Motorsport eNews Issue 23 - September 25-October 1, 2007

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Issue No. 023 25 September – 1 October 2007

SANDOwN LOSES 500 BATHURST WARM-UP RACE MOVES TO ...

SCOOP!

CHAMP!

AUSTRALIA’S LATEST WORLD CHAMPION

AMBROSE CUP DEAL

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Issue No. 023 | 25 September - 1 October 2007

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news 5 Island Magic

Phillip’s 500 7 NASCAR in Adelaide? Marcos’s new challenge 9 McLarengate The secret is out!

14 DTM dummy spit Mercedes jams it

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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, 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, Ash Budd, Paris Charles, 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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chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Lambden

21 Rowley 22 Beattie/Branagan 53 Punter

Casey race 2428 Cometh Jim wins in Tassie 30 Edwards, or does he?

Jason Bargwanna A political game 500 times more fun Everyone thinks Casey rules Courtney and Stoner tango Aussie wins the world (Lucky we have lots of news) Controversial Dover

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welcome There is so much more to motor racing than drivers and cars ...

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Goodbye Sandown, hel New 500km race for V8 Supercar in 2008 – The Island!

V8 SUPERCARS BATHURST’s traditional warmup race, the Sandown 500, is to move to Phillip Island.

V8 Supercars Australia is set to announce its 2008 calendar later today (Tuesday) and the big surprise will be that Sandown has, for now, hosted its last 500km race, with Phillip Island assuming the traditional Bathurst warm-up event role.

Sandown will, instead, host a ‘sprint’ event earlier in the championship.

The 2008 calendar contains a boost for V8 Supercar fans, with the championship season remaining at 14 rounds (as per this year), as well as the return of the non-championship round at Albert Park. In all, 15 V8 events (a record) will be run in 2008.

With the Melbourne Racing Club taking over the promotion

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ello Phillip Island 15Record races of motorsport events at the Springvale track (effective after last week’s Just Cars 500) and long-time track promoter Jon Davison stepping aside after 17 years, it seems the move to The Island is a timely one.

The ‘Phillip Island’ 500 will coincide nicely with the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, scheduled for October 3-5. Temporary grandstands and corporate

facilities are erected for the Australian MotoGP so, by simply completing them a couple of weeks earlier, they will be available – along with camping facilities – for the V8 race.

The announcement comes at the same time as an $11m upgrade of pit facilities at the track have been confirmed.

V8 Supercar Events – which also promotes the Bathurst

PI 500 is old news!

Winners of the past 500k races at Phillip Island 1971 Colin Bond Torana XU1 1972 Allan Moffat Falcon XY GTHO 1973 Peter Brock Torana XU1 1974 Colin Bond Torana SLR5000 L34 1975 Peter Brock Torana L34 1976 Colin Bond Torana L34 1977 Allan Grice Torana A9X

1000, Symmons Plains and the final round of the championship (set to be held at Eastern Creek next year) – will promote the Phillip Island race.

This isn’t the first time that the 500km race has moved from Sandown. Between 1999 and 2002, the Bathurst warm-up race was held at Queensland Raceway.

– GRANT ROWLEY

A 500km race isn’t a brand-new concept for Phillip Island. Australian Touring Cars competed at The Island from 1971 to 1977 as a round of the endurance championship.

In 1976 and 1977, the endurance race became part of the Australian Touring Car Championship.

There has also been one 300km race at Phillip Island. In 2003, the V8 round was a single-driver 300km race, won in torrential weather by Craig Lowndes for FPR.

THE addition of a 15th event to the 2008 V8 calendar neatly solves the stand-off over broadcasting of the GP support event. eNews understands that agreement was reached between the parties that Ten would be granted permission to broadcast the V8s at Albert Park, while the number of championship events available to Seven remains at 14.

Details are expected later today which will confirm that the Clipsal 500 will continue to kick off the season, followed

by Oran Park (which moves from its mid-year date to the second round of the series), the Grand Prix, Hamilton (NZ), Barbagallo (WA), Sandown, Darwin, Queensland Raceway and Winton, before a sixweek break to accommodate Seven’s need for an Olympic break (the games run fromk August 8 to August 24).

Racing recommences with the PI 500, in a second part to the season quite similar to that of 2007, albeit with the final round reverting to Sydney (Eastern Creek).

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 Confirmed dates and likely positions (page will be updated immediately date confirmation received)

Clipsal – Feb 21-24 Oran Park AGP – Mar 13-16 Barbagallo Hamilton (NZ) – Apr 18-20 Sandown Darwin Queensland Raceway Winton Six week break Phillip Island 500 – September Bathurst 1000 – Oct 9-12 Indy – October 23-26 Bahrain Symmons Plains Eastern Creek

BRIEFLY...

Dr John Hewson has resigned from the Board of V8 teams’ group TEGA. The former politician, who became embroiled in the controversy over Tony Cochrane’s chairmanship of V8SA back in May, reportedly quit after unsuccessfully seeking changes to the TEGA Board. n

Spyker Cars has confirmed “initial agreement” to sell the Spyker F1 team to Vijay Mallya and the Mol Family for US$120m. The Spyker team itself has announced that wealthy GP2 driver Roldan Rodriguez will join its test and development line-up this winter. The 22-year-old has tested in recent weeks and is supposed to have as much as US$15m in private sponsorship to buy a seat next year ...

The FIA has announced two changes to the 2008 F1 calendar. The Italian and Belgian Grands Prix, scheduled for September 7 and 14, have now been swapped (the Italian race is after Belgium). Similarly the Chinese and Japanese races have also swapped position. n

Peter Bury

n

Toll together, Ford as well V8 SUPERCARS THE race for the 2007 Bathurst 1000 is hotter than ever, with the top four teams in the championship within a whisker of ‘facing-off’ for the Mountain classic.

As eNews pre-empted last week, the Toll/HSV team has bitten the bullet and will now pair Rick Kelly and Garth Tander in the #1 Commodore.

With Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly and Sandown winners Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup already locked in, all that

remains is for FPR to, as has been expected since Sandown, complete arrangements to pair Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom in a Castrol/ Orrcon Falcon.

Such a move by FPR would provide an unprecedented Bathurst grid, given what has occurred so far this season.

Toll team-mates Rick Kelly and Garth Tander are currently 1-2 in the points, followed by T8’s Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes, HRT’s Todd Kelly and Mark Skaife (5-6) and FPR’s Richards and Winterbottom.

Ninth-placed Russell Ingall will team with enduro regular Luke Youlden, while Will Davison in 10th will restore the pattern, partnering team-mate Steven Johnson in the race.

To add to the drama, all of the ‘big four’ entries will carry in-car cameras, with 49 cameras in cars in total.

V8 Supercars Television and the Seven Network will have 32 cameras on-track, and a total of 116 at the circuit in the biggest event coverage in the race’s history.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

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Marcos gets NASCAR dozen

Former V8 Supercar Champion to share with three others in NASCAR’s premier category in 2008 NASCAR MARCOS Ambrose will race in the Sprint (nee Nextel) Cup next season. eNews can reveal plans for the Aussie to be one of three drivers to share Wood Brothers Racing’s #21 Ford Fusion next season. He will drive in about 12 of the 36 scheduled races in the series, including both road course races at Watkins Glen )New York) and Infineon in California.

Ambrose will share the ride with Jon Wood, the 25-year-old son of team co-owner Eddie Wood, who will drive approximately eight races. The third driver

is yet to be announced but eNews sources suggest that the team may maintain a link with veteran Bill Elliott, who has raced for the team in a number of events this season.

