Auto Action #1768

REVEALED PHASE PHASE 55 THAT THAT COULD COULD HAVE HAVE BEEN BEEN REVEALED .COM.AU

SINCE 1971

FALCON

GT-HO H 50T RSARY ANNIVE IAL SPEC

MOFFAT TRIBUTE MUSTANG IIN NS SIIDE TC TCM’S ’S LA L ATE TEST ST ST STAR CAR

Issue #1768

22nd Aug to 4th Sept 2019

$7.95 NZ $8.50

www.autoaction.com.au

www.autoaction.com.au

PLUS

AUSSIE IN CHARGE

F1’S NEW RACE BOSS OPENS UP

Image LAT

LATEST NEWS

REYNOLDS MAY MOVE ON

‘Crazy Dave’ is out in the market

BRUCE NEWTON reveals that with an Erebus deal still not done, WAU and Tickford are showing strong interest QUIRKY STAR David Reynolds has become a wanted man as his negotiations to re-sign with Erebus Motorsport continue to play out.

While Reynolds is still most likely to continue in a Penrite Racing Commodore in 2020 and beyond, both Walkinshaw Andretti United and Tickford Racing are understood to be interested in the 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner.

At WAU, Reynolds would join yet-to-be confirmed signing Chaz Mostert in a driving super-squad at least equal in talent to either DJR Team Penske or Triple Eight Race Engineering.

At Tickford Racing, he would potentially replace the departing Mostert, raising the delicious prospect of him leading the team from which he was dumped after finishing third in the championship in 2015.

Of course, Reynolds also broke into Supercars full-time in 2009 with Walkinshaw Racing, the predecessor of WAU. The renewal of Reynolds’ deal with Erebus has been in the public spotlight for months, with both parties insisting a deal is imminent. But as time has dragged on, antennas have gone up at rival teams.

By contrast, Erebus quickly managed to get its promising young gun Anton de Pasquale renewed late last month.

While Reynolds and Erebus aren’t at loggerheads, there are issues yet to be sorted such as salary and duration of contract. “We are just negotiating terms and conditions� was all Reynolds would offer when contacted by Auto Action.

It is understood Reynolds wants to stay but is

prepared to move on if the terms of the deal don’t get sorted to his satisfaction.

He has raced at Erebus since 2016, playing a key role in moving the team forward after it reconstituted itself in Melbourne as a Holden sqaud following the expensive and ultimately failed Queensland-based period racing MercedesAMG E63s.

Tickford Racing team boss Tim Edwards would welcome Reynolds back to the Ford team if he was available. “Of course, I love David!� Edwards declared. “I’ve got a huge amount of respect for David, he’s a great guy and a great driver. “Personally, I can’t see him going anywhere. He is part of the Erebus family, so I’d be very surprised if he turned up somewhere else next year.�

While WAU is known to be very interested in securing Reynolds, his high price is a stumbling block.

The interest in Reynolds indicates WAU is still pondering a double driver change. It has been widely and publicly mooted in pitlane that Scott Pye was making way for Mostert, but James Courtney’s is also not guaranteed.

At Tickford, Jack Le Brocq has long been regarded as a 2020 certainty, but if Lee Holdsworth’s deal is not renewed for 2020, then a second seat could become available for Reynolds to fill. Cameron Waters is expected to stay at the team and Will Davison is already locked in.

Beyond WAU and Tickford, there are plenty of other seats

potentially available as the 2020 driver silly season rumbles on. But considering they mostly require a driver with a budget, they won’t be considered by Reynolds and his manager John Ruggiero.

They’d also need to offer Reynolds competitive machinery, something he has at Erebus now, along with a close relationship with his engineer Alistair McVean. He also has a strong friendship with team owner Betty Klimenko.

But Reynolds is negotiating his new deal with hard-nosed Erebus CEO Barry Ryan, who played down any differences between team and driver. “Dave has said he wants to be here, we want him here, we have pretty much agreed on what it’s going to be,� Ryan said. “There are only a couple of little things to finalise. “It’s really more around duration and how that works. “We sat down with Dave at Betty’s place in Melbourne just before QR, I think it was, and we’ve just got to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. I’d be very surprised if it’s any different to that. “It will hopefully be done by Tailem Bend, but it’s not really a big drama. “We have actually tried to get it in early, but by his contract he doesn’t have to do anything until September, I don’t think. But we wanted to pre-empt it because we wanted to get merchandise going and do things better than we have ever done it.�

Ryan added that he wasn’t aware of other any rival teams sounding out Reynolds and “didn’t care� if there had been other approaches.

UP COMING RACE EVENT CALENDAR Brought to you by www.speedow.com.au INDYCAR GATEWAY AUGUST 22-24 WRC RALLY DEUTSCHLAND AUGUST 22-24 SUPERCARS THE BEND SUPERSPRINT AUGUST 23-25 FORMULA 1 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 1 WEC SILVERSTONE 6 HOUR AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 1 INDYCAR PORTLAND AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 1

$XVWUDOLDQ 0DGH 6LQFH $XVWUDOLDQ 0DGH $XVWUDOLDQ $ $X XVWUDOLDQ X W OLDQ LDQ 0D 0DG 0DGH GH H 6LQFH H 6LQFH L

peedflow ZZZ VSHHGĂŞRZ FRP DX

www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

AutoAction

3

LATEST NEWS

REVEALED: GT-HO PHASE 5 THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

STILL-BORN PLAN TO REVIVE SUPER FALCON FINALLY CONFIRMED On the 50th anniversary of the original GT-HO, MARK FOGARTY uncovers exclusive details of a proposed 21st century revival A MODERN Ford Falcon GT-HO was planned to celebrate the iconic Phase 3 version of Australia’s most famous muscle car.

For the first time, Auto Action can reveal the secret scheme to revive the GT-HO in official Phase 5 form.

The man behind the project, former Ford Performance Vehicles boss Rod Barrett, has finally broken his silence on his vision to bring back the emotive GT-HO badge with a super-high performance V8 Falcon.

The Phase 5 – following on from the still-born 1972 XA Phase 4 – was targeted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Bathurst-winning Phase 3 in 2011.

“I had a dream, but it didn’t come off,” Barrett told AA. “I’ve never spoken to anyone about this until now.”

A new Super Falcon didn’t happen because FPV,

having blown $40 million on the development of the ‘Miami’ supercharged five-litre V8, didn’t have the financial resources to produce a credible new GT-HO. There were also qualms about a new GT-HO living up to the larger-than-life legend of the originals.

In hindsight, the $10 million-$20 million budget required would have been worth it because of the unrequited demand for a reincarnation of the country’s most iconic muscle car.

Another Falcon GT-HO can never happen because Ford Australia ceased local production almost three years ago.

The Phase 5 was to be an FG Falcon-based limited edition FPV homage to the GT-HO Phase 3, the ultimate production iteration of Broadmeadows’ homologation specials from 1969-71.

The HO versions of the 351 cubic inch (5.8-litre) V8 XW and XY Falcon GTs were made in limited numbers expressly to win the Bathurst 500/1000 and other series production touring car races.

Barrett’s plan for a long-awaited Phase 5 featured a symbolic 351 kW upgrade of FPV’s supercharged development of Ford’s ‘Coyote’ 302 ci (5.0 litres) V8, heavily uprated suspension and brakes, five-spoke wheels and Supercars-style body kit.

A ‘Shaker’ bonnet scoop – the Phase 3’s signature – was also considered.

It would have been known as the FPV GTHO Phase 5 – complete with official badging and probably the famous Super Roo decal that adorned XW/XY Falcon GTs – and cost a projected $100,000.

The original Falcon GT-HOs were reputed to be

Image credits: whichcar.com.au/Ford Australia/FPV

GT-HO Phase 3 was the inspiration of proposed Phase 5. Final FPV GT-F (above right) incorporated some elements of Barrett’s vision.

4 AutoAction

the fastest four-door sedans in the world at the time, with a top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph).

Broadmeadows’ factory racing team was developing a Phase 4 HO version of the XA Falcon sedan for 1972 until it was canned in the wake of the ‘Supercar’ media scare, which also killed the Holden Torana XU-1 V8 and Chrysler Charger E55 V8.

Four Phase 4 GT-HOs were made – and one was rallied – with three of them surviving.

GT-HOs are prized collector cars worth between several hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than $1 million for a mint Phase 3.

While there has been long-running speculation about various plans for Phase 5 follow-ups going back to the early 1990s, none has ever been confirmed.

Now Barrett, who ran the Ford Australia/Prodrive UK FPV joint venture from 2007-12, has revealed he instituted a secret project to revive the GT-HO. A full-on motor racing fan, he saw the potential – and the pitfalls – of bringing back the GT-HO early in the second decade of the 21st century.

Barrett mapped out his GT-HO dream in December 2007 in private notes, christening the project Atnas.

“It’s Santa spelled backwards,” he chuckled.

“And what is it Santa says? Ho, ho, ho! I wrote that down.”

He emphasised that while bringing back the GT-HO was “a real thing for me”, it was never an official FPV program or even concept.

“It was a vision, it never got to the concept stage,” Barrett conceded.

The spirit of his idea was partially fulfilled by the final FPV GT-F in 2014, which featured a 351 kW version of the ‘Miami’ supercharged V8.

In both instances, the output was a nod to the cubic capacity of the GT-HOs, with a true 351 ci (5.8-litre) motor deemed impractical.

Barrett’s vision is more faithfully reproduced in the Premcar Holy Grail upgrade of FG X Falcon XR8 Sprints offered by the ex-Prodrive Australia/ FPV engineers who were involved in the secret Phase 5 project.

SUP ER SCO OP!

No one outside a small cadre of confidants – and certainly no one at Broadmeadows – knew of his desire to develop a Phase 5 GT-HO and, until now, he has never spoken publicly about it.

On the 50th anniversary of the Phase 1 XW GT-HO, Barrett revealed his unsuccessful plan to produce a modern GT-HO exclusively to Auto Action.

It is a major coup because motoring magazines have been chasing the story for several years without success.

“What I wanted to do was be very, very brave and make a 2011 version of the 1971 GT-HO Phase 3,” he recalled. “I mapped out a car and I project named it, and I discussed it with what you’d call a circle of trust.

“There were only a very few people I could really trust not to let the car out of the bag. I didn’t want to let too many people know what I’ve just revealed to you. I’ve never spoken to anyone outside the circle of trust about this.

“What stopped us was that there was just never going to be the financial resources at FPV. And not that anyone from Ford said no, but I wasn’t going to put this down on paper as an official project and present it if we were going to be nowhere near it.”

The only tangible effort on Project Atnas was a test FPV GT powered by an early development version of the 351 kW Miami V8.

After driving what he termed a ‘mule car’, even in its primitive form he declared its performance as “unbelievable”.

“It was a gun car, I gotta tell you,” he remembered.

FROM HO TO WHOA Former FPV boss on his vision for a modern classic

ROD BARRETT had a very clear of idea of what a new GT-HO had to be and how he would revive the iconic appellation.

“In December 2007, I sat down and scrawled out my idea,” Barrett said. “To do a GT-HO at that stage, you were going to have to do it absolutely right. There were no shortcuts to doing this car.

“It would have been a $100,000 car in 2011. My vision was that we were going to do a 40th anniversary GTHO in tribute to Moffat’s ’71 Bathurst winner. I knew the Miami version of the Coyote was coming in, so we had the capacity to do what I wanted, which was 351 kW – not 351 cubic inches, but symbolic to what the car was back in ’71.

“All I wanted was 351 kW as a heritage symbol of the car that was around in ’71.”

His other tenets were a

limited edition of 400 cars in Vermillion Fire (the famous red of Moffat’s Phase 3 Bathurst winner) and manual transmission only.

His other must-have features were five-spoke 20-inch wheels mimicking the Globe rims of the cancelled XA Phase 4 (later homologated for the racing Phase 3s), unique sports seats, and leather and carbon-fibre interior with GT-HO badging.

Barrett agonised over reviving the ‘Shaker’ bonnet scoop and Super Roo decals.

“I was torn between doing the Shaker and the XA bonnet scoops,” he said. “I just thought a Shaker might be a bit too corny for 2011. I also toyed with the idea of the Super Roo decal, but I didn’t know if that was going to work in 2011, either.”

His idea for a body kit was inspired by the FG Falcon

Supercars racer.

“I wanted something like a bi-plane rear wing, something sort of Supercar-ish,” he said.

“Not as ‘loud’ as that, but something that sat onto the boot and was different to what we’d been doing in day-to-day FPVs. Plus a different front splitter – more something akin to what the race cars were using in the front bar.”

As well as bigger wheels and tyres and upgraded sixpot brakes, his Phase 5 wish list included a development of FPV’s transforming R-Spec suspension with a lowered ride height.

All of which sounds pretty routine for a highperformance V8 sedan these days, but eight years ago, the specifications and a price tag of “upwards of 100 grand” were big steps.

“That was the vision,” said Barrett said, who brought Moffat back into the Ford fold after 30 years out in the cold.

“I was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was never going to happen with the resources available and I think there was a lot of hesitancy about getting it wrong.

“The risk was that if you didn’t get it right, calling this car GT-HO Phase 5 could have been the end of the legend. Nobody wanted to get it wrong and so the safest bet was not to do it.

“Am I disappointed? Yes, I am. I reckon it could’ve worked if we’d have put the commitment behind it. But you don’t want to push too far if you know it’s going to happen and that’s where I landed.” MF

GT-HO 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL STARTS ON PAGE 24 www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

AutoAction 5

LATEST NEWS

T8 BOSS SLAMS TCR HANDICAPS TRIPLE Eight boss Roland Dane has expressed his dislike for the way performance handicapping is carried out in TCR, but has admitted his team would get involved in the new touring car category if it made business sense.

“We’re pragmatists here, I’d never rule it out,” Dane told Auto Action.

Launched in Australia this year by the Australian Racing Group, TCR is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol front-wheel drive hot hatch formula that has been adopted globally.

TCR is managed by World Sporting Consulting Ltd, which is run by Italian Marciello Lotti, the founder of the category.

WSC devises global Balance of Performance numbers for all brands of vehicles entered in the category by applying ballast over and above the minimum weight limit, regulating turbocharger boost and adjusting ride height.

But on top of that WSC also allocates additional compensation weight up to 60kg to each brand of vehicle contesting each specific TCR series.

“TCR are all front-wheel drive, they are all four-cylinder turbocharged engines give or take a couple of hundred ccs and if they were doing their job properly in that formula they wouldn’t need Balance of Performance,” Dane said.

Dane said the BoP challenge for TCR was much simpler than GT3 sports cars, in which Triple Eight now competes in Asia in addition to its traditional Australian Supercars championship commitments.

“They are trying to encompass so many different sorts of car they need something along the lines of BoP that’s been developed

by SRO (Stephane Ratel Organisation). If you look at that, it’s now been developed so much

over the years it isn’t chopped and changed all the time.”

“It’s not being made up as you go along, whereas the TCR stuff is being made up as you go along. It’s clearly not very scientific, it’s reactionary.”

Dane’s primary concern is that teams and drivers in a specific TCR series are potentially being given an advantage for being uncompetitive, when other teams and drivers

are doing a better job with the same car in a different series.

“It’s up and down like a yo-yo,” he said.

“Maybe that driver driving that Hyundai is doing a poor job, maybe the team is doing a poor job. They shouldn’t get a leg-up for that.”

Ironically, Lotti himself told AA earlier this year (issue 1764) he was “not convinced” about compensation weight. BN

WINTON WINS OUT Ipswich on the outer as Supercars calendar finalised

By Bruce Newton WINTON IS expected to retain its place on the Supercars calendar in 2020.

Auto Action understands its retention has come at the expense of Queensland Raceway, which appears to have been dropped along with Phillip Island.

With the Sydney Motorsport Park SuperNight rejoining the calendar for 2020, the Supercars championship will race over 14 events rather than 15 events.

The calendar and event formats was due to be announced this week, but some last minute hitches have pushed it back.

While the ‘paperclip’ has been axed, AA understands the good news for Queensland fans is the Gold Coast and Townsville street races have been retained.

In fact, if our mail is right, the future of both events have been secured for a number of years thanks to a healthy new deal with Tourism and Events Queensland.

Dates already confirmed for the 2020 calendar include the Adelaide 500 Series opener on February 20-23, followed by the Australian Formula One GP at Albert Park on March 6-8.

Meanwhile, it has been reported the NZ round at Pukekohe will revert to the Anzac weekend, Tailem Bend will become a Bathurst warm-up endurance race and Sandown a singledriver sprint event.

It’s also expected that all SuperSprints will lengthen their Saturday races from 120km to 200km.

The fundamental concept of the 2020 calendar was understood to try and conduct events three weeks apart as often as possible in an attempt to avoid the back-to-back race meetings that heavily tax teams and their personnel.

Meanwhile, Supercars’ 2020 technical changes will not be rolled out at the same time as the calendar and format changes, as had at one stage been planned.

But work on a drive by wire throttle, LED panels, reduced aerodynamic downforce, increased engine durability and a control damper is continuing.

6 AutoAction

Image: LAT

NO STANDALONE ARG SERIES DESPITE ITS voracious consumption of individual race categories, the Australian Racing Group insists it has no plan to assemble them all into its own new racing series.

ARG was only established in mid-2018 but has already assumed management rights of TCR, S5000, Touring Car Masters and is in negotiation to take over the TA2 V8 silhouette series. (See autoaction.com.au for stories on ARG’s TA2 takeover) It has also acquired the rights to TCR in New Zealand and has become an equal partner in the Bathurst 6 Hour event alongside the Bathurst Regional Council.

And as reported in Auto Action 1767 it will

consider a bid for the Supercars championship if appropriate.

The categories ARG now manages means it has representation on all three major schedules that run on the Australian circuit racing calendar; the Supercars championship, the Shannons Nationals and the Australian Motor Racing Series.

TCR is now also confirmed for the 2020 Australian Formula One Grand prix meeting at Albert Park and ARG, with CAMS, is bidding for the rights to the fifth Bathurst date against Supercars.

But ARG managing director Matt Braid insists a new racing series combining its racing assets is not on the agenda.

“That’s certainly possible but that’s not what

we are aiming for,” he told Auto Action.

“Our view is to maximise the best opportunities for every category we have in our portfolio. We could say let’s bundle everything up in one direction, but what works for TCM might not work for TCR S5000 and so on.

“First and foremost it’s where do the categories sit best from an entrants points of view, media and broadcast point of view and commercial point of view.

“That will lead that decision, so at this stage there is no intention to bundle categories up into one.”

Braid said ARG saw itself as a category manager, preferring to work with series promoters to place its events where

appropriate.

He also inicated more categories were in the target sights of ARG for acquisition.

“I don’t think there is a target numbers to be frank,” he said. “I think the key thing we are looking at is categories which we think can be successful, categories which are popular with fans or can produce an entertainment factor … and the market relevance and international nature of the category.

“There are certain categories that won’t fit that criteria and we won’t look at them.

“We are not trying to collect a dozen categories from here, it’s really about structure and how opportunities integrate. That will be the basis of the decision.”BN

WAU UNITES FOR BATHURST Staff from all three teams to work on wildcard entry

By BRUCE NEWTON ALL THREE ownership elements of the Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars team will work directly together in a race for the first time on the Bathurst 1000 wildcard entry.

Announced last week, the wildcard will pair IndyCar drivers Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe together in WAU’s spare Holden Commodore ZB for the great race.

Joining members of the regular Walkinshaw Supercar squad for the effort will be mechanics from United Autosports and Andretti Autosport and engineers from the latter as well.

Of course, Rossi is also an Andretti Autosport driver, while Hinchcliffe drives for Arrow SPM (but will leave that team for 2020 because McLaren has bought into the operation).

The entry will be number 27, which is historically used by Andretti Autosport.

The international contributors to the effort will all be on-hand for an October 1-3 test at Winton, before returning to WAU’s Melbourne headquarters to prep for Bathurst.

“That’s exciting to make it a real Walkinshaw Andretti United flavour,” said WAU co-team principal Mathew Nilsson.

“Predominantly its mechanics form each organisation as well as some engineers coming across.”

While WAU hasn’t entered a wildcard before, Nilsson said predecessor Walkinshaw Racing’s previous experience running up to four cars full-time made him confident it could execute properly.

“There is plenty of experience still in the business from running more than two cars,” he said.

“It’s just coming back to putting the right people in place who

www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

can fulfil the roles that need to be filled and sharing the knowledge and supporting each other.

“I am confident we have all the right people in-place to do that.”

WAU takes on the wildcard at a time when it is struggling to find pace, especially in qualifying.

It has battled all year to overcome the impact of the mandatory linear spring.

Heading in to race 21 and 22 at Tailem Bend this weekend, Scott Pye is only 16th in the championship and has not managed a top 10 start since race 13 at Winton.

James Courtney is 12th and also qualified in the top 10 most recently for race 13, when he was fourth.

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

It was at Winton where Nilsson and WAU technical director Carl Faux took on engineering duties for the two cars. But apart from that uptick in form there’s been little evidence of progress.

“We are still just trying to understand the package for different circuits,” said Nilsson. “Every circuit has different characteristics.

“It’s a confidence game and we are not giving the drivers the grip level and balance that they need.

“Predominantly it’s in qualifying. No doubt qualifying is the key because you are up the front and passing is difficult. We have to be starting up the front more.”

For more from Rossi and Hinchcliffe on their Bathurst expectations, check out the AA website autoaction.com.au

AutoAction

7

LATEST NEWS

DAVO: I’VE STILL GOT IT! TICKFORD RACING and Thomas Randle have revealed the livery in which the 23-year-old will make his Supercars debut.

The Victorian will race the #66 Scandia Racing Ford Mustang as a wildcard entry at the next round of the championship at The Bend SuperSprint in South Australia.

Randle’s wildcard entry will see seven Ford Mustang Supercars on track for the first time.

BJR SUPERCAR driver Tim Slade reported limited benefit from his car swap with team-mate Nick Percat during two recent ride days. As reported last issue, the swap was planned by the team to try and resolve the mysterious lack of consistent pace the South Australian has encountered for nearly 12 months. Old tyres, changeable weather and other variables all clouded possible findings. “In reality, we’re only talking a very small amount of time on the stop watch so it would have been surprised to feel anything major,” Slade told AA. “Still, it was good to do.”

GARRY ROGERS Motorsport driver Richie Stanaway will return to action at The Bend Motorsport Park after missing the last seven races of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship due to a neck injury. The GP2 race winner tested a GRM built S5000 car at Winton last week and after the test the team confirmed that the New Zealander was fit to return and ready to make a comeback.

A SUPERCAR is set to perform a demonstration run in the United States later this month. The Ford Mustang Supercar has been in the U.S. since 2015 and last raced as a Falcon in 2014 in the hands of DJR’s David Wall. Ford Performance has announced plans to showcase a Shell V-Power Racing-liveried Mustang during the IMSA SportsCar Championship round at the Virginia International Raceway on August 23-25. The car will be driven by former Australian IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe.

8 AutoAction

V8 veteran declares he can win a title

By MARK FOGARTY BORN-AGAIN Supercars star Will Davison believes he can still contend for a Supercars championship if gets the chance.

Davison, 36, is back as a regular top 10 contender and podium threat in his Tickford Racing-run Milwaukee Mustang.

The dual Bathurst 1000 winner and former title contender with HRT and FPR is bullish about his prospects, contending he is still fast enough to challenge for a title if he continues to be competitive.

In an expansive interview (see pages 20-23), Davison maintains his return to Campbellfield with 23Red Racing’s customer car deal has rejuvenated him.

“I feel like I’m driving well,” he told AA. As well as ever?

“I’ve had glimpses of it,” Davo said. “I’m realistic enough to know that it’s right there, but to get to that level in this sport, you need elements to add up. So I feel like I’ve had glimpses this year that have reminded me of what I can do again and to get back that confidence in myself.

“It’s reminded me that there was a reason why I was a championship contender for many years and I’ve won the races I have.”

Given how competitive he has been

Image: Ross Gibb in the Milwaukee Racing Mustang so far this season, highlighted by a second place at Queensland Raceway, he thinks there is still a championship campaign left in him.

“With all the right elements, absolutely,” Davison said in the interview. “I still feel like I have that enthusiasm and I still think, as a touring car driver, I’m in my peak years as long as you have the attitude and the hunger, and I have all that experience now.

“Now I’m back with a proper race team. It’s the only time I’ve had the opportunity to be competitive in a few years.”

Davison also reckons this October is his best shot “hands down” to do well in the Bathurst 1000 paired with his brother Alex.

In the interview, Davo reveals how close he came to joining DJR Team Penske in 2016.

For more, see ‘Up Front With Foges’ on pages 20-23.

SMITH: TEKNO NOT HAPPENING AMBITIOUS SUPER2 Series driver Jack Smith has declared himself a ‘good chance’ of a 2020 main game drive while debunking any chance it will be at Tekno Autosport.

Smith, who makes his fourth and final wildcard start of 2019 for Brad Jones Racing ahead of a Pirtek Enduro Cup campaign with Todd Hazelwood in a Matt Stone Racing in a Holden Commodore ZB, has been linked to the Tekno drive as silly season speculation mounts.

“I don’t know where all that Tekno stuff came from, that’s one thing that’s not happening,” the 20-year old told Auto Action.

“I think we have as good a chance (of graduating to the Supercars championship in 2020) as a lot of other people do.”

Now in his third year in

Image: Ross Gibb

the Super2 Series, Smith is running 10th in the points in a Commodore VF backed by the Smith family transport company, SCT Logistics.

“It’s our family business and been in our family for a long time and I am just lucky enough

to have support,” said Smith.

Smith has competed at the Symmons Plains, Winton and Hidden Valley Supercars championship events, claiming a best finish of 20th from six starts.

He came to attention quickly

in Tassie when he copped a blast from Irwin Racing’s Mark Winterbottom on television for getting in the way, but he’s been unphased by that.

“I didn’t really care what he had to say,” said Smith. “I didn’t appreciate what he was saying, especially on the television.

“But that’s the way it is.”

He hopes to finish off his wildcard campaign on a high at Tailem Bend this weekend, where fellow wildcard and development series rival Thomas Randle will be driving a Scandia-backed Ford Mustang.

“I’d like to think we’d improve at every round but having expectations set in concrete would be silly.

“I expect myself to be better than I was last time but … I just have to see how it goes.” BN

XXX XXx

Image: LAT

DANE CALLS FOR RETURN OF STAR PAIRINGS

By MARK FOGARTY TRIPLE EIGHT supremo Roland Dane has called for a return of the option for teams to pair their regular drivers in endurance races.

Dane also wants Supercars to relax the testing restrictions to encourage more internationals to contest the Bathurst 1000.

Since 2009, teams have been barred from paring their stars in the enduros in a bid to increase competition, especially at Bathurst.

Dane maintains the restriction was introduced following Craig Lowndes’ and Jamie Whincup’s sweep at Mount Panorama from 2006-08.

“I never voted for it in the first place,” he said. “The rule was introduced directly to stop Craig and Jamie, coming off the back of them winning three in a row. Tim Edwards proposed it at a board meeting in 2009 because we’d won three in a row.

“So, to be honest, one of the most satisfying moments I’ve had in motor sport was having a 1-2 at Bathurst the following year (2010). They thought

it was just going to get more people on the podium by changing the rule, but there’s been no evidence of that whatsoever.

“But you don’t have to do it. You never had to do it and it’s a risk because you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. It should be an option.”

Dane is less strident about calls for lead drivers to start the Bathurst 1000.

In recent years, most co-drivers have started The Great Race, which many regard as a come down for the huge TV audience.

“I don’t have a strong opinion about it,” he shrugged. “I can’t really see that it’s going to make a difference. And you also do get a chance for some of the co-drivers to shine and some of them not to, and that’s one of the great things about endurance racing in general.”

He is, however, strongly in favour of giving visiting internationals more testing for the Bathurst 1000.

“If we’re serious about wanting international drivers to come and compete, then there’s a good

IGNOMINOUS!

By BRUCE NEWTON A YEAR on from the most ignominious moment in its history, DJR Team Penske is returning to Tailem Bend this weekend determined to deliver a much improved and less controversial performance.

While Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were never on the pace in their Shell V-Power Ford Falcons at The Bend in 2018, it was the $30,000 fine for a technical breach that dragged the team to its lowest point.

The wrong drop gear was fitted to McLaughlin’s car for qualifying on the Sunday of the race meeting. The breach was only discovered and punished after the fact and was not made public until exposed by Auto Action weeks later.

It prompted Supercars to introduce a new more thorough process for checking teams stipulated gearing was installed in transaxles.

Despite DJRTP’s protestations it was an innocent mistake and didn’t deliver a performance disadvantage, the lack of immediate punishment and the delayed outing of the error triggered concern among rival teams and outrage among fans.

“It was perhaps the most ignominious of

www.autoaction.com.au

“We asked for permission for a day and we got it,” he recalled. “But then because some other people didn’t like the fact we’d got it, some of the people who are now promoting it got it taken away. It just didn’t suit them at the time.”

He added: “As far as extra testing for the internationals goes, yeah, it’s been talked about. But if you’re serious about wanting to run internationals at Bathurst – which I’ve always approved – then have a special test day with extra tyres. But there has to be a reason why for the category, which should be that we’re going to try to increase our international footprint with our television.

“And that’s the reason for me to encourage it, whether it’s us or Penske or Walkinshaw or anyone else, to run an international name or names.

“Also, anyone with any sense would also look at internationals who’ve done the 12 Hour. That gives you some circuit knowledge and now all you have to do is get your head around our cars.”

DJRTP vows to do better at The Bend in 2019

moments in our story,” DJRTP managing director and co-owner Ryan Story told Auto Action.

“We have had plenty of tough moments, but that one was totally self-inflicted.

“It caused and led to questions – not by stewards or the deputy race director of the time – in the more public sense of how we go about our business and how we go about our racing.

“It was not something that would ever be desired.

It was an ignominious incident and one that we can ever fully clear our copybook of.”

Combine that issue with the on-track performance that weekend and it’s no surprise DJRTRP is keen to put on a much better showing in its second visit to the new South Australian track.

“We just don’t want to do ourselves a disservice by not putting in our best performance,” Story said.

In the two races McLaughlin went 6-10 and Fabian Coulthard 14-14.

It’s hard to imagine the team going that badly again this year considering it has swept all before it with the new Mustang, claiming 16 of 20 races and 14 of 20 pole positions so far in 2020.

AutoActionMagazine

argument to say that they need to be able to come and do some more miles in the cars,” Dane opined. “Frankly, though, if the drivers are good enough internationals to actually have a value to the category in terms of are they going to add to the gate or get people watching TV, they don’t need a lot of testing.

“If you have enough practice sessions at Bathurst, which we normally do, then I think a good international who’s going to add something and not just be a grid-filler is going to step up to it.

“Call Will Power an international. If he wanted to come and drive at Bathurst, he could do it. He wouldn’t go out of the gate and set the lap record straight away, but over the course of the weekend he’d play himself in and he’d be in the hunt.”

However, Dane concede giving internationals extra testing with fresh tyres in addition to teams’ normal annual allocation wouldn’t hurt, as happened when Triple Eight entered Mattias Ekstrom and Andy Priaulx in 2013.

Auto_Action

McLaughlin has a 433 point lead in the driver’s championship over Coulthard, while DJRTP leads the Red Bull Holden Racing Team by 807 points in the teams’ championship.

But while Story admits there is the chance for history to repeat, he is confident a lot of set-up lessons were learned and will be useful this weekend.

“The biggest struggle last year was we were chasing the car and even with the changes we were making we never seemed to be able to make any progress.

“We learned a lot through that in the post-game analysis and we just want to make sure some of those learnings we can actually put into practice.”

Tailem Bend will be only the third time in 2019 an event has been conducted on the Dunlop hard tyre.

