Motorsport eNews Issue 33 - December 4-10, 2007

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Issue No. 033 4 – 10 December 2007

HolDEN’s man New v8 supercar champion set for red in 2008

As the v8 silly season kicks off big-time ...

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

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The ‘A’ Team

Issue No. 033 | 4-10 December 2007

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

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

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Garth Tander Arts and Farces An Open and Shut case A gee-up for Seven

race 22 Island Fling

Garth does enough, just 28 Stagger to Victory Tony does enough, just 33 Utes Decided Grant does enough, just 34 Rain, Fog, Sebastien Loeb does enough, just

trade 40 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome This man appeared to be quite keen on getting away and celebrating ...

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

How Jason Richards

Nearly decided the title!

John Morris/Mpix

V8 SUPERCARS JASON Richards played an innocent but potentially important role in deciding the 2007 V8 Supercar Champion.

The Tasman Motorsport driver was in the pitlane at a crucial moment of the final and title-deciding race of the season and that was what prompted the team to play a conservative card and keep Garth Tander on the track.

Sensing the need to keep Tander in touch with Jamie Whincup in the final and deciding race of the season, Tander’s

HSV Dealer Team engineer Matt Nilsson made a split-second decision to keep his driver on the track for an extra lap, which proved to be decisive.

“Basically, we saw vision of him [Richards] going slow, but only just into the 40 kay line,” said Nilsson after the race.

“GT was right at MG and we had to make a quick decision. Our big fear was to avoid any disruptions in pitlane.”

Twice this season, the team has suffered drive-through penalties for pit exit infringements, and with that in mind, the team had already avoided any potential

delays by keeping Tander’s decisive stop away from those of the nearby pit boxes of Whincup and Steven Richards.

On his ‘extra’ lap, Tander was slower than the three cars that had already made their stops and, as he accelerated back up to speed, Todd Kelly, Whincup and Craig Lowndes all blasted past at 260kmh.

Tander immediately regained the position from Lowndes, who retook the spot with a few laps to go. Tander was ordered to hold position, finished fourth and beat Whincup to the title by two points.

Junior wants a V8 Supercar V8 SUPERCARS

Joel Strickland

DALE Earnhardt Jr is the latest international driver to throw his hat into the ring for a V8 Supercar drive.

The American was at Phillip Island over the weekend and said he could see himself racing in a V8 in the future.

“In a perfect world, I would come and race in a V8 full-time

for a year and I feel like I would enjoy it,” he said.

“I like the format of the race weekend as far as the rounds go. I would definitely enjoy coming here and racing.

“I could probably talk to the right people and make something happen – I think it’s an option for any drivers in the States.”

But Earnhardt said that any

move to Australia was some way off yet.

“I am going to run my butt off in these Cup cars until I get tired of it or no-one wants to hire me and then I’ll come to Australia and race in V8 Supercars.”

He may have a drive of a Paul Morris Motorsport car this week before continuing his two-week Australian holiday.

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Tander at HRT, but who for Toll?

Newly-crowned Champ is on the move, leaving a seat open at Clayton. So who’s a chance?

V8 SUPERCARS

Marshall Cass

WITH Garth Tander now considered a certainty to partner Mark Skaife at HRT next year, focus in the Holden Silly Season switches to just who will fill the vacancy at what is currently Toll/HSV Racing.

As we suggested a couple of weeks back, it is unlikely to be Todd Kelly. Todd is his own man and, having been moved aside for Tander, won’t want to remain within the Clayton squad. Todd remains the favourite for a spot with Jack Daniels Racing, although a late ‘smoky’ comes with the suggestion that the second spot at Stone Brothers Racing has not yet been locked in.

Todd Kelly to SBR? That’s what they’re talking about …

Months back, it looked

as though Paul Dumbrell had the SBR drive tied up but, literally within the past couple of weeks – having told Holden that he was moving – there appears to have been a counter-deal from Holden, with the empty seat at Toll/ HSV among those in play.

Amid all the rumours up and down pit lane, there is also a fair bit of misinformation right now

Technical re-shuffle at Clayton

And what of Toll/HSV’s Rick Kelly? Despite denials, people who should know are still telling us the now formerchamp is looking for a new challenge, in the US. The week ahead is thus expected to be a busy one in the dealer-rooms of V8 Supercar racing. The championship is over, but the merry-go-round is just starting.

Ingall turns Red again

Phil Williams

overseeing role over both teams, Toll and HRT. We believe that Crawford’s current position would be filled by senior engineer Erik Pender who was in position to move into the role at the start of the 2006 season, when Crawford has intended to join TEGA before he decided to stay in his current role.

RUSSELL Ingall has driven his last V8 Supercar race in a Ford.

Last week Ford took the unusual step of confirming that his contract would be terminated a year early.

Ingall will fulfil his final commitments with Stone Brothers at a ride day at Queensland Raceway and end is Ford links on December 13.

“I have to thank everyone at Ford Australia for their support over the past five years,” said Ingall.

“In particular I would like to thank (President) Tom Gorman for his on-going friendship and understanding.

“Opportunities have presented themselves on the ‘other side’ and (Ford

Peter Bury

V8 SUPERCARS

V8 SUPERCARS MAJOR changes are being implemented in Walkinshaw Performance’s V8 Supercar teams, Toll-HSV Dealer Team and the Holden Racing Team.

After taking the Drivers’, Teams and Manufacturers’ title at Phillip Island last weekend, Motorsport eNews sources have suggested that there will be a major shift in policy.

This involves Toll HSV team manager Rob Crawford, who has overseen the last two title wins with the team, moving to a position within WP that would see him take on an

as negotiations in a number of corners reach their peak.

If Dumbrell is indeed out of the picture at SBR (and the pendulum swung that way over the weekend, we hear), rumoured replacements include Kiwi Shane Van Gisbergen (with Team Kiwi still dealing with speculation about its future) or possibly Will Davison … or Kelly.

Motorsport Manager) Ray Price has been good enough to allow me to explore those options – there will be more on that in the coming weeks.”

The ‘that’ to which Ingall refers is a partnership with Paul Morris Motorsport. As first reported in Motorsport News in May, Ingall will drive a new PMM Commodore in the colours of Supercheap Autos and Castrol for the Queensland team, alongside Morris in one of the team’s current cars.

BRIEFLY... n Australian MotoGP race winner Chris Vermeulen will sample a V8 Supercar tomorrow (Tuesday) at Winton Motor Raceway.

Vermeulen will test Britek Motorsport’s Fujitsu Ford Falcon BF, under instruction from the team’s owner and lead driver Jason Bright.

The Queenslander has been home after testing his new 2008-spec Suzuki early last week at Phillip Island during pre-season testing. n John Crennan has stepped aside from his Chairman’s role with Holden Special Vehicles.

The move, which has been expected for some time, comes just over two years after he handed the GM’s role to Phil Harding and ends Crennan’s two-decade association with both HRT and Toll-HSV Dealer Team.

Bathurst Motor Festival have announced an official charity.

Arthritis Australia will continue as the Festival’s official charity for the 2008 event. n Harry Firth made a rare visit to Phillip Island’s V8 Supercar finale.

The Old Fox was due to be inducted into the category’s Hall of Fame at the Gala Dinner tonight (Monday) and spent much time inside Larry Perkins’s garage on Sunday.

V8 SUPERCAR’S next global destination may be Singapore – and it could be in support of the island nation’s Formula 1 Grand Prix.

V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane hinted last weekend that the allnew street circuit, which will host F1’s first nighttime GP on September 28, is a target for the series’ growing list of international venues. The prospect would be to have the V8s race during the daylight hours, prior to the lights coming on for the GP. “Would I consider having a V8 Supercar round in Singapore? Yes,” he said.

“Would I like to have us be on the program with Formula 1? That would be correct.”

However, Cochrane fell short of confirming whether he or anyone else from V8SA had discussed the prospect of taking the V8s into the Asian economic powerhouse.

“There is no answer to that [question],” he said cryptically.

Cochrane said that another international race would be unlikely to come up prior to a new Australia venue.

Singapore’s F1 round is likely to attract huge international attention and, because the 704km2 island has no local motorsport categories to include on the support program, any secondary racing will have to be imported.

But should V8s be a wanted category in Singapore, it appears to be a tough fit in the current makeup of the Championship’s calendar. The late-September date falls between the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000 and teams are unlikely to accept an international race a fortnight prior to the biggest race of the year.

However, having separated the 500 from Sandown, it may be possible to hold the Bathurst lead-up earlier in the year and, perhaps, lead into a Singapore race, which could be scheduled to allow teams a suitable lead time before Bathurst.

Street talk still all the rage V8 SUPERCARS A SYDNEY street race remains high on the list of V8 Supercars Australia’s wish-list – but it may not be only looking for an event at Olympic Park.

The hesitation of the 2000 Games venue’s governing body to consider a V8 event has prompted the organization to cast a further net in the Harbour City and a second, undisclosed venue is in V8SA’s sights.

