Auto Action #1794

‘NEW’ PAUL MORRIS DON’T WORRY, DUDE STILL RUDE

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TITLE FIGHT TURNS NASTY

DJR vs T8 sledge fest

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Issue #1794 10 Sept to 23 Sept $8.95 INC GST

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PLUS INDEPENDENTS’ DAY Last true privateers

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Image: Ross Gibb

ADP UP FOR GRABS

As speculation swirls about the future of Penske in Supercars, MARK FOGARTY reveals Anton De Pasquale’s pivotal role REFORMED REBEL Paul Morris is confident rising star Anton de Pasquale will have a top drive next year amid growing speculation about Roger Penske’s future in Supercars.

Morris is the mentor/manager of De Pasquale, the star of his growing stable of young drivers.

Before the coronavirus crisis, De Pasquale was at the centre of conjecture about a move to DJR Team Penske to replace IndyCar-bound Scott McLaughlin.

The Erebus ace is now embroiled in rampant rumours that Penske will withdraw from Supercars at the end of the season, handing ownership to wealthy part-owner Ryan Story.

Although still outspoken and controversial, Morris has become a figure of serious influence in Supercars, promoting promising new talent and highlighting flaws in V8 racing’s cost structure.

The self-styled ‘Dude’ now speaks more sense than rebellious rhetoric, overcoming the ‘rich boy racer’ image that dogged his Bathurst-winning career.

As McLaughlin remains a strong chance to join Penske’s IndyCar squad in 2021 and with under-performing Fabian Coulthard’s position under pressure, there could still be an opening for De Pasquale.

Also in the mix is sidelined dual Bathurst 1000

winner Will Davison, who is highly regarded by DJRTP. Speculation was rife in Townsville that Penske, having achieved his goal in Supercars with championship and Bathurst successes, would announce his withdrawal during the Tailem Bend double-header later this month.

Contacted by Auto Action, DJRTP management insisted these latest rumours about an announcement at The Bend were untrue. A decision either way from Penske might not come until after the Bathurst 1000.

The latest rumours are the continuation of speculation since the Adelaide 500 at the end of February that this would be Penske’s last season in Supercars.

The scenario has been strengthened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the USbased Penske Corporation automotive/transport/ industrial powerplant/entertainment empire hard.

Australia is a small cog in the Penske organisation – although Penske Power Systems, supplying power units to the mining and defence industries, is very lucrative, unlike the local truck sales and leasing operations.

In the meantime, Morris is adamant De Pasquale’s future is secure despite the uncertainty surrounding DJRTP and Erebus signing TCR

champion Will Brown to race in Supercars from next year alongside David Reynolds.

Morris dismissed the three-into-two-won’tgo outlook, maintaining De Pasquale’s speed speaks for itself. “If they’re not just wanting to put the fastest guy in the car, they shouldn’t be racing,� he declared to Auto Action. “So Barry (Ryan, Erebus team chief) can say what he likes – all Anton has to do is keep going fast, which is what he’s doing. “If they don’t offer him a drive, then they’re not serious about racing. It’s pretty simple.�

Morris further proclaimed that if De Pasquale is “not in a top car, the series won’t be running�.

While he maintains there have been no direct talks with DJRTP, he agrees that his charge would be the natural replacement for McLaughlin. “You’d think so,� Morris said. “But they haven’t announced what they’re doing yet, they haven’t made any moves to say what they’re doing with Scott. So our plan is just keep going fast, just keep getting the most out of the car you’re in and do the best he can to work with the team that he has there. “Fast guys will always get a drive.�

The backdrop is that DJRTP is preparing for McLaughlin’s secondment to IndyCar while also bracing for a Penske withdrawal.

Auto Action understands that the team is

already fully funded for next year and beyond, retaining major backing from Shell and Repco, and that Story is ready to step into the breach as majority owner of a recast Dick Johnson Racing.

There is support for Will Davison, who was briefly courted by Penske in 2015, to replace Coulthard.

Coulthard’s inability to run at the front with McLaughlin has been frustrating for the Stapylton squad.

AA understands Coulthard has been told by local and US management he is still in the frame for a drive at the team beyond 2020.

Fabs is very much a Penske driver – clean-cut, well-presented, popular with sponsors. Play his cards right and he might become the Australian version of the evergreen Helio Castroneves – if Penske stays involved.

But if Penske pulls out, ‘steals’ McLaughlin and Story assumes ownership, all bets are off. Pasquale and Davison would then be the preferred combination, with Coulthard retained on a lucrative enduro driver deal.

De Pasquale, under Morris’s guidance, remains the key to a subdued ‘silly season’ of driver moves for next year.

Paul Morris speaks out in an ‘Up Front With Foges’ interview – see pages 20-23.

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FIGHTING WORD

SLEDGE FEST UPS ANTE IN TITLE BATTLE MARK FOGARTY outlines the not-so-phoney war between DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight, following tense Townsville tussle GLOVES OFF, daggers drawn, all bets off. Label it how you want, the needle between arch-rivals DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight is sharper than ever.

The competitive enmity exploded after the final race of Townsville 2, with Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen trading verbal barbs as Jamie Whincup weighed in with a sly sledge.

With just three rounds to go, culminating in the Bathurst 1000, the mind games and war of words is on.

McLaughlin sledged van Gisbergen over his rough house pass that also let Whincup through, essentially calling dirty team tactics.

Whincup added to the edge by dropping his “one plus one” jibe – a clear dig at Fabian Coulthard, who hasn’t been up the front supporting McLaughlin.

The verbal stoushes continued afterwards, with van Gisbergen firing a “debriss” crack at his fellow Kiwi – a reference to the infamous 2019 Bathurst 1000 alleged team tactics incident.

Disappointingly, Whincup failed to elaborate on his pointed poke at Coulthard’s struggles.

The exchanges after an entertaining battle in the closing stages of the final race on the streets of Townsville highlighted the growing intensity of the truncated and compressed season, as the Red Bull Holden Racing Team mounts a late fightback against Shell V-Power Racing’s dominant championship leader.

McLaughlin has a handy 143 points lead over Whincup, with SVG languishing in fifth, 477 points in arrears,

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following a horror run before his twin triumphs in Townsville.

The uncharacteristic – but welcome – friction between the top three highlights the increasing stakes as the V8 title draws to an early conclusion.

McLaughlin is going for his third straight Supercars crown and second consecutive Bathurst 1000 win, while Whincup is trying to stay in touch as SVG roars back into the picture.

Triple Eight will salvage another season under DJRTP’s yoke – despite homologation adjustments dulling the Ford Mustang’s razor-sharp edge last year – if it can win at Bathurst.

Celebrating a record 201st race win since joining Supercars 17 years ago last week, Triple Eight supremo Roland Dane played down the Townsville tetchiness, rejecting any additional needle between the titan teams.

“Not on our part,” Dane declared. “Clearly, they have a bit of needle, but certainly not on our part at all. From a spectator point of view, from a fan point of view, we had probably the best race of the year.

“It was very entertaining and Jamie and Shane worked together. I think Jamie pointed out that there have been times when the two DJR Team Penske cars have worked together, certainly at Bathurst in the extreme methodology that the authorities took a dim view of.

“So they shouldn’t be complaining about our team working together.”

DJRTP team principal Ryan Story was unavailable for comment.

Dane claimed he wasn’t offended by McLaughlin’s dig at Triple Eight’s team tactics.

“No, not at all,” he shrugged. “I think Scotty said what he said in the heat of the moment after having a rough day by his standards. The reality is that there’s enormous respect between the teams and between the drivers.

“So it’s a short-term bit of froth just because Scotty was on the receiving end of things not quite falling his way. But they’ve fallen his way plenty of times before.”

However, Dane couldn’t resist the chance to add heat to the Coulthard debate, while defending Whincup’s “one plus one” jab.

“I think the reality is that everyone in pit lane recognises that Fabian is probably capable of doing a much better job than he’s been doing this year, and we don’t know why,” he argued. “Outside the team you never know why, but it’s very strange for the rest of pit lane. It’s not only Jamie who’s looking at it, wondering what’s going on.”

Dismissing any suggestion that Whincup’s comment was below the belt, Dane added: “I don’t think it was a jibe at all. I think it’s a statement of fact at the moment.

There’s one driver leading the championship and the other is way back on the cusp of the top 10.

“So it’s strange and we’re not the only people in the paddock looking at it and wondering what’s going on.”

Since 2017, DJR Team Penske is the only team to consistently pressure and beat Triple Eight, which dominated from 2006-16.

Fabs advice to Scott for IndyCar debut

DS!

JUST DO IT

Take it with both hands!

Image: Insyde Media

FABIAN COULTHARD has some advice for DJR Team Penske team-mate Scott McLaughlin about his prospective IndyCar debut: Take the chance with both hands While yet to be confirmed, Team Penske is working towards debuting McLaughlin in the championship, in what is currently scheduled to be the season finale in St Petersburg, Florida, on October 23-25.

He would contest the race in a fourth Dallara-Chev, alongside Penske regulars Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Australian Will Power.

If confirmed, McLaughlin would face the daunting task of contesting the Bathurst 1000 Supercars grand final on October 1518 in a Ford Mustang, and then getting out of Australia as quickly as possible to make the trip to the US east coast.

While time difference means going east

Image: LAT

will aid his schedule, it’s a flight that would swallow up around 24 hours with transfers through at least two airports, if flying commercially.

Mclaughlin would have to gain an exemption to leave Australia, and face a 14-day quarantine on his return.

After showing great speed in IndyCar testing at the start of the year, McLaughlin missed his scheduled debut at the Indy road course in May when that race was cancelled because of the pandemic.

While McLaughlin is a little cautious and admits the physical challenges are substantial, Coulthard saw the task in simple terms.

“It’s all about opportunity,” said Coulthard.

“If you are presented with an opportunity to go and do something like that, then you

take it with both hands and you put it down to experience.

“He is in a very fortunate position if it does go ahead, to be able to go and do it.”

McLaughlin said: “It will be a busy week.

If we win Bathurst as well, Monday’s pretty busy, so who knows.

“When we get through the next bit (of the Supercars championship) I’ll speak to Roger Penske and (Team Penske boss) Tim Cindric, a bit more about what’s possible.

“I’m just glad Tim hasn’t said no in the press and that’s really all I’ve read about it.”

The St Pete race would be another huge step towards McLaughlin’s goal of racing IndyCars full-time for Penske.

He could shift to the USA to take on the championship full-time as soon as 2021.

Bruce Newton

WHO SAID WHAT ABOUT WHOM? AS EASY as it might be to dismiss last Sunday evening’s Townsville spat as four drivers just spitting testosterone, some deep-seated wounds were being opened up.

The saga started with Triple Eight’s Shane van Gisbergen shouldering DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin wide enough at turn 11 late in the final race at Reid Park to allow Jamie Whincup to slide up into second position.

Whincup had given up second to his charging team-mate on fresher tyres just a few laps earlier, and SvG returned the favour by helping him slip inside his championship rival.

It triggered a verbal stoush that included McLaughlin bagging van Gisbergen’s blatant disregard for an apex and dredged up the Bathurst team orders controversy.

Also included in the discussion was McLaughlin’s struggling team-mate Fabian Coulthard and by implication the influence of DJRTP tech chief Ludo Lacroix.

So let’s go through the comments quote-by-quote: First up, speaking in pitlane immediately post-race to interviewer Andrew Jones, Whincup had a dig at the disparity in performance between McLaughlin and Coulthard: “We run a two-car team, same equipment both cars, we both get the same opportunity. It can be a negative, you have to pit behind the other car or he takes points away from you.

“But today it was a help and that’s the advantage of running a two-car team instead of one-plus-one.”

Note: T8, most notably boss Roland Dane, has consistently argued DJRTP technical chief Ludo Lacroix has a history of favouring one car to the detriment of other team cars, at teams he has worked at. Of course, Lacroix, worked with Dane for many years at T8 - where Dane insists he kept that urge supressed – until the Frenchman was poached by DJRTP Fresh out of the #17 Mustang in pitlane, McLaughlin tells interviewer Andrew Jones: “Shane was playing the team game there and he’s made

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Image: LAT

plenty of clean passes there over the years and that was pretty average, being pushed off at the end.

“I get he was playing the team game but it would have been nice to have a bit more of a fair battle.”

Van Gisbergen gave his view of the pass under questioning from Neil Crompton, Mark Skaife and Jessica Yates: “Just doing the team thing and helping Jamie to get through as well.”

McLaughlin returned to the topic under questioning from the studio in Sydney: “I knew we didn’t have the pace for Shane … but I would have loved to have had a one-to-one battle with Jamie. In my eyes it would have been awesome. I get the team game but I think it’s too early for those silly games.

“But for me whether I agree if it’s sportsmanship or not, that’s fair game. They set a precedent so let’s go.”

In the digital press conference, host Chad Neylon asked van Gisbergen if he thought the move was fair, to which he got a one word answer: “Yes”.

Neylon followed up: “Scott said it’s too early to be playing team games”.

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SvG replied: “I don’t know about this stuff, we don’t need to bring up debriss and stuff like that, but I thought it was a fair move from my part.”

Note: This is a reference to DJRTP’s conviction for ordering Coulthard to slow down behind a late-race safety car. A famous piece of evidence against DJRTP was the use of the word ‘debriss’ rather than ‘debris’ by Coulthard’s engineer Mark Fenning, which was judged to be a code to slow the field down.

Van Gisbergen was among the drivers most negatively impacted by Coulthard’s slow pace and clearly still harbours a grudge.

On Bathurst 2019, McLaughlin responded: “It’s obviously still on their minds … we got the win and we’re really proud of that achievement, of the championship last year and how we got it.”

Soon after, Neylon tried to get Whincup to expand on his ‘one plus one’ comment without success: “I won’t elaborate on that, that’s pretty straightforward.”

Transfer now to the DJR Team Penske digital press conference, involving both McLaughlin and Coulthard, where Whincup’s jibe was dissected by both drivers.

Mclaughlin: “You’d probably expect more from a guy like him. That’s what his view is and whether we believe that or not is another thing.

Coulthard: “It’s mind games. If they’re commenting, they’re worrying about it.”

Followed up about the “mind games”, McLaughlin said: “I’ve had three years of it, so I’m pretty used to it and they all say the same thing, so they probably need to use new content.”

McLaughlin also revealed an admission that van Gisbergen had made privately about the pass: “He said to me on the podium ‘Sorry it’s the team game’.”

Bruce Newton

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LATEST SUPERCAR

NEWS

MASSIVE CHANGES FOR 2021 CALENDAR Bathurst 500 to start the year, Adelaide 500 to finish it

By BRUCE NEWTON A PROPOSED 2021 Supercars championship calendar opens with an event dubbed the Bathurst 500 at Mount Panorama and finishes with the Adelaide 500 street race.

One of a number of draft calendars being worked on by Supercars ahead of a planned release in October, the radical plan is an outcome of the South Australian government’s decision not to bankroll the set-up of the Adelaide parklands circuit early in 2021, because of COVID uncertainties.

It means the 2021 championship could finish with a series of street races at some of Supercars’ most popular and high-profile events, rolling through the Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Adelaide.

All up, Auto Action understands the 2021 calendar could comprise as few as 12 events.

The original pre-COVID 2020 calendar had 14.

It is understood Supercars team owners and stakeholders will get some form of briefing on the current state of the calendar this week.

And while late October is the official release date, there is a view inside Supercars it could blow out into November.

While the South Australian decision to defer the Adelaide 500 was only publicly announced last week, Supercars has been aware it’s been coming for some time.

SA Premier Steven Marshall publicly hinted at the plan last Friday, telling Adelaide media he is pushing for the Adelaide 500 to finish the 2021 season.

“I think it would be absolutely fantastic if we were the final event of the season,” he said.

“It’s still early days in the negotiation.”

If AA sources are correct, then Marshall is jumping on a horse he at least suspects is already a winner. If it’s not across the line then he’s certainly given it a sizable giddyup.

Moving Adelaide also neatly gives Supercars the chance to activate its date at Mount Panorama which is traditionally used for the 12-hour international GT race, which border closures and restrictions have effectively kyboshed for 2021.

Image: LAT

With the GT date being only one of five allocated to racing at Mount Panorama annually, Supercars is loath to give it up.

In the first revision of the 2020 calendar prompted by the coronavirus, Supercars had planned for the championship to take over from the GTs and conclude at Bathurst on February February 5-7 2021.

That date won’t be used for the new calendar.

AA understands it will be late February or early March. It is expected to comprise two 250km single-driver races, with one each on the

Saturday and Sunday.

Traditionally, South Australia has the contracted rights to start the Supercars season while NSW finishes it, which it has done most recently with the Newcastle 500 street race.

That event was cancelled this year because of the coronavirus and the Bathurst 1000 becomes the grand final on October 15-18.

Swapping NSW to the start of the 2021 championship and SA to the back-end is a compromise solution it appears both states can cope with.

SUPERCARS 2020 CALENDAR SET THREE EVENTS, seven races and a maximum 900 drivers’ championship points to be won.

That’s what the 2020 Supercars championship has boiled down to following resolution of the calendar last week.

On the schedule now are a double-header at The Bend on September 19-20 and 26-27, followed by the Bathurst 1000 on October 15-18.

The Bend got the nod in the end after Supercars was unable to make a deal with Queensland Raceways on those dates.

Stumbling blocks included piggybacking on an existing event which had implications for COVID management, and meeting the requirements of broadcaster FoxSports.

The circuit would have needed modifications to safety features to gain a temporary Motorsport Australia license, although this was not a key issue.

Auto Action sources within Supercars and its teams have downplayed suggestions financial incentives from The Bend played a role in the shift.

Bathurst moves back one week from its original date to ensure teams have plenty of time to prepare their cars for the 1000, which will be the championship grand final for the first time in 20 years, as well as the sole co-driver race of the COVID-affected 2020 championship.

The Bend events will both be three-race sprints, but will be the conducted on different layouts of the new complex.

First time out the Supercars will race on the usual 4.9km ‘International’ circuit.

The 3.4km ‘West’ circuit will then be used for the

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Image: LAT

first time by Supercars for the second weekend.

Tyre rules have yet to be finalised for the events, but there does seem a chance one will be all soft and the other might reintroduce the controversial soft-hard mix.

However, The Bend is renowned as a low degradation circuit which might discourage that latter course being taken.

This level of detail is set to be worked out by the Supercars Commission this week.

While the resolution of the calendar provides a clear racing plan for teams, it also delivers an endpoint for the many Victorian team members who have been on the road since early July.

Allowing them to go home was one of the reasons the decision was made to finish the season at Bathurst, rather than try and push on further and race under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park a couple of weeks later.

“It’s been a hard slog for all our team members,

working so hard for months without seeing their wives and families and friends,” said Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt.

“Being away all that, they have done an incredible job.

“They now have a plan – all going well and there is no changes - that the Monday after Bathurst they can drive back to Melbourne and be with their loved ones, which is really exciting for them.

Bruce Newton

MELBOURNE STILL SET FOR F1 START

By MARK FOGARTY RACE ORGANISERS are still aiming for the Australian Grand Prix to be the opening race of the 2021 Formula 1 season.

Despite the uncertainty of national border restrictions being lifted in time, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is working towards being the opening race in March – with or without crowds.

“We’re doing all we can to ensure that when the provisional calendar comes out, Melbourne is in its rightful place as the season-opener in March,” AGPC chief executive Andrew Westacott told Auto Action.

Westacott, recently appointed to the board of Karting Australia, is in constant dialogue with the Victorian government and health authorities about making the event happen.

This year’s AGP was cancelled on the eve of the race because of the coronavirus pandemic, sparking the shutdown of motor sport worldwide.

Getting next year’s race to happen on time will rely on the state government’s stand and the federal government lifting the ban on overseas visitors – or at least allowing sporting exceptions.

“It involves more conversations with F1 and governments at all levels,” Westacott said. “Just because it’s a new year doesn’t change the challenges sports are facing.

Image: LAT

“There are a lot of major events in Melbourne that rely on international travel. We have to get people into the country and that’s why we’re having discussions with government at all levels to make sure it can happen.”

Westacott is confident F1’s strict health protocols since the season restarted last month will help convince authorities it will be safe to hold the AGP at Albert Park in mid-March.

“I’m massively impressed with the procedures that F1 has put in place,” he said. “At the end of the 2020 season, touch wood, they would have had 17 races in 10 countries. The protocols are immense. ”I’m also enthused by the way the AFL is operating in bubbles and quarantine arrangements. It shows it can be done, but it has to be extremely diligent and professionally managed.”

The AGP going ahead affects the Supercars calendar, which includes support races as a major round of the V8 championship.

Westacott admitted that the AGPC was operating under the mantra that “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” to make the AGP happen next March.

There are contingency plans for low or no crowds at the event, with a provision for segmented spectator areas.

“There’s an opportunity for us to utilise Albert Park in a different way,” he said. “Everyone has to adapt in business and we have to adapt from a venue point of view.

“We can produce small, modular grandstands that can be slotted everywhere around the circuit. We can segment the venue into small compartments. We can be modular and flexible, and be complaint with whatever guidelines are in

place at a particular point in time.

“There are lots of scenarios and we’ll adapt those scenarios depending on what the restrictions or the guidelines are from government at the time.”

He indicated that F1 was prepared to compromise on – or even waive – its multi-million dollar sanction fee if a big crowd is not allowed.

“We can clearly deliver with no crowds,” Westacott said. “But an important part of the event is the generation of tourism and visitation.

That’s more of a consideration for government when it comes to border restrictions and the overall regulations that determine what stage we’re at in Melbourne and Victoria.

“We can adopt a modular approach and we are adopting a modular approach with many different scenarios. We’re looking at the cost of creating a safe environment in which to hold the event.

“F1 wants to try to get to a season that is more normal and traditional. I know that their intention is to stage a season that more resembles the Image: Ross Gibb traditional calendar, which would see Melbourne in its traditional place as the first race.

“We’re doing all we can to work with F1 and the Victorian government to ensure that we can be on that provisional calendar in a March timeslot as the first race.”

He didn’t rule out the possibility of a one-off rescheduling of the F1 AGP to mid-November after the Melbourne Cup. “It’s not something we’re speculating on at the moment,” Westacott said. “It’s a temporary venue and it’s a pop-up venue, so it could theoretically happen at any time of the year.

“But it’s not something that we’re actively pursuing because our preference is to start the season and to retain what is an unbelievably powerful events calendar in Victoria. We’d like to pursue the traditional structure of the calendar until or unless that’s not possible.”

GEN3 SCOPE FOR SUPRA AS SUPERCARS’ Gen3 future takes shape, a key accommodation for compact two-door sports cars has emerged.

While a standard wheelbase has been decreed, Auto Action has learned the measurement is flexible.

Although fixed at a shorter 2765 mm to suit the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, Gen3 will allow for adapting body shapes with shorter wheelbases.

The prime variant would be the Toyota Supra, which Supercars is desperately trying to accommodate.

It sees allowing the compact, GT-style Supra as finally attracting Australian car market leader Toyota’s involvement.

Supercars has been trying to get Toyota Australia to enter for the best part of 20 years and the Supra is the best shot if Gen3 allows its short-wheelbase road car dimensions to be adapted to V8 racing. Gen3 is becoming clearer following recent drip-feed revelations by Supercars.

It has been confirmed that the plan is to reduce the roll cage height by 100 mm, thus better accommodating the shapes of the Mustang and Camaro.

Tender documents have also set the specifications for control brakes, wheels and fly-by-wire throttle.

Key car measurements were also revealed: • Weight increases to 1400 kg, including driver and fuel • Weight distribution: 51/49.

• CoG: 470mm • Wheelbase: 2765mm • Track: 2000 mm (outside of tyre) • Aerodynamics: 300N front, 600N rear @ 200km/h maximum • CdA: 1.15 (approx) • Engine: Approximately 600 bhp, rear wheel drive • Tyre: 280/680R18

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Illustration: Tim Pattinson Design

Some explanation: N is a measure of force, expressed as one kilogram per metre per second squared.

Hard to tell how it equates to current downforce limit of around 300 kg overall and Gen3 mandate to radically reduce aero influence. Also, CdA is a measure of the frontal area air drag, although there is no nominated baseline reference.

Gen3 compares with the current Gen2 main measurements as follows: • WB: 2822mm • Track: 1930mm/1905mm • Weight: 1395kg with driver Gen3’s 2765 mm wheelbase is in the middle of the range of current and future possible donor road cars: • VE/VF Commodore: 2915 mm • ZB Commodore: 2829 mm • Mustang: 2720 mm • Camaro: 2811 mm • Supra: 2470 mm Although aligned with mainstream two-door coupes, insiders reveal there will be flexibility in the wheelbase to allow ‘shorties’

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like the Supra, while maintaining visual proportions.

“The plan is that the chassis will have ability to have a variable wheelbase, but unless another manufacturer enters, come 2022 and its Mustang and Camaro, the wheelbases will align,” a highplaced source said.

“In the event that Supra comes in, there would be the capacity to allow a reduced wheelbase.

“The ability to have a chassis with a variable wheelbase is not difficult. So from a technical point perspective, it was quite simple to say ‘Well, look, let’s keep that in there’ – but it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll utilise it.”

Supercars is also hoping to attract the BMW M4 coupe, but the Supra remains the main target.

“Supra is just the obvious one that comes to mind,” an insider said. “From an engineering standpoint, it doesn’t cost a lot.”

Supercars is still negotiating with GM for approval to race the Camaro shape. The Camaro is important to keep the Ford vs GM rivalry alive following the death of the Holden brand. But it is no longer being sold here as a right-hand drive conversion and the pony car’s future is in doubt. Mark Fogarty

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SUPERCARS

KELLY RACING’S REMOTE REBUILDS SUPER2 race winner Jordan Boys will make his Bathurst 1000 debut with Brad Jones Racing partnering Todd Hazelwood at this year’s event. The Albury-based driver is currently undertaking his third season in Supercars’ second-tier class, driving for Image Racing. Last year, the 22-year-old broke through for his first Super2 pole and victories. BJR is a familiar environment for Boys, having completing numerous tests with the team during his tenure in Super2. HM

WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI United driver Chaz Mostert announced that he has split with BMW and is now free to look for other part-time drives outside of the Supercars Championship. Mostert has been a factory BMW driver for several years, a relationship highlighted by a class victory in an M8 GTE at the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this year. Mostert also competed for BMW Team Schnitzer in the Bathurst 12 Hour twice, taking pole position in 2018. DM

AFTER A popular maiden outing in Townsville, the Aussie Tin Tops will make its second appearance at The Bend Motorsport Park. The category contains a large variety of cars including GT3 machines, Porsche Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge, Super3, TA2, MARC, Toyota 86s and many more. It will appear at the first event of The Bend SuperSprint doubleheader on the September 19-20 weekend. DM

FORMER 23RED Racing driver Will Davison has been officially confirmed as co-driver to Cam Waters for this year’s Bathurst 1000. As revealed by Auto Action previously, the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner re-joins Tickford Racing after customer team 23Red Racing folded during the season hiatus. HM

Supercars teams make plans for the final push to championship finale

south to Mount Panorama, complete the race and hopefully head back to Melbourne on Monday October 19.

By BRUCE NEWTON

Walkinshaw Andretti United

KELLY RACING will have to manage the build of its Bathurst 1000 engines on the road amidst the Supercars championship’s mass migration from Queensland to South Australia and back to NSW. The logistically challenging exercise could result in team co-owner Todd Kelly pinballing back and forth from the team’s temporary Gold Coast base, to have the engines fitted on-schedule to Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner’s Ford Mustangs for the second Tailem Bend event in late September.

Like all Victorian teams, Kelly Racing has had to grapple with life away from its home workshop since leaving the state before COVID-enforced border shutdowns in early July.

But its experience has been made all the harder because it is in its first year developing two Ford Mustangs, including its own engine program, which currently comprises four engines in total.

It has to maintain its engines remotely because of Melbourne’s strict COVID lockdowns. There is only a skeleton crew at the workshop and the risk of freighting engines to and from has been judged too high. Making the decision easier, the team’s dyno equipment is also on the Gold Coast.

KR is now back at 222 Offshore on the Gold Coast, where it was based before the swing through the Northern Territory and far north Queensland.

“We’ve got to build two engines for Bathurst remotely and the only place I can do that is on the Gold Coast,” Kelly explained to Auto Action.

“We’ll prep the cars there and hopefully get one of the engines done and then shoot off to Tailem Bend.

“Then I might need to fly back or something and do the second Bathurst engine and then drive back from Tailem Bend to Bathurst in the coach and race transporter convoy.”

If the plan goes to schedule, the engines will go in for the second Tailem Bend event, Bathurst and the start of the 2021 season.

The main issue KR has with its engines is their weight rather than their power and torque outputs.

Image: LAT

“It would be good to have a play with them and we can wait till we’re back on deck at the workshop, but we’re not panicking.

“The big thing is the weight, that’s what’s killing us.”

As we report separately, the remainder of the 2020 Supercars calendar is now locked in with consecutive events at The Bend on September 19-20 and 26-27, ahead of the Bathurst 1000 on October 15-18.

As COVID rules stand, the teams can travel from Queensland to South Australia and back again without a quarantine.

Post-Bathurst, however, Queensland team members will have to undergo a two-week quarantine, as will WA Team 18 co-driver Dean Fiore when returning home.

Here’s our round-up of how the Supercars teams intend to each complete the final lap of an extremely challenging season – based on current border closures and restrictions:

Triple Eight Race Engineering

As a Brisbane-based team the process for Triple Eight is reasonably straight forward.

It is back at its Banyo base now preparing for The Bend Motorsport Park double-header. A priority is more work on the rear chassis rails of Shane van Gisbergen’s Red Bull Holden Racing Team Commodore, which were damaged in a Townsville 1 shunt and temporarily repaired for T2.

The cars will head to South Australia five days prior to the opening SuperSprint, with the team leaving two days prior. After the two SA SuperSprints, T8 will head straight back to Brisbane to prep for Bathurst.

Its complications relate to the quarantine SvG’s co-driver Garth Tander will have to undergo and the quarantine the entire team faces when it gets back to Queensland.

CO-DRIVER DEBATE OTR HAS been confirmed as the title sponsor of the second The Bend SuperSprint Supercars Championship round. It will mark the third straight year that the South Australian convenience retailer has sponsored a Supercars Championship event at the venue. The round will be the second of The Bend double header weekends, and the penultimate round of the season leading up to the finale at the Bathurst 1000. DM

8 AutoAction

SUPERCARS TEAMS are disagreeing over whether Bathurst 1000 co-drivers should get sessions allocated to them at the upcoming double-header at The Bend Motorsport Park.

What is not in dispute is that there will be extra codriver practice at this year’s 1000 to make up for the lack of racing beforehand.

Which side of The Bend argument the teams are on broadly depends on whether they can get their co-drivers to the track or not.

As COVID rules stand, drivers based in Victoria or NSW would have to go through two weeks quarantine before driving the cars, while those coming from

DJR Team Penske

WAU is staying in Townsville for a week to prepare its two Holden Commodores for The Bend.

It will then travel to South Australia, complete the two race meetings and then stay in Adelaide to start car prep ahead of Bathurst. It plans to arrive at Mount Panorama roughly one week prior to the race.

The category’s other superteam is back at its Stapylton base also prepping for the double-header. After The Bend double-header, it will return home to prep for Bathurst.

It also has one Victorian-based driver in Tony D’Alberto, who must go through quarantine, while the team faces a two-week post Bathurst quarantine in Queensland.

Brad Jones Racing

Tickford Racing

Kelly Racing

The four-car Ford Mustang squad has returned to its old south-east Queensland base at Sea World, reuniting some team members with families who have gone through two weeks quarantine in the Northern Territory.

After the two SA SuperSprints, Tickford Racing heads back to south-east Queensland for Bathurst prep.

“We have made that our home because we have been able to tap into suppliers there - essentially DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight suppliers – for composites and stuff like that,” said team boss Tim Edwards.

Erebus Motorsport

The team left Townsville Tuesday headed for Mount Gambier, where its fabrication and paint shop is based.

It will prep for The Bend double-header there until September 17 and return to the city in South Australia’s south-east after those events to prep for Bathurst.

Team 18

The two-car squad left Townsville last Monday headed for its temporary south east Queensland quarters at Ross Stone’s Yatala workshop, to prep the Irwin and DeWalt Holden Commodores.

After the two events in SA, the cars will return to Stone’s shop to prep for Bathurst. They will then make the trip Image: LAT

Queensland – or WA in the case of Dean Fiore would be able to jump straight in and have a steer.

A decision on co-driver practice at The Bend should be made at a Supercars Commission meeting today (Thursday September 10). The amount of practice they get at Bathurst is also expected to be under discussion.

The four-car Holden Commodore squad is preparing in Townsville ahead of Tailem Bend and then – COVID permitting – head home to its Albury base ahead of Bathurst.

Under current COVID rules BJR would not be able to base itself in Albury before The Bend because of SA border restrictions relating to NSW. As explained in detail above, Kelly Racing is basing itself at 222 Offshore for about six days. This is the same workshop the team employed before setting off for the Northern Territory.

It will then complete the SA swing and head to Bathurst for the 1000, prepping its two Mustangs for the event either in Adelaide or at the family farm north of Mildura in NSW.

Matt Stone Racing

MSR’s two Holden Commodores are back at its south-east Queensland base ahead of the Tailem Bend double-header.

They will return to the shop ahead of Bathurst.

Even if the Super2 races at Bathurst go ahead, MSR has decided not to contest them.

Team Sydney

While it was hoping to head back to its new headquarters at Sydney Motorsport Park after Townsville, COVID restrictions dictated Team Sydney would prep for Tailem Bend at Tekno Autosports’ Gold Coast shop.

Post The Bend, the preference will be to head back to Sydney to prepare for Bathurst, but again COVID restrictions will determine whether the team transporter heads there or back to south-east Queensland.

Team owner Brad Jones is in favour of Tailem Bend co-driver practice.

“I think they should have a co-driver session the second week at Tailem Bend, he said.

“Whoever turns up should be allowed to run.

It’s not going to be the same for everyone, but not everyone is going to have the same amount of experience.

“If there is an opportunity they should definitely look at it.”

But Kelly Racing co-owner Todd Kelly had the opposite view.

“If only a third of them can get there, they can’t really put people in that position,” he said. “Hopefully they just don’t do it.” BN

BATHURST ISO FOR VIC CO-DRIVERS

By MARK FOGARTY

MELBOURNE-BASED co-drivers are awaiting clarification from Supercars on plans to ensure they can compete in the Bathurst 1000.

With NSW closed to Victorians, several key codrivers are excluded under current restrictions unless they go into government-approved quarantine for two weeks.

It is understood Supercars is negotiating with NSW authorities to allow them to isolate in a designated hotel or ‘hub’ in Bathurst until October 14.

However, apart from preliminary unofficial guidance from their teams, the Melbourne-based co-drivers are in the dark and have been contacting each other for information.

“It’s still a little bit all over the place,” a leading codriver told Auto Action. “ “We’re all trying to find out what’s happening.”

The affected drivers are Garth Tander, Tony D’Alberto, James Moffat, Michael Caruso, James Golding, Thomas Randle, Dale Wood and possibly Jack Perkins.

There may be more as five co-driver seats have yet to be confirmed.

Second drivers from all other states will be free to enter NSW, although those from Queensland face

Five 1000 co-drives still to be announced

quarantine on their return – as do all Gold Coast- and Brisbane-based team personnel – under existing restrictions.

Perth-based Dean Fiore, due to partner Scott Pye at Team 18, also faces a two-week quarantine on his return to WA. The only unencumbered driver is Sydney’s Warren Luff.

After what will be more than three months away, all Victoria-based teams and drivers will be able to go home following Bathurst, which will finish the disrupted Supercars season.

From his conversations with Triple Eight team owner Roland Dane, Garth Tander’s understanding is that he will have to go into ‘quarantine’ in NSW for two weeks before the Bathurst 1000.

However, it could be self-isolation with NSW government approval, not locked in a hotel.

