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table of contents ::

volume 18.07

Stage by Stage

Already the all-time win leader, Sebastien Loeb is on the way to being the best ever.

// EVENT

alms petit le mans

Audi once again proves its dominance at ALMS flagship event.

// COLUMN

Getting off the Marks

Fernando Alonso clinches second F1 crown as Schumacher finishes career.

// EVENT

Montreal Supercross

Performance Racing News

Rally

David Hatter examines the latest news from the Canadian Rally Championship.

// EVENT

SuperGT Championship

The points chase gets a new look with one round left in 2006

// COLUMN

Caution Period

Another rising star leaves Champ Car as AJ Allmendinger heads to NASCAR.

Darcy Lange and Dusty Klatt fly the Maple Leaf at the Big â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oâ&#x20AC;?.

// COLUMN

// FEATURE

Bruno Spengler

Young Canadian driver making a name for himself in German Touring Car series.

// FEATURE

Bourdais Three-peats

Sebastien Bourdais becomes first driver to win three straight titles in Champ Car.

// COLUMN

On the Throttle

Rare mistake by Rossi gives MotoGP title to Nicky Hayden Photo by LAT Photographic

// COVER STORY

181,000 litres of Shell V-Power fuel

1066 points

72 wins

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58 pole positions

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PRN.december.06

table of contents ::

volume 18.07

View From the Tower

NASCAR Car of Tommorow needs work.

// EVENT

IHRA eMax Drag Racing Series

Targa Newfoundland

Inside Racing

Todd Lewis delves into the issues racing faces this off season.

// extra

An up-to-date event listing for the 2006 season.

Performance Racing News

// COLUMN

Canadian Drag Racing Update

// COLUMN

On the Chrome Horn

CASCAR hands out the hardware and the Ford Fusion makes its first appearance.

// EVENT

NASCAR gets the drift

NASCAR drivers join Drifting heroes in charity event at Irwindale Speedway.

// COLUMN

car review

Gerry Frechette tests the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Coupe.

New champs emerge in 2006.

2006 motorsports calender

NHRA POWERade Series

Canadian stars make history while the sport mourns the loss of a young star.

From the Editor’s Desk // COLUMN

// EVENT

Coverage from National events in Reading, Texas and Richmond.

PRN’s Mark Hacking describes his journey around the “Rock” at this year’s event.

// COLUMN

Trading Paint

The pool of young talent is drying up, so NASCAR is looking outside the box for drivers.

Coverage from the rain-delayed Canadian Nationals at TMP.

// EVENT

// COLUMN

Photo by Lesley Ann Miller/LAT

// COLUMN

10/26/06

12:08 PM

Page 1

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6 DAYS OF LIVE COVERAGE

BARRETT-JACKSON 2007 LIVES ON SPEED GO TO TO SPEEDTV SPEEDTV.COM FOR FULL FULL SCHEDULE

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new names emerge at the top by Neal Jones I Editor-In-Chief

or several years now racing fans have been accustomed to seeing some familiar names sitting on top of the various championships handed out each year. Whether it was Michael Schumacher, Valentino Rossi, Don Thomson Jr. or even Jean-Sebastien Roy, fans essentially knew who would be on top at the end of each season. But a lot of that changed in 2006. Obviously, Schumacher lost his stranglehold in F1 last year to Fernando Alonso, who repeated in 2006. But the German still held the fans imagination and now that he is leaving F1, a new era has begun and Alonso has a lot of work to do before fans and competitors alike concede he is the man they have to beat. In MotoGP, American Nicky Hayden managed to secure his first World Championship, overtaking the incomparable Rossi at the final round. Despite injuries suffered at mid-season, Hayden had allowed the Italian back into the championship fight and actually trailed heading to Valencia. His third-place finish, coming on the heels of Rossi’s early race crash, netted the man from Texas the crown. After five straight years of domination, finally MotoGP fans have someone else to admire on the top step of the championship stage. Since 2001 Don Thomson has ruled the CASCAR Super Series and it only seemed fitting that he win again in 2006 as it was the final year of the series under the CASCAR name. For years fans had waited for the likes of former champions Peter Gibbons, Mark Dilley, Kerry Micks and David Whitlock to break his reign on top of the series. If not one of those former champs, it was only a matter of time before DJ Kennington stole the title away. However, it would take an 18-year-old sophomore protégé of the five-time champion to take the championship. JR Fitzpatrick earned rave reviews for his poise in 2006 and was rewarded with the last CASCAR championship as the series heads into the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series era with a bankable young star. In AMA Superbike, Mat Mladin has long been the man to beat and not many have been able to mount a serious challenge over a full season. But his teammate Ben Spies had different ideas in 2006 and proved he is the man for the future in the American

series. He won six of the first seven races and then held off a five-race win streak by Mladin at season end to claim the top prize. It was an entertaining season for the Suzuki riders as the Hondas were no threat, so the battle played out between the riders in blue from the start of the year in Daytona. The CMRC Canadian MX Nationals had been Jean-Sebastien Roy’s personal playground for five years, but even the popular French rider saw a true threat on the horizon. Before the season JSR admitted that Dusty Klatt was the best bet to supplant him atop the championship, and the rider from Campbell River, BC lived up to the hype. He jumped out to an early lead before the race tightened heading to the Walton finale. Undaunted, he showed the way to his veteran teammate and secured the crown in front of a Canadian legend. Of course, some things don’t change. Just ask fellow countrymen Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastien Loeb. Both wrapped up their third straight titles in Champ Car and World Rally, respectively. Maybe there’s something in the water over there in France. See you at the races!

of pic nth o m the of tle bit it l a th k out “See, wi e can chec e t, w effor k and ensur eed c n a t r the t we jus w o N . mes y victor sure she co e race.” to mak every o t along

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS (ISSN # 0834 - 809X) is published 8 times a year by 1009678 Ontario Inc., 44 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON, M3C 2H4. For publishing schedule, send a S.A.S.E. Canadian Postmaster: Send address corrections to: PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS 44 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON, M3C 2H4 Subscription Rates: (1 year - 8 issues): Canada $10 Cdn, U.S.A. $10 U.S. Performance Racing News 44 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON, M3C 2H4 PRINTED IN CANADA Publications Mail Registration# 8580 Canadian Publications Mail Products Sales Agreement# 40069655 Publishers: Perry & Blake Breslin Group Publisher/VP Operations: Frank Spezzano Executive Editor: Neal Jones Director of Sales & Marketing: Charles Stancer Operations Manager: Erickson Obiacoro Office/Systems Manager: Arnold Adolfo Senior Art Director: Brian Pirocchi Administrative Director: Michelle Forsyth Senior Account Representatives: Graham Wright, Scott Peachman Advertising Representatives: Nelson Cheung, Matthew Adolfo, Shane Chattergoon Senior Editor: George Webster Drag Racing Editor: Bruce Biegler Road Racing Editor: David Hatter Quebec Editor: Eric Descarries Western Editor: Gerry Frechette MX Editor: Wil de Clercq Contributing Editor: Mark Pereira Production Director: Richard Robles Production Coordinator: John Paul Ramos Graphic Design: Queue Gonzalez, Jeff Maguire, Edward Shintani, Patrick Beltijar, Patrick Dinglasan Online Graphic Design: Andrew Buchanan Subscription Manager: Carol Franceschinis 1.888.564.SUBS

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INSIDERACING with todd lewis

Performance Racing News

Photo by Charles Coates/LAT

ongratulations to Fernando Alonso on his second consecutive World Championship. McLaren now hopes he can bring that magic touch to the team that for several seasons seemed to have potential, but it was never realized. What a disappointing way for Michael Schumacher’s Formula One driving career to come to an end. He performed brilliantly in his final F1 race. That late race pass of Kimi Raikkonen was a superb. On the lap previous to the pass, Raikkonen covered the corner but the professor showed the student on the next trip around. Schumacher kept his foot in it and forced Raikkonen to stay wide, Schuey moved up the inside and completed the pass perfectly. Even on his way out, as the oldest driver in the field, he is a remarkable talent. The sad part was that engine woes in Japan and then a fuel pressure problem in Brazil that relegated him to the middle of the starting grid, which combined to take away could have been a great fight to the end for the championship. What’s the over/under on when the “will Michael return” rumours start? As soon as either Felipe Massa or Raikkonen have any sort of difficulty there will be rampant speculation. Unless they finish one-two at each event I predict after race three the wild stories will begin flying. The 2007 schedule for the Champ Car series is set pending the confirmation of two European races. The calendar opens in April and ends in December That’s only six weeks shorter than NASCAR and they run half as many races. I know there are plenty of issues like getting sponsors, drivers, teams and other ways to build up the series that require attention but this schedule situation needs to be addressed. How do you generate off season hype if you don’t have an off season? What have the good people at RusSPORT done to deserve the terrible luck they’ve endured this season? With Cristiano da Matta on the mend at home they started to look ahead before Justin Wilson crashes and breaks his wrist in Australia. This team really needs to conduct an exorcism this off season. The first order of business for the now named NASCAR Canadian Tire series was to close the CASCAR office in Komoka, ON. Don’t worry, this is a positive step. The series has long needed a big city presence. At least now they will have a phone number with a 416 area code. Things you could count on in NASCAR don’t exist anymore. Mark Martin driving for anybody except Jack Roush and a car without GM Goodwrench sponsorship in the Richard Childress stable just doesn’t seem right. Overall I believe that Toyota moving into the NASCAR Nextel Cup series will be a positive for the sport. I can’t wait to hear the “us against them” patriotism group get more and more upset as the successes of Toyota. The IRL was the first to employ the television feature called “side-by-side” for their television broadcasts. What it did was feature the sponsor commercials in one box on the TV screen, and the racing action in another. As ESPN returns to NASCAR coverage next year, “sideby-side” will not be employed. There is a hot rumour going on right now that TNT, as part of their race broadcasts, will go commercial free. I’d like to know how it’s financially possible. Here’s the innovation I’d like to see, replays in the side-by-side format so that you still see the live action and watch the replay at the same time.

Fernando Alonso was a deserving repeat winner of the F1 title, but Michael Schumacher deserved a better exit than the one he experienced in the final two GPs of his career

It will be strange to see Richard Childress Racing without a GM Goodwrench paint scheme on one of his cars in 2007 as GM scales back its sponsorship of the No. 29

Photo by LAT Photographic

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IC RAPH OTOG s photo

T PH by LA

LLY RA D L B R LOE WO N E E D H I T ST AN BA ING RD É N O S D N AVI REC RU E’S IN R D NC W RS O A E T A R OM YE EDI EER , F AR R S LLY IME C E UR A T V O I A L F R . R T FUL A D LES HED JUS LIS OF TIT HIP B . S T R A N E N I ST IGH REE PIO TIM Y E CA LLTRA AM D E A S H A H C F E LRE T T RE T O TH S A ES K A HA AC ED E B B R H T KS PTU LL CA CA LOO TO ER T G T TIN HA TAR E S AR

BES T OF

ALL -TIME

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F I NEVER DREAMED I WOULD RALLY. IT WAS OUTSIDE OF MY WORLD.

him, the season record was six, set by his countryman and friend Didier Auriol in 1992. Loeb has matched or surpassed that number in each of the past three seasons — six in 2004, 10 in 2005 and now eight this year. In 2005, he even won six in a row. He has made only 84 WRC starts in total, so his 28 victories mean that he has won one out of every three. He is just the third driver in WRC history to win three championships and only the second to take three consecutive titles. He will have to win again next year to match Tommi Makinen’s four-in-a-row in the late 1990s, but who would bet against him, especially with the Citroen factory team returning to action in 2007? This season, with Citroen on a oneyear hiatus, he has been doing his winning with a privateer team, Belgian-based Kronos Racing. A NATURAL TALENT And he is more than a rally driver. The past two years, he has raced the Le Mans 24 hours for the Pescarolo-Judd team and he finished second last June. Last December, he won the Race of Champions, a knock-out competition on a track set up in Paris’ biggest soccer stadium. He beat seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in the final. Loeb is the definition of “natural talent.” Astonishingly, this former electrician did not even enter his first rally until age 23 and never had any formal training in competition driving. Despite his recent successes, he remains modest and a little shy and — except for a Ferrari street car — chooses to live a relatively simple life in a small Swiss village, devoid of the trappings of fame and wealth. The French magazine Auto Hebdo has labeled him the “anti-star.” “In the beginning I was more stressed by the microphones than the special stages,” he once said. “Being interviewed so often and in contact with the public has helped me overcome that, but I am still reserved. I seek tranquility. In my village, nobody knows who I am.” Loeb was interested in rallying while growing up in a small town in the Alsace region of northeast France, close to the German border. He even had a poster of 1981 champion Ari Vatanen on his wall, but would later say, “I never dreamed I would rally. It was outside of my world.” His early athletic passion was gymnastics, a sport in which his father had excelled. As a boy and a teen, “Seb” was a four-time champion of Alsace. But he also enjoyed racing through the local vineyards with his friends, first on bicycles, later on scooters and small motorbikes. And as he started to make a living as an electrician, he would spend his money on fast cars, which he would take to the limit on backroads late at night when hopefully the cops were not around.

SE T TING THE

S TAGE

In the past few years Loeb has expanded his resume, including racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he finished second in class this year

orget Michael Schumacher. In the eyes of thousands, perhaps millions, of rally fans around the world, the greatest driver of all-time is Sebastien Loeb. Over the past three seasons, the 32-year-old French superstar has rewritten the record book of the World Rally Championship, culminating in his 27th career win — all of them for Citroen — in Japan on Sept. 3. That beat the old record of 26 victories, held by Carlos Sainz, and he then followed up with win number 28 in Cyprus. He was cruising to a third straight WRC title until he broke his upper right arm in four places in a mountain-biking accident on Sept. 26. Yet his point-lead was so large that he has still clinched the championship, while recuperating at home. In his absence, his only rival, Marcus Gronholm, had to win at least two of the four remaining rallies and finish all of them on the podium. The Finn won in Turkey, but rolled his Ford in Australia and managed only fifth. While Loeb’s place in WRC history is already assured, he is still young enough that many think his best is yet to come. He could even end up posting numbers to rival the F1 records of Schumacher (who retires with 91 wins). Consider that Loeb attained his record 27th WRC win just over four years after his first triumph. It took drivers like Sainz and Colin McRae (25 wins) more than a decade to reach their totals. Sainz was 42 — a decade older than Loeb is now — when he took his 26th win. Loeb has scored as many as 10 victories in a single season. Before

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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In 1995, Peugeot and the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile launched a Young Rallyist program to find and develop new French talent. Loeb saw the announcement, paid his 100-franc ($24) entry fee and made it through the selection process all the way to the finals. He narrowly missed out on the top prize, both in 1995 and again in 1996. “That day, I was certain I would never contest a rally in my life,” he said. RISING UP But some Alsace rally enthusiasts, led by Dominique Heintz, heard of his exploits and, in 1997, offered him a Peugeot 106 for a local event. He won — again and again. At year’s end, the French magazine Echappement named him the country’s brightest young prospect. His Alsace business friends were now as hooked as he was -—unfortunately for some, who were soon in debt and mortgaging their homes. They bought a Citroen Saxo for 1998 — three, in fact, as he wrecked two of them. But when not crashing, he was usually winning and, in 1999, he took the Saxo trophy series. He also finished 21st in his WRC debut on the San Remo Rally in Italy. By now, a local Citroen dealer was lending some much-needed financial support and he entered the French national championship in 2000. He dominated his first event in a Citroen Xsara, despite running slick tires in

the wet. “The birth of a star,” proclaimed Citroen rally boss Guy Frequelin, who signed him to a contract that very evening. Loeb won the French title in both 2000 and 2001, when he also claimed the Super 1600 junior world championship, run in conjunction with the WRC. Frequelin entrusted him with a full-fledged WRC Xsara at San Remo, where he was a close second to Peugeot’s tarmac specialist, Gilles Panizzi. Citroen was still developing its WRC car then and was not yet running the full calendar. It entered Loeb in seven events in 2002 and he dominated first time out at Monte Carlo. But a penalty for a trivial technical infringement by his crew dropped him to second place. His first official win would come seven months later in Germany. In his first full season of WRC competition in 2003, he came within a point of taking the crown. He ceded the title to Subaru’s Petter Solberg only after his Citroen bosses told him to back off at the Welsh finale to be sure to finish and secure the company’s first manufacturers’ crown. He had three wins — at Monte-Carlo (an official victory this time), Germany again and San Remo. He began 2004 with another Monte Carlo victory and then became the first non-Scandinavian to win the Swedish Rally. The era of Loeb domination had begun and records were about to tumble. His favourite rally is the German event, which takes place close to where he grew up. He has won five in a row there since 2002. Throughout his WRC career, Loeb has had the same person in his passenger seat, 33-year-old Daniel Elena from Monaco - “not just a great co-driver, but a great friend.” His other important partner is wife Severine Meny, who also navigates for him sometimes when he returns to France on occasion to compete in a national or regional event — just for the fun of it or to help out the local promoter. That is the kind of down-to-earth guy he is.

HE IS JUST THE THIRD DRIVER IN WRC HISTORY TO WIN THREE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND ONLY THE SECOND TO TAKE THREE CONSECUTIVE TITLES.

SE T TING THE

S TAGE

His win at the 2002 Rally Deutschland was the first of his record numbers of wins

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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ROAD RACING

L’ESTAGE

ON THE

VERGE

BY DAVID HATTER // RALLY EDITOR

ntoine L’Estage now has the 2006 Canadian rally championship virtually in his pocket, despite a major timekeeping error that cost him victory on the most recent event in British Columbia. A rare miscalculation by his co-driver, Nathalie Richard, caused them to check into a time control six minutes too early, resulting in an equivalent penalty. Instantly, they fell from first place, with a 20-second lead over Matt Iorio, to fourth, trailing the new leader by five minutes and 40 seconds. But L’Estage went on a charge to climb back to second spot, cutting the gap to Iorio to three minutes and 26 seconds by the finish. “Everything went well except for Nathalie’s error. We found ourselves fourth with the goal of regaining at least two positions to get enough points to win the title,” said L’Estage. That title is not quite assured — but almost. L’Estage, a three-time winner this season, now leads Iorio by 21 points (84-63). He needs just one more point to clinch the championship and can get that by simply taking the start of the season-ending Rally of the Tall Pines in Ontario. “That little participation point will be the one that will assure

ANTOINE L’ESTAGE MADE A BIG CHARGE AFTER A TIME PENALTY AT THE PACIFIC FOREST RALLY TO FINISH SECOND, WHICH MEANS HE ONLY NEEDS TO START THE TALL PINES FINALE TO CLINCH THE 2006 TITLE Photos by SHAWN BISHOP

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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ROAD RACING

MATT IORIO BENEFITED FROM ANTOINE L’ESTAGE’S TIMING MISHAP AND TOOK HOME TOP HONOURS IN THE PACIFIC FOREST

f top o t the made a s ge hard ic o sta rally e tw thalie R d in a the h t n e a tN tim rt of wee t bet here tha recisely o the sta i s n s tra t was g is p et river etre mov .I in co-d seckilom ountain Everyth stage to d e r c ethe m istake. ucted L’E soon. experien s just he out on n Qu m urs i woes. e her he instr way too e most This wa rst time taken l a s fi d s stage e of th untry. s-Ch ension with n e a d e ha amwon Baie red susp evening small cond ard is on in the co — they but sh rican ch her e e s h t ffe Friday nd the er). at Rich igators) ’Estage hamel — rth Ame Despite two e su v hed o . L v ump r L’Estag egan on and arou f Vancou s on i r r na lly with athe/Du S. and N Richard r, as the kind t o ( b lso to ge in fte ra Ste-Ag an, U. r, Pat ce he n had d He a n July a Forest stages ortheas nger sta st Can o n i c t eve nadi rothe repla Defi bec e Pacifi ly-shor 250 km some lo here mo eather, secthe erous Ca h her b kely to deed, he e h t hing for a v h w t w i i s T t u i n l t i i h I o m n y a n n w . g l w u o g fi u ly nu hips re ritt (ab rday seas y sog altho e is n wait tical s wice r ven u pion , L’Estag d roman rds. fter t had to ntor, Joh r- se n of Me on Sat ds. In a agued b ions — t. A . e r e l s d t e a w l e a t e i n v n ti title I’ my m dary V . to ontinue stry ro been p y cond ring du to ope erro lso link afterw adia r n e e n a to c .S s are a s for he t Can gs, it’s t is due the lege h the U ai It arby for ies have rm, sun with ling n stage tages on s r fi d n i t l a e d d r i y s e l o s o f t v n o n d n a w m o b e o r a u n e w f t y a c in lem p tw an ’s s me o in the st ood par referen driver in tage’s H nadi vent ran me prob f Friday he first event, u a halfg T e o o , s s . s i u s e i o a ond ears. A dded, in ningest res L’Es e h i e v i h t r r l t w e to y we a on fi ere er Io Rich ears, few m,” he the win w prepa . there stage w lead ov ads new tain. Th y -sur, m u n u L’E cond on ro o Buff t rallyist who no the tea St-Jean ast two p ne M -se re s mon Canada, anages old from of the nts. a 23 rday we e of Thyn pete i m yearm h o o d c d p u d n c a n i t n o o e a s Sa 32who ory ron a e tw -up n the Tibu stage, a runner y a mer re driver the vict an win dow , i n i b r e h d L’E . e be 5 title amps bord d Cana a WRX 0 has H QC, g the 20 , a New es of the s secon Imprez i n o losi for Iori both sid y was h a Subaru As ly on Rall l of lar c Forest he whee u g e r t fi i t c a a the P e season of th

AFTER A SCARE ON FRIDAY NIGHT WHERE HE NEARLY HIT A TELEPHONE POLE, HOMETOWN FAVOURITE NORM LEBLANC FINISHED 3RD OVERALL AND FIRST IN PRODUCTION 4 CLASS

24 25

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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ROAD RACING

GROUP 2 ACTION SAW AARON NEUMANN TAKE THE TOP SPOT, WHICH WAS ALSO GOOD FOR FOURTH OVERALL

“After this six-minute mistake, we had to compose ourselves and Nathalie kept her concentration as far as the notes were concerned, allowing us to make this comeback. We were fastest on seven of nine stages during the day,” he said. Over both days, L’Estage and Richard won 12 of 16 stages. Iorio was fastest on the other four stages. Once handed the lead, he tried to maintain a steady, if conservative pace, going just fast enough without taking any chances. Ironically, he and Californian co-driver Ole Holter were not in their regular car this weekend, but had rented an Impreza from Nathalie’s brother, Pat Richard. Local favourite Norm LeBlanc, from Pemberton, BC, survived a scare on Friday night when he narrowly avoided hitting a telephone pole on one of the Merritt stages to finish third, exactly three minutes behind L’Estage. He and Calgary co-driver Keith Morison, also took top production honours in their Impreza WRX. Aaron Neumann was fourth overall in a Honda Civic and took top honours in Group 2 (for modified 2WD cars). The heavy favourite in Group 2, Alberta’s Gord Olsen, retired after only three stages when transmission problems turned his VW Golf from two-wheel-drive to no-wheel-drive. Only eight cars finished the Canadian championship portion of the event, out of a mere 14 starters. There were actually a total of 31 cars, but 17 teams chose to save money on entry fees and contest only the regional portion. In 2007, there may potentially be even fewer entries, as the Hansen’s/CP Rail transportation program, which has provided free shipment of cars and equipment across the country for the past several years, is being discontinued.

