Motorsport eNews issue 80 - November 11-17, 2008

SILLY SEASON: FINAL SEATS UP FOR GRABS

Issue No. 080 11 – 17 November 2008

TOOL TIME We name the irwin driver for 2009

ODDS ON

Whincup Firms AS TITLE FAVOURITE after bahrain blitz

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, Mary Mendez 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, Lachlan Mansell, 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

Issue No. 080 | 11 – 17 Nov 2008

news 4 Stone’s new Axle

That’s meant to be Alex 7 ‘Tis the season To be silly. Still.

8 Perkins Power!

Todd will still have an LP car 10 Abu Dhabi Doo! V8 Middle Eastern Expansion 18 No Bull! No wait, bull. RB’s junior Aussie moving up 22 CART or Kart?

Four-hour enduro Powers up

chat 23 5 minutes with ... opinion 26 Letters 27 Branagan

race 28 Sand Trap

Dave Richards More letters than Oz Post Keep Bahrain Beautiful

Whinner’s Deserts the field 34 Jimmie Johns-won Cup title all but over 38 No shocker for Crocker Another APRC win for Cody 42 Pre-Historics Sandown looks back

trade 48 Classifieds Fabian Coulthard had a new colour scheme on his helmet in Bahrain. What might be new for Fabs next season?

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.

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

Davison gets SBR gig The eldest Davo is back in Australia and ready for new ride V8 SUPERCARS

will go,” said Bright in Bahrain, “but #25 hasn’t brought me any ALEX Davison has found a full- luck!” time V8 Supercar seat and will Bright’s number 25 licence is race the third Stone Brothers likely to go to Marcus Marshall Racing Ford next season. who, as we revealed two weeks The older of the two ago, has elected to run his own Davison brothers will drive car in 2009. an SBR Falcon FG in the Davison had been in colours of Irwin Tools and, in discussion with a number of the tradition of NASCAR star teams in the pit-lane and was Jamie McMurray, and Marcus one of the drivers potentially Marshall, will carry the brand’s in contention to drive with famous number 26.

Glenfords Racing.

Davison, who turned 29 Team owner Paul last week, will drive alongside Cruickshank was impressed Jason Bright, who will race in with the former Carrera Cup his Fujitsu colours in an SBR car, champion in his endurance and Shane van Gisbergen’s car. outings this season, in which However, it is likely that he matched the pace of PCR Bright will switch from his regular Fabian Coulthard. current and familiar number 25 Davison has had a mixed and may race with SBR’s 4. career of late. After winning “I don’t know which way that the 2004 Carrera Cup

Championship, he moved to a Larry Perkins-prepared Autobarn Commodore, which turned out to be a disappointing season.

He returned to Carrera Cup in 2006 and 2007, finishing second both years.

This year, he has spent time in Europe and America, racing a semi-factory Porsches in various GT Championships.

Davison’s signature for SBR means that both of the Davisons will compete for factory V8 Supercar teams – only in different manufacturers.

Although official confirmation is still awaited, Will Davison will suit up alongside Garth Tander at the Holden Racing Team next year, replacing the retiring Mark Skaife.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

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

news

Brotherly Love opinion Grant Rowley Editor eNews

Digitally modified: Dirk Klynsmith

Dirk Klynsmith

Tools, they are changing: Irwin Tools will move from Britek to SBR next year, just like Jason Bright himself.

WATCHING Alex and Will Davison go toe-to-toe next year is going to be one of the most intriguing spectacles of the season.

While this isn’t the first brotherly contest (come in Rick and Todd) this is the first time that the Davos will compete in the same racing car series full-time – but of most interest, they will be doing it in opposing factory teams – Alex with SBR and Will with HRT. Who will come out on top?

The smart money will be with Will, but given that this will be Alex’s first real crack at the V8 Supercar Series, anything could happen.

Alex has a reputation as a ‘give-no-quarter’ driver. And Will, after just three years in the series, is emerging as one of the fastest men – hence his factory Holden selection.

Having a brother in a similar age bracket is a sure-fire way of keeping you on your toes.

The Davo pair is separated by only four years. Can you imagine some of the billycart or computer battles that the Davison boys would have enjoyed as youngsters?

I can relate in some ways.

My brother and I are six years apart, which gave me a slight edge in backyard bike races.

I was kind of big enough to bowl him off if he was beating me.

These days, my brother’s nickname is ‘Big Rowley.’ He is taller, tougher and better with the ladies. I’ve got no chance!

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

New car, driver for TRD AUSTRALIAN RALLYING

THE Toyota Racing Developments Australian Rally Championship team is currently building a third Super 2000-specification Corolla, and Chad Reed is likely to be a beneficiary of that next year.

While the new car will, when completed, go straight into the hands of Neal Bates, the oldest S2000 will be earmarked for Reed. The two-time AMA Supercross Champion will test one of the cars soon in the hope that he will compete in one or more rounds of the ARC next season.

“The car that Neal has contested up until this point was the first build, so it has had a full year this year plus a run last year,” confirmed Toyota’s motorsport manager Todd Connolly.

“It will be changed over, and the old car will then be made available for these sorts of activities. So first of all [Reed] will have a test at Queensland Raceway to let him get a feel for the car and see how fast he is. Obviously you don’t get to be a double World Champion on two wheels if you don’t have any race craft, so we’re confident he will be fast.

“Then, throughout the course of next year it comes down to having the planets in alignment; making sure the schedules in the United States don’t clash with the ARC rounds. We’d like to have him in the car for at least one event.”

Reed will even have the choice of using one of the older Group N(P) cars should he wish.

“At this stage it will be a Super 2000, but we haven’t 100 percent confirmed that, because it will depend partly on this test in a couple of weeks, and whether he prefers the sequential gearbox car, or the turbo car.”

Reed will make his Aussie four-wheel debut at Oran Park next month at the final round of the Aussie Racing Car series in the TRD Aurion entry.

Meanwhile, Herald Sun journo Paul Gover will compete in a Group N(P) Corolla at this weekend’s Coffs Harbour round of the ARC. He rallied the same car at last year’s NGK Rally of Melbourne in the Yarra Valley.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Glenfords pulls the pin V8 SUPERCARS GLENFORDS Tool Centres will support of Paul Cruickshank Racing’s V8 Supercar team will end at the end of the season.

It is also expected that Glenfords colours will not adorn any V8 Supercars in the near future.

Glenfords began its support of Australian motorsport in 2004 with Greg Murphy Racing. GMR ran the familiar blue colours for two years before the sponsorship found its

way to PCR in 2006. Cruickshank initially ran a V8 Supercar for Marcus Marshall along with three Carrera Cup cars.

Glenfords has remained with PCR for three years in total, the last two years strickly on the V8.

As reported two weeks ago by eNews, Wilson Security moves into favouritism to take a larger presence on a PCR Falcon next season.

Cruickshank was unavailable for comment as eNews went to press.

– GRANT ROWLEY

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Dirk Klynsmith

Who’s in/out for next season?

V8 SUPERCARS

WITH the news that the Stone Brothers Racing seat is expected to be filled by Alex Davison (see other story), Dick Johnson Racing and Perkins Engineering now appear to be the remaining keys to the 2009 V8 Supercar Silly Season.

Joel Strickland

DICK JOHNSON RACING: James Courtney moves into the fold next year, replacing the HRT-bound Will Davison.

Who will partner Courtney?

Steven Johnson is emerging as the favourite to stay with his part family-owned team.

The Queensland team, which recently re-signed Jim Beam as its title backer for three years, is believed to be keen to keep one element of its current driver line-up. Team representatives have told eNews that a final decision will be made in little over a week.

Marshall Cass

PERKINS ENGINEERING: Despite strong talks that Jack Daniel’s is leaving the team at the end of the year, Larry Perkins says that no official decision has been made yet.

If LP does lose his JD support, there is a chance

that he could sell or lease at least one of his licences next season. If Perkins enters a car, it will almost certainly be for Jack Perkins.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK RACING: No firm decision yet, although he is believed to be still in the market to score a second licence for a driver to race alongside Fabian Coulthard.

Where does the team get a licence? The #24 licence, among others, is available BRAD JONES RACING: Paddock talk this week had the Albury-based team potentially running a third car next year, although this was denied by a team representative. eNews can report, though, that long-time sponsor BOC Gases will remain with the team next season.

told eNews that he has a deal in place to stay in the championship next year, although would not elaborate.

Bottle-O Racing endurance driver is, as ever, confident that he’ll find a ride next year …

ANDREW THOMPSON: With PWR Racing closing its doors at the conclusion of this season, the youngster is on the V8 market. His name has been linked closely to the FPRprepared Ford Rising Star seat.

KARL REINDLER: The West Aussie has impressed in his first season at Howard Racing in the Fujitsu V8 Series, although not thrilled with the limited track time available to Development Series drivers.

There’s a lot more racing in the Main Game. Will he find a place in the mix?

JASON BARGWANNA: Don’t write the former Bathurst winner off yet! The

JONATHON WEBB: The lanky Queenslander is playing his cards close to his chest, but says that he is still at least few weeks away from securing a ride in the Main Series.

MICHAEL PATRIZI: The Ford Rising Star has

Kelly Racing scores Larry ch New Holden team to run LP’s chassis with its own engines for Year 1 V8 SUPERCARS KELLY Racing looks set to race into 2009 in Perkins Engineering chassis – but with its own motors.

Despite early reports of a Walkinshaw car/ engine deal, Motorsport eNews understands that the new team has virtually concluded a deal to secure two Perkins-built cars, but that a development program for its engines, which will of course run on E85 fuel in line with V8 Supercars’ shift to ethanol/fuel mix, will be in-house.

One source told us that there has been “background” development work going on with Chevrolet-based V8s for some time, though we do not know where and by whom this work has been done.

Work continues on the set-up work required for what is, essentially, a new team, with the Dandenong-based team looking to acquire staff sufficient to run two cars. eNews understands that a number of the current Britek workforce are looking to maintain their geographical as well as professional links with V8s and could be looking good for jobs.

