2022 GT World Challenge Australia schedule is coming together, with some details revealed recently. One of these is the fact that the Bathurst 12 Hour will not feature as part of the GTWC Australia calendar next year. SRO Motorsports founder and CEO Stephane Ratel announced a very provisional calendar for the Motorsport Australia GT category including visits to Phillip Island, Bathurst, Sandown and Sydney, while two events remain to be confirmed. DM

THE SHANNONS Adelaide Rally is set to field more than 400 entries, the largest number of any tarmac rally event in the world for 2021.

Scheduled from November 25-28, the event has vowed to put fans first after a series of event cancellations over the last 18 months. Each day of the event there is at least one stage designated as a spectator stage, with seven overall over the course of the rally. JN

PREMAT OUT

By Paul Gover ALEX PREMAT is out of Bathurst. Again.

For the second straight year, Covid-19 uncertainty means the Las Vegas-based Frenchman will not be starting the Repco Bathurst 1000 with Tickford Racing.

“I was really looking forward to coming back to Bathurst this year, so I am sad to say I won’t be making the trip to race with Tickford in 2021,” said Premat.

“Unfortunately between commitments I have in the US and difficulties with travelling into Australia we couldn’t put things together and make it work, which is a shame, but I’ll be cheering on the team from home and hopefully next year I can finally come back to Bathurst!”

Now the focus has shifted to 2022, when Tickford team boss Tim Edwards is hoping to have the 2019 winner of the Great Race – alongside Scott McLaughlin at DJR Team Penske – will be clear to travel.

His only drive so far with Tickford was at the pre-season test in 2020 at The Bend, where he lapped in Cam Waters’ Monster Mustang.

“We’ve had to abandon the Premat scenario,” Edwards confirms to Auto Action.

“Alex has his visa and is vaccinated, and was ready to do quarantine, but the travel

is too hard. The flights are nigh-on impossible.

“The risk of being bumped, or having a last-minute delay for a fortnight, is too great. So we’ve had to shelve our plans for this year.”

The Premat situation means that Tickford’s front running Super2 racer, Zac Best, is being promoted to co-driving duties with Jack Le Brocq at Mount Panorama.

“We’re giving young Zac a go. He’s earned it,” says Edwards.

The call up will see Best make his main game debut at the Great Race.

“I’m obviously really excited to be stepping up to make my main game debut at Bathurst with Jack,” said Best.

“I’m still sort of pinching myself realising I’m going to race in the Bathurst 1000.”

“We’ve had a pretty strong year in Super2 so far and I’m feeling really comfortable in the team, and I’m really thankful to the team for seeing that and giving me the opportunity. It’ll be a big week racing both in Super2 and the ‘1000,’ but I can’t wait for it.”

The other Tickford pairings will see James Moffat returning to the Monster

THE UPCOMING 2022 Bathurst 6 Hour will utilise a driver ranking system, after updates were made to the event regulations. Drivers entered into the Bathurst 6 Hour will now be allocated a Professional or Amateur categorisation, and only one ‘Pro’ driver will be allowed per entry regardless of whether they are fielding two or three drivers. Many other global endurance races implement this system, which is designed to ensure the race remains accessible for drivers outside the professional scene. JN

Motorsport Images

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has released a new and extended version of the Australian Rally Championship Sporting and Technical Regulations that is set to apply from 2022-2024. The new regulation set provides competitors and teams with certainty for the next three seasons, allowing them to build and prepare cars to contend in the overall Championship and class Cups. An extended, bumper, seven-round 2022 calendar has already been announced, the National Capital Rally commencing the season in late March. JN

THIRD GENERATION drivers Ben and Jude Bargwanna will return for the 2022 Bathurst 6 Hour, this time pursuing overall honours in class A1 for Extreme Performance All-wheel-drive cars.

The pair finished a close second on debut in Class D of the 2021 race driving a Mk5 Volkswagen Golf GTI and have elected to upgrade to an Audi TTRS. Ben, 20, and Jude, 16, are among the teams to have confirmed their early entry in the 2022 race, scheduled for April 15-17. JN

10 AutoAction

CAMPBELL’S COMING HOME

By Paul Gover COMING HOME has special significance for Matt Campbell has he prepares to partner Andre Heimgartner in the Repco Bathurst 1000.

The 26-year old professional with Porsche, whose career has him pin-balling to major races across Europe and the USA, has been away from Australia for longer, much longer, than he likes.

Now, a late call-up to replace Earl Bamber at Kelly Grove Racing is giving him the opportunity for a trip down under.

“I haven’t been back for a while. A long while,” Campbell exclusively tells Auto Action, speaking from Atlanta in the USA. “I’ll be coming back after Petit Le Mans in the ’States. I should get to Australia around the 16th of November. It’s fantastic.”

Campbell is looking forward to some home time, but also to his unfinished business in The Great Race.

He is a already a winner of the Bathurst

12-Hour with Porsche, both outright and twice in his class driving 911 GT3s, although his results in the 1000 are a DNF with Todd Kelly in a Nissan Altima in 2016 and fifth place with Shane van Gisbergen and The Bulls in 2017 after brake dramas in a wet-dry race.

Campbell has been on the Supercars podium on the Gold Coast was well as sitting comfortably in the Top 10 during the Sandown 500, and is looking forward to joining Heimgartner.

“I know my role in the team, which is to support Andre as co-driver. I know what I need to do. And I just need to do my job for the team,” Campbell says.

“Being Aussie, and always watching the race from a young age, it would be good to tick off the box. You always try toCdo the best job possible.”

He knows Bathurst will be tough because of the summer date in December, but he proved he has the grit and determination when he overcame pain and fatigue to anchor the winning leg in the 12-Hour with a memorable late

Mustang alongside Cam Waters, with Thomas Randle joining James Courtney ahead of his full-time role at Tickford in 2022.

Tickford was at Winton earlier this week for the team’s pre-Bathurst test, sharing track time with Walkinshaw Andretti United.

“We decided to test on the 19th as we’ve got our one remaining test day and so we’ve elected to do our pre-enduro work,” says Edwards.

“It will de-stress the issue. We’ll be distracted enough with doing four weekends of racing in a row at Sydney Motorsport Park without throwing that (a test day) in as well.

“It’s the final test, so the core focus is getting ready for Bathurst. It’s the normal things, giving co-drivers plenty of laps, driver changes, pad changes.

“Testing at Winton is slightly less of an issue for us, as our co-drivers are all based in Victoria.” pass through Forrest’s Elbow.

“You always have to go into such a race with an open mind. It will be really tough. Physically, the race will be quite demanding,” Campbell says.

“My job is to try and do the best job for Andre. Obviously we’ll be pushing for the win, but you do the best job possible and anything is possible in this race.”

Campbell says the deal to jump into the Kelly Grove Mustang came quickly once Bamber, another Porsche factory driver, realised he had a date clash with a testing commitment.

“I’ve worked with Todd in the past. So it was pretty easy and straightforward and we were able to work things through to get things ready for Bathurst.”

Campbell is based in Stuttgart in Germany, close to Porsche headquarters and its Weissach test track, but says he will have been on the road for seven weeks ahead of Bathurst.

He is very happy to hear that new Covid-19 rules for homecoming Aussies to NSW should mean he will be able to avoid the fortnight of quarantine and able to jump straight into preparation for Bathurst.

“Life will be a lot easier without quarantine. Testing is being discussed.

We’ll be chasing every opportunity to get me into the car. We’re still speaking about it.”

Team boss Stephen Grove tells Auto Action he has been close to Campbell for a number of years, even joining him on a Porsche ice driving event inside the Arctic Circle.

“Lots of people have good car control.

His is next level. He is amazing,” Grove says.

“Once it was confirmed Earl couldn’t make the event due to the conflict in his racing schedule, it was vital that we found somebody of a very high calibre.

We’ve all very excited to have him come back and race with us at the Bathurst 1000.”

GEN3 DELAY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MSR

MATT STONE, Team Principal and founder of his own Supercars squad Matt Stone Racing sees the delay of the Gen3 regulations as a real opportunity to move up the grid.

Originally the new Supercars era was set to commence at the start of next year but was pushed back to mid-2022 several months ago.

Due to the ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen persistent issues with international supply chains as well as domestic disruptions, Supercars elected to push Gen3 back to the start of 2023.

Stone sees the decision to begin a new season with a new set of regs as a smart decision, and one he hopes will benefit MSR. “I think the mid-season thing was a bit strange,” he admitted to AA. “There’s a lot of ways to look at it: one you’ve had the start of the year and got your chassis’ built, but at the same time, at the start of any season your focus should be on that racing season – it sort of conflicts with that.

“Then two: if there is a team or a driver combination that really nails the rollout of Gen3 – if it’s coming in midseason and you had a really storming initial Gen3 rollout – you’re not necessarily going to benefit that in the form of a whole season.

“Whereas when it’s a fresh start, whoever gets on top of it sooner does a good job at the start of Gen3 could really benefit a good championship result because of it.

“I look at as a much cleaner and probably better opportunity for those looking to capitalise on the change of regulations with it now being moved to the start of 23.”

Continuity will be key Stone believes heading into the Gen3 era to really hit the ground running at the start of 2023.

MSR joined the Supercars Championship one year into the Gen2 programme and therefore is looking forward to the new era when his team will have the same knowledge and

experience as the other outfits up and down the lane.

“We’ve really looked at Gen3 as an opportunity of a reset,” he explained. “The technical rules will be reset and there’ll be a lot more technical parity between components that were in the past free.

“We look at it as a real opportunity for us to take a step forward performance wise given all the older teams have far more years’ worth of data and technical experience with the current cars.

“We are really optimistically looking

towards the changeover point as a real opportunity for us on even grounds make a big step.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve invested a lot in rookie driver programmes as we developed our team.

“Next year our big focus is on continuing to build the team, our infrastructure and our personnel so that we can start putting together, what we believe will be the whole package to the to be a really strong competitor over the next two seasons.” Dan McCarthy

FOR AUCTION HOLDEN VX V8 EUROPCAR SUPERCAR Built in 2000 by Les Small - Advanced Vehicle Design from a New body shell supplied by Holden Motorsport for Mike Imrie IMS Motorsport (hence Vin# MILS001) the car has competed in over 30 V8 Supercar Shell Championship rounds.

2000 HOLDEN EUROPCAR V8 SUPERCAR

THE RACE CAR HAS COMPETED IN 3 BATHURST 1000S

• VIN/Chassis: MILS001 • Engine Type: GMS – Gibson Motorsport Chev 5 Litre • Engine Number: GMS#VR22 • Transmission: Hollinger 6 Speed • Build Date: 2000

THE CAR ALSO INCLUDES A LIST OF SPARES AND OPERATING EQUIPMENT.

Peter Brock became involved with the team in 2001, personally testing the car at Calder Raceway and offering valued set up advice, as well as liaising with sponsor Delta Europcar prior to launching the rebranded team, featuring James Brock and Steve Owen as drivers for

the 2001 Qld500 and the Bathurst 1000.

The car was driven after Bathurst by Tomas Mezera in the remaining Shell V8 Supercar Championship rounds under the Europcar banner not only in Australia but also New Zealand.

• IMS001 has had some quality drivers over the years including Peter Brock, Allan Grice, Paul Morris, John Faulkner and motorcycle ace Darryl Beattie who all completed testing/development laps.

• The car also proved very

competitive in the Konica development series in Steve Owens hands, and the Kumho V8 Touring car challenge.

• The car is also one of the original entrants in the Australian 5litre touring car association heritage

2000 Rodney Crick -Peter Gazzard 2001 James Brock -Steve Owen 2002 Christian D’Agostin -David Krause.

demonstration events, now sanctioned by the VHRR. • The car is 100% complete and eligible and ready to race in various categories, a spares package and pit complete the history. equipment is included.

• Three original Cams Logs Available now for your competition. books are included to

FITTED WITH: GMS – Gibson Motorsport Chev 5 Litre engine #VR22- 620Horsepower. Gibson inlet manifold, dry sump, triple plate clutch, Hollinger 6 Speed H pattern gearbox, Harrop 9inch diff housing, Harrop 3.5 ratio diff centre, MoTeC dash and ECU, front shocks Ohlins canister fully adjustable, rear shocks Penske canister fully adjustable, Harrop pedal box, adjustable balance bar, cockpit adjustable sway bars F&R, adjustable watts linkage, Harrop 6 Spot front brakes 380mm discs (front), Harrop 4 Spot 330mm discs (rear) 2 Sets Speedline Wheels.

DRIVERS (HAVE DRIVEN IN TESTING): • Peter Brock • Alan Grice • Paul Morris • John Faulkner • Daryl Beattie • Ryan McLeod • Dean Crosswell • Terry Wyhoon • Tyler Mecklem • James Small

AUCTION DETAILS:

1 & 2/4 Market Drive Bayswater, VIC 3153 7TH NOVEMBER SELLING COMMENCING 12PM (AEDT)

Online, Phone and Absentee Bidding available - Restricted floor bidding (subject to Covid-19 changes)

View further entries and access ONLINE BIDDING on website starts 20th October www.burnsandcoauctions.com.au Auctioneer Ashley Burns: 0408 618 294 www.autoaction.com.au

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ENGLISH DRIVER Jack Harvey will drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) in 2022 after signing a multi-year deal with the IndyCar Series team. Harvey will drive the #45 Honda next year after spending the last two seasons at Meyer Shank Racing. The 28-year-old will enter his third full-time season off the back of a 13th place finish in 2021, including two fourth place race results in St. Petersburg and Portland. JN

AUDI SPORT has announced Nico Muller as the first driver to guide it through the Hypercar era, signing him for the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season. Muller will represent Audi throughout the first season of the new ruleset, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 29-year-old Swiss driver has been racing for Audi in a variety of categories such as DTM, Formula E and GT World Challenge since 2014. ADD RAST JN

ROMAIN GROSJEAN and Jimmie Johnson have begun their three-stage Rookie Orientation Program for the Indianapolis 500, completing their first laps of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The test day was dampened by a persistent rain that prematurely ended the session, but both drivers passed the required program.

Johnson and Grosjean completed the first two of the three phases and more than half of the third before rain halted proceedings. JN

ALPINE WILL enter the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar category from 2024, joining several manufacturers who have committed to the new formula. The manufacturer intends to commit to the WEC’s Hypercar category for four years, taking them through to the end of the 2027 season. Alpine has confirmed a two-car entry for the top tier Hypercar category, designed around an Oreca chassis with an Alpine engine developed in Viry-Chatillon, France. JN

IN 2022 the FIA Formula 2 Championship will be expanded to 14 rounds (28 races). The Formula 1 feeder series will feature as the primary support category at all but one of the F1 races that will be held across Europe and the Middle East next year, skipping only the French Grand Prix. Next season the Formula 2 will revert back to the two-race format used prior to this season. RV

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SMP SCHEDULE/CATEGORIES Josh Nevett SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP action is just around the corner, so here is a breakdown of what categories will be running at each of the Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) events.

BUNNINGS TRADE SYDNEY SUPERNIGHT – OCTOBER 29-31 The resumption of Supercars racing at SMP will feature four support categories.

The Toyota Gazoo Australia 86 Series and V8 SuperUtes lead the support card for the opening event of four at the Western Sydney venue.

Local state categories NSW Sports Cars and NSW Sports Sedans will also feature, with all four support categories to have multiple practice and qualifying sessions ahead of a three-race event.

The races for each category will be spread across the Saturday and the Sunday.

Supercars action will include Qualifying and a Top Ten Shootout on Saturday with the first race of the weekend to commence at 7:10pm.

The main game will include back-to-back qualifying sessions between 10:30am – 11:00am on

Sunday, with two races starting at 12:45pm and 4:25pm.

SYDNEY SUPERNIGHT – NOVEMBER 6-7 The support categories for the second weekend are the NSW Production Touring cars and the NSW Formula Ford Championship.

The NSW Production Touring Cars Championship combines production car categories, Street Sedans and Saloon Cars.

In NSW Formula Ford, Zack Bates currently leads the standings while Auto Action young gun Tom Sargent sits sixth having taken part in just one out of the two rounds.

The event will see two Supercars races held under lights on a single weekend for the first time since 2011.

On both Saturday and Sunday the Supercars racing will take place at night with races starting at 7.45pm and 7.30pm respectively. The other Sunday encounter commences at 4.20pm AEDT. Supercars will begin the round with two 30-minute practice sessions on Saturday followed by a knockout qualifying session before the night race.

On Sunday there will be two qualifying sessions before two 125km SuperSprint affairs to conclude the event.

SYDNEY SUPERSPRINT – NOVEMBER 13-14 The schedule for the third Sydney Supercars event has a mix of local and national categories once again on the program.

The sole Sydney SuperSprint will take place over the weekend of November 13-14 and will be supported by the V8 SuperUtes and NSW Improved Production series.

Both of the support categories will have a practice session, qualifying and race on Saturday.

Sunday will see the NSW Improved Production Series run its final two races, while the V8 SuperUtes will contest a further three as part of a four-race round.

During the weekend Supercars will run three 125km races, one on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight – November 19-21? See below for speculation on the possible Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight line-up. .

AND SMP4?

AUTO ACTION understands that the final Sydney Motorsport Park round will support the largest group of major categories of the quartet, as it concludes just nine days before the six-day Bathurst 1000.

There has been much speculation around what these categories are. The Australian Carrera Cup Series will miss SMP and has instead locked in its final two rounds at The Bend Motorsport Park, after Bathurst.

The ever popular Touring Car Masters category has also announced it will conclude its season with one final round, at Bathurst.

At this stage, the opening round of the S5000 Tasman Series is locked in – but potentially dependant on teams being able to cross back into their home states without quarantine at the conclusion of the second round at Bathurst – in particular South Australian teams.

ARG/Daniel Kalisz AA understood when it went to print that Super2 and Super3 would be on the support card as well as another round of the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series.

Australian Racing Group category, the National Trans Am Series, was reportedly likely to feature for the first time as a Supercars support since

Insyde Media the 2020 Adelaide 500, while for the first time ever, TCR Australia is also potentially set to race on the support bill although still the subject of ASRG/ Supercars negotiation.

However AA understands that this final event content is changing day by day as borders continue to open and close around the nation.

DECIDED SUPERCARS HAS given competitors extra incentive to perform well in Sydney, attaching a $25,000 cash prize to results over the four events.

As well as the prizemoney, an inaugural ‘Beaurepaires Sydney Cup’ will be awarded to the driver who accumulates the most points over the four Repco Supercars Championship rounds being held at the Western Sydney venue across October and November.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer proud announced the new initiative: “This will add another element of excitement for fans and drivers over four weeks of racing at Sydney Motorsport Park,” Seamer said.

“Thank you again to Beaurepaires for their continued support of Supercars in 2021 and the first-ever Sydney Cup.” The trophy and $25,000 cheque will be presented to the winning driver at the last podium presentation of the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight on November 21.

Following the Sydney events, the six-day Repco Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama from November 30December 5 will conclude the 2021 Supercars Championship.

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EXPANDED FTA COVERAGE FOR BATHURST 1000 SUPERCARS CEO Sean Seamer has announced that free-to-air coverage of the Bathurst 1000 will be expanded to four days for this year’s event.

In 2021, the Bathurst 1000 will be run over six days rather than the traditional four, and contain no less than nine supporting categories.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia the event has been pushed back to December and with the increased-on track activity comes an extra day of free-to-air TV coverage.

“Five days will be broadcast live and completely ad free on Fox Sports,” Seamer revealed. “Then we’ll be picking up Channel 7 on Thursday and Friday to lead into the weekend.”

In the past the free-to-air coverage has not begun until Friday.

In a bid to avoid the potential sweltering heat of an early December day, Seamer explained that the

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BORDER CHANGES GALORE ALMOST DAILY, borders are opening and closing around the nation – however the general trajectory is heading in a positive direction with national race teams and drivers more likely to contest the Supercars rounds at Sydney and Bathurst.

The states of Victoria and New South Wales are now quite open with each other, as residents of Victoria are now able to travel into Greater Sydney without undertaking the mandatory 14 days quarantine, a big win for Victorian

Supercars teams.

Even if Victorians have visited a red zone, they will be able to travel into the Greater Sydney area provided they have been double vaxxed, returned a negative test result 72 hours before arrival, and isolate until providing another negative test result within 72 hours of entering the state.

The same rules apply for NSW residents in red zones including Greater Sydney, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and Wollongong – all are

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Bathurst 1000 will start later than usual.

However, there is no issue with time constraints or a time certain finish as Channel 7 has offered to move its evening news bulletin until later in the day.

“All we’ve done is shift the schedule back, so it is no different to what it would have been anyway,” he said.

“Channel 7 has done a really good job to move the news so it’s all about daylight and safety.

“Given it’s December, now that I’ve said it, it’s probably going to rain, but given it’s December we should be pretty comfortable with the weather.”

The Supercars free-to-air coverage moved back to Channel 7 this year after the network previously lost the rights at the end of 2014.

Seamer also confirmed that the Supercars Championship sessions

would run from Thursday through until Sunday afternoon, while the supports will run on the opening two days.

“The Supercar schedule over the weekend hasn’t changed significantly other than finishing the race a little bit later on the Sunday so that we can run into prime time, so a big thank you to Channel 7 for agreeing to move the news to incorporate that,” he said.

“But all of the other categories in the lead up to the weekend will be getting a lot of their practice and qualifying out of the way.

By the time you get into things on Thursday, it’s going to be actionpacked all the way through to 7 o’clock on Sunday night.”

The six-day event commences on November 30 before finishing with the main race on Sunday December 5. .

Dan McCarthy

now able to enter Victoria under the same rules.

This news guarantees that Victorian teams will not have to self-isolate when re-entering the southern state.

Not only that, but teams in the support categories will also be able to move freely to and from NSW between the SMP and Bathurst rounds should they deem it necessary without undertaking two weeks quarantine.

However, one side note is the Greater Sydney area will not be able to visit regional New South Wales until November 1.

As AA went to press, Queensland announced that it would allow home quarantine from November 17 for Queenslanders returning home, provided that the individual is fully vaccinated and has returned a negative COVID-19 test result.

This means that Triple Eight Race Engineering, Dick Johnson Racing and Matt Stone Racing will not be forced to

quarantine in a Queensland hotel for two weeks.

From December 17, Queensland will remove home quarantine altogether, with a COVID test still required upon arrival.

This guarantees everyone will be ble to return in time for Christmas following the 1000.

In other border news, New Zealand’s South Island has re-opened its travel bubble to Australia.

This is a possible route for Kiwi Wildcard pairing Richie Stanaway and Greg Murphy to make it over for the Bathurst 1000.

Temporary ‘sport’ Visas are becoming more common, with more international sports teams heading down under.

A ‘sport’ Visa would be useful for Murphy and Stanaway, as well as any internationals looking to enter the S5000 Tasman Series, which begins next month.

Dan McCarthy

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BUNDY DEPARTS PORSCHE AUSTRALIA ROLE

PORSCHE CARS Australia (PCA) has announced that Troy Bundy will depart after four and a half years as Head of Motorsport.

Bundy will leave the role in December, after the completion of the 2021 motorsport season and will announce his new role in the near future.

Since joining PCA in 2017, the experienced sporting figure has contributed to the operation of both Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia.

The future appears to be bright for Carrera Cup, after the confirmation of 30 new 911 GT3 Cup cars (Type 992) already sold ahead of the 2022 Carrera Cup Australia season.

PCA’s Sales and Motorsport Director Toni Andreevski was grateful for Bundy’s contributions to Porsche motorsport during his tenure.

“On behalf of the entire team at Porsche Cars Australia, I would like to sincerely thank Troy for his contribution to the successful development of the Porsche motorsport business in Australia,” Andreevski said.

“Motorsport in is Porsche’s DNA, and Troy worked tirelessly on behalf of competitors, teams and our many partners to ensure both one-make Porsche racing categories in Australia thrived.

“Whilst we are sad to see him leave us, we wish him every success in the new endeavours that lay ahead.”

Bundy was proud of their achievements and equally looking forward to the future in his yet unconfirmed new position.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working on the Porsche Motorsport programme in Australia, and I am really proud of what my team and I have been able to achieve during this time,” Bundy said.

“While I am moving on to my next project, the Porsche motorsport programme in 2022 has never looked stronger and I am confident the team will continue to deliver the best support categories within Australia.”

Previously Bundy has had two stints working in Supercars as both a sponsorship manager and general manager of sales.

Auto Action believes that Bundy has scored a job with Porsche in North America.

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FALLOUT FROM DTM FARCE CONTINUES Josh Nevett DEUTSCHE TOURENWAGEN Masters boss Gerhard Berger has labelled the controversial Norisring season finale disappointing, admitting the farcical finish had tarnished the reputation of the category.

The drama ensued in the final race of the season, in which championship leader Liam Lawson was collided with recklessly by Kelvin van der Linde, ruling the Kiwi out of the race running with heavy damage.

Red Bull AF Corse driver Lawson required a top-six finish to ensure the title but could only look on from the sidelines as Mercedes ordered multiple drivers to stand aside to allow Maximillian Gotz to secure the championship with a race victory.

It was an improbable result for the German, who had only won one race for the season before sweeping the final weekend.

Across the three final races of the DTM season, van der Linde caused collisions with Lawson in each race.

Speaking on the events in Nuremberg, Berger was downcast.

“Honestly, I slept really badly the last few nights,” Berger said.

“I’ve been a motorsport fan through

and through for 40 years and my sportsman’s heart can’t cope with such artificial changes of position.

“Both topics, the Mercedes team order and van der Linde’s manoeuvre, have not only triggered discussions, but have done damage to the DTM. “I can assure all DTM fans that we will use all of our options to improve the 2022 regulations so that fair competition will be the priority.”

Lawson would have been the youngest DTM champion in history at 19 years of age, instead presenting for his post-race interview aggrieved and ruing what could have been.

“Exact same as yesterday, I really thought the guy (van der Linde) would learn after what he did yesterday,” Lawson said.

“It’s really just disappointing for the whole team – they really deserve this they’ve worked so hard this year.

“Every weekend they’ve given the absolute maximum, so I really wanted to repay them this weekend with the title.

“We had it right there as well, pole position again today, car was really good, had another good start, but sometimes you just can’t prevent the same idiots from doing the same thing.”

Copping harsh criticism from all corners of the sport, van der Linde issued his public statement a few days on.

“Liam and I spoke last night, we spoke about everything that happened and I apologised for the actions that cost him the championship,” van der Linde wrote on his personal social media accounts.

“I also apologised for how I handled the media directly after the race… I didn’t handle it well and I’m not proud of that.

“Us drivers are forced to make high stake decisions within a split second of time.

“Those are not always the right ones, and they often have serious consequences.

“I will be back here next year. And I will do many things better.”

There were four drivers in contention for season honours heading into the final battle, Marco Wittman vying with Lawson, Gotz and van der Linde.

After all was said and done, it was van der Linde who completed the season podium with Wittman finishing fourth.

WRC SILLY SEASON WELL UNDERWAY THE FIA WORLD Rally Championship seats are being quickly taken, with half secured in the last fortnight.

Toyota’s factory Gazoo Racing team confirmed the entirety of its 2022 driver line-up, while M-Sport Ford confirmed its first and Hyundai its final two.

The big news is the confirmation that seven-time WRC title winner Sebastien Ogier will take a step back from full-time driving in 2022.

The reigning champion is looking forward to finishing his full-time career on a high by winning the 2021 title in Monza.

“I’m looking forward to having more time with my family after this year, but at the same time I’m very happy to remain with Toyota Racing Racing and having the chance to compete in some rallies next year,” Ogier said.

“I’m very thankful to the team for giving me this opportunity to keep doing on a partial basis what I love to do.

“The schedule of events is not clear yet, but I will do my best to help the team in the manufacturers’ championship and to develop the car.”

The Frenchman will share the driving duties with Finnish youngster Esapekka Lappi who returns to the team for the first time since the end of 2018.

Lappi won Rally Finland in 2017, just his fourth rally with the team, however 2018 did not go to plan and he left to join Citroen.

While Ogier and Lappi perform part-time duties, Welsch front-runner Elfyn Evans and emaerging star Kalle Rovanpera have both been re-signed for 2022.

Irishman Craig Breen makes the move from his role as a part-time Hyundai factory driver to the leader of the M-Sport Ford team on a two-year deal.

“I have been working towards achieving a full-time seat in the World Rally Championship since I was a little boy, so this was an opportunity I just couldn’t turn down,” enthused the 31-year-old.

