ISSUE 132
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ISSUE #132 SUPERCARXTRA.COM.AU
6 FORD PARITY ANALYSIS What’s changed for 2024 and what is next for the blue oval. 8 2024 TEAMS The cars and stars of the Supercars Championship. 23 THE BENCHMARKS The seasoned veterans ready to fight against the new generation.
33 THE MAN IN THE HAT Allan Grice on his path from popular driver to politician. 39 MELLOWED ENFORCEMENT From relative unknown to cult hero, Russell Ingall tells his story. 45 TAKE A BOWE John Bowe looks back on his illustrious career.
50 THE SETON PEDIGREE The last owner/driver champion, in his own words. 54 LIVING HIS DREAM Tony Longhurst on his career.
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HIGHLIGHTING THE VETERANS
W
elcome to issue #132 of SupercarXtra
Magazine. Last issue we looked at the young crop of drivers coming through the ranks, so we thought it was appropriate that this issue we highlight the veterans (though they won’t like us calling them by that description!). They were the youngsters of the early ‘naughties’ but are now the benchmarks to beat for today’s next gen and they have sent a clear message to today’s up and comers: ‘if you want to win, you have to be faster than us. We are not simply going to move aside because you think it is your turn.’ We also look at who is driving for whom in 2024. Unfortunately, the reigning champion Brodie Kostecki was still not set to be on the grid as we closed for press, following the off-season impasse between
himself and his team, Erebus. It is safe to say it has been an eventful time, and while we can’t say too much more about that at the moment as no one is talking due to expected legal proceedings, we will tell you what we are able to as soon as we can. In the meantime, we have taken a trip down memory lane to remember some of the great touring car drivers of the past. We decided to look beyond the likes of Brock, Moffat, and Johnson and recount the careers of some of the other great characters who have added to the rich tapestry which has helped to make up the Australian motor sport landscape. Drivers like Glenn Seton, Allan Grice, Tony Longhurst and Russell ‘The Enforcer’ Ingall feature, and we trust you will enjoy the ride. We have also had a few personnel changes of our own to tell you about. Our long-time Editor, Adrian Musolino, has
taken a step back to focus on other journalism and PR work. While he has relinquished the reins as Editor of the print magazine, he will remain as Online, Socials and Special Projects Editor. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Adrian for the countless hours he has put into the print magazine over more than a decade and I am glad he will still remain an important part of the SupercarXtra family. For the time being I will perform the dual role of Publisher and Editor. However, I would also like to welcome our own youngster, James Crocker, to the SupercarXtra family. James has taken on the role of Editorial Co-ordinator and Journalist. James’ work will be familiar to our readers as he has contributed to both the magazine and our Bathurst books in the past, and we hope his association with SupercarXtra will be a long and fruitful one. – Allan Edwards, Publisher/Editor
INCORPORATING V8X MAGAZINE PUBLISHER Allan Edwards Raamen Pty Ltd trading as V8X PO Box 225, Keilor, VIC 3036 publisher@supercarxtra.com.au EDITORIAL CO-ORDINATOR & JOURNALIST James Crocker SUB EDITOR Amanda Cobb DESIGNER Thao Trinh PHOTOGRAPHERS Peter Norton, Autopics.com.au, Glenis Lindley, James Baker, Ben Auld, Justin Deeley, Mark Horsburgh, P1 Images, Paul Nathan, Scott Wensley, Danny Bourke, Matthew Norton, Jack Martin, Insyde Media ADVERTISING Allan Edwards Phone: (03) 9372 9125 EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Phone: (03) 9372 9125 office@supercarxtra.com.au ACCOUNTS Bookkeeper: Mark Frauenfelder accounts@supercarxtra.com.au MERCHANDISE & SUBSCRIPTIONS Phone: (03) 9372 9125 office@supercarxtra.com.au Published by Raamen Pty Ltd trading as V8X. Material in Supercar Xtra is protected by copyright laws and may not be reproduced in full or in part in any format. Supercar Xtra will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Supercar Xtra 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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SUPERVAN
SUPERVAN LAP RECORD
T
he Bathurst Superfest played host to a fascinating battle between manufacturers, with Mercedes-AMG going head-to-head with Ford over the course of the two weeks, competing for the closed wheel Bathurst lap record. It was very much the current versus the future, with the traditionalist AMG representing the current day, with its combustion engine and rear wheel drive, versus Fords all-electric technological marvel that is the Supervan. The record, formerly held by 2017 Bathurst winner Luke Youlden, tumbled over the course of the event, first being broken by Mercedes factory ace Jules Gounon on the Saturday of the 12 hour weekend. Gounon took charge of a
specially modified version of the German marque’s AMG GT3, which utilised the Drag Reduction System from AMG’s old Class 1 DTM racer, reworked aero, carbon brakes and an unrestricted version of the GT3’s 6.2 litre V8, setting a time of 1:56.605. Ford responded the following weekend at the Bathurst 500, with the company’s all electric Transit Supervan 4.2 being the weapon of choice. The Supervan 4.2 is the fifth of its kind from Ford, with the first being built in 1971, based on the iconic GT40’s chassis with a Transit body placed on top. The following two iterations of the concept were based off Fords ill-fated Group C sportscar program, with the concept being retired in 2001. Ford revived the Supervan nameplate in 2022, with the current model being
an evolution created last year for the iconic Pikes Peak Hillclimb. Piloted by two-time Le Mans winner Romain Dumas, the Supervan won its class and finished 2nd overall. The current Supervan is a far cry from earlier iterations, with the all-electric machine being purpose built for the challenge that Pikes Peak presents. Powered by three electric motors, the all-wheel drive Supervan pushes out over 1,050kw and is equipped with an energy regeneration system not dissimilar to those seen in Formula One or endurance racing. Dumas once again took the reins of the Supervan set a blistering 1:56.28 on the Sunday morning of the 500, seeing Ford take the record for itself. Afterwards, Dumas admitted that he had not expected to go near the lap record.
“We went a lot faster than what we expected, the sim said we should go around 59, it was close, then we were driving 58, and then we went a lot faster. We didn’t have any new tires so we just tried!” Ford Performance boss Mark Rushbrook was delighted, praising the mountain’s spectacle. “It’s a special track. It (the Supervan) was built for Pikes Peak, which was a mission very much for that because of the spectacle that it is. And in many ways, this is similar to that (being) it’s a mountain. It is a spectacle and there are great fans here telling a great story.” Rushbrook also stated that Ford was unaware of the AMG attempt. “We didn’t know that AMG was going to come here last weekend and do their lap. So that gave us a target to go for.”
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ANALYSIS
Global director of Ford Performance, Mark Rushbrook
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FORD PARITY
N
o matter how much everyone wanted to move on from it, the dreaded topic of parity was once again under the microscope as the 2024 season kicked off. Following an intensive series of off-season wind tunnel tests under new Supercars Head of Motorsport Tim Edwards, the field headed to Bathurst under a cloud of unknowns with the new aero packages for both the Mustang and Camaro. Changes to the Mustang included revised frontal aero, side skirts and a revised rear wing. Likewise, the Camaro also received a new rear wing and front splitter, with changes on the two cars aimed at increasing rear downforce to improve the Gen 3 cars’ aero balance. Aero wise, the changes seem to have been deemed satisfactory by Supercars and the teams, with Supercars declaring the cars to have aerodynamic parity in the week leading up to the Bathurst 500. Global director of Ford Performance, Mark Rushbrook, was present at the Bathurst 500, and stated that the brand was satisfied with the wind tunnel work that Supercars had done on the aerodynamics. “We knew that the processes that were in Supercars, historically leading up to this, weren’t sufficient. And it’s great that Supercars have embraced that now and gone to windshear with a control test of the process that’s aligned with both manufacturers and with both homologation teams. And we believe we’ve got a good outcome there.” However, the parity saga is still ongoing, with work on engine parity still being undertaken, with Ford homologation team Dick Johnson Racing taking the reins of Ford’s engine program from Herrod Performance last year. With many questions over the then new Coyote engines’ driveability throughout last year, much work has been done by DJR to get the engine competitive. Testing was also done throughout the off season with torque sensors, with the engines making a significant leap in performance. So significant was this leap, it meant that the Coyote engine had to run a smaller air restrictor
at the Bathurst 500 to stay within Supercars’ accumulated engine power cap. However, the spec of the engine is not final, as planned transient dyno testing in the United States has not taken place. Engines were under the microscope following race one at Bathurst, with Ford drivers and teams seemingly at a straight-line disadvantage throughout the race. Rushbrook reiterated Fords position on engine parity, stating that he expects to see differences on the transient dyno that haven’t been picked up on the dyno here. “We’ve said from day one three years ago that using the dyno that’s available here is not sufficient, especially when you get to two different engines, with different displacements, different architecture, the transient response is going to be different. So, while it may look the same, it doesn’t mean it is the same and we’re certainly seeing in terms of the engine that we had last year, even the engine improvements that have been made to the engine still measures the same but it still races differently. “The ultimate goal is a proper dyno which now there is a commitment that that testing will happen, so we can characterise the two different engines on there. I expect that we will see differences there that we did not see on the dyno here but then we’ve got to be prepared to make those changes there to bring it back on the race track.” Furthermore, aside from the planned transient dyno test, Supercars has also announced a centre of gravity test will take place following the Melbourne SuperSprint. However, despite all the progress, Rushbrook has been hesitant to celebrate, stressing that the Ford teams are re-learning their Mustangs. “We still need to keep looking at all the data. We don’t want to jump to conclusions from the data that we’ve seen so far from the on-track performance that we’ve seen so far. As has been said, it’s version 4.0 of the Mustang, and it takes time for the teams to come to grips with that new aero package and making sure they’re optimising that setup. But we’re obviously looking at all the data that we have available to see where we really stack up.” SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
EREBUS MOTORSPORT
CHEVROLET CAMARO #9. JACK LE BROCQ #99. TODD HAZELWOOD
It has been a tumultuous off season for the reigning champions Erebus Motorsport, with Brodie Kostecki splitting with the team, Will Brown departing to Triple Eight Race Engineering and sponsors such as Coca-Cola leaving following the fallout from the former. In comes Jack Le Brocq, who reunites with the team that he made his Supercars debut with. Le Brocq returns to Erebus off the back of a strong season with Matt Stone Racing, where he took his second Supercars win in Darwin. Hazelwood looked set to join the team as an endurance co-driver but has been elevated to a full-time role following Kostecki’s departure.