ZEBE SZEWCZYK WAS FIFTH OVERALL AND TOOK HOME GROUP 5 HONOURS IN THE PROCESS

26 25

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

Rally 18.07.indd 6

11/6/06 1:41:55 PM

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of y as he won four an m er G in e ris e on th native s become a star what the Quebecon ck ba s Bruno Spengler ha ok lo r races. David Hatte onship. the final six DTM the 2006 champi in nd co se to n ru his accomplished in

ed engler has emerg anada’s Bruno Sp lar pu po st mo ’s the world as a superstar of pion but for a blown s, the Gerrie se r ca g rin tou uld have been cham and competitive ers). Spengler co ist second place in the Me n ely ge lik a wa to ren y utsche Tou tire while on his wa the e im. It was the only tak man-based DTM (De he to en es ck ason’s final six rac opener, also at Ho se on the as of se r always say, fou n be , wo hip He pions re points. “You can ot in the 2006 cham time he did not sco said. er, he eid is,” hn overall runner-up sp it Sc at rnd wh Be is des teammate if, if,’ but the result ‘If, d an en hind only his Merce ns ste inaries as Tom Kri and ahead of such lum ade n. biggest Statement m ine Mika Hakk on and second in winning ways at the as his se n my ga be th r wi y gle pp en Sp ring, a ris No the gin at be “I am really ha 5 the of the season, round sn’t expecting it at e wa I rac . gle hip which ns sin rg, pio bu e am fiv the ch the top the town of Nurem goal was to finish in tight street circuit in 147,000 r — gle wd en ning of the year. My Sp cro id ge sa hu y attracts a better than that,” bourg, traditionall Norisring is big,” he and I have done a lot m his home in Stras fro this time. “To win at iew ors tat erv ec int sp ne ho the at y but Norisring is the in a telep tor nt, vic rta rth po fou im er taking his id. “Every race is sa n wo le.” ver France, two days aft op dri pe a lot of ckenheim. No other most important. It’s re, but early leader season finale at Ho the d s. gri rie the se d on un rd the 10-ro He started thi d de ad marker. Spengler ck ,” more than twice in ba it? a is , th on wi second seas mie Green tangled Ja fac of Schneider by r “It’s not bad for a r nio tte se le to get the be d to Mercedes’ ab he n itc the sw s o wa wh nt — each r, rgle Spen for a Me during the middle sti s year. He had driven staying out longer o the lead int in , ve ort mo sp tory team, HWA, thi to tor — Mo ps te team, Persson features two pit sto e rac of him to nt th fro 16 in d ck cedes-backed priva ke 2005, when he ran vantage of a clear tra in ad e n tak aig d mp an first win ca his kie s his roo old tires. It wa (2004) car. n some quick laps on erican tur Am d rth de No en the , overall in a year-old QC ted m St-Hippolyte, type since he domina y an of . 02 n 20 wo in o The 23-year-old fro er, wh nault) series -63, behind Schneid Fran-Am (Formula Re but after up eight points, 71 driver Kristensen, time before you win, di a it Au wa Top to . on ve as ha u se “Yo y not? Wh . s. ain int ag it po twice early in the do 56 n e, you feel you ca er, was third with rac nn t wi firs that t e d im tha An o-t id. tw sa a also confidence,” he rgring, It gives you more rbu Nu the at t ou e xt tim certainly showed ne by almost from the pole to win where he dominated

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KING E CAR AND THAN TH G N KI N A TH F E SUCH “IT’S MY WAY O M FOR GIVING M A TE E TH N O S Y ALL THE GU ry A GREAT CAR.” his car after victo -Bruno Spengler

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

on hugging

Photos by Miltenburg/LAT

of the seathe biggest margins 11 seconds, one of second or a ly on by ed cid de son. Most races are en many pp ha n’t es do s in front two. “Eleven second times. It’s rare.” the next h-place finishes in After fourth and fift dium at po the p ato r was back two events, Spengle nts outside of eve r fou of e on Le Mans, France — tti track, not O I WAS the 4.18-km. Buga A HAKKINEN, WH Germany (held on IK M F O e). T urs N co O ur -ho FR 24 r the much longe but had 0 YEARS “TO FINISH IN way from the pole, N WHEN I WAS 1 IO IS V ards He again led all the LE tow n TE ine N kk O Ha G m ssure fro WATCHIN SO MUCH to resist strong pre y was just NSEN, WHO HAS TE IS the margin of victor KR M TO a , D IT’S en N ns the end. This time, A ste OLD, . Le Mans legend Kri GREAT FEELING. A Y EL the IT ed 3/10ths of a second IN let mp EF co D , urs IS , of the 24 ho LE LIKE EXPERIENCE seven-time winner lace finish E AGAINST PEOP ET P M , Schneider’s fifth-p ile CO wh an TO Me L m. IA diu po EXTRA SPEC fifth DTM crown. secured his record kkinen, who I was Ha ka Mi of nt fro “To finish in rs old, and n when I was 10 yea watching on televisio ence, is IS BRIGHT , many oberi exp ch mu THE FUTURE fin o has so mco ish to the season Tom Kristensen, wh to ial g ec on sp str early Given his ling. It’s extra ibing Spengler as the scr definitely a great fee de takes e this,” he said. servers are already he lik t le bu op e, pe titl st M ain DT ag pete ed him year’s favorite to win next finale, Spengler show s good, but in moAt the Hockenheim nted. “This year wa d a poor standgra ha for He r. ng ke thi rta no ove r xt year, I will do Ne t. en h. fer fift dif to self to be a maste is sports every year second on the grid tor m fro l , but everyone fel hip d ns an pio rt ing sta laps after passing fight for the cham to 11 st n be thi wi my d lea the But he was in also.” nsen, Green else will be fighting including successfully) Kriste guys at Mercedes, -Harald successively (and inz top He d the an y, k inl czy rta Ce Tom re than rtin mo Ma are of , dis ug Au and the director Norbert Ha from Green, while s ort nd sp co tor se young mo ir 1.5 the by of n Frentzen. He wo r-up spot llar performances for the overall runne through pleased with the ste t al ac riv ntr his co r — de en un ns dy Kriste alrea Canadian, who was w taken an option — was third. five cars close 2007. They have no of th d wi , en ck the tra to the “It was tight on . My car 2008. on his services for s a lot of overtaking uets and gy. ate to one another. It wa of post-season banq str ind pit irlw od go wh a a er did Aft m rare visit tea a de my d ma was great an any, Spengler gler, who celebrations in Germ my day,” said Spen the Gillesply for r sim ne ite din g qu rk s isin ma wa dra It fun trade to Canada to host a has now become his He then returned to celebrated in what his car and gives Museum on Nov. 7. of ve od eu ho len the Vil at Estoril, on wn style. He lies do ting for next season Europe to begin tes to test a t ge to e g. lik hu uld all big wo it a gal. Ultimately, he the car and thanking rtu ing Po been no nk s tha ha of re y the wa t “It’s my F1 car, bu ch a great McLaren-Mercedes m for giving me su n, Gary Pafpio am ch M It’s DT m. 05 the guys on the tea 20 tea s talk of that yet. The l comfortable in thi car,” he said. “I fee ’s test driver. d all the mechanics an rk now I wo fett, is now McLaren ted tra en to y to Formula 1, but for ing ke a lot of conc go the to s is “My dream r. I think that wa d winn an M DT the on te did a great job all yea tra just want to concen we will see the wins.” hip,” he said. “Then, the DTM champions what happens.”

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ROAD RACING

AUDI

RULES

ROAD ATLANTA MCNISH AND CAPELLO TAKE SEVENTH WIN OF ’06 AT PETIT LE MANS

The win by Sascha Maassen, Timo Bernhard and Emmanuel Collard in LMP2 clinched the team crown for Penske and the manufacturers title for Porsche

Photo by Bill Murenbeeld

The GT2 title chase was tightened after Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister took top honours at Road Atlanta

Photo by Rick Dole/LAT

Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish followed up their title clinching effort at Mosport with a record seventh LMP1 victory on the season at the Petit le Mans

ished a lap up on teammates Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy and two laps on the No. 4 Corvette C6-R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen. “It was quite an exciting race from the word go,” Turner said. “In the first 30 minutes we were aware of how good the Corvettes were. It seemed strange that at the same time the prototypes were lapping us, we were lapping the GT2 cars, which made it exciting.” Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing tightened the GT2 championship battle as Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister drove their Porsche to a two-lap victory over the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430GT. It didn’t come without suspense, though. Bergmeister spun in the esses during his opening stint, missing the walls and other cars flying by. He also suffered a tire puncture in the third hour coming down the long backstretch, saving the car from another impact with the wall. “At first I felt pretty bad because the team called me in a lap early and I didn’t have a chance to loosen up my belts and suit, so I stayed out one more lap and that’s when the puncture happened,” Bergmeister said. “I was lucky again that I didn’t hit the wall. From then on we just pushed really hard until the end.”

title as Sascha Maassen, Timo Bernhard and Emmanuel Collard won by a lap in the No. 6 Porsche RS Spyder. The trio finished ahead of the No. 7 sister car of Lucas Luhr, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller. The winning trio capitalized on the steering trouble of Intersport Racing, which suffered steering rack issues that forced it to lose precious laps late while leading. The most thrilling battle of the race was a 30-minute duel between Bernhard and Intersport’s Jon Field. Bernhard stayed in the veteran’s tire tracks in attempt to get a lap back near the midway point. Bernhard’s patience paid off as he finally got by, and Intersport’s trouble struck soon after. “It was really hard behind him because when he had new tires he was quite quick,” Bernhard said. “He had good traction in Turn 7 and I had to wait for a mistake and saw in my mirrors the No. 9 Highcroft car. At the time we were two or three laps behind, and I knew I had to get around him to make up some time. Then finally after 25 laps or something he made a mistake out of Turn 10B and I was able to sneak by him.” Aston Martin Racing tightened the GT1 championship battle thanks to a victory by Tomas Enge and Darren Turner in the No. 007 Aston Martin DBR9. They finPhoto by Bill Murenbeeld

udi won the battle and the war at the Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda CX-7. Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello won for the seventh time this season in the American Le Mans Series, setting an LMP1 class record. McNish and Capello also gave Audi Sport North America the team title and Audi the class manufacturers crown. The dynamic duo finished four laps ahead of Stefan Johansson, Johnny Mowlem and Haruki Kurosawa in the Zytek 06S. “We knew we were only two drivers so it would be a tough race for us,” Capello said. “Road Atlanta is a different track. You have to be full concentration. It was a tough race for us. We did a good job as a team all together and with the strategy. But if you look at the speed of the Zytek, I think without their problems it would have been really, really, tough for us.” Capello and McNish led for the final three hours of a race that was intensely competitive in the opening. Audi, Zytek, Creation and Porsche each led early before Audi took over with typical efficiency on the track and in the pits. That left the Zytek and Highcroft Racing Lola of Duncan Dayton, Vitor Meira and Memo Gidley to battle for the other two podium spots. Penske Racing wrapped up the LMP2 team championship, and Porsche won the class manufacturer’s

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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ROAD RACING

SUPER G T ONLY ONE RACE TO GO!

SUPERGT CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES HEAT UP AS SERIES HITS THE AUTOPOLIS FOR ROUND 8 Photos by YASUSHI ISHIHARA/LAT

THE SUPER GT IN KYUSHU 300 KM, ROUND 8 OF THE 2006 AUTOBACS SUPER GT, TOOK PLACE AT THE AUTOPOLIS IN OITA PREF. ON OCT. 14, AND IN GT500 THE NO. 23 XANAVI NISMO Z OF SATOSHI MOTOYAMA AND TSUGIO MATSUDA WON THEIR FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON. IN GT300, THE NO. 2 PRIVÉE ZURICH SHIDEN DRIVEN BY KAZUHO TAKAHASHI AND HIROKI KATOH WON THEIR LONG-AWAITED FIRST RACE.

GT500

On the opening lap, Ryo Michigami in the No.18 Takata Dome NSX dropped from the pole position to fourth. It was the No. 8 ArtaA NSX driven by Ralph Firman that took the lead with the No. 23 of Matsuda in second and the No.100 Raybrig NSX driven by Sebastien Philippe in third. After that, the No. 8 opened up a lead over the No. 23, but on lap eight an orange disc flag came out for No. 8. In a collision with No. 23 there had been damage to the right rear fender. With a danger of it falling off, the officials ordered No. 8 to the pits for repairs. This gave the No. 23 the lead. Following was the No. 100 with the No. 18 right behind. A fierce battle between the two NSX machines lasted until lap 26, when the No. 18 claimed second. On the next lap, the No. 23 made its pit stop and, in addition to changing drivers to Motoyama, the team also changed tires and refueled. The No. 100 made its pit stop a lap later and the No.18 made its pit stop two laps later. The No. 100 changed to Shinya Hosokawa and No. 18 changed to Takashi Kogure, with both teams changing all four tires. With the pit stops finished, the No.23 had the lead, while the No. 18 moved up to tail the No.23 with the No. 100 a few seconds behind. With five laps remain-

ing the No. 18’s pace dropped considerably and the No. 100 pulled away. Things remained in that order all the way to the checkered flag. This was the first win of the season for the No.23 team. The second-place finisher, No. 100, was given a penalty after the race for a pit-work violation and 30 seconds was added on to their finishing time as a result. This dropped it to third place moved the No. 18 to second. This result moved the No. 100 drivers Philippe and Hosokawa into first position in the season’s driver ranking with 79 points. Meanwhile, the No. 18 team of Ryo Michigami and Takashi Kogure dropped to a tie for second position with seventh-place finishers Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer, three points back of the leaders. Besides these three teams, a total of five more teams are within striking range of the drivers’ title heading to the final round of the season. They include the No. 1 of Yuji Tachikawa and Toranosuke Takagi, the No.22 team’s Michael Krumm, the No.23 of Satoshi Motoyama and Tsugio Matsuda, the No. 8 of Daisuke Itoh and Ralph Firman and the No. 12 of Benoit Treluyer and Kazuki Hoshino.

The No. 23 of Satoshi Motoyama and Tsugio Matsuda took their first win of the season at Autopolis and moved into contention for the GT500 title with one race left in the season

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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ROAD RACING It was a great race in GT300, which saw the No. 2 of Kazuho Takahashi and Haruki Katoh hold on for the victory

SUPER G T GT300 In GT300, there was a collision on the opening lap between the No. 101 Toy Story Racing MR-S driven by Morio Niita and the No. 96 Ebbro Btec Maziora 350R driven by Takuya Kurosawa. The result was a serious crash for the No. 101 that forced it to retire from the race. Meanwhile, theNo. 96 was given a drive-through penalty that changed the complexion of the race from the outset. From the pole, the No. 2 PrivĂŠe Zurich Shiden was driven by Hiroki Katoh, who gradually widened his lead in the opening stages. At the end of lap 42 Katoh turned the car over to his teammate Kazuho Takahashi with a lead of almost 1:30. When Takahashi got back on the track, that lead was reduced to just under 30 seconds but he maintained his lead all the way to the finish. For both Takahashi and Katoh it was their first JGTC/SUPER GT victory, and also the first for the new Shinden car that debuted this season. Finishing second place was the No. 7 Amemiya AsparaDrink RX7 of Tetsuya Yamano and Hiroyuki Iiri. After falling back early in the race, the second place qualifier, No. 96, came back to give chase to the leading No. 2 car but was eventually unable to close the gap. With these results, the No. 2 team of Kazuho Takahashi and Haruki Katoh moved into first in the rankings with 86 points. The No. 7 team of Testsuya Yamano and Hiroyuki Iiri stand second with 81 points, followed by the No. 61 of Shogo Mitsuyama and Nobuteru Taniguchi with 75 points. These three teams have a chance to claim the championship at the season finale at Fuji Speedway on Nov. 3-5. Their win in GT 300 moved Kazuho Takahashi and Haruki Katoh to the top of the points with only the Fuji Speedway finale remaining

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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10/30/06 10:17:09 AM

The “MAN”

times 3

Sebastien Bourdais has dominated the Champ Car World Series for several years and this year became the first driver in the modern era to win three straight championships. Editor Neal Jones looks at the success Bourdais has experienced since crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the 2003 season.

o import from France has had the kind of effect on the American consciousness like Sebastien Bourdais since the day the Statue of Liberty arrived as a permanent guest in 1886. In just four years on American soil, Bourdais has become the dominant open wheel driver on the continent. Arriving in 2003 as a virtual unknown in North America, Bourdais quickly showed the racing world he had the talent to run with the best. He took the pole position at the first two races in 2003 and should have won both if not for some rookie mistakes as he tried to do too much. However, by the third race of the year he began to harness his speed and he came away with his first win (at Brands Hatch) and repeated the feat a week later in Germany at his first oval race. While Paul Tracy ended up champion in 2003, there is little doubt Bourdais was the fastest driver. A runner-up finish in the points and three wins earned the Frenchman top rookie honours and if not for those rookie mistakes, he may very well have been champion. And that doesn’t even take into account the fact Bourdais still had a shot at the title if the season finale at Fontana hadn’t been cancelled due to the fires that ravaged Southern California that year. By 2004, though, the Champ Car community knew what Bourdais had to offer on the track and he entered the season as the odds-on favourite. He would not disappoint. He won seven times on the season (not to mention eight poles) and cruised to his first Vanderbilt Cup. Newman-Haas Racing had found a new wunderkind and that resulted in a huge find for the team and series as McDonald’s came on board as a sponsor. The 2005 season, however, showed the mettle Bourdais has as his win at the season opener in Long Beach was followed by some tepid results in the next five races. Leaving Toronto, he was behind in the points, but that deficit would quickly disappear as Bourdais closed the season in unbelievable fashion. In the final seven races, he took home five race wins, finished fourth once and suffered a 17th-place finish at the Mexico City finale – which didn’t matter since the championship had already been decided. But 2006 was by far Bourdais’ most dominant season – a season that is comparable with some of the great years Michael Schumacher posted during his five-year run in Formula One. In fact, Bourdais ran roughshod over 38

Performance Racing News

Photos by LAT Photographic

In just four years, Sebastien Bourdais has earned 23 poles, 22 wins and 34 podium finishes in 58 career starts

the “MAN” times3 the competition this year. He opened with four straight victories, a Champ Car record, and was never seriously challenged. Okay, things looked a little tight after AJ Allmendinger won three straight to follow Bourdais’ run, but within a few races it became clear that only a disaster would stop the Frenchman in 2006. With only one race remaining as this is written, Bourdais’ record for 2006 is quite impressive. In 13 races this year he has finished off the podium just three times — 18th at Cleveland after an incident with Paul Tracy, seventh at Denver after more involvement with Tracy and eighth at Australia, where he clinched this year’s title. In the other 10 races, he took first-place six times, was runner-up once and took the final step on the podium three times. Add in seven poles and another three front row starts and not one driver can really say he had Bourdais in his sights. So, where does Bourdais go from here? In a 58-race Champ Car career, Bourdais has 23 poles, 34 podiums and an amazing 22 wins. He has won almost a third of the races he has started. Sure, there are a few records he could still chase or add to, but at this point the need for stiff competition outweighs a desire to add to the record book. Just look at who people generally refer to as his biggest challengers. Tracy, Canada’s first choice, appears to be on the downside of a glorious career. There aren’t many in the field who can compete with PT, but it has become apparent that the Thrill From West Hill can’t match the speed of his younger colleague. AJ Allmendinger was thought to be the best bet to supplant Bourdais after his three-race winning streak, but it was recently announced that he is leaving for NASCAR in 2007. And then there’s Justin Wilson, who has been consistently good, but has yet to establish himself as a front runner with just three wins in his three-year Champ Car life. Bourdais has made no secret of his desire to race Formula One, but that window appears closed, especially since he is 27 years old and everyone in racing is searching for a teenage sensation. NASCAR may be an option, but as several open wheel stars have learned, the transition to the big stock cars isn’t an easy one. That leaves him to return to Champ Car with the best team in the series and in 2007 he will once again be the favourite to win the Vanderbilt Cup. Maybe Bourdais could take a page from Valentino Rossi’s book, as the MotoGP World Champion left the dominant Honda squad he led for the floundering Yamaha squad and won the title on the trot in his first season. Perhaps Bourdais could switch to a Dale Coyne-like operation and show the world it isn’t just the best resources that drove him to the title. Regardless, the Untied States now has another gift from France that stands head-and-shoulders above the nation. Sebastien Bourdais has become a beacon for open wheel racers looking to raise their fortunes in North America. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, indeed…

Performance Racing News

Just look at his biggest challengers. There aren’t many in the field who can compete with Paul Tracy, but it has become apparent that the Thrill From West Hill can’t match the speed of his younger colleague.

