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TSUNODA ON THE RAMPAGE

THE LATEST twist in the Red Bull/ Liam Lawson saga has come, three days before the teams assemble for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, with his replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, confidently aiming for a podium.

The young Japanese driver, who has been supported by Honda throughout his career, had not anticipated finding himself in the ‘A’ Team this year, and has never driven the RB21 – a car that both superstar team leader Max Verstappen and the now discarded Liam Lawson have found tricky to master.

“To be honest, I never expected to be racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix,” Tsunoda said at the weekend at a Honda PR event.

“This is the final year of Red Bull and Honda’s partnership, so getting to race in Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver feels like fate. Everything has fallen into place in just the right way for me to be standing here today.”

“I don’t want to raise expectations too much but, for this Japanese Grand Prix, I want to finish on the podium. That said, I know it won’t be easy right from the start.

“My priority is to first understand the car, how it behaves compared to the VCARB. If I can naturally enjoy driving it as I get familiar with it in FP1, then the results will follow. And if that leads to a podium finish, that would be incredible.

“Of course, how I want to set up

the car is probably different from Max. I want to develop my own car set-up, get a good understanding of it, and gradually get up to speed from FP1,” he said.

Regular F1 followers won’t be too shocked by Tsunoda’s burst of confidence – one of the hallmarks of his career has been a propensity for emotional outbursts from within the car during races – which many believed was the reason for Red Bull’s original decision, three months ago, to have Lawson partner Verstappen.

However, Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko has seemingly come to the conclusion that the youngster has matured:

“There is a new Yuki this year,” he said. “We have seen that Tsunoda has made a step forward over the winter. As a person, he has also become stronger. And as a Japanese, Yuki obviously knows the Suzuka circuit very well.”

Explaining why the youngster was snubbed earler, Marko insists that “Yuki was too inconsistent and that’s why we unanimously decided on Lawson. But under the increased pressure, Liam couldn’t deliver, right from the first day in Australia. Then he went into a downward spiral.”

Whether Marko’s new-found confidence in the young Japanese driver has been aided by a reported A$20m funding boost from Honda remains to be seen.

Either way, this weekend’s Japanese GP is going to be a must-watch, not only from this perspective but also to see whether Oscar Piastri can continue the blistering form he showed a week

ago in dominating the Chinese Grand Prix for McLaren.

Japanese Grand Prix Practice starts on Friday at 1.30pm Eastern time, with the race itself on Sunday at 3pm on Foxtel/Kayo.

WILL AUSSIE SUPERCARS THAI ONE ON IN 2026?

LET’S CALL IT THE SINGAPORE SLING. OR MAYBE NOT ...

By Wayne Webster AUSTRALIA’S THUNDERING

V8-engined Supercars could be the headline support act and form an intregal part of Thailand’s ambitious and audacious bid to host a spectacular night-time, under the lights Bangkok Formula One Grand Prix in 2026.

After a series of ‘behind closed doors’ meetings at the recent Australian GP in Melbourne, it is almost certain that Supercars has been made a big dollar offer to take yet another swing at winning over fans in the Asian market.

Of course no-one in Supercars is talking about all this on the record at the moment, although RACE (the owner of Supercars) chairman Barclay Nettlefold, has admitted to having talks with the Thai guys.

Just when, well, he doesn’t say.

Nettlefold describes himself as “a visionary and passionate leader” on his LinkedIn page. Marvellous what a Thai massage will do for you!

Oh, and there’s the fact that earning some tidy cash in the process would make the Aussie teams, many with local sponsors, lean towards getting their passports in order. Big cash from what we’ve heard. A lot more than New Zealand, where they’re paid in lamb chops.

A delegation of Thai GP officials visited Australia for our local GP, not merely to learn some lessons about how to run a race in a parkland setting (more later!) but to talk with Supercars about being the almost big thing.

A big thing about the visit of the Thai delegation to the Melbourne GP was to learn about how they use the venue itself.

And how to do something in a big city. A F***ING big city.

There’s no such thing as rush-hour traffic congestion in Bangkok. It’s just normality.

But the area the Thai F1 team is targeting is serviced by a great number of trains and buses so maybe …..

But what’s in it for Supercars?

Well, for starters, an Asian presence, (if we think we need one), and a nice lot of folding nevertheless. And all for playing a cameo.

Not the big thing – that would be Formula One – but the next best given that F3 and F2 won’t be on the bill as far as they’re concerned.

And that’s because of the costs involved.

But you can’t just stage an F1 weekend with, err, F1 alone.

With practice sessions and qualifying so tightly controlled, you have to give the punters something to watch in the GP downtime.

Heeeeeellllloooooooo Supercars!

As much as Thailand wants to stage a Grand Prix on the Bangkok streets, the problem remains that the country itself has a motor racing pool that wouldn’t challenge a toddler.

For a country that has a vibrant car manufacturing industry it’s amazing that Thailand has such a, err, almost shithouse, motor racing scene.

The deal tabled to Supercars is that the category would be the second on the playlist to F1 but with the offset that the category would go to a global audience.

But firstly, why did the Thai guys come to Melbourne – apart from the masculine allure of Barclay Nettlefold? ...

The proposed race is likely to be held in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok, which would involve a street-based circuit much like Melbourne, built and run in part of a significant parkland area that is within the city precinct.

AA now understands that Thailand is a current front-runner in the ‘new race’ stakes, having elbowed past Rwanda (for obvious reasons) and South Africa.

Following the meet and great at the Melbourne GP, AA was told that Liberty Media and Formula 1 head honcho Stefano Domenicali flew directly to Bangkok on his way to the Chinese Grand Prix to have a look at the proposal and the potential venue location.

Thailand does have a motorsport industry, with rallies, circuit racing and a few Asian GT Sportscar races visiting but, on the whole, Thai motorsport is pretty shallow as far as potential support acts for a Grand Prix are concerned. So a squadron of fire breathing V8 Mustangs, Camaro’s and, wait for it …

Toyota Supras – which would be the perfect high-profile brand to support the open wheel F1 cars.

The fact that Toyota has huge manufacturing operations, (as does Ford) in Thailand will be a big incentive to get the Supercars to the southeast Asian location, probably with a bit of local regional support...

It would be a good for the participants in the Supercars category as well, as Thailand is seen as a great holiday destination and is a userfriendly country to deal with – the bonus is that the people and food are great as well.

Also, depending on the timing of a potential Thailand Grand Prix, it would be a perfect trip for Supercars, with the show to slide by the Singapore Grand Prix on the way home and put on a show there. A Supercars Singapore support act is still on the table and conversations continue to be had with event organisers and the F1 people.

So, it would be a win-win for Barclay Nettlefold and his mates from RACE, Supercars and the teams. And let’s think positively – the fans would be keen as well, as they could have a quick holiday between events. It all makes sense to me … so let’s see what happens.

The Thai government is looking at a city parkland-style circuit, potentially partnered with the existing spectacular Singapore street race (pictured). Image: GETTY IMAGES

TASSIE STAYS ON SUPERCARS SHOW

SUPERCARS WILL continue racing at the historic Symmons Plains circuit thanks to a new three-year deal with state government support.

In an extension of a deal that started in 2004 when the success of local hero Marcos Ambrose brought the race back after five years, the category’s annual trip to the Apple Isle has received a $6 million funding boost from the Tasmanian Government.

The deal sees Supercars locked in to return to Symmons Plains for the next three years while, more importantly, the history circuit used since 1960 will receive some upgrades.

The news comes ahead of the

upcoming Tasmania Super440, which is the next Supercars round in Australia, on May 9-11.

Minister for Sports and Events, Nick Duigan, said that $1.8 million is going straight to the circuit and the sport in the State.

“The Supercars Championship is one of Tasmania’s premier sporting events, attracting thousands of fans and generating millions of dollars in economic benefit for local businesses,” he said.

“More than one million fans have attended Supercars events at Symmons Plains since 1995, and we look forward to welcoming many more over the coming years.

“This deal includes a new threeyear agreement, valued at $4.55m to ensure Supercars events – such as the upcoming Tasmania Super440 –can thrive in Tasmania through until 2027.

“In addition to this commitment, we will be providing $1.8 million to the owners of Symmons Plains Raceway, Motorsports Tasmania, over the next three years to undertake mandatory safety and amenity improvements, ensuring the venue remains a premier destination for motorsport events.

“Excitingly, the 2025 event will see the return of Top Ten Shootout Qualifying for the first time since 2010, along with the inaugural Super2 Top

“These additions will, no doubt, enhance the spectator experience for the event which is expected to draw over 20,000 interstate and international visitors over the next three years, providing substantial economic and social benefits to the state.”

Supercars CEO Shane Howard said Tasmania remains a key part of the season.

Ahead of the Tasmania Super440, a fan event is scheduled to take place at Hobart’s Princes Wharf No. 1 on Wednesday, 7 May, from 15.00-18.00 local time.

Thomas Miles

Five Shootout.

Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

SHANE HOWARD’S SUPERCARS SIDE-STEP

SUPERCARS CEO SINCE 2022, SHANE HOWARD, HAS MOVED INTO A NEW ROLE AT SUPERCARS, WHICH HAS BEGUN THE SEARCH FOR A NEW ADMINISTRATIVE BOSS ...

AFTER MORE than 20 years at the forefront of Australian motorsport, Shane Howard has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Supercars and will transition into a new role as Director of Motorsport. In addition to this role, he will join the board of Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprise (RACE), the owners of the Supercars organisation, to provide it with high-level motorsport expertise. Howard has been involved pretty much since the day V8 Supercars started and has held numerous senior roles within the organisation, leading the sport through two-and-a-bit years of massive change. He has been under external pressure for some time, despite delivering an expanded calendar with a new Finals system, Toyota as a new manufacturer, and a new Perth street race in the past few months, meaning he leaves the role on a high.

It also appears a new TV deal is not far away, with rumours linking the sport to Nine for its limited free-to-air races while remaining with pay-tv broadcaster Fox/Kayo to cover the entire series.

In its media announcement last week, Supercars said the changes are part of a restructure to “support the growth of Supercars’ domestic operations and drive its expansion into international markets’”

Former COO Tim Watsford was seen as a logical replacement for Howard at the helm. But he has departed Supercars to join NRL club St George Illawarra as its new boss, leaving Supercars searching globally for a new CEO with Howard’s steady hand remaining to allow RACE a bit of time to search more broadly for its new boss.

Howard’s journey with Supercars began in 1997 at the Bathurst 1000, where his passion for motorsport and operational prowess first aligned with the organisation’s vision under the leadership of showbiz entrepreneur Tony Cochrane.

In 2001, he was appointed to lead the Events division, which saw critical expansion through street tracks in Australia – some of which are still running today – and New Zealand and adventures to furtherflung lands in the Gulf States, China

(V8) SUPERCARS CEOs

Tony Cochrane: 1997 – 2012

David Malone: 2012 – 2013

James Warburton: 2013 – 2017

Sean Seamer: 2018 – 2021

Shane Howard: 2022 – 2025

and the United States.

In 2011, Howard became a founding member of the Supercars Commission as Chief Operating Officer, where his calmness was a critical foil to the outspoken shoot-from-the-lip CEO Tony Cochrane. He oversaw event management and motorsport operations and worked closely with government stakeholders across the country.

While working as the COO, he was also appointed as Acting CEO three times, while Supercars transitioned its leadership before being appointed to the position permanently at the start of the 2022 season.

In that role, he further solidified Supercars’ place as one of the premier sporting properties in the Southern Hemisphere in the immediate postCOVID era.

Under his leadership, the organisation embraced new media and digital transformation, introduced fresh partnerships, and laid the groundwork for future growth. This included a proposed Perth street race for 2026, which—alongside Toyota’s entry into the series next year—will

surely be seen as his legacy.

Howard is widely respected in motorsport for his collaborative approach, business acumen, and enduring commitment to the sport. His departure marks the end of a significant chapter in Supercars’ history.

Supercars has started a global search for his replacement.

Howard says it is the right time to step away from the top job-but he remains committed to the sport:

“The demands of motorsport continue to grow, requiring an increasing level of focus and strategic direction to ensure the continued success of Supercars,” he said.

“After more than three years as CEO, I believe now is the right time to transition into a role that allows me to concentrate on the sporting and technical side of the business, which has always been a great passion of mine.

“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished in recent years and remain deeply committed to the future of Supercars.

“I’m excited to continue contributing in my new role and I look forward to working alongside the business and the Board to evolve the sport and deliver long-term success for its stakeholders.”

His new role will focus on driving the strategic evolution of Supercars, including leading engagement with key motorsport bodies and manufacturers, overseeing Toyota’s integration into the championship in 2026, and supporting international expansion initiatives.

RACE Chairman Nettlefold has thanked Howard for his impact.

“Shane’s contribution to Supercars as CEO has been outstanding, and his expertise will remain invaluable as we continue to grow the sport,” he said.

“We thank him for his leadership as CEO and look forward to his continued impact in this new capacity.”

Andrew Clarke

Shane Howard (right) with SA Premier Peter Malinouskas and RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold. Image: MARK HORSBURGH

RENEWING TAUPO RIVALRY

ONE OF the first Taupo Supercars highlights last year was the Triple Eight team-mate tussle for Sunday victory between Broc Feeney and Will Brown – and the duo is looking forward to reigniting that battle again.

In what became one of the key moments on the timeline of last year’s title fight, Brown hunted down Feeney in a tense arm wrestle for the win.

With their nearest rival 14s back, all eyes were on the Triple Eight Camaros as the #88 chequered flag approached.

Brown was as far as 4s adrift of Feeney, but flew in the final stint and took just five laps to set up a thrilling bumper-to-bumper battle.

Neither Red Bull driver took a backward step and Brown was not able to get the job done until his fourth attempt. He ended up emerging victorious by 3s in a statement win that put him on track for the title.

Feeney has had plenty of time to reflect on that battle and vows to comeback hard, having shown strong speed at Albert Park.

“We debriefed and looked at it at the time and probably just needed to be a bit better at looking after the tyres,” Feeney reflected on last year’s Taupo defeat.

“At the end of the day Will was really strong in the long runs.

“It was the same thing as the Grand Prix – we qualified really well on the front row and got a good start to pull a big gap, but Will was just faster over a

long run and passed us.

“We have already been talking about setups for New Zealand and have learnt a lot since then, especially about what works for me a bit more.

“The hard times last year probably taught us a bit about how I can be better at working with that type of car versus others.

“I really think we found something that works for me at the end of last year and that has been working really well so far.”

Meanwhile, Brown heads across the ditch on a high having regained the championship lead for the first time with the #1 on the door after winning the Larry Perkins Trophy.

Just like last year, consistency has been the key, having never finished outside the top five so far but, with just one win, he wants more and would

The

It’s

love to carry on his Taupo success.

“We spoke about it after Sydney –wanting to bounce back – and we were worried how about how fast Cam was in the first round,” Brown said.

“The team worked really hard and did a fantastic job to give us two great cars – even our customer cars were fast.

“I cannot wait to get to New Zealand – it is always an amazing place because the fans make it so great.

“We had good success last year and hopefully we can replicate that and keep up the momentum.

“I have been good at getting seconds and thirds, but want to get more wins and poles ... at the end of the day you still want to win this Sprint Cup so you have a few extra points going into Finals.”

New Zealand will be the first sighting of the new Super440 format that will

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dominate the remainder of the Sprint Cup.

Five of the remaining six Sprint Cup rounds will utilise the three-race format structure where back-to-back 120km sprints will be staged on Saturday before a longer 200km affair on Sunday.

It will also be the first time both Soft and Super Soft tyres will be on show on the same weekend.

So far only the Soft has been used, so the addition of the Super Soft in Saturday evening’s Race 9 will be a further variable on a busy track with countless surface changes.

And of course all drivers will be chasing the prestigious Jason Richards Memorial Trophy currently held by Anton De Pasquale, who was the first to do so without winning a race.

Thomas Miles

Feeney came under attack from his team-mate last year. This year he hopes to have the answers. Image: PETER NORTON

WHY THE JR TROPHY IS EXTRA SPECIAL FOR RANDLE

THE JASON Richards Memorial Trophy is special for everyone to win but, for Thomas Randle, there is some extra meaning.

The winner of the annual New Zealand Supercars round receives the memorial trophy in honour of Richards who passed away in 2011 due to cancer, at just 35.

It is still a sad reminder for many

in the Supercars paddock and many drivers get emotional when lifting the trophy – most notably Jason Bright and Shane van Gisbergen. Another victor for whom it has special meaning is Randle.

Despite not being Kiwi, the Tickford driver overcame his own battle with cancer just two years before his Supercars main game debut.

As a result, Randle has a big focus on the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.

“I would love to win the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy,” he said.

“What Jason brought to the sport as not only a driver, but also a person, was amazing with the battle he went through at the end.

“To still be racing through that was something that inspired me through my own personal challenges a few years ago.”

Randle is referring to the day when Richards famously scored a stunning second at the then non-championship round at Albert Park in 2011, for BJR, just nine months before he passed.

On the track Randle will be looking to step up.

After showing speed in Cam Waters’ slipstream in Sydney, the #55 has dropped back to ninth in the championship after a tough Melbourne SuperSprint where his only top 10 was eighth on Thursday when he charged through the pack.

Randle highlighted qualifying as the

major area of improvement.

“First race of the year we had a double podium, but the Grand Prix was not what we would have liked,” he said.

“Our one-lap pace was where we struggled. We had decent race pace, but had a few little incidents and struggled to show it on track – before the last race was cancelled when it was pretty wet.

“As a team we struggled (at Taupo) last year. We were okay in the wet, but not so much in the dry and have learnt a lot from last year.

“It is quite a unique circuit with many changes of track surface that are quite different.

“There are some good surfaces and quite poor ones as well, so finding a good balance will be the key.

“We will also be racing on a mix of the new Soft and Super Soft tyres which we did not have last year.

“Hopefully the North Island can put on some kinder weather for us – it is a great place to go racing.”

Thomas Miles

HOW THE SUPERCARS AND GEAR GOT TO TAUPO

DESPITE HAVING almost a month between rounds, Supercars teams faced a very tight turnaround from Albert Park to ensure cars will be on track at the upcoming Taupo Super400.

Whilst 26 days split the Australian Grand Prix and annual trip to New Zealand, teams had just two days to get packed due to sea freight being used for the first time to transport equipment across the Tasman.

As a result, Queensland teams could not return home and had to send everything directly from Melbourne.

After a busy and willing weekend at Albert Park, it required a big effort from all the teams to make sure they can fight for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.

All essential equipment was squeezed into a single 40-foot container, supplemented by access to a communal container shared with two other teams.

Both race cars were placed in the main container (pictured), while

spare engines, transaxles, and wheels were located in a shared space, which set sail 23 days before Friday practice.

“This year, we’re using sea freight for the first time, which is a change from our usual air freight system. Previously, we packed two air freight containers, with the cars, stacked

inside a plane. Now, we have one 40-foot sea freight container, which needs to take all of our essential equipment,” said Team 18 Team Manager Mitch Croke.

“In addition to our main container, we also have access to a communal container shared between three teams, where we store additional

items like rims, spare engines, and spare transaxles. Inside our main container, we’ve packed both of our race cars along with everything we’d typically take from the transporter.

“A key difference this year has been the stricter freight and quarantine regulations. Our container pack lists and quarantine documentation had to be submitted weeks ago to the sea freight company.

“Once our container arrives in New Zealand, Supercars officials, along with border and quarantine staff, will unload and inspect everything before we arrive. Then, when we get to the track on Thursday, we’ll begin our usual unpack and setup process.

“Now that our equipment is en route to New Zealand, we have a bit of a break. We’re using the time to complete the fit-out of our new workshop, fine-tuning everything to be 100% operational.”

Thomas Miles

Image: MARK HORSBURGH

McLEOD LOCKS IN MSR WINNER’S CO-DRIVE SEAT

THE ENDURO co-driver market is closing up with Cameron McLeod to resume his Supercars career in new colours alongside the championship’s latest winner Cameron Hill.

After making his debut at PremiAir last year, McLeod will return to the main-game enduros, this time driving the #4 Matt Stone Racing Camaro with Hill.

The third-generation driver is on a high after his maiden Super2 victory at the Sydney Motorsport Park opener.

McLeod has already got accustomed to the MSR team by

getting some laps during the preseason test at SMP and was also floating around during the recent Australian Grand Prix.

The 2023 Mike Kable Young Gun Award winner made his enduro debut alongside MSR’s other codriver, Tim Slade – they finished a steady 12th at Sandown.

McLeod is looking forward to racing a winning car at The Bend and Bathurst enduros after Hill’s Albert Park win.

“It’s great to be teaming up with Cameron Hill and Matt Stone Racing for the 2025 enduros,” said McLeod.

“Being my second year in a co-

drive seat definitely makes it feel all worthwhile, being able to keep the Supercars momentum going.

“The MSR team has been very welcoming — they feel like a bunch of mates and I’ve only known them for a couple of months now.

“I think it’s really cool how they go about their racing as an organisation, and obviously it’s already paying off with race wins and podiums this season.

“Really looking forward to the enduro season and seeing what we can do in the Supaglass Racing car.”

Team Owner, Matt Stone is looking forward to seeing the youngster

go racing, while the wildcard partner with Cameron Crick will be announced at a later date.

“I think Cam McLeod did a great job last year in the enduros and he impressed a few guys in our team,” he said.

“We’re keen to give another young guy an opportunity and so hopefully he and Cam Hill can bring home silverware at The Bend and Bathurst.”

The only co-drives that are still up for grabs are with Bryce Fullwood, Aaron Cameron, James Courtney and Richie Stanaway.

Thomas Miles

WE’RE HIRING.

Queensland Speedway Spares is part of the Performance Wholesale Group and is dedicated to bringing the best brands and product range available at the most competitive prices for the motorsport industry.

Queensland Speedway Spares is based in Brisbane, with a non-smoking, clean and modern work environment. We are offering a full time position for a QSS Sales/ Van Salesperson. In this position, you will work with the QSS team under the guidance and direction of the team leader for QSS and report to the Operations Manager.

Applicants must be committed to achieving customer service excellence and possess a desire to work within a team, work weekends at race events and to travel to race tracks including Lismore, Toowoomba, Maryborough and Gladstone.

Your role as a QSS Sales Representative and Van Salesperson will include:

• Maximise sales for the company from our current customer base and to seek and complete sales from prospective customers.

• Achieve maximum customer satisfaction.

• Utilise the inhouse computer system for sales and stock control.

• Work with the social media platforms to maximise sales.

• Pick and pack parts for shipping or for shop pickup.

• Perform warehouse duties including stock management and stocktakes.

• Unload shipments from air and sea of all product types for QSS and assist in uploading to warehouse shelves.

• Maintain a clean work environment (Office/ desk/ warehouse and sales van).

You must hold a Medium Rigid Truck Licence (MR) and have open wheel racing experience within the speedway industry.

To pursue this opportunity in strict confidence, forward your application and resume to: Karlene Morrison | Performance Wholesale Australia Box 2366 Logan City DC QLD 4114 | karlenem@pwa-au.com

BIG NAMES CHASING GT SUCCESS

PHILLIP ISLAND will herald a new era for the GT World Challenge Australia this weekend and a number of big names are on show chasing success.

The SRO era of the Speed Series where the GTs take centre stage will kick off with an 18-car field featuring seven manufacturers racing.

The #1 has changed hands with Liam Talbot making the jump from Ferrari and Arise Racing to a new challenge at Aston Martin and Volante Rosso Motorsport.

Joining him is one of five Supercars drivers, Declan Fraser, who is keen to carry on his GT development after showing strong progress in a Triple Eight Mercedes last year.

Talbot is hoping to chase a third title in row with a different team and manufacturer.

Replacing the champion combination of Talbot and Chaz Mostert in the Arise Racing Ferrari are Aussie international Jordan Love and Steve Wyatt, whilst Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte suit up for a second season together.

Another driver looking to make history and be the

first to win all three classes in GT World Challenge Australia is Brad Schumacher and he has some handy co-drivers by his side.

Schumacher will again be in a Melbourne Performance Centre Audi, but next to him will be a Triple Eight Supercars star.

Will Brown and Broc Feeney will split the codriving duties doing three rounds each with the latter having the first crack.

Lamborghini is back, with Tony D’Alberto added to the assault.

