Motorsport eNews Issue 49 - April 8-14, 2008 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue No. 049 8-14 April 2008

BLUE BOYS New Car, New ‘BLUE’ look For Tasman Motorsport

! P U T S U D WAKEFIELD PARK’S CAR DESTROYING FUJITSU FIGHT

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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MD / Publisher

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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.

Issue No. 049 | 08-14 April 2008

news 4 Liveries 6 Crash 8 Slade on endurance 10 Without a trace 15 V8 Touring

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 Branagan 23 Greg Rust

race 24 Fujitsu V8

28 Carrera Cup 30 Formula Ford 34 ARC 38 NASCAR 42 IRL

Tasman undresses The Wakefield aftermath Weighing up the options Paul looks for a drive Old cars, new series Aaron Caratti It’s time to go ... April Fooled Slade slides in Caratti smokes em’ Lindbom wins Evans again Edwards on Texas Rahal - The youngest

trade 48 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome one, plus one, plus one equals Fabian Coulthard – Glenfords Falcon driver ...

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

Tasman: Blue and Bold

Dirk Klynsmith

Sprint Gas Racing’s new colours to be finalised this week, but the new car is ready and on-track V8 SUPERCARS

A new colour scheme, two new cars ... a bright future. JASON RICHARDS

Dirk Klynsmith

SPRINT Gas Racing has finished the first of its new-generation Commodore VEs, and partially unveiled its new blue look. The Melbourne-based Holden team completed work on its new toy last week and shook the new car down this afternoon (Monday). The team will complete a full test tomorrow (Tuesday) before packing the car up for Hamilton’s maiden V8 Supercar street race in two weeks time. Kiwi hero Greg Murphy has the honours of steering the new Tasman car, while his team-mate Jason Richards will get his new car at Sandown in June. The new blue colour scheme has come about at the request of Sprint Gas, and while blue is generally associated with Ford, Holden Motorsport boss Simon McNamara told eNews that the colour is not a problem. “The colour isn’t an issue because its based on their naming-rights sponsor,” he said. “We don’t have a drama with a colour. The only time it would be a problem

would be with HRT ... and it wasn’t long ago that they were blue as well!” While Richards may have to wait until Sandown to get his hands on his new race car, he can’t wait to see its progress. “It’s a gorgeous car,” he said. “We’ve done everything we can to lower the centre of gravity. That’s the biggest thing. But all race teams try and improve small things as they go. “I’ve only seen the artist impressions of the paint scheme and I think they look really cool. The old car wasn’t up to standard. It was a rushed job due to the lateness of the Sprint Gas deal. This car has been designed for the car and the sponsor. I have to say, I think its pretty good. When you see the front, it’s a massive improvement ... “A new colour scheme, two new cars, I think we’ve got a very bright future.” But while ‘JR’ won’t have a new car for his home race at Hamilton, he has shouted himself a new helmet. “I’m not getting a new car, so I’ve got myself a new helmet and new paint job. So that’s my new look!” – GRANT ROWLEY

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

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Richo replaces Seto ... in Biante Series! BIANTE SERIES STEVE Richards will become the latest V8 Supercar driver to make an appreance in the Biante Muscle Car Masters later this month when he driver the Stillwell Ford Escort at Oran Park. ‘Richo’ is a keen Escort enthusiast, and even owns his own RS1600 replica rally car (complete with turbo Cosworth engine). But he won’t have turbo power, or a 620 horsepower V8 Supercar donk, at Oran Park – instead he’ll be making

the most of the 2-litre BDG twin-cam. The Escort is the same car that Glenn Seton took to a giant-killing fourth place at the Clipsal 500 round of the Biante Series earlier this year. “I must admit I’m thrilled to be offered the drive, because anyone who can remember motorsport from the 1970s can remember that little car running around,” Richards told eNews. “My first car was an RS2000 and Dad did some rallysprints in Escorts back in the day, so I’ve always been a huge fan.

“The only track work I’ve done in Escorts is a few laps at Winton as part of the Dutton Rally, but that’s all. But I know the cars well, and they’re such a great little car.” It may well be a father-son battle at Oran Park, with Jim Richards expecting to debut his freshly built Falcon Sprint racecar. The Biante Series runs as part of the first official Shannons Nationals round at Oran Park on April 27. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

NSW denies, Cocho bewildered V8 SUPERCARS

HSVDT: Same but different V8 SUPERCARS THIS is the look that Rick Kelly will carry in New Zealand next week. The HSV Dealer Team has given the former V8 Supercar champion a new livery after parting ways with Opes Prime. The disgraced

stock broker, now under investigation by investment watchdog ASIC, met its commitments with the team up till the end of March, but is now out of the sport. The team may yet source a new sponsor to fill the void in both funding and on the car. – PHIL BRANAGAN

NEW South Wales Premier Morris Iemma is denying knowledge of the very proposal that could see the Homebush street race happen in 2009. Last weekend’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper in Sydney reported that Tony Cochrane was “bewildered” by claims from a premier spokesperson that a proposal wasn’t being considered. “There was an original proposal presented to the Premier which was rejected because it wasn’t feasible,” the premier’s spokesman said.

“The position has not changed. There is no current proposal which has been put to, or is being considered by, the Premier.” Cochrane replied in the article: “That is just false. There is a major proposal in with state development. It has been in there for 16 months. “The first proposal, the one he is talking about, goes back three years and then we revised it. “I have no idea why he denied the proposal. I think it just illustrates how disorganised they are. “It just shows a lack of organisation.”

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

Wakefield Wrecker Goulburn’s Fujitsu V8 round marred by multi-car pile-up – One car destroyed, 10 others damaged John Morris/Mpix

FUJITSU V8s A HUGE first turn incident at the start of Race 3 marred the second round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Wakefield Park. Commodore driver Mark McNally was spun around in front of the pack at the kink on the main straight, with no less than 10 cars joining the wreaking yard in the middle of the circuit. The race was immediately red flagged and no one was injured. An early survey of cars suggests that Colin Sieders’s Falcon AU is the only car that is a write-off, although many teams will be flat out over the next seven weeks before the round at Sandown Raceway to straighten their bent cars. Sieders was gutted by the carwreaking shunt. “It looks like a little Ford Fiesta!” he joked.

“It’s not too good. The cars gone. “McNally was in the middle of the track, the rest of us were coming through like normal and you simply couldn’t see a single thing. “It’s amazing that no one was hurt in it.” Brett Hobson’s United Oils Commodore VZ was also heavily damaged in the shunt. “You couldn’t see anything,” he said. “It was just dust. You could not see a thing. I was locked up for ages, and the initial touch was nothing at all, and then all of a sudden I got drilled from behind, and that threw my car around and I got drilled from the front.” Others involved in the incident were Joel Spychala, James Burgmuller, Shane Beikoff, Taz Douglas, Aaron McGill and TAG Motorsport team-mates Geoff Emery and Tony Bates. – GRANT ROWLEY

Drought = Dust opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews DUST was a major issue at Wakefield Park, and drivers have blamed it for the Race 3 incident. But even before the accident, questions were raised over the dust issue. Anytime a car dropped a wheel off the track, and it didn’t matter which corner, plumes of dust would follow, leaving drivers with restricted, and on occasions, no vision. This however, is no critism of the Wakefield Park circuit. The NSW country town of Goulburn has been one of the hardest hit by the drought, and as early as last year, the town was getting water trucked in from alternate places. One suggestion that was talked about was clamping Astroturf to the inside and outside of the track. But as you know, the more real estate you give race drivers, the more they are going to take …

James Smith

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Bargwanna to compete in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series TOYOTA RACING SERIES JASON Bargwanna will return to his open-wheeler roots in New Zealand next week when he races in the Toyota Racing Series. The 2000 Bathurst winner will team up with his allies from his Formula Holden days, and drive in the one-make series at Hamilton, as a support to the third round of the V8 Supercar Championship. He will have a test in the car next Tuesday at Taupo. Bargwanna will reunite with Simon Hardwidge and Trevor Sheumack, who ran

him in Formula Holden in the late 1990s, before he got a drive in V8 Supercars. “This is what I do; I am a racing driver,” said Bargwanna today, (Monday). “This is going to be a great experience, I love driving racing cars and this is a great opportunity to do something different. “I have seen the Toyotas racing when I have been in New Zealand, and they are great to watch. The drivers at the pointy end of the field take it pretty seriously, and I want to be in that group. This is a positive thing and I hope that the results will show that.” In the meantime, Bargs continues to

And Van Giz gets back to his open-wheel ways as well ... V8 SUPERCARS

talk to V8 Supercar teams about the future, starting with the Phillip Island and Bathurst 1000 races. In fact, he was spotted at the Garry Rogers Motorsport factory launch in Melbourne last week, where he was singled out for praise in front of the assembled guests and media by his former team boss, Rogers. But the former WPS driver is keeping his powder dry about his options for the two races. “Too early to say,” he chuckled. “But after what I saw on TV from Bahrain, I would not be surprised if Ron Dennis is on the phone soon …”

