Auto Action #1803

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EXCLUSIVE TEAM SYDNEY STAR BREAKS SILENCE

FABS HITS BACK!

“PENSKE WANTED ME, DJR DIDN’T”

OUR FORGOTTEN F1 STAR OVERLOOKED ACE TIM SCHENKEN

INSIDE KELLY GROVE RACING

HOW NEW-LOOK TEAM WILL WORK

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REYNOLDS:

Mustang-mounted new father Dave has front-running expectations with Kelly Grove Racing

Image: Supercars

THE AIM IS TO WIN

By BRUCE NEWTON AND DAN MCCARTHY HAVING CONTROVERSIALLY exited Erebus just one year into a 10-year driving contract and made his way to Kelly Grove Racing, new father David Reynolds now has the pressure of performing.

And he’s come out firing, declaring the “aim is always to win�.

Expectations are high within the newly-formed operation, which essentially splits the racing component of Kelly Racing into a separate operation with businessman-racer Stephen Grove as the biggest shareholder (see separate story pages 16 & 17) At KGR, Reynolds has been reunited with his Erebus engineer Alistair McVean, crew chief Dennis Huijser and naming rights sponsor Penrite.

He will drive his Ford Mustang for the first time at a Phillip Island ride day on February 3 ahead of an official Supercars test on February 16.

Then it’s into the racing at the opening championship round, the Mount Panorama 500 on February 26-28. “Obviously the aim is always to win and you’ve got to get there as quick as you can,� Reynolds declared to Auto Action. “Our expectations would be challenging for podiums as soon as we can. Once we sort of get a bit more consistency, then you can start looking at where your championship position is.�

Reynolds’ shift to KGR is undoubtedly controversial. A breakdown in relationships at Erebus is understood to be at the core of his decision to split with the team so soon after inking his ground-breaking deal in 2019.

After months of to and fro, he and manager John Ruggiero negotiated his exit from Erebus just before Christmas. His new deal was confirmed mid-January.

What’s more, Tahan Lew Fatt gave birth to the couple’s first child over the weekend. “It’s been a whirlwind of time for me the last couple of months, but I’m happy to be here and to obviously get the deal done and being in a Ford Mustang, with some of the key people from my last team is awesome,� Reynolds said at the official reveal of the KGR Penrite Racing Ford Mustang. “I’m very, very, very, very happy, very, very happy.�

Reynolds only found out about the Grove buy-in days before the announcement was made, but says it pleases him. “It was news to me and came to me as quite a surprise, but actually it’s a really good surprise because I love the Grove family,� said Reynolds. “I’ve known them for a long time; very, very good people, very smart people and I think they’re going

to add a lot of benefits to this team. “They’ve got great attitude they want to win more than any of us, and they’re going to try and build that winning environment which is what it’s all about.�

Moving to KGR is something of a homecoming because he raced for Kelly Racing in 2011 and there are still familiar faces at the Braeside workshop from those days.

Having McVean – who has been his engineer since 2016 at his side – as well as Huijser and Penrite has eased the transition. “It doesn’t feel like I’m starting afresh, it feels like I’m just adding into something that’s already been built and something that is already there, so I feel, really, really comfortable straightaway,� said Reynolds. “And there’s a few people still here from when I left 10 years ago, so the rapport is already there.

I’m really, really happy that it has all come together. “The team has grown massively, their presence, their values and everything is so much more aligned with myself and I’m very, very thankful to be part of the fold.�

Reynolds said one aspect of his new squad that appealed to him was the amount of development work done in-house, rather than purchased by suppliers. “It’s a real race team, they build anything on the car, they don’t go buy other parts from other teams, they generally make 95 per cent of the car in-house and for me that screams of a real race team. “If you want anything done quickly and if you design something fast and make it out the back, it’s so much better for morale, performance and everything and the engineers love it too.�

Reynolds steps into the program in its second year running Ford Mustangs, with engines developed in-house by Kelly Racing.

Both Andre Heimgartner and Rick Kelly – who

Reynolds replaces – showed flashes of form but struggled for consistency in 2020.

Reynolds expects he and McVean, who called the shots on his 2017 Bathurst 1000 win with Luke Youlden for Erebus, can help speed the progress of the program. “Their on-track performance was obviously going to be very difficult undertaking a new car and new engine program. “But towards the end of the day they started to grow results and, hopefully, myself and Alistair can add to that as well, that’s what I’ve liked about watching them grow last year.�

Reynolds says the championship opening at Bathurst should speed that process. “It’s good for me because the last time I raced was actually back at the Bathurst 1000, so I’ve almost got a direct comparison between the cars, which will be in the forefront of my mind. “I’m looking forward to it, I get to experience Bathurst with a completely new team, new people in a new car.�

Reynolds paid tribute to Rick Kelly, revealing the Supercars champion and two-time Bathurst winner had twice aided his Supercars career. “The first time was when he left the HSV Dealer Team [to set up Kelly Racing] that enabled me to get my first drive in the Bundy Red car back in 2009. “Now he’s kind of left his own team to open up a spot again for me so, Rick Kelly is like my Jesus, he’s my Saviour.�

Reynolds also spoke positively about linking with Heimgartner, who is also managed by Ruggiero. “I’m very good friends with Andre, he’s a very good kid,� said Reynolds. “Surprisingly, he’s still quite young for how long he’s been around, I always forget that he’s still got plenty to give to the sport. I love hanging out with him, we’re gonna make a great team and it’s gonna be enjoyable.�

A HUGE SWING

DAVID Reynolds will race a KGR Ford Mustang that is significantly different to the one that finished 2020, team co-owner Todd Kelly has revealed to Auto Action. “We are having a huge swing at set-up and the whole philosophy on the cars,� confirmed Kelly.

KR swapped to racing two Mustangs from four Nissan Altimas for the 2020 season, a change that included starting an in-house Ford engine program.

Kelly confirmed the overhaul has come since the arrival of ace engineer Alistair McVean from Erebus Motorsport, late in 2020.

McVean, who will engineer Dave Reynolds, is working closely with Heimgartner’s engineer Dylan Talabani and new crew chief Dennis Huijser on the development process. “With Al coming onboard and going through all of our strengths and weaknesses, we’ve actually got more development parts in the system now than we’ve had for probably the last three years,� he said.

Expressly, the target is to make the performance of the KGR Mustangs competitive at slower circuits such as Townsville, Sandown and Winton. At higher-speed tracks such as Sydney Motorsport Park, The Bend and Bathurst, Kelly is confident the package is already close. “I expect to go a hell of a lot better than last year!

I know that there’s a handful of tracks where we shouldn’t be aiming for anything less than podiums and race wins,� he said. “If what we’re doing there can fix our weaknesses, we’re in a real good spot because the actual car and the engine and the drivers and pit crew are good enough to get it done.�

For more from Todd Kelly and Stephen Grove on Kelly Grove Racing, turn to our News Extra on pages 16-17. BN

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LATEST NEWS

“AMERICA WANTED ME, AUSTRALIA DIDN’T” EXCLUSIVE:

COULTHARD SLAMS SACKING New Team Sydney star reveals to MARK FOGARTY that Penske’s withdrawal doomed him at DJR REJECTED RACER Fabian Coulthard has broken his silence on being dumped by born-again Dick Johnson Racing, disclosing that Roger Penske would’ve kept him if the American mogul had stayed in Supercars.

As he looks forward to his new challenge at Team Sydney, Coulthard lifted the lid on his DJR departure and outlined his unhappiness with how he was let go.

In his first interview since being axed, he also revealed that while he had a firm offer of a co-drive at Bathurst with DJR, he wasn’t ready to give up full-time racing.

Although proud to have driven for Penske, he emphasised that he is out to prove DJR wrong by leading Team Sydney – formerly Bathurst-winner Tekno Autosports – back to the front of the field.

But it is his fall-out with DJR management that Coulthard highlighted, proclaiming: “America wanted me, Australia didn’t.”

He was the main casualty of Penske’s withdrawal, replaced in what is again Dick Johnson Racing by returning veteran Will Davison alongside rising star Anton De Pasquale.

“I would’ve liked to have been given the opportunity to drive there, but there were two other people signed without me even getting a look in,” Coulthard said.

The Gold Coast-based New Zealander is convinced that if Penske had remained involved, he would have continued in a Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustang.

“100 per cent,” he said.

To back his assertion, Coulthard revealed that he addressed speculation about his future with Team Penske president Tim

4 AutoAction

Cindric in early September, receiving an assurance of support.

“I had a chat with Tim Cindric prior to Townsville 2 and he said to me ‘If we hang around, you’re very much part of the Penske family and you’re all good. But if we don’t, then who knows?’

“There was plenty of chat about it, but no one really knew what was happening.”

It was the first indication Coulthard had that his drive might have been at risk, but he claimed he was not informed that he wouldn’t be kept on until the Friday after last year’s Bathurst 1000 (October 23) – which, to add insult to injury, was the third birthday of his and partner Becky Lamb’s twins McKenzie and Carter.

He also lamented the circumstances of his dismissal after five years and eight race wins with DJRTP. “I found out on Carter’s and McKenzie’s birthday that I wouldn’t have a drive for 2021, so it was pretty tough,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to know sooner. I think the weirdest thing about the whole deal is that, normally, when you’re going from one team to the next, you actually get to go into a race knowing it’s your last with this team and you get the ability to thank the guys.

“I would’ve loved to have had a group photo with all my (DJRTP) guys with my car to mark the end of an era and I never got that opportunity, which is a bit sad.

“But what’s happened has happened.

It’s disappointing on one side of the coin, but on the other side, I think there’s a lot of promise (at Team Sydney), and I’m motivated and looking forward to what’s ahead.”

UK-born Coulthard, 38, also explained that he wasn’t ready to retire from full-time Supercars, rejecting DJR’s offer of a codrive at Bathurst, which will again be the only two-driver race.

“One race a year doesn’t excite me,” he said. “I was offered a co-drive, but I wasn’t told which car it was going to be in.

“I want to become a co-driver on my terms when the time comes, but right now I feel like I still have much more to offer.”

Reportedly offside with Ryan Story, Coulthard found himself on the outside when DJR’s spit with Penske was confirmed five days after last year’s Bathurst 1000.

Penske sold his 51 per cent stake to minor shareholder and long-time DJR benefactor Story, who has taken over in a 50/50 partnership with Dick Johnson.

With the buy-back, Dick Johnson Racing is restored as the Shell-backed team’s official name.

Penske annexed triple Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin for his IndyCar program, replaced by rising star Anton De Pasquale.

Story dropped Coulthard to pair Pasquale with Will Davison, returning to Stapylton after 12 years.

Davison, also 38, started his full-time Supercars career with DJR, winning a drought-ending race for the Ford team in 2008 before being lured to HRT. Story has never fully explained the swap.

“We made a business decision and commercial decision, and at the end of the day, all driver choices are geared around that,” he hedged in an interview with AA

late last year. “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.

“We offered Fabian an opportunity to codrive next year, but he’s elected to pursue a full-time gig elsewhere and we wish him all the best.

“He’s been a big part of winning three teams’ championships, but it’s time for him to move to the next chapter as well.”

Clean-cut Coulthard, whose fastidious presentation impressed stickler Penske, regrets the departure of the American business and racing titan, and is proud to have contributed to Team Penske’s winning record.

He won DJRTP’s first race at Symmons Plains in 2017 and supported the squad’s three team titles in four years.

“Roger’s involvement did so much for the international prestige of Supercars,” he said. “To have been able to win races for Roger and Dick Johnson and help them win championships is a great honour.

“They’re two of the biggest icons in motor sport and I’m very proud to have driven for them. Scott’s and my performance to win multiple team championships is a huge part of my career that I’m pretty proud of.

“I’m very proud to have driven for Roger Penske. I won the first race for Team Penske in Supercars and I’m in the history books as a multiple Penske race-winner.

That can never be taken away from me.”

COMING SOON N AUTO ACTION’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Image: LAT

FABS HAS FAITH IN TEAM SYDNEY SACKED STAR Fabian Coulthard is confident he can lead Team Sydney back to its former glory.

In its previous guise as Tekno Autosports, the relocated squad was a race-winning front-runner with Shane van Gisbergen and Will Davison, who won the controversial 2016 Bathurst 100 with team owner Jonathan Webb.

Left without a DJR drive, Coulthard is looking to save his career at Team Sydney, which is reorganising for a serious assault.

He will get an indication if he’s made the right decision when he drives his Triple Eight-supported Local Legends Holden Commodore for the first time at the Queensland Raceway preseason test on February 16.

With the return of leading race engineer Dr Geoff Slater, increased sponsor support and a renewed commitment by the team-owning Webb family, Coulthard is convinced Team Sydney can become a contender again.

But he admits the squad’s transition from back-marker to podium threat will take time.

“It’s going to be a little bit tough at the start with Team Sydney, but I think we’ll find our feet and the results will come throughout the year,” Coulthard said. “Where the team’s at is not where anyone wants to be, so obviously the goal is to move forward, move up the pit lane.

“Personally, I want to be able to build up a good relationship with Geoff (Slater), understand that driver/engineer language, which will put us in good stead for the following year. So it’s all about learning each other, learning the team, getting morale up and moving the team forward.”

Coulthard concedes that moving from superteam DJRTP to rebuilding Team Sydney, joined by third-year Supercars main gamer Garry Jacobson, will be something of a culture shock.

“It’s going to be very different to where I’ve been, but that’s not necessarily a negative,” he said. “It’s just all about rebuilding and getting the team to where it needs to be.

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“I’ve gone from a multiple teams’ champion to a team that’s a little bit down the grid. But it’s been successful in the past and not being big-headed, but I’ve learned a lot along the way and I’ve had some good results, and I feel like I have lots to offer this team.

“But, obviously, a big part of my decision was having the right engineer working alongside me – that being Geoff – and when the team had success in the past, Geoff was there. Geoff was part of it and I feel like that on any given day, I can match who I need to match. So I’m pretty excited about the year ahead.”

Along with his enthusiasm for Team Sydney’s potential, Coulthard backs his own race-winning experience, citing his success at Brad Jones Racing (five race wins) before his switch to DJRTP in 2016.

Coulthard has not been to Team Sydney’s base at Sydney Motorsport Park because of COVID-19 border restrictions.

The team will relocate to Tekno’s former base at Yatala between Brisbane and the Gold Coast for the QR pre-season test, before heading to Bathurst for the season-opening Mount Panorama 500 at the end of next month.

As well as the return of gun engineer Slater, Coulthard’s entry will have increased support from Local Legends beef jerky, which is part of confectionery king Tony Quinn’s snack empire.

Scotland-born enthusiast/racer/NZ track owner Quinn’s Darryl Lea and Stix brands sponsored Tekno in its SVG/Davo heyday from 2014-16.

Coulthard chose Team Sydney over a DJR Bathurst co-drive because he believes he can still win races.

“I wanted to find something else,” he said. “I feel like I have much more to offer than being dictated to that I was going to become a co-driver.”

Coulthard doesn’t know if he will be joined by team owner Jonathan Webb, the 2016 co-winner, at Bathurst in October.

“That’s not something that’s been discussed,” he said. MF

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YOU MAY have noticed the gold 50 logo that has appeared on the cover since we came back from the Christmas/New Year break. It’s there because next month, Auto Action celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The February 25 edition will mark the title’s Golden Jubilee with a bumper special issue that will be prized by collectors.

Since early 1971, AA has provided the most comprehensive and in-depth coverage of everything from Supercars and Formula 1, to club racing.

50 years is a milestone very few print magazines in the world have achieved.

AA is Australia’s sole surviving regular print publication covering motor sport. We have only been outlasted by mainstream motoring titles Wheels and Motor, both of which were formerly our stablemates.

The mega-sized 50th anniversary issue will be choc a bloc with memories and highlights of a half-century of coverage of Australian and international racing and rallying.

Past editors, staffers and contributors – a roll call of the country’s motor sport and motoring journalism greats – will recall the magazine’s adventures in the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.

The 50th anniversary issue will include an original-format digital reproduction of the first issue inserted into the magazine.

It will be an edition not to be missed by both long-time readers, who will revel in the memories, and today’s fans, who will learn the modern history of racing that shaped the sport as it is today.

Publisher Bruce Williams, an accomplished racer and the mag’s long-time ad rep, revived AA in 2016 following a short hiatus when failed magazine conglomerate Bauer stopped publication.

Williams is proud to be the custodian of Auto Action’s unrivalled history.

“Auto Action had to be saved because it is an Australian motor sport institution,” he said. “The 50th anniversary edition will be the culmination of an unprecedented lineage as the journal of record of car racing in this country.

“We’re still here, breaking big news while providing the in-depth coverage online-only outlets can’t match. Add our digital assets, which often set the news agenda, and AA is forging into the future with an unrivalled perspective from the past.

“Our leading writers are the most experienced and authoritative in the business, augmented by ‘young guns’ who will continue our legacy far into the future.”

Auto Action invites readers, competitors and advertisers to contribute their thoughts and recollections of the magazine’s influence on their interest in motor sport.

Send your comments to editor@autoaction. com.au and the most interesting and relevant will be published in February 25’s 50th anniversary edition.

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6 AutoAction NEWS FEATURE LATEST Supercars reinstates Larko after fan uproar

By MARK FOGARTY SUPERCARS HAS bowed to public opinion by restoring popular pit lane pundit Mark Larkham to the broadcast commentary team.

In a move to placate outraged fans, Supercars bosses have also wound back plans to ‘de-tech’ the coverage, with the broadcasts retaining a largely familiar line-up.

And in a further TV development, on Monday, Foxtel’s Kayo sports streaming service announced fans will be able to watch the season-opening Mount Panorama 500 from February 26-28 for free.

The championship’s FTA broadcaster Channel 7 is said to be unimpressed. Keep an eye on the AA website for updates.

Larko has been reappointed after Supercars supremo Sean Seamer reached out to him following the unprecedented uproar over his sacking, announced late last year.

It took some talking, but Larkham was mainly persuaded by the outpouring of support by fans.

He will return to the broadcasts, to be simulcast on Fox Sports and Seven, as the pit lane technical analyst, although the full extent of his role hasn’t been announced.

Seamer admitted that the decision to drop Larko was a mistake that underestimated his popularity.

“We do listen and it is clear how much the fans love Larko,” Seamer said. “It was a mistake for us to part ways, but the outpouring of support from our fans proved we couldn’t carry on without him.

“It gives us great pride in knowing how strongly our fans care about Larko and how much they care about Supercars.”

Larkham was overwhelmed by the public support for his retention.

“Like Supercars, I could not in good conscience ignore the will of the fans whose very participation has kept me in the business for most of my life,” he said.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND “But at the end of the day, this is not about me, this is about the fans.

“The fans that love our sport, watch our telecasts, buy tickets and team merchandise and keep the whole show alive. They spoke, Supercars listened and responded; kinda cool.

“So in a really good way, over Christmas you did put an enormous weight, not burden, on my shoulders, and Supercars gave me lots of time to consider my position, and I thank them for that.

“Add to that my deep love of our sport and the fact that Supercars, and Sean in particular, allowed me to agree a very clear pathway back in, where most importantly I can continue to do what I do, including bumble, fall, drop things and make mistakes.

“So to everyone that supported, spoke out, commented, created and signed petitions, and showed care for both myself and our sport, I say a very, very sincere thank you.

“I’ll say again, you have humbled me, deeply, forever, and I promise you I will not abuse the privilege you have now offered me.”

Auto Action understands the rest of the TV talk team

will be mostly the same.

Neil Crompton is on the verge of renewing and Mark Skaife has already been re-signed.

The rest of the commentary, presenting and reporting team will be finalised by early next month, following the return of Supercars Media boss Nathan Prendergast.

Prendergast was in Saudi Arabia producing content from the Dakar Rally.

He got back last week after securing an earlier than expected flight.

He is working remotely from Melbourne while he completes his two weeks in hotel quarantine before being able to go home to Sydney.

According to Supercars, further details of the broadcasts on Foxtel, Kayo and the Seven Network will be announced “in the coming weeks”.

Informed sources indicate that the Supercars commentary team will be mostly familiar.

Fox Sports’ Jessica Yates will continue as the main host, joined on the desk by Skaife, Craig Lowndes and, occasionally, Seven’s Mark Beretta.

But Yates will be missing from the early rounds as she will be on maternity leave.

Crompton, the ‘Voice Of V8s’, will continue in the race commentary booth with Skaife.

Garth Tander is also in talks to join as an expert analyst.

Andrew Jones and Beretta will be in the pit lane along with Larko.

Former Hi-5 presenter Charli Robinson was tabbed as a colour reporter/presenter, but Seven chiefs are reportedly resisting her involvement.

The final commentary team will be decided by Supercars, which produces the broadcasts, and Fox Sports, which owns the TV rights.

Our sources also indicate that apart from the Bathurst 1000, which will be shown on the network’s main channel, Seven’s coverage will be on 7mate and streamed on 7Plus.

Free access to Fox Sport’s Mount Panorama 500 coverage on the Kayo streaming service is understood to be the first of selected Supercars events to be available without a subscription.

The Bathurst 1000 definitely won’t be free on Kayo as Seven has vetoed any no-cost competition for its coverage, which attracts one of the FTA network’s biggest sports audiences.

EXCLUSIVE: BIG CHANGES TO AGP TRACK MAJOR REVISIONS to the Albert Park track layout and a full resurface are planned for the postponed Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in November.

Auto Action has learned that several corners of the lakeside street circuit will be ‘realigned’ to improve the F1 racing, along with new bitumen that promotes more tyre wear.

The upgrade is expected to cost somewhere in the range of $10 million to $15 million.

The changes are due to be ready for the rescheduled AGP from November 18-21, although they’re mainly aimed at the new generation ‘ground effect’ F1 cars due next year.

Getting them done for this year’s event will ensure the upgraded track is ready if the 2022 AGP is restored to its traditional seasonopening March slot.

The resurfacing and corner alterations are due to begin soon for completion by May. The pit lane has already been widened with the deletion of the grass verge on the inside of the main straight.

This is designed to raise the F1 pit lane speed from 60 km/h to 80 km/h, reducing the time penalty of tyre stops.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott confirmed the plans to resurface the 5.3 km Albert Park course and modify the layout in time for the AGP in November.

The resurfacing will be the first since the

6 AutoAction

public roads around the lake were relaid for the inaugural Melbourne GP in March 1996.

“It hasn’t been needed to be done until now because it was so well put down in the first place,” Westacott said. “We were always going to try to do it in 2021, but it would’ve been after the (originally scheduled) 2021 March event. So we’re actively looking now at what we can do to achieve the resurfacing works prior to this November 21.

“That would mean we’d need to get those works completed by May. The engineers are looking at what’s possible to achieve in that timeframe.”

He also revealed that the new track surface would be more abrasive to promote increased tyre wear to open up more F1 race strategies.

“We’re starting to have a good look at the asphalt mix as well because Melbourne is not necessarily high-degradation from a tyre wear point of view,” Westacott said.

“The feedback we’ve had from F1 is that we’re sort of mid-way. We’re not the most aggressive, we’re not the least aggressive – we just don’t do much to tyres.

“By having a slightly higher abrasiveness of the asphalt mix, we’ll be able to get more strategies because you’re going to get higher tyre deg and coupled with the other changes, you get something that’s a little more interesting to the cars.”

Renewing the track will also remove bumps that have developed in several corners over

a quarter of a century, although F1 drivers – who were told of the resurfacing plan in 2019 – have warned that the ruts are part of the character and challenge of Albert Park.

AGPC engineers are looking at adding slight banking to some turns and making the back section along the lake from Turn 6 to 13 faster, turning it into a new DRS zone.

“The preliminary stuff we’ve done is about camber adjustments,” Westacott explained.

“The principles are we want to reward brave driving and good driving, and be able to penalise poor driving. The criticism has been that some of the turns at the moment are not wide enough or there’s not alternate lines into apexes.

“The work that’s being looked at shows that you can widen appropriately Turns 1 and 6, you can modify 9 and 10, you can really achieve some good things at Turn 13 by providing alternate entry lines into those turns.

We’re only talking one, two or three metres of adjustment.

“But the other thing that we could also do is adjust camber. At the moment, 13 for instance, I’m told, has negative camber on the outside line. Now, if we had that as all being positive camber and you widen it, suddenly you’re getting an opportunity to provide a number of different lines to the apex.

“We won’t be getting to Zandvoort-type (steep) banking, but if currently it’s a negative two per cent, if we can get positive three, four

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or five per cent, then it’s a pretty good outcome from a driver’s point of view and it means you can actually be more aggressive to potentially overtake on the outside if someone is trying to defend on the inside.”

The idea is also to remove the Turns 9/10 chicane and increase overtaking opportunities at the tight Turn 13 right-hander.

“There is a view that says if you look at some changes on Turn 9 and 10, you can actually increase the speed around lakeside and therefore what you’re going to be doing is you’re making more of a feature of Turn 13.

That has merit.

“The role we’re playing is working with Formula 1 – Ross Brawn and his team – to look at these likely simulations and performances of a 2022-spec car, because that needs to be taken into account in these changes as well.”

Mark Fogarty

COVID PROMPTS SANDOWN SHIFT SUPERCARS HAS confirmed the shift of the second round of its 2021 championship to the historic Sandown circuit in suburban Melbourne, in the wake of the COVID-driven postponement of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Now the question is whether Supercars will be part of the F1 event in November, although given the unpredictability of the pandemic, there are still doubts over whether the meeting itself will go ahead on the new November 18-21 date.

COVID willing, the Supercars are scheduled to race in New Zealand on November 6-7, then be shipped back to Australia in time for the December 3-5 finale on the Gold Coast, potentially leaving space for an AGP appearance and an expansion to 13 championship rounds.

“From a support category point of view, we’re going to work with every one of the support categories nationally to make sure that we can be having them as part of our support program,” AGP CEO John Westacott said.

“Clearly, that’s going to have some challenges, particularly with the NZ round of Supercars a couple of weeks beforehand, but we do want to make sure that we have

the best program.”

For more on the AGP situation, head to our News Extra on pages 18-19.

Supercars had placed Sandown on standby in case of COVID calendar changes. The event is expected to be held over two days, March 20-21. It will be the first Supercars outing at the circuit since the 2019 500km endurance race.

“We are delighted to confirm we will return to Sandown in 2021,” Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said in a statement.

“Few circuits demonstrate our history better than Sandown. We’d like to extend our thanks to the Melbourne Racing Club for their support and flexibility.

“With regards to the Grand Prix, we will assess the opportunity closer to the time.”

Supercars is hoping it will be allowed at least 15,000 fans a day at Sandown because of the venue’s sprawling grandstand and the wide-open spaces around the track.

But the final ruling on that will come from Victoria state health authorities.

“The process is that every event promoter puts in a COVID-safe plan with a requested crowd number to the public health team and the Chief Health Officer,” explained Victoria’s

Image: LAT

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula “If the promoters of the Supercars at Sandown have a view in mind of how many people that they might want, they just need to submit an application to that process.”

Border restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic had already triggered the decision to move the February 13-14 Supercars preseason test out of Sydney Motorsport Park and split it in two between Queensland Raceway on February 12 and Winton on February 16.

Fans won’t be allowed to attend the test but live timing will be available.

“It’s a shame we aren’t able to start 2021 with a test together in Sydney next month, but our priority is limiting risk to the championship rounds, so our focus needs to be on the first event at Bathurst later in February,” Seamer

GROVE: “SUPERCARS HAS A REWARDING FUTURE”

KELLY RACING TO CONTINUE Kelly Grove Racing will be a customer of family business

By BRUCE NEWTON KELLY RACING lives on despite the establishment of the new Supercars team Kelly Grove Racing.

The new entity is a 50/50 joint-venture between Rick and Todd Kelly and Grove Motorsport owner Stephen Grove, who has the single biggest shareholding at 50 per cent and will be its chairman.

Stephen’s son Brenton will be a senior member of the KGR management team although he has no financial investment.

The new entity covers the race team and its assets but not the Braeside business backroom that includes the engine shop, fabrication shop, machine shop and carbon-fibre department that has through the years developed Holden Commodores, Nissan Altimas and Ford Mustangs and their engines.

That means new signing David Reynolds will race a Penrite Mustang for KGR rather than Kelly Racing. Reynold drove a Holden Commodore for Kelly Racing in 2011.

KGR will be a customer of Kelly Racing’s services as leading Super2 team MW Motorsport and others are.

That arrangement means Kelly Racing, the team established by the Kelly family with Larry Perkins in 2009, will live on at least for now.

Todd Kelly, who is to become team principal of KGR and retain an in-depth technical role and day-to-day management duties, told Auto Action the separation made sense as negotiations progressed

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said in a statement.

“We look forward to getting back to Sydney for the night race in August. Meanwhile, QR and Winton provide teams with great facilities for in-state testing.”

As a safety measure, Team Sydney has moved out of its Sydney Motorsport Park base back to the old Tekno Autosports workshop and will participate in the QR test.

Current travel restrictions triggered by a COVID resurgence in parts of the NSW capital Sydney, including the Blacktown area where SMP is located, means that Gold Coast-based lead driver Fabian Coulthard would have potentially had to quarantine for two weeks if the team had elected to stay at SMP to test.

However, any threats to the season-opening Mount Panorama 500 in regional NSW appear to be receding. BN

in late 2020, ahead of last week’s announcement.

“It’s just how it panned out,” explained Kelly. “Stephen wanted to get in and help with the Supercar team and I said ‘this is the team on paper but this is the operation and I don’t know if you want to be involved in the stuff out the back’.

“Not knowing what’s going on with Gen3 and what we will be able to make in-house, we might need that in a year or two or we might not.

“We could join it or we could split it, but just to start with we thought the easiest way would be to just take on the racing side of things, which is the main reason Stephen wanted to get in.

“He didn’t get in to buy a CNC machine shop.”

For Kelly, the retention of family ownership of a segment of the Supercars business helps ease the emotion of changing the structure.

That wrench has also been eased by the fact he has been on the lookout for up to five years on-and-off for co-investment in the team. Very few Supercars teams retain sole ownership these days, given the expense and complexity of the category.

“That makes it easier to process that it’s only half ours and a brand change,” said Kelly.

“And it’s 10 times easier with guys like Stephen and Brenton who I am completely

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comfortable to work with.

“We have worked through everything so well together and I am completely comfortable with that.”

In its 12 year history Kelly Racing scored five race wins and six pole positions. In 2013-18 it raced as Nissan Motorsport, campaigning four factory-backed Altimas to three wins by James Moffat, Michael Caruso and Rick Kelly.