“It has been a long

road for us in the World Rally Championship with many twists and turns but we have now been given a golden ticket to drive for the most prestigious marque in motorsport and fight for the World Rally Championship.”

Hyundai had already confirmed it had retained the services of Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak, however the two part-time drivers had not been named.

In the lead up to his home rally Spaniard Dani Sordo was retained, while second-generation racer Oliver Solberg (son of 2003 WRC winner Petter) was announced as Breen’s replacement.

Dan McCarthy

Grosjean still unsure

By Paul Gover FORMULA ONE refugee Romain Grosjean is taking things slowly, but still very fast, as he builds to his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500.

Grosjean was badly scarred, not only on his burned hands, by the fiery F1 crash that ended his grand prix career and made only one oval-track start in his first year as an IndyCar racer.

He has admitted talking to his family about the dangers on ovals, as well as assessing the risk for himself.

“As a racing driver, we always decided how much risk we want to take, and it’s up to us to draw the line,” says Grosjean.

“I think you can’t try to do something that’s not possible. On a road course I feel like sometimes you can try doing some magic. On an oval, I don’t think that’s something you want to try.

“I think you need to respect ovals a lot.

It doesn’t feel fast when everything goes well, but if you start losing the rear-end... you know the wall is there.”

Grosjean finished 14th at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Madison in Illinois and now, with the the biggest prize in motorsports in his sights as well as a full-scale assault on the IndyCar title, he is being forced to reconsider his original reticence about ovals.

“Some parts are really fun. Some parts

are really boring. It’s about managing yourself a lot, on what the car can do,” Grosjean said after his first oval race.

“I really enjoyed that. I had a lot of confidence. I think we learned a lot. Right now I want my head to stop spinning.”

Things stepped-up dramatically at his Rookie Orientation at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he ran alongside Jimmie Johnson in his first drive with the Andretti Autosport team that has signed the Frenchman for next year and the next stage in his IndyCar career.

“The emotions of ovals for me are very new even though I made a race (at Madison). I just feel like it’s not something that is particularly comfortable.

“It’s not like road courses or a street course where I know what to do and I know how to progress. Where here I have to learn everything.

Grosjean says the speed came easily, even though he was learning everything from the track and car to a new team.

“It’s funny. I wasn’t fast, but the lap was still 200 mph, which is fast, but it doesn’t feel like it.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s that fast. It feels smooth, and it flows.

“You can imagine during the race how can I plan the move, how can I get the momentum going. Qualifying, yes, for

sure it must be ... pretty something.”

His first session, in the stepped program that’s compulsory for every Indy 500 rookie, was trouble-free.

“It honestly didn’t feel too bad on the first lap with the experience from (World Wide Technology Raceway), where the car is lively because of the radius of the corner and you brake in Turn 1.”

But as the speed rose, he knew the potential consequences of a mistake.

“Again, the question, always ask the question, how fast is it?” he says.

“It doesn’t feel fast because you go in a straight line in a track that’s designed for it, then you go in the corner. Yes, you know it’s fast.

“Whilst everything is under control and the car feels good, it just feels like it’s normal. If things go wrong, they go wrong very, very fast.

“You’re still doing 200-something miles an hour. The cars are getting safer and safer. You try to respect the wall, stay well from that zone.”

Grosjean says his move to the Andretti squad for 2022, where he is replacing Ryan Hunter-Reay in DHL colours, is going well.

“Since the (F1) crash, I’ve seen life differently. I’m grateful for the opportunity I have.

“Every day I remind myself how lucky I am to be alive, how lucky that I came in IndyCar and realised that it’s a place where I can be super happy.

“So obviously being in a team like Andretti, having Michael (Andretti) coming in the morning, having all the engineers and the database, all of that together, it’s just a great thing to live. I realise every day that I live something quite special. When it’s a bad day or when you know things are not right, I’m like, ‘Hey, you can be grateful of what you’re having at the minute’ and I need to enjoy that.”

‘GROSJEAN GLOVES’ DEVELOPMENT PROGRESSES

Josh Nevett MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA will continue to follow the progress of prototype ‘Grosjean gloves’, after a successful test at the Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix.

Five drivers were permitted to use prototype FIA gloves that aim for better heat transmission protection during practice at Istanbul Park, developed after Romain Grosjean suffered serious burns in a crash last year.

When asked if the new technology would be implemented into Australian motorsport, Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith said that the governing body was monitoring all safety developments.

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“We’re always monitoring the latest motorsport developments in safety equipment, trends and regulations across the globe to make our sport the safest it can be,” Smith told Auto Action.

“Motorsport Australia and the FIA work closely on many safety initiatives and we will certainly be interested in any new innovations and the testing of any new apparel.

“At this time, there are no plans to change the race apparel regulations.”

Grosjean escaped from his burning car during last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, when the Haas machine burst into flames after a high-speed impact with a safety barrier.

The Frenchman sustained significant burns to both hands and since then the FIA has taken up research into more effective heat resistant gloves.

Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel were the drivers who tested prototype gloves in Turkey, trialling Sparco, OMP, Puma and Alpinestars products respectively.

“I used them, and I knew that I was going to use them but after, the fact that I didn’t know I had used them… what I’m trying to say is that is a good

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thing,” Ricciardo said.

“I didn’t notice the difference. I’m also not very fussy with my kit and stuff, so I’m not that particular.

“It’s a nice addition without any downside really.”

FIA regulations now allow non-homologated equipment to be used for research purposes.

An FIA statement explained the purpose and aims of glove developments.

“The prototype gloves are designed to deliver increased heat transmission protection in relation to the currently homologated gloves,” the FIA explained.

“This corresponds to an increase in the time which the glove can be exposed to direct heat from flames before which temperature on the skin reaches a level of significant concern.

“The specific changes in glove specification required to achieve this increased protection must be balanced with the levels of comfort and dexterity required to operate the car safely and for extended periods.

“It is considered that any effects of the specification changes on comfort or dexterity can only be evaluated effectively during track testing.”

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NZ’s WRC RALLY THE WORLD Rally Championship will return to New Zealand next year following the release of the 13 round calendar for 2022.

After securing a spot on the 2020 schedule prior to the pandemic forcing a number of changes, Rally New Zealand will finally make its long-awaited return to the WRC after a 10-year absence.

The first WRC hybrid-era calendar was released following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council overnight. With 2022 to see events return to New Zealand and Japan as the championship returns to a more global presence following two seasons run almost exclusively on Europe.

“Next year will be a momentous and thrilling one for the FIA World Rally Championship as we welcome the new hybrid era Rally1 cars, part of a portfolio of regulations to drive the series towards a greener and more sustainable future,” said Jona Siebel, WRC Promoter Managing Director.

“Next year also marks the WRC’s 50th season and we have a calendar to match.

We’re delighted to welcome back New Zealand, a rally which first appeared in 1977.”

“Its gravel roads are a drivers’ delight and although our plans to return in 2020 were unfortunately derailed by Covid-19, it’s fantastic we can now push through with those.”

“The pandemic sadly brought the globe to its knees but as the world recovers so, too, does the WRC.” “We previously outlined our strategy for an equal spread of rallies between Europe and long-haul destinations and the 2022 calendar is a significant step towards that goal.”

The season will get underway, as is tradition in January, with the Rallye MonteCarlo in the French Alps.

WRC competition will then see the new Rally1 hybrid cars tested on snow, tarmac and gravel roads across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific with Japan to host the final round in November.

One event is still currently listed as TBC. The tarmac event in August is likely to be run in Northern Ireland, however a number of options do remain in contention.

Rhys Vandersyde WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 SCHEDULE DATE EVENT SURFACE 23 January Monte-Carlo Mixed 27 February Sweden Snow 24 April Croatia** Tarmac 22 May Portugal Gravel 5 June Italy Gravel 26 June Kenya Gravel 17 July Estonia Gravel 7 August Finland Gravel 21 August TBC Tarmac 11 September Greece Gravel New Zealand* Gravel 2 October 23 October Spain Tarmac 13 November Japan Tarmac *subject to Event Promotion Agreement **subject to ASN Agreement

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SARGENT CHOOSES SPRINT CHALLENGE

88 RACING SIGNS YOUNGSTER FOR S5000

NATIONAL KARTING frontrunner Blake Purdie has announced that he will race for 88 Racing in the S5000 Tasman Series as well as the S5000 Championship next year.

The youngster had great success in karting, finishing fourth in the Australian Superkart 125cc Gearbox Championship in 2019.

In 2020 he made the step into car racing in the Miniature Race Cars Championship before moving into the Australian Prototype Series in 2021.

In a month he will make the leap into the S5000 Championship driving a Nippy’ssponsored S5000 with 88 Racing.

“I am excited to announce that I will be racing in the S5000 series in 2021/22 with 88 Racing,” Purdie revealed on Facebook.

“My first race meeting will be at Sydney Motorsport Park at the end of November followed by the Bathurst 1000.”

88 Racing fielded a single car for Cooper Webster in the inaugural S5000 Championship.

Notably Webster took victory in a wet and wild race at Phillip Island holding back Tickford Racing protégé Thomas Randle.

On Sunday Purdie drove the V8 powered open-wheel machine for the first time at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

“The test day was good,” he said. “It was my first time in the car and it took a few sessions to get used to it,” Purdie said.

“By the last session I was finding the limit, making a few tweaks and playing around with it.

“The power is ridiculous. I’m used to prototypes and Formula 3 cars with four-cylinder engines but with the V8 it’s crazy, it just keeps going in any gear!

“It’s been great having Ian (Richards) around.

He’s very experienced in F3 and open wheel cars and is very valuable to have on our side.

“I’m really pumped to head to Sydney and Bathurst and I think the S5000 will be insane at those two tracks.

Team owner Albert Callegher expressed that he was delighted to sign another young hot shot.

“We have pleasure in announcing a long-term relationship for our second car, number 48,” Callegher said.

“The Teams focus is younger successful drivers with the passion for hard work and driving skill.

“We will run ‘open book’ with car #88 as a team with full knowledge between the drivers, car set up driving styles and more. It’s going to be quite exciting have two quality drivers race side by side in the one team and with no secrets.

“We expect to announce the driver of Car 88 within a week after completing final negotiations and budgets.

“We’re going to have a strong two-car team for the S5000 Tasman Series which will set us up well for the 2022 S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.”

Dan McCarthy

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Josh Nevett FORMULA FORD racer Tom Sargent will move into the Porsche Sprint Challenge next year, driving Cameron Hill’s old machine in the second-tier series.

The 19-year-old will head into the one-make series off the back of a Victorian Formula Ford crown, having been declared champion with seven wins from eight races in September.

Sargent also has a strong chance of taking out the national Formula Ford title in 2021, sitting top with five wins from six races at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) and Wakefield.

The young New South Welshman experienced tin top success in the Bathurst 6 Hour back in April, topping the Class D Production results alongside Lachlan Mineeff.

After a dominant season in Australian motorsport, Sargent will be shifting to the single-make national Porsche competition in 2022.

“What we’re going to do next year is we’re going to go into the Porsche Sprint Challenge with Cameron’s (Hill) old car,” Sargent told Auto Action.

“That’s our plan for next year along with the Bathurst 6 Hour – we’re going to do that again.”

Sargent drove a Toyota 86 in both the 2019 and 2021 iterations of the Bathurst 6 Hour, but he will be looking to challenge higher up in the overall standings in a different car next time around.

“In what car, we’re not going to quite specify yet, but we’ll be doing that as well as the Sprint Challenge.

“I can confirm we’re coming out of the 86 into something with a little bit more horsepower.

“That’s hopefully not far away from being announced as well.”

In inheriting Cameron Hill’s previously raced machine, Sargent will be placing further faith in the CHE Racing crew of Cameron and Colin Hill.

The former currently sits atop the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia standings, with six wins from nine races thus far including a hattrick at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Hill has raced in the category since 2018, finishing in the top 10 every season.

For Sargent, it will be his first time racing a full season in a tin top category.

Read more about Sargent’s outstanding year and racing roots in his ‘Young Gun’ feature from Page 40-41.

NEW MARC MODEL ANNOUNCED MARC CARS Australia has announced its latest model, set to debut in 2022, the MARC GT. The specialist endurance racing car, designed and built in Australia, will broaden the MARC range with the introduction of the new GT body style next season.

Following on from the success of the MARC Focus and MARC Mazda chassis’ the next generation MARC car has once again been built in partnership between MARC Cars Australia and PACE Innovations.

“The MARC Focus and Mazda have both been such a successful car for the MARC Cars team and it was a key point for the design brief that we didn’t lose the identity of the previous MARC cars in this new design.” said Geoff Taunton, owner of MARC Cars Australia.

“Working with PACE Innovations whom have designed our previous MARC Focus / Mazda & MARC II V8, they immediately understood the direction this car needed to go – so we know the quality and finish will be to the highest standard in line with our other models.”

The MARC GT will continue to run most of the proven components from the previous

models including the Albins ST6 Transaxle with Paddle Shift, Brembo brake package, PACE Innovations modular upright system.

Notably the company will adopt the GM LS3 engine for the latest MARC GT model instead of the previous used Coyote 5.0L V8.

The new MARC GT body style will be made up of custom moulded composite material that has been designed and built in Australia.

In addition, the latest MARC Car will continue to combine the highest safety standards on par with previous models and a combination of affordability and performance for owners & drivers.

An initial build will see the first three MARC GT’s debut as part of the company’s one-make series – the MARC Cars Championship – which joins the AMRS calendar for 2022.

Rhys Vandersyde

PRAGA TO RACE GROUP2A

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FRESH OFF the announcement that Praga will be distributing its highly successful R1 race car down under, Australia/New Zealand director Rick Campbell has revealed more details about the machine’s category eligibility and local demand.

Now that the ANZ branch of Praga’s global network has been confirmed, the manufacturer aims to have its car entered in Australian racing by early 2022.

Campbell has said that the R1 will initially fit into Motorsport Australia Group 2A category, comprising of ‘Sports Cars, open and closed’.

“At this stage we’re looking at the Motorsport Australia 2A category,” Campbell told AA. “Hopefully, we’re hearing some noises that there may eventually be a new prototype category that will include LMP-type cars, obviously the Radicals, andPragas.

“But that’s a bit of a To Be Advised, more just noises we heard at this stage.

As it stands at the moment the 2A category is where we’d sit.”

The Praga R1 has its initial IN JUST a couple of performed weeks, morewell thanin170 stints in the UK, USA, and Europe, recording expressions of interest have been lodged to enter over 30 wins and podiums as well as winning the inaugural three-day Porsche Motorsport the 2020 Britcar Endurance Championship. festival, Stutt’Fest.

The features (643kg), Thedesign event will be heldainlightweight January next year and composite monocoque powered by a 272kW will celebrate all things Porsche, hosting anything four-cylinder engine. brand. made by the German Campbell believed that demand for the R1 Early November is the target for organisers would come from both competitive to officially open entries, but they are racing already outfits and amateur very pleased with theenthusiasts. initial interest, with 170 “We have an and a hope and a expressions of expectation interest.

drive and desire that this will not only become involved in competitions, but we also see a bigger market in terms of a track day warrior,” Campbell said.

“As long as people can get on track, we believe that the car will generate a significant amount of interest and take off from there.”

The Praga R1 is set to be offered for $400,000 on Australian shores and has generated strong interest beyond its initial two-car distribution.

“We would, based on our projections, expect that we can sell initially somewhere in the vicinity of eight to 10 cars,” Campbell predicted.

“We are on the verge of signing an official distribution agreement through a very significant player currently in the Australian auto market to represent us in different states as well.

“A massive caveat around that is people’s access to the track because this is a track only car, not like a Porsche GT3 RS or something that you can track and road.”

As for the future, Campbell suggested that Praga expand their product range if soon asmay theylook are to locked in, we will be opening their on-track success continues. entries.

“Discussions havevibe, already been “To suit the festival we’ve alsohad,” had Campbell said. significant interest from vendors looking to be “This isinobviously theirtoo. flagship product, so involved the trade area I would surmise it’s a case of get walk you “We’re encouraging people to in before touch now run. with as much detail as possible to ensure that we “Once happened, we’ll be looking to can tailorthat’s the event to suit everyone. extend with additional products will it’s be all “If it’s got a Porsche badge, it canwhich be there, very much focused on the race car models they pointing to an incredible event at Winton Raceway offer.”

Josh Nevett next January.”

Stutt’Fest event manager Jodi Zylstra has been blown away by the level of interest in the event.

“We knew there was going to be interest in Stutt’Fest ’22 but the level of support we have received so far has been overwhelming,” Zylstra said.

“In one week after announcing the event we have received more than 170 expression of interest forms from an incredibly diverse array of Porsche owners, racing teams, industry personalities and more.

“The level of interest has been fantastic and has enabled us to really focus on the final make-up of the racing categories that will make up the on-track component. As such, regulations are currently in the approval process and as

From January 14-16 Stuff’Fest will play host to a mixture of competitive on-track action and several off-track activities including Concours, Show ‘n Shine, displays, and even tours around the local regions and much more.

On-track categories include multiple classes for Porsche’s popular GT3 Cup car, the grassroots 944 Challenge, IROC Challenge, GT and Sports cars, 911 Turbos and heavily modified vehicles.

There will also be some historic Porsches including cars in the Group N/S Historic cars, while some competitors will compete in regularity events.

Interested parties in any on track category are recommended to get in touch now.

Dan McCarthy

GREAT INTEREST IN PORSCHE STUTT’FEST

VALE: GARRY DUMBRELL THE FORMER racer, self-made automotive industry mogul and Supercar team owner died in his Hawthorn, Melbourne home last Friday, October 15, 2021.

Dumbrell – father of 2012 Bathurst 1000 winner Paul, and Supercar team owner, Lucas – contracted cancer in 2010 but was stricken by a domestic accident.

In September 1977, aged 20, he bought two Brian’s Speed Shop outlets in Melbourne’s adjoining Northcote and Brunswick. With great entrepreneurial skill and zeal, together with his business partners, these grew and morphed into Dynamic Auto, then Autobarn, a business of which he was later CEO. After National Parts and Autopro were added, the national after-market colossus became Automotive Brands, which was sold to Metcash, and later Bursons (Bapcor) in 2015.

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Mad on motor racing, Dumbrell raced touring cars from 1978, having two Great Race starts in Ford Escort RS2000s in 1980 and 1981, together with John Faulkner. Garry also dabbled in F5000 during 1978, racing the ex-Graham McRae GM1 Chev, chassis 15; a car he treasured and bought back in recent years.

Dumbrell backed Darren Hossack’s Commodore VR V8 Supercar in 1997, then shifted his Wynns backing to Gibson Motorsport scoring a marvellous 1999 Bathurst victory with Greg Murphy and Steven Richards in a Commodore VT. Son, Paul Dumbrell won seven Supercar races while Lucas, paralysed in an Oran Park, Formula Ford accident in 2008, ran Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in the Supercars Championship from 2010 to 2017 enjoying some success with Nick Percat.

Mark Bisset

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columnist considersANTICIPATING the importance of AA’SAA’s COLUMNIST IS EAGERLY 2022’S events atRACE Le Mans NEW-LOOK EARLY-SEASON CALENDAR. LAST WEEKEND’S 24your Hours Le Mans won’tfor gothedown I WOULDN’T go booking hotelofroom or campsite 2022as the one of yet it was a hugely significant event Bathurst 12the Hourclassics, just yet, despite the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s nonetheless. announcement of 20 March for its Aussie round.

The running of the 24the Heures MansAmerica’s marked8-Hour, the start Last89th weekend in Indianapolis, scene du of North of a new era for the French classic – the Hypercar age. There IGTC head honcho Stephane Ratel explained that while March 20 was also a game-changing announcement regarding the cars was B12H promoter Supercars the2024.

IGTC’s preferred date which will event contest the GT classesand from for everybody’s favourite rock-around-the-clock at Mount Panorama,for These were developments with substantial ramifications there’s the teensy-weensy issue that it clashes with a little motor sport’s premier divisions and races globally,shindig with ainrub-off Sebring.

That’s a problem because the Florida aerodrome layout will effect for Australia. Let me explain… host IMSA (12 Hours) and FIA World Endurance Championship Thean first Hypercar-flavoured Le Mans was somewhat underwhelming on the track with many Toyota scoring its fourth (1000 miles) double-header featuring of the manufacturconsecutive win at Ledrivers Sarthe, somebepretty flimsy er-aligned international whoagainst would usually expected to opposition in the new top division. contest the B12H. Toyota’s Hybrids 1-2, leading– who home a Ratel saysGR010 he has asked the finished IGTC’s manufacturers fund ‘grandfathered’ LMP1 Alpine entry and the only other two alldrivers and teams – for their thoughts on the clash before requesting a new Hypercars, the Glickenhaus 007s. change of B12H date. He’s indicated that late March is the latest GT3 Good on the American minnow for having a crack against the teams couldpowerhouse. lob downunderItwithout seasons (in Europe, UStiny Japanese will bedomestic fascinating to see how the and Asia) being impacted. manufacturer fares when other big guns arrive. And let me tell Thethey’re B12H iscoming traditionally held in early February for this very reason – you, in numbers. maximising the international entryfun – butinit’s a drama in 2022racing due to the Peugeot joins the Hypercar 2022, specialist team ByKolles too. Then Ferrari in 2023.

Meantime, uncertainty surrounding Australia hosting overseas arrivals. Le Mans Hypercars be joined on trackplans by marques competing in For teams will scrambling to assemble and budgets as the America’s LMDh class in IMSA. awkward COVID-induced clouds begin to part,LHDh, the firstan weekend of Febmoniker is just a denoting Le Mans Daytona hybrid, has already attracted bit too soon. commitments from Acura, Audi, BMW and Porsche. Others will A March 20 B12H buys everyone more time. It’s also attractive follow, lured by the prospect of competing in IMSA and at Le to Supercars as it slots in beautifully between its season-opening Mans.

Newcastle and its Australian Grand Prixwill appearance, Excitinglystreet-race for Antipodeans, Team Penske operate alocked in forPorsche March 4-6 and April 7-10 respectively. pair prototypes in IMSA and two more in the World March 20 is especially appealing to means the growing legions IndyCar of B12H stars Endurance Championship. This Penske’s spectators, myself included, who have long endured scorching Will Power and Scott McLaughlin will be well-placed toearly fill out the line-ups at the blue 12-recent and 12 24-hour events. saw February temperatures.

Theribbon five most Hour weekends The convergence of sportscar – previously the the mercury climb above 35 degreesrules Celsiusglobally each day.

In those stifling US and European scenes have ownespecially thing – ifmeans conditions, you’re totally cooked welldone beforetheir midday, we are been entering a golden era.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it you’ve trackside since the pre-dawn start. again, sportscar racing is the next big thing in world motorsport.

Speaking of the pre-dawn start, which is the highlight for most There’s likely to be a significant drain of manufacturer money punters, the March 20 date offers 35 minutes more night-time running. away from Formula 1 in the years ahead. Surely Mercedes-Benz Sunrise in Bathurst Sunday, 6, 2022 is at only 6.29am, will be lured to Leon Mans andFebruary Daytona.

There’s so much whereas it’stoatbe 7.04am on from Marchbeating 20. This an should not bedrink under-esticredibility gained energy company as thosethe earlyself-importance laps in the dark are inmated, F1, despite of something Red Bull.truly special.

So,snobs for meteorological reasons keen for the announced F1 should know therealone, wasI’m a time, admittedly 50-odd years sportscar racing single-seaters shared Marchago, 20 towhen be retained.

I’m usually an and advocate for date equity, but it the billing as motor sport’s top from dogs. might just won’t hurt the B12H to deviate theHistory regular calendar spotbe justabout for to repeat. one year.

Endurance racing provides many things that are important toSupercars’ automotive manufacturers world heads finale towards latest Gen3 delay andasthethe DTM’s dramatic has hybridisation and electrification – reliability and range among prompted many local fans to suggest Australia should follow them. Funds currently invested elsewhere will soon be diverted and adopt GT3 regulations for its premier tin-top toGermany’s sportscarlead racing. series.

Hopefully Australia will gain a WEC round. The Bend’s January Suchhosting calls areofsomewhat but was they overlook one 2020 the Asianunderstandable, Le Mans Series surely an key point: the repairability of a post-2013 Supercar. indication of the venue’s ultimate intentions.

When Supercar drivers hit concrete walls,was invariably are Perhaps of more significance locally the Lethey Mans organisers’ announcement GT3crashes cars will repairable, mostly overnight. If that we rank on areplace scale ofGTE 1 to machines in the ultra-popular GT classes from 2024.

10, only 10/10 hitsevent’s like Chaz Mostert’s Forrest’s Elbow wallbanger This follows development thatCrashes GT3 cars beatthe in 2015 sees the a Supercar written-off. you’dwill rate 9 oronly less machines used in IMSA’s GT classes from next year.

As are all repairable. In contrast, each Bathurst 12 Hour sees rookieif GT3 wasn’t already a juggernaut.

Europeans desperately flinging their shiny GT3 cars at the Aussie Potential new manufacturers will be able to develop cars that scenery. When they do, it only takes an 8/10 crash for the car to be a are eligible to race at Le Mans – and just about everywhere else. throwaway. recent to B12H in 2020, four GT3s had massive Chevrolet At is the nowmost odds-on build a GT3-spec Corvette.

As ‘Lara Bingles’ in the preliminaries and were ‘Gary Goners’.

That’s $3with I’ve noted before, Ford may even follow suit re its Mustang, millionsport flushedchief downMark the toilet.

Supercars teamspositive cannot absorb motor Rushmore making noisessuch in that losses while street races remain on its calendar. regard. Now stop and consider the implications of an annual Ford at Bathurst each February in the 12toHour?

Norvs areGM GT3battle machines, priced from $600K to $1.2m, built rub What might that panelseffect like Supercars canhave ... on the 1000?

Luke LukeWest Westisisaalong-time long-timeAuto AutoAction Actioncolumnist columnistand andauthor authorofofThe The Immortals ImmortalsofofAustralian AustralianMotor MotorRacing: Racing:the theLocal LocalHeroes.

Heroes.

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LATEST NEWS

BOOST WILDCARD LIVERY REVEALED EREBUS MOTORSPORT has taken the covers off the Boost Mobilebacked wildcard entry of Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway for this year’s Bathurst 1000.

The famous #51 returns with a Kiwi-inspired livery for the two New Zealanders who will team up for this year’s edition of the Great Race.

It marks the return to Supercars racing for Murphy and Stanaway after both retired from the sport in 2012 and 2017 respectively.

“Like most motorsport fans, I cannot wait to see Murph and Richie take back the mountain in December,” said Peter Adderton, Boost Mobile founder.

“The fans wanted this and it’s great that Boost Mobile and Erebus could make it happen.”

“Richie is fast and has the talent to be a full-time driver and we’d like to see him get that chance; we all make

mistakes and Richie’s learnt that the hard way.”

“Murph has his own story to tell and has a huge amount of experience at the mountain. We’ve all seen his passion and dedication and he’ll compete as hard as any on the day.”

The predominantly black livery on the #51 features the Kiwi bird on the doors with striking grey and orange details.

“The livery looks amazing! The Kiwi combined with the Boost branding is awesome, it’s a car you really want to race,” said Murphy.

“I know the fans are going to love it, especially the New Zealand fans. Anything that pays tribute to the Kiwi’s is going to be very well received.”

“The reaction to this whole wildcard thing and the excitement around it has been incredible so I think the fans will really appreciate the livery

and want to see it on track.”

“It’s also very humbling to see the #51 back on the car and on the grid.”

Murph is famous for running the #51 during his time on the Supercars grid, but Stanaway is also looking forward to running the iconic number.

“It’s pretty special to be driving in the #51 with Greg,” said Stanaway.

“It’s an iconic number so I’m going to have to bring my A-game and make sure I can represent the number well.”

“For me, the most exciting part is to be back racing with a great team. I’ve put in a lot of preparation to make sure I am ready for the opportunity and can make the most of it.”

Erebus CEO Barry Ryan is looking forward to seeing both Murphy and Stanaway back on track for the

season finale.

“Bathurst is obviously the biggest event on our calendar and to work alongside Boost and put this wildcard together has been amazing,” said Ryan.

“We’ve built a great car and terrific team, along with Murph and Richie who are both incredible talents, so we are looking forward to that Sunday in December.”

“It’s been a difficult year for everyone but concluding the season with Bathurst will be great for the fans who I know are looking forward to seeing Murph and Richie back on track.”

The #51 Holden will hit the track at Winton Raceway today for the team’s driver evaluation day, while Murphy and Stanaway’s first full test day is currently scheduled for midNovember.

