Motorsport eNews Issue 28 - October 30-November 5, 2007 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue No. 028 30 October – 5 November 2007

ALONSO: RED BULL? Fernando linked to move: what does it mean for webber

RACELAND!

Ambrose pole and fourth in Memphis

V8 Supercars HEAD EAST

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

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

Issue No. 028 | 30 October – 5 November 2007

Production 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 4 Fernando’s Ride Away Red Bull for Alonso?

7 I’d like to thank ... Ow! Broken wrist for Power 8 15-11-2007 McLaren appeal date set 10 Gentleman, goodnight All go for Singapore GP

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

chat 18 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Van Leeuwen 21 Saward 35 The Punter

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

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

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

Jimmie Johnson Will the WRC come back? Why fuel temps matter Remote, but no Control

race 22 Red Dawn

All things Ferrari at Mugello 24 Turning Japanese Hirvonen’s Hokkaido 28 Than-you-very-much Marcos stars in Elvistown

trade 32 Trade and Industry / Raceshop 34 Classifieds

welcome If only Andrew Jones had this red bottle to help him at Bathurst ... Check out the latest State Racing supplements via http://www.mnews.com.au

Alonso linked to Red Bull FORMULA 1 FERNANDO Alonso may be reunited with Renault power next season – but it could be in a Red Bull-Renault. Motorsport eNews sources are suggesting that negotiations between Alonso and his management, Renault and sponsor Telefonica have not been going very well in recent days, with there being disagreements about some of the people involved in the Renault F1 project. There is little doubt that Telefonica and, potentially, ING, feel a little let-down by the performance of the Renault team this season, and are slightly alarmed at the cost increases associated with securing the two-time champion from McLaren, where he was paid more than US$25m a season. As a way of circumventing this, we hear that there is credence in Alonso’s conversations with Red Bull Racing. Discussions to this point have stalled over the length of the association, as Alonso obviously wants to be free after one season and Red Bull wants a longerterm commitment. Should Alonso join the team, one of the current RBR drivers would head out the door, potentially to Renault. David Coulthard is on a one-year contract

and, if a single-year deal is the only stumbling block, that is a likely move. But it is well-known that Mark Webber has had links with Renault throughout his Formula 1 career and that move could be a better bet for the French manufacturer. That would also fit in with Alonso’s recently (and often) stated preference to have a clear number two driver as a team-mate, not a role that Webber is accustomed to as much as the Scottish veteran. Of course, any move Alonso makes would leave a vacancy at McLaren, alongside Lewis Hamilton. Our sources suggest that Webber is well-thought of at Mercedes-Benz, for which he raced in its Sportscar program, and by McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh, whom Ron Dennis has already anointed as a likely successor. Webber in a McLaren-Mercedes? A month ago, it would have seemed impossible. But now? – STAFF/SAWARD

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Awesome Ambrose NASCAR BUSCH MARCOS Ambrose heads into the NASCAR final Busch Series races full of confidence after a stellar performance at Memphis, Tennessee over the weekend. The Kingsford Charcoal Ford pilot qualified on pole position on the 0.75mile oval, ahead of all the ‘Buschwackers’, as well as Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti. On a different strategy to the leaders, the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Fusion pitted late for tyres but the Tasmanian star stormed from 24th to fourth at the end of the 250-lap race, his best Busch Series finish to date.

“We got that top 10 that we were after and the pole was a bonus,” said Ambrose. “We had a really strong car all day. We didn’t have the strategy that these guys did. But for our car, I think things worked out for the best. “I fought all day and kept cool all day with all those cautions. We had a pretty straight day there. I’m really pleased with the crew and myself.” The race was won by David Reutimann from Mike Bliss and David Ragan, and the result leaves Ambrose eighth overall, and leading rookie, in the Busch Series points. His next race is this weekend, on November 3 at Texas Motor Speedway.

news

Up, up and away! Million dollar airlift to Bahrain is underway – all stations to the Middle East V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS’ $1m airlift to Bahrain took wing from Brisbane earlier today, and continues at Avalon, west of Melbourne, tomorrow. More than 100 tonnes of 31 V8 Supercars, the Safety Car, spare parts, engines and equipment was loaded onto two Boeing 747 400 freighters for the flight to the fifth flyaway V8 Supercar event, following China in 2005, Bahrain and New Zealand last year. A number of team personnel, including drivers, left Australia late last week for stopovers on the way to the

Middle East, and a total of nearly 700 people will fly to the event. Teams are allowed to take, per car, one spare engine, two spare gearboxes, 20 wheels (including the four on the cars in transit), two front splitters, one rear bumper bar and 2.5 tonnes of spares, packed in a container. Because of the teams’ uneven split between Melbourne (where 17 cars are based) and Queensland (with 12), both Toll-HSV and GRM remained on the road and ‘serviced’ their Commodore VEs locally after the Indy round, GRM using a Cummins service centre while Toll was based at the

Paul Morris Motorsport shop at Norwell. Both Team BOC cars were flown from Melbourne, as was the Chrysler STR8 Safety Car. That was flown out of Avalon and will return there, because of the shift in bases of the Team Kiwi entry which travelled to the NZ race in April from Melbourne but which is now based at SBR at Yatala. The teams will return to their home bases for another quick turnaround, to prepare for Symmons Plains’s 13th round of the championship on November 18. – PHIL BRANAGAN

Kendra Abay

TEGA: Change near? V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

THERE are questions over the status of TEGA General Manager Kelvin O’Reilly. Late last week, rumours suggested that O’Reilly has been stood aside from his role, but Motorsport eNews understands that O’Reilly remains in his position. In June, TEGA issued an announcement to the effect that O’Reilly had his appointment extended for a further three years, until the end of the 2010 season. When contacted by eNews, O’Reilly offered the comment, “I signed a contract renewal in June that takes me through until the end of 2010. I expect that contract to be fulfilled and

honoured in full.” He did not comment further. Enquiries to a TEGA Board member were referred to V8 Supercars Australia CEO Wayne Cattach, who did not return calls prior to eNews’s deadline. The TEGA board consists of Holden team owners Larry Perkins and Kees Weel and Ross Stone of Stone Brothers Racing, as well as independent Roger Cook and O’Reilly. The vacant Ford seat on the board was prompted by the resignation earlier this month of Triple 8 boss Roland Dane, and has not been filled. The Annual General Meeting of TEGA is to be held in Queensland on November 8. As part of that meeting, all board positions are declared vacant and an election will be held.

Ford Performance Racing has announced the appointment of David Vervaart to the role of Commercial Manager, effective immediately. Vervaart, 45, replaces Simon Derrick, who leaves the team to pursue a senior marketing position at the AFL team the Hawthorn Hawks. n

n The Carrera Cup Gala dinner was held at the Marriot Hotel on Gold Coast on Sunday night after Indy, where the series Champion, David Reynolds was presented with his trophy. Other award winners included Reynolds’s teammate Rodney Jane (TAG Heuer Challenge), Michael Trimble (Rookie of the Year) and David Russell (Mobil 1 Hard Charger). n New Zealand has secured its first major European open-wheel title in 23 years. Back-to-back podium finishes for 17-year-old Palmerston North driver Brendon Hartley in Portugal two weeks ago ensured him of outright championship victory in the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup. In the final round last weekend at Barcelona, Hartley qualified on pole and secured two top six places.