It scaled back to two Ford Mustangs for Kelly and Andre Heimgartner in 2020. Kelly stepped back from full-time competition at the end of the season, opening the drive that Reynolds eventually stepped into.

Despite the limited on-track success, Todd Kelly says he has great pride in the team’s engineering efforts in the Nissan era.

“When I look back at what we have achieved, I think we have developed some amazing equipment and done a lot of world first projects in this place,” he said. “A lot of the stuff we did is top notch anywhere in the world on the engine side.

“But now all of that stuff is behind us. It has been a bitter-sweet last 10 years, but from this point moving forward we are 100 per cent focussed on winning races and putting ourselves in the position to do that.

“So it’s a fresh page in our book. Having Stephen onboard and being in Mustangs now that has put us directly on the right trajectory to make that happen.”

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HIGHLY-SUCCESSFUL businessman and racer Stephen Grove has bought into Supercars racing because the category has a commercially rewarding future.

The 53-year old Victorian-born CEO of the Grove Group is the biggest individual shareholder in Kelly Grove Racing, which separates the race team side of the Kelly Racing business into a separate entity.

“Commercially we think we are at the bottom of the cycle and now is the time to get into the (Supercars) industry,” explained Stephen Grove.

“Time will tell if that is commercially the right decision, but I think Supercars has got a huge future.

“And that is on the back of when people think something doesn’t have a huge future that is the time to get in. When everyone thinks there’s a future, that’s obviously reflected in the costs to get into that industry.”

Grove will be the chairman of KGR with a primary focus on commercial relationships and infrastructure management.

His years in business are also expected to help the team negotiate successfully the politically-charged world of Supercars, allowing Todd Kelly to focus on making the team’s two Mustangs go faster.

“I think it is a necessity from a commercial side to make sure there is a level playing field across all the teams and we all work together to grow the industry,” said Grove.

“My job is to make sure the team has all the tools to get on with the job. If that means we have to get in the boardroom and make sure our story is told then that is what I will do.”

Stephen Grove will attend all Supercars rounds as will Brenton, whose focus will be around race team technical and organisational issues.

The father-son duo, which has a long and successful racing history with Porsche, will also contest all six rounds of the Australian GT championship in a new Porsche 911 GT3 R in 2021, while Grove senior will race in all eight Carrera Cup rounds.

Bruce Newton

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WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI United driver Chaz Mostert has signed up to contest the 2021 GT World Challenge Australia Series with GT regular Tony Bates. The duo will drive an Audi R8 GT3 sponsored by Bostik, the same brand that sponsored Mostert in the opening round of the TCR Australia Series. Along with the 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner, Bates will also have the privilege of working alongside Mostert’s longtime engineer Adam de Borre. DM

PORSCHE CARS Australia has announced the creation of its Carrera Cup Australia Hall of Fame Award. The Porsche Series began in 2003, and after a brief hiatus in 2009-10, has gone from strength to strength. The award aims to recognise and celebrate contributors, drivers and individuals who have either starred in or improved the category over the years. Each year a judging panel will induct one winner to the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Hall of Fame. DM

JACOBSON BOOSTED BY TWO-YEAR SYDNEY DEAL HIS FIRST multi-year deal in the Supercars championship has Garry Jacobson confident he can push up the grid, finishing order and points ladder.

In the wake of the announcement he had joined Team Sydney, the 28-year old confirmed to Auto Actionhe had signed a two-year deal.

Before that, Jacobson had spent a single year at Kelly Racing in 2019 and Matt Stone Racing in 2020 in his main game career, finishing 23rd and 21st in the drivers’ championship.

The 2016 Dunlop Super2 champion who is also well known as a bus driver in his Shepparton (Vic) hometown, scored the best finish of his Supercars championship career at Sydney Motorsport Park 2 last year with a seventh.

But his performances were hampered later in the year by engine dramas for the MSR Yellowcover Holden Commodore ZB. “This opportunity to have two years to really integrate myself into the team I think is a great thing for me,” Jacobson said.

“We will be able to focus in and hone in. You never hit the ground being perfect, there is always thing you can hone and improve in the way you drive a car or in

the way your philosophy is in how you extract that one lap time on a green tyre.

“It is forever changing, development is always happening and drivers need to keep up with the times and I enjoy that challenge.

“That two-year program is the biggest benefit for me in going ahead in my career, just integrating myself in Team Sydney.

“In terms of my expectation or my goal, it would be to definitely cement a lot more top 15 finishes and progress from wherever I start the year further and further toward the front.”

Jacobson will team with Fabian Coulthard at Team Sydney with Dr Geoff Slater returning to Australia and Supercars to be technical manager of the squad he worked at when it was known as Tekno Autosports. The team will continue to campaign Triple Eight-built Holden Commodore ZBs. Jacobson’s engineer, his naming rights sponsor and car livery have yet to be rolled out, but they have all been decided upon.

“The team has healthy backing, I can’t wait to announce who that is,” said Jacobson.

While there was an attempt by MSR to expand to three cars in 2021 to

Image: LAT

keep Jacobson in the fold, he knew in November he would be looking for a new team if he was to stay in the championship.

In the end he was the 24th and final full-time driver confirmed.

“It’s a time in motorsport where it’s hard to keep a seat even when you are doing a good job,” he said. “So you learn to simplify things and keep chipping away.

“I am one of the lucky ones who has

been able to secure a seat and this time for two years.

“I am really proud of that and really proud of all the people behind the scenes who keep me in the system.”

Jacobson confirmed he would move to Sydney once appropriate to be close to the team’s home base. However, team Sydney has now shifted back to Tekno’s old Yatala base for now because of COVID travel restrictions. BN

ENGINEERS CONTINUE THEIR SILLY SEASON MSR, Blanchard and Triple Eight confirm new line-ups

FORMER SUPERCARS driver and previous Indy 500 starter Simona de Silvestro will return to America’s great race driving a female-operated entry. De Silvestro will contest the 2021 Indy 500 for the first-time since 2015, when she drove for Andretti Autosport. The Swiss driver will race for Paretta Motorsport, a part of IndyCar owner Roger Penske’s new ‘Race for Equality and Change’ initiative, which aims to showcase women in motorsport. HM

LAGO RACING has confirmed that Supercars co-driver David Russell and team owner Roger Lago will contest the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Series in 2021. Russell will contest the eight-round series in the outright Pro category, while Lago will contest the Pro-am class for non-professional drivers. Back in 2015 Russell finished runner-up in the series to Nick Foster and that year beat the likes of Matt Campbell, Steven Richards and Craig Baird. DM

PAYNTER DIXON will replace PAYCE as title sponsor for the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia series in 2021. Announced by Porsche Cars Australia, the premier one-make series will now be known as Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia throughout all eight rounds this year. RV

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By BRUCE NEWTON and DAN MCCARTHY MATT STONE Racing has promoted from within, recruited from the Seton family and reached back into Supercars racing history to restructure its engineering department.

The departure of technical chief Wes McDougall to Supercars heavyweights Triple Eight Race Engineering has prompted the overhaul.

MSR will enter its fourth Supercars championship with Tim Newton (pictured right) now the senior engineer and continuing to call the shots for Jake Kostecki, while Jack Belloti steps up from data to race engineer for Zane Goddard.

Newton and Bellotti worked with Kostecki and Goddard in 2020 as they shared the Unit Holden Commodore ZB SuperLite entry.

Bellotti also spent the last two years working with MSR co-owner Jason Gomersall in Super3.

That role will be taken by double touring car champion, Glenn Seton, whose son Aaron will drive for MSR’s reborn Super2 program.

That program will be managed by another MSR internal promotion, Sheldon Auhl.

Highly experienced Nathan Leech also joins the team as performance engineer. Leech had a long stint at Stone Brothers Racing working for Matt Stone’s father Jimmy

and uncle Ross during their championship-winning era.

“We look forward to 2021 with the new structure and rollover of two of our 2020 drivers, we hope to build continuity moving forward with results being our top priority,” said team co-owner Matt Stone.

“I’ve always been a fan of promoting from within and having the opportunity for Tim and Jack step up to new positions in this restructure is a great advantage as they both understand the culture here at MSR and are great engineers for us to build our program around.”

The new crew at MSR is the

latest in a series of engineering changes that have rolled on across the championship over the summer.

McDougall has now been confirmed as seven-time champion Jamie Whincup’s engineer at T8, with David Cauchi moving across to look after Shane van Gisbergen.

Cauchi, who engineered Whincup for most of the last seven years, replaces Grant ‘Shippy’ McPherson who is on gardening leave until May. He has been signed up by Walkinshaw Andretti United in a new role as head of performance.

“As we all work as a team at Red Bull Ampol Racing, both engineers

will work on both cars, so Cauchi and I will continue to work closely throughout 2021 and beyond, although I’ve really enjoyed the last seven years working directly together,” said Whincup.

“While I’d love to still be working with Cauchi, sometimes change is as good as a holiday, and I’m sure that’s the same case for him now working with SVG. I’m hoping being the elder driver in the team that I can help guide Wes in his new role – although he has a lot of experience – and make sure he’s comfortable in the engineering team.”

Meanwhile, former Erebus Motorsport engineer Mirko de Rosa has been confirmed at the new Blanchard Racing Team, where he will be race engineering the Cooldrive Ford Mustang driven

by Tim Slade.

De Rosa previously worked with Anton De Pasquale, who has departed for Dick Johnson Racing.

“I’m really excited to start a new chapter with CoolDrive Racing, and looking forward to achieving some good results with the team,” said De Rosa.

“It’s a pretty cool opportunity to have a clean sheet of paper and to be able to implement systems and procedures from the start, which will help us down the road.”

De Rosa will also work as race engineer for Ricky Capo’s Modena Engineering squad in the S5000 championship.

FULLWOOD REVEAL SIGNALS LIVERY RUSH

By BRUCE NEWTON THE REVEAL of second-year Supercars racer Bryce Fullwood’s new Middy’s Electrical livery signals a rush of 2021 warpaint over the next few days.

The impetus for many Victorian teams is the need to get their 2021 livery launched ahead of a ride day at Phillip Island on February 3.

The three Tickford Racing Ford Mustangs, the remaining Walkinshaw Andretti United Racing Holden of Chaz Mostert and the Ned Racing Mustang of Kelly Grove Racing’s Andre Heimgartner should all be unveiled ahead of February 3.

In Fullwood and Walkinshaw Andretti United’s case the timing was even more urgent as the 2019 Super2 champ was having his first rookie test at Winton this week.

The new liveries for the Team 18 Irwin and DeWalt Holden Commodores are not expected until mid-February because that team is not confirmed to attend Phillip Island.

While already revealed, David Reynolds’ KGR Penrite Mustang will have its first public exposure, while the new Blanchard Racing Team Cooldrive Mustang will have its first hit-out with Tim Slade at the wheel.

Erebus Motorsport is not expected to be at Phillip Island and won’t be revealing its 2021 liveries until just before the Mount

Panorama 500 in late February. It planned to launch a test livery this week.

Auto Action understands the Queensland-based Red Bull Ampol Racing team is also close to a revealing its new-look.

Ampol replaces Holden as the co-naming rights sponsor of Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen’s Holden Commodore ZBs in 2021.

Fellow Queensland teams Dick Johnson Racing and Matt Stone Racing are not expected to roll out their new liveries until closer to their February 12 test day at Queensland Raceway. Team Sydney will join them there.

Victorian teams and Brad Jones Racing – which is not coming to the Phillip Island on February 3 - will have their official test on February 16 at Winton.

As previously revealed by WAU, all three primary team sponsors – Middy’s, Mobil 1 and Appliances Online – continue with the team.

Mobil 1 is shared on both cars, while Appliances Online continues with Mostert.

The Fullwood livery swaps to a pink and blue colour scheme on a gloss black base.

Middy’s joined the team with Fullwood for his first Supercars season in 2020. The 22-year old finished 18th in the driver’s championship with a third at The Bend his season highlight.

Gold partners Morris Finance and Truck Assist return to the Team in 2021, joined by new partners Goodyear Autocare, as well as the recently launched prepaid mobile service, gomo.

Also new to the team in 2021 are Prixcar Services, Acronis, Signzone and Stratasys.

“It’s great to get the Mobil 1 Middy’s Racing car out there for everyone to see, we love the way it looks, even standing still.

“To have so many returning partners back with us for another year is reflective of their support and loyalty, and we can’t thank them enough.

“It’s also amazing to be able to welcome six new partners to our team and business this year, who will all play a part in our journey; we welcome them with open arms to our family.

“We look forward to an exciting year with Bryce, where he can continue his momentum and Supercar development. This young man has genuine speed, and we’re right behind him in converting that speed into heightened results.”

Back with WAU again in 2021 are NAPA Auto Parts Australia, CoreStaff, Versor, Thetford, Palm Trans, PPG, Spicers, Urban Maintenance Systems (UMS), Lloyds Auctions, Amadio Wines, Raceline, OMP, Motum Simulation, Biante, Kleentek, King Springs, Kangan, Woodstock Bourbon, Oakley, Motorsport Distributors Group, and NGK Spark Plugs.

TEAM EREBUS UNCOVERS PRE-SEASON TESTING LIVERY EREBUS MOTORSPORT has unveiled a new look for its pre-season tests, ahead of releasing its regular season colours just prior to the Mt Panorama 500.

The squad ran in the black hues at Winton this week for its rookie test with new signings Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, ahead of the official pre-season test on February 16.

“Our team has been working tirelessly in the off season to continue improving and give all our fans and partners something to celebrate,” Managing Director Shannen Kiely said.

“That will continue in the weeks leading up to the first race, to ensure that we come out of the transporter quick.

“We are incredibly excited to get on track and see what we can all achieve together this season.”

The team’s tough look again proudly features partners Pedders, PPG Industries, Gencom, Griffith Corporation, Snap-on Tools, Supashock, United Speed Shop, Australian Army, Epoxy2U, Lonestar, Supagas, CocaCola, Workwear Discounts, CM Security, Natiive, Revolution Racegear, Metamark and official charity, Feel the Magic.

Erebus is also set to make an announcement regarding major partners in the coming weeks.

“We have some brilliant partners coming onboard and it’s a testament to our team’s commitment to succeeding on and off the track,” Kiely said.

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“Their involvement will help bring another dimension to our team, and we are incredibly excited to share that news with our fans.”

The testing livery is another exciting, unique scheme; something that Erebus has always been renowned for.

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“Our team has always been recognized for producing some incredible liveries, and we wanted no different for our test livery,” she said.

“It’s a very exciting time in our workshop, we have some fresh changes, and it was a good reason to do something outside of the box and unique.”

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THE PENULTIMATE round of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships to be held at Sandown has been delayed a week, to avoid a clash with the Supercars SuperNight in Perth on September 10-12. The packed schedule which includes TCR Australia, Touring Car Masters, Porsche Sprint Challenge, GT World Challenge Australia, Aussie Racing Cars, Australian Production Car Series and Radical Cup Australia will now take place from September 17-19. DM

THE POCKET rocket Aussie Racing Cars Series has named a new title sponsor for the 2021 season and beyond. Battery World, an Aussie brand, has jumped onboard and will take prominent branding of the ever-popular national series. The category will now be known as the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.

The opening round of the season takes place at Mount Panorama from February 26-28. DM

VHT S5000 Gold Star Championship competitor Tommy Smith has confirmed that he will also take part in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine this year. Smith will compete for Italian squad JD Motorsport after racing in the Asian F3 Championship in 2019. The 18-year-old was set to drive for JD Motorsport in the FR Europe series last year, however the COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans shortly after preseason testing. DM

SKY NEW ZEALAND has inked a deal to be the exclusive broadcaster in New Zealand for the Australian Racing Group (ARG) and Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships (SMAC).

The deal ensures that all six ARG and SMAC events, plus the Bathurst International, will be seen live in the homes of New Zealand race fans.

NEW TOYOTA Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series squad Tekworkx Motorsport will feature a youthful driver line-up in 2021. The Gold Coast based team has signed 15-year-old South Australian Kai Allen and 18-year-old Northern Territorian Rossi Johnson for its twocar entry in the five-round season. Tekworkx Motorsport is also planning to run a third car at selected T86RS rounds, with the driver of that entry to be announced later in the year. RV

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MOSTERT AIMS AT FULL TCR SEASON SUPERCARS SUPERSTAR Chaz Mostert expects to finally pull double duty and race the full TCR Australia Series in 2021.

The Queenslander was denied the chance to race for the HMO Hyundai team by Tickford Racing in 2019, because of its Ford links.

While he swapped to privateer Holden team Walkinshaw Andretti United in Supercars in 2020, COVID axed the TCR season.

This week Mostert was in Tasmania racing in the opening TCR round at Symmons Plains, for the Melbourne Performance Centre squad.

At the moment it’s being described as a one-off drive, but both the 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner and MPC boss Troy Russell expect to be together racing the Audi RS3 TCR for the full seven-round TCR campaign.

Mostert is already confirmed to share an MPCrun Audi R8 LMS GT with leading amateur Tony Bates in the reborn SRO-backed Australian GT championship, that shares many dates with TCR. “That’s obviously the goal to make that (full TCR season) happen,” said Mostert ahead of the Symmons Plain event.

“Whenever you enter a series round one you obviously want to be trying to do as many as you can.

“As long as there are no clashes with the Supercars stuff and we can get the funding across the line to do it, then that is what we are aiming to do.

“We’ll see how we go in Tassie first. It’s pretty cool to get back down there and race because we missed out last year.”

Despite his high-profile and undoubted talent, Mostert played down expectations for Tassie, in his first race outing in a turbocharged front-wheel drive TCR car, although he did test at Phillip Island earlier this month.

“There are some really super young kids in the TCR field that have been doing it for a little bit longer than me. They are definitely a unique car to drive and they have the upper hand,” said Mostert.

“Then you have guys like Tony D’Alberto who are usually at the front as well.

“This is another car I have to learn to adapt to as quick as possible to actually give those guys a run for their money.

“I am looking forward to chasing them down if not getting in front of them.”

While there are no date clashes between Supercars and TCR at the moment, Mostert’s point is well made as COVID may impact on schedules, depending on possible flare-ups.

Mostert’s TCR hit-out is being backed by adhesives company Bostik, the same brand that will support his full GT program.

Like 2016 Supercars champion Shane van

Gisbergen, Mostert has long embraced the philosophy of driving multiple categories, as opposed to some of their Supercars rivals.

In recent years Mostert has raced for BMW in GT racing internationally, winning his class in the 2020 Daytona 24-hour. He’s also raced in production cars with success at the Bathurst 6-hour.

“I just like the challenge of driving different cars and the adaptability of it,” Mostert said. “I became set in my ways driving Supercars year after year and the first time I jumped in a GT car I really struggled to get the pace out of it at the start.

“But I really loved that adaptability by trying to get faster quicker by looking at the data and challenging yourself.

“I just really like driving different cars because it keeps you fresh because when you have to drive a car a completely different way, sometimes you can look at those experience and apply it to your primary driving of Supercars.

“At the end of the day I look at race driving as a craft and it’s better to have a wider experience of that craft and try and use that in the primary thing I love to do.”

MWM SUPER2 SEATS FILLING UP REIGNING SUPER2 rookie class winner Jayden Ojeda is aiming to continue with MW Motorsport this season, after confirmation Super3 driver Declan Fraser and rival Josh Fife will join the team in 2021.

Ojeda finished fourth in last year’s title to take the Rookie honours whilst making his Bathurst 1000 debut as part of the Garry Rogers Motorsport Wildcard.

However, the Sydneysider has not yet completed a deal to re-join Melbourne-based MW Motorsport for the upcoming Super2 season.

“It would be great to stay on with Matt, but it’s about getting pen to paper,” Ojeda told Auto Action.

“It’s not official and anything could happen until then, so I am still staying vigilant and trying to make any deal happen to try and get me on the Super2 grid this year.

“It would be silly to try and go to any other team, MW Motorsport has won the past two Super2 Series and I have got a great relationship with Matt and the whole crew.

“I was really happy with my stint there last year, I really felt I fitted into the team and I’m happy to continue my development within the team and keep that continuity hopefully to give me a better year in 2021.”

MW Motorsport has been the form team of Super2 for more than a decade, culminating in taking the last two titles through currentWalkinshaw Andretti United driver Bryce Fullwood and newly signed Tickford Racing co-driver Thomas Randle.

The latter will not defend his Super2 crown in

Image: Insyde Media

2021, opting to race S5000, and is expected to contest several Wildcard events as part of his deal with Tickford Racing.

Zak Best was the third entry for MW Motorsport last season, but replaces Triple Eight Race Engineering-bound Broc Feeney in Tickford Racing’s Super2 program.

Fife and Fraser have been confirmed in filling these vacant spots, leaving Ojeda’s seat from last season the only one up for grabs.

For Super3 frontrunner Fraser it will be a major progression in his career, though he enters the season with the confidence of knowing the equipment is the best in the field.

“There’s always a little bit of that pressure factor, but at the end of the day I’m relieved that the team I’ll race with is one of the best teams in the field,” Fraser told AA. “The car and everything are going to be perfect, so I think the pressure is definitely there to perform, but it’s an awesome environment so it should be a good season, I’m really looking forward to getting

into it.

“It’s an awesome opportunity in my first year in Super2, it’s going to be the best team to be with.”

This season Fraser is aiming to build up his experience and fight for podiums amongst an experienced field.

“I’m just going out there and keeping the car straight especially at Bathurst (Round 1), I just want to get the ball moving on my progression,” he said.

“But at the same time, I really want to perform.

“It’s definitely going to be a massive learning season, hopefully with the experience MW Motorsport has got behind them I should be able to progress pretty fast and hopefully get a couple of podiums.

“Going into your Rookie season, you’re not always going to be performing at the level straightaway, so I think definitely the rookie championship is what we’re chasing. But like I said to get on the podium this year and hopefully get an overall result as well.” Dan McCarthy

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RANDLE GIVEN ALL CLEAR

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CARRERA CUP UNVEILS REVISED CALENDAR PORSCHE CARS Australia (PCA) has announced a revised calendar for the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Series, following the postponement of the Australian Grand Prix.

The modified calendar remains at eight rounds with two events changed, including the cancelation of a scheduled trip to New Zealand.

Due to the Australian GP being postponed until November, the opening round will now take place at the historic Sandown Raceway in Victoria, just minutes down the road from the grand prix venue.

The round at Sandown will take place on the same weekend as the grand prix was originally scheduled, from March 20-21.

The planned round across the ditch in New Zealand has been canned for 2021, replaced by an event in Melbourne in November.

Auto Action understands that this event, the penultimate round of the season, is the rescheduled Australian Grand Prix.

All other rounds remain the same with Round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park

in South Australia before Townsville in Queensland, and the two night races in Sydney and Perth.

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia will make a return to the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst after a one-year absence due to COVID-19.

After the likely trip to Albert Park in November, the series will traditionally conclude on the streets of the Gold Coast.

“We are really pleased with the revised calendar for the 2021 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup season,” said PCA’s head of motorsport Troy Bundy.

“The calendar offers our customers a great mix of events and circuits to attend, including four street circuits and two night races, as well as the best permanent race tracks within the country.

“While it’s unfortunate that we will no longer race in New Zealand as originally planned, the revised calendar provides race-starved Melbourne fans an additional event in what is shaping up to be one of the best seasons for our category.” Dan McCarthy

REIGNING SUPER2 Series winner Thomas Randle has been given a clean bill of health from doctors after a 12-month battle with testicular cancer.

The Victorian completed his second cycle of chemotherapy on New Year’s Day and after several weeks of recovery, has been given him the all clear.

Randle explained he didn’t want to make a fuss and kept quiet on his battle.

“I didn’t want to make a fuss of having to do chemo – it’s something I knew I’d likely have to do since the Bathurst 1000 in October – I just wanted to put my head down and get it done,” Randle said.

“It was brutal and emotional, but it’s finally done, and the doctors are happy with the results, which is the main thing.

“To finish on New Year’s Day was kind of fitting to put to a close a pretty challenging 2020.

“Now it gives me a clean slate to focus on getting my fitness better than where it was last year and get back to the racetrack.

“I always knew my form of cancer wasn’t a death sentence – testicular cancer is highly curable, and we caught it fairly early, so to be in remission now is a great feeling, and the doctors are very confident of a full recovery.”

Last month Randle was recognised by the British Racing Drivers’ Club, which awarded him the Innes Ireland Trophy for the courage he showed in the face of adversity in 2020.

Randle shared the award with Dr Ian Roberts, the F1 Medical Doctor who assisted Romain Grosjean from his fiery wreckage in Bahrain last year.

“To be honest I was blown away when I received that email from David Coulthard,” Randle told Auto Action. “It’s not every day an email from him pops

up in your inbox, that was pretty special.

“I’m extremely honoured that they recognised what I’ve been going through and to do what I was able to do on track as well.”

At one stage Randle looked set to be on the Supercars grid in full-time in 2021, however a REC shortage meant that Tickford Racing was only able to offer him a co-drive this year.

Randle has signed a multi-year deal with the team and hopes that he can step-up from a codrive to a full-time seat at the team in 2022.

“We locked in a multiyear deal, so I guess we’ll see what happens in the future, hopefully it won’t just be a co-drive,” Randle said.

“The goal is definitely the main game in 2022, that’s the goal and I believe I’m well and truly ready!”

Randle said that due to the situation of the last several months, he has been unable to sit down and discuss what 2022 holds with Tickford Racing.

“Not a lot of discussions have taken place yet (with Tickford), I’ll have a clearer picture early this year.”

In 2022 Randle has elected not to defend his Super2 crown, however it is expected that he will make several wildcard appearances for Tickford Racing in the main game later this year. DM

HIGH EFFICIENCY FILTRATION FOR THE ULTIMATE ENGINE PROTECTION

Ryco SynTec Oil Filters are available from all good Ryco Stockists

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A REVISED MotoGP calendar has been announced with the season now starting with two rounds under the lights in Qatar, the second event takes place one week later on April 4. The popular Portimao circuit in Portugal will return as the third round from April 16-18 before before the paddock heads to the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto as previously planned.

The two races that make way are America and Argentina which have been postponed due to COVID-19. DM

WEST AUSTRALIAN Calan Williams has announced that he will return with Jenzer Motorsport for a second crack at the FIA Formula 3 Championship, confirming that he will race the #26 machine. In his debut season the 20-year-old qualified comfortably inside the top 10 in Hungary and in Monza, however he was unable to convert these into point scoring finishes as he was involved in incidents. In the post-season tests Williams impressed with a string of top three finishes. DM

AUSTRALIAN JOSH Car has re-signed with Team Crosslink to compete in the US Formula Regional Championship in 2021. After winning the US F4 Championship with the squad in 2019 both he and the team made the leap up into the US FR Championship last year. It was a challenging season for the partnership with engine gremlins costing them in the final rounds of the season. DM

OLIVER JARVIS, Harry Tincknell, Tristan Vautier and Loic Duval inherited pole position for this weekend’s Daytona 24 Hour race when the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac failed post qualifying inspections.

Several Australians will take part in the famous twice around the clock event, Scott Andrews (who features on p38-39 of the magazine) will race in the LMP2 class. Matt Campbell, Ryan Briscoe, Kenny Habul and Aidan Read will take part in the GTD category. DM

ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED for midway through this year, Aston Martin has announced it’s new factory will not be completed until August of 2022. The 12-month delay like many things around the world, is a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. DM

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GROVE MOTORSPORT ANNOUNCES 2021 PROGRAM GROVE MOTORSPORT has confirmed to Auto Action that as well as buying a 50 per cent stake in Kelly Racing (renamed to Kelly Grove Racing), the squad will continue to compete in other national level motor racing categories.

Grove Motorsport owners Stephen and Brenton Grove have raced in national support categories for several years and Father Stephen explained that Grove Motorsport would run cars in two national level racing categories this year.

“Grove Motorsport will run the GT program and the Carrera Cup program, while Kelly Grove Racing will just run the Supercar program for this year,” Grove told AA. In the renamed GT World Challenge Australia (formerly Australian GT Championship) the Groves will pair up to race a brand-new Porsche GT3 R which is expected to arrive from Germany in coming days.

“The car might spend some time down there (at Kelly Grove Racing),” he said.

“We’ve got whole sticker section down there.

“The engineers and mechanics will give us a hand because it is quite a technical car, but we will run separate transporters.

“There will be some correlation there but

the guys at Kelly Grove Racing are just focussed on making the Mustangs go as fast as they can.”

Grove explained that when his son decided to give up on his professional motor racing career, they decided to do some racing together.

“When Brenton made the decision, he was going to focus on the business rather than keep going with his professional motorsport career… I really enjoy driving with Brent, so we said we’ll do the six rounds of GT together,” Grove explained.

“When we originally ordered the car one of the things on our bucket list is Spa 24 hours. I’ve done a bit of racing at Spa but never the 24 hours. We bought the car for that race and the Bathurst 12-hour.

“Obviously travelling overseas is off this year, so we were thinking about what we would do. But as soon as we knew SRO (the new category owners alongside ARG)

had some involvement, we were pretty keen to get involved.”

“For me personally I really enjoy the Carrera Cup so I will keep doing that. He didn’t want to do Carrera Cup.” As always, all rounds of Carrera Cup are on the Supercars support bill and means that Stephen and Brenton will be attending each Supercars weekend as team co-owners.

The new partnership has not ruled out a Super2 program in 2022 but is highly unlikely to take place this year with the opening round less than a month away.

“That’s a discussion we’ve had, I wouldn’t think so this year, just based on Todd (Kelly) building two new Gen 3 Fords this year. I would think that we might look at potentially a program in 2022,” Grove outlined.

Stephen himself has done a large amount of overseas racing including the sole one-make F1 support category Porsche Supercup. Dan McCarthy

SETON TAKES NEXT STEP

THIRD-GENERATION racer Aaron Seton will make the long-awaited step-up to Super2 in 2021 after securing a spot at previous series winning team Matt Stone Racing.

Seton has predominately raced in TA2 or Trans Am in recent seasons, winning the title in 2019.

The son of two-time Australian Touring Car champion Glenn and grandson of Bathurst winner Barry ‘Bo’, Seton’s deal to race in Supercars second-tier only came together recently with the support of Touring Car Masters competitor Leo Tobin.

“It’s actually been quite a recent deal that’s come together only in the last month or two,” Seton admitted.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity that Jason Gomersall, Matt Stone and Leo Tobin have put together, and I’m looking forward to giving it all I’ve got.”

