Auto Action #1801

SEASON’S GREETINGSBUMPER 72 PAGES OF HOLIDAY READING

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SINCE 1971

INDEPENDENCE DAY BLANCHARDS GO IT ALONE

TIM IN COOL COMEBACK

SLADE’S SLAYER YEARBOOK EDITION 2020 SEASON REVIEWS

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AUSSIE ENGINUITY WORLD-BEATING REPCO-BRABHAM V8

SQUIGGLE SCANDAL

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TASMANIA, CHOOSE YOUR HORSEPOWER.

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REYNOLDS EXITS EREBUS Agreement clears the way for move to Kelly Racing

By BRUCE NEWTON DAVID REYNOLDS is understood to have agreed terms to split with Erebus Motorsport after only one-year of a 10year deal.

The public announcement that his contract has been torn up - thrashed out over the last week by legal teams representing both parties - will likely have been made by the time you read this.

The way is now clear for the 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner and his management to negotiate a deal for him to take over the seat in the Kelly Racing Ford Mustang vacated by Rick Kelly.

That deal could also have been completed by the time you read this, although it is unlikely to be announced until January.

Auto Action understands it is likely Penrite will be primary backer of the Reynolds Mustang, taking over from rival oil company Castrol.

If Reynolds, 35, completes his deal with Kelly Racing, he will reunite with his race engineer Alistair McVean, who has already left Erebus and will join the Braeside-based Ford squad after a stint of gardening leave.

Penrite has backed Erebus Motorsport in some form since late 2015, taking over primary naming rights sponsorship of both team Holden Commodores from 2019.

Castrol in turn is being linked with an attempt by Super2 champion Thomas Randle and his patron Rusty French to graduate to the Supercars championship.

The Randle-Castrol package has been linked with Tickford Racing, Kelly Racing and Erebus Motorsport.

Castrol has also been suggested as naming rights for the Erebus Commodore to be driven by Will Brown, who has been signed up to replace Anton De Pasquale who heads to Dick Johnson Racing in 2020.

It is understood Brodie Kostecki, who starred as De Pasquale’s co-driver at Bathurst, has been signed to replace Reynolds if required.

Boost Mobile has backed Kostecki in Super2 and a Supercars championship endurance series wildcard, and is also being linked with the entry.

But the telecommunications brand’s Aussie boss Jason Haynes said no discussions had taken place.

As first reported by Auto Action, Reynolds had sought an exit from Erebus because of difficult relations with team CEO Barry Ryan.

Less than two weeks ago it appeared the parties were at an impasse and headed for mediation.

But Reynolds and team owner Betty Klimenko were understood to have spoken by phone last week, leading to an acceleration of negotiations.

AA has been told Reynolds and his management were coming under increasing pressure from Kelly Racing to clarify his position.

If he was not able to do so, Randle had emerged as an alternate choice for the seat.

Aware of that, Reynolds is understood to have pushed hard to get the

agreement completed.

It will be a second stint at Kelly Racing for Reynolds, who drove for the team in 2011 before – ironically – departing in controversial circumstances for Ford Performance Racing (now Tickford Racing) in 2012.

Reynolds joined Erebus in 2016, despite finishing third in the 2015 championship for Prodrive Racing Australia.

He was a lynchpin of the team’s rebuild as a Melbourne-based Holden team, after Klimenko spent many millions on the Mercedes-AMG project.

He signed a 10-year deal with Erebus in late 2019 despite some toing and froing over terms that had seen him briefly consider leaving the team.

In 2020 Reynolds has had a poor year, split for many rounds from McVean who stayed in Melbourne during the pandemic lockdown.

As previously reported by AA, the team has lost a number of other key personnel including De Pasquale’s engineer Mirko De Rosa and crew chief Dennis Huijser.

Reynolds’ partner Tahan Lew-Fatt is due to give birth to their first child in February.

The relationship between David Reynolds and Barry Ryan is at the centre of the split between driver and team.

Neither Reynolds or his management were willing to be interviewed about the matter when contacted by AA. But team owner Betty Klimenko has addressed what she regards as the vilification of Ryan, who was pivotal

to the remoulding of the team into its current form as a Melbourne-based Holden operation.

While she has recently spoken to AA, she expressed her feelings in full force in a social media post this week, complaining about the way Ryan had been presented in a docuseries about the Erebus’ 2019 Supercars championship. “In my life, I have met con artists, would be if they could bes, back stabbers, you name it I have met them, and on a few occasions, been forced to deal with them,� Klimenko wrote. “But I can tell you, with hand on heart that Barry Ryan is not one of them, I put this volcano of hate and blame at the feet of Supercars. “Supercars wanted a villain, and they used Barry, we had no say in what was put out, we were told we did, but as all things go they did as they wanted. “Things were taken out of context, moments that can be seen up and down the field by every owner and team principle (sic). “Of the yelling and supposed bullying was nothing more or less than you would hear in any team, decisions are made in nano seconds, some are right and some are wrong. “Barry storming out, was taken out of context, he had a family emergency and had to run, but this wasn’t told. “I have had a shit month, and it will all come out at some time, but I refused to see one of the most warm-hearted, kind and honourable man (sic), being mocked and ridiculed.�

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SLADE’S SLAYER Blanchard Racing Team’s new CoolDrive Mustang Tim Slade is confirmed for the new Team CoolDrive as the Blanchards look to create a long-term dynasty in the sport, reports DAMION SMY in this exclusive interview NEWLY FORMED Supercars team CoolDrive Racing will contest the 2021 Supercars championship with Tim Slade returning to the grid full-time.

In a pre-launch exclusive with Auto Action, it was revealed that Slade will drive the exJames Courtney/Will Davison Ford Mustang, which the team is leasing from Phil Munday.

The move sees the Blanchard family business take a step towards racing independence, supported by a Tickford customer program, following its previous tieup with Brad Jones Racing (BJR).

As Team CoolDrive, Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) will use the REC it purchased in late 2016 for Tim Blanchard’s BJR customer ZB Commodore. Blanchard stepped down from full-time racing at the end of 2018 and codrove youngster Macauley Jones in the car for 2019 and 2020. The pair finished 13th at Bathurst in October.

“It’s always been a bit of an ambition of the family to keep involved in the sport post my driving career,” Tim Blanchard told Auto Action.

“We wanted to help Brad and Macauley out to get into the series, and post that our plan was to always run our own show as a way

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for myself and the family to remain involved in the sport, rather than just a sponsorship … Brad’s known about that for a while, and he’s been very supportive, and he’s helped the family out a tremendous amount over the years to get to this point.”

The new team will operate out of a brandnew Box Hill facility in Melbourne’s south east, on the same campus as the automotive parts supplier’s company headquarters. The close proximity to the business is intended to enable convenient access to the workshop as the Blanchards tend to their day-to-day responsibility of running the family business.

Tasked with heading the race team is Brendan Hogan, who steps up to Team Manager after five years at Tickford. For the last two seasons, Hogan was race engineer for Will Davison and James Courtney with the very chassis Slade will drive for the new CoolDrive outfit in 2021.

“It’s obviously a Tickford chassis, we’ve got a Tickford engine deal, and we’re finalising the technical arrangement, so there’s a lot of support coming from Tickford to help us out,” said Blanchard.

“But we are our own team, we’ve got our own ideas and as much as that support is

there from Tickford, we are aiming to be a team that stands on its own two feet, albeit in a customer model. We definitely see ourselves as our own team in our own right.”

Blanchard has confirmed he will co-drive the CoolDrive Mustang at Bathurst 2021 with Tim Slade, who co-drove with championship winner Scott McLaughlin to fifth place in the 2020 Great Race. The choice of Slade for the full-time drive wasn’t difficult, says Blanchard.

“Sladey was head and shoulders above the rest, not just in track performance but also the way he approaches his racing. It’s really important for us that we had someone who reflects the values of the team, that reflects the values of CoolDrive and the Blanchard family, and I think in Sladey we’ve got a driver that represents all those aspects of what we were looking for.”

Blanchard’s goals for the team next year are modest, with a focus on creating a long-term competitive group rather than setting the world on fire.

“There’s not a set number or position or results that I’m looking for. It’s our first year, we’ve got to establish ourselves, so for me it’s more about the way we achieve it. We

want to be competitive in the years to come, and that standard set in the first year is important. That’s the key thing.”

The establishment of Team CoolDrive comes a year sooner than anticipated. The move was originally planned to coincide with the move to Gen3 regulations in 2022. The availability of Munday’s Ford Mustang following the dissolution of the Milwaukee sponsorship for 23Red Racing in June was the catalyst for Blanchard to move from BJR earlier.

“This is only really possible next year with the support of Phil Munday,” said Blanchard. “When everything happened with 23Red, Phil stepped in and basically we’ve got a lot of his equipment and we’ve got access to his car for next year.

We wouldn’t be able to do it without him.”

The other factor in the team’s formation for 2021 was the arrival of key CoolDrive rivals in Supercars, most notably from new series and Bathurst naming-rights sponsor, Repco.

“I guess we sort of, to a degree, owned the Supercar marketing space in our industry over the last few years. Now that they’ve decided to get more actively involved, we kind of had to think about how we can leverage it and be a bit smarter,” said Blanchard.

PUSHING FOR PODIUMS: HOGAN TEAM COOLDRIVE manager Brendan Hogan says driver Tim Slade should be able to push for podiums early on – and he should know, having worked on this very chassis previously.

“There’s no reason why we can’t kick off with that chassis from where we were left off last year, which was pushing for podiums,” Hogan said.

“We came fourth five times last year [2020], so I think we’ll be able to chase that trophy. The package that we’ve got is very competitive, and as long as we prepare it properly, then there should be no reason why we can’t be as competitive as the rest of the Tickford cars.”

The step up to Team Manager for Hogan, a race engineer at Tickford for the past five seasons, is his way of adapting to what he sees as the changing pit-lane environment.

“For me, the move is really driven by the way the rules are going in Supercars. They’re pulling more and more sensors off the car, there’s less and less design work for engineers, so for me, I sort of see the full-time race engineer as being a bit of a thing of the past in the near future.”

Saying that, there will be a race engineer for Slade at Team CoolDrive, but not in the same way Hogan was when he was in the role.

Hogan points to successful pit-lane operators such as Adam de Borre, Chaz Mostert’s engineer at Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU), who strategises for Mostert on a race-by-race basis, not full-time.

“I’d say what he’s doing is the future model of race engineering,” Hogan says.

“The other option is that you’re going to have to have

engineers that can multi-task in all Supercars teams.

What we’re setting up at CoolDrive is going to be a model that other teams will look at in terms of not having engineers looking at screens full-time, but moreso being able to actually work on the car.

“This year was probably the catalyst to try and pull a lot of cost out of the category, but it’s been brewing in the background for the past three or four years.

Having people that can do multiple roles is going to be the future of the sport. It’s just a different way of going racing.” DS

BACK IN THE SADDLE TIM SLADE’S return to full-time Supercars racing after a season away from the main game was not a decision that the 35-yearold made lightly.

“I never said I was finished with Supercars at Newcastle 2019,” said Slade.

“As a driver, when you’re not currently in a full-time role, you’re always talking to people, but I don’t want to be a full-timer just for the sake it.”

Key to the CoolDrive deal was Slade’s long-time ally, James Rosenberg. “He’s been a massive supporter of mine for a very long time now, and I wouldn’t be in this position,” said Slade. “James has been one of the bigger supporters of mine since Day Dot.” Barossa-based Rosenberg’s support has included Mitch Evans and Matt Stone Racing as well as fellow South Australian, Nick Percat. The Blanchards and Rosenberg have an existing relationship from Tim Blanchard’s time at Lucas Dumbrell Racing in 2014 and 2015.

“It’s very similar in that James is a successful businessperson from South Australia, you know family owned, quite [a] big business, no different to the Blanchards,” Slade explains.

“The two families have a great level of respect both on the business front and also the motor racing front. He’s pretty excited to be involved knowing what lies ahead.”

It’s a new beginning for Slade, who admits he felt fatigued when his previous full-time drive at BJR ended, and added that the

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COVID-affected 2020 has provided a fresh perspective.

“When I finished up at the end of last year [2019] … I was – I dunno, I guess maybe after being in the sport so long, doing the same thing and kind of achieving the same results – but the break has been really good for me.”

Heading into 2020, Slade was scheduled to race overseas in the Asian Le Mans Series, as well as the Bathurst 12-hour and the three-race Supercars Pirtek Enduro Cup. In the end, he completed only two races: victory in the Asian Le Mans GT Series in February and the prized role of co-driver to Scott McLaughlin at the Bathurst 1000 in October, where the pair finished fifth.

“I think in a way it’s been a bit of a blessing that I’ve almost had to have a forced time away, and I feel like it’s just been a great reset.

I feel really refreshed, I’ve learnt a lot from looking at it all from the outside,” Slade says.

“What I had lined up for this year [2020] I was really looking forward to, but I think that’s not really going to be viable or possible do in the future, with enduros being one race now, and then with a lot of the overseas stuff, it’s an unknown. You don’t know whether it’s going to be possible to go over and come back without quarantining and whatever else.”

Slade says that changes to the category to tighten the field made it more appealing as a driver, by giving smaller teams fresh opportunity “There was a period there this year where I didn’t really miss Supercars at all,” Slade said.

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“But I guess that kind of love came back, which I was hoping that it would after watching a few races.

“The technical changes in the category made it a lot more attractive to me. I think it just took away, over the past couple of years, whether it was the rule change with the springs, the rule change with the dampers and a few other bits and pieces there, and I think we showed that the category was lot closer.

“I think the good teams are still always going to be good, but that margin’s going to be less, and it give other teams the opportunity to achieve some good results when they nail everything and put in the hard work.

“That’s what excites me massively, knowing that we have all the right ingredients there to achieve that.”

Slade also says that while his time at DJR

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Team Penske was positive, it’s not a silver bullet to success at Team CoolDrive in 2021.

“My experience with Penske [at Bathurst] was awesome as well. I definitely learnt a lot … It was awesome to do it with Scotty [McLaughlin] as well who’s a good mate. It was cool, it was really enjoyable and a good bunch of lads to work with.

“I feel as though you never stop learning, and as funny as it sounds, I feel as though I’ve learnt probably the most I have in my career in the last 12 to 18 months.

“I genuinely believe I can bring a lot to the Blanchard Racing Team, more than just driving, having spent 11, 12 years in the sport and you know, being in a few different teams. It’s been a great re-set for me, I’m refreshed, ready to go and know how we have to go about it to achieve the best results that we possibly can.” DS

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COULTHARD LINKED TO TEAM SYDNEY

By MARK FOGARTY DJR REJECT Fabian Coulthard is set to lead Team Sydney next year.

Fabs knocked back a Bathurst co-drive with DJR to continue as a full-timer.

Possible opportunities at former home BJR, Kelly Racing and the new Blanchard Racing Team all disappeared.

Coulthard’s signing with Team Sydney could be official by the time you read this. Otherwise, the announcement is imminent.

Auto Action understands his Team Sydney lifeline has been thrown by racing benefactor Tony Quinn, who owns the Local Legends beef jerky.

Local Legends backed returnee Alex Davison this year at Team Sydney, otherwise known as Tekno Autosport.

The backing was small, but if Coulthard joins, Quinn will increase his support.

The NZ-based UK expat multi-millionaire backed Tekno with his Darrell Lea confectionary brand when the Webb family owned team ran Shane van Gisbergen from 2013-15.

Quinn’s Stix liquorice also supported Will Davison’s and Jonathon Webb’s 2016 Bathurst 1000 upset.

Coulthard is in line to lead Team Sydney with Local Legends backing, threatening Alex Davison’s place in the squad.

The elder Davison brother is understood to be vying for the second seat with incumbent Chris Pither and unassigned Garry Jacobson.

Pither has Coca-Cola backing, while Jacobson also brings funding.

The 2016 Super2 champion is on the outer at Matt Stone Racing, which is looking to run full programs for Jake Kostecki and Zane Goddard.

While Webb would like to keep Davison, he needs a driver with a budget for the second entry.

He has reportedly rejected a pitch from at least one cashed-up Super2 teen looking to graduate to the main game.

AA’s attempts to contact Coulthard and Webb were unsuccessful.

Lightly staffed Team Sydney is based at the insalubrious green shed at the back of the Sydney Motorsport Park paddock.

The only Harbour City squad is ultimately due to move to a purpose-built facility at the adjacent Eastern Creek motor sport hub.

Team Sydney started the season with Pither in the Coke Commodore and James Courtney with Boost Mobile backing in the other entry before Courtney quit the outfit after the Adelaide 500.

He was replaced by Alex Davison, who performed solidly alongside Pither from the Supercars season’s resumption at SMP at the end of June.

LETHAL LEE SET TO BOW OUT

By BRUCE NEWTON AND MARK FOGARTY

THE FULL-TIME Supercars career of Lethal Lee Holdsworth appears over.

While the 37-year old veteran of 470 Supercars race starts had a valid contract in place for a full-time drive at Tickford Racing in 2021, Auto Action sources with detailed understanding of the issue say he has been left without a seat by a reshaping of the Melbourne squad’s racing plans.

It now seems certain Holdsworth will only be seen in a Supercar as a co-driver at next October’s Bathurst 1000, the sole twodriver event expected on the 2021 calendar.

Speculation over Holdsworth’s future has soared within the motorsport industry as rumours run rampant he is on the hunt in Carrera Cup and among the Australian Racing Group categories for a drive. His brother Brett already races in the TA2 Trans Am category.

Holdsworth declined to comment when contacted by AA. Tickford Racing CEO Tim Edwards also declined comment.

Guaranteed starters for Tickford Racing in 2021 are Cam Waters in a Monster Ford Mustang and Jack Le Brocq in an entry with significant sponsorship from Truck Assist – a backer he brought to the team.

Le Brocq’s primary 2021 sponsor, Supercheap Auto, will not have a major role at the team in 2021.

James Courtney will campaign a Boostbacked customer entry underpinned by a Tickford REC, while the new Blanchard

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Racing Team will occupy the fourth garage slot at events with Tim Slade behind the wheel of the Cooldrive Ford (see pages 4-5).

Tickford did attempt to secure another Racing Entitlements Contract (REC) to run a fourth entry of its own. That would have left BRT to fend for itself as a newcomer at the far-end of pitlane with the grid expanded from 24 to 25 cars.

But rather than an attempt to keep Holdsworth in a full-time drive, AA understands the fourth Tickford REC would

have been for Thomas Randle because patron Rusty French had backing to fund the deal. French is also a co-owner of Tickford Racing.

The word was that Castrol would shift its backing to Randle from Kelly Racing.

As part of the package, retired full-timer and KR co-owner Rick Kelly would partner Randle in the Bathurst 1000.

Holdsworth did not have the sort of financial backing that could have kept him in consideration for an ongoing drive at Tickford, or allowed him to swoop in and grab a seat at Team Sydney, Kelly Racing, Erebus Motorsport or Matt Stone Racing, all of which had yet to confirm their 2021 driver line-ups as AA closed for press.

The Tickford push to secure one of the two RECs Supercars has on the shelf is understood to have ground to a halt anyway.

Tickford needed another REC because the entry it ran for Phil Munday’s Milwaukee Racing has been sold to Brad Jones Racing (BJR).

That REC also underpinned Courtney’s entry following Munday’s withdrawal amid the coronavirus crisis. It has been bought

by BJR to replace the BRT REC. Got all that?

In effect, Tickford Racing was trying to buy back the REC it relinquished at the end of 2018. AA has learned that Supercars left the decision to the other teams, which were to vote on Tickford’s request.

Indications were that only Tickford supported the release of the extra REC, with

at least one rival squad actively lobbying against expanding the grid.

Teams were opposed because an extra REC would reduce their share of Supercars’ annual profit.

Tickford had proposed running Randle as a permanent wildcard without a REC and without earning revenue, but that too was rejected.

A graduate of the Commodore Cup and the development series, Holdsworth made his full-time Supercars debut in 2006 with Garry Rogers Motorsport and stayed with that team until 2012.

He shifted to Stone Brothers Racing in 2021, which transformed into Erebus Motorsport in 2013. He scored the first win for Mercedes in Supercars in 2014.

He raced for Charlie Schwerkolt from 2105-18 and then went through something of a career rejuvenation at Tickford in the new Mustang, finishing 10th in the championship in 2019 and 11th in 2020.

He started at Tickford on a single year deal and was re-signed on a multi-year contract at the end of 2019.

In what is now expected to be his last full-time race, he was Friday fast-man in qualifying at the 2020 Bathurst 1000, and finished seventh in the race with good friend Michael Caruso despite car issues.

Holdsworth has claimed three wins across his full-time career, 19 podiums and four pole positions.

His best Bathurst finish was third with Caruso in 2009. His best championship finish was seventh with GRM in 2010.

LARKO MOVES ON AMID UPROAR

By MARK FOGARTY SPURNED STAR Mark Larkham is getting on with business amid a tidal wave of support for his re-instatement.

Overwhelming social media support is backed by a public petition started by Mark Doust, which on Monday – our print edition deadline – had more than 20,000 signatories – and climbing.

Larko is heartened by the outpouring of fans and industry figures demanding to keep him on, but he is not banking on – or even considering – a reprieve.

In response to the unprecedented reaction, he issued a long message thanking his fans and exhorting them to keep following and supporting Supercars and its sponsors.

You can see his statement at autoaction. com.au.

Larkham is concentrating on his booming family video production business and continuing to represent his personal sponsors.

“I’ve finished on a high,” he told Auto Action. “I’m not crying over spilt milk.”

He added: “From now on, it’ll be Larko on the farm,” referring to his expansive property in southeast Queensland.

It’s from there he’ll produce video content for clients like Polaris, Penrite, Nolathane and Indian, entertaining with the same folksy style that made his Supercars TV technical tutorials so popular.

Ironically, he was officially axed from the TV commentary team just days after being named Broadcaster Of The Year in the Supercars Media Awards for the second year

AS THE TV commentary crisis continues, Supercars’ broadcast division has suffered a financial blow.

Auto Action has learned that Supercars Media has lost the deal to produce coverage of the Australian Racing Group’s events on the Seven Network.

The deal has gone to independent Melbourne-based production house AVE, which previously did the Shannons Nationals TV coverage.

It comes as Supercars is dealing with the overwhelming opposition to dropping Mark Larkham from the commentary team.

Fans are outraged and have expressed their disapproval on social media and an on-line petition.

The axing of pit lane reporter Riana Crehan was also not popular, while there are fears the ‘Vice Of V8s’, Neil Crompton, could also be dropped.

Before COVID-19 shut down ARG’s TCR, S5000 and TCM season, along with the Bathurst 6 Hour and Bathurst International, Seven was set to show all rounds live on one of its free-to-air channels and/or 7+ streaming service.

It announced a nine-member commentary team led by former

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running.

Ex-racer and team owner Larko became a fan favourite with his ‘Mr Squiggle’ whiteboard technical insights on Seven from 2007-14.

He was sidelined from the main telecast when Fox Sports took over in ’15, joining Channel 10 as resident expert on the ‘RPM’ show.

Larko returned to the pit lane with a digital ‘whiteboard’ and high-tech graphics on the Supercars broadcasts in 2018, with his banter from his garage and along the lane popular with viewers and participants alike.

He told AA he was unlikely to pursue other media opportunities related to Supercars, preferring a clean break.

Larko’s axing from the Supercars broadcast commentary team is the latest in a big shake-up that had already claimed pit lane reporter Riana Crehan and threatens Neil Crompton, who still doesn’t have a deal for next year and beyond.

Crehan will likely be replaced by another

female in some role, but her axing flies in the face of demands for more diversity in the media.

Mark Skaife is safe and Craig Lowndes’ continuation is likely, but not locked.

AA understands the discussion is about Lowndes returning to the hosting desk with Skaife and Jess Yates or staying in the pit lane, where he was clearly uncomfortable this year when he was at the track while Yates, Skaife and Crompton hosted remotely from the studio in Sydney.

We believe that Craig will only come back on the desk, with his on-going role as a Triple Eight co-driver making it difficult – and conflicted – to roam among the other garages.

With the broadcasts being totally simulcast on Fox Sports and Seven, the hosting panel is a conundrum.

While Seven may demand ‘Sunrise’ sports presenter – and established racing fan – Mark Beretta as a co-host, others see him as a pit lane reporter.

SUPERCARS LOSES ARG TV DEAL

Supercars caller Greg Rust and including Seven Sports personalities Mark Beretta and Abbey Wey, plus Triple Eight coowner Jessica Dane, Molly Taylor and Jack Perkins.

Ironically, ARG under new majority owner Barry Rogers remains the most likely buyer of Supercars when Archer Capital decides to sell.

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Supercars under Sean Seamer still sees ARG as a threat rather than a potential partner.

AA understands the ARG broadcast deal with Supercars fell over on both cost and a clash of on-air talents.

It was going to be too expensive for ARG’s new straitened budget.

Also, Supercars and Fox Sports couldn’t

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We hear there is resistance from Fox Sports to have him on the hosting desk.

The pit lane reporting team is up in the air, although ex-racer Andrew Jones is expected to return after his strong performance in the lane – and as a support race commentatorthis year.

Also in contention is Paul Morris, whose no-nonsense, often simplistic analysis has struck a chord with Supercars execs.

Former Hi-5 children’s TV presenter Charli Robinson – as exclusively revealed by AA – is in the mix, although we hear fan backlash – ironically – has introduced some doubts about her inclusion.

Support race and SuperScreen commentators Chad Neylon and Matt Naulty are being considered for more prominent main broadcast roles.

There has also been talk that Seven wants to introduce AFL identities into the broadcasts to cross-promote its Aussie Rules coverage, which is also shared with Fox Sports.

agree to Beretta hosting ARG event telecasts, while having a prominent role in next year’s new simulcast V8 coverage.

AVE has handled the production of Speedweek, on SBS. The rift between Supercars and Seven over the FTA network’s motor sport coverage has spilled over into a dispute over Beretta’s on-air role.

AA understands primary broadcast rights-holder Fox Sports has vetoed him on the host desk alongside Jess Yates and Mark Skaife.

Subscription TV network Fox Sports has the final say because it paid the vast majority of the announced $200 million for the new five-year broadcast deal.

It has sub-let FTA rights from 2021-25 to Seven, which industry insiders say is paying a paltry annual fee.

The ‘screens of Seven’ will be showing a lot of racing next year, but apart from the Bathurst 1000, won’t really be invested in Supercars like its commitment to AFL. However, we’ve heard Seven wants to involve AFL figures in the coverage, which would work with its Aussie Rules partnership with Fox Sports. MF

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SILLY SEASON FOR SUPERCAR ENGINEERS Image: LAT

TICKFORD RACING’S brand-new Ford Mustang hit the track for the first time at Winton Motor Raceway. The new chassis was shaken down by 2020 Supercars Championship runner up Cam Waters, who will also pilot the first of two new Tickford Mustangs to be built for the upcoming season as revealed by Auto Action in the last issue. Waters completed a maximum of 60km under the Supercars shakedown rules. DM

EREBUS MOTORSPORT protégé Will Brown believes that he will not have to make such a leap into the main game in 2021, after being embedded in the team for several years.

“It’s definitely a massive advantage and I think it puts me ahead of where a rookie would otherwise be, if they were to sign to a new team,” he said. “It’s just about me getting the most out of the car and making the transition from Super2 to the main game with things like the longer races.” DM

Image: LAT

REIGNING BATHURST 1000 race winner Shane van Gisbergen has entered the 66th New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs in January. The New Zealander has been busy since he returned to his homeland, racing in several rallies and a round in a sprint car.

A recent test of the current Toyota FT60 at Hampton Downs convinced van Gisbergen to enter the Grand Prix on January 24, however there is a current border hitch. DM

A HANDPICKED selection of up-and-coming young drivers got a taste of a Brad Jones Racing Supercar at Winton Motor Raceway for BJR’s annual evaluation day. The karting youngsters were picked by Tom Williamson through the BJR – TWM Junior Development Team and featured Jackson Souslin-Harlow, Beau Pronesti, Jordi Marcon, Elly Morrow, Zac Heard and Winston Van Laarhoven. DM

8 AutoAction

Hollway, Commins and McDougall join the shuffle

By BRUCE NEWTON THE ENGINEERING silly season has become almost as frantic in Supercars as the market for drivers.

The latest announced moves include highlyrated veteran Richard Hollway rejoining the Supercars Championship by moving from Garry Rogers Motorsport to Team 18.

Hollway joins as head of engineering in January to bolster the team’s engineering strength at its Melbourne headquarters, as it prepares for the Gen 3 era planned for introduction in 2022. His Queensland-based predecessor Phil Keed will focus on engineering Scott Pye. Meanwhile, Rick Kelly’s engineer George Commins has been confirmed as shifting from Kelly Racing to Erebus Motorsport for 2020.

Commins is effectively doing a swap with Alistair McVean, who is expected to be revealed in January in a new role at Kelly Racing, very feasibly still working with David Reynolds, who he race-engineered at Erebus.

Highly-rated Wes McDougall has also been confirmed as leaving his post as Head of Engineering at Matt Stone Racing to join the Triple Eight Race Engineering.

T8 recruited McDougall after losing Shane van Gisbergen’s Bathurst-winning engineer Grant ‘Shippy’ McPherson to Walkinshaw Andretti United as its head of performance, leading the engineering group under technical director Carl Faux from Q2 2021.

MSR is yet to announce how it will replace McDougall.

Hollway, whose career stretches back to the golden era of the old Walkinshaw Holden Racing Team days, worked with both Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes as well as Peter Brock, winning multiple Supercars championships and the Bathurst 1000.

He moved to GRM in 2010 where he was chief engineer and oversaw the development of the Volvo S60 Car of the Future racer and raceengineered Scott McLaughlin as he emerged as a superstar of the category.

Keed started engineering Pye in 2020 as the pandemic forced team downsizing and the duo scored the team’s first 2020 podium in Darwin.

Manuel Sanchez – who worked with Hollway at GRM – will continue to engineer Mark Winterbottom.

“It’s a good model that the team is running as a Triple Eight customer with engineering support and one of the key factors for me was their performance this year, they’ve done an awesome job and really stepped up, so I’m looking forward to bolstering the engineering department and contributing to their efforts next year,” said Hollway.

“I’m really excited to apply the knowledge I’ve gathered over the last 25 years or so to this new

program, but I’ll also be on a steep learning curve with the progression of the cars and the Gen-3 regulations approaching.”

Commins worked with Kelly for six years after returning from a stint in Europe that included time at the Williams F1 team. Kelly stepped out of full-time racing at the end of the 2020 season and Reynolds is favoured to extricate himself from his Erebus contract to replace him.

Erebus has also promoted Tom Moore from data engineer to race engineer in the wake of the departure of Anton De Pasquale’s engineer Mirko De Rosa. Moore also engineered Reynolds for part of the 2020 season because of McVean’s absence due to the Melbourne pandemic lockdown.

It has not been announced which drivers Commins and Moore will work with. Will Brown is confirmed in the team, while Brodie Kostecki is expected to occupy the other seat if Reynolds does leave.

“I am a fresh set of eyes and can potentially offer advice or direction that perhaps wasn’t considered before,” Commins said.

“I’ve always admired the team’s no-nonsense approach to going racing and it’s clear they are focused on achieving the best result possible with as few distractions as possible. I think we can be a real force in the future.”

MSR SET TO ANNOUNCE DRIVERS MATT STONE Racing is expected to confirm Jake Kostecki and Zane Goddard as its 2021 full-time driver line-up this Friday (December 18).

The announcement – if it pans out as Auto Action understands - will mean the end of 2016 Super2 champion Garry Jacobson’s tenure with the team after just one year.

Jacobson is now being linked with a seat at Team Sydney, potentially alongside Fabian Coulthard.

At one stage MSR was investigating running three cars in 2021, but was unable to find a spare Racing Entitlements Contract (REC) to purchase.

Goddard and Kostecki split one Holden Commodore in the championship in 2020 in a unique arrangement dubbed SuperLite.

They then joined together to drive the Unitsponsored entry in the Bathurst 1000, where they did not finish.

Goddard finished 25th in the driver’s championship with 438 points, while Kostecki was 27th with 290 points.

Goddard, a 21-year old from the Gold Coast, had a best qualifying effort of 16th for race

Image: LAT

two at SMP2, followed soon after by his best finish of 10th in race three at the same meeting.

Kostecki, aged 20 from Perth in Western Australia, recorded a best qualifying effort of 17th for race three of the opening Darwin event, then went on to finish 14th, his best finish of the season.

While MSR is expected to confirm main game drivers and their backers this week, the liveries of the two Triple Eight Holden Commodores won’t be shown until the new year.

A restructured engineering line-up, prompted by the departure of head of engineering Wes McDougall to Triple Eight, also won’t be announced until 2021.

A return to the Dunlop Super2 series -MSR won with Todd Hazelwood in 2017 -- is also in the offing for 2021 with details on this program also to be revealed next year.

Team co-owner Jason Gomersall will continue to drive in Super3. Other entries, including Chris Smerdon and Brad Neill, are also anticipated. BN

Image: LAT

EGGLESTON CONSIDERS SUPERCARS MAIN GAME

By BRUCE NEWTON

LOWNDES EYES GT AND SUPER2 IN ’21

By MARK FOGARTY SEMI-RETIRED SUPERSTAR Craig Lowndes is looking to do more racing here and overseas next year to stay sharp for his one-off Supercars co-drive at Bathurst.

In the last year of his current deal with Triple Eight, Lowndes will again be paired with Jamie Whincup.

As well as domestic and overseas GT races, the evergreen fan favourite has also expressed interest in some Super2 wildcard appearances to give him more seat time before the Bathurst 1000, which will be the only two-driver endurance race of 2021.

Lowndes has also put his hand up to continue as a co-driver in the new Gen3 era in 2022, as well as a test driver role with Triple Eight to help develop the Camaro.

He hopes to revive his GT racing ambitions, which were scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had plans this year to be doing other races in other categories,” Lowndes told Auto Action.

“Unfortunately, with all the COVID problems, it shut those doors, but we’re knocking on those doors again for next year to see, firstly, if the categories are running, and then whether we can travel overseas is another element and whether teams are willing to have us.

“So the plan is to have more seat time next year, knowing that again we’re only going to have Bathurst as an endurance race here.”

Lowndes also didn’t rule out the possibility of some Super2 guest appearances to help his transition back into the Red Bull Ampol Racing Holden Commodore for its last outing at Mount Panorama.

“We could do a couple of wild cards, from what I understand,” he said. “They definitely could be useful.

“There’s no doubt the lack of seat time is an issue, although it’s not a major concern. Garth and I talked about it going to Bathurst this year, that we were a little concerned. We weren’t worried, just a little concerned about getting up to speed.”

However, he emphasised that he was happy with his speed in this year’s race, into which he went cold, until Whincup’s embarrassing exit.

“I was pleased with my pace in my first stint – unfortunately, we didn’t get to do the rest of the day,” he said.

Lowndes is involved with Triple Eight’s Super2 junior team as coach/mentor to Angelo Mouzouris, who will be joined next year by Broc Feeney.

“I’ve been helping Angelo this season and my plan is to help again next year,” he said. “Having Broc come into the fold is going to be interesting.

“It’ll be great for Angelo to have someone he can compare with. Having a teammate will be a bonus element for his development.”

Lowndes is also excited about Gen3 and wants a role into ’22 and beyond with the new-gen V8 racers.

“I’d love to be part of the Gen3 program,” he declared. “Whether that’s a testing program or a racing program, I don’t know. But I’m definitely keen.

“Testing has always been a big part of my approach and something I’ve enjoyed, getting in the car and reading it and finding out what it needs. So I’d definitely be keen to keep talking to Roland about being part of that program as well.”

Lowndes wants to continue as analyst on the Supercars broadcasts, hoping to return to the main Fox Sports desk alongside Mark Skaife.

But he is still waiting on a new TV deal.

Lowndesy’s 2020 Top 10 – see pages 46-47.

LEADING SUPERCARS development series team Eggleston Motorsport is considering stepping up to the main game after the Gen3 technical rules come into force.

Scheduled for introduction in the Supercars championship in 2023, a cornerstone of Gen3 is making the cars vastly cheaper to build, race and repair than the current Gen2 Supercar.

That has definitely been noted by husband and wife team owners Ben and Rachael Eggleston, who have carved out a business as front-running Super2 entrants, as well as campaigning customer cars in GT and the third-tier V8 Touring Car Series.

The arrival of Gen3 is likely to mean current Ford Mustang and Holden Commodore ZB Gen2 cars will become eligible for Super2, representing a significant step-up in costs for the category.

“I think it’s definitely something (reduced Gen3 costs) that makes it (the Supercars championship) more appealing to a team like us,” Rachael Eggleston told Auto Action.

“Probably also you would feel you are on a more level playing field than what you would be under the current (Gen2) rules.

“We run our team as a business, so whatever we do has to make business sense. We look at everything on its merits and it’s definitely something we have given some thought to.

“We will continue to give it thought for sure.”

The bottom line for such a venture isn’t cut and dried of course, as the Super2 series has a much shorter and therefore cheaper calendar than Supercars.

But the transition of the main game to cheaper cars while the support category inherits more expensive cars does seem to

place Super2 teams in a squeeze.

“That’s exactly what it does,” said Eggleston. “Knowing what we know about the market and how much the cars will cost, how much the VF cost when they came down and how much the ZB and Mustang will cost when they come down, at the end of the day they are going to be a lot more expensive and that’s not the way it’s meant to be.

“For us in Super2 to be buying cars that are more expensive than what the main game has, plus the running costs will be more. It seems to be backward.”

Eggleston said Super2 teams were discussing the potential issues with Supercars. At this stage there is no official timeline set for the introduction Gen2 cars to Super2.

“Considering the amount of investment to do that (transition to Gen2), and given what everyone has gone through this year it’s probably not something too many people are going to be wanting to do too soon,” Eggleston said.

“But obviously Supercars are in a position where they change and that filters down to Super2 at the same time. We really hope we find out a bit more about it soon.”

Eggleston Motorsport has yet to finalise its 2021 Super2 driver line-up, although Rachael Eggleston said interest was “pretty good”.

“We are pretty open to how many cars we run and we do have four in total, but we wouldn’t necessarily want to run that many.

“We are probably going to run at least two and probably three next year. Time will tell.”

Jack Perkins and Brodie Kostecki drove two of the team’s Holden Commodores in Super2 in 2020, but Eggleston missed the shortened season’s Bathurst finale because of the pandemic.

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LATEST NEWS

FORMER GARRY Rogers Motorsport Supercars driver James Golding has cut several laps in an S5000 open-wheel beast at Symmons Plains and expects plenty of overtaking at the venue in January.

Golding believes the short, sharp nature of the Tasmanian circuit will offer plenty of opportunities for drivers of the V8 powered machines. The 24-year-old singeled out the high-speed approaches to the hairpin and the second last corner as the ideal overtaking opportunities for S5000 competitors. DM

LEADING TOURING Car Masters team Whiteline Racing will continue to field two Chevrolet Camaros in the series for 2021, piloted by young gun Adam Garwood and returnee Mark King. Garwood will continue to campaign King’s former entry, the 1970 Chevrolet Camaro RS in the series, which begins in his home state of Tasmania at Symmons Plains on January 24-26. King takes over the team’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, previously driven to much success

by Adam Bressington. HM

FORMER TOYOTA 86 Racing Series winner Tim Brook has signed with Wall Racing to contest the 2021 National Trans Am Series.

Brook will compete in the series driving the #38 Ford Mustang that will feature support from a combination of his personal backers and Wall Racing’s sponsors. The Oran Park resident has not previously raced a Trans Am machine but has tested at a couple of New South Wales tracks. DM

YOULDEN SEALS CARRERA CUP AND GT3 DRIVES The 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden is pondering a potential comeback to the Great Race next year after securing a comprehensive 2021 racing program.

LUKE YOULDEN, who stepped away from Supercars after a disappointing endurance season co-driving David Reynolds in an Erebus Motorsport Holden Commodore ZB in 2019, will campaign a Porsche 911 GT3 in the 2021 Carrera Cup as part of the Tekworkx Motorsport team.

Youlden returns to the Carrera Cup for the first time since 2006, when he piloted a Fitzgerald Racing entry in selected rounds to 16th. He finished fourth in 2005. Backing for his 2021 program will be revealed down the track.

