Motorsport eNews Issue 25 - October 9-15, 2007

The world of motorsport every week – directly to your desktop

Issue No. 025 9 – 15 October 2007

It ’s a

BLUE MOUNTAIN

V8 Title wide open after FORD 1 –2 –3 HAMILTON DNF takes f1 to Decider Plus Ford Stalwarts to jump v8 fence

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

Production

Issue No. 025 | 9 - 15 October 2007

Graphic Design & Web: Jayne Uthmeyer design@mnews.com.au

Advertising National Sales Manager: Calvin Wood cwood@mnews.com.au P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 M 0439 566 265

news 5 Goin’ home

7 Moving house 11 Road block 16 Medical emergency

Administration 357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, VIC, 3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, VIC, 3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au

MD / Publisher

Chris Lambden publisher@mnews.com.au

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

Photographers Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, Marshall Cass, John Morris/Mpix, AF1 Images, James Smith, Peter Bury, Neil Blackbourn, Chris Carter, Coopers Photography, Ash Budd, Paris Charles, Neil Hammond, Joel Strickland, Mike Patrick (UK) Motorsport eNews is published by Australasian Motorsport News ABN 55 125 120 702 Publisher: C Lambden Copyright: Material published in Motorsport eNews is copyright and may not be reproduced in full or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

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

chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Rowley

21 Saward 30 Crompton/Mezera 51 Punter

race 22 Mountain Kings

32 Oh no!

38 Expect the expected

Brad back in red Clayton’s moving F1 driver market blocked Garth v Ambulance Dick Johnson Some things are sacred Damon to the rescue Man of the Match Our man on the hill Amazing 1000 Lewis is human WRC, tarmac, Loeb

trade 48 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome When you’ve just won the big race of the year, there are some people you’ve just got to tell ...

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

Championship ‘game on’ V8 SUPERCARS APART from the Bathurst silverware, and the kudos which go with it, Sunday’s win

by Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 has thrown the race for the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship wide open.

The Triple Eight pair’s win, allied with a disaster for the championship-leading Toll/ HSV squad, sees the Ford pair edge into a tiny points lead, with four races to go.

Whincup and Lowndes now lead the

points on 461 and 445 respectively, while Rick Kelly (443) and Garth Tander (434) remain well in touch.

“I can’t really explain what is going on at the moment,” said Whincup.

“I have a new car, which we debuted this weekend, and I am lucky enough to be stepping into that for the rest of the season. It is a bit of a rocket, and we are going to be pushing hard.”

Whincup’s points lead is the first for this season and the second of his career, following his Adelaide 500 win last year.

Lowndes is looking forward to the battle on the streets on the Gold Coast next week: “When we went to Indy last year, my season turned around. We go to Indy with a bit of confidence – our cars have always been quick there. We all know that it gets tight at the end and I think that it will come down to Phillip Island, whether it is a three or four-way battle.

“The cars are all very quick and very reliable and it will come down to the person who makes the least mistakes.”

... while brake problems cost Toll HSV dearly THE Toll HSV Team had no pre-race warning that its Bathurst hopes were to be dashed by brake problems last weekend.

Both the Rick Kelly/Garth Tander and Paul Radisich/Craig Baird entries were struck by problems that saw the cars frequently visit the pits for brake service, before they were retired in the second half of the event.

Team manager Rob Crawford said that the decision to run a new rear brake specification, based on the 2008 control package, was made with confidence – and no reason to suspect the difficulties which emerged: “We had some brake wear concerns after Sandown,” he said post-race.

“We made the change and there was not the slightest problem, at all, during practice and qualifying. But 10 laps into the race, the drivers started to say that it was not quite right.”

The team made repeated attempt to bleed air out of the brake hydraulic system and changed rotors to see if that helped, but no immediate cure was forthcoming.

The team will investigate the matter further this week, while refitting the original spec brakes that it ran as Sandown for the next round on the Gold Coast, a circuit notoriously demanding on brakes.

news

BJR jumps the fence After eight years in Fords, Brad Jones Racing will enter Walkinshaw-spec Holdens in 2008

John Morris Mpix

V8 SUPERCAR BRAD Jones Racing will race with new sponsorship and a new driver next season – and it will use Holdens.

The current Team BOC will end its seven-year association with Ford and take delivery of two Walkinshaw Performancebuilt VEs at the conclusion of the season. Motorsport eNews believes that current driver Andrew Jones, who raced a

Commodore when he was with Tasman Motorsport in 2006, will remain with his family-run team and that he will be joined by a new team-mate.

The move will be a reunion of sorts with Holden and Walkinshaw for Brad Jones.

In the 1990s, the now retired driver was an endurance regular with the Holden Racing Team and twice finished on the podium in the Bathurst 1000, third in 1993 with Neil

Crompton and second in 1994 with Craig Lowndes.

The BJR team won titles in Production Cars, Auscar, NASCAR and Super Touring before being recruited to V8 Supercars in 2000 by then-Ford Racing boss, Howard Marsden.

In 2001, the team scored a second-place finish at Bathurst behind, ironically, HRT, but results have been few and far between in the years since.

The move into a ‘customer’

WP car makes sense, as it will lessen the investment necessary to change from BJR’s stockpile of Ford cars and parts, and from its customer engine deal with SBR Engines.

An announcement regarding the deal was originally scheduled for Saturday at Bathurst, but we understand that protocol considerations with respect to Ford meant it was held over.

Watch this space ...

Race director defends early Safety Car BATHURST 1000 RACE Director Tim Schenken has defended the decision to start the Bathurst 1000, following the stoppage of Cameron McConville’s car on the warmup lap.

“Where the car was, it was technically off the track,” he told eNews, “and we have the Safety Car process available to enable us to move it, as we did.

“The alternative would have been an aborted start, and starting all over again from the 5 minute board, which I don’t think was warranted.”

V8 Calen

Supercar Park

Phillip Island 500 to rece V8 SUPERCARS

V8 SUPERCARS A MAJOR development close to Dandenong in Melbourne’s south-east could be the future home of Holden’s works-backed V8 Supercar teams.

Motorsport eNews understands that a 20hectare (50 acre) site close to the new Eastlink project will be the new home for not only the ‘Clayton’ V8 teams of Toll HSV and Holden Racing Team but Holden Special Vehicles, which is to undergo a major expansion to maintain its recent growth.

However, eNews believes that reports circulating at Bathurst last weekend that Tasman Motorsport, which finished the weekend as the best-placed Holden team in fourth position, would also move to the precinct are wide of the mark.

Phil Williams

New Dandenong Development may be home to HSV and teams

Our sources suggest that the consortium to build the project includes John Kelly who, apart from being the licence owner at Toll HSV, has significant experience with commercial property development.

With the time frame involved in such a large undertaking, it is likely that should the Dandenong program move forward, it would be in place some time in 2009.

Tasman remains committed to its current Preston, Melbourne base, according to Kevin Murphy.

“There might have been some confusion involving our new facility in Dandenong,” Murphy said. “We have a new chassis fabrication shop there for our 2008 car, and an engine dyno will go in by the end of the month. But we expect to remain here [Preston] – that is part of our deal.”

THE formal announcement of the 2008 V8 Supercar calendar, at Bathurst, has confirmed that the Phillip Island 500 will replace Sandown as an endurance race – but the event may be a one-off.

As exclusively revealed by eNews, the MotoGP circuit will host the traditional leadin to Bathurst next year, while Sandown will host a sprint round over the Queen’s Birthday weekend of June 79 – with racing again on the holiday Monday.

However, the deal for the 500, which will be promoted

by V8 Supercars Events, is for next year only and while the 500km, two-driver format is sure to stay, the race may move to another circuit the following year. “[It’s] what I affectionately call the ‘rebirthing’ of the 500,” said V8 Supercars Australian Chairman Tony Cochrane at Bathurst.

“We think that the 500 should be a major part of our calendar.

We think it has slowly slipped away in the last few years and we think that the time has

news

ndar set for 2008

2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series

eive major V8 Supercars backing: QR may make way for TBA come to make some serious investment in improving it.

“We are going to try it for one year at Phillip Island but we may move it elsewhere.”

The calendar is not quite complete, however, as there is a ‘TBA’ venue for the seventh round of the series on July 18-20. V8SA CEO Wayne Cattach confirmed that there

had been dialogue with the management of Queensland Raceway about its round of the series but that no deal had yet been struck.

Negotiations have been delayed by the ongoing absence of QR circuit owner John Tetley, who has been overseas for some time. But should the Ipswich track not

get a round, it is likely that another circuit will hold a second round next season.

Cochrane also asserted that the Townsville street race would replace Oran Park in 2009 and that he planned to discuss the matter, and its potential funding, with Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile, who was a guest at Bathurst.

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

Feb 21-24 Adelaide Mar 7-9 Eastern Creek Mar 13-16 AGP Apr 18-20 Hamilton, NZ May 9-11 Barbagallo Jun 7-9 Sandown Jul 4-6 Hidden Valley Jul 18-20 TBA Aug 1-3 Winton Sep 12-14 PI 500 Oct 9-12 Bathurst 1000 Oct 23-26 Gold Coast Nov 6-8 Bahrain Nov 21-23 Sym Plains Dec 4-7 Oran Park sutton-images.com

sutton-images.com

No Date Clashes: Bring on the World sequential gearboxes.

This means that some of the world’s leading drivers, like World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, Alain Menu and former Sandown winner Yvan Muller, above, may return to co-drive in a V8, subject to their regular contractual conditions.

Last weekend’s Bathurst race clashed with the Monza WTCC round and the Petit Le Mans ALMS race, which featured Ford Performance Racing favourite, David Brabham, who drove an Acura in the event.

Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7

Feb 21-24 Adelaide Apr 4-6 Wakefield Park Jun 7-9 Sandown Park Jul 18-20 TBA Aug 1-3 Winton Oct 9-12 Bathurst Dec 4-7 Oran Park sutton-images.com

BATHURST and Phillip Island’s endurance races could return to the halcyon days of international visiting drivers next season after confirmation of the 2008 V8 Supercar calendar.

With the dates for the 500km endurance leadin and the Mountain classic confirmed, there now appears to be no date clashes with either the World Touring Car Championship, Germany’s DTM or the American Le Mans Series. The local races are also likely to be more attractive to international drivers due to the homologation of

2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series

TDR takes Jenkins

V8 SUPERCAR V8 teams may have two extra sets of Dunlop rubber available to them at each 2008 race.

The change under discussion will see the complex practice and management of used tyre banks become a thing of the past (in terms of practising at race meetings), with each car

allocated two fresh sets for prequalifying use.

