MotorSport Legends Issue 13

MotorSport Legends THE MAGAZINE THAT BRINGS YOUR MOTORSPOR T MEMORIES BACK TO LIFE www.motorsportlegends.com.au

When the AGP came to Calder Park

ISSUE 13 Feb-Apr 2011

ISSN 1835-5544

Stone Brothers: living legends

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Contents Editorial 04 Ideas that were ahead of their time.

News Who did what on the historic and nostalgia motorsport scenes.

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Masters of yesteryear 10-13 We take a look at what happens when you mix the best of the old with just a dash of modern technology.

Racing Stones 14-21 Look into the past of most good racing engineers and you’ll often find a hidden driving career. The Stone Brothers are a perfect example.

Historic Racer 23-30 Welcome to the seventh edition of our historic racing section, which includes coverage of the Sandown Historics, the Eastern Creek Tasman Revival meeting and our full report on the Goodwood Revival.

Webb of Intrigue 31 Mick’s not scared to tell it how it was.

Nice guys can win 32-37 Robbie Francevic became a household name on both sides of the Tasman.

Calder Park AGPs 38-43 When Bob Jane dreams, he dreams big.

And he usually turns them into reality.

The AGPs in the early 1980s is the proof of that.

Teams score milestones 44-47 Bring out the birthday cakes as Holden Racing Team turns 20 and Dick Johnson Racing celebrates three decades of history.

Contributors in this issue Briar Gunther

Our staff journalist has been hanging around in the Touring Car Masters pits, having a chat with the guys, and getting the low down on a category that has mixed a lot of the old with a pinch of the new and is now providing great racing and reaping huge rewards.

Brian Reed Once again ‘Brique’ has been lucky enough to travel to England to check out the Goodwood Revival meeting and he even found the time to jump into a racing car at the famous Spa Francorchamps circuit.

Good work if you can get it!

Mick Webb In his popular column Mick tells of the days when what went on tour stayed on tour. It was a time when drivers and punters drank at the same pub on the Saturday night of a race meeting and the only ‘Jim’ in sight was the bloke serving the drinks.

T H E M A G A Z I N E T H AT B R I N G S Y O U R M O T O R S P O R T M E M O R I E S B A C K T O L I F E

Managing Editor Allan Edwards Pole Position Productions Address: PO Box 225 Keilor, Victoria, 3036 Phone: (03) 9331 2608 Fax: (03) 8080 6473 Email: admin@motorsportlegends.com.au Website: www.motorsportlegends.com.au Staff Journalist Briar Gunther Artist/Design House Craig Fryers Raamen Pty Ltd (03) 9873 8282 Contributors Glenis Lindley, Mark Cooper, Grant Nicholas, Brian Reed, Tony Whitlock, Adrian Musolino and Mick Webb.

Photographers Autopics.com.au, John Doig, Glenis Lindley and Robert Lang.

Advertising Manager Jennifer Gamble Phone: 0431 451470 Email: advertising@ motorsportlegends.com.au Distributors Fairfax Media Publication Solutions Material in Motorsport Legends is protected by copyright laws and may not be reporoduced in any format. Motorsport Legends will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Motorsport Legends is factual, no responsibility will be taken for any material which is later found to be false or misleading. The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.

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CLASSIC

Lines Welcome to issue 13 of MotorSport Legends magazine. MotorSport Legends includes motor racing nostalgia and historic events.

G

etting the balance between the old and the new right is sometimes a difficult task.

There is a great divide in motor racing circles between those who want to enjoy the best of the old and the new and others who just want to keep everything exactly as it once was.

The perfect case in point is the difference between Group N and Touring Car Masters. The Group N guys strive to keep their cars and regulations as close to original as practically possible.

While there is nothing wrong with that, the growth and popularity of the Touring Car Masters series shows what can be achieved when you try to capture the best of the machinery from an era gone by, but include a tiny mix of modern technology and some clever promotion.

The best part about Touring Car Masters is that it gives younger people a real appreciation of what racing in the 1970s was all about. We track the success of this series in this issue. Turn to page 10.

While Touring Car Masters was the brainchild of some successful racing promoters, another series of races that were ahead of their time were the Australian Grands Prix promoted by Bob Jane (pictured above with yours truly) at Calder Park Raceway in the early 1980s.

These events involved bringing the F1 stars of the day out to compete against the best that Australia had to offer.

This idea wasn’t exactly new as it was the backbone of the Tasman Series, but to do it in the 1980s when F1 was in a new money-driven era was no easy feat.

Many believe that these meetings

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paved the way for the first World F1 Championship round in Adelaide in 1985, which moved to Melbourne’s Albert Park – the Australian home of international open-wheeler racing in the 1950s and ’60s – a decade later.

Who knows? Maybe we would never have had a round of the World F1 Championship in Australia had it not been for the foresight and belief of Bob Jane. You can read all about these great days in our feature starting on page 38.

Also in this issue we look at 20 years of HRT and 30 years of DJR, as well as much, much more. Enjoy!

Until next time, drive safely on the road and the race track.

Cheers, – Allan Edwards, Managing Editor

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NEWS

SPORTS CARS HEAD FOR CLASSIC TIMES A 30-minute race for the world’s fastest sports cars from the 1970s and 1980s is the feature event of the 2011 Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport which runs from March 18-20.

The race will see at least three Porsche 956/962 sports cars, up to four Porsche turbocharged six-cylinder 935 coupes, a V12 ‘Silk Cut’ Jaguar XJR-9, a V12 Matra 670S, a V8 Sauber-Mercedes C9, and a number of V8-powered Lolas from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s compete over 20 laps of the 4.55km Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

Victorian Historic Racing Register President, Ian Tate, promises it will be the most potent line-up of world-class sports cars ever seen in Australia, potentially eclipsing the field that gathered for the two World Sports Car Championship rounds at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway in 1984 and 1988.

A number of famous Le Mans and Group C era sports cars are among the 35odd special vehicles coming

The Sauber-Mercedes C9 will be joined by a host of sports cars at the 2011 Island Classic.

from Britain, Europe and the United States to compete at the meeting.

Notable sports cars from the US include Bert Skidmore’s Lola T286 DFV and Ed Swart’s Lola T163, powered by a 685HP big block Chevrolet, while from the UK there is an ex-Le Mans JCB Chevron-Cosworth V8 and a C-type Jaguar once owned by five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

The big banger sports cars will be amongst an expected entry of more than 500 cars at what has become the South-

ern Hemisphere’s greatest classic motorsport festival.

Along with the celebration of sports cars, the meeting will also mark the 40th anniversary of Australia’s greatest Ford racing car, the Falcon XY GT-HO, with around 20 of these iconic models on display.

The 50th anniversary of the E-type Jaguar will see a display of up to 50 of these iconic sporting Jaguars, while the 60th anniversary of Porsche in Australia will see a flotilla of significant sports cars spanning three decades coming out especially from

the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.

Other races on the program will include events for Historic Group N and the later Group C and Group A touring cars, an event for sports 2000s, and races for historic racing cars.

The 2011 Philip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport is organised by the Victorian Historic racing Register and will again be supported by Shannons, CoolDrive and Penrite.

More details can be found at the website www. vhrr.com MSL

R.I.P. TOM WALKINSHAW

BY BRIAR GUNTHER

After suffering a long and courageous battle with cancer, Tom Walkinshaw died on Sunday, December 12, 2010 aged 64.

Walkinshaw once owned the Arrows Formula One team and established Toll Holden Racing Team 20 years ago.

He also created Holden Special Vehicles in conjunction with Holden and his

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Walkinshaw Racing ran four cars in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship.

Walkinshaw Racing Managing Director, Craig Wilson, said Walkinshaw would be sadly missed.

“As we all know, Tom was very passionate about motor racing and he achieved much success as a driver and team owner in his lifetime,” Wilson said.

“Those who know Tom know a tremendous com-

petitor. But having worked for him for over 20 years I also know him as someone with amazing entrepreneurial spirit and someone with real insight into this business.

“He will be sadly missed, but we owe it to him to continue the success we have enjoyed under his watchful eye.”

Walkinshaw is survived by his wife Martine and their sons Ryan and Sean. MSL

STALWARTS GET LIFE MEMBERSHIPS Dick Johnson and Colin Bond have been bestowed with Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) Life Memberships.

CAMS President Andrew Papadopoulos presented the memberships, which is one of CAMS’ highest honours, at the V8 Supercars Gala Awards in December.

Papadopoulos said the drivers had contributed extraordinary expertise, dedication and a positive influence to motorsport.

“Dick and Colin have exemplified great skill and sportsmanship throughout their careers,” he said.

“They continue to contribute to motorsport and its fans regularly and in many ways.

CAMS is proud to honour them with Life Memberships.”

Johnson (above left) and Bond have been bestowed with CAMS life membership.

Johnson, 65, and Bond, 68, joined 23 other distinguished officials and competitors to be recognised since CAMS introduced the Life Membership program in 1982.

Johnson, one of racing’s greatest personalities, drove touring cars from the mid-sixties until 2000, when he retired to concentrate on running

his iconic Ford team Dick Johnson Racing.

The team is currently known as Jim Beam Racing and driver James Courtney won the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship.

He achieved five Australian Touring Car Championships (1981, 1982, 1984 1988 and 1989), three Bathurst 1000

crowns (1981, 1989, 1994) and was inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame in 2001.

While Johnson spent all but his early career racing Fords, Bond was renowned as one of Australia’s most versatile and talented drivers in a variety of makes, models and motorsport disciplines.

He won the 1975 Australian Touring Car Championship, three Australian Rally Championships (1971, 1972 and 1974) and the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Mount Panorama for the newlyformed Holden Dealer Team.

Bond drove touring cars, rally cars, GTs and single-seaters and won the New South Wales Hillclimb Championship three times. He was inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame in 2002. MSL

CARS WANTED FOR HISTORIC WINTON Historic Winton organisers have put out a call for car owners to become a part of its May event.

Anyone who has a classic or special interest car (or bikes) can join the spectator car park display on the Saturday or Sunday at the event, which is one of Australia’s largest and most popular allhistoric motor race meetings.

The 35th edition of Historic Winton takes place from Friday, May 27 to Sunday, May 29, 2011 at Winton Motor Raceway.

More than 400 historic racing cars and motorbikes from the 1920s to the 1980s will take part in the non-stop racing.

The 2011 event will celebrate 100 years of Chevrolet, Stutz and the Indianapolis 500, 90 years of the French

Winton Historics organisers are looking to fill the grid in May 2011.

marques Amilcar and Salmson, 75 years of the Fiat 500 and 60 years of the Triumph Mayflower and Triumph Renown.

Highlights include the Classic Car Park, which will feature displays of the Fiat 500 Topolino and Nauova Bambino along with a large

contingent of Triumphs.

There will also be classic car and bike club displays including Amilcar and Salmson vehicles in the Competition Paddock.

On Friday the Benalla and District Classic Car and Motorbike Tour assembles at 9am at the Benalla Art Gal-

lery where red plate vehicles are welcome.

The tour concludes with a show and shine outside the Benalla Civic Centre from 3pm to 5pm.

For more information call David Lidgerwood on 03 5764 4291.

The Austin 7 Club organises Historic Winton with help from the Historic Motorcycle Racing Association of Victoria.

Raceway entry fees are $20 on Saturday and $30 on Sun $30 and entry to the competition paddock costs $5. Children aged 14 receive free entry.

For more information visit the website www.historicwinton.org or call Noel Wilcox on 03 5428 2689 or email noelwilcox@rocketmail .com MSL MotorSportLegends

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NEWS STORY BY BRIAR GUNTHER

BROCK IS BEST With nine Bathurst wins and three Australian Touring Car Championships to his name, it is no wonder that the late, great Peter Brock has been voted the greatest Australian touring car driver ever.

A panel of experts voted Brock, who died in a rally crash in Western Australia in 2006, ahead of fellow touring car luminaries Mark Skaife, Allan Moffat, Jim Richards and Dick Johnson.