At this stage, Tander believes it will be outside Sydney, most probably in Bathurst.

“That’s how it looks, but nothing is set in stone,” he said. “It will all be decided much closer to the event.”

Tander is set to co-drive Shane van Gisbergen in his first – and only – Supercars drive of the year, as the Bathurst 1000 will be the lone two-driver event of the coronavirus-disrupted season.

Image: LAT

It is understood Tander has been advised by the team to block out the fortnight before Bathurst, rescheduled to October 15-18, to relocate to NSW for isolation to allow him to compete.

He is in the same situation as all the Melbournebased co-drivers, who under the current – and likely to be continued – New South Wales/Victoria border closure would have to go into ‘quarantine’ for two weeks to be eligible to compete in the Bathurst 1000.

DJR Team Penske’s Tony D’Alberto, again partnered with Fabian Coulthard, is looking at the possibility of isolating in southeast Queensland before heading to Bathurst.

Team 18 is considering the same strategy for Golding, who will co-drive Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom.

D’Alberto is prepared to go into quarantine for two weeks and then join the team for a week to prepare for the race.

“That would give me more breathing space than being cooped up in a hotel in Bathurst,” he said.

Although he has received no formal notification, D’Alberto understands that Supercars is planning to organise for the Victorian co-drivers to isolate in Bathurst from September 29-October 13, enabling them to emerge the day before practice for the 1000 begins on Thursday, October 15.

AA has also learned that co-drivers signed before the coronavirus crisis have had to take a pay cut.

They are now being paid for one enduro rather than the three for which they originally signed up – Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600.

The Sandown and Surfers Paradise two-driver races were victims of the reorganised and truncated calendar.

Most co-drivers are happy with their new deals, citing fair revisions by team owners.

“It’s not about the money, but I got a fair deal,” a high-profile co-driver said.

Wood confirmed at Kelly Racing

THE CONFIRMATION Dale Wood will return to Kelly Racing to partner Rick Kelly in the Castrol Ford Mustang leaves five Bathurst 1000 co-drives yet to be made public as Auto Action closed for press.

The Kelly-Wood pairing follows Tickford Racing confirming between the Townsville double-headers that Will Davison will return to the team to share the Monster Ford Mustang with Cameron Waters in the great race.

Young gun Jordan Boys was also confirmed as Townsville pole qualifier Todd Hazelwood’s co-driver in a Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore ZB. The five remaining seats include the codrive with Andre Heimgartner in the other KR Mustang, as well as two seats at BJR and two at Team Sydney.

Some of those drives are understood to be locked in and awaiting announcement.

Some are likely to be obvious choices. For

instance, it would surprise if Tim Blanchard doesn’t share with Macauley Jones in the Brad Jones Racing-run Cooldrive Commodore entry his family owns and sponsors.

Similarly, Team Sydney boss and 2016 Bathurst 1000 winner Jonathon Webb would be an obvious choice to share with either Alex Davison or Chris Pither.

The other BJR seat still to be allocated is with rookie Jack Smith in the SCT Logistics Commodore.

Wood was one of Kelly Racing’s founding drivers back in 2009 and re-joined the team last year to race alongside long-time friend Kelly for the three-round Pirtek Enduro Cup. Wood won the 2013 Dunlop development series and subsequently raced as a full-time driver in the championship for Brad Jones Racing, Nissan Motorsport and Erebus Motorsport from 2014 to 2017.

Highlights included a third place at Winton in 2014 and fourth at Bathurst in 2017 with

Pither. Last year he and Kelly raced a Nissan Altima to eighth place at Bathurst and finished 12th in the PEC. Because of COVID the Melbourne-based driver has been on the sidelines in 2020.

Wood will have to go through a two-week quarantine ahead of the Bathurst 1000. He will first get seat time in the Mustang at Bathurst.

“I feel like the time out of racing won’t be an issue at all,” Wood said. “The biggest challenge for me will just be getting to terms with the Mustang.

“I was comfortable in the car last year, so there will be a small adjustment to that, but the main thing will be not getting to do our usual build-up of preparation.” BN

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GARRY ROGERS Motorsport has announced two entries in the Holden Bathurst Revival at this year’s inaugural Bathurst International.

The former Supercars Championship squad will enter two Monaros, the legendary yellow coupe which took the flag in the inaugural 2002 Bathurst 24 Hours in the hands of Steven Richards, Garth Tander, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty.

The other Monaro, as previously reported

by Auto Action, is a new build to the same specifications as the original. DM Image: LAT

WALL RACING is looking to run as many as four Honda Civic Type R TCR cars when the TCR Australia Series gets underway. The Sydney based squad currently runs Tony D’Alberto and John Martin, with two more Hondas owned by international racer Paul Ip also located at its workshop. However being based in Canada, Ip and David Wall are looking to keep the two cars on track with local drivers until travel restrictions are eased. RV

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has announced that due to ongoing border closures and quarantine measures, the Australian Rally Championship will not be awarded this year.

Instead, a single event shootout will take place. The Motorsport Australia Rally Cup will be up for grabs at the National Capital Rally, scheduled for November. HM

SUPERCHEAP YET TO COMMIT TO SUPERCARS

SUPERCHEAP AUTO is refusing to publicly declare whether it will renew its sponsorship deal with Tickford Racing or even stay in motorsport, in the wake of auto parts rival Repco out-bidding it for the naming rights to the Bathurst 1000.

Benjamin Ward, managing director – auto at the Super Retail Group, parent of Supercheap Auto, said the company had been inundated with sponsorship pitches from inside and outside motorsport, in the wake of the Repco decision.

“My email and my phone have run hot with all sorts of weird, wonderful and very plausible opportunities for us to do something different in the future,” Ward told Auto Action.

“All options are on the table. I wouldn’t say the outcome is binary, that we are all-in or we are all-out (of motorsport). I think the news of Bathurst going to someone else is still new.”

Ward is clearly upset about losing the rights to the pre-eminent Supercars event after 16 years, following a two-week bidding war in August during which he revealed Supercheap “doubled” its offer.

www.speco.com.au 10 AutoAction

He was quoted in News Corp media criticising the awarding of the race to “big-money offers” from an “overseas competitor”.

Repco, while established in Australia, is now owned by the US auto parts giant Genuine Parts Company (GPC).

As reported in Auto Action #1793, Repco is also expected to replace Virgin as the Supercars championship sponsor.

Ward told AA the bidding process was still “recent and raw”. Asked why Supercars shouldn’t accept a higher bid from a foreign competitor to sponsor the 1000, Ward said: “I think that Supercheap Auto was looking forward to extending our contract beyond the current term, and we were looking at proposals to do just that.

“As an Australian retailer supporting an Australian sport, we have a slightly layered perspective. The importance of Australian organisations to support other organisations … we had hoped to continue in that vein even with an increased offer.”

He declined to respond to Repco boss Rob Cameron’s defence of Repco as Australian, based on its heritage, the number of

SUPERIOR ENGINE ENAMELS

employees it has locally and the taxes it pays in Australia.

“I’ll let their words speak for themselves,” said Ward.

Supercheap’s deal with Tickford Racing to sponsor the #55 Ford Mustang driven by Jack Le Brocq in 2020, is due for renewal at the end of this year.

Supercheap has been a sponsor in Supercars since it backed Briggs Motor Sport in the 1990s.

Over the years it has been associated with Steven Ellery Racing, Paul Weel Racing, Paul Morris Motorsport, Walkinshaw Racing, Rod Nash Racing and Tickford Racing.

Drivers have included Chaz Mostert, Tim Slade, Russell Ingall, Paul Dumbrell, Cam McConville and Greg Murphy.

“We haven’t made a decision on renewal with Tickford or not,” Ward confirmed.

“It’s influenced by losing Bathurst because that’s the race everyone tunes into each year, and that will obviously look different next year and in the future years without our name on the bridge.

“We need to work through what that means for our race team.” Bruce Newton

LONGER LASTING FLAMEPROOF COATINGS

THE ULTIMATE IN CALIPER PAINTS

th Luke West iith wit

AA’s outspoken columnist has a clear favourite racing category these days

Image: LAT

GRM WILDCARD CONFIRMED GARRY ROGERS Motorsport will make its Supercars return with a Wildcard entry at this year’s Bathurst 1000, with two young drivers tackling The Great Race.

As Auto Action went to press the identities of the drivers were yet to be announced, but it is understood one is a leading Super2 contender.

GRM director Barry Rogers confirmed Garry Rogers Motorsport were in the process of preparing the Commodore that was driven by James Golding during last year’s Supercars Championship.

“It’s really about our workers. For us it’s no different to building S5000s or anything else we’ve done in the past, we think about what we can do to inspire and get our workers going,” Rogers told Auto Action.

“A couple of things that get Garry going is seeing the guys get rewarded

and results, and also he gets a lot of joy from bringing young drivers on, which has been the nucleus in everything he’s done.

“Whether it’s a young driver, young mechanic, young engineer, or a young team manager, for him (Garry) it’s always been about not recycling so much what’s out there and putting his stamp on things.”

Discussions began last week between Garry and Barry to race at Bathurst, the prerequisite being if they found two young drivers.

The entry leaves GRM’s unbroken run of contesting every Supercars 1000 iintact and occurs on the 20th anniversary of the team’s sole Bathurst 1000 victory, by Jason Bargwanna and Garth Tander.

“It’s probably coincidental that this has happened,” said Rogers.

Work has begun by Supercars to

enable the team to cross the currently closed Victorian and New South Wales border.

“We’ve been speaking with Sean Seamer and there are all sorts of potential things that are going to happen with that,” Rogers explained.

“At this point, most likely there will be some sort of quarantine. Supercars has the points on the board already for what it’s done this year and certainly we’re in good hands for what it’ll come up with, I’m sure.”

The Wildcard returns the team to Supercars after it controversially announced its withdrawal at the end of 2019.

“People will say you left Supercars and now you’re coming back to do this, (but) we always said if it made sense to go racing, we’ll go racing, and to us this make sense for us to go do it,” Rogers said. Heath McAlpine

BJR BUILDS MOMENTUM BRAD JONES Racing’s Todd Hazelwood is confident there is more to come at The Bend, after breaking through for his first Supercars pole position in Townsville.

A home event for both he and teammate Nick Percat, Hazelwood believes the Albury-based team’s run of strong momentum won’t slow at The Bend, as he aims to achieve a maiden victory.

“We’ve proven at the last three different circuits that we’ve been to; Sydney Motorsport Park, Darwin and Townsville, that it doesn’t matter what track we go to we have genuine pace and genuine form, which is a really big thing,” Hazelwood told Auto Action.

“It’s something that we’re pretty proud of and we’ll see what we can do at The Bend.”

Hazelwood heads to The Bend with the confidence that for the first time this season he arrives at a circuit where he has driven the BJR Commodore previously, and is hopeful of putting in a good performance for his home fans.

www.autoaction.com.au

Image: LAT

“It’s the first track this year that I’ve been to that I’ve actually driven a BJR car beforehand, at the PreSeason Test Day, and the car felt pretty strong there,” Hazelwood said.

“I’m looking forward to heading down south and getting back to my home state to see what we can do.”

Townsville was a mixed round for the former Super2 Series winner, as a clutch failure at the start of Race 22 left him on the line and a pit limiter glitch led to a 15s time penalty, dropping him from seventh to 14th in Race 23.

After Percat had notched up his maiden pole for Race 23, Hazelwood did likewise for the final race of the weekend, as the two teammates locked out the front-row, a first for BJR since 2013.

Hazelwood finished the race sixth

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as a mid-race safety car and tyre degradation hampered his latter stint.

“We still have more work to do,” Hazelwood emphasised.

“We can match them in qualifying now, or very closely. It was my most consistent weekend in qualifying pace and our first half of the race is really good, it’s just the last six to eight laps of the stint the Triple Eight cars and DJR Team Penske car had a little bit on us.

“We still need to keep working on that.”

Hazelwood also has one eye on Bathurst, where he will team up with rookie Jordan Boys.

“We’ve got some key areas where we think we can improve and hopefully come Bathurst, we’ve got those little things tuned up and we can put it all together,” he concluded. HM

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LIKE SO many other motorsport tragics, I can’t wait till Scott McLaughlin joins the IndyCar field, whenever that may be. The Supercars star’s presence will simply make the North American open-wheeler series even more compelling.

IndyCar is my favourite form of motorsport these days. The races are thoroughly entertaining and maintain your interest right until the chequered flag.

The recent Indy 500 was a ripper, like usual. And if you didn’t catch the second race of Road America’s July double-header, you arguably missed four-wheeled motorsport’s race of the year.

Felix Rosenqvist hunted down leader Patricio O’Ward over the final dozen laps, the Swede passing the Mexican rookie on the penultimate lap after a furious exchange. It was great stuff. Both drivers – and half-a-dozen series colleagues – could easily be in Formula 1.

Each IndyCar event has its own unique flavour due to the wide variety of tracks used: superspeedways, small ovals, street circuits, natural terrain permanent road courses, and even the Indianapolis ‘roval’.

Other racing series could take a leaf from its book in finding the balance between purity of contest, engineering excellence and fan engagement.

IndyCar is true to its heritage and puts Formula 1 to shame in allowing the gun drivers to shine. The top drivers are genuine stars who come across as real people, unlike the self-absorbed knobs that populate half the F1 grid.

I shake my head at so-called motorsport enthusiasts who look down their nose at IndyCar – as many do, including Lewis Hamilton – for reasons I can’t quite fathom.

I despise elitism and for that reason alone I struggle to watch F1 these days, quite apart from most races being snoozefests. Apparently, us fans are supposed to appreciate the cutting-edge technology the teams keep secret.

Yeah right.

Anyway, another reason to watch IndyCar is to witness a lad from lands downunder, Scott Dixon, at the height of his powers. The Brisbane-born Kiwi is just so damn good in a highly competitive field.

‘Dixie’, at the ripe old age of 40, is the ultimate professional and remains on track to win his sixth IndyCar title this year. Sixth! We are truly witnessing a racing legend at work – in his 20th season at the top level. He’s calm, clever and consistent.

Toowoomba’s finest, Will Power, the 2014 champ, is another perennial IndyCar frontrunner, of course. Yet even Willy P would admit he’s not quite in Dixon’s league, for which there is no disgrace.

One of the many great shames of the ‘split’ two decades ago – the IRL versus Champ Car civil war that tore IndyCar racing apart – is that Dixon’s extraordinary success has gone unnoticed by general motorsport fans in these parts. It’s a pity the turmoil meant we only saw him race at three Gold Coast Indy 300s.

Do yourself a favour and catch Dixon in IndyCar while you can. He’s about to pass Mario Andretti on the all-time wins list and if he sticks around a couple more seasons, may actually top AJ Foyt for top spot.

If McLaughlin makes a good fist of his IndyCar opportunity, it will mean Australasians will have a natural successor to Dixie and Power to follow when they step away.

Ironically, when Scotty Mac eventually makes his debut, there will be lots of hype from the general sports media, many of whom will not have heard of Scott Dixon.

Yet they could have been covering Dixon’s exploits. Hopefully they will have their eyes opened to some other great local talent on show and a series providing excellent racing despite 2020’s many obstacles.

A BIG THANK you to those who provided feedback on my previous column, which called for Supercars to eventually return to production-based bodyshells to ensure its future.

I highlighted that doing so would overcome the need for Supercars to obtain approval from manufacturers to use their IP when replicating bodywork to hang over a tube-frame control chassis. Gaining IP will be a major stumbling block to getting new models on the grid under Gen 3 rules. It’s an existential problem.

The pick of my mailbag came from ‘Mark’, whose email stated: “I’m starting to think that when the Car of the Future control chassis was introduced for 2013, the category sowed the seeds of its own demise.”

Supercars many, many challenges are not insurmountable. I believe its best hope is to blow it all up and start again – using production-based bodyshells.

Of course, that can’t happen – not yet, at least – because the teams have too much invested in the control chassis.

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

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LATEST NEWS

BRITISH TOURING Car Championship squad Team HARD has announced that it will build at least two brand new Cupra Leons to compete in the 2021 season. The Kent based team has been looking for a new car model to replace its aging Volkswagen CC, which the squad has been running since it entered the series way back in 2013. Cupra will become yet another brand to be represented in Britain’s premier motorsport series. DM

Image: LAT

FRENCHMAN JEAN-KARL Verney has been confirmed as an Alfa Romeo driver in this year’s WTCR season, in which he will drive for the Romeo Ferraris squad. The Italian team made a late decision to continue in the series, taking advantage of the new COVID-19 rule that allows existing teams to downscale and run one car for 2020. The one-time TCR Australia race winner will compete in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR for the first time. DM

Image: LAT

THE FIA World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain has had to be moved forward one week to accommodate the newly announced Formula 1 doubleheader at the Sakhir circuit in November.

However, moving the 8 Hours of Bahrain seven days earlier creates a clash with the IMSA Sportscar Championship final round, the rescheduled 12 Hours of Sebring. Many drivers contesting WEC were expected to participate in the Sebring race but if the date clash remains it will be impossible. DM

Image: LAT

EUROSPORT EVENTS, the promotor of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR), has announced that it will take legal action against the Salzburgring venue. The Austrian track was set to host the opening round of the 2020 WTCR season, but less than two weeks out from the scheduled event Salzburgring pulled out. As a result, the season will now begin at Zolder, Belgium this weekend. DM

BENTLEY HAS reversed its decision, after announcing in June that it had withdrawn from the Intercontinental GT Challenge citing the need for greater focus on customer racing due to the pandemic. However, the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour winning brand has will now see out the remainder of the 2020 season contesting the Indianapolis 8 Hour, the 24 Hours of Spa and the Kyalami 9 Hour. DM

12 AutoAction

S5000 SUPERLICENCE POINTS PUSH

By MARK FOGARTY MOVES ARE underway for S5000 competitors to score points towards qualification for an FIA Superlicence.

A proposal is before the Australian Motor Racing Commission for S5000 to be added to the international categories that can help earn Superlicence qualification.

A Superlicence is needed to race in Formula 1, with drivers qualifying by accumulating the requisite number of points in nominated development categories or major national championships.

S5000 would become attractive to aspiring overseas open-wheel drivers if it helped them gain eligibility for F1, as well as young local drivers looking to international careers.

Superlicence points would also enhance the possibility of a trans-Tasman S5000

summer series with appeal to foreign young guns, much as NZ’s TRS series attracts them because it offers Superlicence points during the northern hemisphere off-season.

S5000 would offer points on a similar scale to TRS, the value of which is below FIA F3, the second last step on the official ladder to F1.

Motorsport Australia chief executive Eugene Arocca confirmed the AMRC was looking at petitioning the FIA to add S5000 to the list of Superlicence qualifiers from 2021.

“It’s still something under consideration,” Arocca said.

There is a view that the move is warranted because S5000 is Australia’s premier open-wheel category, awarded national championship status and earning the

coveted ‘Gold Star’ title once racing resumes.

S5000 category manager – and father of the modern F5000 revival – Chris Lambden sees real value in the spec-formula V8 single-seaters joining the Superlicence pathway.

“If our series, as seems possible, runs over the summer, Superlicence points would be an added incentive for overseas drivers to compete,” Lambden said.

It is likely the coronavirus-delayed S5000 championship will run across the summer once the ARG-run series finally kicks off, most likely in November.

Longer-term, scoring Superlicence points is part of a plan to revive the S5000 Tasman Cup concept with an international series in New Zealand and Australia during January/ February.

TWIGG LOSES $100 MILLION COURT CASE THE NSW Supreme Court has found champion race driver Max Twigg misappropriated $100 million from a family trust.

Twigg, the 2019 Australian Endurance Champion with Tony D’Alberto and a race winner in the Australian GT championship, was successfully sued by his mother and two sisters, who the court found he had defrauded.

As a result he will have to hand over a range of assets including a string of properties, $9 million in cash and a new $650,000 Porsche.

The judge found Twigg had transferred about $100 million gained through the sale of the family’s waste management and landfill business in 2007 to firms that he controlled, and took steps to hide this fact from his mother.

Twigg handed over $5 million each to his mother and sisters and then took up an extravagant lifestyle while also making multiple property investments including the Byron Bay Hotel. He later sold it for $70 million.

Twigg’s sisters discovered the family trust had been drained when they were hit with a capital gains bill.

“It is appropriate to characterise Max’s conduct as dishonest,” Justice Michael Ball found.

“He distributed a large proportion of the proceeds of sale of the Twigg Group business without explaining to Mrs Twigg what he was doing, in the hope that she would say nothing.”

Twigg managed the family landfill business from 1996 following his father’s death until 2007, when it was sold to

Cleanaway Waste for $155.8 million. Of this $113.8 million was paid in cash, of which Twigg kept the vast bulk for himself.

“It appears that he thought that the success of the business and the highly attractive offer that was made for it were the results of his efforts and that as a consequence he was entitled to the lion’s share of the benefits and that that entitlement provided a justification for what he did,” Justice Ball said.

Bruce Newton

O’KEEFFE SCORES WTCR DRIVE

TCR AUSTRALIA frontrunner and Renault Sport GRM driver Dylan O’Keeffe will become the first Australian to race in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR), after being confirmed as a wildcard entry.

O’Keeffe will debut in the WTCR at Zolder, Belgium this weekend, racing for Renault Megane RS TCR homologation agent Vukovic Motorsport.

Having tested the upgraded Renault Megane RS TCR at the Salzburgring O’Keeffe remained in Europe close to the team’s workshop in Switzerland.

Needless to say, O’Keeffe is thankful for the opportunity to contest the opening WTCR round after all the uncertainty that has surrounded this season.

“I participated in the Porsche Junior Programme Shootout a couple of times but didn’t have any more chances to race overseas,” O’Keeffe said.

“For this WTCR drive to have come to fruition is quite incredible considering the circumstances we’re all facing with COVID-19, and I’m extremely grateful to the team at Vukovic Motorsport for giving me the opportunity to race their car.

“While I’m still very much focused on my TCR Australia drive with Garry Rogers Motorsport, the season is suspended until at least October, which has created the window for me to travel overseas and be able to follow the necessary quarantine protocols when I return.”

Extensive work has been undertaken between Vukovic Motorsport and GRM during the off-season

to develop the updated model.

Although the weather was inclement at the Salzburgring during his test, O’Keeffe explained its objectives were met ahead of the model’s WTCR debut.

“We achieved our main objective from the test day, which was to improve the handling balance of the car,” he said.

“It was quite wet in the morning but it dried out in the afternoon, which was useful because it enabled me to get a feel for the car and the circuit in different types of conditions.

“The crew at Vukovic Motorsport have been enjoyable to work with and I’m confident we’ll arrive for the WTCR round with a solid baseline setup.”

Vukovic Motorsport will field a second Renault Megane RS TCR for Brit driver Jack Young, who will contest the entire WTCR season.

Team owner Milenko Vukovic is excited to give O’Keeffe his maiden WTCR start.

“We’re thrilled to have Dylan in one of our cars for the first round of our WTCR campaign,” Milkenko Vukovic said.

“As we expected, Dylan did a fine job in our Renault at the test day and provided us with some valuable feedback - we can’t wait to see him racing wheel-to-wheel with the other WTCR drivers.”

As a wildcard entry, O’Keeffe will race with an extra 10kg.

Plans for O’Keeffe to contest further WTCR rounds are not yet in place. HM

AUS GT CMA UP FOR TENDER

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA is reporting strong interest in the Category Management Agreement for the Australian GT Championship and Australian Endurance Championship.

In a statement, Motorsport Australia confirmed it was identifying a candidate to act as the official and exclusive agent for the commercial and promotion of both championships for a minimum of three-years.

Applications closed last Friday (September 4), with current holder Trofeo Motorsport re-applying to hold the rights.

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca stated that strong interest had been received to take over the CMA “The outlook at this stage is good,” Arocca said. “It’s not a one-horse race.”

Trofeo Motorsport has held the CMA since taking over from Tony Quinn in 2018, but it has been a tumultuous period for the category.

This was highlighted by competitor discontent at last year’s round at The Bend, which led to a meeting between category powerbrokers and management to discuss the future of the championship.

It comes as the current category management is still planning to support the Bathurst 1000, though it may be open to solely New South Wales competitors.

“We’re really lucky, Motorsport Australia has been with trying to get some sort of on-track activity going, so rather than call the season we’re trying to work within the state government guidelines,” said category manager Kate Harrington. HM

with Oscar Piastri

WHAT A rollercoaster ride it’s been in the four weeks since my last Auto Action column.

Three busy race weekends; the first in Barcelona before a weekend to chill back in the UK, then SpaFrancorchamps and, this past weekend, Monza, all of which threw up some exciting results and definite challenges.

Barcelona ended on a high note after sixth in Race 1 with a Race 2 win from fifth on the grid, my second win of the season which also salvaged us good points in the championship.

Like for most other drivers, Spa is my favourite track, and I was looking forward to racing there again. But it wasn’t one of our most fantastic weekends with qualifying interrupted by a red flag then rain, leaving me eighth.

We were able to jump back into the championship lead with a strong fifth in Race 1, but a 5-second penalty in Race 2 dropped me back to sixth, and allowed my PREMA Racing teammate Logan Sargeant to steal the points lead back.

Monza qualifying turned out as expected, a log jam.

I ended up 12th before receiving a three-place grid penalty for staying OFF line on my cool-down lap and impeding Jake Hughes – the stewards causing me some confusing by telling that me moving onto the racing line would have been a better option!

My patience was tested,

but it was better just to keep my head down, and that’s what I did.

So I licked a lot of stamps and sent it every one of the 22 laps to charge from 15th to the podium.

Holy shit, that was a lot of fun, and taking back the championship lead was a nice reward.

It was great to receive so many messages of support afterwards – I think I proved what I’m capable of achieving.

The rollercoaster ride picked up pace Sunday, and it wasn’t enjoyable, first getting taken out of the race, then being handed a five-place grid penalty for this weekend’s final round at Mugello for an incident with Trident’s David Beckmann.

The only consolation was Sargeant took himself out and then received a three-grid place penalty for this weekend for taking Frederik Vesti with him too, limiting the damage of my DNF. We head to Mugello holding an eight-point lead in the championship with two races remaining.

Rather than hold onto grudges, I’ve got better things to do and winning the championship is one.

The rollercoaster ride isn’t over yet, it has one weekend to go, but I’m excited to see how it finishes.

This is what racing’s all about!

Thanks for all your support back home, tune in to Fox Sports and Kayo on Saturday and Sunday evening. Hopefully, I can do Australia proud!

Cheers, Oscar

Oscar’s next column will appear in AA issue #1796.

AutoAction

13

LATEST NEWS

THE BEND CAN BE GRADE 1 LICENSED THE BEND Motorsport Park managing director Dr Sam Shahin has clarified his position in regards to Formula 1 visiting the venue in 2021 and spoke about the lack of a Grade 1 circuit licence.

When it was confirmed that The Bend would host back-to-back rounds of Supercars action, Shahin said that The Bend would put its hand up to host the Australian Grand Prix next year, should Melbourne not be in a position to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the South Australian venue is not currently in a position to do so as it lacks the required Grade 1 licence to host an FIA Formula 1 Championship race.

When Auto Action mentioned this to Shahin, he explained that only a small amount work would need to be done to make it a Grade 1 approved circuit.

“The majority of any work that would need to be done, will be in two areas,” he told AA. “The debris fencing and runoff areas, all of which have been accounted for, although not all constructed.”

Shahin further explained that the track was built to FIA Grade 2 standards but with an eye on Grade 1 requirements, and could be altered quickly if this was ever needed.

“Currently we hold a Grade 2 licence because we’ve not had the reason to apply for a Grade 1 license, and Grade 1 only applies to Formula 1,” he said.

“The track was built with an eye on one day hosting the pinnacle of motorsport events, whether that be on two wheels or four. The pit straight, for example, was built at 15 meters in width rather than 12 meters to accommodate the Grade 1 requirements.

“In summary, the venue can be made to accommodate a Grade 1 event in a short period of time should the call be there to make it comply with the Grade 1 event.”

Shahin also quickly sought to refine his statements around hosting the Australian Grand Prix in 2021.

“I was asked whether The Bend would throw its hat in to host a Formula 1 event if Melbourne was unable to, (and) the simple answer is absolutely yes,” he told AA. “If the opportunity is there to explore hosting an F1 event back in South Australia, we have a venue and a facility

STATE FUNDING REQUIRED FOR DRIVEIT NQ CONSTRUCTION HAS started at the DriveIt NQ facility just outside of Townsville, thanks to $12 million of funding from the Federal Government.

However, the not-for-profit organisation is campaigning for the Palaszczuk Qld State Government to match that funding for futher development of the track.

The facility will initially include a 2.61km circuit with plans to expand this to approximately 4km, along with a drag strip capable of staging Top Fuel events, a speedway oval, kart track, off road tracks and the biggest driver training skid pan in Australia.

Initial work has begun on the driver training facility at a cost of $5 million, while the ball is rolling on the $7 million grant received from the Federal Government to begin work on the racing facilities within the project.

“I can tell you right now (that) the State Government has kicked in not one cent,” said DriveIT NQ director Greg Fitzgerald.

“The reality is it’s time for the State Government to do some heavy lifting, $12 million is a drop in the ocean for those politicians but the economic benefits to the community as a tourism destination and as a motor sport industry is $35 million a year for that spend.”

Plans are for the new facility to have the ability to host Supercars, though the aim is not to take the event from Reid Park road course in Townsville itself.

The injection of Federal funding guarantees the construction of pit buildings, control towers and the drag strip, which will add to the useability of the facility.

14 AutoAction

that will do the country proud.

“I am a proud South Australian, but I am a prouder Australian, and I want to see the pinnacle of world motorsport come to Australia, irrespective of which city they attend,” Shahin explained.

“There is a lot of history and a lot of expertise in South Australia, and I am quite certain that should the opportunity arise, we will be delighted to throw our hat in the ring.

“If it doesn’t, I will still be equally delighted and proud to attend the next Australian Formula 1 event in Melbourne.”

Dan McCarthy

YOUNG DEBUTANTS SHINE

“We can run events concurrently. We could have a street meet on the drag strip, drift guys on the circuit and rally guys playing up the back,” Fitzgerald said.

“That’s the way we’ve designed it, to bring value for money to the community to get the best return on the investment.”

Also, this edict extends to the final circuit layout with three different configurations able to be used at the same time.

“The way it’s set-up, we can run as a long, medium or short circuit and the two extensions can be run independent of the shorter circuit,” Fitzgerald explained.

The facility is also proposed to be multi-purpose, to enable festivals and exhibitions to take place at the venue. Town planning approval for this next stage is being sought to allow camping onsite, which will evolve to showers, kitchens and powered sites.

These stages rely largely on the Palaszczuk Government delivering funding.

“The Labor Government have won the past two elections, they support our project, but haven’t delivered any funding. We’re not really interested in another election promise, we just want them to put it in the budget,” urged Fitzgerald.

“It would be a smart decision for the State Government to support this project.” HM

A QUARTET of up and comers made their car racing debuts in a variety of classes in the QRDA Warwick 1000 event at Morgan Park The four Queenslanders, aged between 14 and 17, impressed and each has their eyes firmly fixed on a career in car racing.

Two of the lads have a surname well known in Australian Motorsport as third generation McLeod children, Ben aged 17 and Cameron aged 15.

The other two steerers Jack Hotter (16) and Oscar Targett (14) also impressed in their respective categories.

Ryan McLeod of Racer Industries and father of Ben and Cameron explained how it all came about.

“Oscar and Cameron are best mates and so are Jack and Ben, but it was just coincidence that they all made their debut on the same race weekend,” he told Auto Action.

“They are all national level karters and have all done some training at Norwell.

They all want to race, and they are all super focussed on trying to make something out of racing.”

The youngest of the quartet, Targett debuted in the Queensland Hyundai X3 Circuit Excel Racing Series. In a field of 28 cars Targett finished all three races comfortably inside the top 10.

After qualifying seventh, he was sixth, ninth and seventh respectively, good

enough to secure sixth overall for the round.

Both Cameron McLeod and Hotter raced 1991 Van Diemens in the competitive Queensland State Formula Ford 1600 class.

Cameron McLeod usually competes in the national KA3 karting series, however behind the wheel of a Formula Ford he finished runner-up in the round to reigning national 1600 champion Tim Hamilton.

Hotter also impressed, finishing the round just three points off the podium in fourth, his weekend highlighted by a third-place finish in Race 3.

Ben McLeod currently leads the Australian KZ2 Trophy karting class which has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Brisbane resident made his car racing debut in the Production Touring Cars category, sharing a Holden Astra with older brother Nicholas. Together the duo finished 10th outright in the #91 machine. DM

AUSSIES READY FOR LE MANS IT WILL be a very different atmosphere when the Le Mans 24 Hour is contested on September 19-20, as organisers have to adapt to the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the 88th running of the event, which makes up one third of the unofficial Triple Crown of Motorsport, but the fanfare surrounding this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour will be missing as fans won’t be in attendance for the first time ever.

Australians will be among the field for this year’s event.

James Allen and Nick Foster will contest LMP2, while Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell is one of the favourites to win the GTE Am category.

Foster returns to the event that he competed at in 2017 and believes none of the mystique of Le Mans will be lost due to a lack of fans.

“I’m just excited to go back. There is not one thing that makes it special, there’s so many different bits and pieces to the whole race to make it what it is,” he told AA. “Having no fans and taking that side of it away is one part of it, but it doesn’t take

away from how special the race actually is.”

Foster believes a potential victory from the LMP2 class is possible, given the rapid development within the class.

“It’s very competitive and the teams do a very good job,” Foster said.

“The level of LMP2 is what you have seen in LMP1 in the past, this is why it’s so strong.

“I’m pretty excited to go 340km/h down Mulsanne in qualifying trim, so that sort of gets the blood boiling down low.

“But it’s obviously a much, much different challenge.”

Although the gap is closing between LMP1 and LMP2, Toyota Gazoo Racing remain favourite to complete a hat-trick of victories in the event.

Heading up six entries in LMP1, Toyota’s Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez can seal the 2019/2020 World Endurance Championship if pole and the race victory are secured.

For the trio, if successful, it would be their maiden Le Mans victory but the same can’t be said for teammates Brendan Hartley,

Image: LAT

Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, the latter duo being the two-time defending winners.

The privateer LMP1 Rebellion Racing squad comprised of Bruno Senna, Norman Nato and Gustavo Menezes are not to be ruled out for the race or the championship.

A second Rebellion entry is also among the LMP1 field, which is completed by Team LNT Ginetta and ByKolles.

LMP2 will be the class to watch, with 24 entries marking it as the biggest field within the race.

It’s led by the United Autosports team of Paul di Resta, Filipe Albuquerque and Philip Hanson, who have taken the past two class victories at Le Mans James Allen will also be among the ones to watch, joined by Vincent Capillaire and Charles Milesi for Graff Racing.

Foster re-joins the team he contested the 2019/2020 Asian Le Mans Series, Eurasia Motorsport, with his entry co-driven by Roberto Merhi and Nobuya Yamanaka.

GTE Pro will be hotly contested with four Ferrari 488 GTEs taking on two factory entries each from Aston Martin and Porsche. The Prodrive-built Vantage GTEs are slight favourites.

Heading up the GTE Pro field is Campbell, forming a third of the Dempsey-Proton Porsche outfit that finished second at the previous WEC round at Spa. Due to the delay from its traditional July date, a longer portion of this year’s race will take place at night.

A condensed schedule is also part of the revamp, though a 30-minute Hyperpole has been added to determine the top six grid positions of each class. Dan McCarthy

59RACING FOCUSED ON 2021 AUSTRALIAN GT squad 59Racing has delayed its planned overseas expansion, after previously announcing an intention to race at the Spa 24 Hour.

The team did compete at the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe at Imola in July, fielding a Pro-entry McLaren 720S GT3 driven by factory pilots Ben Barnicoat, Martin Kodric and Lewis Williamson.

Due to the difficulty in remotely managing the team and the Stage 4 lockdown imposed on metropolitan Melbourne, 59Racing has decided to focus its efforts on 2021 when a two-car effort is planned.

