Auto Action #1793

CA$H SPLASH REPCO’S RAID ON SUPERCARS

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Issue #1793 27 Aug to 9 Sept 2020 $8.95 INC GST

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NO FLASH IN THE PAN! TEAM 18’S DARWIN PODIUMS DEMONSTRATE EXCITING POTENTIAL SAYS SCOTT PYE

By BRUCE NEWTON SCOTT PYE says Team 18 is determined to prove its strong Darwin performances were no flash in the pan when the Supercars championship enters the second half of its four-week swing in Townsville this weekend.

But the desire for results isn’t blind optimism, Pye stressed. “Darwin was an indication that something is really starting to grow at this team,� the DeWalt Holden Commodore ZB driver told Auto Action. “It’s not a flash in pan. This is a young group with great potential and that’s really exciting. “It’s going to be difficult to back it up because it was a very strong weekend, but I am pretty confident that I am starting to be more at one with the car - especially in the race - and we are starting to make some moves in the right direction with the pace of the car as well.�

Across two weekends, six sprint races and two different tyre formats at Hidden Valley, 2020-signing Pye claimed the first three podiums for Charlie Schwerkolt’s team in its current standalone structure, while Mark Winterbottom added two more fourths in the Irwin Tools entry.

Second time out at Darwin both drivers had exceptional qualifying pace, each getting on to row two and all six qualifying efforts across both cars good enough for the top 10.

The final race of the second weekend also delivered another key step forward, both cars finishing ahead of the ‘mothership’ Triple Eight Race Engineering entries of Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen.

As a result of all that, the team has jumped three spots to fifth in the teams championship.

Winterbottom sits seventh in the drivers’ championship and Pye has moved from 17th to 14th.

So is a win coming for Team 18? “To get a win you have to nail everything but we need to find a bit more car speed,� cautioned Pye. “To get a win is going to be a big ask, a tall ask.

But when we do get it, it’s going to be well worth the hard work.�

Thirty-year old Pye is a young veteran of Supercars championship racing.

The 2012 Dunlop development series runner-up debuted with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2013 and has since driven for Dick Johnson Racing, DJR Team Penske, Walkinshaw Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United.

He has made 223 race starts for one race win with WAU, at the Australian Grand Prix in 2018.

His experience gives him a valuable perspective on the ingredients at Team 18. “It’s quite a young group and they have a real willingness to learn,� he said. “But we need to be patient, there are going to be tough weekends. “I have long term goals I want to achieve with the team and with that attitude that’s what makes it exciting. It’s not about where we are right now, we want to get to certain places and it’s about having the right attitude.�

Pye singled out Schwerkolt’s leadership as a key reason the team has progressed.

Schwerkolt was a 50 per cent owner of DJR but exited after James Courtney won the 2010 Supercars Championship series. He returned in 2013, running satellite entries out of Ford Performance Racing and Walkinshaw Racing, before going stand-alone with T8 gear in 2016.

In 2019 he restructured the operation, hiring Mark Winterbottom as driver, guru engineer Phil Keed as technical boss and another experienced Supercars hand, Steve Henderson, as team manager.

Schwerkolt expanded to two cars in 2020 and then had to navigate the challenges of the coronavirus lockdown, which stopped the Supercars season after one event and also dramatically impacted his forklift business. “He is really in tune with the troops and loves spending as much time with us as possible and

I think his leadership is really important with the group,� said Pye. “I have met few people with that sort of work ethic. “That might sound like a small thing but it means a lot to us and when that’s being passed down I think everyone is that little more driven to get better.�

As a result of the restrictions on personnel numbers for each team at the race track, Keed has been Pye’s engineer since action resumed in June at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Pye said it’s a relationship that is starting to gel, using the step forward in qualifying in Darwin as an example. “I went from qualifying very average to qualifying well through some really good changes we made,� he said. “And we were able to back that up. “I feel like we’re really talking the same language and we’re a lot more patient with each other,� he added. “That is starting to get more out of our own performance. I’m proud of him the way he’s finding his confidence now with backing my race pace and backing my overtaking and kind of taking some risks, which maybe some more inexperienced engineers might be a little bit cautious of doing.�

Pye says the results over the Darwin fortnight rank “right up thereâ€? in his Supercars career. “It means a lot when we are getting results so quickly ‌ it is not a surprise but to be where we are at round five that’s extremely early in the championship to have three podiums under my belt. “I am extremely happy with where we are at and the progress we are making but I don’t think about it too much because I know the next one is going to be hard. “We have to be better next weekend to get the same result.â€?

COVID bonds crew

CHARLIE SCHWERKOLT says life on the road has bonded Team 18 and helped improve its competitiveness.

The Melbourne-based squad had to leave Victoria ahead of the coronavirus-triggered border closure with NSW in early July and has been living out of suitcases ever since. “Being a whole new group at the start of the year, COVID has forced us to live together and eat together and work together very closely,�

Schwerkolt said. “We are not even halfway through our stint and the guys have got together really, really well.�

Schwerkolt identified improved pit stops as a key challenge the team has to work on, although part of that is down to a garage position that will place the team at a disadvantage at least until the end of the 2020 season. “It’s probably going to take a year to get that totally up to speed,�

Schwerkolt admitted. “But we are just starting as a two-car team.�

Schwerkolt said he received “way more� than 100 congratulatory texts after Sunday’s results.

The team had a fish and chips meal by the pool at their hotel that night to celebrate the breakthrough week. “It was just really special to be with the bonded group we’ve got at the moment,� Schwerkolt said.

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DAVISON IN A MUSTANG IN 2021 But which one and will it be with CoolDrive backing?

By BRUCE NEWTON WILL DAVISON will be back on the Supercars grid full-time in 2021 and most likely in a Ford Mustang, but with which team and in what colours is the question.

Behind the scenes, Davison and his support crew are investigating potential options as diverse as championship heavyweights DJR Team Penske, a return to Tickford Racing and even a new stand-alone squad backed by the Blanchard family’s CoolDrive funding and Racing Entitlements Contract (REC).

Davison lost his Supercars drive in May when Phil Munday’s 23Red Racing withdrew from the championship because of financial challenges triggered by the coronavirus.

James Courtney took over the drive in the Tickford Racing customer entry with backing from long-time patron Peter Adderton’s Boost Mobile.

Intriguingly, Munday still owns a REC and two Mustangs, one of which is now being campaigned by Courtney in Boost colours.

His assets could figure in all this, depending on how scenarios play out.

While Davison is nowadays self-managed, It is understood he has recruited former Supercars commercial heavyweight Mark Roworth to help find the backing so often required of drivers nowadays to knit a deal together.

Roworth, a long-time confidante of twotime Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose, was deeply entrenched at what was then called Prodrive/Ford Performance Racing.

Nowadays Rowrth works outside the motorsport industry, but is believed to have retained friendships and connections along pitlane.

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Of course, not all the scenarios being investigated would require Davison to bring backing, but it would help with most.

A move to well-funded DJR Team Penske would be a salaried drive without caveats attached. He could replace out-of-contract Fabian Coulthard or even Scott Mclaughlin, if the flying Kiwi is scooped up by team owner Roger Penske for an IndyCar drive.

But if Penske withdraws from Australian racing, as is possible, then a reborn Dick Johnson Racing would no doubt relish some added funding to maintain the levels of engineering excellence attained in recent years.

Davison who is admired by Johnson and the team’s boss Ryan Story, who still fondly remember the win he delivered the

then-struggling DJR in 2008, his first in the category.

Of course, Anton De Pasquale is the other potential player in all this.

Long associated with a DJRTP seat in 2021, he is now also being linked to a new squad Paul Morris is mulling over. The talented young Victorian might also stay at Erebus Motorsport if Betty Klimenko’s squad can find a way to expand to three cars, as Will Brown is already guaranteed a main game drive alongside David Reynolds in 2021.

Tickford Racing is another viable option for Davison. The team didn’t want him to leave after the front-running start to the season he and engineer Brendan Hogan made.

Davison will reunite with the squad for the Bathurst 1000 where he will co-drive the

Monster Mustang with Cameron Waters.

Courtney is very much on the learning curve with the Tickford Mustang compared to Davison, although he was top points scorer for the team in both Hidden Valley events and secured a soft-soft (tyre) podium in Darwin 1.

While Courtney and Adderton have both already spoken positively about their Tickford experience and the former has made clear he wants to stay in 2021, no negotiations have as yet taken place. Adderton is back in Sydney in quarantine ahead of Bathurst, so that may happen soon.

Alternatively, Tickford might find a way to accommodate both groups (Supercheap’s deal expires at the end of this year, although there’s no indication it won’t renew) or

Image: Insyde Media

COOLDRIVE COMMITTED. BUT WHERE? Speculation surrounds Blanchard entry

By MARK FOGARTY Image: Ross Gibb

Adderton’s desire for a two-car team might prompt him to look elsewhere.

Anyway, it’s here that the Blanchard family enters the picture.

Three generations are involved in racing – John Sr, John Sr and Tim – along with the family auto parts business CoolDrive.

In the middle of a second year backing a Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore ZB with Macauley Jones behind the wheel – and year five of an alliance that began in 2016 with Tim Blanchard driving - they are casting about regarding their options for 2021 and beyond.

While remaining at Brad Jones Racing is certainly a real chance, there is a desire to align with a Melbourne-based team and race a Mustang. See Tim’s comments in our separate story (right).

So Davison, Tickford and the Blanchards starts to make sense. CoolDrive Mustang anyone?

However, it is a big funding step-up from BJR to Tickford and that is where Roworth’s hustling starts to become a key factor.

Alternatively, the ever-wily Brad and Kim Jones will be aware the Blanchards are unsettled and will undoubtedly come up with a counter-offer to keep them onboard.

Could that be combining CoolDrive with the team’s star driver Nick Percat, or recruiting Davison? Or if Davison usurps Coulthard, maybe he could make a return to BJR? Another alternative for the Blanchards is to go out on their own. They could align with Morris’ potential new squad, or – as mooted earlier - align their REC with Munday’s REC and machinery. It’s doubtful Munday would be an active participant in such a deal and it certainly sounds like a tough and expensive route to pursue.

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DORMANT DRIVER Tim Blanchard has revealed that his family’s Supercars operation will definitely continue next year – but where is yet to be decided.

The Blanchards’ CoolDrive entry, currently run by Brad Jones Racing, is embroiled in speculation of a potential change of team, driver and car.

The rumours range from moving their Racing Entitlements Contract (REC) to Tickford Racing, taking over the customer car fourth spot, to setting up their own team with a Mustang or even expanding to two cars.

“We’re committed to staying in Supercars for next year,” Tim Blanchard told Auto Action. “We’re not looking to sell the REC or anything.

“We’re definitely going to have a CoolDrive car on the grid next year, but what that looks like, we don’t know yet.”

Blanchard stepped away from full-time racing at the end of 2018, handing over his CoolDrive-backed, BJR-run ZB Commodore to rookie Macauley Jones.

He is due to return as Jones’s co-driver at Bathurst, which will be his first start since last year’s Gold Coast 600.

He hasn’t been able to do any Super2 races or Supercars wildcards because of the coronavirus upheaval, which has also kept him busy helping get the family’s CoolDrive automotive parts distribution business through the crisis.

Blanchard, 33, is in line to take over running CoolDrive, founded by his grandfather John Snr and

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expanded under his dad John Jnr, who is scaling back his day-to-day involvement.

The 2007 Formula Ford champion, whose talent frustratingly never converted in several seasons in Supercars, confirmed his family was weighing their options for 2021 while not ruling out staying with BJR. “We’re waiting to see how COVID-19 unfolds and the new broadcast deal – they’ll influence what and how we go about it next year,” Blanchard said. “We have a very good relationship with Brad and it works well, but we’re obviously looking to always improve and get our car further up the grid.

“We’re also keen to integrate it into our business and have it as more of a part of our business. How we go about that, we don’t know.

“Over the past four months, dad (John Jnr) and I have been pretty focused on CoolDrive and just dealing with the COVID situation.

Now that we’re starting to come out the other end of that, we’re starting to think about what’s happening with Supercars and where we might sit next year.”

Blanchard has been in Brisbane since last March running CoolDrive’s Queensland operation. A new state manager has been appointed and Blanchard will return to Melbourne to take up a senior management role once restrictions are eased.

He is likely to stay in Brisbane until the Bathurst 1000 to be able to enter NSW to partner Jones without quarantining, which is the prospect facing Melbourne-based co-drivers.

Blanchard conceded that CoolDrive would be looking for a

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major move up the grid next year after two difficult learning seasons with Macauley Jones.

“We’re always looking for better results, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re moving away from Brad or Macca,” he said. “But we certainly are looking to move further up the grid next year. Our expectation is definitely to be further up the grid.

“It’s always interesting to hear what people are thinking of doing and where that might fit in with us, but we’re just sitting back and weighing things up. It’s very much a case of seeing how it all plays out and getting an understanding of what’s going on.

“We’re nowhere near committing to anything.”

Blanchard also dampened conjecture that CoolDrive wanted to switch to a Mustang.

“There’s no emotional attachment to it,” he said. “It’s just what’s going to get us further up the grid, really.

“We deal with the automotive trade and I don’t think our target market necessarily favours a Holden or a Ford. So whether it’s a Mustang or a Commodore, I think both resonate well with our customer base.”

As for talk of expanding to two cars, Blanchard thought it unlikely in the foreseeable future.

“A lot of things would have to change, to be honest,” he explained.

“Long-term, would love to run two cars, but at the moment we’re committed to Brad and there’s obviously no room to move to two cars in that space.

“And if we were to do our own thing, you’d only be one car initially because you’d need to get the basics right before you expand.”

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MCLAUGHLIN’S “BEST CAR” EVER Monday track walk started Darwin domination

IN AN era where attempts to equalise performance are paramount and only a few tenths can cover much of the grid, how does Scott McLaughlin win a 110km Supercars sprint race by 14 seconds?

That was his margin in the final 110km sprint race of the second Darwin Supercars championship event, and followed on from a 2.5 sec win on Saturday and a 10 sec win in Sunday’s opener.

“That is hands down probably the best car I have ever driven,” was the DJR Team Penske Ford Mustang driver’s simple explanation.

While he only scored one of three potential poles for the weekend – sharing one each with Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen from the Red Bull Holden Racing Team – McLaughlin blazed from the front row each time and was never seriously threatened throughout.

Racing without the complication that the previous weekend’s hard-soft Dunlop tyre format produced, McLaughlin and his Ludo Lacroix-led engineering team were able to build on their learnings and return to Hidden Valley and produce consistently fast pace that left the field gasping.

“It was unbelievable,” said Mclaughlin. “We made an absolute jet out of this car. We worked on it all week.

“It looked after its tyres unbelievably over the course of the race. I think I dropped half a second across my last stint.

There was a lot of cars that dropped a lot more than me.”

McLaughlin revealed he took Lacroix for a Hidden Valley track walk on Monday after Darwin 1, to explain specifically what he was looking for from the car.

“Then we were able to experiment in practice because we knew we had a good car. It’s all preparation and the car was just phenomenal.

“To pull a gap like that in a field like that, it’s a proud moment for our team.

“I think having the non-mixed tyre brought out the best in us,” Mclaughlin added. “Knowing we didn’t have to worry about another compound or what’s going on definitely helped.

“That was the game changer for us, being able to focus on one compound.”

Unsurprisingly, McLaughlin expressed a preference for all-soft racing rather than mixing it up with hard compounds as well.

Image: LAT

“I prefer racing with the softs and being able to show our true pace and be pace-driven. We worked very hard to be the best in the business and we don’t really want to be handicapped.”

McLaughlin also revealed he had relied on teammate Fabian Coulthard to help him get his starts right.

“Fabian has been phenomenal on the race starts,” he said.

“Probably the last two events I’ve had six really good starts there or thereabouts. I’ve been working on having confidence with my procedure.”

The three wins also saw him surpass Peter Brock

on the all-time championship wins list, although McLaughlin was first to point out there’s a lot more racing these day than when the Holden legend was at his peak.

“He could have won a huge amount of races if he had the same format that I do right now, the amount of races that we get to have and win is a lot more. But I’m very proud to be in that sort of namespace.”

In total, McLaughlin now has eight wins from the 14 races conducted in 2020 so far. He has a 177 point lead over Whincup in the drivers’ championship. Bruce Newton

QR PLANS PROGRESSING PLANS TO add two Supercars championship sprint events at Queensland Raceway in late September were progressing, as Auto Action closed for press on Monday.

While no confirmation was expected before this issue hits the news stands on Thursday, various bits of the intended plan have been leaking out.

Those tidbits include the likelihood the championship’s big spender sponsor Repco will back at least one of the proposed events.

Another is hints the soft-hard mixed compound tyre format could return for at least one of the QR outings, which potentially means an increased chance of unpredictable results on the high degradation surface.

There could also be more tweaks beyond tyres, as the Supercars Commission continues to use the coronavirus-impacted 2021 season to experiment with the racing.

The proposed dates for the two QR events are September 19-20 and September 26-27.

They would fill the hole between the Townsville double-header over the next two weekends, and the Bathurst 1000 in October.

As per normal at QR for a Supercars event, the circuit’s safety features will have to be modified to regain FIA safety certification and Motorsport Australia (MA) sanctioning.

Queensland Raceways, which owns both QR and Lakeside, has a combative relationship with MA and usually has its motorsport events sanctioned by the Racers organisation. BN

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Image: LAT

NEW FIVE YEAR SUPERCARS TV DEAL

By MARK FOGARTY SUPERCARS HAS secured a new five-year broadcasting deal that will include a lot more free-to-air TV coverage.

Auto Action has learned that the new rights agreement will run from next year through 2025.

As expected, Seven Network replaces Channel 10 as the FTA broadcast partner, with fans gaining a big increase in free telecasts from all events.

AA understands that more races will be shown live more often, than have been shown on 10.

Pay network Fox Sports will remain the main broadcaster, as it has been since 2015, showing all Supercars track action at every round live.

An announcement of the 2021-25 Fox Sports/Seven deal, which has been agreed, is imminent.

According to informed sources, the Fox Sportsled renewal is for a lower fee than the existing six-year agreement, which was worth $241 million from 2015 to the end of this season.

But the reduction will be offset by increased free-to-air coverage on Seven and its regional affiliate Prime, resulting in more ‘eyeballs’ watching Supercars.

Image: Ross Gibb

That will be because Seven draws a much bigger national audience than 10 and also because there’ll be much more airtime.

One of the constant criticisms of the current arrangement has been that for fans not prepared or able to pay for Fox Sports’ comprehensive coverage, the sport’s presence on Channel 10 – and regional partner WIN – was extremely limited.

Channel 10 has telecast around six marquee events each year in simulcasts with Fox Sports, with the rest shown as late-night one-hour highlights on secondary channel 10 Bold.

Supercars teams also complained that the significantly reduced FTA audience adversely affected sponsor interest.

In the new deal from next year, Supercars will

feature across the screens of Seven, being shown on the main 7 channel or 7mate, as well as the 7Plus streaming service.

Big events like the Bathurst 1000, Adelaide 500 and, when they return, Gold Coast 600 and Newcastle 500, will be on the main Channel 7.

The outlier, at least initially, will be the Australian Grand Prix round, which will continue on 10 because it has the FTA broadcast rights to the F1 event in Melbourne.

According to an insider, the 2021-25 broadcast rights deal is a win despite being worth less than the existing $40 million a year agreement.

“It’s a good deal,” the informant said. “It’s less money, but a lot more free-to-air coverage.”

The big attraction of Supercars returning to Seven – which held the broadcast rights from 2007-14

– is not only more coverage overall, but more live regular season telecasts.

There will be more races shown live from more rounds, although not all Sunday racing as originally envisaged.

Several regular round Sunday races will be live on a Seven channel, but not all.

However, AA understands that the intention is for Sunday racing live FTA coverage to increase during the life of the deal.

Seven will next year become the undisputed FTA home of motor racing, featuring Supercars alongside AFL and cricket, as well as extensive coverage of Australian Racing Group categories including TCR and S5000.

Seven boss James Warburton is a former CEO of Supercars and a non-executive director of ARG.

BATHURST DELAY DECIDED

By MARK FOGARTY BATHURST IS set to be delayed a week despite protests by Victorian teams, which have been on the road since early last month.

It is almost certain that the Bathurst 1000 will now be rescheduled from October 8-11 to October 15-18.

Auto Action has learned that Supercars approved the move last week amid another reshuffling of the calendar to include a double-header at Queensland Raceway next month.

Bathurst will be put off for a week to allow teams more time to prepare, following a likely second appearance at QR on September 26-27.

AA understands the Supercars Commission, which met last Thursday, approved the shift to give teams another week to prepare for the Bathurst 1000.

However, Victorian teams – which have been away from home since early July – are up in arms over the extension.

They want to get home as soon as possible, after what will have been four months away.

Their pleas have apparently been ignored, with an informed source reporting that delaying the Bathurst 1000 by a week is “a done deal”.

The planned delay could still fall over if difficulties doing a deal with QR management or the track’s safety issues intervene.

The Bathurst 1000 will almost certainly be the last round of the 2020 championship, with border closures ruling out the planned Perth and Tasmanian rounds.

A night-time finale at Sydney Motorsport Park is a possibility, but teams would resist staying on.

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Image: LAT

Supercars’ decision to delay the Bathurst 1000 by a week would mean it potentially clashes with the AFL Grand Final.

The premier Aussie Rules match is scheduled for either October 17 or 24.

Running the Bathurst 1000 on October 18 means it could be lost in the aftermath of the AFL Grand Final.

The Victoria Government is also committed to the Caufield Cup and Cox Plate horse racing classics being staged on October 17 and 24 respectively.

If held on October 11 as scheduled, the Bathurst 1000

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would be the nation’s primary sporting event.

It would give Supercars clear air in the midst of AFL and NRL preliminary finals, and the beginning of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival.

The Supercars Commission has apparently agreed, if reluctantly, that teams would welcome an extra week to prepare for Bathurst.

Melbourne-based teams have objected, but their calls have been rejected.

An announcement that the Bathurst 1000 will be delayed until October 15-18 is imminent.

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FOLLOWING THE controversial pit release of Jamie Whincup into the path of Fabian Coulthard in the final race of the Darwin Triple Crown event, the pit lane release rule has been altered. Whincup escaped a penalty due to wording previously written in the rules that read that a car must “give way to a car already wholly in the fast lane” and as Coulthard was pulling into his bay, he was not ‘wholly’ in the fast lane. The rule has since been rewritten to say that “a car being released from its pit bay must do so without impeding any other car in pitlane”. DM

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THE SUPERCARS Championship race format has been revealed for the opening Townsville SuperSprint event. The Top 10 Shootout will return and conclude the elimination segments of Q1 and Q2. At the end of Q1, only four cars will be eliminated leaving 20 cars to contest Q2, though only half will then progress into the Top 10 Shootout. Three 39-lap races have been set for the weekend with five sets of the soft compound tyres to use from the start of qualifying through to the conclusion of Race 3. DM

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MATT STONE Racing has revealed which of its SuperLite drivers will steer the #34 ZB Commodore in the first round of the Townsville double header. After racing last weekend in Darwin, Zane Goddard will remain in the car at the NTI Townsville SuperSprint. It is then expected that Jake Kostecki will jump back behind the wheel for the second of the Northern Queensland events the following week. DM

Image: LAT

AMPOL BRANDING has returned to the racetrack with the Caltex signage previously emblazoned on the pair of Red Bull Holden Racing Team ZB Commodores replaced by Ampol to reflect the branding change coming into effect. Envisioned to take three years, the complete rebranding process began in June, marking a return to the Ampol brand for the first time in 25 years. HM

TEAM 18 drivers Mark Winterbottom and Scott Pye sported a special decal on the side intrusion panels of their ZB Commodores last weekend. The Victorian based crew paid tribute to their partners, families and friends back home with the montage of photos, which were selected by each member of the travelling crew.

The team has now been away from home for over seven weeks. DM

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TOWNSVILLE TYRE TRAUMA? AFTER RACING on the benign Hidden Valley surface for two weekends, Supercars championship teams will be grappling with tyre trauma in Townsville.

Drivers say the Reid Park hybrid circuit is hard on tyres, which will make getting through up to five qualifying sessions and three 110km sprint races on five sets of soft Dunlops over each of the next two weekends, a headache.

But teams won’t have to cope with the added complication of racing on three sets of hards and two sets of soft Dunlops, as had been previously required at one each of the Sydney Motorsport and Darwin events.

Logistical issues related to getting tyres out of Dunlop’s Melbourne stores ahead of the coronavirus lockdown, has contributed to the allsofts all-the-time Townsville format, as has the track’s more abrasive surface.

The theory is that there will be enough degradation to disrupt orderly racing, combined with five sets per a car being too few to get through the weekend without juggling sets and potentially compromising.

“It will be interesting when we go to Townsville because there is actually deg there and here (there) is no deg,” dominant Darwin performer and championship leader Scott Mclaughlin said.

“It will be more of a strategic battle with the tyres,” the DJRTP Ford

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Mustang driver predicted.

“Once you get a bit of deg going and that then goes into the theory of having the softer tyre having more deg; you can drive faster and you can pass cars but you can also be punished for that as well.”

Team 18’s Scott Pye predicted strategy would be a key player in determining the outcome.

“There was a little strategy involved in Darwin, but with deg not being as high, it didn’t have a massive impact whether you pit early or long.

“Townsville is going to be tough to get right. Hindsight is going to be a powerful thing. Hopefully you will be able to roll the dice and get something out of it as well.

“First of all, car speed is number one and we’ll focus on that first and worry about the rest later.”

As per SMP and Darwin, each car will be required to pit once for at least two tyres in each race.

But the Saturday shootout reverts to a 10 shootout from the top 15 seen in Sydney and Darwin.

This is the first time the Townsville Supercars round has feature a sprint format and only the second time after 2014 it has had three races. That year there were two 125km races on Saturday and one 250km race on Sunday.

Weather conditions are forecast to be more pleasant than Darwin at mid-20s with a low chance of rain. However, the concrete-lined 2.86km track will make sure cockpit conditions are hot for the drivers, who are coming off two boiling weekends of effort in Darwin.

“My plan is to chill-out on Monday,

get into my training Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and then a big weekend in Townsville, looking forward to it,” said McLaughlin last Sunday.

Traditionally the event, which commenced in 2009, has featured 2 x 200km races. Supercars legend Jamie Whincup dominates the winners list with 10, while Garth Tander, Mark Winterbottom and Shane van Gisbergen have three each.

Championship leader Scott Mclaughlin has two wins. BN

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WILLIAMS F1 SOLD

IT IS not just a coincidence that the Williams F1 team announced its sale to U.S.-based private investment firm Dorilton Capital after all 10 F1 teams signed the new Concorde Agreement that commits them to remain in F1 from 2021 through 2025.

Dorilton was obviously not going to buy an F1 team until it was certain that it was a good investment.

The family-owned Williams team, which was founded in 1976 by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, and began racing its own cars in 1977, is the third oldest team still competing in F1 after Ferrari (1950) and McLaren (1966).

The financial details of the sale were not released, and there were no announcements made about a new management structure.

Sir Frank Williams, 78, lives in an apartment at the team’s factory in Grove, near Silverstone.

The team will retain the famous family name, and it will not be relocated under the new ownership.

It had been announced back in May that Williams was seeking investors or a new owner, and it was definitely time for major changes to be made.

While Williams is the third most successful team in F1 with nine constructors’ championships, seven

Image: LAT

drivers’ championships and 114 wins, there has been only one win (in 2012) since 2004, and its last world title was in 1997.

Williams did manage to finish third in the constructors’ championship in 2014 and 2015 but, despite having the coveted Mercedes power unit, it ended up last in 2018 and 2019, and it is currently last in this year’s standings.

To be fair, however, the team has made a considerable step forward with its 2020 car.

“When we started this process, we wanted to find a partner who shared the same passion and values, who recognised the team’s potential and who could unlock its power,” deputy principal Claire Williams said.

“In Dorilton we know we have found exactly that: people who understand the sport

and what it takes to be successful. People who respect the team’s legacy and will do everything to ensure it succeeds in the future.

“This may be the end of an era for Williams as a family owned team, but we know it is in good hands. The sale ensures the team’s survival but most importantly, will provide a path to success.”

Matthew Savage, the chairman of Dorilton Capital, said: “We believe we are the ideal partner for the company due to our flexible and patient investment style, which will allow the team to focus on its objective of returning to the front of the grid. We look forward to working with the Williams team in carrying out a detailed review of the business, to determine in which areas new investment should be directed.” Dan Knutson

Repco Supercars Championship?

New Bathurst sponsor linked to title deal

By BRUCE NEWTON HAVING JUST secured the rights to the Bathurst 1000 for at least five years from 2021, auto parts giant Repco has confirmed its interest in backing the entire championship as well.

It is also in discussions with a number of teams about becoming the primary sponsor of at least one Supercar in 2021.

More immediately, it seems certain that it will claim naming rights for least one of the two Queensland Raceway Supercars outings currently being negotiated for late September.

All this potential sponsorship activity comes on top of Repco’s existing commitments in Supercars as number two sponsor on the DJR Team Penske Ford Mustangs, and its role as the championship’s retail parts partner.

Add up everything it is doing now and what it could commit to and Repco is making a multi-

year multi-million dollar investment in Supercars.

“The (Repco) business is in really good shape now and the conditions are right to now be able to look forward, spend more on the brand and appeal to a larger consumer and commercial customer base,” GPC Asia-Pacific managing director and CEO Rob Cameron told Auto Action.

“We are doing this for the right reasons. We really want to be a partner, we want to help and work with Supercars to grow the category and grow the appeal.

“This is a not a passive relationship, we want to be really close and we want to extend our involvement in the category.”

Current Supercars championship sponsor Virgin Australia is not expected to renew its deal when it expires next year. The airline has just emerged from bankruptcy with new ownership

Image: LAT

and has announced a significant downsizing.

Asked about Repco backing the championship, Cameron admitted: “That’s potentially an option for us and we will talk to Supercars and (CEO) Sean Seamer about that.

“But we are not in any position to either confirm or deny that at this point.”

Repco has been known to want a Supercar in its colours since it started to build up its presence in the category in 2018.

Walkinshaw Andretti United is the team most often mentioned on the rumour mill as the candidate to have a Repco-branded entry in the championship in 2021.

WAU already has a connection to GPC through Repco’s sister brand NAPA Auto Parts, which

is a team sponsor and also backed its wildcard Holden Commodore driven by Alex Rossi and James Hinchcliffe in the 2019 Bathurst 1000.

“We have got a number of teams now reaching out to us right up and down pitlane,” confirmed Cameron.

“We are definitely going to be talking to teams.

I am not sure you will now see us as a full-car sponsorship, but we definitely are talking to a number of teams up and down pitlane.”

Cameron indicated the decision to back the Bathurst 1000 had been taken ahead of committing to a naming rights across a full two-car team.

“It (Bathurst sponsorship) doesn’t mean we will stop our involvement with the teams. You will still see Repco or NAPA stickers up and down pitlane, I have no doubt,” he added.

REPCO: WE RESPECT SUPERCHEAP But CEO rejects “overseas competitor” jibe

By BRUCE NEWTON NEW BATHURST 1000 sponsor Repco has refused to bite back at barbs from its naming rights predecessor and automotive aftermarket retailing rival Supercheap Auto.

Instead, having successfully won the rights to the Bathurst 1000 for at least five years starting 2021, Rob Cameron has urged respect for Supercheap’s achievements in its 16 consecutive years backing the Mount Panorama classic.

“I am highly respectful of what Supercheap did for the event and I think they have done a very fine job,” Cameron told Auto Action.

Nevertheless, the managing director and CEO of Genuine Parts Company Asia-Pacific, has bristled at comments made by Supercheap boss Benjamin Ward to News Corp media about losing the rights to the race.

Ward talked about how Supercheap had lost out to a “big money” offer from an “overseas competitor”.

While Repco was established in Australia in the 1920s, it has been owned by the American auto parts giant GPC for some years.

“I just don’t know that it’s a terribly great

argument at all,” said Cameron of Ward’s comments.

“We are proud to be part of Genuine Parts Company,” he added. “It is an awesome organisation and one of the world’s largest automotive parts distributors.

“They have been in business since 1926, they have got tremendous values and are motorsport nutters, just like we are.

“But if you think about it, we (Repco) are Australian as they come. We are 98-years old in this country. We were there through the great depression, we helped the Australian war effort, we changed manufacturing from vehicles to parts for the Australian air force at the time.

“We had the Repco engine development company which built engines with Jack Brabham for Formula 1 which put Australia on the map.

We built the Formula 5000 engines as well, derivatives of which ran around Bathurst in Australian touring cars.

“We have 6000 team members in Australia and New Zealand that we provide a living for. All our taxes are paid in Australia, all of the profits in the organisation get ploughed back into the business in Australia and New Zealand.”

Image: LAT

Cameron said Repco intended to take the Bathurst 1000 “to another level” but declined to get into detail.

“I won’t get into that too much. I am very respectful that Supercheap have got an event to put together in October and I want to let them do that. They deserve that right having sponsored the event for 16 years.”

Cameron revealed planning to snare the Bathurst 1000 naming rights started almost three years ago, when Repco management set out to rebuild the company’s motorsport presence.

It has added the Bathurst 1000 to sponsorship

of DJR Team Penske’s two Shell V-Power Ford Mustangs and is the official retail parts partner of the Supercars championship. Repco’s GPC stablemate NAPA Auto Parts backs Walkinshaw Andretti United.

“We mentioned to the Supercars team a couple of years ago when we first started to get involved back in motorsports with DJR Team Penske that should that (the Bathurst naming rights) ever come up, that would be something we would be interested in talking about,” said Cameron.

“Our involvement with Supercars grew, becoming the official parts retailer, and then we knew the existing contract ended at this year’s Bathurst.

“We knew that Supercheap were doing a review of their involvement in that and we did a pitch about what we could bring to the sport, about our heritage, why it was important to us, how much we wanted to work with Supercars and they made their decision.”

Benjamin Ward declined to talk to AA because Supercheap Auto is in a media blackout ahead of the release of its annual financial results.

For more from Rob Cameron on Repco’s plans for Aussie motorsport, turn to pp 16-17.

Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars has specialised in vehicle restoration and race car preparation for more than four decades.

Our reputation and past restorations have positioned Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars in the forefront of classic car rebuilds. Our staff have the expertise to know what is true and correct for your vehicle, from reworking original panels and components, to fabricating custom pieces to suit.