Rhys Vandersyde

SPECIAL NEW LOOK FOR SLADE IN SYDNEY BLANCHARD RACING Team has revealed a new look for the return to racing next month at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The single-car outfit will feature a brand new design with Dayco stepping up to take over the majority of the branding on Tim Slade’s Ford Mustang.

In what is believed to be a one-off for the October 29-31 SuperNight event, the new look will feature a special reflective design inspired by Dayco’s website.

“In sharing the desire to create a bigger impact for this return day and night Supercars event, the Blanchard Racing Team came up with this outstanding Dayco livery. I am sure that it will look great at the event and

on television throughout this first of four Supercar racing weekends in Sydney.” said Arnold Mouw, Dayco Asia Pacific Vice President – Aftermarket.

“The special reflective Dayco signage and overall change to the look of the CoolDrive Mustang makes this a one-off livery that we hope Supercar fans will like, while also helping to celebrate the resumption of the 2021 Championship.”

After a lengthy break since the last round in Townsville, Slade is looking forward to jumping back into his #3 Mustang for the race under lights in Sydney.

“We are certainly going to stand out in Sydney – particularly under lights,

as this reflective livery design is fantastic.” said Slade.

“It is great to have Dayco step up as we finally return to racing, bringing on a new and exciting look for our CoolDrive Mustang.”

“It has been a long wait for the fans and I am looking forward to ending

the 2021 season as strongly as we can.”

Supercar action returns at the end of the month with four consecutive weekends at Sydney Motorsport Park, including both day and night racing at the 3.9-kilometre circuit.

Rhys Vandersyde

LATEST NEWS

BJR SECURE TITLE SPONSOR SUPERCARS SQUAD Brad Jones Racing has announced that R&J Batteries will remain as the title sponsor on the #8 ZB Commodore car in 2022.

It will be the third year that R&J batteries will have sponsored the #8 machine, having sponsored Nick Percat in selected rounds last year when the company made a full-time commitment in 2021.

R&J Batteries CEO Stuart Hamilton is delighted to extend the relationship with Brad Jones Racing into 2022.

“We are proud to be taking on naming rights with BJR once again and extend our agreement with Brad and the team into 2022,” Hamilton said.

“The 2021 season has been challenging for everyone involved in the sport, including sponsors. So to be part of the BJR team for yet another season has us very excited and looking forward to 2022.”

With Percat departing the team at the end of the year, it is still unknown if

new BJR recruit Andre Heimgartner or another driver will take the wheel of the #8 Holden.

R&J Batteries Managing Director Ray Robson was delighted to express his thanks to Percat for his work in the last 12 months and wished him well in the future.

“I would personally like to thank Nick for his commitment in the R&J Batteries Commodore this year & wish him all the best for the next chapter of his driving career,” Robson said.

“After our first full sponsoring year, we have faced some challenges as the teams have been in & out of lockdown. We are looking forward to 2022 & hopefully getting back to some kind of normality with crowds returning to enjoy some competitive racing.

“There are some synergies between BJR & R&J Batteries, both family run organizations looking to outperform the opposition & get the best result

for the team.”

BJR Team Owner Brad Jones is looking forward to continuing the partnership going forwards and also thanked them for R&J Batteries support throughout the pandemic.

“I’m excited to extend our relationship with R&J Batteries in what will be our 3rd year together.

“Their continued support through what has been a bit of a difficult time with the current situation is exceptional,” Jones said.

“I’m very excited for what’s to come in 2022 and maintain this strong partnership together.”

Current Kelly Grove Racing driver Heimgartner is the only 2022 steerer to be announced by the BJR outfit at this point in time.

Auto Action understands that Jack Smith and Macauley Jones will stay at the team, while the Albury outfit continues to negotiate with South Australian Todd Hazelwood.

Dan McCarthy

COURTNEY REVEALS NEW LIVERY

JAMES COURTNEY’S Boost Mobile Mustang will sport a new darker livery for the remainder of the Supercars Championship.

Tickford Racing is the latest team to reveal a slightly revised livery following Tim Slade’s Blanchard Racing Team Mustang and Scott Pye’s Team 18 Commodore.

The livery tweak is designed to make the orange on the livery stand out more under lights with the Ford outfit replacing the patches of grey around the front wheel arches of the car with black.

“It looks tough, doesn’t it?”

Courtney said.

“We’ve made a pretty simple change

to the Boost Mobile Mustang but it looks like a whole new beast, and it’s going to look amazing under the lights in Sydney next weekend.

“We’re all really excited to get back on track, I know we’re all focused on making sure that Car 44 is at the front, and if this car races as well as it looks, we’ll be up there for sure.”

Three of the four rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park will feature racing under lights before the season concludes at the legendary Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst for the second straight year.

The black and orange livery will certainly catch the attention of his home crowd, as Sydneysider Courtney

returns to a track he knows well.

He debuted for the team there last year after departing Team Sydney just a round into the season.

Just under a fortnight ago the 2010 Supercars champion signed a multiyear deal to remain at Tickford Racing.

Courtney turned his first laps in the new look Boost Mobile Mustang yesterday as Tickford Racing along with a number of other Victorian teams tested at Winton Motor Raceway near Benalla.

This time next week the trucks will be heading north for the first of the Sydney Motorsport Park quadruple header events from October 29-31.

Dan McCarthy

CAUCHI MOVES TO GROVE IN 2022 GROVE RACING has recruited experienced engineer David Cauchi to lead the team in 2022.

After 14 years with the front running Supercars squad Triple Eight Race Engineering, including roles as Race Engineer for both Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen, Cauchi will make the move to Melbourne to take on the expanded role of Team Principal at Grove Racing (currently known as Kelly Grove Racing).

“I’m very excited and grateful to Brenton & Steph for the opportunity to join Grove Racing in 2022.” said Cauchi.

“It’s a new role and a thrilling opportunity in a team with a deep and long history in the sport, and I am looking forward to being a part of this new chapter in their story.”

Cauchi will take over the position currently held by Todd Kelly, with the Kelly family reducing their involvement in the team since selling to the Grove’s.

“Once we went through the ownership changes, it was essential that we found the best possible person we could to help take on some of Todd’s critical roles, and we believe we have found that person in Cauchi.” said Stephen Grove, Team Owner.

“He has vast experience and know that he will fit well into the family culture of the team. We look forward to him starting with us in 2022.”

The move will see a wholesale engineering change at Triple Eight at the end of the season with Wes McDougall also set to leave the team at the end of the season.

Rhys Vandersyde

LATEST NEWS

FERRARI BOSS TURNS FOCUS TO 2022 DESPITE BEING locked in a battle with McLaren for third in the FIA Formula 1 Constructors Standings, Scuderia Ferrari has turned its attention to 2022.

With the radical new regulations set to be introduced in 2022, many F1 outfits have already turned to designing and constructing their machines.

Ferrari is no exception despite looking to pinch third in the teams’ standings from British based outfit McLaren this year.

Despite the fight this year Mattia Binotto is keen to oversee a ‘critical phase’ of the 2022 machine build as the F1 regs are radically revised for the 2022 season.

Ferrari Team Principal Binotto has announced he will miss at least two grand prix to focus on next year’s machine, after already skipping the most recent round in Turkey.

“This is one of the races I was targeting to be back home,” he said in Turkey.

“Obviously the calendar has changed a couple of times since the very start, so I changed my plans a bit, but certainly Turkey was one of these ones.

“I will skip at least another two races before the end of the season. At the moment I’m planning Mexico and Brazil.”

He explained that he had picked to miss those two races, quite simply as they are the furthest from the

teams Maranello base in Italy.

“The reason is, as you may imagine, especially Mexico and Brazil, overseas, it’s a long trip, while here back at Maranello there is a lot to do, clearly much to do,” he said.

“It’s an entire team to manage, both the chassis and the power unit, and the entire organisation. We are in terms of 2022 development, certainly in a critical phase, where time is getting closer and closer.”

Last year was a disastrous season for the scarlet red machines, finishing sixth in the Constructor’s Standings, the lowest finishing position for the Italian manufacturer since 1980 when ground effect cars were all the rage.

Although the new regs are coming in next year, Ferrari has still invested in this season, notably implementing new power unit upgrades for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s cars as they try to get a head start on next year.

After missing the Turkish GP, Scuderia boss Binotto says he will skip “at least” two of the last six races to oversee progress.

Binotto may not be at the track all the time, but on weekends he expressed that he is still very involved in the team, albeit remotely.

The Team Principal added that he is still “fully dedicated” to trackside matters on the Saturday and Sunday of a Grand Prix weekend, regardless of being in Maranello –

and thanked Racing Director and Head of Track Area Laurent Mekies for his efforts when he is away.

“From the way I’m managing the race weekend… on Thursday and Friday, being in the office, I can certainly be more focused on whatever is happening back here in Maranello,” Binotto further explained.

“On Saturday and Sunday, it’s fully dedicated to the race weekend.

I’m missing the networks in the paddock, but Racing Director and Head of Track Area Laurent Mekies can do a great job.

“I’m very happy with how he is managing the entire team when I am not there, so I am very happy with that.

I am being told as well that the flight to Istanbul was very bumpy, so I’m very happy to skip!”

Ferrari sits just 7.5 points behind McLaren in the fight for third place heading into the US Grand Prix this weekend with half a dozen rounds to go.

Dan McCarthy

SHANNONS SCHEDULE REDUCED TO BEND FINALE

THE SHANNONS Motorsport Australia Championship round at Sandown Raceway has been cancelled, rendering the December event at The Bend Motorsport Park the 2021 season finale.

Sandown was scheduled to host the penultimate round from November 19-21, however it has been canned due to ongoing border restrictions around Australia.

To make up for the loss, Shannons has announced a bumper seven

category line-up for the season concluding event in South Australia, scheduled from December 10-12.

The event will be headlined by a double round of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, while the second tier Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia will also hold a double round of their own.

The Porsche 944 Series will also be representing the German marque at Tailem Bend.

The Aussie Racing Cars Super

Series, Australian Prototype Series, Australian Production Car Series and National Sports Sedans will bring diversity to the packed category list.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith said the December event promised to be an exciting finish to the year.

“It’s been a tough year for many categories with border restrictions forcing many of our competitors and teams into a much longer break than we all would have liked,” Smith said.

“So, to be able to host this round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships at The Bend Motorsport Park in December is certainly a terrific opportunity to end the year on a high and celebrate a full weekend of racing at the newest permanent motorsport facility in Australia.

“Both Porsche categories will feature a double round across the three days, meaning there will be plenty of racing for fans to enjoy.”

In light of the fact that South Australia has yet to release its road map for

interstate visitors, Smith said that there were still some details yet to be finalised for the event.

“We’re still waiting on final details around South Australia’s border restrictions, but we’re hopeful that come mid-December, the vast majority of states will be able to travel into South Australia and return home without the need to quarantine,” Smith added.

“This week’s announcement by the Queensland Government is a great sign for the viability of this event, meaning that competitors will be able to head home a few days after the event without quarantining for Christmas.

“Given South Australia’s current vaccination rates we’re hopeful the majority will be able to attend.”

Motorsport Australia has previously confirmed any events taking place around the country will need to meet the various government requirements in place, meaning the event is likely to be only for those who are double vaccinated.

Josh Nevett

2022 FORMULA E CALENDAR REVISED THE FIA has released an updated calendar and sporting regulations for the 2022 Formula E season.

Amongst a host of changes announced following the most recent meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, Season 8 for the all-electric racing series will continue to be held across 16 races, although several venues have been changed.

The season will commence as previously announced with two races in Diriyah (Saudi Arabia) over the last weekend of January.

Race 3 will be held in Mexico City (Mexico) while Race 4 is now listed as TBC having previously been scheduled to be run in Cape Town (South Africa).

Races 6 through 8 will be held in Rome (Italy), Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Berlin (Germany) as per the original calendar before the addition of Jakarta (Indonesia).

Vancouver (Canada) will host Race 10 before doubleheaders in New York (USA), London (UK) and Seoul (South Korea) round out the season.

“With more races in more global iconic cities than ever before the season ahead is set to be our largest to date as we rebound from the impacts of COVID-19 over the last two seasons.” said Jamie Reigle, Formula E Chief Executive Officer.

“Combined, the revised calendar and new regulations will mean that Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is expected to be the best yet for our teams, drivers and fans.”

In addition to the revised schedule, new Formula E sporting regulations will be implemented next year in order to maximize excitement for fans and encourage the best drivers and teams.

As part of the new sporting regulations, qualifying has been changed significantly. Next season the field will be divided into two groups based on the driver’s championship standing order where they will have ten minutes per group to set the fastest time possible with a limited power output of 220kW. After the initial qualifying sessions, the top four of each group will then progress to a series of knockout duels (with a boosted power output of 250 kW), in the form of quarter-finals, semifinals, and a final that will determine the grid of the race.

The winner of the final duel will start from the pole with the loser alongside. While finishing order in the previous duels along with lap time will determine third through eighth on the grid. For the rest of the order, the grid spots will be set based on lap times in the initial qualifying sessions.

said lberto Longo, Formula E Chief Championship Officer and Co-Founder.

“Our new qualifying format will showcase the teams and drivers headto-head throughout the season while still allowing any driver on their day to take pole position.”

“For our fans, the new qualifying format was designed to be intuitive, unpredictable, and entertaining.”

“The ability to increase race time when we have incidents during the regular 45-minute race is a product of the rapid evolution of electric vehicle technology and the continual improvements in energy efficiency by Formula E teams.”

Rhys Vandersyde

PAUL MORRIS PURCHASES TA2 MACHINE

MORE F2 RACES IN 2022 THE 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship will be expanded to be contested over 14 rounds and 28 races.

The Formula 1 feeder series will feature as the primary support category at all but one of the F1 races that will be held across Europe and the Middle East next year, skipping only the French Grand Prix.

Next season Formula 2 will revert back to a two-race format used prior to this season, which sees an expansion on the current eight-round schedule reducing the lengthy gaps in this year’s competition.

“I am pleased to present the largest calendar we have ever had in Formula 2, with 14 rounds and 28 races.” said Bruno Michel, Formula 2 CEO. “This results from a strong will from our stakeholders to have F2 race alongside as many Formula 1 Grand

In addition, a new race format will also be implemented with additional time to be added to races (up to 10 minutes) to compensate for safety car and/ or full course yellow interruptions to the race where power consumption is drastically reduced.

The change is designed to reduce the impact of the neutralisation periods on the overall time of the race in green flag conditions, whilst protecting the strategic role of energy management which is a significant factor in Formula E racing.

“The changes being made to qualifying and race time reflect our and the FIA’s focus on sporting integrity and maximising the racing spectacle.”

Prix as possible.”

“A lot of circuits have expressed their interest to have our championship added to their race weekend program, but for costs reasons, we cannot increase the number of rounds more than we already have.”

“This calendar will of course induce an increase of our teams’ budgets, but we will support them so that they are able to manage the extra costs.”

The 2022 season will commence alongside the opening Formula 1 round in Bahrain in March and conclude at the F1 finale in Abu Dhabi in November.

Oscar Piastri currently leads the 2021 Formula 2 standings. While the Australian will be unable to return to the series should he win, fellow compatriots Jack Doohan and Calan Williams are looking to make to step up to F2 next season, as reported in the current issue of Auto Action.

Rhys Vandersyde

FORMER BATHURST 1000 winner Paul Morris is the latest buyer of a TA2 machine, purchasing a Ford Mustang.

TA2 as a concept and race category continues to grow with over 60 cars now in the country.

The popular muscle car series sees Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger machines compete against each other.

Morris has had a bit to do with the series already by fielding his 18-yearold son Nash in a Ford Mustang owned by Karl Begg, as well as preparing a car for Gold Coaster Chris Pappas.

However, Morris has now bought his own TA2 machine which he will prepare for Nash to contest the third round of the Northern Series at Queensland Raceway.

“I just love the concept that Peter Robinson and the team at TA2 have come up with,” said Paul Morris.

“These cars are the real deal and the perfect place for someone like Nash to develop his skills and race hard in a relatively low-budget environment,” Morris endorsed.

“I just hope no one changes the specs on these cars over the next few years

as they are just perfect the way they are.

“Fast, competitive, cost-effective to race, easy to repair and totallycontrolled so no team can get a technical advantage.

“This is why guys like Aaron Seton, Nathan Herne, Chris Pappas, Jett Johnson and now Nash have jumped on board.

It’s the best motorsport bang-for-buck around.”

Nash Morris is establishing himself a front-runner in TA2 cars after scoring a race win on debut in the TA2 Muscle Car Series at Sydney Motorsport Park in March, and a podium in the most recent round of the National Trans-Am Series at Sydney Motorsport Park in May. He also leads the TA2 Southern Series after a strong performance at Phillip Island earlier this year. Paul Morris’ purchase brings the total amount of TA2 cars sold in the country to over 60.

Although the national series has paused its season due to the pandemic, the TA2 Muscle Car Series has continued at a regional level.

Third-generation racer Jett Johnson, son of Steven and grandson of the legendary Dick Johnson leads the TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series standings after two rounds at Queensland Raceway, with the third round taking place this weekend.

The TA2 Southern Series is hopeful of a return to action at Winton Motor Raceway from November 12-14.

Dan McCarthy

with Dan Knutson

FORMULA 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed that not only is the 2022 calendar set to feature a record 23 races, but F1 intends to run a Sprint in one-third of these events. Speaking with Sky Sports, Domenicali explained that the Saturday Sprints which took place in Silverstone and Monza were both incredibly well received and therefore the concept will remain next year. DM

DANIEL RICCIARDO is already looking forward to the next Formula 1 round in the USA after a disastrous weekend in Istanbul. The Aussie McLaren driver started 20th due to an engine change grid penalty and could only climb to 13th. Leaving Turkey without the reward of points, Ricciardo had his eyes firmly toward the next round in Austin, Texas. “On the positive side, we’ve got plenty of brisket to eat very soon. That makes me happy – bring on Austin,” Ricciardo said. JN

ESTEBAN OCON became one of the few Formula 1 drivers to complete a race on a single set of tyres when he crossed the line without pitting in the Turkish Grand Prix. The daring move earned the Frenchman a points finish in 10th, but also wrote him into the record books. Ocon became the first driver to complete a full-length, non-red flagged race on a single set of tyres since Mika Salo achieved the feat in Monaco in 1997, some 24 years ago. JN

VALTTERI BOTTAS has expressed relief and satisfaction after winning his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in over 12 months at Istanbul Park.

Bottas last stood atop the podium in September last year at Sochi Autodrom and was outward in his joy post-race. “I think from my side, I have to say, probably one of the best races I’ve had ever,” Bottas said after his 10th victory. JN

THE F1 Commission has discussed possible changes to the championship’s Sporting Regulations, following the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which was shortened due to bad weather.

In the F1 Commission’s third meeting of 2021, possible changes to the Sporting Regulations to prevent future controversy were discussed. The Commission has asked the Sporting Advisory Committee to consider the issue at their next meeting and propose options for changes to procedures and the regulations. JN

18 AutoAction

F1 RETURNS

TO AUSTRALIA FORMULA 1 will return to Australia next year as Melbourne will host the third round of a record 23 race season on 8-10 April.

The season will begin in Bahrain on 20 March and end in Abu Dhabi on 20 November. Formula 1 and the FIA were keen to round off the F1 season before the final rounds of the World Cup in Qatar begin on 21 November.

The F1 drivers and fans will see a circuit at Melbourne’s Albert Park which has been modified to increase overtaking opportunities. Seven corners have been modified and two removed to create a new high-speed zone. The entire track has been resurfaced for the first time since it was laid in 1995.

“It’s so good to be coming back to Melbourne,” said Daniel Ricciardo. “All of us drivers have missed it, and for me it’s awesome to have a home race again. The new Albert Park layout is something we are all looking forward to in the new cars, and racing in front of a home crowd after three years will be pretty special.”

Melbourne was due to host the F1 season opener in 2020, but the event was cancelled on the Friday morning due to COVID-19 concerns. It was one of many F1 races to be cancelled during the past two years. That includes China, which will not be back in 2022 due to the strict pandemic rules in that country.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said that F1 is delighted to return to Australia.

“The fans in Melbourne will be among the first to see the brand-new cars in action,” he said. “We look forward to entering an exciting new era in F1 in 2022.”

ACPC chairman Paul Little commented: “I’m very excited for Melbourne to be on the F1 calendar for April next year, and our focus is now firmly on delivering a very important and spectacular event – one that our fans and vast supplier base have been looking forward to for some time.”

“Now more than ever,” said AGPC

A CLOSE FIGHT THE ULTIMATE goal for Ferrari and McLaren is to win the Constructors’ World Championship (and the Drivers’ World Championship, too, of course), but that is out of reach for now.

So the oldest and second oldest Formula 1 teams are fighting it out for third place in the 2021 constructors’ standings.

The last time McLaren finished third in the constructors’ championship was in 2012. That was also the last year for an F1 race victory for the team, founded

by Kiwi Bruce McLaren in 1966, until Aussie Daniel Ricciardo won this year’s Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari, meanwhile, was second in 2019 and won three races that year.

This season, the balance of power has shifted back and forth between the two teams. Most recently, McLaren was quicker in Monza – Ferrari’s home track – and in Russia, but Ferrari was much faster in Turkey.

After the race in Turkey, McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had nearly won from pole in Russia, said: “P7 was the best we could do today.”

So comparing the variable pace differences between the two teams is definitely a track-specific issue.

“We need to understand why,” Norris said. “It is not something that you can

change. It is just the car. So we just have to deal with it. At some places it is very good and we need to maximise those.”

McLaren is definitely slower than Ferrari on tracks that induce understeer.

The current power unit formula will remain in place until the end of 2024. The engine manufacturers are permitted to make some upgrades this year, but then the PU specifications will be frozen and no development will be permitted for the next three years.

Ferrari brought updated power units for Charles Leclerc in Russia and Carlos Sainz in Turkey, even though that meant grid penalties for both drivers.

“The first objective was to try to increase our experience in the view of 2022,” noted Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. “That’s why we introduced it as soon as possible, trying

to rush it, taking some risks as well, but it’s all a risk assessment.

“Obviously for us it’s clear to get mileage on-track, and get our own experience before 2022 when the power units will be frozen. For us, that was the key and the reason for that.”

As a Mercedes customer, McLaren has no say in such matters.

It is mighty close with six races remaining, with McLaren just 7.5 points ahead of Ferrari. While Alpine and AlphaTauri are not in contention for third place, their drivers have and can play a spoiler role and take points away from McLaren and Ferrari.

The prize money differential between third and fourth in the constructors’ is US$8 million. Neither team is going to turn that down, but their main aim in finishing third is that it is another step closer to the ultimate prize: first place Constructors World Championship.

NEW GLOVES TESTED

Images: Motorsport Images

CEO Andrew Westacott, “we need major international events, like the Australian Grand Prix, to not only help our economy recover but also to put a spring back in our step.

“The F1 Australian Grand Prix is one of the world’s most sought-after events for good reason. It’s not only a fantastic spectacle, it’s also a critical asset for Victoria’s visitor economy – ensuring our great state remains the undisputed home of major international events.

“Australians are champing at the bit to once again attend international events, and we can’t wait to welcome fans through the gates at the Albert Park circuit in 2022.”

ANY Auto Action readers who watched last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix on TV, or anybody who later watched the replays on TV or the internet, will never forget Romain Grosjean’s frightening accident.

Grosjean’s Haas got pitched into the barriers on the first lap of the race. The car broke in half, erupted in flames, and split the Armco barriers.

From the moment of his 53G impact with the barrier it took Grosjean 28 seconds to emerge from the burning car.

“I looked right and left, and on the left I see fire,” recalled Grosjean. “So I said okay, I don’t really have the time to wait here!”

Miraculously, the only serious injuries that Grosjean suffered were burns to his hands. Actually, the upside was that his escape was a result of many years of safety improvements in all aspects of motor racing.

The FIA investigated the accident and what could be learned and what could be improved. One obvious thing was the gloves.

“Due to Romain’s incident it was an area we started working on immediately, and I think we identified very quickly that it was an area we could improve,” the FIA’s F1 race director, Australian Michael Masi said.

During the recent Turkish Grand Prix weekend five drivers tried the new and improved fire-resistant gloves.

“The initial feedback from the drivers is: Yup, all good,” Massi said.

“There are a couple of fine-tuning elements with a couple of the brands but nothing insurmountable.”

The flame-proof properties had already been proven, so now it is just a question of driver comfort.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of the drivers to try the new gloves.

“I used them and I didn’t notice the difference,” the Aussie said. “I’m also not very fussy with kit, but it was completely fine for me. It’s a nice addition without any downside.”

In an ironic twist, the two people in the FIA medical car – F1 doctor Ian Roberts and driver Alan van der Merwe

THE FAST AND NOT FURIOUS LEWIS HAMILTON insists that he was not furious with his Mercedes team after a pit strategy call dropped him from third place to fifth place in the closing laps of the Turkish Grand Prix.

“Don’t ever expect me to be all polite and calm on the radio when I’m racing – we are all very passionate and in the heat of the moment that passion can come out, as it does for all drivers,” the seven-

times world champion wrote on Instagram on the Monday after the race. “My heart and spirit are out there on the track; it’s the fire in me that’s got me this far but any angst is quickly forgotten and we talked it through, already looking ahead to the next race.”

Hamilton believed he could complete all 58 laps of the race on the same set of Pirelli intermediate rain tyres.

“It isn’t true to say I’m furious with my team,” he added. “As a team we work hard to build the best strategy possible but as the race progresses you have to make split decisions, there are so many factors constantly changing.

“Yesterday we took the risk to stay out hoping it would dry, it didn’t. I wanted to risk it and try and go to the end, but it was my call to stay out and it didn’t work. In the end we

– who were among the first on the scene of the accident and who helped rescue Grosjean, will miss some or all of the remaining races of this season after testing positive for COVID-19.

This is the second time that van der Merwe has contracted COVID-19, and he said he has not been vaccinated for personal reasons.

Therefore he will have to sit out the rest of the season.

“From what we understand, there are a couple of countries that you probably won’t be allowed to enter unless you’re vaccinated,” Masi said.

“You need to comply with those requirements to enter the country and from that perspective the FIA obviously has to respect the country’s requirements to get in, as will all the teams and everyone else.” did pit and it was the safest thing to do.”

With about 12 laps to go Hamilton was still setting competitive lap times, but then they dropped off by over a second. And that is when the team insisted that he pit for new tryes.

“It’s very difficult because the communication needs to flow in both directions and that is crucial,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

“The pilot is the vital sensor on track that will tell you the grip levels, but the pilot doesn’t see himself relative to the other drivers and performances.

“So that information we need to work on because we’ve had what Lewis called a genius stroke in terms of strategy last time around and I think we just need to work on the communication to trust each other, and in a way be able to describe what we are aiming for. We have no problem at all with tough conversations on the radio before you have complete information. Obviously we wouldn’t speak like this to Lewis, because he’s driving a car at 320 km/h.

“But that’s all OK, absolutely. We are totally aligned; we’ve been in this together eight years. We have thick skin enough to understand that a driver in the car is frustrated about the situation, and that he will understand afterward.”

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Publisher Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial Director Bruce Williams Editor-At-Large

F1 INSIDER

with Dan Knutson

Mark Fogarty

Deputy Editor

Dan McCarthy

Staff Journalist

Production

Josh Nevett

Jason Crowe

Special Contributor Bruce Newton National Editor

Garry O’Brien

Historics Editor

Mark Bisset

Online Editor

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Contributing Writers Australia Mark Fogarty, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Garry O’Brien, Geoffrey Harris, David Hassall, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn.

Paris Charles Formula 1 US Correspondent

Dan Knutson Mike Brudenell

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20 AutoAction

THE BALANCE OF POWER

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SO, 16 races down and six to go in the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. If the two most recent rounds – in Russia and Turkey – are an accurate indication, then the balance in power has tipped in favour of Mercedes over Red Bull Honda.

It’s hard to believe that, after nine races, Max Verstappen had a 32 point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ World Championship, and Red Bull was 44 points clear of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.

Now, Verstappen leads by six points and Mercedes by 36 points.

“I think you know that their straight-line speed has taken a significant step recently,” Red Bull’s sporting director Christian Horner said after Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas won the Turkish Grand Prix. “I think that whereas we could match them with smaller wings previously, now we can’t get near them.

“We saw that particularly at this circuit where Lewis in particular had a significant straight-line advantage with a bigger rear wing on the car.