Seton will drive the same ex-Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore, which delivered Todd Hazelwood the 2017 Super2 title and was used by Ash Walsh during the 2019 season.

Preparation of the Commodore will be handled by Seton himself as he joins Matt Stone Racing in a workshop role three-days a week believing this will provide an advantage on the track.

“I’m just looking forward to working on the car at the workshop and understanding as

much as I can on that side, which inevitably helps with driving,” he said.

He has kept his aims measured heading into his maiden Super2 season as Seton acknowledges the competition he is entering.

“My expectations are to give it my best and see where we end up,” Seton said. “Ultimately

that’s all we can do, I’m excited to work with the team at MSR, they’ve been very helpful and all working together to get the car ready.

“The other teams in Super2 put together competitive packages so I’m looking forward to seeing how we compare to the other young guys.”

A testing schedule is planned ahead of the opening round to give Seton valuable experience in the chassis.

“I have very limited experience in Car of The Future,” Seton admitted.

“I did three years of aero testing at runways with the Mustang and the FGX when the ZB came in so that was an exciting opportunity to watch how the technical side works in Supercars, and how the homologation process works.

“In 2017, I did two rounds of Kumho (Super3) at Winton and Queensland Raceway in a BF Falcon, which I think is the only Supercars experience.

Probably the closest car I’ve driven to that is the MARC car at the Bathurst 12 Hour.”

And what about an enduro seat at Bathurst?

“Nothing has been spoken about,” said Seton. “I’m just focusing on what I can do to the best of my ability in Super2 and see how we go at the first round at Bathurst.”

Seton will combine his Super2 program with a renewed campaign in the Trans Am National Series totalling to 13-events this season.

Heath McAlpine

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th Luke West iith wit

AA’s columnist reckons ARG is onto something good in Tassie.

TOYOTA REVEALS LE MANS HYPERCAR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has officially unveiled its all-new Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), the GR010 set to debut in the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship.

The hybrid-powered Toyota is the first LMH machine to be revealed, replacing the TS050 which has won the last three editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours and two consecutive WEC titles under the LMP1 regulations.

Power comes from a 3.5 litre V6 twin-turbo engine that is capped at 500kw and means that the engine cleverly reduces power when the hybrid technology is being used.

The machine also utilises four-wheel drive technology as its predecessor did.

To meet with the new LMH regulations the machine is 162kg heavier than the LMP1 car and produces 32% less power. It also has bigger dimensions, it is 250mm longer, 100mm wider and 100mm higher and is expected to be around 10s a lap slower at Le Mans.

Toyota’s new racing machine is based on its new GR Super Sport hypercar which made its public debut at last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

Team President Hisatake Murata is excited by the new LMH regulations and looks forward to seeing Toyota’s new machine on the racetrack.

“It is a fascinating time for endurance racing, with the new Le Mans Hypercar class, and also for Toyota Gazoo Racing, with the launch of the GR010 hybrid, this car represents our next generation of racing hybrid” Murata said.

“During our LMP1 era, since 2012, we worked tirelessly to improve and strengthen our hybrid technology for racing.

We set new standards with the TS050 hybrid and our first loop of racing hybrid development is complete; this technology will be available to our future customers soon.

“Now the second stage will begin. Through our WEC participation, we will refine our racing hybrid powertrain in the GR010 hybrid, enhance our understanding of hypercar technology and continually develop our staff. We do this with one clear goal: to deliver more exciting sports cars to our customers in the future.

“The GR010 HYBRID is a preview of our road-going cars and what we learn on the WEC race tracks will directly benefit our customers.

“For this reason, we are delighted to welcome new competitors to the top category of WEC; a tough fight on the track will inspire us to continuously improve and push the limits for better.”

The driver line ups remain unchanged, with reigning champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez piloting the #7 machine, current Le Mans 24 Hours victors Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley will compete in the #8 Toyota.

While Nyck de Vries, the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Champion will continue his role as a test and reserve driver.

The team has already tested the new car, confirming that it completed two three-day tests.

Due to the new regulations Toyota has been forced to race without a rear motor generator unit (MGU), with only a single permitted MGU located on the front axle. This means a starter motor must be fitted on the GR010 HYBRID while fully hydraulic rear brakes are also required.

The opening round of the new WEC era begins with the 8 Hours of Portimao on April 4. Dan McCarthy year absence due to COVID-19.

After the likely trip to Albert Park in November the series will traditionally conclude on the streets of the Gold Coast.

“We are really pleased with the revised calendar for the 2021 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup season,” said PCA’s head of motorsport Troy Bundy.

“The calendar offers our customers a great mix of events and circuits to attend, including four street circuits, two night races as well as the best permanent race tracks within the country.

“While it’s unfortunate that we will no longer race in New Zealand as originally planned, the revised calendar provides race-starved Melbourne fans an additional event in what is shaping up to be one of the best seasons for our category.”

Dan McCarthy

SVG’S PITLANE TO VICTORY NZ GP REIGNING BATHURST 1000 winner Shane van Gisbergen won the 2021 edition of the New Zealand Grand Prix after starting from pitlane.

In the opening round of the Toyota Racing Series at Hampton Downs, Kiwi Van Gisbergen won all three races, the first driver to do so in the NZ openwheel series.

However, he did it the hard way, in a wet qualifying session for the 66th New Zealand Grand Prix on Sunday morning van Gisbergen qualified down in 10th position.

Worse was to come for the 2016 Supercars Champion, before the start of the race he pushed the wrong button on his steering wheel and set off his fire extinguisher.

His M2 Competition mechanics were forced to clean up the Toyota and refill his extinguisher or else he would not be allowed to race.

The crew were able to do this, however by this time pitlane was closed and van Gisbergen was forced to start from the lane.

In one of the drives of his career van Gisbergen charged through the 16-car field in 28 laps, overtaking the likes of established drivers such as Kenny Smith, four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy, fellow Supercars driver Andre Heimgartner and Daniel Gaunt.

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Van Gisbergen made a lightning start and within the first handful of laps was inside the top 10.

Van Gisbergen made a risky move for the lead, squeezing down the inside of Gaunt at Turn 8 to take the lead.

In 18 laps van Gisbergen had shot from 16th to the lead, and in the final 10 laps cruised to a mightily impressive victory.

“It didn’t really get off to a good start when I pressed the fire extinguisher by mistake, but the team were awesome getting me ready to go,” van Gisbergen said.

“The car was really hooked up and absolutely awesome.

I’m surprised it’s all still there as it was a bit rough going through the field.

“To get my name on that trophy is a pretty special thing.

Looking at those names from the 50s and 60s and some of my heroes, I’m stoked.”

Heimgartner finished the race in second, 2.2s adrift of his Supercars rival and less than 1.4s ahead of Matthew Payne who rounded out the podium.

After leading much of the race Gaunt’s tyres fell off a cliff and he plummeted down the field to finish in seventh.

Murphy finished ninth, with 79-year-old Smith in his 50th NZ GP last of the finishers in 15th. DM

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HOW REFRESHING was that! If the first leg of Race Tasmania, at Symmons Plains, was any guide, the future of Australian motorsport is bright and will be wonderfully entertaining. Well, ARG’s brand of entertainment at least.

Short, sharp races for an interesting, diverse and relatively affordable lineup of classes takes me back to the days of packed schedules at Amaroo Park’s AMSCAR rounds or last century’s ATCC and V8 Supercars meetings. It makes me wonder how a day at the races for the premier series evolved to the point where it now features such big gaps between a small number of races for paying punters.

Admittedly, my judgement comes after just the first day of the new school year. AA’s print deadlines saw this column filed after Monday’s action, following Symmons’ opening TCR, S5000 and TA2 races, and before Tuesday’s main race day.

The fact the inaugural Race Tasmania happened at all is testament to the ‘can do’ approach of so many. The Australian Racing Group, including new headhonchos Garry and Barry Rogers, Motorsport Tasmania (who operate Symmons and Baskerville) and the Tasmanian government all deserved a pat on the back for making it happen.

Well done to competitors, too. It was a significant leap of faith for mainland teams to travel interstate, step through the minefield of COVID requirements and restrictions, and get on with racing. In doing so, they kickstarted their seasons beautifully. With the uncertainty of potential C19 flare-ups and new border restrictions, no one would have blamed them if it all became too hard to set sail south and compete. After all, a large percentage of teams are semi-professional or ‘after hours’ operations.

Unlike Supercars, many drivers and crew have regular jobs. Grids will only grow from here, thanks to the fine foundation work laid in Tassie.

Truth be known, the racing was only so-so on day one, but there were sufficient storylines to make it compelling viewing.

If S5000 is not the greatest thing to happen to Aussie racing since Peter Brock, I’m no judge. The cars are fast, sexy and raceable. As to those storylines, we get to enjoy Joey Mawson’s talents on home soil after years toiling overseas. The Sydneysider is better travelled than his famous Antarctic exploring namesake and is now the first Australian Drivers Championship race winner since 2014.

The lowering of outright lap records by S5000 cars is going to be a 2021 highlight. Then there’s Thomas Randle’s stirling efforts to compete upfront of a challenging series following his cancer scare. As I wrote, there are some terrific subplots and narratives for motorsport tragics to follow in Australia’s newfound premier open-wheel class.

In TCR, Alfa Romeo’s lockout of the season’s first podium wound back the clock 40-odd years to the days of Foley, Mildren, Bartlett, French and Cole.

But the beauty of TCR is that the distinctively-styled Italian hatches won’t have it all their own way as the season progresses, with different models suited to different circuits.

Aussie TCR has already established itself as being home to a potpourri of marques driven by ex-Supercars stars and youngsters rising through the ranks, 16-year-old podium-getter Jay Hanson a good example of the latter. Sixteen!

Of course, much fan interest lies in the telecast and the commentary talent. If you haven’t worked it out already, Seven/ARG’s giant 2021 commentary team is about giving as many new faces a go as possible. The cast of thousands is essentially a casting call that will be weeded down for 2022. Sure, there’s established veterans like Mark Beretta, Richard Craill, Matt Nulty and Greg Rust, who are all thorough professionals and solid performers. Among the newcomers, several who are very very raw, I predict Big Bash League identities Abbey Gelmi and Brad Hodge will be the stars. Gelmi has a smile that could have light up Launceston, while Hodge is a motor racing fan who is at ease behind the microphone. I’m judging him more so on his BBL commentary, as he has a likeable and easygoing style that offer some interesting, left-field insights. I have a mate who reckons Hodge is the ‘sleeper’ in the pack. I can’t disagree. I reckon he’ll become a motor racing telecast regular.

Finally, I’m a big fan of the concept of a Tasmanian double-header to begin the season. This will grow in coming years. I’ve witnessed the transformation of Baskerville Raceway from club circuit to modern-day facility and know there are some very clever and committed people behind restoring it to former glories, headed by Peter Killick.

Motorsport needs to get smarter about how it presents itself and the importance of date equity – holding events on the same weekend each year.

Racing on the Australia Day public holiday will become a Tasmanian ‘Oz Day’ tradition to rival backyard cricket.

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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RACE TASMANIA HERE TO STAY

BOTH AUSTRALIAN Racing Group majoritystakeholder Barry Rogers and Motorsport Tasmania’s Donald have affirmed their support of future Race Tasmania events.

A successful event at Symmons Plains run in front of a sell out 5000 people each day where patrons were turned away at the gate has spurred on the two organisations to commit to January in Tasmania for the future.

“We didn’t do this just for one-year,” said Rogers.

“We’d like to think we’ll be still doing this in 20-years’ time, January is Tassie. Come down, January, Australia Day, book a holiday, this wasn’t a one off we want to come down and do it properly. Not saying we haven’t done

it properly this time, but when we get out of COVID, we want to come down here and fill the joint up with some really good motor sport.”

This also extends to the second leg at Baskerville where Rogers aims for it to become a round of ARG’s portfolio of categories instead of the non-series events, which will run this weekend.

“The initially plan was for Baskerville to be Round 2 for all the series and we’ve built it into a good Trans Am event with the Tasmania Ten Thousand,” Rogers explained.

“I think, the ideal thing would be to race Round 1 here and make it (Baskerville) Round 2 of the championship, so we’ll see what unfolds there.”

Rogers suggested the early start-time in the year being a problem, but suggested the calendar could be extended to accommodate the Race Tasmania double-header.

“There are some issues with it when running a seven-round championship, if two of those are run in January there are some big gaps between the races, but if we can get the sponsors behind a whole lot of things there’s no reason we can’t run more rounds,” Rogers emphasised.

“Really in the future I think it will be 10 rounds, but you need the commercial backing to do it.”

Baskerville is not an FIA-rated circuit and some modifications including to the catch

TEAM HODGE IN EARLY STAGES FORMER AUSTRALIAN test cricketer and current Network Seven Australian Racing Group commentator Brad Hodge has signalled his desire to enter motor sport as a team owner.

The self-confessed motor sport tragic has aims to run a small operation with the goal to helping young talent.

“I’ve always been passionate about motor sport, I’ve loved it for a long time,” admitted Hodge.

“I actually plan to put together a small little motor sport team in the future to help out some young kids.

You know how difficult it is funding-wise to be able to go from karting to cars, it’s a little project in its infant stage, but we’ll see.

“It comes down to funding and there are a few little financial things to fall my way, but you never know.

Hopefully, we find a car in the paddock pretty soon.”

Although Hodge was an elite cricketer for nearly 30-years, he has started competing in the entrylevel Hyundai Excel category after being denied the opportunity due to his commitments on the pitch.

“I guess my cricket career never allowed me to get into it, one I wasn’t actually allowed while I was under contract to do x-sports and motor sport comes under that, and the other reason was I pretty much never had

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a weekend for the best part of 30-years,” explained Hodge.

“My motor sport journey has just started.”

A follower of the British Touring Car Championship, Formula 1, MotoGP and Supercars, Hodge is still fresh to competing, but was thrust behind the wheel of Chaz Mostert’s Melbourne Performance Centre Audi RS3 LMS TCR with co-driver, previous Australian Rally champion Molly Taylor alongside.

“I think I left my nuts in Grantville on the way down because I certainly didn’t find them here,” Hodge remarked after his two-laps.

“I’ve had a few drives in race cars and Excels, I’ve done some laps in Aston Martin GT4s, but that was a while ago. I must admit it’s pretty rusty, Erebus Motorsport let me come in and drive its simulator to get used to Phillip Island track, but that didn’t help.”

Hodge will be part of the ARG Network Seven coverage for at least four events, including Bathurst at Easter.

“I’m super excited for Channel 7, to be able to cross into many different sporting codes, they are passionate about motor sport so for me to get an opportunity to work in that space as well as promote another amazing sport is awesome,” said Hodge. Heath McAlpine

fencing would need to be made, which adds another complexity.

Potter meanwhile was delighted by the event and although said there were teething problems, Race Tasmania is oncourse to become an annual feature on the calendar.

“The likelihood of this going ahead next year, we’re 95 percent sure it’s going to go ahead,” said Potter.

“GRM and ARG are really confident we can make this a yearly thing, then we can build it into a proper and true event.”

However, an alteration will have to be made to the scheduling to not clash with the Bathurst 12 Hour, which traditionally occurs on the first weekend of February each year. Heath McAlpine

BOWE CLOCKS UP 50 YEARS THE OPENING round of Touring Car Masters at Symmons Plains provided the start of John Bowe’s 50th season of motor racing, an achievement he began on home turf in Tasmania.

Bowe still can’t believe he has been racing for half a century.

“50 years, far out,” Bowe said. “I know only one other bloke who’s sillier than me and that’s Kenny Smith!”

The Kiwi open-wheel legend competed in his 50th New Zealand Grand Prix last the weekend.

“I don’t know if it’s craziness or love of racing or what, but I’ve had some great times, I’ve had some bad times too. Overall, to think I started

in my little Formula Vee I never, ever thought in 50-years’ time I’d still be racing.”

Bowe’s roots can be traced back to his father Brian, who was a top-competitor in Tasmania during the 1960s. Memories of Symmons Plains include collecting bottles with his brothers to cash in and racing Dinky toys down his father’s trailer to see who had the fastest one.

Beginning his career at Baskerville, Bowe took his first win at Symmons Plains in a Formula Vee race at the start of 1972 thus began a career that continues to this day.

“We were doing our due diligence on what to buy as a race car for me, I was nearly 16,” Bowe explained. “We looked at a little Elfin

Streamliner, we looked at a big Rennmax with an Oldsmobile engine that Ross Ambrose had owned at one stage but my old man thought that was a bit much!

“This was true and good thinking.”

Now Melbourne-based, Bowe went on to win numerous national titles including the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship, plus two Bathurst 1000s in a fruitful relationship with Dick Johnson Racing, which continued for more than a decade.

An Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee back in 2018, Bowe expressed his excitement in beginning this momentous season in his home state considering the challenges the world has

experienced during the last year.

“It’s significant for a few reasons, first of all it’s terrific to be racing in Tasmania in January rather than March, April or May with chances of rain and secondly, it’s the second meeting we’ve done with the Australian Racing Group,” said Bowe.

“I have very huge respect for the people involved in ARG – there’s quite a number – and I’m quite sure in the long-term they will be very good for the category.

“The amount of work that went on behind the scenes with ARG, Motorsport Tasmania, with the three elements of the government, it was just huge.” Heath McAlpine

discussed what to do with the VW remains and we jointly agreed that we didn’t want to pass it on to someone who would build up a lookalike but lacking all the avant-garde McLaren componentry and present it as ‘our’ car.

“We decided to pass the VW 5000 on into history and rest on its well-earned laurels.

“Regarding the new ‘tribute car’ project, Simon has the technical and engineering credentials required to do it justice.

“Peter and myself have agreed to support the project and preliminary engineering of McLaren

components, Hewland gearbox and Chev F5000 is now well underway.

“Peter, now retired from his engineering business, has built a new extension to his comprehensive home workshop especially for the build.

“Fortunately, my archives contain a dayby-day photo record of the original build, so the combination of the engineering skills of the original constructor and PPG’s technical resources will produce a fitting tribute to this iconic sports sedan.” Stephen Dalton

FAMOUS SPORTS SEDAN TO BE REBORN ONE OF Australia’s most famous sports sedans of the 1970s, Bryan Thomson’s VW Fastback, is to be re-created – by its original builder.

The car was virtually a Formula 5000 with the VW bodywork.

It was constructed by Thomson’s engineering mate Peter Fowler and its re-creation is being supported by Simon Phitzner, president of the recently Motorsport Australia-approved Historic Sports Sedan category.

Phitzner, of Adelaide and who operates Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes (PPG), has sent Fowler a VW shell to prepare for the extensive conversion.

Phitzner recently acquired another ThomsonFowler car – the perhaps equally famous Mercedes 450 SLC. “Simon is an amazing enthusiast, with global connections through his business of providing racing gearboxes to leading rally competitors in the WRC, and back home he is an avid supporter

of the Australian do-it-yourself competitor,” Thomson said.

“In 1998 we sold up our property in Murchison (country Victoria), planning to move to Melbourne.

“Stored in the workshop for the past 20 years was the remains of the VW 5000 that was constructed to contest the ’74-’75 Marlboro $100,000 series – the richest race series ever in Australian motorsport.

“The VW was runner-up to Bob Jane in ’74 amid red-hot controversy and again in ’75 due to a mechanical issue with the prototype ThomsonFowler quad-valve engine.

“Two years later the VW was acquired by a New Zealand collector who was only interested in stripping the car of all the McLaren M10B F5000 components used in the construction.

“The bare bones were offered to Peter Fowler and stored at my farm property.

“When the time came to shift Peter and I

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LATEST NEWS

MCLAUGHLIN 10-RACE SPONSOR REVEALED

DOVI PRIMED TO RETURN AS MARQUEZ REPLACEMENT MOTOGP FRONT-RUNNER Andrea Dovizioso elected to take a sabbatical in 2021, however his manager says that that the Italian rider is primed to replace the injured Marc Marquez.

Former Repsol Honda rider Dovizioso suffered a painful and drawn-out divorce from the factory Ducati team last year and despite several offers on the table from lower teams for 2021, the Italian rider decided to take a sabbatical.

‘Dovi’ also turned down opportunities as a test rider as he did not want this to limit his options for a full-time return in 2022.

According to Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella, Dovi is prepared and ready for action should the factory Honda squad need a replacement for the injured six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez.

“If it (the call) arrives, Andrea is really ready,” Battistella said. “He is training with motocross at an amateur level, but he is doing it with such intensity as if it were in full pre-season MotoGP. We will work this year to fully return in 2022.

“As for Honda, of course, first of all I’d like to say that both Andrea and I are very sorry about what is happening to Marc (Marquez), it is clear that they are evaluating exactly when their rider can return.

“In my opinion, they are, rightly, afraid of making any mistakes in such a delicate situation.

Next month will be crucial for their decisions. For our part, we have rejected all of the proposals to be a test rider in order to be free to do something else but, also, so we are ready to return to the grid.”

Uncertainty and rumours continue to mount as to whether Marquez will be fit in time for the opening round of the MotoGP season from March 26-28.

Murmurs of a possible Marquez replacement persist, although the Spaniard’s Honda crew chief Santi Hernandez openly said that he would like to see test rider Stefan Bradl return.

Due to testing restrictions, Dovizioso would not be allowed to ride the bike until the pre-season Qatar test, with Battistella telling Sky Sports Italy that it is an idea that they are open to.

“When I think about it, I would say yes to a call (from Honda) to get to know each other and to understand how Andrea would adapt to that bike,” he said.

“We are talking about a winning bike and a rider who has always been very strong in Qatar; that combination would definitely intrigue fans”.

Battistella admits that once Marquez returns to full fitness and is ready to return, Dovi will have to make way as teams are only allowed to run a maximum of two bikes.

“The hypothesis of starting (Dovi) alongside Pol Espargaro and then adding a third bike when Marquez returns is not feasible, so I don’t think there are so many variables that we can explore,” Battistella admitted.

“Let’s wait while Andrea, very calmly, works with the seriousness and commitment that makes him Andrea.”

“Obviously, we don’t like to hide behind a finger and the idea of watching the double-header in Qatar from the sofa at home might not be easy - assuming Dovi is not on a motocross track in those hours.” Dan McCarthy

THREE-TIME SUPERCARS champion Scott McLaughlin will be supported by PPG for 10-races of his rookie IndyCar campaign with Team Penske.

McLaughlin made his IndyCar debut on the streets of St Petersburg last year as part of the season finale sporting support from Shell V-Power, but will this year align for a significant portion of the season with long-time Team Penske sponsor PPG. The Kiwi ace moved to the United States at the end of 2020 where he completed testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, successfully passing the Rookie Orientation Program, which enables him to compete in the Indy 500.

“It is surreal to think my first full season in the INDYCAR SERIES is almost here,” said McLaughlin. “I am truly living out my dreams and to have PPG on board as our primary partner is amazing.

“I watched the beautiful blue and white PPG cars compete over the last few years, and they look amazing on track. It is going to be an honour to represent PPG in the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet this season.”

The relationship between paint and coating manufacturer PPG and Team Penske can be traced back to 1984 when the company first provided paint to the prestigious operation.

Some of the most iconic IndyCar

liveries have emerged from the partnership.

“PPG is a global, industryleading brand that has been a terrific partner with Team Penske for more than three decades,” said Roger Penske.

“Our relationship with PPG has continued to grow and reach across all areas of our business. We are excited about the newest racing opportunity in our partnership as PPG teams up with the No. 3 team and Scott for his first full season competing in the NTT IndyCar Series.”

The last race win for PPG and Team Penske was Josef Newgarden’s victory at Gateway Motorsport Park in 2017.

PPG’s support will also extend to Austin Cindric’s NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign for four races.

“The relationship with Team Penske has been extremely successful for PPG, both on and off the track,” said Bill Shaw, PPG director, strategic accounts, automotive refinish.

“We are excited to add another chapter to our history with Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet team.

Scott has proven himself to be one of the most talented race car drivers in the world, and we know success in his new opportunity with the team is just around the corner. PPG is excited to be a part of that.”

Heath McAlpine

HAMILTON’S CONTRACT CURVEBALLS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff continue to drag on. The two men have not been able to meet face-to-face to talk things over.

“The lawyers are working hard,” Wolff told Austria’s ORF TV. “We don’t make life easy for them, of course, when we both argue over Zoom and keep sending curveballs to the lawyers.”

Hamilton is currently in the U.S. while Wolff is in Austria. Wolff is confident that a deal will be reached before the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain 2 – 4 March. The country will then host the first race of the season on 28 March.

“You always come from different corners, but that’s quite normal,” Wolff said.

It was in Bahrain last year that George Russell performed brilliantly in the Mercedes. The Williams driver took over Hamilton’s seat after the latter tested positive for COVID-19. Russell came close to winning but had a long pit stop and then a deflating rear tyre.

But Wolff said that he has not been using

Russell as a leverage tactic.

“We never played the George Russell card,” Wolff said. “He did incredibly well and will one day be in a top car, but our longstanding partnership is not at all about making any threatening gestures. We know we want to race together. And now we have to negotiate the contract.”

Wolff also revealed that he tested positive for the coronavirus and had to spend 10

days in isolations.

Five F1 drivers caught the coronavirus last year or in January of this year: Lance Stroll, Sergio Pérez, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

The teams did not reveal how many crew members tested positives, but there were outbreaks at several teams including Racing Point and Williams last season.

Dan Knutson

NEW AUSSIE RACING CARS TITLE SPONSOR ANNOUNCED THE POPULAR pocket-rocket Aussie Racing Cars Super Series has named a new title sponsor for the 2021 season and beyond.

Aussie Racing Cars and Aussie brand Battery World have partnered up and the category will now be known as the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.

The deal not only sees Battery World become the title sponsor, but it will also feature as a sponsor on all Aussie Racing Cars throughout the 2021 season.

As part of the sponsorship Battery World’s associated company Yuasa will become the official battery of the series and see all Aussie Racing Cars fitted the Yuasa product.

Aussie Racing Cars category manager Brad Ward is delighted to welcome onboard the new title sponsor after a challenging 12 months.

“After a tough 2020 for everyone, we’ve put together one of our best calendars ever for 2021 and now, we have even more reason to celebrate the return of Aussie Racing Cars to tracks around the country,” said Ward.

“We are proud to welcome Battery World to the Aussie Racing Car Super Series as Naming Rights Partner and Yuasa as our official battery.

“As we also unveil a new, modern logo, its only appropriate that the category which started 20+ years ago from something small and has grown to be the nationwide success story that it is today teams up with Battery World, which has a similarly colourful and successful history, spanning over 20 years.”

Battery World general manager Johnny Kennedy explained that it was logical to join forces with such a unique series.

“It makes commercial sense that Australia’s largest battery

retailer fits each of these iconic racing cars with only the best Yuasa batteries,” Kennedy said.

“This exciting partnership further cements Battery World’s positioning as Australia’s leading battery retailer.”

“With 2020 being an extremely successful year for Battery World, our 110 stores are extremely excited to see what this partnership will deliver to the business in 2021.”

As always, the Aussie Racing Cars calendar boasts a large array of circuits, including a trip to Bathurst to start the season.

“In Mount Panorama, we couldn’t have a better place to open the 2021 season, and in the Gold Coast, we couldn’t have a better place for a finale,” Ward said.

“Everyone’s itching to get back to a racetrack and there’s no better time to watch or get involved in the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.”

As a support to the Supercars Championship during the Bathurst 500 weekend, the opening round of the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Series takes place from February 26-28.

Dan McCarthy

BATTERY WORLD AUSSIE RACING CARS SERIES CALENDAR Round 1 2 3 4 5 6

Date 26-28 Feb 10–11 Apr 1–2 May 25–27 Jun 10–12 Sep 3–5 Dec

Circuit Event Mount Panorama 500 Tasmania Supersprint Sydney Motorsport Park Morgan Park Raceway Sandown Raceway Gold Coast 600

Supercars Championship Supercars Championship Motorsport Australia Nationals Motorsport Australia Nationals Motorsport Australia Nationals Supercars Championship

PRICE RECEIVES ORDER OF AUSTRALIA HONOUR TWO-TIME DAKAR Rally winner Toby Price has received a Medal of the Order of Australia honour as part of the national holiday festivities.

Price received his OAM in the General Division for Services to Motorsport, highlighting his success not only on the international stage, but for his local success on the Finke Desert Rally as well.

Price started riding professionally in 2004 at the age of 16 after winning two national junior titles, signing with Kawasaki Australia.

Price’s local successes include five Australian Off-Road Championships, five Hattah Desert Rallies, six Finke Desert Rallies and two Australian 4-Day Enduros with most of these riding KTM motorbikes.

After finishing third on debut in 2015, Price dominated the 2016 Dakar Rally taking five stage wins by more than 40-minutes to

become the first Australian to win any class of the prestigious event.

Further international successes included winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on his way to third in the World Cross-Country Rallies Championships. In 2018, he won the title.

The Dakar has provided mixed results for Price, in 2017 he broke his femur, before returning to place third the next year.

A broken wrist failed to stop Price from taking a heroic Dakar victory in 2019, before scoring third again in 2020.

Price has also dabbled in motorsport of the asphalt variety, contesting the Stadium Super Trucks and was an inaugural driver in

the Superutes category racing a Mitsubishisupported Sieders Racing Triton.

The Queenslander is currently awaiting surgery on his shoulder after heavily crashing out of this year’s Dakar on Stage 9. Price not only severely injured his shoulder, but was knocked out in the incident where fellow riders Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec stopped to help.

Recently he revealed his shoulder needed to be plated down, new ligaments and his AC joint required a clean-up. Price’s surgery will occur on February 3 after serving his 14-day quarantine.

Heath McAlpine

PIASTRI HONOURED WITH SIR JACK BRABHAM AWARD AFTER WINNING the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Australian Oscar Piastri has been honoured as the latest recipient of the prestigious Sir Jack Brabham Award.

The award presented by Motorsport Australia is given to an Australian Motor Racing competitor at the international level and recognises the achievements they accomplished during the season.

Past winners include IndyCar Series winner Will Power, F1 race winner Daniel Ricciardo, NASCAR Cup Series winner Marcus Ambrose and his manager and multiple-time Grand Prix winner Mark Webber.

“To win this award is a massive honour. Not just because of the award in general, but also having Sir Jack’s name attached to it. It’s very special,” Piastri said.

“Knowing everything he has achieved is in the sport such as his three world championships and running his own successful team, it means a lot.

