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FORD BACKS TECHNICAL PARITY Blue Oval will accept 2020 aero changes

Image: LAT

American racing boss tells BRUCE NEWTON why he wasn’t impressed by moves to rein in the Mustang this year FORD’S GLOBAL racing chief has backed the technical parity model employed by Supercars, while reiterating his frustration with its use in the Mustang’s controversial first season.

Speaking with Auto Action, Ford Performance motor sport boss Mark Rushbrook maintained that stability was critical to the way the Blue Oval goes racing.

The Mustang’s contentious aero package is likely to be further paritised following the more stringent VCAT face-off conducted by Supercars last week.

Ford Performance in America played a key role in developing the Supercars Mustang that DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing debuted in the championship this year.

Homologation team DJRTP’s version dominated, sweeping the drivers’ and teams’ titles, and the Bathurst 1000, which was one of back-to-back champion Scott McLaughlin’s season-record 18 race wins.

The Mustang was the first two-door coupe homologated under Supercars’ technical parity formula, which is designed to get the cars to the racetrack in a fundamentally similar base state of performance.

It’s then up to the talents and skills of the drivers, engineers and teams to make the differences that determine who wins and loses.

After a stellar start to the year, especially

by DJRTP’s Scott Mclaughlin, Supercars introduced a centre of gravity parity rule that most significantly impacted the Mustang.

Supercars then reduced the Mustang’s aerodynamic edge before the Perth SuperNight event in May. Further parity adjustments made the ZB Commodore, especially those of factory backed Triple Eight, a match for the DJRTP Mustangs at the end of the season.

While Detroit-based Rushbrook agrees with the principal of technical parity, he was not impressed by its adjustment during the season. “The way that we want to race in this series is set the rules, define the process and let’s go racing,� he told AA. “But if it’s a moving target throughout the year, that’s not good for anybody. “It’s not good for the teams, it’s not good for the series, it’s not good for the OEM (manufacturer). And that’s the consistent drum we have been beating. “They are the series, they have to write the rules, set the process and then everybody goes and races.�

Having already voiced his concern via AA in April about how political the Supercars technical parity debate was, Rushbrook attended the Perth event in May along with DJRTP owner Roger Penske.

Rushbrook definitively rejects there was any threat from Ford to pull out of the category at that time, but he doesn’t demur from the suggestion that the discussions that weekend with Supercars got lively. “There are different levels of the voice or the tone in our voice, depending on how things go,� he said. “The series has good vison and good intention of where they see the sport, where they see that it needs to go. “We are just one of the partners letting them know where we think it needs to go.�

It was noticeable from Barbagallo Wanneroo Raceway that the Mustang raced without being modified again – as Rushbrook basically demanded in a Ford press release issued at the time.

Instead, the Holden Commodore ZB and Nissan Altima were granted concessions that made the cars faster and more difficult to race close together because of aero wash.

Next year, the Mustang and Commodore will both have their downforce levels reduced by between 11-13 per cent via the revised VCAT – Vehicle Control Aerodynamic Testing – process.

Rushbrook praised the concept of technical parity as better than alternatives like Balance Of Performance, but conceded that matching the Mustang coupe against

its sedan rivals was a challenge. “Technical parity is the right way to go for sure,� he said. “In a series like this, what the rules are, what the cars are, what the chassis are, you don’t need balance of performance “You just need the right rules and the right process for carrying them out.�

He added: “Getting complete technical parity is very difficult. By nature of the cars having different shapes, they will behave differently in different operating conditions. “So I think what we have seen is the series seeing some of the differences in the cars and making improvements to their process on how to quantify those differences.�

Rushbrook confirmed Ford had been briefed on the plan to cut downforce for 2020 and was comfortable with it.

Both Ford and General Motors have seats on a manufacturers’ council created this year by Supercars, at Rushbrook’s suggestion. “For us, the shift in downforce and drag is not as important as the rules and the process to define the parity,� Rushbrook declared. “We’ve had good dialogue with them (Supercars) on what’s going to happen with the VCAT and how we are going to go racing next year.�

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WHAT GEN3 HAS IN STORE V8 REVAMP SET TO ATTRACT SEXY STUFF LIKE NEXT

MARK FOGARTY reveals the plan to make the next-gen cheaper, more diverse, better looking and more raceable SUPER-HOT coupes like the next BMW M4 are in the crosshairs of Supercars’ major Gen3 evolution in 2022.

Serious work has begun on a major update of the technical rules to accommodate a more diverse range of body shapes, including the new M4.

Supercars has outlined the plan to radically cut costs and broaden the category’s appeal to car makers in exclusive, new detail to Auto Action.

The Gen3 project is headed by Supercars chief strategy officer John Casey, who is one of V8 racing’s key decision-makers.

Casey revealed the two key aims of Gen3: “significantly” reduced costs and road car “aesthetics”.

Following his return to Supercars earlier this year, he was tasked

by CEO Sean Seamer to resume and progress his previous work on Gen3.

Originally targeted for 2021 under the previous Supercars regime, coinciding with the planned end of the New Generation rules introduced in 2013, Gen3 has been put back to 2022 to allow more development and adjust to the radically changing car market.

Starting from scratch, Casey and Supercars’ head of motor sport Adrian Burgess are re-evaluating and reforming the eligibility and technical rules from 2022.

While detail changes have yet to be finalised, philosophically the direction of Gen3 has been decided.

THE MAIN POINTS:

• Reduced building and running costs through more control components, less aero and an easier homologation process • Modification of the control chassis to allow more two-

4 AutoAction

door coupes without “bastardising” their looks like the current Mustang racer • Retaining the basics of the mechanical configuration, sticking with fivelitre V8s and rearwheel drive.

Hybridisation, an early Gen3 consideration, is now off the table for Gen3 initially – although it may be revisited later.

Primarily, the working group is looking at slightly lowering the height of the control chassis roll cage to accommodate more low-line body shapes, without corrupting the road model’s body shape like happened with the Mustang.

A facelifted MY2022 Mustang is due, with Ford and homologation team DJR Team Penske comfortable with a body shape update then.

It would also facilitate the lowslung Chevrolet Camaro, imported

by Walkinshaw Andretti United affiliate HSV, although the Clayton squad is actively courting BMW. Reports linking WAU with BMW in Supercars through new recruit Chaz Mostert’s and Andretti Autosport’s racing links with the German manufacturer, are not entirely wide of the mark.

“There was a very brief discussion about it,” a Walkinshaw insider confided. “There’s nothing more to it.

“There is interest from a couple of manufacturers, but it’s very early days.”

Co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw confirmed the team was talking to BMW and other manufacturers for an involvement, once the Gen3

rules are decided.

“We’ve had discussions with four different manufacturers in the past few months, of which BMW is one,” Walkinshaw told AA. It is believed WAU has also had talks with Hyundai and Mazda.

Casey admitted the M4 was “highly desirable”.

He heads the Gen3 Working Group with Burgess, liaising with Supercars commissioners Tim Edwards and Brad Jones, and current homologation team principals Roland Dane (Commodore) and Ryan Story (Mustang).

The working group ultimately reports to Seamer and the board of directors, which have yet to receive a formal Gen3 plan.

“We have a project that has a very broad frame of reference,” Casey told AA. “It hasn’t been approved by our board. We’ve started doing some initial desktop work, so that’s kind of where we are, a couple of weeks into a two-year project.”

However, Casey revealed the key guidelines of Gen3.

“There are two objectives of the project: lower costs, more accommodating chassis,” he said.

“Firstly, how to do we take cost out? And that is cost of operation as well as cost of acquisition of the car.

“We want to make cars cheaper to operate and cheaper to build.

We haven’t yet arrived on a target for either of those things, but the

objective is a substantial reduction.

“The second objective is the ability to have cars on track which are more closely linked to the road car in terms of aesthetics. The chassis will accommodate a more OEM (manufacturer) look for a broader range of cars.”

He admitted that ‘halo’ performance models like the Mustang and BMW M4 had been targeted.

“Our chassis needs to be able to accommodate more halo cars without altering the aesthetics as much as the current chassis requires,” he said. “It will allow more of the kind of cars that people want to see race.”

Casey is adamant that Gen3 won’t turn Supercars into a twoseater GT refuge.

“We’re not going to be GTs,” he declared. “We’ve said that before and we’ll retain our Supercars DNA. A key part of that DNA is accessibility and we’re not moving from accessible to exotic.

In terms of cost reduction, Gen3’s aim is to “substantially” undercut the existing price of around $700,000 per car including engine and $2 million-$2.5 million a year to run one car.

Casey also confirmed the fivelitre V8, rear-wheel drive, basic common chassis format would remain, with cost-effective changes to the motor and platform.

“In order to keep costs down, as much as possible the existing car

BMW’s concept M4 envisaged as a Gen3 2022 Supercar. Graphic illustration by Tim Pattinson Design.

car,” he said.

Reducing aerodynamic downforce to almost neutral is also a consideration.

“I personally think that you get a range of benefits by reducing aero,” Casey said. “But the cars still need to have aero devices so they look awesome and they look like racing cars, and a certain amount of aero can improve safety.

“It is also a balancing device between different shaped cars. I think it needs to be something a little more than neutral, but not where we are today.”

Limited aero would also allow teams to develop body panels for a variety of cars cheaply, although manufacturer permission would still be required.

“The old style of manufacturer participation is not the present or future model,” Casey conceded. “The aim (of Gen3) is to accommodate a different range of models, from simply the granting of IP (intellectual property) rights to the car’s shape, to something more supported, as we see with Ford and Holden today.

“Manufacturer permission won’t go away. They own the IP. If you’re fabricating panels to represent a road car, then you must have the permission of the manufacturer. They own that look.”

The major framework for Gen3 is due to be ratified by the middle of next year.

AERO TESTING COMPLETED SUPERCARS HAS re-evaluated the Mustang and Commodore to determine new aerodynamic restrictions for next year.

Using a revised and upgraded measurement system, Supercars technical staff spent last week establishing a new baseline at the Oakey Army Aviation Centre near Toowoomba in Queensland.

Full details of the new VCAT aero testing regime were outlined exclusively in the previous issue of Auto Action.

Homologation teams DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight provided a Mustang and ZB respectively for straight line comparison testing against Supercars’ Falcon FG X test mule.

Using special active ride dampers, all three cars were tested at varying ride heights and rakes kes – the angle from front to rear – on the military facility’s y’s runway to measure downforce.

The results will be collated to determine changes to reduce the overall downforce of the Mustang and Commodore by around 12 per cent, in a bid to improve racing.

The aim is to allow cars to run closer together, reducing the aero wash generated by increased levels of downforce and aero sensitivity in recent years.

No details of the testing have been released and the measures to reduce downforce and improve aero parity are not expected to be announced until early in the New Year.

Supercars’ head of motor sport Adrian Burgess proclaimed the week-long exercise in stifling weather a success.

“It’s been an intense, long, hot week here at Oakey,” he said. “We’re leaving here happy with where we’ve got the

cars, but the results of this week’s work will only show themselves next year when we go racing.

“The process has changed – and had to change considerably over the previous VCAT. Both HTs (homologation teams) have worked closely and harmoniously together, and with Supercars, to reach a resolution that we are all aligned and happy with.

“We’re all exhausted, but equally excited and looking forward to going racing in 2020.”

Security restrictions at the military facility precluded Supercars from issuing any photos of the testing. However, images of the trials from outside the wire fence were posted on social media.

The only official photo from the Oakey tests obtained

by AA was a group shot of the Supercars technical team alongside its mobile base. Mark Fogarty

Season’s greetings to all our readers and supporters. See you on January 9 2020! www.autoaction.com.au

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Courtney: Moves will boost Chaz & WAU WALKINSAHW Andretti United and Chaz Mostert will both benefit from teaming up predicts James Courtney, the driver being replaced as a result of the deal.

The long-anticipated Mostert move from Tickford Racing along with his engineer Adam De Borre was confirmed shortly after the Newcastle 500, while Image: LAT Courtney’s new drive at Team Sydney was announced at the Bathurst 1000.

Courtney thinks his shift will be good for Courtney’s former WAU team-mate Scott him too after nine years hard slog that rarely Pye is also on the move to Team 18 in 2020. His place is expected to be taken by delivered the results it promised.

Super2 champion Bryce Fullwood.

“My new journey is exciting for me,” said “I think it will be good for both parties,” Courtney, whose western Sydney origins predicted Courtney. make him a natural promotional face for “Chaz was feeling a bit tired down where Team Sydney. he was and was looking for a new direction But Courtney stressed he left WAU without any hard feelings, tearing up on and journey. national television as the end approached at “He will come in to WAU with Adam De Borre and they will have some ideas of what Newcastle.

“I am massively grateful for the has been going on down there (Tickford) opportunity I have had for nine years to and that will make his group stronger. work with these guys (WAU),” he told Auto “Then on the other side, with whoever Action. the other mystery driver is, I think it will be “It has been a privilege to work with these a good boost for these guys – two fresh guys, for sure we haven’t got the results we faces.”

wanted and we have had some bad times and good times, but it’s been a journey.

“It’s been a good ride and to be honest I wouldn’t change any of it.

“It’s been great and as a group, such strong group of blokes, and we’ve been through hell and when that happens I think you’re probably a tighter unit than when you have a lot of success.”

Courtney joined what was then the factory-backed Holden Racing Team as Supercars champion fromm the factionriddled Dick Johnson racing in 2011.

Since then he has finished sixth in the championship in 2014 and 10th three times.

Courtney nominated winning races at the Adelaide 500 three years in a row between

2014 and 2016 as a highlight of his time with the Clayton squad.

But partnering co-driver Jack Perkins to his first Supercars win on the Gold Coast in 2015, was very memorable. The duo also finished third in the Bathurst 1000 this year.

“To be with Jack the first time and then to go and stand at the podium with him at Bathurst this year was pretty special.

“His dad (all-time motor racing great Larry) gave me $5000 when I was karting to go overseas and said ‘I know it’s not a lot of money but it’s what I can afford, so good luck’.

“Larry did the same journey and I’ve always had a tight relationship with the (Perkins) family.” Bruce Newton

STONE TARGETS 2022 Gen3 will help MSR become title contenders AMBITIOUS TEAM owner Matt Stone already has 2022 marked as the year his Supercars squad breaks through to the big time.

That’s when the Gen3 Supercar technical regulations are due for introduction, providing a racing reset that could flatten the playing field in the category.

“In 2022 when the new car comes in, we really want to set ourselves up,” Stone told Auto Action.

MSR graduated to the Supercars championship in 2018 after winning the Super2 series with Todd Hazelwood in 2017.

A difficult first year was followed by a more convincing 2019, with Hazelwood 18th in the title with six top 10 starts and three top 10 finishes along the way.

But for 2020 it’s all change. Hazelwood has moved to Brad Jones Racing to replace Tim Slade, while Stone and co-team owner Jason Gomersall have handed their leased racing Entitlements Contract (REC) back to Jason Bright, purchased RECs from Garry Rogers Motorsport and Kelly Racing, and made the decision to expand to two cars.

Kelly Racing refugee Garry Jacobson has been confirmed in one seat and rookies Zane Goddard and Kurt Kotstecki are said be sharing the other in a unique split-drive arrangement.

Meanwhile, Supercars chief strategy officer

6 AutoAction

Image: LAT

John Casey is heading up the Gen3 working group. While in an early stage of gestation, the commitment has already been made to keep V8 engines and rear-wheel drive.

The last technical overhaul of Supercars came in 2013 with the introduction of Car of the Future.

It was noticeable how much more open the racing was that year, with seven teams winning.

In 2012 under the final year of Project Blueprint rules, Triple Eight and Ford Performance Racing won all bar the Sandown 500 qualifying races.

Stone sees 2022 as offering the same sort of opportunities as 2013.

“That’s our chance as a smaller operation to really have a hit at the big guys, when you get that reset of equipment and we can really go for a proper shot at the title.”

Stone says 2020 will be another building year from MSR as it adjusts to running two cars and new drivers.

“Next year is a big expansion year for us and if we decide to run a rookie program in our second car, it limits our ability to move up the pitlane in the team’s championship the year after.

“So it’s very much a growing year, but we are not about making up the numbers, we are about

building to the front.

“That’s going to be our big focus there (2020), so we can just keep building forward and have a consistent solid program in 2021 and (then) 2022 to really start trying to win races.”

Going to two cars delivers the on-track advantage of not having to share a pit boom with another team for refuelling. Off-track it delivers economies of scale that help financially.

“You see a lot of the single car teams doing it because it’s a sink or swim scenario,” said Stone. “You have to be a two-car team to try and make it work.” BN

CO-DRIVER SCRAMBLE BEGINS

By MARK FOGARTY THE RUSH for Supercars enduro co-drivers is hotting up.

DJR Team Penske grabbed out-of-work Tim Slade to replace Bathurst co-winner Alex Premat, while Erebus Motorsport elevated Will Brown to partner David Reynolds.

DJRTP also resigned Tony D’Alberto and Erebus will pair Super2 rising star Brodie Kostecki with Anton de Pasquale.

The next major enduro match-up we’re hearing is GRM orphan James Golding, who is set to join Team 18 alongside new recruit Scott Pye or incumbent Mark Winterbottom.

Golding is more likely to be paired with Pye, although ‘Frosty’ has lost four-times Bathurst winner Steve Richards, who has retired from Supercars.

So Team 18 will be looking for another experienced partner for Winterbottom in a rapidly shrinking market.

Red Bull Holden Racing Team’s partnerships are locked in as super-duos Jamie Whincup/ Craig Lowndes and Shane van Gisbergen/ Garth Tander continue.

Several other teams are eying new combinations.

Walkinshaw Andretti United will be looking for a top-ranked partner for Chaz Mostert, while Jack Perkins looks set to decamp to

Image: LAT

Team Sydney to continue his paring with James Courtney.

Veteran co-driver Warren Luff remains in contention to co-drive with WAU newcomer Bryce Fullwood, but other youngsters are also in the mix.

BJR will be on the look-out for a seasoned partner for Todd Hazelwood and also Nick Percat, while Matt Stone Racing is also in the market for co-drivers with its expansion to two cars.

Tickford Racing has James Moffat, Michael Caruso, Thomas Randle and Alex Davison on its books as potential partners for in-coming Jack Le Brocq and incumbents Cam Waters,

Lee Holdsworth and Will Davison.

The wildcard is US-based Premat, who has a proven record of performing in the enduros.

He is a leading candidate to join any of the teams with co-driver vacancies.

His overlook by DJRTP is curious because of his success and compatibility with Scott McLaughlin, despite the Frenchman’s slight stumbles at Bathurst and Sandown.

There is a theory that Slade has been brought on board to take over when McLaughlin heads to the States in 2021.

But there’s also conjecture that Anton de Pasquale has been tabbed as McLaughlin’s replacement.

RICHARDS RETIRES FROM SUPERCARS

FIVE-TIME BATHUSRT 1000 winner Steven Richards has announced his retirement from Supercars.

This follows shortly after fellow Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden confirmed he too has hung up his Supercars helmet.

After 460 race starts which yielded 10 victories, Richards has decided to take a step back from driving as he moves into a full-time role as relationships manager at Team 18.

This will see the 47-year-old deal with commercial partnerships, helping to strengthen existing ties and create new ones.

Richards will also help to assist team manager Steve Henderson and technical director Phil Keed.

The 27-time Bathurst starter previously confirmed that he wouldn’t return to the Australian Carrera Cup Series in 2020, but has said that he is not closing the door on motor racing.

The Kiwi has driven for a number of famous teams throughout his career including Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford Performance Racing and Gibson Motorsport.

But it was Garry Rogers Motorsport in 1996 where both he and the team made their debuts together in the current form of the Supercars Championship.

In 1998 Richards teamed up with Jason Bright and Stone Brothers Racing to win the Bathurst

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After retiring, Richards won the Bathurst 1000 a further three times, first with Mark Winterbottom in 2013 before moving to Triple Eight alongside Craig Lowndes. He and Lowndes won the great race twice, in 2015 and 2018.

Richards moved to Team 18 in 2019 where he once again partnered with Winterbottom to finish the 1000 in sixth.

Richards won the Bathurst 1000 in five different cars, his first and last victories separated by over 20 years. Dan McCarthy

2/9-11 Steel Street, Capalaba, Queensland 4157

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AUSTRALIAN TRALIAN TRANS-AM TRANS AM M CAMS QUEENSLAND QUEENSLAND STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIO ONS CLASSIC 6 LITRE 2ND PLACE GRANT WILSON

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1000, before moving to Gibson Motorsport to pair up with Greg Murphy in 1999. Alongside his fellow Kiwi, Richards defended his crown and in doing so became the first driver to win the Image: Ross Gibb great race for Ford and Holden in consecutive years.

Richards had a successful stint at Perkins Engineering before retiring from full-time racing with FPR at the end of the 2010 season, where at Sydney Olympic Park he went out on a high with a second place finish.

If the reigning champion does decamp for a Team Penske ride as expected, his departure will turn the driver market upside down.

Richie Stanaway, who starred as a co-driver with Tickford in 2017, would have been a leading candidate to partner someone next year if he hadn’t announced his retirement.

Maybe he can be enticed back…

Kelly Racing will also be reviewing its enduro line-up alongside Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner in a smaller, but presumably stronger, two-car Mustang line-up.

Matt Stone Racing’s and Team Sydney’s pairings are unconfirmed, as are those of BJR’s new four-car armada.

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PAYNTER DIXON TOURING CAR MASTERS 3rd OUTRIGHT RYAL HARRIS

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AUSTRALIAN TRANS-AM CAMS QUEENSLAND STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIC 5 LITRE 1st PLACE SIMON TRAPP

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SUPERCARS SUPERBRAIN SUPER-BATTLE! Moore versus Lacroix, can the pupil school the teacher?

KELLY RACING has annoujnced plans to enter the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2020 fielding up to three Nissan Altimas. The Victorian team has not participated in the second-tier Supercars series since 2012, when it ran two Commmodores.

No Altimas will race in the 2020 Supercars Championship as the team makes the switch to Ford Mustangs (see how the Kelly Racing squad is tracking on p26-27).

BRAD JONES Racing has confirmed that Josh Fife will progress from the Super3 Series to Super2 next year, driving the Holden VF Commodore vacated by Jack Smith. Fife was a successful karter, becoming the youngest winner of the KZ2 and DD2 Australian titles in 2017. He made his debut in cars last season during which he chalked up two race wins and a round victory, placing fifth in the series standings.

LAST ISSUE we incorrectly reported 2019 as the first year since 2005 the Triple Eight had not won a driver’s or teams’ Supercars championship. That’s incorrect. What we meant to say was that 2005 was the last time T8 did not win a championship or the Bathurst 1000. BN

By BRUCE NEWTON ROLAND Dane has backed his new technical director Jeromy ‘JJ’ Moore to best former mentor Ludo Lacroix in a battle of the Supercars superbrains in 2020.

After five years in Europe working within Porsche’s motorsport program Moore has returned home to take up the position of Triple Eight Race Engineering technical director that has been vacant since Lacroix defected to DJR Team Penske in 2017.

Moore was a founder member of Triple Eight in 2003 and under Lacroix’s direction progressed through the engineering department to become chief designer and Craig Lowndes’ race engineer in 2008. They finished runner-up in the championship three times together.

In 2020 he faces off against Lacroix, who is sporting director at DJR Team Penske.

The Ford team goes into the new season with the upper hand, sweeping Bathurst, the driver’s and teams’ championship. This year was the first time since 2005 T8 hadn’t won at least one of those three key pieces of Supercars silverware.

In his corner Moore will have Grant ‘Shippy’ MacPherson and Dave Cauchi among his primary engineering support, along with highly credentialed team manager Mark Dutton.

Over at DJRTP Lacroix has an able ally in undoubted fellow superbrain Nick Hughes, who is that organisation’s technical director.

“Ludo would be the first to say Jeromy has a formidable intellect and to be honest I’d put my money on Jeromy because his knowledge from

Europe and Porsche is more current and at a very high level,” said Dane.

“He is also a better race engineer (than Ludo) and always was.

“Ludo is fantastic technically, but I’ve never believed he is the best race engineer. I’ve always believed he is very good at engineering a car, but race engineering as whole - calling strategy, talking to the driver, handling the driver out of the car and everything - I believe Jeromy, Mark Dutton, Shippy and Cauchi … along with a couple of other people in pitlane, are at the level or higher.

“Ludo can engineer a car, but race engineering is more than just that.”

For all that, Lacroix’s two driver’s championships race engineering Scott Mclaughlin give him the advantage over Moore on that count, while they have both race-engineered one Bathurst victory – Moore in 2010 and Lacroix in 2019.

It will no doubt be a friendly rivalry because Moore and Lacroix are firm friends. There is also no guarantee either of them will race engineer a car in 2020.

Moore was spectating at the Newcastle 500

within days of landing with wife Michelle and their two young children back in Australia.

He is also part of T8’s six-strong contingent attending the VCAT aerodynamic process for the 2020 Ford Mustang and Holden Commodore ZB at the Oakey military base.

He spent almost five years with Porsche working on their World Endurance Championship program, where he race-engineered the #2 919 Hybrid to outright Le Mans victory and the championship title in 2016. Most recently, he led the development of the all-new 911 RSR which scored a one-two victory in its first race.

Dane said Moore had a standing invitation to return to T8 once his stint in Europe was over.

“Jeromy comes back as the technical director with what I call a PHD from Porsche; a fiveyear one,” said Dane. “He is the single biggest engineering intellect I have ever worked with.”

He said Moore’s job was to provide “world’s best practice - or as much as we can afford.”

T8’s racing activities in 2019 included its factory Holden Supercar program plus support for private Commodore entries, a two-car Super2 campaign and a Mercedes-AMG entry in the Asian GT series.

RENAULT AUSTRALIA EXPAND GRM SUPPORT MADELINE STEWART has re-signed with Brad Jones Racing to remain in the third-tier Supercars series in 2020. Known as Super3 in 2019, the series will return to its original name of the V8 Touring Car Series. In her debut season racing cars, Stewart recorded a best race result of eighth and finished the year 14th in the standings.

AT THE annual Supercars Gala Awards, Shane van Gisbergen was awarded the Barry Sheene Medal voted by the media as the best and fairest driver. As well as picking up his championship trophy, Scott McLaughlin claimed the Drivers’ Driver award voted by his Supercars Championship rivals as the best driver of the year. The popular Kiwi also won the fan-voted Favourite Driver Award of 2019. Penrite Racing won the first-ever fan voted Best Presented Team Award, while Super2 driver Tyler Everingham won the coveted Mike Kable Young Gun Award.

A NUMBER of drivers had their first taste of a current Supercar at Winton Raceway last week. Brad Jones Racing fielded its 2019 ZB Commodores, with Nick Percat and Todd Hazelwood on hand to assist the youngsters. Super3 drivers i Josh Fife and Madeline Stewart drove as well as Super2 driver Jordan Boys, Eseries driver Jake Burton, Carrera Cup competitor Thomas Maxwell, karter Cody Gillis and 2019 Australian Formula Ford winner Angelo Mouzouris.

8 AutoAction

AFTER BEGINNING an involvement with Garry Rogers Motorsport in TCR Australia at Queensland Raceway earlier this year, Renault Australia has confirmed it will expand the partnership in 2020.

As it has done during the inaugural TCR Australia season, Renault signage will feature prominently on James Moffat’s Renault Megane RS TCR in 2020, while further branding will be carried on the car Chris Pither drove last season, plus a new chassis set to arrive early next year.

The team name will also change to acknowledge the increased level of support, to Renault Sport GRM. Renault Australia managing director Anouk Poelmann is excited by the new venture and is eager to watch the partnership debut at next year’s Australian Grand Prix.

“We are proud to announce our partnership with Garry Rogers Motorsport for the 2020 TCR Australia Series, and can’t wait to see the Renault Megane R.S. competing at the top end of the field in 2020,” Poelmann said.

The team will also receive monetary and spare parts support as well as the use of Renault light commercial

vehicles throughout the year. GRM director Barry Rogers is ecstatic that Renault Australia has demonstrated confidence in the team and TCR Australia by increasing its commitment.

“Obviously, the financial support is a very important part of it, the sport doesn’t happen without considerable investment,” Rogers told Auto Action. “But over and above the financial support, from our point of view the positive for us has been the ability to attract such an iconic motor sport company.

“They see TCR in Australia as something they want to engage in.

We’ve obviously dipped the toe in a bit throughout 2019, where we’ve become involved in a few of its activations and they’ve seen some results thereafter.

“Manufacturers in motor sport are not easy to get involved, we know about that. They approached us, we got the cars here, started racing, they came to us and said we want to get involved. It’s great to see what it has grown to now.”

It comes after autoaction.com.au revealed GRM’s growing involvement with TCR through an alliance with Renault’s homologated team, Vukovic Motorsport. The new Renault Megane RS TCR will be based off the new Trophy edition featuring the model’s 1.8-litre Vukovic Motorsport-developed engine, a new front-end designed in-house at GRM and composite components also manufactured at the team’s Melbourne base.

Interest from Renault in Europe is also beginning to help Vukovic Motorsport as well, thanks in part to what has happened in TCR Australia through GRM. “Renaultsport has really got a hold of Vukovic now and this has come off the back of what has happened here

in Australia, rather than what they’ve done over there,” Rogers said.

“The director of Renaultsport has got onto Vukovic and was all excited about what’s happening in Australia, so indirectly the support from there is helping us but there’s been a lot more support for Vukovic.”

GRM will retain Moffat and are hoping to do the same with Pither, while 18-year-old British driver and reigning UK Clio Cup champion Jack Young is primed for the third Megane RS TCR to debut at the Australian Grand Prix.

The current model will be utilised for the AGP, with the cars set to be upgraded to Trophy spec by the opening round of TCR Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 27-29. Heath McAlpine

REYNOLDS AT HIS BEST NOW But we signed him for 10 years for more than his driving, says Betty

By BRUCE NEWTON EREBUS MOTORSPORT team owner Betty Klimenko says David Reynolds will deliver the best driving performances of his 10year contract within its first five years.

But she says there are other reasons beyond driving for locking her quirky star down beyond his prime driving years.

Reynolds and Klimenko completed their ground-breaking deal in September. He will be 45 when it expires in 2030.

Despite pitlane rumour suggesting the deal is composed of several different stages - such as a threeyear full-time drive with a two-year option, followed by a five-year co-driver deal – both Klimenko and Reynolds insist it is a straight 10 years full-time.

“I think they (his best driving years) are now, over the next five years of his life,” said Klimenko.

“That makes it seem kind of stupid when we sign him to a 10-year contract.

“But Dave is more than a driver

for us. He will go on to do all sorts of things for Erebus.

“I’d like him to be more involved with the younger guys that come through (the Erebus Academy), because he does well with kids.

“I’d like him to get to the pinnacle of what he can do and not chop himself off at the knees and say ‘this is only what I can do’.

“He has a lot of smarts about him and he has a lot of talent. He just needs a little guidance in how to make the most of it.”

Reynolds joined Erebus Motorsport in 2016 after being let go by Ford Performance Racing (now Tickford Racing) despite finishing third in the 2015 Supercars championship.

Erebus rebuilt around Reynolds in Melbourne after moving from the Gold Coast and swapping from the Mercedes-AMG E63s to customer Holden Commodores.

He has finished 16th, seventh, fifth and sixth in the championship for Erebus and - of course - won the 2017 Bathurst 1000 with Luke Youlden.

Both driver and owner made clear the deal ties Reynolds to Erebus, but not necessarily to Supercars racing for the next decade.

“He can choose what he wants to do in those 10 years,” confirmed Klimenko. “We haven’t said only Supercars.

“Let’s say in eight years he got bored and wanted to go off to Europe, we’d probably get a car and go racing in Europe because my husband (Daniel) really wants to get back into GTs. “So he’s not confined and that’s one thing that made it hard to do 10 years.”

Klimenko also told AA that Erebus was the best environment for the Reynolds to extract the most from his talents.

“I love David dearly, but I think he will do his best racing with us,” she said.

“I don’t think any other team can handle his unique mental whateverit-is that David has. I think we can handle it better.

“People don’t see it but we do have quite a hand on him. We don’t

Image: Ross Gibb

let his ego get too big … we push him back down to reality.”

Klimenko said the unprecedented deal came about because of mutual frustration.

“We were re-doing the contract again for the third time and I said

‘this is ridiculous, it’s the same thing over and over again’,” she recalled.

“So I was talking to Dave and he said ‘let’s do a longer contract’ and somehow that ended up being 10 years.”

NEW SUPERCAR ENGINE PENALTIES

Image: LAT

GRID PENALTIES will apply for Supercars teams if mileage of 4000km between rebuilds isn’t achieved next season, in a bid to cut costs.

It comes after Supercars announced a cap of three rebuilds per season, placing a limit for the first time on top of a new control piston ring and revised rocker ratio aimed at further reducing costs.

“We’re not trying to be F1 and have grid penalties for engine changes every race,” Supercars’ Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess told Supercars.com.

“There will be a degree of common sense needed for all circumstances. If there’s a problem with something, we’ll let them open it up under supervision and fix it without using a seal or incurring a penalty.

“But the rules and penalty provisions have to be there to protect what we’re trying to do and that’s reduce costs for teams. Since we started this discussion, we’ve already seen a benefit, without even having introduced the rules yet.

“Last year only two engines went over 4000km all season and this year there were 12, so teams have

already been adjusting, and therefore saving money, knowing these rules are coming.”

Next season, only three engines will be allowed Image: Ross Gibb per Racing Entitlement Contract, though a unit can be either added or removed from the list with Supercars’ approval. Engine suppliers will be required to provide a list of each unit maintained for that season and it will be sealed by Supercars until it has reached the 4000km mileage target. Swapping between engines is allowed, though on a race weekend approval from Burgess and a valid reason to do so are required.

The penalty for not achieving the mileage target will be a drop of 10 grid spots for the next event.

Approval to break the seals can be sought by teams through Supercars, to fix problems such as fluid leaks, undertake a visual inspection, replace failed components or attend to crash damage.

A failed component can only be replaced with approval if it doesn’t improve performance and an engine can only be rebuilt without penalty under exceptional circumstances. HM

BE A PART OF THE FIRST EVER VIE TNAM F1 GRAND PRIX Travel with a fully organised and hosted tour group with tour host Macquarie Radio motor sport correspondent Jon Thomson.

A special private F1 briefing by renown motor sport writer Joe Saward 5 Star accommodation in downtown Hanoi for six nights twin share Direct flights from Sydney to Hanoi and return Depart Wednesday 1st April 2020 – Return Wednesday 8th April Private luxury bus transfer to and from Hanoi International Airport Flexible private bus to and from track GP Tickets included in price with wide variety of grandstand upgrades available. Flexible return dates available.

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LATEST NEWS

THE SHANNONS Nationals, which hosts TCR Australia, S5000 Australia, Touring Car Masters and more, will be rebranded as the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships. This follows the renaming of the sport’s governing body from CAMS to Motorsport Australia, beginning January 2020. Shannon’s recommitment ensures naming rights until at least 2021, after beginning its association in 2007.

TOYOTA HAS confirmed that the Australian 86 Series will once again be held over five-rounds in 2020.

The popular support category will kick off its fifth series at Winton before heading to Townsville, Sydney Motorsport Park, Bathurst and concluding on the streets of Newcastle. 2020 signals the final season of Toyota’s two-year extension on its initial three-year deal, announced in 2018.