There are also reports – though we were not able to gain any kind of confirmation in Bahrain – that the Kelly team could set up shop, at least initially, in Britek’s Dandenong workshop, either on a lease or sale basis.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

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hassis for 2009

No Bull for Kelly Racing V8 SUPERCARS RED Bull will not be the major sponsor of Rick Kelly’s (or any other) race car in 2008.

Kelly, who has an ongoing personal deal with the Austrianowned energy drink company, was in serious discussion with Red Bull about supporting his 2009 campaign, but solid industry sources have now hosed down the chances of the company linking with the 2006 V8 Supercar champion in a major capacity. eNews broke the story in October (Issue #075, with concept artwork above) that Red Bull was seriously considering upping its support of the dual Bathurst winner, but according to our informant, “revised budgets internationally did not include the major investment – which was very close to going ahead.”

It is believed that Kelly’s personal Red Bull support

will not be affected by the company’s decision to step back from title sponsorship.

And, in an extra twist that was debunked recently, there was another team that was in lengthy discussions with Red Bull – Ford Performance Racing.

According to our spies, “the factory blue team” had spoken at length with Red Bull – and Rick Kelly – about joining forces in 2009.

Either way, this won’t now happen, but it will go down as a pretty spectacular whatmight-have-been …

The news comes as a blow to Kelly, who will link with older brother Todd in a new two-car team (Kelly Racing). Todd’s car is likely to carry Jack Daniel’s support, leaving the Kelly team’s commercial department on a sponsor-finding mission over the next few months to find primary support for Rick’s challenger.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Dirk Klynsmith

Middle East to be a V8 double-header?

A second stop in the East likely to be on the V8 Supercar calendar in the future V8 SUPERCARS ABU Dhabi looks likely to be V8 Supercars’ second stop in an expanded Middle East program.

V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane has signalled not only an extension to the current deal to race in Bahrain until past the end of its current deal, which runs until 2010, but the likelihood of adding a second race, possibly a week prior or

after the Bahrain race.

“I certainly think now the chances of us having more rounds in this region of the world are probably now well over 50-50, whereas three years ago, some people didn’t even think one round would last a year,” Cochrane told AAP. “Now we’re well and truly advanced on talking about an extension to our contract (in Bahrain) and there’s no question that there is enough interest in this region to

conduct a second round.”

Though Cochrane would not elaborate on when a second race may be held on the Yas Island track, the new 5.6km Tilke-designed circuit, the track, which is adjacent to the Abu Dhabi International Airport, will host its first Formula 1 GP on November 1 with the 2009 season-ending event.

Cochrane also stressed that any such expansion in the Middle East would be

done in consultation with the management of the Bahrain International Circuit.

A second Middle East Race would be the third ‘flyaway’ race, with Hamilton becoming the second earlier this year.

V8SA has a long-stated policy of allowing a maximum of four offshore races, with Singapore’s new stand-alone Category 2 circuit at Changi (which is due for completion in 2011) a firm contender to be the fourth.

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PWR: Over V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

PWR RACING will cease racing at the end of the season.

Team owner Kees Weel has told his staff that the doors will close following the end of the Oran Park finale, and his Licence has been sold, board approval pending, to Walkinshaw Racing. Paul Dumbrell is likely to use that licence to compete as either a third Holden Racing Team entry, or in a new team based at Clayton, Victoria.

Andrew Thompson is talking to a number of teams about 2009, while Weel was not in Bahrain. PWR is expanding rapidly in the US NASCAR scene, with Roush Fenway Racing recently carrying the Aussie radiators to victory in the Sprint Cup Series.

Dirk Klynsmith

Is 888 TOTY? V8 SUPERCARS

TKR: Symmons Ride available V8 SUPERCARS TEAM Kiwi Racing boss David John said he will decide this week who will drive the black Falcon BF at Symmons Plains.

John told eNews that Bahraini debutant Fahad Al Musalam is in the running for the drive at the Tasmanian track – although a local driver is more likely.

“There are a number of options on the table,” John said.

“We’ve got a few people to consider. I haven’t had a chance since I’ve come back, so we’ll look at some of

them today (Monday) and by Wednesday we’ll know what we’re going to do. “(Fahad) is interested in coming to do more stuff with us. The more time he can spend in these cars ... if he wants to be genuinely serious, time behind the wheel is critical – whether that’s for the main series or in the Fujitsu Series. It’s not off the cards but we haven’t discussed too much.

“For Symmons Plains, I just want someone who will stay out of trouble and finish off the season the best they can.”

Al Musalam made a steady

debut in the V8 Supercars round at Bahrain, finishing 26th for the round and picking up 46 points. Two gearboxes broke, and the team had to loan a sequential shifter from Paul Morris Motorsport for the last race. It was the first time that the TKR Falcon had run with a sequential box all year.

“I thought he did a reasonable job,” John said.

“He didn’t embarrass himself at all. He hung around at the back of the pack and kept out of trouble. That was the name of the game.”

– GRANT ROWLEY

THREE-consecutive Bathurst 1000 victories has seen TeamVodafone nominated for the ‘Team Performance of the Year’ award at the second annual Sport Performer Awards.

Judged by journalists from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Fairfax radio network, the Queenslandbased Ford team is up against the Hawthorn Football Club (AFL), Adelaide United (A-League), Manly Sea Eagles (NRL) and the Women’s 4 x 200m Relay (Olympics squad).

To support T8, visit www. performerawards.com.au to cast your vote for Team of the Year (and the other sporting awards being offered).

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In this issue of GPWEEK By And

JB: Rossi wanted title bad

VALENTINO Rossi’s Aussie crew chief Jeremy Burgess has revealed to GPWeek just how determined his rider was to win the 2008 MotoGP title.

Burgess, originally from Adelaide and former crew chief of both Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan, revealed that Rossi told him he “didn’t want to lose this championship.” “[Rossi] said to me during the season, when Casey Stoner did get some momentum, that he didn’t want to lose this championship,” Burgess

told GPWeek.

“He’s never said anything like that before. He’s a very calculating person. I think he knows when he has to make his attack on the opposition. He knows he has to capitalise in certain areas, and he knew he had to stop the run of Casey, who’d won three on the trot [at that point], to stop him gaining momentum.”

For more with Burgess, check out Michael Scott’s season review in the latest issue of GPWeek. sutton-images.com

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Rally GB building momentum THE World Rally Championship might be a forgone conclusion, but that hasn’t stopped the buildup of December’s seasonending Wales Rally GB. There will be no fewer than 21 World Rally Cars

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competing, with the most noteworthy extra entry being a factory-back Ford Focus for Valentino Rossi. He will run #46, meaning Jari Ketomaa, who usually uses the number, will use #146.

Rossi competed at Rally GB

back in 2002, above.

Stobart will have the singlebiggest presence, running six entries.

BP Ford will need to outscore Citroen by 11 points to win the manufacturer’s World Championship.

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drew van leeuwen

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Force be without you THERE are some big changes happening at Force India for next season.

There have been three high-profile casualties at the close of the 2008 season; Ferrari have been ditched as technical partners, Team Principal Collin Kolles, left, has been shown the door, and chief technical guru Mike Gascoyne, is also on the way out.

While the Kolles/Gascoyne departures are slightly surprising, the premature end of the Ferrari deal isn’t, with a technical alliance with McLaren expected to be announced tonight (Monday).

“The Force India Formula 1 Team today announces that it has ended its contract with Ferrari,” a statement read.

“The agreement signed in 2007 also provided for a supply of engines in 2009, but will now terminate ahead of schedule at the request of Force India.

“Force India wishes to thank Ferrari for its much appreciated and valued support to date, which has always been carried out at the highest level; technically and professionally and within an excellent relationship.”

Replacement personnel are also expected to be announced almost immediately.

w e nro sue #36 onlClin ick he e

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Reed replaces Usher Driver swap in Brett Stevens Racing’s Makita Doorslammer DRAG RACING DANIEL Reed will replace Kym Usher at Brett Stevens Racing for the remainder of the ANDRA Championship Drag Racing season.

Reed, a former National Supercharged Outlaws Champion, will drive the team’s Makita Top Doorslammer.

“I am extremely pleased to announce that Daniel Reed will be filling the driver’s seat in the Makita Top Doorslammer and think he will be a great fit for the team,” Stevens said.

“There is no doubting his driving abilities, he comes from one of the most respected teams

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in Australian Drag Racing and has risen through the ranks of the sport to be a National Champion in the sportsman brackets.”

The son of high-profile husband and wife Top Alcohol racers Steven and Debbie Reed (Reed Racing team), Daniel, 27, is a successful racer in his own right and is looking forward to his new challenge.

“I have been looking at stepping up to the Group 1 ranks for a while and now I have this huge opportunity to drive for one of the best teams in the country,” Reed said.

“I can’t wait to get out there and mix it with the best in the business.”

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It’s a Tuner’s War!

Goldenstate Championships set for this weekend

Greg’s new gig

DRAG RACING THE ANDRA Championship Series heads west for the 37th Annual Goldenstate Championships this weekend – minus Brett Stevens Racing.

The popular Queenslandbased team has elected to sit out the round at Kwinana, WA. The wester round will feature over-subscribed Top Doorslammer and Top Bike fields.

Stevens said in a recent statement that a number of factors, including the recent economic crisis, as his reasons for not making the trip.

Regardless, the competition is set to be extremely competitive, with many touting the popular event as a ‘Tuners War.’ US Alcohol guru Camp Stanley, tuning Sean Mifsud’s car, pictured, will lock horns with Mark Brew (Peter Kapiris) and West Coast’s Stuart Rowland (Robin Judd).

While those three teams

have some serious Alcohol brain power aboard, it would have to be foolish to discount the likes of the legendary Gary Phillips.

