Motorsport eNews Issue 2 - May 1-7, 2007 by V8 Sleuth

Australasian

The world of motorsport every week – directly to your desktop

Issue No. 002

1 – 7 May 2007

DJR SOLD TO BRITSDJ?R

SHOCK CARLIN POISED TO TAKE OVER

E X C L U S IV E

‘NO, MINISTER’ TO BOURDAIS: TORo WA STREET RACE RoSSo in 2008

Marcos Ambrose Writes for eNews

HEIDFELD TAKES F1 BACK TO THE ‘RING

This issue of Motorsport eNews brought to you with the support of

Editorial Editor: Grant Rowley grant@mnews.com.au Deputy Editor: Aaron Noonan noonz@mnews.com.au National Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au Executive Editor: Phil Branagan editor@mnews.com.au

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Contributing Writers F1: Joe Saward, Mark Glendenning, Adam Cooper, Paolo Filisetti Europe: Quentin Spurring, David Addison US: Martin D. Clark, Phil Morris Speedway: Greg Boscato, Geoff Rounds, Darren Sutton, Tony Millard (UK) Rally: Ryan Lahiff Drag Racing: Dave Ostaszewski (USA), Ken Ferguson, John Bosher National: Mark Wicks, Mark Jones, Daniel Jordan, Aaron Shaw, Daniel Powell.

Photographers Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/Mpix, AF1 Images, James Smith, Peter Bury, Neil Blackbourn, Chris Carter, Coopers Photography, Paris Charles, Bob Potts, Neil Hammond, Joel Strickland, Mike Patrick (UK) Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Copyright: Material published in Motorsport eNews is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Motorsport eNews does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted. Opinions expressed in Motorsport eNews are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff. International photos supplied by Sutton Images www.sutton-images.com

Issue No. 002 | 1 May 2007

news 4 No V8s in WA? 6 Morris Dance 9 French Flies 10 Ring of Fire

chat 16 Five minutes with ... 18 Busch Telegraph

opinion 20 Talking Television 37 The Punter

race 22 Australian Rally 26 International 28 Local racing

Minister says no to streets PMM fixes crashed VE Bourdais in at Toro Rosso? Nick’s BMW laps it up Jason Richards Marcos Ambrose Crompton & Team GBR Cricket and Fiascos Chasing Toyotas A1GP, IRL, NHRA, NASCAR AMRS, drags and speedway

trade 30 Trade and Industry / Raceshop 32 Classifieds

welcome ... at home with Tasman Motorsport’s Jason Richards

Dirk Klynsmith

No V8 street race in Perth

WA Government puts paid to street race after Barbagallo gets told ’no thanks’ by V8 Supercars V8 SUPERCARS THE future of V8 Supercar racing in Western Australia is in doubt following the State Government’s further dismissal of plans for a street race in Perth. Barbagallo Raceway was instructed last month that V8 Supercars Australia has no intention of extending the current sanction agreement beyond 2009, instead planning to focus on a street race. However WA’s Minister of Sport and Recreation John Kobelke has revealed that the government is unlikely to back such an event. “When the State Government looked at the proposal for a V8 street event in Perth a few years ago, the return for tourism and promotion of the state came nowhere near warranting the expenditure required,” Kobelke told MeNews. “I don’t believe anything has changed which would interest the Government in investing in a street circuit.” According to the Western Australian Sporting Car Club’s General Manager Adrian Chambers, the club was informed of V8SA’s decision not to return to the permanent circuit at last month’s Perth round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

“We met with Wayne Cattach and we told him we are going to redevelop pit lane, we’re going to see whether we can look at putting garages in behind pit lane and all sorts of things,” said Chambers. “That’s what we laid out, and that would cost several million dollars, but we said that for us to approach the government to get substantial support, we needed to be looking at a longer-term sanction agreement. “We were virtually told the situation is that they are not interested in coming back to Barbagallo after the contract runs out in 2009, and that we should save our money.” That conversation has led to the WASCC being asked to join a consortium along with V8SA and the Marlin Group to push for a street race in Perth, however that project would still require a large investment from the WA government. Chambers will meet with Kobelke this

week to further discuss the issue. But even facing a V8 Supercarless future, Chambers is urging that the situation is “not all doom and gloom.” “I don’t have any problems with the concept [of the street race], but as a club we need to look long and hard where we are going; that’s the priority. “I need to ensure the long-term viability of our circuit, and if the V8s aren’t here, well, that’s even more of a priority.” The first step has been applying for an International licence from the FIA, a process that is up to the stage of a facility inspection. That will allow Barbagallo Raceway to potentially utilise Perth’s proximity to Asia and its growing motorsport culture. “Asia makes the most sense,” said Chambers. “But we haven’t gone out there and said ‘it’d be good to have that series or that series.’ It’s far too early for that; we may not even get the license.” “But we need to do is have our options there, and not just because the V8 Supercars aren’t going to be here after a certain time. The reason is so we can continue on being the facility of excellence that I believe we are.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

STOP PRESS: Dick Johnson Racing Sold? V8 SUPERCARS BRITISH-based racing group Carlin Motorsport is set to buy Dick Johnson Racing. The company, which successfully runs teams in Formula 3 and World Series by Renault, is reportedly taking (or has already taken) a preliminary 25 percent

share in DJR, and is expected to take control of the entire operation at the end of the year – subject of course to the usual requirements of V8 group TEGA in relation to transfer of licences. Company principal Trevor Carlin has a strong investor group behind him and is cashed up, having recently attempted unsuccessfully

to buy into a GP2 team via a merger with Dave Price Racing. The surprise deal will complete a flow of overseas ownership into V8 Supercars. Triple Eight Race Engineering is, of course, a Britishbased company, and Scot Tom Walkinshaw owns a significant stake in HRT. And

if you count New Zealand … it’s an invasion! The sale also removes any threat to the operation of Dick Johnson’s long-standing team which, despite its new-for2007 Jim Beam sponsorship deal, is not totally flush with budget. Full story in next issue of Motorsport eNews ...

news

V8 and 10 – legal action Dirk Klynsmith

V8SA acts on time problem V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS Australia has acted to ‘fix’ the problem that cut short the third race at Pukekohe last week. There will now be longer time buffers inserted into the programme before and after races to avoid ending them early. Race 3 in NZ, which had two Safety Car periods of more than 20 minutes in total, was terminated seven laps ahead of schedule to allow the podium presentation to be broadcast before the end of the telecast. Following the race, there was widespread media criticism of host broadcaster the Seven Network, which had a prior commitment to an AFL

game between West Coast and Carlton. But V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane pointed out that V8SA made the call. “The reasoning behind calling the race short was simply because we had two very, very long Safety Car periods,” Cochrane told Seven’s V8Xtra program on the weekend. “The first one (was) totally understandable. We had a car flipped, a driver in potentially a very dangerous situation. We had to give that the expert medical care and take our time with it and all the rest of it. “The second one was, quite frankly, unforgiveable. It was a very simple car recovery that turned into a Dad’s Army exercise. Now, I’m not

blaming anybody else, that’s V8 Supercars Australia’s fault at the end of the day because we have to get those things better and we have to get them right. And if we have to take a couple of our experts from Australia to international events to make sure they’re up to our standards we’ve got used to, so be it. “That’s why the race was simply called short – no one else’s fault, we had no direction from Network Seven, no direction from anybody else, we made the call to Race Control, Race Control let all the teams know during that Safety Car period. That’s the truth, nice to blow it into something bigger but they’re the facts.”

V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS Australia and Network 10 look like heading to court. V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane has confirmed to MeNews that the body will commence legal action against its former host broadcaster in the Supreme Court of New South Wales but, unusually, refused to elaborate as to what the matter was over. “We have had an outstanding issue with Network 10 since last year,” he said. “In the next week, we will be issuing Supreme Court paperwork over it. There is no further comment to make at the moment.”