THE SUNOCO RACING BIKE TRANSPORTER. ®

FEATURING SIX LEGENDARY DRIVERS AND AN ORANGE COUNTY CHOPPER.

This year’s Sunoco toy truck carries some very cool cargo. A replica of the bike custom-built for Sunoco by Orange County Choppers. And that’s just for starters. The truck also features the images of six legendary drivers, including Richard Petty, Dale Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. And here’s something really cool. For every truck sold, the teams, the drivers, NASCAR and Sunoco will make a donation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp. AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 10 AT SUNOCO OR SUNOCOTRUCKS.COM. ®

NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. Victory Junction Gang Camp, Inc. name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, LLC. Kyle Petty, Pattie Petty, and Adam Petty name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, LLC. ©2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Orange County Choppers, Inc. ORANGE COUNTY CHOPPERS, O.C.C., and the O.C.C. LOGO and related indicia are Trademarks of Orange County Choppers, Inc., used under license. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright and trademark owner is prohibited. All rights reserved. The use of the picture of Paul Teutul, Sr., Paul Teutul, Jr. and Michael Teutul is with permission. ©2006 Hendrick Gordon Licensing, LLC. The name likeness and signature of Jimmie Johnson and the likeness of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet are used under license granted by Hendrick Gordon Licensing, LLC. Richard Petty items licensed by Petty Marketing Company, LLC. The Richard Petty name, signature and silhouette are exclusive trademarks of Petty Marketing Company, LLC. Kyle Petty name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, LLC. ©2006 Name and Likeness of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and copyrights are used under permission of JR Motorsports, LLC. www.jrmotorsport.com <http://www.jrmotorsport.com/> www.dalejr.com <http://www.dalejr.com/> Kasey KahneTM and likeness are registered trademarks of Kasey Kahne Inc. Licensed by Evernham Motorsports, LLC. Tony Stewart®, #20® and The Home Depot® licensed under authority of Joe Gibbs Racing, Huntersville, NC. ©2006 Sunoco, Inc. (R&M). All rights reserved.

BRINGS YOU

COVERAGE

OF THE 2006 F1 SEASON

he did it his way by Dan Knutson

Performance Racing News

Photo by Muriel Brousseau

While the final two races didn’t go exactly as hoped, Michael Schumacher gave his fans one final image as he stormed back from a flat tire to finish fourth in his final Grand Prix

Photo by Lorenzo Ballance\LAT

ichael Schumacher blazed into retirement with all the speed and tenacity and skill that have earned him so many victories and championships. The way he drove in his final three races was absolutely stunning, and but for twists of fate he could have won all of them. In China he started sixth in his Ferrari and won even though Fernando Alonso, who qualified on the pole in his Renault, had the better overall package. It was Schumacher’s 91st win and one of his greatest victories. It also turned out to be his last. And so he goes into the record books with one less win than the combined total of Alain Prost (51) and Ayrton Senna (41). Schumacher was heading for victory in Japan when a valve broke in the Ferrari V8. Incredibly, it was Schumacher’s first mechanical retirement since hydraulic woes halted him in the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix, and it was his first engine failure in a race since the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix. His luck and Ferrari’s normal bulletproof reliability deserted him in Brazil in the final Grand Prix of his career. A fuel pressure problem pushed him back to 10th place on the grid, yet by lap eight he had carved his way up to fifth. Then a flat left rear tire dropped him to the back of the pack. Schumacher drove brilliantly as he sliced his way back to fourth. With Alonso running second and having to merely finish anywhere in the top eight to clinch his second World Championship, an eighth title was out of reach for Schumacher. However, if it had not been for that flat tire Schumacher would have finished second behind teammate Felipe Massa who scored a wildly popular victory in front of his fellow Brazilians. A onetwo would have earned Ferrari the Constructor’s Championship. As pointed out in the previous issue of PRN, Schumacher has his flaws. But in terms of pure driving and speed, he was flawless in his last three races. He leaves the sport at the absolute peak of his powers. Earlier in that weekend in Brazil Schumacher held the last formal press conference of his F1 career. As always, he kept his emotions in check. This may have been his 250th and final Grand Prix, but he wasn’t going to let that obscure his focus on winning. “I am not thinking so much about it,” he said of his last race. “Occasionally it comes up and you feel a bit strange about it, but in general I am pretty relaxed and it is pretty much business as usual so far.” Somebody asked him what he will do after he retires. “I am in a fortunate position that I can retire and don’t have to have a vision for my life afterwards right now,” he said. “I have plenty of time to make my vision, to live a life where something will come up that will interest me. I am completely relaxed and completely sure about this. What that will be, I don’t know. But life offers plenty of opportunities and I look forward to those.” I asked him what he would miss least about F1. Would it perhaps be us, the media, constantly hounding him?

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“In general I have had a good life here, as well as you guys,” he replied. “There is nothing to regret. Maybe it has been tough sometimes for your guys, but in general I am pretty relaxed to see you back again at some stage somehow. There is not something that I will miss the least.” After the general press conference Schumacher met with the German media. He apologized to them for giving them a hard time over the years. Out at the track, Schumacher was followed by a growing group of photographers, journalist, TV cameras, radio reporters and fans every time he left the sanctity of the garage or the Ferrari cockpit. It got to the point where you had to be careful not to be knocked down by the swirling mass of people. Schumacher remained calm throughout. “It was like in Monza,” he said, referring to the Italian Grand Prix where he announced his retirement. “We don’t let hectic things like that affect the team. We wanted to fight for the Constructor’s Championship, so we shut out everything else. To win it we needed a one-two finish so we had to concentrate. It was hard and we could not allow ourselves not to concentrate on performance.” While he regretted Ferrari missing out on the Constructor’s Championship, Schumacher enjoyed his final Grand Prix. “By the end I really started to enjoy myself when I saw I was able to close the gap and come back into the points,” he said. “In the end I wasn’t too far from the podium, so I felt joy, but at the beginning it was boring. We were so far behind that I didn’t think we had any chance. Then it developed nicely and we started having fun.” After stepping out of the car for the last time, Schumacher said he didn’t know when it would hit him that he was no longer an F1 driver. “I have no clue,” he said. “I don’t know when this will happen. There are a lot of questions I don’t have answers to.” He will miss the fans who have supported him over the years. “The things I will miss are probably the fans and in every moment they have been behind me and always supported me,” he said. “That support helped me perform, especially in moments when it was difficult. Over the years that was immensely important. I can only say thank you to those people and those fans.” Of his seven championships, Schumacher treasures his first title with Ferrari the most. 44

Performance Racing News

Photos by Muriel Brousseau

he did it his way

The Chinese Grand Prix marked Michael Schumacher’s final GP victory and the last time his famous “jump for joy” was seen by his legion of fans

“In 2000 we had a lot of hard work and setbacks,” he said, “so when we finally won it, it was the most beautiful championship.” The Schumacher/Ferrari era lasted 11 years. “There was a Ferrari without Schumacher before I came and there will be a Ferrari without me,” he said. “I am pretty sure that they have taken very good decisions to replace myself in order to keep success going. How much we will see, who knows?” Schumacher has not ruled out racing again some day. “Niki Lauda went back to racing in F1; Mika Hakkinen races in DTM, but all this happened after time,” he said. “I can’t say what I will be doing in two or

three years’ time.” Any regrets about things he has done in the last 16 years in F1? “Of course there have been regrets and things I would do differently,” he said, “but if I went into that it would get too intense and we don’t have time right now. But there is the song ‘My Way’ and I think that is true right now.” Schumacher certainly did things “his way” during his F1 career. It was a way that sometimes overstepped the boundaries of fair play and ethics. Looking back on his past 16 years in F1, Schumacher summed it all up succinctly. “It was intense but I loved it.”

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8/30/06 3:48:31 PM

CautionPeriod with Neal Jones

AJ jumps ship

Photo by Mike Levitt/LAT

dd yet another name to the growing list of drivers who see NASCAR as the future of motorsports in North America. American AJ Allmendinger made it official as he has signed with the red Bull Toyota NASCAR squad for 2007 and beyond. Allmendinger had been the poster boy for Champ Car’s future near the end of the season. After joining Forsythe Racing he went on a tear, winning five of the next 10 races and making the championship interesting again. But, negotiations with Forsythe did not bear the fruit he was looking for and the greener pastures of NASCAR beckoned. The deal this year with Forsythe was basically a race-by-race contract, but owner Gerry Forsythe had every intention of inking the rising American star to a long-term deal. He originally offered a five-year contract, but later made it a three-year pact to appease some of Allmendinger’s plans. But it still wasn’t enough to get him signed. “They (Allmendinger and his agent) want $3-million a year plus prize money and that’s just not realistic,” Forsythe said. “I want AJ, and Champ Car wants AJ, but not at that price. “I told him I was disappointed, our team was disappointed and Champ Car fans will be disappointed, but I wished him well.” As we closed for press, Allmendinger was excited to be racing the No. 84 Toyota Camry in Atlanta in Nextel Cup on Oct. 29. “To race against some of the best drivers in the world in front of fans that are as enthusiastic about racing as I am is going to be a pretty big thrill,” Allmendinger stated. “I know this is going to be a lot of work in the upcoming months, but I couldn’t be happier to do it with Team Red Bull. Hopefully, we can all go out and deliver a good show.” Team Red Bull general manager Marty Gaunt added: “A.J. has the talent, guts and ambition to be successful in any form of motorsports. He has proven to be one of America’s top young race car drivers in open wheel racing and we are confident he can accomplish the same in stock car racing over time.”

AJ Allmendinger is the latest driver to jump to the green pastures of NASCAR as he joins the Red Bull Toyota team in 2007

Nelson Philippe has seen his share of ups and downs during his brief Champ Car career, but in Australia the young Frenchmen hit the highest of highs. With some help from damage to the frontrunners, Philippe held strong and emerged with his first career win in front of the boisterous Surfers Paradise fans. In his 2004 debut season, Philippe ran into trouble at Rocketsports Racing and was dumped after five races. He would race six more times that year, but he had a dramatic turnaround in 2005 and was voted the Most Improved Drivers by his fellow drivers. This year Philippe has run up front consistently and was a potential race winner at every venue. He led the most laps in Toronto and was in contention until he got over-aggressive while trying to move up the order and his day ended early. At Surfers Paradise, his patience was the key as those around him made the mistakes and he simply stayed under control. He was pressured down the stretch by Mario Dominuguez, but nothing was going to stop Philippe fromk his first checkered flag. The win also marks Philippe’s second entry into 46

Performance Racing News

the Champ Car record books. In 2004, he became the youngest driver to ever start a Champ Car event (17 years, eight months, 25 days) and this win gives him the record for youngest race winner. At 20 years, two months and 29 days old, Philippe eclipsed the previous mark by over six months. “I just can’t believe this day has finally come,” Philippe said. “I am so full of adrenaline, I actually feel like throwing up, but at the same time, it is the best feeling in the world! This is just incredible, my crew was perfect today and Will Phillips my engineer gave me a great car all weekend... I knew I could do it and I am really enjoying this success and the confidence it brings. At the same time though, it just gives me the desire to work harder and harder and now that I have my first win, I will continue to focus on my championship position, this season has been amazing.” The win also clinched the Nations Cup trophy for France for the second year in a row, although the bulk of the points have come from countryman Sebastien Bourdais.

Photo by Phil Abbott/LAT

Philippe breaks through

Nelson Philippe’s first career victory also set a record for the youngest race winner in Champ Car history

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7/20/06 3:00:38 PM

OntheRoad with David Hatter

ames Hinchcliffe is the latest driver to represent Canada in the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, the so-called “World Cup” of international motorsport, and so far he has been doing the country proud. The 19-year-old from Toronto came within a half-dozen laps of winning the last round in the Czech Republic and his efforts currently have Team Canada sitting in fourth place overall — among 23 nations — after two of 12 rounds. “It’s kind of nice being the new kid on the block,” said Hinchcliffe, recognized in North America as a rising star of Champ Car’s Atlantic series, but a complete unknown in Europe. “Here’s a 19-year-old kid from Canada who shows up and almost wins the race. It’s phenomenal exposure for me. I shocked a lot of people, but the person I shocked the most was myself.” A1GP, a winter series intended to pit country against country, draws some ex-F1 drivers, many from GP2 and sometimes Champ Car and Indy Car regulars. Each event consists of a sprint race and a feature. In the Czech event at Brno, Hinchcliffe qualified fifth, but climbed to a second-place finish in the 10-lap sprint, putting him on the front row for the feature, alongside ex-Minardi F1 driver Alex Yoong, of Malaysia. The Canadian got a better start and led virtually all the way until lap 33 (of 38) when the Malaysian pushed him off course. He recovered to finish fifth, while Yoong went on to win. “Alex dove to the inside and I was already committed to the corner. I got pushed out onto the marbles and turned around. It’s disappointing not to walk away with a podium, but a top-five is still fantastic,” he said. The Team Canada A1GP ride will be shared by Hinchcliffe and Sean McIntosh, who was last winter’s revelation, winning in Indonesia and helping the country secure 10th overall in points. The 21-year-old from B.C. competed this past summer in the World Series by Renault (WSR), taking sixth place in the final standings. Meanwhile, Hinchcliffe was running his rookie Atlantic campaign for Forsythe Racing. He now describes it as a “disappointing” season, despite a win at Portland, two other podiums (including Montreal, where he started on pole) and an overall ranking of 10th. “We had expectations of finishing in the top three. Our average race finish was not indicative of what we were doing. At times, I made mistakes. But I don’t think, as a team, we had the package to fight for the championship.” Still, any North American letdowns were at least partially offset by an invitation to test the Team Canada A1GP car at Pembrey, Wales, in July. The team, owned by Calgary oilman Wade Cherwayko, needed a second driver because of a new rule stipulating that only rookies could take part in opening practice sessions this season (the senior driver may then take over for the rest of the weekend). Hinchcliffe went back for a two-day test at Silverstone, involving most of the teams, and raised eyebrows by being one of the quickest from the outset. He was then asked to contest the opening A1GP event at Zandvoort, Holland, as McIntosh had 48

Performance Racing News

a WSR scheduling conflict. He finished eighth in the sprint race and 13th in the feature. He went to Brno, expecting only to drive in opening practice. But McIntosh has had had little time in the car since last winter. Hinchcliffe was faster in practice and was chosen to race — apparently a good decision, as it turned out. The A1GP races have not yet been seen in North America, but SPEED Channel is expected to start airing them on a delayed basis in December. And Canada might have its own event next winter. Authorities in Quebec City want to stage a street race there and, having failed to obtain a Champ Car or Indy Car date, are now reported to be talking to A1GP. Clearly, with a winter series, it would have to be either at the season’s start (September) or end (April).

Carpentier has big plans After taking most of 2006 off, Patrick Carpentier is preparing to “retire” by embarking on what could be his busiest schedule ever — potentially more than 40 races. The 35-year-old Quebecois has confirmed that he will be driving a Daytona Prototype in all 14 races of the Grand American Sports Car Series and is looking to in NASCAR Busch or CASCAR, or both. “I am done with IndyCars. I think I want to retire into sportscar and the Grand-Am series is something I really enjoy,” said Carpentier, who spent

After a self-described “disappointing” season in Atlantics, James Hinchcliffe raised eyebrows in A1GP as he nearly won in his second race in the Czech Republic

eight years in CART/Champ Car before switching to the IRL in 2005. His IndyCar ride fell through when Red Bull withdrew its sponsorship of Cheever Racing at the end of that season. Carpentier had his first taste of Grand-Am prototypes when Eddie Cheever invited him to drive this year’s Daytona 24 hours and he even led for a while before the car’s engine let go. He had a chance to do more races for Cheever, but his personal sponsor, engineering firm Mecachrome International, preferred he pursue NASCAR opportunities. When NASCAR did not work out, Carpentier did another Grand-Am race in August, at Sears Point, finishing seventh with Milka Duno in a Pontiac-Riley from SAMAX Motorsport. He has now signed with SAMAX for the full 2007 season, including the Aug. 3 race at Circuit GillesVilleneuve in Montreal. He hopes to be racing the next day too, Aug. 4, when NASCAR Busch makes its first visit to Canada. “We’re still working on the NASCAR side,” said Carpentier, who made his stock car debut in a CASCAR round at Cayuga in September, finishing sixth despite a last-corner spin. “It was a big change for me, but you have got to start somewhere.” He noted that there are 27 Busch races, non-conflicting with Grand-Am, that he could potentially contest in 2007 and added that he might also do some more CASCAR races for additional stock car “practice.”