JACK LE BROCQ
TODD HAZELWOOD
Debut Teams
Debut
2017
Teams
Matt Stone Racing (2017 - 2019, 2022),
2015 Erebus Motorsport (2015, 2024), Prodrive Racing Australia / Tickford Racing (2016, 2020-2021), Nissan Motorsport (2017), MW Motorsport (2017), Tekno Autosports (2018-2019), Matt Stone Racing (2022-2023) Championship Best 12th (2023) 2023 Championship 12th Bathurst 1000 Best 4th (2016) 2023 Bathurst 9th 8
Brad Jones Racing (2017, 2020 - 2021), Blanchard Team Racing (2023), Erebus Motorsport (2024) Championship Best 13th (2021) 2022 Championship 21st Bathurst 1000 Best 8th (2021) 2023 Bathurst
DNF
SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING
CHEVROLET CAMARO #87. WILL BROWN #88. BROC FEENEY
It is a new era at Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2024, following the departure of three-time champion Shane van Gisbergen to NASCAR. Tasked with the challenge of replacing one of the all-time Supercars greats is Will Brown, who moves across from teams’ champion Erebus Motorsport. Brown joins Triple Eight following a season of two halves for the Queenslander, having led the drivers’ championship at the midway point before a mid-season slump saw him drop down to fifth. Brown joins Broc Feeney to form the youngest driving lineup in the pitlane this year. Feeney will be looking to take the crown in 2024, following an outstanding year that saw him finish third in the drivers’ championship. The young stars will be looking to re-establish Triple Eight at the top of the Supercars totem pole, following an unfamiliar second place in the teams’ championship last season.
WILL BROWN
BROC FEENEY
Debut Teams
Debut Teams
2018 Erebus Motorsport (2018 - 2023), Triple Eight Race Engineering (2024) Championship Best 5th (2023) 2023 Championship 5th Bathurst 1000 Best 8th (2023) 2023 Bathurst 8th 10
2020 Tickford Racing (2020), Triple Eight Race Engineering (2021 - 2024) Championship Best 3rd (2023) 2023 Championship 3rd Bathurst 1000 Best 5th (2022) 2023 Bathurst 23rd
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TICKFORD RACING
FORD MUSTANG
#6. CAMERON WATERS #55. THOMAS RANDLE
For the first time in 15 years, Tickford Racing returns to being a two-car operation by downsizing from four entries. Despite the parity issues that plagued the Ford teams last year, Tickford Racing and Cameron Waters showed great pace in spite of some terrible luck throughout the season, with Waters taking three race wins on his way to sixth in the standings. Waters will be re-joined by Thomas Randle in the Tickford Racing stable, who also showed flashes of speed throughout 2023 and will be looking to take advantage of the team’s downsizing to establish himself as a contender this season. In the garage there is big change too, with long-time team boss Tim Edwards departing the team after 19 years to become Supercars’ Head of Motorsport.
CAMERON WATERS
THOMAS RANDLE
Debut
2011
Debut
2019
Teams
Kelly Racing (2011 - 2012),
Teams
Tickford Racing (2019, 2021 - 2024),
Charlie Schwerkolt Racing / Team 18 (2014),
Brad Jones Racing (2020)
Prodrive Racing Australia / Tickford Racing (2015 - 2024) Championship Best 2nd (2020, 2022) 2023 Championship 6th Bathurst 1000 Best 2nd (2020, 2021) 2023 Bathurst
DNF
Championship Best
13th (2023)
2023 Championship
13th
Bathurst 1000 Best
7th (2021)
2023 Bathurst
12th SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
BRAD JONES RACING
CHEVROLET CAMARO #8. ANDRÉ HEIMGARTNER #12. JAXON EVANS #14. BRYCE FULLWOOD #96. MACAULEY JONES
Brad Jones Racing has not been immune from the sweeping changes from up and down the pitlane, with the team drafting New Zealander Jaxon Evans to replace the outgoing Jack Smith. Evans is no stranger to Supercars with co-drives in 2022 and 2023, however his best work has been at the wheel of Porsches around the globe, having won the Australian Carrera Cup title in 2018 and the French Carrera Cup title in 2020, alongside appearances at some of the biggest endurance races on the planet. Evans will join a relatively unchanged Brad Jones Racing line-up, with Andre Heimgartner, Bryce Fullwood and Macauley Jones retaining their seats. Heimgartner had a solid 2023, taking six podiums, and will be looking for more consistency in 2024 in what appears to be the team leader role within the team.
ANDRÉ HEIMGARTNER
JAXON EVANS
Debut Teams
Debut
2022
Teams
Brad Jones Racing (2022 - 2024)
Championship Best
47th (2023)
2022 Championship
47th
Bathurst 1000 Best
21st (2023)
2023 Bathurst
21st
2014 Super Black Racing (2014 - 2015), Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport (2016), Brad Jones Racing (2017, 2022 - 2024), Nissan Motorsport / Kelly Racing / Kelly Grove Racing (2018 - 2021) Championship Best 7th (2023) 2022 Championship 7th Bathurst 1000 Best 9th (2017) 2023 Bathurst DNF 12
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BRYCE FULLWOOD
MACAULEY JONES
Debut Teams
Debut
2015
Teams
Brad Jones Racing (2015 - 2024)
Championship Best
19th (2020, 2022)
2022 Championship
22nd
Bathurst 1000 Best
7th (2018)
2023 Bathurst
22nd
Championship Best 2023 Championship Bathurst 1000 Best 2023 Bathurst
2018 Matt Stone Racing (2018), Kelly Racing (2019), Walkinshaw Andretti United (2020 - 2021), Brad Jones Racing (2022 - 2024) 11th (2023) 11th 5th (2021) 7th
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TEAMS
DICK JOHNSON RACING
FORD MUSTANG #11. ANTON DE PASQUALE #17. WILL DAVISON
Dick Johnson Racing goes into the 2024 season with an unchanged driving roster, with Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison piloting cars #11 and #17 respectively for the third season straight. Off the track, however, the iconic Ford squad have made a series of key changes as they look to return to the front of the pack after three lean seasons following the departure of Penske in 2020. Ryan Story returns to the team principal role for the first time since the Penske era, with Ben Croke as team manager. Engineering wise there is change too, with the hugely successful Ludo Lacroix exiting the team after seven years, with Mark Fenning being appointed director of engineering. Replacing Lacroix is Perry Kapper, who will now engineer De Pasquale’s car.
ANTON DE PASQUALE
WILL DAVISON
Debut
2018
Teams
Erebus Motorsport (2018 - 2020),
Debut Teams
Dick Johnson Racing (2021 - 2024) Championship Best
4th (2022)
2023 Championship
8th
Bathurst 1000 Best
3rd (2023)
2023 Bathurst
3rd
14
Championship Best 2022 Championship Bathurst 1000 Best 2023 Bathurst
2004 Team Dynamik (2004), Dick Johnson Racing (2005 - 2008, 2021 - 2024), Holden Racing Team (2009 - 2010), Tickford Racing (2011 - 2013, 2020), Erebus Motorsport (2014 - 2015), Tekno Autosports (2016 - 2017), 23 Red Racing (2018 - 2020) 2nd (2009) 10th 1st (2009, 2016) 16th
SUPERCAR XTRA
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WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED
FORD MUSTANG #2. RYAN WOOD #25. CHAZ MOSTERT
After a strong first season with Ford, Walkinshaw Andretti United will enter 2024 looking to get both of their Mustangs towards the front. Chaz Mostert enters his fifth year with the team as one of the veterans of the sport, having debuted 11 years ago. In contrast, the #2 car will be piloted by Kiwi rookie Ryan Wood, who steps up to the main game following a brilliant maiden Super2 season, in which he won five races on his way to third in the standings. The changes at Walkinshaw Andretti United extend to off track too, with Mostert’s long-time engineer Adam De Borre departing to become AIM Motorsport’s Super2 team principal. De Borre’s departure brings to a close one of the longest and most successful driver/engineer partnerships in the paddock. Former Tickford engineer Sam Scaffidi is tasked with taking over as engineer of the #25 car in 2024, and Mostert will be looking to contend at the front having finished fourth in 2023.
RYAN WOOD
CHAZ MOSTERT
Debut
2024
Teams
Walkinshaw Andretti United (2024)
Championship Best
N/A
2023 Championship
N/A
Bathurst 1000 Best
N/A
2023 Bathurst
N/A
Debut Teams
2013 Dick Johnson Racing (2013), Ford Performance Racing / Prodrive Racing Australia / Tickford Racing (2014 - 2019), Walkinshaw Andretti United (2020 - 2024) Championship Best 3rd (2021, 2022) 2023 Championship 4th Bathurst 1000 Best 1st (2014, 2021) 2023 Bathurst 4th SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
GROVE RACING
FORD MUSTANG
#19. MATTHEW PAYNE #26. RICHIE STANAWAY
Grove Racing enters the new season as one of the most exciting prospects in the pitlane with a strong pair of drivers and elite engineering personnel, meaning 2024 has the potential to be a breakout year for the Ford squad. Matt Payne embarks on his second season in the #19 car, having taken a breakthrough win in Adelaide last year, cementing himself as one of the brightest young prospects in the sport, whilst Richie Stanaway replaces David Reynolds. A rejuvenated Stanaway returns to full-time driving with a Bathurst 1000 trophy in his cabinet, following a turbulent few years with Tickford Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport. Experienced engineer Alistair McVean will stay on with the team to engineer Stanaway, hoping to continue the hot run of form that the Penrite cars ended 2023 with.
MATTHEW PAYNE
RICHIE STANAWAY
Debut
2022
Debut Teams
Teams
Grove Racing (2022 - 2024)
Championship Best
14th (2023)
2022 Championship
14th
Bathurst 1000 Best
6th (2022)
2023 Bathurst
11th
16
Championship Best 2022 Championship Bathurst 1000 Best 2023 Bathurst
2016 Super Black Racing (2016), Prodrive Racing Australia / Tickford Racing (2017 - 2018), Garry Rogers Motorsport (2019), Erebus Motorsport (2022), Triple Eight Race Engineering (2023), Grove Racing (2024) 24th (2019) 26th 1st (2023) 1st
SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
TEAM 18
CHEVROLET CAMARO
#18. MARK WINTERBOTTOM #20. DAVID REYNOLDS
After a strong 2023, Team 18 enters 2024 with a new driver and sponsor combination and will look to continue their upward trajectory. Replacing Scott Pye in the #20 car is David Reynolds, who reunites with Mark Winterbottom to form an experienced pair of drivers. With both drivers having secured race wins last season, the former Tickford Racing (then Ford Performance Racing) teammates will be looking to take Team 18 to another level. For the first time in eight years, Reynolds will be without the backing of Penrite Oil, with Tradie Beer taking over the naming-rights sponsorship, having sponsored Tickford for the past two years.