Ambrose’s limited Cup schedule will not interfere with his other commitments, which involve a full schedule in what is currently called the Busch Series (which will have a new naming rights sponsor for 2008). The Tasmanian will continue in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal entry.

Sponsorship for the Cup program is in the process of being settled. Ambrose is believed to be working on a sponsor

package that involves a new sponsor, while Wood will have backing from the US Air Force. Elliott’s sponsors are also TBA. Ambrose is not expected to attempt to qualify for any further Cup races this season, in spit of Robby Gordon’s offer for him to race in the Cup race at Dover last weekend. Ambrose considered the offer but declined, even though his name was listed in the race program.

His reason was sound – he wanted to be with his wife Sonja, who went into labour right on cue and gave birth to the couple’s second daughter, Adelaide Elizabeth, on Sunday afternoon.

John Morris/Mpix

COMING THIS WEEK

Australia AMRS – Calder International F1 – Japan WSBK – Imola NASCAR – Kansas

NexT Week (OCT6-7)

No Brad at Bathurst V8 SUPERCARS

BRAD Jones is out of the Bathurst 1000.

The V8 Supercar veteran, who missed the Sandown 500 due to a herniated disc, had hoped to drive in the October classic, but his condition has not responded to treatment and he will now step aside. His place will be taken by Christian Murchison.

“The problem is not whether he can make

the start of the race,” said team co-owner Kim Jones yesterday [Monday]. “The problem is, if something happens during the course of the race, you can’t just slot someone in. If he twists the wrong way getting out of the car during a stop, you are out of action.”

Brad had planned to drive the car today [Tuesday] during a test at Winton. Murchison will now drive the car in the test, along with Andrew Jones, Simon Wills and Damien White.

Australia V8 Supercars – Bathurst 1000 Fujitsu V8s International F1 – Chinese GP WRC – Catalunya NASCAR – Talledega

CLICK HERE

B1000 to get race time back V8 SUPERCARS THE 2007 Bathurst 1000 will run the distance, in spite of an oversight in the Supplementary Regulations.

Despite the fact that the start of the race has been

moved 30 minutes to start later, at 1030, the Supp Regs still have the race ending at 161 laps, or when the leader passes the finish line at 1745. With the start of the race traditionally six minutes after the appointed hour, this

would allow the race to run to just a maximum of 7h09m before being cut short.

However, it appears that the ‘finish’ time has been rolled over from previous event regs in error and that it will be revised, prior to the event.

Dirk Klynsmith

NEED A CAR?

news

John Morris/Mpix

DJR’s Ground Zero V8 SUPERCARS DICK Johnson Racing is set to unveil a revised livery for Bathurst.

The team has flagged a launch on Wednesday morning, on the Gold Coast, where new-look DJR Falcons will be unveiled.

Expect to see an up-dated Jim Beam ‘look’, which reflects the company’s push of a Jim Beam/Coke Zero product.

Dirk Klynsmith

Braking Point?

V8 SUPERCARS CONCERNS expressed by V8 Supercar teams over brake performance at Bathurst have, to a degree, been tempered following the Sandown 500.

Some teams had predicted that disc changes would be necessary to ensure the control brake package went the distance at the 1000, but several are now more optimistic after Sandown – in itself a tough test for brakes.

In evidence at Sandown was a philosophy from some teams to change pads as often as practicable. This alone – not allowing pads to wear past a certain point – provides significantly less wear to discs.

While there are teams still preparing for the possibility of having to change rotors during the Bathurst race, more likely is the frequent changing of pads – which can generally be accomplished within the time it takes to fully fuel a V8 Supercar.

BRIEFLY...

THE new Speedcar Series has announced an eightdate, 16-race calendar on tracks across Asia and the Middle East, kicking off at the Bahrain International Circuit on November 3.

n The Australian Institute for Motor Sport Safety has announced that former racer Mark Larkham is to join its Board, alongside existing members Allan Moffat, Colin Osborne, Bob Glindemann and Andrew Papadopoulos.

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FORMULA 1 WORLD Champion Fernando Alonso may well end up at Ferrari in 2008.

There have been suggestions in recent days that the negotiations aimed at settling the Stepneygate crisis in F1 may include the sale, for a fair chunk of cash, of Fernando Alonso’s McLaren contract to Ferrari.

This would rid McLaren of the Alonso ‘problem’, provide funding to pay the FIA’s US$100m fine and to pay to get the release of another driver.

The transcripts of the FIA World Council meetings which were released last week have revealed the extent of problems between McLaren boss Ron Dennis and Alonso: “The relationship between Fernando and myself is extremely cold,” Dennis said. “That is an understatement. In Fernando’s mind, there is the firm belief that our policy, whereby each driver receives equal treatment, does not properly reflect his status as World Champion.

He bases this assertion on the fact that his experience and knowledge and what came to him from his former team is such that he should

receive an advantage.”

Dennis also told the World Council that he and Alonso “are not on speaking terms.”

There is clearly major activity going on, as Felipe Massa was spotted visiting Toyota at Spa and, in the days after the Belgian GP, a group of Ferrari owners visiting the factory in Italy were told by a senior Ferrari man that there was a possibility that Alonso would drive for Ferrari next season and that the team was working on a deal.

Pushing Felipe Massa out of Ferrari might create complications at Ferrari, because the Brazilian is managed by Nicolas Todt – son of Jean Todt. But there have also been suggestions that Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo is not happy with this arrangement, wants to see Alonso in the team, and is also quietly pushing for Todt Sr to follow Felipe out of the door …

sutton-images.com

n Despite reports in Italy Nigel Stepney is not joining either Aston Martin or Aston Martin Racing. The former Ferrari team coordinator is rumoured to be joining Team Modena, a private team which uses Aston Martins, in sports car racing.

Alonso still seeing red?

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Sharing Secrets: Common Practice?

FORMULA 1 McLAREN has announced that it will not appeal against the FIA World Motor Sport Council’s astonishing US$100m penalty – but has suggested that other teams may now face a similar inquisition.

The announcement followed a week of heavy negotiation between McLaren, the FIA and rival teams, some of which are thought to be implicated in similar ‘espionage’ problems which have yet to be made public. The problem is that having punished McLaren so harshly with little concrete evidence, the FIA may have opened a Pandora’s Box involving similar cases.

“It is common practice in Formula 1,” McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa said during his FIA evidence, in reference to the inter-driver chat about what Ferrari might be doing.

“If that is wrong, then we are all wrong.

That is what I have been doing. I have been listening with all of our fellow drivers. I can give you lots of examples, if you want. I don’t know what all of this is about. This is common practice. We talk about car set-ups, rivals, etc., all day long. It is our passion. It is as simple as that.”

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has also hinted at the problem by saying to members of the media that “you would be amazed

what you would find if you looked in the computers of all the drivers …”

McLaren has admitted that, according to the FIA rules, the team was guilty because a team member did receive papers that came from Ferrari. The argument is really about whether the team knew about the information, whether it was used and whether any of this warrants such a severe penalty.

The question now is whether the matter will go any further, or – subject to sorting out a few details – whether McLaren, and F1, will move on.

Dennis said in Spa that McLaren would pay the fine if there was “closure” in relation to the matter. The suggestion is that “closure” meant certain concessions: including an end to any civil legal action against the team in Italy, a resolution to the question of how the FIA would inspect the 2008 car (to ascertain whether it contained any Ferrari design features!) and a deal over the team’s benefits (ie travel deal) in 2008 and 2009.