The Bendigo Retro brand is highly-regarded in the motor sport arena, including a full in-house custom built 1974 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 driven to great success by John Bowe. The 2015 & 2016 Touring Car Masters Championship winning Torana is prepared in-house and continues to be a pace setter in TCM. O Need custom fabrication? Our skilled staff have designed and produced the custom lightweight panels now used on many of the Toranas & Commodores in the Touring Car Masters muscle car racing series.

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So if you have a classic road or race car that needs restoration or repair, give us a call 1/2 Ramsay Court, Kangaroo Flat (Bendigo), Victoria, 3555 Visit us at www.bendigoretro.com.au or call 1300 799 351 or mobile 0427 687 253 or info@bendigoretro.com.au

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SHANNONS HAS signed as the sponsor of the Holden Revival at this year’s inaugural Bathurst International event, scheduled to take place from November 12-15. The category will contain several untimed sessions open to racing Holdens from 1948 to the present day, encompassing almost every circuit racing category that the marque has been represented in. Early entries including a range of Commodores from the 1980s to 2010s which raced in the Bathurst 1000, while early models are currently represented by FX (1947-1951) and FE (1956) Holden entries. DM

Image: Insyde Media

AT THE Darwin SuperSprint the Improved Production class shared the track with the ever-popular Holden HQs. Despite taking two race wins, a retirement for Ross Salmon saw the Territorian finish the round in fourth. The round win overall went to Holden Commodore driver Rodney Jessup ahead of Craig Wright in his popular Ford Escort, with David Ling rounding out the podium. The HQs category was won by Marian Bujnowski from Peter Anderson and Stavros Mostris. DM

GMSV UNLIKELY TO RACE ANY TIME SOON

By MARK FOGARTY CONTROVERSIAL HOLDEN ‘replacement’ General Motors Specialty Vehicles is unlikely to be involved in racing in the near future – if at all.

GMSV will replace HSV and be the new outlet for imported niche models like the mid-engined C8 Corvette and locally converted American pick-ups and SUVs. Walkinshaw Automotive Group, Holden’s long-time partner in HSV, has been contracted to locally ‘remanufacture’ vehicles to right-hand drive for the new entity, which has not been a popular move.

Auto Action has learned that WAG will not be involved in GMSV’s sales and marketing activities, including a possible involvement in racing.

Walkinshaw’s racing division, which ran the factory backed Holden Racing Team from 19902017, will not automatically be tabbed to run any future GMSV motor sport program.

Walkinshaw Andretti United, an Anglo-American alliance, is in discussions with non-GM brands for a Gen3 Supercars program from 2022.

WAG boss and WAU co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw deflected speculation of a racing link with GMSV.

“That’s a question for GMSV and not for Walkinshaw Group because they’re going to be in charge of all their sales and marketing,” Walkinshaw said.

According to insiders, any racing involvement was very low on GMSV’s priorities as it seeks to establish the new brand, headlined by factory-made RHD Corvettes, over the next few years.

GMSV is also fighting severe criticism of GM’s re-entry to the Australian market via ‘boutique’ imports, after dumping Holden.

While the Camaro remains a possibility for Gen3, it is no longer imported by WAG for local conversion and is not on GMSV’s initial roster.

The obvious candidate for racing would be the Corvette, which as a mid-engined GT would not be eligible for Supercars under the current front-engine requirement.

Even Gen3’s facilitation of low-slung two-door coupes doesn’t stretch to accommodating the Corvette.

However, it could be a Bathurst 12 Hour candidate if a GT3 version of the IMSA/WEC GTE racer (above) is developed.

“There’d be at least one model in that line-

up that would be pretty exciting to see on a racetrack in the future, but it’ll be very much a decision for them to make,” said an informed source, referring to the Corvette.

“It’d be a very exciting thing to race. A lot of people would be very excited about seeing Corvettes flying around Bathurst.”

Camaro’s possible future in Supercars is understood to depend on the Ford Mustang arch-rival’s projected model life.

According to industry sources, the current generation is not due for a major update, much less a new model, unlike the Mustang, which is due for replacement in 2022.

But the existing, slow-selling Camaro could continue for another two or three years before being replaced by a performance electric vehicle adopting the famous nameplate.

As Supercars pursues a licence deal with GM to race a Supercars version of the Camaro body shape, the Detroit giant would need certainty that the model would be around until at least 2024 to justify any investment through GMSV. If the Camaro road car wins a reprieve, it could return to Australia under the GMSV banner as a local RHD conversion.

COURTNEY ON THE MARCH

A PROJECT to help Indigenous Australians develop careers in motorsport has been launched in Queensland with the backing of Paul Morris and Logan-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation, Gunya Meta. Racing Together will begin in October with a pilot program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged between 12 and 16.

Organisers of the program hope it eventually will become a national program offering a place in the Ferrari Academy. DM

IN THE penultimate round on the streets of Adelaide it was John Martin and Chelsea Angelo who shared victories in an unpredictable round of the TCR Australia Sim Racing Series. In a dramatic evening both in terms of the racing but also the series standings, points leader coming into the round Dylan O’Keeffe had technical issues competing from Switzerland and this resulted in a title swing. The opening race saw the Wall Racing Honda Civic drivers deliver an impressive 1-2 finish, with John Martin starting from pole to take the race win ahead of Tony D’Alberto. DM

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FROM NEW recruit to best placed, it has taken James Courtney four race weekends to finish a weekend as Tickford Racing’s top driver.

It’s been a whirlwind two months for the veteran, after an aborted start with Team Sydney in Adelaide.

Given his opportunity by the withdrawal of 23Red Racing during the enforced break, Courtney has grabbed it with two hands by slowly building up his performances, resulting in a sixth-place result last weekend.

The Darwin double-header was a fruitful two meetings for Courtney, as he also took an emotional podium – his first since 2018 – by finishing behind Anton De Pasquale in Race 13.

“It’s been pretty full on for a lot of reasons,” Courtney said. “Not going to lie, it was emotional, I got a bit emotional. I thought I was going to be on the podium before, but Scotty just pipped me.”

He paid tribute to Davison after the result.

“I think it’s been well written about what’s going on,” explained Courtney. “I think I got a little bit emotional because I was looking at Riana [Crehan] and I know the

emotion with her and Will, and what’s been going on because I’ve been on that side of the fence.”

Courtney admitted he doesn’t hold his emotions well, but it was clearly a relief given his turbulent year to date and was thankful for the support that had put him in that position.

“It all just came out; it probably didn’t come across as making sense,” Courtney reflected on his post-race reaction.

“Deep down I am very, very happy for the result first for Boost Mobile

and Peter Adderton, Jason Hayes, they’re the guys that put a lot of faith in me and trust signing to Tickford.”

This result was followed by a consistent weekend in Darwin’s SuperSprint, where he missed the podium in fourth in Race 16, before finishing seventh and 14th to be top placed Tickford driver for the weekend.

“The last race didn’t quite go to plan,” he said.

“We missed the strategy a bit and blew the front tyres off behind Lee [Holdsworth], so we couldn’t

maximise the speed we had, but with seventh in the first race today and fourth yesterday, it was a good weekend.

“The last three events we’ve had two fourths and a second. We were sixth for the round this weekend, which is a credit to Brendan [Hogan], we’ve been working really well together. We’ll press on to Townsville, it’s a track I’ve generally gone well at in the past, so hopefully we’ll have a good weekend there and a good rest of the year.”

Heath McAlpine

KELLY’S CLEAN SLATE

th Luke West iith wit

AA’s long-time columnist says Supercars should embrace its past

SIX ROUNDS into the 2020 Supercars Championship, Kelly Racing team owner Todd Kelly is happy with the progress of its Ford Mustangs but admits learnings from the Nissan Altimas used last year are irrelevant.

Switching from Nissan Altimas to Ford Mustangs during the off season was always going to be a challenge for Kelly Racing, but already the team has had a pole position and podium in its maiden Mustang season.

Kelly has been hands-on in developing the team’s Mustangs and believes there is more to come from the package.

“We are still trying to learn this car, it’s quite new to us,” Kelly told Auto Action.

“All the set-ups that we ran previously with the Nissan aren’t really relevant at all to what the Mustang needs.”

Working with a clean slate, the recent double-header rounds have been advantageous to the Melbournebased squad, as it continues to learn and progress the Mustang’s set-up window.

“We’re not rolling out of the truck as close as what we should be to the money, so as the weekend goes on we improve them,” Kelly explained.

“As you saw at Sydney Motorsport Park, when we have got time to go back and decipher it all and have another crack, the second event was a lot better than the first.”

Since the forced hiatus in the Supercars season, Kelly Racing has scored a pole and second via Andre Heimgartner at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The team’s lead up before Darwin was interrupted by a potentially damaging problem with the engine valve grinds.

Discovered by the Kelly Racing engineers prior to leaving for Darwin, it forced the crew to strip down its inventory of engines to repair the fault

Although repairs were completed ahead of the Triple Crown, the Mustangs were still suffering from niggling problems traced back to tuning as the team had been unable to access a dyno and had to complete the work by ear.

“In the tuning there was just a slight flat, just in that one corner (Turn 1),” Kelly told Auto Action.

“We had a few spots which we fixed as the weekend went on and that was the only one that we didn’t get on top of.”

Kelly said these small issues are to be expected when the crew put the two Mustangs together just in time for the Adelaide 500.

“They (the other teams) have a head start (we have) to try and catch up on, especially with the engine,” Kelly feels.

“Once you get the whole thing together, which we did just in the nick of time to get all the engines together, you normally end up with a fairly heavy development program.”

However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation within Victoria, the team has been held back with development.

“We’ve been locked out of home obviously, so haven’t been able to do anything,” he told AA. “Luckily the engines started the year not too far off power wise, so there’s not a huge amount to do, but we’d certainly be doing more than what we currently are from back home.”

After the top end double-header, Kelly was pleased by the promise demonstrated in the package.

“To be around the back of the 10 here and with the race pace we’ve got, is actually quite good,” he said.

“There’s plenty yet to come, we hopefully will get a little bit more done before Bathurst this year. The cars are just going to get better and better.” Dan McCarthy

ANTON DELIVERS FIRST WIN IT WAS a subdued, even understated Anton De Pasquale post-race, after his maiden win in the opening race of the Darwin Triple Crown.

A driver who lets his driving do the talking, De Pasquale has been signalled as a future star in Supercars competition, and speculation has been rife that his services are wanted by DJR Team Penske.

However, he can now add a win to his two podium finishes scored last season, when he took advantage of the mixed tyre compound strategy to seal a maiden win in the top end.

“It feels good,” he said post-race.

“You put a lot of effort and time into it, not only me but the team as well, so to get the result and first win is awesome.”

“For now, we’re wrapped.”

No podium further emphasised the lack of celebration, which was in contrast to fellow maiden Supercars winner Jack Le Brocq, who was emotional after scoring

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his breakthrough at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“I’ve never been a big cameracelebrate sort of guy,” admitted De Pasquale. “I’ve done that through my career and I focus on the next thing and so on, but we’ll celebrate and do that in private.

“A lot of that [celebrations] gets taken away because there’s no podium, no champagne, you can’t throw things around so you lose a bit of that, but I hope we have a bit more of that in the future.”

A mistake by Triple Eight team car controller Mark Dutton almost cost De Pasquale the win when Jamie

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Whincup was released into the side of his Commodore.

“I had a little gap to get out of my pit box, but then Fabs [Fabian Coulthard] was stuck behind Scotty, so I had to rub him to get passt and then Jamie came, and then Jamie pushed me across,” explained De Pasquale.

“I didn’t want to hit him too hard so I wall grinded the armco a little bit but I had to get through and I was in a position to win that race to make the strategy work.

“The were some bruises on the car, but it was all worth it.”

Heath McAlpine

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CAR OF the Future was a good idea at the time. It served the V8 Supercars category well for a few short years. But the ‘hang panels over a control chassis’ concept has, inadvertently, led our premier class down a one-way dead-end street.

Debuting for season 2013, CotF largely achieved its goals in its initial seasons. The control chassis improved driver safety, repairability, parity and accommodated three new marques and models that joined the fun. The quality of racing in its early seasons was excellent. No less than 13 full-time drivers won races in 2013, 11 in ’14. Lots of boxes ticked there.

The downside that soon became apparent was that CoFT (later NewGen and Gen2) wasn’t as cost effective as its architects had promised. Nonetheless, overall, it was a faithful Supercars servant for six seasons.

But when the arse completely fell out of the medium and large car segments and locally-built Fords and Holdens died, the tubular control chassis’s relevancy similarly nose-dived. In 2020, Toyota Camry aside, medium and large sedans sell in tiny numbers – tens and low hundreds.

We all know that when Falcon carked it, Ford tried to adapt a twodoor coupe model to a chassis built for large sedans and the result was the god-awful caricature that’s currently racing with a Mustang badge on the grille. I hated it when I first saw it and it still looks peculiar today. I can’t wait until this Frankenstein-like prototype racecar disappears from our premier touring car class.

This mutant was a significant misstep on Supercars’ behalf, as it signaled to all and sundry, including potential manufacturers, that the category was no longer for production-based vehicles. Decades of market relevancy flew out the window. No one knows what the category stands for now. Sedans? Coupes? Fugly racing prototypes?

Thus, there’s no clear vision for the future. Worse, Mustang aside, few models on the new car market are screaming ‘race me’.

And finding multiple manufacturers willing to invest – or even approve the use of their IP for someone else to invest – in developing a silhouette for the category will be mission impossible. Even before COVID, this was unlikely to happen. Now, forget it.

And Ford can’t be relied upon to stick around. While Holden supported local motorsport like no other, Ford Australia has been a fair-weather friend, in and out of the sport as it suits. It currently suits, but for how much longer? Especially as Mustang sales have averaged just 275 per month for the last four months.

Such is the investment teams have in their current control chassis, most simply can’t afford to make them redundant. Their desire to continue with a modified version of CotF limits the potential for new marques and models. It’s quite a conundrum as the category’s income drops. Frankly, long-term the only solution is for teams to go back to using road-going passenger car shells. This sidesteps the need to gain approval from a manufacturer to run their models.

As I wrote last issue, can you see, for example, BMW permitting a lookalike Supercars version of an M4 when the German manufacturer will race and sell GT3 M4s examples globally? No way. But Supercars teams won’t need manufacturer permission if they simply use the production car’s shell and modify the bodywork for racing.

I can certainly see a short-term, stop-gap solution – Gen2.5 Mustang versus Camaro, for instance – but I can’t see medium- and long-term answers using a control chassis. If GM does not approve the Camaro, Supercars could make their own lookalike and call it something else.

The ‘SS’ perhaps. Or the ‘Phoenix’, which has a certain ring to it …

The world is changing rapidly. Yet small cars still sell in significant volumes. And will do so when electrification of the market increases.

This makes TCR the logical category to continue the tradition of the Australian Touring Car Championship.

But TCR’s rosy future is not going to help Supercars. The current top dog category needs to wean itself off control chassis when finances allow and embrace the concept of again building racecars around production shells.

True, parity could be a nightmare, although balance of performance is a logical option. The upside, though, will be market relevancy and the approval of traditional race fans. Above all else, Supercars must retain long-time touring car supporters because new, younger ones are going be difficult to attract.

In other words, Supercars needs to embrace its past.

Luke West wrote his first Auto Action column in 2000. Over time, ‘Reverential Ramblings’ evolved into ‘Revved Up’ which surveys motorsport’s changing landscape. Contact via @luke_west & aarevvedup@hotmail.com

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IMPROVEMENTS FROM TEAM SYDNEY A MAIDEN top five finish for Team Sydney in Saturday’s Race 13 at Hidden Valley has given Chris Pither added confidence for the rest of the season.

A charging drive on soft tyres set-up a top five finish for the Kiwi after starting 19th, as Pither described the result as a morale booster ahead of three weekends of racing in a row.

“That was a huge positive for the team and a bit of a confidence booster for everyone as well,” Pither said.

“In relation to the previous round at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) it was a good step forward, that is the key.

“It was always going to be a challenging season, everything came together relatively late at the start of the year so we had to go into it with realistic targets, as long as we make steps forward at each event that’s the main thing and I think we achieved that last weekend.”

The former Super2 Series winner believes his weakness is a lack of green tyre performance from the set-up of his Commodore. This starts with qualifying where Pither is confident a strong performance there will elevate him further up the field.

“I think we are honing in on things, probably

our weakness for the season so far has just been our new tyre pace and it is something we are focused on trying to improve,” he told AA. “Our race pace is more competitive than our qualifying pace, but I believe that if we can improve our qualifying slightly, we will comfortably be able to race further up the field.

Pither and Alex Davison’s performances in Darwin was the most competitive showing

for the squad to date, indicating that the team is making steps in the right direction.

“It’s definitely an improvement, we’ve still got a long way to go, but it was a good step forward and we set a couple of PBs,” he said.

“Saturday was obviously a highlight, we had a bit of an alternative strategy but we looked at the weekend as a whole, everyone has got the same tyres to use.

“I think we utilised that to our advantage and

it was fun to be a bit racier and make some passes and run up the pointy end of the field.

“There’s no denying that everyone wants to be up front, but it’s an extremely competitive category and we’ve just got to chip away at it.

“For us to be up there and be competitive and get a top five result, it’s not only a confidence booster for me but all the guys as well, they’ve all put in a lot of effort and a lot of work.” DM

changes at it between rounds.

“So, it was nice to be able to come back a week later and have the same conditions, the same track and all that kind of thing, so that it makes that a little bit easier for developing the car.

“But I expect race weekends at the same track don’t really help anybody. It is

just easier to vacuum than go to another venue.” the development of Percat and Edwards as a partnership continues to grow, but for BJR’s leader and influx of new parts, plus a different set-up direction leave him confident that the team can challenge the frontrunning squads soon.

“For us as a team, myself and Andrew dug deep during the week to try and keep developing our car, on car #8 we are always trying to develop new parts, bits and pieces and kind of take that step forward to try and catch the likes of Triple Eight and DJR Team Penske.” Dan McCarthy

NO EXCUSES WITH DOUBLEHEADERS THERE ARE no excuses for engineers or drivers during Supercars run of doubleheaders according to Nick Percat.

One of the form drivers of the championship, Percat has taken two victories and amassed four podiums since Supercars returned from its enforced hiatus.

The double-header events require an improvement to be acted upon the next week rather than a year later.

According to Percat, it places a lot of responsibility on the driver to make sure he is doing the job.

“It is cool to see, normally as a driver we come out on the Sunday night or on the Monday and throw the list of excuses out and don’t have to worry about it for a year,” Percat said.

“But now if you come out on Monday and say you’re going to go better next week because you’ve found problems with the car and you don’t, it’s a bit awkward.

“I enjoy it, it lets the actions speak louder than words!”

Percat believes the benefit of the doubleheaders are minimal and pointed out BJR had speed before the run of quickfire events.

“We had a really fast car here (in Darwin) last week, so I think everyone’s just doing what they have to, I don’t think it helps any team in particular,” he explained.

“We, myself and Andrew Edwards (#8 engineer) kind of throw some pretty big

CAMERON WATERS scored his first podium since Adelaide in Race 16 at the Darwin SuperSprint, delivering on the top five pace that had been masked to an extent by the 2020 season’s mixed tyre format.

Since the championship returned after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Supercars has implemented a raft of changes to the race formats.

The Tickford Racing driver told autoaction. com.au that his Mustang’s pace had been hidden by the alternate strategies teams had implemented around the mixed tyre format.

Waters voiced his preference for a single tyre format again post-race, after backing up his claims with a podium finish.

“I’m all for trying new things, so it’s hats off to Supercars to trying that stuff,” Waters told Auto Action.

“We’ve always had pace for the top five and we qualify there but people throw (new) double softs on, so instead of coming fifth you are coming eighth or tenth.

“It has really hurt us from a points point of view, because we’re not putting all our eggs in one basket to get a trophy, we’re trying to play the long game.”

After the most recent weekend in Darwin, which was contested on solely soft tyres, Waters enjoyed the level playing field it provided.

“The one tyre is much better for my point of view,” a relieved Waters said.

“For me, just having a bit more of a basic tyre format, everyone was on the same strategy obviously in that race, which was good.

“So, if you qualify well you’re in for a good shot without other people putting on tyres

WATERS PROVES TICKFORD PACE

and finishing in front of you, even though they probably didn’t have the car speed to (do that).

“From my point of view, I’m enjoying the more basic tyre rules, but it is what it is.”

According to Waters, pace in the single-tyre format is more meaningful.

“I’m all for having simpler tyre rules, so if you

actually do put the tyres on and have a red hot crack, everyone’s in the same boat and you know you’ve truly earnt the result,” he said to AA. Although Tickford Racing has made progress and is level pace-wise with Triple Eight, Waters said there is more to come.

“We found a little but we are still probably a chunk away from the two cars that finished in front of me,” Waters felt.

“We’re thereabouts, we are finding gains, but you know we have just got to keep chipping away.” Dan McCarthy

WRONG WEEKEND FOR SOLE COMPOUND REIGNING SUPERCARS champion Scott McLaughlin firmly believes that the Triple Crown Supercars event should have been run solely on the soft tyre compound and kept to its original form after winning all three races this weekend.

Last year, McLaughlin became the first driver in its 22-year history to take pole in the shootout and complete a hat-trick of wins to thus take the Triple Crown.

Jamie Whincup became just the second person to win the Triple Crown last weekend due to rule changes awarded the prestigious honour to the round winner, not a driver that wins every race.

After winning all three races at the Hidden Valley circuit as part of the Darwin SuperSprint header last weekend, McLaughlin expressed his disappointment in the tyre rules implemented during the Triple Crown event.

“I think this format (exclusively on soft tyres) was more realistic for the Triple Crown in regards to keeping it the way that it had been for the last 20 odd years,” he said.

“Even J-Dub (Whincup) said last week when he won it, how it wasn’t and hadn’t tended to be throughout those years.

“Certainly, I think the mixed tyre format was more of a variable than this weekend and like I said at the start to you guys it would be fully pace driven and it proved that.”

McLaughlin referred to the quotes from Whincup after he won the Triple Crown in the press conference seven days ago.

“I think it (giving it to the round winner) devalued what Scotty did last year when he was the first one to win the Triple Crown in 20 years,” Whincup said at the time.

“So, let’s just say that I’m the winner of the Triple Crown version two, which I am happy to have my name on.”

McLaughlin agreed with Whincup at that time saying that his team worked extremely

hard to achieve the historic feat last year.

“At the end of the day you don’t want to blow your own trumpet, but at the end of the day the team and myself did a good job to win that,” he said.

“It was a difficult thing that obviously hadn’t been won for 20 odd years.

“But I’m glad I was able to win it in its oldfashioned form because it was tough.”

McLaughlin did acknowledge that he is pleased to see the return of a round winner due to the unpredictable nature of race winners in this present time.

“It is good to recognise the round winner, I think it is a good step from Supercars, it makes us all think about that more and we all want a trophy and have the overall points at the end,” he concluded. Dan McCarthy

LATEST NEWS

CARROLL TARGETING SUPER2 TRANS AM racer Nic Carroll is working to try and secure a deal in the Super2 Series for 2021 after a successful campaign in the third-tier Supercars category last year.

The recently turned 21-year-old competed for front running squad Matthew White Motorsport in Super3 and is looking at making the step-up next year.

“That (Super2) is something we are working towards, obviously there’s a lot of things you need to get in place to go and do that, but that’s definitely the goal for next year,” Carroll told Auto Action.

“I just have to work hard on it while I’ve got a break and hopefully we can get something together.”

After finishing sixth in the Super3 Series with five podiums Carroll had planned to stay in the series for a second crack in 2020, but when it was announced that the category was to revert to the V8 Touring Car Series, Carroll looked elsewhere for a drive.

“The TV coverage is so important for bringing sponsors on board and obviously without them it’s pretty hard to race,” Carroll said.

“Being in a support category at the lower end there is not many benefits for sponsors in that sense.”

Carroll initially wanted to follow Super3 rivals Jayden Ojeda, Broc Feeney, Zak Best

and Josh Fife into Super2 but a deal didn’t eventuate.

“Initially we were thinking about staying in the category, but when it was cut from Supercars it made us look at other options,” he explained to AA. “After the announcement we looked at doing Super2, obviously it would been great to move up with all the drivers I raced with last year. But we didn’t quite get there.”

With just a week before the season

opening Adelaide 500 event Carroll secured a deal to drive in the rapidly growing Trans Am Series.

That round Carroll bagged three top five finishes and notably finished the event as runner-up having never driven the car until first practice session.

Carroll plans to contest the remainder of the season if sponsors remain, but highlighted that his main focus is working towards that dream of becoming a

Supercars Championship driver.

“I’m not sure what we are going to do (for remainder of season), a lot of people are struggling, there’s not a lot of cash flow and business so it’s hard to bring sponsorship on board,” he said.

“Obviously the Supercars path is a very expensive path to go down, there are other options but at the end of the day Supercars is still the ultimate category in Australia, so that’s what you want to be in. Dan McCarthy

told Auto Action that “Multimatic Motorsports is not involved at this time with the TCR program.”

In a statement provided to US-based podcast Grassroots Motorsport a Mazda spokesperson stated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the final blow to the project.

“Given the recent conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has elected

to cancel the development program for the Mazda3 TCR car.

“We thank all our fans and partners for their continued support for Mazda Motorsports.”

Set to use the Volkswagen EA888 2.0 R4 TSI I4 TCR control engine also shared between the VAG range of TCR models, the 3 TCR was to be the first US-built model for the category and second specific to the country after Hyundai’s Veloster N TCR. HM

MAZDA TCR PROGRAM CANNED

AFTER COMMITTING to the worldwide TCR touring car formula late last year, Mazda has scrapped its program.

Spearheaded by its North American operations, the 3 TCR was supposed to debut earlier this year at Daytona.

This was pushed back to 2021 as the team chosen to undertake the program, Long Road Racing, ceased operations in December last year.

New vendors were being sought for both the Mazda 3 TCR project and the American-based Global MX-5 Cup - two projects overseen by Long Road Racing - through January.

Flis Performance took over operations of the Global MX-5 Cup and were rumoured to be in line to absorb the TCR program as well.

It was also believed Mazda DPi representative Multimatic Motorsports were also in the frame, however a spokesperson

BMW’S NEW GT3 REVEALED BMW FURTHER demonstrated its BMW M4 GT3 at the Red Bull Ring last week after performing a shakedown at the M factory weeks prior.

After Augusto Farfus completed the initial run featured in Auto Action last issue, DTM driver Philipp Eng was handed the duties for this first test on a race circuit.

A previous winner of the Spa 24 Hour, Eng is excited by the potential

demonstrated by the new model after his maiden laps.

“I can’t wait to take the BMW M4 GT3 onto the starting grid,” said Eng. “The BMW M4 GT3 will already take part in its first race next year and will be able to prove how it performs under competitive conditions. I am sure that it has what it takes to continue the long-standing and successful tradition of BMW M vehicles.”

CEO of BMW M GmbH Markus Flasch drove laps of the road-going M4 and was excited to reveal both models ahead of the showroom version’s official release next month.

“I am very pleased we are able to present both the new BMW M4 Coupe and the new BMW M4 GT3 together here,” said Flasch.

“The BMW M4 Coupe and its motorsport

counterpart BMW M4 GT3 are the icons of the BMW M GmbH and prime examples of the technology transfer from motorsport to series production – and back again. From the outset, both vehicles were developed parallel to each other, so they both have the same genes.”

BMW are aiming to debut the M4 GT3 next year ahead of it being available to customers. HM

GRASSROOTS RACING PLAN WHILE REPCO is being linked with a series of high-profile motorsport sponsorships, its stablemate NAPA Auto Parts is being targeted at a grassroots motorsport program.

The program, which is in its earliest stages, is likely to be co-ordinated by the Australian division of NAPA and its parent Genuine Parts Company Asia-Pacific.

“I’d like to keep Repco at the top-end with Supercars and then have our NAPA business support grass roots and local motorsports,” explained GPC Asia-Pacific boss Rob

Cameron. “I think that’s the right thing for NAPA and with that I think we have our bases covered.”

Cameron said he would like Motorsport Australia involved with GPC on the program.

“I am going to work with (MA CEO) Eugene Arocca. I have met with Eugene a couple of times now and we’ve got a desire to work with them. I think that’s the right thing for NAPA.” Repco has just done a deal to back the Bathurst 1000 for at least five years from

2021, sponsors DJR Team Penske and is hunting other investments in Supercars.

NAPA also has some Supercars presence, but Cameron says an expansion of its grassroots role is the right direction.

“There are a number of motorsports enthusiasts who are racing around in their own vehicle to which we provide tools, accessories, parts etcetera. So we do a fair bit of that as well. That’s something I am going to up the ante on quite significantly. It still is a definite work in progress.

“What I would really like to do is give some rope to our branch managers.

“We have around 100 NAPA branch managers around the country and they all heavily involved in their community. They have got contacts with all of these guys who are bashing around on the weekend and I’d love to be able to give our branch managers a little bit of rope to support their mates, or people in their local communities.

“We need to evolve that as we get more serious about it.” BN

LATEST NEWS

DENYER TO TACKLE 6 HOUR

TELEVISION PERSONALITY and accomplished racer Grant Denyer will team up with Tony Quinn to take on this year’s Bathurst 6 Hour in November.

Driving a brand new Ford Mustang built by Ryan McLeod the pairing is expected to be one of the favourites heading it to The Mountain.

This is not the first time the duo has partnered up having contested multiple Bathurst 12 Hour races in Mitsubishi

Lancer Evos alongside Quinn’s son Klark. It will be Denyer’s debut in the race as well as possibly the Mustang due to travel restrictions reducing the likelihood of a pre-event test.

“If there’s only going to be one race this year for me, you’d want it to be at somewhere spectacular,” Denyer said.

“So, pounding the pavement around Mount Panorama for 6 Hours in a Mustang sounds like possibly the only

good thing to happen in 2020.”

Denyer is expecting a challenge and is excited to be competing in the race this year.

“The cool thing is that the 6 Hour is a production car race and a different mentality and a different challenge to steep a car around there, with the aim to get the car to the finish line,” he said.

“There’s the element of driving fast

and beating a fellow competitor, but yet still nursing machinery and having level of mechanical sympathy that is on point to ensure you are there are the end.

“There are no guarantees that you’ll be there at the end, so you need to give yourself the best chance.”

The 6 Hour takes place as part of the Australian Racing Group’s Bathurst International event on November 12-15.

HM

BRAKE FAILURE FACTORY YAMAHA rider Maverick Vinales confirmed brake failure caused his retirement in the Styrian Grand Prix last weekend.

Vinales was forced to leap from his bike at more than 230km/h, but fortunately escaped from the incident with no serious injury.

His bike however, burst into flames after hitting the safety fencing in spectacular fashion, leaving teh Yamaha damaged beyond repair.

“For sure, today’s crash was amazing, I never had that feeling before, where I completely lose the brakes and have to jump off,” Vinales explained.

“I understand how it happened, the brake overheated, but for sure it’s not a common problem.”

Further quizzing by the media led Vinales to admit his previous statement was false.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s never happened to me, but this is a track where we need to brake very hard to recover what we lose in the top speed.

“It’s hard to say, I don’t know, I really don’t know if it is because we brake too hard or

not, but anyway brakes need to brake.”

This is not the first instance of Yamahas experiencing brake problems with both Vinales and Fabio Quartararo both finishing the previous week’s Austrian Grand Prix with brake fade

“I was losing the brakes from lap 4 onwards, I tried my best” he admitted. “I tried to overtake (Andrea) Dovizioso, and I did overtake him, but suddenly on the straight he overtook me again.

“These have been three really tough races where we could have done a really good job, but due to our mistakes we’re not at the front.”

Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli confirmed that a serious investigation will be made into the brake problems hampering manufacturer.

“Maverick had a problem with his bike‘s brakes in the race, he decided to keep riding, hoping to salvage some crucial points for the championship,” Meregalli said.

“But when he approached Turn 1 without

brakes, he had to make the split-second decision to jump off the bike.

“We are thankful he wasn‘t hurt, and we will investigate the issue most thoroughly in the coming two weeks, as we prepare for the next triple header.”

After being nearly collected by Johann Zarco’s rogue Ducati at high speed one week prior, Vinales is thankful to just be in one piece after the latest incident.

“Luckily, I’m okay, this is the most important thing, I will be 100% fit again in Misano,” he said.

“You know, we have to stay positive and focus on the next rounds, Misano is a good track for us, last year I was very strong there, and I think this year I can do even better.” Dan McCarthy

2 AutoAction FEATURE

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LATEST NEWS

MA PRESIDENT TO RETIRE AT YEAR’S END IN THE third round of the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park, seven different drivers finished on the podium. Although without a win, three solid top four finishes sees reigning champ Colin Turkington remain at the head of the standings.

Race 1 in wet conditions saw Motorbase Ford Focus driver Rory Butcher take his first win of the season after Josh Cook was disqualified for an illegal ride height on his Honda Civic. Cammish finished second ahead of Jake Hill. Race 2 saw Ash Sutton win in wet conditions from eighth on the grid, ahead of his major title threats Cammish and Turkington. The dry final race was won by Mercedes A-Class driver Adam Morgan, who had not taken a victory since 2018, beating home Turkington and Tom Oliphant. DM

THE FORMULA E Championship silly season continues, with several key moves taking place.

The first came from 11-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Felipe Massa, who announced he would leave the Venturi team after a two-year period. The Brazilian had a challenging season, scoring just three points and finishing 22nd in the championship.

After splitting from Mahindra Racing mid-season, the German Pascal Wehrlein has been announced as a Porsche driver replacing Neel Jani. And BMW driver Alexander Sims has been signed to replace series veteran Jerome d’Ambrosio. DM

THE SUPERBIKE World Championship has announced that its 2020 season will conclude at the Estoril circuit in Portugal, following the cancellation of the event in Misano on October 16-18. It will be the second time that the WSBK will visit Portugal this season, after the championship competed at the Portimao circuit less than two weeks ago and also marks the first time that the country has hosted two rounds. The FIM Supersport World Championship and the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship support categories will also host finales at Estoril.

DM

TCR ORGANISERS WSC has announced changes to its Balance of Performance weights, power levels and minimum ride heights for the majority of models in the class, ahead of the first 2020 TCR Europe round in a fortnight. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the WSC was forced to cancel its usual pre-season BoP test and will instead base its calculations on trials completed already. These include engine dyno, wind tunnel and centre of gravity tests. HM

12 AutoAction

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA (MA) president Andrew Papadopoulos will retire at the end of 2020 and will be replaced by Andrew Fraser.