Photo by LAT Photographic

Hinchcliffe shocks A1GP

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VIEWFROM

THETOWER with George Webster

Car of the Day After Tomorrow

Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

ext year NASCAR will introduce its ‘Car of Tomorrow’ at 16 of the 36 Nextel Cup races. As if the bad news about dropping television ratings in the United States was not enough, now we are hearing a chorus of concern about this new car. For sure, the new design is not pretty. Designed with the goal of improved safety and better racing — not to mention easier rules enforcement — the new cars have bigger, boxy design. The front end is a chunky lump with the air dam replaced by a ‘splitter’ like the one used on the trucks and the rear spoiler is replaced by a free-standing wing. In addition to bad-mouthing the looks of the CoT, many drivers who have tested it are complaining that it does not behave well in traffic and it is hard to pass other cars. No doubt the comments will continue until the CoT has been adapted for all the races and everyone has gotten used to it. Unless the CoT turns out to be totally unraceable nothing else matters since everyone will be running exactly the same car configuration. And, if there are problems, we can expect NASCAR to work on fixing them. Actually, my position is that NASCAR should have skipped this step in the evolution of the NASCAR race car and gone to the next logical step — a NASCAR-spec car with a NASCAR-spec engine. Back in the beginning of NASCAR they raced ‘strictly stock’ cars but that lasted only a few races

Performance Racing News

before NASCAR started tinkering with the rules in the name of safety. When the cars’ rail frame was replaced by unibody construction, NASCAR had to write rules to allow the racers to build tube frame chassis clothed with bodywork resembling the production models. That has gradually morphed into the ‘common-template’ bodywork derived from the mid’90s Ford Taurus NASCAR racer — bodywork that resembles no current production automobile and is the same for all ‘makes’. On the technical side, the NASCAR race car uses a front-mounted V-8 with pushrod valves and a carburettor driving through a solid rear axle. No modern sedan has this package of antique engineering derived the mid-‘60s Ford Galaxie.

series that have spec chassis and spec engines. No one ever seems to comment on the fact that Atlantic, Star Mazda, Formula BMW all run with sealed engines as well as spec chassis. Even Champ Car is already effectively using spec chassis as well as spec engines; next year they make it official. Many major race series including NASCAR, Champ Car and now Formula One have adopted a single-make spec tire rule and it has not upset the race fans — or the competition. I argue that NASCAR could do the same with both chassis and engine. Why doesn’t NASCAR do as Champ Car has done and contract with a one chassis builder to build a single-design spec

NASCAR should have skipped this step in the evolution of the NASCAR race car and gone to the next logical step — a NASCAR-spec car with a NASCAR-spec engine. But does it matter? NASCAR fans accept these cars as valid race cars and they maintain their brand loyalty to them even though the ‘make’ of racer is only determined by who made the NASCAR-regulated engine and which stickers are placed on the uniform bodywork. Race fans get their enjoyment from the ‘steak’ of the racing competition and the drivers demonstrating their skills as well as the ‘sizzle’ of all the hoopla that comes as part of the package — the fan adoration of the drivers as celebrities, the pre-race rituals, and the branding of the series, the car makes and the sponsors. No one can argue that NASCAR does not have a huge fan base — and it does it with a racing series that lacks any serious technical interest. Race fans can maintain an interest in other

chassis which would be provided to every team? It would greatly simplify things for the teams and surely it would lower the costs as it is doing in Champ Car. A single spec engine for NASCAR may be a more radical idea but already the engines of different makes are built to the same NASCAR-mandated set of rules. How big a leap is it to mandate a single spec engine from one supplier? ASA in its final days went to a common sealed spec engine for all ‘makes’ of race car. Now NASCAR’s Grand National series, East (the former Busch North series) and West, have adopted a single spec engine. If the ‘make’ of the car is determined simply by what kind of decals are placed on it, why not do the same with the common engine and screw a badge with the ‘maker’ name onto it? Who would build these chassis and engines? There would be lots of candidates. Perhaps some of the big teams would spin off much of their nowredundant operation as separate independent NASCAR-contracted builders. Or, maybe former NASCAR VP of R&D Gary Nelson is already positioning himself for this development. This year, he has left NASCAR and formed a company called Provident Auto Supply which is supplying the spec engine to the NASCAR Grand National teams. Traditionally, NASCAR makes change in a slow and gradual manner. I have no doubt that they have thought about this spec chassis/spec engine scenario but it’s not going to happen overnight. In the meantime, ignore all the angst about the new Toyotas (which, by the rules, will be effectively identical to all the other badge-engineered ‘makes’) and the new Car of Tomorrow — and get ready for the spec chassis/spec engine Car of the Day After Tomorrow.

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8/17/06 4:56:54 PM

TRADINGPAINT with MONTE DUTTON // photos by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH DRYING UP

oung drivers roared into NASCAR like a tsunami. It took a decade for the figurative tidal wave to engulf the sport. Now, however, it seems to have run its course. It was back in the 1990s when Jeff Gordon disproved the accepted mode of apprenticeship, and it was owner Rick Hendrick who opened up the sport to the young and restless by putting Gordon, at age 21, in a top-flight ride. Gordon won his first pole in 1993, his first race in ’94 and his first championship in ’95. Now, at age 35, Gordon is a revered veteran at an age once considered young. Gordon, like the sport he has come to represent, has aged well. “As far as motorsports go in America, this is the elite, the top level you can get to,” said Gordon. “At one time, that was not the case. If you look at the Indy 500, Indy cars back in the ‘80s — maybe even early ‘90s — it just seemed like that’s when NASCAR started to take off.” For a while, Gordon was considered a brilliant anomaly. Then Tony Stewart arrived in 1999. Extending the tidal-wave metaphor, Gordon was the off-shore seismic activity that triggered the wave. Stewart was the first wave to hit the beach. He won the first of two championships in 2002. By then, the veterans were fighting a losing battle against the deluge. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth arrived in 2000; Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch in 2001; Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray in

2002; Greg Biffle and Casey Mears in ’03; Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers and Scott Riggs in ’04; Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch in ‘05 and Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Martin Truex Jr. and J.J. Yeley this season. All but six have won races. The only active drivers with more than one championship are Gordon and Stewart. Kenseth and Kurt Busch have won one each. Out of all the names mentioned above, only Biffle and Riggs came to NASCAR’s top series the old-fashioned way. Once it was unheard of for young drivers to find quick success. Either they worked their way up through the ranks, or they got enough out of second-rate equipment to draw the attention of the top owners. Riggs was already 33 when he debuted in Nextel Cup in 2004. Biffle was 32. Both prospered in the Craftsman Truck and Busch series before earning Cup promotions. Out of the first 32 races of the current season, 31 were won by the names mentioned above. It was the 28th race when Jeff Burton, 39, won one for the over-the-hill gang. Burton and Mark Martin, 47, are the only drivers older than 35 to be competing for the championship under the Chase format. The tidal wave that obliterated NASCAR’s established order has run its course. Hamlin, the only rookie to make the Chase during its three years of existence, is also the only member of his class to live up to standards established by those before him. More significantly, the young talent seems

DAVID RAGAN HAS NOT IMPRESSED IN HIS NASCAR CUP DEBUT, WITH TONY STEWART GOING AS FAR AS SAYING HE IS “A DART WITHOUT FEATHERS”

JEFF GORDON STARTED THE TREND OF YOUNG DRIVERS ENTERING CUP COMPETITION AND THE TORCH WAS PICKED UP BY TONY STEWART, BUT THE PUSH FOR YOUNGER DRIVERS SEEMS TO HAVE REACHED ITS ZENITH

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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tapped. David Gilliland and David Ragan, both selected to fill vacancies with established teams, have thus far performed miserably. Ragan caused such a stir at Martinsville on Oct. 22 that NASCAR officials banned him from competing the following week at Atlanta. After a race in which Ragan spun out four times and caused three wrecks, Stewart memorably dubbed him “a dart without feathers.” The fields have, with little warning, gone barren. Millionaire owners, to hold the interest of multimillion-dollar sponsors, are looking elsewhere. They are trying to stir up a new wave. That’s why Juan Montoya, Indy 500 winner and a Formula One driver considered to be both skilled and erratic, is coming to NASCAR. Bogota, Colombia was heretofore overlooked as a NASCAR breeding ground. It’s why the great American hope of the Champ Car World Series, A.J. Allmendinger, will drive a Toyota next year for Team Red Bull. It’s why a week seldom passes without some new word of testing by IRL champ Sam Hornish Jr. or discussions with Jacques Villeneuve. “There’s always a concern of how comfortable I am in the car,” said Montoya, who will apparently make his Nextel Cup debut at Home-

WITH THE YOUNG TALENT POOL DRYING UP FOR NASCAR TEAMS, THEY ARE TURNING TO VETERANS FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES, AS EVIDENCED BY JUAN MONTOYA’S SWITCH FROM FORMULA ONE

54 25

stead-Miami Speedway. “I’ve driven a couple of these (stock cars) 12 years ago, but the level of these cars compared to then is night and day. I’ve actually been real comfortable. I get up to speed pretty easily. “It’s learning how far you can go with the car. That’s the hardest thing to learn.” “At one time, our cars were considered taxi cabs and not real race cars,” said Gordon. “We’ve gotten the cars now to where they’re fun to drive. The competition has always been there. We go to great race tracks, great facilities, but the competition, as far as drivers and teams, you can’t beat it.” The international movement may change the sport forever. It may end up being a quaint little interlude to be tucked away in a time capsule. Just because it has officially become the rage doesn’t mean it’s going to take hold. “In Europe, NASCAR is not regarded as high as it should be,” said Montoya. “I think people don’t know what it is exactly, how competitive it is. They’re used to Formula One, where the technology is extreme, but the crazy thing here is how limited the rules are for technology, how far they go with the cars. If you would bring an engineer from Formula One and show him how detailed the cars are, he would be shocked. When you look at them on TV, they all look alike. “I think me being here is going to make it more serious, going to make it more known internationally. I think it should. It’s a great sport. I think it’s great that it’s so based on the fans. We give so much to the fans that it’s amazing.”

Why is it, by the way, that veterans who race other kinds of cars have become highly valued, while able veterans with demonstrated ability wait in vain? As recently as 2002, Ward Burton won the Daytona 500. His younger brother, Jeff, is in the Chase. Ward Burton made the mistake at the end of 2004 of declaring that he wasn’t interested in driving lousy equipment anymore. He went home to South Boston, VA, managed his wildlife foundation, went hunting and fishing a lot and waited for the phone to ring. With one exception, in which he violated his pledge not to compete anymore in second-rate equipment, the elder Burton has learned the meaning of the term “out of sight, out of mind.” In his career, Ward Burton has won five poles and seven races. He’s held the track record at NASCAR’s toughest track, Darlington, since 1996. “I feel like I’m a waste of talent on Sundays and, sometimes, it really bothers me,” Ward said. “I’ll get out and do something and get outside or whatever. “Driving a race car is as easy to me as shooting. It’s something that came real naturally, something that I like… Certainly I’m never going to be a golfer, and I couldn’t care less about riding around in a golf cart on an 18-hole course. I’m not good at it, either, so why would I want to put myself through the time when I don’t want to spend the time on a golf course anyway? If it was shooting clay pigeons, it’d be different. I’m doing it because I’m good at it and I can make myself better, and racing is the same way.” Somehow, Ward Burton found himself stuck

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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It was only back in 2002 that Ward Burton won the Daytona 500, but now he’s sitting at home waiting for a phone call while young drivers and outsiders are being brought in ahead of the proven veteran

at the back of the line. He stands impatiently — and absurdly — behind Gilliland and Ragan, not to mention Montoya, Villeneuve and Hornish. And Regan Smith, the young driver who will share a ride with Martin next year. The feeder system is broken, partly because Cup drivers now win practically every Busch Series race and partly because the Craftsman Truck Series has gradually evolved into NASCAR’s version of what golfers call the Senior Tour. Most teams now employ driver-development directors. Chip Ganassi’s chief scout is Lorin Ranier, who signed Sorenson several years back and now has a couple of teens, Bryan Clauson and Brady Bacon, racing USAC sprint cars. The Roush development program has produced many rising stars — both Busch brothers (though Rick Hendrick stole one of them away), Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth — but also had its share of disappointments. The future of the organization, still near the height of its powers, seems imperiled by its sudden inability to develop drivers fast enough to fill its openings.

For every Jeff Gordon, there’s a David Steele who didn’t make it. For every Kyle Busch, there’s a Blake Feese. For every Carl Edwards, there’s a Nathan Haseleu; for every Biffle, a Chuck Hossfeld. Only recently has driver development been considered a science. It’s still an astonishingly imprecise one. “I think you have to look at people as individuals,” said Ranier. “Their values may change from a teenager to an adult. People may get more mature, may get better at what they do and then some people may just go nuts on you. “You don’t know. Who knows? They may start drinking, you don’t know. You really don’t know. That’s the danger you take in hiring a kid. He may grow up into an adult that you don’t like very much.” Meanwhile, there’s Ward Burton, waiting for the phone to ring.

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4/3/06 10:22:31 AM 10/31/06 5:26:10 PM

PRESENTS

THE 2006 CASCAR SUPER SERIES

a r e R A C S CA ey

by Jamie Maudsl

e s o l c a o comes t

the Four Points was conducted a The black tie affair family together ught the CASCAR Sheraton and bro e the NASCAR for be off a final send one more time, as . 07 s kicks off in 20 Canadian Tire Serie nor of emceebe awarded the ho to ate tun for I was calling all of of e eg had the privil the podium. ing the event, and to from last season llecting the the award winners co e dg Do re nners we king up the Among the big wi pic y wa e, Jason Hatha manufacturing titl zpatrick being Fit . J.R d an rs, no ho Rookie-of-the-Year pionship trophy. , including a awarded the cham d with a toast to JR The evening starte little short of a ll sti is old ar 18-ye and his parglass of milk, as the , JR th wi , and ended JR accepted the age of majority . t on stage with him ents John and Jane pionship trophy to culminate a am the final CASCAR ch pilot. for the third-year tremendous season o helped him wh le op pe of er JR thanked a numb his parents, his first-year tween over the years, be crew chief Ted e Electric Tools, his sponsor Milwauke t not least was entire crew. Last, bu McAllister, and his atrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teamzp Fit , Jr. Thomson the thanks to Don the last seven l driving coach for mate and persona r experience nio Ju AR SC CA to his years, going back dway. at Delaware Spee ssions of thanks cepted many expre ac tny vo No ny To ar of stock car cz e Th ht. of the nig during the course eedway until Sp are moter at Delaw racing was the pro had a vision and nded CASCAR. He 1981 when he fou concept of unihis o int that bought ck competia couple of tracks Sto t veloping his Stree ow hit the sh fied rules. After de the 86 19 in , l racers g series, rin tors into Late Mode tou l na tio me the top Na road and has beco . ces over the years ir support covering nine provin everyone for the ed nk tha was most Novotny he t tha ars, and claimed l throughout the ye na tio stock car not only the only Na proud of creating had a trement tha s rie but a se series in Canada, mpetitors and co ly between not on dous competition, factures. lly between manu teams, but especia with the top ay aw lk le to wa Hathaway was ab dge to three Do , after piloting his on, and finfreshman hardware as se the se clo ishes to ndings. For straight top-10 fin sta hip ns the champio ished up 11th in co se nd time his konson it was the team owner Ed Ha . urs no up the ho driver has picked 56

Performance Racing News

Photo by Ramesh Bayney

Super Series CASCAR e th r of f the e final chapte th , 6 0 0 supporters o 2 , d 6 n a t. , c s O r , o y s a n id o On Fr ms, sp , ON. s drivers, tea a n te it r ions in London w p s m a a h c 6 0 0 book w 2 to the paid homage r u to r a e -y 0 2

the d with milk at te s a to s a w k ok JR Fitzpatric 8-year-old to 1 e th s a t e u CASCAR banq prize home the top

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come

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track in late ady to hit the re s a w n n ly at Shawn McG Ford Fusion th ew n d n ra b e st th October to te 2007 will debut in

Photo by Ramesh Bayney

The night also featured a special presentation to CASCAR Super Series head scorer Peter Cadeau. Cadeau has been with the series since day one, and is the only person to never miss an event on the Super Series trail. He was presented with a watch.

Ford Fusion Appears

Photo by Ramesh Bayney

ight of osed on the n cl a er es ri se per r all he The CASCAR Su s honoured fo a w y tn vo o N car series Oct. 6 as Tony National stock e th te ea cr has done to

The CASCAR banquet also saw the unveiling of the first new Ford model for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. A new Ford Fusion body was on Sportsman champion Shawn McGlynn’s red, white and black #81 at the front of the banquet hall. The long-time CASCAR competitor from Kitchener blitzed the field during the final three races of the Sportsman season, picking up wins at Barrie, Cayuga, and Kawartha, en route to a narrow victory in the standings over Dion Verhoeven. McGlynn Racing has already started testing, as they put the car through its paces on Oct. 28 at Cayuga Speedway. “We won three races this year and we want to continue to be strong in 2007,” McGlynn said. “Our new Fusion looks great and I think the other drivers will like how it looks from behind... Did I say that out loud?” McGlynn also has other off season work to accomplish. “I plan to go to driving school over the winter to help get comfortable with the heel toe on the road course races next season. We will support the RACIN for a CURE charity drive which will raise money for diabetes research in 2007.”

No news on the NASCAR front

d his tr thaway enjoye a H n so Ja r a Ye Rookie-of-theware ck up his hard pi to e g a st e to th 58

Performance Racing News

The doors shut on the CASCAR office for the final time on Oct. 31. The waiting game has also begun with the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. So far, there have been no announcements, other than Series officials telling teams that most of their equipment will remain legal for 2007. The schedule should remain close to the same. Look for CASCAR to compete either three or four times on road courses, with Mosport, as a support event at the NASCAR Busch Series event, and an appearance at Trois-Rivieres. If a fourth is added, the Grand Prix of Toronto or Edmonton Grand Prix would lead to the most exposure. The other question is NASCAR’s plans for the Western Series. If it becomes stand alone, then there might not be a Western swing to the NCTS. The rest will be filled with Eastern Canada ovals. Rumours of a trip to Riverside Speedway in the Maritimes would fit, leaving Delaware, Cayuga, Kawartha, Ste. Eustache, Mosport, Barrie and maybe Peterborough, booking the rest of the dates.

Photo Courtesy McGlynn Racing

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Rossi is human; Hayden is the beneficiary

hat a finish. If there was ever any doubt that MotoGP is currently the most exciting championship in all of professional motorsport, the final two rounds of the 2006 season erased that doubt forever. The inevitability with which Valentino Rossi, the best motorcycle road racer in history, closed the gap to championship leader Nicky Hayden over the course of the final stages of the season was riveting enough. To recap, Hayden held a 51-point advantage over his closest pursuer following his win at Laguna Seca. Five races later and that advantage had turned into a 12-point deficit to Rossi, the most feared rider on the grid. The turning point was the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, a challenging track that often produces surprising results — and this year, a bigger surprise than ever. Early in the race, Dani Pedrosa, in the process of either misjudging his braking or attempting a late pass — the jury’s still out on that one — lost his front wheel on a tricky left-hander and crashed out of the race. It was a big mistake, especially considering that it erased the young Spaniard’s hopes of winning the MotoGP championship in his rookie season. More importantly, though, the sliding Pedrosa also eliminated Hayden, his Repsol Honda teammate, on the spot. In the history of motorsport, it was unquestionably one of the most boneheaded moves one teammate has ever pulled on another. Ever. And despite claims to the contrary by Pedrosa’s manager, Alberto Puig, everyone knew it. (Puig suggested that Hayden had braked earlier than normal for said left-hander, forcing Pedrosa to take evasive action… unsuccessfully.) As the dust from the incident was still settling, Hayden threw his helmet to the ground, pounded his gloved fists into the gravel trap where his and Pedrosa’s Honda RC211V machines lay battered and screamed to the heavens. It was not supposed to happen like this; championships were not supposed to be lost due to a teammate’s mistake. This was high drama at its highest. In preparing for the final race of the season at Valencia, Hayden replaced the bitter sting of disappointment with steadfast resolve. Yes, he had lost a championship lead he’d maintained almost from the very start of the season. Yes, the man who’d passed him in the standings was the most formidable road racer ever to don a crash helmet. And, yes, in order to beat Rossi to the title, he had to not only win but also secure help from another rider; all Rossi needed was to finish second to wrap up his sixth consecutive premier class championship.

Performance Racing News

“I don’t really know what to say. When you dedicate your life to something and that dream comes true, well, it’s just a lesson to keep fighting to the end. -Nicky Hayden

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ONTHETHROTTLE Rossi is human; Hayden is the beneficiary

A tall order. But coming into the final race of the 2006 season, Hayden vowed to either win or crash — and let the rest of the cards fall where they may. He was the only rider left with a chance of dethroning Rossi and he was intent on grabbing that chance with both hands. But one thing was certain: Rossi was not going to be easy to defeat. Not after clawing his way back from that 51-point deficit. Not when he had the chance to become the only rider to win a title in the 990cc Grand Prix era. And not when he’d been presented with another opportunity to build on his own legend. The weekend began in typical Rossi fashion: the Camel Yamaha rider qualified on pole. Beside him on the front row of the grid was the Marlboro Ducati duo of 2006 World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss (called in to replace the injured Sete Gibernau) and Loris Capirossi. Behind these three were Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and the Repsol Honda teammates, Hayden and Pedrosa. There were no Yamaha riders near the front to help Rossi out (as Colin Edwards had done in Estoril) and no Honda riders ahead of Hayden to take points from Rossi (as Toni Elias had also done in Estoril). It was going to be a straight fight between the two title contenders. At the green light, Rossi dropped like a stone. The Italian was first swamped by Bayliss, then Capirossi, Pedrosa, Nakano and Casey Stoner. Hayden brushed Rossi as he, too, went by the Yamaha, signaling his intent to give not an inch to his former teammate. At the end of the opening lap, Bayliss was attempting a quick getaway while Hayden was nipping at fourth place; Rossi looked equally racy in seventh. Intent on making amends for his transgression in Estoril, Pedrosa was angling to control third place and, thereby, allow Hayden to work his way past Stoner and Nakano. Three laps in and the Spaniard had worked this strategy to perfection: Hayden moved his way up to fourth forcefully, then through the door left wide open by Pedrosa. The Kentucky Kid was quickly past Capirossi and looked a safe bet to hassle Bayliss for the outright lead. Remember: At that point in the race, Hayden’s only options were to win or crash. Then, a surprise nearly equal to the Pedrosa-

In the Repsol Honda garage, they tracked Rossi’s progress, did the math and updated Hayden’s pit boards... Hayden was given the sign: “3rd OK.” 64

Performance Racing News

Hayden incident in Portugal: Rossi lost the front end of his Yamaha M1 on the Turn 2 left-hander on lap four! In an instant, the Doctor revealed himself to be human, capable of making an honest mistake when the pressure was fast approaching its apogee. While Rossi muscled his yellow machine back on its wheels, Hayden’s crew were jumping for joy in the pits. They quickly readied a pit board for Nicky which read: “Rossi: P20.” With Rossi some 20 seconds behind the race leaders, Hayden eventually allowed Capirossi through to pursue Bayliss. The latter stages of the race were edge-of-yourseat stuff. Rossi wasn’t giving up in the least and he gradually worked his way back into the points, benefiting from retirements and the weaker machinery of the tail-enders. Meanwhile, Hayden was keeping Capirossi and Bayliss within sight, ready to mount an attack in case Rossi managed to climb into the top-10. For his part, Pedrosa was maintaining a watching brief in fourth place, ready to prevent anyone from attacking Hayden or, if the situation arose, preparing to drop back to stop Rossi from getting past too many riders too easily. In the Repsol Honda garage, they tracked Rossi’s progress, did the math and updated Hayden’s pit boards. As the remaining laps wound down, Rossi rose to 13th place, but was clearly too far behind to soar any higher. Hayden was given the sign: “3rd OK.” Meaning: a third-place finish was good enough to win the championship. The American backed off, crossing the finish line some five seconds behind eventual winner Bayliss, who captured his maiden MotoGP win. The title was Nicky’s by a slim margin, just five points. Rossi, whose level of disappointment was immense, still congratulated Hayden on the cool-down lap. At the post-race press conference, Hayden was wearing a shirt that proclaimed him as 2006 MotoGP Champion, but the result clearly hadn’t hit home yet. “I don’t really know what to say,” he began. “When you dedicate your life to something and that dream comes true, well, it’s just a lesson to keep fighting to the end.” In the end, Hayden did not have to choose between winning and crashing. But it was a great finish.