59 Racing finished runner up at the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour and took class victory with its second entry on the team’s race debut. HM

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15

LATEST NEWS BRAD JONES Racing continues its fine form in the Supercars Championship, but a number of incidents involving its drivers leaves resources stretched heading to The Bend.

With Nick Percat’s two race victories, a maiden podium and pole position for Todd Hazelwood, plus career best single driver race results for Macauley Jones and Jack Smith, BJR is riding the crest of a wave.

This outstanding upturn in performance has been slightly marred by incident-filled Saturday races.

In the first race at both Darwin and Townsville; Percat, Hazelwood and Macauley Jones all picked up heavy damage.

Townsville 1 was similar as Hazelwood was involved in the Turn 2 melee. Percat on the other hand was forced to retire with an engine malady.

This followed on in Townsville 2 when Hazelwood had to overcome a clutch failure, but was still able to finish 12th.

Thanks to the team back at the workshop in Albury BJR has been able to get through these tough times.

“We took a pretty big hit at the first round (in Darwin) and used a lot of stuff, but we brought the truck with the Super3 car and they brought some gear up here in that,” Brad Jones told Auto Action.

“We’ve still got some people back at the

BJR WORKING HARD IN ALBURY

workshop and they’re busy making stuff and we are freighting things backwards and forwards, it’s a bit lean, but I think that we’re doing okay.

“Our manufacturing department is still operating, while it’s short of a couple of people at the moment, they’re working pretty hard to

repair whatever we need, be it arms, bar irons or whatever it is that we’re short of.

“When the bits are manufactured, we try and freight them to wherever we are at the time, it’s a lot more difficult when you have to get stuff freighted in and out, but all the Victorian

teams are doing the same thing, we’re all going through the same pain.”

Now that the team has put the notorious Townsville streets behind it, Jones is confident his team should be covered with spare parts for the remainder of the season. Dan McCarthy

SUPERCARS TO LIVE AT THE BEND

THE BEND Motorsport Park will become the temporary residence of the ‘Supercars hub’ during the doubleheader rounds at the South Australian venue beginning next week.

The pit straight contains a 100 room Rydges hotel and a BIG4 Holiday Park with cabin and dormitory accommodation options located just a couple of hundred metres from the track.

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic the Supercars fraternity will be staying within the venue managing director Sam Shahin confirmed to Auto Action.

“The Supercars travelling party will be staying on-site at the Rydges pitlane hotel and within the property for the entire duration of their stay,” Shahin said.

As the Queensland and South Australian border is currently open as normal with no restrictions or limitations for interstate visitors, quarantine will not need to be served as the teams travel from Townsville.

“There are currently no travel restrictions between Queensland and South Australia, there are no requirements for quarantine or any special treatment for any travellers between those two states,” he told AA. “Given that all of the supercars fraternity will all be travelling from Queensland there is no issue with regards to quarantine.”

The original event format was a 500km pre-Bathurst endurance event, but due to COVID-19 this had to be dismissed.

The Supercars Championship did drop the

South Australian venue from its calendar for a period of time, but an agreement was made to host a doubleheader in September.

“The original format was for an endurance round as the curtain raiser for the Bathurst event, as we all know weekend formats have changed to two day events and the Endurance Championship has had to be scrapped this year,” Shahin said.

“The original format contemplated will not be possible. Nevertheless, we are absolutely looking forward to hosting two sprint rounds, over four days, on two consecutive weekends with six races at the Bend and hopefully on two different circuit configurations.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be able to showcase an event again in 2020, and especially at such a crucial time in motorsport, and at a crucial time in the championship. Everybody loves a contest and I think we’ve got one in this year.”

Shahin also revealed to AA that the venue is in talks with local health and police authorities and is optimistic that the attendance of each day will be 15,000 fans, not 10,000 as previously quoted.

“We’re working with both health and the local police authorities on finalising our Covid plan, but I expect that attendance will be capped at around 15,000 people per day,” he said.

The Bend Motorsport Park will play host to back-to-back weekends of Supercars Championship action from September 19-20 and 26-27. Dan McCarthy

HAPPIER REYNOLDS FORMER BATHURST 1000 winner David Reynolds leaves Townsville with mixed feelings an up-and-down trip north as he adapts to working with a new engineering set-up.

In the lead up to the first Townsville SuperSprint event it was announced that team manager Barry Ryan was to step away from temporary engineer duties on Reynolds’ Erebus Motorsport Commodore, making way for data engineer Tom Moore.

Reynolds’ usual engineer Alistair McVean remained in Melbourne when the Victorian borders shut two months ago. During race weekends, McVean video calls in as he continues to assist Reynolds and Moore with setup advice.

Reynolds is pleased with how the trio are working together and stressed that McVean is still an integral part of the team during a race event.

“Tom is great to work with, he is always positive and always happy, he’s quite young and he’s pretty green at the whole thing,” Reynolds said to Auto Action.

“He works with Al in Melbourne and they do it as like a collaborative thing, the guidance from Al is super important.

“It’s good to be working with both of them at

the same time and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

This upturn in happiness has come with a slight improvement in performances on the racetrack as Reynolds was the most comfortable, he had been since the team went on the road.

“Your happiness is directly related to your car pace, we knew we had a reasonable qualifying car, so yeah my happiness goes up when my car goes faster,” Reynolds explained.

“Since we left Melbourne and did that second Sydney Motorsport park round I never felt the car was doing much for me even though our results were that shabby. Darwin was very poor which is generally one of the strongest tracks we go to.

The typical open and honest Reynolds admitted at the end of the most recent event at Townsville that he is still perplexed as to why he is suffering front tyre issues.

“I wasn’t having the best of fun with it,” he said. “Five or six laps in I just lose all my front tyre feel and it just grains the tyre really aggressively.

“I’m not really sure what we were doing wrong, I don’t know how to fix it, we are trying heaps of different things, but it has never really worked.” Dan McCarthy

SEAMER PUSHING FOR BATHURST SPECTATORS THE SUPERCARS Championship is working alongside New South Wales health officials to determine if fans will be permitted to attend this year’s season ending Bathurst 1000.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer has explained that ticket options are a work in progress and that he is working to try and allow spectators to visit the legendary Mount Panorama Circuit next month.

“Supercars will continue working closely with NSW Health, Bathurst Regional City Council, emergency services, broadcasters and the NSW Government on planning for the 2020 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000,” Seamer said.

“We will meet all COVID-19 safety

ROOKIE BRYCE Fullwood is making progress round-on-round in his debut Supercars Championship season and spoke about the helpful role his teammate Chaz Mostert has been playing.

In Darwin, Mostert explained that he was helping and assisting his young teammate, with Fullwood further elaborating on the role his Bathurst 1000 winning teammate is playing in his driver development “Chaz is awesome, he’s really good and obviously he helps me a lot too,” Fullwood told Auto Action.

“He helps me a lot with data and video, you know even on track walk if there are any questions I’ve got whether it be driving related, media related, life related, just anything he’s been a really good help so I’ve been very, very lucky to have him as my teammate.”

Tyres have been a big talking point in 2020, and Fullwood, one of the few rookies this year explained that single tyre compound rounds have been easier for him to get on the pace.

The 22-year-old believes the dual tyre format has acted as a hindrance due to his lack of experience and the requirement to discover a set-up that suits both compounds.

“The thing that probably does make it a little bit hard is when we have soft and hard tyres, especially for me as a rookie I struggle to maximize both sets of tyres straightaway,” he said.

“Whereas, for me just being on the soft tyre all weekend at Townsville I can get my head around a one tyre and maximise it, which is good. It makes it a little bit hard when you’ve got two different tyres to get your head around.”

“For me as a driver the double-headers have definitely helped me a lot.

requirements necessary to ensure this year’s Great Race goes ahead.”

It has been confirmed that the championship will wrap up at the conclusion of the Bathurst 1000 to allow Victorian and New South Wales based teams to head home.

The Victorian crews will have spent over three and a half months on the road away from friends and family at the conclusion of the Great Race.

Despite the crew’s pleas to remain on its original date, the 1000 will take place on October 18 a week later than originally scheduled.

“This is our marquee event on the calendar

and this year it will also be our series decider, making it an even more memorable occasion,” Seamer continued.

“We looked at all options beyond Bathurst as well as the best options for our Victorian teams, who will have been on the road for over 100 days by the completion of the event.

“Getting those drivers, team personnel and officials’ home to loved ones was at the forefront of this decision.

“The October 18 date change was made to allow all teams adequate time to prepare for the biggest event of the year.” Dan McCarthy

STRONGEST EVER TICKFORD MORALE

FULLWOOD’S MENTOR

“Definitely in Darwin 1, it was just so busy that we didn’t really get too much time to look at all the information, after the event we could really see where I wasn’t performing very well and I was able to fix that and reap the rewards of that the next week.

“For me as a driver to have events one after another has been really good.”

Fastest race laps and Top 10 Shootout appearances show that the one lap pace has been unlocked, but Fullwood explained that he and the team are yet to find a race set-up that increases the longevity of the tyres.

“Obviously we’re just working on our race car, we’re still developing it,” he explained to AA. “We’ve found a way to get some speed out of qualifying, but it just really hurts the tyres.

It doesn’t make for a very good race car.

“We’re just trying to balance that a little bit, trying to not hurt the qualifying speed but help the race car.

“Every event you learn and you evolve, you try and move in a different direction and you try and think about the things that worked and the things that didn’t.” Dan McCarthy

TICKFORD RACING team manager Matt Roberts firmly believes morale in the team is the highest it’s ever been after Cam Waters took the fight to the top teams at Townsville.

It was the strongest weekend of the 2020 Supercars Championship for Waters who claimed two podiums and did not finish outside the top four all weekend.

The results have been a real boost of confidence for the Victorian crew that has been on the road for two months.

“I think the car is in a good place, the team’s in an even better place and ultimately Cam is the finishing touch for that, it’s a real collective group at the moment,” Roberts told Auto Action.

“We’ve got really good car speed, so we’ll carry that into Tailem Bend and ultimately Bathurst.

“Bathurst has given everyone a good target to work for, it’s also given us a focused timeline, we can genuinely focus on what we need to do in the next four rounds.”

In recent days, the Tickford crew have been reunited with their family members, a very emotional moment for all.

Roberts feels that this experience on the road has brought the team closer together than ever before.

“The morale of the team is actually the strongest it’s ever been, whether it’s through just being so close to each other on the road.”

It has been essential since the team has been on the road to find that essential balance between work and relaxation, something the Tickford Racing team has considered.

“There’s been a lot of uncertainty this year and that’s been mentally hard as well as physically,” Roberts said to AA. “Doing these back to back races it’s very demanding on the crew and keeping a good balance of being at the track, because obviously we’re living and breathing it 24/7.

You need to find that balance downtime for the crew to regroup and refocus in the week.

“Rod Nash and Tim Edwards have been fantastic, organising events for the guys to go and discover new places while we’ve been spending two or three weeks in different places.

“I don’t think the team has ever worked so hard, mentally everyone is focused and I think it’s a really good position that we find ourselves in and it’ll set us up for a really strong Bathurst and that’s the one we are all really looking forward to.” Dan McCarthy

LATEST NEWS

PIASTRI AND SARGEANT HANDED GRID PENALTIES AUSSIE CHRISTIAN Mansell continued his strong start to the British F4 Championship when he made the trip up to Scotland and the Knockhill Racing Circuit for the fourth round of the series. Mansell qualified 11th for the opening race of the weekend, kept his nose clean and moved forwards to finish the race in ninth position. In Race 2 the New South Welshman again progressed through the pack to finish seventh overall and first in the rookie class. Sadly, his weekend concluded early when contact with another car dislodged his rear wing and forced him into retirement. Despite this Mansell maintains his lead in the Rookie Cup.

IN THE lead up to the fourth round of the US F2000 National Championship at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Australian Cam Shields made the switch from Legacy Autosport to DEForce Racing. Shields found the going tough adapting to the new car, but was happy to end the weekend with his best finish of the round. In the first two races Shields collected points finishing 11th and 13th, before rounding out the weekend with a solid seventh place with his new team. The challenging weekend sees Shields slip to 11th in the championship. Eduardo Barrichello, son of former F1 star and occasional S5000 driver Rubens, scored his first two race victories.

BART HORSTEN competed in the third round of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, four races at the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. The 18-year-old qualified 10th in the wet weather and set about improving on that in the opening affair. In the race itself the Lanan Racing driver was making up places but an unforced error at the fast Sheene Curve resulted in a thirteenth-place finish. However, a silver lining was that the mistake gave him a front-row start for the reverse grid race in which he finished third to claim his second podium of the season. Horsten wrapped up the weekend with two solid seventh place finishes, the Australian now sits ninth in the standings.

FIA FORMULA 3 Championship contenders Australian Oscar Piastri and American Logan Sargeant will both recieve grid penalties in the crucial championship decider this weekend at Mugello.

The incidents - which occurred during the second race at Monza - would usually warrant post-race time penalties but as both drivers failed to greet the chequered flag, their penalties have been converted into grid drops.

Championship leader Piastri has been handed a penalty for an off-camera incident early in the race.

Piastri has been dealt a 10s-time penalty which has been converted into a five-place grid drop as the stewards determined that the he forced German and championship outsider David Beckmann off track at Turn 5 (the second chicane).

It was found that the Trident racer suffered damage and retired from the race as a direct result of the incident.

Wherever Piastri qualifies in Italy, he will have to start five positions further back in the opening encounter of the weekend.

Piastri’s major championship rival Sargeant

collided with Danish teammate Frederik Vesti in which the former was deemed responsible and has been given a three-place grid penalty.

This was the most notable and surprising of incidents as Sargeant recovered from 26th to sit in the top five positions (after being spun out of contention in Race 1) before colliding with Vesti.

Into the Ascari Chicane Sargeant misjudged the distance to Vesti once he had gotten ahead, and was not completely clear of his teammate.

The two Prema Racing drivers collided, Sargeant picked up a right-rear puncture before retiring while Vesti was forced to pit for a new front wing before he to retired.

The Stewards have determined that the American was at fault for the incident and will have to serve a three-place penalty.

Other penalties include one for British driver Clement Novalak was found wholly

responsible of spinning Piastri at Turn 1 before he then clouded the Aussies his front wing which forced the Prema driver into retirement.

As a result of the championship changing incident Novalak will have to serve a 5-place grid drop in the opening race at Mugello also.

New Zealander and outside championship contender Liam Lawson has seen the slim possibility become even more unlikely, as his podium on Sunday has been stripped.

Lawson has been awarded a 10s-time penalty for forcing Lirim Zendeli off track at Turn 1 dropping him from second to seventh.

This penalty promotes Tasmanian Alex Peroni up into fifth position.

Heading into the final round Piastri holds a slender eight-point lead over Sargeant, with Theo Pourchaire only 16 points back from the American. Beckmann, Lawson and Vesti are all still within mathematical contention also. DM

THE BEND CLASSIC FUTURE SECURED IT HAS been announced that The Bend Classic will become an annual Father’s Day weekend event following the success of the 2020 event.

The 2020 edition of the event took place last weekend at South Australia’s The Bend Motorsport Park for a second time, showcasing the best of cars and motorsport history, with unique road cars, 80s F1 cars and old V8 Supercars just to brush the surface.

It was the first time that The Bend Classic took place on Father’s Day weekend after the inaugural event took place on the December date last year.

Last weekend’s successful, well attended and well received event has quickly seen organisers cement The Bend Classic on Father’s Day weekend (first Sunday in September) going forwards.

This means the 2021 event will be held on 4-5 September next year.

“The response to the 2020 The Bend Classic, especially given the current conditions and circumstances, was nothing short of incredible,” said managing director The Bend Motorsport Park Dr Sam Shahin.

“The way the competitors and spectators have embraced the event to create such a wonderful atmosphere around the entire venue was a vote of confidence in the event and The Bend Motorsport Park.

“We will lock in the Father’s Day weekend in

2021 to give every participant advance notice to compete, and new ones to begin planning.”

Shahin plans to grow the event in coming years with his target to make it The Bend Classic this regions version of England’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

“I have made no secret of my ambition to establish The Bend Classic as the Southern Hemisphere’s version of the Festival of Speed, and why not? We have the facility and the support to do it.

“I could not be happier with the prospect of making this a global event.”

Heritage and classic Formula 1 machinery will be an ongoing and ever-expanding feature of the event due to Adelaide’s history with the Australian Grand Prix.

“Adelaide loved and continues to love Formula One, and the sights and sounds of these cars brings people to the fences.

“There are reportedly 20 to 30 F1 cars in Australia. Closed borders mean that everything here this year was from South Australia, which is quite incredible.

“Next year I look forward to 20 Formula 1 cars, 200+ entries and I look forward to making this the envy, and the aspiration of every motorsport festival around the world.”

The 2020 Classic saw former Super2 driver Josh Kean set the lap record on the West Circuit layout in a Footwork-Arrows Formula 1 car.

Other highlights from this year’s event included two ultra-rare hypercars, a McLaren P1 GTR and Porsche 911 GT1, as well as historic motorcycle demonstrations and static displays of iconic machinery.

Shahin confirmed that the event will maintain its sprint format with individual category winners, but also culminating in a top-10 shootout for the fastest cars of the weekend. Dan McCarthy

FOSTER EXPECTING STRONG RACE PACE AUSTRALIAN NICK Foster is gearing up for the 2020 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours in which he will compete in the LMP2 class for the first time after receiving a late call up.

As reported previously by Auto Action Foster will compete for LMP2 squad Eurasia Motorsport in a wildcard entry, after he and the team he finished third in the Asian Le Mans Series.

During the event, the former Australian Carrera Cup Series winner will team up with his regular co-driver and former Formula 1 driver Roberto Merhi as well as Japanese gentleman driver Nobuya Yamanaka.

The trio teamed up nearly a month ago to contest the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, it was a challenging weekend with several mechanical niggles.

“It’s a big step up and I think we took that challenge on at Spa with difficulties but we finished, and did a good job, Foster told Auto Action.

“We had a few a gearshift compressor value failure, and then an intermittent issue

for the rest of the race which obviously hampered us in terms of results.”

Foster has previously entered the race in a GTE AM Gulf Racing Porsche back in 2017 and is looking forward to making his debut in the LMP2 class at Le Mans.

The #35 Eurasia team are one of only three entered with the Ligier chassis, Foster believes this is a disadvantage, but were still able to show top five speed at Spa. “Being one of the only Ligiers on the grid makes it a little bit more tricky, we’re relying on our own feedback and our own processes to make ourselves go faster, but

it is what it is and we’ve just got to keep building and pushing over the race week,” Foster explained.

“In terms of outright pace I think race pace is far closer for us than qualifying, the Oreca is a much easier car to drive which makes pushing it a little bit easier.

“Roberto showed the true pace of the car in the race is quite strong, race runs we were actually quite competitive, not in the top two or three but definitely, within that top five pack or thereabout.”

Due to his experience within the team, the late call up was not a difficult situation to

be faced with although he found it strange to be replacing his good mate Shane van Gisbergen.

“Obviously, I know the team so we all gelled together quite well, the guys, do a really, really good job,” he told AA. “It’s obviously been a late call up and I’ve taken of one of my mates rides effectively because of his calendar clash, in SVG, it’s bittersweet but obviously stoked to be back on the grid.

“I only found out at Spa-Francorchamps (a month ago) that I would be doing Le Mans, so it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind.” DM

TYRES KEY TO S2 SUCCESS KELLY TO RUN WITH FAN PHOTOS

MATTHEW WHITE Motorsport Super2 competitor Zak Best is one of a hand full drivers that made the step up from Super3 into Super2 in 2020 and feels that the tyre life is the key to success.

Best made the step up to Super2 with several other highly regarded driver including Broc Feeney, Jayden Ojeda and Josh Fife.

While the Super3 category runs on Kumho tyres the Super2 Series competes on the Dunlop something Best feels he needs to get on top of after two years on the Kumho rubber.

“The tyre wear from the Kumhos to the Dunlop is noticeable,” he explained to AA. “The Dunlop doesn’t quite last as long in qualifying, you’ve only got two laps really to make it count.”

“Whereas, with the Kumho you could do your fastest lap on lap eight of qualifying, which is typically what was happening last year. It would go down to the last minute with only running one set of tyres.

“In Super2 you come in you get another set of tyres, you get two sets for quali and get a couple runs at it.”

Best said that has been the biggest difference between the third and second

tier aside from the obvious step up in competition.

“It (Super2) feels the same but we’re (Super3 graduates) like a step behind in a way because the others have been Super2 for a while,” Best said.

“Learning the different tyres is probably noticeable difference and learning the Car of the Future and some different tracks.

“The level of competitions definitely hard, but yeah it’s just the way it’s gonna be and we’ll build up to it and we’ll slowly catch those guys.”

This is Best’s third straight year with MW Motorsport after competing in the Super3 Series with the team for two years, he hopes to stay put in the Super2 team for 2021.

“I’d like to stay where I am at the moment,” he told AA. In a good place with that, hopefully we get maybe get a normal season next year, or somewhere close to a normal season, which would make it a bit easier.

“I don’t really know if this year, counts as a rookie year because two rounds isn’t really a full season.”

For more on Best, read the latest Young Guns feature about the young Victorian on pages 34-35. Dan McCarthy

WITH SPECTATOR attendance at the Bathurst 1000 expected to be limited, Castrol and Kelly Racing are looking to engage fans in a new way.

Instead of a fan vote like previous years, the team will instead give fans the opportunity to have their photos onboard Rick Kelly’s Castrol Racing Ford Mustang.

After what has been a challenging year for many, particularly the front-line workers battling the bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a small token of appreciation and support for everyone doing it tough, Castrol and Kelly Racing want to give the fans a chance to be at the mountain in a unique way and be part of this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

“We’re pretty well known for involving the fans in our special Bathurst liveries and this year will be no different, but because they can’t necessarily be at the track and travel to Bathurst from all corners of the country, they’ll be able to be at the track in a different sense by having their photo somewhere on my Castrol Racing Mustang.” said Rick Kelly.

“It’s been a challenging year for everyone so hopefully this small initiative from Kelly Racing and Castrol can help lift some spirits – it’s not

every day you get to have a picture of yourself racing around Mount Panorama on the Castrol Mustang Supercar in the Bathurst 1000.”

“The great thing is anyone can enter, no matter who you are or what your story is, you’re more than welcome to submit your photo and join the team for the Bathurst 1000 – if it helps someone through a challenging time then that’s our goal achieved. And those people in particular who are doing it tough or helping their community will definitely get a special mention.”

“I’m definitely keen to get to Bathurst, see the special Castrol livery and go racing. We’re extremely fortunate to be able to still have the Bathurst 1000 after everything we’ve been through this year so we’ll give it everything we’ve got and do our best to do Team Castrol proud.”

All fans have to do to get their photo on Rick Kelly’s Ford Mustang is upload a photo of themselves or their family to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #RideWithCastrol and the team will do the rest to ensure their spot is secured on Rick’s Mustang.

Fans will have until 30 September to submit their images to be part of the livery for this year’s Bathurst 1000. Rhys Vandersyde

LATEST NEWS

MA OFFROAD CUPS ANNOUNCED

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has announced that two new off-road racing cups will be up for grabs for competitors in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic resulting in a change to the calendar.

With the Tatts Finke Desert Race, the Cobb & Co Hotel St George 399 and Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro all cancelled this year, teams will still be able to contest one of the remaining two scheduled rounds.

Crews will compete for special silverware in each event, subject to their local travel restrictions.

The Motorsport Australia Off Road Cup will be up for grabs at two events, one on the western side of Australia and the other the eastern.

The Kalgoorlie Desert Race winner will be awarded the Motorsport Australia West Australian Cup, while the Can-Am Loveday 400 will run as the Motorsport Australia Central East Cup. Both of the standalone events will take place at the same time from October 23-25, with the winner of each cup to receive free entry into their nearest AORC event in 2021, excluding the Tatts Finke Desert Race.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport and commercial operations Michael Smith is confident the new Motorsport Australia Off Road Cups will fill a gap left by the cancelled championship.

“Unfortunately, the current circumstances do not allow us to host a fair and suitable Championship battle open to all competitors,” Smith said.

“With that said, we’re thrilled to be able to come up with a solution for 2020 and we think this is a great opportunity for competitors who are eligible to compete in these two new Cups.

“A big thank you must go out to all those who have been working tirelessly to get the events off the ground, especially organisers from both Kalgoorlie and Loveday, and we look forward to each event getting underway.”

Cup entrants will also receive coverage across Motorsport Australia’s social media channels in the lead up, during and post the events.

The top three finishers in each event will be allowed to run with a Cup sticker on their 2021 machines to acknowledge their 2020 success.

Crews that hold a Motorsport Australia Clubman level license are permitted to travel in and out of South Australia and Western Australia.

It has also been announced that due to the current situation with ongoing border closures the 2020 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Championship will not be awarded this year.

Although the AORC has been cancelled this year, planning for the 2021 season is already well underway for the, with the calendar to be revealed soon.

Entry details for the Motorsport Australia West Australian Cup and Can-Am Loveday 400 will be available in the coming days. Dan McCarthy

FEEDBACK RECEIVED FOR WAKEFIELD PARK CONCEPT THE PROPOSED future upgrades for Wakefield Park are heading into the final planning stages after two information sessions were conducted last week.

Competitors, business owners and residents provided feedback during two sessions that were conducted at the circuit last week, based on the initial announcement as reported by Auto Action three weeks ago.

This feedback was based around retaining the circuit’s grassroots feel without losing the aims of the new design, which were to upgrade the facility and combine all of its amenities into one building.

“The general feedback told us that it was good to see plans looking ahead to create a sustainable future for Wakefield Park,” Wakefield Park operations manager Dean Chapman told Auto Action.

“There were a lot of comments surrounding making sure that the level of product that we provide for grassroots motor sport and entry level competitors remains, but still wanting to cater for state level meetings as well.”

Work is currently being completed to alter the concept based on the feedback ahead of its submission to the Goulburn Mulwaree Council next week.

“Expenditure on a big, massive building may or may not cater for it if we can’t accommodate for the same demographic,” said Chapman.

“What we’ve done with that is gone back to our design team and changed a few things; building design, layout and what we’re keeping around the venue, because we’re trying to keep the same atmosphere and general aesthetic to ensure we don’t lose what Wakefield Park has created over the past 25 years.”

Changes to the original proposed complex are minimal, but are aimed at fitting the development in with the atmosphere of Wakefield Park, whilst still retaining features that future proof the venue for the next 25 years.

“We’ve basically pulled it back a bit, it’s still got a corporate type centre or a consolidation of the buildings around the venue, but it’s mostly just not as large and out there like a Sydney Motorsport Park,” explained Chapman.

“The big bit of feedback was don’t lose the club feel or the enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere.

“It’s still a high-class facility, it’ll pull back a lot of the costs so we can spread any funding that we get around the venue. We’re still updating to ensure we’ve got amenities that are current.

“It’s all about trying to work how we can shape the venue; it has grown over the past 25 years and now we have to shape how we go forward and how things in the motor sport or motoring industry have changed.

“Autonomous vehicle testing is going to be huge in the future and we have to make sure we’re prepared for that.”

Concerned residents regarding noise levels also attended the information sessions, but their opinions won’t be known until the final plan is released during the final week of September.

“During our drop-in sessions we had a little bit of feedback by concerned residents around noise, it was good to finally find some time to listen to them and how we can move forward in the future,” said Chapman.

Auto Action will provide an update once the plans have been released. HM

MOTOR SPORT CONTINUES IN NSW ALTHOUGH MOTORSPORT Australia has cancelled most of its racing in New South Wales, the Australian Auto Sport Alliance is pushing ahead with meetings.

Two Motorsport Australia NSW state rounds are cancelled for September, but the AASA-run Australian Motor Racing Series is pushing ahead with its scheduled round at Sydney Motorsport Park on September 18-20.

“We’ve very closely with the senior management of Sydney Motorsport Park and we’ve gone through with a fine-tooth comb the New South Wales health orders,” AMRS series manager Matt Baragwanath stated.

“They are very comfortable as long as we abide by the NSW health guidelines, which are 500 people on site, social distancing regulations and all the other detailed by the order, they’re very comfortable for us to carry on with the meeting.”

This meeting is open to NSW competitors only, but Baragwanath explained to Auto Action that entries are trickling in, though don’t close for a couple of weeks.

“Commercially speaking, it was really on my head to be able to have NSW competitors only and will there be enough of them to make it pay,” said Baragwanath.

“Thankfully, on this occasion there is.”

He did state his shock at Motorsport Australia’s announcement to stop racing in NSW for a period of six-weeks, however many categories that were to have been part of the state meeting transitioning to the AMRS round at SMP “The order that is in place is available to any promoter and that’s why it’s a little surprising that Motorsport Australia went the way they did,” said Baragwanath.

“There’s strong categories with a few doing enduros.”

The categories that on the bill are: Production Touring, Production Sports, HQs, Group S, Mazda RX-8 Cup, TA2 and Stock Cars.

All categories will run across the three-day schedule and use of SMP’s second pit facility will aid in meeting the necessary social distancing regulations. HM

2 AutoAction FEATURE

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IT HAS been confirmed by AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost that Formula 2 driver Yuki Tsunoda will drive for the team in the Abu Dhabi rookie test at the end of the 2020 F1 season. The Japanese driver is junior driver for both Honda and Red Bull, and Tost admits that Tsunoda is in the frame for a seat with AlphaTauri next year. Tsunoda is firmly in the Formula 2 championship hunt after graduating from Formula 3 in 2019. DM

THE MUGELLO circuit in Italy, home to the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix and set to be Ferrari’s 1000th Formula 1 race, will be the first event of 2020 to admit fans. A total of 2880 tickets have gone on sale for each day, with the crowd split across three grandstands. Other races are also planning for fans.

Russia is hopeful of 30,000 per day, Portugal between 50-60,000 and Turkey no less than 100,000. DM

THE RENAULT F1 team has requested to withdraw its appeals against the stewards’ decisions over the Racing Point F1 Team’s brake ducts. Renault, home team for Aussie Daniel Ricciardo in 2019 and 2020, was upset because it believed that the 2020 Racing Point RP20’s rear brake ducts were the same as those on the 2019 Mercedes, which were legal in 2019 but not so in 2020. DK

NIKOLAS TOMBAZIS, the FIA’s head of single seater technical matters, has revealed Formula 1’s governing body plans to reduce downforce on F1 machines by 10 per cent in 2021. The FIA feels it is necessary due to the increased aerodynamic loads generated by the cars, which is putting a strain on sole tyre supplier Pirelli’s current range of tyres that are set to be used in 2021 also. DM

FOUR-TIME Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has purchased Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship winning Williams FW14B. Mansell won nine of the 16 races that season on his way to taking both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. The machine was designed by Adrian Newey, the same man who designed Vettel’s championship winning machines.

The famous red five Williams wears the same number that Vettel himself competes with at Ferrari. DM

16 AutoAction

FIFTEEN IS THE MAGIC NUMBER WHEN IT comes to the contracts that the television broadcasters have with Formula 1, the magic number of races is 15.

If there are fewer races than 15, then Formula 1 would have to refund some of the money the broadcasters pay for the rights to show the events.

But now four more races have been added to the 2020 Formula 1 schedule, so there will be 17 rounds this year.

Turkey, which hosted F1 2005 through 2011, returns for a single year. The organisers of the Istanbul Park circuit, however, are keen to have a permanent date.

Bahrain will have two races on different track layouts, and Abu Dhabi will host the season finale on 13 December.

The original 22-race 2020 season was supposed to get underway with the Australian Grand Prix on 15 March. It eventually started in Austria on 5 July.

“We can confirm that a number of races in the revised 2020 season will be open to a limited number of fans, including hospitality, and we are working with each promoter to finalise the details,” Formula 1 said in a statement.

“While we want to see as many fans as possible return as soon as it is safe to do so, our priority remains the safety of the Formula 1 community and the communities we visit, and we review fan access on this basis.

“Due to the ongoing fluidity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to maintain close dialogue with all promoters and local authorities to ensure we operate in the safest way possible and monitor

Image: LAT

each national situation closely – including travel restrictions and local health procedures.”

The organisers in Russia, Portugal and Turkey have all stated that they will have spectators at their races.

The Chinese Grand Prix will not be held this year, and the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix will now run next year.

And for the first time ever since the Formula 1 World Championship was founded in 1950 there will not be at least one race staged in the Americas.

The last time there were 17 races was in 2009, and since then there were between 19 and 21 races each season.

WILLIAMS FAMILY ENDS FORMULA 1 INVOLVEMENT THE WILLIAMS family ended more than 50 years of involvement in Formula 1, when deputy team principal Claire Williams stepped down from her role after the Italian Grand Prix.

Frank Williams, who lived in a flat at the team factory, has also cut all ties with the team he founded.

On 21 August it was announced that Williams Racing had been acquired

by Dorilton Capital. The new owners wanted Claire Williams to stay on as deputy team principal, but she decided to move on.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am stepping away from my role with the team,” she said. “I had hoped to continue my tenure long into the future and to preserve the Williams family’s legacy into the next generation.

However, our need to find inward investment earlier this year due to a number of factors, many of which were outside of our control, resulted in the sale of the team to Dorilton Capital.”

Frank Williams began campaigning F1 cars carrying his own name in 1977, and was involved with other F1 teams dating back to the 1969 season, when he entered a Brabham for Piers Courage.

FORMULA 1 SCHEDULE

13 September - Tuscan Grand Prix Mugello 27 September - Russian Grand Prix Sochi 11 October - Eifel Grand Prix Nürburgring 25 October - Portuguese Grand Prix, Algarve 1 November - Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Imola 15 November - Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul Park 29 November - Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit 6 December - Sakhir Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit 13 December - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit.

Image: LAT

The Team Williams era lasted 43 years and 739 championship grand prix races. It included 128 poles, 114 wins, nine constructors’ world championships, and seven drivers’ world championships.

But its last world title was in 1997, and the last race wins were in 2012 and 2004.

The team took some financial hits in recent years. Much as they wanted to keep it in the family, Claire and Frank Williams commissioned a comprehensive Strategic Review of the team and company, and this led to the sale to Dorilton Capital.

“My family has always put our racing team and our people first and this was absolutely the right decision. I know in

them we have found the right people to take Williams back to the front of the grid, while also preserving the Williams legacy,” Claire Williams said.

“I have taken the decision to step away from the team in order to allow Dorilton a fresh start as the new owners.

It has not been an easy decision but it’s one I believe to be right for all involved.

I have been enormously privileged to have grown up in this team and in the wonderful world that is Formula 1.”

Dorilton, which will not relocate the team from its base near Silverstone, planned to announce the team’s new management structure this week.

Dorilton will not change the team’s name, so the legendry Williams name lives on in Formula 1.

F1 RACES ON OVAL! AND NOW for something completely different.

Formula 1’s decision to hold the second race in Bahrain on the “outer circuit” is being applauded by the drivers and team bosses.

Ross Brawn, F1’s managing director of motor sports, has called the track an “oval” and even though it has 11 turns, it does look somewhat like a squared-off oval layout.

“I grew up a NASCAR fan, so I’m pretty excited,” Daniel Ricciardo said when Auto Action asked him about the track. “It is probably the closest thing we will get to running an Image: LAT oval unless we head back to Indianapolis or something.”

The Bahrain Grand Prix will be held on the will soon find out. But I think it is a good decision.” traditional 15-turn 5.412-km track on 29 November.

The Sakhir Grand Prix will be held at the same venue The FIA’s race director, Australia’s Michael Masi, has but on the 3.543 km outer circuit on 6 December. It had many discussions with the Bahrain organisers as is slightly longer than Monaco, which is the shortest he investigated all of the alternative track layouts they track on the calendar at 3.337 km. have there.

Austria and Britain also hosted two races this year “They offer multiple layouts, all of which have a but on exactly the same track layout at both venues.

Grade 1 rating,” Masi said. “It’ll provide a different “I think it is cool that they are changing it up,” number of challenges for us being a short lap time.