There is a strong incentive for any other involved parties to agree to such things to avoid civil action, which McLaren could initiate if it has evidence that other teams have had access to other teams’ information.

– JOE SAWARD

Media White-Out A NUMBER of F1 ‘secrets’ have leaked out after publication of the FIA’s transcript of the Stepneygate hearing.

While teams had the opportunity to request a ‘blacking out’ of sensitive information, and this was done, it seems that under some circumstances the electronic document could still be read in full.

Information pertaining to things such as the salaries of some of the personnel involved and an advanced variable braking system used by Ferrari have thus found their way into the public arena …

“” “Tell Charlie Whiting to go into McLaren, to go into the organisation and not return until, having checked it from top to bottom, he is satisfied that no use (of Ferrari technical information) has occurred. That has not happened; I don’t know why.

“I do, however, know that if you convict us today without the FIA having done that, that will be the grossest misjustice in my professional experience.”

– Respected QC Ian Mill sums up for McLaren at the FIA – shortly before the team was found guilty

sutton-images.com

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John Morris/Mpix

Mechtler’s broken Evo, bones

Big Eastern Creek shunt leaves Anton Mechtler in hospital and out of Bathurst Performance Cars AUSTRALIAN RALLY ANTON Mechtler was involved in a heavy incident at Eastern Creek Raceway last weekend and will miss the next round of the Australian Performance Car Championship, at Bathurst.

Mechtler crashed Bob Pearson’s Evo 8 in the Combined Touring Car in Saturday’s Race 1 after earlier qualifying on pole.

He was competing in the car that he was

to race at Mount Panorama.

The Sydneysider suffered a fractured shoulder, six broken ribs and a punctured lung.

The cause of the incident remained a mystery as eNews went to press on Monday, although the team suspect that the electronic rear diff didn’t engaged, or that the incident could have been due to something as simple as oil on the track.

“When I first touched the brakes, the car

became loose and turned into the wall,” Mechtler said from his Sydney hospital bed.

“It’s a shame – we we’re supposed to go to Bathurst. That’s what this race was about. It’s a crying shame that we won’t be getting to do Bathurst.”

The Evo 8 has been written off, but car owner Pearson is keeping Mechtler’s Bathurst entry open and is looking for another driver to pilot his second car.

– GRANT ROWLEY

New rally praised, despite hiccups AUSTRALIAN RALLY

Niel Blackbourne

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DESPITE the event suffering some organisational glitches, Australian Rally Championship competitors have praised the new-for-2007 Great Lakes Rally.

Two stages from the first heat of the rally were cancelled thanks to a communications error which, along with various other hiccups, put a negative mood on the round.

But according to some of the ARC’s leading lights, the challenging roads were enough of a positive to outweigh the negatives.

“The roads were varied and challenging,” said Michael Guest, the Pirtek Ford driver who took the

team’s first stage win aboard a Fiesta in NSW. “It really was a drivers’ rally. The competition was tight, the results proved it was a tough rally for anyone to win and I really look forward to trying to win it in the next few years.”

Front-running privateer Steve Glenney was another driver to heap praise on the GLR roads.

“I had a ball out there,” said Glenney.

“The roads were great, they were fast and challenging but definitely rewarding and I hope I get the chance to compete on them again.”

The Forster event is yet to be confirmed on the 2008 ARC schedule, but is likely to go ahead next season.

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Fiore to test V8 Supercar FUJITSU V8s

James Smith

DEAN Fiore will drive a V8 Supercar for the first time at Queensland Raceway tomorrow (Wednesday).

The Oran Park Carrera Cup round winner will test with Howard Racing, and joins the list of possible inclusions to the reigning Fujitsu Series championship team following the departure of Andrew Thompson.

But Fiore says the test is more about sampling a V8 for the first time rather than an outright audition for a drive.

“It’s time I got in one of these beasts and felt what they are like,” Fiore told eNews.

“It’s important to have V8 miles these days, and it’s been hurting me that I don’t.

Look at what happened to Mark Skaife at Sandown; the team needed a driver and they went with someone

Falcon run-out!

with experience. Hopefully this is the first step to getting some experience.”

The test strengthens Fiore’s chances of moving to the Fujitsu Series full-time next year, as reported in Issue 018 of eNews.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

CARRERA CUP

John Morris/Mpix

McNally goes alone

Marshall Cass

MARK McNally has parted ways with Tony D’Alberto Racing, opting to go it alone in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

The West Australian will continue to run his ex-HRT VZ Commodore in the series with the help of Sean Scott and a Sydney Star license.

Next year the plan is for the family-based West Coast Racing to run the car.

“We’ve been looking at doing our own thing for a while,” McNally told eNews.

“It’s not just me I’ve got to consider – I’ve got two brothers in motorsport too, so it’s a way to get them involved.

“This year hasn’t exactly going to plan, so I don’t expect this to bump me up the grid at Bathurst. It’s more about hitting the ground running for next year.”

McNally says the split from TDR was amicable, and that he “thanks them for the experience.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

THE Carrera Cup ranks have been bolstered with two new drivers for the 2008 season.

Fujitsu V8 Supercar racers Gary Deane and Barry Tanton will drive in the allPorsche championship next year, with Deane kicking off his debut in the category early, at Bathurst next weekend.

Tanton has experienced a small delay with the acquisition of his new car and will make his debut in Cup Car’s final round, at Surfers Paradise.

Both Deane and Tanton have competed in the Fujitsu V8 Series for a

number of years but have decided that it is time to move from the brute of V8 Supercar competition to the stylish Porsche “Apart from being a Porsche owner, the main attraction was the combination of professionalism and camaraderie that appears to be the norm between the competitors and administrators,” Deane said.

Dean will carry sponsorship from Custodian Wealth Builders and the car will be prepared by Sherrin Motorsport. His Falcon BA (ex-Dexion) has been sold to former Formula Ford driver Joel Spychala.

– GRANT ROWLEY

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Revenge of the Mercs Forget Holden and Ford – Mercedes and Audi are going at it German style!

DTM

sutton-images.com

COMPETITION between Audi and Mercedes has become heated in the DTM, with Audi withdrawing its remaining cars from last weekend’s race in Barcelona after title contenders Mattias Ekstrom and Martin Tomczyk were knocked out in incidents with Mercedes-Benz drivers: Mika Hakkinen hitting Tomczyk on lap seven and Daniel la Rosa colliding with the championship leader Mattias Ekstrom on lap 13.

Sunday’s drama followed the Zandvoort round five weeks earlier, where MercedesBenz claimed that Mika Hakkinen, Bernd Schneider and Bruno Spengler had been deliberately run into by Audi drivers at various points in the event.

“What we have seen on the track here today certainly wasn’t what we at MercedesBenz want,” said Norbert Haug at the time.

“This behaviour wasn’t correct and in fact we do not want to be forced to take revenge in the same way. Of course, we like to win, but we are also good losers at the same time.

My verdict about the race is that it was too much and therefore not right.””

The recent Nurburgring round passed without major incident, but then came Barcelona.

“We wanted to see a tough, but fair touring car race today,” said Audi’s Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, “but we had the impression that the Mercedes drivers used every opportunity to eliminate our cars.

“This is not the style in which we want to conduct motorsport. We want to see tough and fair duels but nothing of the kind we had today. That’s why we took the decision to withdraw all of our vehicles.

That was not an easy decision, and it cost us points, and maybe even the title. But we wanted to send a clear message for fair motorsport.”

