Motorsport eNews Issue 48 - April 1-7, 2008

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Issue No. 048 1-7 April 2008

Prime time

teams press on, despite The collapse of stockbroking firm Opes Prime

THE FINAL FLING WAKEFIELD PARK’S MEGA V8 Supercar Send off All the latest news inside

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

Australasian

The ‘A’ Team

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Issue No. 048 | 01-07 April 2008

news 4 Will Davo

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7 What the F*#@ 8 Farwell Wakefield 13 Welcome back 16 Winter Gold

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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.

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

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

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 23 Greg Murphy race 28 IndyCar 32 Sprint Cup 36 Indy Lights 37 BTCC 38 Aussies Overseas

trade

Off, off and away Wash your mouths out But will it be missed Champs at Long Beach Bradbury for Utes Jimmy Vasser Hamilton?

Dixon hits the Target Delivery for Hamlin The lights are back Giovanardi Wins Blanchard on fire

40 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome Tasman enduro pair Noske and Wood spoke ... and so did the damn dude on the very loud PA!

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

First laps of Hamilton

Autogarage.co.nz

HOLDEN drivers Greg Murphy and Paul Dumbrell have had their first laps of the new Hamilton street track.

Murphy said the circuit, which will host the third round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series in two weeks time, will be the biggest event that Hamilton has ever seen.

“This is going to be huge for motorsport and huge for New Zealand as far as events go,” home-town hero Murphy said.

“It’s bigger than the city.

It’s certainly bigger than what the city is used to. The facilities that have been erected almost dwarf the city.”

Dumbrell was also very complimentary of the track.

SHOCK!

“It’s really good, they’ve done a great job,” he said.

“I did a few laps in the car, walked a few laps as well. The facilities are fairly spectacular.

“It’s a fairly challenging track. It has a few high-speed corners which should make it fairly interesting. The chicane down the back straight will be very quick. The chicane wasn’t in when I was there, but turn looks pretty daunting.”

Track action starts at the new street track on Friday, April 18, with support racing coming from the NZ Touring Cars and the NZ Porsche Challenge.

– GRANT ROWLEY For more on the Hamilton track, go to page 23.

V8 SUPERCARS IT will be business as usual for the Toll HSV Dealer Team, despite the demise of sponsor Opes Prime.

The Melbourne-based Stock Broking firm was placed in voluntary administration late last week, and has been suspending from trading on the Australian Stock Exchange. Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigators are examining potential breaches of the Corporations Act before the company’ s collapse and major creditors, banks ANZ and Merrill Lynch, are in the process of recovering as much as $1bn in funds.

HSV spokesman Simon Frost

said today [Monday] that the dayto-day running of the team has not been affected.

“Opes Prime are up to date with contractual sponsorship arrangements, up to March 31,” he said. “We are looking at what will happen from Hamilton forward.”

As yet, there has been no decision about whether Rick Kelly’s HSV Commodore will carry Opes Prime signage in New Zealand.

“We are not able to confirm that,” said Frost. “We will look at what will happen regarding that in the next few days.”

Frost confirmed that the team has had no contact with the administrator, John Lindholm of Ferrier Hodgson. ANZ appointed

Will Davo’s Indy 500 Deal!

WILL Davison will be the third Australian to race in the 2008 Indianapolis 500 – and is set to move to IndyCar next season.

The Jim Beam Racing star took part in a secret IndyCar test at Homestead following Saturday’s opening round of the IndyCar Series and such was his pace, is expected to sign a deal to race in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, to be run on Sunday May 25.

Davison, 25, was a guest of Jim Beam as a reward for winning the Eastern Creek V8 Supercar round last month. However, the invitation was part of a much bigger plan, with the iconic liquor brand looking to return to the united US open-wheeler scene and was actually auditioning for a fast driver.

Enter Davison.

The test was organised by businessman

Teams plan arou

Ernst Lügner, a member of the wealthy German family that owns the LügnerLügner chain of schnitzel and bourbon bars, and rumoured to be one of the financiers of the new Verabredungring oval near the old Austrian-Czechoslovakia border. Lügner is believed to have followed Davison’s career since he raced in Europe, prior to him entering V8s three years ago and kept him in mind, should the opportunity to go racing together present itself.

Lügner is looking to take his Keinebälle team, which competes in the Eastern Euro F3 Series, to the USA with Jim Beam backing and, obviously, Davison driving ...

Davison so impressed the team with his pace on Sunday that, late in the day, he was sent out on fresh Firestones with low

fuel, and set a four-lap time that would have qualified him on the sixth row for the opening round of the series.

Davison’s DJR commitments mean that he will face a busy month in May. As a 500 rookie, he will practice at the Speedway on May 4-5 but will then fly back to Australia to race his Falcon BF at Bargbagallo on May 10-11. That is the same weekend that the 500 will hold its Pole Day and Second Day Qualifying, meaning that Davison will have to jet back to Indy to practice on May 14-16 before Third Day Qualifying on May 17.

Subject to negotiations, Davison is expected to sign a deal with Lügner tomorrow (Tuesday April 1) prior to flying back for Hamilton’s V8 round.

– DIETER FETTE with MARY MENDEZ

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What about the rest?

Deloitte’s Chris Campbell and Sal Algeri as receivers and managers.

The situation has caused a great deal of action in motor racing circles, as Opes Prime director Anthony Blumberg has spearheaded a major sponsorship assault on Australian motor racing. Apart from the HSV program, the company’s branding has been seen in Fujitsu V8 Supercars, Formula 3, Carrera Cup and Formula V6 Asia.

However, the HSV case is different to the other sponsorships. Motorsport eNews believes that HSV’s deal was with Opes Prime as a company while the other sponsorship activities will

conducted by Blumberg at a personal level. Blumberg has believed to have already allocated funds to secure’s Leanne Tander’s Asian program with Team Meritus, though his standing as a co-owner of IndyCar team Conquest Racing is uncertain.

Conquest owner Eric Bachelart brought Blumberg into the team as an equity partner, and rookie drivers Franck Perera and Enrique Bernoldi both wore company logos in the opening race at Homestead.

“I heard about this only last night,” said Bachelart. “I still don’t know much about it. My focus is to get through our first IndyCar race.”

Dirk Klynsmith

und Opes crash

FORMULA 3 THE Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship is “business as usual” after the collapse of Opes Prime according to category officials.

Through a personal involvement from Opes Prime’s Anthony Blumberg, the category was paid an $80,000 prize pool for the Championship Series, and a $40,000 prize pool (and naming rights) for the National Class.

“That was a deal that was done last year, and the finances were locked away last year,” said category administration manager Rowan Harman.

While Formula 3 as a whole will be affected by the news, the team that has the potential to be hit hardest is Team BRM as Blumberg was the owner of five of the team’s chassis.

“With regards to Opes Prime I have no comment, and with regards to BRM, we are basically operating business as usual,” Mark Rundle said.

MARCUS ZUKANOVIC MARCUS Zukanovic’s Fujitsu V8 Supercar Commodore was the first to be seen in Australia with Opes Prime (June 2007), but he won’t run Opes Prime signage this weekend.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone yet,” Zukanovic said.

“My car is plain black for this weekend.

“I’m still good friends with the guy who organised it all (Blumberg) but I’m sure he’ll give me a call soon and let me know how its all going.”

Marcus said that he will still drive with HSVDT in the enduros.

BART MAWER Opes Prime was a personal sponsor Bart Mawer.

“Our program will not be affected. We’ve got out things in place and we’ll keep on running.

“It’s a hiccup. Our difficulties are insignificant to what Anthony has to go through and sort out now. Anthony is a man of integrity and he has to work hard now to restore his name through no fault of his own.”

Boards together

BRIEFLY...

Staff changes continue at V8 Supercars Australia. After five years, Bernadette Howard, who was Chairman Tony Cochrane’s Executive Assistant, has moved on from her V8 duties (though she will remain at SEL), as has lawyer Glenn Turnor.

“Glenn has been a magnificent company asset,” said V8SA CEO Wayne Cattach.