New blood for GT Championship

JB and Aston Martin join Australian GT circus AUSTRALIAN GT

Dirk Klynsmith

JOHN Bowe and Aston Martin will enter the Australian GT Championship, starting from the next round of the series at Queensland Raceway on May 27. As we closed for press (or should that be as we ‘hit the button’!), Motorsport eNews learned that both the former touring car champ and

the famous British marque will have their first runs in the championship at the Queensland circuit. JB’s Lamborghini will be entered by Lamborghini Australia. Bowe is no stranger to exotic GT racing, having campaigned a Ferrari run by the Prancing Horse team back in the Nations Cup series days. The Aston Martin will be steered by Victorian John Kaias.

Lambo and Aston power: John Bowe will drive a factory Lamborghini, above left, while John Kaias will steer the Aston Martin, above right.

It is an FIA GT3-spec DBRS9 and is currently on its way to Australian shores. ”It looks fantastic,” he said. ”The car’s performance

has been proven in Europe and this exact Aston is the first to win the British GT Championship since 1964, so it is a very special car to many.”

Hercules returning for Winton THE improved design for repair of the new VE Commodore is one of the major reasons why Paul Morris will be back behind the wheel of his Sirromet-backed version for the next round of the V8 Supercars at Winton. Despite being heavily damaged in the Race 3 Pukekohe roll-over after contact with Brad Jones, the car dubbed ‘Hercules’ will be ready to roll for Winton – but on its wheels this time! Team manager Nigel Barclay said that the new car’s design, the result of hundreds of hours of work last year in the design and planning process of the new floor pan, meant that repair has been more efficient than would have been the case with the superseded VZ model. “It’s actually quite surprising,

but none of the front chassis was damaged at all,” Barclay told MeNews on Monday. “We had to put a right front wheel arch shotgun panel on it, which was pretty simple and all of the sides were easy to grind and drill the rivets out and stick some new sides on it. “And we’ve even going to re-use the same bonnet and Kevlar front guard that was on the car in New Zealand. Those new front guards are the best thing since sliced bread. “In certain areas, the new chassis has made things easier. It’s a case of ‘here’s a join, cut it off there and weld some more section into it’ and that’s a good thing.” But the repair to the VE has meant that the build of the second VE has slowed to the point where its debut may now not be until Oran Park. – AARON NOONAN

BJR lines up A1 and NZ

GRM’s V8 ’rookie’ Peter Bury

TEAM BOC will conduct a rookie evaluation day this Monday at Winton Raceway as the team search for two endurance drivers for car #14 at Sandown and Bathurst later this year. New Zealand A1GP driver Jonny Reid, right, Simon Wills and Christian Murchison will test one of the BJR Falcon BFs. Regular Team BOC pilots Brad and Andrew Jones are likely to pair up in car #12. A1 Team NZ race winner Reid tested the late Mark Porter’s Commodore early last year at Queensland Raceway, and has V8 experience at Bathurst, having entered the 2003

Bang! The Sirromet Commodore VE rolls along the Pukekohe guard rail but will be back in one piece and ready to race at Winton.

sutton-images.com

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS

Great Race with Alan Gurr in a Smith’s Trucks Commodore. Murchison, another A1 Grand Prix driver (for Singapore), drove a BJR Falcon in a test last year. – GRANT ROWLEY

LEE Holdsworth’s new Valvoline Commodore VE is likely to debut at Darwin, but Holdsworth himself won’t get to drive it until he gets to Hidden Valley in late June. To shake the car down, GRM will adopt a novel approach, entrusting Holdsworth’s lead engineer James Small to steer the car.’ The advantage of putting Small in the driver’s seat is that it won’t soak up one of the

team’s vital six test days. Small has recent V8 Supercar experience, having tested a Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore at Winton later last year. He joined GRM at the start of 2007 as Holdsworth’s race engineer, replacing Tasmanbound Adam de Borre. Small contested the 2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship, finishing fifth. He has since kept his eye in with the V8 Utes class. – GRANT ROWLEY

news

Marshall Cass

Brighty back Fujitsu Falcon back after Barbagallo repair job

New JD VE for Winton V8 SUPERCARS JACK Daniel’s Racing will wheel out its second VE Commodore for round four of the V8 Supercar Series at Winton on May 18-20. Jack Perkins is due to test the new mount (chassis 046) at Winton on May 8, when a number of other teams will also test prior to the round at their home circuit. “We’re definitely going to test with it and it’s ready to

run,” Perkins Jr said. “We’ve got heaps of spares too. There was no point in finishing the second VE as early as we could have because we wanted to make sure we had enough.” The arrival of the brand new #11 Commodore means that just three drivers – Supercheap’s Cameron McConville, Sirromet’s Fabian Coulthard and Autobarn’s Steve Owen – are left driving the older model VZ.

JASON Bright will have his original Fujitsu Falcon back for the Winton round of the V8 Supercar Series. After using a Brad Jones Racing-supplied body shell for the Pukekohe round packed with Britek bits, Bright’s team have received his regular body shell back from chassis guru Peter Beehag in Queensland and set about transferring the mechanicals in time for a preWinton test. “The guys are putting it together at the moment and the plan is to test at Winton on Tuesday (May 8),” said Bright on Monday. “The car was back here Thursday of last week and it’s

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS

all painted. It’s been a pretty big workload for the guys. They spent last Friday and Saturday pulling everything out of the BJR car and started putting everything into the Britek car on Sunday.” Bright’s car – which was driven by Warren Luff last year and Steve Owen prior to that – was heavily damaged in a Barbagallo practice accident that left Bright on the sidelines for the weekend. – AARON NOONAN

Will Christijan Albers be ...

SPYKED or BONED?

n Further to the last issue of eNews, Garry Rogers Motorsport has discovered the reason for Dean Canto’s Pukekohe crash. The car suffered a split in a front wheel and the sudden loss of air meant that the brakes had no effect when Canto hit the middle pedal at Ford Mountain. The team expects the car to be fixed for Winton in two weeks’ time. n TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup took a tumble from his dirt bike in Queensland last Friday but says he’ll be ready to rumble for Winton on May 18-20. Some strained muscles in the lower back have slowed the Bathurst champ’s training program but he denied reports doing the rounds this week of any fractured ribs.

CHISTIJAN Albers may be in danger at Spyker.

There are rumours in Germany that the Dutch team may be looking at Germany’s Markus Winkelhock as a possible replacement. The rumours have been denied by all concerned but there is no doubt that Albers is not very happy with the current Spyker car and that the team has warmed to new boy Adrian Sutil, despite the fact that he has had three first lap crashes in three races. In qualifying, however, his performances have been such that Albers seems to be in a rather precarious position. What is clear is that Albers must improve

n Psst! Are you the great unclaimed talent in Australian motor racing? Then, you are going to want to be in Network 10’s RPM 15 Seconds of Fame Competition. If you send a DVD with a maximum of two minutes of vision, and 20 words or less on why the competitor deserves a break, you could be the Next Big Thing in the sport. Have a look at http://www.ten.com.au/ten/rpm15-seconds-of-fame-competition. html for more. n Formula 1 drivers have been making the hard yards on the road safety paddock. Michael Schumacher spoke at the launch of UN Road Safety Week in London last week while Williams star Alex Wurz addressed the UN World Youth Assembly in Geneva on April 23/24. n Speaking of road safety, it is not just F1 gurus that shoulder the load. Howard Racing’s Andrew Thompson and Adam Sharpe will be at Brisbane’s Springwood High School today and Rivermont College tomorrow to speak to Year 12 students about the importance of being responsible on the roads.