V8SA Chairman Tony Cochrane said that there had

John Morris/Mpix

n Organisers of the WPS

V8 SUPERCARS

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n The Australian Formula Ford Championship will make its first trip to Hidden Valley next year, as exclusively reported by eNews.

The Darwin round replaces Barbagallo Raceway as the long-haul race, while the Gold Coast is another new addition (and another exclusive for eNews), although it won’t be confirmed until a later date due to event launches.

Wakefield Park also rejoins the AFFC calendar for the first time since 2004.

A Singapore Swing?

been discussions about a Sydney venue but would not elaborate further. Motorsport eNews believes that senior government officials does not see the sight as being well-served by a race but that discussions have by no means been terminated.

On a more positive note, Cochrane has said that there is

a “change in attitude” towards a street race in Perth. The West’s booming economy and the success of the Seven Network’s V8 coverage may prompt network owner Kerry Stokes – who also has significant interests in the mining sector – to add his weight to finding a successor to Barbagallo Raceway.

news

More tyres, practice for ‘08 V8 SUPERCARS V8 TEAMS look likely to be allocated an additional set of tyres per race meeting in 2008 – for use on Friday.

The move, to ensure an even ‘playing field’ during the Friday session, will give the media, and fans, a clearer idea of who the pace-setters really are. Currently, teams must use old tyres, from previous races, which leads to a significant disparity, depending on the state of their tyre ‘bank’.

TM for IPO? V8 SUPERCARS AMONG items up for review as the 2007 V8 Supercar season comes to its close are likely to be the occasionally controversial ‘judicial’ positions of Independent

We also hear that the Phillip Island 500 is likely to feature an additional set of race tyres per car.

A re-jig of Friday practice session timings to incorporate a session solely for V8 rookies is also on the cards for 2008.

The TEGA Board has been discussing the prospect since earlier this year, with a ‘rookie’ session concept likely to be implemented. There may also be restrictions on which teams are able to partake in any additional sessions, with

Prosecuting Officer (IPO) and Driving Standards Observer (DSO).

Current IPO is Peter Wollerman, while former driver Colin Bond holds down the DSO position.

While nothing is as yet locked in, eNews hears that there is potential for both positions to be combined into

championship position the likely criteria.

But, according to TEGA Board member and FPR head honcho Tim Edwards, nothing has been signed off just yet regarding extra practice.

“It’s no secret that some people want extra practice, but at this point it is still just discussion,” Edwards told eNews.

“There are things such as format and what might constitute a rookie that are still not sorted out.”

– LAMBDEN/VAN LEEUWEN

one all-enveloping role.

We understand that Tomas Mezera – who has been sounded out previously

by V8SA – has again been approached, and would be the primary candidate, although we also hear that newly-retired V8 driver John Bowe has also expressed an interest.

n The Grand Prix Masters company has been wound up by the High Court in London.

A petition was presented by chassis supplier Delta Motorsport and sponsor Altech.

The championship held a total of three races in 2005 and 2006 with a number of Formula 1 veterans competing against one another in single seater machinery. n Derek Daly, a regular Formula 1 driver in the early 1980s who has worked in recent years as a TV pundit and racing school owner, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, has launched a new business called Derek Daly Design.

The compnay will design race tracks for customers across the United States, in partnership with Paxton Waters Architecture.

Daly is already involved in two projects: the Riverside Motorsports Park (which will be based on the layout of the original Riverside International Raceway which closed in 1988) and Bluegrass Motorsports Club, which is to be built on 500-acres of land in northern Kentucky, one of a number of motorsport ‘country clubs’ that are being built in the US at the moment.

– JOE SAWARD

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BRIEFLY...

Honda latest Alonso link FORMULA ONE

THE latest chapter in the ‘Where’s Fernando Going’ saga is linking the Spaniard with Honda.

There have been a number of rumours in recent days linking Alonso with Honda, including reported ‘sightings’ with newly-signed Honda team principal Ross Brawn.

Honda says that there have been no meetings and that all such talk is “pure

speculation.”

This is not a denial – although Honda has specifically denied any meetings or seat-fittings.

This means that the Spaniard has almost certainly been talking to Honda to see what the team has on offer – if anything.

One of the problems for the Spaniard is that he now has a reputation for being a difficult and very political driver and this is turning

teams off the idea.

The only team likely to take him is one that would allow him to be the undisputed number one driver – and that narrows down the field considerably.

Honda has Jenson Button in place and, while Rubens Barrichello could be pushed aside, Button is not going to move over and allow Alonso to walk in and take over as team leader.

– SAWARD/STAFF

French want their Grand Prix FORMULA ONE

THE French government is not about to let the French Grand Prix – the world’s oldest motor race – disappear.

The new French Secretary of Sport Bernard Laporte, a celebrated rugby manager, says that the event belongs to the French people and is like the Tour de France and the French Open tennis championship.

Laporte said that the 2008 race is already secured and that the focus is now on finding a long-term solution because Magny-Cours has

problems with its access roads and with the local infrastructure, as there are not enough hotels to house the number of people who attend such an event.

The two choices are to try to improve the local infrastructure or to move the race elsewhere.

Options to date appear to include construction of a new circuit near Paris, or a project to set up a Paris Street race.

There are a number of possible venues for the latter, but much would depend on getting the clearances necessary from the authorities.

– JOE SAWARD

news

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HWA to F1?

With Prodrive out of the picture as 12th F1 team next year, is the factory DTM team sniffing around for McLaren customer car deal?

FORMULA ONE

THE Formula 1 entry list will be published in a few hours and it will be interesting to see what becomes of the 12th entry that had initially been reserved for David Richards’s Prodrive entry.

The company won the entry back in 2006 when it was given the impression that it would be allowed to run with customer cars in 2008, but this ended up not being the case because of the uncertainty over the regulations. This meant that Prodrive had to abandon its F1 ‘customer car’ project with McLaren – possible grounds for action against the FIA, something Richards is unlikely to want

to purse, in reality.

However, Prodrive’s likely failure to appear in 2008 brings into question whether the team has the right to claim the 12th spot in 2009.

This might be a logical form of compromise with the FIA. Richards is already saying that despite the setback F1 is “the right place for Prodrive to be” and argues that the team would be there but for the change regarding customer cars.

Ironically, it seems that customer cars will be allowed next year but only on the understanding that it will be for just two years – and then all customer teams must become constructors.

The real problem is whether or not

Prodrive will have the money available in 2009. There are reports that the team’s biggest backer (identity still unknown) has decided to partner with Williams. At the same time there are hints that there is a second serious contender to run a McLaren B team and use that as a launch pad for an F1 program.

The team in question is HWA, which runs the Mercedes-Benz DTM programme and supplies the company with its Formula 3 engines.

There are some who see this suggestion as a hint that Mercedes-Benz could be considering moving away from its long relationship with McLaren.

– JOE SAWARD

BRIEFLY... n Jock Clear, a senior race engineer with Honda Racing F1 has been awarded an honorary doctorate

by Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh from which he graduated with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering in 1987.

Clear is best-known for his long-standing relationship with Jacques Villeneuve, firstly at Williams, then BAR (which became Honda). He has stayed with the team ever since and now acts as Rubens Barrichello’s race engineer.

– JOE SAWARD

Hans Stuck takes a new role at Volkswagen INTERNATIONAL THE move of former GP star Hans Stuck from BMW (where he is an ambassador) to a role in motorsport management at VW has reignited speculation that the company will step up its presence in motorsport – perhaps even looking at F1.

Stuck has been linked to German car firms BMW, Porsche and Audi in the course of his career. The BMW link has been the longest, dating back to the early 1970s when he won his first major victory for the Munich firm in the 1972 Spa 24 Hours.

With BMW’s help in Formula 2 he was able to get to Formula 1 in the mid1970s and raced in 74 Grands Prix before moving to the Rothmans Porsche Sportscar team, which led to him winning the World Sports Car Championship in 1985 and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1986 and 1987. He had a spell

POSITION VACANT Junior Engineer StoneBrothersRacinghasapositionavailableforaJuniorEngineer based in SBR’s V8 Supercar Facility at Yatala, Queensland It is envisaged that the successful applicant would: • Have excellent knowledge of Data Acquisition and Vehicle Dynamics • Possess strong computer and CAD drawing skills.

• Have excellent record-keeping and documentation skills.

•Haveworkedinprofessionalmotorsportinasimilarcapacity for a minimum of two years.

• Have qualifications and/or experience relevant to this role.

• Work well in a team environment • Be well-organised and highly-motivated.

Allapplicationswillbetreatedasstrictlyconfidentialandcanbesentto employment@stonebrothersracing.com.au 10

with Audi in TransAm and in the DTM, but in recent years has been am ambassador for BMW. It remains to be seen if Stuck’s move is the prelude to an F1 program but Audi – one of the VW companies – has achieved all it can achieve in Sportscar racing, with a string of wins at Le Mans and in the American Le Mans Series, and is looking for a new way to challenge BMW and MercedesBenz, both of which are very active in F1 at the moment.