Tekworkx driving force Rob Woods will also be racing a Porsche 911 in 2021 in the Michelin Sprint Challenge.

Adding to his schedule, Youlden is also likely to share a Mercedes-AMG GT3 with the car’s owner Vince Muriti in the revitalised Australian GT championship.

Youlden recently set the fastest lap at Challenge Bathurst in the car.

The Gold Coast-based Tekworkx squad will also campaign a pair of Toyota 86s for two young racers in 2021.

Youlden will provide driver coaching to the as yet unnamed youngsters alongside the 2018 Toyota 86 champion Tim Brook, who has also joined Tekworkx and brought his title-winning car with him.

Youlden stepped away from his regular Supercars co-driving gig because he felt he wasn’t getting enough race miles during the year to be able to deliver properly when dropped into the co-driver hot seat during the enduro season.

That situation has been clearly corrected for 2021 and Youlden is excited by the potential opportunity to add to his 20 starts in the Bathurst 1000.

“I stepped back from co-driving because I was not enjoying it, but that could change in 2021,” Youlden said.

“It’s only one long-distance race now, so it would work with my new program.

“But, honestly, I’m happy with the way things are going and I’m focussed on finding the next Luke Youlden, not just reinventing the old one.”

Driver coaching and training has become an increasingly significant part

of Youlden’s CV. He has worked for the Porsche Track Experience for more than 15 years and is now deputy-chief instructor on the program to 1988 Bathurst 1000 winner Tomas Mezera.

“This Tekworkx program is a great way for me to combine my experience on two fronts. I’ll be in charge of the coaching and preparation leading up to rounds of the 86 series, then sharing with Tim Brook on race weekends,” said Youlden, who is the only pro driver to have won an 86 round and only one of two to have won a race in the series.

“I think we both have a lot to offer and we’re already fielding a lot of enquiries for next year’s 86 championship.

“The 86 series is a great starting point and ideal for learning about professional racing. It’s highly competitive, the series goes to the best racetracks, and youngsters will learn a lot.

“This is the best of both worlds for me. I will be giving something back, passing on my experience, and also getting back to racing.” Bruce Newton

GORE GETS FIVE YEARS SEVEN CATEGORIES will compete at the traditional Bathurst 6 Hour Easter weekend next year, across a packed three-day schedule. Supporting the event will be TCR Australia in its maiden race weekend at Mount Panorama, GT World Challenge Australia, National Trans Am, the Hyundai Excels competing under the MRF Challenge, Radical Australia and New South Wales Historic Touring Cars. HM RESPECTED TOURING Car Masters category manager Rowan Harman has announced his retirement from the position after 15-years’ service. Starting with the category back in 2005 when it was known as the Biante Historic Touring Cars, Harman transformed the class from a field of standard Group N cars into the semi-professional and popular class it competes as today. HM

10 AutoAction

THE FORMER V8 Supercars and Champ Car team owner Craig Gore will serve a minimum two years of a five year jail sentence on a swindling charge.

Gore purchased 00 Motorsport team and fielded Ford Falcons for the likes of David Besnard, Craig Baird and Jason Bargwanna in the Supercars championship with backing from his own company, Wright Patton Shakespeare Financial Services, from 2004-07.

WPS also sponsored the Supercars safety car program, while Gore’s shortlived co-ownership of the Team Australia Champ Car venture gave Will Power his debut in the category.

Gore also had involvement in Marcos Ambrose’s NASCAR truck Series campaign and in the Champ Car Atlantic with Frenchman Simon Pagenaud.

Brisbane District Court Justice Michael Byrne said Gore had shown no evidence of remorse. Gore had earlier been found guilty of six counts of defrauding investors with self-managed superannuation funds of $345,000.

“The very fact that your conduct was targeted at people who were legitimately trying to save as much as they could, both by way of investment and necessarily for retirement, is an aggravating feature,” Justice Byrne said. BN

Image: AA Archive

SUPERCARS’ MEDIA communications department has shifted south in the latest move to centralise administration in Sydney.

Media and digital content will now be run out of the sport’s executive headquarters in North Sydney on the Harbour City’s lower north shore.

Main operational divisions will remain at Supercars’ long-time Southport office on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Amid the rise of digital media, Supercars’ comms staff had until now remained up north.

The main administrative office was moved after Sydney based James Warburton took over as CEO in mid-2013.

Operational departments have remained on the Gold Coast, where Supercars had been based since its inception in 1997.

The creep to Sydney has increased since Sean Seamer took over as CEO in early 2018, with most senior executives based there.

The comms department’s move has cost Supercars at least two key content providers.

Supercars website editor Stefan Bartholomaeus and writer Connor O’Brien have taken redundancy packages rather than move to Sydney.

Bartholomaeus has joined Melbourne-based AN1 Media while remaining on the Gold Coast.

Supercars media manager Paul Glover stays, commuting to Sydney on a regular basis.

No replacements for Bartholomaeus or O’Brien have been announced.

They provided the written coverage and oversaw video content on supercars.com.au.

Glover is the direct interface with motor sport and mainstream media – and will remain so in his nominally Sydney based position.

SUPERCARS CONTINUES SHIFT TO SYDNEY Supercars’ big boss of comms, Felicity Hamblin, was already in Sydney.

Hamblin was on maternity leave for most of this season, but is due to return to active duty in January.

Supercars’ Southport office will continue as the base for events management, corporate hospitality, and the sporting and technical departments.

Several senior executives are still based on the Gold Coast because that’s where the sport started and where they have established family lives.

They have resisted moves to Sydney because of the cost of relocation and lifestyle preferences.

When Supercars started, most teams were based in southeast Queensland. Now only three are there. Five are in Melbourne, one is in Albury on the NSW/Vic border and the other

is nominally in Sydney.

Auto Action understands the relocation of the media and communications department is linked to Supercars’ “digital transformation” plan.

It will work more closely with Fox Sports and returned free-to-air TV partner Channel 7 on shared and interacted content.

It’s understood there was a push from Seven for integrated, multi-platform coverage.

“We now have an FTA broadcaster with vision,” said an insider, alluding to Network Ten’s cursory coverage over the past six years.

Supercars Media, the sport’s broadcast division, works out of Sydney, where the Seven Network is also based.

They are set to work more closely, simulcasting all coverage.

Commentators and reporters will be shared

Image: LAT

between Fox Sports and Seven.

Supercars’ increasing administrative centralisation is not only because its big bosses are Sydneysiders.

It is also because Sydney is Australia’s main media market, placing Supercars admin in the centre of sports rights and sponsorship consideration.

As well, it reflects NSW’s importance to the series, with three high-profile events of next year’s 12 rounds.

Government tourist promotion agency Destination NSW is backing the seasonopener at Mount Panorama, the SuperNight at Sydney Motorsport Park and the Bathurst 1000.

DNSW has an announced multi-year agreement with Supercars, including the return of the Newcastle 500 as the opening round in 2022. Mark Fogarty

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Image: LAT

AUDI HAS announced its motorsport plans going forwards, declaring that it will return to endurance racing and withdraw from Formula E. The endurance racing LMDh formula was created by the ACO and IMSA and means that Audi will be eligible to contest either the World Endurance Championship or the American IMSA Sportscar Championship. Audi will also enter the famous Dakar Rally for the first time in 2021 running an innovative prototype. DM

AFTER LAST year announcing it was terminating its combustion engine racing activities, Volkswagen has confirmed it will now cease all motorsport activities, after earlier announcing its racing focus would be on electric motorsport. This move came as a shock as it was revealed Volkswagen was testing its updated Golf GTI TCR entry, which was immediately shelved. HM

BMW HAS become the second manufacturer to announce that it will exit the Formula E Championship at the end of the 2021 season. BMW has been involved in Formula E since the very beginning but only became a fully-fledged works team when it joined forces with established American squad Andretti Autosports for the 2018/2019 season. Over the two seasons since, BMW i Andretti Motorsport has claimed four victories. DM

Image: LAT

IN 2021 Juan Pablo Montoya will reunite with McLaren to compete in the 105th running of the Indy500. It will be the first time since 2017 that the Columbian has raced in the legendary 500-mile event since he competed for Team Penske, finishing sixth that day. The two-time Indy500 winner will pilot a third Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet engineered by Craig Hampson, alongside full-time drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist. DM

12 AutoAction

ADELAIDE EMERGES AS MOST LIKELY WRC HOST THE CITY of Adelaide may have found its replacement for the Adelaide 500, with reports that the South Australian capital is first in line to host the Australian round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Coffs Harbour has hosted the last seven Australian WRC rounds, starting back in 2011 and then running for six consecutive years from 2013-2018.

The WRC Rally in Coffs Harbour has always proved popular with drivers but has often received negative feedback from teams due to its remote location.

Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales is four hours drive from the closest capital city, Brisbane, over the border in Queensland.

It was reported that a multi-page document created by Motorsport Australia has been seen in South Australian Parliament House, proposing Rally Australia shifts from Coffs Harbour to the surrounding areas of Adelaide from 2022.

It is thought that stages would be held in the Barossa Valley region, Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills.

It is understood that the likely short travel time to stages has made SA the most attractive option among the Australian host cities.

When Auto Action approached Motorsport Australia about the subject, it declined to comment.

Rally Australia in Adelaide may just fill a void for infuriated SA Motorsport fans, after the legendary Adelaide 500 Supercars event was suddenly axed by South Australian Premier Steven Marshall and the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC).

As previously reported, since the announcement was made by Marshall to cancel the event, South Australian opposition and Labor party leader Peter Malinauskas signed a deal with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer, to bring back the event should he be elected.

When approached about a possible WRC round in Adelaide, SATC chief executive Rodney Harrex explained that they are always open to hosting events which will support the local economy.

“The State Government is always interested in events which can attract visitors to South

RACE TASMANIA LAUNCHED THE AUSTRALIAN Racing Group’s Tasmanian double-header was officially launched on December 6, ahead of national motor sport’s return to the Apple Isle in January.

GRM S5000 driver James Golding completed the first laps for an S5000 at Symmons Plains, where the outright lap record set by Alfredo Costanzo in 1980, a 50.16s, is expected to be under threat at the championship opening event on January 24-26.

Also in attendance were Renault Sport GRM driver James Moffat, Owen Kelly, Brett Holdsworth and Tim Shaw driving Trans Am machinery, which also features on the bill alongside TCR Australia and Touring Car Masters as the first leg of the double-header.

Double-Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose was also an interested onlooker.

The second leg of the double-header will be Baskerville on January 29-31, where the Tasmanian Ten Thousand Trans Am race headlines the schedule.

Main drivers of the double-header, Garry and Barry Rogers, were excited to finally launch Race Tasmania.

“Race Tasmania in Launceston and Hobart will be a fantastic festival of motorsport, and now it’s getting closer,” said Garry Rogers. “ “We are genuinely excited about getting down to Tassie this month and again in January for the race events, and if early ticket sales are anything to go by, then the Tasmanian motorsport fans are just as excited. We are limited to 5000 tickets per day, so we recommend fans get in as soon as they can to avoid disappointment.

“Tasmanians should be extremely proud of their body for motorsport, Motorsports Tasmania, led by Donald Potter and Peter Killick, who along with their dedicated team of volunteers are making this event a reality. It is one thing to embark on bringing multiple, elite level categories to Tasmania, but another to realise it.

“A debt of gratitude is also owed to two people who are a big part of Tasmanian motorsport Tim Shaw and Greg Crick, who have helped in various ways behind the scenes to bring it all together.”

Not only will ARG categories compete in Tasmania, but so to will local Improved Production, HQs and Excels support the program. HM

Australia and support the local economy,” Harrex told AA. “The South Australian Tourism Commission continues to consider a range of opportunities for the coming year and for the longer term.

“As with all events the SATC supports, opportunities are assessed in the context of available budget, strategic alignment, competing priorities and return on investment, including economic benefit to South Australia.”

The Coffs Harbour round was cancelled in 2019 due to the dozens of out-of-control bushfires in the area, and this year did not proceed due to COVID-19.

Rally Australia is also notably missing from the 2021 calendar, however a 2022 date would suit South Australia.

Rally Australia has reportedly earmarked another NSW venue, however no contract has been signed with the New South Wales government.

It is understood that the plan for an Adelaide WRC event would be centred around a three-year deal to run from 2022 to 2024. DM

TICKFORD ANNOUNCES ITS SUPER2 DRIVER

TICKFORD RACING has announced that it will remain in the Super2 Series in 2021 by signing up 19-year-old Zak Best.

The Benalla native drove for Matthew White Motorsport in 2020, scoring a season best race fifth in the final race of the season at Bathurst, on his way to sixth in the series.

Best replaces Triple Eight Race Engineering bound Broc Feeney, who departed Tickford at the end of the Super2 season.

The Victorian is thrilled to have signed with the successful Tickford Racing Super2 squad.

“It’s very exciting to join a team like Tickford Racing for 2021,” Best said.

“It’s a team you can really set yourself up well for the future with, to drive for a team with such good experience and a wealth of history in Supercars and Super2, is very motivating heading into 2021.

“2020 was a good learning year, that’s for sure,” Best added, “obviously it was a bit muddled up with the calendar changes, but I learned lots at every round and kept chipping away.”

Tickford Racing team principal Tim Edwards feels that Best is a real supplement to the outfit.

“Zak is a great addition to our development program at Tickford Racing,” Edwards said.

“We’ve had our eye on him as he’s come up the ranks over the last few years, so we’re very happy to have him on board.”

DM

th Luke West iith wit

AA’s outspoken columnist says Supercars bosses ended 2020 by killing Bambi.

Image: LAT

ROBOTHAM LOOKING TO MAKE STEP UP AFTER WINNING all four Super3 Series races this year, Jaylyn Robotham is looking to take the next step into the second-tier category for the 2021 season.

Following on from two successful seasons in the Toyota 86 Racing Series, Robotham made the move into Super3 with the highly regarded Matthew White Motorsport operation.

Due to COVID-19 the season was delayed and then shortened to a total of two rounds, one at Sydney Motorsport Park and the other at Bathurst.

Robotham clean swept all the Super3 races in 2020, however as only four races were held, no series winner was declared.

Despite this, Robotham has

expressed his desire to move up a class into the Super2 Series as he feels he has shown his potential in the lower division.

“We are trying to move up into Super2, we think we’ve proved ourselves in Super3 and we are trying to get a budget together,” Robotham told Auto Action.

“Ideally it would be best to go with Matt White in the Nissans, they’ve won the series the last couple of years.

“I’m with the team now (in Super3) and it’s a really good team environment to be around, we all hang out, so I know the boys and we all get along pretty well.

“So ideally it would be there, but we’ve just got to wait and see what everyone else does.”

The 2020 Super2 Series winner Thomas Randle previously told AA that he has no desire to compete in the series again, leaving at least one vacancy at MW Motorsport.

Robotham admits that if he is unable to secure a seat in Super2, Super3 remains a great back up plan.

“If we don’t end up getting a Super2 seat, we’d probably do Super3 again,” he said.

“But we are more leaning towards Super2, just because we did what we had to do in Super3.

“I feel like I proved myself and don’t want to be doing it again, but if needs be it’s definitely a good category to fall back on.”

Dan McCarthy

PIASTRI PLEASED WITH F2 TEST PACE AUSTRALIAN OSCAR Piastri completed in the post-season Formula 2 test with Prema Racing and was pleased with his one lap pace and the feeling with the new car.

After winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship with the Prema, Piastri signed a deal to remain with the Italian team in F2.

However, prior to the three-day test in Bahrain, the Victorian had not driven a modern F2 machine.

“Overall, I think the test was pretty good,” Piastri told Auto Action.

“I think it started off very well, then sort of got a little bit lost in the middle, which is pretty normal, particularly with this car, it’s difficult to get a handle on.

“At the end of the test my pace was pretty decent, in the last afternoon I was second and felt much more comfortable in the car and was more consistent as well.

“I think I certainly learned a lot of differences from the F2 car to the F3 car, particularly in the race runs.”

Piastri highlighted the weight and wheels as the major differences that influence the unique handling characteristics of the F2 machine.

“It’s quite a different beast,” Piastri said.

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“The bigger rims certainly change the dynamics of the car quite a lot, finding the limit is tough, and overstepping the limit bites you very hard because there’s so little sidewall movement.

“It didn’t really feel like a massive step up in speed from F3, it was just quite a different feeling in the car, particularly the weight.”

During the test Piastri felt his strength was in the quali simulation runs, however he admitted that long runs in testing have never been his forte.

In 2020 Prema Racing won the drivers and teams championships in the four championships it competed in, F2, F3, Formula Regional Europe and Italian F4.

Next year Oscar Piastri will share the Prema Racing garage with Ferrari Academy driver Robert Shwarzman. After winning the F3 Championship with Prema Racing in 2019, Shwarzman moved into F2 and won more races than any other driver this season.

“He (Shwarzman) should be a

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very good benchmark and definitely someone I can learn a lot from next year, hopefully we can both help each fight at the pointy end,” Piastri said.

“Obviously the biggest comparison is going to be against Robert, because we are in an identical car, he is the first person who you can benchmark yourself against.”

When asked what his targets are for next year, Piastri explained that he simply wants to do the best job that he can, while also challenging his teammate.

“Obviously I’d like to be beating Robert more often than not, that’s going to be the first goal and learning as much as I can.

“In terms of championship position or race wins, I don’t really have any goals,” he said.

“I’m quite a firm believer in that if I’ve got the car capable of winning, then I definitely want to set myself the goal of winning, but if I only have the car for fifth, then I want to try and get to fifth.” DM

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WITH ONE dumb decision Supercars management undid much of its good work from a difficult 2020 season. In dumping Mark Larkham from its television coverage, it cashed in the big bank of brownie points earned from completing a credible season in the face of many COVID-inflicted obstacles.

It’s a disappointing way to head into the Christmas holidays. It’s left its prime supporters with a bad taste in their mouths when they should be salivating the new season.

How about that backlash? Have you seen anything like it before? Genuine outrage from folk who connected with man-of-the-people Larkham. This was not your average social media blow-up from easily offended faceless types, but sincere resentment from its core audience about a viewer favourite. Talk about misreading the room.

I have no issue with Supercars and its television partners wanting to make its coverage less technical. In fact, I applaud the push to broaden its focus and its audience. This is common sense. But Larkham’s contributions were part of the solution, not the problem.

Larko provided humorous, bite-sized, easy-to-digest technical analysis via his engaging personality and creative explanations. You learnt something from every contribution. His enthusiasm and passion commanded your attention and drove your own interest.

To be blunt, it’s the booth commentary that’s been the problem. It gets bogged down in engineering matters, operating procedures and tyre management issues, only important to ex-racing drivers and race engineers.

Mark Skaife’s convoluted tyre strategy explanations – especially when soft and hard tyre compounds are used – make for difficult listening. They wear very thin, very quickly. Phrases like “dual usage tyre runs” and “ending up on the slippery slope of tyre degradation” must be baffling for casual viewers.

And the next time Skaifey praises a driver for NOT attempting an overtaking manoeuvre – and commends them for holding station – he should reconsider what racing is actually about.

The problem with modern motorsport is that it’s become an exercise in mistake minimisation rather than wheel-to-wheel combat. This has stripped much of the drama, entertainment and personality from the sport.

It grinds my gears listening to perfectionists in motorsport commentary booths who react like they’ve copped a dagger to the heart when a pit crew member takes an extra second to change a wheel. “Oh, that’s massive!”

Move Skaife to pre- and post-race analysis – his strength – and the problem is fixed.

Another thing, who on their weekends wants to hear about operations manuals, managing systems, net yields, et al? It’s like being at work!

Many – myself included – will be devastated if Neil Crompton does not continue into 2021. As the sport’s premier communicator globally and a consummate professional, he’ll easily shift his focus in the desired direction.

I just don’t think he’s at his best when in the box with Skaife. Crompo, like Larko, is part of the solution.

TO FINISH the year on a positive note, here are my top five highlights of a very different 2020 season.

Bentley’s win in the Bathurst 12 Hour, way back in February (pre-COVID is ancient history now, right?), was richly deserved. The British marque’s brutish GT3 Continentals added so much to the once-round-the-clock event since debuting in 2015. With news Bentley’s factory GT3 program has ended, hopefully private Continental entries will colour the B12 when the event resumes in 2022.

Credit where credit is due. Supercars put together a credible, entertaining 2020 championship. The category and its leaders deserve praise as one of three Aussie sporting ‘codes’, along with AFL and NRL, to successfully overcome an extreme crisis. Contrast the can-do attitude of Victorian teams in getting cars, equipment and crews across the border, with the A-League’s inability to get just their players into NSW before borders closed. Soccer and Rugby Union leaders were shown to be dunces in comparison.

Timing is everything in life, and Roger Penske’s purchase of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 took effect as COVID-19 swept the world. IndyCar may not have survived the pandemic under its previous Hulman/George family ownership.

Yet under Penske’s stewardship it not only survived but showed signs of thriving again. Races at Road America and on the Indy road course were candidates for race of the year, regardless of series.

Overtaking move of the year was Shane van Gisbergen’s passing of Scott McLaughlin in Townsville that also allowed teammate Jamie Whincup to sneak through. Brilliant.

Van Gisbergen, Garth Tander and Triple Eight were very worthy winners of the Bathurst 1000. They were fast and faultless. It must also be said that in any other year Cameron Waters, Will Davison and Tickford would have won Bathurst with the quality performance dished up by car #6. Bring on 2021.

It’s 20 years since Luke West wrote his first column for Auto Action #896 in July 2000. ‘Reverential Ramblings’ evolved into ‘Revved Up’ and ran until 2010. Now, after a 10-year break, he’s back to survey motorsport’s changing landscape.

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LATEST NEWS

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has announced its new commission structure, and its members across the three disciplines, circuit racing, rally and off-road. Each of the three commissions contains five members. Dick Johnson Racing team principal Ryan Story is the new chair of the Australian Motor Racing Commission (AMRC), while Ben Erceg continues on as the chair of off-road, with Jon Thomson remaining as the Australian Rally commission leader. DM

REIGNING BATHURST 12 Hour winners Bentley has ended its factory GT3 program after the Intercontinental GT Challenge finale at Kyalami in South Africa on December 10-12. Bentley’s director of motorsport Paul Williams confirmed the close of the British marque’s works operation, which began in 2013 at the Gulf 12 Hour with the original Continental GT3. Bentley’s GT3 campaign had achieved all of its objectives according to Williams. HM

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA CHANGES LICENCE STRUCTURE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES have been made to the licence and permits structure by Motorsport Australia, as part of its ‘More Motorsport More Often’ initiative.

Aimed at improving the access to motor sport participation, 90 per cent of competitor licence holders will pay less or the same for their 2021 licence renewals.

Competitors who experience an increase in renewal costs will be able to access more events with their new licence type.

Another change is the reduction of existing licence types from 11 to 34, reducing the need for competitors to request licence upgrades as they progress through the various tiers of motor sport.

For example, the Clubman Circuit Licence holder will now simply receive a ‘Circuit Licence’ and they will be able to compete at all levels of Circuit Racing, aside from those events where specific conditions apply, such as a Superlicence for Supercars.

The licence structure for Officials has also been simplified to encompass 40 types rather than the previous 78. This restructure is to better align the licencing with the training levels provided, whilst streamlining progression.

Event organisers and clubs will also experience the benefits of these restructures with permit types being reduced from 172 to 61.

Consistency in pricing is the key difference,

SYDNEY YOUNG gun Edan Thornburrow will compete in the National Trans Am Series, driving a Ford Mustang for his family-run team. The 17-year-old, who was crowned Motorsport Australia Young Driver of the Year award in 2019, is set to drive a brandnew car and is in the midst of a busy testing schedule. After learning his racing craft in production cars, Thornburrow is coming up to speed ahead of the opening round at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania. DM Image: LAT

SEVEN OUT OF EIGHT MANUFACTURERS CONTINUE to homologate new racing variants for the TCR regulations. MG debuted its 6 X-Power last year and this new model is now available to customers through 333 Racing Club after successfully completing the international TCR homologation process. Close to completing its homologation process also is the Fiat Tipo, after making its debut in TCR Europe at Monza recently. HM

14 AutoAction

SEBASTIEN OGIER won a seventh FIA World Rally Championship after taming the tricky snowy and wet conditions in Monza, Italy.

The Frenchman adapted to the challenging stages best, taking the 25 points for the rally win and snatching the championship from teammate Elfyn Evans, who crashed on the penultimate day.

By taking the win with Toyota, Ogier became just the second driver after Juha Kankkunen to win the WRC title with three different manufacturers, after previously taking victory with Volkswagen and Ford.

whilst the new structure makes the permit process easier and fairer.

The changes are as a result of Motorsport Australia’s Recovery Taskforce, initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year has provided us with an opportunity to critically review everything we do – from our own structure, through to our licence and permit offerings,” Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca explained.

“For our competitors, 90 per cent of you will be better off under this new structure and for those who aren’t – their new licence types will provide more access to more events.

“We are also here to help. Our membership team is happy to talk through your circumstances, with a bridging year on offer for some licence types to cushion the impact of any price increase.

“And while only a small number of competitors will be subject to an increase – those who are will now be able to access more events without the need to upgrade their licence.

“We’ve found in the past that some people may have chosen a lower licence type at first, only to find they need to upgrade midway through their licence period, as they look to make the step up in competition.

“Our Officials are the lifeblood of the sport and we couldn’t do what we do without them.

“These changes will make things easier to understand and also align our training modules with the licence types, something that had not always been clear in the past.

“This will allow Officials a clear path for advancement through the ranks, as well as give new Officials a clearer understanding of how the structure works.

“When it comes to our event permits, over the years a number of products were bolted on to our system and even with 172 permit types, some activities didn’t fit into a product, so specific were the permits. These changes will make it clearer and more consistent. Significantly, it will make life easier for our event organisers to plan for their event.

“2020 has certainly been a big year of change and we acknowledge there is a lot of information to take in.

“Ultimately, these changes will reduce the barriers to participation, reduce the red tape and allow us to provide ‘More Motorsport More Often’.

“Our membership team will be on deck throughout the Christmas and New Year period (aside from the public holidays) to answer any queries via our upgraded member hotline – 1300 883 959.”

More information can also be found at: motorsport.org.au/moremotorsportmoreoften.

Heath McAlpine

“I’m pretty happy, it’s been a difficult weekend, and this last stage was definitely not the most enjoyable,” Ogier said.

“That (a temporary windscreen wiper failure) was scary! I knew there were still a couple of narrow gates to pass and it would have been challenging without seeing anything,” In the week leading up to the Italian event Ogier signed to race with Toyota for one more season, after previously announcing that he would retire at the end of this season.

Ogier was disappointed that the title fight ended with his teammate Evans crashing out.

“It’s been a difficult weekend,” Ogier said.

“We feel for Elfyn also today. He had a very strong season, very consistent, and we had really good fun to fight each other.

“I’m sure, next year is going to be about the same, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m very happy (to win) and I feel very privileged.”

Ogier set some scintillatingly fast stage times on Saturday morning to take the rally lead and from that moment on was never challenged, taking the rally win by 13.9s and his seventh title in eight years.

Outgoing champion Ott Tanak reclaimed second position on the final stage, beating teammate Dani Sordo by 1.4s, the Hyundai pair switching positions multiple times on the final day and rewarded Hyundai with back-toback manufacturers’ titles.

Esapekka Lappi finished a season best equalling fourth before making the shock announcement that he would likely not be returning in 2021.

Kalle Rovanpera, Andreas Mikkelsen, Oliver Solberg, Jari Huttunen, WRC 2 title winner Mads Ostberg and Pontus Tidemand rounded out the top 10. Dan McCarthy

EVANS GOES HOME HERO

DESPITE NOT winning the WRC title in 2020, Welschman Elfyn Evans has been hailed by his peers for his sportsmanship.

After crashing out, Evans warned his teammate and title rival Sebastien Ogier to slow down for the very icy corner to which he fell victim.

Although Ogier dramatically slowed down, he too nearly speared off the road; without Evans’ warning Ogier may have also ended up off the road and awarded Evans his maiden title.

The heartache for Evans is hard to stomach, particularly as he was sitting pretty in third, those 15 points would have been enough to take the title “I don’t regret anything (about the weekend). It was important to keep on Seb’s tail. Actually, the pace and the way I was driving all felt normal. It wasn’t a forced rhythm or taking big risks. It’s just the way it’s gone this time,” Evans said.

CARRERA CUP TO NZ AN EIGHT-round Porsche Carrera Cup Australia calendar has been revealed, confirming the series will race in New Zealand for the first time.

Carrera Cup will begin its series at the Australian Grand Prix in March, before supporting the Supercars Championship from then on, starting at The Bend Motorsport Park in May. Due to the various state restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carrera Cup was one of many national categories unable to start its season.

Porsche Cars Australia head of motorsport Troy Bundy is delighted to have the season kick off at Australia’s highest profile event.

“After the restrictions to our 2020 program, it’s great to announce our 2021 calendar which will see our

drivers continue to race at the biggest motorsport events of the year, in front of the biggest crowds, enjoying the best support and television package available.”

“We strive to deliver a premium class experience for all our customers, teams and sponsors and with the support of Porsche New Zealand this year, the New Zealand race promises to be a real highlight.

“We‘re equally glad that Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia will again be the premier support category on the Repco Supercars Championship for next year.“ Following on from The Bend, Townsville follows in July before two rounds under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park and Wanneroo Raceway, the first time the category has visited the venue in eight years.

PORSCHE’S BATHURST ENDING

“We are really looking forward to having the championship back up and running again next year, and we feel we have delivered a calendar that all competitors will enjoy, allowing them to race on some of the best tracks across the country,” said Porsche Cars Australia’s head of motor sport Troy Bundy.

“Finishing the season at the Bathurst International will be a real highlight and will provide great coverage and exposure for all our teams, drivers and partners.”

BATHURST WILL conclude the six-round schedule for Porsche’s second-tier Michelin Sprint Challenge.

Five out of the six-rounds have featured on the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships program since its formation in 2008, the exemption being the final round as part of the Bathurst International.

Endurance races will take place at each round forming the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy.

A MASTERFUL RECOVERY

Image: LAT

THIS TIME last year, Alex Peroni was recovering from a potential career-ending accident.

But a breakout year in FIA Formula 3 has opened up a new challenge for the recent recipient of the Peter Brock Trophy.

The Tasmanian scored three podiums on the way to 10th in the championship, which was won by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri.

A consistent standout for Campos Racing, Peroni remains disappointed by how his season played out this year.

“It was so hot and cold this year,” Peroni told Auto Action. “Whenever I was comfortable in the car, I felt like I was driving well and it seemed like we were on the podium.

“To finish the year with three podiums and to be only 10th in championship was pretty

2022 Porsche 992 Cup car

Carrera Cup continues its long-running position as a support category to the Bathurst 1000, before heading across to New Zealand at venue yet to be confirmed, but likely to be Pukekohe.

Gold Coast resumes its slot as the season finale, a position it has held for a number of years and this year aligns with the climax of the 2021 Supercars Championship. In doing so, it will be a later end to the Carrera Cup season, concluding in December. HM

2021 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Calendar 1 Australian Grand Prix VIC 18-21 March 2 The Bend SA

8-9 May

3 4 5 6 7 8

9-11 July 20-22 Aug 11-12 Sept 7-10 Oct 6-7 Nov 3-5 Dec

Townsville QLD SMP Night NSW Perth WA Bathurst 1000 NSW Auckland NZ Gold Coast QLD

ROUND

EVENT

STATE

DATE

SPRINT RACE

ENDURANCE RACE

1

Phillip Island

VIC

February TBC

2 x 20 min Races

1 x 45 min Race

2

Sydney Motorsport Park

NSW

1-2 May

2 x 20 min Races

1 x 45 min Race

3

Morgan Park

QLD

25-27 June

2 x 20 min Races

1 x 45 min Race

4

Sandown

VIC

10-12 September

2 x 20 min Races

1 x 45 min Race

disappointing, but it was the consistency that robbed us in the end.

“We had too many race weekends where we didn’t score points just for silly errors or sometimes being a bit unlucky.

“I was glad to get the podiums to show what I’m capable of, that was good.”

Peroni’s remarkable recovery concluded at the season’s opening race, when he scored his maiden FIA Formula 3 podium at the Red Bull Ring, an emotional result considering the doubts surrounding his career future.

“It was pretty dark days after the accident, (I’m) not going to lie,” Peroni reflected.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen for the next year (2020). Is this it? Is my career over? Even to be racing in 2020 was a credit to all my supporters, sponsors and people close to me.

“It was nice, especially in that first race to get on the podium, it was cool and obviously when

you get a taste of that you want to continue it, but after looking back at the end of 2019, it’s not bad.”

Peroni is expected to announce his plans before Christmas in what will be a new direction compared to his European-based exploits.

“It’s nice to almost have that certainty, we’re very close to signing next year,” Peroni enthused.

“Normally at this time of year, we’re still trying to scrap the budget together, talking to teams, so it is nice to know where I’m going next year and what’s happening, and I can work towards it.

“Being a completely different path and a new challenge, there’s a lot of things we have to prepare and a lot of new things I need to be ready for as well.

“It’s going to good.”

Auto Action understands Peroni will race open-wheelers in America in 2021. HM

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S W E N A R T X E

INDEPENDEN

Tim Blanchard talks to DAMION SMY about the newly independent Team CoolDrive STARTING A new team after a COVIDaffected 2020 may not seem like the ideal time to go racing, especially with new Gen3 regulations still in a state of flux for 2022.

But the Blanchard Racing Team, under the Team CoolDrive banner, has seized an opportunity to go out on its own, albeit with technical support from Tickford, and realise a long-term goal.

Generations of the Blanchard family have made their mark on Australian motor sport and the wider automotive industry through the family business, CoolDrive Auto Parts.

While John raced Formula Fords and Super Tourers, son Tim only retired from full-time Supercars with Brad Jones Racing (BJR) at the end of 2018, and then publicly aspired to team management.

After a incubation with BJR, where Brad’s son Macauley campaigned the Team CoolDrive ZB Commodore for the past two seasons, a number of factors have made 2021 the right time for the Blanchards and CoolDrive to take the next step.

Tim Blanchard tells Auto Action how it all came together.

so Phil has been a tremendous supporter of ours, and what we want to achieve, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without him. He’s going to be involved in the team moving forward in an advisor role.”

On James Rosenberg’s support.

But we are our own team, we’ve got our own ideas and as much as that support is there from Tickford, we are trying our best and aiming to be a team that stands on its own two feet, albeit in a customer model. We see ourselves as our own team in our own right.”

Tim Blanchard on his own role in the team.

“It has always been a bit of an ambition of the family to keep involved in the sport post my driving career. We bought the REC licence towards the end of 2016 and obviously spent a few years with BJR, but we wanted to help Brad and Macauley out to get into the series and post that, our long-term plan was to always to run our own show as a way for our family to remain involved in the sport rather than just a sponsorship.”

“CoolDrive’s still owned and operated by the family; my dad and I and even my grandfather are still actively involved in the business and still have an active responsibility in that, and we’ll continue to grow the CoolDrive auto parts business. That’s my main focus. [dayto-day].

“My dad and I will be coming to events, actively involved in supporting the team; having the team here at CoolDrive head office makes that a little bit easier. So we’ll help [team manager] Brendan [Hogan] and give him support where he needs it and the direction in how we’d like the team to be run.

The day-to-day operations we’re leaving as much as possible to Brendan – we have full trust and faith in his capabilities, so we don’t want to be dictating to him how to run it.”

On ending the five-year partnership with BJR.

On recruiting Brendan Hogan as Team CoolDrive Team Manager.

“I guess the circumstances led us to own the REC when we did but we didn’t want to run our own REC while I was still driving. I was always going to stay at BJR for as long as my driving career went on.

“Part of the deal we made with Brad at the time was that if I stopped racing we’d help him out and help Macauley [Jones] out to get into the series, which we’ve done. We’ve had no bad experiences; we still talk to Brad quite a bit and ask him advice, and our experience with BJR has been very good. At the same time, we always had the end goal of running our own team. Brad’s known about that for a while, and he’s been very supportive, and he’s helped the family out a tremendous amount over the years to get to this point.”

“Brendan’s obviously had a lot of experience as a race engineer in Supercars and he’s also had a lot of experience with Tickford cars and the very chassis we’ll be using. I’ve known Brendan a long time; we went to Uni together, but in saying that because I have known him so long, I know about the way he approaches racing and how he manages the people around him. And again, it’s similar to Sladey; it’s someone I trust who has a lot of experience, he’s established, he was looking to take a step up in his career, and I think this is a good platform for him to do so. So, we’re pretty excited to have him on board. Having someone of his calibre running the show dayto-day is a big coup for the team.”

On starting a new team.

On the role Tickford will play…

“It’s obviously a Tickford chassis, we’ve got a Tickford engine deal, and we’re finalising the technical arrangement, so there’s a lot of support coming from Tickford to help us out.

16 AutoAction

On Phil Munday’s involvement.

“This is only really possible with the support of Phil Munday. When everything happened with 23Red, Phil stepped in and basically, we’ve got a lot of his equipment and obviously we’ve got access to his car for next year,

“I’ve got to know James quite a bit through the LDM years when he was supporting Nick Percat, another Southh Australian, so I kind of got to know a bit about James through that. When we weree looking at drivers for next year, obviously Tim m was high on our list, and I spoke to James about whether he could help to make it all happen, and we’re excited to have James involved and it’s meant we’ve ended up withh the quality of driver we have in.

“Both Phil and James have been through the journey in the last few years that we’re about to embark on and they’ve both really helped a lot to put this together behind the scenes.”

On hiring Tim Slade as Team CoolDrive’ss full-time driver.

“When we were looking at drivers, we had ad a shortlist with a number on there, and I guess there were two options we go down; n; whether we go with an established guy, orr we get a younger guy that we can build the he team around long-term.

“I guess the attraction of putting Sladey in the car was that he’s someone who’s established, someone that we know well.

Being a new team starting from scratch I think having that level of experience was really important to us, and that’s why we went down the experienced option.

“Then, when we did all our analysis of drivers that were available with that level of experience, Sladey was head and shoulders above the rest, not just in track performance but also the way he approaches his racing.

“It’s really important for us that we had someone who reflects the values of the team, that reflected the values of CoolDrive and the Blanchard family, and I think in Sladey we’ve got a driver that represents all those aspects of what we were looking for.”

iinn the car. I think I am more than capable of m matching any of the co-drivers iinn the series.”

On his expectations for Bathurst, O a in general for 2021 and 2021.

“We don’t have a set position or result that we want to achieve in the foundation year, w y one – a set result/target will come in year y two and three year three, but year one one, what’s really important to me is how we achieve those results.

“I think we have the right processes in place, the on-track results are going to align with what we hope for anyway but we’re very focussed on making sure we do the process right and don’t take any shortcuts to get the short-term win.

“That’s our focus for year one – to be consistent and competitive week in, week out, and to have the solid base to build the team from.”

On driving with Slade at Bathurst 2021

On deciding to start in 2021 and not wait for Gen3 rules to come in.

“I’d like to think that I’m still up to doing a good job and supporting Sladey in heading into Bathurst next year, so, I’ll be doing Bathurst with him. We’ve been teammates for a long period of time, so we know each other very well; we’ve worked together a lot over the years, and yeah, I’m looking forward to sharing a car with him.

“I still enjoy driving race cars. I think I’m capable of doing a good job, but in terms of going out and winning races, I’m probably not at that level and that’s why we put Slade

“There are two main factors involved in that. The first one was Phil Munday’s involvement and his support has made it possible to do it for 2021. That was an important part of being able to do it a year earlier than originally planned.

“The second one is from a marketing point of view, with the changes in the sport and what our [CoolDrive Auto Parts] competitors are actively doing in the sport, we needed to approach it a bit differently to leverage our involvement to a greater level

NCE DAY

Team CoolDrive key k players (left to race): raace): Tim Slade, Brenda Brendan an Hogan, Tim Blanc Blanchard char and John Blanchard.

Blanchaard.

moving forward.

The combination of those two things led us to do it for 2021 instead of waiting until Gen3 came on board, but I think we’re in a pretty good position moving into Gen3 as well.”

