Motorsport eNews Issue 9 - June 19-25, 2007

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Issue No. 009 19 - 25 June 2007

• PWR deal collapses • Grech gone

REPRIEVE

TKR gets breathing space TRAGEDY: USA Demo goes wrong

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

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

Issue No. 009 | 19 – 25 June 2007

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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.

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Opinions expressed in Motorsport eNews are not necessarily those of Australasian Motorsport News or its staff.

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news 4 Gimme back the ring Weel-Marshall deal off 6 Rat-infested enduros Radisich considers offers 8 A new low for Ralf Well, he made it to Turn 1 10 Red Spot Delhi special Bernie nods to F1 in India

chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Hiding in a Valley 21 Saward 39 The Punter

race 22 Hamil-two-ton 28 Le Boys to Le Mans

Paul Stokell What to think, pre-Darwin Time to go DC Frozen fingers and mud Lewis beats ‘em, again Audi survives and wins

trade 36 Trade and Industry / Raceshop 38 Classifieds

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welcome Lee Holdsworth and Dean Canto allowed eNews into GRM’s plush Mobile Driver Ground-based Support Centre (ie. The Work Truck!)

Ther V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

SUPERCHEAP Auto Racing remains in the hands of Kees Weel after a deal for Queensland businessman John Marshall to acquire the team fell through late last week.

Three weeks after the deal was initially confirmed via a media conference at Winton, Weel remains in charge of his team, but team manager Jeff Grech has left, replaced by his predecessor John Panozzo, who had been moved out of the team previously when the No Limit Group began to make changes for its new venture.

While exact details as to why the deal collapsed remain unclear, both parties offered eNews their perspective on Monday:

news

ere is a Limit!

Marshall buy-out falls over at the last minute; Grech departs as Weel stays in control of SCAR

“I had to put my foot down, enough was enough,” Kees Weel said.

“We had a signed contract, and they did not turn up with a cheque. He rang me when he was overseas, and told me we would be talking on Tuesday [Ed: June 12]. Tuesday came and went and they could not elaborate on that.

“I don’t know what to say. This is different to what I am used to.”

For his part, No Limit Group CEO John Marshall said that “the situation on the settlement date of June 1 was that the paperwork was not in order.

“There was a further meeting

last Wednesday and the situation hadn’t changed. The No Limit Group terminated the agreement.”

Regardless of the pros and cons of the respective views on the state of the contract, it is clear that the deal is not going to happen.

Weel told eNews that since the Marshall deal was announced, there had already been a number of changes made to the team: “Things have been changed, including signage on the race cars, the ride car, the transporter, even on the side of the building. There have been changes to email addresses, IP

addresses and all that.”

Weel underlined that the split with Grech, above, on Monday, was amicable and that

the team was working towards being competitive with drivers Cameron McConville and Paul Dumbrell.

“We are busy getting things done, we are working on the VE and we will have that done in time for Queensland Raceway [on July 22],” said Weel.

What this means now in terms of driver line-up for the V8 endurance races remains unclear. However, Paul Weel, who as we reported two weeks ago had been told that his services wouldn’t be required for Sandown and Bathurst by the new No Limit regime, is expected to re-join the team.

– BRANAGAN/NOONAN

Tragedy in US drag demonstration DRAG RACING AUSSIE drag racer Troy Critchley has been involved in an incident in which six spectators were killed in the USA. The Brisbane-born driver was doing a burnout at a Father’s Day weekend charity event in Selmer, Tennessee when his car, similar to his race car right, suddenly ploughed into a crowd. The local authorities reported seven deaths (though this was later changed to six) with 18 people being treated for injuries in a nearby hospital. Critchley suffered minor injuries.

There were no barriers on that part of Highway 64, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning, who also said that no charges had been laid against Texas-based Critchley.

The incident was broadcast on Memphis

TV channel WMC-TV. The annual event was to raise funds for the Cars for Kids charity, which was formed in 1990 to assist local troubled youngsters. Its website carried a message of condolence on Sunday while Critchley’s site was not available.

On Monday, local drag racing body ANDRA issued a statement in response to enquiries regarding the US incident.

It read, in part; “This is a tragic event and first and foremost we must offer our condolences to the victims of the accident and their families,” said ANDRA CEO, Tony Thornton “Our thoughts are also with Troy (Critchley) and his family, who have obviously been devastated by consequences of this accident, which occurred at a demonstration event being held in good faith to raise money for

disadvantaged children.

“It is difficult for ANDRA to comment in detail on the circumstances, but we thought it important to make a statement considering the amount of misinformation that was being generated.

“This was clearly not an officially sanctioned drag racing event and was a charity burn-out demonstration which sadly went horribly wrong.

“Despite the fact that a drag car was used at the event, the activity had absolutely no correlation with a sanctioned drag racing event that would be held in Australia.

“ANDRA events provide an outlet for people who want to race in a safe and controlled environment. They take place at purpose-built facilities which are maintained to national and international safety requirements.”

BRIEFLY...

n Psst! Ever wanted to take a V8 Supercar driver for a ride? Well, you can, if you are in the Alice tomorrow (Wednesday).

Mark Winterbottom, Steven Richards and Jason Bright will be stopping in at Centralian Motors and customers who test drive a new Ford on the day will be accompanied by Winterbottom, Richards or Bright. They will also drop in the nearby Frontier Camel Farm for a short ride and a visit with the baby camels, before jetting to Darwin to contest the weekend’s V8 Supercar event. n TeamVodafone will have a new ‘leader’ in Darwin.

Roland Dane has an overseas commitment and regular ‘fillin’, Triple 8 co-principal Ian Harrison, is also tied up next weekend, so technical guru Ludovic Lacroix will fill the void, having stepped aside from engineering Jamie Whincup’s Falcon earlier in the season.

Yep, that French bloke at the Donegal Rally in Ireland was Sebastien Loeb. The World Champion and codriver Daniel Elena drove a Citroen C4 WRC in the event in a build-up to this year’s Rally Ireland. The November 16-18 event will be a round of the World Championship for the first time. Oh, and they won, by almost three minutes. n

John Morris/Mpix

n WATCH THIS SPACE! On the day (Monday) that DJR confirmed a secondary sponsorship deal with men's personal care group Brut (remember the Moffat Brut Mustang?) a well-sourced rumour reached eNews HQ that our ’DJR Sold’ headline from a few weeks back was about to happen. Not Carlin, but an Aussie buyer we hear.

Keep an eye on eNews ...

Brad + Rat = Team Brat?

Radisich considers his options for enduros and beyond V8 SUPERCARS PAUL Radisich looks sure to be racing at Bathurst and Sandown but the identity of the team for which he will race is still a mystery.

The former Team Kiwi racer has had discussions with Team BOC, which is yet to name its fourth driver for the enduros, and more than one other team, which would indicate

that there are squads out there willing to make changes to fit him in.

“It is no secret I have been taking to [Brad Jones Racing],” he said on Monday.

“There are a few more there as well. There are offers on the table and we are working through them.”

Radisich is keeping his post2007 options open.

“If there is the opportunity

to stay in V8s, I would look at that very seriously. But I have always wanted to race in some of the classics, like Le Mans and Daytona. This might be the opportunity to do some of those things. For the last 12 years, there have always been clashes that have stopped me from doing those events.