From a list of 50, the panel chose a top 10 list of the best Australian touring car drivers with the results announced at the V8 Supercars’ Sandown event in November.

The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge was the category’s inaugural heritage round and coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Australian Touring Car Championship.

Brock topped the list due to his prolific success, fan magnetism and his long-held status as the most famous

race driver in Australia and his son James accepted the award.

When Brock died he was given a State Funeral in Victoria which was broadcast live on every television network and the Bathurst 1000 trophy is now named in his honour.

Current V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes was sixth on the list, followed by Ian Geoghegan, Marcos Ambrose, Norm Beechey and Lowndes’ teammate Jamie Whincup rounded out the top 10.

Legends who made the top 50 list include Alan Jones, Allan Grice, Bob Jane, Barry Seton and his son Glenn, John Bowe, Larry Perkins and John French.

Drivers were selected on the basis of on-track success, their contribution to 50 years of local racing, dealings with fans and media, versatility and longevity across all touring car events in all eras, not just races with Championship status. MSL

LEYBURN 2011 DATES LOCKED IN The 16th annual Leyburn Motor Sprints, one of Australia’s leading historic and classic car competitions, will return to the Queensland Darling Downs on August 27-28, 2011.

The event, staged on a one-kilometre temporary street course through the township of Leyburn, is expected to attract around 200 cars from several states.

The Leyburn Sprints celebrates the running of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix on an ex-wartime

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airfield circuit near the town and in recent years has attracted several of the original entrants in that event.

Renowned for its friendly country atmosphere as well as close competition, the Sprints draws thousands of spectators from throughout

the Darling Downs and southern Queensland.

Sprints organising committee president, Ann Collins, said the not-forprofit event featured many significant cars and drivers of past eras and also made a valuable contribution to local community organisations and projects.

The Queensland Events Regional Development Program, Southern Downs Regional Council, Boral and RoadTek have provided valuable support for the Leyburn Sprints. MSL

THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE Aussie muscle car enthusiasts who can’t afford an iconic GT Falcon, Monaro, V8 Torana or Charger can now drive all of them for a fraction of the price.

Long time enthusiasts John Ruggiero and Tim McCartney from Melbourne have teamed up to create the Australian Muscle Car Experience.

The company offers a fullon muscle car drive experience with the collection from the sixties, seventies and eighties valued at more than $1.25 million.

The day trip visits memorable tourist destinations while negotiating some of Australia’s best roads in some of Australia’s best cars.

Drivers and passengers,

Above: John Ruggiero (left) and Tim McCartney with their muscle cars.

swapping from car to car, will also be treated to a country pub lunch plus photos and memorabilia.

“We believe that devotees of highly collectible Aussie muscle cars were not being catered for by any competitors, together with the fact that the purchase price of these vehicles are out of

reach of most people,” Ruggiero said.

“So we’ve filled a gap in the market place with what we think will be an unforgettable experience for our clientele.”

Warren Rogers, who lives in Hastings, Victoria, has taken part in the experience, which he described as a

“great day out” and wants to do it again.

“They certainly don’t build ‘em like that anymore!” he said.

“Anyone who hasn’t ever driven these cars should take the opportunity, or for those who have it’s a great revisiting experience to drive and compare each car.

“Everything is well organised and I intend to come back for more of the same.”

AMCE initially began operating out of Melbourne and begins offering the experience in Sydney in January.

For full details check out the website at www.musclecarexperience.com.au, email john@musclecarexperience. com.au or call John on 0414 543 634. MSL

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TOURING CAR MASTERS

Modern sponsorship and signage is kept to a minimum so the cars, like Chris Stillwell’s Ford Mustang Trans Am pictured, look like they did back in the day.

MASTERS OF YESTERYEAR

Injecting new ideas and technology into the old touring cars provides exciting racing for punters and plenty of success for the Touring Car Masters category.

STORY BY BRIAR GUNTHER; PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN DOIG

B

ringing the older touring cars into the 21st century has paid dividends for the Touring Car Masters (TCM) series.

Whereas historic categories stick to running components as close to the old ones, the TCM cars are unashamedly contemporary in some aspects.

Chris Stillwell, Gavin Bullas, Tony Hunter and Drew Marget have a background in historics and are the men that created the TCM. “Tony and I were in Biante (the Biante historic series) and it became evident it wasn’t going to work,” Marget, the category’s Technical Director, explains.

“The historic (rules) made it impos10

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sible and we decided the only way to do it was to move out of historics.”

TCM has gone ahead in leaps and bounds since it debuted at the Clipsal 500 in 2007 with 19 cars on the grid.

It now has the backing of automotive accessories retailer Autobarn, a full grid of 36 or 37 cars at each race and all 44 of the licences are sold.

Marget believes there are a number of reasons which makes it so successful.

“Probably with the sort of cars the era concentrates on and the attraction it has to a large section of the motorsport community,” he said.

“I believe motorsport enthusiasts love that era and it appeals to people who love and like the feel of the car.

“It’s one of the few categories that has

been able to cross that threshold of old to modern.”

It also helps that the racing is close and exciting, largely thanks to the modern changes to what’s under the bonnet.

“Its old character and the variety of vehicles have gone a long way to making it an attractive entertainment package,” Marget explains.

“We’ve endeavoured to alter the performance adjustments on some of the cars to make the racing closer and entertaining.

“The cars slide around a lot and the guys race them pretty hard.

“With people like Jim Richards and John Bowe and some other drivers like Gavin Bullas and Brad Tilley, the ontrack spectacle is fantastic.”

Above: Two-time Touring Car Masters Champion Gavin Bullas holds off Leanne Tander, who won her first TCM race at Bathurst in 2010.

Righ: Jim Richards clinched the 2010 Touring Car Masters title in his Shannons Falcon Sprint.

Despite some modern aspects of the cars, they are still as true as possible to the era they represent.

“We were very mindful when we came up with the specifications of the car to keep the sport of the era,” Marget said.

“We try to limit modern signage and advertising even though we’ve had to be a bit lenient.

“In Group N you could never be sure if cars were going to stop. Now with modern brakes, they can race bumper to bumper and know the car is going to stop.”

TCM has expanded its parameters to include cars up to 1976, meaning cars like the Toyota Celica, Ford MkII Escort

and the Holden SLR 5000 can now be entered.

The performance-based category had three divisions in 2010. Group 1 was for

“NOW WITH MODERN BRAKES, THEY CAN RACE BUMPER TO BUMPER AND KNOW THE CAR IS GOING TO STOP”

all vehicles with an engine capacity over 5100cc along with the Falcon Sprint and Holden SLR 5000, Group 2 for all vehicles with an engine capacity more than 2001cc and up to 5099cc and Group 3 for all cars with an engine capacity up to 2000cc.

It also helps that the series is lighter on the hip pocket for those who want to participate.

Marget said it was something that ❯ MotorSportLegends

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TOURING CAR MASTERS

After retiring from V8 Supercars, John Bowe has turned his hand to the Touring Car Masters and is one of the crowd favourites.

was kept in mind when the regulations were written. For example, the engine lasts the whole season before it needs servicing and the cars are more economical to run.

That’s not to say it’s a walk in the park to get an entry ready for the series. As Marget points out, these cars cannot be bought off the shelf.

Most of the cars are purpose built these days and it can take up to three years to build a car.

But it’s well worth the effort. One only has to walk through the TCM pit area to witness the camaraderie even though everyone drives for a different team.

Spare parts are often shared, as are jokes and chats when the cars are not on the track.

“You are there because you enjoy what you are doing,” Marget said. “The racing on the track is pretty serious but at the end of the day they’re there because they enjoy it and they go back to their day job on the Monday.

“Generally they are guys that are really confident in their own skin and it is a great group and they all help each other out.

“There is a huge amount of dedication from our competitors to support the series and it really is a series where the competitors are the heart and soul of the series.

“Without them we are nowhere and 12

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they have made a huge commitment.”

Touring Car Masters isn’t usually seen as a stepping-stone to other categories like V8 Supercars but Elliot Barbour is one youngster breaking the mould.

“We fell into it because we got given a car,” the 20-year-old said.

“At the moment I’m the only young bloke in it but it’s a great stepping stone.”

Barbour has been able to draw on the experience of his competitors, who have also helped give him some guidance on his quest to get into V8 Supercars.

“I’ve spoken to John Bowe and he said

it’s just like driving a V8 Supercar only with no grip.

“These cars have heaps of power, no grip and a lot smaller brakes than what they probably should be with the weight.

“I’ve only spoken to John Bowe once or twice and he’s been pretty helpful but racing against guys the calibre of John Bowe and Jim Richards who are at the top of the field and have heaps of experience, I’m sure I could learn a lot off them if I manage to hang in there on the track.”

TCM also has a couple of female

Performance adjustments to some of the cars make the racing closer and more entertaining.

racers, including Leanne Tander who is the wife of V8 Supercar driver Garth Tander.

“I’m thrilled to be racing in the in the Touring Car Masters,” she said. “It’s one of the more exciting categories with all different cars competing. It’s one that I’ve liked to watch in the past.”

The addition of its own standalone television program this year on Network Seven is further proof that the Touring Car Masters is making its mark on Australian motorsport.

“It’s been fantastic; a real toe in the water for us this year,” Marget said.

“We’re constantly re-evaluating that and working with V8TV as to what looks good on TV. “The TV is there not to get our heads on TV but give sponsors value for money and competitors and competitors to leverage and perhaps gain some of their own sponsors.

“The reaction from our TV program for the first year and been very positive.”

Marget said the category has to ensure it kept its end of the bargain – good racing.

“If you don’t develop your product you become irrelevant so we’ve got to make sure we maintain relevancy,” he said.

“The great thing is we have some very terrific and supportive sponsors there to help competitors go motor racing.”

TCM makes its way around the country racing alongside V8 Supercars and at the Muscle Car Masters in Sydney but has no plans to expand further.

“We’re very mindful that most of our competitors are amateurs,” Marget

Above: Elliot Barbour says the Touring Car Masters is a great stepping stone to his ultimate goal of becoming a V8 Supercar driver. Barbour drove an XY GTHO Falcon in the 2010 championship in the Group 1 category while Ian McAlister, pictured right, drove a Ford Mustang Coupe which allowed him to race in the Group 2 category for cars with an engine capacity more than 2001cc and up to 5099cc.

explained.

“Eight rounds doesn’t sound like a lot but if you start in March and finish in December that’s roughly every four or five weeks away.

“There’s the cost factor, the time factor and at this stage eight rounds is more than enough.”

The Touring Car Masters is proudly presented by Autobarn and supported by Biante Model Cars, Shannons Insurance, Rare Spares and official suppliers Hoosier Tires and Australian Sports Marketing.

Marget acknowledged that the cat-

egory had to continue to ensure sponsors get their value for money, which can be an uphill battle when there are plenty of strong categories vying for a piece of the publicity pie.

“It’s been a lot of hard work but I’m thrilled where we’re at,” he enthused.

“All these things have been a real work in progress. The four of us that are running the series also run our own businesses and are doing Touring Car Masters on an honourary basis and love it.”

For more information on the Touring Car Masters visit www.touringcarmasters.com.au MSL

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STONE BROTHERS

STONES SEEK MORE SUCCESS Stone Brothers Racing is well known for its success in V8 Supercars with Marcos Ambrose, but what many may not know is that Kiwis Ross and Jimmy were entrenched in the Australasian motorsport scene long before the youngster from Tasmania started racing cars.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLENIS LINDLEY

W

hen the name Marcos Ambrose is mentioned in V8 Supercar circles, the team Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) immediately springs to mind. Along with Ambrose’s dominant double title triumph, the Stone brothers, Ross and Jim, savoured success again the following year (2005), with championship honours going to their other driver, Russell Ingall, while Ambrose claimed runner-up.