Papadopoulos has sat on the Motorsport Australian board (formally known as CAMS) since 2001 and by the end of this year will join the late John Large as the longest serving MA president.

He was set to finish his term as president in 2021 but with Motorsport Australia’s restructure, Papadopoulos felt the time was right to retire at the end of this year.

“I am certainly proud of what we have achieved as a board in the past 20 years, and during my presidency of this wonderful organisation, which means so much to me,” Papadopoulos said.

“However after much thought, I believe the time is right for me to step aside as Motorsport Australia embarks on the next exciting chapter in its rich history.

“It’s been an enormous honour to have led such a strong and impressive organisation, with the input of so many passionate people across Australian motorsport, from the board and administration right through to the grassroots competitors and volunteer officials who make this sport so special.

“Of course I won’t be lost to motorsport. I will continue working closely with the FIA where Motorsport Australia and its members, officials THE LARGEST upgrades ever planned in Wakefield Park’s 25-year history are currently being proposed by circuit owner the Benalla Auto Club.

And it is asking for consultation from its competitor base on its ideas.

The upgrades are focused on improving the circuit infrastructure rather than the actual track layout, with the primary aim of bringing all of Wakefield Park’s facilities under one roof in a new two or three storey multi-purpose pit lane building.

Currently the pits, café, media centre and control tower are situated in separate structures.

“The (new) design is not to go away from catering for our key client, which is grassroots motor sport,” Wakefield Park operations manager Dean Chapman told Auto Action.

“We’re not looking to chase Supercars, TCR or anything like that.

“What we’re looking to do is to cater for our current customer base, which is grassroots motor sport or complete track days.

“What we’re looking to do is relocate all these (facilities) into one functional building featuring all the technology requirements, which weren’t there 25 years ago. The location of the current pit garages won’t change, the aesthetics that John Carter and Paul Samuels originally did 25 years ago will remain as much as possible.”

Also, part of the facility upgrades includes the demolition of outdated buildings, formalise access and parking areas, and work alongside the Goulburn Mulwaree Council to ensure the circuit meets all EPA and noise requirements.

“The main things about the development application are to secure and tighten up the regulations in regards EPA council requirements, so at the same time we want to do a couple of upgrades to bring the facility up to a standard where we can comfortably run events, not increasing in size,” Chapman explained.

and competitors are held in high regard, while also continuing to attend grassroots and other events across the country in the months and years ahead.”

Andrew Fraser will step into the role on January 1, until the next Motorsport Australia election in October next year.

Fraser was unanimously voted in by all Motorsport Australia board members following the Papadopoulos retirement announcement.

“I’m honoured to have the unanimous support of Motorsport Australia to serve as president and chair,” Fraser said.

“Firstly, I want to acknowledge Andrew Papadopoulos’ extraordinary contribution to motorsport and I look forward to working with him during the transition period, as I complete his term.

“I want to thank him for facilitating the succession in the best interests of Motorsport

Australia, an organisation I know he loves and will continue to support upon his retirement from the Board.”

Fraser is no stranger to sports governance, as he is a former commissioner with the Australian Sports Commission and has previously served in executive and governance roles in Rugby League, both in Australia and New Zealand.

Outside of spor,t Fraser is a former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland and is currently the chair of Sunsuper and Orange Sky Australia.

Fraser joined the Motorsport Australia board in 2019 as a lifelong motorsport fan, whose family has been involved in the motoring industry for several generations.

The board will need to find and elect a new board member to replace Fraser for 2021, with a decision on who that will be to be made in coming months. Dan McCarthy

PROPOSED WAKEFIELD PARK DEVLOPMENT REVEALED

“All we want to do is cater for people that already use the track and not steer them away and make it unaffordable or unattainable for all of our current clientele.”

Attracting crowds to the circuit is also on the agenda through vast upgrades to the camping facilities.

“The spectator experience is something that we’d like to improve. We’ve thought about many, many ways to improve on it and this might be the first part of further upgrades in the coming years, including aluminium seating structures,” said Chapman. “(We want) A designated camping area, which has previously been just a piece of grass. We’ll add showers and further facilities on top of the hill. It’d be a perfect setting watching the sunrise across the circuit.”

Wakefield Park is making sure its motor sport community is involved, by hosting Information Nights on September 1 and 5, before the development application is submitted.

“We’ll have the development application

submitted by mid-September,” Chapman confirmed.

“We’ll grab all the feedback from the two Information sessions and we’ll formulate all that data together to see what we come up with.

We’ll make some further decisions from there so everyone’s input is heard, then we’ll submit and await advice from the council.

“We’ll then hopefully have it approved after that if we can get it done in the first go, though I’m sure with every development application there are a couple of additions, but sooner rather than later.”

Chapman wants to set the groundwork for Wakefield Park’s next 25-years and highlighted the importance of the design’s sustainability.

“Part of the reason why we want to do a development application is we had a noise prevention plan put in place, which we agreed to with the Goulburn Mulwaree Council in January this year,” Chapman said.

“A part of that agreement is to ensure the venue improvements last the next 25 years.”

Heath McAlpine

Image: Insyde Media

SUPERUTES 2021 ARE GO

NEW $200M TRACK A STEP CLOSER THE CARDINIA Shire Council has unanimously approved the application for Stage 1 of the Cardinia Motor Recreation and Education Park in Pakenham, south-east of Melbourne.

Construction is expected to begin next year, dependant on environmental reports, with an investment of around $200 million being led by Podium 1.

The facility will be built on the current site of the Pakenham Auto Club motorkhana circuit, which is council owned. The new circuit will also house the Koo Wee Rup Motorcycle Club and a shooting range.

The first stage of construction includes the 3.6km FIA Grade II/FIM Grade B circuit and pit building, while two further stages are in the

works, including a hotel.

“I think there are a number of environmental reports that need to be done and I suppose conditions met,” Cardinia Shire Councillor Brett Owen told Auto Action.

“We’re confident that the applicant will be able to address all the requirements and get on with it.

“Council owns the land at the moment, but with the application, the sale will proceed. As part of that sale there are really strict timelines of when work starts, so we’re quite confident that this will develop quite quickly because council wants this on the ground as soon as possible.”

Owen is excited that the new development

has reached this stage and says that the benefits to the community, which is one of the fastest growing in Victoria, will be huge.

“That’s why we think the associated retail and businesses go hand-in-hand with this type of enterprise,” Cr Owen said.

“It will be great. We’re envisioning massive patron numbers, whether that be motor racing or other events such as exhibitions and rally events. The visitor numbers to our shire will be immense.”

Attracting Supercars to the circuit is a major aim, however the facility is also targeted at grassroots motor sport, car clubs and as base for the Cardinia Shire Council’s driver education program. Heath McAlpine

SUPERUTES IS expected to return to Australian tracks in 2021, after confirmation that the Chevrolet LS V8 engine conversion from the previous diesels has been successful, and interest is building.

A derided category for much of its twoyear existence, organisers are now aiming to return the class to the Supercars support bill.

Interest has been strong according to Sieders Race Team owner Luke Sieders, who estimates it will cost $20,000 per round.

“Very, very good,” is how Sieders described progress.

“Because of its price point, its $3-$4000 more than the 86 Series (but) with big V8s and purpose-built brake packages like what is run in Supercars, I think it’s going to gain traction.

“It’s the next intermediate step from the 86s.”

Sieders stated that there will be a further update on a new LS-converted ute very soon. Heath McAlpine

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LATEST NEWS - AUSSIES OVERSEAS

AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN Mansell, competing in the British F4 Championship, continued his good run of podium places in the Rookie Cup and as a result remains out front in that battle. Over the three races in the third round of the series, Mansell scored two eighths and a 12th place finish. In Race 1 the Australian Carlin driver finished eighth, one position behind his Rookie Cup rival Frederick Lubin. This was followed by a 12th place finish in the Race 2, however, Mansell delivered another eighth place to take rookie honours. Overall in the championship Mansell has slipped down to seventh position. DM

THE SECOND round of the British F3 Championship at Donington Park was a challenge for Bart Horsten. After qualifying fifth on the grid Horsten was one of several drivers to be dealt a post-qualifying penalty and had to start from the rear of the grid. Horsten calved his way from the back to finish the opening race in 11th. The following day’s races were impacted by bad weather, with Horsten starting the reverse grid from eighth and finishing 2s off the podium in fourth. From the back of the grid in Race 3 the Lanan Racing driver made his way up to 14th. DM

OSCAR PIASTRI led home Alex Peroni in a historic Aussie 1-2 finish in the FIA Formula 3 Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya!

In the second race of the weekend, Piastri and Peroni had started from fifth and third respectively, and both shot through the field in the opening turns to pave the way to this memorable Aussie sporting moment.

Qualifying was incredibly tight as usual, particularly at the end of the session, and it was Piastri’s championship rival and teammate Logan Sargeant who took pole position from Jake Hughes and Kiwi Liam Lawson.

Piastri was on top for most of the session but dropped to fourth by the end, while Peroni finished qualifying in ninth.

The opening race of the weekend was an intriguing affair.

Sargeant lacked the pace of those around him including Piastri but the Aussie Prema Racing driver was unable to capitalise, after making a couple of unforced errors.

Piastri tried an unsuccessful pass on Lawson at Turn 1, allowing Clement Novalak past. Then several laps later Piastri reclaimed the position with a well-executed move back up the inside at Turn 10.

Shortly after, the Safety Car was deployed as the third Prema Racing

AUSSIE 1-2 IN F3 driver Frederik Vesti came to a halt on the exit of Turn 4.

On the restart Piastri briefly stuck his car on the kerb exiting the penultimate turn, ran wide and fell back to sixth, where he stayed for the remainder of the race.

Peroni was able to pick up a spot to finish eighth while the other two Aussies, Jack Doohan and Calan Williams finished 14th and 25th respectively.

The inverted top 10 grid race became the best collective result for our quartet of Aussies this season.

On the run towards Turn 1 Peroni went three-wide with the front row starters and was able to snatch the lead with a brave move around the outside.

The Tasmanian ran slightly wide and baulked the drivers behind him

at Turn 2, which allowed Piastri to swoop around the outside at Turn 3 and into second position, before moving back up the inside at Turn 4 to take the lead from Peroni.

From that moment on Piastri was never headed, and went on to take his second race victory of the season and in doing so closed to within one point of Sargeant in the series standings.

Peroni did fall to third behind pole sitter Matteo Nannini, but he was able to retake second from the Italian on the pit straight just before the halfway stage of the race.

And that was the way it remained, Piastri beating home Peroni in a momentous Aussie 1-2 finish.

“Obviously on the track I was just focused on keeping Alex (Peroni) behind me like I would any other

Image: LAT

person, but standing up there on the podium with Alex, was pretty cool,” Piastri told Auto Action.

Nannini rounded out the podium in third, Sargeant finished the race fifth and Lawson in seventh.

Williams notably gained 11 positions to finish 14th, just ahead of Doohan who rounded out the top 15.

Dan McCarthy

Points after six rounds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Logan Sargeant Oscar Piastri Liam Lawson David Beckmann Theo Pourchaire Frederik Vesti Jake Hughes Alex Peroni Richard Verschoor Clement Novalak

131 130 99 94.5 80 70.5 63.5 58 57 45

MCELREA P2 ONCE MORE

AFTER WINNING the USF2000 Cooper Tires Freedom 75 race at Lucas Oil Raceway last season, Australian Cameron Shields would have hoped for more in 2020. The only oval round of the 2020 season, the 75-lap race took place on Carb Day in the lead up to the Indy500. Sadly, the Australian Legacy Autosport driver could not match his performance from one year earlier and crossed the line in 12th position. This saw Shields drop to 11th in the standings, with nine races to go. DM

IT WAS another challenging weekend for Australian Aidan Read in the second round of the 2020 ADAC GT Masters. Read and his Swedish teammate Joel Eriksson in their Schubert Motorsport BMW finished outside the points in both races at the Nurburgring.

In Race 1 they started 32nd but climbed up to finish 24th, only 23.49s behind the race winners. In Race 2, starting from 26th, the pair again made up many positions to finish 19th. DM AFTER TWO top ten finishes in the Super GT 300 series to begin 2020, the round at the Suzuka International Circuit did not go so well for Aussie Jake Parsons and his experienced teammate Ryo Michigami. The pair ran strongly all day and were in contention for a podium finish, however a badly timed safety car saw the Honda NSX GT3 Evo drivers finish the race in 19th position. DM

14 AutoAction

Image: LAT

EVANS SCORES ANOTHER SUPERCUP PODIUM

IN THE Spanish round of Porsche Supercup Jaxon Evans scored his third podium of the season, while Aussie Jordan Love impressively marched through the field.

Starting from second on the grid at the Circuit de BarcelonaCatalunya, Evans made a blistering start and took the race lead off pole sitter Larry Ten Voorde around the outside at Turn 1.

It was only a few moments later that the Safety Car was called for a start line collision.

JB Simmenauer stalled and was clipped by Dutchman Daan van Kuijk, who then fired heavily into the pit wall as a result of damage in the initial contact. Two other cars were then involved in a separate accident while avoiding the stationary Simmenauer machine.

After several laps under Safety Car the red flag was flown, and the race was suspended to clean up the extensive debris.

Starting from pole on the restart Evans made a poor launch, this allowed Ten Voorde to reclaim the

race lead on the inside at the first turn, while the Kiwi was forced to defend from his teammate Dylan Pereira.

After several laps under pressure from Pereira, Evans started to pull away and catch leader Ten Voorde but it was too little too late, as he came up 0.524s short of the victory.

“My first start was perfect, the second I misjudged my tyre temperature and fluffed the clutch, that opened the door for Larry to overtake me,” Evans said after the race.

The sole Australian in the field Love received a grid penalty and started from 20th position. Avoiding all the carnage and mayhem on the opening lap, the West Aussie emerged in 12th.

After the restart, the Fach Auto Tech driver took one final position to move up into 11th where he remained until the end of the race.

Evans remains fourth in the standings and sliced the gap to Ayhancan Guven in third. DM

NEW ZEALANDER Hunter McElrea, competing in the IndyCar support category, the IndyPro 2000 Series, finished second at the Lucas Oil Raceway.

The 90-lap race is one of only two oval races that the series contains in 2020 and McElrea shone.

Coming off the back of a sensational drive to second position in the final race at Mid-Ohio, McElrea once again finished in the runner-up position.

From sixth on the grid McElrea didn’t make too much ground early, most of his positional gains came in the last third of the race.

McElrea made up only one position in the first 59 laps before his charge up the field began.

Firstly, he fired up the inside of Sting Ray Robb in Turns 1 and 2 to take fourth position, before catching and passing Danial Frost on lap 70.

Still on a charge, it took only a handful of laps before McElrea caught the pole sitter Manuel Sulaiman, dispensing of him at Turns 1 and 2 once more.

Despite his best efforts, McElrea could not catch Kody Swanson.

The 32-year-old, making his debut in the series, took a shock and dominant race victory.

For making many passes throughout the race to finish in second, McElrea was awarded the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

“That was awesome, it was the

most fun I’ve ever had in a race car,” an elated McElrea said.

“The first time for the team on an oval with this car and they nailed it.

I can’t thank them enough, we set the car to be good from the middle of the race to the end and it just got better and better.

“Everyone started fading and my car got better. I just kept throwing moves, just put my head down and picked them off.

“This is mega for our confidence, and we got a bucketload of points.

We’re really happy with that but there’s a long way to go. There are eight guys in the fight and I’m loving it.”

The second-place lifts McElrea to sixth in the standings and with 10 races still to go, it is all to play for with no clear runaway series leader.

The next round takes place at Gateway Motorsports Park Oval this weekend. DM

PIASTRI KNOWS POLES IMPORTANT

AUSSIE FOSTER ENTERS LE MANS

AUSTRALIAN NICK Foster has been confirmed as an entrant in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, set to take place on September 19-20.

Foster will compete in a Ligier JS P217 prepared by Eurasia Motorsport, alongside former Formula 1 driver Roberto Merhi and Nobuya Yamanaka, in the LMP2 class.

The trio teamed up together for the first time to contest the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.

In the very wet race, they crossed the line in 28th position outright and eighth in class.

Foster has been racking up the kilometres in recent weeks after he contested the final seven races of the all-electric Jaguar i-Pace eTrophy Series in Berlin, resulting in a handful of top five finishes.

However, the Aussie has now switched his focus to the world’s most famous sports car event.

“Jumping back in the LMP2 after Berlin was a real buzz, the first laps in practice reminding me how quick these things are,” Foster said.

“Most of all we had a lot of fun racing together this weekend and I am grateful to be confirmed as part of the squad for Le Mans.

“Racing a P2 car there is going to be an amazing experience,

my previous appearances being in GT machinery.”

The 6 Hours of Spa was the first time that the Eurasia team had competed at a racetrack since the conclusion of the Asian Le Mans Series in February, the team using the Belgian race as a warm up for the French endurance classic in September.

“We achieved all we expected with this tough test in Spa; the crew got the opportunity to work in a competitive environment for the first time in a while,” Eurasia Motorsport team principal Mark Goddard said.

“They also worked well under pressure, changing conditions and completed some running repairs. The drivers – especially Yamanaka – got the valuable experience that will be of great benefit when he lines up at Le Mans next month.”

While both Foster and Merhi had teamed up as part of the Eurasia squad’s Asian Le Mans Series attack, Yamanaka is still to build his experience in the Ligier JS P217, having debuted in an LMP2 machine at Spa. Dan McCarthy

PERONI STILL TARGETING F3 RACE WINS AUSSIE FIA Formula 3 Championship driver Alex Peroni feels that if everything clicks into place, then a win is a real possibility in the final three rounds of the 2020 season.

The Tasmanian sits eighth in the championship with three rounds to go and so far this season has earned three podium finishes (two thirds and a second), but is aiming for that maiden win before the season concludes.

“All we need is our first win so that is what we are aiming for. Obviously the championship is too far away now, so we’re just going for wins and podiums and yeah hopefully we can get a couple,” Peroni told Auto Action.

“The season has gone pretty decently but it’s been pretty up and down to say the least. The weekends where we have gone alright we’ve been on the podium, the weekends where we’ve made a couple mistakes, we’ve been out of the points.”

Peroni believes that the Campos Racing car is not lacking any pace and is confident all of the ingredients are there, it is just simply a matter of putting them all together.

“It’s just a matter of timing the car

Image: LAT

with the track evolution, doing the right strategy with tyres, and me driving well,” he explained.

“It’s not things that we necessarily have to change in the way we work, just doing things right and making the fewest mistakes.

“We need to concentrate on that, we have the car to do that (win) and I feel I’m driving well, so hopefully things can just come together for these last few rounds.”

Last year was a tough season for Campos Racing. Peroni scored all of the team’s five points, with the Spanish squad finishing last in the Teams’ Championship.

This year, though, Campos has made a big step up and are consistently fighting for podiums with the 20-year-

old behind the wheel.

“Last year was a difficult year for both me and the team, we didn’t really have the pace to be fighting at the front last year,” Peroni told AA. “The team was pretty fired up after what happened. Changes were made inside the team, new people arrived and yeah its paid dividends, the car has made a huge step forwards and I feel I’ve improved a lot since last year.”

In the most recent race, the Barcelona inverted top 10 grid affair, Peroni bagged his best result in the Formula 3 Championship to date with a second-place finish, just behind fellow Australian Oscar Piastri.

“It was cool, it’s always nice to hear the Aussie national anthem, but its funny hearing it when you don’t win.

It’s good for Australia and good for Australian motorsport,” Peroni felt.

“I went into that race with a target to win. I knew I was going to have pretty good pace and I was hoping that I could attack straight away into the first corner.

“I ended up doing a pretty crazy move at Turn 1, honestly if I didn’t get that touch from (Matteo) Nannini who knows

Image: LAT

VICTORIAN OSCAR Piastri has stared in the first six rounds of the FIA Formula 3 Championship to date by taking two race wins, but front row qualifying results have eluded the Aussie to this point.

Piastri sits just one point behind his Prema teammate Logan Sargeant at the head of the championship, and believes the four bonus points for qualifying on pole position could be crucial come season end.

“That’s the added pressure of qualifying this year, it’s worth quite a few points, so it hasn’t been ideal having Logan get the last three,” Piastri told Auto Action.

“But I’ve got a few extra points from fastest laps, so it evened itself out, but it’s definitely going to be important to try and get those poles for the rest of the year.”

The 19-year-old explained that there have been several reasons why pole position has slipped through his grasp, including the technical issue at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, slower cars in Spain, and a couple of mistakes from Piastri himself.

“It has been a few things. My quali pace has still been pretty consistent, just consistently not on the front row, (I’ve) got to try and rectify that for the last three, and hopefully we can get a pole or two or three,” he said.

Throughout the season Piastri has been plagued by DRS issues, most notably forcing him to retire in the British Grand Prix inverted grid race.

“We still had a few little issues at Barcelona,” he revealed to AA. “I think I’ve had at least one technical issue every weekend, so that hasn’t been ideal.

“The DRS opened and closed for a couple of laps in Barcelona. It’s a bit weird that it was so random, hopefully we can do these last few rounds of the season with no issues, that would be very nice.”

This season, the third-tier F1 championship has inverted the top 10 cars for the second race rather than the top eight as it has done previously. And due to the ultra-competitive nature of the series, it is proving tough for all drivers to move up within that 10.

“Generally the reverse grids are pretty tough, so my mentality for the weekend is try and get pole position and try and get the win in Race 1 and then whatever you can salvage from Race 2 is a bonus,” Piastri said.

“Trying to try to get through the field in those reverse grids is generally pretty tricky, especially with the DRS train. Because everyone’s got reduced drag, the tow effect in the pack actually isn’t very big at all.”

To this point, the Prema Racing driver has taken two race victories and three second place finishes, surprising himself, but he has a strategy heading into the deciding three events.

“It’s probably gone a bit better than I was expecting. I was expecting to be somewhere at the front but probably not a point off the championship with three rounds to go,” he felt.

“I’m just gonna try and be consistent. And obviously finish solidly, that is going to be the main key. Being a very good close championship, I’m expecting it to be exciting.” DM

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LIVING UP TO ITS LEGACY Legendary Aussie automotive business Repco is back in motorsport in a big way. Managing director Rob Cameron explains why.

Repco is famous as the little Aussie engine company that teamed with Jack Brabham to become Formula 1 world beaters in the 1960s.

More than 50 years on and now owned by the US auto parts, Genuine Parts Company, Repco is back in Australian motorsport in a big way.

Its five-year deal to take over as primary backer of the Bathurst 1000 from 2021 generated big headlines last week, thanks to complaints by current naming rights event sponsor Supercheap Auto that it had lost out to a “big money” offer from an “overseas competitor”.

But as you’ll read here, GPC Asia-Pacific managing director and CEO Rob Cameron isn’t buying that argument or buying into the fight.

Instead, as he tells BRUCE NEWTON in this exclusive interview, Repco is on a journey to once again become a motorsports “powerhouse” in Australia.

On the ownership structure of Repco.

Repco is a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company which is a publicly listed business. It’s a global business with operations in North America, Europe and we run the Asia-Pacific part of the business.

On Repco’s current business model and focus.

Repco is principally a distributor of automotive parts and accessories.

We have got 550 branches across both Australia and New Zealand. The (GPC Asia-Pacific) organisation has

16 AutoAction

Repco proudly displays the Brabham BT19 that won the 1966 driver and consutructors world championships in its foyer. GPC Asia Pacific CEO Rob Cameron says motor sport is in Repco’s DNA and its people and customers are “motorsport mad”. He plans to get more involved in the sport.

effectively three divisions. We’ve got the most well-known which is Repco, that caters to both retail consumers but also automotive workshops.

We then have our NAPA division and that’s a trade business and that caters for automotive workshops, industrial businesses, mining businesses, transport businesses. It’s a fully commercial B2B business if you like.

And then we have a two-wheeled division, McLeod Accessories and AMX Superstores. So we are into motorbikes as well.

On Repco’s current investments in motorsport.

The Repco brand is connected with DJR Team Penske. We are also the official automotive parts retailer for the Supercars championship. Our NAPA business support the Walkinshaw Andretti United team and we were really pleased to get Alex Rossi out to Bathurst last year and sponsor the

third car of that team.

We do a number of grass roots things too. There are a number of motorsports enthusiasts who are racing around in their own vehicle to which we provide tools, accessories, parts, etcetera. So we do a fair bit of that as well. That’s something I am going to up the ante on quite significantly.

On why Repco invests in motorsport.

First and foremost it’s part of our DNA. It’s what we grew up with. We call our team members the Repco Crew and they are all motorsports mad. They are nutters. When the Bathurst 1000 sponsorship was announced to the team they just went crazy. We still own the Repco-Brabham BT19 that won the 1966 constructors and drivers world championships. It’s in our foyer, it still runs, it’s still got its own mechanic who comes in and turns it over and shakes the building like crazy.

Secondly, we’ve been putting a lot of effort into our Repco business over the course of the last three to five years.

And as we have gone out and sought to understand our customers, their number one pursuit, hobby or sporting interest is motorsports. By a long way.

That’s our customers and we were not as present as we would like to be and this is about changing that and appealing to those customers.

We think we have a fair bit to offer to them. We don’t just sell accessories and car care and seat covers, we are a parts company. We sell parts. If they are working on their vehicles and they want to not only accessorise their vehicles but make them go faster, repair them etc, well we have the parts in-store with the Repco Crew who actually understand parts and understands cars.

So our true north is that red-hot enthusiast, or that person who is really eager to drive their vehicle and they love motorsports. So do we.

On how the five-year Bathurst 1000 naming rights deal from 2021 came about.

We mentioned to the Supercars team a couple of years ago when we first started to get involved back in motorsports with DJR Team Penske, that should that ever come up that would be something we would be interested in talking about.

Our involvement with Supercars grew, becoming the official parts retailer, and then we knew the existing contract ended at this year’s Bathurst. We knew that Supercheap were doing a review of their involvement in that and we did a pitch about what we could bring to the sport, about our heritage, why it was important to us, how much we wanted to work with Supercars and they made their decision.

On Supercheap Auto boss Benjamin Ward’s charge the race had been awarded to an “overseas competitor”.

I understand there is a bit of press at the moment about GPC being a foreign-owned business. Well, we are proud to be part of Genuine Parts Company. It is an awesome organisation and one of the world’s largest automotive parts distributors.

They have been in business since 1926, they have got tremendous values and are motorsport nutters, just like we are. They sponsor Chase Elliott in NASCAR and Alex Rossi in Indy and Ron Capps in drag racing, so it’s a tremendous organisation.

But if you think about it, we are (as) Australian as they come. We are 98-years old in this country. We were there through the great depression, we helped the Australian war effort, we changed manufacturing from vehicles to parts for the Australian air force at the time, we had the Repco engine development company which built engines with Jack Brabham for Formula 1 which put Australia on the map. We built the Formula 5000 engines as well, derivatives of which ran around Bathurst in Australian touring cars.

We have 6000 team members in Australia and New Zealand that we provide a living for. All our taxes are paid in Australia, all of the profits in the organisation get ploughed back into the business in Australia and New Zealand.

I just don’t know that it’s a terribly great argument at all.

On why the Bathurst 1000 was identified as an event Repco wanted to sponsor.

It’s the biggest event in motorsports in Australia by far. Not only that, it’s got substantial global appeal as well.

It’s iconic, it’s the great race. I grew up watching it, I’m a fan. I walked the mountain, I go up to the top of the hill and watch the cars flow over the hill.

It was a bit of a no-brainer for us to want to be involved and associate our brand Repco with that event and Supercars is a perfect marriage for us.

I am highly respectful of what Supercheap did for the event and I think they have done a very fine job. I don’t want to lose what they have done, but we think we can take it to another level as well.

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On plans Repco has to leverage its Bathurst 1000 sponsorship.

I won’t get into that too much. I am very respectful that Supercheap have got an event to put together in October and I want to let them do that. They deserve that right having sponsored the event for 16 years.

I will say, however, the first thing we are going to do is ask the fans. We will be there on the mountain this year and we are going to be asking the fans what they love about the event and what they want to see, or demand continues with our involvement; what would they like to see improved and done better.

That’s our very first step … then we’ll take it from there.

On the different returns sponsoring a Supercars event or team delivers.

With a team you are really appealing to the fan base of that team. When you are sponsoring an event you are appealing to a broader fan base.

We don’t have passion just for one particular team, we have a passion for motorsports in general. So it was important for us to not just be seen as a team sponsor, hence becoming the retailer for Supercars and this (Bathurst 1000 naming rights) is a great step.

It doesn’t mean we will stop our involvement with the teams. You will still see Repco or NAPA stickers up and down pitlane I have no doubt.

This is more of an extension.

On speculation Repco will become the primary sponsor of a Supercar in 2021, in addition to its supporting signage on DJR Team Penske’s two Shell V-Power Ford Mustangs.

We have got a number of teams now reaching out to us right up and down pitlane. We are definitely going to be talking to teams. I am not sure you will now see us as a full-car sponsorship, but we definitely are talking to a number of teams up and down pitlane.

But rather than sponsor a full two-car team, this (Bathurst 1000 sponsorship) is the avenue we have gone down.

Repco has 550 retail branches across Australia and New Zealand. Its heritage is Australian but it is owned by the American Genuine Parts Company (GPC), as is sister brand NAPA.

On the expectation Repco will replace Virgin Australia as the Supercars Championship naming rights sponsor.

That’s potentially an option for us and we will talk to Supercars and (CEO) Sean Seamer about that. But we are not in any position to either confirm or deny that at this point.

On opportunities for other GPC brands such as NAPA. I’d like to keep Repco at the top-end with Supercars and then have our NAPA business support grass roots and local motorsports. I think that’s the right thing for NAPA and with that I think we have our bases covered.

Of course, our two-wheeled brands are heavily into racing. I can see us extending even more into motorcycle racing.

On why Repco is accelerating its investment in motorsport now.

I became CEO (of GPC Asia-Pacific) about three years ago and there’s been a lot of work put in. You’ve got to get the fundamentals of your business right, there was so much work to be done … We have been on a really good journey, the business is in really good shape now and the conditions are right to now be able to look

forward, spend more on the brand and appeal to a larger consumer and commercial customer base.

We are so proud of what we have done in the past in motorsports; we were the little Australian company that took on the world and won and now we are in a position where I want to bring that back to the organisation.

We have always had that passion, it’s always been just under the surface and now we need to express it.

There’s been no prouder moment for myself and our leadership team at Repco than making this announcement, putting this strategy together.

It wasn’t done on a whim. This journey was two-and-a-half to three years in the making. We want to be that motorsports powerhouse again.

When you think of Repco I want you to think of passionate, motorsports, car-driving enthusiasts. That is us.

We are doing this for the right reasons. We really want to be a partner, we want to help and work with Supercars to grow the category and grow the appeal. This is a not a passive relationship, we want to be really close and we want to extend our involvement in the category.

We have a legacy and we want to live up to that.

GPC is represented here by its NAPA B2B brand, which appears on the WAU Commodores. Alex Rossi drove a third entry for the team at Bathurst last year.

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with Dan Knutson

Images: LAT

THE MERCEDES qualifying party mode looks to be no more as the FIA looks set to ban the use of all special Saturday Q3 engine modes from the next race in Belgium. It is hoped that the ban will help officials monitor what teams are doing with their power units, something that has becoming increasingly difficult to manage. The FIA stated that as part of the sporting regulations drivers are meant to drive the car unassisted and that changing the engine mode could breach this rule. Not only does the rule halt teams from turning the engine up in Q3 it will also stop them turning them down in practice or at the end of the

TOTO WOLFF, the team principal of the Mercedes Formula 1 team has openly admitted that he is contemplating his future with the Silver Arrows squad.

The Austrian has said that he is in discussions with his wife Susie Wolff and the chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG, and head of MercedesBenz Cars, Ola Kallenius about his future as team principal of the F1 team. Since joining the team in January 2013 Wolff has led the team to six drivers’ and six constructors’ titles. DM

THE FIA are investigating the incident that caused Sean Gelael to suffer a fractured spine in the Formula 2 feature race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Indonesian driver came to a halt on the final lap of the race and had to be extracted from his DAMS machine following a 45g impact with a kerb. Once he was extracted from the car he was taken to the hospital where it was found that Gelael had fractured his spine.

As a result of the injury, the 23-year-old is set to miss the remainder of the F2 season. DM

THE 2020 Formula 1 calendar is expected to be made up of 17 races, with the final four rounds set to be announced in coming days. Reports are the popular Istanbul circuit in Turkey will return for the first time since 2011 and will host a race on November 15, a fortnight after Imola. This will be followed by a double header in Bahrain on November 29 and December 6, with the latter expected to run with an alternate circuit layout. The F1 season is set to conclude at the Yas

RENAULT TEAM principal Cyril Abiteboul has stated that two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso will not be allowed to contest the Indianapolis 500 when he returns to drive in Formula 1 from 2021. This is in stark contrast to his agreement with the McLaren Formula 1 team previously, when the Spaniard missed the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix to contest the legendary American race. DM

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CONCORD LANDS

ONE THING has become certain in these uncertain times – all 10 teams have committed to remain in Formula 1 for the next five years by signing a new Concorde Agreement that runs from 2021 through 2025.

This document – signed by the teams, the FIA and Formula 1/ Liberty Media – dictates how the sport and business are to be run.

When Liberty became F1’s new commercial rights holder in 2017 it stated that it wanted to create a more level playing field between the teams, both financially and with the competition on the track.

There was some give and take in the negotiations, as in taking away some of the commercial income paid in the past to the bigger and more successful teams, and giving it to the smaller teams in a more equitable distribution format.

Naturally the big teams are not really happy about that, but at least one small team (Haas) might have quit F1 at the end of this year if that had not happened.

Mercedes in particular was unhappy with the contract because it felt it was not being compensated enough considering all it has contributed to F1, plus Ferrari still gets preferential treatment.

These last minute negotiations delayed the final teams signing from August 12 to August 18.

Liberty has already achieved two of its other major goals – getting the teams to agree to an annual budget cap (US$145m in 2021), and bringing in a new set of technical regulations in 2022 that will create closer and more

exciting racing on the track.

Another impact of the new Concorde Agreement is that rule changes can be made without unanimous agreement from all the teams. Now if eight teams along with Formula 1 and the FIA all agree, then a change can be made.

What all of this does is give Formula 1, the teams and the FIA a solid base to plan on for the next five years.