Image: LAT

12 HOUR BATHURST GRID BUILDING

THE OPENING event of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the Bathurst 12 Hour, sees entries building after many local teams ran at the recent Challenge Bathurst sprint.

McLaren will be making a big effort after missing last year due to the homologation cycle of the 720s GT3. Australian team 59Racing will see leading GT competitor Fraser Ross being joined by British factory driver Ben Barnicoat and former BMW factory driver Tom Blomqvist across a two-car entry.

The usual factory supported efforts from Bentley, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and Ferrari are expected, while Aston Martin will again be represented by R-Motorsport

with the race debut of the new Aston Martin Vantage, after Tony Quinn tested his at Challenge Bathurst.

Earl Bamber Motorsport will aim for backto-back wins for Porsche after delivering the marque its first win in the race. Class B winners Grove Motorsport are stepping up to the outright fight with the backing of Herberth Motorsport.

Melbourne Performance Centre will again represent Audi Sport at The Mountain with an expected five R8 LMS GT3s spread between the Pro and AM classes.

Triple Eight Race Engineering lead the Mercedes effort, while Scott Taylor

Motorsport is expected to run its three cars, so too Eggleston Motorsport to help Peter Hackett’s quest for the Australian GT Championship.

KCMG will continue with a Nissan at Bathurst, but is said to be searching for a new manufacturer to tackle the rest of the IGTC with. Hobson Motorsport also plans to enter its Nissan GT-R GT3 with Kurt and Jake Kostecki joining car owner Brett Hobson.

New factory backed efforts are expected from Lamborghini through its Asian FFF Racing Team squad and Honda in conjunction with JAS Motorsport working alongside local agents Wall Racing. HM

PORSCHE AUSTRALIA has announced that it will offer a $225,000 travel and participation support package to Carrera Cup teams next year. The extended support measures will be delivered in the form of two rebate pools. These will consist of a Travel Rebate and a Participation Rebate for eligible competitors. The Travel Rebate is increasing to cover long distance rounds such as Townsville and Darwin.

GRM TCR TEAM EXPANDS THE SUPPORTS for the annual Bathurst Easter Long weekend race meeting, which features the Bathurst 6 Hour Production Car race, have been announced. The supports will be highlighted by TCR Australia and the Australian GT Championship, including GT4. The other support categories are Radical Australia Cup, Historic Touring Cars and the Excel Challenge, during which the action-packed one-make class will race on MRF Tyres for the first time.

FOLLOWING THE announcement of a new strategic partnership between the V8 Touring Car Series and the Australian Racing Group (ARG), a prize-pool valued at over $125,000 will be up for grabs to competitors racing in the 2020 Series. It is by far the largest ever offered to participants in the 11-year history of the category.

10 AutoAction

A FURTHER Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR has arrived at the Garry Rogers Motorsport workshop, as part of its customer racing program which also encompasses Peugeot.

The team has in its possession the Giulietta Veloce Jordan Cox drove through the back half of the season and the Peugeot 308 TCR that Andre Comte debuted at The Bend.

With three of the Alfa Romeos already confirmed for Ash Seward Motorsport, this means all grid slots available for the Italian marque are now filled, though drivers are not confirmed; Jordan Cox is thought to be in the frame to retain his seat.

“We were pleased with the progress that Jordan Cox showed throughout his time with us and we are keen for him stay as part of our GRM family,” said Rogers.

“We got a real kick out of seeing this young guy with,

basically, no major motorsport experience, challenge some of the best drivers in the country.

“We’re speaking to a number of drivers about racing the new car.

We hope to have that all locked away in the next month or so.”

The announcement of GRM Customer Racing comes off the back of Renault Australia’s commitment to the team, with the Peugeot and Alfa Romeo squads to be run as a separate team.

“Our deal with Peugeot is a customer arrangement, not so much us being the customer but people that race our Peugeots are our customers. Our factory, our team is Renault, the Alfa Romeos and Peugeots are GRM Customer Racing,” Rogers told Auto Action.

“There’s going to be a few big things soon.”

It is believed that three further Peugeots are heading to GRM to complete that brand’s allotment.

HM

INTERNATIONAL PATHWAY THE KEY FOR ARG FUTURE AN INTERNATIONAL pathway is the focus for the Australian Racing Group as it aligns itself further with classes that feature worldwide including TCR and TA2.

ARG director Matt Braid believes that working in conjunction with international categories is where the future of motor sport lies in Australia and New Zealand, after the successful launch of TCR Australia this year.

“It’s about the commercial landscape at the moment, both from a sponsorship point of view and a factory point of view, which means you can no longer run orphan categories in Australia and New Zealand,” Braid explained to Auto Action.

“The market isn’t big enough to support it. Internationally focused categories allow a bit more flexibility to appeal to different commercial opportunities in the marketplace, but also provide scope to work with other series to potentially create an international pathway for Australian talent.”

The future strategy for ARG is to consolidate what it has going in Australia, while growing its international links, which has already occurred through the Australian Grand Prix and the Bathurst International events.

“Our focus is on classes that have international pathways,” Braid said.

“TCR ticks that box, S5000 we’re working in ticking that box as far as Australia, New Zealand and maybe beyond. TCM, the nature of those cars they go back and forth from the US, NZ and here for races, and TA2 that runs here, the US, talk of New Zealand and in Asia, so there’s scope to work with those categories on an international basis.

“I think TCR is a great one where Will Brown could win the series here and he could take his car or jump in a car in any other series in the world and race. That’s fantastic, a lot of other Australian categories can’t do that.”

For more on ARG, go to P28-29 for AA’s chat with Matt Braid. HM

PEDAL DOWN. PERFORMANCE UP. Image: Ross Gibb

SEVEN’S BIG RETURN TO RACING

By MARK FOGARTY SEVEN NETWORK’S renewed commitment to motor racing will include next year’s season-starting Bathurst 12 Hour.

As well as showing TCR Australia and S5000 events, Seven has renewed its deal to cover the international GT race at Mount Panorama.

It’s an interim renewal that also involves Fox Sports ahead of integrating the Supercars-run Bathurst 12 Hour with Supercars’s new broadcast agreement from 2021.

Free-to-air TV coverage of the 12 Hour will be augmented by additional extended time on pay channel Fox Sports.

As previously reported by Auto Action, TV coverage of next year’s B12 will be spilt between Fox Sports and the screens of Seven.

AA understands that practice and qualifying will be shown live on Fox Sports, with the race on Seven and 7mate.

The last hour of the race is likely to be on the main Seven channel following all-day coverage on 7mate.

Fox Sports may also simulcast the race after providing live coverage of practice and qualifying.

Seven has also taken over from SBS as the free-to-air broadcaster of TCR and S5000, including the end-ofseason Bathurst International.

Australian Racing Group’s new broadcast deal is said to involve a rights fee, although it will include production costs.

The date for the fifth major event of the year at Mount Panorama has yet to be confirmed, but it is likely to be between the final two rounds of the WTCR at Macau and Sepang in early December.

International entries are likely to be air-freighted to Bathurst between Macau and Malaysia.

TCR Australia is expecting at least 50 cars to be entered.

The Bathurst International is expected to be shown primarily on the main Seven channel.

ARG’s three-year TCR/S5000 deal with the Seven Network, headed by former Supercars boss and current ARG board member James Warburton, is understood to be a mix of FTA coverage mainly on 7mate and 7Flix.

However, in the winter, we understand TCR/S5000 races will act as lead-ins to AFL weekend game coverage from 11 am-2 pm.

Seven’s agreement with ARG was settled before Warburton joined Seven West as CEO. AA has learned that Supercars Media bid for the production rights, but lost out to global production company Gearhouse, which has recently become part of Gravity Media.

It will replace Neil Crompton’s Airtime, with a consequent change of commentators and other on-air talent.

ARG management has recently held meetings with current and potential TCR and S5000 competitors in eastern Melbourne.

FULLWOOD DOES DEALS BRYCE FULLWOOD had a superb year in Supercars’ second tier Super2 Series in 2019, comfortably winning the title after finishing just 17th in 2018.

The 21-year-old explained to Auto Action that this season he had to do it without the assistance of his parents, but knew that he just needed things to click into place for the success to come.

“Coming into this year both my parents said ‘look we aren’t fussed but if you want to go around again you go and do all the deals and sort it all out, we don’t really want to be part of it’,” Fullwood told AA. “I pretty much did all the running around, did all the deals and put the whole program together, the enduro drive and everything, it was up to me where I raced and all of that.”

The Territorian drove for Matt White Motorsport in 2016 and 2017, before he departed to the defending Super2 Series winning team Matt Stone Racing last year.

It was a challenging year for Fullwood in 2018 and he made the

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“I pretty much rang Matt and fortunately we left on good terms, so I was able to ring him and I had to listen to a couple of ‘I told you so’ as you would expect, I had to be prepared for that but fortunately Matt was willing to take me back and put me in the car,” Fullwood said.

“It was pretty tough times prior to this year, I felt like we were capable of doing it and I felt like we were getting beaten by people we felt we should be able to race against if not

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be better than, but it is so hard to get everything to jell together at the right time.

“There were so many bits and pieces that held us back, and there has always got to be a realisation there for everyone that sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t and you have to be able to realise when it doesn’t.”

Fullwood will hope that the negotiation skills he picked up in the last 12 months will help him secure the second Walkinshaw Andretti United seat alongside Chaz Mostert in next year’s Supercars. DM

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THE TOYOTA WRC team has announced an all new driver line-up for 2020. As predicted, six-time champion Sebastien Ogier will join the Japanese squad after he departed the factory Citroen. He will be joined by former teammate Elfyn Evans, who moves from the M Sport Ford team and Kalle Rovanpera who steps up after winning the WRC2 Pro Championship this year. Jari-Matti Latvala, a staple of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team since it re-joined the WRC in 2017, has been left without a full-time seat but is hopeful competing in a part-time campaign for the Japanese squad.

THE 2020 WTCR calendar has been revealed, with two venues changing in 2020. The first is Motorland Aragon in Spain, which will replace the Zandvoort round of the series. The other is the Inje-Speedium circuit in South Korea, which takes the place of the Suzuka circuit in Japan. The season will once again begin on the streets of Marrakech in April and conclude in Malaysia in December.

CHIP GANASSI Racing has confirmed that it will not be returning to the IMSA Sportscar Championship in 2020. After racing as the factory Ford team for a number of years, the American team was left in the lurch when Ford announced it would pull the pin at the end of 2019. Efforts by Ford Performance to sell the cars to independent owners took place but no buyers were found.

VOLKSWAGEN HAS announced that it will end all factory support in non-electric motorsport. The German brand has said that it has a clear emphasis on electric racing cars and that its focus is on electric mobility. The ID.R Volkswagen electric prototype holds outright record times at Pikes Peak, Goodwood and also the electric powered record at the Nordschleife.

FORMULA E will be known as the FIA Formula E World Championship from the 2020/21 season, as the governing body has approved world championship status. The electric series has met the criteria for having such status since Season 2 racing,which requires at least four manufacturers and races on a minimum of three continents.

12 AutoAction

ARC CALENDAR REVEALED Image: Wishart Media

A SIX-ROUND Australian Rally Championship calendar has been revealed for 202, with the series set to receive new branding thanks to the CAMS name change to Motorsport Australia.

Set to be known as the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship, the season will open with the National Capital Rally on March 21-22, held in Canberra, before heading to Western Australia on April 17-19 for the Forest Rally in Busselton and Nannup.

The ARC returns to Tasmania for its third round situated in and around Launceston on June 19-21, before Ballarat in Victoria hosts the next round on the same weekend as this past season on August 22-23.

The championship then heads to South Australia for the penultimate round, the Adelaide Hills Rally,

before a final unconfirmed event. Discussions are currently being undertaken, replacing the finale which has been traditionally held at Rally Australia.

The National Capital Rally and Eureka Rush will again feature a shortened one-day format just like this season.

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca is pleased with the mix of events featured on the 2020 calendar.

“The 2019 Championship was certainly a captivating one on many fronts for both competitors and spectators alike,” Arocca said.

“2020 is shaping up to be even better, as we continue to work closely with organisers to further grow the Championship events that are held across Australia, as well as step up the coverage these events receive. Our audience has grown year-on-

year and we’re focused on further improvements to our digital offering next year, to generate even more exposure for the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship.

“While the final round is yet to be confirmed, we are committed to hosting a sixth event and will look to confirm details as soon as we are able to.”

Heath McAlpine

2020 Motorsport Australia Rally Championship calendar: Round 1: Netier National Capital Rally, 21-22 March Round 2: Make Smoking History Forest Rally, 17-19 April Round 3: Subaru Rally Tasmania, 19-21 June Round 4: Pedders Eureka Rush, 22-23 August Round 5: Adelaide Hills Rally, 2-4 October Round 6: TBC

Image: LAT

AUSSIE TO COMPLETE INDYCAR TEST SPORTS CAR ace James Allen is set to complete an IndyCar test in January with the Dragonspeed team, after a quiet season on the racing front in 2019.

The Australian was hampered by the driver ranking system in 2019 after reaching the pinnacle of LMP1 in the World Endurance Championship in late-2018.

Allen contested the European Le Mans Series for Dragonspeed in 2019 but is unsure when the IndyCar test will occur.

“I still believe I’m doing two-days of IndyCar testing,” Allen told Auto Action. “I’m looking forward to it, it should be good.”

Allen recently contested the final round of TCR Australia, driving Ash Seward Motorsport’s newly acquired Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR, a jump into the deep end for the 23-year-old.

“Everything was brand new,” said Allen. “Front-wheel-drive, heavy car, low aero, it was just all new to me. Everything’s backwards so definitely a learning experience, a lot to get my head around but it was great fun. The racing was fantastic, I had a lot of fun with the Ash Seward

Motorsport team.”

Having tested the car just days prior to his debut, he went into the experience very fresh, though adapted well after team boss Ash Seward and lead driver Dylan O’Keeffe shared some tips.

“We’d known a couple of months before I came down, so I’d watched some races in TCR, but I didn’t have any idea or data or advice from people on how to drive it,” Allen explained.

“Going into the test day, I was very fresh, I didn’t know much about driving a front-wheel-drive car at all. But Ash was helpful, he sat me down the week before to look at some videos and data.”

Allen is hoping to expand his association with Dragonspeed through its multiple programs, including IndyCar and prototypes.

At the same time he’s believed to be working on a deal to contest next year’s TCR Australia Series in a Mazda 3 TCR, through his father’s association with the Japanese marque.

“There are still some options for LMP2, but this was a lot of fun – if the schedule allows,” he concluded.” HM

HARRY BATES EYES JWRC AUSTRALIAN RALLY champion Harry Bates is hoping to join the World Rally Championship’s third-tier Junior category next year, but is still working hard to find the required budget.

Bates took all before him this year in the ARC, winning all five rounds and clean-sweeping the heats in a record-breaking campaign, driving the Toyota GAZOO Racing Yaris AP4.

The 24-year-old is now chasing a budget of close to half a million dollars to compete in the JWRC on a full-time basis in 2020.

“Next year is tough,” Bates told Auto Action. “I haven’t found enough money yet, I’m still trying to work on things, still speaking to different people about making it happen, but the first round is in two months and I probably don’t see myself getting there.

“I’ll keep trying and see where we end up.”

The second-generation rally driver is also open to experiencing a few rounds if budget allows, ahead of a planned full-time attack in 2021.

“I think to give yourself the best chance of winning the championship you have to do all of them, but that’s not to say I couldn’t go over there next year and do a couple of rallies in preparation for the following year,” he elaborated.

“There’s plenty of possibilities, they don’t all cost half a million dollars, but to put together a full-season over there, which is the ultimate goal, the minimum cost is between $400-500,000.”

In the meantime, Bates confirmed he will defend his ARC title next year even if he has overseas commitments and also hinted at the possibility of completing an Asia-Pacific campaign, for which Australia will host the finale.

“That’s the plan and I think that was always going to be the plan regardless,” Bates said.

“If I was going overseas, I was definitely going to rally here (as well) because having the support of Toyota and what we have here is really important to me and us.

“Definitely the plan is to back up the ARC.” HM

Image: LAT

MATT CAMPBELL ELEVATED TO SENIOR PORSCHE PROGRAM TWO FORMER Australian Carrera Cup Series winners, Matt Campbell and Jaxon Evans, will continue their official association with Porsche in 2020.

Australian Matt Campbell won the Aussie series in 2016 and has been promoted to a Porsche factory driver for the 2020 season.

The German manufacturer made the announcement at its Night of Champions, confirming that Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet will make the step up, replacing Jorg Bergmeister and two time World Endurance Champion Timo Bernhard.

The 2020 season will be a busy one for Campbell, who will complete the remainder of the 2019/20 WEC season as well as the five round Intercontinental GT Challenge.

In 2019 Campbell won the first round of the series, the Bathurst 12 Hour, which the 24-year-old will attempt to defend in 2020.

Campbell will also join Porsche’s IMSA squad for the long distance races at the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans, alongside series regulars

Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki.

Kiwi Jaxon Evans, who won the 2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Series, will again compete in the Porsche Supercup Series in 2020.

The Porsche Supercup is the highest level one make Porsche series globally, and in 2019 Evans finished the series in sixth. He scored two podiums along the way at Spa-Francorchamps and Mexico City. Evans also competed in Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Series in 2019, in which he won the Rookie title.

In 2020 Evans will be one of only two Porsche Junior supported drivers to race in the Porsche Supercup Championship.

As a Porsche Junior he will receive a sponsorship package that includes Euro225,000 for the eight round season.

The 2020 Porsche Supercup Championship will get underway at Zandvoort at the start of May, visiting venues such as Monte Carlo and Silverstone, before concluding at Monza in early September. Dan McCarthy

FOUR MARC CARS TO RUN IN EUROPE MARC CARS founder Ryan McLeod will continue to race the second generation MARC Mustangs in major international endurance events in 2020.

The Australian built MARC cars have been contesting long distance endurance races in various Creventic Series’ for a number of years now, which has seen a number of customer teams invest in the Aussie engineered GT cars.

“Next year we are taking our own brand new car back and pairing with one of our customers squads, so we will be running the five rounds of the year’s European Championship,” McLeod told Auto Action.

The five round 2020 European Series kicks off with four 12 hour races. Starting with Monza in March, the circus travels to Spa-Francorchamps, the Red Bull Ring and Paul Ricard, before ending with the Barcelona 24 Hours.

“We are taking one of our own Marc II cars and there are three other customer cars that will be running, although they may not run in all of the events. In a lot of the races there will be four Marc II cars,” he said.

“We’ve been competing in the Creventic series since 2012 in a variety of different cars, last year we took one of our cars to do the 12 Hours of Spa which was a great test for the program.

“We’ve been supporting our customers who have been running their cars in the other 24 Hour events, we just did Barcelona and Circuit of the Americas.”

Although the car struck mechanical issues in the COTA 24 Hours, McLeod explained that the reliability of the MARC II cars is constantly improving.

“The MARC II car continues to get stronger and stronger with each race event. The current class that it runs in, SPX, is a class that is controlled by balance of performance. Next year they are changing that and the balance of performance comes off. With these changes more of the true speed of the car will be able to be seen, it will be a very competitive and fast car” McLeod told AA. McLeod is keen to continue fielding his regular Australian drivers in 2020, but is open to others racing his cars.

“As far as our overseas program is concerned we will definitely have some of our regular drivers competing, including Jake Camilleri, Keith Kassulke and Aaron Cameron who will be driving in a couple of the races.

“However we are planning to bring in some other drivers for the series, so space is available for new drivers to join the program, he said. DM

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LATEST NEWS

HOLDEN’S RACING FUTURE THE SUDDEN departure of would-be saviour Dave Butner is not good news for Holden, but his immediate replacement is much more of a friend to the Lion brand’s involvement in Supercars.

Butner has quit just 16 months after he was brought out of retirement from the top job at Toyota Australia to guide Holden’s post-manufacturing restructure.

His interim successor as chairman and managing director of GM Holden is Kristian Aquilina, who has re-engaged the company with Supercars since his appointment as marketing boss in mid-2018.

Holden is committed to factory backing of the Red Bull Holden Dealer Team and support of the ZB Commodore until the end of 2021 in a renewal deal orchestrated by Aquilina in July.

His surprise ascension at least means the person at the top at Holden for the foreseeable future understands the value of Supercars and Holden’s historic association with high-performance vehicles.

Butner was never a fan of Supercars involvement when he was a senior executive at Toyota Australia, rising to president in 2014 and consolidating the Japanese brand’s No.1 sales position.

He also oversaw the shutdown of Toyota’s Australian manufacturing operations shortly before he retired in late 2017.

Butner joined Holden in August 2018 to steer the company’s transition from manufacturer to full-line importer and his appointment was trumpeted as a coup that would re-establish ‘Australia’s Own’ as a market leader.

Instead, he reigned over the sharpest decline in sales in Holden’s history, with efforts to promote the brand as an SUV destination failing.

Holden’s market share is at its lowest since local manufacture began in late 1948, peaking at around 50 per cent in the 1950s and ’60s. It was last No.1 in 2002, crashing to outside the top 10 so far this year.

Holden sales have progressively collapsed since local Commodore production ceased in October 2017, with VF carryover slumping from more than 2000 a month to the imported ZB’s peak of around 500 a month.

The formerly top-selling Commodore nameplate was a victim of the decline of traditional passenger car sales to SUVs and the model’s switch to an imported front-wheel drive replacement.

Holden’s future is now in the balance, with beleaguered General Motors looking to get out altogether, rebrand locally as Chevrolet or sell the Holden brand and distribution rights to Peugeot – which makes the Astra and Commodore as donor

brand Opel’s owner – or a local agent.

As one of the few Australian bosses in Holden history, it is Aquilina’s job to save the Lion brand and racing – and the company’s deep performance DNA – could be part of that rescue package.

He understands Holden’s heritage and has tried to tap into it while also acknowledging that competitive SUVs like the American seven-seat, full-feature Arcadia are the volume-selling future.

Butner has left Holden for “personal reasons”, which may be true. But he has also failed to arrest the marque’s precipitous decline.

Part of that may be that, as an outsider and former enemy, he failed to recognise Holden’s deeply ingrained heritage of racing and V8 performance models.

OK, the V8 rear-drive Commodores are gone forever, but the legend lives on in racing and I’m not sure he understood that, as Aquilina appears to.

While Butner approved Holden’s more active involvement in Supercars, it appeared more like tolerance as he rarely showed support publicly.

Shortly after his return to Australia from running Holden in NZ in mid-2018, Aquilina reversed Holden’s female and minority group marketing focus, including so-called inclusive racing promotions, and reoriented and re-embraced

HANSON TAKES OVER ALFA AUSTRALIAN FORMULA Ford Series driver Jay Hanson will graduate to tin-tops, confirming he will contest the 2020 TCR Australia Series.

Hanson will take over the Ash Seward Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR driven by Dylan O’Keeffe to four wins and two pole positions. The 16-year-old finished seventh in this year’s Australian Formula Ford title, winning the final race of the year.

After sampling the ASM Giulietta Veloce TCR at the driver evaluation day after the Winton round of the series in August, Hanson is keen to impress and hopes to use TCR Australia as a pathway to an overseas career.

“It’s awesome to join forces with Ashley Seward Motorsport in the Alfa Romeo,” said Hanson.

“I can’t wait for season 2020 and some of the great racing that we’ve seen in TCR Australia.

“There’s going to be pressure on myself to at least finish in the top 10 for the year, but hopefully we can be in a position to get some podiums by the end of the year.

“TCR is a worldwide category, and there’s many places to go after the Australian Series. Eventually, I’d like to move

overseas and race there, and the rookie prize to get a test with an international team is absolutely awesome.”

Team owner Ash Seward is pleased to have signed Hanson for 2020 and is looking forward to watching his development.

“It’s really exciting to have Jay join us for our TCR program in the Alfa Romeo,” said Ashley Seward.

“He did an exceptionally good job in Formula Ford, and we had an evaluation day and he did a great job in the car.

“The power to weight ratio of a Formula Ford to a TCR are very similar, so I reckon from what we’ve seen with him, there’s no reason why he can’t be challenging for podium finishes.”

“In terms of securing our other drivers, there’s lots happening behind the scenes. This year has been challenging – we have good car speed but we need to dot our Is and cross our Ts with a couple of aspects, but it was really a learning year.

“We’re talking to lots of people about 2020, so stay tuned.”

Hanson will test the Alfa this week ahead of his campaign kicking off at the Australian Grand Prix for the Asia Pacific Cup and is eligible for the Michelin Rookie Cup. ASM will expand to three Alfas next season with further announcements to be made in the new year. HM

.its Supercars involvement to emphasise the Commodore’s performance DNA. He backed the continued support of V8-powered ZBs in racing over a switch to the Chevrolet Camaro.

If Holden survives and Aquilina secures the top position permanently, his leadership augers well for Holden – or at least GM – staying in Supercars in 2022 and beyond under the Gen3 evolution of the technical and eligibility rules.

But with Holden at its lowest ebb historically, he will have a fight on his hands to save the brand and secure the future of the company’s engineering and design facilities, which develop vehicles for GM worldwide.

Kristian Aquilina – Holden lifer and motor racing fan – is the brand’s best hope on and off the track.

He will embrace the coming C8 mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette – the ultimate halo car – and if there is a GT3 racing version, will support it racing at the Bathurst 12 Hour at the very least.

These are trying times for Holden. The brand is on the brink.

Hopefully, Aquilina’s support of Supercars will continue as part of a marketing offensive to emphasise Holden’s unique position in Australia.

Posted on autoaction.com.au 3/12/2019.

The retirement of the Commodore was confirmed by new Holden boss Kristian Aquilina on Tuesday.

HOLDEN DROPS COMMODORE HOLDEN HAS announced that is has elected to retire the ZB Commodore in 2020.

Holden Interim Chairman and Managing Director Kristian Aquilina has confirmed that both the ZB Commodore and BK Astra will be withdrawn from the market in 2020 as the brand’s portfolio focuses exclusively on SUVs and light commercial vehicles.

“Holden is taking this decisive action to ensure a sharp focus on the largest and most buoyant market segments,” Aquilina said.

“So far this year SUVs and Utes have increased to 76 percent of Holden sales, a trend we only see continuing.”

Falling sales for the Commodore are to blame as the model is

set for a projected sales figure of 8,700 units, a long way off the 217,882 mark it hit back in 1998.

Since October 2013, the passenger car segment has declined by more than 87 percent overall, while the private buyers in the segment have dropped 93 percent in that time.

“The SUV segment is approaching half a million units, and LCVs over 200,000 units. That’s where the action is and that’s where we are going to play,” Aquilina explained.

The new Holden boss acknowledged the changing market space and the long history of the Commodore model life.

“The decision to retire the Commodore nameplate has not been taken lightly by those who understand and acknowledge its proud heritage,” he said.

“The large sedan was the cornerstone of Australian and New Zealand roads for decades. But now with more choice than ever before, customers are displaying a strong preference for the high driving position, functionality and versatility of SUVs and Utes.”

With the imminent withdrawal of the ZB Commodore, Holden re-affirmed its commitment to Supercars in a statement below: Holden recently re-committed to racing in Supercars through until the end of 2021, and that will happen with the currently homologated ZB Commodore race car. Racing is a strong part of Holden’s brand identity and we will assess our options as Supercars continues to evolve its rules for the next generation of cars currently due to be introduced in 2022. HM

TCR NZ POSTPONED THE INAUGURAL TCR New Zealand Series has been delayed until the second half of next year with a radically revised calendar running from midway through 2020 until February 2021.

The category announced that the calendar will be extended from the original five-week duration out to five months. The amount of rounds will also rise from five to seven and will include a flyaway round to Australia as the series heads to the highly anticipated inaugural Bathurst International event late-next year.

The decision to postpone TCR New Zealand was based on competitor feedback and will enable more TCR cars to arrive in New Zealand prior to the start of the series, as a number of teams experienced delays sourcing its cars from Europe.

“We have had a number of overseas

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competitors who would like to be part of TCR New Zealand but were having difficulty with the original calendar,” said category manager Grant Smith.

“The arrival delays of TCR cars in New Zealand means we would not be able to deliver the product we are aiming for.

“This revised calendar will offer competitors more time to prepare for the new season and enables us to get more TCR cars into New Zealand before season commencement in the second half of 2020.”

The Australian Racing Group is currently working with New Zealand teams that were set to compete in the original calendar to seek racing opportunities in rounds of TCR Australia, in addition to the interest shown in entering the season-opening Asia Pacific Cup at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne.

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“The interest that we’ve had in TCR New Zealand has been extremely positive, however there have been some challenges securing the vehicles to launch at the level that we are comfortable with,” said the director of the Australian Racing Group Matt Braid.

“Like TCR Australia, our intention has always been to ensure the series launches

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with significant impact, and by making this alteration to the calendar, we know that TCR New Zealand will be a success in 2020 and beyond.”

A definitive and more detailed 2020/21 New Zealand TCR calendar will be announced in due course.

Dan McCarthy

LATEST NEWS

AUSTRALIAN YASSER Shahin won the Asian Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup series at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The opening race began under a safety car in wet conditions, and when it came in leader Andrew Haryanto was overtaken by Shahin around the outside at Turn 10.

The Australian quickly pulled a gap on the chasing pack. Fellow Aussie Tony Bates made a change to slicks but soon regretted the decision when he spun into the wall, resulting in another safety car. Shahin held on after the restart to take the victory while the third Aussie in the field, George Nakas, finished sixth. In the final race of the season Haryanto took the victory but Shahin stayed out of trouble to finish fifth, enough to seal the title. Bates finished just behind in sixth with Nakas in eighth.

AUSTRALIAN HARRY Hayek has won a factory McLaren drive in the 2020 British GT Championship. The 21-year-old earned one of four spots, after impressing in the McLaren Automotive Development competition held at the Snetterton circuit in England. The New South Welshman will drive a McLaren 570S GT4s run by customer racing team Tolman Motorsport alongside one of the other three winners Katie Milner, Michael Benyahia or Alain Valente. Hayek moved to England in 2016 before suffering a heavy crash in a Formula 3 car, ironically at Snetterton, in 2017 which fractured a vertebrae. He returned briefly to racing last year in the V8 Touring Car Series before driving a number of races in the Australian Formula 4 and Toyota 86 categories this year.

AARON CAMERON has had a busy couple of weeks overseas. The Aussie first completed a test in a factory backed Honda Civic British Touring Car run by Team Dynamics at Silverstone, before racing a JC kart in Macau. The former Australian Karting Champion ran well throughout the weekend, finishing between fifth and eighth in all of the heats and started the final from 12th position.

The TCR Australia driver made his way up to sixth on the first lap, continued to charge and briefly made it up to third before falling to fifth place by the end of the race.

TWO AUSTRALIANS were recognised at the 2019 FIA Prize Giving Ceremony, with Esports star Cody Nikola Latkovski winning the inaugural Digital Cup competition at The World Motorsport Games. The West Australian was one of 16 drivers to compete in the event, winning Australia’s first gold medal.

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AUSSIE INVADER TAKES NZ 86 POINTS AUSTRALIAN TOYOTA 86 frontrunner Jaylyn Robotham won on debut at Pukekohe racing in the Kiwi’s equivalent series.

A 17-car entry entered the opening round of the New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship and it was a Kiwi who led the way in the form of Jaden Ransley, defeating Robotham in the opening 14lap encounter.

Peter Vodanovich was an early challenger to Ransley, and this enabled Robotham and Brock Gilchrist to close up. The trio battled hard allowing Ransley to bridge the gap, while Robotham made a decisive move into Turn 5 to take second, and Gilchrist did the same a lap later.

Vodanovich dropped a further place to Connor

Adam, as Ransley kicked off his championship campaign in the perfect fashion.

The next day of racing was dominated by Robotham, taking two victories on the way to the round victory.

After taking victory in the first, he led from start-to-finish in the 16-lap final by out dragging Ransley into Turn 1 with the battle behind heating up as positions were swapped multiple times.

A safety car ended the race with Robotham heading home Ransley and a recovering Vodanovich.

After committing late to running in the New Zealand Championship, Robotham was pleased to have performed so well on a track that is foreign

to him.

“Yes, for sure it’s gone really well over the weekend considering it all came together so late,” he explained.

“I’ve not actually done any simulator work around the track but I have watched the Supercars race around here, so I just tried to learn the circuit as quickly as possible in Friday practice.

“There’s plenty of tough competition out there and I’ve got to remember that for me it’s going to be all new circuits in this championship. But I’m definitely very happy to have taken two wins and a round win.”

The next round of the series is at Highland Motorsport Park in January. HM

ANZACS PERFORM STRONGLY IN ASIA THE OPENING round of the 2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series contained a very tight battle for the lead throughout the 4 Hours of Shanghai.

It was a successful opening round for the Australians and Kiwis, who took part in the top tier LMP2 class. Two Aussies, Aiden Read and Nick Foster, teamed up with former F1 driver Roberto Mehri claimed pole position.

Throughout the early laps their #36 Eurasia Motorsport car was locked in a tight battle for the lead with the #45 Thunderhead Carlin Racing car and the #26 G-Drive Racing car.

On the final lap of the race Harry Tincknell in the #45 car snatched the victory from Roman Rusinov in the #26 car, however a post-race penalty was applied to the #45 Carlin team dropping it to third. This was due to driver Ben Barnicoat spending more time on the track than what was permitted.

The penalty saw the #45 car fall to third behind the winners Rusinov, James French and Leonard Hoogenboom, and also promoted Read, Foster and Mehri into second position.

Australian James Winslow, who recently raced in the S5000 Series, finished just off the podium in the #34 Inter Europol car alongside Mathias Beche and Jakub Smiechowski.

The trio of Aussies John Corbett, Nathan Kumar and Mitchell Neilson in the

other Inter Europol car finished the race in eighth, three laps off the lead.

Former Supercars driver Daniel Gaunt’s day was over after just 27 laps while fellow Kiwi Andrew Higgins paired up with John Farano and Formula 2 driver Arjun Maini to come home in sixth overall, winning the LMP2 Am class.

The next round of the series takes place in 2020 down under at The Bend Motorsport Park from January 10-12. DM

HEIMGARTNER WINS ON HOME SOIL SUPERCARS DRIVER Andre Heimgartner won the opening round of the NZ V8s Championship at Pukekohe on November 30-December 1, taking two from two victories.

Heimgartner dominated the weekend, setting pole position ahead of Hamilton Motorsports teammate Lance Hughes, Rob Wallace and TCR Australia regular Alexandra Whitley, in the sole Richards Team Motorsport Toyota Camry.

The two Hamilton Motorsports Holden VE Commodores skipped away from the rest of the field, which was headed by Whitley, who made quick work of Wallace. The Camry was only momentarily third as Sam Collins demoted her back to fourth in his Nascar-powered Ford Mustang.

Hughes kept the pressure on and surprisingly passed Heimgartner at Turn 5, but the Supercars driver replicated the move a lap later and was never headed to the flag. He finished 4.2s ahead of Collins, after he passed Hughes during the closing stages.

“Good start to the weekend with a pole position and a win, the Mustang of Sam Collins was pretty fast there. Had a good battle with Lance too,” said Heimgartner post-race.