This triple treat cemented their standing as one of the leading lights in Australia’s premier motor racing category and Ford’s top contender at the time. This obviously helped them considerably just a few years 14

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ago when Ford withdrew major sponsorship from several rival teams, including Dick Johnson’s long-established Ford organisation and glamour outfit TeamVodafone.

The Stone brothers haven’t always been team owners and their claim to fame

extends far beyond three consecutive V8 Supercar championships and a Bathurst victory. They’ve lived extremely interesting lives, beginning in the small New Zealand town of Onewhero, just a stone’s throw (pardon the pun) west of Pukekohe Park Raceway, when young Jimmy was taken to watch his first Grand Prix in 1954 at Ardmore.

“He became hooked on motor racing, attending hillclimbs and race meetings, before competing in car club events himself,” Ross explained.

“Jimmy was always pulling things apart and putting them back together again.

“When he left school, Jimmy became an apprentice mechanic, intending to head

The Stone Brothers started as drivers in their native New Zealand (clockwise from above): Ross Stone driving the Cuda 2, Jim Stone crashing the Cuda 1, Ross holds out a competitor, Ross in the Cuda 3 and Jim in the twin cam Escort.

overseas to work full time on race cars.

“Mum stepped in saying he wasn’t going anywhere until he was qualified as an A-grade mechanic so he departed for Europe the day he qualified.”

At 21, Jim commenced working on Formula 3 cars before joining McLaren’s Can Am program in 1969.

“There were 13 races that year, and we won them all,” Jim added enthusiastically.

Younger brother Ross was also finding his feet as a mechanic in Auckland before venturing into racing, having caught the bug himself when he attended his first Grand Prix at Pukekohe in 1963. When Jim returned home, these enthusiastic brothers built their first Formula Ford called Cuda 1 (as in Barracuda), which Jim raced before heading overseas again.

“Our second car, the Cuda 2, was built from New Zealand bits,” Ross, who also had some fun times racing this car, proudly said. Another ambitious project was building a 1300cc twin cam Escort

for Jimmy to race in the NZ Saloon Car Championship, while another brother, Kevin, was into cars too, working as a Formula 1 and F5000 mechanic in Europe, although he never bothered racing himself.

This acclaimed double act then designed and built the Cuda JR 3. It was shaped along the lines of the McLaren M23 as Jim had spent about five years in the

USA working with Bruce McLaren and another famous Kiwi, Denny Hulme.

Ross won the coveted 1977-78 Gold Star Championship in this radical racer.

“This was a totally Kiwi-designed and built Formula Pacific race car,” the unassuming but proud Ross said.

One things the boys did admit to was road-testing their various cars on local ❯

“MUM STEPPED IN SAYING HE WASN’T GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL HE WAS QUALIFIED AS AN AGRADE MECHANIC SO HE DEPARTED FOR EUROPE THE DAY HE QUALIFIED.” MotorSportLegends

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STONE BROTHERS

Ross and Jimmy always share the emotions of their drivers from the pit garage or the pit wall.

gravel roads as “not many people lived in the area in those days”.

Ross attempted racing in the States in 1978, but found a lack of money the big obstacle which killed any aspirations there, so it was back to working on race cars for Formula Atlantic and Can Am teams before returning to NZ. Jim too returned home, and even went farming for a few years.

The boys also ran a BP service station at one stage in their lives, however, as motor racing and tinkering with cars was their love and passion (read absolute obsession), it wasn’t long before they were seeking other motor racing challenges.

When former motorcycle ace Graeme Crosby switched to four wheels, Ross prepared his Commodore for the Australian Touring Car Championship. Both Stone

brothers and their families made the big move to Australia, with the boys setting up shop in a little garage at Calder Park Raceway before shifting to Sydney.

“We realised there was a better future, and more motor racing opportunities in Australia,” Ross explained.

He soon hooked up with drivers like Andrew Miedecke and Andrew Bagnall, then Kevin Waldock, looking after their revolutionary Group A Sierras, while also preparing Skylines for Nissan New Zealand.

It didn’t take long for reputations to spread and so by 1992 he’d become Dick Johnson Racing’s team manager. Ross was the mastermind as they moved into the Sierra era, and helped build some of Johnson’s early Ford Falcons. Jimmy, then working with Benson & Hedges BMW,

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was enticed into Johnson’s team and the brothers engineered Dick and John Bowe’s Sandown/Bathurst-winning EB Falcon in 1994.

Being young and ambitious, Ross and Jimmy decided team ownership was for them, so in partnership with Alan Jones, they formed the AJR team (better known commercially as Pack Leader Racing) setting up base at Arundel on the Gold Coast.

“Not actually meaning Alan Jones Racing, but Alan, Jim and Ross,” explained Ross with a smile. Ross is the brother that generally does the talking and joking while Jimmy much prefers his role as the quiet, conservative and serious one, but they have a wonderful working relationship and buckets of combined talent between them.

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As well as Marcos Ambrose’s two V8 Supercar titles, Russell Ingall also won the Championship for Stone Brothers in 2005.

Ross said and Jim agreed.

So it came time to go it alone! Renamed Stone Brothers Racing (SBR), minus one former Formula 1 World Champion, this very professional, edgling single-car team emerged in 1998. They also ran another Ford for Mark Larkham, as they’ve continued to do for others on and o over the years, as well as supplying engines for other teams.

Back in those humble days, there were around six employees. Today, at their huge workshop complex at Yatala, on the outskirts of the Gold Coast, there are 48 on the payroll. It’s a real family aair: wives Dianne and Bev and ospring Anna, Emily, Nick and Matt are all involved with dierent aspects of the business. SBR’s high-tech, state-of-the-art equipment means they are geared up to undertake all

manner of in-house car preparation, building and development.

With major sponsorship from Pirtek, and Jason Bright being joined by Steve Richards in the EL Falcon, a memorable Bathurst 1000 victory came in SBR’s inaugural year. This was a ďŹ tting reward for excellent teamwork, clever strategy, dedication, and thorough preparation.

Others drivers the calibre of Tony Longhurst, Craig Baird and David Besnard came into their expanded two-car team, along with another prime sponsor, Caltex, and when Ambrose joined the ranks in 2001, he became their star attraction.

With Ross at the helm, and Jimmy in charge of engineering, assisted by a select team of loyal, hard-working members (including highly-respected engine man Campbell Little), this dominant force

snared the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship, plus the second level Konica Development Series with Mark Winterbottom. “When Russell (Ingall) joined the team, it provided good back-up for Ambrose,�

Ross said.

In 2004, Ingall played ‘bridesmaid’ to Ambrose, giving the team a one-two championship result, but this was reversed the following year, with Ambrose second to Ingall before the lure of NASCAR drew the Tasmanian to America. But another bonus for SBR was comfortably clinching the Team’s Championship in 2004 and 2005.

Then it all went downhill! No ďŹ ngers pointed, but the slump began when international hotshot James Courtney, along with plenty of media hype, replaced Ambrose in 2006. â?Ż

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STONE BROTHERS

“It was a blow to the system losing Marcos, that’s for sure. We still had him under contract, but it would have been pointless holding him to that, when his heart and mind were set on NASCAR,” Ross said.

Naturally there were high expectations placed on Courtney, but results were slow in coming and crashes were all too frequent, despite all the endless enthusiasm, placing the whole team under considerable pressure. Changes to engineering staff, when Paul Forgie headed to the States to work with Ambrose, didn’t help either, but with the brothers’ no-nonsense, perhaps even ‘old-school’ approach, they were determined to fight back and turn their fortunes around.

Racing legend, Harry Firth, well known for his forthright statements, and not adverse to speaking his mind, commented to one of Ford’s hierarchy: “Give all ❯

SBR always put in a strong showing at Bathurst although it has only been able to clinch one victory in 1998 with Jason Bright and Steve Richards.

Despite starting from pole in his rookie year, Marcos Ambrose (above) never won a 1000.

18

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Right: Alex Davison was drafted into the team after James Courtney left the Stones to head to Dick Johnson Racing. Above: Jubilation as Davison qualifies on pole for the first time at Darwin in 2010.

your money to the Stone boys. They’re the only ones who know what they’re doing right now!”

Ingall later departed the scene, as did Courtney, while the high-profile Campbell Little had already moved on, although the Stones still enjoy a good relationship with him.

The irony of this situation was that Little, who undoubtedly helped guide Ambrose (and later TeamVodafone’s new star Jamie Whincup) to V8 Supercar championship success, is now at Ford Performance Racing (FPR). Having worked at Stones when Winterbottom claimed his 2003 development crown, he is re-united with ‘Frosty’ who is now a ‘main game’ graduate and a committed V8 championship challenger.

“We probably should have retained Frosty, but that’s another story,” Ross said.

Following Ingall’s departure, a young and aggressive emerging talent, another Kiwi, Shane van Gisbergen, was welcomed into the SBR fold for 2008.

“I got to live with Ross and Di for about a year – they’re a wonderful family,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s a great team and the atmosphere is really good.”

Ross discussed his strong belief in high values and team loyalty and said he expected the same from his team.

“We are racing people in business, not the other way round,” he said.

Renowned as astute talent scouts, in 2009 the Stones also recruited Alex Davison, an older, more experienced team player who had achieved considerable success in the world of Porsche racing in Australia and overseas but was still struggling to find his V8 Supercar feet.

They gelled well together, plus the return of engineer Paul Forgie showed promise of lifting the team up to the level of when Ambrose was driving.

Jason Bright, in damage control after funding his own struggling Britek Motorsport team, returned to the safety of SBR’s wing too, but departed at the end of 2009 to join Brad Jones Racing.

Last year, in another of those complicated deals entrenched in V8 Supercar racing, the Stone’s took on a promising young man with a lot to offer – Tim Slade. He came with Wilson Security sponsorship and support from owner James Rosenberg. This partnership meant that under the SBR umbrella, they prepared and ran Slade’s FG Ford Falcon.

“I know Ross and Jimmy are pretty hungry again to have some success and so am I!” Slade said.

SBR also recruited another young Kiwi, Scott McLaughlin as an apprentice fabricator, so everything is in place for good things down the track for these dynamic and passionate brothers, as McLaughlin is already an accomplished, naturally-talented driver.

For the 2010 endurance rounds, yet another Kiwi and no stranger to SBR,

John McIntyre, was drafted into the team to drive alongside van Gisbergen, while high-profile international ace David Brabham added his weight in the Davison car.

While it didn’t all come together for a dream result at Bathurst with none of their cars finishing in the top 10, the Armor All Gold Coast 600 was far kinder.

Young van Gisbergen was one of the stand-out drivers, with a best qualifying position of sixth, followed by a third-place finish on Saturday, and second on Sunday.

His results were even more encouraging (and astounding), considering the amount of crashes and carnage which eventuated, and also the fact that there were 18 internationally-acclaimed drivers competing, ranging from Indianapolis 500, to IndyCar and Formula 1 champions.

Significantly, Ross and Jim have already attained legendary status while still actively involved in the present-day V8 Supercar scene, so who knows what 2011 and the future holds? MSL

“I GOT TO LIVE WITH ROSS AND DI FOR ABOUT A YEAR – THEY’RE A WONDERFUL FAMILY … IT’S A GREAT TEAM AND THE ATMOSPHERE IS REALLY GOOD.” MotorSportLegends

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HISTORIC RACER

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT LANG

F5000s AND SMITH TAME THE CREEK New Zealander Stan Redmond in a 1976 Lola T332C took out the Kevin Bartlett Trophy at the Tasman Revival held at Eastern Creek International Raceway in late November.

Only a handful of F5000s took part in the race due to heavy rain, but their collective roar was enough to get the crowd’s attention at the third bi-annual Tasman Revival meeting.

Redmond took out the 12-lap race on the Sunday ahead of Victorian Bryan Sala in a 1977 Elfin MR8 and Gregory Thornton from the United Kingdom in a 1973 Chevron B24.

Four shorter F5000 races

were held over the Friday and Saturday with Sala winning the first one.