Goulburn gone? Townsville 09? WAKEFIELD Park Raceway may, but most likely will not, host another Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series race. Despite the crowd figure last weekend (12,005) exceeded last year’s total, Wayne Cattach told eNews that television commitments is the reason for it is likely to lose its spot on the Development Series bill. “Wakefield Park presents it’s own particular challenges,” Cattach said. “One of them being the high cost of television production that clearly has better economies of scale at a shared round.” Calendar talks for both the Main Series and the Fujitsu V8 Series will kick off in the next month or so, and an obvious addition to Fujitsu V8 calendar for 2009 would be a slot on Townsville’s new V8 Supercar race, set to debut next year. – GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

SHANE van Gisbergen has taken the unique step of using V8 Supercars to launch a career in Formula Vee? The Stone Brother’s Racing driver will take part in a onehour endurance race for Vees at Manfeild in his native New Zealand in May, a one-off appearance that has come courtesy of a deal made at the Australian Grand Prix. “I was out of the top 20 after the first practice session at the

Grand Prix,” said van Gisbergen. “Ross knew that I wanted to do the Formula Vee race in NZ so he made a deal with me; I could go if I qualified inside the top 15. We came in 14th so I got to go. “It’s a bit more of a social event and it will be a great chance to go back and catch up with everyone.” ‘The Giz’ drove Vees as a youngster back in NZ, and will drive for Sabre Motorsport, the team that ran him in the 2004/2005 season.

Peter Bury

Bargs goes Toyota!

BRIEFLY... n Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of KV Racing Technology, the team supporting Will Power in the IndyCar Series, had a skiing accident in Aspen (Colorado) a week ago, breaking four ribs, puncturing a lung, and receiving a concussion. The Adelaide native made it to the St. Pete race on his Gulfstream jet just days after leaving the hospital. Kalkhoven suffered multiple fractures of his collarbone after a skiing accident four years ago, which took months to heal properly from an undetected infection. Maybe this sextarian needs to put those turbo skis away. n Pacific Coast Motorsports general manager Tyler Tavedic has bought the team’s assets from owner Tom Figge, who created the team to run his son, Alex, most recently in Champ Car. Tavedic says he is close to signing a driver and sponsor and will contend for the remainder of the 2008 IndyCar season. Included is the equipment is a Dallara chassis. The driver is likely the 2002 Honda Indy 300 winner, Mario Dominguez, with sponsorship from his home country, Mexico. – MARY MENDEZ

Slade in enduro frame FUJITSU V8s TIM Slade’s maiden race and round win at Wakefield Park last weekend could be his ticket to securing a V8 Supercar endurance drive this year. The 22-year-old Fujitsu V8 driver is hoping that his Development Series success might put him at the forefront of certain team owner’s minds. The team that is an obvious slot for Slade is Jack Daniel’s Racing. Slade is contesting the Fujitsu Series in an ex-Larry Perkins built Commodore, he is wellknown around the Perkins Engineering workshop and is actually the house-mate of Jack Perkins! With Jack already locked into a spot in his father’s team, Slade could be an obvious contender to partner

Jack, but Perkins told eNews that he hasn’t made any decisions on his endurance drivers just yet. “I haven’t got around to sorting our endurance line-up just yet, but there’s nothing wrong with getting a round win,” he said. “We are delighted that he won. That always looks good on your CV. He’s running a low budget operation, and running it under some degree of difficulty, so I’m very happy for him.” Slade said that beyond winning the championship, competing in the endurance races is his season goal. “Racing the enduros in the main series is my goal for the year,” he said. “Winning the championship would be great, but the way I’m doing it myself, on our small budget, is probably unrealistic.

“I speak to Barry Ryan (Perkins team manager) after every session out on the track. I already have that relationship there, and I’ve learnt a great deal from him. Obviously I live with Jack as well and get along pretty well with them. “It would be great to drive with them, but there are a couple of other options out there, so we’ll have to see what happens.” Slade’s Wakefield success has moved him to fourth in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. Interestingly, ex-Perkins Commodores fill second to fourth in the series, with Jack second, Michael Trimble third and Slade fourth. Also noteworthy is the fact that all three of those cars are housed at Marty Brant’s Independent Race Cars workshop … – GRANT ROWLEY

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‘Aussie’ Dane headed to NASCAR No not Allan Simonsen ... Dane Rudolph kicks off his US career in Whelen Series NASCAR MARCOS Ambrose and Owen Kelly aren’t the only Australian’s racing in the NASCAR system in the United States of America this year. Dane Rudolph has emerged in the Whelen All-American Series run at ACE Speedway in North Carolina, where he will run the entire season with Sellers Racing. And the New South Welshman is hoping it is the first step to the Sprint Cup. With two rounds of the series down, Rudolph’s introduction has been surprisingly rapid. He was fast at the first round of the series, qualifying eighth and finishing seventh for his oval racing debut. “I had two goals before I raced, firstly finish the race and secondly keep out of trouble,” he said of the season-opener. “I was extremely pleased to have achieved my goals so next time I’ll raise my goals, and take it one step at a time.

“Mainly I need to focus on my qualifying performance, that’s what counts. “It has been a life long dream to come from the other side of the world and race in one of the largest sanctioned sports in the world. I feel extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity to race with Sellers Racing Inc here in Danville, Virginia. The Sellers family are extremely warm people to be with, I feel like I’m

back in Australia with the exception of any Aussie accents.” The second round of the series was supposed to run this weekend, but has been postponed due to bad weather, which arrived at the track as Rudolph was mid-qualifying. Prior to heading to the US, Rudolph raced Formula Ford and Formula 4000 in NSW. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

$35k for Cooper Foundation FUJITSU V8s THE generosity of the town of Goulburn and an equally generous donation from Fujitsu General has netted $35,066.40 for the Ashley Cooper Foundation. The foundation was collecting at last weekend’s Wakefield park round of the Fujitsu Series, which would have been the home round for the driver, who was killed in Adelaide. The public donations reached over $17,000,

which Fujitsu General matching it dollar for dollar, taking the total to more than $35,000. The Ashley Cooper Foundation was subsequently formed by Transplant Australia with the aim of raising enough funds to ensure the future for Ashley’s partner and their two children. The front of the grid was left empty for the final race at Wakefield last weekend in a fitting farewell to the sport that Cooper had loved and lived for.

Sponsors sign up for Indy THE unification of American open-wheel racing is paying dividends, with IndyCar signing two significant sponsorship deals last week. Coca-Cola North America has signed on through 2010 as a sponsor of the IndyCar Series and the Indy 500. Last year Coca-Cola, which has significant non-racing related business contacts with IndyCar boss Tony George, signed a 10-year agreement with ISC (International Speedway Corporation that runs NASCAR). It also announced a US$3m per year, multi-year deal with DirecTV which, with nearly 17 million subscribers, is the largest US-based satellite television provider. This year is the first full season of the series being presented in HD, including the innovative onboard cameras able to pan 360 degrees utilizing HD technology. The 2008 season marks the 13th year that the IndyCar Series will be telecast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The Series is still seeking both a title and presenting sponsor for significantly more money. – MARY MENDEZ

Without a Trace? INDYCAR

PAUL Tracy may have found a legal way to wrangle out of his Forsythe Pettit Racing team contract. Car owner Jerry Forsythe has the mercurial Canadian under contract for another three seasons, with a reported salary of US$2.5m per year. But apparently sitting home collecting a paycheck isn’t what Tracy wants. “My lawyer feels I am free to go look at other opportunities that are out there for me,” Tracy told the Indianapolis Star last week. “Jerry has left me no option on this.” Forsythe announced last February his team would not enter the IndyCar Series in spite of having a Dallara at their shop. However, the team will run two Panoz/Cosworths entries at the Champ Car World Series finale at the Grand Prix of Long Beach with drivers TBA. David Martinez, the

sutton-images.com

INDYCAR

Will the Indiapolis 500 take place

Mexican driver who competed for Forsythe at both Surfers Paradise’s Lexmark Indy 300 and Mexico City last fall was announced a few days ago. But strangely, not the driver for the second car. The report stated Forsythe and Tracy haven’t talked directly since mid-December. Should Tracy be free to race for another team, his most likely option appears to be with KV Racing Technology. A major stumbling block to Jimmy Vasser, with Tracy, above, and convincing KV co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven to hire Tracy for at least the Indy 500 could be the legal

consequences of interfering with the Forsythe contract. Acceptance of car entry applications ended April 2 for the 92nd running of the Indy 500. So the only opportunity for Tracy, if not offered an acceptable ride, is to lease a car from a team that’s already entered, if any team will spare one. But he’ll have to find a sponsor to cover the almost US $1m price tag for the month of May, including the car at $250,000, the engine lease at $400,000 (includes a fresh motor for the race), and 35 sets of tyres (US$70,000). Upon hearing Tracy may have been released from his contract, the 2004 IndyCar champion, Tony Kanaan, said, “I want him back racing with us. He’s been sitting at home and missing some races so I’m sure he’ll give someone the chrome horn (shove them out of the way). I want to race against the best guys.” – MARY MENDEZ

sutton-images.com

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INDYCAR THE 2008 Long Beach Grand Prix will boast a field of 18 drivers. Expected to compete at Long Beach are Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal (Newman-Haas-Lanigan); Franck Perera

and Enrique Bernoldi (Conquest); Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes (Coyne); Ernesto Viso, Nelson Philippe and one TBA (HVM); Antonio Pizzonia and Juho Annala (Rocketsports); Will Power, Oriol Servia and Jimmy Vasser (KVRT); Alex Figge (Pacific Coast Motorsports); and

David Martinez and TBA (Forsythe Pettit Racing). The race at Long Beach will receive equal finishing points towards the IndyCar championship as those regular IndyCar drivers competing on the same weekend at Motegi, Japan.