“I saw Lance coming, and just got out of the way, I didn’t want to damage either of the cars as they are both his!”

The second race was also won by Heimgartner, but the third and final race was cancelled due to a heavy rain storm flooding the circuit.

“The weekend was good fun, it was good to be back here and racing, and the Auckland weather certainly playing its part!” said Heimgartner.

“The call by the officials was certainly the right one.

“It was a good start to the weekend. Hopefully we can do it again and have another clean weekend at the next round.”

The next event for the NZ V8 Championship is back at Pukekohe in February. HM

AA’s pondering pundit offers a giftwrapped proposal of how to make S5000 even better and more important ’TIS THE season to be jolly.

So in the ho, ho, ho spirit of the season, I offer some good cheer for the year.

Santa Foges’ gift for all the good boys and girls of racing – a very small group – is his endorsement of S5000. It has great potential if managed and promoted well.

The former requirement doesn’t concern me. Latter day F5000 saint Chris Lambden and benefactor Australian Racing Group have the category covered.

The promotion side is a worry. Outside of F1, openwheeler racing in Australia doesn’t register with non-motor sport fans.

But to be frank, S5000 means nothing to the vox pop. Gets my generation’s heartbeat racing, but that’s only because we actually remember Formula 5000 more than four decades ago.

So here’s an idea. Once S5000 takes off, as we all hope it will next year, why not elevate it to true top-level status? Give it the importance and gravitas to capture the public’s and media’s attention.

How to do that? Invoke the past of premier open-wheel racing in Australia to imbue the future with heritage and recognition.

Here’s what I’m thinking.

Rename S5000 as Australian National Formula 1 and make every round a grand prix.

Historical precent says we can. Before the Australian Grand Prix became a round of the F1 world championship in Adelaide in 1985, there were

also state GPs. Not many, but in the mists of time, they happened.

It’s like tennis or golf, where for decades state titles – the NSW, Victorian, Queensland and South Australian Opens – existed alongside the Australian Open.

NSW, Vic, SA and Queensland GPs are legitimate titles for our premier open-wheel class, which is now S5000.

My idea, in this historical context, is that each round of the championship becomes a state grand prix.

So Sydney Motorsport Park becomes the NSW GP, Winton d or Phillip Island the Vic GP, and The Bend the SA GP. You get the idea. Calling them Grands Prix bestows importance that the public and mainstream media can understand.

As appealing to diehard enthusiasts as S5000 is, the category has no importance or recognition outside racing. The S5000 tag is meaningless.

It needs an association with F1 to capture public and media attention.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation may baulk at national-level GPs, but the fact is that they once existed and the descriptor Grand Prix is not exclusive to F1.

Former F1 czar Bernie Ecclestone tried to trademark Grand Prix, but was defeated by a century of common usage. Grand Prix is a French phrase meaning ‘Big Prize’ and has been applied to many sports.

So it is free for any sport to use, which do Thus, Thus applying it to they do. races in a codified Motorsport Australia championship category is legitimate.

It may be a stretch given MA’s cosy relationship with the AGPC. But to elevate Australian open-wheel racing to a high level, it needs new nomenclature to separate it from Supercars.

I know I’m tilting at windmills here. But if some sort of importance can be attached to S5000 beyond the reinstatement of the Gold Star prize, serious open-wheel racing may have a chance of cutting through the sporting noise.

I’m old enough to remember when the Gold Star and ANF1 were more important than touring car racing and the ATCC. Hardly credible now.

But once it was.

I have little hope motor racing’s guardians will embrace my back-to-the-

future idea to S5000 I made to the elevate S5000. same pitch to Formula Holden organisers, at their invitation, when restoring the status of Australia’s premier open-wheel class would have been much easier. But they ignored me, dismissed me as some sort of overseas-based dilettante.

I just want S5000 to succeed.

So badly. But I fear that without true gravitas, its appeal will be restricted to core enthusiasts.

It should be a magnet to every top driver in the country – young or old – to prove their mettle in a serious racing car.

Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, even Craig Lowndes, don’t tell me you wouldn’t be straight in there if it really meant something. Of course, you would.

New Zealand adores openwheel racing. That’s just not right, especially as we’ve reinvented big-banger singleseater racing.

S5000 pushes my buttons – and probably yours.

So, CAMS/Motorsport Australia, give it and the races the historical status they deserve.

SEASON’S GREETINGS

Thank you to all our readers and advertisers for your continued support this year.

We’re delighted to have won major Supercars and TCR media awards along the way in recognition of our continued efforts to bring you the best coverage.

Fighting the good fight as the primarily print publication against 24/7 web sites is what drives us, along with in-depth coverage they can’t provide.

We’ll be back in a few weeks after a well-earned break – and we hope you will be, too.

See you on January 9, 2020.

In the meantime, best wishes to you and your families for the festive season.

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15

News EXTRA

GRATE DANE Roland reveals the regret that most annoys him

For the first time since 2005, Triple Eight Race Engineering has not won either a Supercars championship or a Bathurst 1000. Team boss Roland Dane explains to BRUCE NEWTON why it could all have been very different ROLAND DANE’S biggest regret about this season doesn’t relate to the racing itself.

It doesn’t even relate to the calendar year 2019.

Nope, the primary remorse of the boss of Triple Eight Race Engineering and the factory Red Bull Holden Racing Team is that he signed off on the 2018 VCAT (Vehicle Control Aerodynamic Testing) process last December, approving the Ford Mustang for Supercars competition.

Dane now believes he should have paid more heed to what his engineers who attended the test at Temora airstrip were telling him. They were concerned about the aerodynamic potency of the Mustang despite the nine-day process supposedly being the closest ever.

Results – especially early in the season – proved them correct as Scott McLaughlin and DJR Team Penske dominated.

Crushingly.

From there, as a centre of gravity rule was introduced and aerodynamics became a constant focus of technical parity debate, the political rancour in pit lane just got more heated. The playing field was still being rebalanced in September, but by then the

16 AutoAction

feral horse, with McLaughlin in the saddle, had long bolted.

And Dane concedes he could have stopped it all before it began “I went against the advice of my own engineers and signed off the aero when I shouldn’t have done,” he told Auto Action.

“They were uncomfortable about the validity of it at the time and I got persuaded by the powers that be – put it that way – to sign off the aero test.

“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have done it and if I hadn’t of done it, we would have had to go back and test again in January.

“That’s my fault.”

So what was the argument put to Dane that convinced him to sign the homologation document?

“People convinced me it (VCAT) was well done and maybe my guys were being a bit glass half-empty over it all,’ he explained.

“I allowed myself to be veered off course, really.”

Dane being “veered off course” is a hard concept to grasp. The dominant owner of the dominant Supercars team of the last 15 years has charted a course well clear of the rocks and reefs that almost inevitably

claim the vast majority of powerful sporting organisations.

But he didn’t read the issue properly this time and as a result, his and every other team not equipped with Mustangs got to spend the first part of the season trying to figure out how to get on level terms.

BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL

The problem was, as Dane relates it, they simply couldn’t. It’s an important reason why he still rates Triple Eight’s season so highly.

“The team overall has done a pretty good job – not a perfect job, but a pretty good job,” he said. “Early on in the year, we were along with the other Holden teams struggling first with a centre of gravity difference that was too big. And the other thing was an aero deficit that was bigger than we had ever seen in my time in Australia, quite honestly.

“And the problem is, the temptation is there to try to do what you can to close the gap, but you can’t do anything about physics – and the physics were not on our side.

“Rather than just accepting our lot early lot early in the year, we tried to do things we probably shouldn’t have done to try to find an edge.”

There were times like Phillipp Island where Triple Eight was not as fast as the best of the Holdens or Nissans, let alone capable of challengingg the Mustangs. That was an example, Dane ne insists, of trying too hard to find speed that hat simply wasn’t in the car.

He is adamant mant the shift from the trapezoidal spring to the linear spring for 2019 had no more impactt on T8’s form than any other team and is scathing of those media – this writer included ed – who dared to suggest otherwise.

“People outside tside the teams don’t know, you can have opinions inions and you’re quite welcome to have them m and form them, but you don’t actually know w what’s going on,” he declared.

Even when he’s told people in his own team were saying aying to the media that the linear spring ring was an issue, Dane is sceptical. ptical.

“The realityy is the transfer from the twin spring ng to the single spring was a challenge for everyone in some shape or id. “Now, we tried form,” he said. very hard to compensate for tre of gravity, aero, for centre g, and tried too for everything,

hard on several occasions.

“Other people weren’t trying and sometimes when you try hard you overstep the mark. But the reality is, if you’d given us the same physical numbers that we needed in order to compete on a reasonably level playing field, then we would have had those tuning aspects going on without people really noticing.

“So, of course, it served the purposes of the opposition to try to say it was down to that (linear spring), but it wasn’t the reason.

The reason was the Mustang had more downforce over the first couple of races and a much better CoG. The numbers don’t lie.

“The second half of the season, or since New Zealand, where we feel we have been able to compete properly, we have beaten them.”

FURIOUS WITH DJR TEAM PENSKE

Roland Dane regrets signing off on the 2018 VCAT process last December, approving the Ford Mustang for Supercars competition. Below he chats to his former Technical Director Ludo Lacroix, now at DJR Team Penske.

Images: LAT

Add it all up and T8 managed second and third in the drivers’ championship, second in the teams’ title, second and fourth in the Bathurst 1000, and won the consolation prize that is the Pirtek Enduro Cup thanks to Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes.

Dane believes T8 did a good job snaring those results, but it’s clear he, like much of pit lane, is furious about DJR Team Penske’s Bathurst behaviour – both the decision to slow Fabian Coulthard behind a late-race safety car and the illegal qualifying engine not revealed until the Sandown 500 a month later.

“They (DJRTP) are the guys who should be contrite, they are the guys who should be humble, they are the guys who have screwed up the Great Race,” he admonished. “If Scotty’s car in qualifying at Bathurst had been done for being underweight rather than an engine infringement, he would have started that race at the tail of the field.

“I am not saying he wouldn’t have won the race, he could have, but it would have been very different.

“If they hadn’t held up the pack for 46 or 47 seconds, the race would have looked very different. I am not saying they wouldn’t have won the race either way, but they don’t know that and neither do we and the punters deserve better.

“The team should be putting their hand up publicly saying ‘We have screwed up, we sailed too close to the wind and it backfired’.

Only the liars haven’t

A late-race suspension problem at Sandown proved very costly for both Shane van Gisbergen’s Driver’s title chase and Triple Eight’s Teams championship campaign.

THE ODD COUPLE

THE RELATIONSHIP between Dane and Whincup is fascinating. At times they are the odd couple; they spat and spar, but at the end of it all, they are closely bonded.

Whincup’s pre-eminent position as the greatest driver the sport has produced, his racing intelligence, his long relationship with Triple Eight and his ownership role all deliver him a voice at the table.

It’s one he exercises every now and again. At Phillip Island, Dane publicly chastised his side of the garage. Whincup replied in AA days later, accusing his boss of indulging in a “cheap shot”.

Whincup followed up by claiming the team had been under-resourced to resolve the twin spring issue.

“The fact is, Jamie is a driver, he doesn’t spend every day at the factory,” Dane said. “One day he will. He doesn’t now, though, very far from it. He comes in once or twice a fortnight, and the reality is Jamie was trying too hard.

“He was part of trying to do something that was physically impossible.” BN

done it in motor sport at some point or another.

“I don’t like what they did, because normally when you do that it’s a bit accidental. They sailed too close to the wind, that’s not accidental.

“If an engineer screws up the weight or fuel in qualifying and ends up a kilo under, that’s probably accidental. Whereas with the engine, it’s a deliberate premeditated thing to use all the tolerance.

“You shouldn’t be surprised if you go over it, the tolerance is there for a reason.”

For all the external forces and controversies, Dane acknowledges other issues including some shoddy pit stops were self-induced errors.

UNCHARACTERISTI UNCHARACTERISTIC FAILURES

The rare engine failure for Sh Shane van Gisbergen at the AGP and th the suspension failure that cost him and Gar Garth Tander the Sandown 500 win, were out of character for this team, too.

“We had a wheel come off at Bathurst last year and we hadn’t dealt with it properly in the off-season, and that cam came back to bite us at the start of the year,” D Dane admitted.

“We well and truly learned ou our lesson there.

“The pit crew only shuffled around within the context of the team oof people who were on the pit crew uused at different times for different th things and because someone was out of action with a ba bad back. within the scope “But that’s w of eight or 10 people you can move aaround doing pit stops, not nothing happened outside th the norm there.

“We ha haven’t had an engine failure in years and yyou are going to

have them once in a while. (Engine builder) KRE has the best track record in the paddock on a number of fronts, including that one. So it can happen to you.”

Dane postulates that the battle for competitiveness impacted his two drivers in different ways. Van Gisbergen survived when that was the only option and found that extra one per cent – a combination of touch, speed, precision and daring that marks him apart – to push for the win when the opportunity presented. From Pukekohe and the aero upgrade onwards, he was brilliant.

“He’s second in the championship for a reason and, honestly, at the end of the day, the thing collectively I am most proud of is that you have to go right back to 2004 to find a year where this team didn’t finish first or second in the (drivers’) championship,” Dane said. “And nobody else gets close to that record.

“Shane has been a part of that, finishing second for the last two years and done the best he could with the equipment.”

Whincup, by contrast, according to Dane, simply pushed too hard too often trying to make up an impossible deficit. It didn’t help he also made mistakes when he shouldn’t have, like the lock-up on Saturday at Newcastle that all but ended T8’s shot at the teams’ championship.

“From a driving point of view, he could have done a better job this year,” Dane asserted. “Would it have had a material effect on the championship? Probably not, because behind it all we are the first people to recognise Scotty McLaughlin has done an extremely good job, anyway.

“Has it been made easier for him by the Mustang having an advantage for a large part of the season? Yes, it probably has.

“But I don’t want to take away from the fact the guy has driven well and made the other Mustang runners all look a bit ordinary.”

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MERCEDES TOPPED both days of the post-season Abu Dhabi test. Finn Valtteri Bottas finished the opening day on top from Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. The German collided with Sergio Perez at Turn 11, spinning Vettel around but both cars escaped with no major damage. Perez finished the day fourth fastest behind Daniil Kvyat. Also on the opening day Esteban Ocon returned to the wheel of a Formula 1 car, driving the Renault in which he completed 77 laps. On the second day George Russell driving a Mercedes was fastest from Chares Leclerc, who crashed at Turn 13 causing an early end to his test.

PIRELLI IS open to sticking with the tyres used throughout the 2019 season after many drivers including Valtteri Bottas and Romain Grosjean were critical of the 2020 compounds at the conclusion of the post season Abu Dhabi test. The head of Pirelli Mario Isola felt that there was a number of positive aspects to the test but said that if teams do not want to use the new compounds in 2020, then it is willing to remain with the 2019 rubber.

FROM THE start of the 2020 season Scuderia Toro Rosso will officially become Scuderia Alpha Tauri following the publication of the provisional entry list by the FIA. The Toro Rosso team debuted in 2006 after the Red Bull energy drink company purchased the Minardi team. This season has been one of the most successful in the Italian squad’s history, with both Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat finishing on the podium.

ES ESTEBAN STEBAN OCON, OCON who h will be Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault teammate next year, spent two days driving the Aussie’s car in the postseason test at Abu Dhabi.

Pre-season testing has been reduced from eight to six days in 2020, and there will be no testing permitted during the season. So getting these two days in the car gave the lanky pencil-thin French driver a vital head start on the 2020 season.

“It’s crucial and definitely it’s going to help me massively,” Ocon, 23, said.

“You arrive for testing in February with an advantage because you have your position fixed. You have things that you verified on track. I didn’t get much driving time this year, and to have even fewer testing days in February is a big problem. Two days here is basically a counter for the days we are lacking in February.”

Ocon raced in F1 with Manor during the latter half of 2016 and then spent two seasons with Force India.

He was a Mercedes test driver in 2019. But at heart he is a Renault man, as he was a junior/test/reserve driver for the squad.

“I have grown up at Enstone, starting with Lotus in 2010 and then with Renault,” he said. “I am very attached to this team and everyone who works there; they are the ones who opened the doors of top level motorsport for me.”

Renault decided it needed a fresh injection and different direction for 2020, so elected to bring

OCON GETS A HEAD START

Images: LAT

in Ocon to replace veteran Nico Hülkenberg next year.

“Things change quickly in F1,” Ocon said. “Compared to 2016 there are quite a few new faces in the engineer room and also with the mechanics in the garage.”

Ocon completed 205 laps – nearly four race distances – over the two days, but running on the first day was limited because at 188cm he is taller than Ricciardo and Hülkenberg and he had trouble fitting into the car.

“Nico and Daniel were driving pretty close to each other in terms of the setup,” Ocon said. “There will be small differences for me.

I’m trying to listen to the team, understand how the car works, because every car works differently and

RENAULT’S RESTRUCTURING CONSTRUCTION OF the Vietnam Street Circuit is well underway. In recent days organisers have added an additional corner which has seen the length of the track extended from 5.565km length to 5.607km.

THE BEST way to see the inaugural Vietnam GP action is with tour hosted by Macquarie Radio motor racing commentator Jon Thomson and long-time F1 enthusiast Don Kemish. It will see participants staying in five star accommodation in the heart of Hanoi, with luxury transfers to and from the track and the airport, for more information see page 9.

18 AutoAction

DANIEL RICCIARDO’S Renault team has announced a major restructuring plan of its UK technical department.

Technical director Nick Chester has left and will now be on a period of “gardening leave” when he is not permitted to work for any other racing team.

It is speculated that he will eventually end up at the beleaguered Williams squad.

“I have enjoyed 19 years in a team with great spirit and have worked with an incredibly loyal and talented group of people,” Chester said.

Renault hired Dirk de Beer in November to replace Peter Machin as head of aerodynamics. The team continues to evolve and restructure in its effort to close the gap to the big three teams. Renault’s goal was to finish a strong fourth in the 2019 constructors’ championship, but instead it ended up fifth and 54 points behind McLaren.

Former Benetton/Ferrari/McLaren engineer Pat Fry is scheduled to join Renault in a senior position once he is free of his contractual obligations with

McLaren. Fry helped transform McLaren, so that team will hold him on gardening leave as long as possible to keep him from helping Renault improve.

Most of the design of the 2020 Renault has already been completed, so Fry’s input would be largely directed at the 2021 car as well as refining the 2020 model. Renault’s engineers and aerodynamicists discovered design flaws in the philosophy of 2019 car, especially the front end.

“After looking at some other teams,” Aussie Ricciardo said, “they are pretty confident that that was not the best way to go. We can change that and get a lot more out of it as the year goes on.

With the updates this year we didn’t really get that much, so we have a bit in hand. We certainly have the resources and the budget to do so. So I’m optimistic.”

Ricciardo is going to take some time off.

“Whether you have work to do or not, I am adamant that it is important that everyone needs

to switch off at some point,” he said. “You get to a point where you are just overworking and underachieving. It is not productive anymore.

“For next year I’ve got some ideas of things I can do better. I feel like I integrated myself into the team well this year, but I look back and see I can do more.

I want to have a bit more presence before the season starts, before testing, but I also have some ideas of things we can do together as a team to get us into the season. Not just technically but as a team unit I want to get to Barcelona feeling like we got some momentum before the season even starts.”

Ricciardo and his new teammate Esteban Ocon will shakedown the new Renault RS 20 during preseason testing in Barcelona.

COST CUTS KEY FOR HONDA

also reacts differently to a different set-up change.”

A pair of fifth places in 2017 are Ocon’s best F1 results to date. Can he envision Renault fighting back at McLaren for fourth place in the constructors’

championship next year?

“We will see in February how that is,” he said.

“At the moment I’m just trying to get myself ready for everything, so let’s think about that later.”

Ocon and Ricciardo will share the testing duties

in 2020 during six day of testing at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya in February, and Auto Action will be there to bring you all the news in the lead-up to the season opening Australian Grand Prix on March 15.

CUTTING COSTS will be the key factor in determining if Honda remains in Formula 1 after 2021.

Honda had a commitment to supply power units to Red Bull and Toro Rosso through 2020. The Japanese manufacturer recently made a very lowkey announcement that it will be back in 2021 as well. But Honda wants to assess what its F1 programme will cost once the new rules package comes into force in 2021, before deciding if it will continue beyond that.

“They’re just waiting to see what are the regulations that are going to come in either for 2021, or primarily ‘22 with regards to homologation or engine freezes to get the costs down,” explained Red Bull boss Christian Horner. “These engines are enormously expensive, and the technology involved. All the manufacturers want to see some cost reduction in that area.”

But there are other costs that can’t be cut for Honda which has to import a lot of raw materials into Japan to build its power units. They must then be shipped to the teams in England and Italy, and then sent back to Japan after each grand prix. And therefore Honda has to pay considerable import and export taxes that Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes do not incur.

Winning three races this season has satisfied the Honda board, which met between the races in Brazil and Abu

Dhabi, that its power unit is competitive, so that is not an issue.

But the board will no doubt be considering the wider picture of Honda’s future in the automobile business, which will become more focused on all-electric vehicles and how that relates to F1.

Honda can’t wait too long to make a decision. Will Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull contract ends after the 2020 season, want to sign a new deal not knowing what power unit the team will have in 2021? But then where would he go?

Red Bull is already in deep discussions with Honda about 2022 and beyond.

“There’s a real appetite there to build on what we’ve achieved so far in this relationship,” Horner said. “The key aspect moving forward is absolute clarity on those rules.”

Red Bull will have a serious problem if Honda leaves, because the team has burned its bridges with Renault and the last time the team was looking for an engine it found that Mercedes and Ferrari had no interest in supplying them.

The possibility of Honda leaving and Red Bull without a power unit would certainly give both of them leverage in any negotiations with Liberty and the FIA over financial deals and technical rules.

But the bottom line is that by extending the deal through 2021 gives Honda some breathing room to determine if winning is worth the cost of staying in F1.

WILLIAMS RACE SEAT COST NEARLY $50 MILLION TEAM WILLIAMS announcing that Nicolas Latifi, 24, will be teammates with George Russell, 21, next season came as no surprise. But the millions of dollars involved are shocking even in a sport where pay drivers are common.

Williams intended to have its test driver Latifi replace Robert Kubica in 2020 all along, but it had to wait until Latifi earned enough credits racing in Formula 2 this season (he finished second in that championship) so that he could qualify for a Formula 1 super license.

Nicolas is the son of multibillionaire Michael Latifi, a Canadian businessman who founded Sofina Foods. He invested £200 million (A$382 million) to buy 10 per cent of the McLaren Group in 2018.

Just how much the senior Latifi is paying Williams was not made public, but sources in the Yas Marina paddock told Auto Action that the figure is Euro30 million (A$49 million).

Lance Stroll’s Canadian billionaire father Lawrence Stroll, of course, took things a step further by organising the consortium that bought the entire Force India team, now Racing Point.

Many F1 drivers bring sponsors to their teams to help with expenses. Valtteri Bottas used to have a Finnish sponsor that paid first Williams and later Mercedes Euro8million (A$13 million) which became his annual salary. Sergio Pérez, Romain Grosjean and Kevin

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Magnussen also make contributions to their teams.

Kubica’s Polish sponsor paid Euro14 million (A$23 million) this year and he kept Euro4 million for his salary.

Williams net gain in 2020 is therefore Euro20 million.

When asked if Latifi’s contract was for more than just one season, deputy team principal Claire Williams said: “We won’t be specific about the terms of the contract.”

Latifi has proved in F1 testing and Friday morning practice sessions on grand prix weekends that he won’t be embarrassingly slow, but it is doubtful that he will be faster than the talented Russell who will be back for his second season with the team.

Williams has spent the last two seasons at the bottom of the constructors’ championship, but Latifi is undaunted.

“Two bad years doesn’t define a team’s legacy, doesn’t define what they’re capable of,” he said. “So I have complete faith,

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from what I’ve seen so far working in the team, that people will get on top of the problems and hopefully be back to a more representative order.

There are going to be challenges. I’m definitely not underestimating.”

Latifi will make his F1 racing debut in Melbourne on March 15 next year.

“I’ve been racing for almost half my life now,” he said, “and F1 is something that I’ve been working towards for a long time. To have it be real now, it’s finally happened, it’s a bit of a surreal feeling. I still think up until Melbourne when the lights go out on the grid that I’ll probably be the last to go: ‘okay now it’s happened, now it’s done.’ I’m super excited, super motivated and can’t wait to get started.”

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F1 INSIDER

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with Dan Knutson

FERRARI FIRES UP OVER HAMILTON AN ITALIAN journalist colleague of mine who works for various Italian publications and Italian TV did not get much sleep on the Friday night of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.

Earlier in the day Ferrari team principal Matteo Binotto had said: “Lewis (Hamilton) is certainly an outstanding driver, a fantastic driver.

Knowing that he’s available in 2021 can make us only happy. But, honestly, it’s too early for any decision, so we are happy with the drivers we’ve got at the moment. I think certainly at one stage next season we will start discussing and understanding what to do.”

This really lit the fires of speculation in Italy. My colleague was deluged with phone calls, texts and emails.

Hamilton to Ferrari! Was it true? Would it happen?

Hamilton, who is one of many drivers who has only one more year in his current contract, stirred the flames the next day when told of Binotto’s comments.

“I think that’s the first compliment I’ve had from Ferrari in these 13 years,” he said. “I honestly don’t remember them ever mentioning me ever so thank you, I’ll take it; doesn’t really mean anything, it’s all talk.

It’s taken all these years for him to recognise maybe, but I’m grateful.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff then added fuel to the

Image: LAT

fire by saying he was “totally okay” with Hamilton meeting with Ferrari officials.

“Everybody needs to explore career options and make the best decision for themselves,” Wolff said. “I have zero problem. A racing driver will always try to be in the quickest possible car, and the quickest possible car is always going to try to have the best racing driver in there.”

Hamilton said he would review all options, but he also felt he had unfinished business at Mercedes.

All of this helped liven up

what was a rather quiet final race weekend of the year at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit.

There is always a pleasant and peaceful atmosphere at Yas Marina, to the point where it becomes bland and boring. This was accentuated by the fact that the F1 circus had just come from Brazil’s old school and far from sterile Interlagos circuit which, as we saw this year, can generate some very exciting races.

I much preferred it when Brazil hosted that last race of the season, which it did

seven times between 2004 and 2013.

But now Abu Dhabi has a firm grip on the date because it pays a premium for that privilege. And in recent years Brazil has paid nothing at all for its F1 race!

Hamilton has said repeatedly that he has been a life-long Mercedes man.

Would he really switch from the Silver Arrows to the red Prancing Horse?

Ferrari has proved several times this season that it can’t handle a superstar driver – Sebastian Vettel – and a very fast youngster. How

would the team deal with a Hamilton/Leclerc combo?

Ferrari is firmly focused on Leclerc. The long-term plan is for him to be the next Michael Schumacher and to win lots of races and championships for the Scuderia. Having Hamilton in the teams would only mess up that strategy.

And what about Hamilton?

He will turn 36 on January 7, 2021, which would be when he’d be free to join Ferrari.

Leclerc, who will be firmly entrenched in Ferrari by then, will be 23.

One of these years Hamilton is going to start losing his edge. It would be fairytale stuff if he moved to Ferrari and won yet another championship. It would be embarrassing if he was trounced by Leclerc and maybe didn’t even win a race.

Hamilton is not going to be one of those drivers who hangs on way past their prime, like Graham Hill or AJ Foyt.

But would that line be just blurred enough so that he does sign with Ferrari for two or three years?

Hamilton to Ferrari? I don’t see it happening unless for some reason Leclerc is no longer with the team.

But all the speculation did fire up a quiet weekend at the last race of the season.

It also meant that a certain Italian journalist did not get very much sleep.

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OPINION SEASONS GREETINGS FOR 2019

BY BRUCE WILLIAMS Publisher THIS YEAR is ending and what a year it’s been in motor sport and for the team here at Auto Action HQ. It’s been a fantastic year of racing across all levels of the sport we all love. This season witnessed dominance from both team and driver in two of the world’s elite categories, plenty of politics, the emergence of new classes and events.

In Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton took title number six after another season of domination by Mercedes.

There were some impressive debutants, with most making great strides forward and impressing many along the way. Our man Daniel kept smiling, despite struggling to finish during the first half of his debut year as part of the factory Renault F1 team.

We can only hope that the form turns around in 2020 so we get to see his smiling face back on the podium.

In Supercars, it was another fantastic effort by Scott McLaughlin in the DJRTP Mustang. His recordbreaking effort in securing back-toback Supercars Championships was topped off by 18 race wins and his maiden Bathurst 1000 victory. No other driver could have been asked to do more, he really is that good and with that in mind we should appreciate his racing efforts next year as it may be the last time we see him racing here on a regular basis.

In saying that, the team did a fantastic job of homologating a killer car. It’s a shame that DJRTP got themselves caught up in some controversial issues along the way.

Penske need to be squeaky clean in 2020.

A couple of other things stood out for me during this year’s season and both of them were about the Mustang.

First off, Supercars needed a renewed challenger to join the ZB

Commodore and elderly Nissan Altima. The Mustang achieved that.

I’m sure it engaged with a part of the fan base that hadn’t been connected in recent years.

The arrival of the Mustang started out all pretty innocent, apart from the fact that the new race car was somewhat ugly when compared to the road car.

But people where genuinely excited to see the Supercars Mustang hit the track and no doubt gave the Ford followers something to cheer about throughout the season.

That brings me to the second point, from the moment the Mustangs hit the track they dominated, and from that moment of the howling started.

Sure there was ‘Muffler-gate’ in the first couple of rounds, that wasn’t a breach it was just smart.

The pressure on Supercars to act was relentless. A lean start to the year for the Triple Eight meant the pressure was building from Roland.

The two factory backed Commodores found performance late in the season as both Jamie and Shane were now the guys to beat by the time the championship hit New Zealand.

From then on, Triple Eight won all races with the exception of Bathurst.

The Supercars VCAT team have been hard at it again, tasked with the job of trying to rebalance the performance of the Commodore and Mustang. Let’s hope for the racing’s sake they get it right this time and we can enjoy some good close racing and not having to listen to the continued noise of parity complaints.

As I write this, it’s only two and a half months before it all starts again on the streets of Adelaide, so we will find out pretty quickly where the cards will fall for another season of Supercars.

That brings me to the real highlight of the year, the emergence of the

CAMS and Australian Racing Group alliance and with that the genuine elevation of the Shannons Nationals program to a potentialy strong second racing program of events with free to air television.

The fact is, that in its first season ARG has been a revelation, or is that a revolution? Supercars is the biggest and best show we have in Australian motor sport, but the fact is that the new TCR and S5000 series have arrived and given massive energy to the Shannon’s Nationals series.

It’s great for the motorsport industry here in Australia that we now have a strong second motor sport program.

One that fans can attend and now with a Channel Seven alliance it is genuinely a great move for the sport.

The Seven package is a fantastic achievement, and it will deliver more categories the opportunity to align themselves with commercial partners who see the value in free to air national television.

On a personal note I was genuinely pleased to see that the S5000 dream came to fruition. This was on the back of many years of hard work by Chris Lambden and his supporters, who never stopped believing that a big bold open wheel category would work here in Australia again.

Chris had the idea and the perseverance to follow it through, but the applause must be shared with people like Brian Boyd and his team at ARG, who funded the development of the new Ligier-Onroak based modern race car.

Then with all the development and approval, Garry and Barry Rogers took on the massive build project.

Their team set about building the cars in record time. Not only did they make the Sandown Shannons round, but it delivered an exciting event and a genuine crowd for these cars at its first event. Everyone involved should be

Publisher

Bruce Williams 0418 349 555 Associate Publisher Mike Imrie

warmly applauded, well done.

It has been an amazing year of racing here and around the world and I want to thank the Auto Action team, all who have done an amazing job of producing a printed magazine each fortnight. The young team in the office, Heath, newbie Dan and Jason on the design and production have survived and thrived under the pressure of the deadlines staring us down each issue. Without their love of the sport and hard work we would not have a magazine to enjoy each fortnight.

We are very lucky to have two of the best motorsport news and feature journalists in the world in Mark ‘Foges’ Fogarty and Bruce Newton, they deliver real news and behind the scenes features every issue. I thank our digital and social media editor Rhys Vanderside has done a great job of growing our digital audience and delivering great news and on-line features.

Our local contributors lead by Garry O’Brien should be applauded for bringing all the coverage from around the country and that includes all our great photographers and thanks to our Speedway man, Geoff Rounds.

Dan Knutson has done a fantastic job of bringing us all the insight and action from the world of Formula 1 in 2019. Barry our full time sub has retired to take on bigger opportunities and we appreciate all he has done.

It’s a huge team effort and I want to thank you all for making Auto Action the award winning publication that it is today.

In closing I want to thank our advertisers who without their support we would not be able to publish the old girl, and most importantly I want to thank you our readers for making the effort each fortnight to purchase Auto Action. I hope you all have a great festive season and I look forward to 2020, warm regards Bruce Williams

tion.

From the crew at Auto Ac

Editor-At-Large 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

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Left to right: deputy dawg and production wrangler Heath McAlpine, interweb guru Rhys Vandersyde, crayon wrangler Jason Crowe, doyen-in-training Dan McCarthy, big boss and TCM aerialist Bruce Williams, international man of mystery Mike Imrie, platinun miles record holder Garry -- he’s everywhere -O’Brien, news hound and BMX bandit Bruce Newton and elder statesman/legend/doyen Mark Fogarty.

Images: Tim Pattinson Design/LAT/ ARG-Daniel Kalisz

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In the conclusion of his last major interview, the late legendary rn commentator and impresario recounted his central role in the return of Ford vs Holden V8 racing that lives on as Supercars MIKE RAYMOND was arguably the father of modern V8 racing.

Supercars founder Tony Cochrane would dispute that – of course! – but the fact remains that Raymond laid the foundation.

Nearly 30 years ago – and at least five years before Cochrane’s epiphany – the Seven spruiker gathered the main players to reinvent Australian touring car racing. International Group A bred the category killing Nissan Skyline GT-R and by 1991, it was clear local interest had to be rekindled.

Raymond, by then sports director of touring cars broadcaster Seven in Sydney as well as being the voice of the sport, gathered the key players – CAMS, sponsors, manufacturers, teams and his own network – to thrash out the future.

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Bo Bottom line, it was back to the futu with Aussie V8s – Commodore future ver versus Falcon – or Seven was out. His init initiative created Group 3A in 1993, lay laying the foundation for V8 Supercars 1 in 1997.

B Before his death last month at 76, I spo at length with Raymond about spoke his colourful career and his key role in cre creating what became Supercars.

In this final instalment of that co conversation, which we’ve run po posthumously as a tribute to his pro profound influence on racing in thi country, Raymond offered his this tho thoughts on Supercars and his cir circumspection about Cochrane.

A Again, we publish his thoughts and ob observations – recorded several we weeks before his untimely demise – as a tribute to his profound influence on racing.

Raymond was behind the push to return touring car racing to Ford vs Holden V8s in 1993. The move revived interest, especially at Bathurst, and was the forerunner of Supercars. Runners-up Allan Grice and Alan Jones on the podium at Bathurst with Raymond in 1995 (below right). Images: AA Archive

What do you think of the Supercars telecasts these days in terms of the show and the commentary?