Ricciardo said. “To go to the same track two But from an FIA perspective and on a personal and weekends in a row can sometimes be a little bit professional basis, I’m looking forward to it. It’ll monotonous. So I’m pretty happy that they have provide a challenge for the teams.” changed it up. Whether it is a better track or not we Lap times are expected to be in the 54 second

THE SWEET SPOT AUSSIE DANIEL Ricciardo says that his team has found the sweet spot on his Renault after he qualified fourth and finished fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix and earned an extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

The Renault works better on low downforce circuits like SpaFrancorchamps and Monza than on high downforce tracks like Barcelona.

But Ricciardo believes that the team has found some fundamental elements in the car’s set-up that have improved it overall.

“There is definitely something we picked up from the first weekend in Silverstone,” Ricciardo, referring to the two F1 races in Britain, said. “We picked something up on the set-up, like a sweet spot, we felt like we found that. In particular I found it in terms of the feeling in the car. I was like: Yeah this is where we need to run the car!

“We played around a bit with it (during the Belgian Grand Prix) weekend. I was like: We found the sweet spot! There is something fundamental which I think we’ve got a good chokehold on. I think we can get it working on high downforce, this set up, it is not specific to low downforce, we can run it on all levels.

range, and the race will be 87 laps.

“I fully support the change of track layout,” said Haas team principal Guenther Steiner. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s a cool thing as well. We need to be creative and put on a good show for the fans. It’s different and it will at least create some excitement because it’s new, but also it’ll hopefully create some excitement with the racing. It’s a simplistic layout for F1, but sometimes simple things work as well.”

Qualifying will certainly be entertaining and chaotic with all 20 drivers trying to find a break in the traffic to do their fast laps.

Image: LAT

“It certainly brings the car alive.

That is something I’m pretty confident is where the RS20 likes to be run. I am not sure we had something like this last year. I’m not sure we had a real discovery like this last year. So that has been encouraging. A set-up on the car is working better. It is giving the car a lot more grip.”

Ricciardo’s strong showing in Belgium is what the team expected for him and what he expected from them when they joined forces.

“This was really what we thought we could do,” the Perth native said.

“And it is nice to show it now. The sooner the better, but also better late than never.

“The big thing is that we have proved ourselves on low downforce circuits now, and the car does feel pretty amazing. What would really be a reward is to have this sort of performance on a high downforce circuit. We will have a few chances later in the year, but that is one where it would be like okay this is really now where the car is performing on all different aero levels. That would align everyone’s expectations of where we thought we would be.”

Given how good the car is now in a low downforce configuration, Renault will keep some of those settings for the high downforce tracks.

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F1 INSIDER

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

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Bruce Williams

Editor-At-Large

Mark Fogarty

Deputy Editor

Heath McAlpine

Production

Jason Crowe

Special Contributor

Bruce Newton

Staff Journalist

Dan McCarthy

National Editor Online Editor

with Dan Knutson

Garry O’Brien 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.

Formula 1 Dan Knutson, Photographers Australia Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyd, Richard Hathaway, MTR Images, Bruce Moxon International LAT Images Advertising Manager Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries Bruce@autoaction.com.au (0418) 349 555

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Auto Action is published by Action Media Partners ABN number 62976094459 Suite 4/156 Drummond Street Oakleigh Victoria 3166 Phone: 03 9563 2107 The trademark Auto Action is the sole property of Action Media Partners The website www.autoaction.com.au and associated social media platforms are wholly owned by Action Media Partners All rights reserved No part of this magazine’s content may be reproduced, retransmitted or rebroadcast without the express written permission of the Publisher and Action Media Partners.

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Cover Images: LAT/AN1 Images

18 AutoAction

WATCHING F1 PERFECTION HAVING ATTENDED nearly 600 grands prix in my job as a Formula 1 journalist, I’ve see more than a few processional races. And I’ve been around for a number of domination eras including: McLaren with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna; Williams with several drivers including Nigel Mansell and Prost; Ferrari with Michael Schumacher; Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel; and now, of course Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton.

Watching perfection from the sidelines can be a touch dull.

“I can’t speak for the fans, but having been a fan growing up, having lived in different eras watching the Schumacher era, of course I know what it’s like,” Hamilton said after leading every lap of this year’s Belgian Grand Prix.

“As soon as the start was done and the restart, you generally know that I don’t make too many mistakes.”

No mistakes and 44 laps later he had won for the fifth time in the first seven races of 2020.

So how did Hamilton watch the F1 races when Schumacher was dominating?

“I was a teenage kid,” he recalled. “I would have woken up, had my bacon sarnie and probably watched the start and gone to sleep and then woke up to watch the end. If I was watching today, I would do the same most likely and watch the highlights because it’s much shorter; unless a friend told me there was a super exciting race on TV, so that you watch the whole thing.”

If I ever mentioned that a particular grand prix had been boring, one of my pressroom colleagues would take umbrage and inform me that the race had not been boring because we had seen the best drivers in the world driving the best racing cars in the world far faster than mere mortals could accomplish.

Hamilton acknowledges that ultimately this is not what fans want to see.

“I generally really enjoy myself in the car,” he said, “because if you don’t enjoy

the moment, what’s the point in doing it? That’s still a massive challenge for me. It’s just perhaps not as fun for people to watch, but when you’re in it it’s a little bit different. But of course, I would love to have a real race.”

As Hamilton points out, it is not the drivers’ fault. They just drive the cars created by the rules.

And, unfortunately, with the technical rules staying pretty much the same in 2021, it is going to be difficult for rival teams to really close the gap on Mercedes next year.

So we will have to wait for the radical new 2022 rules package.

“Maybe we’ll see a different form of racing where you can follow,” Hamilton said.

“Wouldn’t that be something if we can follow closer and have more close races!”

With the technical rules relatively static, perhaps some changes could be made to the sporting regulations.

I’m not suggesting anything as radical as reverse grid

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 24 SEPTEMBER

races – well, it would be fun to see maybe just one! – but one suggestion that deserves more research is making it mandatory for the drivers to use all three compounds of the Pirelli slicks during a (dry of course) race. This would eliminate the one pitstop races we so often see, and there would be more scope for strategy and mixing things up because the drivers would have to pit twice.

“I don’t think it would be worse than what we have with two compounds and doing one stop,” Hamilton said, “which for me has always generally been less exciting than doing two. I think that could be kind of cool. Then you’d get people dividing them stops up differently through the stints. I definitely think it would make it more exciting.”

If just about everybody is doing a one-stopper, then just about everybody is in tyre conservation mode in the latter stages of the race.

And that is not the kind of racing that Hamilton and I prefer.

News & views from The Bend Motorsport Park #1, plus full race coverage; Tuscan Grand Prix from Mugello plus latest F1 news; Living Legend Allan Grice; Young Gun Adam Garwood; Alan Jones Canadian Grand Prix

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE AA’s principled pundit questions why Supercars doesn’t use the premium pump petrol that its fuel supplier promotes “BERT IS a fictional character.” The disclaimer about the folksy face of BP Ultimate is in tiny print at the bottom and end of most, but not all, the premium petrol’s advertisements that blanket the breaks during Supercars broadcasts.

‘Bert’ is an actor who plays the part of the fastidious fan whose job is to keep Supercars clean. His role is as imaginary as the notion that BP Ultimate petrol powers the field.

The British petroleum giant is the official fuel supplier of Supercars – except it really isn’t.

Supercars uses E85 fuel – a mix of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent 98 octane ULP – which BP doesn’t sell. In fact, the only fuel retailer that sells E85 on the forecourt is Aussie independent United – and then only at a very limited number of outlets.

This nonsense of Supercars promoting a retail petrol brand while utilising a bespoke blend that long ceased to have market relevance, has to end.

Gen3 is the chance to restore the credibility of the category’s fuel supply arrangement, which in recent years has just been a branding exercise.

The E85 mixture for Supercars is concocted

by Race Fuels and labelled “BP Ultimate”, which is the big brand’s heavily promoted 98 octane premium retail petrol. It is not known what involvement BP Australia has in its formulation or composition, if any.

The public illusion promoted by Supercars is that the cars use BP Ultimate pump petrol. That is no more true than the idea that they drank previous official fuel supplier Shell’s V-Power premium brew.

Race Fuels has nothing to do with the deception. It supplies a quality E85 mix to specification.

Supercars switched from pump petrol to E85 in 2009 when the low-emission, sugar cane-derived fuel was seen as the salvation to Australia’s dependence on imported oil. Sugar giant CSR was a big promoter and an alliance was formed with Caltex as several car makers offered ‘Flex Fuel’ models able to run on petrol or ethanol blends.

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United also jumped on board, producing its own E85 and was selling it at many of its outlets on the back of its supply deal with Supercars. It was a costly change for the teams because fuel systems had to be ‘hardened’ against the more corrosive nature of ethanol.

Unlike E10, E85 is not suitable for most cars.

It promised to be cheaper per litre with a higheroctane rating than premium petrol, offset by higher consumption.

Unlike Brazil, where a government policy decision changed the nation’s motoring fleet exclusively to E85, the ethanol push never took off here. Within a few years, E85 faded from mainstream contender to niche fuel.

‘Flex Fuel’ models haven’t been offered for several years, while Caltex – now transitioning back to Aussie brand Ampol – never seriously sold E85. Its joint venture with Holden, briefly a major proponent of ethanol and LPG alternatives, to build an E85 plant quietly went away.

United, squeezed out of Supercars by Shell’s Penske-driven return, maintains a limited supply at selected outlets for excessively tuned turbocharged hot fours and rotaries, for which the 100-plus octane fuel is particularly suited.

It’s interesting that United calls the product E85 Race Blend. It is produced at its biorefinery in Dalby, Queensland, which mainly supplies the local fuel industry with sustainably produced ethanol for the E10 blend sold nationally by all the major retailers.

The point is that United’s involvement was entirely legitimate. It made E85 fuel and sold it to motorists – and still does.

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Supercars’ original commitment to environmentally friendly fuel was discarded for commercial considerations.

Shell also perpetuated the myth that Supercars used its V-Power petrol rather than a bespoke E85 formulation from an outside supplier.

BP’s ‘Bert’ ads are clever, but they give a false impression that its Ultimate pump petrol is used in the Supercars racers. Shell was a little more subtle, promoting V-Power’s use by DJR Team Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard in a road-going Mustang.

I have no problem with BP promoting its prime petrol offering through Supercars. It is great to have such a well-known global giant promoting Supercars through its TV advertising and at its huge national network of petrol stations.

But I baulk at the insistent promotional suggestion that Supercars are powered by the same retail offering that BP insists makes your car’s engine run cleaner and more efficiently (albeit, at a premium price).

What really galls me is that it is all unnecessary. E85 is a dead duck and Supercars should revert to pump petrol.

Admittedly, now is not the time to make the teams spend money on re-converting their motors to run on 98 premium.

But Gen3 in 2022 – and the likelihood of detuned or even control V8 engines – is the perfect opportunity to mandate retail petrol and make the official fuel supplier’s involvement truly market relevant.

BP Australia is an important sponsor through its series partnership and subsidiary backing of teams, including the institutional support of its

oil brand Castrol.

It’s odd enough that Shell and revived Ampol are major team sponsors when their fuel cannot be used in the competition. But that is a tribute to Supercars’ promotional power for automotive-related brands.

Ideally, Supercars would become a competitive market, allowing rival fuel suppliers – and, for that matter, tyre makers – within strict specifications.

At the very least, mandating pump petrol that reflects the fuel supplier’s retail product is a much more honest approach to a welcome and necessary involvement of a major petrol seller.

It would also be more relevant to what you and I drive in an era when Supercars have little relationship to road cars apart from a similarity of body shape.

‘Branding’ is a slippery slope. As well as fuel, Supercars’ control dampers are labelled as Pedders units, yet they are made by racing supplier Supashock and not available from the suspension service retail chain.

I applaud BP’s big investment in racing – including a major presence at the Bathurst 12 Hour – just as Repco’s burgeoning involvement can only be a big plus. Dunlop and Pedders are also highly valued participants.

However, where fuel is concerned, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be racing with petrol that fans can actually buy at their local forecourt.

At a minimum, Supercars and BP should be more transparent about the difference between what’s used and what’s advertised.

‘Bert’ is a fun figure, but he isn’t real – just like the fuel association he promotes.

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REINVENTING

THE WHEELER Hot-headed loudmouth turned sage advisor, Paul Morris is guiding the careers of rising stars while remaining outspoken about the cost crisis that threatens Supercars

THERE IS the Paul Morris you think you know – combative, controversial and carefree – and the real Paul Morris. They aren’t that different, actually, except that there is a depth to him that belies his popular image.

Self-styled as ‘The Dude’, Morris’s candour and hard-line opinions resonate with the fans. Even those who dismissed him as a dilettante driver born with a silver spoon in his mouth admit that these days, he speaks a lot of sense.

In recent years, there has also been a noticeable shift in how he is regarded within the sport. His success in guiding and managing young drivers has given him credibility that is commensurate with his underlying business acumen.

Gold Coast-based Morris, 52, is now taken seriously. Despite his aging rebel persona, his considered views on how to improve racing, especially Supercars, add to his stature. Ironically, he has become something of an elder statesman.

He has a gained a public forum for his views with the popular online show Enforcer And The Dude, which he co-hosts will fellow arch-critic Russell Ingall.

Morris rails against the unsustainable costs of Supercars, campaigning for more control mechanical components – including engines – and vastly reduced aerodynamic downforce.

Although obvious, his ideas are sensible and based on his long experience as

20 AutoAction

a team owner. He also doesn’t flinch at calling out the bloated administration of Supercars. Of course, Morris can afford to be fearless. He is wealthy enough to have nothing to lose, with the financial freedom to do as he pleases.

But he has put his own money into promoting new talent and has a range of business interests devoted to – or aligned with – racing. He runs the family owned Norwell Motorplex on the Gold Coast, which for 30 years has been a performance driving centre that has helped train young racers – and refine the talents of established stars.

The Motorplex, where his second-level Paul Morris Motorsport team is based, has been integral with Morris’s rise to prominence as a driver management guru. He is also a director of the DriveIt multi-purpose track under construction outside Townsville.

Privileged upbringing notwithstanding, Morris was an accomplished driver in his own right and remains an active and versatile competitor. Four times Australian Super Touring Champion, co-winner of the dramatic 2014 Bathurst 1000, and the only winner of the Mount Panorama ‘Triple Crown’ – Bathurst 1000, 12 Hour and 6 Hour.

There is more to Paul Morris than meets the eye and, typically, he doesn’t hold back in this entertaining exchange, conducted by phone because of coronavirus restrictions.

Is your approach to driver training still based on old school feel rather than data?

We still have an instructor in the car with you, but we have brought data acquisition into it. As data acquisition becomes relatively cheap and mainstream, it is a good tool to use, especially with younger people. They’re used to using it. It does help put some scientific theory behind why you do things and help explain the methods.

So the practical side and the data do go hand in hand.

You’re still a big believer in good oldfashioned feel, though, aren’t you?

Well, the whole thing of driving fast is driving the car on the edge of the tyre. If you go back to categories like Formula Ford and now the Toyota 86 series, the reason you have so much success is because you go through stages of your driving. If you miss those stages, you don’t learn to feel the car. So if you look at the tyre that’s on a Formula Ford or a tyre that’s on a Toyota 86, it’s easy to find the limit of the tyres – easy to over-drive it and easy to under-drive it. Once you learn to live on the edge of the tyre and understand that feeling, you should be able to progress that as your grip levels go up. That’s the hardest thing to learn.

You see people come out of karts and go straight to Supercars, it takes them three or four years to adjust, whereas as if they spend a bit of time in the junior formulas first, it helps the transition.

You had one of the best driver coaches in Frank Gardner. Did his approach influence how you teach young drivers?

His principles are the foundation of our curriculum, for sure. With any of those guys from his era, they drove by the feel of the tyre. Frank used to call it floating the car on the tyre, making it do the work for you. His principles of being relaxed in the car, looking where you’re going, smooth inputs into the controls and understanding what influence the driver has on the handling of the car – all those basic things that are still there. All we’ve done is adapted to how vehicles have changed. For example, a lot of cars now have ABS, so it’s very easy to trail brake into the corner. Braking becomes more important with ABS. Then there’s frontwheel drive cars and high-aero cars.

The good thing is we see drivers from all over the world with different influences and the curriculum’s always changing and evolving. It’s easy to document and record with the help of data acquisition now as well.

You’re a very versatile driver – you’ll pretty much race anything, anywhere, anytime. We don’t see it so much now, but do you believe that racing different kinds of cars makes a better driver?

It depends what turns you on. Some people are happy just doing what they’re doing. But I’ve always enjoyed jumping in different cars and trying to work out what that car requires to go fast. It all comes back to the tyre, Foges. If you can get in a car and feel what the tyre’s doing, then you can usually work out how to drive it effectively. The ability to drive different vehicles and be reasonably quick in them straight away is all about being able to understand what the tyres doing and feel that.

You’ve become more and more well known as a driver coach/mentor/manager thanks to your involvement with Anton De Pasquale, Brodie Kostecki and Broc Feeney. How do you help them and what sets them apart?

I help them in lots of ways. Not only on the track, but also in other areas. Anton is a different sort of guy. He’s extremely confident and extremely logical. There’s absolutely no emotion about how he goes about his racing. We talk probably daily about things to do with his racing or it could be just general life – how things work and what not to do. So it’s the sporting side, the commercial side and mostly how to navigate your way through life without fucking up because you can’t afford to have a fuck-up in racing these days or you can be out. Eyes are always on them.

How highly do you rate Anton? Is it true you’ve described him as the best you’ve ever seen?

Morris’s driver training methods were inspired by driving guru Frank Gardner Gardner, his early mentor and team boss (above). Years later, ‘Dude’ ran his own V8 team, often stepping in as co-driver in the enduros (below). Images: LAT/AA Archive

Yeah, out of all the people I’ve helped, he’s the best I’ve seen, for sure. The reason for that is he has speed, he has confidence but he’s not cocky, and he’s logical. Logic will beat emotion every time in motor racing – it just does – and he has the ability to keep himself extremely calm.

He holds his emotions in pretty tightly, doesn’t he?

I don’t think he has any. I mean, I don’t see him get rattled up on the racetrack. I’ve seen him get emotional about other things that annoy him in his life, but not on the track. Things don’t affect him.

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I’I’m still here! I still say what I want w when I want and how I want. It’s just th that what I say is what most people think now. When I say something, it th se seems to resonate with what the fans ar are thinking. With social media and Yo YouTube, you can get more time to ac actually getting your message across ins instead of a small quote in a story. So I th think social media has a fair bit to do with the way I’m seen now because I can distribute my message the way I wan want to distribute it. It’s a very changed land landscape.

He’s knocking on the door of becoming one of the big new stars of Supercars, isn’t he?

Well, he’s definitely one of the quickest guys out there. He has the ability to be a star, it’s now a matter of getting himself in the right seat to show what he can actually do. He either needs to build the Erebus team around him and get them to focus on giving him what he wants or he’ll have to try to find a seat in another team that can give him that support. That’s his next move.

And how is that next move looking?

What about this three-into-twodoesn’t-go scenario at Erebus?

If they’re not just wanting to put the fastest guy in the car, they shouldn’t be racing. So Barry (Ryan) can say what he likes – all Anton has to do is keep going fast, which is what he’s doing.

If they don’t offer him a drive, then they’re not serious about. It’s pretty simple.

So you’re confident he’ll be in a top car next year?

Yeah, no problem. If he’s not in a top car, the series won’t be running.

When Scott McLaughlin looked headed for IndyCar, Anton was seen as the most logical replacement.

You’d think so. But they haven’t announced what they’re doing yet, they haven’t made any moves to say what they’re doing with Scott. So our plan is just keep going fast, just keep getting the most out of the car you’re in and do the best he can to work with the team that he has there. Fast guys will always get a drive.

Do you see Brodie and Broc in a similar vein?

I’ll start with Brodie. He’s incredibly gifted driver and his engineering ability is probably on a par with his driving ability. He’s very hands on, very old school. He’s like a driver from the 1960s who’s been catapulted into 2020s. He’s very old school the way he approaches his racing. If you look at all the racing he did in America – he was winning USAC races in midgets when he was 14 – he has a massive amount of experience.

But he wants to work on the car as much as he wants to drive it, and his knowledge of every aspect of the car is incredible – engine, shocks, chassis.

He can weld, he can do everything.

If you gave him a Supercar in pieces, he’d have it going by the next morning.

He’s very talented that way. Broc’s still a young kid learning the ropes. He’s still at school; he’s doing a mechanical based apprenticeship; and he’s driving and achieving a lot. He’s taken on a lot for his age (17), but he has a really good grasp on what motor racing’s about. It’s helped growing up in a racing family, with his dad (Paul Feeney) having been a successful motorcycle racer. They’re pretty grounded.

And what about your son Nash? Is it difficult to balance the dad and mentor roles?

It’s actually been pretty easy because I’ve really just let Anton and Brodie deal with it.

So y you still enjoy being an outsider with a bit of a wild man streak?

He’s pretty close to those guys and what I do for them, they’re doing for him.

That’s how it basically works. I try not to be too involved. What I said to him when he decided he wanted to go racing was “Well, if you can’t work out how to do it with all the shit you have lying around you, you’re stupid, mate, so go for it”.

There’s enough stuff at Norwell that he has access to that he can work out how to do it himself without a lot of help from me. I leave it up to him. He has a massive head start, but he still has to work it out.

So what you’re saying is, he has the opportunity, it’s up to him to make the best of it?

Yes – and he enjoys it. I don’t know if he wants to be a professional driver. He’s an apprentice mechanic, he likes the sport, he enjoys going racing. I think it’s a great thing for any young person to be involved in, but I help a lot more younger people more than I help him. I put a lot more into Broc and Brodie and some other younger people I help than I do with Nash.

While you remain outspoken, it’s interesting that you’re now seen as more of an elder statesman of the sport. What’s happened to “The Dirty Dangerous Dude”?

Morris’ high-profile protégé is Anton De Pasquale (above), poised to become a Supercars star. Lippy Morris has the form to back his talk. He is the only driver to win all three Mount Panorama enduros – Bathurst 1000 (2014), Bathurst 12 Hour (2007/10) and 6 Hour.

It’s just who I am, Foges. I’ve always been a little bit hot under the collar and will say something if I’m nudged, you know? You’re very good at getting me fired up to say something controversial.

You’ve done it a lot. When I get going and I think I’m in the right and I see something I feel strongly about, I’ll talk about it.

Do you find it curious that you’re taken more seriously now?

It’s pretty easy to be misunderstood. It’s easy to attack someone that they don’t know about. Tall poppy syndrome, rich kid or whatever. But now I’m 52 and people realise I do actually get out of bed and go to work every day, and maybe they do think differently about me. I’m not quite sure, but I really think social media and how strong it is changes people’s perception of what and who you are.

You certainly have very firm views on the sport and particularly Supercars.

Do you see it as part of your role now to highlight the many needed reforms?

I just like to point out the obvious. When you’re involved at a team owner level or a board member level in Supercars, you get so caught up in going racing that you can’t see the wood for the trees.

When you step back, it’s pretty obvious what needs to be done. My job’s not to push it through or anything, I just like to point out the obvious and maybe give some clear direction of how things could be made better. I do that because of my love of the sport. I want to see it survive. I want young drivers to have an opportunity and be able to race and get paid to race. We need up-and-coming professional young drivers to make it gladiatorial enough for people to want to watch the sport. The don’t want to see the same old faces.

You agitate for change in Supercars and you see plenty of room for improvement.

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I do. I think they’ve just become such a big bureaucracy that they can’t adapt.

It’s such a big machine it’s become like a government department. It’s very hard for them to change. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens, but when you look at it, it might be better to just let the whole thing blow up and start again. If it were any other business – like a Virgin Australia or something – you’d be wondering “Is that worth rescuing?”

Is there a danger of Supercars “blowing up”, as you put it?

enjoyment out of other people driving them as well, which is pretty cool to see.

As a driver, he has a pretty good basic understanding of what to do, and get around quite fast and safely. I think most people would be surprised how fast he is. He’s pretty quick.

The key to its survival is keeping the teams sustainable. It’s pretty simple. The fans like V8s and Bathurst. They’re the foundations. Then you have to have a race car that’s simple and sustainable to race. You can’t have 30-40 people at the track to run these cars because no one can afford to do it anymore. You have to be able to rock up to the track with five decent people and be able to run a car.

If you can’t get it back to something that simple, I can’t see it surviving.

Looking back on your racing career, I guess winning the Bathurst 1000 in 2014 would have to be the highlight, especially the way it happened. But being the only person to win the 1000, 12 Hour and 6 Hour at Bathurst must be pretty special as well.

You’re very well connected in the industry, so are you optimistic that Gen3 will seriously address the cost issue?

Yeah, I think it will – as long as they start with a clean sheet and not try to carry over any redundancies. I think a fresh start is the only way forward. The big thing is what you do in that interim year next year. How do you simplify everything and keep the wheels turning?

That’s the big question. But, yeah, the Gen3 car, from what I know about it from insiders, I think it’s going to be a good thing. You’d probably look at a TA2 car and a MARC car and a Supercar and a production car and take all the best attributes and put them into an Australian-style V8 touring car.

Yes, but those other two races don’t mean much unless you get the 1000! It’s a good thing to achieve and I’m pretty proud to have done it. If you can win the 1000, it’s a life-changing experience, for sure.

And the way it happened, it couldn’t have been a more surprising win, could it?

Morris triumphed in chaotic 2014 Bathurst 1000 with Chaz Mostert after starting last on the grid (above).

Do people out in teamland take notice of what you say? You certainly have the ear of your good mate Roland Dane.

What about your part in it?

Guys like Charlie Schwerkolt who don’t have a manufacturer support base, they definitely back up what I’m saying.

If you were the boss of Supercars, is there one big thing you’d do immediately?

Well, for a start, I don’t think I’d be the right person to run Supercars. I’m not commercially savvy enough to have my head across TV contracts and sponsorship contracts or that sort of stuff. So I think you have to be careful saying “If I were the boss” because I don’t think I’d be capable of being boss of the whole thing. I can only look at it from a team owner’s operational point of view. Actually, if there is one thing you could do, it would be to get more free-to-air TV content. We’ve lost a big chunk of our fan base because not every event is live on free TV. People used to plan their weekends around watching the Supercars. I think we’ve lost that and I don’t know if we’ll ever get it back.

[There’ll be more FTA coverage with the return to Seven next year.]

If Gen3 significantly reduces costs, could you be attracted back to running a team?

Yes, for sure. I think there are people I talk to regularly in the sport from an advisory capacity or just helping out that I could secure the commercial backing to run it. I reckon I could even do it next year if I wanted to, but I think it’d be dumb to make that move before the new car comes out. I’d love to have a team

It took a while for it to sink in for me, so yeah, it was definitely surprising. It was one of those days where everything lined up. Some people call it a ‘Bradbury win’, which is not really correct if you look at how fast Chaz (Mostert) was at the end of the race. He set the lap record.

The other bloke’s run out of fuel (Jamie Whincup) because he didn’t stop and fill it up when he should’ve. Chaz had the speed to win it and he did.

Maintaining he is still “dirty, dangerous dude”, he wants to return as a Supercars team owner if Gen3 results in big cost savings, at stages during Supercar team onership Greg Murphy and Russell Ingall drove for him (above). Latest apprentice Declan Fraser starred in the Toyota 86 series (below).

again and the key to it to me is being able to utilise the drivers I have coming through and really see that program through.

You and Roland Dane seemed to have a lot of fun at Townsville in the NQ Supersprinters in his Jaguar XJS and Camaro. Which did you prefer?

The Jag was more enjoyable to drive than the Camaro. The (V12) power and it handled a bit better. It was good fun to drive.

You obviously still enjoy competitive driving.

Oh yeah, I love it. I still love driving and

racing. Anything that’s going a bit slower is easier as you get older. I find that with production-based cars and cars at that sort of speed, I still have the reflexes and eyesight to drive them quote quickly.

Jumping anything a bit quicker has become a bit too much hard work.

Is Roland any good as a driver?

He’s done sprints and rally sprints in his Subaru WRX and comes down to Norwell to drive two or three times a month, so he’s always kept active behind the wheel and it’s always been his passion. He has a nice stable of cars and he likes getting them out and driving them, but then he gets just as much

Well, I just started the race and in my stints, I was just ticking off the laps. It was a pretty uneventful race for me except when I drove out of the pits and stuck the thing in the fence (on the outside of Turn 2). Apart from that, it was pretty uneventful [leaving aside all the other drama of the event, of course]. Luckily, I was going slow, mate.

The safety car was out and I hadn’t gotten up to speed – I was probably only doing 70 or 80 kays an hour and just hit that gravel and went straight in. I wasn’t aware there was gravel all over the place there [caused by the track breaking up, which subsequently triggered the mid-race stoppage]. If I’d been told when I was coming out of the pits to be careful because there was a shitload of gravel on the apex at Turn 2, I would’ve driven around it. You couldn’t see it.

Do you feel you really should have two Bathurst 1000 wins?

Yeah, for sure. In ’97, we got pole position, fastest car on the track pretty easily, so from a personal driving point of view, that was best race at Bathurst.

When I look at how fast we were against all those Europeans, definitely had the pace to win it. It was just a dumb decision that cost us the race. Lyall Williamson looking after his Kiwi mate, I think. Pretty stupid. [BMW team boss Williamson, from NZ, allowed fellow Kiwi Craig Baird to exceed the driving time limit, resulting in his and Morris’s disqualification from first place, handing victory to teammates Geoff and David Brabham.]

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Australian James Davison has spent more than a decade plying his trade in US racing, fighting tooth and nail for every opportunity. Speaking to MIKE BRUDENELL amidst what is a busy campaign, Davison details the challenges he has faced to make it in America

James Davison says one of the biggest hurdles this season is the impact of COVID-19. He is following the guidelines which means he has no choice but to turn up to the tracks, many of them new to him, with no practice sessions or qualification.

He just has to jump in the car and race.

Images: LAT/Fox Sports YOU MIGHT question James Davison’s talent and results in comparing him to fellow Aussie drivers Mark Webber, Will Power, Marcos Ambrose and Daniel Ricciardo, who took their skills overseas and nailed it.

But as for determination, commitment and tenacity, over the long haul? Well, that’s another story.

Davison, the grandson of four-time Australian Grand Prix winner Lex Davison, has shown those qualities in spades in fighting tooth and nail the past 15 years to make a mark – and a living – in racing in America.

No, you won’t find a British Grand Prix winner’s trophy (Webber) in Davison’s cabinet at home in Miami.

Nor his name (Power) on the BorgWarner Trophy in Indianapolis. He doesn’t have wins in NASCAR’s top tier (Ambrose) or a victory at Monaco (Ricciardo).

At 33 years old, Davison is still working the phones and the paddock himself for rides, revenue and respect as the laps continue to click by.

While his name in Australian racing circles has been mostly hidden in the

shadows of his father Jon Davison, the former longtime Sandown promoter, and Supercars cousins Alex and Will Davison, James has been competing against the big guns of motorsports for years in the USA … in fits and

Davison is contesting some NASCAR Cup Series races this year for the tiny Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware teams (top). A career highlight came with his Indy 500 debut in 2014 (centre) while a lowlight was his exit from the race this year (above)

spurts, yes, but in the manner of a honey badger, the scrappy, tenacious ratel who just won’t be scared away.

“Look, to most people here, I’m just James Smith,” Davison told AA from Florida this week. “They know Jimmie Johnson and Helio Castroneves and Kyle Busch. They may know my family name back in Australia, but not here.”

For a few minutes, race fans who watched the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 from their lounge chairs would have seen Davison’s right front wheel explode and catch fire after a massive master cylinder brake failure on his Honda in the opening laps of the race. Or perhaps last Saturday night in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona when Davison’s Ford blew a tyre and slammed into the wall, relegating him to 39th place in the finishing order.

“The tyre went down, we swapped ends and got into the wall,” explained Davison. “I thought we were heading for a top-20 finish. It was pretty crazy.”

Pretty crazy – that may be a gross understatement in describing Davison’s journey since he started his first race in Formula Ford in a Victorian state event in 2004, when he spent as much time spinning on the grass as driving the race track.

“That was wild, but I did manage to start on pole at the next race at Sandown,” Davison recalled. “I had absolutely no race craft. But I did have raw speed and a killer instinct.”

As a coxswain on the winning rowing crew at Scotch College in Melbourne in 2003, Davison developed a tough mental attitude in his school days, he said.

It helped as he transitioned from boat to car and across the Pacific in 2005 to America to race in the Formula BMW USA Junior Series, winning a round of the championship at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the US Grand Prix weekend.

“That was a breakthrough moment for me,” said Davison, now a six-time starter in the Indy 500. “I qualified fifth, picked off a couple cars at the beginning and grabbed the win. I remember the Aussie anthem being played on the podium. Until you

Davison made the field for this year’s Indianapolis 500 but was the race’s first retirement with a bizarre brake fire and wheel failure. execute a result, you never feel confident enough that you deserve to be at the pointy end of the grid.”

Davison had made some noise in junior formula, but it was almost completely muffled in 2006, when he jumped up to the Champ Car Atlantics series, where he teamed with Simon Pagenaud, current Team Penske driver and 2019 Indy 500 champion.

“The cars were very fast and powerful,” recalled Davison, whose step grandfather was Tony Gaze, the RAF fighter ace and first Australian to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix.

“I was competing against the likes of Pagenaud, Will Power and Robert Kubica, and many other drivers coming over from Europe. I did finish ahead of Simon in one race, but, honestly, I was still a boy racing against men.”

Davison was replaced on Team Australia before the end of the 2006 season.

“In all honesty, I’d lost a lot of confidence in myself,” admitted Davison, who is the only driver currently competing in the NTT IndyCar Series and NASCAR Cup Series. “I didn’t think I was good enough to be a winner in the elite level of the sport.”

Needing to reignite belief in himself and keep his American dream alive, Davison opted to move down to the Star Mazda Championship, equivalent to an F3 level.

Driving for Velocity Motorsports, Davison finished second in the championship in 2007, recording three poles and a victory “and having two wins taken from me because of officialdom, which I won’t get into.”

More importantly, his performance caught the eye on IndyCar team owner Sam Schmidt, who emailed Davison towards the end of 2007, asking him what his ambitions were.

Davison replied: “I want to be an IndyCar driver.”

After being invited to Sebring International Raceway in central

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Florida by Schmidt for a shootout to win a seat on his Indy Lights team, Davison finished the final Star Mazda race at Laguna Seca, “jumped on a red-eye from California, landed in Orlando in the early morning hours and drove straight to the track and hopped into the car.”

Davison had to perform, and right away.

“The Indy Lights car was big, heavy and powerful,” said Davison. “I was in the big boys’ league again.

Fortunately, I really clicked with the team, the engineer, the track and the car. I was able to top the test.”

With the help of the Australian Motor Sport Foundation and the generosity of Schmidt, Davison signed on for 2008 “for a third of the budget” with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, struggling early on but rebounding to win at Mid-Ohio.”

“It was an intense year,” said Davison, who father Jon drove Formula 5000 and supported James during his Formula Ford days. “We were running against the Andretti, Rahal and Panther teams … big budget outfits.”

As the Indy Racing League and CART confirmed they would unify as one entity in 2008 after the infamous open-wheel “Split” in 1996, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George reached out to Davison and signed him to drive for his Vision Racing team in Indy Lights in 2009.

It didn’t hurt at the time that Davison was dating George’s daughter Lauren.

“Well, we had a great season,” recalled Davison. “We finished every single race, won again at Mid-Ohio and finished second in the championship. And, yes, I got to fly in Tony’s private jet. But Tony and the team knew I could collect points and look after equipment.”

But good times for Davison were

about to come crashing down and his career in the USA screech to a halt when the Global Financial Crisis hit America with the force of a category 5 hurricane. George suspended operation of the team in January 2010 and Davison was out.