Why Team CoolDrive set-up its own workshop in Box Hill.

“We’re setting up at Box Hill because it enables us to leverage off our involvement in the team and in the sport at greater levels. Obviously being an automotive business, a lot of our staff and our customer base follow motor sport and Supercars in particular very closely, so we see this as an opportunity to give them a buy-in or involvement in the race team at a certain level, which is trying to do things a little differently to our competitors and offer something not a lot of other sponsors can offer.

“So we’re leveraging off the core business quite substantially; any role that’s not actively working on the car (so the admin, marketing, HR roles) has been absorbed by the core CoolDrive business daily roles.”

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On the Box Hill facility facility’ss capability.

“At our head office we have some space in the factory next door that we’ve utilised. We’ve converted that into a workshop. Four weeks ago it was a regular auto parts distribution centre with racking and parts all the way to the roof. Now, all the racking’s gone, the floors are painted, we’ve built some office space in there, some work bays in there, and all the things that a Supercars team requires to be competitive.

“We’ve got our own sub-assembly, fabrication and sign-writing shop, which I think gives us a bit of capability to do our own thing, but it’s not a big facility in terms of that, so we can do little bits and pieces ourselves, but anything major we’ll have to outsource. As a customer team, not a manufacturer of cars or components, our business model moving forward is to do the small stuff ourselves but outsource the larger things that involve capital investment.”

On whether Team CoolDrive will run two cars in the future.

“We’re gearing ourselves up to move to two

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cars sometime over the next few years – we’re structuring our team to have h the th capability bility to do that – but until there’s a bit more visibility over how Gen3’s going to work, we’re not going to make any moves to actually do that.

“I think it’s also important in your first few years, as we saw with Penske, when you’re starting a new team, you need to keep focused on the one car; there’s only so many resources we have, and the more you dilute that, the more it affects your on-track performance.

“As much as Gen3 influences it, the move to two cars – how competitive, how good a job we’re doing with the one car will have just as big an influence on that decision as well. Until we’re consistently competitive with one car, despite whatever Gen3 is, we’re not going to consider moving to two cars until we’re confident we’re nailed running one car properly.”

On how Gen3 is going.

“I think the ambition’s right, they’re heading in the right direction, but like all these things, I think it’s important to see if we can execute what we’re hoping to as a category. If we can execute what we’re all trying to achieve, it

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will be a fantastic thing for the sport andd for f us, so I’m hopeful hopeful. I know ther there’s a teams like us lot of work going towards achieving that, but to actually see the end result, it’s a pretty big task.”

On the future of Supercars.

“I think it’s important to keep the racing close, the cars loud and fast, and make sure the on-track entertainment value remains high. I think we’ve got one of the best motor sport products in the world, so we need to make sure we don’t dilute that and keeping the cars loud and fast and close is an important ingredient of that.

“I think the only real thing we need to change from where we are at the moment is, keep what makes Supercars so great, but we just need to bring the costs down … realign the costs of the show in line with the sponsorship market in Australia.

“It’s very hard for us as a sport to go to a sponsor and provide the level of value we need to offer to align to the cost of running the cars. We just need to get the value of the sponsorship realigned with the cost of running the car.”

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LATEST NEWS AS PREDICTED earlier in this issue of Auto Action Supercars race winner Fabian Coulthard is confirmed as leading Team Sydney’s 2021 campaign, taking over the Local Legends Holden Commodore driven by Alex Davison last season.

Coulthard rejected an endurance drive at former team Dick Johnson Racing to pursue a full-time seat, landing at Team Sydney.

The Kiwi finished sixth in this year’s title, winning a sole race at The Bend 1 and finishing fourth at Bathurst alongside regular co-driver Tony D’Alberto.

Finishing a best of third in 2017 and fourth last year, Coulthard’s role will change to developing the team around him alongside new team manager Dr Geoffrey Slater.

“Joining Local Legends Team Sydney is an exciting opportunity for myself, I look forward to representing Local Legends, the city of Sydney and playing my part in the development of their Supercar program,” said Coulthard.

“I have a long-standing relationship with the Webb’s, Jonathon and I have competed against one another since 2003 in various campaigns.

Jonathon (Webb, team owner), Geoffrey and I have a clear direction for the growth of the team and we are committed for the long haul.”

Slater makes a welcome return to Team Sydney after being a member of its previous guise as Tekno Autosports where he helped guide the operation to the 2016 Bathurst 1000 and 12-Hour victories, whilst also aiding Shane van Gisbergen to second in the Supercars title in 2016.

A stint working at Kostecki Brothers Racing followed before successfully transitioning to a successful stint in America, primarily in sports car racing.

“Joining Team SYDNEY and returning to the TEKNO family is a great fit – I am happy to be home. The vision and plan the Webb’s, Fabian and I have built for the team is an exciting

TEAM SYDNEY CONFIRM COULTHARD

prospect,” Slater said.

“Behind the scenes Team SYDNEY are working in conjunction with the ARDC and local Sydney educational institutions; having completed my PhD in Wollongong the opportunity to play a part in educating the engineers of the future is an interesting and unique challenge.”

Sponsor and long-time motor sport Tekno Autosports backer Tony Quinn is understood to have increased his support based on Coulthard joining the fledgeling outfit.

“Fabian and I have worked together in the past winning the inaugural Highlands 101 endurance race, we hope to carry this success with the

Local Legends Supercar,” said Quinn. “We’ve got the tools to put on a good show, just need Fab to update his hairstyle.”

Team owner Jonathon Webb was pleased to reveal his operation’s two key signings.

“I’d like to thank Local Legends and our Sponsor partners for their continued support and involvement in the Team SYDNEY project,” said Webb.

“I am excited to announce Fabian Coulthard is joining Team SYDNEY, his vast experience will enhance our efforts in moving forward within our extremely competitive Championship.

“I’d like to welcome Dr Geoffrey Slater back to the Team SYDNEY TEKNO family in the

position of Team Manager Technical – Geoffrey has been a pivotal player in the development of TEKNO since its inception in 2011. With Geoffrey, TEKNO achieved multiple race wins including the 2016 Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12hr, as well as placing 2nd in the 2014 Supercars Championship with SVG. “Geoffrey’s recent accolades include 2020 Rolex 24hr Daytona win, 2020 Michelin Endurance Championship win and 2nd in 2020 WeatherTech Sportscar Championship with factory BMW GTLM team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.”

Confirmation of Coulthard’s deal came after Auto Action’s print run on Monday. HM

SUPERCARS CONFIRM 2021 RACE FORMATS SUPERCARS HAS confirmed the race formats, which will make up the 2021 series.

A 32-race schedule will take place across 12 events.

Once again, the season will open with two 250km single driver races, albeit at Bathurst next year with the Mt Panorama 500 from 2628 February. the same format is replicated for the final round on the Gold Coast in December.

Supercars Chief Operating Officer Shane Howard said the Gold Coast 500 will be the perfect way to end the year on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

“As we did prior to 2020, we will finish with two 250km single-driver races to decide the Championship,” Howard said.

“For fans around the world it will be thrilling to see a new Champion crowned in December, 30 years since racing first began on the Gold Coast street circuit.”

Seven events will use the three-race SuperSprint format introduced in 2020 without fuel stops, while the 400km round at the Formula 1 Australia Grand Prix will consist of four races across three-days.

Refuelling will return at three 500km events as well as the Repco Bathurst 1000, the only endurance event to feature co-drivers on the calendar.

“We’re excited for the return of in-race refuelling as it provides an added dimension and challenge for teams as they must manage their fuel strategies throughout a race,” said

lane order – meaning one-entry per team.

There will be nine ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootouts during the season, including two for both races of the season-opening Mt Panorama 500 and season closing Gold Coast 500.

In total, Supercars will conduct more than 4300km of racing over the 12-event calendar.

Supercars will officially return to the track in 2021 with a test day on February 13-14 at Sydney Motorsport Park. RV

2021 Repco Supercars Championship event race formats

Image: LAT

Adam Arnold, General Manager - Marketing and Innovation at BP. “The teamwork in BP Ultimate Pit Lane also comes to the fore as crews must work together quickly and safely as they change tyres and refuel.

“We’re looking forward to seeing every team on the Supercars grid again fuelled with BP fuel.”

The qualifying sessions at two of the series’ shorter circuits, Tasmania and Perth, will be split into two groups, made up of alternate pit

1 - Mt Panorama 500** 2 x 250km 2 - Melbourne 400 4 x 100km 3 - Tasmania SuperSprint 3 x 110km 4 - OTR SuperSprint 3 x 115km 5 - Winton SuperSprint 3 x 120km 6 - Darwin Triple Crown* 3 x 110km 7 - NTI Townsville 500** 2 x 250km 8 - Sydney SuperNight* 3 x 125km 9 - Perth SuperNight 3 x 110km 10 - Repco Bathurst 1000*^ 1 x 1000km 11 - ITM Auckland SuperSprint 3 x 115km 12 - Gold Coast 500** 2 x 250km Race formats subject to change *Denotes event will include a Top Ten Shootout ** Denotes event will include two Top Ten Shootouts ^Denotes Endurance event featuring codrivers

SUPERCARS WILL utilise three different Dunlop tyre compounds used during the 2021 Championship.

Having tested a Dunlop Super Soft tyre compound at Queensland Raceway after the Bathurst 1000, the new compound will be used at the two circuits with low tyre degradation, Winton and Darwin.

Supercars will continue to use the regular Dunlop hard and soft compounds at all other events, the exact tyre allocations for the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship are yet to be confirmed.

“2021 will be the 20th year Dunlop SP Sport Maxx has been the control tyre for Supercars and looks set to be the most exciting ever,” said Chris Radin, Managing Director, Dunlop Tyres.

“Dunlop is synonymous with innovation in tyre technology and in 2021 will provide Supercars teams with various tyre compounds to suit different race formats, driving high performance racing across 11 different track surfaces.”

“Dunlop is excited to offer a new Super Soft tyre in 2021 alongside the Soft, Hard and Wet tyre configurations to help Supercars deliver the most exciting racing possible for the fans.”

“The continuation of the additional tyre allocations introduced in 2020 ensures teams’ have access to new Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres from the first practice.”

“Tyre management strategies will become an even more important variable in race winning success, generating plenty of Dunlop tyre talk up and down pit lane, while keeping race fans thoroughly entertained.” RV

A THIRD TYRE COMPOUND FOR SUPERCARS

Image: LAT

INAUGURAL GT WORLD CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA CALENDAR ANNOUNCED THE FIRST calendar for the new era of GT racing in Australia has been revealed.

GT World Challenge Australia under the newly announced joint venture between the Australian Racing Group and SRO Motorsports Group will compete at five sprint rounds split between ARG, Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship and Supercars events.

The final race of the season will be a nonchampionship two-driver endurance event at ARG’s Bathurst International making this the sole GT endurance race to race at The Mountain in 2021.

A new era for GT racing in Australia kicks off at Phillip Island in February as part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships combined two and four-wheel meeting in collaboration with the Australian Superbike Championship.

Mount Panorama hosts Round 2 as support to the Bathurst 6 Hour on its traditional Easter date, then the series joins the Supercars at The Bend Motorsport Park in May. The fourth round is to be confirmed, while the final championship round takes place at Sandown as part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships.

More details are to be revealed for the twodriver season finale at the Bathurst International.

ARG CEO Matt Braid said competitor interest had increased and is confident of a large field when the title begins at Phillip Island.

“It is fantastic to secure a calendar that offers a diverse, quality range of events, but most importantly, circuits that offer the best experience for the drivers and teams,” said Braid.

“The GT cars deserve and thrive on big, fast tracks and that is exactly what we strived to achieve in the 2021 calendar.

“The Phillip Island event is going to be a real winner for fans, with TCR Australia, S5000,

Superbikes and now the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS on the card.

“The two races at Bathurst, one sprint and one endurance race, speak for themselves, while Sandown will be a great setting to crown the first GTWCA champion.

“Since the announcement that ARG and SRO Motorsports Group have come together, interest from the competitor group has been outstanding. They are all a pleasure to work with and I’m very confident of a strong turnout of cars and teams for Round 1 at Phillip Island in February.” HM

2021 GT WORLD CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA RACE CALENDAR 1. 20-21 Feb, Phillip Island (Motorsport Australia) 2. 3-4 Apr, B6HR (Australian Racing Group) 3. 8-9 May, Tailem Bend (Supercars) 4. TBC 5. 11-12 Sept, Sandown (Motorsport Australia) GT Enduro - Bathurst International (Australian Racing Group) Date TBC

LATEST NEWS

REYNOLDS JOINS ARG COMMENTARY SUPERCARS STAR David Reynolds will swap his race suit for the microphone as he joins the Australian Racing Group commentary team for Symmons Plains, the first leg of Race Tasmania.

Reynolds will be a pit lane reporter, joining Molly Taylor, Jessica Dane, Jack Perkins and former Supercars reporter Chris Stubbs in an expanded line-up.

“I’ve really enjoyed being on the other side of the mic with my podcast and some other media that I’ve done recently, so I jumped at the opportunity to work with this super exciting team,” said Reynolds.

“Everyone loves going to Bathurst, and I’ll get to go there twice to race and twice as a reporter.

That will be cool, and I can’t wait to be let loose with a mic … who knows what will come out!”

Mark Beretta will co-anchor the coverage alongside House Rules host Abbey Gelmi with former test cricketer and motorsport competitor Brad Hodge providing support.

“It’s just fantastic that motorsport will return to the screens of Seven in such a big way in 2021,” said Beretta.

“And what a great way to kick it all off down at Symmons Plains in January with such a strong, diverse group of categories including TCR Australia, S5000, Touring Car Masters and Trans Am.

“So much horsepower, so many great drivers and so much to look forward to.”

Greg Rust, Richard Craill and Matt Naulty spearhead the commentary team within the box.

Managing director of Seven Melbourne and head of network sport, Lewis Martin expects the combination of variety on and off the track will be a winner.

“ARG offers motor sport lovers a great mix of racing categories and drivers as well as an unbeatable line-up of talent, from the commentary box to pit lane,” said Martin.

“We can’t wait to welcome a whole new

generation of fans on January 25 for day one of a jam-packed year of motorsport on Seven.”

After a year-delay, ARG kicks off its second season at Symmons Plains where S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, TCR Australia, Touring Car Masters and Trans Am National Series will compete.

“It feels like a long time coming, but ARG, our competitors and the Seven Sports team are really looking forward to showcasing some great racing action when we head to Tasmania in January,” said ARG CEO Matt Braid.

“Not only do we have four of the most exciting,

fresh racing categories in national motorsport, we also have a broadcast partner that is helping us drive them into the homes of every Australian sports fan.

“To have seven hours of coverage on 7mate, and an extra five hours on the 7plus streaming service, there could not be a better result for Australian motorsport and sporting fans in general.

“Symmons Plains can’t come fast enough, and we can’t wait to get there and show Australia this great on-track and on-air product.”

Heath McAlpine

2020, and while this isn’t a replacement for the 1000, it couldn’t be more fitting that we restart and rebuild in 2021 from the hallowed tarmac of Mt Panorama.

“Once again we thank our fans and partners and we can’t wait to see you back at the track.”

Stalls will also return with merchandise, team and sponsor display stalls situated around the venue.

Supercars has pointed out that the 2021 Mt Panorama 500 is subject to the current NSW Public Health Order restrictions, section 7.

This means that top and bottom of the mountain camping restrictions will be monitored in line with NSW Government restrictions and may change closer to the event.

Dan McCarthy

BATHURST 500 TICKETS ON SALE TICKETS ARE now on sale for the season opening Supercars Championship round, the Mount Panorama 500 at Bathurst.

The opening event of the 2021 season will see camping return as well as spectators up the top of the legendary 6.213km circuit.

The event ticketing options which includes grandstand or trackside tickets will be divided into the top of the mountain and the bottom of the mountain in order to separate the anticipated large crowds.

Up top, McPhillamy, Reid and Sulman campgrounds will have spaces with Top of the Mountain Trackside tickets.

Down on the flat, the Max Cameron campground will have spaces available along with the bottom of the mountain trackside tickets.

Grandstand tickets will be available for Pit Straight, Mountain Straight and Harris Park, while corporate facilities will again be open in the pit building.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer is thrilled to be able to announce camping spaces will be available once again at Mount Panorama.

“Getting our dedicated Campers, who’ve been coming to Bathurst for decades, back to the track has been a priority for us all,” Seamer said.

“The restrictions brought on by Covid-19 broke the Bathurst lineage for many in

HERNE DOUBLE DUTY IN 2021 A WHIRLWIND of a year for young gun Nathan Herne has ended on a high, as the New South Welshman has signed to race in both the National Trans Am Series and the S5000 Championship next year.

Herne will compete in the six round Trans Am Series for Dream Racing, while also piloting an S5000 open-wheel beast for Garry Rogers Motorsport.

Both the S5000 machine and the Trans Am muscle car will be backed by Valvoline, a sponsor that has been a partner of Garry Rogers Motorsport for over two decades.

“I’m absolutely stoked to have this opportunity, GRM has been very kind to me,” Herne explained to Auto Action.

“To offer me the opportunity to race at Bathurst earlier this year, obviously that fell through due to outside circumstances.

“But this came from left field and I’m absolutely chuffed to race the S5000 and Trans Am in 2021 and to have Valvoline support not only S5000 with GRM but to support me in Trans Am and really take a punt, it’s really big.”

Herne completed a test a Phillip Island two weeks ago in which he got miles in his newly painted Trans Am machine and also completed precious laps in the S5000.

“I didn’t get as many laps in the S5000 as I’d have liked to. We had a few problems with the seat mould,” Herne said.

“I did 18 laps in the S5000 and got a few

laps in the Tans Am as well, it was good to drive both cars again.

“I didn’t really get to maximise the S5000 as I would have liked to, but obviously we have the pre-season test at Phillip Island before we head to Tasmania.”

Herne does not believe that switching between the Dodge Challenger and the GRM prepared S5000 open wheeler during the same race weekend will be a challenge, as they are such different monsters to tame.

“If you try and drive the S5000 like a trans am you’ll be spinning out at every corner,”

Herne explained.

“It is definitely going to be interesting to swap between cars, but I actually think it will be good for me.

“To have GRM’s confidence instilled in me to do a good job, that’s giving me enough confidence to think I can do this.”

Despite only being 18-years-old Herne is an experienced and successful Trans Am racer, finishing fourth in the TA2 Series in 2019 after scoring seven race wins.

However, he has completed very few laps behind the wheel of an S5000 or any open-

wheel machine progressed from Formula Ford at the end of 2018.

“I don’t really know what I can achieve (in S5000), we haven’t had a championship race yet,” he said.

“James Golding has always been a benchmark in S5000 so to have him in the same team is good to compare myself with.

“I have got a good team around me and they are definitely going to help coach me through it all.

“If I can get a podium throughout the season, or maybe a win, I’ll be absolutely chuffed.”

Dan McCarthy

INTERNATIONAL PREFERENCE FOR SMITH OPEN-WHEEL RACER Tommy Smith is weighing up his options as he decides whether to race internationally in 2021, or solely focus on the inaugural Australian S5000 Championship.

Smith signed two deals in 2020, however neither came to fruition. Firstly, he signed a deal internationally to race in the Formula Renault Eurocup but due to COVID-19 he did not compete.

Several months later after testing an S5000 machine at Winton Raceway, Smith inked a deal to race in three rounds of the 2020 championship with Team BRM, however due to a massive spike in Victorian COVID-19 cases the series never got underway.

The Victorian highlighted that his primary goal is to head back overseas, with S5000 acting as a national fall-back option.

“We are weighing up the options, the goal is to go and do Formula Renault or something overseas like we were going to do this year, and if that doesn’t happen then we’ll probably do S5000 in Australia,” Smith told AA. “It depends on travel restrictions mainly, we were looking at doing the Toyota Racing Series (in New Zealand) again, but quarantining for 14 days is not very appealing.

“S5000 is much more appealing, its closer to where I live in Melbourne, and it’d be good to race at home actually I don’t do it that often.”

Smith explained that due to the S5000 Championship’s early start, the series will have nearly run its course before the international season in Europe kicks off.

Last week Smith completed a second S5000 test on the full 7.7km Endurance layout at the Bend Motorsport park in South Australia.

“The reason we did the test was to suss it out and see if it is what I wanted to do and see which direction I want to go,” Smith said.

Smith feels the move to a summer series for the 2021/2022 season is a great idea to attract international Australian drivers to race down under during their usual off season.

“The thing is it just keeps your head in the right space,” he said.

“We are looking for is something that is competitive, it doesn’t matter what car really.

“Looking at the S5000 grids previously and who is testing, it looks like a good field.”

Dan McCarthy

LATEST NEWS

PIASTRI TITLE SPARKS NATIONAL F3 INTEREST

TWO-TIME Gold Star winner Tim Macrow has said that interest in the Australian Formula 3 Championship has spiked since Aussie Oscar Piastri won the FIA Formula 3 Championship internationally.

The national F3 championship has been low on numbers for nearly a decade, but three-time champion Macrow says you need to look no further than the success it has brought FIA Formula 3 Championship competitor Calan Williams.

“Since Piastri took the title I’ve had more phone calls about Australian Formula 3 than I ever have,” Macrow told Auto Action.

“I think we need national Formula 3, there’s such a massive hole in Australian

Motorsport for that intermediate category.

“Why wouldn’t kids want to do a relatively cheap year here in Australia before heading to Europe, look at Calan Williams, he is a prime example.

“He did a year in Australian F3 to learn the ropes in a wings and slicks car and then has gone to Europe, and he’s getting there, he was on the pace in testing!

He thought it was a fantastic way to get started.”

Macrow has been the test pilot for the open-wheel S5000 monster for several years, and as reported by AA in the last issue, Macrow has signed up to contest its inaugural season in 2021.

The 36-year-old sees the F3 championship as great step into S5000 as the top-tier national open-wheel series.

“I think Australian F3 is a good progression towards S5000 if you want to stay in Australia,” Macrow explained.

“S5000 as I see it is aspirational, it’s something that you want to get to, something you want to drive, and you need to learn along the way.

“I think there needs to be something in between, and F3 fills that void and I think it’d be really beneficial if someone did a year of F3 before they even got in an S5000.

“I see F3 as a development path and

as a good way for kids to learn before jumping into the high-powered car, an S5000 is so much fun to drive, but it’s an absolute beast, I think you need to have that progression along the way before you step into one.”

In 2021 Macrow will not race in the F3 championship, choosing to help out the young stars of tomorrow in F3 as he focusses on S5000.

“The F3 category here is relatively cheap and it’s a really good starting point, I’m fully supportive of it and I’m looking forward to getting some young kids into F3 cars and helping them on their way overseas,” he said. Dan McCarthy

MOTORSPORT IDENTITIES CREATE NEW NATIONAL PATHWAY THREE PROMINENT national motor racing names have created a new pathway program in a bid to aid young karting stars.

The trio of identities are made up of 2011 Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat, Australian Karting Champion James Sera and established national team Sonic Motor Racing Services led by team owner Michael Ritter.

“I attend a lot of karting events, and the question I get asked the most by parents is, “What do I do next for my child?” said Percat.

“At the moment, there really is no clear pathway. I already do a bit of work for James at MKC, and I’m still heavily involved with Sonic, so the idea that we’ve come up is a

clear, simple and real pathway for kids who want to be race car drivers.”

It is hoped that the relationships formed by these three figures will assist drivers with a seamless and secure path from karting through to the top-level national motorsport.

Inductees into the program will start their racing journey in karting with guidance from Sera, a five-time Australian champion.

His kart team already enters several young drivers and has Sera himself has over 30 years of karting experience.

If successful Sonic Motor Racing will take you under its wings, a team that has had success in multiple national

classes winning 14 Australian Formula Ford titles and three Carrera Cup crowns.

In the car racing phase Nick Percat will be on hand to nurture the young talent throughout.

Ritter explained that this program has been in the pipelines for a while.

“A program of this nature is something we have been working on for quite some time, but it has always needed to be with the right people,” said Ritter.

“We only want to be involved with people who have the interest of talented young drivers at heart, and I’m pleased that we have formed a great partnership with James and Nick.

“Our program will provide a clearer path for talented young

karters who are already being trained at the highest of standards at a karting level, which will make the transition and progression through the first stages of their circuit racing career both more structured and successful.

“Both James and Nick follow the same ethos about developing young talent as we do at Sonic.

Effectively, we train them and give them the tools to progress to the next level.

“It is exciting to be able to align with them, and we are looking forward to bringing the next wave of karting talent into the Sonic family.”

More details surrounding the three-way collaboration will be released early in the new year.

Dan McCarthy

CAMPBELL SECOND IN IGTC TITLE JUST HOURS after Australian Matt Campbell narrowly missed out on the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge title in South Africa he was resigned as a Porsche factory driver for the 2021 season.

In the IGTC finale, Campbell and his Absolute Racing Porsche teammates Mathieu Jaminet and Patrick Pilet finished third.

Despite only participating in three of the four races, the #12 trio missed out on the series win by just five points.

Only 12 cars entered to take part in the Kyalami 9 Hours, the fourth and final round of the IGTC season which began with the Bathurst 12 Hour in February.

The first seven and a half hours were action packed and exciting, however in the final hour the rain came down hard and meant that the final hour under lights was spent under virtual safety car or behind the real safety car.

The race win and title went to the #34 BMW M6 driven by Augusto Farfus and Nick Catsburg along with there third driver Sheldon van der Linde.

The BMW trio remained in the top five all race long, but under the lengthy VSC period in the final hour period the two leaders ahead were forced to make one more stop. This handed the BMW trio the lead, which they held until the chequered flag was flown.

In the four races the #34 BMW team finished just twice, however both were wins and gave them the Drivers title.

Second place went to Audi drivers Frederic Vervisch, Mirko Bortolotti and Charles Weeks, with Campbell Jaminet and Patrick Pilet third, it was enough to seal the manufacturers title for Porsche.

“Towards the end it was extremely tough conditions, even just to keep it on track under full course yellow was a challenge in itself,” Campbell said. “But we brought it home, got a podium and second in the championship so it can’t be too unhappy.”

“Of course, we wanted more, it came down to the wire, so not to be this year, and hopefully we’ll try again next year.

“It’s great for Porsche, I’m glad we were able to walk out with something this weekend, and obviously this is a big one for Porsche as well, obviously the manufacturer is a huge thing and I’m glad we can bring that home for them.”

Campbell showed his class throughout the race, breaking the lap record and excelling in damp conditions later on.

The pole sitting Honda NSX of Mario Farnbacher, Renger van der Zande and

Bertrand Baguette dominated the first eight hours of the race until the final stop had to be made under VSC. The Honda crew finished fourth ahead of Mattia Drudi, Christopher Haase and Patric Niederhauser who were ran second when they were also forced to pit in the final hour.

In the days since the race concluded, former Australian Carrera Cup Series winner Campbell has been resigned as a factory Porsche driver for the 2021 season.

However New Zealander Jaxon Evans has been let go by the German brand.

Dan McCarthy

The 14-year-old Queenslander missed the opening day as he was completing his final stint in quarantine, but he came back to be most improved as a spin cost him in the race simulation as fellow Australian James Wharton took out the competition.

However, Flack’s overseas open-wheel ambitions aren’t over as he heads to Italy to contest Formula 4, a pathway used by

Formula 3 driver Alex Peroni.

“Next year we’re doing Italian Formula 4,” Flack told Auto Action.

“We’ll be moving there next year to live in Desenzano and I’ll be racing with R-Ace GP.” Flack is excited for the challenge after making his open-wheel race debut in Formula Free during last weekend’s Motorsport Australia Festival.

“It’ll be a big step up,” Flack admitted. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and ready to grab it with both hands.”

His European expedition was not just limited to the Ferrari Academy as Flack completed testing in a Formula 4 car at Snetterton and Brands Hatch’s Indy layout across three-days.

Heath McAlpine

FLACK TO ITALY AUSTRALIAN KARTER Marcos Flack will make the transition to open-wheelers next year when he competes in the Italian Formula 4 Championship with leading team, R-Ace. Flack returned to Australia recently after participating in the Ferrari Driver Academy, but he was met with challenges almost immediately.

LATEST NEWS

PENSKE SET MCLAUGHLIN TOP EIGHT TARGET TEAM PENSKE managing director Ron Ruzewski has stated his targets for Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin to achieve in his rookie IndyCar season.

Team Penske was pleased with the promise McLaughlin showed in his IndyCar debut on the streets of St. Petersburg in October.

The team’s managing director Ruzewski has set some high targets for McLaughlin to hit in 2021.

“We would like to see him win races, but you have to be realistic,” Ruzewski said. “I want to see him progress every week and minimise mistakes.

“I would like to see him on the podium.

Ultimately, you want to see him in the top eight in the championship. That would be a success.

“You hope for more, but you have to be realistic in expectations. If we can get him to progress every week, get on the podium at times and make the fast six (in qualifying), good things will happen. But he is also going to make mistakes.

“To expect him to be a championship contender the first year is a bit much to ask.

I want to see him improve.”

After winning three straight Supercars Championships Team Penske president Tim Cindric knows that the squad will have to keep McLaughlin’s expectations in check.

“The biggest thing with Scott is keeping in perspective what our expectations are of him,” Cindric said.

“Typically, we’ve had guys in the series that want to drive for us. With Scott, he is so competitive, but from our standpoint if he can run in the top 10, that will be a big accomplishment for him in the first year.

At St. Petersburg McLaughlin qualified 21st on the grid and raced in and amongst the regulars until a collision midway through the race forced him to retire.

For the first time since 2017 Team Penske will run four Chevrolet machines as Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud will be joined by McLaughlin for the entirety of the campaign.

Ruzewski admitted that other IndyCar drivers are already talking about the 2019 Bathurst 1000 winner, including Alexander Rossi who drove in that race as a wildcard for Walkinshaw Andretti United.

“He already has the attention of the paddock from his resume. I was working with Alexander Rossi at Sebring, and he said, ‘Man, he’s going to be fast.’ The competition acknowledges the guy is talented and he gets it.” Ruzewski said.

McLaughlin and his wife Karly have already moved to nearby Huntersville, North Carolina. Karly is originally from Queens, New York. Dan McCarthy

PEUGEOT HYPERCAR DETAILS REVEALED THE UPCOMING World Endurance Championship Hypercar regulations are continuing to build as Peugeot revealed the details of its entry for 2022.

Whilst Toyota, Glickenhaus and Bykolles are confirmed to enter Hypercars next year, Peugeot’s re-entry into the WEC will follow a year later, just over a decade since it concluded its Le Mans winning campaign.

Based on the 508, the French marque’s entry is powered by a 2.6-litre V6 twinturbocharged engine producing 500kw delivered to all four-wheels, which is partnered by a 200kw front-axle motorgenerator unit developed at Peugeot Sport’s headquarters near Paris.

A 165kg internal combustion engine sends power to the rear wheels through a sevenspeed sequential gearbox and the electric motors at the front.

The regulations dictate a maximum of 507kw (680bhp) cannot be exceeded at one time, except for when the motor-generator unit retrieves energy at the end of the straights when power can be increased to 522kw (700bhp).

“The architecture of the Peugeot Hybrid4 500kW powertrain is the result of a highlydetailed brief shaped by the new FIA WEC

regulations,” explained Peugeot WEC powertrain director Francois Coudrain.

“We initially considered a single turbo, but that would have prevented us from achieving our engine’s centre of gravity target. A twin-turbo V6 block offers the best tradeoff between technology, weight, packaging of the engine’s ancillaries, reliability and performance.”

“The motor generator unit will be equipped with a lightweight, high-efficiency singlespeed transmission and a latest-generation

inverter to transfer battery power to the motor.

“It will have the capacity to use all the energy available in the battery instantly thanks to the powertrain’s energy management system strategies.”

The 900V high-density battery is being jointly developed together with Saft Batteries and Groupe PSA’s lubricant partner Total.

“The main parameter will be to optimise how the energy stored in the battery is used,” Saft chief technical officer Kamen Nechev

“To achieve this, you need an extremely short charge-time combined with highcapacity storage cells to form a package that enables maximum power to be delivered as rapidly as possible.”

A carbon casing will house the battery inside the Peugeot’s monocoque as per the LMH regulations, while Ligier will handle the aerodynamics.

Peugeot is yet to confirm when in 2022 its Hypercar will debut.

Heath McAlpine

AUS TO HOST PENULTIMATE ROUND OF WSBK SEASON PHILLIP ISLAND Grand Prix Circuit has been pencilled in as the venue for the penultimate round of the 2021 FIM World Superbike Championship.

As previously reported by Auto Action, the Australian round would not take its traditional spot as the season opening event due to the ongoing situation internationally with rising COVID-19 cases.

Despite being listed as the 12th event on the 2021 calendar no date has been set, while the venue and dates for the final round are also yet to be confirmed.

It has been highlighted by WSBK organisers that this is only a provisional calendar and is subject to change due to the international COVID-19 pandemic.

It is planned that the 2021 WSBK season will span across a total of four continents, with the majority of the season set to take place in Europe.

The 2021 season is set to kick off at the legendary Assen Circuit in The Netherlands in

April with the first nine rounds taking place in Europe.

The Estoril circuit in Portugal returned to the calendar in 2020 and has found a slot again for 2021.

Estoril is followed by Motorland Aragon in Spain, Misano (Italy) and Donington Park (England).

After this a two-month gap is expected, before the final four European rounds are held over five weeks at Magny Cours (France), Catalunya and Jerez in Spain, and the popular Portimao circuit in Portugal.

Round 10 will be the first event outside of Europe at the Argentinian venue Circuito San Juan Villicum.

Indonesia has returned to the schedule for the first time since 1997 with round 11 set to be run on the Mandalika International Street Circuit which is still subject to homologation.

The Aussie event at Phillip Island and the yet to be confirmed location wrap up the thirteen-round calendar. Dan McCarthy

MARINI REVEALS VR46 MOTOGP LIVERY

GRESINI TO STEP DOWN AS FACTORY MOTOGP SQUAD FROM 2022 Gresini Racing will no longer be the factory Aprilia team as it steps down to become an independent squad once more.

Gresini Racing has run an independent team in the premier class since 2002, before running the factory Aprilia team from 2015.

A five-year agreement has been signed with IRTA which will see the squad remain in the premier class as an independent team from 2022 until at least 2026.

The Italian team does not just compete in the premier class, Gresini fields entries

successfully in Moto2, Moto3 and even MotoE. Despite the satisfaction of running a factory operation in MotoGP, Gresini team manager Fausto Gresini is looking forward to returning the team to its routes.

“We’re happy to announce this agreement with IRTA, which will see us in MotoGP for five years starting from 2022,” Gresini said.

“We will not be representing Aprilia as a factory team anymore, so we will continue as an Independent Team, doing so with as much will and commitment.”

At this stage it has not been revealed what bikes they will run with from next year, but Gresini feels further announcements are not far away.

“There’s a lot of work to do and many things to define and communicate.

Obviously we’re already working on this huge project, and we will reveal the details little by little. Stay tuned,” he said.

Since the team first entered MotoGP in 1997 it has claimed 41 podiums, 14 wins and three runner-up spots in the category and is now one of the longest longest-lasting teams in the paddock.

Dan McCarthy

THE FIRST-EVER Sky Racing VR46 MotoGP livery has been revealed ahead of the 2021 MotoGP season, it is the first colour scheme to be revealed for next year.

As previously reported by Auto Action Luca Marini will step up from the Moto2 World Championship with the VR46 squad in 2021 after a successful three-year period.

The VR46 squad is owned by 9-time world motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi who is also the half-brother of Marini.

Thanks to an agreement between the SKY Racing Team VR46, Esponsorma Racing and Ducati, Marini will share the garage with Enea Bastianini while running a different livery.

The livery is mainly a distinct shiny black colour which works in contrast to the chrome blue.

Marco Bezzecchi and Celestino Vietti were also present to reveal their Moto2 liveries which look similar to that of Marini’s.

The launch of all three bikes was filmed at the VR46 Riders Academy headquarters in Tavullia and was broadcast live on Sky Uno in Italy.

It was a successful year for the VR46 squad in both the Moto2 and Moto3 classes this year. The Italian squad won the Moto2 Team World title, with Luca Marini finishing as runner-up to Bastianini in the title fight.

While in Moto3 Vietti took two race victories on his way to fifth in the championship and will make his Moto2 debut at Qatar next year.

In total 17 podiums and 7 victories were achieved across the lightweight and intermediate classes.

Dan McCarthy

with Dan Knutson

TAILWIND NEEDED

HAAS F1 refugee Kevin Magnussen has signed a deal to race for Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2021 IMSA Sportscar Championship. The 2014 Australian Grand Prix podium finisher signed a deal to race alongside two-time Daytona 24 Hours winner Renger van der Zande in the team’s Cadillac Daytona Prototype international (DPi) machine. As previously reported by Auto Action Chip Ganassi Racing returns to the IMSA series after a year absence. DM

FERRARI CEO Louis Camilleri has taken the motoring world by surprise, announcing his immediate retirement from the legendary Italian brand. Camilleri has cited personal reasons as the cause to depart Ferrari and it was announced at the same time as Philip Morris confirmed he would step down from the board. The announcement by Camilleri was clearly an unexpected one within Ferrari, as no full-time replacement has been named. DM

JUST ONE week after signing with Haas F1 to contest the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Nikita Mazepin has been forced to defend his actions after an inappropriate video appeared on his Instagram account. A video was posted in which the 21-year-old reaches from the passenger seat in a car and inappropriately touches a woman’s chest on the back seat. The video was quickly deleted, but not before the video and screenshots had been shared. DM

IT HAS been confirmed that the Prema Racing team has re-signed Russian ace Robert Shwartzman for the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship, alongside Australian Oscar Piastri. Like Piastri, Shwartzman also won the F3 championship with Prema (back in 2018) before making the step up into F2 this season.

Shwartzman led the F2 Championship for several rounds and took more race wins than any other driver in 2020. DM

AUSTRALIAN KARTER James Wharton has won the Ferrari Driver Academy’s Scouting World Finals and will enter the prestigious manufacturer’s elite junior pathway. Wharton aims to follow in the footsteps of current Formula 1 stars Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez, plus recently crowned FIA Formula 2 champion Mick Schumacher, who are all previous members of the academy. HM

18 AutoAction

Image: LAT

FINISHING SECOND in the final race of the season was not the absolute best tailwind for Valtteri Bottas to take into the off-season – that would have required a victory - but at least it wasn’t a headwind.

After winning in Russia, Bottas didn’t return to the top step of the podium in the final seven races. He had three second place finishes and 62 points in those seven rounds. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, won five times and racked up 143 points.

“It’s important for Valtteri to come out of this strong and go into the winter with some tailwind,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said before the season finale.

“I can relate to Valtteri’s situation because he has this tremendously fast teammate who has won seven world championships,” Wolff added.

“And Valtteri has shown really great performances. He won the first race in Austria, SEBASTIAN VETTEL’S five-year stint at Ferrari ended in failure. He won 14 races – only Michael Schumacher (71) and Niki Lauda (15) had more victories while driving for the Scuderia.

“It still doesn’t change anything,” Vettel said of the statistic. “We still failed. We had the ambition and target to win the championship and we didn’t. We were up against a very strong team/driver combination, but our goal was to be stronger than that and in that regard we failed.

“There are reasons for it, we had good races, bad races, sometimes were close, sometimes were far away.

There’s a lot of reasons why.”

The pressure from the Ferrari fans and the Italian media can be intense on Ferrari drivers, but Vettel topped that with his own pressure. ”Pressure you put on yourself,” said the German driver. “I had a clear mission and target to win. I have an emotional attachment to the team, growing up seeing Michael (Schumacher) win.

So it was a very special moment when I joined the team.

“But the pressure thing – the fact the pressure in Italy, the fans and so on – yes it’s there, but I always set the highest expectations on myself.

“I was the first and best judge if I didn’t achieve them. Rest assured when I stuffed the car in the gravel in Germany (in 2018) I wasn’t happy before the tifosi weren’t happy.

has been on pole several times, and should’ve won more races if it was not for red flags or punctures. And then losing again when bad luck was really part of your campaign feels miserable. In that respect a driver can sometimes then slip into a bubble where you feel that things are going against you.”

Bottas now has the off-season to reboot.

