Motorsport eNews Issue 24 - October 2-8, 2007

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Issue No. 024 2 – 8 October 2007

BATHURST 1000 Cars and combos sorted – but could the weather be the joker in the pack?

#$@%!

WEBBER ROBBED AT FUJI MW TELLs us how close he came to winning

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

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

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Issue No. 024 | 2-8 October 2007

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news 5 Sticky Dates 6 Jamie’s new ride 8 Spanish for ‘bye bye’ 10 Mosley v Jackie

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chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Saward 21 Webber 49 Punter

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

Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Copyright: Material published in Motorsport eNews is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

Freelance contributions are welcome, and while all care will be taken, Motorsport eNews does not accept responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted.

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

International photos supplied by Sutton Images, www.sutton-images.com – click here to check out their exclusive poster deals

HRT’s Glenn Seton Singing in the Rain Chuck. Race. Ouch! Swear Cats, Storms and Red Bulls

race 22 BATHURST PREVIEW Opinions, tips and talk 32 Monsoon, title soon 38 Zandvoort Zen 42 Toseland staggers 44 Improved Vees

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)

And the V8 program is ...

Red Rocket Ready to Roar Hamilton speaks his mind Max’s one knight stand

Hamilton surfs through A Boks of Springs in A1 Could he lose from here?

Porter’s Formula victory

trade 46 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome CAMS Rising Stars or future Golden Globe winners?

Check out the latest eNews supplements via http://www.mnews.com.au

sutton-images.com

Webber perplexed by Vettel FORMULA 1 A STUNNED Mark Webber was still coming to terms on Monday with the unbelievable nature of his departure from Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, when a career-best second, or even a win, seemed on the cards.

An inexplicable error by SebastianVettel, in the ‘sister’ Toro Rosso, saw the youngster plough into the rear of Webber’s Red Bull while the field crawled around during a late Safety Car period.

Both cars were out, Webber on the spot, a tearful Vettel touring into pit lane.

“There’s no point in remaining angry about it. It’s gone and there’s another race next week,” Webber told eNews on Monday morning.

The anti-climax came after a brilliant drive in exceptionally tough conditions, further complicated by the effects of a serious stomach bug, which had kept him up most of the night and saw him vomiting on the grid and again, inside his helmet, early in the race.

Webber’s Red Bull had appeared to have the pace in the dreadful conditions to hunt down race leader Lewis Hamilton and, in theory, a rare opportunity was there to be taken.

His frustration became globally apparent when, shortly after his return to pit lane, ITV’s Louise Goodman thrust a microphone in front of him. F1’s Mr Diplomatic dropped in the ‘F’ word as he assessed Vettel’s inexperienced error …

For Webber’s exclusive debrief on the dramatic day, see page 21

SC rules to be clarified ...

BATHURST 1000 THE V8 Supercar team managers’ briefing at Bathurst tomorrow (Wednesday) promises to be interesting, with a number of teams looking to clarify Safety Car procedures.

Last month’s Sandown 500 was subject to a situation whereby the Safety Car picked up a mid-field car when leader Jamie Whincup pitted under yellow flag, leaving all but six cars ‘trapped’ and virtually a lap down – certainly out of the contest.

Teams and drivers want rule clarification, so that cars can be waved past the Safety Car under these circumstances, so that the leader is indeed the first car in the queue when the race goes green.

Tasman Motorsport MD Jeff Grech

highlighted the situation in a media release last week.

“If we’re not careful, we’re going to have the same situation at Bathurst and that’s not the best outcome for the teams or the fans,” he said.

“Effectively, what you’re doing is tidying things up; the leaders don’t lose anything as they have now got a clean track ahead.”

V8 Supercars Race Director Tim Schenken said that there is a mechanism is place to incorporate changes in the way that the Safety Car operates: “The rules are clear, everyone has to agree [to changes],” he said.

“The Safety Car rules have been the same, and the basis of it largely unchanged, since we introduced it in 1987.”

news

V8 Calendar sorted 2008 V8 SUPERCAR CALENDAR

Ash Budd

V8 SUPERCARS AFTER a brief delay, the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series calendar has been finalised and is now expected to be confirmed at Bathurst this weekend.

V8SA boss Tony Cochrane has this week confirmed the bombshell, revealed exclusively in last week’s eNews, that the traditional pre-Bathurst 500km race is to move, from Sandown to Phillip Island.

The Island 500 will be held in midSeptember, utilising the corporate and crowd facilities that will be erected for MotoGP’s late-September event.

As the full schedule reveals, all of this year’s tracks remain on the calendar, which means the championship stays at 14 rounds. The addition of the nonchampionship AGP support meeting makes for one very busy V8 season.

For the eighth year-in-a-row, the Clipsal 500 will be the first round of the championship, while for the first time, Oran Park will be the second round.

One week after OP will be the non-points meeting at the Australian Grand Prix.

A whole month will pass before the series kicks into Round 3 in Hamilton, NZ (which replaces Pukekohe) in April, before

1 2 NC 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Clipsal 500, SA Oran Park, NSW AGP Hamilton, NZ Barbagallo, WA Sandown, Vic Darwin, NT Winton, Vic Ipswich, Qld Phillip Island 500, Vic Bathurst 1000, NSW Gold Coast, Qld Bahrain Symmons Plains, Tas Eastern Creek, NSW

Feb 21-24 Mar 7-9 Mar 13-16 Apr 18-20 May 9-11 Jun 6-8 Jul 4-6 Jul 18-20 Aug 1-3 Sep 12-14 Oct 9-12 Oct 23-26 Nov 6-8 Nov 21-23 Dec 5-7

heading across to Perth in May. June’s only round will be a sprint round at Sandown (bring your woollens!).

July has two rounds – the first in sunny Darwin, followed by what is sure to be a chilly July weekend at Winton.

Queensland Raceway hosts the final round of the series before the six-week break due to Channel Seven’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics.

The back end of the season mirrors this year’s championship, except that the final round will be held at Eastern Creek, where it was held from 2003-2004.

– GRANT ROWLEY

... but will weather be the key BATHURST 1000 COULD the pre-Bathurst form-guide be washed away?

As eNews went ‘to press’ long range weather forecasts were suggesting that the 2007 Bathurst race could well be rain-affected – and there’s nothing more certain to upset the form book than that.

Based on form, this year’s Bathurst classic looks set to be a four-way tussle between the leading Triple 8 Falcon of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup, the Toll HSVDT Commodore of Rick Kelly and Garth Tander, the fellow Clayton Commodore of Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly, and, thanks to their late reshuffle of lead drivers, the leading FPR entry of Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom.

But the forecast of likely rain is threatening to turn the pre-race form on its head and, potentially, open the door for a less predictable Bathurst winner.

On Monday, www.weather.com.au’s long-range

forecast for the Bathurst area was predicting showers for Saturday, with a maximum of 19 degrees, 84 percent humidity and a 44 percent chance of precipitation.

Sunday’s forecast is similar, with 47 percent chance of rain, 89 percent humidity and a maximum of 16 degrees.

Rain has already thrown up some surprise results in this year’s V8 Supercar Championship season, with wet weather at Winton back in May allowing Whincup to break Holden’s early stranglehold on the series, and torrential rain at Oran Park in August helping Lee Holdsworth to his maiden victory.

Rain has been a rarity at The Mountain on race weekend in recent years. Garth Tander and Jason Bargwanna’s 2000 win was the last in full wet conditions, pictured left, while intermittent rain fell during the 2001 and 2002 Bathurst classics.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

BRIEFLY...

n John Force has credited fallen team-mate Eric Medlen with saving him from more serious injuries.

Force’s crash one week ago at the Texas Motorplex was eerily similar to the one in which Medlen suffered fatal head injuries in a testing accident last March. In both instances, a tyre failed, which culminated in a major chassis failure. n Wally Parks has died.

The founder of the NHRA in 1951 remained a strong force in the sport for generations, and spent much of his recent time at The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. Parks, who was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, was 94.

Bet on us, says Bargs V8 SUPERCARS WPS RACING might just be worth a punt at the local betting shop, according to Jason Bargwanna.

The 2000 Bathurst winner and Max Wilson are the latest full-time drivers to be paired for this week’s Bathurst 1000 and will race the team’s new

#8 WPC-liveried car. The other WOW entry will be driven by Michael Caruso and Grant Denyer.

“We are worth a look,” said Bargs, “not that I encourage anyone to have a bet …

“What the team is doing is in-line with what is going on in pitlane and I think that Max and I will make a good

combination.

“The race is a long one and experience will count for a lot, particularly if the conditions are changing.”

The team is yet to settle on a plan for the weekend but eNews understands that the current thinking is that Wilson will qualify the car and Bargwanna will start the race.

Testing times for Team BOC V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

n Is the 2007 CAMS Motorsport Personality of the Year a woman? For the first time ever there are two female nominations for the award, with reigning (and soon to be current) Australian Rally Champion co-driver Sue Evans and Gold Star leader Leanne Tander both in the running.

John Morris/Mpix

n V8 Supercar course commentator Barry Oliver will call his last V8 race at Phillip Island’s Grand Finale.

The popular Tasmanian, has beeen advised by V8 Supercar Australia that his contract will not be renewed.

TEAM BOC’s Bathurst preparations have hit a bump with Christian Murchison crashing one of the squad’s Falcons during testing at Winton last week.

Murchison was just two laps from the end of the day’s program when he left the road and made contact with a concrete wall.

“It was just one of those things, really late in the day,” said ‘Murcho.’

“I went out to do just a couple of laps to finish the day off and the car has just come down off the kerb awkwardly on the exit of the sweeper and spat me off the road. The proximity of the wall there means that you are almost guaranteed to hit it.

“It was really disappointing because Damien and I had really started to come to grips with the car and we were both setting some good times, but I need to forget about the test and go to Bathurst with a clear head.”

news

Whincup: new car is fantastic Sandown winner says new chassis has what it takes to defend Triple 8’s Bathurst crown V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

JAMIE Whincup and Craig Lowndes will debut a new BF Falcon at this weekend’s Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 – and Whincup couldn’t be happier about it.

Triple 8 will run chassis #12 (which will then become Whincup’s race car) for the first time at Bathurst, having tested the car without any problems at Queensland Raceway last week.

“Yeah it’s a risk, but it’s an educated risk we’re willing to take,” said the defending Bathurst champ.

“We’ve tested the car and it felt fantastic, so we’ll be going for it. At the end of the day most of the major components, like the rear axle and the wishbones, have all be transferred from chassis #10, so it’s

really just a new roll cage, new skin and a new wiring loom.

“After testing all we did was move the dash a tiny bit, so it was only a cosmetic change. That’s all.”

According to Whincup, he and Craig Lowndes are ready to back up their Sandown

500 win and defend their Bathurst crown.

“We’re going in with a lot of confidence,” he told eNews.