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n Former Carrera Cup driver Tim Leahey returned to the Porsche cockpit at Winton last week, sampling Peter Hill’s Greg Murphy Racing-run GT3. It was the first time the Orange-based driver had driven the newer generation car since he last raced in the class in 2003. Leahey did 20 laps but will remain busy with the family car dealerships in NSW’s central west.

because, although he is wellconnected, the team needs either better results or more money – and preferably both. Albers’s father-inlaw Roel Kooijman is an important Dutch financier and has probably been involved in finding backers for the F1 team’s parent company Spyker Cars. This firm has a voracious appetite for money. Albers is, therefore, in a fairly strong position if he delivers results. He is also Dutch, which is a key point in his favour, although the arrival some months ago of Guido Van der Garde as the team’s test driver – with something like US$2.5m in his wallet from his fatherin-law, Spyker shareholder Marcel Boekhoorn – is clearly a threat for the future. – JOE SAWARD

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Toyota Top Man goes TSUTOMU Tomita, the chairman of Toyota Motorsport and team principal of Toyota F1, is leaving the team at the end of June.

Tomita was the driving force behind Toyota’s decision to enter Formula 1 in 2002, has been with the team full-time since 2003 and has been team principal since January 2004. He will be replaced by Tadashi Yamashina, who was appointed vice chairman of the team in December. There have been rumours that Tomita would be moved aside for some weeks because of the team’s lack of success in F1. The 63-year-old will return to Japan, officially to take up other duties at Toyota but as the firm has mandatory retirement at 65 it is unlikely that he will be given a major new job for just 16 months. Yamashina, who is also in charge of the motorsport and motorsport business management divisions in Japan, is going to have a real challenge, given that Toyota is suffering from the fall-out of having fired Mike Gascoyne last year. That move sent out all the wrong signals in F1 and meant that the team will have real troubles recruiting other top engineers, as it was clear that Gascoyne was rejected for arguing too much for what he felt was necessary.

– JOE SAWARD

The Last Bastion? Toro Rosso gets serious about Champ Car star SEBASTIEN Bourdais is to test for Scuderia Toro Rosso again in the northern summer – and that gives a clear indication that the team is very keen to sign the Frenchman for 2008.

There have even been suggestions that a deal is already done and that no announcement is being made to avoid the current drivers being demotivated. Bourdais’s European manager Nicolas Todt denies that a deal is done but says that Bourdais is “well-placed to become one of the drivers for the Italian team” in 2008. This would be a big bonus for France, which has been without a regular F1 driver since the retirement of Olivier Panis. Bourdais has won the last three Champ Car titles and has started the year with

two wins in three races in the US series. Despite this he is still only 28 and and this year has signalled his wider ambitions by competing for Peugeot in the Le Mans 24 Hours. His test for Scuderia Toro Rosso last winter showed that he is quite willing to start at the bottom in Formula 1 and this obviously impressed the team. It will no doubt have helped that Todt is son of the team’s engine supplier Ferrari’s chief executive Jean Todt and that all are French. The well-connected Todt Jr is also a partner in the ART GP2 team and manages Felipe Massa. – JOE SAWARD

THIS WEEK ON SEVEN V8 ACTION Saturday May 5 1.00pm – 1.30pm AEST

V8 XTRA Saturday May 12 1.00pm – 1.30pm AEST

V8 XTRA Next V8 Supercar Round:

Winton – May 19/20

WORLD MOTORSPORT CALENDAR May 5/6 WTCC Zandvoort BTCC Thruxton NASCAR Richmond WRC Argentina MOTOGP China CAMS National Series (PI)

sutton-images.com

May 12/13 WSBK F1 NASCAR

Monza Spain Darlington

Racing round the ‘Ring THE hills around the famed Nordschleife circuit echoed with the sounds of Formula 1 motors for the first time in 31 years at the weekend. In front of a crowd of 45,000, Nick Heidfeld completed three laps in a BMW Sauber F1.06 and was thrilled to drive on

the legendary 22.8km track. “This drive was simply incredible,” he said. “I thought it would be great to drive on the Nordschleife before I started out, but it was even better than I had expected” Heidfeld was instructed to be careful in the car, which had hard tyres fitted and extra

ground clearance for the event, and slowed at several spots around the circuit to allow photographers to shoot the car. His best flying lap was around 8m34s, two minutes outside the current lap record. For a full report on BMW at the Nordschleife see Motorsport News, on sale May 23

BMW

1,450 Exhibitors 4,200 Booths 45,000 Buyers Over 45 Countries Represented World’s Largest Racing Trade Show!

Triple 8 DECEMBER 6–8, 2007 • ORLANDO, FLORIDA • USA For more information: international@performanceracing.com

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BMW

FORMULA ONE

Caught red (and white) handed FORMULA ONE

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Paris or Monaco? PARIS Hilton, the queen of people who are famous for being famous, is expected to appear at the Monaco Grand Prix to promote a new Austrian drink called Rich Prosecco, a fizzy wine that comes in a gold can. The man behind the drink is Austrian hotelier Gunther Aloys, who is talking about doing a deal with the Spyker F1 team for Monaco – and perhaps beyond.

There are likely to be a few other celebrities on hand at Monaco this year with the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco both being on at the same time. It is anticipated that Red Bull Racing will be involved in promoting the latest Warner Bros movie Ocean’s 13, following its work with other Warner Bros movies in recent years. – JOE SAWARD

FORMER Ferrari engineers Mauro Iacconi and Angelo Santini have been found guilty of industrial espionage in an Italian court. Santini was condemned to nine months in prison by the Tribunale di Modena, while Iacconi was given a 16-month sentence. Both prison terms were suspended but the men are appealing the decisions, hoping to clear their names. The men worked at Ferrari until 2002, when they moved to the new Aerolab project, headquartered at Bologna Sant’Agata, to work on a new windtunnel that would be used by Toyota. Ferrari then suspected that some of its aerodynamic data was used by Toyota in the

design of the 2003 car and decided to file a complaint with the Italian authorities. This led to police raids at Bologna Sant’Agata and the charging of three former Toyota employees: former team principal Ove Andersson, chief designer Gustav Brunner and the team’s head of aerodynamics Rene Hilhorst. The German cases have been on hold ever since, waiting for the Italian actions to occur, however the Iacconi and Santini appeals are likely to hold the process up. The Toyota team has since stopped using the Aerolab tunnel and operates its own two windtunnels in Cologne, while the Bologna Sant’Agata facility is now being used by Spyker. – JOE SAWARD

Merc on the move FORMULA ONE

MERCEDES-BENZ is expanding its F1 engine operations in Britain and transferring jobs across from Germany. The company’s MercedesBenz High Performance Engines (HPE) subsidiary, formerly known as Ilmor Engineering, will get a new engine-testing building, new

truck bays and much bigger office space. The work will mean that all of the company’s 450 people will be housed in the same building with an additional 80 engineers and technicians being transferred from Unterturkheim, where advanced research and prototype engine work has been done in the past. – JOE SAWARD

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BRIEFLY...

n A new date and new management team are the highlights for the NGK Rally of Melbourne, which will be the NEC Australian Rally Championship Grand Final this year. The new date is November 911, while long-time senior event officials Alan Mackay and Rod McEwan step up jointly into the key Clerk of the Course and Event Operations Manager roles. Former Clerk of the Course, West Australia's Ross Tapper, will remain involved supporting now sole promoter Neil Cuthbert. Former co-promoter Justin Hunt remains an advisor to the event. Those interested in becoming volunteers for the event should email officials@ rallyofmelbourne.com.au n This year’s HQ Nationals will be held at Queensland Raceway. The biggest prize in HQ racing will be part of the upcoming round of the Shannons Nationals at Queensland Raceway at the end of May. n Carrera Cup Australia has a new Operations Manager. Kristy Weidlich, formerly of Caltex and McDonalds Australia, was most recently Commercial Manager with Paul Cruickshank Racing.

NASCAR TONY Stewart failed to attend the mandatory postrace press conference at Phoenix as he was upset with NASCAR’s use of debris cautions throughout the race, and not the fact he finished runner-up to Jeff Gordon. Although Stewart stated there was nothing in his team contract to make him attend the conference, NASCAR rules clearly states the top three in each race (plus the leading rookie contender) must report to the media centre post-race. Stewart co-hosted a show on the NASCAR channel on US Sirius satellite radio two days later and slammed the sport. “I don’t know that they’re run a fair race all year,” said Stewart. “It’s like playing God. They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It’s happened too many times this year. You get so frustrated, but enough of it’s gone on that fans are writing in and talking about it.