“We are sorry to lose Glenn’s services but understand his ambition to broaden his commercial experience within the sport. We wish him all the best, he will be a great asset for Jim Beam Racing.” n

n It’s good to be green.

Tony D’Alberto and Rod Nash Racing are one of the first in V8 Supercar to promote positive environmental practices through a partnership with BioMax, a Victorian producer of quality biodiesel.

BioMax is fuelling the team truck, which transports the car and equipment to each V8 Supercar Championship Series event.

“By converting to BioMax B20 biodiesel, we’ll be able to save 15 per cent on CO2 emissions, which amounts to around 7,000 kilograms,” D’Alberto said.

Shell out, Caltex in

Caltex Vortex 98 is the new V8 control fuel – fuel cooling gets black and white V8 SUPERCARS SHELL is no longer the control fuel of V8 Supercars.

For all remaining Australianbased races (including this weekend’s Fujitsu V8 race at Wakefield Park), Caltex Vortex 98 will be supplied to the teams.

In Hamilton in two weeks, the Championship Series teams will run on BP Ultimate.

Meanwhile, the issue of fuel cooling was raised in a bulletin to all the teams. As V8 Supercars is investigating a control fuel system to go with the possible introduction of E85 fuels in the future, V8SA is

trying to introduce a standard fuel system that will go with new rules implemented for the next round at Hamilton.

A long-time ‘grey area,’ the new rules have been introduced so that the teams do not have to redevelop their fuel systems in the near future to combate high temperature events.

From Hamilton onwards, if the ambient temperature of the day is forecast to be above 32.9ºC, cars will permitted to be fitted with a fuel cooling device or substance which decreases the temperature of the fuel.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Phil Williams

n The Victorian Historic Racing Register has advised that its day/twilight race meeting, scheduled for this Saturday (April 5) at Calder Park Raceway has been postponed.

The new date is intended to be moved to the end of August or early September this year.

V8 SUPERCARS Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane will seek to stay in the role for the next three years, after it was confirmed last week that the organisation would be overseen by a single board.

The amalgamation will merge the boards of V8SA and the Touring Car Entrants Group (TEGA) into one entity to provide for a streamlined business structure.

With the single board approved, the new Racing Entitlements Contract will replace the Team’s Licence Agreement, under which the opening two rounds of the 2008 series have been conducted.

The new board will be made up of four representatives of the teams, which hold a 75 percent stake in V8SA, two representing of minority stakeholder Sports Entertainment Limited (SEL) and two independent directors.

Meanwhile, Cochrane will address the leaders of Formula 1 and international motorsport as a guest speaker at the inaugural Motor Sport Business Forum Middle East in Bahrain next week.

He will join Formula 1 team bosses Ron Dennis, Sir Frank Williams, Nick Fry, Christian Horner and Colin Kolles as speakers and attendees at the forum.

Dirk Klynsmith

n BAM Media continues to grow. Apart from Brett ‘Crusher’ Murray’s stateside move, BAM’s Melbourne office will be run by Ben Beazley.

Apart from taking on his role, Beazley will continue to work with Britek Motorsport, which now becomes a BAM client. PB

V8 SUPERCARS

news

Clean your mouth out with soap!

V8 Supercar Australia demands its teams to eliminate swearing from V8 broadcasts serious about stamping out the ‘potty mouth.’

“We are a family sport and we market ourselves that way and we don’t want swearing in our broadcasts,” said V8 Supercar’s General Manager of Motorsport and Events, Shane Howard.

“We also wish to retain the driver/team communication in the audio during our broadcasts. That really captures the excitement of V8 Supercar racing. You’re in the cab, listening to drivers and the communication with his team. The fans love that, but what we have to do is make it obvious to everyone that they have to be conscious of swearing on air in difficult situations.

“I suppose we have to try and break a culture.

“We haven’t had that many incidents. We had two at Clipsal and we haven’t had any since.

“Hopefully we don’t have to put any

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THE issue of swearing on TV has escalated, and V8 Supercar’s teams and drivers have been warned to cut out the foul language during V8TV broadcasts, or face significant penalties.

The Federal Government’s opposition initiated a senate inquiry recently to the frequency and usage of swear words on television, with findings to be handed down in June.

V8 Supercars race director Tim Schenken raised the issue during driver’s briefing at Eastern Creek last month, where teams were advised that swearing was not permissible on air. However, a recent statement from V8s has heavily reiterated this, and also stated that the Seven Network is exposed to heavy fines from the TV broadcast tribunal if breaches continue.

Given the severe penalties that can be issued by the broadcast authorities and government regulators, V8 Supercars is

F*#@ off! Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey’s reality cooking program on Channel Nine has received much criticism. further restrictions in place, because we do want to keep the audio live.”

Current penalties for inappropriate language vary, depending what has been said and how its been said. They range from $5000 to $10,000.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Goodbye and Farewell

FUJITSU V8s THIS weekend’s round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Wakefield Park will be the final time that the ‘Development’ Series is contested as a stand-alone round.

One driver who isn’t going to miss Wakefield Park is Dale Wood. Currently third in the series, Wood is hoping that he’s racing in the main series next year, and thinks that the 2.2km country track won’t be missed by the Fujitsu Series.

“Without taking anything away from the

town of Goulburn, the officials or track itself, it doesn’t really suit V8 Supercars any more,” he said.

“The facilities aren’t shocking, but the track doesn’t suit this style of car.

“It’s so much more beneficial for the Fujitsu Series to support the main series.

It brings more attention, more support, more fans and we race in front of the main series teams.

“I don’t think Wakefield Park will be missed too much. I’m sure the track will be better being resurfaced, but I don’t

think the track layout suits this type car.”

The resurfacing of the track has come under the spotlight in recent weeks.

Testing times of V8 Supercars and other support categories have suggested that the lap times will be much faster than in the past, although the track’s new surface is believed to have broken up in some places. While those broken sections of the track have been patched up, teams and drivers will be keeping a close eye on the track over the course of the weekend.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Pyne’s late WP entry FUJITSU V8s CLAYTON Pyne will make a return to the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Wakefield Park this weekend with Prodigy Motorsport.

In a last-minute deal, Pyne replaces Kiwi Gene Rollingson, who was unable to secure the budget to compete.

This will be Pyne’s first time back in a Fujitsu V8 since the 2007 Clipsal 500 meeting (where he drove with Prodigy in the car he’ll drive at Wakefield).

“Gene Rollingson’s damage bill from Adelaide has ruled him out for Wakefield so we’ve managed to get some late support,” Pyne said.

“I’ve been in the car before, and I’ve been to Wakefield

Park before, so hopefully I’m comfortably inside the top 20, and then move towards the front as the weekend unfolds.”

Pyne is unsure whether he’ll be able to compete in the remaining rounds of the series, but is concentrating on a clean weekend to give himself the best chance at keeping his ride with the team.

“Prodigy want someone to fill that ride permanently,” he said.

“There’s a strong chance of me running for the rest of the year. I really want to get the budget to do the full year and get some momentum.”

Backing for Pyne for this weekend comes from Express Software, Carline, Auto One, and United Oils Synthetic Specialist.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Two cars Tagged FUJITSU V8s TAG Motorsport will make its two-car V8 Supercar debut at Wakefield Park this weekend, with Tony Bates joining Geoff Emery for the first time in V8 S competition.

The Commodore Cup stalwarts will debut a new colour scheme, above, representing their traditional TAG Motorsport colours.

Bates will drive the 2003 Bathurst-winning Commodore, famously driven by Greg Murphy to the record-setting 2m06s lap

around Mount Panorama.

For Emery, a five-time Commodore Cup Champion, this is his second stint at the Fujitsu V8 Series, having contested the 2006 series with the Smith Trucks team.

Emery currently sits in 16th place overall after the opening round of this year’s title at the Clipsal 500.

In other Fujitsu V8 news, Shane Beikoff returns to the series after missing the Clipsal 500 round when his team’s transporter had a crankshaft fail on the way to the Adelaide circuit.