“I’ve been speaking to Craig almost everyday and we couldn’t be more prepared.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Bathurst Zero Car V8 SUPERCARS

THIS is the new look Jim Beam Racing will take to Bathurst this week – having been subject to some late change after Jim Beam Brands Australia and Coca Cola hit a commercial ‘hiccup’.

About 100,000 cases of Jim Beam Zero cans, and 40,000 cases of JB Zero bottles had been produced when the company was advised by

Foster’s that it held the rights to the ‘Zero’ trademark in Australia, through its Cougar Zero brand.

After a week of negotiating, the companies struck a compromise, with newly produced cans and bottles, and the DJR racecars, wearing the logo Jim Beam and Zero Sugar Cola.

As part of the compromise, Jim Beam will be able to sell the ‘Zero’ branded items until

October 12. In the meantime, all of the specially-branded promotions material, point of sale items and designs – including some for the Falcons – will have to be rather

expensively discarded.

So, if you need to have a tipple while watching the race this weekend remember, Mr Beam would appreciate your support …

BRIEFLY... n Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Ralf Schumacher have been re-elected as the three directors of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA).

The Grand Prix drivers voted them back at Fuji Speedway last Friday, when the usual GPDA brouhaha went on about the pit-lane entrance.

It seems the GPDA knows something that we in the media don’t – namely that Schumacher, who serves as the GPDA secretary, has a Toyota drive for 2008. n Former Toyota F1 team principal Ove Andersson attended his final GP in an official role at Mt Fuji. The 70year-old will now spend some of his time in South Africa at a newly-developed conference centre.

– SPURRING/STAFF

Hamilton gives Alonso FORMULA 1

ANY niceties between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are finished, with the World Championship leader publicly stating at the weekend that he wants the Spaniard to leave McLaren.

Before his possibly title-clinching Japanese GP win, Hamilton said that he would prefer to see Alonso at Ferrari, rather than have another year alongside the double Champion.

“I mean, if the team want to keep him, they keep him, but I’m here as long as they want me,” said Hamilton.

“I don’t know who else would slip in here, but I’d much rather it were Fernando at Ferrari and me at McLaren.

“This season has helped reconfirm in my mind where I want to be, where I want to see out my career, and that is here,” he said.

“I’m really happy and comfortable here. So long as they want me, there’s no reason to move anywhere else.”

Hamilton’s comments came 24 hours

after Alonso said that he saw no reason to stay with the team. But a possible move to Ferrari has been dispelled by team boss, Jean Todt.

“Zero percent,” was Todt’s response when asked if Alonso could drive for his team in 2008.

“We have two fantastic drivers in Kimi (Raikkonen) and Felipe (Massa). We are very happy with them and they are under contract.

“I would respect a contract for a guy cleaning the floor, so you can imagine that I will respect a contract with them.

If we have a contract, we respect it.”

McLaren boss Ron Dennis did nothing to quell the speculation when he said on Saturday that Alonso’s future would be discussed at the end of the season.

“If there are any changes they will only be discussed after the last Grand Prix,” he said.

“There is at this stage nobody engaged in any dialogue whatsoever.”

Expressions of Interest Rally & Historic Commission Chair Positions With both Ed Ordynski and Paul Hamilton not seeking reappointment for 2008 to their respective positions of Chair of the Rally and Historic Commission, the Board is seeking expressions of interest from appropriately skilled and experienced members interested in being considered for appointment to these important leadership positions.

The calibre of individual will need to fulfil the following criteria: • Excellent interpersonal and written communication, negotiation and problem solving skills • Excellent customer service orientation and flexibility to operate within a dynamic and changing environment • A demonstrated ability to establish and maintain internal and external relationships, an affinity with volunteerism, strong advocacy and PR skills • Demonstrated ability to be unbiased, chair meetings and manage the often complex and competing business of the Commission,

including the ability to resolve issues through rigorous and genuine debate/deliberation until a matter is resolved via genuine consultation • Demonstrated capacity to work in close partnership and as a unified team with the Executive Officer appointed to the respective Commission • Be available and willing to maintain the optimism of the respective discipline community through effective consultation that engages those who wish to contribute to the Commissions deliberations in a transparent and equitable manner. This includes a clear and continued focus on club and state level activity • Highly developed skills in research and the ability to synthesise, analyse, manage and communicate information to people at all levels • An ability to develop processes, systems and procedures to support service delivery and partnership arrangements • Demonstrated skills, knowledge and experience in the respective discipline

The Board will consider this matter as soon as practicable and upon approval the successful appointee will work in partnership with the current incumbent and Executive Officer until they formally commence in the role on 1 January 2008.

If you believe you fulfil these requirements and wish to be considered for appointment to these important leadership positions within CAMS, please forward an Expression of Interest and supporting material, including CV, by COB 12 October 2007 to: Graham Fountain Chief Executive Officer Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) PO Box 147 Caulfield East, Vic 3145 or via email grahamf@cams.com.au CAMS is an Equal Opportunity Organisation

news

o his Marching Orders FERNANDO Alonso will continue to fight for a third straight world title this weekend in China – but realises that his team-mate Lewis Hamilton is in the drivers’ seat.

After crashing out of fourth place at Mt Fuji, Alonso needs bad luck to stop Hamilton icing the title this weekend in Shanghai but, such is the reliability of the McLarens – Alonso’s crash was the first DNF for the team in 30 starts this year – that the odds are firmly against him.

“It’s not over, because it has to be over mathematically,” the defending champion told ITV Sport.

“But no doubt I need a very unlucky weekend for him – I need a retirement for Lewis with a mechanical problem or something, to have a chance to win.

“If the races are completely normal, it’s over.”

The Spaniard refused to pass blame for the crash to anyone but himself, despite the fact that the car was damaged after a clash with Sebastian Vettel.

Naughty Boys, Inc FORMULA 1 SEBASTIEN Vettel has been penalised 10 grid spots for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix as punishment for the bizarre collision which ended Mark Webber’s Japanese Grand Prix.

At the same time, Toro Rosso has indicated it will appeal the 25 second penalty given to Tonio Liuzzi for overtaking Spyker’s Adrian Sutil under yellow flags, during the race.

The penalty moved Liuzzi from eighth to ninth, costing the team its first, crucial, point of the year – teams which score points qualify for FOM’s 2008 travel package, worth some millions of dollars.

Bad news for Toro Rosso was, equally, good news for Spyker, which earned its first point and thus inclusion in the travel deal …

CAMS Organisational Review - Call for Submissions In recognising a number of challenges facing CAMS and its new strategic direction, the Board and Management have announced an organisational review to examine the existing governance, organisational structure and consultative processes of CAMS. The review will involve extensive consultation with CAMS stakeholders (internal and external) and will recommend a structure, governance and consultative framework from which future strategies of CAMS can be optimised.

A Board Steering Committee consisting of the President, two Vice Presidents and CEO will oversee the review and have recently appointed Ernst & Young as independent consultants to undertake the review.

As part of the consultation process, written submissions are currently being sought from individuals, groups of individuals, clubs and interested parties to put forward their views on the governance, organisational and consultative structure of CAMS. Submissions should be succinct and express your major concerns and any appropriate recommendations for consideration by Ernst & Young. Where possible, views should be supported

by relevant evidence, examples or case studies.

Submissions should address the following key themes: • Do you think the current governance, organisational and consultative structure consisting of national body, state councils, national commissions / committees and advisory panels is effective in delivering and growing motor sport in Australia? Please provide reasons.

• Do you think the existing board is effective in setting and driving strategy for CAMS? Please provide reasons.

• Do you think the current management are effective in delivering strategy for CAMS? Please provide reasons.

• Do you have any suggestions regarding a future governance structure and consultative model for CAMS? Submissions will not be accepted unless a contact name, position within the organisation / industry (if relevant), postal address and / or email address (if available) are provided. Closing date for receipt of submissions is Friday 19 October 2007. All submissions will be treated in strict confidence.

Submissions should be forwarded directly to Ernst &

Young at: camsreview@au.ey.com Or

Sports, Events and Venues Consulting Ernst & Young 8 Exhibition Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Fax: (+613) 8650 7711

In addition, written submissions and / or interviews for the review will be sought from a selection of the following individuals, groups and organisations: • CAMS Board Members • CAMS Management • National Commissions and Committees • State Councils • State Advisory Panels • And a small number of relevant stakeholders.

These individuals, groups and organisations will be contacted separately.

Further queries regarding the review process should be directed to Ashlee English at CAMS National office on (03) 9593 7783.

BRIEFLY... n Super Aguri’s marketing department has kicked a few goals recently. Electronics giant Pioneer, airline Vigin Atlantic and Japanese company Four Leaf all debuted on the Honda-powered cars at Mt Fuji as part of an Asian marketing blitz that continues at Shanghai this weekend.

Singapore has finalised the layout of the street circuit on which its inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix will be run in September 2008, probably under floodlights, and has been granted provisional FIA approval.

The city-state can now begin construction of the permanent pit structures and other works.

The circuit will be 5.07km long, with 10 left-hand and 14 righthand turns, and will cross two bridges.

One of these is an iron structure, almost 100 years old, so narrow that the promoters are already justifying it as Singapore’s equivalent of the tunnel at Monaco. However the harbourside track is now cleared pending the final FIA safety inspection. n

– SPURRING/STAFF

10

FORMULA 1 FIA PRESIDENT Max Mosley has launched an extraordinary attack on one of the most respected men in motor racing history, Sir Jackie Stewart.

Mosley labelled the triple World champion “a certified halfwit” after the legendary Scot suggested that the recent McLaren judgement was part of a witchhunt against McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

Mosley’s handling of the rumoured Renault F1 ‘situation’ is now very relevant because, having smashed McLaren with a $100m fine, the FIA needs to be even-handed if there is evidence against Renault.

The trouble for the FIA is that it cannot easily sweep the matter under the carpet because McLaren could go to civil action (as Ferrari was allowed to do a few years back) if the federation is not seen to be doing its duty.

The FIA can attempt to dissuade McLaren not to attack, and having the right to inspect

the 2008 car is a decent lever to keep the team nervous, but at some point the FIA must declare the 2008 car to be legal and when that happens McLaren can do as it pleases if it feels that the FIA has not been fair over the Renault case.

There are other ways to try to keep McLaren under control but Mosley needs to be very careful not to push too far – although US$100m seems a long way from being a sensible punishment. The ultimate

sanction is to throw the team out of the World Championship but that would not be wise as then McLaren would be forced to retalliate strongly.

In the light of all this, Mosley’s remarks last week about costcutting and Stewart may have been attempts to get people looking in the wrong direction rather than concentrating on the important questions, which lie beneath their noses.

– JOE SAWARD

Get the mail. And the paper FORMULA 1 THE FIA has announced that it will now follow up instructional emails with a hard copy after Ferrari’s wet tyre fiasco on Sunday.