We’ve got to maximise our package as best we can and, as I say, it’s surprising that they’ve made the step that they have with the power unit.”

Yet team principal Toto Wolff said several months ago that Mercedes had pretty much stopped development on its current car so as to be able to concentrate on the 2022 model.

Furthermore, the power unit specs and development are basically frozen. But does he think Mercedes will have the faster car in the run to the end of the season?

“I don’t think you can say that with absolute conviction,” Wolff replied. “I believe that we have a really good package now.

The car is competitive and was very competitive this (Turkish GP) weekend. But I’m looking carefully optimistic at the future.

Austin is a track that we like and it’s another opportunity.

But I’m under no illusions that this is going to go very much to the end in the Drivers’ Championship.”

There are some chinks in Mercedes’ armour. Its normally bulletproof power unit has had

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reliability issues not only with the works team but also with customer teams McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams.

“When you start to push the boundaries with power unit performance, at a certain stage you will experience some obstacles,” Wolff said. “Our power units have been the most reliable since the introduction of the hybrid engines in 2014. And because the boundaries are being pushed we have seen examples of, let’s say, unusual noises within the combustion engine that weren’t completely understood at that stage yet.

“They caused some troubles in the past; we had some engines that basically failed and now it’s about containing the problem because changing parts is not something you would tackle.”

Horner pointed out the huge difference in top speed between the two cars.

“The (Mercedes) performance is still incredibly impressive,” Horner said. “Where one comes at the expense of the other

(reliability vs speed) I don’t know. But certainly it’s been highlighted: if you look at some of the speed deltas on the back straight (in Turkey) at some points it was 15 to 20 km/h which is more than if there had been DRS.” Verstappen is concerned.

“They were definitely quicker this weekend,” Verstappen said after finishing second in Turkey. “We just didn’t get it together and also in the wet they seemed to have a bit of the edge as well. I definitely do think they probably stepped it up a bit.”

But Hamilton disagrees.

“We haven’t done anything to the car, so I don’t really know why that is the case,” he said.

“Maybe the two tracks we’ve just driven on suited us a little bit more. The car’s been feeling good, it felt great this weekend.

If the car continues to behave as it has this weekend, that’s good for us.”

Let’s hope that the balance of power equalises in these final grands prix so that the battle for the drivers’ title can go down to the wire.

Supercars are back (at SMP!); US Formula 1 Grand Prix; Gover interviews Leigh Diffey; Inside Story – the sensational Lotus 29; MotoGP Misano – Valentino’s last home race!

o

with Paul Gover with Mark Fogarty

E IV T C E P S R E P ’S R E V O GHE FOGES FILE T AA’s profound pundit pays tribute to a pair of iconoclasts who have influenced his long career FURTHER ALONG in this issue, we celebrate the achievements of New Zealand legend Graham McRae, who died early this month at the ripe old age of 81. Our historian Mark Bisset recounts McRae’s career scrupulously, revealing an enormously talented driver/engineer/ constructor.

Certainly, McRae’s legacy is worthy of extensive i acclamation, especially so long after the peak of his accomplishments. Not much was heard of him in the past 40 years or so and the passing of time meant he was almost forgotten.

His death was particularly poignant LEWIS slugs the it out with –AS and sad – Hamilton for me. Forgive Max Verstappen thisa year’s heavyindulgence, but heforhad profound weight on world way that impact my title, long there careerisinno journalism.

Mercedes-AMG allow to In fact, I may notwill have gotBottas my start take any further victories could without him.

In early 1972,that when as HamiltonI of vital title points. arob 15-year-old decided writing about Bottas will be the tail-gunner, for motor racing was a way in, I identified sure and through the six McRae as definite, an interesting story. concluding races of of thehis 2021 grand He was at the peak powers, prix campaign.

His job is in to the block dominating Formula 5000 Verstappen, if he can, aand steal Antipodes and making name in any the points would otherwise UK withthat his self-designed car.go to Red Bull in the for the Drivers’ and In ’72, his battles Leda GM1 – resplendent Constructor’s in Day-Glo pinkchampionships.

STP livery – was the So, theoretically, F5000 to beat downBottas under.could still be allowed win a race ‘Cassius’ between for now McRae to – nicknamed andshowmanship the final flag at Abuthe Dhabi.

But it his – won Tasman will only be allowed if Hamilton has championship three years running from alreadybeating lost it. – most notably – Aussie ’71-73, Perhaps another collision F5000 ace through Frank Matich. with …post-McLaren ?

His Mighty successMax in his Thenself-designed Bottas faces Leda, the slippery M10B namedslide for down to the grid towith Alfaan Romeo, his production deal Englishwhich race hasbuilder, as much chance of winning a to car seemed a logical subject grand prix as Fabian Coulthard has of explore. winning Repco Bathurst 1000 in So with the dubious authority, I fronted December.

McRae at Sandown in late February ’72 Alfaannounced Romeo could the gridto and I hadjump beenup assigned undera the next-generation for write story on him for Autorules Action. season 2022 and beyond, or Bottas

I may have over-stated tthe vaguest interest of th then AA editor James L Laing-Peach…

Anyway, bold as, th this gangling teenager w with his primitive tape re recorder convinced Mc McRae. He invited me to joi join him in his car at the bac back of the old Sandown pits for the chat.

W With him was a glam glamorous woman in som some sort of fur coat. She was sceptical, he was iindulgent. d I’m in the back seat, microphone extended, asking him earnest questions about how the Leda GM1 came about.

A few weeks later, my unsolicited contribution was published in AA. In hindsight, it was a very ordinary story. could fluke his my waycareer to a win way But it launched andthe I will be Esteban Ocon to didMcRae this year with forever grateful for indulging Alpine, but would that precocious kid.you really bet your house it? Not me.

Sadly,on I never had any meaningful But Bottas finally had his redemption interaction with the head-strong Kiwi day at the Turkish Grand Prix. after that.

A year earlier, heMcRae had been awful. to By all accounts, was difficult As Lewis Hamilton drove the point of obstinacy.

But to he awas at a commanding andexcelled his seventh level just short victory of F1 and in the worldwinning title, using interUSA, the worn-down rich L&M series in ’72. mediate Pirelli tyres that’80s, looked like He disappeared in the but he very secondhand slicks by the finish, remained an historical figure.

Attempted Bottas looked like he should have touring car comebacks didn’t do his retiredjustice. on the spot. talent He spun five times.

He was32lapped Our appreciation on pages - 37

by Hamilton. recognises Graham McRae’s stature time around, gifted pole openposition inThis the golden era of big banger when racing.

Hamilton had to take an engine wheel penalty – what a stupid system – after clocking the quickest lap, he made no AN AMERICAN LEGEND mistakes.FOLLOWERS of Indycars ARDENT “Absolute Valtteri over the pastdominance half centuryfrom will know of today,Miller, a 10/10 drive from the get-go Robin perhaps the most forthright fromopinionated him,” says motor Benz boss, Toto Wolff. and sport journalist “He hadhas theever raceknown. under complete the world control, notisonly with his but Miller, 71, certainly the pace straightesthis management of the tyres–was talking sports reporter I know or have fantastic.

Valtteri – a very ever met –Well and done the pundit I admire strong weekend.” most.

Wolff, a master at spin and easily

Has Valtteri Bottas won his last Grand Prix?

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Graham McRae (above) had a profound impact on Foges’ career, grantingMotorsport the precocious Images 15 year old an interview which was subsequently published in Auto Action (far left).

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Motor Sports Hall Fame, alongside Wolff alsolike had tactical view of his heroes AJthe Foyt, Parnelli Jones the championship, and Mario Andretti. and the fight with Verstappen and with the Bulls, consider.

Miller is friends all the to Indy greats, “There is always an absolute view who recognise his uncompromised and a relative approach.

Theyview. haveThe hadrelative famousview runis that the last race, Red his Bulllack were ins, butincame to appreciate of very happy to only lose was 7 points from bias.

Everyone in racing fair game a grid penalty - today we lost 8 points for questioning. so theMiller end of the world.

Asitaisn’t writer, has always “The absolute view is that today,

or 5 pointsme. more. that’scandid fine, the impressed He But is clever, and championship is wide open and the concise. fight continues.”

His candour cost him his job at the But for Bottas, who showed at he Indianapolis Star newspaper when Istanbul Park that he is still fully questioned – rightly – Tony George’s motivate atofMercedes-AMG - perhaps leadership the Indy Racing League in withmidst the prospect of aversus big bonus the of the CART IRL civil war. payment for the teams’ championship Miller rebounded as a writer/critic/ – on the analyst onright webday. sites and IndyCar There were no absolutes or relatives broadcasts. for Hehim. was firmly in the Champcar camp, “Today was probably one ofHis the best but he acknowledged its flaws. races I’veviews had got ever,” says. forthright himBottas banned from “The for carChampcar’s has been fantastic writing web site.in every possible condition weekend and Reunification finally this happened in 2008, I had IRL great confidence with it.toIt’s when absorbed Champcar create notunified easy toIndyCar choose the strategy here the Series. with these conditions – when to stop, Throughout, Miller criticised, cajoled which tyreout to choose – but I’m glad and called the bad management of everything both series. went smoothly for me.

“When there’s one drying line He was right andonly continued as a hardit doesn’t takeand much for you to He go is off, edged analyst news-breaker. youthe need maximum focus allperson through still most connected media in the racedespite and sohis today feels like a IndyCar, debilitation. well-earned victory.

Miller deserves his enshrinement as an “My firstmotor win ofsports the year, too, which American legend because feels great andcampaigned I was happy he consistently fortoabring betterit home. It also took points off Red Bull deal. so great for me and the team.”

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PENSKE’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE ... AND DISCOVERING SCOTT

Team Penske has remained silent since the decision to withdraw from Supercars racing in Australia. But now Roger Penske’s right-hand man, Tim Cindric, has broken the silence and opens up exclusively to Auto Action’s PAUL GOVER about the move, as he also dissects Scott McLaughlin’s first season as an IndyCar racer.

TIM CINDRIC runs one of the most powerful and successful motorsport operations anywhere in the world.

He is the president of Team Penske and oversees the operation of the American super-team’s efforts in IndyCar and NASCAR. In the past he was also the go-to man at DJR Team Penske and, in the near future, he will also lead a partnership with Porsche that will take Team Penske to Le Mans to challenge for outright victory for the first time.

It’s a big job, reporting directly to The Captain – billionaire businessman Roger Penske – but Cindric is as calm and measured as any battlefield commander. He even looks like a military man, standing tall in a crisp Penske uniform and leading his troops from the front, often on the pit stall

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as tactician for Josef Newgarden in IndyCar. But Cindric is best-known in Australia as the man who has taken Scott McLaughlin from Supercars to singleseaters and is guiding his future in the USA. Looking at McLaughlin’s first season in IndyCar, during which he became overall Rookie of the Year and claimed the same prize at the iconic Indianapolis 500, Cindric identifies the key to his successful transition.

“He was willing to put the work in.

It wasn’t the speed, honestly, as much as the consistency and getting up to speed. And racing wheel-to-wheel. And just being competitive,” Cindric reveals exclusively to Auto Action.

“The thing that surprised us the

most, and even on the paper it was the best, were his oval performances. It’s always a concern when a kid doesn’t have much oval experience.

“Getting through that first year without having a major shunt on an oval ... not many rookies can do that.”

Cindric is happy to talk about McLaughlin, and drill into the detail of his 2021

campaign, but there are plenty of other topics to discuss.

He is flat-out finishing Penske’s season in NASCAR, organising the regular three-car attack on IndyCar next season – after running four cars in 2021 before the departure of Simon Pagenaud – and planning for Le Mans with Porsche.

But the obvious one for Australia is the decision to end the relationship with DJR Team Penske that took the struggling outfit to the top end of pitlane and a string of successes including Supercars championships and a Bathurst win.

“People get caught up in the fact

The team’s 2019 Bathurst win was doubleedged, the spectacular win clouded by some Safety Car ‘games’ and a post-event qualifying engine penalty ...

Perhaps the most exciting outcome of Penske’s Australian adventure has been the transition of Scott McLaughlin from Supercrs champ to IndyCar racer (opposite, bottom).

Images: Motorsport Images

that we’re a racing team, but that’s not why we came to Supercars. Why we’re racing NASCAR and IndyCar is a different mentality and different reasoning than why we went to Supercars,” Cindric begins.

“We went to Supercars to establish Penske businesses in that part of the world. That was my mission. To figure out how we could leverage the Supercars association with really creating, or establishing, our businesses. That was our primary goal.

“Very few knew about the (Penske) business. Some motorsport fans understood the racing legacy, but not the business behind it. The first time I went to Homebush, Roger had called me the week before to ask me what we should do in motorsports.

“We wanted to be successful, but our primary goal was to have people know we were there and talking about it.

We do a lot of business-to-business at the racetracks, and it was a huge step forward for us and it really accelerated the way we established ourselves there.”

And the eventual take-out?

“I think we ticked all the boxes – in our mind anyway.”

But there is a lot more to the final decision to withdraw, selling the team back to Professor Ryan Story and Dick Johnson, from the controversy at Bathurst in 2019 to the impact of Covid-19 and even the way the Ford Mustang was more competitive because of McLaughlin.

“We didn’t need another race team halfway across the world. Ultimately, it was how it was affecting our businesses.

“I know there are different perceptions about why we exited Supercars

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“I know there are different perceptions about why we exited Supercars but, from a competition standpoint, of course we were disappointed in the way the Bathurst situation was handled...” but, from a competition standpoint, of course we were disappointed in the way the Bathurst situation was handled. We were disappointed in the homologation (of the Mustang) and the ways in which the series made their decisions and how there were different performance things almost overnight.

“We weren’t used to those sorts of things and processes, and we felt that really the Mustang was being corrected for Scott’s performance, not the performance of the car. I think that’s all proven to be true, when you look at the results.

“What was it ... Scotty won 13 races or something in his last season? I

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remember looking at it, and if you took him out of the mix the Mustang won four races. I think you see that trend continuing where the Holdens won the first eight races this year. When you look at it, Scott was that good in a Supercar.

“Ultimately, the final decision involved the Covid situation, where we couldn’t go over there. What we had to look at every year was sales, and sales related to racing. And those that ran our businesses said ‘Honestly, the racing, we love it, but whether we’re racing or not racing, we’re established here’.

“So we had ticked that box a year or two before we exited. We weren’t

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really going to take our businesses any further through racing. And then it was a matter of whether the racing was worthwhile.

“And, really, the time we spent on it and the resources we spent on it, we said it was probably the right time for a few reasons. But one of them was that the team, and all the people we had put in there, were in a really good place.

They were very established; there were drivers that wanted to drive for the team that were very credible.

“And they didn’t need us any more.

Whereas, when we first arrived it was on life support. The last thing we wanted was life support to the top, and

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One of the biggest take-outs from Australia was the discovery of McLaughlin, something Cindric credits to Marcos Ambrose.

“Ambrose was the first one to really highlight the kid,”

then back to the bottom again.

“Being able to hand that off, and have them stay on their feet, was really important to us. And, with the pandemic, that was the time.”

One of the biggest take-outs from Australia was the discovery of McLaughlin, something Cindric credits to Marcos Ambrose.

“Ambrose was the first one to really highlight the kid,” he says.

“When we talked to Marcos about coming across and starting out as a one-car team, it was always our goal to be a two-car team in the second year.

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We just wanted to take a team that was at the very bottom in a lot of ways … to learn the series and what we needed to know. At that point we didn’t know who we would hire as a second driver anyway. There were a lot of opinions.

“At that point our strategy was to bring on Marcos, who knew the series and knew what it took, and then bring on a young guy for him to mentor. So we asked him ‘who should we look at, who should we target?’ and he said he (McLaughlin) is at the top of my list.

“Scott had sent me an email and introduced himself and all, and it might

have been that Marcos’s prompting was where it started. Scott was very focussed on Supercars but he was also very enamoured of American racing, more-so NASCAR than anything else.

“Then, as we started to have some success, he said it was always his dream to come over to America and race. We told him that could happen, but we’d come there to win races and championships and be successful in Supercars, and once he did that we would talk about the future.

“We always had goals to win Bathurst and the championship and then we’d

look at opportunities – but you don’t really know what those are.”

Cindric has praise for the way McLaughlin has moved on and integrated into Team Penske, from his driving to moving his home with wife Karly to the USA. “He gets it. There are guys that are real good racers, and have a lot of passion about winning, but he gets what it means to drive for Roger. He gets the legacy. He gets the legacy of Rick Mears and the people that came before him, Helio and that type of thing.

He is appreciative of the past, or the legacy that he represents, or is part of.”

Looking ahead to 2022, Cindric is expecting McLaughlin to be a regular Top 10 runner and running in the lead battle pack.

“Once he gets his head around getting through qualifying, if he focusses on qualifying and getting a decent starting position, all the rest will come.

“We told him we’d give him a longer term deal and the first year is going to be up to you to take at whatever pace you can. And that’s exactly what happened.

“He showed pace, but he really learned what it takes to run up the front.

It’s the details, it’s not just the speed.

He was willing to put the work in. He has a great work ethic.”

But there is much more to Cindric, and Team Penske, than McLaughlin’s efforts in IndyCar. He says he is proud of what DJR Team Penske achieved and is happy with his personal memories of the Supercars experience.

“I have a lot of great memories there.

What really stands in my mind is how

McLaughlin (above and lower left) has ticked all of Team Penske’s boxes during his rookie IndyCar season. Cindric is about to tick over 22 years with Penske Racing, 16 of them as President (right), overseeing The Captain’s entire racing programme. Below: The six year Penske-DJR marriage re-established the team as the one to beat.

Images: Motorsport Images

difficult and how competitive it was.

“When we first got there, obviously, it didn’t pan out as we planned in terms of the driver. We go there and after one race he says ‘I don’t want to do this any more’.

“There were so many commitments on the line, you can’t just pull the plug.

That first season ... how far it was from where we were up to the front.

“Looking down pitlane, and thinking that someday we would want to be the first pit stall. What would it be like to be there? And, when we accomplished that and won the teams’ championship, you remember where you started, and how far we came.

“That’s the thing that I remember the most and take the most pride in. It wasn’t about resources. There was a lot of talk about buying your way to the front, but in that series you can’t really buy your way to the front.

“It’s about the people, and bringing the right people together. And I think the group we had there, in the end, I’d put up against any race team.”

But there is one more thing that comes to him later, and it arrives in a text from the USA. “One thing I didn’t mention was how much more I appreciate Bathurst after having experienced it a few times first hand,” says Cindric.

“Not just the competition, winning it, but the people, the event ... but most importantly how special the track is.

After walking the track my first time there, I knew I had to see (his son) Austin race there as I was convinced that if he could handle Bathurst, everything else would seem pretty routine.”

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NO GAIN WITHOUT PAYNE Matthew Payne has leapt into the spotlight in recent weeks, emerging as one of the favourites to take the vacant seat at Kelly Grove Racing in 2022, DAN MCCARTHY spoke to the youngster about his recent rise and Supercars test

LESS THAN 12 months ago New Zealander Matthew Payne had never even driven a racing car, but now he has completed a test in a current Kelly Grove Racing Ford Mustang at Winton Motor Raceway.

Prior to Andre Heimgartner’s departure from the team, only people who follow the Australian Carrera Cup Series or the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series would have heard of Payne.

It has been a whirlwind several months for the youngster, signing as the maiden Grove Junior Team driver, testing a Supercar for the first time, while fighting up front in the Carrera Cup Series.

Several weeks ago Payne completed a two-day test at Winton Motor Raceway, cutting laps in the teams Nissan Altima Super2 machine on the opening day before jumping behind the wheel of Andre Heimgartner’s current Ford Mustang Supercar.

“Getting out in the Super2 car on the first day was awesome,” Payne told Auto Action.

“I was excited for a long time to see how Supercars go and how they feel.

“First couple of laps were pretty cool, just getting used to it and getting the feel for it, but it all ran really well. I was enjoying it.

“Going there and being in the team environment ... it’s a lot different for me.

“I haven’t really been to a racetrack with a large team like that, with a lot of personnel behind everything ... it was really cool seeing everyone doing their jobs.

“I just went into it with open arms and wanted

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to experience what driving a Supercar is like, I think I succeeded in that.”

In both the Super2 and the Supercar, Payne focussed on long runs, maximising the time that he was in car to learn the characteristics of both machines.

“The longer runs were good,” he recalled. “Just getting used to the car over the run was nice.

“I’d then come in, have a refresher and go back out, I was just focusing on trying to do the best job I could learning what Supercars need in such a short space of time.”

Team co-owner and former Super2 Series driver Brenton Grove along with current Kelly Grove Racing driver David Reynolds, were on hand to mentor and assist Payne throughout the day.

“Dave and Brenton were there, coaching me through what I needed to be doing each run to learn as much as I could,” he explained.

“Dave and Brenton have been pretty huge in the making of this. Dave was giving me a rundown of At speed in the Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche.

what to expect and how to get the most out of it, giving me advice on what to do in certain situations; how you get used to driving with old tyres and getting the most out of them; or if you are putting new tyres on, how you’re physically driving it.

“Brenton has been a great coach, making sure that I’m not getting too overwhelmed, especially with working with a bigger team – they’ve (both) been a huge contribution to how this is going.”

Prior to the test, Payne had only driven racing cars with flappy paddles. The Supercars sequential gearbox was a new challenge, but Matt felt he got to grips with it quickly.

“To be honest I thought it would be a little bit harder to get used to, but it all felt pretty natural,” he said.

“With the engine being at the front, it obviously handles a lot different to how a Cup car drives, but it’s very hard to have expectations for these things because you don’t really know what it feels like unless you do it.”

It has been announced that Payne will race a Nissan Altima Super2 in the remainder of the second-tier Series for the Grove Racing team.

Payne admits that it takes some time to adapt to racing a Supercar, but believes that performing double duty at Bathurst will not affect him.

“It takes time to adapt to the style that you need to get the most out of it, I think I know where I need to head with my with my driving style,” he highlighted to AA. “Obviously I can’t change it too much because

we’re running the Porsche for the next few rounds, so hopefully it’ll not too different from each other but I’ll be able to adapt from one to the other.

“Now my focus is switching to the end of the year, doing a few races, getting those under my belt in Super2 and getting some good results.”

Payne has been linked with the seat since Heimgartner and Kelly Grove Racing announced they would go their separate ways last month.

AA asked Payne a theoretical question. ‘If team boss Stephen Grove asks you drive the #7 Supercar full-time in 2022, would you feel ready?

“I think it would be determined by a lot of situations,” Payne replied.

“I think if that were to happen, it has to be a pretty heavy and intense programme at the start of the year to make sure that I’m capable of running with the guys in that field, because they are very good drivers.

“Obviously, it’s hard to just jump in something and get going straight away, but I would love to give it a shot and see how well I would go, We’ll see ...”

Last year the SuperLicence system was a topic of conversation after National Trans Am Series frontrunner Nathan Herne was declined dispensation to race in the Bathurst 1000.

SuperLicence modifications this year have meant that a youngster must realistically complete at least six rounds of the Super2 Series to skip the dispensation process.

There are other ways around it, but these include having Gold FIA Driver Categorisation and having years of experience in motorsport.

Herne fell short because at that stage he had only raced under the AASA sporting banner, not in any Motorsport Australia sanctioned categories.

Payne has raced in Carrera Cup this season, a category which runs under the Motorsport Australia banner, but he is leaving the SuperLicence up to other parties.

“I really don’t have any input on what happens there, I haven’t really looked into anything of that situation ... I’m pretty lucky, I don’t have to deal with that stuff,” Payne said.

“It’s up to the people that are around me to sort that out.”

The same goes for testing of the top-tier Ford Mustang.

“I’m not too sure,” he said. “That’s up to the team, whether or not we can get out to the track or not. I don’t know what the testing schedule is or if there is one before any racing.

“It’s not my call to make, so I’m just here and I’m waiting for what I’m doing next – nothing’s been confirmed yet.”

Payne has had a short but incredibly successful career to date. His karting years saw him win the Rotax Max Challenge New Zealand Junior class in 2016 and the Kartsport NZ National Sprint

Championship KZ2 class in 2019.

At this point Payne was discovered by former Supercars driver Michael Patrizi, who now acts as his manager.

At the start of 2021, he moved into car racing, taking part in the highly regarded Toyota Racing Series which has previously been won by current F1 drivers Lando Norris and Lance Stroll.

In the slimmed-down three-round/9 race series Payne failed to finish off the podium, and beat S5000 Championship race winner Kaleb Ngatoa to the title.

Just prior to the start of the Toyota Racing Series Payne signed a deal to race in Carrera Cup for Earl Bamber Motorsport.

In his debut season in tin tops, he has taken two pole positions and a race win, and has been unlucky not to take more.

He looks back at how the relationship with the Grove’s began: “Earl Bamber Motorsport and Grove Racing have had a relationship in the past with endurance racing,” he recalled.

“Steve was running the car in the Pro-Am Carrera Cup class and we would always pit together. I got to know Steve a little bit while he was racing and our relationship took off from there.

“I’m so grateful to Stephen and Brenton for taking a stab at someone that’s really sort-of unknown at this stage with what he can do.”

Payne’s day at Winton started with laps in the team’s Nissan Super2 car (above and left), before graduating to the current NED Mustang (main pic). The youngster has a rapidly growing relationship with team principal Stephen Grove (right).

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OUR AUSSIE EXPORTS Internationally there is a large crop of young Australians taking on the world in the junior ranks, including Oscar Piastri, Remy Gardner and Jack Doohan – but why are we in such a purple patch?

DAN McCARTHY investigates

IN THE last couple of years Australians have conquered the world of motorsport with incredible success overseas, winning and currently leading the biggest junior championships in the world.

Oscar Piastri currently leads the second-tier Formula 2 Championship after winning FIA Formula 3 last year and Renault Eurocup in 2019.

Jack Doohan finished second in this year’s F3 championship and, as reported by Auto Action last issue, has multiple offers on the table to move up to F2 in 2022.

It is not just success on four wheels – riding for the KTM Ajo squad, Remy Gardner is leading the way in Moto2.

And it’s not just these three delivering results week in week out.

The likes of Christian Mansell in the GB3 Championship, Joshua Car in Formula Regional Americas and even Matt Campbell in a variety of GT championships, mean that Aussies are performing all over the world.

AA spoke to half a dozen of these Aussie sensations to see what they think the reasons are for the nation’s current success.

One of them is Jack Doohan – the son of five-time 500cc World Champion Mick – who finished as the

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runner-up in F3 this year with Italian outfit Trident.

After finishing second in the Asian F3 Championship on two occasions, Doohan moved into the third-tier Formula 1 Championship, FIA Formula 3. A scoreless championship in 2020 with HWA Racelab resulted in a move to Trident for 2021.

Four race victories, three of which were Feature events, saw Doohan finish second to Red Bull Junior Dennis Hauger this year.

As revealed by Auto Action last issue, the Queenslander is now assessing his options in the 2022 Formula 2 Championship.

Like many Australian competitors, Doohan has spent many, many months away from friends and family in Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been unable to return due to the slashing of international flights into Australia and the 14 days hotel quarantine that must be undertaken.

Although this has been difficult for many Australian sports stars, Doohan believes it has been the motivation to work even harder.

“I think we’re all hungry to make it,” Doohan told Auto Action.

“It’s a different culture over the pond – we’re away from home and we’re all making a sacrifice; we want to make sure that sacrifice is worth it.

Images: Motorsport Images; Red Bull Content Pool.

“We want we want to be able to make sure that we’re giving more than 100%.”

Opposite: Oscar Piastri is just a breath away from F1 as he leads the F2 championship. Jack Doohan’s runner-up result in F3 (above) is paving the way to F2, while on two wheels, Remy Gardner leads Moto2, with MotoGP locked in for 2022.

“Maybe we put in more effort and want it slightly more than these other guys, as we want to make sure that doing all this and asking so much from our family and our friends to make this jump and make sure the sacrifice (is not in vain).

“We want we want to be able to make sure that we’re giving more than 100%.”

Piastri is a name AA readers should now be familiar with as he is a regular columnist and is knocking at the door of a Formula 1 seat.

The Victorian is an Alpine Junior driver, looking to take his third straight World Championship.

The 20-year-old finished second in the 2017 British Formula Four Championship in 2017 and eighth in Formula Renault Eurocup before his run began.

Piastri won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup championship and since then has gone on a remarkable run. He won the FIA Formula 3 Championship last year and currently leads the second-tier Formula 2 Championship.

But, as Piastri himself has admitted to AA, a move to Formula 1 is extremely unlikely next season, but he is gunning for the role of Alpine test driver.