– GRANT ROWLEY

John Morris/Mpix

Is Wakefield Park’s final V8 Supercar round going to be a sad day? Some may say so ...

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Denyer locked in for Wakefield

V8 SUPERCARS THE inaugural L&H 500 at Phillip Island is shaping up as a race of speed and tactics.

As reported in the past, Saturday will see two races, with ‘Driver A’ competing in Race 1, and ‘Driver B’ competing in Race 2.

But the intriguing part to the weekend will be the decisions that teams make behind closed doors.

The teams do not have to

nominate who will drive in which race until 5pm, Friday afternoon, and each car only needs to complete one compulsory pitstop over the two races.

So, who drives in Race 1?

And in which race will they do their stop? The outcomes will be interesting viewing ...

Race 1 and 2 will be 15 laps each and worth 50 points for the win, with second place taking 46, third 43 etc.

The combined points from

John Morris/Mpix

Secret Service!

Races 1 and 2 will determine the starting grid for Race 3 – the L&H 500.

Sunday’s 500km race will be worth 200 points for the win, with 184 for second, 172 for third etc.

And in a similar situation to the Clipsal 500, regardless of the accumulated round points by each car, the finishing order of the L&H 500 will be the finishing order for the event.

– GRANT ROWLEY

FUJITSU V8s AFTER much pre-race deliberation, Grant Denyer has confirmed that he will drive a Matthew White Racing Ford Falcon BA this weekend at Wakefield Park.

Denyer, who is currently fourth in the Fujitsu V8 Series (and best of the Fords), was in negotiations with Jose Fernandez and looked set to drive in the Paul Cruickshank Racing, but last minute hurdles means that Denyer will continue with MWR, who he drove for in Adelaide.

The Channel Seven television personality is still searching for an endurance drive, with few Ford options remaining.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Elfin looks at Bahrain Series SPORTSCARS THERE is a good chance that Elfin’s Clubman Sportscar will be exported to Bahrain in the near future for a onemake series.

The famous Australian Sportscar manufacturer, which was acquired by Tom Walkinshaw last December, is in serious discussions with the Bahrain International

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Circuit about selling 25 of the V8-powered Sportscars to contest a new series.

Elfin General Manager John Clark is finalising a car specification, and he is hopeful of brokering a deal to get the cars over to the East.

“We’re in the investigation stage at the moment,” he told eNews.

“We’re having discussions with them to see what spec level they want, if they are interested in taking them.

“There’s no cars on trucks or in shipping containers, but

we’re definitely in discussion stage with them at the moment to work out what they want to do. It’s open communication.”

Clark, the former head engineering at HSV, was instrumental in getting 20 HSV VZ Clubsports across to Bahrain three years ago.

“They’ve been really happy with the supply of the HSVs. They like the V8s, they like the sound of the V8s.

“They’ve seen Elfins, we’ve had discussions with them and they know what the

capabilities of them are. The image they want really suits this style of car.

“They are very much into their motorsport over there and keen to have the latest technologies.”

The Bahrain International Circuit has a particular taste for one-make racing. Not only have do they race the HSV Clubsports (Chevrolet Lumina Series), they race the Speedcar Series (exNASCARs) and Caterhams, among other classes.

– GRANT ROWLEY

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Gaunt’s debut

Kiwi driver to make Australian Carrera Cup debut this weekend at Wakefield Park CARRERA CUP KIWI Daniel Gaunt will make his Australian Carrera Cup debut this weekend in the third round of the allPorsche Championship at Wakefield Park.

The 22-year-old Kiwi will drive Iain Sherrin’s Porsche at the country NSW circuit, partnering David Russell and Grant Sherrin in the Queensland team.

Gaunt, the winner of the 2003 Australian Driver’s Championship, has recent experience racing Porsches, having finished second to Craig Baird in the NZ Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge this year.

While the Australian cars and series will present a different challenge, Gaunt is hoping to turn this weekend’s one-off drive into something more permanent.

“There’s always a goal to race in anything I can in Australia,” he told eNews.

“Now that the championship over in NZ is over, we wanted to concentrate on getting over here. I spoke to Ian Sherrin only last

week, there was a drive available and here we are.

“I’d like to do the rest of the season, whether we can or not is another question.

“It’s a good calendar where there’s a few weeks between the races. This first round for us is important to get a good result and gather some more sponsorship dollars.”

Gaunt campaigned his own Porsche in New Zealand, racing toe-to-toe with Baird.

He wants to be able to do the same in Australia.

“Craig is the bench mark in NZ and in Australia,” he admits.

“There are more guys who are closer to Baird in Australia, and it would be nice to get a good result. It’s a tall order, though.

“I used the NZ championship as a learning curve. I only got my car a week before the first round. Midway through the season, I was starting to get to grips with the car and we started to get a few results – a pole and a race win.

“I just want to have a solid Friday, learn the characteristics of the car and the track

and see how it goes.”

Gaunt has only driven at Wakefield Park once before in a Formula 4000.

“The track is the same for everyone. I looked at the results from Carrera Cup two years ago and all the good guys was within two-tenths. It’s a matter of being on the right side of those two-tenths.”

Gaunt is a former Australian Driver’s Champion (2003), a two-time Toyota Racing Series Champion (06/07) and has two the NZ Grand Prix (2007).

The Carrera Cup is the major support category for the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, with other classes including Formula Ford, the MINI Challenge and the Aussie Racing Cars.

– GRANT ROWLEY

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Now, it’s NASCARgate Roush accuses Waltrip of stealing and copying a part – legal action likely NASCAR

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NASCAR has been struck by its own Spy Scandal.

Team owner Jack Roush, right, has told ESPN Magazine that a Toyota team has been found to be in possession of a proprietary Roush Fenway Racing part that, he claims, was stolen from his team.

Last Friday, the long-time Ford man went further and said that Michael Waltrip Racing had stolen a sway bar made as a proprietary piece for Roush Fenway Racing from one of its Cup teams last September at Dover.

“It’s lawyer time,” said Roush, “a theft occurred and we are still considering what, if any, legal action to seek.”

The item was discovered missing over the off-season when a supplier had a request to make a bar like Roush’s. When an ex-Waltrip employee hired by Roush heard of the issue, he said he’d seen it at Waltrip’s shop. Owner Michael Waltrip, above right, declined to comment.

A member of Roush’s management team contacted Waltrip’s Toyota operation and asked if they were in possession of the bar, the team found it and returned it to Roush minus a paint identification mark, but with the serial number still in place. The bar is apparently lighter and of different length than those used by most teams.

Subsequently, Toyota issued a statement, saying that it had nothing to do with the matter but stating that it had inadvertently been in possession of a Roush valve spring belonging to another team following a post-race engine teardown. The part was immediately returned to Roush Fenway Racing.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Ambrose swaps Chiefs NASCAR

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engineer for race-winning Cup driver, Martin Truex Jr. Ambrose has reunited with Gary Cogswell, right, his first crew chief in the Truck Series in 2006. He was fourth fastest in the final session of a twoday Nationwide Series test at Richmond last week.

– MARTIN D CLARK

Ford Racing Media

MARCOS Ambrose has split with his Australia-born crew chief, Walter Giles.

Giles left his position at JTG Motorsport following the Nashville Nationwide Series race, where Ambrose finished a disappointing 23rd.

The former driver, who joined JTG from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated over the winter months, may remain as a consultant in the building of the JTG-owned Sprint Cup cars Ambrose will debut at the Brickyard in July, but looks likely to return to DEI, where he worked previously as an

news

CHAMPS RETURN FOR LONG BEACH

Lights, Cameras, Action!

Vasser back after two-year absence – and da Matta?

Firestone revives Indy Lights

Ford Racing Media

INDYCAR

champions, as it will clash with IndyCar’s Motegi round the preceding day, Saturday April 19.

Long Beach aside, Vasser and da Matta, above, will race together at Laguna Seca in May, sharing a second Stallings Riley at the California track.