Andrew Robson, who did not compete in the main Formula 5000 race, won the other three in a 1973 Lola T332.

Meanwhile, John Smith in the Dawson-Damer family’s Lotus 49 won the Tasman Trophy in the Sunday feature race.

The New South Welshman, who won the 2006 race, managed to hold off the 2008 race winner Rob Hall from the UK who was in Graham Adelman’s ex-Chris Amon Ferrari 246T Dino.

Queenslander Chris Farrell finished the race in third driv-

ing a 1969 Brabham BT 30.

There were 44 cars from the USA, UK, New Zealand and Japan, including a genuine Cobra from the US and an 8C Alfa Romeo, which took part in the weekend.

More than 40 races were contested by cars from Groups J, K and L, Formula Vee, Formula Ford, Formula

Junior and Formula Three.

The Historic Sports and Racing Car Association organises the Tasman Revival meetings, which began in 2006.

Above: Andrew Robson won three of the shorter F5000 races and Bryan Sala, pictured behind, won another.

Below: Gregory Thornton from the UK in a 1973 Chevron B24.

MotorSportLegends

23

HISTORIC REPORT PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN DOIG (TORQUE PHOTOS)

LE MANS HITS Le Mans visited the 2010 Historic Sandown in November thanks to the Porsche Museum sending out several of its prized racecars from Stuttgart, Germany for the event.

Porsche Cars Australia’s Director Sales & Marketing and Racesport technician Peter Bowen took turns to drive the legendary 340kph Porsche 935 that won the World Constructors’ Championship in 1976 and 1977 and has since been restored back to its original race condition.

Kevin Nicholls also

stretched the legs of the sole road-going ‘homologation’ version of the 1998 Le Mans winning 911 GT1 in the Division 2 timed Regularity (average speed) events during the two-day annual ‘Return of the Thunder’ program, while PCA’s Warwick McKenzie chased him in vain in the unusual-looking 356 Carrera 2000 GS/GT ‘Dreikantschaber’ which competed at both Le Mans and Sicily’s gruelling Targa Florio road race in 1963.

Meanwhile, Gary Collins in his Protrack Automotive

Group A VL Commodore took out line honours in Historic Sandown’s feature race for Group A and C touring cars.

The 15-lap CoolDrive Challenge feature race was one of the last events held on the weekend of November 5-7 at Sandown Raceway.

Collins finished a good 24 seconds ahead of Adrian Allisey in a VL Commodore while his son Chris Collins finished third in a VC Commodore.

Besides the regularity events and feature race,

Historic Sandown featured about 400 touring, sports and racing cars spanning seven decades. The 50th anniversary of the Australian Touring Car Championship was celebrated at the meeting, along with 100 years of Alfa Romeo with major vehicle displays.

The Victorian Historic Racing Register organises the annual Historic Sandown meeting and late last year it signed an agreement with the circuit’s operator, Melbourne Racing Club, to continue running the event

Clockwise from top: Peter Bowen in the 1976 and 1977 World Constructors’ Championship-winning Porsche 935, the ex-Allan Grice and Colin Bond STP VH Commodore driven by Edward Singleton took part in the Group A and C races, but it was Gary Collins in an ex-Holden Racing Team VL Commodore who won the Sunday CoolDrive Challenge feature race.

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MotorSportLegends

SANDOWN! at Sandown for the next five years.

The VHRR’s next big historic meeting will be the Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport from March 18-20, which is expected to again attract an entry of more than 500 racing sports and touring cars, including more than 30 ‘big banger’ sports cars from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

The one and only road-going ‘homologation’ version of the 1998 Le Mans winning 911 GT1 was one of three cars brought out from the Porsche Museum in Germany.

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25

HISTORIC FEATURE STORY BY BRIAN REED; PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHERYL REID

A TIME FOR CELE There is always something special to celebrate at the Goodwood Revival and 2010 was no exception.

RAF Westhampnett (or Goodwood as we know it) was a key British air force base in days gone by, and today remains the only former World War II airfield still in use in the south of England.

2010 also marked the 50th anniversary of legendary racing driver John Surtees’ first race at Goodwood Motor Circuit.

It was Ken Tyrrell who first recognised the young motorcycle champion’s potential and offered him a drive in his Cooper BMC. Tyrrell’s eye for talent saw the newcomer qualify his car on front row of the grid first time out; a new British star was on the horizon.

John Surtees, the only man to ever win world championships on both two and four wheels, was a special guest at this year’s Revival.

There was yet another landmark to entertain the fans. On September 30, 1950, almost 60 years to the day, Britain’s great new hope, the V16 BRM scored its first victory at the

26

MotorSportLegends

John Surtees, the only man ever to win world championships on both two and four wheels, was a very special guest at this year’s Revival.

British Automobile Racing Club’s international meeting at Goodwood.

In pouring rain, Reg Parnell brought home the 1.5-litre, 16-cylinder screamer ahead of the field in the Woodcote Cup and followed up with another win in the Goodwood Trophy.

Naturally, BRMs featured strongly at this year’s carnival.

A number of these iconic Goodwood races are still contested today, and the latest Goodwood Trophy, race one

on the three-day program, was won by Mark Gillies (ERA A-type R3A) at 142.42kph (naturally, speeds were recorded in miles per hour!).

Australia’s Bob Harborow drove the famous Maybach Mk1 in this event.

Although the emphasis is on fun, both on and off the track, the racing was spirited and keenly contested.

Take, for instance, the RAC Tourist Trophy, a one-hour race run in two halves where only half a second separated the first three cars during the second scrap. The field included Ferraris, Cobras, Aston Martins, Lister Jags, lightweight E-Types with drivers of the ilk of Richard Attwood, Christian Horner, Jochen Mass, Rauno Aaltonen, David Hobbs, Emanuelo Pirro, John Fitzpatrick, Gerhard Berger, Brian Redman and Derek Bell.

Our own Vern Schuppan shared a 1964 Sunbeam Lister Tiger with Tony Eckford, but overall honours went to the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO/64

of Jean-Marc Gounon and Peter Hardman at more than 153kph.

As the spotlight was very much on BRM, it was fitting that the Englishman Attwood in the Historic Team BRM P261 should win the Glover Trophy for 1.5-litre Grand Prix and Tasman cars that raced between 1961 and 1965.

BRM also tasted success in the Richmond Trophy when Gary Pearson’s Type 25 led home the ingenious fourwheel-drive Ferguson of Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams and the Ferrari 246 Dino of Richard Attwood.

The St Mary’s Trophy is one of the feature events on the program and is run as two 25minute races for production saloon cars of a type that raced between 1950 and 1959.

“Of a type” is the key here – more like old Sports Sedans in our language. Stove hot Morris Minors, Standard Vanguards, Austins, Anglias and Jags made up the field along with oddball entries such as a

E BRATION! Czech Tatra 603 with massive exhaust pipes, a Russian Gaz Volga M21 for Paul Radisich and a Borgward Isabella TS for Vern Schuppan.

Part one went to Tom Kristensen, the only man to win Le Mans eight times, driving a 1956 Austin A95 Westminster, but it was ex-Formula 1 ace Martin Brundle who scored the fastest lap in his 1957 1293cc Austin A35.

It was a real who’s who of international motorsport identities, and after scoring runs in Lord March’s celebrity cricket match, the versatile Jim Richards piloted a 1959 Morris Minor to 12th place in round one.

On aggregate times with car owner Russell Martin, his appropriately painted black ‘Morrie’ was finally classified ninth overall.

Australia was also represented in the Gordon Trophy, a 20-minute dash for intercontinental Formula and F1 cars that raced between 1954 and 1961.

Scotty Taylor, who now spends six months of the year racing in Europe, was having a first outing in his 1961 Lotus 18 powered by a 1.5-litre Coventry Climax engine.

His car (chassis #917) was one of four consecutively numbered 18s built by Lotus for the UDT Laystall Team for drivers such as Chris Allison, Innes Ireland and Masten Gregory.

Stirling Moss also practiced in one of the cars. Scotty experienced gear selection problems in practice but performed

Billy Fiske’s Bentley leads the parade of ‘the few’.

Lord March describes Tony Gaze, pictured being interviewed, as “Goodwood’s Godfather”.

better in the race.

Fellow Aussie Richard Longes was having his first drive at Goodwood and approached things cautiously in his 1960 Cooper Climax T43.

Things didn’t go quite to plan for Australia’s motorcycle ace, Wayne Gardner.

The dual world 500cc champion has dominated the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy race in recent years and although he qualified strongly, his BSA Gold Star was sidelined with mechanical problems when it mattered most. A pity, but he’ll be back next year.

During his illustrious career, special guest John Surtees OBE won seven world championships on motorcycles

before turning his attention to four-wheel racing. He excelled in this discipline as well, winning the World Driver’s Championship for Ferrari in 1964 – a unique achievement in the annals of motorsport.

Many of Surtees’ motorcycles (MV Augustas, Nortons, Hondas and others) were trotted out for the parade laps in his honour.

The spotlight was also on BRM, celebrating 60 years of the ‘Beasts from Bourne’.

After a less than auspicious start, BRM went on to become a major force in Formula 1, winning the World Driver’s Championship in 1962 with Graham Hill as well as the Manufacturer’s Championship.

Of the 53 known BRMs to still exist, Goodwood hosted some 40 of them at the Revival. Some raced, while others took part in the static displays and parade laps, including the ear-splitting V16s.

Of all the support events on the three-day program, none was more significant than the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and remembrance of ‘the few’. Lord March, a stickler for detail, gathered together nine of the remaining fighter pilots who flew from RAF Westhampnett in 1940 and orchestrated a magnificent tribute in their honour.

The greatest accolades to ‘the few’ were reserved for Squadron Leader Tony Gaze, the highly decorated Australian WWII fighter pilot who Lord March described as “Goodwood’s godfather”.

After all, it was Tony Gaze who was instrumental in the establishment of Goodwood Motor Circuit once hostilities ceased, and he, along with his wife Diana, were special guests of honour at the 2010 Revival.

Plans are already underway for the 2011 event, and according to Lord March “the E-Type only race and special track display honouring 100 years since Fangio’s birth also promise to be truly special”.

Your plans should also be underway if you aim to be part of the fun. You need to purchase tickets in advance as 2010, like other years, was a sellout.

The 2011 Goodwood Revival meeting will be held from September 16–18.

MotorSportLegends

27

HISTORIC FEATURE STORY BY BRIAN REED; PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHERYL REID

A DAUNTING CHALLENGE Motorsport Legends’ historic expert takes on Spa Francorchamps…

A surprise meeting with globetrotter Scotty Taylor at the 2010 Phillip Island Classic meeting led me (still in a daze) to Belgium in September.

His offer was to share his 1955 Cooper ‘Bobtail’ in a one-hour race at one of the greatest of all circuits – Spa Francorchamps.

The 7004-metre mountain circuit shares some characteristics with Mt Panorama.

Both have uphill and downhill sections and both can serve up fickle weather conditions.

Long straights are features of both, but while Conrod Straight is downhill, Kemmel out of Eau Rouge is uphill with a blind corner at the top.

Other differences? Well, Spa is one kilometre longer than Bathurst, runs clockwise as opposed to the Mount Panorama circuit’s anticlockwise direction, and is one of the world’s best Formula 1 locations.

The Six-Hour Endurance Race was the feature event on the September 24-26 program.

More than 100 pre-1965 touring and GT entries were received, ranging from Ford GTs, Porsches and Astons to Alfas, Cortinas and Minis.

A daylight start at 4pm meant the race ran through until 10pm.

I’d only ever heard or read about Spa. The new F1 infrastructure is spectacular and on different levels nestled in mountainous, dense forest.

It’s state-of-the-art stuff with magnificent viewing 28

MotorSportLegends

Above: Brian ‘Brique’ Reed in action at Spa. Left: The Australian national anthem was played for Victorian Laurie Bennett, who won the under two-litre open wheeler race.

areas from the restaurants and grandstands and fully equipped pits meeting the highest world standards.