– JOE SAWARD

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n The Tour de France’s visit to London in July is reckoned to have raised over US$240m for the London economy, according to an announcement from the mayor Ken Livingstone.

Livingstone is understood to have paid just US$3m for the right to hold the event in the city. The city says it is working to negotiate a deal the Tour to return before 2012. Given the returns on the investment, Livingstone’s decision not to go for a Formula 1 race may seem justified.

CHANGING CAMPS

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Kalkhoven Cleared Champ Car boss vindicated in failed lawsuit

FORMULA ONE THE Force India F1 team will run seven different drivers in the next few days at Jerez.

Favourites for the drive Tonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien will be joined by veterans Giancarlo Fisichella, Franck Montagny and Ralf Schumacher and well-funded youngsters Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde.

One of the seven is expected to join Adrian Sutil in the team

in the upcoming 2008 season.

The team is now going to have to decide whether it can get better performance from Schumacher and Fisichella or make a riskier decision with a younger driver.

The decision is due to be taken after the Jerez testing and while the veterans are lobbying hard the team may decide that the right thing to do in its situation is to blood some new talent.

– JOE SAWARD

CHAMP Car World Series coowner Kevin Kalkhoven has been cleared of any wrong doing in the class action civil lawsuit in the USA.

The Australian-born businessman and three other co-defendants were sued by investors over allegedly withholding information concerning JDS Uniphase, the publicly-listed company that Kalkhoven ran as Chief Executive Officer until his departure in May 2000.

“The trial proved that JDS Uniphase did great while Mr. Kalkhoven was in charge and for a long time after,” said Kalkhoven’s attorney Michael Shepard.

“Today’s verdict complely

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Seven Little Indians

CHAMP CAR

vindicates Mr. Kalkhoven and proves that he always acted honestly and in good faith.”

Kalkhoven, who also coowns Cosworth Engineering, PKV Racing, Cosworth Engineering, the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Toronto Grand Prix, joined Uniphase in 1994 as President and CEO. During his time with the company, its annual sales increased by a factor of 67 times, and a merger with JDS Fitel saw it listed on both the New York-based NASDAQ and Toronto stock exchanges.

11

BRIEFLY...

n Russell Ingall’s future may

be clearer now but nothing is clear for Brad Jones Racing.

In spite of Ford bending its usual policy to confirm Ingall’s departure later this month, no-one at BJR was free to comment on their mysterious 2008 plans …

n And a correction from last eNews. Brad Jones Racing has restructured its management personel, and they do have a new General Manager, but his name isn’t Chris Close.

His name is Chris Clark. The journalist responsible is said to be in a stable condition. n Makoto Tamada will race in World Superbikes next season. The two-time MotoGP winner will join Kawasaki alongside join Regis Laconi in the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team. This will not be the first SBK experience for the Japanese veteran, who won three times as a wildcard entry at Sugo.

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PCR consolidates V8 SUPERCARS

PAUL Cruickshank Racing is scaling back its support category involvement in 2008.

The Queensland-based team is set to withdraw its planned involvement in the Carrera Cup Championship and the Fujitsu V8 Series, instead concentrating all of its energies on the main V8 Supercar Championship Series.

“We haven’t gone good enough in the main series this year and we need to focus on that,” he admitted “Our growth has happened really fast. This is my fifth year

of owning my own team and it’s time to take responsibility and move forward.

“I’m standing up and taking responsibility for our poor performances this year, so we just need to focus and make sure I give my people what we need to drive the V8 up the grid.”

The PCR team will get an equipment upgrade for next season, acquiring Craig Lowndes’s current Triple 8 Falcon. The driver hasn’t been confirmed, although Fabian Coulthard has been linked to replace the retiring John Bowe.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

n In other Holden news, a V8 team located near Wodonga is set to take delivery of its new Holden Racing Team Commodore VEs. The team will receive Todd Kelly’s chassis from this year (WP003), plus Mark Skaife’s chassis from earlier in the year (WP005).

Tony D’Alberto Racing has first rights on the original VE that Mark Skaife used at the beginning of this year (WP001)

Dirk Klynsmith

n THE ongoing partnerships of Champ Car owner Dan Petit have taken a new turn, with a new venture with Jerry Forsythe.

The two Champ Car World Series co-owners (the others are Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi) will team up in a two-car effort next season to be called Forsythe/Pettit Racing. Petit has previously been involved with PKV Racing, RuSport and RSports.

WPS/WOW’s line-up question V8 SUPERCARS DOUBT continues to surround WPS Racing’s lineup for 2008.

The team took the unusual step of issuing a media statement at Phillip Island to address a paddock rumour that suggested Jason Bargwanna and Grant Denyer would share an entry alongside Max Wilson next season.

However, so specific was the wording of the statement that none of the facts presented refute the rumour.

It said, in part: “WPS/WOW Racing has two drivers, Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna, presently under contract.

“WPS/WOW Racing has not done any deal with any other V8 Supercar drivers.

“WPS/WOW Racing has not done a deal with Grant Denyer.”

Bargwanna confirmed to eNews that he has a contract for 2008 but added “nothing has been said to me.”

The team did confirm that, subject to final agreement, it will take delivery of two FPR Falcons for next year’s championship.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

news

Carrera expansion for Sonic Champion Carrera Cup team Sonic Motor Racing looks to four-car Porsche program in 2008 CARRERA CUP

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Niel Blackbourne

DUAL National Championship-winning team Sonic Motor Racing is set to have two new faces in an expanded line-up for 2008.

Formula Ford front-runner James Moffat and Carrera Cup driver Bryce Washington are likely to be confirmed to race for the Michael Ritter-owned squad next year.

Moffat is slated to step up from his Formula Ford duties to drive David Reynolds’s championship-winning Porsche, while Washington moves to the team from Paul Cruickshank Racing, which is to withdraw from Carrera Cup competition (see sperate story).

Moffat and Washington are expected to be partnered by existing Carrera Cup drivers Dean Fiore and TAG Heuer Champion Rodney Jane.

It is a homecoming of sorts for Washington, who drove with Sonic in the Australian Formula Ford Championship back in 2004.

On track, it’s been a big year for the Ritter’s team. Tim Blanchard wrapped up the Formula Ford title at Phillip Island last weekend, adding to Reynolds’s Carrera Cup title and Rodney Jane’s TAG Heuer Challenge victory.

This weekend, Sven Burchartz has the chance to win the Porsche Driver’s Challenge at Sandown, which would mean that Sonic Motor Racing would have won every championship it entered in 2007 ...

– GRANT ROWLEY

Sonic Boom: It’s been a massive year for Sonic Motor racing Services. David Reynolds, top, won the Carerra Cup Championship, and James Moffat is set to take his ride next year. Bryce Washington, above, will join the team next year, while Sven Burchartz will try and win the Porsche class in Australian GT this weekend.

Fujitsu ups ante FUJITSU V8s

Peter Bury

FUJITSU is expected to announce – as early as Monday evening’s V8 Supercar Gala Dinner – that it has signed on again for a further two years as the prime sponsor for the V8 Supercar Development Series.

The series has gone from strength-to-strength in 2007

and there are moves within V8 Supercars Australia to lift the profile of the series further next year, which could include a larger promotional presence directly relating to the second-tier series.

A number of main championship teams now run cars in the Fujitsu series, seen as the obvious grooming ground for future talent.

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Lindbom follows the pack overseas FORMULA FORD KRISTIAN Lindbom is likely to join the influx of Australian Formula Ford drivers headed overseas in 2008.

The Rising Star, who took his first AFFC race win at Symmons Plains recently, isn’t yet sure what he will be driving next

season, but says it will more than likely be overseas.

“I’ll be overseas, but I just don’t know what I’ll be doing yet,” he told eNews.

“Ideally I want to be in the best series for the budget we’ll have, but its still up in the air.

“Once the racing is finished we’ll get on

and get stuff sorted.”

Lindbom’s Rising Stars team-mates Ash Walsh and Josh Scott are both expected to be racing in England next year, most likely in Formula Renault, while Tim Blanchard and Glen Wood are both likely to race in the British Formula Ford Championship.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Ute deal for McNally John Morris/Mpix

FORMULA 3 TEAM BRM will be hoping for the luck of the Irish next year, with young Irishman Lee Farrell signing with the team for the 2008 Australian Formula 3 Championship.

Farrell debuted with the team at Phillip Island last weekend, running one of their Formula Fords in the final round of the national series.

But it’ll be wings and slicks for Farrell next year, the import tackling the F3 National Class in a Team BRM Dallara F304.

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“I can’t wait, I’m looking forward to getting back into a car with more aero,” he told eNews.

“I’ve come out here to race because the championship is growing. There’s a lot of things going for it with the prize money, and its more affordable than racing elsewhere. So for me it’s the place to be.”

Farrell comes to the Australian F3 scene after racing F3 in Asia and Formula Ireland back in his home country.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Motorvation Media

Luck of the Irish V8 UTES GLENN McNally will race in next year’s V8 Ute Series.