Formula 2 Championship leader Piastri believes that the rise of social media presence, not just in sport, but globally in the last decade has been a big benefit for Aussie sports stars.

“I think in more recent years there’s probably been a bit more coverage of people going overseas from Australia,” Piastri said to AA. “The last person to successfully make it was Daniel Ricciardo, and back in that time social media was basically just starting out.

“I don’t know what his news coverage was like, but I can’t imagine it was anything spectacular since I’d never heard of him until he got to F1. I think he finished second in the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship, but unless you were really into motorsport and F1 in particular, most people wouldn’t have known (him).

“The media age we’re in now has probably helped bring to light a few more people.”

Since legendary F1 dictator Bernie Ecclestone was bought out by Liberty Media in 2016, there has been

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a large increase of F1 content on the social media platforms in terms of both quality and quantity.

This has had a flow-on affect to the second and third tier categories, F2 and F3, and couple that with the fact that these races are on live in Australia, it has been a boost also for Piastri’s career.

“I think it’s (social media) helped to reach a more global audience,” Piastri said. “I think also the timing of the F2 and F3 races with the broadcast on Fox Sports in Australia also helped as well because it’s basically prime time TV. “There’s probably been a number of factors ...

I’d like to think my success is the top one,” he chuckled.

“I think the whole media coverage of not just myself, but like you said, Remy, and Jack as well in F3, has certainly helped promote our successes.”

Although Gardner has been in World Motorcycle competition for a number of years, he did not show his

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true talent until he moved to the Malaysian ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team Moto2 team in 2019.

Scoring a podium with them in just his second race, the following year he went on to score two pole positions and four podiums, rounded out by his first ever victory.

The performances in 2020 got him a gig with frontrunning operation KTM Ajo this year.

Gardner has never looked back. During the season he has taken four wins and finished in the top five in all but one race thus far.

The son of 1987 500cc champion Wayne leads the championship, and has already been signed up to race for Tech3 in the premier MotoGP class next year, joining fellow Aussie Jack Miller on the grid.

In the United Kingdom there are a couple of Australian’s delivering currently in the newly renamed GB3 Championship (formerly known as British F3) and British F4.

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Aussies at speed ... Matt Campbell (above) maximised his opportunity with Porsche; Josh Car (above right) currently second in US F3, and James Allen, grabbing a podium finish in LMP2 at Le Mans this year.

Images: Motorsport Images

Representing Australia in Formula 4 are Marcos Flack and Cameron McLeod, Flack has had a rollercoaster first season in England but has managed to score several podiums throughout the year, while Flack joined a couple of rounds ago, impressively finishing second in just his second race.

Two F4 graduates, Christian Mansell and Bart Horsten, are succeeding in GB3.

Horsten finished 10th in F3 last year and has built on that this year, sitting comfortably inside the top 10 after scoring several podiums.

Mansell (an appropriate name for a driver in Britain) finished as the 2020 Rookie of the Year in F4 before immediately graduating to GB3.

Mansell was in the fight for the title almost all season long and, after scoring multiple wins, he has told AA that he is looking for to compete in a European Championship next year.

The 16-year-old New South Welshman believes that in this day and age there are so many more highly regarded disciplines and championships for drivers to choose from, whether that be open-wheel, GT, Touring Car racing or even rallying.

“There’s many things you can do nowadays – it’s pretty crazy,” Mansell said. “There are so many things a person can do if that certain thing that

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they initially want to, doesn’t work out.

One person who has gone down the GT route, and done it successfully, is 2016 Carrera Cup Australia Series winner Matt Campbell.

Since then Campbell has taken the GTE Am class win at the Le Mans 24 Hours on debut, finished second in the GTE Am class of the World Endurance Championship and taken multiple round wins.

He is regular in the GT World Challenge Endurance Series as well as the IMSA Sportscar Championship and Intercontinental GT Challenge in which he famously won the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2019.

Campbell expressed that occasional Australian’s have done well in the past, although many have not had the rub of the green and the big breaks.

“Many Aussies obviously tried to come over and achieve the same things, Will (Power) and James (Courtney)

obviously got opportunities, in development and test roles in Formula 1,” Campbell recalled.

“Now you see the likes of Piastri who is in the same position – he’s doing a fantastic job.

“There’s been quite a few have come over and done it before, but never just got that last opportunity.

“Maybe that might have been luck ... it could have been anything, but obviously it’s been going very well of late for the other Aussies over here. It’s really great to see and hopefully it can continue.

“It’s just a different time; it’s a different era and something’s just working at the moment for some of us from Down Under.”

Although a little older than the Piastri and Mansell, for example, Campbell was really the first of this generation to make a name for himself in international competition.

In recent years he has been followed

into GT racing by fellow Carrera Cup Series winner Jordan Love.

Another man making a name for himself in GT and Sportscar racing is James Allen who finished third in LMP2 at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year.

AA asked the young drivers if Supercars is less appealing these days and a contributor to so many making the trip over the pond.

“I ever since I was a very little kid, prototypes was always the goal for me,” Allen said to AA. Mansell elaborated, saying that Supercars is no less appealing for youngsters – it simply depends on where your heart is.

“I was interested in Supercars, but it just depends where your heart lies,” Mansell said. “If you’re a wings-andslicks man and you’re a Formula 1 diehard you’re going to want to go over to Europe, and you’re going to want to prove your worth.

Above: Matt Campbell (centre) enjoying the Bathust 12 Hour podium.

Below, left and right, Callan Williams is another youngster who left Australia for foreign race tracks after limted racing in Australia.

Images: Motorsport Images

“If you love Supercars, and that’s where your heart lies, well you’re going want to do something like Formula Ford and then Super3, Super2 and then eventually Supercars.

“I just think it’s down to personal opinion; it’s all just down to what you enjoy and what you want to do for the rest of your motorsport career.”

One common theme amongst all of these youngsters, Matt Campbell aside, is that they did very little to no car racing in Australia.

Piastri, Doohan and Gardner in particular did no car racing in Australia whatsoever – they moved over to Europe as soon as possible to mix it in amongst the quality European competition and learn to match the best in the world.

Campbell was different, as success in the Australian series would guarantee him a shot in the Porsche Junior Shootout – even if he did not win the shootout, just taking part would have been a nice leg up into international competition.

While Campbell has shown the path for Aussie GT drivers in recent times,

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FIA Formula 3 Championship podium finisher Calan Williams believes that Ricciardo did the same for open-wheel drivers.

“When you move to Europe it’s a massive, massive step,” Williams told AA. “Having Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1 when I was growing up was sort of saying, ‘I did this step – you can too.’

“That was a huge motivator in saying, ‘let’s do it, it’s possible.’ It’s obviously ambitious, but it’s not it’s not overly ambitious – he’s done it, so let’s go join him.”

Williams hopes that, like Ricciardo, the current generation have inspired the next crop of Aussie drivers to pursue their international dreams.

“Last year, we had three Australians in F3 – I think it creates a really good path for other young Australians to follow,” he said.

Williams is an experienced open-wheel driver, having worked his way through the Toyota Racing Series, Euroformula Open and the last two years in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, scoring a

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podium at Circuit Paul Ricard this year.

The West Australian briefly competed nationally before moving overseas, just to get a feel for open-wheel racing and know if it was the route he wanted to take.

“Australian F3 was great for me to learn the car and get experience in a wingsand-slicks machine, I think it was great,” he said.

“It was a great first step for me before I came to Europe, but then the competition in Europe was insane.

“It’s amazing how competitive it is – it blows your mind. It was definitely a bit of a shock for me when I first came over here, but it shows you how much you have to learn.”

Williams has some sound advice for Aussies looking to race in Europe, expressing that they should move as soon as they feel ready, but stressing that it can’t be too late.

“I’d say start racing in Europe as soon as you’re ready,” he said.

“Obviously it has to be early – you do need to get to Europe early to learn as much as you can. But if you come in

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before you’re ready it might be a bit too much diving in the deep end you’ll get drowned out.

“To any young Australian, I’d say make sure that you maximise what you can learn in Australia (whether that be karting or a brief stint in car racing competition) and then as soon as you’re ready, race in Europe against the competition here.

“The amount of learning and how much you would develop as a race driver coming to Europe and racing here, I think is the best option for sure.”

Of course, these half dozen drivers are not the only young Aussies performing strongly overseas – others include Hugh Barter who is a front runner in the French F4 Championship. We also have Australian’s on the Road to Indy – look no further than Josh Car who sits second in the US Formula Regional Championship with a round to go. And then of course there is US-born Aussie resident kiwi Hunter McElrea, who just finished third in the US Indy Pro2000 and is about to test an IndyLights car!

We’re doin’ okay ...

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THE late 90

s

CLASHES, CRASHES AND CONTROVERSY

There was hardly a dull moment during the late 1990s. Craig Lowndes was the name on everyone’s lips in the V8 Supercar world, while Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve dominated the Formula 1 landscape. Meanwhile, a category war created conflict in Australia. years of publishing 1971- 2021 JOSH NEVETT covers Auto Action’s coverage of motorsport from 1995-1999.

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Issue 628 – March 15, 1995 RIP Gregg Hansford

Issue 664 – November 22, 1995 Final Adelaide Grand Prix

AUSTRALIA MOURNED the death of motorcycle ace and touring car driver Gregg Hansford after his fatal accident at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Hansford was killed when he lost control of his car, bounced off a tyre wall and into the path of Mark Adderton’s Peugeot. The Queenslander would be remembered for his six national motorcycle championships, 10 world championship GP victories and 1993 Bathurst 1000 triumph alongside Larry Perkins.

Issue 658 – October 11, 1995 Perkins and Ingall win Bathurst LARRY PERKINS and Russell Ingall drove the #11 Castrol Commodore to 1995 Bathurst 1000 victory in a last to first performance. The pair had to climb from the rear after making contact with polesitter Craig Lowndes on lap 1 and the resulting flat rear tyre, requiring a first-lap pit stop. Their side of the story was filled with elation, while Glenn Seton detailed his devastation after his engine seized while in the lead, just nine laps from the finish.

FORMULA 1 in Australia marked the end of an era when Adelaide held its final Grand Prix. The final Adelaide F1 race was won

by Damon Hill in a Williams by a record equalling two laps.

Mika Hakkinen was involved in a life-threatening crash when his left-rear tyre blew out at 200km/h in qualifying, requiring urgent trackside treatment. Hakkinen sustained a fractured skull and internal bleeding, but returned to F1 in 1996. The grand prix still remains the second most attended in F1 history.

Our cover story reported that Neil Crompton could end up leading Wayne Gardner’s Coke team if an overseas Super Tourer option materialised for the ex-motorcycle champion. It didn’t ...

Issue 665 – November 29, 1995 HRT signs Lowndes AT THE age of 21, Craig Lowndes replaced Tomas Mezera at the factory Holden Racing Team, taking the helm of the #15 car as teammate to motorsport icon Peter Brock. The young up-and-comer had previously sought an open-wheel drive overseas. Lowndes would win three titles in four years at the team, answering the question posed on page 3 of this issue; “Has a new tintop king been born?”

Issue 651 – August 23, 1995 Schumacher joins Ferrari REIGNING FORMULA 1 world champion Michael Schumacher agreed to sign with Ferrari for the 1996 Formula 1 season, leaving Benetton after four and a half years.

In the same issue it was confirmed that Jacques Villeneuve would enter the F1 arena, fresh off an Indy500 win with Team Green, setting up a rivalry with Schumacher that would ensue for years to come.

Issue 663 – November 15, 1995 Toyota banned from WRC TOYOTA’S FACTORY rally team received a one-year ban from the World Rally Championship and was stripped of its 1995 points after it was found to be using an illegal turbo inlet restrictor in its Toyota Celica rally cars.

The penalty was the harshest in the history of the WRC and FIA boss Max Mosley said that the offending system was “the most ingenious thing I have seen in 30 years of motorsport.”

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Issue 673 – February 1, 1996 Lowndes full-time debut win IT DID not take long for Lowndes to make his mark with HRT, claiming his first win as a touring car full-timer at Eastern Creek Raceway. The result gave record keepers a job to do, as Lowndes became the first debut winner of an Australian Touring Car Championship round since David McKay in the early 60s. Defending champion John Bowe spoiled Lowndes’ chances of a clean sweep, recording a victory in Race 1.

Issue 679 – March 14, 1996 First Melbourne Grand Prix THE 1996 Formula 1 GP held at Albert Park would be the first of many, and was memorable for Martin Brundle’s opening lap airborne incident in which he took to the skies at 290km/h riding over the back of Johnny Herbert and David Coulthard. Damon Hill will go down as the first ever Melbourne GP winner, overtaking his new rookie teammate Jacques Villeneuve late on. In other news, Holden Racing Team boss John Crennan blasted Peter Brock for endorsing Volvo.

Issue 745 – July 4, 1997 Brock plays peacemaker PETER BROCK put himself in the middle of a bitter feud between the Australian Touring Car Championship and Super Touring, calling for diplomacy and cooperation. ‘Brockie’ backed the idea of slowing V8’s to merge Supercar and Super Tourer racing, and also confirmed that he had been offered up to $250,000 to race a Vauxhall Vectra Super Tourer at Bathurst for ‘The Great Race’.

CRAIG LOWNDES and Greg Murphy became the youngest combination ever to win the Bathurst 1000, crossing the line first for Holden Racing Team more than 19s ahead of Dick Johnson/ John Bowe. In the wake of the Bathurst result Lowndes was linked with a future in Indy Lights, but he remained committed to racing in Europe, competing in Formula 3000 as part of his planned pathway to Formula 1.

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Issue 738 – May 16, 1997 Lowndes F3000 debut THE SIGNS were positive on debut for ‘the kid’, who qualified sixth for his much anticipated first Formula 3000 Championship race. However, things fell apart quickly for the prodigy who spun three times and was classified 15th, a lap down.

In British Formula 3, a young Mark Webber qualified fastest at Silverstone but was unable to convert, finishing seventh in the race. The Aussie told AA he was confident in becoming the next Australian F1 driver.

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LARRY PERKINS claimed his sixth and last Bathurst 1000 victory in the 1997 edition of the ‘The Great Race’, beating out the pairing of Steven and Jim Richards by a final margin of over a minute. The race also marked Peter Brock’s career finale, but there was no fairy-tale as the icon was unclassified in his final outing at Mount Panorama. However, Brock would return two more times, in 2002 and 2004.

Issue 750 – August 8, 1997 Brock retires, Seton celebrates

Issue 762 – October 31, 1997 Villeneuve becomes F1 Champion

IT WAS an emotional time in the Australian motorsport landscape as Peter Brock ended his 28-year career in the Australian Touring Car Championship. The biggest crowd ever recorded at Oran Park (42,000) paid their tributes to the man known as ‘Peter Perfect’, who went out in style with a Race 1 victory.

Meanwhile, Glenn Seton defeated title rivals John Bowe and Russell Ingall to earn his second championship crown.

CANADIAN ACE Jacques Villeneuve was crowned 1997 Formula 1 champion after finishing third at the European Grand Prix at Jerez. The outcome was famous for the actions of fellow title contender Michael Schumacher, who was called to a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council after seeming to deliberately collide with Villeneuve to maintain his one-point championship lead. Schumacher was later disqualified from the Drivers’ Championship for the dangerous manoeuvre.

Issue 759 – October 10, 1997 Inaugural Super Touring Bathurst 1000

Issue 709 – October 10, 1996 Lowndes/Murphy conquer Bathurst

Issue 761 – October 24, 1997 Perkins’ last Bathurst win

SUPER TOURING held their own Bathurst 1000 event for the very first time, as Bathurst 1000 Event Management Chief Executive Greg Eaton revealed a five-year agreement to keep Super Touring as the main category. Held a fortnight before the ATCC equivalent, the new ‘Great Race’ was won by Geoff and David Brabham in a BMW 320i. There was no doubt that the divide between the touring car categories was wider than ever.

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Issue 765 – November 21, 1997 Lowndes returns HOLDEN RACING Team announced that Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes would drive for the team in the 1998 V8 Touring Car season, leaving 1997 fourth place finisher Greg Murphy out in the cold. Lowndes decided to return to the premier Australian category due to running out of budget after just one year in Formula 3000.

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Issue 798 – July 24, 1998 Supercars’ Darwin debut V8SUPERCAR HELD its first event in Darwin at Hidden Valley Raceway, with Russell Ingall winning two out of the three races. Craig Lowndes inherited the first encounter, but was plagued by engine issues from that point and forced to withdraw from the second race. The success of the Northern Territory event prompted organisers to agree a deal to hold rounds in Darwin until 2002.

Issue 818 – December 11, 1998 Ford’s secret US test AUTO ACTION revealed the world’s first images of the new AU Ford Falcon V8 Supercar in a US wind tunnel. The images depicted the new design undergoing crucial aerodynamic testing in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of preparations for its introduction into V8Supercars. The shape of the new aero kit had to be blurred for the magazine, such was the secret nature of the design.

Issue 819 – January 7, 1999 Bowe tells all JOHN BOWE made the headlines as he split with Dick Johnson Racing after two Bathurst 1000 wins and a championship triumph with the team. Bowe provided a ‘tell-all’ on his decision, explaining that he was looking forward to a new role as “captain of the ship” at CAT Racing Team.

Dick Johnson was surprised and disappointed with Bowe’s choice after what was an 11-year partnership.

Issue 822 – January 28, 1999 Ford factory team returns FORD ANNOUNCED that it would field an official factory team for the first time since 1973 to take on the successful Holden Factory Racing Team in 1999. Ford Australia and Tickford teamed up with Glenn Seton Racing to establish Ford Tickford Racing, a team that would enter two Falcons driven by Seton and Neil Crompton in the V8Supercars Championship.

Issue 834 – April 22, 1999 First Adelaide 500 CRAIG LOWNDES won the first V8Supercars Adelaide 500 from the rear of the grid, calling the victory his “toughest” race ever. Lowndes was stripped of pole and forced to start from the rear of the field after hitting Danny Osborne’s Falcon in the first leg, destroying it. Nevertheless, the HRT driver weaved his way to the front to make South Australian history. The Adelaide Parklands Circuit hosted one of the biggest V8 crowds ever at the time, confirming the new event as a hit.

Issue 804 – September 4, 1998 Adelaide 500 confirmed AFTER LOSING the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix just a few years before, Adelaide rejoiced at the announcement of a new V8Supercars Adelaide 500 event. The South Australian government agreed a five-year deal, $34 million with V8Supercars that would be see the state host the race each year, on a re-engineered version of the old F1 circuit. A staple of the Supercars calendar until 2020, the event was terminated by the South Australian Tourism Commission last year to the disappointment of many.

Issue 813 – November 6, 1998 Hakkinen wins F1

Issue 815 – November 20, 1998 Stone Brothers’ Breakthrough

THREE YEARS after his life-threatening smash in Adelaide, Mika Hakkinen wrote his name into the Formula 1 record books by securing the title in Japan.

‘The Flying Finn’ beat out Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher, who finished the season second 14 points in arrears and was gracious in defeat.

STONE BROTHERS Racing made their presence known on the V8Supercar scene by taking out their debut Bathurst 1000 with Jason Bright and Steven Richards at the wheel. As well as being a significant result for the team, it also took on great importance for Ford who broke a streak of Holden wins.

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Issue 838 – May 20, 1999 Doohan’s career ending injury

Issue 865 – November 24, 1999 Gibson Motorsport win in a Holden

MICK DOOHAN was sidelined for an extended period of time after a 200km/h incident in a very wet qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. The Aussie broke his leg in several places, raising questions about his future in the sport. Doohan would subsequently announce his retirement after winning five consecutive 500cc World Motorcycle Championship’s between 1994-1998.

STEVEN RICHARDS and Greg Murphy were the 1999 V8Supercar Bathurst 1000 victors for Gibson Motorsport, while Craig Lowndes wrapped up his third consecutive title after finishing second in the race with Cameron McConville. Ford legend Dick Johnson finished fourth in his final race appearance, bringing to a close a career that included three Bathurst 1000 triumphs and five Australian Touring Car Championship titles.

Issue 855 – September 16, 1999 Canberra added to V8 calendar IT WAS announced that a new-format street race would be run on a Canberra street circuit during the 2000 Queen’s Birthday long weekend. The ACT government committed $17 million into the race over a five-year contract.

AVESCO announced a calendar for the new V8Supercar development series ‘V8 Lites’, consisting of five rounds. Rubens Barrichello was confirmed as Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate for the 2000 season.

Issue 849 – August 5, 1999 Lowndes’ HUGE Calder crash HOLDEN RACING Team was sweating on the health of Craig Lowndes after he was involved in a dramatic crash at Calder Park. Lowndes’ car was tapped into a 200km/h skid on its roof before barrel-rolling six times and coming to rest upside down. As a result, the star driver required knee surgery that left his availability for upcoming V8Supercar rounds unknown. At the time, Lowndes described the incident as the biggest of his career.

Issue 840 – June 3, 1999 Cochrane slams NMA

Issue 847 – July 22, 1999 Schumacher breaks leg

“I’LL CRUSH new V8 class”. Those were the words of Supercar boss Tony Cochrane who spoke out against New Millennium AUSCAR (NMA) in the fight for Bathurst. Cochrane threatened legal action against the new category, declaring there was ‘no room’ for another V8 competition in Australia. When all was said and done, NMA ended up racing at Mount Panorama in the one-off V8 300 endurance race run by the Australian Racing Driver’s Club on October 3.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER was ruled out of the 1999 Formula 1 Championship race after breaking his leg in a 200km/h smash at Silverstone. The German required a 12-inch pin in his leg after his Ferrari careered across a gravel trap and into a tyre barrier head on. In V8Supercar news, Garth Tander broke through for his maiden race victory at Queensland Raceway at the age of 22.

Issue 843 – June 24, 1999 Webber takes to the sky

Issue 867 – December 9, 1999 Brad Jones shifts to V8s

IN TERRIFYING scenes at Le Mans, Mark Webber was involved in two 300km/h-plus crashes where his Mercedes CLR flipped. An aerodynamic problem was believed to have caused the problem. Thankfully, Webber was not seriously injured but the footage made for concerning viewing.

In the aftermath of the incident, Webber told AA “I love Le Mans, but it doesn’t like me”.

BRAD JONES Racing made the shift to V8Supercar racing, purchasing Tony Longhurst’s AU Ford Falcon.

The dual Super Touring and AUSCAR champion was confident his new V8 team would perform immediately in the 2000 series.

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A FORD GALAXIE...

FROM FAR FAR AWAY Four times Australian Grand Prix winner, Lex Davison, was an unlikely Touring Car driver. He raced two Holman Moody built Ford Galaxie V8s spectacularly from 1962-4, thrilling spectators and frightening the odd fence. MARK BISSET tells the tale of booming, big-block beasties and their intrepid pilot.

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Lex Davison was a Shelley Beach, Portsea swimmer – the notion of a dive and dip in Sandown’s murky dam wasn’t his plan at all.

It was his own fault too. He knew full well how poor the brakes of his 1600kg Holman-Moody Ford Galaxie Fastback were on the fateful November (1964) day the big-bitch tried to kill him.

Four-time Australian Grand Prix winner Lex Davison was a racing purist, a pucka single-seater man to his core, an odd-choice of touring car driver. By the early 60s the inexorable rise of touring cars was upon us, despite Lex railing against the trend in his magazine columns.

Len Lukey started his career in Fords before turning to the dark side to race single-seaters – several Coopers – winning the ’59 Gold Star in a Cooper T45 Climax before retiring as a driver.

Jaguar’s domination of touring car racing was becoming a bit boring, so Len, owner of burgeoning Lukey Mufflers, imported a new R-Code HolmanMoody built 405bhp, 6.7-litre Ford Galaxie sedan to shake things up a bit.

Lukey’s choice of Davison to drive the big American lump was a political coup. What better way to neutralise an influential opponent than entice him into the fold?

Lex couldn’t resist the challenge. Competing in those cars was akin to racing your lounge-room, the opposite of the namby-pamby ‘perfect’ open-wheelers which were his stock-in-trade.

The Galaxie was running late for its November 1962 Sandown debut, so Len unloaded it from the ship in Brisbane and drove the full-race specification car 1770 km home to Highett, Melbourne. Man, what fun!

Some of its H-M goodies had to be removed to comply with our Appendix J regs; panels, bumpers

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Main pic: Lift Off at Sandown’s ‘64 Six Hour. Davison’s Galaxie alongside ‘59 Indy Winner Rodger Ward, and Alan Mottram’s Studebaker Larks. Above: Lex Davison in his ‘Herbie Johnson helmet at Caversham, 1962 (Image: Ken Devine).

and brake bits, but not its 406cid (427cid later) Ford V8. He also imported a roadie as a mobile parts source.

At Sandown, Davison placed second to Beechey’s Chev Impala after Bob Jane’s Jaguar Mk2 suffered a burst radiator and spun. Lex’ best lap was an impressive one second behind Norm’s new lap record – not a bad debut. The Caversham AGP weekend followed where he was third and set fastest lap.

Davison missed the ’63 season opener at Calder with a dodgy-back, so Beechey took the Galaxie’s

wheel, but Ern Abbot’s well sorted Valiant prevailed over the Big Henry.

Lex raced the Galaxie at Warwick Farm, proving its utility, he drove it to Mass en route to the circuit on Sunday morning. His prayers were not quite answered ... second behind Jane would have to suffice.

A fortnight later, Jane and Davison were timed at 138mph (223kmh) on Longford’s Flying Mile, but Coventry’s finest had better brakes and handling.

Lex won the Le Mans start but spun at the Longford Pub and later needed the main straight escape road given the under-braked Beast’s nature.

In the handicap, Davo pushed harder still. He spun into straw bales at The Viaduct, then lost his brakes completely and went down the escape road again 200-metres before stopping in a drainage ditch. It was “like driving a haystack” he quipped.

Sandown was worse. He spun on the first lap of the opener, then again on the run into Dandenong Road in the second race. The beast smote the Armco a huge thump on the outside then came back across the road to hit it on the inside, before catching fire as Lex sought to restart.

He put the crash down to “Appalling rear axle tramp…(which) has been cured to such an extent that the car is un-steerable...Perhaps it (the accident) will solve the problem of me having to drive it again.”

Indeed, it did. The Galaxie needed major repairs and Lukey sought a change of pilot. He threw the keys to Beechey who raced it with the inherent sympathy of a touring car specialist.

Among his other race commitments, Davison’s Ecurie Australie campaigned a Triumph 2000 in the 1964 Bathurst 500. Lex drove it consistently fast within its limits to eighth in class despite co-driver Rocky Tresise parking it unnecessarily after an off.

“Go and geddit matey,” was Lex’ response.

Lex couldn’t resist the challenge.

Competing in those cars was akin to racing your loungeroom, the opposite of the namby-pamby ‘perfect’ openwheelers which were his stock-in-trade.

Sir Gawaine during the ‘65 Warwick Farm Tasman round. Below: Davison unleashes 425 Ford-neddies alongside the Sandown Dam he found so attractive!

Despite his unimpressive performances, Davison wasn’t done with Galaxies just yet.

Sandown’s promoters, the Light Car Club of Australia – of which Lex was a long-term member and President – decided to run their first endurance event, a Six-Hour Group One race in November 1964, Lex wanted to win it.

Davison felt the later model two-door HolmanMoody Ford Galaxie Fastback, one of which was owned and raced in the UK by British aristocrat racer, Sir Gawaine Baillie would do the trick.

He set about organising Baillie and his car to make the trip.

Except for some early cars like Lukey’s, these 1963½ 427cid Galaxie lightweights – primarily developed for NHRA drag-racing and NASCAR – were white two-door Sports Hardtops with red interiors. 212 were produced in one batch.

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A trip to the Jenny Craig Clinic reduced the standard car’s portly 1900kg girth by 290kg. Some were fitted with a lighter Ford 300 chassis frame, body sound-deadener was deleted, and the boot lid, bonnet and front guards were made of fibreglass, aluminium front and rear bumpers were used. The interiors were racer-specials with rubber floor mats, shell bucket seats and devoid of radio, heater, clock, etc.

The 425bhp engine was an FE Ford 427cid side-oiler V8 with a choice of high and low-riser aluminium manifolds running dual four-barrel carbs.

Borg Warner’s aluminium cased T10 four-speed

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manual ‘box and close-ratio gears was up to the task, as was Ford’s beefy nine-inch rear axle fitted with 4.11:1 final drive ratio. Heavy duty leaf springs, shocks and drum brakes inside special 15-inch steel wheels completed the drivetrain.

