Motorsport eNews Issue 45 - March 11-17, 2008

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Issue No. 045 11 – 17 March 2008

Dream weekend ... But Dick johnson racing faces a tough week

Huge

Eastern Creek coverage inside

Power Will’s new indycar deal d r a w r o f

Exclusive: Australian Dakar assault

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

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Contributing Writers F1: Will Buxton, Mark Glendenning, 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, Geoff Gracie, 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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Issue No. 045 | 10-16 March 2008

news 4 Wills and Ways 6 Falcon big crash 10 Dakardi Breezer 12 Sticks and Stones 14 Guest of honour

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 20 Bargwanna 21 Rowley

race 24 Down by the Creek 30 Super Synergy 32 Paul and Layton 36 Bowe of a time 42 What a Feeling!

Davo wins, Power’s in!

Richo’s BF out for good Aussie set for classic raid Kiwi to brave busted leg Michael gets LWR seat Will Davison Nothing mini about MINI Hello hello hello hello Davo gets his first Lowe wins FFord Aussies and Utes JB gets nolstalgic Toyota make history

trade 44 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome Ben here is doing some fine Tune-ing before this weekend’s AGP Celebrity race ...

Timely win for legendary team comes days before Dick faces creditors V8 SUPERCARS WILL Davison’s superb Eastern Creek victory could not have come at a better time for Dick Johnson Racing.

While the future of the team has been secured by the formation of a new partnership that has seen Melbourne businessman Charlie Schwerkolt take an ownership stake in DJR, Johnson will face creditors this week following the collapse of the company that formerly conducted his racing and other businesses.

The racing legend, who has suffered heavy financial losses himself, will propose a package to pay back a portion

of the debts.

About 50 unsecured creditors are believed to have been offered as little as five cents in the dollar by the administrator appointed to oversee Nanterre Pty Ltd, formerly known as Dick Johnson Group Pty Ltd. Documents provided by Korda Mentha detail the collapse, including that the sale of the team to Johnson Schwekilot Pty Ltd came after team sponsor Jim Beam Brands, which joined DJR after unproductive sponsorship arrangements with Westpoint, V8 Telecoms and First Rock Mortgages, advised Johnson that it would no longer continue sponsorship of

Dirk Klynsmith

Rollercoaster ride continues at DJR

the old company.

The administrators’ report also details loans made to the team by Johnson, who sold investments, including collection of old DJR race cars to continue supporting the team.

Davison’s morale-boosting win for the team was its first since 2001, and comes after the team took a new direction last year. Johnson formed a technical association with Triple 8 Race Engineering, which now supplies the team with suspension and other technology.

The team has since reaped the benefits, with Davison now in fifth place in the championship standings.

FOR FORMUA 1, MOTOGP AND WRC NEWS, OPINION AND ANALYSIS CLICK HERE TO

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Power Struggle Aussie Champ Car winner confident of 2008 seat in the IndyCar Championship decision in the next two days. I am reasonably confident that I will have something and things WILL Power is confident of will be sorted this week.” racing in the IndyCar Series Power would not be this season, despite the drawn on whether he would withdrawal of Walker Racing maintain his links with TA cofrom the championship. owner Craig Gore, other than Team owner Derrick confirming, “Yes, I believe that Walker, who was a partner Craig is doing something …” in Team Australia with Craig Gore is believed to have Gore, announced on Monday, held a phone conference with Australian time, that his team Walker last week, and eNews was not going to participate sources suggest that he the in the newly-unified series in WPS boss has plans to join 2008. forces with KV Racing, which Power, who was one of is owned by Kevin Kalkhoven the favourites to win the and Jimmy Vasser. Should that now-abandoned Champ Car happen, Power would partner World Series this year, was understandably guarded today, Oriol Servia in a two-car team.

Power admits to being Monday, when he spoke to frustrated.

Motorsport eNews.

“There are a couple of options,” “I was sitting there, thinking that we have a real good he said. chance of winning the [CCWS] “I think that, if everything Championship this season. I goes right, there will be a

INDYCAR

If everything goes right, there will be a decision in the next two days will power

was enjoying driving the Panoz, and thinking that we would have a strong season. The merger is the best thing that can happen to the series, but when that happens, things like this come out of it.”

WHAT is certain is that Walker and Craig Gore ended their partnership, effective Friday.

“It’s a great pity that the team has had to abandon our IndyCar program,” Walker said in a statement. “So much work by so many has gone into the Team Australia program over the last three and a half

years, but now it will remain unfinished business for us. It just came down to money or the lack of it, at least as far as I was concerned. Winning race programs take years to assemble the talent and the funding. The merged series will help in the future, but for now it will be hard to dig out of this one, that’s for sure. That’s racing, I guess.

“I wish my co-partner well with his new venture and so to Will and Simon and all the employees, associates and fans who have given me the opportunity. Many thanks.”

ACCESS THE WORLD’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL ‘VIRTUAL’ MOTORSPORT MAGAZINE ...

BRIEFLY...

V8 Supercars raced, again, under the old Teams’ Licence Agreement at Eastern Creek.

The new Racing Entitlements Contract, which will supersede the TLA, is still in the process of being updated and the teams will have a chance to discuss its latest draft at a meeting in Melbourne this week.

According to one V8 Supercars source, the REC may be ready for ratification as early as the end of March, “but the main thing is to get it right, not rush it through”. n

Seconds from disaster V8 SUPERCARS STEVEN Richards will not be racing a new car this weekend – but he will be racing an old one.

As Motorsport eNews went live, Ford Performance Racing was a hive of activity as the team set to preparing chassis 503 – the car Mark Winterbottom raced last year – for Richo to drive at Albert Park from Thursday.

As team manager Tim Edwards noted on television straight after the accident, Richo’s Castrol Falcon, the team’s 604 chassis, which is 12 months old, is a write-off after he crashed off the track at

Chris Noyes

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport has announced the composition of the Investigatory Panel into the incident that occurred during a Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series race at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide event, which took the life of driver Ashley Cooper.

Christopher Blanden SC has been appointed to Chair the investigation. The other two members of the panel are Professor Jack McLean, Director of the Automotive Safety Research Centre at Adelaide University, and Garth Wigston, former Chief Steward of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Former V8 Supercar Driving Standards Observer Colin Bond has also been appointed to assist the Panel with its investigation.

The investigation is expected to be conducted next month. n

Dirk Klynsmith

n What’s in the box? At the moment, there are no dots in the box. However, at 9.30 tomorrow morning (Tuesday), we will reveal all! Click back for all the latest ...

This is a picture of Steven Richards’ tyre deflating through turn one at Eastern Creek, and he is ...

Eastern Creek in Race 3.

“It’s a 400 grand bin job,” Edwards said today [Monday].

“It’s horrendous; the engine went through the firewall, and the gearbox bellhousing was pushed about 100mm backwards. The cage was pushed back six inches in the car.”

The team members, who arrived back in Melbourne at about midnight, were back on

deck at the team’s Cambellfield shop by 6am and at lunchtime, the car received the engine and gearbox.

The 503 chassis is one that was rebuilt over the off-season and has been modified to receive the new sequential-shift Hollinger gearbox. But, as the ‘box was broken in the crash and the team lacks a spare, Richards will have to reacclimatize to an H-pattern shifter at Albert Park.

Drivers get it in writing V8 SUPERCARS THE relative calm in the Stewards room at the Eastern CreekV8 Supercar round has been attributed to a written Drivers’ Guidelines document provided to drivers.

Following the on-track carnage at the Clipsal 500, and claims by drivers that they did not know exactly where they stood, a guideline

document was provided prior to Eastern Creek, following input by a number of interested parties.

According to Driving Standards Observer Tomas Mezera, it’s a simple document: “Nothing has changed, really,” he told us on Monday.

“It’s just obvious stuff – racing room, and not hitting another car in the rear to move it over and pass.

“If someone is good enough to get into a gap and has to make it a little wider – as long as you don’t take the other car off – then that’s racing, in my view.”

Although Mezera described Russell Ingall’s move on Garth Tander as “a little bit naughty,” no action was taken.

“He (Ingall) was faster anyway and was going to pass Tander anyway …”

Mezera concluded.

news

Bargs: The Enduro Key Man Bargwanna is the key to the enduro puzzle – PCR and GRM shape up as his most likely destinations

Marshall Cass

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

JASON Bargwanna is the key to the endurance driver silly season.

With most seats confirmed, there remains only a limited number of slots remaining, most notably at Jack Daniel’s Racing, Garry Rogers Motorsport and Paul Cruickshank Racing.