Outside, parked wheel to wheel, were rows of massive transporters and Pantecs that would do justice to any V8 Supercar circus. There’s some very serious money tied up in European historic racing.

Arriving on Thursday before the meeting enabled me to do a few exploratory laps in a friend’s road car for a fee of 50 Euros (by the way, the entry fee for our race was 845 pounds sterling).

What a daunting experience next day! Making it even more so was going out to practice in

a car I’d never seen before, on a track that presents big, big challenges. And adding to the drama, it was raining.

There were 50 pre-1961 Sports and GT cars entered for the Stirling Moss Trophy, a one-hour race for two drivers, or one driver making a compulsory pit stop.

As Scotty was competing in the following race in his Cooper T53, he did the first stint in the Bobtail before handing it over to me for the second half hour.

Fortunately the track dried out for our race, run in seven classes. Our car was in Class C1 for under 1500cc cars with drum brakes.

In dry conditions we improved our times by a massive 39 seconds per lap, and managed a fourth place in class.

They might be old cars, but they are still quick, with the fastest lap in our race going to McIntyre’s Jaguar Lister

‘Knobbly’ at 146.852kph.

England’s Phillip Wright was outright winner in his two-litre Lotus 15.

What I particularly liked about Spa was the fast, flowing nature of the track. It is challenging and cannot be learnt easily, and after a half hour stint in the Bobtail it was disappointing to come through the final chicane, look along the finishing straight and see the chequered flag.

I could have stayed out there forever, but what a privilege to at least have 30 minutes of racing on this world-renowned circuit!

The visit was further enhanced by the wonderful hospitality of the Historic Grand Cars Association.

Apart from the opportunity to meet so many like-minded motorsport buffs, we were treated to some first class catering and enjoyable company as well as a huge tent to shelter from the elements.

Making the Spa experience even more memorable was hearing the Australian national anthem played when Victorian driver Laurie Bennett took the honours in the under two-litre open wheeler race.

Driving his Australian built Elfin 600B, Laurie drove brilliantly in the rain and has now finished on the podium at Spa at every appearance.

He loves the track, but now reckons it’s time to give Spa away while his reputation is intact!

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WEBB OF

Intrigue Mick Webb remembers the good old days before mobile phone cameras when what went on tour stayed on tour.

W

hen a leading sportsman hits the headlines following a night on the town, I can’t help thinking about past times in my motorsport career.

Had today’s mobile phone/camera technology been around during the ’70s and ’80s, a lot of drivers and crew members would have had a lot of questions to answer.

It was a different era where everybody partied. I distinctly remember the first interstate race meeting I went to. It was at Warwick Farm with the Stillwell team – we were running the Formula Ford and the little Escort.

On the Saturday after practice we all went across the road to the Grand Hotel. I can still see KB (Kevin Bartlett), Max Stewart, all the big time Formula 5000 drivers. Norm Beechey, Bob Jane, Jim McKeon… everyone was over there having a beer. Even Moffat would socialise at different times. It was the done thing to get on the booze on a Saturday night and roll up again at the track on Sunday morning.

The writing was on the wall though when Bob Jane introduced breath testing at the Thunderdome.

I remember going to a drivers’ briefing when I was racing my HQ Holden and Al Basnight testing me at 8am in the morning. I had to wait around and drink a lot of coffee and then take another test because we’d been out for dinner the

night before and we’d had a skinful. That was part of the deal back then.

Today it’s a much different thing.

V8 Supercar drivers don’t even drink; they are like elite footballers. They don’t drink during the season and if they do it’s seven days before a race meeting so it is totally out of their system when the meeting begins. They have dieticians and things like that, which we had none of.

Interestingly, Jim Richards, Peter Brock, Colin Bond, Beechey and Moffat are still rated better than the drivers of today but they lived a normal life. They didn’t go to gyms and have dieticians or anything like that Not all of the questionable behaviour involved drinking. I distinctly remember one time when we went to the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix, which was run in the car park of Caesar’s Palace casino.

We decided if we ever got lost we would meet in this bar in Caesar’s Palace. There was a bunch of guys from Australia there and an old mate I was with ended up with a ‘Miss World’ hanging off each arm.

We sat down and had a few drinks with them, and later we all had lunch.

I leaned over to him and said, “You do

realise these aren’t nice little Christian girls, these are girls of the night and they are going to want to be paid”. He replied, “What are you talking about.

They came up to talk to me, they are nice girls.”

He was so naive he thought they were your everyday pickups. Well, let me tell you, they weren’t and they wanted plenty.

Fisticuffs were never far away, either.

Pat Purcell, who worked for Bob Jane at the time, used to play with Moffat’s mind and you always wondered where it would end up.

We had to block Moffat’s vision of Pat at different times on the dummy grid because he would do a number on Moffat by glaring at him.

Pat had a go at Moffat once at Warwick Farm after Allan had run into Bob and spun him off the track. Pat was ready to punch up Moffat over it and probably a lot of people wished he had have but we were always there to protect him.

We always laughed about it afterwards when we would go to Kings Cross for a booze up and a game of pool. It was all fun and everybody played the game.

– Mick Webb

“YOU DO REALISE THESE AREN’T NICE LITTLE CHRISTIAN GIRLS, THESE ARE GIRLS OF THE NIGHT AND THEY ARE GOING TO WANT TO BE PAID… ” MotorSportLegends

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ROBBIE FRANCEVIC

A KIWI IN A SWEDISH TAXI

The 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship saw New Zealander Robbie Francevic become a household name throughout Australia and in his own country as he clinched the prestigious national title at the wheel of an extremely potent Volvo 240 Turbo.

STORY GRANT NICHOLAS; PHOTOGRAPHS AUTOPICS.COM.AU

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n intriguing, brash and somewhat outspoken Kiwi, Robert (Robbie) Francevic, ventured across the Tasman in early ’85 and became an instant hit with race fans, circuit promoters and series television broadcaster Network Seven. Almost immediately Francevic’s ‘Swedish Taxi’ generated a love-hate relationship with the touring car fans as it disposed of the booming V8s and other associated high technology machines.

Nearly two decades earlier in Auckland, Francevic and some friends designed and constructed a homebuilt race car, which went on to win the 1967 All-comers Saloon Car Championship series. Their ‘Colour Me Gone’ Custaxie was a hybrid

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1955 Ford Customline body powered by a great thumping 427 cubic-inch (sevenlitre) V8 engine out of a Ford Galaxie; Francevic dominated the series by winning 23 races in a row.

“Paul Fahey had imported a Shelby Ford Mustang and we beat him so then he put a lot of pressure on the powers-tobe stating that our cars were too dangerous and we should be racing in improved production style cars like his,” Francevic explained.

“So after his successful lobbying the rules were changed and our Custaxie was ineligible to race, so that saw me move to the United States of America to race.

In the late sixties I lived in Toledo, Ohio, and I raced up and down the coast in

stockcars, as we weren’t allowed to take money out of New Zealand. I needed to race to allow me to raise enough funds so I could purchase and take a Ford Fairlane 500 with a 427 engine back to Auckland and I achieved that goal.”

Francevic did not have FIA homologation for the Fairlane so he could not race it when he sent it to New Zealand.

“So the English and American FIA delegates stayed in Paris over the Christmas period until the car was eventually homologated for us and others to race around the world in other series; until then it just sat in the workshop,” he said.

“During life you experience ups and downs and this was one of them. I was told as a driver I was not allowed to work

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ROBBIE FRANCEVIC

Francevic won 23 races in a row and took out the 1967 All-comers Saloon Car Championship Series in the hybrid Custaxie but the car was banned from competing the next year.

on the race car, the mechanics miscalculated the static compression of the engine so we were running about 16 to 1 compression which was way too high.

Every time I ventured on to the track the engine would blow the head gaskets, they tried various makes of head gaskets and with the same result after only one lap. As we weren’t allowed to run on any tracks earlier due to the homologation hiccup, we were developing, testing and attempting to rectify the problem as we raced the car over our six-week racing period. You left Auckland just after Christmas and travelled around the country trying to race and get the engine running properly, which was a disaster as we were unable to show the true potential of that car.”

Francevic got married and took a break from motor racing except to compete in the annual long distance events in Ford Falcon GTHOs and a selection of Holden Toranas.

“Then in the ‘70s I successfully campaigned a Holden Commodore in the Production Castrol GTX Series and 34

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Touring Car Championship for Group A race cars.

“In those days Volvo hierarchy in Sweden never sold a factory car to any racers, but Mark must have got them in a weak moment as he convinced them to sell a Volvo 240 Turbo Group A to him.

“The car arrived in New Zealand very late, just before the Wellington 500, and Mark didn’t get an opportunity to test drive it so I was entered in the car along with Belgian driver Michele Delcourt.

We won and that rekindled my racing career again.” contested the 1972 Tasman Formula Petch and Francevic have been friends 5000 Series in a McLaren M10A, which for most of their lives. was a terrible handling car, however I per“He had a little performance car worksevered with it and was the best finishing shop and he was racing a Datsun 1600 New Zealander in the series,” he said. and I was running a Datsun 1200 and I Some years earlier Francevic won the assisted him with suspension setup and first single-seater race he contested. other bits,” Francevic remembered.

“The car was a Formula Junior previ“When leading Australian driver ously owned and raced successfully by Frank Matich brought a SR4 sportscar Englishman Roy James, who was one of over from Sydney to race locally Mark the Great Train Robbers in the early ’60s,” measured it up while it was in his shop. he explained.

When Matich returned home he told me Francevic was approached late in 1984 he would build a sportscar for me to race. to help out fellow New Zealander Mark They worked tirelessly to get it ready for Petch, which ended up reigniting his me to race. Mark claimed he was lusting driving career. over my sister Anna and that is how we “He came to me and mentioned that met – every young fella in the area was he was in the process of purchasing a lusting over her.”

Rover 3500 Vitesse from Tom WalkinAfter their Wellington success shaw and would I help him get the car Francevic suggested to Petch that they to speed and with his driving,” Francevic should race the car in Australia. said.

“So we headed across to Melbourne’s “He was experiencing difficulties in Sandown Raceway for the second round getting the car from Walkinshaw so I of the 1985 Australian Touring Car suggested that he get a Volvo as they Championship and straight away we were beating the Rovers in the European were experiencing problems with the

Francevic won at both Amaroo (left) which is his favourite circuit and Symmons Plains (above) in 1986 which helped him secure that year’s Australian Touring Car Championship but the Volvo 240 Turbo he shared with John Bowe at the 1985 Bathurst 1000 (below) failed to finish. Francevic said the team later showed favouritism towards Bowe and so he left to drive Ford Sierras.

suspension set-up,” he said.

“Allan Grice’s mechanic Les Small gave us some springs, but they were not right and the suspension was rock solid. I just couldn’t get the car to work and ended up finishing the race in sixth spot.”

Francevic recalled his discomfort with the result.

“After loudmouthing and telling everyone back home that I was going to beat the Aussies on their track I was embarrassed by our performance,” he elaborated.

“When I boarded the plane for the flight home I told my wife and crew that it would never happen again. The next round of the series was at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania and we had the correct springs in the car and we went on to score our first touring car series victory.

“We won the final round at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway and that placed me fifth overall in the series that was won by fellow Kiwi racer Jim Richards in a JPS Team BMW 635CSi. In those days Volvo provided us with a station wagon and so much money per meeting and that allowed us to contest the races.”

Several months into the ’86 series a number of changes took place within the Kiwi-based team. Petch sold his righthand drive 240T and equipment to the newly formed Volvo Dealer Team. US lubricant company Valvoline provided the majority of the funding for the team and the national Volvo dealer network provided a $100 levy for each new car sold.

Round four at Adelaide’s International Raceway saw Tasmanian open wheeler star John Bowe at the wheel of the team’s

second 240T and the plan was to secure the touring car title before winning The Great Race at Mount Panorama for the Swedish manufacturer.