The circuit racers – instigated by British Ford dealer/race team boss, John Willment – had all the trick bits plus an H-M developed front disc kit comprising Jaguar 12-inch rotors clamped by Girling two-pot calipers mounted on heavy-duty stub-axles.

Other goodies included a NASCAR style exhaust and revised shock absorber mounts using (usually) two shocks per wheel.

The machines were very successful in the UK. Willment’s Jack Sears and Graham Hill driven cars were quick, as was Alan Brown’s raced by Jim Clark, Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham.

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Baillie had his share of UK success too; it was with him that Lex threw in his lot. The car was on the boat before Sandown organiser, Max Newbold, realised it was a Group Two car, so he altered the race regs to include Group Two ... it’s always handy to have friends in high places!

When the Galaxie arrived at Port Melbourne in mid-November, Newbold was flummoxed when the biggest trailer he could find still wasn’t large enough.

Undeterred, Alan Ashton fired it up, then Lex jumped aboard clad in suit, tie and hat and rumbled off to Ashton’s AF Hollins workshop in twee High Street, Armadale 10km away, doubtless giving it a bit of wellie on Melbourne’s first, new, South Eastern Freeway en route.

Davison did 30 laps at Sandown the week before the race to check consumption, get the feel of the car and establish tyre pressures. A Melbourne Herald reporter got the ride of his life when Lex’s demo of the Galaxie’s pace also included its loss of braking power on the drop down to the Dandy Road Esses! Davison did 1:24 – Beechey’s lap record in Lukey’s Galaxie was 1:23.5 – and reported 5500 rpm in top, 217kmh and brake fade after 10 laps circulating in the 1:26 mark. It was a portent of things to come.

After its late arrival, the spare engine was installed overnight Friday. Baillie jumped aboard and did 1:28s on old tyres, before doing 1:25.3. Finally, Lex did a 1:23.7, he was easily the fastest thing present and bagged pole.

Young Allan Moffat’s Group Two Lotus Cortina – just acquired from Team Lotus in the US, of which he was a member – arrived after practice finished, while Jane’s Lotus Cortina three-wheeled around in characteristic style in 1:30.1.

Race morning was fine and sunny, and 27,000 Melburnians rocked-up to enjoy a spectacular race.

Davison was among the Studebaker Lark V8s up front and took the first stint at Baillie’s request. He spectacularly bagged-em-up and disappeared into the distance, lapping the tailenders before the end of the second tour.

A driver change was planned at the end of lap 61, the strategy was to build a big lead to change four tyres and replenish the Ford’s 155 litre tank.

By lap 40 Davison led Moffat and needed six-pumps of the brakes to get a decent pedal. On lap 47 he got no response on the 170kmh run along Pit Straight before the second gear, slow, Peters left hander.

Top: With evidence of his first hit, Davison approaches Peters Corner, and (above) the result as Rodger Ward/Warren Weldon blast past.

Below: Wonderful Sandown panorama: Beechey in Len Lukey’s Galaxie with Bob Jane’s Jag Mk2 4.1 pushing hard from behind, Shell Corner, 1965.

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But it was a big, noisy, heavy car to manage, racing car virtues Lex could never resist.

Above: John Raeburn, shortly off to Europe, heading for fifth place during the ‘65 ATCC at Sandown.

Right: Jim Clark wrestles his Galaxie around Surtees en route to an BTCC win at Brands in August, 1963.

“I managed to change down to second, then to first and tried to spin the big car, having pulled this off before when driving Len’s car, but I didn’t manage it cleanly, and the tail whacked the fence.”

He completed the lap, then struggled to stop the beast at the Hollins pit. The offside front brake had worn through both pads and one of the backing plates allowing a piston to contact the disc, damaging it and the caliper. The caliper was replaced in 22 minutes, then Baillie rejoined in 30th place, eight laps behind the leader – still with the damaged disc fitted – while a spare was tracked down via the on-circuit PA system!

Moffat’s Cortina clobbered the fence too, so the race became a duel between Jane’s Cortina and the ultimate winner, Alec Mildren’s Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super driven by factory driver Roberto Businello and Sydney’s Ralph Sach.

Baillie, uncomfortable with his car, came in after 20 laps and handed over to Davison who was immediately quick. He pitted 7 laps later, then again on his 75th lap to have the disc replaced, taking off again at undiminished pace.

And then, as they say in the classics, it happened.

On lap 91 Davison had total brake failure, again at Peters. He lost some speed by jamming the car into second but muffed the change into first gear, thereby losing the opportunity to lock the rear wheels and spin the car. So, utterly a passenger, he ploughed headlong into the fence.

The Galaxie smote the timbers at 120kmh, smashed through the planks and displaced a 12-inch diameter fence post which drove the right front wheel back

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against the firewall, then stopped halfway through the fence, nose down on the edge of the six-metre drop into the dam. The car didn’t fall because the front of it was resting on the hefty fence post. Lex’ door was jammed shut – the right-hand door was locked but eventually he got out, severely shaken but ok.

The Ecurie Australie team, on Pit Straight, ran the short distance to his aid. “The big bitch nearly killed me,” Davison exclaimed to Baillie and Ashton.

Lex’s biographer, Graham Howard wrote that for the 40 minutes it lasted, his drive after taking over from Baillie was “...another of his never give up drives from the back of the field...but this time he knew he was driving a car he knew was suspect.

“Commonsense said to put the car away; so why did he keep racing? The Galaxie was an American sedan, a clumsy compromise as a racing car, and these were all the things Lex disliked about the touring car push.”

“But it was a big, noisy, heavy car to manage, racing car virtues Lex could never resist. From the first drive Lex was exploring its limits. Gawaine Baillie was no playboy…he had led the Brands Hatch 6-Hour race in June with it, setting fastest race lap - but Lex was always faster.”

“At Sandown Lex was responding to one of the primal challenges of motor racing: to show the machine the driver was in charge. Finally, provoked beyond endurance, the big bitch showed, empathetically, he was not.”

The accident reinforced to Lex and Diana Davison the risk of racing to his family, farm and the Paragon Shoes business. Lex decided, having started racing in

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1946, and then just shy of 42, that it was time to stop after a few more races.

The great irony and sadness are that Davison died at Sandown of a heart attack aboard his Brabham BT4 Climax on February 20, 1965, an event which rocked his family, the sport and Melbourne to the core.

The Galaxie returned to AF Hollins for repair – in addition Lex’s Brabham and Rocky Tresise’s Cooper were readied for the Tasman Cup. Davison proved in the Kiwi rounds that he was still up with all but the world’s very best.

Baillie raced the Galaxie at Warwick Farm, but not at Sandown out of respect for Lex. He ran at Longford the following tragic weekend in which Tresise perished aboard Lex’s old Cooper T62 Climax. It was a race Rocky insisted he start out of respect for Lex, his next-door-neighbour, father figure, friend and mentor.

Baillie returned to the UK, leaving the Galaxie in Australia where it contested the one-race in the 1965 Australian Touring Car Championship, in John Raeburn’s hands, at Sandown. Jane started his Mustang from pole with Raeburn alongside – the car’s Sandown pace was now rather well known!

Beechey’s new Mustang won from Pete Geoghegan’s Lotus Cortina and Brian Muir’s EH Holden S4, Raeburn was fifth, a lap behind.

With the Mustang making rather clear that the future for outright touring cars was smaller lightweight V8 machines, there was little interest in the Galaxie, so it was returned to the UK where Willment bought it.

Aussie international, Brian Muir raced it for him throughout 1966, until he too ran out of brakes at Oulton Park. This time the big beastie was beyond economic repair and was scrapped. Lukey’s car survived though and is part of the Bowden family collection.

Australia’s Galaxie touring car phase was short but sweet – if ever a brutal 1600kg, 500bhp, lumbering Big Bitch of a car could be described thus…

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TOM

SARGENT

DON’T LOOK DOWN Tom Sargent has a habit of winning that he just can’t shake right now in everything from Formula Ford to the Bathurst 6 Hour – he spoke to JOSH NEVETT about his rise.

THE VIEW from the top of podiums is becoming familiar for New South Wales youngster Tom Sargent.

After all, he is finding it more difficult to lose races than to win them in 2021.

The 19-year-old has amassed 11 victories from 13 attempts in Formula Ford racing at both state and national level, while also topping the Class D Production results in the Bathurst 6 Hour alongside recent Auto Action Young Gun Lachlan Mineeff.

Therefore, it was no surprise that Sargent had a satisfaction in his voice when reviewing his performance this year.

“2021 has been pretty perfect for us,” Sargent told AA. “Out of all the races we’ve done this year, we’ve only failed to win two of them and we’ve had every pole position that has been available – it’s been really good.

“I think we were on to do really well in 2020 but obviously that didn’t happen, so it made me want it even more coming into 2021 and I think I can see that in my driving throughout the year so far.”

It is hardly like 2021 has been aberration either, as Sargent has never been too far from the front during his time in circuit racing.

Sargent is the definition of a ‘Young Gun’, hailing from the small gold rush town of Young four hours’ drive from Sydney and two hours from both Canberra and Bathurst.

He was forced to cover a lot of ground from the family’s rural base to participate in motorsport as a child, a time that he recalls fondly.

“I think I did something like nine years in karts, and I had a great time,” Sargent said.

“As with all motorsports, you had high weekends and low weekends.

“We travelled a lot a kilometres and it was awesome to be able to do that with my family and friends.

“We met a lot of lovely people, and it was really good to develop myself and give myself a solid foundation for the rest of my life in and out of motorsport.”

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With each road trip and race he tallied, Sargent’s passion for driving multiplied, to the point where he decided to pursue the endeavour as a career in his mid-teens.

“As the years went on, I started to like it a lot more and started develop a passion for it and a want to do well in it,” Sargent recalled.

“The last three years of karting I started to compete at national and state level – that’s when I started to realise, ‘yeah, this could be an option as a career for me.’

“Then we sat down and went through all our options on what we were going to do. Formula Ford jumped out as that obvious first option for us.

“The amount of Supercar drivers that have done Formula Ford before, it seemed like the best option for us for developing myself as a driver.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Sargent propelled himself to second in the 2018 New South Wales Formula Ford Championship, his first season out of karts.

Sargent took a class win at the Bathurst Six Hours with Lachlan Mineef (right). Three strong seasons of Formula Ford sees the Young (NSW) youngster heading the 2021 Formula Ford points tally (below).

That campaign contained two wins including Sargent’s maiden circuit victory at Wakefield Park Raceway, and a further eight podiums. All at the ripe age of 16.

“Stepping out of karts into Formula Ford was a bit of an unknown, it was nerve-wracking,” Sargent admits.

“To get some runs on the board straight away was really confidence boosting and it reinstated that I had what it takes to do well.”

2019 was a year of further growth and new challenges.

Sargent continued his Formula Ford progress to finish third in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, while also recording wins and podiums at state level under the watchful eyes of Cameron and Colin Hill from CHE Racing.

When it came around to an endurance debut at Mount Panorama, however, the unpredictability of motorsport reared its head.

Sargent and Mineeff were dealt a dose of bad luck that tested the resilience of the pair when their Toyota 86 suddenly ground to a halt.

“Our main focus that weekend was to finish the race and I’ll never forget driving up the Mountain and I could feel the engine was starting to die, it was so gut wrenching,” Sargent remembers.

“I never thought it would happen.

“We robbed an engine out of the Driving Solutions 86 in the car park and used that to finish the race.

“They had brought it up for the weekend for us to take a part off, for example if we needed something silly like a radiator cap.

“So, when we had to take the engine out of it was a little bit more than that, probably pushing the friendship a little bit there.

“Credit to the team for what they did to put the car back together and classify us as finishers.”

After a 2020 of interruptions and cancellations, Sargent and Mineeff completed their redemption arc back in April by taking top honours in Class D at the 2021 Bathurst 6 Hour.

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The duo finished 15th overall among a field of over 60 cars, avoiding mechanical gremlins this time around to achieve the outstanding result which remains a highlight for Sargent and Mineeff alike.

“That was a huge weight off our shoulders to be able to do that,” Sargent proudly reflects.

“We had a bit of bad luck in the first year so to come back this year and do what we’ve done was a huge achievement for us and I’ll never forget that moment.

“Credit to the team for being able to do that, to get a poor little Toyota up that high in the field is unbelievable to this day.”

Since then, Sargent has gone from strength to strength in open wheel competition.

In September he was crowned the 2021 Victorian Formula Ford Champion with seven wins from eight races, following the declaration of the 2021 championship after three rounds.

Despite the anticlimactic nature of his state triumph, Sargent was thrilled to secure his maiden title win.

“Ultimately, I think winning a title is really cool whether it’s during a pandemic or not,” Sargent said.

Sargent also sits atop the national standings, with a second place result his only blemish from two rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) and Wakefield.

Finally, after months of uncertainty, the teenage talent will hit the track again when the NSW Formula Ford Championship returns as a support category for the Supercars Championship from November 6-7 at SMP. “We’re going to go to Eastern Creek with the Supercars for the state round, it’s a shame it’s not a national round, but it’s still some laps, so I’m not going to complain about that,” Sargent said.

“Fingers crossed we can finish off the national championship and get the win, the result we so desperately desire.”

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The future holds plenty of excitement, but not a moment goes by without Sargent feeling gratitude for those who helped him to reach this point.

“My family has always been huge supporters of mine, and I can’t thank them nearly enough for the trust they put in me and the support they’ve shown over the years,” Sargent said.

“My Nan passed away only recently.

She did a bit of rally stuff back in her day, so she was always a huge supporter.

“She believed in me no matter what – I could never do anything wrong in Nan’s eyes.”

Beyond 2021, Sargent is looking to make up for lost time by throwing himself at the second-tier Porsche Sprint Challenge after three seasons in Formula Ford.

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The shift to Porsche racing provides an insight into the rising star’s long-term goals.

“I’m really passionate about the Supercar route and Europe GT Enduro racing,” Sargent reveals.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of driving a Supercar and winning Bathurst, but I’m starting to really like the idea of going to Europe and doing what Jaxon Evans and Jordan Love have done.

“So that’s probably my ultimate goal, to go to the Carrera Cup, win the Junior Scholarship Programme and start overseas.”

It may be early in his career, but the weight of his recent results has caused onlookers to sit up and take notice of Tom Sargent.

If he is able to channel his raw speed and consistency into Sprint Challenge next year – rivals beware!

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Formula 1

Round 16 Turkish Grand Prix

A SLIPPERY AFFAIR

Bottas wins as Verstappen retakes championship lead; Lewis gets tyre call wrong Report: Dan Knutson Images: Motorsport Images JUST LIKE the Russian Grand Prix two weeks earlier, rain played a role in the outcome of the Turkish Grand Prix. All in all, it was a relatively straight forward victory for Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas – his first this year – but tyre and pit stop strategy were tricky dilemmas in the wet conditions for many of the drivers behind him. That included his teammate Lewis Hamilton who qualified on pole but started 11th after taking a 10 place grid penalty for having a new engine installed in his car.

When the 58-lap affair was over, Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez finished second and third, while Hamilton crossed the line in fifth place behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The net result is that Hamilton goes from leading the Drivers’ championship by two points to trailing Verstappen by six points.

“Today was probably one of the best races I’ve ever had,” Bottas said. “Apart from that one little slide, everything was under control. The car has been fantastic in every possible condition this weekend and I had great confidence with it.

It’s not easy to choose the strategy here with these conditions – when to stop, which tyre to choose – but I’m glad everything went smoothly for me. When there’s only one drying line it doesn’t take much for you to go off, you need maximum

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focus all through the race and so it feels like a well-earned victory.”

The tyres everyone chose for the start of the race were Pirelli’s intermediate wet weather tyres. The track never dried enough to warrant switching to slicks. The question then became when to switch to a new set of inters. In hindsight, it was better to do that sooner rather than later.

“The drivers who changed their tyres in the final stages of the race found a slightly drier track, leading to a bit more graining,” explained Pirelli’s F1 boss Mario Isola. “Those stopping earlier were able to limit

Leclerc also left his tyre change a bit late and missed out on a podium result. Bottas (main pic and below) got the jump at the start and was never challenged.

Max Verstappen was the man they all came to see, and he didn’t disappoint with pole position and victory (top & above). Also in orange, but for McLaren-Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo outqualified his teammate but clutch problems, team strategy and a general lack of pace left him 11th.

With Hamilton back down the field, it was almost a routine win for Bottas (left). Verstappen (above right) admitted to being “bored” as he looked after his tyres for a strong second place. Hamilton (right) pitted too late for his second set of intermediates. Ricciardo (below) had a tough weekend, finishing out of the points.

graining on a wetter track, and this was a key advantage in the intermittent rain conditions. Many other drivers delayed their pit stop: also because it wasn’t clear to what extent the track would dry out before the end of the race, perhaps even allowing a final run on the slicks.

“Going for the whole race on the intermediates though was not what we would advise, and in fact we alerted some teams to the potential risk of doing that.”

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was the only driver to not stop, and his pace dropped off dramatically in the closing stages.

He finished 10th.

Hamilton worked his way up to third but then argued with the team who wanted him to pit – whereas he wanted to stay out.

“I’m naturally a risk-taker,” Hamilton said. “Being third, I was aiming to miss the stop when everyone pitted for new inters, hopeful that I could get the opportunity to switch to slicks later and gain some good positions. Then the team made the call to come in and you have to rely on your team, accept the choices they make and hope it’s the right one.”

Bottas and Pérez pitted after 37 laps and Verstappen after 36.

“The race was all about managing tyres, to make sure they lasted to the end,” Verstappen said, “which means it wasn’t the most fun race to drive as you always want to push hard. I do wish I had a bit more pace in the car but we are still in the fight. We’ll keep pushing

and we’ll see in the coming races how competitive we will be.”

This was the first trip to the podium for Pérez since the French Grand Prix back in June.

“I think the last two or three races we should have been on the podium,” he said, “but we have been so unlucky.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of many who struggled with grip levels. The Aussie started from the back of the grid after having a fresh power unit installed in his McLaren. He worked his way up to 11th and then faded back to finish 13th.

“We had maybe four laps in the race where we had good pace but the rest was hard,” he said. “In the beginning we struggled a lot with front grip, so

it was really hard to stay close to the others, and then we pitted for a new tyre. After that I didn’t have great rear grip to start and was struggling but after a while it came good.

“We had probably four good laps in that stint where I could feel like I could really push on the tyre, which was what I was looking for. Of the entire race, that was the positive. I got a bit excited because I thought maybe it will just keep getting better and better, but it lasted four laps and then the rear dropped away again, so the last 10 laps were a bit painful, just trying to hang on.”

The F1 circus now heads to the Americas for the races in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil.

2021 TURKISH GRAND PRIX 58 LAPS Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Driver Valtteri Bottas Max Verstappen Sergio Perez Charles Leclerc Lewis Hamilton Pierre Gasly Lando Norris Carlos Sainz Lance Stroll Esteban Ocon Antonio Giovinazzi Kimi Raikkonen Daniel Ricciardo Yuki Tsunoda George Russell Fernando Alonso Nicholas Latifi Sebastian Vettel Mick Schumacher Nikita Mazepin

Team Mercedes Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing Ferrari Mercedes AlphaTauri McLaren Ferrari Aston Martin Alpine Alfa Romeo Racing Alfa Romeo Racing McLaren AlphaTauri Williams Alpine Williams Aston Martin Haas Haas

Laps 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 56 56

Margin +14.584s +33.471s +37.814s +41.812s +44.292s +47.213s +51.526s +82.018s +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +2 laps +2 laps

Points: Verstappen 262.5, Hamilton 256.5, Bottas 177, Norris 145, Perez 135, Sainz 116.5, Leclerc 116, Ricciardo 95, Gasly 74, Alonso 58, Ocon 46, Vettel 35, Stroll 26, Tsunoda 18, Russell 16, Latifi 7, Raikkonen 6, Giovinazzi 1 Constructors’: Mercedes 433.5, Red Bull Racing 397.5, McLaren 240, Ferrari 232.5, Alpine 104, AlphaTauri 92, Aston Martin 61, Williams 23, Alfa Romeo Racing 7, Haas 0

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INTERNATIONAL

Motorsport Images

EVERYONE’S A WINNER

Josh Nevett NESTOR GIROLAMI and Norbert Michelisz extended the race winners’ streak to 10 victories from 10 races in the 2021 World Touring Car Cup, while Yann Ehrlacher widened his championship lead after a first race podium at Autodrom Most.

The French Cyan Racing Lynk & Co driver also managed a fourth-place finish in the final race, while Esteban Guerreri was the round standout collecting 36 points to jump to second in the standings.

Guerreri was second to Girolami in Race 1, who became the ninth winner in as many encounters this season.

Starting second on the partially reversed grid, Guerreri took the lead early and never looked back in his Honda Civic Type R, ensuring a 1-2 finish for ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport.

Ehrlacher completed the podium for the first 15-lap race, followed by Yvan Muller and fellow Lynk & Co driver Thed Bjork.

Behind the trio of Cyan Lynk & Co cars came Jean-Karl Vernay in his Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Elantra N. Michelisz, Mikel Azcona, Rob Huff and Tom Coronel rounded out the top 10.

In Race 2, Michelisz extended the season streak to 10 winners from 10 races, triumphing over Azcona in the Czech Republic.

The Hungarian took an early lead before the race was halted to the clear the chaos behind him, as multiple collisions saw Gabriele Tarquini, Santiago Urrutia, Huff and Attila Tassi ruled out of the running.

After the restart Azcona piled on pressure to regain front spot but could not topple Michelisz who held sway to win.

Guerrieri claimed his second podium of the weekend in third.

Ehrlacher just missed out on a podium spot, trailed by Nathanael Berthon and Muller.

Luca Engstler was seventh, while with the Audi’s of Frederic Vervisch, Gilles Magnus and Coronel completed the top 10.

Points: Ehrlacher 135, Guerreri 115, Azcona 110, Urrutia 108, Vernay 102

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FERRARI SQUAD TAKES GTWC ENDURANCE CROWN Josh Nevett ALESSANDRO PIER Guidi, Come Ledogar and Nicklas Nielsen secured the Endurance Cup Drivers’ title in the GT World Challenge Europe season finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The trio guided their #51 Ferrari to seventh in the final race to achieve the crown, while AKKA ASP were race victors as Mercedes-AMG managed a clean sweep of class wins.

Team WRT celebrated their share of the spoils, winning the Endurance Cup teams’ title thanks to the efforts of overall GTWC Europe champions Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts.

It was not a comfortable race for the #51 Ferrari crew, who started slowly as the #88 Mercedes-AMG led the field confidently.

There were sighs of relief in the end though, as the Ferrari scrambled to seventh.

Dinamic Motorsport took runner-up spot with its #54 Porsche driven by Christian Engelhart, Klaus Bachler and Matteo Cairoli.

The #32 Team WRT Audi charged home to finish third during the closing stint, adding the Endurance Cup teams title to their Sprint Cup and overall triumph.

Mirko Bortolotti passed Nico Bastian (#4 HRT Mercedes-AMG) on the final lap to take fourth, while the #114 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini was sixth.

The result was encouraging for Jack Aitken, who was on return to GTWC competition and finished at the wheel of the #114 car.

In Silver Cup, the #14 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini crew of Ricardo Feller, Alex Fontana and Rolf Ineichen wrapped up the title after a tyre puncture early in the race.

The Swiss squad also added the Silver Cup teams’ crown, completing a clean sweep of class titles for 2021.

AKKA ASP continued their final day dominance in the class, the #87 Mercedes-AMG taking victory with the trio of Simon Gachet, Thomas Drouet and Konstantin Tereschenko.

The #31 Team WRT Audi was next, and the #7 Toksport WRT Mercedes-AMG completed the Silver Cup race podium.

Lamborghini squad Barwell Motorsport

earned the combined Pro-Am teams’ and drivers’ crowns with Miguel Ramos and Henrique Chaves.

In the Pro-Am teams’ standings, Sky Tempesta Racing came out on top, while Chris Froggatt was crowned Pro-Am drivers’ champion after finishing fourth in this afternoon’s race alongside Jonathan Hui and Rino Mastronardi.

Dominik Baumann ensured the #20 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes-AMG completed a marque clean sweep on the day, finishing ahead of the #77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini.

The final place on the Pro-Am podium went to Oman Racing Team with its #97 Aston Martin.

TANDY AND MILNER LEAD GT FIELD Josh Nevett THE TEAM of Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner (pictured right) won the penultimate round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in at GT-only field at Virginia International Raceway.

Tandy experienced a scare, colliding with Kevin Estre, but recovered to guide the #4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R home 17.852s ahead of Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia.

The #3 sister team car maintained their standings advantage with the second placed result, sitting 127 points above Tandy and Milner.

The win was the third consecutive for the #4 Corvette, which had fallen behind the #3 Corvette early in the season.

Tandy and Milner are no strangers to winning at VIR, having won three times previously apiece.

After the mid-race incident, Estre and Cooper MacNeil finished third 38.655s off the leader, in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche RSR-19.

Milner was proud of the determined effort of his team, which is now reaping results as the season draws to a climax.

“This whole year as a team has been really, really good,” Milner said.

“We had a really good car at Daytona and Sebring, but things didn’t go

Motorsport Images our way. It was frustrating for us and frustrating for our crew guys.

“Everybody buckled down and focused on getting every last detail just right, so we get these wins.

“I’m a firm believer in making your own luck.”

Tandy believed the key to the VIR win was staying out of trouble, after the Porsche pairing got involved in door-to-door tussles.

“It shows a way to win a race when you don’t have the fastest car,” Tandy said.

“Honestly, the Porsche should have won the race. But, when you lose your brain and start driving stupid, stuff happens.

“Luckily with our Corvettes, we kept them on the track and didn’t do too much damage to them.”

In GTD, Laurens Vanthoor and Zacharie Robichon took class honours in their Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. The pair beat out Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow in the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, who now sit 50 points behind in the championship race.

Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz were third in their VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

The season finale Petit Le Mans event is scheduled for November 13 at Road Atlanta.

MEIN GOTZ!

Josh Nevett MAXIMILLIAN GOTZ snatched the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters title from Kiwi Liam Lawson after massive final day drama at the Norisring.

It was an improbable result for the 35-year-old German, who had only won one race for the season before sweeping the final weekend to leapfrog the leaders.

Lawson was denied season honours by three points after copping heavy damage in the final race, in an incident that also scuppered the hopes of South African Kelvin van der Linde.

The Red Bull Ferrari driver finished second in the standings and van der Linde completed the season podium.

In Race 1, Gotz set up a thrilling finale with his second win of the season in the Team HRT Mercedes-AMG. Indian driver Arjun Maini recorded his best result of the season in finishing second, while Lawson remained the title favourite after completing the podium.

As a result, there were four drivers in contention for season honours heading into the final battle, Marco Wittmann vying with Lawson, Gotz and van der Linde.

Lawson required a top six finish to seal the championship but was brought undone at Turn 1 when van der Linde careered into the front left of his machine.

Having suffered severe suspension damage, Lawson attempted to limp around the track and hoped for a

Motorsport Images Gotz’s championship win (above) has been panned by race fans globally .... Van der Linde ‘did a job’ on Lawson at the first corner. His title-deciding lunacy earned a mere five second penalty.

Red Bull Content Pool miracle but was ultimately unable to finish the race.

Van der Linde was handed a 5s penalty for the incident which he served

in the compulsory pitstop sequence.

When he re-joined the track he defended aggressively from his now closest title rival Gotz.

He defended hard and sliced his left-rear tyre on Gotz’s Mercedes resulting in the Audi driver spinning out of contention.

Gotz sat in third, still not enough to take the title – however there were two Mercedes ahead and both were ordered

by Mercedes to stand aside to allow Gotz to secure top honours with a victory and more importantly the DTM series.

The Mercedes collaborators, Lucas Auer and Maximillian Buhk, completed the podium.

When the dust settled on a carnageladen finale, Wittmann and Auer finished just outside the campaign top three in fourth and fifth.

Points: Gotz 230, Lawson 227, Kelvin van der Linde 208, Wittmann 171, Auer 152

SHEDDEN RETURNS TO FORM AT DONINGTON Josh Nevett GORDON SHEDDEN overcame a disastrous previous outing at Silverstone Circuit to dominate the penultimate British Touring Car Championship round at Donington Park.

The three-time BTCC champion (pictured right, leading) took maximum points from the opening two races before Colin Turkington kept his title hopes alive with a victory in Race 3.