Dunlop’s motorsport manager Kevin Fitzsimmons confirmed the proposal at the weekend and, while the late increase in tyre production may create some logistics problems, the company is expected to meet the increased demand.

– CHRIS LAMBDEN

Phil Wiilliams

sutton-images.com

Fresh rubber for practice?

V8 SUPERCAR GRAEME Jenkins is the new team manager at Tony D’Alberto Racing.

The former Tasman Motorsport head man will call the shots for the young Victorian team, which leads the Fujitsu V8 Series and continues to make moves towards entering the main series in 2008.

Jenkins’ first meeting with the team will be at the final round of the Fujitsu V8 Series at Phillip Island in Decemeber.

The current Fujitsu V8 Series leading team is finalising plans to run a Walkinshaw Performance-built Holden Commodore VE, with a to-beconfirmed licence.

After four years in the Fujitsu V8 Development Series, Tony D’Alberto will progress to the main league, while the Kilsythbased squad will continue to run D’Alberto’s current Commodore VZ for a new driver in the Development series.

– GRANT ROWLEY

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.

news

PWR secures Ford gun Kees grabs Ford star Andrew Thompson for 2008 and beyond – waiting on team-mate V8 SUPERCAR ANDREW Thompson will drive for PWR Racing for the next two years.

The former Development Series driver will switch to driving Holdens next year for the first time after a long association with Ford.

The 19-year-old’s deal is expected to be formally finalised and announced before the end of the season.

Thompson was the highestplaced Bathurst rookie this year, finishing eighth with Alex Davison in the #18 Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF. Thomspon’s team-mate

at PWR Racing is yet to be confirmed. Both current drivers Paul Dumbrell and Cameron McConville have contracts which expire this year and are yet to finalise their plans.

After an up-and-down season with Howard Racing in the Fujitsu V8 Series, Thompson pulled out to concentrate on the endurances races, which certainly paid off last weekend at Bathurst.

His race bettered that of the PWR squad, where Dumbrell and Paul Weel were the best for the team, taking 12th.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Marshall Cass

sutton-images.com

Will Jean leave Ferrari on their Todt?

FORMULA ONE FERRARI racing boss Jean Todt appears increasingly likely to be replaced by Ross Brawn.

There have been many suggestions in recent months that Todt may be moving on at the end of the year but in Shanghai those rumours were much more solid with several highly reliable sources saying that Todt will be standing down as head of the Gestione Sportiva to make way for Brawn.

It remains to be seen whether

he would stay on as head of the Ferrari road car business but Todt has made no secret of his desire to stay in racing and so may not be satisfied with the production car job. There has even been a certain amount of chat in the F1 paddock about Todt perhaps moving to Toyota but this does not necessarily fit in with Toyota’s plans to use ‘The Toyota Way’ to fix the team’s problems. The team tried hiring Mike Gascoyne – and that relationship ended in tears – and so a second attempt with Todt seems unlikely.

The suggestion is that Todt’s

job will be taken by Ross Brawn. Ferrari has not won a World Chamnpionship (apart from this year’s discredited Constructors’ title) since 2004 when Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello won 15 of the 19 races.

In 2005 and 2006 the team was beaten by Renault and this year the plan was to revive the success with a new team leader in Kimi Raikkonen and staff changes within the team.

Unfortunately, Nigel Stepney and Todt fell out, to such an extent that it resulted in the very messy Stepneygate Affair.

sutton-images.com

Ralf pulls the pin FORMULA 1 RALF Schumacher has confirmed that he will not be at Toyota next year.

The word in F1 circles is that his place will be taken by Timo Glock and an announcement is due in the next few weeks, possibly having to wait until the F1 season is over because of Glock’s commitments elsewhere.

It remains to be seen whether or not

10

There were also problems with reliability and with the team’s wind tunnel.

Todt is now 61 but says that he is not yet ready to retire – but he may find it hard to find another top-line role as a new generation is gradually moving into powerful positions in F1. He has been in control of Ferrari’s racing activities since July 1993 and gradually built up the team until it was able to win its first World Championship in 1999.

Six Constructors’ titles and five Drivers’ titles followed.

– JOE SAWARD

Ralf will find another job in F1 but the signs are currently not very good as his achievements at Toyota have been limited.

Alexander Wurz has also let it be known that he will not be racing in F1 next year, although the word is that he will stay on as a test driver with the Williams team.

The team has yet to make any move with regard to a replacement but the latest rumours suggest that Williams’s decision-making will be linked to what happens with Fernando Alonso and could result in one of the three current Renault drivers moving to Williams.

– JOE SAWARD

news

Alonso backs up driver market THERE is almost no movement at the moment on the F1 driver market as everyone waits to see what will happen with Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is under contract to McLaren for the next two seasons and although everyone in F1 knows that the current situation cannot continue as it is, no-one is willing to say that the relationship is over, because of the implications involved in terms of money.

Alonso has been busy hinting that McLaren is not being fair with him while the team is saying that it is doing absolutely everything it can to give its two drivers parity in the fight for the World Championship.

The British media continues to believe in

sutton-images.com

FORMULA 1

the integrity of McLaren management and the apparent duplicity of Alonso, while the Spanish media, unsurprisingly, seems to see it all the other way around!

On balance, it is more likely that McLaren’s claim is more likely – the team is under extreme scrutiny from the FIA and cannot afford to be seen to be favouring Lewis Hamilton in any way.

Privately many members of the team (not the management) express their distaste for Alonso and say that his problems stem from the fact that he simply cannot cope with being beaten by a rookie and believes, therefore, that there has to be some other reason for Hamilton’s speed.

There has been talk about Alonso going back to Renault but this is really wishful thinking as Renault does not have the cash to pay for him. The team’s performance may improve next year (it needs to) but there are still worries about the quietly-simmering scandal that, if rumours are to be believed, will soon engulf the team. No-one is willing to talk openly about this but there is no doubt that there is trouble ahead.

– JOE SAWARD

Johnnie Walker: Keep Woking FORMULA 1

sutton-images.com

THE Diageo drinks company has shown its support for McLaren by announcing that it is increasing its Johnnie Walker sponsorship of the team and extending its contract until the end of 2012.

“Diageo and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes have agreed the terms of an extended sponsorship of the team by Johnnie Walker,” the company said in a statement. “The final agreement is expected to be concluded in the next few days. Over its first two years, the partnership has been a powerful platform to drive brand equity and deliver Diageo’s responsible drinking messages and the

extended sponsorship clearly demonstrates Diageo’s resulting confidence in the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team as partners for the future.” eNews sources also suggest that McLaren is in the verge of announcing a brand new major sponsor. If that is the case, it will be a clear indication that the team’s reputation has not been damaged by the recent events as none of the current sponsors are quitting and new backers are being attracted.

It remains to be seen if that situation will be unchanged if Fernando Alonso departs but the signs are that sponsors see an even bigger future return in backing Lewis Hamilton.

– JOE SAWARD

11

news

Dario’s New Jigger CHAMP CAR

winner, an Indianapolis 500 Champion and an accomplished individual who will be a super teammate to both Juan Pablo and Reed.”

Franchitti, who raced in an ARCA event at Talledega last weekend, was released from his contract with the Andretti Green IndyCar team and Honda a year before it was due to expire.

His AGR seat will be filled by Vitor Meira.

Franchitti managed to stay out of trouble throughout the 94-lap event and wound up 17th at Talledega.

“It was a lot of fun out there,” he said. “I’m disappointed with the result. But what I’ve learned, I don’t think you can put a price on it. I learned so much today. I’m looking at the long game, I’m looking at next year.”

sutton-images.com

IT’S official; Dario Franchitti will race in the Sprint Cup (currently Nextel Cup) next season.

The reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion will replace David Stremme in the #40 Dodge Avenger for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). The Scot, who will drive alongside his former CART rival Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson, will become the first European driver to race in the world’s most popular racing series.

“Any time you can sign a driver of Dario’s calibre you have to be thrilled,” said Ganassi.

“Dario is a world-class driver. He is a proven

sutton-images.com

Insured!

BUSCH SERIES

NASCAR Media

12

INSURANCE giant Nationwide is to replace Busch as the naming rights sponsor of NASCAR’s second-level series.

The Columbus, Ohio-based company, which has a similar role in the US PGA’s second tour, will also replace Allstate as the official auto, home and life insurance carrier of NASCAR. Because of the deal, insurance company GEICO, which sponsors Busch driver Mike Wallace at Phoenix Racing, will have a twoyear ‘sunset’ period and will not be able to stay in NASCAR past the end of the 2009 season.

13

BRIEFLY... n THREE teams were charged with the somewhat unusual offence of falsifying car passes at Bathurst!

WPS Racing Pty Ltd, Paul Cruickshank Racing Pty Ltd and Motorsport Holdings Pty Ltd (Toll HSV) were all charged by Stewards over the matter. All three teams admitted the breach and were reprimanded.

Lean weekend in the Stewards’ office ... n The Great Race had its second-largest attendance, behind only the 2006 event. The crowd numbers were 38,289 for Thursday, 42,065 for Friday, 47,984 on Saturday and 51,783 on Sunday, for a total of 180,121. n Supercheap Auto has extended its namingrights sponsorship of the Bathurst 1000. A new three-year deal, which will see the retail chain back the event until 2010 at least, was confirmed on the weekend. n Rumours circulating Stateside that Newman/ Haas/Lanigan Racing is about to quit the Champ Car World Series and move to the rival IndyCar Racing Series have been dismissed

by CCWS boss, Kevin Kalkhoven.

“Not true,” said Kalkhoven. “I have heard something similar but they are, 100 percent, staying with us.” n One new face in the TeamVodafone garage was that of Robin Brundle.

The brother and manager of former F1 driver and now commentator Martin Brundle is a mate of T8 boss Roland Dane and was making his first trip to Mount Panorama.

14

‘The Chris’ focused on A1GP A1 GRAND PRIX CHRIS Alajajian has driven his last V8 Supercar race for the immediate future.

The 20-year-old ended his V8 career after being excluded from the Fujitsu V8 Series meeting at Bathurst after a controversial clash with Dean Neville.

“The weekend wasn’t too great because of a few incidents,” Alajajian admitted.

“The Protechnica team did an exceptional job to get the car back on track (after a practice incident, pictured below), but I missed the warmup lap. I was up to 15th, and I made on move on Neville when he made an error. I tried to take advantage, held a tight line to avoid an incident considering the part of the track we were on,

but I made contact with him. It was unfortunate.”

The New South Welshman will not contest the final Fujitsu round at Phillip Island, instead concentrating on a possible two-year venture with A1 Team Lebanon.

“I’m putting my head down to focus on what’s ahead and concentrate on A1GP,” he told eNews.