Mercedes backed driver Jayden Ojeda threw down the gauntlet by topping the testing times in resounding fashion.

Ojeda, in the Tigani Motorsport machine, was the only driver to record 1m25s lap all day, six-tenths clear of Evans.

His WAU teammate Ryan Wood will get a first taste of GT racing steering the Steve Brooks R8, while MPC’s fleet is completed by Kiwis Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles, who showed supreme pace at stages last year.

Leitch is not the only international star to look out for with Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci linking up with Shane Smollen in an EMA Porsche 992 GT3R, while Harry King is coming from England.

‘Am’ is set to be a battle between MPC’s Renee Gracie, Tigani Motorsport’s James and Theo Koundouris, 111 Racing’s Darren Currie and Grant Donaldson and more.

In GT4, Triple Eight new recruit Summer Rintoule impressed in her first outing for the famous team.

Driving the #87 Mercedes she was the driver in the 1m34s window and ended the day on top ahead of Blake Purdie and Cameron Crick.

Thomas Miles

AORC DASHING INTO POONCARIE

THE OPENING round of the 2025 Motorsport Australia Off Road Championships is set for its 2025 opening round on April 4-6, with the The Wentworth Shire Pooncarie Desert Dash set to launch the title race for a second straight year.

The five-round season resumes after last year saw the first Prolite team since 2017 take out the championship, as South Australian father-son duo Mel and Liam Brandle took out an emotional win over Pro Buggy pairing Jared Percival and Joshua Howat.

The five round season will visit five states and territories which, after NSW’s Pooncarie visit, includes trips to NT for the Finke Desert Race, SA’s

Loveday 400, the newly announced St George 399 in Queensland, and Kalgoorlie Desert Race finale in WA. With the QLD Gold City 450, initially being planned

at Charters Towers in late August, being replaced, it has opened the door for the popular St George 399 event to make its first return since 2022, and will be held a week earlier on August 22-24.

With entries soon to be announced for the opening round in the rural town of NSW, the event will again consist of a Prologue and two sections over two days, with 440 competitive kilometres set for Australia’s best off-road crews, with a reversal of the 2024 course and revisions of pit entry and exit the only changes.

Last year’s Pooncarie opener saw things go the way of Dale Martin and Tanner James in the Pro Buggy class. TW Neal

ASUTI HOPEFUL OF BENTLEY COMEBACK

BENTLEY BECAME a fan favourite winning the Bathurst 12 Hour and the car could return via the GT World Challenge Australia with young gun Valentino Astuti behind the wheel – but it is far from certain.

Astuti turned heads by driving a Bentley Continental GT3 at last week’s SRO Motorsport test day in the #38 Bentley and got as high as seventh.

Despite that appearance, Mike Bailey’s Bentley is no certainty of returning for the first time since Adelaide 2022 and racing at this

weekend’s Speed Series opener at Phillip Island.

Just days out, Astuti and his KMR Motorsport team are on the entry list but still looking for a co-driver and the funding required to front up at the opening round.

Astuti is a young talent to watching having won the 2022 Australian Formula Ford title, plus having gained experience in GT World Challenge, S5000 and Super3. He hopes to one day build a GT international career with manufacturer support.

On the same day as being named on the entry list, Astuti was hopeful of his chances of racing at Phillip Island improving.

However, he confirmed that even if the Bentley does not appear this weekend, it should be seen at some stage in 2025.

“It is very last minute and the chances are 50-50 at this stage,” Astuti told Auto Action

“There have been a lot of headaches trying to sort out how we are going to get the car to the round.

POSITION VACANT

“My hopes are high and we won’t stop pushing to make it happen, but you never know with funding and a co-driver still needed.

“We picked up the car the day before the media day, so it was all very, very last minute.

“The aim is that if we don’t make the first round we will make the second.”

Last year, racing an Aston Martin Vantage with Liam Dunn was Astuti’s first taste of the world of GT and he believes the experience has set him up well to take strides forward in the more competitive Bentley.

“Last year being in the Aston was a great experience and introduction to the category and now jumping into the MSport Bentley was awesome, because it is an outright car,” he said.

“My confidence is definitely a lot higher than my first time in the Aston with the extra experience and the car being a lot more grippy.

“Aerodynamically it was very steady compared to the Aston, so we enjoyed the day and just pressed on to figure the car out and loved it.

“I love the GT3 category, the cars and atmosphere which can hopefully help me strive towards an international career with a manufacturer.”

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The Bailey Bentley (left) performed well in testing in Astuti’s hands – now a co-driver and some budget is urgently needed!

BACK AT THE BEND

THIS WEEKEND the National Drag Racing Championship returns to Dragway at The Bend for the Riverbend Nationals, where records are expected to be broken.

Leading the way are the 11,000hp/500kph Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car competitors, while Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle are also on show.

The last time Top Fuel competed at The Bend, Phil Read became the quickest man in Australia with a. 3.72s time.

The Jim Read Racing driver will be aiming for back to back A-Main wins against the likes of Phil Lamattina, Kyle Putland, Damien Harris, and championship leader, Wayne Newby.

“Our last visit to Dragway at The Bend was one of those rare perfect weekends, and we are really excited to be heading back there to see if we can snare another one,” Phil Read said.

“As the current holder of the record as well as the defending winner for the event, there is a bit of a target on our back for sure, but that won’t affect our preparations.

“As always, we have been working very hard between events and we

are feeling confident heading to the Riverbend Nationals, so watch this space!”

In XPRO Nitro Funny Car, rookie racer Josh Leahy hopes to turn more heads after taking his first A-Final win recently.

But Justin Walshe, Morice

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McMillin, and newcomer Damon Paton will all be looking to stop him.

More history took place in Top Doorslammer at the previous visit to The Bend when Lisa Gregorini and her Scratch and Match Auto Colour squad took what is believed to be the first victory by an all-female drag racing team.

In her way will be the event’s biggest entry list of 14 cars.

Top Fuel Motorcycle returns to the shiny South Australian venue for the first time since November’s Drag Bike Nationals where Damian Muscat set a new ET and speed record.

He will be aiming for more success against Damian Martini, Greg Durack, Corey Buttigieg and Danny Rickard.

The Sportsmans will also be on show across the April 5-6 weekend.

Thomas Miles 08 7226 9282 mattclarkperformance.com enquiries@mattclarkperformance.com

Phil Read set a 3.72s last time at the Bend ... Image: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY

THE PLANKING CHALLENGE

FORMULA 1 HAS HAD A THREE-DECADE HISTORY WHERE A LITTLE BIT OF JABROC – A PIECE OF BONDED WOOD KNOWN AS ‘THE PLANK’ – HAS PLAYED A ROLE IN SAFETY MORE THAN PERFORMANCE. ANDREW CLARKE EXPLORES WHY 0.5MM HAD LEWIS HAMILTON

DISQUALIFIED IN CHINA …

LEWIS HAMILTON was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix because the ‘rearward skid’ on his Ferrari had been worn down by 0.5mm. Ferrari said, in one of the year’s most curious statements, that it “misjudged consumption.” The wear at the rear of the car indicated that Hamilton’s Ferrari ran a significant part of the race too low, and that one of the outwardly most low-tech components on an F1 car ruined his China weekend. Keen eyes would have noticed a yellow patch appearing in the braking area to turn one in Shanghai – this was no doubt where Hamilton and indeed all the other cars in the race would have left some of their

underfloor skid material. But what is it, why is it there, why does it matter and is it really low-tech?

The initial push for the plank came after the crash that killed Ayrton Senna in 1994. One of the theories on Senna’s crash was that the car bottomed out on one of the bumps on the Imola circuit and veered right and off the track.

1994 was the immediate post-active suspension era, where ride height was controlled by computers. Williams were the masters of active suspension and, when it was banned on the eve of the 1994 season, it was forced back to the drawing board – and in an attempt to replace some of its lost speed ran

its cars as low as possible.

Senna’s crash rocked the sport, as it should have. When the best is killed, you have problems.

F1 responded with skid blocks to stop the cars running too low. Also known as ‘the plank,’ they ran the length of the car and were bolted to the underside of the floor. It was the clever way the authorities decided they could monitor ride heights and keep them above 10mm.

The rearward skid refers to the rear end of the plank rather than a special skid plate at the rear, although, logically, wear will be higher at the front or the rear, and the rear more commonly than the other. The plank

is measured after the race at certain points for all cars in the points.

“It’s

a silent safety net. The plank tells you when a team went too far.” — FIA Technical Delegate (anonymous)

But the plank isn’t just a piece of plywood like you pick up at the local Bunnings; it’s made from Jabroc, a dense, layered beechwood composite bonded with resin and pressed under high pressure. This ensures uniform density and predictable wear, which is the critical part.

FIA regulations dictate that the plank

Excess wear on the undercar ‘plank’ cost Lewis Hamilton his position in China. Right: It’s simple but efficient technology ... Images: GETTY IMAGES

WHEN THE PLANK HAS WORE THIN...

1994 — BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

• DRIVER: Michael Schumacher

• TEAM: Benetton

• RESULT: Disqualified after finishing first

• DETAILS: FIA found excessive wear on the skid block. Benetton claimed a spin caused it, but the DQ stood.

2001 — UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX

• DRIVER: Jarno Trulli

• TEAM: Jordan

• RESULT: Disqualified from fourth place

must be 30mmm wide and 10 mm thick (with a ±0.2 mm tolerance). It’s bolted centrally to the car’s floor and checked after each race using FIA-supplied measurement tools. It is allowed to wear by a maximum of 1mm during a race. Titanium skid plates are used by teams to minimise the wear of the plank, with the bonus being a spectacular spray of sparks in the car’s wake.

“It’s not sexy tech, but the plank tells the truth every time.”

— Technical Director, F1 Team

With the 2022 regulation overhaul reintroducing ground-effect aerodynamics, the plank is more relevant than ever. Teams are once again exploiting underfloor performance to generate downforce efficiently. But with that comes the temptation to run dangerously low, especially on smooth circuits where the risk of bottoming out is less. There were obviously the welldocumented porpoising struggles at the start of the new era, and one can imagine the punishing the planks took while that was sorted.

“You’re always walking a tightrope between grip and legality.” — Race Engineer, 2024 Season

The FIA, however, isn’t budging. Excessive wear is still a black-andwhite issue. No exceptions. No grey area.

In a world where margins are razor-thin, teams must now balance performance, reliability, and legality— all while navigating wildly different track surfaces, from the billiardtable smoothness of Suzuka to the unforgiving bumps of COTA or Baku. China, with its new surface, would be at the smoother end of the calculations, meaning Ferrari just cocked it up.

The teams test for it, too. When they run their long runs in practice with high fuel loads and the like, they look at the wear and try to work out how close they can get—how low can they go and still get through a race with less than 1mm of wear?

The plank is an unlikely symbol of

Formula 1’s evolution, a high-tech wood and resin composite that keeps the teams in check through what outwardly appears and sounds lowtech.

THE

LOW-RIDE GAMBLE THE BENEFITS

MAXIMIZED DOWNFORCE: A lower car squeezes the air beneath it, creating powerful ground effect that glues the car to the road.

Improved Cornering: A lower centre of gravity and better grip means higher cornering speeds and less tyre degradation.

Reduced Drag (sometimes): A properly managed floor can clean airflow and reduce resistance.

THE RISKS

BOTTOMING OUT: Hit a bump, and the car can slam into the tarmac. At best, that damages the floor and hurts performance; at worst, it destabilises the car mid-corner.

Porpoising: A phenomenon exaggerated by the 2022 aero regs, porpoising is a violent bouncing effect caused by fluctuating ground-effect forces. It’s not just uncomfortable—it’s dangerous.

Plank Wear & Disqualification: Ride too low for too long, and the plank wears below the legal 9mm minimum. The result? An automatic DQ, regardless of where you finish.

“We run as low as we dare—but not so low the plank sends us home emptyhanded.” Senior

Top F1 Team

Engineer,

• DETAILS: Ride height set too low, causing excessive plank wear.

2005 — UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX

• DRIVER: Tiago Monteiro

• TEAM: Jordan

• RESULT: Disqualified during post-race checks

• DETAILS: Worn skid block after a race infamous for only six cars starting due to tyre issues.

2023 — UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX (COTA)

• DRIVER: Lewis Hamilton

• TEAM: Mercedes-AMG

• RESULT: Disqualified from second place

• DETAILS: Excessive wear found during random post-race checks. Mercedes cited aggressive setup and track bumpiness.

• DRIVER: Charles Leclerc

• TEAM: Ferrari

• RESULT: Disqualified from sixth place

• DETAILS: Same issue as Hamilton; Ferrari admitted their setup didn’t allow for plank longevity at COTA.

2025 — CHINESE GRAND PRIX

• DRIVER: Lewis Hamilton

• TEAM: Ferrari

• RESULT: Disqualified from sixth place (or fifth if you take Leclerc’s underweight disqualification)

• DETAILS: Ferrari Statement: “With regard to Lewis’ skid wear, we misjudged the consumption by a small margin.”

“We didn’t gain performance—but the car was illegal. That’s all that matters.” — Charles Leclerc, after 2023 US GP

HYUNDAI SIGNALS THE RISE OF THE ROBOTS IN MOTORSPORT

KOREAN AUTOMOTIVE giant Hyundai has grand plans to replace human foibles with robotic precision when it enters the World Endurance Championship with its luxury Genesis brand in 2026. Wayne Webster takes a look at what this might mean for the future of motorsport ...

IN A move that could change international motorsport forever, the crew tending to the Genesis GMR001 Hypercar at races, when it makes its WEC debut next year, will be a mixture of both flesh and blood as well as steel, carbon fibre, advanced hydraulics, cutting edge silicon chips and groundbreaking programming software.

And in the longer term, there’s a chance that maybe fast learning AI-empowered robots will even be doing pitstops and thus keeping

our fragile human bodies out of harm’s way.

Quite how the FIA will deal with all this, given the French-based overseer of all things motorsport lacks the imagination to pursue anything above ensuring F1 drivers don’t swear, is open for debate.

The FIA finds it hard to deal with humans so, when confronted with robotic pit crews … well, your guess is as good as mine.

It may all sound like something out of a sci-fi fantasy, but the use of

mechanical mechanics was flagged when Genesis announced its audacious WEC assault and, well, we all missed it. Indeed, that’s the ultimate goal, but just the thought of it could well make the heads of the powers in charge such as the WEC and the FIA explode.

Maybe it was the bright lights, the loud sound-track and the sight of the mock-up of the truly beautiful GMR001 prototype, but the man behind the project, Hyundai and Genesis chief creative officer Luc Donckwolke,

foreshadowed the future – a future where man and machine work together to make life better for the former. Unless of course the machines revolt and we’re into a Terminator scenario.

But robotics is at the core of Hyundai’s move into the WEC through its luxury Genesis brand. It’s not the racing or the worldwide brand recognition that really matters (although it helps no doubt) but it’s about pushing boundaries and exploring the future in ways never before tried.

“We are more than just an automotive brand,” stressed Donckwolke. “We have a lot of technology and potential we would like to apply.

“We have Boston Dynamics through robotics, where we aim to make the life of the crew team easier and better supporting them with robotics,” he said.

Wait? What? Holy crap Batman – did he just say what I think he said?

The key to this ambitious robotic racing future, at least from Hyundai’s side, is Boston Dynamics, a

Dancing robots ... believe it! Right: Hyundai’s Luc Donckerwolke. Below: Marc Theerman

and maybe even smarter than the average human – in some cases that probably isn’t all that difficult. Hey, you could even become the president of the USA with a double-digit IQ!

But smarter and more agile ones are in development.

LittleDog, Cheetah and the incredible Atlas, which may well be the prototype of the racing crew robot.

These robot things are not science fiction – they’re science reality.

Robots have been building cars for decades now, so why not have them service them, especially in the tenths-of-a-second-matter cauldron of motorsport.

So how does Hyundai enter the picture? Well, the Korean manufacturer owns the company.

Hyundai bought 80 percent of Boston Dynamics in 2020 for a cool $1.3 billion, which left Japan’s SoftBank with the remain 20 per cent. Hyundai duly took a controlling interest in SoftBank in 2021 – such was

desire to have total control and access for its own ends with Boston.

But I suppose the big question in all this is why? Gee man, build a race car, go racing and win or lose. Isn’t it all that easy.

Nah man!

“It is very important to us to race and get a return on investment,” explained Donckwolke at the launch.

“And by that I don’t mean marketing or whatever, I mean technological knowhow.”

Hopefully it doesn’t end up being a case of ‘Today Le Mans, tomorrow the World.’ Old Arnie Schwarzenegger is getting a bit long in the tooth to save the world again. But as a left rear tyre changer? Maybe worth

company founded in 1992 as a spin-off by some of the brainier guys from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

As Boston Dynamics says on its website, it’s about wanting to “change your idea of what robots can do”. Look, the dumbest people at MIT are geniuses so you can work it out yourself about just how smart the founders of the company are.

Boston Dynamics has already developed a series of robots that

The Genesis GMR 001 Hypercar will be Hyundai’s Hypercar WEC challenger.

can “move with agility, dexterity, perception and intelligence” and one is already on the market –he’s (err it’s) called SPOT. I could explain what Boston Dynamics’ robots actually do but, basically, because I’m a dummy I really can’t. A quick look at the Boston Dynamics website didn’t make me any smarter but, hey man, they’ve got some serious shit under development. Their robots are claimed to be faster, stronger, more agile

Pit crew of the future? Yes, says Hyundai ...

(Boston Dynamics) with his robot mate ...

WHARTON USES

AUSTRALIA’S FIA FORMULA 3 CONTENDER JAMES WHARTON A MUCH-NEEDED CHANCE TO RESET AFTER A HOME

WHILST RACING at his hometown in front of hundreds of thousands of fans at the Australian Grand Prix was an unforgettable experience, the results did not go Wharton’s way.

The ART rookie is 29th in the championship after retiring from the Sprint and being 21st in the Feature.

Wharton was on the back foot straight away, getting a grand total of just three laps across practice and qualifying.

As a result, he eyed last week’s three-day test at Sakhir as an opportunity to get better accustomed with the ART car and make some giant strides.

Promisingly, he showed some pace, getting to as high as third in the afternoon of Day 2.

“We are going to Bahrain to fix the details we need to do and from my side its mainly about getting confidence back in the car,” Wharton told Auto Action on the eve of the test.

“When you have a tough weekend it is simply overall confidence in yourself and it is all mental but that can be fixed at the very start of the test.

“It is a new track so I am lucky to have a test. It will be one of the most important tests I will have in my career to date and comes at a great time.

“There is no chance we would be able to make the step we want at Bahrain without the test.”

Whilst the results did not go his way, the Australian Grand Prix was still an incredible experience for Wharton.

Being a Bundoora boy, Melbourne is where he grew up and he attended the Australian Grand Prix as a Grid Kid for Daniel Ricciardo and, just a handful of years later, was racing the track himself.

“It was a super cool experience and one of the best weekends of happiness I have ever had. The support from the fans was immense,” Wharton said.

“I never thought I would have that many supporters, especially being my first time there.

“It meant a lot because it shows people are taking interest in what I am doing, even though I am so far away.

“I wanted to do a lot more for them, but left the weekend not showing what I could do, which hurts a bit, but it was still an incredible experience.

“I had so many family that had never seen me race before which was the best part.”

However, the comforts of home were not kind to him on the track as the 18-yearold from Bundoora had a character-building weekend. After qualifying 22nd, his Sprint Race started promisingly despite a clutch issue leaving him last.

He flew up nine places to climb up to 19th by the end of the opening lap.

However, it did not last much longer, sadly, as he got caught in a three-car tangle at Turn 11 also involving Rafael Camara and Laurens Van Hoepen.

Wharton was penalised for what he described as a “racing incident” being in a hurry to continue his charge.

“We were on the back foot from the start of the weekend. It is very hard to get comfortable in just three laps, especially in a new car, track and environment,” he recalled.

I had a problem with the clutch and had a bad start so I was actually in P28 and ended the first lap in P19, so I made up nine spots

But I tried to do a bit too much. There was a small chance of getting points so I just tried to get as far up the order as quickly as possible

“Coming from that far back makes it harder to stay calm and patient

“We all ended up very close in the VSC and there were six cars going into the one corner which was never going to work. It was a racing incident and hopefully it is the last one from my side.”

After the Saturday heat, the rain arrived on Sunday and Formula 3 was one of the only other race that was held aside from the Grand Prix.

Very few racing laps were possible in the soaked

Melbourne provided a tough introduction, with

TEST TO RESET

WHARTON HOPED THE RECENT BAHRAIN TEST WAS RACE OF MIXED EMOTIONS ...

conditions and Wharton struggled at the start, losing two places before the early first interruption.

But, unlike some, he managed to survive and came home 22nd when the race was

red flagged on lap 18.

“It was one of the hardest races I have ever done,” he said.

“I could not see anything and the white lines in Melbourne are crazy slippery.

“The best people in the world

were still crashing which shows how hard it was.

Despite things not going to plan, Wharton is not too concerned for what it means for the rest of the year.

“We have to take Melbourne with a pinch of salt,” he said.

“At the end of the day, as a team, we know we are a lot better and have more pace than what we showed.

“I went straight from Melbourne to the team base and we already know what we can improve on and feel we can go into the test super strong.

“We need to do a better job in Bahrain and I’m very confident we will.”

Thomas Miles

MANSELL VOWS TO RETURN

DESPITE STEPPING away from F2, Christian Mansell has vowed to return to racing at some point in the future.

Twenty-seven days after stating he would not take part in a rookie FIA Formula 2 season for “personal reasons”

Mansell released a public announcement for the first time since the shock call on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix.

The Newcastle-raised driver and Type 1 Diabetic wanted to express his emotions having been touched by the overwhelming support he has received.

Less than a fortnight before the Melbourne season opener, Mansell announced he would not race in what was set to be his first full F2 campaign, with Rodin Motorsport.

It received more than 12,000 likes and over 500 comments expressing support.

In addition to being thankful, Mansell expressed his desire to get racing again one day.

“Hi everyone, all I can say is wow,” he wrote on X.

“I know my announcement shocked a lot of people, and honestly a lot more people than I could have ever imagined.

“But seeing your messages, and all the support surrounding me was just so overwhelming and some posts and comments genuinely made me emotional.

“So with that being said I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I want nothing more than to get behind the wheel of a car. When the time comes, you’ll know.”

Thomas Miles

Image: GETTY IMAGES/LAT

with only three laps completed before the first race. Below: The local support was great. Images: DUTCH PHOTO AGENCY

XIBERRAS TAKES TOP FUEL BREAK

PROLIFIC DRAGSTER Peter

Xiberras will take a break from flying at over 500km/h in Top Fuel NDRC competition with immediate effect.

After winning the 54th annual Westernationals at Perth Motorplex just weeks ago at the start of March, Xiberras will not return at the Riverbend Nationals or the following three rounds of the 2024/25 season as he steps away from the sport.

The owner of the PremiAir Racing Supercars team is highly successful in his own right being a two-time national Top Fuel champion and regular front runner.

However, he will pause his drag racing career as he priorities work

Image: SUPPLIED

and other matters away from the track.

But Xiberras made it clear it is just a short-term step and by no means is

he retiring from drag racing.

“This is definitely NOT a retirement announcement, but I have a number of work and personal

priorities that mean I cannot give drag racing the focus I need to perform at my best for the rest of this season,” he wrote in a statement.

“I’m taking the next few months to assess where I’m at for next season.

“I had an amazing race meeting when we won the Westernationals, so I’m going into this next period with that experience front of mind.

“I love the racing, I love the rivalries, and I’m very positive about the future of drag racing in Australia.”

The announcement comes as speculation surrounds who will become the new GM Supercars homologation team from Triple Eight. Thomas Miles

KATHERINE NEEDS A LEGGE UP FOR INDY 500

By Wayne Webster

SEASONED

INDYCAR female racer

Katherine Legge is desperately looking for a car for the Indy 500.

Here’s the problem. You’ve got millions of dollars in sponsorship, a crack team of engineers, mechanics and pit crew personal and one of the world’s leading car brands supplying the engines.

But then you find that no-one will give you a car to put it all together to contest the biggest race in the world –the Indianapolis 500.

Welcome to the world of Katherine Legge.