“Formula 1 has taken another important stride on the road to a sustainable, strong future with the new agreement,” McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown said. “This is the right deal at the right time for the sport, its owners, its teams and, most of all, the fans. A more equitable sport is better for everyone: greater balance in the sharing of revenues among all the teams and clearer, simpler governance that cuts through vested interests and puts the sport first. This agreement will only make the F1 constructors collectively stronger in the long term.”

Claire Williams, deputy team principal of Williams Racing, concurred, saying: “Our expectation, aligned with Liberty Media, is that this next era will be characterised by closer and more exciting racing as a result of the new platform of regulations, which include more equitable revenue distribution and a first ever cost cap for our sport.”

“Where did we go wrong? I guess that in the design of the car. We hoped we would be where we were at the start of last season, a lot better off if you would compare us with all the other teams. This year we’re definitely not where we were hoping to be or expected to be, so something has gone wrong.

“We need to have more efficient downforce because the engine is this one – it is what it is. If we had the best chassis we should be up there. But we don’t have it, so we need to improve on that side. The difficult part is that it’s never an easy fix. It’s not a quick fix; it takes time but, hopefully, step-by-step we can start getting it to where we want to be.

“We need more aero to go faster around

every corner,” he added. “The balance can be quite good, but the lap time is not. The most difficult part of F1 is probably aerodynamics, so it’s not an easy fix.”

But he was happier with the performance of the car in the Spanish Grand Prix.

“The car had a really good pace in the final stint, on the soft tyres, and I wish we had another set to use as they worked really well,” he said after finishing 14th. “Unfortunately we didn’t, so the end result is a bit disappointing as I felt we could have had a bit more. All in all, I think we were a bit better. We have to keep trying new things to maximise our car’s performance and find more speed. We need to keep improving in this direction.”

KIMI’S WORLD RECORD KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN set a world record on lap 37 of the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Finnish driver had now completed more than 80,000 racing kilometres in a Formula 1 car. That is kilometres actually racing, a the number that does not include practice, qualifying and testing sessions.

It is the equivalent of going twice around the world at the equator.

Driving for Sauber, Räikkönen made his F1 debut in the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. He won the world championship with Ferrari in 2007, and his 21st and to date final F1 victory was with the same team in the 2018 United States Grand Prix.

He has been having a miserable year thus far with Alfa Romeo this season. The three Ferrari-powered teams – Alfa Romeo, Haas and Ferrari – took a horsepower cut this year after the FIA ruled that some of the parts and procedures used by Ferrari in 2019 would not be permitted in 2020.

Besides the lack of engine power, where does Räikkönen think the Alfa chassis has been lacking since the start of the season?

“Obviously, we’re too slow!” he responded.

VETTEL’S TENSE & TERSE SEASON IN SPAIN, as had also happened in several previous races this season, there were some tense and terse radio messages between Sebastian Vettel and the folks on the Ferrari pit wall.

So is Vettel’s overall relationship with Ferrari tense, we asked?

“I don’t agree with the statement,” he said. “We’re trying to do everything we can. Obviously it’s never relaxed if things don’t go your way or they go wrong so naturally.

“If you judge the emotions right after the race or during the race, then I don’t think that’s a fair reflection of what is actually going, hence why I would tend to disagree.”

Charles Leclerc has squeezed a second, a third and a fourth place out of the car. Vettel’s best finish in the first

six races was a sixth. Leclerc, with a contract through 2024, is Ferrari’s golden boy, so does Vettel still trust the team and believe that he gets equal treatment?

“At the moment I would think so,” he replied. “If not, I would say otherwise. In all honesty, I am not trying to get into any of this. I am just trying to do my job. Obviously at the moment it’s not plain sailing and all calm, rather a rough sea but it is what it is. I have to do the best I can, which is staying focused and waking up in the morning trying to do the best I can and being fairly open-minded and trying to tackle it.”

Vettel insists that he is not frustrated.

“I’ve been in a happier place,” he said. “I love obviously fighting at the front. I love winning and feeling that you can achieve great results, and that we haven’t done yet.

It will be difficult this year with the package that we have, but Charles has proven if you make sure you’re in the right position, then you’re also in a position to benefit and get a podium. This is how it always has worked.

“Overall, if you sum it up, it’s not the greatest season start I have ever had, but I wouldn’t go as far as frustration.”

The marriage between Vettel and Ferrari is over at the end of the year, but is he worried about being dropped mid-season if results don’t improve?

“I don’t know, I don’t think so,” he said. “We’ve not even considered talking about it. It’s not a question for me. I know the job that I can do. At the moment it’s not been the cleanest run. But I am sure if things calm down and I get a decent chance, then I will use it.”

RENAULT’S TANGIBLE PROGRESS

RENAULT HAS made tangible progress with its car since pre-season testing in February.

Returning to the Circuit BarcelonaCatalunya in August for the Spanish Grand Prix gave teams the chance to do back-to-back comparisons with their cars.

However, while the circuit was the same, the track and ambient temperatures were far hotter than in February.

“I’m convinced the car is improved and better,” Aussie Daniel Ricciardo said of the Renault R.S.20. “I’m still convinced that we can be a points car every other weekend. Even in qualifying in Spain, if we had that extra half a tenth of a second, then we start in the points and we probably would’ve finished there. So we’ve just got to be perfect, and that goes on to us drivers as well. We can’t put a foot wrong because this midfield battle is so, so tight.”

Ricciardo finished 11th in Spain while his teammate Esteban Ocon crossed the line in 13th place. Those were not quite the results they hoped to produce for Renault’s new CEO Luca de Meo, who visited the team during the weekend.

But, fortunately de Meo, who started on July 1, is a firm supporter of the F1 programme. He talked to the team on race morning.

Images: LAT

“It was the first time I met Mr. de Meo,” Ocon said.

“I was very surprised how aware of everything he was when he came to first speak to us. He was very well informed, and that is always very nice because you can talk a lot more about details when you are speaking with someone like that. So it was really fantastic to meet him.

“He is planning some great things. I am not going into details, but some great things for the F1 team.

And for the brand in general. I was very happy with his speech. He is a big fan of F1, and as a boss this is the first good point. He is going to be involved as a ‘big brother’ to support us, as he said. Which is a

great thing. It does not add pressure to us at all; it gives us only support and that is fantastic.”

Spain marked the first time in this season’s six races that Renault did not score points.

“I certainly hope that this weekend was a bit of an anomaly, a bit of an Achilles’ heel for us,” Ricciardo said. “Everyone is so familiar with this track, and to find something extra is challenging. But we have had good pace all year, and this did not quite correlate to that. Hopefully it is a one off. We will try and learn from it. Spa and Monza are tracks where we normally are pretty strong. We should have better runs there and put this one behind us.”

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F1 INSIDER

Publisher Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial Director

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Bruce Williams

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Mark Fogarty

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Dan McCarthy

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Garry O’Brien

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with Dan Knutson

Rhys Vandersyde

Contributing Writers Australia Garry O’Brien, Mark Fogarty, Bruce Newton, David Hassall, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Garry Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn.

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RETURNING TO ALBERT PARK IN 2021

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IF EVERYTHING goes to plan, many thousands of race fans and yours truly will be heading to Melbourne next March for the 2021 Australian Grand Prix, along with the Supercars races and all the trimmings of the support events.

While the final races in the vastly modified 2020 calendar have yet to be revealed, Formula 1 is already well into creating its 2021 race schedule.

And that schedule – including the Melbourne event – should be quite similar to the original 2020 calendar, before COVID-19 changed things.

“We’ve actually got our calendar pretty well set,” Formula 1’s CEO Chase Carey said in a conference call.

“We haven’t announced 2021 just because of the focus on 2020. We are close to finalising 2021, but have a couple of agreements to complete.

“We are planning a 2021 season that looks pretty much like what we would have expected it to look like

at the beginning of this year,” he added. “Obviously we qualify that with: We don’t have better visibility than anyone else with the virus, and what it will look like going forward.

“We have to realise we’re about five months into the virus, and our (2021) season March is still seven months away. There’s a long time and conversations about vaccines and treatments, testing, and the likes to continue to evolve.”

Having to deal with 22 different countries creates its own set of challenges to stage races, but the plan is to start with Australia in March and end with Abu Dhabi in November.

“We may make it so there’s a little more space at the front end of the calendar and second half is a little busier,” Carey said. “So we’ve got a little more flexibility built into it. But I think that’s probably a tweak to it, not a real restructuring.

“Clearly as this goes along we’ll know more,” Carey said, “and there’s always the possibility we’ll make

some adjustment as we go forward.”

Formula 1 is planning to learn from how other sports do when they allow fans to attend their events.

“We do have the benefit of a lot of things that will be in front of us as templates around the world,” Carey said.

Some fans might be able to attend the Grand Prix Della Toscana Ferrari 1000, which will be held at Italy’s Mugello circuit September 11 – 13.

“The first race we think there is a potential for a very small number of fans is probably Mugello,” Carey said.

“At races in the later part of the schedule we hope to have fans – as many as possible. In some places the governments want to get a bit closer to the date to determine what the situation is.”

Those ‘adjustments’ are the big concern here. The COVID-19 situation changes daily. Can fans be certain if they show up at Albert Park on the Friday morning of the race weekend next year, that the event will not be cancelled like it was this year?

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 10 SEPTEMBER

The same logistical problems that exist this year will be a challenge again next year. Temporary facilities like those at Albert Park, Monaco, Montreal and Singapore cannot easily run ‘closed’ events like the permanent tracks.

While it is encouraging that Formula 1 is planning a full 22 race schedule for 2021, I am disappointed that it is not taking lessons learned from this year into the next.

Here is a perfect example: Why not, like this year, schedule the races in Austria and Hungary on back-to-back weekends? It is short trip between the two venues, so the logistics would work out well.

I am not advocating having streaks of six races in seven weekends like this year, but the overall schedule could be streamlined to make things easier for the hard-working team members who have to travel around the world to 22 races.

For now, however, it is fingers crossed that we will be heading to Albert Park next March.

Latest local & international news + views; Townsville Supercars #1 & #2; Belgian & Italian GPs; Latest F1 news; Alan Jones Italian Grand Prix; Privateers Ashby & Reed; and much, much more

THE FOGES FILE AA’s pragmatic pundit lavishes unusual praise on Team 18 for its giant-killing performance in Darwin AS SUPERCARS sets up in Townsville for the latest leg of its tropical tour, the delayed double-header in Darwin has to be proclaimed a big success. Interesting, if not riveting, racing produced welcome podium upsets.

While the Sydney Motorsport Park upsets were aberrations, Hidden Valley was a celebration of strategies. Scott McLaughlin reigned supreme overall, but Andre De Pasquale’s success was not undeserved on the low-deg track and Scott Pye’s trio of thirds was also well-merited.

Pye’s senior teammate Mark Winterbottom was also in the mix, if not as blessed, resulting in a tremendous Top End visit for Team 18. Charlie Schwerkolt’s ‘little team that could’ beat Triple Eight in the last race on Sunday, finishing third and fourth.

Think about that. A customer team outperforms the pre-eminent Holden squad. Not the first time that’s happened – remember Tekno in its glory days? – but rare enough to be acclaimed.

Team 18 is a struggler driven by the enthusiasm, money and promotional chutzpah of owner Charlie Schwerkolt. Amid the coronavirus chaos that has crippled his forklift business, Schwerkolt has stuck by his Quixotic team.

I’ve known Charlie for a long time and I have always admired his drive and dedication to racing. He tasted success with his ill-fated partnership with Dick Johnson and hasn’t given up trying to reclaim the glory of James Courtney’s title success in 2010.

Sure, he’s a bit to happy to be on camera during race telecasts and his efforts until now have been, to put it bluntly, a waste of money.

As much as I have enjoyed his passion, for several years now – and he knows this – I have questioned why he kept bashing his

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with Mark Fogarty

head against the Supercars brick wall.

Darwins 1 and 2 were breakthroughs.

Three podiums for Team Tiny were exceptional. Explains why Frosty had so much faith in Charlie’s vision when he left the sanctuary of Tickford Racing – and impending Mustangs – at the end of 2018.

Ironically, it’s been serial discard Scott Pye who has excelled in the second DeWaltbacked Commodore.

Dumped by early patron Roland Dane, abandoned by DJR Team Penske and snubbed by WAU. He took some personal backing – and buckets of undented selfconfidence to Team 18.

Pye, to me, is an enigma. Clearly talented, but until he landed at Charlieville, unpopular.

Kept hearing his arrogance and demanding nature alienated him.

In contrast, I’ve always found him to be polished and professional. He is one of the best presenters among the drivers, an asset to sponsors and cleverly media-savvy.

His understanding of the media is reflected in his successful sideline business as a digital content producer.

I have always found Scott P to be open and amenable. He presents very well and speaks his mind.

He is a member of the Class of 2012, that Super2 sweet spot of stars that also produced McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat.

That Pye has become truly competitive with an otherwise – at best – mid-ranked team is to be celebrated. His new alliance

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with quirky tech guru/race engineer Phil Keed is also key – ironic that it was Frosty that brought him on board.

Winterbottom has given Team 18 the direction, focus and determination to punch well above its weight. Newcomer Pye has benefited from that guidance.

It is truly heartening to see that Charlie Schwerkolt’s vision is at last coming true.

Meanwhile, Supercars’ madcap schedule could be the new making of the sport.

Four events in as many weeks gives V8 racing the constant visibility it has craved for more than a decade.

By the time we get to the Bathurst 1000, including a likely double-header at Queensland Raceway next month, it will be seven racing weekends in nine weeks – or 10 if, as expected, Mount Panorama is delayed a week.

This rapid-fire schedule is just what Supercars needed to emerge from the footy ruck.

For more than a decade, Supercars events have been so spaced and random that – particularly in the winters – it was forgotten by the mainstream media.

Now it’s back on the agenda, even amidst the AFL and NRL ‘Footy Festivals’, because racing is happening often and regularly.

It’s making the TV nightly news on a regular basis, unlike the last umpteen years when it was forgotten because there were weeks between racing.

This whole upheaval – and Supercars’ admirable adeptness in adapting – has

proved there’s plenty of scope for innovation and change.

The tyre allocation and compound for sprint races still needs to be refined, but the abandonment of refuelling has been a Godsend.

Has no place in sprint races, and SMP and Darwin proved nobody misses it.

Leave refuelling for long distance races, in which it is necessary.

I’ve enjoyed the flat-out racing with a dash into the pits for a quick tyre change.

When the compound is the same for all races, the drama is both exciting and real.

As long as the fastest cars finish on the podium, restricted tyre supplies work.

If it were me, I’d let them have seven sets of softs – let them go mad – and also give them a super-soft tyre just for qualifying.

Then we’d see who truly is the quickest.

I’ve been arguing for more drama – and speed – in qualifying for years, to no avail.

Maybe these extraordinary circumstances, highlighting how unconventional change is good, will result in a super-soft qualifying tyre.

Dunlop could do it on their ear. Durable mainstream ‘soft’ tyre, robust ‘hard’ for high-load tracks and super-stickies for flatout qualifying.

You can’t tell me everybody doesn’t want to see Supercars at their absolute maximum in a no-holds-barred battle for pole position, especially at Bathurst.

Otherwise in this disrupted season, so far, so good.

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21

JUNGLE JIM

PART TWO

Concluding the latest of our series talking to racing greats, Kiwi legend Jim Richards recalls his years with BMW and Nissan with MARK FOGARTY, including the real story behind his memorable Bathurst outburst IMAGES: Autopics.com.au/AN1 Images/AA Archives

IT WAS the moment that immortalised Jim Richards. Addressing the baying crowd below the podium following his and Mark Skaife’s controversial win in the unpopular ‘Godzilla’ Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R, Richards branded the boofs as “arseholes” on live TV. That was nearly 28 years ago, but the uncharacteristic condemnation gave Richo a place in Australian sporting history. The mild-manned Kiwi went from ‘Gentleman Jim’ to ‘Jungle Jim’ in the most unlikely – and most public – transformation.

Of course, anyone who has ever raced against Richards knows he was less than a gentleman behind the wheel. He was renowned as a hard racer who dished it out behind the play.

But out of the car, he was as placid as he was versatile. His public image

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and notoriety was forever altered by his declaration at the end of that stormy day at Mount Panorama.

Richards, who turns 73 next week, was at his prime at Bathurst in ’92, when he was 45. After dominating at Bathurst with Peter Brock, co-driving the King Of The Mountain to three straight victories from 1978-80, he became a major player on his own with BMW from 1982-87 and Nissan from ’88-92.

He remained a force in V8 racing from 1993 until he gave up enduro co-driving after 2006 at the ripe old age of 59.

His years with BMW coincided with the iconic black-and-gold John Player Special cigarette liveries, mimicking the classy JPS Lotus F1 colours of the ’70s & ‘80s.

Richards has been retired from racing – finally! – for two years, tending to his collection of race and road cars in his

outer eastern Melbourne workshop. He remains an ambassador for Shannons Insurance, otherwise his involvement is no more than an interested on-looker.

Dozens of trophies line the walls of his industrial unit ‘man cave’, a reminder of his sustained success for more than 50 years in a multitude of categories.

After four years and three wins as Peter Brock’s co-driver at Bathurst, Richards was drafted by JPS BMW boss Frank Gardner, who’d split with firebrand fan-favourite Allan Grice. Mild-mannered and easy-going, JR was a much better fit with autocratic Gardner, who had firm ideas on car set-up.

Co-driving with Brock was my main gig from 1978-81. My success with Brockie helped me get the full-time drive with BMW in ’82. Frank Gardner knew me from sports

The G

sedans in ’76/77 and after he had a huge falling-out with Gricey, he called me. Frank took over the BMW team because he had the support of WD & HO Wills. He was a great friend of Dean Wills, so he was in charge of the money even when Gricey had the BMW deal.

k know, I’m sliding off the track into the sand. sa I would’ve been all right if the Mustang hadn’t been there. It stopped M me m from just driving through and I got stuck. stu Then George goes off and slams straight into my driver’s door (left hand str drive), blowing the window apart. That dri pissed pis me off because we would’ve come com close to beating the Jags.

Working with Gardner was interesting because he did all the testing and you were happy with how he set up the cars.

How did you extricate yourself?

It was easy. The team was in Sydney and I was in Melbourne, and I never tested the cars until practice for an event. I’d arrive at around midday on the Friday and he’d still be trying different things. I’d get ready and then he’d say to me “OK, young fella, leap in it and see what you think”. Away I’d go and invariably everything was sweet. So I’d do a bit of practice and then just got on with it in qualifying and the races.

Frank had a very different way of setting up a race car, didn’t he?

They were a lot softer than the European style.

Gricey hated it, but I thought it was the best thing I’d ever driven. They were fantastic.

With all the Bee-Ems I drove for Frank, I never thought “Oh, jeez, that’s a bit dicey”. Every time I drove them, everywhere we went was better than the last time. He was bloody good – and so he should have been with all his international experience. He was always playing with the shocks and springs. It was a revelation to me because with the Mustang, we never touched them.

Same with the Falcon – didn’t change them.

I got go George to help dig me out, and then I jumped in and pissed off! [Big laugh] laug That was mainly because George couldn’t get out until I got out. coul

Just drove around and if it understeered, I just adapted my driving style. Suspension tuning was foreign to me. Just give me the car and I’ll drive it as fast as I can. Also, with Frank there was mutual respect because we’d raced each other. We got on well, although we only really saw each other at the race meetings. He did a better job at setting up the car. It was the same when I went to Nissan. I never did a day’s testing the whole time I was there. Skaifey did it all. So with Frank, that was my first full-time gig where I’d just arrive and drive, thinking “Shit, how good’s this?”

In six years, Richo won two ATCCs in iconic black-and-gold JPS BMWs. The Group A 635 CSi and M3 Evo were winners, but the earlier Group C 635 CSi – with its fat flares and sleekbut-sinister look – was the looker. However, it lost out in the homologation wars of the era and even in its final 24-valve form, the 3.5-litre straight six coupe never fulfilled its pedigree.

The Group C 635 CSi was never going to be a winner, was it?

Not with the rules the way they were. By the time we

got the concessions it needed, it was too late – and the others had got even more. It’s a shame because it was a great car to drive. It just wasn’t quite quick enough.

One of your best shots was Bathurst in 1983, only for contaminated fuel to take you out.

It was claimed the team was the victim of sabotage…

Which it wasn’t. They said it was sand in the tank, but what really happened was that ours was the only fuel injected car and the metering unit had a really fine tolerance. The fuel supply at the track had a lot of shit in it when it got near the bottom of the tank and that’s what got into our fuel system, causing a blockage. It was just bad luck, nothing sinister.

Even though the incident cost him a shot at victory, Richards rated his Australianvic developed car as the fastest Group A deve BMW 635 CSi in the world, outpacing the factory facto Schnitzer entries at Bathurst in ’85.

We weren’t that competitive in ’86, but in ’85 it was fantastic. In ’86, not that competitive, to be honest, even though the car was faster.

Unfortunately for us, the Volvo and the Nissans were even quicker. Then we switched to the M3 in ’87 and we won back the championship.

That was a great little car. Those years with BMW, especially ’85-87, were great years.

I was getting paid well to drive and I didn’t have to do anything other than race. I was still running my Bob Jane T-Mart (at Preston in Melbourne’s inner north) and I’d just go to the events on the Friday and come back on the Sunday night or Monday morning.

Was the T-Mart a good business?

BMW couldn’t take a trick at Bathurst. In ’85, when you dominated everywhere else, you and George Fury ended up bogged in the sand – together! – at Hell Corner (Turn 1).

What happened there?

Oh, fantastic. Wouldn’t be where I am now [financially] if it hadn’t been for the T-Mart.

Back then, it was pretty much a licence to print money. It was terrific. We had lots of competition, but we just sold, sold, sold tyres. Janey (Bob Jane) got us into it on very reasonable terms.

That was embarrassing. We were going well and on the pit straight, up ahead I saw a puff of smoke. Didn’t think much of it until I arrived at Hell and there was water and oil all over the road, with a Mustang off in the sandpit. Next thing you

Richo drove for BMW until the end of ’88, switching to a Peter Brock-run operation after Gardner ‘retired’ following the ’87 season.

He then joined Fred Gibson’s factory backed Nissan team in an even more successful partnership.

At the end of ’87, Frank got out. Why? Because he was crook – debatably. He said he had blood poisoning because he’d been hanging around racing cars with heavily leaded fuel for so long. Could’ve been right, but not long after in ’88 he was back running Tony Longhurst’s B&H Sierra (winning Bathurst).

What I think happened was that Frank and BMW knew the M3 wasn’t going to be competitive against the Sierras, so they handed the program off to Brock, who had nothing (following his fall-out with Holden).

I got handed on to Brock and, of course, we struggled. I don’t have any regrets, though, because BMW and Frank had been really good to me.

How did the Nissan drive come about?

G Group C JPS BMW 635 CSi (above) was both tough and classy. But the straight six coupe never had the success to match its style, whereas the milder-looking Group A version (top) dominated the ATCC in ’85. Richo still occasionally competes in historic events in one of his original 635s for its NZ owner.

I basically did the deal with Fred at the ’88 Bathurst. I ran into him behind the pits after we’d retired from the race. Gibbo stopped me and said

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“I was happy to apologise to people watching on TV who I may have upset, but I wasn’t going to apologise to the wankers who were throwing beer cans and stuff.”

“What are you doing next year?” I replied “I wouldn’t have a clue. Brockie’s talking about going Sierras and says there might be a car for me, but nothing firm”. So he says “Well, why don’t you come and drive for me? Call me when you get back to Melbourne”. So I did and he said “We haven’t got a car that’s able to win regularly, but I see something in the future that might work (subsequently, the R32 ‘Godzilla’ GT-R)”. He said they were going to build a brand-new Skyline HR31, which he thought could be all right at some circuits. I thought that sounded good and told him I was interested. He asked me how much money did I want. I hesitated and he said “How does $120,000 sound?” That clinched it for me and over the years he increased it, so it was a great deal. Later on, he was complaining about how much I was costing him and I told him that I would’ve driven for half that!

So you replaced Glenn Seton in ’89?

They had designs on getting rid of George (Fury) and bringing Mark (Skaife) in. Fred originally thought that Glenn and Mark would have been a great team of young guys, which it would’ve been. But Glenn left with the (Peter Jackson cigarette) money, so Skaifey had to wait because it was George and me. At the end of ’89, George was given the heave-ho and Skaifey came in. The HR31 was a good car – good enough to take it to the Sierras. The reason I went with Fred was for the challenge.

There were going to be thousands of Sierras and the Nissan wasn’t supposed to be able to win, but I reckoned we could give them a hard time. This car (pointing to his ’89/90 car in his workshop) actually won two rounds of the championship and scored some podiums in ’90, and then in the last two rounds (Wanneroo and

Two of Richo’s favourite racers are the HR31 Nissan Skyline GTS-R (top) and the BMW M3 (left). He bought back both for his collection. The HR31 combined with the new R32 Skyline GT-R (above) to secure his third ATCC crown in 1990. His first two (of an eventual four) were scored in the BMW 635 CSi in ’85 and the M3 in ’87.

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BLACK BEAUTIES Thoroughbred BMWs were among Jim Richards’ all-time favourites

Bathurst ’92: After crashing out in the tempest (left) (left), Richards berated the baying crowd from the podium with his immortal “You’re a pack of arseholes” barb.

Oran Park) I drove the GT-R to clinch the championship. Once we started Australianising the GT-R, it became a weapon. If I hadn’t been in the GT-R at Oran Park, I couldn’t have won the championship without that car. The GT-R was one of the best cars I’ve ever driven. I loved it.

The GT-R became all-conquering, but initially it needed a lot of development, didn’t it?

The first year with the six-speed Holinger gearbox and the other Australian mods in 1991, and with no weight penalty, it won easily. Then they added 100 kg in ’92 and that was tough. It was never a walk in the park because the GT-R wasn’t that easy to drive. You really had to hang on. It had tremendous grunt, but you had to make sure you were pointing it in the right direction. But the GT-R was the thing to have, no doubt, especially in the wet. Nothing could touch it on a slick track. At Bathurst in ’92, it was raining on and off all day. I remember that after a safety car, I was just ahead of John Bowe and then by the restart lap, still in greasy conditions, I was about eight seconds in front.

You could put your foot flat on the throttle in the wet coming out of a second gear corner and there’d be no wheelspin. It’d just launch up the road. In ’90, we took the GT-R to Bathurst and it probably should have won, but we broke a diff housing, then in ’91 we ran away with it. In ’92, CAMS increased the weight to 1500 kg, but the car was still fast enough to win wet, dry or whatever. It was a tremendous car. There

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was plenty of money, too. With the Winfield sponsorship, Fred’s budget for the year was $4.5 million.

Speaking of Bathurst ’92, it was, of course, a race that ended in much infamy.

It was a terrible race. Denny Hulme (1967 F1 world champion) died (suffering a heart attack during the race). We were great friends and he’d stayed with us the week before. I’d seen his car on the side on Conrod and nothing seemed untoward. When I came in to hand over to Skaifey, the team didn’t want to tell me what had happened to Denny, but I pressed the point and they told me he’d passed away. It really upset me afterwards, but that didn’t affect me at all in the race. You don’t let it worry you.

You’re not going to get killed because you think you’re too good.

So conditions turn horrible and you’re hanging on by the skin of your teeth in flooding rain on slicks. What happens then?

We were leading and Fred gets on the radio and says “Come in this lap”. But just before I was about to come in, he yells “Whoa, whoa, whoa, do another lap Crompton’s just decided to come in”. So Crompton’s thought “Fuck this, I’m getting out of here” and I had to do another lap, and on that lap, it’s just opened up. Going up the hill, there was this torrent of water coming at me and up out of The Cutting, I aquaplaned and went into the fence

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IS THERE a more admired motor racing livery than the black-and-gold John Player Special regalia?

From the late 1970s to the mid-’80s, the JPS Lotuses were the lookers of the F1 field.

Black bodywork highlighted by gold signage.

Pure class.

Most fans think the JPS livery is the best ever.

In Australia, WD & HO Wills had the JPS licence and in 1982 changed its racing branding from Craven Mild, backing the BMW factory team.

From ’82-87, Jim Richards raced a variety of Bee-Ems in the famous black-and-gold colours.

The fat-flared Group C 635 CSi. Not the most successful, but perhaps the toughest looking.

The lithe Group A 635 CSi. ATCC winner and, arguably, the fastest version in the world.

The nimble and potent Group A M3.

Another title-winner resplendent in that iconic livery.

And the BMW 318i Turbo sports sedan/ GT racer. Often forgotten, but a weapon nonetheless.

Richards remembers the Group C 635 CSi as a case of too little, too late.

“The first one I drove for a year had the two-valve (3.5-litre six-cylinder) motor,” he recalls. “When we got the 24-valve engine, that was a great car to drive. But we were still on cross-ply tyres then and it was just a bit heavy on the front end.

“After a few laps in a race, it would start to understeer. Not too bad, but more than you’d like.

“Frank (Gardner, guru JPS BMW teem boss) tried all sorts of things to counteract that – he even tried putting lead in the back bumper to try to take some weight off the front. It was just a bit off the pace of the (V8) Commodore and Falcon.

“With a little more help homologationwise, it could’ve been right up there.”

With the switch to international Group A rules in 1985, the 635 CSi came into its own, sweeping the ATCC. “It was a ready made race car,” Richards said.

“It wasn’t as fast over one lap as the Group C car, but it handled better and it was more of a race car.

“It had 120 horsepower less than the Group C car, but it was just better

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all-around. Because it wasn’t over-powered, it put its power down better.

“We were as quick as the Germans and their 635s.”

Changing to the M3 Evo in ’87 netted Richo another ATCC crown.

“I loved the 635, but the M3 was just a step up again,” he said. “It was 230 kg lighter, had about the same width tyres, bigger brakes and about the same power as the 635.

“It was like a go-kart. It was fantastic.”

Richards has restored his title-winning M3 to pristine, never-to-be raced condition, joining his original patina Nissan Skyline HR31 – which did the yeoman’s work of his 1990 ATCC title – in his collection.

He rates the M3 as one of his favourite race cars, along with the ungainly HR31, which he “enjoyed driving that as much as anything I’ve ever driven”.

Richo adds that among the myriad of cars he raced, his TCM Falcon Sprint and AMC Javelin – both of which are in raceready condition – are among his all-time favourites.

“I loved racing them,” he grinned.

As for the ‘orphan’ JPS BMW 318i Turbo (and final 320 variant), he raves about its explosive performance.

“Fantastic!” Richards exclaimed. “It had about 650 horsepower. It was light, it had big tyres. It had massive turbo lag, so you really had to work hard to keep in top of it. In its day, it was very fast.

“Not as quick as the 935s, but it was very, very close. That was a special car.”

He raced the big-winged boosted BMW against the Porsche 935s of Alan Jones and Rusty French in ‘82/83 in the recast Australian GT championship.

Overall, Richards agrees that the distinctive JPS BMWs were among the bestpresented Australian racers ever.

“They were beautiful,” he said. “They looked spectacular.” Mark Fogarty

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about where Dick hit the rock all those years before, almost ripping the left front wheel off.

I managed to keep going, dragging the thing around slowly on three wheels and with no brakes. I got down to Forest Elbow, only going really slowly, and just as I turned through the little kink coming out of it, off she went.

There was still oil coming out of the oil cooler under the car as well. I slid off the track – but I wasn’t the only one. There were about half a dozen cars everywhere. When we crashed, the red flag had been waved. We didn’t cause the red flag; it was just so many cars were crashing. We won because we were leading on the previous lap. But I didn’t know that. I was pissed off with myself because I thought I’d rooted the car and cost us the win. I didn’t know we’d won until I got back to the pits. I was a bit glum and then Skaifey runs up to me shouting “We’ve won!” I couldn’t believe it.

Then he explained what had happened.

But that’s still not the end of it. On the podium, Dick is winding up the crowd, claiming he should have won, and you and Mark can hear it while you’re waiting to come out to be presented with the trophy. So Mark started loading up with beer cans to hurl at the crowd, right?

Yes, because they were already throwing cans.

I had to calm him down. At that stage, I was relaxed. I was saying him “Skaifey, take those cans out of your pockets – we’ll just go out onto the podium, thank a few people, and then go and have some beers”. But when we got out there, the crowd was in uproar, yelling and screaming, obviously abusing us, and I just thought it was very unfair. So I said “I thought you had a lot more going for you than that, you’re a pack of arseholes”. [In fact, his full spray was “I’m just really stunned for words, I can’t believe the reception. I thought Australian race fans had a lot more to go than this, this is bloody disgraceful. I’ll keep racing but I tell you what this is going to remain with me for a long time. You’re a pack of arseholes.”] I made it up as I was going along. The then managing director of Nissan Australia, Leon Daphne, was down among the crowd with an umbrella and he was whacking people with it.

Did you ever regret what you said?

Shit no! But I did have to go before the head of CAMS, who wanted me to issue an apology.

I told him I was happy to apologise to people watching on TV who I may have upset, but I wasn’t going to apologise to the wankers who were throwing beer cans and stuff. He was happy with that. I didn’t hear any more about it from CAMS, but of course it lived on in history and made sure I was always remembered.

You had a great relationship with Skaife, which not many of his teammates did.

I could see when he was talking to other people why he rubbed them up the wrong way because he was a bit arrogant. But I never ever had a problem with him. If he wanted to know how I was taking a corner, I was happy to tell him. Our relationship worked because we swapped information. Most of the time, whatever he did with his car, I just got them to put it on mine because if I figured if it was

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Another of Richo’s favourites is his TCM Falcon Sprint (top). He won eight Targa Tasmanias with co-driver Barry Oliver in Porsche 911s (above). His final years as a full-timer in V8s was with Gibson Motorsport in Commodores (left). One of JR’s proudest achievements was finishing second at Bathurst in ’97 with his son Steven in a GRM Commodore (below left).

The same year, he also won the two-litre Bathurst 1000 in a Volvo S40 (bottom left) – just beating Steven’s Nissan Primera!

better for him, it was going to be better for me as well. He loved data and testing; I didn’t. At Nissan, I was happy to mentor him – and he could see my data anyway and knew how to interpret it. He was smart enough to adopt something I was doing if it was quicker. I’m talking about lines through corners and things like that. He was a great student, but he was good before I came along.

With the end of Group A, Gibson Motorsport switched to Commodores in ’93 for the Group 3A V8 formula, initially still with big backing from Winfield. Richards became Skaife’s ‘wing man’ for three seasons until the chance to co-drive with his young gun son Steven saw him move to Garry Rogers Motorsport for the enduros. Richo Snr was an itinerant co-driver until reunited with Skaife at HRT in 2002.