“The A1GP Lebanon team that I’m with is very professional and I’m going to do everything in my power to secure my seat in that series for as long as possible.

“This is a good opportunity so I’m going to make the most of it.”

Alajajian won’t contest Round 2 of A1GP at the Czech Republic this weekend, but will be back in the seat for Round 3 at Sepang, Malaysia.

– GRANT ROWLEY

news

Reversing Carrera Cup Cup Car looks to reverse grid races to spice up the all-Porsche action CARRERA CUP SPORTING changes will be made to Carrera Cup next year to increase the spectacle of the one-make Porsche championship.

High on the agenda of change is reverse grid races. Category administrators Cup Car have discussed with its teams the possibility of introducing partial reverse grid races in 2008 – similar to the system used in the Fujitsu V8 Series. eNews understands that Cup Car has considered reversing the top six, eight or 10 grid spots in Race 2.

And, depending on available track time, there is the likely-hood of longer races being held (for Race 1 of each

round). As reported in Motorsport News, races could be as long as 40 minutes, although it now appears that pit-stop races will be unlikely.

The calendar for Carrera Cup is also close to being finalised, with the championship set to kick off at the Clipsal 500, followed by the nonchampionship race at the Australian Grand Prix, Barbagallo Raceway, Sandown, Queensland Raceway, Winton, Phillip Island, Bathurst and a probable finish at Indy. The calendar should be finalised by the end of this week.

Carrera Cup is a primary support category to the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Clipsal pulled off Formula Ford calendar FORMULA FORD THE Australian Formula Ford Championship is likely to have a new look calendar for 2008.

Since losing its spot on the Australian Grand Prix support bill in 2005, the AFFC has kicked the year off at the Clipsal 500. But that is set to change next season, with the Fords sitting out the Adelaide street race and holding the first round at Eastern Creek at the start of March.

Another notable absentee from the AFFC schedule is likely to be Barbagallo Raceway, which will be replaced by Hidden Valley in a possible

switch with Carrera Cup. That will mean an eight-week gap between the first round and the second round at Sandown, with a further four weeks before Round 3 in Darwin.

Queensland Raceway, Winton and Phillip Island will continue to host rounds, albeit in a slightly different order to this season.

The penultimate round is likely to be on the support bill of the Indy 300 at the end of October, replacing Clipsal as the series’ hallmark event.

The season will most likely close at Symmons Plains, although the Oran Park finale meeting may be an option.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

BRIEFLY...

n The FIA International Court of Appeal is going to be busy in the weeks ahead with two cases. The first will be an appeal from the CSAI regarding Toro Rosso’s penalty at the Japanese GP, which resulted in Tonio Liuzzi losing his eighth-place finish.

This will be heard in Paris on October 12.

There is to be a second case, on October 25, regarding the legality of the entry of Prodrive F1 in the 2008 World Championship as a ‘customer’ team. n The V8 team with the biggest post-Bathurst workload prior to the Gold Coast Indy, at the end of next week, is Team BOC. After a great start to the race, the team’s Andrew Jones/Simon Wills car raced into the top ten, and was closing in on the second #16 Toll Holden before a spectacular underbonnet fire.

While repairing the #12 car, the team will also be preparaing a spare chassis to replace the #14 car, badly damaged in qualifying and which did not start the race.

16

Medical Emergency

Tander clangs with Medical Car during Toll’s weekend from hell V8 SUPERCARS THE angle at which the Medical Car enters the top end of pit lane at Bathurst will be realigned following a bizarre collision during Sunday’s race.

The Medical vehicle, called to attend to Dean Canto, emerged onto pit lane at the exact moment that Toll/HSV’s Garth Tander was passing by.

A minor collision fortunately did little damage, and both continued on.

“The medical vehicle clearly doesn’t have sufficient vision the way it enters the circuit now, so I’d expect that will be re-aligned in future,” Race Director Tim Schenken told eNews on Monday.

There is not expected to be any stewards action in relation to the incident.

sutton-images.com

n The famous Montjuich Park circuit in Barcelona will be revived next weekend for a special ‘Martini Legends’ celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the park, which held its first races before the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

After World War II racing revived in Barcelona on the streets of the Pedralbes district but returned to Montjuich in 1969 when the trck hosted its first Spanish GP, which was won by Jackie Stewart in a Matra.

The race alternated between Montjuich and Jarama in the years that followed but ended with a nasty accident in the 1975 event.

Trouble at the mill...

V8 SUPERCARS WHILE the Bathurst 1000 provided a huge ‘shop-front’ positive for V8 Supercars, things remain tense behind the scenes, with another resignation from the V8 management group in the past week.

Triple Eight boss Roland Dane has stepped down from his roles with the boards of V8 Supercars Australia and TEGA. Dane made the move last Tuesday.

“I think that until a small minority who do not represent the team owners come to the party to streamline the process of a single board, I don’t think I can spare the time to do this properly,” the Irishman said at Bathurst.

“The majority view of the team owners will prevail. We will have a single board.” eNews understands that, with the TEGA AGM only a few weeks away, Dane is unlikely to be replaced prior.

news

Back in a Ute

Kavitch returns after enforced sabbatical V8 UTES

Abe Killed

Road accident on a scooter claims the life of Japanese racing hero Norick Abe NORICK Abe has been killed in a road accident in Japan.

Abe, who was one of the most exciting riders to emerge from Japan in the 1990s, was riding a 500cc scooter in Kanagawa last Sunday afternoon, when he was struck by a truck making an illegal U-turn. Reports say that he was killed instantly.

Norifumi, to give him his real name, started racing at 13 and made his 500cc debut as a wild-haired 18-yearold at Suzuka in 1994, as a wildcard entry alonside Mick Doohan and Alex Criville.

Despite his lack of experience, and the fearsome nature of Honda’s 500 twostroke V4, he was running third and threatening to win on debut until falling off his Honda three corners from

the chequered flag.

With Kenny Roberts impressed with his talents, and absolutely fearless riding style, Yamaha poached him the following year and he won the 1996 Japanese GP, the first of three career wins.

He won from Criville by 6s and became, overnight, a national hero, and lived the life of a rock star ever since.

But when four-strokes became the norm in GP racing, his career faded. He moved to World Superbikes in 2005 and ’06 and this year, raced in the All-Japan series. He rode in the Suzuka 8 Hour race earlier this year, finishing 10th with Australian Superbike Champion, Jamie Stauffer.

Abe, who was unmarried, was 32.

BEN Kavich will make a return to V8 Ute racing at Indy after a 12-month break from the sport.

Kavich raced at Indy last year, but has not since been back in the series due to budget constraints.

He is hoping a solid weekend on the streets of the Gold Coast might secure him the funds for a full season in 2008.

“We went to Indy with the same sponsor last year, but while they were rapt with the hospitality, they just didn’t have the budget to help us then,” Kavich told eNews.

“But hopefully this year we can change that.

“I’m just dieing to get back behind the wheel. I’m hoping we can qualify just outside the Top 10, and have a good run from there.”

Kavich will race a Hitechbacked Falcon, which will carry the branding for Tip Top’s latest bread range Up Smooth and Soft. Kavich was due to test today and tomorrow at Eastern Creek.

Also returning to the series at Indy is Colin Dunn, who will replace Ben Dunn.

COMING THIS WEEK

Australia MotoGP – P.I. CAMS Nats – Mallala International WRC – Corsica NASCAR – Lowes Motor Speedway NexT Week (OCT 20-21) Australia V8 – Gold Coast Indy

(incl Carrera Cup, Aussie Race Cars, V8 Utes)

International F1 _ Brazil MotoGP – Malaysia Champ Car – Gold Coast NASCAR– Martinsville

NEED A CAR? CLICK HERE

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

17

5 Minutes with ...

DICK JOHNSON

It was an emtional return to the Bathurst podium for Dick Johnson Racing

PHIL BRANAGAN

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You have a thousand memories of this place. Is this one going to be high on the list?

DICK JOHNSON: Absolutely.

This is something that I have been waiting for, for a long, long time.

We went close to this in 1999 when Steve and I drove together. It was a little unfortunate we did not make the grade but now, he has a taste of the podium. He likes it that much, he could be back!

Does the fact that it was done the ‘hard way’, after a crash in practice, make it more special? This was a real team thing, Dick.

It is very much a team thing. I reminded everyone that when we won here in 1994, I hit the wall coming out of The Cutting in qualifying. It was not far past where Steven had his problem.

You do not have to have a big mistake here to end up in tears. Fortunately, the design of the Triple 8 rear suspension allows you to have a minor biff like that but with compressible parts on the vehicle, you do not suffer a major blow in the pickup points. That is where the benefit is.

Has your major role this year been keeping people focused? There have been a lot of things going on, inside and outside the ‘sport’.

No, I think that the drivers have been pretty excited to be in this position. They know that we had an extremely good engine package and they basically believe in the people working with them.

The engineers and the rest of

18

I reminded everyone that when we won in 1994 I hit the wall coming out of The cutting dick thinks pre-race crashes might be a good omen the team at DJR do a fantastic job and – and people always say this, when you end up with a result – we have a very cohesive team. We are a happy team, no animosity in the team at all, and we get on really well.

What is the future for 2008?

Race wins, championship contention?

I suppose that is yet to be seen.

I hope that this is the catalyst that will spark just those kinds of things.

When we do get a budget, there are things that we want to do, we want to try. Don’t get me wrong; it has not been all bad, having no budget to work with.

We have revisited things from the past and learned things you would not believe. You need to move forward; to say, ‘that stuff

we would have left in the corner and walked away from’, is worth something. We ended up with some really good gains. We have turned it around, turned it into our favour.

It was a strong run from the #18 car, and Andrew Thompson was impressive.

He was. He is 19 years of age, and he has shown that he has the speed to make it in the main game.

I am sure when he will be in the Main Game next year.

Sprint racing is, obviously, a lot different to long distance racing, but the thing about Andrew is that he does not attack things like a bull at a gate. He was seconds off the pace when he came here, and he never seemed to be

flustered about that. When he was in the Development Series, he was the same; he would start off and then get faster and faster.

He listens. I told him, "Go home and think about things, lie in bed, get in the bath or under the shower and do 100 laps in your head. Do gear changes, turn-in, everything, and I guarantee you will come out tomorrow and be faster."

And he did.

You can see he is quite stressed. There is a lot of pressure on the kid and different people react differently to that. People get rashes, their eyes swell up. It can trigger thing and he was like that this morning. He got a bit of red inside of the car, but that is racing.

chat

John Morris/Mpix

19

sutton-images.com

Lewis, and standing up for JYS The decision not to punish Lewis Hamilton for some supposed offence while running behind the Safety Car in Fuji was a very sound one.