IndyCar Media

While Vasser, above, will race for his own KV Racing Technology team, da Matta looks to be in line to race a third Newman Haas Lanigan car, alongside Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal.

The race, which will feature Panoz Champ Cars but which will count for points in the IndyCar Series, was to have featured a number of ex-

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THE Long Beach Grand Prix will feature some Blasts from the Past, with Jimmy Vasser confirming that he will return to open-wheeler racing after a two-year retirement.

And there is also the possibility that fellow exChamp Car champion Cristiano da Matta may return to the series in a one-off appearance.

The Brazilian, who was seriously injured when he hit a deer during a test at Road America in August 2006, ended his hiatus from the cockpit of a racecar last week when he successfully tested a Riley Daytona Prototype for GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing in Texas.

INDY Lights is back.

The second-level series, which vaulted such stars as Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia, Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon, returned to racing at Homestead last weekend. It replaces what was the Indy Pro Series and is backed

by Firestone to the tune of technical support and prizemoney.

“Our company has a long history of supporting the development of talent in the open wheel ranks,” said Al Speyer, Executive Director of Motorsports, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, starting its 18th year.

“With the unification of open wheel racing, we thought it is the perfect time to merge the excitement of the IRL’s growing support series with the rich history of Firestone Indy Lights.”

– MARY MENDEZ

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BTCC star Killed

David Leslie and Richard Lloyd peris sutton-images.com

Renault-vated

Astuti ditches Benz, installs Renault and Trimble FORMULA 3

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MICHAEL Trimble may still make a Formula 3 outing this year for Astuti Motorsport.

The Fujitsu Series driver has been enlisted by his old team to shake-down its recentlyacquired Dallara F307 (exBritish Championship winner from 2007, above), and he may race the car at the next round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.

“At this point it depends on how our testing at Oran Park goes,” Sam Astuti told eNews.

“But if we’re close and we can measure with the guys who have been running since the start of the season, then we’ll

run at Oran Park.

“As for who will drive the car, well the best option is to get Michael [Trimble] to drive, because he will test the car for us, so it makes sense to keep the overall package together.”

While most of the frontrunners in the series are now running Mercedes Benz motors, the Astuti entry will be powered by Renault.

“The customer Mercedes engines are not as good as the ones in Europe, and that’s why we decided not to buy one,” Astuti added.

“I have all of the infrastructure to run Renaults, and I think they’re just as good.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

ARC makes room for Honda AUSTRALIAN RALLY

HONDA’S recently announced Australian Rally Championship plans may escape incurring any additional television fees, despite the entry being by a manufacturer, according to Rallycorp.

The commercial body behind the ARC has put paid to rumours that the Japanese manufacturer would have to fork out cash for the television rights for its two-event campaign in the Australian forests.

Thanks to being run by JAS and driven by British champ Guy Wilks, the Super-1600 spec Civic should be able to run as an international entry in Rally of Canberra, thus avoiding the fees.

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“As yet nothing has been finalised, however at Canberra, [Honda] will enter as an international team,” said Rallycorp Operations Manager Chris Chrystiuk.

“Representatives of the ARC will be meeting with Honda to discuss their future plans.

Increased manufacturer participation in the ARC is something that we would of course like to encourage, and we would hope that Honda’s involvement in two rounds in 2008 will translate into a more significant commitment in 2009.”

The 2008 Australian Rally Championship kicks off this weekend in Busselton, Western Australia, with the QUIT Forest Rally.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

MORRIS: INGALL d in Plane Crash SCARED OF AUSSIE!

sh when private plane hits house FORMER British Touring Car star David Leslie has been killed in an aircraft crash in Farnborough, Kent.

Leslie, 54, and team owner Richard Lloyd, 63, were headed for the south of France where Leslie was due to drive Lloyd’s Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR in an FIA GT3 equalisation test at Nogaro. The Cessna Citation 501 they were in with three others appeared to malfunction and crashed into a house. There were no survivors, and no-one on the ground was hurt.

Leslie won the BARC Formula Ford title in 1600, and by 1981 he was racing in British Formula 3, and finished second in the C2 class of the World Sportscar Championship in 1987.

Always Smiling: David Leslie, top, was one of the generation of Scottish racers who found enjoyment in racing, no matter what level. Lloyd was a key man in Bentley’s 2003 Le Mans win, left.

But he was best-known in the BTCC, taking his first win in the Ecurie Ecosse Vauxhall Cavalier at Thruxton in late 1993. He moved to Mazda, then Honda, but his greatest successes came with Nissan, taking second in 1999 behind new team-mate Laurent Aiello.

While he lately competed less frequently than he did, he moved into TV commentary with Eurosport’s World Touring Car Championship coverage.

Lloyd was best-known as the entrant of a series of Porsche 956s and 962s, often in Canon colours, in the 1980s. He managed Bentley’s Le Mans winning-assault in 2003.

AUSSIE RACERS PAUL Morris will be back behind the wheel of his Aussie Racing Car at Wakefield Park this weekend, but who will drive the second Super Cheap Auto Racing entry is still unknown.

It is a comeback of sorts for Morris, who sat out the Australian Grand Prix round while James Small took over driving duties alongside Gary Young.

But while Morris is back for Wakefield, Gary Young isn’t.

“No he’s not running with us anymore, he felt like he couldn’t do both the Aussies

and the MINI [Challenge],” Morris told eNews.

“So at the moment we are trying to find someone to put in the car.”

There was talk that Russell Ingall might drive one of cars at Wakefield Park, but according to Morris, the 2005 V8 Supercar champion is anxious about an ARC outing.

“I wanted him to [drive the car at Wakefield], but he’s too scared,” he said.

Morris last drove at Wakefield Park at the DVS round last year when he pedalled a Group C BMW in a Historic Touring Car Race.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Kristians and Heroes

FORMULA FORD

Honda

KRISTIAN Lindbom will make his return to the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Wakefield Park this weekend, driving the Sonic Motor Racing Services.

Lindbom, who finished fourth in last year’s FFord title, was supposed to have started with the reigning Champion team in the first round at Eastern Creek, but a shortfall of funds restricted him to the sidelines.

The 18-year-old is now hoping to impress in this round before securing more funds to complete the season.

“I wasn’t able to participate in the opening round at Eastern Creek despite trying right up until the last minute, but I have the

opportunity to race at Wakefield Park and it is going to be a huge weekend,” Lindbom said.

“Michael and Maria Ritter have been fantastic and I can’t thank them enough for the support they have shown this year.

“At this stage, the deal we have is for Wakefield Park only – we are looking ahead and are in negotiation for the rest of the year and I am hopeful that can happen. The deal we have struck for next weekend has allowed me to put my energies into the remainder of 2008.”

Other new entries for the second round of the national championship will be Jessica Golding (Synergy Motorsport, backed by Hero energy drink, above) and Nicholas Tanti (Anglo Motorsport).

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Bradbury tests Ute, considers future Former Speed skater wants more motorsport V8 UTES

John Morris/Mpix

Australia’s first-ever winter Olympics gold medallist looks set to drive in V8 utes in the near future following a successful test with Big Gun Racing at Queensland Raceway recently.

Steven Bradbury completed around 20 laps of the circuit in one of the team’s Falcon Utes and impressed them with his performance.

“He did really well, he didn’t hurt the car,” said Big Gun Racing’s commercial manager Matt Mackelden.

“We put him in the car with no pressure, just to go out enjoy it.”

So, will we see the former

Speed Skating champion in V8 Ute competition in the near future?

“It’s probably where he’d like to go. But at this stage he will just do some more tests, get more comfortable with it and look at the series either late next year or the year after,” he said.

Big Gun’s driver Brad Patton will miss Barbagallo, with his wife expecting their child the same weekend. This leaves a spot open in the team for the next round with no driver yet to be announced.

“We are talking to a couple of people, but we have not confirmed at this stage who that is going to be,” Mackelden said.

– PHILLIP MAHONEY

Is V8 Utes Clark’s return?

Dirk Klynsmith

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DAVID Clark is looking to make a comeback to national competition, and it looks like the Yokohama V8 Utes Series will be the go.