Bargwanna was snapped up late by Cruickshank to steer the Glenfords Falon BF in the endurance driver session, and while a deal for Bargwanna to drive alongside Fabian Coulthard in the Glenfords car is on the cards, its by no means a done deal.

“The last couple of weeks have given

me a good chance to have a think about what I want to do and how I go about it,” Bargwanna said.

“I want to put myself in a position where I can be competitive and try and win the race, and that’s going to be one of the things that influences me in which team I drive for.

“I was really impressed with PCR. Their chassis is great, engines strong, Fabian is a terrific driver, so that’s an option.

Bargwanna’s other likely option is to drive with GRM – the team where ‘Bargs’ was given his first opportunity in V8 Supercar, pictured right. It is also the team with which he has won all of his V8 Supercar races.

Other seats that remain available for the endurance races are alongside Tony D’Alberto at Rod Nash Racing, with Team BOC and Britek Motorsport.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Tasman gets new cars for NZ and WA will get the first new car.

According to team manager Jeff Grech, the biggest change in the new Tasman VEs is the improvement in the car’s centre of gravity.

“In theory, it will be much easier to tune,” he said.

“We originally aimed to have them ready for the AGP next week, but it would have meant a compromise and we didn’t want to rush.”

One of the team’s current VEs will be kept as a spare,

Peter Bury

TASMAN Motorsport will debut two brand-new VE Commodores in the next two rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

The first of the new Tasman cars will be seen at Hamilton, NZ, with the second car coming online for Barbagallo.

Both new cars will get a shakedown day at Winton Raceway before their debut race meetings.

The Sprint Gas-sponsored team is yet to disclose who

while the other will be put on the market after Barbagallo’s round.

Also, expect to see a new Tasman colour scheme at Hamilton. Sponsor Sprint Gas

is currently finalising a new worldwide company logo, which is going to have a major change in the look of the Tasman Commodores.

– GRANT ROWLEY

BRIEFLY... n Russell Ingall notched up his ATCC/V8 Supercar Championship start at Eastern Creek last weekend.

Ingall, who raced with a sequential gearbox at Eastern Creek for the first time, now ranks eighth on the all-time ATCC/V8 starting list, with only John Bowe (225), Peter Brock (212), Glenn Seton (205), Dick Johnson and Mark Skaife (202), Tony Longhurst (190) and former boss Perkins (160) ahead. n Christian Danner is the latest recruit to the Speedcar Series. The German will make his series debut for Phoenix at Sepang this weekend, and joins fellow ex-F1 steerers Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson, Ukyo Katayama and Gianni Morbidelli in the V8 tintop series. n Townsend Bell and Milka Duno will share a Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry in the IndyCar Series.

Bell, 32, hasn’t been in any IndyCar Series events since the 2006 Indianapolis 500, and the team will enter two cars in this year’s Brickyard classic.

n Speaking of Daytona, Aussie Mat Mladin, who skips the 200 because he says “I don’t race mini-bikes” (the 200 is for 600cc SuperSports bikes), won the AMA Superbike race at the track on his Suzuki.

Gold Coast secure – will it be part of new, 2008 Indy ‘Mini-Series’?

INDYCAR THE Indy 300 IndyCar race may be a round of a new ‘miniseries’ to be held in the spring.

Last week, the race was locked away for the next six years, after meetings in Indianapolis between event Chairman Terry Mackenroth and General Manager Greg Hooton and IndyCar officials.

But there is still no news on what the status of the race will be, with the Chicagoland race on 7 September holding a contract to be the final race of the 2008 series.

It is expected that the Queensland race will be part of an ‘International Cup’, with other races in the USA, Canada and Japan. This will be similar

to Champ Car’s ‘Canada Cup’, held over the three Canadian rounds in Toronto, Edmonton and Mont-Tremblant.

IndyCar boss Tony George welcomed the inclusion of the Queensland event.

“The Gold Coast Indy 300 has become one of the world’s truly great motorsport events and we are delighted that it will be part of the IndyCar Series schedule,” said George.

“I know so many of our teams and drivers, who have been to the event previously hold it in high regard and we are delighted that it will be one of the highlights of the IndyCar season.”

This long-term agreement will enhance the search for a sponsor to replace Lexmark,

with the obvious candidate being Honda. There are many strong selling points, with Will Power and Ryan Briscoe going wheel to wheel against the sons of Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti, in a field up to 26 drivers. Another selling point is the massive 20th anniversary celebration planned in 2010.

At the same time, the Champ Car World Series has filed for bankruptcy in the same Indianapolis court where Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe four years ago bought CART’s assets. Documents filed in the court reveal that CCWS had debts of US$10m but assets were values at between $10m and $50m.

– MARY MENDEZ/STAFF

... but PT may be Grounded sutton-images.com

n Chaz Davies has taken a controversial Daytona 200 win.

The Kawasaki rider, who briefly raced in MotoGP last season with D’Antin Ducati, was declared the winner of the Florida classic after winner Josh Hayes was disqualified by AMA officials. Hayes’s Honda failed post-race scrutineering when its crankshaft was found to have been illegally modified.

Hayes’s Erion team is appealing the decision.

Indy Safe till 2013

INDYCAR CHAMP Car’s biggest star, Canadian Paul Tracy, may sit out the 2008 season, other than his commitment to drive for Gerald Forsythe at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the final Champ Car race.

“I want to race,” said Tracy, hoping Forsythe has a change of heart.

“While I’ve been with Jerry, I’ve enjoyed the most success of my career with his team. I really felt optimistic this year going in, the way Jerry, Neil (Micklewright), and Kenny Siewick organised the team. They hired new engineers, a

great engineering group and all new mechanics, first-rate guys. These guys are like a group of caged animals with a steak in front of them, ready to go racing. Then everything changed.

They are still ready to go.”

Tracy has talked to Tony George, who wants him to compete in his series, but Tracy only wants to run for a top team. Andretti Green Racing, which already runs four drivers, has contacted Monster Energy Drink, Tracy’s personal sponsor, which was rumored to have offered Forsythe US$3 million as car sponsor for the 2008 – $7m less than Forsythe wanted.

– MARY MENDEZ

news

INDYCAR RYAN Briscoe is full of confidence after topping two days of IndyCar testing at Sebring.

The Aussie was in peak form and led a Team Penske 1-2 after edging team-mate Helio Castroneves out of top spot on the final day of testing at the 2.6km Florida track.

“The track was really quick this afternoon,” he said, “Helio turned a fast lap mid-session, so we had something to shoot for. We went out on new tyres, but the car wasn't quite right, so I had to come in. We made just one change, which proved to be very effective. It is amazing what a small adjustment can do to lap times around this circuit.”

Target Chip Ganassi Racing team-mates

Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon were third and fourth, respectively.

Briscoe’s best time gives an insight into the comparitive speed of IndyCars and Champ Cars. Ryan managed a 52.42s at Sebring, while Frenchman Franck Montagny topped the CCWS test at the track a month ago, with a best time of 50.21s.

– MARY MENDEZ/STAFF

Ryan Flyin’ Honda Indy Media

news

Garland’s Dakar Assault DAKAR

Glock for ARC? GETTING DIRTY

TIMO Glock might be hoping to avoid the gravel at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, but if he does go off-road at least he’s had some practice.

Glock jumped behind the wheel of Neal Bates’ Corolla rally car in Melbourne today (Monday), and according to the three-time Australian rally champ, “did an amazing job for someone who has never really driven a rally car.”

Which way is Africa? Garland and Suzuki, above, are hard at work preparing for the South American Raid.

THE legendary Dakar event will be attacked by an Australian team for the next two years.

Desert racing star Bruce Garland will spearhead a two-car assault on the event, which will be held for the first time in South America next January.

Garland’s Sydney-based team is building two Isuzu DMax 4WD utes, left, which are marketed in Australia as the Holden Rodeo, for the event.

One of the 145kW dieselengined cars will be crewed

by Garland and long-time navigator Harry Suzuki, while Swedish duo Pelle Wallentheim and Olle Ohlsson will race the other for Tubus Racing.

The cars, which have the backing of Isuzu Japan and Isuzu Thailand, will have their first competition run at the Condo 750 cross country rally in central western NSW over the Easter weekend, before progressing to the Finke Desert Race (NT), the Australian Safari (WA), the UAE Desert Challenge (Dubai) and the Dakar.

“It might be the horsepower that sells the car, but it’s definitely the torque that wins the race,” Garland says.

“These things go pretty well as they are, but we’ll make them go even better.”

The Easter race covers around 800km including 550km of competitive special stages. It’s open to motorbikes, buggies, 2WD prototypes and 4WDs such as the Garland and Wallentheim entries.