“He knows how to get himself in a good place,” Wolff said. “He’s such a hard, tough Finn so when there is the slump I just see it in his eyes that it is going to be much better.”

One thing that will be better next year is the communication between Wolff and Bottas.

“I’ve never been on the radio unless we have a critical situation in the race,” Wolff said. “What I discussed with Valtteri is how we could improve our communication. He said he wanted a more open discussion and communication even while being in the car.

“I said, ‘Are you sure?’ because I don’t want

to interfere with his driving of the car. He said, ‘No, I’m up for it and I’ve been thinking about it for a while.’”

By finishing second in Abu Dhabi, Bottas clinched second place in the world drivers’ championship. Even though Max Verstappen won the race, he wound up third in the final points standings.

“As a driver,” said Bottas, “when you are in the best team overall this season, being second can’t be that satisfying. But it is something. To be able to contribute to the team this season, getting the fourth constructors’ title for me in the team, and seventh in a row for us, yes it’s better than being third.

“I guess I will get a small trophy to take home next week. I’m sure when I’m old and grey I can look this year and yes I was second.

But hopefully I’ll get a bigger trophy one day.”

The quest for that bigger trophy starts with a tailwind.

WE FAILED

Image: LAT

It sounds nice and it adds a bit of drama to everything, but I’m definitely not using that as an excuse for coming short here and there.

“If you are ambitious to win and you have the target to win and succeed you are the first one to realise that yourself. It isn’t depending on pressure from outside.”

Vettel, who moves to Aston Martin in 2021, noted that Ferrari changed a lot during his five years with the team.

“We started off with different people in the lead, the personnel,” he said.

“The atmosphere in the garage is still the same, the spirit remains unbroken.

It’s a shame we didn’t achieve what we set out to achieve but there’s reasons for the strengths and probably reasons for the weaknesses in the past years.

“I would say it’s still quite a bit different. In some things the team has evolved, in other things maybe there’s still room (to improve).

Time will tell. Charles (Leclerc who has a Ferrari contract through 2024) has a long time ahead of him with the team, a lot of work.

“We’ll see how it evolves, but for me the chapter ends here, and I’m starting a new one with a different team, which I’m very excited about.

A STAR IS BORN GEORGE RUSSELL was “gutted” to come so close to winning the Sakhir Grand Prix. Subbing for Lewis Hamilton who had tested positive for COVID-19, Russell switched from Williams to Mercedes. He qualified second and took the lead from new teammate Valtteri Bottas.

A messy pitstop by Mercedes and then a deflating tyre ruined the race for Russell who ended up finishing ninth.

“It’s not going to be his last attempt to win a race, it’s just the beginning of a fairytale,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said afterwards. “It didn’t work out today, but I would say a new star is born.”

Russell is a Mercedes protégée, so what are the chances of him ending up as a teammate to Hamilton?

“He is a Williams driver and he is signed up to Williams,” Wolff said. “Our driver line-up is Valtteri and Lewis, so I don’t see this as a realistic situation at this moment in time.

But I can understand that it would be an interesting situation to have them both in the team, and maybe a bit of a wild ride for all of us if it happens in the future.”

Bottas has a Mercedes contract for 2021, so the soonest that Russell could make a fulltime move to Mercedes would be 2022.

Hamilton has yet to sign a new contract for 2021 and beyond. He and Wolff wanted to get the drivers’ and constructors’ championships settled

Image: LAT

before beginning negotiations. And the pandemic intervened as well.

“Lewis has been with the team eight years,” Wolff said. “We have had great success in the past; he is a team member. I said it already before the (Sakhir Grand Prix) weekend: none of the events this weekend will interfere or change any of our negotiations.

I think that wouldn’t be fair against Lewis or Valtteri, as it could have gone the other way round, a race weekend where George would not

have done so well.”

Sooner or later Russell will end up racing for Mercedes. But when will that be? The Hamilton/ Bottas combination is a powerful, peaceful and successful one, but eventually it will come to an end.

“We will need to see what the future holds,” Wolff mused. “To be honest, I haven’t made up my mind what that means for us.”

In the meantime, Russell will be over-performing in the uncompetitive Williams to prove that he is worthy of the promotion to Mercedes.

HUMOUROUS HARMONY MCLAREN TEAMMATES Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz had a harmonious relationship spiked with humour for the past two seasons, where they fought hard on the track but didn’t fight off the track. Their antics were well documented by Netflix.

“There have been weeks throughout this year and also last year where we haven’t had the third best car or the fourth or the fifth best car,” Norris said.

“But we’ve still finished in much higher positions than we should have done almost because of how much we’ve pushed each other and pushed the team together.

“It’s just that when we are off the track, we’re laughing, we’re enjoying our time in the paddock, we’re enjoying our media activities. We’re just trying to enjoy our lives like normal people.

We don’t have to put on an act or try to be any different to the people we are. We work hard and push each other on the track.

“I think we’re still extremely competitive and fierce teammates within the team. It’s just when we’re outside of that, and when we don’t need to focus on that as much, then we’re still normal people that just get along.”

So it will be interesting to see how much humour and harmony they have with their new teammates next year.

Perth native Daniel Ricciardo, who is well known for his sense of humour, joins Norris at McLaren.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Norris said when

Image: LAT

asked about his pending teammate. “I am sure there’s going to be very good moments. It’s difficult to say. I didn’t know Carlos at all before we became teammates. So I went in with a knowledge of very little and we became good mates, both on track and away, and fierce competitors.

“I am probably going to be doing the same next year with Daniel. He’s still a teammate, a guy who wants to beat me at the end of the day. Along the way, I am sure we’re going to have some good laughs as he’s a nice guy, a funny guy.

“He’s still a competitor and my teammate at the end of the day. I don’t know what to expect. We’ve

got to wait and see and that’s what I will do.”

Charles Leclerc, who will be Sainz’s teammate at Ferrari, is more reserved than Norris or Ricciardo.

Sainz doesn’t know exactly how he will get on with Leclerc.

“I want to say I get on well with all my teammates,” Sainz said. “Obviously, with Lando it’s special. But I am not expecting it to be like that every time I meet a new teammate – that it’s going to be a new Lando. I do get on well with Charles. I have a very good relationship with him, and we talk quite a lot on the phone and all that. It should be okay. I think we will get on well.”

AutoAction

19

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

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Mark Fogarty Heath McAlpine

Production

Jason Crowe

Special Contributor

Bruce Newton

Staff Journalist

Dan McCarthy

National Editor Online Editor

with Dan Knutson

Bruce Williams

Editor-At-Large Deputy Editor

F1 INSIDER

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, Mark Bisset, Damion Smy Formula 1 US Correspondent

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20 AutoAction

BEING A member of Red Bull’s driver group has its advantages – just ask Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

But Red Bull can be ruthless when it decides one of its drivers is not doing a good enough job – just ask Christian Klien, Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Robert Doornbos.

Alex Albon has had some good races in the Red Bull this year, including podium finishes in Italy and Bahrain, but he has never even come close to matching the pace of his fleet teammate Verstappen.

In the past, some Red Bull drivers who have not performed well were demoted to sister team Toro Rosso – now AlphaTauri – drivers like Gasly and Kvyat. But that will not be an option for Albon.

There are only two possibilities for Albon regarding 2021. He will race for Red Bull as teammate to Verstappen, or he will sit on the sidelines and not drive.

There will be no chance

ON THE BENCH for him to move back to AlphaTauri.

“I don’t believe he (Albon) forms part of (AlphaTauri team principal) Franz Tost’s plans for next year,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “So it’s very much a Red Bull seat or a year on the bench.”

Meanwhile, Sakhir Grand Prix winner Sergio “Checo” Pérez also has just two options for 2021: race for Red Bull or a year on the bench.

I rate Pérez highly. What Red Bull should do, I reckon, is put Albon on the bench next year and bring in Pérez.

He would definitely do a better job than Albon, and it would be interesting to see how he would stack up against Verstappen. There are millions of other reasons to have Pérez on the squad, as in the millions of dollars of personal sponsorship he brings to a team. Even a wealthy team like Red Bull welcomes additional income.

Red Bull could assess how Pérez fits in with the team and how well he performs.

If things don’t work out, the benched Albon could always come back in 2022.

While he will not specifically mention Red Bull, that is the only option for Pérez for 2021.

Or he can take a year off and come back with another team in 2022.

“I’m sort of determined to be here in F1, either if it’s next year or the year after,” Pérez said. “I already have some good options for ’22, so my best option is obviously to keep going on next year. But if I have to stop, then it’s not a disaster, I can come back in ’22.

“The regulations are going to change so much in 2022 that, in a way, I don’t think it will hurt that much, on the driving side, to get back up to speed. I’m at peace with myself. Esteban (Ocon) notes that drivers like him are missing out on seats, so it’s

just the way F1 is. It can be really tough, and not the best drivers are in F1 unfortunately.

So we keep pushing, and we keep delivering, and I think that’s the best way to do it.”

I also think that Racing Point, renamed Aston Martin next year, is going to really miss the contributions, and I am not just talking about the dollars that Perez has contributed to the team since he arrived in 2014. He is a good driver, a team leader and a team builder. Sebastian Vettel, who moves from Ferrari to replace Pérez at Aston Martin next year, has some big shoes to fill.

If one looks just at Vettel’s lackluster results on the track this year, it would seem that his new team has made a mistake by bringing him in next year. But maybe Vettel needs a change of scenery to reboot and revitalize his career.

Pérez has time on his side – he turns 31 in January. Vettel will be 34 in July. Albon will be 25 in March. I wonder if he will be celebrating his birthday on the bench.

AUTO ACTION WISHES EVERYONE A SAFE & HAPPY FESTIVE SEASON: NEXT ISSUE ON SALE JANUARY 14

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE AA’s properly peeved pundit wonders what it will take for Supercars to realise dumping Larko was a huge mistake WE LOVE Larko. That’s the clear message from the extraordinary and universally unhappy reaction to Mark Larkham’s sacking from the Supercars broadcast commentary team.

Tens of thousands of fans vented like never before and to a person, their response can be summed up as “What were they thinking?”

Clearly, they – Supercars top management – weren’t thinking. If they had, they would’ve foreseen the storm. Better still, they wouldn’t have made one of the dumbest decisions ever in the first place.

Who doesn’t know Larko is one of the most popular personalities on the Supercars telecasts? A big part of his popularity is his credibility and knack of making complicated technical stuff digestible and entertaining for knowledgeable and newbie followers alike.

Back-to-back Broadcaster Of The Year media awards might have been a hint. Or fan endearment to his ‘whiteboard’ – real and then digital – and how this loveable larrikin of the screen became known as ‘Mr Squiggle’, a fond favourite of generations of Australians.

Since the anodyne announcement of Larko’s axing, outrage on social media has been unprecedented – and unrelenting. It raged across last weekend and was still huge on Monday afternoon as I wrote this on our print deadline.

And stand by for more. The calls to reinstate Larkham won’t quit until Supercars reverses its inane decision or he makes it clear he is not interested in a reprieve. Then wait for more condemnation when other commentary team changes are announced.

If Neil Crompton, ‘The Voice Of V8s’, is also dropped, look out for another deluge of fan wrath. It could happen as Crompo is also in the firing line.

Amid all the fan uproar over Larko’s demise, you have to wonder if Supercars’ executive group is listening – and even if they are, do they care?

www.autoaction.com.au

That they did not foresee the tumult that dumping the most popular personality of the telecasts would cause suggests that, at best, they are tone deaf to what the fans want.

The huge reaction on social media has been overwhelmingly opposed to TV coverage without Larko’s informative and entertaining tutorials. If anyone welcomed his demise, we haven’t seen it.

Larko is not the first, and nor will he be the last, of the credible commentators to be sacrificed on Supercars’ alter of chasing new and younger viewers.

As Auto Action has warned since October, there is a determination among Supercars senior management, led by Sean Seamer, to ‘dumb down’ the commentary and pit reporting.

We also concerningly understand exSupercars supremo turned Seven Network chief James Warburton also had a hand in Larko’s demise.

We’re told Warbo wasn’t a fan in his first full year as CEO in 2014 and made sure Larkham wasn’t on the Supercars Media broadcast team. Larko was rescued by Channel 10 as a contributor to ‘RPM’ from 2015-17 until recalled to the main broadcast – to popular acclaim – in ’18.

That decision was made after Warburton’s departure and before Seamer’s appointment.

“It’s the second time Larko’s been shot by Warbo,” an insider lamented.

Under the new five-year Fox Sports/Seven simulcast deal, Supercars’ decree is that tech

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talk is out, hype and happiness are in. Light, tight, bright is the new mantra.

The positions of established V8 oracles Neil Crompton, Craig Lowndes, Greg Murphy and Andrew Jones are, we are reliably informed, undecided.

It is understood Mark Skaife was also in the gunsights, but will continue as a co-commentator/analyst at Fox Sports’ insistence.

According to our informed sources, Crompton doesn’t have a deal for next year and beyond, with no resolution in sight until early next year.

There are strong suggestions his return is only a 50/50 chance.

Supercars TV without Crompo would be like F1 English-language commentary without Martin Brundle. He is the ‘Voice Of V8s’, with nearly 40 years as a broadcaster and expertise augmented by many years as a front-running, if not winning, driver.

Crompton knows of what he speaks and the vast majority of viewers – hardcore and casual – respect his in-depth approach.

“There is a huge, huge push to change it all,” an insider told me. “Supercars wants a new audience and see younger on-air talent as the way forward.

“Which is all very well, but what about substance?”

All this speaks to the lack of respect accorded to motor sport by the pay and freeto-air networks.

Talk to enough people in sports

broadcasting and your suspicion that motor racing isn’t really taken seriously in confirmed.

Even though Fox Sports acknowledges motor sport, led by Supercars, F1 and MotoGP, attracts the subscription TV service’s biggest viewership, it doesn’t devote major resources to its coverage.

It takes Sky Sports UK’s F1 telecasts without local input and its Supercars broadcasts are produced by Supercars Media as part of the broadcast rights deal.

MotoGP coverage – secondarily shown on Channel 10 – is alone with local hosts and analysts to compliment the world-feed race telecasts.

Fox Sports has no motor sport equivalent of its AFL 360 and NRL 360 analysis shows, nor its many other football comment programs.

Seven, equally, will return with cursory coverage.

As ever, Seven Sport management – now based in AFL-centric Melbourne – is really only interested in the Bathurst 1000.

Our sources suggest Seven will only show the two Bathurst rounds and the seasonending Gold Coast 600 on its main free-to-air channel.

Live coverage of the three other ‘marquee events’ – Townsville, Darwin and NZ – are likely to be screened on 7mate.

The Larkometer is white hot and heading for meltdown. The viewing public has spoken.

Hear and heed them – or ignore them at your peril.

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THE

EINSTEIN FACTOR DJR’s brainiac boss Ryan Story has calculated how the iconic Ford team can continue to prosper without Roger Penske and Scott McLaughlin FOR A nerdy kid who grew up in the coastal outback of South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, Ryan Story has come a long, long way. He is a certified genius who turned number-crunching into a lucrative international business and saved Dick Johnson Racing – twice.

Many things about Story will surprise you. Firstly, he is just 35.

Yes, you read correctly, one score and 15 years. Yet for the past six years, he has been running the most famous, and lately most successful, Supercars team for one of the biggest business and motor racing czars in the world, billionaire Roger Penske.

Mind you, Story is no slouch in the corporate stakes. His big earner is a data analytics company that consults to political parties in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Another surprise is that he is actually Dr Ryan Story. Not a medico, but a doctor of mathematics. He has a PhD in applied mathematics. And if that isn’t enough to make your head hurt, he has masters degrees in engineering and science, and a degree in economics.

This bloke is a genuine genius. Could probably go toe-to-toe with Thunderbirds scientific sorcerer Brains. The kind of academic know-all you would have hated and teased at school.

Yet it was as a nine-year-old nerd that the Doc became devoted to Dick Johnson, meeting the Ford folk hero at a Mallala ATCC event.

Story never forgot Dick’s attention to a star-struck prodigy from the backblocks and two decades later, used part of the fortune his entrepreneurial super-smarts had amassed to bail DJR out of its greatest crisis.

His devotion to Dick extended to running the business, securing

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the Johnsons’ financial future and brokering the deal that saw Penske buy majority ownership and create the DJR Team Penske superteam, which ended Triple Eight’s decade-long reign.

Story was managing director, team principal and minority shareholder of DJRTP, guiding the team and Scott McLaughlin to three titles each. Following Penske’s withdrawal – and Scotty’s coincident move to IndyCar – he now controls the renewed Dick Johnson Racing in a 50/50 partnership with his childhood hero.

The new-old DJR takes up 90 per cent of his time, with the rest spent overseeing his own enterprises. They, clearly, pretty much look after themselves.

Also surprising is that tall but slightly built and pale-skinned Story has survived in the street fight that is Supercars politics. He has health issues, but he battles hard, using his sheer intellect to take on his street-smart rival team bosses.

Story has the financial muscle and business plan to keep Shell V-Power Racing at the front with potential new V8 star Anton De Pasquale and unfulfilled alumnus Will Davison.

DJR remains the Ford Mustang homologation team with, Story swears, Ford Performance and Ford Australia backing to develop the properly proportioned Gen3 version and Coyote-based V8.

Story is, above all, an incurable fan able to indulge his racing passion. After stepping down as alternate on the Supercars Commission, he has been appointed chairman of the Australian Motor Racing Commission, with a vision for the future of the sport.

Naturally talkative, DJR’s ‘Doc’ conducted the interview from his ‘pacing place’, walking back and forth in his favourite area from which to pontificate and prognosticate.

Story (far left) brokered the deal S fo Roger Penske to take control of for a revitalised Dick Johnson Racing.

Veterans Penske and Johnson (left) Ve hit it off from the start. Saviour hi Story has laid groundwork for DJR St to continue winning ways (below) without Penske, McLaughlin and wi Coulthard.

Co

What are going to be the real ramifications of Penske’s pull-out? ?

Will it have any effect on how the team operates and its resources?

Well, it means for one thing, I don’t have a safety net in that I can’t simplyy pick up the phone and call (Team Penske president) Tim Cindric or Roger Penske, which is something that happened fairly regularly.

I spoke with Tim once or twice a week and certainly the email trail is quite long. But they’ll still be around for advice and for guidance, but it just means that we’re a much more independent operation and organisation. tion.

And you certainly can’t take away some me of the things they’ve left us with. They’ve left us with an unbelievable infrastructure that’s certainly at the peak of any team in the championship – and in addition to that, a series of processes and procedures that we utilise in car-building service, in sub-assembly, in engine-building service, all those sorts of things and that’s really light years ahead of where we were when we last raced as Dick Johnson Racing (in 2014).

Will 2021 be a rebuilding year or is the plan to continue at the front of the field?

Well, of course, you want to run at the front, but you can’t escape the fact that it’s a very competitive championship. This year we won the teams’ championship and the drivers’ championship, but it certainly wasn’t the same as, say, 2017 when we had cars up the front each and every race.

That’s our aim and that’s certainly what we want to do. We have very good equipment by way of cars and we have a very good team. Our team’s led by Ben Croke, Josh Silcock, Ludo Lacroix, Perry Kapper and Nick Hughes in engineering, so the personnel side of things remains the same.

We have very strong commercial support and backing. The biggest change outside of Penske is the two drivers. So I think we have to have moderate and modest expectations as we begin because we need our drivers to get up to speed with our cars and how to make them go fast.

But longer-term, our ambitions are quite lofty, there’s no question about it. We’re certainly not here to make up the numbers.

But long-term, like I mentioned, we have a very ambitious agenda and we’re going to keep fighting.

Given how much success the team has had, why Penske did pull out?

They were quite open about that in terms of the ramifications that COVID-19 has had on their business. I mean, at one point in time, they’d furloughed nearly half of their 60,000-odd staff, so I think that does bring things into perspective. In some respects, racing has been Roger Penske’s golf game and he often jokes as much, but the reality is that in terms of some of what we set out to achieve and the mission that we had at DJR Team Penske, which was to turn Penske into a household name and to build awareness of their operations in Australia and New Zealand, we achieved a lot of those goals and ticked a lot of those boxes. So I think that the time was right and it suited them not only from a commercial perspective and the sensitivities around their businesses globally, but in line with Scott moving to IndyCar and in line with us having

achieved a lot of the goals that we set for ourselves and that were set for us, the timing was right. So while it’s a shame to see them leave, I think it’s a credit to the championship that we’ve had them here and had them play a big role. But, certainly, there’s no easy way to replace either Scott McLaughlin or Roger Penske in terms of what they brought to the team.

At the same time, you can’t unlearn what you’ve learned and we have a very good, strong foundation to continue building upon.

Was Penske’s original intention to be involved in Supercars long-term or, in fact, was the plan always just a limited number of years?

I’ve seen a lot of speculation about that and, look, we only made the decision in the week after Bathurst around what everything looked like. The plan for this year was for Scott to have an opportunity to race in IndyCar in the ‘Month Of May’ (Indianapolis GP road course race) and if that was successful, to have a couple of

other road course races and maybe even an a oval run if the season ran to its original orig calendar. But that wasn’t to be. And An even in the lead-up to Bathurst, we knew kne that Scott was going to have an opportunity opp in the States, but we were still s looking at that in the context of him balancing ba a year in the Supercars championship champ with a few events in IndyCar. IndyCar So nothing was set in stone, really, until that period immediately after Bathurst where we came together as a group and made a lot of those decisions as to how things looked going forward.

But, certainly, when we originally formed DJR Team Penske – and I’ve put together quite a comprehensive document effectively detailing all the key decision points and the timeline of everything that’s occurred during those seven years – there was certainly no expectation that they would leave as they have done. It’s the consequence of a culmination of things.

But like I said, the key decisions were made in that week following Bathurst. We effectively put together about six-to-12 months’ worth of work in four days. It started off with a decision being made on the Tuesday evening (after Bathurst) and then following that, the next day I made contact with two drivers that were at the very top of my priority list and sent out preliminary agreements with them.

I’d reached out with our key partners and sought commitment from them and then we told our staff on the Saturday

So you don’t see it as a rebuild?

No, not at all. We have to give our drivers time to acclimatise to our cars and to be comfortable in our cars, and understand how to get speed out of them. I think we have to be realistic about that. We’re so limited for track test time, so we’ve been fortunate to have a couple of ride days as well as that (super-soft) tyre test last month.

And really all that served to do was get the guys comfortable from an ergonomic point of view, meaning that when we hit the first test day of season 2021, they’re at least relatively comfortable behind the wheel, know where all the buttons are on the steering wheel and on the dash. That’s pretty important. We have to have realistic expectations for those guys coming in, but I’m very confident that we’ve hired the two best drivers that were available to us – and two incredibly good drivers with a good mix of youth and experience. I’m delighted with how that’s played out, but we have to have realistic expectations, certainly early on.

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morning. So it was a very compressed space of time, but we managed to put all of the pieces together to form a team to carry on, and that’s what we did. And I think that the outcome would have been significantly different if we didn’t have the support of our commercial partners; if we didn’t have the ability to sign two very high-quality drivers in Will and Anton; if we didn’t have the ability to keep this great team together. So we were fortunate in that sense and we’re very happy with how things have ended up.

But, Ryan, it wasn’t a snap decision. It had been coming for months, hadn’t it?

There had been discussions for months, but it was around a series of options. It was around whether to continue as we were and also there was the potential that we could wind things up. So alll those options – and the third, of course, being where we’ve found ourselves – were given due consideration. We put together budgets and what have you around a single-car model again and all of those things to ensure that we did full due diligence as to what 2021 might look like. And the outcome where we landed is that we will still have a strong relationship with Penske.

We’ve ended up in the position where we continue to be the Ford homologating team and Penske will have a commercial partnership involvement with the team going forward over the next few years, which ensures that those links are still very tight. The business-to-businesss model we run with the Penske businesses in Australia is something g that will continue. So there’s still going ing to be some involvement from Penske, ke, just not by way of having a majority ownership or any ownership of the team itself.

What about the suggestion that, in the end, Penske got sick of all the controversy surrounding its Supercars involvement?

Look, I can’t speak for Roger, but there have been a number of times over the years where we’ve felt that we were at the short end of the wedge. But I think if you went up and down pit lane, there are others who would have their own stories of feeling that they ended up at the wrong end of things. Bathurst in 2019 was the ultimate example. I think the way that that played out and the ignominy that was associated with that event was something that was very tough on all of us, there’s no question about that. And even from the early days, from our early discussions, there were some undertakings that were given that were then walked back – and it’s something that you don’t forget and tend to remember, and whether that played a role in any decision-making, I can’t say.

[There have been persistent suggestions that previous Supercars top management reneged on approval for Team Penske to test and build cars engines in the USA

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Mc McLaughlin won his third straight V8 crown this year before being dispatched cro to IndyCar by Penske. In contrast to his free-wheeling GRM days, Scotty has been fre more intense at DJRTP, especially after the mo controversies of 2019. He left Australia co with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. wit that he’s making day to day decisions, tha but he’s aware of what’s going on. And bu that’s been the case from the first day th walked into 10 Emeri Street (DJR Iw factory at Stapylton between Brisbane fa and Gold Coast), before and right a through the Penske years, and it will th ccontinue to be that way.

Before Bathurst, McLaughlin made B tthe point that he was contracted to DJR Team Penske, as opposed to Team Penske, in 2021.

That’s correct. teams.]] following an outcry from the other teams But the reality is, we did an awful lot of due diligence and a significant amount of work to put together scenarios to cover every option, to cover all bases. I’m very satisfied with where we’ve landed and I think the fact that there’s a commitment from Roger Penske and Penske Corporation to continue a commercial arrangement shows that there’s strength in the partnership and we can still provide some of the benefits that were initially the mandate that was given to us as a race team.

So what’s the ownership structure now?

The ownership will be myself and Dick Johnson, and it will be a 50/50 arrangement. Basically, the way that will work is the way the relationship has worked between DJ and myself for many years. He defers to me on business decisions, but at no point in time is he in the dark on anything that’s going on.

We have a very good, healthy, strong relationship. We talk things through, we make decisions together and he’s still a big part of things. One of the key reasons for going on was because he said to me, as he has on many occasions, “I don’t

know how to do anything else”. He’s animal, despite still a very competitive animal being 75, and he’s one of the last of the living legends who still has an active involvement in the sport. I applaud his commitment to it, to be honest. He does a lot more than what he has to and he’s still very involved with a lot of our commercial groups, particularly Shell, with whom he has had a relationship for virtually all his time in racing. The connection there runs very deep. But the way things work from a business and structural standpoint, there is that 50/50 shareholding and we do everything as a duumvirate.

Will Dick be more hands-on now, as opposed to the ambassador position he’s had during the Penske period?

No, it’s very much the same. Even throughout the time with Penske, nothing happened that Dick wasn’t aware of. He was always kept in the loop and always counselled on key decisions around personnel, around drivers – and even to the point of whenever he and I were fortunate enough to be at the racetrack together, I would let him know where things were at during a race because he doesn’t like wearing a headset and those sorts of things. He’s not active as such

So, technically, you could have held So him to that deal and kept him here for another year?

Well, that’s true, but at the same time, you don’t want someone working for you who doesn’t want to be there, nor do you want to hold someone back from other opportunities. Like I said, our original planning was around him doing a handful of IndyCar rounds and juggling that with a full-time Supercars gig. But things had gotten to the stage that they were, and he impressed a lot of people over there and he has a big future ahead of him – and we’re just proud to have been part of that.

We’re looking forward to having him back for Bathurst. It’s going to be fantastic.

Just to clarify, at one stage the plan was for Scott to continue in Supercars next year combined with a limited IndyCar program?

Yes. So the plan was to do that for this year and then during the course of the season we spoke about that potentially becoming a plan for 2021, and that was part of the decision-making process immediately after Bathurst. It was basically finalising those decisions and what the various programs looked like.

Breaking point for Roger Penske was 2019 Bathurst 1000, won by McLaughlin amid “debriss” safety car controversy and illegal qualifying engine scandal. DJR Team Penske pushed the rules to the limit, always looking for the American super-squad’s long-established pursuit of “The Unfair Advantage”. Legal, but right on the line. Images: LAT/Ross Gibb But after his testing performances, he was always going to the States next year, wasn’t he?

Most in the sport expected Anton De Pasquale to step in for McLaughlin. Was that always the case?

Well, he was always going, it was just what that was going to look like because it needed to have the commercial support and all the other things. For Penske to go back to running a four-car IndyCar program is a big step, so they had to get all of that side of things together and it shows an enormous degree of faith and trust in what they believe he is capable of – and I don’t believe it’s misplaced.

Well, it’s funny. (Dick Johnson superfan and renowned Ford tuner) Rob Herrod and I have collaborated on a number of projects over the years and the most recent one was a Scott McLaughlin limited edition pack for a Mustang. Before Bathurst, we went out to do some filming with Scott and an SM17 Mustang at the Norwell Motorplex. I spoke to Paul Morris (ADP’s manager) then and we’d had casual conversations in the past, but that was really when talks began in earnest. But it certainly wasn’t until the Wednesday after Bathurst that I was in a position to make an offer and put some paperwork in front of them. So despite there being an enormous amount of speculation, it was simply a case of us doing our due diligence and understanding who’s in or out of contract at what time and to understand what the best driver line-up available to us would have been. And the talks about Anton were quite late in the grander scheme of things.

Scotty will be paired with Will at Bathurst, is that the plan?

No, we haven’t locked down pairings yet.

That’s still to come. We’re still finalising a few things around that and that’ll be based on a couple of other pieces of the puzzle as well. We were quite open that we offered Fabian an opportunity to co-drive next year, but he’s elected to pursue a fulltime gig elsewhere and we naturally wish him all the best. He’s been a big part of winning three teams’ championships, but it’s time for him to go to the next chapter as well.

Have you signed co-drivers for Bathurst next year?

I have, I hope to have something to announce between now and February.

Why did you let Coulthard go and why do you think Will Davison is a better fit?

We made a business decision and commercial decision, and at the end of the day, all driver choices are geared around that. What can you build around the team commercially; how can you have a cohesive unit that’s capable of working together and achieving mutually set goals?

And, for me, it was a very clear decision.

Not taking anything away from Fabian or anyone else, but the best step for us was to proceed with Anton and Will.

Of course, originally, you’d targeted Chaz Mostert as the team’s long-term hope, hadn’t you?

For sure. I had quite extensive discussions with Chaz about joining us, but he elected to go in a different direction and that’s what free will is all about. He’s had some early success at Walkinshaw, but they’re in a building stage not dissimilar to where we were in 2017 with a new driver (McLaughlin) coming on board and a bit of a shake-up around engineering (Lacroix).

We wish him well. He’s someone who we knew from his first year here in 2013 and he won a race that year, so, yeah, he was absolutely a target for us.

Looking ahead, are you happy with the direction Gen3’s heading?

It’s a really exciting time because we’re going to end up with race cars that have

very similar visual DNA to the road-going equivalents. We haven’t had that with the current Mustang. We obviously had to compromise around the Car Of The Future chassis and at the time we made attempts to seize some concessions around the roll hoop to try to retain more of the road car shape. But we ended up with the car that we did and we were very happy all the same. This next step brings us back to more of a touring car DNA, but still purpose-built, safe race cars. We have good guidelines around the engine side of things and good guidelines around the aero development side of things, and I think we’re going to end up with two very good-looking race cars and a very competitive platform for Gen3. We’re super-excited about it. There’s been a lot of work done already on the body side as well as the engine.

Will the Gen3 cars actually end up being a lot cheaper to build and run?

Yes. The work that Jerome Moore (Triple Eight technical director), in particular, has done on the chassis side is very, very strong. Supercars has been heavily involved in that with Carl Faux (WAU TD and Gen3 consultant) and (project leader) John Casey. But from an engineering perspective, with Jerome and Ludo and the rest of the teams at Triple Eight and here, I think we have the foundations of a much better platform, a more costeffective platform that doesn’t affect the raceability and the close competition and all of the things that are the hallmarks of the championship. I think we’ll retain all that, but Gen3 will significantly lower the cost of entry with engines that have a significantly longer life, some of the chassis components and elements will be more modular, which means repairing them will be much easier, similar to the Project Blueprint cars. If you talk to any mechanic, they’ll tell you that these cars are a lot harder to work on and a lot harder to repair. It needs a lot more precision than what you did with the pre-

COTF cars, so I think we’re heading back towards that. The initial work that has been undertaken is of a very high quality and is certainly in keeping with the objectives we’re trying to seek.

So you’re confident Gen3 will achieve all its cost reduction targets?

Yes, I am. With the work that’s been undertaken so far, there’s been a huge amount of work contributed by predominantly the two homologation teams, but now other teams are involved as well, along with external third parties.

And I think that we’re all very much of the same view and desire that we have to reduce the cost base. I wasn’t involved at the time, but it seems to me that there was a fair bit of design by committee with Car Of The Future and there was a lot of compromise along the way. That hasn’t been the case with Gen3. Everyone’s pushing in the same direction and that’s the key difference.

After such a costly season, will the teams be able to afford this changeover in 2022 or is that too soon? ’22 is the year that it will happen and there are already extensive discussions around how that works and how we fund the capital outlay for that to take place. But it’s not for me to comment more broadly on that. 2022 is the absolute target and that’s when it must happen.

Will it need some sort of Supercars subsidy for the teams?

I’m not suggesting that, but there are ways to do it and, basically, what we spend on consumables, what we spend on engines, what we spend across the board, certainly you need to have funds available for the capital expenditure. And if you do, you’ll get that back in return by lower operational expenditure. So it’s an opportunity cost and it’s one that we have to make.

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REMEMBERING A GOOD GUY JOHN HARVEY 1938-2020

IMAGES: Autopics.com.au/Auto Action archives/AN1 Images

MARK FOGARTY pays tribute to the under-rated all-rounder who excelled in the shadow of some of Australia’s racing greatest JOHN HARVEY was one of our most versatile drivers ever. From Sydney Showground to Mount Panorama, he was fast and fearless.

‘Harves’ was also fated as the great runnerup.

Sadly, John Francis Harvey OAM succumbed to an insidious illness on December 5, aged 82. He lived a good life and his loss will be widely mourned.

His funeral was to be held in Melbourne on December 16. The ceremony was expected to be attended by surviving contemporaries and former colleagues, plus a host of current racing identities.

We were prepared for his death – just not so soon. His family alerted us to his plight

on social media last month, which can’t have been easy, revealing that he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

It was distressing news because Harves was liked and admired throughout racing, as well as by his many fans going back nearly 60 years.

Learning of his impending demise gave me, and others, the chance to pay tribute to him while he was still alive.

I dedicated most of my column in the latest issue of the magazine to an appreciation of Harvey the man and the racing driver.

Regrettably, he died just a few days after it was published. I hope he was able to read – or at least be told about – the homage, and

others like it, to bask in the respect and popularity he earned.

Thanks to his family’s courage, it was a privilege to be able to celebrate his career and write an acclamation while he was still here.

It is with a heavy heart that the tribute has become an obituary. This eulogy is an expanded version of what I wrote last issue.

Harvey’s achievements in racing were honoured with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) and induction into the Australian Motor Sport Hall Of Fame.

Surely, he will enter the Supercars Hall Of Fame posthumously.

Sydney born but Melbourne-based for most of his life, Harvey emerged from the dirt track speedway bullrings in the early 1960s to become one of the country’s best road racers in open wheelers, sports cars, sports sedans and touring cars.

Yet, despite his virtuosity, he lived in the shadows of titans like Bob Jane and Peter Brock.

Replacing prematurely retired ace Spencer Martin, Harvey impressed in the 1968 Tasman Cup series in the Bob Jane team’s RepcoBrabham BT23 (top, at Warwick Farm).

Harves also snapped at the heels of V8 F5000s in ’71 in two-litre Brabham BT36Waggot (left). He was a golden boy of racing in the late ’60s (above).

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In the absence of Frank Matich, who switched from Group 7-style sports cars to F5000, Harvey dominated in Bob Jane’s gorgeous McLaren M6B-Repco. One of the prettiest cars to race here, it also starred in a one-off appearance at Fuji in Japan, in which Harves excelled on water-logged track.

Harvey made his name in speedway in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, winning multiple NSW and Victorian speedcar titles (above). He famously partnered Allan Moffat to victory in the opening round of the inaugural (and only) world touring car championship at Monza in ex-Brock VL Commodore (right). Biggest local win was an awkwardly shared success with Brock, who took over his second-string MHDT Commodore, in the ’83 Bathurst 1000 (below right).

Harvey was a team player, a professional who accepted his role and followed the rules of his employers.

A gentle, laconic person, Harves took life’s ups and downs as they came.

Never more so than when he worked with Brock, who christened him ‘Slug’. Most would take offence to the apparently pejorative nickname. It was a warped term of endearment that Harvey wore without rancour or resentment.

To most, though, he was Harves, the easy going racer who could excel in any kind of car. And motorcycles, about which he was passionate. He was an accomplished rider who probably could have been competitive in Superbikes.

I was fortunate to know and report on Harves since the mid-1970s.

From his days as the Bob Jane team’s allrounder – open-wheelers, sports cars, touring cars and sports sedans – to Peter Brock’s right hand man and ultimately a founding senior executive of Holden Special Vehicles.

I enjoyed our interactions over decades – and as recently as a few years ago – because he was open and honest. A journo can’t ask for anything more.

Harvey was one of good guys. Great bloke, great driver. Despite his virtuosity, he was an under-valued achiever whose talent and potential were subsumed by team loyalty. He was one of the very best who played second fiddle in his prime.

Harves could have been an open-wheel star worthy of F1 consideration.

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A huge crash at Bathurst in 1968, which left him partially deaf, ended that promise.

He was Bob Jane’s jack-of-all-cars in the late 1960s and early ’70s before joining HDT full-time in ’77, staying through the turbulent Brock era.

He shared victory at Bathurst in 1983, when Brock took over his car. He worked dutifully with and for Brock until Peter was no longer perfect in early 1987, reluctantly leaving the HDT madhouse.

Harvey famously teamed with Allan Moffat to win the opening round of the 1987 world touring car championship in a Holden Commodore surreptitiously secured from Brock.

It was by default after the top six BMW M3s were thrown out, but the sheer gumption of the rogue effort deserves ever-lasting praise.

He retired from racing at the end of ’88 after a driving career that began in desperately dangerous speedway speedcars in the late ’50s.

Perhaps the most iconic images of him were in Bob Jane’s gorgeous Sebring red – aka orange – McLaren M6B-Repco, in which he won the 1971/72 Australian sports car championships.

He starred in that car at a flooded Fuji in Japan.

It was on odd one-off appearance that underlined his all-around ability.

Harves is a Holden legend who deserves more recognition than the record book portrays. He was a smooth stylist, as fast as anyone on his day, who played by team rules, often to his cost.

I admired him as a person and respected him as a racer. I hope history remembers him for the dignified superstar he was.

RIP, John Francis Harvey.

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CHAMPAGNE DAYS OF THE REPCO-BRABHAM V8

IMAGES: LAT/Autopics.com.au/Repco/Brabham Collection

Aussie campaigners got it all together when Formula 1 went 3-litre in the mid-1960s, while others were slow to adapt and the most famous team of all imploded. MARK BISSET explains how Repco’s engine came to rule the world.

WHEN JACK Brabham’s Brabham BT19 Repco crossed the finish line at Reims in France’s champagne district on July 3, 1966, he became the first driver to win a world championship grand prix in a car bearing his own name.

At Monza in Italy two months later, the world drivers and manufacturers championships were added to the year’s triumphs.

Brabham-Repco, Ferrari and Cooper-Maserati were all ready for the new 3-litre Formula 1, after a five-year era of 1.5-litre motors, but an own goal by Ferrari helped the Australians conquer the world.

Repco’s Type RB620 3-litre V8 was the first engine of any sort made by Melbourne-based Repco Ltd. They triumphed over the great names of Europe and the US – BRM, Lotus, CooperMaserati, Eagle-Weslake, Ferrari and others.

They doubled up in 1967 when the BT24, the next creation by Brabham designer Ron Tauranac and powered by Repco’s later RB740 V8, again beat the best in the world including Jim Clark’s all-new Lotus 49 Ford Cosworth DFV V8, the machine from which all subsequent Grand Prix cars are descended.