The South Australian was part of the Fujitsu Series crash that claimed the life of Mark Porter at Bathurst back in 2006, and was left with horrific injuries, including fractures to his pelvis and right arm.

But now Clark says he is fully fit, and is spreading the word that he’s keen to get behind the wheel of a Ute. “At the moment my body has just recovered enough for me to get back into a proper racecar and go racing,” Clark told eNews.

“Mentally I’m fine, but I’m only just at the point where I feel confident enough to be able to apply enough pressure to a brake pedal, so physically it’s taken a while.

“I really enjoy watching the Utes, and I love that style of ‘take no prisoners’ racing, like karting. So last Tuesday I sent an email to the organisers about finding me a drive and I have my old team manager Dave McDougall out there looking around.

“But I’ll be back ASAP. I’m 100 percent keen, I just need to finalise a deal.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Commodore not consistent

V8 Ute’s new contender undergoes further development to iron out its suspension bugs V8 UTES THE V8 Utes company is trying to make the new VE Commodore a more consistent race car after complications at the second round of the series at Eastern Creek.

V8 Utes completed a development parity test at Eastern Creek and Oran Park on Friday and Sunday respectively, as the VE competitors felt that the suspension package on the new car wasn’t refined enough.

Two-time V8 Ute champion Damien

White was the independent test driver, turning a number of laps on the Sydney circuits, testing different spring and strut combinations in the VE. “The brief I was given was that the car didn’t need to be quick, it needed to be more balance and a car that drivers of varying ability could be comfortable with,” he said.

“On the first day at Eastern Creek, we got rid of a lot of the corner exit understeer, and took the opportunity at Oran Park to try it at another track.

“We’ve got the car to be more balanced

in its mid-corner exit speed, and that should be more consistent.”

While the VE was competitive in the first round at Clipsal (Adelaide), competitors had said that the car was harder to find consistent pace at Eastern Creek, with brake problems and mid-corner understeer.

A revised spring and strut package will be used by all from Barbagallo onwards, although one final parity shoot-out at a track to be determined will be conducted soon.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Miedecke to drive Hyundai CAMS Roadshow TARGA TASMANIA GEORGE Miedecke will drive a factory Hyundai in this year’s Targa Tasmania.

The son of former Targa winner Andrew Miedecke is no stranger to the V6powered Hyundai Tiburon having driven the car in the Production Touring Car Championship in 2006.

But the Targa even itself is a fresh challenge for the V8 Utes regular.

“I’ve never done Targa Tasmania so that will be great to do, especially considering that Dad has won it before,” he told eNews.

“It will be a bit like keeping up tradition if we can go well. As for the car, I know it really well, and Dad has driven in at Targa for the last two years, so it will be nice to do as well as he’s done, and maybe even a little bit better.”

Chris Hansen will do the navigating for Miedecke, and along with the support from Hyundai, the car will feature signage for charity organisation Victor Chang Cardiac Research.

Miedecke senior will also compete at this year’s Targa, driving a Daytona Coupe.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

AS the next stage in the CAMS Organisation Review Process, there will be a number of explanatory sessions held over the next week.

CAMS President Colin Osborne reassures its members that its intended to be information sharing sessions, not decision making forums.

The dates and venues are as follows; SA: March 31, SA Sporting Car Club WA: April 1, Challenge Stadium Tas: April 2, Ross Hotel Vic April 3, State Meeting Room NSW: April 4, Homebush, Olympic Park Qld: April 8, Sports House Hilton, Brisbane

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SPRINTCAR AFTER months of delays, the 2008 Australian Sprintcar Championships have been officially abandoned.

Rain once again washed out Parramatta City Raceway causing organisers to pull the pin on the championships for the first time in its history.

Despite the forecast of fine weather, one lone cloud

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week and running third in the points saw him running a brand new Maxim for the title rerun.

One must feel for the competitors who made the trip to Parramatta to race especially four times Australian champion Garry Brazier, who was leading on points when the race was abandoned.

“Why can’t we wait a little

longer? It’s not our fault, it’s not the speedway’s fault, this is the Australian Title and we came here to win. I’ve got a fair bit riding on this race, I want to win it. It’s never been rained out in history or called a non event,” said Brazier.

Tatnell will hold onto the number one plate for another year with no champ being declared this time round.

– GREG BOSCATO

Team Foggy no more

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CARL Fogarty’s career as a team owner appears to be over, with the selling of Foggy Petronas Racing’s entire inventory.

The team’s equipment is for sale by auction and includes a SuperFlow ‘Cycledyn SF-250’ Dynomometer; leathers, helmets and memorabilia worn and signed

by Carl Fogarty and former FPR riders including Troy Corser, Garry McCoy and Chris Walker; racing parts; garage mechanics’ tooling and equipment; machine tools; office and computer equipment; and a fully-fitted Vipex Conestoga Double Deck Race Trailer.

Each of the 500 Lots can be bid for and purchased only online at www.wyleshardy.com, with the deadline for bids of 12 noon Thursday April 17.

wrecked the weekend for all and drenched the venue.

The six-week break saw many of the interstate racers not returning to Sydney, even defending Champion Brooke Tatnell (who was way back in the points chase) had returned to the USA preparing for the up coming Knoxville season. Former Aussie champ Kerry Madsen had flown back from the USA earlier in the

John Morris/Mpix

Parramatta washout

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5 Minutes with ...

JIMMY VASSER MARY MENDEZ

The former CART champ talks about Will Power and a driving comeback MOTORSPORT NEWS: Are you enjoying your role being outside the cockpit, vicariously participating through the driver you coach in the races?

JIMMY VASSER: It’s interesting and very different. It’s certainly better than sitting in the grandstands. I try to lend a helping hand.

With the dispute between Derrick Walker and Craig Gore, do you have any concerns about getting paid for the Aussie Vineyards sponsorship?

I’m not worried about it right now. Gore has done everything he said he would for us. I’m trying to stay out of the political side of this mess. It’s between Derrick and Craig.

One thing I know for sure is Derrick didn’t run his team on no money for three years. Craig has been a very big supporter of the series with Team Australia, as Derrick has been.

I’m hoping those two can work it out.

I’m just happy to have Will Power on our race team. He’s a heck of a driver. With Will Power and Oriol Servia as our lineup going into the season, it is the best position I’ve been in for a driver lineup.

What do you think about the opinion that, due to lack of experience, the Champ Car teams won’t be as competitive as the IndyCar teams?

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How do you rate Will Power as a driver?

Power is a great kid. He’s very humble and super fast. I’m very excited to have Power on the squad.

They’ll have an announcement coming.

I agree to a certain extent. I’m a racer, so I believe we can overcome.

In 14 days, we put in 5460 man-hours with 30 people into these new cars, preparing to get to where we are now for these first two races. We are probably not going to look too good at Homestead. I’d like to think we’ll be competitive on the street circuit. It’s more our team style of recent.

We’ll catch up. I think it’s going to take all of us a season to get on even ground with a lot of these guys.

To what degree have you had help from your ‘Big Brother’ IndyCar team, Chip Ganassi Racing?

If it wasn’t for Chip and his whole organisation, we’d probably be in the same situation as Newman-HaasLanigan, not being able to make the first test at the level of preparation we’d want to be at. But, because we were there at a high level of preparation, a lot of credit is due to Chip and his whole organisation.

They believe that they want us to do well which is the right approach. It’s better for everyone in the series. It’s

better for the Champ Car teams coming in. Not pin us all down by not giving us the parts that we need. Ganassi’s even, in their case, given us some set-up work, too.

How difficult will it be to switch back to the old Panoz chassis for one last race at Long Beach while the other IndyCar teams race in Motegi, Japan?

It’s too bad the Motegi-Long Beach conflict didn’t get resolved. Everyone is dealing with it. Our team is running the first two IRL races (Dallara/ Honda) and then switching over to the Panoz (Cosworth) for Long Beach.

To be prepared, it’s going to be very tough for our team guys. Hopefully, Power and Servia will be 1-2 in Long Beach, earning points towards the IRL championship.