In ’96, I left Freddie’s team to drive with Steve. I could’ve stayed for Bathurst, but Garry Rogers offered me a drive with Steve at Bathurst, which immediately appealed to me.

Fred understood and let me go. I drove with Steve for two years and we finished second in ’97. Without a doubt, that was one of the highlights of my career.

Richards reunited with Skaife in 2002, winning his seventh Bathurst 1000 at 52.

The victory was 24 years after his first with Peter Brock, also in a factory backed Holden.

You and Steven have won 12 Bathurst 1000s. Was he your real protege?

Oddly, Steve wouldn’t have asked me anywhere near as many questions as Skaifey. We very rarely spoke about driving. I’m a great believer in people finding their own level and Steve learned on his own. He was his own man. Also, I was so busy with my own racing that I didn’t have a lot of time to devote to helping him with his racing. Luckily, he was a self-sufficient young bloke who just got on with it. He had help from people like Garry Rogers and the Valvoline sponsorship. Now, had he not been my son, that may not have happened, but once he got the chance, he took it and proved he could drive. From there, he progressed on his own ability. I’m so proud of what he achieved. He’s in the top six Bathurst winners ever (with five victories). His record in Supercars should be better, but some of the teams he raced with didn’t treat him that well. When he was at FPR, for example, Frosty got everything. Steve didn’t have the same equipment. But it’s still worked out pretty well for him.

You got back together with Skaife 10 years after that controversial win and lo and behold, at 56, you win it again.

Wasn’t that a gamble by him?

It was, but I was still racing regularly and he could see that I was still sharp and competitive. It was fantastic to win it because, to be honest, I was never going to win another one. Skaife and HRT were at the top of their game in 2002 and at 56, you’re not supposed to win Bathurst and it wasn’t going to happen again. I stayed with HRT as a co-driver through 2006. Tony Longhurst and I partnered in ’03 and that was my best drive ever at Bathurst. Qualified third in front of Skaifey and all the guns, and then we finished fifth after being in contention all the way. I was setting fastest laps towards the end and to be right up there at nearly 60 was a real thrill. I loved that race.

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Why did you stop doing co-driving in Supercars?

I was only racing in the V8s once or twice a year (Sandown and Bathurst) and after 2006, I decided that if I wasn’t fast enough to get into the top 10 in qualifying, it was time to give it away. I was still quick enough in ’05 and ’06 to get into the top 10, but I was feeling that with the competition that was coming along, I wouldn’t be able to do a good enough job if I wasn’t racing the cars all the time. Just to go there once a year, I wasn’t going to get enough time in the car to do it justice.

Surely your longevity was a testament to your immense talent?

I suppose you’re right, but all I ever wanted to was race cars and tinker with cars. I kept doing it for so long because I loved it. And I’m still happy here working on my collection of cars. If you counted up the number of years I’ve been in the sport, at a conservative estimate I must have won 700 races or more.

That’s because I loved racing so much and drove in so many different categories each year for most of my career. If you said to me I could win Bathurst once or race cars for 50 years, no contest. I’d take racing for 50 years. [He enjoyed the best of both, winning the Bathurst 1000 seven times.] Winning has never been my driving force.

An interesting interlude for Richards was Super Touring, replacing Brock at Volvo

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Dealer Racing. He raced ex-BTCC TWR factory cars – 850s in ’96/97 and an S40 in the following two years – with his time with the Swedish marque highlighted by a thrilling victory in the ’98 two-litre Bathurst 1000.

The Volvos were terrific to drive. I loved driving them. Really, really good. You’d hardly know they were front-wheel drive. My first drive was at Bathurst in ’96 in the wet (in a support race at the V8 1000) and I beat Brad Jones’ four-wheel drive Audi. So I kept driving for them and they brought out new cars each year. They were fantastic. I loved those cars. Rickard Rydell and I won the two-litre Bathurst 1000 in ’98 in the S40 (battling the Nissan Primera of Matt Neal and Steven Richards all the way). Rickard had just won the BTCC in the S40, which was a really great car. It was the best one. I should’ve won the Super Touring series in that car in ’99 , but Paul Morris nerfed me off the track at Oran Park (in the second of three events there that year). It ripped a big hole in the sump and we couldn’t fix it for the final race. That DNS cost me the title (which Morris won by two points). We should’ve also won at Bathurst that year (when the Super Tourers contested a 500 km race). I was leading, then it started to rain and the track was shrouded in fog, so the safety car came out. I pitted for wet tyres, but Paul Morris stayed out and the weather cleared, and he ended up winning.

Correction: In Part One last issue, Richards’ first giant-killing Ford Escort in NZ was misidentified. It was a Twin Cam model, not a BDA. It was the author’s error.

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RICHO FACT FILE Age: 72 Born: Auckland, NZ Lives: Melbourne Career: 1965-2018 Status: Retired Championships: NZ Saloon Car (1973-74); ATCC x 4 (1985/86/90/91); Australian Endurance Champion x 2 (1985/86); Australian GTP x 2 (1995/99); Nations Cup x 3 (2000-02); NASCAR Australia (1996); Porsche Carrera Cup (2003); Touring Car Masters x 2 (2010/13) Major race wins: Bathurst 1000 x 7 (1978/79/80/91/92/97/2002); Targa Tasmania x 8 (1996-2003/06); Sandown 500 x 2 (1985/89); B&H Six Hour x 2 (1971/72) Honours: NZ Motor Racing Hall Of Fame; Supercars Hall Of Fame; Australian Motor Sport Hall Of Fame

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PIQUET’S BACK IMAGES: LAT

WITH JUST four rounds of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship remaining, Alan Jones held a healthy points advantage over Brazilian Nelson Piquet heading into the Dutch Grand Prix.

As commentator Murray Walker famously quipped, ”Anything can happen and usually does”, which just about sums up the events of Zandvoort.

Many eyes were on debutant Mike Thackwell, the highly regarded 19-year-old Australian-raised New Zealander set to his Formula 1 debut, making him the youngest ever at the time.

Throughout the season Thackwell had been linked to drives with several teams and finally inked a deal to drive a third Arrows for his maiden Grand prix weekend.

This was not the only change in the paddock, as former Grand Prix winner Vittorio Brambilla returned to the paddock to fill the second Alfa Romeo seat left vacant after the death of Patrick Depailler prior to the German Grand Prix.

Geoff Lees was also entered in a rarely fielded second Ensign, and German Jochen Mass returned from injury in another Arrows.

The battle at Zandvoort promised to be close. The 4.252km layout mixed ultrafast, sweeping corners that suited the turbo-charged Renaults, with slow chicanes and hairpins that favoured the naturally aspirated entries.

Brabham entered the Dutch race with a redeveloped BT49 machine, its suspension altered and the chassis lengthened by three inches to allow a lower drag configuration set-up.

After Qualifying black and yellow

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B ili N Brazilian Nelson l Piquet Pi t charged h d back b k into i t title titl contention t ti with ith a Dutch Grand Prix win at Zandvoort, while his main rival Alan Jones failed to add to his points tally. DAN McCARTHY recounts the race.

Nelson Piquet (above) celebrates his Dutch Grand Prix victory in the newly-reconfigured Brabham, flanked by Jacques Laffite (above left) who lost second position in the dying laps on the race to Renault’s Rene Arnoux (below).

locked out the front-row, but the Renaults weren’t as dominant as in Austria. A mere few tenths split the turbocharged duo from the rest of the field, instead of the seconds ascending and descending the hills of the Osterreichring.

For the second race in a row, Rene Arnoux took pole position from teammate Jean-Pierre Jabouille, this time by 0.3s.

The Williams teammates locked out the second row.

Jones had crashed heavily twice during practice and his qualifying run was hampered by a stuck throttle, and he was pipped by teammate Carlos Reutemann.

Brabham’s development paid dividends immediately, as Piquet started fifth only 0.41s off pole, alongside was Jacques Laffite’s Ligier. Behind, Gilles Villeneuve and Bruno Giacomelli filled out row four.

At the other end of the grid, debutant Thackwell failed to qualify, though he was in good company as Keke Rosberg, Jan Lammers and Rupert Keegan also didn’t make it, and Mass withdrew as his injuries were still causing him substantial pain.

Cold, blustery and overcast conditions over Zandvoort for the 72lap event saw Jones make the best start, moving passed Reutemann and Jabouille before the opening banked hairpin.

The Williams driver’s charge didn’t stop there as he drove around the outside of Arnoux at the banked corner to snatch the lead!

Laffite in the Ligier performed a similar move at Turn 1 and leapt into third behind Jabouille.

1980 Dutch Grand Prix

Jacques Laffite’s Ligier was a contender all the way, ultimately finishing third (above). Alan Jones (below) was in devastating form at the start, charging from fourth to first in the space of three corners ... but it then very quickly went wrong for the Australian.

Pos

Driver

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ WD

Nelson Piquet Brabham Rene Arnoux Renault Jacques Laffite Ligier Carlos Reutemann Williams Jean-Pierre Jarier Tyrrell Alain Prost McLaren Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari Mario Andretti Lotus Jody Scheckter Ferrari Marc Surer ATS Alan Jones Williams Derek Daly Tyrrell Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo Eddie Cheever Osella Riccardo Patrese Arrows Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault Vittorio Brambilla Alfa Romeo Geoff Lees Ensign John Watson McLaren Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi Nigel Mansell Lotus Elio de Angelis Lotus Didier Pironi Ligier Hector Rebaque Brabham Rupert Keegan Williams Jan Lammers Ensign Mike Thackwell Arrows Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi Jochen Mass Arrows

Drivers’ Standings 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. = 10. =

At the end of lap 1 Jones had pulled out a comfortable lead from Arnoux, Laffite, Reutemann, Jabouille and Piquet, however things quickly changed.

Jones made a mistake on lap 2, ran wide over a kerb and damaged his FW07’s skirts.

The Williams instantly became difficult to drive due to its lack of downforce and he was caught by the field in a matter of corners.

Jones elected to pit for repairs. The Williams mechanics got to work and were able to repair the FW07 but these cost the championship leader three laps.

During the time Jones spent in the pits, the top seven jostled for position, highlighted by Laffite taking the lead from Arnoux on lap 3.

Austrian Grand Prix winner Jabouille was running in a strong third when on lap 5 he struck yet more Renault reliability woes and was forced to pit. The Frenchman did re-join the race but eventually retired with handling issues.

At the end of lap 7 the fight at the front began to settle down, however the pack had been shuffled.

Laffite led Arnoux and Piquet, Villeneuve (who briefly held third) sat fourth ahead of Giacomelli, Reutemann and 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti, who was having his best race of the season.

Piquet in his upgraded Brabham was a man on a mission. He hauled in Arnoux and breezed by into second position on lap 11, before catching and passing race leader Laffite two laps later.

Giacomelli was having his best showing of the season too, his Alfa Romeo third after dispensing with Villeneuve and Arnoux in quick succession.

Arnoux was starting to struggle with brake

fade while Villeneuve was battling degrading tyres.

At the end of lap 20 Piquet led comfortably from Laffite, Giacomelli, Arnoux, Andretti and Reutemann, as Villeneuve was forced to pit for new tyres.

Giacomelli continued his march forwards as he hunted down Laffite lap-after-lap, but he made a rash move up the inside at the Panorama Chicane, locked his brakes and spun over the kerb, falling to seventh. The Italian retired several laps later after picking up skirt damage in the incident.

After 40 laps Piquet held a 14.4s lead over Laffite with Arnoux a further 13.9s back.

Andretti was fourth ahead of Reutemann, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Giacomelli.

For the second race running Irishman Derek Daly suffered brake failure in his Tyrrell, crashing head-on into the tyre wall at Turn 1 on lap 60. The force of the impact flipped the Tyrrell on top of the tyre barrier and despite having to be helped from the wreckage, Daly escaped with nothing more than bruises.

In front, Piquet was in control and greeted the chequered flag to take the win ahead of Arnoux by 12.93s, the Renault driver setting the fastest lap with five to go in his pursuit of Laffite for second position. Laffite held onto the final podium spot.

Reutemann took fourth position ahead Jarier, who celebrated his 100th F1 race, and McLaren youngster Alain Prost rounded out the points.

Andretti was on target to score his first points of the season but ran out of fuel on the penultimate lap.

The next round of the 1980 Formula 1 season is the Italian Grand Prix at Imola.

Alan Jones Nelson Piquet Carlos Reutemann Jacques Laffite Rene Arnoux Didier Pironi Jean-Pierre Jabouille Riccardo Patrese Elio De Angelis Jean-Pierre Jarier Derek Daly

Constructor Laps

47 45 33 32 29 23 9 7 7 6 6

Result

Grid

72 1h 38m 13.83s 72 +12.93s 72 +13.43s 72 +15.29s 72 +60.02s 72 +82.62s 71 +1 Lap 70 Out of Fuel 70 +2 Laps 69 +3 Laps 69 +3 Laps 60 Brakes 58 Accident 38 Engine 29 Engine 23 Handling 21 Accident 21 Accident 18 Engine 16 Brakes 15 Brakes 2 Accident 11 2 Accident 15 1 Gearbox 13

5 1 6 3 17 18 7 10 12 20 4 23 8 19 14 2 22 24 9 21 16

Constructors’ Standings 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Williams Ligier Brabham Renault Tyrrell Arrows Fittipaldi McLaren Lotus Ferrari

80 55 45 38 12 11 9 8 7 6

Early on having his best race of the season so far, 1979 World Champion Mario Andretti was a contender before fading to eighth for Lotus

Alan Jones had a weekend he’d rather forget, crashing twice in practice, heavily damaging the Williams FW08 each time. The Australian was uninjured in both but the incidents gave his crew an enormous workload.

Things didn’t improve in the race ...

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IMAGES: AA STAFF/TOYOTA

THIS COST of Racing article features the first category that runs solely on the Supercars support program.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Australia Series (yes, quite a mouthful) is easily the most populous class that races regularly on Australia’s leading motor sport program.

Entries for this development class, which attracts competitors of all ages and walks of life, is regularly more than 40-cars, which is remarkable and demonstrates how strong the formula is.

Indeed, Toyota has already renewed its official support of the class until the end of 2022.

Based around a Neal Bates Motorsport kit, the starting point for a racing Toyota 86 can be everything from a statutory write-off to a brand-new 86 from the showroom. The one constant is the package of parts required to turn it from road to race application.

Drivers and team owners alike are fans of the highly controlled nature of the class, which has thus far launched the careers of Will Brown, Cameron Hill, Jaylyn Robotham,

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When the Toyota 86 Race Series launched on the Australian motor sport scene in 2016, it immediately became a star of the Supercars’ program. With major backing from Toyota it has proven to be a big hit, but is it truly affordable? HEATH McALPINE investigates.

Aaron Cameron, Liam McAdam, Broc Feeney and Jimmy Vernon, just to name a few.

Finding a suitable 86 depends on what pathway the prospective competitor wants to go down.

Statutory write offs can be bought for as little as $10,000 while a brand-new car from a dealership will cost $32,000 (GT spec approximately).

If building a car isn’t the go, there are already a heap of second-hand race 86s on the market, ranging in cost from $35,000$60,000 for a series winning entry.

Next, a roll cage is needed, a series specification item that can be assembled by companies including Bond Roll Bars, which can also provide a kit for competitors who want to assemble it themselves.

Because it is a comprehensive design, the cage can be fully installed for $7000 or the kit is supplied for $4000.

What follows next in the build is the category kit, which was developed by Neal Bates Motorsport and is what makes the 86 into a race car.

Three-time Australian Rally Champion Bates, together with suspension gurus Josh and Murray Coote and others covering different competition experience, completed extensive pre-testing of the kit, which includes tyres.

“We did two-days with myself, an 86 driver, Josh and Murray Coote, and a range of other drivers of different levels. We combined that with the tyre test where we chose the package as well,” Neal Bates explained of the kit development.

Testing discovered a variety of modifications that were needed to be made to make the 86 suitable for racing.

“Essentially, we got an 86 and went to the track with it. People will tell you they don’t need brakes, but they do,” Bates elaborated.

“Some people go to a track day and say ‘These things are fun with standard brakes’ or they’ll run a production car and say they didn’t have brake issues, but when you’ve got 35 cars nose-to-tail, temperatures start to go up.

“The GT and the GTS come with different

brakes, and it was cheaper to put a brake package on them than upgrade a GT to a GTS standard brake package.”

Oil surge also proved a problem, so NBM baffled the tank and a MoTeC ECU was standardised, purely to stop competitors changing the map.

The current tyre package is an interesting subject.

Australia has always used road-going Dunlops but this has been updated recently to the Dunlop Direzza Z3. Across the pond in New Zealand, the organisers went a different direction, but soon followed Australia’s lead.

“The tyre package is a road-tyre, but a performance type,” Bates explained.

“We didn’t want to go the way of New Zealand where they started off with slicks, then went to Formula Rs, and are now using a Nitto Road-Track tyre, which is a very similar tyre to us.

“The problem is, the cars handle well, but are not overly powerful, so you don’t want to over-tyre them and (they) become like slot cars where anyone can hold them flat.”

Craigsted Race Engines is well known in the motor sport industry as a supplier to many categories ranging from Supercars to V8 Utes and also Toyota 86s.

For this year more responsibility will be put on the company because it has been contracted to determine legality of 86 series engines.

Bates emphasised that the engine must remain stock and when competitors complete engine servicing or a rebuild, work must be done exactly as it is set out in the Toyota workshop manual.

“You have to work out of the workshop manual. On a rebuild of an engine you’re allowed to take 0.1mm off the cylinder head and 0.1mm off the block,” Bates said. “As for servicing, you have to keep standard valve angles, standard rings, standard bearings, everything is as per the Toyota manual.

Support at the race track is provided

by Bates where, in a one stop 86 shop, everything that could be needed is contained in the NBM service truck attending each event.

“The competitors have a 40 per cent discount on parts, so we sell them at the same price at the track or a tiny bit more, just to cover freight.”

So, to the kit. What do you get for your $27,100 (including GST)?

AP supply the brake package, which includes a set of calipers, rotors, hats, brake

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lines and pads, costing $6090.91.

Suspension is handled by MCA and at $2727.27 buys the competitor a full set of plug and play dampers, springs and link front anti-roll bar. Rear lower control arms and adjustors are $418.18, rear adjustable tow links at $272.73.

Category modifications to the electronics include the previously mentioned MoTeC engine management system, including mapping and dash at a cost of $3636.36, a lambda sensor at $654.55, while a C125 race logging kit adds another $3090.91 and a loom costs $63.64 Kit items related to the engine and fuel system are limited to the control category exhaust, at $2363.64, an oil cooler kit for $1454.55, sump baffle $268.18, throttle stop $72.73 and fuel coupling kit at $154.55.

The clutch kit comes from Exedy containing a clutch plate, pressure plate and flywheel, at the cost of $818.18.

Items that need to be fitted to the exterior include a boot spoiler at $409.09, primary tow straps for $286.36 and four OZ racing rims, which complete the package at $1636.36.

With this kit, how does the 86 running costs weigh up?

Bates told Auto Action, “The cars are incredibly cheap to run if you don’t flat change or don’t crash”, an opinion shared by former series winner Tim Brook.

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A driver coach by day, Brook transitioned from Formula Vee to Toyota 86 and emerged as a front-runner from the beginning at Winton.

He went on to challenge in each season, winning the title in 2018, before a chaotic round at Newcastle last year meant he finished third.

“Probably just opportunity and affordability,” Brook explained about his decision to join the then-new class. “I feel it is achievable as far as expenses go to have a decent crack, you’re on a national scale, you’ve got good up and coming guys, older drivers, but you’re chasing the circus around to super cool tracks that you only get access to by supporting the Supercars.

“Other Supercars support categories cost an arm and a leg, while 86s fills a big hole there to give access to a wide range of people, hence why we get so many numbers.”

The basis of Brook’s challenger was actually his every day drive, which he drove to the title in 2018.

“I don’t know if many have gone down that path, but it wasn’t really my idea to do that, especially in the beginning when I first bought the car,” Brook told Auto Action.

“It fitted, it worked, it couldn’t have been a better donor car, I’d owned it since new so I knew its history and that it wasn’t

going to give me any dramas mechanically or whatnot. It never had a hit and I always looked after it.”

He was cautious in his car selection and avoided purchasing a statutory write off.

“I’ve seen guys get cheap cars and have had nothing but dramas with them,” Brook said. “If I had my time again it cost me more than ideally, you’d want it to cost less to do, but in two years apart from me hitting the fence the car hasn’t had a drama.

“I’ve seen guys that have got a stat write off with water damage and had electrical dramas for its entire life. For me, I spent more money, but in the long run it’s been worth it for sure.”

Brook stripped his 86 and took it to Bond Roll Bars, where a cage was fitted for $7000, then when returned the NBM kit was installed. Following the original 86 Race Series concept car built by Bates, Brook bought the exact same Sabelt seat, belt and steering wheel set-up for approximately $2000, fire extinguisher is a $60 component worth having.

A radio is a requirement for the category, with a driver-manager connection and another for team personnel to track race control. Brook approximates this set-up to cost $2000. A GoPro is also a must for category adjudication, at a cost of $400.

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The Neal Bates Motorsport T86 control package (kit) includes everything that is needed to turn a Toyota 86 into a race car. An AP brake system contains calipers, pads, rotors and brake lines, front and rear (above left). MCA developed and supplied the suspension, which includes springs and dampers among various other items (above middle). Interior items are mostly free, though a MoTeC dash is part of the kit (above right).

During development, oil surge was a problem, so a baffle was developed for the sump (left).

Moving onto the engine, it is standard apart from the, MoTeC ECU, oil cooler, oil sump baffle and the exhaust system and the standard engine will last a long time.

Starting with a new car, a race engine could last three seasons. The engines are reliable, generally lasting for more than two seasons, and some have kept going strong for four years.

Brook purchased a ‘crate’ motor from Neal Bates at a cost of $7000, but previously bought a similar unit at a wreckers for $3500, which won him the title in 2018.

Outside of that, the kit covers most other items.

Servicing is done by Brook himself, replenishing the lubricants before each meeting, including using the control oil. Brook advised that keeping a watch on the diff and gearbox oils is a priority to avoid encountering problems in those areas.

Front brake pads are changed each round, front rotors last two or three rounds, while the rear pads and rotors can be left in the car all season.

Set-up for events is relatively straight forward if damage hasn’t incurred.

“If you’re not crashing and having big dramas, it doesn’t take long,” said Brook. “You just need to throw it onto the set-up patch once in between rounds to make sure nothing has moved or repairs.”

Expect to outlay $30-$35,000 on top of the purchase price of the car to prepare a Toyota 86 to racing specifications.

For a season of racing, Brook believes budgeting for $10,000 per round is a realistic number. Of course, each round won’t cost $10,000, but it averages it out that way with trips to Townsville and Bathurst carrying

additional costs such as accommodation or vehicle freight costing $3000-$3500 for these long-haul events.

The standard series costs are an event Entry Fee of $1500 per round, which can be lumped into one sum of $7500 at the beginning of the season.

Prize money is certainly lucrative for the series, with the title winner taking home a $50,000 purse, with $30,000 for second and $15,000 for third, and it pays all the way to eighth spot. Other giveaways and prizes are also on offer at the end of the year.

A set of new tyres must be bought at a cost of $1170. This set must be used from the start of qualifying until the last race, with older sets used through practice.

But what if the trials and tribulations of car construction isn’t your go?

Well, there are a variety of professional teams that offer race packages, one of which is the reigning series winner, the Sieders Race Team.

“Our arrive and drive, it’s all inclusive, is $17,500 plus GST per round,” team owner Luke Sieders said.

“That’s basically rock up with your helmet and go racing.

This package includes the vast resources the team has at its disposal, including engineers, mechanics and the experience of 86 series

racing that the team has been built up.

“That’s your engineering team, the mechanics, the big thing that is beneficial is the access to the resources that we have at Sieders Racing,” Sieders continued.

“We have an expansive spares package so that we don’t really have to rely on the Bates truck because I have invested heavily in stocking our own supply, so we’re selfsufficient. We’ve also got a series winning pedigree where we can resource data and driver coaching facilities.”

Accommodation for the driver only and on-circuit catering are included in that price.

Damage, signwriting and accommodation for family members aren’t, but Sieders can aid in two of those areas.

We complete repairs in-house to save costs for our customers,” Sieders said “We have our own car-aligning facility and our own panel shop, as part of a subsidiary business of the family. The fact that we have it all in-house does save a lot of money come repair time.

“We’ve got an affiliation with Creative Signworx, it is our signwriter. As part of being involved with us, he will subsidise all signwriting for Sieders Race Team drivers.”

Outside of on-track support, the Sieders package is extensive, featuring driver and physical training as well.

The rollcage (below left, below right) is a control item that can be installed by any company, however Bond Roll Bars are a popular option. The oil cooler kit is another modification that is added to the 86, making it more suitable to a racing discipline (below middle). Exhausts are supplied by NBM as part of its kit and are a free flowing item when compared to the standard unit (right).

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“We’ve linked heavily with Driver Solutions which help us manage the driver development and coaching,” said Sieders. “We also have a link with Reaction Fitness headed by Leigh Stamation, based in Melbourne, but he comes to all of our Sydney driver training nights and test days, coaching all of our drivers on fitness, sports psychology, mental preparation and all the necessary areas it takes to be a competitive race driver these days.

“That’s all part of our package, it’s extensive and at the highest level. The 86 Race Series is quite competitive, if you can tick off a few one percenters here or there that other people aren’t doing, than that’s where your competitive advantage comes from.

“The biggest competitive advantage comes from the drivers themselves, especially in this series. If you can get the best out of the driver, the cars are all but the same to a degree, so that’s the biggest thing to maximise.”

CO$T$ GUIDE ENTRY FEES $1500

TYRES

Dunlop Direzza Z3 $1170 a new set at each round

CAR PURCHASE

$10,000 statutory write-off + $30-$35,000 build cost $35,000-$60,000 used market

NEAL BATES MOTORSPORT KIT $27,100, including GST

COMPONENTS

Neal Bates Motorsport is at each venue providing parts support to competitors of the series (above). Engines can be sourced from wreckers or suppliers including NBM, but are closely monitored through a MoTeC ECU, stopping entrants from fiddling. An exhaust system developed for the series is one of the few modifications made to the basically standard road-going Toyota 86 engine (below).

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A driver who wants to guest-drive for one or two rounds doesn’t fit the Sieders Race Team plan.

“I only lock people in who do the whole season,” Sieders explained. “It’s a category that you need to commit to for the whole series or don’t bother at all, because it’s that competitive. It’s only a five-round series anyway.”

Sieders Race Team not only fields its own entries but also prepares and maintains 86s for customers, with the program explained here included.

Whether it be joining a team such as Sieders Race Team, building an 86 or buying one on the used market for racing, the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series Australia still remains relatively accessible even five seasons after its debut.

The avenues might be varied for a competitor on how to enter the series, but it provides a unique opportunity to race at high class venues and events, such as Bathurst or Newcastle, at a relatively inexpensive price.

Add to that the developmental benefits a category such as this provides and it’s no wonder the class remains extremely popular with competitors and spectators alike.

AP brake package $6090.91 MCA suspension package $2727.27 MoTeC engine management $3636.36 Exhaust system $2363.64 Oil cooler $1454.55 Throttle stop $72.73 Rear trunk spoiler $409.09 Baffle engine sump $268.18 MoTeC C125 race logging kit with 86 config and bracket $3090.91 Loom, OBDII $63.64 Exedy clutch kit $818.18 Secondary tow straps $218.18 Four OZ wheels $1636.36 Lambda sensor kit $654.55 Control arms, lower rear camber adjuster $418.18 Fuel coupling kit $154.55 Rear adjustable tow link kit $272.73 Primary tow straps $286.36

Components required to race Approved racing seat $800+ Racing harness $450+ Steering wheel $200+ Window net kit $125 Bonnet Pins $60 Radio $2000-$3000 Engine breather kit $100-$300 Battery isolation kit $60 FIA Spec rollcage padding $200 Cameras for driving standards $400

Replacement ‘sealed’ control engine $7000

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IN THE NIC OF TIME

Despite beginning his motor sport journey at a relatively late age, Nic Carroll is carving out a career as a contender in a variety of national titles, as DAN McCARTHY discovered A LOVE of motorsport runs in the Carroll family’s blood, so it was no surprise that Nic grew a passion for the sport at an early age.

His father worked at the Holden Racing Team just as the squad was gaining momentum with lead driver Peter Brock. A mechanic and truck driver for the legendary operation, his father’s involvement only fuelled his son’s passion for the sport.

Fast forward two and a half decades and Carroll is elevating himself as a contender in the Trans Am Series, after its first round on the streets of Adelaide.

It is a new challenge after his stints in Toyota 86 and Super3.

A haul of five podiums with perennial frontrunning Super3 team MW Motorsport was a solid result up against the strongest competition the category has experienced, but the Victorian believes he could have performed better.

“As a whole I think it was a great year, but I didn’t quite meet my expectations,” Carroll told Auto Action.

“We showed some strong pace throughout but unfortunately some things didn’t go our way. I think I could have performed a little bit better, but we just had a few dramas which hurt our championship as well.

“But I can’t get too annoyed about it, it’s racing.”

Racing against the likes of Jayden Ojeda, Broc Feeney and Zak Best,

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Nic Carroll has found a home in Trans Am (main), but started plying his trade in Formula Ford, viewing it as the best pathway forward (above).

Carroll proved himself to be a serious competitor finishing sixth in the series.

“It was a really competitive field which was great for the series.

Obviously I’d raced a few of them in karting and Jayden was my teammate in Formula Ford,” Carroll said.

“It was good for me to be rubbing panels with them, (but) as I said it wasn’t the greatest year. But I think the calibre in the category was really good and it definitely put on a show.”

Most drivers start competing in karting at the age of seven or eight, but Carroll was a late entrant at the age of 12. For that reason, as soon as the time came to progress to circuit racing, Formula Ford was the category of choice.

“Back then it (Formula Ford) was the stepping stone to go into the Supercars Championship. A lot of

the V8 drivers went through Formula Ford and would get picked up by a Development Series (Super2) team,” he explained.

“Formula Ford

tteaches you the fundamentals of d driving a race car, that was the main id of going into that category, to idea le learn close racing.

“Jumping in for the first time I en enjoyed it straightaway. I’d been dr driving manuals on a farm for a few ye years before, so that wasn’t too ha It was just understanding the hard. fun fundamentals, such as the braking, it took me a little while to adjust and adapt.”

At this point of his career, pursuing motor sport seriously was not on the radar, let alone Supercars.

“I didn’t really have a goal at first, to drive a Formula Ford was never something I expected to do,” he said.

“Obviously I always watched them and if there was an opportunity to race, I would want to do it. But (it was

Season 2018 proved a breakthrough for Carroll who took a couple of wins and finished the season strongly.

only once) I started getting into my car racing a little bit more, that Supercars became an ambition of mine.”

A packed race schedule for 2017 for Carroll included double-duty adding the Toyota 86 Race Series to his Formula Ford commitments, believing the cheap tin-top series was a way to establish his name in the industry.

“After the first two or three rounds of Formula Ford, we shifted our focus,” he told AA. “Obviously I had my schooling which was important, but the 86s being a support category to Supercars and having the coverage on Fox Sports was really important, not for my own driver profile but (for) bringing new partners onboard.

“The TV coverage was a big thing and being in front of the Supercars teams is also really important, to help you get your name out there. I think it was a great steppingstone for me and building a profile.”

It certainly proved to be the case

for Carroll, with his two-year program in the Toyota development category highlighted by a win at The Bend Motorsport Park in 2018 (the first Supercars event held at the South Australian venue).

At the end of that year, he was placed seventh in the series, just behind fellow young guns Jaylyn Robotham and Feeney and ahead of former V8 Ute series winner David Sieders, highlighting the competitiveness of the category.

“I really enjoyed it, it’s a great category, it teaches you just really close hard racing. It was really good for me and helped my race craft,” he said.

The decision was then made to climb further up the ladder and with the guidance of noted driver manager and family friend David Segal, an association with Matt White was formed to tackle the newly named Super3 category.

“We’d spoken to Matt the year before

(for 2018) but we decided to stick to the 86 again for a year. We just had a bit of unfinished business and there wasn’t any rush to move up,” Carroll explained.

“We stayed in contact with Matt and last year we locked into do the Super3 series (with his team).

“Taking that pit limiter off for that first time and feeling the power delivery is … yeah, I don’t know how to explain it, the feeling through your body is just unreal, “I’d driven a Porsche Cup car, but it just doesn’t compare to the V8, I just love driving them, it’s definitely a special car.”

As the Super3 Series was set to revert to the V8 Touring Car Series in 2020, Carroll was aiming to make the step up to Super2, but a deal was not forthcoming.

Not to be disheartened, Carroll put together a late deal to compete in the burgeoning Australian Racing Grouprun Trans Am Series, where he found

immediate success.

“It was the week before (the first round) it actually all got put together, which is very last minute but it was good! My first time sitting in the car (was) when I got to Adelaide,” he said.

Add to this, Carroll had the new challenges of driving a left-hand-drive TA2 and rolling starts, which Carroll hadn’t experienced since karts. So to be within the top five all weekend and finishing second for the round was an impressive performance.

“When I jumped in the car to drive off (in practice), I went to pull a gear but I grabbed the door handle instead of the gear stick!” he laughed.

“I eased into it, I didn’t have any expectations going into the weekend, and it turned out to be quite a successful round!”

Though racing is on hold at the moment, Carroll is expected to carry this form into the remaining rounds of the Trans Am Series, which includes a run at Bathurst.

Carroll’s Super3 campaign didn’t meet his own expectations, though he finish with five podiums and sixth in the series.

RALEIGH INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY Those who know little about the disciplines of karting and rallying may not be familiar with Raleigh International Raceway. However this complex, on the mid-North Coast of NSW, has history, character and a bright future.

Diversity is king at Raleigh International Raceway. It has hosted International Karting events, regular Special Stages of the Rally Australia World Rally Championship round, plus plenty of club-level sprints, hillclimbs and other amateur action.

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FOR THOSE in the know, Raleigh International Raceway was the scene of two-time world karting champion and current Boost Ford Mustang Supercar driver James Courtney’s first international title, and it’s also been a special stage of the World Championship Rally Australia event on the last four occasions.