Maybe I will get to cross off some of those things.”

– PHIL BRANAGAN John Morris/Mpix

Tasman expands its NZ links V8 SUPERCARS LEADING Holden V8 Supercar team Tasman Motorsport is expanding its operations in New Zealand.

The Melbourne-based Trans-Tasman team has established an Auckland office and has appointment two-time NZV8 champion Andy Booth as General Manager – NZ. Booth drives a Tasman Motorsport Commodore in the NZV8 series and has recently tested one of Tasman’s V8 Supercars.

The NZ office has been in the planning for some time, but due to the recent misfortunes of Team Kiwi Racing, Tasman now plan to swoop in

on the Kiwi race fans.

“Andy has represented Tasman Motorsport in the NZV8 series with great professionalism and we are excited he has now joined the team fulltime to head up our expanded New Zealand operations,” said Managing Director Kevin Murphy.

“His prime role will be as point of contact for Kiwi race fans and our NZ-based corporate partners, while also allowing the Holden NZ Dealer network closer access to the team.”

“Tasman Motorsport is proudly majority New Zealand-owned and has NZ’s two leading V8 Supercar drivers within its ranks.

“In light of recent developments we are delighted to now make this announcement.”

news

TKR avoids payment V8 SUPERCARS

Marshall Cass

TEAM Kiwi Racing will not be subject to Liquidated Damages for its nonappearance at the Eastern Creek V8 Supercar round last week.

TEGA issued a media statement last week, stating that the team would not face the payment of $150,000 for missing the round. Originally, it was assumed that the amount would be due, but since there is some question about what constituted TKR’s entry for the round, the Creek meeting has not been marked as one of

the events that the team is permitted to miss, as part of the conditions that apply to a Level 2 entrant.

Furthermore, eNews believes that the team will now be permitted to miss three round of the series, not two as previously reported. In Sydney, the TEGA board met and determined that it would be fairer if the rounding of the 80 percent of rounds the team must attend resulted in 11 rounds, not 12. The original stipulation was that L2 licencees could miss 20 percent of rounds, which was 2.8 of the 14 rounds.

Dirk Klynsmith

D’Alberto considers V8 future ...

V8 SUPERCARS

Marshall Cass

TONY D’Alberto Racing has not applied for the 32nd V8 Supercar licence, but that may not keep D’Alberto out of the ‘main series’ full time.

The Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series leader is looking at other options to advance his driving career having spent the past four years in the Development Series.

An emerging alliance could see D’Alberto form stronger ties with Autobarn Racing (Rod Nash Racing).

Autobarn Racing’s licence is owned by Rod Nash and the

car’s preparation comes from Marty Brant’s Independent Race Cars team.

D’Alberto is driving for the Autobarn squad in the endurance races and has previously driven for IRC in the 2004 Development Series, so an obvious link exists between the parties concerned.

Regardless, D’Alberto is focusing all his energy on winning this year’s Fujitsu Series, because whether or not he wins, he won’t be driving in the Development Series in 2008.

“I’ve done everything I can in the Fujitsu Series,” he told Motorsport eNews.

Enduro gig: Tony D'Alberto and Steve Owen will pair together for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

“Whether we win or not, there’s not much more we can achieve.

“Yes, we want to go to the main series and there are a few options that are going to be

available, but we’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out.

“In the meantime, there are still four rounds to go so we aren’t getting too carried away with 2008 just yet.”

Old guard stays put Rubens and DC re-sign for another year; Fisichella set to follow sutton-images.com

A NUMBER of senior F1 drivers appear set to extend their professional careers despite an onslaught from the young brigade.

Ralf nearly gone – and Wurz too FORMULA 1 WHILE Ralf Schumacher’s departure from Toyota is imminent, he is unlikely to be the last F1 driver to lose his seat during the 2007 season.

sutton-images.com

Ralf’s departure is, according to reliable sources, expected within the next few days.

At the same time, it is not expected that Alexander Wurz will find work racing next year and it is quite possible that the Austrian will be replaced by Williams at some point soon.

His poor qualifying results have meant that the Austrian is not able to score points on a regular basis, which is what Williams needs.

However, Williams’ problem is that there is no obvious replacement available, with the best youngsters under contract elsewhere and no obvious veterans in a position to step in and help out.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out: Ralf Schumacher looks to be flung ... and Alex Wurz, right, is far from safe at Williams ...

The team has Kazuki Nakajima waiting in the wings and his recruitment would please Toyota considerably although it would be a big risk as Nakajima is still fairly inexperienced and is still prone to accidents.

One option could be Christian

Klien. The young Austrian is often overlooked but he started his F1 career very young and has a lot of experience. He is fitter now than ever and has a contract which allows him to leave Honda if an F1 race seat is available.

– JOE SAWARD

sutton-images.com

Honda will soon announce that it has gone ahead and re-signed Rubens Barrichello to stay with the team.

Motorsport eNews also understands that Red Bull Racing will also confirm in the near future that Scot David Coulthard will be staying on for another season with the Renaultpowered team based in Milton Keynes.

There are even suggestions that Giancarlo Fisichella will also survive what was expected to be a major cull of the older F1 drivers at the end of the season.

The Italian joined Renault at the start of 2005 and is in his third season with the team, which is struggling after the departure of two-time World Champ Fernando Alonso.

– JOE SAWARD

news

BRIEFLY... n If anyone is lucky enough to be at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed next month, there will be plenty of Hondas on view. Apart from John Surtees, Jenson Button, Ant Davidson and Gil de Ferran in Formula 1 cars, some of the marque’s bikes will be in the hands of Jim Redman, Luigi Taveri, Ralph Bryans, Roger Marshall and 2007 Senior TT winner John McGuiness. n The World Superbike Championship may be returning to the USA. Barber Motorsports Park promoter Gene Hallman told the Birmingham News last week that the 3.8km track, which has been extensively redeveloped in the last decade, has an exclusive deal to host an SBK race.

10

Will Bernie pull the pin on Indianapolis?

FORMULA 1

THE future of the United States Grand Prix remains in doubt with Bernie Ecclestone and Tony George spending much of the weekend at Indianapolis discussing whether or not there will be a race in 2008.

“Tony has stressed to Bernie in these meetings that we want to continue the event,” said Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joie Chitwood.

“We believe he feels the same. With eight years experience with the USGP, both Tony and Bernie know what the challenges are.

“They are exploring ways to get to a longterm agreement, and we expect to make an announcement no later than July 12. If we are going to have a USGP in 2008, we know that we need to make the announcement and start working on the event by the second week of July.

“We just need to continue to work with the Formula 1 community and find the right business model to make this event successful for all involved. That is our goal.”

George says that it would be “a terrible thing to lose it for the city of Indianapolis” but added that he cannot go on with the “current financial arrangements.”

– JOE SAWARD

sutton-images.com

n The OMV Kronos Citroen team ran a design competition for kiddies around the world to relivery its car. More than 240 kids took part and the winner was decided by votes on the OWRT website. The winning design will feature on the car at the ADAC Rallye Germany in August.