Mercedes-Benz responded by saying that Audi had over-reacted.

“As far as I am concerned there was no reason to withdraw the cars from the race,” said Haug.

“I want to emphasise that there was no team order and that the actions at the track were in no way revenge for Zandvoort. We would never do something like that.”

The DTM moves to Hockenheim, with just four points separating Ekstrom, Spengler and Tomczyk.

– JOE SAWARD

Winslow’s Conquest CHAMP CAR AUSSIE F3 front-runner James Winslow is testing a champ Car at Sebring today (Tuesday).

The Brit has spent this season dividing his time between Formula V6 Asia and Australian Formula 3 and has won races in both series.

Now he will add the Champ Car World Series to the list, testing for Conquest Racing at the preIndy 300 group test.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for me,” said Winslow prior to the test.

“Champ Car is obviously a step up from what I have been doing over the last couple of seasons

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but, despite my success in both F3 and V6, I didn’t expect to get a chance quite so soon.”

No times from the test, which started yesterday, were available as eNews went to press.

BATHURST IS COMING,

THE COUCH IS READY, THE FLAT-SCREEN IS PRIMED All you need now is the special pre-race issue of Motorsport News –

– SP EC IA L PR EV

Australasian

TH E GR EAT RACE

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2007

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All the latest behind-the-scenes analysis of Australian and international motorsport including Mark Skaife’s view from the couch on the 500!

ON SALE TOMORROW (Wednesday) at newsagents – still just $6.95 Available in N.Z. Next Wednesday 3rd october

15

BRIEFLY...

n

n Hard to believe, but Ducati’s GP breakthrough came on the 87th birthday of legendary Italian engineer Dr Fabio Taglioni, the pioneer of desmodromic valves and considered the ‘father’ of all things Ducati ...

At 21 years, 11 months, 7 days, Casey Stoner is the second-youngest ‘premier category’ titleist in the history of the sport. Freddie Spencer retains the title after winning the 500cc title in 1983, aged 21 years, 8 months, 15 days. n

n Do not look for James Toseland at the traditional ‘Mad Monday’ MotoGP test, following the final GP of the season at Valencia. Team boss Herve Poncharal is keen not to throw the Brit off the deep end in public, so the SBK Champ-elect will get to ride the Yamaha M1 later in the testing season in Malaysia. n We hear on the grapevine that Network 10 is putting ‘The Band’ back together. No, not The Blues Brothers – we hear that Lee Diffey will briefly return to Australia to take part in the network’s MotoGP coverage.

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Funny Car legend injured in bigger-than-Texas crash

Dave Ostaszewski

n Shinichi Itoh made something of a MotoGP comeback in Japan. The 40year-old, who made his 500GP debut in 1987 with Suzuki, subbed for Chaz Davies, who was subbing for Alex Hofmann, who was fired from the d’Antin Ducati team after he parked the bike in Portugal.

Davies was forced out of the ride because of an arm injury but may race at Phillip Island.

Survivor: G-Force Ford Racing

n Joshua Brookes is staying in the World Supersport Championship. The Aussie has re-signed for the Stiggy Motorsport Honda team for 2008 and will partner the Robbin Harms on two Honda CBR600RRs.

DRAG RACING JOHN Force has suffered the biggest crash of his career, in Texas.

The 14-time Funny Car champion suffered a broken left ankle and wrist in a nasty top-end collision with fellow NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein in the second round of eliminations at the O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex on Sunday.

The two Funny Cars got together just after they crossed the finish line. The numbers showed Force crossing the finish line first with a 4.86 at 315 mph to Bernstein’s 4.90 at 312 mph.

Force was airlifted to Baylor University Medical Centre in Dallas for further treatment. Force was alert and responsive throughout all procedures, while CAT scans showed no damage other than

the injuries to his legs and hands. Following a thorough evaluation of his multiple injuries the prognosis for a full recovery is very good.

– DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

click here

To see Force’s crash on ESPN’s website click on link above, or go to http://sports.espn. go.com/rpm/news/story?series Id=8&id=3033100&campaign= rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

2008 starts here WORLD SUPERBIKE THE 2007 World Superbike Championship is still not over but work has already begun on Ducati’s new 1098-based 2008 racer.

Troy Bayliss tested the 1098 F08 for the first time at Vallelunga near Rome, sharing the track with Superstock racer Niccolò Canepa.

“This is the first time I’ve tested the bike and I’m trying to get as comfortable on it as possible”,”declared Troy. “I feel that we’re already close to the performance of the 999 and with the data we picked up here.”

More work is expected after the Magny Cours series finale on October 7, when new signing Michael Fabrizio will join the Xerox-backed team.

news

Control Tyres?

MOTOGP MOTOGP organizer Dorna has taken the remarkable step of proposing a control tyre in the category, as early as next season.

Honda Pro Images

Signed, Sealed, Danlivered MOTOGP DANI Pedrosa is to stay with Honda.

Kawasaki Racing Team

As expected, the Spaniard signed a two-year deal with the Repsol-backed team last week and will partner World Champion Nicky Hayden for a third year in 2008.

“I am very happy to have signed with Honda for another two years,” said Pedrosa.

“Both Honda and I considered that it was good

to continue our relationship after so many successful years together. We want to stay together to achieve the targets we had set ourselves before.

“Although this year things have not turned out to be quite as we wanted, Honda and I have the spirit to come back next year with renewed motivation and to be stronger than ever.”

Pedrosa has had one win in Germany and is currently third in the 2007 MotoGP points.

Late last week, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta suggested that there could be a single tyre deal next season, despite no visible support from manufacturers, teams or tyre manufacturers themselves.

Ezpeleta said in a statement: “We have made a proposal in the Grand Prix Commission meeting today to reach an agreement between all the different tyre manufacturers for the use of tyres in 2008, owing to the situation in which some factories believe that they can’t have tyres which they think

are competitive. We thought the best possibility is to go to a one-tyre rule.

“This is only an initial proposal. If the situation is not resolved by Malaysia [21st October], then all relevant parties – the FIM, IRTA [teams] and the MSMA [manufacturers] will reflect on the situation and during the grand prix weekend make their final decision.”

Should such a thing occur, it would seem likely that Bridgestone would supply the whole field, as it does in Formula 1. Michelin has a long-stated policy of not supplying rubber in singletyre formulae.

Yam’s Old Dogs Corser, Haga re-sign for more World Superbikes WORLD SUPERBIKE TROY Corser and Noriyuki Haga are staying with Yamaha.

Yamaha Racing

The pair, who teamed up at the start of this season, have had an upand-down season with the Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team, with Haga still 41 points behind title leader James Toseland. But both are confident that next year, Yamaha will be the team to beat.

“It’s not all been plain sailing but that’s to be expected when you join a new team and get on a new bike,”

said Corser. “We’ve got a good path forward for next year, though, and that’s the important thing.

“Nori and I have worked well this season with good communication between us about the bike and tyres. “ I’m sure that the close working relationship will strengthen even more during next year.”

“I’m pleased to be riding with Troy again next year,” said Haga.

“I know him quite well and we get along together, which always makes for a good atmosphere in the pit box.”

17

5 Minutes with ...

JASON BARGWANNA

Fresh from a storming Sandown drive, Bargs can’t wait for Bathurst

Has there been a single change to make it come right now, or has it been a matter of evolution?

No, there is no single change.

There is no single person.

