Motorsport eNews Issue 57 - June 3-9, 2008

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Issue No. 057 3 – 9 June 2008

R E T A E B E V s ’ D FOR

The blue oval to show off its first FG race car at sandown

BRISCOE:

HOW I WAS MILES AHEAD AT MILWAUKEE

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

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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. 057 | 3 - 9 Jun 2008

news 4 Freakin’ Grouse

6 Bags of Bargses 9 Marcos is Petty 12 Stokelling the fire 16 Boweing out, no in!

chat 20 5 minutes with ... opinion 22 Rowley 23 Briscoe

race 24 The Aussie Mile 28 Busch Basher 32 Checapoint 34 Lights and more

FG Falcon breaks cover Jason and Co for MINI STP stickers for Ambrose Paul makes CCup comeback JB back in Proddies ...

Jason Richards Frequent Racers Points How to win at Milwaukee Briscoe, Briscoe, Briscoe Kyle wins ... Again!

Carlos does Utah Davo Jr comes sixth

trade 36 Trade and Industry / Raceshop / Classifieds

welcome Due to a technical glitch, the video will appear a little later than usual. Sorry Chappo!

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

Wraps ready to come off FG Craig Lowndes to be first to drive Ford’s FG01 at Sandown Raceway this weekend V8 SUPERCARS FORD will unveil its new FG Falcon V8 Supercar this weekend at Sandown Raceway.

The much-anticipated car, funded

by Ford and built by Ford Performance Racing, will be on show from Saturday at the Melbourne track and will complete a handful of laps of the 3.1km circuit. Craig Lowndes will be the first to drive the car, with Grant Denyer alongside him in the passenger seat.

The FG, which has its initial designs started over 18 months ago, is painted in the blue oval’s ‘Nitro’ blue colour, will carry Ford Racing logos with ‘FG01’ as its number.

Motorsport eNews was privy to a sneak peak of the new FG last week, and while the FPR team were banking a number of overtime hours on the final construction of the car, Ford Racing boss Ray Price told

eNews that he was thrilled to have the car ready for its public debut at Sandown.

“Since I came into the job, this has been one of the looming projects,” he said.

“It was something that we needed to make sure was all sorted out. It’s got a very good presence on the road and it has some very good lines. To be able to look at that and turn it into a race car and give it a tough stance and make it a good race car ... it has been very exciting.”

After the Sandown launch, the FG will be subject to final homologation, which includes aerodynamic testing to ensure that the car stacks up equally with Holden’s VE Commodore.

According to FPR team manager and TEGA board member Tim Edwards, that will be a relatively simple process.

“We’ve got the TEGA aero testing in June, and assuming it passes the aero testing which will be a matter of fine-tuning the car on the day, using the VE as the

benchmark,” he said.

“Whatever it achieves on that particular day, we’ll be matching it with the FG. Obviously, then it goes to the board for approval.”

At this stage, only FPR and Triple Eight Race Engineering have started construction on their own FG Falcon racecars and it seems highly unlikely that any team will compete in an FG Falcon this season.

– GRANT ROWLEY

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

news

Aussies on top Briscoe beats Dixon to win at The Milwaukee Mile

What is FG01?

FORD’S first FG race car has been constructed by FPR at the team’s Campbellfield, Melbourne, factory.

The car (known as T2) has been built to be a racecar, as apposed to T1, which was the car that Ford itself built in 2002 as the first BA car.

However, the running gear inside T2 is mainly T1 gear, including engine, gearbox and suspension.

But unlike T1, T2 can race if required and is expected to be used as a back-up chassis only for all leading Ford teams, and won’t be raced unless required.

The FG race car is the second-generation ‘Project Blueprint’ V8 Supercar, following on from Holden’s VE Commodore that debuted in 2007.

RYAN Briscoe has credited Rick Mears with much of the credit for his breakthrough IndyCar win at Milwaukee this morning, Australian time.

The Sydney-born driver took his first win in the series after swooping past Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon, before the race ended under a yellowchequer flag.

Briscoe’s maiden win was the 300th for Team Penske and came on the 30th anniversary of the team taking its first win with Mears at the same 1-mile track.

“This is so special winning on the 30th anniversary of Rick Mears first win here,” said a relieved, yet thrilled Briscoe.

“I wouldn’t have won here without Rick Mears’s advice. Now this takes the pressure off after five difficult races this season. I came through the field for the win. I hope we can continue to run at the front and fight for the championship.”

Briscoe qualified a lowly 11th and ran as low as 14th in the race but swift pitwork and some adjustments turned his car into one that could comfortably run on the high line.

“These Penske guys are the best in the paddock,” beamed Briscoe. “They gave me great pit stops all day long. My car got better and better the more I ran while other drivers struggled with older tryes. I’m so glad that I made it through that last big accident because all I saw was smoke. I was just lucky to get by. I will enjoy this win for a couple of days and then it is on to Texas.”

The win also silences some critics, the week after Briscoe clashed with Danica Patrick at Indianapolis.

“Ever since Indianapolis, we had that get-together in pit lane, and it was really unfortunate. I was having a really good race and looking at a top-five (finish). We just had to put it behind us and move on to this race.

“It’s a long championship, and it’s just great. We were focused on this race. We knew we had a good car off of last year’s results of Helio (Castroneves) and (Sam) Hornish (Jr.). (We) just stayed focused in the race. It’s great to win my first race for Team Penske.”

– MARY MENDEZ/STAFF For more with IndyCar winner Ryan Briscoe, click to page 20

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

BRIEFLY...

n There were more than 4000 disappointed entrants who missed out on the highly-sought after job as host of the Australian Top Gear program.

Motorsport commentator Charlie Cox, Sydney cartoonist Warren Brown and driving instructor Steve Pizzati won the race to become the hosts of the Australian spin-off of the BBC’s successful UK car program.

Australian Top Gear will be the first version of the show outside the UK. The program will feature Cox, Brown and Pizzati test driving and appraising the popular cars and performing stunts. n The Getaway Plan will perform at the Midas 400 at Sandown next weekend.

The Melbourne alternative rock group will play just before the third V8 Supercar race on Monday.

V8 SUPERCARS KIWI driver Johnny McIntyre will drive Paul Cruickshank Racing’s Glenfords Falcon in the 30 minute endurance session at Sandown this Saturday.

The reigning NZV8 Touring Car Champion tested the #111 Ford at Queensland Raceway last week, and is shaping up to drive alongside regular Glenfords man Fabian Coulthard at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island in September.

Fujitsu V8 rookie Michael Trimble was originally slated to take that Phillip Island role, but it now seems as though McIntyre has snatched the seat.

“Johnny went really well,” Cruickshank said.

“He ran some competitive times in the low 1m12s bracket, so we think he’ll do quite well.

Dirk Klynsmith

n DILLON Battistini may make his road racing debut in the IndyCar Series at Surfers Paradise later this year.

The Briton is planning two outings for Panther Racing later this year, and the Indy 300 on the Gold Coast is pencilled in as one of those races.

“There’s a plan to do two races later this year, which will let me retain my rookie status for next year,” he told Autosport.com.

“It’s likely to be one oval and one street track. I don’t know which ones, but maybe Surfers Paradise.”

Battistini won the Indy Lights support race at the recent Indy 500.

Johnny Mac to drive PCR Falcon at Sandown

“Michael was under consideration, but we’re more than likely to go for Johnny.”