“It’s also very cool to have my name amongst the previous winners. To be recognised in that calibre of drivers and amongst those names is very special.

“Winning the award is one of those things where it’s a real honour to have it on your CV. It’s cool to get the award and it’s only going to bring good things for my career.

“It’s nice to have my hard work and success from F3 recognised so a big thank you to Motorsport Australia for giving me this honour.”

Hot off the back of winning the Formula Renault Eurocup series in 2019, Piastri joined Prema Racing for the 2020 F3 Championship, racing against some of the best young open-wheel drivers from around the world.

During the competitive nine round Formula 3 season Piastri took two race wins and a further four podiums to take the title by three points.

Following on from becoming the first Aussie to win the third-tier F1 series the Victorian was rewarded with a test drive in a Renault Formula 1 car and confirming his seat with Prema for the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship.

Piastri was presented the Sir Jack Brabham Award by Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca.

Motorsport Australia President Andrew Fraser congratulated Piastri on the prestigious honour.

“After a such a strong season, Oscar is a very worthy recipient of the prestigious Sir Jack Brabham Award,” Fraser said.

“Oscar was a shining light in 2020 and we all know that he has a bright future ahead of him, and this award is proof of the high regard in which he is already held here in Australia.

“I wish him all the best for his maiden season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and look forward to watching on from afar, along with the rest of Australia who will be cheering him on in 2021.”

Piastri begins his FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign with testing next month before the eight-round season gets underway at the Bahrain Grand Prix on 27-28 March.

Dan McCarthy

S W E N A R T X E

A NEW ERA

Todd Kelly and Stephen Grove tell Bruce Newton why they united their Supercars ambitions THE KELLY family has been a staple of Supercars racing for more than 20 years and has owned their own team for 13 years.

The Grove family has been motorsport players in Australia and overseas for many years too, but have been much more closely associated with racing Porsches than V8s.

The announcement that they had joined forces to create a new Supercars racing team, Kelly Grove Racing, was a surprise to many.

Essentially, Todd and brother Rick Kelly own 50 per cent of the new entity and Stephen and son Brenton Grove control the other 50 per cent.

The driving forces behind the new deal are Todd Kelly and Stephen Grove, and explain here why it all makes sense.

On when the deal came about Todd Kelly: “Sorta mid to late last year. But I’ve had the feelers out for a long time to try and get the right partner to come into the place and give us a bit more firepower and a hand with a few things.

“But finding someone I can work with dayto-day has been the biggest challenge.

“We knew that we had to do something probably five years ago, but it has taken till now to get the right person and the right relationship.”

On what he means by that term “firepower”?

“We are just a little operation from Mildura and it looks a lot bigger from the outside than how we operate now. We have shut down to two cars and we have had a lot of upper management in the place over the years, which we don’t have now.

“We actually are a small team and with me being so hands-on … that leaves a bit of a hole compared to other teams just being able to talk with the sponsors and do a lot of the management stuff, where Stephen and (his son) Brenton are really enthusiastic about that side of the business.

“That is a massive hole we will fill.

“For example, when you are trying and get little bits and pieces done like enduro codrivers signed, we have never really been in position to bid for or poach the good drivers up the pointy end as everyone else does, we just haven’t been able to afford it. We don’t have that kind of firepower, so Stephen’s come in and had a huge impact in that area alone. He’s just bang ‘Let’s get him’. It’s the little things like that he’s helped out on … It’s gonna make a big difference to us this year.”

On whether he knew the Groves before this negotiation started “No. Obviously we knew of each other. I had a bit of an idea they were interested. Over the last few years I’ve had serious conversations with maybe four or five people wanting to get into Supercars and into the team. This was one of those cases where I got wind they might be interested. I just picked up the phone and called him.

“He had been through the team previously, he knew (former Kelly Racing general manager) Nick Ryan before Nick left. So he was familiar with the operation.

“I did a little bit of homework on him because having the right person in here is critical for me. All of the reviews come up almost a bit too good as far as what kind of guy Stephen is.

“So we had a chat and we hit it off straight away. He’s a builder and that’s what our background is too. They are a family-owned operation too. There are many synergies; he love cars, bikes and hot-rods and it doesn’t matter what the conversation topic is, we hit it off in every aspect.

“The main thing is we are extremely passionate about the race team and Supercars and making it more successful.

So even though we only met about five months ago, it’s like we have known each other for 25 years.”

On the future of the team without the Groves buying in “It’s funny and I joke with Stephen about it. This is the best the team has ever gone.

We have got more sponsors than we have space on the car now. This year before Stephen came along was the best situation we have been in financially at the beginning of a season.

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“You normally try and sell a fair bit of real estate as the season begins and progresses, but it’s entirely the other way round now. We are actually in a really good spot.

“It’s not about being able to survive on the financial side, it’s getting someone in to complement the areas we were not doing a good enough job in, and put us up where the top teams are.

“If I wanted to have a board meeting with the owners and directors I’d be in the boardroom on my own and talking to myself, or giving (brother) Rick a buzz.

“Other teams like Tickford and Triple Eight, they have a lot of firepower that can sit in the boardroom and talk about the direction of the team and all of those things.

“We are good at building engines and exhaust pipes, doing all the hands-on stuff.

It’s the big picture upstairs in the office aspect that Stephen can bring to the table.”

On the role of the Groves within Kelly Grove Racing?

“Brenton is quite interested in the engineering side of things and he has been coming in and chatting to the engineers and team managers. They have a lot of experience in GT racing so they are talking about pit bays and rattle guns and things like that. Brenton is very enthusiastic about stuff like that “Stephen is more the higher level stuff, wanting to meet the other sponsors and looking at how we can grow that side of the business.

“At the same time the Groves have got a number of extremely big operations to run which are full-time for them. They are not sitting in the office next to me, they are both probably here once or twice a week.

“So I am still looking after the majority of it, but they are assisting in every way they can. It’s like a new toy for those guys, their enthusiasm has been outstanding so far. Every little thing they have come in and looked at, whether it be a commercial thing or the shoes and pants we are wearing, they have come in pretty hot.

“They are willing to take the time required which is good.”

On where Rick Kelly – who retired from Supercars racing at the end of the 2020 season - fits in “We purposely didn’t hassle Rick too much about all this because there’s a fair old process to go through after you have just hung your helmet up after a 20-odd year career.

“We gave him a little bit of grief about jumping in the car and doing the enduros and initially he didn’t even want to have that discussion. He just wanted to let the dust settle and process everything.

“Now, with everything that’s gone on and the hype in the team, he is poking his head out and showing some interest.

“That’s something I don’t want to rush, but even if he could just jump in and be involved in the test days, he would be a

huge asset to the team, especially with our engineering team we’ve got on board and the amount of development items we’ve got being made in the machine shop and in the fab shop for the cars. We are having a huge swing at set-up and the whole philosophy on the cars.

“Having someone of his experience give his opinions on that would be really handy.

We’ll see where we get to, we’ll be okay if he doesn’t do it, but it will be a huge thing for the team if he gets involved in all that.”

On the emotional wrench of selling off share of the family team “Because I have been out there behind the scenes looking for this opportunity, that makes it easier to process that it’s only half ours and a brand change.

“And it’s 10 times easier with guys like Stephen and Brenton, who I am completely comfortable to work with.

“Right up through this whole process there’s been a lot of pushing back and discussion – there’s so many aspect to a transaction like this – and there’s not been one issue. We have worked through everything so well together and I am completely comfortable with that.

“The biggest adjustment for me is if I wanted to do something, I would do it. If the guys walked in and said ‘We want to spend $200 grand on something or other and I would say yes or no and it’s done within two seconds. But having to run all that past another shareholder is something for me to get my head around. It’s not a bad thing, it’s more of a process than what it has been. I think that is the only thing that will take me some time to get my head round.

“The other thing is it’s just the race team that is Kelly Grove Racing, so all the operations out the back, the machine shop, the engine shop, the carbon-fibre department, the fabrication department; all of that is actually not part of this transaction, that is still Kelly Racing. I still have 100 per cent control out the back and Kelly Grove Racing is just a customer to all that stuff out the back, as is (Super2 team owner) Matt White and everybody else.

“It’s the most important part of it that Stephen is involved, (so) he can have an impact on (that).”

On why the structure emerged that way “It’s just how it panned out. Stephen wanted to get in and help with the Supercar team and I said ‘This is the team on paper but this is the operation and I don’t know if you want to be involved in the stuff out the back’, because not knowing what’s going on with Gen3 and what we will be able to make in-house, we might need that in a year or two or we might not. We could join it or we could split it, but just to start with we thought the easiest way would be to just take on the racing side of things, which is the main reason Stephen wanted to get in. He didn’t get in to buy a CNC machine shop.”

Stephen Grove: Supercars has got a huge future and we want to be part of it.

On how the Groves decision to invest in Supercars with the Kellys came about

On why he thinks Supercars has such a promising outlook

Stephen Grove: “In early 2020 I’d said to Brenton – who is heavily involved in our motorsport side through GT, Carrera Cup and the overseas stuff – that maybe with the new Gen3 regulations coming in there was an opportunity to get into Supercars, probably as a stand-alone operation.

“That would have meant buying a license.

So that’s how it started and then we did some due diligence to see who was in the market and what opportunities existed. That led to Kelly Racing.

“We just wanted to talk to them about where they saw their direction and what they were thinking about doing, moving forward. And it just went from there. Then we talked about the synergies and what we could bring and what we couldn’t bring and how it would work and it all lined up really well.

“So we stopped thinking about doing our own thing and decided to make that investment.

“We did have discussions with other teams very much off the cuff and off the record, but nothing ever really went on any further.”

“There are probably three factors. The first is not just the TV rights in relation to the commercial dollars, it’s just the way Channel 7 do it. They are quite active in promoting the sport, so I think that is heading in the right direction.

“I think Gen3 is headed in the right direction.

I think we have had some changes in the industry in relation to car manufacturers and who manufactures them and who is involved and who is not. That is just a cycle process that will work its way through.

“And I think the environment for sponsorship is quite strong and we are coming out of the terrible COVID process that we have been through. Companies need to start to rebrand and start to let people know that they are around.

“I think there is a strong sponsorship market as well, so I think the dollars will be strong into this industry.”

On why Grove Motorsport has decided to make the move into Supercars and on whether it is a step-up in terms of challenge “From a technical point of view yes (it is a step up), but from a business point of view no.

“We are in a lot of different industries and we didn’t look at it emotionally at first. We looked at it based on where we think the industry is. And if you take Supercars as an industry, I personally think it’s at the bottom of the cycle from the terms of profitability, growing the business, branding the business and taking it to another level.

“Commercially we think we are at the bottom of the cycle and now is the time to get into the industry.

“Time will tell if that is commercially the right decision, but I think Supercars has got a huge future. And that is on the back of when people think something doesn’t have a huge future that is the time to get in.

When everyone thinks there’s a future, that’s obviously reflected in the costs to get into that industry.”

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On what makes his investment different to some other highly credentialled businessmen coming into Supercars with a passion for racing, that are not successful “We made a commercial decision. Sure there is some emotion to it, it is so much easier to do something commercially that you are passionate about. But I did not buy-in on the basis of the emotion of it, just to be part of it, to go to the race meetings and not really have any input.

“It hasn’t been that long in the process, but I have already spent a lot of time on it and commercially I will continue to do that. My role is the chairman of the organisation and a part of that is the commercial reality and making sure we have the right infrastructure and I work pretty hard on it.

“I don’t come in thinking it’s just going to be romantic and it’s just going to be fantastic and it’s just going to be a sport. It’s a commercial reality.

“I have already started working really closely with our major partners and for me the huge focus is to make sure we increase their return on investment for them.

“And being a business guy I understand what they are trying to achieve out of it and my goal is to make sure they achieve what they need to achieve out of it and that will hold us as a strong team.”

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On the need for the team to be a stronger political force and what Grove can contribute to that “I think it is a necessity from a commercial side to make sure there is a level playing field across all the teams and we all work together to grow the industry.

“From a media standpoint I would definitely take a backseat and leave that to others.

Todd will take a strong presence on the technical side and my job is to make sure the team has all the tools to get on with the job.

“If that means we have to get in the boardroom and make sure our story is told, then that is what I will do.”

“Look and see what the team does and implement things for 2022. I know we will build a new car for 2022 with a new set of regulations, but it is more about learning and seeing what the team is deficient in, and adding that infrastructure whether it be personnel infrastructure, tools infrastructure or financial infrastructure.

“We are certainly taking a long term view.

“But we are certainly not going there to make up the numbers, that is for sure.”

On the culture at the team now and where he wants to go “Two things you’ll hear me talk a lot about are family and our Australian heritage. They are two things that are hugely important to us as a group and us as a family.

“I have spent some time with (Todd and Rick’s father) John Kelly and with Rick and Todd. They are the same as us, very proud of their heritage, guys who have had a dip.

Then when you look at our sponsors, Penrite and Ned – Australian iconic brands - and all that sort of stuff.

“So the two things for us are the family and Australian heritage and working with organisations that have Australian heritage and want to grow their brand in this country.

It’s really, really important.

“The third thing is, to win, to have a winning culture, is something that is very hard. The team is awesome, I have spent a lot of time with them, and we have some new members in the team. So I have to try and get them to really believe we can win and if I can do that then I think we can be really well placed.”

On whether the building blocks are inplace to achieve a winning culture and results “There are still things that need to be added. We have excellent sponsors, excellent drivers, the car is really good from what I have been able to see of it and we have good engineers. So we have got all the ingredients there.

“But one thing we really need to do in 2021 is look and listen.

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WHY AGP HAS MOVED TO NOVEMBER NEWS RA EXT

RACE BOSS EXPLAINS POSTPONEMENT

Melbourne GP chief Andrew Westacott tells MARK FOGARTY more about what the move to near the end of the F1 season could mean long-term AMID CONTINUING COVID concerns, the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix has been rescheduled from the season-opener on March 18-21, to the third last race on November 18-21.

The decision to postpone was forced by the Victorian government’s insistence on a two-week hotel quarantine for F1 personnel, as imposed on visiting players and staff for the upcoming Australian Open tennis tournament. It was deemed impractical for F1, with hopes restrictions will be relaxed

by November.

Switching to late spring is a return to the popular timing of the AGP in Adelaide from 1985-95 before the event’s move to Albert Park in Melbourne.

The postponement triggered Supercars’ activation of its Sandown option to host the second round on March 20-21. There are talks going on for an extra round at the AGP in November, depending on what happens with the scheduled NZ event earlier in the month.

After the official announcement, Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott explained the ramifications of the date change and the

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preliminary plan to go back to March in 2022.

Potentially, the AGPC could be staging three major events in just five months – Phillip Island MotoGP on October 22-24, the F1 AGP a month later and again in another four months.

Here are the highlights of the catch-up conversation with Westacott: On staging the Phillip Island MotoGP and F1 AGP just a month apart It’s going to be lots more work, but it’s exciting. The feedback we’ve had (on AGP postponement) is that it’ll be good to have an event in springtime nine days before summer. Despite having an extra 10 months lead time, it’ll still be a challenge to hold the AGP in November, just a month after MotoGP at Phillip Island. COVID is a never-ending set of challenges that continually need to be worked through for the health and safety of everyone.

As a publicly owned organisation and staging a street race in a park, there’s been stakeholders who’ve become very familiar with the build commencing in

The 2021 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix will be a twilight event, less than two weeks before the official start of summer.

the support program in November and do you have any sense they’re interested?

Craig Fletcher, our general manager of motor sport, has had a number of chats with Supercars and they’re fully aware of our desires. They’re fully aware that we’d love to have them on the program. I recognise they have a calendar that’s already set and New Zealand is two weeks before and Gold Coast is two weeks after, so at least there’s free space. Logistically, they have a few things that they’d have to work through, but we’d love to see them as part of the program, and I think both parties probably think that way.

I get the sense that they’d be really keen to be in Melbourne in November. We’d love to have them. It’s worked well in the past and if there’s an opportunity to have more showcase races, second last round of the season, bring it on.

As we speak, what will be the plan in November for F1 quarantine and the expectation for daily crowds?

Images: LAT

January and going through to March, and then dismantled. It could be said that some people are happy about the change and it’ll have some adverse impact for others that we just have to work through. So there’s a new set of stakeholder requirements we also have to work through and we have to use it as an opportunity to see how it fits into Melbourne’s landscape and capitalise on the upside that I think running it in November presents.

It was stated that a return to March in 2022 was preferred, but are you and the government open to a permanent switch to November if it works this year?

I wouldn’t pre-empt that that’s where it continues to stay. The assessment’s going to be needed to be completed before we actually stage the event. However, I think quite legitimately, this throws up a number of different considerations. Do you have both events (AGP and MotoGP) at the start of the year, both events at the end of the year, or both in their traditional slots of F1 at the start and MotoGP towards the end. Or is it MotoGP at the start and F1 towards the end? I think they’re all going to be put in the mixing pot to look at and I’ve said that we’re very open-minded on those. I think we need to be open-minded because if you were starting afresh, it might actually be a wonderful opportunity.

Isn’t the reality that the provisional ’22 F1 calendar will be decided before the AGP actually run?

It will be, you’re right. So in terms of the timing, we have to make calls and considerations quite legitimately about the timing of the 2022 events – MotoGP and F1 – realistically by May/June, June/July sort of time.

With two big events in a month, will you have to bring in more people to get it done?

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We will need to have an adjusted resourcing model. Typically, we have about 50 additional staff on our books for MotoGP and about 100 additional for F1. Some roles could work at both; there will be others where we need to actually duplicate. So the resourcing is going to need to be adjusted. I think anyone who works for Dorna, Formula 1 or Supercars has to live with the stresses of multiple events across a season, albeit that they don’t organise every one of them.

So I think we have to take it in our stride and we have to face up to the challenges and face up to the likely stresses, but I don’t think we should be scared of those scenarios. I think we just have to plan for them. And they’re the sorts of things that you can’t take for granted.

On the potential benefits of running the AGP in November It provides fresh opportunity. We’ve had wonderful growth year on year on year in March, but this presents new opportunities for businesses coming into summer, for the way we configure the event. One important thing is that race timing is likely to move back from 4.10 pm to a five o’clock start. Now that can skew the day even more to a twilight event. Nine days before summer, sunset’s at 8.16 pm – gee, I could envisage a balmy late spring/early summer night where we have qualifying on Saturday night, the race on Sunday night and some really exciting things happening. It’s likely to be a five o’clock start, which is better from a broadcast point of view. We used to be five o’clock before the Jules Bianchi incident (at Suzuka in fading light in 2014) meant that there was a fourhour stipulation before sunset. The sporting regs have changed to be three hours now and we can take advantage of that with a springtime slot that has a five o’clock race time. I expect that to be exciting.

We didn’t make the decision to be vindicated. We made a decision because the prevailing conditions at the time didn’t make it possible to have a quarantine period that was going to be workable for F1 nor the government. I absolutely want the Australian Open (starting February 8) to be successful and I think it can be successful.

My view is that I think things are going to settle down and operationally and logistically and functionally work well for them. The key thing that we, the health department and COVID Quarantine Victoria will look at are all the learnings from the tennis, good and bad, and take them into account. Continuous improvement is what motor sport does after every round and it’s what we will do in relation to the way the Australian Open is staged, both from a quarantine point of view and in the way they function their venue.

They’re going to break it out into zones.

Well, we were already talking zones in sort of September/October, so I don’t think there’s going to be much new, but we’ll look at it all and build on that.

Since announcement, have you had a chance to talk to Supercars about being on

I can be definitive on one of those and more general on the other. I think it is absolutely likely that we will still have a red zone – an isolation zone, a quarantine zone, a bubble zone – in which the international contingent will operate with no interaction with the public. That will ensure the safety of the participants and the safety of Melburnians.

When it comes to the crowd, I still hold the very pragmatic view that we have a 176-hectare park, 10.5 km of track frontage, so as long as we as a mass event organiser can provide sensible zones and traceability, I see no reason why we can’t have big attendances each day. With all the best practice that we’re all going to be 10 months the wiser for, I want to maximise the crowd.

It’s obviously subject to the caveat of health department final sign-off, but I think that in such a large area, we should be able to have 50,000-60,000 easily in a safe manner. I think it’s absolutely achievable.

Wouldn’t you be hoping to have 100,000 a day?

Well, I think ultimately that’s achievable, too.

I’m just being guarded, but you’re quite right because it’s a massive outdoor area. We just have to organise the operational process to ensure the health requirements are met for the protection of everyone who attends.

Will this year’s move to a mid-November date for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix affect the Australian MotoGP in the longer term?

Has the controversy over the Australian Open quarantine measures vindicated the decision to postpone the AGP for eight months?

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with Dan Knutson

AFTER WINNING the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Oscar Piastri has been honoured as the latest recipient of the prestigious Sir Jack Brabham Award. Presented by Motorsport Australia, the award is given to an Australian at the international level and recognises the achievements accomplished during the season.

Past winners include IndyCar Series winner Will Power and Piastri’s manager and multiple-time Grand Prix winner Mark Webber. DM

Image: LAT WILLIAMS GRAND Prix Engineering has retained the services of Israeli driver Roy Nissany as the squad’s Test Driver. The 26-year-old finished 19th in the FIA Formula 2 championship last year as well as completing several Williams tests and running in multiple practice sessions for the team.

In 2021 Nissany will take part in a further three F1 practice sessions and will run in one of the three pre-season test days in Bahrain. DM

Image: LAT

ALFA MUST IMPROVE

THE ALFA Romeo team must do a better job in 2021.

That is the verdict of veteran driver Kimi Räikkönen, who returns to the team for a third season this year.

“For sure it’s not what we expected or wanted before the season started,” the 41-year-old Finn said of 2020. “I think it became quite clear after testing that we were not where we wanted to be. But there’s obviously many reasons why we’re not that fast as we were in 2019, so from that side it was obviously disappointing.

That’s for all of us and that’s how it turned out to be.”

Räikkönen earned four points with two ninth-place finishes last year. Alfa was eighth in the 2020 constructors’ championship with eight points. Räikkönen

finished 16th in the drivers’ championship.

“We start from zero again,” he said of 2021.

“Obviously a lot of work has to be done for 2021 so that we are in a better position. But this is what we had last year.

We have had some rest and now start preparing for the new season.”

As a former world champion and winner of 21 grand prix races, how frustrating was the 2020 season for Räikkönen?

“I don’t know if I was frustrated but it’s obviously far from what we wanted,” he said. “I think in 2019 we did, let’s say, a pretty decent job even if later in that year we were definitely not where we wanted to be.”

In 2019, Räikkönen was 12th in the drivers’ championship with 43 points.

AN EMPTY FEELING Image: LAT HAAS F1 is set to take on several members of the Ferrari squad, as the famous Italian manufacturer is forced to slim down its staff in order to meet the cost cap restrictions introduced this year. Ferrari has a close relationship with customer squad Haas, supplying the American team with its power units, gearboxes and all non-listed parts. This year it will also run Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher and has taken on Simone Resta, who was in charge of the chassis engineering at Ferrari. DM

Image: LAT JENSON BUTTON has reunited with the Williams Formula 1 team, taking on the role of senior advisor. The 2009 Formula 1 World Champion made his debut in the top tier of the sport with the Grove-based squad back in 2000. Twenty-one years later, the British driver has signed a multiyear deal to bring his wealth of experience to the organisation that is currently rebuilding, after the mid-season change of ownership last year. RV

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LEWIS HAMILTON set and broke records last year, including tying Michael Schumacher’s seven world driving championships. But there was something major missing – the fans at the races.

“Things that have helped me last year I would say is the amazing support from the fans – that really got me through because I have seen the constant uplifting messages,” Hamilton said.

“There has been an empty feeling when the fans have not been there. Formula 1 is just not the same when you come down the pit straight and normally see the fans there, and now you come around and there is no one there. It is just not the same. It has lost the spirit. The spirit is the people and the fans, and I’ve really, really missed that – the energy that you get, and the energy that you guys give.

“I don’t think people realise just how unbelievable the light and the energy that you guys project. It is electrifying, and it is contagious. We have not had that, so I had to try and substitute with something else that was not as good, but I really hope that this thing gets out of our way as soon as possible, so that we can get back to coming together, going to festivals, and going to the races.

And coming together and being in a positive bubble.”

Hamilton won 11 races in the Mercedes W11 – most of those victories seen only on TV by the fans.

And, while Alfa Romeo was eighth in the constructors’ championship, the team earned 57 points compared to just eight last year.

“Obviously hopes were higher for 2020,” Räikkönen said, “but quite soon it was obvious for all of us that we weren’t going to be where we liked to be. We just have to work and try to do a better job in 2021.

That’s how it goes.

“Some years are trickier for many reasons and, obviously, in this sport the car makes a huge difference. Good or bad, I think every year you have disappointing results, good results and some results in the middle. It’s the name of the game.”

The Swiss-based team unveiled its 2021 car in Poland’s capital of Warsaw on January 22.

Image: LAT

“Every year the car is a piece of art, and it is a masterpiece designed to perfection by a large group of people,” he said. “Every time we get that masterpiece I have to go out and cause havoc with it, and find its limitations, find places that it is unhappy to go to, and figure out why and communicate that to a group of people that I work with to figure out how we can get it to go further, to extend, to go longer, to be faster. That is an amazing journey you go on during the year. It is definitely sad at the end of the season when you get in for the last time and you know that

that is the last time you will be driving the car.”

So what are Hamilton’s goals for 2021?

“I don’t really remind myself of my dreams,” the British driver said. “At the beginning of the year I jot down the things I want to do and aspirations and 1 to 10. And then when I get to the track at the start of the season I have a book and I write in the beginning of the book what my goals are.

And then I never look at it again. And then at the end of the year I come back and write down if I reached that goal.”

RENAULT RESTRUCTURES THE FORMER Renault Formula 1 team is undergoing a considerable amount of restructuring prior to the 2021 season.

To begin with, it has been renamed the Alpine Formula 1 team to pay tribute to the sporting arm of the manufacturer.

Former Suzuki MotoGP team manager Davide Brivio has also been named the Racing Director of the team.

“Davide joins the Alpine F1 Team with a wealth of experience and success, following more than 20 years in the MotoGP World Championship, most recently sealing the World Championship crown for rider Joan Mir, and the Teams’ Championship title for his former team,” Alpine said in a statement.

Davide’s specific role and responsibilities have yet to be announced, but he will report to Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.

The team has revealed that Rossi will replace the departed Cyril Abiteboul, who was the long-time team principal including during the past two seasons when Aussie Daniel Ricciardo was with the squad.

Brivio worked for Yamaha’s World Superbikes and MotoGP programmes from 1990 through 2010, and then moved to Suzuki in 2013.

While running a racing operation requires similar skill sets, Brivio faces a steep learning curve to realign from the MotoGP world to the F1 world.

What has yet to be made clear is where executive director

Marcin Budkovski and engine technical director Rémi Taffin will fit into the new management structure.

Renault made huge strides forward last year, with Ricciardo earning two podiums and Esteban Ocon also getting to celebrate on the steps. Stability and consistency are keys to the success of an F1 team, so it may take a while before the management upheavals at Alpine show competitive results in the close battle between the midfield teams.

The change to the Alpine brand will be visually easy to spot when the new car is unveiled next month, because the final livery is expected to be primarily blue, replacing the traditional yellow and black Renault colours.

Image: LAT

REDBULL CALLS FOR FREEZE RED BULL is between a rock and a frozen hard space. Ditto for sister team AlphaTauri.

Honda’s decision to drop its Formula 1 programme at the end of 2021 has left the teams powerless and with few options for 2022.

Mercedes is already supplying power units to its own team plus McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams this year. Ferrari has Haas and Alfa Romeo in its stable.

That leaves Renault, currently flying solo, as an unsavoury option for the two Red Bull squads. They parted on unhappy terms – Toro Rosso at the end of 2017 and Red Bull a year later – as the relationship deteriorated. On the plus side, a reunification would be easier now after the abrupt departure of Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul, who used to lock horns with Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

The regulations would require Renault to sell power units to the two teams, but Red Bull has a different vision.

Honda has agreed to hand over its entire power unit programme to Red Bull. But there is no way that Red Bull, even with its considerable resources, could afford to do constant developments.

So Red Bull is asking for a power unit development freeze from the end of 2021 until the new regulations come into place in 2026.

Image: LAT

Red Bull’s racing advisor Dr. Helmut Marko is lobbying for the freeze and threatening that the two teams might not remain in F1.

“This engine (formula) proved to be such a cost driver in Formula 1,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “It makes no sense to invest anymore in it now. For Formula 1, it is a very clear decision of reason.”

What would happen if there is no freeze?

“That would mean Red Bull would have to drastically rethink its F1 situation,” Marko said. “This is not blackmail. For pure common sense and cost reasons, an engine freeze is the only way forward with these unfortunate power units.”

Is there a Plan B? “No, there isn’t,” Marko replied.

So that rules out a reunification with Renault … at least for now.

There is another problem for Red Bull.

Mercedes had a clear power advantage at the end of last season, and Ferrari was floundering. Unless Honda, Ferrari and Renault can catch up to Mercedes this year, those deficits would be frozen in place until 2026.

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F1 INSIDER

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

Bruce Williams

Editor-At-Large Deputy Editor

Mark Fogarty Heath McAlpine

Production

Jason Crowe

Special Contributor

Bruce Newton

Staff Journalist

Dan McCarthy

National Editor

Garry O’Brien

Online Editor

with Dan Knutson

Rhys Vandersyde

Contributing Writers Australia Garry O’Brien, Mark Fogarty, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Geoffery Harris, Damion Smy, David Hassall, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Garry Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn. Paris Charles Formula 1 US Correspondent

Dan Knutson Mike Brudenell

Photographers Australia Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyde, Richard Hathaway, MTR Images, Bruce Moxon International LAT Images Advertising Manager Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries Bruce@autoaction.com.au (0418) 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope

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Cover images: LAT/TCR Australia/ Dan Kalisz

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PREPARE FOR ANYTHING

MOVING THE Australian Grand Prix from March to November makes a lot of sense because all that extra time will help make sure that the race will take place.

If I had my way, I would like to see the race in Melbourne be the last round of the season, because I have such fond memories of going to the race in Adelaide. There was always a relaxed last day of term atmosphere at that event. And, when it was all over, I would always fly up to Cairns for a holiday and go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

Those were the days…

Anyway, the reality is that Abu Dhabi pays a premium for the privilege of hosting the last race of the season, and it will round out the 2021 season.