Long Beach: 18 (maybe) sutton-images.com

sutton-images.com

Petty Cash to Childress NASCAR PETTY Enterprises is to lose major sponsorship to rival team Richard Childress Racing. The Petty team will part ways with General Mills, its sponsor of seven years, at the end of the season, and it also looks very likely former series champion Bobby Labonte will move, from Petty to RCR’s number 33 new fourth team in 2009.

The announcement is a major blow to Richard and Kyle Petty who, along with the Wood Bros are the two remaining original NASCAR teams struggling to keep afloat among multi-car operations. Although he remains tight-lipped, Labonte’s contract with Petty expires at season’s end and it’s well known he’s become frustrated at the lack of performance seen from his team. Adding insult to injury Kyle Petty failed

to qualify for the Martinsville race and was subbed by Chad McCumbee at Texas only for the youngster to not make the field. All this happened in a week which news broke the Pettys are talking with a New York investment group Medallion Financial, which almost signed a deal to invest with the now defunct Robert Yates Racing in 2006. – MARTIN D CLARK

Rookie walks away SAFE NASCAR ROOKIE Michael McDowell had a horrifying crash while taking his second of two qualifying laps at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday April 4. His Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota broke loose entering turn one and hit the wall at an angle reminiscent to the crash that took the life of Dale Earnhardt. The car then spun on its roof and barrel rolled eight times before coming to rest on its wheels. Repairs to the life-saving SAFER barrier took over an hour before qualifying resumed and a 20ft section of the steel was later replaced. “I got to see a replay and it wasn’t very good,” commented McDowell, 23, who walked away. “That’s one of the worst wrecks

I’ve seen, I’m not very excited I participated in it.” The good news for McDowell was he made the race on owner points while the likes of Dario Franchitti failed to make the show. Dale Earnhardt Jr’s incredibly fast pole winning speed of 190.907mph was overshadowed by the wreck at a track where speeds of 210mph were seen entering the turns during a recent Goodyear tyre test with Juan Pablo Montoya and Clint Bowyer. Not only was the magnitude of the accident a testament to the SAFER barrier, but also to the new design car with more of a built in crumple zone than the older cars and larger cockpit area, along with the HANS Device head and neck restraint and the wraparound aluminum seat. – MARTIN D CLARK

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A1GP WILL the next A1GP season see a ban on two-nation teams? That’s the talk coming out of the recent rounds of the series, with some of the power-house teams, running more than one entry, staring down the barrel of being kerbed. According to an inside source the reasoning is to even up

the competition, with results showing that two and three car teams have an advantage over single car outfits thanks to the increased data and information sharing. The new ruling would be likely to have the biggest effect on Super Nova, the British team that runs four nations in the World Cup of Motosport, with Germany and New Zealand running under

the Super Nova banner, and Lebanon and Brazil running under the grouped Argo Racing banner. Last year, Super Nova took Germany and NZ to first and second in the series. Status Grand Prix also run two teams, Canada and Ireland (both of which who have won races this year), while South Africa, Switzerland and France (also all race winners this

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Big Teams kerbed in A1?

season) also share a technical sharing alliance. In other A1GP team news, there is also talk of some franchises being re-arranged next season, with Lebanon, leading above, rumoured to be on the outer and Belgium on the way in. The series is expected to start at the Ferrari-owned Mugello circuit in Italy in August. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Marshall Cass

GT3 Cup Challenge goes alone GT3 Cup Cars leave Australian GT for brand-new four round championship SPORTSCARS THE newly-formed GT3 Cup Challenge category will not run with the Australian GT Championship, as originally suggested. CAMS recently granted the GT3 Cup Challenge its own Category Management Agreement, and it has since broken away from combining with Australian GT to set up its own four-round stand-alone series, to be run on the Shannons Nationals program. GT3 Category Administrator Jodi Zylstra said that this new deal allows the all-Porsche category and competitors to stand on their own two feet. “For whatever reason, the relationship with Australian GT will not work, so we’ve decided to go our own way.

“We are now in control of our own destiny and we are keeping in line with the core values of what we’re trying to achieve – and that is cost-effective racing with your mates in Porsches.” “The whole emphasis is to keep the costs down and keep the Porsche drivers and enthusiasts together. The new four round series will run with the Shannons Nationals, starting at Mallala, Phillip Island (August) Oran Park (August) and finale at Symmons Plains. The Oran Park round may also see a boost by the presence of the Porsche 944 Challenge, subject to clarification. The plan for the series is to move up to six rounds in 2009, with the first round kicking off as a support category to the Bathurst 12 Hour in late February. Category officials are hoping that this

year’s first round at Mallala will have close to 15 cars entered. Cars eligible for the new class are 996 GT3 Cup Cars and all normally-aspirated pre-996 Porsche models. The Australian GT Championship still has the 996 model on its eligibility list, and can be entered in that category at the competitors discretion. Australian GT administrator Terry Little says its “business as usual” within his class. “The Australian GT Championship will continue as per usual, we’ll be at Oran Park and entries are open now,” he said. “We will continue to run our Australian GT Challenge class for all non-FIA GT3 cars, bench marked at a Porsche 996 time, and we are looking at including GT4-eligible cars as well.” – GRANT ROWLEY James Smith

GT: New cars, and JB set for return V8 SUPERCARS THE Australian GT Championship is set for another boost with the series expecting the addition of a number of new FIA spec cars before the end of the season. Two new Lamborghini’s

are set to race in the series, alongside a new Aston Martin and Ferrari 430. But it is unlikely that we will see any of the new cars on the grid by Oran Park but they could be on show for Eastern Creek. John Kaias, who runs the current Aston Martin, will

not be at Oran Park for the next round due to other commitments but will look to continue his campaign from Eastern Creek onwards. Mark Coffey, who owns and runs the Coopers Ferrari, is expecting to have a new car on the grid later this season, possibly by Phillip Island.

Coffey’s lead driver Alan Simonsen is committed to his European schedule and won’t be available at Oran Park. In his spot, expect to see John Bowe back in GT racing in the car he raced so competitively at the Australian Grand Prix, pictured above. – PHIL MAHONEY

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James Smith

Entries in for new V8 series V8 TOURING CARS

THE Shannons V8 Touring Cars has received its first confirmed entries for its debut race meeting at Mallala next month. The Touring Car class, open to late-model V8 Supercars, has secured entries from John Vergotis (Falcon AU), Adam Wallis (Commodore VT), Chris Smerdon (AU), Steve Ingwersen (VS), Jim McNiven (VT) and Steven Voight (AU). Smerdon, who will campaign his ex-Stone Brothers Racing Falcon AU, pictured, told eNews that the category is a perfect fit for the Australian racing scene. “From a personal point

of view, I really enjoyed my time in V8 Supercar, but in the late 90s, the category went from semi-professional to fullyprofessional and you needed to be committed to a full-time involvement,” he said. “People like myself who are interested in racing V8 Supercars, this gives me a chance to run one. I’ve got a fantastic SBR car, and I haven’t had many opportunities to run it, but now I can run it on a national basis.” Series administrator Rob

Cruickpatrick said that expecting huge grids to start with is unrealistic, but there is plenty of scope for growth. “It’s going to work,” he enthused. “If the first race has less than 10 cars, we won’t be overly disappointed. We’ve got guys who are confirming entries for the last few rounds. There‘s plenty of cars out there, and some people are sitting on the fence, but the level of interest is pretty high.” The category also released the logo it will carry for its first season, pictured inset. The first round of the Shannons V8 Touring Car Series on May 18. – GRANT ROWLEY