PCR’s Bathurst line-up is already firm, with Le Mans driver Alex Davison coming back to Australia to drive in the 1000km race. Cruickshank says that having two different co-drivers should pose no real dramas.

“To me, I don’t think it’s a big

deal,” he said.

“It would be nice to have the same drivers doing the races, but all the guys we’re considering are quality drivers.

I don’t think it’s a big deal. Alex will test with us before we do Bathurst. He knows his way around there in a Supercar, so I think it’s all going to be straight forward.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

AAA voices Mosley concerns INTERNATIONAL THE Australian Automobile Association has joined the international voices calling for Max Mosley to stand down.

The AAA, which is the organization consisting of the NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAASA, RACWA, RACT and AANT motoring clubs, countersigned a letter to the FIA President calling for him to resign, prior to tomorrow’s Extraordinary General Meeting in Paris. This puts Australia in line with the motoring bodies from the US, Europe, Japan, Canada, South America and India which represent 86 percent of FIA members and more than 100 million motorists world-wide.

“We deeply regret your refusal to accept the proposal by members of the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism, to reach an agreement for you to step down at the General

Assembly in November,” the letter says.

“Instead, your intention to remain until the end of your term in 2009, in spite of the severe damage being inflicted to the FIA, could imply putting personal considerations before the interests of the FIA and its member clubs.

“The FIA is in a critical situation. Its image, reputation and credibility are being severely eroded. Every day that this situation persists, the damage increases. There is no way back.”

Both AAA Executive Director Mike Harris, and President Alan Evans, will attend tomorrow’s meeting in Paris.

While the AAA has made its position clear, no such commitment has come from the country’s sporting ASN, CAMS. President Colin Osborne recently said that he would consult with Garry Connelly, CAMS’s delegate to the FIA General Assembly, before a decision is made as to what position it would take.

news

Dirk Klynsmith

Webb to help out JR at Sandown

Second new Tasman chassis due Jason Richards set to debut new VE Commodore at Sandown this weekend V8 SUPERCARS JASON Richards will debut the second of Tasman Motorsport’s newgeneration Commodore VEs at Sandown Raceway this weekend.

Richards will shake the car down on Wednesday at Winton, before heading to Sandown for the Queen’s Birthday weekend meeting.

Now with two identical cars in their garage, Richards is confident that the team will be able to live up its promise from here on.

“We’re confident that the technology that we’ve got in the car is equal now to everyone in pit lane,” he said.

“So its just a matter of tuning it and driving it right

JASON Richards will have an offsider at Round 7 of the V8 Supercar Series at Queensland Raceway.

Thirteen year old Kiwi karter Alex Webb will join Richards at QR as part of Webb’s victory in the ‘Big Ben’ Junior karting class race in New Zealand last week.

Richards says its all in aid of giving something back to the sport.

“Alex is basically going to come over and be my offsider,” he said.

“Karting gives you all the necessary driving skills, but it has little in terms of media and sponsors and that sort of thing.

“He’ll be basically be by my side for all engineering meetings, corporate visits and media commitments.”

to beat the other guys.”

Richards, who is signed with Tasman until the end of 2009, currently sits in 17th in the V8 Supercar Championship Series and wants to make the most of the rest of 2008 to be in contention next year.

“We said when we decided to build our own cars that 2009 would be our championship year, and 2008 would be the year where we try and put everything together and get the infrastructure in place.

“It’s now Round 5 and we’re still a long way from the front of the field. D-Day is upon us.

“We’re the closest we’ve ever been to being super successful at the moment.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

‘Team Bargs’ set for MINI assault MINI CHALLENGE

JASON Bargwanna will be back in action this weekend, with he and cousin Scott Bargwanna setting up a twocar MINI Challenge team for the remainder of the season.

The cars will be run from the Bargwanna family workshop in Sydney. The major sponsorship is likely to come from Matchmaster Communications, with further support coming from Trivett Classic MINI Garage.

They will debut at this weekend’s Sandown round, despite only taking delivery of the cars today (Monday).

“What we’ve done is set up a two car team for me and Scott,” Bargwanna confirmed.

“I was really impressed with the MINI Challenge when I raced in the series at Eastern Creek earlier this year, and I’m looking forward to racing with

Scott again, because it is a bit like getting the band back together.”

But while the MINI Challenge will be a more relaxed environment than V8 Supercars, Bargwanna says the competitive fires are still burning, and that the stint in a MINI is all about keeping race fit for a V8 comeback in 2009.

“I still love the competitive side of racing and this is about keeping my senses working for next year. It is our intention to have a bit of fun, but we want to be competitive. But it will be great to be racing with the family again. We are even running the numbers our Dads did back in the 1980s – #97 for me and #79 for Scott.”

According to ‘Bargs,’ the team will be a throwback to the days when his father Harry and uncle Alf raced Toranas as a family team two

decades ago.

“There will be three generations of Bargwannas involved in this. Back in the early ‘80s Scott and I were the kids hanging around the pits when Dad and his twin brother were racing, and this is a way to get my sons (Jake and Ben) and Scott’s son (Jude) involved in working on the cars and things like that.”

In other MINI news, West Aussie Nathan Callaghan is back for Sandown after finishing fourth on debut at Barbagallo Raceway last month, meaning there will be a record 19 cars on track.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

First CoT test for Ambrose NASCAR MARCOS Ambrose has completed his first test in a Car of Tomorrow at Pocono Speedway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

The two-day test on the 2.5mile three-turn, flat out oval gave Ambrose the chance to get behind the wheel of JTG’s new Ford Fusion.

For Ambrose the two-day test was his first opportunity to run a NASCAR Sprint Cup car on an oval, having previously tested only on road courses.

“JTG Racing has its first Cup car ready to go and it’s an exciting time, but in this test improvement and learning was the key rather than outright speed,” said Ambrose.

“We are under no illusions as to how tough it is running with

the best teams and drivers in the business.

“The test allowed us to see how our #47 Ford Fusion works and it was good to have my first laps around Pocono. It’s a huge track with long straights so, in that way, it’s a good place to test, as it’s similar in some ways to Indianapolis.

“There is lot to learn in a lot of ways. This is my first test of the new Cup cars on an oval and there are a few things that you need to learn to get them to work.”

In the first day rain interrupted running and teams were only able to complete one session with Ambrose ending the day in 58th position.

Day 2 saw Ambrose improve over the two sessions finishing with a time good enough for 35th and the fourth-fastest Ford.

news

Petty stuff, Marcos ...

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS NASCAR MARCOS Ambrose fans have a keen eye for a news story …

On the recent ‘Marcos Ambrose NASCAR Tour to Charlotte,’ the followers of the Aussie got a special

sneak peak of Ambrose’s STPbacked Ford Fusion during the group’s tour of the JTG Racing workshop.

It is believed that the livery will be debuted this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway in the

Federated Auto Parts 300.

The livery is a kick-back to the Richard Petty #43 STP livery made famous by ‘The King’, who is the most successful driver in the history of NASCAR. STP is owned by the

Clorox Corporation, which also owns the Kingsford brand that usually adorns the bonnet and sides of Ambrose’s #59 Ford Fusion, as well as other household brands such as Brita, Glad and ArmorAll.

16 Years

Martin D Clark

NASCAR opens a large can of ...