I would say the commentary is great, headed by Neil (Crompton). I think Mark Skaife has made a tremendous contribution. My favourite is Mark Larkham, who is such a character. I understand why Greg Murphy is there – that’s for NZ viewers. Nathan Prendergast (Supercars’ head of television and content) does a great job in directing it, pulling the whole thing together. It’s a quality product that only gets better. Looking ahead, though, my only concern – my real concern – is that one day, state governments will pull the money out of supporting Supercars and the whole thing will just collapse. That’s my only fear. It may never happen – and I hope it doesn’t. But I feel that if the state governments fail to continue or decide to cut back, they’ve made it so expensive now that no one can afford to run these big events. You have to be very, very careful about the future. That’s my only worry. If the Queensland and NSW governments followed Victoria, it wouldn’t take long for it to all fall over. As it’s going at the moment, great. But I wonder what Fox Sports thinks when they’re talking about having fewer rounds (next

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year’s series is reduced to 14 events).

I hope they can sell that idea because Fox Sports has poured a lot of money into it and they need plenty of content.

When they’re putting so much money into NRL, AFL and cricket, fewer rounds isn’t appealing. What they should be looking at are the race formats. It goes on and on from Friday, and Sunday is little different to Saturday. And then there’s the costs of the cars. In my day, I remember Larry Perkins telling me he’d go racing with a car for 65 grand. Now, 65 grand doesn’t even cover the cost of an engine. A car costs 10 times as much to build these days.

Of course, you’re one of the fathers of Supercars. Explain how you were involved in bringing the V8 Fords and Holdens back to the Australian touring car championship.

Bob Campbell, who at that stage was managing director of ATN-7, said to me that he had a friend at Holden, Rob McEniry, who’d asked him if there was anyone in his organisation who could take a look at touring racing and come up with an idea to make it better and more relevant. So Bob asked me what I thought I could do and I said “Well, the only way it’ll work is to bring back the

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V8s”. I’d listened to both sides of the argument and everyone said the same thing – it should be Ford and Holden because that’s where the local interest is.

So, anyway, I called a meeting with Tom Smith from Shell, Rob McEniry, Peter Gillitzer from Ford, and reps from Seven and CAMS. This was 1991.

So you’d seen the writing on the wall?

Very easily. It needed a change. It needed to get back to Ford and Holden. We used to get calls after Bathurst,

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with people asking us “Why can’t we see Falcons versus Commodores?” So we had this meeting in Sydney and I said “We’re here today to discuss the future of motor sport on Seven”. I told them what our surveys had shown, that people wanted to see more V8 Holdens and Fords”. The guys from CAMS – (president) John Large and (CEO) David Tait – understood, but they didn’t want to make a commitment. So I said to them “Well, I must tell you the truth – unless it changes, we’re out, finito”. And Tom Smith added “And Shell are out”.

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They then realised that it was serious and said they’d give us an answer the following morning. We didn’t have much of a discussion after that. It wasn’t a hold-a-gun-at-your-head thing, it was just telling them the plain, hard truth. We’re having trouble selling this (Group A) to the public; we have trouble selling it to advertisers; no one’s interested anymore – you can’t buy a bloody Sierra”. And detuning V8 Commodores to run against Sierras was just the most stupid thing I’d ever heard of. Anyway, we all agreed that that’s what we were going to do, bring back the local V8s. To push things along, I arranged to meet John Large at Melbourne Airport with a camera crew because he was heading off overseas somewhere. I said to him “I’ll send you a couple of questions, the cameraman will ask them, you answer them in your own words”. He said all the right things and we planned to announce the return of the V8 Fords and Holdens on Seven News. I wasn’t going to do anything until we had it on tape. There was some resistance from another quarter in CAMS, but I told this person – who shall remain nameless – that we were going to announce it on Seven News that night, with John Large saying it was a done deal and that it was going to be exciting.

So that’s how it was announced.

Did you have much trouble getting the teams on board?

I met with Dick (Johnson), Larry (Perkins), Glenn (Seton), Crenno (HRT’s John Crennan) and Freddie (Gibson).

Freddie was a little unhappy about the GT-R being thrown in the bin, but the others were supportive. The biggest problem was convincing the promoters.

Anyway, they eventually saw sense and it all came together. I don’t want it to sound like it was a total bluff, but there was a section of CAMS that were anti it.

So we got it through, it happened and the crowds went up, everyone was excited. The only problem was Seven in Melbourne, which wouldn’t show the races live. They’d show an hour of highlights at 11 o’clock at night. It was just shit. In Sydney, everything was live or turned

around that afternoon; Brisbane was live or turned around; Perth was live and Adelaide was semilive; and Tasmania was live. Melbourne was the hold-out because HSV-7 was fixed on AFL footy.

Were you part of the discussion that decided on five-litre V8s?

That was always understood.

And it had to be the current model Commodore (VP) and the current model Falcon (EB), so the people could get excited about it being one against the other. But we also wanted the BMWs and I pleaded with Ron Meatchem (the late visionary boss of BMW Australia) to do a V8, but he wanted to go two-litre racing. It created some angst – (Benson & Hedges BMW driver) Tony Longhurst told me I was dickhead. In the end, it was changed to allow the Group A BMW M3s to run in modified form and a two-litre class was added with Toyota Corollas that couldn’t get out of their own way. The whole thing fell apart and the two-litres went off on their own, including BMW. We tried, but the V8s and small fours were incompatible. And, of course, down the track, that split became divisive and created two Bathurst 1000s. It could be happening again. I think TCR is exciting in its own way. But they need a lot of cars to look good because every car looks the bloody same.

So what did you make of Tony Cochrane and his whole V8 Supercars idea, which happened just after you retired from Seven (due to a heart attack)?

I thought it was a good idea because they needed direction. But I wasn’t a fan of Cochrane at all – and he knows that. I had many, many arguments with him on the phone. I was representing the racetrack promoters and I objected to the way he wanted to dictate to them

R Raymond congratulates Peter Brock, who was a RaceCam favourite in Seven telecasts. w He also famously dubbed Glenn Seton (left) H aas ‘The Smiling Assassin’. Images: Russell W. Martin/AA Archive W

what events they could have and when they could have them. It was just wrong. There was no consultation. It was pretty average stuff. Before all that, the promoters had come to me and said “Would you like to take over as our spokesman?”, which I did on a part-time basis. I got them to agree to paying proper prizemoney, but according to Cochrane, it wasn’t enough. Cochrane pleaded his case in the media and eventually he browbeat the promoters into submission. So there were some dusty old days back then. I didn’t have any skin in the game apart from representing and doing the talking on behalf of the track promoters.

Do you acknowledge that, regardless of what you think of his methods, Tony had the good big idea and raised touring car racing to a new level?

My jury’s out on that one. I think what’s happened would’ve happened anyway – and it’s happened for the better. They needed a broadcaster who would pay them big money, which Fox Sports has done. The free-to-airs have basically gone away. But there’s a way of doing business, not holding a gun to everyone’s head, and that’s what Cochrane did back when he got hold of it all.

That’s all I’ll say about it. Tony is now chairman of the (bottom-of-the-ladder) Gold Coast Suns AFL team. How well is that going?

You don’t think he saved V8 racing?

No. I understand what you’re asking about Cochrane. All I’m saying is that while some people thought he was the Along with Neil Crompton and radio personality Doug Mulray, Allan Moffat (centre) and Mark Oastler (front) joined the Seven commentary team under Raymond’s tutelage. Image: 7 Sport

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best be thing ever for V8 touring car racing, my contention is that the V8s ra were already established. V8 Superwe cars was just a name change and to ca this day, it’s still more widely referred thi to as V8s than Supercars. Look, Tony was probably good for them and he wa was a hard taskmaster. He did business the way he thought it should be done.

Wasn’t the ATCC getting a bit shaky in 1996 with rising costs and declining TV coverage?

It was fine. The grids were OK, but the promoters needed to understand that they had to spend more money. That’s where it went awry. Teams had to pay to enter the Bathurst 1000, whereas Cochrane convinced them – and rightly so, to some extent – that they be paid to turn up. Look, there was substantial prizemoney at Bathurst in the late 1970s, especially with the advent of the Hardie’s Heroes Top 10 Shootout (a Raymond made-for-TV innovation), and through the ’80s, but it didn’t keep pace with rising costs. By 1996, the leading teams were very susceptible to Cochrane’s pitch that they were the stars of the show and should be paid accordingly. He was right, of course, but making Mount Panorama the battleground was unnecessary, I thought. [Talk of prizemoney reminded Raymond of an unpublicised incentive offered at Bathurst sometime in the late ’80s.] We wanted to offer a big money bonus to Peter Brock if he won his 10th Bathurst 1000. I convinced the ARDC (the then promoter) to buy an insurance policy so that if he won his 10th, he’d get $100,000. The insurance company copped it, we paid the premium and Brock didn’t finish [chuckles] What’s your view on Supercars’ direction in recent years?

I thought that under James Warburton (2013-17) it was terrific and he was making some very steady gains for them. I think now it certainly appears to be topheavy, but it seems to be doing well and they have a broadcaster (Fox Sports) that likes it, but probably wants more races.

FULL STEAM AHEAD With the Supercars season now over, it’s all hands on deck to build its two new Ford Mustangs at Kelly Racing. Auto Action is following progress.

IN THE two weeks since Auto Action’s initial story on the build of Kelly Racing’s two new Ford Performance ponies, significant progress has been made now that the Supercars season finale in Newcastle has come and gone.

The boys and girls at Kelly Racing have now been able to turn their full attention to the 2020 season, with the focus solely on getting the Mustang program up and running, including the development of the team’s own Ford V8 engine.

When this issue goes on sale, Kelly Racing will have 68-days to have two complete cars built - plus a spare ready to party in South Australia for the Supercars pre-season test day at The Bend.

Ideally, the team also need a shakedown day or two before that as well.

Seems like a lot to do but progress has been rapid up to this point.

In the last two weeks the fabrication shop, led by Ben Crundwell, has been all guns blazing on Kelly Racing Car of the Future chassis #11, which is now complete and fitted with all of its Mustang-specific components.

While the final pieces of the cage like the side intrusion and harness bars were being stitched together, the machine shop was busy milling up a few different jigs to help fit the swoopy coupe Mustang body to the he COTF chassis.

Mustang homologating team DJR Team Penske supplied Kelly Racing with all of the rough-cut OEM steel Ford panels including A-pillar, the roof, B-C pillar and rear parcel shelf, which Ben has fitted to the chassis, designating Kelly’s chassis #11 as a Mustang.

These panels then locate where the

K Kelly Racing Car of the Future (COTF) chassis #11 enters its final stages off bbuild, ild being fitted fitted with ith all its Mustang-specifi M stang specificc componentry. componentr A big ppart of that was adapting the COTF chassis to fit the Mustang body.

Images: Kelly Racing Im

composite body panels need to go when it comes time to complete the car build process. But for now the chassis is complete and will soon go into the paint booth, before being fitted out with wiring, safety equipment and other bits like pedals, steering and seat.

“It’s really cool to see our first Mustang come to life with the completion of chassis #11. Ben and

Ed in the fab shop have put in a lot of hours, pu particularly since the pa announcement that an we’d be switching to we Mustangs, to get this car Mu done and even with the don time crunch, the quality tim work they’ve done is of w exceptional,” said team exc owner Todd Kelly. own “It’s taken around 900 “It hours to get to this point, maybe more given that this is a new car for us and we had to create all new jigs and everything to get it built.”

Now that the first Mustang chassis is complete, work has begun on the second, with the conversion of Kelly Racing’s chassis #9 (formerly car #3) into a Mustang.

“It took about a day and a half for the crew to completely strip that car to a bare cage straight after Newcastle.

Everything from the wiring, fire system, steering, pedals, everything has been stripped from that car and it will be built from scratch again. It’s now at the fab shop to be converted into a Mustang chassis and now that we’ve done the first one, this process should be pretty quick,” said Todd.

The Kelly Racing Ford V8 engine is also starting to take shape. While the team’s ex-Stone Brothers Racing engine has been doing miles on the dyno to test different exhaust systems, the machine shop has been pumping out brand-new parts for the actual 2020-spec motor.

“The machine shop has been running night and day because we’re going to need all the time we can get to test the new engine once we have all of the parts made. We’ve already had the intake manifold made, which we’ll be able to test pretty soon on the SBR engine for runner length and injector positioning. All of the engine ancillaries have been made and the next big part to machine is the sump which starts out as an 87kg lump of alloy and will end up being around 10kg or less, so that’s going to be pretty cool to see.

This is Kelly Racing Chassis #9, former Altima car 3, getting stripped by the team to be converted to a Mustang. Rough-cut OEM Ford panels including the A-pillar, the roof, the B-C pillars and the rear parcel shelf have to be fitted to create the new Mustang.

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COUNTDOWN - DAYS REMAINING: 71

Part Two

One of the five Kelly Racing Ford BOSS 302 blocks having machining work completed by Saliba Engine Services. Seen here are the lifter bores being machined, while on the right the intake manifolds and throttle body parts are being created from solid billets of high strength aluminium. The team are doing most of their engine ancilary desgin and manufacturing in house.

“By testing critical parts as they become available on the SBR engine, we hope that we’ll get a good idea of reliability and what works in terms of intake and exhaust, and get that balance right so it’s just a matter of fine tuning once we have our own engine together. So that should help us with the development times.

“The big challenge is just getting everything right the first time. We cannot afford to remanufacture parts twice as there literally won’t be enough time to go through the design phase again once we get our first engine together,” said Todd.

Just about the only job that Kelly

Racing isn’t doing in-house is the machining of its Ford BOSS 302 blocks, which is being handled by local engine machine shop, Saliba Engine Services.

“Charlie and the guys down at Saliba Engine Services have done all of our machine work with the Nissan and he does machine work for a few other Supercars teams as well. He’s really well regarded in this industry and been around a long time,” said Todd.

“We’ve got five blocks which he’s just finished decking, honing and machining the cam tunnel and lifter bores to suit the parts we’re using.

They’ll then go to our in-house engine

shop for final detailing and we’ll complete the assembly of the engines once we have all of the bits we need.

“We should have heads this week which have been ported to our specs, pistons are on their way, we’re just waiting on a manufacturing completion date for our cranks, which hopefully will be before the new year.”

While all of this is happening at Kelly Racing, DJR Team Penske is undertaking the Supercars VCAT homologation process, which aims to reduce downforce on the cars by around 12 percent for the 2020 season, however this shouldn’t have much if any impact on the progress of

Kelly Racing’s car builds.

“For the first time in seven years we’re not involved in the homologation process. That’s all up to DJR Penske as the Mustang homologating team.

Supercars has reduced the front undertray tunnel angle along with the max wing angle, they’re physically pretty minor changes, so nothing that effects our build process. The whole shape of the car isn’t going to suddenly change.”

Stay tuned for the third instalment inside the build of Kelly Racing’s two new Mustang Supercars, which will be included in the next issue of Auto Action, on sale in the new year.

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Is the

?

W O N E R U FUT

Xxxxxx xxxx x x x Xxxxxx Xxxx x x x Xxxxxx xxxx x x x XXxxxxx x x x Xxxxxx x x x Xxxxxx x x x Xxxxxx x x x Xxxxx Xxxxxx The Group certainly waves year through its introduction x xAustralian x Xxxxxx xRacing x x Xxxxxx x xhas x Xxxxxx x x made x Xxxxxx x x this x Xxxxxx x x x Xxxxxx xxx

of TCR Australia, S5000 and the acquiring of various events, including the Bathurst 6 Hour.

Director Matt Braid sat down with HEATH McALPINE to discuss the past, the present and future

IT HAS been 18 months since the Australian Racing Group was announced as the commercial rights holder of TCR Australia and S5000.

Its portfolio has grown further this year to also incorporate TCR New Zealand, Touring Car Masters, two Bathurst events in the form of the 6 Hour and an additional International event, while talks are continuing with TA2.

You can also add to this list the recent confirmation of live and free to air television coverage across the various Seven Network channels for 2020.

Not bad achievements for a collective that had only one TCR car and a number of unassembled d S5000 chassis at Garry Rogers Motorsport in the country a year ago.

Headed by businessmen John McMellan and Brian Boyd, ARG’s growth has exceeded even that which director Matt Braid expected when he took on the job back in June last year.

“When you’re starting out fresh you cross your fingers and hope it goes well. From day one we were always confident, particular in TCR, that it would have a strong resonance, it was just a case of how far it would grow,” Braid told Auto Action.

“The way the support has grown for the series based from the fans, attendance and what

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we’ve seen in broadcast results and social media, has been way above what we expected. We knew it would grow, but to get the result off the bat has been really positive.”

Reflecting back on the year, Braid is pleased that all the objectives that were set out for the organisation at its launch have been achieved and exceeded through its continued expansion.

“If you go back mid-last year when the TCR Series was announced, that’s what formed ARG, so we’ve gone from having TCR Australia and S5000 as a work in progress to now having TCR up

and running, we’ve got TCR New Zealand as well, S5000 fully fledged and running now, TCM and discussion still ongoing with TA2, plus the events,” Braid explained.

“We wouldn’t have predicted it, but it’s been great strategically and some really good opportunities have provided themselves, which we have taken.”

According to Braid, the goal for Matt Braid now heads up the Australian Racing Group’s day to day operations. MG has shown interest in TCR Australia.

ARG Director Matt Braid and CAMS CEO Eugene Arocca front the media as part of a strong partnership between the two organisations.

ARG is to consolidate and build on the momentum that it has experienced during its maiden motor sport season.

Growing its portfolio further isn’t on the radar, neither is a standalone series, but 30 TCR cars and a consistent grid of S5000s are targeted, while working with the TCM and TA2 competitor base is also a high priority.

“A lot of people have speculated that it is possible but it’s not on our radar at all and if you have an event platform like Shannons, why would you start from scratch?” Braid questioned.

“Given our relationship with CAMS and what we’re able to bring to the party, what they’re able to bring to the party, why wouldn’t we work to make p tthat platform bigger rather than go away and start our own. a “Again, you’re looking at resource allocation and the expenditure to do a tthat, to start afresh again, not only with categories but with separate events c outside of the Bathurst events. It’s a o ffairly big task and tough order, but the Shannons platform we believe and S working with CAMS is going to be an w exciting prospect for 2020.” e Speculation has been rife that ARG was eyeing a move on the struggling w Australian GT Championship A a and although it fits the category m management company’s international c category protocol, Braid said it wasn’t c chasing any new classes.

“We’ve spoken to numerous c categories and many have a approached us to talk about how we

can be strategically involved with them,” Braid said.

“We would assess every category on its merits, which we have done with every one we have acquired or partnered with.

If GT, that option became available then we would look at that accordingly as well, but at this stage they currently have a category owner running on another platform and Shannons, so lets see what happens.

“There’s scope to work with categories on an international basis, that’s probably what we’ll aim for, and GT fits into that as well. It’s logical we’d have a look at it if an opportunity came up.”

The ARG journey has involved CAMS (soon to be rebranded as Motorsport Australia) at nearly every step of the way, with the two organisations continuing to build a strong relationship and reaping the benefits.

“Pitching to CAMS for the TCR category and obviously being awarded that by them, that’s where our relationship started,” Braid explained to Auto Action.

“They’ve been very helpful with S5000, helping us navigate through various approvals for that car to race and at tracks, the development of the car, the safety aspect.

“It’s about working with CAMS. As you’ve seen this year, there have been record crowds at most events. We’ve been able to work together on the broadcast to make sure it’s very punchy and the formats really good, which is going to continue into next year.

“They are working with us on the

S5000 began with a bang at Sandown, when former F1 and Grand Prix winner Rubens Barrichello joined the field for a guest drive. Images: ARG Bathurst 6 Hour, an ARG event that CAMS will work with us on from the Shannons perspective, and (we’re) partnering with them on the Bathurst International event as well.

“We have a good working relationship with the people to do the right thing by motor sport.”

A further improved television package is an exciting development and returns motor sport to Network Seven for the first time since it lost the Supercars rights at the end of 2014.

Braid promised a punchy, actionpacked television package for fans in 2020.

“We want to look at ways of presenting TCR, S5000 and our other categories in the best possible format to the Australian fans,” said Braid.

“We’re receiving very good feedback on the condensed broadcast, because

we’ve found that motor sport fans and the general public just don’t have eight hours to sit in front of the television and watch a race weekend broadcast.

“We’re focusing on condensing the broadcast, making it short and sharp, but having good content through TCR, S5000 and a couple of other categories, that’s a good format.

“We think it will make a really good consumable package for fans.”

After a big 2019, ARG has certainly consolidated itself in the Australian motor sport landscape.

Its brought refreshing new classes and an international appeal thanks to the TCR cars, which in 2020 will encompass high profile events such as the Australian Grand Prix.

With further growth in grids expected for 2020, it will certainly be an exciting year ahead.

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G N I T T E S T JE

TEEN

It has been a rapid rise through the ranks for 17-year-old Victorian Jaylyn Robo Robotham. Graduating from Excels to 86s, he has embarked on a successful Asian TA2 campaign as DAN McCARTHY discovered Images: Insyde Media/Neil Hammond

JAYLYN ROBOTHAM is the definition of a young gun. The 17-year-old has already forged a mighty reputation as one the nation’s quickest Hyundai Excel drivers, a talent which has transferred into the Toyota 86 Race Series as well where he finished on the podium on debut.

Now, Robotham has kicked off an international career as well, partnering former NZ V8s driver Paul Manuell in the Asian TA2 Series.

Still a school student, Robotham doesn’t play footy or cricket on the weekends. Instead he can be found at the racetrack in a car that often sits on pole or has taken the race win.

His story began in BMX where he won state titles until his father David offered him a chance to race a kart.

“Dad asked if I would like a go kart, I loved racing the BMX so I said ‘yeah sure’,” Robotham recalled.

“I started go karting when I was 11 and I slowly got into that as a hobby and then every weekend we were at a go kart track.”

Robotham explained that his passion for racing comes from within, as he was born into a family of drivers going back a couple of generations.

“My Dad used to race go karts when he was younger and raced in speedway until I was born. It was built into us because my grandpa used to race as well, it was in the blood,” Robotham said.

Both his father and his uncle won numerous national and state karting titles but for Jay it was only a quick four-year apprenticeship in karts

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Robotham leading the Excel field at Winton Raceway (above). before he stepped up to become the youngest driver to ever compete in the Victorian Hyundai Excel Series.

“From the age of 14 I started racing in the Excel Series, which is a nice cheap way to come into car racing,” he said.

“The Excels taught you about racing with suspension, changing gears, racing on the big tracks and learning how to pass.

“When I started there were about 30-cars and then the following year 50-plus grids. It was always good, you knew you were always going to race with someone because of all the cars and how competitive it is being a one-make series.”

In 2017, Robotham won the South Australian

Excel Series and finished runner-up in both the Queensland and National titles.

He was also awarded a $20,000 race budget for winning the now defunct Aussie Driver Search program in the Amateur section. This helped to fund his 2018 Toyota 86 Racing Series campaign, as he eyed a career in Supercars.

“Being one of the cheapest categories and being one-make definitely attracts a lot of people. There are always full grids and many people coming through, that is definitely the main reason why a lot of people do it.

It is affordable close racing. You are racing at a national level in front of Supercars,” he explained.

“Supercars is the goal but you have to be realistic, it is very hard to get into that.”

Robotham finished an impressive fifth in his debut Toyota 86 season last year, despite having to sit out the round at Bathurst as he was under the age of 16.

This season he has not only raced in the Excels and 86s but also a TA2 car in Asia, on a variety of circuits ranging from Formula 1-grade tracks to tight and twisty street circuits, which Robotham admits is a challenge.

“It is good fun, big V8s on slick tyres, they move around quite a bit,” a smiling Robotham said.

“In Asia it was awesome, always up the front there. There are big tracks over there, I raced over in Sepang, Buriram – which hosts Moto GP - and a couple of street circuits. Asia has everything.

“It is a bit different to Australia, it’s a lot warmer and laid back. It was a good experience to go over there. I love driving any car, to be behind the wheel of anything is good for me.”

During the season Robotham co-drove alongside vastly experienced Kiwi Paul Manuell, a former New Zealand V8 Touring Car and NZ V8 Ute champion.

“That went really well. I finished that second in the championship which my co-driver won,” he said.

Robotham felt that the TA2 car could not be more different from an 86.

“525 brake horse power, slick tyres, paddle shifters, they have got everything,” he explained.

Robotham and his TA2 Asia co-driver Paul Manuall (above) and the Mustang they race in Asia (left). Despite running third in the Toyota 86 series in 2018, Robotham was too young to race at Bathurst so had to wait until 2019 to make his debut at Mt Panorama (top).

Locally in 2019 it has been more of a challenging year for Robotham, who competed in all five Toyota 86 rounds finishing sixth in the series.

“The 86 this year has been a bit of a struggle. After Townsville we found some things wrong with the car. We fixed it up towards the end of the year and stayed up the front,” he said.

Robotham feels the competitiveness and close racing in the 86 Series has rapidly improved his race craft.

“My driving has come a long way since I started in it last year. There are always people getting faster and faster, the lap times have dropped this year compared to 2018, and there were a lot more guys running up the front, it has gotten a lot more competitive this year,” he said “It is good to gauge where you are at against other people, it is so close and you learn a lot of race craft.

“Going into this series I didn’t have a lot of race craft but coming out of it I definitely

learnt a lot, how to pass and race in packs of 10 cars, it is pretty cool.”

Despite it being the off-season here in Australia, Robotham is still cutting laps, competing in the New Zealand Toyota 86 Racing Series, which included a round win on debut at Pukekohe. It is his first-time racing across the ditch with new circuits, opposition and slick tyres to counter, as he aims to defeat the Kiwis on their home turf in a an 86 owned by TA2 Asia co-driver Manuell.

Robotham is unsure of his 2020 plans in Australia, though he aims to progress up the ladder towards Supercars if budget allows.

“Next year we don’t know what we are going to do, we are still trying to find our budget and still exploring options,” Robotham explained.

“We want to try and move forward to bigger and better things.

“But obviously it comes down to budget.

We might do 86s again if we can’t find funding to do other things.”

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While Ferrari and Red Bull won now and again, DAN KNUTSON reports that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were peerless the rest of the time on their way to winning both world championships

IT NEVER gets tedious whenn yo you ou ar aare re winning a lot. And Lewis Hamilton mililto tonn wo to w won on a lot in 2019. He scored 11 vi victories ictor ctor ct orie iess ie on his way to earning his sixth thh drivers’ d ivers’’ dr world championship. The four ur wins by Valtteri Bottas – plus a combined bined 17 additional podium finishes byy the duo – brought Mercedes its sixth constructors’ onstructors’ championship.

For those who are not big Hamilton/ Mercedes fans, or for those who like a bit of variety in race and championship nship winners, there were times when the 2019 019 season got a bit monotonous. s.

However, the good news is Mercedes and Hamilton were not always peerless.

There were five different winners in 2019 with Red Bull Honda’s Max Verstappen plus Ferrari teammates Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc all making ng it to the top step of the podium. um.

Mercedes won the first eight ht races of the year before finally suffering ering its first defeat when Verstappen wonn in Austria. But ces in Germany other than the two “joker” races and Brazil, when everything went wrong for Mercedes, the team had strong finishes even when Ferrari and Red Bull were

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wi w winning. inn nnin ing. g. g.

Hamilton Haam miilt iltton p performed e ffo er orm rmed med e ssuperbly up uper per e blly sa ssave vee ffor orr hhis hi iss shambolic shhaam mbo mbo bollilic lic race raace iinn th thee rain rain in in Germany.

Germ Ge rman any. y.

B Bottas ottas iimproved mproved a llot ott this thi his season but b t was bu still no consistent match for his teammate. teammate Ferrari’s situation was rather strange. The car looked very competitive in pre-season testing but the team failed to deliver for much of the season. It was not until round 13, in Belgium, that Ferrari won with Leclerc getting his maiden victory. He followed that up with a win

in Italy and then Vettel won in Singapore.

And that was it for

Fe Ferr Ferrari errar rrrar arii wins. wins wi nss.

Butt ititss su Bu sudd sudden dden dd en string str triing ng of of three thrree wins win inss and and sixx consecutive si cons co nssec ecut utiv ut ivee poles iv pole po less la late tee iinn th thee se sseason eas ason sonn caused rival teams to believe Ferrari was bending the rules rules. The FIA did its own tests and found

nothing amiss.

Leclerc’s performances were, of course, stunning.

Vettel, by his own admission, was not driving up to his usual standards.

Red Bull used the Honda for the first time, and the power unit is now almost on par with those from Mercedes and Ferrari. However it took Red Bull about half the season to get the most out of its chassis.

Verstappen’s three victories were a testament to the

Lewis Hamilton celebrates his sixth World Driver’s Championship (above), while Daniel Ricciardo (below) had less to celebrate in his first season at Renault. Images: LAT

improvements to engine and chassis, plus his own natural talent.

In retrospect, Red Bull made a wise move to send Pierre Gasly back to Toro Rosso and bring rookie Alex Albon up to the senior team. Albon was no match for Verstappen, but he did a better job than Gasly.

THE COMPETITIVE MIDPACK

MCLAREN, RENAULT, Toro Rosso, Racing Point, Alfa Romeo and Haas all took turns at finishing races as the best of the rest behind the big three. Over the course of the season, however, some teams did a better job than others.

The fast improving McLaren won fourth place. Carlos Sainz has matured into an excellent driver, and his rookie teammate Lando Norris displayed massive potential. Sainz’s third place in Brazil was McLaren’s first podium since

2014. But McLaren’s vast chasm of 272 points to third placed Red Bull and 594 points to champions Mercedes is a stark reminder of the significant gap between the top three and the rest of teams.

Renault’s goal in 2019 was to do exactly what McLaren did and finish in fourth place in the constructors’ championship and well clear of the rest of the midfield teams. But Renault’s performance was far too inconsistent and the team made far too many strategy errors. The team’s new recruit Daniel Ricciardo had to learn how to drive a car that was nowhere near as sublime as his Red Bulls of the past. When the car was good, Ricciardo delivered the points. His teammate Nico Hülkenberg closed out his F1 career of 177 races without ever finishing on the podium.

The much improved Honda power unit played an important role in Toro Rosso having its best ever season in F1. Daniil Kvyat’s third place in Germany was the first podium for Toro Rosso since Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Gasly’s second place in Brazil added another podium trophy for the team.

This was a year of transition for Racing Point as the team formerly known as Force India continued to regroup and rebuild with the significant boost in finances provided by its new owners – the consortium organised by billionaire Lawrence Stroll. The highlight of Lance Stroll’s season was his fourth place in the wet German Grand Prix.

Sergio Pérez finished in the points eight times in the final nine races, which showed that the transition was nearing its completion.

While Alfa Romeo demonstrated it had the potential of finishing in the points, the team could not do so consistently.

Antonio Giovinazzi earned his first ever points but was usually outclassed by his veteran teammate Kimi Räikkönen.

The Haas team plummeted from fifth

place and 98 points in the 2018 constructors’ championship to ninth place and 28 points in 2019.

Neither Romain Grosjean nor Kevin Magnussen nor all the team’s engineers could figure out why the car could not consistently turn on the Pirelli tyres.

Way down at the bottom and way off the pace was Williams. Robert Kubica, who scored the team’s only point, is a far better driver than the car permitted him to demonstrate. It was a shame that his amazing comeback – he last raced in F1 in 2010 and then had his rally accident in 2011 – was marred by such a car. Looking at the bright side, the uncompetitive arena gave George Russell a low key arena to learn about F1 in his rookie season.

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Sebastian Vettel is now one of the more senior drivers of F1, and didn’t always handle the arrival of Charles Leclerc at Ferrari well.

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD

A YEAR OF TRANSITION

NEXT YEAR will be a season of transition and also one of limbo as F1 gears up for the massive changes to the sporting and technical regulations plus F1’s first ever budget cap, which has been pegged at US$175 million. The objective of all of this is to close up the field and to create a better racing show.

All that comes in 2021, but some of the details are still being pounded out.

The current Concorde Agreement – which lays out how the sport and business of F1 are run – expires in 2020. Mercedes to the fore ... again. It was that way for the majority of the season, though Ferrari and Red Bull did at least have some success. New generation stars Leclerc and Verstappen (below) argue The teams, the FIA and Liberty Media over the latter’s rather robust late race overtake for victory in Austria. Images: LAT have agreed to most of the aspects of the new Concorde Agreement, which will run from 2021 through 2025, but the details will need to be sorted out next year.

There will be a record 22 races in 2020 as Vietnam joins the calendar and the Dutch Grand Prix returns for the first time since 1985. Unfortunately, the German round has been dropped from the 2020 schedule.

The 2020 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15. The championship tables reset to zero, but the peerless Hamilton/ Mercedes will start the season as the combination to beat. It is up to the opposition to make sure there is not much tedium during the year.

RICCIARDO’S RECKONING DANIEL RICCIARDO won two races and earned 170 points with Red Bull in 2018. The Aussie switched to Renault in 2019 where his best finish was a fourth place; he scored a total of 54 points during the season. He knew that Renault is in a rebuilding phase, but neither he nor the team predicted the constants ups and downs throughout the season. Ricciardo and teammate Nico Hülkenberg would have several races in the points only for the team to go into a slump for a couple of rounds.

Did Ricciardo make the correct decision to leave a winning team? He analysed things during the season and says the answer is yes.

“I never actually got to the point where I was like what have I done?” he says. “At the start of the year after

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Bahrain I was a bit down. It was only the second race of the year. I was thinking this is not going to be as easy as I thought. But then Shanghai was a good weekend.”

Ricciardo finished seventh in China, so he was the “best of the rest” after the drivers from the top three teams.

Other highlights included qualifying fourth and finishing sixth in Canada and taking fourth place in Italy.

One race Ricciardo is really pleased about was Belgium where he finished 14th after his car incurred considerable floor damage when he got hit just after the start.

“The car was quite scary to drive after that,” he recalls. “We had a lot less downforce. I was probably flat through Eau Rouge less than half a dozen times the whole race. So that

gives you an idea how scary it was through there.

But I felt like I drove with some level of attention and inspiration that day. I was very happy with the way I drove. On a personal level that was one of my best drives ever.”

The lows, finishing way out of the points, actually served a good purpose.

“The lows actually have been the most fuel for the fire,” Ricciardo says.

“In hindsight the lows have been very positive – for me personally wanting

WITH 10 world championships between them, Sebastian Vettel, 32, and Lewis Hamilton, 34, are the established stars of F1 at the moment. They are also the old guys because the 2019 season demonstrated that the new generation is moving in. The leaders of that pack are Max Verstappen, 22, who already had five victories and added three more wins in 2019, and Charles Leclerc, 21, who scored the first wins of his career this season.

Alex Albon, 23, had signed up for Formula E this season, but then got the call to first Toro Rosso and then Red Bull after Daniel Ricciardo’s surprise switch to Renault. Pierre Gasly, 23, improved after being demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso.

Rookies Lando Norris, 20 and George Russell, 21, had impressive rookie season. The “old men” in the changing of the guard group are Carlos Sainz, 25, and Daniil Kvyat, 25.

