Auto Action #1826

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GEN3 LIVES BATHURST 1000 WINNERS

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OSCAR’S DOMINATION

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OSCAR, OSCAR, OSCAR F2 title has Oscar Piastri primed for Formula One

By Paul Gover, News Editor Oscar Piastri is primed for Formula One as the FIA Formula 2 champion.

The Melbourne youngster nailed down his third major single-seater title in consecutive years with a dominant performance in Abu Dhabi, scoring his fourth consecutive Feature Race win and his sixth win of the 2021 season.

He joins current grand prix stars Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and George Russell as the only drivers to win F3 and F2 championships in consecutive years.

“And that, my friends, is how you finish off a championship,” says Piastri as he celebrates another dominant weekend.

But …

Despite his domination of F2, and his earlier EuroCup and F3 titles, he will not be graduating to grands prix in 2022.

Instead, Piastri faces a year as the Reserve Drive at Alpine while he waits for Fernando Alonso to retire or another race place to open for him.

“I have certainly done everything in my power to present my case for an F1 race seat,” says Piastri.

“I thought with my results, I could barge my way into an F1 race seat somewhere, clearly that has not worked out. Of course it is a bit disappointing I won’t be making the jump directly and I really, really hope that I’m on the grid in 2023.”

Piastri’s final weekend with the PREMA team in F2 continued the speed and maturity he has shown since the middle of the season.

He qualified on pole position for the all-important Feature, with Jack Doohan alongside in a starring spot,

in only his second F2 weekend. As it worked out, third in the opening Sprint Race was good enough to put the title out of reach for his rivals.

It was a good thing, too, as he crashed out of the second Sprint.

“The way I was looking at it, I think that I had to score six points or something, so I was willing to risk it for that. I really wanted to get on the podium, because why not try and finish as high as you can.

Also, I wanted to come back to the podium celebrations and celebrate with the team, so that was on my mind during the race,” he says of his podium place in the Sprint.

His result earned him a huge rap from Laurent Rossi, the CEO of Alpine.

“He is a huge talent. He possesses speed, racecraft, maturity and has huge potential for the future.

“He is a valuable member of the Alpine team and we are looking forward to putting more of his talent into Formula 1 now in the next natural progression in his journey.”

Looking back at his F2 season, Piastri admits he knew from relatively early that he would be a contender.

“Coming into Formula 2 as a rookie is pretty difficult. I think after the first couple of races my confidence grew, and I’m very happy to be champion,” he says.

“It’s been a good year, definitely.

I didn’t know if I could do it at the beginning of the year.”

Piastri’s championship weekend was shared with his father Chris, returning to the garage for the first time in 18 months, as well as his mentors

Mark and Ann Webber.

Australia’s F1 race Steward, Garry Connelly, added is congratulations.

For Piastri, the plan now is to get up to speed after the Young Driver test in a current Alpine, get plenty of simulator time at the team’s race base in the UK, and perhaps bag some Friday practice time.

“I will still be doing a decent amount of driving. I want to keep my focus on F1 and make sure my face is in the paddock so people don’t forget about me.

“I think driving an F1 car, there is no substitute for that. You can’t go racing in something else expecting it to prepare you for F1. It is such a step up from everything, even F2, I want to make sure my focus is on that, even if I can’t race in F1 or

anything next year.

“F1 is my ultimate goal and, realistically, it is a goal not a dream anymore.”

Read the champion’s Auto Action column on page 13.

VERSTAPPEN IS THE ONE

By Paul Gover, News Editor Max Verstappen is champion of the world.

Mad Max claimed the crown at the finish of a controversial Formula One finale in Abu Dhabi when he passed Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to take the title for Red Bull.

The result was immediately disputed by Mercedes-AMG, which appealed to race Stewards over the running of the restart that allowed Verstappen - on soft-compound tyres - to swoop on Hamilton on used hard rubber.

Daniel Ricciardo’s season ended much as it began, as he trailed into 11th place for eighth in the season standings with McLaren.

For the full story turn to the F1 news on pages 24-25.

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What a year!

the track through another exciting year of racing. Congratulations to the CoolDrive, Kelly Grove, Shell V-Power, and Tickford Racing Teams – we can’t wait to see them hit the track again in 2022. And thanks to all the fans who continue to support the Blue Oval.

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We’re so proud of our Supercars Teams and Drivers for bringing their absolute best to

SUPERCARS HEADING TO GEN3 WITH A NEW LEADER Someone new will be driving Supercars into the Gen3 era following the resignation of CEO Sean Seamer.

Images: Insyde Media

Seamer has overseen the development of the Gen3 Supercar, which was unveiled at Bathurst.

By Paul Gover, News Editor HE IS heading to the USA for a new job but intends to continue with Supercars until the middle of 2022.

The timing of Seamer’s decision could not be better, with the sale of Supercars to the RACE consortium now complete and with the incoming team under Barclay Nettlefold expected to put the organisation under a microscope for a new push for greater recognition in Australian sports.

Seamer tells Auto Action the decision to leave was entirely his and driven as much by his family as his career. Although the announcement of his resignation followed Bathurst, he has clearly been on the lookout for a new job for at least six months.

“It’s been a really tough couple of years for everybody. It’s been tough

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for us as well, from a family point of view,” Seams says.

“I considered staying until the Gen3 cars rolled onto the track in 2023, which would been a five-year anniversary. But you have to look at everything we’ve achieved and what’s right for my family.

“Now is the right time for the business and the best time for my family.”

Seamer’s wife is an American and, although the pair met in Singapore, they married in the States. She and their children have already left Australia and Seamer is joining them for the Christmas holidays.

He has steered Supercars through a series of highs and lows but picks one particular success as his best achievement.

“It was navigating the series through the challenges of the

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last couple of years. Running the championship. And everything that flowed from that.

“You expect a CEO to deliver the new ownership deal, the new broadcast deal, and the new Gen3 product. Covid was something else.”

Seamer says he will continue as CEO until the middle of next year and has been asked to stay on the Supercars board until the end of 2022.

“Sean’s not going anywhere soon, and I will work with him and the board to ensure that we have the right successor in place for the Supercars team, our partners and our fans,” says the new Supercars chairman, and leader of the RACE consortium that now owns the series, Barclay Nettlefold.

“Sean and the team under his leadership have done an outstanding job, particularly in the last two years.

Sean and I were looking forward to working together, but I completely appreciate his reasons for wanting to move.”

Seamer followed James Warburton into the hot seat at Supercars following a series of relatively lacklustre CEOs including David Malone and Cameron Levick. He has now completed four years in the job

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and is happy with his work.

“This is a business and sport that it is very much on track. Just last weekend at Bathurst we saw how strong this sport remains.

“The future remains bright. To navigate a pandemic and deliver two championship seasons, sign a new broadcast agreement, sign a new naming rights partner, complete the sale of the business and launch the Gen3 Supercar is something we should all be proud of.

“The new owners are set up to take this sport to the next level. I know many of the people involved well, and count some of them as lifelong friends. I can assure you they share the same care and passion for Supercars as all of us.”

There is already speculation around Seamer’s successor, with talk of someone more like firebrand Tony Cochrane – who came from the entertainment business and helped create Supercars – as a more entrepreneurial leader.

As yet, Seamer is not prepared to talk about his new job or where he will be living.

“I want to draw a line under Supercars and we’ll talk about the new job in January,” is all he is saying.

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GEN3 HITS THE TRACK

By Josh Nevett After a minute of dramatic music, smoky blue lights and held breaths …

Supercars Gen3 was real.

In an overcrowded garage in the Bathurst pitlane, just metres from the 2021 Great Race drivers, all the questions were answered.

And new ones were created . . .

As the covers were pulled back from the Mustang GT and the Camaro ZL1 there was a V8 roar, Anton De Pasquale in the Ford on one side and Jamie Whincup in the Chevrolet on the other.

As the engines lowered to idle and the lights came on, the Mustang revealed itself as a very close relative of the road car.

Of course, there were flared arches and a purposeful wing, but otherwise it was the Mustang that Australian’s have come to know, love and buy.

On the Chevrolet side of the garage, the Camaro was revealed as angular, low and muscular, its wing reflecting a predatory bird in attack mode.

The Camaro also features a bulging bonnet scoop, far different from the Mustang’s less shapely part.

Given the Chevrolet is a new shape in the world of Supercars, it made more of an impression than the familiar blue Ford.

With the visual unveiling out of the way, a slew of big industry names took to the stage to say their pieces. There was lots of credit being claimed.

However, after such a long period of delays and disruptions, the reveal was about the cars and not the corporate bla-bla-blah.

The sound emitted from the garaged machines was undoubtedly Supercar, loud and uncontroversial, but it would become clear once the pair hit the track that the noise was indeed a talking point.

After all, most punters on the mountain

heard the Gen3 cars before they saw them.

More specifically, they heard the Mustang.

With some exhaust fettling (mufflers absent), the Ford Mustang produced far more volume than its Chevrolet counterpart, screaming to redline and commanding the attention of all onlookers.

However, the Camaro won back points

with its appearance. The exotic by Australian standards design wowed the crowd, ensuring that Chevrolet claimed the lion’s share of real estate in each spectators’ camera roll.

Seeing the pair dance as a pair during demonstrations around Mount Panorama certainly whet the appetite but the launch was still a tease in many ways, as most are.

There has been much said, previewed

and speculated since the 2019 announcement of Gen3’s development and now finally there is something to show for it.

But the hope is that timelines will be more set in stone going forward and that further progress will be made visible as the 2023 competitive debut date approaches.

At least we can finally say… Gen3 has arrived.

GENERAL MOTORS LAUNCH CHEVROLET RACING DURING THE Gen3 Supercars Championship unveiling ceremony, General Motors announced the launch of Chevrolet Racing.

Chevrolet Racing will be the future motorsports brand for General Motors Australia and New Zealand.

Chevrolet Racing will sit alongside the company’s other business units GM Specialty Vehicles, Holden Certified Service, GM Trade Parts and ACDelco.

In the Gen3 era the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will compete against the blue ovals Ford Mustang for glory in both the Supercars Championship and Bathurst 1000, and sees the Ford versus General Motors rivalry live on.

“The look and sound of the new Gen3 Camaro is just incredible,” said Marc Ebolo, Managing Director of GM Australia and New Zealand.

“The passion and excitement of success on the track has been such an important part of our Holden brand DNA for so long.

“This represents an all-new era, and Chevrolet Racing and our close alignment with GM Motorsport will be an ongoing

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demonstration of our passion for competition and commitment to the sport.

“The high-performance demands of racing align with our vision for GM Australia and New Zealand and will continue to be a significant reflection for all our brands, including GM Specialty Vehicles, Holden Certified

Service, GM Trade Parts and ACDelco.

“Further evidence of our commitment to motorsport is our ACDelco partnership with Fabietti Racing and the new GM designed Camaro Pro Slammer drag car.”

The Gen3 has come about due to the collaboration between Supercars, Triple Eight

Race Engineering and General Motors.

This approach signals an exciting future for Chevrolet Racing for GMANZ, with the Gen3 Camaro for Supercars now recognised as part of the GM global racing effort.

The fact that Chevrolet and Ford are involved is a great sign for the sport going forwards particularly when the new machines roll out in 2023.

General Motors has confirmed that following the creation of the next generation Camaro ZL1 for NASCAR, the GM Design team in Detroit were also responsible for the overall appearance of the Camaro racer for Australia.

The car looks quite similar in many ways with a much more muscular appearance and unmistakable resemblance to their road going equivalents compared to the Gen2 cars currently raced in the Supercars Championship.

Chevrolet Camaro is not new to the Australian Touring Car Championship scene having won the Australian Touring Car Championship in the hands of Bob Jane in 1971 and 1972. Dan McCarthy

GEN3 GETS REAL AT BATHURST

By Paul Gover, News Editor FORD MOTORSPORT scored the first win of the Gen3 era when its Mustang GT ran without mufflers at Bathurst and its high-pitched Coyote V8 howled around Mount Panorama.

But Chevrolet Racing had its own victory with the showroom look of its Gen3 Camaro ZL1, which lapped in a special livery by the coupe’s original American designer, GM senior creative designer Atom Barry.

The first weekend of Gen3 ran entirely to plan, with a gala unveiling, track laps with star drivers at the wheel, and thousands of fans taking the chance for a close-up look at the 2023 contenders in the special Gen3 garage on pitlane.

The cars have been returned to Queensland for fettling by their homologation teams, DJR and Triple Eight, before the real work begins on parity and endurance testing under the direction of Supercars’ technical chief, Adrian Burgess.

There is still some uncertainty around a potential third car for Gen3 racing in 2023, as talk of a Jaguar F-Type - a tantalising prospect first flagged

by Auto Action earlier this year - is refusing to die. Extra fuel was added to the first when the star driver at Walkinshaw Andretti United, Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert, did not drive the Chevy prototype.

“We still haven’t committed to a manufacturer,” the head of WAU, Bruce Stewart, tells Auto Action.

But the Prime Minister, Scott

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The Gen3 engines are nuch closer to the road variants that they are based on. A Jaguar in Supercars, its still being talked about....

Morrison, jumped into both cars during a flag-waving visit to The Great Race, where he also inducted Jamie Whincup into the Supercars Hall of Fame.

The first public appearance of the new Camaro and Mustang came after nearly two years of design and development work that included the motorsport arms of both Chevy and Ford in Detroit, which have both renewed their commitment to the long-running Red-versus-Blue rivalry in

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Australian touring car racing.

No-one on either side is talking numbers, but it’s likely to be a multimillion dollar commitment from both Ford Australia and General Motors Specialty Vehicles.

There was plenty of talk on both sides of the divide, but the most telling display of the Gen3 program is the appearance of the two cars and their V8 engines - in front of two classic Bathurst winning cars, Allan Moffat’s XW Falcon and Des West’s Holden Monaro.

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“The Ford Mustang and GM Camaro are the first chapter of our new era that will be cost-effective for our major stakeholders and teams but retain the very core of our success - terrific and exciting Supercar racing, which is what our fans have been asking us for,” says the CEO of Supercars, Sean Seamer.

“There is no question when you look at the Mustang GT Gen3 Supercar that this is a Mustang. It absolutely looks the part, which was focus one for us in the design and development phase for this vehicle,” says Global Director Ford Performance Motorsports, Mark Rushbrook, who flew from the USA - and had to endure quarantine in a Bathurst hotel - for the event.

“The fact that it’s powered by a production-based Ford engine is the icing on the cake.”

“The new Gen3 Camaro ZL1, with the unmistakable roar of the Chevrolet Racing 5.7L naturally aspirated LTR V8, will do its part to create exciting racing in Supercars and we can’t wait to start our engines in 2023,” says Jim Campbell of Chevrolet Performance and Racing.

“It took close collaboration between key partners to make this a reality, including the Triple Eight Race Engineering team; KRE Engines, working with our Propulsion, Performance & Racing Centre; the Supercars Gen3 Steering Committee, as well as the designers who were responsible for the production Camaro and other Camaro global race programmes.”

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THE FIRST 2022 Supercars livery has been revealed, Tickford Racing rookie Thomas Randle will drive a Castrol sponsored Mustang which resembles the wildcard livery he ran in three rounds this season. The Super2 Series winner has been looking to secure a main game drive for several years and as previously reported for 2022 secured himself a seat. DM

SHANE VAN Gisbergen has received strong recognition in the Supercars Championship season awards, earning the Drivers’ Driver and fan voted Most Popular Driver awards. The 2021 champion won 14 races in his Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden Commodore, finishing clear of teammate Jamie Whincup to win a second title. Super2 Series rookie Matt McLean was presented the Young Gun award for his strong performances in the second tier. JN

CHAZ MOSTERT has taken up Zak Brown’s offer to drive the ex-Allan Moffat Chevrolet Monza sports sedan as reward for his Bathurst 1000 triumph. “Sounds like a plan,” Mostert replied to Brown on Twitter. “But I want to sweeten the deal, I also want my great friend @J_Moffat to have a steer cause I reckon driving an amazing piece of history that your dad had made would be a unreal moment.” JN

THE 2021 Supercars Championship season was one of improvement for several drivers, many achieving career best finishes in the standings.

As well as taking out the Bathurst 1000, Chaz Mostert improved his personal best from fifth to third this year, while Anton De Pasquale set his new benchmark with sixth. Todd Hazelwood and Bryce Fullwood improved to 13th and 14th respectively this year, after managing 17th and 18th in 2020. Jack Smith also bettered his full-time best performance. JN

AUTO ACTION would look to express its apologies for a wrongly cropped photo that featured with the Denis Gregory Vale last issue. Printed here is the correct image. Vale – Denis Gregory. Founder and President of the Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club, Denis Gregory passed away at the age of 83. Gregory raced at Gnoo Blas between 1953 and 1961 and was passionate about keeping the memory of the circuit at Orange alive. GOB

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CROMPTON LOVES GEN3, HATES PADDLE SHIFT

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE ARRIVAl of the Gen3 prototypes at Bathurst triggered another predictable pitlane skirmish over their shift system.

Neil Crompton has thrown his weight behind the all-new Gen3 Supercars but questions the need for a computer-controlled electronic paddle gearshift.

In a very rare break from Supercars solidarity, the former racer admits that he wants to see a manual shift for the sake of ’The Show’.

“I instantly fell in love with the cars at first sight and my only concern is this ongoing battle about the assisted shift,” Crompton reveals exclusively to Auto Action.

“It’s got little to do with the paddles and everything to do with the computer-aided process that assists the shifting, which impacts braking, braking distances, and flattens talent differences.

“Like a lot of fans, I absolutely celebrate driver skills actually making a difference. Hand-foot co-ordination, heel-and-toe, and mechanical sympathy all contribute so much to the differences between drivers.

“Automating that shifting process

flattens differences which equals even fewer chances to pass and reduces the possibility of mistakes.”

Crompton, who is deeply invested in the history of touring car racing, only has to look to the television highlight reels - with incidents involving a huge number of top-line drivers - to see how manual shifting can lead to mistakes.

“Consider the Bathurst 1000 in 2020 and 2021, and the Bathurst 500 in 2021, and think about the number of ragged-edge moments that would not have happened if a computer was helping drive the car,” Crompton says.

“Of course technology has its place in many categories like GT, IndyCar, F1 and WRC, but Supercars have uniquely evolved down here as beasts that are very challenging to drive and that is a big part of the appeal. Given the Supercar mantra is entertainment first - I see no value in dumbing down the driver input.

“Maybe the AFL should also consider putting special hi-tech calipers on the legs of all the forwards to help them kick straighter? It’s the same principle.”

But Crompton’s view is balanced, and attacked, by outgoing Triple

Eight boss Roland Dane during an extraordinary outburst over the Bathurst weekend.

“I’m totally ambivalent about it.

I don’t mind the paddle shift or a manual change,” says Dane.

“But a proper manual shift, none of this having a lever that just operates a couple of switches, where you’re effectively bullshitting the fans.

“The paddle shift has got advantages in terms of cost for teams, and most of the teams are pretty adamant that they want to save that money in terms of engine life and gearbox life and maintenance. But, on the other hand, the manual shift introduces another element that helps the better drivers in terms of balancing the car.”

For DJR, T8’s rival Ford homologation team, the view is clear from general manager Rob Herrod.

“It’s got be a stick shift, surely it’s got be. I also think that the manual shift gives better television entertainment,” says Herrod.

“Everyone loves watching the in-car camera, and if you’ve got two fingers just moving a paddle shift that ain’t entertaining. On those downshifts, you want to make it look real.”

GEN3 DRAWS DRIVER PRAISE Image: LAT

Josh Nevett SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP drivers have weighed in on Gen3 and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive after demonstrations during the Bathurst 1000 event.

A total of eight drivers had the opportunity to sample either the new Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in short on-track stints, spread over the four days at Mount Panorama.

Anton De Pasquale ran in the first group, relishing the opportunity to make history.

“It was a privilege to be the first to drive a Gen3 car on the mountain, it seemed fast and sounds good,” the Dick Johnson Racing driver expressed to Auto Action.

“Fans over the top of the mountain seemed to love it.”

Both varieties received praise for the

driving experience, Ford testers falling in love with the unmuffled noise of the Mustang.

“It sounds plain awesome,” Tickford Racing driver James Courtney told AA. His teammate Cameron Waters concurred.

“It sounded amazing, they have to leave it like that,” Waters said of the new edition.

“We haven’t seen a lot of it, so it was cool to finally drive it.”

While it was noticeable that the Camaro could not match the volume of the Mustang, 2015 Supercars champion Mark Winterbottom said it still made all the right sounds.

“The engines sound good and they’re fast,” Winterbottom told AA. However, it was in the appearance category that the Camaro gained the most support, the new-to-Supercars

design a hit with ‘Frosty’.

“They are probably the most futuristic looking race car around at the moment,” Winterbottom said.

“It’s not as good as it’s going to be, but I think that it already makes the current cars look dated, which is what you want from a new generation.

“You want it to be the futuristic type, concept looking car that you see at the Motor Show.”

The Mustang design may have been seen before in the Supercars Championship, but those who steered it at Bathurst believe that significant improvements have been made for the new version.

“It looks awesome,” Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison exclaimed.

“I think we’ve done what the fans wanted, people want them to look like

the road car and they do.”

When it came to performance, both cars ticked boxes although drivers were hesitant to speak too definitively given the next generation is still 14 months from a competitive debut.

“They’ve done an amazing job for a car so new but here are still a few things to iron out,” Waters said.

Davison agreed. “There’s definitely some things that weren’t quite finished,” he admitted.

“But ultimately, it feels like a race car not like a V8 Supercar, it had some really cool traits.

“The engine has a lot of potential.

I think it could be even better, but it sounded great and is really torquey.”

“It’s like a soft launch before the launch,” Camaro commandeer Winterbottom added.

“You can imagine what improvements are going to happen over the next 14 months but to get it on track and to show what’s coming whets the appetite.

“First initial impressions are it’s a good thing.”

One point of contention on the subject of Gen3 is what transmission should feature in the machines.

Courtney noted that the paddle shifters included in the test cars were difficult to adapt to after spending most of his career manually pulling gears.

“Everything seemed alright, it felt weird to be changing gears on the steering wheel again,” he said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done that.”

Gen3 cars will takeover the Supercars grid in 2023, the current generation set for a swansong next year.

BOOST BOSS WANTS HIS OWN TEAM

By Paul Gover, News Editor MERCURIAL BOOST Mobile boss Peter Adderton wants his own Supercars team for 2023.

Adderton believes the start of the Gen3 era will be the ideal time to establish his own team, even though he has just renewed and extended the Boost backing of Erebus Motorsport for 2022.

The grand plan would see a two-car team operating from Sydney, using cars provided by Erebus Motorsport, with the multi-million-dollar funding to launch into the middle of the grid and advance from there.

But Adderton admits he is fighting an uphill battle to secure the Team Racing Charters that would underpin the plan.

“We will do it if we can get two TRCs. That’s what we’re prepared to commit to,” Adderton tells Auto Action.

“We want to put a team on the grid. We would base the team in Sydney. I’m Sydney born-and-bred and I think Sydney deserves a team that can win.”

At the current time there is only one vacant Racing Entitlements Contract - the old name for the new Charters - at Supercars, so Adderton is predictably pushing for change so he can get a pair of grid slots.

He is taking a swipe at the under-performing teams in the series and even suggesting something similar to the promotion-and-relegation rules that apply in some other sports, including Premier League football in the UK. “It’s not fair that you’ve got expensive rental car companies down the end of pitlane. You should have to have a level of professionalism and performance,” Adderton says.

“You’ve got teams down the back of the grid who

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are not doing a great job. Those teams should be forced to invest.

“It should not be a given that you get to keep your place. It’s crazy that we want to invest all this money in Supercars and we’re not allowed to do it.”

He also questions the wisdom of four-car Supercars operations, instead of spreading the field across more teams.

“Definitely there should be a maximum of two cars.

I’m calling on Supercars to clean it up.”

Apart from his ambitions for 2023, Adderton has already lifted his Supercars spending for 2022.

“There is still a lot of work to do before then and right now we are focused on what we are doing now and next year. We are excited to be joining long-term with Erebus and are excited about what our future holds together.”

Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown will both be Boosted next year at Barry Ryan’s Erebus team and there is also a good chance of extra Wildcard runs for another of Adderton’s favoured youngsters, Richie Stanaway.

James Courtney is regarded by Adderton as a “lifer” and will have

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Boost support while ever he is racing in Supercars.

“We are obviously keen to do Wildcards next year.

We have approval from Supercars. I’d like to see a Boost Wildcard running at Newcastle, Perth and the Gold Coast, and then obviously again at Bathurst next year.”

Next year’s expanded support, under the Boost Mobile Racing powered by Erebus banner has been welcomed by Barry Ryan, who has fronted the break-out team of season 2021.

“Our team is continually improving and growing stronger, and this new deal is another aspect of that growth,” says Ryan.

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NORMAL SUPERCARS SERVICE FOR 2022 Adelaide 500 primed for a comeback

TICKETS AND camping for the 2022 edition of the Bathurst 6 Hour are now on sale. A range of ticketing options are available for fans to purchase at an event that has grown a reputation for being one of the most and bang-for-your-buck weekends on the Aussie motorsport calendar. To be held across the April 15-17 Easter Long weekend, the 2022 event will see three days action that will culminate in a capacity field of 70 cars contesting the 6-Hour itself. RV

YOUNG GUN Cody Burcher will step up to the National Trans Am Series in 2022, after striking a deal with Garry Rogers Motorsport to run the Ford Mustang driven by James Moffat at Sydney Motorsport Park in November. Burcher finished third in the Australian Formula Ford Championship despite missing a round and will now make the step up to Trans Am competition, something he sees as a vital step on his pathway in pursuing a career in Supercars. RV

THE TASMANIAN State Government has reached a $1.97 million funding agreement with Targa Tasmania, guaranteeing the event five years of financial support from 2023-2027.

The backing comes after an investigation into the three tragic deaths of Shane Navin, Leigh Mundy and Dennis Neagle at the 2021 event back in April, which produced 23 recommendations for improved safety. Targa Tasmania 2022 could also be a return to normality from COVID-19 restrictions, featuring a full field and uncapped spectators. JN

BEN BARGWANNA has received the TCR Australia Rookie of the Year award after recording a maiden podium in the season finale at Mount Panorama. The 20-year-old finished 10th overall for the season, having joined the competition this year as part of a two-car Garry Rogers Motorsport Peugeot 308 TCR team alongside his father Jason. Ben saved his best until last in the 2021 season, recording his best race finish (second) in the opening Bathurst race after achieving pole position. JN

PORSCHE CARS Australia (PCA) has retained Paynter Dixon as its Carrera Cup Australia Championship title partner, extending the partnership through to 2024. A further two seasons with Paynter Dixon on board will bring the total length of its support to five consecutive years. The Australian property conglomerate has been synonymous with Carrera Cup since it was redeveloped in 2018, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991.2) machines introduced to the category that has only grown since. JN

10 AutoAction

By Paul Gover, News Editor A BORN-AGAIN Adelaide 500 is being readied for a slot on the 2022 calendar for the Repco Supercars Championship.

It will be raced at The Bend, not on the streets of Adelaide, to fill the only open slot on the 13-race calendar for next year’s touring car tussle.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but Adelaide is looking good as Phillip Island and Queensland Raceway are both missing from the championship.

A new-look Adelaide 500 would also be a banker for season 2023, when Supercars is hopeful that a change of the state government in South Australia could lead to a revival of the classic summer street fight.

The provisional 2022 calendar, and it stays provisional because the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are still impossible to predict, starts and finishes in NSW where the state government is giving big-money backing to Supercars.

The Australian Grand Prix meeting returns and so does New Zealand.

Supercars says it is also hopeful of bringing Queensland Raceway back into the series after a change of ownership to go-getter Tony Quinn, who has already been improving facilities at the track and promises a major upgrade - including more corners

- for the circuit. But that is likely to be 2023 at the earliest.

One of the biggest changes for season 2022 is that the calendar is the first under the new RACE ownership of Supercars, so the minority holding of the Australian Racing Group means its calendar - and categories - will be tweaked to complement and not compete with Supercars.

Nothing is confirmed, but it appears there will only be two crossover categories - Touring Car Masters and S5000 single-seaters - racing on both programs.

Super2 will be back for a full season with six events - Newcastle, Perth, Townsville, Sandown, Bathurst and Sydney - in 2022.

The season will open at Newcastle in March, the Bathurst 1000 is back to its traditional date on the first weekend in October, and the Surfers Paradise street race is expected to be run under lights for the first time following a commitment from the Mayor of the Gold Coast, Tom Tate.

“The 2022 season will follow an unprecedented two years for Supercars in which the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in two revised calendars – a huge achievement given the nature of the sport,” says Supercars CEO, Sean Seamer.

“It has been fantastic to welcome fans back to events this year, and we will continue to ensure this is done safely and in line with national guidelines as we welcome more fans back in 2022.”

Supercars is still working on event formats for the coming year but there is expected to be much more variety than in 2021, when a need to run as many races as possible led to a focus on the SuperSprint format. But there are already several compacted two-day meetings in the program.

PROVISION 2022 CALENDAR MARCH 4-6 Newcastle, NSW MARCH 26-27 Tasmania,

Symmons Plains APRIL 7-10 Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne April 30-May 1 Perth,Wanneroo Park MAY 21-22 Winton, Victoria JUNE 18-19 Darwin, Hidden Valley JULY 8-10 Townsville, Queensland JULY 30-31 To be confirmed AUGUST 19-21 Sandown, Victoria SEPTEMBER 10-11 New Zealand, Pukekohe OCTOBER 6-9 Bathurst 1000, NSW OCTOBER 28-30 Surfers Paradise, Queensland NOVEMBER 18-20 Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

SCHENKEN IS DONE

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE OLDEST man in Supercars, Tim Schenken, is off to the retirement home.

Schenken, who is approaching his 80th birthday, is leaving the post as Race Director that he first took in the 1980s.

He was originally intended to leave more than two years ago, in favour of youngster Michael Masi, but earned a reprieve when his apprentice jumped to the top job as Race Director in Formula One. James Taylor becomes the new Race Director for Supercars in 2022, having trialled successfully through the Covid pandemic while Schenken was in lock-down in Melbourne.

Schenken is a former F1 grand prix racer, and also competed for Ferrari in sports cars, who has become an institution in Supercars. Race control at Bathurst is being named after him.

He drove Supercars along the path already taken by Formula One, running the show like Captain Von Trapp in the classic movie, The Sound of Music.

He had tough love for the drivers and officials, although he avoided many of the potential controversies as a string of Driving Standards Observers - including Thomas Mezera, Cam McConville, Jason Bargwanna and Craig Baird - went into the firing line.

Schenken could have a withering presence as Race Director, and there were a growing number of mishaps in recent years, but he still gets credit for lifting the standard of the show and ensuring things ran as crisply as the creases in his Hugo Boss outfits. He has also had a key role in improving track safety.

He will continue working for Motorsport Australia and the FIA,

as a track inspector and Clerk of Course for the Australian Grand Prix.

“I will of course remain available to the Race Control team, should they wish to chat or debrief, as I do with many officials across the globe,” says Schenken.

“Tim deserves a sincere thank you from everyone in the motorsport community and we look forward to continuing to work with him at Motorsport Australia in the years to come,” says the CEO of Motorsport Australia, Eugene Arocca.

“There are only a handful of people who would have been to as many races as Tim and his knowledge and experience has been invaluable to so many throughout his journey in Supercars,” says Sean Seamer, CEO of Supercars.

SMP DRAMAS PAY OFF AT BATHURST Four tough weeks leads to a day of celebration

By Paul Gover, News Editor FOUR WEEKS of frustration and disappointment at Sydney Motorsport Park was paid back, with interest, when Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth won the Repco Bathurst 1000.

The fresh shoots of engineering success at the final weekend in Sydney turning into a beautiful bloom at Bathurst as the ZB Commodore from Walkinshaw Andretti United romped to victory.

Sydney disappointment also turned into a Bathurst celebration for Tickford Racing, even if Cam Waters and James Moffat came up one place short for the second time.

“I’ve given him a unicorn and now he thinks that is what a Supercar should always be,” ace engineer Adam DeBorre tells Auto Action.

It was DeBorre and the WAU engineering squad who turned glimmers of hope at SMP into race-winning euphoria, as Mostert and Holdsworth wheeled a car that was clearly the quickest in the field.

Holdsworth was able to lap fastest through the early stages of the race and, despite a tyre problem when he pushed too hard in his opening stint, Mostert was able to swat away a sustained challenge from Shane van Gisbergen in the dying laps with a car which jumped ahead at every restart.

“Car speed was what won it for us. It was a very enjoyable car to drive,” says Mostert.

“We worked on the car a lot. It’s a pretty unique track, SMP. Here the car was amazing.”

As he celebrates his second win in The Great Race, Chaz also looks back to the lessons that were learned, and the car speed that was found, in Sydney.

“Bringing back all the nightmares,”

he jokes, but only with the benefit of hindsight.

For DeBorre, the hard grind had a clear objective.

“We went to SMP with a mindset that we wanted to make our car the best car.

We put all the lessons we learned there into this weekend at Bathurst. Fingers crossed we can carry it into next year.”

For Tickford, who threw everything at the team’s three Mustangs during the SMP swing, often without success, the negatives were also outweighed by the positives.

“It did us a favour. It allowed us to try a few things, but we had to do our testing in public, which is not ideal,” team boss Tim Edwards tells Auto Action.

“It’s frustrating and uncomfortable when you’re having, in our eyes, a poor performance. But I did see it as a positive. You go home, debrief, and go again.

“You have to keep digging, and keep digging, and keep digging. You’re there (at SMP) the next week, and the next week, and the next.”

But Edwards says Tickford were not overly concerned as they moved from Sydney to Bathurst.

“Yes, we struggled at Sydney, but we did make progress. It’s a circuit-specific thing. We know the tracks we struggle at, and Bathurst is not one of them.”

Even James Courtney, who was two laps down after a bunker blunder by co-driver Thomas Randle, praises the outright speed of his Boost Mustang at Bathurst.

“We were 37 seconds behind the pack at one stage and I was able to drive back to them. And I kept passing people,” Courtney says.

“We should have been in the top six all weekend. We had a couple of little mistakes, but nothing major.

“We did a heap of stuff at SMP. It definitely helped.”

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LATEST NEWS

HOLDSWORTH ADJUSTED DRIVING STYLE

TWO-TIME Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato has signed with Dayle Coyne Racing for the entire 2022 IndyCar Series season. The 44-year-old will drive the #51 Honda-powered entry for the team, effectively replacing Romain Grosjean who has joined Andretti Autosport. Elsewhere, Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci will compete for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) in the 2022 Indy 500. JN

AUSTRALIAN’S ANDRES Latorre and Garnet Patterson will join United Autosports for the 2022 Le Mans Cup. After making their debut in the Road to Le Mans event earlier this year, the Aussie duo will move across to the famed sports car team. Latorre has driven in a number of Australian Prototype Series rounds, while Patterson has a breadth of prototype experience in Asia and Europe. RV

ANDREA ADAMO has left his role as Hyundai Motorsport team principal for personal reasons.