MARK WINTERBOTTOM
DAVID REYNOLDS
Debut
2003
Teams
Stone Brothers Racing (2003),
Debut Teams
Larkham Motorsport (2004 - 2005), Ford Performance Racing / Prodrive Racing Australia / Tickford Racing (2006 -2018), Team 18 (2019 - 2024) Championship Best
1st (2015)
2023 Championship
15th
Bathurst 1000 Best
1st (2013)
2023 Bathurst
DNF
Championship Best 2023 Championship Bathurst 1000 Best 2023 Bathurst
2007 Paul Weel Racing (2007), HSV Dealer Team / Walkinshaw Racing (2008 - 2010), Kelly Racing / Kelly Grove Racing / Grove Racing, (2011, 2021 - 2023), Rod Nash Racing / Prodrive Racing Australia (2012 - 2015), Erebus Motorsport (2016 - 2020), Team 18 (2024) 3rd (2015) 9th 1st (2017) 5th SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
PREMIAIR RACING
CHERVOLET CAMARO #23. TIM SLADE #31. JAMES GOLDING
PremiAir Racing retains their driving line up of James Golding and Tim Slade for 2024, with their most exciting recruitment being an off-track one. Engineering supremo Ludo Lacroix joins the team following a seven-year stint at Dick Johnson Racing. Having had many strong runs in 2023, PremiAir Racing will be looking to bloody the noses of the established front runners in only their third season in the sport.
TIM SLADE
JAMES GOLDING
Debut
2009
Teams
Paul Morris Motorsport (2009), Stone Brothers Racing / Erebus Motorsport (2010-
Debut
2016
Teams
Garry Rogers Motorsport (2016 - 2019),
2013), Walkinshaw Racing (2014-2015),
Team 18 (2020 - 2021),
Brad Jones Racing (2016-2019), DJR
PremiAir Racing (2022 - 2024)
Team Penske (2020), Blanchard Racing Team (2021-2022), PremiAir Racing (2023 - 2024) Championship Best
5th (2012)
2023 Championship
11th
Bathurst 1000 Best
5th (2020)
2023 Bathurst
12th
20
Championship Best
16th (2023)
2023 Championship
16th
Bathurst 1000 Best
8th (2018, 2020)
2023 Bathurst
10th
SUPERCAR XTRA
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MATT STONE RACING
CHERVOLET CAMARO #4. CAMERON HILL #10. NICK PERCAT
Matt Stone Racing welcomes Nick Percat to the fold to replace Jack Le Brocq, who took the team’s first ever race win in Darwin last year. Percat will be looking to bounce back after a tough couple of seasons at Walkinshaw Andretti United. Cameron Hill returns for his second Supercars season, with the Canberraborn driver switching into a new number with the #4 returning to the Stone family, having been used with great success by Stone Brothers Racing in the 2000s.
CAMERON HILL
NICK PERCAT
Debut
2022
Teams
PremiAir Racing (2022),
Debut Teams
Matt Stone Racing (2023 - 2024) Championship Best
23rd (2023)
2023 Championship
23rd
Bathurst 1000 Best
15th (2023)
2023 Bathurst
15th
Championship Best 2023 Championship Bathurst 1000 Best 2023 Bathurst
2010 Walkinshaw Racing / Holden Racing Team / WalkinshawAndrettiUnited (2010-2014, 2022 - 2023), Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport (2015 - 2016), Brad Jones Racing (2017 - 2021), Matt Stone Racing (2024) 7th (2020, 2021) 20th 1st (2011) 14th SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAMS
BLANCHARD RACING
FORD MUSTANG
#3. AARON LOVE #7. JAMES COURTNEY
Following three years as a single-car operation, it is all changing for the Blanchard Racing Team in 2024, expanding to two cars with two new drivers. James Courtney and sponsor Snowy River Caravans make the move from Tickford Racing, whilst former Porsche Carrera Cup star Aaron Love makes the step up from the Dunlop Super2 Series. The 2010 champion Courtney enters 2024 looking to break an eight-year winless streak, whilst the young charger Love will be looking to make an impact in his first Supercar season.
JAMES COURTNEY
AARON LOVE
Debut Teams
Debut
2023
Teams
Blanchard Racing Team (2023 - 2024)
Championship Best
49th (2023)
2023 Championship
49th
Bathurst 1000 Best
19th (2023)
2023 Bathurst
19th
Championship Best 2023 Championship Bathurst 1000 Best 2023 Bathurst 22
2005 Holden Racing Team / Wakinshaw Racing / Walkinshaw Andretti United (2005, 2011 - 2019), Stone Brothers Racing (2006 - 2008), Dick Johnson Racing (2009 - 2010), Team Sydney (2020), Tickford Racing (2020 - 2023), Blanchard Racing Team (2024) 1st (2010) 17th 2nd (2007) 6th
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WORDS James Crocker/Staff IMAGES Peter Norton, Insyde Media, Supercars
THE BENCHMARKS
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he late 2000s saw a significant generational change in the Supercars field. Iconic names like Mark Skaife, Glenn Seton and John Bowe retired, whilst young chargers such as James Courtney, Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom established themselves as the new faces of the sport. Fast forward to the current day, and Supercars once again finds itself in the middle of a generational shift, with Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and competitive veterans such as Fabian Coulthard, Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander all leaving full time drives over the past few years. With younger stars like Broc Feeney, Will Brown and Cam Waters becoming the new faces of Supercars, and the arrivals of Matt Payne, Ryan Woods and Aaron Love, the sport has never felt younger. In spite of the youthful shift in the field, some of the protagonists of the late noughties’ generation are still around to prove that age is only a number. James Courtney, Mark Winterbottom, David Reynolds and Will Davison are now the veterans, the benchmarks for young drivers to learn from and compete with. And they are not going to go out without a fight. For Courtney, 2024 brings new opportunity with a move to the Blanchard Racing Team. The 2010 champion is one of only two former champions on the grid, and whilst having been relatively competitive at Tickford over the past four seasons, a race win has eluded him since 2016. Despite this, the aim for Courtney this year is to grow and build the young BRT operation. “Ultimately, we’re all here to win, that’s why we’re in the game. Realistically for us we can finish in the top 10, and towards the front of the 10 would be a good championship focus, and definitely chasing down podiums. Yes, we do want to win races, but realistically with our young team that’s growing, chasing down podiums and finishing in the top 10 to build for a proper assault on next year is where we want to be.” Courtney’s teammate for this season is rookie Aaron Love, and the opportunity to mentor another young prospect is one that excites Courtney. “I really enjoyed the young driver side of things at Tickford, with helping Thomas (Randle), Jake Kostecki and Declan (Fraser) through those early periods of their career, so to be here with Aaron (Love), it’s a bit of déjà vu again. “I see a lot of myself in Aaron, he’s super quick, maybe a little too aggressive at times, takes a lot of risks, but like I said to Tim (Blanchard), it’s easier to slow them down than speed them up, so I think it’s going to be an exciting time here.” The other former champion lining up in 2024, Mark Winterbottom, enters his sixth season with Team 18. Winterbottom comes off the back of a strong 2023, where he took a race win in Darwin, and is aiming for more in 2024. “People often say I want to be top 10, top 5, I want to win every one and then if I don’t win then I want the best-case scenario after that, so if it’s not a win then it’s second and vice versa. I want to always finish as high
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James Courtney
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Mark Winterbottom
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as I can,” Winterbottom said. “The goal and ambition is to win every race and whilst it’s not possible, you have to try and that’s the plan.” Winterbottom, nicknamed ‘Frosty,’ says that his team is in the best spot possible, and expressed excitement at working with new teammate David Reynolds. “The team is in the best place it’s been, the structure is what I wanted, when I came here it was about building, and now the structure is finally where it needs to be, so now hopefully our time comes. “Dave’s good, him and I work well together so I really think we can get this team together working hard, I think we can do a good job, we’ve done it before. “We’re trying to beat each other but we’re not writing the cars off to try and do that. We are trying to make sure we’re first and second and then we’ll fight it out, and that’s genuine. People say it but not many people do it, it’s quite a selfish sport. We’ve got one goal and that’s to be first and second so if we do get to that point, we’ll sort it out after that. “Dave and I are quite close so we work well together in that way, car setup and what we are asking for and how we approach things, so he’s kind of the most similar to how I race which is good.” The aforementioned Reynolds is a new addition to Team 18 for 2024, and comes into the season on a hot streak, having taken a race win on the Gold Coast and a podium in Adelaide at the end of last year. Reynolds says that Team 18 is the right fit for him, with his previous relationship with Winterbottom being a big part of the move. “I love it, it’s fantastic, I walk in with a smile, leave with a smile, everyone’s happy, it’s just a great place to work, it’s been unreal,” Reynolds said. “New team boss, Adrian Burgess has come into the team and he’s a big personality, quite funny, so we’re always joking around. It’s racing, we’re serious about winning but we try and make everyone enjoy their jobs so they put in the extra yards. “Frosty’s great, he’s very experienced, he drives slightly differently to me so he requires different stuff from the setup. It’s still really early days but he’s really great to work with; he’s really positive, really happy, good to everyone, I can’t speak highly enough of him.” So, what do the old guard have to say to the new generation? Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison says that the new generation must be resilient. “It is a tough, old road, and so many have got the skill set, but you’ve got to have the ability to be thick skinned and work hard, constantly better yourself and go through a lot of stuff that’s out of your control, that’s not often as you want it, and learn from mistakes, because it’s hard – there’s a lot of people very critical of you, it’s a very hard sport,” Davison said. “Being fast is one thing, but being able to be relatively mistake free and execute well and try and put it all together consistently is a damn hard thing. And you just never, ever stop learning and you’re only as good as your last race. You’ll be up one minute, and if you SUPERCAR XTRA
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get too carried away with that, it won’t end well. When things aren’t going well for you, you have to learn how to handle the bad times.” Reynolds also offered advice to the young drivers looking to make their way up the ladder. “The best thing you can do when you’re young is go to the best team you can, so that you can learn what a good car feels like all the time,” Reynolds said. “So for me I’ve been at both ends in good cars and bad cars and I kind of know what the feeling is and what to look for, but they’re fractions of a second that you’re looking for whilst you’re going flat out, but it adds up to a lap time. “Every person has a different path of learning in this sport, some are really good, some are really bad, but if you love it you’ll find a way to make it happen. And always remember that you want to be the fastest and everything will take care of itself.” Davison says that age is irrelevant, but pure pace is what teams value the most in the Supercars paddock. “Experience counts for a lot, but you can’t rely on that at my age now,” Davison said. “You’ve still got to have speed, you’ve got to be aggressive because the racing’s more aggressive, there’s more fast cars, more fast drivers and you can’t do what you did 10 years ago. It’s a hot pace, everyone’s racing, everyone’s on it, the depth of skill and race craft is pretty high, but it’s still a very fine line to be an idiot and just dump points. You can do that in the support SUPERCAR XTRA