But just how will this season pan out?

Will there really be a record 23 races, and will they be at the venues that have been named?

I don’t think so.

What Formula 1 proved last year is that it can be flexible and put on a full season of races, albeit not where or when they were originally scheduled.

I hope I am wrong, but I just can’t see how the “street” races will take place. Melbourne’s Albert Park and Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau are exempted because although they are staged in public parks, they can be sealed off from the general public just like a normal circuit such as Silverstone or Monza.

It is impossible to seal off Baku, Monaco and Singapore. Yet the promoters at those events are positive that their races will happen.

“Despite the latest rumours circulating on certain websites and social media, the (club) can confirm that the Monaco GP will take place from May 20-23,” race promoter Automobile Club de Monaco said in a statement.

“The ACM also confirms

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 11 FEB

the Grand Prix Monaco Historique and the Monaco ePrix.”

Well, we will see.

I have yet to make my usual reservation for the hotel near Monaco where I have stayed for many years.

The reality is that the dates and locations are likely to change this year due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s the opinion of Stefano Domenicali, who has replaced Chase Carey as the CEO of Formula 1.

“We are, and I personally am, in contact on a daily basis with all of the organisers, because we know that the pandemic is still there,” Domenicali told Sky Sports. “That’s why we changed the place in the calendar (for) Australia.

“Of course we need to be flexible enough to understand that maybe in the first part of the season we may have some events with no public or with a restricted number of public.

“We have possible alternatives, but so far no one has given us different information from what we’ve shared. We know how the pandemic has evolved, so we need to be ready for a flexible approach on the season.”

“I would say that this equation will solve itself by the fact that if we are able to deliver an incredible product, we may go to a situation where maybe we can go back to a fewer number of races – maybe the chance of having rotation possibility for certain grands prix, keeping a focus on different areas,” the former Ferrari team principal concluded.

“This is something that is in our plan to think carefully this year, and get ready when the world will be normal again.”

When the world gets back to normal again, I look forward to going to the F1 season opener in Melbourne in March 2022 … having just been there in November as well.

Supercar season hitout at QR, all the coverage from Race Tasmania, Living Legends - Tim Schenken Part 2, The Cost of Racing - Pulsars, David Brabham wins Macau 1989 retro, all the latest news & views

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE

AA’s impatient pundit rejoices in the return of local racing to our screens, be they TV, phone, tablet or computer YOU SPOKE, Supercars listened. Along with thousands and thousands of other committed fans, you voiced outrage over Mark Larkham’s sacking – and, amazingly, you were heard.

Circle January 22, 2021 on your calendar.

It was the day Supercars admitted it was wrong, announcing Larko had been reinstated to the broadcast commentary team. It’s almost unheard of for Supercars to issue such a mea culpa.

Can’t remember the last time Supercars climbed down so publicly, much less the chief executive officer himself. As a body, it has often changed decisions, but it never owns up to a mistake.

Until now. This error was a howler and, really, there was no choice but to heed the unprecedented backlash from the fans – aka, the customers. But give Sean Seamer his dues, he stood up and took it on the chin.

Impressively, Seamer somehow convinced a disenchanted Larko to return to the fold. No one would have blamed the blokey babbler – winner of two Supercars Media Association Broadcaster Of The Year awards in a row in 2019/20 – if he’d told Supercars to stick it

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where the sun don’t shine (which would be so Larko).

But everyone involved was bigger than their egos when faced with a public outcry.

Finally, Supercars listened to you – the fan, the enthusiast, the faithful – and it now seems plans to dumb down the broadcast commentary and reporting have been abandoned.

The North Sydney Nawabs won’t regret their volte face (that’s Latin for backflip). Hardcore fans and interested followers are the bedrock of any sport and you risk their alienation at your peril.

Sure, the commentary and pit lane crosses on the Supercars telecasts could be less blokey, jokey and self-indulgent – and perhaps not quite so deeply technical.

But tech stuff – especially tyres as long as we persist with multiple compounds designed to wear out – needs to be explained at a level both the knowledgeable and newbies can understand.

Oily bits, black round things and mechanical widgets are intrinsic to motor racing. Can’t be avoided or glossed over if the racing is to be explained properly.

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Speaking of TV, I tuned into some of the first day of the ARG action at Symmons Plains on 7Plus on Monday.

Once I found the extended streaming coverage, it wasn’t too bad from what I saw.

Which was only snippets because I had it on in the background while I worked (Monday was the mag’s deadline day).

Visually, it wasn’t as flash as a Supercars production. But it was better than ARG’s 2019 attempt at TCR/S5000 TV coverage, so points for progress.

What surprised me is that Seven made so little of its return to big-time motor sport. This was its first – and the first – telecast of the season, yet there was no hoopla, much less “We’re back!” fanfare.

Just welcome to Tasmania, lovely place, lots of racing with drivers you mostly don’t know coming up. Bang into interviews and then the racing.

Maybe the compacted 7mate actual TV coverage (which I recorded to view after this was written) made more of the occasion.

But if you like lots of talking heads, then this is your place. A commentary cast of thousands.

Well, at least 10 voices. Great to have Greg Rust

back as the main commentator, ably supported by crack callers Richard Craill and Matt Naulty.

Seven Sports’ presenters Mark Beretta and Abbey Gelmi bestowed network authority, but cricket blow-in Brad Hodge was more giddy enthusiast than perceptive observer.

Molly Taylor and Jessica Dane deserve more meaningful roles.

The rest? Sorry, I lost track.

Still, if you like racing other than Supercars, Seven’s commitment to ARG coverage is a big bonus. Tenacious TCRs; stonking S5000s; thundering Trans Ams; and tough TCMs. What’s not to like?

All going well, Supercars will be back at Bathurst and then Sandown, two classic tracks.

And the return of Larko. Can’t wait.

I couldn’t make it to the Race Tasmania double-header, which continues this weekend at Baskerville – a great little track in an amphitheatre setting. But I’ll be sure to be at Phillip Island next month.

That’s a combined meeting with Superbikes, which are always spectacular at The Island.

Racing is back – and the fact that we can be either be there or watch it at home for free is to be celebrated after going so long without.

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OUR FORGOTTEN In the latest of our series talking to racing greats, accomplished international driver turned senior official Tim Schenken tells MARK FOGARTY about his often-overlooked rise to F1 and Ferrari fame IMAGES: Autopics.com.au/AA Archive

YOU KNOW the voice. The slightly English accent resonates over the airwaves as Tim Schenken orders the deployment of a safety car or calls a race stoppage in Supercars.

Schenken has been the race director of Australian championship touring car racing since 1987. Fans love him or hate him, depending on their allegiance. They see him as a manipulator of the results in n times of contention.

They are, of course, wrong. Schenken runs races according to the book – which h he helped write – and despite Jamie Whincup’s famous ‘red wine’ jibe, is dedicated to fair play.

What most fans don’t know is that Schenken is one of Australia’s most celebrated international drivers. He competed in F1 and drove for Ferrari in the sports car world championship 50 years ago.

Yes, 50. Five O. Among the tifosi in Italy, he is revered as a former Ferrari piloti.

Most significantly, ‘Schenks’ is one of just five Australians who have stood on an F1 podium. Driving for Brabham the year after its namesake founder retired, he finished third in the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, held at the then fearsome Osterreichring (now the emasculated Red Bull Ring).

He joins Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo in that elite Aussie group.

A senior motor racing official since he returned to Australia in 1984, Schenken has also been the long-time Clerk Of Course of the F1 Australian GP and remains a senior FIA track inspector.

Before he turned 75, the age limit for FIA office bearers, he was president of the world governing body’s circuit safety

commission, a member of the touring car commission, Formula E permanent steward and Clerk Of Course of the F1 Korean and Singapore GPs, whose officials were trained by Motorsport Australia.

Schenken is a bon vivant and raconteur.

At 77, he remains active, acute and enthusiastic. Half German himself, Schenken met his charming wife Brigitte after winning an F2 race at Hockenheim in 1972.

“I won the race and I won the girl,” he recalls. “Pretty cool.”

We met over lunch near his home in inner Melbourne to recount the side of his colourful and illustrious career that all but dedicated enthusiasts won’t know. Even if you do, it’s well worth remembering how good a driver he was and why he is Australia’s only Ferrari hero.

How did you become interested in racing?

I went to Camberwell Grammar (in Melbourne’s inner east) and there was a boy at school whose father had a hillclimb car. I went around to his house one day, saw this car and a light bulb went on. I had nothing else up there and the light bulb went on! It just caught my imagination and from that moment onwards, I wanted to be a racing driver. And then I very quickly saw that to be a professional driver, you had to go to Europe and I wanted to be a world champion.

How did you start?

The first race I did was in my mother’s Simca Aronde, without her knowledge, at Calder. You didn’t need a competition licence to do the drag races in the morning – the standing quarter mile – run by the car club

I was in, the Morris 850 Car Club. And then after lunch they had races for those who had competition licences. So I stayed and watched, and then I noticed that no one was checking who was driving the cars. So I just lined my car up, I was waved out onto the track and I thrashed around there. And then I looked on the notice board later on and I saw I was on the grid for a race, so I lined up and I raced, and then I was on the grid for another race and then I went home.

Aside from a day racing his mother’s Simca Aronde (!), Tim Schenken (pictured above left at Lakeland, Victoria) began his racing career in hillclimbs, racing this White 500 to the 1965 Australian Hillclimb Championship, beating Colin Bond. Schenken initially raced in Formula 3 in a Chevron, seen here (above right) at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch (UK) in 1968.

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HERO

V8 RACE BOSS WAS A SUPERSTAR BACK IN THE DAY

Tim Schenken, aboard the Brabham BT33 Ford (above) seen here at the British GP at Silverstone in 1971, during his most successful season of Formula 1. Schenken had replaced the retired Jack Brabham in the official factory team, partnered with former World Champion Graham Hill. Earlier days (above left) at Calder in 1965, aboard his Lotus 18 Ford Formula Junior. Schenken was also there at the very start of Formula Ford, here testing a Merlyn (below) which he raced to many victories.

I won a little trophy, actually. I found it the other day at home.

Schenken started racing seriously in 1963 at age 20, graduating to small formula openwheel racing and hillclimbing in ’64. He won the Victorian F2 championship at Winton and the Australian Hillclimb Championship at Lakeland outside Melbourne in ’65 before heading to the UK. My first competition car was an Austin A30, which was what I guess you’d call a sports sedan these days. Unlike Peter Brock’s, mine had 1000 cc Sprite engine, Speedwell crossflow aluminium head and it produced probably all of 45 brake horsepower. I raced that for a while and then I bought a Formula Junior Lotus 18 from Rocky Tresise (Lex Davison protégé killed at Longford in 1965 just a week after his mentor died at Sandown). A friend of my brother was building a hillclimb special – he called it an oversized go-kart, expect there was no karting in those days. Actually, I built my own go-kart when I was 12, but that’s another story. Anyway, I went around to see this thing. It was pretty basic, no suspension. It had a JAP speedway engine and I started driving that in hillclimbs. It was incredibly quick. It was quick because it was nimble. It was called a White 500 because

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Dick White was the builder and owner of it, and it had a 500 cc engine. There was nothing like racing tyres for something like that – or any sort of decent tyre – so it had wheelbarrow tyres on it! And on the sidewalls it said “Maximum speed 6 mph”.

So it wasn’t very sophisticated, but it was very quick. I raced the Lotus 18 and did the hillclimbs in the White. I won the Australian Hillclimb Championship, beating Colin Bond – which I always remind him about. But as I said, I could see that to go motor racing professionally, I’d have to go overseas, so in 1965 I got on a boat in Port Melbourne and five weeks later I was at Southampton.

Within two years, Schenks established himself as a ‘coming man’, winning the 1968 British Formula 3 and Formula Ford championships, followed by the ’69 French F3 title. Racing mainly Brabhams, he established a link with the late Ron Tauranac.

He was competitive in European F2, the stepping stone to F1, in 1970, going headto-head with GP stars and was promoted to the Brabham F1 team in ’71 by Tauranac following Jack Brabham’s retirement.

Having bought all the British motor racing magazines and read them from cover to cover, I knew all about motor racing in Europe. I arrived in the UK and went to

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Earls Court (Aussie enclave in inner west London from the 1960s to ’80s) and rented a bed sit (single room) there. Just down the road was Chiswick and I got a job with The Chequered Flag, which was a sports car dealership on the Chiswick High Street. They were running what was called the worksassisted Brabham team in F3. I worked there as a mechanic first of all and then I ran their workshops. During ’67, I bought a Lotus 22, which was a car that Lotus built for racing schools like the Jim Russell driving school.

Not very sophisticated, but it had the right engine and a Hewland four-speed gearbox. I was allowed to keep it where Chequered Flag prepared the Brabhams, under the arches at nearby Stamford Brook railway station.

Before I started racing it, I upgraded it with whatever bits I could find. I was always in their rubbish bins, picking whatever I could use out of them.

The work I did made quite an improvement to the performance of the car, but when you looked at it, it was still a Lotus 22.

So I started racing that in the British F3 championship and although I didn’t win anything, I had some pretty good placings, beating lots of people in much more modern cars.

Then I crashed it at Crystal Palace (in inner southwest London) at the end of ’67 and that stage (innovative Brands Hatch circuit promoter) John Webb had introduced Formula Ford, so I decided to convert the Lotus to a FF car and do the ’68 68 British FF championship.

The plan was to sell my F3 engine and gearbox, and then I could afford to repair and race it. But as it turned out, a little race car company called Merlyn was planning to run a works-assisted car in that championship and they gave me a test and I got the drive – and that’s really when it all started. I knew how to drive the car, I knew the circuits from my F3 season, I used to prepare the car myself and I was winning FF races right from the start. Then I had a call from the guy who ran a team called Sports Motors in Manchester. They had a new F3 Chevron and around Easter, he asked me if I’d drive for him. The big thing was that it was a paid drive. Well, you got half the prizemoney and some expenses. They had a mechanic and the whole thing. So I started doing the British F3 championship in that Chevron, which became quite a good car after some development. Late in the season, Brabham approached me about running works assisted cars in ’69, so swapped over. In those days, there wasn’t a European F3 championship as such, but a lot of major F3 races were run alongside F1 and F2 races, so I got to compete at a lot of great classic tracks.

Schenken raced in F1 from 1970-74. His maiden season with Brabham in 1971 was his best, scoring a sixth (then the final points-scoring position) in the German GP at the Nurburgring Nordschlieife and an F1 career best third in the Austrian GP. He was also third in the non-championship International Trophy at Silverstone. His F1 debut in ’70 resulted from a then typically gruesome tragedy.

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The start (above) of the Lincolnshire International Trophy at Cadwell Park (UK) in 1969 - Front row: Tim Schenken (#1 Brabham BT28 - Ford/Holbay) who won, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (#7 Tecno 69 - Ford/ Novamotor) who was eighth, and Ronnie Peterson (March 703 - Ford/Novamotor), who was third.

The Aussie scored his first F1 point in the 1971 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring (left) and Schenken, (Brabham BT33 Ford), leads Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus 72 Ford), Rolf Stommelen, (Surtees TS9 Ford) and Henri Pescarolo (March 711 Ford). Schenken (De Tomaso 308 Ford) in the Austrian GP (below left) at the Osterreichring in 1970.

How did you get into F1?

(Rising British star) Piers Courage was killed at Zandvoort in the 1970 Dutch GP (in a fiery wreck), so I took a deep breath and went and saw Frank Williams and asked if he would consider me to drive for his team.

Brian Redman did a few races, but couldn’t do any more, so Frank took me on and I started driving that de Tomaso, which was totally unreliable. But Frank in a way was a bit like Ron Dennis. He had a passion and he was going to get it right – it was just a question of time. He went through Frank Williams 1968 Limited, Frank Williams 1969 Ltd and so on. I drove that car in four grands prix (Austria, Italy Canada and USA) – didn’t finish any, but because I’d still had a good relationship with Ron Tauranac, I got a drive with Brabham in F1 in 1971.

Jack had retired and Ron employed me to drive with Graham Hill as a paid driver.

I was always a paid driver in F1 – I never paid for a drive.

Schenken (Brabham BT33 Ford) leads Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus 72 Ford) during the Austrian GP at the Osterreichring in 1971.

Jack was gone, but had you had much to do with him before then?

I never really had much to do with him. I mean he was around when I raced Brabhams in F3 and F2.

He drove my F3 car at one stage, doing a bit of sorting and giving Ron some feedback in ’69. But when I joined them in F1, he’d retired and I was partnering Graham Hill. If you look at the results in ’71, they look all right, but in fact, whereas I’d been winning in FF and F3, and in F2 I ran at the front of the field, for some reason it didn’t quite work for me in F1 until about the French GP and then it all clicked. Something happened and it all worked for me, so I was quite competitive after that. I got a sixth at the Nurburgring and I was third in Austria, and we can all say “If only”, but I was running third at the French GP until it had an oil leak and I was running third again in the British GP at Silverstone until I had a gearbox problem.

But we all go through that.

Brabham designer Ron Tauranac chats with fellow Aussie Schenken during their 1971 F1 season together (above). Schenken survived his time in F1 when many of his contempories didn’t. However his racing wasn’t without incident, he survived this crash in his Elf 2 (Alpine A367 Formula 2) Ford/Hart during the Estoril GP at Circuito Estoril in 1973.

To score points at the Nurburgring and the Osterreichring, both serious circuits, was a great achievement.

a lap on the back of a car if you finished on the podium, even in F3, but it didn’t happen that often. I seem to remember the presentation for that Austrian Grand Prix being in a tent.

I always enjoyed the Nurburgring. I knew the circuit very well because the first race I did there was in 1969 for Ford Germany in a touring car race, which was 84 hours long on the north and south circuits with three drivers (in a Group 1 series production Capri 2.8-litre V6). So I knew which way it went.

How good was the BT33? By then, it was a very conventional, almost outdated, design, wasn’t it?

Was that podium in Austria a big deal to you at the time?

Well, it was the first monocoque that Ron had designed. During the year, I got to test the BT34 – the one they called ‘The Lobster Claw’ – and it was immediately so much better. And when I say much better, I mean that when you made

Well, podiums weren’t a big thing back then. You either won or you didn’t. Jo Siffert won the race. Occasionally, you did

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adjustments dj to the h car, you could ld feel f l the h difference, so it was obviously a much stiffer car. But I never got to race it.

Still, ’71 was a strong year for you, wasn’t it?

It was a good year. But unbeknown to me, in the early part of the year Ron had sold the team to Bernie Ecclestone. Later on in the year, I read some stories in the magazines about rumours that Bernie was buying Brabham, but I didn’t take much notice. I didn’t think it was right, but then the rumours got much stronger, so I spoke to Ron Tauranac about it and he said “Oh, yes, he is, but I’m going to stay on”.

Not much longer after that, Ron told me “Ecclestone is a complete lunatic. He wants to design the car himself.” I’m not quite sure why he got that idea, but that’s what he said to me and he fell out with Bernie. There was an opportunity for me to go to Surtees in ’72, which I picked up. Ron thought that was a good idea, but of course it turned out to be a disaster.

Did you have the chance to stay with Brabham?

I did. Bernie offered me a contract. We argued over the duration. He wanted me for two years, but I only wanted one year because I wanted to see how it went. He wanted me to stay for two years because he was concerned about investing in a driver for a year and then he buggers off. So we fell out over that, basically.

Schenken ill-advisedly switched to Surtees in ’72, beginning his downward F1 spiral.

A third in the non-championship Gold Cup

at Oulton Park that year was his final F1 highlight. Luckily, he was a member of Ferrari’s world championship sports car team in ’72/73, bringing wins and enduring fame.

What was it like being (then F1 superstar) Graham Hill’s teammate?

I was also driving with him in F2 in 1971 when (ex-Brabham mechanic Ron Dennis’s) Rondel Racing started. Graham was a great bloke to be around. Wherever he went, people knew him. They mightn’t know who he was, but they knew he was somebody.

He’d go into a restaurant anywhere in the world and immediately attract attention.

They mightn’t know who he was, but he looked like he was someone important. He was great fun to be around. He was really entertaining.

Which is interesting because later as a team boss, he was a nightmare.

Schenken drove for Frank Williams in F1 twice in his career, including in the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, Canada, in the Iso-Rivolta (aka Williams IR01 Ford).

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Ronnie Peterson talks with Schenken during the Monaco GP in Monte Carlo in 1972. The two were great friends and Ferrari sports car teammates. Schenken raced the Surtees TS9B Ford (top left) but found team boss John Surtees difficult to work with. He’s seen here in the Argentinian GP at Autodromo Juan y Oscar Galvez in 1972.

Just like John Surtees, who was definitely a nightmare to work with. Everyone who drove for him says the same. Strangely enough, I met him in later years and he was a fantastic bloke.

But running his own team, he was paranoid about everything and he insisted on doing all the development driving himself. You’d be told to be at Goodwood at 9 am for a test, but John would drive all day and just before they closed the track at 5 pm, he’d say “Hop in”. You’d get in the car with his seat and his pedal position, and immediately go as quick, if not quicker than him, and be asked for feedback.

You’d only done four laps and it felt the same.

I fell out with Surtees quite early on. We were stuck with each other until the end of the season. But Ron Dennis was going to build an F1 car, so I was looking towards that. F1 was clearly where Ron was heading with Rondel.

I was prepared to sit out ’73 to be able to

drive for Ron. I could see the Ron of McLaren even in those days. But the F1 Rondel never happened. It became the Token later on.

There was just one nondescript appearance in F1 in ’73, reuniting with Williams in the Iso-Rivolta (dubbed the ‘It’s So Revolting’) at the Canadian GP. He returned fulltime in ’74 with the Tauranac-run Trojan team, funded by wealthy Brit Peter Agg, the then UK Suzuki distributor and maker of customer versions of McLaren F5000 and Group 7 racers. His F1 farewell was a one-off drive for JPS Team Lotus at the season-ending USA GP at Watkins Glen in the unloved Lotus 76.

Ron Tauranac ran the Trojan team and a couple of my Rondel mechanics were working there as well. I struggled with that car. I struggled because it just wasn’t right and it was only five

Tim Schenken sits in the Trojan T103 Ford (above) in the pits during the Spanish GP at Circuito del Jarama in 1974. Ron Tauranac later admitted he’d made a mistake with the design of the car. Schenken was called in to try and sort the unloved Lotus 76 at Watkins Glen (USA) in 1974, but had no more joy than the regular team drivers Ronnie and Jacky Ickx.

years ago that Ron admitted to me that he’d made a big error with that car which he didn’t learn about until he started building Ralts.

It was to do with the rear suspension and putting the power down onto the road. It was an easy car to drive, but there was always oversteer when you pressed the accelerator.

It never got over that.

In the final race of the year, the USA GP at Watkins Glen, you ended up at Lotus in a third car. How did that come about?

Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx were driving Lotus 72Es because they hated the 76, which had a basic problem and wasn’t competitive. The 76’s weight distribution was wrong and it had huge understeer on turn-in and then it snapped into massive oversteer.

Even Ronnie, who loved oversteer, couldn’t make it go fast. So that was it for me in F1.

Realistically, how good were you?

I wanted to be world champion. I thought I was good enough, but we’ll never know.

The fact is I’m still here today and many of my friends from racing in that period are no longer here. So that’s something to be very thankful for.

Indeed, you survived without injury one of the most dangerous eras of F1. Were you lucky or cautious?

I must have been lucky. People often ask me “Oh, weren’t you concerned about having an

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accident ccident or being killed?” You just didn’t think about bout it. If it concerned you, you wouldn’t bee doing it. it And I think we had a very naive outlook that it wasn’t going to happen to you.

I lost quite a few friends. It was horrendous at times. But you just moved on. The wakes after funerals were more like parties, as if nothing had happened. And when fatalities happened during races, you just kept racing, driving past the scene of a terrible crash. And then you’d turn up at the next meeting as if nothing had happened. The only time I remember being upset was when Jo Siffert died at Brands Hatch (in 1971). When it happened, I was the car right behind him. His car went off to the left, exploded, and I went through the fire and debris, got a puncture, came into the pit lane, changed a tyre and went back out again.

They red-flagged the race, so I came back and queued up at the back of the line of cars at the crest of the hill leading, seeing what was going on ahead there. I was actually crying, to be honest. I had tears in my eyes. I don’t think I was the only driver who teared up. Jo was very popular and well-loved. But apart from Ronnie Peterson, who I got to know very well in F3, I never really spoke to the other drivers – except your teammate, of course, and you were determined to beat him.

You had a very close friendship with Peterson (the Swedish star who died as the result of a crash soon after the start of the 1978 Italian GP). How did you become such great mates?

I met him in 1968 at Brands Hatch. He came

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and asked me for the gear ratios. Now, in F3 back then, then the last thing you ever give anyone was the right gear ratios.

At Silverstone, you’d give them the gear ratios for Monaco and at Monaco you’d give them the Silverstone ratios. But for some reason, I gave Ronnie the right gear ratios and we just sort of hit it off. We both ended up living in Maidenhead (west of London) and our families became close friends. He was such a great guy and a supremely gifted driver. He was a natural. Anything to do with driving a car, he was just gifted. It was different back then, but he’d get luridly sideways and still be quick. We were a good pairing at Ferrari (in 1972 in 312 PB sports-prototype) because we got on well and were the same size. What’s interesting, though, is that in the first practice session, he did a time and then I got in the car and I couldn’t drive it properly. So I had to get the car right to do the time and when he got back in, I thought “Fuckin’ hell, this is going to be unbelievable”. But he never went any quicker because he would drive around a problem or something he didn’t like. Of course, by doing that, you take it out on the car – and probably yourself. So we were actually strangely compatible despite having very different driving styles.

Next issue: Schenken recalls his time with Ferrari in sports cars, which has made him a hero in Italy, and his transition to racing car manufacturer before returning to become Australia’s most prominent motor sport official.

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SCHENKEN FACT FILE Age 77 Born Sydney Lives Melbourne Occupation Director of Racing Operations, Motorsport Australia; Race Director, Supercars Championship; AGP Clerk Of Course; FIA track inspector Championships 1965 Australian Hillclimb, 1968 British F3 and Formula Ford, 1969 French F3, Formula 1 1970-74 (best result: third, ’71 Austrian GP), Ferrari WSCC 1972/73 Other Co-founder, Tiga Racing Cars Honours OAM, Australian Motor Sport Hall Of Fame, FIA President Of Honour

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GURNEY STRIKES BALLA He became an American giant of F1 but was never well-known in Australia.

Yet 60 years ago a genial Californian scored his first international victory in his last outing for BRM, at a most unlikely venue. Mark Bisset tells the story.

IMAGES: Autopics.com.au/Tony Johns Collection/John Ellacott/Peter Coleby/Vic Berris archives

WHEN DAN GURNEY took the chequered flag in the Victorian Trophy at Ballarat Airfield on February 12, 1961, he almost launched himself out of the cockpit.

He had finally won a race in his Formula 1 BRM P48 Mk1.

“That was the only time I finished a proper race in a BRM – it was nice to win,” Gurney quipped many years later to the doyen of open-wheeler motor racing historians, Doug Nye. American Gurney was the racer Scottish dual world champion Jim Clark feared most, during his reign as racing’s undoubted king through the 1960s.

The likeable, lanky Californian had raced for Ferrari in 1959 before moving to ‘England’s Ferrari’, British Racing Motors (BRM), for 1960.

Like Ferrari, the outfit at Bourne, Lincolnshire, built its cars in-house – chassis, bodywork, engines, transmissions and much of the rest. The hallowed halls which delivered a mix of winners and magnificent failures from 1950 to the mid-70s, also had the politics and palace intrigue of the revered Italian scuderia.

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ARAT GOLD ‘Comin and goin’ (above), Gurney leads Hill behind on the temporary Ballarat airfield circuit.

At left, Dan settles himself before the start with BRM’s Pat Corvath in attendance. Note the Bell helmet, with was a rarity in F1 in those days. Gurney’s BRM #6 gets the jump at the start on the far side (below) from #11 is Ron Flockhart’s Cooper T53 Climax and closest to camera, Stan Jones in a Cooper T51 Climax. On row 2 it’s Bib Stillwell in a Cooper T51 Climax on the far side, with the nose of Hill’s BRM to his right. At right is a map of the Ballarat circuit, courtesy of The Ballarat Courier.

Generations of global enthusiasts ground their teeth in frustration and pumped the air with glee in equal measure, as one of F1’s most intriguing grand marques rode the roller-coaster of abject failure and successes.

The cream of the racing crop from JuanManuel Fangio to Niki Lauda, raced for BRM. Gurney had endured a shocker of a season in 1960.

His lowest point was after the death of a teenage spectator, who had strayed into a prohibited area behind the Tarzan Loop at Zandvoort during the Dutch Grand Prix.

His BRM ploughed straight on and rolled after a rear brake hose burst.

Gurney cracked a rib, broke an arm, and had cuts and abrasions from the barbed-wire enclosed walkway on which he landed.

But eight months later everything came together in the Victorian Gold Rush town of Ballarat, 125km north-west of Melbourne.

Daniel Sexton Gurney won the 100-mile (160km) RAAF airfield race from rom ex-BRM driver Ron Flockhart’s Cooper er T53 Climax and Graham Hill’s sister BRM M P48.

BRM had raced in New Zealand aland before. Much to the delight of Australian enthusiasts, this time Warwick ck Farm and Ballarat were added to the roster in addition to Ardmore’s New Zealand Grand Prix meeting.

The Project 48 machine was as BRM’s first mid-engined car, with itss 2.5-litre DOHC, two-valve, 58 8 DCOE Weber-fed four-cylinder der 240bhp engine mounted in a spaceframe chassis.

In essence, much of the hardware of the preceding P25 was utilised, albeit with the familiar engine located att the rear rather than the front..

By July 1960 it was good enough to lead and drive away from Jack Brabham’s Cooper T53 Climax at Silverstone’s British GP. Only a brake problem caught out Graham Hill late in the race, ending a charge which had promised his first

world championship GP win.

The cars raced by Hill and Gurney, chassis 485 and 486 respectively, were used in the US GP at Riverside in November 1960, and then shipped to the Land of the Long White Cloud.

The BRM crew were conflicted by their southern summer trips. The hard work was compensated by sand, sea and sun, but the time away interrupted F1 preparation for the next GP season.

Irrespective, BRM chief Sir Alfred Owen was adamant that BRM would promote the name of the parent Rubery Owen Group and its automotive products.