Jack Brabham had a couple of world titles under his belt with British factory team Cooper in 1959 and 1960, so his track record was clear, while Repco may appear to have come from nowhere, but the achievements of 1966-67 were another step in a competition culture established by

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Repco Ltd CEO and later chairman Charles ‘Dave’ McGrath in the late 1940s.

In some ways Repco’s acquisition of Charlie Deans small electrical products business in 1946 was outside the usual Repco mould of merging in bigger concerns. McGrath created and appointed Dean to run Repco Research, the group’s Sydney Road, Brunswick ‘skunkworks’ which built, prepared and raced the Maybachs steered

by Stan Jones, manufactured the Holden Grey ‘Hi-Power’ cylinder heads fitted to many road and racing cars, and attracted the most talented engineers from Repco subsidiaries.

One of thse, Hardy Spicer, provided driveshafts and universal joints to Cooper. When Brabham and Tauranac formed Motor Racing Developments (MRD) it made commercial sense to support the nascent company and their ‘Repco-Brabham’ racing cars. Simultaneously, Brabham’s Tasman Cup Coventry Climax 2.5-litre FPF engines were prepared by Michael Gasking and Frank Hallam at the Repco Engine Laboratory in Richmond.

This led to an agreement with Climax to build, service and provide parts for their motors in Australasia. Short-stroke ultimate-spec FPF’s were fragile little flowers, especially if over-revved, so Jack started to think about an alternative engine with Repco in mind as the provider.

It’s not known precisely when Jack ‘landed on’ General Motors’ Oldsmobile F85 block as the

basis of Repco’s race engine, but he longingly admired the Frank Coon and Jim Travers (later Traco Engineering)-prepared sister Buick 215 V8 during Sandown’s opening meeting in the summer of ’62. Sometime American F1 driver Chuck Daigh raced the Scarab RE Buick and Jack was very impressed with its ‘mumbo’ if not its roadholding.

The wily Brabham took soundings on the prospect of Repco building an engine based on a production block from Frank Hallam and Dave McGrath, before formally pitching a simple SOHC, two-valve Repco 2.5-litre V8 using the Olds F85 block. This was formally approved by the Repco board in February 1964.

Phil Irving was contracted to design and build two engines for 2000 pounds (about $4000). The total project budget was 20,000 pounds!

Irving, with a race and technical writing career dating to the 1930s, was a great choice. His recent Repco history included the 1954 Maybach 3 to which he was a contributor.

Shortly before moving to the UK in January 1964 he had a day in Adelaide looking closely at Harold Clisby’s 1.5-litre DOHC, two-valve F1 V6 then being assembled.

Irving based himself in Clapham near Repco’s UK headquarters and MRD at Byfleet. One of the design parameters was that the engine had to fit the BT19 chassis which remained unused after the Coventry Climax FWMW flat-16 for which

it was intended didn’t progress beyond its test bed. Yes folks, Jack’s championship-winning car started life as an ‘unclaimed treasure’.

Irving began his design, the conceptual direction set by Jack and approved by the Repco board, with Jack and occasionally Ron looking over his shoulder and offering suggestions or guidance.

Twenty-six Oldsmobile F85 short motors were acquired by Repco-Brabham Engines Pty. Ltd. (RBE), the subsidiary incorporated to build the engines. The blocks were extensively machined to adapt and strengthen them for their highperformance application and correct production shortcomings. The gasket faces on each cylinder bank were neither square to the cylinders nor equidistant from the crank centreline, so the decks had to be re-machined correctly. A 3/16inch alloy plate was sandwiched between the bottom of the block and the shallow Repco-made ribbed-magnesium sump to stiffen things up.

A bore and stroke of 85mm by 55mm was chosen for the 2.5-litre engine. The simple crossflow heads had valves at an included angle of 10 degrees to the cylinder centre line.

The Oldham Coupling-driven, George Wademanufactured cams initially used BSA Gold Star profiles.

Die-cast pistons, rings and bearings were made

by Repco subsidiaries, the flywheel was Climax FWB and the flat-plane steel crank by Laystall to Irving’s design. Sterling Metals in Nuneaton,

UK, cast the first ‘20 Series’ cylinder heads which were later made by Clisby Industries in Adelaide.

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) in Fisherman’s Bend cast the sump, front and rear covers and later Repco 700 and 800 series blocks. They were also providers of choice to Elfin, Matich and Bowin.

While a simple design, the practical racer in Irving incorporated clever ‘in the field stuff’ such as cylinder heads which were not ‘handed’ and the ability to remove the heads without disturbing the cam timing.

Alfa Romeo buckets were used, Daimler Majestic 4½ conrods and Fordson gears fitted to an Irving-designed oil pump. Every drawing for the motor was produced and signed by Irving and sent back to Richmond to be made. John Judd, seconded to RBE in 1966-1967, observed that RB620 was probably the last F1 engine designed and drawn by one man.

Along the way the ante was upped when Coventry Climax, engine suppliers to most of the British teams, announced they would not build 3-litre F1 engines. With that, Repco’s simple Tasman Cup motor became an equally-simple F1 engine.

The design process complete, Irving returned to Melbourne in October. RBE general manager Frank Hallam had commandeered space in the Russell Manufacturing factory on the corner of Burney and Doonside Streets, Richmond.

There a team of technicians including Peter Holinger, David Nash, Jack Argill and Michael Gasking began work using a growing number of machine tools which would be shipped over Christmas-New Year to much larger premises in Mitchell Street, Maidstone, but the first engines were built in Richmond.

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Irving approved the sump and camshaft cover patterns for casting by CAC and set to polishing and balancing the Daimler rods while other team members shaped and polished the ports of the heads, which had been machined by HRG in the UK. With the Tasman Cup, an annual summer series of races in New Zealand and Australia, before the year’s first F1 GP, the priority was a 2.5-litre engine. Final assembly of it took place after the arrival of cylinder sleeves from Repco New Zealand. In parallel, Irving wrote a maintenance manual. At this stage arrangements for Lucas fuel injection had not been concluded, so the engine was run using a set of four Weber twin-choke downdraught carburettors borrowed from Bib Stillwell, whose race shop was close by in Cotham Road, Kew. Fifty three weeks after Irving’s RB620 design started as a centre-line on a clean sheet of paper at Aliwal Road, 620/ E1 burst into sonorous, lusty life on the Repco Engine Lab dyno on March 21, 1965.

Present were director Bob Brown and GM Frank Hallam with Irving and Peter Holinger tickling the engine and controls.

The motor started easily and, after warming it up, Hallam gave it a tug to 7000 rpm, at which point it abruptly stopped. The culprit was a loose contact-breaker in the Bosch distributor. Initially 235 bhp @ 7250 rpm was achieved, not much better than the Climax FPF, but more would come.

Work proceeded on adapting the engine to fuel injection and the 3-litre variant, which had the same bore of 85mm but a longer stroke of 60.3mm for a capacity of 2994cc, and therefore had a different crankshaft, slightly larger valves and ports, throttle bodies and conrods.

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Jack Brabham at full speed (main) in the Brabham BT20, USA Grand Prix, Watkins Glen, October 1966. It was a rare disappointment, as Brabham did not finish due to engine failure. Moet never tasted so sweet! A champagne moment at Reims for the French Grand Prix as Jack savours the taste of his first victory (above). The French Grand Prix of 66 was the first Formula 1 win in a car bearing his name, powered by the Australian built Repco RBE620. The ‘66 F1winning RBE620 3-litre V8 engine (below). There were also 2.5 and 4.4-litre versions using the same Olds-F85 based block.

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Jack Brabham deep in thought (above) looking at the Scarab RE Buick 215, at the Sandown International 1962.

The Olds F85 blocks (right) with the Repco machined version at left, standard at right. Early testing of the ’E1’ 2.5 on Repco’s Richmond dyno in 1965, still fitted with Webers lent by Bib Stillwell.

235bhp and a bit in early stages (below).

‘E3’ was the first engine destined to race aboard BT19 in the non-championship South African GP on January 1, 1966. Its first dyno runs were on November 12, 1965. After some tickling and six hours’ running the engine was rebuilt, yielding 279 bhp @ 7300 rpm with the ignition set at 47 degrees before top dead centre.

‘E3’ was air-freighted to England on November 16 and fitted to BT19 at Brabham Racing Organisation (BRO). Final fettling, including fitting Lukey exhausts, was done by Roy Billington, Jack’s long-time chief mechanic. At Goodwood it ran faultlessly, allowing Jack to focus on suspension settings. He did a best lap of 1:17.3 – three seconds better than the existing record.

At Kyalami Brabham put the car on pole and led by a good margin until the fuel metering unit drive belt came off its cog. A lap record was encouraging, albeit no other 3-litre cars were present. The race was won by Mike Spence’s Lotus 33 Climax.

While BT19 was shipped to Melbourne for the February 27 Sandown Park Cup, Irving redesigned the location of the metering unit to be within the Vee and driven from the rear of the jackshaft.

The 2.5-litre ‘E2’ engine was fitted for Repco’s home meeting, the car’s competitiveness shown by a lap record in a preliminary race won by Jackie Stewart’s BRM P261. In the championship race a sintered gear in the oil pump failed, causing another DNF. Irving immediately set to work with another redesign and rebuild of the engine in time for the final Tasman round at Longford, Tasmania, the next weekend.

In a close race, with the engine overheating, Jack ran short of fuel and finished third behind the 1.9-litre BRM P261s of Stewart and Graham Hill, with Stewart winning the 1966 Tasman Cup. Importantly, the Repco engine completed the 100-mile (160km) race. What was now required was race pace and reliability in 200-mile GPs.

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After the Tasman Cup the BT19 returned to the UK in time for the numerous nonchampionship F1 races which preceded the Monaco GP on May 22.

At Syracuse in Italy BT19 was joined by several other 3-litre cars on May 1.

John Surtees was there in the new Ferrari 312 and Jo Siffert and Guy Ligier in Cooper T81 Maseratis – all three machines V12powered. The Ferrari engine gave at best 360 bhp, the Maserati a similar amount, but both marques fielded cars which were heavy and thirsty although they were potential world champions in 1966 with greater reliability.

Jack contested the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood aboard a Brabham BT17 Repco 620 4.4 V8 DNF on Saturday, April 30, so did not practice at Syracuse until the Sunday morning. Even then his time did not count for the grid, but he was up to third from last at the end of the first lap. Then the engine ran roughly and died after fuel metering unit failure. Surtees won from Lorenzo Bandini in a Ferrari Dino 246 and David Hobbs in a Lotus 25 BRM V8.

The BRDC International Trophy followed at Silverstone on May 14. Brabham plonked BT19 on pole alongside Surtees’ Ferrari 312 and Clark’s Lotus 33 Climax 2-litre V8. Brabham got the jump and won the 165km race, taking the lap record in the process, ahead of Surtees’ Ferrari and Jo Bonnier’s Cooper T81 Maserati V12, with Denny in the other works Brabham, at this stage powered by a 2.7-litre Climax FPF pending his own Repco V8. The rest of the GP world was on notice.

At Monaco the BRM H16 made its appearance, as did Bruce McLaren’s McLaren M2B Ford powered by a 3-litre version of Ford’s four-cam, two-valve, fuel-injected 4.2-litre ‘Indy’ V8. Denny was still Climaxpowered while Jack’s V8 misbehaved during practice, so his winning Silverstone engine was re-installed. Brabham used the new Hewland DG300 five-speed transaxle for the first time but his race ended when it stuck in one gear. Stewart beat all the 3-litre cars with his 2-litre ‘Tasman’ V8-engined BRM P261 – a bored out 1.5-litre GP car.

The BRO transporter rumbled off to Spa for the Belgian GP on June 13. There were more 3-litre cars now, including two BRM P83 H16s for Hill and Stewart and a Lotus 43 BRM for Clark, but none of these three cars were quicker than the 2-litre alternatives those teams also brought along. While 395 bhp was claimed for the H16 in Monza-spec, the car was mega heavy. Brabham was fourth on the grid behind Surtees’ Ferrari and Rindt’s Cooper-Maserati V12s, with Stewart very quick in a 2-litre BRM. Nine cars failed to finish the first lap at Spa after a huge dump of rain between Stavelot and Malmedy caught out most drivers.

REPCO-BRABHAM AGAINST THE ODDS FORMULA 1 was not awash with cash in the mid’60s as it is now.

It was a major problem for the British Garagista to come up with alternative engines after Coventry Climax, the Cosworth Engineering of its day, announced its intention to withdraw from F1 at the end of 1965.

While Lotus eventually did a deal with Ford and Cosworth Engineering to design and build the DFV V8, it would not be ready until well into 1967.

In the interim teams used 2 litre Climax and BRM V8s fitted to Lotus 33 chassis, and BRM’s P75 H16, which went into a new ‘43’ monocoque.

Simplicity had served BRM well since the mid-’50s. That lesson was learned after ongoing dramas with its 1.5 litre supercharged V16 – simplicity was abandoned at Bourne’s cost.

The 400bhp H16, essentially two horizontally opposed eight-cylinder layouts one above the other was complex, mega-heavy and late.

So BRM too stuck with 2 litre versions of its 1.5 litre P56/60 V8s fitted to the excellent P261 chassis for much of the season – familiar cars to Tasman Cup spectators.

Bruce McLaren went the V8 route with a 3-litre version of Ford’s successful, quad-cam, two-valve injected 4.2-litre V8. Despite Traco’s best, the thing produced only 300bhp and was, again, heavy. Serenissima V8s didn’t do the trick for the nascent McLaren outfit either, despite Robin Herd’s M2A/B ‘mallite’ chassis

being structures of merit.

Ferrari was best placed but it compromised its design by using a 3-litree variant of the existing 3.3 litre P2 ‘sportscar’ scar’ DOHC, two-valve, injected V12. This Tipo 218 unit gave 360bhp @ 10,000rpm but the package – engine, chassis and sportscar derived transaxle was heavy.

Make no mistake, despite this, Ferrari had the car of 1966 but then shot itself in the foot by exiting John Surtees mid-season. With that, Ferrari kissed goodbye to a probable championship.

Cooper also used a V12. Maserati’s Tipo 10 engine was an updated version of the 2.5 litre, two-valve unit which first saw service in 1957 fitted to 250Fs. The engine’s claimed 360bhp was blunted by the T81 Cooper monocoque which was strong – and heavy!

Honda’s RA273 chassis appeared late, its V12 produced 380bhp, but it easily won the pork-chop award at Monza where the RA273 weighed in over 400 pounds heavier than Brabham’s BT19!

Dan Gurney’s All American Racers fielded a lovely monocoque designed by Len Terry. Its Aubrey Woods designed, Weslake Engineering built Type 58 DOHC, four-valve, injected 370390bhp V12 was also late appearing. For much of the year the svelte little Eagle Mk1 was powered by a 2.7 litre ‘Indy’ Coventry Climax FPF four.

Into all of this came another compromise,

BRO’s Brabham BT19 Repco.

Yes, the spaceframe chassis was a 12-month old ‘unclaimed treasure’, but it was light and forgiving. Yes, the RBE620 V8 only gave a smidge over 300bhp at best, but it had lots of torque. It also had enough race miles before the championship season in Tasman and non-championship F1 races to be reliable.

Brabham-Repco was ready to boogie, it was match-fit when others were not. RepcoBrabham Engines overcame Australia-United Kingdom supply line challenges. Jack did the job behind the wheel with a blend of speed and mechanical sympathy. Ferrari shot themselves in the foot. And so, with all of that, RepcoBrabham beat the world’s best.

And did it again in 1967 with the Cosworth DFV V present for most of the season.

Ford’s 3-litre ‘Indy’ engine was too big, fat and nd gu gutless, utltlees ess, ess s, iits ts 44.2-ports ts .22-p -po por orts ort ts aand ndd vvalves alve al lvess di did didn’t dn’t fflow dn’t low att 3-litres. (top left). BRM Type 15-’H16’ (top right). Even Betty Ford couldn’t have helped chassis and engine. Too big, fat, heavy, complex and therefore unreliable. Brilliant folly, with just one GP win powering a Lotus 43 for Jim Clark, at The Glen in ‘66. Eagle-Weslake V12 (above centre). Too late to impact ‘66. It was the horniest of all ‘60s GP cars but the engine build quality too patchy to get the success deserved. The Ferrari 3-valve V12, seen here at Monza (above) with Mauro Forghieri left and Enzo Ferrari right. Had the title in the bag. Honda’s V12 (left) was too late to impact 1966. The 3-litre Hondas/’Hondolas’ were too heavy and the power/weight ratio never right.

Miraculously, no one was killed but Stewart was badly hurt. His crusade for greater car and circuit safety started that day. In an afternoon of survival Brabham was fourth behind Surtees, Rindt and Bandini in the 2.4 V6 Ferrari. Only five of the 15 cars that started finished the race. Importantly, the RB620 V8 completed 200 miles (320km).

By the time the Brabham lads headed to Reims for the French GP, things were looking good.

Denny finally had a V8 at his disposal and a new chassis designated BT20. A simmering row between Surtees and Ferrari blew up, with the upshot that the 1964 world champion left and joined Cooper. At that moment, without a replacement driver of his calibre, Ferrari lost Testing and proving the 2.5-litre ‘E2’ engine in the final 1966 Tasman round at Longford in Tasmania (left) proved vital in the development and ultimate the reliablity of the Formula 1 engine.

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a world title that was theirs to take, subject to reliability.

Brabham started the very high-speed race on a scorching day – weren’t those three races in the South African and Australian summers godsends!

– fourth on the grid behind Bandini, Surtees and Parkes, the latter in his first GP aboard a Ferrari 312. Surtees was out early, Bandini gradually drew away from Jack and seemingly had the race in the bag with a 20-second lead, but on lap 32 his throttle cable broke, allowing Brabham to take an historic win with Denny third. It was a marvellous day. Parkes was second.

At Brands Hatch in England a fortnight later Jack had a weekend he probably never forgot.

He was quickest in each session then led the race from start to finish with Denny second.

Repco effectively powered the first row of the grid, for alongside Jack and Denny was Dan Gurney’s Climax 2.7-engined Eagle, most of the

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internals of which were provided by Repco.

The ‘circus’ had a week to prepare for Zandvoort. Jack again prevailed in the Dutch sand dunes from pole while Denny popped an engine in practice, then had gearbox dramas on race morning and finally distributor failure in the race.

The man of the meeting was Clark, who qualified third in his Lotus 33 Climax 2-litre, then caught and passed Jack despite giving away about 40 bhp. But Clark, the world’s greatest driver, had a crankshaft vibration damper break, holing a water pump outlet. At this stage of the season, with three wins on the trot, Brabham-Repco were handily placed.

The Nurburgring is a daunting place in the dry, let alone with intermittent rain, but Brabham caught and passed Surtees from fifth on the grid to take another win on August 7. Denny had an engine failure without completing a lap, and then, when getting into his stride in the race, again

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had ignition failure. Fortunately for the team the dramas were all Denny’s! Clark started from pole but slipped off the road.

The Lotus-Firestone combination was unsuited to the greasy conditions. Firestone-shod Ferrari were also well back. Brabham won from Surtees and Rindt’s Cooper-Maserati.

In the three-week F1 season gap Jack made a dash with BT19 to take in the Australian Gold Star round at Keith Williams’ new Surfers Paradise circuit on August 14. After coming all that way the car was stricken with a rotor problem. The crowd was thrilled by dices between Jackie Stewart and Kevin Bartlett in Brabham BT11A Climaxes.

Ferrari always enter quick cars in Italy and new 370 bhp three-valve engines were used at Monza on September 4, where the 12-cylinder ranks were bolstered by Honda and Gurney’s Eagle-Weslake, which gave about 380 and 370 bhp respectively.

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FATHER OF THE RBE620

Denny Hulme, Brabham BT20 Repco during the Dutch GP at Zandvoort on July 24, sated by good fortune in 1967!

1966. His bad luck in 1966 was compensated

While Brabham was back on the third row and ‘best of the V8s’, he led by lap four but was soon out when a small inspection cover plate came loose, losing a lot of oil, but he won the drivers and manufacturers titles all the same. Ludovico Scarfiotti won from Mike Parkes, both in Ferraris, sending the tifosi nuts, then Hulme in third.

The prestigious Oulton Park Gold Cup took place in Cheshire on September 17. Brabham m and Hulme finished one-two with Clark’s Lotuss 33 Climax 25 seconds adrift in third.

Watkins Glen in upstate New York held the last championship race of the year on Octoberr 2 and again Brabham did not disappoint, nicking pole from Clark’s Lotus 43 BRM in thee final minutes of practice.

Jack was leading the race in fine style until half-distance, when a broken cam-follower caused a DNF, leaving Clark to take the only victory for the incredibly complex, heavy, powerful, utterly marvellous-but-nuts H16 BRM engine which was the complete antithesis sis of the championship-winning, simple, light, just sufficiently powerful and torquey RepcoBrabham V8!

The racing world delighted at the triumph off Brabham, Hulme, Tauranac, Hallam, Irving and nd their teams, but Australia never fully appreciated ated the scale of the sporting and technical achievement.

Bradman was the greatest batsman in the world, but Jack Brabham made ‘the bat and the ball’ and then went and beat the world with them – and did it again in 1967, although it was then Hulme’s turn to be the champion driver. * Mark Bisset has published the historic racing website primotipo.com since 2014.

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Jack Jack, Ron Tauranac and Goodyear’s Bert Baldwin sussing tyre-temps at the Nurburgring (above). Goodyear was critical to the Repco-Brabham succes.

Bob Ilich and Roy Billington work on Jack’s BT19 at Monza. Note DG300 Hewland 5-speed transaxle and Lukey exhausts September, 1966 (right).

‘Hethel. We have a problem.’ Colin Chapman (below) ponders the simple, light, reliable Brabham BT19 Repco at Reims (France).

BY THE time Phil Irving returned to Australia in 1949, the 47 year old was already a world renowned motor cycle engineer with Vincent HRD, and author of Tuning for Speed.

Throughout the ‘50s he tuned Vincent Lightning engines for Reg Hunt and Lex Davison, while engaged as the chief engineer of the Rolloy Piston Co in Port Melbourne.

In 1954 Charlie Dean engaged him to assist in the construction of Repco Research’s Maybach 3, raced by Stan Jones. This morphed into the design of Repco Hi-Power the R cylinder head which cylin made road and race Holden Greys sing.

Hold In his spare time he was a leading light in the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club’s development of the deve great circuit we continue to enjoy today.

Irving remained in touch with the Irvi international scene with annual visits inter abroad. abro He was Dean’s logical choice for the t detail design of the RepcoBrabham 2.5 litre Tasman Formula V8 Bra which whi then morphed into a 3 litre F1 engine. eng In essence, Jack Brabham concepted and sold to the Repco board a SOHC, two-valve, fuel-injected V8 based two on a production block – GM’s F85

Oldsmobile.

Oldsmobile Phil Irving then designed and drew the 1966 F1 championship winning ‘RBE620’ engine. All of it, every single drawing. John Judd later wrote that it was probably the last time an F1 engine was designed by one man.

Irving was either fired or walked in mid-1966, after differences of view about his irregular working hours with Repco-Brabham General Manager Frank Hallam.

Redemption was at hand in 1969.

Phil was welcomed back to the fold to design, together with Brian Heard, the very successful GP and Gold Star winning Repco-Holden F5000 V8.

He died in 1992, aged 89. Motor Sport Australia’s Phil Irving Award is its highest engineering accolade.

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UNDER THE SKIN WILLIAMS FW07

THE UNCOVERING OF A LEGEND This is the car that started it all. The Williams FW07 not only vaulted Alan Jones into superstardom but set the trend for the team’s title successes for the next decade. HEATH McALPINE revisits an important chassis in Formula 1 history.

Alan Jones takes victory in seasonopening 1980 Argentine Grand Prix (left).

The Williams FW07 had become the car to beat in 1979 and went on to take the F1 Championship in 1980. It was a brilliant design and was the springboard for Williams Grand Prix Engineering to become a powerhouse in Formula 1.

Images: LAT/Bruce Williams

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OWNED BY aviation engineer Paul Faulkner, his FW07/04 took four out of six Grand Prix victories with Alan Jones at the wheel in 1980 before making the long journey from the UK to Western Australia, to be displayed as a museum piece for the best part of 30 years.

Faulkner bought the FW07 a decade ago, since which it has received a full restoration under the expert eye of Jones' former Williams number one mechanic Wayne Eckersley.

Driving his FW07 at a variety of events including the Australian Grand Prix and Phillip Island Festival of Motorsport, Faulkner is never shy to show off his very special part of Formula 1 history.

It was Frank Williams’ third attempt at Formula 1, but it proved the breakthrough when he formed Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited in 1977 alongside Patrick Head in a 70-30 was split.

Luring disillusioned engineer Head back to Formula 1 after an unsuccessful career to that point proved a masterstroke, and began an iconic partnership which lasted more than two decades.

Using a customer March chassis driven by Belgian Patrick Neve, no noteworthy results were achieved.

For 1978, the first Head-designed Williams, the FW06, improved the fledgling team’s

results, so too did the addition of Jones, who finished a best of second at Watkins Glen on his way to 11th in the World Drivers’ Championship.

Increased sponsorship support from the Middle East courtesy of Saudi Airlines and the Saudi Bin Laden Group enhanced the team’s chances ahead of the 1979 season.

This led to Clay Regazzoni joining Jones in a second entry in a championship, which was now heavily dominated by groundeffects design technology.

Lotus and its Type 78 started this in 1977, but its failure to close the gap to Ferrari that year saw rivals largely unmoved by ground-effects aerodynamics.

The next year Lotus made all its competitors stand up and take notice. In a season of dominance, Lotus took all before it to win the 1978 World Drivers’ Championship with Mario Andretti.

Lotus teammate, Swede Ronnie Peterson, was posthumously awarded second after his death due to medical complications resulting from an accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Lotus was further rewarded with the International Cup for F1 Constructors.

However, it was a short-lived time at the top for Lotus, as in 1979 it went in the wrong direction when designing the Type 80.

This opened the door for Williams, which had acquired a strong brains trust including Head, Frank Dernie, Neil Oatley and even a young Ross Brawn among its R&D team.

The key difference between the Lotus direction and the one of Williams took proved to be its better understanding of the aerodynamic loads that ground-effects created with the use of skirts, which on the Lotus 80 jammed under high loads.

On the FW07, this was avoided by using aluminium honeycomb and a sophisticated suspension system.

Debuting at Jarama (one was taken to the earlier US West GP, but remained under a tarp), the FW07 retired in its first two races, before Regazzoni scored second in the principality of Monaco.

Then there was a crucial breakthrough.

Dernie hurried back from the Imperial College wind tunnel and worked through the night to construct fairings alongside the engine, which kept the airflow attached.

The impact was felt straight away, as Jones took pole at the British Grand Prix and went onto dominate the race until his engine overheated, handing Regazzoni victory.

Jones went onto win four of the next five races to finish third in the World Drivers’

Championship, sending a message to the Formula 1 fraternity that Williams for the 1980 season.

Three of these Grand Prix victories – Germany, Austria and Canada – were taken in Faulkner’s chassis, so too the season-opening 1980 Argentine Grand Prix.

Jones moved to the FW07B for the rest of the season, when he won his sole-World Drivers’ Championship by 14-points ahead of Nelson Piquet.

For the rest of the 1980 season, chassis FW07/04 was used for testing purposes until trying new tyres Jones crashed at Donington Park.

It was then used by Saudi Airlines as a promotional piece before being bought for the Peter Briggs Collection in York, Western Australia, before the museum moved to Fremantle in 2002.

The chassis then went to auction in 2010, when it was purchased by Faulkner.

“It was about April 2010, it had been in the Peter Briggs collection at the York Motor Museum since 1981, he bought it direct through Williams,” Faulkner told Auto Action.

“It came up for auction, I was umming

and ahhing, thinking an ex-F1 car would be something novel and this one was on my doorstep. It got passed in, but I bought it a few days later.”

What followed was the introduction of Jones’s right-hand man during his period of international success, fellow Australian Wayne Eckersley.

“I bought it back and got Wayne Eckersley, who was AJ’s number one mechanic. He came down from Queensland, we had a look at the car, pulled it apart and thought, ‘Geez this is alright’,” recalled Faulkner.

“If it was no good, we were going to put it back together and have it as a display car, but we looked and it was actually a good car. It had a lot of new bits on it, it was complete apart from the engine (which) was hollow, it was just there to hold the back of the car on.

“We said ‘Let’s do it’, so Wayne stayed down here for about eight months with us working part-time. I’ve got some pretty handy people on staff here (Faulkner’s company is Aviation Component Services) to do different machining, welding and painting jobs in-house.

“There was a bit of help from people like Mike Borland, who made new suspension arms

Alan Jones on his way to winning the first round of the 1980 Formula 1 World Championship, the Argentine Grand Prix.

Here he is (right) aboard the subject of our 'Under The Skin' feature, the Williams FW07/04.

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UNDER THE SKIN

The Williams FW07 is classic Formula 1 racecar and was dominant in it's time. This particular car has a strong connection to Australia and even better, it gets used on track so that we can get to enjoy the sights and sounds of one of the most important historic race cars in the country.

The rear brakes use Lockheed twin piston calipers (above left). The front bulk-head, rack and pinion steeering, foot well and pedals were a cold, hard envoroment featuring no padding and with the sole aim of strength and rigidity (above right).

Many consider the Williams FW07 to be better looking with its major body panels off rather than on.

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for the front because those had been damaged when the car was shipped around the world.”

FW07/04 was stripped down to a bare tub where signs of the skirmish Jones had at Donington Park where still evident and remain today after the refurbishment. “It’s character,” described Faulkner.

The biggest job was restoring a legendary Cosworth DFV V8 engine, which received a new lease on life when ground effects entered Formula 1 in 1977, a decade on from when it made its Formula 1 debut.

Its competitiveness at the highest level had waned in the mid-1970s after the introduction of flat-12 powerplants from Italian manufacturers Alfa Romeo and Ferrari.

However, the narrower Cosworth DFV allowed venturi tunnels to be created on the underside of the cars, increasing downforce by taking advantage of low-pressure regions found in that area. The V-configuration of the Cosworth engine angled upwards, leaving room for an underbody profile, which also delivered a massive increase in downforce, further enhancing cornering potential and straight-line speed.

From 1978, the Cosworth DFV engine went on to power four out of the next five World Champions before turbos became reliable and more powerful during the mid-1980s.

Faulkner ordered a new engine from a long-time friend of Patrick Head’s, to the exact specification run in 1979, albeit detuned slightly.

“The biggest item was the engine,” Faulkner explained.

“We didn’t have anything useful to work with so we actually bought a complete unit from Geoff Richardson’s in the UK. Geoff has been good friends with Patrick Head since they were lads and they conspired together to give us the right specification.

“Not a super peaky engine, you need more torque due to the drag produced by the aerodynamics. It was a brand new engine that came straight out of the box.”

There was further investigation work that took place for various parts, which was easier due to the FW07/04’s originality.

“There was a lot of investigation work, up all night phoning around England trying to find this or that and learn things,” explained Faulkner.

“We were able to get the shock absorbers rebuilt and those were put back in, hydraulics are simple hoses, the car is quite manageable.

“You get later into the 80s with turbos, computers, any car that needs a laptop to make it work is just not my cup of tea.”

Further help was found when a connection of Faulkner’s bumped into a man in England, who owned a considerable spare parts inventory for early Williams models.

“A contact through the racing world happened to be sitting around at Donington or Goodwood racing and at a barbeque ended up telling people that I’d bought a Williams,” Faulkner sets up the story.

“One bloke said ‘I have a lot of parts for them,’ and next thing I know, I’ve got the phone number and it’s like ‘Hey, I hear you’ve got lots of parts for Williams’, ‘Sure do, what do you want?’

“His friend had collected a lot of stuff that was going in the skip at Williams back in the early '80s and there was an absolute treasure trove.

Dymag wheels, I got a couple of sets, the FW07 has got an unusual fuel and oil pressure gauge so he had one of those all very reasonably priced, cheap I would say.

“This guy was just there to help. He had just restored another FW07 and knew his way around them. He was able to lend me a fuel cell so I could send it to the manufacturer because they needed a copy, so he dropped it off on his way to holidays.”

Another link to the Williams puzzle was Rodney Harlow, who led the manufacturing

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The Williams FW07 was powered by the legendary Cosworth 3.0 DFV V8 (above). Drivers using the Cosworth V8 won a total of 12 championships and it is possible to source new or fully rebuilt DFV engines even today. The car uses a Hewland FGB 400 5-speed manual gearbox (below) and seen at the rear of the gearbox is the oil pump and lines running to the cooler. The Cosworth is air started and uses a Borg & Beck clutch.

One of the minor issues that was discovered when the car was recived was the missing louvres off the radiators mounted in the tops of the side pods.

These new units were manufactured locally by a former Williams fabricator, who now lives in Melbourne.(below Left). The rocker arm rear suspension and verticaly mounted Koni shockabsorbers keep the back of the car clean for maximum airflow to aid in the generation of downforce (below right).

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UNDER THE SKIN

With or without its skin, the Williams FW07/04 is a mighty beast. Lotus aerodynamicist Peter Wright believed the FW07 was little more than a re-engineered Lotus 79, however Williams engineer Frank Dernie's fairings proved the difference. The innovation turned Williams into a championship winner.

program for Supercars team Ford Performance Racing (now Tickford Racing) and was more than willing to help restore a chassis he worked on during the infancy of his career.

“Rodney “R d Harlow, H l who h was a ffabricator b i t ffor Williams back in the day, actually moved here (to Australia) many years ago and he was running Ford Performance Racing’s manufacturing,” recalled Faulkner.

“He was doing a bit himself and he went out on his own. He said to me, ‘Oh, I helped build that car, if you’re missing anything,’ ... ‘I’m missing louvres off the radiator’ was my reply.

"When I went to pick them up, there was a set there, but there were another few sets under the bench. I said ‘What’s wrong with those? They look perfect’ and he replied, ‘They weren’t good enough’.”

Faulkner was delighted to have these two former Williams crew who helped build the chassis originally reunited 30-years later.

In addition to this, many of Faulkner’s crew at Aviation Component Services contributed to the restoration.

“There was a lot of detail work, like the plumbing was all missing, so we had to make it from scratch,” recalled Faulkner.

“That was a real task and one of our guys, Andy, did most of the work very meticulously. He spent days trying to get it right and not just working, but looking right. We didn’t have a lot to work off and you’ve got hoses running around corners, it was a lot of work.”

All other components were stripped down, crack tested and dimensioned before being reinstalled in Faulkner’s workshop.

“We’re proud of what we did with it. It was a lot of work, a lot of people doing stuff, but I think we’ve done a reasonable job of not changing it, respecting it,” said Faulkner.

Faulkner’s connections in the aviation industry also aided in reproducing the wiring in the Williams, though the electronics of the era are very basic and laid out on a one-page diagram.

A lot of the components are basic aviation parts, making it more straight forward item to restore.

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“There’s a little battery for the ignition system, it’s got an air motor to start it and there’s an electrical fuel pump, which is only needed to start it,” explained Faulkner. “After that, there’s a rain light and that’s about it.”

The FW07/04 features a Hewland FGB 400 fivespeed transaxle, which remained largely original, save for one part which was easily attainable through the local Hewland agent before the gearbox was resealed, cleaned up and refitted.

The cast magnesium adaptor plate behind the Hewland featuring the oil tank, Desoutter air-starter and clutch slave, remains original.

Due to the high amount of ground-effects produced, the suspension was set-up very stiffly.

The design featured front and rear rocker arms working together with inboard spring/damper units.

Brakes were ready to go with new pads and seals, though one of the discs needed to be replaced due to a crack.

Reluctantly rebuilt were the front wings, having been trampled on at some stage, while most the exterior of the FW07/04 remains original. The engine cover was repainted, but the stickers and battle scars remain from when it competed 40-years ago.

Working with Eckersley was a big thrill for Faulkner, as the former Williams number one

worked his magic one last time.

“Wayne was great,” Faulkner enthused.

“He did unfortunately have the nickname ‘Wayne the Pain’ in the era because he was so pedantic, but AJ said it to me directly: ‘Yeah, he was annoying to people at the time, but he probably saved his bacon as well when there was uncertainty. They’d go in Wayne’s direction and he’d be right’.

“He was great, he’d be there in the morning.

Wayne constantly sent emails to Patrick Head asking him about this or that, and Patrick didn’t know, being 30-years ago. His enthusiasm was unparalleled and the detailed knowledge he had was amazing.

“He was very particular and he’d have amazing knowledge of some detail, he could tell you all these things that no one else would know.

"It was good for Wayne; he’d retired as such and it made his year to relive the glory days. It was great for him.”

Due to FW07/04’s limited use, maintenance is not a problem.

“Because we started with a fresh engine and gearbox, everything is zero life, the maintenance is quite low,” said Faulkner.

“It’s more calendar time ... needing to reseal things. I think it’s really only done about six hours

of work since rebuild. The engine just requires a change of oil and filter, we’re still on the original set of plugs.

“It’s not such a monstrous thing to get started.

E li iin th i d tto see if I could ld ddo it Earlier the year I ttried myself sitting in the car with the starter bottle next to me, cranking the lever and I managed to start it, but I couldn’t drive off because the starter bottle was still connected at the back of the car.

“A real simple car that a backyarder can almost look after. No laptops.

“The hardest thing is getting strapped in! AJ and I agree the car has shrunk over the years!"

Faulkner is full of praise for the drivers of the era, lamenting that technology has overtaken the outcome, which back then was largely determined by the brain in the seat.

“His job was to hand back at the end a stuffed, well used Williams,” Faulkner said.

“They wanted a hard charger, they didn’t want an umm or ahh driver, he (Jones) wrung its neck, that was his job, but (he) brought it home.

“I think back in those days where you didn’t have radios or people back at the factory, it took a lot upstairs to manage a race, any problems you had, you managed yourself. That’s why I admire the drivers of that era a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, modern drivers are great but there was more onus on the driver back then.”

And finally, what happened to the original parts replaced during the restoration?

Well, Faulkner has retained all those, which include the original wiring loom and cracked mirrors, maintaining the FW07/04's heritage.

Although Faulkner is unable to keep the FW07/04 at home, he has collected a vast array of associated memorabilia including an original Saudi Air Williams jacket and many Tamiya 1/24 kits of the car.

So it’s safe to say, FW07/04 is in good hands.

Auto Action thanks Paul Faulkner for his assistance with this article, which concludes our Alan Jones series celebrating the 40th anniversary of his World Championship triumph.

TECH SPECS: WILLIAMS FW07/04 ENGINE: Ford Cosworth DFV 90ยบ V8 Displacement 2993 cc / 182.6 cu in Bore / Stroke 85.7 mm (3.4 in) / 64.8 mm (2.6 in) Compression 11.5:1 Fuel feed Lucas Fuel Injection Lubrication Dry sump Power 362 kW @ 10,600 rpm Torque 253 ft lbs @ 9,500 rpm Fuel tank Marston

DRIVETRAIN Hewland FGB 400 5 speed Manual, Borg & Beck clutch Compared to today's age of technology, the simplicity of the Williams 40-years ago stands out (above) with its simple steering wheel, Veglia/ Smiths gauges and H-Pattern gearbox.

CHASSIS Aluminium monocoque Rims Dymag 13x11 at the front, 13x18 at the rear

SUSPENSION Front Top rocker arms, bottom wishbones, inboard springs Rear Lower wishbones, top rocker arms and links, inboard springs, Koni shocks

BRAKES Lockheed ventilated discs, twin-calipers, Ferodo pads

DIMENSIONS Weight Wheelbase Width

579 kg 2692 mm Front - 1738 mm Rear - 1600 mm

RACE VICTORIES - CHASSIS NUMBER FW07/04 1979 1979 1979 1980

The front rocker arm suspension and the aluminium tub are works of art, with the driver's feet and brake master cylinders well forward of the front axle line (above). Stopping power was afforded by the use of twin Lockheed brake calipers on the front (below) and chassis FW07/04 still wears the scars of Jones' tyre testing crash at Donnington in 1980, with some minor creases just to the left of the Champion plugs decal. The proud owner and custodian of this specialf Alan Jones race winning car is Paul Faulkner (right).