After a three-year tenure and six years with the Korean marque, the Italian will be replaced shortterm by President Scott Noh until a permanent replacement is found. Adamo was at the helm for consecutive years of World Rally Championship manufacturer’s success in 2019 and 2020, and also oversaw its WTCR efforts. JN RYO HIRAKAWA will replace Kazuki Nakajima in the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 GR010 Hybrid for the 2022 World Endurance Championship season, the latter moving into a management role. The changes in structure at Toyota will also see two-time World Champion and 2021 Le Mans winner Kamui Kobayashi begin a new role as Team Principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing in WEC, in parallel to his driving commitments. JN

FOR THE first time since 2005 Lee Holdsworth was not the main driver in the Bathurst 1000, he paired up with Chaz Mostert to score his maiden ‘Great Race’ victory, aided by a similar driving style.

In years gone by some co-drivers have been dragged along by there much faster teammates, however this was not the case for Holdsworth, throughout the weekend he was a maximum of a couple of tenths slower.

Holdsworth expressed that although Mostert and his engineer Adam DeBorre were going down a set-up route he was not used to, he found it comfortable and enabled him to lap the 6.213km ribbon of asphalt fast… very fast.

“It was completely different to what I’m used to,” Holdsworth said to Auto Action. “I know how strong Chaz and Adam are as a pair they’ve got this amazing connection where they understand each other.

“Fortunately, I fit into that equation quite well, everything that they were trying to achieve was great for me, as well as exactly the direction that I wanted to go with the car.”

Despite 15 years of full-time main game experience Holdsworth altered his driving style subtly and meant that there was no compromise for either driver.

“I was really pleased with the input that I was able to give and try to help with the direction which I think that it helped us I’m sure, in the way that there wasn’t a compromise in driving styles or car setup, bar positions,” he continued.

“There’s usually a few things that a driver would have a preference with throughout the year, I have changed my driving style just slightly just to tweak it to the way that Chaz produces speed in that car.

“It became quite a natural style to me,

so I didn’t have to change much to be honest. I was able to drive that thing the way I wanted after a while.

“I was actually comfortable in the car, even with the big seat, the confidence just kept growing throughout the week.”

The duo didn’t have things their own way they faced adversity with a tyre delamination and then also dropped back when defending Bathurst 1000 winner Shane van Gisbergen cunningly slowed them down going up the Mountain.

Nevertheless, with incredible pace the duo fought to win the Bathurst 1000. “(Co-driving is) Just a completely different approach in terms of the mental approach, I’m just going to enjoy this, I’m just going to enjoy being a co-driver, enjoy being a part of a team that’s on the rise,” he explained.

“To look at my pace versus Chaz, I highly rate Chaz, I think he’s one of the best drivers in the field. To put myself up against him and match up pretty closely, I was very pleased with that.

Holdsworth said to AA that he is enjoying being a co-driver to Mostert

STUTT’FEST POSTPONED THE INAUGURAL three-day Porsche festival, STUTT’FEST has been postponed until later in the 2022 calendar.

STUTT’FEST was set to be run next month from January 14-16, however organisers have elected to push it back due to a very recent management change at Winton Motor Raceway, which remains a key

partner of the event.

With the event only four weeks away there were additional concerns about crowd capacity and staffing issues and ongoing border closures or restrictions halting interstate competitors from taking part, it made more sense to postpone the event.

Although a new date has not been set,

and winning the Bathurst 1000, however is yet to fully rule out a full-time return down the line.

“It was certainly enjoyable over the weekend, but it’s quite a different feeling not being in the car at the end of the race,” he admitted.

“If we didn’t win it I’m not sure that I would have enjoyed it as much at the end. It’s funny, after being a main driver for so long, it’s hard to play the co-driver role straightaway.

“With the way that my career ended full-time, it wasn’t ideal. I felt like I’d left the book open a little bit, it’s a hard one to answer.”

For the Victorian the win was a dream come true.

“I’ve reached a lifelong dream, that’s the race that I wanted to win and I think all drivers in Australia want to win since they’re a young kid. For me that’s the pinnacle of Australian motorsport.

“It’s a pretty sweet thing to have your name engraved into the Peter Brock trophy. It just means so much to me as a racing driver and it’ll stick with me forever.” Dan McCarthy organisers stress that the event has not been canned with organisers committed to finding a new date, in potentially May or September pending final calendars from Supercars and other major national motorsport events.

“While we are extremely disappointed to make this decision, ultimately we had to do what was best for the event moving forward,” said STUTT’FEST director Sven Burchartz. Dan McCarthy

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12 AutoAction

with Oscar Piastri

WHINCUP HALL OF FAME JAMIE WHINCUP is the latest inductee into the Supercars’ Hall of Fame, receiving the honour just before the final race of his Supercars Championship career at Mount Panorama.

As part of his end of career celebrations, Whincup became the 23rd inductee into the Hall of Fame and the first since 2018.

The 38-year-old has amassed 124 career wins, 92 career poles and 237 career podiums – the most for each category in the history of Supercars.

Whincup also tops the records for the most drivers’ titles, with seven to his name.

He has four Bathurst 1000 victories, including the hattrick of wins with Craig Lowndes between 2006-2008.

Speaking at the induction ceremony, Whincup paid tribute to the whole Supercars fraternity after a uniquely challenging season.

“I just want to thank friends and family, not just my family but all the families, especially (from) Queensland who have been away for six to eight weeks now, we appreciate the effort to get the championship underway,” Whincup said.

“Thank you to the fan base, everyone that has come out, everyone that is watching at home, but in particular I would just like to thank my peers, we have been thrown into the arena and we have gone hard and battled with each other

and I wish everyone a safe and happy journey and best of luck.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was in attendance, taking to the microphone to congratulate Whincup.

“Congratulations on an outstanding motorsport career,” Morrison said.

“You see all the kids who are out there today, and they look at you and they look at the great champions behind you and you know what they could aspire to.

“Mate, congratulations not on the way you have driven the race but the way that you have run the race yourself as a great motorsport champion and another supremo of the mountain.”

Whincup was also awarded the Barry Sheene Medal after his final year of full-time driving, presented to the driver deemed to have displayed ‘outstanding leadership, media interaction, character, personality, fan appeal and sportsmanship throughout the season’ by a panel of motorsport journalists.

Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen are the two most recent previous winners of the Barry Sheene Medal.

Whincup will transition to the role of Triple Eight Race Engineering Team Principal in 2022, taking over from Roland Dane. Josh Nevett

NATIONAL CALENDARS ANNOUNCED THREE NATIONAL 2022 calendars have been revealed, TCR Australia, the National Trans Am Series and the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships.

All three are very similar with just one or two differences in each of the three schedules.

TCR Australia will take place over seven rounds in four states, with one round taking place in Tasmania, one in Queensland, two in Victoria and three in New South Wales.

Notably the TCR Australia Series contains two rounds at the legendary Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, the first as the major support for the Bathurst 6 Hour and the second as part of the inaugural running of the Bathurst International which will conclude the season.

The series will kick off with the second running of Race Tasmania at Symmons Plains Raceway, to be held from February 11-13.

The popular Phillip Island Grand

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Prix Circuit has retained its traditional early season place on the schedule, and is followed by the first trip to The Mountain in the Bathurst 6 Hour.

Round 4 is listed as a to be confirmed date and venue in New South Wales and will be announced in the near future.

Queensland Raceway returns to calendar in 2022 and will be followed

by Sandown which retains its traditional September slot.

The season will conclude with a second trip to Bathurst as part of the Bathurst International.

The Trans Am Series is identical to the TCR Australia Series however the

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popular muscle car series will not make an appearance at the Bathurst International, concluding its season at Sandown instead.

The Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships Calendar has also been revealed, the Shannons categories will not be visiting Tasmania at the start the year or Bathurst in November.

A second Phillip Island round slots in between the TBC in NSW and the round at Queensland Raceway. DM Calendar Feb 11-13 – Symmons Plains (TCR and Trans Am) Mar 18-20 – Phillip Island April 15-17 – Bathurst 6 Hour TBA – NSW June 25-26 – Phillip Island 2 (Shannons) Aug 5-7 – Queensland Raceway Sept 16-18 – Sandown November 11-13 – Bathurst International – November 11-13 (TCR)

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WOW, WHAT an end to an incredible year!

It’s pretty hectic here at Yas Marina; the F1 race has just finished as we’re doing this column and to say the place is buzzing is an understatement.

We’ve never seen anything like what’s just happened here, so it’s just topped off a fantastic weekend for my PREMA Racing team and me.

Although the racing in F2 at times can be heated, thankfully, the end of our season was a lot less controversial, although I did get crashed into heading out of pit lane for the final race – can you believe that?! – which required a last-minute, emergency nose change on the grid!

Securing the title in the first Sprint Race Saturday was satisfying, especially finishing on the podium after starting tenth. I admit, it sounds pretty good to be called “Formula 2 World Champion”!

Even though we’d had a successful run the previous two years, winning in Formula Renault Eurocup then F3, coming into this season, I thought it would be not easy to succeed as a rookie two years running.

But after winning the second Sprint Race at the first round in Bahrain in the way we did, then leading the Feature Race, it gave me a massive confidence boost and belief that we could challenge for the title.

There were plenty of highlights throughout the year, but specific moments such as my

first pole at Silverstone stands out, as does winning my first Feature Race at Monza, PREMA’s home race.

The run we had in qualifying from Silverstone with five straight poles and the Feature Races from Monza, four straight, just underlined the hard work we put in as a team and how it all jelled together.

A massive amount of thanks goes to PREMA; Insyde Media it’s an incredible team, and having been lucky enough to work with them these past two years, it’s easy to understand why they’ve been so successful.

Not only do they provide a fast race car, but the atmosphere within the team has always been great, and it’s been an honour driving them.

Thank you, Rene Rosin and PREMA; leaving the team with a 100% winning record in the F3 and F2 Championships and so many good friends for life is a special feeling.

Winning three championships in a row is an achievement that I’m massively proud of; still, none of that success would have been possible without the incredible help I’ve received behind the scenes and sacrifices from my support team and, particularly, my family.

I can’t wait to get back home for Christmas and celebrate with them all while also enjoying the Aussie summer and who knows, I might even spend a little time on the couch ;) Cheers, Oscar

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LATEST NEWS

MULTIPLE FORMULA FORD MANUFACTURERS NOW LIKELY

FEENEY SPRUIKS YOUTH

FORMULA FORD is now likely to remain as a multiple manufacturer category after Motorsport Australia took note of competitor feedback.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport and Commercial Operations Michael Smith opened up to Auto Action about the current state of play in the incredibly popular Australian Formula Ford category.

Smith explained that the original idea Formula Ford now appears to be substantially less likely after listening to competitors views.

“We’re really wanting the DNA to stay the same,” he said to AA. “I know one of our preliminary recommendations was to look at a single manufacturer path,” he said.

“Whilst the (Formula Ford) working group hasn’t formed a view, one way or another on that, I think we’re coming around to the view that, potentially a multi-manufacturer format would be a better path to go, because that’s consistent with what Formula Ford has always been in this country.

“We had the stakeholder forum, we then had the survey, and then we invited people to make submissions.

“We’ve taken the time to speak to every single one of those people or email every single one of those people.

“I guess as a consequence of that we’ve come around to the view that perhaps a multi-manufacturer concept is the way to go.”

Smith feels that if they can get the rules right, then a multi-manufacturer series will continue to work successfully.

“In order to do that (a multi-brand category) you have to get the rules right, we know that, it’s a lot simpler to craft a set of rules when you’re only have one homologated manufacturer.

“But ultimately, if we’re, wanting to achieve or carry on the philosophy of Formula Ford Racing we need to be able to do it in a multi-manufacturer environment.”

Smith believes the reason that Formula 4 did not work in Australia was because it did not appeal to the Australian motor sport scene, this is why it is essential that Formula Ford remains as close as possible to its roots.

“Formula 4 didn’t work here,” he admitted. “It’s clear, people are very passionate about Formula Ford Racing “Our thinking is have it as an

evolution of Formula Ford Racing, as distinct from trying to introduce something that’s entirely new that we know with our Formula 4 experience hasn’t worked.”

Smith also admitted that the plan for a 2023 introduction along with the reintroduction of championship status is looking ambitious.

“If I’m being really honest, I think 2023 introduction might be a bit ambitious at this point,” Smith felt.

“But we haven’t formed a fixed view on that, the Formula Ford Association of course, will be key to all of this as well.

“What I will say is our current thinking is to run Formula Ford, the current cars as a national series next year, and then at a point in time, whether that’s 2023 or 2024, we will introduce a new car as a championship.

“We’d run existing cars in parallel with the new ones as sort of a mixed grid and that would happen for a period, broadly speaking, I’d be anticipating that it’d be three to five years, something like that.

“I guess ultimately, it depends on the take up of any new car. DM

VALE: MARGARET HARDY – FORMULA FORD’S GUIDING HAND

ONE OF the country’s longest serving category administrators Margaret Hardy passed away from cancer on Thursday August 19.

Hardy was involved in motor racing for decades and was known for her dedication to Formula Ford.

Hardy joined the Light Car Club as the office manager and began working with the Australian Formula Ford championship 1978, doing paperwork for the Nevett category throughout the ‘80s.

Josh Early in the followingSuper2 year she became NEWLY CROWNED Series the administrator of the category Champion Broc Feeney believesand that was tasked organising national youth is thewith future of Supercars. series a rolewill she held until Theevents, 19-year-old step into the2013. main She has dealt with many of Australia’s game Supercars Championship with motor the yearsnext andyear, Triplesport Eightstars Raceover Engineering was well-known as a hardworking and replacing seven-time champion Jamie passionate worker.

Whincup in what is a changing of the In her time as category manager guard. seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Erebus Motorsport rookies Brodie Lowndes, reigning 1000 victor, Will Kostecki and Will Brown have shown Davison, David Reynolds, Chaz Mostert that experience is not essential to and Anton de Pasquale are justa some success this year, registering race win

of the illustrious names that won in the category.

Hardy assisted all of these drivers on their route to Australia’s top-level.

She was liked by all who knew her in the industry which is why the motor sport community is sad to hear of her passing.

During her time in the category, she was named a Life Member of the Formula Ford Association.

Formula Fordpodiums Association and multiple between them. representative Phil Marinon said The pair are a source of motivation she remained very connected to the for Feeney, who will enter the champicategory. onship as a teenager.

“Margaret a tireless “It shows was that the youngAdministrator guys are for Formula Ford Association and Auto also certainly the future,” Feeney told the AFFM including category manager Action. for“Seeing the national he told themcompetition,” do a really good job is Auto Action. awesome, more motivation for me to go “Her attention to detail and year ability out and do a good job next astowell. support the competitors has been very “I was racing those guys in Super2 last strongly acknowledged on social media year, we only had three rounds, but I felt and undisputed. like is I was just as quick as them.”

“Margaret wasbelieves a very private person Feeney also that a genera-

tional shift in motorsport is underway more generally, the improvement of development programs producing drivers that are better, faster. and was always focused the result “I think no matter what, on as time goes rather than looking for accolades. on, the young kids are going to keep “Margaret was very dedicated to getting better and better because all things Formula Ford and has they’re getting taught at a younger age recently assisted association in and there’s morethe things that they’re the production of a book on 50 years learning younger,” Feeney explained. of“Those Formula Fordare in showing Australiathat andwe’re guys disappointingly will not get to see the dedicating our whole life to this. final result.”

“I’m not worried about mortgaging Many Australian legends houses, I’m living racing at home my onepast

focus is racing and winning, winning races and championships and that’s why it’s worked so well for me this year.” and present media Feeney tooktook out to thesocial second tier to send their condolences.

Super2 in fine style, winning five races Outside Formula along the of way to finishFord, 177 Margaret points clear also took on roles such as the race of Zak Best. secretary for Sandown In Supercars he will beRaceway. faced with Hardy was diagnosed drivers twice his age, butwith he will attack Inflammatory Cancer in 2019 the challenge Breast head on. and went into Stagethis 4 insport, May. I’ve “I live and breathe Auto Action sends its condolences dedicated the past few years to beingtoa her friends champion,” and family. Feeney DM Supercars said.

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TROPHY AWARDED

PRAGA TO RACE GROUP2A

th Luke West iith wit

FRESH OFF the announcement that Praga will drive and desire that this will not only become be distributing its highly successful R1 race car involved in competitions, but we also see a down under, Australia/New Zealand director bigger market in terms of a track day warrior,” Rick Campbell has revealed more details about Campbell said. the machine’s localtake away from “As long get on track, we open Josh Nevett category eligibility and did not the as people titlecan despite little previous demand. believe that the car will generate a significant S5000 TASMAN Series winner achievement though, according wheel experience.

Now Cameron that the ANZ of Praga’s global amount of interest and takereason, off fromCameron there.”

Aaron has branch admitted to Cameron.

For that network has been confirmed, the manufacturer The Praga R1 is set to be offered for $400,000 that his triumph was slightly “But at the same time, they’re ranks the Tasman Trophy highly aims to have its car entered in Australian racing on Australian shores and has generated strong overshadowed by a huge the Motorsport Australia rules, among his achievements. by early that 2022. initial the two-car distribution. collision rendered the final they make them, interest I don’t,”beyond its “With limited number of Campbell has said that the R1 will initially fit “We would, based on our projections, race a non-event.

Cameron said. laps I’ve done in S5000expect to be into Motorsport Australia Group 2A “It category, wethe can sell initially somewhere the who Cameron entered the season was still cool that to win so competitive withinguys comprising of ‘Sports Cars, open closed’.

10 cars,” predicted. finale at Mount Panorama with a and Tasman Series. vicinity of eight tohave got atCampbell least a year under “At this stage we’re looking at the Motorsport “We are on the verge of signing an official points lead and was on course “We didn’t really have to do their belt was great,” Cameron Australia category,”series Campbell told AA.to secure itdistribution to take the2A prestigious much in that last agreement said. through a very “Hopefully, we’re hearing some noises that significant player currently in the auto title when he made wheel-torace anyway, all we had to do “They had a lotAustralian more there may eventually be a new prototype market to represent us in different states as wheel contact with Luis Leeds was finish fourth pretty much experience with open wheelers, category thatthe willchase. include LMP-typebehind cars, Jimmy, sowell. approaching it wasn’t wings and slicks, it’s not obviously Radicals, massive caveat around that is people’s Both carsthe were heavily andPragas. going to be a hard“A task. something I ever have done or “But that’s a bit of a To Be Advised, more just access to the track because this a track damaged in the incident, “I certainly made it hard for really aspired toisdo muchonly off.” noises we heard at this stage. car, not like a Porsche GT3 RS or something Cameron sliding and spinning myself, but it was really special After a hectic schedule to Asthe it stands at the moment is that you can trackclose and road.” into sand and then wall. the 2Atocategory win the championship.” out 2021, Cameron has where we’d sit.”

As for the future, Campbell suggested that Shortly after the race was red After driving in the TCR yet to decide on his commitThe Praga R1 has performed well in its initial Praga may look to expand their product flagged after 4 laps and subseAustralia Series for most of the ments for next year. range if stints in the UK, USA, and Europe, recording their on-track success continues. quently declared a non-event, year Cameron was a revelation However, success in over 30 wins and podiums as well as winning “Discussions have already been had,” securing Cameron the in the 2021 Tasman Series, Australia’s premier open the 2020Trophy Britcarand Endurance Campbell said. wheelers has the Victorian Tasman $30,000 Championship. leading after the first round at The designthat features a lightweight (643kg), their flagship product, so prizemoney went with it.

Sydney Motorsport“This Park.is obviously curious about continuing in the composite monocoque powered by a 272kW I would surmise it’s a case of walk before you The Garry Rogers Motorsport Despite only initially category. four-cylinder engine. that he driver acknowledged committing to therun.

Sydney “Now I’ve done it a few Campbell believed that demand for the R1 “Once that’s we’llwheel be looking to I’d lifted the trophy in less-thanround, Cameron continued on happened, times (open racing), would come from both competitive racing extend with additional products which will be ideal circumstances. to the second leg at Bathurst certainly like to get back out outfits and amateur enthusiasts. very much focused on the race car models “It’s certainly not the best with a potential series victory in there and do it some more.they “We have an expectation and a hope offer.” Josh Nevett“I expect to be back in TCR circumstances to lift that trophy sight.and a in that way,” Cameron told Auto Action.

The strange series conclusion

The 21-year-old managed a further two podiums at the iconic circuit, wrapping up the

again, with GRM. That’s the current plan anyway. Nothing is locked in.”

VALE: W. JOHN BLANCHARD COOLDRIVE AUTO Parts Founder John Blanchard Senior died in Melbourne aged 87, following a long illness.

John was an Australasian automotive industry ‘lifer’, his achievements were recognised with induction into the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association’s Hall of Fame in 2019.

His fascination with cars began at five, helping his father in the family garage, ABC Motors in Clifton Hill, Melbourne’s inner north. He could service a car at 11.

After leaving school, he had stints with VW, Kenworth, Land Rover, New Holland and Girling, before working overseas.

In the late ‘70s, John established Melbourne Auto Air with his wife Shirley.

The business was one of the first to import auto air conditioning systems to Australia and has grown exponentially since.

John remained active at CoolDrive, fondly known as Senior, he regularly worked at the Box Hill Head Office and conducted surprise branch visits. With meticulous attention to detail, high levels of organisational skill and entrepreneurial spirit, he remained proud that CoolDrive continues as an Australian family-owned business.

A lifelong motor racing enthusiast, “John raced at Sandown in the early days, and other venues in his road VW”, Victorian Historic Racing Register President Ian Tate

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fondly recalled.

“He was an excellent rally-driver, competing in the Mobilgas Economy runs, later he was a Sandown scrutineer.

We used to have our VHRR meetings in pubs 22 years ago, then John offered us some surplus space at CoolDrive in Lexton Road, Box Hill at a peppercorn rent. It was all done on a gentleman’s handshake.”

“I spoke to him on Monday morning, he was so proud of the team’s performance at Bathurst.”

John supported the racing exploits of son John and his grandchildren, the Blanchard Racing Team Ford Mustang Supercar promotes the Cooldrive brand nationally.

He is survived by his wife Shirley, his children John and Jennie and six grandchildren: Tim, Adelyn, Jack, Harry, Simon and Sam. Auto Action sends its condolences to the Blanchard family and friends.

Mark Bisset

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AA’S SHARESthe HISimportance THOUGHTSof AA’sCOLUMNIST columnist considers events at Le Mans AFTER ANOTHER PANORAMA PILGRAMAGE LAST WEEKEND’S 24 Hours of Lepredict Mans at won’t go down THE ONLY thing you can confidently Bathurst each as the of the classics, it was a never hugely significant event yearone is that you’ll witnessyet something previously seen on nonetheless. the Mountain. Who could have possibly foreseen that a spiny yet The 89thcritter running the 24 Heures du Manswhite marked start adorable with of a penchant for eliminating ants –the God of a new era for the French classic – the Hypercar age.

There knows we need those in motorsport – would bring the 2021 was a game-changing announcement regarding Greatalso Race alive. You gotta love what the mountain dishesthe up –cars which will contest the GT classes from 2024. just when you think you’ve seen everything. Thankfully our little These were developments ramifications mate didn’t derail Chaz Mostertwith andsubstantial Lee Holdsworth’s charge for to motor sport’s premier divisions and races globally, with a rub-off victory. effect for and Australia.

Mozzie Lethal Let Lee me wereexplain… the undoubted stars of the 161-lap The first Hypercar-flavoured Le Mans affair, off the back of unrivalled pace.

Yet itwas wassomewhat their highly underwhelming on the track with Toyota scoring its fourth entertaining post-race celebratory antics that made their win all consecutive win at Le Sarthe, against some pretty flimsy the more endearing. opposition in the new top division.

After Supercars’ ‘We don’t want to race’ public relations Toyota’s GR010 Hybrids 1-2, the leading home a disaster of SMP4, Mostert’sfinished victory gave category a positive ‘grandfathered’ LMP1 Alpine entry and the only other two allnote upon which to end a most difficult season. Chaz is the new Hypercars, the Glickenhaus 007s. showman and character Supercars so badly needs right now.

Good on the American minnow having crack against the He’s funny, charismatic and slightlyfor offbeat.

Hisaout-of-car Japanese powerhouse.

It will be fascinating to the tiny persona means he’s always compelling viewing. Itsee washow so good manufacturer fares when other big guns arrive.

And let me tell to see the general media drawn to him in the days after the event. you, they’re coming in numbers.

Yes, his striking haircut played its part, but he displayed true Peugeot joins the Hypercar funplenty in 2022, specialist racing magnetism that weekend, making of casual sports fans sit team ByKolles too.

Then Ferrari in 2023.

Meantime, Le up and take notice of Supercars again. He’s a superstar. Mans Hypercars will be joined on track by marques competing in And anyone who has met Lee Holdsworth over the two America’s LMDh class in IMSA. LHDh, an awkward moniker decades he’s raced on the national scene knows how deserving denoting Le Mans Daytona hybrid, has already attracted this all-round good guy was of becoming our newest Bathurst commitments from Acura, Audi, BMW and Porsche. Others will winner. follow, lured by the prospect of competing in IMSA and at Le I enjoyed Bathurst immensely this year due to its unpredictaMans. bility and because I didn’t feel as the whole telecast was about Excitingly for Antipodeans, Team Penske will operate a drivers carrying out race engineer’s instructions like robots. pair Porsche prototypes in IMSA and two more in the World Another feel good story was David Russell, who finally snared Endurance Championship. This means Penske’s IndyCar stars a podium result in the big race. Russell, in finishing third with Will Power and Scott McLaughlin will be well-placed to fill out Brodie Kostecki, finally Geoff’s best result in the line-ups at the blueeclipsed ribbon his 12-father and 24-hour events. the 1000, sixth, with Rusty French in 1984.

The parallels between The convergence of sportscar rules globally – previously the Dad and Dave’s time on the mountain are many, most notably US and European scenes have done their own thing – means thatare both only competed asera. co-drivers in other people’s cars and we entering a golden I’ve said it before and I’ll say it never raced in the premier touring car category full-time.

David again, sportscar racing is the next big thing in world motorsport. finally silences oldaman’s good-natured There’s likely his to be significant drain ofribbing. manufacturer money Spare a thought for the unluckiest at Bathurst 2021 away from Formula 1 in the years bloke ahead.

Surely Mercedes-Benz – James Golding.

He and Scott Pye’s 1000 was over will be lured to Le Mans and Daytona. There’s onlybefore so much it really began due to mechanical woes an for energy the DeWalt credibility to be gained from beating drink company being robbed of Bull. winning the inCommodore.

F1, despiteThis the followed self-importance of Red reborn Tasman Series title.there Golding comfortably leading F1 snobs should know waswas a time, admittedly 50-odd the deciding S5000 race on Sunday morning when it wasshared the years ago, when sportscar racing and single-seaters red-flagged due to the massive accident in the Chase. billing as motor sport’s top dogs.

History might justWith be about to the race declared a non-event and no points awarded, it was repeat. massively unfair Golding was deprived of the that points would Endurance racing provides many things arethat important have secured the seven-race series, the heads tinwaretowards going to the to automotive manufacturers as thewith world bloke who triggered the race-ending accident, and Aaron Cameron. hybridisation and electrification – reliability range among Remember that earlier in the race slow-starting Cameron them.

Fundstoo, currently invested elsewhere will soon be diverted tagged another car at Hell Corner to bring out a safety car. to sportscar racing.

Conversely, Golding didn’t put aafoot wrong yet The was Bend’s deprivedJanuary Hopefully Australia will gain WEC round. of thehosting title. Motor racing canLe beMans so unfair sometimes.

Karma 2020 of the Asian Series was surely an definitely went MIA for poorultimate James. intentions. indication of the venue’s Perhaps moredie significance locally was the Mans I thought of I would happy having witnessed big,Lepowerful organisers’ announcement that GT3 cars willExcept replace open-wheelers race around Mount Panorama. withGTE so machines in theand event’s ultra-popular from 2024. many incidents too few racing laps, GT I feelclasses very unfulfilled.

This thepoor development that GT3 cars will be field the only Let’sfollows hope the driving standards of several in the machines used in IMSA’s GT classes from next year. if GT3 does not rob us of seeing those fantastic cars on thrill hillAs again. wasn’t already a juggernaut.

S5000 drivers needed to be on their best behaviour that weekend Potential new manufacturers and many were found wanting. will be able to develop cars that areNonetheless, eligible to race at gave Le Mans – and just about everywhere else.

S5000 us one of the most enthralling Chevrolet is now odds-on to build a GT3-spec Corvette. As qualifying sessions I’ve ever seen, with lap times slowly I’ve noted before, Ford may even follow suit re its whittled down, until Cameron posted a well-deserved Mustang, pole a subwith motor sport chief Mark Rushmore making positive noises in that two-minute lap late in the session. regard.

Now stop and consider the implications of anofannual The S5000 looked fast and spectacular across the top Ford vs GM battle at Bathurst each February in the Hour? the mountain. Fingers crossed we see them there again.12The What effect might that have on the 1000? category deserves a better crack to prove it belongs there.

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

Heroes.

Immortals

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AUSSIE SIGNS FOR ANDRETTI WITH EYES ON LMDH ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CEO Michael Andretti has announced the team will return to the IMSA Sportscar Championship LMP3 class in 2022 and with eyes on LMDh has signed Australian Josh Burdon.

ANDRETTI HAS stated that he is looking at moving up to the top-tier class of Sportscar competition globally from 2024, and this is a great opportunity for Burdon to show what he is capable of.

The American team owner is pursuing a manufacturer to join forces with, likely for 2024 “We definitely want to do it,” Andretti said during an interview for Online Racing Industry Week.

“Obviously, it wouldn’t be a (2023) program. It would be a ’24 program. We’re very interested in it and hopefully we can put something together soon.”

Burdon has been signed to race for Andretti Autosport announced alongside Jarett Andretti (son of John Andretti) for the full-season in the #36 Gallant-sponsored Ligier JS P320 in the LMP3 class.

For the big one, the season opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona Gabby Chaves and Rasmus Lindh will join the duo.

The LMP3 program was a promise that Michael Andretti made to his cousin John, who died of cancer in January last year. Jarett Andretti is in charge of the operation.

Andretti Autosport debuted in the LMP3 program earlier this year in the IMSA Prototype Challenge, before moving up to the WeatherTech Championship mid-season.

Jarett Andretti finished eighth in the final LMP3 standings.

“I’m there to support him,” Michael Andretti said. “I promised John I would support Jarett in whatever he was going to do. Also, it’s been good for us to learn for when we do get into the series in a bigger way. It’s been a good

16 AutoAction

learning experience from that standpoint.

“Basically, it is Jarett’s program.

He gets 100 percent credit for what’s being done there. We’re trying to support it as much as we can, but it’s his baby.”

Jarett Andretti’s best finish in 2021 was fourth at Watkins Glen International in July. Burdon joined the team for the season finale, the Motul Petit Le Mans, where they retired early.

“I’m looking forward to the experience,” said Jarett Andretti. “I think we have a great driver line-up and the team is ready. This is a historic competition, and we are all excited to be a part of it.”

LMDh will replace Daytona Prototype international (DPi) as the series’ top division in 2023.

Already five manufacturers and four teams have committed so far to the new formula in America, but also allows them to compete overseas in races such as Le Mans as it is a global platform.

“They did a great job working together with the FIA in Europe to come up with a package that you’ll be able to go and run Le Mans,” Michael Andretti said. “I think that was very important that we have equal rules for that.”

“I think they did a great job,” he said. “It’s very cost-effective for a manufacturer to come in now, where before it was a ‘he who has the most money is going to win’ type of thing.

“Now it’s going to be limited as to what they can spend and do. I think it’s going to make for a better series. There’s going to be a lot of interest.” Dan McCarthy

S W E N A R T EX

FORD BOSS GIVES A BATHURST BOOST The world-wide boss of Ford Motorsport got an unexpected but thrilling ride on his first visit to the Bathurst 1000.

By Paul Gover MARK RUSHBROOK was at Mount Panorama for the unveiling of the all-new Gen3 Mustang GT but the biggest surprise came from a much older example of Ford muscle.

Rushbrook jumped into a classic Falcon GTHO from the 1970s alongside 1967 race winner Fred Gibson and was blown way by the experience.

“Man that thing has some power.

It really goes. But the brakes …!!,” Rushbrook tells Auto Action.

Then the talk shifts quickly to the Gen3 racer, and the involvement of Rushbrook’s team in the USA in the Mustang project led by Ryan Story and Dick Johnson Racing.

The Global Director of Ford Performance is standing alongside the car in the special Gen3 garage at Bathurst and looks as proud as a new dad.

“Today is about this car and showing how close it is to the street car,” Rushbrook says.

“First of all, looking at it, it looks like a street Mustang. Listening to it, it sounds like a Coyote.

So it connects the car with the fans so much more naturally.

“Then we can tell the story of the engine development and the aero development and the involvement with our company.

“Racing in motorsport is

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entertainment. That’s why people come to watch it. If you have a great race, then you have the product relevancy to tell your story.”

Rushbrook had to endure three days of Covid quarantine in a Bathurst for his trip to Australia, the first since the Adelaide 500 at the start of 2020. He only managed one day at the track, although he was within earshot of the circuit and watching the action on television.

“I could hear the cars. It was torture,” he jokes.

Rushbrook says Ford Motorsport was involved in the Gen3 project from the earliest discussions, and has a key take-out on the goal.

“It’s got to be sustainable. How do we get more relevant and take cost out for the sake of the sport and the teams?”, he says.

Supercars is one of the toppriority motorsport programs for Ford, something Rushbrook is keen to emphasise.

“I would say it’s right at the very top. NASCAR is important for us in that market, Australian Supercars is important for us in this market, WRC is very important for us. Right now I’d say those three programs are the most important to us.”

Ford has obvious history in Supercars, and the touring car categories that stretch back to the earliest days of the Cortina and Falcon at Bathurst, but it has

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not always been a happy story.

The shape of the current Mustang is more of a parody than a straight copy of a showroom car, something that Rushbrook does not excuse.

“We do racing to compete and to win, and with every series that we go into we try to optimise within the rules. And that’s what we tried to do in 2019 with the Mustang.

“Within what the rules allowed, or where it constrained it stylingwise, we still made it look like a Mustang as much as we could within the rules. But also to optimise the performance.”

That look, and the long string of success by Scott McLaughlin and DJR, was not popular and triggered a torrid parity battle in Supercars.

There were adjustments for the Mustang and ZB Commodore to even the racing, and there was even talk that Roger Penske would withdraw from the series if the Ford was whacked again.

“I don’t know that I’d make any specific comments about it. Rules are rules and we work within those rules. I think they were balancing advantages that we found within the rules.”

Heading for Gen3, with the promise of cost cuts and aero cuts, Rushbrook believes Supercars has the right tools to prevent a future parity war.