Hamilton and Vettel have shown no indications of retiring, and the fact that Kimi Räikkönen, 40, is still around shows that one can stay in F1 for a long time. But the guard is changing, and the time clock is ticking for Hamilton and Vettel and even drivers such as Sergio Pérez, 29, and Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas, who are both 30.

to get back to the front, but also from the way the bu team turned those around. tea don’t feel like they got Id into a slump where we int were kidding ourselves and we thinking this was where we thi belong. It was: No, no, let’s be get back up to where we belong!” bel Ricciardo ended up ninth in Ri the drivers’ championship which, by his reckoning, is “not great.”

“I don’t see myself as the ninth best driver on the grid,” he declares. “I don’t look into it too much because I believe I am better. Do I want to be ninth for the next few years and have the excuse that I am better than ninth but it is what it is? No. I don’t like seeing myself in ninth.”

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DAN’S TOP TEN RANKING WINS ALONE don’t get a driver into Auto Action’s top 10 Formula 1 driver rankings, but they certainly are part of the equation, especially in Lewis Hamilton’s case. Poles and podiums count as well. But there are also other important factors.

The judging includes how a driver performed compared to his teammate, and how a driver performed in a car that did not have a remote chance of winning. When it comes to age, both the oldest and youngest drivers on the grid made the list for their tenacity.

Being Australian had nothing to do with Daniel Ricciardo getting into the top 10, but his personality and sense of humor make him one of the most liked drivers in the paddock, and his ability to lead Renault and keep the team motivated also moved him onto the list.

The tenet that drivers are only as good as their last race does not apply here as the drivers were judged over the entire season.

Finally, while Robert Kubica’s comeback season did not go the way he had hoped it would, he gets honourable mention for racing in F1 again after his horrific rally accident in 2011.

1 LEWIS HAMILTON

With 11 wins this season, six other podium visits, and his sixth world championship Hamilton is at the absolute peak of his potential and was the number one driver of the year.

2 CHARLES LECLERC

In only his second season in F1 and his first at Ferrari, Leclerc with his two victories, eight additional podiums and seven poles outclassed his teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

3 MAX VERSTAPPEN Getting three wins out of a Red Bull Honda that was not always as quick as the Ferrari and

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Mercedes machines proved just how good a driver Verstappen is. Like Leclerc, he is a future world champion.

4 TIE BETWEEN GEORGE RUSSELL AND LANDO NORRIS The two talented youngsters, Norris, 20 and Russell, 21, had outstanding rookie seasons. Simply outstanding.

Both will win Formula 1 races in the future.

5 VALTTERI BOTTAS

After going winless in 2018, Bottas had his best season in F1 yet with four wins, nine additional podiums and five poles. But in equal machinery he was not the equal of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

6 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN

Räikkönen now has competed in 312 grands prix and he turned 40 this year, but there is still a lot of competitive fire in The Iceman.

7 DANIEL RICCIARDO

Daniel Ricciardo never stopped smiling despite numerous setbacks at Renault.

The most charismatic driver in the paddock, the Aussie kept the team motivated and the media entertained.

8 CARLOS SAINZ

A classy person and a classy driver who led McLaren to fourth place in the constructors’ world championship.

9 SEBASTIAN VETTEL

A sloppy season for a driver of Vettel’s caliber, who made too many mistakes and usually was not as fast as Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari.

10 ALEX ALBON

Getting thrown into Red Bull halfway through his rookie season could have been daunting for Albon, but he responded with a string of top six drives.

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

Season Review

2019

PROWLING PUNDIT Supercars TV’s probing pit lane reporter and V8 legend GREG MURPHY delivers his expert verdict on the stars, surprises and slumps of 2019

1 Scott McLaughlin

PRETTY OBVIOUS. His consistency and his ability to qualify relentlessly and put that car on the front row and be mentally so in control made him the standout. The numbers speak for themselves. Obviously, the Mustang was very good, the team was very good and in most cases throughout the year he was pretty much faultless. Some have suggested his title was tarnished by DJR Team Penske’s Bathurst antics. I don’t agree. I can be accused of being biased, but I just don’t see it. Sure, the safety car thing was a complete debacle, but what happened was to do with the #12, not with the #17. It was poorly managed by the team and also by, like it or not, Fabian. But if you to try to put that on the #17, I’m not having that. And as for the stuff up with the engine Scotty used in qualifying at Bathurst, yes there was a breach of the technical rules, but the stewards’ report made it clear there was no power advantage whatsoever, so why would you do that? There was clearly no intention there. Penalties were applied and there’s no way the race win should have been taken away from the #17.

Everything was done correctly in my book.

This young man grabbed the tools that he had by the scruff of the neck and maximised them, and that can’t be denied.

said in that situation. Having a race affected the way it did which was so critical and to lose what he lost, I get that reaction completely. People can knock him for it and have a crack at him, but that’s just Jamie.

He knows what’s going on, knows what the situation was and knows what was at stake.

Regretful from his side, I suppose, and quite costly, but that’s just the sort of person he is. And he proved at the end of the season that’s he’s still a contender and such a fierce competitor. He’s phenomenal to watch.

4 Chaz Mostert

Scott McLaughlin was Murph’s number one, a standout that was mentally in control throughout the 2019 season. Fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen was deservedly Murph’s pick for next best.

2 Shane van Gisbergen

IT WAS an interesting year, wasn’t it, for Red Bull Holden Racing Team? Started off a bit slow, which was unusual, but Shane again put on some performances this year that were amazing, just brilliant performances. He came home with wind in his sails after Pukekohe, when there was obviously a shift with the aerodynamic parity and they found some form, with both cars coming home very, very strong. There were still a few glitches, though. A couple of DNFs for Jamie and a couple for Shane as well, and that made their year quite tough.

It’s a team that fights incredibly hard and they came home strong. Shane is Shane.

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We know how good he is, we know what he’s capable of doing when he’s mentally strong and when he has the tools he needs to do his job. When that happens, he’s almost flawless.

3 Jamie Whincup

THEY ARE such different personalities.

Jamie does have strengths on the mental

side over Shane. He doesn’t get down in the dumps and struggle in that area. The safety car incident in NZ was an interesting one and I don’t knock him for it, to be honest.

Yes, he made a mistake passing the safety car, but he’s smart and he knew what was going on and made the call. What he said post-race I thought was justified, really. I say that because it’s probably what I would’ve

WE TALK about Chaz all the time. Everyone likes Chaz and wants him to be successful, and we know how successful he can be.

The Mustang lifted Tickford into an area where they expect they should be and where people expect they should be.

Chaz did a great job with Adam de Borre this year, but I don’t think Tickford was working together as much as they should be. There’s a lot of individuality in there, and I think Chaz and Adam were pretty individual in the way they went about a few things. The Gold Coast really hurt him, otherwise he would’ve been further up in the championship. He scored 13 podiums – I was actually shocked when I saw that because it’s hard to recall them. Only one race win, but obviously very consistent for a lot of the season. Based on the environment maybe not being as good as it could be, I think his performance was pretty good. We expect a lot from Chaz and did he deliver as much as he should’ve this year? Not sure.

Maybe not, but it was still a very solid effort.

5 Fabian Coulthard

THERE WERE flashes of brilliance that showcased what he should be doing all the time, but he got pretty down in the dumps about not being able to keep up with what his teammate was doing. Being up against McLaughlin in that team would be tough to deal with, but considering the team and the resource in there, you would expect

Part One

Chaz Mostert (above) was the best of a resurgent Tickford team, who were strong all year. Lee Holdsworth (below) surprised even his team with his season’s second half. Murph reckoned Nick Percat (above) had pace but was sometimes hampered by inconsistent machinery, whilehe rated it a standout year for Cam Waters (bottom). Images: LAT/Ross Gibb/Ian Smith

him to be closer more often. There were a couple of wins and nine podiums, but he just wasn’t as convincing as Chaz and that’s why I pushed him back out of the championship order. I’m sure he has plenty of reasons why he didn’t get on the podium more often, but at the end of the day, there was just some lacklustre stuff going on there. We expected more.

move, find a new home and maybe some new focus. Good on him for taking the punt. Maybe his timing is going to be good because of the changes that are happening to the cars next year with the control damper, reduced aero, etc.

He might be spot on with his timing, moving to a team that will be very much starting afresh in 2020. But, yes, it was a bit of a shock and a surprise to me.

6 David Reynolds

Mustang controversy

THE WAY he finished 2018, I really thought that he was going to be a bigger force in 2019. But there were more Fords taking up the positions where he probably would have been before the Mustang came along and there were also glitches along the way.

I expected more podiums from Dave this year, I really did. But it was a tough battle in that mid-top 10 and he got let down by his team on a number of occasions with some ordinary pit stops. His lack of results has nothing to do with his ability. I think he’s great. He’s exciting to watch and he’s an asset to the championship. He would’ve expected a better year, as would the team, and I hope next year he gets the chance to shine and be on the podium a lot more. He went without a race win in 2019, which was unexpected.

7 Cam Waters

IN SOME ways it was a standout year for him. The speed that was shown at times by him wasn’t reflected in his results. I rate him highly. I love the way he goes about his racing. He’s a good personality. He had a string of good results, but also a lot of DNFs or incidents. Those clashes with Chaz didn’t help team harmony and they both should have known better, and I also think he suffered from Tickford not managing those four cars well enough. He’s exciting and when it’s all working for him, a top five driver. I’m not sure he’d be happy with his season. I think he’d look back and see a lot of lost opportunities. For his ability and in the same equipment, his results should have been a lot closer to Chaz’s. I believe in his ability, so it’s about being more consistent.

8 Will Davison

DAVO FOUND his feet in 2019 and it was great to see him finally get on the podium again. He had some really good speed in

qualifying, but there were some mistakes by both him and the team in races that really cost him. So it was a very up and down season for him, but he was in a car that he was able to showcase his ability and that would have been great for his selfconfidence and a weight off his shoulders.

But some work to be done still.

9 Nick Percat

HE CLEARLY has some pace, but I think he suffers from the BJR effect of not being able to give him the tool to do the job at every race meeting. It’s significant that he scored 19 top 10s, but there were too many races where big points finishes went begging.

BJR just can’t provide him with a consistent package. He’s fast on his day when he has the car under him. I think it’s disappointing he didn’t get a podium this year. Nick was clearly in a class of his own at BJR and you could argue that he killed Tim Slade’s career there. Might have.

10 Lee Holdsworth

I’M REALLY happy for Lee. He’s an example of how you can fall out into the wilderness very quickly when you don’t have all the tools to do the job. Tickford gave him a good car and Lee was able to eventually show he is still very capable. It took him a while to adjust to the Mustang and to maximise, but in the second half of the season he came on really strong. It was nice to see him smiling and enjoying himself because he was competitive again. Now, people will put that down to the Mustang, but it was his consistency in the second half of the season that impressed me. It’s just nice to see someone who deserves to be in the championship back in a strong position.

He’s going to have to follow it up next year with an even better job and I think he’s capable of doing that.

MURPH’S MUSINGS AND MAULINGS Disappointments and surprises

LAST YEAR I spoke about Anton de Pasquale being the surprise package of the year, but this year he’s been a disappointment. Not because of him as a driver – he has real pedigree and immense speed – but it didn’t just add up for him in 2019. He wasn’t able to piece too much together and his results were pretty lacklustre overall. A couple of podiums, which was great, but like Reynolds, he was let down by the team with, again, a lot of costly errors in the pit lane.

I’m not questioning his ability – that’s there – but the team needs to provide him with a better overall consistency and support his speed. I really expected he’d be top 10 this year, but the results just weren’t there at every event. So that was the big disappointment for me because I know he’s capable of being a lot further up, as he proved on the odd occasion.

Kelly Racing’s reduction to two cars is also disappointing. We knew it was coming, but it’s a shame we’ve lost four Nissans and only gained two Mustangs. Related to that, losing Simona is also disappointing. Kelly Racing cutting back to two cars is not great for the category. I really hope Rick and Andre will be really competitive next year. They and the team need it and deserve it.

Going to the Mustang is their chance to show they can do the job with competitive equipment.

The big surprise was Chaz’s decision to go to WAU. That’s one not many people would’ve seen coming. But the relationship at Tickford was festering and he obviously felt he needed to

FORD’S return with the Mustang a great boost for the sport. Unfortunately, it also brought back the parity debate. I don’t think it was allowed too much aero leeway. I think it came out of the box as a very, very well dialled-in machine.

Maybe Penske knew its performance potential, but I don’t know if anyone else did. It got put on the track within the rules that it was presented under. I think Supercars has learned a lot from it. Adrian Burgess and his merry men have done a really good job adjusting the parity and the sport should be unapologetic about how it was handled during the year. They didn’t hold back on making the changes that were necessary. I think we’ve learned a lot and that’s culminating in quite significant changes for 2020, which I expect will provide us with a great platform for competition. You also have to remember that it was mainly one driver doing all the damage.

There was a lot of conjecture and sniping throughout the year, which I thought was great.

We need that. As a race car driver, if I were still involved, I’d be feeling the same as the other guys when McLaughlin is doing so well. Race car drivers don’t want to think they’re not as good as anyone else and that’s the way it should be.

Scotty copped a fair old ‘sledging’, which would sour anybody and be difficult for anyone who was under such focus and constantly having things thrown at him – changes, comments, innuendos.

The battle between the heavyweights was again very intense. The pressure was there and I think he felt under siege – and rightly so. Any driver in his position would have felt the same way, that they were being targeted and unfairly treated. He never backed off and he got through it. It was impressive.

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Season Review

2019 Images: LAT

CONTROVERSY CORNER

It was a season of discord that MARK FOGARTY thinks will pave the way for a more sporting competition in 2020 FROM THE moment Scott McLaughlin completed his crushing cleansweep of the Adelaide 500, division and dissent were going to dominate the Supercars season.

Unsurprisingly, McLaughlin’s superiority in the Ford Mustang’s racing debut caused an outcry. Fears that the ungainly coupe’s high-tech development had changed the game were confirmed.

Anyone with a modicum of understanding of the effort Ford Performance and DJR Team Penske were applying to the Mustang shape to drape the Supercars control chassis foresaw the uproar.

It should have been nipped in the bud during the homologation aero testing, but even rival teams suppressed their concerns amid Supercars’ pronouncement that parity was more even than ever.

It wasn’t – and was never going to be, given the limited parameters of the VCAT straightline aero tests.

So no one should have been the least surprised when the parity debate exploded after Adelaide.

It was exacerbated when the centre of gravity inequity was exposed at the Australian Grand Prix.

It took Supercars seven – or was it eight? – parity adjustments throughout the season to restore some semblance of technical parity.

The new technical team under Adrian Burgess did much to undo the damage and by the end of the season, Mustang versus Commodore – or at least DJRTP vs Triple Eight – was a fairer fight.

Hopefully, the new and more stringent VCAT testing procedure conducted last week will make them

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even more equal. But the Mustang’s underlying advantage in yaw – the effect of airflow from the side through corners – is likely to remain.

Until Supercars seriously winds back downforce, which has increased beyond expectation since 2013’s Car Of The Future change, the desire for better, closer racing will be stymied.

An aero revolution is planned for Gen3 in 2022, hopefully negating the Mustang’s inherent advantage, as well as making it look more like the roadgoing version.

Supercars also learned a valuable lesson about promulgating to the public its technical decisions. The furtive introduction of an aero upgrade for the ZB Commodore at Darwin was the last straw, forcing more technical transparency.

There is still an ingrained culture of secrecy within Supercars, but in the past few months, the winds of change have been blowing.

On top of the on-going parity argument, there were the safety car controversies at Pukekohe and Bathurst, plus the DJRTP engine irregularity in qualifying at Mount Panorama.

Jamie Whincup ‘sledged’ the stewards following his brazen disregard of the safety car procedure in NZ, which highlighted the system’s inadequacies.

Both Supercars and CAMS failed to address these failings in a timely fashion, leaving them hanging over the sport far beyond a reasonable period.

Add the social media ‘war’ that erupted after McLaughlin clinched the title at Sandown and it became an unseemly end to an already strained championship.

DJRTP pushed the very limits of the rules and on at least two occasions – both at Bathurst – overstepped the mark. The team was sanctioned accordingly, if not appropriately in the minds of many.

In the end, Scott McLaughlin excelled with a recordbreaking season.

He is remote, but not removed, from his team’s transgressions.

The progressive parity adjustments brought Triple Eight back into the game and, in a typical fightback, they dominated Sandown and Newcastle.

Shane van Gisbergen’s sportsmanship was exemplary and Jamie Whincup’s tenacity was admirable.

We can only look forward to a more even battle, and a greater depth of contenders, next year.

FOGES’ FAVOURITE FIVE 1 FORD’S ENGAGEMENT

The Blue Oval was back – and proud of it. Actually leveraged and promoted renewed involvement.

Lesson in how to use racing to enhance the brand in the digital age.

2 GRACIOUS GIZ

Not old enough to be a statesman, but acting like one. Won the Barry Sheene Medal for his fair play and guileless personality, as judged by media hard-markers.

3 THE LOST BOYS

Welcome back, Davo and Lethal. Great to see ‘old’ talents up there. Unexpectedly, Holdsworth made the best of straight swap with Mark Winterbottom.

4 SEAN OF THE DID

Supercars’ cautious boss Sean Seamer finally came out of his shell, accepting the media’s right to enquire and deciding to deal with them head-on rather than head-down. Big late-season improvement in communication.

5 THE SHOWEY

The choreographed slamming/explosion of the champers on the Gold Coast podium was way better than the disgusting ‘Shoey’. Well done SVG for implementing this refreshing and spectacular celebration.

FOGES’ FIVE BEST 1 Shane van Gisbergen Class, flair and heart.

2 Jamie Whincup

Never, ever gives up

3 Scot McLaughlin

The Man, The Car, The Team – a combination for the ages

4 Andre Heimgartner

Exceptional in an ordinary Datsun

5 Chaz Mostert

Talented, wilful, wayward – love it!

Part Two

YOUNG GUNS TAKE AIM BRUCE NEWTON celebrates the positives of the 2019 season

THE 2019 Supercars season was dominated by politics, parity and poisonous rancour. But there were positives, too.

Motor racing championships are reborn and refreshed by new generations of talent determinedly pushing their way to the front and in 2019 we saw signs of that happening.

Like the mid-to-late 1990s, when Craig Lowndes and his cohorts surpassed Brock, Johnson, Perkins and co, there’s a new group now keen to do the same to Whincup, van Gisbergen, Coulthard and the rest.

Obviously, Scott McLaughlin sits outside all this. Neither challenger nor challenged, he is a double champion at 26 and destined to soon depart these shores for the USA. While McLaughlin’s results made him the undoubted star, Cam Waters was comfortably the best of the rest among the Mustang drivers. Quick in qualifying, dreadfully unlucky in races, he deserved far better than seventh place in the driver’s championship.

In the aftermath of being taken out of a potential Bathurst 1000 podium by teammate Chaz Mostert, Waters fronted up to the media within minutes and spoke lucidly despite his clear anguish.

That is a small indicator of the mental toughness and sense of responsibility he has.

No doubt, Mostert’s departure to Walkinshaw Andretti United leaves a hole, but now four years into his full-time Supercars career, Waters gives every sign of being ready to take on the team leadership mantle.

Whichever way you cut it, it’s a great test.

It will make or break him – and I know the box I am ticking.

Andre Heimgartner also had a breakthrough year in the Nissan Altima; so much so he shaded Rick Kelly as the team’s best driver. Andre scored the team’s only podium and with the impressive Bryce Fullwood was a star act of the enduro season – sadly though, without the results to show for it.

Heimgartner is, like Waters, straightforward to deal with, unburdened by an over-developed ego and blessed with natural driving talent. He’s had some knocks, though – remember when he was getting roughed up at Team Kiwi in 2015? - and that’s helped toughen him for the Supercars cauldron.

The fight between Heimgartner and Kelly in a slimmed down two-car Ford Mustang operation will be an entertaining sub-plot of the 2020 season.

But back to 2019. Anton de Pasquale shone brighter again at Erebus, outpointing

David Reynolds more than once. If it’s true DJR Team Penske already has some sort of understanding with him ffor a d drive down the i h hi i d h track, k then h iit’s ’ invested wisely. Surely, the Phillip Island and The Bend podiums are the first of many to come.

The rest of the ‘youngsters’ – Todd Hazelwood, James Golding, Macauley Jones, Jack Le Brocq, Garry Jacobson and Richie Stanaway – all still have much to prove. Sadly, not all of them get the chance to do so in 2020.

Le Brocq is the one under the most pressure. A great talent, we’ll quickly find out if his experience at Tekno has hardened and motivated him or whittled away at the

supreme confidence and self-belief these guys need to run at the h ffront off the h fifield. ld Finally, after all this focus on the coming men, it’s positive to see how well the season ended up for some of the ‘veterans’. Nick Percat became Brad Jones Racing’s undisputed number one; Lee Holdsworth saved his career with a strong second half at Tickford; Will Davison reminded us yet again how talented he is in a strong car; and Scott Pye finished off his time at WAU in wonderful fashion.

That’s the beauty of a changing of the guard. The harder the youngsters push forward, the harder the blokes they are

BRUCE’S BRICKBATS & BOUQUETS Ten random thoughts from our seasoned Supercars scribe BRUCE NEWTON

ENJOY SCOTTY WHILE IT LASTS

WHY SPEED THEM UP? W

If Roger Penske can take one untarnished gem from 2019, it is his championshipand Bathurst-winning superstar Scott McLaughlin. And there’s no doubt Penske will take him – to America – sooner rather than later.

R Rushbrook’s prediction in a press rrelease e that the Mustang would rrace a on to the end of the season iin n the aerodynamically detuned fform o presented for Barbagallo in May proved spot-on. Instead, the M Holden Commodore ZB and Nissan H Altima were given more freedoms A aand n all the cars went faster – to the detriment of the racing. It’s logical d tto o conclude in that case that politics won out over the common good. w

THAT DIDN’T LAST LONG, DID IT?

Can it be only be five years ago that we were relishing the arrival of Team Penske in Supercars? Now there’s plenty of people wishing they’d bugger off.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED AFTER BATHURST

WINS AND LOSSES W

DJRTP got off lightly for its safety car stunt. I hope the penalties are rewritten for 2020 20 so a ffuture utture off offence ffence off si similarly imililarly l distasteful scale wipes all teams’ championship points for the season and the team principal is sent to the stands for, say, the next three events.

Thirty-one of 32 races in the 2019 T Supercars championship were S won by

by DJR DJR Team Team Penske Penskke or Triple Triiplle Eight Eight ht Race Race Engineering.

En That’s an even more unbalanced competition than Formula 1 and if left unattended, risks the category’s future.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN 2020

FAREWELL NISSANS

DJR Team Penske has to be absolutely 100 per cent squeaky clean. If there is a grey area there to be exploited, just don’t do it. Play safe, win back some fans.

ROLAND LOSES, YET HE WINS

No championship or Bathurst 1000 trophies for Triple Eight for the first time since 2005, yet Roland Dane, so often seen as the villain, emerged as a hero of pitlane, speaking out more forthrightly than any other team owner about DJRTP’s lamentable Bathurst behaviour. Who’da thunk it?

THE RETURN OF FORD

Mark Rushbrook and his merry men at Ford Performance built the most effective touring car in Supercars history. For that they deserve congratulations and trophies.

But it taught us Supercars cannot survive such one-sided competition. VCAT needs to get it right for 2020.

The Nissan Altima has come and gone, its last season like so many before it, delivering little more than occasional speed. The same can be said of Simona de Silvestro. The championship needs more makes on the grid than just Ford and Holden, so the loss of Nissan is a blow. Hopefully, de Silvestro’s trailblazing path is soon followed by more female Supercars drivers, preferably from Australia and/or New Zealand.

GOODBYE GRM

The departure of Garry Rogers Motorsport cuts deep. The eponymous team owner is cast primarily as a larrikin and cultivator of youth, but he is also deeply competitive and GRM’s lack of speed in its last season grated on him painfully. Disappointingly, primary team sponsor Peter Adderton didn’t show at Newcastle for the final race, despite effectively ensuring the team’s withdrawal with his Bathurst declarations. <bi>Bruce Newton<bi>

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FULLWOOD DOMINATES

By DAN MCCARTHY CC Images: INSYDE MEDIA

DESPITE ENTRIES being down the competition at the front was fierce, though it was MW Motorsport driver Bryce Fullwood who controlled the series from the very first race of the season to take out the 2019 Super2 Series title.

During the 14-race season the Nissan Altima driver took six-race victories and consistently finished on the podium, helping the 21-year-old claim the crown ahead of the Newcastle finale.

Fullwood was up against a number of capable young drivers, such as his MW Motorsport teammate Zane Goddard, Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Kurt Kostecki, Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle and Image Racing’s Jordan Boys, all of whom were fast at various times through the season.

Seven different drivers took race victories in 2019, demonstrating the tight narrative of the series.

“We had a really “ successful test prior su to Adelaide and we went faster than MW w Motorsport had ever M been at Winton by a be fair margin and we fa were thinking ‘far out w this could be quite th good’. But sometimes go you have to take those yo days with a grain of da salt,” Fullwood told sa Auto Action.

Au “We rolled the car out “ of the truck in Adelaide and we topped the first session and the weekend went on from there.”

Fullwood won two races and with it the round ahead of Brodie Kostecki, finishing the event as the runner up and the other race winner, while Goddard rounded out the podium.

The circus moved onto Perth where Goddard sat on pole position for both races, but was unable to convert either to a race victory. TCR Australia Series winner Will Brown took his maiden

Tomas Randle in the Tickford Falcon was a pre-season favourite (below) but didn’t have the expected success, while Jordan Boys (above) surprised all with front running pace in the last two rounds.

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Super2 Series race victory on Saturday, while Matt Stone Racing driver Ash Walsh won on Sunday.

“Perth was a little bit challenging for us, I took a bit of a hit at Perth to learn about our new car philosophy,” Fullwood recalled.

“Zane stuck with the old one and I persevered with the new one. The qualifying car wasn’t as strong as the old thing was but it was quite a good race car and we managed to tune it up a bit over the meeting.

“We were able to test some new ideas and some new things through running it at the race meeting and that enabled us to have a really fast car at Townsville.”

Randle had a slow start to the season but came out firing at Townsville.

However he received a penalty in each race for a restart infringement, dropping him outside the top 10 on both occasions. On the other hand, Fullwood continued his march towards the title with a clean sweep of victories.

Randle bounced back with two race victories across the rounds of Queensland Raceway and Bathurst, which whi shot him into the fight for second in the series. In that same sec three-race period Goddard failed to thre finish finis inside the top nine and Kurt Kostecki shot into the mix with six Kos consecutive top four results. con Fullwood’s consistency meant he F only had to stay out of trouble in on penultimate round at Sandown to pe win wi the title. At the Victorian venue wi his his teammate Tyler Everingham a an and n Boys both claimed their first

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Bryce Fullwood 2. Kurt Kostecki 3. Thomas Randle 4. Zane Goddard 5. Dylan O’Keeffe

1924 1502 1396 1347 1142

Super2 Series victories. “Bit of a shame that we finished back on the Saturday, which took us out of contention for a trophy because Sandown was the only round I didn’t get a trophy all year,” Fullwood said.

“I didn’t have to put everything on the line for that race, I just had to finish, so that is what I did. Then in the last race we had some engine misfire problems.”

A sixth place in the wet and a fourth was enough for Fullwood to seal the series, however he didn’t let his hair down until after the final race on the streets of Newcastle.

“I knew we had won the championship but I really wanted to go into the round not having changed anything, drive like the championship was still on the line,” the Territorian explained.

“It is pretty surreal when you come out with the biggest trophy and you have been the best team collectively all year.

I feel we have been relatively dominant this year, which is pretty cool.”

Another four consecutive top five finishes to round out the season resulted in Kurt Kostecki finishing second in the series ahead of Randle and Goddard.

2019 FINAL ST STA AN ND DIIN NG GS

1. Jordan Love 1047 2. Dale Wood 1029 3. David Wall 1017 4. Nick McBride 899 5. Cooper Murray 869

TOUGH LOVE

By HEATH MCALPINE Images: PORSCHE

THIS YEAR’S Porsche Carrera Cup series followed a similar one to that of previous seasons, with an experienced campaigner being challenged by a hungry youngster keen on climbing the Porsche Motorsport pyramid.

The difference compared to last season is that it wasn’t a McElrea Racing versus Sonic Motor Racing Services battle, rather the Mick Ritterled squad was fighting within.

Sonic’s young protégé, 21-year-old Jordan Love had won twice in his debut year in 2018, a year after he had clinched the GT3 Cup Challenge crown.

Love battled his vastly experienced teammate Dale Wood for the title but after Hidden Valley it appeared all hope was lost for Love. An accident with Liam Talbot threatened his title aspirations, but later incidents for Wood hurt when it counted.

“There has been a lot of highs, but there also has been a lot of lows. The best way to describe my season is certainly a character-building year in terms of everything away from the track, and dealing with those motor sport ups and downs that you get,” Love said in describing his title winning season.

Wood was more than 100-points clear after Townsville, where Love’s luck deserted him again before he started a title-winning run of six race wins in a row, which brought him back in contention. This added to the five wins he had at the beginning of the year, which included a clean-sweep at Phillip Island and a pair of victories at the Australian Grand Prix.

But it was the clean-sweep at Bathurst which proved pivotal, as it gave him the lead in the title race heading to the notoriously tight Gold Coast circuit.

Reflecting on his title run, the Western Australian was surprised to be leading the series before the final round, considering the season he had experienced up to that point.

“Coming out of Bathurst was the real turning point for me, obviously coming away two-points in front, I definitely didn’t expect to be there,” Love recalled.

“I’ve said to everyone that with

Jordan Love celebrates his Carrera Cup crown with the Sonic team (above) beating Dale Wood (below) who was the early season points leader.

everything that happened at Darwin, plus Townsville as well, you don’t wish for any of that stuff to happen, but I definitely think it helped me find another gear and push harder.

“After that, I had the mentality that I was almost not thinking about the series anymore, which may have helped me a little bit because I thought it was done and dusted. The aim turns to how many race wins you can get.”

Outside of Wood, competition came from perennial frontrunner David Wall, but three wins on the Gold Coast was unable to lift him higher than third.

Then there was the emergence of Cooper Murray, after he transitioned from Ash Seward Motorsport to McElrea Racing, rewarding the team

with three-wins on the streets of Townsville.

Nick McBride took threewins in Adelaide, while Cameron Hill and Michael Almond also took wins, but it was Love who was able to respond and learn from his rivals in what was another competitive season for the top-tier Porsche class.

“Carrera Cup has been one of the most competitive support

categories out there for young guys like myself,” he emphasised.

“That’s why it’s so good because you can compare yourself against some of these real experienced drivers. This year, I got to work with Dale [Wood] in being my teammate and while we certainly had some encounters on the track, I really enjoyed working with him to see how he operates at such a high level and the detail he goes into. I felt I benefitted from that over the last two years.”

It has been a rapid rise for Love.

After representing Australia at the Porsche Young Driver Shootout, he now has his eyes on an international GT career and is thankful for the journey he has been on with Sonic so far.

“Ever since we started out in Cup Challenge with Mick [Ritter] this was the goal and something we’ve been working towards since we started climbing the Porsche pyramid,” said Love.

“Working with Sonic has been interesting at times. It has been the most enjoyable years thus far I’ve had in my career and I’ve really loved it, that’s for sure.”

Love wasn’t the only driver to take silverware. Talbot also recovered from the Hidden Valley incident to take the Pro-Am title having also finished on the outright podium at The Bend.

Roger Lago and Adrian Flack closely followed.

Liam Talbot won the season’s Pro-Am class while team owner David Wall was third in the outright class.

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MAIDEN SUCCESS

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Will Brown 2. Tony D’Alberto 3. Aaron Cameron 4. Nathan Morcom 5. Dylan O’Keeffe

733 557 546 500 483

By HEATH MCALPINE Images: TCR AUSTRALIA/DANIEL KALISZ

THIS TIME last year there were doubts surrounding how successful TCR would be in this country.

But the inaugural season of the category in Australia certainly quietened the critics and has built a strong platform for 2020.

The maiden season of TCR Australia shone a light on some of this country’s brightest new talents as they competed against established names such as Garth Tander, Russell Ingall, Andre Heimgartner, Jason Bright, Tony D’Alberto, John Martin and more.

Manufacturers are also a talking point as Honda, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Volkswagen and Hyundai all tasted the champagne during the season.

Jason Bright will go down in the record books as the very first winner of a TCR race in Australia, at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP).

But a clear TCR series leader emerged after that first race weekend, in the form of Super2 driver Will Brown.

The young larrikin was the quickest to adapt to the front-wheel-drive pocket rockets, taking two race wins and the weekend at SMP, then a further five victories on the way to the title.

Brown was a late addition to the new series, but relished the wheel-to-wheel combat that TCR racing provided, despite the unknown quantity of his Hyundai i30N TCR, the team and the series.

“It was fantastic and some awesome racing but to tell you the truth, the highlight of the year was the racing,” said Brown.

“They were close, tight battles that everyone kept somewhat clean, it was like a dogfight out there all year. I’ve enjoyed the atmosphere; I’ve loved every second of it this year.

“I was probably a late arrival. I didn’t really think I was going to get a drive but then Barry Morcom rang me up and I can’t thank him enough for giving me the drive. We didn’t know if the Hyundai was a winner, we’d watched it overseas but was the team able to do it.”

A new challenger emerged at Phillip Island’s Round 2 in the form of Dylan O’Keeffe and the Ash Seward Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce, although a crash in the final race of the weekend hurt his pursuit of Brown.

O’Keeffe demonstrated impressive pace from a car that doesn’t have the manufacturer support provided by Hyundai, Audi or Honda, and that hurt when it came to reliability. Both The Bend and Sandown were in particular poor rounds for the Italian marque, more than outweighing the success at Phillip Island and Queensland Raceway.

Brown made fewer mistakes and was clearly the most consistent driver, only finishing out of the top 10 once at

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HMO Customer Racing was victorious with Will Brown winning the inaugural season of TCR Australia. He sealed the title a round early, at Sandown, while teammate Nathan Morcom finished fourth in the title chase (above). Tony D’Alberto won the race for second, which was decided at The Bend (below).

Aaron Cameron (above) and Dylan O’Keeffe (below) each showcased their talent by taking victories off more established runners through the course of a hard-fought series.

Queensland Raceway where a collision with Wall Racing’s John Martin caused a puncture.

Another incident with the Honda at Winton and an opening lap spin at Sandown were lucky escapes, though by then the title was wrapped up.

The battle for second intensified due to O’Keeffe’s poor reliability, giving D’Alberto, Aaron Cameron and Brown’s HMO Customer Racing teammate Nathan Morcom a mathematical chance of taking the $50,000 prize pool heading into The Bend finale.

O’Keeffe and Morcom’s quest ended during the opening race, though Cameron emerged to be in the box seat after taking his maiden TCR Australia victory in Race 2. But it wasn’t to be when turbo issues severely hampered him during the final race, leaving D’Alberto as the last man standing.

International cameos were a constant throughout TCR Australia’s inaugural season, headlined by WTCR drivers Jean-Karl Vernay and Nestor Girolami. Both were among the winners, though Vernay only participated in one race. Girolami, on the other hand, clean-swept the Sandown round in dominant fashion.

Rik Breukers and Aurelien Comte also headed down under but had limited success.