USGP in doubt

news

sutton-images.com

No India until 2010 FORMULA 1 A PROPOSED Indian Grand Prix is unlikely until at least 2010.

There was much trumpeting last week of an announcement in New Delhi that there will be an Indian Grand Prix in 2009.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi says that his organisation will promote the race and that money to build a circuit will be raised through government and private funding.

This all sounds terrific but noone seems to have considered the fact that all the fundraising, building permissions

and construction needs to be done in two years. This is not going to happen.

Bernie Ecclestone has agreed to let the Indians have a race in 2009 – if they can make it – but the FOM boss must know that there is little chance of it all happening in the time available.

It is more than likely simply a way to galvanise the Indians into action and aim for an event in 2010 or 2011.

The idea of a street race in New Delhi has now been rejected and the plan is to build an all-new F1 facility near the city.

– JOE SAWARD

Trouble with the treble SPORTSCARS JACQUES Villeneuve has failed in his attempt to become the first man since Graham Hill to win motor racing’s ‘Triple Crown’, consisting of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Hill is the only man so far to have achieved that goal.

Villeneuve’s Peugeot 908 was

running in second position when it began to suffer engine trouble.

This required a lengthy pit stop which dropped the team to fourth and then with little more than an hour to go, the car was back in the pits, its engine broken.

Villeneuve, who was sharing the car with former Ferrari test driver Marc Gene and Nicolas Minassian, will now have to plan for another attempt in 2008.

– JOE SAWARD

sutton-images.com

11

Brabs wins GT1 at Le Mans sutton-images.com

SPORTSCARS AUSSIE David Brabham has taken victory in the GT1 class of the Le Mans 24 Hour.

12

NASCAR Media

Brabham, driving a works Aston Martin alongside Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner, was part of a dominant performance by the Prodriverun squad, which took the first triumph at Le Mans for Aston Martin since 1959.

The trio finished fifth overall in a race plagued by changeable weather conditions after scrapping early with the sister car of Johnny Herbert, Tomas Enge and Peter Kox, which slipped off the road and needed an eight minute stop to repair the front splitter.

Brabham drove the final stint in torrential rain to bring home the #009 car to victory.

“I think that last lap this year was the longest of my entire life,” he said.

“The quantity of standing water made judging the amount of grip available a complete gamble. I just took a lot of care to bring the car home safely.”

The Audi R10 diesel of Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela and Marco Werner won the race overall – click to the report on page 28.

Ambrose podium!

MARCOS Ambrose finished 11th in the latest NASCAR Busch Series race, but that wasn’t his best result for the week.

The Australian finished third in a NASCAR celebrity race in a Dirt Modified car at Macon Speedway in Macon, Illinois last Thursday night.

Ambrose finished behind track co-owners Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader in the 25-

lap event, which also boasted the likes of Jason Leffler, Mike Wallace, Steve Wallace, JJ Yeley, Kyle Busch, Casey Mears and Bobby Labonte, as well as team owner Ray Evernham.

“The dirt track event was a lot of fun,” he said.

“I'll definitely be putting my hand up for similar things in the future. It was a blast.”

news

Earnhardt/Hendrick deal NASCAR DALE Earnhardt Jr will drive a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 after signing a five-year deal with the NASCAR powerhouse.

‘Little E’ will join Cup Champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon as well as new Hendrick shoe Casey Mears in replacing Kyle Busch, who will leave at season’s end.

“We talked with many teams but one stood out above the rest and it became apparent to me the man I wanted to drive for,” said Earnhardt Jr. Busch was negotiating a contract extension with Hendrick, however Busch received offers from other

teams and Hendrick had the chance to add to his already star-studded stable. Busch may now land with Dale Earnhardt Inc. The Earnhardt family has a long relationship with Hendrick. The late Dale Earnhardt Snr won Hendrick’s first NASCAR race – a Busch event at Charlotte – in 1984 and Junior’s grandfather, the late Robert Gee, worked for Rick Hendrick when he started in NASCAR that same year.

Earnhardt Jr jokingly signed a contract with Hendrick on a napkin in Kansas back in 1991 at age 14. Little did they know the contract would come to fruition 16 years later and be

Martin D Clark

Little E joins Gordon and Johnson in Chev superteam

Deal is a deal: Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, left, who handles Earnhardt Jr's negotiations, joins new boss Hendrick and her brother at the announcement.

worth millions of dollars to both parties!

Although the contract is for five years, no announcement has been made on a car number (Busch is currently number five) or a sponsor

(Kellogg’s and Car Quest are current sponsors).

Budwieser is contracted with DEI until the end of 2008, while the team also owns the #8.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Toyota Motorsport

Waltrip to the bench NASCAR MICHAEL Waltrip will step away from his Toyota for two races this season and hand his self-owned NAPA Camry to two-time champion and ‘retired’ veteran Terry Labonte for the two road courses of Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

Waltrip feels Labonte, a seasoned circuit racer,

stands a better chance of performing on the two tracks and should he need it will have champions provisional starting slots to fall back on, guaranteeing him a grid spot and Waltrip much needed points and positive publicity.

“It’s not an easy decision for me to remove myself

from the car, but I know it is for the betterment of our whole program,” commented Waltrip.

“I know Terry's experience and road race savvy will breathe a little bit of fresh air into my young NAPA team.”

– MARTIN D CLARK

13

New Zealand’s own Utility V8 UTES

in New Zealand reports that eight of the 16 franchises have already been sold by the company – which consists of chairman Ash Cairns, category manager Jamie Kett, Mike Pero and Graham Beirne – after they bought the rights to the series from Australian V8 Racing Pty Ltd.

THE first steps for the V8 Ute Series to expand further into New Zealand have begun, with NZ V8 Ute Racing Ltd being established and aiming at beginning racing at Manfeild next summer.

The Manawatu Standard

Eight Commodores and Falcons will be built in Australia and exported across the Tasman for the series, which is being slated to start at Manfeild on the first weekend of February next year.

“There seems to be a lot of support for our commitment to

do our own thing, rather than get on the Motorsport New Zealand treadmill,” Cairns told the paper.

“I believe there is an opening for organised motorsport activity in the February to June period. We have the opportunity to establish something that is new.”

Dirk Klynsmith

And Davo to debut at Darwin V8 UTES CHARLES Davison will make his V8 Utes Series debut at Hidden Valley this weekend.

Davison, the son of Sandown promotor Jon, will have a oneoff drive in the multi-car HiTech Motorsport Falcon ute.

The car is the #42 ex-Chris Pither Kanga Loaders Ford.

“I’ve never driven a Ute before and I’ve never been to Hidden Valley,” Davison said.

“We were due to test last weekend, but a timing factor didn’t allow it.

“It will be interesting, but

I’m sure I’ll acclimatise. I’ve driven a H-pattern before in 944 Porsches, so I’ll just build up the speed and see where we go.

“It’s hard to say where I’ll be. I’m sure the top 10 will be fairly competitive with a good breadth of drivers. I’m not sure.

Without having my bum in the car, I’ll probably be midfield, but I don’t know.”