“I think that, with Gen3, we have been working with the series to further improve the parity process.

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We saw improvements in that parity process over the last three years, and we’re seeing more improvements in Gen3 and we expect to be on a level play field to start the series.”

But what about balancing the aero of the Mustang and Camaro, and then achieving equal performance from engines that are different in everything from their capacity to the valve systems?

“I think they’re both tough. They are tough in different ways. We have focused the last three years so much on aero. Further improvements are made with Gen3 3 on the aero side,” says Rushbrook.

“On the powertrain side, it was easier before because the architecture being so close. Now we’ve got different architectures, and that has brought the need for improvements in the engine powertrain balance.

“They are not necessarily balanced at the moment.”

There is talk that other brands might arrive in time for Gen3, perhaps Jaguar or BMW, but Rushbrook is happy with the potential for the Mustang-versus-Camaro rivalry.

“We are happy competing with General Motors, as we do around the world. So we’re glad that GM is here now as Chevy racing,” he says.

“We always love more competition, in every series. We’d love to see other brands come.”

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S W E N A R T EX

HOW THE GREAT RACE WAS WON Ace WAU engineer Adam DeBorre talks us through victory at Mount Panorama.

By Paul Gover “YOU COULDN’T have asked for a better week,” the man behind Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth’s win in the Bathurst 1000 tells Auto Action.

Adam DeBorre has been with Mostert since 2013, engineered him to his first Supercars win with Dick Johnson Racing, and even tuned and tweaked the Audi that took him to this year’s TCR Australia Series crown.

But even DeBorre is surprised by the speed of the ZB Commodore that Walkinshaw Andretti United used to trounce the field at Mount Panorama.

“If you had to describe a perfect Bathurst week, we pretty much summarised it. Everything went smoothly all week,” he says.

Even when Mostert had a tyre problem early in The Great Race there was no panic in the WAU bunker.

“The tyre problem was a setback, but it wasn’t a drama. Once I identified what the issue was, if it was car or track related, it was easy to diagnose.”

DeBorre is not claiming all the credit and says the speed at The Mountain had been building for months and was down to a crack team that includes engineering director Karl Faux, Grant McPherson, Terry Kerr as the race engineer on WAU’s second car, and senior simulation engineer Adam Austin.

He is not going into detail, but there was also an extensive development program – and new parts – that were trialled and then injected into the Bathurst program.

“It’s new parts, it’s hours of work for the guys at the workshop. We come up with

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the ideas and then they have to get it done for the next event. “ We’ve been bringing bits back and forth from the workshop, trying different things. It was a culmination of everything that paid off.”

Mostert’s Commodore was so quick that DeBorre had to employ some reverse psychology for he and Holdsworth.

“Normally at Bathurst you have to pump the drivers’ tyres up a bit, but this time I was doing the reverse,” he says.

To fool WAU’s rivals, and protect their real speed, the car was also run on sub-optimal tyres and with heavy fuel loads through many practice sessions.

“Lee was still fastest, like that, in one of the sessions. And qualifying third, before the Shoot-out, was the best thing for us.”

One of the real keys to the Bathurst success was the failure through four weekends of racing at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Mostert admitted that it had turned into a four-week test session – and this is confirmed by DeBorre.

“We had been toying with philosophies for a little while, trying to come up with a platform that is good on an open-corner track. We break down every circuit into corner types – tight-to-medium, mediumto-open, and open-to-flowing,” he says.

“Our car was very strong on tight-tomedium, but very week on mediumto-open. We’ve struggled on those types of tracks. We’ve been ok, but not great.

“With Covid, and our Covid calendar, where have all the tight corners gone?

There has only been one street circuit in the last two years and we set the lap record there.

“SMP is not really a horsepower track, it is all medium-to-flowing corners. And it was a weakness.”

So the decision was obvious for Mostert and DeBorre.

“We asked ourselves what we had to put together to make it work and what tools we needed to invent. We had a crack at SMP, made a big swing, had a few dramas and didn’t get the result or learning we wanted.

“For SMP 2 we had to continue learning.

For Sunday we switched philosophy, changed direction. Straight out of the gate the car was more competitive.

“For SMP3 we decided to go further to see if there was any more low-hanging fruit. And there wasn’t.

“Then we had a great test day. One of the best days I’ve ever had in Supercars land.

We were 2-3 tenths quicker, all day. We had a glimpse that this was pretty good.”

So SMP4, with the twin 250-kilometre races, should have been the banker.

“We were pretty strong and I fucked up qualifying. I was too greedy, too early, and I took it out of the window.

“We came back for the race, a couple of steps, and the race car was good. Had it not drizzled, we had enough pace to win the race in the dry.

“We felt that SMP4 was a fair step in the direction of putting everything together that we had learned. Then we had 10 days to calculate, simulate and learn even more about the car.”

But there was more to the mix for Bathurst.

“Fortunately we did the Bathurst sprint meeting in March. The car wasn’t bad then. It just had a few little things that we didn’t nail.

“The work we’d done at SMP tidied-up a few things. It was quick. We changed philosophy and unlocked the speed.”

But what does “philosophy” mean in a Supercar?

“You can’t do much with the control dampers. So it’s springs and settings.

“It’s more about how you move the weight, and control the weight, and transfer the load to the tyre.

“It’s about keeping everything nice and smooth and getting the best out of the platform.”

At Bathurst, it meant that Mostert and Holdsworth could flow the car across the top of The Mountain, never fighting it, extracting speed without taking risks.

On race day, Mostert says it was the best Supercar he has driven.

But for DeBorre, it’s more than that.

“I understand how we got here. It’s not that we magically stumbled across something,” he says.

“I can tell you the steps it’s taken to get here. And that’s more important than the result.”

For Mostert’s rivals, there are ominous pointers to the speed that is coming for the 2022 season.

“Hopefully it will translate into a strong car through the whole championship.

“SMP has helped myself, helped the team, helped the engineering group going forward.

“You want to be strong at all the different types of tracks. We haven’t been fantastic everywhere – we’ve been good everywhere.

“Now I hope we can still be good everywhere – but fantastic at some places,” says DeBorre.

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THE PRICE OF DAKAR GLORY

Saudi Arabia is calling to Toby Price as he prepares to tackle the epic Dakar again in January.

By Paul Gover THERE IS a stark reality to the Dakar Rally for Australia’s desert dueller Toby Price.

He has flown to the top of the world’s toughest off-road race and been back-slammed to the bottom as well.

As he finalises preparations for his eighth tilt at the Dakar, he is looking to build on two wins and three third places and avoid a repeat of his two race-ending crashes.

“Every time I’ve finished I’ve been on the podium – every time I haven’t I’ve been in the back of the meat wagon or on the helicopter,” Price tells Auto Action.

He is laughing as he says it, and that’s typical of the knockabout Aussie bloke who has lived and loved motorcycles since he was barely out of nappies.

Price lives to race, races to live, and is currently bunkered-down in Dubai to maximise his training, testing and mental preparation for his return to Saudi Arabia in January as the lead rider in the KTM team.

“I’ve been riding a motorcycle since I was two-and-a-half or three, and that’s for sure my happy place.

The bike feels at home to me. I see myself riding a motorcycle until the day I’m in a walking frame.

“I know I’ve still got a lot of blank pages to fill on two wheels.”

One of those pages is Dakar 2022 and it will happen

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around the same time as his autobiography, Endurance, goes into print after a collaboration with Perth-based motorsports writer Andrew Van Leeuwen.

Price knows he is one of the hot favourites for the Dakar but he’s not getting carried away. And he knows he still has another two years as a KTM factory rider once this year’s Saudi event is done.

“I know it’s possible. But you’re never confident, never happy,” he says.

Price began racing the Dakar when it was in South America, after the switch from the classic Paris-toDakar rally raid in Africa, but says there has been a big change with the move to the Saudi format.

“The challenge is still there, but it’s very consistent now in temperature and altitude. You don’t have the high altitude,” he says.

“It’s completely different to all the ones I did in South America.

There are no corner makers, no corner bunting. We have a whole country to play in.

“But you make one little wrong turn … “ Price has been bunkereddown in Dubai for more than two months, training and racing in the desert with KTM, but he also travelled to the USA to race the classic Baja 1000 in Mexico.

“I got an opportunity to race Baja in a Trophy Truck. It kinda broke up the trip to Dakar a bit.

“I started the race and did the first 400 miles. We were quite fast. Did well. We got the truck into the lead on the hand-off.

“Unfortunately, the second driver put it up and over and we were out. So we didn’t get the result we were chasing.”

But Price is clearly planning to pivot from bikes to cars, and has already raced the Finke Desert Rally and Stadium Super Trucks in Australia.

“Four wheels is still a big learning curve for me. That’s why I haven’t made the switch.

“I’ve got three to five years left on the bike, hopefully. I’m looking to get to 38 or 40. And then I want to race until I’m 60, like Carlos Sainz senior.

“So I’m trying to get my foot in the door with cars. That’s hopefully something I can strive for.”

But the immediate challenge is the Dakar, where Price is expecting a torrid battle from the start.

“Since my first one in 2015 things have changed a lot. The first week was more of a ride where you could kinda settle in,” he says.

“The last 2-3 years it’s gone from a nice leisurely ride to a sprint from day one. You’ve got to be on your ballgame from day one. It’s definitely changed.”

But he has also changed.

“We still try and play our own game.

I remember being that young guru and being full gas and wide open. But if I can be in the top five, or top eight, in the first week and within 15 or 20

minutes of the lead I’ll be happy.

“A lot can change; a lot can happen.

You have to be smart. It’s usually the smarter guy who will win.”

As the countdown reaches the final stages, Price is starting to set his mental focus for the Dakar.

“It’s a bit of everything. It’s exciting, there are nerves, there is confidence.

There is the whole lot of it.

“You never know what Dakar can bring for you. You have to get across the grid and just see. I’m definitely fully keen and excited.

“Fingers crossed that I don’t have to do any bush mechanical skills to get through 2022. All in all, we’re super excited for the race.”

And his final piece of preparation?

“I kind of put it down to the Dakar gods,” Price says.

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE AA’s proud pundit rejoices in the return of the Tasman Cup and defends F1 ENTHUSIASTS OF a certain age have longed for the return of the Tasman Cup championship.

In our youth, it was the pinnacle. A summer series in New Zealand and Australia that was virtually a southern Formula 1 title.

From 1964-69, the Tasman Cup saw F1 stars race here for a crown second only to the world championship, which back then was decided over as few as eight Grands Prix.

Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Bruce Look at the line-up for the Warwick Farm Tasman Series round in 1968 – front row Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Chris Amon; second row Piers Courage, Denny Hulme; third row Frank Gardner ...

McLaren, Denny Hulme, Graham Hill, Chris Amon, Piers Courage and Jochen Rindt were just some of the crown. But fun in the sun was the main in Jan/Feb, just not cojoined under the recent Hungarian Grand Prix. It had big names who spent January and appeal. the Tasman Cup banner – although, everything: drama, suspense, fierce caused thewinner. carnage?

February Down Under.

I missed the semi-F1 glory years, but sponsored by theplain samedreadful, tobaccoand dreadful racing andWhat an unexpected is always going to have There was Lots of the youngsters In the later years, their 2.5-litre I’d read about them. I became involved company.

Lewis Hamilton, alone on consequences haven’t raced much the variants were test cars for the coming in the F5000 era, when Matich, I wrote a comment piece in The– big badthe grid on intermediate tyres over as the consequences – at Mount pandemic three-litre F1 season.

Graham McRae and Peter Gethin were Australian after the ’75 series rest flooded into theperiod, pit lanesotothey change Image: Andrew Hall far seen from match fit. It Panorama. transThe Tasman series showcased the the big stars. denouncing the uncomfortable to slicks were ... never that before! samefrom but different The repair bills from the With thewas top locals – Frank Matich, Spencer The first story I ever wrote – published Tasman alliance, earning approbation restthe starting the pit lane THE PASSIONATE for ascramble, bunch of itthe Toyota and Carrera Martin, Kevin Bartlett fans and turn Leo in Auto Action nearly 50 years ago – in NZ. But I calledS5000, the split – and86 was in an unholy setold thetimers, stage Mount Panorama into their – against whose Covid kilos meant contests Geoghegan, among others was about McRae and his ’72 Tasman not popular whenCup I covered thewere ’76 huge.for a thriller – and it was. private evenfightback basic fitness S5000 the bestplayground in the world.and that’s Cup-winning Leda GM1. standalone seriesThe across Thespares’ Ditch. truck was Hamilton’s was was attention one of when the unique missing. empty

by Saturday And whole Even F5000attractions took over fromcaught the I paid tributeoftoace McRae onAnd our Duffman. web Thea new Tasman Cup will evoke a afternoon, confirmation of his brilliance. photographer Andrewhis Hall. of The Great Race. Cup had and thisunderdone applies to which meantaJapanese driver crew In of the Where’s storied Wally history while 1970-75, the Tasman site following recent death. ushering new Out front,Also, Ocon in his It’s the same in the vast The Captain setTasman up at days,wannabes. the off S5000 drivers, lapping Yoshi Katayama and held immense international prestige. early had F5000 he was the generation of open-wheel stars. had to sit Alpine Sebastien Vettel, camping grounds at Le Mans, the Can Pole campsite, a high-speed single-seater on or Sunday.

There titles was a time, thankfully This year’s end-of-season Oz-only man corner to beat, winning successive Once it extendswatch to seven more maximising his Aston Martin. on the infield forseries the Daytona he and his crew long ago, when the The Mountain Luckily, only top in ofNZ theand Australia, revived Tasman for S5000, named because from ’71-73. events it willone TransAm Behind around them, battles galore – is way 500, and also at the madness around what is neededCup serious Fernandodifferent was a be dangerous endorsed

by Motorsports Australiastack and theirInempty 1975,cans my first yeara as mountain a truly worthy ofdriver the Tasman Alonso to fending offrequired Hamilton that won’t eruptsbeinthe thesame, Eiffel forests pole. By professional Saturday morning the I reported for ex-world a bit of bash-and-bang attention at the Mount proved the place where idiots NZ, but it will thrill journalist, the drunken championship title. champion during the rock-and-roll used cans were piled-up well at Sandown racing Panorama medical centreSpaniardsedan burned cars and were barely diehards.

Tasman title shoot-out still has whatait couple takes. – or after-dark at the above head height.Warwick Brown, sober – steps down from and one Carrera Cup driver enough onWHY Sunday The futurehours prospect of four rounds between Johnnie There ismore a lesson here.

Mix up the F1toIS INTOXICATING Nurburgring 24-Hour. not alone, withGraeme Lawrence Supercars.

Not even a stern got got a of free see any of the Bathurst in NZ and another four in Australia He wasWalker and Kiwi order and outsiders have a chance.

AT HIS 1000. peak as president theride to Bathurst numbers were mimicking down his parrot Lucky talking on Saturday morning Now it’s ainplaceFIA, for the fun,late Max hospital. inThe January/February, (who wonperched the crossover 1970 series Same could be said for Supercars.

Mosley observed a little this year at Bathurst, on his hand.

It took a very hadfield much onorder, the But, seriously andFormula a the original, is intoxicating for a 2.5-litre Ferrari Dino). annual reunions,that When the getseffect out of 1’s fascination was … probably because to determine S5000 You can make all the anythingfollowing enthusiasts old andso new. Big-boreclose V8 lookJohn Goss wonthat the raceunique after and highly-enjoyable can happen.

Werace. watch underpinned by suspense. manywheelers of the long-distances a slightly different crash, excuses youthe likerarity about lack of celebration of speed.

There was aoccasionally lot of bottled-up open driven by local andLucky was Walker’s fence-ripping with F1 races out of duty, Mosley’s view was that, like campers were locked upfor in an historic species Brown’s of macaw. practice, and Bewdy are both international aces racing sixth place clinching whatand bonza rewardedexcitement by epics. and enthusiasm of goals in soccer,match the anticipation of the last Queensland or tentative racesbattles of the in year, and youthful saluteresults and or great What about before the festival ofprospect speed at title – what’s not to like? about wouldhis bename? the final Tasmanperfect title. words to upset For all its predictability, the F1 kept leaving Victoria South enthusiasm, and newcomers celebrate Captain Risky and “Because he isreported lucky to– be Bathurst, the result now is If you’re under and 40, you may have no I also and perhaps helped of an upset keeps but F1 fans enthralled. fans interested.

Australia,ofbut it was still a the Tasman Mount Panorama. rest of his crew. alive,” laughs Risky, of thethe lot of abig bills some long concept how important hastenCaptain – the demise Tasman Every soaoften, race is and riveting.

He was right. F1tofollowers have for greatwas. celebration of Aussie But the number becauseCup he ischampionship not … of repair work before the Cup in 1976, when the Hungaryhours was one of those rare thrillers decades endured dominations andof crashes, motorsport.

Safety Car periods in the races for the The Captain not alone, startstart of the season.

When I was a kid, it was pre-eminent.

F5000was summer series wasTHE splitCARNAGE into the boring from bizarre to 2022 uplifting finish. prospect of a and red of the flags was the worst in my It is why And, at Bathurst Boonie (NZ) also andsupporting no chance F1One heroes oncolourful holiday here, racing as – The Pope Peterand Stuyvesant Rothmansracesonce-every-so-often F1 is most worthlikely, watching.

You thriller. characters at Reid Park this memory. races And I’ve a never was araces disgrace. One of those redeeming made an(Aus) appearance.

As well ofknow. a similar festival of speed almost seriously – for a prestigious Internationals.

Still seven wasbeen tojust year was Captain Risky, who few races since the 1970s.

Some of the driving was as the Super Mario brothers. happening in the future.

POSTCARD FROM BATHURST Bathurst is a zoo.

And we love it.

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE

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Contributing Writers Australia 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

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VW & THE GERMAN GP FORMULA 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is convinced that an entry from the Volkswagen Group into Formula 1 “could be the jolt needed to help bring the German Grand Prix back to the calendar” according to an interview with a German publication.

The main reason Formula 1 has left Germany off the calendar is the high cost of the fee promoters are asked to pay. In Europe that fee now varies between 24 and 30 million euros ($38m to $49m) per year and that’s an amount of money neither the privately-owned Nürburgring nor the locally funded Hockenheimring can afford to pay, especially as the local municipalities are not keen on spending a large portion of their budgets on events that, from their point of view, don’t bring a large number of fans into the area.

It’s worth remembering that even though Mercedes has been dominating Formula 1 since the start of 2014 and Sebastian Vettel was winning races for Ferrari until the end of 2018, the number of spectators in Hockenheim dropped to just 61,000 on race day in 2019,

with Dan Knutson

F1 INSIDER

the last time the German Grand Prix was held, and that meant a massive loss, mainly for the promoters.

Domenicali (pictured above in conversation with Mercedes’ Toto Woolf) said he “would like to see Germany with us on a stable basis for a long time. It’s frustrating that the country doesn’t have a grand prix, especially when you consider the interest Germans have in motorsport. I regret that because I personally believe, and this goes for the entire motorsport industry, that they are not giving the right answer to the passionate fans.

I will work hard to see what can be done, together with the manufacturers and our partners.”

Asked if an eventual entry of the Volkswagen Group into Formula 1 would help change the situation, regardless of what brand the German company

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would promote in the sport, Domenicali expressed his hope that, “every new element leads to a wake-up call, so that they want to be part of the family.

That would be more than welcome. My biggest regret is to see that the German market is not interested in hosting a grand prix.”

For the Germans, the fact the sport became tremendously popular in their country between 1995 and 2012 came from Michael Schumacher’s presence and success in Formula 1. Germans typically support those who had to work hard to achieve success and Schumacher’s workingclass origins and demeanor made him a hit with his fellow countryman, to the point that, at the height of his popularity, the country would host races in Hockenheim and the Nürburgring in the same season and both tracks would

get up to 200,000 spectators in the total of the three days of action.

Although Vettel took up the Schumacher mantle and won four consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013, his middle-class background and his more worldly attitude didn’t appeal to the German fans and, little by little, with increased ticket prices not helping, they fell out of love for Formula 1, something that the move to pay-tv only broadcasting in the country certainly influenced in a negative way.

Therefore, Domenicali will have to work very hard, in conjunction with Mercedes and, hopefully, the Volkswagen Group, to get the German fans to return their attention to Formula 1 and then bring the race back to the country that represents the biggest market in the European Union and the highest consumer of road cars in the continent as well.

In closing, I have enjoyed covering Formula 1 for Auto Action since 2005. But the time has come for me to step aside. And so I say farewell to AA’s readers. Dan.

Supercars Championship Winner Shane van Gisbergen talks to Paul Gover, Part 1-Vern Schuppan ‘Living Legend’, we rate the Supercar drivers, Sprintcars are back... plus heaps more Auto_Action

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LATEST NEWS

TCM RELEASE SIX-ROUND CALENDAR, EXTEND SPONSORSHIP DEAL

THE 2022 Touring Car Masters Calendar has been confirmed, the category featuring at a mixture of events throughout its six-round schedule.

TCM has also renewed its partnership with Gulf Western Oil, the naming-rights sponsorship deal extended for two extra years through to 2024.

The Supercars Championship, Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship and key marquee events will all host TCM as some stage next season, creating a schedule with variety for competitors and fans.

Kicking off the season will be a round on the streets of Newcastle for the first time since 2018, supporting Supercars at the Newcastle 500.

Following a second stop in New South Wales in May – with the location to be confirmed - TCM teams will then join Supercars again in North Queensland for the Townsville 500.

The Townsville visit will break

another long absence given that the category has not raced there since its maiden appearance in 2018.

Queensland fans will get a double dose of TCM in 2022, Queensland Raceway joining Townsville on the calendar.

The penultimate round of the year will be held at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway in September, before TCM returns to Mount Panorama from November 11-13 for the season finale as part of the Bathurst International.

TCM Category Manager Liam Curkpatrick was confident that the calendar ticked all the boxes.

“We have worked hard to build Touring Car Masters throughout 2021 and put the category in the best position to flourish in 2022, and the new calendar reflects that,” Curkpatrick said.

“Returning to key Supercars ‘marquee’ events like Newcastle and Townsville not only follows competitor feedback but also reflects the popularity of the category in fans that attend those incredible street

circuit events each year.

“Retaining key Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships rounds, including a return to Queensland Raceway, will ensure that as many TCM fans as possible can see the action, while concluding at the Bathurst International is a nobrainer.”

Australian Racing Group CEO Matt Braid welcomed Gulf Western Oil back as title partner.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Gulf Western Oil back as the major partner of Touring Car Masters for the next two years,” Braid said.

“We’re looking forward to a more normal year in 2022 - with growing grids and some incredible events on the calendar that will see the TCM cars and stars put on a great show.”

Gulf Western Oil National Sales and Marketing Manager Peter McColl looked forward to the ongoing association.

“As an Australian oil brand with a proud history of supporting

Australian motorsport, extending our commitment to Touring Car Masters was an easy decision to make,” McColl said.

“We wish the TCM teams all the best for season 2022 - bring on Round 1 in Newcastle.”

Josh Nevett 2022 GULF WESTERN OIL TOURING CAR MASTERS CALENDAR 1. Newcastle Street Circuit (Repco Newcastle 500) 2. TBC (NSW) May 3. Reid Park Street Circuit, Townsville (NTI Townsville 500) 4. Queensland Raceway, Ipswich (Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships)

Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland, he is also currently the Chair of Sunsuper and Orange Sky Australia, and the Deputy Chancellor of Griffith University.

It has been a testing first year of Presidency for Fraser, but he was looking forward to being more physically involved in the role in coming years.

“My friends, who know how much I love the sport, have been joking around with me about how little time has been spent at race meetings as opposed to in Zoom meetings,” Fraser added.

“I have still been able to go to some hill climbs and other grassroots events and it’s been quite reassuring to see firsthand and talk with the people who make this sport happen. We have a tremendous base on which to build.

“Now that we’re recovering from this pandemic, I can begin to focus on my main goal, which is to create future opportunities in the sport for people wanting to get involved whether it’s behind the wheel, or in the many other ways you can get involved.

“One of the most important things for me are venues, and

July 8-10

August 6-7

5. Sandown Raceway September 17-18 (Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships) 6. Mount Panorama, November 11-13 Bathurst (Supercheap Auto Bathurst International)

FRASER RETAINS MA PRESIDENCY ANDREW FRASER will continue as Motorsport Australia President until 2024 after a unanimous Motorsport Australia board election.

Fraser took over the reins at the beginning of this year and has overseen a difficult COVID-impacted period.

The Queenslander joined the board in 2019 and was initially elected President as an interim replacement for Andrew Papadopoulos.

He impressed in the role, and now will serve a full three-year term.

“I’m deeply honoured by the opportunity and indeed the obligations to serve our sport,” Fraser said.

“It’s a sport that I and thousands of Australians love and participate in and the role of Motorsport Australia is vital to its health not just presently, but well into the future.

“I was first humbled by my colleagues’ support for me to finish the remainder of the previous President’s term when he made the decision to step down.

“And having led through a period of time dominated by the pandemic and the effects of that – financial and non-financial - on our sport, I was equally humbled to have that support continue for the next three years, which hopefully will see a rebuild of our sport.”

Fraser has significant sports governance experience, including as a former Commissioner of the Australian Sports Commission.

He has served in executive and governance roles in rugby league in Australia and New Zealand. A former

March 4-6

in particular grassroots venues. We want motorsport to happen in a safe and welcoming environment, so there is a need to have good infrastructure available for people to do the sport.

“Another big focus for us will be on sustainability and to make sure that our community and commercial expectations all align with the need for motorsport to become sustainable for the future.

“Finally, from the events I have managed to make it to, one thing is clear – the passion and dedication of our officials are what define our sport and I want to keep that front and centre of everyone’s minds for the future.” Josh Nevett

LATEST NEWS

DOOHAN SECURES FRONT RUNNING F2 DRIVE FOR 2022 AUSTRALIAN JACK Doohan has secured a front running seat for next years FIA Formula 2 Championship season.

This year’s Formula 3 vice-champion has signed with Virtuosi Racing for 2022 slotting into the drive vacated by F1 bound Guanyu Zhou.

Nest year will be the Australian’s first full year in F2, however he did get a jump start on his preparations for next season by taking part in the final two rounds of 2021, where he achieved a top-five finish and qualified second in the final round just behind fellow Aussie and Formula 2 Champion Oscar Piastri.

“I’m very pleased and excited to join forces with Virtuosi Racing for our 2022 FIA Formula 2 campaign,” said Doohan.

“I’m looking forward to continuing the team’s success and getting to work with the team in post-season testing this coming week!”

Joining Doohan at Virtuosi Racing will be Japanese racer Marino Sato who will make the switch from Trident.

Sato has two years of F2 under his belt as well as F1 experience, having run for

AlphaTauri in the 2020 Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s really a privilege to join a team that is fighting for the championship,” said Sato.

“I have to say a big thank you to everyone involved in making this happen, and to the team for trusting me. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season!”

In other F2 news, recently-signed Williams Formula 1 academy driver Logan Sargeant will also step up next season after signing with Carlin.

“I can’t wait to re-join Carlin who have been so strong in F2 and get to work on our 2022 program,” said Sargeant.

“Big thanks to Trevor, my management at Infinity and of course Williams Racing for this incredible opportunity.”

Sargeant made his F1 test debut with Williams in Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi young driver test on Tuesday, the same test that Piastri made his official debut as Alpine’s reserve driver.

While F2 post-season between December 16-18 will mark the first chance for Doohan, Sato and Sargeant to get acquainted with their 2022 teams. Rhys Vandersyde

NEW ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AS 2022 FINKE DATE CONFIRMED NEW ENTRY requirements have been outlined for the 2022 Tatts Finke Desert Race, as the date for the event has also been confirmed.

Australia’s most prestigious off-road race will again take place on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, 13-16 June 2022.

However, those hoping to compete in the two day 226km off-road event will have to meet a minimum competitor driving and riding standard for next year’s event.

Introduced to enhance the safety for all involved in the event, organisers have implemented an entry criteria for individuals to compete in the 2022 Tatts Finke Desert Race and beyond.

In the bike category, where prospective competitors haven’t competed in Finke before, they will need to have competed in another international, national or state level type of competition to satisfy organisers of their capability. A self-declaration will be made as part of the entry process.

In the car category crews must provide evidence they have race experience, having either competed at previous BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) rounds within the last

24 months, scored outright AORC points during the previous season or meet 100 points from a special points checklist – similar to an identity points system.

Outside of the above criteria, competitors can also apply for special dispensation, which will be determined on a case-by-case basis. All eligible competitors will be issued a special valid licence for the event.

Finke Desert Race President, Antony Yoffa believes the implementation of such criteria is important for the future of the race.

“We have seen our event grow in recent times and it has come to the point where it’s important to introduce an assessment for competitors,” Yoffa said.

“With much larger fields of competitors and a course that is increasingly more challenging, it is no longer viable for us to simply offer a starting place to whomever applies.

“It’s about making sure someone new to the event has a particular level of experience and confidence.”

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith is highly

supportive of the Finke Desert Race and the implementation of the recommended entry criteria.

“Finke is undoubtedly the biggest off road event in this country and collectively we need to keep making improvements, to make sure there is a high standard of competition taking part every year,” Smith said.

“Every time a competitor races in Finke, they are putting themselves through a very rigorous event and you want to have every bit of confidence in the ability of those racing with and against you, so everyone can compete fairly and safely.”

Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle said they were pleased to see the new entry criteria implemented for 2022 and beyond.

“The safety of competitors and all involved at motorsport events around the country is extremely important to Motorcycling Australia and we want competitors to have confidence in themselves and those around them, that they are race prepared.”

The 2022 Tatts Finke Desert Race takes place between Alice Springs and Finke on 9-13 June 2022, with entries opening for bike competitors on Tuesday February 1, 2022 and car entries on Tuesday March 1, 2022. Rhys Vandersyde

LATEST NEWS

S5000 CALENDARS CONFIRMED

THE 2022 S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship calendar and the Tasman Series have been set, featuring on the bill at both Supercars Championship rounds and Shannons events.

The Drivers’ Championship calendar is made up of six rounds, while the Tasman Series will visit at least three iconic locations.

The S5000 Australia Drivers’ Championship for the Motorsport Australia Gold Star award will commence in Tasmania at the historic Symmons Plains Raceway from February 12-13, as part of the popular Australian Racing Group run Race Tasmania event.

As it was in 2021, the second round of the series will take place at the picturesque Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Speaking of Grand Prix, the S5000 championship will take to the Albert Park circuit as a support to the 2022 Australian Grand Prix for Round 3.

In 2020 the S5000s qualified on Thursday before the event was

SECOND TRIPLE EIGHT SUPER2 DRIVER ANNOUNCED

cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation Division Manager David Corrigan is delighted to have the big banger S5000s joining the support program for the event.

“The S5000 class features some of the country’s best up and coming drivers and we’re thrilled to welcome the championship back to the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in 2022, once again shining a light on our homegrown motorsport talent,” he said.

“The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix is a showcase of some of the world’s best drivers and we cannot wait to watch as the S5000 Championship takes on a faster and more competitive Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit come April next year.”

An event in New South Wales yet to be announced is set for May, before S5000 makes its previously announced debut in the Northern Territory in June at the Darwin Triple Crown as a support to the Supercars Championship.

The six-round Gold Star season will then conclude at Sandown Raceway in September, an historic location for Australian open-wheel racing and the scene of S5000s exhibition race in 2019.

A six-week break occurs before the V8-powered machines return to the track for the Tasman Series.

The three round series will commence on the streets of the Gold Coast, as big open wheel cars return the famous street circuit that played host to IndyCar for nearly two decades.

The Supercheap Auto Bathurst International will follow two weeks later, followed by a third event at the final round of the Supercars Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 19-20.

Discussions are currently underway with promoters in New Zealand with a view to adding events across the Tasman later in the year, or in early 2023, to conclude the Tasman Series.

“The 2022 S5000 calendar includes a great mixture of high-profile events and fantastic circuits that will really

suit the cars as we continue to grow Australia’s premier open wheel series,” said Australian Racing Group CEO Matt Braid.

“From the streets of the Gold Coast to our debut in Darwin and a highly anticipated return to the Grand Prix and the debut of the Bathurst International, there are key major events spread throughout the year.

“Returning to Albert Park will be incredible and allow S5000 to continue a journey working with the team at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation that began in 2020 and will hopefully result in us racing in 2022. The entire category is excited to be among the first to sample the exciting new layout next April.

“Then there’s more ‘traditional’ circuits like Symmons Plains, Phillip Island and Sandown that the drivers thrive on.

“It’s a great mixture of events and circuits that will give S5000 the season it deserves after several interrupted years since its formation.”

Dan McCarthy

TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering has finalised its two-car driver line-up for the second tier Super2 Series next year, signing up Declan Fraser.

Fraser will not be a Super2 rookie, having raced for Matthew White Motorsport in 2021. He will join recently crowned Carrera Cup Australia Series winner Cameron Hill who was signed last month.

“I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity to drive for Triple Eight for season 2022,” Fraser said.

“The chance to race with and for the team that are the benchmark in our sport in terms of professionalism and performance is one that I intend to grab onto with both hands and will be doing everything I can to deliver further success to Triple Eight, my sponsors and supporters.

“I had a fantastic rookie year with some strong results and now I’m looking forward to next year and picking up

where Broc left off.

“I’m going to throw everything I can at winning the championship and I know that being with Triple Eight, I’m going to be in a winning environment and will also have all the resources to do so both on and off the track.

“I cannot thank Jamie and the team enough for the support and belief they have shown in me and for welcoming me to the team. I’m really looking forward to testing and getting the season underway.”

After a successful tenure in karting Fraser transitioned to cars in 2017, competing in the Toyota 86 Series as the youngest ever competitor in the series.

The youngster had success in the 86s before moving into the Supercars junior classes, Super3 in 2019 and then transitioning to Super2 this year.

Triple Eight’s incoming Managing Director, seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup, welcomed

LATEST NEWS

2022 S5000 AUSTRALIAN DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP 1. Symmons Plains Raceway (Race Tasmania)

February 11-13

2. Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit March 18-20 (Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships) 3. Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit (Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix)

April 7-10

4. TBC (NSW) May 2022 4. Hidden Valley Raceway (Merlin Darwin Triple Crown)

June 17-19

6. Sandown Motor Raceway September 16-18 (Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships)

2022 S5000 TASMAN SERIES 1. Surfers Paradise Street Circuit October 29-30 (Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500) 2. Mount Panorama, Bathurst November 11-13 (Supercheap Auto Bathurst International) 3. Sydney Motorsport Park (Supercars Championship)

November 18-20

Fraser to the team.

“Now we’ve secured our Super2 driving line-up for next year, we can fully focus on our objectives for the 2022 season and give both Declan and Cameron the resources they need on and off the track to ensure they both give it a red-hot crack,” Whincup said.

“We pride ourselves on giving young talent a shot at the big league, and Triple Eight’s Super2 program is a breeding ground for young drivers, engineers and mechanics who have their sights on reaching the top-tier of Australian motorsport, which is Supercars.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Declan to the Banyo stables. He’s a ripping young kid, and I truly believe he’ll be one to keep an eye on heading into the 2022 season.”