Garland will have one of his team’s Isuzus ready for the Easter event, while the team will finish its second entry within a month.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

Issue 1 online NOW

Webb to make CCup comeback CARRERA CUP

Dirk Klynsmith

JONATHAN Webb will make a return to the Australian Carrera Cup Championship this weekend at Albert Park.

Webb will drive his Porsche that was campaigned last year by Michael Trimble.

The car will be prepared by Paul Cruickshank Racing, with sponsorship from DTM Wheels.

The current Stone Brothers Racing Fujitsu V8 Series driver is a former Australian Carrera Cup race winner, and has recent Porsche experience, having been part of the Dubai 24 Hour-winning VIP Petfoods team.

Webb is looking forward to his return to our leading

sportscar championship.

“I love the cars, I love the track, and I think it will be a bit of fun,” Webb told eNews.

“The car has been sitting in the workshop gathering dust, so I thought we’d get it going for this one round.”

Carrera Cup’s four races at the Melbourne street circuit are, for the first time, part of the all-Porsche championship, and Webb said that he doesn’t want to get involved in any of the regular’s championship chance.

“It’s an important round for most of the guys out there, so I don’t want to get in anyone’s round.”

Craig Baird currently leads the championship from David Russell and Dean Fiore.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Broken leg won’t stop Jono!

CARRERA CUP

James Smith

KIWI Carrera Cup ace Jono Lester will race at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, despite breaking his leg in a crash at Timaru just over a week ago.

The youngster was involved in an accident with Rodney Forbes during a round of the NZ Porsche series, and suffered a clean break of the Fibula.

But thanks to the clean nature of the break, it doesn’t require a cast, and Lester will be back in action at Albert Park.

“As far as walking goes, I’ll be hobbling around a bit, but I sat in a car this morning and the clutch motion didn’t seem to aggravate it too much,” he told eNews last week.

“Fitness shouldn’t be a problem. Obviosuly I haven’t been able to do any training while I’ve been cooped up in bed, but I should be pretty much there with race fitness.”

Despite his injury, Lester can’t wait to get to Albert Park.

“I haven’t ever been to an F1 race, not even to watch, so I can’t wait.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

Enduros are go!

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCAR endurance driver season kicked off at Eastern Creek, with the first of the new half-hour practice sessions for rookie/endurance drivers.

Many teams took the opportunity to give confirmed and potential co-drivers laps in their cars, with some interesting people snapping up late seat time.

Drivers who finished inside the top 15 in the championship last year were not eligible to compete in the session at Eastern Creek, allowing people like James Small (former Formula Ford driver turned engineer) a chance to turn some laps in Russell Ingall’s Supercheap Auto Commodore.

Small is Ingall’s engineer this year, and while he was considerably slower than others in the session, his job was to simply bed brakes and stay out of trouble.

Dick Johnson Racing pilots Warren Luff and Steve Owen were the standouts of the session, finishing third and fourth in the Jim Beam Falcons.

Others to compete in the session were Dean Canto and Luke Youlden (FPR), Glenn Seton and Craig Baird (HRT), Greg Ritter (GRM), Jonathan Webb (SBR), Paul Weel (PWR), Marcus Zukanovic (HSV) and Dale Wood and Mark Noske (Tasman).

The next endurance session at Sandown (Round 5) will exclude drivers in the top 15 in the championship.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Jack Attack: Perkins Jr was one of the enduro hopefuls to have a steer at The Creek.

Guest seals deal with Walkden RALLY MICHAEL Guest will drive for Les Walkden Rallying in the 2008 Australian Rally Championship, leaving talented youngster Brendan Reeves with few options for the upcoming season.

Reeves was signed for three years with LWR, but is now facing a season on the sidelines thanks to the Guest deal.

“At the moment for me there is nothing on offer from Les,” said Reeves.

“He said there might be the possibility of something much later in the year, so for me I’ll try to do as many events out of my own pocket to try to keep my eye in.

“My family looked at the options and we considered running our own programme in the ARC this year but the cost of competing in

a competitive car is just too much without serious sponsor support.

Instead, well look at running the (Impreza) RS in as many Victorian and South Australian State Rounds as we can afford.”

Guest, meanwhile, comes into the team with backing from Pirtek, the company that sponsored the recently defunct factory Ford squad. He will drive a Group N Subaru STI. – RYAN LAHIFF/STAFF

Dirk Klynsmith

Taylor: Hanging in RALLY YOUNG gun Molly Taylor remains confident that she can amass the funding required to run an ex-Neal Bates Toyota Corolla in this years Australian Rally Championship.

Taylor, who tested the Group N (P) specification Corolla in Canberra last December, collected the vehicle last week in preparation for the year ahead.

“Molly has been working extremely hard since the end of last year to secure the

sponsorship required to run a competitive car like the Corolla,” said her father Mark Taylor.

“I think the test last December really motivated her more than ever to find the sponsors to run this season.

“We all remain hopeful that the sponsors she’s been speaking with commit this year, if not there isn’t quite the funding to run the Corolla there are still some alternatives we’ve looked at. But the Corolla is definitely Molly’s first option.”

– RYAN LAHIFF

V8 Ute upgrades

Heathcote for sale DRAG RACING ONE of Victoria’s last remaining drag strips, Heathcote Raceway, is for sale.

The track, situated 135km from Melbourne’s CBD, is currently on the market, with current owners Russell and Joanne Clarke selling up.

LOOK for further changes to the specification of the Yokohama V8 Utes in the coming 12 months.

First on the list of changes will be the increase to 18-inch wheels for all cars, effective at the next round of the series at Barbagallo Raceway, WA, May 9-11.

Also by the Barbagallo round, all Holden runners will be in the newly-constructed VEs, built by Brock Engineering.

While the Holdens get a completely fresh look, blue oval runners receive a slight cosmetic change with a lip spoiler added to the car. The

But while some competitors are voicing concerns over the land being sold into the wrong hands and the track excavated, Joanne says it will remain as a dragstrip.

“I can pretty much guarantee it will still be a dragstrip,” she told eNews.

“We hope that if someone buys it they will improve the facilities. We’re currently

standard spoil offers no aerodynamic advantage.

But the big news for Ford drivers is that the development of Ford’s new FG Falcon ute is about to get underway.

Ford has made available one of its new models for a prototype cage to be designed and installed.

Renowned engineer Paul Ceprnich has been commissioned to design and construct the cage.

The FG Falcon Ute race car is expected to be raced for the first time at the opening round of the 2009 season.

– GRANT ROWLEY

taking offers and have had a few serious enquiries.”

Heathcote Raceway is one of two quarter-mile strips remaining in Victoria (the second one being Calder Park), and has the longest run-off of any strip in Australia.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Shannons considers The Valley THE Shannons National Motor Racing Championships is considering a venture to Darwin in 2009.

The home of some of Australia’s national championships is weighing up the viability of racing in the Northern Territory, with some of its categories showing interest in making an appearance at Hidden Valley next year.

“It’s very early stages, and there are a bunch of restraints,” Shannons Nationals manager Rob Curkpatrick said.

“We can’t shoot off to where ever we want to go. We have to consider the

drivers and teams who have small business and jobs of their own.

“But being a national championship, it’s ideal to go to as many states and territories as possible, so Hidden Valley is definitely on our radar.

“It’s somewhere different, it’s a great track and motorsport in Darwin is strong and we’d like them in the loop.”

A number of the Shannons Nationals categories have shown vast interest in racing at Hidden Valley, including Formula 3, Saloon Cars, Commodore Cup and HQs. For F3, the category could use it as a way to get international drivers,

particularly Asians, to fly down for the event.

There is also some appeal from Commodore Cup and HQs owners, which both have good numbers of Darwin-based competitors.

“It’s something that we will continue to work on, and it will take time,” Curkpatrick said.

“We’re always looking forward, always looking for opportunities, and we understand our customers.”

The first official round of this year’s Shannons Nationals is at Oran Park on April 26-27.

– GRANT ROWLEY

IT’s DIFFERENT, it’s a great track and motorsport in darwin is strong ROB CURKPATRICK

Dirk Klynsmith

Supercars on Kumho Tyres!

V8 TOURING CARS THE new-for-2008 V8 Touring Car category has picked up a sponsor and a tyre supplier for its inaugural season.

Shannons Insurance has been confirmed as the namingrights sponsor, while Kumho tyres will supply control rubber to the ex-V8 Supercars.

“They are both solid supporters of motor tracing in Australia and its great to

have them associated with the Shannons Championships,” category manager Rob Curkpatrick said.

“Kicking off the series straight away with support makes it very reassuring.”

CAMS recently approved the V8 Touring Car category, and it will compete on the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships bill. Originally, the deregistered V8 Supercars were going to race on a Sports

Sedan logbook, however, CAMS will recognise them as ‘V8 Touring Cars.’

