The launch issue of the new-look Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway!

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 1

2  Totally Motorsport October 2014

Meet Your Makers

S

TWO BECOMES ONE

ince our last issue, there have been a number of developments with the magazine. The biggest one is the joint venture of both Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway magazines.

Yes, that’s right, Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway is now one big magazine.

It’s an exciting time, because we’ve made these changes for you, the reader. It’s about helping make Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway more accessible for the reader.

Apart from making one big magazine in a hardcopy version, Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway is now going to be available online. Now you’re going to be able to access your copy of Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway magazine anywhere you wish to. For example, you could be overseas on holidays, and you will still be able to access the magazine in an online format.

Our goal is to expand Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway into a larger format, sooner rather than later. The new format is Totally Motorsport for the first half of the magazine and then the second half will be Totally Speedway. Never fear, we will still be covering all aspects of general motorsport and speedway.

Publisher and Editor

Daniel Powell Redline Media ABN: 56 542 632 992 Phone: 0292 497 305 Mobile: 0432 126 210 Address: PO Box 645 Glebe NSW 2037 Email: daniel@redlinemedia.com.au Website: www.totallymotorsport.com.au or www.totallyspeedway.com.au

Staff

Mitchell Adam Russell Colvin

Graphic Designer

Alan Thompson

Printer

mpd, printing the news everyday

Distribution

Redline Distributors

Copyright

All rights are reserved to TotallyMotorsport and Totally Speedway. All editorial submissions are welcomed, but must be EXCLUSIVE. CONNECTED - Our mission since we started Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway has been LISTEN, SUPPORT, CONNECT. This means first listening to our readers, then supporting their ideas. When we implement those ideas we become CONNECTED

Apart from selling in newsagents around the country, we will be selling Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedway from tracks, motorsportrelated businesses and race teams. This is just another attempt of ours to reach you, the reader, on more than one level.

Until our next issue, happy reading!

Cheers, Daniel Powell Publisher and Editor of Totally Motorsport and Totally Speedw

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 3

Bathurst 1000 Preview

IT’S OCTOBER WHICH MEANS ONE THING. TEAMS, DRIVERS AND FANS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE GETTING READY FOR THE BIGGEST RACE OF THEM ALL, THE BATHURST 1000.

MITCHELL ADAM CASTS AN EYE OVER THIS YEAR’S FIELD.

HOLDEN RACING TEAM – HOLDEN COMMODORE VF # 2 GARTH TANDER and WARREN LUFF (SANDOWN: STARTED 6TH, FINISHED 2ND) # 22 JAMES COURTNEY and GREG MURPHY (SANDOWN: STARTED 5TH, FINISHED 3RD) Progress behind the big, figurative ‘work in progress’ sign outside the Holden Racing Team has accelerated since the arrival of Adrian Burgess. After some leaner years, the sleeping giant is waking back up. Smart recruitment and ongoing development has seen HRT at the front of the field more consistently; James Courtney has picked up a pair of wins and Garth Tander headed into the enduros fresh from a victory and several podiums in preceding rounds. In short, there are clear signs that the ship is moving in the right direction, which was confirmed by Sandown’s double podium finish. Courtney will again be joined by Greg Murphy, looking to make amends for his 2013 crash while things were looking good. As he showed at Bathurst in 2011, Tander is the man you want in the car at the end, when a race is there to be won, and Warren Luff represents a very handy pick-up based on his success with Craig Lowndes in recent years.

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TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING – HOLDEN COMMODORE VF # 1 JAMIE WHINCUP and PAUL DUMBRELL (SANDOWN: STARTED 1ST, FINISHED 1ST) # 888 CRAIG LOWNDES and STEVEN RICHARDS (SANDOWN: STARTED 7TH, FINISHED 4TH) These guys go to Bathurst as favourites. Not unbackable favourites, but favourites all the same. The driver line-ups, the pace of the machinery and the big game experience means they’ll be very hard to beat. After an off-season engineer change and relatively slow start to 2014, Jamie Whincup has surged in recent months to take the championship lead and build a handy buffer – almost a weekend worth of points – as he looks for a sixth title. He claimed a fourth Bathurst victory in 2012 with Paul Dumbrell, but Dumbrell’s extra year out of the seat hurt them last year. Admittedly, though, they still finished second ... The solution? Dumbrell has been doing the Dunlop Series in a Triple Eight car, staying sharp. It paid off at Sandown, where no-one really ever got close. The other side of the garage has Triple Eight’s first co-driver change for a couple of years. Having won the Enduro Cup last year with Craig Lowndes, Warren Luff has been replaced by Steven Richards, who himself won the Great Race last October with Mark Winterbottom. Lowndes always rises for the occasion at the Mountain and with eight Bathurst wins and more experience than you can poke a stick at between them, it’s not a combination to write off.

FORD PERFORMANCE RACING – FORD FALCON FG # 5 MARK WINTERBOTTOM and STEVE OWEN (SANDOWN: STARTED 3RD, FINISHED 10TH) # 6 CHAZ MOSTERT and PAUL MORRIS (SANDOWN: STARTED 17TH, FINISHED 7TH) # 18 JACK PERKINS and CAMERON WATERS (SANDOWN: STARTED 20TH, FINISHED 15TH) # 55 DAVID REYNOLDS and DEAN CANTO (SANDOWN: STARTED 8TH, FINISHED 9TH) For a long time, the primary jibe levelled at FPR was that it hadn’t won anything that mattered, i.e. Bathurst or a title. That they tended to make too many mistakes. Last year, they got the Bathurst monkey off their back, with Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards delivering a momentous victory in the team’s history, in a straight fight against Triple Eight. While Richards has now moved on, Steve Owen slots straight in as an excellent replacement, even with his Sandown error, having driven with the team last year. The biggest problem?

A form slump, particularly in qualifying, that has seen Winterbottom drop from having a 161-point championship lead leaving Darwin in June to now sit third, 279 points behind Jamie Whincup. A few eyebrows were raised with Paul Morris was named to partner Chaz Mostert. They would’ve remained raised at Sandown, where Morris was generally closer to the bottom of the co-driver timesheets than the top, but it could still prove a shrewd move. Morris has form in mentoring young blokes at Bathurst, including sixth with Scott Pye last year and seventh with Tim Slade in 2009. In an impressive rookie campaign, Mostert was fast but blotted his copybook at Bathurst last year, crashing in practice, and will be eyeing a trouble-free weekend. David Reynolds and Dean Canto came so close to victory in 2012, tasted success together on the Gold Coast last year and won’t be far from the pointy end. They were on for a top five at Sandown before their pitlane penalty. Rounding out the FPR stable, Jack Perkins needs a result. His enduro form helped him earn a main-game return, so he won’t have many better opportunities. Cameron Waters has plenty of pace and two 1000s under his belt – he’s still only 20 – but will want to avoid repeating his recent Dunlop Series indiscretions.

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Bathurst 1000 Preview EREBUS MOTORSPORT – MERCEDES E63 AMG EREBUS MOTORSPORT – MERCEDES E63 AMG # 4 LEE HOLDSWORTH and CRAIG BAIRD (SANDOWN: STARTED 12TH, DNF) # 9 WILL DAVISON and ALEX DAVISON (SANDOWN: STARTED 18TH, FINISHED 21ST) Admittedly coming from a low base, Betty Klimenko’s squad has been one of the big improvers in 2014. The Mercedes package has been significantly more competitive and Lee Holdsworth secured the team’s breakthrough victory at Winton. The scene of a breakthrough fourth for Holdsworth and Craig Baird in 2013, however, Sandown was less promising 12 months later. Neither car displayed a lot of pace and Holdsworth’s came back in a million pieces.

The Mountain will, as it will for Nissan, demonstrate just how much engine progress has been made with a new specification set to be debuted, but there’s little wanting from the driver line-ups. Holdsworth and Baird continue a partnership which started in 2012, and while it’s the first time Will and Alex Davison have driven together, they’ve known each other for a while…

WALKINSHAW RACING – HOLDEN COMMOODRE VF # 47 TIM SLADE and TONY D’ALBERTO (SANDOWN: STARTED 9TH, FINISHED 12TH) # 222 NICK PERCAT and OLIVER GAVIN (SANDOWN: STARTED 16TH, FINISHED 22ND) You have to feel for Tim Slade. After finishing fifth in the 2012 championship as one of the breakout performers, he’s endured a torrid 2013 with Erebus and luckless 2014 as newcomers like Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert scored breakthrough victories. As part of the Walkinshaw stable, the ingredients are there for Slade to taste success and a good result at Bathurst with former full-timer Tony D’Alberto would go a long way to making up for 18 months of frustration. Team-mate Nick Percat is among the new crop of drivers, and he’s putting together a very good rookie campaign. And, of course, he’s already a Bathurst winner, in 2011 with Garth Tander. Solid at Sandown, Oliver Gavin will be interesting to watch. International drivers have struggled at Bathurst over the years, but Gavin has plenty of experience in not dissimilar machinery, and Mattias Ekström and Andy Priaulx showed last year that it’s not an insurmountable task.

NISSAN MOTORSPORT – NISSAN ALTIMA

# 7 TODD KELLY and ALEX BUNCOMBE (SANDOWN: STARTED 11TH, FINISHED 20TH) # 15 RICK KELLY and DAVID RUSSELL (SANDOWN: STARTED 14TH, FINISHED 13TH) # 36 MICHAEL CARUSO and DEAN FIORE (SANDOWN: STARTED 13TH, FINISHED 18TH) # 360 JAMES MOFFAT and TAZ DOUGLAS (SANDOWN: STARTED 22ND, DNF)

Nissan remains the only manufacturer without a win in 2014, but there are plenty of signs things are heading in the right direction. Queensland Raceway was expected to be a circuit they’d struggle at, but Michael Caruso had racewinning pace on Saturday and James Moffat snagged his first career pole position, before grabbing a fourth at Eastern Creek. They’ll both be partnered by capable co-drivers in Dean Fiore and Taz Douglas respectively. On the ‘black’ side of the garage, Rick Kelly and David Russell will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their kangaroo crossing in 2013.

Kelly and brother Todd are both former winners and know their way around the place, and Todd’s experience will be invaluable for Alex Buncombe, a British GT racer slotted in as part of the NISMO Global Driver Exchange who starred on Saturday at Sandown. Following some strong sprint form, a troubled Sandown was a reality check, unable to crack the Top 10. Bathurst will show how far they’ve come, particularly in developing the relative weak point of its package, the engines.

6 Totally Motorsport October 2014

BRAD JONES RACING – HOLDEN COMMODORE VF # 8 JASON BRIGHT and ANDREW JONES (SAN� DOWN: STARTED 15TH, DNF) # 14 FABIAN COULTHARD and LUKE YOULDEN (SANDOWN: STARTED 10TH, FINISHED 11TH) # 21 DALE WOOD and CHRIS PITHER (SANDOWN: STARTED 25TH, FINISHED 19TH) BJR used to always lift for the enduros, but these days the Albury boys are strong contenders, year-round.

Fabian Coulthard and Jason Bright have both won races in 2014 and will be looking to bounce back from a forgettable Sandown, where they were never really in the mix, and challenge at the Mountain. Bright is a former winner and although Coulthard is looking for a breakthrough result, there’s no shortage of experience between co-drivers Luke Youlden and Andrew Jones. Dale Wood has been solid over the years as a co-driver and a podium at Winton is the highlight of his main-game return, and Chris Pither is now a winner in the Dunlop Series, but look for the other two cars to do the heavy lifting.

DICK JOHNSON RACING – FORD FALCON FG # 16 SCOTT PYE and ASH WALSH (SANDOWN: STARTED 19TH, FINISHED 5TH) # 17 DAVID WALL and STEVEN JOHNSON (SAN� DOWN: STARTED 23RD, FINISHED 16TH) Is it really 20 years since DJR last won at Bathurst?

Even before the announcement it would join forces with Penske and get Marcos Ambrose behind the wheel in 2015, there were signs that the team was on the road to recovery following some tough times.

Scott Pye has looked good rebounding from a turbulent rookie season with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, as a semi-regular in the top 10, and will be joined

by Ash Walsh who has shown plenty of speed in the Dunlop Series. Together, they starred at Sandown, taking a fine fifth. On the other side of the garage, some of David Wall’s stronger V8 Supercar performances have come at Bathurst, while being able to draft Steven Johnson back in as a co-driver after he spent 2013 with Erebus is a handy luxury to have. And good for the sport; Johnson in something other than # 17 didn’t quite feel right.

LUCAS DUMBRELL MOTORSPORT – HOLDEN COMMODORE VF # 23 RUSSELL INGALL and TIM BLANCHARD (SANDOWN: STARTED 24TH, FINISHED 14TH) On paper, you could look at Russell Ingall sitting 17th in the points and say that not much has changed at Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. But that’d be selling it short. Amid the congested mid-table, and some of Ingall’s performances, particularly in qualifying, suggest scaling back to one car has been a good thing for LDM. A two-time winner, Ingall knows Bathurst well, and Tim Blanchard will provide a safe set of hands, even with his lack of mileage in 2014. At Sandown, they kept it cool and moved through the field over the course of the 500km and you’d expect more of the same at Bathurst.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 7

Bathurst 1000 Preview VOLVO POLESTAR RACING – VOLVO S60 # 33 SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN and ALEXANDRE PRÉMAT (SANDOWN: STARTED 4TH, FINISHED 8TH) # 34 ROBERT DAHLGREN and GREG RITTER (SAN� DOWN: STARTED 21ST, FINISHED 17TH) In a far cry from the struggles of Nissan and Mercedes in 2013, Garry Rogers and the Swedes have nailed the new Volvo package. Admittedly there have been some niggling reliability dramas, but having scored a couple of wins and generally been quick everywhere, Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat are a step beyond what you’d call ‘darkhorses’. They’ll be in the mix. Especially if Prémat can reprise his Bathurst 2013 pace when needed, which he did at Sandown before being held up in pitlane. Robert Dahlgren arrives in a similar situation to Prémat in 2012, struggling to get up to speed in a completely foreign, very competitive championship. Co-driver Greg Ritter won’t need many laps to get dialled in, which will help maximise Dahlgren’s mileage.