WOOP-HAAS

Big fines and suspensions – and they are keeping the cars!

NASCAR

NASCAR has handed out big penalties after recent controversies.

The Haas CNC team has been hit hard after both its Sprint Cup cars were found to have illegally modified rear wing mounting brackets at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Charlotte recently.

Crew chiefs Bootie Barker and Dave Skog have been fined US$100,000, and together with car chiefs Derick Jennings and Thomas Harris, suspended for the next six races and placed on probation until the end of the year.

Car owners Joe Custer and Margaret Haas, and drivers Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter, have been penalised 150 owner and driver points, respectively. That is the secondbiggest points penalty in NASCAR history, behind the

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151-point penalty handed to Jeremy Mayfield and his team for using illegal fuel at Talledega in 2000.

But that is only a part of the story. For the first time in NASCAR history, the cars will remain NASCAR’s property and not be returned to the team – effectively, a $300,000 penalty.

Furthermore, the points loss is a huge blow to the team as Sauter’s #70 entry drops to 44th in points and Riggs to 35th, right on the bubble of the top 35 in owners’ points.

If, as is widely believed, the team is for sale, with owner

Gene Haas, left with car, currently serving a two-year sentence for tax evasion, the value of the team has dropped dramatically. This could mean that the value of NASCAR’s total sanctions over this infraction is in the millions.

Following a brawl on pit road after the Charlotte Nationwide Series race Tony Eury Sr, crew chief for the #88 Chevy driven

by Brad Keselowski, has been fined $1000 and placed on probation for one month.

JR Motorsports’ Michael Sandlin will serve a one-race suspension and has been placed on probation and Jordan Allen has also been placed on probation until October 15 and fined $1500 for failing to follow a directive from a NASCAR official and inappropriate contact with a NASCAR official during the post-race altercation.

– MARTIN D CLARK

INDYCAR SIXTEEN years ago, an Andretti and a Rahal started on the front row for a major motor racing.

History repeated on the weekend when Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal put their cars on the front row at Milwaukee, long after their Bobby Rahal edged out Michael Andretti, above and split by Jimmy Vasser, for pole

Edmonton Back NASCAR EDMONTON is on the IndyCar schedule.

The Indy Racing League signed a three-year agreement with Northlands, the operator of the Rexall Edmonton Indy. The July 24-26 event will become the 17th race on the 2008 schedule. The 14-turn, 3.15km circuit is laid out on Edmonton City Centre Airport runways that reach 22m wide for most of the course. About 80 percent of the race course can be seen from anywhere in the grandstands.

– MARY MENDEZ

news

s Later

INDYCAR RON Dixon was the proudest dad in Indianapolis – but he was too busy to enjoy the race.

As son Scott was hurtling towards his historic 500 victory, Dixon Sr was on the radio to John Andretti from the spotters’ stand.

“At times, I wish I wasn’t there, but it was great,” Dixon said, having watched his son lead 115 of 200 laps while managing to avoid incidents during eight caution periods.

“Up until the last 10 laps, I listened to what was happening. But I was concentrating 100 percent on John. Each time John disappeared down that front straight I started looking for Scott. At just the right time Scott was coming into Turn 3 and John was in Turn 1.”

sutton-images.com

sutton-images.com

at New Hampshire in 1992.

Marco’s four lap average speed of 168.079mph made him the youngest IndyCar driver to earn a pole.

“My father would have loved to win here at Milwaukee,” said Rahal after qualifying. “I hope I can achieve what he didn’t. It’s all about track position.”

The Milwaukee Mile is considered Newman/Haas/ Lanigan Racing’s ‘home track’ because of the one-hour distance from its Lincolnshire, Illinois and the team has seven victories in 24 events.

Co-owner Carl Haas was the promoter of the Mile from 1992 to 2003.

– MARY MENDEZ

Ron and John and Scott ...

“When we first came here eight years ago it was always a dream that one day Scott would win the 500. Those emotions just burst out. It was incredible. People ask, ‘How do you feel?’ I don’t really know. You go numb, and then you start yahooing and yelling.”

For the record, Andretti finished 16th at the Speedway for Roth Racing, 19th at Milwaukee and will continue to race the entry. Andretti competed in four CART races at the Milwaukee track with his best result of second place in 1991. He has also raced in the NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series.

Ironically, Roth himself did not make the race, after hard contact with the second turn wall first practice session and had to withdraw his #25 entry.

– MARY MENDEZ

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James Smith

Stokell’s double duties Former Driver’s Champion returns to Carrera Cup for Sandown onwards CARRERA CUP PAUL Stokell will return to the Australian Carrera Cup Championship at Sandown Raceway this weekend.

The former Gold Star Champion, who hasn’t competed in the all-Porsche series since Indy last year, will race in both the Carrera Cup Championship and the MINI Challenge.

Stokell is no stranger to doing ‘doubleduties,’ having competed before with Lamborghini (Nations Cup) and

Volkswagen (GT Production) back in 2004.

Stokell will drive the Iain Sherrin’s Porsche – the car which Stokell drove last year.

“I’m back in the same car,” he said.

“And I think I’ll be okay. I’m looking forward to it. The Sherrin team has found some pace, David Russell is doing well, and I’ll have a good piece of machinery under me.

“The plan at the moment is to do the rest of the Carrera Cup Championship, leading into next year. It’s really what the plan was

last year. But this is take two, so we’ll see what happens.”

Stokell has plenty of experience at Sandown, having competed many times in the Sandown 500. And one thing that he has learnt over the years is that he’ll need to bring his rain coat …

“I enjoy the wet,” he says.

“It over comes any deficiencies that your car may have and the good drivers come to the fore.”

Stokell currently sits third in the MINI Challenge.

MINI set for its own Bathurst 12H class MINI CHALLENGE

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James Smith

MINI Challenge may have two visits to Mount Panorama next year, with the one-make series being mooted as a class within the 2009 WPS Bathurst 12-Hour.

According to event director James O’Brien, the MINI Challenge cars are being considered for entry at the event, in its own class.

“A MINI Challenge car is essentially a production car, so it would be eligible,” he told eNews.

“We’re looking into it. There are a few issues, such as whether or not the cars are

contracted solely to the series, and therefore are allowed to compete at the 12 Hour.

Secondly there are issues with eligibility, and thirdly, is there a desire for the competitors to compete in the 12-Hour? If those things can be resolved, then we’d love to have MINI back at Bathurst 42 years after they won.”

MINI Challenge CEO Theo Psaros confirmed talks between the series and the event were taking place.

“We’ve done the paperwork, but we’ve got more work to do yet,” he said.

“There are questions we need to answer: Do the

teams want in? Would we have enough entries for a class? What spec tyres would we need? And would BMW Motorsport get behind it? As for the last one, they’ve given us approval to apply.

“It also depends on the V8

Supercar calendar and the timing of Clipsal. They are another stakeholder we need to consider.

“But we don’t want anyone booking accommodation yet ...”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

news

New car for McGill

Fahad tests V8 Supercar V8 SUPERCARS

FUJITSU V8s AARON McGill has purchased an ex-Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore VY for use in the remainder of this year’s Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

The privateer has been forced to find the new car after extensive damage was inflicted to his AU Falcon during the start line incident at Wakefield Park seven weeks ago.

His first race with the Commodore will be this weekend at Sandown Raceway in the third round of the series.