German Grand Prix (Alan Jones) Austrian Grand Prix (Alan Jones) Canadian Grand Prix (Alan Jones) Argentine Grand Prix (Alan Jones)

REVEALED AT LAST

THE WORLD CHAMPION CONSTRUCTOR THE WORLD REALLY DIDN’T KNOW

Ron Tauranac was the super-successful designer and engineer of the Brabham F1 cars of the 1960s and early ’70s. But it is only since his death in July that a fuller picture of Tauranac the man has emerged.

Here those closest to him recall the man with personal stories, complemented by wonderful photographs from the family album. As a young man Tauranac made surfboards and canoes. Later in life, rather than rest on his laurels and dine at fine restaurants, he loved a $12 RSL meal. And he went from workshop jigs to jigging to the music at his retirement home. GEOFF HARRIS compiled this tribute.

By GEOFF HESLOP RON TAURANAC, AO, lived his life to the maximum, for the whole 95 years, and at a considerable pace.

Ron’s triumphant life story spoke of childhood hardship and sacrifice to accomplishment and rich prizes. Of youthful adventure in billy-carts and makeshift canoes to success on the championship raceways of the world. And of thrills and danger in homemade hillclimb cars with his brother, Austin, to the highest echelons of international race car design and construction.

Born in England in 1925, Ron migrated with his family at the age of three to Australia. As a schoolboy he lived near Lake Macquarie, NSW, where his mother ran the Fassifern general store and Post Office. The building was also the family home. His father worked as a boilermaker in dockyards along Australia’s east coast and was away from home much of the time.

Ron’s drive to design and construct was evident in early times. He built plywood surfboards, and canoes from old corrugated iron and pitch. These were his means of escape when he would paddle across Lake Macquarie to explore the other side. On one trip it got too dark for him to find his way home. He, logically, camped the night under the upturned canoe, sparking a frantic search for a drowned boy!

Ron was a RAAF pilot in World War II, reaching the rank of Flight Sergeant, but spending two weeks of his time in military detention. He thought that barrel-rolls over the control tower might be an impressive

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way to end an otherwise boring solo flight.

Stephen Knox of the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association in Sydney suggested in an interview with Ron some years ago that the illegal aerobatics perhaps were not the only time. Ron confessed, “Well it was the only time I was caught!”

After the war, Ron and Austin rented a shed in Bondi and built a series of RALT Specials as hillclimb and track cars. Engines were mostly from 500cc Norton motorcycles, which Ron would modify for improved performance, but one even had an engine from a fire pump. The brothers would finish one car, race it, sell it on as a proven unit, then use the proceeds for the next one.

Among Ron’s memorabilia is a trophy for second place in the 1952 Hunter Valley Sporting Car Club Hillclimb Championship, but in the

1954 NSW Hillclimb Championship he came first in a later Ralt 500, also setting a track record for the class. He beat someone called Jack Brabham – and it sparked a lifelong friendship.

First prize at that event was a canteen of cutlery. Ron wasn’t particularly interested in cutlery, but he knew how much Jack wanted it, so he had to win. Oddly, he claimed his lack of knowledge on how to mix nitro-methane with ordinary fuel caused him to “put the lot in”. That might have had something to do with his success.

Among his milestones in the sport, Ron was an honorary member of the British Racing Drivers Club from 1971 and an honorary member of the Australian Racing Drivers Club from 2015.

He was Patron Emeritus of the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of NSW and also patron of Automotive Historians Australia.

He was inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2017 along with Larry Perkins, Frank Gardner, Kevin Bartlett and Mark Skaife. Jack Brabham had been inducted in the previous, inaugural year.

Ron served as guest chief design event judge at the annual Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) competitions in South Australia and later Victoria. And on Australia Day 2002, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Greg Siddle – a long-time Tauranac associate, manager of Brazil’s first triple Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet, and long-time Australian importer of Van Diemen Formula Fords – Ron’s service to motorsport was

recognised with the Order of Australia, presented

by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

The last F1 race held at Reims in the Champagne District of France was in 1966.

Jack Brabham was the winning driver, Repco-Brabham the victorious constructor and Ron Tauranac the winning designer. First prize was a large quantity of pink French champagne. Ron later decided the champers had “gone off” because it was discoloured and he emptied it down the drain.

Ron worked behind the scenes for Jack Brabham in Australia before he moved to England in 1959.

Their F1 interests started after Jack had won his first world championship with the Cooper Car Company that year. Cooper didn’t see the need to improve the car for 1960, but Jack did.

Jack and Ron got together and updated the suspension from transverse leaf spring to independent coils and lowered the car’s centre of gravity. Jack then won his second world championship in the so-called “lowline” Cooper.

Building on that success they formed the Brabham racing operation in 1962 under the name Motor Racing Developments (MRD). That was soon changed to Brabham Racing when much amusement was heard from across the English Channel. MRD was too much like “merde”, the French word for a certain biological waste product, to put it politely.

Ron took over Brabham when Jack retired in 1970, later selling to Bernie Ecclestone in 1972 and then retiring.

Many faces of Ron Tauranac, many previously unseen: At the racetrack (main photo) and alongside Jack Brabham.

Opposite page (clockwise from left): the joker, the surfer (right of photo), in Air Force uniform, Ron and his brother Austin with an eary RALT racecar, a workshop setting, winning a running race in the 1940s, and (at bottom) the RT cap was perfectly apt.

IMAGES: LAT/Tauranac family collection

Now Ron launched himself full-tilt into domestic life. He conscripted wife Norma into a road trip throughout England.

They set out early one morning but were back that night, with Norma looking quite the worse for wear. Why had they returned so soon? Ron said it was because he couldn’t find a parking spot!

Poor Norma soon felt the urge to get him out of the house and helpfully suggested he start building cars again. That saw the emergence of race winning cars for F3, F2 and Formula Atlantic under the resurrected RALT name.

Even though Norma had successfully got him out from under her feet, their daughters, Jann and Julie, had grown up and she became a regular at race meetings, becoming known fondly as “Mrs T” or “Saint Norma”.

In large part, Ron’s success was due to Norma’s love and support. They met dancing

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at Bronte in Sydney and married on June 6, 1953, at Bondi Beach.

Every evening in England Norma would promptly have tea on the table and Ron regularly arrived at 7 o’clock from the factory, only to rush through the meal, kiss the girls goodnight and return to work. The exception was for his favourite Sunday Roast.

In company, Norma would take the edge off Ron’s quirkier habits and sayings. Many times she resorted to her characteristic “Ohhh . . . Ronnn!”, followed by a wry smile.

There were many faces to Ron though.

He was a legend in motor racing as an outstanding engineer, designer and constructor of ground-breaking race cars.

The marques Brabham, Ralt and Honda signified his creative skills as they paved the way for the amazing machines competing in F1 around the world today.

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Sir Jack Brabham and his New Zealander teammate Denny Hulme both became world t champions in Tauranac-designed and built cars in 1966 and ’67. They and others would not have reached the heights of great fame without Ron. Even as late as 1998 half the drivers on the F1 grid had driven Ron’s cars at some stage in their careers.

It has been said at times that he could be impulsive, insufferably demanding and a pain to t work for. But his skills, dedication to hard work, honesty and integrity compensated.

Those who suffered most from his tongue T became some of his most fervent admirers.

Ron was incredibly down to earth and practical, helpfully standing a Brabham BT34 on its side in the workshop for a journalist who wanted an overhead shot when there was no other vantage point.

He often was referred to as “the quiet man”. Never wanting any fuss, he always let his cars speak for him where it really mattered, on the race tracks of the world.

I fondly recall our first meeting. I was invited with Jann to Sunday lunch at their Pyrford home in England, near Woking, less than 24 hours after flying in from Sydney.

There was this curious person peering from behind Norma, to meet this Aussie who was interested in his daughter. I was immediately whisked off to the local pub to sample some warm beer while Ron suggested “the girls can prepare lunch”. After that I found myself in his ski boots on the back lawn, staggering around to get the feel of them under Ron’s tuition.

Subtle message received. If I was to fit in to the Tauranac family, I’d best learn to snow ski.

He was also mischievous and playful,

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sometimes annoyingly so. I remember Jann, Ron and I skiing for a week in Perisher Valley during one of his visits to Australia.

We announced on the last day that we had a long drive back to Sydney and we should be headed for home.

It was too early for Ron’s liking and we lost him. He was nowhere to be seen. Up the lifts and down the slopes Jann and I searched, trying to catch up with him somewhere.

Finally there he was, dodging us with brilliant timing, riding the chairlifts up as we skiied below, then skiing down out of sight while we took the lifts back up again!

Lastly, Ron was a man who inspired and assisted many people to achieve success and a man who left a legacy of true and lasting friendships across the generations and around the world. So many lives, so many careers, so many hopes and dreams were touched by this great yet humble man.

Time will never really heal the loss, but we carry on as Ron would tell us to – and because there is still light to guide us from the inspiration he gave us. Ron had unfailing faith in the motor racing industry and its people, past and present.

A man in an Anorak, collar turned against the wind, shouting against the din of screaming engines, savouring the scent of high-octane racing fuel, loving every minute.

# This is an edited extract of the eulogy delivered by one of Ron Tauranac’s son-inlaw Geoff Heslop by video at the memorial service at Sydney Motorsport Park in September arranged by the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of NSW and the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club.

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AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN THROUGH A DAUGHTER’S EYES

By JANN TAURANAC MY FATHER would have been pleased but a little overwhelmed at the tributes to him since his death in July. He’d be saying: “Haven’t you all got better things to do?”

He was a remarkable man, truly unique both as a designer and engineer, and as a person. Independent, self-sufficient, a loner.

He didn’t make friends easily, but if you were his friend he would do anything for you and stick by you through and through.

His passion for motor racing was kindled one day when he passed a hillclimb in western Sydney and stopped to see what the noise was all about. He was hooked and, in league with brother Austin, proceeded to build a car out of spare parts found in wrecking yards.

With Austin doing most of the driving and Dad doing most of the engineering, the RALT Specials began to emerge as a competitive reality.

Dad had always been an inventor and builder – canoes, surfboards, then cars.

He was inquisitive, wanting to know how everything worked.

An extraordinary man, unique, a one-off.

He wanted to learn, and cars were his chosen subject.

He read up on car design and took road cars apart and rebuilt them, just to understand.

He designed and made or restored virtually every part of the first RALT – the name stood for Ron and Austin Lewis Tauranac – from scratch. Even the engine.

Along with Austin, Dad raced the cars he’d built. It was the school of hard knocks and a couple of major accidents taught him about steering and suspension. He soon understood that shock absorbers couldn’t be removed to reduce weight! He’d go home, patch himself up and rebuild the car, improving everything to make it safer and more reliable each time.

Testing, learning, ever moving forward.

It was only recently I discovered that he had a successful side-business early on making wheels. At the time there was nothing available in the market for his needs other than skinny motorcycle wheels or heavy car wheels. So he designed and built his own, by casting alloy centres and making bolt-on steel rims. Jack Brabham bought and used his wheels, and realised that Dad was someone out of the ordinary.

My father was the person Jack wanted to help further his racing career. He valued this ingenious engineer and needed him close by. Jack said: “He was the only bloke with whom I’d have gone into partnership. He was conscientious to a fault and peerlessly straight.”

In 1960 when Jack asked him to come to England, Dad didn’t hesitate.

He left the safety and security of his job to follow his passion, and packed up his life in Australia. Jack sent him the return air fare, but Dad bought a oneway ticket and used thee rest to book Mum and I on a ship. There was noo going back.

Dad would go to workk early and come home late, working long hours. We always saw him for dinner though – he loved his food, especially Mum’s desserts. Anyone who dined with him could vouch that had a sweet tooth.

He wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, as many know.

He was always urging my sister Julie and I to do better, and wasn’t slow in giving advice. I learnt to drive under his tuition. uition Handbrake turns and racing starts had to be mastered. He claimed they would be useful skills to have in traffic. Although he was blunt, direct and pushing us along, he was kind and just wanted the best for us.

After Mum died in England Dad was lost on his own. Julie lives in America with her husband Mark Pawlak and I was in Australia.

He saw sense in coming back to the land where he grew up and called home. He fell on his feet, as usual, and there was a buzz

of activity around him again. again In Sydney there were good family friends, Greg and Jill Siddle, as well as many who knew him or had worked for him. The historic car scene was big and motor racing people gathered around him. He was taken to race meetings, events and award nights.

His life was filled again and, although a humble man, it was his chance to enjoy the recognition he deserved.

While he was doing consulting work in V8 Supercar racing in Queensland (he also helped Larry Perkins in Melbourne) he would visit us, but he was easily bored and always cut the visit short.

We’d visit him in Sydney, but it was never relaxing. Dad couldn’t understand anyone needing down-time, so we were kept busy with jobs around the house. I would prepare his tax returns, but having a break and a decent cup of coffee was not easy. Why go to a café when you can get a $1 takeaway Family and racing man (top): Julie, Jann, Ron and Norma Tauranac at the dinner table in 1974; Tauranac talks to Lotus rival Colin Chapman (middle) with then-mechanic Ron Dennis at right; Tauranac was long aligned to Honda (above); and taking his turn at the wheel of the Repco-Brabham BT19 (left).

Ron Tauranac recieving his AO (above right)

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ffrom 7-Eleven, brought back to the apartment tto keep me working. A little light relief looking aaround the shops? No, he would accompany me “for the exercise”, but really to rush m me back – there were things to be done. I m nneeded to account for every minute doing ssomething useful.

And go out for a meal? Over the years Dad hhad scoured Bondi Junction for the best vvalue in town. In his opinion, there was no bbetter than the seniors $12 special at the RSL Club. Why dine at a restaurant when the RSL C ddoes a perfectly good roast, with dessert.

But every day??!!!

Then his last chapter, two years ago, a Th move mo north to the Sunshine Coast where I live. liv At 93 he’d done well to live by himself for so long. He missed his friends him in Sydney, and particularly the fortnightly Lotus Lo Club lunches in town, with the all-you-can-eat desserts, but was much all relieved to have everything done for him re and an to have family nearby. It took a while to adjust, but he launched into his new life with w gusto, while the Lotus Club took to calling its regular gathering ‘The Quattro c Dolce Club’ in memory of him.

D He viewed moving to Queensland as a another new challenge. Always his way, he wanted to fill every minute of the day, so he partook of every activity that t at was going in his new retirement home. Morning exercises, Bingo, art classes, card games, carpet bowls.

A little unusual for him, but he was happy to try new things, especially h cards and scrabble where the ladies c would all gather round to help him. w Then there were the Friday afternoon T happy hours, where he didn’t miss a h chance to get up and jig to the music. c I had a long overdue chance to grow closer to him. His memory was fading cl and an when, for example, a motor racing person came to visit or Skyped, Dad pe was wa happy to have me there to fall back ba on. He didn’t like being put on the spot if he was asked questions, but with me as an aid to his memory we were able to keep the conversation going and get to his attitude towards goi things, rather than the specifics. That’s thin when his true personality emerged. whe His hearing was failing, but I was the one person he seemed to hear clearly. If he couldn’t understand what was being said, he’d turn to me with a certain look, to relay it to him. It was lovely to feel needed in these significant exchanges.

I gained an insight into the way his mind worked. I also glimpsed how instinctive his design skills were. He just had an eye for knowing when something wasn’t quite right and, seeing the problem as an opportunity, would approach it in his own intuitive way.

When asked what was the philosophy behind car development, and was it to outstrip the competition, the answer was to just keep evolving, do a better car that took advantage of the ever-changing rules for that formula.

At his core was the desire to learn and work things out. To understand, to keep evolving and moving along. He wasn’t doing it for the accolades and didn’t seek the limelight, he just sought continual knowledge and continual improvement. Hence his answer to “What was the best car you ever built?” – “The next one.”

Keenly observant and with an eye for the streamlined, adornment was not his vocabulary. Everything needed a purpose to justify its use. At his eye specialist there was

GREATS CUT DOWN TO SIZE … BY A LAWN MOWER GREG ‘PEE WEE’ Siddle and Larry Perkins were the first employees, albeit unpaid, of RALT when its second incarnation began overseas in 1974. The first era had been in Australia way before the Brabham F1 days.

Perkins had already dabbled in F1 driving and would later return to it, but in 1975 he won the European Formula 3 Championship driving the first of the new RALTs, RT1.

Siddle’s journey in motor racing began virtually as a ‘gofer’ at RALT but he was to become a leading entrepreneur and manager in the sport.

He recruited drivers Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg and Roberto Moreno for Bob Jane’s Australian GPs at Calder Park in the early 1980s, which played a big part in F1 coming to Australia in Adelaide from 1985.

Returning home to Sydney in 1990 after being based in Britain for 15 years, he became – along with the late Steve Knott – the long-time importer of Van Diemen Formula Fords to Australia.

Siddle recalled at the memorial service for Tauranac at Sydney Motorsport Park in September that, “Whether you were a race driver, designer, engineer, mechanic or a gofer, if you wanted

Great mates: Tauranac and Greg Siddle.

to listen, you benefitted from Ron’s knowledge”.

“With Ron, time was the essence, be it working in the shop or at the track, and was not to be wasted. But in saying that he was always generous with his time with others, whether you were last on the grid or on pole.”

Siddle’s favourite story of Tauranac was told to him by the legendary designer’s wife Norma in the late 1990s, more than a quarter of a century after he had moved on from the Brabham F1 team.

“At their home in West Byfleet, in Surrey, Ron was mowing the lawn and the mower stopped.

Knowing Ron, it was probably a 1960 model, and he couldn’t get it started. So, he rang Jack, who came around and they spent hours on the back lawn pulling the mower apart, putting it back together, and eventually got it going again. Norma

said it was such a laugh seeing the two of them, by now in their ‘70s, tinkering with the mower on the lawn to get it going.”

Mrs T’s eternal regret was that, amid the hilarity, she didn’t video or even photograph it.

HIGHEST PRAISE FROM TRIO AT THE TOP Nobuhiko Kawamoto, former President and CEO, Honda Motor Co Ltd

a beautiful reception desk with layered blocks of wood added in a contemporary design. Each visit, try as he might, Dad could never work out what purpose was served by the blocks of wood.

I’m very grateful to have had the privilege of spending the last couple of years with my father nearby. He liked having me there and I got to see his softer side, although he always remained his own man, very independent. He was quick to usher me off if there was nothing he needed. I should be getting on with my own life, he thought.

It has been truly wonderful to see the outpouring of tributes from those who knew him. Dad touched the lives of so many, and many have said how they owe their career to him. And how much they learnt from him, not just in engineering but lessons in life. He was humble, unassuming, straight down the line and not at all judgemental. Plain speaking, often to the point of embarrassment.

Someone so quiet and humble, yet such a strong presence. He loomed large in our lives.

That cheeky smile, the twinkle in his eye for the ladies, the mischievous comments. We can’t believe he’s gone and we miss him enormously. # This is an edited extract of the eulogy delivered by the elder of Ron Tauranac’s two daughters Jann at the memorial service at Sydney Motorsport Park in September arranged by the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of NSW and the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club.

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Ronald Sidney Tauranac was the dearest of my friends and also an invaluable mentor. He was one of those special people who possessed an outstanding insight that enabled him to see through the essence of various matters including, but not limited to, technology. My admiration and respect for Ron were quite expansive, having lasted more than half a century, throughout my time spent in the racing circle as an engineer and then heading corporate Honda as its CEO, during which time I was able to learn from the great mentor on life as one of his pupils. I am truly grateful for having been blessed with that opportunity.

Sir Patrick Head, engineering director of the Williams F1 team in its heyday

I only worked with him for a short time, part-time while he was at Trojan Racing, but I learnt much from him, really more about character and behaviour than engineering design. He was ‘straight down the line’, not a characteristic common in motor racing. But with Ron you knew exactly where you stood, and he was always very supportive to me, while working with him and for years after. I think maybe his directness and lack of ‘smooth’ talk – some might call it ‘bullshit’ – palmed

against him, but he was straight as a dye and a fine guide for me. Although neither he nor Jack said so, I am sure that the Honda agreement in 1983 came to Williams through suggestion and support from both Ron and Jack.

Professor Gordon Murray, F1 and supercar designer

Ron was both a mentor and a friend to me and he has a very special place in motor racing history. I will always be grateful for his decision to give a 23-year- old kid off the banana boat (from South Africa) a design job. I turned up (for an interview in

1969) at the collection of small buildings at New Haw in Surrey which collectively made up Motor Racing Developments and was ushered into Ron’s office. In Ron’s inimitable and likeable straight-forward style, he was not at all interested in my academic qualifications, but much more in the fact that I had built and raced my own car as a 19-year-old. He picked up a part from his desk and said, ‘How would you make that?’ My explanation was obviously satisfactory and I got the job. So Ron gave me my break in Formula 1 and I enjoyed working for him and Jack Brabham in 1970. Ron was an excellent designer and very practical when it came to production engineering, which was definitely the reason why Brabham weas so successful with its customer racing programme. I am proud of the part I played in continuing the Brabham racing team’s ongoing success with a further two world championships and another 23 Grand Prix wins.

BIG TAURANAC CELEBRATION SET FOR 2021

A celebration of Ron Tauranac’s career and cars will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park in mid-2021.

The Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of NSW plans “A large display and parade of Brabham and Ralt cars created by Ron” on June 12-13. “It will showcase the largest collection of F1, Tasman and significant Tauranac cars ever, anywhere”. The HSRCA will mark its 40th anniversary in 2021.

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Season Review 2020

PIT PROWLER’S PROGNOSIS

Image: LAT/Ross Gibb

Supercars TV pit lane reporter ANDREW JONES delivers his expert analysis of how the teams performed this season EX-SUPERCARS racer Andrew Jones stepped up to regular pit lane reporting on the broadcasts this year, as COVID-19 played havoc with the commentary line-up.

The son of now-retired BJR coowner Kim Jones and nephew of the eponymous Brad, Albury based AJ travelled with the series on its late June to mid-October odyssey.

His availability elevated him from part-time pit lane duties, support race commentary and trackside SuperScreen and social media hosting, to familiar face on Fox Sports and Channel 10 during the compressed 2020 season.

Jones effectively replaced V8 legend Greg Murphy as the primary pit pest, with the Kiwi star stuck on the other side of the Tasman.

As the restrained foil to larrikin pit pundit Mark Larkham, Jones provided moderated and informed comment from the trenches. He is a rising star of Supercars commentary who hit his straps amid the most difficult and disruptive season yet.

He watches closely the background battle between the teams, which he rates as just as fierce as the fight for the drivers’ crown.

“The teams’ championship really is the biggest indicator of how all the teams fare throughout the season,” Jones said.

“While it doesn’t get as much public profile as the drivers’ championship, I certainly know running up and down the

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Andrew Jones (on left, top) says it was close but he believes DJR Team Penske (above) just edged out Triple Eight Race Engineering (below) for the best performing team in 2020.

young group was going to be a difficult task for everybody involved. On the other side of the garage, I think the SuperLite program was a great initiative and they should be applauded for that, particularly in this current climate when doing things differently has been embraced by Supercars. I think that program went as well as it could have this year. Goddard and Kostecki got fair and equal treatment throughout the year. As a whole, was MSR as good in 2020 as they were in 2019?

Based on results, you’d have to say not and I think they’d agree they weren’t as happy with how the team performed.

Given what they took on and the experience of their drivers, they did as well as they could’ve with what they had.

9 TEAM SYDNEY

lane that where teams line up in the pit lane every year is as hard fought as the drivers’ championship.”

Jonesy has rated the 10 Supercars operations – eight two-car squads and the two four-car groups, Tickford Racing and BJR – in descending order. He also adds his standouts and stuff-up of the season.

AJ’S ADJUDICATION 10 MATT STONE RACING

For me, it was always going to be a more challenging year than what they had last year. Garry Jacobson coming from Kelly Racing, where he was very much a junior within that group in his rookie year, to be effectively leading this still very

They got off on the wrong foot, didn’t they? It all felt like it was happening very late and then as the year went on, the story would tell that things weren’t as planned as it was suggested early on.

Things didn’t work out with Courtney after Adelaide, but they found their footing with Alex Davison after that. Chris Pither showed some glimpses of speed and what the potential of that team is, as did Alex. But for me, there was always the feeling that the team just wasn’t as well prepared as they liked to make out.

Towards the back end of the year, they looked far more settled and I think 2021 will be much happier for those guys, depending on their driver line-up.

8 KELLY RACING

With the move to the Mustang, there was lots of talk at the start of the year about how competitive that package was. It was well documented throughout the year that the engine program was an on-going development, but I feel like what they were going for with the Mustang versus the results that they got, didn’t match up. For me, the real big kicker in that was Rick at the end of the year announcing his retirement from full-time racing. Overall, I’d have to say the gain over the Nissan was not what was expected. Lots of talk about what’s going to happen with this team in 2021 and it will be interesting to see who replaces Rick. I think that change will shift the culture within that team and often that can be a positive.

7 BRAD JONES RACING

With Percat at the helm, there were some very strong performances, particularly around Sydney Motorsport Park and then with Hazelwood’s pole at Townsville. You could effectively break this team into two sides – one with a pair of fast, experienced guys and the other with two young drivers still very much in their rookie phase. It looked like a fair amount of energy was put into Nick and him leading the group, and in fairness, he stood up more than I expected in that leadership role, ably supported by Todd. But knowing that group, I’m sure they’ll be looking for more consistency in 2021. This year, the ups were great, but the downs were too far away.

6 EREBUS MOTORSPORT

The momentum they’d shown over the previous three years has been phenomenal – from where they came from to where they were at the end of 2019 was impressive. But once the team got on the road, the culture within that group really shifted and for whatever reason, they lost their momentum and the results reflected that. Not having Al McVean on the road really seemed to affect Reynolds. He just wasn’t as comfortable as he is with Al in his corner. There were times when Anton had plenty of pace, but nowhere near as consistently as he wanted.

It will be interesting to see what the team looks like in 2021 and whether they can regain their mojo.

5 TEAM 18

I think shifting to two cars was inevitable and they were proof that that model is much stronger. Pairing Pye with Winterbottom brought the best in Scott, to be honest.

I think him teaming up with Phil Keed was very good for Pye. It was interesting that their team structure changed on the run, but I think it really helped Scott. His performances noticeably improved. And Frosty also responded to the challenge from Pye. Mark’s a class act, driving the wheels off that thing every time he’s in it, but it looked it took him a while to gel with his new engineer Manuel Sanchez. By the end of the year, those two cars were particularly strong.

4 WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED

I put WAU just slightly ahead of Team 18 and only just behind Tickford Racing. Getting Chaz Mostert and Adam De Borre as a package was a masterstroke. Those two are a formidable pairing, as we’ve seen in the past. They are a super-strong pairing and

JONESY’S STANDOUTS & STUFF-UP SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN

Andrew Jones praised Tickford for successfully running four cars that all made the podium at different times, led by Cam Waters (above). He believes Team 18 benefitted from the arrival of Scott Pye (below).

The standout has to be Scotty. In professional sport, the more you win, the harder it gets to repeat and to keep the energy, enthusiasm and motivation up. Those guys who are competitive in qualifying and races week in, week out, you can’t go past them, so to state the obvious, that requires a standout vote for Scott McLaughlin. His number of poles and wins this year dictates that. He was, quite simply, the class of the field once again.

SUPERCARS COLLECTIVE

it just goes to show that regardless of the brand of car, if you have a driver/engineer combination who understand each other, they can get on top of the idiosyncrasies of a Holden or a Ford. Consistency was what they were searching for. When they were strong, they were super-strong. I would expect that combination will develop into a real force for Walkinshaw as the team works to get back to its former glory. And as rookie, Fulwood was a real revelation. Bryce was a quick-learner and showed plenty of resilience as well as a lot of raw talent. The whole group did a very good job.

3 TICKFORD RACING

Just ahead of Walkinshaw, but not in the same league as DJRTP and Triple Eight.

The strength in this team was Waters. He was incredibly consistent this year, but that pissed him off because Cam is a pure racer and he just wants to win. He broke through at Tailem Bend and it was great for his confidence, which we saw at Bathurst with his qualifying speed and relentless chase of Van Gisbergen. Cam was the standout, but the team really stood up by fielding four strong cars away from home base. At any given time, Holdsworth, Le Brocq and Courtney were up there and they all scored podiums, as well as Jack’s calculated win at SMP. It was a very strong group. Running four cars that can all get on the podium is a massive, massive task, not to mention doing it in the most difficult conditions. They showed true grit.

2 TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING

We always ask the question “What would you prefer to win – the championship or Bathurst?” Either means you’ve had a great year, so to split Triple Eight and DJRTP is a fine line. SVG’s and Tander’s performance at Bathurst was amazing. Shane just looked comfortable all the time, even when he

wasn’t among the fastest. He always looked confident. Winning Bathurst made up for an otherwise scrappy season. So it was a tight one at the top of pit lane, but for me, Triple Eight is No.2. They put up a pretty good fight in the championship with Jamie, but once he was out of contention, I felt the team’s attention turned towards winning Bathurst. In my mind, they were just pipped as the top team.

1 DJR TEAM PENSKE

The difference to me is that this team held their nerve a bit better in the clutch rounds.

As a group, they kept it together through Darwin, Townsville and Tailem Bend, especially when things weren’t going well for them. Scotty, particularly, shrugged off setbacks to rebound with devastating effectiveness. Overall, the team had a very strong year – third drivers’ championship in a row and third teams’ title in four years.

Scott was unbelievable in qualifying – yet again – and his win count was impressive.

I also think Fabian did a very good job this year, even though it may not look like it.

It’s always difficult being the teammate of a super-talent like McLaughlin, but Scotty is the first to praise Fabs as a team player.

It’s only my opinion, but in the end, I think Coulthard came to accept his position in that team and he served the role very well.

There was a clear No.1 and No.2, but I think it gave the operation strength, which is reflected in those three teams’ titles. They won’t have either of those drivers in 2021, so it will be interesting to see how the depth of the rest of the operation meshes with two new talents in 2021 – one on the rise in Anton and the other a hardened campaigner in Will. On balance, with the core personnel continuing, I expect that as DJR, the team will continue to be strong. Definitely the best-performing team in 2020 when you add it all up.

The other standout for me this year was the resilience of the sport.

Supercars administration, all the ancillary operations, the volunteer officials and the teams that uplifted and stayed away from home for so long deserve a huge shout-out. The sport as a whole was incredibly resilient, coping with all the coronavirus-related challenges. I was part of all that and I can tell that it was a mammoth effort. Along with the AFL and NRL, Supercars was able to pivot and change tack, moving hundreds of people and navigating through a lot of tricky situations and health restrictions. The workforce that went on the road for more than 100 days were the real heroes. Their sacrifices really strengthened Supercars and motor sport in Australia overall. As someone who was away from home for a long time, it was very difficult – but absolutely worth it.

OOPS, HE DID IT AGAIN

I wouldn’t call it a stuff-up as such, but Jamie Whincup’s crash at Bathurst was definitely the mistake of the year. Jamie’s found ‘creative’ ways to lose Bathurst in the past several years, but hitting the wall on the run up to the Cutting while trying to lap a justifiably stubborn out-of-position young driver was unexpected. I don’t want to be hard on Whincup – he’s one of the great, if not the greatest, Supercars driver of all time – but we’re just not used to seeing him make such a basic error. It was so un-Jamie-like. It was the first thing that jumped into my mind as the most out-of-the-ordinary incident of a season full of unusual happenings. The driving quality we saw this year because of the back-toback rounds and the lack of mistakes among the entire field only served to highlight Jamie’s miscue. It was so uncharacteristic. It really took me by surprise. I’d call it an abnormal occurrence rather than a stuff-up.

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Season Review 2020

LOWNDESY’S TOP 10

V8 legend CRAIG LOWNDES ranks and rates the top performers in the most unsettled Supercars season ever IT WAS a very different year for evergreen and ever-popular Craig Lowndes, whose season was doubly disrupted by the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

Before it changed everyone’s lives, Lowndes was set to share the Fox Sports desk with Mark Skaife and Jess Yates at most rounds and co-drive with Jamie Whincup in the Enduro Cup. But after sharing pre- and post-race analysis broadcast duties with Skaife at the Adelaide 500 and then the AGP before the F1 event was cancelled, the resumption of the series saw him juggling border restrictions to report from the pit lane.

Lowndes also went from three co-drives to one at Bathurst when the enduro miniseries was scrapped as a cost-saving measure. The cancellation of all other major racing meant he wasn’t able to keep his hand in with GT appearances after the Bathurst 12 Hour.

The semi-retired fan-favourite racer went into the Bathurst 1000 without meaningful racing mileage and lost his shot at an eighth win when Whincup had his embarrassing bingle.

Lowndes ran his expert eye over the top performers in 2020, not entirely sticking with the championship finishing order.

CRAIG’S LIST 1 SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN

Scotty’s No.1 without a doubt. Not only backing up his championship, but his qualifying and then converting that into race results was amazing. There’s no

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championship. He had great speed from Tailem Bend, where his first solo Supercars race win clearly gave him a big boost of confidence.

3 JAMIE WHINCUP

A tough one. I’ve gone for Jamie as my No.3 because up until Tailem Bend, he was the one putting the pressure on Scotty for most of the year. Both Red Bull cars were terrible at The Bend. Of course, the one that hurt him the most was the DNF at Bathurst, meaning he slipped from second to fourth in the

doubt he was the most consistent of the year, although he did have a couple of races during the year where he had to fight back. For me, his most impressive rebound was at Townsville 1, here he qualified badly for the first two races and then on the Sunday he put it on pole and won. That also showed the depth of the team in being able to turn things around. Scotty certainly had to fight harder this year. The pressure was on him because repeating a championship, much less three in a row, is always very difficult. Also, in hindsight, there was extra pressure on him to perform to secure his IndyCar drive.

2 CAM WATERS RS

Cam was the best of the Tickford family and he finished the season very strongly. rongly.

He had a couple ple of bad races, but his overall consistency, ency, particularly towards wards the end, elevated ted him into second in the

Image: Ross Gibb

championship. Jamie’s shunt was so uncharacteristic, but it happens to all of us at some stage. He just openly admits he made a mistake. I wasn’t fazed by it – we’re all human, we all make errors. I’ve certainly made my mistakes at Bathurst.

He finished the year on a negative after such a positive start.

4 SHANE VAN GISBERGEN

After finishing second in the championship last year, SVG slipped to third this year, which would be disappointing for him. But the fact is that his side of the Red Bul garage struggled to find performance throughout parts of the year. His group worked really p y after hard to overcome that,, especially Tailem Bend 2, where he qualified 22nd for the third race and fought his way up to fifth. It just wasn’t good enough and his bounce-back to win Bathurst was a tribute to his and the team’s tenacity.

Bathurst Finishing the season by winning Bathu salvaged his year spectacularly. Shane also had the honour of winning the las last Bathurst 1000 – and the last ever race – for the factory Holden Hold team, which as I driver I know would be very ve special spec for him. him

5 CHAZ MOSTERT

Chaz finished fifth in the championship again after swapping teams and cars.

The change was promising right from the start, although I think they lost their way a little bit in the mid part of the year. WAU introduced some new parts on the car after Darwin and Chaz was definitely stronger in the second half of the season. I was very impressed that he was still consistently in the top 10 after changing to a new team that’s rebuilding and to a Commodore, the first time he hasn’t been in a Ford. There’s no doubt about Chaz’s ability to be a race winner and championship contender in a truly front-running car. I think the introduction of Grant McPherson at WAU next year will definitely give them a boost on the technical side.

balance between qualifying and race performance for him, Nick will have a very strong 2021. There’s certainly no doubt that he’s fast.

7 NICK PERCAT

I think Nick was very strong this year.

His qualifying was really good, although his race pace probably didn’t reflect that speed. He ran as high as fifth in the championship before fading to seventh and I think if BJR can find that

Scott started the season slowly with his move to Charlie’s outfit, but the impressive thing for me was that he focused on more consistency and he definitely raced much better than he qualified. It’s almost the reverse of Anton – he just needs to find more speed as a qualifying car because there was no doubt his race pace was really good.

I think Scott has been under-rated and overlooked. Him joining Team 18 definitely improved the whole outfit and helped lift Frosty as well.

10 MARK WINTERBOTTOM

6 FABIAN COULTHARD

You always have to rate drivers against their teammates and Fabs was up against the best by far in Scotty. Fabs has had some great performances at DJRTP, but he either hasn’t had some luck when he’s had car failures or whether he just hasn’t had the set up that suits him. And he admitted to me that he struggles with a McLaughlin set up and that was even more apparent this year. There were glimpses of promise, but unfortunately, he’s out of the DJR seat next year.

9 SCOTT PYE

8 ANTON DE PASQUALE

A bit of a toss-up. Anton improved from 14th last year to eighth in this year’s standings, but he lacked consistency.

You just felt we weren’t seeing his true potential. In his favour was that he out-qualified Dave Reynolds a number of times and probably became the leader of the team, which was obviously struggling, for most of the season. Anton was a little up and down throughout the year, but he finished it off being pretty consistent. Now we’ll see what happens next year. He has big shoes to fill at DJR.

A strong teammate always helps you. Not just a kick up the bum for qualifying or race pace, but having that second set of information to draw on. As I said, Frosty benefitted from Scott joining and together they raised the level of Charlie’s outfit.

There’s definitely more improvement to be had from that team. Mark’s qualifying versus racing performances were pretty even, but he was up and down during the season. Knowing him, he would’ve been disappointed to finish 10th in the championship after how strong he was early in the season.

JUST MISSED OUT 11 LEE HOLDSWORTH

Lee struggled throughout the season in qualifying, but he always raced strongly. He showed glimpses of great performances, but the consistency in qualifying just wasn’t there and that really hurt his results. I think it’s fair to say he’s exceeded expectations at Tickford and it’s unfortunate that it appears he’ll be left out in the shuffle there.

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Season Review 2020

SCOTTY’S TRIPLE TREAT

McLaughlin farewells Supercars in winning style MARK FOGARTY looks back at a Supercars season of unprecedented change – both this year and for the future IN A season unlike any other, one thing didn’t change: Scott McLaughlin’s domination. His title defence wasn’t as easy as last year – and it certainly wasn’t as controversial – but his supremacy was never in doubt.

McLaughlin left Australia for an IndyCar future with Team Penske after winning his third straight V8 crown – just one of four champions in ATCC/Supercars history to achieve a three-peat, joining Ian Geoghegan, Mark Skaife and Jamie Whincup.

If the Aussie-raised Kiwi stuck around, the four-in-a-row record (Geoghegan), five titles mark (Dick Johnson and Skaife) or even Whincup’s all-time top seven titles would have been met or exceeded.

Who knows, Scotty may come back one day to add to his Supercars championship score.

As it was, he left an imposing legacy in 2020 alone. A near-record 15 pole positions and 13 race wins, plus an unusually large 451 points margin over Cam Waters in the championship.

To put McLaughlin’s dominance into perspective, he won half all available poles – the total score of the other eight combined – and more than doubled next best Whincup’s six No.1 starts. He won close to half of the 30 races – and more than three times the strike rate of closest rivals Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen (four each).

Once again, Scotty, his Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang and DJR team Penske was the best driver/car/ team combination by far. And they did it without rancour or resistance.

The off-season aero adjustment trimmed the disfigured Mustang’s advantage, bringing the ZB Commodore

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Scott McLaughlin (left) won his third straight Supercars title despite another strong year from the driver many consider the greatest of all time, his long-time rival seven-time champion Jamie Whincup (right).

BJR’s Nick Percat was one of a several drivers who took race wins in 2020. (below)

right back into play. And yet, Triple Eight was unable to capitalise on the newly level playing field, wrong footing themselves throughout the compressed, rapid-fire season.

On top of all the logistical dramas, the post-season was shaken, if not stirred, by the (expected) revelations that Roger Penske was withdrawing and Scotty was off to the States.

Losing the imprimatur of global racing and business deity Penske is a blow to Supercars’ international standing, while McLaughlin’s departure removes its biggest active star.

But if Supercars did nothing else in this oddest of all years, it proved it is adaptable and open to change. V8 racing arguably did a better job of coping with COVID-19 restrictions than the AFL and NRL. Supercars completed an effective full championship in about four months without in-season scandal over hub breaches.