Davison has spent the first part of the season racing in the Aussie Racing Cars Series, where he is currently running 16th. ¬ GRANT ROWLEY

Make the most of your Motorsport eNews MotorSport NSW official publication

of the NSW State

Motor racing Championsh

Apart from the latest weekly issue, check out the digital versions of our NSW and VIC State Racing supplements – it’s all on the www.mnews.com.au home page

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14

Creek, Round

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news

Marshall Cass

Stokell joins Sherrin CARRERA CUP PAUL Stokell will join the Carrera Cup Championship at Hidden Valley, Darwin this weekend.

As tipped in eNews last week, the three-time Australian Driver’s Champion and twotime Nations Cup Champion will make his first Cup Car start at Darwin, alongside Steve

Ellery in an expanded Sherrin Equipment team.

“I believe the Carrera Cup is the strongest support category to the V8s so to be racing in this event is a real boost for my career,” he said.

“The calibre of drivers is impressive, the TV coverage is great and the competition’s close, so it’s exciting for me to get this chance.”

2 Lowe 4 Zero FORMULA FORD

FORMULA Forder Brad Lowe will be back for Round 5 of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Queensland Raceway despite his new Spirit chassis being heavily damaged at Eastern Creek last week.

Lowe’s car was damaged after Nick Percat squeezed him into the pit wall during the second race at The Creek.

“I haven’t seen the car but I’m hearing it will be ready for Queensland,” Lowe told eNews.

“The whole front end needs to be chopped and rebuilt, but we should get there.”

Lowe’s Spirit WL07 wasn’t the only thing damaged in the crash, with a chassis rail punching into the cockpit and fracturing his foot. Remarkably, he returned to the driver’s seat that day for an Aussie Racing Cars race.

“The adrenalin was pumping and that got me through the Aussie race,” he said.

“I was only on crutches for a few days, and I returned to the gym today (Monday) and it felt okay so I’ll be fine.”

Percat was excluded from the Eastern Creek results as punishment for instigating the crash.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

BIMF in Feb THE third-running of the Bathurst International Motor Festival is likely to run in February next year.

Subject to CAMS sanctioning, the BIMF will be held at Mount Panorama on the weekend of February 1517, moving it away from the Easter long-weekend date it has held for the past two seasons.

Easter falls at the end of March in 2008, and with Clipsal and the Australian Grand Prix in March, BIMF organisers have elected to move it forward, to avoid an event overload. It will also give some breathing space for officials and marshals who would attend all three events.

Assuming BIMF goes ahead on its February date, it will be the second major motorsport event for the year after the A1 Grand Prix at Eastern Creek.

But there could still be motor racing at Bathurst on its traditional Easter date. The Festival of Sporting Cars has proposed a social/ demonstration race meeting on the date with an emphasis on ‘fun’ rather than outright competition.

– GRANT ROWLEY

COMING THIS WEEK

International MotoGP – England Champ Car – Cleveland WSBK – Misano Goodwood Festival of Speed Australia V8s - HiddenValley, NT (plus Carrera Cup) NexT Week (JUNE 23-24) International French GP – Magny Cours Dutch MotoGP –Assen IRL –Richmond, USA NASCAR – New Hamp.

Australia CAMS Nationals –Mallala, Superbikes –Qld R/Way

NEED A CAR? CLICK HERE

15

STONER UNTURNED

Casey stays in red for 2008. Maybe longer MOTOGP CASEY Stoner will stay in Ducati red until the end of the 2008 season.

The MotoGP world championship leader, who scored a thrilling victory over Valentino Rossi in Barcelona last week, is expected to sign a deal with the team. Stoner, 21, has won four races held this season, his second in the premier class and first with Ducati.

“We plan for Casey to be with Ducati in 2008,” team boss Livio Suppo told Australian Associated Press.

His father and business manager Colin confirmed the deal and

forecast a long future for his son with the Italian team.

“Casey has renewed with Ducati for 2008 and we are already talking about the future and I envisage that by the end of this season we will have something concrete for 2009 and 2010,” Colin Stoner said.

“Both parties are happy to continue. We don’t want to go anywhere and Ducati don't want Casey to go anywhere.”

Stoner leads Rossi by 14 points with 10 rounds remaining in the world.

Ducati Corse Press

916, 996, Western Star?

998, 999, ... 1098 MOTOGP

ANTHONY West looks well-placed to join the Kawasaki MotoGP team – at least for one race, this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

FIM okays 1200cc Superbikes

DUCATI will get to race its 1098 in the World Superbike Championship after the FIM ruled to allow 1200cc twins into the series from next season.

The governing body had determined to permit two-cylinder motorcycles to take on three and four-cylinder 1000cc bikes, providing that they meet a number of different technical requirements. Twins will have to meet a higher minimum weight limit of 168kg, six kilos up on the 1-litre models, as well as use a 50mm air restrictor. Both the weight and air restrictors will be subject to updates, depending on race results.

The engines will be tuned to a similar level to the fours, except they must use production conrods. To date, Ducati has been granted technical exemptions to keep its ageing 999s competitive with the 220 horsepower Japanese fours.

A complete set of technical regulations is expected to be released by the FIM later this week.

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The Maryborough-born rider tested a Kawasaki at the post-race test at Barcelona last Monday, filling in for the injured Olivier Jacque and assisted the green team with testing of a new Bridgestone 16-inch tyre.

While West hardly set the world on fire during the test, he did impress the team, which has been plagued by injuries. Randy de Puniet finished a career-best fifth at Catalunya last week, despite riding with painful leg injuries and team-mate Olivier Jacque missed the race after injuring his neck in a practice fall.

West is proving his versatility this season, racing in the last three rounds of the World Supersport championship while filling in for the injured Kevin Curtain aboard the Yamaha R6. His results are amazing; third, first and first.

The 26-year-old has lost his 250cc Aprilia ride with the Matteoni team and could be wellplaced to fill in for Jacque, if the team decides he is not fit enough to race. Of course, Kawasaki is also considering its 2008 lineup ...

news

Astute Timing for Michael Trimble returns to F3 for Mallala FORMULA 3 MICHAEL Trimble will make a return to the Australian Formula 3 Championship at Mallala in a fortnight.

The Victorian will line up for his old team Astuti Motor Sport, which has been without a regular second driver since Australian Walter Grubmuller went back to race in Europe earlier this year.

“We’ve got some support from new sponsors so we can look at drivers,” said team boss Sam Astuti.

“I’m absolutely rapt to have Michael back on board. He was at the top of the list.

“At this point it’s only a oneoff drive, but you never know what could happen.”

It will be a busy fortnight for Trimble, who will race in this weekend’s Carrera Cup race in Darwin before flying straight to Adelaide for a test session next Thursday and the weekend’s Shannons Nationals round.

In other Formula 3 news, Jesse Wakeman will make his debut at Mallala in the ex-Karl Reindler Dallara F301.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

The Fast and The Famous SPEEDWAY

A RANGE of constructors, drivers, promoters and car owners were honoured late last week in Adelaide for the inaugural Australian Speedway Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Ten people became the first inductees after the NASR National Induction Committee

poured over a list of nominees.

They were three-time Australian Speedcar champ Johnny Stewart, Adelaide promoter and racer Kym Bonython, racing legend George Tatnell, engine guru Hedley McGee, Super Sedan ace Grenville Anderson, seven-

time Grand Annual Classic winner Garry Rush, promoters Con Migro and Frank Arthur, five-time Australian Speedcar champ Ray Revell and team owner Don Mackay.