McGill has purchased the car from Sydney Star Racing, who entered the car last year for Taz Douglas and the late Ashley Cooper.

Before the car’s life at Sydney Star, it was Garth Tander’s car at GRM. McGill isn’t a stranger to Holden equipment, finishing eighth in the 2005 Development Series in a Commodore VX. The New South Welshman is looking forward

to getting back in The General’s equipment.

“I’ve always gone well in a Commodore, for whatever reason that is, I’m not too sure,” he said.

“The AU has $50,000 worth of damage and it wasn’t worth fixing immediately. It was damaged on the front, side and rear.”

The past few months have been tough for McGill after losing major sponsor HPM, but he still harbours plans to expand his operation.

“Our plans changed after HPM left us,” he said.

“We’re a minnow in the V8 Supercar scheme of things. We’re down but not out, and we’ll fight back. I want to try and get back to two cars and get a driver of the calibre of Luke Youlden again.”

In the meantime, McGill will slowly begin a restoration of his damaged AU Falcon, turning it back into Glenn Seton’s last AU Falcon from 2002.

– GRANT ROWLEY

BAHRAIN’S Fahad Al Musalam has become the first Middle Eastern person to drive a V8 Supercar.

As part of his victory in the Lumina CSV Middle East Championship, wily team owner Garry Rogers offered Al Musalam a test in one of his VE Commodores, and according to Rogers, he passed the test with flying colours.

“He looked after the car and was not trying to set any world records.

“This was the first time that Fahad had driven a V8 Supercar, and it was a credit to him to be as smooth as he was. There was no engine overrevving or missing of gears and he managed to put a pretty respectable lap together (1m29.8s).”

Team drivers Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso took Fahad out early for a few laps in a road car before the main test session, where he had six six lap stints.

Short name, tall field FORMULA FORD NEW Zealand teenager Martin Short will make his Australian racing debut in the third round of the 2008 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at Sandown this week.

Short, 17, is a former karter and switched to Formula Ford competition in his native country only last year.

Driving a Mygale chassis for Sonic Motor Racing Services, Short has plans to contest the remaining rounds of the Formula Ford Championship, to gain experience of the Australian circuits and the competition ahead of an all-out assault on the 2009 title.

Category manager Margaret Hardy said that Short’s entry could be the first of a number of

overseas entrants.

“Interest levels are at an all-time high,” she said.

“There’s increasing enquiry from off-shore competitors, like Martin Short, so it’s very encouraging.”

Sandown Formula Ford action kicks off on Saturday, with one race slated for Sunday and two on Monday. Twenty five cars are entered for the Melbourne meeting.

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Davo tackles Le Mans LE MANS ALEX Davison has taken to the famous Le Mans circuit for the first time during the official 24-Hour test day.

Teams were able to get some dry running in during the morning session before the rain really set in.

Davison had a chance to test the car during the afternoon session when it was wet and managed to set the fourth fastest LM GT2 time, just over a second off the quickest GT2 car in the rainaffected sessions.

“The weather played a massive role in the test,”

Davison said.

“Doing my first-ever laps of Le Mans in heavy rain was pretty interesting.

“It’s an awesome circuit and you have to build up to it slowly, especially in these conditions, while at the same time being aware of the faster cars coming up behind you.

“The rain made it a little bit tougher to go out there and learn the circuit, but the laps we did today could be very beneficial if it rains during the race.”

Davison will take to the track again on June 11 for the first qualifying session ahead of the race on June 14-15.

Dirk Klynsmith

Return of a Champion FORMULA 3 REIGNING Gold Star Champion TIm Macrow will return to the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.

Macrow will drive for Melbourne team Scud Racing, competing in the next F3 round at Phillip Island (June 13–15).

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Macrow’s return to the series will be at the wheel of his venerable Dallara F301 – the car that he used in the 2005 and 2006 championships.

Macrow will run the #1 on his car and is looking forward to getting back to Phillip Island, where he has enjoyed much Formula 3 success. ”It will be a bit like putting on an old sock!” Macrow said with affection of his

old car. ”It’s been five months out of the seat for me, so I’m really looking forward to jumping back in the old girl at Phillip Island. ”It’s a great car and it’s always been really strong at the Island – I’m going to go out, have a good time and try and mix it with some cars that should be faster.”

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Return of

GODZILLA

Nissan or 6-Litre Commodore for five-time Nurburgring driver NURBURGRING 24H MAL Rose entered the famous Nurburgring 24 Hour race last week in his trusty Holden Commodore V8 Supercar, but next year could be a different story.

The former V8 Supercar privateer-turned-international endurance racer is considering leaving his ex-Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore VY at home and could enter a Nissan GTR R35 in the classic German sedan race.

Rose’s team-mates Peter Leemhuis and Tony Alford have both purchased one of the Japanese manufacturer’s new ‘Gozillas’ and is thinking about running it next year.

Alford already has his

example in Australia and competed with it at Targa Tasmania, while Leemhuis recently purchased his from Nissan Japan and is expecting delivery soon.

At this stage, Rose said that he is unsure what car he’ll enter in 2009, but he wants to improve on his second in class and 30th outright place that he scored last week.

But the options are simple – Rose and his team will either enter a GTR R35, or run the trusty Commodore, complete with a new GRM-built 6-litre engine.

“I don’t think it will be as good fast the Supercar until there is some development and money spent on it,” he said.

“There’s certainly a lot of

development to come to turn the GTR from a fast road car to a competitive endurance car.

“And you never know, we might take both cars over there.

It depends on what Peter and Tony want to do. They are the owners of the GTR. I own the Commodore. They’ve been my co-drivers and proved that they can do a good job and not spear off the track.

“If the GTR doesn’t turn out to

be the best option, then we’ll take the Commodore again.”

Next year, Rose wants to race in all four of the endurance races – Dubai 24H, Nurburgring 24H, Valencia 24H and Malaysia 24H. But before next year’s 24 Hour, Rose, Leemhuis and Alford will race the Commodore at the Sepang 12 Hour in Malaysia in August.

– GRANT ROWLEY

A1GP Shakedown A1GP

sutton-images.com

THE brand new A1GP World Cup of Motorsport car for the upcoming 2008/2009 season has had its first shakedown at the Fiorano Ferrari test track.

The new A1GP car which is powered and produced by Ferrari was driven by Andrea Bertolini for a number of laps with some positive signs.

Following this initial shakedown, the car will undergo a large amount of testing at both the Fiorano test track, as well as the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola.

The first round of the 2008/2009 Championship will kick off at Mugello in Italy on September 21.

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news

Marshall Cass

Bowe heads Proddie field PRODUCTION CARS THE first round of the Australian Manufacturers Championship is set to have a 20-plus-car field at Phillip Island in a fortnight.

Entries are currently being finalised for the reborn version of the Australian Production Car Championship, with former V8 Supercar champion John Bowe a confirmed starter, sharing a Ford Falcon with Chris Delfsma. It is the same car he raced at the WPS Bathurst 12-

Hour earlier this year.

George Miedecke is another notable entrant, campaigning his Hyundai Tiburon with support from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Foundation, while former Formula 3 competitor Lauren Gray will race a Toyota Echo in Class E. According to new category administrator Jodi Zylstra, the AMC is happy with the entries for Round 1.