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categories but when you’re professional, you’ve got a job to not throw the thing in the sand every week being a hero. “The quick guys 20 years ago, if they still put the effort in, they’re still the quick guys now. You’ve got to be on it when you’re young, but then it’s not just one quick lap. When they get in the main game, they realise that there’s a whole other world that you have got to put together, which takes time. People are quick straight away, but experience does count for a bit, but not everything when you’re old – you can’t rely on that either when the pace is hot.” Winterbottom echoed Davison’s sentiment. “Everyone focuses on age whereas we focus on results. Age is a number but there are some really good young guys like Payne and Woody and a couple of others, but on the flipside there’s a couple of good old blokes and then everyone in between. I never look at how old someone is, I look at what lap times they do,” Winterbottom said. “Experience is good but it doesn’t matter how experienced you are if you don’t have a good car. If you have a good car then you’re just fast but if the car is wobbling around, having 650 races’ experience means bugger all because those walls come up pretty quick. “Experience is good for race craft and, in the wet, not pushing hard because you know you may end up in the fence. Race starts, strategy, pitting, knowing when to attack and when to conserve, all of that’s experience but outright lap speed is about the car and commitment, that’s not experience.” Reynolds cited his earlier career and supported the sentiment of his team mate. “Motor racing doesn’t matter about age. When I rocked up in Carrera Cup in 2005 when I was 21, I got dusted by a 58-year-old bloke named Jim Richards, he hosed me week in, week out and it did my head in, so I realised then motor racing is not about age,” Reynolds said. The drivers spoke highly about the value of experience, with Courtney reflecting on his early days in Supercars. “There’s a lot of young guys coming in, and obviously I’ve got a super fast young teammate too. I think it’s good for the sport, I went through the first part of it with Russell (Ingall) and Skaife and all those guys arguing with them as I was the young guy with so much energy, but in the end, experience pays off in a lot of situations,” Courtney said. “There’s a reason why we’re still here. Me, Winterbottom, Will Davison, a couple of the old boys, we’re still able to get the results, being young and excited doesn’t equal results.” Reynolds cited Garth Tander as an example of the value of experience. “Experience is everything. I was driving with Tander last year and he’s very experienced, he was a bit older than me, been around longer and I still learned a lot off him, so the older you get the more you can actually give to this sport I think,” Reynolds said. Whilst many have questioned Davison over the past 30
year [in the endurance races], the veteran driver is not feeling the pressure to vacate his seat. “I’m not going anywhere. When people are deserving to take your spot, or you slow off and are not doing the job, you go. But while you still want to keep working hard and getting the most out of yourself, I’ll keep pushing as hard as I can. And when the young blokes deserve it, they’ll get there. They don’t deserve anything just because they’re young,” Davison said. “It’s nothing to do with age, as we’re seeing in IndyCar with Will Power or Scott Dixon, or Fernando Alonso in F1. I mean, if you’re still performing, you don’t owe a young bloke anything. But if they have the right attitude they will get there. And of course, I always like seeing young guys with the right attitude go well.” Courtney also relayed this sentiment. “I’ve lived through a lot of drama in my life and turmoil on the track and I’m still here so I’m always going to keep punching and fighting. I want to compete and have that rush at the start of the race and you can’t replace that with anything.” “I’m here, I love it. I want to keep racing until I’m at least Russell Ingall’s age, he ended when he was 60, so I’ve got at least another 17 years on my side!” Courtney said, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
Will Davison
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ALLAN GRICE
THE MAN IN THE HAT WORDS Motorsport Legends archives IMAGES The Glenis Lindley Collection
Pastry Cook, Politician and Popular Driver – this is the story of Gricey!
Racing car drivers and politicians aren’t the usual mix as they don’t appear to have much in common, although throughout history, some have stepped across that unlikely line from the wild side to the sheltered side. In Australian motor racing folklore, the name Allan Grice springs to mind, while Finland’s former rally ace Ari Vatanen, once made a name for himself as a Member of the European Parliament. SUPERCAR XTRA
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Allan Grice
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s a touring car peddler Allan Grice mixed it with the big boys but never quite attained the same hero-worship status as Peter Brock or Allan Moffat. ‘Gricey’ was, however, certainly better known as a popular racing car personality than a politician, despite spending almost a decade as the Gold Coast Member for Broadwater. My first ‘official’ meeting with the man with his trademark Akubra hat and droopy moustache (or ginger beard depending on the era), was around 1977 at Amaroo Park when visiting his home with Harry Firth, then team manager at MHDT. Gricey lived just a stone’s throw from the now defunct circuit with his wife Christine and Sam, an adorable labrador. His beloved dog was a wellknown visitor in the racing paddock, even wearing his own pit pass to race meetings. The fact that this colourful character (the ‘master’ that is, not the dog) with his reputation as a rough and tough, often fiery competitor and no stranger to controversy, had such a soft side when it came to his ‘best mate’ impressed this fellow dedicated dog-lover immensely. I became a converted Grice fan! The career of Allan Grice, the racing driver, kicked 34
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off rather late in life as Gricey was a pastry cook in the family bakery business at Maitland. Working extra jobs as a taxi and delivery truck driver helped fund his early motor racing ventures, which commenced at Warwick Farm in 1964, racing an MG TC. A wide variety of cars followed, even extending to Asia racing a 2.5 Coventry Climax Brabham. Having won the first Malaysian GP round, he was leading in the second round before a puncture deprived him of victory, then again in Singapore he was leading before gearbox failure allowed Garrie Cooper to steal the show. Grice’s motivation and ambitions were directed towards Australia’s premier ‘tin-top’ class, although he also attracted attention when he took the wheel of the late Frank Gardner’s pride and joy - his mindblowing, radical, mid-engined Chevrolet Corvair. This controversial, formidable ‘beast’, which boasted a five-litre engine, gave Gardner 41 wins from 49 starts, earning him the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1977. After Gardner’s retirement, he recruited Grice to do his driving. This opened more doors for Grice and marked the beginning of Gardner’s illustrious career as a team manager. Never one to be intimidated by any car or driver, and far more used to playing the role-reversal model, Gricey soon tamed this highly modified monster. Gricey, as Gardner had before him, swept the opposition away, ceremoniously carving up the field which included big name stars like Bob Jane, Jim Richards and Moffat. He steered the Corvair to a Championship in 1978, then repeated the feat in ’79. Gardner raced under John Player sponsorship, but the livery was changed to Craven Mild (those were the days when tobacco advertising wasn’t outlawed!) fitting in with Grice’s existing touring car sponsorship. Sadly, the Corvair’s total domination of the category triggered a rule change by CAMS, forcing the demise of this awesome machine. Sadly it was stripped of its running gear with the body shell ending up in a rubbish tip. Grice’s former team eventually evolved into the JPS-sponsored outfit running a works BMW under Gardner’s control. According to Grice, “The BMW 320 Turbo that Frank built was the most dangerous car I ever had to drive!” Having become rather fond of the fast, furious and frantic Sports Sedan category, Gricey returned to the winner’s circle when Sport Sedans morphed into the Australian GT Championship in 1984. Driving the Alan Browne-owned, ex-Bob Jane Monza, Grice secured pole in every round, recorded the fastest race lap in five rounds, and almost achieved the magic perfect score had it not been for loss of fuel pressure (when leading) at Calder. Nevertheless, Gricey demoralised his opposition, winning five from six rounds, and as a backhander at his critics, his emphatic wins came with a lack of Grice-like incidents which had punctuated the earlier part of his career. “My grandmother could win in a car like this, “ he exclaimed with his typical brand of Grice humour. Although he raced this category alongside touring
Graeme Bailey
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(L to R) Peter Brock, John Bowe, Larry Perkins, Alan Jones, Allan Grice, Jim Richards, Colin Bond (front) Dick Johnson, Tony Longhurst, Mark Skaife, and Glenn Seton
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cars, the latter played the biggest part of Gricey’s career, where he is best remembered as an extremely fast driver, and one not adverse to driving on the ragged edge. His raw speed saw him become the first driver to record a 100mph lap around Bathurst in a Group C car in 1982- a feat which he then repeated in 1986 during the Group A era. Mounting differences of opinion between Gardner and Grice, two head-strong characters, soon caused a not-particularly-friendly split, which left Grice out of a drive and Richards drafted in as replacement. After some soul-searching, his association with Re-Car Racing put Gricey on the comeback trail, which led to him re-uniting with Les Small and his new Roadways operation. Having built up a bit of a reputation as a ‘bad boy’ during the ’70s, some unkind critics also suggested Gricey slotted into the ‘quick-then-crash’ category. It must be remembered however that this fiercely determined, no-nonsense individual also endured some heart-wrenching disappointments, as most of his racing life was spent as a struggling privateer. Mechanical breakdowns, unreliable machinery, lack of funding and some impetuous, over-ambitious driving by this colourful, yet respected drawcard, hindered his progress up the ladder, and it was also an era when it was difficult to step out of Peter Brock’s shadow! It was only in the latter years that this man who didn’t mesh with authority worked his way back to the top, earning factory drives with some of the best teams. In 1974 he raced the first Holden Torana SLR 5000 (for Craven Mild Racing), but there was the odd crash or two, plus some new car teething troubles to overcome. A classic example occurred in 1975 when Colin Bond won the Australian Touring Car Championship in his L34. Grice perhaps could have taken the honours that year had a mechanic not put the car’s thermostat in the glove box rather than in the engine during one round. Grice was officially excluded from the round, losing vital points - although his mechanic maintained the missing thermostat didn’t alter the Torana’s performance. A maturing Grice took second at the 1978 Bathurst 1000, behind Brock in a similar Torana A9X, and many more podium places followed. However, nothing really clicked into place until 1986. Gricey’s enthusiastic dreams were realised when, together with Graeme Bailey, his Commodore took the chequered flag at Bathurst, becoming the first privateer victory since Brock’s win in 1975. Grice was clearly in a class of his own that year. Having previously raced in Europe, he had mentally toughened up and matured into a more thinking, confident driver. Although Bailey - his littleknown co-driver, and the car’s owner - was more of a ‘hobby-racer’, he too had been overseas with Grice and had become the competent back-up man necessary to win Bathurst in those days. It was also Bailey’s moral support (and big, thick cheque