Garry breaks through in Queensland SPEEDWAY GARRY Brazier won the first 410-cubic-inch Sprintcar race held in Queensland last weekend at Brisbane International Speedway.

Brazier was unstoppable, claiming the fastest

lap in time trials, winning both his heats, and leading every lap of the feature race.

Peter Thorley finished the race in second, ahead of Andrew Scheuerle, track promoter John Kelly in fourth, and Dan Murray.

– DARIUS KOREIS

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5 Minutes with ...

PAUL STOKELL

Paul Stokell steps back into full-time driving at Darwin this weekend

GRANT ROWLEY

MOTORSPORT eNEWS: You’ll be making your Carrera Cup debut at Hidden Valley this weekend. It’s your first fulltime ride in a while, so you must be looking forward to it.

PAUL STOKELL: Yeah, I am. I’m ecstatic about the whole thing actually. It’s awesome. It’s a good opportunity with the Sherrin Equipment team.

Carrera Cup is a category that I’ve been looking at for some time. Out of any category, it’s the one I’ve wanted to get into the most. It’s very competitive and it’s got some good drivers so I’m looking forward to that aspect.

Yeah, I haven’t had a fulltime ride for a while. I’ve done a couple of Targas and a few club races here and there and keeping my hand in with a few driver training days.

Have you raced at Darwin before?

No, I haven’t raced at Darwin.

That will make it a little bit difficult but we should be right. The track isn’t all that difficult.

Where do you think you’ll slot into the mix? It’s a pretty competitive category …

Yeah, it’s hard to say. Obviously I’ll be pretty disappointed if I’m not up the front somewhere and our plans are to develop the team further and really start knocking on the door for podiums and wins.

It’s hard to say. To tell you the truth, I have no idea where we are going to end up. I don’t know how quickly I’ll adapt to the car and we haven’t had a lot of preparation time. The car only arrived last week so it’s

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OUR PLANS ARE TO DEVELOP THE TEAM FURTHER AND REALLY START KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF PODIUMS AND WINS been a rush just to get to this point.

We haven’t tested, so I have to be realistic. Top five, I’d be very happy, and anything beyond that I’d be even happier again.

It’s all new. The car’s new, I’m new to the team so we have to form that relationship to work them forward.

You drove in the Queensland 500 club race in a Porsche.

What was that like?

I did that in a current model Cup Car. It wasn’t set-up perfectly but it did the job. It was good to get some laps in that, so it’s not like I’m heading

to Darwin with no laps. I just haven’t driven this particular car.

The last circuit racing you did was in the Nations Cup Lamborghini. How different is the Cup Car going to be to the Lambo?

I think in a lot of ways these are going to be easier than the Lamborghini. The gearbox was never perfect in them, they were never set-up for racing, so it was more of a road car converted. Obviously they have a fair bit more power, but not quite as good in the braking department.

Every car is different and you just have to maximise on

their characteristics.

I think the tyres will be important. Tyre management is critical in this category and trying to get the best out of the tyre at the right time, but that will be mainly an experience thing. I haven’t driven them before so I’ve got a bit to learn.

Now you’re back in a full-time ride, would you like to get back into other racing, like the V8 enduros or something to that effect?

Oh yeah, for sure. I haven’t actively chased anything but if something came along I’d love to do it.

chat

Bob Potts

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Weight Watchers!

Carrera Cup needs to be fatter to be phat

opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews between the front guys. Ditto Round 2 at Winton. The Grand Prix support race at Albert Park was an exception, but its nonchampionship nature and the wide GP layout allowed for a bit of breathing space.

Anyway, I’m not just going to whine about it. I have a solution! Reverse grids?

No. Dash for Cash? Probably not. So, how about weight penalties?

The extra baggage would only get handed out to the top three or five after each race and, with tyre conservation already one of the crucial

John Morris/Mpix

THERE are many, many good things about Carrera Cup racing.

But I have just one contentious issue to raise.

The fact is that I reckon I can sit behind my computer desk, six days out from the next round and tell you how the weekend is going to pan out.

And that is a problem.

You read it here first.

Whoever makes it to turn one first is odds-on win Carrera Cup at Hidden Valley.

Okay, there are a whole lot of variables that will affect whether that scenario plays out, but you can be sure that there will be some truth to it.

The fact is the cars just can’t pass. Round 1 at Clipsal was close, but there was no passing

aspects to Carrera Cup, it would throw some variables into the class.

The category has everything that good motorsport should have – the cars are fast, they

sound fantastic and the drivers at the front are world class. All we need is a bit more action.

So either strap some ballast in, or hitch caravans to the back of them!

Letters

Have your say, email us at mail@mnews.com.au. Keep letters to the point.

Tony’s done good The recent fracas involving Tony Cochrane Chairman of V8 Supercars should not come as any surprise given his style and personality that has often confronted people in the sport.

No one can doubt his enthusiasm and passion for V8 Supercars, evidenced the past decade where he has with considerable energy and determination achieved what many thought unachievable.

There may be merit long term in restructuring the V8 Supercar Board, and appointing truly independent directors including a new Chairman, however such changes need to be

20

incremental and borne out of a clear strategy rather than driven by bruised egos, personal ambitions and irritation at a bloke who has a crash or crash-through style.

Phil Branagan’s commentary in the recent edition of Motorsport eNews was in the main fair and balanced, but incomplete. Hence a word of caution to those who seek to up end an otherwise very successful sport that has grown in 10 short years.

Tony Cochrane has won, earned and retained the confidence of Governments Australia wide – of both political persuasions. This trust and respect has been

critically important in securing a number of events Australia wide and in New Zealand.

As the Chief Minister of the NT at the time Hidden Valley joined the program I can assure your readers that not only did he win my confidence but also subsequently Premier Olsen in SA and Chief Minister Carnell in the ACT. It would be naive to believe that our successors in Government think otherwise. I know for a fact they don’t – despite political differences there are some things we do agree on.

Perhaps I can put it in plain speak so that the message is unambiguous – no one on the V8SA Board, or TEGA

Board, has the collective trust and confidence of State and Territory Governments as does Tony Cochrane. Given the reliance of the sport on the continuing support of Governments at every level in Australia it would be foolish to even contemplate preemptively removing Tony Cochrane as Chairman of the V8s.

As many in the sport are aware I remain an avid supporter of the sport, attend many fixtures, events and functions associated with V8s 10 years after I kicked off Hidden Valley.

The current turmoil and upheaval has every potential

Darwin’s Law: You need 10/10 if you’re going to beat Clayton!

THE serious challengers are going to have to have a 10out-of-10 weekend if they think they are going to down the fearsome ‘Clayton’ cars this weekend in Darwin.

Modern V8 racing is so close that recovering from the slightest glitch can take all day. Eastern Creek was a classic example of possible contenders making early mistakes and it wasn’t really until Race 3 that the real pacesetters had gravitated to the front of the field and were in a position to challenge the HRT/ Toll cars and affect the result, albeit too late.