Despite emailed instructions from Race Director Charlie Whiting that all cars would start on ‘extreme’ wets, Ferrari sent its cars out on normal wets. With no grip, the two cars slid around, even behind the Safety Car, until called in to make the change.

To Ferrari’s embarrassment, all other teams, Bridgestone, and even the media had received the email. Later, the FIA issued the following statement: “At a meeting of the Formula One Sporting

Working Group held in Monaco on 7 December 2006, all teams agreed to an electronic distribution system to ensure that all competitors received communications simultaneously, with no time advantage for a team by virtue of their location in the pitlane. This system has been used throughout the current championship year.

“To avoid any recurrence of today's problem, the agreed method of using electronic communications will continue to be used but in the future will be backed up by the traditional method of written confirmation.” sutton-images.com

n Max Mosley has finally admitted that the source who told him about incriminating email correspondence between Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa, leading to the famous US$100 million World Motor Sport Council fine that hit their employer, McLaren Racing, was Formula One group CEO Bernie Ecclestone.

FIA President labels Jackie Stewart ‘half-wit’. Is he hiding something else?

sutton-images.com

n Ho-Pin Tung will drive a BMW Sauber Formula 1 car at the team’s Pit Lane Park in China this weekend. The Chinese GP2 racer has not driven an F1 car since a test with Williams back in 2003. He was given that run as a prize for winning the Asian Formula BMW championship.

Mad Max or Diversion?

– JOE SAWARD

news

Will in Vine Form The Team Australia star topped last week’s two-day test session at Sebring in Florida and has returned intent to win the race he was cruelly crashed out of last year.

Power, above, was clearly the fastest man in the test and topped Sebastien Bourdais’ first-day time by half a second.

“We tried a lot of different things for the test and to be fastest is a great result,” said Power.

“Our main objective was to try things out for Surfers, because that it is a very important race for us.

“We definitely found what we were looking for as well as

some things that we can work on during the winter.

“Given that we have had a long break, it was great to get the miles in to help prepare us to give the Australian fans a great show for our home race in a couple of weeks.”

Frenchman Tristan Gommendy, above, was second fastest in the test from Mario Dominguez, top right, who now finds himself in the Pacific Coast Motorsport entry after the team dropped Ryan Dalziel.

Power’s team-mate Simon Pagenaud was next, ahead of Alex Figge and Paul Tracy.

Champ Car

Champ Car Media

SPEED is not looking like a problem for Will Power in the Indy 300 later this month.

Champ Car Media

CHAMP CARS

FORD RISING STARS RACING BA FALCON V8 SUPERCARS FOR SALE EX LMS BA Ex Mark Winterbottom LMS car. Ran top ten at some rounds in 2005. Used by PCR in main series in 2006 and by FRSR in 2007. For sale as rolling chassis or with FPR rebuilt engine. Sister car to O’Brien’s car which been in top ten in DVS throughout this year.

Available now

EX SBR, 07 RACE WINNING BA Ex Ingall SBR car. Historically significant as runner up in both VCS and DVS Championship’s.

Race and round winner this year at Clipsal. No major hits and sold with comprehensive spares package and fully maintained by SBR engine. Still doing top twenty main series times.

Available after Phillip Island.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST DVS 2008 Interested in running the 2008 Fujitsu Championship in a current level one standard FPR built and maintained Falcon. Ford Rising Stars Racing is seeking expressions of interest for young drivers, with a budget, interested in furthering their careers in a most professional environment in a car capable of winning races.

Contact Jim Morton jmorton@decina.com.au 11

12

Race Cam back on TV in ‘08 FORMULA 1 CAMERON McConville is staying with Network 10’s Formula 1 coverage next year.

The Supercheap Autos Racing star, who joined the network at the start of the 2007 season, has confirmed that he will continue in the role alongside host Greg Rust in 2008.

“I am really pleased to be at 10,” he said.

“I have learned a heck of a lot this season and it has been a tough job, juggling the commitments of my main job, racing, with the F1 schedule. I have really enjoyed the whole process and it has been hard work, but a great experience. It has been difficult but I expect that with a year under my belt, I will be able to streamline things a little next year.”

McConville will be busy at Bathurst this weekend, sharing the SCAR Commodore with David Reynolds. He will also be on-camera during 10’s China GP broadcast on Sunday night.

Max racks up 25 years Dumesny celebrates milestone with new-look Valvoline Sprintcar SPRINTCARS MAX Dumesny was honoured by his peers in Sydney last week, celebrating his 25th Australian Sprintcar season.

The laconic speedway legend unveiled his striking new Valvoline colour scheme for the 2007/08 season. Long-time oil sponsor Valvoline took the opportunity to suggest that Max could well be their longest-supported driver worldwide.

“Yeah, it’s been a pretty good deal,” he told eNews.

“I have to admit, I’m not exactly sure when I

was first sponsored by them. It’s been at least 21 or 22 years. I know it was sometime around 1988.

I’m not totally sure!

“They are more supportive now than they were at the start. It started off very slowly but it’s built momentum over the years and its been particularly great for the last 10 years or so.”

The seven-times World Series Sprintcar Champion is gearing up for another gruelling sprintcar season, that will see him compete in over 50 shows over the next six months.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Brock + Brock + Ute = 12 Hour!

BATHURST 12 HOUR JAMES Brock is considering a return to racing – and his comeback could be at Bathurst with his Uncle Phil.

Having sat on the sidelines this season to concentrate on business commitments, Brock is looking at entering the WPS

12 Hour next February in a Holden V8 Ute, as used in the Yokohama V8 Ute Series.

Initial plans would see James team with Phil Brock, the late Peter’s older brother, in the second-running of the reborn 12 Hour.

“We’d love to get our there and give it a tilt,” James said.

“If I race the Ute at the 12 Hour, that could lead me to race the Ute Series next year.

“It all depends a bit on funding. I want to make sure that we’re properly funded so we can do it properly. I’d definitely love to have another go at the Utes championship.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

Holden Media

13

Marshall Cass

Not just a V8 debutant ... a Bathurst rookie!

NSW State racer to make V8 and Bathurst debut this weekend in HPM Falcon AU FUJITSU V8s RYAN Brown will make his V8 Supercar debut this weekend at Bathurst in the Fujitsu V8 Series.

Brown, an Improved Production car racer in New South Wales, is scheduled to drive for HPM Racing in the team’s spare Ford Falcon AU, campaigned by series

front-runner Luke Youlden earlier this year.

The 21-year-old is also weighing up his options to compete in the Grand Finale at Phillip Island in December.

He drove at Oran Park last week in his first drive of a V8 Supercar and impressed the Sydney-based team with his initial speed.

The penultimate round of the Fujitsu V8 Series could also see a new champion crowned. Tony D’Alberto needs to outscore Ford rival Michael Caruso by just 16 points to wrap up his first V8 crown.

Mathematically, seven drivers still have a chance of winning the Development Series title this year.

– GRANT ROWLEY

No title, no worries! Evans wants S2000 AUSTRALIAN RALLY

Joel Strickland

14

SIMON Evans is still likely to make his debut in a Super 2000-spec Corolla at the NGK Rally of Melbourne, despite not quite wrapping up the Australian Rally Championship at Forster a fortnight ago.

Evans was on to take out his second consecutive Driver’s title at the penultimate round, but second place from his team-mate Neal Bates in Heat 2 deprived him of the trophy by a single point.

But, despite not having the

title sewn up, Evans is still expecting to run a Super 2000 car in Melbourne rather than the tried and tested Group N(P).

“The [Super 2000] car hasn’t broken for Neal this year, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t run it in Melbourne,” said Evans.

“So I’d be saying that, yeah, if it’s ready, I’ll be in it. We only need two points, so I don’t think it’s too much of a risk.”

The season-closer will take place in the Yarra Valley over the second weekend of November.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Tander grabs British Champ’s car Championship-leading F3 team secures BF3 Dallara for 2008 Oz F3 attack

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FORMULA 3 AUSTRALIAN Formula 3 driver Leanne Tander will compete in next year’s Gold Star with this year’s British F3 Championship-winning car.

Tander, who currently leads the Australian F3 title with one round to go, will drive the exHitech Racing Dallara F307 that Estonian Marko Asmer dominated the British F3 championship in this year.

Garth (Leanne’s husband) flew to the UK after the Sandown 500, where he did a deal with Hitech.

“It’s very exciting to have a new car on the way,” she told eNews.

“There could be as many as eight or nine 07

model cars on the grid, so that’s pretty exciting for the championship.”

It is possible that Tandersport could run as many as three cars next year. Leanne’s current F304 is slated to compete in the National Class (for older-model cars), while the team is also interested in sourcing another new F307, if the right driver and budget can be found.

“Up until now, the team has been based around me,” she said.

“Now we’ll expand with a new car or two and take the next step. Having more than one car helps with the logistics of running cars and it will also improve our performances on the track.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

Lakeside back on

Malcolm in the Aussie?

LAKSIDE Raceway looks set to re-open.

The historic Brisbane track, which closed six years ago, will host racing again after the Pine Rivers Shire Council voted to enter into a lease with Wrexmere Pty Ltd (Queensland Raceway).

Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts president Ian Milton was delighted with the announcement.

“Credit to the Council for demonstrating the vision and determination necessary to deliver a victory for ratepayers, motorsport and common sense,” he said. “Lakeside will deliver long term economic, social and lifesaving benefits to the whole community.”

The track will operate with reduced noise limits and QR boss John Tetley is currently in the UK, investigating how tracks there work within noise restrictions.

Upgrades to facilities are part of the plan to reopen the track, so no firm date has yet been set for the return of racing to the fast 2.4km circuit.

AMERICAN television actor Frankie Muniz is trying to come down under and race an Aussie Racing Car at the Lexmark Indy 300 at the end of this month.

The former Malcolm in the Middle star is overcoming licensing hurdles at the moment, before committing to his Australian racing debut.

Muniz has competed in the Champ Car Atlantic series this year, finishing 22nd.

Muniz attempted to race a Formula 3 car at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year but was unable to, due to time constraints.

The Lexmark Indy 300 will be held from October 18 to 21.

– GRANT ROWLEY

COMING THIS WEEK

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

NexT Week (OCT13-14) Australia MotoGP – P.I. CAMS Nats – Mallala International WRC – Corsica NASCAR – Lowes Motor Speedway

NEED A CAR? CLICK HERE

sutton-images.com

BRIEFLY... n Casey Stoner’s world championship win has seen a rush on tickets for the Australian Motorcycle GP on October 12-14.

The last remaining grandstand seats have now been snapped up, but Drew Ward, CEO of the AGP Corporation, stressed that plenty of general admission tickets are still available.

“One of the best things about Phillip Island is that a general admission ticket provides some of the best track views of all the circuits on the MotoGP calendar,” said Ward.

General admission tickets start at $40 for Friday, which features two hours of MotoGP practice sessions. A three-day general admission ticket will set you back $135.