“All of a sudden there was no Vision Racing, no IndyCar team and no Indy Lights team,” said Davison. “It took the wind out of the sails.”

Just when things looked so promising, Davison was without a job and returned to Australia.

“I worked at a driving school,” said Davison. “The reality of motorsports hit me. For me, an IndyCar season in 2010 had dried up. There was no funding. What – was I going to rob a bank?”

Luckily, Davison kept his eye on IndyCar from Down Under and particularly on Venezuelan driver Milka Duno, a former model, who was taking a crack at the IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing and needed mucho assistance.

“Milka couldn’t help herself on the track,” said Davison of Duno, who famously clashed with Danica Patrick in the pits at Mid-Ohio, after being Davison’s step grandfather was legendary WW11 Spitfire fighter pilot Tony Gaze, the first Australian ever to start a World Championship Grand Prix. He paid tribute to the late Gaze called out for being too slow and with his helmet design, which he used when he raced a historic F1 Lotus in the UK (below). blocking during practice.

“It was an opportunity for me to come to the (IndyCar) races and coach. I contacted Duno’s agent and I ended up making a little money.”

It also helped Davison build a relationship with team owner Dale Coyne, which has lasted through the years until this day.

Davison started 27th in the 2020 Indy 500 alongside Pagenaud and two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso, before his catastrophic wheel failure in the No. 51 Coyne/Ware/Byrd/Belardi Honda ended his day.

But, let’s back up a few years, to 2013, when Coyne called Davison and

UNITED STATES OF DAVISON You come from a legendary Australian racing family. Was there much pressure on you to drive?

Yes, I was born into it. My grandfather Lex Davison was a champion. My father Jon raced Formula 5000. My cousins Will and Alex drove in Supercars. I felt a little pressured for sure. But I didn’t want people to think I was doing it because of my last name. I wanted it as much as they did.

Did you ever drive karts?

I did – for a season when I was 11. I jumped into Formula Ford at around 17 or 18. I had zero understanding of the art of driving then. But I had a tremendous amount of youthful bravery.

Describe your personality.

Pretty head strong and determined. I inherited that from both my parents.

What made you head to America?

I saw a road to IndyCar, though it was and has proven long and winding. Europe was jam full of young talent. I got a chance through CAMS to compete in the Formula BMW USA Championship and took it. I wanted to build my skill set and network.

You won in Formula BMW at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a US Grand Prix weekend in 2005. How was that?

It played such an important part in my dream to make it to the top level of racing in the States. It was a breakthrough race for me, though modest in its stature at the time.

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You jumped to Champ Car Atlantics in 2006. How big a step up was that?

Tough and a lesson in humility. I should have spent a season in the Star Mazda Series before trying Atlantic.

You did in 2007 and fought for the championship. Good call?

Absolutely. It got the attention of teams like Sam Schmidt Motorsports and A.J. Foyt Racing. I was very excited.

You had a couple of solid seasons after that in Firestone Indy Lights. Then, pardon the expression, the lights went out on your IndyCar vision.

Yep – the Global Financial Crisis hit and savaged millions of people in the USA and worldwide. It hit hundreds of young race drivers too. I ended up with nothing.

You seemed to have rebounded reasonably well, though it took a while. Did it make you stronger?

I got to say yes. You either have the money to go racing or you don’t. Mine had all dried up. I just had to figure it out.

One way was coaching gentleman drivers. Good result?

Yes, it helped support a lot of my drives including the Continental Grand Am Series and eventually my first IndyCar Series start in 2013.

You finished 15th I believe in that race at Mid-Ohio. How do you remember it?

I drove my arse off. As far as I knew at the time, it was the only IndyCar Series race I was ever going to do.

Who is your racing hero?

Well, as a kid at school, it was always Michael Schumacher.

I’d have friendly but colorful arguments with blokes at school who didn’t think race drivers were athletes or sportsmen. They reckoned Bradman was the greatest ever. I always argued for Schumacher.

You jumped in the car at the 2017 Indy 500 for an injured Sebastian Bourdais at Dale Coyne Racing and drove from last to first before a late restart crash took you out. What was the feeling after?

I was bitterly disappointed, but former CART champion Jimmy Vasser came up to me later and said, ‘If you had just wrecked messing about at the back, I’d have said don’t bring the car back to the garage and talk to us. But going for the victory, that’s alright, kid.’

You drove on the dirt at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., in January. How did that work out?

In a way, it was nearly suicide. I had to swallow my pride. I didn’t advance to the feature. But I had to take a shot.

What do you think your grandfather Lex would think of you now?

I think he’d be proud and impressed with me as well as Alex and Will.

You ever coming back home?

I’d love to live on the Gold Coast. I love Australia. But right now, I’ve got business to finish in America.

AN ULTIMATE TALENT

Davison’s American experience has included racing Nissan GT-Rs (above) and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 cars in the Pirelli World Challenge Series for various wealthy owners. Earlier in his career Davison raced a Team Australia Star Mazda Championship entry. offered him a ride at Mid-Ohio in the IndyCar Series race.

“It was a crazy good deal,” said Davison, who’d been coaching Duno and gentleman drivers and spotting for Indy Lights teams in the interim.

With financial backing from five drivers he was then coaching and support from Tony George and Zak Brown, now CEO of McLaren, Davison had finally gotten the break he had fought so hard for – an IndyCar Series ride.

But it was harder than he’d ever imagined.

“I was stone cold in every regard,” remembers Davison of his rookie drive. “I hadn’t raced Indy Lights for four years. I was going into Mid-Ohio, a demanding, technically difficult track, with zero race fitness. But I had Justin Wilson as a teammate and I kept my head down and tried to not fall out of the seat.”

Davison, on IndyCar Series debut, fast-tracked it that fateful weekend at Mid-Ohio.

He outqualified Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden and Tony Kanaan, and “matched James Hinchcliffe and Helio Castroneves to the same tenth.”

“I was driving a fighter jet on wheels,” recalled Davison. “We ended up finishing in the top 15 in the race. I emptied the tank. I was in agonizing pain physically after.”

Though he hadn’t hit the jackpot in Las Vegas, Davison’s future and fortunes were beginning to improve.

In 2014, he drove as a rookie in the Indy 500 for KV Racing Technology, starting 28th and finishing 16th.

He would compete five more times at the Brickyard in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

But it was 2017 that Davison made his mark at Indianapolis, when he came from 33rd and last on the grid to lead two laps in the famed 500 before crashing out on a late restart while running in the top five.

In doing so, Davison became only the third driver in the history of the Indy 500 to start 33rd and lead laps in the race.

“It ended up in a pile-up with Oriol Servia,” said Davison. “That’s what happens when you are fighting for the win.”

Whether driving sportscars such as the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 car and Nissan GT-R in the Pirelli World Challenge Series, or a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing on road courses in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Davison has tackled the challenges head on in the USA, mainly on his own with the help from a few good friends.

Now he is going up against NASCAR heavyweights like Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin in the Cup Series in 2020, for the tiny Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing teams, giving away a ton of horsepower, mechanical grip and engineering support.

Davison has started at Pocono Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and just the other night at Daytona International Speedway, learning the ropes and paying his rookie Cup dues on the ovals.

“Hey, it’s a battle for 30th to 40th place but it’s a start,” said Davison.

“You get no testing, nothing. It’s just straight to the race weekend. I’m challenging myself again, and I’m excited I’m doing it. We are 50 horse power down on some of the bigger teams. But it’s the only way I can get started. All you are doing is racing your group of slow cars in the back.

It certainly beats sitting at home though.”

Davison plans on doing “seven or eight more Cup races” in 2020 including at Darlington, Richmond and Bristol.

“It will be the same situation each weekend,” said Davison. “I’ll just take the green flag and figure it out.

IF ANYONE could forecast how two-time Australian Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin would fare in American racing, it would be Melbourne-born James Davison, who has banged and bumped his way into the rarified air of the NTT IndyCar Series and NASCAR over the past decade and a half.

The 27-year-old McLaughlin, who drives the No. 17 Ford Mustang GT for DJR Team Penske organisation, is tipped to head to America following the current Supercars season and join Roger Penske’s IndyCar and/or NASCAR teams.

The 2019 Bathurst 1000 winner, born in Christchurch, has a similar background and pedigree to Marcos Ambrose, who made the transition from open-wheel and Supercars to NASCAR in 2006.

A two-time Supercars champ like McLaughlin, the Tasmanian-born Ambrose drove in 227 NASCAR Cup Series races in seven seasons, taking pole three times and winning twice, with 46 top-10 finishes to boot.

“I think Scott McLaughlin will absolutely do great in America in any series he drives,” said Davison. “The way I view Scott is the way I view Lewis Hamilton.

He’s the ultimate talent with the ultimate opportunity, and there’s your result, just incredible success.”

Though Davison has always had to play catch up in his racing journey, he doesn’t downplay McLaughlin’s ability, even though the Kiwi has long had great equipment.

“I don’t envy him at all because he deserves every success he’s had,” said Davison. “And that’s how the sport should work. The best drivers should end up in the best equipment. Of course, it doesn’t always happen. But I give credit where credit is due. I hope Scott does come and race IndyCar or NASCAR and achieve great things. I think it is inevitable he will.”

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PIQUET SNATCHES THE TITLE LEAD

Nelson Piquet continued his fine form to win the Italian Grand Prix win at Imola and take the championship lead with just two races remaining, as DAN McCARTHY recalls.

Images: LAT

A NEW venue to the Formula 1 calendar awaited Alan Jones and his contemporaries, as they headed to Italy to continue the battle for the World Championship.

Since 1950, Monza had hosted the Italian Grand Prix but for 1980 those duties were handed to Imola for the first time.

The previous round in The Netherlands was a disaster for Jones, after an accident forced him to retire while championship rival Nelson Piquet took victory to close within two points of title leader Jones.

Piquet’s updated Brabham BT49 had performed well at Zandvoort and was expected to be a threat for the remaining rounds of the season.

On Friday heavy fog surrounded the circuit, forcing practice and qualifying to be delayed as the medical helicopter would be unable to take off.

Earlier in the day several members of the Alfa Romeo team had arrived at the circuit in a private helicopter, which crashed while trying to land in the bad conditions.

Fortunately all crew members survived but a long recovery was expected from a list of injuries sustained.

This incident led to replacement driver Vittorio Brambilla wisely deciding to drive to the circuit. Or so he thought.

On the way, Brambilla had an accident with a lorry, the Italian emerging from the incident unscathed.

All this had come just weeks after the death of lead Alfa Romeo driver Patrick Depailler in a testing accident.

Nigel Mansell’s tough F1 initiation continued in Italy.

After struggling to qualify in Austria and brake problems at Zandvoort, the Brit

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Carlos Reutemann split the Renaults at the start but an overheated clutch left him falling through the field (above). Elio De Angelis (below) finished fourth in his Lotus to score points for the second time this season. It ended a terrible run of luck for the Italian.

crashed his Lotus at Imola. Damage was minimal until German Manfred Winkelhock – replacing the injured Jochen Mass at Arrows – crashed into Mansell’s stricken Lotus, rendering both out for the weekend.

In front of the tifosi, Gilles Villeneuve debuted the brand-new turbo-charged Ferrari 126C in practice on Saturday morning. And although Villeneuve set a faster time in the newer chassis in

qualifying, he elected to use his trusty naturally aspirated V12 machine in the race.

The Ligiers were expected to do well at Imola, but both Didier Pironi and championship contender Jacques Laffite were well off the pace.

Another to struggle was Jones in his Williams FW07B, which no longer appeared to be the superior chassis on

the grid, and to make matters worse in practice and qualifying two of his Cosworth engines let go.

Renault was expected to be off the pace around the technical Imola layout, but advances with the turbo-charged powerplant were proving the critics wrong.

At the end of qualifying it was a Renault 1-2 with Rene Arnoux sat top of the timesheets, 0.351s faster than his teammate Jean Pierre Jabouille.

Third fastest, 0.698s from pole, was Jones’ Williams teammate Carlos Reutemann ahead of Alfa Romeo driver Bruno Giacomelli.

The championship contenders were on the third row, Piquet fifth and Jones sixth, just ahead of Riccardo Patrese and Villeneuve. The Ligiers of Pironi and Laffite started in 13th and 20th respectively.

Conditions on race day were warm and sunny, with 60 laps around the twisting Imola circuit expected to be a test for driver and machine alike.

As soon as the lights went out Reutemann made a great initial launch to squeeze between the two Renaults. But the Williams driver had overheated his clutch and was unable to select second, so plummeted to the back of the field as a result.

Notably Piquet and Villeneuve made great starts, making up multiple places on the opening lap.

At the end of lap 1, Arnoux remained out front from Jabouille, then it was Piquet, Giacomelli, Villeneuve, the second Brabham driver of Hector Rebaque, and Jones.

On lap 3, the intensity began to turn up a notch.

1980 Italian Grand Prix - Imola

Gilles Villeneuve (above) qualified in Ferrari’s new turbo-charged challenger he chose to race the ol’faithful V12 car instead. The move failed to turnaround the Italian manufacturer’s difficult season.

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ

Driver Nelson Piquet Alan Jones Carlos Reutemann Elio de Angelis Keke Rosberg Didier Pironi Alain Prost Jody Scheckter Jacques Laffite Rene Arnoux Rupert Keegan Eddie Cheever Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jabouille Marc Surer Mario Andretti Riccardo Patrese Derek Daly John Watson Hector Rebaque Emerson Fittipaldi Gilles Villeneuve Bruno Giacomelli Vittorio Brambilla Nigel Mansell Manfred Winkelhock Jan Lammers Geoff Lees

Drivers’ Standings Alan Jones (above) blew two engines during the lead up but still managed to finish second as the Renaults struggled for reliability. Nelson Piquet (below) proved the superiority of the Brabham BT49 (below).

Into the Tosa hairpin Jabouille took the lead from his teammate and just a couple of corners later into the Acque Minerali, Piquet also overtook the Frenchman.

A lap later exiting Rivazza, Piquet got a tremendous run to breeze by Jabouille effortlessly into the lead.

That lap Villeneuve overtook Giacomelli for fourth, but this didn’t last long.

The Canadian’s right-rear tyre blew at the fast right-hand corner (now named Villeneuve in his honour) before the Tosa hairpin, and he spun into the wall. The resulting impact tore the Ferrari apart and it bounced the chassis back onto the circuit.

On one side of the track were the remains of the Ferrari chassis, while on the other was the gearbox, right-side suspension and a wheel, though somehow the French Canadian escaped unhurt.

Driving through the debris Giacomelli picked up a puncture and was forced to retire the Alfa Romeo from a strong position.

This left Piquet leading Jabouille, Arnoux, Jones and Rebaque.

Now with clear air Jones was able to punch in some fast laps to quickly catch the French machines, though he didn’t have to push for long as Arnoux dropped off the pace.

Jones quickly disposed of the Renault, which then came under pressure from Rebaque, Mario Andretti’s Lotus and Jean Pierre Jarier in his Tyrrell.

Continuing his charge, Jones overtook Jabouille for second at the final chicane, while Reutemann had also recovered to 11th.

Rebaque was sitting in a season best fifth until his suspension failed on lap 18, and he was joined by in retirement by Patrese and Andretti with engine problems.

Past the halfway mark the race had settled down, as Piquet comfortably led Jones, Jabouille, Arnoux, Jarier and Reutemann.

The podium positions looked set with only laps to go but the Renault unreliability stuck once more, Jabouille forced into retirement for the 11th time in 13 races, this time when the gearbox cried no more.

Just a lap later, Jarier was next after brake problems took him out. Despite an earlier off-track excursion the Tyrrell driver had been fourth behind Reutemann with just six laps remaining, until forced to retire.

Unaware of the chaos behind him, Piquet took his Brabham to a third win of the season ahead of the Williams pair of Jones and Reutemann.

By rounding out the final two spots on the podium the Australian and Argentine collected enough points to secure Williams its first ever Constructors’ Championship, however Jones had lost his title points lead to the race winner.

In all the late drama, Lotus driver Elio de Angelis snuck into fourth ahead of Keke Rosberg in his Fittipaldi, and Pironi.

Rounding out the top 10 were Alain Prost, reigning champion Jody Scheckter in his Ferrari, Laffite and Arnoux.

Up next, the Formula 1 circus was set to travell to Canada for the penultimate round of the 1980 season.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. = =

Nelson Piquet Alan Jones Carlos Reutemann Jacques Laffite Rene Arnoux Didier Pironi Elio De Angelis Jean-Pierre Jabouille Riccardo Patrese Jean-Pierre Jarier Keke Rosberg Derek Daly

Constructor Brabham Williams Williams Lotus Fittipaldi Ligier McLaren Ferrari Ligier Renault Williams Osella Tyrrell-Ford Renault ATS Lotus Arrows Tyrrell McLaren Brabham Fittipaldi Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Lotus Arrows Ensign Ensign 54 53 37 32 29 24 10 9 7 6 6 6

Laps 60 60 60 59 59 59 59 59 59 58 58 57 54 53 45 40 38 33 20 18 17 5 5 4

Result 1h 38m 07.52s + 28.93s + 1:13.67s + 1 Lap + 1 Lap + 1 Lap + 1 Lap + 1 Lap + 1 Lap + 2 Laps + 2 Laps + 3 Laps Brakes Gearbox Engine Engine Engine Accident Wheel Bearing Suspension Accident Puncture Puncture Spun Off

Grid 5 6 3 18 11 13 24 16 20 1 21 17 12 2 23 10 7 22 14 9 15 8 4 19

Constructors’ Standings 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. = 8.

9.

10.

Williams Ligier Brabham Renault Tyrrell Arrows Fittipaldi Lotus McLaren Ferrari

90 56 54 38 12 11 11 10 8 6

This is how Villeneuve’s race ended. A puncture sent the French Candian hard into the concrete wall before the Tosa Hairpin.

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29

RAISING THE BAR

Trevor Ashby

Steve Reed

Images:

The Lansvale Racing Team set the benchmark for privateer touring t car teams throughout the late-1980s and the 1990s. Lansvale Smash Repairs proprietors Trevor Ashby and Steve Reed took it to the top teams with a tiny budget and a determined attitude, as HEATH McALPINE discovered KEEN OBSERVERS of the Supercars coverage at both Sydney Motorsport Park rounds may have spotted a familiar name occupying the bonnet of dual race winner Nick Percat.

If not, the words that were emblazoned on the Brad Jones Racing Commodore were Lansvale Smash Repairs ... that’s right, the same business that was an entrant of touring cars for 18 seasons.

Former driver Trevor Ashby still heads up that organisation, though long-time friend and former partner Steve Reed is not involved anymore, though they remain good friends.

Reed instead has interests in farming these days, currently chickens and solar, as well as a small head of cattle, outside Sydney.

Ashby is still working out of the

30 AutoAction

office in the Lansvale Smash Repairs facility in Enfield, established by himself and Reed back in 1974.

However, Ashby and Reed’s friendship extends back even further, to high school where the duo were in the same friendship group, sharing similar interests.

“We actually went all the way through school together, but we became really good mates during high school. We came from the same direction and knew where we were heading,” Ashby told Auto Action.

“I left school a few months before Steve and he was going to be a mechanic, but he ended up being a panel beater, so we were both in the same tech class.

“When I was in my second year, I started fixing cars at home and I think

all my neighbours realised I could fix cars, so I ended up fixing everyone’s car. Steve was doing the same thing and we both had too much work on, so we ended up getting together in my parent’s backyard.”

The operation moved from the backyard to Ashby and Reed’s domestic garages, the pair working two jobs before an opportunity arose to move the business into a larger facility.

“I knew an old guy, who wanted to get out and we got into a factory, then we had three factory units and kept on getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” Ashby continued. “We worked hard to get there and if anything went wrong while racing, it was another hour to pay for it.

“Quite often we’d be here until

10pm at night just working on other people’s cars, to pay for racing.”

The pair’s racing interests were sparked through motorkhanas, flag racing, lap dashes and the odd hillclimb “I told Steve he should have a go at this, it’s great fun, so he came out a couple of times later and he said it was good fun,” Ashby remembered.

“We then gradually got into motor sport, we joined a car club, did lap dashes and just progressed bit by bit by bit to when we ended up with a V8 Supercar team!

“Where I got my start was running around with car clubs, as a kid I was always interested in cars, I always liked to drive them and work on them,” Reed added.

A will to compete against other

Steve Reed gave the team’s newly acquired ex-Ken Matthews VK Commodore one of its first outings at Oran Park (far left). Trevor Ashby contested the AMSCAR Series at Amaroo Park, winning a number of heats (above). The duo took its equal best Bathurst result with the VL in 1987 (above), before upgrading to Walkinshaw specifications in 1988 (above, far right). Unusually, the team switched back to carburettor-specification for 1989 but luck still deserted the pair at The Mountain. drivers fuelled the pair’s first race car purchase, a wild Ford Escort RS2000 sports sedan, which had a Chev powerplant installed, though this was only after installing a Windsor followed by a Cleveland failed to yield the desired results.

“We had that built, an RS2000 powered by a Chev engine. It was pretty trick and pretty tight, it wasn’t the safest car around when I look back at it,” Reed summed up. “Not too many were back then.”

Ashby shares the same sentiment, and then a chance encounter

provided a massive improvement to the Escort, albeit too late for the pair to reap the rewards.

“It went like a scalded cat,” Ashby exclaimed, “though it didn’t handle too well.

“We used to do a bit for Jim Hunter Suspensions and there was a Formula 2 sitting there. I looked at the wing on it and thought that’d be perfect for the Escort, as I didn’t think the crazy wings on the other cars worked.

“So, I put it on the Escort to see if it worked and we went straight to the

front of Sports Sedans.

“It started to oversteer, so we had to fix that, but we didn’t drive it for long after that because we wanted to get into touring cars.”

Before the pair debuted there was a two year build up to that point.

They first went to Bathurst in 1984 to observe the event and did the same in 1985, before biting the bullet in 1986 and purchasing a Commodore from Ken Matthews.

“We wanted to do Bathurst and that was the big thing,” said Reed. “We went there a couple times in a row to

have a bit of an observe and we saw these guys that we racing against, so we thought ‘If they can do it, we can do it’.

“Whether we were as good or better, we were beating some of these guys in certain categories, so we thought we needed to give this a go because we think we can do this quite well.”

However, there was a decision for the team to make, as the influx of Group A allowed a larger range of competitive manufacturers than Group C, so did the pair ever consider another marque?

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31

Lansvale transitioned as the VN Commodore became Holden’s touring car challenger (top) and it marked the second Bathurst where the team displayed what was to become its signature livery. Ashby and Reed continued in touring cars as the Group 3A regulations were implemented for 1993 (above left). The pair expanded to two-entries during the early-V8 Supercars era (above right).

“When we first started, we didn’t know what we were going to race,” Ashby recalled.

“We actually considered a Nissan a one stage, but we thought if something breaks it will cost the earth. We looked at it pretty closely and thought ‘Nope, we’re not going to do it’.

“It’ll date quicker too, when moving from one Nissan to the next, everything changed, although the Commodores were drastic but not as much.”

Another piece of the Lansvale racing puzzle to fit was the team manager, who wasn’t hard to find.

Situated only a few blocks away was leading Formula Ford racer and engineering extraordinaire Wally Storey, who aided the team in its formative touring car years before heading up the likes of the Holden Racing Team, Wayne Gardner Racing and Tasman Motorsport.

“We bought Wally along for our first year at Bathurst and he tuned the car very well for us,” Reed said.

“Before he said yes, I think the question he asked was ‘What do you want to get out of Bathurst? What do

32 AutoAction

you think you can achieve?’

“We said, ‘First of all, we want to finish it and then it would be good to get up there a bit’.

“He replied ‘That’s pretty cool because if you said you wanted to win it, I would have said see you later!’ You knew the budget in those days just wasn’t going to allow it.”

Ashby can remember Storey being eager to develop the team’s Commodore, but this was held up purely by the budget, which not only was a frustration to the engineer, but also to many personnel during Lansvale’s tenure in touring cars.

“He had heaps of ideas,” said Ashby.

“His factory was only a few blocks away and he didn’t live that far away.

“We’d get to work and he’d be out the front waiting for us to open up!

He’d say ‘I’ve got this idea I want to try out on the car’.

“He’s a true racer, always was and probably always will be. He had all these ideas, which we’d like to do just we couldn’t afford to do it.”

It was a tough introduction to The Mountain for the team in 1986, as a

gearbox failed on lap 39, forcing the team to purchase another Getrag and install it, which was completed in an hour. Further heartbreak was inflicted when a diff failed with the end in sight.

Entering in 1986 was to ensure the team’s participation in the 1987 event, a round of the short-lived World Touring Car Championship.

The lead up to the race was a disaster for Lansvale, after a wheel came loose during practice, pitching Reed into the wall at Castrol Curve. Then followed a remarkable team effort from the Lansvale workshop personnel and TAFE students during two days straight to rebuild the Commodore, though both believed it to be a write off.

Amazingly, the team achieved its best result in this race, scoring eighth after the two Texaco Ford Sierras were given the boot.

“We had a really bad crash, I actually thought it was a write off,” Reed recalled.

“But again, Wally was involved and said ‘Let’s have a look at this thing and see how we can get it into the race’, and that is what we did.

“She just potted around all day, driving as best we could and ended up with a result. There were tears in the eyes of some of the pit crew I tell you, after not sleeping for pretty much two days.”

A change to the ‘Walkinshaw’ VL specification delivered a race finish in 1989, with 13th, the first time the car featured Dulux support.

A VN Commodore beckoned for 1991, by which time Storey had joined HRT at the insistence of Ashby and Reed.

“I think Neil Crompton was involved with Wally in Formula Holden and he saw the value of Wally at HRT as much as what we did,” Reed explained.

“Then when he got offered the position, we said, ‘Wally, you’re silly if you don’t do this, you’re a motor racer through and through, and it’s your chance. We can’t fund it to the extent of the Holden Racing Team and with your abilities I think you’ll go very well’, which proved to be correct.

“The next year at Bathurst, HRT won Bathurst.”

A 13th again with the VN followed

Lansvale transitioned into the professional V8 Supercars era with Cameron McConville at the helm of the team’s single-entry from 2001 until 2003, before the operation was sold to Tasman Motorsport (above left). Trevor Ashby maintains an interest in the sport by sponsoring Brad Jones Racing (above right), while Steve Reed in the BJR garages looking after sponsor pit tours and corporate entertainment. for Lansvale, before another failure to finish in the rain shortened 1992 event was probably a blessing considering the conditions that day.

The team didn’t just solely compete at Bathurst, Ashby was a consistent contender in the AMSCAR Series at Amaroo Park, while Reed ran at Oran Park and interstate events. In fact, Reed scored victory for the team at the 25th Anniversary meeting at Oran Park in changeable conditions.

More events were contested as Ron Gillard took over Storey’s role in the team, completing the preparation at his Ballina garage.

“We got Ron Gillard involved, he was a mate of Wally’s and was always hanging around,” explained Ashby.

“My first year at Bathurst, he (Ron) actually showed me around because I’d never walked the track, (though) I may have driven around the track the year before.

“Every time I go up there it feels like the track is in a different spot. I went on a walk to the top with Gillard and he showed me all the points to watch and I went about four seconds quicker straight away.”

Another big transition for Australian touring car racing took place ahead of 1993, with the introduction of the Group 3A Ford vs Holden V8 regulations, which came at a cost, but proved to be in the right direction.

“Expensive, but it had to happen,” surmised Ashby. “We budgeted for it and geared ahead because everybody knew what was happening and it was just a transition into a new car.”

This era was arguably when the team hit its straps.

Ashby was unlucky not to finish on the podium at Lakeside on Yokohamas that were well suited to the conditions.

Another near miss was at Phillip Island in 1995, when a storm impacted the circuit midway through a race, resulting in a red flag and fourth place for the Lansvale VP Commodore.

“I remember finishing about fourth and it was a disastrous meeting,” Ashby said. “I drove onto the straight and Ron Gillard told me to pit, I wondered what for and he told me it was raining, but I looked over the ocean and it was beautiful.

“The two of us didn’t say much, I said ‘Bullshit’ and I went around again, but when I got to Lukey

Heights it was pissing down rain and I went off.”

Starting on the second row for Heat 2, the Commodore dropped a valve and Ashby knew his run at the front was over.

Reed meanwhile took part in an interesting Channel 7 television feature conducted by presenter Mark Oastler, comparing professional entrants to privateers.

The Lansvale Commodore was driven for the story by Mark Skaife, while Reed sampled the Gibson Motorsport example at Eastern Creek Raceway.

But at 6’6” tall, he remembers he found it difficult to fit in the Winfield machine.

“I was totally out of whack in his car, I almost couldn’t fit in the thing, and I had to brake with my foot up against my bum,” Reed related.

“It was interesting for Mark, his feedback about our car was really quite good because his feel was very, very good. Those guys were always going at the top end and I think that’s the good thing about the sport today, you have 24 professional cars out there now.”

The beginning of that road was when Tony Cochrane became involved at

the end of 1996, which forced the privateers to step up.

“Tony Cochrane took the sport to another level as far as all the promotion (which) was much better and they tried to lift the standard, so guys like us either had to step up or step out,” Reed explained. “It became more a business whereas before for us we were going motor racing and to get to that professional level we had to step up.”

However, The Mountain wasn’t kind to the partnership in this period except for in 1997 when Ashby and Reed equalled their best result of eighth, before closing out with 11th in 2001.

Lansvale was a constant in Supercars until 2003, but by this stage Ashby and Reed had given away the driving duties after installing Cameron McConville as team leader in 2001.

The pair was aiming to race again in 2002, but budget prevented it from happening.

After selling out to Tasman Motorsport at the end of 2003, Ashby and Reed toyed with the idea of racing again, but both thought it was best to stop.

“We were going to get a ute or two and have a fang around, we thought

it could be good fun,” Ashby said.

“Wally said ‘What in the bloody heck would you do that? You’ve done these V8 things all these years, you might as well just continue that if you want to keep on racing’.

“I didn’t renew my licence that year and that solved the whole problem.”

After being involved with Tasman Motorsport, the pair came to BJR due to a friendship with team co-owner Brad Jones which spans close to 35-years, plus Storey was working for the team at that point.

Trevor Ashby’s interests outside of Lansvale are a small collection of early Holdens, his three children and seven grandchildren. All share a passion for bike riding, with Ashby proudly stating that 11 members of the family joined him on a ride from his home in Sylvania Waters to Cronulla.

Meanwhile, Steve Reed still attends Supercars events as a pit tour guide for BJR and takes care of sponsors, some of whom also supported the Lansvale team back in the day He has three children and also has some old toys in his shed at home.

“I’m enjoying life that’s for sure,” he said.

One last hurrah! They didn’t know it at the time, but 2001 was to be Ashby and Reed’s final Bathurst.

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33

Having a father who competed in motor sport provided inspiration for 18-year-old Zak Best to follow.

He explained to DAN McCARTHY his ambitions to create a career in Australian motor sport Images: Insyde Media/Nathan Wong IT IS no surprise that Zak Best grabbed the steering wheel instead of a cricket bat or a football.

That’s because his father Darren was a regular production car competitor and his older sister Ellexandra also competes at a national level in a variety of classes.

At just four-years-old Best drove a kart for the first time and has since risen steadily through the ranks to be competing currently in Supercars’ second-tier Super2 Series.

It was in 2016 when Best emerged as a name to watch, after winning a race in just his second round of the Aussie Racing Cars. At Phillip Island he had charged through the field to become the youngest ever winner in the category’s history, at just 14.

“It was good to go down to Phillip Island for my second ever round and in the reverse grid race I managed to make up something like 18 spots and held onto the win,” Best recalled to Auto Action.

Best places the blame squarely on his father when explaining how his motor sport career started.

“The (motor racing) bug definitely came from my dad, watching him race in Australian Production Cars when I was a young kid,”

34 AutoAction

ONE BEST OF THE

Zak Best is part of Supercars’ next generation racing a MW Motorsport Nissan Altima in Super2. His progression follows a successful stint in Super3 where he took six wins last year, though luck lu deserted him at key moments.

Best said.

“I started driving go karts at dad’s factory when I was four, so started at a very young, I just couldn’t wait until I was seven to compete in my first race.

“On my birthday I got my AKA kart license and went to Numurkah for my first ever race.”

After a

successful stint in karts, the decision was made for Best to tackle Aussie Racing Cars, and his summation of the category is one shared by many young drivers after joining the class.

“It just felt like a go kart on steroids,” he said.

“That just seemed like the right move out of go karts, they aren’t a big car, they still move around and have a lot of power, it’s a cool series to jump into cars.

“It’s pretty affordable too compared to a lot of other classes and it’s on the Supercars calendar, which is the main thing.”

It was a quick build-up to his opening Aussie Racing Cars event as Best only bought the ex-Mark Griffith Euro GT two weeks prior to Adelaide.

His debut event provided the groundwork behind his improvement during the season.

“It was a big learning curve.

Results were pretty good for first year in cars, every round I was

always getting better in the car,” he felt.

After finishing f the season in 12th positio position, Best elected to make the switch to open-wheel racing and 2017 Austral Australian Formula 4 Championship.

“It just jus seemed like the new era of Formul Formula Ford, like the next (openwheel) stepping stone to Supercars.

It seem seemed like the new pathway, new era,” he explained.

“I did a test day with AGI Sport and signed with them, it was a pretty succes successful year, I learnt a hell of lot about d data.

“I never nev really had a big interest in open-w open-wheelers, that season in Formula 4 was ffun, but Supercars was always goal.” the goa It was a challenging year for Best as he ffinished the championship in overall, in a field that included 10th ov current FIA European Formula 3 racer Lawson and US-based Cameron Liam L Shields.

Shields next career progression for Best The n emerged after an opportunity to test an emerge Image Racing V8 Touring Car Series Falcon arose, which only fuelled Ford Fa desire to move into the thenhis des unofficial third-tier Supercars class. unoffic “We d decided to make the move to the Kum Kumho Series, spoke to category manag manager Liam Curkpatrick, and he put us in co contact with Matt White,” Best explain explained.

“We w went down and had a chat about

Best contested the Australian Formula 4 Championship in 2017, which included racing on the Gold Coast street circuit. the usual stuff and then was racing (for Matthew White Motorsport) at Phillip Island.”

All season long it was a head-to-head fight for the title between Best and teammate Tyler Everingham.

The series went down to the last round at The Bend Motorsport Park, but it was Everingham who emerged victorious.

“It was tough battle between us all year. If I went quicker, Tyler would go quicker, we pushed each other all season,” Best recalled.

“We got quicker by doing that, having a good teammate like Tyler with us pushing each other, it was a good way to learn.

“It came down to the wire, there was not a lot I could do, either Tyler was going to win or I was. At the Bend I

didn’t put it all together, I made a few mistakes in the last round.”

Despite narrowly missing out on the title, Best was keen to follow Everingham into Super2, but decided instead to get further experience in V8 Touring Cars without being thrust into the pressure filled environment of the second-tier class.

However, during the off season the V8 Touring Car Series had been renamed as officially the third-tier Supercars category, Super3.

As a result, the class attracted a slew of additional young guns led by eventual series winner Broc Feeney, Jayden Ojeda, Nic Carroll and Hamish Ribarits.

Despite this, Best more than rose to the occasion, taking the opening

Best’s first taste of circuit racing was in Aussie Racing Cars in 2016.

round win at Phillip Island before moving onto his 2. home track of Winton for Round 2 “At Winton we had a car failure which cost us the round win when we were going for the clean sweep,” he recalled.

“Then there was another drama with an incident at the final race at Queensland Raceway, when another clean sweep was on the cards as well If I’d have won those two races, I probably would have sealed the deal (series).”

Best took more wins than any other driver with six, but those two retirements hurt his title aspirations and he finished fourth in the final standings.

Best was one of many former Super3 drivers to complete the step-up to Super2 for 2020, joined by fellow graduate Ojeda at MW Motorsport.

A positive for Best is his strong relationship with team owner Matt White, which has been built across three seasons and he is keen to continue that as he progresses up the

ladder.