We are a whole bunch of guys who are focused and hungry, and we want success. We are at the sharp end of the wedge and, in this category, it takes a lot of big things and little things to be competitive. We are slowly working our way to get to the front.

What are the strengths of the particular car you are driving?

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Marshall Cass

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Was that Sandown 500 drive one of those that keeps the passion for racing alive?

JASON BARGWANNA: Absolutely. It was the kind of drive that makes you smile.

It’s not like my passion for the sport is waning, not at all. But there is no doubt that it really is enjoyable to be competitive.

I am enjoying being in a car that allows you to race the fast guys – you can see the front of the pack and feel like you are competitive. It’s just a pleasure to drive one of those for 100 laps.

The end result for us at Sandown was disappointing.

There was not much to complain about; the strategy was good; the team was working hard; we were really focused on having a competitive race car. We got it a little bit wrong in qualifying but it was good to be back to having the feeling that we were part of that front group.

That is what we have been working towards.

PHIL BRANAGAN need to take advantage of that situation.

How many Bathurst 1000s will this be for you now?

I’ve lost count!

There is no doubt that we are competitive with our horsepower. The car was consistent over the long runs and that is always a positive.

If it does come down to a shoot-out with a Triple 8 car, or an HSV car, no, we do not have that kind of carspeed.

But, over the 100 laps that I was in the car, it was consistent

it seemed to be on the pace with the brand-new chassis – although you would expect that the new car will be more competitive again once it is developed.

In terms of new cars, I am not certain what the team’s strategy is at the moment. We will have to be patient and find out what is what.

Does the passion still burn?

Are there butterflies on board a week before you head up to the Mountain?

No doubt. That stays with you always.

I have watched Jimmy Richards race as a 60-yearold man and he was as competitive as anyone in the field. That race, that event, is an amazing thing.

More than anything, I want to prove that I can do it again. It is really great to have one trophy in the cabinet but I want more.

What is a good result for you this year?

THERE IS NOT DOUBT THAT MY CAR WAS ONCE THE TOW VEHICLE FOR THE ARK AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THEIR CARS

and competitive, our pitstops and our strategy were good and that is what we take away from that weekend. That is a great thing to take to Bathurst.

The car you are driving is the oldest in the field. How did it stack up against the new car that Max Wilson drove?

There is no doubt that my car was once the tow vehicle for the Ark! The car itself is not the latest piece of machinery and it was not that competitive some time in its life. But at Sandown,

Is the New Car mindset just that, a mindset? Is it only important in the drivers’ minds?

We are at the sharp end of the wedge. You need to have all the things you need to be competitive working, all at the same time.

We have a lot of work to do and there is no doubt that updated machinery would give us an edge. But we just have to make the best of it now, work hard with the package we have got and give it everything.

When the new cars arrive, we

A win. There will be 30 other cars out there and everyone is going up there with a win in mind. I am going there to win the race. We need to have everything go right on the day and you probably need to have an extraordinarily good day to be successful.

For us, I feel like we are competitive enough to be a top five contender at the end of the day. What happens, we will have to see. But right now, sitting here, we are going there with one thing on our minds; to win the race.

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

19

Dirk Klynsmith

Circuit breaker should unite V8 management

The early departure of Dr John Hewson, who was brought in to the V8 racing scene last year as an independent board member, indeed Chairman (of teams’ group TEGA) might well be the circuit-breaker that allows TEGA, and V8 Supercars Australia, to get on with business in more harmony and, thus, more fruitfully.

An observer would have had to be blind not to have noticed a degree of tension in and around the power-brokers of V8 racing ever since the arm-wrestle between Cochrane and Hewson ‘factions’ back in May, at the Eastern Creek and Darwin rounds of the series.

That, and a handful of other personality clashes, appear to have been tempered, if not resolved, replaced by a desire for co-operation and progess, if vibes coming out of last Friday’s V8 teams’ forum is any guide. If so, then thank goodness for that. The individuals at the coal-face all have something to offer but, given their successful backgrounds, a degree of ego. Co-ordinating all that, for best effect, wouldn’t necessarily be an easy task!

Resolving the 2008 calendar, the TV stand-off (re the GP) and so on (see news Chris Lambden pages) is all positive stuff – mNews Publisher and suggests a progressive year ahead.

John Hewson arrived on the scene as a white knight, and with admirable motivation, to provide an independent overseer. But, in an outcome a little reminiscent of that poignant GST-cake moment in politics, Hewson may have misread, in this case, the swinging mood of the organisation. Given that his role was a nonexecutive (ie not paid) one, it is understandable that, under those circumstances, he has opted to find something else to do with his weekends.

TEGA, or more likely its planned merged TEGA/V8SA single entity, is now faced with the tricky task of finding the telephone box-inhabiting Superchairman to guide its shareholders into the future. Tough gig!

opinion

Letters

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

Boo yourself, Wes! I am writing in reply to Wesley Leher about how the Ford Fans booed Rick Kelly at the Sandown podium.

Apparently you have a short memory. Back in the days of Holden winning events, if there was a Ford driver on the

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podium they would get booed as well. It works both ways.

I was happy to see the Rat on the podium, although I have no respect for Rick Kelly.

But I still didn’t boo him.

Also, I think teams should have the choice of pairing their lead drivers or separating

them. It may not be their best chance to win the race but the rules are the same for everyone.

Stone Brothers and FPR have to do it for their sponsors but SBR came home third and fourth last year so I can’t see a problem with it.

Glen Sansom glensansom@yahoo.com.au Boo yourself, Wes! #2 So a Holden fan is miffed that their hero was booed on the rostrum?

Wesley, have you ever watched the rostrum when a

opinion

Tradition versus tradition PHILLIP Island is an awesome venue to host a 500km, twodriver endurance race.

Other than Sandown, I couldn’t really think of a better track to host such an event.

With new pit facilities, grandstands and nice weather (pretty please!), the Island 500 is sure to be a winner.

Long distance racing certainly isn’t a new concept down south, even if it was

opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews before my time … It’s going to be terrific to see some of that tradition restored.

But it’s going to be a shame not to go to Sandown for the ‘traditional’ Bathurst warm-up.

Yes, Sandown keeps a ‘sprint’ round, but it won’t be the same.

parity between cars, teams and drivers so equal these days, it could make for three processional races.

In the past, the 500 has been ‘hijacked’ by Queensland Raceway, but that only lasted four years. Commonsense eventually prevailed and the Sandown 500 was restored.

I hope, one day, the Sandown 500 can live again – maybe even as a ‘third’ enduro …

inappropriate. A rear light is not a warning to those in pit lane, and it was not stated that he exceeded the pit lane speed.

Mal Davies malsin@optusnet.com.au

you will be allowed entry with one carton/slab per person, regardless of whether you arrive the week before the race.

We did discuss that there is nothing to stop you putting four blokes in a car and doing a run down to the Bathurst bottle shop and returning with more.

The point of the above info is that you’re best not to arrive at Bathurst after a long drive late at night loaded up and not being allowed to take your alcohol in.

Matthew Kirby Sydney, NSW

Marshall Cass

The spectator attendances won’t be as high and the atmosphere will be different.

You see, Sandown doesn’t lend itself all that well to sprint racing. Grab some old videos of mid-90s sprint races at Sandown and you’ll see what I mean. The only time the racing gets exciting is if it rains. The track does have a couple of good, genuine passing points, but with the

Holden has won the race with a Ford on the podium? The Holden fans are JUST AS BAD! I think it’s a downright disgrace that V8 Supercar fans should act the way they do.