“Mark ran the team at Sydney’s Amaroo Raceway and at Symmons Plains where we won on each occasion, then the Volvo Dealer Team was debuted but with John Sheppard as team manager and not Mark calling the shots,” Francevic said.

“Sheppard was the greatest builder of old production cars where everything had to be homologated, but our Group A race cars were centred around ongoing development. We were advised that we were allowed to alter the engine’s air box, so I rushed into the race shop and said to Sheppo that we were on a winner as turbocharged engines just love really cool air racing into them. He would not touch or develop the air box induction system

within the regulations; instead we had the most beautifully prepared cars on the grid but with an engine that would detonate all of the time.”

Francevic said the cylinder head had to be removed and welded prior to being machined.

“In the end we had six cylinder heads being cycled through the shop,” he recalled.

“Despite many pleas from me the cylinder heads were all machined identically instead of having different heads to suit the characteristics of the various tracks that we were racing on where some required more down low power and etcetera.”

Francevic said the arrival of John Bowe made it harder to work within the team dynamic.

“When John Bowe came on board it

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ROBBIE FRANCEVIC

The Tony Longhurst/Tomas Mezera Sierra (leading in picture) went on to win the 1988 Bathurst 1000 but the Robbie Francevic/Armin Hahne Sierra DNFed (second in picture).

was the whole team against me plus I wasn’t getting on with Sheppo because our two cars were not getting faster and I wanted to win all of the races,” he said.

“At the debriefs I’d ask for a stiffer sway bar, then go to the car in readiness for the next session and the bar would not be changed, only to be told that John wanted to try it on his car. In the end I had to play the team politics game as that was the only way I could get any changes done to my car.”

Francevic claims he requested 17 or 18-inch wheels during the season.

“They would provide us with a bigger footprint and the tyres to suit were readily available,” he explained.

“The response was no, no, no. Despite all of this I took out the title over the turbocharged Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Skyline of George Fury. We headed off to the Castrol Sandown 500 endurance race and John’s car that he is sharing with Alfredo Costanzo has 17-inch wheels fitted to it.

“I mentioned that it was my idea and was promptly told that they were just trying them on the other car.”

Francevic knew Bowe’s car would be significantly faster than his own.

“They gave me Kiwi open wheeler racer Graeme McRae as my co-driver and he was eight seconds slower; I had no show of being competitive and that’s when the blow-up started,” he said.

“Unbeknown to anyone else Mark had rung and mentioned that he had purchased one of Andy Rouse’s turbocharged Ford Sierras and he would 36

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guarantee me pole position at the forthcoming James Hardie Bathurst 1000 if I left the Volvo team.

“I went up to Volvo’s corporate suite in the grandstand and advised them of the problems I was experiencing as we had the prettiest cars, the best team uniforms and transporter but the cars weren’t developed and would not win either of the two major endurance races - I blamed Sheppo one hundred per cent. While I was with the Volvo executives, Sheppo was holding a press conference telling everyone that he had sacked me.

“Volvo encountered a disastrous two enduros with only the second car finishing eleventh at the 1000 race. Leo Leonard shared the Sierra XR4Ti with me at Bathurst; we missed gaining pole due to clearance problem with a rear hub that caused it to lockup (but) it was a very quick car that was capable of winning the great race.”

Looking back on the better times, Francevic said he had a “tremendous” amount of fun and success when he raced in Australia.

“I remember a drivers meeting at Lakeside International Raceway in Queensland where Dick Johnson

(Palmer Tube Mills Ford Mustang) was complaining to Peter Brock (Mobil Holden Dealer Team Commodore) and the rest of us about the slow cars in the field getting in our way,” he said.

“I stood up and said that we are not race drivers, we are entertainers, if you want to be a race driver go out and get yourself a Formula car because that is race driving. We are tin-top drivers and we’re here to entertain the fans and the television viewers and all of us in the field are entertainers.

“The midfielders and backmarkers used to help me at times, as I was often able to slip past them and establish a gap over my pursuers; we were all out there racing hard and chasing success.”

Francevic agreed the competition was strong and the drivers had to work hard to be successful.

“Allan Grice (Chickadee Chicken Holden Commodore) was a hard driver; we had a lot of contact and moments over the time,” he said.

“The driver I respected the most was Peter Brock as he was a good driver plus of course Jim Richards. I remember when Peter finished racing V8 Supercars, he explained that every time he pulled into the pits all of the car’s data was downloaded on to a laptop computer and they would tell him when he was to brake, change his racing line or made a little error exiting a corner.

“He mentioned that he was far happier and faster by driving by the seat of his pants after he had established his own race package – for him the fun had started to go out of racing.”

Francevic often gets asked what his favourite Australian circuit was.

“And it was Amaroo Park just out of Sydney,” he said.

“It was a great tight little track, up over the hill through a fast series of corners and down next to a concrete wall at a hell of a rate – sensational stuff.

“Several race meetings before Amaroo we had been at Melbourne’s

“I STOOD UP AND SAID THAT WE ARE NOT RACE DRIVERS, WE ARE ENTERTAINERS, IF YOU WANT TO BE A RACE DRIVER GO AND GET YOURSELF A FORMULA CAR.”

Calder Park Raceway and I was leading but had chosen the wrong tyres and started to drop off the pace. I noticed that Jim (Richards) was behind me and I could trust him, so I hung the tail of the Volvo out and the next thing there was a solid hit into the right rear corner – that was my race and I dropped back through the pack.

“At Amaroo I roared down the hill into Mazda corner and out of there on the right hand side and I just didn’t give it full throttle allowing Jim to come down the left of me (thinking) I’m going to get him back and fix him up.

“We came into the right-hander together side-by-side and we slowed that much that we had to select low gear.

“In the end I selected first gear to accelerate out of the corner. It may have been four race meetings later but he had not forgotten; after the race we laughed together and said we were square.

“It was fun racing as we didn’t deliberately push cars into the walls or damage the cars.”

Francevic now spends his time

The

developing cars and helping with driver training. “One of my protégés, young Andre Cowan, recently won the NZGT championship and another series against cars miles quicker and that was quite pleasing,” he beamed.

“I’m also evaluating the possibility of

venturing back to Australia in 2011 to run in the Touring Car Masters series against the likes of Jim Richards, John Bowe and Andrew Miedecke. Hopefully I’ll be able to put a package together that will allow me to start winning races over there once again.” MSL

Classic

Phillip Island 18th 19th & 20th March 2011 www.vhrr.com

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CALDER PARK AGPs

BOB’S DREAM While the Australian Grand Prix gained world championship status in 1985 with the inaugural running of the Formula One race around the streets of Adelaide, the AGP has a history that goes back to the late 1920s, and includes an interesting period at Calder Park in the early 1980s.

STORY BY TONY WHITLOCK; PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU

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n 1980 Alan Jones won the F1 World Championship putting Australia back on the international motor racing map that it had largely slid off since Jack Brabham’s retirement in 1970. Just six weeks after taking his first and Australia’s fourth Grand Prix title, Jones came back home to Melbourne to celebrate winning four Grands Prix and the championship that year.

The sequence of events and races that followed no doubt led in part to Australia becoming a regular part of the F1 World Championship from 1985 until 2015 at least.

It was a race at Calder on November 16, 1980 between Jones in his championship winning Williams Ford FW07 and Bruno Giacomelli in a works Alfa 38

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Romeo 179 against a horde of F5000s, including F1 regular Didier Pirioni in an Elfin MR8 and several of the recently introduced Formula Pacific cars, that was a precursor to the Australian Grand Prix becoming a full-time part of the F1 Grand Prix calendar and the season opener in Adelaide from ‘85 until 1995. The Adelaide race was book-ended by Williams drivers with Keke Rosberg (Williams FW10/Honda) taking out the inaugural race and Damon Hill (Williams FW17/Renault) the final.

In mid-1980 Bob Jane, owner of the original 1.6-kilometre Calder flat track situated just 33 kilometres from the current home of the AGP at Albert Park, was in touch with the son of his old friend Stan Jones to discuss an idea.

Bob explained how that first AGP at Calder happened. “Stan and I were great mates years earlier and when Alan was doing so well in the World Championship that year I contacted him to see if he could come and race at Calder at the end of the year. Alan had worked for me years before at South Yarra Car Sales so I knew him pretty well. He won the championship and was delighted to come home to race.

We paid for Frank Williams to bring the actual car and crew that Alan won the championship with back here.

“The idea for the AGP to run at Calder was born from a meeting that John Sawyer, who ran Calder then for me, had with CAMS following the Sandown meeting in 1978. The Grand Prix ran that year at 11am before the

Top: Ralt cars dominated all four Calder AGP races (clockwise) Nelson Piquet, Alan Jones and John Bowe. Bottom from left: Peter Williamson crashes his Toleman in the 1981 Calder AGP and Alf Costanzo in a Lola T430 in 1980.

“HAVING THOSE RACES AT CALDER CHANGED MOTOR RACING HERE DRAMATICALLY. THE NUMBERS CHANGED FOR SPONSORS IN THAT YOU COULD ADD ANOTHER COUPLE OF ZEROS ON A SPONSORSHIP DEAL …” touring car races and CAMS was embarrassed with this. They wanted Calder to run the AGP as a national freestanding event.

“Having those races at Calder changed motor racing here dramatically. The numbers changed for sponsors in that you could add another couple of zeros on a sponsorship deal,” said

Bob Jane on the impact of the Calder AGPs. “During meetings I had with Bernie Ecclestone including at Monaco and Detroit he made me aware that without government support an international F1 race couldn’t happen at Calder. I had tried to get John Cain, (the then Victoria Premier) interested

but knew that it wouldn’t happen here.

I threw my weight behind getting the race to Adelaide. In fact I took several of the F1 drivers, including Rosberg and Laffite over there to promote a future race. To this day Bernie is always very warm towards me as the races here (at Calder) opened up people in Australia to the idea of an Australian F1 race.”

Mal Hemmerling, who in 1985 was the CEO of the Adelaide-based Australian Grand Prix Corporation, said: “If Bob Jane hadn’t run the AGP at Calder we never would have got the AGP to Adelaide!”

Jane played a large part in the race coming both to Australia and Adelaide in particular. In November of 1983 Bob Jane discussed with John Bannon ❯ MotorSportLegends

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CALDER PARK AGPs

and the SA Government an involvement with them in organising an inaugural Adelaide AGP in 1986. Jane told of Ecclestone’s interest in coming to Adelaide and that while SA Premier John Bannon went to talk to Bernie in London about holding the race in the SA Jubilee Celebration year of 1986, it was in fact FOCA’s desire to race there in 1985. This was of course what happened with the Adelaide GP setting new standards in organisation and introducing things such as proper corporate hospitality. The SA GP Board won multiple F1 and tourism awards for their event setting the benchmark for many years to come. This still happens today with every street race in both the V8 Supercar schedule as well as a good number of F1 events looking to Adelaide on how to do it. You’ll find management from some world race at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide each year watching on. Several from the Singapore GP attended Adelaide’s 2010 V8 Supercar event.

The Australian Grand Prix ran with

the F5000 category for 10 years and for the AGP Calder debut in 1980 it was a combination of 3-litre World Championship F1 cars, F5000s and the recently introduced 1.6-litre Formula Pacific cars that formed the 20 car field.

From 1981 to 1984 the AGP cars were the production-based four cylinder engines of Formula Pacific/Mondial that saw Calder become the test case for a field of international drivers competing against Australian drivers with the same equipment for the first time.

The five AGPs at Calder would become only the second occasion in the 49-year history of the AGP that the race had been run more than twice consecutively at the same track. The Australian Grand Prix is the second oldest grand prix in the world starting in 1928 at Phillip Island, behind just the French GP. Jane told of how Greg ‘Pee Wee’ Siddle became involved in putting together these incredibly competitive grids. “Pee Wee had a big role in getting the drivers for the ‘81 race. We

“THOSE FOUR RACES WERE THE HARDEST RACES WE HAD IN THE WORLD …”

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also had connections through being Kleber agents to get Jacques Laffite so we knew that we could get some top names to race here. We leased cars from Graham Watson to provide and prep them with Siddle also involved in the deal.”