McNally, brother of Fujitsu V8 regular Mark, steps up to the Ute Series after spending the last few seasons in the WA State Formula Ford Championship.

He made his series debut at last weekend’s season-ending Phillip Island round in a Hitch Falcon, but is planning on racing a Commodore next season.

“I can’t wait to see all of the tracks, Clipsal is just going to be awesome,” he said.

“Its exciting because I’ve watched Mark race in national championships for years and years, so to be doing it myself is a big deal.

“You need to bring the braking markers back a bit from where they are in a Formula Ford, but the Ute makes all the right noises, and at the end of the day anything you drive fast is good fun!”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Blanchard: British Bound

Aussie Formula Ford Champ set to take on the Poms FORMULA FORD

Dirk Klynsmith

TIM Blanchard is likely to be a signed Jamun driver by Wednesday, with the newly crowned Australian Formula Ford Champion headed to England to finalise the deal.

The young Victorian has been looking at overseas option since earlier this year, and is all but officially signed to Jamun, which is the factory supported Mygale team in the British FFord series.

Blanchard will test with

the team later this week at Snetterton, where a deal is likely to be done for next year’s British Championship.

“The trip is just to make sure this is really what I want to do next year,” Blanchard told eNews.

“It’s a really good opportunity to get a look at the team, and I’m going there with the view of finalising the deal for next year.”

Jamun are the current British Champions and Formula Ford Festival winners with Callum McLeod.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

John Morris/Mpix

Howard Racing’s new Spectrum FORMULA FORD HOWARD Racing will enter two Spectrum Formula Fords in the Australian Championship in 2008.

The outgoing Fujitsu V8 Champion team is scaling back its V8 operation to two cars, with team owner Mark Howard competing in his last V8 race at Phillip Island last weekend.

The extra space in the workshop will be occupied by two Australian-built Spectrum chassis, set to be driven by Australian karting Champion Chaz Mostert and a yet-to-beconfirmed driver.

Mostert was earlier announced as the fourth CAMS Rising Star driver, but has since switched to the newlyestablished Howard Formula

Ford team.

Howard team manager Warren Davis is looking forward to new challenge.

“It’s a progression of business,” he said.

“We will concentrate on bringing fresh young talent in and it allows us to set up a program to run people from karting, Formula Ford to V8 Supercar.

“Formula Ford has a good solid foundation with a good engine package and a great history. Anyone who has won something in Formula Ford has gone on to have a good career. Its history speaks for itself.”

The team is set to launch its new look V8 and FFord squads in January next year.

– GRANT ROWLEY

15

The Final Bowe

JOHN Bowe took his final Bow as a full-time V8 Supercar driver at Phillip Island on Sunday.

The Ford-driving veteran bid farewell to the sport after 21 years but will remain in contact with the sport and is keen to secure an endurance drive for 2008.

There was much emotion at the Island, with many fans signing a special banner that was presented to JB at the end of the weekend.

Flawless Bayliss WORLD SUPERBIKES DUCATI may not have won the 2007 World Superbike title but it is in with a big shot in 2008.

Ducati Corse

Surgery for Fast Stoner MOTOGP MOTOGP’S winter testing blackout starts with lots of promise, questions and a hurting World Champion.

16

Ducati Corse

Casey Stoner missed the third day of the threeday Jerez test, and will miss Ducati’s celebrations after being bucked off his Ducati GP8 on Day 2.

While the Aussie faces shoulder surgery, he does so in the knowledge that he had dominated the test’s first day.

Dani Pedrosa topped Day 2 and Day 3 on the Michelin-shod Honda, but the HRC team was using its 2007 bike and pneumatic valve 2008 in tandem, with the older machine still faster.

However, the speed does suggest that both bike and tyre manufacturer are not going to take the

slights of 2007 lying down …

In between wrapping his still-injured right hand in ice, Valentino Rossi was fast in his first test on Bridgestone tyres. The Italian, who was technically under contract to Michelin until the end of last month, ran with no tyre ID on his Yamaha or leathers and said he was pleased with the test, though unable to comment on tyre performance because of his agreement with Michelin.

Meanwhile, Suzuki bucked the trend and tested at Phillip Island. Chris Vermuelen and Loris Capirossi both did extensive work on the 2008 racer, the Italian completing more than 200 laps without the distraction of any opposition.

With the winter test blackout now in effect, the next test is set for January 22 at Sepang.

The factory’s new 1098R racer, below, topped the time sheets at the recent tyre test at Qatar, with Troy Bayliss leading the way. The two-time champion led the Yamahas of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser, who had a bad fall on the final day and injured a thumb. Carlos Checa led the Honda effort, while Fonsi Nieto was fastest of the three Suzukis.

In Supersport, Brock Parkes led a Yamaha 1-2 ahead of Fabian Foret.

Andrew Pitt followed on his Honda, while the only other team present was Triumph’s new pairing of Garry McCoy and Paul Young.

17

5 Minutes with ...

GARTH TANDER

He didn’t do it by much, but he did it all the same. GT is the 2007 V8 Supercar Champion

You won Bathurst in 2000, how does this compare?

That will take a week or so to work out.

In 2000, I was very keen to win the championship and that was why I moved to the HSV Dealer Team. They have won two championships in the three years I have been there and to win my championship with them has been has been fantastic.

I can reflect on those things over the next week or so.

This year, you have had clean sweeps of results twice. Did you feel like you had the car to make it three this weekend?

Yeah, probably. The car was very good in that last race but I stayed out, maybe, a lap too long. We lost a bit of time and then we got caught between Jamie and Craig.

Then it was a game of highspeed chess, it was just about

18

Dirk Klynsmith

QUESTION: Just try to describe your feelings, now that you have clinched the title.

GARTH TANDER: It has not sunk in. Obviously, there is a lot of hullaballo going on and this is a fantastic result.

How low I felt on Sunday night in Tasmania, and to fight back from that, through those lows, and to come back from a bad qualifying this weekend and win two races, to set ourselves up so we could manage the third race if we needed to. It’s been a fantastic effort by our guys all year but, especially, this weekend. I think that this weekend, we dug ourselves out of the biggest hole we had post-qualifying.

managing the situation.

I did not realise that we had it in the bag even when Craig elbowed his way by, so when the boys told me, ‘Don’t worry about it, just cruise to the end’, it was a good feeling.

Initially, it looked like you were going to rechallenge him, did you get a message to say, ‘Don’t worry about it?’

They did, straight away. That is what we did and I was certainly watching Jamie and Todd for the last laps! It was tight there and it could have been curtains for us but Todd had it done and he saved my bacon.

It was only two points at the end of a very long championship. Is it fair to say that getting past Mark Skaife in Race 1 was one of the pivotal points in clinching the title?

We can look at every single race and say it was pivotal. We can look back at Bathurst and say that was pivotal, Symmons Plains Race 3, that was pivotal.

So, to isolate it to one passing manouvre is probably

not correct.

We came into this weekend with a mindset that we certainly had to win the first race and possibly the second race, to put the pressure back on Jamie. We managed to do that but we tripped up a little bit on our pitstop strategy in the last one. But we had done enough work to then, so that we could manage the situation.

It was a fantastic fightback after we had had a pretty low last three or four rounds. To be able to fight all weekend was a true credit to them.

Bearing in mind you have had 15 race wins this season, would you have felt cheated had you not won the title in the end?

No. We all read the rule book at the start of the year and it says, most points wins. It is not who has the most race wins that wins the championship.

We won a lot of races this year, we had a lot of car speed at the first half of the year. But we had to dig deep; Triple 8 and FPR found a lot of speed in the second half of the season

and our guys dug deep and found the speed we needed to be able to compete.

Ifs, buts and maybes, I have done a lot of that in my career.

It is good to be able to tick that box and move on and try to get another one.

You had plenty to say on the radio when Craig got past. Do you think it was a fair pass?

I thought that I had a flat tyre, to be honest with you, the car was going that far sideways.

I checked the mirror and he was a fair way behind, the next thing I know, I was going sideways.

There was something to come and it came. That’s fair, I guess, because if he think that he had something from last year, we are all square, we can move on.

You don’t feel that you opened the door?

No, I was on the same line I was on for the 20-odd previous laps. I wasn’t going to open the door for Craig Lowndes to come through and end my championship, that’s for sure.

We all read the rule book at the start of the year and it says most points wins GT knows only too well race wins don’t always count

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

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Credit where credit is due IT was about a year ago that we were sitting around in MN’s corporate, street-based facility, Phil Branagan wondering just what the heck Executive Editor was going to happen to Dick Johnson Racing, and how many days it would be before it happened.

Then, just like that, the clouds parted and the angels sang.

Actually, it was my mobile phone going off, with an incoming SMS. It contained four magic words; Dick, Saviour, Jim and Beam.

Nothing sits still for long, so not too long after that, I had DJR’s Steve Chalker on the phone. He was being evasive, as his job required, but I dug in and was being stubborn, as mine does. He would admit to nothing; I wanted more.