Fogarty: It’s all over WORLD SUPERBIKES

CARL Fogarty’s dream of taking MV Augusta into the World Superbike Championship is over.

UK-based Team Foggy Racing has abandoned its plans to take the iconic Italian marque to the SBK and is for sale.

“Everyone knows that this is a difficult time for motorcycle sponsorship,” said the four-time World champion in a statement.

“However, we hoped that the combination of my team with an iconic brand such as MV Agusta would have been an attractive proposition for potential sponsors both in the

UK and abroad.

“Regrettably, despite the enormous excitement generated amongst motorcycle fans, this has not proved to be the case. So I have decided to bring this chapter of my career to an end by putting our state-of-theart facility at Burton, our race trailer and hospitality unit up for sale.”

Fogarty says that he will now pursue new opportunities, both inside and outside the motorcycle industry. Any alternative plans MV Augusta may have to go racing are currently unknown.

Italians?

Nah. Poms?

Okay then!

n Chaz Davies will return to the Pramac D’Antin Ducati team at Phillip Island. The 20year-old Brit, who subbed for Alex Hofmann at Laguna Seca earlier this season, will take the seat for the final three races of the season.

... but BMW commits to World Superbikes WORLD SUPERBIKES BMW WILL enter the World Superbike Championship in 2009.

The German factory confirmed at the Paris Motorcycle Show last weekend that it will enter the series with a factory team and yet-to-be announced motorcycles.

The bike is believed to be an all-new 1-litre four-cylinder bike, with either chain or belt drive, rather that BMW’s traditional shaft drive. However,

at the same time, the company has announced a new variant of its R-series flat-twins, the HP2 Sport, with a new DOHC motor that produces more than 130 horsepower. With development, that bike, above, may be well suited to the SBK’s new 1200cc regulations.

Riders and further details are expected to be announced throughout 2008, though justdisplaced German MotoGP racer Alex Hofmann is believed to be in prime position to lead the squad.

TRIUMPH will return to the world racing stage with a factory entry in the 2008 World Supersport Championship.

The British manufacturer announced in Paris last weekend that Team Triumph-SC, based in Bologna, Italy, will enter the Daytona 675s in the SBK support category, and the European Superstock Championship 600.

Triumph-SC was formerly a Ducati team in the series.

Riders for the threecylinder machines are expected to be a combination of British and Italian racers.

Triumph Motorcycles

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BMW Motorrad

Rizla Suzuki Racing

n Rizla Suzuki will have a special livery at the forthcoming Australian MotoGP to celebrate the life of two-time 500cc World Champion Barry Sheene.

The livery will be carried

by Chris Vemeulen, whom Sheene helped when he moved to Europe to further his career. Since that time, Vermeulen has raced with a ‘slashed’ seven in his #71, as Sheene did with his #7.

The Aussie rode a Sheene Suzuki 500cc GP bike at Goodwood earlier this year.

WORLD SUPERSPORT

17

5 Minutes with ...

GLENN SETON

The veteran heads to Bathurst in Red for the first time, with some optimism ...

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Are you ready to go to Bathurst for your first 1000 in a Holden?

GLENN SETON: Absolutely. I am absolutely ready to go there and have a great race.

How did you feel at Sandown, given that your role was changing almost day to day?

It was a strange week. It was odd, with what was happening with Mark [Skaife] and with Todd [Kelly] being sick. I had to swap to a different car – it was an odd situation to be involved in. I had to knuckle down and help the team to work, to recover from what could have been a big disaster.

Is it difficult for a driver to settle down and focus on what needs to be done, when things are changing around you?

Not at all. I was coming into the team to do a job, as an endurance driver, and that didn’t change a thing. We changed the numbers on the cars and I had a different codriver. That didn’t change a thing.

Your role stayed the same?

Hard to say. I did not really know what was going to be my role, had I stayed in the car with Nathan Pretty. Was I going to start, was he going to start, what was going to happen?

I was going to do my best no matter what was happening, so that part of it did not really change, regardless of car, codriver or what was happening elsewhere.

During your whole career, you raced against HRT. What did you think of the team when

18

you were looking from the outside?

I knew that the team was hugely professional and that it was one of the best teams out there, possibly the best. That was not hard to see, with the results that the team had over such a long period. From an endurance point of view, there was much success.

I looked forward to the opportunity from the moment Mark offered me the chance to be a part of it. I could see that it was good, based on what the team had done in the past. There are guys there who have been there for a number of years and the team has continuity. That is an important factor in putting a competitive race team together these days.

And, what did you not know about HRT that you now know from the inside?

Hard to … probably that the guys value the input of all the drivers. That surprised me a little bit.

Most teams probably work a little differently to that. I have been pleasantly surprised about that – they actually want your input to make things a little bit better, to make the car just that little bit more comfortable.

Was your expectation that you would have to fit in with the HRT way of doing things?

I did, you really do. Naturally,

you would think that you would have to work within their parameters, and that is not saying that I had any difficulty in the past. I had seen the way that they operate.

But I found the whole process very enjoyable. It was quite rewarding to be in that environment.

The first assumption many people make about the ‘Walkinshaw teams’ is that the cars are rocketships. True?

The cars are good, no doubt about that. I am sure at Bathurst, they will be very strong, because in high-speed corners, they seem to be very strong. Bathurst will suit these cars.

But they are like any race car; if you drive the cars on the limit, you will find the areas that need to be improved. In that sense, they are no different to any other race car, any other race team. They get the cars to that point pretty quickly because they understand what they need the cars to do.

Compared to the recent V8 Supercars you have raced, are the cars different to what you have driven? Are they tricky to drive on the limit?

No, in fact, I would say that they are very easy to drive, at least in terms of testing. At Sandown, they were a little more difficult to drive, because we were testing something in

PHIL BRANAGAN

the cars that, probably, did not suit me so much. But to this point, I have found them to be pretty easy to drive.

So what is the plan for Bathurst? Do you go with a clean sheet, or a specific plan?

The plan is, Nathan and I are together in car #22 and our schedule is to run as many laps for both of us as we can.

We have a schedule of things to work through to get as many options as we can for the race. We need to make improvements, there is a schedule and I do not mind that, at the end of the day.

I am there to do the best job I can for the team and for me.

At the end of the day, I am wanting to contribute.

It was a little incongruous to see you inside a red car at Sandown. Is that how it felt to you?

To be honest, it did not feel any different to me!

It felt like I was driving a Ford, to be honest. It was just like another V8 Supercar – you just drive the car to the limit. When you are inside one, you feel the understeer and the oversteer, and you cannot see the outside of the car, apart from a bit of the bonnet.

It doesn’t make any difference to me – it is more about the working as a team factor. All I need to do is to work the car as hard as I can.

IT FELT LIKE I WAS DRIVING A FORD, TO BE HONEST. IT WAS JUST LIKE ANOTHER V8 SUPERCAR AFTER ALL THESE YEARS IN FORDS, SETO'S VIEW OF A COMMODORE

chat

PHIL WILLIAMS

19

What are we doing here?

OPINION Joe Saward Formula 1 Correspondent

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THE idea of starting the Japanese GP (or similar wet races) behind a Safety Car was a decidedly bad one.

It is hardly a great advert for the sport to see the cars running around at motorway speeds and running into each other. It would have been wiser to have delayed the start a little and given all the commentators the chance to ask important questions – such as what on earth Formula 1 was doing at Mount Fuji in October anyway?

That lesson was learned first back in 1976 and anyone who has been there since could have told the F1 authorities that the chances were that there would be rain and fog. There always is.

It would be wise for the calendar to be reshuffled a little so that the race could be moved to a time when there might be a little sunshine and the Shizuoka Tourist Board might have a vague chance of flogging the region to international tourists.

Because it is a lovely area (when the rain is not sheeting down) ...

Letters

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

Look a-like? Nah …

I just wanted to comment on the McLaren scandal, and yes it is a scandal, but for the FIA, not the teams involved.

Before you look at how it was investigated, or rather NOT investigated, look at the results this year. Who had the

20

clear lead in the constructor’s championship before the FIA handed it to Ferrari?

Everybody has said that the cars of both teams are so different as to nullify any use of set-up data on them as they currently are, so they need to look to the 2008 car.

Okay, tell me why Ron Dennis is going to base his new car on design info, which is clearly inferior to his current design? What? Is he a complete idiot? I don’t think so!

Come on FIA (or should that be Max), get off McLarens back

- or out of Ferrari’s pocket!

Richard Farrugia richard.farrugia@mh.org.au Achtung! Sebastien’s coming I know this is the kind of thing that John Howard would call me un-Australian for saying, but I feel a little sorry for

opinion sutton-images.com

Disappointment with a capital D IT’S fair to say I’ve never been as disappointed as I was walking back to the Red Bull garage on Sunday.

Being taken out by ‘friendly fire’, under Safety Car, when we were in a solid second place – and I was thinking about how to have a go at Lewis Hamilton for the lead – is very … harsh.

As it turned out, we had a pretty good car in the wet, I was fuelled to go a long way, and we were clearly in the frame for a strong result.

My biggest problem was a personal one – dealing with the bug which had hit me on Saturday.

I’d gone to bed feeling a bit queasy, but from 3am was up ‘hugging the porcelain’. I felt as flat as a tack driving to the track, and missed the drivers’ parade seeing what the doctor could do for me.

Sebastien Vettel.

Sure he smashed into the back of Mark Webber and probably cost him his first GP win, but still …

The conditions were atrocious, and some blokes with a lot more experience than baby Sebastien made mistakes as well. Felipe Massa spinning behind the Safety Car, for instance, or Robert Kubica’s best efforts to take Lewis Hamilton out of the race by jamming it up the inside of him.

Vettel had qualified eighth in tough conditions and was looking like a real star until he

opinion Mark Webber Formula 1 driver I even threw up on the grid.

Driving around behind the Safety Car at the start wasn’t ideal either – all that accelerating and braking – and so a few laps in I threw up all over the inside of my helmet.

I hadn’t eaten a thing, just attempted to take on a few fluids, but even that wasn’t staying down …

There was even a discussion about whether I ought to pull in, but a lap later I started to feel a bit better and we carried on.

I lost a spot at the first corner, avoiding Jenson and Heidfeld’s ‘moment’, but things definitely started to look up from there. I knew I could go the longest of made the mistake (which was his mistake, granted) and hit Webber.

But I hope people remember his Japanese GP for more than the crash …

James Lanceson North Melbourne, VIC Rain, rain come this way ...

Having watched the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, I’ve never been more convinced that rain equals better racing.

So, PLEASE RAIN AT BATHURST! John Paige email withheld

the contenders (we’d actually over-filled the car for Q3) and there was some chance that I might have jumped Lewis if I’d stayed out for the full 39 laps that I could have. However, the team thought there was a possible Safety Car risk looming, so brought me in a few laps earlier.

It all worked out well and once everyone had stopped, there we were in second.