Siddle had been in England since ‘71 running Geoff Brabham in F3 and later Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno. As part of the British series he had been involved with both Ron Tauranac and Larry Perkins. He had been a manager for Piquet for a number of years and managed Roberto Moreno as well as Brazilian Max Wilson in recent times.

Siddle told Motorsport Legends of how he became involved with the Calder races. “Bob ( Jane) wanted to continue with the GP at his track but it was going to have to be Formula Pacific. He wanted Nelson to race but not Roberto. It was the first of a number of successful business deals I did with Bob.” The deals that Siddle and Jane

combined to work on included the ‘85 Schnitzer BMW 635 which Jonny Cecotto and Roberto Ravaglia drove to second place at Bathurst and then was driven so wonderfully on the streets of Adelaide by Gerhard Berger. Siddle also managed the Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche 956 run for Larry Perkins and Peter Brock in ‘84.

So the AGP events at Calder had all the elements necessary for success.

A strong field of drivers with equal equipment and while it was not a challenging track, it was at least one where spectators could see all the cars for all 100 laps. “Those four races were the hardest races we had in the world,” Siddle said.

“Some very hungry and capable Australian drivers like ( John) Bowe and (Alf ) Costanzo as well as a bunch of tough guys like Oxton, Steve Millen and Dave McMillan from New Zealand. With a 40 second lap it made it extremely difficult to win. Bob running those races gave Adelaide the imagination to put on their own grand prix. ❯

Above: John Bowe (Elfin MR8) leads the pack.

Right: Geoff Brabham (Ralt RT4) finished the 1981 race in third. Below: Mike Quinn (Galloway) tries to attack the might of Nelson Piquet (Ralt RT4) in 1981 while Ray Hanger (March 77B) fights off Andrew Miedecke (RT4). Far left (clockwise from top): Rob Buthcher (Lola T332) and Vern Schuppan (Tiga CA80); Bowe and Peter Middleton (Elfin MR8C); Bruno Giacomelli (Alfa Romeo).

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CALDER PARK AGPs

In those days of course there were very few street circuits. Once Adelaide was run plenty of other cities thought they could do it as well.”

With TV coverage by Seven and good gate takings there were plenty of things to like about a Calder AGP. The racing was the cream with plenty of hungry young men trying to unsettle the stars to make a name for themselves.

For 1981 the inaugural Calder AGP field of 21 drivers included three current F1 drivers, Jacques Laffite, Alan Jones and Nelson Piquet, the last two of them World Champions. From the USA, our own Geoff Brabham was back fresh from a Can-Am Championship joining other Australian internationals such as Bruce Allison and Andrew Miedecke as well as David Oxton from New Zealand and Ray Mallock from the UK. Another 10 local drivers raced, with Larry Perkins finishing the best of them in fourth place. Brazilian Roberto Moreno won the race from pole position setting the fastest lap on the way to beat home

Clockwise from above: Alan Jones at the 1981 race in a Ralt RT4, a battle of the RT4s between Allen Berg and Alan Jones in 1983, Alfie Costanzo tries his luck in a Tiga FA83 in 1983 and Peter Brock looks on Alan Jones who is again in a trusty Ralt RT4 at the 1983 Australian Grand Prix.

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Piquet in second and Brabham in third.

In ‘82 it was a very similar field with five-time Grand Prix winner Alain Prost joining fellow GP drivers Piquet, Laffite and Jones along with the ‘81 AGP winner Roberto Moreno. From New Zealand came Dave McMillan, Paul Radisich and Graham Watson to add to the 18 Australian drivers including the multiple Gold Star winner, Alfredo Costanzo, John Bowe, Andrew Miedecke, John Smith, Lucio Cesario and Charlie O’Brien. This time it was Prost who swept clean the race winning the 100 lapper from pole, taken with a 39.18 second lap while Jacques Laffite set a new lap record of 39.62 seconds.

By the time the fourth AGP was run at Calder in ’83, the field again had Jones and Laffite leading the entries with the ’81 AGP Champion Roberto Moreno back to again reclaim his title.

From New Zealand Brett Riley came, joining Radisich and Oxton. Adding flavour to the field was Canadian Allen Berg and Mexican Josele Garza.

Moreno made it two from three at-

tempts winning from pole with John Smith getting the best result for a local in the five races with second in front of Laffite, Geoff Brabham and Jones.

The last year of the Grand Prix at Calder in ‘84 saw four F1 drivers make their Australian debut with three time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda (having just been crowned for the 1984 title) and 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg joined by the 1984 Ligier F1 team pair of Andrea de Cesaris and Francois Hesnault. It was certainly a class field with two-time winner Roberto Moreno again doing the job taking his third AGP and again from pole position. Lauda showed his speed by setting the fastest lap albeit just before he retired on lap 41.

Talking now with drivers from those four extraordinary Formula Pacific AGPs from 25 years ago, they all remarked on how for the first time they were on equal footing equipment-wise. No excuses were needed or could be used with common chassis, engines and tyres used by all. All four Calder AGPs were won by Ralt

RT4s and all the pole positions were also done in RT4s. All 12 podiums in those four years were taken by Ralts along with 18 of the possible top 20 places and 35 of the top 40 places. The highest non-Ralt grid position was taken by Alfredo Costanzo putting his Peter Jackson sponsored Tiga FA83 in second on the grid in ’83 but retiring after 25 laps. He also took the best race place for a non-Ralt driver in fourth in ’84.

When speaking to a number of these drivers, it is immediately apparent that for each of them it was a very special race at Calder. John Bowe remembers racing amongst these competitive fields.

“For the first time we could gauge ourselves against the best in the world,” he said.

“It was terrific for John (Smith), Charlie (O’Brien), Andy (Miedecke) and of course Alfie (Costanzo) who was a fantastic driver; probably the best I raced against.” Similarly John Smith has great memories of that period and felt he was on a level playing field.

ALL FOUR CALDER AGP RACES WERE WON BY RALT RT4S AND ALL THE POLE POSITIONS WERE ALSO DONE IN RT4S. “Those Calder races gave us a chance to race against current F1 drivers in European style racing - they were all goers and were the cream of single-seater racing from around the world. Each year I was there I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. We hadn’t seen such hard racing here in a long time.”

Smith started at Calder in the AGPs in 1980 running the original RT1 originally owned by David McKay for Larry Perkins and then run by Smith under the Mr Juicy banner.

Paul Radisich was one of several New Zealanders who crossed the Tasman to race at Calder and fondly remembers his debut in ‘82 as a 17-yearold running against F1 drivers.

“I ran the ex-Mike Rosen RT4 in New Zealand and then on to the Aus-

tralian Championship and then Calder.

I didn’t give it a lot of thought at the time but it was a great event to be at,” Radisich said.

David Oxton spent most of his time in the ‘70s in F5000 but when the chance came he was another who jumped into an RT4 at the Calder AGPs. “It was a very special event in that it was relaxed but you were competing amongst the world’s best drivers,” he remembered.

“It was a level playing field for a change.”

Andrew Miedecke said of those events: “It was a huge buzz racing at Calder against those guys in equal machinery. We learned that they weren’t supermen and that we were able to hold our own.” MSL

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HRT & DJR MILESTONES

THE GREAT SURVIVORS Two iconic V8 Supercar teams representing both sides of the manufacturer divide had significant anniversaries in 2010: Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) and Holden Racing Team (HRT) celebrated their 30th and 20th year anniversaries respectively, with contrasting fortunes marking their milestone years.

STORY BY ADRIAN MUSOLINO; PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU

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hile Dick Johnson Racing won the driver’s title with James Courtney, despite ownership wrangles that threatened to split the team in half and would cost them the services of Courtney for 2011, Holden Racing Team lost momentum and its Bathurst crown to new Holden rivals Triple Eight and suffered the death of team owner Tom Walkinshaw. The team also lost its share of a record, as the 2010 title meant DJR became the first team

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to score seven driver’s titles, moving one ahead of HRT. That record was fitting in its milestone year, marking DJR as arguably the greatest survivors of Australian motorsport; born out of ‘the rock’ incident at Bathurst in 1980, going on to championship and Bathurst success the following year, and surviving 30 years as a privateer team.

“It’s still the best worst thing that has ever happened to me,” said Dick Johnson on the rock. “It really was the beginning of Dick Johnson Racing.

“So many ordinary Australians had donated money to get us there.

“To come out and win in 1981, I felt we had in some way repaid their generosity.”

That generosity netted more than $70,000, helped Johnson claim the 1981 Bathurst and championship titles, and created an Australian icon.

“It just shows how you can go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in an incredibly short space of time,” Johnson said.

“IT JUST SHOWS HOW YOU CAN GO FROM THE HIGHEST OF HIGHS TO THE LOWEST OF LOWS IN AN INCREDIBLY SHORT SPACE OF TIME …”

It’s been a remarkable tale of survival, especially in recent times; from the departure of long-time major sponsor Shell and the subsequent loss of replacement sponsor Westpoint after one season and the self-funded backing of Johnson’s own business ventures, FirstRock Mortgage Centre and V8 Telecom, to the sometimes strained relationship with Ford which saw DJR lose factory funding in 2009.

Even the arrival of Jim Beam and forklift entrepreneur Charlie Schwerkolt as co-owner didn’t guarantee stability, with a very public falling out between

Johnson and Schwerkolt in the latter half of 2010 saw Schwerkolt sell his half of the team, leaving Johnson to guide it into its next era.

For what is a privateer team that doesn’t enjoy full factory support or the biggest crew in the paddock, and uses customer chassis from Triple Eight, title success is an impressive achievement in modern V8 Supercars. Despite all the hardships, DJR has not only survived but also prospered to claim its first title in the post-Shell era with Courtney.

“It’s made this championship more emotional, with all that stuff going on,”

Courtney said of the ownership wrangle.

“We all kept our head down and did it.

It’s great that a family team can still topple the giants.

“It certainly is a remarkable achievement,” Johnson said on the seventh title – the first since 1995.

“No other team has won seven driver’s titles, so that’s what can happen when you are around long enough. If you want something bad enough you can get it, is the lesson we’ve learnt in 2010 and over the 30 years,” he said.

In many ways the 2010 season typified the 30-year journey of DJR – from the hardships to the battler coming through in the end.

“It’s ironic really, given we went down to the last race of the season going for the championship like we did at Lakeside 30 years ago,” Johnson said.

“We had one point between us in 1981, but thankfully James had a few more coming into this year’s final round.

“On lap three at Lakeside in the final race my car broke the front sway bar, so I ran the whole race without it. And at the end of the day, it’s amazing what you ❯ Clockwise from top: The Tru-Blu Falcon came out second best after hitting that rock, Johnson with grid girls in 1983 and the Win Percy/Allan Grice HRT Commodore on its way to Bathurst victory in 1990.

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HRT & DJR MILESTONES

Above: Holden Racing Team was a dominant force at the start of the new millenium. At Eastern Creek in 2000 Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes shared the front row of the grid for the first race and they finished one-two.

can drive around,” he said.

Johnson held out Peter Brock on that day, winning by 0.2 seconds to claim the first of his five titles.

With Courtney departing in 2011, Steven Johnson now leads the team continuing the Johnson legacy at DJR. “Family has always been the most important thing to me and I honestly think of everyone that works for Dick Johnson Racing as part of our family – and we are a family team at heart taking on much bigger teams,” said Johnson.

That underdog battler tag is one that fits the family team well.

Upon sealing the driver’s title, Courtney compared the team’s achievement to

Dick Johnson drove the Ford Sierra with John Bowe to win Bathurst in 1989 but relied on Falcons in the earlier days. Johnson drove the XC GT with Vern Schuppan in 1978 and an XE in 1983 with Kevin Bartlett.