RTT 5.05.indd 1

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Hayden isCHAMP

American star capitalizes on rare mistake by Valentino Rossi to overtake the five-time champ for the MotoGP crown

Toni Elias was ecstatic on the podium in Portugal as he took his maiden GP victory in his debut race

he world championship hopes of Nicky Hayden came to a crashing halt, literally, in the Portuguese Grand Prix after a controversial incident with teammate Dani Pedrosa. Honda’s worst nightmare came true as both its factory riders ended in the gravel after coming together. Pedrosa’s bike slid into Hayden’s under braking, taking both riders out. That allowed Hayden’s Yamaha rival Valentino Rossi to claim the championship points lead after securing the runner-up spot. Rossi finished second to Honda privateer Toni Elias, and the result put Rossi eight points clear of Hayden with one race left. Third was Kenny Roberts Jr., just ahead of Colin Edwards. The top four were separated by just 0.8s. “I don’t know what to say really — it just hurts” a disappointed Hayden said. “I don’t expect Dani to pull over and let me by but I definitely didn’t expect him to do that. Dani did come to my motorhome and talk to me afterwards and we shook hands. I proved this weekend I wasn’t going to give up without a fight and I believe I’m pretty strong. “I need Dani’s help now because anything could happen in Valencia.” Pedrosa, who fractured his little finger in the crash, said, “I made a mistake and I’m really sorry. It’s the first time in my career I’ve hit another rider and obviously Nicky is not happy — I wish I could change it. If I can I will try and help him in Valencia. I braked and the rear wheel came off the ground, I couldn’t stop the bike.” To surpass Rossi, Hayden needs to win the Valencia GP and hope Rossi finishes third or worse. As for the race itself, it was a popular, and unexpected, debut GP victory by Elias. Although nervous when he first took charge ahead of Rossi, Elias did not back down, battling the five-time world champion all the way to the flag. “I can’t believe it, I have dreamt of this moment many times,” said Elias. “When I passed Valentino I was nervous because I had two world champions behind me, Valentino and Kenny Roberts. And then I made three mistakes in just one lap so I let Rossi go back in front — I didn’t want another disaster. “If I had not hit Valentino at Jerez in the first race of the season he may be world champion by now.” Elias took Rossi out in turn one of the Spanish GP, costing Rossi valuable points. On the last lap, Elias and Rossi traded the top spot , with the Italian moving ahead at the chicane three corners from the finish in a tight move, before Elias drafted by for the victory on the straight. “It was an incredible race, if I could have signed for this eight point lead before the race I would have taken it,” Rossi said. “To lose by two thousandths of a second is difficult. When I saw Nicky was out I thought, ‘do I risk racing for 25 points or stay quiet for 20 points and second place?’”

Nicky Hayden (#69) hoped for some help from teammate Dani Pedrosa (#26) in Portugal, but a mistake by Pedrosa took both riders out of the race and put Valentino Rossi in charge of the title chase

Valentino Rossi lost an eight-point lead and the MotoGP title after going into the gravel at Valencia

Performance Racing News

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11/1/06 5:54:24 PM

Troy Bayliss made his MotoGP debut one to remember as he took the victory at the Valencia season finale, but it was the third-place run of Nicky Hayden that was the big story as the American captured the championship

Bayliss scores first GP win

Nicky Hayden scored a deserving and emotional victory in the MotoGP world championship with a third place finish the Valencia Grand Prix. The race was won by World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss, who scored a career-first GP victory to lead home teammate Loris Capirossi for a 1-2 result for Ducati. In a dramatic conclusion to the 17-race championship, Hayden claimed the title to end the championship domination of Valentino Rossi. Hayden’s winning margin was five points over Yamaha rival Rossi, who lost any chance when he crashed on lap five. Rossi remounted and bravely finished 13th as Hayden cruised home. Rossi’s bid for a sixth consecutive MotoGP crown ended with an surprise mistake as the Italian crashed out of seventh place as he chased after a flying Hayden. “I’m still looking at the race results to make sure I’m not dreaming, but dreams do come true! Thanks to all the people who’ve been behind me – my family, my friends, Honda, Michelin, everyone,” said Hayden. “Some people said I was soft but I think I put that one away today. My plan was to go past Valentino and go ahead of him to show him what kinda mood I was in today. “I got the sign saying P3 was OK for the championship so I knew my guys had figured out the math on that one. It was great to have all my family here, especially my brothers Roger Lee and Tommy, we are pretty tight.” Hayden is the seventh American rider to win the title, joining ‘King’ Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr. Rossi came into this race eight points ahead but made a jumpy start from pole position and as Hayden surged from the second row Rossi dropped to seventh. As Hayden pushed into second position behind the flying Bayliss, Rossi crashed, remounted but was never a threat for the title. “This is a big disappointment to me because to arrive at the final race with an eight point advantage and then not win the title is a disaster,” said Rossi. “I made two mistakes today, one at the start and then the crash. It has been an emotional season with some great moments, some bad luck and some mistakes. But this is racing. “I want to congratulate Nicky, he is a great guy and I know his family well and even though I’m disappointed, I’m happy for them. It has been great fight his year, and he is the champion.” “It’s been a fairytale weekend,” said Bayliss. “Just when I was kicking back after winning the Superbike title I got a call to come and do this race and I couldn’t knock it back. “It was a tough race and even when Loris pushed towards the end I was able to stay in front, this is a big day for me.”

A second-place finish helped Loris Capirossi secure the third spot in the points chase

Nicky Hayden’s title makes him the fifth American to earn the World Championship, joining the likes of current rider Kenny Roberts Jr. and his father, “King Kenny”

Performance Racing News

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Motorcycles

Photos by Len Silvester

Klatt and Lange rule the Big

Dusty Klatt went out on a high note in his last race with Blackfoot Honda as he won the prestigious Montreal Motocross

story and photos by Alain Assad

ype for this year’s NAPA Montreal Motocross was felt for months as it’s the king of off road races in this country. Fresh off his Canadian MX1 championship, Dusty Klatt picked a good event to dominate in his last performance for Blackfoot Honda. He took the win in front of US boys Jason Thomas and Jeff Dement, who was fastest during Friday practice. Clocking the best lap times for both classes during qualifying, Klatt was expected to enjoy clear air all evening, but like many others, at some point he had to eat some dirt. He could have been the first to ever win both the 125 and 250at this historical and always magical race. The track was sweet but unforgiving, technical to the bone. This amazingly talented fellow from Campbell River, BC will soon be on his way south in search of tougher challenges and even more significant accomplishments. What better way to close off things here in Canada then to win it’s most popular race. Last year’s winner, Thomas, just added to the Butler Brothers MX team for ’07, aggressively launched over the gate and took the holeshot but was quickly taken over by Klatt in the 250 main. He then stretched out front quickly, building an early comfort zone while is Blackfoot Honda teammate Blair Morgan was keeping up with Thomas. His first lap was the fastest of the evening, a good three seconds faster than Thomas’. For a few laps the top three stayed a safe distance from each other and raced the track with meticulous care while Dement pressured Matt Barnes before eventually stealing fourth halfway through the 15-lap race. By that time Klatt was long gone and untouchable, ending up with a 15-second lead at the finish. This year’s publicity campaign for the 29th edi68

Performance Racing News

Darcy Lange held firm control of the 125 race from the outset and cruised to the victory

American Jeff Dement stalked the leaders for much of the race and surged ahead near the finish to steal the last spot on the 250 podium

Interested In attendIng the World supercross event In eIther toronto or vancouver? then make your Way to a partIcIpatIng suzukI dealershIp In those cItIes and you can purchase a tIcket for the dIscount prIce of just $10.

Photos by Len Silvester

tion was focused on Jean-Sébastien Roy’s popularity, banking on Quebec race fans strong bond with their home boy. His face dominated the ad design and was seen repeatedly for many weeks in papers and was majestically adorned a giant billboard just outside the Stadium. Many in the huge crowd were still unaware that JSR had hurt himself a week before during practice and only found out on the night of that he was not racing. Of course, being the great sportsman he is, JSR was still present on the sidelines and in the pits, signing countless autographs for his many disappointed fans. His morale seemed clearly affected as his smile bared a touch of sadness. In the MX2 final, Klatt suffered what might be his only crash of the whole season on the first lap, missing his landing on a big triple. Darcy Lange took over the lead and never looked back, cruelly dominating the field. Ontario’s Pierce Chamberlain and BC’s Colton Facciotti were having fun racing each other for second in the first few laps until Facciotti, last year’s winner, got him on the third lap. Best of the locals, Simon Homans was close behind in fourth holding on to that position until Chamberlain crashed and gave him the last spot on the podium on a silver platter.

dISCOUNTEd WORLd SUPERCROSS TICkET SUPPORT BROUGHT TO BY

to purchase the tIckets vIsIt one of 19 dealers In the toronto area or one of 18 In the vancouver area. the partIcIpatIng dealers are:

ONTARIO • Cameron Cycle Ltd. (peterborough) • GT Powersports (oshawa) • Asseltine Country (Blackstock) • Cycle World West (Islington) • Cycle World East (scarborough) • Suzuki of Newmarket (newmarket) • Two Wheel Motorsports (guelph) • Bob Motorsports (chatham) • Lightning Motorsports (st. thomas) • Milton Motorsports (milton)

• Racers Choice (Brantford) • Ultimate Suzuki (london) • Suzuki Ingersoll (Ingersoll) • Bulldog Powersports (cambridge) • St. Onge Recreation (Barrie) • Suzuki of Brampton (Brampton) • Clare Cycle (fenwick) • Sturgess Cycle (hamilton) • Cycle City (Burlington)

BRITISH COLUMBIA • Modern Motorcycling (vancouver) • North Shore Suzuki (north vancouver) • CR Cycle (maple ridge) • Holeshot Racing (langley) • Harbour City Motorsports (nanaimo) • Richmond Motocycles (richmond) • S&V Motorcycle World Ltd. (surrey) • C&S Motorcycles (sidney) • Campbell River Boatland (campbell river)

• Vision Motor Sports (pemberton) • Big Top Powersports (chilliwack) • Orca Bay Suzuki (port coquitlam) • Clearbrook Motorsports (abbotsford) • Bayshore Services (merritt) • Four Seasons Motorsports (vernon) • Valley Motorsport (kelowna) • Rivercity Cycle Ltd. (kamloops) • Valley Yamaha (chilliwack)

THE WORLd SUPERCROSS EVENTS WILL BE HELd ON dEC. 2, 2006 IN TORONTO AT THE ROGERS CENTRE ANd ON dEC. 9, 2006 IN VANCOUVER AT BC PLACE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.SUPERCROSS.CC.COM. Performance Racing News

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5th Annual Canadian Nationals returns after July postponement

other Nature was truly unkind to all the participants at the 5th Annual IHRA Canadian Nationals at Toronto Motorsports Park. After wiping out the original dates back in July, rain once again played havoc with the “redo” dates in September, resulting in the completion of the event in front of empty grandstands on a Monday evening. Despite the true endurance test for everyone involved, the car count remained strong (491 entries did return) and there were some performance highlights. The event’s bad karma unfortunately, did not end with the weather. A much anticipated final round Top Fuel face-off between Doug Foley and Clay Millican had an unfortunate twist of fate. Points leader Foley, the two-time defending Canadian Nationals champion, experienced a horrific wreck in the final. After peddling his car a couple of times Foley’s Torco Mach Series Accelerator-sponsored car crossed from the right lane behind Millican and hit the left guard wall. That appeared to jam the throttle open as Foley then veered back into the right guard wall at high speed before flipping over in flames. The next hour or so was tense as Foley was extracted from the car and rushed to hospital. As the event’s Sportsman racing action wound down everyone was sitting on needles waiting for news. Ultimately a report came in that he had suffered a concussion, an injury to his mouth and a broken leg and ankle. While those injuries were unfortunate they are relatively minor considering the scale of the crash and what could have been. Foley flew back to his home in New Jersey later that week. Lost in all of that was Millican’s victory in the other lane, his second win on Canada soil this sea-

son. It moved the popular Tennessee-based driver of the Werner Enterprises-sponsored car back on top of the points chase and with Foley’s crash all but assured him a sixth consecutive IHRA World Championship win. Millican, who defeated Kevin Jones and Canadian Ed Verenka to advance to the final, was somewhat of an underdog to Foley. Just prior to his crash Foley had reset both ends of the TMP track record to a 4.603 secs at 322.65 mph while winning in round two. The Nitro Funny Car program drew only seven entries to TMP but it did feature an important win for Illinois-based Dale Creasy Jr., who earned his third win of the season — sweeping of all three Canadian IHRA events this season. Creasy, turned back a rather gutsy effort from Pennsylvania’s Paul Lee, who made his second career final round appearance driving his now Rislone-sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo. In the final, Creasy’s Torco Chevy moved first and won with a 4.948/292.01 mph while Lee, who ran a 4.884 secs (low ET) in the previous round, slowed to a 6.289 secs. Creasy’s victory came from the pole (4.946 secs) and included a first round single and a second round win over Terry Haddock. He was also credited with top speed at 309.56 mph. The Alcohol Funny Car class produced some rewarding results for the locals, featuring an allCanadian final between London’s Paul Noakes was matched up against Welland’s Larry Dobbs. Noakes, who won for the first time ever back in July, grabbed his second career “Ironman.” Noakes jumped to an early lead (.046 to .079 RT) and then hung on for a close decision, 5.903/241.32

Story and photos by Bruce Biegler Drag Racing Editor

Florida’s Rob Mansfield finally drew blood in Pro Stock, winning his first career IHRA “Ironman”

Dale Creasy Jr. completed a sweep of all three Canadian IHRA events when he won at TMP

Clay Millican’s excitement following his final round Top Fuel win at TMP was quelled by disaster in the other lane

Canadian Paul Noakes earned the Alcohol Funny Car title, his second win in 2006 70

Performance Racing News

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Monday’s Pro Mod final saw local favourite Mike Janis defeat John Russo

the d e b i grab cular r e i t ecta y Pon p n s o T a ith to’s Toron Pro Mod w 8 mph .3 in pole ecs at 236 s 6.060

Performance Racing News

to 5.924/236.38. Noakes used a superb .007 RT in round one to upset low qualifier Mark Thomas with his 6.067/240.21 mph beating Thomas’s quicker 5.999/242.41. He then ran a 5.864/244.43 to beat Terry McMillen in the semi-final. Class R/UP Dobbs upset championship contenders Robbie Atchison and Thomas Carter while advancing to the final. Torco Competition Plus Pro Modified featured a big win for popular driver Mike Janis, from nearby Lancaster, NY. For Janis, who grew up racing at the facility, the victory moved him into second points — only five behind overall leader Glen Kerunsky in the terrifically tight chase. Driving his Eatonsponsored Chevy Colbalt, Janis ran a final round 6.320/228.61 mph to defeat unexpected finalist John Russo, who shook the tires and shut down. Janis’ victory came over a quick assembly of Pro Mod cars. The 24 machines produced a bump spot of 6.259 secs. Janis covered Harold Martin, Tommy D’April and Eddie Ware in earlier competition after qualifying sixth. Pro Mod was paced by Toronto’s Tony Pontieri, who ran the quickest and fastest times ever in Canada (in IHRA national event competition). Driving the Al Billes influenced ’57 Chevy co-owed by Rob Sporring, Pontieri ripped a spectacular 6.060/236.38 to take the pole on Saturday. But unfortunately the car lost fire in round one, going silent following its burnout. Mountain-motor Pro Stock took full advantage of the great atmospheric conditions, which did exist following the rain. That included the quickest and fastest Pro Stock times in Canadian history, cumulated by Robert Patrick’s stunning 6.341 secs ET and Rob Mansfield’s 219.61 mph speed. The PS final was an all-Chevy affair with Florida’s Mansfield facing off against defending Canadian Nationals and World Champion Steve Spiess. It was Mansfield who collected his overdue first career IHRA win when he ran a super solid 6.379/219.61 mph while Spiess went .036 red. Sportsman racing included some Canadian winners with Niagara Falls driver Chuck Nagy scoring his fourth career IHRA title in Super Stock driving his ’03 Sonoma. Nagy beat another Canadian, Brian Clayton, in the final. Dave Comeau, from Dundas, ON, scored in Stock eliminator, taking his K/SA ‘68 Chevelle to the win over the ’63 Savoy ofBritt Mizia.

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Reputation

Torco Presidents Cup Nationals comes to Maryland International Raceway

affirmed!

Quain Stott moved into the overall IHRA Pro Mod points lead by winning the Presidents Cup Nationals.

acing at the fast Maryland International Raceway for IHRA’s Torco Presidents Cup Nationals did not disappoint anyone as it produced the quickest fields in both Pro Stock and in Pro Modified history. The event was highlighted by Pro Stock winner “Tricky Rickie” Smith. Smith, who won four straight IHRA World Championship titles between 1986-89, but only recently rejoined the IHRA Mountain-motor circuit, drove his Skull Gear Chevy Colbalt to a holeshot (.042 to .084) win over the Ford Mustang of points leader Tony Gillig, in the final round held on Monday due to rain. Smith’s 6.374 secs at 219.22 mph prevailed over Gillig’s quicker 6.352/220.19. Smith’s victory came over a ridiculously quick field – the bump spot of 6.429 secs eclipsed by a wide margin the 6.457 secs mark set at San Antonio last March. The record fast field was paced by Robert Patrick whose titanic low ET of 6.320 secs earned the pole. While Patrick did not win on Monday, he did come away with a large payout after winning the prestigious Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock Showdown on Saturday evening. Patrick used some great driving and spectacular speed while winning that classic, including the all-time quickest and fastest runs in Pro Stock history at 6.312 secs and 221.70 mph! Patrick’s 2007 Ford Shelby collected a cool $20G when he downed Frank Gugliotta’s Ford Escort in that final round: 6.320/221.20 to 6.352/220.19. Pro Modified was equally impressive, featuring an all-time quick bump spot of 6.165 secs, which bettered the IHRA’s previous mark of 6.188 secs set in August. The final was truly odd by any standard. Teammates Quain Stott and Tommy D’April both elected to idle down track in the final in what had to be the slowest side-by-side Pro Mod match in history. Stott won with a time of 41.82 secs compared to D’April’s 44.48 secs. The episode was later revealed to be an apparent tribute to US troops serving overseas. Pro Mod was paced by South Carolinian driver Scott Cannon, who drove his Torco Race Fuels

Performance Racing News

GTO to 6.019 secs for the pole. That was followed closely by Canadian Raymond Commiss,o who ran 6.033 secs at a thundering 239.44 mph (top speed). Both Cannon and Commisso, who were using Al Billes tune-ups, were early round victims on Sunday. The event featured the 49th win in the career of Clay Millican and with that the popular driver of the Werner Enterprises Top Fuel car has all but mathematically clinched his sixth consecutive IHRA World Championship title. Millican’s final round run of 7.276 secs was good for the victory when opponent Rick Cooper went -.180 red. Millican’s victory included round wins over Kevin Jones and T.J. Zizzo. Zizzo set both top speed and low ET during qualifying when he ran a 4.615 secs and 325.92 mph. Millican is assured the 2006 IHRA World title as long as he enters the season-ending World Finals at Rockingham — a given. Nitro Funny Car produced a monumental upset with relative unheard of driver Jeff Diehl emerging victorious driving his California-based Toyota. Diehl, who entered only two other IHRA events this season, never did run very fast but won the event anyways. He qualified #7 at 7.647 secs and then

used some good fortune, running 7.06 secs and 5.69 secs to beat Dale Creasy Jr. and Jack Wyatt. In the final he recorded his best time of the weekend at 5.399/241.07 to turn back Paul Lee’s Rislone-sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo, which ran a losing 5.773/247.20 in its fourth final round appearance of 2006. NFC was paced by Bob Gilbertson’s Autolite XP Dodge Stratus, which ran a track record 4.762/325.35 in qualifying before being beaten by Jack Wyatt in round one — 5.97 to 6.13 secs. Alcohol Funny Car produced the first class win for Neal Parker, who drove his “Excavator” past Ohio’s Mark Thomas in an all-Chevy Monte Carlo final. Parker won on a terrific final round RT (.006) as his 5.841/240.04 held off Thomas’s superior 5.773/247.20. Parker’s “Ironman” was his first in AFC racing although he did have three previous career IHRA wins in the now defunct Pro Outlaw category. The R/UP finish for Thomas put him into first in the points chase. He was able to surpass Canada’s Robbie Atchison who was a shocking DNQ. Atchison’s best run of 5.963 secs just missed the 5.962 secs bump.