Geordie Pugh Brisbane, QLD Safety Car Concerns It seems that despite having some of the best run racing anywhere, V8 Supercars suffer regularly from a lack of commonsense from officials.

If the leader of a race has pitted at the time as a Safety Car intervention, the simple

solution is to allow the field past the Safety Car once the leader has re-joined. Then resume racing, leaving the pit lane open. It’s easy!

In-car signalling was mooted, and is necessary, after the fatal crash at Bathurst last year.

Activated by marshals, this should (with red and yellows) include a blue light, to be a final warning to adriver to allow the following car past.

This also could be used in a redress situation.

Also, the drive through penalty for the failure of a light on Garth’s car was stupid and

Bathurst Boozer Just thought that I would relay to the Bathurst campers a little discussion that I had with a Rep from V8 Supercars this week.

I emailed them seeking clarification of what will be determined as ‘excessive alcohol,’ i.e. the maximum allowed to be taken into our campsites. They confirmed that

21

When a Smiling Kid is

22

opinion Daryl Beattie TV commentator ‘domination’. Valentino Rossi has said there should be a control tyre; I don’t think so. Look back at when it was Mick Doohan v Wayne Rainey. Rainey would be faster on one track, on Dunlop, and Michelin was faster than that at other tracks.

The people who are involved will give Stoner the credit he deserves, but maybe that will not happen at large.

You still need the man to hang onto it, and turn that throttle.

He has given Loris Capirossi a hiding this year, and that is the real comparison to make.

At Phillip Island, the perfect dream is to show up at the track and go out and win it. That makes it the perfect year; World title, home GP. What more could you want?

There will be three old blokes running around the track when the stars are busy doing something else.

People have asked me, how am I preparing for that? I’m not!

Last time I rode, and that was one of two times I have ridden a bike this year, was at Eastern Creek. I was riding a Superbike, then jumped on a roadbike with the different gearshift pattern and I highsided myself off!

Hopefully, I will stay on the track at Phillip Island and not end up in the crowd!

I would put my money on Magee. I guarantee that he is out there now, somewhere, practicing. Magee takes these things pretty seriously.

But I reckon that the people will be there to see Casey, not some old fellas like us! It will be a great weekend.

Ducati Corse

I WOULD think that, in spite of wanting to win the World MotoGP title on home soil, Casey Stoner would be happy to have it wrapped up, even if he may not admit it.

You might remember that two years ago, he was fighting Dani Pedrosa at Phillip Island for the title in the 250s and he crashed.

He had his head between his legs because he threw it down the road when he was fighting for the title.

That would weigh on your mind and, even with a big bag of points, it would be a drama, fighting for it at the Island.

This title means everything to Ducati. Judging from the trip I did to Italy, earlier this year, there is a great passion at the Ducati factory. When I sat down with some of the senior people, they admitted that they had to rethink over and over about going into MotoGP in the first place.

They were scared, because they had been so successful, so dominant in Superbikes. They went to MotoGP fully aware that had they not been successful, as a brand, they would have looked like a failure. For them, it was a huge decision on every level; financially, for their credibility, everything.

To make that decision and then become the first European brand since MV Augusta in 1974 to win against the Japanese factories is a huge achievement.

They are the kings; they have won in World Superbikes and now, in MotoGP – ironically, in a year when they are not going to win in World Superbikes!

They see themselves as the best engineering company in motorcycle racing.

I don’t think that Casey has had the amount of credit he deserves. There has been a lot of emphasis on Bridgestone and its

opinion

s on Top of the World

Ducati Corse

Overtaking Nicky: Stoner looks to be a worthy successor to Honda’s Nicky Hayden, above, and owes much to his victorious and happy band of Ducati’s red-clad team, below.

WHEN Beattie’s right, he’s right. And he’s right this time.

Watching the Motegi broadcast on the weekend, the last thing I wanted was for Valentino Rossi to beat Casey Stoner to keep the battle alive.

I wanted Casey to seal the deal there and then, and move on to Phillip Island with a clean slate.

Everyone loves to see a home winner and the thought of Stoner going to the Island, with the weight of the world on his shoulders and the local general media (who could not give a damn about MotoGP the rest of the year) all over him like a rash, was a terrible prospect.

This way, we get to see Stoner at his best, with one aim; win on Australian soil.

Perfect result.

So, to Stoner and his family, enjoy your time at home and give it your best. And to those hard-working engineers at Ducati and Bridgestone, well done, and a thousand congratulations.

And roll on Phillip Island.

Ducati Corse

I worry when I agree with Dags twice in a row, but nope, Dorna has got this one wrong.

Last week, Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta prefaced a possible change in MotoGP tyre regulations, suggesting that a control tyre could be brought into the category in time for the 2008 season. This is, apparently, in response to comments made by a number of people and led by Valentino Rossi, who has been critical of this year’s tyre regulations.

Something to do with making the racing worse.

Really?

The argument goes that Bridgestone has dominated

opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor and it has been bad for the racing. Wrong. Ducati has dominated, not Bridgestone.

The winners are, Stoner [eight wins] and Loris Capirossi [one] for Ducati; Chris Vermeulen [one] for Suzuki, all on Bridgestones. On Michelins, Rossi has won four races, Dani Pedrosa one (and that was by the biggest margin of the year, in Germany). That’s it – five winners.

Bridgestone has been in the premier class since 2003. That year, four riders won races. The following year, four again; then five in 2005. In 2006, it was seven.

Tyres are not the problem.

The problems this year have been that Honda produced a bad bike in the RC212V, and that has made World Champion Nicky Hayden, the man Stoner succeeded on Sunday, an impotent racer.

The other is that Yamaha insists on wasting a good bike (and its Michelins) on Colin Edwards. Both those errors will be corrected next year.

There is still a chance that there will be more different winners this season; Marco Melandri is a Phillip Island expert, having won there on 125s and 250s, as well as last year. Toni Elias has proven he can win; John Hopkins, to win before he leaves Suzuki, anyone? Ant West, if it rains?

Japan was a great example of what tyres can do to mix up a race; Michelin dominated qualifying, Bridgestone dominated the race. Please, Dorna, leave the mix alone, and let’s see some fireworks.

23

MOTOGP ROUND 15 – MOTEGI

The Dawn of a New Era A Ducati rider won in Japan – again – but it was not Casey Stoner, who was too happy celebrating his World Championship to care about finishing sixth ...

24

race

Ducati Corse

25

PRETTY much everything that could have happened at Motegi did – but, at the end of the day, there were plenty of smiles in pitlane.

Ducati Corse

Stoner 297, Rossi 214, Pedrosa 188, Hopkins 156, Vermeulen 152, Melandri 148, Capirossi 130, Hayden 112, Edwards 108, Barros 91.

26

An unusual look: Casey Stoner would not normally celebrate a sixth place, top, with the national flag, but this race was different. Randy De Puniet wheelied his way to second, above, while Toni Elias put a leg-breaking season behind him with third place and was, obviously, pretty thrilled afterwards ...

Honda Pro Images

MOTOGP | RIDER’S points

Kawasaki Racing Team

him. I guess that was the aim of the game today.”

Winner Capirossi was equally thrilled, with his first win of the year and ninth for Ducati.

“When I woke this morning and saw the rain I said ‘wow, for sure this is going to be a difficult day’. We didn’t know which would be the best tyres to use, so we started with medium rain tyres. At first it was really difficult, so I decided to pit early and, for sure, my tactic was the best.”