Second part of the Storey Rob Storey wins like Wally at Wakefield Park while Chaz is the youngest ever ... FORMULA FORD ROB Storey became just the second second-generation race winner in the history of the Australian Formula Ford Championship/Driver to Europe series at Wakefield Park last weekend. Storey, above right, won the second race of Round 2 of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship, emulating the countless race wins in the 1970s and 80s by his father and Brad Jones Racing tech chief Wally Storey. The only other fatherson winning combo is Tim

Blanchard and his father John. “I suppose Rob’s looked at the tapes I’ve got and always wanted to be like his old man,” said Storey Sr. “I’m proud of the lad. In the context of motor racing he’s got a lot of sense, he drives well and he’s a smart kid.” That wasn’t the only FFord record set on the weekend – Nick Foster took over the mantle of youngest AFFC points scorer in Race 2, only to have Chaz Mostert, right, steal the statistic just 24 hours later in Race 3. He is a smidgen under 16 years of age … – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN www.speedshots.com.au

Dutch Drifter joins Bolger DRIFTING DUTCH drifting sensation Paul Vlasblom will compete on Australian shores for the first time next weekend. Vlasblom is in town for the second round of the Toyo Tyres Drift Australia Series at Queensland Raceway, where he will slide around in a Robbie Bolgerprepared VE Commodore Ute. And it will be a ‘straight in at the deep end experience for the former European

drifting champ, who is yet to lay eyes on the track. “I haven’t seen the place yet, but I’ve seen plenty of videos from Robbie,” he told eNews. “When I arrived the Ute was just a shell with a rollcage, but now it’s got a rear diff and engine and we are working on it day-by-day. I guess if it doesn’t get finished I’ll drive the Monaro.” Back in Holland, Vlasblom drifts a 380hp BMW E36 Wagon, but he expects

drifting the Ute to be similar. “The biggest difference is that the steering wheel is on the right hand side,” he added. “I’ve been driving a V8 Ute around since I’ve been here and I like how much torque it has down low, that should really suit me.” Vlasblom was European Drifitng Champion in 2005 and 2007 and won the Dubai Challenge in 2006. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Toyota relieved with S2000 pace in West Oz AUSTRALIAN RALLYING Corolla, a hybrid four-wheel DESPITE his failing to finish the opening round of the Australian Rally Championship season, Simon Evans has revealed that senior manufacturer representatives from Toyota were pleased with his pace in Western Australia. After dominating the ARC over the past two seasons in the team’s Group N(P)

drive mated to an aging but still rapid Celica GT-Four turbo-charged engine, Evans admitted that Toyota had been nervous about the abilities of the new Super 2000-spec car. “Sure Neal (Bates) ran it all last season but it’s still a new car and the amount of development and testing has been limited,” said Evans. “Toyota were uneasy,

they said that they were concerned that the privateer Mitsubishi’s and Subaru’s would be faster. But this weekend our stage times have proven that that’s not the case at all and for a car that I’ve only just started to get my head around from a setup point of view the signs for the rest of the year are looking very good.” Lighting fast times during Heat 1 proved that the

NO ONE was more surprised about Alex Stone’s third place in the opening round of the Australian Rally Championship than Alex Stone himself. In fact, the West Aussie privateer’s podium finish was so unexpected, he didn’t even bother registering to score ARC points! “People came up to me on the Saturday afternoon and starting saying congratulations, and I said ‘for what?’” he told eNews.

Joel Strickland

AUSTRALIAN RALLYING

Joel Strickland

Stone’s Surprise

S2000 could be as fast, if not faster than the old Corolla, including a blinding time on SS8 when he claimed victory by 30.2s. It all fell apart on Sunday morning when the Corolla’s high-revving engine expired. “It’s disappointing, but I’m happy,” he said. “It wasn’t my fault, not anyone’s fault in general; it’s just life – that’s rallying.” – RYAN LAHIFF

“It is frustrating that I didn’t register for points, but it’s probably more frustrating that I’m unable to do any more rounds because of finances. “But you never know. We’ll see how the season goes and maybe try and do a few more rounds later in the year.” As a result of not being able to score points, privateer Justin Dowell was awarded the points for third outright, a fantastic finish on his first rally outside of his native Victoria. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Tucker Time

Future NHRA Drag Racing star set to make Queensland comeback at Tin Top Titles DRAG RACING

AMERICAN-based Australian drag racer Shane Tucker will fly to Queensland next week to compete in Willowbank Raceway’s Tin Top Titles on April 18/19. Tucker, 23, is now based full-time in North Carolina after moving to the US in June last year to join top-level NHRA team Cagnazzi Racing. Tucker will race with the support of major automotive parts company JEGS.com to race his father’s 2007 Holden Monaro in the Pro Stock category. “For coming back to Australia, while it is always good to catch up with

friends and family and race with my mates in Pro Stock, my main motivation has been to support the 16 car field concept being run by Willowbank Raceway,” said Tucker. “Dad and I have always been strong supporters of the idea and Willowbank and ANDRA have put a lot in to make it happen, and the best chance of making sure it sticks around is for everyone to get behind the idea so it is prominent and successful.” The April program will feature the penultimate round of Group 1 activity in Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock categories, befre the season-ending Castrol EDGE Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway (June 5-8).

5 Minutes with ...

AARON CARATTI

Something has clicked for Caratti, and he’s now a Carrera Cup contender

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN Dirk Klynsmith

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Pretty much the perfect weekend; pole, three race wins, leading every lap and setting a new lap record … AARON CARATTI: You can’t ask for much better! It all started on Wednesday when we did a productive test day out here. We tried heaps of different things and found setup that I was happy with and it went from there. You went really well here a couple of years ago, which was only your second meeting in a Porsche. What is it about this place? The first team I raced a Porsche for was based in Sydney so we tested here four or five times, so I’ve done plenty of laps around good old Wakefield Park. And that definitely helps! Will you be sad if the series doesn’t come back here? Ah, I won’t be too sad. Actually I do like this place, it’s hard work. The 27-lap race we did today was really hard work because there are no breaks, you’re working hard the whole time. Speaking of hard work, is it easier out front when you only have to worry about guys behind you, not in front of you as well? Race 1 was pretty cruisy, I got a bit of a gap on the first lap I was able to take it from there. But Race 2, the first 20 laps was hard. I had Dean [Fiore] right behind me and it wasn’t until he sort of slipped away that I could cruise. The third race wasn’t easy either. There was a lot of

It will take a few dnfs from the other guys, but we’re definitely in with a chance AARON CARATTI

pressure from behind, and even though I was sort of maintaining a two or three car length gap, it was closing and expanding, so it wasn’t easy. Something seems to have clicked for you recently. You’ve had your first win at the Grand Prix, and now you are pulling away from Craig Baird and co. What’s changed? We’ve spent a lot of time on

the car. There were some troublesome parts that we found at the start of the year when we were doing hot laps in Perth, and that would have been slowing us down last year. You know, the gearbox, a front upright, it wasn’t quite right. Now the car is like new and it’s been really quick. How’s your maths? Is the Carrera Cup Championship a

realistic goal now? I think it definitely is. It will take a few DNFs from the other guys, but we’re definitely in with a chance. Next round is your home track, Barbagallo Raceway, so you must be confident heading into that … Yeah we’ve done a few laps around there, as has Dean, so it should be a great battle between us.

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor

It’s Time

The FIA has a lame duck President. Max Mosley must resign, or be removed IT has been difficult to know what to write about Max Mosley because the extraordinary events of the last week involving the FIA President are without precedent in the sport. It could be argued that whatever has or has not taken place, it is a private matter for Mosley. Further, one might accept the notion that this situation predominantly involves Formula 1 – which would allow me to handball writing a column like this one over to Will Buxton at GPWeek. Sorry. It has gone beyond that. Did Max do what has been reported? Frankly, I do not care; what he does in his own domain is his business. To this point, he has maintained just that argument but, notably, is seeking legal redress not for defamation but invasion of privacy. Again, his business. But now, it is the sport’s business, for two reasons. Firstly, Bahrain’s Crown Prince,

Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, wrote to Mosley – as the FIA President, not Mr M Mosley of Chelsea – advising him that “It would be inappropriate for you to be in Bahrain at this time.” So, the sport’s governing body is compromised by having its leader told to stay away from a Formula 1 GP. Secondly, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda and Toyota all issued statements, decrying Mosley’s actions. F1 aside, these manufacturers compete in the WTCC, DTM, Japanese GTs, various levels of NASCAR and any number of domestic competitions, not to mention the matter of manufacturing just under 16 million motor vehicles in 2007. Then the auto clubs joined in, led by Germany’s ADAC and AAA from the United States. Mosley’s response has been to call for a meeting of the FIA’s General Assembly. Doubtless, he will be thinking that he can hold sway over

the body he has dominated for nearly two decades, and emerge smelling of roses. That is not the point. It is this. In nearly any other arena, Mosley would either have stood aside, or been stood aside, already, as we have seen with countless politicians or businessmen involved in sordid scandals. It is unfortunate in this instance that he is British and, therefore, a soft target for that country’s tabloid-driven media, but that is the way things are. The FIA has a lame duck President, one now unable to show his face to the public or to the media and one unwelcome at major

motorsport events. By continuing in his role, Mosley is placing his own personal vanity ahead of the sport and the automotive industry. As a responsible organisation with a 67-year-old President, the FIA must have a plan of succession. That plan should be implemented, now. Max Mosley does not own the FIA, or own motorsport. The presidency does not belong to him, it belongs to the FIA, and if he does not do the gentlemanly thing and resign it, the FIA should remove him. Anything less will only bring further disgrace to our sport, and the automotive business.