Robert Patrick recorded the quickest and fastest run in Pro Stock history -- 6.312 secs & 221.70 mph!

photos by Phil Hutchison

by Bruce Biegler | Drag Racing Editor

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lateseason

heroics! by Bruce Biegler | Drag Racing Editor

nationals

O’Reilly Fall

HRA’s annual touchdown at the Texas Motorplex featured the fourth win of the season for Brandon Bernstein and the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster. Originally a Dallasnative, Bernstein’s win moved him into championship contention as he is within 40 points of overall leader Doug Kalitta. In the Top Fuel final, Bernstein easily outran Rod Fuller as his 4.612 secs at 323.19 mph was more than enough to cover Fuller’s tire-smoking effort in the David Powers-owned Valvoline dragster. Top Fuel was paced by Tony Schumacher who claimed his 10th pole of the season driving the U.S. Army dragster to 4.520/325.22. Schumacher advanced to the semi final round before being eliminated. California’s Robert Hight drove the AAA Auto Club Ford Mustang to the Funny Car title when he beat first-time finalist Mike Ashley. It was Hight’s third win of the season and ended a streak of 25 races where the No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car had been shut out of the winner’s circle. Hight’s pole qualifying effort of 4.742/324.75 led the way for the category and his victory propelled him into serious contention for the championship. A pivotal first round pairing saw points leader Ron Capps defeat top challenger John Force. Capps powered his Brut Dodge Charger to the win while Force’s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang had traction issues. That was Force’s fourth first round loss of the season. Capps, however, was then dealt out in the second round by his teammate Ashley in the Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger. 76

Performance Racing News

1 Richie Stevens Jr. scored his first Pro Stock circuit win since 2001 when he won at Dallas in late September

Robert Hight rode a pole qualifying effort to victory lane and into serious POWERade FC points contention at Dallas

Dallas-native Brandon Bernstein won his fourth event of the season during the O’Reilly Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex.

Richie Stevens Jr. drove his Team Mopar Dodge Stratus to victory in Pro Stock, his first win since 2001. The win was Stevens’ fifth career victory and his first at the Texas Motorplex. Stevens overcame a final round lane choice disadvantage to Pontiac GTO driver Mike Edwards and won a convincing 6.693 secs to 6.718 decision. Greg Anderson claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO with a track record performance of 6.662/206.95. It’s Anderson’s 11th PS pole of the season and the 51st of his career. Anderson was upset in the first round by No. 16 qualifier Dave Northrop and the

Nitro Fish Dodge Stratus, his sixth first round loss of the season. AMS Pro Modified produced the first ever class win for a lady driver when Shelly Anderson’s Valvoline-sponsored Dodge Stratus took the win. Anderson, who previously won in both Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Fuel, outran Troy Critchley in the all-Mopar final 6.091/231.68 to 6.170/235.97. Anderson earlier toppled Mike Bell, Jay Payne (her husband), and Thomas Patterson. Texan Josh Hernandez was the performance star, setting both low ET and top speed at 6.016 secs and 239.06 mph driving the Dr. Moon’s Rage Chevy Camaro.

Photos by Bruce Biegler & Dave DeAngelis

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lateseason heroics!

Toyo Tires

nationals

Phil Burkhart Jr. upset the Funny Car favorites with his cool-looking Havoline/C.S.K. Chevrolet during the Toyo Tires Nationals

he 2006 Toyo Tires Nationals held at Pennsylvania’s scenic Maple Grove Raceway was unfortunately plagued by Mother Nature. The event, originally scheduled for Sept. 14-17, did not wrap up until two weeks later after being deferred by persistent rain and a flooded facility. Ultimately the event ended up being a successful one with national records smashed in both Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Greg Anderson, driving the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac, won huge in Pro Stock, defeating the quickest assembly in NHRA history. Anderson outgunned first time finalist Greg Stanfield in a battle of Pontiac GTOs, winning at 6.656/208.36 while Stanfield went -.017 red. Anderson topped a field that featured a bump spot of 6.664 secs and set a new national record speed of 208.91 mph. Anderson’s teammate Jason Line complemented his efforts by leaving with the ET record. Line ran a simply sizzling 6.609 secs en route to a semi-final finish. Nitro racing featured a couple of upset winners. In Top Fuel, J.R. Todd proved that he is for real after he won for the third time this season driving the Skull Shine-sponsored dragster owned by Dexter Tuttle. Todd prevailed over Melanie Troxel, 4.494/324.12 to 4.538/324.28. The event, which featured only 15 cars, was paced by Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army dragster, which took low ET (4.440 secs) and top speed (331.85 mph) during qualifying. Schumacher was dealt out in round two by Todd on a holeshot — winning at 4.502 secs to 4.490 secs. Funny Car produced the first circuit win for New York’s Phil Burkart Jr. in over two years as he drove 78

Performance Racing News

At Maple Grove Raceway, J.R. Todd won for the third time this season - can you say Rookieof-the-Year

the Havoline/C.S.K. Chevy Monte Carlo to victory. Burkart beat the AAA Auto Club Ford Mustang of Robert Hight in the final as both drivers had tire-spin problems while peddling to the finish. For Hight, it was his third consecutive final round appearance. Despite losing in the semi-final round to Burkhart, John Force was able to retake the overall POWERade points lead from Ron Capps who lost in round one (also to Burkhart). Force exited the event leading Capps by a single point with three events remaining. Nevada’s Karen Stoffer won over a record setting Pro Stock Motorcycle program riding her Geico-sponsored Suzuki. The victory was the third of Stoffer’s career. Stoffer ran a swift 7.097/187.94 in the final to beat former World Champion Geno Scali. Stoffer’s win came over a 16-bike field that featured a record setting 7.050 secs bump. Angelle Sampey earned some valuable bonus points when she ran the quickest ET in Pro Stock Motorcycle history at 6.939 secs while qualifying #1 aboard her U.S. Army Suzuki. Sampey backed that up for a new NHRA ET record before she had a -.067 RT in round four and lost to Stoffer, 7.037 secs to 7.069. The elite eight-bike Mickey Thompson-sponsored “6-second club” was filled at the event. Sampey’s 6.939 secs (the first “six” of her career) was joined by Shawn Gann (6.952) and Stoffer (6.970) in the club.

Angelle Sampey’s first ever “six” was a stunning national record setting 6.939 secs effort

Top Alcohol Dragster featured a huge win for Canadian Daniel Mercier, who powered to victory driving the Montreal-based Laboratorie A.B.S./NitroMoose.ca injected nitro car. Mercier edged Art Gallant’s injected nitro car in the final, 5.358/261.67 to 5.386/270.37. With the win Mercier became only the fourth Canadian to ever win in TAD class at the national level and the first in an injected nitro car. With his win in Top Alcohol Funny Car, Frank Manzo clinched the 2006 World Championship driving his Lucas Oil-sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo. The 10-time NHRA Champion beat up-and-coming racer Bob Tasca III in an exciting final round– 5.564/256.26 to 5.591/258.81. Manzo was earlier been credited with 5.545 secs and 259.16 mph runs — low ET and top speed. The weather plagued Maple Grove event was unfortunately also crash marred. The most serious incident involved local Pennsylvania Top Alcohol Dragster racer Mark Albert who was severely injured on Saturday evening during qualifying when his Advance Auto Parts dragster crossed lanes and struck the guardwall at high speed. The damage to the concrete guardwall was so severe that further racing was curtailed that evening. Albert was flown from the scene by emergency helicopter after suffering serious burns in the crash. He was put into an induced coma after arriving at the hospital. Everyone at Performance Racing News wishes him a quick recovery.

BDI 5.05.indd 1

9/19/06 11:44:47 AM

nationals

Torco Race Fuels

lateseason heroics! After notching a win in IHRA competition earlier this season, Cory McClenathan won Top Fuel at the Torco Race Fuels Nationals

In what may turn out to be the top news story of 2006, Jason Line won in record fashion over the quickest NHRA Pro Stock field in history

ollowing a one week delay due to rain, NHRA’s return to Virginia Motorsports Park after a six-year absence became official with the inaugural running of the Torco Race Fuels Nationals. Pro Stock proved to be an unworldly affair as participants produced an absolute flurry of spectacular performances. Jason Line “ran the table” driving the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO, collecting the maximum possible 138 points while winning the event, and is poised to clinch his first title. After qualifying on the pole with a then all time quick 6.571 secs, Line ran nothing but 6.5 secs elapsed times on Sunday to win in spectacular fashion. In round one, Line was credited with a simply unreal 6.558 secs for a new ET record, an astounding .051 secs quicker than the 6.609 secs standard he set at Maple Grove. Line also upped the national speed record to 209.75 mph. Line’s victory, which included a final round decision over Tom Martino, came over the quickest field of Pro Stock cars in history as the 6.630 secs bump surpassed the 6.664 secs mark from the Toyo Tires Nationals. Pro Stock featured countless career best performances. Greg Anderson was the first in the 6.5 secs zone, winning the provision pole with a barrier breaking 6.598 secs. Also joining the 6.5 secs club were Greg Stanfield and Mike Edwards, in Pontiac GTOs and Kenny Koretsky in a Chevy Colbalt. Class highlights included the return of former champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., who was behind the wheel of his new Slammers-sponsored Chevy Colbalt. Coughlin, who was tuning up for the 2007 campaign, looked right in place, qualifying seventh with and winning his round one match. Funny Car saw John Force team cars dominate 80

Performance Racing News

as they qualified 1-2-3. Eric Medlen, driving the Castrol Syntec Ford, accomplished something only one other FC racer this season has been able to do — win the event from the pole. After running low ET (4.782 secs) during qualifying, Medlen powered by the field, including Cruz Pedregon’s Advance Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo in the final: 4.814/301.00 to 4.873/297.02. John Force expanded his points lead from one to 47 over Ron Capps with only two events remaining. After Capps bowed out in round one to a resurgent Scott Kalitta (4.808 secs to 4.891) Force had a semi-final round finish, losing to Cruz Pedregon when his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang caught fire. Force gave everyone a bit of a scare during that loss as he was temporarily overcome by the heat after exiting the car. Scott Kalitta, who has struggled most of this season since switching back to FC, had his best outing of the season driving his new ’07 Toyota Solara. Kalitta qualified fourth with a 4.770 secs and went to the semis. Cory McClenathan ended a long winless streak in Top Fuel when he drove the Fram Boost dragster to victory. McClenathan beat the Valvoline-sponsored dragster of “Hot Rod” Fuller for the title with a 4.644/304.74 run after stopping David Grubnic, David Baca and Doug Kalitta in earlier action. Tony Schumacher’s bid for a successful title de-

fense received a major blow. Schumacher qualified #1 (the 12th time this season – a record) with a track record 4.512 secs, but then saw the powerful U.S. Army dragster smoke its tires in round one while racing Baca. With that development Brandon Bernstein passed him in points for second and Mac Tools driver Doug Kalitta went to the semi final to extend his overall points lead to 83. Frank Manzo put on a spectacular display while winning in TAFC driving his Lucas Oil-sponsored Chevrolet. Not only did Manzo, who recently clinched his 10th NHRA World title, win the event he decimated the record books. Manzo made the first ever runs in the 5.4 secs zone in the class! During eliminations he was credited with an ET of 5.454 secs and a speed of 263.26 mph – absolutely numbing figures that were both national records. In the final, he beat Bob Tasca’s Ford Mustang, winning at 5.486/260.21 to 5.538/258.86. Top Alcohol was also a super swift affair with that title going to the injected nitro car of John Finke. Finke’s first career NHRA win came over Marty Thacker in the final, with a 5.273/271.73 run. Finke’s march to victory lane included both low ET and top speed at 5.183 secs and 278.12 mph. Michigan’s Bill Reichert wrapped up the Top Alcohol championship driving his Rislone-sponsored injected nitro car when he advanced to the semi final round.

APR 7.08.indd 1

11/18/05 12:22:34 PM

GRASSROOTS

NASCAR GETS THE

DRIFT By MICHAEL SEMIRA Photos by EVERYTHINGDRIFT.COM

CUP STARS LEARN THE ART OF DRIVING SIDEWAYS AT EXHIBITION EVENT

ALLSTAR DRIFTIB ITION EXH

l better ber Paula Abdu than t ou might remem tis ar elling recording n Idol. as a platinum-s ica er Am on ge as jud to at her current role ing m jam ilty of hits that I’m gu ites Attract,” os But one of her pp “O s wa ol dances AR my grade scho behind the NASC rprising theme su e th is ich wh Exhibition. e vs. Drift All-Star en an epic battl t could have be ev help to n itio Though this en hib ex it was labeled an lucky NASCAR of East vs. West, five t of drifting to or on sp e expose th indale Speedway Irw at ld he t, y en se Ka r ive dr p drivers. The ev d by Nextel Cu ste y ho se s Ka wa , e th 31 Aug. towards oceeds going Kahne, with pr n. to Kahne Foundatio ift’ played host ’s ‘House of Dr ica er Am ula Drift rm Fo North n, pa Ja from D1GP rithe 15 drivers ok the event se e D1GP crew to d Th . an a AR iok SC sh NA Yo d an shiki Ken Nomura, To g ously, flying over present the Land of the Risin to re an -m six a s wa Takahiro Ueno D e flag for Formula , Sun. Carrying th Rhys Millen, Samuel Hubinette of ing ist an and W n lvi Ca team cons , rg be , Chris Fors Vaughn Gittin Jr. y Gordon, Bill Elsey Kahne, Robb Kenseth made Ka t. us Fo t Tanner at M d an e Greg Biffl role of liot, Chris Cook, and played the t en ing nt co AR SC NA e th up

Kasey Kahne ho sted the special NASCAR vs. Dr ift All-Star Exhib ition in benefit of his Kasey Kahn e Foundation

Drifting star Ch ris Cash gives some helpful hin driver Robby Go ts to NASCAR rdon, who has driven pretty mu on four wheels ch everything in his career

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GRASSROOTS

Irwindale Speedway was smoking when the NASCAR and Drifting stars hit the track

The action was tight on the tra ck as drivers let it all hang out in the special even t

The fact this wa s an exhibition event allowed competitors to relax and enjoy the night’s festiv ities

ALLSTAR DRIFTIB ITION EXH

s. icrowd favourite fans, the exhib r the NASCAR y an of id vo de Unfortunately fo was Chris Cash grab -only event and bed hold of the rs were ive dr r tion was a drift ca ck Petty Enterprise sto e car and showed Th . ng ivi s No. 43 dr er e th ra what the NASC t bu , les NASCAR-styl hic AR cars can do ve n ow eir th e us to To . ed en itt hr rm et pe br t no ing with their drift shared vehicles ing curve, the NASCAR drivers rn lea infield, bypasshelp ease the the edge of the at ns ru over eir th d starte ds could reach turn where spee t choice, ar sm e ing the banked th e lik nitely looked ing 100mph. It defi h of the day try boys spent muc AR SC NA ing themat m cli as the ac d an t ing concep to grasp the drift a new track and a new style of t of rs, ca w ne to s X, was the firs lve se ate Nissan 240S rn and shocked St er y ak wl Qu slo ’s d . da e tu driving be foun rs to take on th NASCAR could Not bein the NASCAR sta Much of team over-powering ic improvement. d at an am er dr rn co his t th rs fi wi angles e rth ne us de yo rio un ing er se ic ch ev at at oa appr was coming in was either dram lt ok su Co re corner. e g, to iac Th nt lon er Po er. rn re fo mid-corn ys Millen’s drifts from co While piloting Rh ting in a tually linking his Red pe ac m e d th co t an on pu d ing steer or a spin. an ll at he’s plann rdon hit the wa st of the Rumour has it th ts next year. GTO, Robby Go e shelf for the re en th ev on ift e dr us that rid of d l re fu hand Bull-sponso ared, it was obvio d the tire smoke cle d an awesome time. n an he ift W Dr t. ula en rm ev and fans ha nd, both the Fo e crowd. both the drivers sey Kahne Foun On the other ha eat show for th series raised for the Ka s gr a wa or 0 ot on m 00 t 0, in pu $3 Over D1GP guys from either that will go down r more pionship points d it was a night fo am eir an th ay ch n rw tio no ing de da do gh un re ou Th we ans are already s and the drivers y, this group of sports history. Pl ture. were up for grab harm’s wa m events in the fu ift fro Dr rs . ca vs e eth m AR so SC d NA ow cr best to keep AR SC ns gave the NA seasoned vetera t. ou ab r ee the night was thing to ch esting story of ills The most inter prove on their sk SCAR drivers im on the highke watching the NA ta to e nc confide and gain enough ok, who piloted Robbie NishiCo ris Ch . rn tu d ee sp

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8/15/06 5:55:36 PM

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THE 1979 PORSCHE 911 OF GLEN CLARK AND EVAN GAMBLIN TOOK THE OVERALL WIN AT THIS YEAR’S TARGA NEWFOUNDLAND

esson: The third time isn’t always a charm. We returned to Targa Newfoundland for a third go-‘round this past September, my brother Lawrence and I, having finished third in the Grand Touring Class in 2004 and having won the same class last year. So momentum was on our side. For this year’s event, the fifth in succession, we secured a ride with Subaru Canada, the manufacturer that has achieved the most success on the Canadian rallying scene. Not only that, we had a significantly modified Subaru Legacy GT sedan at our disposal. Prepared by the tuning gurus at Can-Jam Motorsports, the same outfit responsible for the Subaru Canada rally cars, the Legacy featured engine enhancements, suspension changes, a performance exhaust and more powerful brakes. Essentially, it was an STI disguised as a Legacy. And it was massively fun to drive. So we had that going for us, too. Not to mention a crew of five to support our car and the other Subaru Canada entry, the 2006 Subaru WRX STI rally car for past North American Rally Champion Patrick Richard and co-driver Clarke Paynter. As in World Rally competition, the spectators can be alarmingly close to the action and the obstacles even closer in the Targa. This year, one of the protagonists had an untimely meeting with a house in Gander. Another gentleman conspired to drive his car into the Atlantic Ocean, having not treated the “danger: exposure” instruction in the route book with the proper degree of respect. Luckily, there were no serious injuries in these or the many other incidents that took place during the week — just cosmetic damage to the cars and serious ego bruising to the competitors. At the end of day four, we were in great shape. We had accumulated just five seconds in penalty time and had built a 35-second lead over our closest competitors. As the cars rolled into the hockey arena in Marystown to signal the end of the day, we learned that we had, unwittingly, run afoul of the rules: the rally computer in our car had an average speed function. As a result, even though we weren’t using the function (and, in fact, didn’t know how to use it), we were shifted into another class, Grand Touring

Equipped, to start the final day. It was a tough decision to swallow, but understandable: Having an average speed indicator can be a definite advantage. In an instant, our lead evaporated. We started the final day tied for top position with two other experienced teams, both driving Subarus. Our thinking at the time: “Uh-oh.” It was difficult to shift our focus from maintaining a big lead to battling for the lead. Still, we didn’t give up without a fight. Over the course of the final day’s nine stages, we pushed the Legacy hard and ourselves harder. We did our best. But we came up just short. With just six seconds in total penalties, Bruce Terris and Andrew Proudfoot from Gander captured our class with their 1991 Subaru Legacy. In second place with 10 seconds in penalties: Erik and Alan Ockwell from Ontario, driving a 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. Then: our team with 11 seconds in penalties, just out of second place, not far from first. Third place was a disappointment to be sure, but we had cut our total penalty time in half from the previous year — in 2005, although we won our class, we accrued 22 seconds in penalties. It was doubly disappointing for Subaru Canada because the Richard/Paynter entry, the heavy favourite to win the Open Class at Targa, suffered engine problems on day one and was unable to recover the lost time. The competition for the Overall title in the Targa classes was just as close as it was in our class. Glen Clarke and Evan Gamblin, piloting a 1979 Porsche 911, edged out Jud Buchanan and Jim Adams, running the Team VDG 1967 Acadian Canso Sport Coupe. Finishing third overall was the 2005 Subaru WRX STI of Keith Townsend and Jen Horsey, the other Team VDG entry. It was a classic battle — perhaps the best in five years at Targa Newfoundland. In the final analysis, although we didn’t come home with the trophy we were hoping for, we still enjoyed the competition and felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of the week. Special thanks go to Can-Jam Motosports, Alpinestars USA, Arai Helmet Americas and Yokohama Tire (Canada) for providing such great support. And very special thanks go to Subaru Canada for giving us one great ride.