The feeling in Shanghai was that it would have been gross manipulation of the World Championship if any action had been taken. It also followed a number of fairly radical press reports in Britain, notably from the country’s best-selling newspaper The Sun which thundered that “Formula 1 bosses? They’re not fit to run a quiet, country petrol station in Chipping Sodbury. Let alone the multibillion pound business that is Grand Prix racing.”

The newspaper went on to say that the season had been “tainted by enormous and unwanted controversy” and accused the motor racing governing bodies of “cack-handedness”.

OPINION Joe Saward Formula 1 Correspondent There was little doubt that many in Shanghai felt that, after all the problems this year in F1, the time had come to stop messing about. A lot of damage has been done, mainly in the last few weeks when McLaren copped its US$100m fine, despite the fact that the punishment was not backed up by any real evidence that would have stood up to close scrutiny in a normal court of law.

Things were then made worse by FIA President Max Mosley making unpleasant remarks (see last week’s eNews) about Sir Jackie Stewart, one of the genuine icons of Grand Prix racing.

Stewart’s suggestion that the whole ‘Stepneygate’ scandal was a witch hunt

against McLaren seemed to have prompted Mosley’s outburst and this has now resulted in a second World Champion wading in to critcise Mosley.

Damon Hill, via an open letter, said that Mosley should make a public apology to Stewart for “a gross insult to one of the sport’s leading figures over the last four decades and a thrice World Champion. Not only is it bad manners, it also brings into question the character and judgement of the man who represents motorsport throughout the world through the august institution of the FIA. “It was conduct most unbecoming of an FIA president and, in my humble view brought the sport into disrepute, a crime he recently seems so keen to eradicate.

Perhaps Mr Mosley became carried away in the moment after the pressure of the McLaren case, and would like

to retract his words without too much embarrassment all round?”

Hill’s letter was no real surprise in the F1 paddock where attitudes towards the FIA have hardened considerably since the McLaren decision. There are very few people who will speak out publicly about Mosley because they fear retribution, but there are a large number who will talk privately about the need for the FIA to find new leadership.

While some may think that the sport is emerging from all the scandal of the summer, the reality is that there are other problems lurking in the shadows as a result of the McLaren decision and these, including some fingerpointing at the Renault team, could blow up at any time.

It really is time for F1 to take a deep breath and look in the mirror …

Letters

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

Barry Burned For a couple of years now the rumours of V8 Supercars slowly fading have refused to go away.

Now one part of the V8 Supercars is definitely on the way out, in one of the more erroneous decisions made.

Barry Oliver, the ‘voice’ of V8 Supercars commentary, has been given his marching

20

orders by the supremo of the new V8 Supercars Television.

Barry’s knowledge of the race rules and regulations, and his rapport with the teams and drivers and officials for over a decade, have been thrown out the door and track commentary and track fans will be the sorer losers for it.

Name withheld Blaxland, NSW

The Great Race Bathurst; What a race. Well done to Craig, Jamie and Ford.

Wish I could say the same about race control. Why on earth did they start the race with Cameron McConville’s car stranded on the exit of Turn 2? The officials should know better, and they were very lucky there was no collision.

Anyway just wanted to say it was one of the most exciting

races right to the finish, and I can’t wait for next year’s race.

D. Dirk dirtydwr@yahoo.com.au Kudos for Seven I know it’s trendy to bag the TV broadcasters, but I thought the Bathurst coverage on Seven at the weekend was superb. That’s all.

Michael Portland email provided

opinion

Graffiti on The Mountain FOR 120 laps on Sunday, it looked like the Bathurst 1000 was going to be ‘The Pretty Good Race.’

And then it rained, and the event became another thrilling chapter of ‘The Great Race.’

Anyone who was tuned into Channel 7 sometime prior to 4.30pm on Sunday – whether they are hardened race fans or young girls tuning in to watch James Courtney waltz his way to second place – should now be life-long V8 Supercar fans.

As Bill Lawry would say, there was tension, drama, buzz and excitement!

There really isn’t a bad word you could say about Bathurst 2007-style, but for me, there is just one thing that grated.

Mount Panorama is, as someone once said, a sacred site, but this year, it was defaced.

As part of a promotion for an electronic game, ‘Red v Blue’ was painted below the famous ‘Mount Panorama’ ground

opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews sign. It was the first time that the Mountain’s familiar logo had been changed since 1997, when Brock retired and the Council allowed the locals to change it to ‘Mount Brockorama.’

That was reasonable. This was not. This was purely

commercial.

The Mountain had graffiti on it, and it didn’t look pretty.

I realised before writing this viewpoint that giving ‘Red v Blue’ any coverage – positive or negative – was the intention of the signage, and I guess that’s what I’m doing. But I’m ‘venting’ here. I’m embarrassed for the Mountain.

Call me picky, but in my opinion, it was the only thing, the only thing, that tarnished another really Great Race.

Dirk Klynsmith

Have a brake …

Now that the smoke and mirrors have been dispensed with, it seems that the Clayton Commodores are the only ones to have major issues with the Alcon brakes after all. Is what makes them invincible in the sprint rounds their Achilles heel in the enduros?

If they are pressed into serious braking duels during the ensuing rounds, will they collapse in a heap once again? Is the cause of their advantage/disadvantage one and the same? I’m sure the other Holden teams are glad that Goliath won’t play ball with them.

Matt Treacy matttreacy@bigpond.com

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Racing Happens I would like to thank Steve Richards and Mark Skaife for showing the motorsportviewing public that wheel-towheel, side-by-side racing is possible in this category!

That few seconds around Griffins Bend early in the race shows what can be done when two drivers are confident in each other’s

abilities and allow enough room for each other to make the corner.

Earlier Fabian Coulthard demonstrated his lack of spatial awareness and simply drove across ‘Seto’ and ended up in the wall. Likewise in the Saturday development series race when Tony D’Alberto heavily criticised Matt White saying he didn’t allow him

any room – however anyone with a pair of eyes could see that D’Alberto ran White up the ripple strip and onto the grass.

Everyone needs to learn from Richo and Skaife. The BPillar rule has a lot to answer for, but drivers need to learn to use common sense.

Geordie Pugh Brisbane, QLD

Horspwr Clothing is giving away a t-shirt each week for the most creative letter. Send yours to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 21

22

race

Kings of The Mountain Just a little bit of rain added one final twist to a fascinating 2007 Bathurst 1000. In the end, it came down to a dramatic, edge-of-the-seat last 10 minutes. Motorsport eNews brings you it's unique post-race insight into a tense and enthralling day that provided victory for Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup – and a Ford clean-sweep

23

F

OR the second year in a row, the fastest car at Mount Panorama did not win the 1000; Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup did.

Just as they did in Betta Electrical colours a year ago, the pair drove smart and fast in the #888 Ford Falcon and, when it came to decide the race, the track was wet, the contenders were on slicks, and Lowndes was in the car. If you have followed V8 Supercar racing for more than a five minutes, you can guess the rest.

The amazing thing is, Lowndes was almost taken out of the race – twice. First Rick Kelly, then Mark Winterbottom flew across his bows are lightning speed in The Chase and The Artist Formerly Known as The Kid missed a moving target by centimetres.

“Déjà vu,” said the three-time winner. “It

24

was Groundhog Day.” But as ethereal as it was, the win was not without mistakes.

Whincup almost threw the race away when he ran off at the pit entry after a chilling, nose-to-tail battle with Steve Richards with 30 laps to go.

That looked to have handed Richo and Mark Winterbottom a miniscule lead – until Frosty skated off the road at The Chase.

But the 888 Saga was not the only fuzzy, feel-good story. By the team’s own admission, Stone Brothers Racing lacked outright speed, but brilliant driving from James Courtney and, again, David Besnard, rewarded the team with second.

And if that was a popular result, third brought that the house down as Steven Johnson and Will Davison fought off the

race

opposition, the weather and the walls to take third.

It was Johnson’s first Bathurst podium result, after a season when it appeared the team was about to sink at any minute.

There was hardly a dry eye in the house, including Dick and Jilly’s …

What happened elsewhere was also amazing. What are the odds that Triple 8 and DJR would each have two cars in the top eight? Zero. And that Clayton would have none of its four cars in the top 10?

Ditto.

But that happened. Richard Lyons and Allan Simonsen were fifth after a brilliant finish by the Dane, while Alex Davison and Andrew Thompson were eighth, earning the teen star the unofficial rookie award (come on V8SA, bring it back) and Davison the status of the most under-

rated driver in the field.

Autobarn Racing’s Steve Owen and Tony D’Alberto, and WPS pair Jason Bargwanna and Max Wilson were there in the top rank as well, after keeping their heads in conditions that bettered many.

Like: Mark Skaife, Russell Ingall and Jason Bright (after a tremendous strategy punt), who all found the wall at the top of the Mountain in conditions that made Courtney’s efforts in Dancing with The Stars look like the Bolshoi Ballet.

Like: Winterbottom, who, after a brilliant pole position and starring role (with team-mate Steven Richards), misjudged the Chase while leading into the wet weather ‘unknown’.

Tenth place was scant reward for the efforts of a team which was, truly, a contender all weekend.

Oh yes, Clayton. It was a sorry report; Toll HSV retired both cars after enough visits to pitlane to qualify for residency status in Bathurst. Both Tolls were afflicted, we were told, by air in the brakes, with all that brings (ie, collisions and frights).

Holden Racing Team was not much better; Skaife and Todd Kelly were placed to put a refuelling problem behind them when Mark tagged the scenery when conditions were at their worst, ending their hopes.

It was T8’s second Bathurst win in succession and the first enduro ‘double’ since 1996, when Murphy and Lowndes did it.

Could this be the start of an 1990sHRT-type dynasty? After a race like this, anything is possible.

25

The Gambler

Seemingly out of (almost) nowhere, Jason Bright played the strategy game to nearly snatch a podium. He down-loaded to GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

MN: You nearly almost pulled off a miracle today …

JB: Adam was halfway through his stint, but then the Safety Car came out, and I quickly said ‘bring him in, and then we’re out of synch.’ We were last on the lead lap at that stage anyway, so by putting him out of synch, our last stop was going to be pretty short. We took advantage and did brake pads then.

It all happened so quick – Adam was out of the car and I was still putting my helmet on!

MN: So it was your call to make that stop?

JB: It worked for me at Sandown last year.

The plan was to come out of pits in the last 10 laps with fresh tyres, low tanks. That’s how we got past Rick last year. It worked

26

much better than I thought – I never thought I’d pop out in third!

We didn’t have the grunt, but the car certainly had the pace. I was really happy to do a nine-dead when we knew we were getting thrashed up and down the Mountain all weekend.