The evolution of the surface is also expected to be quite marked compared to 2019, which will add an extra set-up challenge into the mix.

Story expects the flowing nature of much of

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

Image: Ross Gibb the circuit will suit the Mustang, but in 2018 the Falcon’s biggest issue was it could not change direction quick enough in tight corners.

Last year Jamie Whincup took both poles in his Red Bull Holden Commodore ZB and he shared the wins with team-mate Shane van Gisbergen.

“We have done an enormous amount of work to try and ensure we roll out of the truck stronger,” said Story. “If we are not where we need to be we have series of changes we can pursue to ensure we maximise what we have underneath us.”

AutoAction

9

LATEST NEWS

TICKFORD TARGETS MCLAUGHLIN Rival driver – not DJRTP Mustang – the barrier to wins argues team boss

By BRUCE NEWTON THE INAUGURAL V8 Sleuth Touring Car Classic has been postponed until 2020, the event was meant to be part of Shannons Nationals round at Winton Motor Raceway on August 31 and September 1 has been postponed due to low entry numbers. Late entry drop-outs left organisers with no choice other than to cancel the 2019 event and look to the future to give car owners more time to prepare their ex-V8 Supercars.

BATHURST 12 Hour organisers have announced a raft of rule changes for 2020. A maximum 65 minute stint length will be introduced for all drivers, with no driver allowed to complete more than two consecutive stints before commencing a one-hour rest period. Pit stop changes will see the introduction of a minimum pit stop time measuring from pit entry to exit. One joker pit stop with no minimum pitstop time is permitted for each half of the race. A mandatory four minute technical pitstop has also been introduced and must be completed before the conclusion of the 11th hour.

Next year will mark the introduction of the Class A Silver Cup designed for Amateur-classified drivers and Class B will be for designated Lamborghini Super Trofeo machinery.

THE ENTRY list for the Eureka Rush Rally has been released with 48 crews confirmed to tackle the Ballarat based rally. The Australian Rally Championship competitors will be joined

by FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and the Geelong CAMS Victorian Rally Championship. The headline entry is FIA World Rally Championship driver Hayden Paddon who has entered alongside Samantha Gray in the APRC. All the main ARC contenders will be racing including Harry and Lewis Bates, Molly Taylor and Simon Evans who will continue his ARC return.

TCR Australia will host a test day following the Winton Motor Raceway round of the series on Monday September 2 for new drivers to sample the two-litre, turbo-charged TCR cars and see what each team and the series has to offer. At this stage, Wall Racing, HMO Customer Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport have committed to the test day. Pit lane will be open from 9am to 4:30pm with a half-hour lunch break at 12:30pm.

All current TCR Australia drivers will be prohibited from driving on the day.

10 AutoAction

BEAT SCOTTY MAC! That’s Tickford Racing’s objective at Tailem Bend this weekend after a successful Winton test showed the ‘other’ Ford Mustang squad was on the right development path.

And team boss Tim Edwards argues the Tickford cars are improving as runaway championship leader Scott McLaughlin is showing some human frailties.

After winning six races in a row DJR Team Penske’s McLaughlin has missed the podium twice in his last three outings and got involved in a podcast war with David Reynolds after their Townsville tangle.

“I think Scotty showed there’s some chinks in his armour,” said Edwards.

It’s an interesting tactic by Edwards to question McLaughlin’s state of mind, considering how dominant he has been in 2020.

But if not for McLaughlin, Edwards knows Tickford’s 2019 record would look much the stronger.

“There’s one car at the head of the field and I’d suggest if he was driving a Falcon or a Commodore he’d be there or thereabouts,” Edwards said of McLaughlin.

“There’s one guy who is the class leader and he’s the guy who won the championship last year and is leading the championship this year.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily just focusing on beating another Mustang. I think we have to beat Scotty Mac.” DJRTP has managed 16 wins in 2019, whereas Tickford has just one.

McLaughlin has won 14 races and claimed 13 poles in 2019, while his team-mate Fabian Coulthard has won two races and claimed one pole.

Across its four drivers, Tickford has scored one win (Chaz Mostert) and three poles (Mostert and Cameron Waters). Will Davison has one podium this year while

Lee Holdsworth has a fifth place finish as his best result.

All four are in the championship top 10, which is a vast improvement on the team’s poor 2018.

“One hundred per cent we feel under-represented on the top spot which is why we keep pushing forward with our car,” said Edwards.

“We want more. We are greedy like that. We have had great success in the past and we are closer to where we want to be but we are not where we want to be.”

Edwards is encouraged Waters was able to beat McLaughlin in a head-to-head battle for pole in Townsville. Chaz Mostert also got the best of him in the battle for third on Saturday at Queensland Raceway.

“We don’t see anyone whose unbeatable, we just focus on our own business,” insisted Edwards.

“We are just trying to make our own car better, we know we are deficient in certain areas and we just keep chipping away at it.

“We certainly feel we have been making improvements to our car and I think the gap’s been closing over the last few rounds.”

While unwilling to share any detail of the team’s first in-season test, Edwards did confirm there were a substantial number of development parts were tried.

“I’ll give you the tip, if it’s something that makes the car go faster it’s on the car for Tailem Bend.”

Edwards says wildcard Thomas Randle has been set some “realistic” goals for his debut at Tailem Bend in the Scandia Mustang.

“This is all about experience, this is not about him going out and getting pole and having the whole world going ‘here’s the next Ayrton Senna’,” said Edwards.

“This is very much about the next step in his journey.”

Randle is expected to be confirmed as Holdsworth’s Pirtek Enduro Cup co-driver in the Bottle-O Mustang shortly after Tailem Bend.

He has also told Auto Action he is pushing for a fulltime seat in the Supercars championship in 2020.

WARBURTON A RIGHTS PLAYER? JAMES WARBURTON will continue on the board of the Australian Racing Group despite becoming the new boss of Seven West Media.

The confirmation he will continue as a non-executive director of ARG will only help fuel rumours in the motorsport industry the commercial network will televise the TCR touring car category and the new S5000 openwheeler formula in 2020.

ARG promotes TCR touring car racing in Australia and New Zealand and has acquired the rights to a number of other categories, the Bathurst 6 Hour and is bidding with CAMS for the fifth Bathurst event.

ARG has welcomed the news Warburton will stay involved, but insists it has yet to finalise 2020 telecast arrangements. In 2019, TCR is telecast by SBS. Warburton, the former Supercars boss takes command of one of Australia’s most powerful media organisations at a time when it has minimal motorsport investments.

That’s in contract to its traditional position as Australia’s motorsport

GRM TO RUN ALL FIVE RENAULTS

television network, a position it has surrendered to pursue the AFL, cricket, horse racing and the Olympics. Its primary motorsport asset at the moment is the Bathurst 12-hour.

But Warburton is taking over at Seven West when the replacement for the $241 million six-year rights deal he negotiated with Fox and Network Ten for Supercars is due to start negotiation.

Warburton has confirmed to Auto Action in a brief text exchange that he will continue in his ARG role.

However, he was unavailable for further comment as AA closed for press.

BN

GARRY ROGERS Motorsport team owner Barry Rogers confirmed to Auto Action that the team will run all five of the Renaults Megane RS TCR cars allowed in the TCR Australia Series, which limits each car each to a maximum of five cars.

The team from Dandenong currently run two Megane cars in the experienced hands of Supercars co-drivers Chris Pither and James Moffat, who has already recorded three podium finishes for Renault.

A third Vukovic Motorsport built Megane is currently on its way from Switzerland to be run

by GRM and Rogers told AA that more are to come.

“We have got an arrangement with Vukovic in Switzerland and the five committed grid positions for Renaults in Australia will be

run by GRM,” Rogers said.

With the team running both Renaults and Alfa Romeos in TCR as well as cars in Supercars, Super2 and the build of all S5000 cars, Rogers admitted that he is unsure when all five Renaults will be on the grid.

“We’ve obviously got a bit on our plate, we’ve got some more Alfas coming and the one extra Renault at this particular moment, but there will be more coming,” Rogers told AA. “Whether that is at the start of next year, I’m unsure at this particular moment but there is a lot of interest in TCR. “If we had the cars I don’t think there would be a problem filling them, but we need to find that balance between young talent and budgets. Dan McCarthy

MUNDAY AIMS FOR BATHURST FAIRY TALE HAVING broken through for his first Supercars podium at Ipswich, team owner Phil Munday has set his sights on a “fairy tale” result in the Bathurst 1000.

Munday was at home in Melbourne when Will Davison crossed the line second in the 23Red Milwaukee Racing Ford Mustang in the Saturday 120km race at Queensland Raceway.

Munday missed attending the race to be with wife Carolyn who had suffered a broken arm and knee injury in a fall.

He watched the race and celebrated the result with Carloyn and members of his extended family, which includes six children, two step-children, 21 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

“A few of the kids rang up and said ‘dad you’re home let’s come round and watch the race together’ so there wasn’t a spare seat anywhere in the rumpus room,” Munday related.

“It was really good to share that podium with them. I got the best of the best to share that with my family.”

Munday admitted actually achieving the result felt “a bit surreal”.

“It takes so much effort to get there and then when it happened it’s ‘like wow did it really happen?’

“It’s great for the guys in the team. Everyone puts in their blood, sweat and tears and their weekends. It boosts them up to another level.”

Munday was intending to celebrate the result this week with the team at a boutique brewery he co-owns in

Melbourne.

Now he has high hopes for the Pirtek Enduro Cup and especially Mount Panorama, where Will Davison will team up with brother Alex for the second year in a row.

“I’ve always like Alex and Will together and they come from an awesome family, so I’d love to see them get a podium together.

“It would be one of those wonderful stories that you don’t get that often, almost like a fairy tale for those two boys.”

In his wildest dreams Munday admits he envisions the Davison brothers standing atop the Bathurst podium and collecting the Peter Brock Trophy.

Munday and Brock were close mates. Munday even built the 48-215 Holden Brock drove at Goodwood Revival in 2006.

“I’d love to knock off that Peter Brock Trophy but I think that’s being a bit presumptuous considering how hard it is to get to second,” he said.

“Everything has to work together perfectly on that day to get on the podium there and there’s 100,000 things that can go wrong at any race, but they all seem to pop out there.”

A racer in his 20s until business life forced him to step from the cockpit, Munday has been involved in Supercars since the late 1990s when he sponsored good mate Rod Nash’s privateer team.

His profile began growing when he became major

sponsor of Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. He subsequently took a majority share in the team and then bough Dumbrell out completely.

He set up 23Red Racing as a stand-alone operation in 2018, hiring Davison to race an ex-Tickford Falcon FG X. For 2019 he moved in completely under Tickford’s wing, becoming the fourth car based at the Campbellfield operation.

Davison launched strongly in to the 2019 season with six top 10s - including two fourths – in his first six starts, but has hit some tough patches since then.

He followed up second on Saturday with fifth on Sunday and now lies eighth in the championship.

BN

COKE MUSTANG FOR THE STREET A ROAD-GOING tribute to Allan Moffat’s legendary Ford Mustang Trans-Am will soon be available.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of arguably Australia’s most famous and loved racing car, the Coca-Cola-liveried red Mustang has been developed by Tickford Engineering in conjunction with Moffat.

Called the Tickford Trans-Am, it replicates the look of the V8 legend’s 1969 Boss 302 – which won 100 of 151 races from 1969-74 – on a limited edition run of performanceenhanced latest Mustang road cars.

A highlight is eight-spoke Minilite-look alloy wheels especially commissioned and available nowhere else for Mustangs. They ape the appearance of the rims used on Moffat’s Coca-Cola Mustang in the early 1970s.

A modern interpretation of the Trans-Am Mustang’s rear wing is also included.

No more than 100 will be built, with

customers able to secure a build plate of their choosing between 2-99 on a first-come, first-served basis, with the number featured in the engine bay and interior.

The Tickford Trans-Am will be available in two levels – Performance Edition and Performance Plus Edition. Both will feature a unique grille with additional driving lights that mimic the ’69 Mustang’s look.

Based on a Race Red Mustang GT, the Tickford Trans-Am is presented in replica Coca-Cola Moffat livery, as well as featuring upgrades to the five-litre V8, suspension and tyres, and interior.

Specifications and pricing are still subject to finalisation, but the indicative costs on top of a MY19/20 Mustang GT are $32,995 for the Performance Edition and $52,995 for the

FOR SALE

Performance Plus version.

The Tickford Trans-Am requires the customer to secure, purchase and register a Race Red Mustang GT (auto or manual) and arrange delivery to Tickford’s Epping workshop in northern Melbourne, where a dedicated team will convert the standard

Mustang into the Moffat Trans-Am. Tickford Racing was also involved in developing the tribute upgrade package.

Pre-orders are now being taken, with final specifications and pricing subject to change before deliveries start later this year.

Mark Fogarty

Eddie Abelnica offers his Ford XB Falcon V8 GT Coupe T.C.M Series race car for sale.

As raced successfully raced by Eddie Abelnica of Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars in the Touring Car Masters Series with multiple race wins and many podiums.

The car was built by Marty Brant and maintained by Scott Owens in collaboration with Glenn Seton.

This vehicle is in immaculate condition and is race ready for Sandown and Bathurst.

FEATURES INCLUDE:

KRE Race Engine 5800cc - 700 HP engine with dyno sheets, Triple plate carbon clutch, stainless custom exhaust, PWR radiators, and oil coolers, MoTeC data logging dash, G-Force Gear box, Modina/True Track differential.

A huge spares package is included with the sale of the car, including rebuilt G-Force dogbox, brake rotors, callipers, shocks, wheels, tyres, suspension, body panels etc.

Additional spare KRE race engine, gearboxes and complete differentials also available by negotiation.

All log books and data etc, are available detailing all competition.

With current 2017 Bathurst set up in car, this car lapped Bathurst 2.18.00’s

FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT BARRY HODSON 0419 930 993 www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

AutoAction

11

LATEST NEWS

MASTERBLAST UNDER LIGHTS MCLAREN HAS announced that it will return to the IndyCar Series full-time in 2020 having last raced in the full series in 1979. The team will form a partnership with existing IndyCar team Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsport to become Arrow McLaren Racing SP. The partnership will see the existing infrastructure of Arrow SPM underpin the team’s operations, while McLaren will add technical expertise, commercial experience and marketing strength. The team will also switch from Honda to Chevrolet powered cars for the first time since 2010.

AUSTRALIAN NICK Foster will be joined by former Formula 1 race winner Heikki Kovalainen and 2017 Super GT champion Nick Cassidy in the HubAuto Corsa Ferrari 488 for the Suzuka 10 Hours. Last year Foster and the team claimed an incredible Pole Position on debut in the series.

Elsewhere in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, series leaders and teammates Maxi Buhk and Maxi Goetz will drive in separate cars for the Japanese endurance race.

MANY ONE off race seats have been confirmed in the World Rally Championship. Hyundai has confirmed that Dani Sordo will return to WRC action for Rally Germany, while Irishman Craig Breen will return for Rally GB. The M-Sport Ford team announced that Elfyn Evans will remain out of the seat as he recovers from his back injury, WRC-2 regular Gus Greensmith will take his place once again. New Zealander Hayden Paddon is working on a deal to return to the championship after a pre-event crash in Finland resulted in the former Hyundai driver missing the rally.

A MIX of classic and modern machinery will go head-to-head under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on Father’s Day eve as part of the Paynter Dixon Sydney MasterBlast featuring the Muscle Car Masters.

A large field of Touring Car Masters muscle cars will light up SMP, Steve Johnson and John Bowe will continue their battle for the title, though Adam Bressington, Rob Hackwood and Ryan Hansford will be in amongst it. Returning to the series are Jeremy Gray in his potent Ford Capri and the Holden Torana A9X of Super3 driver Jason Gomersall.

The Heritage Touring Cars class, which celebrates the touring cars of the Group C (1972-1984) and Group A (1985-1992) will have new additions to its field including an-Colin Bond Caltex Ford Sierra RS500, an ex-works BMW M3, and a former Roadways Holden Walkinshaw VL. Chris Stillwell will be racing his just-restored RS500, joining Terry Lawlor in his ex-Dick Johnson Shell RS500 (which Stillwell formerly owned) and Tony Karanfilovski (ex-Glenn Seton Peter Jackson RS500).

The BMW of Eddie Sansil was a works Bigazzi

Racing Team in the 1990 DTM series. It was imported by BMW Motorsport Australia and used as a test car before Paul Morris drove it in the ATCC. The Holden was the last built by Roadways and originally raced by Garry Rogers from 1988 to 1990, then Graham Moore and American John

Andretti. Neil Schembri competed in it in 1993.

He again took ownership in 2017 for a total restoration and will be racing it at Master Blast.

Joining those categories are Group N, Group S, Production Touring Cars, National Sports Sedans and Superkarts on the August 30 September 1.

CUPRAS OZ BOUND A NEW brand is set to debut in TCR Australia in the coming rounds as Cupra expands the growing marque list to nine in the burgeoning series.

Entering Spanish manufacturer Seat’s performance brand to the field is Melbournebased Garage1, headed by renowned race car builder Marty Brant, a man that has plenty of experience including in Supercars and Touring Car Masters.

The move is an exciting one for Brant, who is attracted to the international appeal and the new challenge TCR provides.

“It’ll be good to go back and do some proper racing,” Brant told Auto Action. “One-make series are great, but this a worldwide thing and the opportunity is there for the taking. We just put our hand up.”

“It’s a proper race car, that’s what I’m really looking forward to.”

The choice of the Cupra is an obscure one as the model and brand are not sold in Australia, but the combination of the Leon’s success overseas and the Volkswagen Audi Group’s support gave Brant the confidence to choose the marque.

“There’s a number of reasons why I went that way, but the support of Volkswagen

and Audi platform is definitely one of them from a spares point of view, just the point of difference is the other and the Cupra has been quite successful,” Brant continued.

The Cupra Leon was used by Marcello Lotti as the basis of the original TCR regulations, coming out of the same factory as the Audi RS3 TCR and Volkswagen Golf TCR in Spain.

The first Cupra is expected to arrive within the next week as is a spare parts package, while plans are already in place to bring at least two more into the country Auto Action understands.

Brant confirmed the Cupra’s planned debut is for Sandown next month, though there is a ‘big question mark’ over who will drive it.

In other TCR news, Leanne Tander and Russell Ingall have both been confirmed to return at Winton, while Toyota 86 Series driver Liam McAdam successfully tested with Melbourne Performance Centre at The Bend.

Heath McAlpine

NEW SPONSOR FOR CARROLL LEADING SUPER3 contender Nic Carroll will don a new sponsor at this weekend’s fourth round of the third tier at The Bend Motorsport Park after securing backing from Diesel Clothing and Brooks.

“Having such great brands as Diesel and Brooks come on board with us is fantastic, and I really appreciate their support,” Nic Carroll said.

“It’s a real confidence booster because finding commercial support is so tough at the moment, as everyone knows, and it gives everyone involved in the program confidence.

“No doubt we’ll all be looking pretty sharp in our Diesel and Brooks gear at The Bend too!

“We’ve had a good rookie season with a few disappointments along the way, but I feel ready now to capitalise on the experience I’ve gained. I am aiming to finish off these last two rounds strongly.”

It has been a consistent season for the 20-year-old, who sits fifth in the points in his Matt White Racing Ford FG Falcon will be after a maiden win after leading a race at Winton and finishing on the podium a number of times already this season.

BARRICHELLO WILL RACE S5000 AT FIRST ROUND OF SERIES

LMP1 TEAM Rebellion Racing has announced its driver line up for the 2019/2020 World Endurance Championship season. Bruno Senna will drive alongside Norman Nato and Gustavo Menezes.

The Ginetta team announced its driver line ups for the first round of the season at Silverstone.

Entered under the name of Team LNT the British brand confirmed that Egor Orudzhev and Ben Hanley will partner Charlie Robertson in the #5 car, while in the #6 car Chris Dyson and Guy Smith will join Mike Simpson.

12 AutoAction

FORMULA 1 legend Rubens Barrichello will return to Australia next month to race in the inaugural round of S5000 at Sandown International Raceway, with more star drivers expected to be announced soon.

The 11 time F1 race winner will make an open wheel racing return to race in the new V8 powered open wheel series.

“I’ve never been to the Sandown circuit before, so there will be much to absorb, but it looks like a great venue for the S5000s to make their debut. It’s going to be a great experience,” Barrichello said.

The series category manager Chris Lambden is very pleased to have the ex-Ferrari driver on board for the Round 1.

“We’re thrilled that a driver of Rubens’ pedigree is coming to Melbourne to compete in the first ever S5000 race,” said Lambden.

At the age of 47, Barrichello still races full time in the Brazilian Stock Car Championship and is looking forward to the challenge of driving an S5000 car.

“The concept of the S5000 formula is a very

interesting one, the car looks to be a real challenge, and I look forward to playing my part in its launch,” Barrichello said.

The cars are currently being built by Supercars team Garry Rogers Motorsport, team owner Barry Rogers told Auto Action that they are on the lookout for an experienced Australian open wheel star.

“Certainly Australian names that have done open wheel categories overseas, there has been some interest but nothing confirmed at this stage,” Rogers teased.

When asked about how many of the fourteen cars will contain drivers at the opening round, Rogers said.

“Fourteen there is no doubt about that, we’ve had more enquiries than we will cars to be honest with you, it’ll probably come down to a bit of picking and choosing.”

Dan McCarthy

D E V I R R A TMCoRreHbrAanSds, more action

ru + Volkswagen ba Su + t ul na Re + ai nd yu H + Honda Alfa Romeo + Audi + Holden +

SEE ALL THE ACTION LIVE

TCR Round 5 Winton

30 Aug - 1 Sep

Free Livestream www.tcraustralia.com Tickets www.thenationals.com.au/tickets

Watch all the action on SBS AUSTRALIA Live, Free and in HD

2-3pm Saturday 31st Aug 1-3pm Sunday 1st Sep For all the latest TCR news, video, results and more go to www.tcraustralia.com

LATEST NEWS

IN BLANCPAIN GT Asia, Shane van Gisbergen once again teamed up with Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahim in the Triple Eight Race Engineering Australia Mercedes-AMG GT3. In Race 1 the pair won the Pro Am class after van Gisbergen made a last lap pass on Alex Imperatori. In the second race an amazing opening stint by van Gisbergen resulted in a 14.1s lead when the Kiwi handed over to Ibrahim. The Malaysian did not have the speed of his teammate and was eventually caught, Ibrahim dropping down the order to finish fifth, third in class. The #51 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO driven by Australians Andrew Macpherson and William Ben Porter took Am Cup class victories in both races, finishing 14th overall in Race 1 and 15th in Race 2.

IT WAS a tough weekend for Bart Horsten in the British F4 Championship at Thruxton, as the Australian retired from two of the three races. In the opening race Horsten received a hit in the rear of his Arden Motorsport car, which caused some damage and forced the West Aussie to retire. The second race didn’t go much better; avoiding an incident on lap 6, Horsten took to the grass, which caused the engine to overheat. In the final race Horsten started from eighth and was able to climb up to an impressive fourth. The disappointing round sees him slip to fifth in the standings.

JAXON EVANS, who is competing in the German Porsche Carrera Cup series, had mixed results at Zandvoort and the Nurburgring. The round at Zandvoort saw the Kiwi finish the opening race in 13th, but he recovered to finish Race 2 eighth. At the Nurburgring, Evans finished just outside the top 10 in both races. Joey Mawson joined the grid for the Nurburgring round and had an exceptional weekend, finished sixth and seventh.

AIDAN READ, who races a Schutz Motorsport Mercedes-GT3 AMG alongside German Marvin Dienst in the ADAC Masters Series, had a challenging couple of rounds. In the opening race at Zandvoort they qualified an impressive 10th but did not make the finish. They crossed the finish line in 24th position in the second race.

The round at the Nurburgring was a little better, the pair finishing 15th in both races. Australian Matt Campbell joined the grid in Germany, paired with Klaus Abbelen in the Frikadelli Racing Team Porsche to finish 23rd in the opening race and 24th in the final race of the weekend.

14 AutoAction

LUKE KING GRASPS CHINA CHANCE A LATE call up to contest the opening round of China’s FRD LMP3 Series at the Tianjin Circuit yielded a podium result for Luke King.

In what was a frantic build up for the Toyota 86 Series frontrunner, he encountered a number of issues across the weekend, with the recently completed Tianjin track a new experience, as was the LMP3 Ligier he was to drive.

Fuel issues hampered the Team FFS crew all

weekend, including Saturday’s qualifying and race, although King managed to grab third position on the grid behind James Winslow and local touring car ace Rainey He. A chassis swap was made after the fuel issues appeared just prior to the final race. It did the trick, as King made a great jump and held second behind Winslow, before the scorching conditions played havoc with the rear tyres and he fell away.

King battled with He for the remainder, but held on to take second behind Winslow, marking a strong debut.

“Such a great result and last minute experience,” King stated.

“So glad we jumped at the opportunity and stopped everything to go abroad.

“I can’t wait to get back over and keep the championship going.”

CAR’S BEST WEEKEND TO DATE JOSHUA CAR further extended his lead in the US F4 Championship after a near perfect weekend at the MidOhio Sports Car Course.

In Race 1, Car started from seventh on the grid but finished just 0.2s behind race winner Kiko Porto.

The New South Welshman made good ground early and found himself involved in a three-car scrap for the lead at the halfway stage.

Leader Porto defended the inside, which forced Nicky Hays into a mistake as he tried to make the pass around the outside.

This promoted Car into second, but in the remaining laps he was unable to attempt a move on Porto and crossed the line in second.

For setting fastest lap in Race 1,

Car earned himself pole position in Race 2 and led from lights to flag.

Car came under pressure before a caution was thrown early in the race. On the restart he pulled away, but slowly the pack began to close back in on the Crosslink/ Kiwi Motorsport driver.

Car held on until the safety car was called with two minutes remaining, handing the Aussie victory.

The final race was similar to Race 2. Car again started from pole and had to control the race through a couple of safety car interruptions.

After the second safety car period

finished, two laps remained, Car had a good restart and held on to take the race victory by 1s.

“The whole race was crazy, everyone was all over me at every turn,” said Car. “I had to make smart

decisions and was finally able to pull away there at the end.”

The next round of the championship takes place at Sebring International Raceway on September 13-15.

WOOD MISSES OUT ON AUTOMATIC SPOT CAITLIN WOOD has missed out on an automatic qualification spot for next year’s W Series, after she finished the championship in 13th position.

The Australian needed one more point to lift her into the all-important top 12 in the standings.

In the final race at Brands Hatch in England, she finished just 0.4s adrift of 10th position.

After qualifying 14th, Wood got off the line well and breezed past the stalled car of Esmee Hawkey. Wood stayed out of trouble on the opening lap and gained another position.

Japanese driver Miki Koyama was handed a drive-through penalty for an illegal start and dropped to the back of the pack, promoting Wood to 11th.

At the halfway stage of the race, Wood sat nearly 3s back from the points and was working hard to keep Tasmin Pepper and Gosia Rdest at bay.

A safety car was deployed to recover the spun car of Koyama and when the race resumed, only six minutes remained.

On the restart Wood was in 11th and dropped slightly off the points battle, being 1.2s back beginning the penultimate lap. Wood closed the

gap, but not enough to take the final pointspaying position.

Despite holding 11th in the standings heading into the final round, a 13th place spot will still see Wood take part in next year’s shootout to race in the series again in 2020.

AA’s pious pundit comments on the secrecy surrounding the top driver who failed a breath test DRUGS IN sport. Three words that chill the hearts of sports administrators. Be it swimming, athletics, football or even motor racing, no subject is as controversial or divisive as performance-enhancing drugs and their detection.

Luckily, drugs aren’t a major issue in motor sport. Aside from recreational stimulants, they don’t factor in racing.

The benefits of steroids, etc don’t actually aid the performance of drivers.

Well, not as we know it, anyway.

The detection of recreational drugs is a different matter. One of principal.

If you’re high as a kite, you clearly shouldn’t be in control – or not – of a racing car.

The same goes for alcohol. Booze and racing are incompatible, as they are on the road. In racing worldwide, sensibly, the limit is zero blood alcohol content. And so it should be.

Now, I could be flippant and note that it’s fortuitous that media aren’t breath tested at race meetings. Fact is, pretty well everyone else is.

From F1 down, including Australia, officials, competitors and team members are subject to random breath tests. Even if you are a guest, holding a team pass makes you subject to blowing into a device – and if you’re over the limit, you’re thrown out.

Despite the wave of fear going through corporate guests, there is discretion.

But for officials and competitors, there is no mercy. Blow bad and you’re out.

The issue here is whether transgressors should be named and shamed. Of course they should, just like drug cheats.

As you’ve undoubtedly heard, a high-profile competitor was excluded from racing at the Queensland Raceway Shannons Nationals meeting a couple of weeks ago.

Allegedly, he was detected for exceeding the 0.01 blood alcohol limit.

His withdrawal from racing on the Sunday was explained away as illness.

The offender was named by various outlets – directly or by blatant inuendo – as CAMS refused to name him accordance with its policy. We knew about it on the deadline of our last issue, but without official confirmation, our hands were tied.

You see, what the podcast provocateurs don’t understand is the concept of defamation. By naming and shaming without official confirmation, they risk legal action.

These on-line cowboys should really understand and comply with defamation laws. One day, sooner than later, their victims will take action.

We understand these laws and adhere to them.

Now, the fact that CAMS wouldn’t – couldn’t – name the offender is a different matter. Clearly, in the wake of the recent Swimming Australia scandal, transparency is required.

My understanding is that CAMS understands this and is making moves to make its ASADA-compliant drugs/ alcohol reporting more open.

I’m reliably informed that if CAMS

Image: TCR Australia/Daniel Kalisz

CEO Eugene Arocca gets his way at the next board meeting in October, a new “name and shame� reporting regime will be introduced for alcohol offenders.

And so it should. If a high-profile competitor is caught drinking, they should be outed. History suggests the incidence of sloshed officials and racers, much less drug-addled drivers, is statistically minimum.

My information is that over the past seven years, since breath testing was enforced at Australian race meetings, just 15 individuals have failed. There are no statistics available for drug offenders, who are subject to the ‘three strikes’ ASADA rule.

No one in motor sport has, apparently, approached that level of drugs-related transgression.

CAMS has around 30 calibrated breath test machines – equal to those used by police forces – for deployment around the country.

They are used by CATOs – CAMS Alcohol Testing Officers – who can strike anywhere, any time. And do.

CAMS officially maintains that there was no cover-up over the QR overthe-limit driver, according to its rules.

But there is an acknowledgement that it must be more transparent about ‘drunk’ racers, officials and team personnel in the future.

You might argue that a driver, official or team member having a few drinks during a race meeting is acceptable. I might probably agree.

As long as they’re under the legal driving limit of .05.

Otherwise, excessive alcohol consumption is not only socially unacceptable, but a danger.

Motor racing needs a clear reporting system for alcohol abusers. As well as being immediately banned from a meeting, they should be named and shamed.

A one-meeting ban isn’t a strong

enough deterrent.

To go further, I’d name anyone detected with illicit drugs in their system on the first offence. There is no reason to protect drug users.

Racing is dangerous enough as it is.

Giving booze-affected or drug-addled officials, drivers or crew a soft option is unacceptable.

CAMS, don’t be like the AFL and try to cover up substance abuse. It’s not endemic, but don’t try to downplay the odd transgressor. Out them as a deterrent.

I’m not saying don’t drink. I’d be a hypocrite. But there is a time and a place – and a race meeting is neither.

If the driver alleged to have been over the limit at QR was guilty, he should have been named rather than allowing the rumours to run rampant.

Equally, a few chardies before a race shouldn’t stain him forever.

And, yes, the alleged offender was definitely a he.

STUCK FOR A FATHER’S DAY GIFT? Don’t want that last minute stress?