VIP changes

Dirk Klynsmith

BRIEFLY...

CARRERA CUP VIP Racing is undergoing a fundamental change, with Tony Quinn taking a lesser role in the team. Craig Baird and experienced engineer Greg Wooster are now coowners of the Queensland-based team, which will run three Carrera Cup entries next season. Baird will still race, alongside two other drivers. “Neither Tony nor Klark [Quinn] will be contesting the Carrera Cup but Tony Still wants to be involved,” said Baird. “He will be continuing to race in the other events, like the 24 Hours at Nurburgring and Dubai, and the Targa-type events. But this gives us the opportunity to run two cars for customers, and offer the opportunity to work with an experienced engineer like Greg and look at my data. That offers something unique to a younger driver.” Baird’s car may yet run in the colours of VIP

Pet Foods, and this will not be the first time he has worked with Wooster. The engineer, who has most recently worked with Alex Davison in CCup, was part of the BMW New Zealand team for which Baird raced in the early 1990s, and was involved in the BMW Super Touring squad here when Baird raced alongside Paul Morris and Geoff Brabham in Coke colours. The team will prepare Quinn’s other cars and may also prepare a second Porsche GT3 RSR, should there be the support to do so. – PHIL BRANAGAN

V8 Touring Cars set for 08 launch V8 SUPERCARS A THIRD category for ‘V8 Supercars’ is set to kick off in 2008. The V8 Touring Cars National Series looks sets to be the home for old V8 Supercars, including AU Falcons and VTVX Commodores. V8 Touring Cars is the brainchild of Saloon Cars boss Les Morrall, who is currently in

negotiations with V8 Supercars Australia to get final approval. The series will run four rounds in 2008, before stepping up to five for 2009 and beyond, with each round run on the Shannons Nationals support card. The ‘Touring Cars’ will remain almost identical to the current V8 Supercar rule book, however, negotiations continue about the reduction

of the rear wing and a rev limit of 7000rpm (down from 7500rpm). The V8 Touring Cars may also run a control tyre. The cars must be previously documented as V8 Supercars, preventing teams building new cars. They will compete as deregistered V8s and issued a new Sports Sedan logbook. The category manager is expected to be Rob Kurkpatrick. – GRANT ROWLEY

news

Lights out FUJITSU V8s Peter Bury

One more year at the Paperclip V8 SUPERCARS QUEENSLAND Raceway will host the seventh round of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series. The Ipswich track has confirmed that it will continue with its round, clearing up the only question mark hovering over the 2008 calendar. The original listing of the July 18-20 round was that it was TBA, because of the difficulty in negotiating with QR boss John Tetley, who was overseas prior to the issuing of the fixture

earlier this month. “It is good news that we now have a fully complete calendar,” said V8 Supercars Australia Chief Executive Officer Wayne Cattach. “At the time of the calendar announcement we had not had the chance to complete negotiations with the raceway due to several reasons, including the circuit manager being overseas at the time. “We have since agreed to terms that will include QR as a sprint round with three races under the same format as this year.”

Power on the mend Peter Bury

WILL Power has a fractured his wrist in two places, but is expected to be cleared for the final Champ Car race of the season at Mexico City in two week’s time. Power sustained the injury when he was involved in the midrace crash with Katherine Legge at Surfers Paradise last week during the Lexmark Indy 300. eNews understands that Power will meet with Champ Car’s medical officials before Mexico City, however, the injury is believed to be of a minor nature and he should be able to drive. – GRANT ROWLEY

HPM will withdraw its sponsorship of Australian motorsport at the completion of this season. The electrical giant, which joined Fujitsu V8 Series team Aaron McGill Motorsport at the start of 2007, was recently bought out by French company Legrand. With a new CEO and a new direction, HPM executives have decided that Australian motorsport does not fit into their plans going forward, thus ending what was to be a ‘two-year plus options’ deal with McGill’s team. HPM will be represented for the final time with two Falcons at Phillip Island, but in what cars and what drivers is yet to be confirmed. The timing of HPM’s withdrawal comes just after Luke Youlden won the last round of the Fujitsu Series at Bathurst, pictured. – GRANT ROWLEY

BRIEFLY...

NOVEMBER 15 looms as DDay for anyone hoping Lewis Hamilton wins the 2007 World Drivers’ Championship.

That is when the FIA International Court of Appeal will hear McLaren’s appeal over the stewards decision not to take any action over the finding that fuel from the Williams of Nico Rosberg and the BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld did not meet the FIA’s strict temperature requirements. All three cars finished ahead of Hamilton’s McLaren in the Brazilian Grand Prix and, were they to be excluded from the results, Hamilton would gain the necessary points to overtake Kimi Raikkonen in the Championship. FIA President Max Mosley, inset left, has tried to downplay the potential threat to Raikkonen’s title but by doing

so risks being seen to be prejudging the issue. “For us the world championship is over, the result is what it is,” he said. “A team presented an appeal; at the moment, this doesn’t change anything – it’s up to them to prove they are right.” There is no question that the whole business is unfortunate but, if a team feels that things are not being run correctly, it has a perfect right to ask questions. A decision which punished Ferrari would, undoubtedly, have met with a similar response by the Italian team, so criticising McLaren is really not the issue. McLaren explains in its press

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– SAWARD/SPURRING

FORMULA 1

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n Bernie Ecclestone has been winding up the British Racing Drivers Club’s members yet again. Ecclestone told the Evening Standard that the idea of staging a Formula 1 London Grand Prix was far from dead. A street race in England’s capital was first mooted in 2004 following a demonstration of F1 cars in Regent Street that was watched avidly by many thousands of people. Ecclestone told the newspaper: “It would be great if we could do it. And if they can do it in Singapore, then we should be doing it here ...”

15-11: Decision Day sutton-images.com

n Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has not denied rumours that Jean Todt’s reign at the helm of the Ferrari team is coming to an end. Montezemolo said that “until further notice, he will carry on” running both Ferrari and the team’s Gestione Sportiva. Montezemolo said that the team will announce its organisational structure for next year at Christmas. There are rumours that Todt and Montezemolo have fallen out over Montezemolo’s desire to see Ross Brawn and Fernando Alonso in the team. Todt, it seems, prefers himself and Felipe Massa.

release about the appeal that “the significance of this matter and its timing is, of course, regrettable” and says that it wishes to win races and championships on the track but adds that if there has been an irregularity, “the matter must be properly examined to ensure that the rules are applied”. Former World champion Damon Hill, inset right, has gone on to the attack for McLaren, telling Radio 5 Live, “It does get quite difficult to see where the consistency lies because, if you go back to the beginning of the season, McLaren’s argument is that Ferrari won the very first race using a device which was later found to be illegal by the FIA. They removed it but the result stood. “You have to say there’s no doubt there does sometimes seems to be one rule for Ferrari and another for everyone else.”

– JOE SAWARD

news

COWBOYS 0, Freeze your INDIANS 1

Gentlemen,

Engines!