TEKNO AUTOSPORTS – HOLDEN COMMODORE VF # 97 SHANE VAN GISBERGEN and JONATHON WEBB (SANDOWN: STARTED 2ND, FINISHED 6TH) If you take out a shocker at Barbagallo Raceway, Shane van Gisbergen is probably right in the middle of the V8 Supercar title fight. Tekno and van Gisbergen are enjoying another strong season, sitting fourth with three wins, and this is about the time scaling back to one car really pays off, slotting owner Jonathon Webb in as a co-driver. It looms as a real step forward over having two international codrivers in 2013; HRT didn’t just try to sign him to partner Garth Tander because he’s tall, he’ll be one of the strongest co-drivers out there. Oh, and look out if it rains...

SUPER BLACK RACING – FORD FALCON FG # 111 ANDRE HEIMGARTNER and ANT PEDERSEN (DID NOT CONTEST SANDOWN) There might not be a bigger ask in Australasian motorsport.

Make your V8 Supercar debut in the Bathurst 1000 with a new team and a single test day, but that’s what’s facing Andre Heimgartner, while Ant Pedersen has one start under his belt, in 2010 with MW Motorsport. Super Black Racing’s kids will be thrown in the deep end as likely the race’s only wildcard, but they’ve both looked good in categories like the Dunlop Series, NZ’s V8 SuperTourers and Carrera Cup. Heimgartner in particular seems like he has plenty of go, and the experience and equipment of FPR will help. If they can keep it clean, job done.

8 Totally Motorsport October 2014

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 9

Sandown 500

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AMIE Whincup’s quest for a sixth V8 Supercar title didn’t skip a beat as the Enduro Cup kicked off. If anything, it gained momentum, as Whincup and Paul Dumbrell claimed a comfortable Sandown 500 victory.

Third was the lowest either driver finished a practice session, Whincup topped qualifying, Dumbrell dominated his co-driver sprint race and Whincup did the same against the regulars.

Dumbrell led the field away in Sunday’s 161-lap race and the Red Bull racers would eventually lead all but 10 laps, during the first round of pitstops. A late safety car period for Lee Holdsworth’s highspeed accident, see photo strip below, slashed their lead, but with James Courtney having to navigate several lapped cars, Whincup was never really threatened.

With a final margin of 2.6 seconds, the pair secured back-toback Sandown 500 victories and Whincup’s championship lead grew to 273.

“Our day was pretty straight forward which was perfect for us,” Whincup said.

“Paul handed it over with a good lead and even when we had

a safety car there was a bit of lapped traffic between us and the Holden Racing Team which worked in our favour.”

HRT continued its upswing, with Courtney and Greg Murphy second and the sister car of Garth Tander and Warren Luff third.

“The car was mega today – about a thousand times better than what we had here last year,” Courtney surmised.

“The testing that we did before this event really paid off.”

Winner of last year’s Enduro Cup when partnered by Luff, Craig Lowndes closed on Tander late in the race but had to settle for fourth with his new co-driver Steven Richards. Lowndes is now his team-mate’s closest challenger in the title fight after Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen laboured to 10th, not helped by Owen spinning during his stint.

One of the star performances of the weekend belonged to Dick Johnson Racing’s Scott Pye and Ash Walsh. On the eve of an announcement about Penske’s V8 Supercar debut with the team and a returning Marcos Ambrose, the youngsters made progress all day after starting 19th to finish a fine fifth.

A lap 45 safety car period for dislodged marker cones meant

“I saw my life flash before my eyes there; I’m absolutely amazed that I walked away from it.” Lee Holdsworth

10 Totally Motorsport October 2014

BLEDISLOE ON WHEELS

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co-drivers – with all bar Dean Canto in David Reynolds’ Falcon starting – went beyond their minimum 54-lap quota, many completing approximately half of the race.

Among them, Jonathon Webb ran second to Dumbrell early, but faded before co-driver Shane van Gisbergen brought it home sixth while managing a power steering leak.

Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris were seventh, from 17th, while the safety-car pitstops hurt Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin and Alexander Prémat.

On his return to the championship, Prémat was among the pacier co-drivers and the pair started fourth, but lost considerable time in pitlane stuck behind Nick Percat’s stacked Walkinshaw Commodore with Oliver Gavin behind the wheel.

There was also pitlane drama for Reynolds and Canto, losing any hopes of a podium finish by having to serve a pitlane penalty for spinning rear wheels during a pitstop. They eventually finished ninth.

IWIS Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin were the big winners at Sydney Motorsport Park.

On a wet Saturday, van Gisbergen stormed to a pair of victories, his first since Pukekohe in April. He leapt from sixth to third as the opener got underway, claimed the lead when Jamie Whincup ran wide and eventually finished 10 seconds clear of Garth Tander, who made impressive progress from 14th on the grid.

Several hours later, he doubled up, leading home Chaz Mostert despite an off of his own and a late safety-car period. Like Tander in Race 26, Mostert came from outside the top 10, having started 11th.

McLaughlin started both Saturday races on the front row but failed to finish either, the first with an engine failure, the second an errant right-rear wheel. On Sunday, though, his Volvo went the distance and McLaughlin claimed his second

victory of 2014.

He did so after withstanding a late charge from Nick Percat, who finished second in his best solo V8 Supercar result. Fabian Coulthard was third, ahead of James Moffat and Whincup.

Having finished fourth and third on Saturday, Whincup supersized his championship lead from 15 points to 135 over Mark Winterbottom, who had a torrid time.

Qualifying no better than 15th, Winterbottom was 11th and 12th on Saturday, and then 20th on Sunday, after serving a drive-through penalty for lap one contact with David Reynolds and tyre problems.

Winterbottom’s incident saw Reynolds and Scott Pye hit the concrete wall at turn three heavily. On the eve of the enduros, Tim Slade and Robert Dahlgren also left with extensive damage after Saturday crashes.

Mitchell Adam

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 11

SINGAPORE GP

‘DAMMIT!’, yelled Nico Rosberg over his radio after being told team-mate Lewis Hamilton had pipped him to pole by 0.007 seconds. A day later in Singapore, things were a whole lot worse.

Rosberg encountered an unhelpful steering wheel on his way to the grid, with only radio and gearshifts. The problem got worse following a change on the grid and he was left there, stranded in neutral, when the field set off for the formation lap. He eventually started from pitlane with another wheel, but a myriad of problems including skipping gears, no DRS or hybrid power.

Having struggled to even pass Max Chilton’s Marussia, he retired on lap 13, unable to find first gear to leave the pits. The trouble was later traced to a broken wiring loom in the steering column.

“We were hoping that the systems might come back to life, like the radio did, and that we could change the situation,” he lamented.

“But after we changed the wheel another time, we had to retire the car. It was a tough day for me and unfortunately another reliability problem for the team.”

Reliability has played a role in the battle between Rosberg and Hamilton all season. Hamilton started on the back foot in Australia, then was on the receiving end in Canada and in qualifying for the German and Hungarian GPs. Rosberg had a clean run until Silverstone, and Singapore made it two mechanical retirements each, although Hamilton was also forced out in Belgium after the pair clashed.

But in Singapore, fortunes and, indeed, momentum swung firmly back in Hamilton’s favour. After his Monza victory and with Rosberg watching on, he cruised away from the field, despite thoughts Red Bull or even Ferrari may be more of a match for the Mercedes on the street circuit.

12 Totally Motorsport October 2014

It was all rather dull until Sergio Perez damaged his front wing on the back of Adrian Sutil’s Sauber on lap 31, bringing out the safety car. Mercedes elected not to pit Hamilton, leaving him with another stop to make for the prime rubber, while his challengers – Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso – would all try to get home without stopping again.

When racing resumed on lap 38, Hamilton had to bolt as he sought a 27-second advantage. And he did, putting three seconds on the pack on the first lap. Before pitting on lap 52, he built the gap to over 25 seconds and subsequently rejoined between Vettel and Ricciardo, who battled battery issues for much of the race. On much newer rubber, though, he snuck past Vettel the following lap and went on to win by 13.5 seconds.

With his seventh victory of the season and Rosberg’s DNF, Hamilton claimed a three-point championship lead.

“It would have been a really hard-core race if Nico had been at the front, as we clearly had the pace,” he admitted.

“It was all running pretty comfortably until the safety car came out, which gave me some problems. I was driving hard to build the gap but then the tyres started dropping off and I wasn’t sure what to do - keep pushing or back off to look after them.

“So we pitted straight away and I came out behind Seb. But I knew they were on a two-stop strategy and that his tyres were old.

I went for it down the back straight - the gap was pretty small and maybe I could have chosen another point on the circuit. But I luckily squeezed through and made it stick.”

His best result of the season, Vettel led home Ricciardo and Alonso, the trio having been in close company all afternoon. Alonso passed the pair at the start, via the run-off at turn one and had to yield a place to Vettel but not Ricciardo.

The Ferrari then utilised an undercut to jump Vettel in the first round of pitstops, but that the Red Bulls pitted just before the safety car, and Alonso as it was called, proved decisive. As they all scrambled home on aging tyres, Ricciardo couldn’t unseat Vettel, but had enough to keep Alonso at bay.

Felipe Massa was a quiet fifth and team-mate Valtteri Bottas looked set to take sixth with just a handful of laps remaining. But out of grip, he was passed by a charging Jean-Eric Vergne on the penultimate lap, then ran wide on the final tour and dropped to 11th.

Vergne’s performance was a pearler, even with a pair of fivesecond penalties – one served in pitlane, one added to his final race time – for exceeding track limits. After pitting for fresh rubber on lap

44, he stormed from 14th to sixth in the final 16 laps. As a man looking for a 2015 drive, it was timely.

“I had to push as much as possible in the last laps and pull away and this is what I’ve done. I had a lot of fun overtaking the ones in front of me, an incredible race,” he said.

A recovering Perez in seventh and Nico Hulkenberg in ninth made it a double-points finish for Force India. They were split by Kimi Raikkonen, whose weekend was compromised by a loss of power in qualifying having looked strong early, while a dehydrated Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10.

Mitchell Adam

THERE’S STILL HOW MANY RACES? T

HE end of the season can’t come soon enough for Lotus.

Partnered with Renault’s pack-trailing power unit, its E22 has proven troublesome from the outset, with massive budget shortfalls hardly helping its development. Early season progress was made, with back-to-back points finishes in Barcelona and Monaco, but that was a mirage.

Heading to Singapore, Romain Grosjean had suffered four DNFs in seven races and while Pastor Maldonado’s reliability was slightly better, he was still yet to finish higher than 12th.

Things barely improved in Singapore. Lotus conceded its attention has already switched to 2015 – when it’s likely to be running Mercedes power units – and Grosjean was frustrated when more Renault problems saw him qualify 16th, while Maldonado was 18th.

A day later, Maldonado finished 12th and Grosjean 13th, but that they were within six seconds of the points was somewhat of a positive.

“Unfortunately we didn’t have the pace to challenge for points today but we were very close, closer than we have been for a long time,” Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director, said.

“The safety car period obviously influenced our race strategy, so it’s hard to say what the maximum could have been were it not for that. We’re pleased with the improvement of the E22 which we hope to be able to harness in the next races.”

Grosjean finished 2013 in a flurry, with podiums in Korea, Japan, India and the USA. A year later, you get the feeling he’d settle for a point. Anywhere.

Mitchell Adam October 2014 Totally Motorsport 13

MONZA GP REPORT

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EWIS Hamilton hasn’t had the happiest couple of months.

A flurry of qualifying woes put him on the back foot against team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg and team orders were causing angst behind closed doors. And that was before Spa. All eyes were on the Mercedes duo when they arrived at Monza a fortnight after clashing in Belgium. Rosberg had been handed an unspecified penalty by the team, peace talks were held and boss Toto Wolff admitted the line-up might have to be changed if the pair couldn’t play nice.

Hamilton made the most of a trouble-free qualifying to take pole position ahead of Rosberg, but the advantage was fleeting. A slow start saw the Brit drop to fourth, while Rosberg led Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa.

By lap 10, Hamilton had cleared Magnussen and Massa and set about closing the gap to Rosberg. On lap 29, the pressure paid off as Rosberg overshot the first chicane and relinquished the lead.

Rosberg had nothing to fight back with and Hamilton controlled the final margin to 3.1 seconds, reducing Rosberg’s points advantage to 22.

“The launch sequence didn’t engage properly for the formation lap and then again for the start. I tried to pull away as fast as possible, basically I just floored it and hoped for the best!” he said of the start.

“When I closed up to Nico, I didn’t want to hold back as the car felt good and I knew from experience that the only chance would be at the start of the stint when the tyres were fresh so I went for it.”

A disappointed Rosberg was philosophical afterwards.

“Lewis was quicker this weekend, so he deserved the win,” he said.

A Williams rounded out the podium again, but it was Massa this time rather than Valtteri Bottas. A lonely third was Massa’s first podium for the team, somewhat fittingly at a circuit he’d been loved by the Tifosi during his Ferrari days. Bottas had a harder afternoon.