“So sure are we that this is correct, we have had our artist ‘design’ a Jim Beam livery,” I said. “And I bet it is better than yours.”

So, we made a wager; if I was right, we would run the story and he could have our art. If not, I would back off. I emailed him the art. It might look familiar …

History shows that we were right. We broke the story, DJR marched into a competitive 2007 season and all was right with the world.

Why am I going on about this – to brag about getting a story? Not at all. But as of tonight, at the V8 Supercar Awards Gala, Jim Beam Racing is the Best Presented Team in V8 Supercars. Cars #17 and #18 have been two of the bestlooking cars on the grid all season long.

And that is largely because our talented artist, James Cormick, knew where to put the logos, how big, and so on.

Brilliant man, is Cormick. I wonder what he has up his sleeve for 2008?

opinion

Look Familiar? These were the first two files our art guru James Cormick, pictured below on his now famous lap of Bathurst, sent MNews way back in December last year. Oh the memories ...

Letters

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

V8s good value!

It seems every time I read a letter about going to a V8 Supercar race, its someone whining about tickets prices being too high or hotdogs being too expensive or something else negative.

But having spent the weekend at Phillip Island, I just don’t understand where all of these sad sacks are coming from.

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I don’t get to many V8 races, I’m more of a rally fan, but I was so impressed. The Island is just a fantastic circuit (sitting at Turn 1 with the headwind was awesome!), and the racing is good.

The really good thing about the V8s is it’s the full show, and so many different types of racing, like Utes and Formula Ford.

So stop whining V8 fans …

we’ve got a good thing going here!

Chloe Gurr Sale, Vic A clean, close shave How close was that last race at Phillip Island on the weekend?

But not only was it bloody close (disappointingly so, given I’m a mad keen Ford fan), but it was clean. Last year’s debacle put a real downer, but

this time around it was a real clean fight.

So enjoyable was it to see professionals doing what they best without nerfing each other off the track, I don’t even mind the fact that a Holden won. At least this time it was fair!

So well done boys, bring on 2009!

Derrick Anderson Townsville, QLD

opinion

A Formula First at the AGP

THE Australian Grand Prix has won many awards over the years for being the best Formula 1 round of the season – both in Adelaide and Melbourne.

There are a number of reasons why Australia wins the FIA prize. There is a high level of enthusiasm from Aussie fans, the officialdom is almost second to none, and the support categories are always packed with quality.

If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to go to another overseas Grand Prix, you’d find there is an unfortunate aspect to it – the support racing cast.

Most O/S GPs have little in the way of

Grant Rowley Editor eNews on-track racing, so we should consider ourselves quite fortunate that we always have plenty to watch when Bernie’s show comes to town.

The problem this year, though, is the fact that there will be no open-wheel support race. Formula Ford were a staple F1 support race category for many years, and Formula 3 has filled the racecar void since 2005.

But this year, the only racing car

eLETTER OF THE WEEK No more love taps, Craig First of all I just want to say what a great eNews you produce.

I don’t normally put pen to paper, but after the last round of the V8 Supercars, I am quite ashamed of the way Craig Lowndes continues to tap or push when he’s behind someone.

Close racing, yes, but not

when it could potentially damage someone else’s race.

This type of performance from Lowndes seems, in my opinion, to be escalating. I remember Peter Brock being so close but not touching, and placing pressure on the other driver. That is racing!

And for heaven’s sake Craig, stop this continual whinging to Roland. For example “he

Dirk Klynsmith

Thanks Channel Seven!

Thanks to Channel Seven, I am now in the doghouse.

Because, knowing that the V8 Supercar finale was on, my wife only gave me one job on the weekend; to mow our small front lawn.

But there was so much motor racing on during the V8 telecast that I didn’t even get that done! I have to say, for all the complaining about TV this year, Seven has done a great job when it comes to showing racing.

There was almost too much, although I’ll never complain about watching Formula Ford at Phillip Island. Awesome.

Toni Maxwell Melbourne, Vic

opinion

category will be the Formula 1 cars. And I’m sorry, that’s not really something I’m thrilled about.

V8 Supercars, Carrera Cup, Australian GT, Aussie Racing Cars and a celebritytype race is still a pretty handy line-up, but you aren’t going to find Australia’s next Formula 1 driver in amongst that group.

The Alan Jones Trophy was always awarded to the open-wheel race winner at the GP, but this year, the wannabe Mark Webbers of Australian racing will be watching from the sidelines.

Truly, a disappointing result from what has generally been a faultless support card.

won’t get out of my way” or whatever. Grow up, or is that why they call you the kid.

Lou Cattelan lou1@bigpond.net.au

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

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 14 – PHILLIP ISLAND

Western Star

After the most intense finale of all-time, Garth Tander secured his maiden V8 Supercar Championship Series title. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports 22

race

Phil Williams

23

O

NCE again it all came down to the last race. And, like last year, it was an orange and black Commodore that took the spoils after a tense final hit-out for the year.

But at Phillip Island in 2007 it was Garth Tander who won the V8 Supercar Championship series, edging out Jamie Whincup by just two points thanks to a grinding Dunlop Grand Finale round win in the Toll HSV Dealer Team entry.

The final race was the tussle of the year. Having won the opening two races of the round, and sporting a seven point title lead over Whincup, Tander was seemingly in the box seat to cruise to the championship in the final.

But after losing the start to Todd Kelly and then dropping a bunch of time during the

24

latter part of his long first stint, Tander found himself in third place after the compulsory stops, precariously sandwiched between the Triple 8 Falcons of Whincup and Craig Lowndes.

The situation was simple.

Tander could afford to lose third to a racey Craig Lowndes, so long as the Toddler held station at the front of the field.

And that was what happened, but not after some nervous moments for the West Aussie.

The first was during Tander’s re-entry to the circuit after his stop, Lowndes making a lunge into Turn 1 under the Commodore. But he ran wide, gifting the spot back to Tander.

Tander then set about fending off the TeamVodafone car, until lap 25, two from the end, where Lowndes literally muscled his way past at Siberia.

But still Whincup had to pass

Kelly, and thanks to a lack of rear grip late in the race, he couldn’t do the deal. Game over.

“We had great pace and we were able to catch Todd,” said Whincup, “but I pushed hard on the rear tyres to get there and when I did get there I ran out of rear bar as well. So that was it for me.”

Meanwhile, Tander was just happy that the forceful passing move from Lowndes wasn’t the deciding factor in the title.

“I didn’t realise we still had it if Craig elbowed his way past, so it was a good feeling when the crew told me it didn’t matter,” said Tander.

“If Todd has lost the lead I knew it would be curtains for me, but he held on and saved my bacon.”

While his fourth in Race 3

sealed the title, Race 1 was where he set up the round win.

Having qualified just seventh, Tander rocketed into the first race with Rick Kelly’s polewinning set-up on his car and enough pace to find the front of the field shortly after his stop.

Tander’s only problem in Race 1 was Mark Skaife, who proved for the second time this season how much he likes new cars by jumping to an early lead. But car #200 showed no signs of holding up Tander late in the race, and GT skipped off for the win, while Whincup and Lowndes were third and fourth.

Tander then spent the entirety of Race 2 as the leader of the race, giving him a crucial gap in the points heading into the final race.

And the rest is history.

race

John Morris/Mpix

888 doing it for 88: Lowndes got by Tander in the dying stages of Race 3, but it wasn’t enough for Whincup to snatch the title.

V8 Supercar | Round 14 Phillip island Pos#

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Just in case you missed it: There was action in the pack, but if you weren’t a Clayton Commodore or a Triple 8 Falcon, you were a forgotten commodity.

John Morris/Mpix

Driver

Team/Car

Q

r1

r2

r3

1 16 Garth Tander Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore VE 7 1 1 4 2 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore VE 4 6 2 1 3 88 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone Falcon BF 3 3 3 2 4 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone Falcon BF 6 4 6 3 5 200 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Commodore VE 2 2 5 7 6 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF 8 7 4 5 7 1 Rick Kelly Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore VE 1 5 8 10 8 4 James Courtney Jeld-Wen Motorsport Falcon BF 11 12 7 6 9 18 Will Davison Jim Beam Racing Falcon BF 10 9 9 8 10 33 Lee Holdsworth Valvoline Cummins Commodore VE 14 11 10 11 11 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF 12 27 12 9 12 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport Commodore VE 15 10 13 22 13 9 Russell Ingall Caltex Racing Falcon BF 9 8 19 26 14 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Racing Falcon BF 22 13 11 27 15 25 Jason Bright Fujitsu Racing Falcon BF 13 DNF 15 12 16 021 S. Van Gisbergen Team Kiwi Racing Falcon BF 16 14 14 17 17 67 Paul Morris Team Sirromet Wines Commodore VE 18 DNF DNF 13 18 34 Dean Canto Valvoline Cummins Commodore VE 26 20 16 14 19 8 Max Wilson WOW Racing Ford Falcon BF 19 19 24 15 20 50 Cam McConville Supercheap Auto Commodore VE 20 15 DNF 18 21 10 Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing Falcon BF 24 23 18 16 22 20 Paul Dumbrell Supercheap Auto Commodore VE 29 25 DNF 19 23 12 Andrew Jones Team BOC Falcon BF 23 21 DNF 20 24 39 Owen Kelly Team Sirromet Wines Commodore VZ 28 DNF 22 21 25 111 John Bowe Glenfords Racing Falcon BF 27 28 25 23 26 26 Alan Gurr IRWIN Racing Falcon BF 31 24 23 24 27 11 Marcus Marshall Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE 25 22 20 25 28 7 Shane Price Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore VE 17 16 17 28 29 55 Steve Owen Autobarn Racing Commodore VZ 21 18 21 DNF 30 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport Commodore VE 5 17 26 DNF 31 14 Simon Wills Team BOC Falcon BF 30 26 DNF DNF