The hugely likeable and

unquestionably talented Brit has put together all the key ingredients to make her fifth start in The Greatest Race on Earth, except for one reasonably important thing – a Dallara DW12 chassis.

Umm, maybe check your garage now, ‘cause she sure needs one if she is to make the grid come the month of May in Indiana.

As bizzare as it may seem, not one of the current IndyCar teams has yet to agree to lease a spare chassis to Legge and her fully-funded and

fully-staffed privateer team despite the fact that the Dallara DW12 has been around longer than Donald Trump’s bad hair.

For 2025 Legge has a full sponsorship portfolio, a complete crew and Honda has agreed to support her effort with its V6 turbo engines.

But how about a car? Not yet. Nope!

Last year Legge drove for Dale Coyne and did a pretty reasonable job before the engine expired.

Of course, Legge recently had an outing in the NASCAR Cup series and was, well, crap. But forget about that –she’s quite good at Indy, but probably not so good without a car.

Anyone with a DW12 chassis under the dust covers should call Katherine Legge right about now …

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AUTO ACTION PREMIUM

IN THIS ISSUE:

n An expansive 12-page feature by Auto Action’s international man of history, Mark Bisset ,on Jim Clark’s 1965 racing season

n Our in-house F1 expert Reese Mautone looks at all the Formula 1 rookies for the 2025 season

n Our F1 man Luis Vasconcelos takes a look at the season ahead

n Supercars motorsport boss Tim Edwards talks about his first year on the ‘Other Side of the Fence’

n Speaking of Supercars, AA talks with the two new full time Supercar racers, rookies Kai Allen and Cooper Murray

n Shane van Gisbergen opens up about his NASCAR journey and talks with Andrew Clarke about his evolution in the world’s biggest tin-top series.

n Still on NASCAR, we were on the ground for the 2025 Daytona 500 and The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

n Sprintcar driver James McFadden talks about his dominant Sprintcar season.

Continuing the proud tradition of quality print publications, the first edition of Auto Action Premium, an exciting blend of motorsport features and coverage, is available NOW. Printing monthly, Auto Action Premium is the latest part of Auto Action’s multi-media coverage of motorsport, in Australia and globally, and takes us to another level. ON SALE NOW AT ALL

n Aussie Daniel Sanders talks with AA’s TW Neal and relives his stunning Dakar win.

n With the soon-to-be-realised commitment to Supercars, AA looks into Toyota’s Australian racing past and reveal how its first forays into motorsport were conceived here in Australia.

n Aussie Rally driver Taylor Gill and co-driver Dan Brkic are into their second season in the ultra-competitive Junior WRC. They spoke to AA’s TW Neal about the program.

n And then there’s a look at the new Aston Martin Valkyrie, a howling V12 Hypercar targeting Le Mans glory … as is Ford with its return to Le Sarthe announced in the past month.

n Plus, we have plenty of race coverage and ‘News Extra’ inside ...

SCAN THE QR CODE TO FIND YOUR NEAREST OUTLET OR GO TO www.autoaction.com.au/home/find-a-store

MIXED RESULTS FOR F1 ACADEMY AUSSIES

BOTH JOANNE Ciconte and Aiva Anagnostiadis made history by being the first Aussies to race in F1 Academy and experienced highs and lows in Shanghai.

Whilst Ciconte made headlines in qualifying by posting the sixth fastest time, Anagnostiadis impressed in the Feature by working her way up to eighth.

Both teenagers had experienced a rapid rise to the biggest female series in racing, with little car racing experience before being thrown onto the big stage at the Chinese Grand Prix.

But the pair came to grips with the Tatuus F4-T421 across a series of recent tests ahead of the opening round.

Anagnostiadis qualified 16th, for HiTech, while Ciconte not only raised eyebrows by being the youngest ever driver in the championship at 16, but also for her speed.

Qualifying sixth with a 2:04.146 not only made a statement with her first drive, but also gave her third spot on the grid for the Sprint where the top eight were reversed.

“Starting out of P3 for Race 1 is such a euphoric feeling. I’m super focused to make the most of this incredible opportunity,” said Ciconte ahead of her first race start.

However, things did not go to plan as a series of team-inflicted penalties ruined her dreams of a strong result.

The MP Motorsport driver received a 10s stop-go penalty due to the team adjusting tyre pressures outside of the permitted time.

Sitting as high as ninth and having initially tried to take the penalty under yellow flag conditions, Ciconte received the further blow of being hit with another 10s penalty and as a result was 14th, the lowest placed finisher.

However, waving the Aussie flag with pride was Anagnostiadis as she made strong progress throughout the race and soared from 16th to eighth and give her country and team their first taste of F1 Academy points.

Having made eight spots in 13 laps she ended up just a second away from seventh placed Alba Larsen, but it was a great boost for the 17-year-

old and a strong start to her F1 Academy career.

“It was not the qualifying we wanted, but we came back stronger for Race 1,” Anagnostiadis said.

“It was a bit of a hectic race, but we scored some points going from 15th to eighth. Points on debut!”

Up front Alisha Palmowski was victorious in a drag race to the line with Campos teammate Chloe Chambers as Nina Gademan led all the way until an issue on the penultimate lap.

Unfortunately, Ciconte’s luck did not turn on Sunday. Despite making up some early ground, Ciconte was rear ended by Chloe Chong, which saw the Aussie spinning across Turn 8 and into the path of Aurelia Nobels and Nicole Havrda.

It was a cruel end to a weekend that started with so much promise for Ciconte.

“Sadly, my car was rear-ended in the opening laps today, so again, I didn’t get the opportunity to show my pace,” she said following the crash.

“There’s still a lot to learn, but the car felt strong and I’m excited

for what’s ahead. This is just the beginning.”

Anagnostiadis was able to avoid the chaos, but struggled to show the same speed as Saturday and finished 13th.

“I struggled with pace over the weekend, but mainly in this race. We push on for a test in Jeddah in Round 2 in a couple of weeks. Massive thanks to HiTechGP for the weekend,” Anagnostiadis said in the aftermath.

Mercedes-backed driver Doriane Pin managed to work her way 2s clear of Weug and take victory.

After taking in a mountain of information on debut, both Aussies will be determined to make a step forward in the next round in Jeddah on April 18-20.

Thomas Miles

Aiva – made progress in he first race. Below: Joanne – learning lots, but ‘taken out’ in Race 2 ...

Images: F1 ACADEMY | PARC FERMÉ

SHINING ARMOUR

SIR LEWIS Hamilton, the Formula One legend with a peerage but without peer (c’mon!) is pushing Ferrari to go old-school with a V12 engine and a supposedly antiquated manual gearbox to create his dream machine. No, it’s not as part of his quest for an eighth F1 world championship crown, but to create what will almost certainly be the most expensive and sought-after Ferrari road car in the history of Italy’s most treasured automotive jewel.

Hamilton, or Sir Lewis as he likes to be called, is focused on three things at Ferrari. He wants to win races (which he achieved in the Sprint race in China), capture a championship crown (big ask) and, ultimately, craft an exquisite road car without peer but with a peerage in its pedigree.

But in a world of ridiculously sophisticated Hypercars which boast NASA levels of engineering and intricacy, Hamilton is channeling his inner Marty McFly and going ‘Back to the Future’.

He may be driving the most sophisticated F1 car ever built as he chases yet another world championship crown, but Britain’s only dreadlocked knight of the realm is kinda an ‘analogue guy’ in the digital world – a real driving purist it would seem. The giveaway about where his driving passions lie were in the first photos of his arrival as Ferrari’s new F1 driver for the 2025 season. There he was, suited and booted, at Maranello and standing alongside Ferrari’s latest Supercar? Nope! There he was with an F40, a blast from the past that he simply adores.

with Wayne Webster

TRACK LIMITS ...

And it’s a blast from the past that he wants to take into Ferrari’s future.

From what we’ve been able to learn, Hamilton’s Hypercar project was one of the key points of his decision to sign a contract with the Italian brand for the massive amount of money that could almost buy a three-bedroom doer-upper in Australia’s major capital cities.

The car will be called the F44 after Hamilton’s, (err, Sir Lewis’) race number.

And what do we know so far? Well, it’s probably right up there with my understanding of quantum physics and line dancing. However, from within the inner sanctum of Ferrari, possibly after a few proseccos, the word is that Hamilton (oh shit, Sir Lewis) is driving the engineers a little crazy.

He wants the F44 to

be his car. A legacy he wants to leave – it was something he was never going to get at Mercedes.

With a dream machine such as the F40 as his starting point, Sir Lewis (oh yeh, got it!) wants the car to have a V12 engine and (gasp) a manual gearbox.

Sequential? No! Manual (yes!) Three-pedal stuff. Heel-and-toe shifting just like the great ones in F1 did. Oh, and he wants the V12 to have a couple of turbos and, if needed, a small hybrid assist, much like the system used in IndyCar if it’s absolutely needed to create the horsepower he desires.

The V12 engine is basically a simple (well, not really) job of bolting together two of Ferrari’s current V6 powerplants from the twotime Le Mans-winning WEC 499SP racer.

Add in an auxiliary hybrid

system and, well, let’s start think that 900kW (1200hp plus) will be the target figure.

The real challenge for Ferrari will be to create a manual gearbox. Ferrari hasn’t made a road car with a manual shift since 2012, so the boys in the transmission department will have to go back to the yellowing files in the old filing cabinet to find out how to do it again.

Oh, Hamil …. Sir Lewis wants it to be a rear wheel drive only car. No pussy four-wheel drive shit. A real car that, if you get it wrong, it’s gonna bite your arse and maybe even kill your arse.

But why would Ferrari even try such an ambitious project?

Let’s talk about cash.

Just the fact that Sir Lewis joined Ferrari sent the company’s stock market value soaring, more than justifying his rumoured $150 million a year salary, and a limited edition F44 model would send car collectors, and the stock market, into a frenzy.

Ferrari’s latest ‘hero’ collectable model, the F80, is set to hit the road soon.

Only 799 will be built and, although there’s no word on just how many Australians will take ownership when the first cars arrive towards the end of this year, the local price is $7 million. Oh, and all 799 have been sold.

But the F80 is a hightech piece of kit. It’s got a three-litre twin-turbo V6 with 662kW of power and a couple of electric motors up front that add enough grunt to bring this beast to 883kW of eye-ball popping fourwheel-drive performance.

The F44 would have more power and two less driving wheels and, from what we’ve learned, will be made in much smaller numbers than the F80. For a guess, let’s say, umm, 440?

And the price?

A Lewis Hamilton (ahh, Sir Lewis) designed and created signature limited edition Ferrari mega car?

Let’s start the bidding at $10 million and go from there. But imagine if he was to win a world championship with Ferrari?

Ferrari is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Buy now!

Sir Lewis’ first day at Maranello –style everywhere ... Image: SF

GB3 AUSSIES TOP THE CHARTS

A BIG month is ahead for some of Australia’s young international junior formulae fraternity, as several calendars make starts across Europe and the US in April.

At the top of the tree are four promising Aussies competing in the British GB3 Championship, with the early signs pointing to a strong year ahead.

After being a runner-up with a sensational fivewin season in the 2024 British F4 Championship, Alex Ninovic enters the GB3 year with Rodin Motorsport having been sixth and third at the Silverstone testing weekend – but it was his compatriot team-mate, Gianmarco Pradel, who turned heads with a timesheet topping 1:52.009s on Day 2.

Patrick Heuzenroeder also impressed for Xcel Motorsport, finishing second on Day 1 to the fastest ever (unofficial) category lap at the track, whilst Noah Lisle also steps up for JHR Developments, lapping in the mid-pack.

Their opening round is set for Silverstone on April 26-27 in an eight-round 24-race season containing four intercontinental visits (Zandvoort, Spa, Hungaroring and Monza).

Starting this weekend in the GB4 series, at Donington, is Victorian Jack Taylor for Fortec Motorsports, who impressed with a top-10 table finish (ninth) last season.

Former FIA F3 racer Hugh Barter has already made his racing return with a triple-win weekend in the European Hoosier Formula Cup series at Circuit Paul Ricard, driving a Tatuus F3R T318 –he’ll resume at Mugello in Italy at the end of the month alongside fellow Aussie Craig McLatchey.

Image: JAKOB EBREY

In south-western France, on April 18-21, Sasha Milojkovic should make his European open-wheel debut in the French F4 at Circuit Paul Armagnac, an FFSA Academy run series with Renaultengined Mygale machinery.

Jumping over to the States, it’s an exciting USF Juniors debut for Victorian Liam Loiacono, as he follows in the team footsteps of now IndyNXT driver Lochie Hughes with Jay Howard Driver Development. Loiacono took three wins in Formula Ford last season and impressed the JHDD team by topping the timesheets in his US test sessions last year.

He’ll debut at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana, where fellow Aussies Brad Majman and Eddie Beswick resume their USF2000 seasons, with Majman impressing with a P5 at the St Petersburg opener (again for JHDD).

Back across the Atlantic later in the month, James Piszcyk also makes his British F4 and European return with Rodin after having a two win season in 2023.

Alongside 16 year-old Hi-Tech GP Aussie debutant Xavier Avramides (2022 Karting Queensland state champion), they’ll open their season at Donington on April 26-27. TW Neal

CAREER BEST FOR KELSO

YOUNG AUSSIE Moto3 rider Joel Kelso (right) has enjoyed his best ever result in the third tier Moto category, taking out second place at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

The 21-year old from the NT entered this season for the LevelUp MTA KTM squad after finishing ninth in the championship in 2024 and, following the openings rounds in Thailand, Argentina, and the US, he now sits sixth on the table.

Despite a consistent season in ’24, Kelso’s last Moto3 podium was in Australia in 2023, with the KTM Aussie starting third on the grid for the Texas feature before sealing his second career podium – his first in dry conditions.

After having to retire in Round 1, Kelso chopped through the field for an eighth in Argentina, with his pace in Texas earning the front row start.

“Today, we proved that we are

competitive, and that’s what really counts,” Kelso said after the race.

“We already showed our strength yesterday, and today we were able to confirm that with a second place

finish. We still need to work to close the gap to our rivals, but that’s the challenge we love, and that’s why we are here.”

Across the three categories, Kelso easily proved the best of the Aussie Moto fleet, with Jacob Roulstone finishing in 14th for Red Bull KTM Tech3 in his first outing with the team after crossing from Gas Gas.

In Moto2, Senna Agius didn’t have the pace, to finish in 23rd, whilst MotoGP rider Jack Miller took a year high fifth for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP team.

The Grand Prix of Qatar is the next stop on the calendar on April 11-13.

TW Neal

Gianmarco Pradel has raised eyebrows, topping the Day 2 times at the GB3 pre-season test at Silverstone.

A TALE OF TWO DRIVERS

THIS WEEKEND’S Japanese Grand Prix – aided by its civilised afternoon timing for East Coast Australian and NZ viewers – is likely to have a decent audience, as there’s two big – and contrasting – stories dominating the F1 scene.

The first is Oscar Piastri’s form in dominating the Chinese race a week or so ago.

If ever there was a weekend to illustrate that it’s not going to be all about Lando in 2025 (sorry British media), this was it.

Can he double-up?

The evidence is that Oscar has worked on whatever it was that was compromising his efforts in Qualifying last year. Starting from pole, or the front row, is a massive boost and, better still, leading the way – after winning the Turn 1 game of ‘chicken’ with George Russell – made China almost easy.

Oscar was pretty much cruising and would easily have responded, if necessary, if there had been any late race challenge from his team-mate (we have to take Zak Brown at his world that they would have been allowed to race …). As it was, brake issues at least allowed the Brit Fan Club to accept Lando’s runner-up result …

with

CL ON CALL

Across the Tasman, I’m being told there’s a campaign under way to discourage Kiwis from buying Red Bull!

Australia’s neighbours, along with much of the motorsport world, have been stunned by the sudden, ruthless way that Liam Lawson has been added to a list of young drivers discarded by Red Bull – this time after just two races (AA’s F1 manon-the-spot Luis Vasconcelos examines the list of victims in his column, in this issue).

The fact that a reported sum of 10,000 million quid (A$20m) from Honda has been involved in the ascension of Yuki Tsunoda into the role only makes it uglier.

So, what happened? Has Liam Lawson forgotten how to drive an F1 car overnight?

I’m not buying the “the RB is designed around Max and he’s so good that no-one else can drive it” BS. And I’m not buying the “Liam was rushed into it” stuff either – after 11 races already in F1!

Other current debutants

– Antonelli and Hadjar in particular – may have done some miles in two-year-old cars but jumped straight into their 2025-spec cars this year and have delivered.

Liam can drive. Back in July last year, Red Bull ran him, back-to-back with Verstappen, in the thencurrent RB20 at a Silverstone ‘filming day’ test (ie limited to 33 laps). Max set a base time, then Liam was installed. In literally the same car, on the same tyres, Liam was a couple of tenths off Max – in relatively few laps.

Perfect. And presumably that’s what led to the decision that Liam would replace the departing Checo. A clear, thought-through decision, it seemed.

So, what’s gone wrong?

Has Liam forgotten how to drive – he was, after all, just fine in that RB20 back-toback with Max, remember?

A couple of random facts: Around mid-2024, the FIA ‘clarified’ its rules to categorically rule out ‘asymetric’ brake bias – that

is, an ‘automatic’ means of having different amounts of braking on the left and right rear wheels in particular. It makes for better stability on turn-in –more of a ‘pointy’ car perhaps …

It was around this time that the dominance of the RB team started to fade – along with the rise of McLaren, as well as Mercedes and Ferrari. Max started to get beaten. Make of that what you will.

Secondly, a year ago, with his well-respected Chief Engineer lieutenant Rob Marshall having already defected to McLaren (he started in April 2024), design guru Adrian Newey confirmed he would leave Red Bull

While he concentrated on the RB Hypercar project, his involvement in the F1 team –and particularly its plans for 2025 – ended back then.

See where I’m going?

Based on just these two recent races, it’s quite possible to conclude that the non-Newey RB21 could simply be a dud car and the team, scrambling to try and sort it, has lost its way.

While Liam Lawson’s crew were trying all sorts to come up with something (along with some less-then-ideal strategy) and the second RB was scrabbling around at the back in China, the great Max

was hardly setting the world on fire either.

It does happen. Remember the glory days of Williams – the 1990s Drivers titles (in Newey cars!); then Newey left at the end of 1996. The engine deal with BMW started in 2000 and there were wins – Montoya and Ralf Schumacher shared four in 2003, one in 2004.

That was when an ecstatic Mark Webber accepted what he expected was his lifelong dream drive, for 2005.

I remember his dismay, just weeks later when, having now spent time at the factory, he sensed a team in disarray. BMW left and Williams began its slide towards the rear of the field – only just, finally, coming back into the fray now.

Could this be what Red Bull is facing? Honda is leaving at the end of this year; there are rumours that Max will go with them. The ace designer is gone … Could Red Bull be on the precipice?

So yes, this weekend’s Grand Prix will be riveting and could be revealing. If Yuki spends his weekend gazing at the rear of Max’s RB21 from close quarters, then Horner and Marko will have their decision justified. Somehow, I just don’t think it’s quite gonna pan out like that …

Chris Lambden

Back in 2005, Mark Webber paired with Nick Heidfeld in a spectacular 2-3 for Williams at Monaco. From then, it became slim pickings for the once dominant team for many years ... Image: GETTY IMAGES

PUBLISHER - EDITOR Bruce Williams

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For more of the latest motorsport news, reviews and features, PLUS additional breaking news. Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Email: letters@autoaction.com.au

Postal: Suite 4/156 Drummond Street. Oakleigh Victoria 3166

TOTAL RESPECT FOR SIR LEWIS

I DON’T normally feel the need to write letters to publications, but in this case I feel that I have to do so.

While I have always appreciated the skills of Lewis Hamilton, let’s face it you don’t win seven World F1 Championships without talent, but I always figured he had the best team and the best cars, which pretty much seals the deal.

I changed my view of him a bit when he went to toe-totoe with Verstappen and the Red Bull team a few years ago. It showed he still has the fight and desire to keep winning.

But when he announced last year that he was moving to Ferrari, I thought it’s just his last hoorah and a way to earn some big dollars on the way out the F1 door.

The way he drove in China has proved me wrong. He drove hard and won the Sprint and then in the GP he showed what a great team player he is by allowing Charles Leclerc to move past him, and it was his idea. No whinging either and he really looks like he wants to be there.

While I don’t think he will win another championship, I think he will still win GP’s and with more pressure on Charles, Ferrari might get better.

By the way I saw the new print magazine the other day, I used to get the newspaper version every now and again, but I bought it, and I have to say it’s a great read.

But in saying that it was hard to find in the shops around the Gold Coast. Mark Sykes Highland Park, QLD

Sir Lewis has earned reader Mark Sykes’ respect for his Ferrari return, early success and teamwork.

Editor’s note. Mark, thanks for your letter – you make some good points about Sir Lewis and his move to Ferrari. Not only has it been good for him, but the value of Ferrari’s stocks has skyrocketed since his move and tnow he China Sprint win.

Also, thanks for your feedback about the new Premium Auto Action magazine. It has been hard to get in SE Queensland and the story we have been told is that the storm of a few weeks ago disrupted things. We have a map that has all the outlets across Australia on the AA web site – https:// autoaction.com.au/home/ find-a-store – or a better way is to get a subscription. In most cases it will be delivered to your day within a couple of days of it being printed. Follow this link to our subscription page – https:// autoactionmagazine. myshopify.com/

DISGUSTED KIWI

RED BULL AND Helmut Marko are a joke!

How can you sack a driver after only two races?

It’s common knowledge that Marko said Yuki Tsunoda wasn’t good enough for the main team in 2025.

Now because Honda put in some cash, they sack Liam Lawson and put Tsunoda into the Red Bull main team.

Let’s see how that goes, because while Verstappen might be able to carry the car, they are on the backslide as they have lost all their engineer power. See how they go when Max leaves for the ‘Greener pastures’.

Keep your chin up Liam you will get another chance.

Ian Collet

Queenstown, New Zealand

LANDO’S EXCUSE

IT’S LUCKY that Lando’s brakes started to fail in his McLaren in China. It gave him a real excuse as to why our boy Oscar was beating him.

I listened to the race radio coverage back a couple of times and in the early part of the race the team was always trying to say that Oscar was holding Lando up. Then they said to Oscar, you need to get a move on so Lando is not in DRS range of George Russel., Then it was slow down so Lando can stay in your DRS. But when it was all said and done, Oscar was just too fast on the day and maybe it was Lando trying to keep up that made his brakes fail. At least it gave him something else to have a whinge about.

The Japanese race will be a great one to watch and see what happens.

Mattia DiMaggio

South Melbourne, Victoria

THE PREMIUM PUBLICATION FANS DESERVE CONGRATULATIONS TO you, Bruce Williams, and your team on producing the fabulous new-look Auto Action Premium

As a long-time reader of Auto Action, I am not only most impressed with the new appearance, layout and presentation, but also its content.

Australian motorsport fans have always deserved a highquality publication to cover our sport, including its rich history.

You have certainly given us one with the new monthly magazine.

It’s nice that, in this digital age, we motorsport enthusiasts can still sit down and read a magazine of real substance like the new Auto Action Premium

I can’t wait for the next issue.

D. Paul Moncur Caulfield, Victoria

RBR... BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS

THE DRIVER swap

performed by Red Bull just two Grand Prix into the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship was the most brutal decision ever made by the Austrian company.

That’s no small statement given the company’s record of throwing drivers in the bin on a regular basis – but in the 20 years the drinks’ company has owned Formula 1 teams, no driver had been dealt with so harshly as Liam Lawson.

For Red Bull Racing, since taking away the seat-sharing Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi had to endure in 2005, this is the fourth time a driver has been sacked during the season.

In 2006, Klien’s time with Red Bull ended before the last three races of the championship, with Dutchman Robert Doornbos taking his seat. Then, 10 years later, Daniil Kvyat was sent back to Toro Rosso after a difficult start to the season and replaced by Max Verstappen from the fifth Grand Prix of the year.

More recently, Pierre Gasly’s time with the Austrian team lasted only until the midseason break of 2019 as, after 12 races he swapped places with Alex Albon and found himself back with the Junior team.