A sluggish start saw the Finn drop to 11th, but he kept his head in moving through the pack to finish fourth, as Williams reclaimed third in the Constructors’ standings from Ferrari.

Like Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo was in recovery mode after dropping from ninth to 12th at the start. Like Bottas, he did well, climbing from 12th after his pitstop to an eventual fifth with some forceful moves.

“I think fifth, even with a good start, was the best we could do,” he surmised.

Both Bottas and Ricciardo jumped Sebastian Vettel in the final third of the race, Vettel having pitted early on an aggressive strategy and running out of rubber late. He finished sixth, just clear of a fierce pack scrapping over the remaining points.

Having faded after his early heroics, Magnussen crossed the line seventh, but dropped to 10th with a five-second penalty for forcing Bottas over the turn one chicane with a defensive move.

It handed Sergio Perez seventh, just ahead of Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen. The two points for Raikkonen meant Ferrari at least salvaged something from a dark weekend at home, as Fernando Alonso retired mid-race with an ERS failure.

Mitchell Adam

14 Totally Motorsport October 2014

SPA GP REPORT

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O matter how dull the season, you can generally count on Spa to turn it on. In 2014, it did in spades, as the tension at Mercedes erupted on track and Daniel Ricciardo won his third GP. Nico Rosberg claimed his sixth pole in seventh races on a wet Saturday, but unlike preceding events, Lewis Hamilton would start alongside him, despite brake problems.

A day later, Hamilton grabbed the early lead as Formula 1 impersonated Formula Ford. Sebastian Vettel got into Hamilton’s slipstream exiting Eau Rouge on lap one and looked around the outside at Les Combes. Carrying too much speed, he went straight on and lost second to Rosberg.

The next lap was almost a carbon copy. Unlike Vettel, though, Rosberg didn’t yield and tried to hang on around the outside. When Hamilton assumed his line for the second half of the corner, the pair made contact.

“It is unacceptable for me that, in the second lap, Nico hits Lewis,” Mercedes’ Niki Lauda fumed.

“If these things happen at the end of the race when they are fighting, we can talk about it. But on the second lap, it is ridiculous.

I thought they were clever enough to know that but obviously they aren’t.”

Rosberg’s front wing was broken and Hamilton limped back to the pits with a left-rear puncture. Miles behind and off the pace with a damaged floor, he trundled around asking when he could retire and the team eventually granted his wish.

“We just had a meeting about it and he basically said he did it on purpose,” Hamilton told reporters post-race.

“He said he could have avoided it, but he didn’t want to. He basically said, ‘I did it to prove a point’.”

A wounded Rosberg led Ricciardo, Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas, but Ricciardo grabbed the lead during the first round of stops when Rosberg received a new wing. Benefiting from an undercut, Kimi Raikkonen was up to second, ahead of Vettel and Rosberg, who in trying to pass Vettel made a mistake and let Bottas through.

With Red Bull rolling the dice on dry weather and a low-downforce set-up to reduce the dominance of the Mercedes power units, Ricciardo controlled proceedings, while Rosberg was back up to second and had committed to an extra stop.

It set Rosberg up for a nine-lap sprint to the flag on the soft rubber, and he emerged 22.5 seconds behind the medium-shod Ricciardo. Despite some early inroads, Ricciardo had enough in the bank to secure back-to-back victories.

“You know everyone was saying we didn’t really have a chance around here, but I think we had some really good pace today and surprised ourselves,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of good things about the win today, obviously the last two came from a more aggressive style of race, but today was more calculated and it was nice to win under different circumstances.”

Rosberg eventually finished 3.3 seconds behind Ricciardo, was booed on the podium and left 29 points clear of Hamilton.

Raikkonen looked a podium chance and while he was ultimately denied by Bottas, fourth was a step in the right direction.

Like Rosberg, Vettel pitted for soft rubber for the run home and was in the thick of a frenetic scrap with Alonso and McLaren pair Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen. Vettel passed them all in the last three laps and while Magnussen crossed the line sixth, he dropped to 12th with a 20-second penalty for earlier failing to leave Alonso sufficient room.

That handed Button sixth and Alonso seventh, while Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the points.

Mitchell Adam

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 15

INDYCARS

SO CLOSE YET SO FAR BEFORE, WILL POWER’S QUEST TO BECOME INDYCAR CHAMPION BECAME A REALITY IN 2014. MITCHELL ADAM LOOKS AT HIS JOURNEY.

W

ILL Power didn’t follow the feeder category path known as the ‘Road to Indy’ in getting to IndyCar. Nor did he enjoy a conventional path to its summit. But after the dejection of 2010, 2011 and 2012, he’s Australia’s first IndyCar Champion.

What has long been obvious about Power is that he can drive. From his days as a privateer in Formula Ford, taking on the likes of Will Davison and Jamie Whincup in aging machinery, the Queenslander has been a driver to watch.

16 Totally Motorsport October 2014

But the thing about starting out with a limited budget and being a ‘privateer’ in, say, Formula Ford is that the road from there only gets tougher. Very rarely do you suddenly become one of those guys with many zeroes on cheques to buy whatever seat you want.

Motorsport, at home and abroad, is full of drivers with massive potential but little wallets, so that Power was able to carve out the career he has – like Mark Webber – with a little help along the way is a massive achievement in itself.

After winning the Gold Star in Formula Holden and most of the Australian Formula 3 races he started in a partial campaign in 2002, he headed over to Europe. He showed plenty of potential in underfunded British Formula 3 campaigns and scraped together enough for most of a Formula Renault 3.5 programme in 2005 with the highly-regarded Carlin outfit, winning races in a season eventually won by Robert Kubica.

Power’s third season in Europe was crucial in setting up his career, and his last there chasing a Formula 1 drive. Mid-year, he was offered a Champ Car test with the newly-formed Team Australia programme run by Craig Gore and Derrick Walker, impressing the team enough to field him in a third car on the Gold Coast. It wasn’t his only green and gold race suit of 2005, Power also starred as Australia’s maiden A1GP driver, scoring a podium at Brands Hatch in his sole appearance.

In 2006, Power had a Team Australia Champ Car to call his own, taking pole position and leading at Surfers Paradise before a clash with Sebastien Bourdais, and claiming his maiden podium in

Mexico’s season finale. The following year he won his first races, but there was further change in 2008, with Champ Car absorbed into IndyCar. Power finished 12th as Champ Car refugees struggled against the experienced incumbents.

That off-season brought further turmoil. Gore ended Team Australia, sidelining Power until Walker told Roger Penske to hire him while Helio Castroneves fought tax evasion charges.

Castroneves returned, but Power did enough in two events to earn further starts, eventually taking his first IndyCar victory at Edmonton but breaking his back at Sonoma.

Penske, like many others before him, had seen enough and a recovered Power was rewarded with a full-time seat in 2010. It would prove to be Power’s first brush with IndyCar heartbreak. Two wins kicked off the season, and he had five by the time he arrived at Homestead’s season finale leading the championship. There, however, he crashed, handing the title to Dario Franchitti by five points.

There was more of the same in 2011, with six wins including his first oval triumph at Texas, and the title roles were reversed heading to the final round at Las Vegas. The tragic death of Dan Wheldon that day saw the race cancelled and overshadowed Franchitti’s title.

Like 2010, 2012 was a last day disaster. Power led Ryan HunterReay in the standings heading to Fontana, but crashed and lost by three points. The undisputed king of road courses from his Australian and European background, ovals remained his Achilles Heel.

“We worked so hard and it’s tough to finish second, again, in the championship,” he said at the time.

“It’s definitely frustrating when you look at the last three years in a row, we’ve convincingly won the road course championship. It’s the ovals and I can’t really put my finger on it. Tonight it was just a seam in the track and it really caught me out – totally took me by surprise.”

By his lofty standards, 2013 started slowly, with just a single podium from the first 14 races. But Power finished with a flurry, with three wins in the final five events including a commanding victory at Fontana, the scene of heartbreak 12 months earlier. From pole, Power led 103 of the 250 laps, in what Penske president Tim Cindric now calls a pivotal moment.

“Last year’s win at Fontana was a turning point in his career,” he said in the aftermath of Power’s title.

“He came back and conquered the place.”

Power himself reflects that not being in the title fight in 2013 saw him race with a renewed freedom he took into 2014.

“I think the fact that I wasn’t in the championship chase made me realise how aggressive I truly could be,” he said.

“And I got back to how I raced when I was young, which is attack, not be conservative. I think the three championships we lost was me kind of on being conservative in certain situations.

“And now I just feel like I’ve raced naturally. It was a change, just because I was put in the position not to protect the points lead.”

While Power opened his 2014 account with victory at St Petersburg and second at Long Beach, errors and misfortune were still creeping in; a spin at Barber Motorsport Park, pitlane penalties including one at the Indy 500, broken suspension at Houston and a spin while leading at Sonoma, where the IndyCar community was woken in the wee hours of race day by an earthquake.

Still, with victories at Detroit and Milwaukee, he headed back to Fontana with a 51-point advantage over team-mate Castroneves, while Simon Pagenaud started with a mathematical chance of snatching the title but struggled.

From 20th on the grid, Power moved through the field with bold moves, running low on the track, to lead with 60 of the 250 laps remaining. Then, the task became easier, with Castroneves penalised for a pitlane entry infringement. From there, Power settled in and brought it home in ninth to win what had eluded him for so long.

“The last 14 days have been the worst in my life,” he said postrace.

“Mentally and emotionally, it’s been so bad, not sleeping and stressing. I didn’t think it could happen until it happened.

“That was one of the hardest races ever. I was crying over the line. It just went on and on. I slowly made up position and the car wasn’t great. I’m so mentally exhausted now. I’m just so exhausted.

My hands are numb from holding onto the wheel so tight.”

Few would argue Power’s long-overdue title, with a margin of 62 points, wasn’t fitting. A total of 11 drivers won races, but Power and Hunter-Reay sat atop the pile with three victories apiece. Power led a season-high 623 laps and 11 races, took four pole positions and completed 2394 of the season’s 2395 laps.

But those numbers would have meant little without the ultimate prize.

“You never think it can happen until it happens,” he said.

“Actually, when I took the lead, I thought, ‘this is good. I believe we’ve got a pretty good shot here.’ When they said Helio got a drivethrough, I said, ‘hey, this is it. We can do this. We can win it.’

“That’s 15 years of hard work. I started taking it seriously in 2000. That’s just 15 years of hard work.”

In 2015, it’s time for something different again. Defending a title.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 17

WRC

V

OLKSWAGEN sealed its second World Rally Championship Manufacturers’ Championship in emphatic fashion, with a Sebastien Ogier-led sweep of the Rally Australia podium.

Citroen driver Kris Meeke led early on the opening day, but it was all Volkswagen from there, headlined by a fight for the lead between Ogier and team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. Ogier snatched a 0.4s buffer on the final stage of the opening day, and while Latvala opened up a small advantage early on the second, Ogier gambled on tyres – taking three hard tyres and one soft compared to Latvala’s pair of each – which paid off in the afternoon. Despite forecast storms, it stayed dry and Ogier led by 11.8 seconds at the day’s conclusion.

Latvala threatened and closed the gap on Sunday, but couldn’t come between the reigning World Champion and back-toback Coffs Coast victories. After crashing out of the previous round in Germany, Ogier was back in form and now leads Latvala by 50 points with three rallies to go.

“That was a really good one,” he said.

“Jari-Matti was in a strong rhythm and I needed to keep the pace high. I did what I had to do. I’m really proud of this win, especially after some difficult weeks.

“This is a great step for the drivers’ title. We are 50 points ahead and one victory will be enough.”

Andreas Mikkelsen made it a Volkswagen 1-2-3, while Meeke was fourth ahead of Mikko Hirvonen.

Kiwi Hayden Paddon starred, even before he inherited sixth when Mads Ostberg suffered a late suspension failure. Ford teammates Elfyn Evans and Robert Kubica were eighth and ninth, ahead of Australian Chris Atkinson, who had a frustrating home event in just his second hitout with Hyundai. Atkinson spent much of the weekend sweeping the road as the first WRC runner and struggled to find a rhythm, eventually finishing almost 10 minutes behind Ogier.

SCOTT Pedder moved a step closer to a maiden Australian Rally Championship crown with a Coffs Harbour victory.

Arch rival Brendan Reeves drew level in the standings with victory in the Power Stage, which Pedder missed due to a spin in qualifying. Reeves carried that form into leg one, winning the open18 Totally Motorsport October 2014

ing stage, only for his Mazda to stop on the very pass with a broken cam shaft.

Pedder capitalised, winning the day by almost two-and-a-half minutes over Michael Boaden. In the box seat, he brought it home over the weekend, despite a puncture in leg two and a troubled final day during which he was dogged by a broken engine mount, electrical problems and a power steering failure.

“I should be happy but its more just stress relief,” Pedder said. “[It’s] probably the hardest, [most] stressful day I’ve ever had in rallying.”

Photos: Kirsten Knox

Mick Patton and Adrian Coppin completed the rally podium, while Reeves recovered from his leg one dramas to take maximum points from legs two and three and keep his title hopes alive heading to November’s season finale, Rally Victoria.

NEARBY, Shannon and Ian Rentsch dominated the Coffs Coast 400 to extend their lead of the Australian Off Road Championship.

In an event consisting of eight laps of a 50km course, the father and son team led home Matthew and Kerrie Martin by over 10 minutes, to take their second outright win of the season.