Should there by any concern about having enough Champ Car drivers on the grid in Long Beach?

There was a plan for Long Beach to have all the past champions compete. We had good feedback but it was a little too difficult to succeed.

What will happen to the Panoz [Champ Car] chassis?

There have been some inquiries about the Panoz chassis. It’s going to be a sad day at Long Beach when they shut those turbos down for the last time. Just as a pure machine, it can run circles around a lot of cars out there, including the new one we have, the Dallara.

I think there is some interest in bringing all the DP01s together and utilizing them in some form. They aren’t just going to be mothballed.

Can you do anything to help your friend, Paul Tracy, get an IndyCar ride?

I’m a big fan of Paul Tracy. He’s a great driver. But his situation right now is very tricky for him.

A lot of people would love to see Paul Tracy back in a car as soon as possible. I would consider it (driving for KV). He’s got some legal navigating to do.

Would you consider competing at the Indy 500?

Not this year. And, only if my cars are fast enough would I consider it for 2009. It’s not going to be easy. I’m already ramping up my physical fitness program.

Any chance your KV Racing team would want to expand into Sportscars?

We are looking into expanding our racing, possibly into Sportscars. We’ve recently talked about it but not for the near future. Perhaps in 2009.

chat

Honda Indy Racing

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Letters

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

Young Guns?

I’m not sure if anybody else is taking any notice of the rear end of the field of the V8s, but what is going on with some of these so called ‘young guns?’

They’re either miles off the pace, or content week after week to crash into each other, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. What is

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going on with the sport when you have experienced drivers of the calibre of Jason Bargwanna sitting on the sidelines?

I know when it comes down to it, the sport of V8 Supercars is all about money, but surely, more importantly, it has to be about the racing!

Ian Farmer Wantirna South, Vic

Re: Bulldust at gate For V8 Supercar meetings at Eastern Creek Raceway prominent signs on roads leading to the track indicate Competitors, Officials, Corporate Guests enter via Gate 7.

Spectators enter via gate 4 and parking staff direct drivers where to park.

Phil Harrison Marketing Manager Eastern Creek Raceway Merger Shmerger The ‘merged’ Indycar race at Homestead looked like CCWS drivers tagged on the back of an IRL race to me ...

Peter Aiden Wagga Wagga, NSW

opinion

A Murph’s Eye View of Hamilton

IN relative terms, the Hamilton street circuit should be in Melbourne or Sydney – a large capital city – not a small city like Hamilton.

It’s spectacular. It’s bigger than the city. It’s certainly bigger than what the city is used to. The facilities that have been erected almost dwarf the city.

It’s just been done very well. The track looks fantastic, the facility is huge and looks absolutely awesome. I think everyone involved in it should be very happy and proud.

This is going to be huge for motorsport and huge for New Zealand as far as events go. But it’s not going to change the way I approach the race. The New Zealand round is always a pretty big event for me, so it’s been very exciting.

I won the first V8 championship race at Pukekohe, and I’d love to go and win the first race at Hamilton, but that’s not going to be easy.

We’ve got a brand-new VE for Hamilton. We are testing it next Tuesday at Winton and I’m very much glad I’ve got the new car for

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Black is the new brown Andrew van Leeuwen’s “Rallying support from Honda” (#047) is salutary read.

A two round commitment from a factory car should not be big news. That it is, and it really is, shows what a condition dirt rallying has

been led to.

Nice people and good intentions have been proven to be not enough. Soothing talk of the difficulties might be polite but the reality is that tarmac rallying has grown in size and professionalism in the same

period in which nationallevel dirt rallying has all but died.

If you do not think this is the case then a check of the ratio of tarmac to dirt rally cars built and sold by Ralliart over the last few.

A more difficult but also relevant proof would be to look at competitor numbers and budgets, spectator numbers, and print and broadcast media coverage.

There is occasional talk of

opinion Greg Murphy V8 Supercar driver the race. It’s a ground-up, fresh sheet of paper and compared to the cars we have been using, it’s going to be much closer to the cars we’ve been racing against.

The amount of work that’s gone into the new cars over the past few weeks has been horrendous. There hasn’t been a day in the past when the boys at Tasman haven’t been working on them.

It’s a big change for Tasman. It’s a big step up and a big transition and we are hoping that we can make it competitive pretty quickly.

But having said that, we are starting from scratch and we won’t have much information to get the new cars up to speed. It’s going to be hard, but it should be right in most areas, so we hope it won’t hold us back in many areas.

The car will be easier to work with, easier to tune over the cars we’ve been using, so we’ve got our fingers crossed that this will get us moving back to the pointy end.

the ARC becoming a dual surface championship, and CAMS has produced the Tarmac Rally Regulations 2006 which provide some consistency for the mainly stand alone tarmac rally events around the country.

The way forward for Tarmac Rallying in this country may be to move towards a national series of some sort.

David Owens Burnie, Tas

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 23

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 2, PREVIEW – WAKEFIELD PARK

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Ka o t e ok p s Y WLE ctations O R NT xpe A e R g G , n sal his risi p i l C at ut t o u b b a 8 de eld Park V g nin akefi n u t a s efore W r e t f A rb e l d n Rei

Dirk Klynsmith

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Dirk Klynsmith

FUJITSU V8s THERE is one major problem when you exceed expectations – people expect you to be able to do it again.

V8 Supercar rookie Karl Reindler is in this predicament after he finished a fine sixth overall in his debut Fujitsu V8 Series race at Clipsal last month.

But the 22-year-old West Aussie remains unfazed. The Howard Racing driver went to Clipsal expecting nothing, and despite his top ten result, he’s maintaining his outlook on future results.

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“I literally went to Clipsal with no expectations and no pressure whatsoever,” he said.

“It was the first round of the championship and I had only done one practice day. My approach was to get through the weekend, finish both races and really start pushing from Wakefield Park.

“Going into Wakefield sixth in the championship is a great start to the year. The result was well beyond our expectations.

“Now that I’ve had a bit more time in the car, I feel a bit more comfortable, more miles, I reckon that Wakefield Park should be a good round for us.”

The Wakefield Park circuit, hidden just outside the NSW country town of Goulbourn, is a track that Reindler knows well. He’s won races there before in Formula 3 but is cautious of the track’s recent resurfacing and the major differences between an F3 car and a V8. A little helping hand from his experienced teammate Dean Canto has put him on the front foot.

“The track is a little more forgiving than Clipsal,” he said.

“It’s a circuit that I know. But I’ve found that even though I know the layouts of the circuits, as far as lines, where

you are braking and corner speeds, driving a V8 Supercar is completely different. You’ve got to reset everything and start from scratch.

“I was looking at some onboard footage from Dean’s car of Wakefield Park (ED: Canto’s 2005 championshipwinning Fujitsu campaign with DJR). Where he is braking and the lines he is taking are totally different. A corner in F3 that might be flat requires a brake and a big lift in a V8 Supercar.

It proves I’ve got a lot to learn.

“And now that they’ve resurfaced the track, it will be a little new for everyone.

race

Quote me ...

The Wakefield Park meeting will also play host to our national support categories.

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN got some bite-sized thoughts from some of the contenders Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Backing it up: Karl Reindler got people talking at Clipsal, left and below, after a dream weekend. Reindler, top, made a name for himself in F3 and took championship honours in 2004.

“We had a good round there in 2006. I was second in the first race and if it wasn’t for a gearbox failure we would have been on the podium for the round, so it should be Dirk Klynsmith interesting. I like Wakefield Park; it has a bit of everything.”

– AARON CARATTI is glad to see the Goulburn circuit back on the Carrera Cup schedule, and is keen to revive past glory.

“Wakefield Park is a track I know well, although its changed slightly this year with the new surface, so I’ve John Morris/Mpix had to re-learn a few corners. But I’m happy to be coming here for the second round, I think we can still be leading the championship when we leave.”

– Brad Lowe, current leader of the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship, talks about heading to one of his home circuits.