OPINION Neil Crompton Driver / Commentator Darwin throws up its own unique challenges – apart from the likelihood of some temperature issues, Darwin will provide the first really serious test for the slightly controversial control brake package. The track is, clearly, tough on brakes, especially down into Turn 1, which – along with the Turn 4 righthander into The Valley – provides the best opportunity for getting past another car.

It’s a track which also takes a toll if you have a car which exhibits any of the understeer in/roll-oversteer out classic problem. Stability and neutrality are thus key ingredients in a winning package.

Using up all three sets of tyres getting to, or trying to get to, the final ten in qualifying is something to be avoided anywhere – but it’s interesting just how often you see it happen. To be avoided at all costs in Darwin.

So, who is likely to get closest to that 10/10 weekend that will allow them to get

in among the championship leaders and upset their weekend?

I’m not big on predictions – they can come back to haunt you – but without any errors early in the show, Lowndes, as he eventually showed last week at Eastern Creek, looks like he has pace. And he won here 12 months ago.

The other guy who has consistently appeared to have a ‘set-up’ up in the NT over several goes has been Jason Bright. It’s a big ask for a little team on the up, but Brighty could just be the weekend’s dark horse …

Dirk Klynsmith

to not only damage the sport which is a disservice to our many loyal fans but also to have a knock on effect and devalue the commercial returns and value of the teams, their assets and revenue streams.

Think about that.

Hon Shane L. Stone AC PGDK QC, former Chief Minister of the NT slselect@ozemail.com.au

Dirk Klynsmith

Record Rant I feel this record of Mark Skaife’s needs to be rectified to save public confusion.

This whole 38 round wins is a farce and I think it’s all just a bit of V8 Supercar propaganda.

The real count of race wins is something like Brock 69 Skaife 42.

The problem seems to stem from the Bathurst 1000 and Queensland and Sandown 500s being included in the championship since 1999. You see, Skaife’s victories in the 2001/2002/2005 Bathurst races and 2000/2003 500km races

So is it a record or not? Skaife and Brock are both going to be remembered as pretty handy steerers ...

count towards his tally of 38 wins. Yet in Brock’s tally such races aren’t included, only the ATCC sprint rounds. His record nine Bathurst 1000s, nine Sandown 500s, NZ 500s, the Australian Endurance Championship or the Manchamp wins of the 70s and early 1980s. So this confusion

needs to be cleared up so that our greatest ever winner keeps his record intact.

Paul Anderson pdando5@yahoo.com.au NEWS ED: Point taken Paul.

Agree totally but there is no dodginess going on: it simply is about championship

round wins. Certainly not propaganda though, it's in the record books – count them up! But yes, Brock's win list is far larger in technical terms with those endurance events and the like. Both Brock and Skaife deserve recognition no matter the numbers.

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FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES – ROUND 7

Two on the Trot

Just in case you thought Lewis Hamilton’s debut GP win in Canada was a fluke, he did it again at Indy.

By JOE SAWARD

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F you were Fernando Alonso you’d be thinking that life is not fair.

He spent his early career at Renault, winning races but not making much money and so switched to McLaren to do both. It was a good move.

But Alonso would never have imagined that he would find himself up against a driver who would beat him after just a handful of F1 races. After the drubbing he received in Montreal, Fernando fought back in Indianapolis but Lewis resisted the pressure, fought off the challenge and emerged victorious – again.

He now leads the World Championship by 10 points.

With seven-consecutive podium finishes, two of them victories, Hamilton has statistics that are simply astonishing. Rookies can be good, but this rookie is almost extra-terrestrial in his ability.

The race was not complicated. Hamilton and Alonso had basically the same strategy. Hamilton had marginally less fuel and took pole.

In the race Alonso hoped to use his extra lap of fuel to get the lead if he didn’t already have it. And it was close.

It was close at the first corner and then again during the second stint when Hamilton suddenly ran into trouble with some tyre graining. Alonso got alongside at one point, the two a couple of inches apart at around 320kmh. But Lewis was in the right place and Fernando could not make the pass stick.

And that was that. Fernando could not keep up the pace and the youngster edged away again. It was close all the way but the rookie won again.

With a 10-point lead in the World Championship, Hamilton must be thinking about the title.

“I would not say that my goals have changed,” he said.

“I came into the season with

an open mind and I tried to do a good job. Seven races into the championship and I am running at the front and I have a chance of winning the World Championship, but it is far too early to think about it.”

Ferrari has little consolation with third and fourth. Both drivers ran differing tyre strategies but ended up in line astern at the end – well behind the McLarens. The team is now a mammoth 35 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’

title and it is going to be very tough to close a gap like that, even if they can start winning races again.

It is also worth mentioning a super F1 debut from Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, who was shipped in at BMW to replace Robert Kubica for the weekend.

He came eighth and scored his first F1 point. It was an impressive effort from a man who only stepped into the breach on Thursday afternoon.

We will be hearing more of him in the years ahead.

Vettel finished right behind Mark Webber, in turn trying to edge out Jarno Trulli for sixth in the late stages. Well clear of them, Heikki Kovalainen completed his best race for Renault for some time, in a solid but lonely fifth.

Unluckiest on the day was Nico Rosberg, a one-stop strategy almost paying off with sixth place – until his engine expired with five laps to go.

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Go Go Go: Hamilton kept up his start-line form, beating the pack to Turn 1. Note Ralf Schumacher making an early exit at the back of the pack. sutton-images.com

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White hot debut: BMW youngster scored his first F1 point on debut at Indy, above, subbing for Robert Kubica. The red brigade had a quiet race, right, not showing anything like the speed of the McLarens. Heikki Kovalainen had a solid finish, below.

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THERE was a telling moment in the closing stages of the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis when Super Aguri Honda driver Anthony Davidson pulled out from behind the factory Honda of Jenson Button and blew past to take 11th place. Davidson described it as “a brilliant day,” That was perhaps rather too glowing a description, for the Hondas have been the biggest disappointment of the season (although it is a close run thing with the Toyotas).

For Button, it was insult being added to injury. Not only has his position as top British driver in F1 being blown away by Lewis Hamilton, but he is even struggling to compete with Davidson.

The recent weeks have been cruel indeed for Jenson. There is hope, however, that a revised version of the car, due to appear in Magny-Cours, will close the gap a little on those ahead. In the middle

of the grid at the moment the gaps are tiny and two-tenths can make a huge difference.

The bad news for Honda is that Scuderia

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Tail wags the dog

Toro Rosso is due to get the Red Bull seamless shift gearbox in France – and that is reckoned to be worth four-tenths.

– JOE SAWARD

Classic encounters of the McLaren kind The Hamilton story spells exciting times for F1

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ANALYSIS Joe Saward Formula 1 than speed. But that is taking a pounding given what we have seen Lewis Hamilton achieving in recent weeks.

Other new names are popping up now and these are exciting times in the F1 world.

Fans may argue that the racing itself does not feature much in the way of overtaking, but that is part and parcel of F1 these days. Technology and the rules as they are mean that passing remains a problem.

But don’t let that hide the fact that the battles going on are both intense and fascinating.

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IT’S shaping up as a classic What a great season Formula 1 is having. There may be McLaren domination at the moment but that certainly does not mean that the races are dull.