I don’t know how conservative Lewis was being, or not, but we were certainly taking time out of him when the Safety Car came out.

Conditions had been getting worse and worse and I was among the drivers suggesting that a Safety Car would be best (even though it probably wouldn’t help our cause), when Fernando made the decision for them.

Driving around behind the Safety Car and the McLaren, we were discussing options.

If I couldn’t get some sort of jump into Turn 1, our car was definitely better through the rivers of water at Turn 4/5 and 8/9. I reckon I might have had a go into the corners that followed. With Alonso out, Lewis wouldn’t have had the same urgency to resist …

Anyway, that became academic once Vettel had slammed into the back of my car.

There’s no point in remaining angry about it. It’s gone and there’s another race next week.

I just feel so disappointed for the team – what it’s cost them (we’d be ahead of Williams in the Constructors Championship) and even the bonuses for the guys in the team …

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Starting from next week, Horspwr Clothing is offering a t-shirt to the ‘Letter of the week’ winner. So get your pens inked, your brains ticking and your opinions loud and proud! Send your opinions to mail@mnews.com.au, or via snail mail Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 21

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SUPERCHEAP AUTO BATHURST 1000 PREVIEW

The Great Race

There’s nothing quite like the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. On the eve of the 45th edition of ‘The Great Race,’ Motorsport eNews speaks to the experts, and sets the scene for another superb motorsport weekend at The Mountain ...

22

race John Morris/Mpix

23

Bathurst is the toughest of races, as this classic image from last year shows. For 2007, the leading contenders have maximised their firepower as they ...

Combine to conquer

C

hampionship considerations have been put aside as the leading V8 Supercar teams go all-out for victory in the 2007 Bathurst 1000.

The four leading teams in this year’s driver’s title race have now all paired up their lead drivers to have a crack at The Great Race – and that means that the pace is going to be on like never before.

Previous races have been described as a 1000km sprint race. Although there was

24

sometimes a grain of salt involved in that assessment, this time, it rings loud and clear.

With the eight drivers concerned lined up two-by-two in the championship points ladder, it’s all-or-nothing, high-stakes risk as they squabble for track position in what could be an enormously close contest.

Last year’s race was pretty much decided on lap 110, when Jamie Whincup outbraked Todd Kelly for the lead. Over the following 51 laps, and one pit cycle, so even was the speed of the two cars that there was no

change of position. Track position could be even more critical this time.

While Toll-HSV, Triple 8, HRT and FPR hold the best hands going into the race, there are a number of other teams intent on upsetting the pre-race form, with Stone Brothers, Tasman and Dick Johnson Racing among those having genuine reason to push for results, rather than just hope for them. The 2007 edition of the 1000 kilometre classic looks like being the best yet ...

race John Morris/Mpix

2007 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 – final No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 20 O21 22 25 26 33 34 39 50 51 55 67 88 111 888

Driver 1 Rick Kelly Mark Skaife Mark Noske James Courtney Owen Kelly Steven Richards Jack Perkins Jason Bargwanna Russell Ingall Michael Caruso Kayne Scott Simon Wills Damien White Paul Radisich Steven Johnson Andrew Thompson Paul Dumbrell Shane van Gisbergen Glenn Seton Jason Bright Alan Gurr Dean Canto Greg Ritter Fabian Coulthard Cameron McConville Greg Murphy Steve Owen Paul Morris Alan Simonsen John Bowe Craig Lowndes

Driver 2 Garth Tander Todd Kelly Jay Verdnik David Besnard Matt Halliday Mark Winterbottom Shane Price Max Wilson Luke Youlden Grant Denyer Marcus Marshall Andrew Jones Christian Murchison Craig Baird Will Davison Alex Davison Paul Weel Johnny McIntyre Nathan Pretty Adam Macrow Warren Luff Lee Holdsworth Cameron McLean Chris Pither David Reynolds Jason Richards Tony D’Alberto Steven Ellery Richard Lyons Jonathon Webb Jamie Whincup

Sponsor Toll Holden Firepower/GMC Jeld-Wen Orrcon/Ford Credit Castrol Edge/Orrcon Jack Daniels WOW Sight + Sound Caltex WPS Jack Daniels BOC Gases BOC Gases Toll Jim Beam Jim Beam Supercheap Auto 3M/Makita Holden Fujitsu Irwin Valvoline/Cummins Valvoline/Cummins Sirromet Supercheap Auto Firepower/GMC Autobarn Sirromet Vodafone Glenfords Vodafone

Team HSV Dealer Team Holden Racing Team Tasman Motorsport Stone Brothers Racing Ford Performance Racing Ford Performance Racing Perkins Motorsport WPS Racing Stone Brothers Racing WPS Racing Perkins Motorsport Brad Jones Racing Brad Jones Racing HSV Dealer Team Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing PWR Racing Team Kiwi Racing Holden Racing Team Britek Motorsport Britek Motorsport Garry Rogers Motorsport Garry Rogers Motorsport Paul Morris Motorsport PWR Racing Tasman Motorsport Rod Nash Racing Paul Morris Motorsport Triple 8 Race Engineering Paul Cruickshank Racing Triple 8 Race Engineering

25

‘Old Hand’ Richards

Lunch-time stints a thing of the past THE lead pairings in their team’s lead car are the ones who are going to decide Bathurst this year.

A lead driver and a lunch time driver used to be OK, and they might be lucky again one day, but I doubt it.

There’s not many rent-adrivers who will actually be on the pace of the lead driver.

That’s no disrespect to anyone, but when you’re not driving them all year …

You can test all you like at Winton but it doesn’t help you at Bathurst.

To win, you have to minimise the amount of time you lose by getting as

opinion Jim Richards 7-times Bathurst winner good a driver as you can, which is why the lead driver pairings are going to be pitted together.

Even if you are half a second slower around that track – which is nothing – and you’re doing a 30 lap stint, you’re 15 seconds down!

The biggest thing for a once-a-year driver is that you have to set the car up

for the lead driver. He’s the one who is going to be going the fastest. You have to adapt yourself to the set-up that he wants, and then you’ve got to adapt to the seat, the belts and everything, – it’s a little bit of a compromise.

In my situation with Skaifey over the years and the HRT cars, I’ve been about the same size as my co-driver.

But when I drove with Bowey in 1999/2000, I

found it difficult because the seating position was a compromise and I started to get cramping in my legs because I was pegged in too much.

Getting comfortable in the car is the most important thing, because you are trying to lap as fast as the lead driver in a situation where you aren’t quite as comfortable as you’d like to be.

Dirk Klynsmith

Rookie Reynolds Playing dual roles I’M just going to take my Bathurst debut nice and easy.

I remember when I was a young bloke, sitting down with my dad and watching the race. I never thought I’d be participating in it.

Not that I’m going out there to make a hero of myself. I’m the second driver, the co-driver.

My main focus for the weekend is Carrera Cup. I’m leading

26

opinion David Reynolds Bathurst 1000 rookie the championship there, and doing damn well, so I want to make sure that the last round at Indy is going to be as easy as possible for me.

It’s amazing how different driving a V8 and a Carrera Cup

are. One is like playing lawn bowls, ones like playing ice hockey! Totally different.

It takes a lot out of you, thinking about corner speeds, braking, throttle, everything. In the V8, you can use kerbs, but in the Porsche you can’t.

It would obviously be better if I was doing Development Series – the mind set wouldn’t be as different.

But I’m not letting any of that get to me. Even though I’ve got two different races, I’ve got a great team-mate for the 1000 in Cameron McConville.

He was great at Sandown. He’s really good. He helped out as much as he could. He is a really pleasant guy to work with.

Our aim is to stay on the lead lap and finish – that’s all I want to do.

race

Marshall Cass

Retiring Bowe

Supreme team effort required if there’s to be a dark horse podium opinion John Bowe Two-time Bathurst winner car throughout the day and everything is in good shape with 30 laps to go, you have a chance.

While the focus will be on those acknowledged top three or four cars, there will be someone from a smaller team who, on the day, will find V8 driver is, so far, no different themselves with a good car and a rare opportunity to shine. to any other. Mid-week I’ll be starting to feel a little nervous In my case, that was 2002 when Brad (Jones) and I found – I usually do – but as the week progresses I’m sure there’ll ourselves with a car that was be an increasing twinge of about the only one quick nostalgia. enough to run with HRT. We It’s a race that you have to put it on the front row and put everything, heart and soul, Brad led – until it broke a rod into if you’re going to succeed, end in the front suspension – a and I’m glad that I can walk legacy of a touch with Russell away with a couple of wins on Ingall during practice … the record.

Going into my last Bathurst, The Glenfords/PCR Falcon at least my last as a full-time

John Morris/Mpix

BATHURST is a unique track and a unique event, which requires a massive ‘elite’ effort by everyone in a team if it is going to realise its potential.

A lot of fuss surrounds the drivers and, to a slightly lesser degree, the cars. But if you haven’t got the right personnel, from the engineer to the brake mechanics to the tyre cleaners, with no weak links, you might have the best car in the world – but you’re not going to succeed at Bathurst.

While, as a driver, it’s just great to drive a well set-up car, on green tyres, around a track which is undoubtedly the most difficult and challenging in Australia – by a factor of six – at the end of the day, qualifying is less critical than at any other race. Bathurst is a race which can be won from the rear of the grid – if you have the right car on the day. If you’ve managed to ‘trim’ your

was actually in pretty good shape late in the Sandown 500. While we finished 12th, we were one of those badly affected by the Safety Car – it could so easily have been seventh or eighth.

The team is, as everyone knows, a new one, finding its way but, on that Sandown form, we go into the weekend with the knowledge that a top 10 is within our grasp – and that would be a great result.

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Tomas Mezera – 1988 Bathurst Champion 1.

Skaife/Kelly #2 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Kelly/Tander #1 WC. Johnson/Davison #17

Tim Blanchard – Formula Ford leader 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Holdsworth/Canto #33

Grant Rowley – Editor, eNews 1.

Lowndes/Whincup 2.

Kelly/Tander 3.

Skaife/Kelly WC. Radisich/Baird

Jim Richards – 7-times Bathurst winner 1.

Skaife/Kelly #2 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Canto/Holdsworth #33

Jack Elsegood – V8 Ute Series leader 1.

Kelly/Tander #1 2.

Winterbottom/Richards #6 3.

Richards/Murphy #51 WC. Morris/Ellery #63

Phil Branagan – Executive Editor 1.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Radisich/Baird #16 WC. Courtney/Besnard #4

Paul Gover – Motoring journalist 1.

Kelly/Tander #1 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Skaife/Kelly #2 WC. Courtney/Besnard #4

Leanne Tander – F3 Championship leader 1.

Kelly/Tander #1 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Skaife/Kelly #2 WC. Winterbottom/Tander #6

Andrew van Leeuwen – National Editor 1.