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book), along with the expertise of long-time Grice car builder and team manager Les Small, which made this privateer entry so successful. Not that they were expected to win - far from it. “My mother was the only one who tipped me to win,” declared Grice with a grin. That was the year of a record number of high-profile factory teams and generous sponsorship deals. Bailey and Grice faced the might of the more fancied Mobil Holden Dealer Team, Peter Jackson Nissan Skylines, JPS Team BMW, Schnitzer BMW, Dick Johnson Racing and the Volvo Dealer Team, with some internationally renowned stars. The VK Commodore Roadways Racing Services ‘Chickadee’ (Bailey’s chicken firm) was well-financed, sturdily-built and surprisingly-fast. From the start Gricey suspected they had more than a fighting chance of victory. With renewed strength of character and determination to succeed, Grice drove all but 26 laps of the race, crossing the finish line with
much jubilation and fist waving. Against all odds, long awaited James-Hardie 1000 glory was his! “Importantly, we kicked the factory’s arse,” Grice was reported as saying, while also quietly thinking, “Anytime I have an equal car, I can win.” Although his next Bathurst victory (then Tooheys 1000) didn’t come until 1990, as defending champion in 1987, he again gave it his best shot. With Bailey retired, Grice teamed up with top international, British hotshot Win Percy, in the Bob Jane T-Marts Commodore, sporting Chickadee sponsorship. Some bad luck in the form of a broken axle deprived them of possible victory, as they were comfortably sitting in second place at the time of the mishap, and prospects were looking good up until that point. Grice and Percy were again teamed together for the 1990 Tooheys 1000, but this time under entirely different circumstances. The Holden Racing Team was now under Tom Walkinshaw’s control and run by Percy, as team manager and lead driver. SUPERCAR XTRA
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Having raced together as Nissan works drivers in Europe, Percy insisted on Grice as his Bathurst codriver, going against his bosses’ wishes. Despite being underdogs to the all-conquering Sierra pack and awesome Nissan GT-R, their Commodore came up trumps, with Grice taking control after Percy was troubled with a shoulder injury. He drove a perfectly-judged race to claim another underdog victory, and an extremely popular one with Holden fans. “I had a point to prove, and I did,” declared an elated Grice after justifying Percy’s faith in his ability. Although they paired together in 1991 and ‘92, they couldn’t capture that glorious moment again (although their second attempt in ‘91 almost snared them another Mount Panorama triumph). The ‘Popular Pom’ returned for several more attempts, while the veteran, a Gold Coast resident since 1987, and active National Party MP, drove for other teams like Dick Johnson’s Shell Racing and Peter Jackson Racing, before quietly retiring from the limelight in 1997, aged 55. For ‘Service to Motor Racing’, in 1988 Grice was awarded an OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia), 38
one of the many memorable happenings during his interesting career. He’s raced Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs in NASCAR at the Coca Cola 600 Cup races at Charlotte in 1987 and 1989; raced NASCAR on the Gold Coast as Indy support; won the 1991 James Hardie 12-Hour at Bathurst, and raced at Spa and Le Mans. With politics behind him, Gricey was in his element racing V8 Utes, where his ‘tearaway tendencies’ were used to his advantage. His choice of vehicle was surprisingly not Holden, rather a Ford Falcon, for a best place finish of sixth outright in 2002. “It’s just superb racing, and the fans love it. “In all my years of racing I’ve never driven in a category that is so competitive, nor so much fun,” stated the touring car legend. In so-called ‘retirement’, Gricey leased his ute to promising young Gold Coaster Matt Kingsley, and played a strong support role in this capacity, overseeing the running of the team. “Once you catch the motor racing ‘bug’ it’s difficult to shake it out of your system, and difficult to step away,” said this acclaimed hard-charger and dual Bathurst 1000 winner.
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RUSSELL INGALL
Larry Perkins (left) and Russell Ingall.
WORDS Motorsport Legends archives IMAGES The Glenis Lindley Collection
MELLOWED ENFORCEMENT
These days he’s called The Enforcer, but Russell Ingall had to take a softly, softly approach to clinching his one and only V8 Supercar Championship.
W
hen Russell Ingall was first announced as Larry Perkins’ Bathurst co-driver in 1995, it was almost a case of Russell who? However, it didn’t take long for Ingall to establish himself back here in Australia after claiming his first Bathurst 1000 victory with Perkins that year, then repeating the feat two years later. Born in London, his family moved to Adelaide and Ingall kickstarted his racing career in karting at Whyalla. After becoming the Australian Junior Champion and winning several senior championships, he raced karts in Europe before returning home, graduating to Formula Ford and F3. Ingall clinched the 1990 Australian Formula Ford Championship; that same year making his Bathurst 1000 debut in the hot seat of a VL Commodore with Kevin Bartlett.
He remained largely unknown here, making an ambitious decision to race in the cutthroat British Formula Ford Championship where he finished runner-up in 1991. The year after he extended his international career, racing in the German F3 Championship before claiming the highly coveted British Open Formula Ford title in 1993. First place in the prestigious British Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch further indicated his skill behind the wheel as he mastered various categories. Interestingly, he once competed against – and beat – now retired F1 driver David Coulthard. In 1992, the virtually unknown Aussie started 23rd on the grid for the famous and always fiercely contested Macau Grand Prix. Midway through the race on this notoriously difficult street circuit, he had overtaken Coulthard for fifth place. SUPERCAR XTRA
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RUSSELL INGALL
He also raced in the New Zealand Dunlop Formula Ford Series, winning 10 from 12 races, while his brilliant 13 wins from 16 races in the British Championship, clock-ing up the highest number of wins ever recorded in a season, demonstrated this stand-out rising star certainly had talent. Ingall then drove in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship and in the off season, was enticed back to Australia to compete in the 1994 endurance races for Wayne Gardner, joining Win Percy at the wheel. They even led The Great Race at one stage and recorded a credible fifth place, considering Ingall’s relative lack of touring car experience at the time. Long distance specialist Larry Perkins recognised Ingall’s potential, securing him to drive the endurance events in 1995. Fresh from his 1995 British Formula Renault Championship title, Ingall opened many eyes with his supporting role when they claimed victory. It was a major break-through for Ingall, as that year the Castrol Perkins Commodore came from last to first (when Perkins suffered a flat tyre after tangling with pole-sitter Craig Lowndes at the start). They miraculously managed to pass every car in the field to snatch this well-deserved victory. Perkins, who had previously struggled to climb the ladder of success in Europe, decribed Ingall as the exact opposite of a ‘Hollywood’ driver. “He let his driving be his spokesman” Perkins said. With a contract in his hand from Perkins Engineering, Ingall became a permanent fixture on the touring car scene for 1996, claiming a convincing round victory at Calder Park in his first season and finishing sixth in the championship. The following year he achieved even more success, finishing third in the championship. He certainly wasn’t unnoticed nor unknown by this stage, and for his hard-hitting, aggressive, winatall-costs racing style he earned the nickname ‘The Enforcer.’ “I learned to drive like that out of necessity when I competed overseas,” Ingall said. Coming second at Sandown and winning Bathurst with the boss in 1997 saw him firmly established in the tin-top ranks. The following year was successful too, clinching the Sandown 500, and securing runnerup to Craig Lowndes for the V8 Supercar title, as well as a second place at Bathurst. Even though he continued his no-holds-barred approach to racing, there were no more major successes with this team despite the fact that he had stepped up to become the lead driver at Castrol Perkins. Out of loyalty and because “Larry was a good teacher and a very smart man”, Ingall remained there until the end of 2002. Always ambitious and seeking greater opportunities, he surprisingly switched to the opposition Ford camp, despite being “a Holden man at heart.” Joining the top-rated Stone Brothers Racing operation, his teammate was hotshot Marcos Ambrose and thatpairing proved a formidable combination for both Holden and Ford opponents alike. 40
“I think we will be able to learn a lot from each other,” Ingall, or ‘Rusty’ as he is known to friends, said at the time. He had high hopes for immediate success, but that didn’t come quickly, as adjustments had to be made while settling into his new team. After being the top dog at Perkins, he slowly set about establishing himself with his tough, forceful driving style and outspoken manner, but he was destined to play second fiddle to Ambrose, who snared the 2003 and 2004 titles. Being relegated to an agonising fourth runner-up position, Ingall became the ‘perennial bridesmaid.’ Determined to shake that tag, he even donned a bridesmaid’s dress for a publicity stunt in Adelaide. That must have done the trick because the following year he declared “I plan to become champion” and went on to claim it. Despite his obvious ability to race at the top with his no-nonsense approach, qualifying was his big downside. Rusty notched up just one pole position in his entire V8 career at Winton in 2001 and he remains puzzled as to exactly why. “I have no idea! I just can’t seem to get my head around qualifying here,” he said. “In open-wheelers overseas I had no trouble grabbing pole or the front row.” Despite his perceived aggression, numerous racing indiscretions and controversies on the track, there’s really only one major incident involving Ingall that springs to mind. There aren’t too many V8 fans who don’t smile at the memory of his much publicised clash with Holden rival Mark Skaife during Eastern Creek’s crucial 2003 final round. It was ‘race rage’ at its best for the amused crowd, but an infamous and unsportsmanlike part of V8 history. The two drivers were never really friends, but after the run-in, there were no Christmas cards exchanged that year! With neither giving an inch, they raced side by side, pushing and shoving. As Skaife attempted to squeeze through on the inside, Ingall appeared to move across to block him, causing Skaife to spear into the concrete wall. The normally placid Holden champion, with steam coming from his ears and his face as red as his driver’s suit, clenched his fist and jumped out of the car. Walking towards the track in a menacing manner, Skaife shouted abuse as Ingall approached on his next lap. Ingall seemed to veer towards the clearly livid Skaife, but swerved away again without making any contact. “Ingall was found to be in breach of the rules and guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute,” said a steward while handing him an exclusion from the meeting, loss of points and the maximum $15,000 fine, plus he was placed on a 12-month probation, but received a suspended sentence. Skaife was fined $10,000, lost his round points and also had to be on his best behaviour for a year for his part in the clash. Skaife’s punishment was for his reaction and not for his part in the crash, but it cost him second place in the championship.