The Peugeot Comte drove had a wiring loom fault that hampered his weekend but at least its appearance brought up an important milestone for the series, being the 10th brand represented on the grid, the highest globally.

Supercars teams Garry Rogers Motorsport, Matt Stone Racing and Kelly Racing all ran in the series, but only GRM made a real impact with its Renault and Alfa Romeo programs.

Both of these makes took podiums, just falling short of victory, with GRM’s involvement tol grow significant in 2020 off the back of its initial involvement.

Teams that are well known for professionalism which don’t race in Australia’s top tier took the fight up to these bigger teams. Melbourne Performance Centre, Wall Racing, Ash Seward Motorsport and HMO Customer Racing all did a commendable job in the new formula.

The series also allowed young drivers to shine, among them Jordan Cox, Hamish Ribarits and Chelsea Angelo, plus the aforementioned Cameron, O’Keeffe and Brown.

Next year already looks great for TCR with events at Bathurst and the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park plus live TV coverage throughout, all confirmed. Bring it on.

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Steven Johnson 1137 2. John Bowe 1066 3. Ryal Harris 995 4. Adam Bressington 989 5. Jim Pollicina 817

By HEATH MCALPINE Images: INSYDE MEDIA/ROSS GIBB

JOHNSON MAGIC NEW ADDITIONS and the emergence of young talent highlighted a competitive season in Touring Car Masters, but in the end Steve Johnson completed a hattrick of titles to send off ‘Mustang Sally’ as a winner.

At first sight, with Johnson and longtime protagonist John Bowe on top of the pointscore the season appears much the same as previously.

But next on the pointscore ladder is former V8 Ute champion Ryal Harris who, driving the Fataz Chevrolet Camaro, shook up the established runners to finish a fine third outright.

Then there was Aaron Seton, who joined the series late and still managed to push for the ProAm title.

Regular frontrunners Adam Bressington, Ryan Hansford, Cam Tilley and Jim Pollicina all had their time in the sun, as did the new Ford Capri of Jeremy Gray and Cam Mason’s beautifully presented Ford Mustang, which won on debut.

Johnson reflected on what was one of his toughest seasons to date, with a mixture of reliability woes and success compensations making the title a hard fought one.

“It was definitely the toughest year in regard to competition,” Johnson told Auto Action. “It just keeps getting tougher and tougher every year.

“It was probably one of those things where we were pretty lucky to start off strong and had quite a few wins at the start of the year, which set it up.

Mainly because we had a few issues with reliability in the middle there, at Queensland Raceway we had a fuel pump fail and an on-board electrical fire, which hurt us. We were then plagued by a couple of engine issues at the end of the year.

“But all in all, it was a solid year and even with those issues we had we able to be pretty consistent, which was what got us the title in the end.”

The Ford Mustang Johnson drove is a well sorted machine, having been run

in TCM by rival Bowe to title success previously. Although it is still a front running car, it doesn’t have the outright speed of some of the lighter, smaller capacity machines, which was clearly demonstrated at Sydney Motorsport Park in the first TCM race held under lights.

That aside, it did lead onto one of the best weekends of Johnson’s campaign at a circuit where his father made his name.

“To get that lap record at Bathurst in qualifying was probably one of the best laps I’ve done around there,” Johnson reflected.

“To do it with the revs down, I think we were 7200rpm by then, just to go there and do

Steve Johnson took the early series advantage and was able to consolidate his lead from then on (top). Jim Pollicina (centre) was winner of the ProAm Class, while the night event at SMP was an exciting addition. Aaron Seton and Ryal Harris signalled themselves as title contenders in 2020 after strong runs this season (left).

that, to win the way we did passing Ryal the way we did across the top, it was a good weekend. We needed that bit of extra boost for that weekend just to bring it home for the title at Sandown.

“It was probably one of the most enjoyable weekends that I’ve had in racing there because it was very rewarding compared to where we were running in regards to revs and carspec.”

Johnson believes TCM has taken another step up at the front of the field, through the addition of Harris and Seton.

“I love being able to run against those guys. They’re very well established, well credentialed drivers. I still enjoy it; John Bowe is driving as good as ever, you just need to watch his performance at Sandown, it was awesome. There are a lot of knockers for Ryal and the way he drives, but I’ve only got positive things to say about him. I’ve raced with him quite a few times now wheel-to-wheel, we’ve never touched each other, we’ve always raced hard and been respectful.

“Seton is a very clean driver, as is JB. All of those guys, I really enjoy racing

against because I trust them 100 per cent.”

As well as winning the outright title, Johnson also won ProMasters ahead of Bowe and Harris. Jim Pollicina took victory in ProAm ahead of Seton and Hansford, while the crowd-pleasing Mercury Comet of Allen Boughen finished on top in ProSport, pipping Peter Burnitt and Ben Dunn.

Next year a change is coming for the Team Johnson Racing squad, as it is building a new Ford XD Falcon, a model that began the Dick Johnson Racing story nearly 40 years ago.

It’ll be 1980 revisited with the inclusion also of the Holden Commodore, adding to an already eclectic mix of classic machines.

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2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Tom Alexander 1203 2. Cameron Crick 1136 3. Ryal Harris 1053 4. Ben Walsh 985 5. Craig Woods 781

KIWI ON TOP IN SUPERUTES ASIDE FROM the off-track negativity, the ECB SuperUtes did provide plenty of good racing, some spills and numerous crashes.

New Zealander Tom Alexander won the second year of the series in the Ross Stone Racingprepared Isuzu D-MAX, over Cameron Crick (Sieders Team Racing Mitsubishi Triton) and inaugural champ Ryal Harris (Peters Motorsport Mazda BT50).

Alexander won five of the 24 races, one less than Crick’s six, while Harris was first across the line on seven occasions. But it was the eight seconds and four round wins that no doubt helped Alexander to the title.

“Last half of the season we attacked when we had the car to win. When we didn’t, we just did the best we could,” was the Alexander mindset.

The series half-started on the streets of

Adelaide with safety cars deployed in the opening two races for multi ute crashes. The first race finished under full-course yellows. The third outing went carnage-free, with Harris the round winner from Alexander and Elliot Barbour (Triton).

The second round at Barbagallo was tame in comparison, yet the racing was a highlight.

Particularly in race two, a 20-lap reverse grid race, where in the end the top five were covered by 1.7s. Harris won the race but the other two and the round, went to Alexander.

There were some milestones set at Winton’s round three. Crick won his first round ahead of Alexander and Toby Price (Triton), who won his first race, and Craig Woods (Toyota Hilux) had his second rollover after one in Adelaide.

Crick then followed through with victory at

BY GARRY O’BRIEN IMAGE: INSYDE MEDIA

Townsville ahead of Harris and Price.

Alexander placed fourth but faired much worse at Queensland Raceway where a blown turbo led to finishing 10th overall. Harris, who won the round over Price and Crick, also snared the points lead away from the Kiwi. But it wasn’t for long as accidents put him out of two races at Bathurst.

Jumping into Team 18’s Holden Colorado that Steven Richards raced at QR, Nathan Pretty made the most of his category debut by winning the sixth round at Mt Panorama ahead of Ben Walsh (Hilux) and Alexander.

Victory on the Gold Coast over Harris and Walsh and Crick, who tied for third, set the scene for him to finish the job at Newcastle which he did over Crick and Christopher Formosa (Ford Ranger), in his best result.

EMERY SEALS GT HAT-TRICK

By HEATH MCALPINE Images: AUSTRALIAN GT THIS YEAR’S Australian GT season was hampered by a distinct lack of entries and controversy, which overshadowed a battle at the front of the field between four different manufacturers, the result only being confirmed at the final round.

The result of the Phillip Island endurance event was the deciding factor in the result, as Peter Hackett and Dom Storey’s ninth place due to the car failing after a pit stop was the defining moment of the season.

This was a race won by Geoff Emery and co-driver Garth Tander, in what was a flawless Australian Endurance Championship campaign, which set up the reigning champion’s title tilt. Two seconds in the next two rounds at The Bend and Sandown also confirmed the

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duo as the Australian Endurance Champions.

“That’s three GT Championships and onee 2019 FINAL STANDINGS Australian Endurance Championship, so four 1. Geoff Emery 1537 in total is pretty good. 2. Peter Hackett 1438 Three in a row, I’m 3. Garth Tander 868 pretty happy with that,” 4. Max Twigg 824 Emery told Auto Action. 5. Fraser Ross 814 “We were strong in the enduros, which made a big difference ence to our GT campaign. The two-driver stuff with Garth [Tander] we were very strong and Geoff Emery and Garth Tander were flawless in the Australian Endurance Championship campaign, the that gave me enough points to manage former also taking the GT title. Dale Paterson’s Chevrolet Camaro won the GT trophy class. the championship from then onwards.

The last few rounds, we’ve just been Emery is unsure of his and Audi Sport managing it to stay within cooee of the Tony D’Alberto sharing the Scott Taylor Customer Racing Australia’s plans for other guys.”

Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 all the new season, though he explained Although entries may have dropped off being in the battle for outright honours at the deal isn’t likely to be completed until towards the middle various stages of the season. a couple of weeks out from the opening of the season, one “The competition level is still right up round. thing that didn’t was there, we just don’t have the numbers,” Winners of the classes were Justin the competition with Emery lamented.

McMillan and Glen Wood in GT4 driving Fraser Ross in his new “Obviously, at the start of the season it was strong and then it just dropped off for the M Motorsport KTM X-Bow, Dale Garage59 McLaren Paterson in the mighty Chevrolet the enduros, which was a real shame.

720s GT3, Liam Camaro GT3 took out GT Trophy and “Certainly, we’ve been going faster, Talbot cameoing in they’ve been going faster than we’ve ever Nick Kanaros finished on top in Trofeo the Trofeo Motorsport Challenge piloting a Porsche 997 GT3 run before, so the competition is right up Lamborghini Huracan Cup Car. there.”

GT3, Max Twigg and

CONSISTENT & QUICK BORG TAKES 86 TITLE

By DAN MCCARTHY Images: TOYOTA/INSYDE MEDIA

THIS YEAR’S Toyota 86 Racing Series was more competitive than ever, with 10 drivers still with a mathematical chance of taking the title going into the Newcastle finale.

Six different drivers had taken race wins across the 14 races that were completed in 2019.

By its conclusion it was Sieders Racing Team driver Aaron Borg who took the crown to become the fourth winner of the series in as many years.

The season started with four different winners in the first four races.

Defending series winner Tim Brook took victory in the opening race, with Kiwi Jaden Ransley, Declan Fraser and Dylan Thomas winning the next three.

Races 5 and 6 were won by Brook, who extended his series lead further with his second round win. Borg meanwhile had a steady start by finishing fourth at the Phillip Island opener, before in ninth at Townsville.

“We got lucky, we didn’t have the best round in Townsville but a few of the other guys who were in the championship had worse rounds than us, (so) we were still fourth in the championship,” Borg recalled to Auto Action.

“After Townsville is when it all turned around. We worked quite hard with Sieders and Driving Solutions, that is what the big turnaround was when we started knuckling down. It wasn’t any one thing that made the difference, it was all the little one percenters together and that in the end is what made the difference.”

At the third round at Bathurst, Borg started an impressive run of four victories in five races, which catapulted him into the series lead come the final Category mainstays Tim Brook and Dylan Thomas were competitive during the early part of the season, but were unable to sustain that form.

Luke King finished off the season strongly but was unable to snatch the crown from Aaron Borg.

round of the season.

Heading to Newcastle, Borg led Brook by 20 points, Thomas was a further 66 behind, while the only other race winner at that point, Luke King, trailed by 176 with 300-points on offer over the course of the final weekend.

“The points gap between me and Tim Brook was still very close, so we were trying to keep the championship out of our mind and keep doing what we were doing,” he said.

Borg qualified down in seventh position for Newcastle’s opening race, while Brook started off pole position.

However into Turn 2 of the opening race

Brook made a mistake and fired into the tyre barrier, bouncing back into fellow series contender Declan Fraser. Borg avoided the incident thanks to some advice from team owner Luke Sieders.

“Luke Sieders said ‘make sure you are looking ahead for any accidents in the opening laps and just get through them and we will be alright,” he recalled.

“I was making sure I was looking well ahead and I saw it all unfolding, we managed to just get through it.

“I didn’t know it was Timmy at the time until the boys came on the radio when we were under the safety car.

“From that point on they told me

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Aaron Borg 1118 2. Luke King 1010 3. Tim Brook 964 4. Declan Fraser 922 5. Dylan Thomas 912

the situation and we were just driving conservative more than anything to make sure we finish all of the races where we needed to and in the end it all worked out.”

Although the incident for Brook effectively took him out of the title race, Borg still had to stave off the challenge of a handful of drivers still in contention.

“After Race 2 when we wrapped it up it was a weird feeling, but after Race 3 when we knew it was official, that was a great feeling you can’t explain it, (a) mixture of relief and excitement.” Borg concluded.

“Proud of all the boys at Sieders.”

King was the runner up again after a strong finish to the year, cleansweeping the final round in Newcastle.

But the race cancellation at Sandown after a serious accident for John Iafolla hurt his late season charge.

The incident through the Sandown esses pitched Iafolla’s 86 into a roll through the infield, ending in a collision with a course vehicle. The driver was uninjured.

Another big incident was Peter Vodanovich’s roll at Bathurst.

Behind Borg and King, reigning series winner Brook took third ahead of Fraser, Thomas and Jaylyn Robotham.

SEASON REVIEW

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Justin Ruggier 2. Kel Treseder 3. Josh Anderson

RUGGIER WINS FIERCE AUSSIE RACER DUEL

By DAN MCCARTHY Images: INSYDE MEDIA

THE 20TH anniversary of the Aussie Racing Cars Series featured a fierce season-long battle between Justin Ruggier and Kel Treseder, who were both fighting for their first title in the pocket rocket category.

In the end it was 37-year-old Ruggier who took the title on the streets of Newcastle, second for the round enough to secure the series by just two-points ahead from Treseder.

Victorian Josh Anderson completed the top three.

Ruggier came out of the blocks firing as the year began, winning the opening three rounds in Adelaide, Tasmania and Darwin, which included his elected double points joker round at the second event.

“In 2018 I was more strategic and it didn’t work for me, I can’t drive like that, I can’t drive to a number. I’d rather go out and win and let everything else fall behind,” Ruggier explained to Auto Action.

“I spoke to the team, I said ‘look I’m going to try and win every race’ and the

46 AutoAction

The battle between Justin Ruggier and Kel Treseder was intense from the beginning (above) before the former took the title, taking over from 2018 series winner Joel Heinrich (below).

first four rounds gave that to us.”

In the first three rounds Treseder finished in second twice and fourth in the other, but elected to use his joker at Queensland Raceway’s Round 4.

The highlight of the season came in the final race of the QR weekend, where whichever one of the pair crossed the line first took the crucial round win.

The duo made contact on lap 9 and again coming onto the pit straight, bumping side-by-side multiple times all the way to the finish line before Ruggier took the win by 0.1s ahead of a spinning Treseder.

Both drivers were handed penalties for the roles they played in the incidents throughout the race, but these were withdrawn a number of weeks later.

“I’m really grateful that CAMS gave Kel and I an opportunity to showcase what we had presented - the on-board footage - then worked out if I deserved a penalty or he deserved a penalty and both of them got dropped, which was the right outcome,” Ruggier explained.

“I suppose on TV it looked like rubbing’s racing, I copped a few hits during the race, (but) even the penalty he copped for the lap 9 contact surprised me. I never got on the radio and complained.

“He was trying to hustle, he needed to win that round because he had the joker and I needed to beat him because of the joker.

“We both understood how important it was and we touched on entry when he slid into me and then we touched again when I was a bit sideways. Once we touched tyres it was all over.”

On the Gold Coast, a broken axle for Ruggier kept Treseder within a shot of the series crown. It was a nervous round for the former V8 Touring Car Series winner, as he was fearful of another mechanical failure but previous experience enabled Ruggier to guide his car home into a winning position.

“Gold Coast really put me on the back foot, I was really worried about reliability,” Ruggier reflected.

“We qualified strong and then it was just about survival mode and coming home in the right places to seal the deal. I’m very grateful it worked out.

“We did a lot of work in the off season because we knew we had to try and win this series; I think it was this year or never for us.

“I really needed to win this Australian title for the Western Sydney Motorsport team and for myself. I started in Aussie Racing Cars in 2008 as a one off appearance at the Gold Coast and have loved the category ever since.”

Broc Feeney held onto the Super3 title despite a concerted effort from Jayden Ojeda.

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Broc Feeney 562 2. Jayden Ojeda 538 3. Hamish Ribarits 494 4. Zak Best 454 5. Josh Fife 413

By DAN MCCARTHY Images: SUPER3

CONSISTENCY PAYS OFF FOR FEENEY SUPER 3 stepped up a gear this season thanks to the most competitive group of young drivers to ever enter the series, but consistency favoured 16-year-old Broc Feeney at the end of a close fought battle.

Despite only taking one victory in the first race of the season, Feeney won the title to become the youngest ever winner of a Supercar series.

In the 15 races held throughout the 2019 season the Queenslander finished outside the podium places on only three occasions, and it was this consistency that won him the title.

“The whole year we have been battling top three or four. We didn’t win a round, but every round we were on the podium and that is what wins championships,” Feeney told Auto Action.

It came down to a tense title deciding race at Sandown

between Feeney and Jayden Ojeda, but Feeney knew if he stayed out of trouble he was the Super3 title winner.

“On the last lap I was in third (and) I knew if I stayed in the position then I would win the championship but I had Hamish Ribarits coming behind me, I had a lot of pressure and Jayden he was still trying to go for the win,” Feeney recalled.

Ojeda had a slow start to the series, failing to score a top result in the first third of the season. However, he won the sixth race of the season at Winton Raceway, which kick started his campaign. The Anderson Motorsport driver experienced a strong run of form mid-season to enter title calculations, even taking the series lead.

Last year’s runner up Zak Best was the most winningest driver of the season with six, however two retirements and a 16th hampered his title challenge, and as a result he finished fourth in the title behind MW Motorsport teammate Ribarits.

Feeney was confident that the Paul Morris Motorsport Ford Falcon had the speed to win on a more regular basis, but he was eager to focus on consistency, which was the key that delivered him the title.

“We had the pace to probably win the round at Tailem Bend and Sandown. Obviously different circumstances happened and we are standing on top, (so) at the end of the day that is what people remember and that is the main thing.

I cannot believe it,” Feeney said.

“We made the decision to move up to Super3 this year and I’m over the moon with the choice we made, to end up as Super3 winner is just absolutely out of control.”

The Kumho Cup class also went down to the wire with Bradley Neill taking the class series lead in the final race of the season, Jim Pollicina was second and veteran Chris Smerdon - who missed the final round - was third.

JONES DELIVERS MCELREA TITLE

BY HEATH MCALPINE IMAGES: PORSCHE MEDIA

IN WHAT is a surprising stat, Harri Jones winning this year’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge was the first such title for McElrea Racing. It came after an incredibly consistent year against another strong field of contenders.

Jones only finished a mere three races off the podium and those were at The Bend finale, where he went into the weekend with a 92-point advantage over Sonic Motor Racing Service’s Aaron Love.

A comfortable cushion meant Jones was able to stay out of trouble and take the crown, while Love did his best by winning the round, though still fell 38-points short.

The series again showcased some of the best young driver talent in the country, following the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid pathway that has proven so successful for down under drivers of late.

Jones and Love headed an impressive group of young drivers contesting the GT3 Cup which included Max Vidau,

Christian Pancione, Ryan Suhle, Tom Taplin and Cameron Crick.

Speaking to Auto Action right after his title triumph, Jones reflected on a tough, hard-fought season that delivered him not only the outright title but also the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy.

“It was a tough year, all the races, each and every one of them were so close, and the battles were insane,” said Jones.

Harri Jones started off strong (above) but had to “Obviously to come away with 15 fend off a late challenge from Aaron Love (below). podiums out of 18 races for the season “It’s amazing!” Jones exclaimed. was pretty awesome, and looking “McElrea has won pretty much back on it is something I’ll never forget. everything, well now it has won All credit to the team, which gave everything to do with Porsche in this me the car to do it and credit to the country, so its an honour for me to give other drivers, the calibre has just been the team this title as my first here and insane.” hopefully we can win a couple more in After coming close in previous the years to come.” seasons, Andy McElrea’s organisation Consistency was the name of the finally took its maiden outright title in the game, Love only faltered in one race class, with the relationship between the 20-year-old and the team set to continue by finishing 10th, and that proved the difference in the end. next year in Carrera Cup. For Vidau, Suhle and Pancione it was a matter of key mistakes made during crucial moments that cost each their shot at the title.

“My results’ highlight was definitely the Queensland Raceway round, where I had a second place and two firsts at home in front of so many friends and family,” Jones reflected.

“But I think the Phillip Island round was

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Harri Jones 924 2. Aaron Love 886 3. Max Vidau 824 4. Ryan Suhle 720 5. Christian Pancione 706

the h best b racing i off my life. That round is one I’ll never forget, every race was wheel-to-wheel, lap after lap. It was so much fun and that’s why we go racing.”

Sam Shahin took victory in the Pro-Am component of GT3 Cup Challenge, while David Greig won Class B for older model Cup Cars.

Now a name change to the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge welcomes a new era for the class in 2020.

AutoAction

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SEASON REVIEW

2019 SERIES WINNERS

Production Car SeriesGrant Sherrin Prototype Series- David Barram Radical Australia CupChris Perini Sports Sedans- Tony Ric ciardello Formula 4 Championsh ip- Luis Leeds

COMING OF AGE

By GARRY O’BRIEN Images: INSYDE MEDIA

THE ADDITION of TCR and later S5000 lifted the Shannons Nationals far higher than in the previous couple of years, and no doubt helped the profile of the stalwart categories.

PRODUCTION CARS

AFTER TWO stand alone rounds, the MRF Production Car Series continued on the Variety was as-ever on offer throughout the Shannon’s Nationals series, with such as Production Cars (top), Prototypes (above left) and Sports Sedans (above) appearing.

Shannons’ with their hallmark “Fight in the Night” round at he followed through in round four and leading the seasoned and three-time Cup two races, and the championship.

Queensland Raceway, before two wellconsolidated at the final round. Caruso holder Paddon, who won the first race and Overall there were 11 different outright supported rounds at Sandown and The finished the season second ahead of reduced the margin to just three points. race winning drivers and 41 class victors, Bend with the four one-hour formats.

Shane Woodman (BMW/Chev), Steve The title hinged on the final race which and just under 25 hours of track time over In its outright context, a Class A1 BMW Perini won, while Paddon was third after an Tamasi (Calibra/Chev) and Michael five events, representing great bang-forfest was a solid bet but was that was error. Kostinken Pohorukov crossed the line Robinson (Monaro/Chev). buck motor racing. dispelled by outstanding performances fourth and finished third in the series, giving from an A2 Ford Mustang and a AM1 HSV PROTOTYPES SERIES FORMULA 4 CHAMPIONSHIP GWR the trifecta.

Clubsport R8 – although it didn’t start out BESIDES THE variety of chassis and APART FROM a healthy rollup to the The series opened at Bathurst where, that way. engines, the winners were varied as well.

Australian Grand Prix, numbers never despite two thirds, Neale Muston won Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey won round David Barram won the series in his Hondamade double figures at the ensuing overall. In contrast Paddon was unbeaten one and three in their BMW M3 but did not powered Chiron LMP3-004 over Mark rounds. AGI Sport’s Luis Leeds had a in round two before a dominant race one participate in the rest of the series. Chris Laucke (Wolf Tornado/Peugeot Turbo) and stellar year, taking the points there, also victory at round three, set the scene for Lillis and Matt Holt (HSV) were second John-Paul Drake (Wolf GB08CN/Honda). winning round two, and leaving the final Perini to take the honours. At the next overall at the Sydney Motorsport Park Mark Short took his Suzuki-powered two venues (double rounds) with the most Paddon was second in both races but opener and Iain and Grant Sherrin (BMW Prince LSR to victory at round one. Barram netted the most points. Aaron Love won points.

M4) placed third. pulled a three-peat victory in round two.

Over the six rounds, Leeds won five. The round five, although not in Cup contention, The Sherrins struck back with the overall Jason Makris (Tornado) was the best over other (round five) was won by Team BRM’s but importantly Perini edged ahead result at round two over Dimitri Agathos/ three races at round three, before Daniel Lachie Hughes. Leeds’ final round victory Paddon in the points.

Matt Boylan (B1 Subaru Impreza WRX Gonzales (Tornado) won the next time out. capped off a strong season with five pole STi), Anthony Soole/Andrew Fisher (M4) It came down to the last round where NATIONAL SPORTS SEDANS positions and nine out of 18 race wins. and Lillis, with regular co-driver Nathan despite two second-place finishes, Barram THE DEA Performance-backed series only Hughes finished second overall ahead of Callaghan. secured the series. The race winners were contested one round with the Shannons. team mate Ryan Suhle.

The new Mustang of Coleby Cowhan Drake and Laucke, but there was contact But it was significant in that it put Tony and Lindsay Kearns had a disappointing between the pair which put Drake out.

Ricciardello’s quest squarely on track for OTHER CATEGORIES Laucke recovered and eventually forged Phillip Island outing, but made up for it at an unprecedented 11th title.

EXCELS APPEARED twice during the year, through to the lead, and second in the QR with a solid second overall. They took The Chev V8-powered Alfa Romeo driver the first at QR for a round of the Queensland series, ironically ahead of Drake. that form to a Sandown victory and were started his campaign with a clean sweep state championship (taken out by Cam of round one. But new category recruit Wilson) and then at The Bend for the 2019 in contention for outright honours, in third RADICAL AUSTRALIA CUP Jordan Caruso, who previously raced Nationals, which was won by Ben Grice. place, behind Lillis and Iain Sherrin going GARTH WALDEN Racing team mates Excels, clambered aboard John Gourlay’s Improved Production also guested at the to The Bend. would fight out the six round series, which Audi/Chev for only his second round, and Willowbank venue for a state round where Two race wins had them second going were contested over 45-50 minutes races won.

Zac Hudson (Mazda RX7) won two races into the final two races. However a broken Ricciardello had an engine dilemma to Nissan Silvia driver Troy Marinelli’s one. rear hub put them out of the last race, while of which three were at the Shannons. They Lillis had a buckled wheel in race three, consisted of compulsory pitstops and an and limped home in the third race, to be The Alfa Challenge was at the opener and and Callahan a puncture in the last. That optional driver change. second for the round. At QR he was back Porsche 944s were added to the Winton program.

Chris Perini went into the final round, on target, a decisive round winner, which paved the way for Sherrin to win the last

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2019 SERIES WINNERS

TA2 Muscle Cars- Aaron Seton Mazda RX8 Cup- Aaron Prosser Formula 3- John Magro Thunder Sports Cup- Ma rk Tracey GT-1 Australia- John Mo riss

By GARRY O’BRIEN Images: INSYDE MEDIA

GROWING WITH THE AMRS THE SECOND full season of the Australian Motor Racing Car Series has seen unprecedented growth in some areas, with more of the same in others. Both TA2 Muscle Cars and Mazda RX8 Cup fields increased in numbers, while Thunder Sports looks promising as it morphed out of Super and Extreme TT.

TA2 MUSCLE CARS

TOWARDS THE end of the year, the 40th car arrived in the country.

While four of the rounds were conducted with the AMRS, two were held independently with the last being at what is basically their home base at Queensland Raceway.

Driving Craig Harris’s Mustang, Aaron Seton was the pacesetter at the outset, although Nathan Herne (Challenger) won a race at Morgan Park and George Miedecke (Mustang) did take out the rounds at The Bend and Winton.

Seton’s strong winning performance in Sydney set the tone to wrap up the title at QR. But an uncharacteristic lose on the opening lap of one race, and the resultant hit from the unsighted Andrew Miedecke (Challenger), forced a red flag and a postponement until the following day.

It gave the Seton outfit time to make repairs and come back to net the result needed to secure the title. George Miedecke finished the series second ahead of 2018 title

John Magro won all 18 Formula 3 races in 2019 ... which must be some sort of record (above left). John Morriss (above) won GT1 while the TA2 field (top) grew and grew, more than 40 cars now in the country. Third-generation racer Aaron Seton (leading here at Sydney Motorsport Park) won the title in the Craig Harris-owned Mustang.

holder Ashley Jarvis (Camaro) while Herne’s round win elevated him to equal fifth with Hugh McAlister (Mustang).

MAZDA RX8 CUP

THE ONE-MAKE series was the domain of New Zealander Aaron Prosser, but it didn’t start out that way. Stephen McLaine won the opening round ahead of Will Harris and Ben Silvestro. McLaine was third behind Rosser and Terry Lewis at the second round, but was then forced to stop racing after a health issue.

Prosser also won the remaining three rounds. Harris was a contender until dramas in qualifying at round four put his campaign on the back foot. Lewis too had dramas, with a crash at the same round and had to borrow a car for the finale, to salvage third in the series. Silvestro finished fourth while a strong surge in the latter rounds elevated Lachlan O’Hara to fifth.

FORMULA 3

HISTORY HAS proven that the quick open wheelers have never needed more than a couple of racers to provide entertainment . . . that, or prolific winners and record breakers. The latter was the case in 2019 with John Magro, who won all 18 races this year.

On top of that, he not only broke category lap records but also established three new outright benchmark times in his R-Tek Motorsport Dallara.

About the only thing he didn’t do was clean sweep the qualifying sessions.

Gilmour Racing’s Josh Buchan interrupted that sequence and chased Magro throughout the year for second overall, ahead of Rielly Brook (Mygale).

R-TEK doubled up with Roman Krumins winning the National Class.

That battle came down to the wire and was seemingly in the hands of Gerrit Ruff ,until his Dallara suffered

a drive shaft failure with six laps remaining of the final race.

THUNDER SPORTS CUP

ELIGIBILITY WAS fairly straight forward with cars from the Extreme TT, Sports Sedans, Improved Production, even Drift cars and Time Attack (with a little aero mods) allowed. The intention of the series is to provide a professional standard for grassroots competitors.

If the opening round was any indication, the title would be a tight tussle, particularly between the LS V8 cars, driven by Corey Gillett (Nissan Silvia) and Mark Tracey (BMW E36).

Gillett won that encounter but after that it was Tracey who ultimately took the inaugural title, ahead of Gillett, Matt Sears (BMW E46) and Merrick Malouf (Ford Falcon Ute).

GT-1 AUSTRALIA

THERE PROBABLY isn’t a better way to start a championship than racing at Bathurst or finishing with

the title decider going down to the wire. GT-1 had both.

The opening round was held outside of the AMRS on Mt Panorama and in conjunction with NSW Production Sports. There had been another non-AMRS outing in the schedule, at QR, but that was cancelled.

GT-1 embraced older GT Championship cars as well as MARC Cars and it was Adam Hargraves who topped the points at the first round in his MARC II V8. Audi R8s drivers Matt Stoupas, Sam and Yassar Shahin, Nick Kelly and Rod Salmon also recorded round wins.

John Morriss (Porsche GT3-R) was also consistent, to the point that he was best placed at the end of the last round to secure the title ahead of Stoupas. The MARC I class was taken out by John Goodacre and Porsche Challenge went to Rick Mensa.

OTHER CATEGORIES

AMRS REGULARS at various rounds were Miniature Race Cars (won by Craig White), Stock Cars towards the end of the season, IROC Porsches, Super 6s/Group 4 and Aussie Racing Utes. Formula Vees, BMW E30s, Under 2 Litre Sports Sedans, Group N and Queensland Touring Cars were added on occasion. THE AMRS hosted one round of the National Formula Ford Championship which was won by Angelo Mouzouris (Duratec) and Tim Hamilton (Kent).

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SEASON REVIEW

Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x Xxxx x x x

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Harry Bates/John McCa 2. Lewis Bates/Anthony Mcrthy 365 2. Molly Taylor/Malcolm ReLoughlin 242 4. John O’Dowd/Toni Feav ad 242 5. Luke Anear/Andy Sareder 162 is 161

FIVE OF THE BEST

By HEATH MCALPINE C Images: CAMS/SUBARU/TOYOTA

IT WAS a perfect season for the Toyota GAZOO Racing Yaris AP4 pairing of Harry Bates and John McCarthy, who took out their maiden Australian Rally Championship title.

Despite the cancellation of the finale run alongside the world’s best at Coffs Harbour in Rally Australia, Bates had already sealed the title thanks to an unbeaten run of wins in every heat contested.

Adding further to these celebrations Bates’ younger brother Lewis finished second with co-driver Anthony McLoughlin alongside.

“From my side, (it was) pretty much a perfect year,” Bates described his season to Auto Action.

“John and I put together five really clean rallies where, as well as being the quickest, we were probably the most consistent as well, which is why we were able to take the championship win a round early.

“That was a key milestone for me because in previous years I think we’ve proven our speed, but to be honest the consistency hasn’t been there. But we had the combination of both this season.”

The Toyota duo’s main rival was 2016 ARC winner Molly Taylor, piloting the Subaru.do Motorsport Group N specification Impreza WRX STI. Preparation had changed from the legendary Les Walkden Motorsport p team to Orange g Motorsport p

Engineering at the beginning of the season.

Taylor, with co-driver Malcolm Read reading the notes, finished third in the title on a countback, but in reality had struggled to keep pace with the two now well sorted Yaris AP4 machines.

So too did the rest of the field, headed

by Western Australian John O’Dowd in the Skoda Fabia R5 Eli Evans had used to take the 2018 title. O’Dowd ended the season fourth partnered by Toni Feaver, while Luke Anear in a brandnew Ford Fiesta R5 completed the top five.

The 2018 season for Bates was riddled with unreliability and inconsistency, but these were cured in his championship winning season as both the driver and car’s development grew together, as was demonstrated by the results.

“The car has come on in leaps and bounds.The Yaris AP4 started as a quick package that suffered problems, which needed ironing out,” Bates reflected.

“The team has worked unbelievably hard to get it to where it is now, as proven by finishing 1-2 in the championship for Neal Bates Motorsport and Toyota GAZOO Racing, with a 100 per cent reliability record.

“The development of the Yaris has been amazing for my driving because I’ve had to feel my way into everything. The car started out with lots of improvements to be had, then between myself y

It was all smiles for the Bates boys after Harry and John McCarthy (centre) sealed the title in Adelaide. Lewis and Anthony McLoughlin (right) held on to take second on a countback.

It was a mixed season for Molly Taylor and Malcolm Read as the duo struggled for consistency (above). Richie Dalton demonstrated good pace in his G2-specification Ford Fiesta.

and the team, we’ve had to work toge together to get the car to where it is now now.

“D “Doing all of that testing and dev development with the car has also imp improved me as a driver.”

It hasn’t been a cakewalk by any stre for Bates, with the wide stretch arr array of R5, Group N, AP4 and G2 sp specification models each enjoying an advantage at various stages du during the championship. As well, va various drivers including former m multiple ARC winner Simon Evans m made cameo appearances during th the season. ““There were different days where

50 AutoAction

the others had good rallies, for example in Western Australia Richie Dalton and Lewis were both very, very quick,” Bates explained. “In Canberra and Tasmania, Molly was right on the pace, so there were absolutely days where I was definitely pushed for stage wins.