The season started with Ferrari dominant, but that advantage has been overturned. The ‘team leaders’, at McLaren and Ferrari in particular, who were supposed to be the favourites, are living in the shadow of their teammates. A new generation is gradually fighting its way through the inertia of the old guard.

Some of these drivers will be retained for one more year because teams still believe that experience is worth more

New wing keeps BMW in the game Rear wing efficiency the key reports Technical Editor PAOLO FILISETTI ONE of the contributors to BMW’s move closer to the top two teams has been its rear wing evolution.

The latest F1.07’s rear wing was introduced in Canada but appeared with a revised main profile in the US, with its entry edge raised noticeably in its central section (yellow arrow) and its outer extremities bending slightly downwards.

This assembly has been designed specifically for low-tomedium downforce tracks. To a certain extent, it is perfect for the two main sections of the Indianapolis track – the fast one, including the long straight, and the Micky Mouse infield, where traction is paramount compared to the top speed.

The wing seemed to be working very well, judging by the balance both drivers reported during the first two practice sessions on Friday.

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Round 6 INDIANAPOLIS Pos #

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Finally on the board IT’S taken a few races, but Mark Webber is at last on the points table.

Another solid top 10 qualifying performance, a two-stop strategy and – at last – reliability reaped a couple of points for seventh.

“It was fairly straightforward,” a relieved Webber told eNews after the race.

“Our top gear was a bit tall. We had fast terminal speed, about 8kmh more than the McLarens, but not enough downforce in the packege we had here. We’ll adjust that for Monza …

“It did however force other teams in our part of the field to also go for straight-line speed if they wanted to race us.

“The car was reasonably strong, and with a BMW and Nico [Rosberg] having problems, we were able to get something on the board. It’s taken a while, but it’s a start.”

Webber’s only ‘moment’ came late in the race when trying to have a run inside Trulli for what would have been sixth. Trulli closed the door solidly, and Webber had to make a choice: “It was either ease off the brakes, go across the infield, or a collision.” Webber chose the former and lived to fight out the final laps.

Driver

Team

1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 3 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 4 6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 5 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 6 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 7 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 8 10 Sebastien Vettel BMW-Sauber 9 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 10 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 11 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 12 7 Jenson Button Honda 13 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 14 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 15 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 16 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 17 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari Not Classified dnf 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW-Sauber dnf 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda dnf 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault dnf 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda dnf 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota Fastest Lap: Raikkonen on Lap 49, 1:13.117

Time

Qual

1:31:09.965 +1.5secs +12.8secs +15.4secs +41.4secs +66.7secs +67.3secs +67.7secs +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +2 laps +2 laps +3 laps +5 laps +5 laps

1 2 3 4 6 8 9 7 10 17 16 13 20 21 22 14 19

55 laps 13 laps 0 laps 0 laps 0 laps

5 16 11 15 12

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Driver’s points Points: Hamilton 58, Alonso 48, Massa 39, Raikkonen 32, Heidfeld 26, Fisichella 13, Kubica 12, Kovalainen 12, Wurz 8, Trulli 7, Rosberg 5, Coulthard 4, Sato 4, Webber 2.

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Constructor’s points Points: McLaren-Mercedes 106, Ferrari 71, BMW 39, Renault 25, Williams-Toyota 13, Toyota 9, Red Bull-Renault 6, Super Aguri-Honda 4.

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SPORTSCARS LE MANS 24 HOURS

One Left Standing 28

race

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The fact that an Audi won Le Mans again on the weekend was not exactly a new bit of news. But the German manufacturer did not have things all its own way, as DAVID ADDISON reports from the 75th running of the Sportscar classic 29

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A

UDI won Le Mans.

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corner and as his threewheeler plunged across the gravel, it hit the tyre wall and broke the steering arm. He was out on the spot, denying Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen another win.

Through the mess, and heavy late-race rain came Emanuele Pirro/Frank Biela/ Marco Werner to win for the second year in a row, while the new Peugeot of Sarrazin/ Sebastian Bourdais/Pedro Lamy took second from the Pescarolo of Romain Dumas/ Emmanuel Collard/JeanChristophe Boullion.

Aston Martin won GT1 thanks to David Brabham/ Rickard Rydell/Darren Turner, Corvette taking second although it lost one car when Oliver Gavin retired after 22 laps with a broken input shaft.

GT2 fell to the Porsche 911 GT3-RSR of Raymond Narac/ Patrick Long/Richard Lietz, while the woeful LMP2 class was won by Bill Binnie/Chris Buncombe/Allan Timpany, mainly by keeping going!

Put your hands up for Ingolstadt! Pirro, Biela and Audi Motorsport boss Wolfgang Ulrich celebrate another win, above. Allan Simonsen, below, finished third in GT2 and 21st overall, below.

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Not an original sentence but a true one. Audi lost two cars due to accident damage. Eh? What?

True. The 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, the 75th running of the fabled event, fell to Audi once more but for the first time the mighty German constructor showed cracks in its armour.

Firstly, Peugeot’s new 908 took pole position (thanks to Stephane Sarrazin in a rain-affected Wednesday qualifying session) and then Mike Rockenfeller stuffed the number three Audi on Saturday evening.

After rain fell, he was caught out on the newly-resurfaced Tertre Rouge corner and plunged backwards into the Armco. The impact broke the gearbox and prevented him from dragging the remains back to the pits.

Then, on his 43rd birthday, Rinaldo Capello suffered a wheel coming off the other Audi at the fast Indianapolis

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A day en Francais: David Brabham, above, won GT1, Adrian Newey, right, joined the field, while Jacques Villeneuve, left, appeared for Peugeot in its new 908 diesel.

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Ducati-Corse

Timing is everything SUPERBIKES TROY Bayliss has scored plenty of sweeps in his World Superbike career, but never was a Superpole and double win more timely than last weekend’s at Misano.

The two-time Champion was in a class

of his own on the Adriatic circuit, leading Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama home in Race 1 and their team-mates Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi in Race 2.

But the really good news for the Ducati star was the fact that James Toseland took fourth and sixth in the races, allowing Bayliss to close the gap in

the championship to 21 points.

In fact, Bayliss’s only problem came when he stopped after the final race and collected an Aussie flag – which he snagged in his clutch, prompting him to stall his bike …

Points: Toseland 260, Bayliss 239, Haga 234, Biaggi 217, Corser 182, Lanzi 133, Xaus 130, Rolfo 109.

BMW Benefit WTCC

Points: Farfus 53, J Muller 49, Andy Priaulx 44, Nicola Larini 42, Yvan Muller 31.

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UNLESS you were driving a BMW, there wasn’t much point turning up to last weekend’s round of the World Touring Car Championship at Brno.

Felix Porteiro was the first to take a win for BMW, driving his ROAL 320si to his maiden victory in Race 1. He was followed home by the similar Beemers of Jorg Muller, Alex Zanardi and Augusto Farfus.

Race 2 was much the same, although it was Muller who took control of the race. He was followed home by Farfus and Porteiro, making it two all-BMW podiums.

race

Edwards wins in Michigan NASCAR A PASS on Jimmie Johnson for the lead with 35 laps to run at Michigan Speedway on Sunday was enough to end a 52-race dry spell for Carl Edwards.