To those not so familiar with Raleigh, karting and rallying is only part of the what the multipurpose venue has to offer.

Privately owned by Chris Piggott, it’s located almost halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, about 15 minutes south of Coffs Harbour. The facility is set in a natural amphitheatre surrounded by the forest of the Bellinger Valley.

It began operations in 1983 with an Autocross event and has since staged Lap Dash, Hillclimb, Drifting, Rallycross and Off Road competition.

In 1980 the then-24 year old Piggott decided he wanted to construct his own race track. Utilising the family property and with the blessing of his mother Kath and father Jim, he drafted a proposal to construct a circuit.

He received approval from the Bellingen Shire Council in September 1982 and went through the process of designing and building a 1300m dirt track for autocross.

Family members and local contractors were used in the construction and the

first competition meeting was held during 1983.

Key personnel to help get the venture underway included Graeme Roberts (engineer), Wayne Keogh (earthmoving), Karl Auld and John Abbott.

The next step for Raleigh Raceway came when plans for a 500m Go Kart track which were approved in 1985.

Two years later, further development was undertaken. Weather conditions triggered a redesign of part of the autocross circuit, which was bitumen sealed at the same time. During that time a control tower along with a building housing a canteen and office, were also constructed.

The following year the Raleigh Kart Club was formed and the raceway was officially opened by 14-time Australian Kart Champion John Pizarro.

In 1990 it became affiliated with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport for karting completion. The governing body was eager to bring an International Championship to our shores and had five tracks to show off.

To further Raleigh Raceway’s chances of snaring such an event, Piggott took a gamble. He upgraded the existing track, doubling its length to 1050m all-bitumen and ensured that it included high speeds and high braking areas.

It paid off and Raleigh was awarded the first International Championship to be held

in 1993, this partly due to the track being already established whereas others were awaiting confirmation before beginning their upgrades.

The track received international status, rated in the top five international circuits and would hold several International Championships.

To offset the costs involved in the circuuit upgrade, Hire Karts were introduced and have proven to very lucrative since.

The first ever International Go Kart Championship meeting to take place in Australia was at Raleigh Raceway in 1993.

It was very successful, drew over 5000 spectators, and was followed by similar events in ’94 and ’95.

Despite this siuccess, in the year 2000 the facility copped a nasty setback.

There was a fire in the main building which housed the office and workshop, resulting in the loss of records, photos and equipment, as well as significant building damage.

Piggott rebounded quickly and in same year hosted rounds of the Australian CIK Championship and International Go Kart Championship, repeating these again in 2001.

Since then, the facility has taken on Drifting (in 2008). Rallycross was also introduced in 2015 and Raleigh became the first CAMS-affiliated Rallycross circuit to be established in Australia since mid-

Built on private farmland and surrounded by forests, Raleigh International Raceway features a bitumen circuit (shortly to be extended) and rallycross track, used separately or in combination. The venue hosts a wide variety of competition, including Drifting, as well as driver training and 4WD activity. It operates five days per week.

70s, when it was officially opened by Dave Morrow and Bob Watson in early 2017.

Piggott acknowledges the assistance of CAMS Manager of Track Safety Bruce Keys in the design of his purpose built Rallycross track. Keys was instrumental in providing sound advice for the implementation of the safety of competitors and knowledge of Rallycross in Australia, as well as his general knowledge of motor sport.

Piggott also praised the help from Lydden Hill (rallycross venue) in the UK about the material used and the upkeep.

The year before this, the venue cut new ground as it was included as a Special Stage of Rally Australia, a round of the World Rally Championship. This continued through to the final event here, last year.

In CIK-specification karts there have been many well known international drivers who have raced at Raleigh, including Jarno Trulli, Ryan Briscoe, World Karting Champions Alessandro Manetti and Courtney, along with local stars Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Michael Caruso.

Tyson Pearce finished runner-up to Caruso in a round of the Ford Kartstars Series and finished ahead of Mark Winterbottom.

“Raleigh is one of those circuits that every driver loves going to. It has a bit of everything and is probably the most exciting track in the country. I’ve raced there a number of times throughout my career,” Pearce said.

The circuit has various uphill and downhill sections, flowing bends and straights, requiring an aggressive driving style to go fast.

The sweeping uphill first corner is taken flat out, with a late braking effort for the right/left type of chicane, which is downhill. Raleigh Truss is the next corner which is a 180 degree hairpin, and slightly uphill.

From there it is slightly downhill towards the left hander, before progressing towards the double apex right hand sweeper leading on the back straight.

Speeds are high on the approach to the next left hander, before an uphill run for the right hander at the highest part of the track.

Then it’s downhill once more through the slowest part of the circuit being the left hander and then a sharp turn right back onto the main straight.

Drift and Rallycross competitions are held at the raceway throughout the year along with hillclimbs, car club getaways, and off road driver training courses.

Numerous groups also use the complex

for lap dashes, go-to-whoas, khanacross and motorkhana events.

Aussie Legends have also raced there while three state and one national championship karting events are hosted regularly.

The VW Spectacular has occurred biennially for the past 32 years and one of the most popular events over the last 16 years has been the Rotax Enduro – a 300 lap race for two to three drivers sharing a kart. It has attracted many former and current race car drivers.

In anticipation of garnering more interest for racing and testing, plans are already in place to extend the bitumen circuit to 2km.

“Cars barely get to third gear with a top speed of around 180km/h at the moment and we want to increase the top speed that they can achieve,” Piggott explained.

Usually the venue is available for hire from Wednesday to Sunday (all seven days in school holidays). There’s a workshop available, a canteen, barbeques and showers, and camping is allowed.

And the holiday townships of Coffs Harbour, Nambucca Heads and Macksville and other small communities are within a 30km radius, so further accommodation and dining options are not far away.

FAST FACTS

Track opened:1983 Track length: Bitumen Track 1050m: Rallycross Track 1115m Track width: 8-15 metres Track corners: 12 Track elevation: 4 metres Track camber: 2.5 degrees Direction: Clockwise Track density: Karts 40, Rallycross 4 Nearest major town: Coffs Harbour Minimum licence requirements: Speed Licence Biggest event held: “Oceania” – 1993 – International Go Kart Championships – 5000 Spectators Lap Record: Dave Morrow, Krygger Suzuki , Hillclimb June 2008: 41.641s; Troy Hunt, CIK Kart: 44s Track Operators: Raleigh International Raceway Circuit Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 9am to 5pm General Manager: Chris Piggott, Owner/ Operator Email: raleighraceway@bigpond.com Address: Valery Road, Raleigh NSW 2454 Website: www.raleighraceway.com.au Phone: 02 6655 4017

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International Products - Local Knowledge

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PRODUCTS/INDUSTRY

OFFICIAL HOLDEN MOTORSPORT EDITION MONOPOLY!

HOLDEN’S MOTORSPORT machines have now been immortalised in the popular family board game, Monopoly.

The Holden Motorsport Edition Monopoly game together with a new Holden Puzzle, are set for release at Big W, Sanity, The Gamesmen and Dymocks stores across the country, in time for Father’s Day. And they’ll also be available at other toy and game retailers from mid-September.

Debuting in the 1960’s, Holden was an integral part of Australian motorsport for much of the brand’s life. Its successes included 21 Australian Touring Car/Supercars Championship titles and 33 Bathurst 500/1000 victories.

Now, this specially created Monopoly game developed in conjunction with Holden with the racing enthusiast in mind, is sure to resonate with Holden fans young and old, as it celebrates Australian motorsport history. Featuring iconic Holden race cars and well-known race tracks, the Holden Motorsport Edition Monopoly game gives players the choice of one of six classic Holden icons as tokens to play with – including Norm Beechey’s 1970 ATCC Championship winning Monaro GTS 350, the 1979 A9X Torana and the 1993 VP Commodore, in addition to the well-recognised Holden Lion logo, a chequered flag, and tyre.

Players navigate the board to secure property and assets with more iconic race cars such as the 2017 VF Commodore, the 1996 VR Commodore, the 1972 LJ Torana XU-1 and the first Bathurst winner for Holden - the 1968 HK Monaro GTS 327 - all up for grabs.

Monopoly first hit the shelves in 1935 – since when it has been played by more than 1 billion people worldwide. Today it is played in 114 countries and enjoyed in over 47 different languages.

Chris Payne, Holden Aftersales Marketing Manager said: “We are thrilled to celebrate Holden’s racing legacy with this exciting edition of Monopoly plus the new puzzle to match. It’s a fitting way to celebrate Holden’s involvement with the sport over the past 50 years. We hope the whole family will love it as much as we do, and enjoy a few rounds of the board, reminiscing about their favourite Holden racing moments.�

Charlotte Waalkens’ from Winning Moves added: “The iconic racecars of Holden have been brilliantly captured on our MOonopoly board and this new puzzle, and we are certain that Holden and automotive fans of all ages will be delighted with the games. Winning Moves is very proud to bring to life these exciting Holden Genuine Licensed Products.�

The Holden Motorsport Edition Monopoly retails for $69.99. It’s available for pre-orders online at www.winningmoves.com.au and in-store at selected retailers nationally from mid-August.

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THE ICONIC Ampol brand is now officially back on Australian forecourts, with the opening of its first revitalised Ampol service stations in Concord and Granville, New South Wales.

The openings mark an important step in the future of the company, previously branded Caltex here, enabling the iconic Ampol brand to offer high-quality fuels and convenience retail for the very first time. The brand also made its debut recently as a key sponsor on the two Red Bull Holden Racing Team Commodores driven by Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen in the 2020 Supercars Championship events in Darwin.

Matthew Halliday, Ampol’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said that while the revitalised Ampol looks a bit different to the Ampol of yesterday, the company’s values and proposition for customers remain the same. “Ampol remains a proud Australian company and customers can expect the same great customer service and high-quality products when they step into these stores, underpinned by our market-leading infrastructure and networks and commitment to playing a positive role in local economies and communities.�

Ampol has been formulating fuels for the Australian market since 1900, and the latest Amplify range draws on this experience. The Ampol site openings mark the beginning of a national rollout of the brand across Australia, which will see over 1900 sites updated over the next two years. The first 24 Ampol sites will be rebranded by the end of 2020.

Formula One

Round 5 Spanish GP

IN THE ZONE Lewis Hamilton was in dominant form as he led all the way to win in Spain

Race Report: DAN KNUTSON Images: LAT

AFTER MAKING a solid start from pole position, Lewis Hamilton found a perfect rhythm in his Mercedes and was never challenged as he went on to win his 88th Formula 1 race.

“It was like a clear zone,” he said.

“The clarity that I had today whilst I was driving … I’m sure I’ve had it before. I don’t even know how to really get into that zone. It’s hard to say what helps you get into that space, but of course I will evaluate this weekend and the feeling today.

“I felt fantastic in the car. It was physically challenging, but in terms of not making any mistakes and delivering lap upon lap upon lap I was in a perfect zone, and that’s the zone that I dream of being in.”

This is as close as the whole field got to World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who was in devastating form in Spain, winning comfortably and extending his lead in the title chase.

The usual suspects – Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – wound up second and third and never managed to get close to Hamilton’s zone.

“I was just in a daze out there,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t even know it was the last lap at the end. That’s how zoned in I was. I was ready to keep going.”

Daniel Ricciardo was also ready to keep going. He had qualified his Renault 12th and was running 11th in the final laps. The Perth native was in a string of cars running in formation, ranging from the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel in seventh, to the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat in 12th.

Ricciardo wound up 11th.

“We obviously hoped for one better and to at least get a point,” he said. “We made the one-stop work. Everything went as we planned, but we were so close and just missed out.

“It is one of those tracks where it is a bit frustrating. You get close to another car and can have a bit more pace, but it is hard to overtake and you lose grip from the tyres and the downforce. I saw a chunk of points in front of me. We were all closing up to Vettel, but it was a little too late.”

The conditions were hot just like they had been at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix a week earlier. But the Mercedes drivers did not have to struggle with blistering tyres in Barcelona like they

had in Silverstone. Part of that was due to Pirelli bringing tyres to Spain with compounds that were one step harder compared to the previous weekend.

Mercedes did a lot of work analysing the Silverstone tyre woes, and applied that to the Spanish round.

“It wasn’t massive changes,” Hamilton said, “but the more and more we understand about the tyres, the more we are conscious of the directions we can go with the car. I still think if it was last week at the last race we would potentially still have the same problem. There are definitely things we need to try and improve on the car moving forwards, but the balance was really great today, so obviously I can’t complain.”

Verstappen wasn’t complaining about finishing second and splitting the Mercedes cars.

“As soon as Lewis (Hamilton) started to push a bit more I just couldn’t follow the same pace and he just drove off,” he said. “So from then onwards I tried to do my own pace, and I tried to do the fastest strategy we could do to stay away from Valtteri (Bottas). I don’t think there is much more I can do at the moment.”

Bottas qualified second but dropped to fourth at the start. After that he was always playing catch-up. Getting the bonus point for the fastest race lap was little consolation to Bottas, who could not close in on Verstappen.

After winning the first race of the

Max Verstappen couldn’t repeat his victory over Mercedes in Britain but at least got the better of Valtteri Bottas in Spain (above). Racing Point has its strongest race yet (right) fourth and fifth.

SPANISH GRAND PRIX 66 LAPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Alex Albon had another difficult weekend and could only recover to eighth (above) for Red Bull while local hero Carlos Sainz (middle above) raced strongly for McLaren and finished sixth. Pierre Gasly was fast all weekend for AlphaTauri, ninth ahead of Lando Norris’ McLaren (right). season Bottas has had assorted problems that have kept him off the top step of the podium.

“I had a good start in the first race,” he said, “and in every single race the pace has been there. There’s not been a weekend that has gone smoothly and without issue, apart from the first one, so a pretty bad season so far.

Obviously, that’s disappointing.”

Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez (back after missing two races because he tested positive for COVID-19) wound up fourth and fifth in their Racing Points. Once again, the stewards ruled that the controversial rear brake ducts on the cars were a breach of the 2020 FIA F1 Sporting Regulations, and the stewards

reprimanded the team.

Hamilton, meanwhile, is now in another zone of his own as he now holds the record for the most F1 podium finishes – 156 – which is one more than Michael Schumacher’s tally.

“All of us drivers here grew up watching Michael,” Hamilton said. “What is happening right now is far beyond what I dreamed as a kid. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity that I’m given, every day. I think Michael was obviously an incredible athlete and driver, and so I just always feel really humbled and honoured to be mentioned in the same light as a driver like him and Ayrton (Senna) and (Juan Manuel) Fangio.”

Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Valtteri Bottas Lance Stroll Sergio Perez Carlos Sainz Jr. Sebastian Vettel Alexander Albon Pierre Gasly Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo Daniil Kvyat Esteban Ocon Kimi Raikkonen Kevin Magnussen Antonio Giovinazzi George Russell Nicholas Latifi Romain Grosjean Charles Leclerc

Mercedes Red Bull/Honda Mercedes Racing Point/Mercedes Racing Point/Mercedes McLaren/Renault Ferrari Red Bull/Honda AlphaTauri/Honda McLaren/Renault Renault AlphaTauri/Honda Renault Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Haas/Ferrari Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Williams/Mercedes Williams/Mercedes Haas/Ferrari Ferrari

1h31m45.279s 24.177s 44.752s 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 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 Electrical

Drivers: Hamilton 132, Verstappen 95, Bottas 89, Leclerc 45, Stroll 40, Albon 40, Norris 39, Perez 32, Sainz 23, Ricciardo 20, Vettel 16, Ocon 16, Gasly 14, Hulkenberg 6, Giovinazzi 2, Kvyat 2, Magnussen 1.

Constructors: Mercedes 221, Red Bull-Honda 135, Racing Point-Mercedes 63, McLaren-Renault 62, Ferrari 61, Renault 36, AlphaTauri-Honda 16 Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 2, Haas-Ferrari 1.

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RACE REPORT Hidden Valley - Races 13, 14 & 15

ACTION AND CONTROVERSY IN DARWIN HEAT

Report: Heath McAlpine Photos:Supercars/Insyde Media/ LAT CONTROVERSY, SURPRISES and action were all part of Supercars’ first leg of its Darwin double-header.

A difficult build up with logistical changes and the event being delayed by a week, provided plenty of off-track drama, but on-track Scott McLaughlin’s championship lead was only minorly impacted after three races at Hidden Valley.

PRACTICE – MOSTERT EMERGES Brad Jones Racing’s Macauley Jones took the honours in the opening session of the weekend for Rookies and those drivers sitting outside the top 20 in the championship.

Fitting soft tyres for his third and final run, Jones finished with a time of 1m 07.9376s to head local driver

James Courtney’s weekend didn’t start well when he found the tyre wall at the end of the first full practice session. Nonetheless he bounced back for a best of second in Race 13.

Bryce Fullwood by 0.314s.

Behind, Matt Stone Racing duo Garry Jacobson and Jake Kostecki both briefly held the top spot at different times, though ultimately finished behind the lead pair.

BJR’s Jack Smith and Team Sydney’s Chris Pither used hard tyres only to round out the participants.

The first session featuring the full field proved difficult for Shane van Gisbergen.

The former champion was uncomfortable with the rear of his ZB Commodore, this despite his team changing the dampers. He sat out most of the session but still set a time fast enough for sixth, before a late flurry of laps dropped him to ninth.

Fellow Holden driver Chaz Mostert got his weekend off to the best start by clocking a 1m 06.747s to edge reigning champion Scott McLaughlin by 0.274s.

Behind the lead duo were Anton De Pasquale and Rick Kelly, who continued his team’s love affair with Darwin to place fourth.

An improved performance at Sydney Motorsport Park continued in Darwin for Fabian Coulthard in fifth.

Many drivers including Lee Holdsworth and Cameron Waters had dropped off the road at Turn 1 due to a slight tail wind, while the track was very slippery due to the lack of rubber down.

Drama hit Triple Eight in the second practice session as Jamie Whincup backed into the tyre wall at Turn 6, as the seven-time champion struggled with a tail happy Commodore.

On the other side of the garage, van Gisbergen’s crew were unable to find the problem that afflicted his machine during opening practice, and he ended the session 15th.

Another to come a cropper during the session was James Courtney, who hit the wall at Turn 10 right at the end.

However, it was McLaughlin who led Mostert by 0.036s with Waters, Scott Pye and Coulthard rounding out the five.

Although placing third, Waters warned that on the hard compound it was treacherous due to the lack of rubber down on the circuit.

QUALIFYING – VAN GISBERGEN LEADS, BUT AT WHAT COST? A seven-time champion on the tools?

Thanks to his incident in the final practice session, Whincup was working feverously with his team to repair his Commodore for qualifying, which proved successful.

Meanwhile, a drivetrain problem for Mostert forced him to pull off on the exit

of Turn 1 after a severe vibration on the front straight, diagnosed as a snapped transaxle.

This hampered a few other qualifying runs with just 4m 49s remaining on the clock.

Whincup was one of five drivers not to log a competitive time to that point, along with Waters and the two Erebus Motorsport Commodores.

At the time, McLaughlin sat at the top with a 1m 07.687s ahead of teammate Coulthard, with both not leaving the lane after the Mostert red flag.

The four drivers that hadn’t set a time fixed that with Waters taking the top spot, clocking a 1m 07.626s before Anton De Pasquale eclipsed it by 0.002s.

Reynolds elevated himself to fifth, but Whincup ran wide on his opening attack before clocking the ninth fastest time.

Teammate van Gisbergen left his run very late but took the top spot with a 1m 07.624s.

Leading the drivers who failed to make the next qualifying stage was Fullwood, Jones, Jacobson and Smith.

In an uninterrupted second segment, van Gisbergen was in danger of missing the cut but fitted his final new set of hards to sit at the top of the tree with a 1m 07.1605, a margin of .072s to McLaughlin.

Coulthard, Heimgartner, Percat, Hazelwood, Waters, Whincup, Winterbottom and Reynolds completed the top 10.

Missing the cut were Lee Holdsworth, Alex Davison, Kostecki and Pither, as the cloud cover added another twist to the story.

TOP 15 SHOOTOUT – CHAMPION PIPS CHAMPION Top 15 Shootout king McLaughlin once again proved he was the ace at one-lap dashes, even if he suffered a niggle in his arm.

Winner last time out at Sydney Motorsport Park, Jack Le Brocq kicked off the Top 15 proceedings but made a mistake at Turn 10, ruling out any chance of advancing.

Tickford teammate James Courtney followed and impressed by setting a time faster than qualifying, a 1m 07.459s.

A bobble for Kelly at Race 1 ended his lap before it started, while De Pasquale clocked a 1m 07.296s to top the timesheets.

Pye on new hards was unable to lower the mark, Reynolds was another to make a mistake at Turn 10 and the final corner, before Winterbottom bettered his time by 0.130s.

That didn’t last for long as Whincup eclipsed the time on the very next run.

Dirt left by Reynolds’ misdemeanour entering the straight hampered the rest of the runners including Waters, while BJR pair Percat and Hazelwood did the best they could on used hard tyres.

Heimgartner was unable convert his qualifying form into the Shootout, while Coulthard fell an agonisingly 0.040s short of Whincup’s mark.

McLaughlin was the penultimate

Supercars GOAT Jamie Whincup made an uncharacteristic error during practice (above), backing the Commodore into the wall and causing extensive damage.

He recovered to have another strong weekend, winning Race 15. Anton De Pasquale broke through for his first Supercars victory (below) in Race 13 while Scott Pye was third (bottom) for Team 18 after Whincup’s penalty.

slightly when McLaughlin was also penalised, for overtaking third-placed Courtney before the control line at the safety car restart.

A slow restart onto the straight by De Pasquale had caught some drivers out, including the reigning champion, and a 15s post-race penalty was also applied.

As the race settled down, Mostert’s recovery drive from 21st to an eventual seventh was impressive, using hard tyres no less.

BJR’s trauma continued when Macauley Jones hit the wall exiting Turn 5, which then bought another safety car.

Pye had snuck up and aided by the safety cars now sat in an effective third on his soft tyres, once Whincup was taken out of equation.

A 0.834s gap separated De Pasquale from Courtney at the end with Pye and Winterbottom filling out the next two positions, a dream result perfectly timed for team owner Charlie Schwerkolt’s return event.

Filling out the top five was another impressive result as Chris Pither scored Team Sydney’s first Top 10 result.

As for the title leaders, Whincup was 17th and McLaughlin 20th. runner and in turn stitched a perfect lap together, 0.132s faster than the Whincup.

Expending his two new hard tyre sets just to make the Shootout as well as battling an ill-handling Commodore, van Gisbergen must have been relatively happy with sixth.

RACE 13 – A BREAKTHROUGH Just like at SMP, another young driver was added to the Supercars/ATCC winner’s list as the tyre regulations continue to throw up unpredictable results.

De Pasquale put all his eggs in one basket for the race to take the win and lead a very different podium.

One of only five drivers to go for broke by going soft-soft, De Pasquale was best placed in third, but made a poor start in what was a chaotic opening lap.

First, van Gisbergen tapped Percat exiting Turn 5, which then sent him across the circuit into his teammate Hazelwood. The form team of the

championship now had a major repair on its hands. This also earnt the Kiwi a pit lane penalty.

Then, Le Brocq and Kelly tangled at Turn 8, but when the former Supercars champion re-joined, he tapped rookie Jake Kostecki into a spin, which sent the Matt Stone Racing Commodore hard into the tyre wall, bringing out the safety car. A pit lane penalty followed for Kelly.

The resulting safety car led to the whole field, bar Jack Smith, pitting which in the narrow-Hidden Valley pit lane spelt danger. This was proven when a mistake released Whincup into the side of De Pasquale’s Commodore.

A swift pit stop by Erebus had placed De Pasquale in a position to snatch the lead, critical to his soft-soft strategy, and he did so despite the collision.

Whincup was the first contender to fall as a 15s post-race penalty for the collision was given to him by the stewards.

The anguish of that penalty was eased

QUALIFYING RACES 14 AND 15 Again, McLaughlin was unstoppable in qualifying as he eyed redemption after the previous day’s mistake.

The use of soft tyres was permitted for these two sessions, so after a hard tyre warm up McLaughlin clocked a 1m 06.415s to edge out his teammate by 0.025s.

A surprise was De Pasquale who, on used softs, was just 0.260s off the pace, while Whincup was in striking distance alongside.

A midnight repair job by BJR had three of its entries back on the grid with Percat rewarding the effort with fifth.

Heimgartner was sixth ahead of van Gisbergen, Reynolds, Winterbottom and Mostert rounding out the 10.

It was more of the same in qualifying for Race 15 as McLaughlin set a 1m 06.858s lap to head the first of the Triple Eight Commodores by 0.326s.

Mostert continued his strong qualifying form in fourth ahead of Waters,

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RACE REPORT Hidden Valley - Race 13, 14 & 15 Results Race 13 34 Laps Supercars Hidden Valley Raceway Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 NC NC NC

Driver Anton De Pasquale James Courtney Scott Pye Mark Winterbottom Chris Pither Fabian Coulthard Chaz Mostert Cameron Waters Andre Heimgartner Lee Holdsworth Shane van Gisbergen Jack Smith David Reynolds Jack Le Brocq Rick Kelly Alex Davison Jamie Whincup Todd Hazelwood Garry Jacobson Scott McLaughlin Bryce Fullwood Macauley Jones Jake Kostecki Nick Percat

Laps/Margin 34 laps +0.834s +6.128s +11.195s +11.447s +11.740s +12.457s +13.036s +13.338s +14.073s +14.955s +15.233s +16.537s +17.066s +17.935s +18.360s +20.699s +22.466s +22.738s +27.071s +32.762s 22 laps 3 laps 0 laps

▲5 ▼6 ▲7 0 ▲ 14 ▼3 ▲ 13 ▼3 ▲4 ▲6 ▼2 ▲ 12 ▼6 ▲1 ▼1 ▲1 ▼ 15 ▼7 ▲4 ▼ 19 0 0 ▼5 ▼ 12

Results Race 14 38 Laps Supercars Hidden Valley Racew

Jamie Whincup won the coveted Triple Crown on a countback (top), Chris Pither took advantage of a soft-soft tyre combination to finish fifth in Race 13 (above left) while DJR Team Penske were at the front as usual (above right), Fabian Coulthard leading his teammate early in Race 15.

Coulthard, early benchmark setter Kelly, De Pasquale, Reynolds and Percat.

RACE 14 – REDEMPTION PART I It was all set-up for another clinical McLaughlin lights-to-flag performance as a DJR Team Penske 1-2 looked to be on the cards.

Coulthard made the best start and led early before he was overtaken in the pit stop shuffle by his teammate.

Although he tried to pressure McLaughlin as soon as he left the pits at Turn 1, it backfired as he left the road himself and dropped behind Whincup to third.

The seven-time champion had passed De Pasquale at the opening corner of the race and was there to take advantage of Coulthard’s mistake, but unable to catch McLaughlin.

A 1.4s margin separated first and second in the title chase, a better run than the previous day for both.

The battle for the minors was close, yet clean, as Reynolds, Percat and van Gisbergen fought for fourth, which fell in favour of the Kiwi.

De Pasquale on fairly used softs still finished seventh, demonstrating the tyres’ low degradation up north.

RACE 15 – REDEMPTION PART II McLaughlin vs Whincup. The two title combatants lined up on the front-row side-by-side to tackle the last 38-lap encounter.

Whincup won the initial jump, but McLaughlin had a strong second phase to lead into Turn 1.

Coulthard was unable to play rear gunner as he dropped behind Mostert and van Gisbergen to fifth.

A hard fought battle between the

There was action aplenty as usual at Hidden Valley. Here Shane van Gisbergen nudges Chaz Mostert out of the way, though he redressed before a penalty was applied.

duo resulted in contact between van Gisbergen and Mostert at Turn 6, as the Kiwi tried to force his way through, though he gave back the position and waited until the pit stops to make his move.

So too did Whincup, though it was not without contention.

What Coulthard believed was an unsafe release (though not so by the stewards after a post-race investigation) saw light contact with Whincup, its severity lessened due to the fact that the Kiwi slowed.

It was a crucial moment and allowed Whincup to execute a successful undercut on his way to a 2.1s victory over McLaughlin with van Gisbergen a further 8s behind.

Team18’s pace was demonstrated late in the race as Winterbottom ran long and mounted a challenge on the lower reaches of the 10, ending the race seventh behind Percat.

Mostert recovered well to hold out Coulthard for fourth, while Le Brocq climbed six positions to eighth in what was a comparably quiet weekend compared to his run at SMP. Kostecki was another to garner a good result, finishing 14th, while De Pasquale struggled to 23rd.

The pit incident not only cost Coulthard time, but also the coveted Triple Crown.

Whincup won on a countback to close the title points gap to 101 to McLaughlin.

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Driver Scott McLaughlin Jamie Whincup Fabian Coulthard Shane van Gisbergen David Reynolds Nick Percat Anton De Pasquale Chaz Mostert Cameron Waters Andre Heimgartner Mark Winterbottom James Courtney Rick Kelly Lee Holdsworth Jack Le Brocq Scott Pye Alex Davison Bryce Fullwood Garry Jacobson Todd Hazelwood Chris Pither Jake Kostecki Macauley Jones Jack Smith

Laps/Margin 38 laps +1.408s +7.208s +12.440s +13.293s +17.179s +17.535s +18.011s +18.619s +19.027s +19.901s +22.610s +23.151s +23.601s +24.140s +24.703s +29.744s +34.881s 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps 37 laps

0 ▲2 ▼1 ▲3 ▲3 ▼1 ▼4 ▲2 ▲4 ▼4 ▼2 0 ▲1 ▲3 0 ▼5 ▲1 ▲5 ▲3 ▲1 ▼2 ▼2 ▼7 0

Results Race 15 38 Laps Supercars Hidden Valley Raceway Pos Driver Laps/Margin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Jamie Whincup Scott McLaughlin Shane van Gisbergen Chaz Mostert Fabian Coulthard Nick Percat Mark Winterbottom Jack Le Brocq David Reynolds Rick Kelly Cameron Waters Lee Holdsworth Garry Jacobson Jack Kostecki Jack Smith Andre Heimgartner James Courtney Macauley Jones Bryce Fullwood Todd Hazelwood Chris Pither Scott Pye Anton De Pasquale Alex Davison

38 laps +2.122s +14.355s +17.258s +17.758s +22.614s +22.983s +23.858s +25.468s +26.690s +28.475s +29.520s +29.905s +36.045s +39.938s +40.951s +42.010s +42.454s +42.785s +44.626s +45.727s +47.251s +61.438s 36 laps

▲1 ▼1 0 0 ▲1 ▲4 ▲7 ▲4 0 ▼3 ▼6 ▲1 ▲3 ▲3 ▲5 ▲2 ▼2 ▼7 ▲3 ▲4 ▲2 ▼1 ▼ 15 ▼5

Darwin Triple Crown: Whincup 228, Coulthard 228, McLaughlin 222, van Gisbergen 214, Mostert 204, Winterbottom 192, De Pasquale 188, Reynolds 174, Courtney 174, Waters 164.

Points: McLaughlin 1024, Whincup 923, Mostert 814, van Gisbergen 753, Reynolds 736, Waters 733, Winterbottom 706, Percat 705, Coulthard 682, Holdsworth 675, Heimgartner 602, De Pasquale 583, Le Brocq 566, Kelly 534, Courtney 528, Hazelwood 525, Pye 488, Fullwood 460, Smith 390, Jones 372, Jacobson 363, Pither 346, A Davison 204, W Davison 231, Goddard 204, Kostecki 142

RACE REPORT Hidden Valley - Races 16, 17 & 18

LAUNCH CONTROL

Report: HEATH McALPINE

Images: LAT/Supercars

STARTS WERE a big part of the difference during the Darwin SuperSprint, the second leg of the top end double-header as Scott McLaughlin cemented his chances of taking a third Supercars title in a row.

PRACTICE – TEAM 18 SHINE

Warmer and grippier conditions greeted the Supercars drivers for the second Darwin event in as many weeks.

Practice for the rookies was topped

by Garry Jacobson, the improved conditions demonstrated by his fastest time of 1m 06.982s, the only driver then in the 1m 06s.

Just 0.027s behind was local Bryce Fullwood as he headed both Chris Pither and Macauley Jones by the barest of margins.

Jack Smith and circuit rookie Zane Goddard rounded out the field.

The first open practice session for the entire field sprung surprises as Team 18’s Scott Pye highlighted the underdog team’s pace by setting a 1m 06.240s to top the session.

Behind was Fullwood, who had benefitted from studying teammate Chaz Mostert’s video during the week, second fastest, just 0.102s behind.

Pseudo race runs were completed by Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup, resulting in the pair being placed down the order.

As for Tickford Racing, it was back on the pace with Lee Holdsworth, Cameron Waters and Jack Le Brocq in the top 10.

McLaughlin led at the end of second practice, setting a 1m 06.248s, to head both Team 18 Commodores.

Winterbottom was just 0.098s off the reigning champion’s pace.

Pye continued his strong run to finish the session third ahead of Whincup and Fabian Coulthard.

QUALIFYING – PENSKE AND THE UNDERDOG

There were surprises both at the top of the timesheets and in the knockout segments of qualifying.

McLaughlin topped the first part by setting a 1m 06.434s ahead of Pye, while knocked out straight away were Jacobson, Pither, Todd Hazelwood and Smith.

For Hazelwood he lacked straight line pace, possibly as

a result of last week’s opening lap collision in Race 13. An engine change hadn’t cured the problem as the team desperately searched the chassis for answers.

The second phase of qualifying produced a surprise as Winterbottom set a 1m 06.257s to head the session, while David Reynolds struggled for set-up, joining Rick Kelly, Jones, Alex Davison and Goddard by missing the Top 15 Shootout.

Fullwood continued his strong form by finishing the session second.

TOP 15 SHOOTOUT – LUCKY THIRTEEN

JAMIE WHINCUP may have only finished qualifying 13th, but he set a scintillating lap time in the Shoot Out that was unable to bettered by anyone, including McLaughlin.

Le Brocq started off proceedings but made a mistake exiting the final corner and failed to make position, while Heimgartner slightly improved on his qualifying pace.

Veterans Whincup and James Courtney followed, and were

impressive. Whincup’s time of 1m 06.138s proved to be unbeatable, but Tickford’s new recruit proved just as sharp with a lap just 0.318s off the seven-time champion’s benchmark.

Turn 10 proved a problem for many, the first of whom was De Pasquale, but he had illustrious company as Percat, Pye and Winterbottom did the same.

The BJR driver was even hampered by water filling his helmet from his drink tube!