“At what point does NASCAR get the hint? I guess NASCAR thinks, ‘hey wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it’s going to work in racing, too.’” Stewart was referring to the number of yellow flags thrown for debris when it appeared there was no debris on the track, something many feel is commonly used as a competition caution to bunch up the field to create a better race. NASCAR hit Stewart with a US$10,000 fine and placed him on probation until the end of the year. He also met with officials in Talladega on the weekend where his Joe Gibbs team was not allowed to unload the car from the hauler until after the one hour meeting had finished, costing his team valuable time in preparation at the track. Stewart appeared in the media centre after the meeting with NASCAR under the watchful eye of NASCAR officials and back-peddled

(The) Bird Brain

from his earlier comments. “I know I did a lot of damage, remarked Stewart. “I am my own worst enemy, you can’t fix stupid and I say a lot of stupid things. To be honest, the group that I spoke with this morning is a group of peers that I trust. “If they tell me the stuff is out there, I believe them, I should have went to them instead of just saying it out in public. That’s frustration that’s been building up with all these debris cautions.” – MARTIN D CLARK

NASCAR

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n Pirtek Ford Rally Team has hushed its new Super 2000-spec Fiestas. The Fiesta engine was measured at 156db at Queensland’s NEC ARC opener, a fact that the series technical delegates didn’t appreciate. “It was quickly apparent that we had an issue with the exhaust,” said team engineer Paul Kane. “Our drivers reported that they couldn’t hear their pace notes from the co-driver despite the intercom being turned up to full.” Last weekend in Perth Michael Guest and Darren Windus were sporting newly designed rear mufflers. – STAFF/LAHIFF

Where there’s Smoke ... sutton-images.com

n Aussie Racing Car fans can tune into television coverage of the first and third rounds of the series on Fox Sports in May. The Adelaide season-opener and third round at Bathurst will be shown back to back on May 22 at 9.30pm with a replay the following morning at 7.30am.

JUAN Pablo Montoya has been placed on probation until the end of the year and fined US$10,000 by NASCAR for the use of his middle finger at a TV camera during practice in Phoenix. A TV crew had been shadowing Montoya over a few weeks for a documentary and apparently Montoya made a gesture to what he thought was that cameraman, when in fact it was another carrying a live feed. “I really feel bad that the incident happened,” said Montoya. “It was only meant as a joke to one of my friends. I completely understand NASCAR’s point of view and their decision.” – MARTIN D CLARK

news

White back in it

Toddler Talk V8 SUPERCARS

V8 SUPERCARS

LEADING Australian motor racing drivers are in the midst of a baby boom epidemic. The Ambroses, Marcos and Sonja, have told MeNews that they are expecting their second child soon. “I’m happy to say that Sonja and I are expecting another child,” the American-based racer said. “From a personal point of view it means a lot and we’re both really looking forward to having an extra member of the family.” In V8 land, there are as many as five V8 Superwives with young ones on the way – and coincidentally, they are all Holden drivers. Mark Skaife, Todd Kelly, Jason Richards, Dean Canto and Cameron McConville are all expecting additions to their families in the coming months.

MATTHEW White will make his return to the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Winton Raceway later this month. The Ford Falcon team owner has sat on the sidelines for the first two rounds of this season, entering one of his two BAs for Marcus Marshall at Wakefield Park. After Marshall’s impressive performance at Wakefield (placing second overall), White told MeNews that he will step back into the car for his home-track round.

“I just want to keep developing the car and making some gains,” he said. “It’s better than having it sitting still in the shed. “I was happy with how Marcus went (at Wakefield Park). I expected a top three result, but he went above that. He drove really well.” White is likely to contest selected rounds of the remaining Fujitsu V8 Series this year, with Bathurst and Phillip Island his favoured circuits. The second of White’s BAs is available for lease for Winton and beyond. – GRANT ROWLEY

John Morris/Mpix

For an in-depth view into Marcos Ambrose’s life as a NASCAR Busch driver, click to page 18.

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BRIEFLY... n The FIA believes that some Formula 1 teams have been gaining an aerodynamic advantage in the early races of the year by using parts which have been designed to pass tests but which flex when the cars are in motion. Suspicions have been raised because of some of the straightline speeds that have been achieved in the early races this year which engineers argue are mathemetically impossible unless there are changes going on in the aerodynamic shape of the cars. The FIA is thus going to increase the load-testing on the Formula 1 floors, increasing the current 500 Newton test to 2000 Newtons. n Audi DTM star Tom Kristensen was released from hospital last week after a nasty crash in the opening round at Hockenheim a week earlier. The Dane escaped with bruises and will return to his Siemens Audi A4 on May 6 at Oschersleben. His team-mate Alex Premat stayed in hospital a few further days for observation and will be replaced for the next round by regular Audi Sportscar pilot Marco Werner. n Nine cars failed to qualify for the Talladega Nextel Cup race on the weekend including the two Red Bull Toyotas of Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger, Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney, while Jeremy Mayfield qualified 18th in his Bill Davis Camry. Ken Schrader missed the line-up, the first for the Wood Brothers team since the April Talladega race in 2000. n Ford’s 2007-spec WRC Focus RS has been spotted testing in Sardinia. Marcus Gronholm tested for three days and Mikko Hirvonen for two. The team is still keeping a lid on details of the car, and refused to say much else than that the test was aimed at both evaluating parts and preparing for the upcoming events in Argentina and Sardinia – which suggests that the new car will be an evolution of the current model, rather than a radical departure. The 2007 car is scheduled to make its competitive debut at Rally Finland in August. – SAWARD/MDC/ GLENDENNING

Stamatis: No pass equals no pass DRAG RACING MARTIN Stamatis failed to secure his Top Fuel licence at WSID last weekend after a blower belt broke on his second pass. Stamatis was attempting to finalise his licence for this weekend’s Nitrochamps at the Sydney track.

He ran 4.85s/291mph on his first attempt and everything was looking good until his mechanical failure. Another car and team to test at WSID was the New Zealand outfit of Tim Watkins. They tested their Top Alcohol Funny Car and ran a best of 5.76s/245mph. – JOHN BOSHER

Catanese switches to Gillard KARTING YOUNG Victorian Luigi Catanese has switched teams in his bid to get to the front of the field in the Europeanbased Rotax Mojo European Challenge Series. Catanese, 15, started the first round (of the four-round series) driving for PCR but has switched to the factory Gillard team in a deal brokered by

Australian Gillard importer Paul Gallo. Catanese finished 13th in his European racing debut last month, and in looking forward to driving for his new team.

“Gillard is a very professional team,” he said. “They have gone very quick over there. They’ve went really well in the first round.” A bonus for Catanese is that he will be partnered in the Gillard team with fellow Australian and current Rotax Champion Hayden McBride. The next round of the Series is in Germany on May 20. – GRANT ROWLEY

Made in China Karting KARTING CONSUMERS are all too familiar with the ‘Made in China’ label, and it seems karters will be too if hype surrounding a new karting package proves to be accurate. An international consortium is in the process of launching a 125cc TaG package onto the world market at virtually half the price of existing machines. A conglomerate of two Canadians, an Italian and Australian Martin Brien are behind the project. The complete kart will be manufactured in China and retail in Australia for just $2750 inclusive of GST - that’s about

the price of existing 125cc TaG engines. The first batch of karts is currently under construction and will be shipped to appointed dealers around the world soon. The specs sheet for the new racer reads just like any other TaG class kart; 32mm chrome molly chassis with adjustable bars and 50mm axle plus a 125cc water-cooled, electric start, clutched engine producing 27 horsepower. The engine will begin testing for AKA approval in June. A development chassis has already been run in Australia fitted with a Clubman engine. In other karting news, the

Newcastle circuit is currently closed for resurfacing works. The venue for the NSW State Championships in September, three sections of the track are currently getting new asphalt. There will be no changes to the layout. The track will reopen late May with the next meeting on June 3. Also, catch the Australian Sprint Kart Championships on FOX Sports, starting today (Tuesday). Check your local guides for all times. – MARK WICKS

news

More Saloons SALOON CARS

Marshall Cass

EXPECT a beefed-up field of around 30 cars in the second round of the Supaloc Australian Saloon Car Championship at Phillip Island this weekend. Two brand-new cars will make their debuts in the competitive series, with Victorians Andrew Nowland and Basil Stratos having their first drives in their brand-new Falcon AU and Commodore VT respectively. And expect the new-model Commodores to make a real impact. Parity issues between the Fords and Holdens were raised before the start of the year, forcing the Saloon Car rule makers to allow more freedoms with engine compression and rev limits. Phillip Island’s big straights are likely to suit the revised Commodore VTs. “We’ve been working hard on getting the cars equal,” category administrator Les Morrall said.