The 2022 Super2 Series kicks off on the streets of Newcastle from March 4-6.

Dan McCarthy

HOLDSWORTH: AMAZING TO THINK HOW DOMINANT WE WERE ONLY NOW is the emphatic Bathurst 1000 victory beginning to sink in for Supercars Championship veteran Lee Holdsworth, who still can’t believe how dominant he and Chaz Mostert were nearly a fortnight ago.

For Holdsworth it was his maiden Bathurst 1000 victory, something that has been a long time coming, having competed in the ‘Great Race’ every year since 2004.

After losing his full-time drive at the end of last year, the Victorian joined forces with Chaz Mostert and the rising Walkinshaw Andretti United outfit, going on to dominate the race.

“A very, very special moment,” Holdsworth said to <i>Auto Action<i> reflecting back on the Bathurst 1000 victory.

“Amazing to think how dominant we actually were when you’re up against the likes of Triple Eight, Dick Johnson Racing and a few other teams that have been punching really high this year.

“To see us come out swinging like that was just pretty incredible.

“You’ve got to have a car that you’re confident in and with that #25 car from the word go, I was able to place that thing exactly where I wanted it.

“I was really, really proud of the effort that I put in and the job that I did, the whole WAU team and Chaz, it was just such an incredible week of my life and an incredible result!”

Although the pair suffered a mid-race puncture which saw them fall down to 12th position, Holdsworth and the team was confident of a recovery, something he believes was vital on the day.

“We never let anything get to us,” Holdsworth expressed. “I think that was the key, there was always a sense of calm in the pits and in the driver’s seat.

“I knew at that point we’d have to fight pretty hard to get back to the lead and in contention.

“You just can’t sit behind cars for too long these days or else you burn your front tyres out, so you’ve got to be quite decisive and not hesitate when you’re wanting to get past someone.

“We were biding our time and it came to us!”

The only real threat late on was an intense but brief attack from reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Shane van Gisbergen, however Holdsworth foresaw a potential tyre issue.

“Shane was pushing very hard,” Holdsworth recalled.

“He never leaves anything on the table. He just pushed as hard as he possibly could to try and stick with Chaz.

“Chaz kept getting good restarts, then Shane had to push very hard to stick within striking distance, you could see that it was using a lot more track than what we were.

“At that point I was thinking he (van Gisbergen) could potentially get a tyre problem. Sure enough, it came.

“Credit to them, Shane and Garth pushed hard all day, never gave up. They were trying to push us into a mistake. They didn’t die wondering, they pushed to the end.

“Unfortunately for them, it didn’t pay off. Fortunately for us, I really feel that the best team on the day got the win.”

Holdsworth had not been on the Bathurst 1000 podium since 2009 with Garry Rogers Motorsport, the 38-year-old has never lacked speed, but luck at The Mountain failed to go his way, this was not the case in 2021.

“It’s been way too long, there’s been a few a few times where I felt that I had the opportunity to compete for the win at the end of the race, but for one reason or another, it just didn’t work out, there’s a few times where I felt that it’s gotten away from me,” Holdsworth reflected.

“I wasn’t going to let this one get away from me, it was my greatest opportunity and we capitalised!”

Dan McCarthy

LATEST NEWS

DE VRIES TOPS DAY 1 OF F1 TEST NYCK DE Vries came out on top in the opening day of Formula 1 postseason testing at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, besting a strong crop of young drivers and F1 regulars.

The Dutch Formula E driver set a 1m 23.191s in the 2021-spec Mercedes machine, comfortably 1.326s clear of AlphaTauri man Liam Lawson.

De Vries completed 77 laps on the day, outperforming his fellow Young Driver Test runners who occupied top seven spots on the timesheets.

Lawson was just 0.006s clear of Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri, who finished in third for Alpine.

IndyCar race winner Pato O’Ward was just behind after completing 92 laps, his test a reward from McLaren boss Zak Brown for achieving his maiden IndyCar victory.

Guanyu Zhou was fifth on his first appearance for Alfa Romeo Racing, the Chinese driver completed 119 laps.

Red Bull driver Juri Vips hit the

barrier exiting Turn 14 to produce one of the three red flags and was sixth, while Aston Martin simulator driver Nick Yelloly was seventh overall, 2.142s slower than de Vries.

Daniel Ricciardo was the best of the regular drivers, he produced slower lap times due to trialling the new specification 18-inch Pirelli tyres.

The Aussie McLaren driver was nearly a second slower than Yelloly, but 0.3s clear of Lance Stroll in the adapted Aston Martin despite causing the first red flag due to a mechanical issue.

Formula 2 runner-up Robert Shwartzman and Charles Leclerc were 10th and 11th respectively in different Ferrari machines, Leclerc taking part in the tyre test.

Valtteri Bottas another driver to make his first appearance for a new team, turning out in Alfa Romeo colours after receiving Mercedes’ permission.

The Finn clocked up 127 laps and finished 12th, despite an early spin.

Antonio Fuoco and Yuki Tsunoda

were 13th and 14th.

American driver Logan Sargeant made his F1 debut for Williams, managing 92 laps before a power unit issue ended his day with two hours to go.

Esteban Ocon was 16th for Alpine.

George Russell took Bottas’ place in the vacant Mercedes, beginning his time at the team with 131 laps.

Russell was 18th, behind newly

crowned F1 champion Max Verstappen who did 123 laps of his own on the new tyres.

Mick Schumacher held up the rear of the testing field in his Haas, nearly 6s seconds in arrears of De Vries with a 1m 29.099s.

Testing will continue into a second day, Haas the only team set to run both a young driver and tyre tester.

Josh Nevett

LATEST NEWS

PIASTRI TESTS CURRENT SPEC F1 CAR OSCAR PIASTRI set the third quickest time on the opening day of Formula 1 post-season testing in Abu Dhabi.

The Alpine reserve driver set a 1m 24.523s around the Yas Marina Circuit in a current generation F1 machine, 1.332s off session leader Nyck de Vries and only 0.006s slower than 2021 Formula 2 rival Liam Lawson.

It was a strong result for the Aussie youngster in his first outing in a current specification F1 car, he completed 131 laps, less than only Antonio Fuoco, Lance Stroll and

George Russell.

“It was very cool,” Piastri said after the session.

“Not my first time in an F1 car but to drive the current car at a new track was awesome, it never gets old.

“Loved every second, I’m very tired, we did a lot of laps.

“Hopefully I get to do it again soon.

“I’m going to have a good sleep tonight.”

Piastri was one of a group of young drivers who sampled the current F1 equipment, while current

drivers of the category trialled the new-for-2022 18-inch tyres on mule cars.

The former group was quicker on track, Ricciardo the best of the regular drivers with a 1m 26.252s in his altered McLaren despite triggering the first red flag of the day in the second hour.

Notably, Piastri beat out his previous Formula 2 title rivals Robert Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou, who finished fifth and 10th on the timesheets, respectively.

Testing will continue into a second

day however Piastri will not be taking part, as teams are only able to field a young driver on one day of the program.

Haas will be the only team to return with two cars, Shwartzman joined by Pietro Fittipaldi.

Piastri will spend a year out of full-time competition in 2022 after winning three consecutive titles in Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2, serving as Alpine’s reserve driver in his pursuit of an F1 seat for 2023. Josh Nevett

VERSTAPPEN CONFIRMS CAR #1 FOR 2022 MAX VERSTAPPEN has officially confirmed that he will race with the #1 plastered all over his Red Bull Racing car in next year’s Formula 1 World Championship after winning the title in Abu Dhabi.

The Dutchman won the title after a last lap overtake on rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the race.

Verstappen has run in car #33 since he made his Formula 1 debut in 2015, but as the champion he has the option to run the #1 next year.

“Yeah I will run it,” said Verstappen when asked about using the number one.

“How many times can you do that? I don’t know, maybe it’s the only time I can in my life.

“It’s the best number out there. So I will definitely put it on the car.”

It will be the first time that the #1 will have appeared in Formula 1 since 2014, the year after Sebastian Vettel won his fourth straight World Championship with Red Bull Racing.

That was the first season in which drivers were asked to choose a number which they would run for the remainder of their career, but would then have the option to run number one should they

win the title.

Since then, Hamilton has won six world titles and every year has elected to remain with the #44 (although the Englishman he did get dispensation to run it on a couple of occasions in Friday practice sessions).

His former Mercedes teammate and arch rival Nico Rosberg was the only other to have the opportunity to run the #1 after winning the 2016

title, however the German pulled the pin and elected to retire from the sport.

In other driver number news, Chinese driver debutant Guanyu Zhou has chosen to race with car #24 when he takes the wheel for Alfa Romeo next year.

The returning Alex Albon will run with #23 on his Williams, as he did with his stints at Toro Rosso and Red Bull. Dan McCarthy

with Dan Knutson

FORMULA 1 has renewed its contract with Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management until 2030, keeping the race on the calendar for the remainder of the decade. The Yas Marina Circuit first hosted F1 in 2009 and was home to this season’s finale. This year the track was reconfigured in three areas: the north hairpin (Turn 7), south marina (Turn 11) and hotel section (Turn 17). JN

Images: Motorsport Images

STRONG DEMAND from fans has prompted additional Australian Grand Prix tickets to go on sale, specifically for the newly launched Stewart Grandstand and extended Senna Grandstand. Demand for tickets during the pre-sale period has exceeded supply, forcing organisers to increase the capacity of grandstands. More seats are yet to go on sale for the April 2022 event. JN

PIRELLI HAS found harsh kerbs to be responsible for the multiple tyre punctures that occurred in the Qatar Grand Prix after its initial investigations. The tyre supplier released a statement after the quality of its tyres was called into question. “Based on the findings obtained so far, the origin of the problem is mainly due to the amount of time these tyres were run on the kerbs, at high speed and with considerable lateral and vertical loads: a situation unique to the Losail circuit,” the statement read. JN

HAAS HAS retained Pietro Fittipaldi as its test and reserve driver for 2022. The grandson of two-time Formula 1 champion Emerson will continue his duties into a third year, after making two Grands Prix appearances last season in the place of an injured Romain Grosjean. Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner described the contract extension as a “very straightforward decision”. JN

LANDO NORRIS will head into 2022 with bolstered confidence, believing he is ready to win Formula 1 races. “I definitely feel much more confident that if I was to fight for a win suddenly in the first race next year… I think I’d feel very confident in that position,” Norris said.

The McLaren driver came closest this year in Russia, leading the race before rain led to his undoing. He also finished second to teammate Daniel Ricciardo at Monza. JN

24 AutoAction

A MERCEDES’ PROTEST DISMISSED THE ABU Dhabi race stewards, including Aussie Garry Connolly and former F1 driver Derek Warwick, dismissed both protests filed by Mercedes after the race.

Had Mercedes won either of them it might have resulted – depending on the penalties applied – in Lewis Hamilton rather than Max Verstappen winning the race and becoming the 2021 world champion.

And it still might result in that because Mercedes is considering filing an appeal.

The first protest concerned Article 48.8 of the sporting regulations, which says “no driver may overtake another car on the track, including the safety car, until he passes the

Line (see Article 5.3) for the first time after the safety car has returned to the pits.”

The second protest concerned Article 48.12, which says that “any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car.”

The safety car was deployed with five laps remaining in the race after Nicolas Latifi crashed. There were five lapped cars on the track between the leading Mercedes of Hamilton and the second-placed Red Bull of Verstappen.

Australian Michael Masi, the F1 race director, ordered those five drivers to unlap

themselves, and this allowed Verstappen to close right up to Hamilton. Masi called the safety car in with one lap remaining.

Verstappen, on much fresher tyres, overtook Hamilton and went on to win.

Regarding protest one, the stewards did agree that Verstappen did “at one stage, for a very short period of time, move slightly in front of Car 44, at a time when both cars were accelerating and braking,” he did then move back behind Hamilton and “was not in front when the safety car period ended (i.e. at the line).”

The stewards heard evidence from Masi and released the following statements:

FAST AND CRAZY THE NEW Jeddah Cornice Circuit is one of the fastest on the grand prix tour, something confirmed by many of the top drivers.

“Fast and crazy,” is what Esteban Ocon of Alpine says.

“Different, very different to anything I’ve driven in before,” says Carlos Sainz of Ferari.

“I’ve never driven a circuit with corners like this before,” says Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri.

Most of the focus in the Saudi Arabian race was on the conflict between the title contenders, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but there was plenty of pitlane chatter about a track that was barely finished in time for the race.

The Jeddah layout rates second in two of the most important measures of Formula One tracks - length and speed.

The track is 6.174 kilometres long, with 27 turns, only beaten by Spa in Belgium at 7.004 kilometres.

The average lap speed is second only to Monza in Italy. Hamilton averaged 247.548km/h when clocked the fastest lap in the first practice session in Saudi Arabia and also set the mark at Monza when he managed 257.702km/h in P1.

“The track was rapid and unbelievably quick and with a lot of grip as well,” says Hamilton.

“Once you get in the rhythm, it’s beautiful to drive. The grip was very high from the moment we went out and was similar in both sessions. Traffic can be a problem here, it’s Monaco-esque and the closing distances to other cars was definitely getting dangerous.”

His nemesis, Verstappen, also rates Jeddah highly.

“Overall, it’s a really cool track, there are a lot of fast corners and it’s fun to drive,” he says.

The layout at Jeddah has similarities to other F1 tracks, with the speed of Monza and Spa, close walls like Monaco and Baku, high-speed turns like Silverstone and Suzuka, and racing under lights like Singapore and Qatar.

“It’s a challenging circuit but that does make it really exciting,” says Daniel Ricciardo.

“It’s got good flow, good grip, so I’m happy with the layout. I think it’s quite different to what we’ve already been to, as well, so that’s always fun.”

Sainz is also a fan.

“The intensity that this track gives you, the thrill and adrenaline, it’s something I’ve not experienced since my days in Macau, so it’s very different, very intense, very highspeed, very close to the walls, trying to get the turning points right, just before brushing the wall on the inside,” he says.

The high speeds and close walls punished mistakes as the many incidents during the race proved, and as Charles Leclerc found out when he crashed heavily in second practice.

“I really liked the track itself and I’d say that the best part to drive is around the high speed section,” Leclerc says.

“But it is unforgiving and there is no room for any mistakes. The most challenging part is getting into the right rhythm with all the blind corners there are. But, as soon as you do, it’s even more exciting to drive.”

TODT’S FERRARI RETURN “The Race Director stated that the purpose of Article 48.12 was to remove those lapped cars that would ‘interfere’ in the racing between the leaders and that in his view Article 48.13 was the one that applied in this case.

“The Race Director also stated that it had long been agreed by all the Teams that where possible it was highly desirable for the race to end in a ‘green’ condition (i.e. not under a safety car).”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said of Mercedes: “If they appeal, they appeal.

We’ll fight it in the appeal court and then in a legal court if they were going to go down that route.”

JEAN TODT has been the president of the FIA since 2009, but he will step down at the end of December as the FIA’s bylaws do not permit him to run for another term. But the 76-years old Frenchman is not planning to retire just yet. Sources in Italy say that he is planning a sensational return to Ferrari.

Todt ran Ferrari in Formula 1 from July of 1993 until the end of the 2006 season.

He headed up the “super team” consisting of technical director Ross Brawn, car designer Rory Byrne and, of course, Michael Schumacher. They would win five drivers’ world championships and five constructors’ championships.

Todt quit the racing team at the same time Schumacher retired for the first time at the end of 2006, but he remained in the car company, rising to the role of president in the middle of 2007.

Rather mysteriously he left Ferrari in the middle of 2009.

During the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend Todt published a photo on social media in which he was with his son Nicolas, Felipe Massa, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. Todt has allegedly already agreed with Binotto what responsibilities he will take should he rejoin Ferrari early next year.

His role being to liaise with the FIA, Formula 1 and major sponsors, leaving the running of the race team and the contacts with other teams to Binotto, who will remain as team principal.

The only obstacle to the deal seems to be Stellantis and Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who is hesitating to accept Todt’s offer. The young heir of the Agnelli family is aware of the circumstances that led to

RICCIARDO’S CEILING DANIEL RICCIARDO will be back in Australia for the first time since mid-2020.

The Perth native has been unable to go home previously because of the 14-day quarantine regulations, and he will be holed up in a hotel after arriving.

“I will be staring at a hotel room ceiling for two weeks,” he said. “I’m going to go home. I need to get home. But it is difficult to get back. Unfortunately they are not making it easy, but it is what it is. I will do that. I need to get home and see the family and friends. So once I get out of the four walls I should still get hopefully three or four weeks with friends and family. And it is

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summer so I’m looking forward to it.”

Before going home Ricciardo stayed on in Abu Dhabi for the two day test when the drivers got to try out the 18 inch Pirelli tyres that will be used in 2022.

“It definitely helps give the team some kind of valuable information and feedback,” he said. “We drivers will learn a bit, but a lot of it is data driven. We will give some feedback which will contribute, but a lot of it is for the engineers and aerodynamicists to see the effect of the bigger wheels and how that affects aero as well. That is probably an important one.”.

It took Ricciardo quite a while to adapt to

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the McLaren this year, and he had plenty of ups and downs during the season. Has this been the biggest emotional roller coaster of his career?

“Yeah, I would say so,” he replied. “The second half of 2018 had its challenges, and at the time that was the most for me.

But this year as a whole, yeah absolutely.

Thinking about the first half, and then the highs, it has been pretty wild. I certainly reflect on the second half of the season went much better than where I was reflecting back in August.”

The biggest high was his victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

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Todt’s sudden departure from Ferrari more than 12 years ago and also fears a media backlash should the team get the former FIA president on its payroll.

The other Formula 1 teams would certainly be up in arms and against such a deal, not only because Todt would be dealing with people he placed in the FIA during his long tenure as president, but also because he enjoys a close personal relationship with Formula 1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali, who was his number two in his final years at Scuderia Ferrari.

In any case, like other veterans of the paddock, Todt seems determined to remain in the sport in important and profitable positions at an age the common mortals only hope to enjoy peace and good health after more than five decades of hard work.

“The more time that passes since Monza the more I realize the effect of that,” he said. “I really do think it was the biggest moment, win-race kind of day if you will, of my motorsport career.”

Ricciardo ended up eighth in the drivers’ championship.

“Thanks to the team for their hard work this year,” he said. “We’ve had some fantastic moments, Monza being the highlight, and I can’t wait to build on the progress we’ve made in 2021. Before that, I’m looking forward to heading home, recharging the batteries a bit and getting ready to come back fighting next year.”

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Image: Motorsport

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AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT

ON THE MONEY

Motorsport is big business in Australia and now the numbers back that up. JOSH NEVETT delves into the latest Ernst and Young economic report, explaining what the figures mean and how important motorsport is to our nation.

MOTORSPORT IN Australia is not just alive and well, it is thriving.

It may be in Auto Action’s interest to say that, but now the proof is in writing. The big number? $8.6 billion. That was the total output of the motorsport industry to the Australian economy in 2019, and it is a figure that sits the industry in great stead.

The recently published Ernst and Young (EY) ‘The economic contribution of the Australian motorsport industry in 2019’ report is littered with figures, many of which have trended upwards since the last report of this type was published in 2014.

Motorsport in Australia employed 65,700 people in total in 2019, including direct paid jobs, indirect paid jobs and volunteers. There were 9560 events held, across a staggering 618 venues.

The implications of the report commissioned by Motorsport Australia were clear to Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca, who believed it was a document worth celebrating.

“The report justifies what we believe to be the continuing growth of motorsport in Australia, the growth of motorsport around the world,” Arocca told Auto Action.

“And more importantly, the fact that our members, competitors and officials love the sport dearly and contribute significantly to it out of their own pockets.

“We’ve lost the automotive auto

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Australia has several of the worlds leading motorsport transmission manufacturers.

Albins Engineering, Holinger Engineering and Modena Engineering all supply pcomponents around the world.

manufacturer business in between 2014 and 2019 but that hasn’t dented the enthusiasm of our members and competitors and officials.”

To fully understand the scale of human involvement, it is the participant numbers that catch the eye. There was a total of 188,112 participants in Australian motorsport in 2019, spread across competitors, officials and club members.

That level of participation would be significant for the economic

output of any sport, but the fact that each of the 66,290 competitors spent $20,000 on average deems motorsport a serious force.

No other sport can lay claim to generating that level of economic activity per capita.

A significant portion of the money spent by competitors is done so on their cars, which Bond Roll Bars’ Peter Muir knows all too well as a long-time safety equipment supplier to drivers at every level of motorsport in Australia, specialising in roll cages.

“We supply, fit and design roll cages for motorsport, rally, anything that’s got four wheels,” Muir explained to Auto Action.

“If they’ve got the money, we will do it.

“We have 300 per year come to the workshop, others who we don’t get to see that we palm off makes it a total of about 500 customers.

“We do the teams that want to do six-hour races, rally teams, we do most of the roll cages that come out of Toyota 86 Series, the Sieders’ with their Utes, the Pulsar series and all those sorts of things.”

Bond Roll Bars represents just one of countless businesses that exists thanks to the motorsport industry, providing goods and services from factories, workshops and offices around the country.

Big national figures can sometimes be misleading, drawing higher praise than they deserve, however even more localised findings make for impressive viewing.

A Supercars round at Winton Raceway

Supercar race teams such as Tickford Racing are significant employers. In Tickfords case its around 50 full time employees.

Motorsport component manufacturing directly employs thousands of people. Much of what is manufactured in Australia is sold internationaly and earns big export incomes for the country.

in country Victoria provides such an example of why motorsport is such a crucial cog in the economic machine.

The 2019 Winton SuperSprint generated $6.44 million of direct economic output for the Hume region alone, as well as creating 46 jobs for members of the community.

As such, big ticket motorsport injects vital funds into rural towns such Benalla and Wangaratta.

Tickford Racing CEO Tim Edwards supported this, describing how the activities of Supercars teams extend further than just providing entertainment in rural areas.

“Out of our 50 staff, we’ve got roughly 30 of them who travel to events,” Edwards told Auto Action.

“There is obviously the funding of travel involved, there’s the accommodation while you’re there, then there’s feeding the team, whether it’s the local supermarkets, local restaurants.

“They’re all avid coffee drinkers.

Every coffee shop does well when we’re in town.

“We do some recreational stuff if it’s a longer trip, when we go to Darwin for instance people can go fishing or go into Kakadu.

“So, it’s quite common that people from the teams and I think a lot of the fans as well go to Supercar racing for experiences like that, to make it a holiday as well.”

Beyond travel Edwards also explained that teams held huge

value within themselves, the modern Supercar outfit employing dozens of full-time staff in a range of roles.

“We have from mechanics, truck drivers, fabricators, machinists, composites, the commercial teams, videographer, graphic designer, designers, mechanical engineers, storemen, engine technicians,” Edwards said.

“We effectively do everything ourselves, we design, we manufacture, we race.

“The average supercar team revenue is somewhere around $2.5-3 million per car.”

It is therefore clear to see that motorsport is more than just drivers battling it out on the track, it is a passion that drives employment, development, tourism, construction, and production.

Motorsport is a travelling Targa driver sitting down for coffee at a café on competition day as much as it is a factory worker assembling roll cages for track day warriors. It’s the professionals, teams, staff, and fans.

Looking to the future, Arocca was confident that the most recent report would generate further growth and open doors for large-scale financial support.

“I can tell you categorically that the 2014 report resulted in a lot more activity in the development of tracks,” Arocca revealed.

“We received more money from Victoria in the last two years, between

2018 and 2020, than any other time in our history.

“These sorts of reports are really good door openers, but the detail and the spend and the breakdown really crystallise the opportunities for government, regional areas, tourism and corporate sponsors.

“Governments didn’t quite understand it because all they saw was Supercars, but Supercars is really the tip of a very large iceberg, with 1000s of weekend competitors and officials going about their business, filling hotels, filling restaurants, staying for a week at a time.”

It is not just the report itself that will spur growth, the re-opening of society after Covid-19 lockdowns has also acted as a catalyst for motorsport participants to flock to the sport they love and will continue to do so heading into 2022.

“In March 2021, we had the highest number of renewals of licences and new licences in our history,” Arocca divulged.

“People are keeping their eye on events and keeping their eye on the calendar. And as soon as confidence is up, they will renew licenses or go and spend money on their car.

“I think 2022 will be a boom.”

Motorsport is far reaching in our country and judging by the 2019 EY report it is prepared to lead the charge in pushing the Australian economy into a brighter future.

Motorsport events inject millions of dollors into regional economies.

Events such as Bathurst 1000, Winton Supercars, Shannons Nationals events are big revinue generators for regions.

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RIVALRIES AND MOMENTS THAT DEFINED A CAREER.

Valentino Rossi built a global brand on a unique mix of charismatic character, paddock pranks and ruthless racing. Colin Young, who has covered over 450 grands prix including all of Rossi’s 115 GP victories, looks at the rivalries and memorable moments that defined Rossi the racer.

WHEN THE curtain came down on his 26 majestic seasons of grand prix racing, at the Valencia GP in November, Valentino Rossi had raced in 432 GPs — 44% of the total races run since the motorcycle world championship started in 1949!

Along the way he won 115 races and nine world titles, the only rider to win championships in four classes – 125, 250, 500cc and MotoGP. He also has the longest winning GP career across all classes; 20 years 311 days between his first GP victory in the

Legend meets legend – Valentino and Giacomo Agostini.

125cc class at Brno in 1997 and his last GP win at Assen in 2017.

Rossi also won GP races on seven different motorcycles: 125cc and 250cc Aprilias, Honda’s glorious NSR500, the 990cc, Honda V5, and three models of Yamaha’s YZR M1 family – 800cc, 990cc and 1000cc.

CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX: BARCELONA – 14 JUNE, 2009 JORGE LORENZO Jorge Lorenzo’s prominence within Yamaha was on the rise with the young Spaniard winning two of the opening five races and intent on dismantling Rossi’s dominate position within the factory squad.

A dividing wall in the garage was evidence of intensity of a growing feud, on and off the track.

Lorenzo was annoyingly fast with some copycat victory celebrations but, as defending champion, Rossi was eager to show he still had the edge over the young gun.

The opportunity came just as a famous victory looked certain for Lorenzo who had engaged Rossi in a pulsating contest of multiple overtakes.

But the audacity of Rossi’s breathtaking final corner overtake was a masterstroke – perhaps his finest ever overtake.

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Until the final corner Lorenzo had defended perfectly but drifted a metre wide as he braked late to cover Rossi, who reacted instinctively with a sublime inside move – clicking from third to second gear mid-corner – to stall a Lorenzo response.

Rossi described the last lap as “unbelievable” and the race stands as a classic in the history of the sport.

The race of a generation.

Rossi’s victory edged him to the title lead although level on 106 points with both Lorenzo and Casey Stoner (third in this race). In six races it was two wins apiece for this fabulous trio.

By the end of the season Rossi had won six races to Lorenzo’s four to secure his seventh but what would ultimately be his final premier class world championship.

But it was his 89 victories in the motorcycling’s premier class – 500cc and 4-stroke MotoGP – that defined his career.

Italian legend Giacomo Agostini is second on the list with 68. And it is Agostini who best summarises the impact of Rossi and his trademark VR46

brand that engulfed a legion of followers outside of motorcycle racing.

“Valentino is like Muhammad Ali as a sportsman – he wins so much he has this big emotional connection with so many fans,” Agostini said.

Rossi’s racing intellect was matched by his astute grasp

of embellishing his winning ways with a mischievous sense of fun and as a masterful media playmaker.

That was until it came to racing, which is when Rossi’s brutal instinct for winning kicked in with a remarkable physical and mental longevity and zest for racing.

“A real racer doesn’t go racing for fun.

You are there to win,” he said.

He was 17 when he came to the 125cc championship in 1996 and 42 when he departed, finishing 10th in his final MotoGP race in Valencia.

Along the way, Rossi did not play favourites and he engaged a cast of superstar riders in breathtaking battles that say as much about his career as the mind-blowing win statistics.

Rossi was an inventive racer, a sublime late braker and merciless overtaker.

“I counted six of them – the six top opponents in my career: (Max) Biaggi, (Sete) Gibernau, (Loris) Capirossi, (Casey) Stoner, (Jorge) Lorenzo and (Marc) Marquez,” Rossi said.

“Imagine (Niki) Lauda and (James) Hunt in Formula 1 ... they became myths having only one opponent.”

Rossi even turned the tables on Honda, the world’s biggest and richest motorcycle company, and won.

And one day he even raced himself for a historic victory at Phillip Island.

Six of Rossi’s 89 premier class wins came at the Island: “The best thing is that it is not a computer circuit – it is one of my favourites.”

The high-speed Island layout places a premium on skill with a race average speed of 177 kmph. Rossi won five races in a row (2001-2005) and then added a sixth Island victory in 2014.

JAPAN GRAND PRIX: SUZUKA – APRIL 8, 2001 MAX BIAGGI Rossi came to the big-time in 2000 aboard the Honda NSR500 that had carried Mick Doohan to five world titles and 54 race wins.

Then, as the 2001 season opened in Suzuka, there was more at stake than the 500cc world championship. There was the increasingly intense battle for the hearts and minds of fans and media between fellow Italian Max Biaggi and precocious newbie Rossi.

Biaggi was the fast and arrogant Roman, Rossi the fast and charismatic kid from Tavullia. Both were driven in the quest for greatness in grand prix racing.

Their rivalry exploded at over 160 kmph when Biaggi (Yamaha) elbowed Rossi (Honda) wide into the dirt at the top of Suzuka’s main straight.

Scary stuff.

Rossi responded to Biaggi’s nudge just one lap later with a decisive overtake, squeezing inside Biaggi on the brakes into Turn 1 and riding one-handed as he flipped the bird to Biaggi.

Rossi raced to a convincing victory, the first of 11 that season that delivered him the 500cc world championship – his first premier class crown. And this was Honda’s 500th GP win, celebrated at their home circuit.

More significantly was the role this moment played in the headline grabbing, hatred-filled feud with Biaggi.

It was a crucial in laying the platform for the legend Rossi would become over the next two decades.

“I would say that the rivalry with Max made us both famous, especially in Italy.” Rossi said.

Biaggi never won a premier class championship. Rossi finished with seven.

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Young blood. The next generation superstar who emerged to challenge the legend has been Marc Marquez, with six MotoGP titles to his name already.

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SOUTH AFRICAN GRAND PRIX PHILLIP ISLAND – 19 OCT, 2003 WELKOM – APRIL 18, 2004 ROSSI VERSUS JUST A SLAP FOR HONDA HIMSELF… Rossi’s place in grand prix history SPANISH GRAND PRIX JEREZ: APRIL 3, 2011 CASEY STONER It was tagged as the Italian dream team Valentino Rossi and Ducati joining forces in 2011.

But it quickly turned into a nightmare with Rossi’s uncomfortable transition to the Desmosedici in stark contrast to Casey Stoner’s switch to Honda the same year.

Stoner won the opening race in Qatar but there was a glimmer of upside for Ross at a rain hit Jerez.

Rossi was on podium pace until his messy braking move for second took out Stoner’s front wheel with both riders on the deck at turn one.

Stoner’s Honda would not restart, and he was still trackside when Rossi came past on his next lap getting a standing ovation from the Aussie!

When Rossi - still with helmet on - came to Stoner’s garage to apologise after finishing fifth in the race Stoner said: “Obviously your ambition outweighed your talent.”

Rossi admitted that Stoner was right to be “angry” and that he had “got excited and made a mistake.”

The first season of Rossi’s Ducati disaster saw him finish seventh in the points with Stoner winning the second of his world championships with 10 wins in his first year with Honda.

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Who wins when Valentino Rossi races Valentino Rossi?

Rossi answered that question with a mesmerising performance to win this iconic Island race.

This was a defining demonstrations of individual brilliance and a memorable moment in a fabulous career.

Rossi arrived at the Island (round 15) having already clinched his third consecutive world title. But he wasn’t done with winning and was a clear race favourite having qualified on pole.

Rossi was sixth on the opening lap but in his charge to the lead after Troy Bayliss crashed his Ducati at turn 4 he was issued a ten second penalty for passing passing under the yellow flags.

Crew chief Jeremy Burgess added the 10 seconds to the gap on the pit board to show Rossi, leader on the track: “P8 10 sec)” on lap 15 of 27.

Rossi twigged and raced alone to recover time, surging ahead of a squabbling pack that included Loris Capirossi, Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi.

Rossi reeled off a string of consecutive record laps, gapping rivals by a second a lap to take the chequered flag 15 seconds ahead of Loris Capirossi.

Rossi later observed it was an “incredible race” and the first time he had ridden flat out for the full distance.

With the penalty applied Rossi’s official winning margin over Capirossi is recorded as 5.212s!

Rossi would win more race for Honda, the final round in Valencia, before his defection to Yamaha.

changed forever at the opening race of the 2004 season.

After three consecutive world championships the combination of Rossi and Honda appeared impregnable – motorcycling mastermind Rossi and Honda’s innovative V5 990cc racer.

That is until Rossi’s dissatisfaction with the growing vibe from Honda Racing Corporation bosses that it was the bike that was winning and not the rider.

After a long series of clandestine negotiations, Rossi had turned his back on Honda and took his famed crew chief Jeremy Burgess with him to Yamaha for 2004.

It was a huge gamble, but Honda bosses were shattered when Rossi delivered an inspirational first up win on Yamaha’s in-line, 4-cylinder YZR-M1.

Better still, Rossi had won by just 0.2s ahead of Max Biaggi who had switched to Honda!

“Welkom 2004 was a unique moment. Nobody expected my victory and it was very emotional. It was a great challenge, and I was very brave,” Rossi said.

This was the first of 56 MotoGP wins on a Yamaha by Rossi, making him the most successful all time rider for the Japanese manufacturer.

By October Rossi clinched the first of four world championships for Yamaha, thus ending their 12 year losing streak since Wayne’s Rainey’s 1992 title.

SPANISH GRAND PRIX JEREZ – APRIL 10, 2005 SETE GIBERNAU Any hope the once thriving friendship between Valentino Rossi and Spain’s Sete Gibernau could be retrieved was buried at the opening race of the 2005 season.

The animosity had intensified in the aftermath of the previous year’s Qatar GP and Rossi’s brutal barb that Gibernau would never win another race.

As Yamaha’s new recruit, Rossi had beaten Honda man Gibernau to the 2004 title. The gloves were off – no room for niceties.

At Jerez, Rossi had shadowed pacemaker Gibernau to set-up a tense last lap showdown.

And a home race win beckoned for Gibernau as he swept ahead of Rossi into the final sequence of fast righthanders, seemingly with the advantage into the braking zone for the final hairpin.

But as Gibernau banked for the apex Rossi arrived straight and hard on the brakes to consume the gap, bumping with Gibernau, who went wide into the gravel to finish an angry, inconsolable second.

Gibernau delivered a death stare to Rossi in parc ferme and he scowled moodily on the podium.