FORMULA 1 THE FIA World Council has announced that it has agreed to change the name of Spyker F1 to Force India.

FIA backflips – again – on F1 engine regs. It’s 2.4-litre V8s for the next decade

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FORMULA 1 THE FIA World Council met in Paris and announced its plans to have a total freeze on engine development in Formula 1 for a period of 10 years, starting in 2008.

The federation says that a change can be made after five years, but only with the unanimous agreement of all stakeholders and following a further two-year notice period. There had been alternative proposals put forward by the engine manufacturers but these were rejected by the FIA. Whether sticking with a 2.4litre V8 engine for the next decade is a good idea remains to be seen. The FIA says this will enable the manufacturers to concentrate on developing systems such as regenerative braking systems and so on. Some of the engine makers

are less than happy about the situation and argue that it is not in keeping with the technological image that F1 should be presenting, but accept that this will be cheaper than changing the rules again. Having said that, 10 years is a very long time in the future and there are probably some people who are looking at the situation and accepting it in the knowledge that at some point along the way, the FIA will probably change its president. Max Mosley is now 67 years old and, even if he does stand for election again in 2009 – which most people in F1 are taking as read – he will be not be able to go on after a second four-year term. Unless, of course, he has the rules changed, again.

– JOE SAWARD

This is an unusual decision, as changing the name of teams is usually covered by the Concorde Agreement. The FIA says that there is no Concorde Agreement after December 31, so it can do as it pleases, although there is a movement among the other signatories to roll the existing contract on into next year. The FIA says that it is not bothered whether there is a contract or not but the situation is made more

complicated by the fact that there is the basis of a commercial agreement in place, although some of the teams say that when they agreed to the commercial deal it was under the condition that the basic elements of the Concorde Agreement remained in place. The FIA has clearly decided to do as it pleases and wait for someone to challenge the actions. This is not likely to happen in this case as most of the F1 world seems to accept that making a good impression in India is very important.

– JOE SAWARD

POSITIONS VACANT Walkinshaw Performance has vacancies for: • Race Engineers • Data Acquisition Engineers • Engine Builders • No. 1 and No. 2 Mechanics Preferably with recent V8 Supercar Experience All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence CVs should be emailed to hr@walkinshawperformance.com.au

Singapore night race is go Balloon test complete, now its time to get the cars on the track ... FORMULA 1 THE FIA has granted approval for the Singapore Grand Prix to be the first night race in the history of the World Championship.

The racetrack will be lit up by lighting balloons. Tests of the balloons have proved to be successful and Singapore reckons that the night-time atmosphere will deliver a completely new kind of F1 that will create a buzz like never before. “Given that one of our objectives is to

showcase Singapore to Formula 1 fans around the world, our late start-time will help us achieve this. The stunning city skyline backdrop will be an added bonus,” said Colin Syn, Deputy Chairman of Singapore GP.. – JOE SAWARD

Davo’s IPS test

INDY PRO SERIES JAMES Davison is closer to cementing his plans for 2008 after testing the championship winning Indy Pro Series car at Sebring recently. Sam Schmidt Motorsports is currently on the look-out for a young driver to replace the IRL-bound reigning Champ

Alex Lloyd, and Davison is seemingly in the box seat after the successful test, where he outpaced IPS regulars Robbie Pecorari and Stephen Simpson, who were also testing. “For the 2008 race season the IPS is where I want to be,” revealed Davison. “The IndyCar banner is the stronger of the two within the IRL/Champ Car war,

and the Championship team wants me which is a very good option. “[Team owner] Sam Schmidt is getting back to me.” Davison secured second place in the 2007 Star Mazda championship with a podium finish at the final at Laguna Seca. Dane Cameron wrapped up the series. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Truth is, NZ is looking good! NEW ZEALAND V8s THE New Zealand Touring Car Championship has secured a naming-rights sponsor for the 2007/08 season. The series will be known as the NZ Truth V8s Championship, having just signed up longstanding publication New Zealand Truth as the category’s major sponsor. The first round of the championship will kick off this weekend at Pukekohe Park for the Fujitsu 200, with 20 Fords and 13 Holdens lining up in what is set to be one of the most competitive seasons on record. Among the regular NZ stars will be a few names familiar to Australian race followers, including Paul Radisich, David

Besnard, Luke Youlden and Cameron McLean. Radisich’s entry marks the first time he has raced a full MotorSport New Zealandsanctioned championship for many years. He will drive for Tracer Motorsports. “The car is driving very well,” he said. “Maybe there’s a little bit of change needed to my style to adapt to these sorts of cars, but I’ve probably got the advantage of having driven them in the past, so I sort of know what to expect.” Besnard will drive for a brandnew Taupo-based Ford team, SCG Racing. “Our preparation for the coming season has been very good,” says Besnard, who finished third last season.

Antunes drives Toyota Series NATHAN Antunes will drive in the Toyota Racing Series this summer. The New South Welshman has recently signed on with European Techniques to compete in the New Zealand series, which kicks off this weekend at Pukekohe. Antunes tested for the first time last week at Tuapo and Manfeild and impressed his new team boss Trevor Sheumack. “Considering he’s come to us with some experience in openwheelers, we’re very happy with how he went,” Sheumack said. “It was his first time at the circuits, and he did a great job. It was wet and dry, but he had a composure about him, so I’m pretty confident. “If we can come away from Pukekohe with a good result, that will set him up for the next three rounds.” The TRS will be held over seven rounds, with a non-championship event at the V8 Supercar street event at Hamilton in April next year. – GRANT ROWLEY

“The team is very well organised, professional and enthusiastic. I am very hungry to win the championship and feel I have some unfinished business after last season’s disappointing mechanical failures.” Defending Champion John McIntyre returns with a completely-rebuilt BP Ultimate Ford, while Kayne Scott will be

driving a brand-new Ford for the first time after piloting a Holden in his four previous V8 seasons. The NZ Truth V8 Championship will be contested over six rounds, followed by a non-championship race at the Hamilton street track, supporting V8 Supercars.

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experience in automotive design and principles, and proficiency in CAD - specifically SolidWorks. Skills and experience in the following areas will also be looked on favourably: Trade background, Power Train design, Sheet Metal, Reverse engineering - laser scanning & probing, Rapid Prototyping, Surfacing, FEA, Automotive Testing To apply, please send your application quoting Ref. 2274 to apply@ccg.com.au. Confidential enquiries welcomed by Andrew Turner at Carroll Consulting Group on 07 3221 6288.

Level 8, 225 Wickham Terrace. Brisbane Qld 4000 T 073221 628 F 07 3221 9580 W www.ccg.com.au

Minis to gain weight MINI CHALLENGE THE new-for-2008 MINI Challenge is likely to feature a weight-penalty system similar to that used in the German version of the series. The news comes as part of a revelation from series organisers about the potential make-up of the one-make championship, which will also include partial grid reversal for one of the three, 20-minute races. Weight penalties will be another ploy to keep things even, with lead being added or removed to front-running cars depending on the previous round’s result. The first example of the new version MINI Challenge chassis was unveiled at Queensland Raceway last Friday. “The guys responsible for developing the car are part of BMW’s motorsport division,” said MINI Australia’s National Manager Justin Hocevar. “That includes wind tunnel testing, and testing in the south of Spain for hot weather, which suits us here. “And they’re getting some very pleasing results out of the new car.” An announcement on the series eight-round calendar is expected soon. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Percat gets first taste of Formula 3

Marshall Cass

NICK Percat has had his first taste of Formula 3 machinery during a test at Mallala last weekend. The Formula Forder tested one of Team BRM’s Dallara F304s, but says it was just about getting laps, not an audition for a drive in next year’s Gold Star. “It was just to get some laps under my belt, and to see how [a Formula 3 car] goes,” said Percat. “It’s always good just to learn how to drive another car. “The car’s a very impressive. It was just a general practice day, so the first session we cruised around, then some oil went down so we didn’t run the second session.