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“the local deli beating Woolworths”.

If DJR is the local deli, HRT represents Woolworths; with full factory backing, encompassing four cars in 2010 under the Walkinshaw Racing banner, and as the number one supported team in V8 Supercars with an army of Holden fans behind it.

But that wasn’t always the case.

When they turned up to Bathurst in 1990, their first season away from Larry Perkins’ Perkins Engineering team and the first as HRT, they were a small team, which included Wally Storey and Rob Benson, running an under-developed Commodore VL against the might of Ford’s turbocharged Sierra RS500s.

But team manager and driver Win Percy alongside co-driver Allan Grice would take the first of six Bathurst wins for the team that year, as the Fords fell by the wayside.

“Back then they only had about six full-time people working there,” said Tomas Mezera, who would drive for HRT as well as manage the team from 1992.

“Imagine how many people are working there now?

“It was completely different and you can’t compare to those early days. I remember Larry would tow the racecars by trailer to Bathurst!

“It was a different era entirely, so it was hard to compare that era to this one.

“For HRT, it’s gone a long way from those early days.”

The legend of HRT was born and there was a throwback to that era when they ran the distinctive black and white paint scheme for the 2010 rendition of the race.

Over those two decades, HRT has cemented itself as the flagship team for Holden fans. They came to dominate the sport in the 1990s and into the new millennium, scoring six driver’s titles and 164 championship race wins.

They became synonymous with Peter Brock, who joined the team in 1994 until the end of his career, and Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife, who each claimed three titles for HRT. They have become indelibly linked with Holden and its fans.

“If one team was going to hang around for the long haul, HRT was always going to be the one because it’s been great to see Holden supporting racing through the very lean times all the way through and never pulling out,” Mezera said.

“That makes a bit of a difference between the factory Holden team and Ford team, as Ford has come and gone,” he said.

While Dick Johnson is an ever-present figure in the DJR garage and the embodiment of what the team stands for, HRT has no such figure; owned by Tom Walkinshaw, conspicuous by his absence in the day-to-day running of the Walkinshaw Racing operation during his two-spell control of the team.

But according to Mezera, HRT had its own influential leader in John Crennan, one of Walkinshaw’s key personnel, who was the founding chief of HSV and Managing Director for all eight of the HRT/HSVDT V8 Supercar titles.

He is responsible for HRT’s success and longevity, not Walkinshaw.

“When I was there for around five years, the first time I saw Tom was after about three years,” Mezera said.

“It was always like that. He was always busy with his other projects and wouldn’t come down, so he would send out his lieutenants. But I barely saw him as when he did come he would do the deals and then leave.

“The bloke we all dealt with was Crennan. He was very switched on to run the

Above (clockwise from top): Peter Brock leads Craig Lowndes at Calder Park during 1996. Garth Tander and Will Davison teamed up to win Bathurst in 2009 for HRT, 13 years after Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy had dominated both the Sandown 500 (pictured) and Bathurst 1000 for the Holden factory team.

business, and all of HRT’s success isn’t down to Tom but to Crennan – and the same with HSV. “Tom did the deals with all the top brass at General Motors in the United States, but Crennan was the one who made it very successful here.”

That successful branding in conjunction with Holden and HSV distinguishes HRT from other teams. It has authenticity and a genuine connection with the brand it represents. Also, the lack of a public figurehead has made the team a better representative for Holden. Ask the fans and they will tell you HRT are the Holden team, not Walkinshaw Racing.

It is an iconic brand easily distinguishable in its red and white livery – one of the few constants in the ever-changing world of V8 Supercars.

Poaching Courtney highlights the team’s intent and pull within the industry, despite a poor season of results by their lofty standards (Garth Tander

was still fifth in the 2010 championship standings). It does, however, face uncertainty following Walkinshaw’s passing in December, with questions around the ownership of Walkinshaw Racing sure to follow.

As for Johnson, buoyed from regaining the majority share of his team, and with support from new minor partner Crimsafe, he heads into 2011 needing to show he can carry the momentum of 2010 without Courtney and Schwerkolt.

Thirty years after ‘the rock’, Johnson was still battling for survival.

“We’ve been around for 30 years and we plan to be here for 30 more,” he said.

So what is the key to his survival in such a cut-throat industry: hard-work, good luck, or persistence?

“It’s either all that or just plain stupidity,” he said.

The great survivors of V8 Supercars seem destined to march on to further milestones. MSL

Right: James Courtney on his way to winning the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship for Dick Johnson Racing.

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C

lutches are obviously vital for transferring the power from your car to the ground, but if you’re restoring your first Historic Racer how do you go about selecting the right clutch assembly?

Individual class rules in the CAMS Manual don’t specifically mention that much on clutches, so where do we start? Obviously we are dictated by the engine/gearbox combination and what is available for your car. And what you

select needs to be dependent on the torque output of your engine.

Back when your historic racer was a state-of–the-art piece of kit your choices were limited compared to modern times, and organic based clutches may well have been all that was available.

Now we have a much broader range of material options, all with slightly differing friction, heat control and wear characteristics. You must take into account though, that exotic materials

TECH TALK STORY BY MARK COOPER; PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN DOIG/TORQUE PHOTOS

SAFETY IN MOTORSPORT IS PARAMOUNT

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o your historic race car is all ready to put on the track and you’re itching to go racing, but you are still going to need some extra gear before you head on down to Phillip Island and start reeling o laps.

Your safety gear is one of the most important investments you will make when beginning racing and although it is an expensive initial purchase it may just save your life one day, so this is not the place to penny pinch. There is no way your gear can protect you from all unforseen circumstances but the better protection you have the better chance you have.

A rollcage built to CAMS speciďŹ cations is paramount and if built properly, it stiens the chassis and helps the car handle better, making it easier to control.

A proper ďŹ tting and professionally constructed seat should work in conjunction with your harness to hold you ďŹ rmly in place in an accident. This is more speciďŹ c to certain classes like historic touring cars but open wheel drivers will also beneďŹ t from a good ďŹ tting seat if the unfortunate occurs.

A seat should be comfortable, hold you around the hips and ribs and, where allowed by class regulations, have a headrest. Some classes have speciďŹ c regulations on seats so make sure you check your CAMS manual before you purchase. Buy ďŹ breglass or composite seats where possible as they are lighter and safer than their steel framed alternatives.

Your harness should meet FIA standards even when your class rules don’t necessitate it. The FIA speciďŹ cation harnesses have three-inch webbing, which is much safer in an accident, rotary buckles to make it easy to abandon ship quickly and are generally more comfortable across your shoulders due to their wider webbing design. Always use a crotch strap too, in a sudden stop they keep the buckle from riding up into the soft part of your abdomen to keep your internals safe. All good quality harnesses will come with ďŹ tting instructions and you need to follow them precisely. It’s always a wise move to incorporate seat type and harness installation into your roll cage design; it’s useless having a great roll cage that you can’t ďŹ t a seat in or mount a harness to.

So once you pop a ďŹ re extinguisher and some rollcage padding into the car it’s down to ďŹ tting yourself out with safety gear. So let’s start at the top and the all-important helmet. This is the item that you will want to spend as much on as you possibly can, after all it is your brain inside it! As with everything money buys you better quality, and when we talk about helmets the more money we spend equals less weight on our head, and that means less chance of head or neck injury in an accident.

Buy yourself a proper motorsport speciďŹ c helmet, not a motorcycling helmet. Motorsport helmets are made

ESTABLISHED 1996

from ďŹ breglass, Kevlar, carbon ďŹ bre or a mixture of two or more of these and have ďŹ re retardant fabric as the lining material and thicker visors.

So next o we need to buy a race suit and once again an FIA standard is the minimum. There are several reputable manufacturers in Australia or you can get one from overseas, but wherever it comes from it should have an FIA standard embroidered on to the back of the collar if it’s the real deal. Take good care of it and it will last you many years, meaning it is a driving suit not a pair of overalls. They are made from exotic fabrics so treat it with care and follow the washing instructions on the care labels so you don’t compromise your own safety.

If you want signage applied there are speciďŹ c instructions that need to be followed so always check with your equipment supplier. If you take your new three layer suit to the local embroidery shop to have your sponsor logo applied chances are you will void your FIA standard and render your suit unusable.

All we need now is some ďŹ re retardant underwear, including socks and balaclava, and some boots and gloves. Boots will generally be constructed from leather with a ďŹ re retardant lining. It’s all a big purchase but treat your gear well and it will last for a number of years, and if you need it you will be happy you spent up and bought that slightly more expensive suit or helmet. MSL

s &ROM BASIC SAFETY CAGES TO &)! #!-3 HOMOLOGATED s 3EAM WELDING BODYSHELL PREPARATION s 4UBE SALES -ILD AND #R-O 19 Citrus Street, Braeside Vic 3195

Tel: 03 9587 7772 Member

E-mail: sales@rollcages.com.au Web: www.rollcages.com.au MotorSportLegends

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TRADE TALK

ROLLCAGE CONSTRUCTION WITH FABRAICATIONS Rollcages are used in most purposebuilt racecars. The designs are many and varied depending on the application and the racing organisations, specifications and regulations. They also provide excellent chassis stiffness, which is desirable in most racing applications.

If you are considering purchasing rollover protection there are a number of factors that will shape the decision you make. Whether you are a long-time competitor building a new vehicle or a new competitor building your first car, you will need to decide who will do the best job within your racing budget.

The standards required in Australia

are controlled by CAMS/FIA who set the rules by which rollcages are designed, but some components within those rules allow for the manufacturer to tailor the design to suit your specific needs.

Using specified Mild Steel materials and certain design criteria the need for engineering is not required. If you wish to alter the design or materials used to construct your rollcage, then engineering will be needed and homologation with CAMS/FIA is a must.

In all circumstances the rollcage design will have to be approved by the controlling body before the vehicle can compete.

Further consideration should be given to the quality of the rollcage, the materi-

THE INSIDE LINE First off this is not a definitive autobiography on Craig Lowndes, if that is what you were after, but nevertheless it is still a good read.

The Inside Line by Craig Lowndes was written in collaboration with respected motorsport journalist Mark Fogarty, who is best known for his work with Auto Action but is also a MotorSport Legends contributor.

It has been pointed out that some words are more from the influence of ‘Foges’ the wordsmith than Lowndes the V8 Supercar driver and while this is true, Fogarty’s involvement ensures it is not just another mediocre ‘day in the life’ book.

Lowndes covers topics including his massive crash at Calder Park in 1999 and subsequent rehabilitation, his time at Ford Performance Racing and the move to Triple Eight Racing.

He also talks about life on the family farm with his wife Natalie and children Levi and Chilli along with his love of motorcycles and his work with the Roary the Racing car chil50

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dren’s television program as the voice of Conrod.

Lowndes devotes one chapter to Bathurst and there are excerpts throughout the book from people including team owner Roland Dane, Bev Brock, teammate Jamie Whincup and V8 Supercars Chairman Tony Cochrane.

One thing that was slightly irritating was the constant name-dropping of sponsors but if you can overlook that then make sure you pick up a copy of The Inside Line by Craig Lowndes with Mark Fogarty, which retails for $35. ★★★✩✩

als being used and the skills/workmanship of the people constructing your personal safety device. In summary what you should aim for is: • experience in design and construction providing a close fitting product • highest quality materials • highest quality workmanship carried out by qualified tradespeople • value for money For more information about rollcage manufacturing call FABRaiCATIONS on (03) 9587 7772, pay them a visit at 19 Citrus Street Braeside Victoria, email fabraications@bigpond.com or click on www.rollcages.com.au

SPEED READING Admirers of stylish high performance cars will enjoy this 352-page homage to the most famous of British marques. Featuring many unpublished high-quality photographs and never before revealed background information, Aston Martin: Power, Beauty and Soul was produced with the assistance of the company and is therefore the last word on the subject. RRP is $69.99. For more information visit imagespublishing.com

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