“We are nearly there but we’re confident that it’s the closest its ever been now.” Saloon Cars make up one of six categories for the second round of the Shannons Nationals, to be held this weekend at Phillip Island. Other categories include Australian Production Cars, Formula 3, Commodore Cup, Formula Vee and Superkarts. – GRANT ROWLEY

Round Australia return? ROUND AUSTRALIA A ROUND Australia Trial for historic rally cars is being planned to run in conjunction with next year’s Rally Australia in Queensland. The event will kick off early September next year, and will finish at the World Rally Championship event which is due to kick off on September 12. The project is being spearheaded by Bob Watson, the 1970 Australian Rally Championship and director of the similar Mobil 1 Trial in 1995. “We’re about halfway there in terms of required entires,” Watson told MeNews.

Trial return? Ed Ordynski, above, won the last Round Australia in 1995.

“And CAMS are right behind it, as are the people behind Rally Australia. It’s a good way of promoting that event through the regional areas that the trial will cover.” Watson also hinted that the historic cars may run ahead of the WRC cars on selected Super Special stages. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

5 Minutes with ...

JASON RICHARDS

JR is expecting speed, results ... and the birth of his first child later this season

The new engine program

John Morris/Mpix

TASMAN Motorsport is the second-best VE team behind HRT/Toll HSV. How are you going to bridge the gap to the Clayton teams? JASON RICHARDS: The good news, from my point of view, is that we haven’t reached our potential in any of the races this year. Maybe in one or two races we’ve got close, but certainly not for the round. We’re not reaching what we could be. Half the gap is that those HRT/HSV teams are doing a great job in the pits, with car preparation, reliability, speed, the drivers – everyone there is doing a good job. I think you’ll find that all the other teams, be it Ford or Holden, they aren’t doing the job good enough in all the areas. It just showed on the weekend at Pukekohe. I qualified 11th, had a good pit stop in Race 1 and moved up to seventh. The next race we were fifth, coming forward, but a bit of an average pit stop, and then a failure put us out of the weekend. If we can just keep pushing on, reaching our potential, then I think we are going to be a lot closer. They do have a speed advantage. We know there is speed to come out of the chassis, and we know there is speed to come out of our engine department. We know we are not there yet but we are only just starting to walk now. There’s been so much change over the past six months, we’ve been going at such a frantic pace. It’s just a matter of time.

GRANT ROWLEY

When the car breaks ... Richards had a component failure on his Tasman Motorsport VE at Pukekohe Park, above, costing him a strong result on home soil.

made its race debut at Pukekohe. Have you guys noticed an immediate difference? Yeah definitly. We had one new style Royce McCort engine in Murph’s car, and I had the Neill Burns unit in mine. From my perspective, it’s a better thing, and there’s a lot more to come. We are only scratching the surface. Royce has told us that there is a lot more to come. We’ve got stage two coming soon, and stage three on the drawing board. We are pushing heavily in that area because there are major gains to be made. It’s mainly in the racing that you notice the engine

improvements. Qualifying is 50/50 whether there is a time gain, but in the race, you can really tell. On a lighter note, you are expecting your first child in July/August. There are two V8 rounds around that period. Dare I ask what happens if there’s a clash! It’s due right between Queensland Raceway and Oran Park, so if it’s a child unlike myself, it will be on time! Unfortunately, babies don’t listen to doctors, they usually come out in a threeweek window. It’s a fairly major concern for me. We don’t have the risk of running late,

because there’s an operation for that! The concern is if it comes early – that would be disappointing. I’d love to be there for the birth of my first child, supporting (wife) Charlotte through what will be a pretty amazing life experience. But you can’t plan these things. What about the old racing cliché – become a father, lose a few tenths … Someone told me you lose a second the other day. I got a bit concerned! If it costs me a tenth or two it won’t be a big drama. It might mean I finish more races!

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

BUSCH TELEGRAPH Marcos Ambrose NASCAR Busch driver

AMBROSE: Living with NASCAR I

T’S been a busy start to the year over here, but I’m happy to say that Sonja and I are expecting another child. From a personal point of view it means a lot and we’re both really looking forward to having an extra member of the family. Everything over here is going really well, but it’s a long process to get to where we all want to go that’s getting to Cup full-time. Every day is frustrating in some ways, because I want to be better than I am and progressing faster. But I’ve got to remember sometimes that I’m breaking new ground. I’m doing something that has been very hard for anyone to achieve. Until Juan Pablo and I came over here and started running, I don’t think there were any full-time NASCAR drivers from

What’s it like to be a NASCAR driver? Aussie sensation MARCOS AMBROSE takes MeNews readers exclusively behind the scenes of the NASCAR racing circuit outside of North America. So I’m breaking new ground in something that is very different. I’m thankful for all these opportunities, but at the same time I definitely want to do better. It’s all a work in progress. When I set the family up over here everything had the feeling of being a little ‘semipermanent’, I guess you could say. But now things are feeling permanent, so we have to rethink some things, like the size of our house for example. We have a second child on the way and we know we are going to be sticking around for a while yet, so things like our house, the vehicles we use and travel to races are all now in the process of being reconsidered. This year I’ve even been doing some of the motorhome driving

myself, so things like that we’ve had to change so that we are really set-up properly. I’ve had to get a ‘coach’ driver (as they are called over here) and also get someone to help me out in my home office. These are just things you’ve got to do when you’re racing week-in, weekout so that you are refreshed for races and you also get some time to spend with the family, which is important. Now that we know that this is real and we have got to set ourselves up for a little while yet,

we’ve got to make sure that we are set up and are doing things right so that we can maintain a lifestyle, but without spending too much. It’s very easy to go out and spend up big but we’re not in the league of the big Cup boys so we’ve got to be smart about it!

n terms of a week-to-week schedule, I’ll be honest and say it’s getting there now but I’m still learning. The general rule for me is to have Sunday off to sleep in,

Aussie export: Ambrose, above, at the Wood Brothers/ JTG race shop in Charlotte, NC.