In terms of grid names and numbers, Curkpatrick has made realistic expectations.

“If we get somewhere between 10 and 15 for the first round, we’d be pretty happy.

Any more than that will be a bonus,” he said.

“That’s not a big grid, but you have to be realistic about these things.

“Until we get the technical regulations finalised, we won’t know exactly how many competitors.

“There are lots of people out there who have shown interest. so it’s been pretty positive.”

The Shannons V8 Touring Car Series will contest four rounds in its inaugural season, plus a one-off appearance at the Muscle Car Masters in September.

– GRANT ROWLEY

news

John Morris/Mpix

A Golding opportunity Round winning team secures Jessica’s services for remaining FFord rounds FORMULA FORD JESSICA Golding will drive the third Synergy Motorsports Spectrum in the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship for the reminder of the season.

Golding, a former karter, was earlier looking to drive in overseas Formula BMW competition, but the rising star has elected to stay on home soil and compete in the national championship with the team that won the first round at Eastern Creek last weekend.

Golding tested at Wakefield

Park last week, the track on which she will make her Formula Ford debut in May. The 19-year-old told eNews that 2008 will be a learning year.

“We had one and half test days and it took a while to set some decent times, but I think they are such fantastic cars,” she said.

“It’s very much like a big go kart. It slides around a lot and I feel a lot more at home in them.

“I’ve always been thrown in the deep end in any racing I’ve done. This is another challenge.

This year will be a learning year, but it’s a two-year plan. We’ll be very competitive next year.”

Golding’s sponsor will also add an extra element of interest.

The fast femme has inked Hero Energy as her major backer.

The American company has a licensed deal with Warner Brothers, allowing them to use Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman to promote its product. Thus, it is likely that Golding’s Synergy Spectrum will be emblazed by various cartoon characters.

Golding will juggle her new commitments with a sports management degree at Bond University on the Gold Coast.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Creek was Smallville. Who’s next? championship points.

Small impressed team boss Michael Ritter, but he is not likely to return to the seat, concentrating on his statelevel Formula Fording.

Small is a top three contender in the Victorian Formula Ford Series, and wants to learn in that championship before tackling the National crown.

“My aim is to do the national stuff properly next year,” Small said.

Dirk Klynsmith

BEN Small was a late edition to the Sonic Motor Racing squad at Eastern Creek for the first round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship last weekend.

Small replaced Kristian Lindbom, who pulled out of his seat with the team due to a shortfall of funds.

Small filled the void and drove three sensible races and was unlucky not to come away from the meeting with any

“I just didn’t have the experience in these cars to do any better this round. They are totally different to the state car.

I definietly learnt a lot, though, and I had a good time.”

The third seat at Sonic now remains available, with Ritter currently in talks with a Kiwi driver about competing in the remaining rounds.

– GRANT ROWLEY

news

Superleague Formula. Wow!

At last: a V12, with Balls SUPERLEAGUE

EDWARDS KEEPS WIN, NOT POINTS NASCAR SPRINT CARL Edwards will keep his Las Vegas Sprint Cup win, despite his car failing post-race inspection.

Edwards was docked 100 points and fined US$100,000, and his crew chief Bob Osborne has been banned from the racetrack for six races after the cover on his car’s oil tank box was found to be loose and a bolt missing, allowing critical air to escape through the box located behind the driver.

The loss of points dropped Edwards from first in the standings to seventh and lifted Kyle Busch into the point lead by 20 over Ryan Newman. Edwards will also not receive

NASCAR Media

THE new Superleague Formula prototype chassis has completed its first laps at Donington in the UK. Frenchman Bruce Jounny shook down the Panoz DP09 under the gaze of championship Technical Director Steve Farrell, with British Formula 3 Hitech Racing providing the engineering expertise.

The Menard Technologies-built V12 ran without major problems in the first of what are expected to be several tests, before cars are delivered to their teams in June.

The day after the Donington test, the car that will carry the hopes of football club Galatasaray SK was launched in Turkey. The team will have its racer fettled by Italian Scuderia Playteam SaraFree, and local GP2 driver Jason Tahoncioglu and Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi are on contention for the race seat.

To date, 11 international clubs have signed on for championship, which will kick off on 30-31 August at Donington.

the 10 bonus points that determines point position if he qualifies for September’s Chase.

Edwards was not the only driver to lose out in Vegas. Robby Gordon successfully appealed a similar penalty after his Dodge was found to have an illegal nose, however the infraction was spotted prior to practice at Daytona. NASCAR upheld his appeal but increased the fine to $150K, and place Gordon’s crew chief Frank Kerr on probation until December 31.

Five Nationwide Series teams were fined for the same issue at Daytona and the commission upheld one penalty, rescinded one and amended three after review.

– MARTIN D CLARK

5 Minutes with ...

WILL DAVISON

A race and a round win put a smile on Davo’s dial – and everyone else at DJR

It’s been a frustrating period over the past few years, more so recently. Must be a nice feeling to give the boys this result.

Yeah, it’s just so good. I’m just as happy for the team as I am for myself. Even Bathurst last year I was a bit emotional as how it was for them. Even this race, it means so much. It’s a pretty crucial time for the team.

They’ve worked so hard for it.

Was there a time when you thought that this team wasn’t going to be able to provide

Dirk Klynsmith

MOTORSPORT NEWS: On Friday morning before a car hit the track, did you think that by the end of the weekend you would be a V8 Supercar round winner?

WILL DAVISON: Absolutely not. I thought that if we got everything to our maximum potential, we could stand on the podium.

I was pretty encouraged Friday with the way we are running the car and the way it’s been overseen.

I was very encouraged by the way it felt in Adelaide but we didn’t really get the result we wanted. So I thought, ‘Adelaide is Adelaide, I can’t do anything about it now, lets just start thinking about Eastern Creek.’

I qualified sixth, finished second which was great, then got the start perfect in Race 2 and I just didn’t want to blow it. To hang on for the round win feels unbelievable. It’s fantastic to get a genuine win without cars crashing left, right and centre. It’s a nice feeling to have my first win a genuine one.

GRANT ROWLEY

you with what you needed to win?

It’s strange, because I’ve never felt uncomfortable in the environment here.

There’s obviously been a few times when you here a whole bunch of rumours and feel uncertain, but I’ve trusted the people within who have given me the information about how the team is positioned, and I saw their vision and have given it my best.

With Adrian (Burgess) on board and other key people in the team, plus Jim Beam as the major sponsor, I felt that all the ingredients were there for a successful operation.

You haven’t won a race since your days in the British Formula 3 in 2003. Personally, it must make you feel like you’re back in the game.

Yeah, that win came in similar

circumstances. It was a critical time in my career. Since then, I’ve had a couple of podiums, but I haven’t won anything.

It’s all about getting in the right position, with the right team and take any opportunities you can get.

I had an opportunity this weekend and I’ve taken it.

Some people may ask how can a four-year-old car win a race, when it’s competing against cars that are brand-new, latest spec. What’s your answer to that?

Well, it will be good when the team try and sell it! Both our cars were built in 2004, and they’ve both had a pretty good life. My car hasn’t had any really big hits, but sure, you’d have to think that there’s been some gains in chassis development and construction over the past four years from the leading

teams. We’ve got some latestspec stuff bolted onto our car – suspension, shocks, all of Triple Eight’s running gear, so it is not a totally old car.

Dick Johnson Racing has a proud history in the sport. Tru Blu Falcon, Greens Tuff Falcon, Shell Sierras. Is a Jim Beam Falcon the next of his cars to join the list of champions?

Oh, I don’t know. We’ll see.

Dick is the icon. He’s the team owner and the legend.

Dick is an absolute legend of the sport and his records are his and his teams. His fan base and his profile is what has kept his team alive. He’s still at every autograph session with us, he still speaks with all his fans and is riding all the waves with us now. I can’t thank him enough for the opportunity and I hope the Jim Beam car can go in the record books in the future.

chat

Honda Indy Racing

MINI racecar huge fun ... opinion

Peter Bury

THE MINI is actually a very impressive little race car.

They’ve got good drive, good tyres, great brakes, 155kW; but what appeals to me is that they are all the same. As a series that depends less on car set-up and more than driver ability, I think it’s a really good little series. And the cars look fat!

When my calendar freed up and this opportunity arrived to be their celebrity driver for the first round, the thing that really impressed me is the commitment from the manufacturer. They are right behind it. It’s not like they’ve just given them some cars and are trying to make money out of it.

They really want to make it work, and that is showed here this weekend.

The set-up, the way they are working with everyone’s cars, making sure everyone is happy.

It’s the ideal corporate facility to entertain and lure sponsors.