Final points: Tander 625, Whincup 623, Lowndes 592, R Kelly 552, Winterbottom 420, T Kelly 381, S Richards 380, Skaife 379, Courtney 359, W Davison 343, 343, Ingall 311, Johnson 304, Murphy 250, J Richards 23, Holdsworth 209, Wilson 110, Bargwanna 109, Bargwanna 109, Owen 103, Radisich 96, Bright 71, Morris 70, Dumbrell 69, O Kelly 63, Lyons 63, Simonsen 63, Besnard 54, D’Alberto 54, Weel 51, Bowe 47, Baird 45, Pretty 45, Halliday 42, McConville 35, Youlden 33, A Davison 30, Thompson 30, Seton 30, Price 30McLean 27, Ritter 27, Webb 24, Van Gisbergen 23, A JOnes 19, Longhust 19, Wills 12, Coulthard 8, Ellery 6, Caruso 6, Denyer 6, Perkins 6, Marshall 6, Gurr 2.

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Dirk Klynsmith

Phillip Island Notepad n It was and up and down weekend for Tasman and Jason Richards, or more accurately a down, up and the down again weekend. JR was nowehere on Friday, setting just the 19th fastest lap in practice. A bit of soul searching on Friday night saw JR come out on Saturday, set the fastest time in the second leg of qualifying and end up fifth on the grid. But a couple of excursions while running third in Race 1 started JR back on the downhill run, and he finished the weekend second last …

n It was a quiet weekend for the Safety Car driver. The SC was deployed just once, when Andrew Jones was left stranded at the Hayshed on the fourth lap of Race 2. n It was also a quiet weekend for the IPO, with the only mid-race penalty given all weekend; Russell Ingall was the lucky recipient, handed a drive-through for running Greg Murphy wide at the hairpin in Race 3.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Joel Strickland

n Garth Tander’s pass on Mark Skaife for the lead of the first race immediately set chins wagging about ‘team’ orders.

And while Skaife denied letting Tander through, he did admit “if it was somebody else I may have made it a little harder.”

But Skaife also said the change of position was more about a lack of grip from his brand spanking new HRT Commodore late in the race.

“The car wasn’t great at the end but you can’t expect miracles with a new car.”

One winner, one loser ....

BY early Sunday evening at Phillip Island, there was always going to be one driver smiling, and one driver, well, smiling slightly less.

When all was said and done Garth Tander was the Champion, and Jamie Whincup wasn’t, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

After an intense three days of motor racing, the two big players were typical in their reaction to the meeting.

Tander, the straight-shooting, to-the-point West Australian, was taking his time digesting the title win.

“Unbelievable,” he said when the immediate post-race hype started to dissipate.

“I feel fantastic considering how low I felt on Sunday night at Tasmania.

“It’s been a fantastic effort by our team all

year but this weekend we dug ourselves out of the biggest hole post-qualifying. [It’s] absolute elation and I just can’t quite believe it right now.”

But the real test post-race was for Whincup, who, at just 24 years of age, had to put on a gracious public face despite just losing out on the title. Typical of the rapidly maturing Whincup, he passed the test with ease.

“I can go home, look in the mirror and say ‘I did the best job I could on the day,’” he said when it was all over.

“But it was not quite enough. It’s important to give credit where it is due and we got beaten by a better team on the day. “[Still] it’s been a fantastic year and I’m happy with what we’ve achieved.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

race

Nail-biter even had the commentator on edge ANY sports lover, never mind motorsport lover, who didn’t have the hairs standing up on the back of their neck over those final laps, is missing the point.

While there are those who require constant passing and re-passing to rate a race, that championship decider was a complex game of high-speed chess.

It was like the Footy final with a last-second score – and the tension, even in the commentary booth, was there!

In the end, I felt it best to just shut up and watch those final, tense laps play out!

ANALYSIS Neil Crompton Commentator The quality of the two primary combatants is unquestioned – the title was, after all, finally decided by a few tenths and track position – but the role of Todd Kelly in getting out front and controlling the race should be massively acknowledged.

Without him, Garth wouldn’t be champion.

Both of the two teams who fought it out (as well as the wannabes) will soon start to

analyse the year. Both will conclude that they could have nailed it well before Phillip Island, and will probably look at how to better those ‘bottomof-the-curve’ days when things go badly. With driver speed, and the equipment under them so even these days, it’ll continue to be all about, as Matty Crawford famously says “making sure the driver’s head doesn’t fall off …”

Triple Eight will go away and, perhaps, analyse how it is that they are stronger late in races – but they pay for it with lost track position over the early laps.

One thing that both T8 and FPR have up their sleeve for 2008 is absolutely rock-solid stability – all four drivers are locked in, and I don’t think there’s a key engineer on the move either. In contrast, if the rumours are correct, there may be a bit of a change in the make-up of the Paddock in and around Clayton – if so, that will, initially at least, be to the Ford teams’ advantage.

So that was 2007 – and with only 10 or 11 weeks ’til we line up again, at the Clipsal 500, I can’t wait …

FIRST the F1 title, and now our own V8 championship – the two things which captivate the bulk of the motorsport audience in Oz – turn on cliffhanger finales.

It’s been a fabulous year to take it all in. Unlike Young Lewis – who led then lost his championship, Garth Tander, led, lost, then reclaimed his.

Jamie Whincup – and a brace of talented young drivers – will get another chance, but nobody could quibble with Tander’s credentials as a Champion.

As Crompton often says (and we agree), it’s how you recover from adversity, how you drive from the back of

ANALYSIS Chris Lambden mNews Publisher the field, which makes a champion. Tander has always leaned toward the aggressive end of the scale under those circumstances. I recall a great comeback at Clipsal; he did it in Bahrain. Sure, he bombed it in Tassie but, in a small way, it was that same aggression which got him back into the game quickly down at the Island.

Remember, qualifying hadn’t gone well and, with team-mate Rick Kelly on pole, Garth was back in seventh, with a bit to do.

Take a look at the tape if you get a chance – Tander’s in-car at the first corner of the first race. A lot of driver’s in his knife-edge position might have erred on the conservative side, but Tander – who found himself nosing inside another car (can’t remember who), with another outside them both – held his nerve, backed off a fraction later and, hey presto, was through, past two cars, and back in the game. It could have ended badly – but it didn’t.

The rest – apart from the decision to leave him out two laps too long in that last race decider – was relatively straightforward, other than

Dirk Klynsmith

A worthy Champion doesn’t take a step back perhaps the moment when Lowndes pushed his way past with two laps to go.

There are those in pit lane who aren’t comfortable with the ‘Push to Pass’ method employed by Craig, and occasionally others. But frankly, they’re all big boys out there, and I’d far rather see it done well (no-one speared off ) in races where passing is nigh on impossible than return to the over-sanitised ‘breathe on another car and we’ll get you’ edict of seasons past.

The 2007 championship is clear proof that the category has, in the main, got the formulae right. Congrats Garth, and roll-on ’08.

27

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 7 – PHILLIP ISLAND

Scramble Island

Tony D’Alberto had to jump over many, many hurdles to win the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

GRANT ROWLEY reports

28

race

Dirk Klynsmith

29

T

ONY D’Alberto is the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Champion after stumbling through the final round of the championship at Phillip Island last weekend.

The 21-year-old secured a narrow series victory – Holden’s first Development Series win since 2002 with Paul Dumbrell – over Ford Rising Star Racing’s Michael Caruso, who won both races at the Island circuit.

D’Alberto’s weekend started promising, qualifying third, one place ahead of Caruso. Things however turned messy when D’Alberto clashed with Dale

30

Wood at turn five. D’Alberto bounced off the wall hard, damaging both ends of his Commodore. He got the car going and salvaged ninth, while Caruso stormed to one of the most convincing race wins of the season.

To win the title, Tony needed to finish seventh or better, and he did that with a fighting fifth after running as high as third.

“It’s a massive relief,” D’Alberto said.

“We put everything into our racing this year and it’s paid off.”

A significant note to D’Alberto’s championship win is that the chassis he has driven

this year is the car that Rick Kelly took to his main series crown 12 months ago.

“It’s a special car, the best I’ve ever driven.”