Letters

Have your say, email us at mail@mnews.com.au. Keep letters to the point. Sprintcar Family With regards to your article ‘Second Generation Dumesny’, not only is Mitchell Dumesny the son of Max, he also happens to be the son of Melinda, herself a fine Sprintcar driver. When Mitchell was not quite four and Michaela was celebrating her second

birthday, Melinda competed in the 1991 Knoxville Nationals and finished the best of all Australians, including Max, Skip and Brooke. In fact Melinda was the first female to qualify for an A main at Knoxville. Melinda had been racing at Parramatta since she was a young teenager and it was a racing trip down south that

introduced her to her husband. In fact, Melinda has been on the speedway scene since the birth of Sprintcar racing in Australia, her father, Sid Moore, having been involved since ‘modifieds’ morphed into Sprintcars. Sid Moore is not only a car owner, but also a driver in his own right, so Greg Boscato’s

fine article on Mitchell Dumesny was inaccurate. Mitchell is definitely a 3G boy. Janine Reed utungun@bigpond.com Max is out I think its a disgrace that Max Mosley has not yet resigned from his post as FIA President. His recent actions have cast a

opinion

eNews makes a Fool out of Me

sutton-images.com. And yep, it’s digitally modified

shadow over the sport. Formula One is what many look to as an example for their own actions. Having the President of the governing body involved in such a farce is a disgrace and quite frankly I’m disgusted. I believe that those involved in the FIA, including the teams, should take a stand against this sort of behaviour and ask him to step down. It may not affect his ability to do the job but for someone in such a public position, his private life is part of his job. Bob MacArthney Ballarat, Vic

OKAY, I admit it. I fell for last week’s story in Motorsport eNews on Will Davison driving in the Indy 500 hook, line and sinker – but I’m not the only one. It all started on my way to work last Tuesday (April Fool’s Day). I’m listening to the radio in the car and they broadcast some breaking news about Kate Ritchie joining Neighbours on Channel Ten, after more than 14 years on 7’s Home and Away. “Wow, big coup for Ten,” I thought, not even thinking of the date! Then, when I arrive at work I do my normal Tuesday ritual, and click open eNews to see a picture of what looked like Will driving the Jim Beam IRL car with a story on a successful test after the first round in Florida. ”Man we gotta get on to this!” I said to our team, and hastily fired off a text to Will to say congrats, and could we catch up for an interview? Thankfully he’s a good bloke and quickly set me straight ... I’ve since learned a senior PR agency was chasing the story and web forums went wild with chat about who might replace him at DJR if he headed to the US next year.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Davo to the US Hey it great to hear that the IRL and Champcar have finally come to an agreement and joined these two great series together. It’s also awesome to have Team Australia and Will Power in there and same

can be said for Ryan Briscoe with his plum ride at Team Penske and now with Will Davison in there for the Indy 500 it should be something really interesting to watch the two Wills at it again, just like when they were in Formula Ford a few years

opinion

Greg Rust Network 10 The artwork was quite convincing, but the reason I was sucked in was the plausible nature of the yarn. Not the words (sorry guys) but the simple fact I reckon Will is more than capable of this kind of thing. I don’t want to put some sort of spin on why I fell for it. The fact is, I did. It made me think about Will’s achievements though, particularly over the past month. While main stream media has focussed on the financial issues Dick Johnson is tackling head-on I just hope we don’t overlook Will’s contribution in helping this team get back to where it belongs. Revenge is supposed to be a dish best served cold. I am not going to say that there is going to be revenge against Motorsport eNews over the April Fool’s gag. But I am not going to say that there wont. I guess the safest thing to do is to watch RPM on Network 10, this Sunday between 1pm and 2pm, and see for yourself …

ago ... but I just can't buy it, it ain't sellin' here, like I know today is April Fools and the pictures just don't look right. And Verabredungring oval and Ernst Lugner from LugnerLugner Schnitzel and Bourbon Bars! ... I don't know, it all sounds a bit funny to me. But hey, if it is right, well there is going to be one very interested motorsport fan watching. Maz rpm01@hotmail.com

Horspwr Clothing is giving away a t-shirt each week for the most creative letter. Send yours to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 23

FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 2 – WAKEFIELD PARK, NSW

Speed Racer Tim Slade took his first V8 Supercar race and round win at Wakefield Park, amid carnage. GRANT ROWLEY reports

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Dirk Klynsmith

WO new faces stood on the top step of the podium at Wakefield Park last weekend for the second round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. Tim Slade took a surprising Race 2 victory and subsequent round win (his first in the category), ahead of David Reynolds and championship leader Steve Owen. Slade wasn’t comfortable in his car over the first qualifying and Race 1, but a “back to basics” set-up approach for the final two races paid dividends. The South Australian secured his maiden race win on the second last lap of Race 2 after

Owen slipped off on a dirty track. A no-mistakes approach in the carnage-ridden Race 3 (see news pages) saw him finish second and take the round win. “In the last race I started working out all of the points in my head, so I had to snap out of thinking like that and concentrate on the job at hand,” Slade said. Reynolds had a chance to win the round, but a self-induced off while “preparing my victory speech” dropped him down. His consistency over the weekend was enough to guarantee his first podium in only his second Fujitsu V8 Supercar race. Pole-sitter Owen was dealt a

harsh blow in Race 3. With the race pretty well shot to pieces, the Tint-a-Car Commodore VZ was given a mechanical flag for loose bodywork. Owen was livid with the steward’s decision. “It took four guys to rip the rear bumper off, I don’t know how it was going to fall off,” he seethed. “It was a pretty tough decision.” Jonathan Webb finished fourth for the round, but it could have been better. The Stone Brothers Racing driver assumed the lead in the final race when Owen was given his penalty, only to make two mistakes in two corners. The second mistake saw him

spin, dropping to an eventual seventh. Pre-season favourite Dean Canto was pacey, taking victory in the final race, but his bid for a third Fujitsu V8 title could be difficult from here after a DNF in Race 2. His Howard Racing Falcon BA jumped out of third gear at turn one. When put it back in gear, he found first, sending him spinning into the sandtrap. Jack Perkins had an interesting round, slipping off the track in Race 2 and 3. The first of his Race 2 offs came after Owen attempted a turn two pass that resulted in a clash. Perkins ran wide in Race 3, loosing a couple of spots, but he salvaged fifth

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Dirk Klynsmith

No one wanted to win Race 3: Above, Steve Owen, above, led the last race, only to be penalised for loose bodywork. Left, Jonathan Webb could have won Race 3, but two offs in two corners dropped him back.

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Points: Owen 534, Perkins, 472, Trimble 414, Slade 385, David Reynolds 378, Webb 356, Denyer 326, Reindler 326, Wood 301, Verdnik 294.

Dirk Klynsmith

place, seventh for the round and maintained his second place in the series. Perkins’s team-mate Michael Trimble continues to impress in his maiden V8 season, finishing sixth for the round and has moved to third in the title chase. Grant Denyer looked like he was on course for his best weekend in the category, qualifying second the grid. A broken rocker in Race 1 put paid to any chance of a top result. Special mention goes to David Russell, who dragged his ageing Commodore up to eighth overall.

Bogged in the dust: Dean Canto, above, was stuck in the sand when his Howard Racing Falcon jumped out of gear. Canto made a solid comeback to win the final race. Drew Russell, left, impressed with eighth overall in his ageing Holden Commodore.