With over 13 combined ANDRA Top Alcohol and Top Doorslammer Championships under his belt, Phillips will be a serious contender for the points on offer in the West Australian round of the series.

But with Ben Bray on fire for the Castrol team the event is as wide open as the Nullarbor Plain.

The Top Bike field is also an impressive line-up with

the two quickest bikes in the country entered - New Zealand’s Athol Williams on his 6.3s ride and the White Knight Jay Upton flying the flag for the West Aussies.

Both Athol and Jay will have to keep looking over their shoulders as they will be hounded by a pack of hungry Harleys including the mid 6s steeds of the WA duo of Mark Drew and Ian Ashelford.

Queensland’s Neville Smith, South Australia’s Dennis Grant and West Australia’s Syd Standring round out the top class field.

AS one of Australia’s most experienced and well-credentialed drag racing Officials, Sydney’s Greg Schultz was recently appointed to the position of ANDRA Group One Steward.

Greg Schultz will now be the first port of call for all ANDRArelated issues for Group One competitors during an event.

Greg’s responsibility is to act as a Steward but specifically for Group One competition and his experience and ability will ensure that ANDRA Championship Drag Racing continues to operate at the very highest level. Greg will continue to work with ANDRA Stewards and Officials during the course of an event.

Schultz is a long time serving ANDRA Official and he has been a team member since joining the ranks in 1992.

Greg’s enthusiasm and skills meant that he was promoted to Chief Steward in the New South Wales Division in 1993, a position he still holds.

ENZED backs International Series DRAG RACING HOSE and fitting company ENZED are the naming rights sponsors of Willowbank Raceway’s New Year Series re-birth.

The twin January events will be known as the ENZED International Nightfire New Year Series.

Both events will feature the return of Nitro Funny Car action, with US star Gary Densham taking on an impressive number of local entries in a USA v’s Australia battle. Densham, who is a top 10 runner in his Chevrolet Impala Funny

Car in the NHRA, is currently competing in the final stages of the ‘Countdown to One’ Championship in the US. The first event will see the 7000hp Nitro Funny Cars run alongside the ANDRA Championship Drag Racing Series for Top Alcohol, Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock Motorcycle on January 2/3.

The second event on January 16/17 will feature an all-nitro affair with Top Fuel, Top Bike and the second instalment of the Funny Cars.

“The ENZED International Nightfire New Year Series is two important

events for Willowbank Raceway and Queensland drag racing fans,” said Willowbank Raceway Managing Director, Steve Bettes.

“It will be the first opportunity for many years to see Nitro Funny Cars with Gary Densham’s return to Australia along with a full contingent of ANDRA Championship action.

“It’s also great to have ENZED back into Australian motorsport after a couple of years of looking at other options. I’m ecstatic to welcome them onboard to not only our two January events but as a national sponsor of ANDRA

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To the victor, the spoils INDYCAR Scott Dixon just became US$1 million richer.

The 2008 IndyCar Series Champion was the recipient of the big cash prize as a reward for his championship success.

Dixon accepted the prize at the end of season awards ceremony.

"To win this title is so much sweeter than the one I won in 2003," Dixon said, who also received a $100,000 diamondencrusted Ritmo Mundo watch.

"When I won the first championship, I didn't realise what I had won. To win this title, in the way the series was this year with the merger, makes it something I can cherish."

Target Chip Ganassi Racing owner, Ganassi, congratulated his entire team and driver

Dixon, while recognising that the team could not have earned this championship without the help and efforts of fellow driver, Dan Wheldon, who has moved on to Panther Racing next season.

Also honored was Andretti Green driver, Hideki Mutoh, who accepted the $50,000 Bombardier LearJet Rookie of the Year Award and was recognized with the Firestone IndyCar Series Rising Star award. Additionally, the 2008 Indy Lights Champion, Raphael Matos, received his trophy, cheques and a $25,000 watch from Ritmo Mundo.

The Firestone Indy Lights Rising Star award went to Ana Beatriz.

– MARY MENDEZ

Merger benefits ...

INDYCAR THERE were a number of improvements and evidence of growth in North American open wheel racing after the inaugural unified IndyCar season.

Car counts jumped 40 percent, a record-tying nine different drivers made it to Victory Lane, and for the first time ever, the Indianapolis 500 purse exceeded US $15 million.

TV viewership for the seventeen race IndyCar Series schedule averaged 1.55 million viewers, an 11 percent increase over the 1.4 million average last season across the three networks. Attendance increased at 12 of the 16 tracks compared to where the IndyCars competed in 2007.

“We entered 2008 with the remarkable momentum of unification and that benefited all of our key metrics all season long,” said Terry Angstadt, President, Commercial Division for the Indy Racing League.

“While we are very happy with the immediate results of unification, we will spend the off-season looking at ways to continue to build this momentum to grow the IndyCar Series.”

– MARY MENDEZ

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Mower moves to Panther INDYCAR On the heels of signing Dan Wheldon for the 2009 season, team manager Chris Mower has left Conquest Racing to assume that same role at Panther Racing.

John Barnes, co-owner of Panther Racing, worked with Chris’s father, Derek, at Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing over 30 years ago.

“Chris brings a great depth of knowledge and experience to our team, and we’re excited

about having him,” Barnes said.

“What impressed me most is that he’s incredibly organised, has a sound mechanical mind and has been raised in this business. He’s somebody that’s going to make our entire team better and

operate efficiently during a time when our expectations are very high.”

Ron Catt has moved from his team manager role to oversee Panther Racing’s two-car Indy Lights effort.

– MARY MENDEZ

Conquest for ALMS?

INDYCAR

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Conquest Racing team owner Eric Bachelart has confirmed his interest in contesting the American Le Mans Series in the near future.

Members of his IndyCar team participated in the final ALMS race of the season, assisting an existing team, and Bachelart stated that while he would continue with his IndyCar team next season, he would like to also compete in the Sportcar class.

Bachelart also said he has an eye towards racing in the Le Mans 24 hours.

– MARY MENDEZ

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Impressive! Ricciardo on a roll West Aussie excels in World Series test after he signs for Carlin in British F3 FORMULA 3 DANIEL Ricciardo has, for the second time this year, proven his ability when it comes to mastering new machinery.

Earlier this season he jumped into a Formula 3 car for the first-time ever and qualified fifth fastest for a round of the Euroseries; and just last Thursday he went fourth fastest in an open test for World Series by Renault cars at Paul Ricard in France.

The young West Aussie was

given the test as a prize for winning the West European Cup for Formula Renault 2.0, and it provided an ideal opportunity for him to test for the team he will race for next year – Carlin Motorsport.

And, despite having never driven one of the heavy and powerful cars before, he was fourth fastest outright, and fastest rookie by a comfortable margin.

“What a great experience,” Ricciardo said.

“The World Series by Renault car is much bigger car than

I’m used to, both in terms of size and performance, but I got to grips with it pretty quick. The result was very satisfying for both the team and me.

“Many thanks to Renault for giving me this opportunity, to Carlin Motorsport for providing me a superb car and engineering team and Red Bull for allowing me to do this.”

The test came just days after it was confirmed that Ricciardo will race in Formula 3 next season, although in

the British series, not the Euroseries as first thought. He will race for Carlin, the team with which Jaime Alguersuari won the title with this season.

“I have my first two-day test next week in Pembrey (Wales),” Ricciardo added.

“And then I’m not sure of the other dates yet, but I imagine I’ll be testing throughout the next two months.”

Ricciardo is expecting to return to Perth around December 20 for the Christmas break.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Aston’s plans soon FORMULA 3

sutton-images.com

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ASTON Martin looks set to formalise its long-awaited Le Mans program in the next two weeks.

The iconic British make looks set to run a prototype developed jointly with Lola, following in the footsteps of Charouz Racing, which raced a Lola B08/60 powered by a 6-litre Aston martin V12 from its GT1 racers. The car finished ninth outright in the race.

“Unfortunately, you will have to wait another 10 days to get an answer,” Aston Martin Chairman

David Richards, left, said in Bahrain.

“It is a little ahead of the game to announce something on that.

I want to make it clear, I want to see Aston Martin go for outright victory at Le Mans and the prototype program last year was designed to see how we might get on in that. The rules have gone in our favour now, with the slowing down of the diesel cars, but I need another couple of weeks before I can announce anything.

“It is a matter of whether we do it or we don’t do it. I would say that about 70 percent of the bits are in place.”

news

Aussie Forder signs for TRS TOYOTA RACING SERIES SCOTT Pye will be the next Aussie to tackle the Kiwis in the NZ-based Toyota Racing Series.

The CAMS Rising Star driver is currently racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, and will do so again next season, but does harbour ambitions to head to Europe after that. He will use the TRS outings to gain some valuable wingsand-slicks experience.

“It’s all about seat time in something different,” he told eNews.

“The fact is I want to go to Europe, and these cars are similar to what they race over there, so it is good experience. All I’ve ever driven is Formula Ford, so there’s not much I can do to prepare. For now I am just worrying about the next Formula Ford round in Tasmania, and then I will worry about TRS when I get to New Zealand.”

Pye will drive for the Australian-owned European Technique team, which has previously run Aussies including Tim Slade, Leanne Tander and Lucas Dumbrell.

The first round of the series is at

Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway at Christchurch on November 28, before which Pye will complete three days of testing.

– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN sutton-images.com

Walsh confirmed for Rookie role FORMULA 3 A1GP Team Australia has secured the services of Ashley Walsh for the team’s rookie seat for the Sepang (Malaysia) and Taupo (New Zealand) rounds.

Walsh, who competed in the West European Cup for

Formula Renault cars this year, drove the A1GP Simulator in Italy recently in reparation for his track debut at Sepang in two weeks.

“This was the highest level simulator I have ever used, the most realistic version of a race car simulator,” the 20 year old Queenslander said.

“You have a solid brake pedal, seat belts firm, all of the necessary controls to stop, exactly the same as the normal race car.”