“On top of that, Simon Evans turned up at a couple of rounds, which was really good. You always like to be pushed by an ex-Australian champion and he’s won several of them.”

Bates hopes to continue his career overseas next year, but is confident he will be back to defend his title in what appears to be a competitive field forming for the 2020 ARC.

OFF ROADING: IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR

2019 FINAL STANDINGS

2019 BF Goodrich CAMS Au stralian Off Road Racing Champio nship Mark Burrows 1171.5 Roydn Bailey 863.5 Greg Campbell 862.5 2019 ARB AASA Australia n Off Road Racing Championship Aaron Haby 232 Talbot Cox 228 Dean Meginley 202

BY GARRY O’BRIEN IMAGES: OLD MATE PHOTOGRAPHY/CAMS

FAMILIES FIGURED prominently in both Australian Off Road Championships.

Mark Burrows with son Matt were the winners of the CAMS’ sanctioned series, while husband and wife Aaron and Liz Haby were the AASA series victors.

Remarkably, the number of competitors in each series was very similar, 234 to 233, although not all were competing at every round – three in the case of both.

But the CAMS’ championship did have one big plus, the Finke Desert Race. It is the one event that draws the single most entries from either side of the sanctioning fence.

The only real difference between the two groups is the naming convention for the classes. The far longer established CAMS series uses class names Pro Buggy, ProLite, Super1650, Extreme 2WD etc. The newer AASA series uses the terminology Unlimited Class, Class 1, Class 2, Class 4 and so on.

BFGOODRICH CAMS AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP

WITHOUT WINNING a round, the Burrows topped the points. They were second in the opening St George 399 round, fourth at Finke and third in the Rainbow Desert Enduro. Burrows’ win in his Jimco/Holden Alloytec Pro Buggy was his eighth title.

Second overall in the drivers’ points chase was between the Can-Am SXS Turbo buggys, headed by Roydn Bailey, over Greg Campbell, Allen Henson and Peter Carr. None of them won a round either.

In an outstanding effort, Bailey went into the final round 13th in the points and he and co-driver Keke Falland broke a driveshaft three and a half laps in. They finished the race in 2WD mode, crossing the line fifth.

Shannon and Ian Rentsch (Jimco/ Nissan V6 Twin Turbo Pro Buggy) kicked off the new season with a comfortable first round win. They were fifth at Finke and elected not to start the shortened and very wet Rainbow event.

Father and son team Mark and Matt Burrows finished on top in the CAMS Off Road Championship (top) while it was a different story in AASA (above) where Aaron Haby and wife Liz took the honours.

Toby Whateley finished third at round one in his Can-Am SXS Turbo, where he had Tony Whateley and Simon Herrmann along to share the navigating duties.

Whateley DNF’d out of Finke and an accident put him out of round three.

The Finke drew 134 entries and Jack Rhodes and David Pullino (Jimco Aussie Special/Nissan V6 TT) scored a breakthrough win. The pair had finished on the podium four times previously (third in 2018 and 2017, second in 2015 and 2014).

Rhodes snatched the lead off Toby Price (with Jason Duncan) when his Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck shed a fan belt. Price had been aiming for first ever win on four wheels, having won on bikes six times.

Second place went to Josh Howells and Eric Hume, who were also piloting a Nissan-powered Jimco and came in ahead of Brent Martin and Andre De Simone from the ProLite class in a nonturboed Nissan-powered Jimco.

Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings (Extreme 2WD Geiser Bros Ford Raptor/ Ford V8) won the Rainbow Desert Enduro. Heavy downpours in the lead up and overnight made the 75km course unsafe to race, cancelling Saturday’s two

laps. Many teams opted not to run the next day either.

Dale Martin and Lee Wells (ProLite Tatum/Nissan V6) crossed the finish line first. But after their compulsory pit stop (fuel stop) times were added, were relegated to second behind Gartner.

Helping Burrows on the road to glory was an accident between Howells and Whateley. Howells had spun and Whateley couldn’t avoid him. Matt Martin and Nick Jackson (ProLite Jimco/Nissan) were also in title contention until they found the muddy conditions too heavy to negotiate.

ARB AASA AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

IT WAS a belated start to the series.

Mildura was cancelled with concerns about the on-going drought conditions and erosion, then Sea Lake was also canned due to organisers having to navigate somewhat complicated legislation.

So the originally scheduled five-round championship was reduced to three and a late (July) start with the Stackpoole 500 in the Riverina area of NSW. Haby finished third there, and backed

up with another third at the Goondiwindi 400. Winning the Pines Enduro at Millicent was the surest way to clinch the championship and that is exactly what the Unlimited Class Element Off Road Prodigy/Toyota V6 Twin Turbo pilot did.

Second went to Talbot Cox (Unlimited Toyota V8-powered Racer Engineering Carbon) while third was a points tie between Dean Meginley (Class 10 Tatum/Honda) and Phil Lovett (Class 6 Can-Am Maverick Turbo).

With Craig King, Cox was the opening round winner over Michael Marson and Chris Colborne (Racer Engineering Carbon/Ford Windsor V8). Reigning champions Brent Martin and Andre De Simone (Class 1 Jimco Aussie Special/ Nissan V6) started 10th and got to within 3mins of the leaders before dropping to overall 10th.

It was a very close finish at the Goondiwindi. Bryce Chapman and Mitch Warren (Unlimited Jimco Champion/Chev LS2) trailed Jason and Kristy Richards (Class 1 Chenoweth Millennium/Nissan V6 Twin Turbo) by 6s going into the final section but Chapman charged home to win by just 2.99s.

After leading day one, Cox dropped to 10h. Marson charged from 11th to second before hitting a tree on day two.

Finishing fourth was Daniel Wells in his Class 10 Tatum Motorsports AusSpec/ Honda, ahead of Terry and Lucy Molloy (Class 9 Element Prodigy/Nissan T).

At the Pines Enduro, Haby recorded a clear victory over Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings (Class 4 Ford F150 Trophy Truck) and Cox. The event started with four laps of the Millicent short course, the track sodden from heavy overnight rain and intermittent showers during the day.

Haby finished ahead of Gartner and Cox who then led the first two of the ensuring long course six laps. But after that it was all Haby.

Andrew Murdock and Ben Rickaby (Unlimited Element Off Road Prodigy, Chev) finished fourth ahead Jason and Kristy Richards (Class 1 Chenoweth Millennium/Nissan).

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Formula One

Round 21: Abu Dhabi GP

IN CRUISE CONTROL Race Report: Dan Knutson Images: LAT

THE WAY Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a synopsis of the 2019 Formula 1 season.

The world champion started from the pole, led every lap, and clocked the fastest race lap on his way to victory number 11 of the year. He looked like he was on cruise control.

The way his teammate Valtteri Bottas started from the back of Lewis Hamilton celebrated his sixth title win in style, leading from start-to-finish in Abu Dhabi in one of the most dominant displays of the year for the the grid then charged to fourth Mercedes Grand Prix team. place – and narrowly missed out quite a bit throughout the season, his trophy. Still, following on from the “The hard tyre killed my race,” on a podium finish – underlined the also from Honda side. Now we just Ferrari drivers colliding in Brazil two Ricciardo said. “We didn’t have speed fact that overall Mercedes has been need to keep that momentum into weeks earlier, it was another example on it at all. I felt it already by Turn 8 on the team to beat all year. the winter break as well and try to of Ferrari not operating to perfection. the out lap, after my pit stop for the “After winning the constructors’ and improve the car even further, together “We weren’t quick enough,” Leclerc hard tyres. My gut told me that this the drivers’ championship, I think with the engine, and be there from the said of his race. “But overall I think was going to be a pretty shitty stint. I it was really important for us as a first race, not from the middle of the during the season it’s been more didn’t say it on the radio straightaway. team to continue to push,” Hamilton season or towards the end.” or less the same picture. When I didn’t want to be negative from the said after his 250th F1 start and 83rd Ferrari didn’t have the speed either, qualifying we manage more or less first lap, but after a few laps I said, victory. with Charles Leclerc crossing the line to be there, but then in the race we ‘Boys we are not going anywhere’.

“We hadn’t got absolutely everything third and Sebastian Vettel in fifth. seem to struggle. So we need to work Eventually we did a two stop and the from the overall perfect package. So After winning three races on the on that for 2020.” soft was a tonne better. Too little too we were just trying to push the limits trot, Ferrari seemed to have lost the The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix also late.” and push the boundaries. This is the plot recently and it didn’t reach the gave an example of what an up and But Renault did manage to hang perfect way to end the season, on the top step of the podium in the last six down season it has been for Renault on to fifth place in the constructors’ right foot.” rounds of the season. teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Nico championship, and Ricciardo Yes, the ever tenacious Max Leclerc raced in Abu Dhabi under Hülkenberg. They started seventh and remained ninth in the drivers’ Verstappen finished second in his Red the cloud of potential disqualification ninth but finished out of the points in championship by just three points.

Bull Honda, but he freely admitted after officials discovered that Ferrari 11th and 12th.

Was it important for the team to keep that his machine simply did not have had made a mistake in declaring how In order to qualify that high up, they fifth and not lose it in the last race? the speed to stick with the Mercedes. much fuel was in the car before the had to use Pirelli’s soft compound “Yes, that definitely would have “Lewis was too quick,” Verstappen start. In end, however, Ferrari was slicks. That compromised their race been a punch in the guts,” he replied. said, “so I was just focusing on my fined 50,000 euros and Leclerc kept and they drifted backwards.

“Financially it is. You put the financial own race and lap times. We improved

54 AutoAction

The battle for second between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen was fiery.

Lando Norris finished off an impressive debut season in the points, assuring McLaren of fourth in the Constructors’ title.

RACE ROUND 21: ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX Sergio Perez took points in the final race, while Alex Albon (right) pipped him for sixth. loss onto the motivation loss, and we didn’t need that. So let’s use that as a positive and say all right boys, we dodged bullet, so let’s avoid all bullets next year.

“Today was not great,” Ricciardo added, “but in the winter (we need to) keep the spirit of the team high. We did underachieve for the most part this year but not let that bring them down.

If that is the case then we are not going to move forward next year.”

While Hamilton cruised to victory, the TV director missed the dramatic last lap action, which included Ricciardo, in which Carlos Sainz dived past Hülkenberg to move from 11th to 10th and thus secure sixth place in the drivers’ championship.

“It wasn’t on TV?” Sainz said afterwards.

“Aargh. No way! It was the most exciting final lap I’ve got; it was like a world championship for me. I got close enough to Nico to throw a move into Turn 9 and decided to back out of

it and try it in 11, but I didn’t get the run out of 10. It’s crazy, at the end of the championship we were fighting on the last lap in the last overtaking opportunity of the track. I made it stick. It hasn’t been an easy race.”

There are only 105 days between this final race of 2019 and the 2020 season opener in Melbourne on March 15.

All the teams, of course, have already been designing and developing their 2020 cars for months Mercedes’ rivals certainly have lots of work to do if they want to consistently beat the team next season.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 -

Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Charles Leclerc Valtteri Bottas Sebastian Vettel Alexander Albon Sergio Perez Lando Norris Daniil Kvyat Carlos Sainz Jr. Daniel Ricciardo Nico Hulkenberg Kimi Raikkonen Kevin Magnussen Romain Grosjean Antonio Giovinazzi George Russell Pierre Gasly Robert Kubica Lance Stroll

Mercedes Red Bull/Honda Ferrari Mercedes Ferrari Red Bull/Honda Racing Point/Mercedes McLaren/Renault Toro Rosso/Honda McLaren/Renault Renault Renault Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Haas/Ferrari Haas/Ferrari Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Williams/Mercedes Toro Rosso/Honda Williams/Mercedes Racing Point/Mercedes

1h34m05.715s 16.772s 43.435s 44.379s 1m04.357s 1m09.205s 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 2 Laps 2 Laps Brakes

Points: Hamilton 413, Bottas 326, Verstappen 278, Leclerc 264, Vettel 240, Sainz 96, Gasly 95, Albon 92, Ricciardo 54, Perez 52, Norris 49, Raikkonen 43, Kvyat 37, Hulkenberg 37, Stroll 21, Magnussen 20, Giovinazzi 14, Grosjean 8, Kubica 1.

Constructors’: Mercedes 739, Ferrari 504, Red Bull-Honda 417, McLaren-Renault 145, Renault 91, Toro Rosso-Honda 85, Racing Point-Mercedes 73, Alfa RomeoFerrari 57, Haas-Ferrari 28, Williams-Mercedes 1.

s w e n Y A SPEEDW

56 AutoAction FEATURE

Robbie Farr was a winner in the 47th Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

Image: Geoff Rounds

A LONG tradition kick-started the first day of 2019 as the 16th running of the World Series Sprintcars Speedweek rolled into Premier Speedway just outside Warrnambool and saw Mount Gambier tow-truck driver Steven Lines grab his second Speedweek crown and went on to win the entire World Series.

In a last-minute decision, the Dave Horrell-owned team headed by crew chief Dave Sharman went across the Nullarbor to contest the final rounds, a smart move with Lines racing to victory at the Perth Motorplex, the 2013-14 WSS champion claiming his second series win from Kerry Madsen.

“I’m glad that’s over. Coming in with just seven points at the start of the night, we just had to keep it together and not get too worried, but now I just couldn’t be happier,” Lines said afterwards.

Just months later, Lines was again rewarded with Speedway Australia’s 2019 Sportsperson of the Year, alongside legendary racer Bill Barrows who was inducted into the Speedway Australia Hall of Fame.

In Sydney, American Logan Schuchart became the lastever winner of the Scott Darley Challenge at Valvoline Raceway and at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway, American superstar Donny Schatz won the Australian Sprintcar Open for a 10h time.

After 30 years of trying, Robbie Farr jagged one of the most deserved wins in the 47th Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool. He led home past Classic champions Jamie Veal, Kerry Madsen, Brooke

56 AutoAction

Andrew Scheuerle became just the second Queenslander to win the Australian Sprintcar Championship. Images: 44photography/Cory Gibson

A SEASON OF HIGHLIGHTS Tatnell and James McFadden, in an epic 40-lap finale. “It’s been 30 years, the longest apprenticeship, to win this race…I was walking up the hill to see my wife and kids tonight and found a $5 note and I thought ‘maybe me and this place have made up,” Farr said.

Alongside his longtime trusty crew chief Nick Speed, Farr also won the Australian Sprintcar Title Preliminary, South Australian and Queensland Ultimate Sprintcar Championships, and a second in the NSW USC behind the likable Sammy Walsh.

He also won the 60-lapper at Murray Bridge Speedway and finished the season with the top aggregate in the Qld Easter Triple Challenge.

Another feel-good story was Scheuerle breaking a longstanding record to become just the second Queenslander to win the Australian Sprintcar Championship at Archerfield.

The ever-smiling 44-year-old Toowoomba driver, in his 25th year of racing, joined Todd Wanless as a national titleholder, who won in 1996 at the same venue. “I saw Farry (Robbie Farr) win the Classic and thought I’ll press on. I’m very glad I did,” Scheuerle said.

The Dumesny name popped up on the Sydney podium in a first win for Marcus Dumesny,

Steven Lines took his second World Sprintcar Series title.

who led home Robbie Farr and older brother Matt in another night of speedway history in the harbour city.

Fourth generation racer Jordyn Brazier, 23, created history with a long-awaited victory. The son of multiple national Sprintcar champion Garry, grandson of Steve and great grandson of Stan, Jordyn added to the rich history of Sydney’s Valvoline Raceway by becoming the first family of three generations to all win Sprintcar feature races at the venue.

After 16 rounds, Jason Kendrick won the Western Australian Sprintcar series and in Victoria Corey McCullagh grabbed the SRA crown.

Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway hosted the 36th annual Kings Royal and Brad Sweet won American Sprintcar racing’s richest event of 2019, pocketing the first prize of $175,000. He won ahead of Schuchart and Brent Marks.

James McFadden got the late call-up from ex-NASCAR star Kasey Kahne to sub for him after a bad back halted his racing. McFadden obliged and made history, becoming the first Australian driver to win the 360ci Knoxville Nationals in Iowa.

American David Gravel recorded an emotional win a few days after in the 410ci Nationals. It came three years after the late Jason Johnson, whose team Gravel

drove for, celebrated their first Nationals win.

Back in Australia during the middle of the year Jamie Veal drove to consecutive series wins in the Chariots of Thunder Sprintcar Series near Darwin.

The biggest story of the year was the news that Speedway racing in Sydney will stop with Valvoline Raceway to be demolished and make way for the new Sydney Metro West’s stabling and maintenance facility.

The 42-year-old venue is set to cease racing, as construction is due for mid-2020 according to the NSW Government.

Charlotte in North Carolina was where California’s Brad Sweet pipped 10-time champion Donny Schatz of North Dakota by just four points to win the 2019 World of Outlaws Sprintcar Championship.

McFadden pocketed a cool $10,000 for winning the Sprintcar Jackpot Invitational at Avalon Raceway and good friend Veal emulated his father Ken in the 52nd Victorian Sprintcar Championship at Premier Speedway.

It was the one race that had eluded him and the Victoria number one took a title his father Ken had won back in 1991. The Veal household can lay claim to having two Victorian champions a first in the state titles.

Image: 44photography

Image: Corey Gibson

MCFADDEN’S WSS SUMMER FUN AUSTRALIAN SPEEDWAY superstar James McFadden is embarking on what he rates as his “favourite time” of the national season and is aiming for a fifth Queensland Speedway Spares World Series Sprintcars Championship.

It’s been non-stop since February for the 30-year-old Warrnambool driver, dividing his time driving for Perth lettuce grower Luch Monte and in America with ex-NASCAR star Kasey Kahne of North Carolina.

McFadden’s last WSS tournament win came in 2017-18 and he’s netted four crowns in the last eight years.

With a handful of wins in two states already his confidence is flowing on the eve of the 32nd year of WSS. “I don’t go into any race other than thinking that I can challenge for the win. I feel like we’ve got a strong package and early season form has been pretty positive and I believe we can win,” McFadden told Auto Action.

Australia’s pre-eminent 14-round Sprintcar tournament kicks off

from December 26 and runs until February 22, taking in five states and 11 tracks showcasing top drivers from Australia and the United States.

Joining McFadden on the road at all venues are fellow contracted drivers Kerry Madsen, David Murcott, Glen Sutherland, Jason Pryde, Jock Goodyer, Lockie McHugh, Rusty Hickman, American Lucas Wolfe and nine-time Series champion Brooke Tatnell, who competed in the inaugural series way back in 1987.

The busy Speedweek component of five nights’ racing in seven days boasts $200,000 in prizemoney and again commences at Murray Bridge with a two-night $20,000 opener on Boxing Day and concludes at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool on January 1, 2020.

Interestingly, Speedweek has often seen the overall winner go on to take the World Series crown a total of seven times in the past 15 years, including last year with Steven Lines.

McFadden believes doing well during Speedweek is key to winning the whole Series.

“Speedweek is the funnest time of the year for me. I love the travelleing part of it and the intensity of it all and a different racetrack every night,” McFadden said.

“It’s probably the best time I look forward to throughout the year. I love the challenging conditions of how hot it gets at this time of year and the tracks being slick. Speedweek basically sets up your year for World Series. If you have a decent Speedweek you can cruise a little more rather than bust your butt, like we had to last year after our poor year before.”

The Queensland leg of World Series will again see McFadden up against American legend Donny Schatz, is a challenge that the Aussie enjoys.

“It’s just another car. Whether it’s the #15 (Schatz) or Brad Sweet or Jamie Veal, its just another car that you’ve got to beat. It doesn’t matter who they are or what number it is, it’s just someone you strive to beat.

Guys like Donny make you better because you’re always striving harder and trying to beat them.”

US FORCES GIVE THE NOD

stripes contingent boasts Texan star THE PLAYING of the Star Spangled Aaron Reutzel, who grabbed the 2019 All Banner is about to hit high rotation in Stars Circuit of Championship.

Australia, signalling the arrival of some Shane Stewart and Cory Eliason are of America’s best to our shores. both well-known to Aussies, as is 2019 Since the 1970s the AustralianOutlaws Rookie of the Year winner Carson American rivalries have continued to Macedo, who has a busier than normal run deep. Over the next few weeks schedule here with Dyson Motorsport, here in the land Down Under we will running in both a Sprintcar and a get to witness some of Uncle Sam’s Speedcar. best and most popular drivers.

McKenna Haase is a fan favourite who Many Americans will be here for hails from Iowa and became the first Boxing Day racing, mainly on the woman to win an A-Main at the famed East Coast, and it’s a potent line-up of Knoxville Raceway and checks into imports that will be assembled.

Image: Richard Hathaway` Sydney while Bud Kaeding is in Perth, Leading the Yankee charge is the both for the first time. current World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet and 10-time Outlaws champion Donny “I have never been to that part of the country before,” Schatz, chasing his 10th win in the lucrative Australian Kaeding said.

Sprintcar Open in Brisbane.

“Some of the names are familiar to me but I haven’t seen Along with Sweet and Schatz, this year’s stars-andthe tracks before, so it will be interesting.”

TWO AUSTRALIAN Speedway drivers are preparing to fly the national flag in South Africa at the 2020 International Sprintcar Series. Queenslanders Allan Woods and Richard Morgan will compete in two winged pavement Sprintcar races against drivers from South Africa, America, Canada and New Zealand in a first for the host country. Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa will host the opening round on February 29, 2020 and will conclude with an event at Ultimate Outlaws Raceway in Vereenging, Gauteng, South Africa on March 7.

TOUGH ECONOMIC times and a lack of competitors have forced the closure of Tolmer Speedway near the South Australian town of Bordertown. Following the final race meeting on February 1, 2020 the gates will be locked at ‘The ‘Bullring’ which has operated for many decades. The current committee made the very tough decision “that it is not feasible to continue,” according to committee member Brad Tink. “It’s the end of an era and it will be sadly missed … thank you all for being a part of something that meant so much to us all,” Mr Tink told The Border Chronicle.

Image: Ray Ritter

DANNY CARROLL returned home to Australia from his Californian base and promptly won the annual King of the Bridge for Formula 500s at Murray Bridge Speedway in fine style.

Carroll proved too good after 25 laps, defeating reigning national F500 champion Josh Buckingham and Corey Jones.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION Kye Walters has shownn good form ahead of defending his national title in March in Tasmania this year, by leading all 30 laps to win the latest round of the Victorian Modified Promotion Association series at Nyora Speedway. The Torquay-based driver started from pole position and beat home Brody Chrystie and Brad Wicks, who was consistently setting the fastest times of the race . The final margin of victory between the first three was just .512 of a second.

AUSTRALIA WILL have at least three drivers competing at the 34th annual Chili Bowl for Speedcars under the roof in Tulsa, Oklahoma from January 13. Former national champion Kaidon Brown, Mike Griffiths and James Davison will be among the 300-plus list of entries, which has seen American NASCAR driver Christopher Bell win the past three years’ racing overall.

TRAVIS MILLS headed across the ditch to race against the world’s best, after winning his third Skip’s Race for Speedcars at Avalon Raceway. He did everything he needed to and led home Adam Wallis, Nick Parker, Taylor Gore and Domain Ramsay. Mills and his opposition are now also looking ahead to next year’s huge Australian Speedcar Championship at Premier Speedway from February 28.

Image: Rock Solid Pics

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57

DTM/SUPERGT

Images: LAT

SUCCESS WITH FIRST DREAM RACE THE INAUGURAL DTM and Super GT ‘Dream Race’ event took place at Fuji Speedway in Japan and featured a couple of exciting and unpredictable non-championship races.

Both races were won by Super GT drivers, the first by New Zealander Nick Cassidy and the second by former Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan.

The drama began before the first race had started, when Audi DTM driver Loic Duval who was scheduled to start on the front row, spun into the wall and was unable to start the race.

When the race got going Cassidy took a commanding lights-to-flag victory, the Lexus LC500 driver quickly pulling out a healthy lead.

The Kiwi’s compulsory pit stop was a little slow but he had built enough of a gap to comfortably exit the pits still in the lead.

Cassidy also survived a late race safety car restart holding off the attack of Honda NSX-GT driver Koudai Tsukakoshi, who finished second ahead of Naoki Yamamoto in his Honda.

Benoit Treluyer was the highest placed of the seven DTM drivers in sixth position in his Audi.

ETCR

58 AutoAction

The race finished with a one-lap sprint to the line, Karthikeyan beating home Duval and fellow DTM driver Marco Wittmann.

However, Duval was penalised 1s for nudging Wittmann, dropping him behind the German post-race.

“Our car immediately felt good on the Hankook tyres, so we thought we’d have a chance to fight at the front,” said Karthikeyan.

“Having this joint race between Super GT and DTM has been very special, the DTM drivers are fantastic.”

WEC

ALFA ROMEO ETCR PROJECT REVEALED THE TEAM behind the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR successfully campaigned by Garry Rogers Motorsport and Ash Seward Motorsport in TCR Australia this season has announced a new ETCR project.

Romeo Ferraris has confirmed its intention to enter the new ETCR category for electric touring cars, which is planned to commence next year, by revealing its new Alfa Romeo Giulia.

Hyundai and Cupra have already committed to the category with testing having already begun in a Leon headed by multiple DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom.

The category has already announced various suppliers including Williams Advanced Engineering, which will provide the batteries and vehicle control modules for each model, while Magelec Propulsion will design, develop and manufacture the inverter, motor and gearbox powering each manufacturer. Enel X was recently announced as providing the fast charging stations at each round.

Romeo Ferraris will partner with Hexathon Racing System to provide technical guidance in this new venture.

Romeo Ferraris operating manager Michela Cerruti is excited by the early developments the team have made in the new project.

“After giving the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR the best results that could be achieved by

Karthikeyan took victory in a heavily safety car interrupted second race, the Indian driver breezing by pole-sitter Duval at the start of lap two.

The leader then fought off a lengthy challenge from a number of Super GT drivers before the safety car interruptions began.

The first two safety car periods were called to clear debris caused by left-rear punctures on the Audis of Duval and reigning DTM champion Rene Rast, the following two cautions were thrown for multiple car collisions.

an independently-run programme such as ours, we are taking a brave dive into the new ETCR series concept,” Cerruti explained.

“We believe that electric is the obvious choice for the future, not only for auto mobility but also for motor racing.

“Our engineers are already at work and we are starting this journey later than the big carmakers that have already been engaged in electric racing for some time, with way more resources than a private constructor like us. Regardless of all that, we will do our utmost to keep our reputation high, as we have always done.”

The driver behind both ETCR and TCR, WSC President Marcello Lotti, is pleased that another electric project has been launched.

“Very few brands in motorsport history have such great tradition and appeal as Alfa Romeo,” Lotti said.

“We are delighted and proud that Romeo Ferraris has embarked on such an ambitious programme that involves another mythical name like Giulia. The company has proved its expertise and professionalism with the successful Giulietta TCR and I am confident that they will be up to the task in this new demanding undertaking.”

The next expected manufacturer is Volkswagen after announcing it was focusing on electric motor sport for its future projects.

FURTHER HYPERCAR DETAILS REVEALED FURTHER INFORMATION has been released about the way the FIA World Endurance Championship is going to look when the hypercar regulations are introduced mid-way through 2020.

The top tier WEC class which is replacing the existing LMP1 regulations has finally been given a name, it will be known as Le Mans Hypercar (LMH).

The rules will allow for prototype cars that look like hypercars and racing versions of road going hypercars cars, to race together from September 2020.

In recent days a whole host of rule changes have been announced, one of which means that all LMH competitors must enter a homologated car under the name of an automotive brand.

This has seen current LMP1 team Rebellion Racing announce a partnership with Peugeot to compete in the championship from 2022, with the team confirming it would compete with an all new hybrid powered hypercar to take on the might of Toyota and Aston Martin.

It has also been confirmed

that testing restrictions for the first season of the class will be removed, however they will be reintroduced for Season 2.

The number of personnel in a Le Mans Hypercar team will be limited to 40 people for a team entering two cars, however 43 are allowed if the car is hybrid powered.

It is believed that there will not be a manufacturer or teams’ title, instead it is likely that they will be awarded the title for the Le Mans Hypercar class.

The LMH cars will be slightly slower than the current LMP1 cars and as a result, the second-tier LMP2 series cars will be getting a power reduction to ensure they are slower than the hypercars.

The Gibson V8s will be reduced by around 30kW so the cars produce no more than 450kW. The LMP2 class will also change to a sole tyre supplier rather than Michelin and Goodyear fighting for supremacy, although the control tyre manufacturer is yet to be named. Michelin has already been announced as the sole tyre supplier of LMH.

p ra w S L A NATION

n compiled by garry o’brie

HQS AND EXCELS ENDURE

AT WINTON Motor Raceway on November 30-December 1, the year finished off in enduro mode with 31 HQ Holdens running the traditional Ken Leigh 4 Hour. They were joined by a big field of Hyundai Excels for two 90-minute races, and the East Coast Super Mini Challenge.

It was a family affair at Winton as the Heinrichs took out the HQs (above) while Ben Grice and Jake Rowe headed an illustrious field of Excels (below left).

Images: Neil Hammond

HQ HOLDEN KEN LEIGH 4HR

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN father and son Bruce and Joel Heinrich went back-to-back when they took out the 27th running of the Ken Leigh 4 Hour.

They covered 119 laps in the two-part event and finished just over a minute ahead of the Wood brothers Ryan and Brendan, with Perry Bekkers and Ray Jardine completing the podium.

The Heinrichs set the tone by topping their respective qualifying sessions before Bruce Heinrich won the Shootout ahead of Andrew Magilton, Ryan Woods, Brett Holdsworth and Rod Raatjes.

The South Aussies led initially before being passed by the Woods entry on lap 10. The latter held the front running through to lap 27 where Holdsworth (teamed with Tim Slade) took over for four laps. They held sway to the first of three compulsory pitstops (two for wheels and one for a driver handover). Once they were completed, the Heinrichs had the lead up to the overnight break. Second was the NSW pair of Brett Osborn and John Baxter, the Woods, Bekkers/Jardine, Keven Stoopman and his son Josh, Holdsworth/ Slade, Steve Banks/Adam Lowndes, Phil Aitken/ Aaron Ivers, John Wise/David Lines, and Magilton teamed with his father Mick.

There were three safety car periods on Saturday but none on Sunday where apart from pitstops, the Heinrichs were the front runners with the Woods finishing on the same lap. Late in the race Osborn and Baxter went out, going off track and copping damaged while vying for second.

Behind Bekkers/Jardine and also a lap down were Holdsworth/Slade, the Stoopmans, and Aitken/Ivers. A further lap behind were the seventh placed Banks/Lowndes, the Magiltons, Wayne King/Dave Smith and another son and father combination, the Northern Territory’s David and Stephen Ling.

John Walker led the way in the Minis.

and Rowe taking the victory. Caruso appeared to have third stitched up until caught out by the wet conditions only three laps from home, spinning and unable to restart.

That elevated Webster/Pope to third in front of Blight/Webb, Johnson/Morris, Longmore/Bruest, Bywater/Thorne, Slade/Slade, Steven Robinson/ James Simpson and Robert Dowel/Trent Brinsley.

EAST COAST SUPER MINIS EXCEL CARS AND SOME STARS

ACROSS THREE teams, the points were even after the two enduros. Ben Grice and Jake Rowe recorded a third and a win, Max Vidau and Dan Errigo finished second twice while Cooper Webster and Toby Pope won race one and were third in the second.

A number of significant names were featured in the 42-car field including Grice, Vidau, TCM series winner Steve Johnson and son Jett, Paul and Nash Morris, Broc Feeney, Tim and father Gil Slade, John Faulkner and his son Pieter, as well as leading sports sedan competitor Jordan Caruso, making it a very competitive field.

The result of the first race went right down to the wire with Webster chasing down Errigo and

passing him at turn 3 on the final lap. Suffering a blown clutch in qualifying, Grice and Rowe started 43rd and charged to third.

Fourth went to Nathan Blight and Jonathon Webb, ahead of Shootout winners Feeney and Morris, Adam Bywater/John Thorne, Cam Wilson/ Ben Bargwanna, Wil Longmore/Preston Bruest, Marcus Fraser/John Doria, and Ben and Roger Arnold.

The Sunday format was the same where Pope topped the Shootout. The Brendan Avard/Caruso entry set the early pace until passed by Vidau.

Pope had the lead for a lap before Blight/Webb ran at the front until the Joel Johnson/Morris entry took over.

Errigo again led when it counted, and like Saturday, was passed on the final lap with Grice

FILLING IN the gaps between the enduro categories, the Minis had five races on the short circuit, with the feature Doug Byrne Memorial East Coast Super Mini Challenge on Sunday morning.

Craig Lindsell won the first of the two leadup races, just beating John Walker in his older model while Linda Devlin was third ahead of Trent Spencer and Iain McDougall. Walker led the second ahead of Lindsell and Devlin, before being denied a third straight feature event win.

Lindsell came through to edge out Walker, passing him on the final lap, while Devlin pipped Spencer for third. In the fourth outing Walker didn’t get a lap in and Lindsell didn’t start. Devlin won ahead of McDougall as Henry Draper took third just in front of Anthony Elliott.

Lindsell was back for the last but was a distant second behind McDougall and ahead of Devlin and Walker. GOB

BARRY TAKES SUPERSPRINT TITLE FRESH FROM a fourth in the Australian Hillclimb Championship at Bathurst, Doug Barry came to Phillip Island on November 16-17 and took his Buickpowered Lola T8750 F3000 to outright victory in the Australian Supersprint Championship.

Driving the ex-Gary West three-time AHC winner, Barry went under the Simon Will’s outright lap record (although it won’t count as a new benchmark) with a blistering time of 1min 24.1456s to undercut it by eight hundredths of a second.

It was a pleasing result for Barry, who has been after the title for 10 years. Last year he used his Reynard 92D Formula Holden but had problems in finishing sixth. But taking the NSW title this year instilled the confidence he needed to take to Phillip Island.

His major rival both outright and in the Formula Libre Over 2.0-Litre class, and nearest in terms of

pace, was Dean Tighe in his F1 Judd V8 Dallara. The combination finished second 0.67s away, and well clear of anyone else.

Entries numbered 152 with third overall going to Richard Perini in his Open class O4L Ginetta G55 with a 1min 32.1056s. He was runner-up in 2018 and was around 5s behind the leading two this time. A further 4s slower, the battle for fourth much closer where Cosi Sorgiovanni (Dallara Formula 3) finished just 2s better than John Williamson (Lamborghini LP600 GT3) who was second in class to Perini.

Peter Nolan (NRC Bullet) was best of 1600-2000 Sports Cars Open, and sixth outright ahead of Allen Nash in his non-Logbooked O4L Holden Commodore.

Eighth place was taken by Andrew McInnes (Ralt RT21) from James Crichton (Ralt RT5) and Jason Dorrington (Mazda FD RX7). GOB

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

BRABHAM WINS AT THE BEND THE HOME grown Brabham BT62 Supercar was victorious at the inaugural The Bend Classic, defeating a field of high-performance thoroughbreds in the one-lap dash Shootout.

Brad Jones Racing Pirtek Enduro Cup driver Ash Walsh set a time of 1m 15.0214s on The Bend Motorsport Park’s West Circuit, to top the timesheets 2.6s ahead of Brenton Ramsay in his Birrana Racing Reynard 94D. The Bend success added to that which the BT62 scored at Brands Hatch during a Britcar Endurance Race – it’s maiden triumph.