Honda Pro Images

Loris Capirossi was grinning, because he won in Japan for the third straight year.

Randy De Puniet was smiling too, having given Kawasaki a second place on a day that promised so much, then had it snatched away.

Toni Elias was ecstatic, with third place, while the bloke he fought off for the final podium spot was on the leading Yamaha in the race. And no, it was not Valentino Rossi, it was Sylvain Guintoli.

The biggest grin was on the face of the bloke in sixth.

All Casey Stoner had to do in Japan was finish ahead of Rossi – and he did, but it was a seesaw battle. He was ahead of the Italian but, as it dried out, Rossi’s hard-wet Michelins had the edge and it was looking like the fight would go on to Phillip Island.

Then, Capirossi pitted for a ‘dry’ Ducati, started lapping up to six seconds a lap faster than the leaders and the die was cast. Stoner pitted a lap before Rossi and, when the Yamaha rider returned a lap later because he was not happy with the grip, the championship was over.

“I didn’t really know whether to come in or not, then my team put ‘BOX’ on my pitboard, so I had a bit more confidence to come in,” said Stoner after the race.

“After I changed bikes there was something up with the steering damper, the bike wasn’t allowing me to tip into corners, so I had to slow down to unwind it. Then I started to find more of a rhythm, Valentino had a problem and we managed to finish ahead of

race

Kawasaki Racing Team

The Land of the Fading Sun Ducati puts an end to a 32-year winning streak for Japan CASEY Stoner’s 2007 World Championship is significant in lots of ways, but it is particularly notable because it ends an era.

How the West was ... Seventh ONE of these days, surely, Anthony West is going to win a Grand Prix.

The Aussie made a good start in Japan – too good, in fact. He was judged to have broken the start and given a drive-through penalty. In the three laps before he pitted, he had taken the lead and cleared out.

After stopping to swap bikes, West finished seventh.

“Considering I had to stop twice and stalled the bike, I guess seventh’s not too bad!” he

said.

“I could have done so much better. It was great to lead the race but I’m angry I jumpstarted. The ride through lost me a lot of time and then I didn’t know about changing the bikes because I’ve never done it before. When I did come in, I stalled and that lost me even more time. I didn’t know what was going on and it was pretty nerve-wracking.”

The Finn was in a four-way fight for the win, with Hiroshi Aoyama, Andrea Dovizioso and Yuki Takahashi. The two Japanese riders crashed, and Kallio snuck away in lapped traffic to take victory.

Hector Barbera was third but Jorge Lorenzo’s 11th placing means that Dovi has 36 points to make up in three races.

Points: Lorenzo 262, Dovizioso 226, De Angelis 209, Bautista 161, Barbera 146, Kallio 119, Aoyama 116, Luthi 104.

Yamaha Racing

MIKA Kallio’s maiden 250cc win came on the track where he has twice won 125 races.

Yamaha Racing

KTM

Finnishing School

Stop the World: Rossi was not happy with his front end, above, and Guintoli, below, was Yamaha’s leading light.

To find an Italian marque in the winner’s list of the premier class of motorcycle racing requires a search of more than 30 years. It was another famous make, MV Augusta, that won the title in 1974 and the man at the controls was Englishman, Phil Read.

Read, below, had joined the Italian factory in 1972 and, after played number two to Giacomo Agostini, led the marque when Ago defected to Yamaha for 1974. As the 500c champion, Read had the best of everything and, in 10 rounds, took four victories.

But the writing was on the wall. Agostini developed the Yamaha to a formidable weapon and, in 1975, won four times. The consistent Read was outgunned on the MV and the following year, was replaced. In 1976, Barry Sheene dominated with five wins; Suzuki took eight of the 10 races, with Yamaha taking the Isle of Man. Ago won in Germany in what was the last four-stoke win of the 500c era and, ever since, the Japanese have ruled motorcycle racing’s premier class.

Until last Sunday.

MATTIA Pasini won his fourth race of 2007 in Japan.

The Italian started from pole and led from the first corner to win from Gabor Talmasci and Hector Faubel.

Points: Talmasci 229, Faubel 220, Koyama 156, Pasini 144, Corsi 142, Pesek 136, Gadea 126.

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The Tasmanian Tiger RALLYE BURNIE JIM Richards has continued his love affair with the roads of Tasmania, taking out Rallye Burnie for the third consecutive time on the weekend and adding to his eight Targa Tasmania and three Rally Tasmania victories.

Richards and co-driver Barry Oliver walked away from the weekend with the maximum points available after taking his Porsche GT3 to victory in both heats.

“Rallye Burnie is a fantastic event and Tasmania has been very kind to us,” Richards said.

Rally Burnie marked the tarmac debut for NEC Australian Rally Championship regular Brendan Reeves, pictured right, who was competing in an LWR-prepped Subaru Impreza WRX. Reeves and his co-driver Rhianon Smyth finished an impressive third in Heat 1

28

and charged home on the penultimate stage of the rally, beating Richards’ stage time by 15s, to take second outright for the weekend.

“I really loved it,” Reeves said.

“It was great fun and I’d like to do more – I was more confident today. The more kilometres I did the more confident I got.”

Richards’ closest rival during Heat 1 was another LWR entrant, Grant Denyer. He crashed out of the event on the famous Hellyer Gorge stage.

“Unfortunately I asked a bit too much of the car,” said Denyer. “We had a minor brake failure and the rest is history – I left the road.”

The leading classic car across the weekend was Peter Eames, who took his Porsche 911 to top points in both heats.

Cameron Weaving was second of the classics in his Ford Capri Perana with Robin Lowe, driving a Datsun 240Z, third in his class.

RB 4 ARC? TIPPED to be the first tarmac round of the NEC Australian Rally Championship – if one is to be included in the series – the format of this year’s Rallye Burnie underwent a massive overhaul.

Moving away from the more traditional tarmac format, Rallye Burnie was run under the same guidelines as the gravel rounds that make up the NEC ARC, and consisted of two heats run over Saturday and Sunday.

With the new format happily adopted by teams and crews across the weekend, Rallye Burnie is bound to be a talking point for the NEC ARC representatives who attended the event.

news

John Morris/Mpix

Good news, Storey NEW SOUTH WALES STATE

ROB Storey’s chances of capturing the 2007 NSW State Formula Ford 1600 Championship were boosted last weekend at Eastern Creek where he dominated the penultimate round.

Storey took out all three race wins, along with pole position in qualifying. Finishing second in all three races, Ben Morley was unable to match Storey, while CAMS Rising Star driver Daniel Erickson made a strong comeback after an opening race non-finish to score a hard fought third place in the trophy race.

Jason Cutts wrapped up the NSW State

Formula Vee Championship with victory over Ryan Simpson and Matthew Pearce. A penalty in the opening race for Proctor, after crossing the finish line in first place, robbed him of a maiden championship victory.

In other classes trophy race wins were shared between Scott Butler (Sports Sedans), Edward Gavin (AF2 / Supersports / Clubman Challenge), Bob Pearson (Production Sports), Jim Stewart (Combined Touring), Bob Jowett (Improved Production Under 2 Litre), Ryan Brown (Improved Production Over 2 Litre), and the returning Greg King (HQ Holdens).

– DANIEL POWELL

Walsh Top 10 on British debut ASH Walsh was the top Aussie at last weekend’s British Formula Ford round at Brands Hatch, recording a Top 10 finish in the build-up to the coveted Formula Ford Festival.