Caruso’s crushing round victory came after a tough qualifying session, but a set-up tweak paid dividends.

“I could go one second faster if I wanted to, but I just did what I had to do. I wasn’t going to score anymore points by tearing off into the distance.”

In terms of the championship, five points was all Caruso missed out by, and he rued a few missed opportunities.

“We would have done better

if not for the wheel nut at Bathurst,” he said.

“When things were going right and nothing fell off the car, everything was great.”

Kiwi driver Kayne Scott finished second in both races at Phillip Island, taking second for the round and third in the championship. Scott struggled in Race 1 in the slow speed corners, but enjoyed a good run in Race 2, staying with Caruso for the majority of the race until his rear tyres faded.

Wollongong Performance Racing’s Damien White finished third overall in his first V8 outing since his massive

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Nearly the kiss of death: D’Alberto passed Wood, below, but moments later , the pair clashed, jeopardising his chances. However, a solid Race 2 effort netted fifth place – enough for the title success, above.

ZPhil Williams

Dirk Klynsmith

who was looking likely for his second-consecutive podium, but had two wild off-track excursions at turn one.

Jonathan Webb looked good for an overall podium, but had a wild slide in Race 2 at turn one.

He pitted and returned from the race after the engine overheated.

Other notable performances came from Holden drivers Brett Hobson and Marcus Zukanovic, who took seventh and ninth overall.

Back, and better: Damien White, above, bounced back from his Bathurst incident to take third place overall. Dale Wood, below, was pacey but made two Race 2 mistakes.

John Morris?mpix

Points: D’Alberto 303, Caruso 298, Scott 259, Webb 206, Youlden 198, White 185, Wood 185, Jose Fernandez 162, Tim Slade 139, Zukanovic 127.

Dirk Klynsmith

accident in the Team BOC Falcon at Bathurst in October.

Still walking around with a hobble, White admitted that he was “shaking like a leaf” before the first practice session, but was glad to be back in the car and racing at the front.

White’s weekend highlight came in Race 2, where he passed Chris Pither around the outside at turn four, securing his podium spot. His weekend efforts also cemented him sixth place in the title.

Pither took a surprising fourth overall, finishing seventh and fourth in the two races.

Fifth overall went to Wood,

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Tim comes up Tops FORMULA FORD

John Morris/Mpix

TIM Blanchard is the 2007 Australian Formula Ford Champion after winning a tense final round at Phillip Island from rival Ash Walsh.

Walsh needed race wins and started well, snatching pole from Glen Wood and fellow Sonic drivers Blanchard and James Moffat.

Walsh lead from pole but was soon hounded by a pacey Moffat, who moved past Wood and Blanchard to challenge the early leader.

But soon enough Walsh’s glimmer of hope turned to a nightmare. The BRD driver lost fourth gear in his Spectrum eventually retiring one lap short, handing Blanchard the series.

“Its just a big relief for it to be over, Ash Walsh and James Moffat have been very tough and fast all year,” said Blanchard.

“It’s just great to be able to wrap it all up.”

Moffat claimed the race win, Wood second and Blanchard third, a Sonic 1-2-3 finish in addition to the championship.

Taz Douglas worked his way up from seventh to finish fourth, closing within one second of the lead pack after getting

by Rising Star racer Kristian Lindbom.

Blanchard went on to claim the round win as well, keeping out of trouble in the final two, often chaotic races.

Wood leapt off the line in Race 2 grabbing the lead before spearing across the track at Turn 1, rejoining on the other side and causing the retirement of Douglas and Lindbom, who tried to avoid collision.

Blanchard benefited, grabbing the lead and heading home Moffat, a recovering Walsh and Joshua Scott. Moffat would later be penalised, moving back to fourth, having been deemed to have passed Walsh under a yellow flag.

Race 3 was a showcase for

Stacks on: Sam Sewel, left, spun and was hit by Tobia Kipper, middle,in turn four. Luke Wood launched over the pair while Daniel Cotton escapes around the outside.

the top three championship finishers, Blanchard, Walsh and Moffat dicing for the lead throughout the race with Blanchard making a decisive final move – stamping his dominance.

“It was a pretty tough race, we didn’t have anything to loose in the championship by then so it was all out war for the win and a bit of pride, it was a great race,” he said.

Behind them a thre car crash involving Tobia Kipper careening into Sam Sewel, who spun into turn four, Luke Wood collecting the pair mounting the front of Kippers car.

Lindbom recovered with a stirring drive – BILL RIDDELL Points: Blanchard 346, Walsh 297, Moffat 275, Lindbom 252, Wood 211.

Dirk Klynsmith

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race

Johnson wins title – Elsegood deflated

V8 UTES

tyre that blew – which caused a devastating chain of events eventually tearing out the car’s wiring loom. Johnson inherited the lead, pulling away from the field and claiming the championship.

Johnson was somewhat shocked by his come from behind title win in the Grove Fruit Juice Commodore, yet understanding of what led to his glory.

“Anything can happen in racing and in Utes you can times that by 100,” he said “it’s just unbelievable.”

– BILL RIDDELL

Points: Johnson 714, Elsegood 699, Jane 582, Andrew Fisher 552, Baxter 547.

Marshall Cass John MorrisMpix

GRANT Johnson won the 2007 V8 Ute Racing Series in a round filled with highs and lows.

Jack Elsegood came to Phillip Island with a handy 25 point lead over Johnson and after topping the qualifying session early he stayed there. The trend continued in the first race, Elsegood pulling an early lead with a strong start.

Kim Jane and Garry Baxter battled just behind him while Johnson slipped back to ninth place, after starting from third, gaining some points and good position for the race two top16 reverse grid.

Johnson quickly carved through the grid from eighth, winning race two from Dontas and Andrew Fisher. Elsegood was relegated to 16th and forced to battle his way through the mid pack finishing 10th, losing just a single point to Johnson and practically had to keep the car on the road in order to win.

The pair started the final race on the front row. Johnson assumed the lead and from there it looked like the pair would cruise to the line, Johnson taking the round and Elsegood the title as they traded fastest laps.

It wasn’t to be, Elsegood suffering a delaminated front

Two thumbs up: Grant Johnson, above, celebrating. Top, he passes Elsegood’s parked Falcon. eekend at Symmons Plains.

Mason sets title in Stone BIANTE MASTERS

STEVE Mason came to Phillip Island practically needing to keep his 1969 Chevy Camaro on the road in order to claim the inaugural Touring Car Masters title.

The four-time runner up in the Historic Touring Car series did just that, wrapping up the title in the first race finishing second behind Jim Richards, also in a Camaro.

Gavin Bullas, who trailed

Mason in the series, claimed pole in his Mustang and started well before a spin gifted the race to the two Camaros of Richards and Mason who lept away from the rest of the field.

Alastair MacLean, also in a Camaro, trailed the pair along with the Mustangs of Eddie Albenica and Drew Marget.

The final two races of the year saw some great racing with plenty of position changes and plenty of

sideways action for the fans.

“I was so glad to wrap it up with two to go and really put on a show. I really enjoyed it,” Mason said.

Bullas set a lap record as he fought back from seventh to the front in the second race, finishing second behind Mason with Richards third.

Richards won the final round of the year after winning the last race. Mason was second for the round with Bullas third.

– BILL RIDDELL

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WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 16 – WALES

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race

Third for his Fourth Sebastien Loeb may not have won the final round of the 2007 World Rally Championship, but he did seal the title thanks to a meticulous third place

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S

EBASTIEN Loeb is now a four-time World Rally Champion, a careful third place in last weekend’s Rally Great Britian securing the title for the Frenchman and navigator Daniel

Elena.

Loeb went into the final round of the year with a handy six-point lead over Marcus Gronholm, meaning he could afford to be a little cautious. And that he was, losing over a minute to Gronholm and the leading Mikko Hirvonen by lunchtime Saturday, and that gap blowing out to a minute and a half by the end of the rally.

With Loeb’s retirement all but crucial to Gronholm’s chances, the Finn too played a cautious game in Wales.

Instead he let Hirvonen pioneer in the tricky, and sometimes very foggy conditions, knowing that should Loeb’s Citroen fail, the Ford pair could swap positions.

But it didn’t, leaving Hirvonen to cap off a solid year with another rally win, and Loeb to take the biggest prize of all.

“Of my four titles, this was without doubt the most hotly contested,” said Loeb.

“To have succeeded after such a fierce fight with Marcus Grönholm on stages across the world gives it a very special flavour.

“I know Marcus would have liked to have ended his retirement year by taking the crown, but I’m only half sorry he didn’t! On the other hand, I am glad to have clinched the title on Guy Fréquelin’s last rally as the boss of Citroën Sport.”

Gronholm, who was making his last start in the World Rally Championship as a full-time driver, was gracious in defeat.

“Although I’m disappointed that I couldn’t win the championship, it was clear before I started this rally that it would be difficult,” said Gronholm.

“I did all I could but it wasn’t here that I missed out on the title, it was when I crashed in Ireland.