The car wasn’t that great all weekend, but it changed as the race went on. We made two significant roll centre changes.

I didn’t call it in my first stint, but I sat down with the boys, made a change at the next stop and the car was awesome. The track gripped up.

MN: You weren’t the only one to ‘go in’ up the top. It was obviously slippery up there …

JB: Down the bottom it wasn’t that slippery. Up the hill, out of The Cutting,

it was dry and I actually passed Russell.

Every one bottled up and there was grip there. But as soon as we went over the crest, it was ‘uh, oh.’

As mine let go, I saw Frosty was in the same shit. He just glanced it …

It’s disappointing. Opportunities like that don’t come around every year. We never missed a beat the whole day.

MN: So what about the people who say you can’t do this – as a team owner/ driver/strategist? …

JB: They can get f***ed! (laughs) We’ve got some work to do. We’ve always known it was going to be tough, but we nearly walked away with the biggest race of the year by being smart …

race

John Morris/Mpix

Frosty’s wild ride

FPR was the team to chase at The Mountain, but Fairytales don’t always come true LAST year, Mark Skaife set the agenda for The Great Race, until it all came tumbling down on the opening lap of the race.

This year, Mark Winterbottom filled that role, topping qualifying, snatching pole and leading the race in tough conditions until a late error speared him off the road at the Chase.

“I feel gutted, disappointed,” he said.

“You let a bunch of 35 guys down. I’m disappointed, but there’s not much you can do about it.

“There was actually more grip than I thought. I just overcorrected and it turned

hard left. It was probably grippier than I thought.

“Then after that, Courtney stuck it in the back of me and I snagged the wall up the top and bent the rim.”

Frosty thought about wets during the subsequent stop, but “it was still a little too dry.

“It was wet in spots, but not wet enough the whole way around.”

After two flawless stints, Steven Richards was watching the race slip away from him.

“The first we saw was when we saw him on the outside of the left-hander,” he said.

“We didn’t even know he’d been through The Chase.

“That’s what happens in this game. There are times when you’re out there and the rain comes.

“We’ve all been out there and done it. It doesn’t take away from the great job we did all week to get to that point.

“We’ve all had dramas. We’re not the first ones to be standing here on Sunday night because it didn’t go the way we planned.

“As I always say, you don’t believe in Fairytales until you’ve done those 161 laps.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

Tyres, brakes and ... medical cars?

THE Toll HSV Dealer Team probably wishes that the ‘drop your worst round’ rule still existed!

The leading Holden team came to Bathurst with a handy series lead, but left with a whimper after both the lead #1 car and the sister #16 suffered constant brake dramas throughout the event.

So, how could something as fundamental as the brakes strike down the best team in the paddock?

“We don’t know yet,” Garth

Tander said post-race.

“There’s no point pulling the car apart here and half looking into it. We’ll go back and look through the data and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“It’s disappointing for the whole team. This race in particular – we had a really good lead up and such a good car. The car was fantastic in the warm-up; the car was really good in the race, other than the brakes, so it was disappointing that we

couldn’t get a result here and it’s obviously hurt us in the championship.”

Tander said that the first indication that they were in for a long day was when Rick Kelly had his frightening slide through the Chase: “Rick said that the pedal was starting to go long just before the tyre exploded,” he said.

“As soon as I got in the car, the brake pedal was long, and from then on we had the braking issue. It’s disappointing.

“I guess when it’s not your day, it’s not your day. Tyre exploded, brakes failed, even the medical car ran into me in pit lane.”

A clash with the medical car? Surely something that could only happen at Bathurst …

“It ran into the side of the car! I came in for one of our many stops and he drove straight out of an alleyway, straight into the car! It certainly wasn’t our day ...”

– GRANT ROWLEY

27

Phil Williams

Great day for the Beam Boys

First podium for the year and two cars in the top 10 in the biggest race of the year – it was a big day for DJR at The Mountain on Sunday.

WHAT a bloody good effort, to get on the podium! We should have done it earlier in the year. We know we’re capable of it. A lot of the weekends this year haven’t gone our way, but this weekend we had hurdles and this time we got over them.

All four of our drivers did a fantastic job and the team deserve this. We’re not knocking on the door because of luck – we’re there because we’re improving. It’s been a tough year, but it’s awesome that we’ve been able to

COMMENT Adrian Burgess DJR Team Manager

improve this much.

Every single person at DJR – drivers, staff, the factory guys – deserve this. Our sponsor, Jim Beam, is fantastic. They pulled us out of the problems we’ve had and they can’t be thanked enough.

Technically, DJR has always

had strong engines, well before I got here, and this weekend the guys had plenty of grunt. Our Triple 8 chassis have been terrific for us, and our engineers are the ones who have put it all together.

This is such a big thing. We could have won this race – we could just as easily have retired on lap one. Bathurst is such a hard race.

I thought the driving standards at the end of the race were exceptional. There were a million opportunities for one of those top four to

... and Rookie of the year

28

some of Australia’s best driver in a taste of what he should expect in 2008.

“I was racing with Courtney, Tander, Youlden and some others – it’s different to the Fujitsu Series,” he said.

“You don’t get to dice against anyone like that there. That’s the reason why I decided to focus on the Bathurst 1000 this weekend and get a good result.”

While a top 10 result was a priority, the rookie of the year honour was unexpected.

“I guess it’s a bonus,” he said.

“I didn’t really think about it. I focussed on the driving, getting a good result and bringing the car home in one piece.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

IT’S ironic that the man who has partnered the past two Bathurst ‘Rookie of the year’ winners should find himself struggling to secure a full-time V8 Supercar ride.

Alex Davison is obviously a great tutor, and a great steerer to boot, but it’s the men who have shared the seat with him that have received the accolades.

Last year Davo shared a car with Grant Denyer, in ninth place, and this year it was Andrew Thompson who finished eighth with Davison after a dogged race.

Thompson is set to drive with PWR Racing in the main V8 Supercar Series next year, and in his final stint, he diced with

spear someone off. There was a good degree of respect shown with each other. Steve copped a rub from Craig Lowndes, but that’s racing. You’ve got to trade paint.

I wanted to win the race ¬ we got to the lead when conditions were at their worst – but we can’t complain with third. The good thing is that we were in a position where we could have won it – and we will win it!

But what a great day for V8 Supercars in general – and a big day for Ford!

race

Best of the Re(d)st

It was a bad day for Holden at Bathurst, so even fourth for Murph and JR was no consolation ...

COMMENT Greg Murphy Bathurst champion

John Morris/MPIX

IT’S been a long time since the first Holden at Bathurst wasn’t on the podium, but that’s the way it panned out for us.

In the end, it came down to who had the best set-up when it became damp and slippery.

We came out worst of the bunch. James (Courtney) and Steve (Johnson) had too much drive off the turns, had better grip and there was nothing I could do about it. If you didn’t get out of the Elbow well, you lost out all the way down the chute.

We were better under brakes, better across the top, but they’ve clearly got a shit-load of drive and grunt, and we haven’t!

The track certainly gripped-up as the race wore on. Some of the times that were being put in were just phenomenal.

And I think it helped us as well. The track came to us a little in the end as well, but we just didn’t have the absolute outright speed at the same time on the track.

Jason got stuck behind some traffic during his second stint, which didn’t allow us to move up to where we should have been – but that Safety Car put us back in it, which was great. But to end up so close but so far …

First of the Holdens, in fourth place, is no real consolation. I know Holden themselves will be disappointed.

The Tasman team did a fantastic job,

though, and worked their arses off. We did more work over the weekend than some of the teams in front of us to make our car better. We made some inroads and our guys just don’t stop.

I know it’s the same for all the teams, but I’m proud of what this team has done – but disappointed at the same time that I couldn’t have brought it back a few spots higher …

Autobarn Racing stars in Supercheap 1000!

Dirk Klynsmith

IT may be called the Supercheap Auto 1000, but Autobarn Racing had one of the best deals at Bathurst.

Steve Owen and Tony D’Alberto starred, finishing in sixth place for Rod Nash Racing – improving on the modestly-budgetted team’s impressive seventh place in 2006.

Their race wasn’t without its drama. The #55 Commodore wasn’t picking up all the fuel, only giving them 29 laps worth at a time.

D’Alberto had to take a couple of extra stops during Safety Car periods to ensure that Owen could complete a double stint at the end of the race.

To make life even harder for him, they lost radio contact for the last 50 laps.

But in the wet conditions, Owen starred, taking on the fancied teams and finishing a mere nine seconds off victory.

– GRANT ROWLEY

29

In a word: Intensity

THAT was Bathurst, with a capital B, underlined.

There were so many twists and turns in the script, starting on the rolling lap, when Cam McConville had to park the PWR car, and the Safety Car that followed.

What struck me early in the race was the pace. It was intense and it went on and on.

Not 2:10s, but 2:09s – I heard Skaifey on the radio at some point commenting that “we’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re gonna keep this up all day!”

I’m glad that, as the race wound out, there was a bit of strategy, different strategy, involved. And it introduced one of those random elements which always makes for a good race. Jason Bright was one whom our software picked out as a ‘maybe’ if things worked out for him, and they almost did.

Good on Garry Rogers Motorsport for taking the punt and going for wets (and Greg Ritter for making a good job of soldiering on with them). I honestly thought one or two more might take the gamble – but perhaps they had a more accurate picture of what was, or wasn’t coming.

I know that in a number of workshops there’ll have been a lot of ‘should-have’ analysis on Monday, but that’s what it’s about – so many instantaneous decisions that have to be taken in a hurry.

In the end the key runners ran hard, all day, and then ended up putting on a synchronised swimming display that was nerve-tingling. It

30

ANALYSIS

Neil Crompton Driver / Commentator is no surprise that Craig Lowndes and Triple Eight would come out on top when driving became pure art, despite Jamie’s unscheduled sand-trap trip – and there were some brilliant individual performances.

I guess I wouldn’t be alone in singling out Stevie Johnson. His drive was one of maturity.

He put in a great stint when it was needed, and was the first to break the lap record along the way when the pace was on.

It was a great Great Race. For me a great race isn’t one punctuated by cars crashing all over the place – but when experienced pilots such as Bright, Ingall and Skaife all have a major accident within one second, you know there’s a contest happening!

I was glad that the brake issue didn’t become a problem. That teams were going to have to churn through numbers of pads, and in some cases discs, made a good story for us to follow, but everyone seemed to be on top of it and there weren’t any unfortunate braking problems – other than the Toll/HSV dramas, which were obviously unique and self-inflicted.

No-one would have predicted the extreme result, points-wise (T8 72, HSV 0), in a million years. The remaining four races could be every bit as intense as Bathurst itself …

TV VIEWERS got a motorsport bonanza on Sunday – and one of the best motor races you could ever see.