“We’re basically finalising entries for Round 1 today (Monday), and we’re

JB back in a CAT BIANTE SERIES

IN other John Bowe news, the former ATCC champ has confirmed he will contest the remainder of the Biante Touring Car Masters.

Bowe drove a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro at the first round at Adelaide in February, and will now tackle the remainder of the series

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in the Tony Hunter-owned Chevy, with support from WesTrac CAT. “I grew up watching these types of cars. It was always great when guys like Norm Beechy and Bob Jane came down to race in Tassie,” said Bowe.

“I love the variety of cars, and the guys involved in the Biante Series are a terrific bunch of blokes.”

sitting on 21 cars, with a few still to confirm,” she told eNews.

“We’re happy with that, especially given the timeframe involved with the change of category administration. It’s really pleasing.”

The meeting will feature two one-hour races complete with compulsory pitstop, with Classes A and B required to change two wheels, and Class C required to change one wheel. Class D will only conduct a stop-go in pit-lane, while Classes E and F will not complete a stop.

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THE DAWN OF A NEW [UTE

V8 UTES WITH the first pictures of the new look FG Falcon finally surfacing and the addition of the VE to the Ute ranks this year, one must wonder when we’ll see a FG Ute in the series.

Those heading to Sandown International Raceway this weekend will be able to check out an XR8 FG Ute dressed up to provide a sneak peak into what we can expect when an FG Ute

hits the track for real. At this point there are no scheduled plans as to when the FG Ute will hit the track, but it will provide a look at what will be he future of the category.

In other V8 Utes news, Ford racer, Layton Crambrook has tested in Darwin ahead of the next round at Hidden Valley on July 6. This will be the first year the Utes will head north so any prior preparation and track experience will come in handy.

‘Plugger’ confirms Safari AUSTRALIAN SAFARI TONY Lockett will be a starter at this year’s Australasian Safari, tackling the re-born event for Glenn Hoffman Racing.

The Australian Rules Football legend will jump aboard a factory-supported Honda CRF450X, similar to the one pictured, joining brothers Ben and Damien Grabham in the GHR squad, which is Honda’s official off-road team.

‘Plugger’ will warm up to the main event by running the Finke Desert and Hattah rallies, and rode in the Condo 750 back in March.

According to team boss Glenn Hoffman, Lockett’s association with the team came thanks to the purchase of a second-hand bike.

“Tony’s an old mate and he came in

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and bought a used bike off us a while back,” he told eNews.

“And I guess he was sick of hearing about all of these events, and decided to take part himself.

“He’s a really capable rider, although he’s probably not at a point where you’d expect to him to get an outright result. But when he rode the Condo he did 800km, navigated really well, and now he’s really looking forward to the Safari.”

Event director Justin Hunt is thrilled too have Lockett on board.

“We think it’s great,” said Hunt.

“He’s a big guy, a good rider, and its great to help him back into competition of some sort. He joins a long list of interest, from both here and overseas, now that entries are officially open.”

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Matt Kingsly is still recovering from his accident at the Clipsal 500 earlier this year and will subsequently miss the Queensland Raceway round of the championship. Having been granted a force majeure until after the Darwin round, the team must field an entry to avoid a fine.

Allan Jarvis will drive Kingsly’s car in Queensland in what will be his first run in the V8 Utes.

news

E] ERA

Nitro is in a world of Hurt WORLD SUPERBIKES THE whole question of how injured motorcycle racers behave took a twist in Utah after an upand-down weekend in the USA for Noriyuki Haga – literally.

The Japanese ace started the week by playing golf with American legend Kenny Roberts but soon suffered a heavy fall that left him with a suspected

broken collarbone.

Early diagnosis was that Nori was out for the weekend but, despite being medically declared as unfit to ride, Haga was first out for Superpole, in which he placed 10th.

To make matters worse, Haga crashed out of the first race but, packed in ice between races, somehow got onto the bike to take a brave sixth place in Race 2.

Yamah Racing

John Morris/Mpix

Nominations open WORLD SUPERBIKES

WORLD SUPERBIKES A POTENTIAL three-into-two scenario in Suzuki’s MotoGP squad may be resolved by Francis Batta.

With Ben Spies poised to successfully defend his AMA Superbike title, and with two wildcard GP rides coming up in the coming months, the boss of the Alstare Suzuki World Superbike team has named the Texan as the man he would like to see in his team next season.

Batta told a group of journalists

at Miller Motorsport Park that he though Spies would be “the ideal addition” to his team for 2009.

But despite offering to blood the American ace, who is known to dislike air travel, Batta has admitted that “Spies is totally focused on going to MotoGP” Suzuki is keen on retaining Chris Vermuelen in its team and the current form of veteran Loris Capirossi makes it problematic to place Spies in its GP lineup – unless Batta is deliberately diverting attention from a threebike GP team next season …

Suzuki Racing

THE Australian Motor Sport Foundation has announced that nominations are open for the 2009 CAMS Rising Star Program.

Following on from last year’s successful self-nomination process, Australia’s future Formula 1 stars will again nominate themselves to be considered for the 2009 program.

The program will introduce several new initiatives including working with ex-F1 personal trainer Phil Young, sponsorship advice and workshops run by industry expert Phillip Whittaker and a testing opportunity in a Formula 3 car.

Launched in 2005, the CAMS Rising Star Program aims to identify and fast-track the development of young drivers from the junior ranks to national and international competition through defined and supported pathways.

Drivers wishing to nominate for the 2009 program must meet specific assessment criteria including age, past driver performance, and the ability to provide the balance of an operational budget.

The successful candidates will be announced after Round 6 of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Phillip Island in mid-September.

SPIES SAGA FIXED?

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5 Minutes with ...

JASON RICHARDS

New car and a new outlook for ‘JR’ – now it’s time for results ...

Is there much difference between your new car and Greg’s new car (which debuted at Hamilton) from what the team has leant in this small amount of time?

No. It’s basically duplicated them. There are some very, very, very subtle changes.

The reason why the cars have come together so quickly is because they were built simultaneously. They are no real difference between them at all.

What is the feeling within the team about the new cars?

Well, with Greg’s car, we’re all pretty excited about it.

It’s going to be a relief when we get to Sandown. Finally, we’re going to have two new cars. In the last two rounds, we could have been split at each end of pit lane and it wouldn’t have made a difference. One car is running PI (data logging) and the other Motec. There’s been no data swapping, the engineering of the cars have

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Marshall Cass

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You have a new car for this round at Sandown …

JASON RICHARDS: I do. The car has just been taken from our shop at Dandenong to Preston, and we’re going to cut some laps at Winton on Wednesday.

For new cars, you get 20 laps credit, so it’s better finding out that the car has problems there rather than at Sandown.

It’s there to make sure all your installations are well and truly sorted before you get to the race meeting. It’s not designed to go proper testing, because 20 laps evaporates pretty quickly.

GRANT ROWLEY

i hope In three or four months time, you’ll be ringing me up to talk about podium results ...

JASON RICHARDS been different so the setups and dampers have been different. It’s going to be nice to operate as a team again.

That’s going to be one of the nice things.

We’re confident that the technology that we’ve got in the car is equal now to everyone in pitlane, so it’s just a matter of tuning it and driving it right to beat the other guys.

These are the first two cars to come out of Tasman Motorsport’s new Dandenong facility. As a driver, is it frustrating to be developing cars, rather than shooting for championships?