At the Ardmore RNZAF airfield circuit, outside Auckland, Hill finished third behind the works Cooper T53 Climax duo of Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren, while Gurney had a cylinder-head seal fail.

Warwick Farm’s first international meeting was held on January 29, 1961, a month after the circuit’s opening.

The front row comprised Stirling Moss on pole p in Rob Walker’s Lotus 18 Climax with Gurney and Hill alongside.

Moss led from the off with Hill out early when his car dumped its fuel – the tank had split.

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Gurney was in a strong but distant second place to Moss when a carb fuel-pipe broke, starving the machine of fuel. Moss won from Innes Ireland’s works Lotus 18 Climax and Victorian Bib Stillwell’s Cooper T51 Climax.

Off to Ballarat the teams went.

The 960km tow from Sydney was made more fraught for the British mechanics by the breakdown of their original truck and then of its replacement.

Having secured the race, the promoter,r, Victoria’s Light Car Club, had to come up with a venue.

Sandown was still a year from completion. Albert Park was out from late 1958, after political pressure about excessive noise allowed the ducks and swans to cruise about in peace. It’s time mee would come again, almost 40 years hence of course. rcuit, uit, Fishermans Bend, another airfield circuit, onal was deemed too ‘pissant’ for international use, so Ballarat got the gig. Victoria’s first post-war circuit meeting had been held d there in January 1947.

The roughly T-shaped 4.8km track, as using two runways and a link road, was d a compromise in terms of surface and facilities, but it was far from the worst race venue on the planet.

Importantly, the base’s chief, Wing Commander Fairbanks, was on-side, allowing the teams access to hangars and engineering facilities.

BRM’s opposition was relatively light.t. m Rob Walker’s team and Jack Brabham on had decamped to the UK, allowing Ron Flockhart to race Brabham’s Cooper T53 ast Climax. Innes Ireland’s Lotus 18 was fast and fragile. Thereabouts would be thee tan Cooper T51s of Australian hotshots Stan old Jones, Alec Mildren, Bib Stillwell, Arnold Glass and Austin Miller. n Lex Davison entered his Aston Martin DBR4 3-litre in a last-hurrah for frontengined cars. Davison had finished thee

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Ju un 1960 AGP a tenth adrift of Mildren’s June w wi n winning Cooper-Maserati on Queensland’s Lowood airfield circuit, in a thriller-diller Low Lo w race. rra ac He seemed half a chance on a similar track. trac tr a D Despite a good dump of rain on the We Wednesday, the base was very dusty when co om competitors took to the bumpy track on F Frid rid morning. The hot air was so full of Friday flies that “They could be almost shot out flie off the t air with a shotgun”, Australian Motor Spo Sports wrote.

G Gurney had mastered the delicate art of a well-aimed ‘Australian salute’ by the time he we e left for Germany and Porsche.

In a full program, the Victorian Trophy grid wa was determined by two six-lap heats on the Sat Saturday.

J Jones led early in the first one, his Cooper now no ow fitted with a 2.5 Climax, but Gurney’s BR RM blasted past him on lap 4 to win from BRM Flo Flockhart, who passed Jones on lap 5.

In the second heat Miller and then Sti Stillwell led early after Hill was slow away, per perhaps looking after his clutch. The Brit star his run for home on lap 3, passing started Still Stillwell and Mildren to win the race.

Th grid settled, the racers and their The ento entourages, organisers and dignitaries repa repaired to the officers’ mess for an even reception to purge their bodies evening of the thick Western Plains dust, grit and blowf blowflies.

The BRM mechanics ignored the entre entreaties of lissom, local lasses. They o just drifted off to sleep when had only chief mechanic Willie Southcott burst into r their room with two policemen, hunting for Gurn Gurney’s stolen BRM. Whi a military establishment, security While Happ Happy-Dan (above left) after the win, with Pat C Corvath, Doug Sharp and Willie Southcott lookin looking equally chuffed. That’s Bib Stillwell appro approaching the winners on the left. In the Balla Ballarat BP compound (left). Note Hill’s little grille and ‘Owen Racing Organisation’ badge on the no nose.

Gurney’s ‘workman like rather than pretty’ BRM P48 blasts down Warwick Farm’s pit straight (main) during practice. BRM’s boys getting stuck-in during Warwick Farm practice (above), that’s Doug Sharp handling a wheel at the rear, then lanky Dan walking behind, and then Pat Corvath with the other rear. Arthur Hill listens to partially obscured chief mechanic Willie Southcott.

was somewhat lax. Four inebriated baddies had broken into BRM’s hangar in the early hours of Sunday intending to go for a burn in Dan’s car. They failed!

Once the rascals were in the local-nick 486 was repatriated by the mechanics from 1.5km away. They checked it over and found it to be in rude good health despite a liberal coating of dirt and hay.

Gurney started the Victorian Trophy from pole with Flockhart and Jones alongside, then Stillwell and Hill on row two of the 3-2-3 grid.

When the flag dropped Gurney scampered off and was not seen again until the prize-giving.

Hill’s clutch gave him dramas. He was sixth at the end of the first lap on the typically featureless, dusty track, but recovered to finish second – only after Flockhart’s Climax fell ill on the last lap.

Davison’s gear selector failed on lap 9. Ireland was second for a while but the dreaded Lotus ‘Queerbox’ – Colin Chapman’s sequential-shift transaxle was the 18’s Achilles heel – failed on lap 10.

Gurney won by 40 seconds from Hill, with Flockhart one second back, and then the four Cooper T51s of Jones, who had driven one of the best races of his career, Stillwell, Mildren and Miller.

Ballarat was the P48’s only international victory and it was to be the last time the model raced as a works entry.

Gurney’s first international race win was a great way for him to end his BRM career.

He was off to Porsche to race F1 cars and sports prototypes in 1961-62.

Gurney made history at Reims in France in 1962 when he won the great German marque its only Grand Prix victory as a manufacturer aboard a Type 804 1.5-litre flat eight.

Gurney drove for the Brabham Racing Organisation from 1963 to 1965, and delivered its first championship F1 GP win at Rouen, France, in 1964 but he never got a Tasman Cup gig – the seven or eight-

event series of races for 2.5-litre singleseaters held from 1964 to 1970. Jack’s other sidekick, the great Kiwi, Denny Hulme, drove the ‘second Brabham’ in our part of the world. We never saw Gurney again.

Together with his great buddies Brabham and McLaren, Gurney later won a GP in a car of his own manufacture, at Spa in 1967.

That Belgian GP-winning Eagle Mk1 Weslake 3-litre V12 is universally acclaimed as one of the sexiest-looking racing cars ever built.

Gurney’s California-built Eagles also won in Indy racing, including the Indianapolis 500, in Formula A/5000 and Formula Ford.

As late as 1993 a Toyota-Eagle Mk3 won the IMSA GTP championship.

He passed away in January 2018, aged 86.

Gurney’s stunning career included World Endurance Championship, Can-Am, TransAm and Nascar wins.

He was famously the first to pop a Moet cork and shower the crowd with sweet, sticky, expensive spray at Le Mans in 1967, starting a podium tradition that continues today.

That all-American victory with AJ Foyt aboard a Ford GT Mk4 was just a week before his equally significant Spa victory!

In an era of few championship Grands Prix each year, Gurney’s F1 race statistics

were blunted by Eagles whi which ch were not always the sharpest tools in the shed from 1966-1968.

Four wins, three poles and d six fastest laps is still not a bad haul.

It would have been something else to have seen Gurney contest the greatest Tasman Cup of all in 1968, going head-to-head d with Clark, Hill, Brabham, McLaren, Piers Courage, Chris Amon, Frank Gardnerr and Pedro Rodriguez.

But didn’t he make that beefy BRM sing in the summer of ’61. Twenty thousand dusty, hot Victorians ans loved his accent, big open smile and precise brio behind nd the wheel.

The unusual single rear disc brake on Hill’s BRM (above) together with the strut-type rear suspension.

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THE YEAR AHEAD SUPERCARS

First event: Bathurst 500 February 26-28 IT’S THE end of an era in 2021.

Wholesale changes arrive in 2022 as Gen33 takes over, and which will signal the end for the Commodore and the Holden brand.

Last year’s Supercars season witnessed new winners, but it was Scott McLaughlin who took his third title before moving to Team Penske’s IndyCar program.

That announcement kicked off one of the busiest Supercars silly seasons in recent memory, especially off-track.

McLaughlin’s exit wasn’t the only one at Dick Johnson Racing, with Roger Penske electing to sell his shares in the team and end his Supercars sojourn.

The oldest Supercars squad on the grid now features an all-new driver line-up, as veteran Will Davison returns to the team which provided his breakthrough more than a decade ago.

Davison is joined by rising star Anton De Pasquale, who replaces the departed Fabian Coulthard.

The Kiwi has found a new home at Team Sydney, where he’ll spearhead the Jonathon Webb-owned team as it welcomes back experienced engineer Geoff Slater, who masterminded the squad’s 2016 Bathurst 1000 victory under its previous guise of Tekno Autosports.

Another team to experience dramatic change is Erebus Motorsport.

Although De Pasquale scored his maiden victory last season, it was on most accounts a disappointing 2020 for the quietly-spoken young star.

Both drivers and two leading engineers left Erebus at the season’s end, paving the way for an inexperienced driver line-up in 2021.

Just one-year into a decade-long deal, David Reynolds departed the team after a prolonged period of negotiations, joining Kelly Grove Racing in a Penrite-backed Ford Mustang.

Endurance co-drivers Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki get their chance at the big time, with George Commins joining Erebus to spearhead its engineering department, after six-years at Kelly Racing.

Tom Moore has been promoted within Erebus to become race engineer, a role he had fulfilled during the majority of the 2020

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season when the team was on the road road.

Those two replace Kelly Grove Racingbound Alistair McVean, and Mirko De Rosa, who joins Modena Engineering in S5000.

The name change to Kelly Grove Racing acknowledges the addition of the Grove Group as shareholders.

Headed by noted gentleman racer Stephen Grove and son Brenton, the Grove Group’s investment aims to bolster the team’s competitive chances.

Recruiting Reynolds and retaining rising star Andre Heimgartner, plus further development of its Ford Mustangs, all bode well for a strong 2021.

A shock season-end retirement came for Rick Kelly, though he is expected to return for Bathurst.

Four into three didn’t go at Tickford Racing.

That meant Lee Holdsworth was out, while Cameron Waters, Jack Le Brocq and James Courtney remain, with waiting in the wings is Thomas Randle, who will do some Wildcards this season.

Tickford-satellite squad Blanchard Racing Team has employed Brendan Hogan from Tickford to head up its campaign, spearheaded by the returning Tim Slade in what will be an interesting Mustang to watch.

Last season was a breakout for Team18 and it took a big step towards bridging the gap to the two-perennial front-running squads, by gaining the decorated engineer Richard Hollway during the off-season.

In its pursuit of DJR, Triple Eight Race E Engineering has also reshuffled its eengineering line-up.

An off-season acquisition was cchampionship-winning engineer Wes M McDougall from Matt Stone Racing. Jamie W Whincup will now work with McDougall, as the seven-time champion’s former engineer David Cauchi moves across the garage to en engineer reigning Bathurst winner Shane van Gisbergen.

The Triple Eight shuffle was caused by van Gisbergen’s engineer Grant McPherson moving across to Walkinshaw Andretti United, as Head of Performance.

A 12-round Supercars schedule has been provisionally announced, featuring returns to Victoria, Tasmania, Perth and New Zealand.

Six-rounds will be conducted as two-day Supersprint events, as introduced last year, while four will be conducted across threedays.

The shock departure of the Adelaide 500 is the major calendar omission, as was Sandown, until the Australian Grand Prix was postponed. The Melbourne track will replace it as the second round of the season.

Bathurst kicks off the season with 2 x 250km sprint events, and the Gold Coast for the first time hosts the finale using the same format.

Perth and Sydney Motorsport Park share SuperNight duties, while the Bathurst 1000 will be the only endurance race of the 2021 season.

Other changes include a new tyre compound for low degradation circuits Hidden Valley and Winton, a Dunlop Super Soft, while a new commercial series naming rights relationship with Repco starts this year.

New too is a five-year television rights agreement with Network Seven and Foxtel, which promises to increase free to air coverage. HM

Formula 1

First event: Bahrain Grand Prix March 26-28 THE 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship promises to be an intriguing contest with several significant driver changes.

Despite still not re-signing for Mercedes, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton undoubtably goes into the 2021 season as the title favourite.

In 2021 his teammate Valtteri Bottas will need to prove he is capable of challenging Hamilton on a more consistent basis, or he could find himself replaced by Mercedes prodigy and Williams driver George Russell in 2022.

At Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen will be joined by Mexican veteran Sergio Perez, who replaces the under-performing Alex Albon.

Like Albon and Pierre Gasly before him, Perez will have his work cut out as a teammate to Verstappen, while Albon takes on the role of reserve driver.

Early last season Perez looked set to drive for the newly renamed Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team in 2021, however the Silverstone based squad elected to buy him out of his contact and instead sign four-time champion Sebastian Vettel to partner Lance Stroll.

Before the 2020 season had even begun, Vettel learned that he would not be retained by Ferrari, as the Italian squad opted for a ‘youth’ line-up with Carlos Sainz joining two-time race winner Charles Leclerc.

Many eyes will now be on Ferrari to see how well it recovers from a torrid campaign in 2020.

Aussie ace Daniel Ricciardo fills the gap vacated by Sainz at McLaren, joining fellow smiling assassin Lando Norris, who is quickly establishing himself as a future star.

McLaren is on the rise, after finishing third in

INDYCAR

First event: Barber Motorsports Park April 11

Images: LAT

the Constructors’ Championship last season (its highest since 2012) the British team will get another boost switching from Renault to Mercedes engines.

The move is a real positive for McLaren, and should see the team take a step closer to the top two squads, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso returns to F1 after a two-year hiatus with the rebranded Alpine F1 Team, formally known as Renault.

However, it is not the only high-profile change for the French manufacturer, as the squad has also seen the departure of managing director Cyril Abiteboul.

Laurent Rossi will take on the role of chief executive officer, while Davide Brivio moves from the factory Suzuki MotoGP squad to become the racing director.

Three rookies join the F1 grid in 2021, Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda replacing Daniil Kvyat at Alpha Tauri, after finishing third in the 2020 Formula 2 Championship.

Haas will field a brand-new driver line-up too in 2021 as Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen make way.

The Schumacher name returns to F1 with Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time champion Michael. He will be partnered at the

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American team by the controversial Russian Nikita Mazepin, who posted to social media a video of him inappropriately touching a woman late last year.

For 2021 several technical changes will come in effect, one of which is the banning of the clever Dual Axis Steering (DAS) system run

by Mercedes in 2020.

The controversial system allowed its drivers to adjust the angle of front toe, used to assist its drivers to warm up the tyres.

The much-needed F1 budget cap has also been introduced and sees teams limited to spending AUD $227 million in 2021 and which will continue to reduce in 2022 and beyond.

This limit does not, however, include marketing, driver salaries and the salaries of the team’s top three executives. Nevertheless, it is a good step for the future sustainability of F1.

The calendar is, of course, subject to change throughout the year due to the impact of COVID-19 on the many countries F1 visits.

At this point in time Australia will host the third from last Grand Prix on November 21.

One brand-new calendar addition is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while the stillborn Dutch Grand Prix will finally run (hopefully) along with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. DM

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MORE AUSTRALIANS eyes will be focused on IndyCar than ever before in 2021, due to the local interest surrounding rookie and three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin.

McLaughlin had debuted in Indycar at St Petersburg last year, but was involved in an incident, which took him out of the event.

However, an impressive display through testing for Team Penske in early 2020 boosted anticipation that McLaughlin was to make the switch to IndyCar, and so it proved.

For the first-time since 2017, Team Penske will run four-entries with McLaughlin joining two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden, Frenchman Simon Pagenaud and Australian Will Power, who both have an Indy 500 and series title their names.

But can this fearsome quartet defeat a dominant Kiwi?

Reigning champion Scott Dixon clocked up title number six last year and continues his long association with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021, which also expands to four full-time entries.

McLaughlin may be the high-profile rookie down under, but a very big name in US raciung is set to compete part-time.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will contest all road and street course rounds for Chip Ganassi, in what will be his open-wheel debut. Experienced Brazilian Tony Kanaan will step in for Johnson at oval events.

Although there are the regular frontrunners of the past decade, IndyCar is heading into a new era of young stars which includes newly signed Chip Ganassi driver Alex Palou, Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward, Jack Harvey of Meyer Shank Racing, and Dutchman Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter Racing.

This injection of young talent in IndyCar is impressive and they are keeping the likes of Power, Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais, Takuma Sato and Alexander Rossi honest.

An impressive rookie two seasons ago,

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Felix Rosenqvist was one of the bigger driver movements of the off-season, when he left Chip Ganassi to replace Oliver Askew at Arrow McLaren SP. Former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson continues at Chip Ganassi Racing this year.

A further changing of the guard is demonstrated by the line-ups at Meyer Shank Racing and A.J. Foyt Enterprises.

Expanding to two-entries, Meyer Shank Racing combines young British driver Harvey with three-time Indy 500 winner and long-time Team Penske driver, Helio Castroneves.

Bourdais returns full-time after competing at just three rounds last year, to mentor Canadian sophomore Dalton Kellett.

Another sign of change is at Andretti Autosport. Third-generation driver Marco Andretti will shift to a dramatically reduced schedule, which at this stage is solely the Indy 500.

Joining Andretti in making an Indy 500 cameo is Juan-Pablo Montoya, who returns as SP Arrow McLaren’s third entry.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the world at this time, two of IndyCar’s marquee races were moved to later in the season.

Long Beach was moved from the season opener to being the finale, in an effort to provide a safe environment for spectators.

This will conclude a ‘west coast swing’ which also encompasses Portland and Laguna Seca.

Barber Motorsport Park opens the season after St Petersburg, was also delayed to be two weeks later.

This season was to be the final one for the Dallara chassis and 2.2-litre V6 twinturbocharged engine package, but this has now been delayed a further year. HM

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MotoGP

First event: Qatar Grand Prix March 26-28 OFF THE back of a thrilling MotoGP championship and a chaotic silly season, 2021 promises to be yet another fascinating year.

In 2021 only one team fields an unchanged rider line-up, the reigning teams’ champions, the factory Suzuki team.

In just his second MotoGP season last year, Joan Mir broke Suzuki’s 20-year duck to deliver it a well-earned riders’ title.

Mir will have multiple challengers in 2021, starting with his teammate Alex Rins who was arguably the quicker of the two riders last year but several crashes cost him dearly.

Suzuki will have to do without team leader Davide Brivio in 2021, after he made the shock move to join the Alpine F1 Team.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez is optimistic of a return to racing after sitting out a large majority of 2020 having broken his right humerus.

Marquez can fight for the title if he is fully fit and gets back up to speed in the first couple of rounds, so you’d only rule out Marquez at your peril.

In 2021 he will be joined at the factory Honda team by his good mate and former Moto2 champion Pol Espargaro.

Espargaro has the talent but is riding a bike that Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and Alex Marquez have all failed to tame in the past.

It’s tailor-made to the riding style of Marc Marquez but if Espargaro can get to grips with the Honda, he will challenge for race wins this season.

Joan Mir broke Suzuki’s MotoGP title drought (right), but the impending return of Marc Marquez is expected to see Honda back on top (below left). Jack Miller hopes a move to the factory Ducati team will bring him success. (below right).

Australian Jack Miller has been given his big break, finally, leading an all new line-up at the factory Ducati team.

Miller will be joined at the factory team by his Pramac Racing team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.

The Italian manufacturer had a disappointing year in 2020, taking just two race wins, as the environment within the team turned notably frosty.

With Andrea Dovizioso taking a sabbatical and Danilo Petrucci moving to Tech3 KTM, a fresh rider line-up promises a muchneeded reset.

If a race winning bike is produced for 2021, Miller will undoubtedly take race wins and must be considered a championship dark horse.

Yamaha has also changed its riders around, with the factory squad now consisting of Maverick

Vinales and French sensation Fabio Quartararo.

Quartararo did a straight swap with seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, who moves to the Petronas Yamaha squad alongside his good friend and junior academy rider Franco Morbidelli.

In 2020 Yamaha had the fastest bike, but incredible inconsistency meant that in some races

F2 AND F3

F2 first event: Bahrain March 26-28 F3 first event: Spain May 7-9 THE F1 feeder championships Formula 2 and Formula 3 will be fiercely competitive in 2021 with Australian Oscar Piastri once again leading the local crop.

Victorian Piastri has big shoes to fill. After winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing, he has been promoted to take the seat vacated by reigning F2 champ Mick Schumacher.

Piastri’s Prema Racing teammate will be Russian Robert Shwartzman, the Ferrari Academy driver who won more races than any other driver in F2 last season and led the championship early on, until several challenging rounds mid-season cost him dearly.

Shwartzman is the 2021 title favourite and if Piastri can challenge his teammate consistently, he will be in the championship hunt.

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Oscar Piastri makes his debut in Formula 2, replacing Mick Schumacher, who joins Haas in Formula 1.

they struggled to grab a single point. If Yamaha fires this year, all four riders are potential champions.

The fight for Rookie of the Year will be hotly contested, with three Moto2 graduates making the step up: reigning champion Enea Bastianini, Rossi’s half-brother Luca Marini and 2018 Moto3 champ Jorge Martin. DM

SHANNONS MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIPS First event: Australian All Wheels Race Fest Phillip Island February 19-21

LAST YEAR’S Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships was set to be the biggest season yet for the second-tier series.

The injection of the Australian Racing Group’s growing portfolio of categories increased the hype and interest surrounding the Motorsport Australia promoted series.

However, that potential was stillborn when the world COVID crisis put a halt to normal life.

Although there were attempts to start the season, only the Shannons Motorsport Australia Festival at Sandown was held for a Porsche category combining Carrera Cup and Sprint challenge competitors, plus a number of state-based classes.

For 2021, the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships begins with a bang at Phillip Island, for the first-time combining with the Australian Superbike Championships to form the All Wheels Race Fest.

TCR Australia, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, Touring Car Masters and new addition, the National Trans Am Series, all begin as part of ARG’s Race Tasmania double-header at Symmons Plains and Baskerville, and all will play a part in the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships.

The headline act will be TCR Australia, where some of the sport’s rising stars will compete against some the country’s most experienced drivers.

Recent Supercars refugee Lee Holdsworth has joined Asley Seward Motorsport for his maiden campaign in TCR, but there are also a few familiar faces in the field.

Inaugural series runner up Tony D’Alberto is aiming to go one better in his factory Honda Civic Type-R, while the GRM-developed Renaults have also demonstrated rapid straight-line pace, with James Moffat spearheading this attack.

Jason Bargwanna is another to add experience while at the other end of the scale is son Ben, who will team with his father in a two-car Peugeot team.

As was a constant during its inaugural season, TCR has emerged as a proving

Felipe Drugovich impressed last year in the midfield MP Motorsport squad, taking three race wins.

This year he should become a more consistent front-runner as he joins British UNI-Virtuosi Racing, the team which finished second in the teams’ championship. The second driver at UNIVirtuosi is yet to be announced.

Carlin ended the 2020 season strongly by taking the last two race wins, with Yuki Tsunoda arguably the fastest driver in the last three rounds.

While Tsunoda moves to F1, his Carlin teammate Jehan Daruvala remains in F2, with his new teammate is yet to be announced.

Last year Hitech Grand Prix finished fourth in the teams’ championship with F1 bound Nikita Mazepin and F2 veteran Luca Ghiotto, while in 2021 the team has a fresh set of drivers.

Both New Zealander Liam Lawson and

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Australian Racing Group categories S5000 (above) and TCR Australia (below left) spearhead the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship line-up.

Touring Car Masters (below right) will also be a highlight of the program while the Australian Production Car Series (bottom) will add to the variety to the bill.

ground for young talent led by WTCR Wildcard Dylan O’Keeffe, Jordan Cox, Aaron Cameron, Michael Clemente, Brad Shiels, Zac Soutar, Josh Buchan and Matt McLean.

Reigning series winner Will Brown won’t defend his title, as he has moved to a fulltime Supercars seat at Erebus Motorsport.

Audi, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Hyundai, Honda and Renault will all feature on the grid this season, with promises of more to come.

S5000 started off with a bang in 2019, then it was revealed last year that the prestigious Motorsport Australia Gold Star and Australian Drivers’ Championship was to be awarded to the winner of the series.

Thomas Randle and James Golding proved to be leading contenders at The Bend Motorsport Park 14 months ago, and likely to continue that form this season.

In a dream debut, development driver Tim Macrow took the inaugural race of the category at Sandown, and now returns with the aim of winning his third Gold Star after earning the coveted award in 2007 and 2013.

Tommy Smith and Ricky Capo bring

international experience to the grid, as does former Red Bull driver Luis Leeds.

GRM will field two entries as Golding is joined by Nathan Herne, doubling up on his Trans Am duties.

Cooper Webster moves from Excels to the thundering S5000 with 88 Racing. The Astuti name also returns to Australian race tracks through Antonio, his father Sam preparing the entry.

Another following in his father’s footsteps is Braydan Willmington, son of Garry, who returns after debuting at The Bend.

It’s the dawn of a new era in Touring Car Masters, as Falcon vs Commodore begins properly.

The popular class is expected to be hotly contested with Steven Johnson’s new Ford XD Falcon still in the development phase.

John Bowe’s well sorted Holden Torana A9X might go in as slight favourite, but the similar model of Ryan Hansford and the Chevrolet Camaro driven by Ryal Harris will be well in contention.

TCM will be at three Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship rounds in 2021.

The Trans Am National Series brings modern muscle car competition to the

fore, as Camaros battle Mustangs and Challengers, with third-generation racer Aaron Seton the pacesetter in this class.

International promoter SRO has aligned with ARG to run a rejuvenated GT World Challenge Australia, which features at three Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship rounds.

Other classes that will be on the bill at various times throughout the season include the Australian Production Car Series, Porsche Sprint Challenge, Australian Prototype Series, Radical Australia Cup, Aussie Racing Cars and seveal local categories. HM

Calan Williams (above) will again race for Jenzer Motorsport and hopes luck will be on his side in 2021. Piastri’s teammate Robert Shwartzman (above right) enters the Formula 2 season as favourite and will be the Australian’s benchmark.

Estonian Juri Vips are Red Bull juniors are Hitech bound and this season could end up a shootout between the pair for a potential Red Bull or AlphaTauri F1 drive in 2022.

In the third-tier F3 Championship, Australian Calan Williams re-signed for Swiss outfit Jenzer Motorsport. The West Aussie showed promise in 2020 but was

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unable to capitalise on opportunities.

With several new engineering additions, Williams impressed in post-season testing, ending a majority of the days in the top three positions, and as a result he is confident of a much stronger 2021 season.

Although fellow Aussie Jack Doohan has not yet signed a deal, he is also expected

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to return to F3. Doohan also shone in post-season testing and announced his intentions to sign with the Trident for 2021.

Although many of the 2020 F3 front runners have moved up, the field will be full to the brim of talent, with the likes of Arthur Leclerc (brother of F1 driver Charles), Dennis Hauger and Olli Caldwell among potential winners. DM

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PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

Scott Andrews has shown grit and determination for a decade to get to where he is today, demonstrating that with little money you can still make a career in the sport, as DAN McCARTHY reports.

IN 2020 a plucky Australian by the name of Scott Andrews made his debut in the highly regarded IMSA Sportscar Championship and immediately impressed, matching the full-time professionals.

The determined Aussie battler had started in local national level karting and fought his way to the pinnacle of American Sportscar racing, with a lot of blood sweat and tears along the way.

A passion for motor racing blossomed at a very early age and he began karting with some success.

“Back in those days you could still be competitive with second-hand equipment,” Andrews told Auto Action.

“You may not have the best engine, but you could set the kart up to make

that difference up.”

After breaking his ribs on several occasions, Andrews initially elected to hang up the racing boots and pursue a career in music, only to quickly burn himself out.

Soon after returning to karting at the age of 19, Andrews dropped a bombshell, announcing that he wanted to move into car racing.

A family that was struggling to field a single go-kart was going to be stretched financially running in Commodore Cup. “At the time we had a couple of friends in Commodore Cup. If you do it on a shoestring budget like we did, it’s not actually that far from running a competitive kart (financially),” Andrews explained.

“With a lot of help from Dad’s Commodore Cup friends, we were able to buy a car.

“A couple of rounds later I got my first pole at Oran Park and that was when Sean Scott recognised my talent.”

Scott offered him a test of Greg Murphy’s ‘Lap of the Gods’ Commodore, which led him to a drive in one of Scott’s old Formula Fords.

In the mid-noughties Scott successfully ran a Formula Ford team, helping drivers including Lee Holdsworth and Steve Owen make it to Supercars.

Andrews was competitive in the Kent class, however in the faster Duratec engine category he struggled for top results.

“We couldn’t do any testing because ng beca aus use itt

Scott Andrews made his debut in the IMSA Sportscar Championship for JDC-Miller Motorsports last year (above left and below). Andrews took a victory driving for United Autosports at SpaFrancorchamps in 2018 (above middle). Andrews competed in the IMSA Prototype Challenge in both 2019 and 2020, picking up several wins and podiums (above right).

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was too expensive. We had to do a lot of testing in the middle of the races and we often went the wrong way with the car.”

“In late 2012 it got to a point where I couldn’t afford to keep doing it, dad was done, he’d refinanced the house and the bank was basically saying ‘If you try it again, we’re taking it off you.’”

However, just as his career again appeared to have run its course, his good mate James Davison (cousin of Will and Alex) offered him an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

“Davison, who I met at Fastrack doing drive days, had a full month of coaching, testing and driving overseas in late 2012, and said, ‘Come with me, everything’s covered,” he recalled.

“He introduced me to a lot of teams on the Road to Indy and one of those was JDC MotorSports, which was really the only team to take any interest in me, even though I came in with no budget.”

JDC offered him a temporary fill-in gig in the 2013 US F2000 Championship, and he claimed two top 10 finishes at Laguna Seca.

However, for 2014 he was unable to secure a race seat and was forced to take a year out.

The following year, with some backing from Australians Mike Boland and Jeff Watters, Andrews was able to put together a US Formula Ford 1600 Pro Series campaign.

He won seven of the 20 races and finished on the podium 14 times, to comfortably take the title.

“I was pretty confident in the Formula Ford, I had done a lot of driving and I knew that if I could run with the top Aussie guys, I can run with anyone in the world,” he said.