Need more Marcos? CLICK HERE

www.marcosambrose.com spend a day with the Sonja and Tabitha and in the afternoon sit back and watch the Cup race on the couch. We usually race on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon so Sunday is my recovery day. Monday is shop day. I’ll go to the workshop, which is roughly 15 minutes away here in Charlotte, and we’ll have a meeting regarding the previous race, what we did, what worked, what didn’t and what we’ve got ahead of us. A general debrief, but it’s a little different because we almost always have another race only a few days away. The other important part of Monday is to sit in my race car for the next race. It’s more than likely that you will be driving a different car from the week

before. So you’ve got to sort out seat position, steering wheel position and the pedal box before the boys load up the car to send it to the next race. Monday afternoon I usually do office work, like paying bills, making phone calls, all that exciting stuff. Tuesday is the day the Cup boys return to the shop and have their meetings, so I usually go to the shop as well. Tuesday is a bit of a ‘catch-up’ day, but it’s also the day when we can do some sponsor stuff like track rides, so it’s a busy day. Wednesday is the day I gear up to fly away. I’ll have the motorcoach packed with all my stuff and send that on its way with the driver. Then I’ll tie up any loose ends and get ready to leave, usually first thing

Thursday morning. The motorcoach is my room on wheels, so that will have practically everything I need in it when it leaves. One of the secrets of being a NASCAR driver is that over here when you fly, you carry practically nothing on the plane, just a small bag. The plane is just like commuting. We always fly private charter, so there is no check-in or waiting time. The airport closest to the track is always where we land so everything works to make it as easy as physically possible. We even have a deal with Hertz where all the hire cars are lined up and waiting right there by the plane and we all jump straight in! When the race finishes, the

real race starts. It’s not unusual to be sitting on a jet about one hour after taking the chequered flag. If you are delayed too long after the race you will be fighting to get out of the track with everyone else. Such coordination is important or you’ll never get home. Our team has a full-time travel lady, and it’s a big job. Last weekend in Talladega we had over 90 people going to the track, all at different times, going different days by different ways. Our pit crew just fly in on race day and fly out again. It’s all very different and takes some getting used to. Speaking of travelling, I’m off to Richmond for the next round of the Busch Series now. I’ll touch base with you guys soon.

Not a rip A1GP

Coping with Winning YOU may not have noticed but Great Britain won something at the end of April. We won a race at Brands Hatch in the final event of A1GP 2006/07. Yes, I know that Brits don’t often do winning, but we are good at cynicism, and there has never been any shortage of that surrounding A1GP. Is it deserved? On the whole, probably not. The series has done two seasons now, and whilst some of the new tracks may hardly set the pulse racing, it has produced some good racing. The cars look good, sound exciting and certainly around Brands Hatch, put on a dramatic spectacle. But were the races great? No. They were enjoyable and tense and there were some good

battles, but ultimately they were single-seater races with all the incumbent problems of overtaking, irrespective of the power-boost button. That said, the speed and sound of the cars masks that, and Robbie Kerr and Nico Hulkenberg scrapped like they were in a Formula Ford race. The idea of nation versus nation works, but A1GP management needs to get away from its predilection for ignoring divers: they matter and the disparity of experience of drivers is key to what people are seeing. For example, if inexperienced Nur Ali of Team Pakistan passes ex-F1 racer Narain Karthikeyan, that matters, that makes Ali a star. But saying Pakistan passes India means nothing.

opinion David Addison UK contributor What is a concern is where A1GP is spending its money. It’s not a cheap exercise taking it around the world, and recent reports in British magazine Marketing Week of an £8million (that’s almost 20 million marsupial dollars) contract for promotion and branding is startling, as the promotion was limited and circuit-led. A1GP is good. It’s spectacular, it could do with a greater spread of equally experienced drivers, but it has much to offer and it has survived two seasons. What it needs now is proper management, less irrelevant expenditure – and a win for the Aussies! Remember them?

IT always bothers me when this kind of controversy jumps up. It is disturbing that there seems to be some people out there who may be watching too many X-Files episodes and have a conspiratorial view of what goes on in motor racing. There are no men in dark suits behind the scenes with an agenda of highjacking the sport. This has nothing to do with any TV network, or management team. People have been grappling with this

Letters

Have your say – email us at mail@mnews.com.au. Remember, keep it short! Shameless self-plug #1

Positively brilliant! Where else in the world can you read about the previous weekend’s motor racing activities in graphic and accurate detail less than 48 hours after the last race – and the major races were off-shore to boot! Well done the entire MNews team, in my view you have gone past Pole Position. The Parity Police in the publishing game will be having a serious investigation!

You have clearly bolted. John Benson Melbourne, VIC Shameless self-plug #2

Just like to say how fantastic the first issue of eNews is; top effort. It’s great to be able to read columns by people such as Neil Crompton straight after a race weekend. Keep up the great work! Mark Szwadiak webber_racing@hotmail.com

Shameless self-plug #3 Saturday April 21 will go down in history, right alongside Tuesday April 24 for me. I live in London (long story), and when I was chatting to my dad on the 21st he told me about the chance to check out all the good news from MNews back home online. I couldn’t believe it, and free! Then, as the proof, an email arrived linking me to the best motorsport magazine around on the 24th.

I’m sitting at my desk with the biggest smile on my face! No work for me today. Andy Sluce asluce@hotmail.com Shameless self-plug #4 Well I have to say that it is the most fantastic thing I think I have seen for a long, long time. I have always believed that the quality of your work was the equal of any other magazine available from anywhere. Now I believe you

p-off, just bad timing question; “What do we do when we have something else backing onto the motor racing program?” The ‘something else’ might be news, another sport, whatever. When there is a hard edge, a deadline, it is a problem. The notion of having a timed race is not a new one. Motor races can prove difficult to have a definitive finish time. I recall the Indy Champ Car race in 2002, with Mario Dominguez winning in the wet, but much of the race was behind the Safety Car. We ended the telecast by saying something like, “Catch the results on

Sports Tonight or read about it tomorrow in the newspapers!” In Auckland, it was clear to everyone in my world, and the majority of the teams and drivers, that it was a timed event. The intent was to have a conclusion. If there has been a mistake, it is that right from the start of Race 3, we could have made more of the fact that it may have been a timed race. This has nothing to do with the broadcaster, though the decision is taken with the broadcast in mind. In NZ, we were two hours ahead, with spectators at the track to

consider, with live viewers in Australia to consider. There are contracts in place and other priorities within the network to consider. In this case, it just happened to be football – and plenty of people watch football! People who read eNews, and I, clearly have a preference for motor racing. If it were up to me, the sport would be on all day, seven days a week. But that is not a realistic view of the real world. I have had emails suggesting that the ads or the football should be moved. Sorry, that is not being practical.

opinion Neil Crompton Commentator There was a communication breakdown. The race had to conclude at 45 minutes past the hour. Maybe that 15-minute window can be managed better (and subsequently has been), and that may happen. No-one at V8 Supercars, or V8 Supercar Television, or Seven want to rip people off. Trust me; that is certainly not the case. Being time-certain is a good thing; being time-certain with a better plan is a better thing. If everyone knows that in advance, everyone benefits.

Dirk Klynsmith

Shameless self-plug #5 I have just finished reading eNews and I’m impressed, even more so that I didn’t have to pay for it (and no need to buy [other motorsport magazine] in the off week). It has posed one problem though, I used to enjoy reading Motorsport News in the smallest room of the house every Wednesday – sometimes Branagan’s musings even helped proceedings along, but I’m afraid I can’t bring myself

to take the laptop there. Oh well, I’m sure the monthly issue will have enough to cover a few sits anyway. Brent Edwards brent@phones2u.com.au

if I can’t read it at work, I may have to forget Motorsport News. And that is something I hope does not happen. Jamie Fowler fowlers@dodo.com.au

eNews no good? Sadly I must be one of the few people who are disappointed with the move into cyberspace. I am one of the unfortunate people who doesn’t have web access at work, and as such my lunchtimes will no longer be filled with reading may favourite magazine. And until I have broadband internet I won’t have it at home either, because Thursday morning has passed and the low res pdf version has not materialised. As a long time reader, I will forgive in the short term. But

ED: Apologies to all those dialup users who were waiting for the low-res version of eNews #001. Being the first one we had a small tech issue, which will, we are told, be sorted in time for you to read this! Have you considered that saving a few bucks a week on print would just about pay for broadband? We were overwhelmed with positive feedback after #001, and we look forward to supplying you, the readers, with more news and analysis more often.

Dirk Klynsmith

have taken it to a level your opposition must surely be envious of. Once again thanks VERY MUCH – this is an absolutely fantastic thing. John Lee tzumachine@gmail.com

Thanks for all the positive feedback on eNews. And don’t worry Jamie, there’ll be a printed mag on the stands in a couple of weeks ...

AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 - PERTH

race

Jumping for Joy The struggling privateer days are well and truly over for Simon Evans. Now he’s a factory driver, and after Round 2 of the NEC Australian Rally Championship in Perth, he’s 2-0. By RYAN LAHIFF

Joel Strickland

IT proved to be a weekend of varied weather conditions at the Quit Forest Rally last weekend, but by the close of proceedings one thing was constant – Simon Evans. Over the event’s 20 stages Evans once again proved practically unstoppable, even when the weather took a turn for the worse. Over Sunday’s stage, showers turned the clay surfaces in South-Western WA into a slippery skid pan, showing the reigning Australian Champion at his devastating best. “It’s been really hard work, although the result probably make it look like we’ve done it easy,” beamed Evans at the finish. The Toyota driver was only matched on the short Busselton Foreshore Super Special Stages, but only because the stages were tarmac, a surface dominated by team-mate Neal Bates. “As they say, to finish first, first you have to finish,” he said. “That was tough – those last few stages were really scary. It was so wet and it was the ultimate challenge. It wasn’t so much about going flat-out, but about surviving the dangerous stuff, and pushing a little bit more where you knew there was grip.” Behind Evans, and some distance back as was the case in Queensland, second place went the way of Subaru privateer Dean Herridge, who overcame a plethora of mechanical issues to secure the points finish. “In the end we’ve managed another good points result, a result we probably didn’t deserve with all our problems, but a result I’m more than happy to take!” Herridge laughed. From the outset Herridge was plagued by his illhandling Subaru, and the team suspected an electrical fault with the car’s computer-controlled centre differential. It took until the very last service on Sunday afternoon to identify a worn cable that was shorting out on the gearbox casing. But it was the performance of Toyota and Ford’s Super 2000-spec machinery that proved the talk of the event. In only their second outings, both cars proved capable of matching times with the traditional Group N machinery of Evans and Herridge. Proving that fact, by the finish, Bates had positioned his Corolla S2000 in third to back up his strong result from Queensland. “We’ve learned an awful lot over the last couple of rallies,” said Bates. “It’s certainly going to be a challenge to have the new car ready for the next round, but we’re certainly applying things that we are learning to it.” Putting the troubled past of last season well and truly behind them, both Darren Windus and Michael Guest gave Ford reason to smile with the pair finishing fourth and fifth. But it wasn’t without dramas, with both drivers experiencing gear selection issues from the very first stage while Guest suffered an engine bay fire and a broken brake line. Local drivers Rob Herridge, Alex Stone and Chris Anderson filled the minor placings while issues struck down privateer regulars Will Orders (blown engine), Brendan Reeves (rollover) and Glen Raymond (broken rear diff ).

Joel Strickland

Hey, I’ve been here before: Local lad Dean Herridge continued on being the best of the rest with second place in WA, above. But the Super 2000s are coming, with Guest, left, finishing in the top five and Bates, below, finishing third outright. Will Orders blew an engine in WA, but not before playing a part in this tricky snap of the Busselton foreshore by Joel Strickland, below left.

Joel Strickland

GLOBE TROTTER

mike-patrick.com

SPEEDWAY GP

Ostaszewski

NHRA

STAR MAZDA JAMES Davison was unlucky to finish fourth at Virginia after qualifying on pole and leading the Star Mazda race last weekend. He suffered engine problems, gifting the win to Dane Cameron.

Gordon splits the middle NASCAR JEFF Gordon won under caution at Talladega on Sunday when Greg Biffle and Elliott Sadler made contact back in the pack late in the race. Gordon had taken the lead from Jamie McMurray just prior to a penultimate caution, which led to the two- lap shoot out. Last week, Gordon equaled the late Dale Earnhardt’s wins at 76. This week he eclipsed that tally, fittingly on what would have been Earnhardt’s 56th birthday. “The only mark I’ve got on my car are from

all the cans that were thrown at it afterwards,” quipped Gordon. “But nobody had more respect for Dale Earnhardt than I did. “The cautions didn’t work in our favor until the end, but this victory wouldn’t have been possible unless Jimmie Johnson pushed me through there at the end.” Gordon’s Hendrick stable-mate Johnson finished second ahead of Kurt Busch, McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – MARTIN D CLARK Points: Gordon 1521, Jeff Burton 1318, Matt Kenseth 1292, Johnson 1290, Denny Hamlin 1189.

Bump and grind at ‘Dega BUSCH SERIES BOBBY Labonte managed to be both Tony Stewart’s best friend and worst enemy on his way to Busch Series victory at Talladega last Saturday. Having pushed team-mate Stewart to the front of the field during the Aaron’s 312, Labonte made the most of a green-white chequer finish to slip past on the line. It was a lucky victory in more ways than that, with Labonte’s engine expiring as he crossed the finish line. “I just had a run on Tony,’’ he said at the finish. “I just stayed glued to his rear bumper; this is cool.

NASCAR Media

BRANDON Bernstein, Robert Hight, and Greg Anderson repeated their Las Vegas triumphs with the trio once again winners at the 27th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, Karen Stoffer also won. – DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

NASCAR Media

DANE Nicki Pedersen won the Italian Speedway Grand Prix scoring the maximum 24 points on the weekend. It was a disappointing night for the two Aussies Jason Crump and Leigh Adams. Both made the semifinals, although Adams failed to finish and missed out on the final. Crump made the final but finished last behind Pedersen, Greg Hancock and the surprise packet from Poland, Wieslaw Jagus. – TONY MILLARD

“The motor just blew up. It was pegged at 240 [degrees] the last two laps.’’ Even Stewart was enthused by the exciting finish. “That’s an awesome finish,’’ said Stewart. “I was laughing when I looked over there and saw

him going by. That’s the most excited I’ve ever been by a second-place finish.’’ Marcos Ambrose failed to finish after a multi-car crash wrecked his Ford Fusion. Points: Carl Edwards 1664, Kevin Harvick 1231, Dave Blaney 1168, (Ambrose 1009).

Jumping Germany finish on a high New Champions celebrate with victory at A1GP season-ender at Brands Hatch A1GP

A1GP

But it wasn’t all bad for the locals, with Kerr making A1GP history by becoming the first driver to win a home race during the Sprint event. A1 Team Australia’s Ian Dyk had a shocking weekend, dropping out of the Feature on the opening lap thanks to contact from South Africa, above. Dyk was lucky to escape harm after hitting the tyre wall. Dyk finished 14th in the Sprint race. Final Points: Germany 128, New Zealand 93, Great Britian 92, France 67, Netherlands 57 (Australia 25).

A1GP

HAVING denied Britain any chance of the A1GP title in Shanghai just weeks ago, A1 Team Germany has also stopped the Brits from scoring a home win at Brands Hatch last weekend. Nico Hulkenberg was too good in the Feature race on the famed English circuit, jumping ahead of pole-sitter Team GBR’s Robbie Kerr and holding his lead until the end. “After the pit stop [Kerr] was right behind me,” said Hulkenberg of his tight win. “I realised he was still behind me and I thought it is going to be a tough race because I knew he was quicker. Finally I managed to hold him up all race.”

Wheldon hits his straps IRL INDYCAR

The James and Troy Show WORLD SUPERBIKES

Points: Toseland 196, Biaggi 164, Haga 144, Bayliss 128, Corser 114, Xaus 99.

Points: Wheldon 171, Scott Dixon 144, Castroneves 136, Franchitti 131, Tony Kanaan 130.

sutton-images.com

JAMES Toseland is still the man to beat in the World Superbike Championship – so Troy Bayliss did just that at Assen. The British Honda star took a narrow but comfortable Race 1 win over Yamaha’s Noriyuki Haga but Bayliss hauled him in in Race 2 after Haga retured while leading. The Aussie won by inches after plunging past

the Honda in the final chicane. Tyre problems dropped him to fourth in Race 1. Max Biaggi was swamped on the opening lap but fought back for third after a sixth in Race 1. Troy Corser was fourth after a Race 1 crash, Karl Muggeridge had two DNF while Josh Brookes had a DNF and a 13th.