Well an Auto Action yearly subscription in either print RU RQOLQH IRUP ´WV WKH ELOO SHUIHFWO\ ZKDW PRUH FDQ D father ask for?

An Auto Action subscription not only arrives right on \RXU GRRUVWHS RU GLJLWDO GHYLFH LW DOVR DVVXUHV WKDW \RXU IDWKHU ZLOO UHFHLYH WKH ODWHVW QHZV UDFH UHSRUWV LQ GHSWK LQWHUYLHZV DQG IHDWXUHV WKDW IRUP $XVWUDOLD­V longest running and most popular motor sports publication.

6R ZKDW­V WKH KROG XS" &RQWDFW +HDWK DW KHDWK# autoaction.com.au to get the ball rolling and fathers DURXQG $XVWUDOLD ZLOO EH HWHUQDOO\ JUDWHIXO

FIIGH FFIG GH HTT CLUB ROLLAND VS

FOGES ROUND 2

HELL LL O ON NW WH HEEE EEL ELS LS.C.COM RE .AU COMPC RIIAL .A AU O TR AL 4 AL 40TH

SINCE 1971

CARD N REPORT ON SO AS SEEAAS D--S IVVEE MIID US CL EX .COM.AU ST CRAIG’S LI

SINCE 1971

ANNIVERSARY .COM.AU

SHOCK! CHAZ SE

BROCK’S ’S GR G RE REEAAATTE TEES

1 SINCE 197

FOR SURP T RISE SWITCH

STT WI S WIN

ED FIRRAMCING CON NRITE TON PE RES AN SECU

MOZZIE

BURZ Z D EAM ter terr te uter mpute mp m Comp Compu C

BETTY’S

ge ge imag imaaage d image o modifi modi mo modifie m

AFIRENSTORM AMERIC EEYYES REBUS ER

E S NEW EN G GUN R AS YOUN R AS AR HOLDEN CA NASC

S R BJR doBLAZE INVESTIGA SEingOupFforCRiRAicccccia rdo ard iar iia HOultU: Ra TION mp Rena

Issue #1765

11 July to 24 July , 2019

$7.95 NZ $8.50

www.autoaction.com

.au

6

Issue #176 25 July

to 7 August , 2019

$7.95 NZ

$8.50

PLUS

SILLY SEASON EXPLODES

AS WALKINSHAW SWOOPS

STAYS ZB

IIN NSID OF CO E STORY MM CONQ ODORE UEST

KIILLLLLE LEER R CO CORVETTE

Rogers speaks ouutt on ou out ZB:“ o

WEAPON OF CHOICE�

GLOBAL DO MI NA TIO P TCR KINGPIN $7.95 NZ $8.50 N PL S PLU ON

PLUS

IN

8th Aug to 21st Aug,

2019

BIG FUTURE

www.autoact ion.

com.au

Tri Trip TTr rripl rip ipplllee Ei ip ipl EEig iigghtt wan wants wa nts ttoo rac nt ra ra

e Ho Hol H olldde dden’s ’ new supercar GRAN G ND D PR PR RIIX X EX EXC XCI CIT ITE TE EM MEN ME ENT T

.com.au

action www.auto

Auto Action subscription prices: $XVWUDOLD 1HZ =HDODQG 2YHUVHDV 2QOLQH GLJLWDO

AutoAction

15

s w e n e n O Formula THE FORMULA 1 circus will continue to flock into Mexico, as the race has been extended until the end of 2022.The agreement came about through Formula 1, the promotor of the event and the Mexico City government. This will see the Mexican Grand Prix remain at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, which first hosted the race in 1963. Since returning to the calendar in 2015, over 1.3 million fans have attended the race in just four years and this year will mark the race’s 20th edition.

GERMAN NICO Hulkenberg’s Hungarian Grand Prix was severely hampered by his Renault engine being considerably down on power due to it being stuck in ‘safe mode’.

It is certainly not the first engine issue the French manufacturer has had this season; a very similar problem occurred during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which resulted in Hulkenberg qualifying down in 17th position, while his Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo has also been plagued by many engine problems and failures throughout the season.

FORMULA 1 teams have agreed to a 22-race calendar in 2020, with no additional engines allowed during the season, as it seems likely that the Spanish Grand Prix will sign a one-year deal. Once again in 2020, only three engines will be allowed as Formula 1 is attempting to keep costs down in the series. As the calendar is expected to grow, pre-season testing is likely to be cut by at least a couple of days due also to cost cuts.

IN 2020 Formula 1 will trial a dry run of the way it will monitor how teams adhere to the cost cap. The cost cap will be enforced in 2021, along with the introduction of new regulations that are expected to help induce closer racing. The cost cap is in the region of A$258 million per season, and the series will also change the way the revenue is distributed across the teams.

16 AutoAction

NO PLANS TO STOP

ONEE OF OF the these hese se yyears, ears, th the he F1 old older der ddrivers rive vers rs w will ililll ha have to retire. Lew Lewis Hamilton is not sure what that year will be, but it won’t be soon.

Hamilton, 34, and Sebastian Vettel, 32, aren’t exactly old. They have nine world championships between them, and the way Hamilton and Mercedes are performing this year that number is likely to be 10 as he earns his sixth title. But they aren’t 21 either, like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

“I’ve watched different sports including ours” Hamilton said, “and I see people that I’ve grown up watching who have stopped and moved onto something else. I am one of the older drivers, so I have this different perspective. Naturally, 22 to being 34 is a much different perspective. It’s been a phenomenal journey.”

Phenomenal indeed. Hamilton’s recent victory in Hungary was his eighth of the season and the 81st win of an F1 career that began in 2007 with McLaren. He moved to Mercedes in 2013.

“We’ve just been going from strength to strength,” Hamilton said of Mercedes. “A majority of people are still the same people from when I joined the team, and this long, long journey we’ve gone on together has been remarkable.

“Right now I’m excited to see what more we can do together and what’s next. I don’t know why some people decide to stop at the times they decide to stop, but I tell you I love driving. I don’t mind practice on a race weekend, but testing – I’ve always made that clear I don’t really enjoy that so much.”

But what Hamilton really relishes is the challenge of arriving at each race weekend and digging into the data with the boffins, including his engineer Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington.

“I just love that rapport I have with this group of people,” Hamilton enthuses. “One day I will have to stop, but right now I feel fantastic physically and mentally. So I currently don’t have any plans on stopping anytime soon. There’s more to do; there’s more to win; there’s more to achieve together, inside and outside of the car, within the sport and outside of the sport.”

Hamilton, Verstappen and Vettel, who finished in that top three order in Hungary, joked about age in the post-race press conference in the media centre.

“I like being in this room because I’m not the oldest!” said Hamilton.

Vettel stated: “I’ll tell you, the day we get beat by somebody who’s born in 2000 and upwards, we will know it’s time…”

Verstappen chimed in: “I’m not that young!”

The youngest F1 driver currently is Lando Norris, who was born in November 1999, just six weeks away from him being the first F1 driver born in the 21st century.

A TIPPING POINT IT WILL be a lot easier for the big teams with their big budgets to cope with an extra race than the smaller teams as the season expands from 21 to a record 22 events next year.

Even though Racing Point now has a much bigger budget with its new owners than it did when it was Force India, the team is wary what it will cost to go to that extra race.

The teams get paid for each race they go to – their share of what the event race organisers pay for the rights to host a grand prix – but will that additional race actually pay Racing Point in terms of the team’s costs of running the extra race?

“It’s close,” said Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer. “I think it’s worth doing it, but from an economic standpoint, it’s in the balance.”

Most sponsor contracts pay the teams a set fee for the season instead of a set fee per race. So having an extra race will not result in extra sponsorship money.

Does Racing Point have enough manpower to deal with 22 races?

“Manpower we have,” Szafnauer said. “But there will come a tipping point. I don’t know where that is.”

There will be a yet-to-be-determined reduction in pre-season and in-season testing to help reduce the strain on crew members.

“I’m of the opinion that we probably do too much preseason testing anyway,” said Racing Point technical director Andy Green.

“With all the dyno and simulators we have, the cars are pretty reliable, and the places where we can go to test pre-season don’t really represent the majority of tracks that we go to.

And if you really wanted to mix things up a bit, then reducing the amount of testing preseason would help that.”

Would the bigger teams have an advantage because they can afford more simulation testing?

“But you’ve always got the unknown,” Green replied.

“It’s very difficult to simulate everything. A lot of the time, if you’re not really on top of it, testing can confuse you more than you learn. And that’s the danger of doing too much testing. It’s not a great way to start a season, especially with 22 races, to do two weeks pre-season.”

Last year the calendar featured the first ever tripleheader, with back-to-back races in France, Austria and Britain.

The teams are adamant that they do not want any triple-headers next season. But with the schedule eventually expanding to 24 or 25 races, plus having to fit all those events between March and November while keeping the annual August break, a tipping point may be reached when triple-headers are inevitable.

NO SILVER BULLET FOR FERRARI

Images: LAT

FERRARI HAS a problem: the team is not winning races.

“We are trying everything we can, but currently it’s not enough,” Sebastian Vettel acknowledged. “Everybody understands that, but it’s not easy to come up with magic solutions. You always look for a silver bullet, but I’ve never come across a guy that’s actually found it in over 10 years in F1! We keep looking, but that’s where we are.”

The main problem on the car is a lack of front-end downforce in slow corners.

In Hungary, where the track has many such bends, Vettel finished third, 60 seconds behind the winning Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

“There is still much to do,” Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said before the team headed into the mandatory two-week F1 shutdown.

“But I think it’s important for us to stop and rest a bit. We spent a lot of energy on the start of the season after winter testing and Australia, when we recognised that we have a gap to close on our main competitors.”

While the car needs to be improved, Binotto is happy with the performances of the Ferrari drivers.

“Seb’s pace in the race is always very strong,” Binotto said.

“Charles, it’s his first year in Ferrari, with a lot of pressure. He’s done some

few mistakes, but he’s always very keen to learn and not repeat what he did so far. We are very happy with the way he is integrating into the team and his progress.”

Ferrari should have won in Bahrain, but Leclerc dropped out of the lead with engine woes. He was very fast in Azerbaijan but crashed in qualifying.

Leclerc led in Austria but lost out to Max Verstappen, who had fresher tyres. Vettel crossed the line first in Canada but was demoted to second with a penalty for going off the track and then cutting in front of Hamilton.

So Ferrari could have won races this season, but it is failing to deliver results because of driver and team errors.

The Ferrari does have good straightline speed, so the car should be more competitive at the upcoming races in Belgium and Italy.

“Of course there are always positives,” Vettel said. “On paper, Spa and Monza should be a bit better for us, but we need to confirm.”

Mercedes, meanwhile, is going from strength to strength at the front of the pack. And Red Bull-Honda has been scoring more points than Ferrari in recent races.

Ferrari has much to do, especially because there is no silver bullet cure for its woes.

DEALING WITH DRIVERS HAVING DEALT with Supercar drivers in the past, and now dealing with Formula 1 drivers as the FIA’s race director, Australian Michael Masi has noticed some differences between the two groups.

“They are great,” he said when Auto Action asked him about the F1 drivers. “They are extremely, one on one and as a group, down to earth. They all want to work together. They have been an important part of helping me acclimatise to the world of F1. The communication that we have is brilliant. They have the best interests of the sport at heart, which is great to see. We are all pulling together as a group in a common direction.”

Asked to compare F1 drivers to Supercar drivers, Massi pauses to think.

“That is a very interesting question,” he said. “The F1 drivers have very much more a united view of what they would like. The Supercar drivers from my previous experience are probably a little bit more segmented. The F1 drivers as a collective view certainly seem to be in norm very much united in their views. They are all people and we are all people and so you treat people the way that they treat you.

“In the Supercar world where I was, and the F1 world now,

www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

everyone has had the greatest deal of respect. You can have your disagreements, and let the disagreement finish and move on and continue where you were. I’m not one to hold grudges in any way shape or form.

Everyone has a view, expresses it, everyone learns from it, and you move on.”

And what do the F1 drivers think of Masi?

“I think he is doing well,” Daniel Ricciardo said. “He got thrown into a pretty difficult position in Melbourne.

I’d never met him; we’d never crossed paths, so I was like, ‘Oh, there is another Australian.’ I felt like, especially for the circumstances, he’d got into it very confidently.

“None of us drivers knew him at the time, and we kind of felt in a way sorry for him. This season he’s been good. In the drivers’ delivered meetings he’s pretty attentive to what we have to say. He seems very accommodating for us.”

Romain Grosjean noted that Masi had big shoes to fill replacing the late Charlie Whiting.

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

“Charlie was a big part of F1 for a very long time,” Grosjean said, “and replacing a role of Charlie was not easy. I believe he’s done a good job. Personally I’ve been happy with what he’s been doing.

“He does a good job and listens to us. He’s well onboard and (has) a new view on F1 because he hasn’t been here for a very long time.

Sometimes it’s good to have new eyes on it.”

AutoAction

17

w

F1 INSIDER

with Dan Knutson

RACE-WINNING HERITAGE QUALITY VALUE & SUPPORT Tilton Engineering strives to produce the best racing parts and service for drivers and racing teams dedicated to their sport.

Tilton’s wide range of products spans across metallic, cerametallic and carbon/carbon racing clutches, hydraulic release bearings, racing clutch disc packs, racing flywheels, racing pedal assemblies and master cylinders, the renowned Super Starter series, and the accessories that make them all work together.

WEEKLY USA TILTON AIR FREIGHT DELIVERIES

TILTON - CHOSEN BY WINNERS SINCE 1972 For the full range of Tilton products call the Australian distributor Racer Industries 07 5546 2040 or visit www.racerindustries.com.au

18 AutoAction

RED BULL’S DILEMMA THIS SUDDEN driver swap situation demonstrates exactly why Red Bull was so keen on retaining Aussie Daniel Ricciardo for the 2019 season. After 12 races this season, Red Bull sends Pierre Gasly back to Toro Rosso and brings up rookie Alex Albon to replace him forr the rest of this year.

Ricciardo was on the verge of signing a new two-year contract with Red Bull last August when he made his surprise switch to Renault.

Red Bull knew that none of its junior drivers were ready to step up to its senior squad – especially when he would have to go up against the formidable Max Verstappen as a teammate.

But Ricciardo’s departure forced Red Bull to promote Gasly from Toro Rosso. Actually, Gasly had looked pretty good during the 2018 season and put in some strong performances.

Still, what Red Bull really needed was a driver of Ricciardo’s caliber: a proven race winner, someone who could qualify well, consistently score good points and finish on the podium.

Someone who could go toe-totoe with Verstappen.

Gasly was unable to do that this season.

“The reality is reality – he is a long way off Max,” Ricciardo said at the Hungarian GP and just over a week before Red Bull made its driver swap announcement. “So on one side they are happy with Max and the first pole for him. But on the other hand I think deep down they know that they could be scoring a lot more points.

“I don’t know what it is at the moment with Pierre because last year he got some big results with

Toro Rosso, which was clearly not as good a car as the Red Bull. So a tough one. I know Max as a teammate, and I didn’t expect Pierre to come out and beat him. I’m not surprised that Max is beating him, but I am surprised at the gap.”

The Hungarian GP proved to be the final straw. Verstappen started from the pole and fought for the lead. Gasly qualified and finished sixth.

“The start wasn’t great,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said of Gasly. “The first lap wasn’t great and we shouldn’t be racing Saubers (Alfa Romeos) and McLarens. We need him to be racing Ferraris and Mercedes.

The problem is he’s not in the mix at all.”

Verstappen had two wins, three podiums, a slew of fourth places and 181 point by August. Gasly’s best finishes were a couple of fourths and he had 63 points.

Still, the Red Bull decision came as a surprise. But then we also know Red Bull is ruthless with its drivers. Perform well or you are out. Or at least demoted.

The two most recent examples: Gasly and Daniil Kvyat.

And that is why I worry about Albon. I’ve been impressed with the way he has driven in his rookie season, but to get thrown into the Red Bull deep end after just 12 F1 races could really be way too much way too soon. Can he do any better than

Gas He has a Gasly? very steep learning curv ahead. curve So drivers Some can cope with tha But even that. the fast-tracked Ve Verstappen h a full 2015 had s season plus the first four races R in 2016 at Toro Rosso before being promoted to Red Bull and promptly winning the first time out.

“Good luck to Alex; he’s arrived in F1 in great style, but will need every tool and trick in the F1 drivers’ repertoire to survive in Max’s lair, with the star maker/grim reaper forensically observing his data,” former F1 driver turned TV commentator Martin Brundle said. “Commiserations to Pierre, but he rides again and is still in the game.”

“Red Bull are in the unique position of having four talented F1 drivers under contract who can be rotated between the (main) team and Toro Rosso,” said a team statement. “The team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alex’s performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020.”

Red Bull certainly didn’t invite former F1 driver Fernando Alonso to replace Gasly. But there is a chance that Sebastian Vettel could return. He spent a lot of time talking to Red Bull people during the Hungarian GP weekend, and I hear that he is growing disillusioned with Ferrari.

But, overall, Red Bull would not have had to deal with this dilemma if, as the team wished, Ricciardo had signed that new contract for 2019 and 2020.

OPINION CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Bruce Williams 0418 349 555 Associate Publisher Mike Imrie Editor-At-Large

By DAN MCCARTHY Staff Journalist

MOTOR RACING traditionalists are murmuring that the sport is struggling. This is aided by the one-sided results currently in Formula 1 and much the same locally in Supercars, but if fans delve further into the sport, it appears healthier than most make it out to sound.

I would argue that motor sport is not struggling but going through a time of change.

Many new championships that weren’t on the radar six or seven years ago are thriving.

Series such as TCR both internationally and nationally, Formula E and various Blancpain GT Championships around the world are examples of this.

Since Formula 1 changed to hybrid engines in 2014, many fans have fallen out of love with the pinnacle of motor racing because of the pathetic sound of the engines and the lack of excitement due to the Mercedes domination.

In 2019, out of the 10 teams in Formula 1 only three are manufacturer squads: Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault. If you compare that to Formula E, eight of the twelve teams will be manufacturer-supported next season, by brands such as Porsche, Nissan, Audi, Mercedes and Jaguar.

Since the start of 2014, just three Formula 1 teams have won races: Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. In Formula E, last season eight of the 11 teams won a race, which highlights the competitiveness of the allelectric racing series.

If we look at touring car racing, Supercars numbers

Publisher

Deputy Editor Creative Director/ Production

Mark Fogarty Heath McAlpine Jason Crowe

Special Contributor Bruce Newton Staff Journalist National Editor Online Editor

Dan McCarthy Garry O’Brien Rhys Vandersyde

Contributing Writers Australia Garry O’Brien, Mark Fogarty, Bruce Newton, David Hassall, Bob Watson F1 Dan Knutson Speedway Geoff Rounds Photographers Australia Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyde International LAT Images

are dwindlin – the series is down to just 24 entries and that may fall further in 2020. Only three brands are represented, whereas in the TCR Australia Series eight brands are entered, with at least one brand to come – as revealed by Auto Action, Cupra will enter the series in the future.

Brand numbers coupled with success ballast adjustments made to each brand after every round has created exciting, action-packed and unpredictable racing in TCR that has really appealed to viewers.

Another series that uses success ballast is the good old British Touring Car Championship, a series that is quite literally overflowing with entries. For the past few seasons, the BTCC has contained 32 entries, but this was cut back by two, as BTCC series director Alan Gow stated his intention to eventually cull

the grid further to a total of 26.

Another championship that is as strong as ever is the World Rally Championship, off the back of a massive resurgence in recent years following the introduction of the new (faster) regulations in 2017. The WRC is the most competitive it has been for decades, the four manufacturers – Hyundai, Toyota, Ford and Citroen – competing in every rally with a realistic chance of victory. Each car seems to have strengths and weaknesses on the varying surfaces and stages. With drivers like Sebastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak fighting at the front every week, there is never a dull moment.

International GT Racing is arguably the strongest it has ever been; thanks to championships such as Blancpain GT and the Intercontinental GT Challenge category, we often see six or seven manufacturers fighting

nose to tail for the duration of an endurance race.

Look at the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier in the year – so many brands fought for victory in the final few laps. Six manufacturers finished in the top seven positions: Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes, BMW, Bentley and Nissan all on the lead lap after half a day of racing!

This to me shows that motorsport is changing.

Formula E, TCR and Blancpain GT did not exist six years ago and are now going from strength to strength. Both TCR and Blancpain GT try and keep things equal for all competitors, whereas Formula E is appealing to people with the use of new technologies. However, WRC and BTCC show that, despite being long-established championships, if a series has strong regulations that appeal to drivers and fans alike a series can still thrive. .

Advertising Manager Bruce Williams All Advertising enquiries bruce@overdrivemedia.com.au (0418) 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope

Published by Action Media Partners ABN number 62976094459 Suite 4/156 Drummond Street Oakleigh Victoria 3166 Phone: 03 9563 2107 The trademark Auto Action is the sole property of Action Media Partners The website www.autoaction.com. au and associated social media platforms are wholly owned by Action Media Partners All rights reserved

We take a look back at what was making news 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago 1979: IT WAS elation for Peter Brock after he arrived at the Melbourne Showgrounds as the winner of the Repco Round Australia Trial ahead of the other two HDT cars, for a Commodore 1-2-3. It was all about threes in 1979, as Australian Formula 1 driver Alan Jones completed a hat-trick of victories at Zandvoort, becoming the first driver since Niki Lauda in 1975 to achieve the feat.

1989: THERE WAS controversy ahead of the .05 Sandown 500 after a court fight between CAMS and the event’s organisers, the Light Car Club of Australia, over the use of tobacco signage at the event. The new naming rights sponsor, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, dictated in its last-minute deal that no tobacco signage be displayed around the circuit, with CAMS breaking the deadlock. HQs hit Winton for the first time on the mainland with a familiar name taking part, none other than AA’s publisher, Bruce Williams.

11999: CRAZY ABOUT Bargs! Garry Rogerss M Motorsport was flying as youth continued to prevail for the team, this time with Jason Bargwanna.

B Coming off a successful Winton W weekend, the young Victorian was w well on his way to climbing up the V8 V Supercars ladder after developing the team’s te VT Commodore. In Super Touring, Volvo Vo made the decision to place Cameron McLean in the car to help Jim Richards to M the crown.

2 2009: HOMEBUSH MUST work! As doubt ccontinued to grow within the V8 Supercars ppaddock about the success of the cchampionship’s latest round on the streets of H Homebush, supremo Tony Cochrane moved to reaffirm V8 Supercar’s commitment to the eevent, saying it had proven to be a worthy fifinale. Things didn’t go right for Mark Webber in Spain, but Marcos Ambrose made waves in N NASCAR, finishing a fine third.

No part of this magazine’s content may be reproduced, retransmitted or rebroadcast without the express written permission of the Publisher and Action Media Partners.

Printed by Fairfax Media Distributed by Gordon & Gotch REVEALED PHASE 5 THAT COULD HAVE BEEN .COM.AU

SINCE 1971

FALCON

GT-HO 50TH ARY ANNIVERS SPECIAL

MOFFAT TRIBUTE MUSTANG INSID INSIDE INS IDE D TCM’S DE TCM’S CM M LATEST LA ATEST TES ST STAR STA TAR T AR CAR

Issue #1768

22nd Aug to 4th Sept 2019

$7.95 NZ $8.50

www.autoaction.com.au

PLUS

E IN CHARGE IE AUSSIE AU AUSSI AUSS

F1’S NEW RACE BOSS OPENS UP

Cover images: TCR/Dirk Klynsmith/ AA Archives

AutoAction

19

THE WILL

TO WIN

Will Davison opens up about how his return to Campbellfield renewed his confidence and got him thinking about being a championship contender again

F

AMOUSLY DUBBED a vagabond racer because of his propensity to change teams, Will Davison is now happily settled at 23Red Racing. Retired crash repair magnate Phil Munday’s plucky one-car squad, built on the bones of Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, showed flashes of real promise with Davo last year and has risen to a podium contender this season in a customer car alliance with Tickford Racing.

For Davison, 36, it has been a welcome return to the team where he achieved, if not his biggest wins, his most consistently competitive period in Supercars. At what was then the Ford Performance Racing factory outfit, from 2011-13 he was a consistent front-runner and regular race winner.

FPR was the third of the six teams for which he has driven in his full-time Supercars career. He left there to join Erebus Motorsport for a reputed $1 million annual salary on a four-year deal that lasted just two seasons – and netted one race win – in the recalcitrant AMG 63.

Davison – the grandson of open-wheel legend Lex, son of handy ’80s racer Richard, brother of seasoned enduro driver Alex and cousin of US-based gun-for-hire James – won the Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander at HRT in 2009, when he also vied with Jamie Whincup for the V8 title, and again in 2016 with Jonathon Webb and underdog Tekno Autosports.

The latter win was overshadowed by the furore over the in-race penalty that Whincup incurred for his clash with Scott McLaughlin that precipitated the race-changing collision between Tander and McLaughlin. Whincup crossed the line first, but his penalty relegated him to 11th, leaving a fuel-starved Davo to barely hold off a charging Shane van Gisbergen for victory.

Now an elder statesman among Supercars drivers, Davison has made regular incursions into the top 10 this season, starring in the first race at Queensland Raceway by qualifying third and finishing second in his Milwaukee Racing Mustang.

As Tickford ponders replacing WAU-bound Chaz Mostert and looks to renew Cam Waters, as well as considering Lee Holdsworth’s future, Davo is locked in for at least another year.

20 AutoAction

It must be good to be back in a competitive proposition at last.

It’s really good. It’s been a whirlwind journey, particularly since leaving this factory at the end of 2013. That’s something I… You can’t regret, you can’t look back, although I often do look at things and think, “What if?” But that’s the story of life. I still take something out of my journey since being here all those years ago, and certainly take positives out of everything I’ve done since. But it’s been a battle. Ever since leaving here, it’s been a battle – but with some real nice highlights in there. Victories that were rewarding for different reasons, whether it be in a Mercedes or at a tiny little team like Tekno. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thriving on being back in a big organisation. Every place I’ve been always has its challenges and differences, but this is a great race team.

I feel like I’m held in good regard here still from the past. It’s a bit different being the customer here, but they run a good ship, and just being in a professional organisation that’s pushing to win is great. We’re developing, we’re analysing, and I’m enjoying being part of a big racing team again. It’s enabling me to just focus on my job and put that pressure firmly back on me to win, and I’m feeling that enthusiasm to perform again. You have fast teammates, there’s no hiding, and that’s what it’s all about. I feel like I have an opportunity every weekend to be there or thereabouts, and getting that psyche back. Whether you like it not, sometimes you lose that, I won’t call it confidence, but that psyche to win, and I’m feeling that again, which is really great.

So, in hindsight, you would admit that leaving what was then FPR was a mistake?

[Long pause] Yes, in hindsight. The market’s changed, things have changed, but given

the circumstances I was dealing with at the time and the information I had, I don’t regret it. There were a couple of things thatt just couldn’t be agreed upon, and some promises I was made elsewhere. I don’t like to think like that, though, because often opportunities you take which at the time may not be right do then lead to other opportunities. You could say the same back in the DJR to HRT days, but certainly no regrets there. Each sliding door can certainly have a different outcome. I’ve gone full circle and I think I’m a different person because of that. I’m still very proud to have won a Bathurst with a little team like Tekno, and there are a lot of things I wouldn’t have otherwise done. I like working with Phil Munday and, while I’m in a different position here, I’ve come back to an environment that always made me very motivated. I only ever focus on the now. Could I have won a championship if I’d stayed? Possibly. It’s just the way it goes, and I’m grateful to still be in the sport. I’m grateful for the past five yearss since I was here, and I just look at things very differently, put it that way.

As you say, you’re back at Tickford on a different basis, in a customer car arrangement, but you’re part of the team, aren’t you?

Absolutely, yes. I’m contracted to Phil and 23Red Racing, but I feel a part of Tickford Racing, which is nice. It’s a slightly different vibe, but a lot of myy past is here. ere. There are still a lot of my trophies here and a lot of pictures ictures of me around ound the Moving to 23Red Rscing last season has rejuvenated Davison as he aims for silverware in season 2019.

place, and a lot of the staff here have very fond memories from my time here. It was actually a great era from 2011-13 with this team. Chaz was sort of my replacement and he’s now the main man with Frosty (Mark Winterbottom) no longer here. Frosty was a big part of the furniture, and Frosty and I led this team for a few years, so the moment I walked back in here, it was open arms from a lot of the workshop-based guys, a lot of fond memories from me being here. I think it was a good time to have my experience in the door to helpp this change g in car as ppart of the drivingg group with an engineering group that I know from the past. I have a lot of experience and I feel like I’m being really utilised and not just treated like a customer driver. And from my performance, I think they’re seeing that I’m still very capable, and only growing throughout the year once things started gelling.

Are you included in all the team debriefs and meetings here at the factory?

Yes. We have drivers management meetings once a month, and certainly all the prebriefs and debriefs.

I think they run a great show here, and we have our own spin on things as well with the 23Red

Racing brand and the culture Phil wants us to represent. So I think it’s a great chemistry. I think Phil has been a welcome addition here as well. He’s an upbeat, positive guy and, as I say, we try to put our little team’s spin on our core group, but we have a big involvement across the whole group. Phil knows Rod (Nash, co-owner) and Tim (Edwards, team principal) very well, and I think he’s also

been able to bring some of his expertise, and we’ve all bounced off each other quite well. It’s a unique time in the championship from all the teams’ points of view, so it’s an important time for teams to stick together and work together to try to plot their plan forward to make this whole thing viable and successful.

23Red was a standout start-up one-car team last year, showing how it can be done properly. But you reckon Phil has brought more to this alliance than just being a customer? cust I think thin so. Once you know Phil, he’s certainly proud prou to have his brand – he doesn’t just want it to be a sticker on the door. He also knows his limitations in terms of his understanding and running of a race team unde and the t engineering side, but he knows how to structure a business, he knows how to get the best out of people. He’s an incredibly successful businessman – very, very incre entrepreneurial, very, very active on a dayentre to-day to-da basis across many, many businesses – and this is an extreme passion of his that he wants to make work. He wants it to be w viable.

I think he realised what I needed to via be b competitive and I’m incredibly grateful that t he’s listened to me. It’s genuinely humbling that he wanted me to get results h and an he made a big call, a big commitment.

We looked shiny last year. He came in committed, want to look good, do it properly, com spend spe the money straight up. But then we quickly quick realised as the year went on that unless unles you are on top of absolutely everything at all times, you can very quickly get incredibly lost. On our day we could be quick, but with these current cars, you only have to sneeze at them the the wrong way and you’re absolutely nowhere.

I wasn’t surprised when a few things nowh started starte going the direction they did in the second seco half of last year and, unless we made big changes to our little single-car operation, c we weren’t going to progress. So aligning w with Tickford Racing was by far our best bet.

From a cost point of view, to make a singlecar operation viable, it actually doesn’t really o stack up. You’re better off to do it like this. We looked looke long and hard at it, and certainly in the short-term, it was by far our best opportunity. short You’v been very competitive so far this You’ve seas so in your estimation, how well are season, you driving these days?

I feel like I’m driving well...

AutoAction

21

Don’t you really want to say you’re driving as well as you ever have?

I do because I think I can. I’ve had glimpses of it. I’m realistic enough to know that it’s right there, but to get to that level in this sport, you need elements to add up. So I feel like I’ve had glimpses this year that have reminded me of what I can do again and to get back that confidence in myself. I had maybe at times been accepting that I’d had my best years and then all of a sudden I’ve had a few rockets up me where I’ve felt that mongrel inside me. It’s reminded me that there was a reason why I was a championship contender for many years and I’ve won the races I have, so harden up – you have your best years ahead of you. Lately, I certainly feel I’m growing again as a driver, and to get to that stage in our sport it’s not just one element. It really is a chemistry between you and your team and your engineer, and then finding a direction in a car set-up and then an understanding of what change does what.