“Matt and myself have built that (relationship) over the past three years working with him and also with the engineering team,” Best said.

“Being Melbourne-based is good for me, I’m only two hours away from the workshop, so it’s very handy. MW Motorsport is a good place to be!”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Super2 Series has only run two rounds thus far, and Best currently sits ninth in the standings. He pointed to his thirdplace qualifying effort on debut as his highlight to date.

“Adelaide quallie would definitely have to be the highlight so far. Practice felt there was something there and then in quallie I managed to put it all together.

I actually asked my engineer three of four times, ‘“third?” I couldn’t really believe it,” he said.

Best aims to remain in Super2 next season hoping for an uninterrupted campaign. n

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The set also includes: Aluminium rivet nut inserts: M5, M6, M8 & M10 (10 of each size) - 4 x rivet nut mandrels - Blind rivets: Ø3.2mm, Ø4.0mm, Ø4.8mm, Ø6.4mm (20 of each size) - 4 x blind rivet mandrels - 1 x mandrel spanner - 1 x blow moulded carry case For more information call into your local Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse or go to www.machineryhouse. com.au/N001

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HOLDEN LAUNCHES GM TRADE PARTS

HOLDEN HAS recently announced the launch of GM Trade Parts – an automotive trade-only program that brings competitively priced Holden Genuine Parts, ACDelco and recent Chevrolet Genuine Service Parts to the trade through its Holden Dealer Network across Australia and New Zealand. GM Trade Parts takes the reigns from the long-running Holden Trade Club program, the rebranding bringing with it a suite of new products and benefits for its existing 28,000 members.

“With over 1.6 million Holdens still on the road, there’s huge demand for Holden Genuine Parts in automotive workshops today. Holden has made a commitment to its customers to continue supplying Holden parts for at least the next decade, and the launch of GM Trade Parts reinforces this assurance to the automotive repair trade in both Australia and New Zealand,” Paul Rietveld Holden Director Aftersales said.

ACDelco also continues to expand its most product range for non-GM makes and models. From the oil in the engine to the globes in the taillights, the ACDelco product range is diverse and ever-growing.

If you’re in the automotive trade and not an existing member, it’s free to join GM Trade Parts.

You can Learn more about the program at www.gmtradeparts.com.au or speak with your local Holden Parts Department.

www.williamsraceservices.com.au sales@williamsraceservices.com Ph:07 5502 3636

Visit our new Southport showroom!

Formula One

Round 6 Belgian GP

LEWIS’ SPA Lewis Hamilton cruises to another victory while Daniel Ricciardo finishes a strong fourth Race Report: DAN KNUTSON Images: LAT

IT WAS not quite a relaxing day at Spa for Lewis Hamilton, but no one challenged him as he raced from the pole and led every lap to win the Belgian Grand Prix.

“It wasn’t the easiest of races,” the Mercedes driver said after win 89. “I had a lock-up into Turn 5 that started to give a bit of a vibration and then one into the last corner. The tyre temperatures were slowly dropping.

I was a little bit nervous that we might have a scenario like (the tyre blowouts at) Silverstone with that right front towards the end, so I was nursing it.”

Stuck in dirty air, Valtteri Bottas could not challenge his teammate, and he crossed the line in second to give the Mercedes works team its 50th 1-2 finish of the modern era that began in 2010.

“When you are in the lead you can control the pace and you have the free air,” Bottas said. “When you are behind and if you try to get close, you are always using more of the tyres than the car ahead, so it’s impossible to say whether I was quicker at any point.”

Aussie Daniel Ricciardo was not nursing it as the Renault driver cracked off the fastest lap of the race on the final tour, to get the bonus point to add to the 12 points he got for his fourth place finish.

“We had a lot of pace today and fourth is a strong result,” Ricciardo said. “My engineer told me what

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Max Verstappen (above) threatened to challenge the Mercedes pair but this failed to materialise. Spa highlighted Ferrari’s fall from grace this season. Pole last year was a distant memory after the Leclerc (below) and Vettel failed to make it through to Q3.

the current fastest lap was, and I thought: ‘I got this!’ It was a proper big lap; I used all the track and went for it. Maybe it was better than my qualifying lap yesterday!”

Ricciardo’s momentum brought him to within 3.442 seconds of Max Verstappen, who finished third in his Red Bull.

The Renault always performs well on low downforce circuits like Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, and even more so since the team found an improved chassis set-up configuration at the British Grand Prix.

“It was really encouraging,” Ricciardo said after his second fourthplace of the season. “The pace at the end took me by surprise. I was getting quicker and quicker.”

The top four – Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen and Ricciardo – qualified and finished in that order. Alex Albon (Red Bull) and Esteban Ocon (Renault) started fifth and sixth but swapped positions during the race.

“It was pretty boring to be honest,” Verstappen lamented. “It’s a shame.

I really enjoy driving here. We did 44 laps right? So I probably did 38 of them managing (the tyres) a lot. It’s not been the most exciting today.”

Unfortunately, the Orange Army – the many thousands of Dutch fans, all wearing orange, who pack the Spa circuit to cheer for Verstappen – had to stay home because no spectators were allowed at the track.

Daniel Ricciardo completed a strong weekend setting fastest lap on the final tour (above). Pierre Gasly ran an alternate strategy to charge into the points (below).

Antonio Giovanazzi’s race ended with a heavy crash, which also caught out an innocent George Russell after the Williams clipped the Alfa Romeo’s loose tyre (top). Formula 1 cars going through La Source at the start of a Grand Prix are always a spectacular sight (above).

There were dramatic moments, like Ricciardo hunting down Verstappen.

The Perth native had to use up time and tyres working his way past what he called the “buffer” of Pierre Gasly and Sergio Pérez, who were on different pit strategies.

“I really think I could’ve run with Max for that last stint,” Ricciardo said. “He pulled away because we lost time with their different strategies, but we reeled in a big gap towards the end.”

There was also drama on lap 10 when Antonio Giovinazzi crashed his Alfa Romeo into the barriers at the exit of Les Fagnes.

“I was pushing a lot to keep within DRS range of Sebastian (Vettel) and the car just snapped on the exit,” Giovinazzi said. “I was on the limit and when you’re there, sometimes mistakes can happen.”

A wheel torn off the Alfa collected the Williams of George Russell.

“I was doomed if I went right – I’d have crashed into him,” Russell said. “I was doomed if I went left as I hit his wheel.

For a split second it was pretty scary seeing that massive rear tyre flying across the circuit with no idea where it was going to go. Thankful for the halo, as I know with hindsight that even if that was heading towards me, I would have

been safe. We’re all very lucky to have that system.”

That brought out the safety car, and almost everybody pitted for the hard compound Pirelli tyres – turning it into a ‘one stop’ race.

Hamilton and Mercedes, meanwhile, are hard at work to create more victories like that at Spa. “I can’t tell you that I predict that I was going to come to the weekend and have half a second advantage in qualifying,” he said after his fifth win of the season, “and have the pace that I’ve had in these races compared to others. It’s really nice to know that I’m delivering the way I know that I can.

“No matter what, the work never stops.

You just have to keep pushing, keep working, keep trying to evolve because that’s what everyone else is doing. So, after this, for example, we have a debrief.

It won’t be all smiles. It will be like: ‘Okay guys, this could be better; this is the weakness of the car; this is where we really need to focus on.’

“Whether it’s set-up or the aero level that we had this weekend, whether it’s engine drivability … got to push on all the areas, guys, back to the drawing board, let’s keep pushing – and that’s how we continue to elevate ourselves.”

BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 44 LAPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 -

Lewis Hamilton Valtteri Bottas Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Esteban Ocon Alexander Albon Lando Norris Pierre Gasly Lance Stroll Sergio Perez Daniil Kvyat Kimi Raikkonen Sebastian Vettel Charles Leclerc Romain Grosjean Nicholas Latifi Kevin Magnussen Antonio Giovinazzi George Russell Carlos Sainz Jr.

Mercedes Mercedes Red Bull/Honda Renault Renault Red Bull/Honda McLaren/Renault AlphaTauri/Honda Racing Point/Mercedes Racing Point/Mercedes AlphaTauri/Honda Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari Haas/Ferrari Williams/Mercedes Haas/Ferrari Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Williams/Mercedes McLaren/Renault

1h24m08.761s 8.448s 15.455s 18.877s 40.650s 42.712s 43.774s 47.371s 52.603s 53.179s 1m10.200s 1m11.504s 1m12.894s 1m14.920s 1m16.793s 1m17.795s 1m25.540s Spun off Collision Not started

Drivers: Hamilton 157, Verstappen 110, Bottas 107, Albon 48, Leclerc 45, Norris 45, Stroll 42, Ricciardo 33, Perez 33, Ocon 26, Sainz 23, Gasly 18, Vettel 16, Hulkenberg 6, Giovinazzi 2, Kvyat 2, Magnussen 1.

Constructors: Mercedes 264, Red Bull-Honda 158, McLaren-Renault 68, Racing Point-Mercedes 66, Ferrari 61, Renault 59, AlphaTauri-Honda 20, Alfa RomeoFerrari 2, Haas-Ferrari 1.

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Formula One

Round 7 Italian GP

Pierre Gasly celebrates the season’s most unexpected result, the Frenchman’s first-ever Grand Prix victory.

PIERRE ON THE GAS Pierre Gasly scores first F1 victory as Mercedes beats itself

Race Report: DAN KNUTSON Images: LAT

WITH THE exception of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, won by Max Verstappen and Red Bull, Mercedes has dominated the 2020 season.

But Mercedes beat itself by making mistakes in the Italian Grand Prix that cost Lewis Hamilton victory.

And that set the stage for AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly to win his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“It’s unbelievable!” Gasly said. “I’ve been through so many things in the past 18 months, and it’s better than anything I expected.

“I focused hard when I re-joined Scuderia AlphaTauri. Day by day, race by race, we improved ourselves and got stronger and stronger – this team gave me my first podium in F1 last year in Brazil and today, these guys gave me my first win in F1, in Italy, in Monza, with an Italian team.”

It was the first F1 victory for a French driver since Olivier Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. And it was just the second victory for the team – the first, when it was called Toro Rosso, also coming at Monza when Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz chased hard after Gasly, and the McLaren driver was just 0.415 seconds adrift at the finish line.

Lance Stroll (Racing Point) joined them on the podium.

The last time one of the big three teams – Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari – did not win a Grand Prix was when Kimi Räikkönen won the 2013 season opener in Australia, driving a Lotus.

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Carlos Sainz (above) qualified an outstanding third and was a factor all day, eventually finishing second less than half a second behind Gasly. Lance Stroll raced wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen early on (below), the Racing Point driver ultimately finishing on the podium.

Hamilton had started from the pole and was cruising to his 90th victory when a sequence of events turned the race upside down.

The safety car came out on lap 20 so that the marshals could push Kevin Magnussen’s broken Haas into pit lane.

The race director, Australia’s Michael Masi, then closed the entry to pit lane, but Hamilton and Antonio Giovinazzi were unaware of this and pitted for new tyres. Both received 10 second stopand-go penalties for this misdemeanour.

“We didn’t do a great job with the

pitstop, and honestly I didn’t see those (electronic warning) boards,” Hamilton said. “So I take responsibility for that.”

The Mercedes crew also made mistakes.

“We should have spotted earlier that the pit lane was closed,” said team principal Toto Wolff. “By the time that we did, the car was entering the pit lane. It’s a tough result to take but we must take it on the chin.”

Masi explained the warning system: “For the driver, the light panels actually have a big red X on them. So the light panels that normally display ‘Safety Car’ and all the other flag signals, have a big red cross on them. At this circuit we have two panels that display that cross to signify that pit lane is closed from a trackside perspective. Additionally the software that the teams use has the pit lane shown as red, with ‘Pit Lane Closed’, and the third element to that is on the timing page that has all of the incident notifications pop up, that actually says ‘Pit Lane Closed.’”

Most of the drivers came in for tyres when the pit lane was opened, and this allowed Gasly, who had stopped earlier, to cycle through to third place behind Hamilton and Stroll, who had yet to pit.

Then, on lap 25, Charles Leclerc had a monster shunt in his Ferrari. The race was red flagged so that the car could be retrieved and the barriers could be repaired.

“I just lost the car,” Leclerc said.

It was a dismal day for Ferrari at its home race at Monza, as Sebastian Vettel also retired but with brake failure.

Max Verstappen’s Monza weekend was not a happy one, the Red Bull outqualified by Sainz’s McLaren and then running into engine problems in the race and retiring (above) after a poor start.

Lewis Hamilton takes his medicine (above), a 10 second stop-go penalty fot the pitlane infringement. Ferrari’s home race weekend was a shocker, Sebatian Vettel retiring with brake failure (below).

Daniel Ricciardo would have expected better things from the Italian Grand Prix (above). A failure in practice, a slightly disappointing qualifying and less than ideal timing with the safety car and pitstops left him sixth.

The race resumed with a standing start.

Hamilton took the lead but then dropped to 17th and last when he served his penalty. He would fight his way up to seventh.

Gasly was now first!

Usually the smart strategy is to pit for tyres when the safety car comes out, but in this case that was not what happened.

“I pushed so hard at the beginning of the stint to open the gap and not give the other guys the slipstream behind,” he said.

“The last five laps were so difficult. I almost shunted maybe 10 times because I was pushing so hard and my tyres were gone.”

Sainz closed to within 1.5 seconds but then hit the turbulent air being churned up by Gasly’s car.

“The dirty air starts affecting you a lot in traction and in braking,” Sainz said. “Mini lock-ups, oversteers. We were both a bit rallying because we were both struggling with tyres.”

In third, it was Stroll’s first visit to the podium since the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“I had a terrible restart after the red flag,” Stroll said. “I fell back to P6 and had a good fight with Carlos (Sainz) in the first lap after the restart but lost out to him, and then I made my way back to third.”

Daniel Ricciardo wound up sixth in his Renault. The Aussie was one of the drivers to get unlucky with the safety car and pit stop sequencing.

“The circumstances were not with us today,” he said. “I was not the only one, so I do not want to jump up and down and cry.

But I was one of them who suffered a bit with the safety car and red flag. So it is one of those ones like maybe what could’ve been?

“But at the end of the day this is racing. We can’t dwell on that and have our heads down.

We had a solid two weekends, Spa and here.

The race was pretty good, the starts were good. There are definitely a lot more positives to take. We just have to accept that luck was not on our side today.”

Ricciardo, of course, drove for Toro Rosso, so he was happy for his old squad.

“Congrats to Pierre,” he said. “Even if circumstances were in his favour today, having those restarts and red flags, it is not easy. You’ve built up all this adrenaline, you try and cool yourself down, then you try to get jacked up again.

“Mentally it is really hard. It’s fun, don’t get me wrong, I actually like it, but it is tough.

So for him to maintain that for his first win around the track where you can overtake, so he deserved it.”

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX 53 LAPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 -

Pierre Gasly Carlos Sainz Jr. Lance Stroll Lando Norris Valtteri Bottas Daniel Ricciardo Lewis Hamilton Esteban Ocon Daniil Kvyat Sergio Perez Nicholas Latifi Romain Grosjean Kimi Raikkonen George Russell Alexander Albon Antonio Giovinazzi Max Verstappen Charles Leclerc Kevin Magnussen Sebastian Vettel

AlphaTauri/Honda 1h47m06.056s McLaren/Renault 0.415s Racing Point/Mercedes 3.358s McLaren/Renault 6.000s Mercedes 7.108s Renault 8.391s Mercedes 17.245s Renault 18.691s AlphaTauri/Honda 22.208s Racing Point/Mercedes 23.224s Williams/Mercedes 32.876s Haas/Ferrari 35.164s Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 36.312s Williams/Mercedes 36.593s Red Bull/Honda 37.533s Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 55.199s Red Bull/Honda Power Unit Ferrari Spun off Haas/Ferrari Power Unit Ferrari Brakes

DRIVERS: Hamilton 164, Bottas 117, Verstappen 110, Stroll 57, Norris 57, Albon 48, Leclerc 45, Gasly 43, Sainz 41, Ricciardo 41, Perez 34, Ocon 30, Vettel 16, Hulkenberg 6, Kvyat 4, Giovinazzi 2, Magnussen 2.

CONSTRUCTORS: Mercedes 281, Red Bull-Honda 158, McLaren-Renault 98, Racing Point-Mercedes 82, Renault 71, Ferrari 61, AlphaTauri-Honda 47, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 2, Haas-Ferrari 1.

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RACE REPORT Townsville Races 19, 20 & 21

Report: Heath McAlpine Images: LAT/Dirk Klynsmith/Insyde Media

CLOSING IN Hazelwood, Winterbottom, Jacobson, Pye, Davison, Kelly, Heimgartner and Jones.

Holdsworth was unlucky to miss out due to a lap at the death by Percat to knock him out. An impressive 1m 12.471 put Fullwood in the Shootout, while Courtney also continued his hot streak in form to join the WAU rookie.

THE FIRST leg of Darwin’s double-header provided mixed results for many race and title contenders, with qualifying particularly proving to be an iunusually mportant part to piecing together a great weekend.

Jamie Whincup proved this better than any other, his two poles were converted to two victories as he ate into the lead of title rival Scott McLaughlin.

TOP 10 SHOOTOUT – WHINCUP TAKES ADVANTAGE

PRACTICE – WATERS CONTINUES HOT FORM

As usual the rookie practice session kicked off the weekend’s proceedings in Townsville and it was Bryce Fullwood who kicked off the event as the fastest driver.

A 1m 13.683s gave the Territorian the top slot, 0.265s ahead of Garry Jacobson, who was then followed by Brad Jones Racing pair Macauley Jones and Jack Smith.

Team Sydney’s Chris Pither clocked a 1m 14.399s to pip Zane Goddard, who completed the runners.

Maintaining the pace that he displayed in Darwin, Cameron Waters went to the top early in the first full-field practice session with a 1m 12.995s.

Proof that an engineering restructure was a step in the right direction, David Reynolds eclipsed that time 0.001s. This was then bettered by Whincup as he clocked a 1m 12.732s, which was lowered by teammate Shane van Gisbergen by 0.040s.

Shining lights were Fullwood in fourth and Todd Hazelwood in ninth, recovering from a horror run in the Top End. A late hot lap from Waters put him back to the top, 1m 12.503s, to edge both Triple Eight race Engineering Commodores.

Another late run from Waters took the top spot again in the second practice session, this time ahead of DJR Team Penske pair McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard.

A 1m 12.295s topped the session as

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the top 22 entries were within a second of each other.

Nick Percat, Chaz Mostert, Reynolds, Mark Winterbottom and Shane van Gisbergen highlighted the openness in the field by representing five different Holden teams within the top 10, while also being within 0.5s of the time set by Waters.

QUALIFYING – MOSTERT ON TOP, McLAUGHLIN OUT

It was a surprising qualifying session as the fortunes of the two title contenders took different paths.

Although neither were on top at the end of the session, that honour going to Mostert, for McLaughlin the news was bad.

He might be regarded as the qualifying king, but in Townsville the reigning champion was in the uncustomary position of 16th. A mistake at Turn 2 during his hot lap placed him squarely in the midfield, and vulnerable if there was drama at the start.

Meanwhile, Whincup was just 0.150s behind Mostert’s benchmark time of 1m 12.153s heading into the Shootout.

Jack Le Brocq was one of the first to be knocked out of the session after a steering clevis broke. He was joined on the sidelines by Smith, Goddard and Pither.

McLaughlin was among the 10 further drivers who missed out on a Top 10 Shootout slot, headed by Lee Holdsworth,

Chaz Mostert (above) kept Jamie Whincup honest during qualifying and the opening race. A tyre problem during the final race scuppered a strong weekend. Whincup (below) led into Turn 2 at the beginning of Race 19 as teammate Shane van Gisbergen was about to get involved in the first turn chaos.

Just like Hidden Valley’s Turn 10 was a make or break corner in Darwin’s Top 15 Shootout, Turn 2 proved to be the case in Townsville.

The pressure was on for Whincup to take maximum advantage with the absence of McLaughlin and he didn’t disappoint.

David Reynolds set a blistering pace around Reid Park by clocking a 1m 12.178, but the stage was set for Whincup, who was the penultimate driver to take part.

Townsville is a favourite venue of Whincup’s and he demonstrated that by defeating Reynolds by 0.153s, a 1m 12.024s to take pole number 88. A good omen?

Fastest after qualifying, Mostert lined up third alongside old sparring partner and former teammate Waters, who was first Mustang. The latter struggled in the

opening sector, but recovered well during the second half of the lap.

Turn 2 was where De Pasquale had slight trouble, but his time was quick enough for fifth to edge Fabian Coulthard.

Uncharacteristically struggling on a street circuit, van Gisbergen sat seventh alongside Fullwood, while Courtney and Percat rounded out the results.

RACE 20 – WHINCUP CONVERTS AMID CHAOS

It was a start of polar opposites.

Whincup made a blistering getaway as Reynolds dropped position to Mostert off the line and had to fight hard to rebuff the advances of Waters around the outside.

As the first few made their way through the tight Turn 2 the rest weren’t as lucky, as chaos ensued.

A concertina between Holdsworth, the fast-starting Winterbottom and van Gisbergen kicked off the carnage. The push led to the Kiwi spinning De Pasquale around and half the field being involved, they failed to avoid the initial carnage.

Again, BJR were severely affected as were Kelly Racing, while championship leader McLaughlin remarkably avoided the carnage, bar a rear hit from Alex Davison, to not only emerge relatively damage-free but also eight positions to the good.

He wasn’t the best mover through the field, that honour going to Pither in the Team Sydney Commodore, up 10 positions.

Teammate Alex Davison meanwhile was counting the cost of nailing McLaughlin in the rear, while Hazelwood and Jones arrived at the BJR garage with large damage. So did van Gisbergen, though he continued many laps down carrying damage to end the race last, but crucially with points.

Goddard continued but only for a few laps before his Matt Stone Racing Commodore started to smoke.

Out front, Whincup led by 1.3s from Mostert, as Waters snatched third away from Reynolds.

Chasing clean air with an earlier strategy, McLaughlin pitted however a delay during his stop meant Holdsworth and Pye emerged right in front of the championship leader, taking away that clear track.

The battle for second was heating up as Waters was starting to close on Mostert to the tune of 0.6s before the WAU driver pitted on lap 16. This began a sequence of stops for the leaders, with Whincup in on the next lap to quell any undercut advantage to Mostert, changing three tyres.

Reynolds and Coulthard weren’t factors but pitted, with the latter briefly losing position to his DJR Team Penske teammate.

Waters remained on track, but the high tyre degradation was hurting the Mustang when his team finally bought him in on lap 22. Four tyres were changed as he lost position to Pye and emerged alongside Coulthard.

That began a late race attack from Waters, who disposed of Pye, then started catching Reynolds in third before demoting him and began zoning in on Mostert.

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A radio problem led to Whincup completing one more lap than what was required. With Townsville’s podium proceedings in the pit lane, unbeknowst to Whincup, he had to complete a Tarzan impersonation to collect his trophy.

QUALIFYING RACES 20 AND 21 – RIVALS SHARE THE SPOILS

Scott Pye was strong once again for Team18, although he failed to make it to the podium on this occasion (above). James Courtney was also impressive for Tickford Racing (below).

Finally, a breakthrough for McLaughlin.

Although it didn’t arrive in time for the first session, McLaughlin changed his Mustang to enable an increase in rear grip, which worked wonders.

Whincup was able to held out Mostert, Courtney and Waters to take pole with a 1m 12.310s, as McLaughlin struggled to 13th for Race 20.

In a showcase of the team’s reversal of form, Tickford’s four entries qualified within the top 10.

As did Percat, after his team left the circuit at 10pm the previous night after completing an engine change.

The news wasn’t much better on Coulthard’s side of the DJR Team Penske garage, with 15th.

Rain started to fall at the beginning of the second 10-minute session as Percat further rewarded his team by setting the early benchmark, which lasted until McLaughlin fired a 1m 12.179s at the death.

Waters slotted in between, just 0.023s behind McLaughlin, as Percat was joined by teammate Hazelwood in fifth to complete a fighting comeback.

Splitting the BJR drivers was Whincup, not on pole, but within striking distance.

Not so was van Gisbergen, as he qualified back in 13th.

RACE 20 – WHINCUP CLOSES IN Percat had been running a quiet race in sixth but dropped out with engine failure, marking another disastrous Saturday for BJR. Le Brocq completed the pit stop sequence for the field as he recovered from the Turn 2 opening lap incident, but he was out of contention.

This left Whincup to assume a 2.7 lead over Mostert, Waters, Reynolds, Coulthard, Pye, McLaughlin, Fullwood, Courtney and Winterbottom, though this was set to change.

First, Coulthard completed a pass on Reynolds, while his teammate dropped position to Courtney as the veteran

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continued to charge, overtaking Pye. This left an exciting climax for the final positions in the 10.

Pye desperately tried to hold on and did so for ninth. Courtney reached sixth, followed by McLaughlin, Fullwood, Pye and De Pasquale, who denied Pither a top 10 result.

Battling a radio failure, Whincup won by 6.8s ahead of Waters after passing his former teammate at Turn 11, Mostert scoring his second podium as a WAU driver.

Coulthard and Reynolds completed the top five, but the latter held concerns surrounding his late-race tyre life.

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A bobble on the line failed to hamper Whincup’s swift getaway, while Mostert ran second ahead of an intense battle for third between Courtney, Waters and Reynolds.

Reynolds was able to take advantage of Courtney’s defence to pass Waters for third.

McLaughlin was struggling in the midpack and had in fact dropped position as he vigorously held off Hazelwood for 15th.

Another early stop was on the cards for McLaughlin as this time he was released into clean air on four fresh tyres to get the undercut.

Percat was the first of the leaders to pit as he started a chain reaction of stops. Waters was in next to cover, before Courtney and De Pasquale did likewise, however Erebus

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RACE REPORT Townsville Races 19, 20 & 21 Results Race 19 39 Laps Supercars Townsville Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 NC NC NC NC NC

It was a mixed weekend for Scott McLaughlin after finding himself qualifying in unfamiliar territory, 16th for race 19. But he recovered to be a race winner by the conclusion of the weekend.

again struggled with the stop and he emerged well back.

Whincup and Mostert remained out, before WAU pitted its driver for three tyres, who emerged behind Courtney and Waters. He rectified this by completing passes on back-to-back laps at Turn 11, demoting the duo.

Whincup pitted on lap 20 for three tyres and held a 6.3s margin when exiting pit lane.

Teammate van Gisbergen was also making steady progress as he eyed a podium finish, overtaking the two Tickford Mustangs to take third position.

A comfortable 3s margin separated Whincup from Mostert, while van Gisbergen was more than 10s further back.

Waters, Percat and McLaughlin were next ahead of a struggling Courtney.

RACE 21 – CHAMPION COMEBACK

After chasing its tail all weekend, DJR Team Penske were once again right where it was used to. At the front.

And that’s how Race 21 went, McLaughlin dominated as he has done previously to clock up win number 44 as a DJR Team Penske driver.

It wasn’t easy. Waters was a worthy adversary who maintained the heat for much of the race until dropping off as the race reached its conclusion.

Both made an even start off the line, but it was Percat and Whincup off the second row who made the best getaway. In fact, so much so in the case of Percat that he slid down the inside of Waters at Turn 2.

Hazelwood also followed his BJR teammate, but a compromised entry to Turn 2 left him vulnerable to

Driver Jamie Whincup Cameron Waters Chaz Mostert Fabian Coulthard David Reynolds James Courtney Scott McLaughlin Bryce Fullwood Scott Pye Anton De Pasquale Chris Pither Mark Winterbottom Lee Holdsworth Garry Jacobson Jack Le Brocq Jack Smith Rick Kelly Alex Davison Shane van Gisbergen Nick Percat Zane Goddard Andre Heimgartner Todd Hazelwood Macauley Jones

Laps/Margin 39 laps +6.885s +13.667s +20.969s +22.714s +29.345s +32.853s +34.662s +41.499s +41.575s +41.870s +42.714s +43.758s +46.292s +62.613s +62.889s 38 laps 38 laps 30 laps 23 laps 20 laps 17 laps 7 laps 1 lap

0 ▲2 0 ▲1 ▼3 ▲3 ▲9 0 ▲6 ▼5 ▲ 12 ▲1 ▼2 0 ▲9 ▲5 ▲1 ▼1 ▼ 12 ▼ 10 ▲1 ▼3 ▼ 11 ▼4

Results Race 20 39 Laps Supercars Townsville

An engine failure put Nick Percat (above) behind the eight ball on Saturday, but this was reversed on Sunday in what was a strong day for Brad Jones Racing. Cam Waters (below) challenged McLaughlin for victory in Race 21, but fell just short in his pursuit.

Reynolds at the following corner.

McLaughlin was slowly extending his advantage to 0.5s as Waters repaid the favour to Percat at Turn 2, to take second back.

By lap 14, no team had pitted as McLaughlin held a 1.2s margin leading into the stops.

This was led by De Pasquale and Percat, before Reynolds had a delay during the Erebus stop which dropped him down the order.

It was Waters who hoped to employ the undercut and fitted four tyres, but that plan was foiled by an immediate response from DJR Team Penske.

This led to some of the best racing of the weekend as McLaughlin came under severe pressure from Waters, who set the fastest lap in pursuit of the lead.

Mostert’s strong weekend ended when a tyre lost pressure after his stop, forcing him back to the pits, and he finished last on the road.

In an attempt to join the lead battle Whincup pitted on lap 25 for only two tyres, but he still emerged 8s in arrears of Waters, who in turn had dropped off the back of McLaughlin.

It was preservation mode for Waters as he was unable to prevent McLaughlin from taking the victory, while Whincup took the round with third.

Percat and Hazelwood drove to a morale boosting result for BJR to complete the top five.

As a result of his round winning performance, Whincup cut McLaughlin’s championship lead to 123-points.

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 Jamie Whincup Chaz Mostert Shane van Gisbergen Cameron Waters Nick Percat Scott McLaughlin James Courtney Anton De Pasquale Scott Pye David Reynolds Lee Holdsworth Jack Le Brocq Todd Hazelwood Andre Heimgartner Fabian Coulthard Garry Jacobson Mark Winterbottom Macauley Jones Bryce Fullwood Rick Kelly Zane Goddard Alex Davison Jack Smith Chris Pither

Laps/Margin 39 laps +3.013s +16.130s +20.439s +23.789s +24.365s +28.637s +29.103s +29.839s +30.221s +31.298s +31.833s +33.563s +34.381s +39.634s +41.488s +43.740s +43.944s +45.718s +47.010s +52.108s +52.491s +54.433s +55.236s

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Results Race 21 39 Laps Supercars Townsville 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

Scott McLaughlin Cameron Waters Jamie Whincup Nick Percat Todd Hazelwood Scott Pye Anton De Pasquale Shane van Gisbergen Lee Holdsworth Mark Winterbottom David Reynolds Bryce Fullwood James Courtney Rick Kelly Andre Heimgartner Jack Le Brocq Fabian Coulthard Garry Jacobson Zane Goddard Alex Davison Macauley Jones Jack Smith Chris Pither Chaz Mostert

39 laps +4.160s +5.913s +12.519s +14.361s +16.106s +27.536s +28.803s +30.103s +34.704s +36.073s +38.082s +38.271s +42.511s +42.839s +43.793s +48.414s +48.445s +50.606s +50.975s +52.141s +54.665s +58.848s +71.319s

0 0 ▲1 ▼1 0 ▲9 ▲2 ▲5 ▼2 ▼2 ▼5 0 ▲1 ▲7 ▲4 ▼5 ▼1 0 ▲1 ▲2 ▼4 ▲1 ▲1 ▼ 14

Points: McLaughlin 1556, Whincup 1433, Mostert 1172, van Gisbergen 1157, Waters 1157, Percat 1069, Reynolds 1046, Winterbottom 1024, Coulthard 1018, Holdsworth 993, De Pasquale 929, Courtney 890, Pye 884, Heimgartner 836, Le Brocq 776, Hazelwood 761, Kelly 758, Fullwood 702, Smith 564, Jacobson 563, Jones 528, Pither 502, A Davison 424, Goddard 348, W Davison 231, Kostecki 142 Todd Hazelwood qualified strongly to finish fifth in Race 21.

RACE REPORT Townsville - Races 22, 23 & 24

RIVALRY HEATS UP Report: Heath McAlpine

Images: LAT/Dirk Klynsmith/Insyde Media under a tenth of a second away.

Alex Davison was the surprise, sitting in the top 10 prior to the mid-session lull.

Brad Jones Racing pair Hazelwood and Percat were placed well in fifth and sixth.

The next run was headed by van Gisbergen, a 1m 12.251s placing him third, De Pasquale rose to fifth and Le Brocq to ninth to make the Shootout.

Missing out were Fullwood, Coulthard, Holdsworth, Courtney, Andre Heimgartner, Winterbottom, Pye, Davison, Jones and Jacobson.

THE TITLE fight really heated up on the streets of Townsville, after a month of intense back-to-back Supercars competition.

Triple Eight rose to the challenge to take the advantage on the track at Townsville #2, but has that given it a mental edge we we head towards the big season finale Bathurst?

Who knows, but the past weekend’s events have meant that the title conclusion will be very interesting indeed.

PRACTICE – GALLOPING MUSTANGS

New father Chris Pither got his weekend off to a good start by leading the usual opening practice session for Rookies and lower order runners in Townsville.

He set a 1m 13.523s to be 0.090s clear of Macauley Jones as 0.557s split all six runners.

Garry Jacobson, Bryce Fullwood, Jake Kostecki and Jack Smith completed the field.

Opening practice for the entire field began with title leader McLaughlin on top with a 1m 12.979s, however this was later eclipsed by Chaz Mostert halfway through the session by 0.162s.

A misfire hampered David Reynolds leading to a limited run, while Rick Kelly was frustrated by a stuck throttle and a lack of balance in his Mustang.

Shane van Gisbergen sat second in the session, but was struggling with understeer, clearly demonstrated by running wide at Turn 5 twice.

Nonetheless the Kiwi went to the top, clocking a 1m 12.686s.

This was bettered at the death by James Courtney with a 1m 12.629s.

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TOP 10 SHOOTOUT – ANOTHER LEVEL REACHED Shane van Gisbergen got his season back on track at Townsville #2, taking two wins from three races (top). Points leader Scott McLaughlin won the first race (above) but ended the weekend disgruntled.

Bryce Fullwood carried his strong form to finish the session third ahead of Scott Pye and Mostert.

The second practice session was led mainly by McLaughlin, as teams focused on qualifying pace.

The top 10 was covered by just 0.378 at the end of the session, which was headed by Cam Waters with a 1m 12.339s.

Tickford Mustang led the DJR Team Penske example by just 0.002s as McLaughlin finished second, while Mostert, Courtney and Jamie Whincup rounded out the top five, heading into what promised to be a close qualifying session.

QUALIFYING – CLOSE QUARTERS

The first run in qualifying was incredibly close, just 0.297s split first to sixth headed by

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McLaughlin’s 1m 12.398s.

Waters was 0.003s behind, van Gisbergen 0.091s, Whincup 0.108s, Todd Hazelwood 0.142s and with the best first sector, with Jack Le Brocq just a further 0.297s in arrears.

Lap times failed to improve during the second run, though Anton de Pasquale did slot into third and teammate Reynolds was 10th.

Notable drivers to just scrape in were Fabian Coulthard, Mark Winterbottom and Lee Holdsworth.

Victims of the first 10-minute session were Kelly, Smith after a spin, Kostecki and Pither.

The second segment of qualifying kicked off with McLaughlin setting a 1m 12.224s then parking it, Whincup fell 0.012s short, while Mostert was also

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Championship leader McLaughlin advanced a further step ahead of his opponents in the Top 10 Shootout, setting a 1m 12.014s in what proved to be a close one-lap dash.

David Reynolds began proceedings in the Top 10 Shootout, but failed to improve due to a lack of front-tyre grip, while an improved Le Brocq remained ninth using old tyres, demonstrating improved pace for the Tickford Racing driver.