Now, it’s Liam Lawson’s turn to go down the same route, swapping seats with Yuki Tsunoda just four months after being selected over the Japanese driver as Sérgio Pérez’s replacement.

The Junior team has also seen its fair share of driver changes since its creation –apart from the five mentioned above that were instigated by

with

Luis Vasconcelos

the needs of the main team.

In 2007, Scott Speed was sacked after the German Grand Prix and replaced by Sebastian Vettel; in 2008 Sebastian Bourdais lost his seat to Jaime Alguersuari after the first nine Grands Prix; in 2017 Carlos Sainz bought himself out of his contract with Red Bull and was replaced by Brendon Hartley for the last four races of the season; then, in 2023, Nyck de Vries was sacked after 10 races to make way to the return of Daniel Ricciardo.

A year later, the Australian was dropped after the Singapore Grand Prix to make way for Lawson, who had already replaced him in five races the previous year when

the veteran was injured. Now Red Bull finds itself in a position where it doesn’t have any driver with Formula 1 experience in a position to slot into one of its four cars in case of need. Pérez and Ricciardo were discarded last year and ties were broken, so Ayumi Iwasa will have to be the ‘go to’ driver for the rest of the year in case any one of the current racers suddenly becomes unavailable. The young Japanese driver has been quick in Formula 2 and Super Formula but has no Grand Prix experience whatsoever and would face an uphill struggle should he have to stand in during this season.

Given it was Red Bull who

first started a young drivers’ program some 25 years ago, it’s difficult to understand how their system has failed so miserably in the last decade. But one just has to compare the way Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Alpine prepare their youngsters to the way Red Bull throws them, unprepared, into their first Formula 1 season, to figure out where things are going wrong.

How many thousands of kilometres in testing did

Lando Norris, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli or Jack Doohan have before their first Grand Prix? Many, many thousands, as their teams have separate test squads dedicated to running two-year-old cars for their youngsters – not a week goes by without at least one of those teams putting the miles in.

What does Red Bull do?

Alex Albon, for example, first sat in a Formula 1 car for pre-season testing in

Barcelona and had a couple of days of testing before being thrown into the fire. And then you wonder why Red Bull’s younger drivers struggle. There’s another matter that deserves a bit more than just a few lines and that concerns the teams’ 2026 line-ups?

What happens if Max Verstappen really moves to Aston Martin-Honda next year? Tsunoda, if he does well this year, could be retained, but Lawson is unlikely to get a second call to race for Red Bull Racing.

Promoting Isack Hadjar would be repeating the same mistake made with Kvyat, Albon and Lawson before him – expecting too much too soon from a youngster.

Looking outside its own pool of drivers may be Red Bull’s only solution for the near future, as the team is burning talented young drivers quicker than its academy is capable of producing them …

Alex Albon is one of the many to be dropped from the Red Bull team to subsequently find a happy home – in his case, at Wlilliams. Image: GETTY IMAGES

LAWSON/TSUNODA SWAP EXPOSES RED BULL’S FLAWS

RED BULL Racing has taken the extraordinary step of changing its second driver two Grands Prix into the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, with Liam Lawson being sent back to Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda being promoted to the main team after more than four years with the junior squad.

Lawson’s tenure with a top team becomes the shortest one ever since 2009, when the hapless Luca Badoer was called into replace the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari, the veteran Italian paying the price for being out of Grand Prix racing for 10 years and being replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella after just two races.

The demotion of the New Zealander comes just a few months after he was chosen over Tsunoda to team up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull and exposes the flaws that have slowly been exposed in the way the Austrian company manages its Young Drivers’ program. After all, it’s not possible that the

Kiwi has forgotten how to drive or lost all his confidence in the space of three months. In the same way, it’s impossible to believe Yuki Tsunoda is a much better driver and much more mature person now than he was in the middle of December.

The official Red Bull line is that this

driver swap was made to protect Liam Lawson, as Christian Horner explained in the statement that came with the announcement.

The English businessman said that “we have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so

Liam can gain experience, as he continues his Formula 1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”

Speaking to Servus TV, a broadcaster also owned by Red Bull, Helmut Marko went along the same lines, explaining that “in order to save his career, we decided to send him back to Racing Bulls,” before adding that, “if we had just left Liam in the car, we think his performance under pressure would have been even worse. Because we have a second team, he can rehabilitate himself in a more relaxed atmosphere. With Racing Bulls, he has the chance to build something up again.”

The Austrian then made the case that Tsunoda is a completely changed man this year, saying that “we have seen that Tsunoda has made a step forward over the winter. As a person, he has also become stronger. And as a Japanese, Yuki obviously knows the Suzuka circuit very well.”

THAILAND PRESENTS GRAND PRIX PLAN TO

THE THAI government has confirmed it’s serious about hosting a Formula 1 race in its capital, Bangkok, after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met up with the sport’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali, last Tuesday.

Talks between the two parties started early last year, with a phone call between the Italian and then Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, with the Thai businessman-turnedpolitician attending the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, in Imola, a couple of months later.

But an unexpected change of government in Thailand delayed negotiations by a couple of months. However, after a delegation flew

from Bangkok to Singapore, to resume talks and see how a street Grand Prix is put together, there

was an alternative plan in place, with talks of the country building a brand new circuit on the outskirts

of the capital rather than trying to host a street race in one of the most chaotic cities in Southeast Asia. Now, though, the original plan seems to be back on the agenda, with Prime Minister Shinawatra posting on her social media that “we had the opportunity to discuss the opportunity of Thailand to host the Formula 1 race, which is a great sport with a worldwide following.”

Ms. Shinawatra added that “the government confirmed that it will study this joint investment, including the study of the race route, the investment budget, and the value Thailand will receive from hosting the race.”

Regarding the location of the

DOMENICALI

Helmut Marko (left) – part of the harsh decision to replace Lawson (right) after just two races ... Images: GETTY IMAGES

Thailand has reverted to a street-race plan for its proposed F1 GP. Image: APEX

Explaining why the youngster was snubbed last year, Marko insisted that “Yuki was too inconsistent and that’s why we unanimously decided on Lawson. But under the increased pressure, Liam couldn’t deliver, right from the first day in Australia. Then he went into a downward spiral.”

Tsunoda now faces the mighty challenge of learning everything about the very tricky RB21 at Suzuka, a track that doesn’t leave you with any room for mistakes. And, while he’s Japanese, the truth is that before reaching Formula 1 Tsunoda only raced once at that famous circuit – so the’ home race’ is not exactly in a track he knows like the back of his hand.

As for Lawson, he’s now forced to rebuild his confidence after suffering the biggest blow of his young life, starting off with a car he has never tested but at a track where he gained some very useful experience in Super Formula.

Recent history shows that the drivers Red Bull demoted to its Junior team – Daniil Kvyat in 2016 and Pierre Gasly in 2019 – never made it back to the main team, so it’s up to the Kiwi to break that curse and show he can bounce back from this very harsh treatment he’s been subjected to.

V10 ENGINES WITH KERS FROM 2028 – THE CALL GROWS

THE IDEA of dumping hybrid Power Units and replace them with good-old V10 engines seems to be growing quickly among the Formula 1 power forces.

The advent of sustainable fuels and the progress all Formula 1 fuel manufacturers have been making in their development in the last 18 months has emboldened the supporters of the idea, starting with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

There is, however, a consensus that it’s way too late for the change to be made in time for next season and even imposing new Technical Regulations for 2027 and beyond is understood to be a stretch by all concerned. In fact, should the most radical decision be made, Red Bull, Racing Bulls, Aston Martin and Sauber would be unable to compete due to lack of engines, so the earliest the 2026 regulations can be dropped is from 2028.

Many believe that it’s healthier for the sport to wait until 2030 to revert back to normally aspirated engines – but even that idea is not without its problems.

First of all, Formula 1 has to consider that Audi only agreed to join Grand Prix racing after two-

year long negotiations to define what technology would be used under the 2026 regulations, and the German manufacturer has already made it clear that it has no interest in staying in the sport if the ‘future’ engines are dumped.

In a short statement, Audi explained that “the upcoming regulation changes, including the new hybrid Power Unit regulations set for the 2026 season and beyond, were a key factor in Audi’s decision to enter Formula 1. These power unit regulations reflect the same technological advancements that drive innovation in Audi’s road cars.”

But Audi might not be the only manufacturer dropping Formula 1 if the rules were to be changed at short notice. After all, Honda only decided to make a U-turn on its decision to leave the sport after the new regulations were announced, as the Japanese company believes they are in line with the future of the road car industry.

And Ford, Red Bull Powertrains partner, only showed interest in a return to Formula 1 for the same reasons.

Should these three manufacturers opt to leave the sport if the V10s

come back, with Renault already on its way out, Formula 1 would be left with Mercedes and Ferrari as engine suppliers – and that’s a situation no one wants to have again.

That’s why the FIA single seater Director, Nicolas Tombazis explained in China that “above all, we have the obligation to be fair, and people have invested a lot of money,” then detailing that “if nine people are in favour and one person is against and that one person is being treated unfairly, we will always also try to protect the one person. We won’t just go on majorities and say ‘okay, let’s do it’. We’re trying to build consensus here and if that fails, then we will stay where we are.”

One of the ideas floated in the Shanghai paddock was that the future Formula 1 V10 engines would include the return of KERS to the sport, as a way to keep the sport relevant for the road industry and in a bid to keep Audi, Honda and Ford around, as that’s the kind of technology that could be relevant for the road car industry in the future if sustainable fuels continue to be developed at the amazing rate we’ve seen recently.

race, the Prime Minister revealed that “hosting a race would be an opportunity to upgrade Bangkok’s infrastructure and attract more tourists from abroad, particularly visitors in the ‘high-end’ market.”

Continuing her statement, Ms. Shinawatra added that “I believe that all Thai people will benefit from organising this event, whether it is large-scale infrastructure investment, job creation, new income generation, and importing new technologies and innovations,” before concluding that “I am confident that this project will be successful. It is another important opportunity for the country to organise a world-class event.”

was one of the successful manufacturers during the V10 era. Will F1 risk losing one or mor manufacturers by reverting to the engine formula that the fans – and many within the sport – want?

Honda

F1TV DENIES INTENTIONAL OMISSION OF HAMILTON’S RADIO MESSAGE

FORMULA 1 has been forced to issue a statement denying there had been any intentional manipulation of Ferrari’s radio communications during the Chinese Grand Prix after Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur stated that he thought “the way F1TV broadcast the conversation between Lewis and his engineer was a joke – a total fabrication of a narrative that was not truth.”

The first message heard on the official broadcast of the race was from Riccardo Adami telling Hamilton to let the close-following Leclerc through, the Italian instructing his driver to “swap positions in Turn 14” without any response from Hamilton.

One lap later, on lap 20, the instruction was repeated but the veteran riposted that “I’ll tell you when we swap,” opting to go slightly wide in Turn 1 at the start of the following lap to allow Leclerc through.

That exchange led social media, as well as the British press, to explode with stories about a massive fallout between Hamilton and his new

team. The noise was so intense that even Vasseur, who was busy following the race and then quickly debriefing with his drivers and engineers before meeting the press still at the circuit, had been made aware of it.

The normally measured Frenchman made his point clear, stating that “I think this is a joke from FOM, because the first call came from Lewis. Lewis asked us to swap, but to make the show, to create a mess around the situation, they broadcast only the second and third messages – and that’s not correct, so I will discuss with them.”

Without stopping, Vasseur detailed that “it was Lewis who asked to swap and, from the pitwall, we really appreciated the call from Lewis to say ‘Guys, I’m losing the pace, I’m keen to swap.’

That shows the collaboration between the two guys is mega – I can’t complain a single second about something. But what you heard was not the full story, just a sort of montage …”

Vasseur lost no time in seeking out Stefano Domenicali, still within the Shanghai International Circuit, and continued the discussion with the Italian as they waited to board their flight out of Pudon Airport a couple of hours later, making his view clear.

As a consequence, on the next day, the official broadcaster issued a brief statement that assured everyone that “there was absolutely no intention of presenting a misleading narrative regarding the Ferrari team radio. Due to other situations developing during the race the message from Lewis was not played, but this was not intentional.”

Vasseur is not the first Formula 1 name to complain about the way radio messages are selected. Fernando Alonso has long insisted that “F1TV has picked on me to be the villain in their narrative, so only the negative bits of my radio communications are broadcast, never the positive ones.”

Max Verstappen has expressed the same views regarding his chats with GP Lambiase, with Lewis Hamilton also launching a scathing attack on the selection made of radio broadcasts after the Australian Grand Prix, where a few tense exchanges between he and Adami were aired. The team and drivers don’t want the F1TV service to go down the Netflix route and create fake narratives, so a review of the way things are done is under way in order to keep the show interesting without distorting the facts.

FREIGHT DELAY EXPOSES CALENDAR

FORMULA 1 is unlikely to repeat this season’s experience of starting the championship with the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for the week after the Melbourne opener. It was not a surprise for anyone who has attended the Shanghai race over the last 20 years that the Chinese Customs Service were tremendously slow at allowing the air freight sent from Australia into the country – the main consequence was that almost no teams were able to start unpacking their material at the track on Tuesday, with Pirelli, as well as McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes

and Aston Martin affected.

This forced the mechanics to put in many extra hours of work overnight and, even with the FIA changing the schedule of the curfew hours from Friday to Sunday, this extra amount of work was very much felt by all of those on the ground.

As it happened, with back-to-back races, no team worked on their cars in the Melbourne garages after they were released from Parc Fermé regulations a couple of hours after the end of the Australian Grand Prix. Everyone’s priority was to pack all the material – cars, spare parts,

data analysis instruments, pit stop material, team gear and so on – into the containers that were then taken to Melbourne’s Avalon airport to be flow into Shanghai in the early hours of Monday.

Given it takes around 10 hours to fly between the two cities, the Formula 1 planes arrived in China on Monday night and, in any other country hosting a Grand Prix, that would have meant that, at the latest on Tuesday afternoon, all the material would have been at the circuit, allowing the teams to start working on the cars and installing

everything else in their garages. However, the notoriously slow Chinese Customs Service delayed everything by more than 24 hours, in the case of those four teams and Pirelli, making life more difficult for all of them and forcing the rescheduling of the early part of the team’s programs.

It’s clear Formula 1 was aware of the risks it was incurring when this year’s calendar was decided for, even before the start of the Australian Grand Prix, we were told that Shanghai will not host the second race of the 2026 season

It was Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion that Ferrari swap its two drivers in China, which he did on the straight. But the TV broadcast presented a different scenario ...

BROWN/HORNER FEUD INTENSIFIES –ZAK PREDICTS MAX TO MERCEDES

THERE’S NEVER been a lot of love lost between Christian Horner and Zak Brown and the feud between the Red Bull and McLaren Team Principals has now become more visible.

The latest edition of the Drive to Survive special features some highly colourful language being used by the English manager when referring to the McLaren CEO.

When recently asked about his relationship with Horner, and whether their feud was being staged by Netflix, the American made it clear that “the feud is genuine!”

Brown went on to explain that “I don’t like how he rolls and, no doubt, he feels the same about me.”

Trying to sweeten the pill, he added that “this is good for the sport – you need these rivalries,” before admitting that “some are friendly, some are a bit more vicious.”

More than a result of any dispute over drivers, engineers or other Formula 1 matters, the feeling in the paddock is that Brown and Horner have long disliked each other for

other reasons and it probably has to do with their characters being extremely different and, therefore, the way they operate is quite different as well.

Even in official events, like FIA press conferences, the two Team Principals are always at odds and don’t make the slightest effort to hide their dislike for one another.

With Horner having the British media almost entirely on his side, it has been the Red Bull man who has used them to try and cause internal problems at McLaren but, this year,

CALENDAR RISKS

because of the risks associated with getting all the material into China in normal time.

Next year’s calendar is slowly taking shape, as the logistics are set to be completely changed, first with the organisation of three test sessions, one in Barcelona followed by two in Bahrain – as exclusively reported by AA in its last (digital) issue.

There will be important modifications in the way the calendar is being prepared, with the goal of making traveling less gruelling for everyone attending all

the races and to reduce the sport’s carbon footprint as well, cutting down the amount of miles done by the sport’s air freight.

One of those changes will be moving the Chinese Grand Prix to the week after the Japanese Grand Prix, as the freight flying out of Osaka on Monday morning after the Suzuka race will land in Shanghai a couple of hours later, giving 36 hours to the local authorities to release it all to the teams – an amount of time that should be enough even for its Customs services …

Brown seems to want to pay his rival back and has started to stir the pot regarding Max Verstappen’s immediate future.

It’s been clear to everyone that the Dutchman will only stay with Red Bull next year if the team proves that, one, they have understood what was wrong with last year’s RB20 and give him a winning car so that he can battle McLaren; and, two, the progress made by the Power Unit matches his expectations of always being in a position to win races right

from the start of 2026.

Many insiders believe that Verstappen is closing in on a deal to join Aston Martin from next year, but Brown put on the table another possibility during the Australian Grand Prix weekend. Referring to the Dutchman’s future, the American told British newspaper

The Telegraph that “I think he’ll leave at the end of this year – most likely to Mercedes …”

The McLaren man expanded on his thinking, saying that “there’s been talk of Aston Martin, too, with Adrian Newey joining. But as great as Adrian is – and he’s the greatest ever – you need a whole team around you. You need the culture. That takes time.”

That’s why, Brown continued: “If I was betting, I’d bet on Mercedes. In the last 10 years, they’ve won the championship seven or eight times. Last year they won five races. “They have stability. We know Toto likes him. And I think we all feel HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] is best-equipped on the Power Unit side heading into the new engine regulations next year ...”

Not on each other’s Christmas card (or email) lists ... Horner (left) and Brown.

The F1 freight was packed straight after the race and left Australia first thing on Monday morning – but some of it was still late arriving at the circuit in China.

VALE EJ: THE ULTIMATE DEALMAKER

EVEN THOUGH EDDIE JORDAN’S HEALTH ISSUES WERE WELL-KNOWN IN THE PADDOCK, NEWS OF HIS PASSING HIT EVERYONE PRETTY HARD AS FORMULA 1 ARRIVED IN SHANGHAI FOR THE SECOND GRAND PRIX OF THE SEASON ...

By LUIS VASCONCELAS

A GOOD measure of the Irishman’s stature within the sport has come not from the public tributes or the FOM-organised photo of all drivers, team principals and top engineers standing together, but by the simple fact that whoever you’d run into on the immense paddock of the Chinese circuit had a story to tell you about their interactions with EJ.

A former driver turned team principal, a driver manager who was a genius at finding sponsorship deals for himself and others, Jordan moved to the role of pundit with so much ease – and was not only there for the money. No, he actually loved sharing his knowledge with the viewers and would delight in shocking his TV colleagues with some nuggets of

information he’d ‘forgotten’ to share during their pre-broadcast briefing!

Known expressions like ‘he could sell freezers to an Eskimo’ applied perfectly to Edmund Patrick Jordan, or EJ, as we all knew him.

This son of an accountant, who at one stage of his

youth believed he should be a priest, became a bank clerk in his early 20s, before a summer trip to Jersey introduced him to karting … and from then on Eddie’s plans featured only one thing – racing.

Being a late starter, EJ won the Irish Karting Championship at the age of 23 and only then moved to Great

Britain, achieving some pretty good results in Formula 3 and Formula Atlantic. He was already 31 yearsold when he did a one-off race in Formula 2, while being helped by Marlboro to do some testing for the McLaren Formula 1 team. But, by then, with a family at home and realising he didn’t have the talent to succeed in Formula 1, EJ had already formed his new team in the British Formula 3 championship. His progress can be best described by a few anecdotes that reflect Jordan’s drive and unorthodox methods.

As Stefan Johansson once told us: “We were team-mates in Formula 3 and got on really well, but I do remember, at Oulton Park, in a short practice session to sort the car out, I wanted to try my two different noses.

1980 and EJ was a British F3 competitor – even then with a serious sponsor on board ... Above: Martin Brundle (#2) blasts off alongside Ayrton Senna in their classic 1983 championship battle. Images: GETTY IMAGES, F1

Above: Un-serious Eddie with a young Martin Brundle ...

Below: 1989 – Jean Alesi at the wheel of Jordan’s Camel-sponsored F3000 Reynard.

“I rushed in mid-session for my other nose, but it was gone – Eddie had pinched it. We had a big bust-up in the caravan afterwards about that!”

Once he stopped racing, EJ focused on running his Formula 3 team and, from the start, had an eye for quick drivers that were well-funded. There were race wins right from the first year, but Eddie Jordan Racing made a name for itself when, with Martin Brundle at the wheel of a Ralt, it took the battle to Ayrton Senna right to the last race of the 1983 championship.

Three more runner-up spots were just frustrating for EJ but, in 1987, he hired Johnny Herbert and together they won the title, moving together to Formula 3000. Jordan had been in and out of this new category whenever drivers would have the budget but, in Herbert, he knew he had a gem, so he made the move even without a big sponsor.

But, of course, he had a plan, as Johnny explained to us: “EJ and I had virtually nothing. He was given a free Reynard chassis, as they were new to F3000 and wanted a competitive team.

“He had a few trucks – Alex Hawkridge from Toleman gave us the engines – but no sponsor. We had an insurance company with us – TL Clowes – and that’s the only sticker we had on the car as we went to Jerez for the first race, having done very good tests before.

“So, I got pole position and Eddie called Duncan Lee, who was running Camel’s sponsorship, told him he had to be part of it, because I was the next big star; I was going to be in Formula One and so on.

“But Duncan told him he had no more money for 1988, having done deals with several Formula One teams and with Pierluigi Martini for F3000. Eddie, of course, wouldn’t let go and eventually got a promise of a meeting on Tuesday after the race if I won the race – I guess just to shut him up. But still, Duncan was telling EJ he had no more money, but Eddie wouldn’t let go.”

For you and me that would have been enough, but not for Jordan, as Herbert recalls:

“Of course, EJ didn’t stop there: late on Saturday night he went to Pierluigi’s team and asked if they had spare Camel stickers – they must have thought he was nuts – and came back with two, so he put them on the side pods of my car. I won the race, he called Duncan, had the meeting and did a deal for the rest of the season … Only Eddie would have been able to pull that deal, bless him …”

Of course, Herbert’s massive crash at Brands Hatch scrapped their chances of winning the title. But, one week later, with Jean Alesi at the wheel of one of his cars, the Irishman won the F3000 title and his appetite for more simply grew.

In fact, success in F3000 made EJ’s dreams of Formula 1 possible and, without a single sponsor in his pocket, he decided 1991 was the year to make it.

A master of cooking a great meal without any ingredients, Jordan knew the man he wanted to design his cars was Gary Anderson but the man from Ulster wasn’t too keen to join in, as he explained to us:

“I knew Eddie, of course, from F3 and F3000 and he kept bugging me to go and work for his new Formula 1 project but I wasn’t buying what he was selling!

“I was happy at Reynard, had two young great engineers with me and we were doing really well, dominating in F3000. We’d helped Moreno win the 1988 championship, but I was also keen in getting into Formula 1. …

“Eventually EJ tells me he has the money, a brand-new factory in Silverstone and so on, so I joined his team – but when I got to the ‘factory’ there was nothing in it – just the walls! So, my first job for the team was as a carpenter, building all the desks, draws and drawing boards so that Andrew Green, Mark Smith and myself could start designing the 1991 car!”

Wheeling and dealing was Jordan’s forte but, without him, the likes of Jean Alesi and Eddie Irvine would have never made it to Formula 1.

The Frenchman recalls that “without Eddie I would have probably stopped racing at the end of 1988. My first F3000 season had been bad, Marlboro had dropped me and as last resort, I took my old Formula 3 car to Macau, with my brother and a couple of mechanics, to try and win it.

That first big F1 win – 1998, at Spa. Damon Hill leads Ralf Schumacher to a famous 1-2 in the pouring rain.

Top left: Most successful driver for Jordan was Heinz-Harald Frentzen, with two wins (of the team’s four), in 1999. Left (from top): Bertrand Gachot debuts the Jordan 191, at the 1991 US GP; EJ understood the need for glamour and promotion; EJ the drummer sometimes played with other F1 ‘musicians’ – the band was appropriately named ‘The V10s’ ...