Skaife/Kelly #1 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #2 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Murphy/Richards #51

Andrew Miedecke – Bathurst stalwart 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Skaife/Kelly #2 WC. Johnson/Davison #18

Ben Bray – Drag Racing Champion 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Skaife/Kelly #2 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Price/Perkins #7

Chris Lambden – Publisher 1.

Richards/Winterbottom 2.

Lowndes/Whincup 3.

Kelly/Tander WC. Murphy/Richards

Matt White – V8 Supercar commentator 1.

Kelly/Tander #1 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Holdsworth/Canto #33

Chris Atkinson – World Rally driver 1.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Kelly/Tander #1 WC. Wilson/Bargwanna #8

Jayne Uthmeyer – MNews designer 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Richards/Winterbttom #6 WC. Price/Perkins #7

Aaron Noonan – Bathurst pitlane reporter 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Tander/Kelly #16 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Lyons/Simonsen #88

Will Power – Australian Champ Car driver 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Winterbottom/Richards #6 WC. Wilson/Bargwanna #8

Mark Glendenning – MN correspondent 1.

Kelly/Tander #1 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Skaife/Kelly #2 WC. Canto/Holdsworth #33

Warren Davis – Howard Racing manager 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Skaife/Kelly #2 WC. Murphy/Richards #51

Simon Evans – Australian Rally Champion 1.

Kelly/Tander #1 2.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 3.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 WC. Holdsworth/Canto #33

Dirk Klynsmith – MNews photographer 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Murphy/Richards #16 WC. Davison/Thompson #18

Barry Oliver – V8 track commentator 1.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 2.

Skaife/Kelly #2 3.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 WC. Radisich/Baird #16

Dale Rodgers – Revolution Racegear 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 3.

Canto/Holdsworth #33 WC. Bright/Macrow #25

James Cormick – MNews artist 1.

Skaife/Kelly 2.

Lowndes/Whincup 3.

Radisich/Baird WC. Johnson/Davison

Max Dumesny – Sprintcar Champion 1.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 2.

Skaife/Kelly #2 3.

Kelly/Tander #1 WC. Canto/Holdsworth #33

Pam Elam – Long-time racing fan 1.

Skaife/Kelly #2 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Lowndes/Whincup #888 WC. Price/Perkins #7

The Punter – MNews armchair expert 1.

Richards/Winterbottom #6 2.

Kelly/Tander #1 3.

Radisich/Baird #16 WC. Bright/Macrow #25

28

#888 #1 #2 #16

#6 #888 #1 #51

#1 #888 #16 #17

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ps – Bathurst 2007

T 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 100 0 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 100 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 0 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000 BATHURST 1000

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Schedule Thursday 4th October

0910 1040 1155 1430

Category Fujitsu V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars Fujitsu V8 Supercars

0800 0830 0920 1000 1050 1245 1405 1445 1535 1610

Category Fujitsu V8 Supercars Fujitsu V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars Touring Car Masters Fujitsu V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars Carrera Cup Performance Cars

0840 0920 1000 1120 1340 1455 1540

Category Performance Cars Carrera Cup V8 Supercars Touring Car Masters Fujitsu V8 Supercars Performance Cars V8 Supercars

0710 0750 0820 0845 1030

Category V8 Supercars Touring Car Masters V8 Supercars Carrera Cup V8 Supercars

Session Practice 1 Practice 1 Practice 2 Practice 2

Friday 5th October

Session Qualifying (Lower 50%) Qualifying (Upper 50%) 30 minutes Practice 3 30 minutes Practice 4 Race 1 (7 laps) Race 1 (14 laps) 30 minutes Qualifying (Leg 1) 30 minutes Qualifying (Leg 2) Race 1 (8 Laps) Race 1 (8 Laps)

Saturday 6th October

Session Race 2 (8 Laps) Race 2 (8 Laps) Practice 5 Race 2 (7 Laps) Race 2 (14 laps) Race 3 (8 Laps) Top 10 Shoot Out

Sunday 7th October

Peter Bury

Session Warm Up – 20 minutes Race 3 (7 laps) Drivers Parade Race 3 (8 laps) Bathurst 1000 (161 laps)

And the survey says ...

Dirk Klynsmith

ACCORDING to our group of experts and random tipsters, there are only four cars in this race!

If it plays out like most of our punters think, than Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup will go back-toback at Bathurst.

Rick Kelly/Garth Tander, Steven Richard/Mark Winterbottom and Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly look like the only combos worth throwing your hard-earned cash on ... but motorsport can sometimes be very unpredictable ...

29

eNews’ resident commentator and former Bathurst winner Tomas Mezera tells it like it is

And then there were four ...

BATHURST this year is about the top four cars.

The race is between Tander/ Kelly, Skaife/Kelly, Lowndes/ Whincup and Richards/ Winterbottom. For anyone else to win, it will take all of those cars to fall over. In a straight fight, they cannot be beaten.

The other teams in the race do not have the same equipment and, therefore, they are not on an equal footing.

All the drivers at the head of the field are good enough to be able to win the race, so it comes down to the team’s equipment or an outside influence.

That could be the weather.

If that comes into play, and it can often be a factor up there, reduced grip will mean that

30

OPINION Tomas Mezera Bathurst champion

the really good cars won’t have the ‘power-down’ advantage they normally enjoy. So with more technical equality, the race will be more open.

Lee Holdsworth showed at Oran Park that he can blitz them when there is less grip and the skill of the driver becomes an increased factor. So any similar weather will bring more teams into the equation.

In the past, we have seen that teams can step up at Bathurst and run with the teams that have dominated the

series; Brad Jones and Tasman have shown that in the past.

However, those days are over, absolutely. These days, those teams are just too far behind, technically. They cannot make up for a team that has better equipment than them.

I am sure that there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes but the more money you have, the faster you go. It is that simple in motor racing.

If you do not have the budget, you cannot get the brain power to push things to the extremes you need to go to, to achieve what you need to in the sport.

All the teams at the front have connections within the higher categories of the sport and that tells.

V8 Supercars is a very professional category. That is great but the downside is that the days of someone pulling a rabbit out of the hat are gone. In the old days, someone would get their ducks in a row on the day, fluke a set-up and get a result. No more – the competition is just too good.

Things can go wrong for the big teams but, somehow, they are more able to respond. They just seem to have things go their way – it is like watching someone run against someone on steroids!

I am confident that the lead cars of the four big teams will dominate – it will be a surprise if the second cars from those teams even are close to the others.

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50,000 ... and not tyred yet

BATHURST isn’t known as a ‘tyre-sensitive’ track, but the 1000km race this year holds a little extra significance for Dunlop.

The offical tyre supplier of the V8 Supercar Championship Series will celebrate a major milestone when it supplies its 50,000th tyre to the Championship.

That 50,000th tyre has already been allocated to John Bowe – although of course that tyre will be exactly the same as the rest in the field. Dunlop’s Kevin Fitzsimons says that his company knows its way around The Mountain:

“Dunlop has a long and proud association with Bathurst, winning 20 times and supplying and servicing around 1,100 tyres to each Bathurst,” he said.

“To reach the 50,000 mark is a great achievement and to do it at Bathurst makes this major milestone even sweeter.”

The Dunlop V8 Supercar control tyre is manufactured at the company’s racing tyre factory in Nagoya, Japan.

Recently, Dunlop won its third-consecutive contract to supply its control tyre to the V8 Supercar teams through to the end of 2012.

Seven’s return IT has been a decade since the Seven Network was last at Mount Panorama but they are going all-out to make up for it.

Seven and V8 Supercars Television are packing a major punch for the telecast, which will feature 116 cameras, including 49 in cars, two flycams, the usual array of helicopters and a tank. Okay, we are kidding about the tank.

Flycam, which was first seen in ‘05, has an expanded role this time around, with one unit dedicated to the esses

and Dipper, down to Forrest’s Elbow.

The logistics are truly huge.

A staff of 315 will work on the broadcast, using 36km of cabling in and around the 6.2km track.

There will be improved graphics, including the innovations seen at last month’s Sandown 500, and commentators will have access to Pitsmart logic software that predicts who will come out where when the pits come to life.

Speaking of which, there will

be four units in pitlane, with Mark Beretta, Dan Gibson and our own Aaron Noonan on the scene to help the software along ...

The on-air team will be headed by Matty White and Neil Crompton, while the broadcast will be seen in 130

countries – Australia, New Zealand, throughout SouthEast Asia, India, Pakistan, the USA and Europe and North Africa.

It’s a long way from the first broadcast 44 years ago, when there were three cameras in use …

31

FORMULA 1 ROUND 15 – MT FUJI

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Cyclone Lewis Anything that could have happened in Formula 1 happened at Mt Fuji.

But at the end of the day, Mark Webber had been robbed of a big result and Lewis Hamilton had the title within his reach

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Just not his weekend: After being pipped for pole, which became crucial with the Safety Car start, Fernando Alonso suffered at the hands of F1’s new hit man, Sebastian Vettel, top, but his accident, above, was all his own doing. He was left to wave to the crowd and, probably, bye-bye to the title, which now appears to be in the hands of Lewis Hamilton, below.

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34

HE Japanese Grand Prix of 2007 is not a race we are going to forget in a hurry.

It was a rip-roaring comic-book hero kind of Formula 1 event. Plucky rookie Lewis Hamilton had to overcome dastardly plans, unprincipled villains and Mother Nature, but he came through with his colours flying high, leaving the bad guys by the wayside.

At the end of the day, the only things brighter than the special McLaren ‘victory’ shirts were the faces of the people wearing them – and Hamilton’s World Championship prospects. With two races to go, he is 12 points clear of Fernando Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen needs the McLaren drivers to collide at least twice to have any chance of the title.

For Australia, the race spelt unbelievable disappointment. Battling the vomitinducing effects of a bug, Mark Webber produced one of his classic wet weather efforts, running second (and closing on leader Hamilton) when the final Safety Car was called.

His response to being torpedoed by ‘quasi’ team-mate Vettel, taking them both out, while behind the Safety Car, was understandable ...

And Felipe Massa is out of the game.

He can now spend his time looking for a job in 2008 – just in case he needs one. If Felipe’s hopes disappeared in the spray at Fuji he at least went out in style – with a fabulous monstering session on the final lap with Robert Kubica. At the last corner Massa was way off the track: “There was more grip off the track than there was on it,” said Kubica.

And that said it all.

It had rained all morning and the conditions were such that the FIA ruled that the race should start behind a Safety Car. This was a disappointment because it took away the most spectacular moment of any normal race.

Regardless, this was not going to be a normal race. For 19 laps the cars ran around behind the Safety Car. This did not stop some ridiculous mishaps, not least at Ferrari where they failed to read an FIA instruction and sent the cars off on normal wet tyres when extreme wets had been mandated. Kimi and Felipe were all over the place and while some wondered why they team was not punished for failing to obey the rules, other more practical souls asked the very valid question: who on earth gave the order for the cars to run on such tyres in such conditions?