CARRERA CUP ROUND 3 – WAKEFIELD PARK

Western Force

West Aussies Aaron Caratti and Dean Fiore dominated at Wakefield Park. GRANT ROWLEY reports

CARRERA CUP AARON Caratti scored his maiden Carrera Cup round victory at Wakefield Park last weekend, winning each of the three races. Caratti had the perfect Wakefield weekend, scoring pole position, the three race wins (leading every lap) and broke the lap record. “You can’t ask for much better!” he said. “It all started on Wednesday when we did a productive test day out here. We tried heaps of different things and found set-up that I was happy with, and it went from there. “The car felt fantastic, so I knew that if I was consistent and didn’t make mistakes, I had the pace to stay out in front.” While the scoreboard suggests a thumping result, his life wasn’t made easy. Carrati led home fellow West Australian Dean Fiore in each of the three races,

and in turn, now holds an equal share of the championship lead with 2006 class champion Craig Baird. Fiore’s trio of second places also means that he has finished second in the past seven Carrera Cup races in a row! Baird didn’t have the weekend that we’ve come to expect, finishing third in each of the three races and maintain joint series lead. Bryce Washington impressed in his ADRAD-backed machine, taking fourth. “It was good to get the points but I was lacking a little bit of speed,” Washington said. “Although, it didn't feel as though I was losing that much off the guys in front.” Rodney Forbes secured his best-ever Carrera Cup result, taking fifth overall. The former V8 Supercar driver has been in the all-Porsche category now for just under a year, and finished the weekend with a best result of fifth in Race 3.

Race 3 actually proved to be the tightest of the weekend. Washington and Forbes got amongst the battle, passing Baird at one stage before the Kiwi was able to get back past them. Barton Mawer had a steady run to sixth outright at a track that he is totally comfortable with, ahead of James Moffat, who didn’t finish the last race due to incident damage. James Koundouris was thrilled with his strong weekend, taking eighth ahead of series rookie Jono Lester and Rodney Jane rounding out the top 10. The next round of the Carrera Cup Championship heads to Barbagello Raceway on May 11. – GRANT ROWLEY Points: Dean Fiore 528, Craig Baird 528, Aaron Caratti 429, David Russell 348, Bryce Washington 333, Rodney Jane 240, Barton Mawer 240, David Wall 228, Rodney Forbes 204, James Moffat 177.

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Dirk Klynsmith James Smith

Dirk Klynsmith

The perfect weekend: This was all anyone saw of Caratti, below, all weekend, while, Fiore, right, kept it consistent to take three seconds for the weekend and a share of the championship lead. Bairdo, above, struggled by his standards, but was still good enough to take third for the weekend.

Dirk Klynsmith

FORMULA FORD ROUND 2 – WAKEFIELD PARK, NSW

Lindbom’s Day Kristian Lindbom’s comeback to Australian Formula Ford couldn’t have gone any better. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN was there

FORMULA FORD KRISTIAN Lindbom made a stunning comeback to the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship last weekend, winning the second round at Wakefield Park. The New South Welshman missed the first round of the series thanks to a lack of funds, but scraped together the cash to line up in a Sonic-prepared Mygale at Wakefield. And the gamble paid dividends,

Lindbom taking the round honours along with the Race 1 win. “It wasn’t a perfect return, that would have meant winning all three races,” he joked at the end of the weekend. “The Mygale is a fast, fast car, but the team were expecting this to be its worst round, because the car is really quick in fast corners, and there aren’t any of those here. So to win at a track where the car probably shouldn’t have is great.” Lindbom may have had more

wins to his name if it hadn’t been for a mistake in the second race, and a red flag in the third. He was leading Race 2 comfortably when he slipped off the road momentarily and lost the lead. In Race 3 he had only just surrendered the lead in when the race was canned prematurely thanks to a huge crash involving Nick Foster, Adam Graham, Round 1 winner Brad Lowe, and Nick Percat. But while Lindbom took the spoils, the weekend could easily have been won by

another series returnee Paul Laskazeski. ‘Laska’ was blindingly fast in both practice sessions and poled his Synergy Spectrum narrowly over Lindbom. But then his weekend took a turn for the worst when he spun out of the lead on the first lap of Race 1 after “trying to set the lap record of the first lap.” He recovered to finish 12th in the first, third in the second and win the shortened final race, giving him second for the meeting and the title lead after

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Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

final race. The contact with Foster and co took him out of contention for the round after he had finished fourth in the opening two encounters. Ben Morley, Percat and CAMS Rising Star Scott Pye rounded out the top six, with ‘Laska’ now leading Morley, Percat and Lowe in the title fight. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN John Morris/Mpix

two rounds. Another great story was that of Rob Storey, reigning NSW state title winner and son of Brad Jones Racing engineering guru (and former FFord winner in his own right) Wally Storey. Storey took a gritty win in the second race and finished third for the meeting, despite being scrubbed from the final race thanks to a technical infringement. Percat’s championship campaign took a belting, as did his Sonic Mygale, in the

Storey told: Rob Storey, top, took his first race victory in Race 2, while Nick Percat, below, didn’t have the best weekend and finished fifth for the round. The Formula Fords, above, always provide some cose racing and Wakefield was no exception.

Points: Laskazeski 77, Morley 72, Percat 61, Lowe 54, Lindbom 52, Graham 42.

Round 2 to Geier MINI CHALLENGE

Points: Denyer 306, McFadyen 294, Geier 282, Stokell 270, Fiore 252.

Dirk Klynsmith

NATHAN Geier took a somewhat fortunate win away from Round 2 of the MINI Challenge at Wakefield Park last weekend. The meeting looked to belong to Paul Stokell, the former Gold Star winner skipping away to the fist race win ahead of Grant Denyer and Geier, who had a good tussle for second place throughout the race, Denyer only getting the spot in the closing stages. The second race went the way of Paul Fiore, the West Australian lead the field away from pole thanks to the reverse top six format, and never looked back. But behind him Stokell was third, setting up a seemingly easy round win. The final started perfectly for Stokell, who bolted into a healthy lead from pole, but with nine laps to go

his car ground to a halt, an unidentified gremlin cutting the MINI’s power. The shock retirement left Geier to claim the final race win and the round win, his first in a national championship. “It’s kind of surreal, I’m still in shock to be honest,” he said. “Paul (Stokell) was driving real well, it was really unlucky for him. I was following him and heard his car shut down and from then on started worrying about mine!” Grant Denyer was second for the meeting ahead of Fiore. Round 1 winner Neil McFadyen was feeling all 25kg of his winner’s ballast, finishing a fairly lonely fourth, fifth and third from the three races. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Get in gear: Nathan Geier, above, took a suprising round win in the MINI’s litterally stealing it from Stokell’s grasp, below.

Dirk Klynsmith

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Learn to Fly AUSSIE RACING CARS

John Morris/Mpix

PAUL Kemal returned to the top step of the podium in Round 3 of the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series at Wakefield Park last weekend. While Kemal had to settle for runner-up in Saturday morning’s opener, a good start in the second race allowed him to move to the front, and he was never headed for the rest of the weekend. “Race 1 and Race 2 were difficult because they were all over me constantly, but we changed the tyre pressures for Race 3 and the car was good after that,” Kemal said. “It was an easy weekend … sort of.” Nick Lowe stood between Kemal and a perfect weekend, converting pole position into his first win in Aussie Racing Cars in Race 1, he then

followed it up with two thirdplacings, and a second in the fourth race. The result could have been different in the final, as Lowe stayed with Kemal early on, but lost ground when he entered the straight in the wrong gear. David Lawrence continued his recent good form to round out the podium with results of third, fourth, third and fourth, despite falling back to ninth after a hectic start to the final race. Ben McCashney was set for a podium result after the first three races, but never made it onto the grid in the fourth after his starter motor failed. Richie Rapa, after tasting victory for the first time at the AGP, missed qualifying due to work commitments on Friday. Rapa worked his way up to sixth by mid-Race 3, but

Oz Event Photos

The return of Kemal: Paul Kemal, above, proved himself in the competitive Aussie Racing Cars field, fending off the pack to take round honours, while Paul Morris, above, did his best to learn to fly.

was turned around and spectacularly climbed over by Paul Morris, who also spun team-mate and ARC debutant Russell Ingall into the infield in Race 2. Ingall’s foray into the pocket rockets was a frustrating one,

and he never did better than 14th in the first race. – DANIEL HERRERO Points: Kemal 149, Lawrence 141, Gowans 138, Carr 132, Phillips 131, Rapa 130, Clews 128, Lowe 127, Simmons 125, James Ward 123.

AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 – FOREST RALLY, WA

King of the Forest 34

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Five times Neal Bates has won the Forest Rally in Western Australia, and, oddly enough, a failure on one of his own cars helped him do it again in 2008. RYAN LAHIFF watched it happen Joel Strickland

UNDITS may have labeled the 2008 Australian Rally Championship a onehorse race before it even started, with Toyota’s Simon Evans tipped to continue his run of victories. But the first round in Western Australia proved to be anything but, with privateers at the fore, a return to form for a veteran, and Evans sidelined late in the piece. Evans still dominated much of the event, leading from the outset, and putting the Toyotas teams fears at rest that their Super-2000 Corolla might not be a match for the more tried and tested Subarus and Mitsubishis.