Championship leader Ash Sutton ended the weekend without a podium finish for the first time in five rounds but maintains a 32-point ascendency with one round remaining at Brands Hatch Circuit.

Shedden started the round strongly in Race 1, leading from start to finish for his first race win of the season.

The Halfords Racing driver has had a difficult season by his standards taking over 20 races to achieve his 49th career BTCC race victory.

Adrian Flux Motorsport’s Dan Lloyd took his third podium from four races in second, while Rory Butcher completed the podium in a Toyota.

Senna Proctor and Turkington came home fourth and fifth for BTC Racing and Team BMW, respectively.

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Jason Plato finished sixth and Sutton was seventh.

Josh Cook, Chris Smiley and Ollie Jackson rounded out the top 10.

Tom Ingram kept his championship hopes alive with 11th, whilst 12th equalled the best return of the season for Racing with Wera’s Sam Osborne.

In Race 2, Shedden demonstrated the ‘London buses’ theory, winning his second race on the trot after a season long drought thanks to a post-race penalty to Ingram.

Ingram seemed to have pulled off an impressive 11th to first victory, however it was found that his #80 Hyundai made unacceptable contact with Shedden before the crucial final overtake.

After the dust had settled, the final podium was Shedden, Ingram and Butcher.

Sutton finished fourth, earning valuable points towards the final standings.

Lloyd was fifth, ahead of the BTC Racing duo of Proctor and Cook.

Aiden Moffat claimed eighth in his Laser Tools Racing machine, resisting the pressure of Jake Hill and Daniel Rowbottom.

Despite spinning from fourth late on, championship contender Turkington recovered to claim 11th.

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Motorsport Images The 39-year-old recovered in fine style, however, bouncing back with a win to give himself a live chance in the season finale.

Hill also made that there would be multiple contenders at Brands Hatch, finishing second after disappointing results in the first two races.

Moffat completed the podium, in front of Butcher and Cook.

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Rowbottom and Lloyd both recovered from start line penalty infringements to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.

Sutton was eighth, while Team BMW’s Stephen Jelley and Ingram rounded out the top 10.

Points: Sutton 316, Turkington 284, Ingram 278, Hill 271, Cook 250

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NEUVILLE DENTS EVANS’ CHALLENGE Report: Josh Nevett Images: Red Bull Content Pool THIERRY NEUVILLE charged to his second World Rally Championship victory of the season in the Rally de Espana, finishing 24.1s clear.

The Hyundai driver stole the show in the middle section of the rally, setting eight consecutive fastest stage times to set up back-to-back triumphs in Spain.

In the title race, Elfyn Evans drove strongly to take his fight with Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Sebastian Ogier to the final round.

The Welshman finished second, narrowing the margin to 17 points in the championship standings.

Spanish driver Dani Sordo won all four of Sunday’s special stages to demote Ogier and claim the final podium place in his Hyundai i20.

The manufacturers title is also still up for grabs after Neuville’s triumph;

the gap between Toyota and Hyundai team now sits at 47 points.

Evans claimed the early bragging rights on Day 1, winning all three morning asphalt speed tests.

As a result, the 32-year-old led Neuville by 7.9s and Ogier was 12.6s adrift in third.

Takamoto Katsuta was the first driver to feel the wrath of the Spanish tarmac, crashing his Yaris into a roadside barrier in Vilaplana after misunderstanding a pace note Katsuta limped to the finish with heavy damage to the front left suspension and later retired.

Evans failed to maintain the rage into the afternoon, losing the lead to Neuville.

The Belgian took a 0.7s advantage at the close of Day 1 after three straight stage wins.

Despite losing the ascendency, Evans was still 18.7s clear of Ogier.

Ott Tanak joined Katsuta on the sidelines on the first afternoon, retiring after sustaining rear suspension damage to his Hyundai machine.

Tanak would not return, as chassis damage ruled him out of the rally.

Neuville took his form into the second morning, increasing his advantage to 9s over Evans.

No driver could keep up with the pace of the man out front, who continued to set quickest stage times.

Ogier remained in tow of Evans in third, but Sordo was hot on his heels.

Neuville tallied up five stage wins on the trot before his run was broken by Ogier late on the second day.

The top three was cemented at the close of the penultimate day, with considerable gaps between each driver.

The top two stayed calm, to secure their positions during the final stages, but it was the championship leader who lost his spot to a persistent Sordo.

Behind Ogier in fourth came Kalle Rovanpera, almost 50s adrift.

Gus Greensmith overcame several problems to complete the top six in a Ford Fiesta at co-driver Chris Patterson’s final rally.

Oliver Solberg equalled his career-best result in seventh, while WRC debutant Nil Solans was eighth in an i20.

WRC2 winner Eric Camilli and Nikolay Gryazin completed the top 10.

Despite not taking part in the Spanish event, three-time WRC rally winner Andreas Mikkelsen won the WRC2 championship, as his rivals failed to cut enough out of his lead.

The final WRC round of 2021 will be Rally Monza, taking place from November 18-21.

Standings: Ogier 204, Evans 187, Neuville 159 Rovanpera 140, Tanak 128

LARSON THROUGH TO NASCAR FINALE Report: Josh Nevett KYLE LARSON secured the first berth in the NASCAR Cup Series final four, comfortably winning his way through the Round of 8 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver led for 255 of the 334 laps, earning his eighth victory of 2021 and the 14th of his Cup Series career.

Larson now has an automatic spot in the last four, who will compete for top honours in the November 7 season finale.

Fellow Henrick Motorsports driver William Byron finished second in the #24 Chevrolet, beating Christopher Bell to the line.

Defending Cup Series champion

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Chase Elliott was among several drivers who dropped to the rear of the field for the start of the race in Texas, after his #9 Chevrolet failed pre-race inspections twice.

Kyle Busch started the race strongly – he won Stage 1 despite copping an early pit-road speeding penalty and slight contact in a 12-car crash.

In the second stage, a flurry of yellow flags created late race drama.

Joey Logano was forced to take his #22 Team Penske Ford back to the garage with engine failure after completing 298 laps, triggering the first yellow flag of the encounter.

Denny Hamlin also suffered a setback, spinning at Turn 2 with 21 laps left after sustaining contact to his

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#11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from Ryan Blaney two laps earlier.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. was next to suffer a blow to his playoff hopes, hitting the wall at Turn 4 after colliding with Daniel Suarez.

Despite those incidents, Larson was able to stay out of trouble and prevail in Stage 2.

Outside of the podium positions, Brad Keselowski finished fourth and Kevin Harvick was fifth.

Playoff drivers Blaney and Elliot were sixth and seventh.

Busch followed in eighth after winning Stage 1, while Hamlin finished 11th.

Truex Jr. was 25th.

Logano returned to the race after his engine failure, finishing 30th in the 39-car field which was the worst result of title eligible drivers.

The middle event in the three-race Round of 8 is scheduled for October 25 at Kansas Speedway.

MANSELL THIRD IN GB3 AUSSIE DANIEL Sanders has finished on the podium in the 2021 Rallye du Maroc, crossing the line third for Gas Gas Factory Racing Rally Team in the Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. The 2019 Australian off-road champion clinched his position with a third-place final stage finish, keeping pace with opponent Ricky Brabec to hold his spot. On return from long-term injury, fellow Australian Toby Price acquainted himself well to run fourth fastest in the final stage, finishing 13th overall. JN

Images: Motorsport Images

Report: JOSH NEVETT YOUNG AUSSIE pair Christian Mansell and Bart Horsten closed out the British GB3 Championship season with third and sixth respectively at Donington Park, while Zak O’Sullivan ran away with the title .

Mansell headed into the round in a tight battle for second with Ayrton Simmons but could only manage one podium finish sandwiched between 13th and 16th place results while his rival mixed it with the top 10 in each encounter.

Horsten also finished his season in a disappointing manner, finishing 18th, fourth and 11th after failing to recapture his form of Oulton Park.

O’Sullivan won two of the three final round races, extending his final points margin to 154 to round out a dominant season containing seven race victories.

It was an Aussie-stacked field for the final round, as Tommy Smith and

Flynn Jackes joined category regulars Mansell and Horsten.

Carlin driver O’Sullivan only had to finish Race 1 to wrap up the title, but he decided to do it in style by taking a commanding lights-to-flag win.

He finished almost 1s clear of Hitech GP’s Reece Ushijima, while Arden Motorsport’s Roman Bilinski was 6.733s off the pace.

Branden Oxley was fourth for Chris Dittmann Racing and Tom Lebbon came home fifth.

Simmons was just outside the top 10 in 11th, ahead of Mansell and Horsten in 13th and 18th, respectively.

Jackes was 17th in his first start for Hillspeed, while Smith failed to finish the first race.

The accolades kept coming for O’Sullivan in Race 2, the 16-year-old sealing Carlin’s Team Championship with a 7s victory.

Pole sitter Ushijima scored his second consecutive runner-up finish ahead

of Mansell, who made a late move to displace his countryman Horsten.

After moving up to fourth his sixth starting position, Mansell applied relentless pressure to Horsten on the final lap, forcing a mistake to earn a podium finish.

Horsten had to settle for fourth, a long way clear of Simmons.

Smith was 16th and Jackes crossed the line 19th.

Fortec Motorsports’ Mikkel Grundtvig became the final driver to celebrate a race victory for 2021, recording his second win of the year in Race 3.

Grundtvig beat home Alex Fores and Frederick Lubin, while Roberto Faria and Lebbon were fourth and fifth.

Simmons secured P2 in the standings with 10th place, as Mansell had his worst finish of the season in 16th.

Horsten also finished outside the top 10, crossing the line 11th.

Jackes and Smith finished 17th and 18th, respectively.

LOVE AND LEARN Report: JOSH NEVETT

JORDAN LOVE concluded his debut GT3 season with a top 10 finish in the final round of the GT World Challenge at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Love and his SPS Automotive Performance teammates Yannick Mettler and Miklas Born claimed 8th place at the at the end of the threehour battle in Spain.

Taking the wheel for the opening stint of the race, Love avoided early carnage when heavy contact between several cars resulted in the deployment of the Safety Car within two laps.

The West Australian surrendered positions early but recovered in the #40 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 to sit 12th in the middle of his leg.

An alternative pit strategy saw Love climb to seventh by his pit stop at the hour mark, ahead of leading cars who elected to pit early.

Mettler then took the wheel, running in 12th until the team elected to run

with a long strategy again, promoting the #40 up to sixth before the final pit stop of the race.

Born made progress in the final portion of the race for the team, moving into the top 10 as caution periods interrupted the race at its climax.

With less than 10 minutes remaining the SPS Automotive Performance car sat in eighth, before another on track incident turned the finish into a sprint.

The #40 Mercedes held its position, finishing eighth.

Love had mixed feelings about the race result, despite expressing his satisfaction with the season overall.

“It has been a really great season, working and racing with SPS Automotive and Mercedes-AMG,” Love said.

“I am really pleased we could bring

the car home for another solid result in the top-10 today, but I feel we missed out on the result we really deserved.

“Maybe I played it slightly too safe at the start of my stint which gave away a couple of positions, and I couldn’t make the impact on the race that I would have liked.

“It was a tough weekend, but we learn, and we get stronger.

“The team has done a great job, and it has been great racing with Yannick and Miklas in my rookie season of GT3s.

“I’ve learnt a lot from everyone, and this championship really is the best in the world. It is a huge challenge, and I have loved every single lap.”

ALPHATAURI FORMULA 1 team principal Franz Tost has confirmed that New Zealander Liam Lawson will join the Italian outfit as part of the end-of-season F1 test in Abu Dhabi.

For Lawson, the F1 test with AlphaTauri is part of his F1 Young Driver Test program as a Red Bull junior driver. In Formula 2 Lawson races for Hitech Grand Prix alongside fellow Red Bull junior Yuri Vips, with Tost confirming both drivers will compete in the test. DM

KENNY HABUL took victory in the Pro-Am class at the Indianapolis 8 Hour, finishing 10th overall for SunEnergy1 Racing alongside Martin Konrad and Mikael Grenier.

The #75 Mercedes-AMG squad finished 2.171s clear of the second-placed GMG racing team in the Intercontinental GT Challenge event. Audi Sport Team Saintéloc Racing took out overall honours, represented

by Christopher Haas, Patric Niederhauser and Markus Winkelhock. JN

AUSSIE PAIR Marcos Flack and Cameron McLeod had varying levels of success in the most recent British F4 Championship round at Donington Park. Flack was the better performer, securing three top 10 results finishing ninth, fifth and seventh in the three races. In his second round of the season for TRS Arden Junior Team, McLeod could not follow up the strong form he showed on debut, only registering 16th, 13th and 12th place finishes. Flack now sits 13th in the season standings with one round remaining at Brands Hatch Circuit, while McLeod will look to rediscover the driving that earned him a podium at Silverstone. JN

HARRY HAYEK finished seventh in class in the final round of the British GT Championship alongside co-driver Katie Milner at Donington Park. The pair were 19th overall, finishing the season 11th in the GT4 standings for Team Rocket RJN in their McLaren 570S GT4. Rocket teammates Mia Flewitt and Euan Hankey were seventh at the close of the season. JN

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BIKES

AUSTRALIA GETS 2022 MOTOGP SLOT THE AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) has announced that it has secured a place on the 2022 MotoGP calendar.

The world-renowned Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island will return in 2022, scheduled to take place from October 14-16.

After a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be a welcome return to Australian shores for the premier world motorcycle category.

The event will be the third from last on next year’s calendar with only the Malaysian and Valencian Grands Prix to follow.

“We’re thrilled to bring the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix back home to Phillip Island, where it will once again deliver crucial support to the local region, which has been doing it tough throughout the pandemic,” said AGPC CEO, Andrew Westacott.

“It’s been far too long since fans made the pilgrimage to Phillip Island. I can’t wait to see the MotoGP faithful back at the circuit, for what never fails to be an action-packed weekend.”

“With two Australians now competing in the premier class, there’s never been a better time to visit Phillip Island and cheer on our homegrown talent. Who knows, we may even get an Aussie one-two fairytale finish!”

This is because in 2022 Aussie Remy Gardner, the current Moto2 championship leader will step up to the premier class, joining fellow Australian rider Jack Miller.

As well as these two, young Aussie ace Joel Kelso will make his full-time debut in the Moto3 World Championship with the CIP Greenpower team.

“We are excited to return to Australia, where we are always welcomed like family when most of us are in fact furthest away from home,” expressed Dorna Sports CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta.

“In addition to the stunning landscape and the exciting layout that offers great battles, the return to Phillip Island’s iconic circuit after two long years is one of the most awaited events for us.

“On top of that, we are proudly returning with Australian stars Jack Miller and Remy Gardner, who will surely be welcomed as heroes racing in the MotoGP category.”

Miller is excited to get back to his home grand prix where he finished on the podium back in 2019.

“Everyone has been looking forward to returning to Phillip Island,” Miller said.

“To be able to come back next October… for us MotoGP riders, it’s back where we belong.

“There’s nowhere else like it and racing at home in front of family and friends for us Aussies will be extra special this time – I can’t wait.” Dan McCarthy

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TWO-HORSE RACE

TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU will enter the final round of the Superbike World Championship with a 30-point lead over Jonathan Rea after Race 1 and Superpole Race victories at Circuito San Juan Villicum.

The Turkish rider (pictured, top) also secured a spot on the podium in Race 3, bolstering his title credentials.

Season-long rivals Rea and Scott Redding (pictured right and left above) yet again took the fight to Razgatlioglu, sharing podium places over the course of the round.

In Race 1, Razgatlioglu rode his Pata Yamaha bike to a comfortable victory, taking his 50th career podium on his 25th birthday.

The final margin was 5.295s to Rea, while Aruba.It Racing Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi proved to be the only podium getter outside of the ‘big three’ for the weekend with a third-place finish.

Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes fought a tough battle for fourth, which eventually fell to the Kawasaki factory team rider.

Michael van der Mark was sixth and Garrett Gerloff came home seventh on his GRT Yamaha, while Andrea Locatelli ended the race in eighth place after starting from sixth.

Redding started from pole, but saw his qualifying efforts go to waste when he found himself on the tarmac after crashing at Turn 1.

The Briton subsequently fell to the rear of the field but recovered to finish ninth.

Leon Haslam rounded out the top 10.

Razgatlioglu made it back-to-back victories in the Superpole Race, getting the better of Redding by just 0.046s in Argentina.

Redding stuttered off pole again, handing the lead to the championship leader who would not give up the lead from then on.

Six-time World SBK champion Rea completed the podium, staying within reach of top spot in the standings.

Motocorsa Racing rider Bassani lost ground at the start of the race but was

able to fight back to claim fourth place ahead of van der Mark and Locatelli.

Gerloff, Rinaldi, Lowes and Haslam rounded out the top 10.

The top three in the championship battled it out for Race 2 honours, with Redding coming out on top after his narrow Superpole defeat.

Rea and Razgatlioglu took second and third, continuing their dominance of the competition.

Less than 0.5s separated Bassani and Rinaldi in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Van der Mark finished sixth for BMW, while Yamaha riders Locatelli and Gerloff were seventh and eighth.

Chaz Davies and Alvaro Bautista broke the pattern of round results by registering top 10 finishes.

Lowes was declared unfit to race due to a right wrist injury sustained during the Superpole Race.

Josh Nevett Points: Razgatlioglu 531, Rea 501, Redding 465, Rinaldi 278, Locatelli 270

RECORD 21-RACE MOTOGP CALENDAR REVEALED AS WELL as Australia, the other 20 rounds have been listed on the provisional 2022 MotoGP calendar which includes two new venues.

The provisional schedule confirms that there will be a record 21 rounds (COVID-19 depending) and will see the premier Motorcycle World Championship visit new venues in Finland and Indonesia.

The traditional season opener, Qatar ,will again kick off the campaign with a race under lights on Sunday March 8, withb the series running all the way through until November 6.

After Qatar, MotoGP heads straight into the unknown, visiting the brand-new Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia for the first time.

A weekend break is needed as teams next travel to the Americas – firstly Argentina before a trip to the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

Dorna Sports has confirmed that track surface will be smoother when bikes return next year.

It’s back to Europe for races in Portugal, Jerez in Spain, France, Italy, Catalan Grand Prix, German and the Netherlands.

After the race at the historic Assen circuit, MotoGP will make its maiden trip to the KymiRing in Finland from July 8-10 – it will be the first Finish GP since 1982.

After Finland a three-week

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summer break occurs before the bikes roar back into action at the legendary Silverstone Circuit in England.

This is followed by races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy before a triple header.

The three back-to-back races take place over two continents with a round at MotorLand Aragon in Spain followed by the return of the Japanese and Thai Grands Prix.

Another two races that have missed out on a slot in the MotoGP calendar the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our own Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia are next in line.

The traditional final round of the season race will again take place at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo from November 4-6.

Dan McCarthy

Race date

Circuit Country

March 6: Losail / Qatar March 20: Mandalika/ Indonesia April 3: Termas de Río Hondo / Argentina April 10: Circuit of the Americas / Texas April 24: Portimão / Portugal May 1: Jerez / Spain May 15: Le Mans / France May 29: Mugello / Italy June 5: Barcelona / Spain June 19: Sachsenring / Germany June 26: Assen / Netherlands July 10: KymiRing / Finland August 7 : Silverstone / GB August 21: Red Bull Ring / Austria September 11: Aragón / Spain September 18: Misano / San Marino October 2: Motegi / Japan October 9: Buriram / Thailand October 23: Phillip Island / Australia October 30: Sepang / Malaysia November 13: Valencia / Spain

AUSSIE MOTOGP FEEDER SERIES ANNOUNCED

AN AUSTRALIAN MotoGP feeder category has been announced. The FIM MiniGP Australia Series will begin next year and run on a variety of karting tracks.

The Aussie category is the latest national FIM MiniGP World series to be announced, giving our next Aussie two-wheel stars the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of factory Ducati rider Jack Miller and 2022 MotoGP graduate Remy Gardner.

The FIM MiniGP World Series is the blossoming new first step on the road to MotoGP. The class is designed to create an equal and cost-effective platform for young riders worldwide, with riders all around the globe on the same equipment.

Like other countries around the world, the FIM MiniGP Australia Series will provide the first stepping-stone for youngsters to begin their motorcycle racing careers.

The main criteria of the category that it is an even playing field that would be

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economically viable.

It is hoped that the young riders will gain experience as they race at different venues across three states.

The best Aussie riders will qualify for the FIM MiniGP World Final alongside the top riders from each Series around the world.

If they perform at the World Final, they have the possibility of grabbing a promotion up for grabs on the Road to MotoGP programme.

The Australian MiniGP Series joins the likes of Austria, Indonesia and Qatar as countries that will debut their national series next year.

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Ten races will be held in total, over five rounds, and three states from March until October.

The first and the final rounds take place in Victoria, with the inaugural event at Port Melbourne in March.

This is followed by back-to-back rounds at Eastern Creek in New South Wales in May. The penultimate round takes place in Ipswich, Queensland in August before the inaugural series concludes in Oakleigh, Victoria.

More details will be provided on the category in due course.

Dan McCarthy

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p ra w S L A N NATIO

THE BEST FIGHT TO THE FORE IN TAS

Brad Sherriff shows the way in his Nissan R32 in the Sports Sedan category. Josh Webster (middle) made a come-back to win all Excel races, while Phil Ashlin (bottom) dominated in HQs.

Image: Angryman

DESPITE MANY close contests in the categories, one driver in each was in front when it counted. Brad Sherriff, Phil Ashlin, Josh Webster, Michael Vaughan and Jared House all had success at the fifth round of the Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship at Symmons Plains on October 2-3.

The round included the second annual Ian Beechey Memorial HQ Holdens Race, named in memory of one of the instigators of HQ racing and Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee, who passed away last year.

Also racing were the Sports Sedans, a category that has had a resurgence this year.

(Spectre) who scored a perfect result with wins in every race. But in typical fashion, every race had multiple leaders, including the double-points final. Vaughan again came from behind on the last lap to claim the win, which allowed him to halve the points gap to series leader Wade McLean (Elliott).

McLean struggled with an intermittent electrical issue, but still managed three seconds, a third and a fourth, to finish second overall ahead of Chris Neil (Spectre Hepburn). The latter had his best round ever with some solid performances at the pointy end of the field.

Adam Prewer (Elfin Crusader) showed much improvement with some solid drives for fourth overall.

Image: Angryman Image: Angryman

SPORTS SEDANS

ALTHOUGH BRAD SHERRIFF has raced his awesome Nissan R32 turbo in Sports GTA in the past, the resurgence of numbers, prompted him to try his hand in the fastest sedan category – and he didn’t disappoint.

Not only did he break the Sports Sedan lap record twice on the Sunday, but his best time was below the current Supercar lap record for Symmons Plains. Each time he hit the track, such was his dominance, that Sherriff was able to establish a handy early lead, but then have a red hot crack for three or four laps, before easing off to still win by a large margin.

Meanwhile, series leader Laurie Williams (Mazda RX7) was consistent all weekend with three seconds and a fifth to extend his championship lead.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

AGAIN, THEY had the biggest field of the weekend by far and provided some great racing, not only at the pointy end, but right back through most of the field.

Reigning champion Josh Webster made a rare appearance, having raced mostly on the mainland this season, and reminded everyone why

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SPORTS GT

he is the state champion. He won all four heats and the double-points final.

The victories didn’t come easy, with Campbell Logan, series leader Charlie Parker, and Trans-Am refugee Tim Shaw making his debut in the category, all involved in the leading pack at times.

Logan finished the weekend with three seconds, a fifth and a sixth, for second overall, and slightly narrowed the points gap to Parker, who scored four thirds and a fourth, to be third overall. Shaw was fourth overall and seemed to enjoy his toe in the water exercise.

HQ HOLDENS

THE MEMORIAL was a 10-lap handicap and for the second year in a row, reigning champion Phil Ashlin, stormed through from the rear to snatch a well-deserved win.

Although he had won every HQ event of the weekend leading up to

the memorial, in a strange twist, Ashlin started in front of Otis Cordwell and Andrew Bird, with grid positions based on qualifying times when Ashlin was slower.

However, his charge through the field after giving up 28s to the front marker, was impressive – and perfectly timed – hitting the lead two corners from the chequered flag. And while 13 might be an unlucky number for some, the victory also signaled Ashlin’s 13th race win in a row this season.

Leading the championship by just five points heading into the meeting, Ashlin’s unbeaten weekend allowed him to extend his lead by around 40 points, giving him a bit of a cushion with a round to go.

FORMULA VEES

THE RACING provided its usual excitement, but none were more excited than Michael Vaughan

David Paine (Holden Commodore) had a field day in Sports GTA with four wins and a second to extend his championship lead, only lowering his colours in the first race to Tom Taglieri (Subaru WRX).

In Sports GTB Honni Pitt (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) was pushed most of the way by David Walker (Datsun 1200 Ute), but she was able to hold him out to record a clean sweep. Walker still holds a handy lead in the championship, but Pitt’s performance had her consolidate her second place in the series and close enough to win if Walker strikes problems at the final round.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

NUMBERS WERE down, but it made no difference to the result, with Jared House (Holden Torana A9X) dominated again, with five wins from five races to extend his championship lead. Matthew Grace (Nissan 200SX) and Leigh Forrest (Toyota Celica Turbo) had some good battles until they came together in the fourth race – which ultimately ended Forrest’s weekend early.

Martin Agatyn

THREE BECOMES LAST RESCHEDULED FROM August, round three of the South Australian Motor Racing Championship finally got underway a few months late on October 9-10 at Mallala Motorsport Park. It was therefore promoted to the final round of the state championships.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

CHRIS BROWN (pictured, right) was back on top form and won every race including the Michael Rooke Memorial.

Race one was abandoned after James Benford’s (Nisan S13) engine let go on the approach to turn seven which had quite a few cars going off on the oil.

Richard Hambrook (Toyota 86) ended up in the sand trap and he was joined with devastating consequences

by Ian Statham (Mitsubishi Magna) which bought out the red flag and both cars were out for the weekend.

The Michael Rooke Memorial was also red flagged before full distance when Carl Ward (Datsun Sunny) ran out of brakes and rolled at the northern hairpin. There was no separating Adam Allan (Nissan Bluebird) and Scott Cook (Nissan S13) who tied for second.

Joshua Guglielmucci (Toyota 86GT) was the best of the two litre cars.

CIRCUIT EXCELS

A HARD-FOUGHT victory went to Jayden Wanzek as Asher Johnston battled back to second after a jumped

start penalty in race one. Bradley Vaughan just edged Nick Scaife out of third with the top three finishers all taking wins.

RACING CARS

A LUCKY win went to Matthew Woodland (Tatuus FT50/Toyota) after Mark Haig (West WR1000) ran out of brakes in the final race and ended in the sand trap at the northern hairpin.

Haig still managed to claim second just from Melissa Ford (Mallock U2).

SPORTS SEDANS

A CONSISTENT run had Matthew Wildy (Mazda RX7) top of the points followed by the 2.0-litre cars of Wade Reynolds (Toyota AE86) and David McKiggan (Toyota Corolla KE20). Miles Bond (Ford Escort/Nissan) looked set to run away with the class until a torque tube vibration put him out after two races.

Round four winner Ryan Humfrey (Ford Falcon XE) had problems in practice but was back on track Sunday after sourcing some replacement valve train parts and managed a win in the final race after a spin in the earlier race dropped him out of the lead.

SPORTS CARS

MARK ROSSER (Audi R8) dominated the small field and set a new lap record for the class in the process.

With Panayot Boyaci (Porsche 991) a

Images: Batchelor

nonstarter on Sunday, David Smoker (Audi R8) claimed second ahead of Grant Perryman (Ferrari 430GT).

FORMULA VEES

OUT AFTER two races, Adam Newton (Sabre 02) left Ben Forgan (Sabre 02, pictured, right) to clean up in 1600s although Daniel Westcott (Jacer F2K5) was never that far behind. Matthew Bialek (Stinger) collected third while Nathan Clifton (Spectre) took an easy 1200 win ahead of Frank Chessell (Elfin Crusader).

SALOON CARS

SAM MILTON (Holden Commodore VY) emerged the winner from a small but closely matched field. Milton was the only leading contender to finish race three which he won and left the usually dominant Shaun Jamieson to

narrowly defeat Wayne King in their Commodores for the remaining podium position.

HQ HOLDENS

WHILE IT was Darren Jenkins who dominated, there was a three way battle to claim the rest of the trophies between Anthony Bobridge, Lee Smith and Corey Bradley with Smith coming out on top from Bradley.