PRN CORRESPONDENT MARK HACKING (R.) AND HIS BROTHER LAWRENCE FINISHED THIRD AFTER BEING MOVED INTO THE GRAND TOURING DIVISION

“THE ROCK” PROVIDED THE PERFECT BACKDROP TO THE TOUGH EVENT AS THIRD-PLACE FINISHERS KEITH TOWNSEND AND JEN HORSEY CAN ATTEST

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10/31/06 5:51:46 PM

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PW 2007.indd 1

11/6/06 10:46:36 AM

QuebecReport Lacombe wins Cari-All 300 but but Theetge takes title

story and photos by Éric Descarries | Quebec Editor

LMS cars put on quite a show in the Cari-All 300

Photo by Éric Descarries

Sylvain Lacombe was confident of winning the Cari-All 300 well before the race started

Photo by Éric Descarries

he 12th edition of the annual Cari-All 300 was delayed a week later thanks to Mother Nature, and the classic at l’Autodrome St-Eustache found much much better weather on Oct. 8. Unfortunately, the delay casued many American drivers who were supposed to attend to cancel due to an event of their own. Nonetheless, some 22 cars took the green flag including veteran and former race winner Sylvain Lacombe who, like his brother Martin, elected not to do the full championship this year. But he could not pass on the Cari-All 300, i twas a decision he would not regret. The day did not seem promising for Lacombe as he wore out the clutch disk during practice. His Monte Carlo was quickly repaired but he could not do better than 13th during qualifying. As far as the championship was concerned, it was a duel between Quebec City-based Donald Theetge and road racer turned oval racer Jean-François Déry. Lac St-Jean’s Karl Allard could have been a contender but the engine in his Dodge exploded during qualifying, sending him home. As usual, the race was pretty hectic with quite a few yellow flags, most for light contact. There were two or three serious contacts, including a badly damaged race car for Simon Roussin, but many racers rallied to take the checkered flag. A crash five laps from the end sent some drivers packing, including hard charger Normand Lavigueur who was looking at grabbing first place from Lacombe. Indeed, Lacombe had taken the lead at half-distance and never looked back. With only five laps to go, Lacombe coasted to victory followed by young sensation Michael Lavoie driving a new Fusion. Theetge came in third and that locked up his championship. At the same time, Stéphane Legault, a StEustache veteran in smaller classes, came in 11th and that gave him the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Finally, believe it or not, young kart driver Pierre-Luc Ouellet who started dead last, wound up 16th by keeping his nose clean all race long in his debut stock car race!

Donald Theetge worked hard for his championship, which he cemented with a third-place finish

Photo by Éric Descarries

With the arrival of the NASCAR Busch Series race on Aug. 4 at le Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the Grand Prix de TroisRivières had to give away the same date for its annual event. Consequently, after looking at different scenarios including the availability of staff and series, the organization opted for Aug. 17-19 2007.

Donald Theetge (l.) is the 2006 Castrol-LMS champ while Stéphane Legault is the top rookie

Photo by Gérard Major

GP de Trois-Rivières moves dates

Sherbrooke Challenge on Ice is back If you like international ice racing, mark Feb. 23-25 on your calendar. These are the days the Continental Challenge on Ice will happen next winter in Sherbrooke, QC. This will mark the ninth edition of the classic event and, according to president, Dany Sevigny, spectators will be in for quite a treat since the formula will be changed. Though plans were not finalized when PRN spoke to him, we still learned that there will be only one major grand finale and it will include a mandatory pit stop. Sevigny told PRN that there will be an Open Class for 4WD WRC cars with a total purse of $100,000. Sevigny is also looking at inviting other road race divisions to complete the program.

Performance Racing News

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4/17/06 7:29:42 PM

CANADIAN DRAG UPDATE RACING

story and photos by BRUCE BIEGLER // DRAG RACING EDITOR

MERCIER MASTERS MAPLE GROVE! Montreal-area Top Alcohol Dragster driver Daniel Mercier, who has been extremely hot on the NHRA Northeast Division, collected his first career NHRA national event title during the 22nd Annual Toyo Tires Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Driving his special edition NitroMoose.ca/Laboratoire A.B.S. injected nitro car, Mercier, who entered with three straight wins on the NHRA LODRS trail, carried that great momentum to earn his first title at the national event level. After qualifying fourth with a 5.467 secs run at 260.01 mph on their one and only qualifier (due to rain), the DM Racing team was impressive while defeating Ken Winward, Bruce Horner and Canadian Jeff Veale, with consecutive runs of 5.655 secs, 5.483 and 5.543. In the final, Mercier faced his fiercest divisional rival, former NHRA World TAD Champion Art Gallant, who was also piloting an injected nitro car. Gallant earned lane choice after he had run a superior 5.332 secs in the semi-final. However it was then Mercier’s talented supporting cast, headed by tuner/crew chief Serge Blanchette, who then delivered as they sent him to a very timely quickest and fastest run of the weekend at 5.358/261.67, which beat Gallant’s 5.386/270.37. The victory was a Canadian history making one. They are only the fourth Canadian team ever to win in the TAD class at the NHRA national event level and are the first to do so with an injected nitro car. PERRY MAKES HISTORY Just two weeks after Mercier’s success, it was Ken Perry from Gormley, ON, who grabbed the Canadian spotlight during the NHRA Torco Race Fuels Nationals. Driving his superchargedalcohol burning machine, Perry was credited with the quickest runs in history for a TAD racer with that motor configuration after he recorded four straight sub 5.3 secs runs including a simply scintillating 5.255 secs and 265.33 mph. While Perry was not ultimately able to turn that performance in victory (he lost a close match to eventual winner John Finke in the semi-final) his on track antics have earned his impressive and independent family run team (including wife Barb and son Adam) some serious recognition and bragging rites.

The Canadian drag racing community was saddened following the untimely death of 17-year old Kendall Hebert, who died driving a Jet Dragster on Oct. 1 90

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Canadian Top Alcohol Dragster star racers Daniel Mercier and Ken Perry both showed their “stuff” during 2006 season ending NHRA events

TRAGEDY AT TMP A shadow was cast upon the Canadian drag racing scene following an unfortunate accident at Toronto Motorsports Park on Oct. 1 that claimed the life of 17-year-old female driver Kendall Hebert. Hebert, who was considered by many as one of Canada’s rising talents, was fatally injured in a high speed wreck while driving the “Firestorm” Jet Dragster, a machine she had just taken over the reigns of for team owner Dan Pirisi. On the fatal run, just after stopping the timers at 5.18 secs at just over 293 mph, the car darted towards the guardrail and made heavy impact and Kendall lost her life in the ensuing crash. An investigation into the root cause of the accident is now ongoing involving the IHRA and Ontario Provincial Police, who took possession of the wreckage, in conjunction with McMaster University in Hamilton. Particular attention is being paid to the safety harness assembly that had a massive failure. A moving service was held to celebrate Hebert’s memory and in support of the Hebert family on Oct. 6 near Windsor and was attended by 800 people.

“What happened was a truly unfortunate accident that claimed the life of a very special girl,” said team owner Dan Pirisi. “We lost a great young talent who had a lot of life in her and who truly enjoyed drag racing. I want to go on record as saying that Kendall was a very talented driver. I was never uncomfortable with her driving the car because she had shown through all the progression runs, as well as driving her own dragster, nothing but complete control and confidence. Kendall was like a daughter to me — and I will always be hurt about what happened that day.” Pirisi has established a memorial scholarship fund in her name. Contributions to the “Kendall Hebert Scholarship Fund” can be made at any TD Canada Trust branch in Canada – account no. 627-5569. Everyone at Performance Racing News, on behalf of drag racing fans everywhere, offers their condolences to the family, friends and teammates of Kendall Hebert. The win also clinched the Nations Cup trophy for France for the second year in a row, although the bulk of the points have come from countryman Sebastien Bourdais.

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

10/31/06 2:07:18 PM

Red Line18.02.indd 1

5/4/06 2:46:23 PM

Still cauasing

a stir

Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Coupe

Story and photos by Gerry Frechette

hen Mercedes-Benz first showed the new CLS-Class two years ago, it certainly caused a stir in the premium sedan market. Based on the E-Class platform, it had a swooping, chopped roofline that gave Mercedes the poetic license to call the car a “coupe,” albeit a four-door one. It wasn’t long before Mercedes’ performance arm, AMG, got hold of the CLS and installed a supercharged 5.5-litre V8 in it, creating the CLS55, one of the more satisfyingly fast luxury cars on the road. But time marches on, as does technology, and this is the year of the new 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 from AMG, which is finding its way into several models this year, with more to come as new generations of Mercedes are built. This makes for a variety of different powerplants in AMG cars as the changeovers are made model-by-model, including the unbelievable twin-turbo V12 in the S and SL models, but the supercharged 5.5 is on its last legs, replaced in all models it was in except the SL- and G-Classes. By the way, the models so equipped are labeled “63” to pay homage to the famous 6.3 models of a few decades ago, which started the whole AMG muscle car line. This new engine does a fine job of continuing the tradition, as Mercedes claims it to be the most powerful naturally-aspirated production V8 ever. Already, the new engine can be had in the ML sport utility, the world’s fastest minivan the R, the four seat cabrio CLK, the luxury E sedan, and of course, the CLS. Horsepower ratings vary with the installation, depending on exhaust configurations primarily, but one can pretty much assign a nice round number to the 6.2’s power output — 500. Yes, that is just about the minimum output to play in this league these days, and it is a significant increase over the previous blown 5.5’s power. That engine was less sophisticated, in the sense that it didn’t employ nearly the level of high-performance design features that the new engine does. Indeed, the 5.5 had the old single-cam three-valve architecture, while the new 6.2 has four-valves-percylinder, DOHC, high compression, variable intake and so on. The 5.5 had more torque (516 lb-ft) thanks to the blower, but it ran out of steam at the high end. The new one has no problem revving and is entirely more exhilarating to drive, with enough torque (465 lb-ft @ 5,200 rpm) to launch this 4,200-lb car to 100 km/h in all of 4.5 seconds. In the CLS63, the engine is rated at 507 hp @ 6,800 rpm, which puts it squarely in the performance game against its famous German rivals. But of course, it 92

Performance Racing News

takes more than power to play in this league, and the rest of the CLS is up to the task. All that power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a new 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission with AMG Speedshift enhancements that can be shifted manually by either a conventional lever or Formula One-style shift paddles. To give performance-minded drivers total control of shifting, the manual mode of AMG Speedshift doesn’t permit any automatic upshifts — even at max engine speed — or automatic downshifts, even under full load. The chassis, too, gets the full performance treatment. AMG engineers developed a sport suspension for the CLS63 that’s based on the AIRMATIC DC semiactive air suspension, with stiffer springs, shocks and stabilizer bars. It includes automatic level control that maintains ride height even when the car is loaded with passengers and cargo, and the driver can choose from three sport-comfort settings as well. To make sure the CLS63 stops as fast as it goes, giant vented and perforated disc brakes all around feature 356-mm (14-inch) discs and eight-piston calipers up front and 330-mm (13-inch) discs with four-piston calipers at the rear. Staggered 19-inch

wheels with 8.5- and 9.5-inch widths carry 255/35 tires in front and 285/30 at the rear. Considering its size and weight, this magnificent beast is a remarkable performer by any measure. Of course, the CLS63 is about much more than just taking on all sports cars. It does so with a level of luxury and safety that few of them can muster. Besides letting you take three of your friends with you (and the ones in the back seat had better not be too tall what with the sloped roof), the CLS offers such niceties as ventilated front seats with active side bolsters and 480-watt Harman/Kardon digital audio. Needless to say, there is a full complement of airbags and every active electronic safety feature you have ever heard of, plus some you probably haven’t. All this high-end technology and performance comes at a price, of course, and if you have to ask… well, you know the rest. But we’ll tell you anyway — $128,000. Before options, but, as they say, very nicely equipped. The CLS63 is quite a combination — ultimate performance and technology wrapped in a sleek and unique four-door coupe body.

How do you bridge the gap between automotive technology and driver ability? Solving problems that are parasitic to performance over time while driving Performance, in past racing history, has been often

more associated with the race car. Great strides in mechanical technology have gone into producing speed over the years. We learn. Automotive manufactures began using their race cars to develop new technology to drive production car sales. They soon realized that expert driving skills were necessary to reach the maximum potential of their race cars. Inevitably, as speeds increased, driver safety became a growing concern as accidents became more severe. We react. It became apparent that both the driver and the race car need to be in excellent form to minimize problems and maximize success. We become pro-active. Now we know that everything from mental state of mind to race car rubber will contribute to the overall success. The connection between man and machine is where Stand 21 helps keep the two together as one. Driver racing gear is no longer just for driver safety, but about increasing his performance! You can be pro-active, or you can be re-active. In modern racing today, we’ve come so far into racing technology that we are now pushing the boundaries of physical limits with both car and driver. Winning or losing is often measured by split seconds, even through hours of endurance racing. Stand 21 understands the relationship between driver and machine. We view the technology that goes into our race gear as every bit as important as the technology that goes into a racing tire, or a racing engine, or a racing team. Don’t make the mistake of overlooking the all important link between the driver’s ability and the capability of the race car. Qualifying fast is great, but winning races and being the best over time is the ultimate achievement and accomplishment in racing today. Heat stress, driver discomfort, body temperature, heart rate, dehydration; all these things affect a driver’s reaction time, the ability to make the right quick decision, stamina, consistency, confidence, and of course, safety.

Stand 21 has been a leader in race gear technology for over 30 years by pioneering higher levels of safety, comfort, innovation, and being a step ahead. With racing overalls, it started over 20 years ago with ST2000 3-layer multidirectional and stretchable fiber, aimed at increasing comfort. It was quickly adopted by many Formula 1 drivers. In the 1990’s, improvements since in material resulted in ST2000 2-layer technology, which was lighter and more breathable. In 2003, Stand 21 exposed the serious issues with heat stress and began a comprehensive testing program, with noted physicians MD. Terry R. Trammell, Dr. Claude Meistelman, Dr. Paul Trafford, and the French Army Health Services, to further develop the ST2000 and new ST3000 prototype suits. We achieved far better results with tests compared to our closest competitors. Today, top race teams from around the world continue to prove the performance and safety technology of Stand 21 race gear. We manufacture every suit in our own factory, made to measure for every driver, and with production times to compliment the fast paced world of racing. Stand 21 racing helmets are widely sought after as well. In addition to being top rated Snell 2005 helmets, they are extremely light and versatile. Every head is shaped different, so Stand 21 helmets are made with interchangeable padding sizes to better achieve an ideal fit. The design also allows for better air circulation. Every helmet is made by Stand 21 in our factory, predrilled for HANS® anchors, and installed if requested. A variety of accessories are also available. Stand 21 was the first to develop the popular external seam gloves, and other popular styles. In 2006, Stand 21 opened a brand new shoe manufacturing facility, and now offers new colors and shoe embroideries. And we still offer the best underwear for perspiration and safety. The bottom line is that you have a choice of what is right for you, and for the overall success and enjoyment of your racing!

Stand 21 USA, Inc. 5152 Belle Wood Ct. Suite G Buford, GA 30518 www.Stand21.us stand21@bellsouth.net 1-877-STAND21 In Canada, call Mr. Louis-Philippe Gélinas at 1-514-736-3404.

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BU YERS

MECHANIX WEAR ORIGINAL GLOVES

More refined for 2006, The NEW Original Glove is the most comfortable and best fitting ever. Featuring an out-of-the-way, low-profile TPR (Thermal Plastic Rubber) hook and loop cuff closure plus Lycra insert panels between fingers. For performance, Mechanix Wear has a Clarino synthetic leather palm as well as index, middle and ring fingertips. On top of all that, it has hidden interior seam stitching, is available in nine colours and boasts our world famous logo. www.mechanix.com

MECHANIX WEAR M-PACT GLOVE

Equally at home, in the pits or in the garage, the M-Pact helps make short work of tough tasks. With long-wearing features like an anatomic, layered synthetic palm padded with EVA. With NEW flexible bonded TPR knuckle and finger ribs the M-Pact is a tool for survival. It also features Lycra finger panels, an ultra-sensitive fingertip pattern and low-profile elastic cuff. You won’t notice the M-Pact is doing its job to counteract fatigue without hindering precision, but you’ll want to thank Mechanix Wear at the end of the day. www.mechanix.com

SLICK RACING SUIT

The Slick Racing Suit may be modestly priced, but it’s not modest on features. Compare the Slick to the Simpson STD 19 and Sparco Standard Suits. Soft and breathable Gabardine Nomex III finish fire resistant shell lined with cool and comfortable ImpactMAX moisture management knit liner. Offers 360 degree floating sleeve full arm gusset. Expandable knit lower back Lumbar panel allows ease of movement. Ribbed fire resistant wrist and ankle cuffs. Comes as a 1-piece or 2-piece suit with 2 layer shell and liner construction. www.fasteddieracewear.com or www.impactraceproducts.com

FUSION SHOES

The Fusion is designed to move the way good footwear should, especially in the demanding environment of racing. The leather offers great protection, and the sole gives you excellent pedal feel. The comfort provided by the Fusion Driving Shoe is unmatched. Has a mid-top design with satin suede struck-through leather upper and a hidden lace system with single speedfit closure. A padded ankle and super-soft self-centering padded tongue is complemented by Fleece Nomex lining with flat seams and athletic insert. Leather reinforcements on heel and Achilles arch. Non-slip super-sensitive polyurethane sole with posi-grip pattern. www.fasteddieracewear.com or www.simpsonraceproducts.com

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

AD INDEX:

BU YERS

APR Carbonio ........................................ 81 Ark Performance ................................... 77 Bell World ............................................. 43 Beyond Digital Imaging ......................... 79

STAND 21

F21 RACING HELMETS Stand 21 manufactures racing helmets that rank very well in Snell 2005 safety. Made of carbon fiber and Kevlar composite, they are extremely light in weight. And since every head is different in shape, although the “size” may be the same, they are made to custom fit with removable interior padding that comes in various thickness sizes. A custom fit may be accomplished to meet each specific driver. The removable padding is washable as well, so no more stinky helmets! The base model full face is the F21. The F21-99 comes with a front lower lip and available rear wing to reduce helmet lift and turbulence at in open cockpits. The F21-DD (Double Duty) includes an interchangeable visor and helmet peak, for either open or closed eye opening preferences. The F21-AF (Air Force) is made with air ducting to circulate fresh, cooler air to the front and rear of the helmet, with excellent circulation, and comes with visor and peak. All helmets come pre-drilled for HANS anchors, and installed if ordered with the helmet. www.stand21.us // 1-877-STAND21

BMW .................................................... 61 Carbuffs ................................................ 71 Chag Autosport ..................................... 95 Eagle One ............................................. 19 Emcea Transport ................................... 57 Energy Suspension ............................... 85 Eurotrenz .............................................. 47 Fuel Genie ............................................ 97 Gentec .................................................. 51 GP Bikes ............................................... 63 Grand Prix Imports ................................ 33 Hankook Tire ........................................ 29 IAC ....................................................... 35 JRP/ Sparco .......................................... 83 Karbelt .................................................OBC Kami Speed .......................................... 83 Lucas Oil .............................................. 75 Maxell ................................................... 13 Mobil 1 ................................................. 31 Mopac Auto Supply ............................... 37 Mopar ................................................... IFC MSD Ignition ......................................... 25 Nasa Pro Racing ................................... 21 Nitro Moose .......................................... 95 Nitto Tire ............................................... 45 Performance World ............................... 87

STAND 21RACING SUIT

Stand 21 manufactures custom design, made to measure racing suits with the focus on reducing heat stress for drivers, as well as comfort and fire protection. Through extensive research and development, in conjunction with top racing teams and doctors, Stand 21 has proven that heat stress reduces the driver’s reaction time, increases core temperature, and reduces consistency of overall performance. It’s no new discovery that the mind and body are connected. In the world of racing today, competition amongst teams and drivers has become much more aggressive and even endurance races can be won or lost by milliseconds. More emphasis is placed today on the connection between the driver’s mental stability and the body’s physical state, which is after all, the driving force behind the actual performance of a race car. With new technology, Stand 21 suits are made to measure to be breathable, stretchable, and meet the highest standards of safety. www.stand21.us // 1-877-STAND21

PRI ........................................................ 55 Red Line Synthetic Oil ........................... 91 RTT Motorsports ................................... 65 Sevas Wheels ....................................... 49 Shell ..................................................... 7 Sirius Satellite Radio ............................. 23 Speed Channel ..................................... 9