Oh, it’s everybody’s goal to win the championship.

We said at the start when we decided to build our own cars that 2009 would be our championship year, and 2008 would be the year where we try and put everything together and get the infrastructure in place. It’s now

Round 5 and we’re still a long way from the front of the field.

Now, it comes down to the new cars and hopefully they can deliver us the results.

D-Day is upon us. We need to get the engineering right, the team-work spot on and do all the things that makes a championship-winning team.

We’ve all been frustrated a bit, for sure, but we know that we’ve got to walk before we run, and that’s why we had the big overhaul, rather than persevering that what we had.

You talk about working toward next year. Do you have a deal in place to race at Tasman next year?

At the end of last year, we discussed the situation, and we agreed that we didn’t want any changes for 2009.

So, it was common sense for both of us to take up that option early and make sure the drivers are locked in and there are no surprises.

I’m contracted until the end

of 2009.

At the end of 2009, that will be your sixth season with the team. Surely by then, you’ll want to have results under your belt …

There’s been massive change at Tasman over the years. I’m actually their longest-serving employee!

I’ve come from the single-car, low budget operation into a significant sized team we are.

The only thing that is lacking is the results.

But each year, there is good stuff on the horizon, and I hope in three or four months time, you’ll be ringing me up to talk about podium results, rather than potential podium results.

We’re the closest we’ve ever been to being super successful at the moment. These things happen in life though, everyone goes through changes, I believe what the team are doing, otherwise I wouldn’t have been around for six years.

chat

Marshall Cass

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John Morris/ Mpix

Gaining Traction in congestion opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews THE V8 Supercar Championship started in February, and five months later, it is about to clock off its fifth round.

It simply doesn’t feel like the championship has really started yet.

The inconsistent gaps between rounds, for me, hasn’t given the series any traction in the competitive

sports market.

I understand that the calendar has many, many influences – and even more so on a leap year. Television, the Olympics, rivals sports events, governments, venues, sponsors. The list goes on and on ...

Maybe this is where a summer series could gather interest. Start the series at Bathurst – the category’s holy grail – and wrap it up in April or May. It could give the teams a proper off season and would move the series away

from the AFL and NRL footy codes that dominate the winter headlines.

I can hear some of you asking what would the teams do with such a large break?

What do Formula 1 teams do from November to March? A similar gap would apply …

In an ideal world, 20 rounds, one every two weeks (and occasionally a back-to-back round) is the only way to keep the interest in the series flowing.

Yep, all these propositions have been suggested before

(both recently and in the past), but there is change on the horizon.

So, how can you do more races in a shorter space of time at the category’s current cost? Make the cars cheaper!

The recent talk of the cost of the modern V8 Supercars is a massively positive sign. Having half a million dollar race cars is simply not sustainable in our current climate, and with a number of teams already at breaking point, it’s great to see that there could be change soon.

Letters

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

Just let we watch it ...

Basically I’m just over waiting for the next V8 Supercar race.

And lets be honest, when it gets here we’re unlikely to get much coverage anyway.

With Australia’s obsession with football, it doesn’t leave much space for our beloved motorsport. I get it though, and don’t get me wrong I love a good footy match but we need to look after all our national sports.

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So, enough with my whining a suggestion. Football has two host broadcasters, so why not V8 Supercars.

When one has commitments, like say the Olympics, the other could take over. It could work the same with football.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know what the logistics behind this sort of suggestion are but at least it’s an idea.

Something to think about.

And seriously I am looking

forward to the next race. Bring on the Midas 400, or 360, or however long they want us to believe the race goes for.

Joe Timms via email Le Mans awaits What great news it was to hear that yet another Aussie will join a long list of races and compete in the famed Le Mans 24-Hour race.

Through eNews I have

been following Alex Davison’s progress for some time and he really deserves the drive.

He has done a great job this season racing over in Europe with porsche and being able to race at Le Mans would be the ‘cherry on top’ of his season.

Congratulations Alex, a great job and I’m sure all motorsport fans want you to do well.

Jim Allen Busselton, WA

opinion

What a relief ... opinion Ryan Briscoe IndyCar race winner

sutton-images.com

IT was hard to know how I felt after winning at Milwaukee.

It was a big relief! I am just so excited, it was a special race to win. It was especially satisfying, because winning on an oval was huge for me, personally, and it was a landmark win for Team Penske. Rick Mears has been a big help to me all year long, and he has been giving me a ton of advice.

I don’t think that I could have done it without his help and advice.

His first-ever IndyCar win was here, in Milwaukee, 30 years ago, and that was the first for the team. It was also Penske’s 300th win in all categories, so it was a big win for the team.

But it was my first. So for me, that was the best thing about it!

This year has been a little frustrating. It was a tough start to the season, we have been running at the front and running strong but we have not been able to close off the races. We have been knocking on the door but this result is huge. It bumps me up in the points standings, and now, I am just 10 points out of fifth.

In practice and qualifying, we struggled a bit and we got sidetracked with the setup. We took the car out of the trailer and

it was pretty good but the wind got up, and we got a little bit lost on the set-up. In qualifying, we second-guessed it a little and I have a bad run.

After that, we sat down and thought that with our previous experience here – I tested here last September – that we had a good base set-up. That gave us a baseline and we went back to that, with a little bit of front wing added. We made some changes going into the race and we were nowhere near the best car out there on new tyres.

But we were strong on the longer stints, everyone seemed to drop off a lot and we got better and better. We passed them one by one and that was how it went.

I saw Scott Dixon out there, I was guessing that he had led every single lap. By the time I caught him, my car was working really well. He held me off for a few laps but I was able to get around him and hold him off for the rest of the race.

Once I had him in sight, we knew we had a shot at winning the race, and that was a pretty good feeling.

We were confident coming into the race, with the set-up and the team’s performance here last year. But the tracks are so different, from weekend to weekend.

Next week, we have the high banks of Texas, 1.5-mile, and that is so different. Sam Hornish won there last year, and I think that we can be on contention there as well.

Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going!

eLETTER OF THE WEEK To the Script What a great surprise it was to wake up this morning to see that Ryan Briscoe had broken through for his maiden win in the IndyCar Championship.

Well, actually I wasn’t that surprised.

Briscoe has a huge amount of natural talent and it was only a matter of time before he broke through for a win in yet

another category.

After all he has been competitive in almost every category he has ever raced in. And with a team like Penske behind him, he was always going to do well.

Which brings me to my next point. The circumstances under which he won are just great and will go down in history.

To get Roger Penske’s 300th motorsports win is a great achievement.

And to do it at Milwaukee after Rick Mears won Penske’s first 30 years ago is perfect.

So congratulations to all involved , what a great results.

Martin Bloom Geelong, Vic

Send your creative letters to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 23

INDYCARS ROUND 6 – THE MILWAUKEE MILE

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The Mile High Club Australia’s Ryan Briscoe broke through in Milwaukee to take his maiden IndyCar win and hand Roger Penske his 300th motorsports victory

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I

N a day of milestones, Ryan Briscoe won his first career IndyCar race at The Milwaukee Mile last weekend.

Briscoe’s win gave team boss Roger Penske more to smile about than usual, with the win handing his boss his 300th victory in motorsports.

Briscoe started down in 11th position, which forced him to make his way through the field with some great passes, the highlight of which was his pass on Scott Dixon for the lead on lap 177.