And from a young driver’s point of view, I reckon the

Jason Bargwanna MINI Challenge driver package is perfect. In some ways, it rivals most of the other series below V8 Supercars.

Ford and Holden obviously have a bigger commitment than anyone in Australian motorsport.

I’m really impressed with it.

And one of the others things with the MINI Challenge that make it great is the professionalism of the teams.

They are well-equipped, with strong drivers. We’re not dealing with weekend warriors, it’s very serious and I suspect over the next couple of years, it’s going to be one of the most competitive series in the country.

I’d love to do this again, but at this stage, I’m obviously setting my sights on getting the best endurance drive possible, and then get my bum back in a V8 Supercar full-time in 2009.

Letters

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

James bad, Craig good In all the terse words following the Craig Lowndes/James Courtney incident – from the inevitable armchair judges – I would point to the ‘From the Stewards’ section of the current eNews and note that JC is mentioned a couple of times for incidents in passing manoeuvres – while Lowndes does not feature at all – for any kind of infringement – all weekend.

Carl Liebold otecarl@bigpond.com

Not so grand Once again, the promoters of the GT Championship appeared to have sold the promoters of the Clipsal 500 a pup. Once again, the prerace publicity spoke of four Lamborghinis, big fields full of exotic cars, etc etc.

Sadly, and predictably, not even close.

Presumably the Clipsal people will cry “enough is enough” and choose a more deserving category for next year that can deliver a full

grid of cars, and a chance of more then one driver actually winning.

Much rather see the Aussie Racers, the Saloons, or heaven forbid even the HQs then the GTs again.

Gordon Anderson Email address withheld Branagan for Prez!

Mr Branagan, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Whilst I don’t think your description of the XXXX Angels is harsh enough, it

is pleasing that some of the men who work in the V8 Supercar Paddock are beginning to see the light and join the chorus of females who believe the V8 Supercar Paddock is no place for surgically enhanced women wearing the equivalent of a small hanky to protect their modesty.

There’s a newsflash headed in the direction of Marine Parade … this is the 21st Century and women follow this sport too … please return

opinion

IF – and it’s a big if – you wanted to make sure that a race meeting in Sydney is a complete flop, there are several things you would do to get it done.

First, you book Eastern Creek on a weekend when the NRL is kicking off.

Secondly, you make sure that there’s a drag racing event next door, festivals and markets down the street, a Grand Prix the next week, and then, you give the event almost zero publicity.

It’s a sure-fire way to ensure that the gate tenders have a pretty quiet day …

The official crowd figure for the weekend was 23,511. A record? Yep, a record low.

opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews Which makes me think that the crowd result that V8 Supercars got at Eastern Creek last weekend will go some way to get what the powers-that-be want. Now, they can go to the NSW government and say, “hey, no one cares about V8s at Eastern Creek, it’s time to invest elsewhere.”

Enter street race talks again.

But being a former Western Sydneysider,

the “promotional girls” to the strip joints they rightfully belong in, post haste!!

Elaine Hare Email address withheld Congratulations on having the courage in this week’s eNews to have a shot at the promo girls who increasingly litter the sport.

I can’t for the life of me see what they achieve or add to the occasion, though no doubt your item will draw some hostility from some quarters.

David email address withheld

it’s hard to imagine that any motor race will get lots of bums on seats. Even NRL, the sport that dominates the back page of Sydney’s papers, doesn’t get crowds that justify the local hype. It’s a known statistic that, despite its massive population, the people in Sydney simply don’t support sports events like other parts of the country.

So what does this mean? Oran Park is gone next year. Will we see a V8 race in Sydney’s metro? For me and many others, that would be a disaster if there wasn’t.

However, ‘disaster’ is exactly the right word for the lack of interest shown last weekend.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Bra-na-gan!

I have to say I agree with Phil Branagan and have thought this for a while, but thought I must have been a wowser.

It is so great to see someone else out there speaking for the family.

I would much rather my

Dirk Klynsmith

Did anyone go to Eastern Creek?

girl go to an event and see a female racer or technician and aspire to be like her than to see another female dressed basically to pleasure men through their scantily-clad appearances. We are not on top of the mountain guys and the fans of V8Supercars who

now pay large amounts of money to walk their families through the gates and into the pits are not all yobbos.

It is time to remove the cheesy, tarty image and develop some respect for women who are involved in the sport. I am sure the grid girls would like to be respected for the people they are rather than their physical anatomy.

Todd Parkes Brisbane, QLD

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

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 2 – EASTERN CREEK

race

Laser Beam Three races, three winners. But it was the bloke who won Race 2 that had the biggest smile, as Will Davison gave Dick Johnson his first round win in seven years. GRANT ROWLEY reports

Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

T

HREE races, three different winners and a feel-good story emerged from the second round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Eastern Creek last weekend.

Will Davison took the overall victory, his first in V8 Supercars, and the first victory in seven years for the category’s oldest team, Dick Johnson Racing.

Davison’s victory was orchestrated by an awesome start to Saturday’s first race.

From grid six, he bounded into second place behind Garth Tander and remained behind the reigning Champion for the entire distance.

In Race 2, Davison made a superior start to Tander and held that advantage from go to whoa.

A calculated sixth place in Race 3 (with heavily fading rubber) secured Davison and the Jim Beam Racing team a

historic round victory.

“It feels so good. I’m honestly just as happy for the team as I am for myself,” he said.

“The win has come at a pretty crucial time. I know how much this means to everyone here.

It’s a really close team and I’m glad we could deliver this for the team.”

Ford Performance Racing had a heaven and hell weekend, with Mark Winterbottom taking the final race win and second overall, and Steven Richards all but destroying his Castrol Falcon.

Both FPR Falcons were struggling in practice and qualifying and had to wait for the weekend to come to them.

According to the factory team, low grip circuits have never suited them, but when the raceway rubbered up, Frosty and Richo came into their own. Richards’s Race 2 effort was a perfect example of this – on a track hardly known

for passing, he stormed from the back of the field to finish seventh.

Unfortunately, his car didn’t see out the meeting in one piece (see breakout).

Tander’s third overall was a nice comeback from a disastrous opening round at Clipsal. After dominating Qualifying and Race 1, he made a poor start to Race 2 and thereafter, struggled with his worst set of tyres. In Race 3, Tander and HRT looked like they were back to their best, finishing third.

“The car wasn’t particularly good at all in Race 2,” he said.

“We made a couple of very small changes to the car and it was amazing how bad it made the car.

“But considering where we were post Clipsal, to be sitting out here on the podium is a great effort.”

Rick Kelly and the Toll HSV team were hampered by clutch

Looking ominous: Saturday’s race, left, looked like the start of a Tander rout, but it did not work out that way.

Davo set off some emtional scenes after Race 2, above, while Winterbottom, top right, stood up to the pressure to take Race 3.

problems and a couple of dud pit stops, but fourth overall for the 2006 champ gave him a good haul of points.

Team Vodafoners Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes finished fifth and sixth for the meeting. In terms of speed, Whincup wasn’t lacking, although a rubbish start to Race 2 cost him.

Holden’s new signing Russell Ingall showed real fight. The Supercheap Auto driver languished in qualifying, but a brilliant Race 2 start (and a lot of race pace) set up his seventh place overall.

Noteworthy efforts go to Team BOC, with WOWser Cameron McConville to fifth on the grid, but a Race 1 incident with Paul Dumbrell put paid to any outright result.

Next, the V8s gun for Manufacturer glory at Albert Park, before heading across the Tasman for the inaugural Hamilton street race.

race

Peter Bury

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 Supercar | Round 2 EASTERN CREEK Pos #

John Morris/Mpix

Stealth: Rick Kelly is proving again that he is the King of Consistent, above, while Steven Richards ended a great fightback in a tyre barrier in Race 3, below.