Fittingly, Edwards took his fifth win in his 100th Nextel Cup start.

“This is unreal,” he said.

“We’re going to be in the All Star race next year and we’re building points towards the championship.”

Edwards gave Ford its second victory of the year in a fast paced, but uneventful race that left only nine cars on the lead lap with, Michael Waltrip finishing a season-best 10th in his Toyota.

With seven laps to run, Johnson ran dry of fuel while running third behind Martin Truex Jr, who looked strong early, but scrubbed the wall in the closing laps and finished 3s behind Edwards.

– MARTIN D CLARK NASCAR Media

Points: Jeff Gordon 2392, Denny Hamlin 2128, Johnson 2055, Matt Kenseth 2044, Jeff Burton 1919.

Leicht-ning fast BUSCH SERIES

NASCAR Media

BUSCH Series youngster Stephen Leicht took his first victory at Kentucky on the weekend after a late crash from Carl Edwards.

Edwards seemingly had the race tied up having led 96 laps, but a caution on lap 152 proved to be his undoing. He was bumped by Steve Wallace on the restart, falling to 33rd and allowing Leicht to sneak through for his debut victory.

“We knew Carl was going to be tough, I hate the way things

ended like they did,’’ he said.

“I really would have loved to race Carl for the win there at the end, but you can’t say enough about our car tonight.

We were in the right position at the right time.’’

Marcos Ambrose made his way back into the Top 10 in the standings following a solid 11th place in Kentucky. Having qualified sixth, he looked on for a Top 10 finish before his car developed an exhaust problem, reducing the engine’s horsepower.

“We wanted to run top 10 all

day and we were able to do that,” said Ambrose.

“We just lost out on 10th spot right at the end.

“Once we were down on power it made things tough.

As the track changed we

developed some understeer and our car got tight but all-inall we managed to come away with a good result.”

Points: Edwards 2534, Dave Blaney 1833, Kevin Harvick 1798, David Reutimann 1764, Regan Smith 1744.

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TAG, Seto’s it IS Glenn Seton ramping up the next phase of his motor racing career?

Seton won the TAG Light class at the East Coast Over 40s Titles at Coffs Harbour a week ago.

Driving a Leopard powered Top Kart, Seton was the class of the field. Despite not starting the opening heat, he was undefeated over the remaining preliminary races and won the final from pole. Michael Micic was second ahead of David Stein.

The former V8 Supercar Champ also took part in the popular historic kart ‘demonstration’ runs.

He will next compete in the Leopard Enduro at Bundaberg in July, teamed with Mitch Miller aboard an Arrow. The duo finished fourth last year.

IT wasn’t a good start to the six-round NSW based TaG Super Series last weekend. The opening round at Eastern Creek was cancelled due to bad weather.

The next event will be at Newcastle next month followed

by Wollongong, Oran Park, Lithgow and a return to Eastern Creek.

The series caters for Rotax, Leopard, Fireball and Biland powered karts utilising a ballast formula to achieve parity in Light and Heavy divisions. A host of prizes has been arranged, including a new Fireball 125 engine for the outright winner.

LOCAL drivers claimed three of the nine titles up for grabs at the Northern Territory State Championships in Darwin over the weekend.

Jake Meyer won Clubman Super Heavy while Wendy O’Dowd beat her dad David to the Rotax Light win. Tony Willis won Clubman Heavy.

The interstaters snatched the blue plates in all the other classes. Canberra’s Mathew Hart made it four NT Titles in as many years with victory in Rookies. James Kovacic showed superior speed to take a clean sweep of wins in Junior National Light, while Gary Jacobson won the Heavy division.

Wins also went to SA’s Nicholas Karavas (Clubman Light), Jack Oosthuizen (Midgets) and Wayne Marsh (Rotax Heavy).

– MARK WICKS

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AMRS@QR.com AMRS SCOTT Loadsman celebrated his Touring Car Challenge debut with the round win at the Queensland Raceway AMRS round last weekend.

Loadsman (VY Commodore) finished second and fourth in the first two races and just won the drag race to the line over Daniel Natoli (Ford Mondeo) in Race 3 for what became the win after inital race winner Peter Vicary (AU Falcon) was penalised for lapping faster than his qualifying time.

After a traffic accident damaged his tow vehicle and race car just North of Sydney, Darren Saillard won the first race in a borrowed car (Garry Willmington’s AU Falcon), from Loadsman and John Vergotis (AU Falcon).

Race 2 went to Phil

Groenveld (VS Commodore) in a final corner fight with Vicary and John Henderson (EL Falcon).

Natoli was second for the round with Groenveld third.

Ty Hanger (Reynard 97D) won both OzBoss races from Chris Gilmour (Dallara F304).

Duncan and Wolf MacKellar (Porsche 997 Cup) won the Intermarque Series after Phil Holzberger (Porsche GT3RS) expired. Tom Drewer (West WR1000) won Thundersports while Natalie Willmington (Falcon XR8) dominated Production Touring Cars.

Brett James (Yamaha R6) won the Sidecars on their AMRS debut.

– MARK JONES Touring Car Challenge Points: Saillard 889, Vergotis 844, Groenveld 812, Darren Formosa 738, Amin Chahda 697.

race

Marshall Cass Marshall Cass

Marshall Cass

Big versus small: Daniel Natoli did all he could to hold off Scott Loadsman, above, but was unsuccessful. Scott Lyddiard had some dramas with his Porsche, above right, while Wolf MacKellar had no such issues in his Porsche, right. Rod Wilson ran Top 10 in his pretty Maserati, below.

Marshall Cass

Marshall Cass

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rear of grid

Too cold to race wasn’t and the only reason I can come up with is the fact that the carparks were full of mud. Fair enough, but surely that is another good reason to avoid Sydney in winter.

Somewhere to the north comes to mind. If V8 Supercars are going to get to race in Townsville, this is the ideal time of year. Leave the wintry south to winter sports!

punter@mnews.com.au

to be fair, we really need to give the holiday monday concept another look before we decide whether it’s great or bad

sutton-images.com

OKAY, I admit it. I wrote the last Punter column prior to the races at Eastern Creek because the Monday was a HOLIDAY! Also, my hands were still frozen when I got home and I could not turn my computer on, even if I wanted to.

I have been thinking about the whole Monday racing thing and I have come to the conclusion that I have nothing to add to the argument. The terrible weather would have kept a casual observer away (in fact, my mate Con the Market Gardener, who was going to be bringing the esky, pulled the pin on Friday).

So, to be fair, we really need to give the Holiday Monday concept another look before we decide whether it’s a great idea a bad one. By itself, it might work but running one in Sydney, in June, did not seem to work out this time around.

One thing that I was not that keen on was the fact that I had to walk a long way from where I was directed to park to get into the track. I thought at the time that there must have been a huge crowd but there

How on earth are motor racing professionals supposed to work in freezing conditions?

Pop Quiz QUESTION: This photo from last weekend’s US Grand Prix proves ... a) That the Lewis Hamilton phenomenon is reconnecting Formula 1 and the general public. b) That there are Americans out there that actually care about Formula 1. sutton-images.com

t o p S Odd

c) These guys consulted a copy of the Yellow Pages for fashion advice. d) All of the above.

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