“To end my career in a team like this is a wonderful feeling. I’ve enjoyed two years at Ford with almost no problems and had a great car to drive.”

Aussie Chris Atkinson came home seventh after an event-long tussle with Ford’s Matthew Wilson. The pair had been locked in sixth at the start of the final leg, but an ill-handling Subaru on the third morning’s loop of stages cost Atkinson dearly.

He finished the rally almost a minute behind Wilson, and three spots behind team-mate Petter Solberg.

“Of the three times I’ve attempted Rally GB this has been the most frustrating,” said Atkinson.

“As a driver I can honestly say I’ve tried my best, but for a number of different reasons that hasn’t been enough to get decent stage times.

“We have experienced a variety of small issues but the main hurdle has been the inconsistent handling of the car.

WRC | DRIVER'S points Points: Loeb 116, Gronholm 112, Hirvonen 99, Dani Sordo 65, P Solberg 47, H Solberg 34, Atkinson 31.

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race

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This one is for Guy: Loeb and Elena celebrated a fourth title on the final day of Guy Frequelin’s stint as Citroen boss, above left. Marcus Gronholm also retired from World Rallying, but didn’t go out with the victory he wanted, top. At least he had more luck than Andreas Mikkelsen, who rolled on the second day, above. Meanwhile it was a retirement for Sebastien Lindholm on Suzuki’s gravel debut, brake problems hampering the SX4, below. And through all the excitement, Hirvonen won, left.

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Aussie’s challenged in the UAE KARTING

Coopers Photographics

IT was a case of what might have been for the Australians at the Rotax MAX Challenge World Final at Al Ain, UAE, on the weekend.

David Sera, Tom Williamson, pictured, and Daniel Rochford were all facing potential wins in their classes but ultimately came away unplaced.

Driving identical Intrepid chassis, Sera stamped his authority on the Senior MAX class taking pole by over 0.2s. To demonstrate the significance of that, position two to 55 were covered by less than one second.

After a troublesome fourth in the opening heat, Sera took command of his remaining two heats with easy victories.

However, a post-race technical issue saw the heat three win taken away, forcing him to start the pre-final from position 21.

Stuck in traffic, Sera eventually placed ninth in the final.

Williamson was the revelation of the meeting.

Competing in a foreign class (DD2 is not raced in Australia) the Sydneysider qualified fifth and was an excellent third after the heat races. Third in the prefinal, Williamson couldn’t quite match the pace of the leaders in the final and was fourth.

Defending DD2 World Champion Ben George qualified a promising fourth but was pretty much a step

behind Williamson for the rest of the event. He placed fifth in the final.

Brett Davidson had the meeting from hell, crashes and breakages leaving him with two DNFs and missing the cut for the pre-final.

Rochford was the best performed of the Aussie juniors. Running up front all weekend, he started the final race on the front row and led some of the early laps. However

things went pear shaped after contact late in the race. He crossed the line 11th. David Whitmore hovered around the top 10 for most of the meeting before dropping to 21st in the final race.

After a poor qualifying run, James Kovacic made some great passes to claw his way into the final, where he was classified 24th.

– MARK WICKS

Zappia slams them at Perth DRAG RACING

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McLean had the edge over the rest of the field for the entire weekend and out of six passes his slowest was a 6.64s in the first round, and also secured bonus points for low ET with a top qualifying 6.50s run.

Unfortunately McLean's Jack Daniel's Racing team mate Brett Stevens could not emulate any of the success, going out in Round 1 to Ashelford.

– LUKE NIEUWHOF

Brian White

WEST Australian John Zappia extended his lead in the Australian Top Doorslammer Championship series with a win in Round 3 at Perth Motorplex last weekend.

The local Monaro driver, pictured, defeated Steve Stanic in the final in a wild race.

It capped off the perfect weekend for Zappia after top qualifying in the rain-affected Friday sessions with a 6.02s pass, way of his nearest rival Peter Kapiris who ran a 6.12s pass.

Victor Bray was perhaps the Top Doorslammer field's

most disappointed man after not qualifying for race day following tyre shake problems in his ‘57 Chev in qualifying.

In Top Bike, Troy McLean put in a dominant display, defeating West Australian Ian Ashelford's 6.72s pass.

race

Brazier torches the field WANLESS WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

ROUND 6

throughout the qualifying session.

Danny Reidy kissed his championship hopes goodbye after he failed to attend the scales immediately after his time-trial, then after winning the D-Main, an embarrassing officiating blunder saw neither he or second placed man, Sammy Walsh (also rubbed out of qualifying for a weight infraction) allowed to take their place in the C-Main, which both had an excellent chance of advancing through.

Max Dumesny’s return to form continued, netting two heat race wins and sixth in the A, while Robert Farr’s night looked promising, he fell behind the hard charging younger Madsen in the late stages of the A-Main, recording fourth spot.

– MATT PAYNE

John Morris/Mpix

GARRY Brazier was in a class of his own at the sixth round of Wanless World Series Sprintcars at Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway, dominating the A-Main, taking victory from Marty Perovich and Ian Madsen.

Brazier, driving the Motorguard Maxim stood tall among the 59 car strong field to record his 18th career WSS A-Main victory.

It was a night to forget for many WWSS front runners, most notably Brooke Tatnell, who battled his way through the B-Main. He recorded his worst result this year in 10th.

The inclement weather in the lead-up to the event meant that time trialling was to be crucial. The very first time trial group out – which included fast time man, Robbie Farr – proved to have the best run much to the surprise of all, Farr’s quick time of 11.635 stood right

786.

Points: Brooke Tatnell 856, Max Dumesny 828, Robert Farr 818, Trevor Green 804, David Murcott

Keys and Forsythe grab Top Gear in Qld QLD STATE

while Phil Kay (Van Diemen RF04K) held out for the handicap win.

Brock Nicholas (AndersonHonda) was too quick for the Superkart field until

mechanical dramas crept in allowing Paul Chaffey (Stockman-Honda) to win the remaining races, including the handicap.

– MARK JONES

Gordon Cooper

THE final Top Gear Classic for the season saw a 7am start to racing at Queensland Raceway to get the event finished early.

Former Improved Production state champion Justin Keys dominated the large sedan field, taking four wins in his Mazda RX3. Sean Sorenson (Ford Anglia), Grant Wilson (Chevrolet Camaro) and Aaron Hodges (Ford Escort) fought over the minor placings,

while Alex Schuttloffel (Ford Mustang) powered through the field to claim the handicap race win.

Similarly Terry Forsythe (pictured, Radical-Kawasaki) was the class of the Sportscar field, although Brendan Whitaker did take the first race of the day (Mazda MX5 Turbo).

Dean Roth (Minetti-Suzuki) won the handicap.

Jason Hannagan (Van Diemen RF95) and Michael Treffene (Van Diemen RF86) shared the Formula Ford races,

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rear of grid

Joel Strickland

Credit where its due NORMALLY, I would be using this column to have a blast at Channel Seven.

See, there I was, all ready to go for the final race of what has been a really great V8 Supercar season. The telly was ready, I had the computer all set for live timing and then, the race started.

Except on the telly. While lap 1 was running on the computer, there was still a way to go to get the vision from Phillip Island. I soon realised that the deciding race of 2007 was not going to be

broadcast live.

So, I did what any other Australian male race fan would do; I started swearing.

It was bad, so bad that the wife screamed at me, the dog ran into the other room and I soon had plenty of room to vent my feelings.

And then, the race started on the TV. Then, it went to a commercial break and, a couple of minutes later, came back. While the commercials were on, nothing had happened on the track; in fact, it was the same lap as it was

before the commercial.

Then, the penny dropped.

Yep, Seven has to sell a lot of advertising to pay for the rights to show V8s so yep, there are a lot of ad breaks.

But they have arranged things so that the racing still takes centre stage; the vast majority of viewers are not going to care whether it is actually live or delayed a few minutes, and everyone gets to see as much racing a possible.

If I was being a cranky old bugger (which Mrs Punter may tell you is true), I would

Been there, done that GARTH Tander may well be a neat freak.

We don’t say this because he has a coloured-coded underwear drawer or alphabetical CD collection, but because of his frightfully orderly career statistics.

You see, a decade ago GT won his last national championship, the 1997

punter@mnews.com.au

Australian Formula Ford title. And Tander went into the final round not needing to win all of the races, so a young man by the name of Todd Kelly went on and did that.

Not totally unlike last Sunday …

So if the ‘97 AFFC final had been at Phillip Island not Oran Park, and Jamie

complain about that but I actually reckon Seven has done a good thing there …

As for the racing, could anyone ask for more?

Regardless of what side of the fence you are on, you would have to admit that either Garth Tander or Jamie Whincup would have made a worthy Champion and that the sportsmanship of the winners and losers was first-rate.

Great year, well done everyone. And please, more of the same in 2008.

Odd Spot Whincup had finished second instead of some guy from Tassie called Marcos Ambrose, then it would have been complete déjà vu.

But of course that’s impossible; at 14 years of age Whincup was too young to hold a CAMS licence back then …

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