DAN Wheldon is fast shaping up to be the favourite for this month’s Indy 500 with victory at Kansas Motor Speedway last weekend. Having won the seasonopener at Homestead and been right on the pace at Motegi, Wheldon absolutely dominated in Kansas, leading 177 of the 200 laps. “It was a total team effort

from the Target Chip Ganassi Racing crew,” said Wheldon. “We’re gearing up; we’re going to go for the big one now. The Indianapolis 500, that’s the big goal for us.” Dario Franchitti came home second, with Helio Castroneves making it three different teams on the podium with third.

Rain, Rain go away

Dirk Klynsmith

DRAG RACING THREATENING rain may have forced the cancellation of Willowbank Raceway’s QT Tin Top Titles before any of eliminations could be run last weekend, but John Zappia was shaping up as the hot favourite in the Top Doorslammer class. Producing three passes in the 6.0s region, with a best of 6.08s at 234mph, Zappia took the top spot in qualifying. Ben Bray showed he’s regained his winning form as well, going 6.09s to be hot on Zappia’s heels. Current championship leader, Gary Phillips qualified in fourth position, and now with no result as this event, still holds a comfortable lead heading into the season ending Winternationals. Aaron Tremayne grabbed top spot in the Pro Stock class with an off-the-trailer 7.21s/188mph, edging out

Jon Andriopoulos (7.22s), and Tyrone Tremayne (7.23s). Shane Tucker held the bump spot with his off pace best at 7.35s. Andriopoulos heads to the Winternationals with an almost unbeatable lead in the Pro Stock class. Super Stock saw the demise of Dave Tucker’s A/Gas Pontiac Firebird after a braking area mishap following his subindex 7.44s/181mph. Tucker was taken to hospital for precautionary examinations. Ross Scare grabbed the top spot in qualifying going 0.77s under his C/MPA index. The Tin Tops was the first allsedan event for Willowbank, and was well supported with good numbers entering the new Pro Street, Pro Turbo, Pro Street Outlaw, and Street 289 brackets. The next major event will be the season-ending Winternationals. – KEN FURGUSON

Baron Media

Rain forced the Tin Top Titles to be canned in Queensland, but not before Zap’s Rat showed some ominous form

Scheuerle takes the title QLD SPRINTCARS ANDREW Scheuerle won an a rain-delayed Queensland Sprintcar Championship last weekend at Brisbane International Speedway. Scheuerle had won the Preliminary Feature on Friday night, and he retained the lead under extremely difficult conditions on a slick track on Sunday afternoon to win the 35-lap Championship. “Someone upstairs was looking after me there,” Scheuerle said. “We weren’t so good at the start on Friday, but worked on it and worked on it, and got it good for the Main.” Trevor Green traveled up to Brisbane for the event and was well rewarded with second on the podium, while Danny Reidy laid claim to third. – DARIUS KOREIS

race

James Smith

Winton weather spices up AMRS AMRS ROUND 3 of the Australian Motor Racing Series was held at Winton Raceway last weekend, including the new Lotus XChallenge, which featured a 50-minute endurance race. John Pagonas took out the enduro by a mere 0.3s from Azim Sahu-Khan and Luke Youlden. Touring Car Challenge

honours went to John Vergotis, pictured above, who consistently finished at the front of the field. Darren Saillard finished second overall in his first ever race meeting at Winton, which was also his first outing in wet conditions. Production Touring Car Challenge’s George MIediecke decimated the competition in the wet, but when the circuit dried Luke Searle

took command and his two victories cemented round victory. Kane Rose won two Intermarque Championship races, scoring round victory. An incident involving Frank Marchese, Wayne Henning and Jim Manolios on the opening lap of Race 2 left Henning and Manolios out of action for the remainder of the weekend. Attrition and incidents left

Peter McNiven to take Super TT round spoils in front of Michael Ballantyne in the huge field which encompassed the 3.3 litre Holden class led by Kevin Stoopman. Unsurprisingly, Tom Drewer was overall victor in Thundersports as he continues his domination in the West, while Ty Hanger won both Ozboss races in front of an improved field. – AARON SHAW

Brown heads QR Champs James Smith

Mark Jones

QLD STATE

James Smith James Smith

THE second round of Queensland Raceway’s Championship Series was held at the Ipswich circuit last weekend. Peter Brown, pictured above, clean-swept Racing Cars, as did Angela Lechner in the Touring Car and Super Tin Tops.

Doug Chivas was the top performer in Sidecars’ first appearance, while Scott Hunter was the best performed in Improved Production after Justin Keys missed a race. David Gainer won the TopGear Sportscars and John Duel was too good in Japanese Domestic Market. – MARK JONES

Winton Washup: Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series regular Luke Youlden made an appearance in the Thundersports class, above. Chris Farrell showed off his toy, a 2002 Champ Car Atlantic Swift, left. George Miediecke got one up for the Koreans with a win in his Hyundai, bottom left.

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rear of grid

You think we’ve got problems? E

VEN though the V8 Supercar chiefs stepped up and copped the blame for the short race fiasco in New Zealand, we were mumbling about it nearly a week later – that was until the cricket final! The speed with which V8 Supercars stepped back and cleared Seven of any blame for the race shortening at Pukekohe was speedier than a Gilchrist century. Looks like it was too late to stop some of the newspapers making an assumption about where the blame should go. And you all know the stupid joke about what happens if you assume anything – you make an ass of u and me … So, good on you Cocko and Wayno for doing the right thing. It didn’t hurt, did it? The cricket (yeah I sat through it), put together everything that is ludicrous about officials and TV all in one. The biggest event in their world, the World Cup, ended up finishing in the dark – the umpires were the only ones who couldn’t see sense. Not that we saw all the cricket – Channel 9 was so busy cramming in commercials between overs, they missed the first ball of the following over more

Odd Spot

than once. I take back all the bad things I ever thought about motorsport on TV …

ur house is becoming more and more NASCAR fans and we’re getting up early to watch the Busch races as well as the main Nextel Cup races, because good ol’ Marcos is in there and punching. You can occasionally get taken out in someone else’s accident back here in V8s, but it must do Marcos’ head in the number of times that happens in NASCAR. Our guy was looking good at the weekend, in the front bunch with eight laps to go, when someone started something which took

out about six cars. Result for Marcos – a headache and a trashed car. Good thing they have about 10 of them from what we hear. Good luck to you mate. There’s a result coming soon if you can just stay away from those loony Yanks.

n contrast, we didn’t stay up Sunday to watch the A1GP. It seemed like a good idea at the start, but how can a team as hot as Brazil was last year be so far back now; and why is Team Australia struggling so much while our Kiwi mates are winning races? For a category made up of ‘equal’ cars, there is too much between them.

Ingall to quit V8s?

RUSSELL Ingall is quitting V8 Supercars for a future in powerboat racing. The former champion and Bathurst winner climbed into a 250kmh Maritimo boat in Sydney on the weekend and, with Peter ‘Muddy’ McGrath babysitting the boat’s throttles, gave it some Enforcer magic on Botany Bay. So convincing was Ingall behind the wheel that regular wheel jockey Bill Barry-Cotter offered him the role of racing the beast, and he and McGrath finished second, putting Ingall on the podium for the first time this season. “I certainly got more than I bargained for today,” said Ingall after the ride.

“To go for the ride and do some steering out there by ourselves was one thing, but to be asked to be involved in the race was something totally unexpected.” Ingall is expected to see out the rest of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series before he hands back the keys of the Caltex Falcon to Ross and Jim Stone. In the meantime, he has offered to take Barry-Cotter for a blast in the SBR car at Queensland Raceway. Funnily enough, Ingall has a 16-metre powerboat himself and, in an extraordinary coincidence, it is also a Maritimo. [Ed: You clowns. This is a promotion release, not a news story. Whoever wrote this, my office, now.]