Dirk Klynsmith

FORMULA 3

Dubai-bound DUBAI 24H “And in the last session there were gale force winds, so we were losing a lot of time in a straight line.” Percat is expected to compete in next year’s Australian Formula Ford Championship. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

DAVID Russell will make international debut at next January’s Dubai 24-Hour race. Russell will share a Porsche GT3 RSR with Shaun Juniper, Max Twigg and Paul Kelly, with the car being prepped and run by Sherrin Motorsport. “These cars are awesome to drive and I can’t wait to get in

and compete against guys from all over the world,” Russell said. “I’ve had experience in 24hour races here at Bathurst, but never overseas so it’s a great opportunity.” The car is also likely to make appearances at other endurance races, including the Nurburgring and Spa 24-hour races, and the 12-hour at Sepang. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

John Morris/Mpix

CAMS Stars continue to Rise

Scott Pye and Daniel Erickson earmarked to represent CAMS Rising Stars in National Formula Ford in ‘08 FORMULA FORD EXPECT Scott Pye and Daniel Erickson to be announced as the CAMS Rising Stars for 2008. Pye, pictured above, and Erickson, who have both competed in the NSW State Formula Ford Championship this year, will suit up in the familiar Rising Star colours

in the national Formula Ford championship. The other two Rising Stars, who will be drive in state-based championships in Australia, will be confirmed along with Pye and Erickson shortly. Erickson finished third in the NSW title this year, while Pye didn’t contest the final round, ending the championship in

eighth place. Another development within the CAMS Rising Star program is that for the first time next year, the Rising Star program will be run by Australian Motor Sport Foundation, under licence from CAMS. CAMS will outsource the program to AMSF, giving them total jurisdiction over the

development of its elite drivers. The CAMS Rising Star program was piloted in 2004, and run at a full level for the first time in 2005. Drivers who have passed through the program at a national level include Brett Hobson, Paul Laskazeski, John Martin, Ash Walsh, Kristian Lindbom and Josh Scott. – GRANT ROWLEY

news sutton-images.com

RALLY OZ DELAYED UNTIL ‘09 Queensland Promoter calls off 2008 event WORLD RALLY THE long-term future of Australia’s participation in the World Rally Championship appears clouded, following confirmation that the planned 2008 WRC round for Queensland has been postponed.

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Group Mmmmmm ... er, N AUSTRALIAN RALLY

THESE two puppies stand to play a major role in the look of world rallying in coming years.

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Together with CAMS, the event promoter designate, IQG Rally Events Australia Pty Ltd, has deferred the event until 2009. Under the WRC’s new two-year calendar strategy, it means that an event will not be held until at least 2009. In a media statement, IQG said that “Although progress had been made in this regard, we felt critical aspects would be put under pressure and might impact on the event. “IQG and CAMS will now work together to seek approval of the FIA to conduct the first WRC event in Queensland in 2009.” The event, slated for southern Queensland, was to replace the long-running WA event, which hosted the World series until 2006. The change came about because of the withdrawal of the support of the WA state government.

Both Subaru and Mitsubishi took advantage of the World Rally Championship’s Japanese stop to showcase their latest Group N weapons. The new Mitsubishi Evo X, above, ran as 00 car on the event, while Subaru STi showed its Impreza Group N car for 2008, left. Both look fairly tasty, and expect to see versions of the car earmarked for Down Under in the not-too-distant future.

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2007

NZ $8.50 inc GST

HOw tHE FalCO ns wE 1–2–3 at Ba nt tHuRst

the French attack on Formula Ford continues Emmo held the ‘youngest F1 champ’ title for several decades

Ading mOnth

Max: The

No Honda seat for Bia WORLD SUPERBIKES MAX Biaggi looks set to stay in the World Superbike Championship – with Ducati.

Yamaha Racing

Rubbery figures: Rossi looks set to roll on Bridgestone, leaving 2008 team-mate Jorge Lorenzo on Michelin.

Tyres Out of Control

DORNA withdraws single-tyre proposal: Bridgestone-Rossi deal imminent MOTOGP

THERE will be no control tyre in MotoGP next season.

A proposal to consider introducing a single-tyre rule into the category was withdrawn from the agenda of the next meeting of the Grand Prix Commission in Valencia, Spain on November 3. Teams will now be free to race on Bridgestone and Michelin tyres, and possibly Dunlop, which

is yet to announce its MotoGP arrangements. However the Commission, which represents stakeholders Dorna, the FIM, teams’ organisation IRTA and the manufacturers, is expected to make changes to the current 31-tyre rule, which was introduced this season. The move means that it is almost a certainty that Valentino Rossi will race on Bridgestones next season.

Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta was thought to be applying pressure to Bridgestone to supply the Italian, or face the prospect of introducing a Michelin control tyre, thereby putting Rossi and World Champion Casey Stoner on the same brand of tyre. However, it is now expected that Rossi will be confirmed as a Bridgestone man following his final race of this season, at Valencia on November 4.

The volatile Italian has had an up-and-down week in a number of possibilities were in play. However, it appears that Honda management has held its line and vetoed any ideas that Biaggi would race for Fausto Gresini’s GP team, which last week announced the signing of Toni Elias. The Italian media reported immediately that with the support of World Superbike promoters FGSport, Biaggi would join GSE, which is withdrawing from the British Superbike Championship over technical issues with Ducati’s new 1098R. However, there is ongoing dialogue about a possible resolution, leaving it unlikely that the team would switch to the SBK. It now looks likely that the Roman will join Spaniard Rubén Xaus in the Sterilgarda Ducati team. Team owner Marco Borciani has a deal in place to race two factory supported Ducati 1098Rs.

Almost Done MOTOGP TWO large pieces of MotoGP’s 2008 linup were settled last week with news that Toni Elias and Shinya Nakano have secured seats.

The Spaniard, who won his first GP in Portugal last season, will join Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli at the Pramac-D’Antin team, left, while 30-year-old Nakano, inset, will stay in Honda colours but will take Elias’s ride at Team Gresini. The news means that it now appears

certain that Andrea Dovizioso will race at the Konica Minolta Team next season. The 250 graduate said some time ago that he was certain he would stay at Honda when he moved to MotoGP and there are no other seats remaining vacant for 2008.

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he Red Emperor

aggi, so Sterilgarda and Ducati beckon

WSBK getting Hotter BMW confirms all-new four-cylinder Superbike WORLD SUPERBIKES THE Japan versus Europe World Superbike Championship scrap looks like heating up, with a number of factories poised to enter the fray.