Opposite (top): Perhaps Eddie’s most famous moment – Michael Schumacher’s F1 debut, at Spa, in 1991. It was also Eddie’s biggest mistake – he hadn’t locked Schumacher in contractually and he accepted a deal from Benetton after this one race.

“I didn’t – the car was old, the engine was tired, and our team was small – and we actually lost an easy top five when a tyre blew up on the last lap. But I still finished on three wheels because I didn’t want to retire.

“So, I was feeling pretty low after the race until José came up to me and said Eddie wanted to see me.

“He offered me a seat in his F3000 team on the spot, even though I had no money and, without knowing it, I also agreed for him to become my manager and my landlord, as I was told I would be living with him and his family. So, Eddie was everything –boss, manager and landlord! But without him, I would have never got that deal to race for Tyrrell and made it to Formula 1.”

Sure, he was chased by many people claiming he owed them money – and most of them were right –but it was impossible to be angry with him for long. Even Bertrand Gachot, who was seriously hard done by, by Jordan, in 1991, losing his drive and finding himself in jail after trusting the Irishman and his lawyer, eventually made peace with

him, entrusting EJ with managing the singing career of one of his daughters!

The way Jordan ran his Formula 1 team was unique and it created a sense of family that still stands more than 20 years after he sold it.

There are still a few dozen people who worked for Jordan Grand Prix still based at Silverstone, now working for Aston Martin, and keeping that close-knit spirit alive, the most visible face being that of Sporting Director Andy Stevenson. Others, like Australians Sam Michael and Tim Edwards, eventually returned home to put to best use the lessons they’d learned

with EJ and Gary Anderson. Everywhere you look in the Formula 1 paddock, there’s a former Jordan man who has learned how to make a lot from very little and is capable of turning his hand into anything – you needed to be a jackof-all-trades when you worked for the Irishman.

EJ’s very Irish ways involved talking non-stop to avoid any dialogue. Most of his sentences were disconnected and never finished but, to the end, he was a man who could see a deal where others would see an unsurmountable obstacle.

That Adrian Newey trusted him enough to hire him as his manager

I won the race, he called Duncan, had the meeting and did a deal for the rest of the season … Only Eddie would have been able to pull that deal, bless him … “ ”

and that EJ managed to get him the biggest ever deal an engineer ever had in motor racing showed he had kept his ability intact until the end. In a way, Jordan’s last deal was his best one, the one he managed to keep secret for a long, long time, and one that could be the catalyst for bigger things for Aston Martin and Honda in Formula 1.

Knowing the end was near, Jordan accepted David Coulthard’s challenge to do a podcast that became an instant success, and he used it masterfully to help him get from Aston Martin the deal he wanted for Newey, spicing up the narrative of a possible move to Ferrari when no-one knew he was managing the genial engineer! But he also did it for the benefit of others, insisting in almost every single episode that people get checked for cancer at the slightest sign that something was not quite right, using his own negative experience of delaying checks for too long as a lesson for all the others.

A fighter until the end, EJ is already missed in the paddock, but the countless anecdotes in which he can feature either as the villain or the hero – sometimes as both in the same story – will keep his memory alive for ever.

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WILLIAMSON WINS, KINGSHOTT DEFENDS TITLE

FINAL ROUND victory was not enough for Callum Williamson to stop Dayne Kingshott from winning the 2024-25 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series at Perth Motorplex.

Williamson and Kingshott have been the dominant drivers all season and that was on full display as they went side-by-side wrestling for both the race win and championship on Saturday night.

Whilst Williamson took a commanding win from the front row, never being headed, Kingshott’s second place was more than enough to secure back-to-back crowns.

In addition to the honour, the Krikke Motorsport driver also enjoyed receiving the $25,000 prize:

“It feels better sitting there (winner’s spot) but it was great to get through and have another good night,” Kingshott said.

“Starting second we sort-of knew he had it sown up so we could actually go out there and have a race for the first time in a long time.

“This is what we aim for. This is the biggest prize in what we do over here and really glad to put another consistent year together with a few wins and podiums.

“Five years ago I was sitting on the lounge dreaming of being in these guys’ position, so it is a pinch myself moment.

“It is cool just to be driving the

Krikke Motorsport hot rod and we are a great group of mates.”

The race was an eventful stop-start affair with a number of stoppages disrupting proceedings.

There was one at the earliest moment with Taylor Milling’s dream of winning from pole over at the first corner, hitting the fence hard.

Also caught up in the chaos were Jaydee Dack and Kris Coyle.

At the second attempt at racing, Brooke Newson also spun before a 10-lap green flag run was also stopped by a spinning Harrison Peet.

Avoiding all the drama was Brad Maiolo, who shot from ninth to third in the early laps but slipped back in the latter stages, which allowed the fast Daniel Harding to lock down third.

Up front, Williamson made good use of the higher line and resisted a challenge from Kingshott to end a

strong season on a high.

“It was definitely a busy race and had a few nervous moments,” he said.

“I felt that if I could get a clean start it was really important, so I made sure my starts were really good and got the lead.

“As soon as Dayne got next to me I did get a bit nervous and I chose the wrong line at a restart and he slid past me at one, so I am just glad I got him back and took the win.

“I knew Dayne had it so was more thinking of the quadruple round because it was something I could get.

“This championship is getting harder and harder each year because it is a long season, so you have to take it as you come and enjoy it while you can.”

Kingshott had a red-hot crack at sealing the title with a win and even

VEAL WINS AGAIN

JAMIE VEAL (pictured) has carried on a successful 2025 by winning the Victorian SRA 360LS Sprintcar title at Premier Speedway on March 29.

Veal took an intense victory having held off last season’s Australian champion Lockie McHugh and Tate Frost.

It continues Veal’s success, having recently won the Victorian Sprintcar Title, also at Premier Speedway, just a fortnight earlier.

It was not an easy race to finish as seven drivers retired amid the hot pace.

Veal’s speed was evident in the heats as he just fell short to Northern Territory product Will Carol in the

opener, while Daniel Storer led a host of Victorians in Heat 2.

McHugh put the #A1 into P1 in Heat 3 over Steven Horton as Ben Morris overcame John Vogels.

Veal made another statement by hitting back against Carol in Heat 5 as Brett Milburn also claimed victory.

The last two of the eight heats were claimed by Brendan Guerin and Morris with the former overcoming the likes of Frost and McHugh.

Spots were limited in the B-Main and Harry Ross was able to take victory over James Oliver and Sam Wren, while Milburn only managed fourth, but that was still

hit the lead, but was forced to lament a whack with the wall.

“I was looking at my steering wheel because I hit the wall that hard my head went down so I thought I was in a bit of trouble,” he said.

“But I dragged it off the fence and, a second later, you forget about it.

“I felt like we had the car speed to at least run with Callum and even beat him, but he made better decisions.

“It feels like we are joined at the hip Callum and I in these races, but it is what it is and it is pretty cool.”

Thomas Miles

MADDINGTON TOYOTA SPRINTCAR SERIES POINTS

1: Dayne Kingshott 3222

2: Callum Williamson 3170

3: Taylor Milling 2854

4: Kaiden Manders 2844

5: Andrew Priolo 2812

Feature: 1st Callum Williamson, 2nd Dayne Kingshott, 3rd Daniel Harding, 4th AJ Nash, 5th Andrew Priolo, 6th Aaron Chircop, 7th Jason Pryde, 8th Brad Maiolo,  9th Kris Coyle, 10th James Inglis, 11th Ryan Farrell, 12th Daniel Hartigan, 13th Michael Keen, 14th Shaun Bradford, 15th Chad Pittard, 16th Michael Keen, 17th Myles Bolger, 18th Mikey Green, 19th Harrison Peet. DNF: Brooke Newson, Cameron McKenzie, Jaydee Dack and Taylor Milling.

enough to get into the big race. Super Rods and Production Sedans were also on show being won by

Jamie May and Shane Hammond respectively. Thomas Miles

WA double act – the Williamson and Kingshott teams. Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY

Images: RICHARD HATHAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY

PESTKA BACKS IT UP

THE 360CI/LS Sprintcars roared back into life at Borderline Speedway where Daniel Pestka and his crew (right) defended his South Australia’s State Sprintcar Title.

While South Aussie Pestka was looking to defend his title from last year, Murray Bridge’s Ryan Jones and Bendigo’s Rusty Hickman had other ideas, as they came to race at the famed ‘Bullring.’

Adelaide young gun Ben Morris topped the times with the quickest lap time in practice, of 12.066 seconds, in the Victorian V45 car, owned by David Challons from Melbourne.

The action started early, right from hot laps, with heat wins going to Ryan Jones, Steven Loader, Brendan Guerin and Ben Morris.

The battle for the State Title came to a close with cars hitting the track

for the feature race, opened by the prestigious four-wide salute to the crowd.

Ben Morris and Pestka faced off the front row with Morris charging to an early lead. Without completing a full lap after the green flag, Rusty Hickman collected the wall

when exiting turn four bringing the track to a standstill on the yellow stoppage lights, prompting for a full restart.

Morris, once again, took to the lead but, unfortunately, hooked a rut exiting Turn 2 and went back four positions before the first lap

was completed after the restart. After his incident in the opening lap, Rusty Hickman held on for a further two laps with a damaged race car, but ultimately succumbed to the damage when another incident took place on lap three.

That included Craig Vanderstelt and home hope Scott Enderl, ultimately ending all three drivers’ nights early, winding up on the infield.

Upon the restart, Strathalbyn’s Daniel Pestka showed no mercy and took off with the race lead, never looking back, in the Stark Pestka, Port MacDonnell-based S27 car, leading all 30 laps to seal the deal on his second consecutive 360ci/LS State Title at Mt Gambier’s Borderline Speedway.

With Port MacDonnell just 27km away, it was a sweet success.

Ben Jordan

BARBER WINS STATE SPEEDWAY TITLE

JAIMI BARBER has claimed her second state Ladies Standard Saloon Victorian title crown with victory at Alexandra Speedway Club on March 22.

Barber came through after an unfortunate end for the driver who led the majority of the race, defending champion Ally Morrison and Courtney Meakins.

It was a special triumph for Barber, claiming the win in front of family and friends.

Almost 20 competitors lined up for the Ladies Standard Saloon title and it was a dramatic and attritional affair.

Both Morrison and Meakins retired whilst leading the race, mechanical issues ending their quest for victory. Morrison’s was as a result from damage after hitting the concrete as she weaved through traffic and then getting tangled up with another competitor.

Other drivers exiting the title race included Meyer whose engine bay went boom, Maddi Bransgrove who slammed the wall, and then Meakins, whilst leading, when her car started to run hot, leaving a cloud of steam from under the bonnet.

This allowed Barber to assume control of the race for the final six laps and take a special triumph ahead of Sarah Meakins and Zoe Young.

“Ally and Courtney were the strongest tonight. They won the most qualifiers and led the race. I feel their heartache at not finishing,” admitted Barber.

“I had a good car though and I thank those that help me, and the result is deserving of their efforts and support.

“Well done to the other podium Ladies and let’s do this again next year – right.”

In Junior Sedans racing, the Top Stars and New Stars competed together through the evening.

Will Fallon proved why he is the current South Australian champion then stamped his class on the final with a huge win ahead of Robinson, whilst Jai Hallett was too good for Abela and Chaz Fallon.

Dirt Modified action returned – a class that has not competed at Alexandra since the conversion from the former Hot Rod class it used to be.

The class driver of the open wheel 360ci engine powered class was Daryl Hickson.

Hickson won both qualifiers before defeating son and father competitors Marcus and Steve Reddecliffe.

Australian Compact Speedcar champion Justin Paull from Millgrove then won a tense final.

Paull, AJ Wiles and Duane Cordina and Wiles all led the final with Paull snatching the lead with two laps to go.

Victorian Wingless champion Brad Warren was racing in front his Lilydale based car owner Steve Garlick’s family but Michael Conlan led the first 11 of 20 laps in the feature event.

But then Warren picked him off to go and record victory.

A rollover during the race involving Daryl Coon and Super2 driver Jordyn Sinni ruled them out.

Rhys Meakins dominated the Sports Sedans leading all 15 laps in the final.

Alexandra provides more race action on April 5th with the Ladies Sports Sedans Victorian title plus all club classes.

Dean Thompson

Image: BEN JORDAN/HOUR OF POWER

Jaimi Barber avoided the drama to take the Ladies title. Below: Daryl Hickson dominated Dirt Modifieds. Images: STEVE MITCHELL – IMAGEWORK PHOTOGRAPHY

NAILING IT AT NYORA

THERE WAS something for everyone in a big event at Nyora Speedway in March with lots of racing on hand.

In Dirt Modifieds David Clark started the race proceedings with a race time that was not far away from the track record for the class.

But he did not win by much as Michael Ardley, Marcus Reddecliffe and Daryl Hickson won the heats by less than a second.

However, Australian champion Kevin Britten then won the pole shootout by 0.165s from Zac McDonald ahead of the 50-lap final. Britten led McDonald when the lights went out as the first retirement was on lap 16 with Reddecliffe dropping out of the top five.

The front five remained in position until lap 36 when McDonald’s run came to an end on the infield.

Pezzutti at this point was relegated to the rear of the field for the restart with Britten leading Clark.

Reddecliffe was a late retirement as Clark could not quite get close enough to Britten, who controlled the rest of the race to win by 0.678s.

“It’s been a huge two weeks here In Victoria – first the national title victory and now the big win here at Nyora – we are ecstatic,” Britten said.

“A big thanks to the Victorian club for their hospitality this past week and a bit. They were terrific as always. Thanks to my team for everything they do, and they do so well. I guess we will have to try and come back to the 50-lapper again next season.”

Nyora’s prestigious Robert Bickham Memorial for Sports Sedans was another race to watch.

Dean Miller had won the last three renditions of the event and came into the weekend as a major favourite to win along with his brother Brendan and David Donegan from Healesville.

Getting the best of the start, Brendan claimed the race lead from brother Damien on lap one but could only stay in front for six laps.

The leaders continued on their way until lap 33 where Brendan Miller’s race came to an end.

This left Damien out in the lead with a handful of laps to go ahead of Scott Angus and that was the

way it remained with Seth Bent joining them on the podium.

Damien was thrilled to keep the winning streak alive at such an emotional event.

“Everybody knows Brendan and I were well supported by Woggy (Bickham) as young drivers coming through the sport. He was one of our biggest fans,” he said.

“As we grew into adults and continued through Crash and Bash and especially Sports Sedan and Endurance racing, Bickham would always come and check on us.

“It meant a lot then and means a lot now to honour him. Thank you to my team and supporters for everything they put into our racing and thank you to Nyora for continuing to hold this race respectfully for Woggy.”

In supporting class action Zoe Young returned to Speedway after quite a bit of time away from the sport as she raced for the Catani

based Miles family team with teammate Maddison Miles. Young won the two heat races comfortably despite her absence from the sport before leading the feature race all the way to win from another Miles family team member Kath House-George and Lea Judd. Junior Sedans also competed with Nathan Miles winning the first of two heat races comfortably before Jackson Heaphy pounced after early leader Jaylen Knight exited the race with mechanical issues.

Brad Marshall led briefly before Miles dropped out of second and out of the race and Heaphy came through and passed Marshall to win.

Miles then led the final from the second lap forward with Tristan Jarred in second after passing Knight for the spot. Miles went on to win from Jarred, Knight, Marshall and Heaphy.

During the night fans loved the motorcycle freestyle action and then went home happy after 11 crazies crashed their cars into each other during a Demolition Derby before Kayn Shmal in a Station Wagon went on to win the big Derby event.

Nyora is next scheduled to hold a race meeting on April 5.

Dean Thompson

Damien Miller – keeping it in the family ... Below: Kevin Britten controlled the Dirt Modifieds feature. Images: SPEEDYSHUTTERS PHOTOGRAPHY – ISABELLE WORBOYS

SHORTIS GOES BIG

NATHAN SHORTIS (pictured) was the big winner from a big night of racing at Wahgunyah Speedway on March 15.

Six heat races plus a pole shuffle were run by the Goulburn Ovens Sedan Association Blue Shed Services Series for the fifth round of the series.

Marty Bassett claimed a heat in a terrific battle with his main competitor Shortis caught up in an incident with Alex Gouveia.

Ross Maclean won the second heat by almost half a lap. Ben Schmetzer won the next, but Shortis hit back in the fourth whilst Justin Brockley in the Mitch Watts race car he was steering, seen the engine bay go up in smoke.

Maclean was victorious again in the fifth with Shortis claiming the final qualifying heat win.

The pole shuffle final battle came down to Maclean and Shortis with Maclean coming out the victory to claim pole position for the final.

For the first five laps Shortis held the lead of the race in front of Maclean with Schmetzer in third.

Nothing changed until lap 14 when Maclean’s race came to an end with Shortis leading Ben and Tommy Schmetzer, Cunningham and Brandan Lovell to the finish.

Terry Brown started well in the Grand Prix with a first-up heat race win over visiting Sydney racer Gary Bowyer in heat one as Paul Perry spun himself out of contention.

Matt Kamolins and Jesse Nicholas claimed the following two heat race wins before the 15-lap final for the little mostly 1000cc engine powered class.

In the second heat Mark Cecil lost a wheel, which put him out of the race, while Johnny Rouse did not get to start the final with a flat tyre being spotted by Stewards and Rouse being directed infield to watch the feature.

Bowyer led every lap in the final to win by almost half a lap of the huge Wahgunyah Speedway with Kamolins second then Paul Perry, Shawn Ward and Brown.

In Standard Saloon action CorowaRutherglen Speedway Clubs number one Standard Saloon competitor Micheal Fleming Robertson won all

three heat races contested.

With the third heat the closest when he was challenged by Yarrawonga based racer Trevor Evans.

After trailing Evans on lap one of the final, Fleming-Robertson assumed control of the feature race to lead Evans to the finish line with Rhyse Lavender and Keith Cattermole following behind.

Racing at Wahgunyah returns on April 26 with the Grand Prix Midgets racing for a national title and the Late Model Sedans Victorian title. Dean Thompson

RIECK ROARS TO VICTORIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

CHRIS RIECK (right) overcame 77 competitors to win the 2024//25 Victorian Sports Sedan Title at Redline Raceway on Saturday March 15.

Rieck found himself in a fierce battle with defending Victorian champion Jamie Lock who almost completed a back-to-back result.

Three rounds of qualifiers for the Sports Sedan title provided 21 heat races with Brendan Miller the only driver to win all three of his heats which was enough to put him in pole position in the title race.

Miller was also the fastest winner of the heats in his very first heat race with a 10-lap time of 2:56.528.

But it was defending champion Lock who led the field past the start-finish line on the opening lap before a big crash took a large chunk of the field out of contention.

Brendan Miller, Caleb Lincoln, Jay Nicolaisen, Corey Knox and Nathan O’Brien were all ruled out after a clash in turns 1-2.

Lock led the first eight laps with Rieck on the charge.

Having started back on the sixth row, he flew up to second by lap eight.

But it was Donegan, who took the lead on lap 15 with a neat move from third to first.

Then on lap 20 it was Rieck’s turn as Donegan was penalised for passing from underneath the pole line. Rieck went on to claim victory over Lock and Donegan with Shane Simpson fourth.

Kacey Ingram made the trip from Warragal worthwhile when he won all three of his qualifying heats before winning the feature event for the Standard Saloon category.

The other heats went to Ballarat’s Bailey Sinclair, Mitch Foster, and Austin.

However, Ingram was never headed in the final, despite being seriously challenged all the way and almost passed late in the race by Foster who attempted to slide up the inside of Ingram through turn three. Ingram taking the feature race win by just .849 with foster ahead of Zac Barwise, Austin Chivers and Sinclair. Redline Raceway returns on March 29th with the Wingless Sprints Super Series, the Standard Saloon Gold Rush and Unlimited Sedans.

Dean Thompson

Image: VERN PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY

Image: IMAGEWORX PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE MITCHELL

AUSTRALIAN TARMAC RALLY GETS GOING

THE 2025 Australian Tarmac Rally Championship fired up with the Lake Mountain Sprint held recently and the fight for victory was a thriller.

A total of 40 competitors took to the tarmac across eight classes on a course that ran from Marysville to Cumberland Junction.

Off the track it was also a challenging event for the organisers with extreme fire risks ensuring the schedule was squeezed into the morning on some days.

Then, by the end of the weekend, rain arrived, but after tackling all the elements just one stage was missed across the entire event.

Dean Lillie and Chris Exner made their intentions for overall victory clear in their Mazda RX7. They built a strong 30s advantage on the opening day alone, leaving Jason and Fiona Wright (Nissan R35) and Xavier Franklin and Jaidyn Gluskie (Porsche GT4) to battle it out for second.

However, the rain on Sunday created a late curve-ball as it favoured Franklin, who slashed Lillie’s advantage to just 8s and setting up and final stage showdown.

Wight gave it everything and even set the fastest time of the stage, but fell just short with Lillie taking victory by a slender 3.7s.

He enjoyed an easier route to Early Modern 2WD victory by more than eight minutes ahead of Mark Balcombe (Mazda RX7 FD3S SP).

This left Wright to settle for a comfortable Modern Super Rally class win being 9m04s clear of Max Williams and Bruce Bush.

The Modern AWD class was a much closer affair with Scott

Coppleman and Matt Van Rooye taking an early lead.

The Subaru WRX Sti emerged clear of David and Jackie Thirlwall as the pair wrestled for top honours throughout the opening day.

By the end of it Coppleman had a 25s margin over Thirlwall. Steve Marek and Cindy Pearce also showed speed, posting the fastest time in SS3, only to lose a wheel.

Coppleman appeared destined for victory, only for an ‘off ‘on SS10 to prove extremely costly.

This allowed Thirlwall and Barrie and Jan Smith to battle it out on the final day and Thirlwall initially struggled, losing 36s on the first stage.

Both entries scored stage wins throughout but Thirlwall prevailed to the tune of over three minutes.

There were only four competitors in Modern 2WD and a battle was brewing early.

Xavier Franklin and Jaidyn Gluskie (Porsche GT4) and Mark Griffiths and Neil Wooley (Mercedes AMG GTR) tussled early.

But soon, Griffiths’ challenge faded after receiving a five-minute penalty and Franklin hit his stride, claiming a comfortable 4m30s triumph.

Neil and Sue Cuthbert bolted out of the blocks in their Lancer to gain an early lead in Early Modern AWD that was dominated by Mitsubishis. However, setbacks soon started coming with a spin, turbo damage and a flat tyre ending their class victory chances.

Despite a comeback from Justin Waterhouse (EVO) four straight stage wins made John and Janet Ireland (EVO X) a winning force.

Fan favourties Jonathan Moir and Brad Jones expected an easy time of

it in Classic Super Rally.

Their pristine blue Ford Escort built a convincing five-minute lead on the opening day but a broken exhaust slowed them down on day two.

This brought Meng Chung and Doug Ferrie into the picture but they fell 90s short.

Just three cars took part in Classic but it was still intriguing to watch.

Thomas Dermody and Mac Kierans (Ford Escort RS1600) built a commanding seven-minute advantage early on and were never challenged.

However, the fight for second was a thriller with the difference just 0.6s at one point.

In the end Keith Morling made it an Escort one-two by just 16s ahead of Hugh Feggans.

Joel and Ben Argentino (Holden VU SS) looked set for victory in Rally Challenge, but a late slip proved costly.

They led all weekend and had more than a minute up their sleeve before a late ‘off’ on the final stage allowed Oliver Ridge (Nissan Silvia) to steal the class victory.

In Rally Sport rookie Michael Chora (Subaru WRX Sti) started strongly but lost momentum as the rally went on.

Despite a dramatic spin, Jeremy Dennison (Holden Commodore) came to grips with his new car took class honours by four minutes.

Thomas Miles

WIEDMAN TAKES THRILLING OPENER

THE 2025 Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship kicked off in spectacular fashion alongside the ARC in Canberra.

Queenslander Josh Wiedman and co-driver KJ Miller (above) emerged as the standout performers, taking the overall victory with speed and consistency.

Finishing second overall was multiple NSW Rally Champion Tony Sullens, showcasing his skills by taking to the more powerful 4WD cars in his 2WD Citroën DS3.

Rounding out the podium in the 16-car field was Andrew Penny in his Subaru WRX alongside Rhys Llewellyn.