The CAMS Rising Star had a slow start to the weekend, qualifying outside the Top 10 for both races and then hitting the wall during the opener.

But he and the Spectrum 011 fought back in Race 2, charging to ninth.

“I got a mad start, passed three people at the start, but a guy in a Van Diemen had a problem,” said Walsh.

sutton-images.com

UK FORMULA FORD

“I got boxed in behind him and was dead last, about 800 metres behind the rest of the field. I had a good race from there and finished ninth. Our speed by the end was pretty

good – we ended up only being a couple of tenths off the pace.”

Josh Scott finished 13th in the first race and failed to finish the second, while Nikki Templer was 20th in Race 1.

29

GLOBE TROTTER

Tony Kart 1-2 at World Champs

NHRA NEW POWERade points leader Larry Dixon took Top Fuel honours at Dallas last weekend, defeating Bob Vandergriff in the final.

Tony Pedregon was also a winner in Funny Car, along with Pro Stock’s Dave Connolly.

Peggy Llewellen, grabbed her first Pro Stock Bike win with a huge holeshot victory over points leader Andrew Hines.

– DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

WORLD KARTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

F3 EUROSERIES

sutton-images.com

EDOARDO Mortara and Renger van der Zande shared the Euro F3 race wins at Barcelona on the weekend.

The opening race was delayed at the start thanks to a torrential downpour moments before the start was scheduled. And when racing did get underway, Mortara was too good, holding off Nico Hulkenberg to win.

The second race was dominated by van der Zande, while Aussie Michael Patrizi finished 18th in Race 1 and failed to finish race 2 after being caught up in a startline accident.

TONY Kart has scored a one-two at the first World Karting Championship for the new 125cc KF1 category.

Team drivers Marco Ardigo and Gary Catt drove their Vortex-powered machines to victory at the Mariembourg circuit in Belgium last weekend.

Having finished second to Ardigo in the pre-final, Catt led the opening lap of the final. However the Italian champion was through on the second lap and was never headed.

Kosmic’s Danish driver Nikolaj Bollingtoft filled the podium ahead of Anthony Abbasse (Sodikart/ Parilla) and Benjamin Bailly (Kosmic/Vortex).

Defending champion Davidé Foré (Maranello/ Parilla) finished a creditable 7th after starting 32nd due to a pre-final DNF. Up to the final, Catt had been the form driver of the meeting. The Brit qualified fastest and was undefeated in his heat races. Heat wins also went to Bollingtoft, Sauro Cesetti (Birel/Parilla) and Ardigo.

Cesetti’s win was significant in that it was the only race to be won by a non-Vortex powered kart.

– MARK WICKS

WTCC

WORLD SERIES Guillaume Moreau took his maiden World Series By Renault race win last weekend at Magny Cours.

The Frenchman won race 2 after Ben Hanley annihilated the field in the opener.

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Audi Green with Envy DTM JAMIE Green won his first DTM race at Catalunya last weekend, but the win was tainted by the mid-race withdrawal of all of the Audis as a protest.

The protest, which occurred after Audi became disgruntled with the on-track manners of several Mercedes drivers, left only six cars running when the chequered flag was waved (see news pages).

sutton-images.com

ANDY Priaulx now leads the World Touring Car Championship after winning at Brands Hatch last weekend.

The Englishman won the second race while Alain Menu won Race 1.

But Green was still a deserved winner, leading home Bruno Spengler and Paul Di Resta by more than 11s.

The controversial race allowed Spengler right in to the title fight, with Mattias Ekstrom retiring after a crash and Martin Tomczyk withdrawing as part of the protest.

The final round is at Hockenheim next month.

Points: Ekstrom 44, Spengler 42, Tomczyk 40, Di Resta 31, Bernd Schneider 27.5.

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NASCAR Media

Carl wins ... or does he?

NASCAR

CARL Edwards may have won the Dodge Dealers 400, but whether he scores the full quota of winner’s points will depend on a post-race Stewards’ Inquiry regarding a technical infringement.

Having won the race, the #99 Ford was found to be too low at the right-rear. The car will be taken to North Carolina for further scrutineering, with penalties, if necessary, expected to be handed down to

Edwards later this week.

“The worse case would be 25 points,” said Edwards.

“The right-rear being low – any engineer or crew chief in the garage will tell you that’s the last thing you want. You want the right-rear to be high.

“The only thing I can think of is at the end of the race, Greg [Biffle] came up and gave me a couple of love taps to say ‘good job, good race,’ and hopefully they find that was what bent the tail of the car

down a little bit.

“There are some braces bent under the decklid so hopefully that’s what it is.”

The Dover race was marred by a sizeable crash 14 laps from the finish that claimed Chase contenders Martin Truex Jr, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson.

The Chase: Jeff Gordon 5340, Tony Stewart 5338, Edwards 5337, Johnson 5336, Kyle Busch 5330, Clint Bowyer 5322, Truex Jr 5294, Jeff Burton 5265, Kevin Harvick 5225, Matt Kenseth 5224, Kurt Busch 5192, Denny Hamlin 5182.

Death-bed Denny’s Day at Dover NASCAR

NASCAR Media

A VERY ill Denny Hamlin won the Busch Series race at Dover last weekend.

Hamlin was crook enough to require a drip pre-race, and even considered not finishing. Lucky he did, because the car was

strong enough to allow him to lead home Martin Truex Jr and Matt Kenseth.

Marcos Ambrose finished 20th after starting 42nd thanks to a crash in qualifying.

Points: Carl Edwards 4153, David Reutimann 3399, Kevin Harvick 3265, Jason Leffler 3245, David Ragan 3088, (Marcos Ambrose 2898).

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race shop

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rear of grid

Dancing with the Stars

T

HE wife loves a dance. She is always asking me to go somewhere and get up with her when the music starts and so far, I have not run out of excuses not to.

She even likes to watch it on TV and, as long as the set is on, I might have a look at Dancing with the Stars this time around. The chance that someone will fire one into the fence is always interesting, and James Courtney will add a new layer to the broadcast this time around.

I have no idea how Courtney’s foxtrot form is, but the fact that he is even on a show like this is good for motor racing. The whole world does not revolve around former soapie stars or broken-down footballers – racing drivers are athletes too. Mind you, I cannot help but wonder what will happen if Courtney and Bezzy win at Bathurst, have a big Sunday night and the next performance suffers when the Care Factor drops to zero.

Casey Stoner must be making an impression, too.

We had just finished the roast on Sunday when I remembered that the lad was on 60 Minutes, and it was not a bad yarn. I guess it is too much to expect that the reporters might have their facts straight – I am not big motorcycle racing fan, but even I know that Valentino Rossi did not win the title last year,! That Hayden fella did.

But the mere fact that the story was on at all proved that motor sport can make an impression. I look forward to seeing Stoner on the telly again soon, perhaps trying to sell me internet instead of that blonde bird on the Dodo ads.

punter@mnews.com.au

THE FACT THAT THE STORY WAS ON PROVED THAT MOTOR SPORT CAN MAKE AN IMPRESSION

Odd Spot Better late than never ...

JACK Perkins wasn't fussed about making up too many positions at the start of last year's Bathurst 1000, his first start in the Great Race.

But as history will relate, his world came crashing down a handful of seconds after the lights went green when he smashed into the back of the pole-sitting car of Mark Skaife (which was struggling up the hill with a burnt-out clutch).

None of the pros captured the moment but, just this week it emerged that a spectator, Aaron Gambrill, was on the spot to capture this piece of Mountain history. Good work Aaron.

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