Team Australia seat holder Alan Jones said he is looking forward to Walsh’s progress.

“We have already seen Ashley’s performance on the

A1 Simulator and that was impressive,” he said.

“With his past racing experience, we are looking forward to his time in the car starting with Sepang then Taupo. Ashley will have a good chance to learn all of the characteristics of this new A1GP car.”

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BRIEFLY...

ARC back to Tassie ARC

20

Evo X almost ready ...

Joel Strickland

n The New South Wales Formula Ford 1600 Championship has released its 2009 calendar – and is unlikely to allow Duratecpowered cars.

The series will kick off at Eastern Creek on March 22, and will host five more rounds including Wakefield and Oran Park, finishing at the latter on November 1.

There will be outright, rookie, pre-2000, pre-1990 and historic classes, but according to series organiser Jeff Senior, don’t expect to see any Duratec cars in 2009.

“There are rumours circulating relating to the possible introduction of Duratec Formula Fords into state championship racing” said Senior.

“Over the last week, there has been a media release circulating that Duratec Formula Fords will be invited into the 2009 Victorian State Championship meetings; however it is understood that this has not yet received sanctioning from CAMS.”

Joel Strickland

n THE New Zealand Motorsport championship has confirmed that the final round has moved one week ahead of its original schedule.

This has been done to ensure that the final NZ round and the Clipsal 500 do not clash. With many Australians and New Zealanders competing on both sides of the Tasman, this outcome benefits all concerned.

THE Australian Rally Championship competitors will be back on the blacktop in no time, with the announcement that Rally Tasmania will be the opening round of the 2009 ARC. The Burnie-based event comes in following the successful running of the Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge last month, which was the first full-tarmac event to be included in the ARC. “For many years Rally Tasmania has been the premier motorsport event in Burnie, and for it to receive Australian Rally Championship status is true recognition of the quality of organisation,” Burnie Mayor Alwyn Boyd said.

“The Burnie City Council are pleased to be once again supporting the event, and we’re looking forward to a bigger and better rally in 2009.”

The rally will kick off on February 13 next year.

THE first Mitsubishi Evo X gravel rally car in Australia is close to completion in Queensland.

Steve Shepheard will upgrade to the new car from a Evo VI, and while he originally planned to rally the car in Tasmania and Coffs Harbour this year, it will now not make it debut until the first round of next year’s Australian Rally Championship.

news

New season bonuses CARRERA CUP

James Smith

WITH the 2009 Carrera Cup calendar announced (see eNews #079) the series has set about making changes to improve Australia’s strongest support category.

One of the most exciting changes for the category is on the Pilatus Challenge side.

The winner of the 2009 championship will, as a prize, be given a Porsche Cayenne S for a year, something which 2008 winner James Koundouris is enjoying right now.

Pilatus Challenge competitors will have the option of competing in only seven of the eight rounds in an effort to make the series more enticing for the second

tier competitors.

The overall Carrera Cup champion will also receive a bonus, with their entry fees for the coming season waived.

Craig Baird will be the first to enjoy the bonus when the season kicks off.

“As a championship we need to continually implement new ideas to keep the category fresh and exciting and we believe these changes do just that,” said Porsche Carrera Cup CEO Doug Willersdorf-Greene.

“Not only are we competing

at the best events next year but we have a fantastic television package in place, increased track time and some of the closest, most entertaining racing in one of the best racing cars going around.”

12-Hour Utes calendar confirmed 2009 tickets on sale V8 UTES

THE Yokohama V8 Utes Series has announced its 2009 Calendar, and will again feature on some of the marquee events of the year as a support to the V8 Supercars.

The new season will feature eight rounds and will keep tradition by kicking off in March at the Clipsal 500.

The series will head to Winton and Hidden Valley and will take in the sights in Tasmania for the Symmons Plains round in May. Bathurst will again be on the calendar as will the brand new Townsville 400 and the Sydney 400 Grand Finale in December giving

them a even split between street circuits and permanent circuits across the country.

“It’s a good feeling to have such a strong calendar set for next year,” said V8 Utes Category Manager Bill West.

“We have landed some great locations like Darwin and Adelaide where we know we are very popular and to be included in Townsville and Sydney sends a very strong message about the strength of our category.”

The Utes still have one round remaining in the 2008 Championship at Oran Park on December 6-7 and with the championship still up for grabs it looks to be an exciting round.

Dirk Klynsmith

2009 V8 Utes Calendar March 19-22 Clipsal 500 May 1-3 Winton Raceway May 29-31 Symmons Plains June 1921 Hidden Valley July 10-12 Townsville 400 Jul 31-Aug 31 Sandown Raceway October 8-11 Bathurst 1000 December 4-6 Sydney 400

TICKETS for the 2009 WPS Bathurst 12-Hour Showroom Enduro have gone on sale for the February 20-22 event.

In 2009 a three-day pass will cost less that $50 for the ‘once around the clock’ event giving fans the chance to see a vast array of cars.

Aside from the 12-Hour Showroom Enduro, a host of support categories will take to the track in a weekend of action.

The event will see the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, the HQ Holdens, Formula Vee, Saloon Cars and Improved Production take to the track over the weekend.

In another boost for the event the Seven Network has recently confirmed a threehour highlights package from the event to be shown on Saturday March 14.

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news

Power Kart?

KARTING WILL Power is a possible star entry in the second running of the VACC Park ‘End of year’ enduro at Todd Road.

The KV Racing Technology driver is said to be very interested in competing at the event and is seriously pursuing ways of getting involved.

Power will be back in Australia at that time of the race and would be one of the star attractions, if he can squeeze the race into his schedule.

The end of year enduro, organised by Australian champion karter Matt Wall, will grow to a four and a half hour race this year – 30 minutes longer than last year.

Also growing in the amount of entries. Last year there were 40 karts entered, with five extra karts permitted this year.

Besides Power, there has been plenty of local interest in the race, including GRM drivers Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso, Tasman stars Greg Murphy and Jason Richards, karting experts Shane Price and Jack Perkins, as well and Fujitsu Series racer David Reynolds.

Wall said that his race is turning into the perfect end of season karting race.

“This event was designed to provide the opportunity from a variety of people from racing categories to enjoy karting in a relaxed and competitive way,” he said.

“I’m stoked to have had the huge amount of interest for the second running of the event and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there on the second weekend in December.”

Other drivers looking at competing will be Formula Ford front-runner Nick Percat and AMSF International Rising Star Tim Blanchard.

Former V8 driver Alan Gurr, who finished second in last year’s race with Tim Slade, will also be in the mix.

The four and a half hour event will be open to Rotax and Leopard engines and is scheduled to run on Saturday, December 13.

– GRANT ROWLEY

Kart inventor in demonstration incident KARTING

22

For more on the day when karts turned back the clock, see page 46.

Dirk Klynsmith

DUFFY Livingstone, the 83-year-old American credited with naming the sport which has produced thousands of motorsport stars, escaped injury after a collision during a demonstration run at last weekend’s Vintage Kart meeting, in Numurkah.

Livingstone, who hadn’t sat in a kart for years, was persuaded to do a handful of quiet laps at the end of the successful meeting, along with equally-

recognised ‘Lady Bug’ Faye Pierson, who had earlier raced in some of the historic category races.

Unfortunately, the two touched wheels and the veteran was tipped out of his 60s machine!

Fortunately, Duffy escaped with a few scratches and, in ‘true grit’ style, completed the demonstration …

– CHRIS LAMBDEN

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5 Minutes with ...

DAVID RICHARDS

The Prodrive boss made a flying visit to Bahrain and is confident that, despite the economic times, PHIL BRANAGAN there is a healthy future ahead of FPR and V8 Supercars

Do you feel like there could be a backlash against such profligate displays of money?

It won’t stop people from buying big cars, I am sure that there has been an affect on top-end restaurants in Australia. So, all these things are going to be affected.

But, the world will go on.

You are not going to stop and suddenly go and live in caves again. We just have to be sensible and take our time with it. I am not despondent about it but I am certain that we need to be practical about it.

How will it affect your Australian operations, particularly FPR? It won’t affect FPR in the short-term – in the next few years, anyway. We are protected by having long-term arrangements with people.

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Dirk Klynsmith

MOTORSPORT NEWS: Given the current climate, there is a pressing question to ask; what sort of future is there for motorsport?

DAVID RICHARDS: When you go back in history, we have had a number of situations in the past that we have gone through – not financial crises, like this, but the oil crisis. I remember that back in the seventies, people pulled out of motorsport but after six months, they came back.

But it has to look to be more relevant. That is the key. What we see in Formula 1 with the KERS systems, they might not be the ultimate solution in the long-term but they are addressing the environmental issues.

I THink that v8s will have to start to listen to what ford and gm, and perhaps a new want from a race series I think that it is just, ‘be cautious’ at the moment. We are not going to be seeing people drop everything and start driving around in electric cars. We will just have a quiet shift over the next few years.

I think that the question is, ‘What will happen to V8s in the next few years?’ I think that V8s will start to have to think about its customer base, and start to listen to what Ford and GM, and perhaps a new manufacturer, want from a race series. At the same time, it has been so successful and is so iconic that we have to be very careful, not to see it suddenly disrupted. It’s still got a place in the hearts of all Australians.

Is it one of those things where it goes beyond the sport …

I don’t think that you have to logically justify it. Normally, you might think that you have to. It has got such an extraordinary following and it works so well.

It has got to look at its costs and be affordable for the teams. Errors can be addressed in that quite easily. Other than that, I still have a feeling that it will survive through this period, just in the way that NASCAR survives in America.

The biggest mistake you can make in a race series is to make radical change, to make big changes overnight. Just make a small start.

There continues to be talk of opening the sport up to, at least, a third or even fourth manufacturer. What is your view on that?

I would be nervous of it. I think that you would have to make a big technical change to attract them anyway, and that, in itself, is a danger. Until there is a pressing need for it, I think that it is more likely to prompt the departure of the existing two manufacturers than it is to encourage more people to come into it, quite frankly.