BMW has confirmed its weapon of choice for its WSBK debut in 2009 will be a 1000cc in-line four-cylinder, with chain drive and conventional suspension, and close to the mooted ‘190-190’ bike with 190 horsepower in a 190kg bike in roadgoing trim. BMW will enter two bikes, in partnership with the German alpha Technik team. The team is expected to have a preference for German riders, with former MotoGP racer Alex Hofmann and Max Neukirchner, who will race a third Alstare Suzuki next

Aprilia.com

SUZUKI RACING

season, in contention. In Italy, Aprilia is expected to soon unveil its new sports bike, powered by the company’s first V4, a 65-degree engine with a 999cc capacity, inset. Prototypes are said to produce more than 200 horsepower and the company, renowed for its V-twins, has already confirmed a return to the series, in which it raced between 1999 and 2002. “We will return to Superbike and, possibly, MotoGP,” said Roberto Colaninno, the President of Aprilia’s parent company Piaggio. Meanwhile, MV Augusta’s Superbike plans remain unclear, following the demise of the planned program with Team Foggy. However, there is still a chance that the iconic Italian maker may enter the series in the future. In nearby Austria, KTM is preparing to show its longawaited RC8 V-twin next month, and despite comments from the company that the bike would not be raced, rumours continue that a hot 1200cc version, the RC8R, may be released next year, with racing plans for 2009.

5 Minutes with ...

JIMMIE JOHNSON

The Nextel Cup Champ is now in a straight all-Hendrick title fight with Jeff Gordon QUESTION: Our race winner, whose winnings will be donated to Red Cross Wildlife Relief Effort. We don’t have the exact figure yet. JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, today is a great day on a lot of fronts, in so many ways. We had a good car today and, as [crew chief ] Chad [Knaus] pointed out, probably not the fastest, but his pit call at the end was really what put us in contention to win the race and got the job done for us. I just think that it’s going to be a fight to the end. We took a good bite out of Jeff’s point lead today, and it’s going to come down to a position or two in the next three races. And now I feel really good about where we are in the points and we can go lead laps, we can try to lead the most laps and really race for this championship over the next three events. So I’m very excited about that. We feel confident over a million dollars would be raised and sent out to the Red Cross, and I’m happy about that. Just how aware were you throughout the day of Jeff’s struggles, because he was as far back as 21[st] at times. We struggled today as well, and it seems when we were struggling, the #24 [Gordon] was running well, and then it kind of flipped at the end. We didn’t have the best of days. As the race went on, we got much stronger. Chad was making a lot of great adjustments on the car. I think the first three or four adjustments we were trying to find direction with the car

and what would wake it up and then Chad got on to what was working for the car and bringing the comfort for me to drive it. We improved the car a lot throughout the event. I paid very close attention to where the #24 was and I saw his struggles. But I knew just deep down inside that those guys would fight back and be in the Top 10 when the race was over. Carl [Edwards] said a couple of times that he thought it would have been a heck of a race if the green and white checkered had gone on through green. Can you describe how you saw it? Were you confident you would have held him off anyway? I think so. We got a really good start at the end, and, you know, I had four or five car lengths on

Johnson’s fans, because don’t you think some people like Jimmie and some like Jeff, and that for those fans, there’s really no loser here? I think the potential is there but there’s more drama when you have two team-mates racing for a championship, or anything. I think there’s more people paying attention because of the drama and what team is going to race each other and what’s going to happen. It’s not like we are out there just giving each other position and pulling by, “Hi, Buddy, go on”; “no, sorry you go through.” It’s far from that, and I think that is putting a lot of drama in our sport. This is the last race here on this track for this generation of cars and with coil-bound suspension, and with some of the tyre issues that we have

But that’s a great perk for today and it’s a victory that I didn’t think of until you brought it up. As we get further into the Chase, you and Jeff have talked about your friendship. But can you have a normal friendship or relationship in the next three races with so much on the line? I don’t see any more challenges ahead of us than, kind of, what we have now, what we’ve been dealing with. You know, we’re both very competitive and we’ve been through this a bunch already. But there’s a level of respect that I think Jeff has for people he races against, including me, and I have the same. And we are racing each other for a championship, but if it was Tony Stewart

I KNOW HIS WEAKNESSES AND I’M GOING TO DO ANYTHING I CAN TO EXPLOIT ANY WEAKNESSES I CAN FIND WILL jimmie GO EASY ON HIS TEAM-MATE? DOESN'T SOUND LIKE IT him getting into turn one. Our car was the best it had been, and I’m not sure where he had been running before the caution. I do know that Carl would have been committed to running wide open and doing whatever it would take to win the race. I assume it would have been a great battle but confident we would have been able to hang on and win the race. I was struck by Rick’s [Hendrick's] comments on Jeff Gordon’s fans and Jimmie

here, it’s pretty fast and pretty scary in these cars. Down the road, will you look back on this race with any special pride with this last generation of cars? Without a doubt. I didn’t realise it until you brought it up. Things will be much different years to come. I’ll be excited to see how tomorrow’s test plays out and get it rubbered up and get some great information on what the Car of Tomorrow will do. It’s an intimidating racetrack, and it will be interesting to see how the next few days go for everyone.

[who] Jeff was racing for the championship, or Kurt Busch, he wouldn’t race any differently. Nor would I, if it was me in that situation. It just the same challenge that we’ve had. We need to go out now and perform [against] one another. Whoever outperforms the other guy is going to be the Champion, the way this thing is shaking out. I know his weaknesses, the weaknesses of his team, and I’m going to do anything I can to exploit any weakness I can find and capitalise on that.

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When will I see you again?

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I HATE to have to write this, but I’m starting to seriously doubt if there will ever be another round of the World Rally Championship in Australia. A recent media statement from the event’s new Queensland promoter, IQG Rally Events Australia Pty Ltd, has revealed that there will be no event in 2008, with 2009 apparently a more realistic timeline for getting the event up and going. The problem is this; Australia has already been off the calendar for a year, and with the new rotation schedule offering a WRC round to most countries on a biannual basis, we are suddenly in jeopardy of being thrown in the ‘too hard’ basket while the FIA juggles around countries like Jordan and South Africa, which are keen to get some WRC lovin’. There may be a saving grace here – Australia was scheduled to host a round as part of a full-blown 18-round schedule. But in 2009, 18 becomes 12 when the rotation kicks in, which, according to a leaked draft 2009 schedule, means no Monte Carlo, no Sweden, and no New Zealand. Australia, however, is on the list, and with some of the prestigious rallies not getting a guernsey, the powers that be might well be keen to have a nice drawcard like a return to Australia and the

opinion Andrew van Leeuwen mNews National Editor revelation of its new motorsports park. And there’s the other issue; how much of the problem here is this big new development? According to the CAMS media release, “the World Rally Championship project is closely linked to the construction and completion of the overall i-METT project, which in turn is dependent upon various Government

approvals that are being progressed but have not yet been granted.” That’s all well and good that the new wizbang park won’t be ready, but should we risk our place in the WRC calendar for it? Rallying was always about having a skid in the bush, and there’s plenty of that in Queensland without this new facility. If Australia can get through this hiccup with the place on the ‘09 calendar safe, then great. But this reporter has a sneaking suspicion that might not be so easy. Prove me wrong, people, prove me wrong.