Driver

1 18 Will Davison 2 5 Mark Winterbottom 3 1 Garth Tander 4 15 Rick Kelly 5 88 Jamie Whincup 6 888 Craig Lowndes 7 39 Russell Ingall 8 2 Mark Skaife 9 33 Lee Holdsworth 10 51 Greg Murphy 11 16 Paul Dumbrell 12 7 Todd Kelly 13 14 Cameron McConville 14 111 Fabian Coulthard 15 3 Jason Richards 16 4 James Courtney 17 17 Steven Johnson 18 50 Andrew Thompson 19 9 Shane Van Gisbergen 20 11 Shane Price 21 25 Jason Bright 22 67 Paul Morris 23 34 Michael Caruso 24 6 Steven Richards 25 021 Chris Pither 26 55 Tony D’Alberto 27 12 Andrew Jones 28 26 Marcus Marshall

Team/Car

Q

r1

r2 r3

Jim Beam Falcon BF Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF Toll HRT Commodore VE HSV Dealer Team Commodore VE TeamVodafone Falcon BF TeamVodafone Falcon BF Supercheap Auto Commodore VE Toll HRT Commodore VE Valvoline Cummins Commodore VE Tasman Motorsport Commodore VE Autobarn Racing Commodore VE Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE Team WOW Commodore VE Glenfords Falcon BF Tasman Motorsport Commodore VE Jeld-Wen Falcon BF Jim Beam Falcon BF PWR Racing Commodore VE SP Tools Falcon BF Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE Fujitsu Falcon BF Supercheap Auto Commodore VE Valvoline Cummins Commodore VE Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF Team Kiwi Racing Falcon BF Rod Nash Racing Commodore VE Team BOC Commodore VE Irwin Falcon VE

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

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

John Morris/Mpix

Points: Whincup 540, R. Kelly 432, Holdsworth 426, Winterbottom 382, Davison 356, Lowndes 339, Murphy 330, Tander 326, Skaife 322, T. Kelly 308, Johnson 280, J. Richards 272, Van Gisbergen 268, Ingall 255, S. Richards 251, McConville 249, Coulthard 239, Courtney 171, Jones 170, Bright 164, Marshall 158, Caruso 152, Morris 143, Dumbrell 140, Thompson 133, Price 130, D’Alberto 108, Scott 102, Pither 58.

Marshall Cass

Good things come in 3s Phil Branagan THREE all-the-way wins at a single-lane track like Eastern Creek normally sounds like a sure cure for insomnia, but it did not work out like that this year.

Okay, it helped to have three blokes from different teams doing the winning. And while Race 1 was a dud outing for anyone not named ‘Garth’ or ‘Tander’, plenty happened in the other two to excite. Bad starts matched rippers, there was much overtaking and some blasts from the past.

Russell Ingall picked the right weekend to walk the walk; perhaps he knew that had he not, all we would have to talk about was his new television commercials.

On the other hand, considering there was a fair amount of mid-pack biffo, there is relatively little damage for most of the teams to repair prior to bumping-in at Albert Park this week.

We usually refrain from tipping a bucket on the TV talkers – but it is impossible not to mention the pitlane commentators. On Sunday, Seven wheeled out its stars but Denyer, Beretta and Gibson all struggled. Noonan did a far better job on Saturday, so TV guys, can we just be done with it and have him in the trenches all the time, please?

Grey Expectations

Dirk Klynsmith

FROM THE COUCH

Some great starts and vintage driving allowed Ingall to shine SUPERCHEAP Auto Racing is making impressive and fast-paced strides towards the front of the V8 field.

Russell Ingall finished the weekend seventh overall, and looked like a genuine threat in Race 2 and 3.

The chassis was the reason for team’s big smiles, and the drivers both did their bit, but they all recognise that engine power is the next item that needs development.

“The engines have continually been developed over the last few years, so we’ve got a bit of work to do,” Ingall said.

“Our guys know how to build championship-

winning engines, though, so there’s no need to panic.

“We’ve made some big gains with chassis this weekend, but that is probably due to the fact that we haven’t tested. Two shiny new cars, we rolled them out in Adelaide and we, kind of, expected the results we got. Coming here, we’ve been happy with the progress.”

Ingall’s team-mate Paul Morris finished the round with a bent car when he was involved in a second corner incident, but an encouraging 10th place finish in Race 2 means that come endurance time, SCAR will have a pretty solid driving combination …

From the Stewards Room After a busy few days in Adelaide, everyone appeared to get used to everyone else at Eastern Creek. Here is a summary of a fairly quiet weekend in Western Sydney Practice and Qualifying No penalties. Everyone behaved themselves.

Race 1 Pit Lane Penalty: Michael Caruso, for a driving infringement on Marcus Marshall.

Pit Lane Penalty: Chris Pither, for an unsafe release from pit bay.

Five position penalty: Paul

Dumbrell, breach of Code of Driving Conduct (careless driving) involving Cameron McConville.

Five position penalty: Paul Morris, breach of Code of Driving Conduct (careless driving) involving Shane Van Gisbergen.

No breach of rules established: Mark Winterbottom and Steven Johnson, contact at Turn 2.

No breach of rules established: Marcus Marshall, for use of indecent language.

Race 2 Bad Sportsmanship Flag: Russell Ingall, for unsporting driving on Garth Tander on lap 2.

Race 3 Pit lane penalty: Shane Van Gisbergen, for speeding in pit lane.

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We have it in Writing ...

SOME obvious progress in communication between the Stewards, the IPO, the Driving Standards Officer and V8 Supercar competitors resulted in a competitive but less-destructive V8 Supercar race at Eastern Creek at the weekend.

With all the concerns raised after the Clipsal 500, everyone appeared to sit down in a calmer environment and look at the issue.

The outcome was a written document which lays down the basics in terms of driving

ANALYSIS Neil Crompton Commentator standards. It’s a simple tool, which appears to have helped drivers to know where they stand, what is generally acceptable and what is not.

The best illustration of its use came at the weekend when, firstly Jamie Whincup and Will Davison ran wheel to wheel, side-by-side for nearly half a lap, then Whincup and Rick Kelly did the same. It

was tough, competitive, but sensible – with Jamie and Rick actually congratulating each other afterwards!

It was significant, I think, that the Stewards Report from the weekend was a very short document (see opposite page).

While that was the big upside, as a Sydneysider I wish there was a way to get the public to embrace Eastern Creek more as a motorsport venue.

It’s perfectly positioned on a major freeway, the facilities are well-built, yet it doesn’t attract

spectators in the numbers it should.

In my view, we should stop bagging the place and look at ways to make the circuit more user-friendly. We need to focus more spectator attention on the South side of the circuit, where there is the potential for action. Turns 6/7 and 10/11 need to be opened up a bit to provide improved passing opportunities for all competitors.

Simple things, but something which, I believe, would make a difference.

John Morris/Mpix Dirk Klynsmith

Marshall Cass

Pushing for a place: Courtney had a tough weekend, above, while some Holdsworth fans appear confused over which team is his ...

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 – EASTERN CREEK

Formula Spectrum

I

F you weren’t in a Spectrum chassis at Eastern Creek last weekend, you weren’t winning.

The local manufacturer dominated the first round of the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship, taking seven of the top 10 spots for the round. However, it wasn’t the factory Spectrum team that was finishing at the head of the queue.

Category debutant team Synergy Motorsport claimed the first round honours, with Brad Lowe scoring two wins and a third place for first overall.

After competing in selected national Formula Ford rounds over the past two years, Lowe used experience and speed to put an early stranglehold on the prestigious title.

“Naturally I want to win every race, but in the last race, I was just thinking points,” the round winner said.

“I want to be there at the end of the year.

My main focus is on the championship.”

Lowe said that it was encouraging for the brand-new team to score a result first-up.

“Justin (Cotter) has done an awesome job to get Paul (Laskazeski) and I up there.

We’ve been fast in testing, we hardly changed a thing all weekend. So I’m rapt.”

Fellow Synergy driver Laskazeski, who spent 2007 on the sidelines, came back to the track with a solid third overall.

Spliting the Synergy team-mates was fellow New South Welshman Ben Morley.

The Icon Motorsport’s driver had just half a day’s testing with his new Spectrum before the first round, but with a bank of state racing experience, Morley pressured the Synergy team all weekend. He ended the round with a third place and two seconds.

Pre-season favourite Nick Percat was the lone Mygale fighting the horde of Spectrums. Percat started well, grabbing pole with ease, before falling to fifth in Race 1. But worse came at the start of Race 2, when he slipped off the road at turn nine.

The HSV Dealer Team-supported driver

finished seventh, and with fresh Race 3 rubber, stormed his way through to take last race honours and fourth for the round.

Daniel Erickson was the best of the CAMS Rising Stars, finishing fifth overall after a consistent national series debut.

Adam Graham took sixth outright in his Minda Motorsports Spectrum, ahead of Blake Varney, who impressed immensely in his Autobarn Spectrum.

Trent Harrison was eighth overall (and second-best Mygale) from Jake Chapman and Robert Storey.

Storey qualified well but was the innocent party in a nasty Race 1 incident.

Sonic driver Lucas Dumbrell clipped the back of Storey’s Spirit on the approach to turn two, with Dumbrell rolling over spectacularly.

The next round of the championship is at Wakefield Park.

– GRANT ROWLEY Points: Lowe 54, Morley 46, Laskazeski 42, Percat 37, Erickson 28, Graham 24, Varney 22, Harrision 8.