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RUSSELL INGALL
“He was blocking me lap after lap. I’ve never seen something so bad in sport. Can you believe it?” the fired-up Skaife exclaimed. Needless to say, the press conference was one of the most entertaining journalists ever attended. All that is past history, although the two headstrong characters have had subsequent verbal clashes at V8 Supercar shows and similar occasions. “It’s all over now. We get along pretty well, but we’re still a bit wary of each other,” Rusty suggested with a grin. Despite his firm belief “the more aggressive you are, the faster you go – too aggressive and you go home,” he modified his driving style, to become more mellow. Nevertheless, his tenacity and fierce determination to drive on the limit when necessary were still evident. Some of the mellowing in Ingall’s life can be attributed to his family. Married to his long-time partner 42
Julia, they have two daughters, Sasha and Jaz. When he clinched his title in 2005, he had planned that year very carefully. But come Bathurst, his favourite track, things weren’t looking too promising as Ambrose had been perched at the top of the scoreboard throughout the season. After another infamous altercation, this time between Ambrose and Greg Murphy, Ingall found himself leading the championship. For years ‘The Enforcer’ had always chased the championship leader but with this sudden reversal now he played the role of defender against the pack. Holding off a late charge from fan favourite Craig Lowndes and withstanding Ambrose’s strong fightback in his bid to claim a championship hat-trick before departing for the greener pastures of NASCAR, Ingall clung to his slender lead over the last few rounds. During the final round at Phillip Island, Ingall surprised everyone with his smart, conservative and cautious approach; tactics which paid dividends as his patience (not something usually associated with The Enforcer) was rewarded with the V8 Supercar crown. Former teammate Steve Richards remarked, “It (the championship) was his to lose.” Ingall said he gave it his all in the title fight. “I tried everything – bashing, crashing and bucking the system,” the emotional but happy winner said. “This was my last resort.” With only one round win under his belt compared to Lowndes’ haul of four victories and five poles, Ingall copped his fair share of criticism but he was too ecstatic to care. Thanks to his consistency and solid haul of points, he had achieved his decade-long dream. Brimming with confidence, the new champion
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declared “my ambition is to stay number one for a long time” but it wasn’t meant to be. With little joy, Ingall remained at SBR for two more years and then moved back to Holden for 2008, having finished the previous season in a hugely disappointing 11th place, the first time in his V8 career he had been outside the top 10. Joining forces with the Paul Morris Motorsports/ Sirromet team created another level of interest with a driver’s poll in 2007 voting Morris ‘the most dangerous driver. ’while Ingall shared the ‘dirtiest driver’ tag with Morris and Jason Bargwanna. The team change attracted sponsorship from Castrol and Supercheap Auto and Ingall became the public face of the latter. While no more Bathurst victories (he’s ticked up his 26th start) or V8 Supercar championships came his way, a television contract did and he became even more of a personality through his Supercheap/ Enforcer commercials. The first two years at Paul Morris Motorsports produced reasonable results and Ingall once again made the top 10 (ninth for both years). But 2010 brought changes within the team and it was all downhill for the next two years as he experienced the worst results of his touring car career – 12th and 20th. “It just ripped me to bits thinking I’m not even going to make the podium this weekend,” he explained.
“You lie awake at night and start doubting yourself.” During his extraordinary career he started in more than 500 races and achieved 13 top 10 championship placings which was an amazing achievement. For the record, Rusty lists his 1992 F3 race at Monaco as his best motor racing memory. “What a fantastic experience that was, to race at Monaco in ‘proper’ cars,” he said. SUPERCAR XTRA
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JOHN BOWE
WORDS Motorsport Legends archives IMAGES The Glenis Lindley Collection
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JOHN BOWE
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John Bowe
n recent years, watching John Bowe slide around circuits at Touring Car Masters meetings was reminiscent of the days when he drove a Volvo in the Australian Touring Car Championship. Although he is fondly and best remembered for his long association with Ford, Bowe is the sort of versatile driver who adapts to any form of motor racing and comes out on top – which is what this popular Tas-manian did during his brilliant career spanning four decades. Bowe comes across as a happy-go-lucky, always smiling, cheery personality - similar in many ways to Craig Lowndes, only not quite as high-profile - so his fight against depression came as a shock. As he explained, after a life spent being totally committed to cars and all the associated activities as a professional racing driver, the thought of walking away from the sport he had devoted his life to, and loved with such a passion, became all too much. “When it came time to retire, the bubble burst,” Bowe explained. “It was like a bad dream. I tried to appear normal although I felt anything but.” As retirement loomed at the end of 2007, Bowe was driving for Paul Cruickshank Racing in the V8 Supercar championship and had recorded over 200 race starts, even breaking the late, great Peter Brock’s record of 212 starts, but that prestigious milestone didn’t help his emotions and fragile state of mind. “It lost its significance with Brocky not here,” he said. “The closer to the last race i got, the worse I felt. I just couldn’t imagine facing a life spent watching DVDs and mowing the lawn. “Seeking help was probably the most difficult thing, but once the fog began lifting, I came from the depths of despair, and gradually things didn’t look so bad. ” Like most young, would-be stars, he began racing karts and Formula Fords, cuttinh his racing teeth at Symmons
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Plains. John’s father, a racing enthusiast himself, had a car dealership and was good friends with local legend John McCormack. Back in 1971 at the tender young age of 16, John raced an Elfin in the Tasmanian Formula Vee Championship, winning the state title on debut. A dynamic and talented driver with heaps of potential, he clinched the Formula Ford state title the following year. Soon it came time to venture across to the mainland, where he honed his skills nationally, receiving help and encouragement from the late Garrie Cooper. He recorded runner-up results in the Ansett Team Elfin F5000 in the Australian Driver’s Championship from 1979. Then with his brother Terry, the young Tassie charger established his own team for the new Formula Pacific class in 1981. He qualified his Ralt RT4 up with the internationals – Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno – ahead of all the locals for the Australian Grand Prix, but car reliability was his big enemy. More runner-up results followed but by 1984, the new kid on the block had everyone’s measure, wrapping up the Australian Drivers Championship (CAMS Gold Star) with his dominant style, a feat he repeated again in 1985. The funny thing was, as Bowe explained, “I never had any ambition to do anything great motor racing-wise, other than race cars.” “I just took it all in my stride.” He hadn’t planned to take the centre stage, but that is what he achieved during his illustrious career. This ‘reluctant hero’ also never planned to switch to touring cars, even after effortlessly clinching the Australian Sports Car Championship in 1986 in Bernie Van Elsen’s Veskanda-Chevrolet. “ I was able to set lap records everywhere with it, and it was such a fun car to drive,” Bowe said. Circumstances, and one of his heroes, Peter Brock, unknowingly influenced his career. Brock’s success as a touring car ace was extremely impressive while his own ‘purist’ open-wheel, but low-key exploits, were completely overshadowed by that other more crowdpleasing class of motor racing. Although he wasn’t dragged screaming and protesting, a little surprisingly, Bowe was enticed into the ‘tin-top’ world, making his debut at Sandown in 1985. Bowe knew the name Robbie Francevic, but had not met the New Zealander until asked to pass on a message to the Volvo star. After that friendly chat, completely unexpectedly, Bowe received a call from Mark Petch, who ran the Volvo Dealer Team, asking him (at Francevic’s request) to co-drive at Sandown and Bathurst. And so a whole new world opened up. His first fulltime Australian Touring Car Championship season came in 1986. Even though he had never driven this car before, he put the Volvo 240 Turbo on the front row in Adelaide, then secured pole for the second race. Bowe ended the year as lead driver, being faster than Francevic. “Robbie got the shits,” grinned Bowe. With John Sheppard then running the team, he finished eighth in the ATCC that year, with mechanical mishaps preventing better results.
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In 1987 in a factory Nissan Skyline, he co-drove with Glenn Seton at Bathurst, claiming yet another runnerup position. Then came a major breakthrough, with this promising new talent joining Dick Johnson’s team in 1988, and so the long Ford association began. “Driving for Dick was a pretty big deal,” declared Bowe. Many more seconds were recorded in the Sierra RS500 until he cracked his first Bathurst victory with Dick in 1989. They repeated this again in 1994 in an EB Falcon. Johnson/Bowe also claimed the Sandown 500 that year, the first time in a decade that anyone had scored the double. The next year, ‘JB’ as he was affectionately known (or ‘Jelly Bean’ to Dick), won Sandown again and clinched the ATCC. In the process, he earned the distinction of becoming the first and only driver to win championships in three categories – Driver’s, Sports and Touring Cars. The wins kept coming for a while with Johnson/ Bowe also scoring a 12-Hour Production Car victory in a Mazda RX7. Then came Bowe’s bombshell. After some poor team results, mechanical failures and sluggish car performances, JB became a little
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disillusioned. The incentive to change to a new team as lead driver, along with a hefty pay packet (for those days), said to be around $300,000, proved irresistible. The promise of this tempting carrot, the lucrative contract and CAT Racing’s mega-dollar budget lured Bowe away. After the successful 11-year partnership with DJR, this ‘honorary Queenslander’ departed for greener pastures, with suggestions that he would become the highest paid driver in Australia at that time. There was disappointment but no bitterness when ‘Jelly Bean’ left. Dick simply said, “I couldn’t afford to pay John even half that amount.” His dream of notching up more Bathurst wins and championships turned into a nightmare, despite the generous backing from earthmoving heavyweight Caterpillar. The new team was inexperienced, untested, unsuccessful and – as it proved – not such a wise decision after all! “Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I probably should have stayed with Dick,” JB admits. His Falcon AU XR8 consistently struggled throughout 1999 and beyond although it was occasionally lightning -quick. At Queensland Raceway, he won a race and qualified on pole for CAT Racing, but was disqualified for bumping Garth Tander out of the way. “Driving rules then were pretty flakey,” said the man who was notoriously hard to pass. Despite calling on his enormous depth of experience three challenging years with CAT, including an ownership change, gave him little joy and few rewards in terms of results, but from 2000 to 2003 he utilised his diverse talents, competing in the GTP Nations Cup with numerous race wins. “I’m a freestyle driver. I love driving different cars,” Bowe said. While a self-proclaimed worrier and harsh critic of himself, he is also highly-motivated when it comes to racing, but he admits that “motivation didn’t make the car go fast”. Enter friend Brad Jones. Bowe had known Brad and his brother Kim, who were well-respected in Super Tourers, AUSCAR and NASCAR,
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JOHN BOWE
since before they entered the V8 Supercar championship in 2000. When approached to join them in 2002, Bowe readily accepted, playing second fiddle to Brad Jones in the expanded two-car Ford team. Early promises of good results never happened due to under-funding compared with big-budget operations. But they finished third at Bathurst in 2004 and Bowe won a non-championship support race at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix. They were happy times. “I stayed there hoping the team would find its feet,” Bowe said. Then word filtered through that Kim’s nephew Andrew Jones was about to lose his drive at Tasman Motorsports, so Bowe did the honourable thing – vacating his seat so Andrew could secure his future. Although Bowe could have shifted camp to Holden with Larry Perkins, he accepted an offer from fledgling team Paul Cruickshank Racing for one year, “a lot out of loyalty to Ford and Paul, my first mechanic at DJR all those years ago.” Ironically, the sport’s ‘Senior Citizen of Supercars’ joined forces with the youngest V8 Supercar team. “I’ve been racing for over 35 years. That’s a long time... longer than most of my competitors have been alive,” Bowe laughed at the time. “I don’t expect to win any races. Paul operates on a shoe-string budget. “My aim is to do a good job, work with these guys and help the team to another level,” enthused the eversmiling JB. When retirement came at the end of 2007 it marked the end of an era, but to his immense relief, this likeable legend was able to continue racing. He competed in several categories in the following years, including production and historic open wheelers and of course the Touring Car Masters, plus he’s a familiar face at events such as Speed on Tweed and Muscle Car Masters. Dabbling in the GT Championship, winning for Ferrari and Lamborghini kept his enthusiasm on the boil. In 2010, he proved without doubt he could still win races, snaring the Bathurst 12 Hour in a BMW 335i with Garry Holt and Paul Morris. His John Bowe Driving business was established in 1997 with brother Terry and another driver training professional, David Cuff. Offering drive days from corporate to high performance, it is just another outlet for Bowe to continue his love of cars. “It’s impossible to turn your back on a lifetime of passion. It’s just a question of getting the balance right,” declared the man who said he was past his ‘used by date’ several years ago. Being honoured by “John Bowe Straight” at Symmons Plains and having countless awards and records attached to his name is a fitting tribute to one of the sport’s greatly respected drivers. Bowe doesn’t accept the concept that he’s an icon, believing that’s Peter Brock’s domain, but he certainly has a more positive approach to life than he did at the height of his dark, depressing year, and now rates loyalty to family, friends and sponsors as a priority. 48
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GLENN SETON
Glenn Seton
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WORDS Motorsport Legends archives IMAGES The Glenis Lindley Collection
THE SETON PEDIGREE Glenn Seton went from being a second generation racer to a dual championship winner.