Letters

Have your say, email us at mail@mnews.com.au. Keep letters to the point. Show me the racing! Like Phil Branagan, I too have a problem. I am getting old, but have been around long enough to remember the good old days of watching racing on TV when we were given all the racing. Why can’t the televisions stations who spend so much money getting the rights to show Clipsal 500, Bathurst and Indy, do a bit more and give

us the full racing program over those weekends. Think of the number of extra viewers and sponsors your channel would gain. Technical stuff is good but viewing all the racing would be a whole lot better. Dennis T denncar1@optusnet.com.au V8 not so great? My 28-year-old motorsport

savvy son and myself attended the Lexmark Indy 300 over the four days this year to watch (mainly) the Champ Cars and Aussie Racing Cars. We totally enjoyed all the fantastic action of both classes, except for Will’s pit mishap, thanks to an error in judgment by the crew. What did fully surprise us both was the lack of support for the V8 Supercars after

final Champ Car Qualifying on Saturday and the Champ Car race on Sunday. People where leaving in their droves and hitting the Surfside shuttle services, filling one after the other back to Parklands. I’m beginning to think that they are not as popular as the media and TC make them out to be. It would be interesting to know how many genuine

opinion

Too cold in the Kitchen? IT is likely that some people think that the matter of a few degrees in fuel Joe Saward temperature is not a big thing, Formula 1 Correspondent particularly when the World Championship is at stake. power advantage for a few The actual rule, Article 6.5.5 laps, which is to do with the of the Formula 1 Technical combustion as chilled fuel Regulations, states that the cools the air that comes into temperature of the fuel in the combustion chamber competing cars can be no and, thus, allows for a higher lower than 10 degrees below density of oxygen, a key the ambient temperature. element in creating extra As temperature changes, horsepower. petrol expands or contracts. According to the figures A change of eight degrees supplied by FIA Technical results in about a one percent Delegate Jo Bauer, the change in volume. Thus, fuel in the cars in question more of it fits into the space was between 11 and 14available in the fuel tank. degrees under the ambient This is the reason for the temperature. The stewards regulation to stop teams using were thus faced with a serious temperature to ‘compact’ fuel. problem. In a sport where one lap There were questions can make all the difference about the methods by which between success and failure, it the temperatures had been is a theoretical advantage but established and, indeed, the gain is clearly marginal. where they had been taken. There are also arguments The rules state that the fuel that cooler fuel can give a car “on board the car” must be at

OPINION

V8 spectators would turn out if it was a ‘dry’ event and no hot babes on balconies to break the boredom of follow the leader. Robert Souter Brisbane, QLD Indy confusion I’d like to thank Channel Seven for confusing fans at Surfers Paradise who were trying to watch the race on the track and the commentary on TV, and make sense of what was going on. While the V8 races started live, on TV, they finished 4 laps behind. Same for the the Champ Car race. John Louie john40V8cart@bigpond.com.au

the temperature required but the measurements were taken from the refuelling rigs rather than the car itself. In addition, it seems that there were serious discrepancies between the Formula One Management’s readings used by Bauer, as dictated by various agreements that do not appear in the rules themselves, and the temperatures that were recorded by Meteo France, an organisation with which the FIA and various teams have an arrangement. One can, perhaps, speculate that the stewards found themselves in a nearimpossible situation as a result of these discrepancies. It is fairly clear that if the three cars had been thrown out, Ferrari would have appealed the decision in order to protect Kimi Raikkonen’s title and there would, presumably, have been protests from Williams and BMW as well.

Not punishing the teams involved might run the risk of an appeal from McLaren, but once again the success of this appeal would be based on the arguments about where and how the measurements were made. In the light of this, there is an argument that while the stewards might have ruled to exclude the cars involved, that would have created a situation in which the man who been seen on global television to win the race and the title would have had to be stripped off the championship – and yet might get back it back again under appeal. Fans are already fed up with the shenanigans in F1 this year and getting things into a big legal mess would not help that situation and would probably not be in the best interest of the sport. Having said that, one can also argue that rules are rules and must be respected.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK CCWS is OKAY In response to Phil Branagan’s editorial last week, I must agree that the Champ Car World Series is now not what is was back in the early 1990s. That said, based on what we witnessed last weekend I find the assertion that anything on the Gold Coast bill as being “a support

to the V8s” as odd. From the show that was put on last weekend (qualifying and racing spectacle), Champ Car provided superior entertainment and spectacle. The Indy carnival is special and like no other on the Australian motorsport calendar, and without Champ Car it becomes just

another V8 Supercar event. I look forward to the Indy carnival for the uniqueness and colour it brings, but with the V8s as the only show I would not be attending. In regards to A1GP or GP2 Asia, I am not sure what they will bring that Champ Car does not? Daniel Blattman daniel.blattman@hotmail.com

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

ERRARI fans have had much to celebrate in recent years and, with two 2007 World Championships to add to the list of achievements, the Ferrari World Finals at the weekend was a huge celebration.

Coming shortly after the Scuderia’s 60th anniversary, the faithful came from around the world to this year’s event at Mugello, and the partying was led by World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, team-mate Felipe Massa, F1 test drivers Luca Badoer and Marc Gené, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo, CEO Jean Todt and the entire Formula 1 Team. And then there were the cars. Former World champion Michael Schumacher had his first drive of a current F2007, as well as announcing plans for the ‘FXX Programme’, which involves the adoption of a new evolutionary package developed in conjunction with the seven-time World champion. Among the usual mouthwatering array of vehicles demonstrated to the punters, there were the final races of the season for the Ferrari championships. In the world finals of the Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Trophy for F430 Challenge cars, Vito Postiglione ruled the roost, while there was also an on-track demonstration of the F430 GT cars that took Ferrari to victory in the 2007 FIA GT2 and ALMS GT2 Constructors’ Cup. Any number of former Ferrari drivers, all heroes in Italy regardless of what they might or might not have won in the past, were present. Niki Lauda kept a watching eye on Massa when the Brazilian hopped aboard a 1975-spec 312 F1 car, only to be caught out by the flat-12 engine and loop the priceless car on the track! Seems that these young bucks have been spoiled by traction control …

Ferrari’s Faithful the Town

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All photos courtesy Ferrari

Forza Rosso: It was Ferraris for everyone at Mugello, with the F1 team, top, and Kimi Raikkonen, inset, taking centre stage. There were Prancing Horses of every vintage, from the 1975 flattwelve 312T, left, to the current F1 cars, top right, to front engined monsters, centre right. There was even a ‘proper’ race for the 430s, with Niki Cadei, #22, taking second overall in the Rossocorsa entry.