All of a sudden, you find this extra per cent in yourself where you’re a step ahead of the car and it’s amazing what you can extract out of yourself, then luck starts to roll your way. I’m a firm believer in creating your own luck – even though I hate the word luck. But it’s amazing how, when you get on a roll, you start getting lucky. Even when I’ve had a couple of tough

Davison finished a best of third in a three-year stint with the then Ford Performance Racing.

years, I’ve refused to say I’m unlucky. I just refuse to because I know how this sport should be done, I know how you should prepare and the way you should operate. I honestly feel I have more left in me and I feel like it’s not far from coming out and I’m going to really try to build on that.

Do you think you can still contend for a championship?

With all the right elements, absolutely. I still feel like I have that enthusiasm and I still think, as a touring car driver, I’m in my peak years as long as you have the attitude and the hunger, and I have all that experience now. I respect the category, the teams and the impressiveness of the racing, which at times on the outside may not come across to people. But the intensity level, the racecraft among the top 15-18 cars leaves no room for error. Whereas in the past you could easily get some sneaky advantages, now everyone’s on top of their game, but I still feel like I have that edge in experience. Any single year I’ve had half an opportunity to be competitive, I have. I feel I drove particularly well in 2015 in the Mercedes.

I get a bit annoyed when people say Erebus was nowhere in those days. We had a great team. Half the people who were there are now at DJR Team Penske. I had so many good

races in that Benz in 2015 when we were up against it with some aspects of that car. I felt I was driving very well then and I won a race. I was fifth in the championship in ’16. Everyone forgets that year at Tekno. If you actually knew the budget we ran on and the limitations we had in that car, you’d wonder how we did so well. We had a couple of good key people and I was a contender. 2017 was tough, and last year I came out of the blocks strong, but again, we were really up against it with some elements. Now I’m back with a proper race team and it’s a surprise to some people that I’m competitive. It’s the only time I’ve had the opportunity to be competitive in a few years.

Your win in Perth in the E63 in 2015 caught the eye of Roger Penske, who was there, and that almost led somewhere, didn’t it?

Possibly, yeah.

Because you did have a chat with him at the Indy 500 a few weeks later.

A rousing Bathurst victory in 2016 driving for Tekno was Davison’s last success.

22 AutoAction

That was pretty cool. As a student of motor sport, I’m a huge fan. You look up to someone like him. I was over there supporting Will Power and he told me that Roger wanted to meet me in the garage. So 20 minutes after final practice on Carb Day, he was chatting to me about Perth. He was just so switched on. He wanted to meet me and get to know me, and I think there was a period there, as you said, where there was some interest. It never came to much, but there were some chats there, in particularly in late 2015 where they asked what my contractual situation was and I did have two years remaining on my Erebus contract. But I’d also been told to

look elsewhere because the team may not exist in 2016. I genuinely wasn’t being dodgy.

I wanted to be honourable with Erebus, I wanted to stay, but there was a big question mark over the future of that team. I said that to Penske because they asked me, and they were certainly very mindful and very respectful not to be stealing drivers or doing anything untoward. That’s one thing that does annoy me a bit because I became free and went to Tekno because I was told to look elsewhere, although I had a contract. It was one of those misunderstandings where the outcome could have been so different. But it didn’t come to anything with Penske when I genuinely did become available.

Tekno didn’t turn out too badly in the big scheme of things. You won Bathurst with them, although it was overshadowed by controversy. Did all the fuss take some of the elation out of the win?

The elation of crossing the line, no. I genuinely forgot Jamie existed with six laps to go because rules are rules. He was out of the race (although still leading on the road, subject to a time penalty). On the restart, I wasn’t racing Jamie. I purposely left a gap to him so I didn’t get propped up on him and create an opportunity for Shane (van Gisbergen).

Someone came up to me afterwards and said “How did it feel to win when you didn’t lead a lap?” I just remember it took my breath away.

But, yeah, the whole thing did leave a pretty sour taste in my mouth and it still does. There are hundreds and hundreds of races where incidents happen, drive-through penalties rightly or wrongly happen, but you forget about them when they’re not in those controversial

PEDAL DOWN. PERFORMANCE UP. Davison has found success at each team he has driven for. Here he shares the 2009 Bathurst 1000 spoils with HRT co-driver Garth Tander.

circumstances. No one remembers. So it did suck a bit that it was left to be able to be debated like that. It is what it is. The umpire made the decision.

There was no reason for you to fight with Jamie, was there?

Absolutely not. I actually forgot he was there, which sounds silly, but I was so fixated on what was going on behind me and then not getting propped up behind him. I remember thinking, “Do not allow Jamie to back me up at Turn 1 (at the restart), so all of a sudden I have to prop and then Shane gets a run on me. Whatever you do, leave a gap to Jamie.” I was thinking I had to use Jamie for a bit of a slipstream.

Rules are rules – and I won’t comment on any of that – and the decision was made, so I didn’t race him. They couldn’t give him the win back because I didn’t try to race him from the restart. That was the fact of the matter. It’s a bit annoying still to this day.

I’m glad we got to celebrate on the podium and experienced the elation of pulling up in Victory Lane and celebrating with Jono (co-driver and team owner Jonathon Webb) and the team. All that will never be taken away from us. But to this day, yep, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t just a little tinge there that it was a bit tainted.

How hard did you have to work to stay ahead of SVG? Were you right on the edge fuel-wise?

Oh, my god, I still get animated about it. It’s such a long day, we’re a little team and eventually I find myself in a podium spot, and I’m thinking this is a great day for us. Next thing you’re leading at the restart and you know the enormity of the moment.

You know Shane’s fast and, as a driver, you quickly get references as to whether you’re going to be able to hold on or not. I could see where I could gap him and I thought to myself, “I think I’m safe here.” I got a bit of a gap and then it was screaming on the radio: “Save fuel!” That was the last thing I wanted to do – I just wanted to go. Then it was just screaming, screaming, screaming. I couldn’t believe I was in that situation. This is cool, this is what everyone wants to see, a nail-biter last laps finish, and here I am, I’m in one and I’m trying not to use fuel in the safe sports across the mountain, rolling out of the gas through The Dipper. I did that once and it gave him a run on me. I thought I’d go 70 per cent on the throttle out of The Dipper – anywhere I could save fuel – and I nearly threw it away then when it gave Shane a sniff and we

www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

had contact. And then there was a yellow flag th end. I’d got the fuel light at Skyline on at the the second-last lap, so I knew I was down to the reserve. I knew it was incredibly tight and on the last lap there was a yellow flag down T Chase. I’d got a gap on him and then at The w just all kinds of wrong, knowing that, it was as my engineer is screaming at me that I’m going to run out, rolling out of the gas Conro Straight knowing that he couldn’t pass down Conrod C me at The Chase, so I’m letting him come up to me because I’m thinking I can save another half a litre here. So I propped him at The Chase and literally got a car length and a half as I came under the bridge, and I was thinking, “Oh, my gosh, I’ve got it – he can’t dive me at the last corner.” And as I pulled fourth gear down to the last corner, it coughed on fuel. Then I braked, turned in, accelerated and I’m like, “Please go!” and then it went. But it was fluttering all the way across the finish line. It nearly gave me a heart attack.

It took me an hour to actually get my emotions in check because of the anxiety of it all. It was quite an incredible finish to the race. It was very memorable, just a great day, but it was a bit annoying to have that other stuff taint it a little bit.

You said you think you have a championship in you, but winning another Bathurst 1000 is more likely. You must like your chances with Alex this year.

I do. Of course, I’d love to win a championship. I do my best to put a campaign together and that’s what I’ve always done, and I’m trying to do the same this year. So I figure, given the right circumstances, you never know what’s possible. But I’m not thinking too far ahead. I’m looking at my racing for what it is at the moment. I love going racing and I really, really want to do well for myself, and Phil and the team in particular, and when you talk Bathurst, that epitomises what our sport is. But I’m just thinking race-at-a-time at the moment. I want to get another win, let alone Bathurst, but I really still have an incredible hunger for doing that with my brother Alex, realising that this is our best opportunity. This is the fourth time we’ve driven together in the enduros and, hands down, this is our best shot to do something good together. We have a real shot this year and it’s really motivating for me. I’m a real family guy – love my family, love my brother – and I really want to do well with him. Give him a good car, which he’s going to have, to show his stuff and get that podium with him. We want to get that top step. I often think about and dream about that moment, if somehow I could be standing on that top step with my brother. I can’t even fathom what that would mean to me – and Phil.

I know Bathurst is everything to him. He and Brock were very close friends and that’s all he talks about.

That trophy is what this whole sport’s about for him.

It’s pretty cool that our little team, in some regards, is based around getting that Peter Brock Trophy. That’s what Phil’s here for.

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

K&N has a long history in most international motorsport categories. K&N products are designed to excel in the demanding conditions of racing and give you the performance advantage that you are looking for.

Help give you engine more performance ƫɵ ǣȇɀɎƏǼǼǣȇǕ kۭz Əǣȸ ƏȇƳ ȒǣǼ ˡ ǼɎƺȸɀ ǣȇ your race car or road car today!

KNFILTERS .COM

AutoAction

23

SUPER ROO REMEMBERING THE GREATEST AUSSIE MUSCLE CAR EVER

Celebrating the Golden Anniversary of the car that created the legend, MARK FOGARTY recounts the road and race history of the first Falcon GT-HO OF ALL the homologation specials produced for racing, the Ford Falcon GT-HO reigns supreme. No classic Aussie muscle car is more storied or valuable.

The GT-HO bowed around this time 50 years ago and became a road and racing classic.

The original XW Falcon GT-HO wasn’t greatest of the breed, but it was the first true homologation variant produced specifically to win at Bathurst.

More power and better handling underpinned the original GT-HO. The HO appellation originally stood for High Output, but in an early outbreak of political correctness, it was changed to Handling Option at launch.

The 1969 Bathurst 500 was a seminal event. The first televised nationally from go

Bathurst ’69 started well but then turned into chaos at the top of the mountain when Bill Brown rolled his GT-HO, partially blocking the track. Most of the leading contenders were ahead of the carnage, while a delayed Moffat sneaked through the debris.

24 AutoAction

to whoa, and the real beginning of the Ford versus Holden homologation war – as well as the beginning of the Brock vs Moffat era.

The GT-HO ‘Phase 1’ was a racingoriented limited edition of the 351 Windsor V8-powered third-generation Falcon GT. A failure initially at Mount Panorama, it was the foundation for the subsequent Phase 2 and 3 Bathurst winners.

While the 1971 XY Phase 3 is the most iconic, the HO legend was established by the ’69 XW model, developed by then Ford Australia racing boss, American Al Turner.

Fifty years later, the HOs remain the most famous Falcons ever.

The first GT-HO was a relatively mild update of the XW GT, centred on Repco F1inspired internal improvements to the classic 351 cubic-inch (5.8 litres) Windsor V8.

But it was fast and, had it not been for a Goodyear racing tyre snafu, Allan Moffat would have romped the ’69 Hardie Ferodo 500 in his factory HO. Updated with a Cleveland 351 – a change that development driver Fred Gibson claims was a backward step in terms of driveabilty, if not performance – Moffat swept Bathurst in ’70/71 in his factory backed HOs. The development of the HO was a snapshot of the homologation wars in the late 1960s and early ’70s.

Produce 500 variants (reduced to 200 in 1970) and you were in. Holden’s Monaro 350 qualified, as did the Falcon GT-HO. The HO had more power – officially 300bhp, but that was conservative – better suspension and a Trans-Am Mustang-style

front spoiler. The Mustang rear boot wing didn’t happen until the ’71 Phase 3.

In its day, the XW GT-HO was reputedly the fastest four-door sedan in the world, capable of 225km/h (140mph).

The original dealer bulletin to Ford dealers undersold the GT-HO’s potential.

“The Falcon GT-HO model in basic concept improves handling characteristics over the Falcon GT and thus ensures better performance on the tight racetracks in Australia,” future Ford Australia boss David Morgan wrote.

Back then, Morgan was Broadmeadows’ Vehicle Marketing Manager.

The GT-HO was initially a failure at Bathurst, but dominated in 1970/71 with Moffat, who was the main development driver.

Allan Moffat and John French won on the GT-HO’s debut at Sandown, where some of the top-secret development testing took place.

Images: AA Archives/autopics.com.au/Ford Australia/Ford GT-HO Lot 6 Foundation

Ford stuck with the big-cube V8 approach, while hil H Holden ld switched it h d to t the th nimble i bl Torana XU-1 and Chrysler developed the six-pack Charger E38.

Over the years, XW and XY Falcon GT-HOs became prized collector cars, now worth up to $1 million for a mint Phase 3.

The HO is still regarded as the ultimate Aussie homologation special.

In racing, apart from the ’69 Bathurst debacle, it dominated series production racing until 1971. When the rules changed for ’73, a modified version won the ATCC title with Moffat.

A Super Falcon version for Improved Touring to take on Norm Beechey’s 1970 ATCC-winning ‘Trans Aus’ Monaro was an abject failure.

The series production GT-HO was developed by the super-secret Special Vehicles Operation division of Ford Australia at the famous Lot 6 industrial unit.

Masterminded by American import Al Turner, the GT-HO was part of the Blue Oval’s local rejuvenation as a youth brand, with performance models and racing successes adding lustre to the image.

HOs dominated production car racing

in the early ’70s before Ford withdrew at th the end d off 1973 1973. Th The four-door f d Falcon F l road racers remain the most famous – and valuable – Aussie muscle cars.

In racing, GT-HOs won at Bathurst and other series such as the South Pacific Touring Car Championship, plus the then high-profile Toby Lee series at Oran Park.

The development of the GT-HO is explained by ‘Big Al’ Turner, Fred Gibson and Moffat in our comprehensive look-back over the following pages.

The three versions of the Falcon GT-HO were arguably the greatest Australian homologation specials ever.

Until the 1972 ‘Supercars’ media scare, an even more potent XA version was being developed.

As a result, the Phase 4 GT-HO was cancelled mid-stream, with elements of it covertly incorporated in the 1973 RPO83 Falcon GT Hardtop – dubbed the Superbird – for Bathurst.

Moffat and Ian Geoghegan won in ’73 in their two-door XB Falcon GT hardtop, which owed much under the skin to the XA GT-HO Phase 4.

The demise of the GT-HO in ’72 left a void

AutoAction

25

that has never been filled. Discontinued in 1976, the Falcon GT made a comeback in 1992 and again in ’97 with Tickforddeveloped tributes, but neither was directly race-related.

Ford Performance Vehicles revived the GT badge in 2003, surviving until the FPV brand was killed in 2014. Again, the FPV GTs had no direct link to racing.

Fifty years ago, series production racing was big business. Australia’s then Big Three – Holden, Ford and Chrysler – used competition as a showcase.

The Ford Falcon GT-HO has remained the most notable and collectible muscle car from that era, tracing a direct lineage to today’s Mustang Supercars racer under the Ford Performance brand.

As well as Moffat, legends John Goss, John French and Fred Gibson made their names in GT-HOs. On August 8, 1969, David Morgan issued that confidential bulletin to dealers headed “Model Release of Falcon GT-HO”, outlining the changes over the GT: The content of the Falcon GT-HO model

varies from the base Falcon GT in these areas: • The attachment of a front spoiler to improve roadability at racetrack speeds. (This is similar to the spoiler fitted to the 302 BOSS Mustang).

• An anti-roll stabiliser bar.

• Larger capacity carburettor for modified intake manifold.

• Modified camshaft.

• Modified valve lifters and valve spring retainers.

• Modified driveshaft.

• Modified alternator.

The only identification of the Falcon GT-HO beyond the obvious spoiler on the front is a small badge placed on the interior glovebox door.

This model is only available with four-speed ur-speed floorshift manual transmission.

The full retail price of the Falcon GT-HO is $4495, an increase of $245 over the base Falcon GT. It is intended to release a technical data sheet on the GT-HO shortly.

Goodyear racing tyres were blamed for Ford’s ’69 Bathurst defeat, but the real issue was suspension fouling coupled with driving styles. Moffat had the touch and could’ve won if team hadn’t panicked.

Ford will be entering, as a team, three Falcon GT-HOs in both the Sandown 3 Hour and the Hardie Ferodo 500.

Technical data and pricing will be lodged with the organisers of these events concerning the Falcon GT-HO.

Ian Geoghegan was among the Ford factory drivers who suffered tyre failures.

MYTH BUSTER LONG BEFORE he became the infamous Nissan ‘Godzilla’ team boss, Fred Gibson was a Ford hero.

He won the 1967 Bathurst 500 with then Ford racing team chief Harry Firth in the first Falcon GT and was a Blue Oval bastion in the GT-HO and XA ‘Superbird’ era.

Under Al Turner and then Howard Marsden, ‘Gibbo’ was Ford’s racing representative in NSW, running cars out of his Road & Track tuning and preparation business in Sydney, as well as being one of the factory team drivers in the endurance races in works machines.

He was also deeply involved in development testing of the GT-HO, claiming to have put in many more laps at Calder and Sandown than Allan Moffat.

Still sharp and feisty at 78, Gibson praises Moffat’s under-rated driving skill, while judging him as over-rated as a development driver.

“They were lucky to have Allan,” Gibson said. “He was a brilliant driver and could drive around any problem. I wasn’t that good.

26 AutoAction

Therefore Therefore, dealers wishing to sponsor a vehicle in either event will only be required to lodge the entry application without supporting technical data.

Details of the GT-HO were released to the media on August 15, 1969.

Moffat and John French led home a GT-HO 1-2-3 at Sandown as the HDT Monaro 350s fell by the wayside.

Holden hit back at Bathurst, profiting from Ford’s tyre dramas. Colin Bond and Tony Roberts won in HDT’s lead Monaro.

The indignation of the Bathurst defeat galvanised Turner’s Ford Lot 6 crew to develop the GT-HO Phase 2, in which Moffat won the 1970 Bathurst 500.

He made it back-to-back Bathursts in the XY Phase 3 in ’71, when the Mount Panorama classic was extended to 1000km.

Turner sowed the seeds of the iconic Phase 3 before departing for a bigger Ford assignment in Asia. Howard Marsden rejoined Ford and shepherded the Phase 3 into being, as well as developing the stillborn Phase 4.

Brock won in the wet in his nimble and light-footed 202-powered LJ Torana XU-1 in ’72, with Moffat rebounding to win a year later in the

Ford legend Fred Gibson debunks some of the stories about the GT-HO

“But he wasn’t a technical driver. Didn’t have a clue about his car. I was more the guy who’d say ‘That’s a heap of shit, this needs changing and that needs changing.’

“Allan was used a lot, but he didn’t like testing. He just wanted to race. And not being a technical person, a lot of his feedback wasn’t very good. That’s why Allan and I got on so well. He accepted what I said as the way to go.

“He didn’t want to test, I liked testing.”

This flies in the face of the perception that Moffat was a grinder, arriving at tracks early in the week preceding a meeting to hone himself and his car with days of test laps.

But Gibson and Moffat remain close friends and his perspective is an informed counterpoint from those early days.

Gibson also clashed with Al Turner and the Lot 6 cadre over his robust assessments of the GT-HO ‘Phase 1’, development of which began in late 1968.

“That’s where I was strong, and Lot 6 hated me for that because they’d do a car with new

sway bars and this and that, and I’d tell them I couldn’t feel any difference,” he recalled.

“I remember one time testing at Sandown and telling Al that the brakes were packing up. His response was, ‘You just drive the f***ing car and I f***ing tell you what to do.’

“Two laps later I ended up off the track at the end of the main straight because the brakes had failed.”

Gibson revealed there was friction between he and Turner.

“He was just a typical American and his big gig was in drag racing in the States,” he said.

“He came here and was going to set the world on fire in touring car racing in Australia.

“He and I clashed a lot. He didn’t understand production car racing here. As far as he was concerned, the bigger the engine, the better it was going to go. Luckily, John Gowland was there to steady him down.”

Gowland was Ford Australia’s internal competitions manager, who Gibson regards as the behind-the-scenes unsung – and rarely credited – hero behind the GT-HO project in the early days.

Early testing of the HO revealed fundamental handling and braking flaws.

Never-before-seen proof sheets of photos taken at testing at Sandown, found in the Ford Australia archives, show the GT-HO prototype lapping very untidily.

Sadly, the negatives of those shots have been lost, so quality high-resolution images are no longer available.

According to Gibson, the 1969 Bathurst 500

John Goss was one of the many dealer-assisted privateers in GT-HOs. He and Denis Cribbin failed to finish in their McLeod Ford entry.

Confidential dealer bulletin (right) ght) outlin outlined ned the mechanical and cosmetic changes over the standard sta XW Falcon GT.

debacle blamed on the GT-HO’s Goodyear racing tyres wasn’t actually the rubber’s fault.

While it is true that Moffat’s precise driving style was kinder on the tyres, Gibson revealed the failures were caused by a more fundamental fault.

“Goodyear made the best tyre for that car’s small wheel size, but even before Bathurst that year we were blowing tyres,” he said. “Bo Seton (his co-driver) and I told Al Turner that the tyres were rubbing on the front ball joints. “‘Don’t you worry about the f***ers, they’ll be all right,’ Al said. So what happened to Bo in the race? Blew a tyre. It wasn’t Goodyear’s tyre problem; it was our problem because the thing was hitting the suspension and wearing out the inside tyre wall at the front.

“The tyre Goodyear made for us was a super tyre. So the tyres were good, but we didn’t do a very good job.

www.autoaction.com.au

“I drove the wheels off the car. Allan was very, very smooth with the car. He was very easy on the car.”

Gibson rates the Windsor-engined Phase 1 GT-HO as the most driveable and easiest to maintain of the three versions.

“The Windsor 351 HO was a great car,” he said. “For the horsepower it had, the wheel size it had, the tyre it could run, it was a really good car. We won lots of races.

“The Phase 1 was the best GT-HO package-wise. Everything was about at the limit. When they went to the Cleveland engine, all of a sudden there was more horsepower and that destroyed the balance.

“The Windsor HO was the best HO they built. It was bulletproof. You’d change the oil and the oil filter for each race weekend and then put it back in the garage until the next race weekend. You’d go through the whole season like that. The Windsor HO would go all year without hardly touching it.

“But the Clevelands, absolute dogs. They

AutoActionMagazine

Auto_Action

tried to do too much with it. The Phase 3 was like a race car.”

Again, Gibson’s view goes against the grain of perceived wisdom and in contradiction of the success of the Phase 2 and 3 at Bathurst, but he was both behind the wheel and preparing all three iterations.

His main gripe with the Cleveland 351 was that its power and torque delivery were “peaky” compared with the grunty, lazy Windsor version.

Gibson stayed with the Ford factory team until Broadmeadows’ sudden withdrawal under arch-politician Howard Marsden at the end of 1973.

“The whole evolution of the GT-HOs and the GT Hardtops was just an amazing story,” he smiles.

Gibbo joined Marsden at Nissan Australia in the 1980s and later took over the running of Nissan Motorsport, culminating in the domination of Godzilla – the four-wheel-drive R32 Skyline GT-R – in ‘91/92.

MF

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

AutoAction

27

GT-HOs dominated the Sandown Three Hour on debut, finishing 1-2-3, as lone HDT Monaro GTS 350 suffered catastrophic brake failures.

new Falcon Hardtop alongside Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan.

The Falcon GT-HO remains the most iconic Aussie muscle car in a pantheon of race-bred classics.

It was a locally made V8 four-door sedan that was the car to beat at Mount Panorama from 1969-71.

Following the Moffat/Geoghegan win in the XA Falcon GT Hardtop

‘Superbird’ in ’73, John Goss and Kevin Bartlett extended the Blue Oval’s supremacy in 1974 in their privateer XA GT Hardtop.

Three years later, Moffat led his famous XC Hardtop 1-2 rout.

The last factory-produced Falcon Bathurst special was the 1978 XC Cobra Hardtop, which was obliterated by the Holden LX Torana SS A9X.

MOFFAT MAGIC NO DRIVER is more synonymous with the GT-HO than Canadian-born Allan Moffat, whose return to Australia with his famed Mustang Boss 302 coincided with the development of the fastest Falcon yet.

Moffat was quickly drafted by Al Turner to lead final development and headline the all-star cast of drivers for the Sandown Three Hour and Bathurst 1000.

Ford Australia’s assault on the big production car races was unparalleled. Huge budget, full-on homologation special road car variant and racing tyres.

In his 2017 autobiography, Climbing The Mountain, Moffat described, graphically, the development and Bathurst embarrassment of the original GT-HO. “I went to Ford to seek help for my Mustang, only to find they were already waiting for me to assist them with their domestic racing program,” Moffat wrote. “My reputation both as a test driver and as a long-distance racer had preceded me.

“What they wanted was my testing expertise. Racecraft was secondary. If I’d spent the best part of a year tooling around the Dearborn Proving Ground under some of the best engineers in their business, then they wanted me for this project.

“Holden was expecting Ford to arrive at Bathurst with a new Falcon GT. They, after all, were going to field the new 350 cubicinch (5.7-litre) Monaro, the first one built by Harry Firth.

“What they didn’t know was that Ford was building, under the strictest of security, a Falcon purpose-built for racing. The HO was the benchmark.

“Whatever Ford did in development, it wanted it kept under wraps. There was no point in going to a racetrack where spying eyes could catch you out. The You Yangs test track had

28 AutoAction

Approaching the 50th anniversary of the GT-HO at Bathurst, Ford is favourite to win with Supercars champion elect Scott McLaughlin in a Mustang.

Five decades ago, Mustangs were the cars to beat in the then preeminent Improved Touring category.

GT-HOs have been road and racing icons since 1969, with the legend

living on to his day.

The development of the GT-HO was a high-tech exercise involving ex-F1 Repco-Brabham engineers.

They came up with the GT-HO’s internal mechanical bits that worked so well in ’70/71 – and beyond.

An original GT-HO now is a treasured machine. But 50 years ago, it was just a car that could win.

How ‘Marvin The Magnificent’ honed the HO

a high wire fence around it, armed guards and dogs.

Seriously.”

In fact, a lot of testing was done at Sandown and Calder in addition to the You Yangs proving ground.

Moffat maintained that he thrived on testing, in contradiction of Gibson’s assertion.

“Repetitive testing is part of my DNA. Al Turner determined that the other drivers in the loosely formed Ford team – Fred Gibson, John French, Bo Seton and Pete Geoghegan – didn’t have the same qualifications to turn the miles. Call it dogged determination or lack of imagination, it’s just something that I do and that throughout my career I have insisted on doing.

“You can only improve if you’ve got the miles under your wheels.”

Moffat also explained how the signature front spoiler (air dam) of the ‘Phase 1’ GT-HO came about, designed to “to keep the front end grounded and to mask cooling air from the brakes.

In race trim, the HOs needed to have their brake pads at a constantly high temperature.”

He added: “Al Turner was a big fan of the front spoiler. Back in his drag car days, he’d defied Lincoln-Mercury aerodynamicists who swore putting a mask on the front of the car would simply increase frontal area with no direct benefit. Al argued that they were being theoretical, that a race car was an imperfect object and not subject to direct logic.

“In fact, his very first spoiler on a Funny Car shaped an entire industry, increasing downforce and top-speed stability with no reduction in speed. Because the car was more manageable, it could be pushed harder.”

Moffat’s memory of the ’69 GT-HO was that it was “a good M car, ca but handicapped by narrow wheel rims, so getting the power down was challenging, and by brakes that for repetitive re activity didn’t match the car’s speed potential.”

He H continued: “But the 351 Windsor V8, with a bigger fourbarrel ba carburettor and engine modifications to match, didn’t have ha to be revved beyond 5500rpm and you let the torque do most of the work.

“I had a natural touch with the production car, light on the b brakes – squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, not stamp, stamp, s stamp – and the same with the throttle. I could maximise s speed out of the car without shredding tyres or burning b brakes.”

Moffat and French led a GT-HO 1-2-3 at Sandown

an looked set and to dominate at Ba Bathurst, where Mo was paired Moffat with Alan Hamilton.

Bu it all went But wro Moffat wrong, notii sardonically: noting “The “Then we went to Bath Bathurst and were defla deflated. It was a truly embarrassing, frustrating and unnecessary situation.”

Long story short, despite the speed advantage of Goodyear racing tyres instead of the road radials used in the past, the GTHOs chewed their rubber left, right and centre – except Moffat and Hamilton.

“Pretty soon we realised that if you drove the tyres too hard, they would make contact with the top ball joint of the suspension wishbone and the outcome could only be catastrophic,” Moffat revealed. “There was a preservation mode you had to adopt to get any reasonable mileage out of the tyres. I was on top of it.

“Al Turner had made the decision to be the executive director of our race effort and he had installed John Gowland as crew chief. They both put me on safety watch while they debated what to do with me.

“They’d pulled me unnecessarily to the pits for fresh rubber, only to discover heaps of meat on the tyres they removed. They just didn’t trust that I could manage the situation.”

Moffat finished fourth, which he described as “galling”.

He added: “It was my first-ever Bathurst and I should have won it. It’s frustrating when I look at the results. It was Peter Brock’s first Bathurst too; the start of our rivalry and he came third.”

In his book, Moffat also notes how unhappy he was with Ford’s post-race newspaper advertisement, which threw Goodyear under the bus, undermining his long and fruitful relationship with the American tyre-maker. “‘We were deflated’, it screamed, and cast the blame on Goodyear,” he wrote. “It was poor form and caused me a lot of embarrassment.”

Moffat and Ford rebounded from the ’69 Bathurst debacle, winning the following year with the Phase 2 and again in ’71 with the ultimate Phase 3.

First published in Auto Action #1411 (October 6, 2010)

WE REVISIT THE DEFINING INTERVIEW WITH THE FATHER OF THE GT-HO, ‘BIG AL’ TURNER, FROM THE PAGES OF AA NINE YEARS AGO. IT REMAINS THE DEFINITIVE DISCUSSION ON HOW THE HO HAPPENED HALF A CENTURY ago, Australian race fans and performance car enthusiasts were enjoying a golden era. The ‘Supercar’ controversy had yet to erupt and the brutish Bathurst homologation specials that would become legends were heading towards their peak.

In 1970, Ford raised the bar with the faster Phase II version of the GT-HO and Holden swapped the Monaro 350 for the nimble LC Torana XU-1. Chrysler tested the series production racing waters with the Valiant Pacer, which laid the groundwork for the screaming six-cylinder Hemi Charger.

The Falcon GT-HO was the daddy of Australian muscle cars, and the three iterations of the hairiest-chested sedan – or four if you count the stillborn Phase IV of 1972 – are revered road and race cars.

The father of the GT-HO was American Al Turner, who had been dispatched from the performance car and racing division of Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury division in 1968 to bring Detroit muscle to the Falcon in Australia.

Turner’s main mission was to develop a built-for-Bathurst version of the upcoming ’69 XW Falcon GT, which became the Phase I GT-HO. However, his Ford factory team’s first HO attack on Mount Panorama was a debacle, undermined by the famous failure of their trick Goodyear racing tyres.

30 AutoAction

Although, as we shall soon learn, the rubber wasn’t really at fault, the embarrassing defeat gave rise to one of the most memorable face-saving ads – the line “We were a little deflated” beneath a photo of a pile of shredded tyres.

Turner and Allan Moffat exacted their revenge in the 1970 Bathurst 500 with a dominant win by the Phase II GT-HO, which replaced the Windsor 351 V8 engine with the stronger Cleveland version.

While Turner had moved on to other projects within Ford before the ultimate HO, the Phase III, debuted in ’71, he was responsible for the model’s signature ‘shaker’ bonnet scoop.