“It was really cool to get out there and have a crack without anyone else around,” he said.

“It was the first time that I’ve done a Shootout style lap in the car. The car is just so fast, so any lap you get to do in it, really, is pretty fun. It puts a big smile on your face.

“I missed the hairpin a little bit and dropped a bit of time – but it’s a fast car so we made it up and I was really happy with it in the end.”

Walsh praised the Brabham team and was thankful for the opportunity to drive it on home soil.

“It’s great to get out here and be involved in the event – the first one at The Bend,” Walsh continued. “It’s the first win for the car on Australian soil and it’s great to get the car out in front of everyone and get it amongst people to

show what it’s about.

“It’s an impressive bit of machinery and I’m just happy to be part of it and show the car off.”

The Classic Shootout concluded the event proceedings, with the top two cars from each category battling it out for final honours. The Shootout field was decided based on scores from three Super Sprint sessions contested on The Bend’s three short circuit configurations.

Early favourite Josh Kean was a casualty when the BMS-Scuderia Dallara he was set to drive suffered from gearbox problems, leaving Ramsay and Paul Faulkner piloting the ex-Alan Jones Williams FW07 to battle out in the openwheel/Formula 1 Class.

Kevin Chapley took out Porsche Cup and fourth outright in his 911 Cup Car, winner of the Time Attack class was Todd Carruthers in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI who finished just ahead of Mark Haig driving a Datsun 510, winner of the Sedans category.

Other class winners included Ben Holt in his Modified Production Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR, the Puma Clubman of Alistair Dow in Classic Race Cars and noted Porsche specialist Mark Buik in Porsche Rennsport driving a Porsche 928GT. More than 45 entries were received for the inaugural The Bend Classic, with plans already well underway for the 2020 event. HM

Ash Walsh gave the new Brabham BT62 a victorious debut at The Bend.

The Bend Classic featured a varied entry, such as this historic Toyota Celica sports sedan driven by Damian Johnson and the ex-Alan Jones William FW07 (left). Images: John Lemm

IRELANDS’ EXTREME ADELAIDE JOHN AND Janet Ireland took their Dodge Viper Extreme to a hard-fought victory in this year’s Shannons Adelaide Rally on December 4-7.

Using the great roads in the Adelaide Hills, the event included Alan Jones (McLaren 720S), Tim Slade (BMW M5), Todd Hazelwood (Lotus Evora), Vern Schuppan (Audi R8 V10) and Jim Richards (Porsche 911 RS).

Supercar team mates Jack Perkins and James Courtney shared a Lamborghini Hurracan and along with other crews, took in the non-competitive Prima Tour.

Last year’s winners Ben Calder and Steve Glenney (Mitsubishi EVO TME) were fastest on Wednesday’s opening stage, before stopping with an electrical problem. That put Ireland first before he had a problem two stages later.

That allowed Trevor Macleod and Scott Hunter (Nissan Skyline GTR) to lead for the rest of the day. Oscar Matthews and Darren Masters (EVO 6) finished second, with Ireland third in front of Ben Newman and Andy Sarandis (Subaru Impreza STi C Spec).

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In Classic, Craig Haysman and Julie Boorman (Triumph TR7 V8) were the leaders. Nick and Jacob Streckeisen (Porsche 944 Turbo) had led until a broken driveshaft on the final stage. Roger Paterson and Richard Geue (911 RS) finished second ahead Michael Busby and Damian Reed (Mazda RX7).

Calder was fastest on all of Thursday’s seven stages, but out of contention due to the previous day’s problems.

Ireland took the outright lead from the third stage, with Macleod displacing Newman for second on the final stage.

Haysman, Busby, Paterson and Timothy Pryzibilla and Rick Powell (911 RS), and Streckeisen, traded blows in Classic.

Busby eventually finished just ahead of Haysman and Pryzibilla.

The Ireland’s Viper won outright (left) while the Haysman/Boorman Triumph TR7 V8 (above) led Classic early on. Images: John Lemm Calder again dominated on Friday, taking all seven stages.

Fr But Ireland held a lead of 65s Bu frfrom Macleod with Newman next. Streckeisen set four ne fastest times in Classic, whilst fa BBusby extended his lead over H Haysman and Pryzibilla.

Whilst Calder was again quickest on all Day Four stages, Newman narrowed the gap to Ireland.

Macleod was next with Guy Tyler and Zayne

Admiraal (EVO) fourth, despite clouting the armco on stage four. Busby extended the margin to Haysman, Pryzibilla and Paterson.

Modern Challenge went to Justin Perkins and Andrien Brabbins (WRX) from the similar car driven

by Nigel and Hayleigh Joyce, and Tim Sinclair and Karl Alexander (BMW M3).

Steven Hevera and Stuart Cavill (Porsche 911 SC) took Classic Challenge from Karl von Sanden and Alexzander Visintin (Porsche 944) and Ross and Emma Smith (Nissan 300 ZX). John Lemm

SUMMER’S FESTIVE START THE LAST Historic of the year, kicked off at Sydney Motorsport Park with the Historic Sports & Racing’s Summer Festival race meeting on November 30-December 1.

GROUP S PRODUCTION SPORTS CARS

THE FEATURE event was the 22-lap enduro with compulsory pitstop and optional driver change.

It was won by Kevin Luke in his Porsche 911 Carrera, comfortably ahead of Simon Meyer (MG Midget).

Two seconds behind, third was a much closer tussle with Bryan Taylor and David Cunneen in their Porsches barely separated at the flag. Then followed Tony Richmond (Porsche) and the MGs driven by Nick Sebesfi, Brian Weston, Kent Brown and Rob Rowntree.

Terry Lawlor (Shelby GT350) was the early race leader until a hub broke off a rotor. Doug Barbour also had a spell in the lead until his Carrera became locked in second gear, and John Harrison (GT350) also led before an alternator wire came adrift.

Lawlor won the preliminary sprint ahead of Barbour and Harrison and with several front runners out of the final race, Lawlor won easily.

Second went to Meyer ahead of Cunneen while coming from well down, Taylor held out Luke for fourth. Meyer took out the BMC Challenge from Chris Collett (Cooper S), Sebesfi, Don Bartley (Austin Healey Sprite) and Ric Forster (Midget).

FORMULA VEES

THE FIRST two races were won by Anthony Paynter (Stag) each over Geoff Stone (Elfin NG).

Gary Meyers (Ranger) was third but only just in

Images: Bruce Moxon, Riccardo Benvenuti

race one, Spectre drivers Dean Briggs and Don Greiveson were right with him at the chequered flag. In the next, Meyers was clear of his rivals as Greiveson just edged out Briggs by just 0.003s.

With Greiveson out early, and Paynter a mid-race casualty, race three went the way of Meyers, just in front of Bernie Cashin (Spectre), Stone and Briggs. Cashin was victorious after a close battle in the final outing, over Briggs, Meyer and Stone.

GROUPS L, M & O

ONE OF the most sort-after awards in Historics was the Dawson-Damer Trophy which this time was taken out by Andrew Robson (Brabham BT30). He was second early, but once he passed Laurie Bennett (Elfin 600) was never headed.

Starting further back Scott Bargwanna made quick progress to third but the MRC Lotus T23 had a selector issue and was unable to obtain fifth gear. Subsequently he had to relent to eventual third placed Peter Strauss (Brabham BT31) and the closely matched Elfins piloted by Paul Hamilton and Sean Whelan.

Robson also won the other races, twice over Bennett and Bargwanna, and in the last it was over Strauss and herb Neal (Neal Ford).

GROUP N HISTORIC TOURING CARS

WHILE CHRIS Thomas (Holden Torana XU-1) was the fastest qualifier, Mustang drivers dominated the results. Thomas stalled at the start of race one and lost places as Adam Walton showed the way until he was passed by Ian Mewett.

Thomas came back to finish third ahead of

FORMULA FORDS FO

Mazda RX2 steerers Bill Attard and Wayne Rogerson, John Bourke (Valiant Charger), Spencer Rice (Alfa Romeo GTV) and the Mustangs driven

by Wayne Cooper and Greg Toepfer.

Mewett made a poor start in race two, falling to third behind Walton and Attard. He did retrieve second but was well behind the race leader ... until a safety car was brought about by David Gray’s Morris Cooper S expiring in the middle of Turn 1.

Mewett grabbed the lead after the resumption, but was handed a 5s penalty later, leaving Walton the winner over Attard and Rogerson. Bourke went out with overheating and Graeme Woolhouse’s Mustang looked ordinary when he went into the back of Cooper’s.

Mewett won the Nc-only race ahead of Walton with Rogerson third just in front of Attard. Thomas went out early when the engine spun a bearing.

Woolhouse meanwhile was a clear winner of the equivalent Nb race ahead of Cooper and Toepfer.

Walton recorded a narrow all-the-way win over Mewett in the last race while Rogerson fended off Attard for third.

TH THERE WAS a mixture of winners over the first three races with Cameron Walters (Van Diemen th RF86) taking a narrow win in race one over Dan R Holihan (Swift DB1) and Harris Cooper (Elwyn).

H Walters also won race two, just in front of W Cooper and Holihan.

C Then in race three it was Cooper who took the laurels, from Walters with Bruce Connolly (Elwyn) a lonely third. Holihan was out early with a broken gearbox. Kieran McLaughlin (RF89) had a narrow win over Connolly in the last with third close between Peter Grant (Reynard) and David Grant (RF89).

GROUP QR SPORTS & RACING

THE DOMINENT performance by Tom Tweedie in the Elfin MS7 started with an easy race one winner. David Hardman (Hardman JH-1) and Dan Nolan (Nola Chev) fought over second with the latter getting ahead briefly, before crossing the line third. He was hit with a 30s penalty and relegated to fifth behind Ian Buddery (March 86C) and Ben Tebbutt (SPA Formula Holden).

Tweedie took the second just as comfortably with Nolan second and Vivian King (Ralt TR4) next ahead of Buddery and Steve Webb (Elfin 360 Repco). Behind Tweedie in race three Nolan was second for a period but finished fourth behind Buddery and King. Tweedie capped off with another win in the last where King was second ahead of Nolan. GOB

“Coming up at the nation’s action and spectator tracks” Wakefield Park

www.wakefieldpark.com.au December 13 WPM Trackschool Open Pit Lane December 14 WPM Trackschool Track Day December 20 Speed Off The Streets/Test & Tune December 23-January 5 Merry Christmas/Happy New Year

Winton

www.wintonraceway.com.au December 13 Test & Tune – Cars & Open Wheelers December 20 Test & Tune – Cars & Open Wheelers December 22 BAC Members Day December 24-January 13 Merry Christmas/Happy New Year

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Ben Barnicoat proved fastest in the McLaren 720s GT3. Image: Australian GT

MCLAREN UP TO BATHURST CHALLENGE McLAREN FACTORY driver Ben Barnicoat produced the fastest time at Challenge Bathurst on November 28-29, in 59 Racing’s new 720S. The Brit put in a best lap of 2mins 00.5640s in the unrestricted fourth session, which was outside the benchmark of 1min 59.2910s set last year by Christopher Mies in an Audi R8 Ultra.

While it was a session where the Balance of Performance was lifted, only a couple of teams opted to do so, including the McLaren outfit. “We went to town to see what we could do,” said Barnicoat.

“I don’t know what the temperature was, but it was way too high (32 degrees C) to get the most out of the car,” he said.

Barnicoat relished his return to Mt Panorama. “The last time I was here I crashed, but It’s been a great two days, we really got through a lot.

“The (fast) lap was good but I did have a moment at McPhillamy Park, fortunately I got away with it.”

Second fastest across the two days was Shane Van Gisbergen who was the quickest in the BOP sessions. In the Friday morning’s outing he broke into ‘01s’ on two consecutive laps towards the end of the hour-long outing, with a best of 2mins 01.5220s.

“We are here to test and gain data on the new car,” he said.

“We are close to the Audis and I also Tony Quinn debuted his new Aston Martin on Australian shores.

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Though the front of the field was GT dominated, there was a touch of nostalgia in the form of this former HRT VE Commodore. Images: Insyde Media wanted to get the feel having a differential as we have the transaxle in Supercars.

“It is a bit nicer to drive. This car has more aero at the rear, it tends to understeer, so we have been trying to dial that out. I had a drive of Yassar’s (Shahin) car, which is the older model, to compare.”

Barnicoat’s best under BOP, also in that session, was a 2mins 02.6490s.

Next best was Mies (Audi R8 LMS Evo), from Luke Youlden in Vince Muriti’s older model Trophy class Audi, and Garth Tander in the 03s bracket while Liam Talbot (Lamborghini Huracan with Joseph Ensabella) was the only other to undercut a 05.

Audi Customer Racing’s Troy Russell had stated that its cars would not be

unrestricted for the final session. “We simply have too much of a test program to consider that.”

Muriti’s Audi also entered the final session sans restrictions. But he had a spin at Griffin Bend and whilst he kept it off the walls, the incident put pressure on a support and holed the radiator. It also denied Youlden an opportunity to try for a quick lap.

Dean Grant ran his BMW M6 GT3 under the watchful eye of Steve Richards, and the Kostecki brothers, Kurt and Jake, joined Brett Hobson in his Nissan Nismo GT3 to be eighth and ninth respectively. Best of the MARC II V8s was Adam Hargraves (2mins 6.2410s) in 10th ahead of Tony Quinn (Aston Martin Vantage).

Several Radicals took the opportunity to get laps in, with Peter Paddon the quickest on 2mins 12.6870s. Second best was Chris Perini but his weekend finished early when the crashed in the Chase.

Besides the Pirelli GT Supersprint class with 26 entries, there were a few double ups sprinkled throughout the three other groups that numbered around 40 in each. GOB

A BROKEN transmission failed to prevent Shannon Smith from becoming the 2019 Super Truck Racing Champion during the Kennards Hire final round at Wakefield Park on November 23-24.

Second and third in the four-round series were Robbie Fern and Barry Butwell. The event reputedly drew the biggest spectator crowd ever to a truck racing meeting at the circuit, where Steve Zammit was the weekend victor ahead of Butwell and Fern.

Smith only had fifth gear during qualifying and race one where he finished fifth. He missed the teams’ events while a replacement gearbox was sourced for the Kenworth T900 out of Sunshine in Victoria. After fourth in race two, he only needed to finish the final two races to secure the title.

Zammit (Kenworth T401) won the opening two races, just ahead Barry Butwell (Mack Superliner) with Fern third in race one before Fern edged out Butwell in the second. With starting positions reversed for the final two outings, it was Frank Amoroso (Kenworth W900) who was a tearaway winner and finished the round fourth.

Zammit charged through to second in race three as Smith held off Butwell, before limping to the line in the last in sixth after a lower track arm bolt broke at the diff. Fern crossed the line second with Butwell, Smith and Mark Schutz (Isuzu SBR).

In the team’s events, Brett Dalglish (in Zammit’s truck) was a two-race winner over Zammit in Butwell’s Mack. Third place went to Lachlan Fern in his dad’s Volvo White, in both outings ahead of Robert O’Connor, driving Amoroso’s truck.

PULSARS

BOTH THE hour races were comprehensively won by Josh Craig, winning ahead of Michael Osmond and 40 others. In the first Matt Leenman was third ahead of Tim Colombrita, Ben Sheedy and Chris Manning.

Matt Boylan crossed the line second but received a five-lap penalty for having more than one person performing a wheel change.

Originally placed fifth, Dimitri Agathos was also penalised five laps, like several others for pitstop infringement.

The race was called early when sixth placed Harry Inwood pulled off between turns two and three with a blown engine on lap 37.

Subsequently there was a grass fire due to the dry conditions and the race was finalised.

SMITH GETS GEAR TO WIN Shannon Smith overcame a broken transmission to win the Super Truck Nationals, while the Legends were out in force. Images: Sportzfotos

The safety car was summoned at the end of the opening lap of race two after Josh Love and Damon Schofield clashed at turn 8. Afterward there was a great stoush between Craig, Boylan, Osmond, Colombrita, Luke Eberhart and Agathos.

Boylan and Agathos had off track excursions before their CPS, after which Craig asserted his superiority and won ahead of Osmond again. Third went to Inwood who took over the Colombrita Pulsar after the stop, Boylan, and Shane Fowler and Phil Alexander who were sharing.

This race fell eight minutes short when the Peter Paterson Pulsar had its engine let go and dropped an oil slick along the pit straight.

SERIES X3

PRESTON BRUEST took out both Series X3 one-hour events for Hyundai Excels. He won the first by comfortably over Jackson Noakes while Paul Quinn and circuit manager Dean Chapman combined to take third ahead of Tom Dalziel, and

Jessica Martin who shared with Matt Stockwell.

Pitting immediately the pit window opened was the key. A safety car was on track at the time, while the damaged Tamara Wheeler/James Burge car was salvaged after it bounced off the pit wall.

The front runners like Will Longmore/Cody Burcher lost out when they undertook their pitstop later, the duo finishing eighth behind Matt Woodward and Andrew Gould.

Bruest won race two when he was able to relegate the Martin/Stockwell entry from the lead with just two laps remaining. There was similar dice for third where Chapman and Noakes swapped a couple of times before the latter drew clear.

Longmore and Burcher finished fifth ahead of Woodward, Jeremy and Gary Hodges, Tom MacLeod/Bailey Sweeney, Crossland and Shannon Williams/Troy Terry.

LEGENDS

WINS IN races one and two ensured Lachlan Ward of the NSW title. He won the first ahead

of Reagan Angel, Braydon Willmington and the founder of Legends Cars Japan, Jun Tashiro.

Ward came through from third sport after the start to take out race two, holding off Willmington, Tashiro and Josh Hourigan.

An engine misfire slowed Angel’s pace and he was edged out by Brendon Hourigan but still managed to take the National title.

Chasing the Australian title on Sunday started badly for Angel with a blown engine in qualifying.

He missed the first lead-up race which was won Ward, narrowly over Tashiro and Brendan Hourigan.

Willmington was battling for the lead until he also had the engine let go. Ward came through to take the reverse second race ahead of Rick Christy and Josh Hourigan. Tashiro incurred a drive-through penalty for contact with Hourigan on the first lap.

The Australian title race was never in doubt for Ward who won by almost 10 seconds. A DNF from the previous race, Angel charged through to ultimately finished third behind Brendan Hourigan and ahead of Tashiro.

PRODUCTION TOURING CARS

VICTORIES IN the first two races put Anthony Soole (BMW M4) on target for a clean sweep as he led the last from the start. But he was let down with a puncture that forced him to pit.

Matt Holt picked up the win and coupled with his two seconds earlier, won the Kennards Hire Production Car Sprint overall. Dieter Holzl (BMW 1M) diced with Holt in the first two races, and then Paul Loiacono (Mitsubishi EVO X) in the last, to finish second overall. GOB

GEELONG TURNS IT ON THE ANNUAL Geelong Revival Motoring Festival had over 200 modern and historic cars, as well as motor cycles on November 23-24, with SallyAnne Hains the fastest on four wheels over the quarter mile sprint along Richie Boulevarde.

Besides the sprint, the festival had plenty of attractions for motoring enthusiasts and families. There were period fashion competitions as well as classic car displays, a trade expo zone and unique demonstrations.

In an AWD Porsche 997, Hains ran the course in in 9.9404s, which was not quite as quick as the time set by Kevin Mackrell in his Chev-powered Datsun 260Z last year, but over half a second up on her nearest competitor this time.

The time was set in the Shootout after a slightly quicker run earlier. Second fastest was Michael Bailey (Porsche GT2 RS) ahead of Mark Tipping (Tesla P100D), Tony D’Alberto (Honda NSWX) and Nick de Jong (Ford Territory).

With the contemporary performance vehicles having their run on Saturday, it was then the turn of the classic and historic machines on Sunday.

In their Shootout, Noel Inman in his brick-like 5.0-litre Model T Ford was the fastest at 11.4248s, although he did a 10.9853s earlier. His shootout time was 0.18s better than Graham Alexander (Chev Camaro), while third was Chris Dalton (Ford Mustang) ahead of Kevin O’Neill and Adam

Cieclura in their respective V8engined Holden FE Special and Ford Capri.

The event is an expanded version of the Geelong Speed Trials, which started in 1956 at the instigation of the late Murray Rainey, a successful racer, mechanic and race car innovator. After not running for eight years, the event was revived in 2012. GOB

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

MAIDEN ALPINE WIN FOR QUINN Image: Wishart Media

BUSHFIRES AND heavy rain conspired to shorten the 2019 Alpine Rally of East Gippsland that started on November 28, but it didn’t stop Nathan Quinn and Ray WinwoodSmith from adding another title to their impressive list.

They took out all but two of the stages in their Mazda RX2 and finished 59s (after a 2min penalty) ahead of Kade Barrett and David Guest, crewing their Plymouth Fire Arrow, with just over 1min to third placed Carl Stewart and Matt James (Datsun 1600).

More than 100 crews took part in

Australia’s longest running motorsport event. The now biennial event for classic 2WD vehicles started in 1921 and is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, coming in behind the Monte Carlo Rally, the French Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500.

The 2019 event started with two stages on Friday evening, the first taken by Quinn over Ben Barker/Damien Long (BMW 320is) with the next best being Ryan Smart/Hugh Reardon-Smith (Datsun Stanza) and Jack Monkhouse/Dale Moscatt (Datsun 180B SSS).

Luke Sytema and Adam Wright (Ford Escort), Brett Middleton/Andrew Benefield (Honda Civic) and Michael Conway/Nick Seymour (Escort) were equal fastest through stage two, although Quinn led overall ahead of Barker and Monkhouse.

Barker started the next day with a stage three win before Quinn claimed the next two.

Barker was second in both before winning the next stage. But then the BMW was sidelined, missing its right front wheel, and that negated any chance of a back-to-back victory.

Barrett had been sixth overnight and came

through to finish the day second. Stewart was third ahead of Sytema, who was fourth overall in front of David Aggio/Megan Benson (Toyota KE30 Corolla) and Brendan Reeves/Rhianon Gelsomino, who nursed an overheating Datsun 1600.

Then followed Bryan van Eck/Jim Gleeson (Toyota Altezza), Jeff Davies/Dane Booker (Datsun 1600), Conway and Darkie Barr Smith/Jono Forrest (Datsun 200B). Besides Barker, Smart was a second day casualty due to damage, so too Monkhouse with a rollover.

GOB

CHAPMAN TAKES FINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP

Image: Craig Houston

Image: Show n’ Go

HABYS’ WINNING END

A BIG year was capped off nicely for Aaron and Liz Haby by winning the David Larter Memorial Day/Night Off Road Enduro 150 at Beachport on November 16, an event that covered 150km over two heats consisting of 10 laps.

The ARB Australian Off Road Racing Champions took their Unlimited Class Element Off Road Prodigy/Toyota V6 Twin Turbo to victory at Buggy Park by 1min 34s.

Second was Tanner James (Alumi Craft/Ford Ecoboost V6 TT) with Daryl and Andrew Nissen (Class 1 Sore/Nissan) 2mins 55s further behind in third place.

Tanner was the quickest through the first of six laps that made up section one. But he lost time on lap two where Haby showed the way. Haby also had a drama on lap two, however at the end of the section still led ahead of James, Nissen, and Marty and

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Allison Scott in their Unlimited Avenger/Chev LS2.

Haby was 1min 30s in front going into the four-lap second session and was the still the best at the end of the night run.

The margin over Tanner was a mere 11s while Nissen was third again, this time ahead of Jake and Matt Douglass (Class 10 Dune Buggy/Toyota) and Dean Russ and Andrew Stevenson in their Class 1 buggy.

Russ finished fifth overall, behind Scott, and ahead of Dean Carter and Brad Jacobs (Unlimited Chenoweth Millennium/Chev).

Then followed Glenn Pike and Darryn Conn (Class 6 Can-Am Maverick), ahead of Brenton and Matt Gallasch (Unlimited Southern Cross/Chev), Ben Lugg and Peter Grillis (Can-Am), and 10th overall Peter and Katie Tamblyn (Class 2 Buggy/Mitsubishi).

GOB

APTLY NAMED, the Federal Finale was the seventh and last round of the Mickey Thompson Tyres AORRA Queensland Off Road Racing Championship on November 16.

It was won by Clayton Chapman in his Unlimited class Razorback/Toyota 2JZ Turbo which secured him the championship. He won ahead of Class 6 rivals Brayden Mifsud (Polaris RZR Turbo) and Rohan Williams (CanAm Maverick Rotax Turbo).

The event was held on the Chapman property north of Cooroy off the Bruce Highway and run by the Gympie Auto Sport Club. It covered four heats with the first over one lap of the 5km course, followed by heats two and three covering three laps each, and the last over two laps.

The day started dry and dusty and ended up wet and wild. Jake Swinglehurst (Can-Am) was quickest through the first heat, ahead of Christian Trusz (Class 8 Nissan Patrol) and Zac Marsh (Polaris).

Over the second heat, Tom Swinglehurst

(sharing the Can-Am with Tom) had the best time over Chapman, Trusz and Derek Rose (Southern Cross/Mitsubishi Turbo). Chapman came to the fore on heat three, clear of Mifsud, Marsh and Trusz.

Then through the final heat, Mifsud showed the way, winning ahead of Williams and Chapman. Trusz suffered a rollover and finished down the order, but overall was still good enough for fourth ahead of Rose, David Loughnan (Can-Am) and Andrew Murphy (Class 1 Alumi Craft/Nissan), who finished second in the points. Both the Swinglehursts rolled their Can-Am and resumed well down the order.

Jason Keane (Racer Engineering/GM Ecotec) finished 12th and won Class 10.

Ethan Murray (Mitsubishi Pajero) was the best in Class 7 and 14th overall, which was one spot in front of Class 3 winner Taylor Teichmann (Southern Cross/Suzuki). Class 5 went to Erica Eden (Toyota Hilux/Chev).

GOB

ANOTHER DAY AT WILLUNGA THREE WEEKS after winning the Legend of the Lakes Hillclimb at Mount Gambier, Dan Day took his third UME Willunga Hillclimb in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi C Spec on December 1.

He is still the only multiple winner in the seven years that the event has been run on the steep, winding 2.8km road leading out of the heritage township at the southern end of the McLaren Vale.

The first day of summer began with rain as well as fog at the top of the hill, but it was clear by the time competition began, although some wet patches remained.

Brought to you by:

racefuels.com.au Image: John Lemm

The conditions saw outright times on the course around 2s slower than last year, with most of the 120 competitors setting their fastest on the second run, with times significantly slower on the wet final run.

Day’s aggregate of the four

runs was 5mins 26.78s, 14.21s ahead of John Beasley (Mitsubishi EVO IX), with Nick Streckeisen in his newlyacquired big-winged EVO X 1.42s behind in third.

Driving his EVO VII, Beasley’s son Henry finished fourth,

3.37s further back, 6.56 in front of Damian Malizani (Mazda RX7 FC) the best of 2WDs, with Andrew Campbell (Nissan S14) only 0.17s behind after taking a big slice of time off Malizani on the final run.

John Lemm

Summer Autocross Series Rd2, Perth Motorplex Kwinana WA, Dec 11 Multi Club Khanacross, Powranna Dragway Complex TAS, Dec 14 State Hillclimb Championship, Highclere TAS, Dec 14 Multi Club Khanacross, Bryant Park VIC, Dec 15 Club Motorkhana, Sandown Raceway, Dec 22 Targa Rallysprint Series, Perth Motorplex Kwinana, Jan 09 Asian Le Mans Series Rd2, The Bend Motorsport Park SA, Jan 10-12 Multi Khanacross, Baskerville Raceway TAS, Jan 18-19 Club Supersprint, Motorcycle Complex Kyneton VIC, Jan 19 Multi Club Supersprint, Phillip Island VIC, Jan 19 Club Autocross, Perth Motorplex Kwinana, Jan 22 The Albany Extravaganza, Supersprint, Albany WA, Jan 25-27 Interstate Challenge, Multi Club Motorkhana, Jugiong Park NSW, Jan 26

COOL COOMA CLIMB AFTER THE fastest time of the day changed several times, Gareth Rees edged out Harry Katsanevas and Tom Donahue to win the Open leg of the Mount Gladstone Road Hillclimb, run by the Cooma Car Club on November 23-24.

It was the second year that the club has closed off the Mount Gladstone Road track, approximately 4km west of Cooma off the Snowy Mountains Highway, for the two-day event.

The battle for FTD also included junior driver Tom Donahue (Mitsubishi EVO 7), who split Rees (Nissan Skyline) and Katsanevas (Ford Focus RS) on the first of six runs. Donahue was the event

leader after the third run with a time of 42.424s, before he glanced a barrier on the next outing.

Rees and Katsanevas left their best for their last attempts, with 41.989s and 42.038s respectively.

However neither was able to better the outright track record of 39.46s, that was set in 2017 by Reece McIntosh in a Volkswagen Golf R. Fourth quickest was Darryl Harding (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) ahead of Cameron Ord (Golf R) and Luke Jeffries (Holden Commodore), who recorded identical times.

Then came Andreas Prosser (WRX), Sean Martin (Mazda MX5) in front of Bill Dengate (BMW 135i),

David Haines (Toyota Corolla), Tony Potter (Nissan NXR) and Dan Matthews (Ford Escort).

The weekend kicked off with ‘Come and Try’ timed but not recorded runs for 14-17 year old juniors taking part in the club’s junior development program, jointly funded by CAMS. The event then took on a historical feel with a classic hillclimb for cars that were over 30 years old, and extended to allow others to practice for the Open the following day.

Amongst the classics were Michael Patten in his Clubman, David Wicks in his Chilli Roadster replica and Daniel Matthews in his Ford Escort. GOB

THE DEANS DOMINATE THE CARRICK Accounting & Business Services/ Tighe Cams Hillclimb Series concluded on November 30-December 1, with Dean Amos the fastest at round six, and he set a new class record as well.

Steering his Nicolson-McLaren V8-powered Gould GR55B, his best run was 36.24s, 0.7s quicker than his winning effort at the previous round.

With more than 80 cars entered in the season finale, Amos proved to be too strong, posting the fastest time in every single one of his nine runs.

Amos secured the title on his third run, also taking 0.45s off the Formula Libre 1300cc & Over class record, which had been held by Dean Tighe.

Aboard his Dallara/Judd V8, Tighe placed second with a best run of 36.94s on his second attempt of the four shots he completed. The two Deans were the only ones to go under 37s.

Warwick Hutchinson (OMS 28 RPV03/Rotary Turbo)

Image: Ian Colley Photography

only managed three runs but was able to relegate Michael Von Rappard (Dallara F392/Hayabusa Turbo) on the third. Fifth was Paul van Wijk (OMS Hornet) who also led fellow F/L Up to 1300cc class rivals Matthew Read and Jay Matsen (Empire 1).

Next was Greg Tebble in his Group R Van Diemen FF2000 from Mitchell Allwood (Energy Firecat) and the best of the tin tops, Michael Larymore in his Toyota MR2.

One other record went over the weekend with Ross Mackay (Ford Escort) who finished 12th behind Doug Daniels, setting a new benchmark for Sports Sedans Up to 2000cc.

Topping the class-based overall points for the season was Geoff Cohen (Bulant Clubman), one point clear of last year’s winner Tebble who tied with Phil Dalton (Honda Integra). Another point away, Mackay finished fourth. Garry O’Brien

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We take a look back at what was making news 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago

1979: IT WAS a Commodore frenzy at the end of 1979 with the new Australian Touring Car Championship regulations. The Holden Dealer Team was testing its mule at Calder Park where it was setting comparable times to the outgoing A9Xs. Over the border in New South Wales, it was confirmed that Bob Morris and Allan Grice were to team up in two Craven Mild Racing Commodores, while privateer Ford dealer outfits Thomson Ford and Bryan Byrt Ford were pulling out.

1999: “WE WILL win,” said Brad Jones upon the 1 announcement that he was leaving Super Touring a and a joining the V8 Supercars. With brother Kim, the t former factory Audi team had bought the Tony Longhurst Ford Falcon and REC, with sponsorship L to t come from internet provider Ozemail. In the revived Tasman Series, Andy Booth was on the r pace early while Donny Schatz kicked off the p o opening round of the World Series Sprintcars in s style.

1989: WIN OFFICIALLY joins Holden. Tom Walkinshaw announced that long-time team member Win Percy would head the Holden Racing Team for the 1990 season. His major challenge was that the former ETCC racer had to start from scratch. HRT had previously been subcontracted out to Larry Perkins but Percy would now take over with TWR engineer Ken Page joining him Down Under. Percy aimed to be ontrack at the opening ATCC round at Amaroo Park ahead of a full campaign including the Bathurst 1000.

2 2009: GOODBYE FORD. After it was confirmed Triple Eight Race Engineering was changing brand to Holden for 2010, fan favourite Craig Lowndes admitted to being sad to end his Ford journey after taking three Bathurst victories with the manufacturer. Was Jimmie Johnson the greatest NASCAR driver ever? After taking four NASCAR Cup Series titles in a row, Johnson was starting to be compared to greats such as Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Also, what was Kimi Raikkonen’s move to rallying going to be like?

CHRISTMAS CROSSWORD Across

5. Three former Formula 1 drivers won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2019, Fernando Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima and who? (surname only) 6. Who won the first ever TCR Australia race? (surname only) 7. Who won the 2019 edition of the Daytona 500? (surname only) 8. Who was the only driver in the TCR Australia Series to clean sweep a round by winning all three races? (surname only) 12. Who finished third in the inaugural TCR Australia Series? (surname only) 18. What number did Rubens Barrichello race with in the S5000 round at Sandown Raceway?

19. Which driver dominated the 2019 DTM season? (full name) 23. In which country did Dani Sordo claim his second ever WRC victory in 2019?

24. Who claimed his fourth British Touring Car Championship? (surname only) 25. In what position did Will Power finish in the 2019 IndyCar Series?

28. At which Grand Prix did Daniil Kvyat finish on the podium?

29. What numbered car won the 2019 Bathurst 1000?

Down

1. Who was Lee Holdworth’s co-driver when they finished third at the Sandown 500? (surname only) 2. Steven Johnson won the Touring Car Masters title in 2019, but driving what model of car?

3. Which manufacturer finished 1-2 in the 2019 British Touring Car Championship?

4. Which brand won the GTE Pro class in the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours?

6. In which country did Charles Leclerc win his first Formula 1 race?

9. Who won the opening race of the Supercars Championship? (surname only) 10. Who won the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge in 2019? (full name) 11. Who was the 2019 IndyCar rookie of the year? (surname only) 13. After Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, who came fourth in the Formula 1 Teams’ Championship?

14. How many race victories did Lewis Hamilton take during the Formula 1 season?

15. Who won the 2019 Indianapolis 500? (surname only)

16. Who won the Porsche Carrera Cup Series? (full name) 17. Which Supercars co-driver finished third at Bathurst this year? (full name) 20. Ott Tanak won his first FIA World

Rally Championship but what is his nationality?

21. Which manufacturer did Sebastien Ogier drive for in the 2019 WRC season?

22. At which circuit did Australian Alex Peroni flip through the air and into the catch fencing in the Formula 3 Championship?

26. In the Supercars Championship how many podiums did Anton de Pasquale score in 2019 27. How many BTCC races did Jason Plato win in 2019?

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