But Evans’ dream run of victories, 14 heat wins on the trot since 2006, came to a grinding halt with just a handful of stages left to run when the Corolla’s normally-aspirated engine expired. “It’s disappointing, but I’m happy,” said Simon. “Our dream run ended when I was in the lead and we were doing everything right so if you’re ever going to DNF, this is the way to do it.” Evans’ demise opened the door for his privateer rivals, spearheaded by former Ford factory driver Michael Guest. Guest’s run at the top was to be short-lived, an uncharacteristic roll late on

Saturday afternoon ending his hopes. “It was a beginner’s mistake, and for someone who has been rallying as long as I have, I feel a little foolish making such a simple but costly error,” lamented Guest. Simon’s younger brother Eli also had a stab at the lead, yet his Subaru wasn’t up to the task and dropped over five minutes with a mysterious electrical fault. Meanwhile Spencer Lowndes, the leading Mitsubishi privateer, was also slowed with a cracked oil cooler after a rough entry to a corner on the demanding stages. Glen Raymond, on his first event in a Corolla, rolled on the same corner as Guest.

Local Alex Stone proved to be the star of Heat 1, surging past the wilting opposition to hold a podium position at the end of the day ahead of Victorian Justin Dowel. Rain threatened early on the final day, but didn’t eventuate, and with Evans out of the way his Toyota team-mate Neal Bates, a five-times victor in Western Australia, lept at the opportunity. Despite strong charges from both Guest and Eli Evans, Bates put a calculated tyre strategy to good use and crossed the finish ramp to hand Toyota’s S2000 Corolla its maiden victory. “The team deserve all the accolades here, these cars

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Joel Strickland

Trailer Trash: While Neal Bates was winning in WA, his TRD crew were packing up Evans’ busted Corolla ...

Joel Strickland

Up then over: Michael Guest, above, led on debut for LWR, but rolled out of contention. Eli Evans kept out of trouble to finish second in his privately-run Subaru, left, while West Aussie Alex Stone starred on home soil, below. Joel Strickland Joel Strickland

are just absolutely fantastic and everyone worked incredibly hard in the off-season and in the months leading up to this event and they produced a car that’s just done it,” said Bates at the finish. “I’m absolutely delighted, I am obviously very disappointed for Simon and Sue, they drove exceptionally well and deserved to win but when they stopped we were very happy to pick up the pieces.” Having maintained a consistent speed throughout the remaining stages Eli Evans managed to cling onto second outright for the weekend ahead of Stone. Victorian young gun Brenton Kaitler steered clear of trouble in his Mitsubishi to claim the privateers trophy.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 7 – TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

It’s

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’s Edwards Time in Texas Carl Edwards kept his nose in front to lead home a trio of Chevys at Texas. MARTIN D CLARK reports

NASCAR Media

NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Trading places: Team-mates Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88), above, traded the lead early. Earnhardt Jr, below, faded towards the end of the race after leading 31 laps.

NASCAR Media

Point standings: J Burton 1065, Harvick 1006, Kyle Busch 1001, Earnhardt 978, and Stewart 957.

NASCAR Media

CARL Edwards outdid everyone in the field to take the win after starting P2 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Edwards managed to hold off Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin after the sixth caution caused by Martin Truex’s blown engine with four laps to run, leaving a green-white-checker finish. “We ran out there with the lead for a while and it wasn’t as exciting as it could be,” said Edwards who led 123 laps enroute to his third win of the year. “But trust me it was exciting in the racecar. I’m glad we held off Jimmie, I was trying not to spin my tyres on the restart. The tyres were just slippery enough that they were a lot of fun, and I enjoyed driving on them today.” Edwards took the win with his crew chief Bob Osborne sitting at home on NASCAR suspension after Las Vegas, where his Roush Ford failed post-race tech inspection when the oil tank cover was found to be loose. The final two laps were the most exciting, with some strong racing behind the top three: Clint Bowyer and Hamlin came to blows, with Bowyer dropping from third to 10th in the process. “A stupid move by the 07 (Bowyer) there at the end,” remarked Hamlin, “but it cost him more than it did me.” Newman made good use of his two fresh tyres and scrambled from 10th to fourth in the last two laps finishing where he started. A lack of cautions and some strong running leaders left just 10 cars on the lead lap at the end of the 334 laps. Jeff Gordon laid claim to the 43rd position when he crashed out on lap 109 after fighting an ill-handling Hendrick Chev. Gordon scored his fourth result of 35th or worse this year and dropped five spots to 14th in the standings. Pole sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 31 laps, but faded late, leaving Johnson the only Hendrick car on the lead lap – the first time that’s happened since Dover in September of 2006. – MARTIN D CLARK

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Busch Wins ... Finally

NASCAR Media

NASCAR NATIONWIDE

Points standings: Bowyer 1047, Edwards 990, Reutimann 927, Regan 913, Busch 888, (Ambrose 18th 661).

Nascar Media

AFTER dominating many races this year, Kyle Busch finally pulled off a win at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, leading 126 of the 200 laps. Busch held off a trio of Richard Childress Chevorolets in Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Bobby Labonte. However, none were a match for Busch who had an extremely fast Joe Gibbs Toyota following the final restart with eight laps to run. “I’ve never won here before and I got lost finding victory lane,” quipped Busch. “Finally we won one and if we can keep it going like this it will be great.” Busch started 31st after qualifying was rained out and hit the front when leader Kevin Harvick and runner-up Tony Stewart had issues. Harvick suffered a broken axle shaft when he took after the first pitstop, and Stewart suffered a badly blistered tyre and left the door open for Busch on lap 72. Marcos Ambrose finished

18th, one lap off the pace, and is 16th in series points. “We finished the race and learned some more, which was important this weekend as we had a new crew chief,” commented Ambrose. “We’re pretty pleased with that it wasn’t stellar and we were loose in all day, but with our direction I’m really excited and feel confident. The racing just got away today there weren’t many cautions, so we didn’t have much opportunity to make adjustments at the stops. “I mean, we’re brand-new, and we’ve got a brand-new setup on the car, and we’re really happy how things progressed. We had speed at certain times of the race, we just were slow at the wrong times when it had long green runs, but I’m very excited and I think we’re building something pretty good here.” – MARTIN D CLARK

All those laps in the lead finally paid off: Kyle Busch, above, celebrates his win and, top, claims the chequered flag.

INDYCAR SERIES ROUND 2 – ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

IT is not like Graham Rahal can tell his grandkids (when he has them) that his first IndyCar win was a fluke. The second-generation racer took his St Petersburg victory the hard way, coming back from a mid-race spin to fight off Helio Castroneves – who was gunning for a hattrick at the circuit – at the end of the race. In doing so, Rahal, 19, becomes the youngest-ever race winner in North American open-wheel racing, and just the fourth IndyCar driver to win on debut. The race started under caution, with rain hitting the street circuit just before the start and the first 10 laps were run behind the Safety Car. During the two-hour race, teams switched between slicks and rain tyres. Along with poleman Tony Kanaan, Castroneves pitted under caution on lap 17 but the rest of the field stayed out, forcing the two Brazilians to play catch-up after that. But

when fellow rookie Will Power (who qualified an excellent second) tapped Rahal into a spin on lap 37, the young American had to play chase as well. “It was a tough start for us,” grinned Rahal post-race, “the spin after the tap from Will put us really back. But the team never gave up and I had a great car. From that point on everything worked perfectly. “At the end, I knew Helio was right there, but if I kept calm we could pull away again.” Kanaan was third from Ernesto Viso, Enrique Bernoldi and Japanese rookie Hideki Mutoh on what was a great weekend for the ‘transition’ exChamp Car drivers, who claimed five of the top 10 positions. Power was eighth, after a comeback drive of his own, while Ryan Briscoe was classified 23rd after clipping a wall. The Penske driver led 11 laps during the tyre change sequence and was on-course for a top-six result.

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BACK IN BLACK

Graham Rahal made up for missing what was supposed to be his first IndyCar race at Homestead by winning at St Petersburg

Indy Car Media

USA! USA! Rahal Jr, left, was too steady for Castroneves at the end of a tough race. The youngster put his testing crash, which forced him to miss the opening race of the year, behind him in the most emphatic manner.

INDYCAR | HONDA GP OF ST PETERSBURG

Indy Car Media

Green and Gold see Red: Will Power starred in qualifying with a front-row start but fininshed eighth, left. Ryan Briscoe led 11 laps for Team Penske, above, but a brush with a wall forced him to park with suspension damage.