Turner and his team worked out of a nondescript factory in Campbellfield called Lot 6, creating iconic machines.

Turner led a varied career at Ford and then Chrysler before retiring in 1996.

In 2010, ahead of the 40th anniversary of the first Bathurst victory for both Moffat and the GT-HO, Turner visited Australia to celebrate the milestone and lay the groundwork for the GT-HO Lot 6 Foundation, an organisation designed to fund a motorsport engineering course, as well as benefit ageing Lot 6 survivors (see ‘Skunkworks’ story on P34-35 for the latest developments).

At 78, Turner was still a big man whose energy hadn’t been diminished with age. During his visit, he recounted the birth of the GT-HO and the victory that consolidated its legendary status.

We’re coming up to the 40th anniversary of Allan Moffat’s and the Falcon GT-HO’s first victory at Bathurst in 1970, but the story actually goes back a little further than that, doesn’t it?

I came to Ford Australia in 1968. At that time Semon E ‘Bunkie’ Knudsen was the president of Ford Motor Company, and Bunkie had come out here and went through everything with (Ford Australia boss) Bill Bourke.

Bunkie saw what they were doing product-wise, saw what the market was and where Ford Australia was going, and he decided that Ford Australia was really maybe a year or two behind where the muscle car market was in the US. He wanted to set up a youth and performance program, and he wanted somebody with a background in product planning and racing to set up a program to do the complete performance thing.

So, effectively, I was presented to Bill Bourke and we were told to get on with it. We had the meeting and Bourke asked me to do a paper on what I proposed to do. I did that paper, which I still have, and everything else is history. I came here in the last month of ’68 and I had till August ’69 to get the car (GT-HO) built and into production.

Were you a willing appointee? Back in those days, Australia must have seemed like the end of the earth. You didn’t feel like you were being ‘sent to Coventry’, as they say?

No, no. I really thought that it was a big opportunity for me. It was a big promotion for me, an opportunity to prove what I could do, and I was more than happy to come here.

When I came out, one of the first people that I came in contact with was Allan Moffat. I already knew Allan because he’d done testing for Kar Kraft [which built the factory Ford racecars in the US] and I had a lot of friends there that I had worked

with in research. I came from a research background and I had worked with these people who were all the designers for the GT40. Allan was testing the Trans-Am Mustang and everything else, and they gave me a thumbs up on him and said he had really good car control, he was easy on the car, very good at feedback and all the rest of it. So I selected Allan as the first driver, and when I went in to Keith Horner, who was the general manager at that time, he said, “Can’t you find a goddamn Australian?” I told him, “Well, with me, it’s better the dog I know than the dog I don’t”. So that’s how I hired Allan.

The other guy that had a great influence on what we did was Jack Brabham. I had done some work with a lot of the guys that were involved in the Ford Indycar engine program and I had met Jack before. When I talked to Jack, he said, “Well, we’re closing down Repco-Brabham. You ought to talk to [engine design guru] Phil Irving. They’re going to let a bunch of guys go that are very talented, that you could use: chassis, body, engineering, engine, etc.” So I hired the nucleus of the people that came from Repco-Brabham to form my organisation. It wasn’t just a slipshod bunch of mechanics that we pulled together from out of the factory or anything, they were all talented people, and then we selected some people that were working at Ford who had an interest in racing. That formulated the team that ended up being the Lot 6 group, and my working relationship with them and the people within Ford Australia was great. I couldn’t have been happier. A great bunch of people to work with.

The Australian people were fabulous to me and I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Australian thing, and every time I’ve ever come back here, all but one or two of the guys who are either dead or out of the country get together for dinner. The camaraderie within the group has endured for a long, long time.

The then new XW program was obviously well advanced…

It was. I was shown the new Falcon GT with the 351 cubic-inch Windsor V8 and told to get as much out of it as quick as possible. So, obviously, the front spoiler was the first thing to go on, and then we decided to change the carburettor, camshaft and a few other engine details. That’s all I could get in, plus sway [antiroll] bars and a couple other things. It was a big crunch. We were putting on the parts in the plant before we had the written authority to do them. I mean, that’s how quick it went.

What are the main things that distinguish a Phase I HO from the normal XW GT? It would be the carburettors (650cfm Holley), milder camshaft with slightly higher lift, the suspension, the spoiler and, of course, the 36-gallon fuel tank, which I have to give Harry Firth [Turner’s predecessor]. I didn’t get as much on the Phase I as I wanted.

Now, it’s folklore that HO originally stood for High Output, but was changed to Handling Option for what we’d now call political correctness. Is that true?

Well, it was a performance option, and high output is what it was. But we had a press thing and they were interviewing me, and it was becoming sensitive in terms of safety, so, being quick on my feet, I said HO was handling option. It stuck.

Ironically, the handling modifications were minimal.

Yeah, it was a stiffer sway bar at the front and we added one at the rear, and we modified the springs slightly.

Road-going XW Falcon GT-HO was an out-and-out homologation special. This is the original test mule.

You couldn’t have imagined then that you were creating a legend.

I didn’t have a clue. I was just trying to scramble to stay alive, actually. But the Phase II was the engine I wanted at the time because we could get more horsepower out of it. It was the Cleveland 351, and then we went to the bigger carburettors (750cfm). It was basically a Phase I with another engine with a bigger carburettor, and that was about it.

But when we hit the Phase III, everything changed. We went for the exhaust headers and we had inch-and-an-eighth exhaust pipes all the way back into one collector, and it gained us, well, it was 30 horsepower better than what they went into production with, which is another story altogether. Then we did a Watts link for the back end but the engineering department said that was a safety risk to the fuel tank because of its close proximity, so we didn’t get that. But I had a prototype already built of that car, which was my personal car, and it had in it a completely race-ready engine and all the things necessary to make it work.

Lot 6, Mahoneys Road has become a legend and part of Aussie muscle folklore on its own. I have visions of it being some sort of skunkworks.

Well, it was, actually. It was quite a way from the main factory and nobody got in there without authorisation. In fact, managing director Brian Inglis came there to visit. A guy there told him, “I can’t let you in unless Al Turner says so.” He wasn’t going to let him in and one of our senior people had to come out and vouch for him! Nobody got in there without the proper approval. By the standards of the day, it was a high-security facility.

It was called Special Vehicles Operation (SVO), wasn’t it?

It was done for the precise reason that nobody in the company knew what was happening.

That way, the press never really knew what we were doing until we had done it.

There’s been a lot of conjecture over the years about the power output of the HOs. At launch, the Phase I was quoted as 300 horsepower. Your view?

It was higher. I know in race trim the Phase I HO was just teetering on 400. The road-going Phase Is had around 330-340 horsepower.

So it definitely had more power than Broadmeadows was admitting to?

Yeah. But that was after a lot of detailing and blueprinting of the engine and making all the cylinders the same. When we blueprinted it, we matched everything. I mean, it was really a detailed job.

I’m jumping ahead here, but when we ran at Bathurst with the Phase III, Brian Inglis was concerned that the dealers were having trouble competing with the factory team and their engines were having problems. We did what we called an R engine, and we’d build them at Geelong and we’d put them into the cars that the dealers were going to take to Bathurst.

We sold those engines to the dealers. Brian called me and he said, “Al, I’ve got a dealer on the phone and he is outraged. He bought an R engine and he said the pistons were in backwards. Is that possible?” I said, “Brian, tell him to put the damn thing back together and leave it.” What happened is that we used stock pistons, but we put them in backwards because every piston has what you call a scrub

“I SELECTED ALLAN MOFFAT AS THE FIRST DRIVER AND [FORD] SAID, ‘CAN’T YOU FIND A GODDAMN AUSTRALIAN?’”

radius on it and that scrub radius is friction, and it also ruins your power stroke. As we moved it around, you increased your power stroke; at the same time, you take away the friction. We gained seven horsepower just by turning the pistons around. There were a lot of little things like that. We had two valves released; one valve was 30 thou smaller than the other one.

We cut the valve size down because the bigger valves were shrouded in the head and wouldn’t flow, so the 30 thou valve gave us more flow.

The story of 1970 actually has its genesis in ’69. Now, there’s a lot of mythology about the ’69 Bathurst 500. There was the famous ad run the next day – “We were a little deflated”, with a pile of wrecked Goodyear race tyres. What’s the real story? Why did it turn from an almost certain win into a debacle?

Well, I think the word is panic on behalf of a couple of people that worked with me, and I went along with them and I shouldn’t have.

What happened is that Allan did all the testing for us on those tyres, and Allan’s driving style was very, very easy on the car. What we had done when we got to Bathurst, we did all of our practice laps and we collated the wear versus the number of laps and the miles that we had accumulated before, and he was spot on about the wear that we had been experiencing with the tyres.

I screwed up and pulled Allan in. The other guys had a different driving style that I wasn’t familiar with. The car was really an oversteer car, and they were basically trying to pitch the car out and slide it around. That was Ian Geoghegan’s style, that was Fred Gibson’s style. In fact, Gibbo told me he tried following Allan down the Mountain and he tried to take the same line, but he couldn’t keep up with him.

One of the things we put in the first cars was the Detroit Locker diff. Allan was fully familiar with using it in the States and it was called an on/off diff. There was no in-between; it was either on or off. So, what Allan was doing was modulating the throttle and allowing the locker to come in, and then he would hit the throttle and the tyres wouldn’t spin like it did on the other cars.

But that was the key: it was the fact that Allan was so much easier on the tyres. All we had to do was just leave him out there, let him run.

Do the arithmetic: he finished one lap behind.

How many minutes does it take to go round there? We had a four-minute and something pit stop. It takes two-something to go around.

He finished fourth, but we would’ve won if I’d left him out there to the finish.

AutoAction

31

You’re saying the Goodyear race tyres weren’t a gamble?

It was not a gamble. We had done over 1000 miles’ testing on a prototype at Sandown and other tracks with Allan driving with those tyres, and I felt very comfortable with it. But I didn’t know that the other drivers would drive them more aggressively. There were variables that happened during the course of the race, and the guys came to me and said they wanted to pull Allan in and make sure, and a doubt came into my mind. I didn’t want to be the guy that didn’t call him in and God forbid something would have happened and Allan got hurt or killed or whatever. You just don’t want to live with that. So we called him in and, like I said before, I could have told you that we called him in for safety reasons, but it was a bit of both. We were concerned about the situation and so we brought him in, and the rest is history.

What about that famous advertisement with the pile of destroyed tyres? Who’s idea was that?

I was also in the marketing group at the time and we came up with that. But it was true; it’s what happened, we were deflated. I mean, it was a clever stroke, and when they showed it to me, I said, “Why not?”

Deflecting the blame onto the tyres…

Well, no, it really was the circumstances, what happened. They blew out the tyres, we were a bit confused, we were deflated. I mean, what else can you say? I was deflated. I was riding high when we went in and we were leading comfortably and doing everything that we wanted to do. Then all of a sudden Gibbo went first and then another one went, and when he had a failure going down the mountain, that’s not a nice thing.

It sounds like you had, if not an unlimited budget, then a pretty big budget for the day, because the team was very well equipped and you had an all-star team of drivers. Were you spending big money back then?

No. I was always very tight with money and we did not have a lot of money. In fact, I wanted to put in dynamometer facilities; I wanted to put in state-of-the-art stuff so we

32 AutoAction

could do airflow and everything else at that facility, but we had to rent those facilities, so there was no unlimited budget.

The shop wasn’t the best in the world, either.

We had two four-post lifts. But it came back down to quality of people, the commitment to what we were doing, and I believe that’s what the success was about. My people were damn good value for money.

The Repco-Brabham people we brought over, they brought a lot to us.

So, revenge in 1970. Talk about your memories of that win.

My memory of it is nothing more than we just did the job. We had worked with HardieFerodo fiercely during that period when we first started doing the cars, and we had developed brake pads that could run the whole race, but the brake pad required a certain temperature to work. Ideally, we would’ve fitted brake ducts, but we couldn’t, so what I did was I went for a brake material that had high co-efficient at higher temperatures. In other words, when you get a hard pad, it feels like it doesn’t want to bite until you get heat into it. Well, that’s the way these brakes were. You’d take them out on a warm-up lap, they were not the best thing in the world you wanted, but when they warmed up they were very good. So we had good brakes. I was told that they had to stop and replace brake padsXxxxxx and that’s one of the x x xx Xxxxxx first things I attacked. We developed a brake x x xx Xxxxxx x x xx Xxxxxx x x xx

pad material for the race that would go the full distance, and we achieved that. When we took them off after the race, we could have used them for practice the rest of the year.

I guess Allan’s smooth driving that you talked about came into its own?

Oh, yeah, it came into its own. He just became a class unto himself with it. Gibbo’s a hell of a driver and so was Geoghegan, but the way Allan drove was faultless. He took care of brakes, he took care of the car, he took care of the transmission, he took care of everything.

He just had that finesse, and few drivers I’ve experienced over the years – and I’ve been with a lot of them – have that ability. Allan was a natural for driving those cars.

And a great development driver.

Oh, yes. He helped immensely on the development side. In fact, he liked the arrangement because he said he was like a call service. You’d pick up the phone, call him, he’d show up, put his overalls on, you’d tell him what we had done, and he’d go out and run the car and give us feedback. It wasn’t interfering with his Trans-Am Mustang program [in the ATCC] and he was getting paid to do it.

Were you helping him with the Mustang as well?

Oh, no. We didn’t help him with the Mustang at all. Anything [money] that he got from us

“IN RACE TRIM, THE PHASE I WAS JUST TEETERING ON 400 [HORSEPOWER]. THE ROAD-GOING PHASE I HAD AROUND 330”

was due to this program. It was due to the HO program.

The GT HO Phase III was your last performance project, wasn’t it?

It was on the road car side. In fact, I’d moved on within the company before the ’71 Bathurst race and Howard Marsden had taken over. But in the interim, what I didn’t tell you is that, while we were doing the Phase II, Keith Horner called me and he says, “Al, I want to get Moffat out of the Mustang and into a Falcon.”

Ah, yes, the infamous Super Falcon. It wasn’t a great program, was it?

It never really got off the ground for the reason that everybody thought that we had so much money, that we were spending so much money. But we didn’t have big money. It was an extra thing and we couldn’t get it out in time, and one of the things was that the slide-valve injectors that the guys from Repco-Brabham had designed didn’t work for me. We just did not have enough money to do it properly and do the engineering stuff, and also do the other programs that they had us doing [like a lowcost vehicle for the Philippines]. It was just that the shop got loaded up with so much stuff, we couldn’t do it properly. Moffat and Geoghegan ran them in ’71 and ’72, but then they changed the regs for the ATCC. Some of the stuff could be transferred into the Phase III, and Allan brought in a group of people from the States and they ironed all of it out. He used all the parts and stuff laying there for him. They just put it onto the Falcon and that’s how he won his first touring car championship in ’73.

You’re known as the father of the GT-HO and you’re a cult figure among muscle car enthusiasts out here. It must be great to have created a muscle car legend.

Yeah, it’s overwhelming, actually. I read the articles and I read what people have said and I see all the votes for best car ever made in Australia and all the rest of it in the magazines.

There are so many websites in Australia on GT-HO Falcons that I started wondering, why are they not capitalising on the marketing aspect of this to support the Lot 6 group?

You should be able to do it off the sales of memorabilia. So, Peter (Dietze, his son-in-law)

and I came up with the idea to do posters.

We did giant posters and had everybody sign them. All the drivers, everybody that has ever worked on the car or was responsible for product planning within Ford have all signed it, and I’ve signed it. There are very few things that are autographed by me in this country.

I also came up with the idea of establishing a foundation – the GT-HO Lot 6 Foundation – and the purpose of that foundation is to establish and work with a university that we will select at a given point. We’re still in the formation on this, to develop a school that will be equivalent to anything or higher than anything that they have in Europe now for training engineers and technicians for the motor sport industry. I’ve done my homework, I’ve talked to (Williams F1 co-founder) Patrick Head, I’ve talked to (engine designer) John Judd, and found out who and where they were getting their people. Then I went through the curriculum for each one of the universities, and I have in mind a program to do at one of the universities here that we will raise funds for scholarships and to help the university get that established. When they come out of there, the graduates will be able to work in Formula One, NASCAR or your V8 Supercars.

They’ll be able to work in motorsport anywhere in the world. When they’ve completed the course, they’ll have a doctorate in motorsports engineering. It’s the highest level and my plan is that I would get whatever Australian university we’re going to work with to get their engineers, their masters and doctors, to go look at what’s done overseas and figure out how we can do it cheaper, but just as well, in Australia.

I would have thought RMIT would be a logical candidate.

We’re talking to them and other people.

We’re planning a fundraiser for this foundation, which we’re in the throes of forming. We haven’t got all the legal documents through, but that’s the purpose that I came out here for a month. There are two other aims that we have other than the school. One is kids for cancer and homeless children, and also if any of the drivers and people from Lot 6 has health

AL TURNER is now 87 and shows no signs of slowing down. The Falcon GT-HO is his greatest achievement so far, but it may yet be surpassed by a revolutionary engine design.

Florida-based Turner has developed a new combustion process that he claims results in a staggering increase in efficiency.

He is working with McLaren Engineering in Detroit to perfect his concept, which, if it works, could transform conventional internal combustion engines and extend the use of reciprocating piston motors for decades.

Turner has designed a lightweight normally aspirated four-cylinder powerplant capable of high horsepower and torque at low mechanical stress while returning incredible economy and engine life.

When we spoke last week, Turner was just back from building the prototype in California, which is due to be tested in Detroit by the end of this month.

“I like the KISS theory (Keep It

www.autoaction.com.au

“WE USED STOCK PISTONS BUT WE PUT THEM IN BACKWARDS… WE GAINED SEVERAL HORSEPOWER [BY DOING THAT]”

Bathurst gets underway in 1971 with the Phase III GT-HOs leaving rivals in their wake. problems or fall into financial difficulties, it will go before a board of industry leaders.

They will then determine how the funds are disbursed.

How much funding are you talking about? How much do you need?

We hope to raise a couple of million dollars in the first year. We have a plan that I think is quite feasible.

Is Allan Moffat involved in this?

Yeah. In fact, Allan and I have recorded a video interview that we’re going to send out

Simple, Stupid) and I’ve designed a new combustion process – and it’s kinda out in space,” he said.

“We’re going to test it with McLaren here on Detroit in about a couple of weeks for proof of concept.”

The McLaren to which he is referring is not the UK-based combine famous for its F1 team and road-going supercars. But there is an historical link. McLaren Engineering was born out of McLaren Engines, set up by Bruce McLaren in 1969 to service his Can-Am and Indycar efforts. Now a division of Canadian automotive parts supplier Linamar Corporation, McLaren Engineering is a leading powertrain engineering and development service to the North American automotive industry.

According to Turner, his internationally patented engine design is a breakthrough.

“The combustion process is totally different,” he said.

“We will burn 99 per cent of the fuel. We only burn 38-40 per cent of the fuel in a normal engine today,

AutoActionMagazine

Auto_Action

to all the magazines, telling them basically what we’re talking about.

Are you still close to Allan?

Oh, yeah. I had lunch with him the other day. Allan and I have a great rapport. We’ve kept in regular contact over the years.

Getting back to the GT-HO, you must have told these stories hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the years to many people?

Some of the things I’ve told you have never been told.

maximum. So we’re going to burn that other 60 per cent.

“The whole bottom end of it is a 200,000-mile (322,000km) reciprocating piston engine. I’ve changed the combustion process.

There’s not a valve spring in the whole engine, there’s not a poppet valve in the whole engine; we’ve eliminated 168 parts.

“The cylinders don’t have head bolts, there are no gaskets, there’s none of that. What we do is we use this process they have now for laser-coating the cylinder walls.

It’s a combination of graphite and ceramics, and we do the whole combustion chamber the same way.

“We hope to get over 100mpg (2.35L/100km). We get five times more energy, the engine weighs just 125lb (56.7kg) and it’ll produce anywhere from 100 to 800 horsepower (74-596kW). We made the crankshaft so that it’ll take 1600ft/lb (2169Nm) of torque, so we could drive a diesel truck with it.

“We’ve developed a lot of new things in this engine. I looked at

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

But you never get tired of talking about this, do you?

No. It was certainly a great time in my life. I was sent out by Bunkie and I had complete autonomy to do what I wanted to do. Bourke told me, “Go do it.” I just was able to do whatever I could get through the company. If you know how to work within a corporation, it’s a big help to get stuff done, and I was pretty good at being able to get things done.

I’d imagine that you’re more famous out here than back in the States?

Yes. The GT-HO is surrounded by such a folklore and everything else that we need to do something to perpetuate it, and something that will be meaningful to the racing industry and the automotive industry, which is why I’m working on this foundation. It will be a non-profit organisation and I think it will be a very good thing.

So what’s it like being somewhat of a cult hero in a foreign land?

Well, I’ll tell you what, I don’t feel that way. I really don’t feel that way. I’m not the star with this vehicle. There was a whole group of people responsible for the success of the GT-HO and it would be wrong of me to take all the credit.

Everyone a Lot 6 and several good people at Broadmeadows head office at the time, along with the drivers like Allan Moffat, contributed to the HO legend.

What’s most important to me is what I’m doing now and the reason I’m doing it. The people who worked with me were a very special group. I have such camaraderie with those people and what I’m doing in terms of the foundation is really in honour of those people, to perpetuate the GT-HO – and be able to help them and also to give back to the country, which was very good to me.

the automotive engine and I saw all they were doing was putting BandAids on an existing engine.

“It’s just taken it and stressed it to such a limit that engines like the 300 horsepower (224 kW) four-cylinder turbocharged Ford EcoBoost, that’s like a race engine in the 1960s, ’70s or even ’80s. The stresses on it are horrible.”

It all sounds incredible – and maybe it is. Testing of his prototype will decide whether he’s dreaming or has come up with viable lifeextender for the piston engine amid the rapid rise of battery-electric and the onset of fuel-cell propulsion.

Turner hopes to be able to attend the GT-HO 50th anniversary celebration at the famous Lot 6 ‘skunkworks’ on October 13 (see pages 32-33).

“I don’t know for sure yet, but it looks like it,” he said.

He regards the GT-HO as the best thing he has ever done in a long racing and automotive career.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, paying tribute to the can-do Aussie attitude that

made it happen. “It was such a great time in all our lives.

“Fortunately, I was able to get a lot of good people. I treated them right and there was no bullshit.

“You see, the Australian mentality was more like what I was used to in my own little world. Aussies are straightforward, tell the truth and help other people and work hard.

“There’s no bullshit in between.

“It’s not the way they do business over here [in the US], which is so political.”

Turner is also proud of the safety advances pioneered in the GT-HO series production racer.

“There were so many things that we did that led to improved safety,” he said. “We actually talked CAMS into putting in the rollover check valve on the fuel tank so that if anybody rolled over they wouldn’t get gas all over them and burn themselves to death.

“There were also other safety features like the roll bar (semirollover cage) and seat harness that we brought in.” MF

AutoAction

33

S K R O W K N U K S e Th

se operated

cret GT-HO ba An insider explains how the se

MARK FOGARTY reveals the story behind the fabled Lot 6 secret factory THE FALCON GT-HO was developed at a secret off-site workshop in a non-descript industrial unit.

Lot 6, 224 Mahoneys Road, Thomastown, in Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs is a mecca for muscle car enthusiasts.

This is where the Phase 1-4 HOs were developed – and where the 50th anniversary of the GT-HO will be celebrated on October 13, the day of the Bathurst 1000.

Lot 6 is an aging industrial unit that reeks of its high-performance history without showing any signs of its place in Australian muscle car mythology.

It is not far from the former Ford factory at

Broadmeadows, where the company’s design centre remains.

Fifty years ago, Lot 6 was Al Turner’s ‘skunkworks’ – the covert facility where Ford Australia’s most famous homologation specials were developed. Its colourful description mirrors that of Lockheed’s military aviation top secret development unit in the USA in the ’60s.

The operation was known officially as Special Vehicles Operation (SVO).

Among the close-knit cadre of Lot 6 employees was Colin Russell, who joined the group in 1971 after tuning drag racing legend Larry ‘Big O’ Ormsby’s XW GT-HO.

GT-HO CELEBRATION FALCON GT-HO torchbearers are planning an exclusive celebration of the immortal model’s 50th anniversary.

The men who worked with Al Turner at Lot 6 will gather at the old SVO site in October to commemorate the GT-HO’s

34 AutoAction

golden jubilee. And Turner himself is expected to be the star guest, supported by the hand-picked crew who worked with him during his meteoric time at Broadmeadows.

Billed as “The Ultimate GT Event”,

Russell, now 82, worked alongside key SVO staff John Gowland, John Wynne, John Mepstead, Ian Stockings, Bill Santuccione, Ray Kennedy, Geoff Sharp and Alistair McNaughton.

When he was approached by Turner, Russell was thrilled.

“That was pretty exciting,” he recalled. “I was going into that top-secret place.”

So secret that Ford Australia’s then boss needed authorised access.

“Even Sir Brian Inglis had to ring the bell to get in,” Russell said. “You couldn’t get in without ringing a bell on the front gate.”

There was no Ford signage on the site and

The Lot 6 gang is getting back together – and you’re invited!

there will also be a display of Phase 1-3 GT-HOs. Birthplace of the GT-HO, the Lot 6 site, currently unused, will be dressed up for the occasion.

The 50th Anniversary GT-HO Day will be

held on October 13 – the same day as the Bathurst 1000 – and will include big-screen coverage of the race.

Ford fans are invited to attend. Tickets are available from www.fordgtholot6.com.

Sponsorship packages are also available.

The event is already backed by Elite Automotive Group, which owns the Lot 6 site, and Muscle Car Warehouse.

Stuckey Tyre Service is also a supporter.

The event will be a rare chance to catch up with the people behind the creation of the iconic GT-HOs, with Al Turner set to be reunited with his SVO team for the first time in nearly a decade.

There will be auctions and prizes on the day.

The event is a one-off fundraising event to revive the Ford GT-HO Lot 6 Foundation to create a pathway for qualified mechanics into racing.

AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST SUPPLIER OF HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINE PARTS!

The currently tatty Lot 6 (main image) where Col Russell (left) worked his magic on works 351 Falcons, including the stillborn Phase 4s (below). certainly nothing to indicate the special vehicles being developed within.

“It was a workshop nothing like they are today, but it was very neat, very tidy, quite large and wellequipped for the time,” Russell said.

“It was a great place to work, I can tell you that.

The camaraderie was exceptional.

“There didn’t appear to be any hierarchy. There was no actual boss. We all just had a job to do and we worked together.”

Russell also remembers that the SVO team was relatively well paid for their long-hours endeavours.

“Back then, motor mechanics were getting $4000 a year – $2 an hour,” he said. “However, we got paid every cent of overtime. A normal day was 8am to 5pm and then we went to double time and knocked off at a minute to midnight five days a week. On weekends, we worked Saturday and Sunday for eight hours – that was like having half a day off.”

Russell, who was the SVO motor magician, also

Retired senior automotive executive David Blackhall has joined the Foundation as special advisor to help get the scheme off the ground.

All funds raised will go towards providing a young mechanic with the opportunity to develop his or her career in motorsport to the highest levels through the support and participation of the Kangan Institute and RMIT Universities, and to assist in the development of the curriculum into the future.

Although the Lot 6 building’s facade has been reworked and the old workshop area divided, inside retains the look and atmosphere of its Ford Special Vehicles days.

It will be dressed for the occasion with imagery reflecting its glory days.

The site had been occupied in recent years

by Lexatonia Tiles until the property’s recent sale to the Elite Automotive Group. The usedcar dealership plans to expand its existing Mahoneys Road footprint in early 2020, in the

www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

note noted that when Ford Australia withdrew from racin racing at the end of 1973, the group was given a so soft landing.

“F “Ford looked after us amazingly,” he said.

“Wh they shut down the racing team at the “When end of ’73, not one of us was let go. They emp employed us for probably six months without job a job.

“I think we invented indoor cricket!”

Ru Russell is looking forward to the GT-HO 50th anniversary celebration at Lot 6 on 50th Octtob ber 13.

1 October g “It’ll be great,” he said. “I have been there since.

I actually walked around the old workshop when it was a tile supplier.”

The owner of the building is an enthusiast who is facilitating the vacant site’s transformation into an homage to the GT-HO. “The gentleman who owns the place has always been interested in it and he’s willing to let us do this,” former SVO boss Al Turner reported.

Turner expects a big turn out because the GTHO story has been told so often and so well.

“It’s been hashed over so many times and all the facts are really out there,” he told Auto Action from his home in Florida.

“The Australian press has done a great job on really getting the truth out.”

Turner also hopes the GT-HO Lot 6 Foundation’s long-held aim to establish a scholarship to promote young racing technicians, first floated in 2010, will finally happen with a new, more concerted effort.

“It’s never gotten off the ground, but I think it’s going to gain some traction this time,” he said.

meantime allowing the Foundation to hold the GT-HO 50th celebration on the premises.

After the event, Elite Automotive Group plans to dedicate a permanent window display with signage and a space to house GT-HO memorabilia for future enthusiasts to pay homage to the site where the legend began.

“This event has been made possible by Ford enthusiasts Salvatore and Luke Dai, who have purchased the building to conduct their business, Elite Automotive Group, and we cannot thank them enough for their generosity,” said Foundation director Peter Dietze, who is Turner’s son-in-law.

“This is a unique opportunity to celebrate all things GT-HO at the birthplace of the GT-HO.” Three sponsorship packages ranging in cost from $5000 to $15,000 are available to companies wishing to participate in the event.

For further information, contact Peter Dietze on 0411 728 466 or at peter@fordgtholot6.com.

Auto_Action

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx

*Express Orders available via UPS *Huge Catalogue range of race parts to choose from *Technical support second to none 6 Cronulla Court, Slacks Creek, Q 4127 PWA: 07 3808 1986 QSS: 07 3808 4333 performancewholesale.com.au speedwayspares.com.au

AutoAction

35

R O K N SI SWIM

S E C A R 1 F T A E G R A H C AUSSIE IN E G N E L L A H C E H T O T S E RIS

In an exclusive interview, Australian official Michael Masi sits down with DAN KNUTSON to discuss his unexpected promotion to FIA Formula 1 race director Images: LAT/CAMS “LOOKING BACK, it was a huge challenge,” Michael Masi admits when asked about being suddenly thrown in at the deep end as the FIA’s new F1 race director at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Like the rest of the racing world and the F1 fraternity at the Albert Park track on March 14, Masi was stunned to hear the news that Charlie Whiting had died from a pulmonary embolism. The well-liked and talented Whiting had been the FIA F1 race director, safety delegate, permanent starter and head of the F1 Technical Department for more than 20 years.

Masi, who was to have been the FIA’s F2 and F3 race director this year, was promoted to the senior role, first

36 AutoAction

on a temporary basis and then, as first reported by Auto Action, for the full 2019 season. He remains based in Melbourne and commutes to the races.

Whiting passed away on the Thursday morning of the AGP weekend. Masi and the rest of the crew of officials and track workers had to immediately carry on with business.

“The entire team went up a few gears,” Masi says. “I said to them all on Sunday morning that as an individual I could not have been prouder of them because of the way everyone worked together with their support of me and each other.

“Come Monday morning, it was take a deep breath, and all of us got a bit emotional, but the aim for the entire weekend was to make Charlie proud

of his legacy and what he had actually done. A number of them said that they did not realise what they had learned over the years until they were put on the spot and had to deliver.

“That was our core FIA team, and the support of the F1 Group, all of the teams in pit lane and obviously the FIA, everyone’s support of the entire team was just brilliant considering the circumstances.”

How much did Masi learn from Whiting?

“A lot!” he declares.

“We started to interact in 2006 when I was at Supercars and Tim Schenken first introduced Charlie and (FIA deputy race director) Herbie Blash to me at the Australian Grand Prix. But the first big steep learning curve was Korea in 2010.”