Coulthard, van Gisbergen and Mostert were disappointing, the Triple Eight driver in particular struggling for straight line speed, while Mostert described his WAU Commodore as ‘nasty’.

His teammate was scrappy on his lap but still Fullwood was ninth, while McLaughlin set personal bests but missed out on another pole.

RACE 16 – CHAMPION TO THE FORE

The Start proved pivotal for McLaughlin as he went to the front immediately and took victory ahead of title challenger and pole sitter Whincup.

The jump was even between the two front-row starters, but McLaughlin’s run after that was superior as he moved across on Whincup to take the inside line into Turn 1.

There was a little bit of chaos behind as a clutch fault for Pye hampered his

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RACE REPORT Hidden Valley - Race 16, 17 & 18

start, while Fullwood and Mostert successfully avoided the stricken Commodore, Smith another lucky to avoid it.

Le Brocq had made a fair start to be battling Heimgartner and Reynolds at Turn 1, but that turned to disaster as the Tickford driver got squeezed between the two. This damaged the steering clevis and popped a tyre off the rim, resulting in retirement for Le Brocq.

Teammates Waters and Courtney pitted within a lap of each other, leading to a slightly awkward moment when the former re-entered the circuit.

The duo went into Turn 1 side-by-side, but it was Waters who took the position.

After placing 14th in the Shootout, Coulthard was on the charge and made six positions on the opening lap. He was further aided by a mistake from Fullwood at Turn 5, who ran wide onto the grass, losing a position to Heimgartner as well.

McLaughlin pitted for working side tyres only, while Whincup ran longer but failed to overhaul the earlier-stopping DJR Team Penske driver.

The race was beginning to become a struggle for van Gisbergen as first he damaged his tyre set, then he confirmed the engine was down on power. This forced him to change

Cam Waters led the Tickford charge (above), though a dive under Jamie Whincup at Turn 1 in Race 18 saw the Mustang’s steering broken and a retirement. Scott Pye was a surprise contender all weekend (left), his Team 18 Commodore showing great pace and he scored a pair of podiums as a result.

his strategy, strategy discussing with engineer Grant McPherson whether changing four tyres instead of two was more beneficial.

He trailed De Pasquale until he pitted on lap 21 for rear tyres, emerging behind a hotly contested battle between Percat, Coulthard and Holdsworth.

Both Percat and De Pasquale both disposed of the two Mustangs, while van Gisbergen on his new set was placed 13th after his stop but clawed back to eighth.

Mostert closed on Coulthard and aided van Gisbergen by disposing of the Mustang.

As his teammate battled, McLaughlin cruised to a 2.4s victory ahead of Whincup, while a further 11s back was

Waters.

A bonus for Tickford in fourth was Courtney, who finished ahead of Percat, De Pasquale, Holdsworth, van Gisbergen, Mostert and Coulthard.

Joining Le Brocq among the retirements was Chris Pither, who stopped on the exit of Turn 1 with three laps to go.

QUALIFYING RACES 17 AND 18 – KIWI SPLIT

An engine change for van Gisbergen paid dividends as he set the early benchmark for Race 17, qualifying with a 1m 06.585s lap.

Again, it was a late dash for most drivers led by McLaughlin with a 1m 06.258s, which was followed immediately by a flyer from van Gisbergen, which fell 0.056s short.

Team 18’s strong Darwin form continued with Pye starting third, 0.105s behind McLaughlin, while teammate Winterbottom was fifth as in between was Waters.

The rest of the top 10 was completed

by Coulthard, Percat, Whincup, Heimgartner and Courtney.

It was an interesting 10-minute session to form the grid for Race 18.

Percat set a 1m 06.353s as the early benchmark before parking halfway through the session, because he believed track conditions would worsen.

McLaughlin then proved this theory

wrong by setting a time 0.033s faster, though this was eclipsed by van Gisbergen, who set a 1m 06.289s ffor pole with the aid of a tow from Coulthard.

Winterbottom replaced his teammate in third with Percat alongside.

Mostert, Waters, Whincup, Pye, De Pasquale and Heimgartner rounded out the top 10.

RACE 17 – THE 50 IS UP

Highlighted by another superb start from McLaughlin, who edged van Gisbergen heading into Turn 1, it was actually Penske-DJR teammate Fabian Coulthard who made the best start to challenge for second around the outside of the opening corner.

The pressure on McLaughlin never relented from van Gisbergen as he made a play for the lead around the outside at Turn 5, but it failed to come off.

Coulthard wasn’t a concern to the two at the front thanks to Pye applying pressure on the DJR Team Penske Mustang.

It was a frantic opening lap, a replica of Saturday’s race, but things calmed soon after as McLaughlin built up a 1.1s advantage.

Coulthard was the first of the leaders to pit, aiming to execute an undercut, but this came to nothing as van Gisbergen completed his service the next lap. Triple Eight fitted rear tyres and van Gisbergen was able to emerge in front.

McLaughlin completed his pit stop a lap later to nullify the effect of an undercut and fitted new right-side tyres.

Winterbottom’s race had started in fifth, but he was beginning to fall

Scott McLaughlin dominated Darwin #2, the DJR Team Penske driver running away to three wins in as many starts. He has now won 51 Supercars races.

Results Race 16 38 Laps Supercars Hidden Valley Raceway

Chaz Mostert leads Fabian Coulthard and Shane van Gisbergen (above left) in a battle for positions in the top 10 that lasted all weekend.

Each had varying results. Mark Winterbottom’s pace (above right) underlined the new-found competitiveness of Team 18.

away due to a slow stop, which allowed Whincup, Courtney and Holdsworth to advance.

It had been a brilliant opening sequence for Whincup, who started back in eighth, and now had risen to be a chance of a podium.

Meanwhile, Pye ran a long strategy in the lead as he appeared on target for a podium.

He was joined by Percat, Mostert, Le Brocq and De Pasquale on a similar strategy, with BJR’s leader best placed to convert it into a top five finish.

Percat slotted ahead of Winterbottom in the line-up after his stop, then Le Brocq emerged in a battle with Rick Kelly, but a small tap at Turn 6 by the Tickford driver handed him a 5s post-race penalty.

Pye was nearly the last to pit on lap 26 but dropped a wheel off the road during his in-lap, which cost him time and enabled Coulthard to snatch third.

The position remained under threat as Pye on newer tyres closed in on Coulthard until successfully taking the position on the inside of the final corner. The chase was now on for second.

Back in seventh, the fight was on between Percat and Mostert, with the two sparring through Turns 2, 3, 4 and 5 after the WAU Commodore made a pass at Turn 1 on lap 33.

It wasn’t made easy as Percat continued to tap Mostert through the final segment of corners before sending the WAU Commodore wide and sliding down the inside at Turn 1. But that wasn’t the end as Mostert then tried to crisscross, however he clipped the rear of Percat’s BJR Commodore, sending it onto the grass.

This earned the wrath of the

stewards and a 15s penalty was the result.

Pye made a late run for second, but it wasn’t enough as van Gisbergen finished 9.687s behind McLaughlin, who notched up win number 50.

Behind the top three came Coulthard, Waters, Whincup, Courtney, Holdsworth, Winterbottom and De Pasquale.

RACE 18 – COMPLETING THE TRIFECTA

Again, another faultless start from McLaughlin set the tone for the race as he easily led into Turn 1.

Percat also made a superior start and snatched second off van Gisbergen, but the race followed the same narrative as the previous one, as McLaughlin led by 0.7s after the opening lap.

The race was sedate until the first pit stops on lap 5. Waters, Pye, Reynolds and Courtney all took service, but drama was to befall the Race 16 third place getter.

In an attempt to undercut Percat, Triple Eight called its title contender in for a stop, but when Whincup re-entered the circuit he encountered Waters.

Trying to criss-cross, Waters started wide and cut down on the inside of Whincup, and clipped the inside kerb, which sent him into the Triple Eight Commodore’s front-wheel.

This collision broke the steering arm off the upright on the Tickford Mustang, though it did little damage to Whincup.

BJR reacted to these pit stops by bringing in Percat, who re-entered well clear of Pye. The final major domino to fall was McLaughlin and he pitted on lap 8 to maintain a comfortable advantage.

As this was going on, van

Gisbergen was left out in fresh air, as was Winterbottom after he had started third and lost position in the opening lap shuffle.

Coulthard had struggled in qualifying and was finding the going tough during the race as well, especially trying to pass Fullwood. It was a robust battle that ended with contact between the two, resulting in the local driver being pushed wide at Turn 14 and Coulthard receiving a 5s penalty.

Triple Eight elected to pit van Gisbergen, changing the right-side tyres, this dropping him behind Pye in a four-way battle for second.

While van Gisbergen menaced Pye, Mostert was doing the same to the Kiwi, with Percat never too far ahead and the same applied to Whincup from the behind.

McLaughlin meanwhile was already 9.3s ahead as the final pit stops where taken with 10 laps remaining.

One of those was Winterbottom and when he returned, he slotted into the middle of the battle for second between Mostert and Whincup, before disposing of the WAU Commodore at Turn 5.

Next came van Gisbergen.

Kelly Racing’s tough weekend continued as the team leader was held up by a slow tyre fitment, caused by a damaged hub.

As the race’s conclusion drew closer, Winterbottom was building the pressure on van Gisbergen, which led to an overtake at Turn 6 after a robust move at Turn 5.

These shenanigans only aided Percat and Pye as both skipped away from the intense battle for fourth.

There was no worries for McLaughlin as he cruised to a 13.835s victory and in turn a 177-point advantage in the championship.

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 NC NC NC

Driver Scott McLaughlin Jamie Whincup Cameron Waters James Courtney Nick Percat Anton De Pasquale Lee Holdsworth Shane van Gisbergen Chaz Mostert Fabian Coulthard Mark Winterbottom David Reynolds Scott Pye Rick Kelly Andre Heimgartner Todd Hazelwood Macauley Jones Alex Davison Bryce Fullwood Jack Smith Zane Goddard Garry Jacobson Chris Pither Jack Le Brocq

Laps/Margin 38 laps +2.494s +15.359s +16.265s +17.995s +18.773s +24.563s +24.979s +25.833s +26.583s +28.225s +28.691s +28.932s +34.944s +35.281s +40.014s +42.987s +49.821s +51.317s +51.436s +51.843s +62.435s 35 laps 0 laps

▲1 ▼1 ▼1 ▼1 ▲4 0 ▼2 ▲3 ▲3 ▲4 ▼4 ▲4 ▼5 ▲3 ▼2 ▲7 ▲1 ▲1 ▼1 ▲4 ▼1 ▼1 ▼1 ▼9

Results Race 17 38 Laps Supercars Hidden Valley Raceway Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Driver Scott McLaughlin Shane van Gisbergen Scott Pye Fabian Coulthard Cameron Waters Jamie Whincup James Courtney Lee Holdsworth Mark Winterbottom Anton De Pasquale Andre Heimgartner Rick Kelly Nick Percat Jack Le Brocq Todd Hazelwood David Reynolds Bryce Fullwood Chaz Mostert Jack Smith Chris Pither Zane Goddard Alex Davison Macauley Jones Garry Jacobson

Laps/Margin 38 laps +9.687s +9.932s +15.279s +21.390s +22.449s +27.983s +29.425s +30.730s +31.168s +32.035s +34.882s +37.312s +37.736s +39.918s +40.283s +40.983s +41.697s +46.627s +48.819s +49.717s +54.765s +59.004s +73.494s

0 0 0 ▲3 ▼4 ▲2 ▲3 ▲3 ▼4 ▲3 ▼2 ▲2 ▼6 ▲1 ▲3 ▲1 ▲2 ▼6 up 5 ▲1 ▲2 0 ▼7 ▼4

Results Race 18 38 Laps Supercars Hidden Valley Raceway Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NC

Driver Scott McLaughlin Nick Percat Scott Pye Mark Winterbottom Shane van Gisbergen Chaz Mostert Jamie Whincup Andre Heimgartner Anton De Pasquale David Reynolds Fabian Coulthard Lee Holdsworth Jack Le Brocq James Courtney Todd Hazelwood Garry Jacobson Bryce Fullwood Macauley Jones Chris Pither Alex Davison Zane Goddard Rick Kelly Jack Smith Cameron Waters

Laps/Margin 38 laps +13.835s +14.817s +16.423s +18.367s +19.622s +19.966s +20.299s +20.847s +24.888s +27.703s +28.070s +28.459s +30.013s +33.845s +34.552s +36.054s +39.415s +43.344s +44.253s +45.163s +52.838s +54.164s 4 laps

▲1 ▲2 ▲5 ▼1 ▼4 ▼1 0 ▲2 0 ▲2 ▲5 ▼1 ▲2 0 ▲2 ▲2 ▼4 ▲5 ▲2 ▼1 ▲1 ▼2 ▲1 ▼ 18

Points: McLaughlin 1324, Whincup 1147, van Gisbergen 979, Mostert 972, Percat 915, Waters 893, Winterbottom 890, Reynolds 872, Coulthard 862, Holdsworth 845, De Pasquale 759, Heimgartner 750, Courtney 714, Pye 704, Le Brocq 652, Kelly 648, Hazelwood 643, Fullwood 564, Smith 476, Jones 466, Jacobson 449, Pither 408, A. Davison 334, Goddard 288, W. Davison 231, Kostecki 142.

Nick Percat’s front-running form continued for Brad Jones Racing (above left), second in Race 18 his best result. James Courtney’s (above) scorecard read the reverse, fourth in Race 16 in the Tickford-run customer Boost Mustang entry.

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MOTOGP WRAP AUSTRIAN AND STYRIAN GPs

DESMO DOVI DELIVERS Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT MOTOGP DELIVERED yet another thrilling encounter in the first round of the Austrian double header when Ducati Corse rider Andrea Dovizioso took victory in a race marred by a frightening crash.

While many of his rivals fell off or simply struggled for pace, Dovizioso remained unfazed and took his first victory in over 12 months.

Aussie Jack Miller also rode a mature race, crossing the line third to earn his first podium finish of the season.

Since MotoGP returned to the Red Bull Ring in 2016 Ducati had been undefeated, taking all four victories. But after the brand’s lacklustre showing in Brno one week prior, many people began to question the competitiveness of the Ducati Desmosedici GP20.

Coming into the weekend it was announced that Honda test rider Stefan Bradl would once again stand in for the injured reigning champion

Marc Marquez, as would Ducati test rider Michele Pirro for Francesco Bagnaia.

Throughout practice the Ducati riders showed that they still had the pace to be up front in Austria, as did the local brand KTM with Pol Espargaro.

Shockingly, it was Maverick Vinales who took pole position on his factory Yamaha, a team that had only claimed one podium finish at the venue since MotoGP’s return.

It was an incredibly tight session, with the top 11 riders within 0.5s in the final qualifying segment.

Aussie Miller ended the session in second, only 0.068s behind Vinales, the Queenslander’s first front row start of the season.

Behind Miller was championship leader Fabio Quartararo, Dovizioso, Pol Espargaro and Suzuki rider Joan Mir. Valentino Rossi would start only 12th ahead of a livid Danilo Petrucci, who felt he

was impeded by factory Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro, the pair starting 13th and 14th respectively.

After winning one-week earlier, KTM rider Brad Binder lacked one lap pace this time and would start from 17th.

On Sunday Dovizioso took victory, just 24 hours after announcing that he would depart the factory Ducati team at the end of the year (see below).

Dovizioso finished 1.37s ahead of Mir, who scored his maiden MotoGP podium finish in second position.

Miller took his first podium of the season in third after leading a large portion of the race, as he had gambled on soft tyres after the red flag stoppage.

Miller still sat second until the final turn, running a defensive line that saw the Pramac rider run wide and allow Mir up the inside at the final corner to pinch p2.

An horrific crash caused a red flag.

It initially involved Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli, who came together around the fastleft-handed kink Turn 2. The bikes were flung through the gravel trap at high speed towards the factory Yamaha riders of Rossi and Vinales, negotiating the Turn 3 hairpin.

The flying bikes missed the Yamaha riders by

millimetres, and the red flag was thrown to clean up the mess.

Binder marched through the field from his lowly grid position to finish in fourth position ahead of Rossi, who somehow put the frightening crash behind him.

Takaaki Nakagami was the highest placed Honda rider in sixth, ahead of Ducati rider Petrucci.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo lacked pace from the start and finished 12.534s behind Dovizioso in eighth.

From pole, his championship rival Vinales had been hampered by clutch issues and finished down in 10th.

Pol Espargaro led the race when the red flag flew and was furious about the situation, and when the race resumed the incensed Spaniard’s day ended when he and fellow KTM rider Oliveira collided and crashed out at Turn 4.

Rins was fighting for the lead with Dovizioso when a failed overtake also saw him throw his bike at the scenery.

Standings after Round 4 Quartararo 67, Dovizioso 56, Vinales 48, Binder 41, Rossi 38, Nakagami 37, Miller 36, Morbidelli 31, Mir 31, Zarco 28

AND ANNOUNCES DUCATI DEPARTURE ON THE Saturday of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend Andrea Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella made the shock announcement that the Italian rider would depart the Ducati Corse squad at the end of 2020.

Since Dovizioso joined the factory Ducati squad in 2013 he has delivered 14 race victories and finished as the bridesmaid to Marc Marquez in all of the last three seasons.

The once harmonious relationship between the two Italian parties has however come to a messy and bitter end, with Battistella announcing to Sky Italia that ‘Dovi’ will leave the Italian squad at the conclusion of the season.

“We communicated to Ducati that Andrea does not intend to continue for the next few years,” Battistella said.

“He now wants to focus on this championship, on these races, and let’s say we don’t feel the conditions are right to continue in the future.”

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During the COVID-19 enforced break, relations between the two parties soured as Ducati was only willing to re-sign Dovizioso if he took a substantial wage decrease.

However, Battistella revealed that no deal had ever been handed to Dovizioso.

“In practice we have never talked about the economic part. There have been no proposals or negotiations [for 2021],” he said.

At the point when Battistella made the announcement Dovizioso had not begun any negotiations another team, but intends to remain on the grid for 2021.

“Andrea intends to continue running, of course, if he finds a suitable programme and proposal to do so. There are no alternatives at the moment, so there are no negotiations with other teams,” Battistella explained.

On the Friday of the Austrian event, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi announced that the manufacturer would decide on the former 125cc World Champion’s future after the Red

Bull Ring double header.

However, less than 24 hours later Battistella announced that the 35-yearold no longer wanted to remain with the team beyond 2020.

Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti verified that ‘Dovi’ will depart the team at the end of the season, releasing a statement saying.

“We met Simone this morning (Saturday) here at Red Bull Ring and realised that unfortunately there are not the conditions to continue our relationship with Dovi beyond the end of the current contract,” it read.

“Ducati and Andrea will now fully concentrate on the remainder of the 2020 season, starting from tomorrow’s Austrian GP, with the common goal to add more wins to the 13 wins (now 14) already achieved together and fight for the title until the end of the championship.”

As both Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci will

leave the factory Ducati team at the end of 2020, it remains unknown who will share the garage alongside Aussie Jack Miller, who was announced as a 2021 Ducati Corse rider several weeks ago.

At this stage, Miller’s current teammate at Pramac Ducati, Francesco Bagnaia, has emerged as the early favourite to fill the vacant seat, however, Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo have already also put their names forward. DM

Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT THE 900TH MotoGP race will go down as a classic, with the fight for the lead going right to the final turn once more.

This time it was Miguel Oliveira who emerged victorious and became the third maiden MotoGP winner this season.

In winning the Styrian GP, Oliveira became the first Portuguese rider ever to win in the premier class and gave the Tech 3 team its first victory in its 20-year history.

The KTM rider sat third going into the final corner but nipped up the inside of both Australian Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro on the run to the line, to pinch the win.

At the end of the race the top four were separated by just 0.641s in a truly epic nail biter.

Qualifying was as tight as ever, but it was Pol Espargaro on his KTM who took his maiden pole position from LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami by a miniscule 0.02s.

Johann Zarco qualified third but would not start there as he was deemed to have caused the horrifying crash the previous week (see story below) and had to start from pitlane.

Third would instead go to Joan Mir who was also within 0.1s of pole position, just ahead of Miller.

The previous week’s pole sitter Vinales was fourth ahead of Alex Rins and Oliveira.

Meanwhile, Andrea Dovizioso and championship leader Fabio Quartararo were buried in the pack, starting eighth and ninth respectively.

Like it had been seven days prior, the race was red flagged due to a heavy crash. Once again it involved Vinales, who suffered a brake failure into Turn 1 and was forced to jump off his bike, the Yamaha flying through the air fence before bursting into flames. Fortunately, the Spaniard escaped uninjured but the same could not be said for his bike.

The opening stanza was controlled by Suzuki rider Mir who held a comfortable lead over the battling duo of Miller and Nakagami, while pole sitter Espargaro was struggling to remain in the top five before the red flag was thrown.

However, on the restart the race was turned on its head.

Mir only had one new soft tyre remaining and was forced to run the final 12 laps with one old one, while his rivals were all able to

OLIVEIRA AND KTM STEALLAST CORNER WIN

stick on two fresh boots.

As a result of this Mir lacked the outright speed of his rivals.

With six laps to do Espargaro, (who was much more competitive after the red flag) snatched the lead from Miller, but was unable to gap the Pramac rider.

Olivera had steadily made his way forward and had caught the leading pair to make it a three way fight up front.

As Oliveira turned up the heat on the Aussie, Espargaro pulled a slight margin with just a handful of laps to go.

On the final lap and with a slight cushion Espargaro blocked into Turn 3, ran wide and allowed Miller to take the lead at Turn 4.

However, a determined Espargaro got a good run out of Turn 7 and fired back up the inside into Turn 9, only for Miller to fight straight

bback into the final turn.

Fighting amongst themselves the pair both ran wide, and th Oliveira swept up the inside Ol and took an incredible race an victory. vic Oliveira beat home Miller by O 0.3s, while Espargaro took his 0.3 second career podium in third, sec though at the time this was little tho consolation. con Just behind, a disheartened Mir Ju overtook a rattled Dovizioso on over the final lap to take fourth position, as the Ducati rider held back Rins for fifth by just 0.036s at the line.

Nakagami came home a disappointed seventh ahead of Brad Binder, Rossi and Iker Lecuona, who rounded out the top 10.

Danilo Petrucci finished a quiet 11th ahead of factory Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro.

The title has been blown wide open with championship leader Quartararo finishing a disappointing 13th.

Zarco could only salvage a 14th place finish from pitlane, ahead of Franco Morbidelli.

Standings after Round 5 Quartararo 70, Dovizioso 67, Miller 56, Binder 49, Vinales 48, Nakagami 46, Rossi 45, Mir 44, Oliveira 43, Espargaro 35

GARDNER TAKES SECOND PODIUM

IT WAS an up and down fortnight at the Red Bull Ring for Aussie Remy Gardner in the Moto2 class.

For the Austrian Grand Prix the Kalex rider earnt his second career pole position but it was clear early on that he lacked race pace. In a bid to keep up with the leading pair ahead, Gardner pushed too hard and crashed out at Turn 1.

A week later he bounced back to claim his second career Moto2 podium at the Styrian Grand Prix, coming home third.

“Yeah, it was a really tough race. I’m still disappointed in myself for last week because we could have had a double third, I think,” said Gardner after the race.

“But I was pushing really hard the whole race.

Using my head a bit more this time.

“Honestly, I thought we could have had second, but yeah when Marco came past, he really just came past me on the straights.

“But still extremely happy with this team and the work we’ve done this week, and even last week. We’ve tried everything and that was it, that’s the best we could have done.”

ROSSI PLEADS FOR LESS AGGRESSION DURING THE Austrian Grand Prix nine-time Motorcycle World Champion Valentino Rossi was nearly fatally struck by the flying bikes of Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli, the Italian veteran has called for less aggression and more respect from his MotoGP rivals.

The MotoGP crash made news headlines around the world and highlighted the danger that Motorcycle competitors still face today.

Early on in the Austrian Grand Prix Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli collided at Turn 2 on the run up the hill to the Turn 3 hairpin.

While both riders came to a stop their bikes continued at 300km/h towards Rossi and his factory Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales who were negotiating Turn 3.

Rossi has pleaded for more respect and less aggression under brakes from his MotoGP colleagues, the very thing he feels caused the crash.

“You need to have respect for your rivals, especially at a track where you‘re always going

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300km/h,”” Rossi said to the media after the at 300km/h race.

“What I said is that also from the small classes, you have a lot of riders who close the door when braking. This could have been a potential disaster.

“All four riders, but especially me and Maverick, we were very lucky. We have to pray to somebody tonight because the situation was

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ver very dangerous, it was so scary, [it] wa was terrifying. ““I think it is good to be aggressive, for sure, because everybody tries to do the maximum, but for me we don‘t have to exaggerate [that], do because we need to remember that be this sport is very dangerous,” Rossi th explained. ex Incredibly the only injury sustained in the ffrightening accident was a fractured scaphoid ffor Zarco, which saw the Frenchman sit oout Friday practice at the Styrian Grand Prix weekend. wee A furious Morbidelli recalled the initial accident that resulted in Zarco’s injury and lay full blame on the former Moto2 champion.

“It was a strange crash because Johann [Zarco] overtook me on the straight and then changed his line under braking to go very wide,” Morbidelli explained.

“With the changed line and the slipstream there

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was just nowhere for me to go, it was impossible for me to avoid him.”

The FIM MotoGP stewards agreed, a week later in the lead up to the Styrian Grand Prix Zarco was dealt a harsh penalty. The Frenchman was forced to start the race from pitlane as the stewards felt that Zarco displayed “evidence of irresponsible riding.”

For the Styrian Grand Prix, as a result of the near fatal collision, FIM extended the debris fence aligned by tyres and an air fence further across the grass almost to point of the Turn 3 apex.

Dan McCarthy

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INTERNATIONAL WRAP

HARVICK DOMINATES REGULAR SEASON Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT KEVIN HARVICK continued his incredible run of results in the NASCAR Cup Series and has now taken three of the last five race victories, as the series heads towards the start of the Playoff season.

What is probably even more impressive is that the 2014 series winner has finished outside the top five positions just once in the last 12 races.

That exception was on the Daytona Roval road course, in which Harvick crossed the line in 17th position.

In the last seven races his closest title rivals and major threats have all taken race wins.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver and reigning Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin won at Kansas Speedway and the Dover International Speedway, Team Penske star Brad Keselowski took victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Chase Elliott won on the Daytona Roval.

Harvick took the series lead at the conclusion of the third race of the season and has not looked back since, romping to the regular series title in convincing fashion.

The 44-year-old sealed the deal in the second race of the Dover double header last weekend.

Hamlin has been Harvick’s biggest threat for most of the season and it proved to be the case again when he won the Saturday race of the double header.

Kevin Harvick has been the form driver all season, scoring Ford’s 700th Cup victory in Dover (top). Martin Truex Jr (below left) now has six consecutive top three finishes.

After a poor restart on lap 193 of 311, Hamlin steadily made his way back up through the pack, on a track he considers to be one of his worst.

When Martin Truex Jr got stuck behind the lapped car of Aric Almirola, Hamlin made his move, pinching the lead from his teammate with just eight laps remaining.

Hamilin held on to take his 43rd career victory and delivered a JGR 1-2-3, while Truex scored his sixth consecutive top three finish coming home in second, with the still winless Kyle Busch in third.

Harvick was fourth from pole-sitter Elliott, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Keselowski, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completed the top 10.

In the race the following day Kevin Harvick stormed to victory, leading 223 of the 311 laps in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang to take his 56th career win by 3.525s.

The victory marked a historic milestone for Ford,

which earnt its 700th Cup Series victory.

“What a weekend, (the) boys fought all day yesterday to get it right and it paid off today,” Harvick said.

“Congratulations to Ford on their 700th Cup win. I want to thank everyone on this team.

“What a year. What a seven-years. I am just really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for being able to drive this car. Week after week they just put so much effort into making this thing go fast and it has been a great year.”

Truex continued his strong run of top three finishes, bringing the car home in second for the second straight day.

Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets rounded out the top five with Jimmie Johnson leading home his teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman.

Johnson fought back from a pit-lane speeding penalty early in Stage 2. In his final stop the crew utilised a two-tyre stop strategy to great effect,

briefly giving the veteran the lead before Harvick zipped through.

The fourth Hendrick Motorsports machine of Elliott was wiped out of the race on lap 6 after contact with Kyle Busch.

The Daytona International Speedway will play host to the final regular season round this weekend, which will determine the final the 16 drivers entering for the Playoffs.

At this point, 13 drivers are locked into the playoffs, with Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto and Byron filling the other four slots.

Johnson held the final slot going into the second Sunday round but as his teammate Byron finished ahead of the seven-time champion in both stages and finished fourth, he has taken the position.

Johnson, who will retire at the end of the season, is determined to make it into the Playoffs one more time. It is all to play for with such a tight championship margin.

It was #8 that led the race early but a decision to change to slicks was the wrong call, as rain began to fall heavily soon afterwards.

The sole Rebellion Racing machine of Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes and Norman Nato had started from pole position, its fourth in succession.

However, the team struggled for race pace and finished a lap down in third.

The ByKolles Racing Team returned to finish the race in fourth place despite being plagued with electronic problems.

For the third consecutive race, Paul Di Resta, Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque took class honours in LMP2.

TOYOTA TAKES WIN IN WEC SERIES RETURN THE FACTORY Toyota Gazoo Racing team secured a 1-2 finish in the World Endurance Championship’s return to racing, at Spa-Francorchamps.

It had been a near six-month gap since the last event took place at the Circuit of

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the Americas in Austin, Texas, before the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world.

The return to racing with the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps took place in extremely changeable weather and meant that the teams and drivers had to think on their feet.

At the end it was #7 Toyota trio of Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway who took their third victory of the season, extending their championship margin to 12 points.

The #8 machine containing three former Formula 1 drivers, Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley made it a Toyota 1-2, crossing the line 34.179s behind the sister car.

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MAIDEN WINNERS CONCLUDE FE SEASON THE FINAL season ending Formula E races on the alternate Berlin Tempelhof Airport circuit may signal a changing of the guard, as both Oliver Rowland and Stoffel Vandoorne took their maiden victories.

Although Antonio Felix da Costa had already wrapped up the title, second place in the championship was still in play.

Qualifying for the first race was a shock when all four Formula E champions (Sebastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi, Jean-Eric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa) mistimed their runs, and failed to set a time.

As a result of the shuffled grid many of the contenders for the runner-up spot failed to score points.

Out front Rowland drove a mature and measured race to take his first career Formula E victory and handed Nissan e.dams its first win of the season.

Robin Frijns remained on the tail of the Englishman for much of the race, finishing 1.9s adrift.

Porsche driver Andre Lotterer and Audi driver Rene Rast had been locked in a near race long tussle for third, and in the end it was Rast who had the last laugh, stealing third on the final lap to earn his first Formula E

podium finish.

The win saw Rowland move up to second in the championship ahead of Vergne, Mitch Evans and Lotterer.

With an ominous sign heading into next season, Mercedes took its first Formula E victory in the final race of Season 6, Vandoorne leading home Nyck de Vries to a Silver Arrows 1-2.

It was a controlled performance from both Mercedes drivers, and by winning not only did Vandoorne steal second in the drivers’ standings, but the German brand claimed the runner-up

It was a close and exciting race throughout, with second place going to the #42 Cool Racing team of Nicolas Lapierre, Antonin Borga and Alexandre Coigny. The all Dutch squad, Racing Team Nederland, rounded out the podium.

The #36 Signatech Alpine entry looked set for its 37th consecutive point scoring streak with a top three finish.

That was until contact with another car flung Thomas Laurent heavily into the barriers at Blanchimont.

Australian Nick Foster, driving for Eurasia Motorsport in preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours, finished eighth in class after suffering gearbox issues during the race.

In the GTE Pro class, it was the reigning champions Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre in the #92 Porsche 911 who took the victory.

In an epic battle the current class leaders,

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spot in the manufacturers’ championship as well.

“What an incredible race, it was perfect for us,” said Vandoorne. “Seb (Buemi) was always close but we felt we had him in control.

“We couldn’t have hoped for any better a way to end the season, and second in the standings is a real bonus.”

Buemi snatched second from de Vries at the mid-point of the race but his efforts were in vain as the Dutchman retook the position soon after, while Buemi finished third ahead of Rast and Sam Bird.

Rowland, who sat second in the points coming into the final race, retired after a collision on lap 26.

Reigning champion Vergne’s seventh place finish resulted in him finishing a point shy of Vandoorne in the title. DM

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FINAL SEASON 6 FORMULA E STANDINGS 1 Antonio Felix da Costa 158 2 Stoffel Vandoorne 87 3 Jean-Eric Vergne 86 4 Sebastien Buemi 84 5 Oliver Rowland 83 6 Lucas di Grassi 77 7 Mitch Evans 71 8 Andre Lotterer 71 9 Maximilian Gunther 69 10 Sam Bird 63

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Danish duo Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen in the #97 Aston Martin, crossed the line just 5.6s off the victory, with their teammates Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin third.

GTE AM saw an even tighter battle as Aussie Matt Campbell driving the #77 GTR RSR charged home to the flag and delivered the team its first podium of the season in second position. Campbell finished just 2.8s shy of the #83 AF Corse of Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Nicklas Nielsen. Dan McCarthy.

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USA WRAP

INDY 500

SATO DENIES DIXON AT INDY Report: HEATH McALPINE Images: LAT TAKUMA SATO took his second Indy 500 victory in what was a subdued finish to the iconic event.

An accident with five laps to go meant the race finished under safety car, handing the Japanese driver victory at the first-ever Indy event held in front of no spectators.

Sato led home Kiwi Scott Dixon, although the latter had dominated the race leading 111 laps, before Spencer Pigot’s accident stymied his chance of victory.

Polesitter Marco Andretti didn’t make the best start, and was quickly overtaken by Dixon before dropping further back behind Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The first safety car occurred on lap 6 whenn Aussie James Davison’s front-right brake set his wheel alight, which caused the tyre to blow on the back straight. He managed to stop near pit exit, but his race was done.

Will Power was one of many to go off strategy and pit early during the caution.

Upon the race restart on lap 12, James Hinchcliffe was the next to demote Andretti, who was running a heavy downforce set-up, while Marcus Ericsson was the next to bring out a caution after contact with the Turn 1 wall on lap 26.

This time the leaders pitted and the drivers who did so earlier cycled to the front, which led to a split between Dixon and the rest of drivers following that strategy, as he charged to sixth.