Raging Spanish fans directed their displeasure at Rossi by chanting “hijo de puta” (son of a whore).

He may have lost some Spanish fans that day, but Rossi was unmoved and unapologetic.

“I know Sete is angry, but this is motorcycle racing, I was going for the win,” Rossi said.

US GRAND PRIX: LAGUNA SECA – JULY 20, 2008 CASEY STONER There was a heightened sense of urgency in advance of the 11th race of the 2008 season at Laguna Seca.

Rossi was 29 and acutely aware that many critics considered he was already a spent force, having conceded the 2007 title to Ducati’s 22-year-old Oz speedster Casey Stoner.

“I had won five titles, but my career was supposedly over,” he said.

Stoner had scored a hat trick of pole positions and wins at the previous three races – Donington, Assen and Sachsenring. Stoner was on pole again and race favourite.

Admitting Stoner’s “incredibly fast pace” Rossi’s game plan was to disrupt Stoner’s race rhythm.

The engagement was instantaneous and unforgiving and produced a move that defined their rivalry.

Rossi dived his Yamaha inside to grab the lead on entry to the notorious Corkscrew and then cut two wheels across the dirt to edge Stoner wide on the downhill switchback.

What followed was an astonishing contest with Rossi describing the Corkscrew move and the race as “iconic moments” in his career.

At the end of lap 23, Rossi headed Stoner by just six thousandths of a second (0.006). A lap later Stoner ran wide in a final corner braking duel to finish second.

In parc ferme Rossi attempted to ease the visible tension and Stoner’s frustration by smiling and saying, “this is racing Casey.”

“Oh this is racing?” responded Stoner. “Okay, we’ll see…”

The dramatic Laguna Seca victory put Rossi in a buoyant mood for the summer break. And he maintained his imperious form upon resumption winning another five races to regain the championship after consecutive defeats by Stoner (2007) and Nicky Hayden (2006).

Rossi was back as Yamaha’s #1 – although just at the beginning of growing intra-team rivalry with Jorge Lorenzo.

Valentino shares the podium with one of his fiercest rivals, Aussie Casey Stoner – and (right) with legendary Australian MotoGP engineer Jeremy Burgess, the man behind so much of his success.

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX SEPANG – OCTOBER 25, 2015 MARC MARQUEZ

The trigger for one of the darkest days in MotoGP was the Thursday afternoon pre-race press conference when Rossi went public with an inexplicable conspiracy theory.

Rossi claimed the tactics deployed by Honda’s new star Marc Marquez to win at Phillip Island the previous Sunday were part of a strategy to assist Jorge Lorenzo’s title campaign.

Yamaha teammates Lorenzo and Rossi (with an 11-point lead) were locked in a– tight battle for the title. Marquez was out of contention but in Rossi’s view a willing accomplice to stop him winning an eighth premier class championship – and a 10th in all classes.

Marquez, who as kid had photos of Rossi on his bedroom wall, was privately enraged. The simmering paddock vibe preceded a race that would be a brutal clash of the titans – Rossi v Marquez.

For seven laps Marquez antagonised Rossi in a breathtaking battle over third place.

The race erupted at Turn 14 when Rossi, with a menacing glance, glided inside Marquez, who crashed.

Race stewards pinged Rossi with a rear of grid start for the final race in Valencia.

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Lorenzo won that race and the championship, Rossi was fourth, missing the title by five points.

This really stung. If Rossi’s ploy was mind games on Marquez it had not paid off. Worse, Rossi conceded the title to hated Yamaha protagonist Lorenzo.

Rossi insists that this championship was “stolen” from him and that Marquez’s tactics at Sepang “destroyed our sport.”

“He always tries to make you scared,” he said.

This moment was the hallmark of a ruthless rivalry between Rossi and Marquez who had once adored the Italian superstar.

In our next issue of Auto Action, on sale Jan 13, we have part two and more about the life and times of Valentino Rossi

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VALENTINO ROSSIWORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS • • • • • • • • •

1997 - 125cc/Aprilia 1999 - 250cc/Aprilia 2001 - 500cc/Honda 2002 - MotoGP/Honda 2003 - MotoGP/Honda 2004 - MotoGP/Yamaha 2005 - MotoGP/Yamaha 2008 - MotoGP/Yamaha 2009 - MotoGP/Yamaha

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WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

The six-day Bathurst 1000 extravaganza saw several series champions crowned. Here is what some of them had to say after claiming their respective titles at the Mountain.

Images: Ross Gibb Photography/Daniel Kalisz

Story: Josh Nevett

Super2 Series – Broc Feeney

“I feel like I’ve dedicated my whole life, this past 12 months to this moment.

“I’ve honestly dreamed of standing on that roof and celebrating for the first half of the year pretending I was at the Gold Coast, that’s all I was dreaming about. To do it here, Bathurst, is very exciting.

“I finished school last year – I didn’t go to uni. I worked at Norwell Motorplex coaching people how to drive fast and that’s why I said this means so much to me, because I’ve put full 12 months of hard work into this and I feel like I’m a very deserving champion.

“To be Super3 and Super2 champion now means so much to me, and that’s why I’ve expressed so many emotions because it’s such a great moment.

“All the early mornings, all the 5am

Chaz’s TCR title heralded a pretty special weekend all round ...

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Aaron Cameron was the revelation of the S5000 Tasman series and a genuine winner – despite the final race dramas ... starts and all the long cycling rides and gym sessions, all the hard work ... it’s for this exact moment.”

Super3 Series – Nash Morris

“It’s pretty good to finish on top in an Australian championship. I never really thought I’d be able to say those words, that I’m an Australian champion. It’s cool.

“It was awesome to get up on that podium next to my mate Broc. I said to him how funny is it that two years ago I would have been cleaning his

windscreen before he went and won the Super3 championship in that car.

“Two years later, I’m racing that same car winning the same championship.”

TCR Australia Series – Chaz Mostert

“Super pumped to get the TCR title, fun series – it was a real dream week to be honest. With some hard young chargers out there and some really good talent, it was nice to wrap it all up, the team did an amazing job with the car all year, so I’m stoked for those guys as well.

“It tops off a year I’ll never forget, that’s for sure.”

S5000 Tasman Series – Aaron Cameron

“Incredible feeling.

“We obviously went into the Tasman Series with pretty low expectations ... we wanted to come out with some top five results, especially at Sydney.

“Windscreen cleaner wins Super3!” Nash Morris (left) graduated to driving and won the category, alongside good mate, Super2 champion Broc Feeney. Image: Ross Gibb

Touring Car Masters – John Bowe

“We weren’t even planning to do the second round. To come away with the win is special considering the names that are that are on the list before me.

“It certainly was not the best circumstances to lift that trophy in that way. But, at the same time, they’re the rules.

“It was really cool to have such a big crowd. I think we really turned some heads with how cool the category can be.”

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia – Cameron Hill

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s been a rollercoaster for a couple of years to be honest – with 2020 being cancelled and the interruptions this year, it almost didn’t look like it was going to happen.

“So, to come here at Bathurst and seal the deal, it’s really special.

“We had a great start to the year, and we were competitive everywhere.

We didn’t qualify lower than third the whole year ... six race wins on the trot ... it was awesome.

“We knew what we had to do when we got here – finish in the front. We did that and I’m just glad to bring it home straight.”

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“I’m obviously very gratified. I came up here to Bathurst thinking that I was a long shot for it – even though I had the lead in points, it wasn’t much.

Ryan Hansford has had more pace this year.

“I don’t normally get nervous before a race but sitting on the dummy grid yesterday morning I felt like I was bloody 25 again, trying to win the Gold Star or something.

“The car is six years old – it’s not one of the latest evolutions of TCM car, so I’m very pleased for the people who support me, which is quite a lot, and for the guys that do the work on the car.

“I love the category, I really do, all we need now I think for it to grow again. We need to get 30 cars out there.”

Veteran John Bowe (above) admitted to some nerves going into the TCM decider, while one of the youngest drivers, Nathan Herne (below), locked up the Trans Am title.

National Trans Am Series – Nathan Herne

“What better place to do it and it’s pretty cool to have spectators and fans.

“I thought I’d put on a bit of a show and lay a few liquorice straps to celebrate it all – it’s been pretty cool.

“This goes straight to the top of my achievements. Trans Am hasn’t got the big names behind it but we don’t have the big budgets either.

“Tim Brook is a fairly big name – he’s a bloody good driver, Edan Thornburrow, Kyle Gurton and Owen Kelly ... these guys have got massive talent and it’s definitely an accomplishment to beat them.

“To be able to do it all here and to reward the team, a bunch of blokes who work full time jobs and work on a car as a hobby, to beat some of the giants of the sport, Les Small, Paul Forgie, Glenn Seton, Marcos Ambrose… it’s been a big year for the underdog.”

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BATHURST ROOKIE Story: Josh Nevett Images: Insyde Media, Ross Gibb Photography TALK ABOUT being thrown in the deep end ... With all of two motorsport events to my name, none of them Supercars, Publisher Bruce is sending me to Bathurst. What’s more, no less than 10 categories are on the card for the 2021 Bathurst 1000 – not that I am complaining.

The drive there was the first challenge, my chosen route from Melbourne – via Lakes Entrance and Canberra to Bathurst (ED: Really?) – a test of endurance that elicited a far greater respect for the stamina that would be on displayed on Sunday.

Despite the near 12-hour total travel time, Mount Panorama snuck up on me. One moment the view was rolling hills without a township in sight, the next it was the imposing mountain, with its seasonally decorative security cordons and directional signage. Car parks were relatively quiet at this point, but the crowds were set to swell with the air of anticipation that this year’s unique edition has generated. This was Bathurst after all – motorsport nirvana, a pilgrimage like no other.

Even from the opening day, it certainly was like being a kid in a candy shop. To have such a diverse array of categories competing on the iconic circuit was truly once in a lifetime stuff, the sights and sounds of an early Christmas gift that I won’t forget in a hurry. One moment

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there was the aggression of Coyotepowered open-wheel S5000s, the next a Porsche flat-six symphony. Immersed in it all, the weekend arrived in no time.

Speaking of kids, Saturday delivered the pleasure of spending time with 19-year-old Broc Feeney in the Triple Eight Race Engineering ‘Enforcer and the Kid’ wildcard garage. Like myself (at 23 years young), the newly crowned Super2 Series Champion classifies as a Bathurst junior, having only visited the venue a handful of times.

pares 2021 Bathurst 1000 field pre Launch time approaches. The race.

1 202 the of start to roll out to the grid for the

When I asked him what it took for a young driver to succeed amongst a field of far more experienced names, his answer was priceless … “Big balls,” he said.

The teenager has far more than that going for him, of course. Feeney possesses dedication, passion and talent that will have the Australian motorsport community watching with interest as he steps up to the Supercars Championship next year. After a chat and some photos, it was back to the hotel, time to prepare for my biggest day since joining Auto Action.

When race day finally rolled around after an inadequate night’s sleep, the excitement was palpable. The crowds were up and about early, huddling outside garages to grab a last-minute autograph or decipher the preparations occurring within. The media room was also buzzing, journalists anticipating the narratives that could unfold throughout the 2021 Great Race.

There was no time for either of those activities though, as I had a meeting with the Prime Minister to attend. Said meeting consisted of watching Scott Morrison impress a few dozen media

attendees with his surprising flexibility, gracefully climbing in and out of the Gen3 Ford Mustang as part of an efficient visit. It was no doubt entertaining, but I could not help glancing at my watch, willing 12:15pm closer.

Such an effort at time travel appeared successful – the next minute, I was among the masses on the grid taking in a sporting experience like no other.

Punters, press and the professionals all bump shoulders, the former servicing their Instagram followers with footage of the heroes and machines from less than a foot away. In no other sport does this take place just half an hour away from the action. Imagine the fans at the AFL Grand Final taking selfies with players in the change rooms, or Boxing Day Test

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attendees inspecting the pitch before Day 1 … it’s unheard of.

Again, I was not complaining. The stars appeared mostly calm, no doubt aware that too much nervous energy would be detrimental to their performance in the upcoming six-hour marathon.

All the tension was released as the lights went out, successive roars emitted from the crowd and the V8s respectively.

Given the uncertainty of the times we live in, I was unsure of what to expect from the 2021 edition of The Great Race. It therefore came as a slight disappointment when the first half of the main event was, well … dull. It was all driver changes and tyre life rather than carnage and drama.

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My wishes were granted soon after though, as the humble Echidna became my favourite member of the animal kingdom.

From the point of the marsupial’s invasion onwards, it was the Bathurst I expected; Safety Cars, attrition, heartbreak and euphoria. It all peaked in the final couple of hours, collective hearts racing as Feeney fell at the final hurdle, SVG drove his car past its limits and Mostert held his nerve to become a deserving two-time winner, alongside good-news-story Lee Holdsworth.

Cue the party. Fans storm the track, jumping from their seats to crowd outside the presentation area as confetti filled the air. A satisfying end to what was a true motorsport festival. The crowd numbers were certainly down on previous years (thanks Covid), but the grandeur of Bathurst was not in short supply.

I elected to wrap up the week with a walk down pit lane, soaking in the atmosphere for the final time as teams begun to pack transporters in fading light.

Most garages were quickly emptied, but the activities in a couple encouraged me to linger.

At Walkinshaw Andretti United, celebrations were in full swing, drinks shared after a fruitful week’s work.

Further up, outside Erebus’ base, it was team photo time, plenty of jokes and smiles after a podium finish in the big one.

Having completed my lap of the paddock, crossing the bridge over Conrod straight for the last time brought mixed feelings. Firstly, what a privilege it had been to attend an event so steeped in history at such an early stage of my career. But more than just appreciating what Bathurst 2021 had been, I found myself deeply wishing that it wasn’t over. The close of the Supercars season means an extended break, one that could not have come at

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Top left: Broc Feeney wins the Super2 Championship ... then meets AA ‘s new recuit!

Left: Not a drop of the forecast rain arrived, and Tim Brook (Mustang) ran second in Trans Am..

Above: The crowds – and AA – were back at the Mountain in force ...

a worse time, my will to be among the sport at an all time high. Nevertheless, what a way to close out 2021 and what a fantastic reward for fans and the industry, which has been so heavily disrupted for two years.

Signing off on my journey as a Bathurst rookie, one thing is for sure. In the words of Arnold S Schwarzenegger … I’ll be baaack.

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Formula 1

Round 21 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

WILD & CRAZY Two red flags and three virtual Safety Cars – F1 had quite a weekend ...

Report: Dan Knutson Images: Motorsport Images THE INAUGURAL Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was an action-packed race that ended with Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) winning and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finishing second. As a result the duo was tied in championship points heading into the season-finale in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton started on pole for the 103rd time in his F1 career and won his 103rd F1 race. Said race had two red flags, two standing re-starts and numerous safety car and virtual safety car periods because of accidents and debris on the track.

“I’ve been racing a long time but that was incredibly tough,” Hamilton said. “I tried to be as sensible and as tough as I could be out there, but also sensible with all my race experience over the years, just keeping the car on track and staying clean.”

Verstappen and Hamilton spent many of the race’s 50 laps racing wheel-to-wheel and eventually collided, resulting in two penalties and plenty of fallout.

The first red flag came on lap 10 after Mick Schumacher crashed his Haas. The second red flag was on lap 15 after a collision involving George Russell (Williams), Nikita Mazepin (Haas) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull).

On the re-start after the first red flag, Verstappen passed Hamilton for the lead, but only by going off the track and then forcing Hamilton wide at Turn 2.

While the race was stopped for a second time, race director, Aussie Michael Masi, put Verstappen back to third place for the second re-start. But he breezed past Hamilton and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) to take the lead.

Hamilton tried to pass Verstappen going into Turn 1 at the start of lap 37. But Verstappen didn’t yield and both went off the track. Masi ordered Red Bull to tell Verstappen to give the lead to Hamilton.

Verstappen slowed to let Hamilton past, but braked hard as they approached Turn 27, the final bend before the long straight. (Verstappen wanted to be behind Hamilton and then use DRS on him to re-overtake into Turn 1).

The resulting collision damaged one of the Mercedes’ front wing end plates.

The stewards gave Verstappen a five second time penalty for the first incident, ruling that he left the track and gained a lasting advantage at Turn 1. After the race they tacked on another 10 seconds for Verstappen brake-testing Hamilton.

Mercedes told Hamilton that race control had instructed Verstappen to give the place back. On lap 42 Verstappen let Hamilton by, but then immediately passed him back.

On lap 43 Hamilton re-passed Verstappen, and this time didn’t give him a chance to come back.

“There was definitely a lot of action today ... a lot of things happened,” Verstappen said. “I was told to give the position back, so I moved off the racing line and slowed down, Lewis just stayed behind me, I don’t understand why he didn’t pass. I don’t agree with the five-second penalty, but it is what it is and we’ll just move on.

“We didn’t have perfect pace in the race today, so that’s something to work on looking ahead to Abu Dhabi.”

Hamilton was clearly unhappy with Verstappen’s tactics.

“It was clear that others around us were willing to take it to all sorts of levels in order to overtake,” Hamilton

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Saudi Arabia presented a fast, concrete-lined circuit which produced a string of first corner squeezes ...

Lewis (left) again set the fashion benchmark ...

All cars carried a tribute to Sir Frank Williams (below).

The podium was expansive (above) ... but faced with rose water instead of champagne, Verstappen left early – well that’s what he said ... The Red Bull number one provided a lot of sparkling action during the race ...

said, “so I just tried to keep it on the track and stay out of trouble, which meant avoiding incidents if I could.”

During the final laps Verstappen faded back as his medium compound Pirelli tyres were not standing up as well as Hamilton’s hards.

Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) finished third after passing Ocon on the last lap right at the start/finish line.

“It wasn’t an easy day – there were so many obstacles with the red flags and all the incidents, it made it a bit tricky,” Bottas said. “I just kept pushing, Esteban drove

Standing restart action: While Lewis was busy worrying about Ocon, Verstappen hurled the RedBull down the inside.

Ferrari had a modest weekend – including this practice shunt for Leclerc (right).

2021 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 50 LAPS

Pretty at night, but the fast street-style layout raised sfaety concerns from some drivers.

great today. He was difficult to pass but I hung in there for an exciting finish.”

Ocon: “I gave it my all today. The competitor inside of me is disappointed to miss out on the podium by such a short distance.

As for Daniel Ricciardo, the Aussie qualified 11th after damaging the floor of his McLaren in qualifying.

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But he managed to finish fifth.

“That felt like the longest race ever!” he said. “The race start was so late (8 pm) so it already felt like a long day, and then with all the restarts it felt even longer. The starts were good – I always made up positions until the last one where I stayed fourth.

“I used the hard tyre for the race start, so we couldn’t really use it for the restart and were forced to go on the medium, and I think the hard was the better tyre. So, I couldn’t quite get Esteban (Ocon), and I tried to hold off Valtteri (Bottas) as long as I could.

“I was surprised how long I held him off, but I think once he let his tyres reset, it was quite hard to keep him behind. I defended him one lap, re-passed him and then he got me. I struggled a bit at the end with the tyres, so I’m happy to have held on to a top five.”

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Pos Driver 1 Lewis Hamilton 2 Max Verstappen 3 Valtteri Bottas 4 Esteban Ocon 5 Daniel Ricciardo 6 Pierre Gasly 7 Charles Leclerc 8 Carlos Sainz Jr. 9 Antonio Giovinazzi 10 Lando Norris 11 Lance Stroll 12 Nicholas Latifi 13 Fernando Alonso 14 Yuki Tsunoda 15 Kimi Raikkonen DNF Sebastian Vettel DNF Sergio Perez DNF Nikita Mazepin DNF George Russell DNF Mick Schumacher

Team Mercedes Red Bull Racing Mercedes Alpine McLaren AlphaTauri Ferrari Ferrari Alfa Romeo Racing McLaren Aston Martin Williams Alpine AlphaTauri Alfa Romeo Racing Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Haas Williams Haas

Laps 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 49 49 49 44 14 14 14 8

Margin +21.825s +27.531s +27.633s +40.121s +41.613s +44.475s +46.606s +58.505s +61.358s +77.212s +83.249s +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap Collision Collision Collision Collision Crash

Points: Verstappen 369.5, Hamilton 369.5, Bottas 218, Perez 190, Leclerc 158, Norris 154, Sainz 149.5, Ricciardo 115, Gasly 100, Alonso 77, Ocon 72, Vettel 43, Stroll 34, Tsunoda 20, Russell 16, Raikkonen 10, Latifi 7, Giovinazzi 3 Constructors’: Mercedes 587.5, Red Bull Racing 559.5, Ferrari 307.5, McLaren 269, Alpine 149, AlphaTauri 120, Aston Martin 77, Williams 23, Alfa Romeo Racing 13, Haas 0

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Formula 1

Round 22 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

THE MIRACLE CONTROVERSY Max Verstappen is the champion for now Report: Dan Knutson Images: Motorsport Images MAX VERSTAPPEN won the race and the championship in Abu Dhabi, but a controversial last lap caused Mercedes to file two protests in the hopes that Lewis Hamilton would be declared the winner. The stewards dismissed both protests, but Mercedes announced it would consider filing an appeal.

With about 10 laps remaining Red Bull boss Christian Horner said it would take “a miracle” for his driver to win the race.

That miracle came on lap 52 of 58 when Nicholas Latifi spun his Williams into the wall, and that brought the safety car out on the track.

Until then Hamilton had ruled the race in his Mercedes.

Hamilton and Verstappen arrived at the season finale tied in points, so whoever finished ahead of the other would be crowned world champion. Verstappen qualified on pole and Hamilton lined up second.

Hamilton took the lead at the start and after the duo nearly collided he pulled away. The Mercedes simply had more raw pace than the Red Bull.

The Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 34 so that the marshals could remove Antonio Giovinazzi’s stranded Alfa Romeo. The drivers must hold station during a VSC period, so Verstappen was not able to close the gap on Hamilton.

It was a different scenario, however, when the safety car came out on lap 53. But there were five lapped drivers – Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel – between Hamilton

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A failed first lap lunge by Verstappen on Hamilton, set the tone for the radio chatter to race director Michael Masi, it continued to the very end of the race... and Verstappen. The latter ducked into the pits for a new set of Pirelli’s soft compound slicks. Hamilton stayed out on the worn hard compound slicks that had been on his car since lap 15.

The F1 race director, Aussie Michael Masi, originally said that lapped drivers would not be allowed to unlap themselves, but then said only those five drivers would be permitted to do so. Verstappen, therefore, was now

right on Hamilton’s tail.

The race went green on the final lap, and Verstappen and Hamilton were side-by-side before Verstappen went on to win.

Mercedes filed two protests. One that Verstappen had passed Hamilton during the safety car period, and another that Masi’s decision to only permit only those five and not any other drivers to unlap themselves

A great start from Lewis Hamilton meant that he held the high ground, the team didnt want to give it up and Red Bull got inside them and took the race with a little help from the safety car...

2021 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 58 LAPS Pos Driver 1 Max Verstappen 2 Lewis Hamilton 3 Carlos Sainz Jr. 4 Yuki Tsunoda 5 Pierre Gasly 6 Valtteri Bottas 7 Lando Norris 8 Fernando Alonso 9 Esteban Ocon 10 Charles Leclerc 11 Sebastian Vettel 12 Daniel Ricciardo 13 Lance Stroll 14 Mick Schumacher DNF Sergio Perez DNF Nicholas Latifi DNF Antonio Giovinazzi DNF George Russell DNF Kimi Raikkonen DNS Nikita Mazepin

Team Red Bull Racing Mercedes 58 Ferrari AlphaTauri AlphaTauri Mercedes McLaren Alpine Alpine Ferrari Aston Martin McLaren Aston Martin Haas Red Bull Racing Williams Alfa Romeo Racing Williams Alfa Romeo Racing Haas

Laps Margin 58 +2.256s 58 +5.173s 58 +5.692s 58 +6.531s 58 +7.463s 58 +59.200s 58 +61.708s 58 +64.026s 58 +66.057s 58 +67.527s 57 +1 lap 57 +1 lap 57 +1 lap 55 Retirement 50 Crash 33 Retirement 26 Retirement 25 Brakes 0 Retirement

Kimi’s 349th race ended with a small crash after a brake issue.

McLaren showed promise but failed to deliver.

Final Points: Verstappen 369.5, Hamilton 369.5, Bottas 218, Perez 1Verstappen 395.5, Hamilton 387.5, Bottas 226, Perez 190, Sainz 164.5, Norris 160, Leclerc 159, Ricciardo 115, Gasly 110, Alonso 81, Ocon 74, Vettel 43, Stroll 34, Tsunoda 32, Russell 16, Raikkonen 10, Latifi 7, Giovinazzi 3, Schumacher 0, Kubica 0, Mazepin 0 Constructors’: Mercedes 613.5, Red Bull Racing 585.5, Ferrari 323.5, McLaren 275, Alpine 155, AlphaTauri 142, Aston Martin 77, Williams 23, Alfa Romeo Racing 13, Haas 0

was not consistent with the regulations. The stewards rejected both protests.

So Verstappen remained the winner of the race and the title.

“It feels incredible to be world champion,” he said, “and I couldn’t have asked for a more insane last race of the year. It was a bit of a rollercoaster, from not really having a chance of winning until the last lap, everything came together, and we had to go for it. I kept saying to myself, I am just going to give it my all and I have until the end and that is what we did. Of course, with that

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practice shunt for Leclerc (right).

safety car restart in the last lap we had the fresher tyres but you still need to do the move – luckily it worked out.”

Hamilton congratulated Verstappen right after the race.

“Firstly, a big congratulations to Max and to his team,” said Hamilton. “I think we did an amazing job this year.

My team, everyone back at the factory ... all the men and women ... have worked so hard this whole year. It’s been the most difficult of seasons. I’m so proud of them, so grateful to be a part of the journey with them.”

Carlos Sainz finished third in his Ferrari.

“It definitely gives me satisfaction to finish the year stronger than I started,” he said. “I think I also managed to start the year on a very good level, which was the biggest challenge, learning a new car.”

This was Kimi Räikkönen’s 349th and final grand prix – no other driver has more F1 starts.

Unfortunately, his F1 career ended after 25 laps when he had to retire his Alfa Romeo.

“It’s been nice to see so many people showing their appreciation today, even if the race didn’t go as we hoped..” he said. “We had an issue after the pit-stop, a technical problem that meant we finished earlier today.

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That’s racing, sometimes things fail, but today’s result doesn’t influence how I feel about my career. I’m happy to move on to a normal life, I am looking forward to it.

Of course, I will miss a lot of the great people I met over the years; 20 years have gone quickly, I made lots of memories, some good, some bad, and these are going to stay with me forever.”

Daniel Ricciardo’s 11th F1 season ended on a lackluster note. The Aussie qualified his McLaren 10th and finished 12th.

“We made a position on the first lap, which put us in the fight with the Alpines,” he said. “I felt like I had a bit more pace than them, but it was honestly just really tricky to overtake. We tried to stick it out but with the Virtual Safety Car we lost positions. I think in clear air I would’ve had a bit more pace to show, but it was just tricky with track position.

“That’s what happens when you qualify a little too far back. Something I want to improve next year is the performance on Saturdays, and I think that’ll make the Sundays a bit easier.”

Thus the season ended in controversy and uncertainty about who will be the 2021 world champion.

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Formula 2

OSCAR THE F2 CHAMP Report: Dan McCarthy Images: Motorsport Images

AS WE WROTE on page 3, Auto Action columnist Oscar Piastri is the new FIA Formula 2 World Champion having dominated the final two rounds of the season, here is how he did it.

THE SEVENTH round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship took place on the brand new Saudi Arabian street circuit in Jeddah.

The fast twisting 27 turn track would prove a challenge for many F2 drivers, however Piastri took two race wins and extended his lead in the championship substantially to put one hand on the championship trophy.

Our Aussie was not phased by the challenging layout, taking his fourth consecutive pole

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position by 0.165s ahead of his teammate Robert Shwartzman and Theo Pourchaire.

Piastri’s closest F2 title rival Guanyu Zhou fell from third to sixth late in the session.

The 2021 F3 Championship runner-up Aussie Jack Doohan was making his F2 Championship debut and qualified in 16th of the 22 starters.

Race 1 as always was an inversion of the top 10 qualifiers and saw Piastri start mid-pack, in the early laps he elected to stay there as he wanted to get the inverted pole position for Race 2.

Piastri was briefly pressured from behind and therefore moved up to eighth to secure himself third on the grid for Race 2.

UNI-Virtuosi’s Zhou saw his title chances dealt a severe blow, he spun on the opening of the race when he tried an unsuccessful move up the inside of Christian Lundgaard at Turn 2, he could only recover to finish 17th and started there for the second race.

In his first race, Doohan came home just outside the points in 11th, while upfront it was a Kiwi 1-2 with Marcus Armstrong beating home Liam Lawson.

In Race 2 Piastri made a solid start from third and made his way by Bent Viscaal on the exit of Turn 2 to take second position.

The race turned into more of a demolition derby than a race, with a multi-car incident behind at Turn 1. Another safety car was thrown on lap 6 and it was not until lap 9 that a clean lap was completed.

On the second restart Piastri forced Jehan Daruvala into a mistake at Turn 1, the Indian locked

up and cut Turn 2 resulting in a 5s penalty.

Despite this Piastri still caught and passed the Indian with six laps remaining would go on to cruise to the chequered flag, taking his fourth race victory of the season.

Shwartzman finished third, while Zhou was eighth and as a result the Russian took second in the championship.

Impressively from 11th on the grid Doohan marched forward and finished fifth in just his second race.

In the Saudi Arabia Feature Race only half points were awarded, the race was declared after two significant crashes.

Piastri won the crash-filled affair allowing him to extend his championship lead further heading into the final round.

Piastri took the win from his Prema Racing teammate Shwartzman and Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung.

The first accident occurred immediately as the lights went, Pourchaire stalled in third and while many drivers behind avoided him Enzo Fittipaldi was unsighted and ploughed into the back of the stationary ART Grand Prix machine.

Both Pourchaire and Fittipaldi were confirmed as conscious, however the latter suffered a broken heel.

The crash led to a lengthy delay, after which the race was shortened to 20 minutes plus one lap, however it did not even go the shortened distance, declared after just five laps when Guilherme Samaia and Olli Caldwell collided.

TITLE SECURED

IT WAS an emphatic and mature drive from Piastri to secure the FIA Formula 2 Championship in the opening race of the weekend in Abu Dhabi.

After taking a record equalling fifth consecutive pole position, once again Piastri was pushed back to 10th for the inverted grid race.

All Piastri had to do was finish in the top five to wrap up the title in the opening race and he delivered a typically mature and authoritative drive that we have become accustomed to.

The Victorian made a blinding start, overtaking Doohan, Zhou, Boschung and the slow starting Pourchaire all before Turn 1.

The Alpine Academy driver and 2022 Alpine F1 reserve driver continued to progress without incident. He latched onto his teammates tail on lap 1 and continued to move through the field, overtaking Englishman Dan Ticktum on lap 3 and then Lawson on lap 7.

Piastri could have remained in fourth to win the title, but with a clear pace advantage over Shwartzman he elected to go for the move, pulling off a well-executed pass to take third position into Turn 6 on lap 20.

He defended on the run to the new Turn 9, and from then on was never threatened, he remained in third, finishing on the podium to secure the F2 Championship in style.

Daruvala fought off a late race attack from Felipe Drugovich to win the race.

Doohan, in just his fourth Formula 2 Championship race finished in 11th, less than one second away from a point.

Piastri retired from the second race of the weekend after he and Roy Nissany collided at Turn 9.

The Aussie made an aggressive start on the opening lap with a dive up the inside of Lawson, the two made contact and dropped down the field, it was a couple of laps later when Piastri and Nissany came to blows

buried in the pack.

Once again in the reverse grid race Doohan marched forwards to finish in eighth and bag another point.

The next day Piastri rounded off his title winning season in style by taking victory, his sixth of the season.

It was his fourth Feature Race win in succession. He elected to start the race on the soft compound tyres.

He immediately pulled a margin and continued to stretch it in the opening stint, he pitted before the one-third race distance and his Prema fitted with the harder compound tyres.

Impressively he continued to chip away lap after lap slowly edging away from Zhou.

Zhou brought his car home in second utilising the same tyre strategy, while Drugovich rounded out the podium using the alternate strategy, running on the mediums first and ending the race on the soft tyres.

Pourchaire was ahead of Drugovich in the closing stages, however a slow stop saw him fall behind, Pourchaire briefly repassed the Brazilian who ran wide at Turn 5, however not for long.

The pair breezed by Shwartzman on lap 32 and went on to finish third and fourth ahead of Shwartzman and Ticktum.

Doohan incredibly qualified in second, however crashed out of the race on the opening lap trying to hold Zhou at bay.

He held the place into Turn 1, but ran wide allowing Zhou up the inside into Turn 2, Doohan held his ground and reclaimed the place up the inside around Turn 3.

Later in the lap Zhou made a move at the reprofiled Turn 9, Doohan ran wide and when he re-joined the track lost the rear end of his car, sliding backwards into the wall.

Final Standings: Piastri 252.5, Shwartzman 192, Zhou 183, Ticktum 159.5, Pourchaire 140

Jack doohan impressed in his two outings in Formula 2

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THURSDAY-SATURDAY BATHURST 1000

MOSTERT AND WATERS FASTEST EARLY

THURSDAY IT WAS clear in the first two practice sessions alone that Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert and their respective codrivers would be fighting up the front all weekend long as they came out of the

Early signs that Cam Waters would be fast came though on Thursday.

gates firing on Thursday.

Waters was fastest in the opening practice session from Mostert, while at the end of the day it was Mostert’s codriver Lee Holdsworth who was fastest

FRIDAY

from Waters’ co-driver James Moffat.

There was action just five minutes into the opening practice session as smoke began to bellow out the rear of the CocaCola sponsored Commodore driven by Will Brown continued his hot form into Bathurst.

1000 ROOKIE ON PROV POLE PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING day, and once again it was Waters who started the day off at the head of the field from recently crowned champion van Gisbergen and Mostert, while retiring full-time driver Whincup showed his true pace for the first time ending the session in fourth.

It was the same trio at the top again in practice 4, Mostert ended up on top from van Gisbergen and Waters in the final session before qualifying.

The next best car was Nick Percat, who was over 0.5s slower than his future teammate Mostert. Whincup was buried in 20th, electing not to set many laps on new tyres.

Conditions for qualifying were almost

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perfect and there were limited off track excursions througout the session, nevertheless there was still a major upset.

Qualifying itself was a slow builder that reached a dramatic crescendo.

At the end the 40-minute session, Erebus Motorsport full-time rookie Will Brown claimed provisional pole position, at the other end of the scale the retiring seven-time champion Whincup missed out on a Top 10 Shootout spot.

Brown set his 2m 03.898s time with around four minutes remaining and despite Waters, Mostert and van Gisbergen’s best efforts they were unable to knock off the Erebus

Motorsport driver.