DEI PIT CREW SAFETY KIT

Design Engineering, Inc. (DEI) introduces its line of vision, hearing and arm protection for the professional mechanic, pit crew member or the average do-it-yourselfer. DEI’s Pit Crew Safety Kit includes a pair of protective eyewear, ear plugs and Kevlar sleeving all in one convenient kit and at an affordable price. DEI’s black-framed clearlens impact resistant wrap-around style protective eyewear meets ANSI Z87 general purpose UV requirements offering 100% UV protection and are scratch resistant. DEI Ear Plugs feature a triple-flange design allowing the single-size ear plug to fit most ear canal sizes. DEI’s Kevlar Safety Sleeve provides superior cut, slash and heat resistance in work areas where arms are exposed without being bulky. www.DesignEngineering.com // 1-800-264-9472 96

Speedorama ......................................... 53 Stand 21 USA ....................................... 93 Sunoco ................................................. 41 Suzuki .................................................. IBC Suzuki SX ............................................. 69 Team O’Neil .......................................... 27 Toronto Motorcycle Shows .................... 59 Toyo Tires ............................................. 3 Unorthodox Racing ................................ 73 Valvoline ............................................... 10 Vibrant .................................................. 26 Wakefield Castrol .................................. 15 Western Technical Institute ................... 89 Yamaha ................................................ 4

PERFORMANCE RACING NEWS

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95 97

THE 2006

MOTORSPORT CALENDAR March 12 March 19 April 2 April 23 May 7 May 14 May 28 June 11 June 25 July 2 July 16 July 30 Aug. 6 Aug. 27 Sept. 10 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 22

FIA FORMULA ONE Bahrain Grand Prix Malaysian Grand Prix Australian Grand Prix San Marino Grand Prix European Grand Prix Spanish Grand Prix Monaco Grand Prix British Grand Prix Canadian Grand Prix United States Grand Prix French Grand Prix German Grand Prix Hungarian Grand Prix Turkish Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix Chinese Grand Prix Japanese Grand Prix Brazilian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso Giancarlo Fisichella Fernando Alonso Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher Jenson Button Felipe Massa Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher Fernando Alonso Felipe Massa

BRIDGESTONE CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES BY FORD April 9 May 13 May 21 June 4 June 18 June 25 July 9 July 23 July 30 Aug. 13 Aug. 27 Sept. 24 Oct. 22 Nov. 5

Toyota Grand Prix Sebastien Bourdais Houston Grand Prix Sebastien Bourdais Tecate Telmex Grand Prix Sebastien Bourdais TimeWarner Road Runner 225 Sebastien Bourdais GI Joe’s Grand Prix AJ Allmendinger Cleveland Grand Prix AJ Allmendinger Molson Grand Prix AJ Allmendinger Edmonton Grand Prix Justin Wilson San Jose Grand Prix Sebastien Bourdais Denver Grand Prix AJ Allmendinger Montreal Grand Prix Sebastien Bourdais Road America AJ Allmendinger Lexmark Indy 300 Nelson Philippe Telmex Tecate Grand Prix Mexico City, MEX

IRL INDYCAR SERIES March 26 April 2 April 22 May 28 June 4 June 10 June 24 July 2 July 15 July 23 July 30 Aug. 13 Aug. 27 Sept. 10

Toyota Indy 300 Honda Grand Prix Indy Japan 300 Indianapolis 500 Watkins Glen Grand Prix Bombardier Learjet 500 SunTrust Indy Challenge Kansas Indy 300 Firestone Indy 200 ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt 225 Firestone Indy 400 Kentucky Indy 300 Argent Mortgage Grand Prix Peak Antifreeze Indy 300

Dan Wheldon Helio Castroneves Helio Castoneves Sam Hornish Jr. Scott Dixon Helio Castroneves Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr. Scott Dixon Tony Kanaan Helio Castroneves Sam Hornish Jr. Marco Andretti Dan Wheldon

ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP Andreas Wirth Andreas Wirth Graham Rahal James Hinchcliffe Graham Rahal Graham Rahal Robbie Pecorari Simon Pagenaud Raphael Matos Graham Rahal Graham Rahal Jonathan Bomarito

April 9 May 13 May 21 June 18 June 24 June 25 July 9 July 23 July 30 Aug. 13 Aug. 27 Sept. 24

Long Beach Grand Prix Reliant Park Fundidora Park Portland Int’l Raceway Burke Lakefront Airport Burke Lakefront Airport Exhibition Place Finning Int’l Speedway San Jose Grand Prix Denver Grand Prix Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Road America

March 26 April 1 April 2 May 26 June 4 July 1 July 15 July 22 Aug. 13 Aug. 26 Aug. 27 Sept. 9

Homestead-Miami Speedway Jeff Simmons Honda Grand Prix Raphael Matos Honda Grand Prix Raphael Matos Futaba Freedom 100 Wade Cunningham Corning 100 Bobby Wilson Liberty Challenge Alex Lloyd Cleanevent 100 Jay Howard Milwaukee 100 Jaime Camara Bluegrass 100 Jay Howard Sonoma 100 Wade Cunningham Sonoma 100 Alex Lloyd Chicagoland 100 Wade Cunningham

INDY PRO SERIES

STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP March 17 May 13 May 21 June 3 June 24 July 15 July 22 Aug. 5 Aug. 19 Sept. 2 Sept. 29 Oct. 21

Sebring Int’l Raceway Reliant Park Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course The Milwaukee Mile Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Miller Motorsports Park Portland Int’l Raceway GP de Trois-Rivières Road America Mosport Int’l Raceway Road Atlanta Mazda Raceway

Gerardo Bonilla Daniel Herrington Ryan Justice Michael Potekhen Adrian Carrio Adrian Carrio Michael Potekhen Matt Varsha Ron White Ron White Ron White Ryan Justice

Performance Racing News

ROLEX GRAND-AM SERIES Jan. 29 March 4 March 25 April 8 April 23 May 7 May 14 May 29 June 3 June 25 June 29 July 30 Aug. 11 Aug. 26 Sept. 2

Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona Dixon/Wheldon/Mears Autodromo Rodriguez Pruett/Diaz Homestead-Miami Speedway Rockenfeller/Long Toyota Grand Prix Pruett/Diaz Virginia Int’l Raceway Rockenfeller/Long Mazda Raceway Angelleli/Magnussen/Taylor Phoenix Int’l Raceway Pruett/Diaz Lime Rock Park Bunting/Lally/Valentine (GT) Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen Bergmeister/Said Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Haberfeld/Fernandez Brumos Porsche 250 Braun/Bergmeister Barber Motorsports Park Braun/Bergmeister Crown Royal 250 at the Glen Pruett/Diaz Infineon Raceway Pruett/Diaz Miller Motorsports Park Patterson/Negri

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES March 17 May 13 May 22 July 1 July 15 July 22 Aug. 20 Sept. 3 Sept. 30 Oct. 21

*Feb. 11 *Feb. 16 Feb. 19 Feb. 26 March 12 March 19 March 26 April 2 April 9 April 22 April 30 May 6 May 13 *May 20 May 28 June 4 June 11 June 18 June 25 July 1 July 9 July 16 July 23 Aug. 6 Aug. 13 Aug. 20 Aug. 26 Sept. 3 Sept. 9 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 14 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19

12 Hours of Sebring Capello/Kristensen/McNish Lone Star Grand Prix Capello/McNish Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Bernhard/Dumas New England Grand Prix Capello/McNish Utah Grand Prix Biela/Pirro Portland Grand Prix Capello/McNish Generac 500 Biela/Pirro Mosport Grand Prix Capello/McNish Petit le Mans Capello/McNish Monterey Sportscar Championships Capello/McNish

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

Budwesier Shootout Denny Hamlin Gatorade Duels Elliott Sadler/Jeff Gordon Daytona 500 Jimmie Johnson California Speedway Matt Kenseth Las Vegas Motor Speedway Jimmie Johnson Atlanta Motor Speedway Kasey Kahne Bristol Motor Speedway Kurt Busch Martinsville Speedway Tony Stewart Texas Motor Speedway Kasey Kahne Phoenix Int’l Raceway Kevin Harvick Talladega Superspeedway Jimmie Johnson Richmond Int’l Raceway Dale Earnhardt Jr. Darlington Raceway Greg Biffle Nextel All-Star Challenge Matt Kenseth Coca-Cola 600 Kasey Kahne Dover Int’l Speedway Matt Kenseth Pocono Raceway Denny Hamlin Michigan Int’l Speedway Kasey Kahne Infineon Raceway Jeff Gordon Pepsi 400 Tony Stewart Chicagoland Speedway Jeff Gordon New Hampshire Int’l Speedway Kyle Busch Pocono Raceway Denny Hamlin Indianapolis Motor Speedway Jimmie Johnson Watkins Glen International Kevin Harvick Michigan Int’l Speedwat Matt Kenseth Bristol Motor Speedway Matt Kenseth California Speedway Kasey Kahne Richmond Int’l Speedway Kevin Harvick New Hampshire Int’l Speedway Kevin Harvick Dover Int’l Speedway Jeff Burton Kansas Speedway Tony Stewart Talladega Superspeedway Brian Vickers Lowe’s Motor Speedway Kasey Kahne Martinsville Speedway Jimmie Johnson Atlanta Motor Speedway Tony Stewart Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX Phoenix Int’l Raceway Phoenix, AZ Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, FL

* denotes non-points event, italics denote Chase for the Nextel Cup

NASCAR BUSCH SERIES Feb. 18 Feb. 25 March 5 March 11 March 18 March 25 April 8 April 15 April 21 April 29 May 5 May 12 May 27 June 3 June 10 June 17 June 24 June 30 July 8 July 15 July 22

Hershey’s Kissables 300 Tony Stewart California Speedway Greg Biffle Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Denny Hamlin Las Vegas Motor Speedway Kasey Kahne Atlanta Motor Speedway Jeff Burton Bristol Motor Speedway Kyle Busch Texas Motor Speedway Kurt Busch Nashville Superspeedway Kevin Harvick Phoenix Int’l Raceway Kevin Harvick Talladega Superspeedway Martin Truex Jr. Richmond Int’l Raceway Kevin Harvick Darlington Raceway Denny Hamlin Lowe’s Motor Speedway Carl Edwards Dover Int’l Speedway Jeff Burton Nashville Superspeedway Carl Edwards Kentucky Speedway David Gilliland The Milwaukee Mile Paul Menard Daytona Int’l Speedway Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chicagoland Speedway Casey Mears New Hampshire Int’l Speedway Carl Edwards Martinsville Speedway Kevin Harvick

July 29 Aug. 5 Aug. 12 Aug. 19 Aug. 25 Sept. 2 Sept. 8 Sept. 23 Sept. 30 Oct. 13 Oct. 28 Nov. 4 Nov. 11 Nov. 18

Gateway Int’l Raceway Carl Edwards Indianapolis Raceway Park Kevin Harvick Watkins Glen International Kurt Busch Michigan Int’l Speedway Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bristol Motor Speedway Matt Kenseth California Speedway Kasey Kahne Richmond Int’l Raceway Kevin Harvick Dover Int’l Speedway Clint Bowyer Kansas Speedway Kevin Harvick Lowe’s Motor Speedway Dave Blaney Memphis Motorsports Park Kevin Harvick Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX Phoenix Int’l Raceway Phoenix, AZ Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, FL

CASCAR SUPER SERIES May 21 June 18 July 2 July 16 July 23 Aug. 6 Aug. 12 Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 9 Sept. 17

Barrie Speedway Scott Steckly Mosport International Raceway Kerry Micks Barrie Speedway JR Fitzpatrick Sun Valley Speedway Brad Graham Grand Prix Edmonton Jeff Lapcevich Grand Prix Trois-Rivières Don Thomson Jr. Mosport Speedway David Whitlock Molson Grand Prix of Montreal Kerry Micks Cayuga 2000 Speedway David Whitlock Autodrome Ste. Eustache Ron Beauchamp Jr. Kawartha Speedway Mark Dilley

FIA WORLD RALLY Jan. 22 Feb. 5 March 5 March 26 April 9 April 30 May 21 June 4 Aug. 13 Aug. 20 Sept. 3 Sept. 24 Oct. 15 Oct. 29 Nov. 19 Dec. 3

Monte Carlo Rally Swedish Rally Corona Rally Mexico Spanish Rally French Rally Rally Argentina Rally Italy Greek Rally German Rally Finnish Rally Japanese Rally Cyprus Rally Turkish Rally Australian Rally New Zealand Rally Wales Rally

Marcus Gronholm Marcus Gronholm Sebastien Loeb Sebastien Loeb Sebastien Loeb Sebastien Loeb Sebastien Loeb Marcus Gronholm Sebastien Loeb Marcus Gronholm Sebastien Loeb Sebastien Loeb Marc Australia New Zealand Great Britain

NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING

Feb. 12 Carquest Winternationals Melanie Troxel (TF) Robert Hight (FC), Greg Anderson (PS) Feb. 26 Checker-Shuck’s-Kragen Nats Rod Fuller (TF) Tommy Johnson (FC), Warren Johnson (PS) March 19 Gatornationals David Grubnic (TF) Ron Capps (FC), Tom Martino (PS) April 2 O’Reilly Spring Nationals Brandon Bernstein (TF) Ron Capps (FC), Mike Edwards (PS) April 9 SummitRacing.com Nationals Melanie Troxel (TF) Cruz Pedregon (FC), Kurt Johnson (PS) April 30 O’Reilly Thunder Nationals Doug Kalitta (TF) Ron Capps (FC), Jason Line (PS) May 7 Summit Racing Southern Nats Doug Kalitta (TF) Tony Pedregon (FC), Dave Connolly (PS) May 21 Pontiac Performance Nats Brandon Bernstein (TF) Tony Pedregon (FC), Jim Yates (PS) May 28 O’Reilly Summer Nationals Doug Kalitta (TF) Ron Capps (FC), Dave Connolly (PS) June 11 Carquest Nationals Doug Kalitta (TF) John Force (FC), Kurt Johnson (PS) June 18 K&N Filters SuperNationals Rod Fuller (TF) Ron Capps (FC), Jason Line (PS) June 25 Sears Craftsman Nationals Tony Schumacher (TF) Tony Pedregon (FC), Mike Edwards (PS) July 16 Mopar Mile-High Nationals JR Todd (TF) Gary Scelzi (FC), Dave Connolly (PS) July 23 Northwest Nationals Tony Schumacher (TF) Whit Bazemore (FC), Allen Johnson (PS) July 30 Fram Autolite Nationals JR Todd (TF) Eric Medlen (FC), Jason Line (PS) Aug. 13 Lucas Oil Nationals Tony Schumacher (TF) Tommy Johnson Jr. (FC), Dave Connolly (PS) Aug. 20 O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals Doug Kalitta (TF) John Force (FC), Kurt Johnson (PS) Sept. 4 Mac Tools US Nationals Tony Schumacher (TF) Robert Hight (FC), Greg Anderson (PS) Sept. 24 O’Reilly Fall Nationals Brandon Bernstein (TF) Robert Hight (FC), Richie Stevens Jr. (PS) Oct. 1 Toyo Tires Nationals JR Todd (TF) Phil Burkart Jr. (FC), Greg Anderson (PS) Oct. 15 Virginia Nationals Cory McClenthan (TF) Eric Medlen (FC), Jason Line (PS) Oct. 29 ACDelco Las Vegas Nat’ls Tony Schumacher (TF) Jack Beckman (FC), Richie Stevens (PS) Nov. 12 AAA of So. California Finals Pomona, CA

IHRA eMax DRAG RACING March 26

Amalie Oil Texas Nationals

Doug Foley (TF)

Mark Thomas (FC), Glen Kerunsky (PM), Frank Gugliotta (PS) April 23 Castrol Spring Nationals Cory McClenathan (TF) Tom Carter (FC), Joshua Hernandez (PM), Tony Gillig (PS) June 4 Mopar Canadian Nationals Bobby Lagana Jr. (TF) Dale Creasy Jr. (FC), Alan Pittman (PM), Pete Berner (PS) June 25 Western RV Rocky Mountain Nats Clay Millican (TF) Tom Carter (FC), Quain Stott (PM), Frank Gugliotta (PS) July 9 GM Motor City Nationals Andrew Cowin (TF) Paul Noakes (FC), Mike Janis (PM), Robert Patrick (PS) Aug. 6 Torco Northern Nationals TJ Zizzo (TF) Tom Carter (FC), Josh Hernandez (PM), Tony Gillig (PS) Aug. 27 Skull Gear World Nationals Hillary Will (TF) Tim Stevens (FC), Raymond Commisso (PM), Pete Berner (PS) Sept. 10 Amalie N. American Nat’ls Bobby Lagana Jr. (TF) Rob Atchison (FC), Eddie Ware (PM), Robert Patrick (PS) Sept. 24 ACDelco Canadian Nationals Clay Millican (TF) Paul Noakes (FC), Mike Janis (PM), Robert Mansfield (PS) Oct. 1 Torco President’s Cup Nationals Clay Millican (TF) Neal Parker (FC), Quain Stott (PM), Ricky Smith (PS) Oct. 22 World Finals Clay Millican (TF) Mark Thomas (FC), Scotty Cannon (PM), John Montecalvo (PS)

March 26 April 8 April 30 May 14 May 21 June 4 June 18 June 24 July 2 July 16 July 23 Aug. 20 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 15 Oct. 29

FIM MOTOGP

Spanish Grand Prix Qatar Grand Prix Turkey Grand Prix China Grand Prix French Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix Spanish Grand Prix Assen TT British Grand Prix German Grand Prix United States Grand Prix Czech Republic Grand Prix Malaysian Grand Prix Australian Grand Prix Japanese Grand Prix Portuguese Grand Prix Valencia Grand Prix

Loris Capirossi Valentino Rossi Marco Melandri Dani Pedrosa Marco Melandri Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi Nicky Hayden Dani Pedrosa Valentino Rossi Nicky Hayden Loris Capirossi Valentino Rossi Marco Melandri Loris Capirossi Toni Elias Troy Bayliss

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Feb. 25 March 5 April 23 May 7 May 28 June 25 July 23 Aug. 6 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Oct. 1 Oct. 8

Losail, QT James Toseland (1), Troy Corser (2) Philip Island, AUS Troy Corser (1), Troy Bayliss (2) Valencia, SPA Troy Bayliss (1 & 2) Monza, ITA Troy Bayliss (1 & 2) Silverstone, GBR Troy Bayliss (1 & 2) San Marino Troy Bayliss (1), Andrew Pitt (2) Brno, CZR Yukio Kagayama (1 & 2) Brands Hatch Troy Baylis (1), Noriyuki Haga (2) Assen, NED Chris Walker (1), Troy Bayliss (2) Lausitz Yukio Kagayama (1), James Toseland (2) Imola, ITA Alex Barros (1), Troy Bayliss (2) Magny Cours James Toseland (1), Troy Bayliss (2)

PARTS CANADA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Jordan Szoke Jordan Szoke Jordan Szoke Jordan Szoke Jordan Szoke Kevin Lacombe Kevin Lacombe

May 21 June 4 July 2 July 15 July 16 Aug. 13 Sept. 3

Shannonville Park Circuit Mont-Tremblant Race City Park Mosport Int’l Raceway Mosport Int’l Raceway Atlantic Motorsport Park Shannonville Park

March 11 *April 23 *April 30 *May 21 *June 4 *June 18 July 23 *Aug. 6 *Aug. 20 *Sept. 1-3 Oct. 1

Daytona Int’l Speedway Mat Mladin Barber Motorsports Park Ben Spiess (Race 1 & 2) California Speedway Ben Spiess (Race 1 & 2) Infineon Raceway Ben Spiess (Race 1 & 2) Road America Mat Mladin (Race 1 & 2) Miller Motorsports Park Ben Spies (1), Jake Zemke (2) Mazda Raceway Ben Spies Mid-Ohio SportsCar Ben Spies (Race 1 & 2) Virginia Int’l Raceway Mat Mladin (Race 1 & 2) Road Atlanta Mat Mladin (Race 1 & 2) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mat Mladin

AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

* denotes doubleheader

CMRC NATIONALS

May 27-28 Ste-Julie, QC Jean-Sebastien Roy (Moto 1 & 2) June 3-4 Gopher Dunes Dusty Klatt (Moto 1 & 2) June 17-18 The Watselands Dusty Klatt (Moto 1 & 2) June 24-25 Wil Rose MX Park Dusty Klatt (M oto 1 & 2) July 8-9 Regina Moto Valley Dusty Klatt (Moto 1 & 2) July 15-16 Shadow Valley Jean-Sebastien Roy (Moto 1 & 2) Aug. 5-6 Riverglade MX Park Dusty Klatt (Moto 1 & 2) Aug. 12-13 Sand Del Lee Dusty Klatt (Moto 1) Jean-Sebastien Roy (Moto 2) Aug. 19-20 Walton TransCan Dusty Klatt (Moto 1 & 2) Red Header denotes Canadian Series. Red Text denotes Canadian driver.

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