There was a time when such things

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Renault F1 Renault F1

Shining Light: Heikki Kovalainen, above, took his first podium, and Renault’;s first of 2007.

Second was where Mark Webber, below, was when Vettel took him out, leaving David Coulthard to salvage points for Red Bull, below right. Ferrari ‘missed’ an email and started Kimi Raikkonen, bottom, and Felipe Massa on plain wets and paid the price.

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John Morris/Mpix

would not have happened at Ferrari.

There was also a time when McLaren men would have respected their rivals enough not to laugh at them. But after the happenings in recent months, that respect has gone. They laughed at them.

At McLaren, there is a new F-word these days. Ferrari.

With the cars down the back, the team pumped them full of fuel and sent them off on an exercise of damage-limitation.

The result was third for Kimi Raikkonen and sixth for Felipe Massa – which was not a bad effort, given the set-up and the mistakes that had been made. Both cars had further offs in the course of the race but they were not the only ones.

On the final lap Massa and Kubica provided a taste of racing as it was in the old days as they fought hammer and tongs for sixth. It was wonderful.

Alonso had lost it and smashed the wall on lap 42, while lying fifth, with a Toro Rosso ahead of him and another behind. Yes, it was weird race!

Hamilton’s big scare came on lap 34 when he was attacked by Kubica and spun. Miraculously, there was no damage.

Robert was later given a drive-through penalty for it, which seemed a little harsh as he had been a lot quicker than Lewis at that moment.

“I apologise,” he said, “but I cannot sit around and wait for 20 laps just because he is leading the World Championship. I was quicker and he didn’t see me.”

The Webber/Vittal shunt left Heikki Kovalainen as Hamilton’s only serious challenger and that was never really serious – Heikki spent the rest of the race watching his back as Raikkonen caught him. Massa went tumbling down the order with a late fuel stop and had to charge back and that meant that David Coulthard was fourth after a fairly uneventful race compared to some of the others. Then came Fisichella and behind him the Massa-Kubica affair.

You could have written a book about Tonio Liuzzi’s race. He started from pitlane, spun a few times and at one stage, was a lap down. He fought back to grab a point, Toro Rosso’s first, in an emotional moment. But he was handed a 25s penalty post-race for passing under yellow flags, dropping him to ninth and leaving Adrian Sutil to score a point for Spyker.

All this means that Hamilton has only to follow Alonso around Shanghai next week and the title is his ....

35

What to say when Words fail WHEN Fernando Alonso’s shunt brought out the Safety Car, Webber was running a deserved second and only had Lewis Hamilton ahead.

And then Sebastian Vettel, who was running third, took his eye off the ball and rammed into the back of Webber’s Red Bull-Renault – while they were behind the Safety Car. It was such an awful mistake that Vettel returned to the pits and wept. And rightly so.

Webber went to the medical centre. It had been a bad weekend.

It had started at 03.00 on Sunday morning when he started throwing up. He missed the drivers’ parade because he was

feeling so sick. But he took the start and five laps into the race threw up inside his helmet. But on he went and there he was with a chance of glory and then ...

Webber should have been the one weeping.

“If he was bigger than me I would probably have hit him,” Mark admitted after mentioning on intergalatic TV that this is what happens when you put kids into F1 cars, although he borrowed the old F-word to emphasize the point ...

– JOE SAWARD

A Mountain of Dramas MT FUJI’S return to Formula 1’s calendar will be remembered for many reasons, much of which will revolve around the weather.

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The circuit’s debut appearance in the world championship in 1976 has been well-documented and is significant in many ways, not the least of which was that the race was the first-ever GP broadcast live into Australia.

James Hunt won the 1976 Drivers’ title at the track, despite stopping late in the race when a tortured wet tyre on his McLaren gave up. It took a long time for the Briton to calm down and realise that he had won the title with a third-place finish.

A year later, Hunt returned and won the race, and Niki Lauda (who had

Times Change: F1 and Mt Fuji looked a lot different in 1976. James Hunt, aided by mate Barry Sheene, left, took second on the grid and third in the race to claim the Drivers’ Championship.

famously pulled out of the ’76 race because of the weather) sealed his title there. But the dark side of the race was the incident between Ronnie Peterson and Gilles Villeneuve, in which the Ferrari somersaulted into the crowd. A marshal and a photographer were killed, and others injured (though Villeneuve

escaped unhurt).

That was the end for the track, at least as far as F1 was concerned, but when Toyota took over the facility in 2000, it invested in a major upgrade. Despite the deluge at the weekend, Mt Fuji will host the Japanese race next year and then alternate the event with the Hondaowned Suzuka circuit.

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36

race

Originals and Imitations

Technical Editor PAOLO FILISETTI noted the latest tech developments in Japan IT was slightly ironic that Ferrari, a team which prides itself on its technical and communication skills, had its Japanese Grand Prix compromised by an email sent from the FIA that successfully arrived at every other team’s in-box ...

In the red camp, Ferrari had a completely revised aero package, part of which was first seen, but not used, in Belgium. The rear wing is from the aero ‘batch’ from the latest test in Jerez and sports a double sinewy ‘S’ towards the extremities.

By contrast, the rear wing used at Spa had a completely flat central section, with just the extremities bending downwards. The new configuration better fits the compromise needs of low drag along the very long start finish straight, and the tricky S-section of the Japanese track.

Toyota did not enjoy its ‘return’ to its own track at Mt Fuji but the team did show off a new feature.

The Cologne-based team ran with its version of wheel shields, which appeared for the first time on the Ferraris at Silverstone. As with the F2007s, the shields extract hot air from the brakes and wheels and accelerate it under the cars, which also reduces the turbulence surrounding the turning vanes.

Unfortunately, the team did not have a great race and, in fact, appears to be losing ground to the others in pit lane.

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Round 15 MT FUJI Pos #

Driver

Team

Time

1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2:00:34.579 2 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +8.377 secs 3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +9.478 secs 4 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +20.297 secs 5 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +38.864 secs 6 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari +49.042 secs 7 10 Robert Kubica BMW +49.285 secs 8 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari +1:00.129 secs 9 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari +1:20.622 secs 10 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda +1:28.342 secs 11 7 Jenson Button Honda + 1 Lap 12 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari +1 Lap 13 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 Lap 14 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW +1 Lap 15 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda +1 Lap Ret 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota +12 laps/puncture Ret 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda +13 laps/sensor Ret 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota +18 laps/electronics Ret 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari +21 laps/accident Ret 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +22 laps/accident Ret 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes +26 laps/accident 13 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota +48 laps/accident Fastest Lap: Hamilton on lap 27, 1m28.193s

Qual 1 12 3 13 11 4 10 20 15 15 7 22 14 5 21 16 19 6 9 8 2 18

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | DRIVER'S points Points: Hamilton 107, Alonso 95, Raikkonen 90, Massa 80, Heidfeld 56, Kubica 35, Kovalainen 30, Fisichella 21, Rosberg 15, Wurz and Coulthard 13, Webber 10, Trulli 7.

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Constructor’s points Points: Ferrari 170, BMW 94, Renault 51, Williams-Toyota 28, Red Bull-Renault 23, Toyota 12, Super Aguri-Honda 4, Honda 2, Spyker-Ferrari 1.

37

A1 GRAND PRIX ROUND 1 – NETHERLANDS

38

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Off and racing The third season of A1GP got underway in the Netherlands with South Africa and Britain landing the first blow

39

A1 GRAND PRIX

S

OUTH Africa and Great Britain struck first in the third season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season at Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands last weekend.

South African driver Adrian Zaugg took pole for the Sprint Race and drove to a commanding win. He backed that result up with second place in the Feature behind Great Britain’s Oliver Jarvis, giving RSA an early lead in the championship standings.

Zaugg chased Jarvis for the majority of the Feature race, but settled for the runner-up spot.

“It sounds good (our championship lead) but it’s early days and it’s just the first race weekend,” Zaugg said.

“We have to keep delivering good results and we should be up there.”

40

Displaying the Scottish flag Bleekemolen (Netherlands), was on the rear wing of the newlysqueezed onto the gravel at liveried GBR car in tribute to the the start of the Feature race. He late World Rally Champion Colin finished a commendable eighth, McRae, Jarvis qualified a lowly having claimed third place in the 10th for the Sprint race, fighting Sprint race. his way up to seventh.

For the Australian contingent, Starting from third in the it wasn’t a weekend to remember.

Feature, he immediately placed Ian Dyk, driving for Australia, pressure on Zaugg, taking the stalled at the start of Race lead after the first pit stops.

1, finishing 20th. He drove a Jarvis was not touched from sensible and calculated Feature there on. race to take 12th place.

“The whole team has done a “To finish 12th is reasonable fantastic job all weekend and I’m but I have to move a lot further really pleased with today’s result,” up the ladder,” Dyk said.

Jarvis said.

“We can now bank what we “You’re representing your have learned from here and be country, but not just that, my ready for Brno” family are here so it was quite Chris Alajajian, driving for a proud moment for me after a Lebanon, qualified 18th in the difficult start to the weekend.”

Sprint race before storming The French entry of Loic Duval to 14th in his series debut. He took second and sixth in the two retired from the second race races respectively, setting up a with just five laps to run. solid championship position.

Points: South Africa 28, Great Britain Mexico’s Salvado Duran 19, France 18, Mexico 17, Switzerland took a pair of fourth place 16, Netherlands 13, Ireland 8, Germany finishes, while local hero Jeroen 7, New Zealand 6, Czech Republic 1.

Top of the world: The gold medal went to Oliver Jarvis in the Feature race, with South Africa and Switzerland sharing that podium, above. However, it was South Africa, left, which left the opening round with the biggest smile, leading the championship by nine points. Australia’s Ian Dyk, above left, didn’t have his thumbs up after the Sprint race, but improved to take 12th in the Feature.

41

TIMO TAKES THE TITLE TIMO Glock is the 2007 GP2 Champion after winning the final race of the season, at Valencia, last weekend.

The German went into the round just clear of Lucas di Grassi, but made big gains during the rain-affected first race, where he finished seventh and di Grassi crashed out.

That gave Glock some breathing space going in to the final, although he didn’t need it. Having jumped pole-sitter Javier Villa at the start, Glock put in a storming drive for a lights-to-flag victory and the 2007 title.

“It’s strange at the moment,” he said.

“It’s just the finish of the last race, but when you hear

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GP2

the engineers and my team boss over the radio, and all the mechanics, I’m just quite happy. We won the team championship as well, so that’s

The Italian Job

just the perfect feeling. And for now, I just hope we can get something done for 2008.”

There was a win for Russia at Valencia as well, Vitaly Petrov

taking his maiden GP2 win in the first race.

Final Points: Glock 81, di Grassi 77, Luca Filippi 58, Giorgio Pantano 57, Kazuki Nakajima 44.