David Batchelor

YOUNG MEMORIAL RACE AT COALFIELDS 500

WHILE THE Coalfields 500, run by the Vintage Sports Car Club of WA on October2-3, entailed several Regularity groups, there were a couple of racing categories.

The Historic Touring Cars races (pictured, below right) included the annual Trevor Roy Young Memorial event normally run at Wanneroo while there was a mix of racing cars in Formula Classic.

On the last lap just before the last corner, Virago lost it and ended up rearward into the tyre barrier leaving Alderton to take third.

Bullock turned the tables on Norman in the last race and led from start to finish to take a narrow win. Alderton was third as Craig Thompson (Lola T204 Formula Ford) and John Rowe (Valour Formula Ford) rounded out the finishers.

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

THE TREVOR Roy Young Memorial was run in a different format to the previous races on the weekend. It feature a staggered start with the slower cars away first, thus putting everyone in with a chance to win.

Patrick Dick (Ford Mustang) was in the lead at the end of the first lap. The Bondi brothers, Brian and John, in their HQ Monaros, were running first and second on the next lap with Peter Pisconeri (Mustang) third before he split the Holden pair.

Aldo De Paola was the backmarker in his Chev Camaro and soon caught the early starting group. On the second last lap he moved into the lead and won ahead of Brian Bondi and Pisconeri. John Bondi was next ahead of Dan Forster (Morris Cooper S) and Mike Rowe (Ford Falcon Rallye Sprint).

Over 20 made the journey south but the numbers fell away as attrition hit. The first race of the weekend went De Paoli ahead of fellow Camaro pilot Clinton Rayner. Graeme Woolhouse (Ford Mustang) held third until passed by Mark Cates (Ford Falcon XY GT).

In Race 2 Raynor jumped ahead at the start and held the lead for the first two laps before

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Regularities Images: Oliver

De Paola took control. Woolhouse was third just in front of Cono Onofaro (Cooper S).

Pisconeri was fifth ahead of Don Behets (Ford Galaxie) and Brian Bondi.

Rayner’s weekend was done which left Race 3 to De Paoli first ahead of Woolhouse, Onofaro, Behets and John Bondi. With victory in race four, De Paoli had the perfect weekend.

Woolhouse was second again while Behets had third for four laps until passed by Onofaro.

FORMULA CLASSIC

A COMPREHENSIVE winner of the first of four races, earmarked William Norman and

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his Ralt RT4 for a stellar weekend. Second in the opener was Simon Alderson (Van Diemen RF88 FF2000) with Martin Bullock (Chevron B20 – pictured, top) third, and Ricky Virago (Ralt RT5 Supervee) a distant fourth.

In the second race Norman led away as Alderton and Bullock were second and third initially. On lap two Bullock was able to pass Alderton and stay ahead. Virag was fourth well clear of Lance Carwardine (Jane Brabham BT23).

The third race gave Norman victory over Bullock and Alderson. The latter had Virago in close company before he passed Alderson.

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IN GROUP 1 for Sports Cars, Production Sports was taken out by Ian Wookey (Austin Healey 3000) while Gary Cutler (Porsche 911S) won the Sports Car (pre-1977) category. Group 2 was for Historic Touring Cars under 3.0-litre where Arran Birmingham (Escort) and Jamie Scott Escort Mk2) for the overall win of the meeting with Arran Birmingham (Ford Escort) beat Jamie Scott (Escort) with Roy Prout (Holden FJ) third.

The Open Wheelers Sports and Racing of Group 3 saw Tony Brett (Austin Healy Sprite) ahead of Evan Edwards (GSM Dart 1500R) and Stephan Brown (Austin Healey Sprite) in Production Sports as the Racing Cars ere headed by Craig Thompson (Lola T284 FF) over Dick Ward (Fiat Abarth) and David Dearden (Formula Ford Vector TF94).

Group 4 catered for J, K & L with Brian Eyre (1960 Peugeot WASP) in the youngest and best. Historic and modern touring cars made up Group 5 with Anthony Michelsen (Mustang GT350) the over 3.0-litre litre winner, Neil Bishop (Escort) the under 3.0-litre winner, and Adam Ewing (Toyota 86) topped Modern.

Mick Oliver

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

HABYS IN THEIR ELEMENT IN THEIR all-conquering Element Prodigy/Toyota Pro Buggy, Aaron and Chelsea Haby (pictured, right) combined with Element design guru Rowan Eggers with a runaway victory in the Filmer Delivery GRKCC Enduro at Port Germein on October 3-4.

It was the sixth round of the SAORRA Multi Club Series where Hayden and Hannah Bentley teamed up with Viv Coe in their Extreme 2WD Toyota V8-powered Racer trophy truck. Despite a spectacular drive they couldn’t quite stay on the pace of the winner in the dusty conditions.

They comfortably filled second ahead of Chris, Geoff and Dianna Pickert (Performance 2WD Mitsubishi Triton/ Chev) who claimed their first outright podium. Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Southern Cross/Chev) just squeaked in fourth, less than 30s ahead the very happy Maxwell’s, Andy and Makayla who had Jackson Brown helping out with their V8 Falcon.

Less than 10s down in sixth was John Smith, Grant Manion and Rachael Durbidge (Nissan Patrol). Corey Hayworth (DWP/Hayabusa Sportslite)

David Batchelor

was next home and pretty excited to have made the top ten. Jamie and Naomi Parker impressed in the Extreme 4WD Chev-powered Nissan Patrol after it’s big make over, in eighth.

Bentley chauffeured dad Hayden, sister Hannah and Ben Chivel (Racer/Chev) into tenth by the narrowest margin over Connor Corrigan and Sarah Galliford (Raptor/Toyota).

After the last round good result Adam Bierl and Nyree Burmingham (Jimco/ Chev) were out early after they posted quick laps. There was an even earlier

Nick and Alexander Burt had a good first outing in their new Chev powered Rush truck and cruise to ninth. Sam

ANOTHER MEMORIAL ON EXPERIENCE Tanya Wales and Nev Day (Mantiss/Mitsubiahi ProLite), pictured right, had a clear run to victory in the Denise Gosden Memorial Ladies and Juniors Enduro at Port Germein on October 2. It was fifth win for Wales who was easily the most experienced driver.

Chelsea Haby swapped seats with dad Aaron in his Element Prodigy/Toyota Pro Buggy and they came through the dust for second, just over a minute behind.

Third place went to Matt and Brenton Gallasch (Southern Cross/Chev) despite being in the worst of the dust a lot of the time.

Third early on, Jamie Andrews and Teish Lochert (S&S Woftam/Nissan) before they were overhauled and had to settle for fourth, well clear of Rachael Durbidge and John Smith (Extreme 2WD Nissan Patrol).

Hannah Bentley was next home in the family’s newest toy a Chev-powered Sportslite Racer with dad Hayden doing most of the navigating. The red Racer was doubled entered with Hannah’s brother Sam who only managed tenth after he dropped off the pace on his final lap.

Seventh were Larissa Jeffery and Sam Vanstone as they became used to the Super 1650 Toyota-powered RIDS Joker and the not very friendly track conditions, for a well-earned seventh.

Kahlia Jenke and Shane Ramm (Nissan Navara/ Chev) were next across the line not too far behind,

54 AutoAction

Bob Taylor

with an equally small gap back to Makayla Maxwell and Dianna Pickert in the Performance 2WD V8 Falcon.

Only three of the 22 failed to go the whole seven laps. Hannah and Naomi Chant (Southern Cross/ Honda) made it to lap five while a promising drive by Sarah Galliford (Jimco/Chev) ended on a tow rope after four laps.

Wendy Arbon and Haydn Vanstone managed to drag three laps out of an over-fuelled RUIDS Joker VW. Perri and Joe Guidolin managed to make the finish even though they inverted their Can-Am in the last section.

Dana and Ben Fatchen (Can-Am) took advantage of the Guidolin’s misfortune to win SXS Turbo. In the 4WD class’ Lisi Phillips and Ethan Pickstock (Mitsubishi Challenger) took Performance and Extreme went to Breanna and Aaron Harre (Nissan Patrol. David Batchelor

shower for Brenton Forsyth (Southern Cross/Nissan) who was the only driver other than Haby to lap under 10 minutes.

Other class trophies went to Mick, Toby and Jack Fraser (Chenowth/Nissan Prolite), Corrigan and Galliford (Super 1650 Raptor/Toyota), and Nick Price and Ben Fatchen (Can-Am Maverick SXS Turbo). David Batchelor

JAKE’S LUCKY DEBUT WIN IT COULD not have been a better debut drive for Jake Swinglehurst (pictured) in an Unlimited Buggy, who together with Dan McKenzie, won the CMS Dam Busters 250 at St George on October 2-3.

They were piloting the ex-Brett Comiskey Jimco Aussie Special/ Nissan V6 turbo and finished 3mins 48s ahead of Joshua Wiedman and Steve Walton, and Richard Tassin and Cherie Robson. The latter two vied for Class 6 honours in their Can-Am Mavericks and were just over a minute apart.

Swinglehurst’s victory came at the failure of Stuart Chapman, virtually at the final hurdle. The winged Unlimited single seater Chenowth/Mitsubishi had been driven to wins on every section at the fourth running of the event.

Chapman was set for victory when on the last lap, a rear arm weld failed. He would be classified 12th.

At the end of day one, he led ahead of points leader Kye Floyd and Aaron Holland (Can-Am), Ben Duff (Class 10 Ausco MC-Lite/Kawasaki), Jan and

terryhillphotography

Hendrik Kraaij (BAT Spec/Nissan turbo), Tassin, and Steven Kildey and Chris Jones (Class 4 Chev Silverado).

Of the 32 starters, 11 competed the full 13 laps. The second day would claim Floyd, Duff and Kildey with dramas.

As a result Kraaij finished fourth ahead of Kate and David Swinglehurst (Can-Am), Matt and Josh Halpin (Class 66 Yamaha) and Trevor Hanks and Milton Hill (Class 1 BAT/Nissan). Ninth place went to Mitchell and David Cross (Class 66 Polaris RZR) while tenth placed Claire and Tony Brose (Suzuki Jimny) were the Class 8 victors.

The best of Class 7 were the Ellsworth sisters, Imogene and Bridget, in their Jeep Wrangler, Darren and Steven Orr headed Class 2, and Rickie Swain and Mathew Dicks were the best of Class 5. Garry O’Brien

Image: Ian Colley

TIGHE’S TURN AT MT COTTON WITHOUT THE presence of Dean Amos, it paved the way for Dean Tighe (pictured) to post the fastest time at Mt Cotton’s fifth round of the Queensland Hillclimb Series on September 25-26.

Over 1300cc Formula Libre cars filled the top three outright places. Behind the supercharged Hayabusa Empire Wrath of Tighe, second place went to Brett Bull (Van Diemen RF03K/supercharged Kawasaki), a second adrift with a personal best.

Warwick Hutchinson (OMS 28 RPV03/Rotary turbo) was third after he

only managed to contest the five runs on Saturday. An engine drama that appeared at the recent Leyburn Sprints, came to the fore.

The 53 entries had up to 14 runs on the 0.95 km course and Bull set the early pace, not beaten over the first five runs.

Tighe had not been out on Saturday while still working on the car, but once he did, he bettered Bull’s previous efforts. Ultimately Tighe’s quickest run was a 36.61s flyer – his fastest to date in the car – which was 0.45s off Amos’ course record.

Fourth overall was Michael Von Rappard in his up to 1300cc F/L DJ Racecars Firehawk ahead of class rival David Quelch (Honda DPQ03). Next was Greg Tebble in his Group R Van Diemen FF2000.

Best of the tin tops was again Ross Mackay (Ford Escort) who edged out Gavin Taylor (Volkswagen Golf) not only for seventh but also for up to 2000cc Sports Sedan honours. They were split by 0.05s.

Ninth spot went to Rick Miles (Kookaburra FF91 Formula Ford) ahead of

Tyson Cowie (Escort) who was third in the Sports Sedan class.

Only one class record fell over the weekend with Harry Doling (Toyota Celica) able to knock almost half a second out of his Road Registered 1601-2000cc benchmark. He sits second in the classbased series points behind Mackay.

In the separate top six run-off at the end of the meeting, Tighe was quickest after repairing a broken chain, ahead of Bull and Tebble and sits third in that points score behind Bull and Amos.

Garry O’Brien

SHEARER IN A SPECIAL AT COLLINGROVE At the wheel of the side valve Ford A Special built by his late father Kevin, Michael Shearer (pictured) won his third successive Barossa Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb on October 3.

Cancelled last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Historic Section of the Sporting Car Club invited post-war and special interest vehicles to make up for interstaters being unable to attend. Motorcycles were also back again this year, 10 of them taking to the track.

As well as the usual double entries, several drivers competed in two vehicles, including Shearer, who also ran the JAP-powered Pentland. After spinning in the esses and losing a lot of time trying to get back onto the tarmac in practice, he repeated the feat in his only timed run, to officially give him the third-slowest time.

Shearer’s winning time of 37.58s in the Ford was on his third run, 1.10s faster than Fred Nitschke’s Daimler V8-powered Kurtis Midget, also on the third run. Bill Bentley’s Group M Nadger Clubman was next, 0.48s ahead of Dale Harte’s powerful 1978 Kougar Jaguar Special, running as a special interest vehicle.

Bentley was one of those doing double driving duties, also racing his Elfin Steamliner, the first production

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John Lemm

version made.

Despite the forecast for early showers being gone by 10am, rain fell for much of the day, causing times to be a bit of a lottery.

Among the special interest vehicles were the Peter Brock Austin A30 sports sedan driven by Graham Boulter, and a unique three-cylinder radial engined VW Superbug, known as “Zombug”, driven by Chris

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Marshall and Nicholas Mebberson.

The Riley tourer of Graeme Pinkney, creator of Vintage Collingrove, eventually made it up over the steep first rise on its third attempt, before going on to set the slowest time of day.

In the bikes, Geoff Kelly’s BSA Goldstar was fastest with 43.41s from Bruce Davis’s Matchless and Dan Gleeson’s Norton Inter. John Lemm

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SPEEDWAYnews One Gear, No Brakes, No Fear!

Words: Paris Charles Images: Ray Ritter TWO AND three-wheel Speedway racing is about to kick into gear for the 2021/22 season in South Australia. In lead-up to the season, the Speedway riders at the Gillman Speedway have undertaken various practice Sundays. In more recent weeks the junior competitors just a few blocks up the road at the Wingfield Sidewinders venue have also taken to the track, conducting various coaching and practice days.

The Gillman Speedway season will commence on Saturday October 23 with their annual Classic Championships / Phil McCurtayne Tribute. From that point, the venue will host another dozen meetings spanning from October through to March 2022, catering for both Solos and Sidecars. Included amongst these will be some national events that will attract the best competitors from around the nation and more than likely top international stars (Covid restrictions pending).

The peak time of the season will be over the traditional Christmas holiday period, from mid-December to early January, cascading a multitude of high profile meetings that will include the 2020/21 Australian Under 21 Solo Championship, Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship, South Australian Solo Championship, 2021/22 FIM Oceania Solo Championship and the 2021/22 Australian 500cc Solo Championship Round 1 (to be confirmed). While the Sidecar pairs will also be well catered for with at minimum of six feature nights that will include the South Australia Championship in February in addition to a three round series that will conclude on the final night of competition in March.

The under 16 Sidewinder riders also look to be in for a stirring time, with their season having commenced on the final weekend in September and is scheduled for a further 15 meetings that will run solid through to the end of April 2022. The highlights of the season are expected to include the South Australian Solo Championship in December, The Graham Baker Shield, The Roy Bitmead Memorial Cup in addition to various Silver Helmet and various team’s events.

The Bikes will also venture to Renmark’s Riverland Speedway in February for their traditional one off Bike Night which will incorporate all divisions of the two and three wheeled divisions.

Junior Solo rider William Nicol leads the way at the Sidewinders Speedway.

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Oldfield Takes ECL Series Opener Words: Paris Charles A STRONG crowd rolled into Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway for the opening round of the new 2021/22 East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship.

Eager to start their campaigns off on the best foot possible were 29 of the best local Sprintcar teams looking to bank a healthy number of points to set themselves up with a strong start to the series.

The night started well for Cody Maroske, posting an 11.714 to claim the KRE Quick Time mantle before negotiating his two heat races with a victory and a third before adding the Top Eight Dash to his night’s efforts aboard the SVR Road Freight entry over Aaron Kelly to share the front row for the 30-lap feature event, while the second row of Luke Oldfield and defending series champion Lachlan McHugh were also primed and ready for battle. At the drop of the green, McHugh would pounce over the front row to lead the charge with Maroske, Kelly and Oldfield in close tow as the remainder of the field jostled further back.

With around seven circulations completed, McHugh had cleared out from the minor placers before encountering the backmakers. However, Trent Vardy would spin to halt, bringing the field back together for an Indian-file restart and more importantly for McHugh, a clear track ahead.

Again, McHugh would set sail in the NQ7 Leigh Smith Yachts Cool as he opened a large amount of real-estate between himself and the field until again catching onto the back of the pack. As McHugh tried to negotiate a pass on the backmarkers, he brushed the Turn 4 fence, scrubbing off momentum and allowing Maroske to challenge for the prime position. The duo would enter into a thrilling dual, swapping positions over

the next handful of circulations and the crowd were on their feet until the Q54 of Randy Morgan expired with a flat front right tyre, bring the field back together for another restart.

With one-third race distance remaining, Maroske got the better start and set about opening a handy gap over the field before Kelly in fourth slowed coming out of Turn 4, bringing on the third caution and retiring to the infield with only six laps remaining.

Again, Maroske would set the pace, but McHugh would throw up a challenge.

While the duo locked horns, Oldfield would take advantage and propel the Advanced Mobility Q17 to the lead (pictured) and from that point forward on to Victory Lane. McHugh and Maroske would flank him on the podium.

Bryan Mann advanced from row five to finish fourth with Kevin Britten securing his best Sprintcar result in fifth, despite holding down fourth for a long period of the journey, Adam Butler rounded out the top half dozen with Tim Farrell, Ryan McNamara, Nicholas Whell and Anthony Lambert inside the top 10.

Trent Vardy, Brent Kratzmann, B Main victor Mitch Gowland, Kristy Bonsey and Sam Bylsma would round out the final fishers.

The six heat races were shared evenly with Morgan, Butler, Britten, Oldfield, Maroske and McHugh each claiming a single victory.

Brown Banks TFH Series Round 1 Points

SHARING THE top billing on the marque was the Speedcars and the mighty midgets did not disappoint. Charlie Brown proved too strong in the opening round of the TFH Midget Series, but it was New Zealand Speedcar star Michael Kendall making the most of his front row start who checked out early in the 25-lap feature, leaving Brown and Co

to chase him in the initial stanza before Darren Dillon spun, to regroup the field for the restart. The lead duo in Kendall and Brown put on an exciting brand of wheel-to-wheel racing with the latter running the bottom and Brown trying his best to navigate a faster way around the top. Brown’s efforts would eventually pay dividends as he hit the lead down the back straight only for his momentum to be withdrawn as the caution lights came on for Kody Stothard who had expired the Q14 entry.

For the restart, the order was Brown and Kendall followed by the GSA Advanced Machining team cars of Scott Farmer and Brad Dawson; then Cal Whatmore who had been relegated from third to fifth and Rusty Whittaker. At the drop of the green, Brown reunited his Haltech Q11 entry with the top side of the clay way while Farmer slipped into second. Farmer and Kendall ran side-by-side as the laps counted down.

Kendall would eventually get the better of the battle while Brown maintained a handy gap to claim victory over the Kiwi’s in Kendall and Farmer rounding out the podium. Dawson, Whittaker and Whatmore would trade placings inside the top half dozen. Following them to the line was Mitchell Rooke, Rob Stewart, Darren Dillon, Nathan Mathers, Matt Hefford, Bernard Clarke, Gavin McDowell and Dylan Menz – all finished on the lead lap of the 19-car field.

Whatmore, Hefford, Kendall and Brown each secured a heat win.

The all open-wheeled meeting supporting classes also provided fierce action. Liam Atkinson proved the man to beat, leading the entire journey in the 20-lap OzSports Trophies and Apparel Wingless Sprint feature, flanking him on the podium was Ben Manson and Jayden O’Toole. The Formula 500 event was claimed by Liam Williams over Kurt Wilson and Brady Argles.

CHR

NOMETRIC

All things historic with Mark Bisset

Paul England’s Ausca VW Hillclimber HILL CLIMBING has always been the province of innovators.

The late, great Paul England’s (28/3/1929-17/6/2014) twin-VW engined, supercharged, four-WD Ausca single-seater is an amazing timecapsule! There it sits, in racer/ engineer Chas Talbot’s outer Melbourne workshop, untouched since its trio of Australian Hillclimb Championships (AHC) in 1970, ’73 and ‘74.

England was a 1950’s Repco Research graduate, one of the many who influenced Australian racing well into the noughties. He built the Ausca (Australian car) Holden-Repco sportscar after work on the Maybachs at Research was finished for the day, then jumped ship to the mother-country for a spot of F2 racing, including a Cooper T41 Climax drive in the ’57 German GP. Upon his return to Australia, he established Paul England Engineering, which soon became a go-to place for racers in Victoria and interstate; machining, balancing, engine building and jobbing work.

“I met him when I started racing an F2 Elfin 600E, I was a trade-teacher, he was happy for me to come past and use the machinery as I wanted ... he became a life-long friend,” Chas recalled.

“He, Phil Irving, Jack Godbehear and Peter Holinger lived in an arc near Warrandyte. We all used to catch up – Pete and Paul were mates but fierce competitors on the hills.”

“The Ausca’s square-section tube, spaceframe chassis was built by Paul at England’s Pascoe Vale Road, Essendon ‘shop. The rear 2.2-litre air-cooled VW engine uses roller mainbearings. It’s supercharged via a GM aircraft cabin-blower fed by two huge two-inch SU carbs. The methanol-air mix then makes a short journey to its four-cylinders, and a longer one – via aluminium tubes either side of the aluminium clad chassis – to the front 1.8-litre four.”

“Power was sufficient!” Chas chuckles, “I don’t know what the engines produced. The Holinger modified gearboxes have two speeds, fast and faster; the change is a conventional one-two shift, straight back. The suspension is period typical upper and lower wishbones at the front, single top-link, and inverted wishbone at the rear with coil spring/Armstrong shocks and adjustable roll bars.

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England en route to an AHCC FTD at Lakeland, November 1973. Image: Auto Action Archives. Left: Chas Talbot at left with the Ausca VW and below the compressor atop the rear engine. Bottom the forward facing front gearbox. Images: Bruce Williams

Wheels are perhaps of Brabham origin, the brakes Girling calipers/ disc front and rear, the uprights are of unclear origin at the front and fabricated at the rear.”

This rocket was built for go not show.

There are signs all over it of ongoing modifications. It has a tiny fuel-tank atop the rear crossmember and a rudimentary dash containing a Smiths mechanical tach and boost gauge.

Depending upon the climb, Paul ran the fibreglass body on, and off.

England won the single-event 1970 AHC at Queensland’s Mount Cotton, and then much tougher four-round titles in 1973 and 1974.

There were no shortage of heavies running then too, including Murray Bingham’s Bingham Cobra/Chev, Peter Holinger’s Holinger Repco V8, Errol Richardson’s Wortmyer SCV and Ian Judd’s Cheetah Olds.

“Paul never lost his passionate involvement in racing. He ran Tony Stewart and Larry Perkins, Peter Larner too (in Dolphin, Chevron, Kaditcha) but after he stopped ‘climbing the car was put in a shed at Essendon. So, it’s a time capsule, all set for someone to treasure and use.

Marge England asked me to get it running and sell it on her behalf.”

Give Chas Talbot a call if you have a hankering for an amazing, innovative, multiple Oz championship winning car on 0413 458 821. It would be great to keep it out of a museum…

Paul, body on at Morwell in 1973 Image: Auto Action Archives

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57

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

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1971: IT WAS a solid event for the Holden Dealer Team which took a dominant 1-2 victory in the penultimate round of the 1971 Manufacturers’ Championship. Colin Bond led home Peter Brock in the 500km encounter at Phillip Island, allowing the Red Lion to pull out a lead in the championship over the Blue Oval.

Straight after the race Allan Moffat travelled to the USA to make a start on next year’s machine.

1981: ALAN JONES won the final race of the 1981 Formula 1 World Championship at Las Vegas, having suggested it would be the final race of his F1 career. However, after the race Jones admitted he was not sure if he was still going to hang up the helmet. He did retire from F1 for a couple of seasons before making his return in 1983 and 85-86. Also in Las Vegas, Aussie Geoff Brabham sealed the Can Am Championship, while nationally Tony Edmondson won the Sports Sedan title.

1991: AFTER NISSAN dominated the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1991, series organisers wanted to radicalise the race formats in a bid to spice up the racing on track and stop the ‘Godzilla’ domination. In Formula 1, Ayrton Senna won his second straight championship and third in four years after Nigel Mansell spun out of the Japanese Grand Prix. This meant that all pressure was off Senna heading into the season ending Australian Grand Prix.

2001: TOWARDS THE end of 2001, two-time Bathurst winner John Bowe revealed to Auto Action that he would depart the CAT sponsored Briggs Motorsport outfit at the end of the season.

The Tasmanian said that he would not be retiring – unlike Jean Alesi in Formula 1. The Frenchman had a difficult 2001 season, switching from Prost to Jordan mid-season.

2011: GARTH TANDER and Nick Percat triumphed in the 2011 edition of the Bathurst 1000. It was Tander’s second win with the Holden Racing Team in three years, while Percat became the first driver to win on debut since Jacky Ickx in 1977. It was an emotional win for new team boss Ryan Walkinshaw after his father, the legend Tom Walkinshaw passed away 10 months earlier. Meanwhile after finishing second with Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife was contemplating hanging up his boots.

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58 AutoAction

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www.allweldmanufacturing.com.au Our transporter p builds are all custombu E LOW W EXLOW WR \RXU V EXLOW WR \RXU VSHFL¿F QHHGV

Build Options:

Allweld A llwelld al also lso manufacturers manuffactturers gooseneck k ttrailers raiilers and d ttag-along ag-allong trailers in many sizes to suit all applications.

• Sleeping Quarters • Slide-outs • Kitchens/Cupboards/ Fridges/Showers/Toilets etc.

• Vinyl, Rubber Alloy, Carpet flooring • Air-Conditioners • Composite Panelling, Fibre Glass • LED Lights/Light Bars/ Strip Lighting • Tailgate Lifters • Double level car carrying • Ramps • Tool Boxes, Belly locker • Winches • Diesel Generators

Are you in the market for a car transporter to get you and your car to your race meetings all over Australia?

What’s your budget? Extreme or conservative, we can help get the build you want.

Whether you are into V8’s, Motorbikes, Rally cars or transporting your pride and joy, if it has a motor or not, ZH FDQ GHVLJQ D EXLOG IRU \RX ,V \RXU EXVLQHVV PRYLQJ LQWR QHZ WHFKQRORJLHV ZH FDQ EXLOG RI¿FH VSDFHV into our Transporters to cater for autonomous services?

2nd level Car Carry Diesel Generator Tailgate Lifter

Slide Outs

The standard of commitment to our customers, means that they save time and money because what we build for you is guaranteed to last.

You don’t want to give your project to just anyone and certainly not to a backyard operator who lacks the equipment needed to do the job right.

And you shouldn’t leave your expensive equipment with anyone but a trusted manufacturer like Allweld.

When you need to upgrade your vehicle or want to buy a custom made race car transporter or gooseneck trailer, you need it done by the professional team who will deliver the outcomes you want … and you will find that team at Allweld.

Customers have been putting their trust in Allweld for the past 25 years because we listen to you, we take care of your equipment and we deliver the outcomes you want within budget.

Allweld Manufacturing will build you durable, reliable, cost-effective on time design for your business and individual needs, and you can be sure that the end result is a transporter that you are proud of and on that withstands the toughest Australian conditions and driving.

7.5m Trailer

For further information call 07 4123 4244 or visit the web site www.allweldmanufacturing.com.au E: sales@allweldmanufacturing.com.au 11 - 13 Gateway Court, Maryborough QLD 4650

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XP Superior

Load Capacity & Performance

NEW N NE EW Adv Advanced Features: • 24% stronger ove overlay achieving 18.1HV fatigue resistance • 17% greater fatig • U i t i design maximizes Unique geometric surface load area • Bull’s Eye Wall Tolerance™ ensures perfect oil clearance in every set • Available for all popular Australian, US & Japanese engines