It cost the administration and the teams many, many millions of dollars, but together they got it done and ensured the series will survive to see better days.

Supercars changed race formats, went with back-to-back events at available and willing venues, and imposed costsaving technical constraints that made the racing closer, if not more exciting.

It all proved that Supercars could throw off convention, which hopefully is a lesson for the future with or without COVID constrictions.

Amid the crisis, a new five-year broadcasting deal with Fox Sports and Seven was secured, plus Repco backing of the championship and the Bathurst 1000.

Supercars’ leadership often much (and

justifiably) criticised, was innovative, flexible and exemplary, working in co-operation with Motorsport Australia more closely than perhaps ever before.

Never before was it better and more informative to watch the series on Fox Sports, which I did for the rest of the year after being at the Adelaide 500. The Supercars Media broadcast team did an heroic job to maintain such a high standard of coverage.

It’s such a pity some of the most credible staples of the commentary team will be missing next year…

The other big advance amid all the uncertainty was the announcement of the framework for Gen3 – the next generation of Supercars racers from 2022.

Cheaper, simpler, aesthetically faithful to the Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, what’s not to like?

Fingers crossed that Gen3, unlike 2013’s Car Of The Future, actually makes V8 racing more viable and attractive to new manufacturers.

COTF was initially seductive, luring Nissan and Betty Klimenko’s rogue Mercedes AMGs. They were costly and essentially competitive against the institutional Commodores and Falcons.

The ZB Commodore pushed the boundaries and the Mustang – the first twodoor in a quarter of a century - was the final nail in the Gen2 coffin, which also failed to deliver non-V8 powerplants.

Gen3 is still resolutely a V8 formula, but with motors that are much cheaper to develop and, most importantly, maintain.

Along with Holden’s shock death, the ramifications of the pandemic have been a wake-up call. The message to Supercars: cut costs or die.

The real heroes of 2020 were the Melbourne-based teams, who decamped at short notice when Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus hit and stayed on the road for more than 100 days.

Their sacrifice was matched by the supplier staff and officials who stayed away for so long to ensure the series happened.

Never in Australian motor sport history has so much been demanded of so many – and they delivered for our at-home enjoyment. Hopefully, such demands will never be made again, although COVID-19 is not going away in a hurry.

Neither racing nor life will be the same again for a very long time – if ever.

Apart from McLaughlin’s supremacy, the standouts of the season were Whincup for his doggedness; van Gisbergen and Garth Tander for their Bathurst mastery; Nick Percat for his threatening speed; Cam Waters’ persistence and emergence as a credible challenger; and Scott Pye’s determination.

Add Lee Holdsworth’s and James Courtney’s competitiveness; Jack Le Brocq’s flashes of flair; and Brodie Kostecki’s undoing of Whincup at Bathurst.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten other meritorious achievements – oh, sausage-sizzler Todd Hazelwood’s Townsville pole-winning blinder is right up there – but you get my message.

The messiest season ever was among the most interesting if you look just behind McLaughlin’s final Supercar season.

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Ten random thoughts, as they occurred to AA contributor Bruce Newton FOR THE first time since I don’t know when, I didn’t witness one single Supercars race live at a race circuit in 2020. In fact, living in Victoria meant I barely saw more than my local neighbourhood for a substantial period of the year.

So it was on the couch to watch a season of Supercars belatedly unfold on the telly and on the phone in-between rounds to try and figure out was going on behind the scenes.

Which makes my 2020 lists of 10 random things even more random than normal.

EASILY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

The willingness of teams, officials, TV crews and others to go on the road for months to deliver the 2020 Supercars championship needs to be acknowledged and celebrated above all else.

A remarkable and fabulous effort that should be always remembered. Thanks guys and gals!

FAVOURITE RACE

The epic battle that race one of The Bend 1 became, demonstrated the value of both tyre degradation and the bullish determination of Shane van Gisbergen to never surrender. It started hot and strong thanks to Jamie Whincup’s optimistic – but utterly justifiable – attempt to pass Scott McLaughlin and ramped up from there.

At one stage there were six cars in the lead train as SvG grimly hung on to the lead, twice despatching Jack Le Brocq into the boondocks when the Tickford driver naively tried to pass around the outside.

THERE WERE OTHER GOOD RACES TOO

The mixed tyre rule at Sydney Motorsport Park produced some memorable racing, although that got bogged down in the debate over the ethics of forcing drivers to sacrifice race results because of the tyre allocation.

It exposed yet again the split personality Supercars is. For some it’s all about the entertainment, for others the purity of sporting competitiveness must be maintained. The category has struggled with these contradictory philosophies for years.

Personally I enjoyed the sight of new faces at the front of the field. Watching Le Brocq, Andre Heimgartner and Todd Hazelwood trying to out-fumble each other for their first win in race three at SMP 2 was truly entertaining stuff.

In the end, limited rations of mixed tyre sets proved just too much for the powersthat-be, so let’s hope the ultra-soft/supersoft tyre tested for 2021 makes the grade and the grid in 2021.

AERO DRAMAS

Of course, the focus was so much on the tyre manufacturing this passing because the amount of turbulence being produced by the 2020 aerodynamic package made it harder than ever to follow closely behind

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another car.

That aero package was the result of off-season aero (VCAT) testing which attempted to redress the 2019 imbalances.

Remember that palaver? The Ford Mustang debuted with an advantage that was steadily eroded by Supercars until the blue oval put its foot down. Then the Holden Commodore and Nissan Altima were allowed aero freedoms to speed them up.

Everyone went faster and the racing suffered. In 2020 we were all still paying the price for that and will again in 2021. How much, we’re yet to find out.

BYE SCOTTY

The Scott McLaughlin Supercars era is over.

Three driver’s championships in a row and one Bathurst win are the net on-track result of the last three seasons.

Of course there was no shortage of controversy with that - very little of which was directly involved linked to him. Through it all McLaughlin matured, drew his trusted inner circle around him, married and embraced a lifestyle that was more than just about car racing.

We will all cheer him on IndyCar because he’s not only a prodigious talent but also a really good fella, even though he’s a Kiwi.

three at TB2 was imperious. If not for the horrendous turbulence 2020 Supercars generate and his own late-race illness he might – stress might - have passed van Gisbergen for the lead of the Great Race.

As it was, he settled for second on the podium with Will Davison and second in the championship. Still a mighty result.

Waters matches on-track speed with a calm off-track demeanour that belies an intensely competitive temperament. He is a pillar of Supercars’ future – and a solid one.

OTHERS WORTH HIGHLIGHTING

Chaz Mostert’s move to Walkinshaw Andretti United was a win for both parties.

There were periods of great speed and a Bathurst podium to finish the season with the inestimable Warren Luff. The recruitment of engineering boffin Grant ‘Shippy’ McPherson bodes well for 2021.

Nick Percat and Brad Jones Racing had a breakout year. Two wins for the South Aussie and a front row lockout in Townsville were obvious highlights. Sadly, Bathurst was not.

And if Scott Pye could qualify, what a weapon he would be. The new recruit to Charlie Schwerkolt Racing mounted some incredible charges forward from poor grid slots in 2020.

FAREWELL TO RICK KELLY.

BYE ROGER

The Roger Penske Supercars era is over too. COVID meant ‘the captain’ couldn’t visit Australia in 2020 to take one last look at Supercars and maybe ponder how one small domestic touring car championship at the bottom of the world could be such a fractious, political and at times poisonous place.

I loved the way DJRTP dragged itself to competitiveness and challenged T8 like it had never been challenged before, then bested it.

In particular, that epic 2017 season – and the almost as great 2018 – will long live in the memories for all the right reasons.

Other memories of Penske aren’t so positive. But the controversies were thankfully not to the forefront in 2020.

Instead Roger departs with Dick Johnson Racing reborn and looking strong. That’s a great way to leave.

FAST WATERS

The Mildura native’s second half of 2020 was brilliant. He and engineer Sam Potter changed their set-up strategy with the Monster Mustang in Townsville which kept him at or near the front for the rest of the year.

The first solo win of his career in race

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A humble, generous and funny guy with a huge amount of talent. He would probably never admit it, but he lost many years in his prime lumping uncompetitive cars around the tracks of Australia. But two Bathurst wins and the 2006 drivers’ championship are still handy returns. Hopefully we’ll still see him at Bathurst co-driving in 2021.

THE CHAMP

And of course, there’s Jamie Whincup.

Fourth in the 2020 championship belies the fact he was McLaughlin’s primary protagonist for much of the year. But there were errors toward the end that hurt, none moreso than his calamitous crash at Bathurst.

His latest deal expires at the end of 2021, which means he may well have already decided if it’s his last year. Would that crash have had an impact on his thought process?

If he does call time in 2021, look out for a doubling down on his legendary laser focus as he bids to finish off his full-time career with an incredible eighth title … and his first Bathurst win since 2012.

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IItt was another dominating pperformance by Mercedes in sseason 2020. Lewis Hamilton ssealed his record-equalling sseventh title and overtook M Michael Schumacher as the w winningest driver in Formula 1.

O On the other hand, Sergio Perez w was one of two maiden Grand P Prix winners (below).

LEWIS HAMILTON seemed to be unstoppable during the 70th season of the FIA’s Formula 1 World Championship.

And then ironically, what finally stopped the Mercedes driver was the same thing that almost wiped out the entire season – COVID-19.

To say that there was an air of uncertainty about the virus when the F1 circus arrived in Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix is a massive understatement.

It took having just one McLaren team member testing positive for the virus to have the team withdraw from the event.

And, after meetings between the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Formula 1 and the FIA, the entire event was then canceled on the Friday morning before any F1 car ever turned a wheel on the track.

Like much of the world, the F1 teams went into lockdowns, shutdowns and isolation.

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During those pandemic dark times around the world, the F1 fraternity, with Hamilton at the helm, realised that it needed to do more to fight racism and to promote diversity. This led to all 20 drivers showing unity for the cause at the front of the grid before the start of each grand prix.

While there was no on track action, there was still plenty going on in the F1 world.

In May, Ferrari announced that it would not renew Sebastian Vettel’s contract. Ferrari had signed McLaren driver Carlos Sainz for 2021.

And even before Daniel Ricciardo’s first race in his second season with Renault, the Australian then decided to switch to McLaren in 2021.

Working together with the FIA and track promoters, Formula 1 put together a 17-round season that began in Austria in July and consisted of races in Europe, Russia, Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. For

the first time ever, there re were no championship F1 races in the Americas.

Strict safety protocols were put in place with F1 personnel being constantly tested for the virus and operating in “bubbles” so that there was little interaction between the various groups in the paddock.

No longer would someone testing positive for the virus cause the entire weekend to be canceled. Instead, those people went into

isolation and missed races.

In addition to an undisclosed number of team members, others to test positive for COVID-19 included Racing Point drivers Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll, Williams acting team principal Simon Roberts, Pirelli’s racing boss Mario Isola, and of course Hamilton.

Win number 95 had come in the Bahrain Grand Prix and just two days later Hamilton

RECORDEQUALLING DAN KNUTSON looks back on a F1 season challenged by the pandemic and dominated by Lewis Hamilton

tested positive. After 265 consecutive F1 starts, the greatest F1 driver of this era, and one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, was on the sidelines.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas won the season opening Austrian Grand Prix, while Hamilton finished a distant fourth. Was Hamilton’s dominance going to finally be challenged for the first time since his teammate Nico Rosberg won the world championship in 2016?

Hamilton answered that with a resounding ‘No’ as he won five of the next six races.

He would qualify on the pole 10 times and go on to win 10 times in 15 starts, and he only missed being on the podium twice. Hamilton wrapped up his seventh world championship, which ties Michael Schumacher’s record, and racked up his 95th victory, which surpassed Schumacher’s record of 91 wins.

“I know often I say it’s beyond my wildest dreams, but I think my whole life I have secretly dreamt as high as this – but it felt so far-fetched,” Hamilton says. “I remember watching Michael winning those championships. Just to get one, two, or even three, it’s so hard to get. So seven is just unimaginable.”

THE REST

BOTTAS IS a superb driver, but Hamilton is even better. Throw in some bad luck for Bottas and he only won twice in the first 16 rounds.

For once the brilliant Adrian Newey and his group of designers did not create a fabulous Red Bull chassis. And even though the Honda engine had been improved, it took all of Max Verstappen’s superb talent to wrestle the car to podium finishes and a win in Britain.

Max Verstappen was the only driver to consistently challenge Mercedes (right).

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Speaking of victories, the feelgood races were the ones with first time wins for Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) in Italy, and Sergio Pérez (Racing Point) in Bahrain.

While Mercedes comfortably won a record seventh world constructors’ championship, and Red Bull was a clear second, there was a fabulous battle for third place between Racing Point, McLaren and Renault.

All the drivers from those three teams – including Ricciardo – celebrated on the podium.

Missing from the winning mix for much of the season was Ferrari. The Ferrari SF1000 – so named because Scuderia Ferrari would compete in its 1000th world championship grand prix in 2020 – was not fast. Charles Leclerc made it to the podium, but that was due to fluke circumstances and his exceptional skill. His teammate, four-time world champion Vettel, didn’t get a podium celebration until the Turkish Grand Prix, round 14 of 17.

There was no doubt that the 2020 Ferrari power unit was slower than the 2019 version, which had had some elements that the FIA outlawed during the off-season. The Ferraripowered Haas and Alfa Romeo teams also struggled. But the Ferrari chassis also lacked aero efficiency.

OUR WORST ENEMY

ONE OF the most vivid images of the 2020 F1 season is Romain Grosjean emerging from the flames, and his Haas ripped in half, after his horrifying crash into the barriers on the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The FIA and the FIA’s race director, Australia’s Michael Masi, immediately launched a forensic analysis into the accident

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The battle within the midfield was spiced up by Ferrari’s downfall (top). Replicating a tough year for the world as a whole, the Formula 1 season was an emotional rollercoaster. From Pierre Gasly’s breakthrough victory in Monza (above) to Romain Grosjean’s miraculous escape from the flames in Bahrain (above right). The Frenchman returned a week later to meet the crew, which saved him (right).

and how to improve safety on all fronts.

“One obvious thing is how we can improve the gloves,” says Grosjean, who suffered burns to his hands. “Our hands are the first thing that we put into a fire to escape the car.

There are other things, and I will get involved with the FIA and everyone to understand everything. We haven’t seen a fire in F1 for a long time now, and it is our worst enemy.”

THE FUTURE

WHILE THERE are tweaks to the 2021 technical regulations, the 2021 cars will be similar to the 2020 models. Therefore, there will be no major shifts in the status quo.

Mercedes, and Hamilton, will still be difficult to beat.

All 10 teams have signed the new Concorde Agreement – the contract between Formula 1, the FIA and the teams – which runs through 2025 and has a more equitable distribution of the prize money paid to the teams.

Formula 1 has put together a gruelling and record 23-race season that will begin with the Australian Grand Prix on 21 March, and it includes the inaugural Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and the return of the Dutch Grand Prix.

With all the lessons learned in 2020, it is unlikely that races will be cancelled or postponed in 2021 due to COVID-19.

As for the reigning world champion, he has more to achieve both on and off the track.

“I feel like I’m only just getting started,”

Hamilton declared. “This year has been the hardest year probably for millions of people. I know things always look great here on the big stage, but it’s no different for us athletes.

“This has been a challenge that I didn’t know how to get through, but with the help of great people around me, the team, with the help of Team LH, I managed to just keep my head above water and stay focused.

“I am really hopeful for a better year next year. I feel like we’ve got a lot of work to do here; we’ve only just begun to hold ourselves accountable as a sport.”

AS USUAL, Auto Action’s rating of the top 10 Formula 1 drivers is not based solely on the points they accumulated. Points count but there are other factors as well, including how the drivers performed compared to their teammates and with the cars at their disposal.

1 Lewis Hamilton Hamilton is at the very peak of his talents, yet he somehow manages to keep improving and keeps setting new records.

2 Max Verstappen

6 Sergio Pérez

TThis h well-rounded and ffast a driver, who finally got hhis i first F1 victory, would bbee an asset to any team.

7 George Russell

He has the skill to race wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton, but the Red Bull was not up to the job.

TThe Williams driver got a chance ffinally i ttoo display his skills when he subbed for w LLewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.

M

3 Charles Leclerc

8 Carlos Sainz

The Monégasque driver produced results far beyond what the Ferrari was capable of, and he comprehensively outshone teammate and four-time world champion mpiion Sebastian Vettel.

4 Valtteri Bottas

Bad luck dogged Bottas for much of the season, but even on his good days he was usually a fraction act o sslower o e tthan a Hamilton.

FFerrari thinks so highly oof Sainz that it signed hhim for 2021 to replace Vettel.

V

9 Lando Norris

N Norris and McLaren teammate Sainz were almost evenly matched, bbut Sainz was a bit more cconsistent.

10 Pierre Gasly 1

Gasly matured a lot in G earned 22021 0 aandd ea ed hiss fifirst irst grand prix victory.

5 Daniel Ricciardo Like Hamilton, the Australian is at the peak of his talents, and his team leadership at Renault was much appreciated.

GOING OUT ON A HIGH AUSSIE F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo closed out his time with Renault on a high. He moves to McLaren in 2021.

Consistently qualifying in the top 10, getting podium finishes, and constantly finishing the races with solid points hauls, were all part of his season.

“Generally I am happy,” Ricciardo responds when Auto Action asks him to sum up his season.

“There was certainly a lot of pressure externally and even internally to get the podium.

Qualifying has been the standout, but the races as well. We have definitely capitalised.

“I don’t think I had many bad days. There have been a few Q3s where I said there is a tenth of a second left on the table, but overall it has been fairly mistake-free, and I have minimised the bad days. That is important looking over a whole year. So I’m happy. Definitely.”

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Ricciardo says that 2020 was his most satisfying season since 2016.

“My enjoyment is really high at the moment,” he says.

“I am loving racing, and that was also heightened from the lockdown and missing the competition during a longer off-season. Having it taken away made my desire to come back a lot stronger.

“Last year it was still fun even though we did not really get the results that we were after initially. It was still fun to try to build up a new team. This year has definitely been more fun because that building is deliberate and we had really good results.”

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INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES SEASON REVIEW

DESPITE THE global COVID-19 pandemic putting a halt on racing for much of the year, multiple Australian and New Zealander drivers took the fight to their international rivals, as DAN McCARTHY reports.

Porsche Supercup – Jaxon Evans and Jordan Love TWO FORMER Australian Carrera Cup Series winners entered Porsche Supercup in 2020, Jaxon Evans returning to the series while Jordan Love made his debut.

After moving from Fach Auto Tech to BWT Lechner Racing in the off season, Evans started like a bullet from a gun, taking pole position and converting it into a maiden race victory.

However, a couple of mistakes in the he condensed season cost Evans crucial ground in the championship fight.

Evans earnt another two podiums and finished in the top five in six of the eight races, the New Zealander finishing fourth in the final standings..

Rookie Love finished comfortably inside the points in all but one race, the West Australian improving as the season progressed and ended with a campaign best seventh position in Monza, to finish 10th in the standings.

NATIONAL TREASURES

Indy Pro 2000 Championship p – Hunter McElrea HUNTER MCELREA continues to impress in America. In 2020 the New Zealander finished fifth in the ultracompetitive Indy Pro 2000 Championship.

This year the second-tier IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, did not proceed and meant that several drivers moved to Indy Pro 2000.

It was a slow start to the season for McElrea, who finished the first four races outside of the top five, however in Race 5 he finished second.

This was the first of six podiums, as the 21-year-old continued to gather momentum throughout the year.

The only thing holding back McElrea from a maiden race win was a lack of qualifying pace, but despite that, the Pabst Racing driver shone in races.

His patience paid off and in the final race of the season he was rewarded with his maiden victory.

Moto2 – Remy Gardner

British F4 – Christian ti Mansell M ll

ON A year old Kalex, Remy Gardner shone in Moto2, in a season that concluded with his maiden win in the second-tier series.

Riding for the Malaysian Onexox TKKR SAG Team, Gardner showed that the podium and pole position in 2019 was no fluke.

It was a slow start to the year, Gardner finishing in the top five in just one of the first five races.

A second career podium followed in Austria before a warmup crash ruled him out of the next two races. On return from injury at Catalunya, Gardner finished outside of the points.

However, in all of the last six races Gardner finished inside the top seven, scoring three podiums, including the memorable victory at Portimao.

This was enough for him to finish a career high sixth in the final standings.

AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN Mansell won the British F4 Championship Rookie Cup. Mansell took the Rookie honours in 14 of the 27-races and was a contender for outright victories and podiums all season long. He would finish seventh in the championship, best of the international competitors.

In the second event at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, Mansell won the reverse grid race.

In total Mansell claimed five podiums aincluding three on the Brands Hatch Indy layout.

Other Classes JOSH CAR finished sixth in the US Formula Regional Championship, scoring a season high second on three occasions, despite mid-season engine woes slowing

his momentum.

As well as finishing fourth in Porsche Supercup, Jaxon Evans won the French Carrera Cup Series.

Aussie Porsche star Matt Campbell and his co-drivers, Mathieu Jaminet and Patrick Pilet, finished runners-up in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Bart Horsten finished 10th in the highly competitive British F3 Championship, bagging three podium finishes.

New Zealander Ronan Murphy scored several top 10 positions on his way to 16th in the USF4 Championship.

Australian Jake Parsons and co-driver Ryo Michigami started with three points finishes in the first four races of Japan’s SuperGT 300 Series, however they failed to score in the last half of the season.

In the ADAC GT Masters, Aussie Aidan Read scored a total of eight points in the BMW M6 alongside Joel Eriksson.

Josh Evans (main, top), Hunter McElrea (above, left), Remy Gardner (above right), Christian Mansell (below left) and Josh Car (below right) all successfully represented Australasia. Images: LAT

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SEASON REVIEW www.autoaction.com.au

FIA FORMULA 3

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AN AUSSIE FIA F3 CHAMP

Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT FOUR AUSTRALIANS competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2020 with Victorian Oscar Piastri taking the title in both a gripping and intense season finale.

The Australian attack was spearheaded by former Reanult Eurocup rivals Piastri and Tasmanian Alex Peroni, who returned for a second year with Campos Racing.

A season-ending crash at Monza last year forced Peroni into a lengthy recovery where his motor sport future was put into question.

A podium in the first race of the year at the Red Bull Ring quelled those doubts.

Calan Williams and Jack Doohan joined Piastri in making their debuts in the third-tier series after strong results in other open-wheel formulas.

It was a dream start to Piastri’s campaign when he greeted the chequered flag in his maiden race at Red Bull Ring.

“I don’t want to say that it surprised people, that I could fight at the front so quickly, but to be honest, even myself, I wasn’t expecting the first part of the season to go as strongly as it did,” Piastri said.

A consistent start to the season where he scored top five finishes in six out of the first seven races offset a recurring DRS problem. This hurdle continued to be overcome until Piastri retired at Silverstone.

“The way the season has gone, some of the issues we have had, I am proud of how I have dealt with that and how the year has gone in terms of results as well,” Piastri told Auto Action.

“Mainly the DRS (drag reduction

Oscar Piastri took a stunning victory in the FIA Formula 3 Championship (top), edging out Frenchman Theo Pourchaire. Jack Doohan was unlucky not to score points (above left), as was West Australian Calan Williams (above, right). Alex Peroni again impressed many with his performances for Campos (below).

system) issues. For the first six rounds we had some kind of technical issue. Some weekends it was a couple of laps in practice and then others it was every session of the weekend.

“To be honest we still don’t actually know how the DRS issues got fixed.”

This setback left Piastri trailing his American Prema teammate Logan Sargeant by a solitary point.

Piastri’s consistently kept him in the game as a win at Catalunya strengthened his chances.

However a previous

strength in qualifying deserted him during the campaign, though effective racing strategies enabled the Renault Sport Academy driver to make the most of his opportunities.

“In years previous I would say my biggest strength was qualifying pace and just outright speed,” he felt.

“This year it was definitely not that and was more race craft and race intelligence and race management. I was a little bit surprised that was my strength this year and qualifying wasn’t.

“In F3 the most important thing was learning how to switch on the tyre for qualifying and then manage them through the race.”

The penultimate race weekend at Monza provided mixed results. In what proved to be a champion’s drive, Piastri climbed from 15th to third in the opening race.

This was then followed by an opening corner skirmish, which resulted in a DNF and set-up a tight conclusion to the championship at Mugello.

Title rival Sargeant was scoreless at Monza, but took advantage of a grid penalty given to Piastri to draw level after the first leg in Mugello.

A sleeper in the pack was Frenchman Theo Pourchaire.

His consistent podium finishes towards the championship’s conclusion vaulted him into title contention.

In a tension-filled finale, Sargeant failed to see out the opening lap after an incident at Turn 2, leaving the championship fight between Piastri and Pourchaire.

Piastri’s seventh was enough to seal the title, despite Pourchaire finishing third.

Consistency deserted Peroni, who led the other Australians in 10th, finishing a best of second to Piastri at Catalunya.

He was the standout driver for Campos Racing once again, completing a miraculous comeback from his Monza shunt a season ago.

Driving for HWA Racelab, Doohan failed to score points, finishing 11th in the final race of the season to just miss out.

Williams was the hardluck story of the campaign having been taken out of potential podium or pointscoring positions in Hungary and at Monza.

Williams and Doohan are expected to be back on the Formula 3 grid in 2021, Peroni is taking his racing in a different direction next year and Piastri will graduate to Formula 2.

FINAL STANDINGS 1 2 3 4 5

Oscar Piastri Theo Pourchaire Logan Sargeant Frederik Vesti Liam Lawson

164 161 160 146.5 143

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WORLD SUPERBIKES SEASON REVIEW

SIX IN A ROW FOR REA

Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT

IT WAS no surprise in 2020 that for a sixth straight year Jonathan Rea won the FIM World Superbike Championship on his factory Kawasaki.

However in 2020, it turned out to be no easy feat.

It was an intense and exciting championship with seven different riders taking race wins for three different manufacturers, Kawasaki, Ducati and Yamaha.

This year Rea was challenged by new teammate Alex Lowes, MotoGP refugee Scott Redding who had joined the factory Ducati squad alongside Chaz Davies, and Yamaha duo Toprak Razgatlıoglu and Michael van der Mark.

The season got underway at Phillip Island in February, the only event all season that took place as planned before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rea’s season got off to the worst possible start with a crash in the opening race. The win instead went to Yamaha debutant Razgatlıoglu

who made the move from the satellite Kawasaki squad Turkish Puccetti Racing in the off season.

Rea rebounded to win the Qualifying race that weekend, but it was his teammate Lowes who won Race 2.

After a five-month COVID-19 enforced break it was almost a completely different season, and it was Redding who would take the fight to Rea. After the second round at Jerez Rea stepped it up a notch. From the start of Round 3 at Portimao the Northern Irishman finished on the podium in 13 of the next 14 races, a streak that included nine race victories.

However, Rea admitted that after Portimao he was concerned that he was not going to be able to fight for the race wins like on previous years.

“We know our weaknesses and my comments don’t fall on deaf ears with Kawasaki,” Rea said.

“We keep working to improve everything, we know our strengths and weaknesses inside and out, but we’ve known that in the heat we struggle with rear grip and tyre drop.

MotoGP refugee Scott Redding (right) looked like challenging Rea for the title but faded in the end. Toprak Razgatlioglu (below) leads for Yamaha.

Our strengths are mechanical traction, stopping the bike and changing direction.

“I think that I’ve made a step with the bike and with my riding.”

With a round and a half to go Rea had a commanding lead over Redding, while the rest of the championship contenders fell by the wayside with inconsistent speed or crashes.

Rea felt that the 2020 title was the hardestt to take, however he expected more of a fight from Redding after the Englishman won two races in Jerez at the second round.

“Scott (Redding) has been my biggest rival and he’s done well this year,” Rea explained.

“His performance in Jerez was special all weekend and he’s been strong this year, but I expected him to be stronger.

“Scott is very talented and has been a factory rider in MotoGP and was one of the biggest rivals for Marc Marquez. Last year, I thought Alvaro (Bautista) was unbeatable, but I’ve not Alv hhad that feeling this year with Scott.

“The Ducati is stronger this year, the Yamaha is stronger, Honda has done well and there are so many good riders now. It’s very competitive now in WorldSBK and everyone else is now no more consistent over a full season.” m Rea had the opportunity to take the title at the R penultimate round in Magny-Cours, but a win pe for Redding delayed the inevitable until the final round. rou Although the final event at Estoril was the A only round in which Rea failed to take a on win all season, he comfortably sealed the wi championship. ch Redding finished second in the championship R with his departing factory Ducati teammate wi Davies third. Razgatlıoglu, van der Mark and Da Lowes rounded out the top six.

Youngsters Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Garrett Gerloff shone at times during the season and promise to be names to look out for in 2021.

2020 FINAL STANDINGS 1 2 3 4

Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Scott Redding Ducati Chaz Davies Ducati Toprak Razgatlıoglu Yamaha

360 305 273 228

MOTOGP

2020 REVIEW

CONSISTENCY KING MIR Reports: DAN MCCARTHY Images: LAT THE 2020 MotoGP season was a year like no other, with a total of nine different race winners in 14 rounds.

It was clear early on that the most consistent rider was going to win the title.

This mantle fell to factory Suzuki’s Joan Mir, the young Spaniard in just his second MotoGP season showcasing maturity well beyond his years and was by far the most consistent rider.

Despite only taking one victory (the European Grand Prix in Valencia), Mir earnt a further six podiums and it was this unrivalled consistency that won him the title and handed Suzuki its first since Kenny Roberts Jr in 2000.

“I think that we didn’t have the fastest package during all the season, but for some reason we were really strong in all the races,” Mir said.

“It (the win) arrived at the perfect moment, probably the title got closed in that crucial moment, we showed a really good potential and that was the race that I (effectively) won the championship.”

Reigning champion Marc Marquez crashed out of the opening race and broke his right humerus, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.

But it wasn’t plain sailing for Mir, who

Joan Mir was the surprise champion for Suzuki, winning the Japanese brand’s first world title since 2000.

Franco Morbidelli (below left) was second but Fabio Quartararo (below right) had a season to forget.

retired from two of the first three races, while out front Petronas Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo swept to two comfortable wins in the first two races.

From this moment onwards Mir was a step above the rest, finishing in the top four in eight of the next nine races, which enabled him to put one hand on the trophy.

On the contrary, despite taking more pole positions than anyone else, Quartararo quickly faded and would stand on the podium just once more.

“The season was in two parts, the part that I was catching Quartararo and then the part when I was the one that the others were trying to catch,” Mir said.

“We showed the great potential to be the one that was not the fastest but the one that collected points, and we were even better when I was the leader.

“I think that we managed in a really good way that pressure, that is something that a lot of riders struggled to do.”

A seventh place at the penultimate round

secured Mir the MotoGP world title as others around him seemed unwilling to grasp the opportunity.

It was a season in which Quartararo, Brad Binder, Andrea Dovizioso, Miguel Oliveira, Franco Morbidelli, Maverick Vinales, Danilo Petrucci, Alex Rins and Mir all took victories, but Mir’s hunger gave him the title.

It was a disastrous year for the 2020 spec Yamaha riders, Quartararo plummeted to finish eighth in the championship, Vinales took just one win, while nine-time Motorbike World Champion Rossi could only claim one podium.

Only Mordidelli on a 2019 spec Yamaha showed any kind of form. Despite a patchy start the Italian finished three of the last four races on the podium to leap into second in the standings.

Mir’s Suzuki teammate Rins had as much speed as the champion but lacked the consistency and finished third in the title race.

The usual ultra-consistent Ducati rider Dovizioso announced mid-season that he would depart the Italian manufacturer at season’s end, and it was not the fairytale ending they were looking for as the once happy relationship deteriorated.

Dovi scored one solitary win and just one other podium finish, to score fourth in the standings.

KTM was the surprise packet of the season, the Austrian manufacturer taking its first three premier class victories with South African rookie Binder and Portuguese rider Oliveira taking two wins.

However, it was Pol Espargaro that finished the highest KTM rider in fifth, after he collected five third place finishes.

Final Standings 1 2 3 4 5

Joan Mir Franco Morbidelli Alex Rins Andrea Dovizioso Pol Espargaro

Suzuki Yamaha Suzuki Ducati KTM

171 158 139 135 135

MILLER’S STRONG CAMPAIGN AUSTRALIAN JACK Miller, like many of his MotoGP rivals, had a rollercoaster season on the #43 Pramac Ducati.

The Queenslander could very well have been a title contender had he not suffered from bad luck.

His Ducati suffered a reliability issue in France, sucked up one of Fabio Quartararo’s tear-offs at the Misano circuit which caused his Ducati to overheat, and then was

taken out by Brad Binder on the opening lap of the Teruel Grand Prix.

During the season Miller scored four podium finishes and ended his campaign with two hard fought second place finishes.

In the penultimate race Miller was agonisingly close to taking a second career win, finishing 0.093s behind Franco Morbidelli.

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Formula One Round 16 Sakhir GP Race Report: DAN KNUTSON Images: LAT

FAST AND FURIOUS

Sergio Pérez scores a maiden victory while George Russell has a heartbreaking loss

Report: DAN KNUTSON Images: LAT MOTOR RACING is a sport of extreme emotions.

Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez experienced the highs of winning his first Formula 1 race. George Russell, driving the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, after the latter tested positive for COVID-19, dealt with both the highs and lows of coming close to winning.

“I am a bit shocked, a bit in the limbo right now,” Perez said after winning in his 190th F1 start.

“As a driver you dream for this time, to be in this position, for so many years. I worked my whole life for a moment like this. To finally achieve it is difficult to digest.”

Perez started fifth but dropped to last after a first lap collision with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. And then during the remaining 86 laps around the outer loop 11-turn 3.543-km Sakhir circuit, he worked his way from last to first.

Russell had a lot to digest as well. He qualified second and grabbed the lead at the start from pole sitter and teammate Valtteri Bottas on lap one.

A botched pit stop dropped Russell to sixth. He worked his way up to second and was closing in on Perez when he had to pit because his left rear tyre was slowly deflating.

“Incredibly mixed feelings,” Russell said after finishing ninth, clocking the fastest lap of the race, and earning his first F1 points.

“On one hand incredibly disappointed and gutted to miss out on a victory not only once but twice.

We could’ve recovered it, we could’ve caught Sergio and made the move, but then we got the puncture. Part of me is gutted and part of me is very proud and privileged to get this opportunity.

Being realistic I was not expecting to be on Valtteri’s pace.”

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Esteban Ocon was second for Renault after a strong race, his first-ever F1 podium (above left). Carlos Sainz was fifth for McLaren (above), one of many you thought he could win. Where it all went wrong for Mercedes (below) in an ‘insurance’ pitstop it didn’t actually have to make.

Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault teammate Esteban Ocon was thrilled to finish second and to celebrate on the podium for the first time.

“What a race!” said Ocon, who made a one pit stop strategy work. “We made it, we’re on the podium and it’s a fantastic feeling. It was awesome and all the emotions left my body when I crossed the line. I definitely cried and I’m proud to say it.

That moment, crossing the line, I’ll remember it forever.

“The team executed the race really well, we had strong pace, and I had some fun out there with some overtakes too. It’s been a tough season, but we kept believing in ourselves and that’s rewarded with this amazing feeling.”

Perez’s teammate Lance Stroll finished third.

“A part of me is a little bit disappointed as I think I could have won the race,” Stroll said. “I went a little bit deep on my pit exit after my pit stop, and Esteban managed to get by me. Then I just didn’t have the pace. I locked up, Sergio went by, and I

RACE RESULTS SAKHIR GRAND PRIX 87 LAPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 -

Sergio Perez Esteban Ocon Lance Stroll Carlos Sainz Jr. Daniel Ricciardo Alexander Albon Daniil Kvyat Valtteri Bottas George Russell Lando Norris Pierre Gasly Sebastian Vettel Antonio Giovinazzi Kimi Raikkonen Kevin Magnussen Jack Aitken Pietro Fittipaldi Nicholas Latifi Charles Leclerc Max Verstappen

Racing Point/Mercedes Renault Racing Point/Mercedes McLaren/Renault Renault Red Bull/Honda AlphaTauri/Honda Mercedes Mercedes McLaren/Renault AlphaTauri/Honda Ferrari Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Haas/Ferrari Williams/Mercedes Haas/Ferrari Williams/Mercedes Ferrari Red Bull/Honda

1h31m15.114s 10.518s 11.869s 12.580s 13.330s 13.842s 14.534s 15.389s 18.556s 19.541s 20.527s 22.611s 24.111s 26.153s 32.370s 33.674s 36.858s Oil leak Collision Accident

Points: Hamilton 332, Bottas 205, Verstappen 189, Perez 125, Ricciardo 112, Leclerc 98, Sainz 97, Albon 93, Norris 87, Stroll 74, Gasly 71, Ocon 60, Vettel 33, Kvyat 32, Hulkenberg 10, Raikkonen 4, Giovinazzi 4, Russell 3, Grosjean 2, Magnussen 1 Constructors: Mercedes 540, Red Bull-Honda 282, Racing Point-Mercedes 194, McLaren-Renault 184, Renault 172, Ferrari 131, AlphaTauri-Honda 103, Alfa RomeoFerrari 8, Haas-Ferrari 3

Charles LeClerc caused a lap one altercation (above) that also took out Max Verstappen. Daniel Ricciardo (top right) was a frustrated fifth, while George Russell starred for Mercedes and should have won but was unlucky. Here he passes teammate Valtteri Bottas (above right). The mid pack fight between Alpha Tauri, McLaren and Ferrari was as fraught as always (below). just didn’t really have the pace to overtake Esteban.”

Ironically, it was Russell’s ‘regular’ car that set up the Mercedes pit stop fiasco. After Williams released Russell to sub for Hamilton, it brought in its reserve driver Jack Atkin to take over Russell’s car.

Atkin, making his F1 debut, spun into a barrier and knocked the front wing out onto the track.

That triggered a safety car, and Mercedes told both drivers to pit.

“We had the gap for a free stop and we took that opportunity,” said team principal Toto Wolff. “We had a radio problem, which meant we didn’t have the right tyres in the box. Which is why George exited with the wrong tyres (meant for Bottas) and Valtteri left the pits on the same tyres he’d arrived with. Then we had to pit George again to correct the mistake.”

“The pitstop issues were linked to the way our radio system handles the priorities of messages which caught us out in a big way,” Andrew Shovlin, the track engineer director at the Mercedes,

explained. “As the safety car came out, we were calling for the crew to be ready, and for the tyres for each car to come into the pit lane. At the time that message was going out, another radio message for a very brief period prevented one of the key messages getting through to one set of tyre collectors.”

Although Russell got back up to second place before the puncture, Perez thought that he could keep the Mercedes driver at bay.

“With George it was going to be close,” Perez said, “but I think I was going to be able to hold him back because we had good pace. I was matching him.”

As for Ricciardo, he started seventh and finished fifth.

“It is a pretty sad fifth,” he said. “I wasn’t particularly pleased with how the race panned out with the strategy. I thought we just missed the ball.

I’ll take fifth but it is with mixed feelings. I was P4 on lap one and I thought there was a lot of opportunity today. We got undercut on the pit stops, so the whole second stint was spent behind (Daniil) Kvyat.

I felt with the track position we had we could’ve done better.

“It was a scrappy race from our side. I’m fifth and normally that is a good result, and Esteban was second so congratulations to him. But to see our rivals first and third, and Perez was in the pits on lap one, so congratulations to him, but for all of us it was a missed opportunity. So is probably the most disappointing fifth that I have had in a long time.”

This was the first victory for Racing Point, but the team had four wins, the last in 2003, when it was owned by Eddie Jordan.

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Formula One

Round 17 Abudahbi GP

MAXED OUT Max Verstappen dominates the final round of the F1 season

Race Report: DAN KNUTSON Images: LAT

A MERCEDES car had led at least one lap in 39 consecutive races prior to the 2020 season finale in Abu Dhabi. Max Verstappen ended that streak when he started from pole position, led every single lap, and won in his Red Bull Honda.

Daniel Ricciardo, however, prevented Verstappen from getting a grand slam – pole, every lap led, victory and fastest lap – as the Aussie clocked the fastest lap time on his final tour and crossed the line in seventh place in his Renault.

The Mercedes simply did not have the performance to challenge the Red Bull, and Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton started second and third and ran in those positions throughout the race.