In terms of where Australia

sits in terms of being as tougher, or perhaps even tougher, than some other countries, where does Australia sit in these times?

From what I have heard, it has not been as tough in Australia as it has been in Europe. I think that you are starting to see the situation in Australia that we were experiencing six months ago. Back in the summer, things were starting to tighten up.

Talking to Tim [Edwards] on the phone, I have been quite surprised. When is this going to hit Australia? You have been protected, perhaps, by the Chinese economy and the relationship there. It is only of late that it has really come to bear.

We have to deliver better value for money for all our partners now, because they have alternatives. They might be locked into agreements with us, but that is not to say that we do not have to overdeliver. We need to make sure that they get even more value.

chat

sutton-images.com

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Letters

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

Skaifey Well, I suppose all the Mark Skaife knockers and the majority of daily media are happy they have succeeded in getting him to resign as a full time driver.

I wonder who they will pick on next?

I am very sorry he is going as he was the best Australian Touring Car driver this country has produced. He has done more for the sport than any other.

I feel his lack of speed [recently] must be shared by the whole of his team. You are only as good as the equipment on any given day.

When a car is not preforming you have to drive it 11/10ths and that is where the trouble starts.

Thank you Mark for the years of enjoyment you have shared with me, my sons their wives and our grandchildren Lionel Davis Mitchell Park SA Bayliss Thanks for getting this latest edition of Motorsport eNews out so quickly and with so much information.

I particularly like the spiel on Troy Bayliss who is a wonderful Aussie and a true World Superbike Champion, three-times over.

Maybe an interview with Troy down the track after he’s rested would be a great read too …

Well done to you all and I hope you picked a winner in the Cup. Peter Manning Via email Desert 400 HAVING just watched Race 1 of the Bahrain 400 I’m absolutely disgusted by comments made by Larry Perkins during the telecast.

So I’m incompetent and a moron.

This is not the first time CAMS officials have come under public attack from people such as Perkins.

26

He and hundreds of others in Australian motorsport have pursed their passion and sport and in many instances financial independence well beyond their worth based on the backs of hardwoking paying volunteers. Who is the real moron?

Graham Lawrence Email withheld Bahrain Having watched the great Channel Seven telecast with a confusing commentary team I am a little mystified.

I only saw three people in the stands, one supporting Ford, one for Holden and the other for Fahad Al Musala.

Simple maths tells me that income plus expenditure equals unsustainablity.

Great to see our teams have a two week paid holiday with a couple of hours work for no result.

I am all for supporting the development of this great product we have but it must have a supportive base.

This morning I watched the Nationwide series from NASCAR and they had a crowd that the V8s would crave.

I am a supporter of motorsport from Speedway to Formula 1 and I am a little concerned by the direction V8s is taking for profit.

I live just 15 minutes drive from Lakeside and saw it through its heyday in the 60s to the demises of V8s.

If V8 Supercars put a little back into youth development from the profits from overseas events I will be satisfied.

To Tony, I do understand that a business must be profitable and you do a good job, just don’t forget where you came from.

Barry Walter barryw13@bigpond.com BNT V8s I want to acknowledge how well Steve Owen drove at Pukekohe in the BNT V8s last weekend.

It is sad that some of our top drivers have to race overseas as they can’t get

good drives in Australia due to financial circumstances.

I can think of at least 11 drivers on the current V8 Supercar grid, who are only there because they bring a big budget.

Those drivers should move aside and let others get a drive to increase the quality of racing for the fans to enjoy.

Martin Email supplied Bahrain 400 I’m not a big fan of overseas jaunts for our local V8 series, but the racing in Bahrain was first class.

The wide track enabled plenty of passing and seeing the cars go three and four wide down the straights made for great TV. While the racing is always close, even the races on the Gold Coast were processional. It just highlights the problem of narrow tracks in Australia (and the list is long).

Now all we need is some spectators to watch the overseas races …

Suzi Baxter Wangaratta, Vic Calendar V8 Supercars Australia want to tidy up their calendar by having races every two weeks.

They are also looking at additional overseas venues. The teams need time to travel and turn around their cars. They don’t have NASCAR budgets that allow them to run multiple cars.

Why not pump up the Fujitsu Series.

Running it alternately with the Main Game.?

They could service the existing circuits at family friendly prices. The Main Game drivers could make an appearance on behalf of their sponsors and the series, giving them more time with the fans.

The TV coverage would then be a constant deal every second weekend.

It would be a win-win for everyone.

Matt Treacy Via email

opinion

Where there’s a will ... opinion Phil Branagan Executive Editor FOR a first time visitor – and last weekend, that was what I was – Bahrain is an odd place.

An age-old culture, with a language impenetrable to westerners and with progress, so it seems, stuck on fast-forward.

The amount of construction in the Middle East is staggering and in that regard, the Kingdom is no different to its neighbours.

But then you get to the BIC, which rises out of the heatwaves at Sakhir like a mirage, and much seems familiar. The pitlane

is wide and interminably long; walking into the Thursday press conference pressed several buttons from the past.

Welcome to another Tilkedrome. The BIC is like the track in Shanghai, which is like the one in Turkey. Hermann Tilke builds Grand Prix tracks and, not surprisingly, with the exception of a few local features, similarity is a byword.

Good or bad? Hard to say.

That very model has worked well for McDonalds; there is comfort in

familiarity and, in today’s made-for-television motor racing, 21st century tracks mirror that philosophy.

And, that is good news for V8 Supercars. The series went to Shanghai once, in 2005, and never returned, for reasons that have far more to do with circumstances in China than any in Australia.

But the event proved that the series can travel, within reason, anywhere, and that is what it does in Bahrain.

Chairman Tony Cochrane semaphored a second Middle Eastern event in coming years and that makes sense, given the economic benefits in pairing two flyaway events.

While he is understandably reluctant to be geographically specific about the preferred

venue, Abu Dhabi makes the most sense and two races within a week – at two tracks about 450km apart – looks a likely scenario.

The challenge will be the schedule. The 2009 Formula 1 calendar has its two races in the Gulf separated by six months, and how a potential V8 Supercar race would slot in remains to be scene.

Given the date considerations that alreadyestablished events in Australia face, the degree of difficulty attached to the annual juggling act with back-toback races in the Gulf could get a whole lot higher.

But you leave a 21st century metropolis-in-a-desert with little or no doubt that, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

eLETTER OF THE WEEK Surfers Just a thought. If IndyCar decides it doesn’t want to come back to Surfers, how about the organisers trying to attract the boys from the Sprint Cup to take IndyCar’s place.

Think about it. The NASCAR teams have designated road race chassis that only get used twice a year, so getting them over here shouldn’t cause any problems for the teams as they don’t

need cars back in a hurry.

There have been discussions about a road course being part of The Chase and in a recent poll on NASCAR.com, Australia was the favourite destination to host any foreign rounds – we beat England and Japan.

At least we would have Marcos racing, but some teams may use some local talent as ringers to try and improve owner’s points, maybe even

entice some V8 drivers into a double duty weekend!

The only logistical problem I see is fitting 43 cars on the track and in the pits, although there is also talk of NASCAR shrinking the field a little bit. We’d also get a good speed comparison between the NASCAR and V8’s. Just a thought ...

Glen Sansom Via email

Send your creative letters to mail@mnews.com.au, or Motorsport News PO Box 7072, Brighton, Vic 3186 27

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 12 – GULF AIR DESERT 400, BAHRAIN

Two Eights make a Jamie Whincup was in rare form in Bahrain and now has the 2009 title in a headlock. PHIL BRANAGAN watched the Desert Storm

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race

Seven

Dirk Klynsmith

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V8 SUPERCARS

O

KAY race fans, we are getting into very scary territory here.

Jamie Whincup won in Bahrain, from pole. It was the second straight round that he has done that. He scored 300 points, for the third round in a row. He has won the last seven races. But here is the intimidating part; no driver scored more points in a round than the TeamVodafone pilot for five rounds.

The last round that he was outscored by any of the 28 other drivers was at Queensland Raceway. That was in JULY. [Yes, we acknowledge that Garth Tander and Mark Skaife won the L&H 500 but, due to an oddity in the scoring system, Whincup and Craig Lowndes banked more points.]

“Bahrain has been a bit of a bogey track for us,” said a relieved Whincup after his 11th round win.

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Whincup and the Eights are on a fearsome roll, the like of which has not been seen since the very best days of Skaife-HRT or Brock-HDT. Lowndes was second, but after two ordinary starts, it took until the late stages of the final race to shake off the attentions of Russell Ingall, who was tied on points until that point and, clearly, the best of the Holdens. But no cars could match the consistency of the red Fords.

“We have put a lot into this team,” said an emotional Ingall after the race.

“You just have to stir everything together and come out of it with some nice icing on top.”

The third Middle Eastern V8 Supercar round could hardly have been better for Whincup. Apart from the points his title rivals, Mark Winterbottom and Garth Tander, clashed in Race 1 when the Ford hit the Holden (see breakout). The loss of points was, somewhat, negated in Race

2 when Frosty zoomed through from the back to fourth but Tander had no such luck, getting caught up – with teammate Mark Skaife – in a DJR melee and dropping to near-last.

The 190 points he dropped to Whincup make a successful defence of his title more a matter of faith and hope than a realistic ambition.

Of the rest, Todd Kelly qualified a brilliant third but nothing went right after that, and there were signs of speed from James Courtney and Will Davison, who was attacked by fumes from his own car in Race 1 and by Steven Johnson in Race 3.

History shows that the contenders can stumble in the final rounds of a championship but, with this buffer, Whincup can hiccup and still make it over the line.

But there are six races left and he knows that there are no hatchlings to be counted just yet …

race

Dirk Klynsmith

Race 1 shunt: Caruso, Richards, Patrizi and Skaife were victims of one of many Turn One incidents over the weekend.