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hen I began writing this story on Glenn Seton, it was difficult to pinpoint my favourite memory, or what part of his career created the most lasting impression. I’ll always remember driving the last lap (part of a Nissan drive day) at Surfers Paradise International Raceway on September 24, 1987. Glenn took me for a ‘real squirt’ as it was the final run of the day before the circuit closed its gates forever. As we slid and squealed our way around the track, Glenn demonstrated his perfect car control, while I was an excited passenger having an absolute ball! My other vivid memory relates to the 1995 Bathurst. With heart-felt sympathy, I watched as Seton’s Falcon rolled to a halt heading up the mountain after breaking a valve spring while holding a comfortable six-second lead with just nine laps remaining. Larry Perkins pounced, stealing his race victory, leaving the devastated driver fighting back tears. It would have marked the 30th anniversary of his father Barry ‘Bo’ Seton’s Bathurst win, in car #30, at 30 years of age. Also up for grabs was the choice of his father’s winning Cortina GT500 or $30,000 in prize money. “It’s pretty disappointing. We got so close today – I can’t believe it. It’s just heart-breaking,” the distraught driver said at the time. “Words can’t explain how I feel.” No matter how much effort was applied over the years, he couldn’t crack Bathurst. Victory never happened after 26 attempts at conquering the mountain, but the man widely regarded as the best never to have won Bathurst came agonizingly close. There were two poles – including a sensational pole lap time in 1996 (the year after that mountain inflicted its misery,
shattering his dreams); three second places and one third, but that’s as good as it got. Seton’s first visit to the mountain was in a pram the year his father won Bathurst but in 1983 he found himself having his first drive there, sharing his father’s #55 yellow Ford Capri. “The first time, I’ll never forget. “When I crossed the top of the mountain the sheer, I suppose, fear but also the exhilaration I got out of it was unbelievable,” a young Glenn said. Unfortunately they didn’t finish – a broken crankshaft ended their race when leading the 3-litre class by three laps with 13 laps remaining. “I still own the Capri. I’ll never part with it,” said Seton Snr, who races it at events such as Muscle Car Masters, Historics and Gold Coast Legends. While victory at Mount Panorama remains an elusive dream, some consolation is that Seton managed to attach two titles to his name, the 1993 Shell Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) and the inaugural 1997 championship for V8s. He was also inducted into the V8 Hall of Fame in 2011. Again he held back tears – this time as he gave his speech at the V8 Supercar Gala Awards Dinner, with wife Jayne in the audience. “This is a huge honour. I’ve been fortunate enough to achieve most of my dreams,” he stated. “To be with the likes of Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat, Norm Beechey and Colin Bond (in the Hall of Fame) is a massive deal.” Being one of only a few legendary drivers to achieve more than 200 events - joining names such as Johnson (202), the late Peter Brock (212), Mark Skaife (220), and John Bowe (225), elevates him to a place in history.
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GLENN SETON
Like the majority of his peers, Glenn entered the world of motor racing through karting as a 14-yearold. Like his father before him, son Aaron went down the racing path, leading a highly successful career that saw him win a national Trans Am title and spend three years in the Super2 series. Like father, like son. “I grew up around cars,” explained Glenn. “Dad spent most of his life racing and building other people’s cars. “I went to all the Bathurst races and loved watching Moffat, Dick and Brocky. “From a very early age all I wanted to do was become a professional race car driver and Aaron has that same enthusiasm.” When the chance came in 1984 to race for Fred Gibson’s Nissan Motorsports, Seton jumped at the opportunity and he found himself racing a Nissan Pulsar EXA at Bathurst that year with Fred’s wife Christine. “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience,” Seton said. “There was no pressure as the car, although a classwinner, was never going to win the race, but it opened up some doors.” Stepping up the Nissan ladder, ‘Young Glenn’ drove for the factory team from 1986-88, associating with some big names including George Fury, Skaife, and Jim Richards. Driving a Nissan Skyline, Seton accumulated some Australian Endurance Championship wins and after victory in the Sandown 500 in 1986 with Fury, this relatively new name in racing was hailed as a future tin-top champion. 1987 was an encouraging year with Seton earning his first race win at Calder, then grabbing runner-up honours to Richards in the ATCC and he also claimed second in a Skyline Turbo at Bathurst with John Bowe. He remained at Nissan until the end of 1988 and one of his Bathurst teammates was none other than Mark Skaife. With Barry Seton doing the engine preparation on Russell Skaife’s racing cars (Mark’s father), not surprisingly a friendship developed between the two boys, who enjoyed motorbikes and karting together, even though Glenn was two years older. Ironically, almost two decades later, it would be Seton joining Skaife for the endurance rounds in Skaife’s own Holden Racing Team. Glenn was naturally talented and consistently fast, but because of his easy-going, unassuming, friendly nature and seemingly laid-back approach, he never quite attracted the same headlines as some personalities. Despite his ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ tag, there was a notable absence of controversy associated with his respectful racing style and ethics. In fact, there was even some minor criticism levelled towards his perceived lack of aggression. ‘Seto’ was a genuinely modest, nice guy, and true sportsman - not a believer in wild claims and chest-beating. But he certainly wasn’t lacking ambition or confidence. In 1989, with high hopes for greater success, he formed his own team, Glenn Seton Racing, with Peter Jackson sponsorship. The youngest ever team owner 52
at the time, with help from his respected race engineer father, established a workshop at Dandenong, Victoria. Glenn too, was extremely capable in all mechanical aspects of the business, having worked alongside his father for years. “It was difficult running my own team, but very rewarding.” he said. “I had some great people working for me and had a lot of fun during those years. “It’s the best decision I ever made during my career and I would do it again if I had my time over.” Although Seton/Fury won Sandown in 1990 in a Sierra RS500, he didn’t have much luck with the turbo terrors in Australia’s Great Race, with ninth his best result in 1991. “Sierras were difficult cars to drive with small, narrow tyres and lots of power, making them very challenging,” Seton explained. Seton’s Ford Falcon era began due to rule changes in the sport, which lasted until 2004. His loyalty and love for the Blue Oval brand was undoubtedly inherited from his father, who also drove for the Ford factory team in the late sixties. “My first road car was a Capri and my first race car a Ford Escort, so naturally I was proud of this association,” Glenn said. “As a kid, I followed Allan Moffat’s career – I loved the GTHOs.” Even with high-profile, ex-F1 champion Alan Jones joining the team, they still couldn’t snare Bathurst. However all the hardship, effort and disappointment seemed worthwhile when Seton clinched his championships. 1993 was very special, as he was the driver, engineer and team owner – it doesn’t get much better than that! With lucrative tobacco sponsorship finishing at the end of 1995, Jones convinced Peter Jackson to support him in a new team, branded Pack Leader Racing, in conjunction with the Stone brothers, Jim and Ross. Meanwhile, Seto actually benefited from the split with Jones/Peter Jackson as Ford Credit stepped in with sponsorship. 1997 was an outstanding season, with Seton clinching his title in sensational fashion. That was also the last time a single owner/driver team claimed the championship. “There was a lot of pressure to perform, but that year my car (Falcon EL) was the best I’ve ever driven,” he declared. This team soon evolved into the unofficial factory team – with Ford Tickford Racing expanding from six to 12 team members. Co-drivers the calibre of Steve Richards entered the scene, then later on, superstar material Craig Lowndes joined the ranks. But no Bathurst win was forthcoming. The hoodoo still hounded him, although he and Lowndes grabbed hard-fought seconds in 2003 and 2004. After running his own team for about 15 years, Seton sold his licence to Prodrive, owned by Englishman David Richards. Eventually, Ford Tickford Racing became Ford Performance Racing, before reverting back
Glenn Seton with James Courtney
Glenn Seton with a young Aaron
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Barry Sheene (left) with Seton
to the Tickford name in 2015. Seton and his family re-located to the Gold Coast in 2004, where a whole new world was poised to unfold as the weight of team ownership and responsibilities lifted from his shoulders. Being established Ford men, there were smiles all round when Seton joined forces with Dick Johnson’s long-established Dick Johnson Racing team for 2005, but that wasn’t a happy time and brought little joy, so he found himself job hunting and out of a full-time seat in 2006. “2005 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” confessed Seton. However, the driver who had notched up 40 career race wins wasn’t about to abandon his passion for racing, so an endurance seat at Stone Brothers looked pretty good, where he finished a creditable third at Bathurst with James Courtney. That would be his last podium finish, but as he said, “I’ve had a fantastic career.” Old friend Skaife then somehow enticed this dedicated Ford campaigner over to the Holden camp, where he accepted various endurance drives with HRT, then with Kelly Racing, until he finally walked away from his V8 dream in 2010. Keen to keep his eye in, he’d previously dabbled in the Australian Mini Challenge, just for fun. Retaining his strong competitive racing interest, Seton linked up with the Touring Car Masters (TCM) scene, where he renewed the battle with friendly rivals and fellow legends like Richards, Bowe and Andrew Miedecke. His long-awaited debut came at Eastern Creek for the 2011 Muscle Car Masters meeting. Driving the impressive Jim Morton-owned 1974 Falcon XB Coupe, he made an immediate impact, qualifying fourth, claiming a third and a second place in the virtually untested race car. There were better results to come however when Seton clinched the Bathurst TCM round and proudly stood on the top step of the ladder. He experienced what he’d always dreamed of, hearing the cheers of the passionate crowd – but this TCM victory didn’t bring quite the same exhilaration, nor prestige, as claiming the Bathurst 1000. Then the unthinkable happened: Seton received an email from Morton saying he was selling the car. “I was disappointed after all the work that was put into building this car (by all parties), and we only did three rounds,” Seton said. Following this, Seton stepped back from the on track work, instead engineering Aaron to his Trans Am title and also his Super2 career with Matt Stone Racing. Following Aaron’s move to an engineering role at MSR, Seton now spends time as a shock absorber and suspension set-up expert, through his GSR Suspension Developments shop on the Gold Coast. “My shock absorber work has helped win Aussie titles in Super Sedan and Dirt Modified, and I’m currently in the process of developing shocks for Sprint Cars and circuit racing.” he said. SUPERCAR XTRA
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TONY LONGHURST
LIVING HIS DREAM
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WORDS Motorsport Legends archives IMAGES The Glenis Lindley Collection
Tony Longhurst won the Bathurst 1000 twice, once in a Ford and later in a Holden. Throughout his racing career he also drove Alfas, Chevs and BMWs; he didn’t really care what marque he was driving as long as it was fast – he just loved racing!