The lead changed several times before the end of the race as drivers completed their pit-stop cycle. By lap 207 The Aussie was back in front, this time for good.

“It feels so good to win, my first IndyCar win,” said Briscoe, “and it feels so good to do it here in Milwaukee.

“I’m really happy. Ever since Indianapolis,

26

we had that get-together in pit lane, and it was really unfortunate. I was having a really good race and looking at a top-five [finish].

“We just had to put it behind us and move on to this race. It’s a long championship, and it’s just great. We were focused on this race. We knew we had a good car and just stayed focused in the race. It’s great to win my first race for Team Penske.”

The race eventually finished under caution after pole-sitter Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter made contact with two laps to run. The accident also took Indy 500 runner-up Vitor Meira out of the race after he was left with nowhere to go.

Dixon carried his good form on from Indy and finished second ahead of Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves.

Following his second place Dixon

extends his lead in the championship over Castroneves.

After a career best-oval qualifying performance of fourth, Aussie Will Power came home in 14th, after a strong performance that saw him run in the top 10.

A small mishap in the pits in which he made light contact with the pit wall dropped him back.

“This should have been a really, really good result for us here today in Milwaukee,” said Power.

“The pace we showed proved we are capable of getting some great results.

Today we should have had a great finish but something so small ruined our weekend.”

The next round of the championship will be at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.

sutton-images.com

Pride of the Commonwealth: Ryan Briscoe, left, took his first IndyCar win in Milwaukee from championship leader Scott Dixon, bottom left.

Briscoe’s win also gave team boss Roger Penske, below, his 300th motorsports victory, while Will Power, above, had a strong run until pit dramas forced him down the order.

IndyCar Media

sutton-images.com

INDYCAR | THE MILWAUKEE MILE 1 6 2 9 3 11 4 10 5 3 6 5 7 02 8 33 9 7 10 15 14 8

Ryan Briscoe Aus Scott Dixon NZ Tony Kanaan Br Dan Wheldon GB Helio Castroneves Br Oriol Servia Esp Justin Wilson GB EJ Viso Ven Danica Patrick USA Buddy Rice USA Will Power Aus

Team Penske 225 laps Target Ganassi Racing +0.04s Team 7-Eleven +1.84s Target Ganassi Racing +2.93s Team Penske +4.67s KV Racing Technology +14.22s McDonald’s Racing Team 224 laps PDVSA HVM Racing 224 laps Motorola 224 laps Dreyer & Reinbold 224 laps KV Racing Technology 223 laps

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INDYCAR | DRIVER’S points Dixon 234, Castroneves 206, Wheldon 185, Kanaan 174, Patrick 144, Andretti 142, Servia 140, Briscoe 134, Carpenter 132, 11th Power 130.

27

NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 13 – DOVER

DOVERACHIEV

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NASCAR Media

VER

‘Cruise’ is too big a word to apply to race full of 800 horsepower Sprint Cup racers. But that is how Kyle Busch made it look when he took his fourth win of 2008 at Dover

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All Images: NASCAR Media

F

ORD won the race to be the fastest car at Dover but, once again, Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing fought back to take over the lead and his fourth Sprint Cup win – and 10th in all three levels – of 2008.

Busch was content to watch Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle sprint away and dominate the first half of the Best Buy 400 but, by the time the Roush Fenway pair had led 228 laps, the JGR crew had tuned

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Busch’s car to perfection, got him off pit road with the lead and watched his cruise home for the win.

“We didn’t have the car to beat today,” Busch said.

“Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle were better than us. But we made it on the long run as good as they did and I knew if we could get track position and get in front of them we would be a little bit better.

“The guys on pit road had a phenomenal day, got us up front, kept us up front and

that’s what won it for us here today.”

Edwards was second ahead of Biffle, the latter suffering intermittent electrical problems that the crew were unable to trace. Matt Kenseth made it three Fords in the top four, followed by the four Chevrolets of Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton.

It was just as well that Busch won in what appeared to be a lone effort. The other Gibbs drivers had dreadful days, with

Mayhem at Dover: The lap 18 melee took out a number of contenders. Check the severely-shortened Tony Stewart Camry (#20) which carried on until the end of the race. The mega-shunt was triggered by a seemingly innocuous tap between Elliott Sadler (#19) and David Gilliland, left.

Carl Edwards, #99 right, was second, long after Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman led the field away, below right.

Nationwide winner Denny Hamlin wrecking early on and Tony Stewart delayed after repairs left his Home Depot car looking like it has been in a war.

The big wreck took care of a number of contenders. David Gilliland trigged the melee by tapping Elliot Sadler into a spin; Sadler fired into the wall before coming to rest in the middle of the track.

Eleven cars were caught up, including Stewart, lint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Denny the Dominator NATIONWIDE SERIES

NW Points: Bowyer 2028, Busch 1907, Edwards 1884, Reutimann 1862, Keselowski 1816, Bliss 1772, Ragan 1740, Leffler 1634, Wallace 1624 [Ambrose 1443, 15th].

NASCAR Media

DENNY Hamlin loves Dover.

For the second year in a row, the Joe Gibbs Racing ace dominated on the concrete mile, and took his second successive Nationwide win there after a long rain delay.

Three hours late, Hamlin, right, led 131 of the 200 laps to hold off Carl Edwards, this time driving the Joe Gibbs Oilsponsored #18 entry.

“It is a great win for us,” Hamlin said in victory lane.

“We bided our time and ran as hard as we needed to do.

We made a ton of adjustments to the car and we made our biggest adjustment toward the end.”

David Stremme went from 18th to third to finish ahead of David Reutimann and Greg Biffle. But the story of the race was in sixth, with 18-year-old Gibbs prodigy impressing everyone but himself in his first outing in the series.

The teenager was hard on himself after bending a fender following contact in pitlane.

“Overall, it was a good day for us but I was hoping for a topfive finish,” he mused.

Kyle Busch was on a charge that appeared to be taking his damaged car to near the lead until Jason Leffler took him out, the team-mates having words later.

Marcos Ambrose qualified 12th but fell off the lead lap after a slow pitstop. He was pitched into the wall later when a tyre went flat.

SPRINT CUP

DRIVER’S points

Busch 2050, Burton 1908, Earnhardt 1779, Edwards 1713, Biffle 1658, J Gordon 1646, Johnson 1644, Bowyer 1633, Hamlin 1630, Harvick 1566.

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WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 6 – MILLER MOTORSPORT PARK, USA

A decade after his last GP win, Carlo Checa won his first Superbike race in Utah.

He liked it so much that he won the second race as well ...

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Honda Pro Images

SEVEN, THE HARD WAY

Honda Pro Images

Suzuki Racing

On for Young and Old: Charlie Checa, main pic, was mucho fast for the opposition and took two come-frombehind wins. Max Neukirchner, #76, and Troy Corser, #11, shared the best-of-the-rest tags, though the Aussie dropped it in Race 2.

Troy Bayliss, #21, had a bad Sunday and scored zero points, but Michael Fabrizio, left, stepped into the breach and flew the flag for Xerox Ducati.

Ducati Corse

Checa had to chase Max Neukirchner in the opening race but a different front tyre allowed him to dominate the second outing, despite emerging from the first corner in eighth place.