V8 Supercar | ROUND 11, SURFERS PARADISE, QLD Pos# Driver

Dirk Klynsmith Dirk Klynsmith

Desert Enforced: Ingall was in good touch in Bahrain.

Team/Car

Q

R1 R2 R3

1 88 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone Falcon BF 1 1 1 1 300 2 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone Falcon BF 2 2 3 3 264 3 39 Russell Ingall Supercheap Auto Commodore VE 7 4 2 5 246 4 4 James Courtney Jeld-Wen Motorsport Falcon BF 10 5 7 2 230 5 33 Lee Holdsworth GRM Commodore VE 14 3 12 8 192 6 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF 8 8 5 9 190 7 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Falcon BF 9 21 4 4 188 8 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Racing Falcon BF 4 6 8 13 172 9 67 Paul Morris Supercheap Auto Commodore VE 25 11 9 12 150 10 9 Shane Van Gisbergen SP Tools Racing Falcon BF 13 7 26 10 134 11 16 Paul Dumbrell Autobarn Racing Commodore VE 15 12 18 11 128 12 18 Will Davison Jim Beam Racing Falcon BF 6 DNF 10 6 120 13 34 Michael Caruso GRM Commodore VE 22 15 14 17 118 14 51 Greg Murphy Sprint Gas Racing Commodore VE 23 10 19 18 118 15 1 Garth Tander Toll HRT Commodore VE 5 14 11 23 114 16 25 Jason Bright Fujitsu Racing Falcon BF 12 22 13 14 112 17 15 Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team Commodore VE 11 9 22 20 112 18 26 Marcus Marshall IRWIN Racing Falcon BF 19 16 21 15 106 19 111 Fabian Coulthard Glenfords Racing Falcon BF 17 DNF 16 7 102 20 7 Todd Kelly Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE 3 20 6 DNF 98 21 14 Cameron McConville Team WOW Commodore VE 21 13 25 21 92 22 55 Tony D’Alberto Rod Nash Racing Commodore VE 27 17 24 19 90 23 777 Michael Patrizi Ausdrill Ford Rising Stars Falcon BF 20 24 23 22 72 24 11 Jack Perkins Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE 18 19 15 DNF 72 25 12 Andrew Jones Team BOC Commodore VE 28 DNF 20 16 68 26 021 Fahad Al Musalam Team Kiwi Racing Falcon BF 29 23 DNF 24 46 27 2 Mark Skaife Toll HRT Commodore VE 16 DNF 17 DNF 36 28 50 Andrew Thompson PWR Racing Commodore VE 26 18 DNF DNF 34 29 3 Jason Richards Sprint Gas Racing Commodore VE 24 DNF DNS DNS 0 Points: Whincup 2916, Winterbottom 2729, Tander 2624, Lowndes 2367, S Richards 2178, W Davison 2153, Courtney 2136, R Kelly 2046, Ingall 1908, Johnson 1837, Holdsworth 1759, T Kelly 1657, Coulthard 1521, Skaife 1516, Van Gisbergen 1422, Murphy 1382, J Richards 1306, Morris 1186, McConville 1182, Dumbrell 1182, Caruso 1171, Bright 1154, A Jones 97, Marshall 945, Price 843, D’Alberto 804, Patrizi 708, Thompson 641, Perkins 508, Besnard 459, Scott 362, Owen 351, Jones 343, Wilson 343, Pretty 338, Macrow 320, Luff 259, Canto 252, Youlden 252, Ellery 245, Ritter 245, Noske 226, Wood 226, Halliday 225, Giovanardi 222, Hynes 222, Radisich 196, Webb 160, Davison 156, Pither 130, McIntyre 128, Baird 118, Seton 118, Denyer 102, Reindler 96, Neal 94, Said 94, Weel 84, AL Musalam 46, Bargwanna 38, Reynolds 22.

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The Fahad Side FOUR men have now raced the Team Kiwi Racing V8 Supercar this season. And half of them have been New Zealanders.

Nobody would have expected that one of the pilots would have been a Bahraini, but Fahad Al Musalam was ready, willing and able when the call to drive for the balck-and-silvers came unexpectedly. A graduate of the Lumina CSV Series, which pits proddie-spec HSV Commodores against each other, the 34-year-old approached the task of piloting the 600plus horsepower Supercar thoughtfully.

“Only five nights ago, the teams asked me to race this car,” he smiled at Sakhir.

“This is the highlight of my career.”

Engine guru Craig Hasted stepped into the role of race engineer and the team got on with business. The big ask was always going to be how a rookie would react when thrown to the sharks.

He did well. It is doubtful that anyone regards the NZ Falcon as the best car on the grid, and the most accurate yardstick of Al Musalam’s form would be the most recent qualifying performance of the same car. On the Gold Coast, Steve Owen was 2.53s from pole over a 119-second lap; Al Musalam was 3.76s from pole over a shorter, 85-second Bahrain lap. Owen is an acknowledged hotshoe, and championelect in the Fujitsu Series. Al Musalam was

having his second-ever drive in a V8, and first in this car.

The first race ended with 021 in 23rd position, but gearbox problems parked the car for the second race – inevitable perhaps, given that the car is one of the last still running an H-pattern.

“That is the hardest part, a sequential gearbox would be easier,” he said without the slightest trace of a complaint.

No-one is going to beat a path to Manama to sign Al Musalam to a contract for next season. But, as debuts go, the man from the Middle East did a pretty good job.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

Dirk Klynsmith

Rubber Logistics

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wets left Melbourne by sea, and the slicks made their way out of Japan, direct to Bahrain, in September, arriving in the middle of October – just after Bathurst.

All the rubber will be heading back to Melbourne right after the race, and the Dunlop crew was due to fly out of Manama last night (Sunday).

They should be getting home, ready to go again, by the time this edition of eNews goes live, after a fairly busy few days.

– PHIL BRANAGAN

Dirk Klynsmith

AS ever, there are logistical challenges associated with moving a V8 Supercar event half-way around the world.

Dunlop had its share of work to do to get ready for the event. Apart from the 300 wets needed for the event – not as silly as it sounds, in a place where it rarely rains – there was the small matter of getting 580 slicks (20 per car) all the way to the Middle East, and a bunch of equipment to fit them.

So, right after Winton, the

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Red and Blue

I HAVE seen all three V8 Supercar events in the Middle East, and I made the trip to the Bathurst 1000 last year and Phillip Island this year, and, in my view, the series is unique.

Bathurst is an institution!

I think that it is amazing how such a small town can cope with the influx of so many visitors, and it has such atmosphere. Phillip Island was a challenge for dealing with the weather – but what an impressive circuit; fast and flowing, and very picturesque.

opinion David Bloomer Radio Bahrain There has been a build-up in the following of V8 Supercars over the last three years.

The profile of the sport has definitely grown, and the BIC circuit has done what it can to promote not just itself but the whole sport. Motor racing is definitely growing; Hamad Al Fardan making it into GP2 Asia has given the whole thing a boost. It has shown that an Arab driver can make it into the higher levels of the sport.

V8s have been coming here for three years and is growing but Drag Racing is really big – on the street as well as on the

track! People are starting to associate with the cars that are in V8 Supercars themselves, as some of them have a resemblance to the cars that can be bought here and driven on the road.

Ticket sales this year were way ahead of what they were in previous years. The event here is a family outing so there needs to be a lot of entertainment at the track to cater for everyone.

The contract extension for the race makes sense, and the talk of a second race in the Gulf could only help the event.

It will show that the Gulf can host these kinds of events and only helps drivers and teams move the sport forward from here.

The Pom has landed AS I write this, I’m torn. While I’d love to go to Bahrain to watch the V8 Supercars, I also enjoy sitting on the couch (or the local pub, as it was), watching the race at an odd time of the day.

Anyway, I’ll get there one day, I’m sure.

In the meantime, I still very much enjoy watching the races away from the circuit. Sorry Mr Cochrane, I know you want people to come to your race events, but you pick up so much more at home!

FROM THE COUCH

Grant Rowley

And there was an odd sound belting forth from the flatscreen that I was watching – a Pommie git!

David Addison, a regular contributor in these pages, sat alongside Neil Crompton to call the race for Channel Seven.

And in my opinion, he ‘sounded’ like motor racing. I’m not sure

if its because we Australians have relied on Murray Walker and James Allen for our F1 commentary over the years, but for me, Addison filled Matt White’s void to a tee.

Some people were trying to suggest that he spoke too fast, but I thought his delivery was fine. Even after two pints of liquid gold, I could understand him, no drama.

Addison was informative and authoritive. I reckon there’s a future for him in the Land of Oz, if he’ll have us ...

Dirk Klynsmith

Irishman David Bloomer is a presenter for Radio Bahrain, as well as an experienced off-road driving instructor. He has lived in the Middle East since the mid-1980s.

Dirk Klynsmith

It’s a unique series

RACING drivers rarely see eye-to-eye, particularly when there has been recent contact between them.

Such was the case when Garth Tander felt Mark Winterbottom run into him, after Frosty had gone past Russell Ingall in Race 1.

Tander’s words; “I haven’t seen the vision, but from what I’m told Winterbottom may have run out of brakes or something else ... maybe ability. He needs to learn if you want to fight for a championship you need to play percentages and that’s not how you do it. With Lowndes and Todd [Kelly], when they came past they just drove into the side of my car.

I don’t mind getting passed, but how about having a bit of professional courtesy and leaving a bit of room when you do it?”

Winterbottom’s words; “There’s not much you can do; you try your best to stop. I could have rolled off the brake and banged into him [Tander] but I almost came to a full stop trying to miss him. If I had whacked him up the arse, then it would be cut and dry but he was slow when I was trying to pass him. I tried my best to miss him.”

The upshot of all this was that Tander finished 14th and, after a drive-through penalty, Winterbottom 21st, both well behind title rival Jamie Whincup. Frosty made further ground from there but the news just got worse for GT …

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP ROUND 35 – PHEONIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, AZ

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One step closer Jimmie Johnson moved closer to a historic third-consecutive title in at Pheonix taking another dominating win.