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hen Tony Longhurst tried to punch teammate Paul Morris back in 1994 at Winton after an on-track altercation, family, friends, fans and even his few foes were absolutely amazed because it was so out of character. Longhurst is the type of guy who is normally easygoing and laid back; a devoted family man. He is far removed from a run of the mill character, and nothing about Longhurst really screams ‘racing car driver’ until he’s behind the wheel. It’s then that his competitive streak and unquestionable determination to win becomes obvious. He began his motor racing career relatively late in life at the age of 25, so that became his preferred racing number. Like most of today’s younger generation racers, Longhurst’s competitors began karting or riding bikes even before they were attending kindergarten. So for this promising new face on the block, going from having his first competitive drive of a race car to conquering Mount Panorama in the space of five years was exceptionally satisfying. “Winning Bathurst was tremendous. What an unbelievable feeling” Longhurst exclaimed at the time. Born in Sydney, he shifted to the Gold Coast with his parents John and Annette around 1977, where John purchased land at Coomera and designed and built the Dreamworld theme park, which opened in 1981. Tony worked as the construction manager on the project for around 10 years and on other occasions was even known to dress up as clown - “It was all part of the fun,” he said. Longhurst loves water skiing and even set an Australian speed record of 201.117 km/h on the Nerang River in 1977. He “messed around” with mini bikes as a kid but said racing never entered his mind. “My first job was pumping petrol in an Ampol Service Station, but I later became a brickie, which came in handy for various business ventures down the track,” he smiled. After a casual visit to Surfers Paradise International Raceway to watch a friend racing a Gemini, Longhurst decided that it looked like fun. Soon he too was competing in the 1983 Queensland Gemini Series. He also raced in Sydney’s Amaroo Park Alfa Series before stretching his legs further with his first Bathurst 1000 appearance, driving a Camaro with the late Mike Burgmann with Dreamworld sponsorship.
From this point, there was no turning back for this newly committed racer, who clinched the Alfa Series in 1984. This was a considerable achievement as he was up against the likes of Allan Grice, Dick Johnson, Colin Bond and Alf Costanzo. Soon a JPS BMW drive was offered and his teammate was none other than Jim Richards while the late Frank Gardner was team manager; Longhurst was in extremely capable hands. His first major victory came in 1985 with Richards in the Sandown 500. After winning the 1986 Better Brakes Series for JPS BMW, an ambitious Longhurst set up his own Ford Sierra team, resulting in a Bathurst 1000 victory with co-driver Tomas Mezera in 1988. The annual trek to Bathurst became a family affair. Longhurst’s wife Karen ran the business side while other family members formed part of the crew. It wouldn’t be long before children Mitch and Jessica were introduced to motor racing. Jessica became a Castrol grid girl one year, but there’s been no real move by Mitch to follow in his father’s footsteps. Mitch tried karting but preferred surfing and studying. Early in his career Longhurst drove BMWs, Sierras and Fords for high-profile teams from JPS, Freeport Motorsport and Benson & Hedges to Castrol. As team photographer for JPS/Benson & Hedges from around 1983, I remember many of his dedicated crew, some of whom are still very much involved with motor racing today. To name a few there was former Stone Brothers Racing co-owner Jim Stone; Supercars broadcast data engineer Campbell Little, and Tomas Mezera, who went from working on cars to driving them to watching them as Supercars Driving Standards Observer before stepping down in 2013. Several championships, a 500 kilometre street race victory in 1992 with Paul Morris at Wellington in New Zealand, being voted the 1993 BMW International Driver of the Year plus numerous runner-up results were testimony to Longhurst’s professionalism and high standard of achievement. As a leading contender in the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Longhurst drove both Fords and Holdens while campaigning BMWs in the Super Touring Championship 2-litre category which he won in 1994. There was no shortage of prominent teammates which included Alan Jones, the late Denny Hulme, Geoff Brabham, Neville Crichton and Johnny Cecotto SUPERCAR XTRA
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TONY LONGHURST
along with Morris (before using his head as a punching bag) and Steve Ellery on the local scene. With extensive outside business interests and investments, his commercial property portfolio formed a major part of his life. Longhurst ventured into other fields, designing and building the Performance Driver Centre at Norwell, which opened in 1990. At one stage this complex incorporated an impressive car museum and motor racing workshops, while Frank Gardner was involved in the partnership. Ironically, this Driver Training facility is now owned by Paul Morris and is the base for his massive motor racing operation. Longhurst was a popular and well-respected competitor, who ran with the frontrunners and was unlucky not to notch up a few more Bathurst victories. The 2000 Bathurst race, where the Mountain dealt another cruel blow, was one that remains etched in his mind. By then the Gold Coaster had sold his own Castrolsponsored team and was driving a Caltex Havoline Falcon for Stone Brothers Racing. He and young rookie co-driver David Besnard 56
seemingly had the race in their grasp nine laps from the finish, holding a seven second lead. This had been achieved against all odds after several unscheduled pit stops, including a fire while refuelling. They’d worked their way through the pack from last to lead the field for close on 30 laps – and looked set for victory. Then tragedy struck- a back-marker, Adam Macrow, who he’d partnered with at Bathurst the previous year, managed to clip Longhurst’s car which put him into the wall. The car was forced into retirement with a badly damaged front wheel. “That was the most devastating result of my career,” Longhurst recalled. “We were extremely disappointed not to win, but I still had the satisfaction of overtaking the entire field and gaining the admiration of so many who thought we could have won.” In the pits, there were tears all around. Tony’s wife Karen shared her husband’s agony. “He’d driven so well all day and had put his heart and soul into winning,” she said. “It seemed like the end of the world at the time.” The following year saw a more determined Longhurst back contesting the endurance races with Holden Racing Team, where with Mark Skaife, he recorded his second and even more satisfying victory on Mount Panorama. “It was a perfect day’s racing,” Longhurst summed up. Then came a shift to Betta Electrical (Ford), joining forces with Rod Nash (Holden), buying a Level 1 licence, a stint with Larry Perkins’ Castrol team, plus various endurance races. Approaching 2005, semi-retirement seemed like a good idea until his itchy right foot took him to Targa Tasmania with solicitor friend Michael de Vere
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navigating. They towed the standard Subaru WRX, complete with radio and air-conditioning, from the Gold Coast themselves. “I thought I’d be up against a bunch of gentleman racers,” explained Longhurst, “I wasn’t expecting them to be so competitive. “My service crew was Karen and our tools were virtually the basic tool kit which came with the car.” Amazingly, against seasoned professional rally drivers, they finished ninth outright, having no previous rally experience, no pace notes, and almost no knowledge of the Tasmanian road stages. Returning to Targa in 2006 they claimed fourth, then third in 2007, against acclaimed tarmac rally specialists, while third place in Rallye Burnie (Tasmania) again showed Longhurst’s highly-competitive spirit. He even upgraded to a ‘super-duper’ C- Spec WRX Sti with credentialled navigator Jahmeil Taylor on board. Coming second to Porsche rally legend and good friend Jim ‘Targa King’ Richards in the 2007 Quit Targa West in a Skelta G-Force, and fourth in the Mount Buller Sprints in a WRX STi, further increased
Tony Longhurst
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his desire to pursue his new love of rallying. “That Skelta was one hell of a car. I loved the challenge,” Longhurst enthusiastically declared, “but they are deadly serious racers.” While sitting in second place and eying off the lead in the 2008 Targa Tasmania, Longhurst had a rare ‘off.’ He rejoined with only minor damage and played catch-up, eventually finishing 10th. “I’m certainly enjoying rallying as much as I enjoyed circuit racing in the 1990s when I was in my prime,” he said at the time. “But there is room for improvement. I now understand why Jim loves rallying so much.” Despite this new direction, V8 Supercar endurance events still managed to lure him back to touring cars. Longhurst teamed with young talent Steve Owen at Autobarn Racing in 2006 and he rejoined HRT for Sandown in 2007, replacing Mark Skaife who had suffered appendicitis. Snaring the 2009 Bathurst 12 Hour victory in a Mitsubishi Evo X with Rod Salmon and Damien White was another well-deserved achievement. Longhurst remained super fit, training with ironman and friend Guy Andrews. He discovered bike riding and, weather permitting, surfed most days. Longhurst is a non-smoker, virtual non-drinker, and a notorious fitness fanatic. Family holidays to surfing locations such as Bali, fishing and boating, are part of his make-up. 58
It wasn’t unusual to visit his place and see him hard at work doing everything from overseeing a building project to building retaining walls or helping with landscaping. Then the unthinkable happened. While on a surfing vacation to Bali in April 2010, the then 52-year-old suffered a heart attack. Longhurst was rushed to Singapore by jet, where he had a stent installed during life-saving surgery. He was upset because he’d entered Targa again, which was due to take place at the end of that month. “All he could think about was getting better in time,” Karen said. But his doctor stood firm and resisted all attempts to allow him to compete. This was a big blow for a man unaccustomed to sitting around doing nothing. However by October he was allowed to participate in the ‘Legends’ support event as part of the V8 Supercar Armor All Gold Coast 600, where he proudly drove his famous #25 B&H Sierra. Longhurst was back behind the wheel again for the 2011 Targa, finishing a respectable seventh with inexperienced navigator, Geoff Burgess, a mate from his water-skiing days. With the unpredictability of motor racing, he’s become very relaxed. “I preferred racing in the ‘good old days’ when we weren’t regimented by so many rules and regulations, which take away some of the fun,” he lamented. “And it gobbles up all your money!”
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