Marshall Cass

Dirk Klynsmith

his two race wins in the Tinta-car Commodore VZ, ahead of Jack Perkins and Dale Wood, also driving Commodores.

The Fujitsu V8s hit the track on Saturday for qualifying, before the three races on Sunday.

Supporting the Fujitsu V8s is the Carrera Cup Championship, MINI Challenge, Formula Ford and Aussie Racing Cars.

– MINI Challenger Todd Fiore crashed on the warm up lap to Race 3 at EC, and he’s hoping to not make the same mistake at Wakefield this weekend.

"I wanted him to, but he's too scared!"

– Paul Morris explains why he is running the Super Cheap Auto Racing Aussie Racing Car at Wakefield Park, not Russell Ingall ...

James Smith

“I think some of the teams will take a while to come to grips with set-up.

“I’ve got Dean to work with, though, and I think we’re looking pretty strong as a team.”

But to win at Wakefield Park, Reindler, Canto and the Howard Racing will have to overcome three Commodores that lead the way in the Fujitsu Series. Steve Owen leads after

“Well it can’t go much worse than Eastern Creek! I’ve never been to Wakefield Park so I don’t know anything about the place. I’ve been studying up and I’ll be trying to make it happen.”

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INDYCAR ROUND 1 – HOMESTEAD-MIAMI

All Black, All Red, All Night Scott Dixon relied on Target Team Ganassi’s slick pitwork to stay in touch with Tony Kanaan – and pounced to win when the Brazilian floundered

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race

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Differing ANZACs: Dixon, top, celebrated after seeing off the rest of IndyCar’s elite. Power struggled; above, he grabs a front wheel to avoid hitting Milka Duno. Briscoe looked solid, below, setting fastest lap of the race before tangling with a tailender.

IndyCar Media

was shooting for his fourthstraight Homestead win, but walled his car in qualifying and started at the back of the grid. He took his time picking through the traffic and looked poised to strike until a late-race adjustment failed to improve his car. He finished third behind Andretti.

Penske’s Helio Castroneves was fourth after running a strange (and ultimately doomed) fuel strategy, while Vision driver Ed Carpenter, AGR’s Danica Patrick and Rahal Letterman driver Ryan HunterReay were next.

It was a bad weekend for the Aussies. Ryan Briscoe ran a relaxed race, shading Castroneves and looking good for the top six until he snagged a gyrating Milka Duno, who was getting up to speed.

Neither driver was hurt in the accident.

Will Power qualified at the tail of the field and struggled in the race, mercifully put out of proceedings when fellow CCWS battler Justin Wilson clanged into him at a restart.

IndyCar Media

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IndyCar Media

S

COTT Dixon dominated the opening laps of the first unified round of the IRL IndyCar Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway – but he should not have won the race. Tony Kanaan should have.

In a race of thirds, New Zealander Dixon led the first 70 laps; Marco Andretti led the middle part; and Kanaan was home, hosed and dusted until he tagged the spinning HVM car of Ernesto Viso with just seven laps remaining. Kanaan evoked memories of Craig Lowndes at Phillip Island when he, effectively, carried on with three wheels but as soon as the track went green, he was out of it and Dixon stormed home.

Kanaan was classified eighth. ”TK [Kanaan] had a great car,” Dixon said after his 12th career win. “We were struggling on long runs, but we were able to stay in it because of pit stops. Our guys were great all night long on pit stops. This is fantastic.”

Or, maybe Dan Wheldon should have won it. The Brit

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From Front to Rear

THE much-anticipated generational battle between Marco Andretti, above, and Graham Rahal never eventuated, the latter failing to make the race after a testing crash.

Rahal, 19, was attempting an outside pass of Oriol Servia, spun and backed into the wall, heavily damaging three of the four corners of the car. The team will have the Dallara repaired in time to participate in their first road course test at Sebring, five days before the St. Peteburg’s race.

“It’s disappointing that we’re not going to be racing in the season-opener,” said Rahal. “I feel bad about it. It will be tough not to be out there but at the same time we need to take it slowly

IndyCar Media

The Family Feud will have to wait

and not rush putting the car back together.”

Newman Haas Lanigan had to miss the first road course, two-day open test because some of the parts on its Dallaras were not useable.

The Indy Racing League called upon their teams to be ‘big brothers’, providing cars and helping the transitioning Champ Car teams.

That level of assistance has greatly varied, as some Dallara/Hondas were pristine and ready to run while others had all the obsoleted parts.

Another team experienced a suspension failure resulting from a part that had been deemed obsolete and which was to be replaced three years prior.

– MARY MENDEZ

DANICA Patrick started second alongside Scott Dixon but if that was a surprise, what initially happened was a shock.

Vision Racing teammates, A. J .Foyt IV and Ed Carpenter, above, edged out Patrick only to have their times disqualified when both their cars failed tech inspection.

Although the IRL would not elaborate on the reason the drivers were disqualified, it is believed the infraction had to do with the cars’ rear wings.

Last year the IRL issued wing flaps to teams prior to the race and collected them afterwards to prevent teams from using flexible wings to gain an advantage.

Tony George’s two drivers were moved to the last row of the grid.

– MARY MENDEZ

INDYCAR | GAINSCO 300, MIAMI-HOMESTEAD Ganassi 200 laps 1 Andretti Green +0.5828 4 Ganassi +1.4278 22 Penske +8.0340 5 Vision +1 lap DQ [2] Andretti Green +1 lap 2 Rahal Letterman +1 lap 9 Andretti Green +2 laps 6 Vision +2 laps DQ [3] Panther +3 laps 10 Penske + 74 laps Crash 3 KV +176 laps Suspension 19

INDYCAR | DRIVER’S points Dixon 50, Andretti 43, Wheldon 35, Castroneves 32, Carpenter 30, Patrick 28, Hunter-Reay 26, Kanaan 24, Foyt 22, Meira 20, Rice 19, (Briscoe 12, Power 10.)

IndyCar Media

1 9 Scott Dixon NZ 2 26 Marco Andretti USA 3 10 Dan Wheldon UK 4 3 Helio Castroneves Br 5 20 Ed Carpenter USA 6 7 Danica Patrick USA 7 17 Ryan Hunter-Reay USA 8 11 Tony Kanaan Br 9 2 AJ Foyt IV USA 10 4 Vitor Meira Br 19 6 Ryan Briscoe Aus 25 8 Will Power Aus Fastest lap: Briscoe, 25.0624s

Different Directions: Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick may be IndyCar’s best-known drivers after Dancing with the Stars and Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issue, and finished fourth and sixth respectively.

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 6 – MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA

Hometown Advantag

Denny Hamlin finally broke through for a win at Martinsville, but it almost wasn’t to be. MARTIN D CLARK was there

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SPRINT CUP DENNY Hamlin won the latest Sprint Cup NASCAR round at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

But an apparent miscommunication with his Joe Gibbs crew, which saw him, pit when none of the other front-runners did, cost him the lead and almost the win mid-race. That was on lap 214 of the 500 and the home state favourite managed to rally back and take the lead from Jeff Burton with 74 laps to run.

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Hamlin didn’t have things all his own way till the end though. With one lap to run he was forced to hold off hardcharging polesitter Jeff Gordon after Gordon, who came from 33rd following early panel damage from one of 18 cautions.

“Winning in my home state means a lot to me,” said Hamlin, “It was a dumb driver mistake pitting while we were leading. I thought more guys were going to pit behind me. In our last stop we didn’t take tires and that was key to us winning,” Hamlin came off pit road fifth and first

of those that chose to stop during the final caution.

“Our car was good on long runs and that was when it counted.”

Several cars suffered gearbox and differential issues on the flat half-miler, including pre-race points leader Kyle Busch, who had to have his diff replaced dropping to fifth in points, and his brother Kurt also suffered some driveline problems.