Troy Corser and Neukirchner shared the second places but the weekend was a bad one for the other Troy, Bayliss. The Ducati ace left the USA with a zero next to his name after crashing out of Race 1 on lap 5, and stopping with mechanical dramas in Race 2. He now has a 28-point lead over Checa.

Michael Fabrizio upheld Italian honour with third in both races, despite making slow starts.

Ducati Corse

IT had been a long dry spell for Carlos Checa.

The Spaniard took his second and last 500cc GP win in the 1998 Madrid Grand Prix, and has never won a major motorcycle race outside his native country. But that was GP and now, he is a Superbike racer; the 35-year-old thumped the opposition in Utah, taking his first win on a four-stroke in a dominant performance.

“It’s been fantastic to take a double win here in the USA,” said Checa, who dedicated his wins to former great Wayne Rainey.

“Just at the start of the first race, I had some problems with my number one bike and had to use the second one.”

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GLOBE TROTTER

34

NHRA THE 2008 POWERade Drag Racing Series is quickly becoming the year of the woman.

Following historic wins by Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel, Hillary Will became the 11th female to win in a professional class when she defeated Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

The Topeka winner’s circle also included Funny Car legend, John Force and Pro Stock’s Ron Krisher.

Driving Ken Black’s Top Fuel car, Will scored her first Professional, and second overall, national event win.

After stopping Doug Herbert, Morgan Lucas, and Cory McClenathan, Will clocked a final round

4.74/304 to defeat Dixon. The win helped lift Will to fourth in the points.

Force’s victory was his first since the comeback from his crash in Dallas last September. The Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang clocked a 4.99/281 in the final to stop current points leader, Tim Wilkerson.

Force had taken earlier round wins over daughter Ashley, Gary Densham and Ron Capps.

The win vaulted Force into third place in the standings.

Krisher used a final round 6.75/204 to defeat Larry Morgan, who shook and lifted early.

Krisher’s Valvoline Cobalt recorded low elapsed time of every round in wins over Todd Hoerner, Rickie Jones and new point leader, Kurt Johnson.

– David Ostaszewski

Tricky conditions sutton-images.com

n Typical English weather greeted the British Touring Car Championship at Croft for round 5 of the championship.

With the first race being dramatically shortened following a restart caused by a large incident early in the feature, Colin Turkington made the most of the restart to take the win, a feat, which he backed up in Race 2 after starting from the pole.

Reigning Champion Fabrizio Giovanardi won race 3 from third on the grid to extend his points lead.

The Italian also set the fastest lap on-route to the win to gain another bonus point.

May the Force be with you

David Ostaszewski

AFTER last week’s Bank Holiday in the UK, results have been finalised in the British Formula Ford and Formula 3 rounds from Rockingham.

Race 1 in Formula Ford was completed as eNews went to press last week and Tim Blanchard picked up where he left off with a third in Race 2 and second in the final.

“It was a great weekend for me, I was able to close the gap and really show that the Championship is well and truly still up for grabs,” said Blanchard.

The other Australian in the field, Glen Wood, showed good pace early in Race 1, but a late spin led to a DNF, which ruined his weekend.

Wood had a second DNF in Race 2 and subsequently didn’t start the final race.

Formula 3 completed both of their races on the holiday Monday and Sam Abay finished eighth and 11th, while countryman John Martin had some consistent results placing 11th and 14th. n

FRENAULT UK ADAM Christodoulou has continued his good form in the Formula Renault UK Championship by taking out Race 1 at Croft last weekend.

Victory in Race 1 gave Christodoulou his fifth win of the 2008 season in slippery

semi-wet conditions.

“Croft isn’t the easiest circuit in the dry so with it being half wet/half dry today it was trickier than ever,” said Christodoulou.

“I knew that as long as I got a decent start I would be okay as there was only one dry line around the track.”

Having qualified in 14th and 20th for the two races, Aussie, Josh Scott finished a respectable ninth in the first race.

With heavy rain forcing lengthy delays, the second race, which will make up Round 10 of the championship, has been postponed to a later date, which is yet to be confirmed.

race

INDY LIGHTS BOBBY Wilson has won his and Team E’s first Indy Lights oval victory at the Milwaukee 100 last weekend.

Wilson made the pass on pole-sitter Pablo Donoso early in the race and was never headed on his way to the flag recording victory by under a second.

“The Team E guys put together a great

F3 EUROSERIES

In the championship race, Richard Antinucci finished 16th, but still leads the championship from Dillon Battistini by a single point, while J.R. Hildebrand is third.

Having started from fourth position, Australian James Davison finished a careerbest sixth in Milwaukee to improve his position in the championship standings.

Davison now lies 16th in this year’s championship.

On the streets

sutton-images.com

ROUNDS five and six of the F3 Euroseries where completed last weekend at the Pau street circuit in France.

British driver James Jakes took pole position for the first race and duly dominated to take the win in an actionpacked race.

“It was a difficult race as conditions were anything but ideal. I am really happy with my first win of the season, especially as the start of my season wasn’t too good,” said Jakes.

Race 2 began behind the Safety Car due to continuing heavy rain, and it saw plenty of incidents as drivers battled on the street course in the tricky conditions.

Edoaro Mortara from Italy

car this weekend,” said Wilson.

“Our first win together couldn't have happened at a better place than The Milwaukee Mile.

“Coming to The Milwaukee Mile as a kid, it was always a dream for me to race here one day. To win here is even better. Team E Racing and owner Neil Enerson put together a great program and gave us the tools we needed to be here.”

IndyCar Media

Walking a mile

took his and Volkswagen’s maiden win in the category as he continued his push at the front of championship table.

“Scoring the maiden

victory for Volkswagen is an incredible feeling. We were very competitive throughout the weekend. This victory is a reward well deserved,” said

Mortara.

Mortara now leads the championship from Mika Maki by 14 points after the first six rounds.

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rear of grid

He did, but he didn’t but he did!

ALBERT Park’s Formula 1 street track is the closest circuit to Motorsport News’s Brighton office, but we like to call Sandown our home race.

So, with that in mind, we decided to get all Sandown retro on everyone’s behinds.

The 1982 Castrol 400 was won, lost and won by Allan Moffat – all in the space of a couple of months.

The Peter Stuyvesant Mazda RX-7 was the class of the field, however, the race

was a complex affair.

Among other indiscresions, Moffat was given numerous black flags for speeding in pit lane. The ex-pat Canadian crossed the line first, but the chequered flag was given to Allan Grice.

Moffat jumped out of his Mazda in front of the typically large Sandown crowd and celebrated his victory, only to be booed by the Melbourne punters.

Initally, the win was given to Grice, but a drawn out court affair eventually saw

him given the win.

For the record, Grice was second, third was Dick Johnson in the Palmer Tube Mills Falcon XE from John Harvey/Gary Scott in the second HDT Commodore, leading Moffat below.

Peter Brock’s bid to win eight Sanodwn enduros in-a-row went up in smoke early in the race.

It’s a Dog’s Life

Odd Spot

NO, this story has no Bruno Senna references.

Here at MNews, we love dogs, so we thought we’ve give you an example of what F1 engineers do in the off-season, and what karters do when mum leaves her dog unattended for any given time.

To your right, Red Bull’s Sony Aibo robot dog. To your left, a real dog, dressed as the authorities.

We think these racin’ types need to spend their time finding extra tenths ...

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