Simon Pagenaud led the field until he stopped on lap 46, while Power followed two laps later as Dixon was now in the lead with Rossi 0.5s behind.

Meanwhile, Sato and Hunter-Reay battled for fourth, 3.7s off the lead.

Drama in pit lane followed as Rossi was called too late to his pit, forcing him to complete another lap before overheating in

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hi his pit box.

Star rookie during qualifying, Rinus VeeKay, accidentally collected crew Ve m members during his stop, and subsequently was given a stop and hold penalty. w Sage Karam was another to come in hot and missed his box altogether. an Dixon on the other hand was serviced q quickly and emerged in the lead, 4s clear of Oliver Askew and Pagenaud. He continued O to pull away as Power, Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves pitted, the Aussie snatching a C position from the Brazilian during the stop. po Lap 84 was the start of back-to-back cautions with Dalton Kellett crashing at Turn ca 3, which was then followed by a restart accident for Conor Daly at Turn 4 and ac A Askew at pit entry.

Scott Dixon dominated the Indy 500 2020 (above) with a near-perfect run but was unlucky at the end. Ultimate winner Takuma Sato leads the pack early on (right).

Graham Rahal (right) ran strong all day and was rewarded with third.

James Davison (here leading, above) was the race’s first casualty when a failed front right brake set the wheel alight on lap six, causing a tyre to blow and his retirement. Fernado Alonso (below) was a lapped 21st in a disappointing campaign.

and Graham Rahal. Three laps later this changed as Sato took the front position from Dixon, while the Penske attack fell away, Newgarden dropping multiple spots.

During the closing stages, the gap at the front fluctuated as the duo encountered lap traffic, with Dixon pushing hard to pass.

However, Pigot’s big shunt then brought out a yellow, and then a red flag.

Thus, Sato added to his 2017 Indy 500 win, while it was the third time Dixon

finished as the race runner up.

“This is unbelievable. Thank you so much.

I can’t find the words, can’t find the words,” Sato said in Victory Lane.

“Scott was coming right around out of (Turn) 4, just screaming, coming, and I held him off.

“This is unbelievable!”

Power finished 14th and Fernando Alonso had a forgettable campaign to finish one-lap down in 21st.

Australia’s best hope, Will Power, had a race to forget and couldn’t climb his way up the field into contention. He finished 14th.

Once the race restarted again, Rossi and Sato battled for second behind Dixon, who then let the 2016 Indy 500 winner past as he saved fuel.

The two swapped the lead as economy came into play, but Sato started to make a play for the front as he passed Pato O’Ward for third, before Alex Palou then crashed to bring out another caution on lap 122.

Pagenaud’s race suffered a blow after

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Hunter-Reay clipped his front wing at the restart, which pressed the pack together and allowed Rossi to make six positions.

Power continued to struggle and dropped positions as up-front Sato moved ahead of Dixon, 0.3s splitting the pair, while Josef Newgarden ran 1s behind after much of the race in the midfield.

After the last round of the pit stops on lap 169, Dixon led from Sato, Newgarden

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WINDY, WET WANNEROO

WIND AND rain made the one-day August Race Meeting at Wanneroo on August 16 just that little bit more arduous, especially for those vying for the Torque Trophy and Kostera Cup feature events.

STREET CARS/IMPROVED PRODUCTION

THREE WINS gave Andrew Stevens (Nissan 180SX) the round win plus the 46th Torque Trophy. He won the opener after it was restarted. Deon Crouse (VW Polo) had led but spun at Turn 4 and was tagged by Phillip Crouse (Polo), which caused a red flag. Martin Willard (Ford Escort) was second with Wayne Hastie (Nissan Pulsar) third.

In the reverse grid race Hastie opened up a handy lead but was eventually caught by Stevens. Hastie crossed second before a 5s penalty dropped him to third behind Wellard.

In the Torque Trophy event Welland ran second behind Stevens before ultimately being passed by Paul Kluck (Nissan Skyline R32).

Among the Improved Production cars Barry Baltinas (BMW E46 M3) was the overall winner ahead of Holden Commodore pilots Steve Turpin and Rachel Beers. Turpin led early in race one but could not hold off Baltinas. Turpin did the job in the second while Neil Pollard (Honda Civic) posted his second third. The third race saw Baltinas win from Turpin. Mark Jolly (Ford Falcon) was third until Beers and Pollard slipped by.

F1000S/RADICAL SR3S/ FORMULA RACING

RADICALS WERE more suited to the conditions than the F1000s. The first race saw Aaron Love dominate from fellow SR3 drivers Jordon Oon and Kurt Kostecki.

K Adam Lisle A (Stohr) was ( the t first F1000 home.

F The second race was under the safety car early when Elliot Schutte ended up in

the wall at the Esses.

The race resumed and finished with the same top three as the first but with Stuart Burns (Phoenix) the first F1000. Love also took a more closely contested third race from Oon and Max McRae (SR3). Burns Images: Mick Oliver was the first F1000 but Lisle won the Kostera Cup due to the former’s poor ahead of Matthews with Hammond race one finish. third.

In Formula Racing, Simon Alderson FORMULA VEE (Van Diemen FF2000) scored three THREE FROM three made David wins as Bob Creasy (Ralt RT4) Caisley (Jacer) the standout in the and Craig Thompson (Van Diemen wet. Second best of the 1600s was FF200) shared the minors.

Rod Lisson (Borland Sabre) with a trio of comfortable seconds, while FORMULA FORDS third was fought over between David OVERALL THE meeting points Campbell (Jacer) who netted two and favoured Josh Matthews over Mark Ken Wyatt (Jacer) one.

Pickett and Jez Hammond.

A first race miscue cost Robert Race one was tight until a safety McAfee (Polar) a threefold of car made for a one-lap dash to the 1200cc victories. He led the first flag. Matthews (Stealth) prevailed early but ultimately finished fourth ahead of Tomas Chapman and Mark behind Andrew Lockett (Ajay), April Pickett in Van Diemens.

Welsh (Jacer) and Franz Esterbauer Matthews and Pickett exchanged (Ribuck). the lead several times in race two.

After leading in race two, Lockett Pickett had the lead through the final corner but lost out to Mathews in the couldn’t hold off McAfee and eventually placed third after Welsh drag to the line, as Chapman chased slipped past. Welsh was best away them. It was a similar tale in the last, in the last. In the ensuing five-car only this time Pickett succeeded

battle for supremacy she was second between McAfee and Lockett, with Campbell Gow (Elfin) and Steph Esterbauer (Mantis) following.

SPORTS SEDANS/SPORTS CARS

THERE WERE three different winners in the combined classes. Ron Moller was the top Sports Sedans while Neville Stewart emerged the best of the Sports Cars.

Richard Bloomfield (Porsche GT3) was clear cut in taking race one ahead of Moller (Chev Camaro) while John Roderick (Lamborghini Gallardo) took a narrow third ahead of Arthur Abrahams (Lamborghini Huracan). The latter acclimatised quickly for a narrow race two triumph over Moller.

Stewart was third and proceeded to top the Sports Cars in race three. At the front it was between Abrahams,

RACING AND RAIN AT QR

Images: MTR Images

RACING RETURNED to the Sunshine State on August 15 for a one-day meeting at Queensland Raceway on the various layouts. It turned out to be a long one as dry, wet, dry, wet conditions caused it to go into the night.

QLD PRODUCTION CARS

IN HIS new BMW M4, Karl Begg was the overall winner ahead of Beric Lynton (BMW M3) and Coleby Cowhan (Ford Mustang).

Begg led from the outset of race one until Wade Scott (Mitsubishi EVO 8) passed him. Conditions worsened and Scott was caught out by a lapped car and speared off at Turn 6. Second went to Cowhan from Scott Green (EVO 9 RS) and a worthy effort from David Home, fourth in his Ford Fiesta. Lynton also went off at Turn 6 but recovered for 10th.

Despite some computer glitches Lynton came through to win race two ahead of Begg, Tristan Ellery (M3), Cowhan, Brad Carr in his older V8 M3, and Green.

Heavy rain returned for race three and it was Begg ahead of Green, with the fast finishing Carr just behind after he eventually snared third off Lynton.

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They were followed by Cowhan, Ellery, Robert Gooley (EVO X RS) and Homer.

It wasn’t planned but the fourth race was a night affair. There was an early clampdown when Frank Mammarella bunkered his Hyundai i30N at Turn 2.

After the resumption Lynton continued in the lead while Ellery snagged second off Begg after half distance for a team one-one. Cowhan was next with Carr fifth.

QLD TOURING CARS

TWO WINS and a second gave Murray Kent the outright win.

Rain hit heavily in the first race and after several speared off at Turn 3, it was called. Officials hoped to run the race later but that didn’t happen.

Race two was run from qualifying times and Gary Lang (BMW E46) led initially before fastest

qualifier Bayley Hall (Holden Commodore) took over. The latter had the win in sight until his engine blew spectacularly.

The race was called a lap short with Kent (Holden Monaro) the winner ahead of Saxon Moyes (BMW E36). Third was Dean McMahon (Monaro) who stormed through from last. Behind him were Matt Haak (Holden Commodore), Lange, Rob Droder (Commodore) and Michael Woodcroft (Holden Torana).

Mahon continued his momentum in the next outing. He passed Kent on the second lap and went on to win comfortably. Third went to Haak with Lange and Stuart Walker (Commodore) following.

With Mahon an early casualty, Kent won the next from Lange, who started brilliantly only to be caught and passed after mid distance. Moyes

filled third with the Hawk brothers Matt and Cameron (Commodore) next.

AUSTRALIAN TRANS AM

THREE RACES went to John English on his birthday. He was aided by the early demise of fastest qualifier Ian Palmer (Pontiac Firebird), out of the wet race one with a broken engine.

That paved the way for English and his Firebird to come from seventh in qualifying through to victory over Anthony Tenkate (Ford Mustang) and Alwyn Bishop (Plymouth Cuda). Ron Prefontaine and Mike Collins were close for fourth and fifth, which also decided the five litre honours.

Justin Anthony (Chev Camaro) was stranded in the Turn 3 bunker before he came back in the next race for fourth as English and Tenkate battled for the lead, clear of Bishop. Prefontaine again beat

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Images: Riccardo Be nvenuti

WAKEFIELD WASHOUT WET WEATHER brought about a premature end to round six of the Motor Racing Australia Series at Wakefield Park. It was scheduled to run over two days of the August 8-9 weekend, but heavy rain on Saturday which continued throughout the night, meant Sunday was abandoned.

“There is water everywhere on the circuit with the main concern being on the main straight,” said MRA head Terry Denovan. “We know everyone wants to race, so we are going to reschedule the meeting for some time in October,” he added.

Running under current COVID-19 restrictions, scheduled categories did get to qualify and get through several of their races on Saturday. But the SuperTT and MX5 Cup catagories missed out on Sunday.

Bloomfield and Moller. They finished in that order until 30s penalties were handed to the former two, which left Moller a clear winner over Stewart and Roderick.

HQ HOLDENS

TWO RACE victories were the basis of Mick Woodbridge winning the round over Michael Howlett and Stuart Kenny, who looked to take the first race only to be pipped at the post by the round winner.

Third went to Brian Pangler clear of Grant Ord. The reverse grid race had Laurence Marsh in front until passed by Ryan Davis. Howlett had a great charge through the field and soon opened up a commanding lead. Davis’ result was compromised when he toured the Turn 7 sand trap, which dropped him down the order and left Woodbridge to grab

PULSARS

second ahead of Mark Watkins. Woodbridge led the third when Mark Alfonsi speared off at Turn 6 and the race finished behind the safety car with Howlett and Kenny second and third.

TIME CHALLENGE

GARY CONWAY (Holden Commodore) snared the Modern Category points while Craig Sewell (Mazda RX3) and Jamie Scott (Ford Escort MkII) took the respective over and under 3.0-litre Historic classes.

Mick Oliver

Collins with a bigger margin this time.

In the reverse grid race three it was Simon Trapp (Mustang) the winner. English forged through to second before a slow spin dropped him to fifth behind Anthony, Bishop and Prefontaine.

English took out the last ahead Tenkate and Bishop. Prefontaine wrapped up five litres with fourth ahead of a tight duel between Collins, Patricia Chant (Mustang), Trapp and Gareth Jones (Mustang).

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

IT WAS a Chev verse Ford battle up front. Grant Wilson (Chev Camaro) won the first three races before runnerup in two of those, Craig Allan (Ford Mustang), took the last.

Allan led the first until the last lap where he spun and Wilson grabbed the win from Allan, Stephen Scales (Camaro) and a close duel between Russell McDowell (Ford Falcon GT) and Graham Streat (Holden Torana XU-1).

Allan was a non-starter in race two with a distributor issue. Wilson won ahead of Graeme Wakefield (Mustang), who took second off Scales who then held off Grahame Wrobel (Mustang) to finish fourth.

Wilson was well clear in the third where Allan came from the back for second and Scales just held off Wakefield and Wrobel for third. It was dark by the

fourth race. race Allan won the start and held off Wilson throughout. Scales was third and after a couple of passes between them, Wrobel edged McDowell for fourth.

QLD SPORTS CARS

FORMULA RACING cars were included and that was good for the Formula 3 Dallara F308 pilots Roman Krumins and Shane Wilson. They won two races each but Wilson with a pair of seconds took the overall honours, as Krumins failed to finish the last.

Third in the opener was Chris Purvis (Mygale M07 F3) from David Rodgie (Chiron LMP3) and Carmelo Bonaventura (Radical SR3).

Adam Gino Beesley (SR3) was third in race two and three from Bernie Harbeck (Norma/Honda) before Rodgie came home second in the fading light of race four ahead of Grant Green (SR3). GOB

OVER FOUR races there were four different winners in Chris Butterfield, Josh Haynes, Ian Joyce and Michael Osmond.

With 44 competitors, qualifying was split into two with the fastest half then placed in one group and the others in another. After that there was a five-car promotion and relegation put in place.

Butterfield went straight to the lead from the outside of the front row as polesitter Steven Cameron faltered and dropped well down the order.

Scott Thompson was second early but fell out later and that left Ben Sheedy second ahead of Jonathon Hovey, Rod Albronda and Scott Johnson.

The first race for the faster group went to Haynes, who fended off the early challenge of Osmond while fastest qualifier Shane Tate was third ahead of Harri Inwood, Matt Boylan and points leader Josh Craig.

The race finished under safety car conditions due to Graeme Ireland putting his car on its side at Turn 2.

Dramas at the start for Greg Oliver, where he could barely get underway, brought out the safety car after which Joyce eventually put a move on Matt Leenman for the win. Ian Ashcroft shadowed the latter across the line while Kane Alderton and Cameron were next.

Race four also had a safety car after Damon Schofield wass m off at Turn 2. Osmond led from the outset and won ahead of Haynes, Boylan, Inwood, Craig, Tate and William Foot. The final races were cancelled.

Longmore won all three races. In the first two, Ben Crossland jumped him at the start and went more than half distance at the front before the harassing Longmore was able to get by.

Jeremy Hodges finished up with a trio of third places as Monique Sciberras fought through from sixth to take a race one fourth ahead of Cameron Brown and Preston Bruest.

She followed up with another fourth in race two in front of Brown, Adrian Sarkis and Bruest.

Race three was different story.

Conditions had deteriorated further with water across the track around Turns 1 and 2. As Longmore led Crossland and Hodges through the first lap, Shannon Williams and Matt Woodward aquaplaned off at Turn 1, as did Sciberras who went into the padding.

The race barely resumed when David Brown, Troy Terry and Maurice Piper all speared off in similar fashion. The remainder of the race was run behind the safety car with Brown fourth ahead of Bruest and Woodward.

ALFAS

THEY WERE destined to compete over both days but only raced once.

Urs Muller (Alfa Romeo 156 Twin Spark) led at the start, albeit with a 5s penalty to overcome. The similarly mounted Andrew Wilson took the lead on lap three before both succumbed to Michael Musumeci (GT) a couple of laps later. Fourth spot went to Richard McKee (147 Twin Spark) from Simon Greirson (GTV).

CLUBMANS

TWO OF the three races were contested and it was James Dick (PRB Widebody) who won the first ahead of Jos Kroon (PRB S2) with David Grant (MNR Ri) third and clear of Sue Tahir (MNR Vortex and Bill McBride (BBB BBB20V).

Fastest qualifier Josh Versluis (PRB Birkin S3) was sidelined on the infield past Turn 10 on the main straight. He came back to take race two easily ahead of Dick, Kroon, Grant and McBride. GOB

EXCELS

QUALIFYING FASTEST, Will

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RULLO AND MARQUET WIN TARGA SOUTH WEST

Image: David Batch elor

GALLARDS ALL THE WAY AT WYNARKA A FAULTLESS drive delivered Brad Gallard the win in the Gotcha Glass Wynarka Enduro on August 8-9. It was the opening round of the recently announced South Australianbased World Series Off Road.

A big 41-car field set off on the prologue but after 14 laps of hard racing, only 16 crossed the finish line.

Gallard (Extreme 2WD Geiser Trophy Truck/Chev) took the kids along for the ride with siblings Paris and Jesse sharing the passenger seat, and finished almost three and a half minutes clear.

Second went to Daryl Nissen and Andrew Harness (ProLite SORE/Nissan), with the Garry Turnbull (Pro Buggy Jimco/Chev) a strong third with sisters Sara and Tamara taking turns to point the way.

Toby Whateley and Simon Hermann (CanAm Maverick) looked good for a top five but an unscheduled pit stop left them ninth.

Tony Whateley and Jodie Vernon (Rush TT/ Chev) had a big rollover on lap two with everybody coming out unscathed.

After no laps Saturday due to a broken shocker, Brett and Deanna Smith (Southern Cross NG/Nissan) did some quick ones on Sunday until the throttle gave trouble. The Bentley’s bad luck was back with Hayden, Hannah and Sam out when the Racer TT developed a noise in its Toyota V8 engine.

The Cowie Brothers (Jimco/Chev) came out of hibernation with Wes and Jed Bramley pacey before the clutch gave out.

It looked even worse for Rob in the Jimco/ Scat single seater with just one lap on Saturday. After a wheel change overnight he did some track time before the steering broke.

After one lap Rod and Tina Holmes (Extreme 4WD F100) broke a shocker on lap two. Ben Erceg and David Mussell (Racer/ GM Ecotec) broke the front suspension on the first day. Mick and Dave Heasman (Predator/Toyota) were set for a reasonable result when the engine let go not far from the finish.

Roydon Bailey and Tyson Warner (CanAm Maverick) were the best of the SXS Turbos in sixth outright. James and Cassie Priestley cruised home 11th, making the BA Falcon V8 the best Performance 2WD. Connor and Peter Corrigan (Raptor/Toyota) were next home and the top Super 1650.

Ethan Pickstock and Lisi Phillips (Mitsubishi Challenger) lost the bonnet and finished last but they took the top Performance 4WD trophy. David Batchelor

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THE 11TH edition of the Make Smoking History Targa South West was condensed from the normal two-day format into a single day due to the coronavirus, with outright first going to Peter Rullo and Jimmy Marquet.

Competitors took in a distance of 119km with special stages that ranged in length from 2.9 to 15.19km, in and around picturesque Pemberton and Northcliffe in West Australia’s south west.

Rullo and Marquet in their upgraded Modern Competition Lotus Exige Targa GT Spec won five of the 14 stages. They finished 10s ahead of Mark Cates and Declan Stafford (Porsche 911 GT3 RS), with just over a minute to third-placed Dennis Heller and Keian Guy (Mitsubishi EVO 9).

Going for a third straight win,

Mark Greenham (EVO 9) along with Steph Esterbauer competed inside the top three and challenged Rullo for the lead until stage 10, when an engine oil leak became progressively worse and they opted to retire.

Fourth went to Will White/Matt Thompson (EVO 9) ahead of David Heaton/Caleb Ash (Nissan

GTR Nismo), John O’Dowd/Toni Feaver (Skoda Fabia RS), and Jeff and Karen Foster in their Porsche GT3 RS. In the Classic category for cars manufactured pre-1986, last year’s winner Tim Wolfe and new co-driver Scott Beckwith were the victors in their Porsche 911 Carrera RS, and eighth outright.

Image: Sportzfotos

SHIELS’ ATTACK RECORD LAP

NOT ONLY did Brad Shiels win the Australian Time Attack on July 25, he lowered his ATA lap record with the fastest competition lap ever timed at the Wakefield Park circuit.

At the wheel of the Tilton Racing 1100hp (820kW) Mitsubishi EVO 9, Shiels hit 267km/h on his way to a best time of 53.06s, which undercut the outright race lap record of 53.7s set by Harrison Jones in a Dallara Formula 3 car.

“That is like crazy, crazy fast for Wakefield Park,” he said. The car was originally built as a spaceframe racer

and then had the EVO body added.

It runs a highly modified Mitsubishi engine but standard diffs and suspension.

There were 66 entries and four run without any prior practice or qualifying.

Shiels felt frustrated that he had not gone quicker. On one run the team had a little problem and ultimately he only did three laps, and felt that it had a 52 in it.

He also won the Super Car Class while the second fastest time went to Open Class winner Nathan Morcom in the Global Aircraft Services EVO 9 with

a 56.12s lap, ahead of class rival Benny Tran (BYP Racing and Developments Honda Integra) who was 0.85s slower.

Fourth went to Richard Perini who took out Pro Class in his Ginetta G55, while fifth went to Morcom’s team mate and fellow EVO driver Matt O’Brien.

Best of the Club Sprints and sixth outright went to Jamal Assaad (EVO 6 RS) on 61.11s, edging out Tom Coleman (Open Class Nissan 180SX) and Nik Kalis (EVO), while 10th went to Jeff Morton (Porsche GT2 RS) marginally over Adrian Wilson in his BMW M4. GOB

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Image: CH Images

TIGHE SECURES QLD STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Images: TSW-Tim Allott

They were 41s up on class rivals and 13th overall Tim Davies and Tim Mills (Porsche 911RS). Third went to Bruce Lake and Peter Hall (Datsun 240Z) who were place 16th outright.

Rally veteran Andy van Kann, along with Megan Logue in his Toyota Corolla TE27, took Targa 165 (where competitors

were restricted to 165km/h) over Hughes and Pedersen (Daihatsu Charade) by almost five minutes.

In the Targa 130 competitors could not exceed 130km/h.

Husband and wife duo, Jurgen and Helen Lunsmann (Tesla 3 Performance) won every stage and were well clear of Gareth

Evans and Mark Stutt (EVO 7), with just 1.0s to Ben Pang and Brandon Chin (Honda Civic).

Lunsmann said that the stock standard Tesla, the only electric vehicle in the field, is an outright contender on pace but is limited because its recharge is not fast enough to enable it to be competitive. GOB

Image: Bill Pearson

RECORDS TUMBLE AT RINGWOOD AFTER A long break, the third round of the Mantic Clutch NSW Hillclimb Championship took place at Ringwood Park on August 9, and saw Darren Read produce the fastest time of the day.

The MG Sports Car Club of Newcastle-run event at the motor sports complex 10km north of Raymond Terrace drew 43 entries. It saw 24 new course records set across the numerous classes.

Read’s best was a 49.41s on the third attempt in his Hayabusa-powered

Hayward 09, before he failed to finish his fourth run. His time undercut the Formula Libre 1301-2000cc 1040m A2A course record and was 2.7s faster than anyone else.

Second overall was Ron Hay in his Formula Libre over 2.0-litre Synergy Dallara. With that, Hay took over the points lead with the absence of Queensland Dean Tighe due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

Slotting into third outright was Peter Brown in his 2C Supersports 1.6-lt Prosport Mulsanne ahead of Tim Blake

(Improved Production Subaru Impreza WRX), who was the quickest of the tin tops.

Fifth was Kevin Akers (Carroll Clubman Supersports) ahead of Greg Boyle (Nissan Skyline GTR Sports Sedan), Greg Jones (Locost Clubman), Harry Katsanevas (Ford Focus RS Road Registered), Colin Mayman (VW Beetle Improved Production) and Dylan Gerrish (Focus).

Fourteenth and fastest lady was Karen Wilson (Road Registered Focus) while the fastest junior was Tom Alchin (Lotus Elise), who was 31st overall. GOB

FINALLY BREAKING away from four seconds in a row, Dean Tighe won his first Queensland Hillclimb Championship at Mt Cotton on August 15-16 and became the first Queenslander in 12 years to do so.

The state’s Covid-19 lockout regulations prevented interstate participation but the Eureka Landscapes-backed event still attracted 60 drivers with six chances for a best time at the MG Car Club of Queensland venue.

Tighe’s quickest time in his Judd V8-powered Dallara F392 over 2.0-litre Formula Libre was a 36.99s run on the fourth of six attempts. It was his third state title, after past victories in the South Australian and NSW Championships.

Michael Von Rappard (F392/ supercharged Hayabusa) had been the pacesetter with a 37.11s on his third try and fastest in U2.0-lt Formula Libre, but couldn’t pull a quicker time on his last three shots.

The time was still enough for second outright and bested class rival Warwick Hutchinson (OMS 28/turbo Rotary) who only managed three runs when a suspension bolt broke. Also in that class Brett Bull (turbo Van Diemen RF03K) was fourth overall. Fifth spot went to Jay Matsen in his up to 1.3-lt Empire ahead of Greg Tebble (Group R Van Diemen Formula Ford 2000).

Seventh outright was David Quelch (U1.3-lt Honda DPQ03) in front of the best of the tin tops Ross Mackay in his Ford Escort Sports Sedans, Michael Larymore (Production Sports Toyota MR2) and Brian Pettit (Production Sports Westfield SE).

Over the weekend new class records were set by Geoff Cohen (Group Q Bulant Clubman) and Phil Dalton (Road Registered Honda Civic) while the fastest lady competitor was Pauline Graham at the helm of an Improved Production Datsun 1600 SSS. Garry O’Brien

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We take a look back at who or what was making news in g the pages of Auto Action 10, 20, 30 & 40 yyears ago

Testing your motor sport knowledge

1980: BROCK AND Moffat teammates?

Never, right? Well the motor sport world was turned on its head when the Holden Dealer Team announced Allan Moffat as teammate to Peter Brock for the traditional Sandown warm up enduro. “Now we’ll both be in Commodores – and that will add an extra ingredient to the Sandown race,” said Moffat. In Bathurst news, although disappointed by the late withdrawal of movie star Paul Newman, Sam Posey was a worthy replacement in Ron Dickson’s Camaro team.

1990: INDYCARS ON the Gold Coast streets was becoming a reality, as the last obstacless were overcome by organisers after signing a five-year deal with CART to hold the event.

The only major hurdle remaining was FISA’s coolness towards CART expanding into markets outside of the US. In Formula 1, Ayrton Senna extended his championship advantage to 13-points over former teammate Alain Prost by winning the Belgiann Grand Prix.

2000: THE FIRST murmurs of Craig Lowndes’ move to Ford were beginning to take place and in this case the cover of Auto Action. Although a decision on the reigning champion’s destination for 2001 was closely guarded, pit lane rumours were in overdrive as The Blue Oval’s offer for ‘The Kid’ was thought to be close to the $1m a season mark. In other Ford related news, Mark Larkham broke through for his first point scoring win at Calder.

2010: BATTLE LINES were drawn in Supercars as major energy drinks companies entered the category as sponsors. Mother through Tekno Autosports and Rock at Kelly Racing were set to be joined by three rivals, led by Red Bull. Sitting on the bench, Walkinshaw Racing enduro driver David Reynolds said his performances in the long distance events will be crucial to returning full-time.

ACROSS

6. Only two drivers have clean swept a race weekend at Townsville, Jamie Whincup is one, who is the other? (surname) 10. How many wins has Fernando Alonso taken in his Formula 1 career to date?

11. Fernando Alonso has won the Le Mans 24 Hours how many times?

14. With what team did Nic Carroll contest the Super3 Series in 2019? (abbreviation) 15. Who is Oscar Piastri’s American teammate in the FIA Formula 3 Championship? (full name) 16. Nic Carroll earnt how many podiums in the 2019 Super3 Series?

17. Who has scored the most wins at Townsville in a Supercar with 10? (surname only) 18. Juan Pablo Montoya holds the record for the longest gap between Indy 500 wins, how many years did he wait between them?

19. The 1979 French Grand Prix was the first F1 Grand Prix won by a turbocharged machine, who drove the car to victory? (surname) 22. Which Brazilian driver has led the most amount of Indy 500s? (surname) 23. Jim Richards famously called the Bathurst crowd “a pack of a**eholes” in 1992, who was his co-driver that year? (full name)

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25.

25 Who claimed the first V8 Supercar pole position at Townville in 2009? (surname) 26. In 1980 Jim Richards won the Bathurst 1000 in a Commodore for the first time, who did he co-drive alongside? (full name) 27. Who won the final V8 Ute Series in 2017? (full name)

DOWN

1. The Reid Park street circuit in Townsville is made up of how many turns?

2. The inaugural Australian Carrera Cup Series was won

by Jim Richards in 2003, who did he beat to the title? (surname) 3. With what team did Daniel Ricciardo make his Formula 1 debut? (abbreviation) 4. Which driver bagged DJR/DJR Team Penske’s first win

at Townsville? (surname) 5.

5 Jim Richards won the Australian Touring Car Championship with two brands, Nissan was one, what C was w the other?

7.

7 Jim Richards holds the record for the most amount of o Bathurst 1000 starts, how many times did he start the th great race?

8.

8 The last time Formula 1 race at Imola was in 2006, who w won that race? (full name) 9.

9 Who is the most recent driver to win a championship ATCC/Supercars race on debut? (full c name) n 10. At what circuit did Nic Carroll take a race victory in the Toyota 86 Racing Series in 2018?

12. Who is the only multiple time Formula E champion? (surname) 13. Nigel Mansell won the 1993 Indycar race on the Gold Coast, which other former F1 champ won a Gold Coast Indycar race? (surname) 18. How many times did Steve Soper contest the Bathurst 1000?

20. The 2019/20 Formula E Championship was dominated by who? (surname) 21. How many Bathurst 1000 wins does Jim Richards hold?

24. Who is the most recent driver to win the Indy 500 on debut? (surname)

# 1792 Crossword Answers 1 down – Jordan 2 down – Hungarian 2 across – Honda 3 down – four 4 down – fifteen 5 across – Jones 6 down – Jenzer Motorsport 7 across – Luff 8 down – Fangio 9 down – Team BRM 10 across – Canada 11 across – Vanwall 12 across – fourteen 13 across – Ian Geoghegan 14 down – England 15 across – Barry Ryan

16 across – Nissan 17 across – Turkington 18 down – two 19 across – Mansell 20 down – Aaron Seton 21 down – eight 22 across – Finnish 23 across – Garry Rogers 24 across – Alain Prost 25 down – nine 26 across – Austria 27 across – Jason Bright 28 across – Toro Rosso 28 down - MSR

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Relive the golden era of Australian motor sport with these fantastic ’Bathurst Photographic History’ books These A4 landscape books are full of rare action images taken by some of Australia’s best motorsport photographers, which you won’t see published anywhere else. Start your own library or give as a gift.

BATHURST A9X TORANAS

MOFFAT AT THE MOUNTAIN A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY

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This 176-page book features imagery of every A9X Torana that started in the 1977, 1978 and 1979 Hardie Ferodo Bathurst 1000’s.

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With over 160 black and white and colour images from all around the track, a great book that feature the Bathurst Torana A9X race car.

PHILLIP ISLAND TO BATHURST - THE TRADITIONAL YEARS RESULTS - 160 page book features details on every car that started in the original/traditional Phillip Island and Bathurst 500/1000 races from 1960 to 1999.

BATHURST 500 1963 - 1964 - 1965 - 1966 - 1967 192 page book features imagery of every car that started in the Bathurst 500 races from 1963 to 1967.

HARDIE FERODO 500 - 1968 144-pages featuring imagery of every car that started in the 1968 Hardie Ferodo 500. Classes A, B, C, D and E. HARDIE FERODO 500 - 1969 160-page featuring imagery of every car that started in the 1969 Hardie Ferodo 500. Classes A, B, C, D and E. HARDIE FERODO 500 - 1970 160-pages featuring imagery of ever car that started in the 1970 Hardie Ferodo 500. Classes A, B, C, D, and E. HARDIE FERODO 500 - 1971 - 1972 176-pages featuring imagery of every car that started in the 1971 and 1972 Hardie Ferodo 500’s at Bathurst. All classes are comprehensively documented. These two Bathurst races are milestones for both Ford and Holden motor racing enthusiasts as the 1971 event was won by Allan Moffat driving the now legendary Falcon GT-HO Phase 3. The 1972 race saw Peter Brock, the underdog, win the first of his nine Bathurst victories.

BATHURST XU-1 TORANAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE GIANT KILLING XU-1s

This 176-page book features imagery of every XU-1 Torana that started in the 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 Hardie Ferodo Bathurst 500’s. Foreword by Colin Bond, mix of colour and black and white images.

BATHURST ROTARY MAZDAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY This 176 page book features imagery of every Rotary Mazda that started in the Bathurst Hardie Ferodo and James Hardie races from 1969 to 1985. The book is foreworded by Don Holland.

BATHURST HARDTOP FALCONS A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY This 192 page book features imagery of every Hardtop Falcon that started in the 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 Bathurst Hardie Ferodo 1000 races.

The book is foreworded by Kevin Bartlett.

A mix of colour and black and white images.

BATHURST XD AND XE FALCONS This 160-page book features imagery of every XD and XE Falcon that started the 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 Bathurst 1000 races. Bob Morris and Garry Willmington have written the Forward to this colourful book with a great mix of colour and black and white images.

BATHURST GT-HO FALCONS BATHURST GROUP A COMMODORES A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY 1985 TO 1992.

This 160 page book features imagery of This 192-page book features imagery of evevery GT-HO Falcon that started in the ery Group A Commodore that started in the 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972 Hardie Ferodo 500 races. – with a good mix of colour and and 1992 Bathurst 1000 races. Foreword by black and white. Foreword is by John Goss. Graham Moore with a great mix of black and white and colour images.

BATHURST GTS MONAROS BATHURST CHARGERS AND PACERS This 144-page book features imagery of This 160-page book features imagery every Monaro that started in the 1968, of every Charger and Pacer that start1969, 1970, 1973 and 1974 Bathurst ed in the 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and Hardie Ferodo races.

1973 Hardie Ferodo Bathurst races. The The book has co-Forewords by Bruce book’s Forwarded is by Leo Geoghegan McPhee and Colin Bond and has a good and has a good mix of colour and mix of colour and black and white images. black and white images.

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