For the first time since 1984, I watched Bathurst on television, at home, and thoroughly enjoyed Channel 7’s broadcast.

It was a rivetting race, with the late weather adding one final test for everyone who thought they were in with a chance.

Those people who say the racing is boring must have been watching a different race to the one I saw at the weekend!

The leaders were in the 2:09s almost all day, which is an amazing pace.

While the race eventually went to one of the four top contenders that everyone was talking about – and you expect someone of Craig Lowndes’ experience to deal with everything that was thrown at them late in the race – the other three had dramas, and so there were some excellent results just behind the winners.

Anyone who held it together for a top six result did a strong job, but for me, my ‘Man of the Match’ was without doubt

race

V8 Supercar | Round 10 Bathurst 1000

the changed conditions – staying on hot slicks, or even gambling on wets Tomas Mezera might have paid off.

Bathurst champion It was a tough end to the weekend for Mark Winterbottom. They’d Steven Johnson – or Little done everything perfectly, Dick, as he hates to be but in the end he was called! caught out, perhaps He stood out and stood a little anxious as the up when it mattered. unpredictable conditions He, and the team have provided added pressure been under all sorts of at the front of the pack. pressure, and he threw If his frustration came everything into those last late in the day, the two laps, while at the same HSV/Toll cars were clearly time not doing anything in trouble from the start. stupid. Sometimes, having I’m not sure what their a famous name can be a exact brake problem was handicap, but he showed that he can stand shoulder- – but I bet they know, and to-shoulder with any of the just won’t want to say.

When both cars in a team big names. fall over in the same way, Elsewhere, there were it’s often a tweak-of-theseveral cases of whatweek that has gone a bit ifs. Brighty clearly had a wrong … strategy, and a plan – and But hey, what a a fresh set of slicks saved championship is now in for that final burst, when store. There can be no hint his alternate strategy had of stage-managing for played out. In the end, anyone now – it’ll be every they should have perhaps man for himself. changed the plan to suit

ANALYSIS

Pos # Drivers Car Race time

Q

1 Lowndes/Whincup 2 Courtney/Besnard 3 Johnson/W.Davison 4 Murphy/J.Richards 5 Lyons/Simonsen 6 Owen/D’Alberto 7 Bargwanna/Wilson 8 A.Davison/Thompson 9 McLean/Ritter 10 S.Richards/Winterbottom 11 Pretty/Seton 12 Dumbrell/Weel 13 Halliday/O.Kelly 14 Bowe/Webb 15 Denyer/Caruso 16 Coulthard/Pither DNF Ingall/Youlden DNF Bright/Macrow DNF Skaife/T.Kelly DNF Van Gisbergen/McIntyre DNF Morris/Ellery DNF Noske/Verdnik DNF Radisich/Baird DNF R.Kelly/Tander DNF Gurr/Luff DNF Holdsworth/Canto DNF Price/Perkins DNF Marshall/Scott DNF Jones/Wills DNS McConville/Reynolds DNS White/Murchison

6 8 4 7 16 23 21 20 11 1 14 12 24 25 31 28 10 13 2 29 27 19 9 3 22 5 26 17 15 18 30

Ford 6:29:10.1985 Ford 6:29:10.8223 Ford 6:29:11.0145 Holden 6:29:11.3697 Ford 6:29:18.5113 Holden 6:29:19.5279 Ford 6:29:22.0323 Ford 6:29:24.8447 Holden 6:29:28.0785 Ford 6:29:28.5564 Holden 6:29:38.5373 Holden 6:29:41.9875 Ford 6:30:25.3606 Ford 160 laps Ford 159 laps Holden 159 laps Ford 149 laps Ford 148 laps Holden 148 laps Ford 148 laps Holden 145 laps Holden 138 laps Holden 137 laps Holden 134 laps Ford 134 laps Holden 118 laps Holden 102 laps Holden 91 laps Ford 52 laps Holden Ford

Fastest lap: Whincup on lap 128, 2:08.4651 (record)

Points: Whincup 461, Lowndes 445, R Kelly 443, Tander 434, T Kelly 324, Skaife 273, S Richards 262, Winterbottom 258, Davison 245, Courtney 228, Ingall 214, Johnson 207, Murphy 176, Holdsworth 167, J Richards 153, Owen 99, Radisich 96, Wilson 87, Canto 73, Bargwanna 67, O Kelly 63, Lyons 63, Simonsen 63, Besnard 60, Morris 60, Dumbrell 59, Bright 55, D’Alberto 54, Weel 51, Baird 45, Pretty 45, Halliday 42, Bowe 41, Youlden 33, A Davison 30, Thompson 30, Seton 30, McLean 27, Ritter 27, Webb 24, A Jones 19, McConville 16, Price 16, Longhurst12, Coulthard 8, Wills 8, Ellery 6, Caruso 6, Denyer 6, Perkins 6, van Gisbergen 4, Gurr 2.

31

FORMULA 1 ROUND 16 – SHANGHAI

Stayin’ Alive

32

race

Lewis Hamilton made one mistake in China but that was enough to allow Kimi Raikkonen to win and set up a three-way title showdown in Brazil.

JOE SAWARD watched the Chinese Opera

sutton-images.com

33

Is that to go? Lewis Hamilton’s bid to seal a World title ended on the back of a scooter, left, after his McLaren ended up in gthe gravel. Fernando Alonso goes to Brazil with a third title on his agenda, below. Yep, that is noted photographer Darren Heath behind car #2, contemplating another McLaren scoop photo ...

sutton-images.com

I

T was generally expected that Lewis Hamilton would win the World Championship in China but that was not what happened – indeed, it provided a Raikkonen renaissance and a three-way mathematical contest for the title in Brazil.

Having pulled a stunning pole-winner from nowehere in the final minute of qualifying, Hamilton led early, pushing hard to wrap up the title with a victory.

The problem was that conditions were treacherous, wet and drying, and Hamilton’s early lead in the race was negated – and then Kimi Raikkonen took the lead.

On lap 31 Hamilton peeled off into the

34

pits, to get dry tyres. If Lewis had made it into the pits he would have been wellplaced but he slid wide on the slippery pit entry and found himself in gravel.

There is not much gravel left in F1 these days, as the ‘in’ thing is high-friction tarmac but Lewis had no such luck. It looked for a moment as though he would be able to motor through it but the dynamics of gravel is a complicated business and suddenly the rear wheels began to spin and the McLaren ground to a halt. He was going nowhere.

The marshals made a half-hearted attempt to move the car, but it was

not going anywhere and everyone knew it. This time there was no crane to pluck Lewis out – as happened at the Nurburgring – and he was forced to retire.

It had been a bad mistake, pretty much the worst thing that could have happened.

Raikkonen needed 10 points to stay in the game and he was going to get them. And Fernando Alonso was adding eight points, which drew him into the battle.

After the race Alsonso continued to talk like a beaten man, which is an odd thing to do – but it is being presumed that it is being prepared as ammunition when it comes to negotiating his split from

race

sutton-images.com

Red versus Silver: Felipe Massa is now out of mathematical contention and will head home to Brazil with firm plans to stop Hamilton or Alonso, above, taking the Drivers’ title. Jenson Button, below, qualified 10th and scored some timely points for Honda.

sutton-images.com

sutton-images.com

McLaren …

Hamilton took the blame on the chin. He went to see his crew. He even watched the race for a bit. He did not need an excuse but if he had he might have said that he was a rookie and these things happen.

“I was obviously gutted for both myself and the team,” he said. “I haven’t made a mistake all year, but I am over it.”

There was talk of a tyre failure but the data did not bear this out.

“I was constantly talking to the team,” Lewis said. “Although my tyres were in poor condition we took the decision to get through the last rain shower before

changing to dry tyres. I was trying to be careful and I was not really fighting aggressively with Kimi. It would have worked out perfectly.”

But it did not.

From then on it was just a question of seeing how bad the damage for Lewis’ championship would be. Alonso had the legs on Massa and moved ahead when the Brazilian switched to dry tyres a little too early. It might have worked, but it was not until the end of the race that Felipe began to gain an advantage and while he set a string of fastest laps he was too far behind by then to make up a place.

The interest in the race after that came only from those behind. On lap 32 Raikkonen and Alonso both pitted dry tyres and Robert Kubica took the lead. He had stopped earlier for his dry rubber and was ahead and not because of pit stops but actually in his own right.

Robert might not have won the race but was likely to be well-placed – but then within a couple of laps to go the hydraulics failed on his car and he was left to rue a great opportunity lost for himself and for BMW.

35

Just like Bulls in a China Shock

Two cars in the points were just what was on the menu for STR. By JOE SAWARD SCUDERIA Toro Rosso has not had an easy season but in China the team delivered an impressive result with Sebastian Vettel finishing fourth and Tonio Liuzzi coming home sixth.

A Webb of Asian Intrigue HOPES of a major points haul in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix after both Mark Webber and David Coulthard had qualified their Red Bull RB3s inside the top 10, were dashed after rain brought on a number of unscheduled pit-stops and along with them another topsyturvy result.

In the end, the pit calls simply went the wrong way.

Having qualified seventh, and losing a couple of spots in the early running with an understeer problem, Webber made a total of three stops as he changed from intermediates to dry weather tyres and back again.

The call to bring the Australian in for dry tyres on lap 22 almost worked, as he began lapping quicker than

anyone else. However, rain began to fall again a few laps later, and he pitted for intermediates.

“In hindsight I should have stayed out on dries but the weather forecast said heavy rain, which came,” he said, “but not for as long as expected, and that cost me a good result today.

It’s a shame because we could have made a lot of ground on Williams this weekend and in the end, we’ve only reduced the deficit by one point.”

After a late scrap with team-mate David Coulthard and a recovering Heikki Kovalainen, Webber crossed the line in 10th.

sutton-images.com

36

sutton-images.com

Having been bounced down the grid with a penalty in qualifying Vettel decided on a one-stop strategy rather than the more aggressive two-stop plan which Liuzzi opted for.

The changing weather worked out almost perfectly for Sebastian and he was able to switch to dry rubber, just when it needed to be done. There was a hint of rain and then the track began to dry. It was not easy and Heidfeld, for example, made the wrong call and went to wets at about the same time as Vettel was switching to dries. The same happened to Webber.

“The last 20 laps were unbelievable,” said Vettel. “Even though I had the situation under control and slowed the pace, it was tough. A fantastic day for the whole team.”

Indeed it was, for Liuzzi was able to get home in sixth place as well, despite the fact that the weather ruined his strategy.