“We definitely got on top of the car a lot earlier than everybody else, as far as just making it faster and developing the car.”

After winning the title Andrews spent much of the 2016 season on the couch, before it was suggested to him that rather than pursuing a career in open-wheelers, he should look at sportscar racing.

He did, sending out emails for

Scott Andrews celebrating with Exclusive Autosport team owner Michael Duncalfe on the way to winning the US Formula Ford 1600 Pro Series. Images: LAT

vacancies which led to multiple fill-in roles and part-time drives throughout 2017 and 2018.

Highlights included a win on debut in the Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 class and competing in two races for United Autosports in the European Le Mans Series LMP3 class.

“I think I did a pretty good job as a fill-in driver (at United Autosports) because we managed to win at Spa in the wet and finished third at Portimao after a full front nose change in a pitstop that cost us the race,” Andrews said.

At this point Andrews felt like his career was really beginning to build momentum, and in 2018 he ran parttime campaigns for JDC in the IMSA Prototype Challenge and in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with American Gerald ‘Jerry’ Kraut.

“When the momentum starts it is one of those things that keeps on rolling. I was flying from Europe into JFC airport, racing, then coaching the day after, flying back to my home in Atlanta, and then back to Europe,” Andrews explained.

In 2019 he focussed soley on the second-tier IMSA Prototype Challenge,

driving for JDC MotorSports alongside Kraut.

The pair were able to achieve a podium and a top five finish and then built on this momentum the following year.

“We missed Daytona but we went to Sebring, won our first race and I set a race lap record,” Andrews said.

They backed it up two weeks later by winning at Road America with a wellexecuted fuel strategy. Two seventh place finishes and another podium saw the duo finish fifth in the championship.

“John Church (JDC Motorsport boss) gave me my first big shot in the USA, he believed in me,” Andrews said.

“John definitely took note, especially in 2020, every time we went to a racetrack, we were the ones to beat.”

This led to the biggest moment of his career to date, a drive in the #85 JDCMiller Motorsports Cadillac DPi machine in the IMSA Sportscar Championship, debuting at Sebring 12 Hour.

“John would occasionally ask if I had found any sponsors to jump in car #85 and my answer was always ‘No’ and the same thing happened before Sebring,” he said.

“He called me back a couple of hours later and said ‘I’ve been chatting to the engineers, our investors, and our other drivers and they all really want you in the car. They all say great things about you, I want you in the car, you’ve got the gig!’

“That was really cool because I got there on merit. Unless you’re in IndyCar or an ex F1 driver, it’s pretty difficult to make your debut without a little bit of a contribution, so that was definitely satisfying.”

Teamed up with ex IndyCar driver Matheus Leist and IMSA veteran Stephen Simpson, the trio impressed.

Andrews took to the DPi machine like a duck to water, despite never even hopping into the machine prior to the race weekend.

He was able to match the pace of ex-F1 drivers and the reigning IndyCar Series winner.

“My driving style suits heavy downforce cars like that, and it didn’t really take too long to get my head around the power, the speed or the downforce,” he said.

“The big thing was just figuring out what I had to do with the brake pedal on the entry.

“In the second stint to be able to keep up with guys like Juan Pablo Montoya, stay ahead of Scott Dixon and drive away from others who are also at the top of the game, that was when I knew I figured this car out.”

The race itself could not have gone any better for the trio, finishing in an outright fourth position, and despite being a satellite team, they finished as the top Cadillac.

“For us to be able to compete and actually be the first Cadillac home was huge for that team,” he recalled.

“We obviously had some luck, but we did everything right and we didn’t put a foot wrong on the track.

“We were all pushing hard but not taking unnecessary risks, we just made zero errors, which is crazy in a 12hour race to make no mistakes. That’s ultimately what a got us the result.”

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TICKFORD PARTNERS RYCO FILTERS

TICKFORD RACING has announced a new relationship with RYCO Filters which sees the brand become the Supercar team’s official filtration partner for the 2021 Supercars Championship.

Ryco was founded in Melbourne in 1936 and today is Australia’s top selling brand of automotive oil, air, and fuel filters. This year the three Tickford Racing Ford Mustangs driven by Cameron Waters, Jack Le Brocq and James Courtney will run RYCO filters on the racetrack, as well as carrying RYCO branding.

Stuart Chandler, Executive General Manager of RYCO, said the company was proud to bring the proud Australian brand to Tickford Racing. “We at RYCO are elated to be teaming up with Tickford Racing in 2021,� Chandler said. “On top of partnering a team with their championship-winning history and calibre, we see a number of ways to innovate our business through working with Tickford, examples of which we’ll be rolling out in the near future. This is a very exciting partnership for RYCO on and off the track, so we’re thrilled to be working together and we can’t wait to get started.�

RYCO which has in business for 84-years and has previous lhistory with Ford. “Partnering with a Ford team, Tickford in particular, is great for our brand from a heritage perspective,� Stuart added. “Our Z9 oil filter was one of our first mass-produced filters, and was an original part on the early Ford Falcons.�

Tickford Racing CEO and team principal Tim Edwards is equally delighted with the new partnership. “Joining forces with RYCO is very exciting for us, to bring another industry-leading brand into our team builds a lot of momentum for us,� Edwards said. “RYCO has a history of innovating and finetuning what they do, and they bring that same attitude to this commercial partnership.� DM

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DUNLOP RACING rubber is now being distributed in NSW by the NTT Group, trading as DMS Oz NSW. NTT (nttracing.com.au) already has its roots firmly planted in Australian motorsport across all categories, representing many of the top race brands, making it an easy decision for Goodyear and Dunlop Tyres to switch over the distribution of the Dunlop Motorsport product range for NSW. Not only is NTT well established in the motor sport community, it has invested in technologies that make the buying process easier for clients. Using these, DMS aims to be a digital store front while also delivering full service at the race track.

"With our history of supplying tyres and race service to teams around the country, whether it be drag, dirt or circuit racing, we've been there at the forefront so we know we can deliver outcomes,� CEO Bill McKenna said.

"Our history of delivering top flight products direct to the drivers and teams for the last 45 years across the length and breadth of Australia, we are proud to add Dunlop Motorsport NSW to our stable."

McKenna added that it NTT would bring a fresh outlook to the distribution and servicing of the Dunlop motor sport product range, especially given the impact he sees in both the economy and our workplace due to recent events.

"Our goal is to get in front of the COVID disruptions while delivering a smarter and smoother distribution network as our main priority, as we introduce a fit or freight on-line delivery system."

McKenna believes that "in today's environment we need to change not only the way we go to market but how we deliver to our customers. Convenience is what people want, pure and simple, delivery to their door."

With the global Dunlop range available, DMS can supply all motor sport needs from circuit racing, Targa and rally, plus the Dunlop range of road legal race tyres for the specialty classes.

Further more information go to: dmsaust.com.au

RACE TASMANIA

KICKING OFF A TRADIT A SUCCESSFUL inaugural Race Tasmania event at Symmons Plains was halfway done when this current issue of Auto Action went to print.

A combined effort by the Australian Racing Group, Garry Rogers Motorsport, Motorsport Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government allowed 5000 fans to watch four national categories, plus three statelevel classes compete at Symmons Plains.

Motorsport Tasmania’s Donald Potter worked with Barry and Garry Rogers to make this event a reality in what is a motorsport bonanza in the Apple Isle this year.

“Brilliant isn’t it,” Potter remarked in the paddock at Symmons Plains.

“When you think about four Australian series coming to Tassie, we might get two for the whole year, but this season we’ve got seven Australian series coming down here. We’ve just signed the Superbikes for November, Supercars and Khanacross Nationals where there will be seven tracks built for a grassroots Australian championship.

“To have four national categories, how good is this?”

Garry Rogers was born in Tasmania and remains passionate about the state, something Potter highlighted.

“I’ve had a good relationship with Garry and Barry Rogers with this idea getting serious around 18-months ago when

42 AutoAction

Joey Mawson took a win on debut in S5000 (above), which was the first Gold Star race in eight years. He beat Thomas Randle who started from pole but finished second (below).

ARG returned to racing in style, at Symmons Plains. Day one attracted a strong socially-distanced crowd (above).

Joey Mawson celebrates his S5000 win (left).

TION T

M Marcus Zukanovic scored the first win for a Falcon XD in TCM, in the Trophy Race (above). Home hero Ad Adam Garwood (Chevrolet Camaro) took the win in TCM race one (left) denying John Bowe his 100th TC TCM victory. Ryan Hansford (below) was again a front runner, finishing third in his Torana.

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Lee Holdsworth made a succesful transition from Supercars to TCR (above), winning on debut in the Alfa Romeo. He is flanked by fellow place getters Jay Hanson who was later penalised, and Jordan Cox. Luke King (below) was impressive on his first TCR outing.

they started talking about it as well as discussing what they were doing with Supercars and TCR,” recalled Potter.

“They’re very passionate.

“We had to jump through hoops, which was a bit of an issue and the hoops kept moving and moving, and changing.

“For the commitment that GRM and ARG have actually put in to making this event happen is huge. Even with the health department’s approval there was always the little clause at the bottom can be shut down at anytime just in case we had a breakout, so for them to commit to bringing all this infrastructure with them to an event here in Tasmania is bigger than huge, it’s massive.

There was some risk in running the event, but the Tasmanian Government were always supportive of holding Race Tasmania.

“We didn’t want to do a Grand Prix, we didn’t want to be here on the Sunday ‘sorry guys, we don’t have an event’, that’s been the biggest scare for me, I’ve lost a lot of nights sleep in the last eight weeks so to be here is very good,” said Potter.

“The Premier, we met with him back in November, Peter Gutwein was very, very understanding of the type of events we hold and very sure of what we wanted to get out of it. One of the questions he actually asked me was how do we make this event happen.

44 AutoAction

Performing double duty in the open-wheel S5000 Championship and Trans Am Series, Nathan Herne took victory in Race 1 of the muscle car category (above). Local Tasmanian Owen Kelly made his racing return in the Trans Am series and finished a solid fifth place in Race 1 with (below).

To read a full account of Race Tasmania’s two events at Symmons Plains and Baskerville, pick up Auto Action 1804.

For 50 years Auto Action has delivered Australian motorsport competitors and enthusists the most in depth coverage of news, race reviews and behind the scenes features.

From Supercars and Formula 1, to national, state and club level racing and rallying, Auto Action covers it all.

Stay up to date with an Auto Action subscription available via two options, both of which ensure Auto Action is promptly and regularly delivered to your door.

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“In November it was a lot easier, we actually said the only thing we really needed was a crowd, the rest we can handle.”

Since then, outbreaks in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales played havoc as spectator limits were downsized from 10,000 to 5000, whilst zones for those attending were implemented within the crowd areas.

Barry Rogers and his father Garry have been the drivers behind the Race Tasmania doubleheader, but to get this off the ground wasn’t an easy scenario.

“There has been a lot of things that have had to happen with the Tasmanian Government and we can’t thank it enough because it gave us the reasons to do it, not reasons why you can’t, so without its support the event wouldn’t have happened,” Rogers said.

“Motorsport Tasmania is a small operation lead

by Donald Potter, who is a machine. It’s very easy for us to take all the credit, but Donald Potter and the Tasmanian Government, we had the idea of what we wanted to do, but it’s great. I sat up on the hill with some fans and it was awesome.

“It’s real special to do it.”

A summer race in Tasmania was a no brainer for the Rogers duo and to witness the result is a pleasing felling considering the latest challenges overcome.

“There was big suggestion to call it off,” Rogers admitted. “But Garry and I stood firmly, we said no and with all the support, we’re just going to keep on going.

“Two weeks ago, we had 127 competitors and team members that had to quarantine. The government were prepared to work with us to make it happen, it was a big number. We said our prayers and a couple of days before the event the borders opened and the list went down to less than 20 in the end.

“It fell into our lap in the end and I’m glad it did. The commitment from the people here in Tasmania and the people from the mainland, who have supported the event.

“The smiles on their faces is very, very satisfying.”

Race Tasmania was in the middle of its schedule as Auto Action went to print, Lee Holdsworth led home in TCR Australia, Joey Mawson in S5000, Marcus Zukanovic won the Trophy Touring Car Masters race and local Adam Garwood Race 1, while Nathan Herne was victorious in National Trans Am. Heath McAlpine

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Jay Hanson finished third (left) but a penalty dropped the Alfa Romeo driver to eighth. Here he leads Chaz Mostert’s Audi and Aaron Cameron’s Peugeot. The crowd enjoyed the retrun of racing, the event attracting a capped crowd of 5000 per day (bottom).

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WRC WRAP

OGIER CONTROLS MONTE Report: Dan McCarthy Images: LAT/Red Bull Content Pool SEBASTIEN OGIER has started his final season in the FIA World Rally Championship by taking his 50th round victory and scoring a record breaking eighth Monte Carlo Rally win.

In the process of taking the win, Ogier also tied Walter Rohrl’s record of winning the event with four different manufactures, having done it with Volkswagen, Ford, Citroen and now Toyota.

It was a Toyota Gazoo Racing 1-2 with Ogier leading teammate and 2020 championship rival Elfyn Evans home by 32.6s.

The 89th edition of Rallye Monte Carlo proved a real challenge, as some stages would be mostly dry but with several corners covered in snow and ice.

This challenge kept drivers and codrivers on their toes from the start of the opening stage until the very last second of the 14th and final stage.

Ogier didn’t have things his own way, brake issues on the opening day costing him ground. However in the two night stages on Friday morning Ogier’s experience came to the fore, firing himself into the lead of the rally.

He was faced with another hurdle later that day when he suffered a puncture and dropped back to third, 23.4s adrift of Evans.

Ogier reclaimed the lead by the end of the Friday and from that moment on managed the gap to the Welshman.

The Frenchman also set the quickest time in the event-ending Power Stage to

Winning co-driver Julien Ingrassia, team boss Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Ogier celebrate their Monte Carlo win. It was Ogier’s 50th WRC round victory and his eighth in Monte Carlo, and Latvala’s first on debut as Toyota’s new team boss.

add an additional five bonus points and seal a maximum 30-point haul from the rally.

Ogier has delayed his scheduled retirement by one year due to the pandemic and this has allowed him to deliver his former teammate and new Toyota Gazoo Racing boss Jari-Matti Latvala his first win in charge.

“That’s not a bad end to the weekend,” Ogier said. “The car has been amazing.

I really enjoyed the weekend, it has been such a pleasure. I almost have tears in my eyes now and it was a good decision to do one more year. Jari-Matti, welcome boss, with a win!”

Evans kept Ogier honest over the last couple of days, but he was unable to get close enough to mount a real attack..

He finished second and claimed three bonus points from the final stage, but felt he was never entirely comfortable.

“It’s been good, but I never felt it was

100 per cent as it should have been,” Evans said. “There were some good stages, but never consistently where I’d really like to be. Perhaps we were just a little below the point you could call the level of risk.”

The battle for third was fought over the final couple of days between rising star Kalle Rovanpera in his Toyota and defending Monte Carlo winner Thierry Neuville in his Hyundai i20.

It was the 20-year-old Rovenpera that led going into the final day, however a puncture on Sunday morning robbed him of a shot of a second career podium.

That honour went to Thierry Neuville and his replacement co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, who was called in less

Elfyn Evans (left) led at one stage but didn’t have the pace to hold off his Toyota teammate, and had to settle for second.

Thierry Neuville (above right) was third for Hyundai with his new co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe.

46 AutoAction

than a week before the rally began, as Neuville and long-time co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul parted ways.

After the puncture Rovenpera played it safe until the final stage of the rally in which the Finn picked up four bonus points.

Spaniard Dani Sordo had a frustrating weekend, unable to find the right setup in his Hyundai. The three-time rally winner brought the car home in a lonely fifth.

Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta finished a career best sixth, and meant that all four

Despite brake issues and a puncture, Sebastien Ogier justified his decision to delay retirement by a year with a resounding win.

Toyota Yaris’ were inside the top six.

For the second year running, 2019 World Rally Champion Ott Tanak failed to greet the finish in Monte Carlo.

On Saturday morning Ott Tanak made a mistake and picked up a puncture, and as a result the spare was used for the following stage on which he picked up yet another delamination. With no more spares Tanak was forced to retire from the rally.

Monte Carlo at its picturesque best. Andreas Mikkelsen took WRC2 for Skoda (above), Gus Greensmith was first Ford home in eighth (left) and Kalle Rovanpera (bottom left) just missed the podium for Toyota.

T The Estonian did attempt to drive his car b back to the i parkk on th h l and he service three wheels, has been handed a suspended oneevent ban for what was considered a dangerous act.

WRC2 event winner Andreas Mikkelsen finished in seventh overall, ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Gus Greensmith.

Frenchmen Adrien Fourmaux and Eric Camilli completed the point scorers in ninth and 10th.

Teemu Suninen rolled out of the rally on the opening stage, fortunately both

the Finnish driver and his co-driver Mikko Markkula escaping injury.

Round two of the 2021 WRC is a brand-new event, Arctic Rally Finland, and takes place from February 26-28.

POINTS OGIER 30, EVANS 21, NEUVILLE 17, ROVANPERA 16, SORDO 11, KATSUTA 8, MIKKELSEN 6, GREENSMITH 4, FOURMAUX 2, CAMILLI 1

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DAKAR 2021

DRAMATIC DAKAR

Toby Price looked a likely winner again until crashing out.

Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: Red Bull Content Pool FOUR AUSTRALIANS competed in the 2021 edition of the legendary Dakar Rally, which for the second consecutive year took place in Saudi Arabia.

The quartet all featured in the bike category and coincidentally all rode KTMs. Two-time bike class rally winner Toby Price returned to ride for the Austrian factory team after finishing third in 2020. The other three Aussies were race debutants; Daniel Sanders also rode for the factory team, while Andrew Houlihan and Michael Burgess competed on privately entered KTMs. In 2021 the event was run over 12 competitive stages and 4000km, and proved to be one of the toughest tests in recent years.

Navigation proved to be a real struggle for competitors across the classes, with many participants ruled

48 AutoAction

out of contention after making the smallest of mistakes.

However, it was not bad navigation that brought Price’s rally to a sudden halt on the ninth stage. Just over a quarter of the way into the stage when fighting for the rally lead, the 33-yearold crashed heavily.

Price was thrown from his KTM motorcycle, breaking his collarbone, as his rivals Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec stopped to aid the New South Welshman before the helicopter arrived

and took him to hospital.

“Well, I’ve finally broken my 30th bone,” Price announced on social media.

“I don’t remember much but I’ve got a pretty sore collarbone, shoulder and hand, and will need surgery for that.

“I’m disappointed to not make the finish and let down the KTM Factory Racing team and my sponsors, but that’s racing unfortunately.

“Thank you to Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec for stopping to help me. I was off with the fairies, but I heard you

took good care of me!”

Both Sunderland and Brabec were handed back the time they lost assisting Price.

Price’s teammate Sanders impressed on debut. Over the course of the arduous journey he made a several navigational errors, suffered a couple of small crashes and was stung by a bee.

However, the former World Enduro champion stayed out of any major trouble and brought the bike home in a commendable fourth position.

After a staggering 47 hours of competition, Sanders also finished top rookie and only 38m and 52s minutes behind winner Kevin Benavides on his Honda.

“Hopefully this puts me on the map for the future. I really enjoyed myself and am stoked to come away with fourth place on debut, I really believe it’s only upwards from here,” Sanders said.

“With more practice and time on the bike, I think we can accomplish good things.”

Daniel Sanders (right) impressed for the KTM factory team, finishing fourth outright and Top Rookie.

Stepane Peterhansel (above) didn’t win a stage this year but still took his eighth Dakar victory in his MINI buggy, though he was pushed all the way by Nasser Al-Attiyah (below). Defending champion Carlos Sainz (right) had a troubled run but bounced back to finish third. Kevin Benavides won the bike class on his factory Honda (above).

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Meanwhile, Burgees finished the event 27th position in class, while Houlihan was several hours further back in 50th.

Kevin Benavides took the bike rally class win, but it was not without incident.

A fall on the fifth stage saw the Argentine break his nose and damage his ankle.

Undeterred, Benavides continued and won the rally by just 4m and 56s from defending champion and teammate Brabec.

Sunderland was the leading factory KTM rider in third ahead of Sanders and Skyler Howes.

Overall, the event was won by ‘Mr Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel, his eighth in a car and 14th overall, ove and in doing so became the first driver to win the event on three continents.

Peterhansel took the lead on stage 3, P and an despite not winning a stage and with wit constant pressure from Nasser AlAttiyah, he was able to take victory by Att just under 14 minutes.

The Th former World Rally Champions Carlos Car Sainz and Sebastien Loeb were in contention early but dropped back c with issues.

Loeb Loe and co-driver Daniel Elena suffered drama after drama and suffe eventually pulled the pin on the eighth even stage. stage Defending Rally winners Sainz and Defe Lucas Cruz, however, were able to get back into contention and finished the rally in third, over 46 minutes behind the Al-Attiyah.

Al-Attiy Manuel Manu Andujar won the Quad class on his Yam Yamaha while Dmitry Sotnikov took the honour honours in the always competitive Truck t category.

AutoAction 49

s w e n Y A SPEED

SPEEDWEEK HITS Report: PARIS CHARLES Images: RAY RITTER

Lisa Walker would claim sixth in front of Joel Heinrich on his maiden run at the venue, over Brock Hallett who was pressuring for a podium placing until a late race spin dashed his chances, Grant Stansfield and Tate Frost rounded out the top 10.

Steven Caruso, Adrian Cottrell, Ben Morris and Max Vidau would remain consistent to round out the finishers.

LAST YEAR was a challenging year for many.

COVID brought the annual World Series Sprintcars season to a grinding halt and things on a national scale were scrambled.

But through these trials and tribulations a new series was created by the hard-working Sprintcars South Australia Club, featuring a different racing format for each round of the series.

Pestka Tames The Bullring

Egel Flies High ROUND ONE of the SA Speedweek series saw the winged warriors travel to the steel city of Whyalla, located approximately four and half hours west of Adelaide, for a Boxing Day (Saturday 26th December) kick off with a hefty $10,000 on the line.

The event kicked off with each group of the 17-car field running against the clock in time trials.

Brad Keller posted the quickest journey around the circuit with a time of 12.529. After the heats were run and done, Keller would start the 35-lap feature from the second row alongside Brock Hallett and behind the front row of David Murcott, who had made a welcome return to the 97 Downing Brothers Cool entry, and Matt Egel who had recently departed the 97 team to take up the role with the newly formed 52 Whyalla Earth Works Racing Team.

The start of the race was hampered with three complete

Daniel Pestka kept his cool and took away the top prize at the reopening of Bordertown’s Tolmer Speedway.

restart, the second of which proved to be costly for many competitors caught up in a big wreck after Keller rolled, taking out almost one-third of the field.

The red lights were brought on and the pit gates were opened for the crews to work feverishly to get their respective cars back into the race.

The race restarted although very shortly after things came crashing down for Ryan Jones, who rolled in spectacular fashion out of turn 4 and down the front straight.

At the following restart the race would finally run for 34 continuous laps.

In a race that saw many competitors fail to go the distance, Egel claimed victory for the hometown team, followed by Murcott, with Brock Hallett also on the podium.

Lisa Walker, Ben Morris, Daniel Pestka, Austin MacDonald, Mike Fox and rookie Max Vidau would round out the finishers.

The Murcott/Downing Band Back Together ROUND TWO saw the teams venture over 800km south-east to Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway, and it would see the Downing Brothers team celebrate after David Murcott parked the iconic 97s Mainline/Infinity Signs Cool in Victory Lane in just his second night back at the wheel for the South Australian team.

The event saw the addition of some Victorian competitors and saw them claim four of the top five positions.

Tim Van Ginneken and Corey McCullagh flanked Murcott on the podium, who was delighted to claim his first-ever victory at the venue. Peter Doukas rounded out the top five.

Daniel Pestka was the lone South Australian in the top five as he held on for fourth, despite running third for the majority of the 25-lap distance.

Dave Murcott made a victorious return to the Downing Brothers team with a win in Mount Gambier.

50 AutoAction

FOR ROUND THREE at Bordertown’s Tolmer Speedway saw the venue roar back into life after being closed for a short hiatus.

The reopening of ‘The Bullring’ gates were well supported with 21 teams and an abundance of fans, selling out the venue.

This was the first time in over half a decade that Sprintcars had been on the Tolmer track and fans were treated to some top-shelf action right from the get-go. The meeting was raced under the World of Outlaws rules which is a cutthroat format where you must qualify well and finish in the top four of your one heat race, to transfer to the feature event which also takes the top six from the last chance B-main.

Brad Keller, Daniel Pestka and Brock Hallett would win their respective heats and Hallett would double up to win the Gold Shootout, to start the feature race from pole position.

Local gun Dylan Jenkin made a popular return to the driver’s seat after a five-year break, though sadly things quickly went pear-shaped, when he hit the turn 1 wall where Stephen Spark and Matt Egel also became tangled up in the carnage.

This set the scene for the rest of the feature race which proved to be a ferocious affair with cars crashing left right and centre, plaguing the race with many stoppages and reducing the laps.

Hallett was the next to exit after tagging the wall in a shower of sparks while holding down a solid second placing. Joel Heinrich and Tasmanian Tate Frost also retired in similar circumstances.

While many crashed and bashed, Daniel Pestka remained focused on the task at hand to claim the victory over David Murcott, who for the third event running would bring the orange 97s to the podium.

Brad Keller’s luck turned for the better to claim third and give his team some joy after their hard work

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Daniel Pestka (above) was strong right through the four rounds of the SA Speedweek series for Sprintcars, while Brock Hallett was spectacular on his way to a first-round podium.

repairing the car the two meetings prior.

Lisa Walker continued to shine aboard the Advanced Linemakers s4 as she claimed her second fourth placing of the series in front of Glen Sutherland, Steven Caruso, Ben Morris, Dennis Jones, Max Vidau, Tim Van Ginneken and Scott Enderl.

Murray Bridge’s Double Dose ROUND FOUR saw a depleted field of just nine grid up for the final series event, after the brutal previous rounds.

Teams had to travel just a short distance back down the highway for the Twin Feature night at the Murray Bridge Speedway.

Despite the smaller field there

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was plenty of action as the track and weather conditions proved to favourable for fast racing.

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The first feature went the entire distance without stoppage and the first five cars to cross the line

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broke the long standing 20-lap race record formally held by Darryl Downing.

Daniel Pestka found the fastest way home followed by brothers Steven and Mark Caruso. Lisa Walker claimed another solid fourth placing and Max Vidau also timed in under the existing record.

Austin McDonald and Mike Fox rounded out the competitors to go the distance.

The second feature event was also a fast run affair, and this time Steven Caruso would advance from second to claim the feature win.

Adrian Cottrell turned in his best result for the series with a welldeserved runner up placing and Mark Caruso ended the night with a pair of thirds.

Rookie Max Vidau posted his best performance and Lisa Walker placed fifth, followed across the line by Daniel Pestka, with Austin MacDonald and Mike Fox rounding out the finishers.

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MCFADDEN TAKES VICTORIAN

Lachlan McHugh and Darren Mollenoyux fight it out at Warrnambool. McHugh took two overall round wins and Mollenoyux visited the podium three times over the four nights.

Report By: PARIS CHARLES

New President James McFadden A QUALITY field of 32 cars converged on the Avalon Raceway for the annual running of the Presidents Gold Cup, the event also the opening round of the Speedway Australia seven-round Sprintcar Super Series.

This event saw James McFadden continue his strong run of form into 2021 aboard the 17w GT Bobcat Monte Motorsports entry, with a convincing victory to lead all 25 laps of the feature race.

The race was marred by an opening lap race stoppage that saw David Murcott, Jock Goodyer and Jack Lee collide, as they looked to make their forward.

At the restart McFadden would again lead them away and the battle for second was on as Corey McCullagh was successfully challenged by reigning Australian Champion Jamie Veal who relegated McCullagh to third.

A second early race stoppage occurred when Marcus Dumesny spun the N47 Valvoline Maxim without damage and would restart from the back of the fast freight train.

From that point the race went the full distance and the pointy end would remain as was,

with McFadden and Veal trail blazing out front. Darren Mollenoyux would climb to third and McCullagh in fourth. Matt Egel crossed the line in fifth followed Grant Anderson and Dumensy, who had charged through from the back of the pack.

Brock Hallett, Robbie Farr and Brett Milburn rounded out the top 10 followed by a trio of South Australians in Ryan Jones, Daniel Pestka and Brad Keller. Jessie Attard, Domain Ramsay and Tasmanian Jock Goodyer rounded out the finishers.

of Daniel Pestka, with Marcus Dumesny rounding out the podium.

Robbie Farr turned in a creditable fourth aboard the Drysdale Chaff Mill 88v in front of Grant Anderson and James McFadden, who was forced to scramble his way through from deep in the pack after winning the B-Main.

Brad Keller, Jye O’Keefe, Jessie Attard, Jock Goodyer, Bobby Daly, Ryan Jones, Adam King and local second-generation racer Scott Enderl rounded out the 14 finishers to travel the distance.

King Lachlan McHugh The First!

Lachlan McHugh Back-to-Back!

ROUND TWO of the series saw the teams head across the border, to South Australia and Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier.

Queensland’s Lachlan McHugh joined the series for round two and from the get-go he made every post a winner, firstly claiming the quickest qualifying time in his group of cars, a strong second placing in his heat race and then winning the Gold Shootout to reward him with pole position for the Kings Challenge.

From the front row Lachlan took a stranglehold on the race, proving too strong as he piloted the 7Q Hi Tec Oils Cool through lapped traffic a to claim victory in front

SECOND GENERATION Queensland gun Lachlan McHugh proved that round two was no fluke by again dominating the 57-car entry for round three, which was also the opening stanza of the two-night Southwest Conveyancing 50 for Fifty at the Premier Speedway at Warrnambool.

South Aussie Matt Egel bounced back well to reward his newly-formed team in the North East Isuzu entry, posting his best finish for the series to date with a strong second placin.

Darren Mollenoyux closed out the podium with his second third placing in the first three rounds, after an exciting battle with James McFadden. Jye O’Keefe, Grant Anderson, Jock Goodyer, Jamie Veal, Peter Doukas and Brock Hallett rounded out the top 10.

Brad Keller, Glen Sutherland, Daniel Pestka were next ahead of the fast-finishing Robbie Farr, who had advanced an impressive nine places to claim the Hard Charger Award.