Times tumbled lap after lap as the session progressed and although Whincup looked comfortable inside the top 10 with a handful of minutes to go, he was nudged out.

He sat in ninth when the chequered flag flew, however both Tickford Racing driver Jack Le Brocq and South Australian Tim Slade bettered Whincup’s time and demoted him to 11th.

Brown was fastest and therefore would go out last in Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout.

The top three were separated by less than 0.1s at the end of the session, Brown taking pole by 0.022s from Anton

Macauley Jones. As a result the red flag was thrown and he was forced to sit out a majority of the session.

With under 10 minutes remaining a large majority of the field elected to put on new green tyres.

Waters leapt to the top with three minutes to go, where he remained from Mostert, Will Davison, James Courtney and Mark Winterbottom. Shane van Gisbergen was on a good time, but trickled off the road at The Chase.

Jones re-joined the session with 10 minutes to go, his issues dealt with… or so Brad Jones Racing thought, he suffered the same failure on his final lap.

The first one-hour session was for all drivers, the second practice was for co-drivers only, and by the end, the codrivers were running times not far away from those set by the full-time drivers earlier in the day.

Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Holdsworth found himself at the top of the timesheets from Moffat and Alex Davison.

The two Triple Eight cars traded top spot with a quarter of the session remaining, however late on slipped down the order, Garth Tander was fourth and Lowndes sixth.

After Jones missed much of practice 1, Chris Pither ended a wretched day for the #96 BJR crew, he hit the inside wall at The Elbow which ricocheted the car into the outside concrete wall, this caused substantial damage and overnight work for the team. de Pasquale and Mostert.

Slade’s final lap saw him leap up to fourth place ahead of Waters and Brown’s teammate Brodie Kostecki.

Next came 2021 Supercars champion and reigning Bathurst 1000 winner van Gisbergen, Will Davison, Percat and le Brocq.

The rest of the grid was formed for Sunday’s 1000km race. Whincup missed out on a top 10 slot by 0.022s, he would start just ahead of WAU driver Bryce Fullwood and the two Team 18 machines of Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom.

Wildcard Broc Feeney sat on the verge of the top 10 for much of the session, however by the end of the final runs found himself in 15th ahead of the man that he made his Bathurst 1000 debut alongside in 2020, James Courtney.

Kelly Grove Racing’s Andre Heimgartner was 17th from Todd Hazelwood, David Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard, Jake Kostecki, Jones, Zane Goddard, Jack Smith and Garry Jacobson who ended the 40-minute qualifying session in the gravel at Murray’s Corner.

TOP 10 QUALIFIERS Pos Driver 1 Will Brown 2 Anton De Pasquale 3 Chaz Mostert 4 Tim Slade 5 Cameron Waters 6 Brodie Kostecki 7 Shane van Gisbergen 8 Will Davison 9 Nick Percat 10 Jack Le Brocq

Time 2m 03.8989s 2m 03.9218s 2m 03.9770s 2m 04.1540s 2m 04.2035s 2m 04.2201s 2m 04.2278s 2m 04.3078s 2m 04.4421s 2m 04.4933s

Y A D R U T A S

Pole position at Bathurst is always a big deal, it was hard to hide the great emotions the WAU team showed.

MOSTERT’S SHOOUTOUT BREAKER

Anton nailed the most poles for the 2021 season but not at Bathurst

SATURDAY STARTED in dramatic fashion, Craig Lowndes, co-driver to Whincup reported incredibly violent vibrations in the car, much worse than what Whincup encountered on Friday.

Just minutes into the session Heimgartner’s co-driver, Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Matt Campbell clipped the wall with the leftfront at Reid Park, and was forced to limp back to the pits.

As he did a component failed in that section of the car and fired him into the right-hand wall on Conrod Straight. He had to be brought back to pits on a loader, concluding his session just 15 minutes in.

Tander and Brodie Kostecki’s teammate David Russell both had offs at The Chase.

Tander locked the right front and literally flew over the grass, while Russell suffered a component failure which made the car very loose into the chicane, he was lucky to get out the gravel, but his session was done as the team had to make repairs.

Holdsworth was again fastest, 0.396s clear of Golding and Warren Luff.

Practice 6, the final practice session of the

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weekend ran smoothly, the only incidents were on the #4 BJR car where a broken door handle forced Smith into the lane.

With the short turnaround between sessions the Heimgartner and Campbell pairing lost over half the session.

In the quali sim runs it was Mostert fastest from van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki.

The Top 10 Shootout, one lap, the mountain to yourself, if fastest you start from first on the grid.

Tickford’s le Brocq went first setting a solid benchmark with a 2m 05.33s time, however le Brocq himself was disappointed with the time.

Up next was 2011 Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat, the South Australian had a big kick of oversteer exiting the Cutting and was pushing hard, he ended the lap 0.43s faster than le Brocq to go p1.

This would not last long as Davison was next, the DJR driver was half a tenth slower in sector 1, however despite tapping the wall at Forrest’s Elbow, two purple sectors to finish the lap shot him to the top of the timesheets.

Van Gisbergen was next, and you could tell

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at Turn 1 he was giving it his all, incredibly 0.397s up on Davison in just the first sector alone. He shot down the hill but clipped the inside wall at the Elbow which cost him crucial momentum down Conrod Straight.

Van Gisbergen went to the top, however he lost time compared to Davison in the final sector of the lap.

Next was Brodie Kostecki, who was taking part in his maiden Bathurst 1000 Shootout, not that you could tell. He was faster than van Gisbergen up and down the hill, the Erebus Motorsport driver was millimetre perfect.

He set the fastest time of the weekend and was the first to driver in the shootout to go under the 124s barrier with a 2m 03.773s.

Next was Waters, a man who had shown real form throughout the weekend to this point, Waters had a big crack, win it or bin it style.

He grazed the wall at The Cutting, Sulman Park and locked the rear brakes into The Elbow, the stopwatches rewarded his commitment, he went 0.086s faster than Kostecki.

Next up was Blanchard Racing Team driver Slade who completed a smooth and solid lap, and was actually faster than Waters in sector 2, he slotted into third, behind Kostecki and ahead of SVG. Mostert was next, the lap itself did not look ragged or high risk but silky smooth, the time was quick, very quick, the fastest ever Bathurst 1000 Top 10 Shootout lap. Mostert now held provisional pole by 0.31s.

De Pasquale, the qualifying king throughout the year, what could he achieve? In sector 1 he was 0.3s down, however was faster than anyone coming down the mountain.

He slid out of the final Turn and went second fastest, just 0.023s faster than Waters.

Like his teammate Kostecki, it was Brown’s

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TOP 10 SHOOTOUT Pos Driver 1 Chaz Mostert 2 Anton De Pasquale 3 Cameron Waters 4 Tim Slade 5 Shane van Gisbergen 6 Will Davison 7 Nick Percat 8 Jack Le Brocq DSQ Will Brown DSQ Brodie Kostecki

Time 2m 03.3736s 2m 03.6634s 2m 03.6864s 2m 04.0508s 2m 04.3648s 2m 04.7787s 2m 04.8988s 2m 05.3313s

first Bathurst 1000 Shootout. The lap was good, but he was unable to replicate the true pace of Friday, 0.6s off pole he qualified in fifth, or so he thought…

Erebus Motorsport teammates Kostecki and Brown qualified fourth and fifth respectively but both were disqualified from the session.

It was found that although the cars themselves were over the minimum legal weight limit, both cars ran with doors that were underweight.

The grid was set, Mostert would start on pole position for the first time from Ford driver De Pasquale.

Waters would start on the second row from third, now alongside Slade who inherited fourth.

Van Gisbergen moved up to fifth ahead of Davison, Percat, le Brocq and then the Erebus Motorsport drivers of Brown and Kostecki.

Brodie was a bit stiff to get pinged for a light weight door

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RACE REPORT BATHURST 1000

SUNDAY

A SUNDAY DRIVE Images:

Finally after years of trying Lee Holdsorth tasted success at ‘The Mountain’ sharing a great car with his fast team mate in Chaz Mostaert.

Images: Motorsport Images

Report: Dan McCarthy THE BIG day commenced with a 20-minute warm up session, allowing teams and drivers time to make sure all systems were set and ready to go for the 1000km endurance race.

Wildcard Broc Feeney topped the times, however this session was not about lap times, it was mainly about pitstop practice, rehearsing driver changes, rotor changes and tyre changes.

It was also a good test for drivers to push on cold tyres and find the limit when entering the pit lane.

Feeney topped the timesheets from Mostert, van Gisbergen, Courtney and Randle.

The only hiccup was for car #20, the Pye and Golding Commodore which suffered a power steering issue at the end of the session, forcing the Team 18 crew to change the power steering rack before the start of the Bathurst 1000.

At midday, all 25 Supercars were lined up on the grid in preparation for the latest ever Bathurst 1000 commencement.

Everyone had made it to the grid as the excitement levels rose around the 6.213km circuit.

The vast majority of teams elected to field their co-drivers in the opening stint, only eight of the 25 starters were main drivers.

Slade was the highest starting main

Waters and Moffat delivered tickford racing and Ford a podium after a solid weekend. In the end, like all the rest, they didnt have to speed to match the WAU Commodore

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driver from fourth position, next was Brown in ninth, Fullwood, Wildcard Feeney, Winterbottom, Coulthard, Hazelwood and Jacobson.

This meant that eight of the top 10 drivers were co-drivers, many of whom had not started a Supercar in a race situation for at least 12 months.

Off the line there was a huge disparity in start quality, immediately it was obvious from second position that De Pasquale’s co-driver Tony D’Alberto made the best start from the front row and was able to lead into Turn 1.

Pole sitter Holdsworth made a great initial launch before the car bogged down slightly and he slotted into second spot, while defending Bathurst 1000 winner Tander leapt from fifth into third up the inside.

The worst start in the top 10 was Moffat, the #6 Monster Mustang dropped back from third to seventh by the time he got to Turn 1 and fell to ninth on the run-up Mountain Straight.

Regular driver Slade dropped one position, as did the other main driver in the top 10 Brown.

D’Alberto led up the hill and back down, but Holdsworth was already showing intentions to overtake, forcing the Ford Mustang driver to defend slightly into Forrest’s Elbow on the opening lap.

Jamie Whincup, The GOAT, ponders his final drive at Bathurst as a full time driver...

Getting a good run out of Forrest’s Elbow, Holdsworth got into the slipstream of the leader and made a clean and well executed pass up the inside at The Chase to take the lead.

Tander was keen to follow suit and did so without incident, making his way by and into second position at the final turn.

At the end of lap 1 Holdsworth led Tander and D’Alberto, Alex Davison who was sharing with his brother Will and then Slade.

Davison had a look at his teammate into Turn 1 and Turn 2 on lap 2 but elected to slot back in behind.

The start of the ‘Great Race’, the Shell Mustang got the jump and lead for some of the first lap.

Then Holdsworth took control of the race, that he and Chaz would go onto win.

The first casualty of the race was car #20, the steering rack change between the warm up session and the race changed nothing, the steering rack jammed on lap 2 and forced Golding into the pits for more lengthy repairs.

Youngster Feeney was flying early, he overtook the car that he will drive in 2022, the #88 Triple Eight machine and followed it up by overtaking 2013 ‘Great Race’ winner Winterbottom.

After several laps of hounding Davison, Slade made his way by and took fourth position at Turn 1 on lap 6.

In the first half a dozen laps, the top two Holdsworth and Tander marched away from the rest of the field.

Lap 10 Moffat sat in ninth, however his opening stint would get worse when Fullwood attempted a move at The Chase, they were both in too deep and ran off onto the grass.

Moffat fell to 12th and Fullwood 14th.

The end of lap 13, Goddard’s co-driver Ojeda made the first scheduled stop of the race.

Several others pitted over the next two laps including the #99 machine with Brodie Kostecki jumping behind the wheel just before the first safety car was called.

The 2020 Super2 Series champion Thomas Randle locked up and nudged the

wall at Turn 1, he was stuck in the gravel.

As a result the rest of the field pitted, car #17 was badly affected by the double stack and re-joined in 17th.

The order in the top four remained the same, however Tim Blanchard had replaced Slade and the early stop for B-Kostecki saw him jump into the top five.

The restart was calm; however it was noticeable that several main drivers were now behind the wheel.

After Moffat’s frustrating opening stint Waters sat in ninth, but immediately put his head down, in just two laps he’d made his way up to fifth.

At the end of lap 20 Holdsworth held a 2.1s lead over Tander, who held a 2s lead over Kostecki, next came D’Alberto and Waters.

On lap 29, the first of the real contenders was wiped out of contention, smoke began to plume from the Brown/Jack Perkins car, forcing them into the lane with no power steering.

It was around this time that the other Erebus car of Kostecki began to suffer from a long brake pedal, he was forced to pit and undertake an unscheduled early rotor change, before the window had opened.

The first load of green flag pit stops occurred from lap 36-40. At the quarter race distance Mostert led Waters by 10s, Kostecki was in third, while van Gisbergen, now

behind the wheel, had been shuffled back to fourth in the pit stop sequence.

It was a frustrating period for the #888 machine as SVG’s dashboard went out.

Mostert was cruising out front and continued to pull away from the field, however the first major Bathurst 1000 twist occurred on lap 49 when Mostert’s left rear tyre delaminated.

He was forced to make an unscheduled stop midway through the stint and re-joined down in 12th position.

This left the Waters/Moffat car back at the head of the field from Van Gisbergen/Tander, Whincup/Lowndes, Slade/Blanchard and Percat/Dale Wood.

A frustrated Mostert was now a man on a mission, pounding out the fastest lap of the race lap after lap.

The next pit stop sequence occurred around lap 60 with many of the co-drivers jumping back behind the wheel.

Several laps after the rest of the field Holdsworth got behind the wheel of the #25 machine, re-joining in sixth place.

At the halfway stage Holdsworth was back up the front of the field, albeit out of sequence with the rest.

The theoretical leader was Moffat from Tander, D’Alberto, Russell, Lowndes, Luff, Blanchard, Davison and Campbell.

Brodie and co proved that their recent speed was no fluke. Fast in qualifying and fast in the race delivered the Erebus team a well deserved podium.

At this point Nick Percat was the only main driver behind the wheel in 11th place as his co-driver Dale Wood had completed his minimum number of laps.

At the end of lap 92 Holdsworth entered the lane, with the team electing to keep him in the car for a bit longer, he was lapping only one or two tenths slower than Mostert.

Holdsworth re-joined in fifth, however the march forward was far from complete, on lap 98 into Turn 2 Holdsworth made an authoritative and well executed pass on seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Lowndes to take fourth.

The other Triple Eight car was beginning to close in on Moffat at the head of the field as the co-drivers began to jump out of the cars for the final time.

Lowndes hopped out at the end of lap 99, he was followed a lap later by Moffat and on lap 101 Tander.

Crucially Whincup and Lowndes leapfrogged both car #99 and #11 in the pit stop sequence.

Just as the #25 WAU crew were preparing for a stop on lap 104, out of the blue a safety car was called.

Incredibly an echidna had found its way onto the racetrack at The Cutting and was narrowly avoided by multiple cars including Jake Kostecki and Jones.

On paper it was SvG’s race to loose. It turned out, when pushed hard they used the tyres a little more than they wanted to and it cost them in the end.

XXX

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RACE REPORT BATHURST 1000

PITSTOP

XXX James Courtney drove a solid race, supported by smart strategy to recover from his co-drivers early error and his vist to the sand pit at turn 1

THE CELEBRATION of Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth’s win at Bathurst went blonde-on-blonde for the victory party at the brilliant and upmarket Bishop’s Court Estate. To match the bleach-blonde look that Mostert ran all weekend, team owner Ryan Walkinshaw and ace engineer Adam Debore also went white for the night. Holdsworth, who is follicly challenged, was unable to join the blondies.

THERE WERE plenty of tributes for Jamie Whincup during the Bathurst weekend, including his induction by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, as the newest member of the Supercars Hall of Fame. But one of the best and most heartfelt came from Scott McLaughlin, who watched lots of the Bathurst action from his IndyCar home in the USA.

MALAYSIAN GT racer Jefri Ibraham took the fast track out of Bathurst after the completion of the Sunday action. The prince from Johore was collected by the royal family’s jet, a Gulfstream G550 which lists from around $50 million, for a direct eight-hour flight home.SUPERCARS CEO Sean Seamer wasted no time in exploiting the new Chevrolet connection in the Bathurst paddock. He jumped into the driver’s seat of the Corvette coupe that was on display outside the Gen3 garage, and was quickly approached by Sydney dealer Craig Sutton who was ready to take a deposit.

A STRAY spanner cost Tickford Racing $500 on Saturday afternoon at Mount Panorama.

It fell from the Monster Mustang at Turn 17, which resulted in a report by a trackside marshal to the race Stewards as there is a Supercars rule that each car must be completely free of tools before leaving its pit bay.

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During the safety car period the two contenders out of sequence elected to pit, Mostert hopped back in, while Brodie Kostecki took the time to take the compulsory rotor change.

The race restarted with 52 laps remaining and the intensity lifted up a notch.

Van Gisbergen led from Mostert who had recovered to second, while SVG’s Triple Eight teammate Whincup was in third.

The race leading Kiwi hatched a plan. He deliberately slowed up substantially at Turn 2 to try and allow Whincup to get between himself and Mostert. The plan did not work the first time around as the cars remained in formation.

He had another crack the following lap, slowing again at Griffins Bend, however this time van Gisbergen continued the slow speed into The Cutting.

An opportunistic Whincup took advantage of this and drove around the outside of Mostert at the corner where he crashed out of the race a year earlier.

Whincup’s move pushed Mostert off line and allowed De Pasquale to take third under the tree, Waters was next to line up a move.

Although van Gisbergen had shuffled the pack, just moments later Ojeda crashed out of the race going down through The Esses.

This required a safety car which saw almost the entirety of the field pit.

Reynolds was the only driver that elected not to pit, he now led Mostert who crucially along with Kostecki leapt ahead of Van Gisbergen in the pit stop sequence.

Whincup was forced to double stack as was Davison and Fullwood, in fact two of these cars collided. Davison was fed into the path of Whincup and warranted a 5s penalty.

Restart, 45 laps to go, there was a bit of panic in the #888 garage of van Gisbergen as the team encountered some engine sensor issues, or so they hoped.

On the restart it was clear that Slade’s Mustang did not have the pace it possessed earlier in the race and became the cork in the bottle with half a dozen cars queuing to get by behind.

De Pasquale attempted a move at The Chase, it did not pay off and he ended up losing out to Fullwood, Davison and Whincup in the next couple of turns.

Lap 121, just a couple of laps after Ojeda crashed out, the other Matt Stone Racing car of Kurt Kostecki was in the wall at Forrest’s Elbow and resulted in a safety car.

Reynolds was told to pit, as was De Pasquale, electing to run a surprising alternate strategy.

With 37 laps to go the race restarted, Mostert led van Gisbergen, Brodie Kostecki, Percat, Waters, Fullwood, Slade, Davison, Whincup and Hazelwood.

Like Slade, Percat seemed to lack outright speed as the track evolved late on, he could put up little resistance to Waters’ move at Turn 2 the following lap. Whincup was also making progress passing Fullwood.

The final round of pit stops occurred under green flag conditions and began with 23 laps to go.

Mostert was in first and followed in by Kostecki, Davison, Slade and Hazelwood on the same lap, all the stops ran smoothly, with Davison serving the 5s penalty for his

unsafe release.

The following lap SVG flew into the pits, the front wheels all locked up as he entered the lane, he just got the car slowed down in time.

Van Gisbergen was followed in by Waters, Percat and Feeney, the Wildcard had worked his way back into the top 10 after being a lap down and serving a 15s penalty for a safety car infringement earlier in the race.

Just as these cars were exiting the lane, De Pasquale came to a halt on the exit of The Cutting with no drive, it required yet another safety car.

Mostert now led van Gisbergen and Tickford driver Waters who had jumped Kostecki in the pitstop sequence, Whincup was fifth from Fullwood, Percat, Courtney, Feeney and Hazelwood.

On the restart the recently crowned Super2 Series winner Feeney made an error losing control at Sulman Park and crashed

DePasquale showed speed early but lacked the outright pace to stay with the ultimate winners. Driveline failure finished their race within sight of the finish

Bryce Fullwood had a solid day and was supported by Bathurst master Warren Luff, they had a good day just off the podium.

A great result for all who shared in the spoils.

heavily into the wall, he came to a rest in the gravel trap at McPhillamy Park.

This created a 16-lap sprint to the finish when the safety car entered the lane for the final time. Immediately Mostert attempted to gap the field, pulling out a 1s margin on the first lap.

Van Gisbergen was not letting him go, visibly ragging the ZB Commodore to its absolute limits, but despite this, a much more controlled Mostert was able to steadily increase the gap.

After a handful of laps van Gisbergen was unable to keep up the relentless attack and quickly drifted back, with 12 laps to go Mostert extended the margin by 0.5s and the van Gisbergen threat was extinguished.

With seven laps remaining the race leading margin was out to 3.7s, however van Gisbergen had destroyed his tyres in an attempt to keep up with Mostert. Going up the hill, his front-right tyre delaminated and he was forced to limp back to the pits.

Kostecki nudged the wall at Sulman Park

overtaking the ailing van Gisbergen around the outside and was lucky to be able to continue in third.

Just ahead there was a bit of late race stress in the Tickford Racing camp, as the fuel sensors on Waters’ car developed an issue.

Out front Mostert was able to cruise to a truly dominant Bathurst 1000 victory, his first since 2014, the team’s first since 2011, while for veteran Holdsworth it was his maiden Bathurst 1000 crown.

Despite the late scare Waters was able to bring the car home in second, finishing as the bridesmaid for the second straight year, while Kostecki and Russell both scored their maiden Bathurst 1000 podiums in third.

Alongside Lowndes, Whincup finished his full-time career in fourth, ahead of Fullwood who scored his equal best result of the season with Luff.

Defending Bathurst 1000 winners Tander and van Gisbergen finished a disappointing 18th, the last car on the lead lap.

The small single car Blanchard Racing Team team of two Tims had a solid day.

Broc had a good day until it went slighty wrong and Bathurst bites!

RESULTS RACE 31 161 LAPS MOUNT PANORAMA BATHURST

The moment that the race changed... The Triple Eight duo bullied Chaz for a short while, until normal transmission was restored and the #25 car took control back.

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Pos Drivers 1 Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth 2 Cameron Waters/James Moffat 3 Brodie Kostecki/David Russell 4 Jamie Whincup/Craig Lowndes 5 Bryce Fullwood/Warren Luff 6 Nick Percat/Dale Wood 7 James Courtney/Thomas Randle 8 Todd Hazelwood/Dean Fiore 9 Tim Slade/Tim Blanchard 10 Will Davison/Alex Davison 11 David Reynolds/Luke Youlden 12 Macauley Jones/Chris Pither 13 Jake Kostecki/Kurt Kostecki 14 Garry Jacobson/Dylan O’Keeffe 15 Jack Le Brocq/Zak Best 16 Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso 17 Jack Smith/David Wall 18 Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander 19 Fabian Coulthard/Jonathon Webb 20 Will Brown/Jack Perkins DNF Andre Heimgartner/Matt Campbell DNF Broc Feeney/Russell Ingall DNF Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto DNF Zane Goddard/Jayden Ojeda DNF Scott Pye/James Golding

Margin 161 laps +3.739s +6.144s +7.344s +10.407 +13.274s +14.575s +16.418s +16.960s +17.520s +22.875s +24.912s +26.060s +27.367s +31.808s +35.961s +39.895s +66.167s +5 laps +11 Laps +2 laps +19 laps +22 laps +49 laps +155 laps

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0 s1 s7 s7 s7 s1 s9 s 10 t5 t4 s8 s 10 s8 s 11 t7 t2 s7 t 13 s1 t 11 t4 t7 t 21 t1 t 12

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#25 Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth Out of the gate, these drivers and this car were fast. Holdsworth grabbed the lead before the end of the first lap and held it through two stints. At the second stop they dropped to ninth before Mostert recovered to second, before a cut tyre forced an out-of-sequence stop and reduced the flexibility with pit calls. He returned in 12th but was back in the lead at the fourth stop. Holdsworth did another stint and pitted for the final handover in front. Two more stops and a brief drop to third before Mostert led to the finish. Even on his roaded set of tyres for the end, he had more pace than his rivals on greens.

2ND #6 Cameron Waters/James Moffat

3RD #99 Brodie Kostecki/David Russell

Moffat got the pair off to a poor start, losing several positions on the opening lap. Waters steadied the ship, moving into the lead on lap 50. Moffat resumed shortly after, putting in a much-improved effort. Waters jumped in for a triple stint to finish, battling at the front but unable to keep up with Mostert/Holdsworth (or SvG).

Lost Shootout time with underweight door. Russell started 10th, held position until just before first stop when he handed to Kostecki. Next stop was for unexpected rotor change, outside compulsory window for brakes, dropped from fourth to 20th. Completed double stint for Russell’s double up. Kostecki back in for epic end which included some audacious passes.

4TH #88 Jamie Whincup/Craig Lowndes

5TH #2 Bryce Fullwood/Warren Luff

6TH #8 Nick Percat/Dale Wood

Just missed the Shootout. Lowndes had starting duties. Lost position early, slow due to tyre issue. Tenth at first stop, improved to second by the next.

Whincup took over for a stint to keep second before double run for Lowndes.

Whincup in for remainder but double stacked at sixth pitstop and lost 13 positions. Came back to second and was fifth after last stop. Held position.

A good start from Fullwood moved him two places up the order to 10th for nine laps before dropping several positions. Pitted for Luff just before Safety Car and he was eighth when race resumed. They hovered around 10th through ensuing pitstops and settled inside the top 10 from just before half distance. Continued to improve in the later stages.

Opening two stints by Wood who drove seemingly untroubled by his knee injury.

Percat took over at lap 40 and ran 22 laps before Wood did another stint, then Percat back in the car. Was fourth when Percat pitted along with most at the fifth Safety Car. Lost track position due to track return and position of Safety Car. Otherwise uneventful. Not a top five car, but sixth made it next best.

7TH #44 James Courtney/Thomas Randle

8TH #14 Todd Hazelwood/Dean Fiore

9TH #3 Tim Slade/Tim Blanchard

Co-driver Randle startedl and had the car sitting 13th before he locked up at Turn 1 on lap 17, sliding through the gravel into the wall. The #44 made it back to pitlane without serious damage, Courtney taking over.

Climbed through the field, aided by Safety Car ‘wave-throughs’, moving up over 14 places in the last 50 laps to finish seventh.

Eighteenth placed for the start, Hazelwood was in for a driver change at the first stop, with Fiore taking over for two runs. Two of the stops were longer than usual, one was for problems with Fiore’s belts and the second due to a line locker drama. Circulated outside the 20, lapped and then received wave-around. Strong from there with great chassis, down on straight line speed.

Slade held their strong qualifying position of fourth in his opening stint, before Blanchard jumped in for a double stint, the pair’s top five position intact. Slade then took another single stint, before Blanchard completed his laps within the top 10. The main driver could not make inroads on the front runners in a triple stint to close out the race.

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2021 BATHURST 1000

CAR BY CAR

Images: Motorsport

images

Garry O’Brien and Josh Nevett talk you through all the winners and losers from the 59th running of the Bathurst 1000.

Auto Action’s annual car-by-car looks at every car that competed in the Bathurst 1000 and reports on how each pairing progressed throughout the race.

We look at whether they encountered any issues, if they took a strategic gamble, and who was in the car at what time.

10TH #17 Will Davison/Alex Davison Sixth on the grid, Alex was fourth at the end of lap 1. First Safety Car brought a flurry of stops where he was double-stacked and resumed 18th. Will took over and brought the #17 back to 10th but was double stacked again on lap 113, where an unsafe release incurred a 5s penalty. The last stop dropped them from seventh to 16th. Chased balance, pace great at times.

11TH #26 David Reynolds/Luke Youlden

12TH #96 Macauley Jones/Chris Pither

13TH #34 Jake Kostecki/Kurt Kostecki

Youlden struggled to get away from the line, lost places early before he was replaced after 15 laps. Reynolds climbed to seventh during his double stint. Youlden then took on a double before Reynolds got in to close out the race. Led at one point, opting not to pit during a Safety Car on lap 113, the 2017 Bathurst winning duo finished 11th.

A double stint at the start had Pither to seventh at their second stop after many others. Jones resumed outside the 20 and worked back up the order and then up and down with following stops. The rotor/pad change took them out of sequence. Ten stops in all, but picked up five places in the last stint. Chased chassis tune throughout race.

Kurt moved forward early, ascending into the top 10 in his opening double stint. Jake then did a double himself, receiving a 15s penalty for spinning wheels during the pit stop. Kurt drove a long final stint himself before handing over to Jake to finish, sitting midfield. Jake shunted at Forest’s Elbow on lap 121 but continued after some quick repairs. Finished 13th.

14TH #22 Garry Jacobson/Dylan O’Keeffe

15TH #5 Jack Le Brocq/Zak Best

16TH #18 Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso

Jacobson drove first from the rear of the field, completing one stint.

O’Keeffe then took on a double, without making gains. Jacobson completed a second stint before O’Keeffe undertook his remaining laps.

Despite a pit lane penalty for a Safety Car breach, Jacobson made progress in the latter stages to end up 14th.

Best took the first stint, running in the top 10 before double stacking behind car #3 on lap 18, relegating the pair towards the rear of the field. Le Brocq took over for a double stint, before Best did the same to complete his duties. The main driver couldn’t make inroads in his final triple stint, finishing 15th.

Winterbottom opened up with a single stint, Caruso sitting in the top 10 throughout his first. Winterbottom went short again, before Caruso completed his lap requirement in 17th position after 96 laps. The pair suffered with a broken roll bar all day, Winterbottom completed multiple pit stops during the Safety Car periods, finishing 16th.

17TH #4 Jack Smith/David Wall

18TH #888 Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander

19TH #19 Fabian Coulthard/Jonathon Webb

Late replacement for Ash Walsh, Wall started and ran at the back of the field for a dozen laps before they picked up places due to early stoppers.

They were 15th for the first pit where Wall stayed in the seat. Smith did two stints and Wall another one, before the main driver resumed to the end.

Unscheduled stops came to put oil in. Didn’t have engine grunt to improve.

Pace-wise the best of the rest and led 26 laps. Tander started out of fifth and from lap 1 to 37 was second. After three laps in front, pitted for Van Gisbergen to regain the lead on lap 57. Six laps later Tander was in the car to finish his stint.

Through two Safety Car restarts Van Gisbergen was second but unable to match #25. Ultimately a delaminated tyre took them out of contention.

Coulthard started well, gaining a few spots on the opening lap. He completed the first stint, before handing over to Webb who held midfield during his double. Coulthard did a double of his own before a long stint in the pits caused by an air jack drama issue at the halfway mark. The pair lost multiple laps and could not recover, coming home 19th.

20TH #9 William Brown/Jack Perkins

DNF #7 Andre Heimgartner/Matt Campbell

DNF #39 Broc Feeney/Russell Ingall

Main driver Brown started from ninth after Top 10 shootout disqualification for underweight doors. Eighth at first stop for Perkins to take over. Twelve laps later pitted with a broken steering rack. Took 30mins to replace (including time out to service #99). Ran faultlessly for the rest of the race and finished 19 laps behind winner.

Campbell started, his car losing its left window three laps into the race.

Heimgartner jumped in lap 18 for a double stint. Campbell then completed a double of his own, a new window installed on lap 76. Heimgartner jumped in before the 100-lap mark, drivers rotated across multiple stops while attempting to rectify a radio comms issue. Car was not classified.

19-year-old Feeney started 15th and had progress to 10th before the first pit stops started. Ingall did a double stint that took them to lap 62 where they dropped from eighth to 22nd. Down a lap they received a wave-around, but a drive-through penalty ensued. Were well-placed in ninth when Feeney crashed on lap 143.

DNF #11 Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto

DNF #35 Zane Goddard/Jayden Ojeda

DNF #20 Scott Pye/James Golding

At the start, D’Alberto led the field until passed by #25 at the Chase. Double stinted before De Pasquale took over for double duties. Was third when D’Alberto stepped in to complete his laps. De Pasquale took over on lap 97 for the run to the flag. Took advantage of third Safety Car for tyres and fuel before another stop seven laps later. Was 8th when car lost drive on lap 140.

Ojeda started, making decent progress in his double stint. Goddard took over, running in midfield throughout his double stint. Ojeda then continued the pattern of double stints, completing more than his required complement of laps before it all came unstuck on lap 113. Sitting in 11th, Ojeda hit the wall at the Esses and did not re-join the race.

The Team 18 pair was forced to retire after just six laps. Golding took on the first stint and lost three positions on the opening lap before a power steering issue reared its head not long after. The team went through three steering racks in total, replacing the first before the race and then during, to no avail.

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51

SUPER2 & SUPER3

FANTASTIC

FEENEY

by Josh Nevett

BROC FEENEY became the youngest ever Super2 Series winner at Mount Panorama, wrapping up the title with a round victory at the Bathurst 1000 event.

The 19-year-old Triple Eight Race Engineering prodigy set the pace in qualifying and did not let up come race time, winning the first encounter before finishing runner-up in the final race of the season.

Jordan Boys (pictured right) also left the Mountain with something to celebrate, taking the chequered flag in Race 2 to end the season seventh in the standings.

Zak Best and Jayden Ojeda pushed the title fight right to the final race but ended up second and third for the season.

Feeney set up his triumph with a strong qualifying session, taking pole for Race 1 with a 2m 06.398s lap in his Triple Eight Holden Commodore VF. He also set the fastest time in the carnage-laden second round of qualifying, but two red flags saw combined practice times decide the grid for Race 2.

As a result, Boys earned pole, with Ojeda joining him on the front row.

Incidents early in the event meant

that neither Declan Fraser nor Angelo Mouzouris made it to the race grids, both failing to start in the final round as their machines ended up worse for wear. Fraser crashed out in practice after a wheel came undone, while Mouzouris smashed into the wall in Q1 in the lead up to Forrest’s Elbow.

In Race 1 it was polesitter Feeney who emerged with one hand on the Super2 trophy, winning comfortably from Ojeda and Boys.

The Queenslander got a clean start and quickly built a gap on his rivals, before David Murphy had a spin at the last corner on lap 3, requiring a Safety Car that interrupted his progress.

Racing resumed on lap 5 but Super3 Series driver Paul Boschert went into the sand at Turn 1, requiring another Safety Car just a single lap later.

The disruptions did not deter Feeney though, as he continued to show his class.

He crossed the line first, Zak Best in fourth behind the other podium getters.

Tyler Everingham and Aaron Seton were fifth and sixth in a Nissan Altima and Holden Commodore VF respectively.

Perhaps the most enthralling battle

NASH WINS SUPER3 NASH MORRIS (right) joined his mate Broc Feeney for title celebrations, topping the Super3 Series after a commanding final round performance.

The Ford Falcon FG driver took victory in Race 1 and followed it up with a podium finish in Race 2, extending the final standings margin to 171 points over runner-up Michael Anderson.