Jack Rhodes and David Pullino had been the Rentsch’s closest challengers at the end of Saturday’s three passes, trailing by 27 seconds, but withdrew due to steering problems on Sunday.

nascar

THE HOME STRETCH

M

ARCOS Ambrose is in the twilight of his full-time NASCAR career, following September’s announcement that he’ll return to V8 Supercars in 2015.

The dual titlist will spearhead American giant Penske’s entry into the championship, in partnership with Dick Johnson Racing. Having left Australia at the end of 2005, Ambrose progressed through the Trucks and Nationwide feeder classes before his first full-time Sprint Cup campaign in 2009. With Richard Petty Motorsport, Ambrose claimed back-to-back victories at Watkins Glen in 2011 and 2012, to go with five Nationwide race wins.

Second at Watkins Glen looks set to be Ambrose’s strongest result of 2014, while success on ovals to match his road course record has proven elusive, his best result a pair of thirds.

With eight races remaining, as Totally Motorsport went to print before Dover, Ambrose was 23rd in the standings. He missed a berth in The Chase, which has a new elimination format featuring three knockout phases.

A total of 16 drivers made the cut, all starting the final 10 races on 2,000 points. A race winner automatically advances to the next phase, while the lowest four drivers are eliminated every three races.

On 16 November, four drivers will start the finale at Homestead on level pegging, the highest finisher being crowned champion.

Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano won the opening two Chase races at Chicagoland and New Hampshire to lead the standings over Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola headed to Dover looking to avoid the first cut.

FORMULA E

N

ICO Prost ensured the new FIA Formula E Championship kicked off with a bang in Shanghai.

Prost dominated the much-discussed electronic championship’s maiden ePrix, but created headlines for the wrong reasons after clashing with Nick Heidfeld at the final corner of the 25lap race.

Heidfeld started sixth but began the final lap just six-tenths of a second behind Prost. On the run to the final corner, he made his move down the inside, only for Prost to swerve into his path. After the contact, a kerb launched Heidfeld’s Dallara into the air and a barrier.

“Once I hit the kerb it felt like I was in the air forever,” an unscathed Heidfeld said.

“I closed my eyes and waited for the impact and then I thought ‘Oh that was lucky!’”

Prost initially blamed his rival for the spectacular clash but later admitted fault and has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for the next round in Malaysia in November.

The big beneficiary from Prost’s move was Lucas di Grassi, who claimed an unlikely place in the history books.

“To win the race is like a dream come true,” di Grassi, who started second, said.

“I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. The team did a great job all through practice and qualifying, yes we made a few mistakes but overall I’m extremely happy to be the first ever winner of a Formula E race.”

Daniel Abt crossed the line third but was demoted to 10TH by a penalty for exceeding 28kW of battery consumption. That saw Sam Bird complete the podium, ahead of Charles Pic, Karun Chandhok and Jerome d’Ambrosio.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 19

bikes MOTOGP

The Doctor Finally Delivers

C

ompeting just 15 kilometres away from his hometown of Tavullia, Italian star Valentino Rossi took his first win of the season at round 13 of the MotoGP Championship in fine fashion.

A total of 54,543 fans were on hand to witness ‘The Doctor’ storm to his 81st MotoGP/500cc career win. Rossi’s win also meant that he became the first rider to score 5000 MotoGP Championship points.

Rossi took command of the race on lap three after getting in front of pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo and then asserting his authority in an early battle with Marc Marquez. However, something very unusual happened – Marquez suffered a crash on lap 10 while in second place at Rio corner after tucking the front end. While the 21-year-old Spaniard was able to restart his machine, he could only manage to score a single point after finishing back in 15th position. Regardless, Marquez still holds onto a 74-point MotoGP Championship lead over his teammate, Dani Pedrosa while Rossi is just one point behind Pedrosa. If everything goes to plan, Marquez will more than likely lock up the title in Japan this month.

Following Rossi in second spot by 1.578 seconds was Lorenzo, making it the first Yamaha one-two finish since last year’s opening race at Qatar. Pedrosa was able to hold off Andrea Dovizioso for the final podium position, finishing 1.234 seconds ahead of the Italian.

Taking fifth was another Ducati pilot Andrea Iannone. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Pol Espargaro, Bradley Smith, Alvaro Bautista, Cal Crutchlow and Yonny Hernandez. Australian Broc Parkes finished one lap down on the leaders back in 18th.

Esteve Rabat extended his Moto2 Championship advantage out to 22 points after taking the win over his Marc VDS Racing team-

mate, Mika Kallio by 2.271 seconds. Johann Zarco completed the podium in third. Australian Anthony West finished two places outside the points back in 17th.

It was a battle between the Estrella Galicia 0,0 teammates that saw Alex Rins taking the win by just .042 seconds over Alex Marquez in Moto3. Australian Jack Miller guided his Red Bull KTM Ajo machine to third place on the podium. Miller now holds onto a ninepoint championship lead. Another Australian in Remy Gardner, the son of the 1987 World 500cc Champion Wayne Gardner, finished in 27th position aboard the Kiefer Racing outfit.

Russell Colvin

WORLD SUPERBIKES

Melandri Magic

J

erez played host to the latest round of this year’s World Superbike Championship last month, and it was Italian star Marco Melandri who took the spoils in both races. He managed to finish ahead of his teammate Sylvain Guintoli in both races.

In both races Guintoli took the lead early and tried to pull away from his rivals. Once the Frenchman was overtaken by Melandri, Guintoli confidently managed his position which saw him earn a total of 40 points for the round and close in on the championship leader Tom Sykes. The latter’s championship advantage was reduced to 31 points.

For Sykes, it was a damage limitation. In the opening race, Sykes moved up and down the order like a yoyo.

After missing a gear near the start, the British rider had to work hard to overcome a less than ideal race setup in cool conditions to finish fifth 6.979 seconds behind Melandri. However, it was a strong recovery for Sykes in race two, in which he finished third which was his 14 podium finish for the year.

Chaz Davies had a good day out taking third in race one and fourth in race two. Fellow British rider, Johnny Rea also had a solid round which saw him finish with fourth and fifth-place finishes. Eu-

20 Totally Motorsport October 2014

gene Laverty finished sixth in both races.

2010 Australian Superbike champion Bryan Staring flung his Iron Brain Grillini Kawasaki ZX10R away in race one and fell victim to the one-bike rule as his bike was too badly damaged to fix for the second race.

Russell Colvin

Go Karting

F

RICCI-KART-O

URTHER details about Daniel Ricciardo’s new line of karts will be released this month, ahead of the launch of the first model in November.

The Australian Formula 1 ace has launched his new Ricciardo Kart brand, in partnership with BIREL ART, a recently-announced joint venture between kart manufacturer Birel and renowned circuit racing squad ART Grand Prix, which has fielded the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in open-wheel classes.

BIREL ART will design, manufacture and distribute the karts globally, with Ricciardo to be involved throughout the process. An official Ricciardo Kart team will also debut in major European events next year.

“I am very happy to be able to kick off this project,” Ricciardo said.

“I grew up racing karts, and even when I moved up to single-seaters I never stopped supporting this sport, always enjoying some kart racing in my spare time. Being able to follow the design and construction of a kart from a blank sheet to track debut is an adventure that’s very fascinating and I am glad to do this with a Partner who is just as excited: BIREL ART. “I hope that many girls and boys can learn this discipline, have fun and win with the Ricciardo kart.”

With the line-up to span mini-karts to Rotax and the CIK-FIA classes (KFJ, KF and KZ), technical details and liveries will be previewed in October, before the formal launch of the maiden Ricciardo Kart in late November.

WINNERS ARE GRINNERS

T

roy Loeskow, Jayden Ojeda and Joey Hanssen were the big winners as the 2014 Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting concluded at Melbourne’s Todd Road.

Loeskow and Ojeda secured their maiden Australian Championships in KF2 and KF3 Junior divisions respectively, while Hanssen made it back-to-back KZ2 Gearbox titles.

With title rival Nathan Tigani striking trouble early, second to Jarryd Ebzery in the opening KF2 final gave Loeskow an all-but insurmountable advantage. Despite early dramas of his own in Final 2, he did enough to secure the James Courtney Trophy. At the front of the field, Ebzery and KF2 debutant Liam McLellan slugged it out, with McLellan eventually taking the win ahead of Ebzery and Scott Sorenson.

Ojeda didn’t waste his handy KF3 points lead over team-mate Chris Sandrone, winning both finals. He capped the season with a last-gasp effort to edge out local Aaron Cameron by 0.04 seconds in Final 2.

Hanssen celebrated his KZ2 title in style, winning the first final despite dropping to eighth early, then breaking the lap record on his way to victory in the second, despite a mid-race off. Behind him, there was plenty of action, namely from David Sera and Matthew Wall, who started 24th and 25th after earlier problems. The pair carved their way through the field with Sera eventually finishing third behind Janssen and Kyle Ensbey. Wall looked set for a top five as well, but dropped to 12th after final-lap drama.

In the support classes, Daniel Rochford secured the TaG Light title following a spirited battle with Mitchell Hewitt and points rival

Kris Walton. Hewitt was excluded for a technical infringement, which elevated V8 Utes points leader Walton to second from Ryan Sanderson. Rick Pringle edged out Aaron Hindle for the Tag 125 Heavy honours, Jack Doohan claimed his first major series victory in Rookies, while Mitchell Mackay and George Michaelides won Tag Restricted Light and Heavy respectively.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 21

V8 Supercar Supports

CARRERA CUP

Beware the Baird As the business end of the season approaches, defending champion Craig Baird has worked his way back into contention with a strong win in Sydney, while mechanical troubles has seen Steven Richards lose the championship lead to Warren Luff.

Baird made it clear at Sydney Motorsport Park that the championship was far from over. With dark skies and a wet race on Saturday, Baird drove through the field to win from Michael Patrizi and Richards. As Baird went on to win all three races, Patrizi’s weekend went from bad to worse as he was spun in a clash with Luff in race two, then had a spin at the high speed turn one in the final race. Luff benefitted from the errors to gain a third and second in the remaining races with Richards filling second and third in the races respectively.

Sandown was best remembered by a huge race-two accident involving up to half-a-dozen cars. Nick McBride was spun by team-

mate Nick Foster into the path of Duvashen Padayachee, the VIP car then heading towards the infield barriers. As the pack followed Ash Samardi was left with nowhere to go and hit the rear quarter of the Bob Jane entry and ripping McBride’s engine from the car is a mass of steam and debris. The race was red flagged as officials removed the wreckage and repaired a section of damages armco.

Patrizi drove brilliantly in race one to work his way past Baird, Chaz Davies and then Richards to claim victory, then completed the weekend with another win in the final race from Davies and Baird.

For Richards, the weekend was a disaster. Having double duties with the Ford Performance Racing team for the Sandown 500, Richards was left stranded in pit lane for the final race with a mechanical issue. The DNF handing the championship lead back to Luff by the slender margin of just six points.

AUSTRLIAN GT

Quinn closes in

Crashes and controversy has marred the past two rounds of the Australian GT Championship. Tony Quinn has moved into contention with a pair of wins at the Sydney and Sandown rounds; however, his son’s (Klark) hopes of a third consecutive championship were ripped away on the unforgiving Sandown armco. Richard Muscat looked set to extend his lead, only to have a combination of mechanical failure and V8 Supercars time restraint thwart his challenge.

At Sydney, Muscat looked set to dominate, quickly establishing a winning lead before a huge crash for Tony Alford brought out the safety car. Alford was taken to hospital with a rib injuries. At the restart, Muscat slowed coming out of the hairpin and was forced to spectate from the infield.

In race two, Muscat bounced back for the win, while Tony Quinn faced stiff opposition from son Klark in the McLaren. Tony held sway as a frustrated Klark missed the opportunity to close the

22 Totally Motorsport October 2014

points gap to Muscat.

The championship chase changed dramatically at Sandown as a qualifying accident for Klark Quinn tore the front corner off the McLaren and ended his weekend.

While Klark played no further part, Tony benefitted from a favourable pitstop to overtake the Muscat Mercedes and hold on for two race victories. His win in race one helped by a late crash for Andrew MacPherson at turn four which brought out the safety car, while a late call by V8 Supercars to end the second race with four minutes still to run enabled Quinn to finish ahead of the Mercedes driver who had been camped on the rear bumper of the VIP Pet Foods Aston Martin for a handful of laps.

Muscat leads the championship ahead of Tony Quinn and John Bowe.

V8 UTES Harris Returns to Form Two-time and defending series champion Ryal Harris returned to the

winner’s circle with a dominant display at the Sandown round. With a new colour scheme and sponsorship from West End Mazda, Harris won race one from current series leader Kris Walton and the impressive Jesse Dixon.

The second race was run with a reverse grid, and it helped Elliot Barbour score the win ahead of Jeremy Gray and Ryall Harris. The latter passing contenders Nathan Pretty, David Sieders, Dixon and Walton.

The third and final race was another close affair with Harris winning out again from Dixon and Walton trading places from their first race result.

For title contenders Sieders and Pretty, the weekend saw them lose ground to Walton, who now sits on 623 points, 37 points ahead of Sieders and 117 in front of Pretty.

TOURING CAR MASTERS Bowe Holds On Veteran John Bowe etched out a 48-point lead over Jim Rich-

SHANNONS NATIONALS CAM’S WINNING CAMEO

CAMERON McConville made a successful return to the driver’s seat during round seven of the Shannons Nationals at Phillip Island.

In his first hitout since the 2012 Bathurst 1000, McConville won the V8 Touring Cars round in a one-off appearance with Eggleston Motorsport. With his race-one victory, McConville ended Ryan Simpson’s nine-race winning streak. He made it a double in the second, then let team-mate Justin Ruggier through to win the final, which Simpson didn’t start due to breaching noise restrictions. It helped Ruggier close to within three points in the title fight.