David Murcott, Jack Lee, Tate Frost, John Vogels, Jessie Attard, Corey McCullagh, Ryan Jones, Joel Heinrich and Brad Warren rounded out the 23 finishers, with Marcus Dumensy the sole retiree from the 30-lap journey.

McFadden and Matt Egal Warnnambool do battle (left) while (far right) Marcus Dumesney was solid over the rounds in the NSW47, seen here fighting a spectacular Bobby Daly.

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James McFadden was in great form. He kicked off the series with a dominant win at Avalon and closed out the final night with another victory at Warrnambool.

Locals Fill Night Two Podium THE SECOND and final night at Premier Speedway proved to be another exciting one.

After qualifying, the top 50 of 57 competitors would each compete in one heat, with the top four runners in each then going into the A Main while the remainder would take to the alphabet races in a bid to make the main event.

The 50-lap journey was divided into two 25-lap portions, with the top 24 competitors all vying for the victory.

James McFadden would lead the first 25 laps with Marcus Dumesny, Jamie Veal, Corey McCullagh and Lachlan McHugh all in hot pursuit, and on a fast rated track passing proved challenging to this point. The cars then pulled into the middle for their pit stop where the teams would ready the cars for the second half of the race.

The second half of the event proved to be much in the same vein as McFadden led the charge, closely followed by Veal and Mollenoyux at the pointy end.

The most notable impact was Lachlan McHugh crashing out after trying to make a pass on Mollenoyux, the incident also catching out Matt Reed and Grant Anderson.

McFadden would again lead the field away and despite the best efforts of Veal, McFadden

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would be first to the greet the finish line.

Mollenoyux and Dumesny were next with Jock Goodyer, Corey McCullagh and Daniel Pestka, while Ryan Jones posted his best result of the series to date in eighth position.

David Murcott and Robbie Farr, Glen Sutherland and Brad Keller completed the top dozen, with John Vogels, Bobby Daly and B Main victor Brett Milburn rounding out the finishers.

The Speedway Australia Sprintcar Super Series continues with the South Australian leg, which will include three more events.

Bordertown, Murray Bridge and Whyalla. Top 10: 1. W17 James McFadden 438, 2. V37 Grant Anderson 416, 3.

S52 Matt Egel 404, 4. V88 Robbie Farr 398, 5. S27 Daniel Pestka 396, 6. S19 Brad Keller 388, 7. T22 Jock Goodyer 384, 8. N47 Marcus Dumesny 382, 9. S13 Brock Hallett

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p ra w S L A N NATIO THE COVID-19 pandemic put paid to nation-wide categories – circuit racing, rallying, hillclimbing and off road racing – being able to conduct their championships last year.

For the circuit racing categories usually on the support program at Supercars/ Shannons rounds, 2020 was a non-event.

Some did get a little racing, at events where a mixture of classes (like the Tin Tops) competed, while other cars were forced to remain in their workshops.

Aside from Victoria, State-based groups had a compacted season and with some clever management were able to conduct their regular championships and series’.

Some still had events but did not award a title.

New South Wales Improved Production Over 2.0-litre (State) 1-Scott Tutton (Mitsubishi EVO), 2-David Worrell (Holden Commodore), 3-Graeme Shea (Mazda RX7) Improved Production Over 2.0-litre (Club) 1-Scott Tutton (Mitsubishi EVO), 2-David Worrell (Holden Commodore), 3-Graeme Shea (Mazda RX7) Improved Production Under 2.0-litre (State) 1-Justin McClintock (Honda Civic), 2-Matt Wildridge (Ford Escort), 3-Henri Price (Honda Civic) Improved Production Under 2.0-litre (Club) 1-Kurt Macready (Nissan Silvia), 2-Justin McClintock (Honda Civic), 3-Craig Wildridge (Ford Escort) Formula Ford Duratec (State) 1-Tom Sargent (Mygale SJ2012A), 2-Zack Bates (Mygale SJ109), 3-Jude Bargwanna (Spectrum 012)

STATES KEEP ON TRUCKIN’

Ryan Gorton led the way in Mazda RX8 Cup (right) and Tom Sargent was victorious in Formula Ford (below).

Images: Riccardo Benvenuti

(Mako Mk11), 3-Grant Cassell (Nimbus) Formula Vee 1600cc (Club) 1-Aaron Pace (Jacer F2K9), 2-Craig Sparke (Jacer F2K7), 3-Simon Pace (Checkmate JP-01)

HQ Holden 1-Glen Deering, 2-Luke Harrison, 3-David Proglio

Formula Vee 1200cc (Club) 1-Stephen Butcher (Stinger 5), 2-Bernie Cannon (Kingfisher), 3-Grant Cassell (Nimbus)

Mazda RX8 Cup 1-Ryan Gorton, 2-Justin Barnes, 3-Steven Devjak

Production Sports (State) 1-Adrian Wilson (BMW M4), 2-Andre Nader (BMW M4), 3-Stephen Wan (Lotus Exige V6 Cup R)

Australian Pulsar Racing Association 1-Josh Craig, 2-Matt Boylan, 3-Michael Osmond

Sports Sedan (State) 1-Grant Doulman (Ford Falcon EL/Chev), 2-Steve Lacey (Chev Camaro), 3-Brad Shiels (Fiat 124/rotary) Sports Sedan (AASA) 1-Grant Doulman (Ford Falcon EL/Chev), 2-Steve Lacey (Chev Camaro), 3-Mark Duggan (Aston Martin/Chev)

Formula Ford Kent (State) 1-Mitch Gatenby (Spirit KO8), 2-Dan Frougas (Spectrum 09C), 3-Shane Nichols (Van Diemen RF87)

Series X3 Hyundai Excels 1-Wil Longmore, 2-Jeremy Hodges, 3-Ben Crossland

Formula Vee 1600cc (State) 1-Aaron Pace (Jacer F2K9), 2-Simon Pace (Checkmate JP-01), 3-Craig Sparke (Jacer F2K7)

Production Touring Cars (State) 1-Daniel D’Aquino (Commodore SSV), 2-Zach Loscialpo (Toyota 86), 3-Matt Holt (HSV Clubsport R8)

Formula Vee 1200cc (State) 1-Stephen Butcher (Stinger 5), 2-Michael Gale

Production Touring Cars (Club) 1-Daniel D’Aquino (Commodore SSV), 2-Zach

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Loscialpo (Toyota 86), 3-Edan Thornburrow (Toyota 86)

Superkarts 1-Mark Robin, 2-Adam Stewart, 3-Lee Vella Hillclimb 1-Ron Hay (Synergy Dallara), 2-Peter Brown (Prosport Mulsanne), 3-Dean Tighe (Dallara/ Judd) Rally Driver 1-Tom Sullens (Citroen DS3), 2-Mal Keough (Audi Quattro), 3-Chris Giddins (Mitsubishi EVO) Rally Navigator 1-Kaylie Newell(Citroen DS3), 2-Andrew Bennett (Audi Quattro), 3-Katie Giddins (Mitsubishi EVO) Rally 2WD Driver 1-Tony Sullens (Citroen DS3), 2-Clay Badenoch (Toyota Celica), 3-Jake Bramble (Nissan Pulsar GTiR)

Rally 2WD Navigator 1-Kaylie Newell (Citroen DS3), 2-Catriona Kelly (Toyota Celica), 3-Nadine Bucher (Nissan Pulsar GTiR) East Coast Classic Rally Driver 1-Mal Keough (Audi Quattro), 2-Jake Bramble (Nissan Pulsar GTiR), 3-Clay Badenoch (Toyota Celica) East Coast Classic Rally Navigator 1-Andrew Bennett (Audi Quattro), 2-Catriona Kelly (Toyota Celica), 3-Mulreann Hayes (Ford Escort) Southern Cross Rally Driver 1-Jamie Luff (Subaru Impreza WRX), 2-Simon Jamieson (Mitsubishi EVO 7), 3-Chris Jaques (Mitsubishi EVO 9) Southern Cross Rally Navigator 1-Brad Luff (Subaru Impreza WRX), 2-Luke Jamieson (Mitsubishi EVO 7), 3-Hugh Taylor (Mitsubishi EVO 9) Motorkhana 1-Corinne East-Johnston (Honda Special) Supersprint Type 1S, Doug Barry (Lola T8750) Type 2R, Marek Tomaszewski (Porsche GT3) Type 2S, Marty Voormeulen (Mazda MX5) Type 3R, Allan Marin (Holden Commodore) Type 3S, Anthony Petrik (Holden Commodore) Type RM, Rex Yu (Toyota Supra) Type RR, Joe Wong (Porsche Boxster S) Type TA, Glenn Slender (Toyota MR2).

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South Australia Improved Production Over 2.0-litre 1-Scott Cook (Nissan Silvia), 2-Chris Brown (Toyota AE86), 3-Andrew Maros (Chrysler Valiant) Improved Production Under 2.0-litre 1-Adam Trimmer (Toyota 86), 2-Brett Watters Peugeot (206 GTi), 3-Craig Wright (Ford Escort) Formula Ford Duratec 1-Samuel Woodland (Van Diemen RF06), 2-Matt Roesler (Spectrum 11c), 3-Matt Woodland (Mygale) Formula Ford 1600 1-Neil Richardson (Van Diemen RF86), 2-Sean Whelan (Reynard F84), 3-Glen Woodforde (Reynard FF83) Historic Racing (Sports & Clubman) 1-Andrew Ford (Birrana 274), 2-Jim Doig (Motorlab Asp), 3-Keith Williamson (Farrell Clubman) Saloon Cars 1-Peter Holmes (Holden Commodore VT), =2-Shawn Jamieson (Holden Commodore VT), =2-Scott Dorman (Holden Commodore VT)

Asher Johnson continued his success in Excels (above).

David Mahon took the Hillclimb title in his Dallara Hayabusa. Images: David Batchelor/John Lemm

(Sore/Nissan), 3-Toby Whateley (Can-Am, Rush Truck/Chev) Off Road Navigator World Series 1-Tyson Warner (Can-Am), 2-Andrew Harness (Sore/Nissan), 3-Simon Herrmann (Can-Am, Rush Truck/Chev)

HQ Holden 1-Darryl Crouch, 2-Darren Jenkins, 3-Lee Smith Non-Historic Racing 1-Michael Erwin (Norax RDF), 2-Tim Cook (Radical SR3), 3-Phil Bunker (IDS) Production Sports Cars 1-Panayot Boyaci (Porsche 991), 2-Paul Mitolo (Ferrari 458 Challenge), 3-Ian Wilson (TVR Tuscan) Sports Cars 1-Philip Andrawos (West), 2-Ian Eldridge (Stohr), 3-Tim Cook (Firman F1000) Formula Vee 1600cc 1-Adam Newton (Jacer V2K), 2-Joel Oliver (Jacer V2K), 3-Matt Bialek (Stinger)

Rally Driver 1-Aaron Bowering (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 2-Guy Tyler (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 3-Jamie Pohlner (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) Formula Vee 1200cc 1-Nathan Clifton (Spectre), 2-Kym Burton (Stag), 3-Jay Thompson (Spectre) Tarmac Rally/Invited 1-Dean Lindstrom (Mazda RX3), 2-Haydn Clark (Subaru), 3-Doug Johnson (Mitsubishi)

2-Dereck Foster (White/Hayabusa), 3-Allan Foster (White/Hayabusa) Historic Touring Cars 1-Josh Axford (Ford Escort), 2-Kym Burton (Ford Falcon XY GT), 3-Adam Smith (Ford Falcon XW GT)

Motorkhana 1-Tony Wallis (BMW Mini)

Circuit Excel Cup 1-Asher Johnston, 2-Jayden Wanzek, 3-Aaron Oliver

Hillclimb 1-David Mahon (Dallara F394/Hayabusa),

Off Road Driver World Series 1-Roydn Bailey (Can-Am), 2-Daryl Nissen

Rally Navigator 1-Heath Weedon (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 2-Mike Dale (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 3-Adam Branford (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) Rally 2WD Driver 1-Jason Sims (Datsun 180B), 2-Mark Povey (Datsun Stanza), 3-Craig Haysman (Triumph TR7 V8) Rally 2WD Navigator 1-Bev Shute (Datsun 180B), 2-Brendan Dearman (Datsun Stanza), 3-Tom Pfitzner (Holden Gemini).

Northern Territory Commodore Cup 1-David Ling, 2-Shane Smith, 3-Geoff Cowie Improved Production Over 2.0-litre 1-Ross Salmon (Holden Commodore), 2-Jake Burgess (Holden Commodore), 3-Tim Playford (Mazda 808)

Improved Production Under 2.0-litre 1-Craig Wright (Ford Escort) HQ Holden 1-Marian “Scab” Bujnowski, 2-Stavros Mostris, 3-Peter Anderson Motorkhana 1-Travis Humm (Toyota MR2) Off Road Driver 1-Greg Hicks (Sollitt/Subaru), 2-Locky Weir (Jimco/Toyota), 3-Brett Taylor (Jimco Trophy Truck/Toyota V8) Off Road Navigator 1-Julie Hicks (Sollitt/Subaru), 2-Paddy Weir (Jimco/Toyota), 3-Dylan Blake (Holden Commodore Ute)

David Ling won Commodore Cup (left). Greg and Julie Hicks took out Off Road (above).

Images: ASOCC/Tim Nicol

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

Queensland Australian Trans-Am 1-John English (Pontiac Firebird), 2-Anthony Tenkate (Ford Mustang), 3-Ian Palmer (Pontiac Firebird) Formula Vees 1600 (State) 1-Alex Hedemann (Rapier), 2-Tim Alder (Rapier), 3-Scott Andrew (Spectre) Formula Vees 1200 (State) 1-Brett Hanan (Nimbus), 2-Alan Don (Nimbus), 3-Doug Angus (Elfin) HQ Holden (State) 1-Brandon Madden, 2-Joe Andriske, 3-Brad Schomberg QR Sports & Sedans 1-Zayd Tones (BMW 318), 2-Ettore Vosolo (BMW E30), 3-Lachlan Gardner (Tundra OzTruck)

Ian Menzies and Robert McGowan sprinted their way to the Queensland Rally Championship.

HQ Holden (Club) 1-Joe Andriske, 2-Brandon Madden, 3-Dion Cidoni

Craig (Toyota Corolla), 3-Phil Robinson (Holden Gemini)

2-John Swarbrooke (BMW E46), 3-Dean McMahon (Holden Monaro)

Historic Touring Cars (Qld Cup) 1-Stephen Scales (Chev Camaro)

Qld Touring Cars A2 1-Cameron Haak (Holden Commodore VE), 2-Peter Bray (Holden Commodore VT), 3-John Phoenix (BMW E36)

Improved Production Over 2.0-litre 1-Ashley Isarasena (Mazda RX7), 2-Bruce Cook (Ford Escort), 3-Jason Grimmond (Holden Commodore) Improved Production Under 2.0-litre Car 1-Ewen Johnston (Honda Civic), 2-Greg

Historic Touring Cars (State) 1-Grant Wilson (Chev Camaro) Qld Touring Cars A1 1-Matt Haak (Holden Commodore VL),

Qld Touring Cars B 1-Andrew Knight (BMW E36), 2-Paul Bonaccorso (Ford Falcon XE),

Tasmania

Sportscars 1-Dave Rodgie (Chiron/Toyota), 2-Rob Cooke (Mallock Mk31/Ford), 3-Grant Green (Radical SR3/Hayabusa)

Rally Navigator 1-Zak Brakey (Mitsubishi EVO 9, 2-Mark Young (Mitsubishi EVO 6), 3-Stuart Benson (Subaru Impreza WRX STi),

Improved Production 1-Matthew Grace (Nissan 200SX), 2-Jared House (Holden Torana A9X), 3-Aryton Richardson (Toyota Corolla KE35)

Rally 2WD Driver 1-Nathan Newton (Nissan Skyline GTS), 2-Ben Sheldrick (Holden Commodore), 3-Mitch Roberts (Mazda RX7)

Hyundai Excel 1-Josh Webster, 2-Jeremy Bennett, 3-Callum Mitchel

Historic Touring Cars 1-John Talbot (Ford Mustang), 2-Scott Cordwell (Holden Torana XU-1), 3-Phil Triffitt (Mazda RX2)

Production Cars 1-Adam Talbert (Mazda 6), 2-Tristan & Dalton Ellery (BMW M3 F80), 3-Paul Keefer (VW Scirocco R)

Reading (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 3-Steve Maguire (Mitsubishi EVO 9)

Formula Vee 1-Wade McLean (Elliott), 2-Callum Bishop (Gilbert), 3-Michael Vaughan (Spectre)

Sports Sedans 1-John Douglas (Holden Gemini), 2-Cameron Gibson (Mazda RX7), 3-Danny Slater (Holden Torana XU-1)

3-Gary Jones (Holden Gemini/BMW E36)

2-Rod Creed (Clubman PRB), 3-Tayla Heath (Reynard)

Motorkhana 1-Stephen Turner (Mitsubishi Mirage)

HQ Holdens 1-Phil Ashlin, 2-Andrew Toth, 3-Otis Cordwell

Classic Car Sprints 1-Mark Dilger (MGB GT), 2-Tim Craggs (Morris Cooper S), 3-Mick Williams (Datsun 240Z)

Hillclimb Championship 1-Eddie Maguire (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 2-Steve Maguire (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 3-Tyler Page (Subaru Impreza WRX STi)

Rally Driver 1-Eddie Maguire (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 2-Bodie

Rally 2WD Navigator 1-Tyler Page (Nissan Skyline GTS), 2-Reubecca Sheldrick (Holden Commodore), 3-Renisha Dick (Mazda RX7) Subaru RS Challenge Driver 1-Chrichton Lewis, 2-Adam Butler, 3-Marcus Walkem Subaru RS Challenge Navigator 1-Anthony Carr, 2-Gary Mourant, Damian Grimwood.

Sports GTA 1-Stephen Noble (Nissan 350Z), 2-Roger White (Nissan Skyline), 3-Robert Van Der Neit (Mitsubishi EVO) Sports GTB 1-David Walker (Datsun 1200 Ute), 2-David Wrigley (Ford Mustang), 3-Troy Wood (Ford Falcon XR6) Sports GTC 1-Leo Tagliere (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) Sports & Racing Sprints 1-Mal Lee (Clubman PRB),

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John Talbot (above) and Stephen Noble (left) took their respective titles. Images: Angryman Photography

Hillclimb 1-Dean Tighe (Dallara F392/Judd), 2-Michael Von Rappard (Dallara F392/ Hayabusa), 3-Warwick Hutchinson (QMS 28/Rotary) Motorkhana 1-Aaron Wuillemin (Honda Special) Rally Driver 1-Ian Menzies (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 2-Stewart Reid (Ford Escort), 3-Clay Badenoch (Toyota Celica RA40) Rally Navigator 1-Robert McGowan (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 2-Anthony McLoughlin (Ford Escort), 3-Catriona Kelly (Toyota Celica RA40)

Australian Trans Am was won by John English in his Pontiac Firebird Image: MTR Images

Excel Cup 1-Holly Espray, 2-Josh Richards, 3-Jackson Faulkner

Commodore VT), 3-Jaiden Miscamble (Ford Falcon AU)

Series X3 Circuit Excels (State) 1-Zac Hudson, 2-Cam Bartholomew, 3-Tyrone Gautier

Production Sports Cars (Class 2X) 1-Wayne Hennig (Porsche 997), 2-Chris Hatfield (RCR T70), 3-Graham Lusty (Mosler)

Saloon Car 1-Jamie Manteufel (Holden Commodore VT), 2-Gerard Miscamble (Holden

Production Sports Cars (Class 2B) 1-Lachlan Harburg (Porsche), 2-Sven Koremans (Porsche),

3-Joe Barbagallo (Porsche)

AORRA Off Road Driver 1-Jeff McNiven (Can-Am), 2-Brett Comiskey (Jimco Aussie Special/Nissan V6 Turbo), 3-Jake Swinglehurst (Can-Am).

Production Utes 1-Danny Ford (Ford Falcon), 2-Peter Clarke (Ford Falcon), 3-Brendan Exner (Ford Falcon)

AORRA Off Road Navigator 1-Franke Waite (Can-Am), 2-Dan McKenzie (Jimco Aussie Special/Nissan V6 Turbo), 3David Swinglehurst (Can-Am).

Camaro), 3-Peter Callo (Chev Corvette C5) Street Cars 1-Paul Kluck (Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T), 2-Wayne Hastie (Nissan Pulsar), 3-Kelvin Sharp (BMW E30 318is)

Formula 1000 1-Adam Lisle (Stohr), 2-Stewart Burns (Phoenix), 3-Jordon Oon (Stohr) Grant Johnson took Saloon Cars (here) while Barry Batinas did the same in Improved Production (below).

Formula Libre 1-Simon Alderson (Van Diemen RF88 FF2000), 2-Craig Thompson (Van Diemen RF82 FF2000), 3-Martin Bullock (Chevron B20)

Street Cars Under 2.0-litre 1-Wayne Hastie (Nissan Pulsar), 2-Kelvin Sharp (BMW E30 318is), 3-Philip Crouse (Volkswagen Polo) Improved Production Under 2.0-litre 1-Neil Pollard (Honda Civic), 2-Ben Riley (Honda Integra Type R), 3-Derek Burns (Honda Civic EG)

Formula Ford Gold Star 1-Josh Matthews (RF95 Stealth), 2-Mark Pickett (Van Diemen RF92), 3-Craig Jorgensen (Van Diemen RF93)

Improved Production Under 3.0-litre 1-Jason Sinclair (Honda Civic)

Formula Ford Silver Star 1-Simon Matthews (Royale RP29), 2-David Watkins (Royale RP31M), 3-Andrew Goldie (Van Diemen RF88)

Improved Production Over 3.0-litre 1-Barry Baltinas (BMW E46 M3), 2-Steven Turpin (Holden Commodore VE), 3-Mark Jolly (Ford Falcon AU)

Formula Vee 1600cc 1-David Campbell (Jacer F2K16), 2-Rod Lisson (Borland Sabre 02), 3-David Caisley (Jacer F2K8) Formula Vee 1200cc 1-Andrew Lockett (Ajay 99), 2-Robert McAfee (Polar), 3-April Welsh (Jacer 98) Historic Touring Cars Na-Nb Under 3.0-litre 1- Lance Stannard (Morris Cooper S), 2-Cono Onofaro (Morris Cooper S), 3-Dan Forster (Morris Cooper S) Historic Touring Cars Na-Nb Over 3.0-litre 1-Graeme Woodhouse (Ford Mustang), 2-Simon Northey (Ford Mustang), 3-Laurie Lapsley (Jaguar MkII)

Rally 2WD Navigator 1-Anthony McLoughlin (Ford Escort), 2-Catriona Kelly (Toyota Celica RA40), 3-Chris Hamilton (Ford Escort RS 1800)

Production Sports Cars (Class 2F) 1-Shane Plohl (Eunos Roadster), 2-Tony Ross (Mazda MX5), 3-Richard Barram (Mazda MX5)

Western Australia

Radical SR3 Sports Cars 1-Aaron Love, 2-Max McRae, 3-Luke Lustini

Rally 2WD Driver 1-Stewart Reid (Ford Escort), 2-Clay Bandenoch (Toyota Celica RA40), 3-Thomas Dermody (Ford Escort RS 1800)

Historic Touring Car Nc Under 3.0-litre 1-Garry Edwards (BMW 2002), 2-Chris Chang (Alfa Romeo GTV105), 3-Bill Schipper (Datsun 1600) Historic Touring Cars Nc Over 3.0-litre 1-Grant Johnson (Holden Torana XU-1), 2- Clinton Rayner (Chev Camaro), 3-Greg Barr (Holden Torana XU-1) HQ Holdens 1-Michael Howlett, 2-Mick Woodbridge, 3-Rory Sharp

Saloon Cars EA/VN 1-Marc Watkins (Ford Falcon EA), 2-Michael Holdcroft (Ford Falcon EA), 3-Gary Conway (Holden Commodore VN) Saloon Cars AU/VT 1- Grant Johnson (Holden Commodore VT), 2-Brock Boley (Holden Commodore VT), 3-Matt Martin (Holden Commodore VT)

Hyundai Excel 1-Robert Landsmeer, 2-Jake Passaris, 3-Cameron Atkins

Sports Cars 1-John Roderick (Lamborghini Gallardo REX), 2-Richard Bloomfield (Porsche 997 GT3), 3-Arthur Abrahams (Lamborghini Huracan)

Improved Production Under 1.6-litre 1-Tim Riley (Toyota Corolla FXGT)

Sports Sedans 1-Grant Hill (Ford Falcon BF), 2-Ron Moller (Chev

Motorkhana 1-Scott Bennett (Turben Mini Special) Off Road Driver 1-Jake Clucas (Chenoweth/Toyota), 2-Sean Fitzpatrick (Can-Am), 3-Jason Galea (Can-Am X3) Off Road Navigator 1-Brett Funneman (Can-Am), 2-Kiera Mann-Piercy (Can-Am), 3-Michael Dodds (Can-Am) Rally Driver 1-Mike Young (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 2-Ben Searcy (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 3-Craig Rando (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) Rally Navigator 1-Scott Beckwith (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 2-James Marquet (Mitsubishi EVO 9), 3-Stephen Wade (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) Rally 2WD Driver 1-Michael Joss (Nissan Silvia S15), 2-Max McRae (Ford Fiesta ST), 3-Glenn Alcorn (Ford Escort MkII) Rally 2WD Navigator 1-Megan Logue (Nissan Silvia S15), 2-Bill Hayes (Ford Fiesta ST), 3-Jonathon Charlesson (Ford Escort MkII).

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We take a look back at who or what was making news in the pages of Auto Action 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago 1981: ALFREDO COSTANZO was aiming to debut an Alan Hamiltonowned McLaren M26 at Sandown’s opening round of the Australian Formula 1 Gold Star Series. Rumours that Amaroo Park had been sold to developers were refuted by owners, the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club.

Meanwhile, Kevin Bartlett was still battling CAMS in regard to the rear brakes of his Camaro, as a job offer to manage a CART team emerged from the US.

Testing your motor sport knowledge

Images: LAT

2001: YOUTH POLICY was the main reason for the defection of Craig Lowndes to Ford. A strategy by Ford to attract younger people to its brand and the sport was one Lowndes wanted to be a part of. Another Holden defector, Steve Richards moved to Ford Tickford Racing after it was confirmed Garry Dumbrell had sold Gibson Motorsport back to founder Fred Gibson. The Race of a Thousand Years in Adelaide was also run and won.

ACROSS 3. For what car brand did Mika Hakkinen make his F1 debut in 1991?

8. Only one driver has won the Bathurst 1000 three times in a row on two occasions, who is it? (surname) 9. Who was the first driver to win the pre-Bathurst endurance race and the Bathurst 500/1000 in the same year? (surname) 11. In 1973 Tim Schenken raced at Le Mans with which Argentinian F1 driver of the time? (surname) 13. Who won the British Touring Car Championship in 1993? (surname) 14. Who took pole position in the final race of the 2020 F1 season in Abu Dhabi? (surname) 15. Which second generation driver won the inaugural GP2 Series in 2005? (full name) 19. At what circuit did Bruce McLaren suffer his fatal accident?

20. Who took pole position for the first Supercars Championship race at the Bend Motorsport Park in 2018? (surname) 22. Who won the 2004 V8 Ute Summer Series? (full name) 24. Who drove the #96 GRM machine in the opening round of the S5000 Championship? (surname)

58 AutoAction

25. Who is the only German driver to win the World Rally Championship? (surname) 28. In 1987 a Leyton House F1 driver raced in five rounds of WTCC in a BMW, who was this? (surname) 29. Who won the 2017 Monte Carlo Rally on debut for M-Sport? (surname) 30. Who am I? I was a Jaguar F1 test driver, I made my Supercars debut for HRT in 2005 and won the title in 2010? (surname)

DOWN 1. Driving with Pierre Dieudonne, which English driver won the Calder round of the World Touring Car Championship in 1987? (surname) 2. Which legendary F1 track has been added as the second round of the 2021 F1 season?

1991: DOUBT SURROUNDED the inaugural Bathurst 12 Hour amid a lack of competitor interest and the economic recession. IndyCar organisers put CAMS on notice that legal proceedings may take place if it felt the Australian governing body was undermining the event set for the Gold Coast. Sports Sedans were set for a revival with a strong core of 15-20 cars expected to take part in a revived national title.

2011: THE ENFORCER under pressure. Auto Action declared it was a make-or-break season for Russell Ingall with results deciding whether he retires or continues. US NASCAR star Tony Stewart left the country with a bang after being involved in a fracas at Sydney Speedway. Walkinshaw Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering were planning to enter the development series.

4. Who took pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix in 2020? (surname) 5. What is Will Davison’s highest finishing position in the Supercars Championship?

6. At what track did Scott Andrews make his debut in the IMSA Sportscar Championship?

7. In what country did Tim Schenken score his sole Formula 1 podium finish in 1971?

10. After racing in a 35th consecutive Bathurst 1000 in 2006, who was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame? (full name) 12. What brand was the first sponsor of the Bathurst 500?

16. Which Swedish driver has signed to race for Arrow McLaren SP in IndyCar this season? (surname) 17. What brand of car does Dylan O’Keeffe drive in the TCR Australia Series?

18. In what position did McLaren Arrow SP driver Patricio O’Ward finish the 2020 IndyCar Series?

21. How many times did Scottish IndyCar star turned Formula E commentator Dario Franchitti win the IndyCar Series?

23. Which GRM driver drove in both Trans Am and S5000 at Symmons Plains? (surname) 26. What team did Matt McLean drive for in the Super2 Series round at Bathurst last year? (abbreviation) 27. How many successive WRC titles did Sebastien Loeb win?

# 1802 Crossword Answers 1 down – Bell 2 down – Power 3 down – Peugeot 4 down – four 5 down – Sainz 5 across – Slade 6 down – Pol Espargaro 7 across – Melbourne (correct at time of printing) 8 across – Zak Best 9 down – Baskerville 10 across – Sebring 11 across – Rossi 12 down – HAAS 13 down – Will Davison 14 down – WAU 15 down –

Johnson 16 across – Japan 17 across – IMSA 18 across – two 19 across – Bathurst 20 down – Tasmania 21 down – Youlden 22 down – KTM 23 across – six 24 across – Mirko de Rosa 25 across – Herne 26 across – Montoya 27 across – Team Sydney 28 across – Yamaha 29 across – twenty-three

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