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 14 – JAPAN

Big in Japan When the big names falter, Mikko Hirvonen is always there to take the WRC spoils. And that’s exactly what happened at the 2007 Rally Japan

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ALLY Japan was meant to be about the World Rally Championship’s two title protagonists going at it, not their team-mates. But at the conclusion of the final leg in the Land of the Rising Sun, it was Mikko Hirvonen leading Dani Sordo, while Marcus Gronholm and Sebastien Loeb both watched from the sidelines. Gronholm was the first of the title protagonists to drop out of the running, a crash while leading on SS4 damaging his Focus sufficiently to force him into retirement. But the Finn could soon stop worrying about his mistake’s impact on the title (which he had led by just four points heading into the event) when Loeb found himself stranded in a ditch on SS13, ending any chance of the Frenchman taking over the lead of the Championship.

The retirement of the front-runners allowed Hirvonen to literally cruise to the Rally Japan win. The BP Ford driver led the rally at the end of each leg, and had a handy 37s up his sleeve over Sordo at the finish. “When my team-mate retired on Friday, the pressure was on me to score points to help the team’s championship fight and to help Marcus in the drivers’ series,” said Hirvonen. “The only way I could do that was to fight with Loeb and try to beat him, which is what happened.” Rally Japan was a fantastic outing for privateer Ford teams, with three satellite Focuses in the top five. Henning Solberg led the charge in his Stobart Ford, coming home third, albeit more than four and a half minutes shy of the winner. His teammate Mathew Wilson was fourth, meaning both Stobart drivers had recorded their

best WRC finishes. Luis Perez Companc rounded out the top five in his Munchi’s Ford entry. Aussie Chris Atkinson had a tough weekend in the office, failing to make it through the first leg. Things had initially gone well for Atkinson (he was third fastest on the first stage), but he dropped a lot of time when he spun on the first pass through the Cup Kamuy. But the second pass through the stage would prove even worse, Atkinson crashing out of the rally. “I’m not entirely sure what happened. What I do know is that I was pushing hard through a sequence of bends when the car drifted wide and slid into a ditch,” said Atkinson. “We were still going pretty quickly when we ran out of road, broadsided and took out a tree with the back door. The impact was heavy and there was no chance of being able to restart in the second leg.”

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What might have been: Atkinson had early pace in Japan, but threw it away in the first leg. But with the retirement of the big names ...

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Downhill from here: Marcus Gronholm might have made the start of Rally Japan, left, but he didn’t make the finish after crashing out on the fourth stage. The Stobart Ford pair of Henning Solberg, top, and Mathew Wilson, above, had great weekends.

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WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP | DRIVER'S points Gronholm 104, Loeb 100, Hirvonen 84, Sordo 53, P Solberg 38, Henning Solberg 34, Atkinson 29, Jari-Matti Latvala 24.

Parente Control Aussies IAME to please KARTING GURU Photographics

THE Australian team of Kevin Millard, Rick Pringle, pictured inset, and Michael Goss carded fifth and sixth placings in the two 3hour races that comprised the IAME International Challenge at de Zuera, Spain, on the weekend. The trio actually finished second in Final One, just 18s behind the winning Canadian team. However, they copped a post race penalty (along with 16 other teams!) that shuffled them to 6th. A strategy of early pit stops saw them drop several laps during Final Two, but offered a clearer run to the end where the Australians were posting some of the fastest laps of the race. After three hours of racing, they were fifth, on the lead lap and only half a minute off the leader. A collision in Final One, plus other problems and unscheduled stops in Final Two saw the David Sera/Kel Treseder/Ben Walter entry out of contention. Thirty-one teams from around the world contested the event aboard identical Alonso karts fitted with IAME 125cc X30 engines. – MARK WICKS

WORLD SERIES ALVARO Parente is officially the 2007 World Series by Renault Champion after the final round at Barcelona last weekend. Third place in the opening race was all Parente needed to claim the title, although it didn’t come easily. Having battled for the lead early in the race with eventual race winner Miguel Molina, a gearbox gremlin appeared in the closing laps to make for some nervous times. But the Tech 1 driver held on to seal the deal. “We knew that we would be competitive here once again and we proved just that by qualifying on the front row,”

said Parente. “After making my stop I found myself in a bit of traffic which prevented me from being able to fight it out for the win. “Obviously I’m really happy to have secured the title. I really can’t wait to test the Renault F1 and I hope that it will provide me with an opportunity to develop my career still further.” Parente was only sixth in Race 2, which was won by Ben Hanley. The Englishman had to make a recovery after being bundled off the track on the run to the first corner, and took the lead from Bertrand Baguette on Lap 11. Final Points: Parente 129, Hanley 102, Milos Pavlovic 96, Filipe Albuquerque 81, Sebastien Vettel 74.

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I’m a-comin’

NASCAR Media

With just three races to go, there’s nothing between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in The Chase NASCAR JUST nine points separate Hendricks team-mates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson after the latter took victory at Atlanta last weekend. Johnson didn’t have the fastest car in the Pep Boys Auto 500, but some good timing and good luck saw him find the front of the field. The big key was the decision by Johnson’s crew to only change two tyres at the final stop, which jumped him from fifth to second on-track. Second became the lead when Hamlin ran out of fuel,

which also eliminated Martin Truex Jr, who slammed the wall in avoidance after having one of the fastest cars on the track. As a result, Johnson took the win and moved within striking distance of a second consecutive NASCAR crown. “[Sunday] wasn’t the best day for our car,” said Johnson. “Circumstances at the end really worked out for us. When I left pit road and there were five or six cars behind us and two tyres, I knew we were probably in great shape.” Gordon, meanwhile, finished down in seventh place, although it could have been

worse. “I feel like we’ve got the team and the equipment to do it, but those guys are tough and they’re showing it every weekend,” said Gordon. “All I’m focusing right now is trying not to have the bad day and, for a while, it looked like [Sunday] was going to be the bad day. “We struggled there for a while and, to come back and finish seventh, it was a great day, even though Jimmie won.’’ THE CHASE: Gordon 6201, Johnson 6192, Clint Bowyer 6090, Carl Edwards 5940, Tony Stewart 5879, Kyle Busch 5873, Kevin Harvick 5809, Jeff Burton

Reutimann wins, Ambrose fast BUSCH SERIES

NASCAR Media

THE Home of the Blues was no such place for Marcos Ambrose last weekend, with Memphis giving him his first Busch Series pole position and best finish of fourth place. Having run second in the early laps, Ambrose even led 20 laps before his strategy forced him to make an extra stop with 84 laps to go. But after dropping to 24th, Ambrose cut through the field to finish fourth. “We got that top 10 that we were after and the

pole was a bonus,” said Ambrose. “We had a really strong car all day. We didn’t have the strategy that these guys did. But for our car, things worked out for the best.” Out front was David Reutimann, who, thanks to a poor finish after a mid-race crash by Carl Edwards, still has a slim chance of winning the title. He survived the carnage to take his first Busch Series win from Mike Bliss. Points: Edwards 4364, Reutimann 3833, Jason Leffler 3606, Kevin Harvick 3523, David Ragan 3464, (Ambrose 3152).