A mistake at Turn 3 for Percat, where he ran wide, meant he also failed to move up the grid, but teammate Hazelwood was impressive as he set the fastest opening sector split, before a mistake at Turn 11 meant his 1m 12.341s could have been better.

A slow first sector set-up a spectacular second and third sector run for Waters, who logged a 1m 12.268s to go to the top.

A slide at Turn 5 was the only blemish for De Pasquale as he slotted in behind Waters, while

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RACE REPORT Townsville - 22, 23 & 24

Mostert’s 1m 12.306s left him believing the set-up of his Commodore had fallen behind those of his rivals.

Much like Hazelwood, van Gisbergen ran wide at Turn 11 but his 1m 12.230s was good enough to set provisional pole, before McLaughlin’s scintillating time eclipsed all.

It was crucial as well, Whincup struggling during his lap with the tail wagging in a few areas leaving the seven-time champion despondent.

RACE 22 – START-TO-FINISH DOMINATION

If there was any questions as to whether McLaughlin’s qualifying pace was a flash in the pan, then they were put to bed as soon as he rounded Turn 2.

It was a dominant display by the championship leader as he took a lights-to-flag victory, the 71st of his career.

Although van Gisbergen equalled his fellow Kiwi’s start, McLaughlin was able to cover at Turn 2 and create a 0.4s margin by the end of lap 1.

Saturdays just aren’t Hazelwood’s day as his clutch failed just prior to the start, leading to him dropping to the back of the field as the race got underway. It sparked a fine recovery drive though to 12th, though it was another a case of what might have been.

Another to lose out was De Pasquale, dropping three spots on the line. Going the other way was Whincup, as he sat fifth at the conclusion of the opening lap.

Engine woes continued to affect Kelly Racing as Heimgartner suffered an intermittent misfire prior to the start, which then continued throughout the race.

Despite those reliability problems, it was a clean start unlike a week prior, as McLaughlin extended his lead by 1s to sit comfortably in front of van

Although the factory Holdens ultimately prevailed, BJR took another step in performance and qualified 1-2 for Race 24 ... and Todd Hazelwood scored his first pole position. Hazelwood battled with the Bulls (top) and his own teammate Nick Percat (above left), as did Chaz Mostert in the WAU entry (above right).

Gisbergen, Waters was 0.8s further behind as he held a similar margin back to Mostert.

Reliability started to play its part after four weekends in a row of racing.

Reynolds encountered a power steering failure and retired. He was also unhappy with his front tyre life and remained none to the wiser to a solution.

Le Brocq kicked off the pit stops for the leaders on lap 15, enjoying his best run for the season so far.

The next lap, Whincup entered pit lane and only fitted rear tyres to gain the maximum advantage from the undercut, which had the added bonus of saving tyres for the next day.

To quell his advantage, McLaughlin likewise completed his compulsory pit stop a lap later, fitting three tyres and emerging 3s clear of Whincup.

Lap 19 Mostert was in for three tyres as well and exiting pit lane behind Whincup, as did Waters on the same strategy. Both made light work of Whincup as he struggled on his tyres to end the race in fourth.

A season to forget continued when power steering failure afflicting van Gisbergen’s Triple

Eight Commodore forced him into the pits as fluid dropped onto the rear tyres. The team did try to get the Kiwi out, installing a larger steering wheel, but van Gisbergen was immediately black flagged when he re-joined and forced into retirement.

Two movers within the pack were Pye and Kelly.

The Team18 driver had qualified an unimpressive 17th, but had scythed his way through the field to be within the top 10 by the pit stops, running long just like a week earlier, maintaining ninth until the finish.

Kelly used an undercut to on the same lap as McLaughlin, which enabled him to use the changes engineer George Commins had made to his Mustang to be ninth by the close of the pit stops, though Pye and Courtney on fresh tyres overhauled him before the finish. But 11th was still a great result.

Ahead, an entertaining battle for fifth was underway between De Pasquale and Percat, the Erebus driver demonstrating a clear advantage though there were a couple of close calls as he made his way past at Turn 13.

At the front, Waters had no response to McLaughlin as the DJR Team Penske driver carried a 3.7s advantage across the line and Mostert followed to add his fourth podium this season.

Whincup and De Pasquale completed the top five.

Avenging Hazelwood’s bad luck, Percat finished sixth, Coulthard climbed eight spots for seventh ahead of Le Brocq, Pye and Courtney.

QUALIFYING RACES 23 AND 24 – BJR DAY

After promising on pace, BJR finally delivered when both Percat and Hazelwood shared Sunday’s poles.

To take the prime starting position for Race 23, Percat had to eclipse the driver who is regarded as the best in the business when it comes to pole laps. And he did so by the barest of margins,

0.080s to take his maiden pole with a 1m 12.262s.

Waters sat third alongside a recovering van Gisbergen while Whincup was within striking distance from fifth.

Heimgartner was still hampered by engine maladies and didn’t set a time, whilst a mistake from De Pasquale on his sole run at Turn 2 meant he joined the Mustang on the back row.

Another to struggle was Mostert in 13th.

There was a controversial ending to the next 10-minute qualifying session when McLaughlin collided with Jacobson exiting the final corner on his flyer. An estimated 0.3s was lost and he started back in 10th.

Hazelwood put together a scorching 1m 12.154s lap to demote Percat to second and achieve the team’s first front-row lockout since 2013. Just 0.022s split the duo Just 0.090s off pole was Mostert, while De Pasquale along with teammate Reynolds were investigated for impeding Heimgartner during the session. Reynolds was penalised two grid slots.

Whincup remained fifth, but van Gisbergen was way back in 12th ahead of an impressive Davison in 13th.

RACE 23 – WIN 200 BREAKS DROUGHT

When van Gisbergen crossed the line to win for the first time since Newcastle last season, it didn’t just come as a major relief but it also achieved a milestone for Triple Eight with 200 wins in Supercars competition, a first for any team.

It was set-up by a fantastic start from the Kiwi which elevated him to second by the entry of Turn 3.

Percat made a great start to lead McLaughlin into Turn 2 as van Gisbergen swept around the outside to exit the corner second, in what was a surprise move from McLaughlin’s point of view.

Kelly was a mover again, though this time on the opening lap, taking five positions.

Cam Waters continued his Tickford leading form with the Monster Mustang, seriously challenging Scott McLaughlin for the win in Race 22.

Reslts Race 22 39 Laps Supercars Townsville

One of the most exciting sights in Supercars ... the full field heads into turn one at Townsville. Scott McLaughlin leads Shane van Gisbergen, Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert, Jamie Whincup, David Reynolds, Anton De Pasquale, Nick Percat, Fabian Coulthard and Jack Le Brocq.

Holding a comfortable 0.7s advantage by lap 3, Percat made a minor mistake at Turn 11 to allow van Gisbergen to close, but McLaughlin remained 1.2s in arrears.

Waters sat fourth, but was defending heavily from Whincup.

Three laps later van Gisbergen was in the lead after a well-executed pass at Turn 13, which was challenged by Percat until he had to concede approaching Turn 2.

McLaughlin and Whincup pitted from their respective positions, each fitted three tyres, but a delay on the front-left for the reigning champion almost allowed his title rival through.

Hazelwood almost spoilt the party by emerging between the two after he had fitted two tyres during his stop a lap later, but Whincup made short work of him in a pass at Turn 7.

Next to pit was van Gisbergen when he fitted four tyres and re-joined 1.4s in front of McLaughlin.

The undercut proved very advantageous when Percat emerged in traffic, as did Waters, but both charged through to fourth and fifth by the conclusion.

It was a cruise out front for van Gisbergen, a 5s lead enough to secure his first victory of the season ahead of McLaughlin, with Whincup taking third.

Behind the lead quintet, Pye led another Team18 charge to sixth, a gain of five positions, Le Brocq, Holdsworth, Winterbottom (a gain of nine positions) and Mostert.

That battle for the final spot in the 10 resulted in contact between Mostert and Kelly, as a concertina caused major damage to Reynolds as he was sandwiched between Kelly and Fullwood.

Hazelwood had finished seventh, but his pit limiter disengaged, causing the wheels to spin and a subsequent 15s penalty dropped him to 14th.

RACE 24 – TEAM TACTICS

Easily highlighted by the intriguing title and lead battle intwining, team tactics employed by Triple Eight to score a one-two forced McLaughlin to cry foul post-race.

The final race of the month-long swing through northern Australia started with two BJR Commodores on the front-row.

Hazelwood and Percat made great starts, but it was the younger driver who led into Turn 2.

Behind, McLaughlin made another flyer to be sixth by Turn 2, and van Gisbergen did likewise to be behind the championship leader by the end of the opening lap.

Pither was the first victim of the race after contact with the concrete wall exiting Turn 2.

There was no wasting time for van Gisbergen as he passed McLaughlin at Turn 13 to rise further. Ahead, his teammate was also moving forward following Mostert in demoting De Pasquale down to fifth. He then dropped to sixth courtesy of van Gisbergen.

Hazelwood was more than holding his own, while Percat was 1.8s behind his teammate but in trouble defending against Mostert.

An opportunity arose for the WAU driver at Turn 2 on lap 14, but it took until Turn 3 to complete the move.

This sparked an incident that occurred at Turn 11, when Percat ran wide allowing Whincup through, but then headed across the road to pitlane which led to van Gisbergen tapping a baulked Waters into a spin.

No penalty was handed out as DSO Craig Baird called it a racing incident.

Three tyres were changed by Percat and Waters, Whincup did his following the same strategy a lap later, and exited ahead of the pair.

Waters had lost significant time with the spin and was placed behind Holdsworth, while Mostert split the duo after his stop for three tyres also.

Hazelwood was next in to change three tyres, and trailed McLaughlin by 1.8s upon exiting pit lane. This left van Gisbergen as the only member of the leading pack not too pit, but he did so on lap 24, crucially as a safety car was called.

Suspension failure at Turn 7 for De Pasquale sent him into the tyre wall, necessitating a safety car for six laps.

This was good news for van Gisbergen, who was ready to pounce on the restart.

McLaughlin made a smart getaway, but Hazelwood remained right on his tail until Mostert and Whincup closed in, which opened the lead margin to 1.8s.

A synchronised move followed at turn 13, as Whincup slid down the inside of Hazelwood and van Gisbergen did likewise to Mostert.

Hazelwood continued to drop position next to van Gisbergen, then to Mostert.

Ahead, Whincup was closing in on McLaughlin and now had back up in the form of his teammate.

However, it wasn’t back up for long as Whincup let van Gisbergen past, which proved critical for what happened next.

Exiting Turn 9, van Gisbergen used his superior grip to begin a run at McLaughlin and shot down the inside at Turn 11, then ran the championship leader ran wide to also allow Whincup through.

The Red Bull pair quickly created a gap to finish 1-2.

McLaughlin, meanwhile, had his hands full with Mostert for the race’s duration, but held on.

Behind Mostert, Pye again shone to climb 11 positions to pip Hazelwood for fifth, while Percat, Coulthard, Courtney and Holdsworth rounded out the 10.

Rick Kelly failed to make the top 10 results over the weekend (below left) while Scott Pye impressed (below), charging through the field in each race after qualifying poorly. He made 25 spots over the course of the three races.

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NC NC

Driver Scott McLaughlin Cameron Waters Chaz Mostert Jamie Whincup Anton De Pasquale Nick Percat Fabian Coulthard Jack Le Brocq Scott Pye James Courtney Rick Kelly Todd Hazelwood Alex Davison Mark Winterbottom Garry Jacobson Lee Holdsworth Bryce Fullwood Andre Heimgartner Macauley Jones Jake Kostecki Chris Pither Jack Smith Shane van Gisbergen David Reynolds

Laps/Margin 39 laps +3.489s +10.815s +16.007s +17.988s +27.369s +29.585s +30.266s +32.538s +34.984s +39.589s +42.910s +43.866s +45.084s +45.467s +45.762s +57.276s +59.150s +61.725s +62.510s +66.334s 31 laps 21 laps 16 laps

0 ▲1 ▲1 ▲3 ▼1 ▲2 ▲5 ▲1 ▲8 ▲4 ▲ 10 ▼6 ▲5 ▲2 ▲5 ▼3 ▼6 ▼3 0 ▲3 ▲3 0 ▼ 21 ▼ 14

Results Race 23 39 Laps Supercars Townsville 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 Shane van Gisbergen Scott McLaughlin Jamie Whincup Nick Percat Cameron Waters Scott Pye Jack Le Brocq Lee Holdsworth Mark Winterbottom Chaz Mostert Rick Kelly Bryce Fullwood James Courtney Todd Hazelwood David Reynolds Anton De Pasquale Garry Jacobson Macauley Jones Alex Davison Fabian Coulthard Chris Pither Jack Smith Jake Kostecki Andre Heimgartner

Laps/Margin 39 laps +8.395s +10.293s +13.567s +14.807s +16.127s +33.856s +36.308s +38.404s +42.970s +43.192s +43.421s +44.404s +48.110s +48.303s +49.481s +52.138s +52.505s +52.673s +52.751s +56.057s +58.301s +58.784s +63.752s

▲3 0 ▲2 ▼3 ▼2 ▲5 ▼1 ▲2 ▲ 10 ▲3 ▲7 ▼4 ▲2 ▼7 ▼6 ▲7 ▼3 ▼6 ▼2 ▼4 ▼1 ▼1 ▼1 0

Results Race 24 39 Laps Supercars Townsville 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 Shane van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup Scott McLaughlin Chaz Mostert Scott Pye Todd Hazelwood Nick Percat Fabian Coulthard James Courtney Lee Holdsworth David Reynolds Cameron Waters Mark Winterbottom Jack Le Brocq Alex Davison Rick Kelly Andre Heimgartner Bryce Fullwood Macauley Jones Garry Jacobson Jack Smith Jake Kostecki Anton De Pasquale Chris Pither

Laps/Margin 39 laps +0.993s +3.031s +3.454s +6.836s +7.659s +8.099s +9.451s +10.015s +12.072s +12.077s +13.085s +14.137s +14.711s +15.074s +15.615s +16.084s +17.150s +19.766s +19.361s +20.366s +18.346s +27.536s +58.848s

▲ 11 ▲3 ▲7 ▼1 ▲ 12 ▼5 ▼5 ▲6 0 ▼3 ▲ 10 ▼6 ▲2 ▼6 ▼2 ▲3 ▲1 ▼7 ▼3 ▲4 ▲2 0 ▼ 19 ▼4

Points: McLaughlin 1834, Whincup 1691, Mostert 1390, Waters 1369, van Gisbergen 1357, Percat 1281, Coulthard 1172, Winterbottom 1166, Holdsworth 1143, Reynolds 1134, Pye 1082, Courtney 1042, De Pasquale 1041, Le Brocq 942, Heimgartner 928, Hazelwood 917, Kelly 892, Fullwood 818, Jacobson 669, Smith 644, Jones 626, Pither 558, A Davison 540, Goddard 348, W Davison 231, Kostecki 222

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MOTOGP AND WORLD SUPERBIKE WRAP

REA EXTENDS SUPERBIKE LEAD Reports: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT THE FIM Superbike World Championship doubleheader at the popular Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain yielding three winners including a maiden victory for Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Over the two race weekends six races took place, and in all of them championship leader Jonathan Rea finished on the podium, taking three wins and further extending his lead in the title.

His championship rival, Ducati’s Scott Redding, also had a solid couple of rounds taking two race wins but is rueing a crash that cost him crucial points in the title fight.

Most other riders had patchy weekends, or performed in one round and not the other, and as a result with three rounds remaining it looks as if the championship has already become a duel between Rea and Redding.

The opening race of the six gave Redding and Ducati a glimmer of hope, as the Italian brand scored a 1-2 with Redding leading

Redding bounced back strongly to win the Superpole race from Rea and Rinaldi, who in this shorter race was unable to find the form of the previous day.

The trio went to war again in the final race of the doubleheader creating a memorable WSBK encounter.

They fought tooth and nail early on but soon Redding found Michael Ruben Rinaldi scored a maiden victory at Aragon #2, the Ducati rider here leading Jonathan Rea’s Ducati himself losing ground. (top). Scott Reading (Ducati) battles Rea and Ruben Rinali (above left), while Rea celebrates (above right).

Rea and Rinaldi took off into home Welshman Chaz Davies, while of former MotoGP rider Alvaro Bautista, who the distance and scrapped for the Kawasaki’s Rea came home third ahead of scored Honda’s first podium since re-joining race win, in the end it was Rea who came out of the series.

Rinaldi and factory Yamaha rider Michael van top from Rinaldi and Redding. der Mark.

Leon Haslam, on the second Honda, finished When WSBK returned to the venue five days Rea quickly turned things around, the later Rinadi was a man on a mission, topping all fourth demonstrating the ground that the multiple-time champion winning both the Japanese brand has made up on its rivals in three practice sessions.

Superpole race and the second encounter. recent rounds.

In opening race Rinaldi simply out rode Rea to In the Superpole race Redding finished take his first race victory by a staggering 5.888s second ahead of van der Mark, but the Ducati Rea could do nothing stop the Italian and had Standings: Rea 243, Redding 207, rider was unable to finish on the podium in the to settle for second position as his title rival Razgatlıoglu 147, Davies 141, van der Mark final race of the round.

Redding crashed out of a dramatic race when 133, Rinaldi 131, Lowes 127, Bautista 83, His teammate Davies finished second ahead running second.

Baz 76, Haslam 75

SYKES RE-SIGNED, LAVERTY FURIOUS

IN THE FIM Superbikes World Championship (WSBK) the factory BMW team has announced that it has re-signed former champion Tom Sykes for another season, leaving a frustrated Eugene Laverty without a ride.

The 2013 WSBK Champion will join Michael van der Mark, who was previously confirmed to make the switch from the factory Yamaha team to BMW at the end of the season.

The 2021 season will be the Sykes’ third successive season with BMW after joining the team at the start of 2019.

So far in 2020 Sykes has claimed just a single pole position, which came off the back of four podiums last season.

BMW Motorrad motorsport director Marc Bongers feels that Sykes is an integral part of the team.

“Tom has been part of our WorldSBK Team from the very start and is an important pillar of this project,” Bongers said.

“We are pleased to be able to continue along the common path in 2021, which we embarked upon with the first tests back in December 2018.

“This gives us continuity, which is very important for the successful development of a project. We have already

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achieved a lot together, and the goal is now to definitively close the gap to the front-runners.

“Tom’s extensive knowledge of the BMW S1000 RR and his input will play a key role in achieving this.”

After van der Mark was signed in July, many questions were asked whether the German brand would re-sign Sykes

or instead go for former MotoGP rider Laverty.

Irishman Laverty joined the factory squad at the start of the year, and vented his frustration about the announcement.

Laverty feels that the team never allowed him a chance to prove himself, announcing his 2021 replacement after only three rounds with brand.

“On paper, Tom finished the races ahead of me, that’s clear,” Laverty told Speedweek.

“But if you’re making a decision based on that alone, then you can ask someone in the stands who to pick!

“There is more to this job, making such a decision is tough, based on the results of three race weekends and on a motorcycle that is in development. I would have looked at how the drivers’ performance was developing.

“There was really no rush, the second and third best teams in the championship have not yet confirmed their line-ups either.

“Neither Tom nor I had any pressure from the other side, BMW had full control over everything. But now they have made that decision, I can’t complain, Tom’s race results were better than mine.”

Who replaces Andrea Dovizioso at Ducati?

There are many names in the ring and much speculation.

DUCATI MUSICAL CHAIRS SINCE THE moment that Andrea Dovizioso announced he would depart the factory Ducati Corse team at the end of the 2020 MotoGP season, the question has been asked who would take that ride.

At this point in time at least half a dozen names have been mentioned and linked to the Bologna based team, to share the garage with Australian Jack Miller.

The two emerging favourites early on are current Pramac Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia and Avintia Racing Frenchman Johann Zarco.

During the Styrian Grand Prix weekend in Austria, it was announced both riders would be staying with the Italian brand but not which team.

Bagnaia, the current teammate to Miller, has missed the last three grand prix due to injury but is the likeliest of candidates to fill the seat, as he signed a two-year extension with the manufacturer through until the end of 2022.

Bagnaia is a former 2018 Moto2 champion and is a part of Valentino Rossi’s VR46 academy.

Two-time Moto2 champion Zarco has only signed a one-year extension with Ducati, nevertheless he has thrown his name into the ring to be selected for the factory ride.

It appears that Zarco will remain with Avintia at this stage but will receive more up to date spec equipment and with

increased support from Ducati itself.

Two former factory Ducati riders that can’t be ruled out at this stage are Jorge Lorenzo and Cal Crutchlow. Both have already suggested themselves as possible candidates for the position.

It is unknown as well if Tito Rabat will remain on the second Avintia bike in 2021.

Many Moto2 riders’ names are being thrown around about a Pramac Ducati deal to replace Miller or potentially a promoted Bagnaia.

It has been speculated for many weeks that 2018 Moto3 champion Jorge Martin has already done a deal with Pramac Ducati to race for the team in 2021,

however it is yet to be announced.

If Bagnaia also makes the step up, many Italian Moto2 riders have been linked to the seat, including Luca Marini or Enea Bastianini.

These two riders sit at the top of the Moto2 standings and seem the most probable to make the move.

Marini is the half-brother of Rossi and for obvious reasons is also part of the VR46 academy, while Bastianini has worked his way through the ranks without the backing of a factory team or driver academy.

A decision on the factory Ducati ride is expected to be announced during the San Marino Grand Prix this weekend.

becoming regular victory contenders in 2020.

“I think KTM showed anyway that whatever they are going into, they are not going to lose and I think it’s a great thing what they have accomplished in MotoGP in such a short time that they should be happy about it,” Oliveira continued.

“It’s not just about having money and the financial resources to do things, but in

competition it’s about gathering the right group of people to work on the project and they were able to do this from scratch.

“I think also that Mike Leitner is also very responsible for this, a guy with a lot of experience that at the end of the day pushed the project to the next level and we the riders are benefitting from it and from now on, we just need to race like anybody else.”

KTM LOSE CONCESSIONS AFTER WINNING its second MotoGP Grand Prix, Austrian manufacturer KTM has lost its concession privileges with immediate effect.

In order to allow new or struggling manufacturers to catch up with the front runners, manufacturers who have either not performed in recent years or are fresh into MotoGP are given concession privileges.

Backing up Brad Binder’s historic win on the factory bike in Italy, Miguel Oliveira riding for satellite KTM squad Tech 3 claimed his maiden MotoGP victory for the brand in its home country of Austria.

The most recent win sees KTM surpass its six concession points in a 24-month period and therefore get an automatic reduction in testing, allocated engines and wildcard appearances.

KTM has immediately lost the right to unlimited testing, so from now on all four MotoGP riders and test rider Dani Pedrosa will only be allowed to compete in official MotoGP tests.

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From 2021 the orange army’s engine allocation will be reduced from nine to seven, while its wildcard race appearances will be halved from six to three.

Oliveira is unfazed by the loss of concessions as he believes the team no longer needs to rely on these as they hunt for regular race wins.

KTM sits third in the Manufacturers’ Championship, only six points behind leaders Yamaha and one point off Ducati.

“There is only one thing that matters and that is seeing the orange KTM in parc ferme on Sunday,” Oliveira said after winning the Styrian Grand Prix.

“Whatever the benefits we had in the past they are paying off now, so I guess it is time now for us to compare ourselves to the best brands here and to have the same rules.”

The Austrian manufacturer joined the series in 2017 and after just three years of hard work the brand has made the gigantic leap to

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INTERNATIONAL WRAP

DIXON CONTINUES EPIC RUN Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT ANOTHER INDYCAR double header weekend took place on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval in Illinois and saw series leaders Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden each take a race victory.

New Zealander Dixon continued his almost faultless 2020 campaign by taking his fourth win of the season in the opening race and backed it up with a fifth place finish the following day.

After qualifying third Dixon remained towards the front, and going into the final round of pitstops the Chip Ganassi Racing driver sat second behind Patricio O’Ward.

On lap 163 both drivers pitted but with a quicker stop Dixon was able to leap ahead of the Arrow McLaren driver.

Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato pitted on lap 176 and was delayed by a slow tyre change, however this did not deter the aggressive Japanese driver.

On much fresher tyres Sato pushed hard, determined to back up his Indy 500 victory with another win.

With 16 laps to go he caught and passed O’Ward with a daring move around the outside at Turn 1, and immediately turned his attention to Dixon.

Sato closed in on Dixon in a carbon copy of the Indy 500, however this time Dixon was able to keep the former Formula 1 driver at bay.

Dixon crossed the line a mere 0.1404s ahead of Sato, as O’Ward bagged the second podium of his IndyCar career in third.

It was a difficult day for Team Penske. Australian pole sitter Will Power was caught out by an unfortunately timed safety car and finished 17th,

Scott Dixon’s dominant 2020 season form continued on the Illinois oval, taking his fourth win of the year (above & below right) and backing it up with fifth the following day. He leads the title chase comfortably. Australian Will Power’s wretched run continued (below left).

Simon Pagenaud retired and championship contender Newgarden finished in 12th.

The following day Newgarden responded emphatically by taking the race victory from O’Ward and Power.

Heading into the final round of stops Newgarden sat third and utilised the undercut strategy on lap 153 to try and jump to the front.

It worked to great effect, and three laps later Mexican O’Ward emerged from the pit lane side by side with Newgarden. The American stood firm,

held his ground, and took the race lead.

O’Ward was the faster driver in the closing stint of the race but he was unable to find a way past the reigning champion.

“Really proud of my team, they won the race, I didn’t win it, they won it,” Newgarden said.

“My guys have been amazing in the pits, they have put me into position every time.

“It was really fun racing Pato out of the pit, that was for the win right there when we went side by side out of the pit exit.”

STANDINGS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Scott Dixon Josef Newgarden Patricio O’Ward Takuma Sato Colton Herta Simon Pagenaud Graham Rahal Will Power Santino Ferrucci Felix Rosenqvist

416 320 297 274 250 237 236 226 216 208

ESTONIAN WINS IN ESTONIA Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT REIGNING CHAMPION Ott Tanak scored a popular home victory in the inaugural Estonian World Rally Championship event.

The home win launches Tanak into title contention with just three rounds of the 2020 WRC season remaining.

In taking the victory Tanak scored his first win with the factory Hyundai squad, despite a late excursion through some bushes on Sunday.

“To be in the bush and then bring it home, I’m happy to win with Hyundai for the first time,” Tanak said.

“We had some previous knowhow and if you race at home, even if you don’t know some roads, you feel the support you get from the people around. It’s a great feeling.”

Driving in a part-time campaign this season, Irishman Craig Breen came home only 22.2s behind his teammate to make it a Hyundai 1-2.

Breen took it steady on the final stage to scaore a career best equalling second position.

Breen’s slow final stage enabled six-time championship Sebastien Ogier to close up to within 4.7s of second position, the Frenchman disappointed with the pace of his Toyota Yaris on the opening day.

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Third place finish means that he has retained his championship lead.

Ogier’s teammate and closest championship rival Elfyn Evans finished the rally in fourth after losing time with tyre issues.

Youngster Kalle Rovanpera came home in fifth, a result the popular young Finnish driver will be disappointed with.

On Day 1 Rovanpera became the youngest ever WRC rally leader at 19-years-old, before he suffered a right-rear puncture. The Toyota driver was then dealt a 60s penalty for working on the car in a prohibited area.

Rovanpera finished only 1m 18.7s behind the rally leader and without these problems you wonder what might have been. It was little consolation that he picked up the maximum five bonus Power Stage points.

Far behind Rovanpera were the three M-Sport Ford machines, Teemu Suninen edged out Esapekka Lappi to sixth position, with Gus Greensmith finishing in eighth.

Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 world champion Petter, took victory in WRC 3 on debut, enough to finish the rally ninth overall ahead of WRC 2 winner Mads Ostberg.

One notable retirement was Hyundai star Thierry Neuville, the Belgian’s rally ending after running wide in a fast left-hander, ripping the rear right suspension from the i20.

The fourth factory Toyota of Takamoto Katsuta rolled out of what would have been a career-best fifth place.

STANDINGS: Ogier 79, Evans 72, Tanak 66, Rovanpera 55, Neuville 42, Suninen 34, Lappi 30, Breen 25, Tidemand 8, Loeb 8

SUTTON CLOSES THE GAP

THE FOURTH event of the 2020 British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill in Scotland was as exciting as ever with Ash Sutton closing the series deficit to leader Colin Turkington.

Sutton won the first two races of the weekend with his Infiniti Q50. In both affairs he held back championship leader Turkington, despite the BMW driver showing stronger speed.

In Race 1 front row starter Jake Hill came home in third ahead of Tom Ingram and Rory Butcher. Race 2 it was Ingram that came home third ahead of Dan Cammish.

The final race was won by Scotsman Butcher in a Motorbase Performance Ford Focus, from Senna Proctor and Tom Chilton.

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HARVICK ONCE MORE DESPITE WINNING the regular season with a race to spare, Kevin Harvick has continued his dominant 2020 form in the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 16 Playoffs.

The final round of the regular season at Daytona concluded dramatically when William Byron took his maiden Cup Series race win and thus eleminating his seven-time championship winning teammate Jimmie Johnson from the Playoffs.

Johnson had been the innocent victim in a multi-car pileup robbing him of any chance of making the Playoff stages in his final year of Cup Series competition.

Chase Elliott finished second at Daytona ahead of Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr and Bubba Wallace.

Harvick recorded his second worst result of the year in 20th but bounced back to win at Darlington.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was the beneficiary of a coming together between Truex and Elliott. When fighting for the win with 15 laps to go, Truex and Elliott collided and both heavily side-swiped the Turn 1 wall and sustained heavy damage.

As a result Harvick, who sat third, was able to easily reel them in and take yet another win, this one the most important to date as it secured him a spot in the Top 12 Playoff rounds.

The 2014 series winner led just 32 of the 367-lap distance but in doing so was able to secure his 57th career victory and eighth of the season.

Austin Dillon caught Harvick in the closing laps, but it was a case of too little too late, as the Chevrolet driver came home just 0.343s behind the race winner.

Logano finished the race third ahead of Erik Jones (who did not make the Playoff cut) in fourth. The 22-year-old Byron continued his great run of form by taking his third consecutive top five race finish.

Alex Bowman finished sixth ahead of the Busch brothers, Kyle from Kurt, as they continued their wretched season, with Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top 10.

Truex led 196 laps and won both stages, Elliott also led 115 laps, but after the damage the pair limped across the line finishing 22nd and 20th respectively.

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ALMIGHTY COMEBACK

HELIO CASTRONEVES and Ricky Taylor overcame two penalties to come from a lap and a half behind to take victory in the IMSA Sportscar Championship 6 Hour at Road Altlanta for Team Penske. Jonathan Bomarito, Harry Tincknell and Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 0.9s behind after being overtaken on the penultimate lap, with Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr rounded out the podium. Australian Ryan Briscoe and teammate Renger van der Zande were fifth and retained the series lead. Factory BMW drivers Connor De Phillippi and Bruno Spengler broke the four-race winning streak of Corvette to take honours in GTLM. GTD was won by Mario Farnbacher, Matt McMurry and Shinya Michimi in an Acura.

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AUSSIES OVERSEAS

F3 TITLE FIGHT EXPLODES Reports: DAN McCARTHY Images: LAT THE FIA Formula 3 Championship continues to deliver surprises at every turn, with Australian title contender Oscar Piasti providing a world-class drive through the field at Monza.

A week earlier at Spa, Piastri was caught out by a red flag and rain in qualifying, and was forced to start from eighth on the grid.

In the race, Piastri methodically chipped away and finished in the top five ahead of teammate and title rival Logan Sargeant, who suffered a late race engine issue, crossing the line in eighth.

The other three Australians finished just outside the points, with Jack Doohan a season high 12th, Alex Peroni faded late and finished 14th, and Calan Williams was 16th.

The following day was a challenge for the Aussie quartet, both Williams and Doohan being forced to retire, while Peroni was 10th before a collision with Olli Caldwell took him out of contention.

Piastri was baulked on lap 1 by a slow

starting Liam Lawson and this cost the Victorian crucial positions.

The Prema Racing driver dropped to eighth but limited the damage, crossing the line in fifth, then received a 5s penalty for an illegal overtake on Theo Pourchaire, demoting him to sixth.

Out front, Sargeant stormed to an inverted top 10 grid race win.

Monza qualifying was chaos as nine drivers were handed penalties for impeding others, including Piastri, so he started the race from 15th, while Sargeant started fifth.

Piastri quickly moved forwards as Sargeant went the other way, the Australian overtaking his teammate for eighth just before half race distance.

Shortly after a brief safety car period Sargeant was spun around at the second chicane by Clement Novalak, who received a penalty for the incident.

Meanwhile, a determined Piastri continued his incredible march forward. In a heroic drive he moved up from 15th to take third on the penultimate lap of the race, while Sargeant finished 26th.

Sargeant fought back with vengeance the following day and sithed his way through the field.

Further forwards, Piastri was making good progress once more but was taken out at Turn 1, ironically by Novalak. The Aussie suffered damage and was forced to retire.

Sargeant had done the hard work,

the American up to fifth, but an overly aggressive pass on teammate Frederik Vesti resulted in a puncture for the American, a move that forced both remaining Prema cars to retire.

Since the conclusion of that race both Sargeant and Piastri have been handed grid penalties for the final round in Mugello.

Piastri got five places for forcing David Beckmann off the road and Sargeant three for the collision with Vesti.

Monza was disappointing for the other Australians, as Williams and Peroni came to blows when in the point positions in Race 1. In Race 2 Tasmanian Peroni was the only point scorer, recovering from 16th to finish an excellent fifth.

STRONG SUPERCUP FINALE

MORE MCELREA PODIUMS HUNTER McELREA continued his strong form in the US Indy Pro 2000 championship at both the World Wide Technology Raceway and the Indianapolis road course, taking two second place finishes.

Coming off the back of second at the Lucas Oil Raceway, Kiwi McElrea had hoped for more on the Illinois oval one week later.

McElrea had struggled to find a balance in his car all weekend, nevertheless he crossed the line in 11th and picked up more crucial championship points.

Less than a week later the championship made a visit to

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Indianapolis and from the off McElrea was in contention.

In Race 1 as he had done all season long, McElrea marched up through the field from a tough qualifying position to finish second, before claiming sixth in Race 2.

In the last race McElrea couldn’t match leader Sting Ray Robb’s pace but he had enough speed to keep Artem Petrov behind, to secure his fourth secondplace finish in his last six starts.

“I think we had the second-best car and we maximised every opportunity.

It’s been a big learning year for myself and the team, and I can’t thank them enough,” McElrea said. DM

BOTH JAXON Evans and Jordan Love ended their Porsche Supercup seasons on a high note, finishing comfortably inside the top 10 in the final race.

The final rounds took place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium and the famous ‘Cathedral of Speed,’ Monza in Italy.

Belgium was a challenging weekend for both the former Australian Carrera Cup Series winners.

After qualifying only 0.019s off pole position, it was clear that Evans had the pace to take the race win, however he remained stuck on the bumper of pole sitter Ayhancan Guven unable to find a way past.

The leading quartet ran nose to tail with Evans the first to blink. On the penultimate lap he locked up at the end of the Kemmel Straight, ran wide, and fell behind his teammate Dylan Pereira.

This was followed by another unforced error on the final lap which handed Florian Latorre third.

Evans came home fourth, while Australian Love dropped from 10th to 12th in the closing laps.

Monza saw a welcome turn in fortunes, as both drivers made up three grid positions from where they started during the 15-lap race.

After receiving a post-qualifying penalty Evans started the race from eighth but charged up into fifth position, harassing Pereira for fourth on the final lap, before coming up 0.4s shy.

Kiwi Evans did enough to claim fourth in

the standings and with Pereira secured BWT Lechner Racing consecutive teams’ titles.

However Pereira came away disappointed from Monza after leading the title going into the final race, he was pipped for the Supercup crown by race winner Larry ten Voorde.