Masi spent six months in Korea training staff and coordinating many things for the inaugural F1 race there in October 2010.

“Even through the course of last year, there were the technical elements of what Charlie had learned that he passed on,” Masi says. “But it was more the approach and the way you deal with the world that is F1. I learned a huge amount.”

How did Masi’s Supercars training help prepare him for F1?

“It helped me immensely. It hardened me quite a bit, particularly in having to make determinations and recommendations on the basis of what a rulebook says rather than what public perception might be. It’s dealing with the different types of people, different characters, the personalities.

EXC LUS IVE

“You have all different types of people in that world, from team owners to drivers to the amazing group of volunteer officials the world over, and you learn how to interact with various different people around the world.

“It was a good grounding and learning. I have been very fortunate that over the years I’ve had some amazing mentors and teachers.”

IN THE TOWER

THE CONTROL tower is filled with various officials and observers – including the four race stewards – plus Masi’s direct team during an F1 weekend.

“As the race director, I am the one who ultimately makes all of the decisions regarding the operation components, be it red flags, safety

cars, virtual safety cars and the overall coordination of the race,” he explains.

“I will always have the clerk of the course sitting next to me, who is the representative from each circuit, the venue expert.

“The race director’s role is to be there as the continuity to ensure consistency in sporting management at each of the events.

“Then there is Colin Haywood, who is the deputy race director for F1, plus the race control systems manager. All of the various safety car deployments on the light panels you see, and getting a lot of information up to assist me, that is the core element of his role, along with interacting in a communications sense with the medical car.

“The race control operator does

all of the reviews for us, and gathers all of the information from various incidents – so anything that happens on track and is an incident that is noted or I refer to the stewards, or that the stewards would like to see or investigated, is effectively coordinated by that person.

“That is then given to me to have a look at. And sometimes it goes directly to the stewards.

“The fourth key element is the FIA medical delegate, who ensures from a coordinating perspective that all the medical services from event to event are up to a world championship status.”

Masi refers incidents involving drivers and teams to the stewards, and they are the ones, not Masi, who decide if there should be a penalty and what

that penalty should be. The stewards can also decide to further investigate incidents that have not been referred to them by Masi.

NON-STOP

THE WORK, duties, meetings and other responsibilities of the FIA race director keep Masi going pretty much non-stop.

“Starting Tuesday or Wednesday, it becomes a very busy weekend,” he says. “Particularly with the events where we have F1, F2 and F3, it does become very busy.

“My role is very much focused on F1, but there are a number of commonalities in regulations and systems that F2 and F3 have within them that have a crossover. So Bob Kettleboro, the F2 and F3 race

AutoAction

37

Masi’s weekend role includes working with local officials.

Here he inspects an oil clean-up at the Hungarian GP.

director, and I after each session go through and see if there is anything to learn, because they have been out there doing it as well, so it is just the exchange of information for our collective benefit.”

Does Masi’s laidback Aussie approach and sense of humour help him deal with all the work and stress?

“It is probably the external personality of being laidback that helps, but it probably does not help behind the scenes so much,” he says.

“I have always said that I will always continue to be myself. I get along with everyone and am a firm believer that you learn every day, good and bad, from everyone.

“I would not say it is high stress.

It is certainly high pressure, but the pinnacle of global motor sport is where we are. There are a lot of jobs that are high pressure in various different industries, it just happens that this one is on a very public scale globally.

“I have the support of an amazing team; I could not do it without their support of the team that I have. We go up and down as a team – and have done since Melbourne. We stay united and do everything to the best of our abilities individually and collectively. And that is the most important thing; that is all that you can actually ask.”

FIA president Jean Todt informed Masi in July that he would continue as the FIA race director for the rest of this year.

And compatriot Daniel Ricciardo would be happy for him to remain in the job next year. “This is certainly not Aussie favoritism, but I certainly

38 AutoAction

have no issue with him continuing (in 2020),” Ricciardo says. “He has been doing a good job.”

No decision or announcement has been made about 2020. But, for being thrown in at the deep end back in March, Masi has done a very good job indeed.

Charlie Whiting would be proud.

Masi has had a great mentor and supporter in ex-F1 driver and Supercars race director Tim Schenken (above, talking to Niki Lauda).

He also had great guidance from predecessor Charlie Whiting (left, with Sebastian Vettel).

A PASSION FOR RACING “I ALWAYS had a passion for motor sport,” Michael Masi says of the path that took him to his current role as the FIA’s F1 race director.

“I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney, and I had a couple of uncles that used to race at the club level in Australia in Sports Sedans and Formula Ford.

“From there I started working for one of the Australian Super Touring teams on a voluntary basis while I was still at school. I was doing team coordinator, sponsorship-type things, presentations, all that element, and all at the ripe old age of 16.

“I continued doing that for three or four years, then I got offered a job with TOCA Australia as their marketing executive. I did that from the end of 1999 through 2000.

“Simultaneously, working out of Sydney, I was running my uncle’s mechanical workshop. He was a very good mechanic, but quite lousy on paperwork. So we were a competent match for each other. And we set up a Formula 3 team and won the Australian championship p p in 2000. Both of those

were effectively contract roles.

“In 2003, my former CEO at TOCA, Kelvin O’Reilly, asked me if I’d move to the Gold Coast and work with him at TEGA, the 75 per cent shareholder of Supercars. s. So I made the big decision to move from Sydney to the Gold Coast and worked orked for TEGA for three years.

“Then I went on to work at Supercars directly for a further three years as the assistant operations manager to the championship, and I also ran what was at the point the Fujitsu Development Series. I did that to the start of 2008.

Then I went to CAMS as a project manager.”

Masi worked as the project manager for the Super Special stage on Rally Australia, and then negotiated and delivered the contract for CAMS doing the personnel training for the inaugural Korean Grand Prix in 2010.

He lived in Seoul for six months, which was his first intense interaction with Charlie Whiting president g and FIA p

Jean Todt in the delivery and lead-up to the Korean Grand Prix. Bad weather and construction delays made it touch and go if the race weekend would actually take place or not, but at the last minute it did.

“My role went from training and managing all the trainees for a local motor sport body, the local ASN, through to being involved in all aspects of the project,” Masi says.

He went back to Australia and moved to Coffs Harbour, where he was the CEO of Rally Australia when it was staged for the first time there in 2011.

“At that point, it was a career highlight,” he recalls.

Moving to Melbourne, Masi became the general manager of V8 legend Mark Skaife’s consultancy.

“At the same time, I was

consulting for Supercars on the race control systems side of it – a similar role to what my now deputy Colin Haywood does in the F1 world. I was also the secretary of the Supercars Commission, which is similar to what the F1 Strategy Group is.”

Masi progressed to deputy race director at Supercars, where he and his colleagues did a review of the way the organisation’s systems operated. He was also the race director for what had become the Dunlop Super2 Series.

“So I’ve done many various roles in motor sport,” Masi sums up. “It has not just been purely the one thing.”

That wide variety of administrative experience turned out to be the perfect training to fill the role as the FIA’s F1 race director. DK

Th start of Masi’s reign in Melbourne this year. It may have The been due to unfortunate circumstances, but the Australian be has since acquitted himself well as F1 race director. ha

UNDER THE SKIN

BRUT FORCE

The newest Touring Car Masters contender made a suitably Moffat-like winning debut. It was the culmination of seven months’ work, as detailed by HEATH McALPINE WHEN PLANS were hatched by the Mason family to upgrade its previous 1965 Ford Mustang to something a little more advanced, they engaged the best of the best to build the ultimate Touring Car Masters contender.

And so it proved at Queensland Raceway three weeks ago, when Cam Mason ran away from the field in the Trophy Race to give the new 1969 Mustang – owned by sponsor Russell Hancock – a win on debut. This was despite only testing the car once prior to the round, which points to a competitive future for rou the pairing.

D Decked out in Allan Moffat’s superb Brut 33 colours from the early-70s, the car looks as good as it goes and has a keen fan in the Australian motor sport legend, who helped Au launch the car at Garage1’s Melbourne lau workshop. wo As will be detailed on the following pages, A there has been no expense spared in the effort the of ccreating this car.

TThe build was headed by renown race car constructor and preparer Marty Brant, a man con who previously had a hand in constructing wh Eddie Ed Albenica’s Ford Falcon XB and Andrew

Fisher’s Ford Falcon XY GT-HO among many others. The chassis is matched to an equally impressive engine package, developed by Synergy Race Engines headed by former TCM racer Steve Makarios.

For Mason, it was all about using he and his father Steve’s experience in the motor racing industry when choosing the right people to build the new steed, which turned out to be a simple process thanks to the decisions made.

“We’ve been racing as a family for 25-30 years – you know people and you learn what to do, and obviously it helped that we had all the contacts there ready to go,” said the younger Mason.

“Picking the right people and listening to the right people just made it seamless, made it pretty easy. It would be difficult to do it without experience, just to turn up and try to build a race car.”

The Masons sourced a near-new aftermarket shell and sent it down to Brant’s workshop, where a sole crew member began stripping and cleaning it to remove excess weight, while also preparing it for the cage fabrication.

“The car had been owned by someone up

Images: Insyde Media/Touring Car Masters/Dirk Klynsmith/Ross Gibb

40 AutoAction

in New South Wales for five years and he had started doing seam welding and a bit of work on it,” Brant explained.

“The first step was to remove weight and clean the shell itself up. We then just went ahead and did the things like the Watts link mount, gearbox tunnel, completing as much work on the bodyshell prior to starting the cage.

"Once we started on the cage, we began to work out all the fitments and where everything was going to go, clearances and things like that.”

Through his experience of building TCM cars, Brant has continually increased the development of the bar work and has integrated modern ideas within an older car. As the TCM regulations continue to allow further advancement of the roll cage design, it has enabled the driver position to be moved and an overall safer package.

“I have a design in mind that I use with most of the cages,” Brant said.

“Every TCM car has been just a bit more of an advancement as we’ve gone. With this car we went to great lengths to move bar work as far as we could; the left-hand side is based loosely

on what a Carrera Cup car is like, with the bars going out and inside the doorskin.

“We worked on moving the driver inboard as much as possible, one reason for weight and the other to try to get as much room as possible between a side impact and the driver.

We managed to move it across 85-90mm, which created a few issues in the tunnel and the pedal box area, but we managed to work that through.”

The positioning has to suit the driver as well, so Mason travelled from his native Newcastle to sit in the empty shell and size everything up so that the seat, pedals and steering wheel were perfectly placed to make him feel comfortable.

This also meant that there were modifications made to the tunnel to accommodate gearshifting.

“That tunnel ended up being an odd shape around where the seat goes, but as long as you have clearance for the tailshaft and gearbox, it all works out okay,” Brant explained.

“There is a maximum measurement where you’re allowed to move the driver in TCM, and I think we went to that max.”

The crew at Garage1 not only fabricated and

built up the bodyshell, but also most of the suspension componentry, and the fuel system outside of the cell is built in-house, while Brant has preference to use Australian engineering companies to make the bespoke parts that contribute to such a one-of-a-kind Mustang.

“As much as possible, we use local engineering shops. Components like the fuel cell itself, fuel pumps and that style of thing we buy in, but everything else is built here.

“Every car’s different. If you went into the TCM pit, there are very few parts that you could pull off one 1969 Mustang and put on another.

It’s early external parts that you could do that with, but things like suspension components, everyone has their spin on how it works and what’s best.”

Brant’s spin on suspension includes the use of fully adjustable bump and rebound Penske shocks on each corner, sourced from Bill McKenna from Adelaide, mated with upper and lower control arms made at Garage1.

Changes to TCM regulations regarding suspension has ensured a safer and much easier way for construction to take place.

“Now you can build all your own suspension arms from tube and rod ends, whereas in the past it had to be a modified standard arm and it had to look reasonably original.

“We don’t have to do that anymore. It’s a big plus because it takes a lot of time using standard bits and pieces.”

A swaybar kit was provided by Motorsport Engineering and assembled by Brant's team,

AutoAction

41

UNDER THE SKIN

Big Brembo front brakes are cooled by a custom Garage1 ducting system. An American Fuelsafe cell is surrounded by custom Garage1 parts. Tilton pedalbox sits comfortably in the neat interior. while the stopping power is provided by big Brembo disc brakes and four-pot calipers, to the limits permitted by the TCM regulations, sourced from PACE Innovations in Queensland.

Cooling is provided by a brake duct system designed and built by Garage1.

The car rides on replica Minilite wheels that are a collaboration between Garage1 and Performance Wheels.

“We worked with them quite a bit to get them to change the pattern to suit our caliper set-up, and that wheel is now available to TCM competitors through Performance Wheels,” Brant explained.

The gearbox is a NASCAR road-race set-up, a four-speed G-Force GSR combined with a Quartermaster sintered triple-plate clutch, which was sourced by the Masons.

Brant has previous experience with this type of gearbox, having installed one in the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro raced by the late Bill Pye in 2014, and it drives the rear wheels via a locally built tailshaft and a nine-inch spool diff, all

mounted to a Australin made Race Products 900 series cambered rear end.

Interior and safety continue to evolve in TCM. The Fuelsafe cell is one of the few imported items on the car, and it is housed in a custom fabricated box that also includes bespoke internals, a feature of which is a collector pot designed and built by Garage1.

Inside the cabin, a Velo high-winged race seat is paired with a Chicane harness. Looking from the driver's seat, there is a GP steering wheel and a gauge system featuring key information such as revs, oil, fuel, shifter light and low oil temperature warning light.

Next to the Joe’s Racing shifter is a switchboard that contains the volt gauge and switches to start the engine and turn on the high beams, rain light and wiper. This is all neatly placed within a comfortable distance of the driver, while still remaining relatively out of the way.

The car also features an FEV fire system and on-board extinguisher.

MASO’S STANG CAMERON MASON'S first impressions of the Mustang were of the workmanship and the quality of the fit-out, and then he drove it...

“Straight out of the box, it is obviously quick,” Mason enthused to Auto Action.

“The balance and the set-up are awesome, the power delivery is really good. We definitely have more horsepower than we did in the old car. It’s hard to put it into words, it’s just a nice car to drive.”

Mason advanced from a tiddler Datsun 1600 to his previous mount, a 1965 Ford Mustang that was the latest and greatest when it debuted

42 AutoAction

On the outside, the Mustang pays tribute to Allan Moffat’s Brut 33-sponsored car that he raced in Sports Sedan competition during the mid-1970s, after its famous Coca Cola era as an Improved Touring car, and features few modifications to the external bodywork, which is made entirely of steel, even though the rules permit some panels to be replaced with composite items. The guards were flared at Garage1, while the inner guards were cut away and replaced with aluminium pieces.

Compared to the last TCM machine Brant built, the construction process has become more streamlined and simpler, taking around 1500 hours from go-to-whoa.

“The last complete car I built was probably the Eddie Albenica XB. "The difference compared to that is rule changes and freedoms that we’ve had in that time. There are quite a few freedoms, like with this car we didn’t have to put an interior in the car – door trims, back seat, roof lining or anything like that. That made it a much

a nnumber of years ago but has been superseded by a number of quality frontrunning cars. nu Mason can’t wait to develop the handling of his new brute b after a successful debut round at Queensland Raceway on July 19.

R “We’ll just be chasing more handling, more suspension set-up on the car, just those little bits and s pieces piec pi eces es where wh we can find seconds,” Mason said.

“There’s not much power to be found in the car – it’s got plenty of it and we should be as quick anyone down the straight – it’ll be just round the corners. We’re actively working on that, so we’ll see at Sydney Motorsport Park for the next round, and hopefully we can get on top of some of the issues we encountered at Queensland Raceway.

smoother build rather than having to get into upholstering, so it was a lot simpler.”

As the finishing touches were made to the Mustang at Garage1, Synergy Race Engines was busy completing the heart of the brute.

Makarios has built about 15 engines – mainly Windsors – for TCM competition since the category’s inception, including for Tony Karanfilovski, Rusty French, John Bowe and Steven Johnson.

“The early Mustangs are all Windsors, and in 1969 there were two options, a Boss 302 or a 351 Windsor option, then in 1970-71 they converted over to Clevelands,” Makarios explained.

“The Boss 302 is a Windsor bottom end with Cleveland heads, but the 351 is a better option in this scenario because it produces a lot more torque and the revs are limited. It’s a more suitable engine for the application.”

There are many engine freedoms Makarios can take advantage of in TCM, which enables his cars to produce good power, even when the

“We’re just going to keep tweaking it and find seconds here and there. Hopefully we’ll just keep getting quicker and quicker during the rest of this year, which is the plan.”

Mason said the original plan was for a Coca-Cola tribute look, but after plenty of research it was decided to choose Moffat's Brut livery, which was given the tick of approval by the Ford legend himself.

“He was blown away by the quality of the car and how it was presented," said Mason of when Moffat checked out the car at Garage1 before its first outing.

“It’s a little bit different in a lot of areas to the one he raced.

Essentially he just loved that his legacy is living on and he did say it was an emotionally thing to see it, which was very cool for us to get that tick of approval.” HM

TCM 1969 FORD MUSTANG ENGINE

Synergy Race Engines-built 351 cubic-inch pushrod Ford Windsor V8 Dart block, Dart heads, Kelly rods, Comp Cams camshafts, Dailey billet aluminium sump, Jesel Keyway roller lifters, Swiftec Engineering CNC billet rocket covers Garage 1 headers, system and mufflers Garage 1 custom radiator Horsepower: Approx 700hp (522kW) @ 7500rpm

TRANSMISSION

Four-speed G-Force GSR gearbox, Quartermaster sintered triple-plate clutch, Race Products nine-inch diff, locally built and developed tailshaft

SUSPENSION

Penske fully two-way shocks, Motorsport Engineering swaybar kit, Garage1 control arms, King springs

BRAKES

Brembo 385x35 rotors, Brembo four-pot calipers, Garage1 brake ducting, Brembo master cylinders

DIMENSIONS The Mustang made quite an impression on debut at Queensland Raceway (above). Every item in the interior (below left) has been measured to suit the driver. Four-pot Brembos feature all round (below).

Length: 4762mm Width: 1821mm Wheelbase: 2743mm Weight: 1530kg

WHEELS

Performance Wheels Superlites, 15x8 Hoosier tyres

FUEL TANK

Fuelsafe cell, Garage1 custom collector pot and internals

INTERIOR

Velo race seat, Chicane harness, GP steering wheel, FEV fire system, Megalyfe battery, Stack gauges, Tilton pedalbox

BODY

Steel body, G1 flared guards, Krontec air jacks, Garage1 CDS roll cage

ENGINES AIN’T ENGINES STEVE MAKARIOS is an experienced campaigner in Touring Car Masters, having competed in the category for the first five years before stepping back to help develop his customers’ engines.

The owner of Synergy Race Engines has developed engines for many series frontrunners, most notably John Bowe, who had penalties placed on him due to his success. Makarios was key to that continued success through his engine development program, which will further aid Cam Mason’s charge towards the front.

“The good thing about that engine is that I originally developed it for John Bowe, back in the days of when he got rpm and weight penalties,” Makarios said.

“We designed the engine to make torque down low, because when he got penalised with rpm, he didn’t lose much go. At one stage the rev limit was 7500rpm, but he lost 1000rpm in penalties and the thing was still going okay, he was still finishing on the podium. That’s when we made

www.autoaction.com.au

the majority of development on those engines.”

Although the outlay for an engine is upwards of $60,000, the overall package if taken care of can last a considerable amount of time.

“Back when JB started with us, we had one engine that went two and a half seasons without a freshen up,” Makarios said.

“It did 7500 racing miles, we pulled it apart and did a video, and we were quite amazed to see how good the engine was.”

Future developments for Makarios are a balancing act between more power and keeping the costs at a realistic level.

“Everybody wants more power (and) we’ve got a whole lot of tricks up our sleeve,” Makarios said. “There’s more to gain, especially with this new fuel, but at the same time we need to keep the costs real.

"Some of these engines worth a lot of money, the majority of the cost is in the parts – investing in good parts that won’t let you down.” HM

AutoActionMagazine

Auto_Action

drivers have been penalised through weight and rev limits. “There are a fair few freedoms; all the internals are pretty much free,” Makarios said.

"The only restrictions that we have are, we’re only allowed to use an aftermarket race block such as a Dart or a Motorsport block, Dart heads, we’re limited to the 7500rpm limit, and we’re limited to cubic inches – they can only be 351, they can’t be strokers or anything like that.

“We’re also limited to the fuel that we use, because it is control fuel that we have to use, so we have to use those parameters to build the engine accordingly.

"We’re also limited to a single four-barrel carburettor, we can’t use any sort of exotictype induction, and even with those restrictions we’re still making over 700 horsepower. It makes it at 7200rpm, so you don’t have to turn it that hard.”

Most of the engine components are sourced from America, including the Kelly rods, Comp Cams camshafts, and Dailey billet aluminium sump with an integrated dry sump pump – a system utilised by many Supercars teams.

The high-end Jesel Keyway roller lifters ensure reliability, while the springs and valves are also made in the US. The Holley-style carburettor is tailored in the US to individual need, with Makarios communicating key information about the car and application to make sure it does the job.

Makarios required responsiveness out of the corners and top-end power.

The CNC billet rocket covers are manufactured by Swiftec Engineering in Queensland, and the exhaust system was developed in-house at Synergy Race Engines using their dyno, which was also used to develop the new engine to use the new unleaded fuel supply that came into force in

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

TCM on July 1.

“We do a lot of testing on the dyno, and one time I took a fabricator with me to the dyno.

We spent four or five days just trying different exhaust systems and we worked out what the engines liked,” Makarios said.

“I was quite fortunate enough to have access to the fuel well before the build of the car. I actually tested it on TCM engines earlier in the year on the dyno. We worked out what it did and didn’t like, and we actually got more power out of it. It was quite good.

"Though we found more power, we had to actually use a little more fuel because it is oxygenated, so we set the carburettors up a little more to make them run right.”

The Mustang features no data-logging equipment – he's not in favour of it for TCM – but the introduction of MoTeC programming purely to track what the engine is doing is a major plus point for Makarios.

“These days, TCM is allowing a MoTeC programming system where you can data-log what the engine is doing,” Makarios said.

“It’s a good idea, because a lot of drivers that aren’t professionals are too busy looking at the track rather than the gauges, and sometimes they can overheat or overrev the engine, or there might be an issue with fuel pressure.

“You can data-log after the race, which enables the mechanics and engine builder to have a look to see if anything needs to be adjusted so the engine isn’t damaged.”

It might be 50 years old, but Cameron Mason's new Mustang is state of the art, if not a work of art. The workmanship that has gone into the machine is first class and is a demonstration that Australian car builders have lifted the bar when it comes to construction and fabrication. And it has Moff’s tick of approval.

AutoAction

43

REALISING A

DR EAM

IItt h has b been a whirlwind hi l i d 2019 2019 for f Jaxon J Evans, with his inaugural season as part of the Porsche Junior program.

The reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Australia series winner chatted to HEATH McALPINE during a recent return home Images: Porsche FIRST IT was Matt Campbell, and now Jaxon Evans. The two good mates are living the dream as Porsche factory drivers, living in Stuttgart, Germany.

This is where Evans has spent the majority of the year as he races across the world, following the Grand Prix circus around as part of the Porsche Supercup while also contesting the globe’s strongest Carrera Cup series in Germany.

The Kiwi driver recently returned to Australian shores for the first time since the season-opening Bathurst 12 Hour, where the Competition Motorsports Porsche 991 GT3R he was set to race crashed out in the first hour.

The following day he jetted off to undertake the next stage of his life as a factory Porsche driver in Stuttgart.

It was a big undertaking for someone who had never been to Europe before the Young Driver Shootout competition four months earlier, and now he was moving there.

As soon as Evans arrived in Germany he was straight into the Porsche fitness camp, which is held to establish where each driver’s performance is at ahead of the new season. It was an eye-opening experience for the 22-year-old.

“The Porsche fitness camp was a lot of fun,” Evans told Auto Action. “It was very different to anything I had experienced before, but I think very beneficial, and opened my eyes up to the way Porsche want you to

44 AutoAction

present yourself. Not only as a driver, but as an athlete.

“The fitness camp is certainly not easy. It basically identifies any weak areas in terms of your body performance or performance outside of the car. They are trying to make sure we are training like athletes.

Porsche’s top-level drivers do endurance races, so you have to be focused and ready in the car for up to three or four hours at a time.

“The training program is very intense. There are a lot of fitness-based things, but they mix it up and have a lot of fun. It’s cool to do the camp, especially as a junior because you’re the youngest there and you’re able to mix it with all of the works drivers, guys that have been racing for Porsche over many years. It’s a really nice family feel and we basically get our arses kicked for a week.”

Although Evans was hampered by a slight knee injury, which stopped him from completing the program, he found it enlightening to train alongside Porsche’s elite drivers and compare their fitness to his own to see where he needs to be at to be at that level.

“To have Timo Bernhard, Brendan Hartley and Romain Dumas at the camp and part of your group on certain exercises is pretty special,” Evans said.

“To see the level of fitness of the top guys and more or less the older drivers is pretty impressive. As a junior you don’t think you need to be that fit, but when the old guys stick it to you in a long distance run you think you

Jaxon Evans has come a long way since narrowly losing the GT3 Cup Challenge in 2016. Just two years later he won Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and took out the German marque’s Junior Shootout.

need to pick up your game.

It’s really cool and something that I enjoyed a lot.”

Not only was it a new experience for Evans, but the program that’s been set up for him means he is in a race car for up to seven weeks on end, whether that be for a round of Supercup or Carrera Cup in Germany or testing for the next round, meaning his bum is hardly ever out of the race seat.

“Any race driver will tell you the more often you’re in a race car the better, and I can’t agree more,” he says.

“It is tough; if you have a bad weekend, you have to reset and go again the weekend after.

“There’s not a lot of down time, there’s no time to sit down and process what happened or work your way to the bottom of what problems you may have had.

“Like I said, being in the car as often as possible is really good, and I think it’s quite good running both

programs parallel. The German Carrera Cup is very competitive, it is always a full grid and a lot of the frontrunning drivers also contest Supercup, so it’s always good preparation.

“The Supercup is the main goal as a Porsche Junior, but to get some extra laps in that has been very beneficial.”

It has been a tough initiation into European racing for Evans, with the spread-out nature of Supercup weekends proving to be troublesome for getting the Porsche set up.

However, it appears Evans has taken a step in the right direction, as he scored a breakthrough podium at Silverstone.

“Learning the tracks is not the most

difficult thing, I think it is more or less understanding the way the track develops over a Supercup weekend,” he said.

The drivers only get out on track three times over the weekend, and sometimes they’re 24 hours apart.

“There’s a lot of track activity after the session. You go back and look at a whole

Although Evans has found the going tough in Porsche Supercup, the young Kiwi scored a breakthrough podium at Silverstone and appears set to follow in the wheel tracks of good mate Matt Campbell, who completed the same pathway to a works drive.

heap of data and try to figure out where you’re going wrong (but) if you just put that into practice and don’t think about the track changing, you can often be led down the wrong

direction. That’s why I found myself not qualifying as high as I’d like in the first few rounds, just because I didn’t understand how the track was changing.

I prepared myself off our free practice; I needed to reset and go again for the next day.”

Though still adjusting to life far away from home, Evans is enjoying it, and technology has made it easier for him to stay connected with family and friends.

The result of a successful stint with the Porsche Young Driver program occupies the room

across the hall from him, in the form of works driver Campbell, his former teammate in Australia.

“My goal has always been to race as a works driver, and the dream would be race for Porsche.

I’m currently in the best position possible to fulfil that dream.

“I’ve got a job to do this year. I’m hopefully doing enough and can keep improving for the remainder of the season, and be rewarded with a second year in the junior program. I guess then it comes down to results and the way I handle myself off the track.

“I’ll keep chipping away, and Matty’s paved a nice pathway, he’s done really well for himself, which is good to see as a close friend. He’s really enjoying life. I didn’t think anyone could be in a race car more than me this year, but he has certainly put me to shame!”

AutoAction

45

MASTERBLAST

Muscle Car Masters has been an institution for more than 10 years at Sydney Motorsport Park and continues this year with a different array of categories and the return of night racing. HEATH McALPINE previews a big weekend Images: Nathan Wong/Riccardo Benvenuti/TCM/Dirk Klynsmith

RETURNING TO its traditional Father’s Day date, Paynter Dixon MasterBlast featuring the Muscle Car Masters is an event that is going through a rejuvenation of sorts.

Although rebranded, the event takes the best aspects of the successful Muscle Car Masters and adds a variety of different disciplines sure to complement the headline acts.

A strong entry of Touring Car Masters drivers will contest five races over the course of the weekend, with the added dimension of running under lights on SMP’s short-course layout.

It comes as the series lead has closed up, after Steve Johnson had an uncharacteristically poor round, allowing veteran John Bowe to close to within 40 points.

Having taken a maiden race victory at Queensland Raceway,

MasterBlast will host TCM’s 300th race, adding to the event’s under-lights spectacle, while a big field of Production Touring Cars (above) will add modern variety to the meeting.

46 AutoAction

Chevrolet Camaro driver Ryal Harris has shaken up the established runners so far this season and will be keen to continue that form down south, as will fellow Camaro driver Adam Bressington.

Another to experience bad luck this season, the New South Welshman is also within touching distance of the top.

SLR/5000 Toranas fill the top three spots in Pro-Am, and as an indication of how close the competition will be, the top five are covered by a round’s worth of points.

Leading the Pro-Am standings is Jim Pollicina. A blown engine hurt at Queensland Raceway, but he wasn’t the only one to have a bad round up north. Bruce Williams will return to his familiar blue SL/R 5000 after borrowing a car for the last round, while a cancer scare hasn’t halted Ryan Hansford’s charge after a slow start to the season.

Others to watch will be

Queensland Raceway round winner Aaron Seton, the consistent Andrew Fisher, the recovering Rob Hackwood and the returning Jeremy Gray, while Bernie Stack takes over the Whiteline Racing Chevrolet Camaro RS that has been driven successfully by Adam Garwood.

Hot on the heels of TCM’s popularity is the real deal, the Heritage Touring Cars that have been a feature of Muscle Car Masters throughout its history.

It will be a throwback of sorts with a group of Ford Sierra RS500s. Terry Lawlor has experienced an enviable run of late, winning the last two rounds piloting an exDick Johnson example, but Tony Karanfilovski (ex-Glenn Seton Racing Sierra) and Chris Stillwell (ex-Colin Bond Sierra) will be hot on his heels.

Two cars will make a return to the track in the form of the ex-Paul Morris BMW E30 M3 driven by Eddie Sansil and former touring car

driver Neil Schembri’s Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VL Commodore. They add to an impressive list including Ford Mustang, Jaguar XJS, Holden Torana A9X and the usual assortment of smallercapacity cars.

Group N continues to represent the production car era of Australian racing and features a strong contingent of competitors for MasterBlast, with a broad mixture of eclectic models and nameplates steeped in history. None other than Ford Falcon GT-HO, Holden Torana GTR XU-1, Holden Monaro and Valiant Charger R/T will uphold Australian honour against imported Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, not to mention the pesky Mini Cooper S. Speaking of the small capacity cars, Japan is well represented through the Datsun 1600 and Mazda RX2, while cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, Nova and

Holden EH represent racing in the early to mid-1960s.

A fully subscribed grid will contest five races, including one under lights.

The closest modern interpretation of Group N is the NSW Production Touring Car Championship, and the same amount of variety is evident in the entry list. Everything from the latest modern muscle HSV had to offer to the technical wizardry of Mitsubishi’s fourwheel-drive rally-derived Evo and the European finesse of BMW and Mercedes.