1 06 Graham Rahal USA 2 3 Helio Castroneves Br 3 11 Tony Kanaan Br 4 33 Ernesto Viso Br 5 36 Enrique Bernoldi Br 6 27 Hideki Mutoh J 7 5 Oriol Servia Esp 8 8 Will Power Aus 9 02 Justin Wilson GB 10 7 Danica Patrick USA 23 6 Ryan Briscoe Aus

NHL 2h00.43.5562s 9 Penske +3.5192s 4 Andretti Green +5.5134s 1 HVM Racing +8.8575s 15 Conquest +9.6360s 18 Andretti Green +10.0071s 14 KV Racing Tech +11.2871s 7 KV Racing Tech +12.8434s 2 NHL +14.3598s 3 Andretti Green 16.7298s 19 Penske+ 27 laps Suspension 5

Fastest lap: Kanaan, 1m03.2144s

INDYCAR | DRIVER’S points Castroneves 72, Dixon 62, Kanaan 59, Rahal, Andretti and Wheldon 53, Patrick 48, Viso 45, Servia 44, Bernoldi 42.

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 – VALENCIA, SPAIN

Second is the new First Troy Bayliss didn’t win a race at his favourite stomping ground – but then, he didn’t need to ...

Ducati Corse

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Suzuki Racing

Ducati Corse

41 and 21: Haga was too fast for Bayliss in Race 2, even if Nori was on his spare Yamaha, left. Neukirchner won the Race 1 start, top, and was on-track to win until the final corner. Bayliss found his hands full of Lorenzo Lanzi in Race 1, above, the RG Team Ducati taking the win. Troy Corser was steady, below, while Charlie Checa tied the Aussie for second overall for the weekend, right.

TROY Bayliss is going to win the World Superbike Championship. He must do. At Valencia, a track he has dominated in the past, he won neither race; in fact, he was second, twice. But he left Spain with a massive lead in the championship after what appeared to be something approaching a Marx Brothers movie. Just when it appeared certain that Max Neukirchner was going to win his first SBK race in Race 1, Carlos Checa spear-tackled him, on the final corner. While the Spaniard recovered to finish fifth, Lorenzo Lanzi won from Bayliss, with Troy Corser third. Neukirchner was taken to the medical centre where he was diagnosed with a broken collarbone, so he was out for the day. In Race 2, Noriyuki Haga, who skated down the track all on his own in Race 1, won convincingly. Behind Bayliss came Checa, with Ryuichi Kiyonari finally showing some of his British Superbike form in fourth from Corser. Max Biaggi rode bravely on the Sterilgarda Ducati but his strapped broken wrist was never going to allow him to get near the leaders. He finished 16th and eighth.

WSBK|

RIDERS’ points

Honda Pro Images

Yamaha Racing

Bayliss 128, Nieto 80, Corser and Checa 72, Xaus 68, Haga 47, Biaggi 44, Lanzi 42, Neukirchner 39, Fabrizio 37.

Diesel-Wash WTCC

IHRA

“It was obviously my goal and one of the reasons to come to WTCC to be in a competitive car, but until you win your first one you never know,” said Monteiro after the race.

“Today was the day, we’ve (the team) done a great job since the beginning of the season.” Rydell leads the championship heading into the next round at Valencia on May 18.

First Timers

David Ostaszewski

It was a day of firsts as IHRA Ironmen Spencer Massey, and Steve Macklyn, won their first races in the Amalie Oil Nationals at San Antonio Dragway. Massey, who has claimed wins in his A/Fuel car on the NHRA circuit, was competing in his first Top Fuel event behind the wheel of Mitch King’s dragster. Aided by Paul Smith and Gene Snow, Massey stopped Terry McMillen in the final of the eighth-mile event, clocking a 3.26/256 for the win. In Funny Car, Macklyn clocked a final round 3.74/226 to defeat two-time defending series champion Dale Creasy Jr., who lost traction at the 330 mark and slowed. In an all-nitrous Pro Mod finale, Jim Halsey clocked a 4.10/184 in his ’69 Camaro to stop the Dodge Viper of Billy Harper. Pro Stock saw John

Sutton Images

DIESEL power has taken control of the WTCC during Round 2 of the series at Puebla, Mexico. Seat drivers lead a weekend white-wash as other manufactures struggled to even get a look at thefront of the field with Chevy the only manafacturer to get close. In Race 1 Jordi Gene took a lights-toflag victory after starting from pole in a rolling start, with the only real challenge of the race coming from Chevrolet's Nicola Larini into the first corner and team-mates Rickard Rydell’s pressure towards the end of the race. Gene was able to hold on and take the flag making a Seat 1-2. BMW struggled recording a pointless race with Andy Priauix the best of the team finishing in 10th place. Seat continued its dominance in the second race with Tiago Monteiro taking his maiden win from team-mates Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini in second and third respectively. Monteiro managed to build a lead early in the race, and then cruised to victory.

Montecalvo grab a win, defeating Jeff Dobbins. Montecalvo’s Citgo Chevrolet Cobalt recorded a 4.18/173

to take out Dobbins quicker 4.17/173. Laurie Cannister set both ends of the IHRA eighth-mile

record book at 3.73/198 on her way to a final round win over Rob Atchison. – David Ostaszewski

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Porsche

Davo Shines in Spain LE MANS PEUGEOT has taken first blood in the diesel battle in Round 1 of the Le Mans series at the Barcelona six-hour. Marc Gene and team-mate Nicolas Minassian took the win by over a lap ahead of arch rivals Audi. “I am above all delighted to have won my home race here in Catalonia, said Gene.

“I would also like to thank Peugeot for giving us such a strong and competitive car. Our only problem came towards the end of the race when I got a bad case of pins and needles in my right leg. I was forced to hand over the wheel to Nicolas for the final laps.” Mike Rockenfeller and Alex Premat guided their Audi to second place after a relatively uneventful race, while an

impressive debut by Aston Martin Lola left Jan Charouz and Stefan Mucke in third place. Alex Davison, driving in the GT2 class in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR for FelbermayrProton had a great weekend finishing 22nd overall and second in class with teammate Marc Lieb. Gianmaria Bruni and Rob Bell won the GT2 class in a Ferrari 430.

Porsche

Davo time: Alex Davison and team-mate Marc Lieb, above and main, took second in the GT2 class at the Barcelona 6hour last weekend.

... While another Davo struggles at St Pete INDY LIGHTS

IndyCar Media

ROUND 2 of the Indy Lights has been run and won at St. Petersburg in Florida last weekend. Race 1 pole-sitter Raphael Matos took his third win in three starts at St Pete, leading home Richard Antinucci and Ana Beatriz. “The atmosphere is great and everything was just working great today with the AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing car," said Matos. “I just can't thank all of those guys enough. This is our first victory of the year and hopefully we can repeat tomorrow.” It wasn’t to be for Matos finishing down in 12th position. Race 1 runner-up and Championship leader Antinucci recorded his third victory of the season after a controversial pass

on Beatriz mid-race. Contact forced Beatriz, the race leader, out of the race. “We made a few changes to the car last night and I think that helped,” commented Antinucci. “We slowly took our stride today. Things got a little bit hairy with my team-mate, which is the worst of all situations. We were fighting out there and I didn't want to make a dangerous move, but I just ran out of room. “It was a racing incident and I'm not going to start blaming Bia. She's a great driver and what she was doing was incredible. I'm going to apologize and hopefully have reasonable, mutual understanding that it was a racing incident.” Australian James Davison had a consistent, but tough, weekend placing, 13th in Race 1 and 14th in Race 2.

rear of grid

Who you gonna Call?

Bacardi

THERE is no end of the talents of Michael Schumacher. The seven-time World Drivers’ champion may have been looking forward to a quiet live on his Swiss property but, if anything, it seems that Schumi is busier than ever. When Ducati test rider Vittoriano Guareschi fell on Day 2 of a three-day test session at the Ferrari-owned Mugello Circuit and bruised his coccyx, Ducati called 1800-SCHUMACHER and it was Mikey to the rescue. The rookie recorded 42 laps on a Desmosedici GP8, with a best lap time in 1:58.0 – about six seconds off the pace. “It was a nice surprise yesterday when I received the sudden offer to come to Mugello today”, Michael said. “And despite the difficult weather conditions it was again big fun to ride the Ducati. “But I repeat it very clearly

that I have no intention at all to step into any kind of MotoGP competitions.” Next up, Schumi swapped Alpinestars for makeup to shoot a television commercial

Odd Spot

for Bacardi. In the ad, he arrives at a bar in a taxi and suggests that if you are planning a night on the syrup, take a cab (a taxi, not a cabernet). Sounds like sound advice.

SCAR H2O

NO, Russell Ingall is not the size of Matt Neal, nor is he a Wally with water. But an Aussie Racer is about the size of Ingall’s foot, and Rusty took to the SCARsponsored Aussie with a garden hose in an attempt to make the thing grow bigger.

It was not successful, and Ingall had to make do with an Aussie-sized Aussie in which to make his debut at Wakefield Park on the weekend. Ingall did what a lot of other drivers to in the Aussies; he had some great racing and had fun.

Next up: Enforced Drifting. Ingall will get it sideways at Round 2 of the Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series at Queensland Raceway, behind the wheel of Robbie Bolger’s 800hp Monaro for a brief demonstration gallop on Sunday.