Fraser Ross recovered from a Friday off to secure the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge crown. Matt Campbell dominated the weekend, winning all three races and the round over Jon McCorkindale and Ross.

A pair of wins saw Simon Hodge extend his Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship lead. Hodge won the opening sprint and the feature ahead of Ben Gersekowski, but limped to fourth in the second sprint after damaging his front wing while fighting Gersekowski. He left with a 20-point margin over Gersekowski.

Darren Hossack led home Tony Ricciardello and Steven Tamasi in the Sports Sedans opener, but the trio clashed on lap one of race two, ending Hossack and Tamasi’s weekend. Patched-up points leader Ricciardello was seventh in the final, won by Formula Ford youngster Thomas Randle.

Tim Berryman won both 45-minute Radical Australia Cup races by over half a minute, leading home Chris Medland on Saturday and Michael Shaw on Sunday.

In the Australian Sports Racer Series, Adam Proctor and Roger I’Anson slugged it out, Proctor winning all three races to cut I’Anson’s points lead to one, while Gavin Ross took a clean sweep in the Australian Super Six Touring Car Series, leading home Travis Lindorff and Jason Leoncini.

Gary Pegoraro left it late to secure the Australian Superkart Championship, slipstreaming past title rival Ilya Harpas on the run to the finish of the final race.

ards in the title race after the Sandown round, while Andrew Miedecke lurks a further 55 points behind. However, the real talking point over the last two rounds has been the return of Chrysler stalwart Greg Crick.

Crick had been hospitalised after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning during this year’s Bathurst 12 hour. For more than six months Crick has been unable to compete, only just making it to the Sydney round. He astounded everyone, including himself, by finishing third in race one at Sydney. At Sandown, he went further by winning the reverse-gird race.

While Crick impressed, Richards’ title chase went backwards in Sydney, though Miedecke kept Bowe at bay. The results were reversed at Sandown with Richards winning from Miedecke and Bowe.

John Morris

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 23

NEW SOUTH WALES t was a double celebration for Dylan Thomas during the sixth and penultimate round of the NSW State Championship last month at Goulburn’s Wakefield Park Raceway.

Competing in both the Formula Vee and Production Touring categories on the same weekend, Thomas did enough in the opening two Formula Vee races – a pair of top-10 finishers – to wrap up this year’s NSW Championship point score. Opting not to contest the third and final Formula Vee race of the weekend in order to focus on the Production Touring One Hour Enduro, which turned out to be a master stroke. At the conclusion of the One Hour Enduro, Thomas came away with the winning spoils ahead of Leigh Burges and Graham Shaw in second and third place respectively.

Third generation racer Aaron Seton was the pace setter heading into the One Hour Enduro after topping the time sheets in qualifying, winning his qualifying race and then taking out the top 10 shootout. In the race, he was forced out after only 26 laps due to a mechanical issue aboard the Bob Pearson-owned Mitsubishi Evo X. While Thomas secured the NSW Formula Vee Championship, the three race wins were shared between three different drivers: Daniel Stein, Darren Williams and Simon Pace. The latter, who had qualified on pole position for the opening race, managed to pass James Horne in the early stages of the third and final race and went on to defeat Horne in second and Williams in third. Bernie Cannon was the best of the 1200cc category competitors.

With the next round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship being held at the Wakefield Park circuit later this month, it saw a number of the championship contenders enter this state round. Vic-

24 Totally Motorsport October 2014

Photos: Dean Hawkins

I

Dylan’s Double

torian and current Australian Championship leader James Golding dominated qualifying and all three races. Fellow Australian Championship front runners Jordan Lloyd and Hamish Hardeman joined Golding in setting the pace. The best of the local racers was Trent Grubel, who managed to finish the final two races in third place.

In the HQ Holdens, it was Brett Osborn who was too strong for his rivals in both qualifying and the three races. John Baxter, Peter Green Jnr and Matt Barker were the other drivers contending for the minor spots on the podium throughout the three races.

Mitchell Quirk came out on top in the Superkarts with three wins out of the four races. In the race that he didn’t win, he finished in second behind winner John Dunn.

The PRB Clubmans saw Chris Barry emerge as the stand-out driver. After dominating qualifying and the opening race, he started the reverse-grid format second race from the back of the pack, and managed to work his way up to finish third behind winner Stuart Shirvington and second placed Trent Shirvington. He returned to the winner’s circle in the third and final race after he defeated Tony Blanche and Stefan Versulis.

It was all David Crighton in the Under 2 Litre Improved Productions by winning all three races in comfortable fashion. The likes of Justin McClintock, Bill Harris and Graham Bohm battled it out for the minor placings throughout the weekend. In the Over 2 Litre Improved Productions, Michael Posa emerged on top in the third and final race. After running consistently in the opening two races, Posa greeted the chequered flag first in the final race ahead of Steven Devjak and Anthony Loscialpo. The other two race wins were shared between Loscialpo and Mark Ruta.

tasmania

A

Persistence Pays Off

Photos: Angryman Photography

fter a slow start to last month’s sixth round of the Tasmanian Super Series at Symmons Plain Raceway, Adam Garwood was able to persist and was rewarded within the winning honours in the Sports GT and Sports Sedan category.

Garwood, driving his Subaru WRX, had earlier in the round qualified third and finished second in both of the opening races, but he was able to turn his form around by dominating the final two races in convincing fashion. In qualifying, Garwood ended up third fastest behind Brad Sherriff and Brodie Maher, and he then finished second behind Maher in races one and two.

Although Maher and Garwood emerged as the two winners over the weekend, drivers such as Jasper Brown, Matthew Grace and Ben Creed never gave up the chase and amongst the top-three runners at various stages over the four races.

Andrew Troth scored a clean sweep of proceedings in the HQ Holdens. He started the weekend by ending up on top in qualifying

out of the four races. In the 1200cc class, Nino Bocchino proved the best performer, and it was highlighted by a third-place finish outright in the third race.

It was a mixed bag of results within the Improved Production and Historic Touring Car category. The weekend started with Leigh Forrest finishing on top of qualifying, but then Jared House won the opening race, followed by Adam Williams winning both race two and three, and the fourth and final race went the way of Tony Warren. In the Historic Touring Cars, the 1968 Ford Mustang driven by Terry Harper emerged the best.

Trent Palmer was the class act of the Hyundai Excels right up until the fourth and final race, when Peter Kemp was able to come through and steel his thunder. Palmer had emerged on top in qualifying and then the opening three races; however, in the fourth and final, luck wasn’t on his side and he slipped back to third. Kemp, who had struggled up until the final race, drove a solid race to defeat Jeff Dickson and Palmer.

and then backed that up with all four race wins. Andrew Bird tried his best deny Troth of a clean sweep, but in the end had to settle for second in every race. Clint Pease, Greg Praciak and Allan Baldwin were able to fill third place in different throughout the weekend.

The Beacham Racing team drivers Matt Stubbs and Jack Saul had a field day in the Formula Vee. From qualifying through to the fourth and final race, the pair finished 1-2. No one was able to get anywhere either of them during the weekend. Nicky Richards was the next best over the weekend and managed to finish third in three October 2014 Totally Motorsport 25

26  Totally Motorsport October 2014

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 27

speedway VICTORIAN SPEEDWAY COUNCIL

A Little Bit of Everything

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Photos: InAction Photos

o matter where your speedway interest lie, the Victorian Speedway Council certainly has something for everyone’s tastes.

The VSC, which is an organisation that has been around for nearing 50 years, is sanctioning a total of 12 Victorian Titles throughout the 2014-15 season. To say that the VSC-sanctioned Victorian Title has plenty of variety would be a rather large understatement.

A total of three tracks – Alexandra Speedway, Bairnsdale Speedway and Drouin Speedway tracks – are set to hold two Victorian Titles each. Alexandra Speedway has the state titles for Sports Sedans (March 14) and Ladies Standard Saloons (March 28), Bairnsdale Speedway for Division 2 Hot Rods (January 24) and VSC Sprintcars (February 21), and Drouin Speedway for Junior Standard Saloons (February 8) and SDAV Hot Rods (April 12).

The other Victorian Title dates are Mini Sprints (February 7, Nyora Speedway), Super Rods (February 14, Simpson Speedway), Standard Saloons (March 7 and 8, Rosedale Speedway), Unlimited Sedans (April 11, Heartland Raceway), Limited Sportsmans (April 11, Blue Ribbon Raceway) and GOS Sedans (April 18, Brobenah Raceway).

Although the majority of this season’s events are going to be held in Victoria, there are two that are to be held in NSW, Moama’s Heartland Raceway for the Unlimited Sedans and Leeton’s Brobenah Speedway for the GOS Sedans.

One of the classes have underwent a name change during the off season, with the Open Sedans now renamed to Unlimited Sedans.

The Standard Saloon Victorian Title is once again going to be the biggest event on the VSC calendar. Competitor numbers are expected to reach close to 50, and the winner at the conclusion of the two nights of competition will have well and truly earned their right to call themselves Victoria # 1 for the following 12 months.

Current VSC president Aaron Meakins is very enthusiastic about the season ahead.

“It’s going to be a very busy season, but one everyone is looking forward just getting out there and enjoying their speedway,” he said.

“We’re happy with how we mapped out the Victorian Title dates, and there is certainly going to be plenty of fierce competition as the drivers fight it out for the right to be Victorian Champion in their class.”

To find out more about the VSC, visit www.victorianspeedway. org.au

David “Clarko” Clarkson Proven success in speedway parts

sales@clarkosperformance.com www.clarkosperformance.com ClarkosPerformancepage clarkosperformance 0419 741 121 28 Totally Motorsport October 2014

FOUR CYLINDER SEDANS

Moving Forward

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he emerging Four Cylinder Sedan class has made another step in the right direction in the 2014-15 season, following the announcement of the J&M Racecraft Four Cylinder Sedan Super Series.

Held over a total of six rounds between the states of Queensland and NSW, the Super Series carries a $1,000 prize for the series point standings winner. Apart from the prize money on offer, it’s a fantastic opportunity for the Four Cylinder Sedan class to be promoted on a more professional level.

“The excitement amongst us competitors about the Super Series is very high, and I know that I speak for everyone when I say, I can’t wait for the series to start,” enthused current Queensland Champion Tim Weir.

“Being able to have a series that goes around to different tracks in two states is a great way to help build the profile of the class.”

Apart from the winner’s prize, the Super Series is designed to reward drivers throughout the field with not only prize money incentives but also a wide range of product prizes.

“The goal of the series is to try and get as many drivers on board to contest the entire series, in an effort to make the series the best it can,” commented Weir.

“The Super Series is offering a lot of incentives – both money

and prizes – for drivers who support the series, and hopefully we can gain enough support to be able to build this series into something special for many seasons to come.”

The Super Series is to begin with the opening round on October 18 at Kingaroy Speedway, followed by Maryborough Speedway (November 22), Lismore Speedway (January 17), Rockhampton Speedway (February 7), Lockyer Valley Speedway (April 11) and the sixth and final round at Mothar Mountain Speedway (May 23).

JUNIOR QUARTER MIDGETS

Brimming With Enthusiasm

Photos: Darrell Lockhart

L

ike a lot of people, the Brims family is obsessed with speedway. There are now three brothers from the Brims family who are commencing their speedway careers via the Junior Quarter Midget class.

Recently joining his older brothers, 11-year-old Hayden and nine-year-old Zac, on the track was five-year-old Jackson. From this season, the three Brims brothers are spread across three different Junior Quarter Midget classes. Hayden recently stepped up into the 160cc class, Zac remains in the 120cc and Jackson has started in the 120cc Restricted class.

As third generation racers, speedway is in the blood of the Brims brothers – it’s all they’ve ever known. For the boys’ father, wellknown Super Sedan racer Wayne Brims, certainly has his work cut out for him when it comes to juggling his own racing commitments with looking after his three boys at Junior Quarter Midget race meetings.

“I plan to do all of the major race meetings in the Super Sedans this season, but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t tough now looking after all three of boys at their race meetings,” admitted Brims.

“My oldest Hayden is beginning to look after his own race car, but I’m very busy maintaining the cars of both Zac and Jackson.”

Brims continued on by saying that Junior Quarter Midget race meetings are hectic.

“Having my three boys racing at the one meeting is very busy,

but it reaches a whole new level when there are three of them in different classes,” he said.

“All three of the boys love their speedway racing and are all wanting to continue racing, so it certainly doesn’t look like things are going to slow down any time soon.”

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 29

KINGAROY SPEEDWAY

Australian Title Highlights Season

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he Kingaroy Speedway is a track that is going from strength to strength, especially when you look through the amount of major events that they are hosting throughout the 2014-15 season.

Headlining the season calendar for the Queensland track is the Australian Late Model Title that is to be held on January 1, 2 and 3. The class is growing at a rapid rate in Queensland, and hosting a prestigious event like an Australian Title is only going to bolster their popularity.

“We’ve worked really hard over the past 12 months to get the rights to host the Australian Title, and it’s very exciting to be given the opportunity to showcase the class by having Australia’s best drivers converge at our track,” commented Kingaroy Speedway president Ash Barron.

“The state of Queensland is in a very healthy situation with Late Models, especially with a driver of the calibre of Darren Kane joining the class, and he has certainly lifted the bar to another level for the rest of the competition.”

Apart from the Australian Late Model Title, Kingaroy Speedway is once again going to hold the third annual $10,000 to win King’s Royal for Modified Sedans over the Australian Day long weekend (January 23, 24 and 25).