The points system rewards class results rather than outright finishing positions, placing Holden Commodore SSV driver Geoff Kite as the championship leader, slightly ahead of Matt Holt in his Class A2 HSV Clubsport R8 and Michael King driving a Class A1 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Toyota 86s dominate Class D, with four points separating Edan Thornburrow and Harrison

Group N (left) and Group S (above) always provide big grids andd spectacular racing, as do the Heritage Touring Cars (below).

Gray driving the two-door coupes.

The other classes appear to be sorted heading to SMP, with Class C being led by Chris Reeves in his Volkswagen Scirocco R, Peter O’Donnell leading Class B1 in his BMW 335i, and Phil Alexander on top in Class E driving a Nissan Pulsar.

The spectacular Group S category for historic sports cars adds variety to MasterBlast, with the best coupes from Europe, the US and Japan pitted against each other.

The Porsche 911 is a popular marque among competitors, but they face stiff competition from the high-powered De Tomaso Panteras, Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Corvettes.

The smaller-capacity Datsun

280Zs, MG Midgets, Alfa Romeo GTVs and Lancia Fulvias should not be discounted, promising an exciting category to watch.

A category far removed from the above is the National Sports Sedan Series, which is going through an interesting period at the moment as multiple series winner Tony Ricciardello struggles to hold out young Victorian Jordan Caruso. This heralds a new era of the battle between Ricciardello’s Alfa Romeo GTVChev and John Gourlay’s AudiChev A4 driven by Caruso.

Other highlights among the strong entry heading to SMP is the return of reigning series winner Steven Tamasi in his Holden Calibra, Chevrolet Camaro pair Steve Lacey and Birol Cetin, Mark Duggan in the spectacular Aston Martin

DBR9, and Alex Williams in his rapid Mazda RX-7. Others to watch include the silver Holden Monaro of Michael Robinson, Shane Woodman in his BMW M3, Scott Reed in a Ford Mustang and Shane Bradford in another Camaro.

A new addition to the weekend is Superkarts, with the final two rounds of their series.

The 250 International class is a straight fight between Ilya Harpas and Gary Pegoraro, as both head to SMP equal on points. Also evenly poised is the 250 National Class, where John Dunn and John Pellicano will duke it out, while local John Dunn will aim to take his first SKA national title, and in 125 gearbox five drivers carry race-winning credentials.

Fourteen-year-old South Australian Blake Perdie holds a slender series lead, but will have to contend with Lee Vella, Nicholas Schembri, Adam Cogger and Paul Campbell.

Motorcycles will also feature in Sunday’s race program, while the MasterCruise provides punters the opportunity to drive around the Gardner Circuit of SMP on Father’s Day morning in their road cars, making it the perfect gift at $100.

The always popular Show’N’Shine provides plenty of off-track entertainment and if your car fits in with the spirit of the event it can be entered, giving free entry along with display parking.

PAYNTER DIXON SYDNEY MASTERBLAST & MUSCLE CAR MASTERS INFORMATION SATURDAY track action starts at 9:00am SATURDAY night action starts at 6:00pm SUNDAY begins with the MasterCruise at 6:00am Racing begins at 9:00am Gate ticket prices: SATURDAY $30 SATURDAY NIGHT after 5:00pm $15 SUNDAY $30 WEEKEND $50

BUY ONLINE BEFORE THE EVENT AND SAVE BIG $$$ For tickets and further information go to: http://www.sydneymasterblast.com/

AutoAction

47

ACTION Mart THE ORIGINAL

OFTEN COPIED - NEVER EQUALLED

SUPERIOR ENGINE ENAMELS

www.speco.com.au AA3

Alan 0400 168 016 Robert 0416 268 645

GORDON LEVEN

MOTORSPORT TYRES

woodfordtrailers.com.au

International Products - Local Knowledge

LATEST TECHNOLOGY IN TYRE HEAT TREATING - TYRE BUFFING - TYRE GROOVING - TRACKSIDE SERVICE

Protect your investment..

Quality trailers for club, private and pro motorsports

Email: motorsport@gordonleven.com Tel: 02 4735 8734 Address: Unit 6 / 133 Russell St Emu Plains NSW 2750 Website: www.gordonleven.com.au

CAMS CAMS SPEC CAMS SPEC SPEC MILD MILD MILD STEEL STEEL STEEL CHROMOLY CHROMOLY TUBE SOLID SOLID TUBE -- SHEET SHEET -- SOLID

E ICE THE COMPETITION

828 Sydney Rd Brunswick 3056 (03) 93865331

TUBE BENDERS - DIES - NOTCHERS

PH: 02 9676 8001 SHIPPING DAILY AUSTRALIA WIDE W W W. R A C E T E C H S T E E L . C O M . A U

Premium Australian Heat & Sound Shielding

IFFerence D e h t l e e F

• High quality German made limited slip differentials • Proven in competition by winners in FIA GT, ALMS, WTCC, Targa, BTCC, F3, Nürburgring 24 hour and Bathurst 12 hour • Competition gearboxes, Gear sets, Driveshafts, & Wheels Hubs also available

03 9532 6000

www.iceignition.com

100% Australian Made

Contact details: P: W: www.drexler-motorsport.com.au

/HDGLQJ /6 &RQYHUVLRQ 6SHFLDOLVWV &DVWOH +HDGHUV DQG ([KDXVW FRPSRQHQWV '\QRJHQ $OWHUQDWRUV 7KH KLGGHQ DOWHUQDWRU LQ D JHQHUDWRU ERG\ +L 7RUTXH *HDU 5HGXFWLRQ 6WDUWHU PRWRUV %LOOHW +LJK 3HUIRUPDQFH $OWHUQDWRUV :LSHU 0RWRU .LWV (), &RQYHUVLRQ /RRPV DQG (&8 UHSURJUDPPLQJ &RQYHUVLRQ HQJLQH PRXQWV 7UDQVPLVVLRQ &URVVPHPEHUV &RQYHUVLRQ 6XPSV 5DFN SLQLRQ &RQYHUVLRQV

sales@williamsraceservices.com Ph:07 5502 3636

&$(3(5)250$1&(352'8&76 &20 $8

Visit our new Southport showroom!

0$,1 5' &$67/(0$,1( 9,&725,$ 7

www.williamsraceservices.com.au

PRODUCTS/INDUSTRY

Contact Bruce Williams for bookings and information on 0418 349 555 or Bruce@Overdrivemedia.com.au

BETTER FLOW, MORE GO

“I only trust Brakes Direct!”

Chris ‘Atko’ Atkinson - World Rally Driver

1300 724 943

brakesdirect.com.au

The i30 N is the latest hot hatch to join the tuning market, compliments of Hyundai, and Williams Racing Services is one of the first to offer performanceenhancing products with this cold air intake and air filter package.

It delivers: • Greatly improved flow and filtration, providing gains in power, torque, throttle response and induction noise.

• The high-performance Tri-Foam filter re-routes the airflow more efficiently and effectively through the engine bay, and the aluminium airbox in place of the more restrictive factory set-up is also an advantage.

• The cold air intake system is set up to allow cooler air to easily flow into your engine by routing the intake feed away from any heat source that might compromise results.

With the ITG intake kit fitted, the car sees significant gains as a result of this simple bolt-on modification. Independent dyno testing has showed the kit to produce up to 10 horsepower more across the rev range, at the same time giving the engine a purposeful growl without being too loud.

The kit package is $615.00 inc plus fitting if required. For further inforamtion visit www.williamsraceservices.com.au or call (07) 5502 3636

TILTON BRAKE BALANCE SYSTEMS

As Australia’s authorised Tilton Engineering race products agent, Racer Industries stocks a huge range of racing brake-related products and spares. Always in stock is a selection of brake and clutch pedal assemblies in both floor mount and underdash mounting options to suit all budgets.

Tilton makes a range of brake and clutch master cylinders to suit these systems, as well as other sytems. Tilton have a range of products designed to make balancing your front to rear brake package a whloe lot easier and more accurate.

Tilton also makes a range of balance bar assembles and has in-cockpit driver-adjustable cables in several options.

For futher information on the range of Tilton Engineering brake components or other products in the Tilton range, visit www.racerindustries.com.au or call the team at Racer Industries on 07 5546 2040.

WEAR YOUR FORD AND MUSTANG BRAND WITH PRIDE

4 & 5 speed dog-box racing transmissions, as used in TCM, Australian Trans-Am, IPRA & Sports Sedans

www.austtrans.com

Phone: (03) 9544 3323

02 6933 6888 0

If you’re a passionate Ford fan who wears your heart on your sleeve, you can also wear it on the head and back – and stay warm in the process – with this range of official Ford and Mustang apparel and accessories.

With everything from caps, key rings and polo shirts through to a range of thermal protection clothing, including fleece tops and jackets, there is no reason not to have the latest in Ford- and Mustang-branded gear.

For some of the range, see the full-page ad on page 29 of this issue.

For more information and to see the full range of official Ford, FORD PERFORMANCE BASEBALL CAP BLACK Ford Performance and Ford Mustang apparel and accessories, visit motorsportsuperstore.com.au. $30.00 plus P&H

Distributor for G Force e Transmissions Parts Service

11 Brewer Street. Clontarf. QLD 4019 | 07 3284 3785

www.tiltatrailer.com

FORD MEN’S POLYESTER POLO $50.00 plus P&H

Mens Ford Jacket $150 plus P&H

ULTIMATE POWER AUSTRALIAN WILL Power has taken his first race victory of the 2019 IndyCar season winning a shorted race at Pocono Raceway.

The Team Penske driver was leading when the red flag was thrown on lap 128 of 200 due to severe weather conditions.

Power was joined on the podium by second place finisher, Scott Dixon and Team Penske team mate Simon Pagenaud who finished third.

Former Formula 2 driver Santino Ferrucci scored his best career IndyCar result in fourth place, with championship leader Josef Newgarden rounding out the top five.

It was chaos at the start of the race, Pagenaud took the race lead off Newgarden. Further back championship contender Alexander Rossi was overtaken by Dixon and then drafted by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Takuma Sato. The trio ran three wide on the approach to Turn 2, Sato moved left squeezing Rossi into Hunter-Reay, this sent the

three cars spinning into James Hinchcliffe and Felix Rosenqvist who rode up the wall before coming to a stop, Sato meantime came to rest upside down. However all drivers escaped relatively unharmed.

The race was red flagged for 45 minutes due to the extensive clean up, on the warm up before the restart Power pitted with a suspected puncture and restarted from last position.

On the restart Power was a man on a mission, in the space of 12 laps he had recovered to 11th position.

The Aussie was last of the leaders to make his first routine pit and did so moments before Spencer Pigot brought out the yellow flag when he crashed into the Turn 1 wall. The yellow flag slowed the field down and allowed Power to rejoin in second behind his team mate Pagenaud.

After the restart the pair exchanged positions multiple times in a great scrap for the lead.

HAMLIN CONTINUES STRONG FORM DENNY HAMLIN took victory under the lights of Bristol Motor Speedway to take his fourth victory of the season and his fifth consecutive top five finish.

It was an emotional night as Hamlin overtook Matt DiBenedetto with just 11 laps of the 500 lap encounter remaining.

DiBenedetto finished just 0.502s behind his Toyota Camry brand mate at the finish line, Brad Keselowski was the highest placed Ford in third.

After starting 31st Kyle Busch calved his way through the field to finish fourth from the highest placed Chevrolet driver Chase Elliott in fifth. Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top 10.

Despite the career best result DiBenedetto was disappointed to finish in second after leading the race with under a dozen laps to go. It was a doubly disappointing as he was told in the lead up to the event that he would not remain with the Leavine

CAMMISH TAKES VICTORY

Pagenaud was first of the pair to pit, just moments before Colton Herta hit the wall and brought out another caution. As a result when Power made his stop he re-joined down in seventh.

Again Power made a good restart and in six laps jumped from seventh to fourth, on lap 110 Power was left in the lead as all those in front had pitted. The former Indy 500 champion set some blistering laps on old tyres and this allowed him to jump to second when he completed his stop.

Shortly after the stop Power on fresher tyres, honed in on Dixon and breezed past the Kiwi to

take his first win of the season when the race was red flagged due to an approaching storm.

“I had a few issues during the race but we just kept coming back, full credit to the team, we had a great car,” Power said.

The next round of the series takes place at Gateway on the 24th of August.

Standings: Newgarden 535, Rossi 500, Pagenaud 495, Dixon 483, Power 407, HunterReay 344, Rahal 334, Sato 331, Rosenqvist 304, Bourdais 300.

NASCAR

Family Racing team in 2020.

Hamlin started from pole position but was involved in a collision with Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson on lap 189, the contact resulted in a loose wheel and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver went a lap down.

Just before the halfway stage on lap 248 a caution was deployed and Hamlin was able to get himself back on the lead lap.

DiBenedetto had a much more consistent race, on lap 388 shortly after a caution DiBenedetto took

the lead off Erik Jones and was not headed for the next 93 laps.

The deciding moment of the race came when DiBenedetto was unable to put a lap on Ryan Newman. Eventually with a bit of contact between the pair DiBenedetto made his way through, but the damage had been done, Hamlin had halved the gap and DiBenedetto tweaked his steering.

With 11 laps to go Hamlin caught and passed DiBenedetto on the inside to take the race victory.

“I just want to say sorry to Matt DiBenedetto and

BTTC

VICTORIES WERE shared by Honda Civic drivers Dan Cammish, Sam Tordoff and Josh Cook during an eventful weekend of British Touring Car Championship action at the Thruxton Circuit.

The opening race saw Tordoff start alongside Jason Plato however Plato was handed a drive through penalty for starting out of his grid box.

This left Tordoff out front, he came under pressure in the closing stages but held off Cammish and Adam Morgan to take the win by 0.4s.

In Race 2 Tordoff led early from Morgan and Cook, but could not keep the cars behind at bay. Into the final chicane on lap 4 the trio went three wide with Cook emerging in the lead, which he held to win from Morgan and Matt Neal.

After recording eight podiums in 2019 Cammish broke

50 AutoAction

INDYCAR

through to take his first win of the season. Despite a poor start Cammish kept his head, when it started to rain he pounced on a mistake from Rob Collard to take the lead which he would not relinquish, Collard finished second ahead of Neal.

“We dug deep all day today, worked hard on the car in qualifying and we’ve chased the car all day today,” said a delighted Cammish. “My best ever weekend with first, second and fifth.”

(his crew chief) Mike Wheeler,” Hamlin said, “I hate it. I know a win would mean a lot to that team, but I’ve got to give 110% to my whole team.”

In the race Daniel Suarez overtook his StewartHaas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer for the final playoff-eligible position with just two races remaining before the cut.

Just six days earlier at Michigan International Speedway Kevin Harvick took the race victory, however at Bristol his race came to an early end with clutch problems.

RAST BRILLIANT AT BRANDS HATCH RENE RAST has pulled clear in the DTM championship after recording two podium finishes at the Brands Hatch in England.

BMW driver Marco Wittmann took pole for the Saturday race ahead Rast, Loic Duval and R-Motorsport driver Paul di Resta who gave Aston Martin its best grid position in DTM. The Scotsman even led into Turn 1 and dominated the early, but received a penalty for a jump start and eventually retired from the race.

At one stage Wittmann held a 5s lead over Rast, but the Audi driver closed the margin down, but Wittmann held on to win by 0.3s ahead of Rast, with Nico Muller

DTM

rounding out the podium.

Audi dominated on Sunday locking out the top eight positions on the grid. Rast controlled the race from the start, keeping Muller at bay in the closing laps to take victory.

“I am mega happy, I extended my points’ lead, perfect! My last win was already five races ago, so therefore I’m really happy,” Rast said.

Muller finished second ahead of Robin Frijns. The best BMW driver was Philipp Eng who finished fifth, Wittmann attempted a two stop strategy but could only finish 10th.

s w e n Y A D E E SP GREAT GRAVEL AT KNOXVILLE

Image: Nakita Pollock

ROBBIE FARR has started his massive schedule of 41 race meetings in the 2019-20 season with victory in the Northern Territory Sprintcar Championship at Northline Speedway. He added to his collection of state titles, winning the 30-lap feature ahead of Danny Reidy and Darwin’s Danny Porter.

Image: Geoff Rounds

SPEEDWAY AUSTRALIA bosses have made a significant change to the Western Swing of the 2019-20 World Series Sprintcars calendar, with Albany Speedway replaced by Esperance Speedway.

The newly listed venue will see racing on February 14, and the original round on Feb 8 at the Perth Motorplex has also been removed. A statement from SA said: “A chance discussion... saw Esperance grab the opportunity that was presented, following Albany’s notification that they were unable to commit to the series next season.” Competing teams will now have a tight overnight seven-hour drive from Esperance to Bunbury for WSS racing the following night.

CARSON MACEDO pocketed an extra $1000 at this year’s Knoxville Nationals for winning The Classic Bonus award for the highest finishing driver who competed in the 2019 Warrnambool Classic and did not qualify for the Nationals A-Main. The Californian ace is returning to Australia to race during the upcoming 2019/20 season. He will again get behind the wheel of the Dyson Motorsport Sprintcar and will also jump aboard a Speedcar as part of a two-car operation that will see his campaign begin in Sydney from December 26.

MATT JACKSON’S superb form has seen him awarded the coveted Gold Cup at the Speedcar Association of NSW annual awards for the 2018-19 season. Leading the list of other winners was Silver Cup winner Dean Meadows, with the Best Presented Team presented to Daniel Paterson and Rookie of the Year Honours going to Harley Smee.

Two special awards were handed out, with Michael Macdonald receiving Club Member of the Year and Brett Morris a Life Membership.

Image: Geoff Rounds

IT WAS a family affair at the 2019 Victorian Speedcar Drivers Association awards, with three generations of one family scooping the pool. Travis Mills won the point score championship and also the aggregate for the Southern Speedcar Tour, winning from Nick Parker and Justin Paull (who won Most Improved Driver) in both series. Mills’ son, Caleb, was named Rookie of the Year and his father, John, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Sam Papa and Frank Nankiville.

www.autoaction.com.au

AutoActionMagazine

DAVID GRAVEL had never finished better than 10th in his nine previous attempts at the Knoxville Nationals, but this year he broek through for an emotional win.

In 2016, the late Jason Johnson had scored a remarkable victory in the same race and, carrying the same number, just three years later the Jason Johnson Racing #41 team celebrated another.

Bobbi Johnson had kept the JJR team going after her husband was killed in June 2018, and Gravel was selected to fill the seat. Now the choice has paid off in spades, as Gravel and Johnson’s young son Jaxx celebrated together on the most famous podium of the year.

In front of more than 20,000 people – triple the town’s population – polesitter Aaron Reutzel launched past Gravel, followed by veteran Joey Saldana, but he slid high and Gravel took second.

Gravel sat patiently for for the first quarter of the race, but the 27-year-old from Connecticut hit the lead on lap 13. He then showed a steely resolve for 37 laps, racing to a comfortable three-second victory to claim the first prize of $150,000 in the 59th running of the famed event.

Second went to Hard Charger winner Logan Schuchart, who put in a Herculean drive from 22nd (of the 24-car field) to edge out 2013 World of Outlaws champion Daryn Pittman.

Gavel said after the race: “I just let the race come to me… It was a dream week. To have Jeff Gordon and Axalta keep this team going made it all worth it. I wasn’t that tired in the car, but after the chequered it sinks in and you feel like you have boulders on your shoulders. It’s surreal really.”

Gavel and the JJR team have been stellar in qualifying all year, with 13 fastest times to date, and this had his confidence high.

“That car is extremely good at Knoxville. I really feel good about where we’re at. We’ve been qualifying well all year and I was able to capitalise on that. It was an awesome night.

“You have to search around and find something AT THIS time of the year, many make their way to a warmer climate such as the Northern Territory.

Many southern Australians have made the trek north, not just for warmer weather but also for what has become a staple on the national motorsport calendar, the Chariots of Thunder Sprintcar Series at Darwin’s Northline Speedway.

For 13 years, this popular eight-day tournament has been dominated by Top End drivers and has grown significantly in the last four years.

This year one of Darwin’s best drivers, Chace Karpenko, is using the strong competition against 40 of Australia’s best as a warm-up for a full-time World Series Sprintcars tour.

“I like this time of year, at my favourite track,” he said. “Since they’ve resurfaced it, it’s just transformed how you race this track. It’s unbelievable here at the moment.

The weather, the promotion and really good prizemoney for the Chariots series are also why this series has kicked way ahead.”

Following his breakout year in 2016, he reached new heights on home soil. This year he has not finished lower than second.

Karpenko says he is “hungrier than ever to achieve higher results”, including going on the road as a contracted driver with the 2019-20 World Series Sprintcars.

Karpenko will make his WSS debut teaming up with the Western-Australian based Cowara/Jak Civil Sprintcar team, which is

Auto_Action

Images: Richard Hathaway

that nobody else does. When Jason (Johnson) won the Nationals, he kind of entered high and turned down. I was kind of able to do that a little bit, but I feel you could spin your tyres quite a bit. I feel like on the bottom you kept your tyres underneath you the best.”

Gravel is no stranger to Australia, having driven for Melbourne car owner Bruce Stephens in 2013 and 2014. It was two in a row for Stephens, as last year’s winner, Brad Sweet – who finished sixth this year – has also driven for him.

This year was the first time since 2005 that 10-time Nationals winner Donny Schatz didn’t finish at least second.

It was a rough night for Schatz. He needed a B-Main runner-up finish to qualify 18th for the feature event, then found trouble early in the A-Main, exiting on lap six with a throttle linkage issue. He remained on the lead lap to finish ninth.

Australia was again well represented, with James McFadden in the Kasey Kahne-owned #9 car

THE CHASE FOR CHACE

Image: Nakita Pollock

owned by Steve and Sharon Duggan, a team Karpenko has driven for in recent years.

“Steve and I have struck a deal for this Northern Territory season and for a World Series contract. It will be a partnership where we will utilise both of our inventory. We will hit the road and, while it’s a big commitment, I’m pumped to be doing it. From here on, that’s what we’re working towards.

“World Series has such a long history in Australia and it’s a challenge, and the first opportunity to do something like this competitively. I’m grabbing it with both hands and I feel that my form of late has come on and I’m ready to run with those guys. We

instagram.com/autoactionmag/

again displaying his talent to finish eighth after starting 19th following a pre-race engine change.

Just days earlier, McFadden captured the 360 cubic-inch Knoxville Nationals. He also won the Jesse Hockett Mr Sprintcar Award, given to the driver who earns the most points over 10 nights of racing in central Iowa from August 2-11.

Hard Knox night-three preliminary winner Kerry Madsen came home 11th from 21st while brother Ian Madsen, who was on the pace all week, finished 15th.

South Australian Scott Bogucki missed moving into the A-Main and finished eighth in the lastchance B-Main.

“This little team gave their heart and soul this week to lock straight into the B-Main out of position six. With an incredible field of drivers all around us, we held onto eighth with a car that was improving every lap. This team is full of passion and commitment,” Bogucki said.

Rusty Hickman of Bendigo, making his Nationals debut, finished 17th in the C-Main, while fellow first-timer Marcus Dumesny rolled out of the same race and was ranked 22nd.

Multiple Aussie Sprintcar champion Brooke Tatnell finished fifth in the D-Main, saying it was his “worst Nationals ever”.

Glen Seville was seventh in the E-Main and Brodie Tulloch was ninth, while Aussie champion Andrew Scheuerle sat the night out after a tough Knoxville debut. haven’t done a lot of racing at those tracks and I’m also ready for the commitment. I think there’s mixed reaction with some series around the country, whereas I think World Series is on the rise again.

“We’ve both wanted to do this for a while.

I think we can put our heads together and organise it and I reckon it can work out well.”

Before the heady world of Sprintcar racing, Karpenko competed in the Junior Sedans, Street Stocks, AMCAs and, at just 19 years old, won the 2006 WA Late Model Championship at the Perth Motorplex.

“I was then a real sedan racer and now I’m in a Sprintcar. They’re the ultimate in Speedway. To race a Sprintcar, they are the pinnacle. You’ve got an animal to drive and then you have Image: to master it. That’s what Lee Greenawalt dragged me in.”

Karpenko’s star is certainly on the rise.

He was voted the 2018 NT Speedway Driver of the Year at the inaugural CAMS/NT Motorsport Awards earlier this year.

He is eyeing off racing in America, saying “it’s on the bucket list”, but his immediate focus has been on the Chariots series. He is looking to better his seventh from last year at a venue he rates as his favourite.

“I’ve raced at Warrnambool, a track you want to race, and it’s wicked. I did love racing there, but I was like a fish out of water and had a hard time matching it with them down there.

When the southerners get up here, it makes you put in 110 per cent and you want to go even better on a track I know so well.”

AutoAction

51

p ra w S L A NATION

compiled by garry o’brien

Simon Pfitzner won all three Sports Sedan races in the magnificent ex-Thomson Mercedes

WINTON’S WINNING FESTIVAL Jon Miles was hard to beat in Formula Ford.

HQ Holdens celebrated the 30th anniversary of the category on the mainland at Winton. Andrew Magilton (2) was the pacesetter.

52 AutoAction

Report: Dan McCarthy Images: Rebecca Hind/Neil Hammond

THE WINTON Festival of Speed once again delivered the goods, with competitive racing action throughout all historic categories and classes around the full Winton configuration.

It was a cold weekend at Winton Motor Raceway, but not even the brisk conditions could turn away the hardy race fans, who brought along their chairs and blankets to brave the conditions and enjoy all the historic action on the weekend of August 3-4.

The self-proclaimed Nation’s Action Track played host to many categories and classes, from Historic Touring Cars to Historic Formula Ford and HQs. One of the feature categories was Historic Formula Ford, which was celebrating its 50th year Down Under, starting the weekend with a whopping 28 entryof pre-1990 cars. The FFs were given two eight-lap races and a 15-lap 50th Anniversary feature race.

Among the drivers having a run in Formula Ford were reigning Porsche GT3 Cup series winner Simon Fallon, former touring car racer John Blanchard (father of Supercars driver Tim) and 1980 Australian Formula 2 Champion Richard Davison (father of Will and Alex). With these big names competing, the three races were close and fierce but fair.

Another of the feature categories was Group N Historic Touring Cars, which also had a 15-lap feature race to finish the weekend.

Myles Bond was runner-up in two races driving the ex-Mick Monterosso Ford Escort.

Formula Fordd

Race 1: Jonathan Miles (Van Diemen RF89), RF89) Nick Bennett (Van Diemen RF88), Simon Fallon (Van Diemen RF86) Race 2: Miles, Bennett, Neil Richardson (Van Diemen RF89) Race 3: Miles, Fallon, Bennett

Group N The Formula Vees put were typically entertaining, while Terry Wyhoon drove the late Dean Neville’s Camaro to victory.

An exotic 22-car field hit the track, containing a large array of vehicles from classic muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang to the smaller Holden Torana and Ford Capri, with everything in between, including Datsuns, BMWs and Jaguars.

The ever popular Historic Sports Sedans also entertained the Winton fans with the return of many well-known cars, including the ex-Bryan Thomson MercedesChev V8 450SLC that was also raced in period by John Bowe and Brad Jones. Almost 20 of these sensational-sounding cars rolled back the years for the hardy fans.

The much-loved Formula 5000 category returned to Winton for the first time since James Hunt won the Rose City 10,000 in 1978, so this was the first time they had used the longer track configuration. Seeing the old

Race 1: Terry Wyhoon (Chev Camaro), Peter McNiven (Mazda RX2), Andrew M Cannon (Ford Mustang) Race 2: Wyhoon, Darryl Hansen (Ford Mustang), McNiven Race 3: Wyhoon, McNiven, Harry Bargwanna (Ford Mustang)

Italian Classics

Race 1: Hugh Harrison (Alfa Romeo GTV), Mick Aarons (Alfa Romeo GTV6), Trent Harrison (Alfa Romeo GTV6) Race 2: Harrison, Domenic Carosa (Abarth 500), Aarons Race 3: Harrison, Aarons, Carosa

M & O Sports & Racing & Invited Cars

open-wheelers on the circuit certainly got people excited in anticipation of the new S5000 series set to make its debut at Sandown next month.

As usual the event celebrated a number of historic milestones, including the 50th anniversary of the legendary Holden Dealer Team and anniversaries of famous car models such as the Ford Capri, Holden LC Torana and Bolwell Nagari.

On both days of the weekend, the Shannons Show and Shine allowed any historic car to hit the Vince Gucciardo battled Phil Chester for MG supremacy.

track and take part in a parade.

It wasn’t just the on-track action that delivered at Winton because off track there was plenty to see, with more than 500 road and race cars on display.

Many historic motorsport merchandise stores could also be found around the circuit selling DVDs and model cars.

It is fair to say the Winton Festival of Speed was once again a success, and next year many famous cars and drivers will return to the twisty Winton circuit to do it all again.

Race 1: Andrew Robson (Brabham BT30), Laurie Bennett (Elfin 600B), Peter Strauss (Brabham BT31) Race 2: Robson, Bennett, Strauss Race 3: Robson, Bennett, Phil Randall (Chevron B14)

Groups J, K, Lb & Invited Cars & Formula Vee Race 1: Graeme Raper (George Reed MONOSKAT), Nigel Jones (Rennmax MK2), Samantha Dymond (Lola MK1) Race 2: Daniel Bando (Elfin NG), Jones, Donald Greiveson (Spectre NG Type) Race 3: Bando, Greiveson, Phil Oakes (Elfin 500)

Historic Sports Sedans

Race 1: Simon Pfzitner (Mercedes Benz 450SLC), Myles Bond (Ford Escort), Mark Sully (Holden Torana LC) Race 2: Pfzitner, Eddie Metz (Ford Escort), Stephen Rooke (Morris Cooper) Race 3: Pfzitner, Bond, Metz

Groups P,Q,R Sports & Racing & Invited

Race 1: David Hardman (Hardman JH1), Andrew Makin (March 73B), Malcolm Oastler (Kaditcha AF2) Race 2: Makin, Hardman, Oastler Race 3: Hardman, Oastler, Conor Ryan (Ralt RT4)

MG Racing

Race 1: Phil Chester (MG B GT V8), Vincenzo Gucciardo (MG MGC Sebring), Damien Meyer (MG Midget) Race 2: Gucciardo, Chester, Meyer Race 3: Chester, Gucciardo, Meyer

HQ Racing

Race 1: Andrew Magilton, Bruce Heinrich, Rodney Earsman Race 2: Magilton, Heinrich, John Wise Race 3: Magilton, Andrew McLeod, Ryan Woods

Groups Sa,Sb,Sc & Invited

Darryl Hansen was stiff opposition to Wyhoon, but the Camaro came out on top.

Race 1: Matthew Hansen (Ford Shelby), Rowan Pinder (Chevrolet Corvette), Michael Byrne (Lotus Seven S4) Race 2: Hansen, Alexander Webster (Porsche 911), Hugh Harrison (Alfa Romeo GTV) Race 3: Hansen, Byrne, Ray Narkiewicz (Chevrolet Corvette)

AutoAction

53

NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

TORRID RUN TO POT OF GOLD

SPORTIES TAKEAWAY ON MENU TEAMING UP and called ‘Steak N Chips’, Peter Costello and Harry Weckert won the Alice Springs Off Road Racing Club’s Sporties 12 Hour at Mt Ooraminna on August 3-4.

Costello in his Toyota turbo-powered Jimco Pro Buggy and Weckert driving his SXS Sports Yamaha YXZ 1000 covered 18 laps of the 58-kilometre course in the once-around-the-clock event.

Finishing 22 minutes behind and completing the same number of laps were ‘Let’s Go Racing’ with Lockie Weir (ProLite Jimco/Toyota) and his son, Tim (Super 1650 Holeshot/Toyota). They finished a lap ahead of thirdplaced ‘Si Si Bi’ consisting of David Bird (Extreme 2WD Bennett Trophy Truck/Chev) and Ben Oliver (Performance 2WD Holden Kingwood Ute/ Chev).