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Dirk Klynsmith

Marshall Cass

Lone Rider: Nick Percat, above, was the lonely Mygale at the front of the field, but won the final for the French. Ben Morley, below, used his local knowledge to fine effect.

John Morris/Mpix

John Morris/Mpix

Rollover, rollover: Lucas Dumbrell had a tough introduction to the Australian Formula Ford Championship, rolling at the start of Race 1 after a clash with Rob Storey, as pictured in this sequence.

John Morris/Mpix

John Morris/Mpix

Marshall Cass

Kemal heads the bunch AUSSIE RACING CARS

John Morris/Mpix

No surprises here: Paul Morris did well in the smaller version of his SuperCheap Auto Commodore, above, while Ben McCashney proved he had front-running pace in the Playstation entry, below.

– AARON SHAW

Points: Kemal 51, McCashney 50, Morris 49, Carr 48, Phillips 47, Lawrence 46, Ward 45, Clews 44, Gowans 43, Lowe 41.

Marshall Cass

PAUL Kemal won the opening Aussie Racing Cars Super Series round at Eastern Creek last weekend, finishing in front of Ben McCashney and Paul Morris.

Kemal won Race 2, but was caught up in incidents in the final two races. Race 3 saw him escape from a turn 1 collision involving James Ward and Morris, then in Race 4, Kemal came together with Simmons entering turn 2. Fortunately for him, he escaped any major damage and recovered well to finish fourth in the final, clinching round victory in the process.

“It was a great way to start the year,” Kemal said.

“I lost the first race to Ward in a photo-finish, but managed to pass Morris on the final lap to win Race 2. But I couldn’t have planned to start the year off in a better way with the round victory.”

Race 3 winner McCashney dealt with set-up problems in

the early stages, but changes after Race 1 saw him become a formidable force up front.

“We made some changes that really made a difference to the handling of the car, he said.

“From there I had a lot more confidence to push harder and it showed in the results.”

Double duties didn’t stop Morris from performing well in the ‘pocket rockets,’ but a penalty in Race 2 for his collision with Ward relegated him from second to fifth. Tables were turned in Race 3 though, when Morris was taken out of contention, although he recovered well in the final to win the race and finish third overall for the round.

“I was down on power in Race 2 as the engine started to overheat,” Morris said.

“But we fixed that problem and to come through with the win in the final was fantastic.”

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Layton hits the front!

Crambrook takes the early Utes lead as Grant Johnson has a shocker at Eastern Creek V8 UTES FORMER V8 Supercar racer Layton Crambrook has taken the championship lead in the V8 Ute Racing series with overall victory in Round 2 at Eastern Creek over the weekend.

Crambrook qualified fourth behind George Miedecke, Ryal Harris and Jack Elsegood, but was promoted to third when Miedecke was relegated to the rear of the grid for failing to go to parc ferme.

From there, Crambrook drove a smart first race, finishing second behind Ryal Harris, before staging

a mammoth charge from 15th to second in the top16 reverse-grid Race 2. By virtue of his two strong performances, Cranbrook took pole position for the weekend’s final race and was never headed, storming away to a commanding victory in his Lamont Constructions Falcon XR8 Ute. Second for the weekend was Yanis Derums, driving the Kanga Loaders VE Commodore.

Derums was just off the pace in Race 1, finishing 12th, but a win in Race 2 gave him a frontrow starting position for the final race, in which he finished in third.

Colin Corkery finished up third overall, a great recovery after his involvement in the big crash at Adelaide which also involved Craig Dontas and Matt Kingsley. Corkery was consistent throughout the weekend, with finishes of fifth, eighth and second in the three races.

Throughout the weekend’s three races, there were plenty of incidents, with the notorious Turn 2 proving a popular spot for drivers to come to grief. In the opening race, Ben Dunn and Glenn McNally both came together, prompting an early safety-car.

In the second race, an out-of-

control Harris speared up the grass on the inside of the track and collected the cars of Grant Johnson, Michael Bartsch and Steve Hodges as he came back onto the track.

The incident was especially costly for defending Champion Johnson, who won the opening round in Adelaide.

Regular series front-runner Gary Baxter struggled badly for pace in qualifying, taking quite some time to get up to speed in his brand-new Commodore.

– LACHLAN MANSELL

Points: Crambrook 168, Corkery 129, Dontas 129, Kim Jane 129, Andrew Fisher 122, Derums 122.

John Morris/Mpix

Dirk Klynsmith

One small step for man ...

The MINI Challenge took its first steps at Eastern Creek, with Neil McFadyen taking the prize MINI CHALLENEGE

Dirk Klynsmith

NEIL McFadyen made Australian motorsport history at Eastern Creek on the weekend, winning the first-ever round of the inaugural MINI Challenge.

McFadyen, driving for the Peter Doulmanrun M3 Motorsport, won Races 1 and 3 and finished third in the top-six reverse-grid second race.

It was a good start to the season for McFadyen, who also leads the Australian Formula 3 Championship.

While McFadyen was mainly in a class of his own in terms of car-speed, the battle for second-place overall required a fair amount of mathematics to calculate.

In the opening race, special guest driver Jason Bargwanna appeared to have the ascendancy, getting the jump on McFadyen and setting the fastest lap of the race. However, a tardy start in the second race dropped Bargwanna to sixth, and he was only able to finish fourth in the final race.

The other drivers battling for second were Grant Denyer, Paul Stokell and BMW technician Nathan Geier. Denyer finished fourth in Race 1 and won Race 2, but he

Small man, small car: Grant Denyer is a Mini expert, having driven them in Targa events.

was not able to hold out Paul Stokell in the final race, the triple Australian Drivers’ champion nailing his car-setup in the final race to quickly dispose of Denyer and apply the pressure to McFadyen in the closing laps. Thus, Stokell finished second overall.

Outside the top five, former Saloon Car racer Paul Fiore was the most consistent performer, but didn’t have the pace to challenge the front-runners. However, Paul certainly had a far better weekend than his brother Todd, who finished eighth in Race 1, but then crashed on the warm-up lap of Race 2, ending his weekend.

Other drivers competing in the series included Ricky Occhipinti, who was taking part in his first tin-top race, and Carerra Cup competitor Ian Sherrin.

Former Daewoo, MG and Lotus competitor Chris Oxley also made his return to racing, and recorded top-10 finishes in each race.

Overall, the MINI Series provided some close racing amongst the 16 cars entered for the event, and with new drivers expected to enter the category throughout the season, the field should expand.

– LACHLAN MANSELL

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McIntyre defends NZ V8s NEW ZEALAND DESPITE suffering his only DNF of the season in Race 1, John McIntyre successfully defended the New Zealand V8 Championship at Teretonga Park, the final round.

The series went down to the final reverse grid race, which McIntyre won from mid-field, chased by Kayne Scott who claimed the early wins and title threat Angus Fogg. Scott’s round win elevated him to third in the series behind McIntyre and Fogg.

A broken timing chain

halved McIntyre’s lead over Fogg on Saturday and after a measly 14th place in Race 2 the pressure mounted on McIntyre, with Fogg just 12 points shy.

Paul Radisch was relegated to fifth in the series after he was punted out of the final race. David Besnard and Luke Youlden rounded out the 10.

“It’s better to have won this second championship,” said McIntyre. “We’ve won two rounds and won seven of the 18 races.”

Final points: McIntyre 1004, Fogg 977, Scott 932, Andy Booth 809,

Radisich 748, Paul Manuell 735, Clark Proctor 653, Dean Perkins 598, Besnard 525, Youlden 449.

ANDY Knight claimed the Toyota Racing Series despite considerable pressure from 17-year-old sensation Earl Bamber.

In his fourth season of TRS, Knight trailed Bamber into the final round but overhauled his rival, finishing just one place ahead in the final race. An error in qualifying and a misfire in the first two races held back Bamber. He charged from the rear of the grid in the final race

to finish fourth behind Knight, who was unable to improve on his starting position. Michael Burdett claimed rookie of the year with two wins on the weekend.

CRAIG Baird claimed his fourth New Zealand Porsche GT3 series title in as many years, while David Reynolds claimed the round win.

Reynolds sampled each step of the podium after qualifying first. Daniel Gaunt claimed second in the series courtesy of a win in Race 1.

– BILL RIDDELL

Karts faster than Supercars at The Creek SUPERKARTS

John Morris/Mpix

THE V8 Supercars may have been the main drawcard at Eastern Creek on the weekend, but they weren’t the fastest category at the meeting.

Instead, that mantle was held by the Superkart series, which was a one-off addition to the support program for the weekend.

The miniature machines reach a top speed of around 220 kmh down the main straight, but make up their time through the corners, where they can carry a lot more speed than the V8s.