“The Modified Sedans are one of our strongest classes, and the King’s Royal has quickly gained the reputation as a must go to event when it comes to Modified Sedans,” said Barron, who predicts in ex-

cess of 100 entries for this season’s King’s Royal event.

“After the inaugural King’s Royal was cancelled in 2013 due to rain, we were able to run last season’s event which was won by Greg Worling. From the outset, we wanted to make the King’s Royal a massive event, and it’s certainly something that we are achieving.”

Other exciting events on the 2014-15 season calendar are the Sprintcars (Peanut Crown 3000), Wingless Sprints (Queensland Title), South Burnett Nationals (Junior Sedans), Australian Grand Prix (Production Sedans) and Four Cylinder Sedans (Peanut Crown).

MODLITES

Family Rivalry

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or the 2014-15 season, there are a total of five father-and-son combinations competing in the Modlites class in Queensland.

Headlining the father-and-son combinations is the current Australian and Queensland Champion Jamie McHugh who is joined on the track by his teenage son and current Queensland Junior Sedan # 2 Lachie. The others are Cliff and Luke Whitehill, Dylan and Dave Menz, Tony and Troy Pascoe, and Audie and Tony Sparks.

The family rivalry is certainly going to produce fiercer racing out on the track, as they, along with the other competitors, chase the Driver to the USA Series, Australian Title, Queensland Title and many other events that make up what is a jam-packed 2014-15 season calendar.

Veteran Jamie McHugh starts the season as the favourites, especially after last season’s dominant performances, but he is sure to be kept honest at the pointy end of the field by the likes of five-time New Zealand Speedcar Champion Michael Kendall, Luke Whitehill, current NSW Champion Terry Leerentveld, Dylan Menz, Steve Collins and Jeff Jensen.

The new season sees number of new faces join the class, and they include of former V8 Dirt Modified racer Tim Luscombe along with Zac MacDonald.

30 Totally Motorsport October 2014

Last month at Toowoomba Speedbowl hosted the opening race meeting of the season, the inaugural James Price Memorial.

The two-night race meeting concluded with the cancellation of the feature race due to wet weather. Leading up to the feature race, the highest point scorer was an impressive Luke Whitehill.

In other exciting news for the Modlites, Western Australia is the latest state to introduce the class. Thanks to the efforts of Broomebased Super Sedan racer Brent Halliday, he has purchased the first car, and it set to take it around the state in order to promote the class and help it grow.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 31

speedway SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX

BACK ON THE BOARD

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WEDE Andreas Jonsson ended a three-year drought in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series with victory in the Nordic SGP at Vojens.

Jonsson hadn’t won a GP round since 2011, the year he finished as runner-up in the series, and was in serious doubt of qualifying for the 2015 season, having been a part of the World Championship since 2002.

Converting his first finals appearance of the season into a gold medal, Jonsson led home wildcard Peter Kildemand and Krzysztof Kasprzak. In doing so, he moved to within five points of eighth in the championship, which would secure automatic qualification for 2015.

“It has been a disaster. It has been a really, really tough couple of years. It has been really hard for me and I’ve struggled with pretty much everything,” he said.

“This means a lot because it makes me angry when I know I’ve got the ability to ride well.”

Kasprzak’S podium saw him move up to third in the standings, just one point behind Tai Woffinden, who battled to 10th with a broken hand. Still that was better than World Champion and current points leader Greg Hancock fared. He sat out the event with a broken hand of his own and leads by seven points with two GPs remaining.

The best of the Australians was Troy Batchelor, who made it into the final and went on to finish fourth. Fellow Australian Chris Holder qualified into the semi-finals, but he was unable to advance into the final, missing the transfer by one spot.

Qld Sidecar Title

OVER THE MOON

Photo: Darrell Lockhart

S

COTT Christopher and Tyler Moon secured back-to-back Queensland Sidecar Championships with victory at Bowen Speedway mid last month.

The duo recovered from a slow start, failing to score a point in the opening heat race, to qualify for the final with a total of 12 points.

They jumped into the lead at the start of the final and withstood pressure from Brisbane’s David Hagel and Ben Cooper throughout the four-lap journey – including a late charge – to take the win. Top qualifiers with 14 points, Rob Patterson and Brenton Kerr finished back third, while B Final winners Dave Bottrell and Ben Pitt ran fourth.

The three pairings of Wayne Munck and Hagen Campbell, locals Dylan Blain and Hamish Golding, and Brodie Cohen and Cal Campbell were all unable to advance out of the B Final.

JUNIOR SOLOS

HAPPY GILMORE

32 Totally Motorsport October 2014

Photo: Darrell Lockhart

W

ITH a pair of September victories, Matthew Gilmore secured the 2014 New South Wales Under 16 125cc Speedway Championship in style.

Having earlier won the Redloh Cup and finished as runner-up in the Australian Championship, Gilmore won this year’s Todd Wiltshire Cup at Kurri Kurri Speedway mid last month. Following five heat races, Gilmore was the top qualifier for the A Final, ahead of Jimmy Jones and Jed List, while Cordell Rogerson won the B Final ahead of Chris Hojberg.

It was List who made the best getaway when the A Final got underway, but Gilmore was into the lead within a lap and went on to take victory, despite List’s pressure. Jones completed the podium, with Rogerson in fourth.

Cementing his status as a rider to watch, Gilmore added the NSW Title to his growing resume the following weekend at Somersby’s Allen Park.

Jones started strongly, winning his first heat race, but a dropped valve ended his day, while Kyle Hall recovered from a bro-

ken chain in the first heat to win three others and qualify for the B Final, which he won. Keynon Rew, Gilmore and Rogerson were the other heat-race winners.

Gilmore led the A Final from start to finish. He withstood an early challenge from Rogerson, who lost ground during an attempted move on lap two and was passed by

SPEEDCARS

JBR NABS CLARKE

Photo: Stephen Pickering

J

ACK Berry Racing has secured Adam Clarke as its driver for the upcoming 2014-15 season.

The reigning and current three-time Australian Speedcar Champion will contest the Speedcar Super Series, one of the few honours missing from his decorated, 20-year career. Aboard JBR’s Australian # 1 entry, Clarke will also tackle Australian title, selected state titles, the two World Midget Championship events, the Australian Grand Prix, Sydney and Brisbane’s 50-lappers and the bulk of Archerfield Speedway’s Polar Ice Series.

Last season, the Australian Title was Clarke’s lone major success; however, the season previous (2012-13), he created history by becoming the first Speedcar driver to take a clean sweep of the five state title wins, in his native NSW, along with Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

Clarke adds to JBR’s long list of well-credentialed drivers, which includes New Zealander Michael Pickens, American ace Alex Bright and Queensland’s Brendan Palmer in recent seasons.

The team will have an Esslinger-powered Breka as the back-up to Clarke’s primary Esslinger-powered Spike, and both cars have received an extensive, off-season overhaul from American Tire & Racing Services.

The opening 2014-15 Speedcar Super Series round, at Gunnedah Speedway in north-western NSW, on Saturday night, October 25 will mark Clarke’s major race meeting debut with JBR.

FORMULA 500S

Shilleto Returns to Form Photo: Jigsaw Photography

D

ale Shilleto recently celebrated his return to form with victory in the re-run of the 2013-14 season Queensland Formula 500 Title at Mac’s Speedway.

The original Queensland Title, held at Mac’s Speedway over the June long weekend, was cancelled due to rain, so it was decided to be completely re-run the event at the beginning of the 2014-15 season.

It was a lucky situation for Shilleto, who battled a fuel system issue throughout the first attempt, but he managed to return last month for the re-run, and to say that he dominated would be quite the understatement.

Shilleto managed to win all three of his heat races earlier in the night, then qualify on pole position for the Queensland Title deciding feature race, and go on to blitz the field for the entire 20-lap journey.

Despite battling a clutch issue in the closing stages, Shilleto was still able to power away and score a comfortable win. Joining Shilleto on the podium was Ryan Skennar in second and Kaydon Iverson in third.

“It was the perfect night, and it had been quite a few seasons since we’ve been able to do that,” expressed the Maryborough-based Shilleto.

“Our team has had a tough run in recent seasons, so it was a massive relief to be able to return to the winner’s circle at a major event.”

For Shilleto, this was his second Queensland Title success. His first took placed at Toowoomba’s Charlton Raceway back in the 200910 season.

MICROSPRINTS

Summers Shines

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o one was more surprised about Jason Summers’s upset victory in last season’s Queensland Microsprint Title than the man himself.

In what turned out to be the highlight of his rookie season in Microsprints, Summers managed to drive the race of his short speedway career to claim the winning honours in the Queensland Title at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway. Heading into this coming season, Summers isn’t getting too carried away about his win, but has set himself the goal of becoming a consistent front runner.

“My goal is to build on my first season and continue to learn,” remarked a level-headed Summers.

“The Queensland Title win was a major thrill and a big surprise, but I know that this is a new season and I’m aiming to become a regular challenger at the pointy end of the field.”

Without the support of family and friends, Summers admitted that he wouldn’t be able to fulfil a life-long dream.

“I’ve always wanted to race speedway, and it’s a fantastic feeling to be able to have this opportunity,” he said.

“My family have been great supporters of my racing, and I must say a special thanks to my friend Mich Biner, who has certainly made my learning curve a lot easier through being there for me to share his experience with me.”

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 33

NORTHLINE SPEEDWAY

arwin’s Northline Speedway has recently hosted the 2014 Northern Territory Titles for 410 Sprintcars, 360 Sprintcars and AMCA Nationals. Out of those three events, the only local winner was Jason McIver who took out the NT 360 Sprintcar Title, while the other two have went interstate to Western Australia’s Scott Reilly (410 Sprintcars) and NSW’s Nick Stubbs (AMCA Nationals).

The annual Top End Challenge hosted both the NT Title and Darwin Titles for 360 Sprintcars, and although McIver won the NT Title, the Darwin Title was won by current Australian Champion Chad Ely from South Australia. The opening weekend of the Top End Challenge resulted in Ben Atkinson winning the preliminary feature race on the Friday night ahead of a hard-charging McIver and Atkinson.

Ely then got up the next night for the Darwin Title win by defeating Atkinson and McIver. The following weekend, Atkinson won the preliminary feature race on the Friday night by outpacing South Australian Daniel Evans and Victorian Zac Farrer, but then McIver bounced back from a tough run throughout the Top End Challenge to blitz the field to score the NT Title win. On this occasion, McIver, who captured his third NT Title, in the process downed Ely and Atkinson.

Sharing the program with the opening weekend of the Top End Challenge was the NT 410 Sprintcar Title. After winning the Darwin 410 Sprintcar Title a fortnight earlier, Darwin’s Jamie O’Neill was on track to add the NT Title to his trophy cabinet; however, he was passed for the lead on the final lap by Western Australian Scott Reilly in lapped traffic. O’Neill was unable to regain his lead, and had to settle for second behind a jubilant Reilly. Joining Reilly and O’Neill on the podium was local Daniel Goldoni in third.

The AMCA Nationals held the running of both the Darwin Title and NT Title over the two weekends of the Top End Challenge, and the winning spoils went the way of former NSW Champion Nick

34 Totally Motorsport October 2014

Photos: Sphynx Photography

NT Title Battles Galore D

Stubbs. Returning to the Northline Speedway track for the first time in two years, he proved to be consistently the best throughout the Darwin Title to snare the point standings win ahead of fellow NSWbased racer Shane Newstead and local Dale Roberts. On the fourth and final night, for the NT Title, Stubbs continued his winning ways to dominate the NT Title deciding feature race and he ended up downing Spano Gutierrez (NSW) in second and Newstead in third.

The best of the locals was Peter Harding in fourth. The driver who has dominated the Darwin and NT Title over the past two seasons, Tim Reidy, who is these living in Darwin, didn’t contest the weekend as a competitor.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 35

SPRINTCARS

East Coast Sprint Series to Lack

T

Photo: Gordon Greaves

he inaugural East Coast Sprint Series winner Peter Lack is the first to admit that he wasn’t the fastest competitor throughout the three rounds, but as his overall point standings win proved he was the most consistent.

The three consecutive weekends of the East Sprint Series wasn’t without its share of controversy, but in the end, it was an exciting way to commence the 2014-15 season.

Sprintcars made their long awaited return to Cairns Speedway in late August for the opening round of the series, but it didn’t begin in the best of fashion. Due to there being some serious questions about the track’s safety, the Friday night’s program was cancelled.

Improvements were made to the track in order to make it suitable for Sprintcar racing. Despite the best efforts from the club-run Cairns Speedway committee, it wasn’t enough to satisfy a number of the drivers, including Robbie Farr and Steve Lines, and they opted to boycott running the opening round.

Despite the reservations, there were still over a dozen drivers who contested the opening round on the Saturday night. At the fall of the chequered flag of the 35-lap feature race it was an all-the-way win to David ‘Blingy’ Muir, who pocketed the $7,000 winner’s cheque. He was joined on the podium by Lawrence Quagliatta in second and Aidan Gee in third. The Western Australian pairing of Scott Reilly and Jason Pryde rounded out the top-five finishers. Lack was running strongly in podium contention in the feature race but his run was brought to a premature end due to a flat tyre.