‘Steak N Chips’ started second and led by the sixth lap before dropping to second again on laps eight and nine.

However, a lap later they were back leading and were never headed from there.

On lap one, ‘Let’s Go Racing’ dropped from the lead to third and didn’t get back to second until the 10th tour. Meanwhile, ‘Si Si Bi’ worked their way to the podium after starting seventh.

The early race leaders were ‘Hoonigans’, comprising Greg Hicks (ProLite Sollitt/Subaru) and Zac Gunston (Can Am X3 Rotax), who stayed ahead for the first five laps before dropping places in the middle stages. They passed 10thstarting ‘The Kids Inheritance’ – Peter Baulch (Rivmaster/ Toyota) and Wayne Foley (Scorpion/Toyota) – late in the race to secure fourth and relegate the Super 1650 pair to fifth. GOB

54 AutoAction

FOR THE second time in three years, Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings won the Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro, while Mark and Matt Burrows were crowned the outright winners of the 2019 BF Goodrich CAMS Australian Off Road Championship.

Extraordinary conditions dictated the outcome of the third and final round, and the title itself. Rain in the lead up and heavy downfalls on the Friday night made the 75km course unsafe to race, causing Saturday’s scheduled two laps to be cancelled. On top of that, several other teams also opted not to run the next day.

After Sunday’s five laps, Dale Martin and Lee Wells (ProLite Tatum/Nissan V6) crossed the finish line first. But after their compulsory pit stop (fuel breaks) times were added, they were relegated to second behind Gartner/Jennings (Extreme 2WD Geiser Bros Ford Raptor/Ford V8).

Mark Burrows, with son Matt navigating their Jimco/Holden Alloytec Pro Buggy, finished third and picked up his eighth championship title. Their road to victory improved as the laps passed and was helped with nine-time and reigning AORC champions Shannon and Ian Rentsch electing not to start their Jimco/ Nissan V6 twin turbo Pro Buggy.

Also assisting the cause was an accident between Josh Howells/Eric Hume (Jimco) and Toby Whateley/

Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings took a muddy victory in the Rainbow enduro.

Simon Herrmann (Can-Am X3 Maverick).

Howells had spun and Whateley couldn’t avoid him.

Matthew Martin and Nick Jackson (ProLite Jimco/Nissan) were also in title contention until they found the muddy conditions too heavy to negotiate.

Finishing fourth, and first in SXS Turbo, were Gregory Gualandi and Matt Simpson (Can-Am) ahead of five Can-Am class rivals – Roydn Bailey/Keke Falland, Peter Carr/Matt Wyndham, Phil Lovett/Luke Stanton, Greg Campbell/Josh Bennett and Allen Henson/Luke Shaobolt.

Tenth place went to John Wisse and

Adrian Weeding (Yamaha YXZ 1000R), who also took out SXS Sport.

With several title contenders out, sixth-placed Carr finished second in the championship, despite a brake line failure and blowing a couple of belts, while Henson’s ninth elevated him to third overall.

The event was also the final round of the Victorian Off Road Championship, where the Burrows took the honours from previous points leader Eric Schlifelner (Sportslite Saber/Hayabusa), who

finished 12th outright. outright Other title contenders, Luke Densley and Warren Collins (Can-Am) failed to finish as did Peter and Brock Stevenson (Super 1650 Hunter Rivmasta/Toyota) and David Davis (Sportlite Saber/Suzuki). GOB

Image: Tim Allot

MAJOR TAKES SIXTH MAJOR VICTORY LOCAL DRIVER Peter Major won a sixth Targa West Rally in his 2004 Porsche 996 Turbo, the West Australian taking his fourth consecutive win.

Fifty cars took part in the 15th edition of Targa West, run over 35 stages and 260 competitive kilometres in four days.

In the Modern Competition class fighting for the outright win, Major and co-driver Kim Screaigh were pushed by Peter Rullo and Jimmy Marquet in a new Lotus Exige Sport 410.

For almost three days, the two leaders were split by just a few seconds, with Major holding a slender advantage.

However, on Saturday’s final stage, in an attempt to close the gap, Rullo locked his brakes and ran over a roundabout, which cost him around a minute.

This meant that on the final day Major and Screaigh could afford to breathe, cruising home to win by exactly two minutes from Rullo.

“Full credit to Peter Rullo, he pushed

me harder than I’ve ever been pushed. I would also like to thank the organisers and volunteers for another great rally,” Major said.

Rounding out the class podium were Will White and Matt Thompson (2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9), who finished a further 2m07s behind Rullo.

In the Competition Classic class for pre-1986 cars, Simon Gunson and co-driver Jurgen Lunsmann (1971 Ford Capri Perana) were dominant. Despite losing 90 seconds on Saturday with distributor problems, they remained in the lead and took victory by 4m01s. Bruce Lake and Peter Hall (1971 Datsun 240Z) finished second ahead of Kim Stewart and Frank Zanotti (1965 Ford Mustang).

Husband and wife combination Jeffery and Catherine Foster in a 2016 Porsche Cayman 981 GTS took victory in the Targa 130 class, while Andy van Kann and Megan Logue (Honda Civic Type R) took out the the 2Day Rallye class. DM

Image: Wendy Moohin

TURNER’S TIGHT TRI CHALLENGE WIN ONLY ONE second split winners Robert Turner and Waylon Jaggard from runner-up Chris Sollitt in the Markwell Demolition Gold City Tri Challenge on August 3, third round of the North Queensland Off Road Racing Super Series, held at the Milchester Motor Sports Complex at Charters Towers.

Sollitt (Sportsite Sollittco/ Subaru) pipped Turner (Pro Buggy Desert Dynamics/Chev V8) in the prologue before Turner took out the first three laps, two over the long 14km track and the next one on the 9km short track.

By that point Turner held a 26s lead over Sollitt, with David Skinner a further 20s away in third place in his Sollittco.

Kent Battle and Adam Franklyn were handily placed in fourth

after the first heat, but their Element Prodigy Pro Buggy was soon out of the running.

Sollitt and Skinner squared the next heat before Sollitt reduced the leader’s margin by half with a win on lap six.

Turner then looked to have the event in his keeping with good wins on the next three laps before striking dramas on the last lap, where he finished second-last.

Skinner finished third overall from Mark Bredden (Sportslite Matrix Mk1), Gordon Fletcher (Polaris RZR XP1000), Peter Numms/Mark Fegan (Super 1650 Buggy), and Sam and Brad Hancock (Polaris RZR Turbo).

With two heats remaining, James Sant and Elizabeth Murrell (Can Am X3) joined Battle on the sidelines. GOB

TWO EVENTS, TWO WINNERS TWO TEAMS were winners in the Horizon Apartments Narooma Forest Rally, with Michael Harding/James Thornburn and James Price/Maisie Place taking the honours on August 3.

Harding and Thornburn (Subaru WRX STi Spec C) were first outright and in 4WD from Chris Higgs and Daymon Nicoll (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6) and Stuart Collison and Lance Arundel (WRX STi).

However, the event’s main focus was as a blind rally and not pacenoted, for those competing in the fourth rounds of the NSW Clubman, Development and Open Rally Series, the Hyundai Rally Series, and the ACT Regional Rally Series.

First of the non-pacenote entries and declared the winners were Price and Place (2WD Ford Escort), ahead of Doug Wright and James Ford (WRX) and Jamie Neale and Tommi Flegl (Honda Civic).

The first stage of the event, which was

MURDOCKS MASTER WYNARKA

CONSISTENT LAPPERS Andrew and Fletcher Murdock (Element Prodigy/Chev) won the Century Batteries Wynarka Enduro, round five of the SA Multi Club Off Road Series, on August 10-11.

Matt Curtis and Brad Traynor (GCR Rhino/Nissan) had been the early leaders but were beaten to the section one win by Brad and Paris Gallard (Geiser Trophy Truck/Chev). The Gallards extended their lead on Sunday morning before succumbing to power steering failure after two laps.

Curtis briefly regained the lead but couldn’t keep the Murdocks at bay, settling for the runner-up spot.

Despite being well down on power in his GM Ecotecpowered Alumi Craft single-seater, Tanner James came home a hard-earned third.

Todd Lehmann and Jeff Tucker (Jimco/Chev) just missed out on a podium finish after suffering a puncture on Sunday morning.

Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Southern Cross/ Chev) had a steady run through the rain and mud to pick up fifth, with Dean Carter and Bradley Jacobs (Chenowth Millenium/Chev) not far behind.

Next home were Jeff and Jai Loader (Chev-powered Nissan Navara), who took the Performance 2WD win.

Brenton Forsyth (Southern Cross/Nissan) had

Image: Wishart Media catering for eight different competitions and over 30 entries, had to be cancelled due to a car blocking the road.

Although under pressure from Wright and Neale, Price took out four of the first five stages and went into the final stage with a healthy lead. Despite losing to both on the final stage, Price still had enough up his sleeve for a 34s victory.

Image: David Batchelor

started day two from 20th and charged through to cross the line eighth.

Sam Vanstone and Larissa Jeffery (RIDS Joker/ Toyota) slithered their way into ninth and the Super 1650 top spot, half a second up on class rivals Sam and Kyle Tucker (Ratbagz/Toyota), who lost more than 10 minutes with a late-race flat tyre.

Robert Plant and Ryan Burr (Jimco/Nissan) were in among the front-runners until they were sidelined with a broken CV joint.

SAORRA Multi Club points leaders Mark Alvino and Jason Hannig (Southern Cross/Mitsubishi) were heading towards another good points haul until they hit a tree halfway through section two.

Trav Milburn (Chenowth Millenium/Mitsubishi) posted the fastest lap of the race on Saturday, but visibility became an issue and he limped home with a fuel starvation problem and didn’t start on Sunday.

The class winners were Murdock/Murdock (Pro Buggy), Curtis/Traynor (ProLite), James (Sportslite), and Perri and Joe Guidolin in a Can Am Maverick (Superlite A). John Smith and Grant Manion (Nissan Patrol) snared Extreme 2WD, while Matthew Witmitz and Michael Shipton (Land Rover Discovery) won Extreme 4WD. David Batchelor

Completing the top ten were Darkie Barr-Smith/Jono Forrest (Datsun 200B), Joe Chapman/Adrian Grabham (WRX), Russel Winks/Stephen Hodgkin (Holden Commodore) and David Stephens/Lynda Leigh (WRX).

Six of the 33 starters failed to finish, including Trevor Stilling/Logan Waterhouse (Nissan Stanza), who won stage two but

failed to finish the final section.

Others failing to finish were Bruce Durham/Steve Bramble (Toyota Celica), Bethany Cullen/Mel McMinn (EVO 6.5) and Michael Stewart/Matthew Portus (WRX), all due to accidents. Mechanical problems eliminated Peter and Tim Joass (EVO 2) and the Jarra McKay-Collins/River Gunn Ford Falcon. GOB

Image: CH Images

TWO OUT THREE BRINGS WIN SCORING THE best time over two heats set up Gerard McConkey and Russell Hewett to take out the Burnett Sprint, round two of the KCF Rallysport Short Course Challenge Rally at Benarkin on August 10.

Teamed up in their Subaru Impreza WRX STi, the pair finished 14s ahead of Carey Cahal and Ronnie Bustard (Mitsubishi EVO 9), with Craig Aggio and Megan Benson third in their Toyota Corolla KE30.

The latter duo was also the first of the 2WDs. The event was run over two heats, each of which could be, if desired, run three times. But only the fastest two runs from the two heats counted, and added together to determine the final outcome.

This rally also utilised A to B timing rather than the more traditional A to A. With no set service schedule and untimed liaisons, it allowed competitors a more relaxed event and the maximum time competing.

McConkey was fastest over both heats, while

Cahal and Aggio squared with their best two runs in heat one before Cahal was second-fastest in heat two ahead of Aggio.

Kim Acworth and Ryan Preston (WRX) were fourth overall ahead of the similarly mounted Shaun Dragona/Ray Preston, and Adam O’Brien/ Matt Sosimienko (Mazda Familia GTR).

Next were the 2WD entries of David Ovenden/ Bruce Tyler (Mazda RX2), Dominic Corkeron/ Dennis Neagle (BMW E30) and Jukka Ylinen/Pip Bennett (Volkswagen Type 3).

Tenth, and first of the FWDs, were Tim and Debbie Dillon in their Hyundai Excel.

The number one seeds, Adrian Coppin and Erin Kelly in a Peugeot 208 AP4, only took one run at each heat due to excessive oil usage.

Tom Dermody and Brian William were early casualties after their Ford Escort RS1800 ran off the road and hit a tree, and there were six other DNFs, including Emily Jackson and David Waters, who rolled their Excel. GOB

“Coming up at the nation’s action and spectator tracks” Wakefield Park

www.wakefieldpark.com.au August 24-25 FOSC August 28 GEAR August 30 All Historic Race Meeting Private Practice for Cars & Bikes August 31 - September 1 All Historics

Winton

www.wintonraceway.com.au August 23 Test & Tune – Cars & Open Wheelers August 24 “No Bull” Sprints Round 4 August 25 PCV August 29 Test & Tune – Cars & Open Wheelers August 30 - September 1 Shannons Nationals

AutoAction

55

NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

MEMORABLE EXCEL WEEKEND THE RYAN PANNOWITCH Memorial was the feature race at round three of the South Australian State Racing Championships at Mallala on August 3-4. It is the fourth year of event for Excels and the third time Asher Johnston has won it.

Johnston was the dominant force all weekend and led from the start of the 15-lapper, slowly pulling away from Michael Clemente to greet the chequered flag 10s ahead of the young Victorian. It was a repeat of last year’s result, where they were also first and second.

Johnston has dominated this event, having wn the last three after finishing second in the augural running.

The action this year was a bit further back, with an intense three-way battle for third.

James Benford held down the position for more than two-thirds of the race, but a tap from Danny Errigo at the Southern Hairpin saw both cars run wide and Andy Ford was best in Historic Racing Cars.

Images: David Batchelor

Thomas Benford grab the spot, which he held to the flag.

Errigo claimed fourth ahead of James after they swapped places a couple of times over the remaining laps.

In Wynn’s Circuit Excels state championship round, honours went to Johnston with four wins, from Clemente with two and Errigo one.

James and Thomas Benford rounded out the top five.

SPORTS CARS/SPORTS SEDANS

IAN WILSON was never headed in the Sports Cars driving his TVR Tuscan.

Nicholas Paul (Porsche GT3 Cup) was a consistent second, just beating home Paul Mitolo (Ferrari 458 Challenge).

Josh Pickert was looking good for the Sports Sedan win until his Holden Monaro expired in race four.

The resulting small fire was quickly extinguished by the fire crew, but the

Asher Johnston took his third Ryan Pannowitch Memorial for Excels with a dominant display. race ended under the safety car.

Pickert’s misfortune handed the Sports Sedan win to Wade Reynolds (Toyota AE86).

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

ANDY SARANDIS’ weekend got off to a bad start, missing the first race to change his Mitsubishi EVO8’s clutch after qualifying.

Despite not winning a race, Scott Cook (Nissan Sylvia) took the Improved Production points win ahead of Sarandis, who won the remaining four races. Third went to opening race winner Max De Meyrick (Mazda RX3), while New South Welshman Stephen Wan (Honda Civic) won the Michael Rooke Memorial for under 2.0-litre cars.

FORMULA VEES

BATTLING IT out for 1600cc honours were Adam Newton (Sabre 02) and

Joel Oliver (Jacer V2K), who finished in that order from the ever-improving Peter Hood (Jacer V2K). Rob Surman (Stag) took a hard-earned 1200cc win, narrowly beating Rod Kowald (NG Elfin) with Matthew Bialek (Spectre) third.

FORMULA FORDS/HISTORIC & NON-HISTORIC RACING CARS

AGAIN THE best of the Historics was Andy Ford (Birrana 274), with Jim Doig (Motorlab Asp) and Dave Benda (Lola T590) taking the minors. Matthew Woodland (Mygale) was the last Formula Ford standing and took home the trophy.

SALOON CARS/HQ HOLDENS/ HISTORIC TOURING CARS

TOP SPOT in Saloon Cars went to Scott Dornan (Commodore VT) after early pacesetter Shaun Jamieson (VT) didn’t appear on Sunday. David Lines (VT) took full advantage of Jamieson’s absence,

winning all three races on day two to net second, well clear of Paul Denton (Commodore VY).

HQ’s had a good field and there was an epic battle at the front between Darryl Crouch, Darren Jenkins and Adam Butler from WA. Crouch looked set for the outright win until getting hit with a 5s penalty in the final race. That gave Butler the points edge he needed to beat Crouch, while Jenkins was a solid third.

SUPER MINI CHALLENGE

ON PAPER it looked like Craig Lindsell blitzed the field, but there were some good battles throughout the weekend.

Lindsell, Neil Turner and Linda Devlin all went under the lap record on Saturday, with Turner’s name next to the new benchmark. Devlin was a comfortable second for the round ahead of Turner, who failed to finish the final race.

David Batchelor

FOGGY AND FIREY AT MORGAN PARK FOGGY CONDITIONS welcomed competitors to Morgan Park’s 2.1km E course layout round for round three of the Warwick District Sporting Car Club B Series Sprints on Saturday August 2.

Many drivers experienced mechanical problems, including Greg Bell, whose Mitsubishi Lancer Evo suffered a major engine detonation and left a trail of oil and flames behind it.

The quickest run of the weekend was set by Geoff Noble in his Lotus, followed by Bruce McKenzie’s Formula 3 and Stephen Faulks in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

Greg Bell wanted to set the track on fire, but not like this.

Vees and Alfas contended. Images: Trapnell Creations

The popular series has only one more round remaining this year, on September 14-15, when the 2019 B Series champion will be crowned.

Next up on the sprint calendar is round 3 of the C series on August 24-25.

Spectator entry for all the super sprints is free of charge and are a fantastic action-packed weekend, with a large variety of cars competing.

For more information and for what events are coming up, visit www.morganparkraceway.com.au

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE 1 Geoff Noble 2 Bruce McKenzie 3 Stephen Faulks 4 Matt Plowman 5 Rob Bellinger 6 Trent Laves 7 Saxon Moyes 8 Liam Philp 9 Jason Patullo 10 Kees Van Der Horst

Proudly presented by Warwick District Sporting Car Club Inc for more information visit www.morganparkraceway.com.au

Next Round: C Series Round August 24-25

56 AutoAction

130 129 118 107 106 106 95 80 80 73

Brought to you by:

racefuels.com.au OTR SuperSprint, Supercars Championship Races 21 & 22, Porsche Carrera Cup Rd6, Super 3 Series Rd4, Aussie Racing Cars Rd5, Radical Australia Cup Rd5, Historic Touring Cars, The Bend Motorsport Park SA, Aug 23-25 Clybucca Rally, State Clubman Rally Rd5, Kempsey NSW, Aug 24 State Off Road Club Shield Rd9, Tyrrell Downs VIC, Aug 24 Club Motorkhana, Winton Raceway VIC, Aug 24 Multi Club One-Car Sprint, Reid Park Townsville QLD, Aug 24

WORKING DOG RALLY SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK not only hosted round five of the NSW State Racing Championships but also the final round of the Formula Vee Australian Series on August 3-4, resulting in a total of more than 150 entries for the weekend.

FORMULA VEES

THE FOURTH round of the national series featured a big entry and three sensational races.

Aaron Lee took the first race, extending his winning streak to eight, from Michael Kinsella and Aaron Pace, all three driving Jacers.

Race 2 went to Pace from Kinsella and Lee, after Kinsella pulled a great slipstream move with a lap to go.

The final had six cars vying for the lead the whole way, Kinsella finally coming out on top from Craig Sparke (Jacer) and Pace. Also in the fight were Dylan Thomas (Stinger) and fastest qualifier Wade McLean (Checkmate), who were classified fourth and fifth, while Lee was disqualified.

PRODUCTION SPORTS CARS

THE MINI-ENDURO featured a compulsory pit stop mid-race, which would determine the result because those who made the stop during a late-race Safety Car received a huge advantage.

Early on, a trio of Audi R8s driven

by Nick Kelly, Matt Stoupas and Vince Muriti lapped in formation at the front.

Muriti wasn’t able to stay with the others and dropped back,

Matt Stoupas continued his strong form to win the Production Sports Enduro. Image: Bruce Moxon

but reamined ahead of Geoff Morgan and Brad Schumacher, both in Porsches.

There was an early Safety Car, after the Porsches of Marcel Zallou and Greg Ward collided.

The second Safety Car came after 20 laps.

Garry Higgon had walled the fourth Audi and the recovery took some time.

A few of the leaders had pitted, but most had not.

The remainder of the leaders pitted under the Safety Car and thereby made a gain.

The race restarted for one final lap and it was Stoupas who took the win from Muriti and Schumacher.

The opening race was won by Kelly over Stoupas, Muriti, Morgan and Higgon.

FORMULA FORDS

THE OPENER went to Lachlan Ward (Spirit) from Cooper Allen and Zach Bates in Mygales. The first two places reversed in race two, with Bates third again. In the final, Ward and Allen had a torrid scrap before Ward was sidelined with suspension failure, leaving Allen to win from Bates and Mark Lowing (Listec).

FORMULA RACING CARS

IT WAS a troubled first race for Shane Wilson (Dallara), finishing last while Phil Morrow won from Graeme Holmes and Greg Muddle,

Michael Kinsella led a thrilling six-car battle in Race 3. Tony Virag took two victories in Prod Touring. Images: Insyde Media

Multi Club Khanacross, Awabawac Park Awaba NSW, Aug 24 Multi Club One-Car Sprint, BWEZ Mitchell Park Ballarat VIC, Aug 24 State Rallysprint Series Rd1, Mid Murray Motorplex SA, Aug 24 SXS Championship Rd3, Monza Park St Helen VIC, Aug 24 RACES Supersprint, RAAF Base East Sale VIC, Aug 24-25 Motor Racing Australia Rd7, Wakefield Park NSW, Aug 24-25 State Circuit Racing Championship Rd4, Baskerville TAS, Aug 24-25 Eureka Rally, Australian Rally Championship Rd4, State Rally Championship Rd5, Ballarat VIC, Aug 24-25 Multi Club Supersprint, Sydney Motorsport Park NSW, Aug 25 Multi Club Hillclimb, The Essess Mount Panorama Bathurst NSW, Aug 25

all in Dallaras. But after that it was all Wilson, coming from the back to take the lead of race two on the penultimate lap, then leading every lap of the final. Aaron McClintock and Holmes were second and third in the final, but Holmes had crept at the start and was penalised 5s.

SPORTS SEDANS

WHILE IT was Steven Lacey (Chev Camaro) in each race, Grant Doulman (Falcon/Chev) kept him honest, leading the opening race for several laps before Lacey found a way past. Lacey and Doulman took first and second in the first two races, with Scott Reed (Mustang) taking a pair of thirds.

In the final, Lacey led away again with Doulman in pursuit until the Falcon rolled to a halt on lap 4, bringing out the Safety Car and elevating Reed to second. At the restart, Jason Compton (BMW) blew past the leaders from third

and, although he backed off to let the others through again, was still penalised 30s post-race. This moved Phil Ryan’s Datsun 280Z to third.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

IN OVER 2.0-Litres, Trevan Spiteri and Michael King were the pick of the crop in their Mitsubishi EVOs. Spiteri won the first from King, the order reversed next time. Peter Hennessy (BMW M3) was third both times.

It was more of the same in the final, until King stopped in a cloud of smoke. Chris Thomas (Holden Torana XU-1) and Bob Brewer (Holden Commodore) both passed Hennessy for the minors.

Harrison Cooper (Integra) took three from three in the U2.0L races, with the placings behind the same in each race, Jason Hendy and Kurt Macready filling second and third in their Nissan Silvias.

Club Hillclimb, Ringwood Park NSW, Aug 25 Multi Club Khanacross, New England Traffic Education Centre Armidale NSW, Aug 25 Multi Club Khanacross, Hampton Motorsport Park Jenolan Caves Rd NSW, Aug 25 Targa Great Barrier Reef, Australian Targa Championship Rd3, Cairns/Port Douglas QLD, Aug 30-Sep 01 Shannons Nationals Rd5, TCR Australia Rd5, Prototype Series Rd4, Winton Motor Raceway VIC, Aug 30-Sep 01 Sydney MasterBlast, Touring Car Masters Rd5, National Sports Sedan Series Rd4, Australian Superkarts Rd2, State Production Cars, Heritage Cars, Historic Touring Cars, Classic Sports Cars, Motor Bikes, Sydney Motorsport Park NSW, Aug 30-Sep 01 NAMSC Pointscore Rd3, Hidden Valley NT, Aug 30-Sep 01 State Rally Championship Rd4, Rally Circular Head TAS, Aug 31 State Hillclimb Championship Rd6, Broadford VIC, Aug 31 State Rallysprint, Rocky Cape TAS, Aug 31

PRODUCTION TOURING

THE FIRST race went to Tony Virag (HSV GTS) ahead of Michael King (Mitsubishi EVO) and Matthew Holt (HSV Clubsport), while Holt won the second race from King, Duane West (HSV GTS) and Virag.

In the final, Holt led early from King and Virag. These three raced hard, at times three abreast on the straight.

With a lap to go, Virag was able to go to the front to snare the victory ahead of Holt, King and West.

Bruce Moxon

AutoAction

57

WEBBER WINGS INTO KNOXVILLE Words Geoff Rounds Pics Richard Hathaway

COULD WE possibly see former F1 ace Mark Webber in an 850 horsepower mudslinging Sprintcar anytime soon?

The former Red Bull driver and current Porsche ambassador was on hand at the recent running of the 2019 Knoxville Sprintcar Nationals in America’s midwest and made no secret of not only his passion for all things speed, but his liking and knowledge of these winged wonders of the dirt.

Webber sat alongside four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon as a guest in his suite and lapped up all the thrills of the world’s most famous Sprintcar event, cheering on eventual winner David Gravel.

Webber was quick to post a video to his Twitter handle @AussieGrit noting his jubilation and excitement as Gravel crossed the finish line at the Iowa venue.

“It’s really special to be here,” Webber told Dirt Vision’s Aussie commentator Wade Aunger post-race. “I watched Garry Rush and George Tatnell race back in the day. I used to go with my dad to the Speedway.

A Aussie Grit Mark Webber joined former NASCAR legend JJeff Gordon and Knoxville Sprintcar Nationals winner David G Gravel on the podium. Can we expect to the see the Porsche aambassador in a Sprintcar soon?

The noise is more intense and I get to watch the Speedway GP a lot. I cut my teeth on the dirt and Steve Kinser was one of my heroes.”

The last time an Australian F1 driver attended a major Speedway race was 2011-12 when Daniel Ricciardo attended the Perth Motorplex.

Prior to that, three-time world F1 champion Sir Jack Brabham graced Avalon Speedway outside Geelong for the 1982 Australian Speedcar Championship. Brabham was no stranger to the dirt, having won three national Speedcar titles.

Repco Crossword Answers: 1 Across – fourteen, 1 Down fifth, 2 Across – nineteen, 3 Down – Noel Richards, 4 Down – Adelaide, 5 Across – Melbourne, 6 Down – Volvo, 7 Down – thirteen, 8 Down – two, 9 Across – twelfth, 10 Across – Peugeot, 11 Down – eleven, 12 Down – Porsche, 13 Across – Commodore, 14 Across – Beetle

58 AutoAction

TCS-3 Mobile Tool Storage Cabinet & Seat

VS-1000 Portable Video Inspection Camera

406mm seat height 3 x ball bearing slide drawers 420 x 235mm padded seat 2 x magnetic side trays 360º swivel wheels

• 12mm IP67 camera with 1M cable • LED lighting • Includes cable, magnetic pick up & mirror tool

Order Code: A001

$

110

$

165

Suits 450g cartridges Develops 33,100 kPa (4,800 psi) Bulk or suction fill 300mm high pressure hose & coupler

Order Code: G074

198

$

LT-226 Hydraulic Lifter Trolley

140 litre tank 180 litre/hr 240V pump Safety link on lid 1060 x 520 x 270mm

• • • •

Order Code: A374

253

$

226kg load capacity 710 x 440mm table 270-740mm height 2 fixed & 2 swivel wheels with brakes

297

Order Code: H885

108.90

$

1000kg lifting capacity Double action pump 2300mm lift height 6 cast steel swivel wheels • Fold up legs Order Code: A350

319

$ Order Code: A332

297

440

253

• 900kg load capacity • 360º working angle • Safety hook & chain

$

198

MGT-1T Mobile Girder Rail

TESTED &

825

• 1.2mm mild steel capacity • 470mm throat depth • Steel construction • Roller holders on post • 6 x sets of rolls

R

ED AT

AU S

SJ-24D Bead Roller IAN AL TR

$

E

WO

AC R KIN G C AP

SB-375 Sandblasting Cabinet

• Heavy-duty steel cabinet • 940 x 600 x 340-580mm blast area • Includes vacuum system, LED light, tempered glass screen, gloves, gun & ceramic nozzle

I

451

$

Order Code: S300

1,089

$

WBS-3D Steel Work Bench - MARK

Staff Member

• • • •

2000 x 640 x 870mm Huge shelf compartment 3 Lockable drawers Bearing slide drawers

TCR-19DH - Trade Series Tool Box Package Deal • Ball bearing slides • Protective drawer liners • Key lockable drawers & lid TCH-12D • 12 drawer tool chest • 670 x 445 x 495mm TRC-7D • 7 drawer roller cabinet • 685 x 470 x 1000mm Order Code: K006A

UNIQUE PROMO CODE

AA1766

• • • • •

454kg lift capacity 190 - 800 lift height Foot & air operated hydraulic lift Adjustable front wheel guide 4 x tie down points

Order Code: A3492

594

$

352

Order Code: S641

TY

TR

U

MLN-454 Hydraulic & Pneumatic Motorcycle Lifter

Order Code: A354

Order Code: A340

$

Order Code: C188

• Hydraulic pump with hose • Includes 10T ram & 13 attachments • Includes carry case

$

$

• 1000kg load capacity • 2500-3600mm adjustable height • 2300mm between frame • Swivel wheels with brake

PBK-10T Hydraulic Panel Beating Kit

Order Code: A367

TCS-907 Swivel Crane

• • • •

• 907kg capacity • 5 swivel caster wheels • Fold-up legs

2 x 1200W = 2400W 240V motors Portable on wheels 80L stainless steel tank Include: brush, crevice tool, wet & dry floor nozzle

$

HC-1T Hydraulic Engine Crane

HES-907F Engine Stand

• • • •

Order Code: V508

• Drop forged, heat treated steel • Dollies: utility, curved, heel, double ended hand • Hammers: Crown face + pick, • Flat face + straight pein, • Double ended shrinking

$

680kg hydraulic lift per jack 270mm max. tyre width 620mm max opening Sold in pairs

WDV-8 - Industrial Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner

ABR-7 Auto Panel Restoration Kit

Order Code: J048

VJ-680 - Hydraulic Vehicle Positioning Jacks

• • • •

• • • •

Order Code: M697

APW-140 Auto Parts Washer • • • •

L-AG450 Air Operated Grease Gun

Order Code: A380

$

473

737

$

SAVE $44 off RRP

SUPER 16 Air Compressor • • • •

453l/min. W-triple pump 125 litre tank 120psi pressure 3hp, 240V

Order Code: C345

$

1,430

FREE

OLCODE O T P U K PICCHASE! USE UNIQUE

WITH PUR

ns: *Conditioper l o to x •1 r. customely n o r e ff •O h these valid wit d items advertise

VALUE

16.50

$

M0010

ONLINE OR INSTORE!

Specifications & Prices are subject to change without notification. All prices include GST and valid until 31-08-19

07_AA_#1766_220819

• • • • •