Earlier in the race the Hendrick Chevrolets of Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Casey Mears all spent

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NASCAR Media NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media

Celebrate in style: Denny Hamlin, left, finally got the win he and the team where hoping for and celebrated in style, above. Jeff Burton, top, comes out of Martinsville in the championship lead, while, Bobby Labonte’s spin, below, caused damage to Gordon’s Chevy

time battling for the lead, with Gordon heading just on 90 laps. After winning eight of the last 10 Martinsville races, the Gibbs Toyotas continued to show strength, this season with Hamlin netting his first win in 25 events. Burton held on for third ahead of Johnson, Tony Stewart and Jr, who faded late.

J Burton 915, Harvick 876, Biffle 855, Earnhardt Jr. 846, Kyle Busch 831.

NASCAR Media

SPRINT CUP | DRIVERS points

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IndyCar Media

Tough introduction for Davison INDY LIGHTS DILLON Battistini surprised everyone in his first race on an oval taking victory in the Indy Lights at Homestead Miami Speedway last weekend.

The 2007 Asia Pacific Formula 3 series Champion had a perfect start to his Lights campaign by qualifying his Dallara on the front row of the grid. Battistini controlled what was a strong field in the opening round of the series and stayed clear of any damage to take the win.

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to join him on the podium in third.

“The car was unbelievable,” said Sherman.

“Obviously, Dillon had a great run. I’m just happy to be on the podium.”

Richard Antinucci finished second in the 100-mile race.

CAMS International Rising Star James Davison, above, had a difficult start to the series after contact with the SAFER barrier on lap 55 caused him light damage and saw him finish well down in 22nd position.

A day of firsts

David Ostaszewski

ANTRON Brown captured his first NHRA Top Fuel victory at the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals.

Driving his Matco Tools dragster, Brown shot past Larry Dixon to become the first driver in NHRA history to win races in both Pro Stock Motorcycle and Top Fuel.

Del Worsham (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) joined Brown in the winner’s circle.

Brown, a 16-time winner in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, recorded a final round of 4.60 at 320 mph to stop Dixon’s 4.62 at 309.

Worsham defeated Jerry Toliver, Tim Wilkerson and John Force before denying Ashley Force her first Funny Car win. In the final, Worsham clocked a winning 4.93 at 316 for the win, his first since Indy of 2005.

In the Pro Stock final,

“I've had an incredible day. It’s surreal,” said Battistini.

“My first race on an oval. The first time I ever drove on an oval was a week ago. Qualifying yesterday, the car was fantastic. And I qualified second. The second day I had ever been in the car. So it could take a while for this all to sink in. I can’t believe it's happening, to be honest.”

In what was a great weekend for the team, Battistini’s team-mate, Brent Sherman drove a sterling race from 16th

Anderson used a 6.69/207 from his Summit Racing Pontiac GTX to defeat low qualifier Kurt Johnson, and his tyre-shaking 13.42.

The defending Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion, Smith, powered his Nitro Fish Buell past Gainesville winner, Matt Guidera's Mohegan Sun

Buell, Smith clocked a 7.06 at 187 to Guidera’s 7.14 at 185, to claim his first win of the 2008 season.

– DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

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FORMULA RENAULT UK AUSTRALIAN Josh Scott has had a successful start to his Formula Renault UK campaign with two strong results in Round 1 of the championship at Brands Hatch.

In a competitive field, the former CAMS

Rising Star driver made his presence felt finishing with a best result of second in the first race.

In a split qualifying format, Scott qualified fourth for Race 1 and seventh for Race 2 before finishing second and eighth in the two races.

It was a good day to have Christodoulou

as a last name as Riki and Adam shared the race wins up front. The first race went to Riki convincingly from second on the grid, while Adam took the second race in a slightly closer encounter after starting from pole position.

Round 2 of the series will be held on the 13th of April at Rockingham.

BTCC ROUND 1 of the British Touring Car Championship has kicked of at Brands Hatch with Team Vodafone endurance driver Fabrizio Giovanardi taking out two of

the three weekend races.

Last year’s BTCC Champion won a close opener from polesitter Mat Jackson after a late race pass on the youngster.

Race 2 witnessed Giovanardi double up for the weekend, taking a lights-to-

flag victory.

The Race 3 grid saw the top nine reversed from the Race 2 finishing order.

Colin Turkington managed to hold on for the win ahead of a hard charging Jackson, which ended in a desperate

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Giovanardi takes control

last corner passing attempt and slight off-track excursion from Jackson.

Giovavarni has a slender points advantage over rising star, Jackson heading into the next round of the series at Rockingham.

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AUSSIES OVERSEAS TIM Blanchard has led the Aussie charge overseas by taking out Round 1 of the British Formula Ford Championship at Oulton Park over the Easter weekend as eNews went to press last week.

Blanchard put on a brilliant display in his first outing in British Formula Ford for Jamun Racing by qualifying strongly in second place behind Race 1 and 2 winner and team-mate Wayne Boyd. Two second places and a win in tricky conditions - as snow covered parts of the track - in the final race saw Blanchard take the round win and championship lead on debut.

“To be leading the championship is just unbelievable, there is a long way to go but this gives me a great deal of

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confidence for the season ahead,” said Blanchard “The car showed some good speed but I have never raced in the snow before, and on slicks, I can tell you it was not an easy task.

“If I can keep up my consistency as I did last year, it will go a long way towards a good Championship result.”

Countryman Glen Wood, also making his debut in British Formula Ford, had a strong run, placing eighth and ninth in Race 1 and 2 respectively. A DNF in the third race left him down in overall points.

Meanwhile in Nogaro, France, the West European Cup (Formula Renault) had its first round of the season with West Australian Daniel Ricciardo kick-starting his campaign by taking a win in the first

race and fifth in the second.

Ash Walsh made his debut in the category and had some respectable results, finishing 12th and 17th in the two races. The first few rounds look set to be a big learning curve for Walsh as he comes to grips with the new car.

Back at Oulton Park ,John Martin and Sam Abay took to the first round of the British Formula 3 championship with some mixed results. A strong field made it difficult for Martin, who is in his second year in the category, and Abay, who is on debut, to make any real impression.

However some solid running from both saw Martin finish 11th with a DNF in Race 2, while Abay had a strong start to his campaign, placing 10th and 11th in the weekends races.

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goes British Tim Blanchard led the charge over the Easter weekend as no less than six young Australians began their overseas campaigns

Aussies on the charge! Tim Blanchard, above, was on fire at Oulton Park as was Daniel Ricciardo, below, in France. Sam Abay, left, learnt alot in a consistent display in British F3.

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rear of grid

The Customer was always Fast

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THE crash of the private plane in England that took the lives of driver David Leslie and team owner Richard Lloyd on Sunday ends a remarkable chapter in motor racing history.

Richard Lloyd Racing hit its peak in 1983-84, when as a privateer team – one of the first to take delivery of a 956 – it had the audacity to challenge Porsche’s mighty Rothmansbacked works team for wins. In fact, it beat the factory team.

With young guns Jonathon Palmer and Jan Lammers doing the driving, first the team discovered a way to increase downforce by blanking off air inlets for qualifying laps. The developments continued, and the team scored a remarkable win – ahead of the factory cars – at the Brands Hatch 1000 in 1984.

The team took its final win at

World Championship level in 1987, with Palmer and Mauro Baldi winning at the Norisring in a 962.

RLR was involved in other victorious programs, notably Audi’s BTCC assault in 1996 and Bentley’s 2003 Le Mans

effort, but Lloyd will be best remembered for the Canon car, beating the Germans at their own game, with a customer car.

Lights on, no-one Home Odd Spot CHAMP Car and IndyCar had opposite problems last season – the former having good crowds but lousy television numbers, and IndyCar inverse problems.

Okay, having the Indy 500 on your schedule sure helps (especially if Will

Davison drives next month …) and one media outlet reported last season that Champ Car had more paying spectators than TV viewers.

But things had better improve over the season opener at Homestead-Miami.

This pic, apart from looking pretty cool,

shows the cars on their formation laps in front of nearly-deserted stands, despite what was a pretty good race and a postrace concert by 3 Doors Down.

Homestead may not be the most glamorous track in the world, but things better pick up at St Pete in a fortnight.

IndyCar Media

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