The second round of the series travelled down to Mac’s Speedway on the first weekend of September, and included drivers such as Robbie Farr, Steve Lines and the season debut for James McFadden. On the Friday night, the preliminary feature race was won by Farr who managed to defeat Lines and Lack in second and third place respectively. The following night, it was McFadden who powered to the victory honours. The two-time Australian Champion was able to pass Lines for the lead in the closing laps while they threaded their way through lapped traffic. At the fall of the chequered flag, McFadden made a winning season debut, which saw him pick up a $7,000 winner’s cheque, and finished ahead of Lines and Farr. Victorian Domain Ramsay finished just off the podium in fourth, while Brent Kratzmann came home in fifth. Lack ended up finishing back in seventh. Opening round winner Muir had a terrible

36 Totally Motorsport October 2014

Photo: Jigsaw Photography

weekend because of engine woes, which consequently threw high series winning hopes into disarray.

Wet weather hampered the third and final round at Toowoomba Speedbowl on the second weekend of September. In the end, despite the feature race being cut short due to the rain, McFadden made it back-to-back rounds win after he downed Farr and a consistent Lack in the $7,000 to win 20-lap feature race. Queenslander Kevin Titman and Western Australian Daryl Clayden completed the top-five finishers. One of the feature-race casualties was the previous night’s preliminary feature race runner-up finisher Lines. The previous night, Farr claimed the preliminary feature race winning spoils by outpacing Lines and Lack to the chequered flag.

At the completion of the series, Lack was awarded the East Coast Sprint Series point standings win ahead of Farr and Kratzmann.

The remainder of the top 10 in the final point standings were local David Whell, Pryde, Reilly, Western Australian Lee Nash, Lines, Muir and Ramsay.

D

The Real Thing at Avalon

irt Modifieds Australia is expecting a record field to nominate for the 24th running of the Australian V8 Dirt Modified Title to be held at Geelong’s Avalon Raceway in Victoria on January 16 and 17.

The major metropolitan venue will host the Australian Title for the third time under the watch of the Drew brothers, Jeff and Rod, with high expectations of another entertaining championship of fast and loud, wheel to wheel, V8 action.

“V8 Dirt Modifieds are an important category to our calendar and we look forward to working with DMA for this most exciting event,” Jeff Drew said.

“The suggestion that we may see a record field is also motivating for the venue and its operation.”

Victorian DMA Board Member Murray Atkin says the host association is a buzz, having already cemented significant events with in the three-day Australian Title.

“Scrutineering and the annual Australian Title dinner will be held at Corio on Thursday January 15,” he explained.

“With qualifying rounds set to include the Silver Dollar Sprint features on Friday, January 16, night one with the pageantry of the feature race and the race itself, the highlight of the Saturday night program.”

Atkin believes the format DMA employs for the Australian Title is among the best in the country.

“Good solid qualifying rounds per driver coupled with the Sprint features, the Steve Robinson Silver Fox Award for Pole Position and a 35-lap feature race has proven to be a winner with the fans over past seasons,” Atkin enthused.

“This year’s event will see the inclusion of the Inaugural DMA Crew Chief award. The winning crew chief of the Australian Title winning team will be presented with an award and get to stand on the official podium with the top-four drivers in the Australian Title.”

Atkin believes there’s a strong possibility a Victorian can take the title. Atkin nominated Victorian Association Club Champion, Da-

ryl Hickson as a man to beat.

“Daryl’s been racing speedway since he was 17 years of age, and it is age that seems to be working in his favour,” Atkin commented.

“He’s now 34 and has been racing V8 Dirt Modifieds since the 2002-03 season, and last season was his best yet in the Vic # 92 Troyer.”

If Hickson is to consolidate, he will need to bring his A Game when he takes on locals, Mick Kiraly, Dan Scott and the Tindal brothers, Paul and Darren. Throw into the mix the defending Australian and Queensland Champion David Clark, Victorian Champion Kevin Britten, Western Australian Champion Travis Kennedy and former Australian Champions, Andrew Pezzutti (current NSW Champion), the triple crowns of both Peter Britten and Mark Robinson, and the much anticipated return of Victorian-based racer in multiple Australian and State title winner Tim Morse.

The 2015 Australian V8 Dirt modified Title will also be a round of the prestigious DMA 5 Star Dirt Series supported by Speedway Australia.

C’mon See the Real Thing at Avalon!

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 37

speedway TOLMER SPEEDWAY

Big Season for Small Track

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ordertown’s Tolmer Speedway might be one of the smallest tracks in Australia, but the South Australian track is excited about their big 2014-15 season.

Despite only hosting a total of four race meetings this coming season, it’s without a doubt the biggest season for Tolmer Speedway, due to them hosting a Speedcar Pro Series round, a major 410 Sprintcar show and the South Australian 360 Sprintcar Title.

“We might be a small track, but this season promises to be our biggest,” expressed Tolmer Speedway committee member Brad Tink.

“We don’t have too many members of our club, so running any more than four race meetings a season just isn’t feasible, but we’re trying our best to offer as much entertainment as possible in the four that we do.”

The Tolmer Speedway will commence the 2014-15 season on the Saturday night of October 5. Their season opener will have a program that also consists of Super Sedans, Speedcars, Wingless Sprints, Formula 500s, Late Models, Lightning Sprints, Street Stocks and Junior Sedans. On the Friday night of November 21, the Speedcar Pro Series headlines the program that will also include AMCA Nationals, Late Models, Super Modifieds and Classic Formula 500s. The 410 Sprintcars will be primed to excite on the Saturday night of December 13, and also on that program are the AMCA Nationals (South Australian Title), Street Stocks (MJS Series), Formula 500s (Battle of the Border) and Junior Sedans. The fourth and final race meeting of

the season is set to be on the Friday night of April 3 (Good Friday) is to be highlighted by the South Australian 360 Sprintcar Title, along with Speedcars, Super Sedans, Street Stocks, Limited Sportsmans and Super Modifieds as support classes.

In recent seasons, the Tolmer Speedway has been supported by the Murray Bridge Speedway track. Track manager Tim McAvaney is looking after the administration running of Tolmer Speedway, amongst other things. This season, there is going to be a $500 bonus for drivers who can win both feature races at Tolmer Speedway and Murray Bridge Speedway in any of the classes on the weekends of October 4-5 and April 3-4.

speedway karts

Double Delight

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Photo: The Carrells

ith an in excess of $15,000 in money and prizes up for grabs, the biggest two-night Speedway Kart event in Australia is going to be fought out next month at Toowoomba Speedbowl for the second year in a row.

After a successful inaugural running of the Queensland Title and Des Carsburg Memorial Cup double header at Toowoomba Speedbowl last season, the double header will be fought out once again, with the Queensland Title being held on the Friday night of November 28 and the Des Carsburg Memorial Cup on the Saturday night of November 29.

One of the event organisers from the Sunstate Speedway Kart Club, Troy Evans, is excited about building on the successful inaugural running of the double header last season.

“Everyone was happy with how the first double header was held last season, but for this season’s event we’ve made a number of changes for the better,” explained Evans.

“Every competitor that ran last season’s double header loved the Toowoomba Speedbowl track, and they are all excited about coming back and do it all over again.”

38 Totally Motorsport October 2014

With plenty of prize money up for grabs and an awesome track to race on, it’s expected that competitor numbers in all classes are going to be on the increase for this season’s event.

The five classes that will contest the double header are Outlaws, 125cc, Modifieds, Standards and Juniors.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 39

40  Totally Motorsport October 2014

SPEEDWAY karts

JUNIOR SEDANS

ON THE DOUBLE

FAST FRASER

M

M

ICHAEL Saller and Daniel Sayre grabbed two titles apiece at last month’s Australian AK Speedway Kart Titles at the Gosford Showground.

Inclement weather hindered preparations of the venue and delayed the start to Saturday’s action, but the work of volunteers helped the programme run in full, with eight new Australian Speedway Champions crowned and new three lap records set.

Clubman Heavy kicked off proceedings, with Saller looking to secure back-to-back crowns. With victory in heat-race three, he led the field away in the final, holding out fellow heat-race winners Wayne Baines and Grant Lahiff.

Saller carried that form into KT Modified Heavy, grabbing a pair of heat-race wins, and while it was Sayre who led most of the final, Saller was able to slip past at a late yellow flag restart and claim victory. Veteran Donald Stevens took out the final spot on the podium in third.

Sayre wasn’t to be kept down, though, emulating Saller’s double in Clubman Light and KT Modified Light. Despite pressure from Jake Baines, he brought it home in Clubman Light, and set a new KT Modified Light lap record to go with his final victory over Matthew Ferguson in second and Stevens in third.

Jake Donaldson finished clear of Andrew Sayre and Liam Camilleri in Junior Lights, and third in Junior Heavy behind winner Mathew Geering and second-placed Luke Sayre. Geering set a new lap record en route to his win in the final.

Surprise packet Zak Blanch dominated the Rookies class, taking a pair of heat-race wins and then showing his rivals a clean pair of heels in the final, in which Luke Geering took second and Connor Moreau claimed third.

In the Clubman Over 40 class, Peter Archer took the spoils, followed over the line by Gary Morris and Kevin Brown, who both recovered from troubled runs in the heat races.

Rounding out the classes, the Sportsman 125/F100 Combined field saw Stevens and Tim Beattie – who started first and second – fail to finish. Ayden Elliot capitalised, winning from Tim Baker and Jason Bisset.

aintaining his perfect record this season, Josh Fraser won the Tom Green Memorial at Ellenbrook Speedway.

Dominating the event, Fraser, who recently tasted success in the Northern Territory Title, eased his way to victory during a feature race that was interrupted by caution periods, to win ahead of Gaje Price and Jamie Higgs in second and third place respectively.

A strong start at the second time of asking shot Fraser in to an early lead after the start was initially waved off as Taylah Main and Mark Tillett found themselves locked together on the back straight.

When the race finally did get going it lasted barely a lap before James Channing spun in turn three, while Jayke Malcolm and Travis Armstrong crashed into the barrier, reducing the field to 23 cars.

Another good start allowed Fraser to lead easily when the race went green again with 19 laps to go.

A tight battle for second followed another restart, this time for debris following a clash between Main and Mitch Nelson, saw Fisher, Brooklyn Vanzetti, Price, Ashley Baker and Jamie Higgs battling it out closely.

Price eased by Vanzetti for third with seven laps remaining as Fisher rolled onto the infield and retirement. He was joined soon after by Baker, the pair suffering mechanical issues.

With three laps remaining, the yellow few for the final time after Bradley Short found the wall at turn three. The ensuing restart provided Price his best opportunity to challenge Fraser for the lead, though his advance was easily defended by Fraser, who went on to romp to victory lane.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 41

speedway SPrintcars

Fulfilling Dreams

Photo: Gary Reid

A

fter tasting success in other forms of speedway, both Brendan Scorgie and Daniel Sayre are primed to be fulfilling a Sprintcar dream in the 2014-15 season.

Scorgie, who won last season’s NSW Wingless Sprint Club Championship, made the big decision during the off season to move into Sprintcars. In what is making a dream a reality, he will be based at Sydney’s Valvoline Speedway for his first season in Sprintcars.

“I can’t wait to get out there and race,” enthused the 28-yearold from the country NSW town of Yass.

“I know that the learning curve is going to be a massive one, but it’s one that I’m looking forward to.

“I’ve grown up around speedway, and racing a Sprintcar is something that I’ve always wanted to do.”

For his debut Sprintcar season, Scorgie will campaign a 410-powered Eagle car that was purchased from Queensland-based racer Matthew Butler.

Fellow rookie Sayre might only be 16, but he has already achieved quite a lot in speedway, which includes multiple national and state title wins at a Speedway Kart level. Late last season, he moved into Wingless Sprints and showed plenty of promise in such a short time. However, during the off season a deal was done with veteran Dennis Farr, to run his NSW # 3 car for the entire Valvoline Raceway season. Apart from this season’s Sprintcar commitments, Sayre will also contest selected Wingless Sprint race meetings.

Based in the south-west of Sydney, Sayre impressed during his one and only practice session at Valvoline Raceway late last month.

There is no doubt that Sayre’s talent is going to be complemented

by Farr acting as not only his car owner but his mentor.

QLD lightining sprints

Lightning Season Beckons

T

he 2014-15 season for the Lightning Sprint class in Queensland shapes up to be one of the biggest in many seasons.

Apart from a number of new drivers joining the class, the likes of Peter Campbell and Scott Genrich are looking to resume last season’s fierce rivalry. Both Campbell and Genrich enjoyed a great battle throughout last season, so this season should be no different.

Despite winning the Queensland Title and a total of nine feature races, Genrich fell short in the Queensland Club Championship point standings, while Campbell was able to produce more consistency and came away with the Queensland Club Championship point standings and finished runner-up in the Australian Title.

The likes of Jim Kennedy, Tony Norton, Jason Busk, Mark Sinton and Keith Blatch are aiming to work their way into front-running contention on a more consistent basis. Then you have drivers such as Sean Hill, David Van Vegchel, Emma Harris and Ian Galvin, with their sights on improving their speed in order to begin challenging for regular podium spots.

For the 2014-15 season, there are a number of new faces in former Junior Sedan racer Jayden Iacono and ex-pat Kiwi Shane MacDonald. Making their return to the driver’s seat after many years away from the sport, Logan Sparks is set to step back into the Lightning Sprint class.

In further exciting news, American teenage racer Cori Andrews will race in Australia for the very first time during the Christmas-New Year period at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway. Driving a car owned

by Peter Campbell, the 16-year-old from Californian is set to contest a total of five race meetings.

42 Totally Motorsport October 2014

There is a total of 20 race meetings on the season calendar, which is to be highlighted by the major events in the form of the Queensland Title (May 2 at Archerfield Speedway) and Silver Cup (March 14 at Toowoomba Speedbowl).

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 43

ls na tio Na le vil ox Kn

F

or a fleeting moment, it looked as though Knoxville might crown a new champion until Donny Schatz again stamped his authority on an event he’s owned for the past decade.