“I was really happy with the performance, the car was great and we really showed we were more than fast enough in the race,” Evans said.

“I’m very happy to have been able to contribute to secure the Team Championship again for BWT Lechner Racing, and I want to say thank you for a great season spent with Walter and his team.”

Love claimed his best finish of the season in seventh and was good enough to earn himself a rookie class podium.

“I am so happy with this result,” said Love.

“Our pace was good, and I knew from the start of the race that we had a good chance.

The two safety car periods in the early stages meant that I couldn’t attack as I wanted to, so I had to push in the second half of the race.”

DM

Circuit owner Sam Shahin put his track knowledge to good use, winning The Bend Classic shootout.

CLASSIC SHOOTOUT AT THE BEND SAM SHAHIN claimed the second annual The Bend Classic in a South Australian Formula One dogfight last weekend.

Driving his 1989 Dallara F189 Cosworth, Shahin claimed the big trophy after his nearest rival struck dramas in the climactic top-10 shootout that decided the overall winner of the weekend.

The second-last car to run, Shahin’s 1m 13.542s flyer was a full two seconds quicker than his previous best, though it was still some way behind the new West circuit lap record (1m10.085s) established earlier by Josh Kean’s Footwork.

Sadly, Kean’s car failed a third of the way into his Shootout lap, leaving the Dallara the winner.

Yasser Shahin (driving a Porsche GT3R) and Brenton Grigoul’s Lola Larrousse LC88 completed the top three, in a compelling shootout.

“I’m thrilled. I didn’t feel I had it in me,” Shahin said. “ Josh was the absolute standout, he was

One of Australia’s most significant Sports Sedans ran at The Bend Classic, the Peter Fowler built Quad-Cam Mercedes-Chev originally built

by Peter Fowler (above left) for Bryan Thomson. It was later also driven by John Bowe and Brad Jones. Brenton Grigoul’s Lola Larousse LC88 (above) Formula 1 car was third in the Shootout. Simon Pfitzner’s ex-Barry Bray Nissan Stanza (below left) won Historic Sports Sedans while Yasser Shahin’s Porsche 911GT3R (below right) was second outright, an impressive performance among the Grand rix racers present.

robbed and really deserved that lap. We destroyed half the gearbox yesterday, so the boys from Team BRM rebuilt it overnight. I gritted my teeth and took turn four in fourth gear and took turn five flat ... these open wheelers ... I get it!”

Shahin becomes the second winner of The Classic, claimed last year by Ash

Walsh driving the Brabham BT62. The Adelaide-built car was entered again this year, however technical issues saw it sidelined on Sunday.

Don Jeffries (Elfin Streamliner) won the Vintage class while Jim Doig won the Open Sports category in his Motorlab ASP. Simon Pfitzner powered his Datsun

Stanza to victory in the competitive Historic Sports Sedan class while Peter Harper (Ford Escort) topped Classic Production.

Yasser Shahin took out Modern Sports in his GT3R while Kean’s non-finish also allowed Sam Shahin to take the F1/Open Wheel category as well.

THE BEND CLASSIC – SHOOTOUT RESULTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Dallara F189 Cosworth Porsche 911 GT3R Lola Larrousse LC88 Formula Toyota FT-40 Lamborghini Hurracan Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Ferrari 360 Challenge Footwork Arrows FA15

1m13.542 1m16.637 1m17.001 1m17.816 1m18.495 1m23.680 1m24.861 1m27.189 1m27.220 DNF

CLASS WINNERS Dan Jeffries (Elfin Streamliner) – Vintage.

Jim Doig (Motorlab ASP) – Open Sports.

Simon Pfitzner (Datsun Stanza) – Historic Sports Sedans Sam Shahin (Dallara F189 Cosworth) – Open Wheel/F1 Peter Harper (Ford Escort) – Classic Production Yasser Shahin (Porsche 911 GT3R) – Modern Sports ‘Best in Show’ Award: Larry Kavanagh (Holden Torana GTR XU1 Sports Sedan)

The Bend Classic attracted a big field of historic racers of all types, including the very earliest machines.

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Sam Shahin Yasser Shahin Brenton Grigoul Yasser Shahin Benjamin Runciman Chris Meulengraaf Kevin Weeks Malcolm Ramsay Paul Russo Josh Kean

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p ra w S L NATIONA

54 AutoAction FEATURE

Image: Insyde Media

,

JONES TOPS TIN TOPS THE TOWNSVILLE Tin Tops, a collection of various tin top categories racing together in three 30-minute events, were a popular addition to the Supercars SuperSprint on August 29-30.

Harri Jones was the outright winner in his McElrea Racing Carrera Cup Porsche. Jones was a comfortable winner of the opening race, he finished close to Tony Quinn in the second and pipped the GT3 Aston Martin driver in race three.

Quinn had comfortably been in front of Race 1 until he took an unexpected pitlane drivethrough and ultimately finished sixth.

Third overall was Luke Youlden (a late substitute for Bob Woods) ahead of Ryan Suhle in their Sprint Challenge Porsches, with the pair racing each other and the Super3 drivers Josh Fife (Holden Commodore VE) and Dylan Fraser (Ford Falcon FG).

Fife was third in Race 1 and on-track for another third in the second when the engine went dead. Fraser was fifth in race one before being ousted in the second with a broken axle.

He scored another fifth in the last after he started rear of grid.

MARC Cars filled the next four overall places with Adam Hargraves edging out fellow Mustang-styled II V8 driver Geoff Taunton for fifth. Similarly, Jason Busk finished ahead of Bayley Hall for seventh and Focus V8 honours.

The best of the Super3s was ninth placed Madeline Stewart (Commodore VE), while Nathan Herne drove superbly to take his Trans Am Dodge Challenger to 10th ahead of Peter Corbett (Focus V8) and Anthony Tenkate (Trans Am Ford Mustang). GOB

WAIT WORTH IT FOR TYLER/ DALE

AT THE helm of the ex-Shannon Rentsch Unlimited Class Nissan Turbo-powered Jimco Aussie Special, Brett Comiskey and Daniel McKenzie won the Albins ARB Goondiwindi 400 on August 22-23. It was the second round of the AORRA Australian Off Road Championship, held on private property 36km east of Goondiwindi.

They finished 1min 35.5s ahead of Tony Fehlhaber and Gary Howell (Class 1 Chenoweth Millennium 2, Nissan) with the father and daughter pairing of Russell and Kelsey Hartnet coming in third aboard their Class 2 Razorback/Honda, 2mins 37s further behind.

The event embraced three sections, made up of five laps of the 80km course.

Out of the 66 entries, 29 completed the full 400k race distance. It was also the fifth round of the Mickey Thompson Queensland Championship, which took in sections one and two.

Unlimited Class buggys topped the single-lap section one with Talbot Cox and Craig King (Racer Engineering Carbon/Toyota V8) ahead of Ryan and Nev Taylor (Tatum AK47/Holden Turbo) and Clayton Chapman and Adam McGuire (Razorback/Toyota Turbo).

Fehlhaber was fourth while Comiskey was eighth behind Paul Weel and Andrew Reid (Class 4 Geiser Bros TT/Chev) and the Class 6 Can-Am Maverick X3/Rotax Turbos, crewed by Jeff McNiven/Franke Waite and Toby Price/Ben Proelss.

Weel topped the two-lap section two ahead of Comiskey and Fehlhaber. Cox didn’t get through the second lap, neither did Taylor. Chapman had a throttle issue that stopped him but he would continue later until a power steering failure.

Over the final two laps, Cox returned to be

GUNDY GOES TO COMISKEY AND MCKENZIE

quickest (and finished 34th overall) ahead of Comiskey, Fehlhaber, Hartnett and Jamie and Symon Knight (Chev C20/Chev LS2), while Weel stopped on the final lap.

Price and McNiven finished the section sixth and seventh, which gave them fourth and fifth overall ahead of class Can-Am rivals Brayden Mifsud/John Lovett, and Robert and William Scott.

Eighth outright were Class 8 winners

Christian Trusz and Shane Harris (Nissan Patrol/Holden V8), while Class 5 honours went to 11th placed Michael Ranson and Jay Davidson (Mitsubishi Triton/ Holden V8).

The other classes were taken out by Jason Keane (Class 10 Racer Engineering/ Chev Ecotec), Mark and Shryne Biggar (Class 9 Rush/Chev V8), Mitchell Cross/ Ben Atterton (Class 66 Polaris RZR 1000) and Luke Petersen/David Anderson (Class 7 Nissan Patrol).

The state round was won by Weel over Comiskey, Fehlhaber, McNiven, Hartnett and Price, based on their times at the end of the second section. Garry O’Brien

Image: Sportzfotos

Image: Stuart Daddow

AFTER A very long wait, the South Australian Rally Championship kicked off on August 15-16 with Guy Tyler and Mike Dale the winners of the PMB Race Products Forest Sprint Rally.

They steered their new Mitsubishi EVO 9 to a 39s victory over Aaron Bowering and Heath Weedon (Subaru Impreza WRX) in the season opener, which was run as a shortened rally sprint.

Over 30 crews took part in the 15-stage event

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with third spot going to Jamie Pohlner and Adam Branford (WRX) 1min 14.5s further behind.

The South East Automobile Club in Mt Gambier hosted the newly-formed event at its SEAC Motorsport Park and the surrounding pine forests.

Hometown SEAC track knowledge clearly paid off for Bowering, as he left his rivals in fear of what might be the next day when the field took on the forest stages. The first three stages were

held after the sun had set and Bowering could not have wished for a better start, building a 7.0s lead over Tyler, with a similar gap to 2019 champions Zayne Admiraal and Matt Heywood (WRX).

On the following day Bowering kept the action hot as he again ran first, 1.0s ahead of Admiraal, and also building his advantage over Tyler. However, stage four would be the last that anyone would get the better of Tyler.

The appropriately named Top Gear was stage five and it allowed Tyler to really open up and he built up a gap on the rest of the field. Bowering came close, but no one would beat Tyler on any of the final nine stages.

The run was made slightly easier when Admiraal, arguably Tyler’s biggest threat going into the event, hit a tree when Tyler began his run. Admiraal recovered to finish 11th. Stuart Daddow

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WILSON EXCELS IN TOWNSVILLE

Images: Randall Images: Xx Kilner

Images: ASORRC

Images: Angryman Photography

HICKS HOOKS SECOND NT TITLE THERE WAS five months since the first round before Greg “Hooker” Hicks was able to finish off what he started.

That was to take out the Alice Hosetech Industrial Supplies/Jaws Contracting NT Titles when he won round two at Mt Ooraminna on August 22-23.

In March he won all five heats of round one and at the second and final round, only missed winning one of the five heats in his Subaru-powered ProLite Sollitt.

The victory also meant that Hicks secured the title for the second year in succession.

Hicks had a two and a half minute advantage in the end where second place went to Lachlan Weir (ProLite Jimco/ Toyota). Weir started strongly by winning the opening heat over the 55km course, before Hicks dominated from there.

Junior driver Jacob Booth in the ex-Jason Adami Porter/Chev V8

Pro Buggy, scored his first outright podium by finishing third which meant a seventh in the final points score.

Title hopeful Brett Taylor (Performance 4WD Jimco Trophy Truck/Toyota PH9 V8) struggled with fuel issues and was unable to finish the first lap. He came back for the night stage but further engine issues force him out.

Weir’s second elevated him to become runner-up in the title.

Despite Taylor’s DNF, he earned enough points to leap-frogged Alex Heinzel to third overall, as the latter was unable to compete in the event.

Others who had dramas in the second round were Brad Geraghty and Rich Chambers, with their SXS Turbo Yamaha YXZ 1000s failing to go the distance. Patrick Geraghty (Tiny Built Sportslite) was in line for a possible top three until he suffered issues on day two. GOB

TASSIE DATES NOW RESET

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA (Tasmania) has locked in dates for several state championships and statewide series, following the state government’s decision to lift stage three coronavirus restrictions.

The events will still have to conform to maximum spectator crowds of 500 and observe social distancing and hygiene rules.

Tasmania has lost its rounds of the Supercars and the Australian Rally Championship, and its popular Baskerville Historics has been cancelled.

The Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championship and Hillclimb Series were the only two disciplines to get their first rounds completed before the pandemic struck.

The usual six-round circuit racing title has been reduced to four rounds, with round two at Symmons Plains on August

23. The third round will slot into the now-vacant Baskerville Historics weekend (September 20), and the final round on October 25 will also celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Buckby Motors Symmons Plains Raceway.

The Tasmanian Rally Championship will now only have three rounds, on September 5, October 3 and November 7, while the Hillclimb Series will resume with round two on November 8 and the third and final round on December 12.

The Off Road Racing Series was shortened to four rounds after it lost two in the shutdown, but the new series opener on July 18 was also cancelled due to lack of entries.

The remaining rounds are scheduled for September 19, October 1 and December 5.

Martin Agatyn

OUT OF the three actionpacked races, Cam Wilson emerged the winner of the EFS 4x4 Accessories Excel Invitational.

The Hyundais were the support race category to the VASC at Townsville, and Wilson’s two seconds and a win gave him overall honours ahead of Brodie Kostecki with the consistently placed Riley Beggs third.

Cam Bartholomew led race one from lights-out to the flag while under continued pressure from Wilson.

Immediately behind were Broc Feeney and Kostecki, who diced for third. Beggs snared fifth off Brett Parrish (later penalised 30s) on the last lap.

There was a safety car at the end of lap two after contact between Parrish and Beggs had Parrish over the kerbs and into Will Brown.

Brown had qualified 12th and picked up five positions before being fired off into the concrete.

Wilson was under enormous pressure to win race two. Bartholomew, Feeney and Kostecki were all over him before Feeney had contact with Wilson, and Bartholomew and Kostecki touched.

Kostecki finished second while Beggs was third ahead of Nash Morris, Hudson, Darren Whittington, Lachlan Bloxsom and Tyrone Gautier.

Wilson was best away in race three but was overtaken at Turn 11 on the opening lap and just before a safety car was deployed. Running three-wide, there was contact between Feeney, Gautier and Bloxsom.

Morris won his race-long dice with Hudson for third and finished fourth overall.

Fifth in the race went to David Wood from Beggs, Bartholomew, Holly Espray and Ian Harvey. GOB

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p ra w S L NATIONA

56 AutoAction FEATURE

THE BROTHERS Dalton and Tristan Ellery, sons of former Formula Ford and Supercar driver Steve Ellery, scored the Production Touring victory at the Warwick 1000 at Morgan Park on August 29-30.

SALOON CARS/GEMINIS/HQ HOLDENS

SALOON CARS headed the field with pole sitter Gerard Miscamble (Holden Commodore VT) winning race one. Second placed Jamie Manteufel (VT) reversed the result in race two before backing up for another two victories. It gave him the overall result while Jason Scrivener (VT) was third.

In HQs four wins went to Brandon Maddon as Brad Schomberg and Joe Andriske were second respectively in races one and two, before Bruce French scored in the other two. Andriske was overall runner up while French and Cidoni squared the points for third. With three top places Mark Gray took the Gemini honours over Rebecca Gray and Greg Bush.

PRODUCTION TOURING CARS

SHARING AN Class X BMW M3 F80, the Ellerys qualified ahead of team boss Beric Lynton and were consummate winners in both enduros. They beat Coleby Cowhan and Lindsay Kearns (A2 Ford Mustang) in the first and Brad Carr in his older spec BMW M3 E92 in the second.

There was an incident with John Carter (A2 Holden Commodore VZ), Karl Begg (BMW M4 F82), Dalton Ellery and Scott Dean (Mercedes AMG A45) at the start of race one. It ruled out Carter and cost Begg time, while Ellery and Dean continued.

GREAT GUN’S TWO SONS WON A stunning effort from Mitchell Maddren (Toyota 86) saw the Class D driver finish third ahead of Gerard Murphy (B2 Holden Commodore SSV) and Dean, who was later excluded. Carr worked his way to second but a later altercation put him out with a damaged wheel.

The Cowhan/Kearns Mustang had gearbox and clutch issues and wouldn’t start race two. Neither could Scott Green (Mitsubishi EVO 9 RS) after a fuel pump failure. Engine gremlins made Lynton non-competitive in

race one and a non-finisher in race two.

Murphy finished third in the Sunday outing, ahead of Robert Gooley and Maika Ter Horst (EVO X), Daniel Clift (VZ), Dean, Maddren, Begg/Steve Burridge and Frank Mammarella (Hyundai i30N).

opener, before he edged out Wilson in race two. Clift finished the weekend with a pair of thirds behind Rod Cannon (Ford Falcon GT) who was fourth overall behind Grant Schneider (RX2).

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

HE WASN’T the fastest in qualifying nor did he win the first race. But then Adam Uebergang smartened up his Mazda RX3 for three race wins and the round. From fourth on the grid for race one, Uebergang

THREE WINS gave Grant Wilson (Chev Camaro) the round ahead of Matt Clift.

The Mazda RX2 driver qualified ahead of Wilson in fourth spot and was second in the

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

ANOTHER SPECIAL ONE-DAYER QUEENSLAND RACEWAY hosted a second limited event as round three of the QR Drivers Championships on August 29, for selected categories in a fast-flowing one-day format.

the last Whittington led early before Parrish went on to win narrowly from Espray and Richards.

The fight for fourth was tight, with 0.6s covering Beggs, Faulkner, Simpson and Whittington.

TRACK ATTACK EXCELS

QR SPORTS & SEDANS

THE DAY produced three different race winners on the National Circuit in Jackson Faulkner, Darren Whittington (twice) and Brett Parrish, but it was place consistency from Holly Espray which won her the round.

Ian Harvey topped the qualifying session but fell off the road on the first race opening lap. That left Josh Richards in front until passed by Faulkner, who held out Espray for narrow win. Richards was a close third and ahead of Richards, Riley Beggs and John Carter.

A timing glitch meant Whittington and Parrish started at the back and they forged through to sixth and 14th respectively, while Harvey recovered for 10th.

It took three attempts to get the second race underway. The first was aborted as Faulkner was too far ahead, and the second when Jasen Haren and Ben Wilcox tangled and Haren went into the tyre barrier.

Once underway properly, Espray led the first lap as Whittington continued his forward charge. He hit the lead on lap two and maintained the front running ahead of Espray and Beggs. Parrish was fourth from Richards, with a gap to Harvey and Faulkner.

Whittington continued in race three for a narrow result over Parrish and Richards. Espray was fourth just in front of Michael Smith, Beggs, James Simpson, Faulkner and Ryan O’Sullivan. In

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TWO NON-FINISHES by John McLaughlin paved the way for Lachlan Gardner to take the overall points ahead of Lee Gravolin and Stephen Coe. On the National Circuit for race one, McLaughlin (Trans Am Ford Mustang) was a tearaway winner over Gardner (OzTruck Tundra) and Coe (Super3 Holden Commodore VE), with Gravolin (QTCC Holden Monaro) next ahead of Graham Woodward (QTCC Mustang). The second race on the Clubman Circuit produced the same result.

On the Sprint Circuit for race three, McLaughlin led the opening race before he was passed by Gardner who went on to win. McLaughlin held second until stopping on the final lap which left Coe clear of Gravolin, Zayd Tones (BMW 318i) and Scott McLennan (Mitsubishi Mirage). In the last on the Clubman Circuit, it was Gardner from Coe and Gravolin with McLennan fourth ahead of Tones.

FORMULA VEES

WINNING THE last of four outings was enough for David Hedemann to take the round, albeit on the same points as reigning champion Alex Hedemann. After two races it appeared Garry Hook (Sabre) was in the box seat with two victories, but a sixth in race three and a non-finish

Images: MTR Images

SUPERKARTS

in the last allowed the father and son pair to take first and second overall.

Behind Hook, David Hedemann (Bee Cee) was second in race one after Alex Hedemann (Rapier) spun away the lead with a lap to go. He recovered to third ahead of Scott Andrew (Rapier) and Chris George (Stinger).

The latter came back for a close second in race two, ahead of his dad, Gregg and Andrew. The Hedemanns dominated the next two races where each scored a win. Tim Alder (Rapier) edged out Gregg and Andrew in the third race before Andrew headed the latter pair in the last.

IN HIS 250 International Anderson Maverick Russell Jamieson appeared untroubled in winning the three outings, all on the National Circuit.

Deciding the outright minor places was much different. Fellow class runner Neil Faulkner (Anderson) was second while third was a tight struggle between the 250 Nationals of Gareth Crisp (ADE) and Tim Weier (Anderson), split by 0.4s in the end.

The 125 honours went with sixth placed Tim Philp (Avoig Elise) over Chryss Jamieson and Doug Amiss, with 0.0071s between them.

It wasn’t so good for Jonathan Bothamley (Anderson) who went out when he collected his daughter Alex (Stockman). Faulkner and Jamieson were non-finishers in race two where Weier was second, ahead of Crisp while fourth was Philip over Amiss.

Jonathan Bothamley was a non-starter but came through for third in the last, well behind Weier but clear of Amiss and Jamieson, again a close contest but going the other way by 0.23s.

GOB

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was embroiled in a three-way duel which went the way of pole sitter David Waldon (RX3) with Brock Paine (RX7) a close third.

Ash Isarasena (RX7), Bruce Cook (Ford Escort) and Angus Chapel (BMW) were not far behind.

Waldon was second in the remaining races. Paine didn’t compete on day two as Isarasena picked up a couple of seconds. A fifth in race three went to Kyle Organ-Moore (Holden Commodore VS) after engine dramas ended qualifying prematurely and he was third in the last.

In U2lt the round went to Ewen Johnston (Honda Civic) from Greg Craig (Toyota Corolla) and John Sheridan (Ford Fiesta).

PRODUCTION SPORTS CARS

Images: Trapnell Creations

IT STARTED well for Porsche 997 drivers Wayne Hennig and Steven McFadden when they qualified first and second. But there was a hiccup for both with McFadden dropping to last as Hennig lost out to Lachlan Harburg, Nick Marentis (Porsches) and Chris Hatfield (RCR T70).

Hennig was back on-track for overall victory when he won race two ahead of Harburg and Marentis. McFadden charged through to fourth and then finished second to Hennig in race three, and behind Hennig and Marentis in the last. Overall it was Hennig from Harburg, Hatfield, McFadden and Marentis.

over the ensuing races. He won overall but finished second to Ryan Astley (F304) in the first two races.

Wilson took race three ahead of Astley, and then the fourth in which Astley was a non-starter. That left Dan McCarthy (Elfin 622) second overall.

It was a different scenario in Formula Fords. Cameron McLeod (Van Diemen RF91) was quickest in qualifying ahead of Kyle Evans (RF04K) but Tim Hamilton (Spectrum 010b), who initially lined up third, scooped the pool with four wins over McLeod, albeit all narrowly. Evans edged out Jack Hotter (RF92) to finish third overall.

FORMULA FORDS/RACING CARS

SPORTS SEDANS/TRANS AM/INVITED

WITH A 2.5s advantage in qualifying, it appeared that Shane Wilson (Dallara F308/11) would not be seriously challenged

RELISHING A refurbished engine, Phil Crompton (Ford Mustang Transam) qualified fastest and was a clean sweep

winner. Shane Hart (Mazda RX7 13B Turbo) qualified second but was a mid-race one casualty and not seen again.

In three outings Colin Smith (Holden Monaro/Chev) was second. Michael Kulig (Trans Am Chev Camaro) was third ahead of Ash Bright (Holden Commodore/Chev), George Kulig (Camaro Stock Car) and Chris Donnelly (Ford Falcon).

The latter scored third in the next race ahead of George Kulig and Karl Begg (Trans Am Ford Mustang). Michael Kulig and Bright were non-finishers but the latter struck back for fourth in race three behind George Kulig, who beat Smith to second in the last.

CIRCUIT EXCELS

AFTER TWO sprint races and an enduro it was Tyrone Gautier who emerged as the

overall winner ahead of Cam Bartholomew and Zak Hudson. Gautier set the pace in taking pole while Bartholomew didn’t get to post. Gautier diced with Ryan Casha, Connor Roberts and Jai Brown in the early stages, dropping to fourth at one stage before rallying to win.

Brown was out after mid-distance, David Wood came from outside the top 10 for second ahead of Hudson, Roberts and Casha. Finishing ninth Bartholomew edged out Wood to win race two. Gautier was next in front of Hudson and Roberts.

Gautier took out the long race, easily by Excel standards, ahead of Bartholomew, Hudson and Matt Wells. Holly Espray missed all of Saturday due to racing at Queensland Raceway, and finished 16th in race two before placing fifth in the last.

Garry O’Brien

TASSIE STATE SERIES BACK AND RUNNING

Images: Angryman Photography

TASMANIAN CIRCUIT racing made a welcome return at the Buckby Motors Symmons Plains on August 23, with the second round of the 2020 Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championships.

With local sport allowed to host up to 500 spectators, subject to social distancing and hygiene requirements, the green light was given for circuit racing to resume.

However it wasn’t all smooth sailing. A timing system issue delayed the start of the meeting by an hour and forced officials to drop a full round of heat racing, to ensure the meeting finished in daylight.

With the championship shortened to four rounds instead of six and fewer points available, to finish every race is more important than ever.

HQ HOLDENS

THE RACING did founder, the late Ian Beechey, justice with a number of great battles throughout the field. The results showed Andrew Toth scored maximum points with a win in all three races, but it was never easy, with former champion Phil Ashlin and reigning champion Otis Cordwell

keeping him honest. Toth’s clean sweep enabled him to take a narrow lead in the championship after starting the day in third.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

THE MOST dominant display on the day came from reigning champion Josh Webster, who established an early break in all three races and was never headed to further extend his series lead. Jeremy Bennett also had a solid day with a second and two thirds, to jump into second overall, with Jamie Keeling and Callum Mitchell scrapping over the minors.

FORMULA VEES

RACING WAS intense, with multiple positional and lead changes in all three races. Wade McLean (Elliott), who took a year off in 2019, and won both heats after some great battles with Michael Vaughan (Spectre) and reigning state champion Callum Bishop (Gerbert).

Vaughan won the all-important double-points final, but still finished the round in third, only a handful of points behind Bishop. The latter’s

consistency (with a second and two thirds) enabled him to maintain a narrow series lead over McLean, who has now closed the gap in second.

SPORTS GTs

THE CATEGORY provided plenty of highlights, especially in the first heat, where Brad Sherriff (Nissan Skyline) and Liam Hooper (Subaru Impreza WRX) traded fastest laps. They both went under the existing lap record as they distanced themselves from the rest of the field.

While Sherriff won the first battle, Hooper’s final lap was quicker, to set a new record in what was shaping up as a great contest. But Sherriff failed to finish the second heat after a throttle issue ruled him out for the rest of the day.

Hooper went on to win the heat convincingly, was then handed a 20s time penalty after an indiscretion, but still managed to finish fourth due to the big gap he had. Hooper was able to make amends with another big win in the final, to claim the round and back up his impressive season opener in March, to further extend his championship lead.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

THEY STARTED the meeting with the largest grid but a high attrition rate saw the double-points final contested by the smallest field. Jared House (Holden Torana L34) was able to avoid any dramas to win all three races to take him to third overall in the championship. Series leader and defending champion Matthew Grace (Nissan 200SX) kept his title hopes well intact with two thirds and a second in the final.

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

A SMALL field saw John Talbot (Ford Mustang) and former champion Michael Cross (Holden Torana XU-1), resuming their round one hostility at the pointy end. Cross took the honours with a win in the double-points final. Talbot won both heats to keep his series lead alive with a slightly reduced points gap to Cross. Martin Agatyn

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We take a look back at who or what was making news in the pages of Auto Action 10, 20, 30 & 40 years ago

Testing your motor sport knowledge

1980: PETER BROCK achieved the unbelievable feat of six Sandown 500 victories on the trot as he headed to Bathurst as the clear favourite. He single-handedly defeated Garry Rogers, while high-profile teammate Allan Moffat took his MHDT Commodore to third after hitting the armco.

A late effort to get to Bathurst was on Moffat’s agenda, as the four-time winner of the event was building up a Ford XD Falcon to race alongside John Fitzpatrick.

1990: FISA PRESIDENT Jean-Marie Balestree completed a total backflip after indicating thee world governing body wasn’t going to throw its support behind the Gold Coast IndyCar race. It came as a shock to organisers and added to the dispute between FISA and CART, which had been festering for some time. In touring car news, Glenn Seton brokee through to win the Sandown 500 alongside George Fury in his own Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth.

2000: A NEW vision for V8 Supercars was revealed by Tony Cochrane, with ambitious aims for the championship.

Rumours included plans for a street race in Homebush, a format change for the Queensland 500, and a weekend festival at Sandown. “I think we are on the threshold of something pretty exciting and when we have a breakthrough, I think it will be big,” Cochrane announced. Plans were also afoot for five races overseas by 2005.

ACROSS

3. In what country did Nico Rosberg make his Formula 1 Grand Prix debut?

6. In 1984 Niki Lauda won the F1 world championship by just half a point, who was the runner-up that season? (full name) 9. Norbert Michelisz won his first WTCR title in 2019, for what brand did he drive?

10. At what circuit was the Formula 1 1980 Italian Grand Prix held?

13. Only one driver has won a Formula E race in every season of the all-electric championship, who is it? (surname) 15. What manufacturer has taken victory in the last two Le Mans 24 Hours?

16. The 2018 WTCR season was won by Gabriele Tarquini, how old is the Italian veteran?

17. How many race wins did Johan Kristoffersson take in the 2019 WTCR season?

19. New Zealander Liam Lawson is a junior driver of which Formula 1 team?

20. Who is the most recent driver to win a race for McLaren in Formula 1? (full name) 23. For how many years did the Indianapolis 500 count towards the Formula 1 World Championship?

25. In 1983 Australian Vern Schuppan won Le Mans alongside Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood, for which brand

58 AutoAction

were they competing?

26. Who is the only driver to win the Turkish Grand Prix on multiple occasions? (full name) 27. Driving for the Holden Racing Team, Will Davison won the Bathurst 1000 in 2009, who was his co-driver? (full name) 28. Who was the only three-time V8 Ute Series winner? (surname) 29. In the 2011 Gold Coast 600 endurance round, which former F1 driver co-drove with Will Davison? (full name)

DOWN

1. Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and which former Japanese Formula 1 driver won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2019? (surname)

2010: WAS DAVID Reynolds off to Kelly Racing? The young hot shoe was touted as joining the four-car Holden team, after being left on the bench at Walkinshaw Racing.

Meanwhile, James Courtney was firing a shot at his rivals ahead of the opening endurance event of the year, the L&H 500 at Phillip Island. “I’m not going to hold back or slow down at all because I’m in the championship lead,” Courtney told Auto Action.

2. The new Mount Panorama board walk spans from Forrests’ Elbow to what corner?

4. With what team did Zak Best contest the 2017 Australian F4 Championship?

5. Tom Kristensen is the most successful driver at the Le Mans 24 Hours, how many times has he won the legendary race?

7. How many wins did Zak Best take during the 2019 Super3 Series?

8. At what track did Zak Best become the youngest Aussie Racing Car Series race winner?

11. What is the most successful British manufacturer in the Le Mans 24 Hours with seven wins?

12. With what brand of car is Johan Kristoffersson competing in the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship?

14. Who became the first Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix winner in 2005? (surname only) 18. Who is the most recent Australian to win the Le Mans 24 Hours? (full name) 21. In what country did Bruce McLaren take his team’s first Formula 1 victory in 1968? (pictured) 22. Mark Webber made his Le Mans 24 Hours debut in 1998 with what manufacturer?

24. How many races did the inaugural F1 World Championship consist of in 1950?

26. How many Formula 1 Grand Prix races did Bruce McLaren win?

# 1793 Crossword Answers 1 down – thirteen 2 down – Marshall 3 down – HRT 4 down – Courtney 5 down – BMW 6 across – Winterbottom 7 down – thirtyfive 8 down – Michael Schumacher 9 down – Greg Murphy 10 across – thirty-two 10 down – The Bend 11 across – two 12 down – Vergne 13 down – Fittipaldi 14 across –

MWM 15 across – Logan Sargeant 16 across – five 17 across – Whincup 18 across – fifteen 18 down – four 19 across – Jabouille 20 down – da Costa 21 down – seven 22 across – Kanaan 23 across – Mark Skaife 24 down – Rossi 25 across – Holdsworth 26 across – Peter Brock 27 across – Kim Jane

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59

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

With over 180 colour and black and white images this 192-page book capturers Allan Moffat’s stellar Bathurst 500/1000 career as both a driver and a team owner – from 1969 to 1996.

Or buy any 3 and pay only $109.00 plus $10 postage, saving $26.00

This 176-page book features imagery of every A9X Torana that started in the 1977, 1978 and 1979 Hardie Ferodo Bathurst 1000’s.

Foreword by Bob Morris and an interview with Jim Richards who won Bathurst three years in a row with Peter Brock in the mighty A9X Torana.

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.

To place an order via email send to: bruce@autoaction.com.au or give us call at Auto Action HQ on 03 9563 2107

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HM-47 - Mill Drill Geared & Tilting Head

50 Tonne e CNC welded steel frame 200mm ram stroke Hand / foot operated Includes pressure gauge & table winch

1(: ( 5(/($6

SAVE $36

419

$

SAVE $25

• 30 Tonne • Pneumatic or hand operated • Adjust. ram position • 165mm ram stroke

459

Order Code: T756

239

HP-30P Workshop Hydraulic ic & Pneumatic Presss

$

870 x 560 x 1085mm 320kg total load capacity Key lockable system 5 drawers with ball bearing slides • 4 wheels (2 with swivel & brake)

$

SAVE $17

Order Code: A380

• • • •

Order Code: A374

$

SAVE $10

SDC-5D Steel Service Cart

,' /( )/8 )/(;,%==/( 12

Order Code: A368

$

SAVE $56

APW-140 Auto Parts Washer

76 litre tank 180L/hr, 240V pump Safety fusible lid 700 x 480 x 250mm

$67(5 )285 &((/6 :+

Order Code: A349

319

$

SAVE $22

EDBD-13 Drill Sharpener

406mm seat height 3 x drawers with ball bearing slides 420 x 235mm padded seat 2 x magnetic side trays

$

/ 6:,9( 6 / :+((

SAVE $29

2

/ 6:,9( 6 / :+((

Order Code: A001

'87< +($9<1 ,

VJ-680 - Hydraulic Vehicle Positioning Jacks

$

SAVE $20

• • • •

SAVE $10

Order Code: J048

189

TCS-3 Mobile Tool Storage Cabinet Seat

1200 x 450 x 130mm Fabricated steel frame Quick & easy conversion 150kg weight capacity 6 swivel wheels Order Code: A006

226kg load capacity 710 x 440mm table 270-740mm table height 2 fixed & 2 swivel wheels with brakes Includes table rubber mat

$

SAVE $11

• • • • •

LT-226 Hydraulic Lifter Trolley

• 907kg load capacity • 5 swivel caster wheels • Fold-up legs

$

MCW-47C - Mechanics Creeper & Seat Combination

Ø300 x 900mm capacity 2-Axis digital readout Hardened & ground bed 38mm spindle bore 2hp 240V motor Includes: 3 & 4-jaw chucks, faceplate, dead centres, work light, steadies, foot brake, splash tray & stand

Order Code: L682D

5,900

$

1 TONNE CAPACITY

'(6 ,1&/8 $1*( + & . ,& 48 267 722/3

SAVE $205

2300mm

AACT0920 COMPETITIVE

ONLINE OR INSTORE!

FREIGHT

RATES!

Simple & Quick Online Freight Rate Check! *DELIVERED TO YOUR

DOOR!

Specifications & Prices are subject to change without notification. All prices include GST and valid until 08-10-20

www.machineryhouse.com.au

NSW

(02) 9890 9111

QLD

(07) 3715 2200

VIC

(03) 9212 4422

1/2 Windsor Rd, Northmead 625 Boundary Rd, Coopers Plains 4 Abbotts Rd, Dandenong

WA

(08) 9373 9999

11 Valentine Street Kewdale

09_AA_100920

*Remote areas may require depot collection in your town