In the early laps of the race he was one of the fastest on the track and his strategy was much the same as the other front-runners with a stop on lap 19. This dropped him back into the pack but his path cleared quickly and Tonio was fourth and stretching his wets as far as they would go (as was Hamilton at the same time).

He pitted on the same lap as Hamilton but kept it on the road and was on his way with dry tyres in eighth place. As others pitted he moved up to sixth. He was then passed by Fisichella (on a charge) but when the Renault stopped he was sixth again. And there he stayed, holding off Nick Heidfeld all the way to the flag. It was a classy drive.

“I think Sebastian’s one-stop strategy was better,” he said, “but that does not matter now. It is fantastic for the team that we both scored points. I made no mistakes and had some great fights with Williams, Renault and BMW. I don’t think we could have done more than this.

“Many times this year, we have shown that we were capable of scoring points, but somehow we never got them. Now everyone can be happy and it shows that the team is growing and that all the guys are doing a great job.”

race

Cheap Copies by Thursday

Technical Editor PAOLO FILISETTI noted the latest tech developments in China

BOTH Red Bull and Honda introduced new front wing looks in China and, weather aside, both teams made performance gains, despite the mixed conditions in the race.

In the case of the RB3, the additional separate front winglet profiles introduced in Spain, are now substituted with a single continuous element – it is interesting to note that sister team Toro Rosso already introduced such a solution in Belgium, following the fashion launched by McLaren this season.

It helps in terms of cleanliness of the airflow towards the sidepods of the car, so as to reduce drag and turbulence, but also helps in terms of cooling efficiency. This last benefit could be useful in Brazil.

Already tested in Jerez, before the Japanese GP, a much-revised version of the Honda RA107’s front wing, above, featuring an additional, dramatically sinuous profile, made its debut here in China.

Although this was in place and usable the previous week in Japan, there didn’t seem as much gain there, whereas in China, the benefit, seemed more noticeable.

The new wing not only features the additional continuous profile (that follows the McLaren style) but also McLaren-style connecting pillars attached to the middle flap instead of the usual main profile.

This to reduce the drag and turbulence generated by the airflow impacting with the foremost point of the pillars, at the entry level of the wing.

A non-visible change concerns the addition of weight, in the splitter section of the F2007 Ferrari, above right. Over the past few races, Ferrari has slightly increased its weight distribution on the front of the car, to improve the sharpness of the front end of the car, to suit the twisty layout of the last three races of the season.

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Round 16 SHANGHAI Pos #

Driver Team Time

1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:37:58.395 2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes +9.806sec s 3 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari +12.891 secs 4 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari +53.509 secs 5 7 Jenson Button Honda + 1:08.666 secs 6 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari +1:13.673 secs 7 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber +1:14.224 secs 8 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +1:20.750 secs 9 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +1:21.186 secs 10 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +1:24.685 secs 11 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +1:26.683 secs 12 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota +1 lap 13 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 lap 14 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda +1 lap 15 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda +1 lap 16 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota +2 laps 17 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari +3 laps Ret 10 Robert Kubica BMW +23 laps/Hydraulics Ret 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +23 laps/Spin Ret 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota +31 laps/Spin Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari +32 laps/Spin Ret 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda +45 laps/Brakes Fastest Lap: Massa on lap 56, 1m37.454s

Qual 2 4 3 12 10 11 8 5 14 7 18 19 13 20 17 16 22 9 1 6 21 15

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | DRIVER'S points Points: Hamilton 107, Alonso 103, Raikkonen 100, Massa 86, Heidfeld 58, Kubica 35, Kovalainen 30, Fisichella 21, Rosberg 15, Coulthard 14, Wurz 13, Webber 10, Trulli 7.

F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | Constructor’s points Points: Ferrari 186, BMW 96, Renault 51, Williams-Toyota 28, Red Bull-Renault 24, Toyota 12, Toro Rosso Ferrari 8, Honda 6, Super Aguri-Honda 4, Spyker-Ferrari 1.

37

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 12 – CATALUNYA

38

race

Son of a Bitumen Sebastien Loeb was born to win tarmac rallies, a fact he proved so effortlessly on the the roads of Spain last weekend. And with Marcus Gronholm back in third, the WRC title is now a real scrap

sutton-images.com

39

40

sutton-images.com

T

HE French have got plenty of reasons to smile at the moment.

Just 24 hours after their Rugby World Cup squad knocked over tournament favourites New Zealand in the quarterfinals, their World Rally team, Citroen, decimated the field in Catalunya to get their reigning Champion, Sebastien Loeb, back into title contention.

For Loeb it was as straight forward as a rally comes. He went into the event as favourite given it was on tarmac, and lived up to the expectation by leading the entire event. And thanks to his team-mate Dani Sordo’s efforts in second place, the gap between Loeb and Marcus Gronholm in the title fight was cut to just six points.

“We continued at the same pace as yesterday,” Loeb said at the finish.

“I made a point of not taking any risks, not cutting the corners too much and

lifting over the dirtier portions. [The] C4 WRC ran like clockwork and I am very happy to have won.”

For Sordo it was an important second place. Having had a inconsistent season, the youngster’s once unquestioned potential was suddenly resting on his home event in Spain. But he stepped up to the plate, holding out Gronholm with ease and finishing a carefully-managed 13.8s behind Loeb.

Gronholm was third after a tough weekend on the Spanish roads. A wrong tyre choice in the rain on Friday dropped him out of touch with the leaders, a situation he would rue on the second day when he seemed to be able to match the Citroens for pace in the dry. The final leg was much the same, but starting the day more than 30s adrift made it impossible to bridge the gap.

“Second was the result I really wanted here but that wasn’t to be and I can’t change it,” he said.

“I still have a good championship lead but when I lost 30s in the wet on Friday, my hopes of first or second were destroyed.”

Mikko Hirvonen and Francois Duval rounded out the top five, ahead of Petter Solberg (the best placed Subaru) and JariMatti Latvala.

Chris Atkinson survived a couple of hairy moments to come home eighth, securing a single world championship point.

“I’d like to have got a better placing than eighth,” said the Aussie.

“Unfortunately this weekend we weren’t able to match the times we set in Germany.

But it’s certainly not been a bad rally, and there’s a lot to be optimistic about ahead of the next asphalt events.”

race

sutton-images.com

Pace Note this! Xevi Pons was lucky to escape this big moment on the first day. He went on to finish ninth, just outside the points.

sutton-images.com

sutton-images.com

No sun, no fun: Gronholm struggled in the slick conditions on Friday, left, but was quick in the dry. Dani Sordo, above, stepped up to the plate on home soil, while Francois Duval, below, was once again impressive in a privateer Xsara.

And then there were the McRae tributes, below left.

sutton-images.com

sutton-images.com

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP | DRIVER'S points Gronholm 96, Loeb 90, Hirvonen 74, Sordo 39, P Solberg 34, Henning Solberg 28, Chris Atkinson 26, Jari-Matti Latvala19.

41

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 6 – BATHURST

No fluke for Luke

Dirk Klynsmith

There’s those who might say Luke Youlden was lucky to win the second FV8 race at Winton back in May. But when he won at Bathurst, he was just plain fast ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN TONY D’Alberto will have to wait until Phillip Island to wrap up the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship after a hardcharging Luke Youlden took both race wins at Bathurst last weekend.

D’Alberto looked safe to take maximum points after decimating the field in qualifying, taking pole by over half a second from Mathew White.

But the start of the first race changed the complexion of the title fight. White and D’Alberto clashed at the first corner, breaking D’Alberto’s steering rack and forcing his first DNF of the year.

That was good news for Youlden, who was able to control the race from the front and take his second win of the year, and even better news for Michael Caruso, who finished second after Jonathon Webb ran out of fuel and closed the points gap to D’Alberto.

Things looked even better at the start of Race 2 when Caruso jumped Youlden at the start and took an early lead. It took

42

Youlden just three laps to get back into the lead after pulling off a daring move over Skyline, but that was the least of Caruso’s problems. His Ford Rising Stars Falcon had a rear wheel problem late in the race, handing championship favouritism back to D’Alberto and guaranteeing Youlden the race and round win.

“It’s good to get a legitimate win,” said Youlden, who took a somewhat lucky win in the wet at Winton earlier this year.

“Race 1 started well, although we got helped when the leaders ran in to each other. But we had the pace anyway – the car was getting better and better.

“The second race was much the same.

In fairness to Michael I think he let me through at Skyline, but it’s just a great result for the team and HPM.” D’Alberto finished sixth in the final, a recovery typical of his consistent season.

“I’m just so relieved,” he said.

“We had such a bad day yesterday with such a small incident putting us out. I don’t

wish anything bad on Michael, but his retirement was really good for me!”

Dale Wood was second for the round on his Bathurst debut. The Greg Murphy Racing youngster was on the pace all weekend, his efforts highlighted by second place in Race 2, sealing his first FV8 podium.

Jose Fernandez was third after a consistent, if quiet, weekend. He was sixth in race 1 and third in Race 2.

As usual there was some carnage on The Mountain. Chris Alajajaian was forced to sit out of the meeting after crashing heavily at Skyline in Race 1, while a similar hit for Mark McNally also ruled him out of the second race. Race 2 claimed Drew Russell, who shunted heavily at Turn 2, and Mathew White, who spun and crashed at the Dipper while on for a top four finish.

Points: D’Alberto 270, Caruso 226, Kayne Scott 199, Webb 181, Youlden 180, Wood 145, Fernandez 145, Damien White 140, Tim Slade 139, Andrew Thompson 117.

race

Dirk Klynsmith

John Morris/Mpix

Dale in the sun: Wood had his best FV8 finish at his first visit to The Mountain, above left. Meanwhile, D’Alberto had his worst finish of the season, above.

Jonathon Webb was on for second place in the first race before his SBR Falcon ran out of fuel, left, while Chris Alajajian ran out of grip and crashed heavily, below.

John Morris/Mpix

James Smith

43

Dirk Klynsmith

Back On Top PERFORMANCE CARS A RECORD field of 29 cars greeted the Mount Panorma Circuit for Round 5 of the Donut King Performance Car Championship.

Peter Floyd overcame a disastrous start to the season to finally take his maiden round win of the season. Floyd’s weekend was consistent and

largely without incident. He placed fourth in Race 1 and claimed convincing victories in Races 2 and 3.

Floyd’s round win was his first this season and was a welcome return to form for the HSV driver.

“It’s been a pretty dry season for us, so to come away from Bathurst with the round win is fantastic,” Floyd said.

Mark King was set for a great weekend until a frightening tyre failure on Conrod Straight in Race 3 put paid to his weekend.

But his topsy-turvy weekend still saw him take the championship lead from Barrie Nesbitt, whose championship assault went up in smoke with an engine failure in Race 1.