Schatz’s victory in the Knoxville Nationals marked the eighth time he’d won Sprintcars’ biggest prize, his all-encompassing domination having seen him in the top two no less than 12 times over the past 14 years.

Throughout the $150,000 to win 50-lap feature race, Schatz looked the man to beat. Racing clear of the pack in the opening 25 laps, he’d opened a three-second lead when the red flag was shown at half distance. When racing resumed he extended a lead once again until a caution, 10 laps from the end, afforded Brian Brown an opportunity to snatch victory away.

Progressing through to the feature race with ease, Brown was the fan favourite heading into the event. Second for the last two years, many felt it was time the Missouri-based raced to take the next step, and duly won his preliminary feature race despite running being delayed due to rain.

Having started fifth in the qualifying night preliminary feature race, Brown climbed his way to third by lap 16. Out in front, Jeff Swindell had moved into an early lead before being caught out

by backmarkers which allowed the pursuing Sam Hafertepe Jnr to close, moving into the lead on lap 15. A red flag on the 20th lap came too late for Swindell, who’d by then fallen into the clutches of Brown, demoting him to third place a lap earlier.

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Brown and Hafertepe Jnr immediately locked horns following the restart. Working the low line, Brown harried the back of Hafertepe Jnr’s car until edging his way by on lap 21 to assume the lead.

Beginning to struggle for pace, Swindell soon had Kerry Madsen to contend with. The Australian had lined up eighth in his first heat race after setting the second fastest qualifying time, before starting the qualifying feature race from seventh place.

Like Brown, Madsen found there was progress on the bottom of the track, his cause aided by the caution periods. Shortly after the final caution he went by Swindell, and while he was within touching distance of Brown and Hafertepe Jnr ahead, he was unable to bridge the gap and was forced to settle for third.

With 491 points accumulated during the opening night of competition, Madsen sat on provisional pole for Saturday’s feature race, with Brown next best with 485. However, the rescheduled event meant a number of favourites, including Schatz, had yet to venture out on track, leaving a nervous wait for the likes of Ian Madsen who had not enjoyed the success he’d hoped for during the

Photo: InActionPhotos

Schatz enjoyed a pace advantage over the rest of the field in the opening 25 laps. With Stewart in second, Schatz extended his lead to almost three seconds over Brown when the red flag was shown.

Once the race resumed, Schatz one again began to open an advantage until a caution with 10 laps to go handed Brown an opportunity to attack. Brown made the most of the opportunity, running a high line to stay with the leader for the first few laps before finally putting a move on Schatz on lap 43.

Where Schatz was strong around the bottom of turns three and four, the highline around the first two corners seemed to work in Brown’s favour as he got good drive off, edging his way ahead before moving down the track heading in to turn three to close the door on Schatz.

It was a popular move with the crowd, though Schatz refused to give in and immediately switched to the outside line as Brown continued to protect the berm. Like Brown a lap earlier, Schatz got good drive before diving underneath his rival heading in to turn three to complete a smooth slide job.

Their squabbling had slowed them up enough for Madsen to close in. Running a comfortable third for a time it looked as though the King’s Royal winner might join the fight himself, though once Schatz had disposed of Brown he once again pulled clear as the race settled down over the final five laps. >>>

Photo: Jason Sutton

qualifying races.

Ian Madsen had lined up on pole for his opening heat race, going on to win which saw him start the qualifier from the fourth row.

However, the 25-lap feature race didn’t go to plan for the younger of the Madsen brothers, dropping to 11th at the flag to finish the night without a huge haul of points and no certainty of a starting place in Saturday’s winner-takes all Knoxville Nationals deciding feature race.

Opening the defence of his crown on Friday night, multiple World of Outlaws Sprintcar Series Champion Schatz had an easier time of things compared to his 2013 win. Having to progress from the last-chance showdown to progress to the feature race 12 months ago, Schatz was determined to make things more straightforward this time around.

Setting the second fastest time in qualifying, Schatz began his first race of the Knoxville Nationals from the fourth row. He raced his way to fourth in the 25-lap preliminary feature race which saw him amass a total of 492 points, edging out Kerry Madsen as the top qualifier for the feature race by a solitary point.

Madsen was shuffled further back by Shane Stewart, who claimed second for the feature race despite tying on points with the Australian.

Stewart was fourth fastest in Friday’s qualifying session, and started eighth in his heat race. Not willing to wait around, a strong start saw him claim five spots on the opening lap to sit third, before moving up to second spot by the chequered flag.

In his qualifying preliminary feature race, Stewart quickly converted his sixth-place start into fifth. A battle with Schatz for third place then followed, Stewart gaining the upper hand before scything past Mark Dobmeier for second. Not done there, Stewart moved into the lead on the final lap, a late race caution bunching the field and allowing Stewart to latch on to the back of leader Kraig Kinser, swinging high to breeze by entering turn three.

Though he progressed through to the Knoxville Nationals deciding feature race, and ran strongly after starting on the front row, Stewart ended up as a spectator.

Falling in line behind Schatz at the start of the feature race, he engaged in a battle with second-placed Brown as Madsen too joined the fight. Though Brown managed to pick his way through on lap 12, Madsen remained caught behind Stewart until after the red flag.

Quickly moving by Stewart at the restart, Madsen had already dropped back from Schatz and Brown ahead, while Stewart soon dropped out of the race altogether, pulling to the infield with a broken U-Joint.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 45

ls na tio Na le vil ox Kn Unopposed, Schatz went on to claim victory over Brown with Madsen a career best third; the best for an Australian at the event.

The next best Australian was Brooke Tatnell, who raced from 12th to finish eighth in his qualifying final before transferring from the B main, courtesy of a win, to the feature race in which he finished 20th.

It was a disappointing event for James McFadden, who had hoped for more in the final part of his American tour. During the heat races, he finished third after setting the 40th fastest lap in time trials, which left him in 18th on points on Thursday night and needing to race for a place in Saturday night’s feature race. He ultimately qualified for the D main where a second spot moved him on to the C main, but that was where he weekend would end, finishing in 22nd spot.

Following his nervous wait on the Friday night, Ian Madsen’s fate was sealed when he only scored enough points to qualify for an eighth-row start in the B main on the Saturday night. Though he worked his way forward to finish eighth at the fall of the chequered flag, it wasn’t enough to see him progress into feature race.

Joining McFadden in the D main were fellow Australians Lynton Jeffrey and Glen Saville, who finished back in 12th and 15th place respectively.

Mat Coch

46 Totally Motorsport October 2014

Photo: InActionPhotos

F

Sprintcar Heaven

or much of the year, Knoxville, in the state of Iowa, is a fairly typical American town but for one week a year becomes a mecca for speedway fans. Home to just 7,500 people, the small Iowa town swells to 100,000 when it hosts the biggest Sprintcar race in the world: the Knoxville Nationals.

The build up to the Knoxville Nationals starts almost a full week before the 50-lap feature race on the Saturday night. Home to the Sprintcar Hall of Fame and Museum, racing kicks off on Monday night with a go kart race at the nearby English Creek Speedway.

County fairs and more go kart racing follows on Tuesday before drivers are presented to the crowd on Wednesday night prior to qualifying beginning, with the second half of the 100-plus entrants getting their chance on Thursday night.

This year, the Wednesday night racing was rained out, forcing the scheduled qualifying races to be pushed back until Friday, which also boasted the Knoxville World Challenge (won by current World of Outlaws Champion Daryn Pittman).

A curtain raiser event to Saturday’s

Photo: InActionPhotos

events, the invitational event features a reverse grid, with the top placed driver eligible for a spot in Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals deciding feature race.

Those looking to make the trek to experience the week-long party are best advised to book early; quiet for 51 weeks of the year, the small town of Knoxville is anything but during the Knoxville Nationals, and is booked out as much as a year ahead. Mat Coch

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 47

Veronica McCann-Pickersgill It was announced during the off season that Western Australian Veronica McCann-Pickersgill will make a long-waited return to speedway competition in the 2014-15 season. We recently caught up with McCann, to get her thoughts on her return.

Totally Speedway: Firstly, welcome back! What are your reasons for getting back behind the wheel?

Veronica McCann-Pickersgill: I’m a terrible spectator! Apart from that, I’ve really missed it and have always planned to get back into it, and now I’m at a stage in my life when it’s the right time to do it.

TS: Why did you choose Late Models?

VMP: When I last raced about six years ago, it was in a Late Model.

I believe that the Late Models are a very safe form of race car, they are a class that is on the move and the level of racing is very good, and another things that appeals to me is that it’s a class that runs the same rules as America.

TS: How did you go about getting a car?

VMP: I did a bit of enquiring about what cars are available. Prior to this, I’ve only ever raced cars for my family or leased cars, so it was all new to me to go out and purchase a car for myself. This deal is all mine and my husband’s (Carl). We’ve purchased a BWRC car from Michael Holmes. He’s been really good to us, and has been a wealth of information and support. It’s certainly making the move into the class that so much easier. There have been a number of other people too who’ve helped us getting started, and we’re very thankful for all of the support we’ve received.

TS: What are your goals for your comeback season?

VMP: The main goal is to run about a dozen race meetings, and apart that I just want to learn as much as possible. Of course I’m not stepping back into racing just to make up the number, I’m going out there to be competitive. However, at this early stage, it’s all about learning and crawling before I walk. I’m also hoping to obtain some sponsors to help fund my racing, the more sponsorship support I can get, the more racing I can do.

48 Totally Motorsport October 2014

TS: You’ve achieved quite a lot in speedway in such a short period, such as your successful time in Junior Sedans, then Sprintcars and even the time when you headed over to America a few years back to do some Indy Lights testing, do you have any regrets?

VMP: No, not at all! Everything that has happened in my life so far has brought me to where I am today. I wouldn’t change anything!

Since my Junior Sedan crash, when I broke my back at age 16, I’ve been battling the ongoing affects from that since, but it’s just more motivation to not let it beat me. My body is never going to be 100 per cent, but it’s certainly not going to prevent me from going out there and living my life to the fullest.

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MODIFIED SEDANS

Excitement Builds Photo: Angryman Photography

S

ince the announcement that the 2014-15 season Australian Modified Sedan Title will be hosted at Carrick Speedway in Tasmania, the local drivers have been excited about taking on Australia’s best on home soil.

One of those local drivers is current and five-time Tasmanian Champion Andy Russell. Despite being one of the local favourites to take it up to the likes of defending and two-time Australian Champion Mark Carlin, Aidan Raymont and Kye Blight, Russell knows that it’s going to be tough.

“Modified Sedans are one of the most competitive classes in the country and the Australian Title is the biggest event for the class, so my goals are to just firstly qualify and then secondly finish the feature race on the Saturday night,” enthused the Ford Cortina driver.

“We’ve been running pretty strongly locally for a number of years and I regard Carrick Speedway as one of my favourite tracks, but when the Australian Title comes around, it’s a totally different game.”

The last time the Australian Modified Sedan Title was held in Tasmania, the 2009-10 season at Latrobe’s Bendigo Bank Arena, Rus-

sell managed to qualify for the feature race out of position eight, but his run came to a premature end due to a water-pump failure.

Apart from Russell, other locals looking to make their mark includes six-time Tasmanian Champion Craig ‘Smiley’ Williams, Jake and Marco Taurian, Jason Price and Trent Quillerat.

SUPER SEDANS

BOWLING, SHANE

V

ICTORIAN Super Sedan driver Shane Belk will support the McGrath Foundation during his 2014-15 campaign.

The 22-year-old will run a distinctive new pink livery featuring the foundation’s logo on his Vic # 9 entry, as part of a seasonlong fundraising effort. His Shane Belk Racing crew will also sport new pink uniforms through partner Highline Racewear, while fans will be able to purchase merchandise and make gold-coin donations at each event that he contests throughout the state of Victoria, among a range of planned activities and promotions.

“The McGrath Foundation often raises breast awareness through various sporting fundraisers and in particular, through men showing their support to women,” explained Belk. “So Justin (Hampton from Highline Racewear) made the contact with them, and here we are ready to go.”

Donations can also be made directly online, through http:// mcgrathfoundation.gofundraise.com.au/page/belkracingteamhighlineracewear

V8 DIRT MODIFIEDS

McKinnell on the Move

F

ollowing in the footsteps of Peter Britten and Mick Sauer, youngster Lee McKinnell has this season made the move from AMCA Nationals into the V8 Dirt Modifieds.

The 18-year-old son of four-time Australian AMCA National Champion, Shane, has spent the past two seasons in AMCA Nationals, but feels that the time is right to move into V8 Dirt Modifieds.

“I’m excited about the move into V8 Dirt Modifieds, because it’s a new challenge for not only me as a driver but also my whole team,” the Queensland-based McKinnell said, who purchased a Troyer car from Tim Luscombe, which is co-owned by McKinnell’s dad and his mate Daryl Thomas.

“The plan is to contest about a dozen race meetings in my first season, and the goals are to learn as quickly as possible and become more competitive as the season goes.”

McKinnell, who is his two seasons in AMCA Nationals scored podium finishes in the 2012-13 season Queensland and NSW Titles, is able to draw plenty of confidence for his move into V8 Dirt Modifieds,

after both Britten and Sauer have been able to make successful transitions into the class from AMCA Nationals.

Apart from his V8 Dirt Modified commitments, McKinnell is planning to make a number of cameo AMCA National appearances this season aboard a Kempy car that is owned by Daryl Thomas.

October 2014 Totally Motorsport 49

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52  Totally Motorsport October 2014