Super Maro, Brother BRITISH F3

Suzuki

WORLD SUPERBIKE

42

Points: Toseland 396, Biaggi 367, Haga 363, Bayliss 341, Corser 267, Lanzi 192, Xaus 187, Rolfo 177.

Final Points: Asmer 293, Engel 208, Stephen Jelley 183, Bird 180, Niall Breen 145.

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Dirk Klynsmith

ITALIANS had much to smile about after the World Superbike Championship races at Vallelunga.

Local hero Max Biaggi won the opening race and poleman Troy Bayliss the second, the Aussie chasing the Suzuki star hard in Race 1 after being passed and repassing Noriyuki Haga. Bayliss and Biaggi touched in the second outing before the Aussie established a two-second gap.

But the big news of the weekend was James Toseland’s continuing staggers towards the title.

After falling in Superpole, the Brit was third in

Race 1 but fell in Race 2 before remounting to finish 11th.

Troy Corser was an embarrassed man after falling in the opening race, admitting that he had turned off some electronic settings at the start of the race. He was fourth in Race 2, one spot back of Haga.

There are two races left in the championship and Toseland has a 29-point gap over Biaggi, with Haga right behind. He should be safe – but a month ago, that lead was 66 points and the Honda man looked the fastest in the pack …

MARO Engel has won the final race of the 2007 British Formula 3 season, leading home Sam Bird at Rockingham last weekend.

The Carlin driver inherited the lead when Rodolfo Gonzales was handed a drive-through for jumping the start.

Earlier in the weekend newly-crowned Champion obliverated the field in the opening race, finishing a 12s clear of Atte Mustonen.

Aussie John Martin’s tough season finished with a credible seventh in the first race and 12th in the second.

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Biffle comes third and first NASCAR THINGS that made last weekend’s LiveLock 400 from Kansas interesting viewing: Two rain delays resulting in an 85-mile shortening of the race, six of The Chase drivers finishing 29th or worse and both Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer thinking they had won the race after the chequer fell.

The controversy at the finish came after the field had been frozen on the last lap thanks to the finish under caution. Biffle, who was concerned about fuel, slowed enough that both Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson went past.

But according to the lap chart Biffle was the winner, his first of the season.

“They’re probably thinking, ‘Oh, it ran out of gas, I coasted across the line, everybody went by me, I went into the grass and then they pushed it to Victory Lane,’” said Biffle.

“That’s not the case. I was unbuckling, and trying to save my gas, because I knew the race is over. The field’s frozen. The caution is out. And I didn’t know they were going to go by me.”

Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson were the only Chase contenders to score a respectable result.

NASCAR Media

The Chase: Johnson 5506, J Gordon 5500, Bowyer 5497, Tony Stewart 5389, Harvick 5380, Kyle Busch 5370, Carl Edwards 5364, Martin Truex Jr 5348, Kurt Busch 5329, Jeff Burton 5320, Matt Kenseth 5287, Denny Hamlin 5258.

Busch wins, maybe ...

BUSCH SERIES

Points: Carl Edwards 4207, David Reutimann 3511, Kevin Harvick 3389, Jason Leffler 3345, David Ragan 3149, (Ambrose 2944).

NASCAR Media

KYLE Busch had an actionpacked Saturday at Kansas last week.

It looked as if it was going to be a long day for Busch in the Yellow Transportation 300 when he was sent to the back of the grid for speeding in pitlane half way through the race.

But what followed was a remarkable display, with Busch, thanks to a little help from the eight caution periods, cutting his way through the entire field to win the race

from Matt Kenseth.

But there was more excitement to come for Busch. His car failed post-race scrutineering thanks to an unidentified intake manifold, with penalties expected to be handed down during the week.

Marcos Ambrose qualified a promising 12th, but failed to finish after a tyre blew out on lap 125.

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James Smith

Loadsman wins/spins at Calder AMRS

James Smith

SCOTT Loadsman was both a winner and a spinner at last weekend’s Australian Motor Racing Series round at Calder Park.

Loadsmen won both the first and third Touring Car Challenge races, but in the second race he was involved in a sizeable collision with Darren Formosa.

It took the Super TT field three races to stop Tyrone Smith, who was unstoppable in the opening heats. But the fourth went the way of John Camm’s Toyota Corolla.

Tom Dewer had little trouble in the Thundersports class, holding out Mark Buik in all three races. Paul Whitmarsh dominated the Inter-Marque Championship races, while Peter Kelly and Luke Searle shared the Production Touring Car race wins.

Crunching Tackle: Loadsmen and Formosa collide at Calder during the AMRS round.

Newcastle: Price wins, Wall crashes, Sera dominates KARTING BART Price returned to the winner’s circle at Newcastle on the weekend, taking out the coveted Clubman Light title.

After winning the pre-final, Price cleared away in the final. Phoenix’s Cian Fothergill was second ahead of James Sera.

Peter Lawler grabbed the Clubman Heavy championship ahead of Jason Hryniuk in a top class field. Fastest qualifier Matt Wall won all of the preliminary races but had a DNF the final after contact with Jason Varley.

David Sera and Kel Treseder continued their domination of the Rotax and Leopard

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classes. Sera’s Rotax Light win was never really in question. In fact, he managed to clean sweep Leopard Light as well, beating Jason Burns to the flag.

In the Heavy classes, Treseder had a bit more work to do thanks to Nathan Mills in Leopard and Tom Williamson in Rotax.

James Kovacic successfully defended his state title in Junior Clubman.

In the Junior National classes, Tyler Greenbury took a strong win in the Light category ahead Kovacic and Foster. Foster then got up to win Heavy in a tight finish over Nicholas Tanti and Zeke Edwards.

Clubman Super Heavy was dominated

by Scott Simpson while Dominic Albanese was unchallenged in ReSa. Driving a kart of his own construction, Daniel Baker’s Senior National Light win was rather unique – Baker constructed his chassis as a metalwork class project! Daniel Stein won Senior National Heavy.

Dylan Higgins (Intrepid) was unbeaten in Midgets but only just fended of Lachlan McHugh in the Final. Mathew Hart was looking the goods in Rookies, but it was Jordan Lloyd who got up at the end in a classic three-way fight with Hart and Cameron Waters.

– MARK WICKS

race

Darin Mandy

Hey Porter!

FVEE/IPC NATIONALS Darin Mandy

BEN Porter beat all before him at the Formula Vee Nationals at Morgan Park Raceway last weekend, winning all heat races before a lights-to-flag victory in the 15-lap final in a stunning Nationals debut for the new Check chassis design.

Porter’s task was made easier when leading rival David Cutts crashed heavily into the front-straight wall at the end of the third lap, also eliminating David Firth (Sabre), who hit the wreckage.

After the Safety Car restart reigning champ Ryan Simpson (Jacer) fought a losing battle to stay in touch. A physical four car battle for third was won by Stephen McFarland (Jacer) ahead of Ryan Stott (Jacer) and Shane Hart (Jabiru).

Kieran Glover (Spectre) won the 1200cc title.

David Loftus won the start and led every lap on his way to victory in the Australian Improved Production Car Nationals.

The Sydney based Skyline GT-R, pictured above, had to resist a firm challenge from local racer Justin Keys (Mazda RX-3), who briefly led between corners just after a Safety Car restart.

“We had a fantastic weekend,” he said.

“We got pole by over a second took three heat wins. We blew a diff on Friday and a clutch on Saturday but the guys kept patching it up.”

Reigning champ Stephen Fleming (RX7) claimed second place, and the three-litre class, after Keys had a fuel system failure in the run to the flag, dropping him to third.

– MARK JONES

Crashes cancel Parramatta opener Garry Too Good SPEEDWAY LAST Saturday night’s Parramatta Sprintcar season opener saw the A-Main feature declared after just four laps.

A crash involving Ian Loudoun and Craig Brady was the cause, with Brady needing ambulance attention, and then having to be transported to hospital.

While the A-Main did recommence after the Loudoun/Brady crash, Max Dumesny tangled with Martin Lawes, bringing out the yellows and leaving then race leader

Adrian Maher a disappointed racer.

Early heat problems saw Robbie Farr a non-qualifier after winning the C-Main and almost making the feature, but an incident in the B-Main saw him retire.

WA hard-charger Ryan Farrell set quick time in qualifying from a fast Kelly Linigen, with Brady third.

Heat wins went to Farrell, Roddy Bellbowen, Marty Perovich and Maher, while Maher backed up with a Dash victory.

– GREG BOSCATO

SPEEDWAY GARRY Brazier won the first round of the 2007/08 Comp Cams Sprintcar Series at Brisbane International Speedway last Saturday night.

Brazier was in devastating form and led all the way in the 25-lap feature.

Cameron Gessner put himself back in the spotlight by keeping his nose clean and taking second place, while Bryan Mann was delighted to finish in third.

– DARIUS KOREIS

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rear of grid

Sporting blowouts IT was a weekend of sporting blowouts at The Punter’s on the weekend.

With a massive stock of party pies, snack foods and chilled lubricants, we settled down to watch some close matches to decide who went home with the Iced Vovos. What did we get? A bunch of Cats flogging a bunch of dogs so badly that the RSPCA should have been called. A thrashing by a League team from (and I can hardly bring myself to write this word) Melbourne (can anyone in that city even name a Storm player?)

[Ed: No, we have better things to do], and another Lewis Hamilton thrashing in a wet and weird Japanese GP. At least, that is what I read in the papers while adjusting to life after beer.

It seems that Mark Webber was a dud, again, and crashed, again. No mention of the fact that he was sizing up a McLaren

for the lead when he was rammed up the gearbox by some teenager who was a bit too excited about being in third – and all this while the socalled Safety Car was out.

Since Channel 10 went to all the trouble to show the race live, I wonder why it was beyond the so-called expert journos to pay attention what was happening? Do they write their reports just by looking at the race results?

I am looking forward to some insights, and not just yelling, during the second weekend of sporting hugeness, starting this Friday. And if there are any dumb incidents, drivers, feel free to speak your minds. I reckon that the Seven blokes might be able to handle it a little better than that woman in pitlane [Ed: ITV’s Louise Goodman]. Once again, Mark Webber has set the pace in that department.

punter@mnews.com.au

IT SEEMS THAT MARK WEBBER WAS A DUD, AGAIN, AND CRASHED, AGAIN

Odd Spot This is Car 22, calling VKC! NO, these are not 1970s TV cop show actors on holiday.

Todd and Rick Kelly and Nathan Pretty are taking the Kingswood, a 1976 HX model, and matching 1970s caravan to the Great Race.

The beige bomber, featuring a 202 with 3speed Traumatic, has almost a quarter of a million kilometres on the clock.

Sitting three abreast on the bench seat, the HRT and Toll peddlers expect to arrive at the track today after a three-day cruise via Pretty’s home town of Wodonga.

Post-race, the complete package will be donated to the Peter Brock Foundation.

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