King sits on top of the

championship table on 286 points ahead of Nesbitt who has fallen to second position on 278 points, but still remains in contention for the championship.

Garry Young is third in his Mitsubishi Evo on 274 points.

– DAVID MCLAUGHLIN Points: King 286, Nesbitt 278, Young 274, Floyd 262, Graham Alexander 239.

Mountain Mason MUSCLE CARS

John Morris/Mpix

44

STEVE Mason made his Biante Muscle Car Masters championship aspirations clear by taking out the round at Mount Panorama last weekend.

Although he didn’t do it easy, with the likes of Jim Richards in his ‘69 Camaro and Brad Tilley’s ‘71 Ford Falcon throwing down the challenge.

Mason finished in third position in the opening race, before winning races 2 and 3.

Gavin Bullas was on track for

a good weekend, qualifying on pole and taking the chequered flag in the first race. But he struggled for pace from there on in.

The final race ended with an uncharacteristic retirement from Richards after his Camaro developed a mechanical problem.

Mason has a commanding lead in the championship, leading the way from Tilley and Bullas.

– DAVID MCLAUGHLIN Points: Mason 111, Tilley 93, Bullas 91, Eddie Abelnica 87, Les Walmsley 79.

race

Peter Bury

Not you two again!

Reynolds versus Davison has been the story of Carrera Cup season 2007 – and Bathurst was no CARRERA CUP ALEX Davison may have won the penultimate round of the Carrera Cup at Bathurst last weekend, but it was the good fortune of David Reynolds that stole the show.

Reynolds, the series leader, started the weekend in good form, beating Davison off the line and controlling the opening race.

But Race 2 almost turned to disaster for the Sonic driver when he was lucky to escape serious damage after a high-speed spin at McPhillamy Park on the third lap.

Having somehow dodged the walls during the spin, Reynolds recovered to finish sixth, while Davison went on to win from Craig

Baird.

Keen to capitalise on Reynolds’ lowly starting position, Davison made the jump at the lights and cruised to an early lead.

Reynolds was equally as aggressive, diving past Marcus Marshall on Lap 2.

The field was then compressed by the Safety Car thanks to Paul Stokell’s close look at the Turn 2 wall, setting up an exciting single-lap sprint to the finish.

Reynolds claimed his first scalp with a daring move outside of Baird at Turn 2, and very nearly took the race win with a switchback on Davison at the last corner.

But he didn’t do enough, giving Davison a 0.05s win and the round honours.

“The car has run excellently all weekend and I definitely had a speed advantage,”

Davison said.

“But I couldn’t believe that Dave blew past Craig like that and I saw him coming at me like something out of Jaws. It was a close finish, but it was the result that we wanted.”

Reynolds was disappointed with the outcome, despite not losing too much ground in the points.

“One more lap and I would have had him,” he said.

“On that last corner I tried to make him out-brake himself so I could do an overand-under move, but it wasn’t to be.”

The series wraps up on the Gold Coast in a fortnight.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN Points: Reynolds 1032, Davison 988, Baird 987,

John Morris/Mpix

Adrian’s Maher-velous SPEEDWAY ADRIAN Maher took out a flag-to-flag victory in last Saturday night’s Parramatta City Raceway Sprintcar A-Main.

Despite an over heating engine, Maher was in superb form, easily defeating Victorian Grant Anderson with Wollongong racer Gary Rooke third.

The A-Main saw a number of stoppages but Maher held control at every restart.

Major crashes saw Ian Madsen, an impressive Daryl Campbell and the luckless Craig Brady joining the up side down club.

Interestingly WSS Champ Max Dumesny failed to make it into the A-Main after setting a bad qualifying time.

– GREG BOSCATO

45

Haga wins, Toseland’s champ WORLD SUPERBIKE TWO points were enough to ensure that James Toseland moves to MotoGP as a World Superbike Champion.

No one could get near Noriyuki Haga at Magny

Cours, the Samurai of Slide ensuring that Yamaha won Manufacturers’ crown with two dominant wins. But King James fought off the staggers long enough to hold out Nori by the narrowest of margins at the end.

Toseland was caught up with Lorenzo Lanzi on the opening lap of Race 1, falling to seventh, but sixth was enough in the last race of the season to seal the deal.

Max Biaggi was the best of the rest in the final race,

while Troy Bayliss fought hard on the Ducati 999’s farewell appearance with fourth place in Race 2.

Points: Toseland 415, Haga 413, Biaggi 397, Bayliss 372, Corser 296, Xaus 201, Lanzi 196, Rolfo 192, Neaukirchner 149, Laconi 137.

Audi wins small Le Mans ALMS sutton-images.com

WTCC’s Top Six Shoot-out WTCC SEAT had a big weekend at the penultimate round of the World Touring Car Championship at Monza.

The first race saw Yvan Muller lead a SEAT onetwo from Jordi Gene and hard-charging Alfa pilot James Thompson.

The second race was Gene’s turn to take a

46

win, with Yvan Muller coming home fifth. But it was an important fifth place, which, thanks to bad weekends from both Jorg Muller and Andy Priaulx, sets up an exciting final round at Macau.

Priaulx, Yvan Muller, Jorg Muller, Augusto Farfus, Thompson and Nicola Larini will all go in to the final round with a chance of taking the title.

Points: Priaulx 81, Y Muller 81, Farfus 71, Thompson 69, J Muller 66, Larini 61.

AUDI is back on top in the American Le Mans Series, with Dino Capello and Allan McNish winning the Petit Le Mans.

The Audi led hom the Porsche of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas by just 0.9s, the closest finishing margin in the Road Atlanta classic’s 10year history.

Ryan Briscoe finished seventh while David Brabham was eighth.

race

You only need to lead one lap NASCAR JEFF Gordon has taken a remarkable victory at Talladega to give him the lead in The Chase with six races left to run.

The four-time Cup champ had a weird race, which started with a dismal qualifying session. Starting 34th Gordon elected to run near the back as part of the strategy, hoping to avoid any carnage.

But the chances of the strategic move paying off seemed over when he left his pit with a hose hanging from his car, resulting in a drivethrough penalty.

What followed was an amazing drive through the field in the closing laps, with Jimmie Johnson, Gordon and Casey Mears all surging to the front. Gordon then blew last Johnson on the last lap, the only lap of the race he led, to take the win.

“We avoided the wrecks and

all of a sudden found ourselves in the top 15 with about 25-30 to go, and we held on there,” Gordon said.

“What I don’t understand is how I got by my teammate. When it got threewide I thought `this is my opportunity.’ Luckily when I got high, and Jimmie tried to block me, the #20 was there and had nowhere to go. He’s the one who pushed me to the front.”

Johnson finished second with Dave Blaney third.

Jacques Villeneuve made an impressive Nextel Cup debut at the high-speed track, qualifying sixth. He drove a a solid race, dropping to the back to avoid trouble and coming home a quiet 21st.

The Chase: Gordon 5690, Johnson 5681, Clint Bowyer 5627, Tony Stewart 5536, Carl Edwards 5490, Kevin Harvick 5488, Kurt Busch 5480, Kyle Busch 5430, Denny Hamlin 5423, Martin Truex Jr 5390, Matt Kenseth 5377, Jeff Burton 5359.

So close yet so far for James Davo dominates Road America – except for the last six laps of the race STAR MAZDA YOUNG Aussie James Davison did everything but win the latest round of the Star Mazda Series at Road Atlanta last weekend.

Davison was easily fastest in both practice and qualifying, and dominated the first 22 laps of the 26-lap race. But a re-start with six laps to go proved to be his downfall, with Lorenzo Mandarino making a pass into Turn 1, which in turn let another three cars through, dropping Davison to fifth. The race was finished under caution, meaning Davison was unable to make back the spots.

“It is a very difficult result for me to accept given that I dominated everything, testing, practice, qualifying and 90 percent of the race,” he said.

“To be honest I made the mistake of leaving the gate open at the second restart and Mandarino took advantage of the opportunity.

I can only reflect on the race that got away however it has only made me more determined to win at Laguna Seca.”

47

48

49

50

rear of grid

Well worth the price of admission punter@mnews.com.au Dirk Klynsmith

WHAT a bloody spectacular race; what a brilliant weekend. Just when you think a race is heading to an obvious ending, along comes a shower of rain.

I take my hat off to all those drivers who were involved in the tussle in the wet at the end of the race. That’s what you’re paid for – and that’s what we pay to come and see. It was fantastic.

I’m not actually a Ford fan, as such, but you couldn’t argue

with the result. Just to be there, in the frame, in those conditions, was a hell of a task.

You really have to feel for Mark Winterbottom (above), but I hope he doesn’t let it get him down. The guy is clearly a star, and when the likes of Bright, Skaife and Ingall all get caught out by track conditions and bang the wall, then there’s nothing to be too ashamed about when you’re the one finding out first-hand how slippery things are ahead.

THERE'S NO REASON WHY THE MAJORITY SHOULDN'T ENJOY A BLOODY GOOD DAY OUT The papers in NSW were full of the massive police presence in the days leading up to the race, with reports of 50 arrests on Thursday and Friday alone as they enforced the drink rules.

I know they’re trying to wipe out a problem created by a minority, but the majority, again, is inconvenienced.

The Clipsal, Grand Prix, Indy, and so on all draw crowds at least as big, and everyone’s drinking and having a good

time, without any problem – so why such a hard-line attitude at Bathurst?

It was the one down-side for our crowd. How about less taxpayers cash on police numbers next year, but have them specifically target the areas – and we all know where they are – where the problems appear?

There’s no reason why the majority shouldn’t enjoy a bloody good day out, the way we Aussies do.

Odd Spot Tell him I'm coming to get him

Mpix

SOME strange things happen in motor racing and one of the more bizarre tales emerged after the Bathurst 1000.

On the opening lap, Craig Lowndes and Steven Johnson were jostling for position on Mountain Straight, and the two Fords clashed mirrors.

There was no harm done,

and the Falcons completed the opening lap with Lowndes fourth and Johnson fifth.

For those readers into karma, it is what happened next that is spooky.

Johnson’s co-driver, Will Davison, takes up the story: “Lap one, corner two, someone on the radio said to

Steve, ‘Craig just wants to say thanks for giving me room there’.

"Steve said, ‘No probs, I just hope he gives me some room when I am passing him for the lead on lap 150!’

"We get to lap 150 and … I couldn’t believe it!”

Johnson was not lap-perfect

– it was actually lap 154 when Lowndes was sliding around in the rain and Johnson threw the Jim Beam car inside at Hell Corner, for the lead of the race ...

We're not joking – Lowndes confirmed the tale.

Steve Johnson – fortune teller to the V8 stars ...

51