Reigning champions Josh Redhead and Ray Winwood-Smith won Heats 2 and 3, but were never in contention due to a Heat 1 oil pump failure.

Jackson Long stood out driving a Subaru Impreza RS co-driven by his father Damien. Long’s debut in the ARC Junior category marked a significant milestone – making it three generations of the Long family to compete in the ARC.

Long Junior started strongly, finishing fifth in the state leaderboard.

“It was a big team effort to get it all done, so I’m proud of the whole team for digging in and getting it done”, said winner Wiedman.

Sullens admitted he was surprised to be best of the rest.

“We didn’t come with any great expectations,” he said.

“Being 2WD we just wanted to go fast, keep it clean and see how it ended up.

“It’s a tough little car, that Citroën, so we didn’t have any problems with reliability other than a couple of punctures, and I think we’ve been struggling with a strut which caused us to lose a bit of time, but apart from that it was good.”

The next round is the Coffs Harbour Rally on May 3

Thomas Miles Image: ROY MEURONEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Dean Lillie heads for victory. Images: ANGRYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Thomas Dermody was never headed in Classic.

SETTING THE PACE

THE VICTORIAN Motor Race Championship kicked off on March 8-9 at the familiar Winton Motor Raceway, THOMAS MILES reports…

VICTORIAN V8 SERIES

THOSE WATCHING the Victorian V8 Series could have been mistaken for being in the 1990s as retroliveried Holdens dominated.

In the opening race alone, the top six was awash with Holden Commodores and many were running some popular HRT liveries.

Brian Finn was undoubtably the top driver, winning the first race by a whopping 20s.

Winning a much closer battle for second was Mark Houenix in his 1996 liveried Peter Brock inspired car over another VY in Aaron Wheatley.

Greg Lynch bowled a wide at Turn 1 and paid the price by finishing eighth.

As Finn went back to back, Lynch pulled off a fightback to reclaim second by just a second over Wheatley.

The Holden domination only strengthened in Race 2 as the top nine was all dominated by the brand.

The 1999 HRT liveried Commodores again led the field in Race 3 was Luke Wall put a Monaro in the top three.

Trouble again struck Lynch in the finale and he fell to eighth as Finn

completed the perfect weekend, only after Wheatley gave him a run for his money and Mark Kakouri raced his VH to third.

VICTORIAN SUPER TT

IT WAS a two-horse race in Victorian Super TT where a Holden went head to head with Lotus.

With the leading pair lapping 4s faster than the rest, Glen Postlethwaite led the way in the Holden VY Commodore, beating David Buntin by 3s.

This gap was reduced by a second in the second race where four drivers failed to finish.

Although Buntin was faster over one lap, he could not get close enough over a race distance with Postlethwaite getting a sweep with Wayne Alway’s Mazda a distant third.

SPORTS COMPACT

THIS CATEGORY brought a wide variety of cars to the grid and leading the way was Linda Devlin in a Mini Cooper.

Devlin took pole by almost a second, but had to overcome a fight with James Harris’ Datsun Bluebird in the opening race.

Race 2 was a dramatic affair where four retired and Devlin’s grip on victory was broken by Harris.

Harris was then unstoppable for the rest of the weekend and took

Brian Finn leads the Vic V8s as Geoff Lynch checks out the lawn ... Top: BMW clean sweep – Royce Lyne. Above: Jeff Stubbs showed them the way round in Stock Cars Australia with his TA2 Dodge. Images: GEOFF

three wins on the bounce to snatch the win with the final race decided by just a second.

BMW E30

SPEARHEADING THE one-make series was Royce Lyne, controlling the field from start to finish.

Lyne was 7s clear of Ashley Rogers before opening that margin to 13s.

He would go onto record a clean sweep, but only won the final race over Rogers by 2s.

It was even closer for third with Ben Munro edging Jesse Bryan.

STOCK CARS AUSTRALIA

A MORE modern car led the way in Stock Cars Australia with Jeff Stubbs driving a TA2 Dodge.

His 2018 machine led the way with Jeff Stubbs overcoming a series of Chevrolets.

He led Daniel Stubbs by 4s and won by a similar margin in Race 2. However, the third race was much closer with just three-tenths splitting the pair in the final race.

Third was always a battle between the Silverados with Robert Marchese leading Brendan O’Connor.

Round 2 sees the VMRC jump across the border for the only time in 2025 with a round at The Bend Motorsport Park on May 3-4.

COLSON- COLSON PHOTOGRAPHY

KICK OFF IN QUEENSLAND

THE 2025 Queensland Circuit Racing State Championship began at Morgan Park on March 22-23 with a wide range of categories producing some unbelievable finishes.

Kicking things off were 3J, 3E and Invited which produced some enthralling racing.

The first race was one of the closest ever with just 0.017s the difference with Bruce Cook’s Ford Escort Mk1 edging ahead of Matt Dwyer’s Toyota Celica.

Cook enjoyed more comfortable wins across the rest of the weekend and recorded a clean sweep with the fight for second especially close in Race 3 where three cars were split by half a second.

The Super Mini Challenge saw car #1 start on P1 with Brayden Larkin in a league of his own.

Larkin in just eight laps pulled a huge 24s margin of victory with Anthony Elliott a safe second.

Race 2 was attritional with three cars retiring and two not starting, but Larkin remained well out front.

His biggest challenge arrived in Race 3 with Elliott just 3s behind, while in the finale he lapped 6s faster than everyone else to secure a sweep as seven cars did not make the finish.

Providing some open wheel flavour and some unforgettable finishes were the Formula Vees.

The first race was an instant classic with Alexander Hedemann, Alex MacDonald and Oliver Seibel separated by just 0.15s at the chequered flag.

Race 2 was even closer was MacDonald edging Hedemann by just 0.03s in a duel to the death.

Hedeman and MacDonald continued their tussle on Sunday where they again split the honours albeit by greater margins of victory.

A small, but powerful field of Sports Sedans took on Morgan Park.

Bursting out of the blocks from a rolling start was the Daniel Crompton Ford Mustang, taking the opener by 6s over Grant Draney’s

Whilst Crompton went back to back in the evening, it was a tighter race with his margin halved and Timothy Tritton inserting his Honda into second.

Just four cars finished the Sunday morning race with two retiring.

Crompton stayed out in front as Mark Wright shot to second in his red Commodore.

Yet another clean sweep was completed by a comfortable 15s margin by the Mustang driver, while Tritton and Wright returned to the podium.

Radical was the car to have in Sports and Racing Cars, dominating the front of the field, but putting on a mighty show.

Although Carmelo Bonaventura led all eight laps he did so by not that much with Grant Green just four tenths adrift and Michael McMillian only eight-tenths off the pace.

The leading non Radical was another 16s further adrift.

Green then went one better in Race 2, sneaking half a second clear of Bonaventura as Kirk Batchelor made it an all Radical top four.

Paul Stokell waited until Race 3 to make an impact and did so in some fashion by snatching the race win having set a hot pace.

Stokell then went back-to-back by a solid 4s margin in another convincing drive as only 11 of the 17-car field made the finish and yet

again Radicals were the leading four.

A big pack of Excels charged around Morgan Park and there was not much change at the top of the leaderboard.

Straight away three drivers put the foot down and produced a special fight for victory with just half a second covering the podium finishes.

The man who just got the job done was Luke Rinaldi, creeping clear of Jackson Cooper and George Wood.

Rinaldi went back-to-back in a tougher second race that claimed more victims.

This time the special fight was for second as just three-tenths covered a three-car pack led by Cooper.

However, fans were treated to a photo finish early Sunday morning as just a second covered the entire top five.

But that only told part of the story with only four-tenths covering the top four and Jack Wood was the one to emerge victorious.

Cooper got his first win in Race 4 and had to work for it, being just 0.018s ahead of Wood and Rinaldi.

The fifth race was again another nail-biter where Wood got his time at the top, denying Cooper by threetenths as the entire top five were split by just seven-tenths.

Seven Holden HQs went racing and two drivers were a cut above the rest.

Seth Mathie and Justin van Twest left the field for dust and tussled for victory.

They were 29s clear in just eight laps with Mathie getting the opener by just over a second.

With van Twest an opening lap retirement in Race 2, Mathie enjoyed a much smoother journey to victory by the best part of 30s with Holly Espray the best of the rest.

Van Twest was back in a clean Race 3 and gave Mathie a push, 4s back.

Despite van Twest retiring on Lap 3, the fourth and final race was the best.

Espray gave it everything, but could not quite get close enough and fell eight-tenths short of denying Mathie a clean sweep.

Chev Monte Carlo.

Luke Rinaldi leads a packed field of Excels. Below: Daniel Crompton’s Mustang took a clean sweep in Sports Sedans. Images: SERIES X3 CLUB QUEENSLAND INC FACEBOOK

SHINING IN THE SA SUN

THE WEATHER was perfect but numbers were down for Round 2 of the South Australian Motor Racing Championshp at Shell V Power Motorsport Park on March 22-23.

Joel Johnson once again set the pace in Circuit Excel Trophy to take the win but he had an ever-present shadow all weekend in the shape of Aaron Oliver.

Braiden Colwill gets faster with every event and came out on top of a tight battle for third ahead of Aleeanz Voltz, Jackson Sullivan and Brodi Dominic.

Glenn Mackenzie claimed Circuit Excel Masters honours after a few tussles with Brian Smith while Kim Anderson narrowly edged out Matthew Seymour and Vaughan Colwill for third. Robert Zoanetti was out for the weekend after a big shunt in qualifying.

It was the Micheal Bartsch show in SA Sports Sedans and Tin Tops, the Chev V8-powered Toyota 86 running away from the opposition.

Ben Madden (Toyota Supra) was a distant second ahead of the Honda Civic of Gavin Ward. Stephen Turner was the best of the Minis and Gregory Lesnikowski (Holden Monaro) took a lonely SA Tin Top win.

Simon Gardiner (Norma M20) made a clean sweep of South Australian Super Sports, comfortably beating Tim Cook (Wolf GB08 CN), with Gauravkumer Patel (Wolf Mistral) a lucky third.

Philip Andrawos (Wolf GB08

Thunder) was fastest in qualifying but failed to finish one of the three races.

Sam Milton (Wolf GB08) also showed good speed but suffered the same fate as Andrawos.

What looked like an easy Saloon Car win on paper for Wayne King (Ford Falcon AU) was anything but.

Jayden Jamieson (Holden Commodore VY) had pushed King all the way in Saturday’s races.

But in Race 1 on Sunday the

Commodore cried enough after seven laps and King could breath a sigh of relief. James Jaeschke (Ford Falcon AU) ended the weekend in P2 just a few points ahead of Blair Davies (Ford falcon AU).

David Lines (Holden Commodore VZ) looked set to be the best of the rest after Jamieson’s exit but didn’t front for the final race.

There was a bigger than usual field of HQs but it was no surprise to see the familiar number 48 of Darren Jenkins at the front of the pack.

Lee Smith picked up P2 ahead of Nathan Roberts while veteran HQ racer Allan Smith made a rare appearance but was out of luck only finishing one race on Saturday.

David Batchelor

Joel Johnson won a tight Excel contest. Below: Darren Jenkins was the HQ to beat. Images: DAVID BATCHELOR

Greg Lesnikowski took out the SA Tin Top win in his Monaro. Above: SA Super Sports saw another dominant winner – in this case Simon Gardiner (Norma M20).

OVERCOMING THE RAIN

THERE WAS a wide range of categories making up the rest of the opening event of the Motorsport Australia Trophy Tour, including the start of another Aussie Racing Cars season, RICCARDO BENVENUTI was there …

AUSSIE RACING CARS

Heavy hitters Joel Heinrich and Kody Garland shared spoils during a hard fought start to the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.

Driving the first Triple Eight-built chassis, Garland enjoyed success, claiming pole but could not stop reigning champion Heinrich from taking out the weekend.

The opener was a closely fought affair with only 0.5s separating the first three places with Heinrich edging Garland and Mason Harvey.

Race 2 was again a battle between these three prominent drivers, but Reese Chapman made a great to hit the lead.

However, not all was well for Chapman as he dropped to fourth before retiring.

Garland then took over the lead before a Safety Car for Josh Anderson and, when racing resumed, Heinrich made his move and wrestled away a hard-fought victory.

The third race became a non-event as there was a major start-line collision that halted events for a long period of time. The race was Red flagged immediately. In wet conditions a

stalled car had copped a significant hit from an unsighted car behind.

The final racestill took place and Heinrich dominated in the wet conditions, taking a comfortable win from Garland and Chapman.

TOYOTA GAZOO SCHOLARSHIP SERIES

The Toyota Gazoo continued their championship from Phillip Island and ,on this occasion, rising female star Alice Buckley took a special round win.

The Castrol-sponsored Buckley claimed pole position in front of a massive 41-car field.

Charlie Parker enjoyed his moment by winning the opener in strong fashion.

Parker opened up a solid 3s buffer on opening round winner Jordan Freestone, while Buckley impressed to appear on the podium.

Just four-tenths split second and third in a tight tussle as Isaac Demellweek and Otis Sands were the only DNFs.

In wet conditions Buckley rose to the occasion to take what would become the deciding race win.

Whilst only two racing laps were possible, Buckley shot from third to first as the top two from the previous race went backwards. Parker dropped to sixth, while Freestone had dramas and slipped all the way down to 35th.

Romeo Nasr and Liam Gerges did enough to stand on the podium.

More racing was hoped for in the final race, but it was stopped due to a large pile up at turn 3.

Multiple cars were damaged with Salvatore Imbrogno, Kade Davey and Nasr all spinning, while another driver got airborne and subsequently the race was Red flagged.

NSW HQ HOLDEN RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

Brett Osborn came up trumps by winning a hard-fought affair in Race 1, where he edged out Luke Harrison on the final stretch home with Jarrod

Harber third.

In Race 2, Harrison got his revenge by winning from Harber and David Proglio.

The third sprint was a wild affair. The start was clean with all drivers completing lap one with no problems – but when the field arrived at Turn 1 for the following lap, they were greeted by two rivers of water running across the track and just five of the 15-car field stayed on the track with the rest spinning off.

All rejoined the field as Harrison survived to take the win from Harber and Proglio.

SUPERKARTS

Laurie Fooks (LFR) dominated the event by winning all three races. Stuart Robertson and Paul Battle were best of the rest, while Jock Dos Santos edged out Robertson in Race 2.

In the final Race, Tony Moit had strong speed and finished second ahead of Paul Battle.

Champ Heinrich took three from three in the Aussie Race Cars. Below left: Buckley leads a swarm (?) of Toyotas ... Below: Luke Harrison took the HQ points while (bottom), all of these Toyotas survived the fracas ... Images: RICCARD BENVENUTI, PRICELESS IMAGES

TAUNTON STEALS SPORTS SEDANS OPENER

STEVE TAMASI dominated the opening round of the 2025 National Sports Sedan Series, but it was Geoff Taunton who took the honours at SMP.

The 2025 season sparked at the opening Motorsport Australia Trophy Tour event at Sydney Motorsport and unexpectedly became an enthralling affair as Taunton snatched it at the death and led a special 1-2 for the drivers running IRC GTSS variants.

All weekend Tamasi and his rapid Holden Calibra appeared impossible to catch.

After taking pole by a huge 1.2s, Tamasi was never headed in the #9 and led the whole way to the chequered flag on Saturday.

Even when the rain arrived on Sunday morning, the Domain Prestige Homes driver was still unchallenged, driving 5s away from Taunton in the spray.

As a result, many anticipated Tamasi would cruise to victory in Sunday’s 11-lap feature.

After a single file start due to the track conditions and an earlier Aussie Racing Cars accident, the Holden Calibra led the first two laps and had already built a 5s advantage on wets – but that suddenly started fading as the dry line took control.

Now flying on slicks, Taunton caught Tamasi at the hairpin – not all was well in the Calibra before a sudden noise spelt the end for Tamasi and the Calibra.

The 2018 champion pulled over on the exit of Turn 1 with a suspected broken extractor along with more significant engine issue.

With the consistent Taunton doing what he needed to do and taking a comfortable 45s win over fellow MARC racer Steven Lacey, the overall round win went to the Queenslander.

Taunton was thrilled both the tyre gamble and push for consistency paid off.

“It goes to show you must be there at the end to win it and our cars may not be quite as fast, but are ultra reliable,” he told Auto Action.

“It is only the first round, but I loved getting the win.

“We were all up on the roof trying to predict the weather and it (slicks) was a well-educated guess. I was confident it was not going to rain anymore, but how greasy the track surface was the question.

“I took it sensibly across the first few laps before the track came to us and we were able to knock out steady 1m32s and that got us the win.

“It was always going to be hard doing the changeover to Sports Sedans, taking the ABS unit out and giving a lot of weight, nearly 200kg to some of the others, who have at least around 100 horsepower more. I also have to get my head around the Hankook tyre.

“We had to do it on consistency and being there all of the time because they have some magnificent cars.”

For Tamasi, it was a nasty stroke of luck after being so dominant.

“Had to retire unfortunately. In the

last race everything was all good, but coming onto the main straight I heard a noise and thought it was time to shut it down,” he told Auto Action.

“It was quite loud, so straight away I thought I had to stop the car.

“We have done a small teardown of the car and it could be a possible extractor, tappet or – worse –something to do with the engine.

“We were having a great weekend apart from it falling apart when it all mattered ... but it is a long year ahead and hopefully that is the end of our bad luck.

“In Sports Sedans the engines are so highly strung, with everything to the limit and that is what we sign up for.”

Finishing the final race was an achievement in itself with Brad Shiels, Michael Robinson, Nick Smith, James Harwood and Glenn Pro all failing to finish as well. Lacey followed Taunton home to complete an IRC 1-2, while Cadel Ambrose was rewarded for effort.

After being forced to fix the Audi A4 after a high-speed practice scare, Ambrose fought his way through the field and up to third on the road.

The overall fight for round honours was tight with just five points splitting Taunton and Lacey, while Ashley Jarvis was consistent in his Monaro and got third.

Locals Matt Sims in the white BMW and Chris Jackson in another Calibra secured top five round finishes.

Whilst the Des Wall Trophy is usually contested at SMP, the prestigious prize will be staged at the Phillip Island finale.

Sports Sedans will fire up again at Queensland Raceway on May 30 to June 1.

Thomas Miles

SPORTS SEDANS STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 1

1: Geoff Tauton 126 points

2: Steven Lacey 121

3: Ashely Jarvis 103

4: Matt Sims 96

5: Chris Jackson 81

Tamasi (#9) set the pace in the Feature, but mechanical problems handed it to Taunton (above). Below: Steven Lacey heads the chasing pack. Images: MPIX, RICCARDO BENVENUTI

TODD’S PERFECT START

TODD HAZELWOOD has made a massive statement with the #1 on the door, enjoying a perfect start to his Trans Am title defence by sweeping Race Tasmania.

Hazelwood was perfect in the #1 TFH Mustang, winning all four races at Symmons Plains, while many others found trouble, especially in Race 3.

The TFH driver was in a league of his own all weekend, while Ben Grice and Tom Davies impressed to get on the podium.

“That’s the perfect weekend – four wins, pole position, the championship lead, I don’t think I’ve done that in a while,” said Hazelwood.

“Every session we are tuning this car, whether it is a little bit of ride height, a little bit of spring … that last race we weren’t quite happy with the car, we made a couple of changes, and when you’ve been leading all weekend, the last thing you want to do is make changes.

“You’ve got to always keep moving forward, because these guys behind me are pushing hard as well.”

The man he stole the title from, James Moffat, initially looked like he would hit back. Moffat led the first 12 laps, but his dreams came to a sudden end when he had an axle issue.

Behind the GRM driver Hazelwood and Herne were squabbling to be best of the rest before the TFH Racing driver made the key move to inherit the lead when the #32 dropped out.

Meanwhile, TCM champion Adam Garwood spun on Trans Am debut, but it was the parked Robbie Farr that created a one-lap sprint and Davies put in a strong drive to fourth ahead of Golding.

With light rain playing a role, the #1 led the field as Tom Davies shot to second as Nathan Herne slumped from second to sixth.

Before a spinning Josh Webster brought out a lap two Safety Car, James Golding was able to work his way to second.

When racing resumed, Josh Thomas triggered more chaos at Turn 6, sending Josh Haynes among others off as Robbie Farr also spun.

More was to come with Farr and the recovering Moffat clashing at the lefthander, sending the GRM driver off, but this did not stop him from going from 26th to 11th.

Up front Nash Morris was able to race his way to third and join Hazelwood and Golding on the rostrum.

Hazelwood completed his hat-trick in a race significantly impacted by the latest front stretch pile up.

With cars and dust everywhere the reds were waved on the opening lap after a huge 14-car smash that jammed the track and evoked memories of the infamous 2017 Supercars crash.

The clash was triggered by overlap between Morris and Golding coming out of the third turn, which saw the GRM driver assisted into the inside fence.

As the field tried to navigate their way past, Mark Bailey spun in front of the pack, leaving the rest with nowhere to go aside from crashing into a cloud of dirt and carnage.

Once the track was cleaned up, a 10 minute sprint decided the race with only Coulter, Bailey and Laws taken out from the crash.

Hazelwood took control ahead of Ben Grice, but more drama was to come with Elliott Barbour spinning at

the hairpin and Tracey stopping on track.

This brought out the Safety Car and set-up a two-lap dash to the flag where Hazelwood hug on ahead of Grice and the impressive Davies, while Moffat charged from 10th to fourth.

Another significant first lap incident under the bridge interrupted the finale.

This time GRM teammates Moffat and Evennett clashed with the latter hitting the concrete hard.

When racing resumed Herne fell from the front with engine issues as many struggled to keep it straight.

Farr, Jack Smith, Adam Garwood, Des Collier, Domain Ramsey and Josh Webster all spun before the latter finally brought out the Safety Car.

Image: PACE IMAGES

This created a one-lap dash where Hazelwood was again unchallenged as he completed his perfect weekend ahead of Grice.

Earlier, Morris passed Davies for third as the latter slumped to eighth by race end with Moffat and Jordan Cox squeezing into the top five.

Trans Am next takes on Mount Panorama on April 18-20.

Thomas Miles

Standings after Round 1

1: Todd Hazelwood 122 points

2: Ben Grice 85

3: Tom Davies 74

4: Nash Morris 56

5: Nathan Herne 54

Hazelwood shows the way from a packed field ... Below: Moffat leads Hazelwood and Herne.

Images: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

THE AUSTRALIAN Prototype Series also kicked into gear at Symmons Plains and there was not much in it.

Jason Makris and Phillip Hughes gave it everything with the Queenslander sneaking ahead.

Only six cars started the opening race which was headed by Makris, who had pulled a second on his rival across the 23 laps.

There were only four cars crossing the line as Jam Motorsport teammates John-Paul

Drake and Paul Martin retired at either end of the race.

Markis carried on his dominance in a clean second sprint, but things turned in Race 3.

Whilst only three cars finished on the lead lap, it was an arm wrestle across the 20 laps with only 4s between the top three.

Although Mark Lauke kept up with the leaders, all eyes were at the top Hughes snatching the victory.

The pair tussled for the lead

across the first three laps before the #42 prevailed.

But with the round up for grabs, reigning champion Makris made a statement.

He set record pace and smashed the field by 22s with Hughes forced to settle for a distant second, just ahead of Lauke.

Only five cars took part in the final race of the opening round and more entiries will be hoped for at Bathurst on April 18-20.

Thomas Miles

THE HYUNDAI Excel ACL Race Series saw many youngsters put their hand up with Jackson Shaw (leading, above) and Tabitha Ambrose just some of the names standing up.

Although little separated the top five, Shaw ultimately proved to be the class of the field, winning three of the four races.

Will Twining came out of the blocks fast, taking pole by twotenths and led the opening lap of racing. But Shaw made his move on lap 2 and did not look back, taking a 1s win over Connor O’Shea.

This sent Twining to third, which he just held onto over Dylan Cooper with only two-tenths the difference.

ELITE RACING CLOSE CONTEST FALCON COUNTRY

THE TASSIE Tin Tops brought some extra V8s to Race Tasmania and Timothy Mann (pictured) gave Ford fans extra reasons to cheer.

After Ford filled out the top 11 in Trans Am, Mann gave the brand more success by taking out the support category.