Three-time defending Superkart Champ Warren McIlveen took the overall victory, winning Race 1 and Race 3. Former Gibson Motorsport V8 Supercar driver and multiple Sports Sedan champion

Darren Hossack won the second race and finished second overall. Stephen Castles finished third in Race 1, failed to finish Race 2 after an engine failure, and stormed through the field to finish second in the final.

Anton Stevens made a good return to Eastern Creek after a serious crash at the

circuit last year, finishing all three races in the top 10 after starting rear-of-field with clutch problems.

In the 125cc Class, it was Anthony Lappas who dominated, finishing several positions ahead of the next best 125cc karts in each race.

– LACHLAN MANSELL

HISTORICS PHILLIP ISLAND

When Dinosaurs

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ruled the Earth The ground at Phillip Island shook with the sounds of Formula 1s, 5000 and some of the hairiest Tourers and Sportscars to ever take to the hallowed tarmac

T

have died, really, they are fast and they do not have a lot of downforce.”

So, in a car that old and valuable, what was the ‘race pace’?

“I pushed, but carefully and I was mindful of the fact that this was someone else’s car,” Bowe admitted. “There was every model of Lola, Chevrons, an Eagle, all kinds of cars that people love to see.

“Seeing the Formula 1 cars there, there was a big speed differential, but that was not a problem because Historic

racing is all about the cars, not the drivers. It is great for the public to be there and take it all in.”

Bowe was not the only V8 Supercar legend to make the trek. In a lifetime of driving cars, and with many Porsches in his past, it is unlikely that Jim Richards will ever forget driving the ex-Mark Donohue Porsche 917, even if he did drive it slowly.

“Jim’s car was so big, there was a Matich SR4 there and some amazing static displays,” Bowe enthused. “There were so many

people there, from different car clubs having an outing, with their Healeys, Minis, Jags and so on. It is a great scene to be involved with, without any kind of ceremony or grandeur.”

So, will there be more epic cars from the past in JB’s future?

“I would love to do more, and I am interested in racing the cars that I have not raced in the past.

“I have never driven a Formula 1 car – and I would like to drive one …”

– PHIL BRANAGAN

Chris Carter

HERE were Tourers.

There were Sportscars.

Some cars, worth millions of dollars, went slow. And some, worth millions, went fast.

And the fans flocked to Phillip Island, encouraged by the sights of some of the most famous cars in the history of the sport, the smells of some of the older cars (and drivers) and the lure of low admission prices and that famous Victorian weather.

Kids of all ages walked around with smiles permanently affixed to their faces, and one of them was John Bowe. The bearded one was there to do something he had never done before – to drive a Lola Formula 5000, in this case, a T430, one of two Lolas owned by New Zealand 5000 enthusiast, David Abbott.

“The last time I drove a Formula 5000 was in 1980, in an Elfin,” he said. “What interested me was that this car was the one was the one that Alfie Costanzo drove all those years ago, and I have some great races against it.

“The group of people who constitute the New Zealand Formula 5000 Association are a terrific group of people, and people love these cars.

The category should never

Porsche, Audi, Jim: Richo Sr was understandably circumspect in the stunning 917, above. There were shades of Bathursts past in the Group A and C events, with Gavin Strongman’s Nissan GT-R duking it out with Norman Mogg in the ex-HRT Commodore VL Walkinshaw, below.

Chris Carter

race

Chris Carter

Red Power: John Bowe’s Lola T430 challenges Guido Belgiorno-Nettis’s Ferrari 156/85 at Honda corner, above.

Yes, that is John Goss in the famous McLeod Ford Falcon Hardtop, left.

Paul Stubber loves a Chevrolet V8, even when it has a Porsche 956 clamped to its rear, below left.

There was plenty of American Muscle, with the Camaros of Darren Collins and Ron Moller sandwiching Darren Pearce's Mustang, below.

Chris Carter Chris Carter

Chris Carter

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 4 – ATLANTA

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Oh, what a feeling!

Dirk Klynsmith

It has been a few years since Toyota started its NASCAR campaign, but patience is always rewarded. The world’s biggest car manufacturer finally won on the world’s biggest stage

SPRINT CUP

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EAM-MATES Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart capped off Toyota’s first Sprint Cup victory with a 1-2 finish in the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers chased down early leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. and took charge of the race from lap 60 and regained the lead late in the race after gearbox drama denied Carl Edwards a third straight win.

“It was an awesome piece by Joe Gibbs Racing, just unbelievable to be able to run like that,” said Busch. “Carl (Edwards) had a great car too, but he had some issues and

to run 500 miles, you can’t have any.”

Clint Bowyer led mid-race, but a brief caution period refreshed the top 10, Edwards lapping 2mph faster than any other car to take the lead while Bowyer stayed out on old rubber and fell back.

However Edwards’s car began blowing smoke with 50 laps remaining, pitting shortly after and handing the lead to Busch with Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart trailing.

Oil spilt by Edwards brought out another safety car; Greg Biffle gained five spots on pit road and briefly split the Gibbs drivers.

He fell backwards with a handful of laps remaining, holding on to fourth while Earnhardt pushed Stewart to the flag.

Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon held on for fifth place after Friday night qualifying infuriated some drivers, the session conducted entirely under lights while Sunday’s action was during the day, making race set-up difficult.

The win makes history; Toyota became the first foreign manufacturer to win in the premier series in over 50 years in only its 40th race.

– BILL RIDDELL

Points: Busch 665, Biffle 592, Kevin Harvick 574, Ryan Newman 571, Jeff Burton 555, Kasey Kahne 534, Earnhardt Jr. 531, Stewart 525, Brian Vickers 491, Kurt Busch 478.

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Kenseth snatches win NATIONWIDE SERIES KYLE Busch dominated Nationwide Series proceedings, leading 153 laps of the 198-lap race until a blown tyre handed Matt Kenseth the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta.

Jeff Burton inherited the lead but he soon faded. After a late restart, Kevin Harvick pressured Kenseth to the flag, the second place promoting Harvick to series leader.

After earlier claiming the

Busch’s big day: Kyle Busch gave Toyota its first Sprint Cup win last weekend.

Craftsman Truck race, Busch was on track to lead all three series until the offending tyre threw him into the wall on lap 170.

A late gamble elevated Marcos Ambrose to 11th, which turned to 10th when stopping just for fuel when competitors took on fresh tyres as well. He was briefly in third position but the tired rubber saw him drop to 11th after starting 20th.

“Our car wasn’t the best piece out there today but we

managed to do the best we could and come away with a really important result for us,” said Ambrose.

“This gets us back on track and we can go into Bristol next week with some more confidence and the right frame of mind, not having to worry too much about the owner’s point’s situation.”

– BILL RIDDELL Points: Harvick 605, Carl Edwards 580, Busch 531, David Ragan 524, Clint Bowyer 507, (21st Ambrose 325).

Another top 10: Tasmanian Marcos Ambrose, above, finished 10th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, moving to 21st in the Nationwide championship.

rear of grid

Brocky would approve MELBOURNE’S Flemington Racecourse will reverberate with $750,000 worth of classic cars on Sunday April 13 with the seventh ‘Brocky’s Big Day Out’.

Everything from a classic 1919 pink Rolls Royce, Peter Brock’s restored Austin 7 paddock basher and Australia’s finest array of early model Holdens will feature in the popular show and shine charity event, which has moved from its traditional home at Hurstbridge to Flemington s to cater for increased patronage, according to the Peter Brock Foundation’s Lewis Brock.

“Back in 2001 it was Peter’s idea to get passionate car owners together from all walks of life for a fun, family day out,” Lewis said.

“It’s a unique opportunity for people to showcase their collector cars, hotrods, boats,

bikes – whatever they like as everybody is welcome.”

The Armorall-sponsored event is open to the public between 9am and 4pm, the event features club and business displays, live music,

trade stalls, entertainment, V8 drivers and celebrity guests, children’s activities and gourmet food.

Full details are available via website www. peterbrockfoundation. com.au

This man knows his Toranas: Melbourne market researcher Ron Klein will be one of the star turns at Brocky’s Big Day Out.

Odd Spot

Dirk Klynsmith

COMPETITORS who plan to win races at Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships rounds will need to make sure they don’t sell too much sponsorship space on the doors of their cars.

In all Shannons rounds this year, race winners will be awarded a green wreath sticker that can be stuck on the side of the car, while round winners

will get a gold wreath.

The 50mm square stickers have been designed by DZignFX, former V8 driver Simon Wills’s company.

The winners will be in good company; Lotus did this in GP racing 35 years ago, when Emerson Fittipaldi ruled the world with the glorious Lotus 72, above. Check all the garlands on the rear wing ...