Mercedes had won the six previous rounds of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but as team principal Toto Wolff said: “We did not bring our A game this weekend.”

Red Bull certainly brought its A game.

“It’s a great way to finish the season,” said Verstappen after his 10th career F1 win and the first where he led every lap. “It’s a good boost for everyone in the team here and of course at the factory. I just hope that we learn from the previous years that we have to be stronger in the beginning of the season to be able to give (Mercedes) a little bit of a harder time.”

Mercedes just couldn’t find a good balance for its car set-up, and all the Mercedes-powered cars were running with less power due to reliability concerns caused by a gremlin in the MGU-Ks. “We thought that the race pace would be pretty much identical to the Red Bull but it wasn’t the case today,” Bottas said.

Hamilton, whose third place was his 165th podium finish in F1, was still recovering from the after effects of COVID-19.

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Max Verstappen were dominant in Abu Dhabi, breaking Mercedes’ incredible record of 39 consecutive races where one of its cars had led at least one lap. Hamilton celebrated the season end nonetheless.

“I can really feel for those who are and have suffered from it, those who have lost loved ones from it,” he said. “I can understand how because it’s a nasty virus.

I’m not one hundred per cent. I still have some feeling within my lungs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so blown (physically). My body is not feeling great.

But look on the bright side: I made it through. I didn’t think anytime last week I would be here, so I am truly grateful for my health and to be alive. Looking forward to recovering over the next period of time we have, and getting back into training and getting my body back to where I know it should be.”

Alex Albon wound up fourth in his Red Bull and was closing in on Hamilton as the race wound down.

A strong showing by the McLaren drivers – Lando Norris finished fifth and Carlos Sainz was sixth – vaulted the team ahead of Racing Point and into third place in the world constructors’ championship.

“We executed it perfectly: the safety car and the pit stops and managed the tyres really well,” said Norris, who will be Ricciardo’s McLaren teammate next year.

“P3 with the team is awesome and the perfect way to end this season,” Things were far from perfect for Racing Point. After winning the Sakhir Grand Prix the previous weekend, Sergio Pérez stopped on the track on lap 10 when his engine lost power and brought out the safety car.

Lance Stroll earned just a single point by finishing 10th in the other Racing Point.

“I’m really sad that my final race with the team ended so early,” said Pérez, who will be replaced by Sebastian Vettel next year. “We needed to get both cars into the points today to take P3 in the constructors’

Mercedes had the unusual experience of simply being out paced in Abu Dhabi. Valtteri Bottas had the measure of Lewis Hamilton in qualifying and led him all the way (above) in the 55 lap season finale.

Daniel Ricciardo (above right) set the fastest lap in his farewell drive for Renault. It was his 11th consecutive finish in the points, and enabled him to finish fourth in the driver’s championship.

McLaren stole third in the constructor’s title from Racing Point with a strong finish from Lando Norris (right) and Carlos Sainz, fifth and sixth. Lance Stroll battles with Pierre Gasly (below) early on, the Frenchman finishing eighth and the Canadian 10th.

championship. Congratulations to McLaren, but I think we can still be very proud of our season.

We won a race, took podiums and were just so unlucky in some situations – especially with both drivers having to miss races (due to COVID-19).

On my side, I’m delighted that we were able to get P4 in the drivers’ championship.”

Ricciardo started the race from 11th on the grid, did a long stint on the hard compound Pirelli tyres, and placed fifth in the drivers’ championship with his 11th consecutive finish in the points.

“It was definitely a good race, a nice way to end it,” he said of the season and his two years with Renault.

“We know Abu Dhabi as a Sunday venue is not always that exciting a race. But I certainly felt that I did what I had to do today.

“I had the fastest lap in the bag on the second

last lap. But I actually went off in the last corner.

So I really stretched it on the last lap, and it was a nice way to do my last ever lap in the Renault.

It was good to know that it was a fast one, so a good sign off.”

“I feel fulfilled,” he said of the season as a whole.

“This year, although shortened, was such a chaotic year. But actually a really strong one. I’m really pleased how far we’ve come, both myself and the team. Fifth in the drivers’ championship, obviously there is no reward for that, but I think it speaks for itself in the turnaround we made this year.”

The revised and shortened pandemic-affected 2020 season consisted of 17 races during the course of 24 weekends.

The 2021 season-opener is the Australian Grand Prix on 21 March.

RACE RESULTS ABU DHABI GP 55 LAPS

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1h36m28.645s 2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 15.976s 3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 18.415s 4 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 19.987s 5 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1m00.729s 6 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren/Renault 1m05.662s 7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1m13.748s 8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1m29.718s 9 Esteban Ocon Renault 1m41.069s 10 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1m42.738s 11 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1 Lap 12 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1 Lap 13 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1 Lap 14 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1 Lap 15 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1 Lap 16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1 Lap 17 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1 Lap 18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1 Lap 19 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas/Ferrari 2 Laps Sergio Perez Racing Point/Mercedes Power Unit Points: Hamilton 347, Bottas 223, Verstappen 214, Perez 125, Ricciardo 119, Sainz 105, Albon 105, Leclerc 98, Norris 97, Gasly 75, Stroll 75, Ocon 62, Vettel 33, Kvyat 32, Hulkenberg 10, Raikkonen 4, Giovinazzi 4, Russell 3, Grosjean 2, Magnussen 1 Constructors: Mercedes 573, Red Bull-Honda 319, McLaren-Renault 202, Racing PointMercedes 195, Renault 181, Ferrari 107, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 8, Haas-Ferrari 3

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NATIONALS wrap n ien rie ’br co piled by garry o’b com

Report: HEATH McALPINE

Images: Bec Hind/Revved Photography/Nathan Wong

TOUGH FINALE PORSCHES HEADLINED the Motorsport Australia Festival held at a sunny Sandown International Raceway on December 12-13. Joining the Munich brawlers as part of the program were the MG & Invited British Sports Cars, BMW E30s, Excels and Formula Free, a category catering for all open-wheel entries.

PORSCHE CARRERA CUP AND MICHELIN SPRINT

FOR THE first time, both Porsche tiers competed together across three races which included a 45-minute endurance event.

Porsche young guns Harri Jones and Aaron Love continued their growing rivalry, which started in last year’s second-tier Porsche series. Regular Porsche Carrera Cup competitors Michael Almond and Nick McBride also added to the field’s quality.

Leading Michelin Sprint Challenge contenders Ryan Suhle and Christian Pancione were joined by ex-Formula Ford driver Courtney Prince in her Porsche debut.

The strongest category in both tiers was for the amateur drivers, which included reigning Carrera Cup Pro-Am Stephen Grove, Tim Miles and Marc Cini, while Andrew Goldie headed the list in Sprint Challenge.

Jones fired the first shot of the weekend by winning the opening encounter, sustaining immense pressure from Love to take a 0.4s victory. Next was Sonic driver Almond, a further 3s back while McBride rounded out the top four.

Suhle was victorious in Sprint Challenge, finishing an impressive fifth to lead Pancione in eighth.

Between were the two leading Pro-Am Carrera Cup drivers Grove and Miles.

Goldie led the way in a six-way battle for the Pro-Am win in Sprint Challenge.

Love switched the positions in Race 2, leading home a Sonic 1-2 as Almond demoted Jones as the event reached its climax, as the three leading contenders crossed the line nose-to-tail.

Suhle continued his winning run in Sprint Challenge ahead of Pancione and Prince.

Grove maintained his winning form in Pro-Am, while Goldie did likewise in Sprint Challenge.

A close battle was promised for the 45-minute endurance event and it delivered in spades. Early on Jones and Love duked it out for the lead before the latter ran wide at Turn 9, dropping to fifth.

Almond overtook Jones as the race entered its second half, holding on despite challenges from the reigning Sprint Challenge winner to take a 0.2s victory.

Love recovered well to finish third ahead of McBride and class debutant Jackson Walls.

The bonus point awarded for pole position handed the weekend to Jones although Love and Almond tied on the same score.

Grove completed a clean-sweep in Pro-Am, while Pancione edged Suhle and Prince in Sprint Challenge.

Goldie led home Michael Belford and David Greig in Sprint Challenge Pro-Am.

For the first time both Porsche tiers competed together which led to a very healthy field (right), with Ryan Suhle (left) strong in the Sprint Challenge.

Alex Jory (below) won the BMW finale.

CIRCUIT EXCELS

THREE HOTLY contested races including a reverse grid event were all won by Ben Grice.

In the opener, Grice finished nearly 3s clear of second placed Callum Potter, who in turn narrowly held off Jordyn Sinni. Following a further 3s behind Nathan Blight led home Brendan Avard, Tim Yates and Ryan Phillips.

The reverse grid race followed but this didn’t hamper Grice, as he won by a comfortable 7s clear of Blight, Harry Tomkins, Avard and Sinni. The battle for third was decided by less than a second.

Blight challenged Grice in the finale, but it was the second-generation racer

who prevailed in the end by 0.7 with Sinni holding out Avard for third.

FORMULA FREE

A VAST array of open-wheeler and sports racers representing different eras, powerplants and classes saw Tommy Smith coming out on top driving a Tatuus FT50 from the New Zealandbased Toyota Racing Series.

Smith opened the weekend with a 30s victory over Phil Hughes driving a Radical SR8, and recent Ferrari Driver Academy participant Marcos Flack in an MTEC Motorsport Mygale F4.

Hughes turned the tables in Race 2 by 0.1s ahead of Smith and the Hocking 901 Formula Holden of Rohan Carrig.

Tommy Smith came out on top in his Tatuus FT50 (below) in the open wheelers, Ben Grice did likewise in the Excels (below) and Phil Chester (right) won twice.

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RENCE. E F IF D G IN N IN W E C A R E H T GAS-PORTED FEATURE BENIFITS:

The battle for third between Carrig, the Ralt RT4 of Andrew McCarthy and Flack was close throughout the race’s duration, with the latter losing out.

The weekend concluded with an 11s win for Smith as Hughes led home Dean Koutsoumidis in his Tatuus FT40, Flack and McCarthy in another hard-fought battle for the final podium place.

BMW E30

SIMON LYNE started the weekend with victory, but ended it in retirement.

Lyne battled Tristan Bergman for the win in the opener, while Alex Jory and Brian Bourke did likewise for the final podium position.

Geoffrey Bowles took advantage of Tristian Bergman’s retirement in Race 2 to lead Simon Leach, Anton Bergman and Bourke across the line.

Jory bounced back from seventh in race 2 to win the finale ahead of Anton Bergman, Burke, Bowles and Rory Plant, as Lyne failed to finish.

MG & INVITED BRITISH SPORTS CARS

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IT WAS a battle of the MG V8s as Phil Chester and Vincenzo Gucciardo duked it out for supremacy.

Chester won the opener by 8s ahead of Gucciardo, while Ben Muller in another MG V8 was a further 11s back, to round out the podium.

Chester continued his winning form in the second, winning by 6s ahead of Gucciardo and the Triumph Stag of Keith Ondarchie, who broke the MG monopoly of the podium.

Gucciardo flipped the script in the final, winning by 0.3s ahead of Chester, while Muller beat Ondarchie to the podium.

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

STATE TITLES DETERMINED THE FIFTH round of the NSW Motor Racing Championship at Wakefield Park on December 12-13 was a relatively late call and would be a title decider for some.

Godfrey. It necessitated a front upright change which was undertaken while the race continued, and Champion was able to score a couple of hard-fought fourths.

SUPERSPORTS

FORMULA VEES

RADICAL DRIVERS fought out the outright contest which went the way of Nick Kelly in his SR8. He won the first race ahead of Peter White (SR8), who was menaced by Brad Shiels (SR3).

A brief rain squall during race two allowed White to snatch the win before Kelly hit back with a race three victory, as Shiels put White back to third.

Kelly lost the title to Stephen Champion (SR3) whose likelihood of going back-to-back diminished significantly in race one. He was caught up in a first race, first corner incident with fellow SR3 drivers Peter Clare and Ryan

TWO RACE wins gave Simon Pace (Checkmate) the round win, Daniel Reynolds (Sabre) won one and finished second ahead of Reef McCarthy (Sabre) overall. Aaron Pace (Jacer) was conservative and did enough to take the 1600cc championship, while Stephen Butcher (Stinger) with two class wins, secured the 1200 title.

Reynolds came out of the leading three to take race one ahead of Simon Pace and McCarthy, and similarly Dylan Thomas (Stinger) emerged from the second group for fourth, ahead of Craig Sparke (Jacer) and Aaron Pace.

Simon Pace barely held off McCarthy and

Reynolds to win race two but was a clear-cut victor in race three. Reynolds lost second with a miscue at Turn 5, but managed to get it back off McCarthy by the end. Aaron Pace and Sparke were fourth and fifth in both.

Jake Donaldson (Spectrum). Sands also won the last, clear of Bates, Burcher, and Sargent. In the meantime, Mitch Gatenby (Spirit) took out the Kent title when he won ahead of Cameron McLeod (Van Diemen).

FORMULA FORDS

FORMULA RACE CARS

ROOKIE YOUNGSTER Noah Sands won the final round but the title went to Tom Sargent.

Championship rival Cody Burcher (Spectrum) won the opening clash, just holding out Sargent (Mygale) while Sands (Mygale) was third ahead of Fletcher Harris (Mygale), Zach Bates (Mygale) and Jordan Mazzaroli (Spirit).

Contact between Burcher and Sargent where the former finished fourth and Sargent last, left the door open for Sands to get his first race win in the second outing, ahead of Bates and

HISTORIC HEATWAVE TWO DAYS of above 40-degree temperatures wreaked havoc on the Historic Sports & Racing Car Association’s Summer Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 28-29.

Not only did the cars suffer but also officials, who succumbed to the high temperatures. So much so that the organisers made hasty arrangements after day one to abandon the use of the GP (Gardner) circuit in favour of the shorter north (Druitt) circuit on Sunday.

GROUP S PRODUCTION SPORTS

A 22-LAP enduro was the one to win. It had a compulsory pitstop with optional driver change allowing a shorter stop. Wayne Seabrook (Porsche 911 Carrera) drove alone, undertook the longer stop and still won.

Terry Lawlor and Brad Tilley (Shelby GT350) were a comfortable second ahead of Mikki Piirlaid and Doug Barbour, who were never far apart in their Porsches. Damien Meyer (MG Midget) was next, despite an additional pit visit. He was elevated due to brother Simon (Midget) dropping out late with a failed alternator.

Race one was a Porsche trifecta with Seabrook ahead of Piirlaid and Barbour.

Lawlor stalled on the line and retired with a gear selector breakage. Simon Meyer was fourth in front of Damien Meyer. Of those left for the last, it was Barbour ahead of Meyers – Simon, and Damien.

66 AutoAction

Images: Riccardo Benvenuti

GROUP N HISTORIC TOURING

TILLEY RACING Ford Mustangs drivers took the top three places in three outings. Brad Tilley had wins ahead of a full field and in the over 3.0-litre race, once ahead son Jamie, and twice over customer Adam Walton as they diced for the minors.

Ben Wilkinson (Mustang) chased them in race one where a broken rear spring cut his weekend short and allowed John

FORMULA 3 drivers prevailed even though Formula 4 steers Adam and Nathan Gotch made them work hard to get victories.

Adam Gotch (Mygale) had the race one lead initially before Greg Muddle (Dallara F388) passed him. A slip-up at Turn 2 by Gotch allowed Lawrence Katsidis (F304) past and he snatched victory on the final lap.

Muddle took out the following races. He beat Gotch, Katsidis and Rob Rowe (Dallara) in race two, and then Katsidis in the last where little

separated Adam Gotch, Nathan Gotch and Doug Barry (Reynard Formula Holden).

SPORTS SEDANS

THE REBIRTH of Joe Said’s Fiat 124 from a naturally aspirated 20B rotary to a turbocharged 13B with sequential and Brad Shiels at the helm, proved to be the weapon of choice. He qualified fastest and won the first two races as the Chevpowered opposition fell by the wayside.

State champion Grant Doulman (Falcon) retired early in race one when stuck in second gear. Then Steve Lacey (Camaro) went out with an input shaft failure. Nick Smith (Mazda RX7/Nissan Turbo) moved to second before he was slowed with fuel dramas, which left Stuart Inwood (Corvette) and Mark Duggan (Aston Martin).

Shiels won the second ahead of Doulman,

Duggan was third after Inwood stopped with a rear suspension failure, and Smith again had fuel problems. The latter was out before the third race was underway with electrical issues, similarly so Shiels, which allowed Doulman the win clear of Duggan who withstood the late challenge of Inwood.

MAZDA RX8 CUP

RYAN GORTON wrapped up his first year of circuit racing with another round win and secured the title for 2020. He won the first and third races where he led all the way and was second in the shortened second race. Second for the round was Steve Devjak with Justin Barnes third.

After a lengthy hiatus from racing, Marcus La Delle was second initially, dropped to fourth and retrieved second before firing off at Turn 2. Jake

Lougher was also prominent until he bunkered and brought out the safety car. Ultimately Devjak was second ahead of Barnes and Andrew O’Keefe.

The second race was circumvented when O’Keefe, Lougher and La Delle tangled going to Turn 2.

Devjak had led from the outset and won ahead of Gorton, Barnes, and Matt Butters. In the last Gorton shook off Devjak’s challenge for the win while Jackson Noakes came through to third, ahead of Ben Silvestro and Barnes.

HQ HOLDENS

A DECISIVE final round win marked former state champion Brett Osborn’s part time participation in this year’s championship, while Glen Deering overcame drama in race two to take the championship.

Osborn won the three races ahead of teammate John Baxter, with Chris Molle and Matt Barker duking it out for third. In the three races Molle looked to have secured the spot but on two occasions Barker nabbed him on the last lap . . .

Burke (Valiant Charger) a couple fourths afterwards. The under 3.0-lt outing went to Steve Land (Ford Capri) over David Noakes (Ford Escort) and Andrew Bergan (Morris Cooper S).

Only four cars fronted for the last and Greg Luca (Holden Torana XU-1) won.

and then placed third in the last when Molle pitted with a broken fan belt.

In the meantime, the title was on between Deering and David Proglio. In race one the latter pipped Deering for the first of three fifths. Deering had the spot in the second until a diff failure dropped him to 11th in race two. He borrowed another for seventh in the last, and with the dropping of his worse round, secured the title.

PRODUCTION SPORTS CARS

TWO HALF hour races completed the season. Nick Kelly (Audi R8 LMS) qualified fastest for both but in each he was beaten at the start by David Wall (Porsche GT3 Cup Car) who then doggedly held on to win both races.

Third in each went to Drew Hall (Porsche) ahead of Adrian Wilson (BMW M4) and Stephen Wan (Lotus Exige), despite three spins. Wan was fourth in race two ahead of Michael Sheargold (Porsche), while Andre Nader was sixth behind Glenn Townsend (Exige) in Wilson’s BMW, and the pair shared the championship win. GOB

Image: Elgee

GROUP F FORMULA FORDS

IT WAS a battle between two with wins going to each. Tom Tweedie (Van Diemen RF86) and William Lowing (RF88) duked it out in three of the four encounters. Tweedie took the first two before the young debutant snared the third, for his first win.

The fourth race was minus Tweedie and several others, and Lowing won from Bruce Connolly (Elwyn) who was a close third in race three after two DNFs. Kieran McLaughlin (RF89) was third in the opener before his day was done, and Travis Clark (RF86) scored a third in race two.

GROUPS L, M, O/INVITED P, L SPORTS

ONE OF the feature events was the Dawson-Damer Trophy which was won by Les Wright in the Buick V8-powered Brabham BT21/25. The combination had two much straightline performance and had over 2s advantage in the end.

Second position changed several times before Laurie Bennett (Elfin 600B) edged out Wayne Seabrook (Renmax BN3) by 0.011s. Wayne Wilson (Brabham BT35) was fourth in front of Herbert Neal (Neal Ford) and John Ashwell (BT21-C).

Wright opened with a win ahead

YOUNG WINNER IN OLD HILLCLIMB

of the similar tale of Bennett over Seabrook. Both were early casualties in race two where Wilson was a clear second over Noel Bryen (Renmax) and Norm Falkiner (Elfin Mono).

Wilson took the last ahead of Neal and Ashwell.

GROUP V FORMULA VEES

BEING AIR-COOLED they suffered as much as any, but Don Greiveson (Spectre) managed the four races with best overall result. Tony Paynter (Stag) greeted the finish line first in races one and two but a 5s start penalty took the first win away.

In the battle for the minors, Stephen Normoyle (Spectre) pipped David Clark (Avanti) and Greiveson for what would be the first race win. Normoyle was second in race two, edging out Greiveson and Clark.

Paynter retired on the last lap of race three while in the lead, while Normoyle had already packed up. Greiveson,

who won from Clark and Norm Johnstone (Spectre), repeated in race four over Clark and David Harley (Spectre).

GROUPS Q & R SPORTS & RACING

AFTER SUCCUMBING TO Ian Buddery and his Skoal March 86C late in race one, Dan Nolan (Nola Chev) came back to net victories in races two and three. In Formula 2 cars, Malcolm Oastler (Kaditcha) just downed Aaron McClintock (Richards) after a race-long duel for third. The latter had the advantage in race two as Oastler struggled home in third with a fuel drama.

In the third race second place went to Oastler, clear of a contest between David Kent (Ralt RT4) and Andrew Carrig (Mallock Mk27SG). Buddery and McClintock were vying for second until they clashed at Turn 4. Kent easily won race four over Carrig. GOB

THE YOUNGEST driver at Rob Roy, Daniel Leitner, took the outright win in the Historic and Classic Hillclimb on November 29.

The Subaru Impreza WRX driver posted a 22.74s best and won the Tony Gaze Trophy.

Darren Visser in his tiny 750cc 1972 Bates Cyclo, waited for the dry track to post a 23.24s for second place and the Fastest Historic Trophy.

Mike Barker had previously announced its retirement but brought out his Elfin Type 3 Clubman to take third place with 23.59s.

Hillclimbing returned to the Christmas Hills venue after Melbourne was released from its strict COVID-19 lockdown, but it was too late for the MG Car Club to obtain a new permit that would have let spectators to attend.

Despite reports of a heatwave in south east Australia, there was no sign of it as intermittent

rain made life interesting with drivers struggling for grip. The conditions favoured all wheel drive cars until the track dried in the afternoon and allowed drivers to post their best times on the fourth and final run.

The event had plenty of interesting historic machines including a second Bates Cyclo. It had recently been acquired by Craig Webb who finished 29th outright in this his first outing in the 1968 Leo Bates-built 500cc open wheeler.

Louis Santon was awarded the Bill Leech Trophy for his win in the Vintage and Sports Pre-1931 class in his 1927 Bugatti Type 35. He finished ahead of Mark Burns and Stephen Denner in their Shared Alvis 12/50.

Ian Grinter collected the Norm Beechey Trophy for his Group N win, in what may be his last appearance of his Morris Cooper S. Gary Hill

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

CARR’S LAKESIDE 300

Image: Bruce Moxon

HOY’S BATTLE; SULLENS’ WAR IN THEIR Mitsubishi EVO 6, Clayton Hoy and Erin Kelly had a decisive win in the third and final round of the Motor Traders’ Association NSW Rally Championship in Canberra on November 28. Battling heat and dust as well as a fierce group of competitors they came out on top by 30s.

Going into the final round, three crews were in the hunt. Tom Clarke had Ryan Preston back aboard, but they put their Evo IX off the road in stage one. Too much oil drained out to attempt to drive out. With the stage being re-run very soon after, there was no time to tow them out, so they could not rejoin for the second heat.

This left Mal Keogh and Andrew Bennett (Audi Quattro) to take the battle to Tony Sullens and Kaylie Newell (Citroen C2). But Canberra’s point and squirt roads would prove problematic for the Citroen, but still managed fourth, and enough points to clinch the title.

Sullens was delighted with his Championship win, saying, “I’ve gone close before – missed out by a point or two, but this makes up for it.

I said if I couldn’t win in a 2WD, I didn’t want to.”

Keogh started fast, winning the first two stages, and opened a lead 24s over Hoy, who then put in a blinder on the third stage and was back within a few seconds. Hoy took the lead in the next stage with another blistering time, with Keogh now 2.4s behind. Sullens was doggedly hanging on but was now over 30s off the pace.

Keogh was always close enough to put pressure on Hoy, but it was not enough. Hoy finished with five stage wins to Keogh’s four.

Third were Chris Higgs and Steve Fisher (EVO 9), 9.7s in arrears of the winners.

Bruce Moxon

68 AutoAction

T TWO SOLID results gave Brad Carr and his Class A2 BMW M3 E92 overall victory in the C LLakeside 300 at Lakeside Park on December 66, after a third and a second in the pair of oone-hour races.

Carr took the overall honours through hhis better result in race two as Tristian and Dalton Ellery had finished with a second D aand third in their Class X BMW M3 F80.

Likewise, third with equal results were Mitchell Madden (Class D Toyota 86) and the A1 Mitsubishi EVO X shared by John Harris and Aaron Seton.

The first race was won by the fastest qualifier, Coleby Cowham in his A2 Ford Mustang with 59 laps completed, ahead of the Ellerys, with Carr third despite a 60s post-race penalty. Harris and Seton worked their way to second before blowing a front left tyre, which ultimately saw them finish two laps down and fourth ahead of Maddren.

Jake Camilleri (Class C Mazda 3 MPS) was sixth well clear of Paul Buccini and Brock Paine (Class C BMW 130i) after they recovered from a delaminated tyre that had relegated them to last. Adam Talbert (Class E Mazda 6) was next ahead of the Connor Roberts/Andrew Wilton and Daniel Natoli/ Gordon Smith EX Hyundai Excels.

In 11th was the A2 Mercedes-AMG C63 of Jason Simes and Anthony Levitt that struggled after the rebuild from its accident last meeting. Then came Michael Hopp and Steve McHugh in their shared Class E Suzuki Swift.

The casualties included the Paul Ford/ Gavin Bradford Toyota 86, and the Gary Beggs A2 Holden Commodore which had a tyre failure at high speed. Also out was the Paul Keefer/Patrick Navin Class C Volkswagen Scirocco R. Tony Quinn (Mustang) was prominent until a late puncture but was excluded for an incident with the Ellery BMW. Quinn atoned with a win in race two, ahead of Carr who won the battle for second over the Ellerys. Maddren was next from Harris and Seton after the setback of a tyre failure.

Sixth was Beggs from Camilleri, Buccini/

Image: John Doutch B Team

WINDUS WINS VALLEY STAGES RALLY Images: MTR Images

Paine, Talbert and the Excels, again with Roberts/Wilton ahead of Natoli/Smith, and the Suzuki. Cowham went out on the opening lap due to a rear wheel sensor failure, and the Simes/Levitt Mercedes only recorded two laps.

QLD SPORTS & SEDANS

WHILST THEY finished in order in each race, and first, second and third for the round, Sam Collins (Nissan Silvia V8), Tim Jordan (BMW E30 V8) and Scott McLennan (Mitsubishi Mirage) were not the top three in each race.

Tony Saint (Mazda RX7) and Steve Hay (Holden Commodore) qualified first and second, with the former a comfortable winner while Hay’s day was already over with rear end dramas. Collins was second ahead of Nick Linton (Commodore), Ken Samway (Mazda MX5) and McLennan.

Saint was out of race two on the second lap and Linton finished well down the order as Collins, Jordan and McLennan were the first three. They headed race three too with Linton next ahead of Samway. The latter won the last, just in front of Collins, Jordan, and McLennan. Tony Shanks (Ford Falcon) was next just in front Graham Woodward (Ford Mustang).

QLD SPORTSCARS

OVER THE three races, Michael Von Rappard and his Stohr WR-3 were comfortable winners. In the first outing David Rodgie (Chiron LMP3) led until middistance before Von Rappard took the lead and ran off into the distance. Third place went to Bernie Harbeck in his new Norma LMP3, just in front of the Radicals of Adam Gino Beesley and Grant Green.

Rodgie got the jump in race two as well, but only for the first lap, after which Von Rappard again drove away. Harbeck held third initially until he dropped to eighth on lap three and fought back to finish fifth behind Green and Beesley.

Von Rappard led all the way in the last while Harbeck quickly moved to third but couldn’t get past Beesley. Rodgie failed to complete a lap. GOB

LEADING ALL the way Darren Windus and Joe Brick won Western Victorian Crane Trucks Valley Stages Rally on November 29.

They were fastest in all the stages in their Subaru Impreza WRX and finished 2min 44s ahead of Franco Liucci and Tom Ruessman (Mitsubishi EVO 6 RS), as Matt Lee and Annie Dougherty placed third in their WRX 26s further away.

Seventy-three crews entered the nonchampionship standalone event which was hosted by the Nissan Car Club Australia and based around Yarra Glen and Healesville.

Windus was comfortably ahead of Liucci and Lee at the conclusion of heat one. Cary Seabrook and Tony Robinson (WRX) were fourth from Adrian Stratford and Kain Manning who led 2WD in their Ford Fiesta. By the end of the second heat, Stratford had passed Seabrook to snare fourth.

Troy Dowel and Bernie Webb (Hyundai i20) came from 11th in heat one to finish sixth overall, ahead of Wayne Stewart and Will

Murphy (WRX) who picked off Ivan Regester and Paul Humm when their WRX lost time on the last stage.

Andrew Murdoch and Phil Hurle were second in 2WD and eighth outright after heat one in the newly-prepared Nissan Skyline.

They were 34s in front of Jason Lennane and Ryan Price (Proton Satria) until a damaged fuel tank after stage eight put them out of top 10 contention.

Warren Lee and David Lethlean were equal seventh after the first stage, but barely made it past the stage two start, when their EVO 9’s engine blew. Engine dramas also caused Peter Schey and Michelle Canning (WRX) to retire after stage three.

Dirty fuel caused the retirement of the Shawn Urquhart/Matthew Dillon Mitsubishi Lancer after two stages. A broken driveshaft spelt the end of the Ford Fiesta of Luke Sytema and Tracey Dewhurst, and overheating brought down the Ian Martin/ Stephen Young WRX later. GOB

Image: Bruce Moxon

HEAFEY’S EARLY PACE WINS LIKE THE first round, the second round of the Whiteline Twilight Tarmac Rallysprint Series at Sydney Dragway on December 1, was affected by rain. Phil Heafey and David Brown made the most of the conditions to take a narrow victory.

The night began under threatening skies and, not long into the first of five planned runs, a heavy storm lashed the venue. The heavy rain upset some competitors’ plans, falling midway through the first run, so the early runners got a dry track, the later ones a wet surface. Even with the three best runs to count, it was thought unlikely that the later runners would get three dry runs.

After a delay, the event restarted, with Heafey (Mitsubishi EVO 6) fastest on the first run. Jamal Al Assad and Yasin Khan (EVO 6) was next, from David Isaacs and Louise Taylor (EVO 9). Rain

persisted after the first dump for a little while, and then the surface started to dry but was never completely clear of water for the rest of the night.

Run two went to Al Assad from Isaacs, and Stephen Marlin and Ben Perry (EVO 9) with Heafey fourth. Isaacs and Al Assad both had dramas on run three – Isaacs damaging some of the cooling system on his car. Heafey had a fast, trouble-free run.

Run four was to be the last, as the earlier delay made it a late night anyway. Al Assad put in a blinder on the final run, but Heafey just had too much of a lead, and ran out winner by 1.0s, with Al Assad second and Isaacs next.

Best 2WD entry was Robert and Sascha Kolimackovski (Honda Integra) and the first Junior driver was Jake and Dallas Beattie in a Subaru Impreza WRX. Bruce Moxon

AutoAction

69

We take a look back at who or what was making news in the pages of Auto Action 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago

Testing your motor sport knowledge

1980: MAZDA IS go! A bitter two-year battle between Allan Moffat and CAMS ended when the governing body gave the go-ahead for the former Ford driver to build the peripheral-port Mazda RX-7. However its debut was yet to be determined. While one Japanese brand was jumping in, another was undecided.

Datsun announced its withdrawal from rallying but Howard Marsden was reluctant to disclose where the brand will compete next.

1990: BROCK RETURNS to the Holden fold. In a reunion of The Lion’s two biggest stars, Peter Brock and Larry Perkins were confirmed to team up in a Mobil-backed pair of VN Commodore Group As. In other news, Bob Jane dumped CAMS in favour of formulating his own governing body. Toyota announced it was disbanding its factory touring car team.

2000: A LOWNDES replacement found.

Former Ford hero Jason Bright was confirmed as joining the Holden Racing Team to partner reigning champion Mark Skaife. Bright announced his return from racing open-wheelers in the US by testing the HRT VT Commodore at Winton. Meanwhile, Lowndes had potentially to sit on the sidelines due to his 10-year TWR contract. Kiwi hotshot Scott Dixon confirmed his move to Champ Car.

2010: MARK WEBBER was crowned Auto Action’s Racer of The Year after a closely fought campaign to be Australia’s first World Drivers’ champion in 30-years. Foges sat down with V8 Supercars champion James Courtney, who reflected on a tough year against Holden rival Jamie Whincup. Auto Action’s V8 Supercar driver survey results were revealed with Whincup adjudged the best by his peers, Courtney ‘overrated’ and Shane van Gisbergen ‘dirty’.

ACROSS 2. In what country did Remy Gardner take his maiden Moto2 race victory?

6. Which Moto2 graduate finished as the MotoGP Rookie of the Year? (surname) 8. Nico Hulkenberg subbed in for two drivers during the 2020 F1 season, for what team did he drive?

10. Two F1 race winners were set to race in S5000 at the Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello was one, who was the other? (surname) 12. For which team did Jay Robotham win all four Super3 races in 2020? (abbreviation) 13. Joan Mir broke through to win his first MotoGP title, for what manufacturer does the Spaniard ride?

16. Which TCR Asia Pacific Cup driver claimed pole at the Australian Grand Prix before the event was cancelled? (full name) 17. An Australian won the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2020, what is his surname?

18. At what circuit did Shane van Gisbergen take his first Supercars Championship win of the season?

20. Who won the 2020 Super2 Series? (surname) 22. Daniel Ricciardo rewarded Renault with a couple of podiums in 2020, at what track did he first stand on the rostrum?

70 AutoAction

24. Chase Elliott won this first NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, what brand of car did he drive?

26. Who was the first Australian to take part in a round of WTCR as a wildcard? (surname) 27. Ash Sutton took his second British Touring Car Championship title in what brand of car?

28. Three drivers finished every Supercars race in 2020. Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert were two, who is the other? (surname)

DOWN 1. The Super3 Series visited two venues in 2020, one was Sydney Motorsport Park, what was the other?

3. Several drivers stepped up from Super3 to Super2 in 2020, which rookie finished highest in the series? (surname)

4. What was Scott Pye’s season highest race finishing position?

5. Who drove for Tickford Racing in Super2 this year, but will move to Triple Eight for the 2021 season? (surname) 7. Who won the sole Carrera Cup race at the Australian Grand Prix this year? (surname) 9. Who replaced James Courtney at Team Sydney from the second round? (full name) 11. In what Grand Prix did Lando Norris score his maiden F1 podium this season?

12. Who finished second in the 2020 MotoGP World Championship? (surname) 14. Who won all three races in the National Trans Am Series on the streets of Adelaide in February? (surname) 15. Which former F1 driver won the Indy500 in 2020? (surname) 19. How many top three finishes did Alex Peroni record in the Formula 3 Championship this year?

21. Who won the 2020 IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing? (surname) 23. Which driver won the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix in 2020? (surname) 25. In his final year in the Super2 Series, how many wins did Will Brown score?

# 1800 Crossword Answers 1 down – Cameron 2 down – Broc Feeney 2 across – BJR 3 across – GRM 4 across – Hazelwood 5 across – Robotham 6 down – McElrea Racing 7 down – second 8 down – Repco 9 down – Formula Ford 10 across – Feeney 11 across – Superutes 12 down – Vidau 13 across – Civic 14 across – Aaron Seton 15 across – Ojeda

16 down – eight 17 down – Trans Am 18 across – Dodge 19 across – TCR Australia / amendment Sports Sedans 19 across – three 20 down – Peugeot 21 down – Jones 22 down – Murray 22 across – Mouzouris 23 down – MWM 24 across – fourteen 25 across – McLaren 26 across – Camaro 27 across – Tin Tops

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60.50

$

MFS-14 Magnetic Floor Sweeper • • • • •

WF-75 Industrial Wall Mount Fan

165

$

MGP-6R Ratcheting Gear Puller Set

13kg material capacity 600mm wide magnetic head Adjustable handle length 19 - 44mm floor height 180mm rubber wheels

• • • • •

MCW-47C 2 in 1 Mechanics Creeper & Seat Combination • • • • •

Order Code: A006

154

$

MPV-12 - Cast Iron Multi Purpose Bench Vice

Ratchet action jaw lock alignment Combination 2 or 3 jaw type system Reversible jaws (Internal or External) Includes 3 x 100mm & 3 x 175mm legs Includes a blow mould case

• • • •

1200 x 450 x 130mm Fabricated steel frame Quick & easy conversion 150kg weight capacity 6 swivel wheels

125mm jaw width 150mm max. opening Swivel head & base Includes anvil & pipe jaws

99

ABR-7P - Auto Panel Restoration Kit - Professional

• • • • • •

Precision ground & polished faces 1 x pick + finishing hammer 1 x straight pein + finishing hammer 1 x reverse curve hammer 1 x utility dolly, 1 x curved dolly 1 x heel dolly, 1 x thin toe dolly

Order Code: M9991

Order Code: P005

121

$

$

Order Code: V075

132

RNB40 Nut & Blind Riveter Set

• 130 piece kit suitable for sheet aluminium or steel Includes: • Aluminium rivet nut inserts: M5, M6, M8, M10 - (10 of each size) • Aluminium blind rivets: Ø3.2, Ø4.0, Ø4.8, Ø6.4mm (20 of each size) • Mandrel spanner & blow mould case

$

198

PB-24 Manual Panbrake • • • •

600 x 1mm capacity Fabricated steel Adjustable clamp blade Multiple finger widths

• • • •

Order Code: S249

121

• 17 piece bush driver set • 10 - 42mm • Made from aluminium

LT-360 Hydraulic Lifter Trolley

1955 x 610 x 1830mm 364kg capacity per shelf Adjustable shelves Interlock design, no tools required

• • • •

360kg load capacity 820 x 520mm table 240-775mm table height 2 fixed & 2 swivel wheels with brakes • Includes table rubber mat

Order Code: N001

PDS-2B Bush Driver Set

242

$

RSS-4WS Racking Steel Shelving

$

Order Code: H886

$

Order Code: S014

396

PDS-3BS - Bearing Race & Seal Driver Set • 10 piece bearing race & seal driver set • 39.5 - 81mm

Order Code: J051

319

$

$

SC-1800 Industrial Storage Cabinet • • • •

PD-35 Industrial Pedestal Drill

ESR-450 Engine Stand

900 x 450 x 1800mm 150kg shelf load capacity 75kg drawer capacity Made from reinforced sheet metal

• 450kg load capacity • User friendly manual crank engine mount plate • Six swivel caster wheels • Fold-up legs for storing

• • • • •

Order Code: P030

$

55

Order Code: T762

Order Code: P031

$

71.50

$

- MEARA Staff Member

UNIQUE PROMO CODE

Order Code: P1401

99

$

Order Code: D162

495

$

PPK-20 Steel Press Pin Driver Set

$

HP-45P Workshop Hydraulic & Pneumatic Press • • • • •

1,859

BS-7L Metal Cutting Band Saw Swivel Vice

45 Tonne Pneumatic or hand operated d 190mm ram stroke Spring return ram Includes pressure gauge & blocks

• • • •

305 x 178mm capacity Mitre cuts to 45º Built-in coolant system 1hp, 240V motor

Order Code: P147

$

31.5mm drill capacity 3MT spindle 9 spindle speeds Swivel & tilt table 1hp, 240V motor

Order Code: A337

825

• 8 steel press pins, Ø10 - Ø30mm • 2 tonne to 20 tonne capacity • Includes pin adaptor, capacity gauge & storage bracket

429

Order Code: B006

1,639

1,529

$

AACT1220 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 23-01-21

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

13_AA_241220

*Remote areas may require depot collection in your town