Reef McCarthy won the final race of the season but fell to third overall at the conclusion of the Bathurst round, due to a DNF in Race 1 caused by a mechanical failure.

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Steven Page and James Masterton also suffered the wrath of the Mountain, failing to finish in the second race due to separate crashes.

Blake Fardell and Jim Pollicina followed Morris home in Race 1, Fardell and Morris doubling up on podium finishes behind McCarthy in Race 2.

Points: Morris 1218, Anderson 1047, McCarthy 1035, Fardell 915, Pollicina 546

Images: Insyde Media

of the race raged between Matt McLean, Josh Fife, Matt Chahda and Tim Blanchard, who duked it out from seventh to 10th.

Fife came out on top bagging seventh position, while Blanchard, Chahda and Jaylyn Robotham completed the top 10, meaning that Mike Kable Young Gun Award winner McLean just missed out.

A first corner collision gave Feeney a free run to the title in Race 2, Ojeda turning Matt White Motorsport teammate Everingham around, with both out of the race.

Feeney moved up from fifth to second as a result of the incident and would finish there behind Boys, who chalked up his first victory of the season.

Seton rounded out the podium,

scoring his first of the season.

The second encounter was marred by several Safety Car periods and driver DNFs, eventually brought to a close after 12 laps.

Grove Motorsport driver Matthew Payne was one of the big winners of the race, progressing from 11th up to fifth behind Best by the finish in his Nissan.

Eggleston Motorsport pair McLean and Blanchard sandwiched Chahda, who came home seventh.

For McLean, the sixth-place result secured him Rookie of the Year honours.

Zane Morse and Fife completed the top 10.

Points: Feeney 1254, Best 1077, Ojeda 969, Chahda 867, McLean 849, Everingham 807

CARRERA CUP

DOUBLE THE CARRERA CUP ACTION

Image: Ross Gibb Photography

Report: Dan McCarthy ROUNDS 4 and 5 of the Carrera Cup Australia Series took place at Bathurst, with a total of four races held over the weekend, and despite not winning a race, Cameron Hill won the outright series.

It was a dramatic weekend from start to finish. In qualifying, Supercars co-driver David Wall scored his first pole position since 2019, from Hill, Harri Jones and Aaron Love.

As the lights went out to start Race 1 it was Wall who made the best start to lead into Turn 1.

On the opening lap, Love showed his pace, a good exit from Forrest’s Elbow allowing him to move past Jones around the flat-out right hander at The Chase. The following lap he repeated the move, up the inside of the series leader Hill and set about catching Wall.

Lap after lap, Love edged closer to the Carrera Cup veteran and managed to catch Wall as the final lap began.

He sat on Wall’s tail until Reid Park, but slid wide and nudged the wall with his right rear wheel. He impressively got his Sonic Motor Racing Services machine down the hill, despite running through the grass at The Chase.

Wall took the win, ahead of Hill who pinched second place at The Chase. Love came home third ahead of Cooper Murray and Jones. Sam Shahin won the Pro Am class.

Race 2 was an interrupted affair.

Wall again got the jump from Hill, but after just one lap the Safety Car was called when South Australian Max Vidau came to a halt on the exit of Griffins Bend.

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The race restarted on lap four with Wall and Hill immediately gapping Love – however Nick McBride and Simon Fallon tangled at Reid Park and both crashed heavily into the wall.

The race would finish under Safety Car, with Wall (pictured above) winning the race and round from Hill and Love, Shahin again claimed Pro Am honours.

THE GRID for the opening race of the final round was determined by the driver’s second fastest times in qualifying. Jones therefore started on pole from Wall, Hill and Murray.

Off the start Jones held first, from Wall and Murray further back Supercars co-driver David Russell had taken fifth from Vidau with Love in seventh.

Through the kink at The Chase Love made a move on Vidau, the latter fired across the grass at high speed, spinning across the track he ended up beached in the gravel requiring another safety car.

After the restart the race was thrilling, Wall was on the offence and defence. The top seven were line astern, the only real mover was Love, he had moved from eighth on the grid and by the end of lap 6 sat in fifth.

The top three continued to fight and in the closing laps began to pull away from the rest of the group.

On the penultimate lap of the race, Wall suddenly pulled into the pits – he had suffered a left-rear tyre delamination and would finish in 14th.

This let Jones off the hook to take his maiden Carrera Cup Series win from Murray, Hill and Love, Shahin again won in Am and set up a winner takes all finale for the Am class

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against Geoff Emery.

It was clear on the opening lap that Murray had the pace on Jones, a great and committed run over The Mountain set up a great slipstream down Conrod Straight with Murray swinging around the outside to take the lead at The Chase.

The following lap, Jones locked up and ran wide at the elbow and allowed Love to replicate the move made by Murray a lap earlier.

Murray went on to take the win from Love and Jones – however the

championship took a twist, Hill was forced to pit with a tyre delamination, but re-joined, and this was enough to secure him the title.

The Pro Am title is yet to be decided, Emery made a last corner move on Shahin which saw the latter facing the wrong direction. Emery received a 5s penalty for the incident which he protested, at this point the title is yet to be determined.

Points: Hill 672, Murray 571, Jones 534, Wall 499, Love 497

Harri Jones took his first series win. Image: Ross Gibb

XXX

Wall noses into Turn 1 ahead of a packed field. Image: Insyde Media

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BATHURST 1000 SUPPORTS

COX ENDS SEASON ON A HIGH Images: Daniel Kalisz

Report: Dan McCarthy AS ALWAYS TCR Australia turned on the action. Mostert won the title, however it was Jordan Cox who took the round on a countback.

For Cox, the weekend did not start as planned, a turbo failure in Q1 meant that the Alfa Romeo driver had to start from 16th on the grid.

In the end Ben Bargwanna took his maiden TCR pole position from former Supercars driver Michael Caruso, John Martin, Aaron Cameron and James Moffat.

Mostert qualified in seventh in the knowledge that a solid top 10 finish would secure him the 2021 TCR crown.

When the race started it was Cameron who was the most aggressive, taking the fight to Caruso up Mountain Straight, overtaking him around the outside at Griffin’s Bend.

Cameron continued that march forward as he started to hound leader Bargwanna and made a well-executed move up the inside to take the lead.

Despite getting to the front at a vast rate of knots, he was unable to pull away, with the top four separated by 1s.

Bargwanna in particular was not letting his Garry Rogers Motorsport teammate out of his sight and remained with Cameron.

On the final lap Cameron ran slightly wide at The Chase and was forced to defend into the final turn – he held onto the win by just 0.094s from Bargwanna, the closest margin in TCR Australia history.

Caruso finished third, ahead of Brad Shiels who was later disqualified, Cox therefore inheriting fourth.

Mostert’s was only ever going to compete in the opening race, and therefore stayed out of trouble to wrap up the title in eighth place.

Race 2 was an attritional affair with punctures and mechanical issues left, right, and centre – it was also the first ever inverted qualifying top 10 for the series.

Dylan O’Keeffe led a majority of the first lap, but at The Chase Shiels fired down the inside, on the dirty side of the road and O’Keeffe spun around the flat-out kink.

All this pandemonium allowed Jason Bargwanna to move into the lead, but when Shiels retook the lead he was followed by Caruso, Cameron and Jay Hanson.

Cox quickly made his way forward and made it a five-car train at the front of the field.

Caruso was first to make a move, taking the lead on lap 7 from Shiels, who fell quickly away.

As the race settled down, it became a three-horse race – Caruso, Cameron and Cox. Incredibly, on lap 10, Cox found his way into the lead at Skyline and was followed by Cameron at the Elbow.

After losing the lead, worse was to befall Caruso who picked up a rightfront puncture and found himself beached in the gravel at The Chase as a result.

The Safety Car was called and created a one lap sprint to the finish which Cox managed to perfection.

Cox took the win over Cameron and Jason Bargwanna in a GRM 1-2-3. Best of the rest was German Christopher Mies who missed Race 1 after serving 72 hours in isolation as an international traveller.

Accumulated points determined the grid for the final encounter. Cameron from pole led into Turn 1 from Cox.

Renault Megane driver Moffat made his intentions clear early, overtaking Cox at The Chase on lap 1. He then replicated the move to take the lead on lap 3.

Cox followed Moffat, taking second into the final turn just a lap before a Safety Car was called for Hyundai driver Nathan Morcom who hit the wall out of the Dipper.

On the restart, Moffat came under increasing pressure from Cox but was able to keep the front-wheeldrive expert at bay… that was until his tyre delaminated just three laps from home.

In the closing laps, Cameron closed up to Cox but it was not enough. Cox held onto victory and thus pinched the round win also.

Cameron and Caruso finished second and third in the final race and round respectively.

Final Standings: Mostert 486, Cameron 453, Cox 434, King 426, Martin 402, Morcom 377, Buchan 365, Moffat 351, J Bargwanna 342, B Bargwanna 333

Cameron leads Cox and a packed TCR field into Turn 1 (below), and (above) has Ben Bargwanna for company.

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CAMERON WINS TASMAN Report: Dan McCarthy THE FINAL round of the S5000 Tasman Series was full of incidents and accidents, but in the end it was Aaron Cameron (pictured above) who came out on top after the final race was declared a non-event.

One of the questions leading into the weekend was would the S5000 machines lap the legendary 6.213km Bathurst circuit in under two minutes, – the answer was yes, despite an FIA/ MA-mandated 85hp power reduction to comply with Grade C circuit regs.

Cameron took pole with a 1m 59.93s, from James Golding, Joey Mawson, Nathan Herne and the returning John Martin, with Roberto Merhi and Tim Macrow rounding out the top eight.

As the lights went out to start Race 1 Golding made a better start than Cameron and took the lead into Turn 1.

Keen to make up for the start Cameron harassed Golding, trying to get the lead back, and forced Golding to defend at The Chase.

Mawson made a bad start which meant that it was a GRM 1-2-3, with Team BRM drivers former F1 driver Merhi and Mawson rounding out the top five.

Herne was pushing hard and clipped the wall at Reid Park on lap 3, but this did not stop his momentum as he overtook Tasman Series leader Cameron at The Chase.

This was the way it remained until a late race Safety Car was called after Luis Leeds locked up and hit the wall at Griffin’s Bend.

The race ended under Safety Car, with Golding, Herne and Cameron crossing the line in a GRM formation finish ahead of Merhi and Mawson.

The inverted grid Race 2 saw Leeds start from pole – however the former Formula 4 champion burst into wheelspin and fell to third behind Macrow and Merhi.

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Mawson tied to overtake Leeds later in the lap, but outbraked himself and took to the grass at The Chase and as a result fell behind Golding.

On lap 2, Japanese driver Yoshiaki Katayama (having unfortunately missed all practice and qualifying due to NSW’s three-day isolatiuon requirement) crashed at Turn 2, which necessitated a lengthy clean up.

A couple of corners after the restart Herne made a brave and well executed move up the inside of Mawson at The Cutting – however on the exit the pair tagged and Mawson nudged the wall. As a result, race direction called it the final lap.

Macrow cruised to the win ahead of Merhi, Leeds and Herne who overtook Golding on the final lap – Cameron was sixth.

Race 3 saw a reverse of the top six from Race 3. Golding led into Turn 1 from Cameron and Herne, however the race would be red flagged on the opening lap.

Mawson had tried to overtake Jordan Boys for sixth at The Chase, resulting in both spinning violently.

In all the dust, Katayama could not see and ploughed straight into the stationary 88 Racing car of Boys.

On the restart, Herne set his sights on his first S5000 win, and was giving his all to get Golding on the final two laps.

He managed to close the gap to within 0.5s, but it was not quite enough.

Golding held on from Herne, Cameron, Leeds and Merhi, with Blake Purdie making a successful last corner move on Macrow.

The final race of the Tasman Series was marred by collisions and crashes. Going in, Cameron led the Tasman Series from Merhi and Golding, the only three realistic contenders.

As soon as the lights went out the title turned on its head as Cameron stalled and dropped to the back of the field.

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Images: Daniel Kalisz

James Golding (above) was fast and, had the final race actually been completed, might well have taken the Tasman title. Macrow (below) recovered from a Race 1 startline bingle for a Race 2 win.

By the end of the lap he had shot back up to position eight and on lap two attempted a move on Herne into Turn 1. He clouted the back of his teammate and resulted in them both spinning into the gravel and requiring a tow out under Safety Car conditions.

Cameron had a front-wing change and caught up to the back of the queue for the restart. He again marched forward and sat in eighth when he tried to overtake Leeds at

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The Chase. The two collided and speared off the track.

Cameron fired into the wall and was lucky not to roll, the race was red flagged and not restarted.

Cameron was declared the Tasman Series winner as the race was declared a non-event, with no points awarded.

Final Tasman Cup Standings: Cameron 165, Merhi 143, Golding 136, Leeds 105, Mawson 92

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BATHURST SUPPORTS

HERNE DOMINATION IN TRANS AM Report: Dan McCarthy Images: Daniel Kalisz ALTHOUGH HE did not take pole position, Nathan Herne dominated the National Trans Am Series round at Bathurst and took the title as a result.

All Herne had to do was finish the opening race of the weekend to wrap up the title and, once he did that, he was let off the leash.

Pole position still eluded the Queenslander who started from second place behind former Toyota 86 Racing Series driver Tim Brook.

Youngsters Kyle Gurton, Ben Grice and Edan Thornburrow rounded out the top five.

Off the line in Race 1 Herne made the better start and ran around the outside at Turn 1 before taking the lead from Brook into Turn 2.

Following Herne, Grice managed to pickpocket second position at Turn 2, however could not keep up with Herne over the top of The Mountain.

Herne pulled a 1.3s margin – the hard work had already been done.

Further back, the battle for second hotted up – on lap 2 Gurton had a very good look at Brook into Griffin’s Bend but Brook held the place at The Cutting.

Brook survived the attack and a couple of laps later it was he who was on the offensive.

Into Turn 1 Brook lunged up the inside of Grice and pulled it off, Grice was caught off-guard by the move, ran wide and lost momentum up Mountain Straight.

Up the hill, Gurton, with a great exit from Turn 1, was also able to move up a place and take third.

With all this fighting Herne had gapped the group by 4s and was able to cruise to victory and in doing so took his maiden Trans Am title.

Brook came home 6s behind, from Gurton, Grice and Thornburrow.

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Nathan Herne was unbeaten all week, and locked in the championship after Race 1.

A bit of ‘opposite’ from Ben Grice ...

In Race 2, it was Brook who made the better start alongside pole sitter Herne, and, like the Dream Racing driver in the first race, attempted a move around the outside of Turn 1.

He was unable to make it stick, running two wheels through the grass for several seconds.

While Race 1 was clean with no Safety Cars the same could not be said in Race 2 as the Kubota sponsored teammates collided on the opening lap.

Hugh McAlister fired up the inside into

Turn 2 and tapped the rear corner of Matt MacKelden sending him into the wall.

McAlister limped back to the pits, however MacKelden was stuck in the tyre wall, initiating a Safety Car. On the lap 4 restart Herne led the field away and in one lap pulled a margin of 1.5s over Brook and Gurton.

In fact, on lap 5 Brook was forced to defend from Gurton at Turn 2, in a close battle for second once again.

On lap 6, Thornburrow breezed by

Grice on Conrod Straight to take fourth position.

Herne took his second win of the weekend from Brook. On the final lap Gurton made an unforced error, running two wheels through the grass at the Chase, but just managed to hold onto third from Thornburrow and Grice.

The final race of the weekend saw Herne waltz off into the distance as the fight for second ensued once more.

Brook ran slightly wide at Hell Corner and allowed Gurton into p2 – however he would not hold this position for long as Brook would end the lap in second place.

It would remain that way until a Safety Car was thrown – MacKelden had lost the rear of his car at Reid Park, crashing backwards into the concrete wall and dislocating his shoulder.

The race concluded behind the Safety Car, handing Herne a clean sweep of race wins, Brook was second and Gurton third, the same as it was in the round results.

Final Standings: Herne 880, Thornburrow 752, Brook 739, Seton 722, McAlister 667

BOWE THE TOURING CAR MASTER FOR THE sixth time, John Bowe has been crowned champion. The Holden Torana A9X driver finished third in the final race of the Gulf Western Oils Touring Car Masters season which gave him the overall win and the ProMasters title.

The fourth and final round Trophy race (for starting and finishing points) was a thriller. It was won by Marcus Zukanovic in his Ford Falcon XD. He started from sixth and systematically worked through to the lead and then held off a late challenge from George Miedecke (Chev Camaro) to win by 0.13 seconds.

Pole sitter Cameron Mason (Ford Mustang) finished third in front of second overall and ProAm winner Ryan Hansford (Torana). Adam Bressington (Camaro) shadowed the pair to the line and was clear of Bowe, Steve Johnson (Falcon XD) and Dean Lillee (Torana).

Jamie Tilley (Mustang) started on the front row and briefly led before loss of engine power relegated him to ninth. He was ahead of Jim Pollicina (Torana) and Tony Karanfilovski (Mustang) who were barely separated throughout.

Cam Tilley finished 12th and crossed the line ahead of his brother Brad (Ford Falcon XY GT). Danny Buzadzic (Torana), ProSports winner Peter Burnitt (Torana), and Andrew Fisher (Falcon GT) ensued. Gerard McLeod (Holden Commodore) and Sven Burchartz (Porsche 911) were non-finishers.

Race 1 victory went to Johnson, but only after Zukanovic had a devastating tyre failure after he had taken the lead. Miedecke suffered a similar fate, just after he had taken third off Hansford.

Hansford finished a close second to Johnson while Bowe was third ahead of Bressington. Lillee was next after starting at the back, and passed Mason on the final lap. Next was Pollicina from Cam Tilley, Burnitt and Burchartz. Miedecke pitted for a wheel change and finished a lap down.

Jamie Tilley pitted before the start with a fried plug lead. Brad Tilley pulled off after Forrest Elbow with a blown gearbox, and Buzadzic was also sidelined early when his Torana threw a belt.

Karanfilovski was another with a right front blowout. On the last lap, a

Like a good red, John Bowe almost gets better with age ...

Images: Daniel Kalisz Burnitt by name ... burn it by nature! Peter Burnitt’s Torana delivered him the ProSport title.

front suspension failure put Andrew Fisher’s Falcon into the wall on top of the mountain. McLeod didn’t start after a Watts Linkage breakage in the previous race.

From pole, Johnson was unchallenged to take Race 2. The action was on behind him, with Bressington second initially before he was passed by Hansford who stalked

the race leader until he stopped at The Cutting with a fuel blockage.

Bowe started conservatively and dropped to fifth, before he worked his way forward and finished second.

Third was tight between Bressington, Mason and Lillee with a gap to Miedecke. Next was Jamie Tilley who won his race-long dice with Pollicina.

Behind them was Karanfilovski, clear

After a qualifying glitch, Dean Lillee worked his way forward, and won Race 3.

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of Buzadzic, Burnitt, Burchartz and a clutch less Brad Tilley. Zukanovic progressed to seventh before he suffered another tyre blowout. Cam Tilley was also a DNF when his Valiant Pacer blew the gearbox.

In an engrossing finale, Lillie came through from fourth to win. He finished ahead of a storming drive from Zukanovic. Johnson led from the outset and looked set for a threepeat until he suffered a tyre blowout on the penultimate lap.

Hansford, who was a mathematical chance for the title, progressed solidly until a brief off-road excursion at The Chase and a spin at Murrays Corner.

He ultimately finished eighth behind Bressington, Mason, Cam Tilley and Pollicina.

Ninth went to Karanfilovski ahead of Brad Tilley. Miedecke stopped when his Camaro threw a belt, and Jamie Tilley went out with clutch failure.

Buzadzic was another to suffer tyre dramas, at The Cutting on the last lap. Garry O’Brien Final Standings: Bowe 597, Hansford 547, Johnson 497, C Tilley 496, Zukanovic 474

George Miedecke (95) and Marcus Zukanovic (71) fight for space into Turn 2 ...

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BATHURST SUPPORTS

Images: Daniel Kalisz

SHAHIN TAKES GT HONOURS Report: Dan McCarthy

YASSER SHAHIN/Christopher Mies and Liam Talbot/Fraser Ross shared the wins in the final round in GT World Challenge Australia, with Shahin taking the title.

Shahin’s regular co-driver Garth Tander focussed solely on defending his Bathurst 1000, therefore twotime Bathurst 12 Hour winner Mies stepped in. The German however had to isolate for 72 hours on arrival and was forced to miss his Pro qualifying session.

The grid for Race 1 was determined by the Ams and saw Talbot take pole from Shahin, Brett Hobson and Mark Rosser.

An eager Rosser jumped the gun and leapt into the lead immediately.

However, Shahin led Talbot and Hobson into Turn 1 as Rosser tried to slot into the pack – he did so in sixth.

This would not last long as he clouted the rear of James Koundouris at The Chase. Rosser returned to the lane while Koundouris had to be extracted from the gravel under Safety Car conditions.

Shahin led Talbot for much of the opening stint but, as the pit window opened with 35 minutes remaining, Talbot made an authoritative pass for the lead at The Chase.

Immediately after losing the position, Shahin pitted and handed over the car to Mies.

Talbot came in a little later and handed over the machine to Ross.

Once the pitstop sequence had been completed it was Talbot who held a

SHARED RESULT IN TOYOTAS THE HONOURS were shared in the final outing of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Australia 86s for the year, with Lachlan Gibbons winning Race 1 and Zach Bates scoring victory in the last. The second race of the nonpoints scoring round was stopped due to a multi-car accident.

For the first time in nine races, somebody beat Bates in a race.

Gibbons won the Bathurst opener just in front of Cameron Crick, with Bates a very close third.

The three were covered by half a second, with 4.7s to the next pair of Jobe Stewart and Bailey Sweeny who crossed the finish line astern.

The latter was penalised 5.0s but still finished ahead of Lachlan Dalton, Ryan Casha, Toyota guest driver Harry Bates, Brad Vaughan and Campbell Logan.

The other guest steerer was Steve Richards, who was turned around after contact from Haydn Jackson.

While they both continued, Ryan Gilroy was not so lucky as he was caught up in the concertina and went into the back of Ben D’Alla.

As the race resumed after the Safety Car, fourth placed Kai Allen had an engine issue and was turned around at Murrays Corner.

The second race was brought to an

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12s margin over Hobson and Mies.

With less than a third of the race remaining, Mies overtook Hobson at Turn 1 and set about catching Ross.

In less than 10 minutes he cut the gap down to just 1.3s and was now hounding the tail of Ross.

He looked on for a couple of minutes before an unforced error at the Cutting saw Ross run wide and hand Mies the lead and indeed victory, while his co-driver Shahin secured the title.

Ross came home in second ahead of Hobson.

Brenton Grove sat in fourth but was dealt two drive-throughs for pitstop infringements – nevertheless, he would start on pole for Race 2.

Early on, Grove led Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Peter

Hackett – however the latter was pushing to keep up and spun into the wall at Sulman Park.

The Safety Car was called, during which all of the Pros jumped out and the Ams hopped back in, making it a simple sprint to the finish.

Yet another Safety Car was called immediately, when Ben Porter spun at the same turn and was hit by Koundouris.

Stephen Grove led the race on the restart, but was being hunted by Talbot, Hobson and Shahin.

With 20 minutes to go, Grove relinquished the lead to Talbot and, soon after, Hobson.

An intense fight for the lead occurred, but Talbot did not crack and held on to the lead from Hobson, Shahin and the Groves.

SIEDERS KING OF THE UTES early halt after a multi-car accident out of the Dipper.

Crick won the start and was leading over Gibbons, Zach Bates, Stewart and Sweeny when the race was redflagged. Lachlan Bloxsom had spun out and several were caught up in the ensuing melee, including Allen, Michael Sherwell, Rossi Johnson and Ryan Hadden.

For six laps of the third race it was a four-way tussle for the lead and Bates emerged victorious over Crick, Gibbons and Stewart. The quartet crossed the line covered by less than 0.6s. Crick led the first two laps before Bates took over and weathered the challengers for the win.

Behind them was Dalton, who held off Casha after passing him on second lap. Sweeny and Logan were close behind initially and finished seventh and eighth ahead of Alec Morse, Marcus LaDelle, Andrew Shah, Holly Espray and Toyota guest driver Richards. Ironically Harry Bates suffered the same fate that Richards had in Race 1, turned around in the same place.

Garry O’Brien

THIRD OVERALL at Mt Panorama was good enough for Ryal Harris to become the inaugural Haltech V8 SuperUtes series winner. He now has series wins in all three generations – V8 Utes, turbo diesel Utes and the new V8 versions.

Mitsubishi Triton teammates David Sieders and Cameron Crick squared the points at the final round. Aaron Borg (Toyota Hilux) who led the series after three rounds, finished seventh after a controversial crash in Race 3.

Harris (Mazda BT-50) led Race 1 from the outset, and resisted Borg’s attempts to pass to finish 0.9s ahead.

Close behind Crick who glimpsed second on the first occasion, was third clear of Sieders. Ben Walsh (Hilux) was next, but a 5.0s penalty relegated him a spot to teammate Craig Woods.

Race 2 had the top six reversed.

Sieders was the initial leader. Harris

went ahead on lap two and showed the way for the remainder. Crick conceded third to Borg when he spun at Forrest Elbow on the last lap.

Harris was also first across the line in Race 3, but a 10s penalty dropped him to sixth. He was penalised for contact on Borg, who smacked the outside wall at Forrest Elbow. The race finished behind a Safety Car after Woods crashed. Crick was the race winner over Sieders, Walsh, Richard Mork (Hilux) and Jaiden Maggs in his dad’s Triton.

Borg came back to take out the third ahead of Sieders and Crick. In the last Harris overtook Sieders at mid distance and held the lead until the final lap. Heading up mountain the Harris Ute shutdown. He managed to refire it and salvaged fourth behind Borg, Sieders and Crick.

Garry O’Brien

NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

MAGICAL CONCLUSION

Victoria had gone for several months with no motorsport – however engines fired back into life at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the annual end of season Island Magic event.

Images: Revved Photography

Report: Dan McCarthy

FORMULA FORD

THE FINAL round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship was held at the island with Thomas Sargent once again showing his dominance.

Despite the shortened season in 2021 due to COVID-19, the New South Welshman had already wrapped up the title and went on to cap off the season with three race wins. In Race 1 he beat home Conor Somers, in Race 2 Winston Smith and in the final race his CHE teammate Noah Sands.

The second place in Race 3 secured Sands second in the championship.

Cody Donald, Cody Burcher and Smith rounded out the top five in the final race.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN Adam Poole (pictured above) hopped over the border and successfully won the Matthew Flinders Plate driving his Holden Monaro. In the opening race Poole won by a dominant 12.6s from Luke Grech-Cumbo, before beating the HSV Senator driver by 3.9s in Race 2. It was apparent early in the final race that Grech-Cumbo did not have the pace to match Poole out front. Jarrod Tonks began to apply the pressure and made his way into second at Turn 1 on lap 6 – however Poole was long gone. Poole went on to take the win from Tonks and Grech-Cumbo, Robert Braune in his little BMW E30 sat behind in fourth throughout, but with limited power could not make his way by the Holdens.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

A GRID of nearly 40 Hyundai Excels took to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the first time the popular

buzz boxes had attended the Island Magic weekend. Jarred Farrell won the first two races, taking victory by 0.39s in Race 1 and 1.1s in the second encounter. In the final race he was able to gap the field further and took victory by an impressive 2.9s.

Likewise, Ethan Grigg-Gault cruised to second position as the cars behind fought tooth and nail for third place.

In the end Hugo Simpson came out on top by a margin of 0.1s from Harry Tomkins and Toby Waghorn.

SPORTS CARS

THE SPORTS cars ran two one-hour races over the weekend. The Victorian Trophy for winning Sunday’s race was handed to Benjamin Schoots in the Bulgarian built Sin R1. He took the win by 18s from Justin McMillan and Glen Wood in their Lamborghini. The duo won Saturday’s encounter, but Wood could not catch Schoots the following day, despite cutting chunks into the margin late on.

Rowe fought back to win by 0.2s.

In the final race they were unable to skip away from the pack – the pair exchanged positions on several occasions but McCarthy took the win and the title for the third straight year.

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

A FIELD of over 30 cars made up the Historic Touring Car grid, but out front it was Michael Miceli in his 1969 Ford Mustang who dominated all three races. John Harrison finished second in the first two races but slipped to third in the final behind Chevrolet Camaro driver Trever Talbot.

SALOON CARS

IT WAS a small field of Saloon Cars but that did not stop the action.

Holden VT Commodore driver Simon Tabinor won all three races but was challenged in each by fellow Holden driver Mark Sutherland. Both Sunday’s races were determined by less than a second with two high quality engaging battles. Behind Sutherland Adam Lowndes finished third for the round.

Sports Sedans attended and competed for the annual 50k plate, the round was covered extensively in the last edition of Auto Action.

PORSCHE 944S

ALTHOUGH CAMERON Beller took pole it was James Westaway who won all three of the Porsche 944 races.

Westaway prevailed in Race 1 by 0.2s and won the second race by 2.3s.

The final race looked like it would be another close fought affair, however Beller lost drive on lap 2 exiting Siberia. Westaway went on to take the win by 12.4s from Adam Brewer.

The strong Formula Ford field drops down out of Lukey Heights.

FORMULA VEE

BOTH FORMER winners of the Mauri Fordham Trophy, Reef McCarthy and Jake Rowe were a step above the field as they fought for Formula Vee honours. Race 1 saw Super3 Series front-runner McCarthy come out on top by less than 0.04s. In Race 2

Michael Miceli’s Mustang shows the way in Historic Touring Cars.

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p ra w S L A N NATIO

WINDUS/BRKIC RALLY WIN FOR VRC

Image: B team Rally Media

AGAINST QUALITY competition Darren Windus and Joe Brkic (pictured) won the Gippsland Rally, the fifth and final round of the Till Hino Motorsport Australia Victorian Rally Championship on December 5. The pair took the title, the third for Windus and the second for Brkic.

Through the first half of the eightstage 124km event they had a fuel pump issue before they won by 39s over Eli Evans and new co-driver Adam Wright (Mini Cooper AP4). Third place was taken by 2WD winners and

champions Adrian Stratford and Kain Manning (Ford Fiesta G2 ST).

Nathan Quinn and Ray WinwoodSmith (Mitsubishi EVO X) had a great start, and won the opening two stages ahead of Evans who won the next two stages in the reborn Mini. Despite the fuel drama Windus finished the first heat in fifth place behind Quinn, Stratford, and Brendan Reeves and Kate Catford (Datsun 510).

Sixth was held by JJ Hatton/Brad Jones (Hyundai i20) from Wayne Stewart/Lucas Zinsstag (Subaru

WRX STi Spec C), Warren Lee/ David Lethlean (EVO 9), Tony Moore/Troy Hutchins (Ford Focus ST) and Troy Dowel/Bernie Webb (Volkswagen Polo).

Windus decided to continue the rally and won the second head ahead Hatton and Strattford. Evans lost turbo boost at the start of stage five and finished the heat fourth in front of Lee, Stewart, Richie Dalton/Mac Kierans (Ford Escort), Moore, Peter Schey/Michelle Canning (WRX) and Brat Till/Mitch Garrad (WRX).

Reeves retired with a broken fan belt, Dowel blew a head gasket, and Quinn was also a DNF, out on stage seven. Overall Hatton was fourth ahead of Stewart, Lee, Moore, Dalton, Schey and Till.

The event was also round eight of the Victorian Club Rally Series which was won by Steven Porter and Tony Robinson (Mazda RX7) from Kevin Millard and Andrew Daniell (Datsun 1600) and series winners Kevin and Judd Lewis, also in a Datsun 1600.

Garry O’Brien

WANZEK’S EXCEL VICTORY AT THE BEND LAST MONTH on a sprint day at The Bend Motorsport Park, Jayden and Justin Wanzek were the overall winners of the Misch’s Circuit Excel Enduro, held over two one-hour races.

The son and father combination were first across line in the first race and were second in the following race later in the day. Second place overall went to Aaron Oliver and Matt Totani with Shayne Nowickyj and Mitchel McGarry third.

Oliver and Totani were just 0.2s behind the winners in race one while Shaun Pannowitch and Asher Johnston took third. They were 0.25s ahead of Nowickyj/McGarry

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after the results were revised which had the latter pair as the winners.

Fifth spot went to Scott Tiller and Tom Benford in front of Troy and Craig Dontas, Martyn Butler and Lee Stibbs, and Greg and Aiden Stuut.

Nick Scaife and James Benford were the pacesetters but were caught out with the Safety Car and their compulsory pitstop to place ninth. They made up for it in the second enduro with a 4.4s victory.

Second were the Wanzeks with Nowickyj/McGarry next from Butler/ Stubbs, Oliver/Totani, Pannowitch/ Johnston and the Dontas brothers.

Garry O’Brien

Image: John Lemm

TARGA WIN IS WILSON’S FOURTH Images: Mick Oliver

WITH VICTORY in the 2021 GT Fabrication Targa Bunbury Sprint on November 28, Troy Wilson (pictured) made it four wins in the West Australian event, this year with Toni Cameron for the second time.

Wilson first took out the event in 2016 and followed up successfully in 2018 (with Cameron) and 2020.

The winners had to overcome an electronics issue in the first half where their Mitsubishi EVO X went into limp mode three times. They finished 22s ahead of Matt Cherry and Phillip Wilson (Toyota Startlet) while third spot went David Heaton and Caleb Ash (Mitsubishi EVO X) a further 6.7s away.

Participants numbered 120 through 11 classes for the final event in the nine-event Targa Cup series.

They each had eight runs on the 4.0km course in warm 30 degree temperatures.

The first four runs in the morning were clockwise and, in the afternoon, they went anti-clockwise. Cody

Harris and Morgan Ward topped Run 1 and had six good stages before the EVO 8 MR refused to start the last.

Peter Rullo and Jimmy Marquet headed Run2 and were in the mix before being forced out on stage five, with a suspected drive shaft issue. Best on Run 3 was Heaton/ Ash and Cherry/Phillips headed Run 4. After that it was all Wilson/ Cameron.

Fourth place went to Matt JamesWallace/Ben Tuck (Nissan Skyline R32 GTR) and next were Brett Morse/Rodney Ng (BMW M2 Competition), Chris Caruso/Alex Butler (Dodge Viper ACR) and Mark Cirillo/Ben-Lee D’limi (Porsche GT3 RS).

Then came the husband/wife team of Bill and

Glenys Stagoll (EVO 9), Simon Grant/Stewart Ambrose (EVO 5 RS), Dean Pike/Michael Lloyd (Porsche GT3 Cup) and another husband/wife combination in Jurgen and Helen Lunsmann (Tesla Model 3 Performance+). Garry O’Brien

LOCK IT IN EDDIE ...

TASMANIAN PAIR Eddie Maguire and Zac Brakey (pictured) took out the 2021 Adelaide Rally after four days at the front of the pack.