By MARTIN D CLARK

NASCAR Media

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Denny Hamlin rounding out the top five.

Johnson started on pole, but it was outside front-row starter McMurray who headed the first 21 laps before Johnson finally took over the lead passing Kurt Busch on lap 81. Although Johnson gave up the lead to McMurray under caution on lap 210 he soon took it back on the restart and went on to lead the most laps.

Caution seven saw a red flag when Juan Pablo Montoya spun Casey Mears causing a wild wreck that saw David Gilliland’s Yates Ford sitting on top of Scott Speed’s Red Bull Toyota with several other cars involved including Marcos Ambrose.

Ambrose qualified a commendable 18th and ran as high as 13th at one point remaining inside the top 20 and on the lead lap all race long until he rear-ended the slowing Scott Riggs.

The incident saw Speed who was 39 points ahead of Ambrose for the all important 35th place in points out of the race in 40th. Ambrose had some heavy front end damage, but thankfully no fluid leaks so he was able to continue on the lead lap to finish right where he started in 18th and move into the all important 35th place in car owner points with one race remaining.

There were fireworks as the chequered

flag uncoiled with 10 cars involved in a wreck on the frontstretch when Matt Kenseth gave A.J. Allmendinger a payback shove for an earlier bump that took Kenseth and Tony Stewart out. The hit sent him into the inside wall and left a pile of cars on the frontstretc to end a wild race that included an earlier red flag for rain in the desert!

– MARTIN D CLARK

NASCAR Media

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NASCAR Media

J

IMMIE Johnson dominated the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, holding onto the lead over three late cautions and an overtime finish to take a 141 point advantage over Carl Edwards into the last race of the season.

Johnson only has to finish 36th or better to clinch a history tying third-consecutive title at Homestead Miami on Sunday “We were confused after yesterday’s practice,” said Johnson after his seventh win of the year.

“We were OK, we just didn’t have the car we needed, but these guys worked for every little thing they could find last night and made it the dominant car and I went for maximum points.

“This is what I’ve worked my whole life for. I wish we could leave here going into next week and just have to start the race, but those guy’s [Edwards] really, really made us work hard for it so as long as something doesn’t go crazy for us in Homestead we’re going to be able to join Cale Yarborough [three consecutive titles] and I hope that happens.”

Kurt Busch in his Penske Dodge gave Johnson a run for his money on the final restart with Jamie McMurray finishing third, Edwards fourth from 15th and

NASCAR Media

NASCAR Media NASCAR Media

NASCAR | PHEONIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, AZ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

48 2 26 99 11 88 29 18 31 6

Jimmie Johnson Chevy Kurt Busch Dodge Jamie McMurray Ford Carl Edwards Ford Denny Hamlin Toyota Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevy Kevin Harvick Chevy Kyle Busch Toyota Jeff Burton Chevy David Ragan Ford

Hendricks/Lowe’s Q25 Penske/Miller Lite 2 Roush Fenway/Royal Crown 31 Roush Fenway/Office Depot 22 Joe Gibbs/FedEx Ground 20 Hendricks/National Guard 15 Childress/Shell/Pennzoil 30 Joe Gibbs/Pedigree 16 Childress/AT&T Mobility 23 Roush Fenway/AAA Insurance 8

THE CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP | points Johnson 6561, Edwards 6420, Biffle 6358, Burton 6292, Harvick 6233, Bowyer 6226, Gordon, 6151, Kenseth 6091, Hamlin 6090, Earnhardt 6087, Busch 6080, Stewart 6059.

NATIONWIDE SERIES CARL Edwards shaved 35 points off Clint Bowyer’s advantage in the title chase by leading the most laps and taking his sixth win of the year at Phoenix Raceway this past Saturday while Bowyer rebounded to finish fourth from a wreck before halfway.

Edwards’ Roush Fenway Racing crew had him off pit road first under caution with 76 laps to run giving him pivotal track position over midrace leader Kevin Harvick.

From there Edwards held on to lead the most laps and gain five additional points over Bowyer, his only challenge coming at the end from pole sitter Denny Hamlin, who given another corner would have passed Edwards for the win.

“I don’t know why we went another lap under yellow at the end, that saved us Denny was coming,” commented Edwards of a green/white/ checker ‘overtime’ finish.

“I have to thank my crew, I believe in them and they believe in me, it’s a lot easier to pass these guys on pit road.

We’ve got one more race and we’re closing on Clint and that’s what it’s about.”

There were two restart shunts caused by Harvick, the setting sun, and Harvick’s late acceleration. The first involved a handful of cars

and the second a few more with Bowyer involved in the first and dropping to 31st after repairs were made to a crushed front end and grill area that also had the engine overheating.

The other cars involved just aided his progress toward the front of the pack.

Hamlin lead from pole, but had to pit a second time on a lap 63 caution when the Joe Gibbs team miscommunicated and put new tyres on the front and scuffs on the rear, Hamlin fell to 30th and stormed through to second after the final yellow flag. Harvick held on for third followed by Bowyer and Kyle Busch.

After qualifying back in 29th Marcos Ambrose ran as high as tenth and was set to pass Jason Leffler for ninth in points, when his right front tyre blew.

Ambrose ended his day 24th one spot in front of Leffler who was involved in the first of the re-start incidents. The Tasmanian now sits just five points behind Leffler with one race remaining this weekend at Homestead Miami, he’s far enough ahead of 11th placed Jason Keller that he will finish in the top 10 in series points in his second year of competition.

– MARTIN D CLARK Point standings; Bowyer 4977, Edwards 4921, Keselowski 4624, Ragan 4428, Bliss 4397.

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Double for Crocker APRC CODY Crocker snatched victory in China on the final day in an inspired drive to end his season in perfect fashion and wrap up the Asia Cup to go with his Asia Pacific Rally Championship for 2008.

Crocker started the final day of competition 23 seconds behind Japanese driver Hiroshi Yanagasawa after having some gearbox trouble on day one, but was still 23 seconds behind heading into the final competitive stage.

In an amazing drive, Crocker and teammate Ben Atkinson were able to take 24 seconds away from their rival to grab an epic victory.

“With the APRC driver’s title already done and dusted after Malaysia, getting the Manufacturers’ title for Subaru was a real focus for the whole team this weekend,” Crocker said.

“This is one of the biggest wins of my career, no doubt about that. I haven’t had to drive like that for a long time,” said Crocker after the victory.

“It would have been easy to accept we were too far behind after yesterday’s dramas, but we decided to take every opportunity to catch Hiroshi

(Yanagasawa).

“I’ll be back next year to defend the title again. The team at MotorImage have been really supportive, so to have another chance to do the business in 2009 is fantastic.”

Points: Crocker 64, Taguchi 58, Yanigisawa 33, Herridge 32, Sungkar 24.

Sprinting George MT BULLER SPRINT

Joel Strickland

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GEORGE Miedecke took out the 2008 Mt Buller Sprint on November 1-2 driving a 2006 Mitsubishi Evo 9 RS. The son of Andrew Miedecke was too quick up the mountain and posted some incredibly consistent times to take the overall win.

Although Miedecke did not post the overall fastest time over the 10 timed runs, his closest opposition was not able to maintain the V8 Utes driver’s consistency.

Two-time Bathurst winner Tony Longhurst pushed Miedecke all the way in his 2006 Subaru WRX STI but fell just short after a late push which kept Miedecke honest all the way through the 10 runs.

Lamborghini Gallardo pilot Kevin Weeks was third and set the fastest time of the event, setting an impressive 8:36.91s in his penultimate run up the twisting road.

In the end the three were separated by less that 15s, which kept all three drivers on their toes all the way through the 10 runs.

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A1GP

A1GP A1GP Team Portugal became A1GP’s 17th different winner when Filipe Albuquerue crossed the line first in Round 2 of the 2009/10 series at Chengdu, China, on Sunday.

Albuquerue was involved in a race-long battle with Ireland’s Adam Carroll and Great Britain’s Danny Watts, eventually coming out on top by a mere 0.5s after 51 laps.

“The lap times were getting faster and faster,” said Albuquerue.

“In the second stint, I was

really fast, faster than anyone else. I was pulling away and had four seconds and everything was under control.

But then Ireland was way too fast with the new tyres.

“I could not go any faster so I just had to keep the car on the track, not make any mistakes and get the win.”

Carroll continued to pressure all the way to the flag and showed good pace all weekend after dominating the Sprint race earlier in the weekend.

“Well that’s the start we really wanted at Zandvoort,”

said Carroll.

“I came here determined to have the best weekend we could and at least try to win a race or come away with a couple of podiums.

“It’s the confidence we all need and I really think we can challenge the rest of the season for the championship.”

Defending Champion Neel Jani was fourth for Team Switzerland while Malaysian A1 driver, Fairuz Fauzy, was fifth continuing his good form from Zandvoort.

Malaysia leads the title race after two rounds with Ireland

A1GP

Lucky number 17

and France close behind. Team Great Britain is down in eighth after missing the first round of the championship.

Australia’s John Martin had another good weekend, coming home in sixth place in the Feature race after finishing 11th in the Sprint race.

The next race of the series will be in Sepang (Malaysia) on November 21-23.

Points: Malaysia 28, Ireland 23, France 23, New Zealand 20, Netherlands 20, Portugal 18, Switzerland 17, Great Britain 16, Australia 13, South Africa 9.

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Rain delays SPRINTCARS TRYING conditions were no obstacle for Brett Milburn who won Round 2 of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar Series at Heartland Raceway, Moama last Saturday night.

Racing was delayed by over twohours due to wet weather and drivers were given the choice to race by the Sprintcar Racing Association (SRA) of Victoria if they wanted and half of the field electing to pull out for the evening.

It was then decided, with 18 drivers wanting to put on a show for the big crowd that the event would be a nonpoints round.