James Smith

FV8 regulars dominate 500 AMRS FUJITSU Series drivers Scott Loadsman and Barry Tanton recorded a 1-2 finish in the eighth and penultimate round of the Australian Touring Car Challenge series at Wakefield Park last weekend. Driving a de-registered VX Holden Commodore V8 Supercar, Loadsman claimed his third Australian Touring Car Challenge round victory in succession by winning the opening race and finishing with a third and a victory in the two

handicap races. The only other winner in the three races was the BA Falcon Future Tourer driven by Tanton, who claimed victory in the second race ahead of John Vergotis and Loadsman. Behind Loadsman and Tanton for the round was current Australian Touring Car Challenge series leader Darren Saillard in his Ford Falcon EL V8 Supercar. After qualifying on pole position, Saillard finished the three races in second, fourth and fifth to earn third. The successful weekend for Loadsman

didn’t stop with a round victory, as he and co-driver Ryan McLeod scored a strong victory in the AMRS 500, completing a total of 150 laps to defeat Tanton, Bob Thorn and Rod Dawson in the Falcon, while in third place was Helen Stig and Jeremy Fox aboard their PRB Clubman. Others winners from the AMRS round were claimed by Sam Dale (OZ Boss), Tom Drewer (Thundersports), Lynton Wettone (PRB Clubman) and Luke Searle (Production Touring Cars). – DANIEL POWELL

‘Murky’ is back SPEEDWAY

Geoff Gracie

DAVID Murcott’s 2007-08 racing season has started in stellar style with victory in the opening round of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Super Sprint Series at Geelong’s Avalon Raceway last Saturday night. Murcott set the quickest time of the 32 cars and was in the top six time trial, electing to start the 25-lap final from the outside of the first row. Local racer Domain Ramsay,

who was the second quickest in the time trial (12.273), started on pole but could not keep up with the pace early. Six laps in and Murcott hit lapped traffic, which gave an opportunity for Troy Little to make an impression. In the end, it was Murcott holding off a strong Little in lapped traffic, while Mike Van Bremen raced from eighth position to third. Murcott said he was somewhat lucky to take the victory after having a half-spin

just as there was a stoppage. “Better lucky than good sometimes, but we’ll take the victory and it’s a great start to our season,” Murcott said. Little, meanwhile, vowed to get the upper hand next time out.

“[Murcott] was good on his own but when he got into lapped traffic, he struggled,” said Little. “I was just as good as him and I’ll come back another day and race again.” – GEOFF ROUNDS

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Same old Storey in FFord NSW STATE RACING

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SECOND generation talent Rob Storey celebrated his 2007 NSW State Formula Ford 1600 Championship in winning fashion by taking out the final round at Oran Park Raceway last weekend. After playing second fiddle in both Races 1 and 2 behind reigning Champion and closet rival Ben Morley, Storey managed to withstand a threeway battle for the lead of the third and final race with Morley and Team Sydney driver Glenn Welch to take the win. Other drivers to wrap up NSW State Championships were Daniel D’Aquino in HQ Holdens and rookie sensation Scott Butler in Sports Sedans, both of whom won all of the weekend’s races. Edward Gavin (AF2/Supersport /Clubman

Challenge) and Rami Vittanen (Superkarts) emerged winners in their respective categories, with Gavin taking out the very first ‘Whishaw Butchers Picnic’ race in memory of the late Phil Whishaw. Over the weekend, there were two one-hour endurance events held for both the

Ken ... again! SPEEDWAY

Anthony Kosseris (Porsche), and David Raddatz and Daniel Deckers (Mazda MX5) outright. In the Combined Touring event Virag and Hodges claimed the winning honours Matthew Holt and Brett Howard. Finishing on the podium in third was Gavin Neale. – DANIEL POWELL

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KEN Sartori showed everyone that the previous week’s Parramatta victory was no fluke by taking out last Saturday night’s Sprintcar Invitational, holding out two of Australia’s best in Robbie Farr and Max Dumesny. It was a flag-to-flag win for Sartori, the West Aussie looking very confident in winning his second Parramatta A-Main in a week. Rounding out the top six finishers were Ian Loudoun, Trevor Green and Adrian Maher. Being a non-Parramatta track championship round, the Monster Truck show highlighted 24 invited sprintcars in the invitational meeting. The only incident was mid-

way in the A-Main after Kelly Linigen had stopped on the front straight, and with the sprintcars behind trying to avoid her, the luckless Glen Saville clipped her rear wheel and flipped over. Apparently Linigen thought she saw a red light and slowed, but laser lights had been spotted in the crowd during the night. Impressive drives in the main came from James Thomson, who was running just behind the leading pack, and a sensational drive from midfield by Green, who almost took fourth from Loundon on the final lap. Heat wins went to David Doherty (debuting his exSammy Swindell Maxim) and Ian Loudoun, while Sartori and Farr shared the Dash victories. – GREG BOSCATO

Production Sports Cars and Combined Touring, and the wins were shared between Ric Shaw and the pair of Tony Virag and Steve Hodges. For Shaw, driving a Mazda RX7, he was in fine touch throughout the Production Sports Cars one-hour enduro to defeat Matthew Hunt and

Don't sit so close to the screen. Dont take it so seriously, otherwise we can take it outside. GranT Rowley on Tuesday afternoons

opinion Andrew van Leeuwen mNews National Editor

rear of grid

DVD killed the VCR Star

HAVE just discovered that you cannot buy such a thing as a VCR any more. What you can buy is a combination VCR-DVD player, even a VCR-DVD Recorder. But as for a plain old VCR, something so simple that even Mrs Punter can program it, forget it. I am upset about this because the current unit in my lounge room is starting to show signs of age and not record. No worries, I expected that 10 minutes at the local discount electrical place and $75 would fix that. But no. The reason this is important, and important now, has nothing to do with Spring Racing, NFL highlights or the Boston Red Socks. With the V8 Supercars racing in the middle of the night, Punter time, in Bahrain, there is no way that I am going to be awake to watch the races live.

So, it will be like the good old days of CART, when I taped races overnight, went to work and avoided the results until I got home, so I could watch it ‘live’. (How things change; the CART races were worth watching in those days, too.) The other thing that I am wondering is, how are James Courtney and Mark Beretta going to practice their moves? They must, surely, be going to take their dance partners with them, but will they be allowed to have a dance on the long flight to the Middle East? I mean, I have been on flights and made jokes about some of the stewards, but grown men, dancing, on a Jumbo Jet? Hopefully, the racing will be good enough to deal with all this. If the kids remember to tape the races on their VCR for the Old Man to watch, I am sure that it will all be worth it.

punter@mnews.com.au

THERE IS NO WAY THAT I AM GOING TO BE AWAKE TO WATCH THE BAHRAIN RACES LIVE

Odd Spot SMILE FOR THE CAMERAMAN

sutton-images.com

YEP. That fresh-faced lad in the Formula Renault is 2007 World Champion, Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn was unknown when he arrived in the UK in 1998, and David Robertson was considering managing him. So he asked his old mate, noted photographer and Sutton Images CEO Keith Sutton, to come and have a look. “We watched him at every corner on the circuit and we needed no further demonstration that he had what it took to become something very special,” said Keith last week. “David would become Kimi’s manager and I’m proud that our company was one of the first to offer him support through his meteoric rise through to Formula 1.” Of course, Raikkonen was not the first driver to wear Sutton’s colours on the way to a World Championship career. The first was almost 25 years ago, and it was Ayrton Senna. One hopes that Keith was on a percentage on the earnings of at least two of ‘his’ drivers ...