Maguire set the pace from the outset of the event in his Dodge Viper ACR, holding the lead throughout the event to claim $20,000 of prize money – $10,000 for the outright win and a further $10,000 for the new Adelaide Tourist Trophy, awarded to the highestplaced interstate team.

Jeff Morton (NSW) and Daymon Nicoli (WA) made sure of a thrilling finish in a Porsche GT2RS, finishing less than half a second behind to claim runner-up honours.

Third place went to Angus Kennard (NSW) and Ian Wheeler (TAS), who maintained their podium position

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through the event in their Nissan GTR and created an interstate lockout of the Modern Competition podium.

Maguire and Brakey finished on top of the leader board by just 2s after the first day of competition, winning every stage but one to lead Morton.

The former extended his lead over Morton on Day 3 but after three days in the hills the gap between the frontrunners was just 31.7s, setting up a tense final day.

Maguire won every stage bar one on the penultimate day, but the rivals were still relatively evenly matched despite different methods of extracting fast times from their disparate machines.

The leader started Day 4 strongly, winning the Mt Lofty stage by just 0.4s from Morton.

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The tide turned during the Aldgate Valley stage, however, as Morton made up 9s on Maguire who posted his worst stage result of the event.

Maguire shut the door soon after though, the Tasmanian responded with another stage win and although Morton closed out his event with two more stage wins, the Porsche driver had to settle for second place.

In Classic Competition, Jack Monkhouse (NSW) was victorious and fourth outright with local navigator Chloe Bojko by four minutes in his 1973 Datsun 180B Andrew Booker and Neil Branum brought their 1984 Nissan Skyline home in second place.

Tom Dermody and Ryan Preston filled the final podium position in their 1973 Ford Mk1 Escort.

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The Heritage Trophy handicap competition saw a rearranged Classic leader board, Booker classified first, followed by Dermody and Monkhouse.

It was a fightback for the ages in Modern Competition, Geoffrey Olholm and Matthew Sanders overturning a 24s deficit on the final day to emerge victorious in his Toyota Supra GTS. Ben Auld and Lucy Barker led for the first three days in their Porsche GT3 CS, but could do little to stop Olholm on the final day.

Robert Bryden and Alex Bryden came home third in a Lotus Exige.

William Coulter and Andrew Colliver comfortably won Classic Challenge in their 1986 Toyota Sprinter AE86. Josh Nevett

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

ROB ROY CELEBRATES 30TH PERFECT CONDITIONS on November 28 allowed for some quick times at the 30th Annual Rob Roy Historic & Classic Hillclimb. Graeme Raper took the Historic fastest time while James Callahan (pictured) was quickest overall.

With three decades since the historic venue reopened in 1992, an added bonus was a last-minute Covid rule change that allowed spectators to join the 96 competitors.

Raper had a best time of 24.28s in his George Reed Monoskate Ford Special to put his name on the Arthur Wylie Trophy again. Being a Historic event he was officially the fastest, although with the inclusion of invited classes for non-historic cars, he was actually fifth.

Callahan (Mitsubishi EVO) posted a 22.43s in his close battle with David Bell (Subaru Impreza WRX). Third outright went to Mike Barker (Elfin Clubman). Philip Gray in his Ford Special was second fastest Historic and seventh outright ahead of Robert Wilson (Peregrine F2).

Top Production Touring went to Evan Farrell (Ford Escort) who finished tenth outright to collect the coveted Norm Beechey Trophy while John Hardy in his beautiful Alpine Renault A110 collected the Harry Firth Trophy for his 14th outright.

Emma Collyer (WRX) added her

name to the Diana Davison/Gaze Plate as the fastest female.

The fun event was the Le Trophee Des Conducteurs Ancients which is awarded based on the age of a driver plus the age of their car divided by their best time.

So old and fast is the formula, Dick O’Keefe (Photon Lotus 11 replica)

excelled and took the prize.

Gary Hill

Image: Chris Barbour

BULL BEST AT NOOSA THIS TIME A HUGE 106 entry list was headed by Brett Bull (pictured) who laid down the fastest time at the Noosa Summer Hillclimb on November 27-28.

Second here 12 months ago In his supercharged Kawasaki-powered Van Diemen RF03K, Bull ran a 52.1288s time on his sixth attempt and was a whopping 4.9s fastest than anyone else.

Second fastest was Cornelis Valstar in a Hayabusa engined Radical SR3 RS. Third best was last year’s winner Michael Von Rappard (Dallara F392/supercharged Hayabusa) with his time produced on

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the first run, the only one completed over the weekend.

The event is in its 24th year and is generally one of two hillclimbs held, the other being the Noosa Winter Hillclimb. It was held at the picturesque Gyndier Drive, Tewantin, off the Noosa to Cooroy Road. It covers 1.5kms of cambered bitumen with a blend of 14 tight and moderately sweeping corners through the National Park.

Vehicles on the entry list included historic cars all the way through to the modern era, hillclimb specials, muscle cars and classic marques.

Fourth outright and the best of the tin tops was

Phil Sutcliffe (Mitsubishi EVO 9) whose best came on his final run. Adam McLeod (Mitsubishi Ralliart) also put in his best on the last run, but was 0.19s away in fifth.

Aaron McLeod (EVO X) was another four tenths away and just in front of the Tesla Model 3 driven

by Aaron Brown who went quicker on every run.

The eighth best effort was by Peter Hughes (Volkswagen Golf) ahead of Robert Macready (Nissan Skyline R33 GTR). Chris Ching (EVO) squeezed into the top ten ahead of Matt Duncan (Subaru Impreza) and David Allen (EVO) with the three covered by 0.08s. Garry O’Brien

DAN’S DAY AT WILLUNGA DRIVING HIS Subaru WRX STi C-Spec, Dan Day (pictured) dominated the Willunga Hillclimb on December 5, fastest on all five runs and winning by over 20s on aggregate.

Held on the 2.69 km steep, winding public road at McLaren Vale, the event attracted 130 competitors.

There were three generations of the Day family competing, grandfather Anthony in his Saleen Mustang and father Sean in a slightly more-standard Subaru Impreza

WRX STi, which he brought home in an amazing fifth outright.

The field contained a number of vehicles which had run in the previous week’s Shannons Adelaide Rally, with the next three placings being taken by cars which had either competed or been official cars.

Peter Jankowski was lucky to exit his WRX without injury after crashing heavily near the top of the hill on his practice run.

Dan Day’s 1 min 20.93s on his opening run was 1.12s quicker than last year’s

runner-up Andrew Campbell (Nissan S14), in turn 3.96s ahead of Nick Streckeisen (Nissan Skyline R35 GTR).

Day pulled out a further 2.07s over Campbell on the next run before the latter crashed into the guard rail after the finish.

He made it back for the following runs, but his times were slower. Sean Day was third, 5.17s slower than his son.

Going faster again on the third, Day was 3.08s up on Douglas Johnson (WRX) with Andy Sarandis (Mitsubishi EVO 8)

further back. The fourth run saw him again ahead of Johnson and Sarandis, who edged out Streckeisen.

Day left the hill record at 1 min 19.04s on the fifth and final run. His total in the end was 6 mins 39.35s, 20.68s seconds up on Douglas. Sarandis and Streckeisen. Seventh placed Nate Dale (Ford Fiesta ST) was first 2WD seventh with Campbell was eventually ninth and second 2WD. Story and Image: John Lemm

MAVERICK PAIR TAKE ENDURO WHAT THE Robe Earthmovers David Larter Memorial Day Night Enduro lacked in numbers it made up for in entertainment value. A nine-car field took on the dunes at Beachport on November 27 and it was the Victorian crew of Robert Gussenhoven and Wayne Donnelly (pictured) which conquered the conditions and some stiff opposition in their Can-Am Maverick.

Dean Russ and Debbie Brinkley were a bit off the pace in second, but took home the Prolite winner’s trophy. Justin and Mark Battersby (Rimco/Toyota) managed to find their way safely through the scrub and sand hills to sit on the bottom step of the podium and take top honours in Super 1650.

Mark Wakeman (Holden Rodeo V8) was a lap down in fourth and the best of the Extreme 2WD entries.

Aaron and Shane Heemskerk were having their first run with Honda

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power in the back of the Sportslite buggy and ran with the front runners until breaking a CV in section two, but were still classified fifth and last finisher.

The fast man was Tanner James who had a good lead when the Alumi Crafts’ GM engine developed a bad misfire, and his race was over after just three Image: David Batchelor laps. Rhys and Courtney Watson had an eventful, if rather short race Out of luck on lap one were rolling on the second lap of section Andrew and Thomas Forssman with one. They pulled out of section two a broken stub axle on their Datsunnot far from the finish. powered Super 1650. Robbie Ward

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and Kahlia Jenke (Nissan Navara/ Chev V8) also out on the first lap with a broken transmission.

David Batchelor

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SPEEDWAYnews

McHUGH’S LUCKY 7!

ROUND FIVE of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship provided a solid return for Lachlan McHugh as he found his way back into the winner’s circle for the second time in consecutive rounds at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway. After claiming the win in the top eight, Aaron Kelly lined up in the Q7 along the NQ7 of McHugh making it a ‘lucky 7’s’ pairing on the front row for the 30 lap main event.

At the drop of the green McHugh pounced around the top side of the clay way to take control – in just two laps the race leader was navigating his way past the tail end runners as the field had quickly strung out until Andrew Baumber spun in Turn 4 to regroup the field for an Indian file restart.

McHugh again checked out and within another two circulations, he began to work his way through back markers, maintaining a healthy distance and gapping two cars on average over second placed Kelly as they advanced through. The race for third was shaping up as an exciting challenge as Taylor Posser withstood a challenge from Luke Oldfield until Jye Corbertt spun his machine to a halt and brought the field back for a third restart. Status quo remained at the pointy

end; the only change was Oldfield dropping a spot to Kevin Titman around half race distance. However this would not be the biggest concern for Oldfield, who was hindered in traffic, triggering a domino effect as Ryan Newton rode the right rear wheel sending him into a nasty flip and cutting down the tyre of the Oldfield entry.

Oldfield would restart with a new tyre but from the back of the conga line, while McHugh again held his composure and distanced himself from Kelly and company while, further back, the pack battled for positions. With two to go Baumber spun for the second time, eliminating him from the event, joining Newton and Nelson Reddacliff on the infield. This gave the field one final crack at rearranging the deck chairs for position, but McHugh would hang on aboard the Leigh Smith Yachts Cool in a green-whitechequered finish, adding more points for his ECL Series defence. Kelly and Prosser also held their positions from go to whoa earning them their best finishes in the series to date.

Brent Kratzman stormed home with a late race pass on Titman for fourth position, Oldfield made the most of the new rubber to barnstorm his way back into the top half dozen, Adam Butler,

NQ7 Lachlan McHugh set sail for home in the Leigh Smith Yachts Cool.

Image: Declan Brownsey

Cody Maroske, B Main victor Ryan McMamara and Mitch Gowland were the top 10.

Dan Murray, Karl Hoffmans, Dan Moes, Kristy Bonsey, Jy Corbertt and Tim Farrell were the final finishers.

Heat race wins were shared

by Brad Ayres, Prosser, Newton, McHugh, Darren Jensen and Oldfield.

With a crammed pit area, the event was well supported, with five support classes all putting their best wheels

forward on the super juiced-up track. Kevin Britten proved why he is the reigning national V8 Dirt Modified champion by claiming the 15 lap feature race victory over Phil Roberts and David Clarke.

The Wingless Sprint field was again deep in numbers with 21 in attendance, but it would be New South Welshman Robert Mazzer staking his claim with a flag-to-flag victory over Jamie Usher and Ben Manson.

EGEL FLIES HIGH FOR VICTORY! MOUNT GAMBIER’S Borderline Speedway blasted back into life for the new summer season and heading the show at the picturesque venue were the Sprintcars. The event was first slated as the opening round of the popular Victorian Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar Series – however COVID border rules curtailed these plans, and the event would evolve into an opening night Sprintcar feature.

With 26 teams in the pits, the competitors were keen to establish their dominance on the event. Veteran South Aussie racer Luke Dillion in the National Karate S81 Maxim set the cat amongst the pigeons, setting Fast Time in qualifying followed by claiming the opening heat race, to set himself up with a front row start for the 25 lap feature event. From the get-go Dillon would trail-blaze out front while the bump and grind was taking place further back in the field, resulting in Max Vidau spinning to a halt in Turn 1.

At the restart, Dillion would lead Ryan Jones, Matt Egel, Lisa Walker and Co as they resumed combat duties. Walker edged under Egel into third but the dog fight would only continue for a few short laps as Egel blasted his way around the topside of the track to quickly dispose of Walker then Jones as he set his sights on the back of Dillon. As they negotiated their way through the traffic the real estate shortened as Egel’s highline was proving the

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S52 Matt Egel on his way to victory. Image: Ray Ritter.

fastest way around the bullring, taking the lead and widening the gap until Dillon seized a second bite at the Cherry, passing Egel in traffic with five circulations to run and gapping two lapped cars between them.

Egel however did not throw in the towel and knuckled down at the wheelhouse of the Whyalla Earth Works entry and passed the leader exiting Turn 4 as the white flag was displayed before them. Joining Egel and Dillon in Victory Lane was Jones who ran a consistent race in third followed by the fast finishing Victorian duo in Grant Stansfield and Corey McCullagh, Walker rounding out the top six. Daniel Pestka, Steven Lines, Brock Hallett, Hayden

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It was an all Williams affair in the Formula 500 feature race with Liam leading Kristin in the 15 lap final, Kurt Wilson climbing from fifth to make the podium. Steve Potts climbed two positions to win the AMCA Nationals feature race over Scott Hitchcock and Bruce Marshall. Wayne Kirkman led the dozen revolutions to win the Open A / Outlaw Sedans feature from Colin Morris and Keith Craft claiming the minors.

Paris Charles

Pitt, David Murcott and Adam King finished inside the top dozen followed by Sprintcar debutant Luke Weel, Mark Caruso, Max Vidau, Ricky Maiolo, Ryan Alexander, Paul Solomon and Ash Cook. Local racer Scott Enderl was the only competitor to DNF. The five remaining heat race wins were shared equally by Jones, Walker, Stansfield and brothers Mark and Steven Caruso.

The support racing also provided plenty of action, including the second round of the MJS Street Stock Series with 30 laps on the board, running 15 in each direction. Anthony Beare and Carey Weston shared the front row and, while Beare checked out, Weston had dropped back to as far as fifth for the first portion of the race. With the change of direction, Beare again checked out while Jayden Edwards, Nigel Reichstein and Weston battled in close quarters for third. As Beare’s Commodore crossed the finish line he would be followed by Weston and Reichstein to the podium. Edwards limped home in fourth with a wounded car followed by Bryan Brown, Keith Moore, Ben Weedon, Darren Flatman, Corey Crafer, Phil Watson and Denis Knowles rounding out the top 10.

A healthy mix of Victorians joined the locals for the running of the fourth round of the Formula 500 SA State Series. Against 25, other competitors Whyalla’s Angelo Karoussis proved too strong in the 20 lap feature taking the win over Brendan Zadow, Victorian’s Jordan Rae and Dylan Willsher rounding out the top four. John Munn, Ben Cooper, Leigh Van Ginneken, Ryan O’Keefe, Patrick Merrett and Indy Rae completed the first 10 home. Finally, the Classic Sedans entertained the crowd with a series of spirited demonstration runs throughout the evening.

Paris Charles

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CHR

NOMETRIC

All things historic with Mark Bisset

Fords Quad-cam Indy V8 AUTO ACTION #1823 contained a piece about the Indy Establishment’s theft of the 1963 500 from Colin Chapman, Jim Clark, Dan Gurney, FoMoCo and their 255cid pushrod Ford V8 powered Lotus 29.

They got there in the end, winning the ’65 Memorial Day classic in a Lotus 38 powered by a Ford Quad-cam, 32-valve, Hilborn injected 255cid V8.

Our Ford friends gave us a bundle of photographs – quite a few of them were unpublished. Do check-out that piece; the featured shots caught our eyes. They show the new engine being tested at ‘The Brickyard’ in the back of Lotus 29R1 in late October 1963, complete with bulky diagnostic test equipment atop the Colotti transaxle.

The engine as first built was a classic crossflow design, with induction between the Vee and exhausts outside.

As subsequently raced, the engine followed the F1 design trend of the time (BRM, Ferrari, Repco-Brabham, Honda et al) by locating the exhausts within the Vee and the inlet ports underneath.

These are rare – perhaps unpublished – photos of the Ford Quad-cam engine as first built in its one-and-only track test.

So, it’s nice for Auto Action in far-away Australia to publish them, even if it’s nearly 60 years later!

In 1956, a Ford Special Projects offshoot in California built a 32-valve race V8. The team was headed by Joe Mackay who reported to senior exec Harley Copp – a decade later he was key in allocating Ford of Britain the capital for Cosworth Engineering’s design, development, and construction of the Ford 1.6-litre FVA F2, and DFV 3-litre F1 engines, respectively the most successful F2 and GP motors.

The (later) Traco duo, Jim Travers and Frank Coon worked on the Californian engine project which was scuttled in 1957 when the Automobile Manufacturers Association led mutual cessation of competition activities between the American Big Three automakers came into play: GM, FoMoCo and Chrysler.

Fords ‘Total Performance’ credo shortly thereafter changed all that, not that they were alone in re-commencing racing hostilities!

While Ford’s engineers somewhat reluctantly followed Colin Chapman and Dan Gurney’s arguments that a normally aspirated, 325bhp, 350 lb aluminium pushrod V8 would do-the-Indy-trick (it did) in 1963, simultaneously they continued development of a Quad-cam engine which won the 500 seven times between 1965 and 1977 (including the AJ Foyt derivations).

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Fords Quad-cam ‘Series 1’ in Lotus 29 chassis R1, the used and abused first Lotus Indy test mule. Disposition of inlet and exhaust valves as per text. Note Autolite electronic ignition, Hilborn continuous-flow fuel injection, makeshift ‘stack’ exhausts and roll hoop mounted to the inlet exhaust cam-cover. The ‘silver-box’ recordings gave much data, not least showing just how smooth Clark’s driving style was.

The three-day Indy test shown occurred after the Mexican GP (Clark won from pole in a Lotus 25 Climax), commencing Tuesday October 29. It was attended by Chapman, Clark and Gurney, the engine was installed in Detroit by David Lazenby and Jim Endruweit.

The photos were taken on TuesdayWednesday when a Hilborn injected engine was fitted. On the Thursday a Weber-fed unit was tried. Gurney drove for the first two days when there were persistent fuel pickup and over-heating problems, including excessive water loss.

On the final day, Clark had dramas with oil coming from a breather, carburettor jets, and then had a rear tyre blowout while lapping at about 150mph. This ended the test early, a disappointing one as the fastest lap achieved only slightly bettered Clark’s 150mph qualifier earlier in the year.

The changes to the location of the ports were for aerodynamic and packaging reasons. The aero advantage was getting the exhausts out of the airstream, although this somewhat negated (by all the marques who did it) by maintaining outboard suspension at the rear. At the front, Lotus used a top-rocker and lower wishbone, the bulky shock-spring unit was within the chassis, but at the rear the suspension was ‘in the breeze’. The packaging advantage was in that the rear monocoque chassis booms made exhaust routing more difficult than in a good ‘ole spaceframe.

Ford engineers were mightily impressed with an Offy engine they bought as part of their R&D in 1962-63. Their quad-cam cylinder heads were “Dutch copies of the Offy heads” according to Lotus designer, Len Terry. This may have made sense if Ford’s finest was a four-cylinder design, but it wasn’t!

Despite having ports and valve sizes which were too big, resulting in suboptimal fuel velocity, at Indy in 1964 425bhp Ford Quad-cams occupied the first two rows of the grid and won the race for Rodger Ward in a Watson chassis. Job done…

Reference credit: ‘Team Lotus: The Indianapolis Years’ Andrew Ferguson.

Images: FoMoCo, MotorSport Images

Ford Quad-cam as raced. Fitted to Clark’s ‘65 winning, Lotus 38 R1, the ‘packaging advantages’ are clear.

Daniel Sexton Gurney set to boogie; Jim Clark at left, rugged-up against the October chill. Lotus tested Goodyears but raced with Dunlops again in 1964, with disastrous consequences. A failed tyre took out Clark’s left-rear suspension, and so Gurney’s car was accordingly withdrawn.

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago Images: AA Archives

1971: COLIN BOND signed to re-join the factory Holden Dealer Team for the 1972 season. Niel Allen was injured in a Formula 5000 testing crash at Surfers Paradise. Allen crashed at over 161kp/h in preparation for the Tasman Series and it took a long time for his mechanics to extract him from the car. He was stranded for nearly 30 minutes before being transferred Coolangatta Hospital.

1981: SYDNEY HAD intentions of hosting the Australian Grand Prix – however the plans did not receive CAMS approval. Elsewhere in the world of open-wheelers, five Formula 1 World Champions were set to attend Sandown. Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Phil Hill, John Surtees and Denny Hulme entered the ‘Tribute to the Champions.’

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1991: TWO-TIME BATHURST 1000 winner Allan Grice and then AUSCAR driver Brad Jones announced they would drive something slightly unique in the second running of the Bathurst 12 Hour. Grice drove a Toyota Supra the first year, however with Jones he would race a Holden VP Ute. Overseas IndyCar ace Al Unser Jnr tested a Williams Formula 1 car at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal.

2001: THE FACTORY Tickford Racing Ford team announced it would scale back to a single car operation in 2002 for two-time Australian Touring Car champion Glenn Seton. Seton confirmed the decision was made due to the escalating costs of running two cars, and putting 100% of focus on a single car. Seton’s former teammate Alan Jones looked set for a return with Andrew Haberfield.

2011: DICK JOHNSON correctly predicted that his record of five Australian Touring Car Championships would be beaten by the dominant Jamie Whincup. Meanwhile Whincup’s teammate Craig Lowndes 27 vowed that he would return stronger after finishing second in the Bathurst 1000 and the championship. Overseas, Kimi Raikkonen announced he would return to F1 after a two Created using the Crossword Maker on TheTeachersCorner.net year absence.

22. How many races did Lee Holdsworth win Down 2.

What was Scott McLaughlin’s best race in TCR Australia? at was Scott McLaughlin’s best race finishing position 1. Liam Lawson led the DTM Series heading into the finishing position in IndyCar this season?

23. In what country did Sergio Perez take what his brand of car was he driving?

Supercars Championship – who eventually yCar this season? controversial final race, 6.

Who won the National Sports Sedans 50k first race victory with Red Bull Racing? finished as best of the rest? (surname) o won the National Sports Sedans 50k plate this 3. How many points separated Max Verstappen and Lewis plate this year? (surname) 24. Who wonHamilton the inaugural S5000into the final race in Abu Dhabi?

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25. Chaz Mostert won the TCR Australia what country didChampionship, Sergio Perez take hisrace first race Verstappen and 18.Lewis How Hamilton many riders won in 2021? winsBull did Jamie Whincup take? the final race21. in Abu Dhabi?

8. There was a tight title tussleinfor third in the Series – what brand of car did he compete in? y with Red Racing?

Fabio Quartararo earnt his maiden MotoGP 2021, ho won the inaugural S5000 Championship? who was the runner-up? (surname) ame) 22. Who won –his eighth and final FIA World Rally – three, 4 across – Holden, 5 down – McLaughlin, 6 down – 1825 Crossword Answers 1 across – three, 1 down – Tander, 2 down Moffat, 3 down – thirty-four, 3 across ow manyzero, races7 did Marc Marquez win in MotoGP this Championship this year before retiring from full-time across – fifth, 8 across – French, 8 down – four, 9 down – Courtney, 10 across – Brock, 11 down – Rydell, 12 across – HDT, 13 down – Peter Brock, 14 across n? competition? (surname) – Lowndes, 15 across – Steven Richards, 16 down – Skaife, 17 down – Bailey, 18 across – Jaguar, 19 across – Rick Kelly, 20 down – fourth, 21 across – McConville, 22 ho was the only driver to win consecutive IndyCar 25. Chaz Mostert won the TCR Australia Series, what brand across – one, 23 across – seven, 24 down – nine, 25 across – two. of car did he compete in? s races in 2021? (surname) ill Brown was the highest placed rookie in the cars Championship, in what position did he finish? www.autoaction.com.au AutoActionMagazine Auto_Action instagram.com/autoactionmag/ AutoAction ho won the Australian Carrera Cup Series in 2021? ame)

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IN THE GARAGE

The super-special McLaren built to celebrate Daniel Ricciardo’s win in the Italian Grand Prix has arrived in Australia. It’s the first of three and if you have to ask the price then it’s way too late.

The special 720S edition was created by McLaren Special Operations and, apart an Aussie flag and Ricciardo’s #3 on the side, the key difference is the papaya bodywork that picks up the colour from his MCL35M F1 winner. To celebrate its arrival in Melbourne the car was taken for a brief sprint around Albert Park on the roads that will host the Australian Grand Prix - on a later date next year.

WARRIOR JOINS BUSH BATTLE

BY PAUL GOVER

Morgan builds some of the world’s craziest sports cars but now the historic British maker has gone fully mental with a road rocket based on its old-school Plus 8. Designed and developed to farewell V8 engines from the Morgan line-up, the Plus 8 GTR is inspired by a racer from the 1980s but with all sorts of modern tweaks including a body kit with re-shaped guards and a deep front spoiler, a hardtop roof, and carbon fibres tweaks in the cabin. The Rover V8 in the car makes 280 kiloWatts but only nine are being built and there is no chance of a GTR coming to Australia.

GMSV pulls the covers off new model portfolio The long wait is over - all together, in one spot, for the very first time. “It’s taken many months to get to this moment, but it’s definitely been worth the wait,” said Joanne Stogiannis, Director of GMSV Australia and New Zealand. “This is the first time we’ve been able to assemble the entire GMSV new model portfolio, consisting of C8 Corvette Coupe and Convertible, Silverado LT Trail Boss, LTZ Premium and Heavy Duty LTZ Premium, in the same spot at the same time.” It’s been a monumental year for the new brand, one which has presented its own set of challenges and unique circumstances, but with many highlights. We’ve had an unbelievable reaction when we’ve been able to showcase models from the line-up,” said Ms Stogiannis.

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A NEW muscle car battle is raging in Australia between hotrod versions of the country’s most popular pick-up trucks.

Ford sets the benchmark with its Range Raptor, a rugged off-road rager with super-special Fox suspension, Toyota is also into the action with its HiLux Rugged X, and even Volkswagen has an upgraded Amarok that is tweaked by Walkinshaw Performance.

Now comes the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior.

What makes the new Warrior so special is that the tweaking and tuning work is done in Australia, and for Australia, by many of the same crew from the days of Ford Performance Vehicles.

Premcar is a Melbourne company headed by Bernie Quinn and has been diving deeply into engineering products for Nissan and a run of other - secret - companies.

Its new work is the second time Premcar has been called in by Nissan and the result is a Navara that is deeply capable and bundles exactly the sort of equipment that owners usually fit once they drive out of the showroom. It’s a balanced package and, best of all, it’s fully-factory approved and covered by the original warranty.

The new Warrior is not cheap at $67,490, or $69,990 with an auto, but it’s a good deal for people who want to drive something more special and more rewarding.

That’s what the Warrior and its rivals are all

ROAD & TRACK

about - driving enjoyment in the 21st century.

Far too many pick-ups - utes does not really apply any more, since they are trucks and not a ‘utility’ version of a car - are just wheelbarrows that try to do everything and do nothing well.

The Warrior is upgraded with proper suspension, the essential winch-bullbar and LED light bar, bigger wheels and Cooper tyres, and even Warrior logos stitched into the seats.

“We set out to create the most-capable Navara ever,” says Quinn.

Getting into detail, the Navara’s unchanged engine is a 2.3-litre twin turbo, common-rail diesel, tied to a six-speed manual and sevenspeed auto and selectable four-wheel drive. The driveline also has a hill-assist ‘creeper’ system for steep downhills.

The heart of the Warrior is upgraded suspension with an extra 30 millimetres of front track, 40 millimetres of extra ground clearance, upgraded springs for more front-end support and bigger and re-worked Monroe dampers that impove everything from compliance to float when towing.

But it also gets Warrior flares and the essential decals to prove it is not just another Navara.

DRIVING The press preview drive at Coffs Harbour is over forest roads, many used for Rally Australia, and gnarly bush tracks. The course is sodden and spashd with deep creek crossings and slimy red clay.

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The Warrior does not notice, or care.

Its upgraded and more-plush suspension copes with everything, the Cooper tyres find grip on the worst surfaces, and we’re calm and cozy in the cabin with an auto gearbox and the knowledge that even deep water and slippery uphill climbs are easy with a bit of common sense and a light touch.

The Warrior is impressive from the kick-off, thanks to suspension that damps and smooths the typical wheelbarrow feel of a pick-up. The 265x65 R17 Coopers have an aggressive tread but are surprisingly quiet on the blacktop and then clear the mud easily.

At the end of the day the Warrior has ticked all the boxes on a tough run of off-roading that would be typical for a lot of owners.

But there is still time to tweak its tail with a sprint on some twisty dry bitumen - the first of the day where it is calm and settled in corners, has great turbodiesel punch, and where the Premcar lightbar does a great job of night brightness.

The only shortcomings of the Warrior are embedded from the original Navara, such as a slow steering ratio, seats that are not particularly supportive, and a cabin that trails newer pick-ups.

So the Nissan lives up to its name and the Warrior is headed for a sell-out.

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FAST FACTS Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior Price: $67,490 or $69,990 with an auto Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylidner twin-turbo diesel Power: 140kW/450Nm Transmission: 6-speed manual, 7-speed auto, four-wheel drive Position: upgraded sporty pick-up We like: All the Premcar work Not so much: Slow steering ratio Score: 8/10 THE TICK: Giddy up

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ROAD & TRACK

Porsche’s Road Racer

BY PAUL GOVER THE ONLY Porsche 911 sharper than the all-new GT3 wears numbers and races in the Carrera Cup. That’s why I’m sitting in the pitlane at Sydney Motorsport Park, with Bathurst winner Luke Youlden looking over my shoulder, to prepare for a deep dive into the all-new GT3.

It’s a deep dive because this day is all about track laps, data downloads, and trying to get the best from the hotrod Porsche - and myself - instead of worrying about fuel economy and tyre noise.

The Supercars thunder has barely subsided since Shane van Gisbergen locked down this year’s Repco Supercars Championship and it’s about to be replaced by the 9000-rev howl of Porsche’s all-new and much improved road racer.

The GT3 has a whole menu of new-and-better bits for 2021, from the Le Mans-style rear wing to the first doublewishbone front suspension on a GT3.

The headline numbers are 375 kiloWatts and 460 Newton-metres, a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.4 seconds with the preferred PDK slick shift, a top speed of 320km/h and a price-tag - if you could get one - of $369,900.

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There is no auto safety braking system in the GT3. And no ANCAP test score, although the car has six airbags.

But Porsche has tweaked the stability control, including the ABS braking, with three stages including ‘everything off’ for adventurous track drivers.

The suspension - which is set 20 millimetres lower than a regular 911 - has active control, and there is rear-wheel steering with a sports bias to improve stability.

The latest wheel-and-tyre package is improved, with 10 millimetres of extra rubber at each corner, although the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tyres are definitely not recommended for wet roads, and the brakes are also upgraded.

For the first time there are different diameters for the forged alloy wheels, 20x19.5 on the front and 21x12 on the rear, and it’s a similar story for the tyres which are 255x35 on the nose and 315x30 on the tail. It’s all about providing optimum grip and cornering balance.

The brakes have also been tweaked a little, with the front rotors growing from 380 to 408 millimetres with improved dust extraction - using cone-shaped openings instead of cross-drilling - with twin air ducts at each front corner, one feeding to

the discus and another for internal brake cooling.

In the cabin there is a predictable Porsche dash with an impressive 10.9inch infotainment but the best thing for track work is the no-cost Clubsport package. It injects a rollover bar, fire extinguisher, and a racing harness for the driver. There are also optional sports seats and new for the latest GT3 is a driving mode switch on the steering wheel - with settings for Normal, Sport and Track. The car also has shift lights alongside the rev-counter.

A Track Screen is unique to the GT3, and trims the display information to

oil temperature and pressure as well as coolant temperature, and the tyre pressure monitor knows the difference between hot and cold tyres.

There is also a $1000 Chrono package that adds a digital stopwatch to the traditional analogue dial in the centre of the dash, and can be coupled to a lap trigger - from Porsche Tequipment - for use with the Porsche Track Precision App. Another bonus is a memory function for the Smart Lift - which raises the nose by 40 millimetres for speed humps and driveways - which does the job automatically when an obstacle is encountered more than once.

WATCH PAUL TAKE THE GTR FOR SOME FAST LAPS AROUND SMP

DRIVING THE GT3 The GT3 gives you exactly what it says on the badge. It is sharp and fast and fun.

Porsche never goes backwards and the GT3 is an obvious improvement in lots of ways, the most obvious in the secure feeling that comes with the doublewishbone front end. It makes the car more enjoyable and less threatening to drive at any speed, without the excessive pitching and roll of most earlier Porsches.

Porsche has plugged the GT3 into its Level 4 driver experience, just one step short of a Carrera Cup racer, which means minimal instruction and no-one in the passenger seat. Then there is a data download, comparing my driving and speed to Bathurst co-driver David Russell, with Dean Canto.

So, no pressure then …

But there is fun, fun, fun with fingertip upshifts at the 9000 redline, cracking PDK downshifts, and encouragement to search for grip and go in every corner.

For the record, the GT3 is topping 235km/h on the downhill run to Turn 1.

First up, taking things easily in the Normal setting on the steering wheel, the GT3 feels much as I remember. The difference is a more-planted nose, new for the 992, and something that will continue to impress through the day. Canto is

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complimentary but critical in the first data download, encouraging me to use more steering lock in corners and push harder on the brakes. This is counter-intuitive for someone with old-school 911 experience, but the front end is giving me everything I need and more.

And then it rains …

So the second bracket of laps with the GT3 is behind a pace car, driven by Alex Davison, on a track which is as slippery as wet clay in some places. At least I know the stability control, as I switch back to the the safety-first Normal setting, is reassuringly happy to help me.

The track eventually dries and there is

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time for a better understanding of the new GT3, which is much more ’normal’ than any previous go-faster Porsche.

The brakes are great, so is the engine, and the hip-hugger race-style seats allow me to sit comfortably and focus on the job.

By the end of the day I’m tired, not much closer to Russell’s reference lap, but hugely happy with the car and the driving.

Then Youlden invites me along for a passenger lap and my whole frame of reference for the GT3 gets twisted and tipped on its side.

It really is something very special, and then there is the GT3 RS that’s coming in 2022 …

FAST FACTS Porsche 911 GT3 Price: $369,900 Engine: 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat six Power: 375kW/460Nm Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive Position: track car for the road We like: All the go-fast stuff Not so much: It’s a sell-out Score: 9/10 THE TICK: Zap-pow-bam

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