However, for most of the weekend a Nissan R34 appeared to be destined for glory with Bradley

Sherriff behind the wheel.

Sherriff took pole by a huge 2.7s over Mann, who was the only car within 8s in qualifying.

The first race was much closer and attritional with only seven of the 13 cars making the finish as only seventenths split Sherriff and Mann.

The second 17-lap affair saw more racing possible with Sherriff opening his margin, while third placed Craig

Sheahen was the only other car to finish on the lead lap.

But Race 3 was where things turned as Sherriff could not start the race and Mann took full toll.

He won by 3s over Honni Pitt’s Lotus and stole the round with a thumping 38s triumph in the finale where grid had been reduced to just eight cars.

Thomas Miles

Race 2 was a hard fought affair and although Shaw led all 10 laps, he did not have everything his own way. He beat Twining by less than a tenth of a second, while Cooper and Ambrose were also just 2s away.

Race 3 was a wild one with Shaw slipping from first to sixth on the final lap. The mistake saw Twining prevail over a fighting Ambrose, while Connor O’Shea was 0.06s clear of Cooper in the fight for third.

The longer Race 4 was another example of Shaw’s speed as he took eight laps to return to the lead. The contest for second was enthralling as Ambrose sat second until the penultimate lap when she fell to fifth as O’Shea and Cooper rounded out the podium.

Despite the late disappointment, Ambrose still received the perpetual trophy for Overall Best Competitor from the Rogers family.

Thomas Miles

Jason Makris heads the field in the opening race. Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

Image: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

CAREER FIRST HOME WIN FOR LEWIS BATES

THE FIRST ROUND OF THE 2025 AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP SAW 2023 CHAMPIONS LEWIS BATES AND CO-DRIVER ANTHONY MCLOUGHLIN SECURE A MAIDEN HOME VICTORY AT AN ATTRITIONAL RALLY OF CANBERRA (ROC) ...

FOR THE second straight season, the ARC year opened in the Nation’s Capital with 26 ARC entrants, a strong field of Rally2 machines looking to dethrone last year’s ROC/ national champions, Harry Bates and Coral Taylor.

The round also featured the exciting ARC debut of full-season entrant Hayden Paddon, with the

Kiwi Rally legend and two-time European champion alongside his longtime co-driver John Kennard. And whilst the pair would get a hot start in Heat 1, they would then receive the most quintessential Aussie welcome possible in Heat 2 to force a retirement. There is now one less Kangaroo in Canberra and subsequently one less Hyundai bonnet.

In the end, it was Lewis Bates who put a tough 2024 behind him and, despite not winning either of the heats, his consistency, where most others came unstuck, was the difference – particularly over a rugged Heat 1.

The familiar Bates family Toyota GR Yaris machinery ended up second across both heats, with overall

second place going 2014 champion Scott Pedder and Glen Macneall in the Skoda Fabia Rally 2, whilst the defending champs rounded out the podium with a fine recovery drive after finishing in 14th on Saturday.

“I am so happy. We’ve been trying to win this rally for seven years and being my home rally, it’s extra special,” Lewis said after Sunday’s triumph, his

first since the Adelaide Rally last season.

“It was such a tough weekend, so I’m happy to come out on top … obviously others had their misfortunes.

“It was very unlucky for Hayden and John this morning (Heat 2) –we were looking forward to a good battle with them, but fortunately for

us luck was on our side.

“We actually hit a kangaroo also – but we just got lucky that it didn’t damage our car.

“We came here with a game plan and we executed it really well.

“The vibes this weekend since the Ceremonial Start have been absolutely incredible. I can’t thank Canberra enough for coming out and supporting us.”

As it happened, alongside the nine NSW and Canberra state crews, 35 teams took on the 207km of rough and competitive distance (Heat 1 Sat, 102km: Heat 2 Sun, 105km) in the Tidbinbilla and Kowen Forest regions.

On the opening day, the glory belonged to the visiting Kiwi crew in their famous Hyundai i20N, taking a 35 second heat win to the bank over an extremely challenging eight stages.

Early on, however, it was the #1 Toyota that looked the most threatening in familiar conditions with an SS1 romp. But their Yaris then found a concrete drain in SS2, losing both a wheel and the rest of their day.

Whilst that then gave Pedder the early advantage, with two consecutive stage wins, a puncture then derailed their charge in SS4’s first Blue Range pass. And despite L. Bates winning that stage, it was Paddon in control on the overall timesheet, as wins on SS5/6/7/8 saw them well on top.

“It wasn’t an easy day for us, for sure, but obviously we got the result. We certainly had to work for it this morning,” Paddon said at day’s end.

“A few things sort-of went against us. This afternoon, it started to come back and the feeling was good but, obviously, as we can see, the pace is hot over here, so we’re looking

forward to the challenge, which I’m sure is going to be all season long.

“That’s one day down. And there is obviously still another day to go. Tomorrow is very different in terms of the conditions and everything again.”

And different it was, as immediately after hitting the unsuspecting roo on the first Bald Millpost pass on Sunday’s SS1, despite Kennard still calling the pace notes, he was interrupted by Paddon simply saying “That’s it – there’s no point.

The Kangaroo’s ****ed it!”

That left last year’s rampant GR Rally2 to claim the day with a comfortable 25.9 second win over his brother whilst, a further two minutes in arrears, Pedder would also take a consecutive third place heat finish.

It was an incredibly dominant day from Harry Bates across SS9 through to SS16, winning five of the eight stages including the Old Kowen Power Stage, with Pedder interceding on SS10, and Lewis through SS12/13.

Rounding out the top-five for the

weekend overall was young gun duo Josh Wiedman and KJ Miller in the Mitsubishi Evo 9, and West Australian duo Peter Rullo and Ben Searcy in one of the three (and only surviving) i20N Rally 2s.

Whilst Wiedman suffered from brake issues throughout, it didn’t stop them claiming the top-five ARC finish and Production Cup win, whilst Andrew Penny and Rhys Llewellyn took the ARC 4WD Classic Cup in a Subaru Impreza in overall seventh, behind the Jody Mill/James Ford, Mitsubishi Evo 8.

ARC 2WD Cup winners Tony Sullens and Kylie Newell, in the Citroen DS3, were eighth outright, while the ARC Junior Cup victory went to Jaidyn and Lucy Gluskie in an Impreza RS, whilst the final 2WD Classic Cup went to Trevor Stilling/ Claire Buccini in the Nissan Stanza. The next round of the 2025 Australian Rally Championship is at the Forest Rally in Western Australia on May 22-25.

Tim W Neal

It was a Bates, of the Lewis variety, who took the win and championship lead in Canberra.

Right: The defending champions incurred damage on Day 1, but recovered strongly on Day 2.

Below right: Kiwi star Hayden Paddon was right in it until the local fauna intervened ...

Images: PETER NORTON-EPIC SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

CLIMBING CALDER

THE VICTORIAN STATE CIRCUIT RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURNED TO THE HISTORIC CALDER PARK RACEWAY IN MELBOURNE ON MARCH 29-30 AND PRODUCED SOME GREAT RACING. THOMAS MILES REPORTS …

PORSCHE 944 CHALLENGE

CAMERON BELLER was unbeatable in the #1 in the Porsche 944 Challenge.

The Porsches were first on track and Beller set the tone by taking pole by two-tenths over Mark Verdino.

The #1 then stayed at the top for the entire 14-lap opener and cruised to a 2s triumph.

However, it was on for the remaining spots on the podium with just three-tenths between Verdino and James Westaway, who snatched the position from Adam Brewer early in the race.

Race 2 was more attritional with three DNFs but the podium was unchanged and the cars were more spaced out.

It was rinse and repeat in the finale with the same top three.

SPORTS SEDANS

THE SPORTS Sedans saw Commodores go up against Nissans and more, but none could catch the Holden of Jim Pollicina, who took a clean sweep.

Amid a number of penalties, Pollicina was untouchable in the first race, winning by 15s over Dean Camm.

Camm had better pace on Sunday, but could not finish Race 2 dropping out on lap 11.

This created a fascinating fight for second where John Ippolito emerged

on top as 1s covered three cars.

Pollicina’s biggest challenge came in the final race where he had to work for the win.

Camm looked set to end Pollicina’s perfect weekend, by driving into the lead off the line and leading the first 10 laps.

However, it took the retirement of Camm’s Corvette for Pollicina to reclaim the lead and never look back, beating Ben McLeod by 5s as he held off Lynch.

SPORTS CARS

MEANWHILE, THE one-make

Porsches that ran separately were anything but.

Two drivers ended with 96 points and, despite Cameron Rees taking two wins, a solitary win in the finale was enough for Tim Wolfe to be rewarded the win on count-back.

Rees took the opener by 7s as Wolfe was forced to fend off Stephen Sluga by half a second to be the runner-up.

The second 17-lap race was a classic as Rees and Wolfe showed their true pace.

Wolfe shadowed his rival all race, but Rees ultimately clung on by just a tenth.

Everything went on the line in the finale and Wolfe managed to hit back.

FORMULA VEE

FORMULA VEE round honours was a two-horse race between Daniel Reynolds and Curtis Porter, but many others had a say during the weekend. Reynolds made the first blow by taking pole by a convincing margin of three-tenths.

But things were a lot closer when racing began, with no less than 12 lead changes taking place across the 16-lap opener, including at least one in each of the last eight tours.

As a remarkable eight-tenths covered the top four with Porter sneaking clear of Reynolds and Michael Kinsella.

The second race saw the top three pull away from the field, but they put on just as special a show.

After falling short in the opener, Reynolds hit back by stealing the win by half a tenth over Porter with Kinsella also right behind.

With Kinsella dropping out early, Reynolds had the final say in the most one-sided race, winning it by 7s over Porter.

The close battle was for third where Andre Curin led a three-car train that was separated by a single tenth.

SALOON CARS

SUPER2 AND Supercars co-driver Brad Vaughan showed his class in

Driving a Harris Racing VT Commodore, Vaughan was very speedy, taking pole by more than a second from Kane Baxter-Smith’s AU Falcon.

After some initial battles with Travis Lindorff, who soon dropped to 12th, Vaughan took a solid win over Kerran Pridmore.

Lindorff could not finish Race 2 where Vaughan again led Pridmore comfortably, this time in a lights to flag drive.

The same top two remained in the finale as Lindorff drove his way back into the top four.

BMW DRIVERS CUP

THE ONE-MAKE field of BMW E30Rs produced some tight racing with Ashley Rogers and Jesse Bryan having a tight tussle.

Rogers claimed the opener by 4s, but the second sprint was much closer where Bryan hit back by just a second as Brian Bourke was also in the mix.

It all came down to the finale and the winner was not clear until the final metres before the chequered flag.

The pair went at it all race and Rogers got his nose slightly ahead by just four tenths in a thriller.

Two-wheeling a BMW with Jesse Ryan ... Images: REBECCA HIND-REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY

HOLDEN HQ

THERE WAS also nothing in it in Holden HQs with Steven Banks and Andrew Magilton both ending the weekend on 96 points.

With Rod Raatjes also having a crack before retiring, three cars tussled for victory in an enthralling opener where Magilton emerged on top by half a second.

Magilton went back to back over Banks by 3s in a race where four races failed to finish.

It all came down to the finale where Banks not only stole the race, but also the round in a stunner.

Magilton led early and fuelled hopes of a clean sweep before Banks bounced past on lap six.

However, the race was far from over with the pair going wheel-towheel until just two-tenths split them at the chequered flag.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

THERE WAS another solid field of Excels (above) and Ryan Phillips overcame a number of challengers to record a perfect weekend.

Despite Emily Jones setting record pace, Phillips took a lights to flag win with Will Twining the only other driver within 14s.

The second race brought the pack much closer together with just over

Phillips completed a clean sweep with a three-tenths triumph in another tense race over the spirited Jones and Harry Strik.

MG AND INVITED

THIS FIELD was dominated by MGs and one driver in particular Philip Chester (above). Chester recorded a clean sweep in convincing style, taking the first and third races by 5s. But his best drive was in Race 2 where he won by a huge 19s over Simon Elliott.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

ON A weekend where the Lehmann named made massive waves in Australian sport, Brett added some extra success on the Victorian side of the border.

Despite only winning one race, Lehmann’s Holden VE Commodore emerged well clear above the rest. It was a competitive weekend with three winners from as many races, while four different makes were at the top of the leaderboard.

Lehmann started the weekend as a winner before Mathew Logan bounced back from a first race DNF with a comeback drive.

VISSER TAKES SUCCESSFUL ROB ROY REVIVAL

THE THIRD edition of the Rob Roy Revival has been hailed as a success with Darren Visser being fastest again.

After taking out the 2024 event, Visser returned to the top and went back to back in 2025 in his Bates Cycles Cyclo 500.

The event, a celebration of motoring from the 50s and 60s, attracted 80 competitors and 850 fans and is decided by the combined times on both the longer chicane and traditional track configurations.

Visser’s pace was a cut above the rest by being the only driver below 50s and did so by a long way.

His 48.99s combined time was almost 5s clear of Lyndon Arnel, who drove a Lola Ford T440.

Rounding out the podium was Robin Bailey in a MG BGTV8, just half a second away from the runner-up.

Another driver that failed to finish the opener was Royce Lyne in the BMW E30 but he salvaged something by taking the finale.

There was a wide range of cars for fans to enjoy from Austins, Elfins, Jaguars, plus a wide range of classic Falcon GTHOs.

But one of the biggest highlights was the crowd, which broke records for the Rob Roy Revival and thrilled organisers.

“Around 850 spectators enjoyed perfect weather for the 2025 Revival, over 320 of them driving to Rob Roy in classic cars, to watch the 80 competitors attack the hill”, said MG Car Club Secretary Tony Lupton.

“The Revival also raised $3,000 for our partner charity, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

“Our event patron, champion driver John Bowe AM, is also a Prostate Cancer Foundation champion and we are delighted to help the Foundation raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer research.”

Off the track attendees got into the spirit of the event by dressing up in clothes of the era, while jazz and rock music played in the back ground and the Austin 7 Club conducted an Observed Section Trial.

Thomas Miles

Fastest time of the day went to Darren Visser. Images: IAN SMITH AUTOPIX

Rod North’s Cooper Irving MkV.

Garry Quigley’s Ford Falcon lays some rubber.

Phillips leads as Waghorn slides wide.

Chester gets air over ‘Mount Bob’

A MATTER OF SURVIVAL

AS ALWAYS, THE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP’S VISIT TO KENYA FOR THE SAFARI RALLY IS PUNCTUATED BY CHAOS, BRUTAL CONDITIONS, HERDS OF WILD ANIMALS, AND LOOMING SNAPS OF TORRENTIAL RAIN … THE 2025 TRIP TO AFRICA PROVIDED ALL THAT AND MORE AS TOYOTA CLAIMED YET ANOTHER VICTORY OUT OF NAIROBI. TIMOTHY WILLIAM NEAL REPORTS …

THIS TIME around it was championship pacesetter Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin who made their (survival) luck count, claiming a second straight WRC win after the polished performance in Sweden.

The conditions couldn’t have been more contrasting between the snow and ice conditions of Scandinavia and the vast varied plains of East Africa, but Evans’ mastery of both saw him take an early grip on the title chase.

It was Toyota’s 100th milestone start in the WRC, with Kenya being the perfect place for them to celebrate it having won the previous four Safari Rally’s via Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanpera, whilst it continued the Japanese brand’s perfect start to the season with three from three.

Heading into the event with a 28 point lead, the Welshman now leads by an imposing 36-points – the largest ever gap by round three in championship history.

The WRC’s new perennial bridesmaid after Thierry Neuville broke his drought in 2024, Evans thwarted the relentless fight of Hyundai’s Ott Tanak by 1m:09.9s at the conclusion of the 21 stages, whilst Neuville also fought back through penalties to claim third place as others went by the wayside.

That now leaves Evans with a record of a second place and two victories to start the year, whilst Toyota enjoys a 26-point buffer over Hyundai in the Manufacturers stakes, in what could well be shaping as the last ever WRC battle

between the two Asian giants with Hyundai’s future uncertain.

After taking his 11th win in 147 starts, the 36-year old Evans was honoured to be a part of a rally history that dates back to 1953.

“It’s amazing to have won this rally. It’s not quite sunk in fully yet but the Safari Rally is a special event to win,” he said.

“A huge ‘well done’ to the team, who work very hard to give us an amazing car, and I’m proud to be a very small part of Toyota’s great history at this rally.

“It’s been a massively demanding weekend, probably the most extreme Safari we’ve seen since we’ve been coming here – and the weather added an extra twist on Saturday. It was not easy to manage

the final day, having quite a big lead and needing to bring it home.

“There was the temptation of extra points to play for on Sunday, but in the circumstances it was important to get the car to the finish, and I’m very happy at the end of it.”

It was also estimated by the Kenyan police (multi talented?) that 250,000 fans lined the stages this year, which is up from the (estimated) police count of 188,000 in 2024.

ALTERATIONS, ZEBRAS, RAIN, ROCKS, WATER, DUST, AND MECHANICAL TERROR

10 RALLY 1 machines took to Kenya to contest 384 competitive kilometres (the longest of the year) over 21 stages and four days, with teams needing to drastically adjust their

From Swedish snow to Kenyan desert, Elfyn Evans has it under control early in the season.

Above: Second in the rally consolidates Tanak’s third in the points.

Right: Follow that cloud of dust ... Evans winds his way to victory.

Below: The need for DIY skills is paramount in the Kenyan desert. Rovanpera deals with a Zebraoriginated puncture ...

setups in light of the extreme terrain and unpredictable weather.

That includes the added snorkel so engines can gasp for air in deeper water crossings, a taller ride height with raised suspension to handle the big undulations, whilst compression for high speed is also a factor, with the engine maps tuned to alleviate for the higher altitude conditions around the thinner air of Naivasha.

Hyundai also entered Kenya with its 2024 machine, for reliability purposes, as it keeps fine-tuning its four ‘joker’ additions for the ’25 season. Hankook’s new Dynapro R213 gravel tyre also made its debut after the bespoke runner for the tarmac of Monte-Carlo and snow of Sweden.

Here’s how the competitors either survived or fell like savannah flies …

After taking out the Shakedown, Rovanpera’s bid for a second straight win in Kenya started in P4 after the two Stages in Nairobi, with Tanak leading the way by 2.4 seconds from Takamoto Katsuta, and Gregoire Munster with Evans in fifth, whilst an electrical issue had Adrien Fourmaux immediately on the back foot.

A six-stage Friday heading into the Great Rift Valley then began the true fight for survival, with Evans taking

punctured by a loose spare wheel, the problems were many. By mere survival and his first two stage wins, despite taking rear tyre damage, Evans then finished Saturday’s six stages with a 1m:57.4s lead from Tanak and Neuville, with Rovanpera’s charge halted by a herd of Zebras and an ensuing puncture following a testing 146.50km.

After an early puncture the Finn stayed in touch, but a second puncture (from avoiding the Zebras!) put paid to his challenge. Still, he clawed back from 1m:32s to 11 seconds but, through the repeat passes and the heavy rain, he damaged a rear suspension arm to leave the podium pickings to the Hyundais, despite both i20N’s also picking up more damage and punctures.

And, despite being physically ill and also suffering numerous punctures, Katsuta remarkably hung onto P4 in his bid for a third straight Kenya podium.

That came undone however with a big roll on the final day (as well as suffering bad heat exhaustion … and more punctures), whilst the final five stages would cover 66km, with Evans just needing to survive.

Survive he did, never threatening the times, as embattled machines tried for damage limitation bonus points with Katsuta and Fourmaux (bonus stage) taking two apiece.

early control after Tanak found mechanical woe late in the day in his i20N.

After claiming four of the first eight stages, and with a minute plus lead, Tanak suffered a driveshaft failure to leave him with rear-wheel-drive only, dropping him to third by day’s end, 55.4sec back. And, aside from a spin, Rovanpera survived for second (+07.7s), whilst team-mate Katsuta wasn’t so lucky, with tyre damage.

Neuville’s rally seemed shot when he got a one-minute penalty after being delayed leaving service due to a gearbox change, and then a 10 second penalty for a jump start, and a further 50 seconds for arriving late to SS8 due to a technical glitch but remained in fourth spot.

With Fourmaux breaking a steering arm, Sami Pajari’s tyre damage, and Ford’s Josh McErlean having a squashed exhaust and a boot floor

With Pajari in fourth, Ford M-Sports’ Gregoire Munster took fifth despite gearbox issues, with WRC2 winner Gus Greensmith taking P6 outright for Skoda over fellow second tierman Jan Solans of Toyota, separated by some three minutes.

The challenges keep coming, with the European Rally Championships elevated Rally Islas Canarias on the island of Gran Canaria set for its WRC event debut on April 24-27.

The Asphalt rally will take place in hot conditions, with its twisty roads demanding precise handling.

WRC STANDINGS AFTER THREE ROUNDS

Evans/Martin

88 Neuville/Wydaeghe 52

Tanak/Jarveoja

49

Ogier/Landais 33

Fourmaux/Coria 31

THE STREAK IS OVER

IT TOOK six races and three Grands Prix, but Marc Marquez has finally been beaten in the 2025 MotoGP season, at a dramatic US Grand Prix.

Whilst the #93 was not on the top step at COTA, Ducati still was, with team-mate Francesco Bagnaia (above) opening his account in tricky conditions.

Marquez’s perfect start to the year appeared set to extend as he not only won the Sprint, but also led the first nine laps of the Grand Prix.

Despite being more than 2s up the road and in control, Marquez slipped off on the Turn 4 kerb.

This promoted Bagnaia into the lead and he capitalised on the opportunity to take a 2s win as Alex Marquez settled for second yet again, but snatched the championship lead, while Fabio Di Giannantonio showed strong pace to appear on the podium. It was a positive weekend for Australia’s Jack Miller, getting his first top five for Pramac Yamaha – his second in 21 races.

“What a fantastic feeling to be back on the top step after such a difficult period,” Bagnaia simply said in parc feme.

After Marquez took pole for a record eighth time at COTA, he set about maintaining his streak in the Sprint, but had the toughest fight on his hands as Bagnaia had a red-hot crack.

The Italian made his intentions clear by shooting from sixth to first with a storming start and lunge at the opening turn.

This set the scene for a thrilling opening lap where the lead changed on eight separate occasions. Marquez appeared in control, only for a wild tank slapper coming out of Turn 18 allowing both Alex Marquez and Bagnaia to swamp him, but the #93 still somehow stayed on his bike and emerged in front.

Despite numerous significant scares on the first lap, Marc Marquez enjoyed an unchallenged ride to the top step to get a fifth straight win at the start of

smoother way and from that point I tried to control ...”

MARQUEZ (MARK) appeared to pull off another masterstroke even before the formation lap of the Grand Prix. The MotoGP broadcast had to cut its intro as Marquez suddenly bolted from the grid and sprinted to his wet weather bike in the lane.

Nine others eventually followed the Ducati star into the lane, resembling something of an old fashioned Le Mans start!

But with Maverick Vinales running on the grid without a bike, the warmup lap was delayed by 20 minutes.

It was a let-off for Marquez and company as only Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Al Ogura had lined up on the wets.

“I really know the rules and how to do, and be on the limit all of the time,” Marquez revealed to MotoGP.com.

2025. It was again a Marquez brothers one-two with Alex also staying ahead of Bagnaia.

Further back Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo rose from 11th to fourth on the first lap, but ultimately fell to sixth behind the VR46 teammates.

“It was a tricky first lap,” Marquez told MotoGP.com.

“Pecco attacked me in the first corner, then I came back at Turn 3; then I tried to push to open a gap –because I had the pace – but I had that massive moment on the long right corner.

“I started to open the gas and then I started to slide, slide, slide and it was like it would never stop! Maybe I was with too much lean angle. But yeah, it was a scary moment!

“I said ‘OK, I will lose…’ But I could get it back under control in a good way.

“The most important for me is that already in the next corner I was able to attack and to come back to leading the race and I rode in a

“I asked [Marco] Rigamonti my chief mechanic, seven minutes before the start, if the second bike was ready. He told me ‘yes’. And then I said to him ‘maybe I will leave the grid’. Why? Because I predicted when I will leave – I saw that the rain tyres were [already] not the correct strategy.”

The strategy looked set to be the key to another victory for Marquez as he got a grand start and controlled the first nine laps.