“A number of drivers displayed their concerns and were uncomfortable on racing on the track and we understood that and respect their decision,” said SRA president Ian Vale.

“The format was changed to four heat races followed by a 20-lap final as the night was getting late and we wanted the crowd to get home at a reasonable hour.”

Heat wins went to Harley Bishop, Jamie Veal, Brett Milburn and Steven Lines.

The final was a real scrap with Milburn, Lines and Veal trading blows into lapped traffic in an entertaining feature.

It was Milburn, though, who took the win from Lines and Darren Hickman.

The third round of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Series will be at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool on November 22.

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Pukekohe carnage BNT V8s

ROUND 2 of the BNT V8s has been run and won at Pukekohe last weekend with plenty of action and carnage keeping competitors and officials busy.

John McIntyre took the round win and the championship lead after sharing wins with pole-sitter Paul Manuell and Kayne Scott in a typical Holden versus Ford battle.

McIntyre was able to steal the round win from Manuell after the two went into the final race with a win and a second place apiece, with McIntyre managing to finish just one spot ahead of Manuell in seventh to ensure the win.

Scott finished third after taking the win in the final race, but now sits second in the championship standings after coming into the round equal on points with the injured Paul Radasich.

Pukekohe has been known over the

years for some spectacular crashes, and Round 2 of the New Zealand series was no exception with a large crash on Lap 1 forcing Race 2 to be red-flagged while the track was fixed and the damaged cars removed.

No one was injured in the crash, which involved Chris Adams, Boyd Norwood, Nick Ross, Cam Hardy, Alan McCarrison, Angus Fogg and Tim Edgell.

After the carnage of Race 2, the reverse grid Race 3 was a calmer affair as drivers took a sightly more cautious approach.

Steve Owen replaced the injured Radisich for the round and is expected to do-so for the remainder of the season. He finished the weekend with a best result of fourth in Race 3 The next round of the BNT V8s Championship will be at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway outside Christchurch on November 28-30.

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Schumacher’s Title NHRA

Battle Royal GT3 CHALLENGE

David Ostaszewski

PUKEKOHE Raceway played host to Round 1 of the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge last weekend in what looks to be the most competitive championship yet.

With the Australian series wrapped up Craig Baird made the trip back to New Zealand to defend his title from last year and started in fine form.

Baird clinched the round win over Jono Lester after taking two of the three race wins. On paper it looked like a typical Bairdo-walkover, but there was much more to it.

His team-mate, Fujitsu V8 Supercar driver David Reynolds, pipped him for pole-position and then shadowed him home in the first two races applying plenty of pressure to the defending champ.

The reverse-grid Race

3 looked to be a thrilling encounter with Baird having to start back in sixth position and Reynolds just one spot up the road.

Reynolds slowed with gearbox troubles, ending his impressive run with a DNF, which only handed him fifth for the round – Not a true indication of his pace.

Although he was forced out of contention for overall round honours, Reynolds will compete in the entire series and should push Baird all the way in what could be a mirror of the 2007 Australian Carrera Cup Championship.

Baird fought through to grab second in the race to secure the round win, while Lester’s victory was enough to give him second place ahead of Daniel Gaunt.

The next round of the series will head to Christchurch to again support the BNT V8s Championship on November 29-30.

TONY Schumacher, Cruz Pedregon, Jeg Coughlin Jr and Chris Rivas collected pro wins in at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the NHRA POWERade Series winds down with just one more event to contest in Pomona.

As expected, Schumacher clinched his sixth NHRA POWERade Series world championship by qualifying for the show. He secured his fifth consecutive and sixth overall world championship when he rocketed to a 3.78 at 316 mph in his U.S. Army dragster to his eighth top qualifying effort of the season and the 55th of his career.

Schumacher drove to a record 15th win, defeating Rod Fuller in the Top Fuel final, 3.80/314 to 3.82/315. After eclipsing every class record this season, Schumacher, with 15 wins and 75 round wins, has his sights set on tying Greg

Anderson’s 16 win season, and passing Anderson’s record of 76 round wins when the tour concludes in Pomona.

After a 62-race drought, Pedregon scored his second consecutive victory and in doing so has taken over the Funny Car points lead.

In the final, Pedregon stopped low qualifier Robert Hight, 4.10/304 to 4.11/304, to take a 12-point lead into the final event of the season.

Pro Stock winner and current point leader Coughlin will need only to qualify at Pomona to secure his secondconsecutive title. Coughlin, the low qualifier, dismissed rookie Rickie Jones, team-mate Dave Connolly and Allen Johnson, before defeating Greg Stanfield in the final round.

Chris Rivas scored his third Pro Stock Motorcycle victory of the season, defeating Eddie Krawiec in the final round 7.05/185 to 7.30/152.

– DAVID OSTASZEWSKI

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VACC SNADOWN HISTORICS SANDOWN INTERNATIONAL MOTOR RACEWAY

We have lift-off!

The ever-popular Sandown Historic meeting was filled with fast cars and drama ...

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Image: James Smith

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SANDOWN HISTORICS THERE used to be crashes way back when, and even today when a huge collection of Historic cars join together, they still find a way to rub panels.

Jim Russell (1939 Ford) and Peter Kaiser (Austin Healey 100/4) found this out during Race 2 of the Groups J, K, Lb, & Sa – competing in the VACC Sandown Historic Meeting at Sandown, Victoria. , Russell launched over Kaiser, Pic, previous spread) creating a spectacular (and fortunately, non-injury) moment ....

Michael Russo and Ian Tate shared the wins in the class, but Russell and Kaiser were the headline makers.

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There was lots to see at Sandown, with over 350 entries. The two days included the timeless Formula 5000 machines – easily the most popular class at the meeting, and the New Zealand MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series saw each race have a different winner.

The first was won by Tony Richards (Lola T332) from Ken Smith (Lola T430) and Ian Clements (Lola T332). The second was won by Stan Redmond (Lola T332) from Chris Hyde (McRae GM1), while the third race saw Hyde win from Australian driver Andrew Robson (Lola T332, pictured above) and Smith.

Group A and C Touring Cars saw David Holc take a clean sweep in his GIO-backed

Holden VL Walkinshaw.

In Group N, Paul Cruse qualified his Ford Escort on pole, before Mark Johnson took his Porsche 911 to victory in all three races.

In the Kerrick Sports Sedan’s Audi driver Darren Hossack took pole position, but was overtaken by Daniel Tamasi in his sixlitre Holden Calibra at the start of Race 1.

Hossack got back on top of him to take wins in Sunday’s two races.

As ever, Mort Fitzgerald was on top of the MG Racing class, taking all three wins, while in the other classes, wins went to Perry Spiridis (Groups Sb & Sc) and Richard Carter and Laurie Bennet (Groups M & O Sports & Racing).

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Chris Noyes

Crash Park: On the exit of turn one, there was this huge tank-slap.

Below, the Group N Historics were full of colour.

James Smith

James Smith James Smith

James Smith

Being civil through turn one: Laurie Bennett’S Australian-built Elfin 600 in Formula 2, above. Right, Darren Hossack in his (not so historic) Audi Sport Sedan.

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Time travelling HISTORIC racing has become a new but growing element of kart racing, and the biggest collection ever of Vintage karts from yesteryear headed the billing at the ‘Over 40s’ race meeting at Numurkah (Northern Victoria) last weekend.

Nearly 70 karts, from the first ever built in Australia, through to relatively modern machinery from the mid-80s, were on show – most of which were in working order, and 40 took part in a series of demonstration races.

Several overseas legends of the sport travelled to Numurkah for the event, including perhaps the most well-known karting identity, American Duffy Livingstone, who is credited with coining the name ‘go-kart’ and who formed the original US governing body, the IKF; Faye Pierson who, along with her husband, formed Bug Karts, the

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biggest US manufacturer; and Terry Fullerton, the legendary 1973 World Champion and ‘man-to-beat’ throughout that decade.

Accompanying the US duo was Richard Kennedy who specialises in driving distances on two wheels ...

The on-track highlight was the races involving the early 80s ‘100 International’ rotaryengined machines, piloted by a number of Australia’s stars of the era – including John Pizarro, Robbie Hunter, Graeme

Powles (organiser of the event and owner of no less than 16 of the older karts on show), Greg Smith and Peter Ward.

Sentimental favourite Pizarro, who is countering the early stages of Parkinsons disease, stunned even himself by running at the front and battling wih his adversaries from the 80s.

Complementing them were events for 200cc ‘twins, and a number of races for the thriving ‘Over 40s’ categories, in current machinery.

John Pizarro (above) leads Robbie Hunter and Graeme Powles. The first ever Aussie-built kart was part of the parade of machinery (top right). Duffy Livingstone and Faye Pierson (right and below left); Richard Kennedy on two wheels, (below, right) and, below, Terry Fullerton – the man Ayrton Senna rated as the best driver he’d ever raced, now coaches young drivers.

All pics: Cooper Photographics

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rear of grid

Dirk Klynsmith

Between a Rock and a hard place THE Bahrain International Circuit offers some unique photographic angles.

Here, Lee Holdsworth drives through the sand traps and man-made hills at the Middle Eastern circuit.

They’ve got Lewis on their minds ...

Okay, we are lying about that last part. It was actually a show car but, given that Hamilton is the flavour of the month, this will probably not be the last time that we see something like this.

And we also reckon that V8 Supercars and the BIC deserves a gong for this; try displaying a title-winning Supercar (probably in the same colours) at an F1 GP next season and let’s see how we get on …

Odd Spot Branners Photography

AS if Lewis Hamilton has not had a big enough week, he has been high in the thoughts of everyone in Bahrain.

The drivers, V8 Supercars Tony Cochrane and the BIC’s Martin Whittaker assembled for a group photo, congratulating the Englishman on his World Championship. And, in the family entertainment area adjacent to the paddock, there was one of Lewis’s racewinning cars on display.

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