The #93 was 2s up the road, only to take too much of the wet Turn 4 inside kerb and crash out.

Bagnaia again made great ground on the opening lap, which allowed him to eventually pick off Alex Marquez and inherit the lead when his team-mate tripped up.

Whilst the #63 was victorious, Alex Marquez now snatches the championship lead from his brother.

Just one point splits the siblings ahead of the Qatar Motorcycle Grand Prix on April 11-13.

Thomas Miles

MOTOGP CHAMPIONSHIP

AFTER ROUND 3

1: A. Marquez 87 points

2: M. Marquez 86

3: F. Bagnaia 75

4: F. Morbidelli 55

5: F. Di Giannantonio 44

Image: PACE IMAGES

Image: GETTY IMAGES

PALOU BRINGS THE HEAT IN CALI

By Timothy William Neal

INDYCAR’S FIRST ever points-paying outing at the exclusive natural terrain Thermal Club raceway in Twin Palms, California, witnessed a dominant repeat winner across several fronts.

And, as if North America and the racing world didn’t know it already, Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou is getting scary.

The winner of the St Petersburg opener and, last year’s Million dollar non-points-paying Thermal race, Palou executed a fearsome 20 second swing from the last pit cycle to take victory from the pole-getting #5 McLaren of Pato O’Ward.

After slicing up a nine second deficit in an improbable four laps, Palou stormed home for a 10.185s win – the 13th of his career – as he pursues a fourth title in five years.

After a McLaren lockout on the front row, the Arrow team secured a twothree via Dane Christian Lundgaard in third in a 65 lap flag-free encounter.

The twisty 4.82-km circuit in the desert proved rough in qualifying for some of the other expected title contenders, from CGR and Penske but, in saying that, both Scott Dixon

(10th) and Will Power (6th) served up some excellent damage limitation drives, whilst Scott McLaughlin (DNF) and Josef Newgarden (13th) went missing throughout.

The three-stop affair saw O’Ward lead for 51 laps whilst, after starting third on the grid, Palou swung in for the final 10 as his #10 Honda took on the traits of a GE Genesis Zephyr Superliner train on the far grippier alternate compounds.

“What an amazing weekend – we had a really fast car since practice. Everybody executed really well. The car executed perfectly,” Palou said in Victory Lane. “I have a great team. They give me a car I feel comfortable with that I can manage and make it

look easy. They do all the work. I just try and make it happen.”

With Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist finishing four and five, sixth place belonged to the best of the Antipodeans, as two-time champion Will Power performed a title contending salvage job after his poor Florida outing, taking advantage of his extra tyre set, owing to his early qualifying exit.

The Toowoomba-turned-Charlotte native rose 15 spots (double that of any other driver) after qualifying in a lowly 21st, netting 33 points to kickstart his season, whilst sixtime champion, Kiwi Scott Dixon, maintained third in the title race after qualifying in 11th.

Compatriot Scott McLaughlin who qualified a deflating 25th had it rough from lights out, colliding with Devlin DeFrancesco in the pre-green rolling start, before suffering overheating issues in the Chevrolet’s hybrid system and calling it a day six laps down in the final laps.

It wasn’t all gloom on the NZ front, with Marcus Armstrong finishing where he started, in seventh place, in the Meyer Shank Honda.

For the McLaren Arrow podiumgetters, the turnaround after the middling Florida opener has both O’Ward and Lundgaard in the top four, as the Mexican #5 Chevrolet driver takes second from Dixon in his hunt for a second Astor Cup title, 39 points in arrears of his leading Spanish counterpart.

Next up is the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13.

INDYCAR STANDINGS AFTER TWO ROUNDS

Palou 102

O’Ward 63

Dixon 61

Lundgaard 60

Rosenqvist 56

The circuit doesn’t matter – from oval to street to a Californian desert club track – Palou is the man tlo beat. Above: The McLaren pair led the way at the start, with Palou hovering in their slipstream ...

LARSON’S MIAMI HUNT

ROUND 6 of the NASCAR Cup Series delivered a barnstorming weekend from Hendricks’ main man Kyle Larson as he captured his first Cup win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In his first win for 2025, Larson hunted down team-mate and Miami poleman Alex Bowman in the closing laps, with the 400 mile affair ending with three of the four laphigh contenders finishing in reverse order with Bowman 1.205 seconds in arrears of the #5 Chev, with Toyota’s 23X1 Bubba Wallace taking a distant +5.924s third place.

It was a big weekend for the Californian ace, who won the national Truck Series outing before narrowly missing out on the tripleweekend XFinity win after getting tapped from the lead on the final stretch.

But stamping his post-season place after a handful of almost-runs this year will ease the near hat-trick miss, although he defined it as a “heartbreak.”

And in taking his 30th career win, he also became the third most winningest driver in the history of the Hendricks organisation, with 24 trips to Victory Lane, behind only (by some distance) Jeff Gordon (93), and Jimmie Johnson (83).

Larson led 19 laps throughout compared to Bowman’s 43, taking the ultimate lead with only six laps remaining as an under pressure Bowman had his team-mate looming fiercely on the run to the chequer.

Running the high-line, Larson followed in the wake of the leading #48 Chevrolet, which eventually got too close to the wall, allowing the #5 to blast past him. Prior to that, although Larson had the faster machine, it was no given, although it seemed a formality, with Bowman needing to be inch perfect.

“I knew that in me coming towards those guys, they were going to start moving around and making mistakes,” a confident Larson explained.

“And I felt like if I could just keep

pressure on Alex, he may make a mistake – and he caught the wall there, and I got around him easier than I expected to.

“Still had to work hard, though. My balance in clean air was really loose, just like those guys were. Hats off to the whole team.”

In response to the loss, Bowman admitted his error in the racedefining scrape.

“Guess I choked that one away, for sure. Just kind of burned myself up. Saw the #5 (Larson) coming, so I moved around a little bit.”

Third-placed 23X1’s Wallace

managed a season high 56 laps in the lead, but the rocks of the day award would go to Penske’s Ryan Blaney, with the 2023 champion spurning a race-high 124 laps in his Mustang through no fault of his own.

A huge smoke cloud with 60 laps remaining would evidently prove to be an engine failure in the #12 Mustang as he slowed to a halt on the front stretch from a top-five running – a third straight DNF for the season.

But the quality of the win for Larson was also amplified by a poor

qualifying and then an early pit lane spin after contact with Joey Logano.

And, in terms of the rare hat-trick attempt, the only other driver to achieve that feat is Kyle Busch, once in 2010 and again in 2017, both times at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

The win also lifts the consistent Larson into second place for the regular season standings, entering Round 7 400 at the Martinsville Speedway 36 points behind Hendrick team-mate and Daytona 500 winner William Byron.

TW Neal

In front when it mattered –Larson’s first 2025 win gets him onto the Finals ...

MARTINSVILLE PACER

NASCAR VETERAN Denny Hamlin highlighted his 55th career Cup Series win with a dominant outing at the Martinsville Speedway, out-pacing his nearest rival by 4.617 seconds in the Round 7 affair.

The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was dominant for the Majority of the 400 lap outing on the short-track 0.84km oval, leading for 274 of them as he registered his first win since Dover last season (Round 11) and his first at Martinsville in a decade.

It was Hamlin’s sixth win at ‘The Lady in Black.’

Running second was his 2025 tear-away teammate Christopher Bell who, after gaining pole position, was aiming for his fourth win of the season, whilst third was taken by 23XI’s Bubba Wallace (his second straight P3), with the Toyota machinery taking a sweep of the podiums.

Celebrating in Victory Lane with his brakes smoking behind him, Hamlin credited his new Crew Chief Chris Gayle with the two clicking for their first win together.

“You know, Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve been over the last few years.

“It was just amazing,” the Virginian native said. “The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, and to get number 55.

“He’s been such a soldier to come in here to this #11 team, learning our style over the last few weeks, and just putting his final touches on it. It’s really been a great mesh. Our relationship is getting better.

“I’m really happy to get a win with him. Obviously back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing Late Models and whatnot.

Gosh, I love winning here… it’s #11 against the world.”

In addition to the occasion, the win also puts Hamlin in a tie with Rusty Wallace (1980-2005) for 11th on the all-time wins list.

For the first short-track race of the season, the new soft rubber was the choice of weaponry.

And after Saturday’s wild pile-up at the XFinity chequered flag, the scenes were far calmer at the drop of the white flag, but there was no shortage of short-track chaos in the lead-up to the final green flag run.

The three defining interruptions amongst the 10 cautions included Trackhouse’s Shane van Gisbergen being relieved of a wheel which destroyed the day for series leader

and last year’s Martinsville winner William Byron.

There was also a heated radio and post-race exchange between Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs (CC Gayle’s former driver) after the former was spun out whilst deep in the challenge, with Gibbs telling him team that “they’d better keep me away from that little f***er”, whilst Noel Gragson also delivered some verbal heat after tangling with Chris Buescher.

The final 75 laps were enjoyed under a green, following the final altercation of the day where Chase Briscoe cannoned into Joey Logano after being thrown up the track following a

clip on the inside curbing. With seven rounds gone, Byron still leads the regular season standings from Kyle Larson and Bell, with the formt having another consistent day following his Round 6 victory, finishing in fifth behind his Hendricks teammate Chase Elliot.

Next up on the NASCAR calendar is the series’ first 2025 visit to the Carolinas, with South Carolina’s 2.19km Darlington Raceway primed for 293 laps over 400 miles.

Following that it’s another shorttrack at the Bristol Motor Speedway, the Talladega SuperSpeedway, and the Texas Motor Speedway.

TW Neal

#11 Against the World ... A new crew chief has been claimed as the missing ingredient by Denny Hamlin – he celebrated in style ...

PIASTRI’S MOST DOMINANT WIN

By LUIS VASCONCELOS

OSCAR PIASTRI didn’t have to wait long to put the disappointment of the Australian Grand Prix behind him, with a dominant win in Shanghai showing the young Melburnian can beat team-mate Lando Norris in a straight fight and, therefore, has a real shot at fighting for the championship this year.

Piastri had done half the job on Saturday, as he secured pole position in style – even his second quickest lap in Q3 would have been enough to put in first on the grid – and, after seeing off George Russell’s challenge into Turn 1, simply drove away at a

very controlled pace and was never challenged for the rest of the 56 laps.

The complete resurfacing of the track complicated life for all the teams and for Pirelli as well but, even if McLaren’s

pace advantage was not as big as one week before in Albert Park, there was no serious threat to the expected onetwo finish until Norris’ car developed a brake issue in the last third of the race,

forcing the championship leader to nurse his car home.

That brake issue put an end to what could have been McLaren’s biggest problem of the day, as Norris’ plan to attack his team-mate in the last 20 laps went out of the window as he couldn’t be aggressive under braking.

In any case, the English driver never looked quick enough to put on a serious challenge for the lead and graciously admitted at the end of the race that “Oscar drove well– he was quick the whole race. I tried to get close, but in the end just couldn’t,” concluding that “he deserved the win and he drove very well all weekend.”

For the younger McLaren driver,

It was a complete, unchallenged win for Piastri, which confirmed his championship contender status

Above: While his team-mate had a nightmare, Verstappen carried the recalcitrant Red Bull to an almost surprising fourth place. Images: GETTY IMAGES, RED BULL CONTENT POOL

keeping the lead at the start was crucial. Hamilton had showed that tyre management on this circuit, with its very long corners, is much easier when you are running in clean air, so staying ahead of Russell was essential for the Australian. And, even though there was a bit of oil and dust on the right side of the grid, the Mercedes man made a better start, so Piastri had to go defensive to stay ahead, explaining that “I was very happy to come through Turn 1 in the lead.

“I would have been pretty annoyed if I wasn’t. That was pretty crucial for the first part of the race, especially given that we didn’t really know if it was going to be a one- or a two-stop at that point. And given how critical being able to dictate the pace looked yesterday in the Sprint … I was obviously happy to keep the lead.”

With Russell boxed behind Piastri, Norris went for the outside in the never-ending Turns 1 and 2 to move up to second, setting a perfect scenario for McLaren.

The Brit knew his tyres would suffer if he stayed close to his teammate for long. He managed to stay inside DRS range for the first six laps without ever being close enough to try a move, so he accepted there

was nothing he could do until the pit stops and the gap between the two increased to 2.5s by lap 13.

THE HARD TYRE SHOCK

BEING A Sprint weekend, no-one had done even one lap on the Hard compound before the start of Sunday’s race and, with the new tarmac adding to it, no one knew how much they were going to last.

Pirelli predicted two-stops in all three different simulations and the teams were going along with it.

So, when the midfield, all on Mediums, started to pit as early as lap 10, all front runners followed them in and by lap 15 – with 51 laps to go – there were only Hard tyres out on track.

Piastri kept a safe gap to Norris but none of them was pushing, wary of what could happen to the tyres, with the Australian’s lead growing to 4s by lap 26.

By then everyone had seen Stroll and Bearman, who had started on the Hard tyre, being able to keep on turning in competitive times, so the plans started to change and McLaren decided it should go all the way to the flag without a second stop.

Understanding that, Norris was initially unwilling to try to close the

gap to his team-mate “because I don’t want to damage the tyres,” as he said on the team radio but, by lap 38, the difference had been cut to 2.3s, as Piastri was cruising and managing his tyres more.

After the race Zak Brown insisted that “we just told them to go racing,” guaranteeing there were no team orders, but Norris’ brakes put an end to any possible internal competition.

Little by little, the brake pedal on his MCL39 was becoming ‘longer’, so the Brit couldn’t attack under braking, explaining “this is my worst nightmare” and with three laps to go he was told “the situation is critical” so all he could do was coast to the flag, just 1.3s ahead of Russell.

“MY MOST COMPLETE WIN!”

HAVING DONE everything right, Piastri admitted that “it’s been an incredible weekend from start to finish,” adding that “the car’s been pretty mega the whole time.”

Then, summing up everyone’s feelings, the McLaren driver confessed that “today was a bit of a surprise with how different the tyres behaved,” before showing a bit of emotion, saying that “I’m just proud of the whole weekend. This is what I feel like I deserved from last week.

“I’m extremely happy – the team did an amazing job, got the one-two, obviously, so I’m very, very happy.”

Refectling on how this third Grand Prix win compared with the previous ones, Piastro had no doubt in saying that “this has been the most satisfying – not just the race, but the weekend for myself.

“The two wins I had previously were very different and I think this one’s been the most complete, so I’m very, very happy with the whole effort of the whole team this weekend.”

And going into a bit more detail, he concluded that “I think we started with a car that was quick but pretty tricky at times and I think we did a good job of trying to tackle that. And to come away with this result is a perfect end to the weekend.”

Team Principal Andrea Stella concurred with his younger driver, adding that “he’s been very solid throughout the weekend at what is one of the circuits where he struggled just 12 months ago.

EMPHATIC SPRINT WIN FOR HAMILTON

SUNDAY WAS a disatrous day for Ferrari but, 24 hours earlier, Lewis Hamilton had scored his first ever win in red, dominating the Sprint from start to finish.

The veteran had already shocked the opposition by setting the fastest time in qualifying for the short race and simply ran away with it, to beat Piastri by almost seven seconds after just 19 laps.

No wonder, then, the seven-times World Champion felt on top of the world after celebrating his first victory for the Scuderia. An emotional Hamilton said that “from lap one I was really feeling on it. We’ve done a great job – the engineers have done a great job, mechanics have done a great job – to really fine-tune the car and it felt great.”

Without the pace to catch the Ferrari, Oscar Piastri secured valuable points, after passing Verstappen for second place on lap 15. The MCL39 kept its tyres in much better condition than the RB21 and the Australian started to recover from his disappointing home result with a solid drive from third on the grid.

Russell was fourth all the way through, after passing Leclerc at the start but had to up his game in the final two laps when the Monegasque’s pace became seriously threatening.

A sensational drive from Yuki Tsunoda was rewarded with the three points scored with P7, the Japanese keeping Kimi Antonelli behind from start to finish without putting one wheel wrong.

And both had no trouble in keeping championship leader Lando Norris behind, the McLaren driver making a mistake in Q3 that put him sixth on the grid and dropping a further two places on lap one as he put two wheels on the grass entering Turn 6.

The contrast with Piastri was not flattering for Norris, who then got things back on track for the afternoon qualifying session and the race the following day.

Lewis exploited the clean air at the front for an encouraging Ferrarin Sprint win.

Two current and one ‘ex’ Ferrari drivers disputing the same piece of tarmac ...

Norris harrassed, and passed, Russell for second spot.

Russell almost got inside Piastri at the start, but Oscar turned in faster and held on. And that, effectively, was the race. Below: Alex Albon drove a superb race – from grid 10 to P7, eclipsing his star team-mate. Right (from top): Liam Lawson pits ... his weekend was fraught – and with awful consequences; Debutant Isack Hadjar’s great performance (here leading Lawson) was compromised by a dud two-stop strategy; Happy faces at McLaren ...

“If you go back and look at the race 12 months ago, I think he finished at least 30 seconds or something from Lando – and this weekend, he was at the top level.

“I still remember after the race having a chat one-to-one with Oscar at one of these hospitality units and scratching our heads a little bit and saying ‘there’s a lot to pick in terms of learning from this race.’ And looking 12 months after, I think we took all this learning and we capitalised.”

RUSSELL LEADS THE OPPOSITION …

REPEATING HIS result from Melbourne, George Russell joined the two McLaren drivers on the podium. This time around, though, he beat Max Verstappen on pure pace and even managed to push Norris for a while. So the Mercedes driver had every reason to be pleased with a result that keeps him within striking distance of his friend in the championship.

A sensational lap in Q3 put him second on the grid but Russell lost out to Norris shortly after the start. The gap between the two grew but the undercut worked a treat and, after what turned out to be their only tyre change of the day, the order was reversed –and with quite a few slower cars yet to pit to complicate matters.

That’s why it took three laps for Norris to use the MCL39’s superior pace to get back to P2 and, for the next 10 laps, the Mercedes driver was more concerned with Leclerc’s proximity than with trying to keep up with the McLaren.

In the end the Ferrari threat faded and it was Russell who attacked to try and capitalise on Norris’ brake issues, but needed a couple more laps to succeed.

Team-mate Kimi Antonelli finished eighth on the road but was promoted to P6 after both Ferraris were

disqualified, backing up his impressive Grand Prix debut with another strong result that helps Mercedes remain second in the championship. The Italian ran over Leclerc’s broken front wing endplate in the first few corners and raced with a damaged floor and that explained why his race pace was not as impressive as in Melbourne. But he brought home the points, showing he’s a very solid 18-year-old.

… BUT VERSTAPPEN WAS NOT FAR BEHIND

RED BULL could, again, only rely on Max Verstappen to challenge at the front and the Dutchman didn’t let the side down. Only fourth in qualifying, Verstappen lost out to the two Ferraris in the first couple of corners and dropped way back while running with the Medium compound tyres.

But proving yet again the RB21 is quick when the rubber used suits its characteristics, the World Champion started to pick up the pace once the Hard tyres were on his car and slowly but surely zoomed in on Hamilton.

Ferrari flinched and had its veteran in for a second, unnecessary, stop and, with Leclerc’s pace dropping as front wing damage hurt his tyres, the Red Bull leader passed the Monegasque with three laps to go to secure a P4 that kept him second in the championship.

Putting a brave face on it all, Verstappen stated that, “it’s a positive result and better than expected after that first stint of the race.”

He added that “the beginning was not easy and I just drove to the pace that we set out to do, but that was not at the same level as the cars ahead.

“The Medium tyre was probably a bit more difficult, but on the Hard tyre, from basically the second half phase, we seemed a little bit more competitive, a little bit more promising at least. That was at least enjoyable –trying to catch the cars ahead, having a bit of a fight as well.”

HAAS AND ALBON SHOCK THE MIDFIELD

RACING BULLS were the fifth quickest team in Shanghai but, by sticking to the two-stop strategy, both Tsunoda and a very impressive Isack Hadjar dropped out of the points. That played into the hands of the two Haas drivers and Alex Albon, who scored strong points. The Thai seemed to have the upper hand while running on Medium tyres and managed to extend his first stint until lap 20 – after briefly leading the race. The time lost while being passed by both McLaren and Russell, on fresher rubber, cost him dearly, as he was undercut by a couple of cars and could never catch Ocon again.

The Frenchman had an extremely positive weekend after his troubles in Melbourne, being promoted to P5 after both Ferraris were thrown out of the results.

Young team-mate Oliver Bearman was the best of the trio that opted to start on Mediums, making a few impressive moves in and out of the hairpin to end the race in P8, right behind Albon.

Stroll and Sainz benefited from the post-race disqualifications of Leclerc, Hamilton and Gasly to score the final points available.

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 2

2005: SKAIFE’S SECRET PLAN TO BLOOD COURTNEY

JAMES COURTNEY made his Supercars debut at the 2005 Sandown 500, but Mark Skaife had devised a secret plan for that to arrive four rounds earlier – in China.

For the one and only V8 Supercars round in Shanghai, Skaife wanted to run a third Buick-backed entry out of the Holden Racing Team stable.

Instead, ultimately, that honour went to Rick Kelly in the satellite HSV Dealer Team operation.

When Skaife signed Courtney to co-drive with veteran all rounder Jim Richards for Sandown and Bathurst, he planned to give the Gold Coast-based JGTC front runner extra race experience in China.

He seriously investigated the possibility of HRT fielding a third car leased from another Holden supported team in a GM livery.

The secret scheme was scuppered by Holden’s insistence that Team Buick be a

1975

The 1975 edition of the Newbreed Don Capaso European style Rally went to local Canberra driver Greg Carr.

Carr drove quickly, consistently and skilfully in a strong and reliable Datsun 1600 to take the honours. He and navigator Wayne Gregson fought off early challenges from Dean Rainsford’s Porsche, Doug Stewart’s Lancer GSR and favourite Bob Watson’s Escort.

The Chesterfield Challenge Cup was held at Lakeside where Allan Moffat prevailed.

Driving a Cologne”Capri, Moffat was unbeatable, taking all three heats as Pete Geoghegan’s mighty Monaro ruined its unblemished copybook with gear selection issues.

top-line car driven by an established V8 race winner.

Buick is GM’s top-selling brand in China.

Holden Motorsport chief Ray Borrett confirmed that Fishermans Bend was organising a Buick branded car for its Sino sibling but would not comment on the abandoned idea.

“GM is taking the opportunity to sponsor one of the cars,” he said.

“It will be one of our cars in Buick livery. Same entry, different livery.

“We just want to make sure we get some benefits and we have not nominated the team or driver yet. I have not told them.

A local Courtney confidante confirmed that the idea had been floated, but never got close to serious discussion.

“It was never a definite deal for James to do it, so there was never a deal that was on to be off. It was just Mark’s idea,” the informant said.

1985

Jim Richards charged into the Australian Touring Car Championship lead by winning at Wanneroo.

Richards was dominant in the JPS BMW taking an end to end victory unchallenged.

Peter Brock in the Mobil HDT Commodore was next best as Dick Johnson overcame a disastrous first corner where the ignition switched off, but the Mustang flew from thirdto-last to the podium.

There was a surprise winner in the Australian Sports Car Championship with Chris Clearihan taking the success.

A late discovery of a broken engine mount ruled out defending champion Bap Romano.

1995

Michael Andretti felt utter dejection in the aftermath of IndyCar Australia after seeing a certain victory disappear for the second time in as many weeks.

Andretti was cruising when locking rear brakes upset his rhythm and he clipped the wall at the Foster’s Chicane on the final lap.

The race ended up going to Paul Tracy as Andretti slumped to ninth.

It was the last race at Surfers held in March due to the shift of the Australian Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, there was chaos at McLaren as Nigel Mansell was forced to miss the first two races of the F1 season due to struggling to get comfortable (ie. fit in) in the MP4/10.

2015

Still racing at GRM and Volvo in 2015 and even before the Penske connection, Scott McLaughlin admitted he had ambitions of leaving Supercars.

“For me I have always been pretty outspoken that one day I would like to go somewhere and try new things,” he said.

“I don’t necessarily want to be like Jamie Whincup. It would be good to win one of those (championship and Bathurst) in the next 10 years and then I would definitely consider my options.”

McLaughlin was one of a group of four Supercars rookies featured in the issue. –including Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert ...

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